What an odd thing Sadiq Khan said following this morning’s stabbings in central London. Shortly before 10 a.m., three people were attacked by a man on a bike in Bishopsgate. The criminal is still at large, according to the Telegraph. This horrifying incident was no surprise to Londoners, so you would think that the Mayor would – from experience – strike the right chord. Instead, Khan had this to say:
“The good news is, it’s not a terror attack. And another piece of good news is the three victims of the stabbing are not in life-threatening situations, thank God. But it’s just a reminder of the dangers of carrying a knife…
Had anyone died this morning, would Khan really have suggested that it was ‘good news’ it wasn’t a terror attack? Just a regular stabbing? It’s not a thought Mr S thinks will be held by the families of those injured.
The Mayor also seemed to apportion blame to a sentient knife – and not, you know, the assailant. He continued: ‘We’ve seen this year, thankfully, we’ve actually seen a reduction in knife crime injuries, a reduction in knife crime injuries in those below 25.’ From a pretty high peak though, eh?
‘I’m determined to continue lobbying the government to reverse their cuts in policing and to reverse their cuts in young people,’ said Khan. Police budgets have, of course, increased by £3.8 billion since Khan took office.
The man can be seen with a narwhal tusk in his right hand.
The Insider reports that British hoplophobes have a whole new category of armament to worry about.
A man used a 5 foot narwhal tusk to confront the London Bridge terror suspect, according to an eyewitness in Fishmongers’ Hall, a building at the north side of the bridge where the attack began.
On Friday afternoon, two victims were killed and three were injured by the suspect, who was wearing a fake explosive vest, law enforcement said. The suspect was shot and killed by police.
Writer and director Amy Coop tweeted what she witnessed at the scene: “A guy who was with us at Fishmongers Hall took a 5′ narwhale [sic] tusk from the wall and went out to confront the attacker.”
In a video of the attack a man can be seen wielding a large white pole, which according to Coop is a narwhal tusk.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution on Tuesday declaring that the National Rifle Association is a domestic terrorist organization. The officials also urged other cities, states and the federal government to follow suit.
District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani wrote the resolution and shared her thoughts on the NRA with KTVU. “The NRA has it coming to them,” she said. “And I will do everything I possibly can to call them out on what they are, which is a domestic terrorist organization.”
After citing some statistics about gun violence in the United States – like that there’s been more than one mass shooting per day in the country in 2019 – Stefani got local with how gun violence has impact the Bay Area.
She cited the shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival on July 28, referencing Stephen Romero, Keyla Salazar and Trevor Irby, who were killed by gunman Santino William Legan in what she called a “senseless act of gun violence that day.”
Later in the resolution, which the board passed unanimously, the NRA is blamed for causing gun violence. “The National Rifle Association musters its considerable wealth and organizational strength to promote gun ownership and incite gun owners to acts of violence,” the resolution reads.
The resolution also claims that the NRA “spreads propaganda,” “promotes extremist positions,” and has “through its advocacy has armed those individuals who would and have committed acts of terrorism.”
In addition to calling the NRA a domestic terrorist organization, the Board of Supervisors called on the city and county of San Francisco to “take every reasonable step to limit … entities who do business with the City and County of San Francisco from doing business” with the NRA.
How about that, boys and girls? We’ve got around five million (the NRA’s membership) terrorists at large in America these days. Me, I’m a Life Terrorist. And we can boast of nine US President terrorists: Ulysses Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Donald Trump.
Well, if the NRA was a real terrorist organization, we know that SF Board of Supervisors would be out there defending it and kissing its ass.
My father used to shake his head and say, when he read this kind of news of major left-wing lunacy emanating from the Left Coast: “The continent slants, and all the fruits and nuts roll out to California.”
Roger Kimball admires the rapidity with which the French authorities definitively determined that Notre Dame fire was an accident and not another case of deliberate arson.
“Auric Goldfinger, in the Ian Fleming novel, dryly observes to James Bond that “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it’s enemy action.â€
The French investigators have such extraordinary powers of forensic penetration that they can dispense with all such inductive aids to inquiry. Here they have not one, not two or three, but twelve acts of violent desecration in the past month, including an arsonist attack against the second largest church in Paris. Then Notre Dame catches fire—and what a fire it was—on Monday of Holy Week. Even before the fire was brought under control, the authorities ruled out arson. Has the world ever seen a more potent demonstration of investigative prowess?”
Notre Dame Cathedral Fire, a few facts you should know courtesy of the mainstream media:
1. The exact cause of the blaze is still unknown.
2. The exact cause of the blaze is still unknown, but it has been ruled an accident (despite the fact that the exact cause of the blaze is still unknown).
3. The exact cause of the blaze is still unknown, but Islam is the real victim here.
4. The exact cause of the blaze is still unknown which means the damage has not been thoroughly assessed, but it’s not arson.
