A ‘Massive Security Lapse’

at

nice2nice1nice

Nice, France earlier this morning.

Commenting on the circumstances surrounding the attack, which saw a white truck loaded with weapons plow through a crowd after passing through a police barricade, Carol Davis, a witness to the attacks argued that the police could have done much more to stop the attacker.

“How did this truck come over the barricade. No car was supposed to get by that barricade. A police car could have just easily come around and stopped it, it should have stopped it,”

Truck attack death toll rises to 80 (AP)

Security here is non-existent’: Eyewitness says massive security lapse led to Nice tragedy (RT)

Pics: Getty/AP

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148 thoughts on “A ‘Massive Security Lapse’

    1. Waddy Dilson

      Please, PLEASE don’t tell me the conspiracy nutballs are on this already

      Although from the last picture I fear they might be – BIG RED CIRCLE…whats that about.

      1. Sam

        When a lunatic is driving a vehicle straight at you or other people, you’re supposed to shoot the driver… in France, he would be sitting on the left side of the vehicle. The bullet holes are on the right side of the windshield. It smacks of incompetence if nothing else.

        1. mildred st. meadowlark

          No, no. It’s a conspiracy. The French are up to something. The Swiss are in on it. And probably them lads from New Zealand, and possibly Malta too.

          I’ll be posting some mad article links to support my entirely made up argument shortly.

        2. Waddy Dilson

          I would imagine the police were to the front and right of the vehicle as they fired
          I’m glad you’re on our side Sam, security experts like you are few and far between

        3. Skeptik

          Angles. If the police were to the right of the vehicle as it passed, the bullets aimed at the driver would have entered the windshield on the right hand side.
          Presumably the police weren’t standing dead ahead as he was barrelling along the road.

          1. Sam

            Yes, I understand that it’s not straight on, but would competent security only be on one side of the road going through a crowded area?

    2. J

      @ Harry. Security lapse . I was recently at the French Open and I was rather shocked at the sheer incompetence of French security.

          1. Owen C

            I’m on it too. What gives? I may have said “bum” yesterday, but for that i have a clear conscience.

    3. Frenchfarmer

      Just a wee point…
      How do you deliver Ice Cream in a non refrigerated truck?
      Just asking like.
      My wife spotted it straight away but sadly the Gendarmes didn’t.

  1. Tony

    Can we really expect that security measures will prevent these attacks? When they can happen anywhere, with people who dont care if they die, and have random targets- its going to be very difficult to stop without a huge limitation on human movement and assembly.

    1. ivan

      nail/head, sadly.

      The irony is that politicians etc say that terrorists will never win etc, but really, if you were to implement every security protocol necessary to have even half a chance of stopping these kind of attacks, the limitations on personal liberty etc would mean that, in a sense, the terrorists *do* win.

    2. Harry Molloy

      The scary thing is that it was just one man and any truck.

      Security forces are getting better and better at detecting movements of arms and bomb making materials, but there are other ways to cause mass destruction as we have just seen.

      It’s something that often flashes is my mind if I’m on all crowded tube platform in London, just takes all couple of lads to start pushing…

      1. B Hewson

        Low tech terrorism. It can never be completely eradicated but the number of attacks and frequency can be reduced by being way tougher on criminals.

        Why was this guy with his history able to rent a truck? He should have to wear a tag and have his license endorsed. He is a known violent criminal. Why does our society accept violent criminals being released from prison and given equal rights. Answers on a file being sent to the DPP.

        1. Owen C

          I’ve always been surprised that Al Qaeda never just turned up in a shopping mall in Oklahoma with a few machine guns (which it seems ISIS is actually somewhat doing). Low tech/low complexity has better chance of actually being executed, as opposed to complicated airport plots etc.

          1. Tony

            I also thought the same about Tullamore, Cavan or any town in Ireland. escape doesn’t worry them so its impossible to predict or prevent.

    1. some old queen

      RT have their own agenda and part of it is covering stuff most others won’t. That does not mean what they broadcast is in anyway more or less fact, just another angle.

