Police in Melbourne have disrupted a terrorist attack planned for Christmas Day by arresting seven people. The suspected terrorists are thought to have been inspired by the Islamic State in planning their actions. However, Australian authorities have reassured the public that despite appearances, the incident had nothing to do with Islam.
OK, so I made that last part up. But still…
In other news, a major explosion in a Moscow metro station injured at least seven people. Russian authorities announced that the blast was caused by a leaking gas canister, and not by terrorism.
To see the headlines and the articles, click “Continue reading” below.
Thanks to AF, CrossWare, Dean, DV, ESW, Nick, Reader from Chicago, Salome, and all the other tipsters who sent these in.
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Breaking: Court Dismisses Michael Mann Defamation Lawsuit Against National Review
The DC Court of Appeals rules that NRO did not hurt Michael Mann-child’s feelings all that much.
But Michael Mann v. Free Speech remains alive against Mark Steyn and CEI/Rand Simberg.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Campus Disinvitations Set Record in 2016
FIRE saw a record number of attempts by students, faculty, and others to prevent those with whom they disagreed from speaking on campus in 2016. FIRE has tracked this worrying phenomenon—what we call “disinvitations”—in our comprehensive Disinvitation Database cataloguing such incidents since 2000.
FIRE logged 42 separate incidents this year in which speakers faced opposition to their presence on campus, our highest tally ever. This year’s number precisely doubles the 21 disinvitations we saw in 2015 and marks a nearly 24 percent jump over 2013, the year that held the previous disinvitation record at 34. By way of comparison to other recent years, FIRE tallied 28 incidents from 2014, 20 from 2012, and 22 from 2011.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
ISIS Issues Hit Lit of US Churches for Holiday Attacks
The Islamic State is urging its followers to attack U.S. churches and has published names and addresses of thousands of prospective targets, according to a report in the news website Vocativ.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Metro Working With Trump Inaugural Committee to Design Smartrip Covers
A day after Metro started selling special inauguration-themed SmarTrip cards that don’t feature President-elect Donald Trump, the transit agency confirmed it’s designing special sleeves for the fare cards that will feature the incoming president…
| — Hat tip: Dean | [Return to headlines] |
The Berlin terror attack suspect was reportedly captured on CCTV as he visited a mosque in the city just hours after the Christmas market massacre.
Fugitive Anis Amri, 24, is suspected of being behind the wheel when a 25-tonne lorry careered into a crowd at around 8pm on Monday, killing 12 and injuring 56 others.
Nearly eight hours later, shortly before 4am, Amri was allegedly caught on a security camera as he stood outside a nearby mosque in Berlin’s Moabit neighbourhood, German public broadcaster rbb reported.
Images obtained by rbb show a man in dark clothing and a cap standing in a doorway in the early hours of Tuesday. A man, alleged to be Amri, was also seen at the same mosque on two different days in the week leading up to the atrocity.
The station said that intelligence sources had confirmed they believed the man to be Amri.
The mosque is understood to have been raided by police today as they continued the hunt for Europe’s most wanted man…
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Releases Details of Initial Forensic Report on Berlin Attack
Officials have confirmed the discovery of Anis Amri’s fingerprints inside the truck that killed 12 people in Berlin. Despite earlier reports, however, prosecutors said no arrests were made in connection with the attack.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Germany Has 7,000 Terror Suspects Who Are ‘Almost Impossible to Track’, Ex-Spy Chief Says
Richard Barrett said that the authorities was struggling to cope with the number of “live” cases in the country.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said that there were around 550 “really extreme potential terrorists on the books”.
He added: “In addition to that though if you include all the Lander (local regions) in Germany they have about 7,000 live cases.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Italy Ramps Up Security and Bans Trucks From Cities Amid Terror Threat
ANTI-TERRORISM measures have been ramped up across Italy as officials ban trucks from entering city centres following the terror attack at a Berlin Christmas market that left 12 dead and injured dozens more.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Mayor Fights to Keep Ban on Mosques and Gays to Stop EU Forcing Muslim on Town
MAYOR who banned mosques, burkas and gay people in a bid to stop the European Union (EU) forcing Muslim migrants onto his town is battling the government for taking him to court.
Laszlo Toroczkai, mayor of Asotthalom, in southern Hungary, has vowed to fight the country’s ombudsman for Fundamental Rights who has petitioned the country’s highest court to get the bylaw annulled.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Poland Sees Brexit as Chance to Shift EU Power Back to Nations
Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is an opportunity to reform the bloc, giving more say to national governments and less to Brussels institutions, Poland’s eurosceptic leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said.