5. The exact cause of the blaze is still unknown which means the damage has not been thoroughly assessed, but Macron is setting up an international appeal for funding to rebuild despite not knowing how much is needed because the damage has not been thoroughly assessed.
This is the sort of information you get when journalists are in bed with the politicians.
Stephen Clarkson remembers stopping a terrorist attack at the Glasgow Airport back in 2007.
It was when he got up that I realised he was an attacker. …
He tried to get to the jeep’s boot – apparently, it was full of petrol bombs. The police were trying to stop him, but he kept kicking at their legs. As they fought, they moved towards me. One of the officers used pepper spray, and my eyes were streaming. The next time I opened them, this lunatic was coming in my direction.
When you’re involved in something like that, it’s hard to remember afterwards exactly how it went. You just act on instinct. My partner, Gillian, had recently passed away, after battling cancer. I had watched her fight like hell to survive, and these characters were trying to take people’s lives as if they meant nothing. It enraged me, as did having pepper spray in my eyes, to be honest. So I went for him.
I threw my full weight into it. My arm and shoulder met his chest and he clattered down. I stood on his legs while the police cuffed him. One officer shouted at me, “Who are you? Get out of here.†That annoyed me. Who am I? I’m the one who’s just put him on his backside. …
I’m a builder, and went back to work the next day. I’ve honestly never lost a moment’s sleep over what happened.
John Steele Gordon explains that the collision of that Philippine cargo ship with the American destroyer USS Fitzgerald may very well have not been an accident.
What happened? It was 1:30 in the morning, to be sure, but the night was clear. Ships not only have watches, they have running lights and radar. They also have transponders so other ships in the area can know exactly where they are. And destroyers, unlike cargo containers, are extremely nimble ships, capable of both high speed (over 30 knots in the Fitzgerald’s case) and quick maneuvering. It’s what they’re designed for.
The container ship was to starboard and so had the right of way. But the officer of the deck and the rest of the watch should have had no trouble whatever keeping clear, even in the very crowded waters near one of the world’s great harbors. If it was just hugely incompetent seamanship, then heads, including the captain’s, will roll.
But was it? It seems almost impossible to imagine such incompetence in a highly trained U.S. Navy crew. (How highly trained, is shown by the fact that they were able to keep the ship afloat after being rammed at considerable speed in the middle of the night.)
And, indeed, there are reports that make it seem that something far more sinister might have been afoot. The AP is reporting that the crash, originally reported as happening at 2:20 AM, after the Japanese Coast Guard was notified by the container ship at 2:25. But it now seems that the event happened at 1:30 AM. The Fitzgerald was fighting for its life, but what kept the container ship from reporting something so serious for nearly an hour?
Further, there is at least one report, by Tom Lifson at the American Thinker, indicating that the container ship had had both its running lights and transponder off. Since that would have severely compromised its own safety, it’s hard to imagine anything but intent to ram the Fitzgerald.
It’s far too early to be sure of anything. But the only two explanations for this would seem to be extraordinary incompetence on the part of the Fitzgerald or evil intent on the part of the container ship. If it’s the latter, then we have a phrase for that: asymmetric warfare.
The Telegraph reports that the England of Old is not quite dead.
A defiant football fan who charged at the three terrorists and took them all on with his bare hands has been nicknamed the Lion of London Bridge for his bravery.
Roy Larner, 47, was drinking in a pub when the three terrorists burst in and he held them off so others could escape, getting fairly cut up in the process.
They chanted “Islam, Islam” and “This is for Allah”.
In return, Mr Larner shouted: “I’m f—ing Millwall!!”
He was knifed eight times before the jihadis left the Black & Blue restaurant and bar.
His friends have since gifted him a “learn to run” book, joking about how instead of saving his own life, he put himself in danger by fighting the terrorists.
He told The Sun from hospital: “They had these long knives and started shouting about Allah. Then it was, ‘Islam, Islam, Islam’.
“Like an idiot I shouted back at them. I thought, ‘I need to take the p— out of these b——s’.â€
“I took a few steps towards them and said, ‘F— you, I’m Millwall’. So they started attacking me.
“I stood in front of them trying to fight them off. Everyone else ran to the back.
“I was on my own against all three of them, that’s why I got hurt so much.
The Australia team link arms on the halfway line as the minute’s silence begins. The Saudi team stood at their respective positions on the field, not participating in honoring the victims.
The Saudi Arabian football team were booed by Australian supporters after they failed to properly line up for a minute’s silence in honour of the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks.
Saudi Arabia were preparing to play Australia in a World Cup qualifier at the Adelaide Oval when the stadium announcer called for a minute’s silence to begin.
The Australia team linked arms in a line on the centre circle while the Saudi Arabia team stood in random formation as the silence began.
According to Adam Peacock, who works as a presenter for Fox Sports in Australia, the Asian Football Confederation approved the minute’s silence against the wishes of Saudi Arabia.
