Charlie Hebdo: Я шарли эбдо

[AC]

I've never been afraid of home invasion.  But, for the same reason I keep some gold in my home, I keep guns.  We have an adequate supply of water and foodstuffs.  It is something I learned from my parents and grandparents. 

One thing you will find out about most people who grew up in the Midwest (like I did) is that they are prepared for many things that could happen but that don't generally happen.

I think that is it in a nutshell.  A desire to be self reliant.

 

[lordtiberius]

I guess we're all wondering what good any efforts would have been against a couple of AK-47s.

I guess we will never know.  The french have gun control for their own protection no doubt

[Faux Pas]

First off, my symphaties to Pat. We in the USA, Spain, UK and Norway knows what a national terrorist disaster like this does to us. We don’t know the whole story of what was REALLY behind it in France now, let’s hope we do in the future. Personally I don’t think they were lone lunatics. How about that lost ID card in the car? That reminds me of a scenario some 13 years ago.
I see that this event has created a question here on RWD on whether the general public should be allowed to arm themselves or not. I understand both the pros and cons of this as I’ve followed this from the US perspective for 10 years.

RWD is a US site with most of it’s members being Americans and even if not all Americans subscribe to the gun culture, I believe it’s safe to say the majority of RWD is pro-guns for everybody.

But just for the sake of an alternative view, or perhaps for those Americans interested in considering the views of many Europeans on this matter, let me give you a personal experience. It happened just a few weeks ago.

Good on you Roy and thankfully you didn't need a gun. Thankfully they were nothing more than bad thieves. No, luckily you didn't need arms in that scenario. But, ask yourself this question; if they had fired a gun at you and the owner the minute they saw you, you would have then been brazen enough then to approach and brace them? Logic says no. I wouldn't. Rarely is an innocent law abiding citizen going to shoot you under any circumstance unless they are threatened with personal or property harm. It's criminals, the insane, the irrational you need to worry about. Not law abiding citizens, they are the ones that will protect you. At some point the world's governments will have stopped all regular law abiding citizens from owning weapons and you can add them to the former list. Those that would sacrifice liberty for security, deserve neither.

[lordtiberius]

Would you rather have our problems or his problems (large muslim population)?

[Patagonie]

First off, my symphaties to Pat. We in the USA, Spain, UK and Norway knows what a national terrorist disaster like this does to us. We don’t know the whole story of what was REALLY behind it in France now, let’s hope we do in the future. Personally I don’t think they were lone lunatics. How about that lost ID card in the car? That reminds me of a scenario some 13 years ago.
I see that this event has created a question here on RWD on whether the general public should be allowed to arm themselves or not. I understand both the pros and cons of this as I’ve followed this from the US perspective for 10 years.

RWD is a US site with most of it’s members being Americans and even if not all Americans subscribe to the gun culture, I believe it’s safe to say the majority of RWD is pro-guns for everybody.

But just for the sake of an alternative view, or perhaps for those Americans interested in considering the views of many Europeans on this matter, let me give you a personal experience. It happened just a few weeks ago.
I was watching a movie in my home cinema when my wife came in telling me that she saw from our living room windows someone trying to break the glass of the entrance of the shop just across the road. I ran upstairs and saw a van which shortly drove away. I figured they saw they were spotted, put on winter clothes and went outside towards the store. Then someone shouted at me. From a car parked outside the neighbouring house and I ran there. It was the owner of the shop, with his wife.

He told me the owner of the house they were parked outside of, a taxi driver, had also seen the attempted break-in and followed them as they drove away. He had called that the criminals were on their way back. In the meantime, the police were of course notified, but they were 60 km away.

So we sat there in the car waiting. Then the white van came back and actually to my surprise pulled off and parked in front of the store. Back to the crime scene!
The owner of the store drove after them and parked right behind the van and we got out of the car.
A couple of the guys in the van was at this time out of the van but not apparently noticing our car and us approaching them. As I approached them I called out, in English (as we all know these are almost never locals, even though the plates of the car was Norwegian), “what are you doing”. The guys was confused and not much conversation was possible because they couldn’t understand English, let alone Norwegian. We had blocked their rear escape by parking the shop owner’s Volvo just behind. After a few minutes four of the guys were out of the car. What we didn’t know at the time was that there was a fifth, sleeping inside the van.

The driver of the car as well as another of them was the ones that could at least speak a little English and they were also the ones that kept calm and nice throughout the whole event. I got out of them that they were from Lithuania(which were later confirmed officially). But then two of the others started to get agitated. Time went by and even though they couldn’t understand English and were drunk, they perfectly knew that we tried to keep them there in wait for the police to arrive.

Who were we that kept them from driving away. Well, except from me, it was the shop owner, moderately overweight, short man at 62 or 63, a guy driving the trash car who’s on sick-leave in his late fifties and a 77-year old! That’s it!  No guns, no bats, no spray. Only authority.

