Port Authority terminal bomber inspired by ISIS - "Allahu akbar!"

While I was writing the ppst about President Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel -- scroll down -- Ed. has been following the breaking news of the bombing near the Port Authority terminal in New York City. We hope Fox News won't mind our reposting, almost verbatim, their latest report. (Hey! We're building up your readership here!)

Fox News says that a Bangladeshi national living in Brooklyn prematurely detonated his "low tech device" in an "attempted terrorist attack" inside New York City's Port Authority bus terminal Monday morning -- a blast that rocked the city during rush hour, causing chaos and halting several subway lines.

In a hastily called news conference, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo said that Akayed Ullah, 27, set off the "effectively low tech device" in a subway passageway just before 0730 EST. Mr Ullah suffered burns and wounds to his body and appeared to be the only person seriously injured in the pipe bomb explosion, authorities said. At least three other people suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Said the Gov, "This is New York, the reality is that we are a target by many who would like to make a statement against democracy, against freedom." New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio concurred, saying, "This was attempted terrorist attack." Neither Mr Cuomo nor Mr De Blasio mentioned the words "Islamist", "Muslim" or "ISIS".

However, law enforcement sources told the New York Post that Mr Ullah's attack was inspired by ISIS. The suspect allegedly packed the 5-inch metal pipe bomb and battery pack into the right side of his jacket, but the device exploded earlier than intended. The suspect told police he made the bomb at the electrical company where he works.

This is breaking news. We'll have more later, although to be honest, the only thing I'm waiting for is a statement from the perp that he did it to protest POTUS' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Stay tuned.

NYC attack: "A statement consistent with terrorism"

For the last couple of hours I have been watching non-stop live coverage of the "terrorist attack" -- so called by Hizzoner the Mayor -- on New York City's West Side. My first question (to myself) was "What's wrong with this picture?" The answer [You admit you talk to yourself? Ed.] was "Nothing!"

I understood perfectly well what I was seeing. It was a remake, for American audiences, of the London Bridge massacre of last June. Van drives along sidewalk crowded with pedestrians, kills 8 (so far), injures 12 (so far). Driver jumps out brandishing what appear to be firearms, but which turn out to be a pellet gun and a paintball gun. Shots are heard, fired, as it turns out, by a heroic NYC cop who wounds, but does not kill the perp, who is now in custody, assisting police with their enquiries.

Yep, the picture is clear enough. What's wrong is the audio. In two hours of listening to assorted commentators, "analysts" and "experts", not to mention Mayor Bill De Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo [Thanks for not mentioning them. Ed.], I heard the words "terror", "terrorist" and "terrorism" countless times, but not once, not once did I hear the words "Islam", "Islamic" or "Muslim". The closest anyone came was one of the CBS "reporters" who said that, as he "exited the vehicle" (copspeak for "jumped outta the van"), the attacker "made a statement consistent with terrorism".

"A statement consistent with terrorism." What do you suppose he might have said? What would "a statement consistent with terrorism" sound like? Like, "ALLAHU AKBAR!!!", maybe? Lifetime pct .990.

Another thing I didn't hear was any reference to the race, ethnicity or religion of the assailant, even though he could be seen, albeit from a distance, on a video shot by a witness. In the video, from the way he ran, zigzagging through the traffic like a tight end, I'd guess he was a gentleman of the coloured persuasion, but I could be wrong. The only reason that I can think the police might have for not revealing his identity would be that naming him as yet another Muslim terrorist would trigger more Islamophobia, which we now know is not a real "thing". That's right. As the Mayor and the Governor told us, there is no need to be afraid of Islamic terrorism, even in "sanctuary cities" like, errr, New York.

The embarrassing avoidance by the Authorities of any mention of the nature of this dastardly attack -- other than calling it an act of (unspecified) terrorism -- reminds me of the response of the British police to the London Bridge attack. See "British cops refuse to name London Bridge jihadis", WWW 5/6/17. But the truth will out, and you can bet that when it does, the lamestream media will lay the blame at the feet of President Trump. Perhaps (they will say) he would have done well to issue an executive order banning Muslims from entering the USA. Or he might have thought about making a list of all the potential Islamic terrorists already in America. Or something. Whatever. Anyway, it's all his fault. That's what they'll say. Lifetime pct .990.

