VIDEO: "Allahu akbar!" in the Horn of Africa

Well, that does it! Somalia is off Walt's bucket list! The Liido Restaurant (pictured) in Mogadishu, the shithole's capital, serves excellent mystery-meat burgers, but enjoying one on the beach could cost you your life. Time for the latest news from Liido Beach, followed by a history lesson.

The news today is that at least 32 people were killed in a suicide attack at the popular beach, carried out by al-Shabaab militants. Hassan Ben-Sober [Ed., please check name], a police spokesthingy, told the meeja that "around 63" people were also wounded, some of them critically.

Video footage showed a number of bodies and injured people in Mogadishu's Abdiaziz district. Al-Shabab controls large parts of southern and central Somalia. The group is affiliated to al-Qaeda and for two decades has waged a brutal insurgency against a government backed by the Disunited Nations.

If you (like 99.99% of Americans) have forgotten about Somalia, let me remind you that the government of William Jefferson Clinton (Democrat) sent American troops there to wage peace in the 1990s as part of a UN snafu known as "Operation Gothic Serpent".

Mogadishu was the site of the infamous "Black Hawk Down Incident", of 3-4 October 1993, part of the Battle of Mogadishu, between forces of the US of A against the forces of the so-called Somali National Alliance (SNA) and armed irregulars. The battle was part of the then two-year-old Somali civil war, just one of the Muslim civil wars in which America has foolishly intervened. 

The UN initially sent troops to alleviate the famine of 1992, but then began trying to restore a central government, establish democracy, yada yada yada. In June of 1993, UN peacekeepers suffered their deadliest day in decades when the Pakistani contingent was attacked while inspecting a SNA weapons storage site. That's what happens when you look into the barrel.

UNOSOM II (the UN task force) blamed SNA leader Mohammed Farah Aidid and launched a manhunt. In July, American forces raided the Abdi House in search of Aidid, killing many elders and prominent members of Aidid's clan. Big mistake, Dr Jones! The raid led many Mogadishu residents to join the fight -- not on "our" side -- and in August, Aidid and the SNA deliberately attacked American personnel for the first time. And that's why slick Willy dispatched Task Force Ranger to sort things out.

On 3 October 1993, US forces planned to seize two of Aidid's top lieutenants during a meeting deep in the city. The raid was only intended to last an hour, but morphed into an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into the daylight hours of the next day. Here's the trailer for the slightly biased movie version of what happened.

What really happened was this. As the battle progressed (or not), Somali forces used RPGs to shoot down three American Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Two of them crashed deep in hostile territory (read: anywhere in the city). A desperate defence of the two downed helicopters began and fighting lasted through the night to defend the survivors of the crashes. In the morning, a UNOSOM II armored convoy fought their way to the besieged soldiers and withdrew, incurring further casualties but rescuing the survivors.

No battle since the Vietnam War claimed so many American casualties -- 18 dead and 73 wounded. You won't see much about the other forces in the movie, but Malaysian forces suffered one death and seven wounded, and Pakistani forces had two injured. Somali casualties were far higher -- between 133 and 700 dead.

The part that really wasn't a good look for the Clinton government was that, after the battle, dead American soldiers were dragged through the streets of Mogadishu by enraged Somalis, in full view of a vast [or half-vast. Ed.] TV audience.

The UN gave up on Somalia in 1995, and, as today's news illustrates, the state is now a lawless and dangerous shithole, with no effective government -- a place to be avoided like the plague (which is said to be present there). Fear of another PR disaster kept the US government from increasing its involvement in Somalia and other regions. 

Some students of history (Republicans perhaps) say that what is now called "Somalia Syndrome" influenced the Clinton administration's decision not to intervene in the Rwandan genocide. However, the lesson of Somalia was apparently forgotten when new Muslim civil wars broke out in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.

Religion of Peace kills >6 dozen in Somalia. "Allahu akbar!"

While (some) Christians were celebrating the birth of our Saviour, life... and death.. went on as usual in the Muslim shitholes of the Middle East and North Africa. An explosion today at a busy checkpoint in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, killed at least 72 people and wounded dozens, including women and children.

Rescuers carried dead bodies past the twisted wreckage of a vehicle and minibus taxis smeared with blood. The director of a private ambulance service told the meeja, "The number of casualties we have confirmed is 76 dead and 70 wounded, it could still be higher." Witness Mohamed "the Inevitable" Abdi said, "I saw many dead bodies lying on the ground. Some of those dead were police officers, but most of them were students."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab often carries out such attacks. The Islamic extremist group was pushed out of Mogadishu several years ago but continues to target high-profile areas such as checkpoints and hotels in the seaside city. Today's blast took place at the Ex-Control checkpoint, a "tax" collection (read: extortion) centre in Mogadishu.