Now, let me tell anyone, guy or gal, who think they are powerless without  a gun or another lethal instrument… it’s bullshit! One of the guys jumped on the driver seat of the van, on top of their designated driver, and put the car in reverse. The van collided with the Volvo of the owner and then I just acted… no thinking, just act. I pulled the fabric of his clothes and pulled him as far as my might could, well outside of the car. He was still wild, so I got down on my knees, behind him, and held him in a chokehold. He signaled that he surrendered and I let him be but held a very close eye on him. One wrong move and I would be all over him, no question.

But time went by and truth be told we were outnumbered in terms at that time. Had I had just one of my pals there in their 30’s or 40’s, it’s different. So during the time when things were calm and we were waiting for the police to arrive, the two most aggressive guys ran away.

The police finally arrived and was informed of the situation. They came with three cars. Two officers handcuffed the two calm criminals and the really grumpy one waking up later on. Two other patrol cars went out searching for the two who ran away. A friend of mine came and we also went out with his car looking. By this time, several cars in our tiny village of 300 people were out looking for them, mostly out of fear they might be drunk and desperate enough to do harm to innocent people.
Eventually the police caught them outside a vacant house.

The police went out of their way to thank us for our help. No doubt this was a huge feather for the police too, as the numerous raids around Norway often goes without reactions due to lack of proof.

What’s the lesson? If you have a gun you have all the power in the world, but God help you if you make a mistake. We had nothing. We still handled the situation for the good of all. A couple of my friends said I should have done some real damage physically when I had the opportunity. At the time I didn’t feel it necessary and later on I’m glad I didn’t. Don’t get me wrong, if at ever a time calls for it, like my Erik being in danger, I will use lethal means with my own hands and I know how. But one needs to use ones head, is it simply a burgarly (economic) or is it it physical harm (lethal).

Nice Job, however as you said, things can go wrong any time. Typically in France, you could be heavily beaten in such situation. Now for the gun i am not sure that you have the power. Weapons are not allowed in France except for sport or very particular occupations. And i think that is the key if you compare murders in France and in USA, the ratio is one for two, so twice more murders in America. However as we saw in the last days in France, criminals don't have so much trouble to find weapons (automatic, explosive and lance rocket).
I am happy that you are healthy Natural.

[AC]

Hacking group "Anonymous" promises to confront ISIS and whoever else might be behind the terror attacks in Paris.

http://www.ijreview.com/2015/01/230363-hacktivist-group-anonymous-isis-will-track-every-last-one-will-kill/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=conservativedaily&utm_campaign=Terror

[Muzh]

RIP to all the great journalists and cartoonists lost.  The type employed such as the cartoonist known as "Charb" are the most courageous of those amongst us.  Hopefully this is a wake-up call not only to France but to the USA as well.  Obama can proclaim that the "war on terror" is over all he wants to, yet people can see with their own eyes that certain people in our midst do not deserve the right of citizenship in the West.  It's also painfully obvious that when Muslims get enough numbers in any given country that they begin to demand that the country converts and changes to Islam, or else.  The or else are these types of cowardly attacks against journalistic integrity and the freedom of speech that the West allegedly cherishes.

[AC]

Freedom of speech begins at our public Universities.  Or not.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/09/opinion/david-brooks-i-am-not-charlie-hebdo.html?action=click&contentCollection=Europe&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&region=Marginalia&src=me&pgtype=article

[ML]

http://www.westernjournalism.com/finally-world-leader-makes-strong-statement-terrorism-international-jihadist-movement-declared-war/#GxYCqqph0GjHOjJ7.97

Canadian leader makes strong statements.

No pussy-footing around.  Good for him.

[cc3]

http://www.westernjournalism.com/finally-world-leader-makes-strong-statement-terrorism-international-jihadist-movement-declared-war/#GxYCqqph0GjHOjJ7.97

Canadian leader makes strong statements.

No pussy-footing around.  Good for him.

 "Obama and America shamefully skip Paris march against terror
The U.S. fails to join the whole world in standing by France"
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS editorial headline...

The editorial:

http://www.nydailynews.com/editorial-flag-not-article-1.2074054

Canadian PM Harper also skipped the memorial march.

[cc3]

For the big 'O', watching NFL playoff games most likely took priority. There was nothing else on his schedule for Sunday (as reported by diverse journalists). What a true leader of enormous freedom-loving moral stature for the western world (not!)

[AC]

For the big 'O', watching NFL playoff games most likely took priority. There was nothing else on his schedule for Sunday (as reported by diverse journalists). What a true leader of enormous freedom-loving moral stature for the western world (not!)

He will go down in history as one of the least inspirational, most aloof Presidents ever when there was a crisis.

He's no Ronald Reagan.  He's no Bill Clinton.  And he's no George Bush Jr.

Whatever your dislikes about those three are, they were so much more Presidential.