If you were a wingnut during the 2000’s (as some idiots were, not mentioning any makes *COUGH COUGH*), French bashing was, umm, in vogue. So when I read this story about the two hero marines who were shot up while overpowering a madman on a French train after they heard him loading a weapon in the bathroom and saw this, I giggled. A lot:
I’m a horrible person.
Jeffro
John the guy cut his hand smashing the glass to sound the alarm, can’t you show a little respect for our Surrender Monkey brethren??
Also, huzzah US Marines!!
Mnemosyne (tablet)
The actual story says he was “lightly injured,” which seems like a very British turn of phrase.
I’ll have to seek out that guy’s movies. He’s kinda cute.
Comrade Mary
From The Guardian:
The soldiers were brave, trained and effective. I’m very glad they acted as they did. [Somewhat famous person’s] injury, while mild, got some press attention because [somewhat famous person]. Sounding the alarm was a decent, albeit not heroic response. What’s so funny about it?
redshirt
Sacre Blue!!!
RepubAnon
Don’t mind me, I’ll just keep eating my “freedom fries.”
JPL
France 24 which I can watch on my antenna gave the Americans all kinds of kuddos. When I was watching they didn’t mention the actor. I blame Obama and the Brits.
Arclite
Well, in America this is about as much as we know about the French and their culture.
From Better Off Dead.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Comrade Mary:
I think the funny part is that they obviously used a PR shot from a red carpet appearance, not a news photo.
beltane
I am very proud of those two Marines. They prevented a bloodbath.
Mike J
I doubt this story is actually true. They didn’t use any guns to stop stop a gunman, and the NRA has sworn to me that’s not possible.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@beltane:
I’m always way more impressed with unarmed people who defeat a gunman than I am by gunplay. Life is not a B Western.
Jeffro
@Mike J: “like”
rikyrah
Sorry for his injury. Don’t laugh at him, Cole.
PS-where are the animal pics?
Comrade Mary
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Yeah, check out Betty Blue. Make yourself verrrrry comfortable for the opening scene.
beltane
At least this guy sounded the alarm. In situations like this it’s common for people to do more useless things such as screaming, cowering, or praying.
NotMax
Your funny meter overdue for its recommended 100,000 giggle tune-up.
;)
Mike in NC
Guy bears a little bit of a resemblance to Kevin Spacey.
Mike J
@efgoldman: To be fair, they were coming from Amsterdam, which is famous for providing tourists cannabis and hookers.
beltane
@Mike J: Maybe they just want to check out the Van Gogh museum.
BillinGlendaleCA
@JPL:
Is it a day that ends in ‘y’?
MomSense
@rikyrah:
We need proof of life for Steve. It has been months since we have seen him.
jl
@MomSense: Ditto. Steve pics.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Comrade Mary:
Oh, I’ve seen That Scene. Yowza. And he still looks pretty damn good for a guy who just turned 60.
(The weird part is that I saw it because I was at the film study center when I was an undergrad and the guy sitting at the monitor next to me was watching it. It was eye-catching, to say the least.)
debbie
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I remember liking Betty Blue, but I don’t remember seeing him in anything else.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Mike in NC:
Really? He strikes me as much more Springsteen.
MomSense
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I saw it on a date with a guy from France and remember wondering if there were cultural differences in what passed for a first date film in France.
Mike J
@beltane: The canal tour is lovely and relaxing.
Speaking of which, here’s yesterday’s boating.
Hagatha B Stakkin
I was trying to figure out who this guy looks like and every time I look at him I come up with a different answer. Yes, he looks a lot like Kevin Spacey. Also an older Edward Norton, Noah Wyle and/or Jon Cusack. I can see some Hugh Jackman and Michael Gross in there too.
He’s a human Rorschach test.
TaMara (BHF)
I’m not sure a man who flashed his hairy testicle for an afternoon, should be pointing and laughing at a guy who kept his head and sounded the alarm during a crisis.
Roger Moore
I guess any American has the advantage of knowing what to do in the event of a mass shooting.
Omnes Omnibus
@TaMara (BHF): FTW.
wasabi gasp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmlVCQ_WDHQ&t=2m4s
PhoenixRising
You kinda buried the lede there, Cole.
The US Marines: Looking for a few men who can overpower an armed aspiring terrorist as he leaves the bathroom.
Suzanne
@TaMara (BHF): We are talking about a dood who FUBARed himself lifting his puppy so her paws didn’t get chilly.
Betty Cracker
@NotMax: You worried about the hurricane?
jl
@PhoenixRising: Yeah, well, my man Cole can step in pet poop every other day (it seems) and he doesn’t even flinch.
psycholinguist
REcONNNN………….!!!!!!
Somebody needed to do it
ThresherK (GPad)
@MomSense: Okay, I haven’t heard of this actor, or movie. But my wife and I are seeing it next date night. She likes Continental actors with that Jenny say quoits (per Pogo).