Al-Shabaab was blamed for the truck bombing in Mogadishu in October 2017 that killed more than 500 people. The group never claimed responsibility for the blast that led to widespread public outrage. Another witness told AP, "This explosion is similar like the one...in 2017. This one occurred just a few steps away from where I am and it knocked me on the ground from its force."

Earlier this year a spokesthingy for the Disunited Nations said the jihadis are now able to make their own explosives -- their "weapons of choice. The followers of the Prophet previously relied on military-grade explosives captured during assaults on an African Union peacekeeping force. Today's attack again raises concern about the readiness of Somali forces to take over responsibility for security from the AU force, which is scheduled to withdraw in 2020.

Sri Lanka: Suspicions confirmed; Islamic terrorists kill nearly 300

No cries of "Allahu akbar!" were actually heard -- drowned out by the noise of the explosions perhaps -- but the government of Sri Lanka has now confirmed that yesterday's attacks on Christian churches and luxury hotels were carried out by a local militant group named National Thowfeek Jama'ath, with the help of an international network.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne told a news conference this morning that all the bombers were citizens of Sri Lanka. He added that the government was investigating whether the group had international support. "We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country. There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded."

What kind of an "international network"? Mr Senaratne did not go into details, but as Walt told you yesterday -- something you won't read in the lamestream media -- senior police officials have identified National Thowfeek Jama'ath as a group of Islamic terrorists. The "international network" could therefore refer to al-Qaeda, ISIS, al-Shabaab or the Taliban... any of them of all of the fanatical jihadis hell-bent (I mean that literally) on exterminating "infidels" such as those shown in this photo, taken some years ago, of some Lankan Catholics and your obedient servant.

Earlier today, a Lankan government forensic crime investigator said an examination of the Islamist attackers' body parts showed that they were suicide bombers. That detail really fascinates me. What body parts, I wonder? Did they have "Allahu akbar!" tattooed on some appendage?

This morning a "controlled explosion" occurred in a van near one of the attacked churches, when bomb squad officials were trying to defuse a bomb found near the departure gate of the Colombo airport. Elsewhere, 87 detonators were found at a Colombo bus station. And on Sunday afternoon, security forces raided a house in Colombo only to lose three officers killed in another explosion. 24 "locals" have now been arrested. That's less than 1/10th of the number killed in the bombings, which has now risen to 290, with over 500 reported injured.

Further reading:
"Horrifying moment car bomb blows up outside Sri Lankan church after police attempted to defuse it the day after Islamist terror attacks killed 290 people", Daily Mail (UK) 22/4/19.

And more:
"The Sri Lanka Jihad Massacre and the Decline of the West: How many times is the charade of denial going to play out?", by Robert Spencer on the FrontPageMag site, 22/4/19. Mr Spencer quotes an Indian media source as identifying three of the jihadis by name: Zahran Hashim, Abu Mohammad and Mohamed Azzam Mohamed. Why, he asks, can't Western leaders like the UK's Theresa May and Canada's Just In Trudeau bring themselves to utter the words "Muslim" or "Islamist", when the evidence is there. Walt's answer: Political correctness still rules the West! M-103!

VIDEO: Kenyan jihadi blows self into tiny Muslim-bits

If I weren't so damn lazy, I could post a story about Islamic terrorism every day. Right now, somewhere, possibly in your neighbourhood, a demented follower of the Religion of Peace (sic) is getting ready to kill you, and possibly him/herself, by whatever means available -- vehicular homicide, shooting, stabbing or perhaps a suicide bomb. Stories like this have become so routine -- the new norm for our One World -- that Ed. and I have decided to report only the more egregious examples. Like Tuesday's attack on a Nairobi hotel complex.

The DusitD2 complex, situated in Nairobi's well-to-do Westlands neighbourhood, is popular with expats, especially non-Muslim Europeans, or "kafirs", as the Islamists call us. Kenyan police say the attack began with an explosion outside the complex, followed by a suicide blast inside, before armed assailants arrived and opened fire. The first explosion, on the terrace of the hotel's restaurant, was captured on video. CCTV footage just released to local meeja shows the attacker walking calmly to a spot in front of the terrace, waiting a few moments, then blowing himself into Muslimburger. Here it is.



At least two people can be seen passing the assailant, one of them appearing to turn his head to take a close look at him. The assailant stands still in front of the covered terrace for almost a minute, before he blows himself up. Soon after, panicked guests and workers are seen running past the scene.

The militant Islamist group known as Al-Shabaab, which is based in Somalia and allied with al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the brazen attack, which claimed the lives of 21 people, plus the five militants killed. Kenyan authorities say all the followers of the Prophet have gone to Paradise and are being serviced by 72 virgins... each. Nothing more to see here folks, nothing to worry about... until next time.

Why no-one wants to take in Somali "refugees"

When President Trump issued his latest proclamation, "Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry into the United States by Terrorists or other Public-Safety Threats" last month, the usual gang of do-gooders, SJWs and bleeding hearts denounced it as "racist", "Islamophobic", yada yada yada, since all but one of the countries named are Muslim majority states. One of those is Somalia, a failed state which has been exporting "refugees", including Islamic terrorists, to Europe and America for decades.

