CHARLIE HEBDO AFFAIR 55,898

CHARLIE  HEBDO

AFFAIR

Like blaming a rape victim for her “provocative dress,” many press pundits blame the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists (and the Danish cartoonists before them) for crossing “red lines,” and inviting trouble. In the past few days the small community of American editorial cartoonists have been getting calls from their local media, asking for comments about self-censorship and what subjects we should be forbidden to draw in a free society.

Political cartoonists have no clear red lines, but we are certainly censored. Cartoonists are a macho bunch; we want to draw provocative cartoons, bashing the reader on the head with the most powerful images possible. Editors see cartoonists as bomb throwers, to be reigned in.

http://darylcagle.com/2015/01/10/cartoonists-and-red-lines/

*  Special thanks to "Google Images", wikipedia.com", "Charlie Hebdo",
"NBC News", "BBC News Europe" and "The Washington Post"

BLOG  POST
by Felicity Blaze Noodleman
Los Angeles, CA
1.16.15

Not another word!  We did not want to waste another word writing about these lame Islamic Terrorists.  We have already spent to much time writing about these cowardly religious fanatics.   They have managed to grab more headlines in the world press -  this time in France of all places.  The whole thing is so absurd that it is almost laughable as it could have been a plot for one of the "Pink Panther" movies!  So this week we will dedicate our Blog to the anti-Islamic cartoons which "call out" these fools and cowardly dogs for what they really are!

http://darylcagle.com/2015/01/10/cartoonists-and-red-lines/

This was the Independent's editorial cartoon the day after the Charlie Hebdo attacks (DAVE BROWN)

http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/publish-the-charlie-hebdo-cartoons-of-mohamed-public-says--ekLGr-P35e

Charlie Hebdo is a French publication similar to our own "Mad" magazine and has lampooned every one from the Pope and Catholic Church to Jewish Rabies, Hitler and Mohamid, and so on;  we are sure you get it.  The difference between the sane and the insane is that we get it and they don't. 

The French are such pragmatists and obstinate with regards to US foreign policy and this French arrogance goes back to WWII!  The United States says right and the French say left and it was because of the French that the United States became involved in Vietnam and history illustrates what a huge mistake that was.  

France is located much closer to the area of the world where this Islamic insanity springs forth from and France has been a hot bed for antisemitism in recent history.  One could almost assume the country is a safe haven for terrorists to operate and head quarter their organization's attacks against the western world.  Maybe this is why the terrorists were so enraged over Charlie Hebdo! 

http://darylcagle.com/2015/01/12/freedom-of-expression-2/

The French are also less tolerant in their views for freedom of the press and speech than Americans having banned the magazine "Hara Kiri" for it's satire over the death of French WWII President Charles de Gaulle.  This magazine was the forerunner of the publication "Charlie Hebdo", which sparked Islamic furor publishing a cartoon for which twelve employees were gunned down by AL Qaeda terrorists.  The magazine was also attacked in 2011 for it's cartoons and satire about Muslims.  

The French have had their share of Islamic extreemists establishing a history of Muslim terror. In 1995 the Paris Metro was bombed by "GIA", another Islamic terrorist group.  The threat of car bombs and automobiles used as weapons against innocent civilians as they are driven into targets of oppertunity by Muslim extreemests are all very real threats in France

As we explore the story of the shootings in France another story begins to unfold.  Like the "Pink Panther" gem, this diamond from the movie by the same name, we see that the angles for this story are multi faceted.  First we see the cartoons of Charlie Hebdo, then the tragic senseless shootings of Al Qaeda against the magazine.  Then come the reactions of the French people as they march in protest against this violence.  If that isn't enough; there are the diplomatic errors of the United States Government and Barack Obama.  Again we see more shootings by Al Qaeda gunman in France.  As we say, the story is multi faceted!

When it comes to reading literature, Charlie Hebdo is the kind of tabloid which holds to no sacred cows, and we mean nothing is sacred, even themselves.  If it 's funny and and seems like the subject could be true Charlie will print it.  This kind of journalism falls under the heading of "alternative reading".  It is best suited to the young male who is on the threshold of manhood.

Bernard Holtrop, who writes under the name Willem, was not at the office during the massacre on Wednesday and admits that he didn't go because he doesn't like editorial meetings, which may have saved his life.

