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France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders after at least 40 people were killed in multiple shootings in Paris.
At least 15 people were killed near the Bataclan arts centre, where up to 60 people are being held hostage. Explosions and gunfire are reported.
Three people were killed in an attack near the Stade de France, with some reports suggesting a suicide blast.
Paris authorities have urged people to stay indoors.
Military personnel are being deployed across Paris.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/13/455943961/violence-reported-in-paris
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/13/world/paris-shooting/index.html
Update #1 [BBC updates]:
Scores of people have been killed in multiple gun and bomb attacks in Paris
At least 100 people are reported to have died inside the Bataclan concert hall in central Paris
Others died in attacks near the Stade de France, where France were playing Germany, and at restaurants
France has declared a national state of emergency and has closed its borders
Paris residents have been asked to stay indoors and military personnel are being deployed across the city
[...] Reuters. quoting an un-named official at Paris City Hall, says the current death toll in Paris is around 140.
According to the Paris prosecutor, of the four assailants who died during the sidge at the Bataclan, three committed suicide by detonating explosive vests. The prosecutor has warned that some of their accomplices may "still be on the loose".
[...] Here is what French president François Hollande told reporters outside the Bataclan concert hall just now: "To all those who have seen these awful things, I want to say we are going to lead a war which will be pitiless. Because when terrorists are capable of committing such atrocities they must be certain that they are facing a determined France, a united France, a France that is together and does not let itself be moved, even if today we express infinite sorrow."
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Saturday November 14 2015, @03:18AM
The Google machine says there are 1.57 billion muslims in the world. Let's say there are 10,000 bona fide muslim terrorists in the world. That's less than 0.0007% of the bunch. Even if you veered into wild hyperbole and asserted there are actually 1 million bona fide muslim terrorists in the world, that's still less than 0.07% of the total. Statistically, it seems to me they have a pretty solid claim to "religion of peace" if their bad apples are less than a rounding error.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 14 2015, @04:12AM
Isis/Isil/Daesh has far more than 10,000 rabid terrorists at it's command. I prefer the term Daesh, because more rational Muslims recognize that Daesh are a bunch of pretenders. Although I'm not a linguist, despite the fact that I speak no Arabic or Farsi, I'm aware that Daesh is the derogatory form of Isis or Isil. In effect, more rational Muslims are calling them heretics, apostate, swine, and worse. But, the fact remains that Daesh tens of thousands of swine at their command. They have overrun large parts of two countries, and they are flexing their muscles in yet more countries. A mere ten thousand militants couldnt' accomplish what Daesh has done.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday November 14 2015, @12:42PM
Runaway, even if they had 10,000,000 terrorists, which they don't, it'd still be less than 1% of all the muslims in the world. Do all Christians in the world deserve scorn and carpet bombing because Westboro Baptist church is running around vomiting hatred on everyone? Wouldn't you think that it's a little over the top to tar all Christians with the same brush because radical evangelical Christians have assassinated abortion doctors and bombed clinics? Is it mete to excoriate all Jews because a bunch of whackadoodle orthodox men were throwing rocks at a bus full of girls recently because they were daring to try to go to school?
And let's indulge in a little candor here: The United States helped manufacture the pricks in ISIS with the "War of Choice," which everybody said was a bad fucking idea to begin with, and which was ignored because Bush and Cheney wanted to give themselves a big oil payday. The US further shaped the ISIS guys by doing execrable stuff like Abu Ghraib.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 14 2015, @12:54PM
Phoenix, I can almost justify nuking both Mecca and the Vatican, for the same reasons. Bomb them, then jeer at all the "believers". "God doesn't give a damn, not for his capital, not for his innocents, not for his believers."
But, you will probably admit that the Vatican is a less virulent and less violent threat than Mecca is, today.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Whoever on Saturday November 14 2015, @04:49AM
The problem is the inaction of the majority against the extremists. Some years ago, there was a mullah preaching hate, violence, murder in the largest mosque in London. This wasn't in a back-water mosque in a backwater city. This was the largest mosque in a major cosmopolitan city.
He was allowed to preach his violent message for 5 years before the police stepped in.
You can't claim to be a religion of peace while allowing the preaching of violence in your places of worship.
So, no. It's not a religion of peace, despite the many peaceful followers.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday November 14 2015, @12:35PM
And as far as I know, Westboro Baptist church is still preaching violence in the United States without anyone having stepped in to stop it. Does that mean that Christians have no claim to "religion of peace?"
