Paris (And Now Mali)(And Now Orlando)

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Well, not exactly "no one."

Man calls all Muslims terrorists during Va. meeting

Okay, except for that guy.

[cuervo72]

There's also this lady: Rhode Island state senator: Put Syrian refugees in camps - POLITICO

And this guy: Kansas official shows slides of criminals named Mohammed

[Ben E Lou]

Reports of 170 held hostage in a hotel in Bamako, Mali that is very popular with westerners. Some reports that Americans are in there. Other reports that gunmen shouted "Allahu Akbar."

[Ben E Lou]

Air France is saying that they have employees in the hotel.

[Solecismic]

Obviously, news is hard to verify at this point. Some say there are just two gunmen, others say up to ten. The hotel is American-owned, though people from many nationalities are there. About 140 of the 170 hostages are hotel guests. Rumors include one that the gunmen are releasing hostages who can quote verse from the Koran.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Obviously, news is hard to verify at this point. Some say there are just two gunmen, others say up to ten. The hotel is American-owned, though people from many nationalities are there. About 140 of the 170 hostages are hotel guests. Rumors include one that the gunmen are releasing hostages who can quote verse from the Koran.

Yup. I've seen all of these variations so far.

[Ben E Lou]

AP Report:

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Men shouting "God is great" and armed with guns and throwing grenades stormed into the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali's capital Friday morning and seized 170 hostages.

The U.S. Embassy in Mali asked citizens to shelter in place amid reports of an "ongoing active shooter operation" at the hotel in Bamako. People in the area ran for their lives along a dirt road as a soldier in full combat gear them to safety.

Malian army commander Modibo Nama Traore said 10 gunmen stormed the hotel shouting "Allahu Akbar," or "God is great," in Arabic before firing on the guards and taking hostages.

The U.S. and French embassies told their citizens in Bamako to take shelter wherever they are. China's official state Xinhua News Agency quoted a Chinese guest as saying via a mobile chat app that several Chinese were among the guests trapped at the hotel.

The Brussels-based Rezidor Hotel group that operates the hotel said the assailants have "locked in" 140 guests and 30 employees.

A staffer at the Radisson Blu hotel who gave his name as Tamba Diarra said over the phone that the attackers used grenades in the assault.

Following a military coup in 2012, Islamic extremists took control of northern Mali, prompting a French-led military intervention in early 2013 that forced the extremists from northern towns and cities, though the north remains insecure and militant attacks have extended farther south this year.

In March masked gunmen shot up a restaurant in Bamako, located in Mali's south, that is popular with foreigners, killing five people.

About 1,000 French troops remain in the country. The Netherlands also has troops working with the UN mission in Mali. According to the Dutch defense ministry, some 450 Dutch military personnel are taking part in the mission along with four Apache and three Chinook helicopters. Most of the Dutch force is based in Gao, but there are a few officers at the U.N. mission headquarters in Bamako.

While it was still unclear how many Chinese were trapped inside the hotel, China's embassy issued a warning to Chinese businesses and residents to step up safety precautions in the face of "continuous deterioration of security conditions" in Bamako. China has a long history of providing aid and investment to Mali, particularly in the areas of transport infrastructure, construction and mineral extraction.

[Ben E Lou]

30 hostages have been able to flee. 50 have been freed by special forces, and an employer (owner) of a very nearby restaurant said he heard an explosion or explosion a while ago (I think before special forces stormed the place.) I wonder if the terrorists have already blown themselves up.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

Obviously, news is hard to verify at this point. Some say there are just two gunmen, others say up to ten. The hotel is American-owned, though people from many nationalities are there. About 140 of the 170 hostages are hotel guests. Rumors include one that the gunmen are releasing hostages who can quote verse from the Koran.

