Yes, but Belgium doesn’t.
I lived in Belgium a few decades ago and there was a store I always passed by in Brussels with some very serious looking pistols and military looking rifles in the shop window. There is also a strong hunting culture in the south.
@albert69 That’s not what Cardinal Fang said. He just pointed out the (for lack of better term) double standard of calling terrorists who say they are Muslims “Islamic terrorists” while not applying naming conventions to terrorists who identify with other religions. It may sound insignificant, but this is how you turn people against a certain subgroup. Hitler employed the same methods in his propganda against Jews (and by others throughout history). If you’ve noticed, the first possibility that pops into most people’s minds when an attack happens nowadays is “Muslims”, although statistics show that only a small percentage of all terrorist attacks are perpetrated in the name of Islam. So, you see, it is a very effective method of inciting hatred against a certain group.
I’ve been reading, here and elsewhere, lots of interesting suggestions on solutions to the terror problem. The main point of disagreement seems to be how many years in the past the solution should be applied.
@MYOS1634 I agree!! You know, I have to hand it to the French. They dealt with the crisis much better than I expected. Also, there were no crazy gunmen out to “kill all the muslims” the day after the attack. @Hunt Lol
My child who goes to school in DC is freaking out, since ISIS has said DC is being targeted.
^^Tell your kid to get a grip. DC has been targeted for decades. I’m more afraid of the idiot drivers around here than any ISIS terrorist.
Apparently, the Syrian passport didn’t indicate the identity of the terrorist. It was a fake/a copy. The “real” passport has been found (presumably, along with the person it belongs to!)
Yes, France has very strict gun control. That’s why very very few people die from shootings there. When a criminal shoots another one, it makes headlines because it’s that rare (as far as I can tell, it’s a Marseille specialty). Everyone’s trying to grasp the concept of having an automatic weapon, driving a car, and shooting at the same time. There’s not even a word for it in the language.
The Je suis Charlie black rectangle has been turned into Je suis En Terrasse ( ie., in front of a café or restaurant, on the pavement - like the drive by victims were.)
News update:
Lassana Diarra, from the national soccer team that was playing when some of the bombs exploded outside the stadium, has lost his cousin in the attacks. He won’t be playing against England. Prince William will be at the game in solidarity with France. British policemen will exceptionally be allowed to carry weapons.
104 people are on house arrest and 23 were arrested.
Pictures from France:
http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/terrorisme/attaques-du-13-novembre-a-paris/le-policier-s-est-ecarte-puis-il-est-tombe-dans-les-bras-de-son-collegue_1178517.html
http://hanslucas.com/bfilarski/photo/5226
All schools today had a minute of silence. Then teachers were invited to have students discuss their feelings and express their questions. Primary schools had children draw. Those are drawings by Lucie, Antton, Iban, Julie, Léa, Paxti, Romain, Sijaygja, Imen, Cyrielle, Eline, Jade, Tristan, Antoine, Capucine, Doriane, Elisa, Nolane…
http://www.francetvinfo.fr/faits-divers/terrorisme/attaques-du-13-novembre-a-paris/en-images-les-dessins-des-ecoliers-apres-les-attentats_1178463.html
Maybe this is too simplistic but isn’t the term “Islamist terrorist” utilized because they are usually acting in the name of Islam? Certain terrorists have relied on particular interpretations of the Quran, actually citing these scriptures to justify violent tactics. Aren’t there often shouts of “Allahu Akbar” during this violence?
In response to "Yes, but Belgium doesn’t. "
Just as the previous statements about immigrants’ well-being in Belgium were erroneous, I am afraid this is also quite incorrect. In fact, Belgium has some of the stricter laws in terms of ownership of permissible guns. Laws existed before but dated from the 1933. The political system of Belgium and the EU rules constituted a hodgepodge of laws that were finally streamlined between 1990 and 2006, and notably after a couple of violent shootings in Brabant and Antwerp provinces (that still pales with the situation in the US.)