  2. babylonzoo4ever

    How about this?
    the security lapse was letting so many north africans into france in the first place.

    1. Tish Mahorey

      Comments like this are the reason I tell people everyone should do at least a year or two of history before any other qualification so they don’t make really ignorant observations based on whatever they saw in Sky News in the last 24 hrs.

      1. B Hewson

        Who is this ‘you’ ? They want to kill people like us for being who we are. Stop blaming ‘me’.

        1. Harry Molloy

          I’m saying that’s why there are so many north Africans in France, because France went and colonized all those countries

    2. Condescending nana

      precisely, love it or grfo, way too many arab sleazebags in France, moaning like there’s no tomorrow, go back to your subhuman hell holes, you ungrateful bums.

    3. phil

      @ babylonzoo4ever, If you want to understand how the French have got to where they are read up on ‘françafrique’ ….

      1. The Real Jane

        Read up? Are you kidding? When he can just make some racist generalisations without having to know anything?

      1. Frunobulax

        They’re not real. Peddling downright diversionary untruths on this thread. The one at 0.55 couldn’t have come from a scary immigrant. They’d have to be at least three metres tall for all that colon action.

    4. realPolithicks

      I think that you will find these “north africans” as you put it are actually citizens of France.

        1. Jonjo

          Oh, if people are being taken out of moderation jail, can I be taken out too? I had one ‘infringement’.

          I think it was because I asked Niall Murphy why he doesn’t allow comments on his cartoons. I’m sorry.

          I miss some cracking first replies because I’m waiting for a mod to approve my comment :-(

          1. Anne

            I think if you’re sorry, and you won’t ask Niall any more questions again, they should take you off the naughty list, in fairness.

          1. Waddy Dilson

            I hadn’t been in it, I’ve just gotten chucked in this morning and I don’t think I said anything offensive today :o/

          2. Caroline

            Take it easy everyone. I’m being moderated, and I never do anything but speak the truth with restraint, insight and empathy. This must be a blanket restriction, there’s no other explanation.

        2. Starina

          I’m in mod jail, too. poooooooo. maybe they’re blacklisting everyone who has slagged LJG

          1. Maria

            I’m in mod Hell …….. very demotivating ……. need to clean up my sarcastic comments …… oh well, pigs will fly :)

  3. Owen

    Horrible event, and not the time to point fingers.

    From other images it would appear that police were standing on the left of the front of the truck while shooting, which explains that all the shots are on one side of the window. They were shot at an angle, not from standing in front of the truck.

    1. Al

      “Horrible event, and not the time to point fingers.”

      We will wait until right before the next one then? Let me know how that works out for you.

    2. Kieran NYC

      This is what happened. There was a picture on The Guardian of four officers with long rifles to the left of the truck taking cover behind a tree.

      But no. Yet more Broadsheet ‘false flag’ implication nonsense.

  4. Condescending nana

    get the bombers up, hammer down on these subhuman vermin until there is only glass left in Raqqa and all these other pooholes. Run Syria and Iraq like proper countries, simples.

    1. The Real Jane

      Syria and Iraq, those well known Tunisian provinces.

      You geographically, historically and any-other-kind-of-knowledgeally challenged buffoon.

  5. stephen

    “A police car could have just easily come around and stopped it, it should have stopped it”

    Maybe I’m misunderstanding what she is trying to say here but a truck could easily just keep driving over or through any normal sized car.

    1. B Hewson

      Exactly. These YouTubing youngsters have probably never even seem a Bruce Willis movie!

  6. jambon

    Is there anything to be said for a quickly fired off illustration of a French person (holding onions?) crying (not because of the onions) and the word Nice and some blood, posted on social media? Or just a French flag, posted on our social media? Or perhaps a pointless hashtag, like #canwealljustbeNicetoeachother? Surely this can help, if enough people do it?

    1. Waddy Dilson

      I’ve already changed my FB profile pic to me doing a peace sign, duck face with a baguette and it’s tinted to blue white and red….totes emosh babes

    2. Caroline

      Maybe a Marianne, but with a tear running down her face, but the tear is blood, pan out and she’s crying because she has to put a muslimy veil on now, pan out further and the Eiffel Tower has turned its back on her, and the Eiffel Tower is covered in onions (optional?).