Note to self...start memorizing

[Edward64]

MSNBC was reporting that there were some US government officials in the hotel. My first thought is how does it help to divulge this information? It seems stupid and could possibly endanger those hostages more.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Edward64

MSNBC was reporting that there were some US government officials in the hotel. My first thought is how does it help to divulge this information? It seems stupid and could possibly endanger those hostages more.

I saw a report of that on Twitter. It wasn't clear to me if they were staying in the hotel or if they are there in response. If the former, yeah, unless they also know that all terrorists are dead, it certainly doesn't seem to make sense to put that out there.

[Ben E Lou]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...bQ8WqPVp3CX.97

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

It wasn't clear to me if they were staying in the hotel or if they are there in response.

CNN is reporting that we have U.S. Special Forces at the hotel involve with the rescue. Hotel is saying that there are 124 employees and guests still inside.

[nilodor]

Been a crazy month, the Russian plane, Beirut, Paris, Nigeria, now Bamako. Not to mention all the crap that Muslim people are going through now. I get that people are scared, but burning Mosques, stabbing random Muslims, shouting profanities doesn't do anyone any good.

[lighthousekeeper]

Originally Posted by nilodor

Been a crazy month, the Russian plane, Beirut, Paris, Nigeria, now Bamako. Not to mention all the crap that Muslim people are going through now. I get that people are scared, but burning Mosques, stabbing random Muslims, shouting profanities doesn't do anyone any good.

on the bright side it helped us forget for a little while how much whites and blacks hate each other...

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

on the bright side it helped us forget for a little while how much whites and blacks hate each other...

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

on the bright side it helped us forget for a little while how much whites and blacks hate each other...

Mizzou Player Strike - Front Office Football Central

[Ben E Lou]

Mali hotel attack: 'No more hostages' after special forces raid - BBC News

[Ben E Lou]

Per CNN: "• [11:22 a.m. ET] Ten bodies have been found in a hall of the hotel, and attackers still are inside the building, Malian Army Col. Mamadou Coulibaly told reporters in Bamako on Friday."

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Well, not exactly "no one."

Man calls all Muslims terrorists during Va. meeting

Dumb Hicks Are America's Greatest Threat

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by whomario

They will definitely have a different perspective and less regulations (is a government allowed and/or equipped to disrupt communication channels rather than observing them ?). I could imagine them thinking about uncovering stuff or looking at it from angles the official people might not.

Or perhaps they will uncover threats that aren't particularly credible, make them public, and do nothing but scare some people into staying home.

FBI weighs in on U.S. threat reported by Anonymous - CBS News

(Sounds like the FBI was aware of this "threat" and had decided not to make it public.)

[Dutch]

Anonymous doesn't play by any rules and can report whatever they want (credible or not) while the FBI must maintain some semblance of credibility and thus...can't report everything they find publicly. It's certainly a "cry wolf" dilemma.

The fact that they both know of "some" sort of chatter about a WWE event in Atlanta is, at the very least, somewhat impressive.

[molson]

From what I've read, terrorists and wanna-be terrorists are ALWAYS talking about specific targets online. It's a way to inspire people to support the overall cause, to always be thinking about when and where they could strike, and also to take a long shot at maybe inspiring lone wolfs who might carry out their own attacks.

Edit: Though, that being said, it's too bad the WWE is now a public company, because 15 years ago Vince McMahon would have turned this all into some tasteless storyline, or maybe stormed to the ring and demanded to take on all of ISIS in a steel cage match. Though I wouldn't be shocked to see fans trying to carry in signs with pictures of Muhammad for tomorrow night's show.

[bhlloy]

That's also how ISIS can really disrupt everyday life in the west if they are smart. For all we know Brussels is a complete hoax and the entire city is on lockdown. That's another reason for them to put as much chatter out there as they can. We can only hope that our security services are smart enough to distinguish the legit threats from the chatter

[Neon_Chaos]

Originally Posted by molson

From what I've read, terrorists and wanna-be terrorists are ALWAYS talking about specific targets online. It's a way to inspire people to support the overall cause, to always be thinking about when and where they could strike, and also to take a long shot at maybe inspiring lone wolfs who might carry out their own attacks.