'We vomit on all these people who suddenly say they are our friends', says Charlie Hebdo cartoonist as he scoffs at surge in support after attack

        Bernard Holtrop admitted the publications new found fame was 'laughable'

        Dutch-born artist said it had 'new friends' after massacre on Wednesday

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2905065/We-vomit-people-suddenly-say-friends-says-Charlie-Hebdo-cartoonist-scoffs-surge-support-attack.html

        

http://www.cagle.com/2015/01/charlie-hebdo-22/

"NBC News"

Charlie Hebdo Shooting: 12 Killed at Muhammad Cartoons Magazine in Paris

BY CASSANDRA VINOGRAD, ALASTAIR JAMIESON, FLORENCE VIALA AND ALEXANDER SMITH

PARIS — Masked gunmen armed with AK-47s and shouting "Allahu Akbar" stormed the offices of a French satirical news magazine Wednesday in a terror attack that left 12 people dead, including the editor and two police officers.

The suspects shot dead one of the officers on the street as they fled — escaping first in a black Citroen that they abandoned after a crash, and then in a sedan they carjacked from a bystander.

There was no verified claim of responsibility or motive for the ambush, but the target, a weekly publication called Charlie Hebdo, has published cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad and was firebombed three years ago.

Late in the day, authorities released the names of three suspects: Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi, both in their 30s, and 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad. Officials later said the youngest suspect had turned himself in.

Cherif Kouachi and his brother Said Kouachi are wanted in connection with the Charlie Hebdo attack. JUDICIAL POLICE OF PARIS / AFP - GETTY IMAGE 

France declared Thursday a national day of mourning, raised its terror threat level and stepped up security for media organizations, large stores and places of worship, and launched a manhunt for the killers with the assistance of the FBI.

"We will find the people who did this," French President Francois Hollande vowed. He later called for national unity.

"Freedom is always bigger than barbarism," he said. "Vive la France."

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/paris-magazine-attack/charlie-hebdo-shooting-12-killed-muhammad-cartoons-magazine-paris-n281266

11 January 2015

Paris attacks: Millions Rally For Unity In France

Mishal Husain reports from Paris: ''The applause goes up from the crowd''

More than three million people have taken part in unity marches across France after 17 people died during three days of deadly attacks in Paris.

Up to 1.6m are estimated to have taken to the streets of the French capital.

More than 40 world leaders joined the start of the Paris march, linking arms in an act of solidarity.

The marchers wanted to demonstrate unity after the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, police officers, and a kosher supermarket.

The French government said the rally turnout was the highest on record.

Lyse Doucet reports from Paris: ''Francois Hollande was at the head of the march''

The rally, led by relatives of the victims of last week's attacks, began at the Place de la Republique and concluded in the Place de la Nation.

Several other French cities also held rallies. The interior ministry said turnout across France was at least 3.7 million, including up to 1.6 million in Paris - where sheer numbers made an exact tally difficult.

Rallies also took place outside of France, with thousands of people gathering in London, Washington, Montreal and Berlin.

In Madrid, several hundred Muslims held banners saying "Not in our name" next to the train station where in 2004 Islamist bombings killed nearly 200 people.

World leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, EU President Donald Tusk, and Jordan's King Abdullah II joined the beginning of the Paris march.

"Paris is the capital of the world today," French leader Francois Hollande said.

The leaders observed a minute's silence before the march began.

About 2,000 police officers and 1,350 soldiers - including elite marksmen on rooftops were deployed in the capital to protect participants.

Many French people took part in marches outside Paris, including at this rally in Reims

The Paris march was split into two routes for security purposes.

Marchers chanted "liberte" ("freedom") and "Charlie", in reference to Charlie Hebdo magazine.

Some waved French flags, cheered, and sang the national anthem.

Samia Ghali, mayor of one of Marseille's districts, told the BBC that people there were marching for tolerance and co-existence. Marseille is the city with the largest Muslim population in France.

Marchers headed towards the Place de la Nation for the final rally

So many people were crammed into the Place de la Republique that it created a bottleneck. Some marchers had to filter down side streets to reach the Place de la Nation for the final rally.

They streamed past the cafe where I was working, wrapped against the chill as the sun went down, so many faces beaming with pride, voices still not too hoarse for another yell of "Charlie!" Their hands must have been sore from clapping.

"This is serious, this was an attack on freedom, we cannot allow this," said Laurent. The march was so crowded it took him, his wife Isabelle and his daughter Coline two hours to walk just 2km (1.2 miles).

"Our values are liberty, equality and fraternity and we cannot allow terrorists to dictate to us," he added.

