Shot in the Dark

Waiting Game

Berg’s 18th Law says to ignore all news about mass shootings for 48 hours; the mainstream media will be more into scooping their competition than getting their facts straight.  

On the other hand, the CBC isn’t the most sensationalistic source out there:

“It seemed to me that they had a Quebecois accent. They started to fire, and as they shot they yelled, ‘Allahu akbar!’ The bullets hit people that were praying. People who were praying lost their lives. A bullet passed right over my head,” said the witness. 

Remember – Canada is a gun free zone.  

Fat lotta good it did, as usual.

 

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Mitch Berg

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26 responses to “Waiting Game”

  1. Alt-Good Swiftee Avatar
    Alt-Good Swiftee

    Sunnis killing Wahabbis, Wahabbis killing Shiahs? Shias killing everyone else? It’s impossible to keep the slayers straight without a program, folks.

  2. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Hmm. Perp’s names are Alexandre Bissonnette and Mohamed Khadir.

  3. Penigma Avatar
    Penigma

    Two thoughts, first, Canada is hardly a gun-free zone. It’s harder than here, but hardly impossible to get a gun.

    Second, Swift, it’s highly unlikely to have been Shias killing Sunnis, it’s more likely IF the shooters were Muslim that they were Wahabi Sunni killing Sunnis they thought were apostates. That’s what ISIS is, that’s what ISIS origin, Al Qaeda in Iraq, is and was. Shia-ism has not really engaged in killing other Muslims except in reprisal.

    Third, this could just as easily be white supremacists reacting to the Canadian PM’s decision to accept refugees when Trump turned them away. It could also be ISIS inspired killings attempting to incite the same sort of violence and hatred in Canada that fear has inspired here.

    Mitch, if you say you want to wait to pass judgment, it’s probably best to not speculate what the origin is, because what you’ve done here certainly looks a lot like saying, I don’t want to rush to judgment but they sure seem guilty. You look to be making the accusation while trying to claim innocence. If this were Sunnis/ISS, that’s ghastly enough and perhaps we should be mindful of FDR’s words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” ISIS is looking to inspire fear, are we going to succumb to that fear and impair our own liberties? The impact of terrorism, quoting the former National Security Administration leader under George W Bush, is strategically irrelevant to the actual safety of country and is FAR smaller than the threat China or Russia pose, so should we/are we being responsible citizens if we allow that threat to fundamentally change how we do things?

  4. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    I’m amazed at the lack of MSM coverage of this. Is it because its Canada? Because there is little info to pass on? Doesn’t it fit the narrative (left or right)?

  5. Chuck Avatar
    Chuck

    JPA, did a Yahoo search on those names, and only news item I can find is in French out of Quebec.

  6. nerdbert Avatar
    nerdbert

    Actually, NPR did a fair job of covering the “breaking news” part of it yesterday evening. Their coverage cooled off quickly when it became evident that it was more likely to be a Muslim “workplace violence” incident rather than an interfaith “hate crime”.

    Off topic, but related: for all you NRA members, Gander Mountain is giving you 10% off on most regularly priced firearms until Sunday. Kind of nice if you’re in the market for a new carry option.

  7. nerdbert Avatar
    nerdbert

    I should remark, though, that Quebec City is pretty insular even by Quebec standards. Most places you go in Quebec you can get by with English fairly well, but Quebec City is pretty much French-only. It’s very proud of its heritage and my experience was you pretty much needed to at least make an effort to speak French there.

  8. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    nerd;

    Went to Quebec about 8 years ago and even though I remembered some French from when I was in Vietnam, I felt like the Griswolds in European Vacation. Didn’t realize they were that strict or I would have used Rosetta Stone for a couple of months before I left. Please, thank you and Molson, were the most I could muster.

  9. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Boss, if you were asking for a Laurentide and not Molson (even though it is brewed by Molson) you would have had no issue communicating.

    I have not been to Quebec City, but had been to Montreal more times than I care to remember. On the South shore, people would refuse to speak English to you even if they knew it. Just because. I would then switch to Russian, and viola, they would answer in English. Québécois are fiercely nationalist and protectionist, and if you think they are “nice” Canadians, they are not. You want to immigrate and settle in Quebec? you HAVE to learn French. What a barbaric concept! Where is ACLU when you need them? Or QCLU in their case.