Edit: Though, that being said, it's too bad the WWE is now a public company, because 15 years ago Vince McMahon would have turned this all into some tasteless storyline, or maybe stormed to the ring and demanded to take on all of ISIS in a steel cage match. Though I wouldn't be shocked to see fans trying to carry in signs with pictures of Muhammad for tomorrow night's show.

Oh you mean something like Muhammad Hassan?

'Taker gets attacked by Hassan - YouTube

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

That's also how ISIS can really disrupt everyday life in the west if they are smart. For all we know Brussels is a complete hoax and the entire city is on lockdown. That's another reason for them to put as much chatter out there as they can. We can only hope that our security services are smart enough to distinguish the legit threats from the chatter

I think they are smart enough...but remember when we mocked them for trying by publishing daily threat levels? They've backed off of that because we told them that was political fear mongering.

[NobodyHere]

Fugitive from Paris attacks arrested in Brussels shootout: prosecutor

Glad they caught the bastard.

[RainMaker]

French lawmakers told Bataclan terrorists tortured, disemboweled victims | Fox News

[AENeuman]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

French lawmakers told Bataclan terrorists tortured, disemboweled victims | Fox News

Snopes disagrees with that story, but, I know, that's not really the point.

However, at the bottom of the "article" there was a MASH quiz, 30 out of 30!! So, I'm glad you posted it, regardless of its recklessness. Next time, find one with a Quantum Leap quiz please

[RainMaker]

Snopes would know more than the people who were actually there.

[JPhillips]

Indeed the people who were there would know, far better than an anonymous, single source.

Mr. President: Following the November attacks, he was referred to the commission of barbaric acts.

François Molins: It's a rumor. Forensic doctors were categorical: there was no act of barbarism, no use, including knives. According to a witness, the testicles of a victim were cut off, but no findings have corroborated it.

Mr President Fenech: For the information of the inquiry, Mr. PT, can you tell us how you learned that there had been acts of barbarism within the Bataclan: beheadings, evisceration, enucleations?

MTP: After the assault, we were with colleagues at the passage Saint-Pierre Amelot when I saw tears streaming out of the eyes of an investigator who went to vomit. He told us what he had seen. I did not know this colleague, but he was so shocked that it went to see it myself, naturally.

Alain Marsaud: Acts of torture happened on the second floor?

MTP: I think, as I entered at the ground floor I saw there no such thing had occurred, only people hit by bullets.

[EagleFan]

So cutting off a victim's testicles isn't barbarism?

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

So cutting off a victim's testicles isn't barbarism?

{insert marriage joke here}

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

So cutting off a victim's testicles isn't barbarism?

but no findings have corroborated it.

[flere-imsaho]

The battle against "don't believe everything you read on the internet" has been well and truly lost, apparently.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

but no findings have corroborated it.

What findings are needed? Unless they think someone cut off the guys jewels before being a hostage...

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

What findings are needed? Unless they think someone cut off the guys jewels before being a hostage...

They have no evidence that it actually happened other than one person saying it did. The bodies don't show anything other than gunshot wounds.

[panerd]

I'm not sure I am even following this correctly. What exactly would the French government gain by not showing the terrorists as even bigger monsters (if that is even possible)? Seems like you might lose some support from quasi supporters who hate the West but might not want to hear about cutting off genitals and poking out eyes. Guess I don't get the purpose of the supposed cover up.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Seriously, are the terrorist getting dumber (if that's possible)? You can't make this up. They capture the bomber because he's sleeping in the doorway of a bar.

Officials capture Afghan-born man sought in connection with New York, New Jersey bombings | Fox News

[JPhillips]

And apparently the pressure cooker bomb might have been accidentally disabled when two guys removed it so they could steal the suitcase it was hidden in.