      1. jambon

        That almost works, but I think it needs a little more … cynical opportunism … or je ne sais quoi … I’m not sure, one of those. And possibly more onions.

        1. Caroline

          The Statue of Liberty has her arm around her and is saying “Hate ta say it but I told ya so hun”

  7. Scundered

    The sooner our world has autonomous vehicles the better, or at least for those capable of doing a lot of damage and which are hard to stop when you have a nutjob at the wheel.

    Sickening to think how anyone could even contemplate doing that.

  8. john

    sounds like security was pretty poor at the Euros as well. If this is state of emergency levels of security who knows what will happen when they step it down.

  9. Smashmouth

    Perversely, if everyone ignored these events on social media the objective of the attackers would be diluted somewhat

    1. Nigel

      Pay attention to stuff happening in the world, ignore stuff happening in the world. A lose/lose proposition?

      1. Smashmouth

        Im just saying that the amount of negative news coverage/social media coverage these idiots are given the more people they influence and the more fear they spread

        The whole way the west prepares, anticipates and reacts to these events needs to be overhauled dramatically

        1. Nigel

          I think it’s really important that security services get their act together, but also that some sort of proper international effort is made to bring peace and stability in the Middle East. There seems to be an incredible reluctance to do anything meaningful that isn’t some sort of military intervention. Social media is probably significant in allowing terrorists to communicate and recruit. I’d doubt regular people sharing stuff makes much of a difference, though maybe there’s data out there that says otherwise.

  10. Junkface

    The horror of the whole thing unfolding last night made me feel sick. How the hell did this happen so easily? I thought that if they close off a street for a carnival type thing that they would have concrete barriers on either end, or at least a few police vans. An awful waste of innocent lives.

    Religious fanatics/ extremists of all types are ruining the modern world.

      1. M

        No Bodger, ye are not alone.

        It really baffles me that after everything that has happened in the past 15 years
        and after we have seen evidence over and over again of terrorist attacks being
        staged to be blamed on Muslims that people are still buying this nonsense.

        Better yet, they are outraged at anybody holding that view. Remarkable.

    1. Liam Deliverance

      Zuppy, Bodger, M – To be clear, you believe this incident in Nice was staged?

        1. Zuppy International

          Liam Deliverance, to answer your question: Yes, this is (another) staged event.

          Two details are buried in the coverage: 1) France’s “state of emergency” will continue for a further three months. 2) France will continue to bomb Syria and Iraq.

          [Dόn ‘The Unstoppable Force’ Pídgéόní has already made the obligatory “tin-foil-hat” comment so if you’re now going to start insulting me for answering you truthfully, at least be original. You should be aware however, that I won’t be commenting any further on this matter. These things are tiresome and predictable.]

          1. Yep

            Have you looked at the footage Zuppy? I haven’t gone in depth but it looks like hundreds o people are in on this staged event? If the Irish guy who was injured ends up on the news (hopefully) and it turns out you studied with his brother would that make you believe it?

            Some Irish bloke on Six One now….Is he an actor?

          2. M

            Yep, it is possible for dozens of people to be killed and it still be a staged terrorist attack. There’s no contradiction there. In the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s there were hundreds of terrorist attacks all across Europe blamed on pseudo terrorist organisations like the Baader Meinhof and the Red Brigades. In the early 1990’s it was ADMITTED that these had actually been the work of NATO under an Operation called Gladio. This is acknowledged history.

            I think I speak for Bodger and Zuppy when I say what we have seen over the last decade is a new version of Gladio where Muslims are the targets rather than communists.

          3. groff

            M, it’s more convincing when you don’t stretch the available information to suit your views. It is absolutely not a case of “acknowledged history” that NATO was responsible for the terrorist attacks during that period. The acknowledged history is that anti soviet guerrilla sleeper units such as Gladio (the Italian unit) were in existence in many Western countries during the Cold War at a time when invasion looked possible. The only person who thought they were being used by NATO for terror and false flag operations was Daniele Ganser who wrote a book much beloved of conspiracy theorists to the that effect by crossing their existence with the Westmoreland “Field Manual.”