Omnes Omnibus
@psycholinguist:
Are you completely convinced of that?
Omnes Omnibus
@ThresherK (GPad): It has Béatrice Dalle.
benw
You people are all crazy, he looks like a super-suave John Cusack. Also, I thought Cole would feel better after his nap, but maybe not? Why are we laughing at this dude?
BR
I’m curious if anyone has been reading about Bernie Sanders’s South Carolina visit today. I’ve been tentative in my support of his candidacy — I generally agree with him but to me he’s no Obama in his breadth and thoughtfulness (despite being more in line with my policy views).
What I’m wondering is this: who showed up for the SC rallies? The primary there is largely minority voters, and the demographic of his crowd is a big tell for me whether he really has a chance.
Suzanne
Lord have mercy, I am exhausted. And I forgot to charge my vibrator. Vibrators have to be charged now. Fuck, it almost makes masturbation feel like work. Damn kids get off my lawn.
Omnes Omnibus
@benw: Cole is laughing at him because he is French. No one else is laughing.
MomSense
@Omnes Omnibus:
Exactement.
Roger Moore
@Omnes Omnibus:
Especially not the helicopters.
@Suzanne:
TMI! TMI!
David Koch
Trump 32
¡Jeb! 16
Carson 8
Now that’s funny.
Omnes Omnibus
@Roger Moore: Especially not them.
BR
@efgoldman:
I just figured someone might have watched the video about it — I generally am trying not to trust media reports on this kind of thing…
I’ll watch the video later I guess…
benw
@Suzanne: Hey, sorry you’re low on batteries, but rechargeable batteries are really better for the environment. I mean, seriously, if you’re heading toward a mind-blowing orgasm, wouldn’t you rather be green?
Belafon
For those of you who might want to find something funny in the Clinton email saga, this is from her press secretary (h/t Daily Kos):
NotMax
@Betty Cracker
Nope, not about this one (Kino). The track projections put it far enough away from Maui that all we’re likely to get is some fringe winds and rain.
Kauai, on the other hand…
Suzanne
@benw: I KNOW, but I already have so much stuff that needs charging. I have those damn lightning cables all over the place.
BR
@Belafon:
I’d like to see them do a good turnabout using that and hammer the house GOP hard with it — otherwise, it tells me they’re just not serious.
David Koch
@BR: Here’s a photo of the rally, you can judge the demographics.
Calouste
@David Koch: And in a Trump/Jeb/Carson three-way it’s 44/29/25. Which means that Jeb will have to get 80% of the Carson voters to win. The Bushies are going to have to put a lot of pressure on Walker, Kasich and Rubio to get them out of the race early, so they can round up those voters behind Jeb. The others either don’t matter, are immune to pressure from the Bushies (Cruz, Huckabee, Paul) or are more likely to switch to Trump or Carson.
BR
@David Koch:
Hmm, that’s disappointing. Tells me that Bernie isn’t serious. This was the big test for him — without non-white voters, a Democrat might as well not even run. And in South Carolina of all places if he wasn’t able to reach out to a broader swath of the electorate, then he doesn’t have what it takes.
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Talk to Captain Kirk.
@efgoldman:
Oh dear god.
Another Holocene Human
@efgoldman: *sad trombone*
NotMax
@efgoldman
Never buy a vibrator endorsed by Bruce Banner.
Words to live by. :)
seaboogie
My favorite person from the anti-French brigade is Walter B. Jones (Rep-NC) who coined the phrase “Freedom Fries”, which was beyond ridiculous – and he eventually realized that.
He has an actual conscience, and not only contacted W later to specifically rescind his vote for the Iraq war, but kept pictures of the deceased veterans of the Iraq war in his office.
Here is a good link to his enlightenment on that subject: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/01/three-conversions-walter-b-jones
And we got John G onside too. Big win for heart and intelligence in Appalachia – it’s not just meth labs and toothless wonders lacking all reasonable hope in a truly messed up economy there.
Another Holocene Human
@Omnes Omnibus: Captain Pike was the one who did the deed with Vina, who could turn green to suit her mood.
/total nerd
Another Holocene Human
@efgoldman:
No, but a Dem could win NC or GA, if not this cycle, then the next one.
Omnes Omnibus
@Another Holocene Human: I differ to your expertise.
trollhattan
@efgoldman:
One day while waiting in my office lobby for the elevator, EMTs wheeled a guy out on a gurney who’d been found slumped over at his desk, and he was quite the shade of green.
I’d prefer being run over by a semi to dying at the fucking office.
benw
@Suzanne: And when you get home and find the vibrator, of all things, is dead…
NotMax
@Another Holocene Human
An 11 on the scale of difficulty, because…
(wait for it)
… it’s not easy being green.
