The scene (top) outside the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France this morning.
At least 12 people are dead after three hooded gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs attacked the headquarters of a French satirical magazine and opened fire on journalists and police guards.
The three men – described by a police union spokesman as “commandos” – are on the run after walking into the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris’s 11th arrondissement at about midday and fleeing in a getaway car driven by a fourth.
Charlie Hebdo is a satirical magazine known for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in 2012.
“Several men in black cagoules were heard to shout ‘the Prophet has been avenged'”, wrote Pierre de Cossette, a broadcast journalist with Europe1 News.
Satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo attacked by gunmen (Guardian)
Shooting reported at Paris magazine Charlie Hebdo (Telegraph)
Previously: Anything Good In Charlie Hebdo?
Pic: International Business Times
H/T: Gavin Sheridan
Meanwhile…
Paris this evening.
so the prophet has been avenged, eh? how long before some other loony finds something else for the prophet to be p1ssed off about, i wonder..
Well, you never know, there might have been a GAA match result involved as well… Loons… Keeping bronze age mentality alive in the modern age…
you could be right – the laois accent sounds very like arabic sometimes..
Islam is from the 7th century, a long long time after the bronze age. Just sayin
yeah, but the hatred of referees by laois fans predates islam by centuries ;)
Therefore Christianity is 7 centuries ahead of it: if you look at Christianity in the Middle Ages, “we” were batsh*t too.
Irish christianity in the middle ages was at least better than its roman cousin. Plenty of what we could call progressive but the romey popey called heretical.
Its often said that when Christianity was at its most bats*it, islam was at its most enlightened. It is no coincidence that christianities batsh*tness was born out of the PTSD of the black death and constant warfare on the continent. The same can be said for islamic fundamentalism that has been growing in the mid to late 20th century out of the same sort of conflicts. Even the Irish did it during the most tumultuous periods in our history.
People are too simplistically saying this is the fault of words written in the qu’ran. It is individuals who will cherry pick their appeals to authority to back up what they would be doing anyway due to political circumstance. Every culture from islam, Christianity, zionism, american gun nuts, khmer rouge, does it at extended periods of upheaval and conflict
Well said, Jess
Religion of peace, man, religion of peace…
As all religions have claimed to be before killing people
Moral and cultural relativism is of little relevance here. Certain adherents of the faith under discussion glory in slaughtering believer and unbeliever alike.
Mm, not relevant to go on about it the religion of peace either given that its just “certain adherents of the faith” either is it?
Religion of Peace (Subject to Terms and Conditions)
Utterly abhorrent.
A perfect example of how religion leads to immoral behaviour.
Jesus….
Nah….Mohammed.
Yes, well done….
Allah Choclatebar!!
….I’m willing to bet that militant atheists were not responsible this.
Not disagreeing with you entirely but they were probably responsible for the suicide bombing in Turkey on Tuesday. Fecking Militant Atheist Far Left movements wha?
Only religion seems to make this atrocity seem like virtuous act, I’m sure the pious f*ckheads were shouting the virtues of whatever invisible man who was apparently offended whilst ending the lives of their fellow man in front of them.
Truly a horrific medieval mindset
I don’t think thats true. War in every form is portrayed as righteous and heroic by those waging it, even those that target civilians. Bomb Nagasaki or Dresden? heroic. Burn down cork? tactical. Assassinate a spy with an umbrella? All in the game yo!
Somewhere in the Midlands, a terrified Mick Flavin sets fire to his sketchbook.
huh? this guy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jn3i6iSuGc
SWOON!
No, this guy: https://www.broadsheet.ie/2014/12/31/gaeilgeoirman/
Same person.
He’s a Culchie Renaissance man. He eats his dinnerbox with a knife and fork.
Two Islamic militants, Asan and Ed, were sitting in a restaurant when the waiter said… “Mo’ ham Ed?”
I’ll get me coat.
Hope they catch these fupps.
Considering pork is haram, that joke is even worse.
I really don’t like A White Shade of Pale, I have to say.
heh
Ed said ‘No Ismael, I am going to the jacks bac-on a minute!’
It has a bad year for journalists being killed now this, it is disgusting how much people hate freedom of speech.
what else has happened in the last seven days?
Bollox my head is still on 2014 calendar.
Pretend you’re operating on the Tibetan/ Chinese calendar and you’re still in their last year.
Would it not be their current year?
See that sign over the door with the prominent ‘LIE’ ?
That’s all you need to know.