The Football Federation of Australia were then unable to persuade Saudi Arabian officials to agree to participate in the tribute.
A number of Saudi Arabian players stood still with their arms behind their back while others appeared to continue their warm up.
The Wall Street Journal reports that an official apology was quickly forthcoming.
Saudi Arabia’s Football Federation apologized on behalf of the country’s national soccer team for failing to observe a minute’s silence for victims of a recent London terrorist attack ahead of a World Cup qualifying match against Australia.
The incident prompted a furious response in Australia, with the crowd jeering the Saudi team, which instead of lining up moved into positions for the coming match on Thursday as Australia’s players linked arms to pay silent respects to victims. While many of the Saudi players stood still, others including the team captain, Osama Hawsawi, continued warm-ups and stretches.
Eight people died in Saturday’s attack in London, among them two Australians.
The Saudi Federation said Friday it condemned “all acts of terrorism,†adding that it “deeply regrets and unreservedly apologies for any offense caused by the failure of some members of the representative team of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to formally observe the one minute’s silence in memory of the victims of the London terrorist attack.â€
“The players did not intend any disrespect to the memories of the victims or to cause upset to their families, friends or any individual affected by the atrocity.â€
Ed Straker collects classic examples of liberal explanations for, and solutions to, the problem of jihadist attacks on unarmed civilians in London.
When Muslims kill people “in the name of Allah,” how do liberals react? We know they don’t equate the terrorist act with the Islamic religion. So what do they say? Because it is important to know how liberals think, I have donned a hazmat suit and dived deeply into the comments section of the HuffPo and the WaPo to enlighten you.
Pat Dayton Neff • Knightdale, North Carolina
Another sad chapter in our current world history. What will it take for all of us to realize all life is important
All of us? We can see the creeping moral equivalence here. Are there also Christians and Buddhists going around running people down in cars and stabbing them?
Stephen Haydel • Senior Software Engineer at Self Employed – Independent Contractor
Hate breads Violence.
Is it hate that really “breads” violence? Or is it more specifically Islamic terrorism? It is curious how Mr. Haydel generalizes the causes of violence while relying on pastries to explain the issue.
Zanna T Laws • City of London Polytechnic
I suspect it is not even terrorism anymore – simply unevolved males leaping at the chance to be randomly violent.
It’s not Islam, it’s men’s fault! Do you think Zanna is an “evolved” female? If so, does that mean she pays for her own abortions?
Sharon Perkins
Joblessness leads to dispair anger and fatalism….the economic imbalances – pervasive world wide – are boiling over into the lives of the everyday person. Until the elite 1-percent) and their heirs are also targetted global economics will be managed without regard to our everyday lives.
The unemployed are doing the killing! Except they are not unemployed. But Sharon Perkins prefers to blame the “one percent” when Muslims come a knockin.’
Yuseff Hilton
Simple put, anywhere there is a heavy flow of pedestrian traffic needs to havw barrier erected between the road and the sidewalk, it will mitigate this sort of attack, and reduce Jay-walking.
I think Yuseff is onto something. All we need are concrete barriers on every road in London, and such attacks will never occur again. Except outside of London. And excluding knife and bomb attacks. I guess it’s a lot easier to put barriers on every road than to consider the source of these attacks, isn’t it?
Pilar Navarro
And how many people die from gun violence in America every day? Oops! Thats not terrorism, its gun rights for a few privileged
Ooops! I think Pilar went a little off topic. Guns didn’t kill anyone. Muslims did. How Pilar makes the jump from Muslims killing people with knives, to the right to own a firearm is unknown.
Brian Dodge • Michigan State University
I wonder if the xenophobic Brexit vote has increased the antipathy felt by terrorists leaning nuts – more people feel they have nothing to lose?
When the British voted to leave the EU, they only made Muslims madder!
Dennis Umphrey
Criminals will always commit crimes, the ISIS criminals just use Islam as a excuse to carry out those crimes, true Muslims would not take another life, but then again they have become to terror rock stars because of the Islamophobia to scare the Republican voters into voting for Republican candidates to keep them safe
1) Islamists kill British people. Therefore,
2) Liberals blame Islamophobia.
Rick Shaw • Sydney, Australia
It’s time England banned Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and any other social media used by terrorists to radicalise young muslims.
Rick is right; the problem is Facebook and Twitter, not Islam.
sdc512
No nation is more responsible for the export of the type of fundamentalism that underlies Islamist extremism than Saudi Arabia. If all of us who decry radical Islamist terrorism would lessen our dependency on oil, we could accomplish more to end that fundamentalist regime, and thereby terrorism, than anything else we could do.
I knew somehow, somewhere, someone would find a way to blame us for terrorism. It’s because we buy oil from Arab countries! That justifies terrorism, in this person’s “mind.”
AdrianMole
Trump wastes no time trying to exploit this in order to push his disgusting travel ban. A real president would have confined himself, for now, to expressing concern for the victims.
