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Posted by Amy Miller on November 28, 2015 2 Comments
Eighty-nine people died when terrorists opened fire on a packed house at Paris' Bataclan concert hall earlier this month. The crowd had come to see the Eagles of Death Metal; an hour into the show, the terrorists began shooting into the crowd. That night, 130 people died all across Paris, and over 350 people were left injured. Covering those events was a very raw experience—and I was 4000 miles away, comparatively safe in my home in Washington. The stories that flowed from the streets of Paris that night—particularly those from survivors of the hostage situation and eventual massacre at the Bataclan—defined what it truly means to commit an act of terror, as opposed to an act of war or a "senseless act of violence." This week, the Eagles of Death Metal band members opened up to Vice News and described what it was like inside the Bataclan when the terrorists started shooting. Watch the whole thing (mildly NSFW for language):

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 27, 2015 4 Comments
Another head-of-state has joined French President François Hollande in declaring war on ISIS. Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi and his Interior Ministry issued a series of statements following an attack on the presidential motorcade:
NPR's Leila Fadel reports that a spokesman for Tunisia's Interior Ministry said at least 11 people were killed in the attack and 17 others were wounded. The state of emergency will last for 30 days and an overnight curfew is also in place until tomorrow morning local time. ...In March, militants opened fire on tourists inside the Bardo Museum, killing 24 people. And in June, a lone gunman killed more than three dozen tourists at a beach resort. The country also imposed a state of emergency after that attack, which was lifted last month, the Associated Press reports. The news service adds that Tunisia's president has declared "war" against terrorism and urged international cooperation in fighting it.
More via LipTV:

Posted by Amy Miller on November 23, 2015 6 Comments
10 days after a series of terrorist attacks rocked Paris, the city is still in the process of regaining its footing and tracking down the team of extremists who killed 130 people and injured hundreds more. Officials are still attempting to identify a third terrorist involved in the Stade de France bombing, keeping a spotlight on the risks associated with large gatherings. U2 has rescheduled 2 performances cancelled in the wake of the attacks for early December. Today officials found a suspected explosive belt and a phone associated with the group that allegedly planned the November 13 attacks, and in Brussels, officials are still "on high alert" as law enforcement executes a series of anti-terror raids in a broadened search for suspects. As the search across Europe continues, the French military has launched its first airstrikes against ISIS from an aircraft carrier. The strikes targeted strategic sites in Iraq, and come as part of French President Francois Hollande's vow to intensify military action against ISIS in Syria in Iraq. Via CNN:
Warplanes took off from the aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle in the eastern Mediterranean and attacked ISIS targets in Iraq, the French Defense Ministry said.

Posted by Amy Miller on November 22, 2015 15 Comments
This month's attacks in Paris, France killed 130 innocent people and left hundreds more battered, bruised, and reawakened to the danger of radical Islamic terrorism in the west. Political leaders and presidential candidates are speaking out, and everyone's megaphone is pointed straight at Syria and the heart of ISIS. BBC anchor and host of This Week Andrew Neil took his network's coverage to the next level this week when he totally let loose against the terrorists' ideals: “Welcome to This Week, the week in which a bunch of loser jihadists slaughtered 132 innocents in Paris to prove the future belongs to them, rather than a civilization like France. Well, I can’t say I fancy their chances.”

Posted by Amy Miller on November 19, 2015 2 Comments
Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the mastermind behind last week's terror attacks in Paris that killed 129 people (so far---some victims are still in critical condition) and wounded hundreds more, was confirmed dead following a dramatic police raid on an apartment complex in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis on Wednesday. According to multiple reports, French officials fired over 5000 rounds into the flat where intelligence revealed the terrorist and several other people were hiding. According to Fox News, Abaaoud was identified via skin samples found following the raid. His cousin also died---she blew herself up in a suicide attack on the scene. More from Fox News:
Two counterterrorism sources tell Fox News his death marks a major advance for the investigation, but add they are operating on the premise that more senior suspects connected to the plot are still out there. They describe Abaaoud as the “Mohammed Atta” of the Paris attacks, the “tactical guy” who identified and pulled together the operatives, in the same way the lead hijacker kept the 9/11 teams on course.