          4. Liam Deliverance

            @ Zuppy – Thanks for your answer and sorry I was not able to respond earlier when I originally posted my question, I had to go out. I am not one for getting into pointless back and forth arguments online and I would consider myself open minded and would initially believe anything is possible before giving it some deep thought and testing the theory first. That is why I posed the question as opposed to attacking with tin foil hat rhetoric. To answer M’s question below I am aware of staged terrorist attacks in the past but to be honest I would find it hard to believe that is the case here but would also say that staged terrorist attacks would not be my specialised subject on Mastermind. The two details that you refered to, continuing the state of the emergency in France and bombing sorties in Iraq and Syria, are you saying that Nice happened to justify continuing those two operations? Are they the sole reasons for Nice or is there other angles?

            Thanks M for your reply also, it would have been good to hear from Bodger too.

        2. Steph Pinker

          History should never be ‘acknowledged’ because it can never be definitive; it has, and only ever will be based on facts which are legitimised in accordance with the evidence presented to substantiate the subjective opinion of those who write it/ use it/ abuse it/ revise it, or, who just disagree to suit their own ideology. The ability to think independently, analyse and critically think for oneself is something most people can’t do; people seem to think that posing a contrarian point of view or argument is the same as analysis and critical thinking. Unfortunately, that is when cynicism sneaks in, on the back of ignorance.

          1. M

            Groff, I’m sorry, but to say that Daniel Ganser is some kind of rogue academic on this point is way off base. Like, way. This is the official condemnation by the EU Parliament in 1990 for God’s sake:

            A. having regard to the revelation by several European governments of the existence for 40 years of a clandestine parallel intelligence and armed operations organization in several Member States of the Community,

            B. whereas for over 40 years this organization has escaped all democratic controls and has been run by the secret services of the states concerned in collaboration with NATO,

            C. fearing the danger that such clandestine network may have interfered illegally in the internal political affairs of Member States or may still do so,

            D. whereas in certain Member States military secret services (or uncontrolled branches thereof) were involved in serious cases of TERRORISM and crime as evidenced by, various judicial inquiries,

            E. whereas these organizations operated and continue to operate completely outside the law.

            https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/European_Parliament_resolution_on_Gladio

      1. M

        Liam, it would be helpful if you would state whether you believe there has EVER been a staged terrorist attack anytime anywhere in the past 50 years.

        If you don’t think there has EVER been such a thing then there really isn’t much point in debating the relative merits of this case. Conversely, if you agree that such things have indeed happened in the past then at least then we have a basis on which to discuss this particular one. Over to you.

    2. Harry Molloy

      I just listened to two minutes of that (that I won’t get back .
      it consists of any guy who woke up this morning, saw the headlines and immediately said it was fake, and that it was all made up then looked for evidence to support it. Which I doubt he found.
      He already had his mind made up, I thought conspiracy theorists were meant to have an open mind?
      I think it’s an load of crap but maybe I’m more stupid for even looking and responding.

      you must get serious slagging in the office B.

  11. Dolores Delorean

    Stampede of comments about ‘how’ ‘why’ ‘oil’ ‘middle east’ ‘george bush’, ‘tony blair’ etc to distract us from the horrible thought that such evil, ignorant, moronic people live amongst us and are given the means to do bad things – dwell on this and mourn – and then utter your theories with what you have left

    1. Waddy Dilson

      Where are the “oil, bush, blair” comments?
      The how and why comments are absobloodylutely justifiable!!

    2. petey

      i agree: bush and blair are evil, ignorant, moronic people. the real security lapse was letting tbem into the middle east.

  12. Tish Mahorey

    Hypothesize all you like. Until the cause of terrorism is addressed, it will never end.

    It is usually born out of decades of inequality, lack of justice, denial of basic rights and alienation from centres of power and influence.

    Most terrorism in France is not rooted in islamic fundamentalism. It is disaffected Muslim youth who happen to be the majority of working poor in France. They see ISIS and are taken in by their righteous propaganda and brainwashed into believing they are young Muslim men who have taken control of their destiny.

