Notre Dame Cathedral is burning

[_Chap]

The right stuff, from FOX NEWS:


https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/ ... ve-updates

An idiot getting off on paranoid fantasies is squashed as he deserves:

There’s no shortage of conspiracy theories about the cause of the fire doing the rounds on social media, but one was very quickly and effectively shut down during an interview on Fox News.

The interviewee is Philippe Karsenty, the deputy mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine and a long-term right wing activist, who opened up by referring to churches being desecrated every week across France.

Fox New anchor Shep Smith quickly stepped in when Karsenty goes on to say of the Notre Dame fire: “Of course, you will hear the story about political correctness which will tell you it was probably an accident.

Smith tells him: “Sir, we are not going to speculate here about the cause of something you don’t know. If you have observations or you know something we would love to hear it.”

As Karsenty speaks again to say that people need “to be ready,” Smith tells him: “No sir, we are not doing that here. Not on my watch.

Karsenty was convicted of defamation in 2013 for accusing a state television network of staging a video that depicted a Palestinian boy being killed in a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

[_canpakes]

The right stuff, from FOX NEWS:

Karsenty was convicted of defamation in 2013 for accusing a state television network of staging a video that depicted a Palestinian boy being killed in a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

With that resume, why did Fox choose him to be interviewed in the first place?

Perhaps it was important to the management of Fox to allow Karsenty a vehicle to get his claim out there, if only briefly. We have active posters on this board who believe when an opinion is ‘slapped down’ on the telly that it must mean it is truth being suppressed. The Fox audience just needs to hear it validated on-air merely by being presented once, and they’ll take it from there.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

While it's pretty certain this particular incident was an unfortunate accident, I can see why some French officials might jump to conclusions:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/worl ... oting.html

A police officer shot and wounded an assailant armed with a hammer and kitchen knives on the square outside Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday afternoon, according to the authorities.

The cathedral, a Gothic landmark on the Île de la Cité in the Seine, across from the headquarters of the Paris police prefecture, was sealed off, and about 900 visitors and worshipers were told not to leave until the situation was declared safe. The square was evacuated.

Gérard Collomb, the French interior minister, told reporters that the attack occurred around 4:20 p.m. when the man approached three police officers from behind and started hitting one of them with a hammer.

“This is for Syria,” the assailant yelled. At least one officer opened fire, injuring the attacker, who was hospitalized.

So, the cathedral and other churches have been a focal point for Islamists:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news ... aris-57164

In July 2016, Islamic extremists carried out an attack in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in which a priest, 85-year-old Father Jacques Hamel, had his throat slit while celebrating Mass.

French police arrested six people in Sept. 2016 after finding an abandoned car in the vicinity of the Notre-Dame, with the emergency flashers on and inside various cooking gas cylinders, a blanket soaked in gasoline and an extinguished cigarette, but no detonation devices. Two of those arrested had ties to the so-called Islamic State militant group.

Another car packed with explosives was found a few days later near the Notre-Dame. French authorities subsequently charged a woman in connection with an alleged terrorist plot to attack the cathedral with a car bomb.

In June 2017, a man attacked police officers at Paris police headquarters next to the Notre-Dame. Police subsequently shot the suspect in the chest and took him into custody.

So, I'm glad to see this wasn't an incident of terrorism directed toward the French people, but we can be at least understanding as to why some of them would make that kind of assumption, no?

Whatever the case may be, it's nice to see the donations pouring in and it looks like the cathedral will be restored.

eta: Huh, it looks like churches across France were being 'desecrated' and in some cases set ablaze just in March:

https://www.newsweek.com/spate-attacks- ... aw3CVQoax0

And here a bit more detail from February:

https://israelunwired.com/notre-dame-ca ... in-france/

It should be noted that a portion of the Al Aqsa mosque was also ablaze yesterday:

https://www.newsweek.com/notre-dame-fir ... ue-1397259

- Doc

[_Chap]

The right stuff, from FOX NEWS:

Karsenty was convicted of defamation in 2013 for accusing a state television network of staging a video that depicted a Palestinian boy being killed in a firefight between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces.

With that resume, why did Fox choose him to be interviewed in the first place?

Perhaps it was important to the management of Fox to allow Karsenty a vehicle to get his claim out there, if only briefly. We have active posters on this board who believe when an opinion is ‘slapped down’ on the telly that it must mean it is truth being suppressed. The Fox audience just needs to hear it validated on-air merely by being presented once, and they’ll take it from there.