"We had to get into the streets to show we are not afraid," said Isabelle.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30765824

"New York Times"

White House Acknowledges Error in Not Sending a Top Official to March in Paris

By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS

JAN. 12, 2015

US President Barack Obama came under fire for failing to travel to France. The White House acknowledged it should have sent a senior official to the massive rally against terrorism in Paris. - AFP pic

WASHINGTON — The White House, facing a storm of criticism for President Obama’s absence from Sunday’s peace march in Paris, said Monday that his team erred in failing to dispatch a high-ranking American official to join the show of solidarity against terrorism. But French officials quickly rejected the idea that Mr. Obama had snubbed the event.

“It’s fair to say that we should have sent someone with a higher profile to be there,” Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, said at his daily briefing with reporters, which was dominated by questions about the lack of a prominent American presence at the march.

Asked to respond to critics who questioned the decision not to send a more recognizable American official other than Jane D. Hartley, the United States ambassador to France, Mr. Earnest said, “We agree.”

Yet he offered no rationale as to why no such representative — including Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who hastily traveled to Paris to attend a counterterrorism meeting there on Sunday and recorded television interviews in the hours before the march — made an appearance. He said that the decision had not been made by Mr. Obama.

President François Hollande of France let it be known on Monday that he was not among those offended.

“President Obama supported France in their common struggle against terrorism,” said Claudine Ripert-Landler, Mr. Hollande’s head of communications, adding that Mr. Obama’s visit to the French Embassy in Washington on Thursday to sign a condolence book was “a rather exceptional gesture.” She added, “Mr. Obama’s attentions have been very important to Mr. Hollande.”

Mr. Earnest offered no details about the internal White House discussions that led to the decision by Mr. Obama’s team not to send the president or Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. — who often attends state funerals on short notice — to Paris. But he cited scheduling and security concerns as playing a part.

“The security requirements around a presidential visit, or even a vice-presidential visit, are onerous,” Mr. Earnest said, noting that the Secret Service would have had to secure a large outdoor area, potentially making it harder for other people to attend. “It would have been very difficult to do so without significantly impacting the He also said, “We’re talking about a march that came together with essentially 36 hours’ notice.”

Still, on the day after a rally that drew more than one million people and some 40 heads of state following terrorist attacks in Paris, the lack of a top American official became another example of what critics call tone-deafness by the president and his senior staff.

Even some Democrats said they were mystified by the lapse.

“I was puzzled that the United States did not have a high-level representative participating in the march,” said former Representative Lee H. Hamilton of Indiana, a Democrat who sits on the president’s Homeland Advisory Council and directs the Center on Congress at Indiana University. “It’s a missed opportunity. This was a world-shaking event for Paris, and France has been a good ally of ours for decades. We should have been more visible in our support for an ally under duress.”

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, took to Twitter to criticize the president. “Obama declining to show solidarity with over three million in France is beyond crass, even for this administration,” he wrote in a post.

The march followed the shootings of 17 people in separate attacks last week at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and at a kosher supermarket. Leaders at the rally included Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. Official administration schedules said that Mr. Obama was at home at the White House on Sunday, and that Mr. Biden was at his residence in Wilmington, Del. Neither had public events, and aides declined Monday to say how the president spent his day.

ability of common citizens to participate.”

Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas and a potential presidential candidate, called Mr. Obama’s absence “symbolic of the lack of American leadership on the world stage, and it is dangerous.”

In an opinion article posted on Monday by Time magazine, Mr. Cruz wrote, “Our president should have been there, because we must never hesitate to stand with our allies.”

Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday that he would travel to Paris on Thursday. “I really think this is sort of quibbling a little bit,” Mr. Kerry said of the criticism, before the White House went public with its mea culpa.

Speaking on Monday in the state of Gujarat in India, Mr. Kerry said that he had been unable to attend because of his trip to Asia, but that he would visit Paris on his way home “to make it crystal clear how passionately we feel about the events that have taken place there.”

Mr. Hamilton said the episode would not cause a split between the United States and France, but he predicted it would be a symbolic moment that would not be entirely forgotten by the French people.

“It will be remembered,” Mr. Hamilton said. For at least a day, the uproar surrounding the symbolism of the march drowned out the message that Mr. Holder had brought to Paris. He said the Justice Department would assist the French in their investigation into the attacks and declared, standing beside French leaders: “We are all citizens of France.”

Mr. Earnest said he could not speak to whether the president had any “personal regret” about staying away from the March, but suggested his team recognized that it looked bad.

“To the extent that anybody had an opportunity to estimate it in 36 hours,” Mr. Earnest said, “I think what you can say is that this kind of symbolism is important.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/13/us/politics/obama-is-faulted-for-not-attending-rally-in-paris.html

US media outlets questioned why Obama did not attend or send a top administration official Photo: AP  (The Telegraph)