Use the search feature at the right to get a complete list of the many times Walt has written about "Somalis", and you will soon see why people from that wretched shithole of a "nation" should be at the top of the list of prohibited visitors or immigrants. Here are links to some of the more recent posts.

"Had enough Muslim immigrants yet?", WWW 20/9/16
"The Muslim invasion of Canada has begun (but not where you think)", WWW 6/1/17 - Most of the asylum-seekers mentioned in this piece wound up in Toronto, in the "Dixon" neighbourhood, which will be mentioned in a moment.
"Somali tribesmen of MN (!) fall for anti-vaxxers' BS, get sick and die", WWW 8/5/17
"Edmonton Muslim terrorist attack: Walt told ya so!", WWW 2/10/17
"Somali-Canadian Muslim convicted of planning terror attack on NYC", WWW 7/10/17.

Apparently no-one made the connection between the Islamic terrorist wannabe mentioned in the first post on my list, and the one mentioned in the last post. They are both Somali Muslims. So is the guy charged with attempted murder in the Edmonton "incident". He was first described by Canadian "authorities" and the lamestream media as a "refugee". Turns out his refugee claim was actually made in the USA, where he lived for some time until he was ordered deported. One step ahead of ICE, he then fled to the Great No-longer-white North, where he was welcomed by the gullible Canucks. The Mounties probably helped him with his luggage, as they have with the 1000s of illegals who have crossed the border at Emerson MB and Lacolle QC.

Speaking of those who crossed at Emerson -- see second story on the above list -- Torontonians may be dismayed, but will not be surprised to learn that almost all of them took the welfare and resettlement money given to them by the soft-hearted and soft-headed Canadians and made their way to Toronto, where they were welcomed into the ghetto known as "Dixon", in northern Etobicoke. That area is largely inhabited by Somali refugees, countrymen and perhaps kinsmen of Canada's Minister of Immigration and Refugees (sic), Ahmed Hussen.

Walt has e-mailed the Honourable Mr Husssen for comment on a spate of recent shootings in his community. Last week The Economist released a new index ranking Toronto as the safest city in North America. This comes as news to the residents of Dixon, who held a protest meeting last week (attended only by women and children -- the Somali men were elsewhere) to call for government help (= money) to deal with the seemingly relentless violence that cut short the lives of two young Somali "refugees" last this week alone.

Abdulkadir Bihi, 29, of Toronto was fatally shot last Thursday afternoon when police located him in a vehicle in front of an apartment building on Dixon Road. Police have since charged two suspects with first-degree murder in connection to the homicide. Four days later, a 16-year-old boy died of his injuries in hospital following a triple shooting in the parking lot of Kingsview Village School on Dixon Road and Islington Avenue.
The two other victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The deceased was identified as Zakariye Ali of Toronto. All involved -- victims and shooters -- are Somalis.

Now we come to this weekend's bloody atrocity in the place those people came from -- Somalia, first and foremost among the world's failed states. It is hard to argue with the proposition that Somalia is a dangerous place, even for natives. Not only political conflict, but tribal and clan warfare have raged there since early 2009 -- and that's just the current phase of yet another Muslim civil war into which the West got sucked in the name of peace-keeping. Remember Black Hawk Down? That was about the Battle of Mogadishu, way back in 1993, in which American forces took on Somali militia fighters, with predictable results. (I wrote earlier today about the latest phase of the war in Iraq. See the pattern?)

Mogadishu this weekend was the scene of two massive truck bombings. The death toll is now (Monday morning) over 300, with a like number wounded and injured. Somalia's alleged government -- whose writ does not run even in the country's capital city -- is blaming the al-Shabaab, an affiliate of al-Qaeda. The Islamic terror attack was one of the worst in the world in recent years, and the worst in Somalia ever. Al-Shabaab, Africa's deadliest Islamic extremist group, often targets high-profile areas of Mogadishu. Earlier this year, it vowed to step up attacks after both the Trump administration and Somalia's recently elected president announced new military efforts against the group.

In the wake of the massacre, the one-worlders, bleeding hearts and chattering classes will be calling on President Trump to "temporarily" except Somalia from the list of countries whose nationals aren't allowed to enter the USA. "Be human!", they will clamour, pissing and moaning about those poor people whose lives are in danger, who want to come to America (and maybe onward to Canada, or the other way around) to find peace and security.

At the risk of appearing hard-hearted, Walt would suggest that the only threats to the lives and well-being of most Somalis are threats posed by other Somalis! If you don't believe me, look at Dixon. They bring their political and religious strife with them, as part of their psychological baggage. Better, for us at least, that they stay at home.