The head of Poland’s ruling party told Reuters that Warsaw would push for a new EU treaty, a more influential role for central Europe within the bloc and continued strong ties with Washington.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Switzerland on Guard for Terror as Jihadi Numbers Increase
The Swiss intelligence community is increasing its alertness and its preparedness for future terror attacks as the number of known jihadis in the country grows.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Two Arrested on Suspicion of Plotting to Attack Germany’s Largest Shopping Mall
Two brothers from Kosovo have been arrested by German police on suspicion of plotting to attack the country’s largest shopping mall in Oberhausen, near the Dutch border.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Prince Charles: Rising Intolerance Risks Repeat of Horrors of Past
The Prince of Wales has warned that the rise of populist extremism and intolerance towards other faiths risks repeating the “horrors” of the Holocaust.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s religious Thought for the Day slot, the prince delivered an outspoken attack against religious hatred and pleaded for a welcoming attitude to those fleeing persecution.
He said: “We are now seeing the rise of many populist groups across the world that are increasingly aggressive to those who adhere to a minority faith. All of this has deeply disturbing echoes of the dark days of the 1930s.
“My parents’ generation fought and died in a battle against intolerance, monstrous extremism and inhuman attempts to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe.”
The prince did not mention any politicians by name, but his address will be seen by some as a veiled reference to the election of Donald Trump in the US, the rise of the far right in Europe, and increasingly hostile attitudes to refugees in the UK…
| — Hat tip: DV | [Return to headlines] |
UK: Steve Hilton Accuses Angela Merkel of Vanity Over Migrant Open Door
Steve Hilton, who worked at No 10 while Mr Cameron was Prime Minister, launched an extraordinary attack on Angela Merkel following the Berlin terror attack.
The Brexit campaigner said the German chancellor’s open-door policy was “‘incredibly irresponsible” for the whole world.
Mrs Merkel welcomed millions of migrants to Germany from the Middle East during the migrant crisis.
Her policy has since come under increased scrutiny after the Berlin Christmas market terrorist was discovered to be a rejected Tunisian asylum seeker.
Anis Amri, who was on a US no-fly list, is suspected to have carried out the attack which killed 12 and left 49 more injured in an alleged Islamist plot…
| — Hat tip: Nick | [Return to headlines] |
Berlin Massacre Suspect: Anis Amri Was in Contact With Extremists
US SECURITY agents monitored “direct contact” between the Berlin terror suspect and Islamic State chiefs, it emerged today.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Kuwait: Christmas is Not Haram!
Christmas is round the corner, and as usual, I have received messages and warnings on social media not to exchange any joyful gestures or greetings that reflect happiness on this important event for our Christian friends. Everything has been labeled as haram (unlawful in Islam). Muslims are not supposed to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or smile at anyone who happens to be a Christian.
There are two reasons given for this — first, that this is not our celebration and is a Western ritual that has nothing to do with Islam. The second is that we should be mourning the death of people in the Arab world instead of expressing joy. I am stunned by these calls and messages on social media that associate every act with the term haram. During our Islamic holidays, such as Eid, many of my Christian friends and readers shower me with emails and messages wishing me and my family. Should I counter them with the term ‘haram’?
Christmas is a festival of joy that revolves around decorating Christmas trees, Santa Claus, candles and snowmen, although every country has its own rituals. For example in Japan, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is considered the traditional meal on Christmas, since the launch of the “Kentucky Festival of Christmas” campaign in 1974. Japan is not a Christian nation, but adopted this tradition from the Western world…
| — Hat tip: ESW | [Return to headlines] |
Moscow Explosion: Russia Rocked After Blast at Busy Station
The blast, which Moscow officials say was caused by a leaking gas canister, occurred at an underground passageway near Kolomenskaya metro station, southeast of central Moscow.
A tweeted statement by the Moscow metro said the canister was being used by welders doing repairs in the passageway.
At least seven people have been injured in the blast, with four of them currently in hospital, according to RIA Novosti, citing a source in the emergency services.
Passersby caught the violent explosion and its destructive aftermath on their cars’ dashcams…
| — Hat tip: CrossWare | [Return to headlines] |
Pakistan: “Honor-Killing” Shock: Murdered Muslim Girls Replaced With Imposters
It sounds like the plot of an X-Files episode or something you’d read in a supermarket tabloid, but it’s actually a case of truth being stranger than fiction. It involves five Pakistani girls apparently murdered in “honor killings,” a happening not uncommon in their Muslim land. What occurred next, however, was truly bizarre.