I listened to the interview, and the feeling was more like some Fox researcher had been told at short notice 'get some French official guy NOW, one who can speak English', and Karsenty came up. (Yup, Fox has the numbers of people who are in general on the conservative side of things ...)

The anchor's slap-down is very firm and strong, and well-deserved under the circumstances: Karsenty had started off by saying 'this is Paris's 9/ll", which was already a warning of where he wanted to go.

The last thing France needs now is a mosque burning campaign driven by right-wing revenge freakery. This is overwhelmingly likely to be yet another building site failure of safety precautions (like the destruction of the beautifully renovated Glasgow School of Art last year), and until we have evidence otherwise panic orgasms are not the way to go for any responsible person speaking in public.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

Another evil FOX News anchor shuts down speculation on live tv:

https://dailycaller.com/2019/04/15/cavu ... -accident/

CAVUTO HANGS UP ON BILL DONOHUE AFTER HE LINKS NOTRE DAME FIRE TO RECENT PARIS CHURCH ATTACKS

6:39 PM 04/15/2019 | MEDIA
Mike Brest | Reporter

Fox News’ Neil Cavuto hung up on Catholic League president Bill Donohue on Monday when he refused to stop speculating that the catastrophic Notre Dame fire could be related to other recent attacks on Catholic churches in Paris.

“Well, Neil, if it is an accident, it’s a monumental tragedy. But forgive me for being suspicious. Just last month, a 17th-century church was set on fire in Paris. We’ve seen tabernacles knocked down, crosses have been torn down, statues, —” Donohue stated.

As Donohue mentioned, a number of churches in France have been vandalized during the early part of 2019. Vandals have smashed statues, knocked down tabernacles, burned an altar cloth, destroyed the Eucharist and smeared a cross with excrement.

“We don’t know that. So if we can avoid what your suspicions might be. I do want to look at what happened now,” Cavuto responded, cutting off his guest. “A very pricey rebuilding and renovation effort going on that involved a good deal of Catholic fundraising campaign I know in this country and abroad. This renovation was paid for up front. So, in other words, all the monies were there. Now I’m wondering how much more the Catholic Church commits to this or do you think they now first want to get to the bottom of it?”


“First, they have to get to the bottom of it and they will rebuild it. There’s no question about that. They certainly, the Catholic Church will come up for the money for it, that’s not even a question. I’m sorry. When I find out that the Eucharist is being destroyed and excrement is being smeared on crosses, —” Donohue pushed back. (RELATED: Shep Smith Shuts Down French Commentator From Speculating Terror Is Behind Notre Dame Fire)

“I love you, Bill, but we cannot make conjectures about this. So, thank you. Bill, I’m sorry. Thanks very much. I do want to let people know, and again we’re not trying to be rude to our guests here. There’s so much here we don’t know about what happened here.”

Despite Donohue’s speculation that the fire was started intentionally, Reuters Paris bureau chief Luke Baker tweeted that the fire was “started by accident and is related to ongoing work, according to France 2, citing police.”

Firefighters likely struggled putting out the fire because of the Gothic engineering techniques that waterproofed the roof.

And to be fair a Tennessee Democrat tweeted and then deleted this speculation:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D4PG_F0WkAIowHE.jpg:large

- Doc

[_Chap]

These are the gardens of the Grande Mosquée of Paris:



This beautiful building, open to the public, is a memorial to the Muslim soldiers who died fighting for France in WWI. Because it is a French mosque, it also has a really nice restaurant and a café where you can drink mint tea and eat a variety of delicate snacks. You can also (if you feel up to it) book a session of being scrubbed with black soap in the hammam. It is a calm, welcoming and civilised place.

I suspect that this building now has a couple of armed police outside it.

Let's not help fuel any fantasies, please.

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

This is really bizarre. Chap's tongue turns to stone when over a thousand attacks were levied against Catholic churches and parishioners last year, they're forced to have armed guards, and literally hundreds of French citizens are being murdered in Islamic terrorist attacks. And he's worried about 'right-wing' crazies?

*rubbing temples*

- Doc

[_canpakes]

*rubbing temples*

I see what you did there.

[_canpakes]

... and eat a variety of delicate snacks.

That phrasing makes me immediately think of rice-paper doilies covered in confectioner’s sugar. : )

It’s probably safe to say there will be no robust, bacony treats offered at this establishment. That’s unfortunate.

(pardon me; the coffee just kicked in and I’m terribly immature, to boot.)

[_Doctor CamNC4Me]

*rubbing temples*

I see what you did there.

Ha!

- Doc