How do you mean?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lie
Huh. Every day’s a school day I guess.
Cryptic m8
That’s not the full story. Dig a little deeper.
“Charlie Hebdo” is an anagram of “Cher Hid Ebola”. So this goes way way beyond what we’re being told.
Add to that, the offices are in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_%28number%29
You are beyond the looking glass now Alice
Reverse vampires.
@ Zuppy – you are so full of it.
Zuppy knows all the real facts behind a breaking news story in a foreign country because Zuppy gets the real news and not the lies fed to us sheeple
Yes, his source being a sentient kidney bean that lives in his cutlery drawer. He feeds it nectar every day and in return it whispers the truth in his ear in a voice not unlike that of Walter Cronkite.
You’re free to tune in and follow whatever soap opera you chose to follow. If you want to make out that all the characters are real, well that’s up to you too.
I’m sure that sounded great in your head, Holden, perhaps keep your other bon mots there in your mental creche.
You mean the last three letters of the word “Charlie” that don’t have the same shine as the first 4, and match up with where the line of the neighbouring buildings are reflected in the glass?
The year is only a week old and already it’s disgusting.
+2015
It’s silly to go around shooting lads.
That’s in the Quran n all.
Sick deluded murdering animals, my thoughts go to the families who lost loved ones today for no reason that can ever be justified.
I live in the neighbourhood where this was kicking off, it understandably is going nuts. Apart from the shock of these nutters among us and the grief for the families, way to go for making every Muslim in Frances life harder. What justification for finishing off the injured policeman ? They didn’t mistake him for a journalist.
Hi Janet, no idea what to say other than best wishes to you and your neighborhood in the days to come.
Its shocking stuff.
Any news of the gunmen?
Thank you, its truely shocking. Massive manhunt now on, I truely hope they get them quickly. Place is shut down, kids stuck in school… horror on your doorstep for some idiots warped nonsense.
Stay safe Janet!
+1, look after yourself
Jesus, terrifying stuff. Stay safe.
Hope no-one decides to take the law into their own hands either, could make a bad situation worse.
There is a meet at République at 18h for a stand for freedom of press. Hopefully no drama there.
I hope these scumbags are caught and skinned alive.
I can’t imagine the French police will be too concerned with bringing them in in one piece.
+1
Don’t worry, Janet. Zuppy says it’s fine.
the halakabalakas now seem to be finished in France, soon Germany, followed by England, thank nogodd! Europe shall be saved!
up PEGIDA!
(I freakin’ love freedom of speech)
Frankly I prefer the latest updates from Fox News
me too, as we’re well aware FOX is the only fair and balanced news source in the states, bar Breitbart and Truth Revolt
I meant I prefer the updates about Foxes murdering sprees in the News. Sorry wasn’t I clear?
okay. okay, eyem gonna take a stab at what happens next:
French authorities will urge the public not to jump to any unhelpful conclusions about the identity and motivation of the killers.
Politicians, police chiefs and mainstream media reports will urge restraint over what is clearly an inexplicable rogue incident which may have nothing whatsoever to do with the Religion of Peace.
Extensive – and largely fruitless – efforts will be made to find Muslim community leaders prepared to speak out against the incident, in the unlikely event that it proves that the killers may have had Islamist sympathies.
Liberal commentators will take pains to draw a distinction between Islamism and Islam, noting that the former is a malign perversion of the latter which (apparently) explicitly forbids the murder of innocents.
whatcha bet, whatcha bet?
i’d say it’ll kick off a few more race riots and galvanize support for FN.
ah shi’ite, i forgot that one,
The BBC, The Guardian and their fellow travellers, such as Scottser, will despatch reporters to Bradford, Luton, Rotherham, Birmingham, Tower Hamlets etc with a view to proving that Islamophobic incidents have increased as a result of unfortunate events in Paris. Campaign organisation Tell Mama will confirm that this has been the case, citing the fact that there have been lots of angry tweets on Twitter.
soon i will publish my photos of abu hamza al-masri munching on a bacon sandwich and drinking buckfast outside a paddy power in birmingham.
“in the unlikely event they may have Islamist sympathies”
is that a typo or are you taking the piss?
whatcha think, huh?
