F-ing terrorists - France

[texas skeeter]

I'm sure that video is being falsely represented. Those huge masses of people snaking their way through the countryside are just on their way to a soccer game or F1 race.

Laughed pretty good at this one!!

 

[seeker_two]

If I were a dead Frenchman I'd be pissed that they hold me in the same regard as Whitney Houston.

I would expect the French flag to fly at half-staff at Celine Dion's passing.....

 

[Blind Sniper]

I would expect the French flag to fly at half-staff at Celine Dion's passing.....

Isn't she Canadian?

 

[Rebel]

And Whitey

FIFY

 

[grasshopperglock]

Seems the native population is being disoriented. Washed out. Every strong idea is diluted.


Destroy from within. You'll soon see more control. An attack on American soil is soon. From the aftermath, new laws. It'll make the patriot act look like child's play.

 

[texas skeeter]

Seems the native population is being disoriented. Washed out. Every strong idea is diluted.
Destroy from within. You'll soon see more control. An attack on American soil is soon. From the aftermath, new laws. It'll make the patriot act look like child's play.

This is all part of our current Administrations plan!!

 

[itchin]

This is all part of The democratic party's plan!!

FIFY

 

[TheDan]

Racist

Noooo.... Don't call me that! Ahhhh I'm melting!

 

[seeker_two]

Isn't she Canadian?

From Quebec.....practically French.....

 

[Mreed911]

A few notes on recent activities. I got home from Paris yesterday. I got there Tuesday evening. I was in London on the Friday night of the attacks, having been in Brussels and Frankfurt (with a train ride through Aachen) a week earlier.

A note on Aachen: several of the coordinating terrorists were arrested in/near Aachen, which is a German border town. I was on an ICE train (not Thalys), but have prior vacation pictures from the same train line that was attacked earlier this year between Brussels and Paris. Aachen is a beautiful town with a strong sense of community.

So, Friday, when everything in Paris happened, I was in London. We had a work conference scheduled in Paris on Wed/Thu the following week and immediate went into discussion over email about whether to stay the course, cancel, etc. depending on how things developed. Short version: we all decided to move forward, treating this is [another] isolated incident. As a side note, two colleagues not involved in our meetings were in Paris for other reasons, one of them a senior exec in our company who lives in California and is a metal/rock fan that could have EASILY been at the Batalcan on a Friday night, but he wasn't.

In London over the weekend the discussion amongst the press and politicians was whether more local police should be armed, as police in London don't typically carry firearms as a course of regular duty. Of note, an [unarmed] officer was stabbed in a "domestic" altercation over that same weekend and put in critical condition by a violent 16 year old.

Fast-forward to Tuesday. I fly from LHR to Paris Charles de Gaulle (normally I'd have taken the Eurostar, but the flight worked out better in this case) on British Airways. No noticeable difference in security and no noticeable difference in flight loads, but a palpable difference in demeanor of passenger and crew - mostly more subdued.

Paris was still "in motion" and I took the train from the airport, connecting at Chatlet Les Halles out to my hotel near the Champs Elysees. Chatlet Les Halles is directly below the Forum Des Halles shopping center, one of the attack sites. Having been in Paris several times before, I didn't notice a much higher local police presence, but the national police and military were present, visible in pairs, and armed with rifles. It's definitely only a show of force/quick response move, though, as walking around in pairs or standing guard is a great way to let yourself get taken out first. Its primary purpose is twofold: provide a sense of protection and provide a faster response by armed personnel.

Parisians, for the most part, were going about their normal course of business - working, dining out (including sidewalk cafes), etc. The general feeling was "this could happen anywhere" and "we're not going to stop doing what we're doing." The distressing part? After the enacting of a state of emergency, the police enacted more than 600 raids. Yes, that's right, in six days, 600 raids. Most, if not all, without a warrant. No clue how many turned up anything of value. The emergency powers give the government BROAD rights to home arrest, raid, detain and question folks without any judicial review beforehand. To a tee, Parisians supported this AND the extension of emergency powers for three months (or longer).

To their credit, they've found a lot of stuff. It's distressing to know that they didn't act beforehand, as the type of things they're finding (and the amount) suggest something that should have been picked up by good police work LONG beforehand, but it seems they've otherwise ignored the "muslim problem" in their cities, letting these muslim immigrant ghettos grow and the disaffected become MORE disaffected. That same weekend, a refugee camp in northeastern paris caught fire (not related), and the French response was "well, if the UK didn't guard their border so well, these folks wouldn't be trapped at a camp in northern Paris!" LOL!

Getting out of Paris was harder than getting in. I think my boarding pass and passport were checked six times from security forward. Three times within view of the last person that did it. Not that it would have helped if I had forged credentials, like most of the "refugees" being found in other countries (and the US) now.

Now, this morning, I see that Brussels is shut down due to a terrorist threat. In direct contrast to Paris who worked through an actual attack, Brussels has shut down to avoid attack. Two weeks ago tomorrow (Sunday) I will have walked through an open city of Brussels, touring markets, meeting locals, eating in local restaurants away from tourists. Today and tomorrow, that wouldn't have been possible and I'd have been in a city under quarantine. I can't express how sad that makes me?

Finally? Belgium and its history with guns is being blamed for spreading terrorism. See this link from the Financial Times for more (a good read):

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/33a2d592-8dde-11e5-a549-b89a1dfede9b.html

Don't think that mindset won't extend here soon. Thankfully, they have their own source of arms to worry about and not US arms... yet. Just wait until the things we sent to Syrian rebels show up on the streets of a european city. Then we'll take heat.

Be ready.

And if it happens here? Expect reactions more like Brussels than Paris. It's strange when I call French people more courageous... but in this case? They are.

Final note: Brussels is the "capital" of the EU. That's important to note in terms of their political decisions, stance, etc.

 

[itchin]

I didn't know emts frequently traveled to Europe. Pretty cool.

 

[Mreed911]

I didn't know emts frequently traveled to Europe. Pretty cool.

Part-time paramedic now. I figured out that being on the technology side of things paid better, so I work for a mobile security company that helps folks maintain HIPAA/HITECH (and FINRA and FERPA) compliance on mobile devices, data, communications, etc.

Now I'm a paramedic several times a month in a high-acuity, high-volume district so I can stay sharp, but I'm the in-charge on the unit, train new students, etc. As a side benefit I'm also a paramedic at NRG, so I get paid to go to the Texans games.

 

[itchin]

Sweet. They got Weeden lol.

 

[duckknot]

Part-time paramedic now. I figured out that being on the technology side of things paid better, so I work for a mobile security company that helps folks maintain HIPAA/HITECH (and FINRA and FERPA) compliance on mobile devices, data, communications, etc.

Now I'm a paramedic several times a month in a high-acuity, high-volume district so I can stay sharp, but I'm the in-charge on the unit, train new students, etc. As a side benefit I'm also a paramedic at NRG, so I get paid to go to the Texans games.

Might inquire about some EMT questions in the future if you dont mind! I've been kicking around the idea of doing it!

 

[Mreed911]

Might inquire about some EMT questions in the future if you dont mind! I've been kicking around the idea of doing it!

Any time.