Posted by Amy Miller on November 17, 2015 7 Comments
A soccer match between Germany and the Netherlands has been canceled over the "concrete threat" of a planned bomb attack. Hanover, Germany is the latest site of two separate terror scares in the wake of Friday's massacres in Paris, France. French intelligence officials gave the all clear just moments ago (as reported in a Fox News live broadcast) after a fresh tip prompted law enforcement to evacuate the area following a previous false alarm. Fox News explains what happened:
"We had concrete evidence that someone wanted to set off an explosive device in the stadium," Hannover police chief Volker Kluwe told German TV. Referring to another bomb threat about an hour beforehand that turned out to be a false alarm, Kluwe said, "After the first object turned out to be harmless, we got a tip that had to be taken seriously that an attack was being planned." Investigators found a suspicious suitcase inside or near the stadium and a second suspicious device at the city's central train station, German media and Sky News report. Police closed off part of the train station.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 16, 2015 10 Comments
French jets struck ISIS targets in Syria this Sunday night, destroying a jihadi training camp and a munitions dump in the city of Raqqa, where Iraqi sources say the Paris attacks were planned.
Twelve aircraft including 10 fighter jets dropped a total of 20 bombs in the biggest air strikes since France extended its bombing campaign against the extremist group to Syria in September, a Defence Ministry statement said. The jets launched from sites in Jordan and the Persian Gulf, in co-ordination with U.S. forces. Meanwhile, as police announced seven arrests and hunted for more members of the sleeper cell that carried out the Paris attacks, French officials revealed to The Associated Press that several key suspects had been stopped and released by police after the attack.
A review of social media records shows there were warnings that terror cells were about to launch a major attack on the iconic city.
ISIS claims of responsibility for Friday’s Paris massacre are being reviewed by US intelligence analysts Sunday morning, with a focus on the English-language version, which is delivered in American-accented English, Fox News has been told. It is now clear the plot included a rollout of ISIS propaganda, which was prepared in advance, including threats directed toward the Russian people, Rome, London and Washington DC. Separately, Fox News has learned that four credible, ISIS-linked social media accounts began sharing messages 72 hours before the Paris attack, including images of weapons, the Eiffel tower, as well as blessings for the attackers’ mission. A military intelligence source says the social media traffic is now seen as evidence the three teams had gone operational. The translations include “God bless you in your mission” and “Support the deployment,” as well as a reference to our “sister,” suggesting an operative, or member of the support team was a woman.

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 16, 2015 10 Comments
Still reeling from that heinous terrorist attacks that shook Paris Friday night, here's the latest. Mincing no words, France remains devout to plans to, "destroy terrorism."

"France is at war."

Speaking to a joint session of Parliament Monday, French President Hollande declared, "France is at War." He encouraged Members of Parliament to extend the country's state of emergency for another three months. Calling the Paris attacks, "acts of war," Hollande the murderous acts represented an attack of aggression, "against our country, against its values, against its youth, and against its way of life." Hollande's speech is here (in English) and is worth a listen:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 16, 2015 13 Comments
Speaking from the G20 Summit in Turkey Monday morning, President Obama addressed the terrorist attacks that shook Paris late Friday night. "Much of our attention has focused on the heinous attacks that took place in Paris... We're working closely with out French partners as they pursue their investigations and track down suspects. France is already a strong counter-terrorism partner and today we're announcing a new agreement. We're streamlining the process which we share operational and military intelligence with France," said President Obama. Has the President changed his tune on ISIS, at least when it comes to the type of threat the wannabe caliphate poses? The reader may remember the oft-tossed around reference the president once made about ISIS, calling them a "JV" team. Last year, during an interview with New Yorker Magazine, President Obama said of al Qaeda groups, "the analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think is accurate, is if a jayvee teams puts on Lakers uniforms, that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant."

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 16, 2015 9 Comments
Brave souls who watched the CBS Democratic Party debate Saturday night were treated to a serious-minded, sober event in which the moderators asked fairly challenging questions. The responses were unsurprising, and should not change the direction of the primary in a significant way. However, the Republican Party will find a great deal of fodder for the presidential battle ahead. There were a few highlights lowlights that I think are worth featuring. When asked, I have always asserted that "black swan" events, or, those events that are not readily anticipated and make a significant impact, will be key in the 2016 outcome. The Paris attacks were the first of these "black swans".