The girls were replaced with imposters, in anticipation of an investigation by authorities.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
Police Thwart Christmas Day Terror Plot in Australia
Police have arrested seven people suspected of intending to carry out a Christmas Day terror plot in Melbourne, Australia, Friday morning.
Some of these suspects — although Australian-born — have Lebanese and Egyptian backgrounds, according to police, and were likely inspired by the Islamic State to plan the “significant” attack, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
What Do We Know About the Alleged Foiled Christmas Attack?
Seven people have been arrested for allegedly planning a terrorist attack in Melbourne, which police say could have occurred on Christmas Day and which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described as one of the most substantial terrorist plots to be disrupted in recent years.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the threat was “very serious” and labelled the plot an “act of evil”.
So what do we know so far?…
| — Hat tip: Salome | [Return to headlines] |
Austria: ‘They Grabbed and Hit Me’ Teen Girl Hospitalised After Being Beaten by Gang of Migrant Men
Céline Winkelmuller was set upon by five males after she left her parent’s flat in the Floridsdorf district in the north of the capital Vienna.
The 15-year-old said she was set upon by the males, whom she thought were from Turkey after she had gone outside for some fresh air.
Ms Winkelmuller said: “Two of them grabbed me and dragged me into a corner, two of them hit me and the fifth took away my mobile phone and my jacket.” After the brutal attack, the teenagers fled and left their victim unconscious, according to local media.
She added that none of the men appeared to speak any German.
| — Hat tip: AF | [Return to headlines] |
Pew: Migrant Crisis Fuels Europe’s Embrace of Populism
A new study by the Pew Research Center points to Europe’s migrant crisis as a key to the rise of populist movements in a number of countries across the European Union (EU).
| — Hat tip: Reader from Chicago | [Return to headlines] |
“Police in Melbourne have disrupted a terrorist attack planned for Christmas Day by arresting seven people.”
Some of these people will without doubt be the descendants of Lebanese Muslims that Australia gave sanctuary to in the 1970’s. Many have questioned the wisdom of that move by the Fraser government. Now we know that the majority of the Australian recruits to Islamic State in Syria are of Lebanese ethnicity as are the majority of those arrested in Terror attack plots in Australia, such as the one reported. All this should be a sobering thought to those thinking bringing in migrants from muslim countries will see their children embracing the culture of the new land. That’s not the case at all.
Australia ought to have only let in the Christian Muslims!
Sorry – I MEANT the Christian Lebanese!!! I was distracted after reading the idiocies dribbling out of the mouth of Prince Charles and lost my concentration!
Not as much of slip as you think, it’s one of their favorite scams.
Oh, and as a pre-emptive strike against leftoids who say that Australians are racist: I *look* VERY Middle Eastern. I’ve been to Australia. Among some of the nicest people in the world (to me, anyway), I’d say. If you’re compatible with their ways (which isn’t very hard), Australians are quite welcoming. Ergo, if there’s a problem, it comes from the other side.
Fraser was the worst Liberal PM until Turnbull. After Fraser, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating opened the tap wide on the import of Muslims to prop up Sydney Labor seats in consultation with resident imams who undertook to tell the new arrivals to vote Labor.
Re: Hit List:
Christmas day is going to come anyway no matter what people may do….
And, Angels We Have Heard On High … higher than any earthly people.
There may be better versions, but these are pretty good:
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVj4Q6VxYsGgA_lUnnIlQ?p=%22Angels+We+Have+Heard+On+High%22&fr=yhs-mozilla-003&fr2=piv-web&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003#id=4&vid=27648c060cc113831c9af827aa9a0dd5&action=view
https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search;_ylt=A0LEVj4Q6VxYsGgA_lUnnIlQ?p=%22Angels+We+Have+Heard+On+High%22&fr=yhs-mozilla-003&fr2=piv-web&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-003#id=5&vid=5faa12a18259fa381e55824064a283a8&action=view
Prince Charles should be seen and not heard. Apparently, part of his education that was spent in Australia when he became an adolescent, and to ‘toughen’ him up, has not born fruit.
It has long been known that whatever emanates from the mouth or the pen of the Crown Prince is nothing more than the cretinous drivel of a crippled intellect. Until recently he has simply been regarded as a privileged fool but now he is becoming dangerous – as King he will become the ‘Supreme Governor’ of the Church of England, and one man can only defend one faith.
That he should speak of the Religion of Death and Atrocity in the same breath as that of the fate of the Christians whom the Demented Slaves of Allah are slaughtering en-masse around the world, and that Jesus Christ and the paedophile butcher Mohammed were of the same mould and intent…
“Normally at Christmas we think of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I wonder though if this year we might remember how the story of the nativity unfolds, with the fleeing of the holy family to escape violent persecution. And we might also remember that when the prophet Muhammad migrated from Mecca to Medina he was seeking the freedom for himself and his followers to worship.”