Footnote: Oh... Forgot to identify the three Somali "refugees" in the pix above. Check out "Minneapolis: Somali 'refugees' terrorize neighborhood", a story completely ignored by the Star-Tribune since it happened in July of 2016, during the election campaign. Briefly, a group of 20-30 Somali "refugees" terrorized a small neighbourhood filled with million dollar homes, screaming about "jihad" while waving Somali flags, shooting off fireworks and driving their cars onto sidewalks and lawns. They also threatened to kidnap women and rape them because "Sharia law says it's legal."

Had enough Muslim immigrants yet?

Here's what we know about Ahmad Khan Rahami, the man taken into custody yesterday in connection with homemade bombs planted around New York and New Jersey. Mr Raham is a 28-year-old Muslim. He was born in Afghanistan and came to the USA with his family some years ago, while still a minor. He is now a naturalized citizen.

A family acquaintance by the name of Flee Jones [That's his name. Seriously. Ed.] told Reuters that Mr Rahami went back to Afghanistan for a visit several years ago. After he returned, he grew a beard and became more serious and quietood friend, told Reuters. "He was way more religious," Mr Jones said, adding, "I never knew him as the kind of person who would do anything like this."

Here's what we know about Dahir Adan, the man shot dead by police after stabbing 10 people with a kitchen knife at the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud MN on Saturday night. The late Mr Adan was a 22-year-old Muslim. He was born in Kenya, but was ethnically Somali, and was brought to the USA while still a minor. Although he lived in America for 15 years, whether or not he became a citizen is unclear.

Jama Alimad, a Muslim community leader in St Cloud, described Mr Adan as "the most assimilated kid in the neighbourhood", which says quite a bit about both the man and the neighbourhood. (Minnesota is home to America's largest Somali population with at least 40,000. More than 20 young men have left the state since 2007 to join al-Shabaab in Somalia, and a dozen have left to join militants in Syria.)

It wasn't al-Shabaab but ISIS that claimed Dahir Adan as one of its "soldiers", shortly after his rampage made headlines around the world. During the attack, he made references to Allah -- "Allahu akbar!" -- and asked at least one victim if he was a Muslim. So what does the FBI call this "incident"? "A potential act of terrorism." Seriously. But, St. Cloud's police chief hastens to assure us, no evidence has been found tying the suspect directly to terror groups. So that's all right then.

Walt begs pardon of Barrack Hussein Obama, Hellery Clinton and all the liberal elites for calling both Mr Rahami and Mr Dahir "Islamic terrorists". That's what they were, and all the liberals' dissembling and accusations of race-baiting won't change that fact. It's also a fact that these Muslim extremists were allowed to enter and remain in the USA by the federal government. It doesn't matter whether they came as legal immigrants or refugees or winners in the Green Card Lottery. They came, they stayed, they received the benefits of residence in one of the richest countries in the world, and they bit the hands -- taxpayers' hands -- that fed them.

In about seven weeks, Americans will go to the polls to choose a new President. One candidate -- Mrs Bill Clinton -- has pledged to expand President 0's refugee plan to accept about 65,000 more of them, in addition to the tens of thousands of refugees accepted every year from other Third World countries. This "policy" can only be called the Obama version of Angela Merkel's disastrous Willkommenskultur.

The other candidate promises to make America safe again by beefing up border security and only admitting to the USA people who share or at least accept to be governed by American values. On August 31st, Donald Trump said that, if elected, he would suspend immigration from "places like Syria and Libya" and would order a list of regions and countries be drawn up from which "immigration must be suspended until proven and effective vetting mechanisms can be put into place."

Donald Trump says it is folly to welcome into your country those who are hell-bent on destroying it. Walt couldn't agree more!

Further reading: "Congress Seeks Moratorium on Refugees", by Suzanne Shattuck on Dr Rich Swier's blog, 19/9/16.

No fulsome apologies from Walt!

This morning I heard an educated woman -- the director of a charity which aids the poor and down-trodden of the Third World -- talking on public radio about war crimes allegedly committed in Somalia. (The alleged criminals were Americans of course, not the Islamic terrorist group al-Shabaab. Hey, it was public radio!)

The speaker called for a "fulsome investigation" of the "deliberate starvation" of Somalis by the wicked Americans, through restrictions on food aid which otherwise would have prevented the "famine".

A "fulsome investigation"... Really? I'm guessing the speaker really wants a full, complete, thorough investigation, but, in spite of her higher learning, misunderstands the meaning of the adjective "fulsome". Walt's Annadale's dictionary says "fulsome" means "cloying, surfeiting, offensive from excess of praise, gross (flattery, compliments), nauseous, disgusting".

The misuse of "fulsome" has become something of an epidemic amongst the lamestream media and chattering classes. I am sick, sore and tired of hearing news "reporters" promising "more fulsome coverage at 11", and politicians promising to give an issue their "fulsome attention".

