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Some context for people wondering what this is about. Wednesday 7th, at 11am, 3 people entered "Charlie Hebdo" a very well known French satirical newspaper and

Some context for people wondering what this is about. Wednesday 7th, at 11am, 3 people entered "Charlie Hebdo" a very well known French satirical newspaper and shot 12 people with kalashnikov. Charlie Hebdo is also known, for their caricatures of the prophet Mahomet. "Je Suis Charlie" means, "I Am Charlie" and is a message of support to the newspaper. This is obviously a very short sum-up.

dankohn1 12y ago
And "Je Suis Charlie" echoes Kennedy's famous line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner
- nkantar 12y ago
  Please tell me "Charlie" refers to something hilarious, much like "ein Berliner" meant "a donut", more/less. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mu02xUgE4k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mu02xUgE4k (Don't mean to take away from the gravity of the situation — merely wanted to share a good laugh.)
  - arrrg 12y ago
    (That's irrelevant. However, it's also an urban legend. Be rest assured that no one in Kennedy's German audience was even for a second confused and didn't understand exactly what he meant. He was perfectly clear. Even if you argue that his choice of words is grammatically questionable – something I disagree with and I think it works quite well as an emphasis and makes it clear that he is speaking figuratively and not simply declaring that he is from Berlin or was born in Berlin – the context of his speech and the preceding sentence as well as the sentence itself make it crystal clear what he is talking about and also insures that no one is thinking of baked things.)
    - mitchty 12y ago
      Yep, Kennedy had his speech prepared by a native German speaker. There was no confusion. An equivalent(ish) English example would be saying "I am a New Yorker." Does it mean you literally are a Reuben (or New Yorker Sandwich)? Hell no, it is plainly obvious that is a ludicrous interpretation even without grammatical context of the rest of the speech.
    - kibibu 12y ago
      Note: If he'd gone to Hamburg and said "I am a Hamburger" this would have also been totally fine.
  - alexhughes 12y ago
    Is it possible that the "je suis charlie" pdf being shared is an ISIS hack, a planted virus? Anyone?
    - IvyMike 12y ago
      I don't understand why you are asking this, multiple times to boot. It seems unlikely to me. Do you have any reason to suspect that?
      - reefab 12y ago
        After the previous attack on Charlie Hebdo in 2011, when their office was firebombed, their website got hacked. Not sure why the previous poster thinks this might be ISIS on the other hand.
  - sacado2 12y ago
    I'm French. There is no hidden pun (at least perceptible by French speakers), sorry.
jknz 12y ago
People are going in the streets to support the newspaper in France and other European cities, a map is available here: http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/carte-interactive-tous-les-rassemblements-en-soutien-a-charlie-hebdo-07-01-2015-4426667.php http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/carte-interactive-tous... A noticeable fact is how mainstream newspapers in France are careful not to make the amalgam between these few barbarians and a whole religion.
- baby 12y ago
  > not to make the amalgam between these few barbarians and a whole religion. Something that reddit doesn't care about at all. I was wondering if no post about this event was on HN's frontpage because it tries to avoid political/flame wars. But now this is on the frontpage 5 hours after... And it's not even relevant.
  - DanBC 12y ago
    The other stories get flagged. Turn on "showdead" to show them. Not sure why you think it's not relevant? Je Suis charlie is the phrase being used to show support and solidarity. (This is an unfortunate language coincidence.)
    - baby 12y ago
      Yes I noticed they got flagged and I guessed HN wanted to avoid that kind of stories here. It's not "as relevant" as an article explaining the story, the wikipedia page, ...
- aragot 12y ago
  > how mainstream newspapers in France are careful not to make the amalgam between these few barbarians and a whole religion Although it would be nice, from a PR standpoint, if some French Muslim organizations could condemn those events, becuase I don't know what most Muslims think about Charlie Hebdo. Have they? I have searched Google News for that and didn't find links, so please post if there are some. Or they may just not be sufficiently organized for PR.
tribaal 12y ago
Just a small precision (I am French and following media closely): - Two people assaulted the office, and killed 10, wounded 11 (4 of which considered critical). - They furthermore killed 2 police officers on their way out, one of them point blank as he lay wounded and was asking for mercy (do yourself a favor and don't look at that witness video. I mean it. NSFL). - They are on the loose and are reported armed with automatic weapons and a rocket launcher. No kidding. - Their car was found in a suburban ghetto (Pantin, in Seine-saint-denis) Sorry for the gory details.
- arcatek 12y ago
  It's important to also note that they have killed four of the main illustrators of the paper. It will be very hard for them to overcome that. However, the others french papers are trying to help the redaction, so maybe Charlie will live.
  - sacado2 12y ago
    It will probably survive, actually. Many people will buy the journal in the next few weeks, even if they never read it before. There are many talentuous cartoonists that can help for a few months if needed. And even without that, how could the French government let that journal fail in the next weeks ? It would be a very negative symbol; that would mean "they" won.

