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Terrorist strike in Paris
By: Cecil St.Cyr 1/9/15
On January 6, 2015, the world was shocked to learn about the events of the terrorists attack on Paris, France. The prime suspects, the Kouachi brothers, are known terrorists who are actually on the No Fly list, as well as the terrorist watch list, attacked a Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical weekly newspaper. Twelve people were killed that day, including four of France’s most famous cartoonists, known by their pen names of Cabu, Wolinski, Honore and Tignous. The reason these cartoonists from Charlie Hebdo were targeted was to exact revenge for the Muslim culture for the spoof cartoon they created on the prophet Muhammad.
The reasoning for this attack against Charlie Hebdo artists who satirized the prophet Muhammad is actually a controversial topic. The reason for this tragedy being controversial is that during the process of exacting revenge for the Muslim culture, the Kouachi brothers actually killed a man of Muslim descent. Ahmed Merabet, age 42, was present near the scene of this horrific event, and took it upon himself to stop the Kouachi brothers. However, his efforts were in vain as he was heavily outgunned. As he was shot on the side of his left leg as he fell to the sidewalk. As one of the gunman run up to Merabet, Merabet puts his hands up as a sign of surrender. The gunman asked Merabet “Do you want to kill me?”, as Merabet responded with “No, it’s okay chief”. However, even though Merabet was no longer a threat, the other gunman walked up to him, and proceeded to shoot him in the head (James Edwards). For his bravery, France as a whole has recognized Merabet as a hero, giving him praise and rise to the booming phrase “JeSuisCharlie”, which means “I Am Charlie”. This phrase was created by the French public in order to show support for Merabet, as well as all the victims killed during this tragic attack, even taking form in most social medias with a hashtag
However, the terrorist attacks performed by the Kouachi brothers would not go unanswered, as the French Parliament carried out a series of raids in order to apprehend the suspects. The Kouachi brothers were apprehended and killed in Dammartin-en-Goele,January 9th 2015, where they had held up a print shop. Before 5 a.m. had hit that day, “ gunshots and at least three large explosions pierced the relative silence” (Greg Botelho). Word spread quickly that the Islamic extremists had met their end, as well as the current mayor of Othis, Bernard Corneille, was able to escape after taking refuge in the same building. At around the same time, another raid was being carried out near Paris’ Porte de Vincennes, 25 miles away at a French Kosher store. Two suspects who are believed to be in the same terror cell as the Kouachi brothers, Hayat Boumediene and Amedy Coulibaly, took hold of the pharmacy, as well as 19 hostages. The police stormed the pharmacy after four hostages were killed, killing Coulibaly in the process. However, Boumediene somehow slipped away from the police, which is puzzling granted the huge amount of police officers surrounding the area. Some believe she may actually might not have been inside at the time, but others say it is possible she slipped away during the chaos of 15 hostages who were set free and police officers storming the building. A man hunt is currently being carried out in order to apprehend Hayat Boumediene, as well as French security gradually becoming tighter due to these past events (Greg Boutelho).
SOURCES:
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/jesuischarlie-parisians-respond-charlie-hebdo-attack
http://time.com/3658801/5-facts-that-explain-the-charlie-hebdo-attack/
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/08/us/florida-child-tossed-into-water/index.html
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/09/europe/charlie-hebdo-paris-shooting/
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/07/europe/charlie-hebdo-controversy/index.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30722038
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/01/08/politics/paris-new-terror/#
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/08/ahmed-merabet-mourned-charlie-hebdo-paris-attack
Islamification of Europe
By: Christopher Quintanal
1/20/15
Recently, there has been a large number of terrorist attacks led by Radical Islamic groups throughout the world. Some of the most recent attacks that took place in France only a couple of weeks ago sparked riots and debates across most of Europe. Many non-Islamic European citizens are protesting, arguing that Muslim immigrants are to blame for these terrorist attacks. In Germany for instance, a massive Anti-Islamification movement is taking place now which blames Muslim immigrants for terrorist attacks and other reasons such as the difficult economic situation people find themselves in, considering the influx of foreigners, which has led to competition over jobs and benefits. Germany is home to Muslim religious and political extremists who succeeded in distorting the image of the other three million Muslims who live peacefully in Germany. Muslim extremists in Germany are more dangerous and harmful to Muslims than angry, racist and fascist Germans. The state of Germany tolerates Muslims as they help them by passing regulations, courts and executive institutions which protect the Muslim community from racist groups.
Since the population of Germany is a little over 80 million and only 3 million Muslims, some people say that the Islamification of Europe is only a scarecrow. Only 100,000 German citizens have converted to Islam which is a small number considering the country’s population of 80 million. Most of those who converted to Islam most likely did so following mixed marriages and not due to preaching. Muslims have become bullied and feared by people following the damage to their image and the image of their religion which occurred ever since the Al-Qaeda surfaced and also due to the massive propaganda of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which made headlines with its violent practices such as the beheadings of American hostages.
The German anti-Islamization movement “Pegida” is expanding into other European nations, with its Danish branch staging its first rally on Monday. "Our goal is to give the middle class a chance to express their worries concerning violent Islam and to send a signal to politicians that we voters are worried," said Nicolai Sennels, a organizer of the Danish rally, who previously stood for parliament on an anti-immigrant ticket for the Danish People's Party. Are the anti-Islamization movements formed due to fear or are they formed because of racism?
Other Important News You Should Check Out:
17 Year old Girl killed by Three Policemen at Texas Police Station
January 26th, 2015, around 6:30 pm at Longview Police Department, 17-year-old Kristina Coignard was shot four times and killed by three. The three unidentified police officers have not been revealed to the public yet, and claim that Coignard was “brandishing1 a weapon”, their reasoning for shooting her. The three police officers have been placed on leave, and the death of Coignard is being left to local Texas Rangers, as info on her death is rather shady and unclear.
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/26/3615294/kristiana-coignard-shot-cops-longview/
Heavy Snowfall Tackles the Northeast
Recent reports of heavy snowfall has been recorded throughout the northern hemisphere, mainly in the Northeast. Snow in New York has been recorded to be 1 to 3 inches deep, and was later revealed that sometime this week would change into a devastating blizzard. The effects of the blizzard currently happening in the Northeast range from 7,700 flights being canceled, schools letting children out early, and other variations of businesses and services closing down.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/blizzard-2015-heavy-snow-winds-begin-to-hammer-northeast/
Libyan Luxury Hotel Attacked by Gunman
January 27th, 2015, an armed gunman stormed a Libyan Luxury Hotel, the Corinthia Hotel, killing 5 foreigners and 3 police officers. The attack included a car bombing, as well as multiple shots of gunfire, left 5 cars completely burned and destroyed the windows of the hotels façade2. The current whereabouts of the gunman are currently unknown.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/27/libya-hotel-attack_n_6553954.html
1brandishing- wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.
2Facade- the face of a building, especially the principal front that looks onto a street or open space.