This abuse of vocabulary stems, no doubt, from a wish to sound better-educated than the speakers really are. To "big themselves up", as speakers of Ebonics say, the professional talkers reach for the sesquipedelian word, when a plain, simple word would do. To those who are tempted so to do, Walt recommends two books: 30 Day to a More Powerful Vocabulary, by Wilfred Funk (yes, that Funk, as in "Funk & Wagnalls") and Norman Lewis, and the seminal work by Dr. Rudolf Fleisch, The Art of Plain Talk.

If you are a professional talker, and intend to go on misusing "fulsome" because it sounds good, I say, go right ahead and demonstrate your ignorance of proper English. And spare me your fulsome apologies.

25 worst places to be a Christian

The British newspaper The Guardian has published an overview of the persecution of Christians worldwide, accompanied by a list of the 25 worst places to be a Christian. "Christians are facing growing persecution around the world," they wrote, "fueled mainly by Islamic extremism and repressive governments, leading the Pope to warn of 'a form of genocide' and for campaigners to speak of 'religio-ethnic cleansing,'."

Click here to read The Grauniad's list, with their reasons. Walt's "Reader's Digest version" follows. The list is not in bad-worse-worst order because, well... I don't need to explain, do I?

North Korea - Asia, Communist dictatorship. Believers meet in secret "house churches", risking imprisonment, torture and martyrdom.
Somalia - Horn of Africa, officially Muslim, lawless and chaotic. Christians often executed on the spot.
Iraq - Middle East sandpit, officially Muslim, but which kind of Muslim? Shi'ites and Sunni Muslims are fighting it out in a Muslim civil war, in which the USA and its reluctant allies are meddling for no good reason.
Syria - Like Iraq, only worse.
Afghanistan - Like Syria, only worse.

Sudan - Northern Africa, officially Muslim, Sharia law. Converting to Christianity punishable by death. Blasphemy gets you the lash.
Iran - Middle East, officially Muslim. Safer for Christians than Iraq or Syria, and that's about all you can say.
Pakistan - Asia, officially Muslim. Christians are second-class citizens. Blasphemy (against the Prophet or the Holy Qu'ran) punishable by death.
Eritrea - Horn of Africa, pseudo-Communist dictatorship, Muslim majority. See North Korea.
Nigeria - Africa, divided between Muslim north and nominally Christian south. Sharia law in the north. Boko Haram abducts girls, kills Christians by the thousands.

Maldives - Never heard of it, right? Beautiful little islands in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India. Great tourist destination. Officially Muslim. Converting from Islam means forfeiting Maldivian citizenship, and owning a Bible is punishable by death. Churches are banned; Christian migrants and tourists also have to meet in secret and cannot own Bibles.
Saudi Arabia - Middle East, feudal kingdom. Officially Muslim and we're talking Wahabi, the most extreme branch of Sunni Islam. For their faith, Christians may be arrested, imprisoned, tortured and deported.
Libya - North Africa, officially Muslim. ISIS hotspot, going through a civil war following a pointless Western invasion. The new Somalia.
Yemen - Middle East, feudal, officially Muslim. Christians treated as in Saudi Arabia, and caught in the middle of a civil war, with Saudis intervening on the side of Islamic fundamentalists.
Uzbekistan - Central Asia, pseudo-Communist dictatorship. As in China [How did China get left off this list?! Ed.], all churches must be registered with the state. Converts from Islam face imprisonment, beatings and sometimes banishment.

Vietnam - Asia, Communist dictatorship. Not quite as bad as China, since the Roman Catholic Church still has a large following, the legacy of the colonial days. As in China and Uzbekistan, churches must be officially registered. As in China, many churches have been destroyed, and Christians attacked and imprisoned.
Central African Republic - Africa [Duh! Ed.], chaotic, lawless. The militant group Séléka, (= CAR rebels + Muslims from neighbouring countries), have raped, tortured and killed Christians throughout the country. Unlike in other countries on this fecal roster, defence groups made up of people claiming to be Christians are fighting back. Victims, Christian or Muslim, may be eaten.
Qatar - Middle East, Islamic kingdom. Converts to Christianity face banishment and death. Large population of migrant workers have to keep their faith to themselves.
Kenya - Africa. Like Nigeria but substitute Al Shabaab for Boko Haram. If you're a white, presumably Christian tourist, keep your head down.
Turkmenistan - Central Asia, quasi-dictatorship, officially Muslim. See Uzbekistan.