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Saturday November 14 2015, @05:53PM
Remind me again when someone from the Westboro Baptist church preaches in a major church in a major city. Also, while they may advocate hate, I think that they are very careful not to advocate violence.
Summary: it's not comparable.
Also, what you are attempting is moral equivalence. It has no impact on my original claim.
(Score: 2) by Murdoc on Tuesday November 17 2015, @12:40AM
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Tuesday November 17 2015, @02:44AM
As I acknowledged, there are many peaceful Muslims. However, they are also misrepresenting their own holy book, which has clear messages on how non-believers should be treated. Yes, the earliest texts are peaceful, but later texts are not kind to non-followers of Islam.
Also, as I pointed out earlier, Islam is mostly misogynistic. It's attitudes like that which make extremism easier to promote. Just google "Trojan Horse schools" for more examples of support for extreme versions of Islam amongst large numbers of muslims.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Saturday November 14 2015, @04:52AM
And it's a deeply misogynistic religion.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Saturday November 14 2015, @12:31PM
And so are Christianity and Judaism if you go by what's in the Bible. It's OK for a father to have sex with his daughters? Really? Or, how about those orthodox Jews in Israel throwing rocks at a bus full of girls who were trying to go to school, *because they were trying to go to school*? How about Christians in the US trying to tell women what to do with their own bodies all the time?
I don't think misogyny in Islam is OK, but let's not single them out for special scorn when the other Abrahamic religions are just as guilty.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Whoever on Saturday November 14 2015, @06:03PM
Did I state that either religion is a religion of peace? As far as Christianity goes, the old testament is only quoted by those Christian sects who are confused about their own religion. As far as I know, the Catholic church doesn't consider the old testament to be authoritative (example, the Pope's recent statements about evolution), so your examples above don't apply. Again, moral equivalence.
Orthodox Jews: I don't claim that they are a religion of peace.
However, I will state again: when there is actual violence promoted in a major church in a major western city, and not just by some tiny sect in a backwater, then the same claim to be peaceful is clearly not true.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Saturday November 14 2015, @10:20PM
Did I state that either religion is a religion of peace? As far as Christianity goes, the old testament is only quoted by those Christian sects who are confused about their own religion. As far as I know, the Catholic church doesn't consider the old testament to be authoritative (example, the Pope's recent statements about evolution), so your examples above don't apply. Again, moral equivalence.
In other words, they pick and choose which bullshit they want to listen to. I guess that is good in a way, but don't pretend any of these dumb fuck theists are being even slightly consistent.
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Saturday November 14 2015, @06:40PM
And so are Christianity and Judaism if you go by what's in the Bible. It's OK for a father to have sex with his daughters?
Technically that's relying on what *isn't* in the Bible. Apparently there's debate over whether it was left out because it was "too obvious," it was a scribal error, or it actually means something. And then there was the instance [biblegateway.com] where Lot's daughters got him drunk and slept with him. Presumably they thought he wouldn't go along with it otherwise? I dunno. Lot was kind of an idiot.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incest_in_the_Bible [wikipedia.org]
How about Christians in the US trying to tell women what to do with their own bodies all the time?
The other side of that argument being "thou shalt not murder." But I'm sure you're aware of all that already.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Saturday November 14 2015, @10:27PM
The other side of that argument being "thou shalt not murder."
That argument is rather ineffective because other people usually do not reside within your body. If they do, I can kick them from my property, and if that happens to kill them, then so be it. People have a fundamental right to control their own bodies, and someone else certainly doesn't have a fundamental right to live in mine, even if they require that to live. I won't allow myself to be forced to give organs to some person who would die without them, and I won't be forced to provide living space to some person within my own body.
(Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Saturday November 14 2015, @10:24PM
It's OK for a father to have sex with his daughters?
How is that sort of incest inherently misogynist?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 14 2015, @10:24AM
Yeah how many religions of peace attack others for hearsay. Stonings, burnings, beheadings. Those acts are conducted by the everyday muslims in some contries.
There are instances of it even happening in the US. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing_in_the_United_States [wikipedia.org]
Anyone who believes its OK to stone someone to death for talking bad about Mo is someone that holds beliefs that are fundamentally incompatible with western culture. I dont have a problem with the people, I fucking hate their culture though. Your accused of stealing, there goes a hand. Accidentally blind someone, they take your eyes. Spill your Chai on the quran? Off with your head. Accused of adultury, stoning. Well for the chicks at least.
All of those actions are coming from the somewhat reasonable ones. The Saudi government does this stuff, this is being done by "allies".
Religion of peace my fucking ass. Bloodthirsty, vengeful, grudge holding, are much more apt descriptions of their religion.