I got curious about the "Charlie" in "Charlie Hebdo" (Charlie Weekly) and did a Google search. Actually it took me four searches with different wording. Apparently news organizations aren't as concerned about providing background information as they used to be. Anyway, the magazine was originally Hara-Kiri, then Hara-Kari Hebdo, then Charlie Mensuel (Charlie Monthly). It has skewered everything even vaguely "establishment" and has a particular disdain for all religions. Charles de Gaulle, I gather, was one of their early targets. And:
The monthly Charlie took its name from the lead character of one of the comics it originally published, Peanuts's Charlie Brown. Using that title for the new weekly magazine was also an inside joke about Charles de Gaulle.
That's from Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt I guess. Interesting, though. "Peanuts" seemed a little tamer than Charlie Hebdo, no?