…implies either insanity or evil intent – or both.
Consequently, if that treacherous retard ever becomes King I will become a Republican, with all of the mess that that will entail.
Apparently the bonny prince has quite a high intellect. But what is the point of high intelligence if the possessor displays a complete disconnect with the reality of the situation that has been ongoing around him for decades?
Or is his seeming disconnection based on something more sinister?
I remember, and this was back in the 90s, he was present at some state government venue in Sydney, an open air event, and was giving an address to a crowd when an idiot – or maybe in hindsight, not such an idiot after all – jumped the stage and made his way toward the bonny prince. If it had not been for the actions of the state premier and the prince’s bodyguard who were seated behind him, the interloper would have been able to do whatever he wished to do to Charlie.
What stands out most, and apart from the quick reaction of those who tackled this person to stage floor, was the lack of action on Charlie’s part. He just stood there fiddling with his cufflinks while looking around until a nearby police officer led him off the stage.
His reaction, in this case he was completely transfixed, reminded me of a kangaroo being caught in the headlights on a highway at night. He was absolutely clueless as to the potential danger he found himself in.
“implies either insanity or evil intent- or both”.
Most likely sheer ignorance. Charles is not the brightest star in the galaxy, so probably easily led.
He sword dances with the Saudis you know. Never lets ’em down. Made a nice religion of peace comment about mo heading out from Medina. A Muslimy Christmas bent massage. Is Chas a bit of an Obuma? Hedging his bets? I can easily imagine him laughing or giggling and grimacing like a degenerated at a good old beheading.
Charlie is borderline. A smidgeon more silliness and he would have been stamped ‘Not to be seen by the public’. God help England if and when he ever becomes king.
Europe is finished. Christianity fled decades ago, replaced with…nothing!
I just came across some European news comment that the Tunisian story regarding the Berlin attack may have been grossly doctored. They said he was killed on Tue night or Wed early morning, and now it’s Friday, and his death has just been announced.
If this is true, then it strongly suggests that his alleged role in the killings was fabricated, that his “suddenly found in the truck” documents were added later, and that the police has no idea who did it or let the perp go.
—
Also, Putin gave a big news conference this morning.
[…].The Tunisian’s fingerprints and D.N.A were found on the steering wheel of the truck.He was known to the police for other crimes committed while in Germany so they had his D.N.A.He had also left his wallet behind in the cab.
.At first the police thought that the Pakistani they caught running away was involved.But there was no D.N.A in the cab from the Pakistani, who had also committed crimes in Germany-which was why they had the Pakistani’s D.N.A to exclude from the truck’s cab.That was a red herring, which is why it took them some time to admit that the Tunisian was the real culprit.
inspired by isis my b–t, inspired by Australia’s leftist politicians more likely.
Good point!!!
Newsflash.
The US has announced it will abstain from a UN Security Council resolution condemning the building of “settlements” (apartments) in disputed territory.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/23/us-abstains-in-key-israel-vote-clearing-way-for-condemnation-settlements.html
Traditionally, the UN member countries gang up on Israel, including the European countries who should know better. The Security Council resolutions hold more weight than the General Assembly resolutions, but any permanent Security Council member can veto a resolution. The US has always done so, up until now. The swan songs of the Obama administration are becoming more openly opposed to US security interests and US allies than even in the past.
What makes me absolutely livid is the response by the largest US Jewish organization, the Union for Reform Judaism, which ostensibly supports Israel, but spends twice the space condemning Israel policy and Trump’s support of Israel, than they devote to actually opposing the resolution.
https://www.urj.org/blog/2016/12/22/statement-urj-president-rabbi-rick-jacobs-proposed-un-resolution-israeli-settlements
My prediction is that the mainstream US Jewish organizations will eventually jettison Israel so they can maintain political correctness. And I support Israel because it is firmly in the long-term interests of the US to have a strong, independent, Western-type country in the Middle East. I do not support using the US to advance Israeli military or foreign policy interests, which Israel is fully capable of doing on its own.
Baron,please explain implications UN abstain vote,how did Aussie vote?
From the UN website:
So Australia didn’t get a vote. By abstaining, the US allowed the resolution against Israel to be passed. It’s very unusual for us to do that — it’s Obama’s final back-stab of Israel.
No, OZ didn’t get a vote, but unfortunately New Zealand did, to my disgust.