dankohn1 12y ago

And "Je Suis Charlie" echoes Kennedy's famous line: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ich_bin_ein_Berliner

nkantar 12y ago
Please tell me "Charlie" refers to something hilarious, much like "ein Berliner" meant "a donut", more/less. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mu02xUgE4k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mu02xUgE4k (Don't mean to take away from the gravity of the situation — merely wanted to share a good laugh.)
- arrrg 12y ago
  (That's irrelevant. However, it's also an urban legend. Be rest assured that no one in Kennedy's German audience was even for a second confused and didn't understand exactly what he meant. He was perfectly clear. Even if you argue that his choice of words is grammatically questionable – something I disagree with and I think it works quite well as an emphasis and makes it clear that he is speaking figuratively and not simply declaring that he is from Berlin or was born in Berlin – the context of his speech and the preceding sentence as well as the sentence itself make it crystal clear what he is talking about and also insures that no one is thinking of baked things.)
  - mitchty 12y ago
    Yep, Kennedy had his speech prepared by a native German speaker. There was no confusion. An equivalent(ish) English example would be saying "I am a New Yorker." Does it mean you literally are a Reuben (or New Yorker Sandwich)? Hell no, it is plainly obvious that is a ludicrous interpretation even without grammatical context of the rest of the speech.
  - kibibu 12y ago
    Note: If he'd gone to Hamburg and said "I am a Hamburger" this would have also been totally fine.
- alexhughes 12y ago
  Is it possible that the "je suis charlie" pdf being shared is an ISIS hack, a planted virus? Anyone?
  - IvyMike 12y ago
    I don't understand why you are asking this, multiple times to boot. It seems unlikely to me. Do you have any reason to suspect that?
    - reefab 12y ago
      After the previous attack on Charlie Hebdo in 2011, when their office was firebombed, their website got hacked. Not sure why the previous poster thinks this might be ISIS on the other hand.
- sacado2 12y ago
  I'm French. There is no hidden pun (at least perceptible by French speakers), sorry.

jknz 12y ago

People are going in the streets to support the newspaper in France and other European cities, a map is available here: http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/carte-interactive-tous-les-rassemblements-en-soutien-a-charlie-hebdo-07-01-2015-4426667.php http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/carte-interactive-tous... A noticeable fact is how mainstream newspapers in France are careful not to make the amalgam between these few barbarians and a whole religion.

baby 12y ago
> not to make the amalgam between these few barbarians and a whole religion. Something that reddit doesn't care about at all. I was wondering if no post about this event was on HN's frontpage because it tries to avoid political/flame wars. But now this is on the frontpage 5 hours after... And it's not even relevant.
- DanBC 12y ago
  The other stories get flagged. Turn on "showdead" to show them. Not sure why you think it's not relevant? Je Suis charlie is the phrase being used to show support and solidarity. (This is an unfortunate language coincidence.)
  - baby 12y ago
    Yes I noticed they got flagged and I guessed HN wanted to avoid that kind of stories here. It's not "as relevant" as an article explaining the story, the wikipedia page, ...
aragot 12y ago
> how mainstream newspapers in France are careful not to make the amalgam between these few barbarians and a whole religion Although it would be nice, from a PR standpoint, if some French Muslim organizations could condemn those events, becuase I don't know what most Muslims think about Charlie Hebdo. Have they? I have searched Google News for that and didn't find links, so please post if there are some. Or they may just not be sufficiently organized for PR.

tribaal 12y ago

Just a small precision (I am French and following media closely): - Two people assaulted the office, and killed 10, wounded 11 (4 of which considered critical). - They furthermore killed 2 police officers on their way out, one of them point blank as he lay wounded and was asking for mercy (do yourself a favor and don't look at that witness video. I mean it. NSFL). - They are on the loose and are reported armed with automatic weapons and a rocket launcher. No kidding. - Their car was found in a suburban ghetto (Pantin, in Seine-saint-denis) Sorry for the gory details.

arcatek 12y ago
It's important to also note that they have killed four of the main illustrators of the paper. It will be very hard for them to overcome that. However, the others french papers are trying to help the redaction, so maybe Charlie will live.
- sacado2 12y ago
  It will probably survive, actually. Many people will buy the journal in the next few weeks, even if they never read it before. There are many talentuous cartoonists that can help for a few months if needed. And even without that, how could the French government let that journal fail in the next weeks ? It would be a very negative symbol; that would mean "they" won.