    It’s a sham of course but if ISIS didn’t exist, the terrorism we see today would be expressed through mass rioting and occasional one man massacres.

    The black flag gives them the notion of something to rally around that they can identify with and calls to them.

    People need to smarten up about why all this horror happens so we can start to end it.

    1. B Hewson

      I somewhat agree with these as causes, but think it is too simplistic. But the horse has bolted. It’s like looking at the reasons Nazi Germany cake about. It’s a sick ideology. ISIS are evil. Focusing on the cause now doesn’t matter as much as eradication of them problem. Stop monitoring these dangerous young men and start rounding them up and putting them away for a long time. The laws need to be amended to support this. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Time for action. I’m sick of these C***S

      1. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

        *facepalm*

        Doing exactly that IS a cause of the problem

      2. manonfire

        did hardwicke and striked sack you barbara? why the hatemongering here all of a sudden??

    2. Harry Molloy

      But how is the key question? changed our society to facilitate ideals from the Koran? because that’s not right either.

      I’m not disagreeing with you btw, France has horrendous social problems, I have worked with French of sub Saharan and north African descent, in Dublin,, who said that they wouldn’t have got the opportunities they have here at home in France due to their ethnicity

  13. Twunt

    Bodger you continuously try to make these out to be false flag attacks or question if they really happened.
    You really are a contemptible male member. Go fupp yourself.

  14. some old queen

    What I really don’t understand is this term ‘radicalised’. What does it mean?

    Someone was radicalised on the internet. How? Is it some sort of subliminal messaging or brainwashing that only triggers in people of Muslim backgrounds? I just don’t get it.

    What makes someone drop everything and go out and kill as many people as possible, including themselves?

    1. some old queen

      OHhh I am being moderated again. I quite like being moderated, especially with handcuffs.

        1. Bodger

          Sorry all. No one is being moderated. It’s an internal glitch we’re attempting to sort out.

  15. jimmy russell

    europe needs to realize that this is the new normal, we need to accept that large groups of people will be killed on a more regular basis from now on and just get on with it as a part of life. the real fight is against islamaphobia and people who question immigration and security policeis. we need to be even more tolerant from now on because even though these people are not representing islam if we further upset muslims they will kill us and it will be our own fault.

      1. MoyestWithExcitement

        Defo. I thought he was using sarcasm to rip on liberals/lefitsts but then he had a go at “gaysexuals” once so he might be parodying the other side. I dunno.

      2. Kieran NYC

        He’s been trolling like that for a while now.

        This site has gotten really, really tedious.

  16. Dolores Delorean

    ‘radicalised’ is a word that is used – usually in conjunction with ‘deprived’ – and refers to idiots who, as a result of watching people on television live glamorous lives which they compare to their own, decide to abandon all human decency and harm others because they want an iPhone on earth and fupp virgins in a place that doesn’t exist – this is often caused by too much exposure to social media without the intelligence to discern what’s real and what’s not. Often caused by not having received a good slap early enough in life

    1. The Real Jane

      Beware of people who have nothing to lose.

      I imagine the actual problem isn’t that different to what makes some Americans commit spree shootings. In both cases, you’re basically talking about a loser who is bitter and resentful and wants people to pay. Culturally, the lone avenger may appeal more to Americans whereas finding common purpose in a nihilistic gang united under a common flag might find more resonance in Europe.

      Ultimately, there is little the French police can do to stop someone driving a truck into a group of people. They probably could have secured this area better last night, but how are they going to stop someone driving into a crowded shopping street? You could stop petty criminals getting driving licences, but how can you stop them robbing a van? Security measures seem pointless as a first and last resort because of the variety of ways in which a disaffected individual can take any item available and do dreadful damage very quickly.

    1. Deluded

      … between the second and third photos I count at least 8, including on the side of the windscreen where it curves back. Given the seating position in the cab then shooting from the ground or while on one knee makes these quite accurate. Shots from the right of the truck and where the driver is ducking down behind the dashboard will strike the passenger side.

