One issue regarding the Kosher market attacks by Coulibaly continues to have conflicting information: his motive for picking the Kosher market. In his swan song video and his conversations recorded when his phone had not hung up after talking to a news station, he doesn't mention animosity towards Jews as a motive. His anger is directed at the French Government.

Now there's an interview with one of the hostages who he was talking to him during the incident, trying to empathize with him. The hostage says:

Google translated version: [More...]

Update: Tsarnaev's defense team has now requested a continuance due to the Paris shootings.

Boston Magazine has an interesting interview with Stephen Jones, lead trial counsel for Timothy McVeigh, "Tale of Two Trials" on similarities and differences in McVeigh's case and that of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.

On jury selection, he raises the issue of the "stealth juror."

The federal courts, in my opinion, engage in a fiction. The fiction is — and some sincerely believe it, but I think nevertheless it’s a fiction — that once the juror takes an oath as a juror that their personality and character sort of changes and now they recognize this tremendous responsibility on them. I’ve not found that to be true.

What I’ve found is that the more notorious the case is, or the greater the publicity, jurors campaign to be on the jury so they can be a part of history, and that was certainly the case in Mr. McVeigh’s jury.

[More...]

I didn't even realize the Golden Globes were on. There's an hour left, I hope I didn't miss much. Juliana Margulies is on now giving an award to George Clooney. His new wife is with him.

New seasons of Episodes and Shameless start tonight on Showtime. There's also Downton Abbey and a new episode of The Good Wife.

Update: The Good Wife apparently features the Ferguson and Eric Garner cases. It begins with a notice that it was it was written before the grand jury decision, and references to Ferguson are to events in August after the Michael Brown shooting. I wonder why they needed the disclaimer. (It's just starting here.)

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Al Hayat Media, one of the media arms for the Islamic State (ISIS) has released a “martyrdom” video of Almedy Coulibaly, recorded before the Kosher market siege, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State and explaining his reasons for hooking up with the Kouachi brothers and embarking on his killing spree. It’s already down from You Tube, but you can watch it here, here or here. Even though it is in French, I suggest you watch it to see the editing. If you'd rather read about it, descriptions by the media are here and here.

Al Hayat takes video recorded by Coulibaly after the Charlie Hebdo killings and the killing of the policewoman, but before the market killings, and adds its own text and descriptions, giving the impression he is being interviewed by ISIS. [More...]

700,000 people marched in France today for freedom and to show their solidarity with the victims of the Charlie Hebdo killings in Paris.

In Suburban Washington, Code Pink and Witness Against Torture led about 20 people in a protest tour against torture, during which they went to the homes of torture apologists. Two protesters were arrested outside Dick Cheney's house. One was an 83 year old female. Police said she was inside the fence on his property and refused to leave.

Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin disputed the police account, telling CNN, "The police asked us to move to the street, so we did. And they arbitrarily arrested two of us."

Is it that the 83 year old didn't move quickly enough for police? I hope not. That would be unacceptable age discrimination.

After threatening to retaliate for the Charlie Hebdo attacks a few days ago, hackers affiliated with Anonymous have taken credit for hacking a French Jihadist forum called ansar-alhaqq.net. But according to Mashable, the forum was only down for an hour. I just checked and it's up now. The hackers' press release says:

It is clear that some people do not want, in a free world, this inviolable and sacred right to express in any way one's opinions. Anonymous will never leave this right violated by obscurantism and mysticism. We will fight always and everywhere the enemies of freedom of speech.

Charlie Hebdo, historical figure of satirical journalism has now been targeted. Anonymous must remind every citizen that the freedom of the press is a fundamental principle of democratic countries. Freedom of opinion, speech and to publish articles without any threat, and stress is a right "inalienable." Anonymous has always fought the slayers of these rights and will never allow a person to be shot down radically for publishing an article, a drawing, an opinion.

Update: Police say Hayat Boumeddiene is believed to have left for Turkey before the attacks and may be headed to Syria or now in Syria.

Update: A Muslim employee at the Kosher market is being hailed as a hero for protecting the shoppers in the freezer.

When the Islamist gunman broke into the store, Lassana Bathily, a 24-year-old Muslim from the African country of Mali, told customers to hide in the store's basement freezer.

Closing the freezer's doors, he told the customers to wait calmly inside while he keeps a lookout. After police raided the supermarket and killed gunman Amedy Coulibaly, the hostages emerged safely from the freezer.

Original Post Below

In addition to taking credit for the Charlie Hebdo attack, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) yesterday explained why France and Charlie Hebdo were selected as targets.

The leadership of #AQAP directed the operation, and they have chosen their target carefully as a revenge for the honor of Prophet (pbuh). The target was in France in particular because of its obvious role in the war on Islam and oppressed nations.

The operation was the result of the threat of Sheikh Usama (RA). He warned the West about the consequences of the persistence in the blasphemy against Muslims’ sanctities. Sheikh Usama (RA) said in his message to the West: If there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions.

Separately, in a 5 minute audio address released by al-Malahem Media, AQAP leader Shaykh Harith al-Nathari praised the attack. (He did not take credit.) [Added: A version with English subtitles is now available here.] Here is an English translation. [Another is here.] A snippet:[More...]

Since the hostage situation at Monpellier turned out to be unrelated to the others in the news, let's make this an open thread for all topics.

*****

There is a hostage situation at a jewelry store in Montpellier, FR. Two hostages are believed to have been taken. Police are on scene. (Use google translate.)

Update: It may not be related to the other two incidents, but a robbery gone bad.

The two suspected killers of the 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo newspaper in Paris are dead. Their hostage is safe. The brothers were killed when they came out of the hiding place shooting at security forces. Looks like they decided to go out in what they perceived to be a "blaze of glory."

Here are the suspects believed to have killed the policewoman and taken hostages at the Kosher market. They are Hayat Boumeddiene (L) and Amedy Coulibaly(R.) Coulibaly was killed by police.

Boumeddiene got away. (Added: It's unlikely she was ever there.) The FBI and French police are searching for her. Some of his hostages are safe. Here's a photo of some hostages being taken from the market. AFP reported 4 besides the gunman were killed in the market incident. They since revised that to four are critically wounded. It's also not clear whether the four are hostages or police or a combination.

Indonesia has a new president, Joko Widodo. In December, he pledged to get tough on the drug traffickers sentenced to death, including the foreign prisoners who have languished for years in Bali's hellhole Kerobokan prison.

The inmates will be taken to the prison at Nusa Kambangan, an island off the coast of Java, where they will be executed by a 10-person firing squad from the Central Java Police’s Mobile Brigade Unit (Brimob). Basically, they are tied to a wooden cross and shot.

Last week he rejected clemency for Bali 9 inmate Myuran Sukumaran, convicted in 2005 of attempting to smuggle 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Bali to Australia. Myuran gives his reaction to the news here. [More...]

As of this morning Paris police got all geared up to conduct an attack operation near Paris where they believe the two suspects in the Charlie Hebdo murders are staked out in a small printing company. Evidently, the brothers are believed to be holed up inside the business with a hostage.

While others say they heard shots and that two people were killed and more injured, the Paris prosecutor's office denies this part.

Stay tuned, it should happen pretty fast now, but I've got to get some sleep. (3:17 a.m. here.)

This thread is open to aspects of the Charlie Hebdo killings.