India - Asia. Officially a secular state but under the ruling BJP effectively "Hindustan". Like Pakistan, only with the persecutors being Hindus. In some states there are anti-conversion laws, and attacks on Christians and church buildings occur frequently. Indian Muslims are recommended to move to Pakistan or Bangladesh.
Ethiopia - Horn of Africa. I don't agree with The Guardian on this one, as the majority of Ethiopians are Coptic Christians. But there are Muslim-dominated areas, where Christians report harassment for their faith. The Grauniad says there were 60 violent incidents reported in 2014.
Egypt - Northern Africa, officially Muslim. There is a large(ish) minority of Coptic Christians who were largely left alone until the US-supported overthrow of the Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, which was followed by a sharp increase in anti-Christian violence, with 65 churches, convents, Christian bookshops and schools attacked. There are fears these attacks will increase as radical Islamist groups gain power in the region.
Djibouti - Horn of Africa, officially Muslim. You'll find it on the map next to Eritrea, which it greatly resembles. That's all you need to know.
Burma - Asia, quasi-dictatorship, officially Buddhists. Included in The Guardian's list (I guess) to show that it's not only the Islamists who have it in for Christians. There has been a rise in nationalist religious movements in the past few years, with nearly two dozen Christians killed in clashes with the army in 2014. Buddhist nationalist groups are putting pressure on the government to adopt laws that would make life harder for Christians, such as limiting conversions and restricting interfaith marriages.

So there you have it -- the 25 worst countries in which to be a Christian. OK, 26 if you count China, which you definitely should. And The Guardian says nothing of the persecution of believers in the True Faith by the secular humanists who have triumphed in post-Christian Europe and North America.

Dear Christian readers, please keep in your minds and hearts the words of St. Paul:
2 Timothy 3:12 - And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
Romans 8:35/37 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or persecution, or sword? / But in all these things we overcome, because of Him that hath loved us.

Further reading: "Dying for Christianity: millions at risk amid rise in persecution across the globe" (Companion piece to The Guardian's list)

A good reason to ban the burqa

Meet Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed [One 'm' or two? Ed.], a suspected terrorist. Mr. Mohamed, who has been linked to the Somali militant group al-Shabaab, was subject to a "TPim" (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) order, aimed at protecting the British public from people believed to have engaged in terrorism-related activity but who it is not deemed feasible to prosecute or deport.

That shows you the British respect for justice and fair play and all that rot. In China this guy would have been shot! (They're not crazy about Muslim extremists there, you know.) In the USA he'd have been locked up, maybe at Gitmo. But in the UK all he had to do was promise to be a good boy and not blow himself to Paradise in the middle of a crowded street. Oh yeah, he had to wear a GPS tag too.

You probably can't see the GPS tag in the middle and right pix. Perhaps Mohammed Mohamed wasn't wearing it. Hard to tell. In fact it's hard to tell if the person in those pix is really Mr. Mohamed, or even someone of the male gender. That's the problem with the burqa, you see...or, rather, you don't see.

Neither did the London police. They believe now that Mr. Mohamed went to the An-Noor Masjid and Community Centre -- that's what they call a mosque when they don't want to upset people -- on Friday morning, and was seen inside around 3 p.m. (Ironically, the mosque is located on Church Road in Acton, one of the darker parts of London.) Sometime thereafter he walked out the door, clad in the full burqa as seen in the surveillance pix, and promptly disappeared. Kind of a Muslim variant on the old Hindu rope trick.

Mr. Mohamed is now "at large", as the saying goes. But he's probably not a threat to the public peace, since, after all, he is bound by the TPim, and faces restrictions on travel, movement, association and communication. So that's all right, then.

Further reading: Apparently some of the ink-stained wretches that pass themselves off as journalists haven't read "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?", since some reports say Mr. Mohamed was wearing a niqab. No, you culturally illiterate clods! The "full Mohammed" is a burqa!

Kenya: a lot of damage for only 4 terrorists

New estimates of the death toll in the terrorist attack on a Nairobi shopping mall keep coming in. The Kenyan government -- whose president is awaiting trial in the International Criminal Court -- says there might be another 4 bodies left in the rubble. Or maybe 6. The Red Cross says there are three dozen (or so) still missing. As with most things in Africa, who knows?

Another interesting number has leaked out this week. Reviews of extensive CCTV footage suggests that there were fewer al-Shabaab terrorists than the Kenyan army claimed. It is now believed that the Islamic extremists numbered four. That's 4 -- count `em, FOUR!

Which begs the question, how could four crazed Muslims cause so much damage? You've likely seen video clips showing a huge crater which used to be the centre of the Westgate Mall, apparently destroyed by the explosion of several RPGs. The grenades seem to have been fired by, errr, "rescuers" from the Kenyan army. How many bodies are buried in the rubble is as yet unknown.

Other videos seen in this report from the Sydney Morning Herald, show a horrendous amount of looting -- much more than could have been perpetrated by four crazed Muslims who were probably already dead. Mannequins were stripped clean, jewellery cases smashed, racks of expensive suits carted off, and dozens of cash registers cracked open. At least one member of the Kenyan "security services" was arrested, caught with a bloody wallet.

According to the paper, the looting appeared to have the scope and organisation of a large-scale military operation, and many Kenyans are speculating that it was just that. From the first hours after Islamist militants burst into the mall on September 21 until a week later, when shopkeepers were let back in to sweep up the broken glass, very few people were allowed inside the mall except the Kenyan security forces, mainly the army.