      With hindsight this appears to have been the work of an angry and deluded non-religious individual. (eg https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster or http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/02/02/national/crime-legal/death-sentence-confirmed-akihabara-rampage-killer/#.V4nU3tm9Kc1as opposed to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Tigers_of_Tamil_Eelam who are credited with developing some of the now horribly familiar terrorist tactics and were nominally Hindu but generally secular if not atheist)

      There are conspiracies, we know that. Tobacco, asbestos, leaded petrol (still in production), DDT, CFCs, mercury poisoning*, acid rain: thousands of people with complicit administrations and wilfull ignorance. It is easy to see how some people can warp their actions to their own ideology. Operations “Gladio” and “Northwoods” have been mentioned, the idea that a “Western” nation would engage in such mendacity was an idea I first came across in Paddy Wordsworth’s “Dirty War, Clean Hands”.
      I don’t think, at this early stage, that this act was an example of any of the things, religious or illuminatious, in the comments here. By extension, what do the actions of the IRA have to say about Irish ideology?

      *https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease
      http://www.kildare.ie/ehistory/2007/06/athy_asbestos_factory_official.asp

  17. rotide

    All the ‘this site is has gotten really bad etc etc’ comments point to one thing.

    How can you expect to have any sort of rational conversation about anything at all when the main contributor to the site is either a blind lunatic who believes these things are staged or a troll who cares so little about his supposeedly left leaning base that he will troll using tradgedies repeatadly.

    F you see kay you bodger.

    You’re an icehole.

    1. Steph Pinker

      Rotide, I have a serious question here which is in the context of the description given by the eye-witness (Carol), and some of the comments made regarding a conspiracy, because I don’t understand yours and others’ comments: what is the conspiracy that Bodger is [supposedly] a covert advocate of? Has it got to do with Carol’s opinion that the French police didn’t do enough which was a deliberate act on the governments behalf? Or, is it as you say, that Bodger doesn’t believe the attacks actually happened – even though it’s being/ has been reported internationally since last night? I’m genuinely curious; I don’t visit BS every day so obviously I’ve missed something.

      1. rotide

        Bodger doesn’t believe the sandy hook shootings happened and has published conspiracy videos relating to most of the other atrocities committed over the past few years.

        1. Anne

          What else does Bodger believe?
          Does Bodger believe in a god? Does Bodger believe in the tooth fairy? Look into your tea-leaves there Septic Peg and tell us what else Bodger believes.

          Rotsey knows what people believe and what their inferring even when it’s exact transcripts of conversations.. dont cha Rotsey.

        2. Steph Pinker

          I didn’t know that and thanks for the explanation, obviously you’re not alone in your interpretation as per some of the other comments, and I’m not talking about consensus/ groupthink – I’m just sorry I missed the craic :(

          1. babylonzoo4ever

            people who engage in conspiracy theories often suffer from an underlying mental illness.

          2. Anne

            @ babylonzoo4ever

            I explained what conspiracies were to Rotsey here, when he was on about conspiracies in relation to a post from Michael Taft…. Michael Taft like. The well respected economist.

            https://www.broadsheet.ie/2016/03/30/a-jilted-generation/#comment-1591352

            Here, “A conspiracy is an agreement by two or more people to commit an illegal or subversive act. Do you think that’s not common is it?”

            But anyway, conspiracy is quite common.. go look up some tribunal reports if you’re not convinced… Come back when you’ve read them all. Take your time.. no rush.

          3. babylonzoo4ever

            @ Anne
            I meant people who see conspiracies everywhere.
            they`re called paranoids.
            btw your passive aggressive patronising tone is SUCH a turnoff.

    2. M

      Paraphrasing Rotide: “How can you expect to have any sort of rational conversation about anything at all when people simply refuse to believe the people who have lied to us repeatedly over the years?”

      Wonderful logic.

  18. Frenchfarmer

    Just a wee point…
    How do you deliver Ice Cream in a non refrigerated truck?
    Just asking like.
    My wife spotted it straight away but sadly the Gendarmes didn’t.

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