This was a despicable, cowardly attack. There can be no justification. However, it is something that happens every day In the deliberately destabilised Middle East. The slaughter perpetrated by the U.S. and its allies has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, the displacement of millions and the fabric of civil society torn apart, with untold consequences for decades. The suffering of these peoples is truly horrific. The question must be asked, who has benefitted from this destabilisation?
yep, got one for that too
On a BBC youth debate programme the audience will be canvassed as to their views on the cause of the increased tensions. To a man – and regardless of whether or not they are themselves Muslim – they will blame only two factors: “foreign policy” and “Islamophobia.” A young, attractive, female Muslim on the panel will win massive applause from the audience by dissociating herself and her co-religionists from the actions of the killers, explaining that though they may have thought they were acting in the name of Islam they weren’t, actually, because they just weren’t.
So that’s OK then.
Quick….to Zuppy’s cutlery drawer!
well said Friscondo.
Well, France opposed the Iraq war, so not sure what you’re sh*teing on about there.
France were very eager to get involved in Syria in 2013 though and are taking part in the bombing campaign against ISIS now. They also have carried out campaigns against Islamist groups in Africa recently. That being said, this is really more to do with French individuals than French foreign policy. However, the vacuum within which this fanaticism flourishes has undoubtedly been created in large part by the foreign policy of western nations vis a vis Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, etc.
Do tell. My money is on the Rothschilds.
Save that money for your medication.
So it was Yanks then Friscondo?
It would be great to see publishers and individuals alike printing or even posting one of the pictures to their facebook or twitter accounts in solidarity for the people and support of freedom of expression
the satirical pics of muhammad
Christopher Hitchens got it spot on;
“god is not great….(how) religion poisons everything”.
No greater admirer of The Hitch than me but his holy roller-bothering grew more tiresome as it went along.
Righteous Indignation based on whatever crap I just read online!!!
BS nurtures BS. Go easy on the exclamation marks Mr. T.
Is it me or have broadsheet comments taken a massive step to the right lately. When are we doing the time warp?
What are you basing that on ?
Basically every thread since New Years?
Ah I’ve been out of touch, now I’m back to “work” I am sure I shall catch up..
Do not go into any of the threads on deportation of asylum seekers if you value your sanity
Oh yeah I walked away in disgust from one of those… Some true Island mentality shining through there sometimes unfortunately.
It’s not just you, there is a concerted campaign in place.
“Comments taken a massive step to the right”
So go on then “Milk Teeth” – give us the really nice leftie, hugbox version of events that we’re sadly missing here.
Zeit is just a Geist on this Insel.
FFS Broadsheet..”Meanwhile, In Paris”?
I dont see how its offensive. its for a section where they show whats going on, surely? – comic, factual, tragic, noteworthy? It is an event and its happening, they didnt make a pun or anything?
Truly the only part of this whole incident to be outraged about.
I’m sorry, I just found it flippant.
I maybe over-reacted to the headline, yesterday was a really shite day.
I live in France; since I arrived here 13 years ago, it is the journalists and cartoonists of Charlie Hebdo, amongst others, who have helped me to understand and learn about France and the French.
It is all too, too sad.
So why did this magazine deliberately choose to antagonize sections of the Islamic community in the first place? There was plenty of satire they could have picked up – say for example the decrepit Du Plantier’s pursuit of Ian Bailey to the point whereby his right to travel has been removed, or the French interventions in Central Africa and elsewhere, not to mention their role in crises after crisis in Africa undpinned by pursuit of wealth such as coltan and diamonds. They were white, whine quaffing journos appealing to bourgeois prejudice – I wonder if it were muslim of black kids killed in Marseille by French cops would they give a sh!t? Or how about anti-semitic attacks in Paris. Of course not. To be honest, if this were any other nationality I’d feel sympathy, but they’re French, arrogant, and they have a lot of questions to answer about their own society and the causes of this tragedy. Their colonialism has fed massive immigration and discontent issues in the Banlieues. We’re not all Charlie today. I am sure the Irish Times crowd will be outraged, but a few bottles of Sancerre at the next dinner party in Ranelagh and some sobstory hashtags tweeted to the likes of Lara Marlowe will see them right. All killing is wrong. Period. Not reporting all killing is also wrong. Period.
Guess who’s going to be Charlie when he grows up.
Because they chose to, as was their right. Just as when they took swipes at every other major religion.
If you had looked up their history rather than your own inbred opinion and misconceptions you might have seen that.
All very well, but being offended by cartoons and satire is also wrong. Period.
Wow …. and you have the balls to sweepingly call all the French arrogant ? Reread what you wrote if you want to hear strident arrogance and misconceptions. Do you actually know any French people ? Understand anything about the mindset and I’m not talking about some take on their culture and politics you have from your camping trip 30 years ago.