Just awful. Less than a week after the terror attack in Paris, gunmen have taken 170 hostages in Mali with 3 dead so far...

The situation began around 7 a.m. at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Mali's capital, Bamako, when two or three attackers stormed the hotel, firing guns and initially taking about 170 people hostage, officials said. At least three deaths were reported.

Two armed men initially locked in about 140 guests and 30 employees at the Radisson Blu, hotel officials said. By noon, the country's state broadcaster, ORTM, reported that at least 80 of the hostages had been freed.

The attackers, carrying AK-47s, arrived around 7 a.m. in a vehicle or vehicles with diplomatic plates, said Olivier Saldago, a spokesman for the United Nations mission in Mali.

I see. Let me guess: angry Methodists?

The gunmen stormed the US-owned hotel, which is popular with foreign businesses and airline crews, shooting and shouting "God is great!" in Arabic.

Ah crap, skunked again. You win this round, Islam! No word on the White House, except for of course...

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This is probably why it's the President of France being interviewed in all of these articles. You've heard that correctly, the President of France, has more testicular fortitude than current American leaders. Think about that for a second.

Also, on a personal note, my reaction to this was very different than a non-Islamic hostage situation. Be honest with yourself. When you hear "lone gunman takes 170 hostages" you probably think to yourself, "aaah crap, hopefully nobody gets hurt and he gets his helicopter or whatever it is that he's demanding."

When you hear that an Islamic terrorist has taken 170 hostages, you likely think...

"Oh my god. 170 people are going to die."

That's the difference in the enemy that we're currently fighting.

Right, right. I forgot. My apologies.