More and more Kenyans believe those soldiers methodically cleaned out the mall, and that the barrages of gunfire ringing out for days were being directed not at the last of the militants but at safes and padlocks to blast them open. Some business leaders even question whether the Kenyan army deliberately prolonged the crisis by saying shooters were still in the building when they were actually dead, to give themselves extra time to steal.

Witnesses said that the most they saw militants loot was a couple cans of soda, and shopkeepers cited no instances of panicked shoppers helping themselves to merchandise as they ran for their lives, leading to the widespread conclusion that the security forces must have been involved.

The Herald reports, rightly, that Kenyans are accustomed to corruption. Corruption is the norm in sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya is consistently rated as one of the worst of the worst.

And there's a second payoff for Kenya. Western governments, still suffering pangs of white liberal guilt, are falling all over themselves to send millions of your tax dollars to Kenya's corrupt government and thuggish military. It's all about fighting terrorism, they say. But who are the terrorists? Will Western aid and intervention succeed in making Africa a safe and better place to live? Walt says there are two chances -- slim and none.

Thanks to Agent 17 for sending along the report from the Antipodes.

Highly recommended reading: The Africans, by David Lamb. Vintage Books, 1987.

Al-Shabaab attacks police station, Catholic church in Kenya

Yes, gentle readers, the jihad continues in Kenya. Al-Shabaab may have lost five "martyrs" in the Westgate Mall massacre, but there are still enough left to wage more terrorist attacks against other targets.

L'Osservatore Romano reports that a Roman Catholic church in northern Kenya was attacked yesterday. Assailants believe to be members of the Somali terrorist group lobbed two grenades at the church in Wajir, then shot at police before making their escape.

At about the same time, gunmen opened fire on police in another nearby town, killing two cops and wounding three others. That the attacks are part of a war on "infidels" was underlined yesterday evening when Ahmed Abdi Godane, a leader of the Islamic extremists, said in an internet message that the attacks were a message to Westerners and to Kenya. "There will be more blood," said the devout follower of "the religion of peace".

"Kaffirs!" Muslim extremists ARE out to get you!

Those who know (or think they know) something of the history and culture of South Africa may think that "kaffir" was an Afrikaans derogatory term for blacks -- like the N-word in the USA. In fact, it's a much older Arabic word for a non-believer, someone who is not a follower of the Prophet Muhammad. That's what the Muslim terrorists call the rest of us.

The politically correct apologists for al-Shabaab, the armed Somali Islamic extremist group that attacked a shopping mall in Kenya, are up in arms [Bad rib! Ed.] over portrayals of the terrorists as, errr, Islamic extremists out to murder non-believers. Some lamestream pundits are saying that, oh noooo, they're just Somali patriots fighting against the evil Kenyans who've invaded their homeland.

Well, that's not what the Islamic extremists themselves are saying. In an e-mail exchange with Associated Press, reported today in HuffPost, a spokesthingy for al-Shabaab said that foreigners were a "legitimate target" and confirmed witness accounts that gunmen tried to let Muslims go free while killing or taking the others captive.

AP quotes the terrorists as saying "The Mujahideen carried out a meticulous vetting process at the mall and have taken every possible precaution to separate the Muslims from the kaffirs before carrying out their attack."

Eye-witnesses have said the gunmen rounded up people, asked questions about Islam that only a Muslim would know how to answer, and told the Muslims to leave the mall. Out of 72 dead counted so far, at least 18 were foreigners, including six Brits, and nationals of France, Canada, Trinidad, the Netherlands, Australia, Peru, India, Ghana, South Africa and China. The current death toll is 67 and is likely to climb with uncounted bodies remaining in the rubble of the Nairobi mall.

Walt's advice to fellow kaffirs: don't go to Kenya or Egypt or Syria or [Ed., please insert another dozen or so north African and Middle Eastern countries]. Stay somewhere safe, where there are no Muslim terrorists. Like, say, Boston. [Ed., maybe that wasn't a good choice. Please insert name of a country or city where there's no threat from the jihadists.]

Fanatical Muslim imams preach jihad against non-believers

To begin with, a mild apology for not updating the death tolls in the Islamic extremist attacks on non-Muslims in Kenya and Pakistan. Last I heard the official count was 72 in Kenya, not counting the 5 or 11 Somali terrorists nor the 137 hostages al-Shabaab (the terrorists) say are buried in the rubble. As for Pakistan, the count in Peshawar has been suspended because all counters are now occupied with yesterday's earthquake elsewhere in the sandpit.

The killing by radical Muslims of somewhere between 100 and 200 "infidels" is still drawing a few (but only a few) comments in the lamestream Western media, which doesn't follow such stories for more than a day unless the victims are (mostly) American. There's been more pissing and moaning about the dozen killed at the Navy Yard by a demented black man who was (Allah be praised) not Muslim.

