Attacks in Paris

It was announced on the news a couple of hours ago that one of the terrorists was reported to have entered Greece as a Syrian Refugee in early October.

I agree Anya, but my hope is that we, as thinking people, can distance ourselves from them, both on GN and in RL.
So if it neither the thread nor the time, can we leave it, and not sneak in odd wee comments like "being short" or " not letting things pas".
Reporting bigotry even second or third hand is "giving it oxygen. "

The person with the Syrian passport arrived via Greece last October from Turkey claiming he was a refugee. They have also found an Egyptian passport near the Stade.

I wonder if it's possible that the Syrian passport is some kind of plant? Most suicide bombers don't leave their passport for someone to find, do they? Isis said they would get their fighters into Europe via Greece as refugees and I suppose it's possible they have done that but I do wonder about finding an intact passport after a suicide bomb.
Apologies if these comments detract from the tone of this thread.

I agree, Iam. It does seem odd.

Iam64, thank you. I wanted to say it, but didn't dare and thought it was 'just me' - sounds really fishy to me too!

Thank you for the replies about the passport.

I would agree that the passport is probably a plant

I have seen nowhere that the passports were intact - but neither has there been any suggestion that it could have been a plant. France announced a few days ago that it was introducing border checks - as some of these attackers at least came from Belgium it could well be that they thought the checks could be in place already. In France you are supposed carry identity papers with you therefore not quite so surprising as you may think.

When bombs go off, it can be surprising what bits survive, albeit not intact.
items fare better than bodies do.

This thread is about the atrocities in Paris. I'm certain we're all horrified and distressed about it. However, we are surely allowed to debate the background to it all and speculate on underlying issues. Threads do wander and if some people want to discuss the religious background I don't know why the thread police seem to want to prevent it. Thanks granjura for your contributions. Very interesting.

Seems it isn't permitted to mention anything than the killings in Paris ,

I don't think the "thread police" come into it, but there are certain areas and topics which have had more than their share of thread column inches and it would be a shame if this thread were to morph into a rehash of fundamental Christian or OT theology / white supremacism/or right wing v left wing politics those because some people have hobby horses.
That's all.

PS Anniebach the clue is in the thread title.

There is a raw, eyewitness account being shared on Facebook - written by a 22 year old woman who was at the concert. It is absolutely chilling and deeply moving at the same time. She wants to assure the loved ones of people who died, that their last thoughts were for their families, and words uttered were expressions of love. She ends her post by listing the many acts of heroism that saved her.

Alea, I can read, perhaps you can explain why saying there are innocent people being killed in other countries is connected to white supremacy , right or left wings politics or theology ?

Nobody said you had mentioned all of these, but if you read through the whole thread there have been attempts to move the discussion in a different direction which I and others felt inappropriate.

I have read the whole thread Alea, surely if a post is inappropriate the moderators would remove it, what may be innapproptiate to you and some others may be considered appropriate to others posting on this thread ?

I believe so , and surely not referring to a post you and some others find innapproptiate is a far more fair and balanced way than correcting a poster for posting their views and opinions , everyone is deeply shocked and saddened by the killings, how they choose to express this is for each poster to decide , not a board patrol

Please don't let this turn into an "I know more than you" argumentative thread.

That's all.

Isis attack by design to incite Islamophobia and to create a larger group of the Islamic community who wish to follow their ideology. While the attacks in France and other areas around the world are horrific, do not pin down an entire religion on the grounds that a small minority of them has committed a serious atrocity. Not all Christians are IRA, not all Muslims are ISIS.

This from my DGS (written on his facebook page this morning) who spent the first seven years of his life growing up in Northern Ireland.

So true merlotgran

rosesarered I didn't know that about items surviving an explosion, but thinking about it, that's what happens when a plane crashes. My mind had been on how identification of those inside the auditorium would be possible. It brings tears to my eyes thinking about what the families of the victims must be going through.

More survivors are sharing their experience and I'm not going to read any more. I am not sure how some of them can ever get over what happened. One person said he doesn't feel lucky, but guilty at being unable to help the people who were hurt or killed.

Tonight is the 75th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz and hundreds of people have taken part in a ceremony to mark the occasion. A chain of people passed a light to each other, finishing at the cathedral. As part of the annual Peace Festival in the city, the cathedral was lit up in blue, white and red to mark Friday's attacks in Paris.I wish I had known about the ceremony because I would have liked to honour the dead of both tragedies.

jingle said "bomb the lot of them. Indiscriminately ... we can't single out the good from the bad", and others expressed similar sentiments, including "bollocks to the do-gooders". It was further implied that the Koran is somehow responsible for these murderous acts.

These sorts of comments surely demonstrates that the thread had already drifted away from expressing horror and sadness at this terrible event. Why then are certain subsequent posts addressing points already raised described as being "inappropriate"?

A commentator on the BBC News Press Preview has also expressed some suspicion about the Syrian passport that was alleged to be found near one of the bodies.

I think that one of fights that the Islamist extremists have with us is our culture and in particular the Western way of life. The notice posted by them on the internet talks of prostitution etc.
This feeds into those who become radicalised and we can see it in the uptake of the veil and such throughout the Islamic community, something not nearly so widespread when we were younger, in fact the only women who were completely covered were largely tourists. Now however it seems to me that they are often used as symbols to show a rejection of Western enlightenment and ideas.