A Prayer For Paris

Please note I will be back on Tuesday. After a dark day of barbaric, savage and deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, there is nothing we can say or do to make sense of a senseless and heinous crime.

This image of the CN Tower lit up in the colors of the French flag captures the somberness, solidarity and uneasiness we all feel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their relatives.

During this tragic time of mourning, I was moved by what French soccer player Lassana Diarra shared on Twitter after he revealed his cousin, Asta Diakite, had been killed in a shooting incident that was part of a coordinated attack on the city by terrorists:

"She was for me a support, a big sister," Diarra said of his cousin.

In his post he said it was important that in a climate of terror, all those who represented their country and represented diversity, must speak out and stay united against "a horror that has no colour, no religion". (click on image)

I agree, there is nothing more that these radical jihadists hate than watching people of different backgrounds and religions coexist peacefully in countries with secular laws. It's anathema to their radical ideology and nothing would make their leaders happier than to see a backlash against Muslims in France and elsewhere (so they can recruit and radicalize more easily).

Below, the Telegraph reports on how the night of horror unfolded (courtesy of Le Monde). Be warned, there are very graphic and disturbing images in this clip.

Second, Ian Bremmer, Eurasia Group's president and founder, discusses the multiple acts of violence in Paris with Bloomberg's Alix Steel and Scarlet Fu. His analysis is quite disconcerting and if he's right and ISIS is picking up steam in Europe, it will negatively impact eurozone's economies and exacerbate deflationary headwinds which are already wreaking havoc on the global economy.

Third, USA Today reports that one of the terrorist attackers in Paris may have been a Syrian asylum seeker and this is feeding into the debate over the migrant crisis in Europe. Newsy's Eugene Daniels reports on the situation.

Fourth, a man pulled his piano with a bike up to rue Richard Lenoir ten meters from the Bataclan, the theater last night was the scene of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in Paris. Then he began to play the notes of 'Imagine' by John Lennon. Around the pianist, a small crowd. A moment of solace after France's darkest day since World War II.

Lastly, Scott Pelley of CBS 60 Minutes reports on the Paris attacks. I will let you watch it here as it's a chilling account of what happened. And the part that really depressed me is when Alain Bauer, a counter-terrorism expert, stated the following: "It's just the beginning. ISIS said it. It's just the beginning. They are-- they are right. You need to listen to them, read them, understand what they say, the way they say it, and what they want. And they say it all the time."

God, I hope he's wrong but I fear he's right.