  10. The Big Stink Avatar
    The Big Stink

    Canada is, indeed, a gun-free zone but it is NOT a Muslim-free zone.

  11. Mammuthus Primigenius Avatar
    Mammuthus Primigenius

    So the Ontarian wants to become a Newfie. He goes to a doctor, and the doctor tells him that it is a simple operation, it only requires removing 1/3 of the brain. The Ontarian says okay. When the patient wakes up, the doctor tells him that he is very sorry, but there was a mishap during the operation, and that he has removed not 1/3 of his brain, but 2/3. The patient replies “Qu’est-ce que vous avez dit, monsieur?”

  12. bikebubba Avatar
    bikebubba

    Khadir is no longer a suspect. Just Mssr. Bissonnette. Student. Apparently French-Canadian and not a Muslim. Family of gun owners, unclear whether he owned the gun(s) he used legally or not. The Muslims appear to be victims here pending further evidence.

    I was once sent (business) to Quebec so I could translate for a Swiss vendor who was vacationing there–so I got sent to Quebec to speak German. Go figure.

  13. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    Off topic some but: A number of years back I was on a musky fishing trip early October on a Ontario lake. We were the last customers of the season and the resort had a closing party at the lodge for all their cabin customers. A couple of brothers I was with were Americans of French heritage (French sir names but couldn’t speak a word of French). One of the other cabins was Quebec City French folks (they spoke very little English..seemingly). Well after many Molsons, Carlings, Labats, and plenty of Canadian whiskey was had the conversation between my buddies and the QC guys went to an argument of WHO WAS MORE FRENCH?!!! That’s when the brawl started! Those of us watching broke up the fight pretty quick, but it was a nasty affair.

    There are plenty of French Canadians that don’t like anybody that aren’t French Canadians; including Muslims, Americans, and other Canadians.

  14. nerdbert Avatar
    nerdbert

    jpa, I’ve been to Montreal regularly as in well more than 100 times. It was only a little over an hour away from where I lived in Vermont. My French was passable in that I could usually understand enough to understand casual conversations, but not fluent enough that I would try to speak it without cause. Which led to some pretty interesting situations when I would casually indicate that I understood what they were saying when they were talking among themselves and thinking I couldn’t . We had a supplier there with whom we were negotiating who regretted assuming Americans couldn’t speak another language… And some waiters who really, really regretted what they said behind our backs.

    But Quebec City is very different from Montreal. It’s small, insular, bigoted, and militantly pro-Quebecois. You don’t speak English there. But they used to have some of the best cross-country and biathlon meets in the northeast part of the country. And they were even closer than Montreal to where I lived so I went there even more than I did Montreal (even though it took longer to get there).

    Ah, the times when the Canuk border wasn’t an active deterrent!

  15. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    nerd, all true. And you are lucky not to have DUI on your record, else you are not getting into Canada. The barbarity!

    Here is the latest on the shooting from Globe and Mail, http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-city-mosque-attack/article33826078/

    My guess, McDreamy chose to use the “T” word because based on the latest news it appears only AB is the shooter. Else, it would be a case of workplace violence.

  16. bosshoss429 Avatar
    bosshoss429

    nerd;

    You just gave me an LOL moment with your story about the restaurant.

    The same thing happened to me during a mission to Rhein Main AFB in Frankfurt, Germany in 1974. I ran into an friend from high school on the flight line when we landed. Both sides of his family are German, so he spoke it fluently. After work, we went off base to eat, have a few beers and catch up. There were two couples at a table next to ours and they started disparaging the “fucking Americans” and having a few laughs. When Steve had enough, he said, “Watch this” and proceeded to tell them that both of us were of German heritage and they should be careful about discussing other people in a condescending manner, but it was much more colorful than that. I thought the women were going to die of embarrassment, because some other patrons were laughing at them, too. They left in a hurry and two guys sitting at another table, insisted on buying us a round.

  17. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Scott, on Lake Ontario or a Lake in Ontario?

