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Paris Tag

Posted by Erin Mundahl on December 10, 2015 9 Comments
Nearly a month after the horrific Paris terror attack, French authorities have successfully identified the third gunman who opened fire on the crowd at the Bataclan Theatre. Foued Mohamed-Aggad, 23, was born in Strasbourg in northeastern France. He spent some time in Syria in 2013 and authorities had thought he was still abroad. A lawyer for his family told press that Mohamed-Aggad's mother apparently received a text message from Syria about ten days ago which read simply: Your son died as a martyr on November 13. She contacted authorities, who used DNA testing to confirm Mohamed-Aggad's involvement. Reuters reports:
"The SMS message told her that her son had died, saying: "He died on November 13 with his brothers"," said Francoise Cotta, lawyer for the mother and her family, who said the woman got the text message 10 days ago. "She was instantly struck by the horrific thought that he might have been one of the Bataclan suicide attackers," said Cotta, adding that she was asked by the dead man's mother to get in touch with investigators. Mohamed-Aggad went to Syria in late 2013 with a gang of others from his neighbourhood in an area outside the eastern French city of Strasbourg. Seven of the group were arrested in May 2014 after returning to France.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 09, 2015 7 Comments
After the San Bernardino terror attack, California Governor Jerry Brown stopped by the city on his way out the the UN Climate Conference that is continuing this week. Brown, a leading advocate of creating climate change policies that have chilled the economy of the Golden State, was invited to speak. The reception was...unexpected.
Gov. Jerry Brown, at the conclusion of a speech here Tuesday, was heckled by a group of protesters opposed to carbon offset programs they said could hurt indigenous people. Brown, accompanied by several South American governors at a 19th century mansion in Paris, had finished brief remarks urging further efforts to counteract climate change when protesters started yelling, “No REDD.” The acronym is used by The Governors’ Climate and Forest Task Force, of which California is a part, to describe programs to promote reduced emissions from deforestation and land use. California officials have considered ways to link the state’s cap-and-trade program, in which polluters pay to offset carbon emissions, to tropical rainforests in Chiapas, Mexico and Acre, Brazil. Outside the venue, Tom Goldtooth of the Indigenous Environmental Network said that such a system could prevent indigenous people from working on their land.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on December 05, 2015 8 Comments
A little over a week ago, President Obama was making the case that the most significant security threat was climate change and asserting that ISIS posed no credible threat to the US homeland. In the wake of the San Bernardino massacre of 14 Americans on the homeland, it is clear that the presidential fantasies and the national realities are quite different. The FBI has formally declared the incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism:
"The San Bernardino, California, mass shooting is now being investigated as "an act of terrorism," FBI official David Bowdich said Friday. Bowdich said the FBI "uncovered evidence ... of extreme planning."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on December 02, 2015 2 Comments
Tuesday reports surfaced that Paris Police were advising against lighting Hanukkah candles in public places due to security concerns. The Times of Israel reported:
Miri Michaeli, Europe correspondent for Israel’s Channel 10 news, tweets a troubling report from Paris. The tweet reads, in Hebrew: “Chabad: Paris police order [us] to cancel most of our public [Hanukkah] candlelighting in the city, in light of the terror attack and the fear of additional attacks. Efforts [are underway] to approve a candlelighting at the foot of the Eiffel [Tower].”
Later (and after the headline spread internet-wide) the Times of Israel posted an update saying the original report had been retracted:

Posted by Leslie Eastman on November 29, 2015 7 Comments
Despite the Paris massacre earlier this month, the United Nations Climate Change Conference scheduled for that city is going on as planned, despite the significant security concerns given the number of world leaders participating. But the climate change leaders don't want everyone to participate, and environmental justice warriors have been placed under house arrest:
Public demonstrations are banned in France under the state of emergency that was declared after the Paris terrorist attacks two week ago, in which 130 people were killed. Green groups have described the move as "an abuse of power" but the French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the activists were suspected of planning violent protests.

Posted by Demetrius Minor on November 19, 2015 17 Comments
In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, Americans are looking toward their elected leadership for a way forward in the plan to defeat ISIS. One of the plans put forward by the GOP-led Congress is to enhance security measures and to temporarily halt settlements for the incoming Syrian and Iraqi refugees, and to also require the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to perform individual background checks. The White House has reported that President Obama has made it clear that he will veto the House-led legislation if it arrives at his desk. From Fox News:
"Given the lives at stake and the critical importance to our partners in the Middle East and Europe of American leadership in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis ... [Obama] would veto the bill."
But even some Democrats are showing defiance towards the president's strategy and are aligning themselves with the GOP on this particular issue. The Blue Dog Democrats, who are more conservative-leaning, will back the legislation.
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