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 14, 2015 22 Comments
There's something about Paris. The City of Light. And Art. And Cafes. And Love. https://youtu.be/93WuCPokDr0?t=33s In many ways, the epitome of western civilization in the form of a city. Which is why it's so hard to see it fall in the past decades into something very different. And which is why it's a target of those who oppose western civilization. I went into our Media Library and searched for the images of "Paris" we've used at Legal Insurrection. It's not pretty.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on November 14, 2015 18 Comments
Of all the attacks in Paris yesterday, the attack on the Bataclan Theater was the most devastating.
French authorities said more than 80 people died in the club where California-based band Eagles of Death Metal had been playing for about an hour. When the shooting started after four gunmen entered the front of the 1,500-seat theater, dozens struggled to flee out the back alleyway as shots were being fired. Gunmen who had entered, dressed all in black and armed with AK-47 rifles, calmly opened fire randomly at patrons who dived for cover on the floor, according to radio reporter Julien Pearce, who was near the stage when the shooting started. "The terrorists were very calm, very determined, and they reloaded three or four times," Pearce said. "I saw 20 to 25 bodies lying on the floor."
But why the Bataclan, of all the theaters and gathering places in Paris? The answer may lie in the fact that it is Jewish-owned, and has been a target for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions BDS movement and terrorist threats for years. This history was first publicized yesterday by the French Le Point magazine (via Google Translate):

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on November 14, 2015 36 Comments
As France and the world begins to get a clearer picture of yesterday's coordinated set of terrorist attacks in Paris, ISIS has claimed responsibility, and French president Francois Hollande has iterated his statement that ISIS is indeed responsible and has made clear that he wants to lead a swift and "merciless" response. USA Today reports on President Hollande's statement:
Speaking after the security meeting, Hollande said Friday's attacks were "committed by a terrorist army, the Islamic State group, a jihadist army, against France, against the values that we defend everywhere in the world, against what we are: A free country that means something to the whole planet.”
CNN reports on the ISIS statement issued today:

ISIS claimed responsibility for gunfire and blasts that targeted six sites Friday night in Paris, killing 128 people in one of Europe's deadliest massacres in recent years.

In an online statement distributed by supporters Saturday, the terror group said eight militants wearing explosive belts and armed with machine guns attacked precisely selected areas in the French capital.

In addition to the people killed, 180 others were injured, according to the Paris Police Prefecture. More than half of them are in critical condition.

Among those wounded are an as yet unconfirmed number of Americans.  Also from CNN:

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on November 13, 2015 104 Comments
Tonight, a group of armed extremists executed a series of coordinated attacks against civilians in Paris, France. As many as 158 people (as being reported by Fox News at 8:30 pm EST) have been killed, with many more injured. At least 5 attackers have been killed; authorities suspect that as many as one dozen people were involved in six separate attacks that occurred all across the city. Each of those six attacks have been confirmed by French authorities. As of the writing of this wrap-up, no group had officially claimed responsibility. There are reports from survivors that the terrorists chanted about Allah and Syria. At around 8:50 pm EST (2:50 am Paris time) French authorities released a bulletin to the media saying that "an unknown number of terrorists are still on the run." Fox News reported via The Guardian (at 9:50 pm EST, 3:47 am Paris time) that French law enforcement officials believe that all of the attackers are dead. The attacks began just before 10 pm Paris time, when terrorists fired into a crowded cafe, leaving "piles" of dead bodies in their wake.

Posted by Mike LaChance on October 07, 2015 15 Comments
It looks like the United States isn't the only country with unhinged union activists. After job cuts were recently announced at Air France, angry union activists actually ripped the clothes off the bodies of airline executives. The Associated Press reports via NBC News:
Air France Execs Lose Shirts as Union Activists Attack Union activists protesting nearly 3,000 proposed layoffs at Air France stormed the headquarters during a meeting Monday, zeroing in on two managers who had their shirts torn from their bodies, scaled a fence and fled under police protection. An Associated Press photographer saw about a hundred activists rush the building after breaking through a gate. Shortly afterward two high-level managers fled, one bare-chested and the other with his shirt and suit jacket shredded. Road access to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris was briefly disrupted, and some flights suffered delays. Although Monday's scuffle was unusually violent, labor relations in France are commonly testy, with unions sometimes even resorting to holding managers hostage — or "boss-napping" — to make a point.

Posted by Mike LaChance on August 24, 2015 14 Comments
The three Americans who stopped a terror attack on a train in France over the weekend were given the Legion of Honor award by French President François Hollande. CNN reports:
France honors 3 Americans, Briton for stopping train attack Three days after they pounced on and subdued a gunman Friday aboard a packed train headed to Paris, American childhood friends Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos received the Legion of Honor -- France's highest recognition. The Americans, who reportedly met in middle school in California, planned on spending the summer sightseeing together. It was Sadler's first trip to Europe, and National Guardsman Skarlatos was on a monthlong break after serving in Afghanistan. Stone is an Air Force serviceman. They will return to the United States celebrated for their courage and quick action, and for exemplifying teamwork and friendship... "By their courage, they saved lives," President François Hollande said. "They gave us an example of what is possible to do in these kinds of situations."
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