Betty Cracker
CNN has a video clip someone took inside the train. The passengers had the terrorist trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Good for them.
BR
@efgoldman:
It’s not that I expect him to win SC in the general — it’s more about telling me whether his campaign is reaching out or not. I can understand in IA or NH if his rallies are monochromatic — they’re not much more ethnically diverse than Vermont. But in SC if he can’t reach out and have at least some diversity at his rallies, how is he going to win in NV, CO, NM, VA, NC, OH in the general?
I was hoping that he was for real, but I’m guessing not.
Another Holocene Human
@Omnes Omnibus: I’m going to save your comment, laminate it, and show it to my Dad, who wanted me to stop wasting my life watching Star Trek reruns.
Omnes Omnibus
@Another Holocene Human: Consider the source.
Calouste
@efgoldman: Walker is at 5%, lower than “Wouldn’t vote”. Carson is the one at 8%.
Actually, all the GOP candidates currently in office are polling lower then “None of the Above”, and their combined vote is only 24.9%.
NotMax
@BR
Per the census bureau (as of 2013), Iowa is about 12% non-white.
Betty Cracker
@BR: Sounds like he’s reaching out.
Roger Moore
@Calouste:
That is seven kinds of awesome.
Omnes Omnibus
@Roger Moore: Just seven?
BR
@NotMax:
But only 5% of the eligible voter population is non-white in Iowa:
http://www.pewhispanic.org/fact-sheets/2014-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2014-election-iowa/#characteristics-of-eligible-voters-in-iowa-by-race-and-ethnicity
BR
@Betty Cracker:
I noticed that article too — I guess maybe I’m judging too soon and need to wait until his second visit to SC to see if his outreach actually makes a difference?
Tommy
@PhoenixRising: Semper Fi!
Tommy
@BR: I consider Iowa a sister state for me here in rural Illinois. The town I live in is 98% “white” if you believe the Census. I can go many days and not see a single person of color. I make note of when I do because it is so rare. Makes me think strange things, like how we vote or this or that ……
wasabi gasp
@Tommy: You probably couldn’t say the same for Suzanne’s personal appliance. I would like you to try, though.
Omnes Omnibus
@wasabi gasp: Lorem semper?
Felixmoronia
Probably Marine Security Guards traveling between DenHague/A’dam
and Paris for some reason. They always travel in pairs.
BillinGlendaleCA
@Suzanne: So, I take it you have an iVibrator? Damn, crApple makes everything now(almost like ‘Hello Kitty’*).
*Yes, there is a ‘Hello Kitty’ vibrator.
Omnes Omnibus
@BillinGlendaleCA: Stop talking now.
wasabi gasp
@Omnes Omnibus: Your big brain is squashing my ha ha.
David Koch
@efgoldman: goldie, you mentioned the other day that you’re turning 70.
There has been a lot of focus on the 60s by historians and it produces a lot of books and documentaries, but they’re never good at discussing the emotion and mood of a particular moment.
Can you tell us – is Trump comparable to Goldwater. Was he as crazy/nuts/looney as Trump today or was he more so or less so?
Thnx
BillinGlendaleCA
@Omnes Omnibus: LMAO.
Omnes Omnibus
@wasabi gasp: Deal with it.
trollhattan
@David Koch:
Heh.
Goldwater was, if not the antithesis of Trump at least his inverse WRT personality and love of the spotlight. I’d like to think that were he still alive he’d by now have reFudiated the Republican Party entirely. He showed a capacity for learning and evolving, becoming staunchly anti-fundy Christian.
Mnemosyne
@ThresherK (GPad):
Prepare yourself that you will see all of Jean-Hugues Anglade. ALL of him. I was pleased, but I am a straight woman.
Also note that it does not have a happy ending, because it is French. Another thing that makes it a bad first date movie, but a perfectly fine ongoing relationship movie.
BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: Goldwater was a small government conservative, including social issues. His son was my congresscriter when I was a tiny tot.
wasabi gasp
Panico! Panico!
David Koch
Even Coulter thinks Eghazi is boring. Someone needs to tell political press
BillinGlendaleCA
@David Koch: On the bright side, it’s reduced my viewing of Morning Joe.
Anoniminous
@trollhattan:
Goldwater was the start of the arc that leads to Trump but the two are so different it’s almost meaningless to compare them.
Just realized, it would be meaningful to compare George Wallace and Trump.
Now there’s a barf-inducing thought.
piratedan
RIP Wrangler Jane (Melody Patterson) just one of my many pre-teen crushes now gone… first it was Batgirl and now Wrangler Jane, someone please check and make sure that Dawn Wells is still among us?
J R in WV
Goldwater was scary because he seemed to favor immediate nuclear attack when international relations got touchy.