Still, some commentators are actually daring to be politically incorrect enough to suggest that maybe, just maybe, the most recent terror attacks are all part of a worldwide jihad -- "holy war" -- against Christians. Writing in the Toronto Sun, Tarek Fatah [What part of Eire is he from? Ed.] asks "Have Islamist jihadis declared world war?"

It's not really a good question, but Walt will provide the answer anyway. The answer is YES.

But don't take Walt's word for it. Listen to Most Rev. Fouad Twal, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. In an interview with Oasis, a journal of the Patriarchate of Venice, the prelate lamented the persecution of Christians in the Middle East. "The major urgency now," he said "is to set straight the religious discourse of so many imams who, from within their mosques, preach violence against non-Muslims."

"We are dramatically concerned about the US threats to attack Syria," he added. "The Syrian bishops emphasize that the persecution of Christians by rebels is an objective reality."

But, Abp. Twal cautioned, it's not just the Muslims who are against the Christians. "To this pain," he continued, "is added another. The focus of attention is displaced. Nobody talks anymore about the Israeli military occupation, about the Wall, about the lack of freedom to reach the Holy Places. Meanwhile, our situation is not getting any better. From being exceptional it has become commonplace."

In the Middle Ages, the Church and the rulers of Christendom -- a more appropriate name for Europe then than now -- embarked on Crusades to protect the faithful in the Holy Land and take back the Holy Places from the Jews and the followers of the Prophet.

The fashion nowadays is to call those holy wars misguided or worse. Nowadays we are urged by our religious and secular leaders to pray for those who curse us, and to reach out to embrace those who do not share our Faith. It's all about Drawing All Faiths Together... DAFT, isn't it.

Confusion and gunfire in [fill in name of African country]

Actually it's Kenya. Walt is trying to get a final body count from the al-Shabaab [rough translation = "young guys". Ed.] terrorist attack on Nairobi's Westgate mall, but official sources keep telling different stories. One minister says the army has everything under control. Another says there "may" still be terrorists (and hostages, and maybe some more corpses) inside the building. SNAFU.

It's now the fourth day of the Islamic extremists' occupation of the mall, the purpose of which was to kill a bunch of non-Muslims in retaliation for the Kenyan army's incursions into the failed state that was Somalia. The connection between an upscale shopping centre and the fighting in Mogadiscio is as clear as anything ever is in Africa.

The attack has come at a time when several violent Islamist groups from Mali to Algeria, Nigeria to Kenya -- tapping into local grievances but all espousing an anti-Western, anti-Christian creed -- are striking at state authority and international interests.

And of course it's not just Africa. "Forens" and "infidels" aren't safe anywhere in the Middle East. Especially places like:
Afghanistan -- 3 western "military advisers" killed on the weekend by someone in an Afghan army uniform
Syria -- local Christians imploring the USA and UN not to give help or support to the anti-Assad rebels, who they call Islamic extremists masquerading as democracts, and
Pakistan -- death toll in the suicide bombing at All Saints Church in Peshawar now holding at 85.

The Muslims have declared jihad -- "holy war" -- on the rest of us. True Christians would turn the other cheek. But not all those being killed or threatened are such Christians... or are they?

Further reading: 7 things you should know about Somalia's al-Shabaab militants, from CBCNews.

Muslims kill dozens of "infidels" in attacks in Kenya, Pakistan

Just time for two items from this morning's news headlines.

Item: 59 dead in Kenya mall attack - An upscale Nairobi shopping mall is now entering its second day under a violent siege that killed 59 "non-Muslims"... so far. A militant Islamist group called al-Shabaab -- Somalis linked to al-Qaeda -- has claimed responsibility for the assault, which targeted non-Muslims. Witnesses say Muslims were told to stand up and identify themselves, after which they were told to get out of the building before the shooting started.

Israeli "advisers" are said to be hunkered down with Kenyan forces this morning, figuring out how to flush out the radical Muslims still holding hostages inside the mall. When it comes to dealing with crazed Muslims, who ya gonna call?! Don't count on the Hindus or the Christians!

Item: Muslim attackers kill 60 in attack on Pakistani Christian church - The Pakistan wing of the Taliban is ahead of al-Shabaab by one, after a pair of suicide bombers detonated powerful explosives outside a historic church in northwestern Pakistan today. Over 60 people worshippers were killed in the deadliest-ever attack on the country's Christian minority.

The bombing at All Saints Church in Peshawar wounded another 120 people. The Associated Press report underlines the threat posed by Islamic extremists as the Pakistani government seeks a peace deal with domestic Taliban militants. AP says it will likely intensify criticism from those who believe that negotiating peace with militants is a mistake. [Shome mishtake, surely! Ed.]

Anyone besides Walt see a pattern here? Does the word "jihad" mean anything to anyone? Maybe it is time to unleash the Israelis!