Did you hear the one about the idiot conspiracy theory that the fire should have been put out by dropping water from airplanes?
“Twitter fabulists with tens of thousands of followers hypothesized that a fire of this scale simply couldn’t be accidental.”
They’ve already identified a suspect, described by his neighbors as a radicalized Muslim and outspoken enemy of Christianity named Marinus van der Lubbe.
I didn’t hear that but I did hear that someone at the time suggested acting fast. I thought that was pretty astute advice. Very few people know this but fire can spread quickly once it starts, so you want to start putting it out as soon as possible.
ETA seriously folks I read yesterday the city government or fire department, someone in charge at any rate, put out an English-language tweet saying we’re doing everything we can, using every tool except water-dropping planes, which could collapse the structure. They didn’t add “you orange-hued lummox” but the message was clear.
Old historic wood-framed buildings are prone to accidental fire.
Fire safety teams constantly patrol the neo-gothic Palace of Westminster*, which caught fire 40 times between 2008 and 2012 alone; the small fires were quickly put out by wardens.
In 2016, the Guardian reported a malfunctioning light on an obscure part of the roof caused an electrical fire that could have spread rapidly, had it not been detected. Parliament’s ageing electrical system and maze of shafts and corridors mean a fire could spread quickly and unpredictably, experts have warned, with no proper system of fire compartmentalisation.
*AKA Parliament
Anyway, the real reason the fire started:
Hundreds of firemen of the Paris Fire Brigade are doing everything they can to bring the terrible #NotreDame fire under control. All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral.
— Sécurité Civile Fr (@SecCivileFrance) April 15, 2019
Cc @maximus
Nobody’s talking about when Henry VIII destroyed the monistaries.
OT, but I just thought I’d do a little Mad-Libbing of Stefan Molyneux’s tweet in the article:
“U.S. norms of governance were desecrated by Trump and his administration. Our narcissistic CIC could be seeking revenge. White supremacists also hate POC and a diverse, just society. We’ll see.”
How do we know the fire wasn’t started by some deaf hunchback?
Hey, I’m just asking questions!!!
Smith interrupted, saying he wouldn’t let his show be used as a platform for conspiracy theories that are “worthless and in many cases counterproductive and injurious to society.”
Sorry, Shep old boy, but that describes most of your colleagues.
“worthless and in many cases counterproductive and injurious to society.”
I thought that was the motto that NewsCorps chose for FoxNews after they dumped “Fair and Balanced”.
I know for a fact it is because there is one gay man in Paris and the Lord is angry about it.
There is a counter-conspiracy running that something - or some one else - should have been dropped into the fiery cathedral.
All that orange fat would have exacerbated the fire, polluted the Seine, and stunk out Paris…
OTOH, it would solve our problem, wouldn’t it?
I’m going to send a message to the French Firefighting team that to get to the scene of the conflagration they should get into a vehicle and depress the gas pedal, and using their hand, take the parking brake off before accelerating out the garage towards the fire. I’m hoping for a medal or something from the Mayor of Paris.
Don’t you see? that’s why the lord prepared that big barbeque pit for His Holy Purpose.
“Other famous French houses of worship, including the Saint-Suplice church in Paris, have been affected by fires in recent weeks.”
Allegre, @allegrekirkland, I am especially keen on reading your reporting posted on TPM, and deeply disturbed by the conflagration that took Notre-Dame yesterday.
You state in the article that “Other famous French houses of worship, … have been affected by fires in recent weeks” but only link to the incident at Saint-Suplice. Are there any other links you can provide us that tell of the other recent incidents?
The entrance fire at Saint-Suplice does not look good being that it’s easily accessible to mischief, and that French authorities have not given an official cause.
If these are intentional man-made conflagrations they could come from any of the various adversarial factions that want to inflame the world, and it would be best for it not to be made public who is suspected as being responsible as it would achieve their goal.
Detailed information concerning a series of fires culminating in the burning of Notre-Dame at the beginning of Holy Week could be earth shattering, and thus un-mentionable by authorities and unreportable by responsible investigative journalists.
Include a P.S. from me suggesting that the tradition of taking two-hour lunches should not be observed during the firefighters’ business day if there is a fire in progress. The double overtime would be added to future meals or vacation time at the firefighters’ discretion. #strongunions
Thanks, Obama!!!1!!
In short, they engaged in their predictable, bad-faith twisting of real events to fit a convenient narrative.
As in, everyday life of the holier than thou mob boss we are subject to, endlessly