For reference, here is an excerpt of the current law: * This makes the law of 2006 considerably stricter than its
predecessor. Furthermore, as prescribed by the European Firearms Directive, the new law introduced
the principle of the ‘good cause’ for gun ownership. This principle constitutes one of the fundamental
principles of the law because it strictly limits gun ownership to those persons who can prove they need
their guns for specific purposes. These causes are explicitly listed in the law: hunting, sports and
recreational shooting, collecting, participating in historical, cultural of scientific activities, practising a
“risk profession”, and personal protectionI. Importantly, the law of 2006 also lists a series of criteria that
have to be fulfilled before a license can be obtained, such as not having been convicted for certain
crimes, not having been interned as a mentally ill person, presenting a medical certificate proving
mental and physical fitness, and succeeding in theoretical and practical tests. In addition, local police
forces assess all applications for authorizations, and adults living with the applicant must attest that they
approve of having a gun in their household. Other important stipulations in the Belgian weapons act
concern rules for the sale and purchase, the marking and registering, and the safe storage and
transportation of firearms. *
Astute observers should consider the differences between the trade and possession of antique and hunting rifles (think Browning, a pride of Belgium ) and the assault weapons that are traded illegally in Belgium and throughout Western Europe. There are no differences in getting an assault weapon in Belgium or France or Spain or Germany.
The amount of misinformation about Europe in the US is both fascinating and deplorable when google is ubiquitous,
“I know plenty of examples of terrorists who aren’t radical islamists. Christians who bomb abortion clinics? The rampaging Buddhist monks killing women and children in Myanmar?”
You are absolutely correct and all terrorists should be denounced from who they are. It just happens that some seem to have a visceral problem of doing so, and this despite being placed at the apex of the free world.
Radical islamists are hardly the sole terrorists in the world, but they surely represent one of the most recognizable threats to the civilized world.
Yup. That’s why it’s not ambiguous.
If I were to commit a crime and scream “Jesus Christ is Risen Today and You Must Follow Him” then you should call me a Christian terrorist.
What matters is who committed the act we are currently discussing, which was a group of Islamists in further of their religious ideology. If this was the only act of terror that any such group ever committed, they would still be Islamic terrorists.
@NoVADad99 Your snide reply was unnecessary. Of course adults know that DC has been a target for years.However, I can understand my child being concerned, being that she is a teenager, and she has never been near what was deemed a plausible target. Well I take that back she has been to Paris, and London. Anyhoo., you sprinkle that with social media, yes, you can have a teenager freaking out a bit. Its not like she is hysterical, I didnt mean she was literally freaking out. smdh
Emphatically yes. And it might appear in some fashion here. And like Muslims, I find it outrageous when my faith is corrupted and am first in line to complain about it. Why is that even a question? Do those of you who have a problem with the label not know or not distinguish between Islamists/Islamic terrorists and Muslims? Because those of us who know Muslims never confuse the two and aren’t afraid to note the difference.
They’re just words. Ones that carry spiritual significance to some, but words nonetheless. I can yell “Jesus Christ” at the top of my lungs, doesn’t mean I’m Christian or believe in the Holy Trinity. This is just another way to further drive the “us vs. them” mentality. The muslim call for prayer has those same words repeated multiple times. Don’t let the fear get to you.
@partyof5 As a DC area resident, I refuse to go nuts everytime someone says they want to do something to us. I was in the Pentagon on 9/11 so I don’t need to be lectured to. You as the parent need to tell your teenager that the chances of something happening to him or her is extremely low and to keep it in perspective.
partyof5, I was in Manhattan on 9/11 and work in Times Square which was nearly hit a second time. Any sane person should be afraid. Should they quit living? No, but the only people who don’t have a seed of fear in their brains are either fools or liars, or they don’t live and work in high-value target areas. I don’t wish anyone to die in an attack and I also don’t wish anyone to live through an attack because it is a little bit of hell on earth forever after.
Your daughter, I’m sure, understands that the area is a target and if the attack comes, it will be an act of fate whether she lives or dies, and whether she has to live with the aftermath. Of course everyone knows that, but it makes some people feel better about themselves to mock others’ very valid fears.
I lived through 9/11 and the DC sniper. I have a low threshhold for drama.
Interesting how this simple distinction is difficult for some.
“My child who goes to school in DC is freaking out, since ISIS has said DC is being targeted.”
Any major city is a potential target for terrorism - as is any minor city (think Oklahoma City). It’s not as though DC just started being a major target two days ago with these Paris attacks. That’s the price of living in an exciting urban environment.