Terror Attack: 130 Dead in Paris

[Montmorency]

Interestingly, Hollande's reactions may all be part of a confrontation between Merkel (i.e. Germany) in her insistence on a narrowly-utilitarian domestic and foreign policy for Europe - and more generally over France's role in the leadership of Europe.

It is true that Obama has basically ruled out participation in a ground coalition, and that both France and the US are still eager to sell weapons to the Saudis without criticism, so the one real political goal at stake here may well be a reassertion of France's leading role in the politics of Europe, uncharacteristically-muted as it has been over the past generations. After all, if Germany has managed to push through past all the many grumblings on its periphery, then France has to present an alternative in the one place where Germany refuses to: the military. Thus, Hollande proclaims that he will fund military ventures against ISIS (and beyond) regardless of violations of Euro-zone fiscal and monetary rules, and urges as many other European countries to join him in doing so. Reaching out to the US and Russia simultaneously is an indicator of how serious he is.

I wonder, then, if Obama is taking a Merkelian stance by refusing to join in, keeping faith in Germany to hold Europe together, holding out on disrupting relations with Saudi Arabia (even though he has clearly wanted to make a partnership with Iran)...

Regardless, Hollande is forcing many countries, including those more powerful than his own, to make some hard choices.

[Viking]

#JeSuisChien, the latest sign racist westerners care more about dead dogs than dead humans



The Onion should hire this guy. Salon delivers again.

Now excuse me while I go and write an angry article about all the people who died of gangrene this week, and whose stories didn't make it to international media.

[Montmorency]

#JeSuisChien, the latest sign racist westerners care more about dead dogs than dead humans



The Onion should hire this guy. Salon delivers again.

Now excuse me while I go and write an angry article about all the people who died of gangrene this week, and whose stories didn't make it to international media.

Even so, the incidental point of the article still stands: there is a funny disproportion in how popular sentiment manifests vis-a-vis humans coming to harm and other mammals (especially cat-dogs) coming to harm.

[AE Bravo]

I dunno. Maybe animals dying is more saddening at this point.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I would say it has to do with the perception that animals are innocent and helpless - like children.

[Papewaio]

I'm I do find it interesting that France is calling this an act of war and there first response was to bomb ISIS.

Something they have been doing since September.

At what point do us Western nations expected that bombing opponents was risk free?

Yes we prioritize military targets and have a euphemism for civilians that get in the way of collateral damage.

Yes the terrorists attack soft targets first which in general are the same civilians who are big as collateral damage.

But that is what guerrilla warfare is. And it is not such a big leap to understand that the move from countryside to urban conflict is because that is where the populations have moved. As of this century we now live in a world where over half of the population is urban based.

So asymmetric warfare is going to follow the population, it is going to go for the easiest most high publicity events. Olympic Games has been done, more sports events to follow.

[HopAlongBunny]

Military solutions appear to be no win.
USA or allies do drone strikes=> ISIS: "See? We told you THEY are out to kill US"
USA or allies occupy ISIS territories=> "THEY have occupied our lands, we shall never be free unless we kill them all!"
Every military action results in grist for the propaganda mill.

If the impetus for the removal of ISIS does not come from within the area, I think it is ultimately doomed to fail.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Mass graves of older Yazidi women: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/wom...-fighting.html

According to IS the Yazadi are devil worshippers (they aren't, they're a minor monotheistic group who worship what is theoretically the same God as the Jews, Christians and Muslims).

Anyway, IS has been using the younger women as sex slaves - which is both horrible and a sign of their disjointed thinking, giving their fighters these "non human" devil worshippers seems decidedly dangerous from here.

Lest we forget, for all that IS are happy to attack fellow Muslims the real horrors are reserved for the minority faiths who have lived mostly unmolested for centuries.

[Fragony]

Military solutions appear to be no win.
USA or allies do drone strikes=> ISIS: "See? We told you THEY are out to kill US"
USA or allies occupy ISIS territories=> "THEY have occupied our lands, we shall never be free unless we kill them all!"
Every military action results in grist for the propaganda mill.

If the impetus for the removal of ISIS does not come from within the area, I think it is ultimately doomed to fail.

Depends on how hard you go in I think. But the state itself isn't a threat, but IS traveling to Europe is, nobody knows who's who