UPDATED: NJ/NYC bombings the work of... guess who? (No prizes.)

It didn't take long for the other shoe to drop. After the Chelsea bombing "incident", NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio said it was an intentional act -- DUH! -- and Governor Andrew Cuomo said any bombing is an act of terrorism. Neither of them said what we were all thinking, that it must be the work of TEWCBN -- The Enemy Which Cannot Be Named -- or at least its Islamic extremist supporters. All they told us was that there was no "evidence of any international connection."

Then this morning, just past midnight EDT, a bomb squad robot detonated an IED which had been left in a backpack at the train station in Elizabeth NJ. FBI agents and police swooped on a nearby apartment where they found more IEDs and all the fixins. It didn't take them very long to come up with the name of a suspect. To no-one's surprise, he turns out to be one of the usual suspects -- 28-year-old Ahmad Khan Rahami.

Mr Rahami is a naturalized citizen of the Paranoid States of America, but hails from... wait for it... Afghanistan. He is also a follower of the Prophet -- a Muslim -- and (according to Hizzoner Bill de Blasio) armed and dangerous. "We need to get this guy in right away," Mr de Blasio said on CNN. "My experience is once the FBI zeroes in on someone, they will get them."

It wasn't immediately clear if there was a connection between the suspect and the Chelsea bombing, or the pipe bomb explosion at Seaside Park NJ on Saturday. It's quite possible, of course, that the IEDs which exploded at Seaside Park and Chelsea were made and planted by a non-Muslim who had no political or religious motive whatever. Yeah. Right.

Hellery warns against jumping to conclusions, then does so
Speaking to reporters on her campaign plane Saturday night, Mrs Bill Clinton cautioned against "rushing to conclusions" about the attacks and criticized Donald Trump for calling the Chelsea explosion a bomb that served as a reminder for that the USA needs to "get very tough." On Sunday, however, Hellery issued a statement saying she strongly condemns what she characterized as "apparent terrorist attacks" in Minnesota, New Jersey and New York. That's a pretty quick turnaround, even for a Clinton.

Further reading: "The Response to This Weekend’s Terror Attacks Showed Willful Blindness in Real Time", by Andrew C. McCarthy, National Review. "The ideology behind the attacks in New York, New Jersey, and Minnesota must be confronted forthrightly. In the all too familiar pattern, things are going boom, Americans are under attack, and the American political class is already busy playing the 'See No Jihad' minuet."

"Worst blizzard in the history of New York City" - LMAO

New York Mayor Warren Wilhelm Jr. -- that's DeBlasio's real name -- warned of the "historic snowfall" that was about to descend on his city. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie -- aka Christie the Clown -- warned people to stay off the roads lest they be trapped in their cars. States of emergency were declared in advance of the impending "Snowmageddon" -- a word which was used sparingly, but used all the same. And in Rome, the Pope was adding a couple of references to his encyclical on the theologically fraught question of global warming.

And then... ... nothing happened! Or at least, nothing that a Canadian suburbanite couldn't handle with shovel. But New York and New Jersey aren't in Canada. [Tanks God for dat! Poor Len.] They are in the Paranoid States of America, where there is no such thing as a minor inconvenience. Everything that happens in America -- especially New York -- is the biggest and best... or worst... as the case may be.

Walt recommends that Messrs DeBlasio and Christie take a trip today -- now that the airports are open again! -- to someplace like Fargo, where the real snow is and where the real people are. That's the real America!  

Note from Ed.: Even with the intervention of Poor Len, this is a bit short. So let's fill some space with a little-known fact, which has nothing to do with blizzards or effete Easterners. The decibel was named for the famous British-American-Canadian (depending on who you ask) inventor, Sir Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. [Really? I thought Don Ameche invented the telephone. Walt]