Jihadists take 170 people hostage in Mali hotel

[Thor]

http://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-africa-34815762

Key Points

170 people 'taken hostage' in Mali hotel
Malian soldiers outside the hotel in Bamako
Hotel says there are two attackers
Chinese news agency reports Chinese among those taken
Gunmen described as "jihadists"

[Thor]

Also I wonder if its time we started an ongoing thread for terrorist attacks?

[CampbellsTransgressions]

Hotel is under attack right now, at least 1 french hostage freed.

Many of the hostages are believed to be French or Turkish.

Then there are reports that they were releasing anyone who could recite a passage from the Quran.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Three dead at this stage is the latest report, all during the initial assault (no hostage killings reported that I can see). 80 of the 170 hostages have been released or managed to escape; Reuters is also reporting that hostages are being released upon recitation of scripture but a bunch of them just managed to slip out.

Nothing's changed in the last 40 minutes or so.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Knew I'd heard of this tactic somewhere before: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...recite-5455135

[nfotiu]

Now all of a sudden we care about violence in Africa? Anything to keep everyone in a tizzy about terrorism and watching cnn, I guess.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Hey, we've moved on from caring about lions to humans, at least. Societal moral progress.

[bubbsy]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Now all of a sudden we care about violence in Africa? Anything to keep everyone in a tizzy about terrorism and watching cnn, I guess.

it's a good point. I suppose it gets more eyes on it when it involves the J word.

[wooohooo]

Supposedly they're realising people if they can recite parts of koran

[Slava]

Originally Posted by Thor

Also I wonder if its time we started an ongoing thread for terrorist attacks?

Ugh. Lets not. I don't understand why we can't have separate threads for separate things. I hate having to wade through hundreds of posts on something when a new thread is just simple and topical. Maybe I'm the only one though.

To me these kinds of events are so newsworthy that we should have separate threads.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by Thor

Also I wonder if its time we started an ongoing thread for terrorist attacks?

Unfortunately, I think this is pretty much going to be the new normal internationally, not unlike mass shootings in the USA. Of course most of these things are going to happen in developing countries or muslim majority countries.

Originally Posted by Slava

Ugh. Lets not. I don't understand why we can't have separate threads for separate things. I hate having to wade through hundreds of posts on something when a new thread is just simple and topical. Maybe I'm the only one though.

To me these kinds of events are so newsworthy that we should have separate threads.

Yeah, but they get buried and you end up having the same conversation about overriding topics again and again and again. Additionally, it results in a bunch of these stories never coming up for discussion because "eh, a few kids were killed in some far-off place I've never heard of... threadworthy?"

For example, there's an hour long interview with Sarah Haider coming out earlier this morning that I hope is illuminating. If I made a new thread, it might get 50 views and no replies and fall off the page. Something like that, it makes sense to post in a broader thread. I think perhaps there should be a mass-thread on this topic.

On the other hand, the amalgam of stories tends to lump them all together in a sort of narrative when they really are separate instances. I have no doubt that there are significant differences between this event and the Paris attacks. Treating them as part of the same overriding thing is only partly true, I suppose.

[Slava]

^well maybe an ongoing terrorism discussion thread? I just don't see why we need these gigantic threads for separate news events though. Threads are free, right? So there is really no advantage to a hundred pages of discussion with new events interspersed. Lots of us apparently get a lot of news from CP...whether that is good or not isn't the point, but getting information here is harder when you have a 100 pages and then some event takes place on page 89.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

I take your point. I would say that there are a few advantages - having a place to post things that you thought were interesting on the topic but might not really be threadworthy is one. Another is that people look back through them when posting sometimes, so you'd have a post from eight months ago dug up in the context of current conversation rather than having to go over the same stuff again. It's just convenient in that way.

For example, that "What Isis Really Wants" article I posted in the Paris attacks thread was apparently read for the first time by many and found interesting when I posted it, but it was actually published back in March. Having that stuff in one place has something to be said for it.

Really, that "ISIS seizes Mosul" thread has sort of currently evolved into the "Mass ISIS thread" as it is, but not all of these things are ISIS-related despite the common thread of jihadism.

Anyway, huge thread de-rail.

[Itse]

I'm will for that derailment and a general Islamist terrorism thread. (There's still other kind, but a far right racist loonie shooting up a church in the US is a very different topic from ISIS.)

[EldrickOnIce]

Or simply an 'Islamic State' thread

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by EldrickOnIce

Or simply an 'Islamic State' thread

The problem is that Al-Shabbab, Al Qaeda and its various branches, etc aren't IS and are actually in opposition to IS for various reasons but are still doing many of the same things. This story in this thread is almost certainly not ISIS.

Further, there are non-terroristic instances of extremism causing utter horror - The 2002 Mecca Girls' School Fire is a perfect example.

So I don't think "ISIS thread" does it.

Also, this thread is now the "Mass Islamist Extremism Thread Discussion Thread".

[puckedoff]

Or simply, an 'Islamic State'

[Buff]

Originally Posted by nfotiu

Now all of a sudden we care about violence in Africa? Anything to keep everyone in a tizzy about terrorism and watching cnn, I guess.

Shouldn't we care for all of our fellow human beings no matter where they are from?

Pretty heartless to pick and choose one person in strife over another person in strife because of where they are from.

[CroFlames]

A new thread per topic. Not all attacks are the same, and someone will inevitably make a new thread when a slightly bigger story breaks. There already is a general ISIS thread so post minor stories in there.

Back on topic, the report says 3 people killed unfortunately and the siege is now over.

It's just so... senseless. Kill people who don't believe what you believe. Sickening.

But I suppose if what you believe in clearly states you have to kill people who don't believe what you believe, well then there is a major issue at hand.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

According to the Guardian the death toll is reported at 27 (UN sources).