He lost because that commercial with the little girl picking petals from a daisy, when the mushroom cloud rose in the background was too close to reality for the vast majority of voters. If I recall correctly the commercial wasn’t ran as a commercial more than a handful of times, but was a news item in a way that such things can’t be news today.
Goldwater was a sensible and sane man compared to La Cruz, Walker, Carson, Trump, etc, etc.
What she said about George Wallace, twice!!
piratedan
@Anoniminous: Trump certainly has a Huey Long element to his “style” doesn’t he?
BillinGlendaleCA
@J R in WV: The ‘Daisy commercial’ ran only once.
David Koch
@BillinGlendaleCA: it only ran once, but more importantly it got replays on all the network news shows which had yuuuuge ratings at the time.
joel hanes
@Mike J:
here’s yesterday’s boating.
Villago Delenda Est
@efgoldman: They’re just doing what their hero, the shitty grade Z movie star, did…mistake the movies for real life. That’s how the lackwit “remembered” liberating concentration camps in Europe…when he never left CONUS.
Villago Delenda Est
@trollhattan: He recognized them for what they are…authoritarian assholes who would use Nazi Germany as their template for America.
Kathleen
@J R in WV: The behavior of Goldwater supporters at the 1964 GOP convention presaged behavior we’ve seen over the years. John Chancellor of NBC News was either arrested or thrown out, which at that time was unheard of. My memories of that time are that the MSM considered Goldwater an extremist. EFGoldman, you can correct me if I’m wrong here.
Kathleen
@Kathleen: “Undefined” is me. Sounds like an Idiocracy character. I was trying to edit and must have missed the deadline.
Ramalama
@redshirt: I learned the hard way (in front of children) that that’s not a phrase French people use…just cartoons…and other Americans!
Matt McIrvin
Apparently they actually weren’t Marines; one was Air Force and the other was Oregon National Guard.
Ramalama
@Tommy: Are you in the tri-state area then? Like Iowa’s a hop, skip, and a jump away?
debbie
@Ramalama:
Actually, it dates back to Pope Gregory and the 13th century, but that’s a different story (and it’s a religious, not kid’s story).
Betty
@Matt McIrvin: France 24 reported them as Marines last night. Seeing the story about it this morning, it seems there were several errors in the original reporting, including who was injured and how.
Seth Owen
Marines always get good press and often deserve it, but in this case it appears the heroes were a disparate group of somewhat less legendary stature.
The latest reports seem to ID them as an Air Force guy, (cut, maybe shot, not life-threatening), an Oregon Army National Guardsman, a black American college student and a British businessman. A famous French actor was injured slightly when he broke the glass on an alarm.
As some commenter noted over on Daily Kos, the key thing here was that someone, (National Guard or Air Force my best guess) recognized the sound of a magazine being inserted into the AK, which gave them a crucial edge in confronting the gunman as he left the bathroom on the train. Seconds count for a lot when you are dealing with a weapon like an AK.
The potential for carnage was enormous. A real tragedy was averted by these guys.
Marc
@BR: Condemning people for the demographics of the crowd that attends their rallies is pretty bizarre. Sanders is drawing really large crowds; I suspect that no evidence, short of an all black crowd, would be enough to prove that the right sort of people want to hear him speak.
Tripod
I figured the guys are intel and were minding him.
_PK_
Not that they don’t deserve them, but what’s with medals being given mere hours after the incident? Do French police have a box of medals in the trunk ready to be awarded? Anyways, well done by these passengers — I just thought getting medals so soon was weird.
Ramalama
@debbie: Right, but it’s not in use now. Though Tabernacle? Can’t use it in polite company. In Quebec province.
Kevin Berger
“I’m a horrible person.”
Yes, you are, just as you were a wingnut; today, you still are a French-basher, and a cunt, albeit you roll yourself in the “liberal” flag, not the “conservative” one.
And, on a lighter note, today marks the 101st anniversary of the French army’s single bloodiest day : 27 000 KIA on the 22nd of August 1914, out of a 38 millions population. I might add that my grandmother lost 4 out of 5 of her uncles in this war (which France WON, not alone, not easily, but fucking WON, by the way, no matter how revisionist the US version of History gets, “two WW back to back” and all). Only her father escaped out of that one.
John Cole, you’re a fucker, you’re just the same as you were back in your “wingnut” days”, you just have found an easy way out and “found the light”. You are a rat who jumped out of a sinking ship, you’re a racist piece of shit, period.
Bloix
Actually I thought it was kind of amusing.
I think what happened was that the initial reporting was completely screwed up – what happened, number of injured, who was involved, etc – and he got counted in the wounded when some reporter saw him getting a band-aid. Then they had to walk it back.
Paul Dempsey
@trollhattan: Goldwater had the aura of a man who thinks and has considered opinions. He felt responsible. I didn’t agree with his conclusions, but had a vestigial respect for the man. Trump is not half the man Goldwater was.