Al Qaida gunman under siege in Toulouse

He is 23 years old and French citizen with Algerian background.
His name Mohammed Merah.

I was in a hurry when I wrote it, so didn't bother posting any links. Thanks for the extra information.

Just catching up with this, yikes.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/world/europe/toulouse-shootings-suspects-house-raided-by-french-police.html

I heard on the news he was arrested in Afghanistan, and the Americans put him on the first plane to France. If that's true, expect to hear a lot more about it during the electioneering.

I read that he escaped from prison in Kandalar in a mass break out.

More likely Kandahar?

The whole, awful saga has been big news here.

To be honest I thought someone would have started a thread about a week ago when the soldiers were killed. It's fairly big over here to, second only to the budget, and Patrice Muamba.

seems to be big news in Canada too, not surprised the US is largely ignoring it, they probably think the French deserve it

Generally, threads about non-US current events don't get much interest.

I don't bother starting them any more.

Not that I'm suggesting you don't. Sometimes they get a run.


Is there any news about the siege being over?

I've been haunted by the Jewish School killings.

The terrorist is right about some stuff though....nobody in the west seems to give much of a tuppenny **** about the kids being killed in Palestine and Afghnaistan etc.

Do we know it hasn't been big news in the US though? I'd have thought it'd be reported pretty strongly by places like CNN.

What an odd thing to say

http://m.yahoo.com/w/news_america/holed-french-suspect-plans-nighttime-surrender-194336761.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=us&.lang=en-us

Now, Patrice Muamba I hadn't heard of!

I've been following it, just haven't started a thread.

Not sure where I first heard about the soldier episodes - one of the u.s. newspapers I read, or Guardian, or Reuters.

it was meant tongue in cheek


sort of

I figured that was the case, and assuming the joke was that the US thinks that France deserves it -- it is funny.

beyond that, i don't really get the (much broader than your post) that the US (media, really) should be any more concerned about shootings in some other country than some other country should be about shootings in the US. this **** happens.

If there are terror shootings in the US it will be all over the media....as indeed, this case has been in our papers.

I think the point is that, rightly or wrongly, the US has a reputation for being very insular and ill informed about the rest of the world.

There have been many discussions here about the dynamics and geography of how much people in one country will care about events in another country, and I accept they exist and are pretty general...however they are still pretty brutal when you think about them.

I give a hell of a damn about these events in France, for many reasons.

This is complicated... *

1) What does the US have to do with what media in other countries decide is "news"?

2) Were these shootings "terror shootings" just because the shooter has ties to al quaida? When some dickbag shoots up a school, is that a terror shooting? Is there a difference? I don't see one, though that certainly doesn't mean any media group would agree with me (for reasons which stink of obviousness to me).

3) When I say "this **** happens", I don't mean to diminish such acts. It's just that this **** happens. Everywhere. Whether we hear about it or not. I wouldn't be the least bothered if people in somolia didn't concern themselves with shootings in the US.



*none of the preceding post was intended with an a-hole tone.

I don't know about the rest of America but, I've been riveted by this story.

Joe(he was another ******* religious nut)Nation

Not complicated. It's just a value thing, I guess.

I take the view that we are a human community of poor, bare, forked animals who should give a damn about each other, no matter what country the other happens to be in and I prize more highly those who do give a damn.

You appear to have different values.

Shrugs.

I mean terror shootings because they are clearly meant as acts of terror.

Want to argue about whether 9/11 was a terror act?

There is a pretty clear definition of terror, you know.

One article is suggesting that this is likely to become a popular form of terror because the targets are soft and readily available.