    And, Quebecois are projecting. They get dissed in France very badly for not being able to speak proper French. to return the favor, I have seen a Frenchman get treated very badly in Montreal for speaking, well, French. The chip on their shoulder is very big and heavy ever since they lost the war. They are very fierce about their identity and nothing will stand in their way, not French, not English, not Muslim, not anybody who does not integrate.

  18. Mammuthus Primigenius Avatar
    Mammuthus Primigenius

    There’s another joke where the Quebcois in Paris goes to a restaurant, orders in French, and the waiter responds using bad, heavily accented English.

  19. Night Writer Avatar
    Night Writer

    My wife and I were in Quebec City about 20 years ago, and loved it. It is one of our favorite places – and as much like a trip to Europe as you can have without crossing an ocean. We stayed mostly in the old town area (inside the city walls) and had no trouble speaking English at our hotel or at the restaurants on “Eat Street”. We even had a waitress happily explain to us why all the coffee tasted so good there – a French press (which we hadn’t heard of at the time). We’d go back without hesitation.

  20. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    JPA, The story comes from Bonny Bay Camp on lake Wabagoon, Dryden, Ontario. We fished muskies on many lakes, Lake of the Woods, Eagle, Lac Seul, and many more. The folks at the Ontario lakes welcomed the Quebec folks but didn’t necessarily enjoy their company much. Joyless bastards in camp from my experiences, they always seemed to have a chip on their shoulders. like you were saying always felt dissed and PO’d at the world. Fair or unfair?

  21. Scott Hughes Avatar
    Scott Hughes

    JPA, P.S.: As an American you never wanted to diss the Queen, unless you were talking to a French Canadian!

  22. Penigma Avatar
    Penigma

    Well, there goes that “it was Muslims” theory/allusion.

    http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-city-mosque-attack-the-victims-the-suspect-the-reaction/article33845512/

    So, does this count as Right-Wing Terrorism? If lose affiliation with the ideas of ISIS constitutes Islamic Terrrorism, then I can’t see how this wouldn’t.

  23. Mitch Berg Avatar
    Mitch Berg

    Pen,

    Well, yeah – Berg’s 18th Law is vindicated again. As always.

    Does it count as right wing terror? Hey, what doesn’t, to the left, these days?

    Again – we don’t know a whole lot about Mr. Bissonnette’s motivations yet.

    If the story disappears, that’ll mean it’s probably nothing right-wing. Amirite?

  24. The Big Stink Avatar
    The Big Stink

    JPA: Spent some time working with a guy who was a contractor working with French Canadians. He spent about 6 months working shoulder-to-shoulder with them. By the time his contract was up he wanted to stab all of them with a dull screwdriver.

  25. justplainangry Avatar
    justplainangry

    Dryden, that’s Northern Ontario. G’*d’s country. What the heck were Quebecois doing there? I am surprised they ventured there, there is a ton of awesome fishing in Quebec.

    Yea, the chip is enormous and for the most part they are quite intolerant, but most of all arrogant. Think of it as a province full of libturds. You do not want to get caught speaking English in a bar full of drunk Quebecois on June 24th when Quebec celebrates St. John Baptiste day, which loosely translates to “We Hate the English Day”. That, and the slogan on their license plates is “Je me souviens”. Most people think it reminds people that Quebec was once “free” and can be again. So yea, huge chip.

    That said, I worked very closely with my Quebecois co-workers in Montreal and cannot say anything but good things about them. They always watched my back. Maybe it is because I, technically, was not an outsider to them?

  26. bikebubba Avatar
    bikebubba

    My mom and dad took a trip to Quebec City about 47 years ago, and found that having an infant along (me) was very helpful to find out whether people knew English. Baby cries, people speak English.

    I’m also told, per Nerdbert’s comment, that a lot of the famous “snootiness” of the French may be just a cultural misunderstanding. The cultural habit in Paris, and I’d assume Quebec City, is to greet store visitors with a “Bonjour”. If you respond, they’ll generally help you as much as they can. If you don’t, they think you’re trying to be rude.

    All of which has nothing to do with this atrocity, of course.

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