Happy New Year! ISIS takes credit for Istanbul massacre

So, farewell then, 2016. And welcome 2017. What will the new year be like? Walt has a few predictions. Here's one. The Islamic terrorist attacks against Western civilization and any Muslims who don't agree with their extremist views will continue unabated. The Muslim civil war will continue. Two "incidents" this weekend prove me right, as usual.

Yesterday, New Year's Eve, a pair of suicide bombings minutes apart hit al-Sinak, a flea market in central Baghdad, Iraq. Minutes after the first suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden belt, a cry of "Allahu akbar!" rang out again, as a the second attacker struck amid the crowd that gathered. 28 people, mostly Shia Muslims, died. 54 were wounded.

In a statement posted by its Aaqmaq news agency, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attacks, and confirmed that the blasts came from a pair of suicide bombers. Later on Saturday, three separate attacks in and around Baghdad killed another 8 people, including a policeman, and wounded 17. Provisional total for the day: 36 "infidels" dead, 71 wounded.

This morning at 0115 local time -- just over an hour into the New Year -- a gunman who entered the crowded Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, and opened fire, killing at least 39 people, including a policeman, and wounding 69 others. At the time of the shooting, about 600 people were inside the club, located near a bridge that crosses the Bosphorus River. The venue was popular with wealthy locals and tourists. An Israeli woman has been identified as one of the victims. Other foreign victims came from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon and Libya.

As yet, no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which is reminiscent of last June's massacre of 49 people (and wounding of 53 others) at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando FL. The killer in that case was Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old "Muslim-American" security guard. In a 9-1-1 call shortly after he started shooting, Mr Mateen swore allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the ISIS/ISIL. He said the shooting was "triggered" [bad pun! Ed.] by the American killing of Abu Waheeb in Iraq the previous month. He later told a negotiator he was "out here right now" because of the American-led interventions in Iraq and in Syria, and that the negotiator should tell the United States to stop bombing ISIL.

Although no connection with ISIS has been established in the Reina killings, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued a statement in which he says "I vehemently condemn the terror attack in Istanbul's Ortakoy neighbourhood in the first hours of 2017." Offering his condolences for those who lost their lives, including "foreign guests", Mr Erdogan said, "Turkey continues its combat against terror and is absolutely determined to do whatever is necessary in the region to ensure its citizens safety and peace." Walt wishes the Turks good luck with that!

Walt is keeping his eye on the mojo wire for reports of rape and other Islamic New Year's celebrations from Koln, Berlin, Stockholm and/or other European cities. My prediction: Cries of "Allahu akbar!" will echo around the world for the remaining 365.5 days of 2017. Happy New Year!

UPDATE 1/1/17: AP reports that President B. Hussein Obama expressed condolences for the attack and directed his team to offer US help to Turkish authorities. Whether the Turks want American help is another matter. The White House condemned the incident calling it a "horrific terrorist attack". Notice the omission of the word "Islamic". Even now, the Soon-to-be-ex-Prez can't bring himself to call Islamic terrorism by its name.

UPDATE 2/1/17: To no-one's surprise, AP reports today that ISIS (The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) is claiming responsibility for the New Year's Eve Istanbul nightclub massacre. The ISIS-linked Aamaq News Agency said that the attack was carried out by a "heroic soldier of the caliphate who attacked the most famous nightclub where Christians were celebrating their pagan feast."

It said the man opened fire from an automatic rifle and also detonated hand grenades in "revenge for God's religion and in response to the orders" of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. They went on to describe Turkey as "the servant of the cross" and suggested the attack was in retaliation for Turkish military offensives against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Muslim journalist admits Mark Steyn was right

Nearly ten years ago, Mark Steyn wrote what would prove to be a best-selling book entitled America Alone. Although Mr Steyn's opus has pride of place on my working library bookshelf, I never got around to reviewing and recommending it in WWW. Click here to read a review by blogger Tim Challies.

Mr Challies admits to borrowing a summary of America Alone's main points from yet another blog, so I'll borrow his.
1) In the ongoing conflict between the West and Islam, both the demographics and the will to power favor the Islamists. That a country like Spain, with a birth rate of 1.15 children per adult women, will extinguish itself in a few generations, while immigrants from countries such as Pakistan (birth rate 4.53) will move in to fill the vacuum.
2) As an aggressive, unassimilated minority edges closer to a majority (as in France, with an estimated 30% Muslim population in the under 20 age group), the character of the democratic institutions will become more closely aligned with Islamic law and culture.
3) The post-Christian welfare state is largely to blame for the pessimism and failures of will demonstrated by Europe.
4) America represents the primary exception to this trend, if only by degree, and that only a concerted effort to save our society stands a chance of reversing these trends.

Howls of indignation and accusations of racism and Islamophobia followed the publication of America Alone is overseas in connection with research for a new book. But his decade-old bestseller America Alone as surely as Eid-al-Fitr follows Ramadan. Among those calling for Mr Steyn's head were two columnists for the Toronto Sun, Tarek Fatah and Farzana Hassan. As their names suggest, both are followers of the Prophet.

Recent events, including the Orlando massacre of nearly half a hundred people by another follower of the Prophet, seem to have prompted Mr Fatah to have another think. Here's the the beginning of his column, headed "West bowing to radical Islam", in today's Sun.

Almost 10 years ago, Maclean's magazine published an essay by Mark Steyn titled, "The future belongs to Islam".
In it, he suggested, "the West is growing old and enfeebled, and lacks the will to rebuff those who would supplant it."
It was an extract from Steyn's then best-selling book America Alone, where he concluded, "It's the end of the world as we've known it..."
There was an outcry among Canada's Islamists, who took Steyn and Maclean's to the Ontario and British Columbia Human Rights Commissions.
My fellow Sun columnist, Farzana Hassan, and I wrote a rejoinder in Maclean's titled, "Mark Steyn has a right to be wrong."
Today, I recognize, Steyn was right and I was wrong.

If you felt it was unfair of me to mention the Orlando massacre in the paragraph introducing the excerpt, please understand that it was the deliberate coverup -- by the FBI, the lamestream media and the liberal elites up to and including Hellery and the Prez -- of Omar Mateem's religion and motive that prompted Mr Fatah to write what he did today. Here's how he puts it.

If there were any doubts the West is abdicating its responsibility to stand up for Western values, the amateur attempts by the FBI to cover up the Islamist nature of the Orlando attack, removed them.
At first, the FBI refused to even mention the fact the Orlando jihadi was inspired by ISIS, but after criticism, released the text of his 911 calls, but not the audio.
It replaced the word "Allah" with "God", despite knowing precise words matter in truth-telling.
It was clearly an attempt to make the attack appear homophobic, not Islamist.
President Barack Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton deflected attention from the obvious Islamic nature of the terrorism to a debate about gun control.

Mr Fatah concludes, and Walt concurs, that "Orlando was an act of Islamic terror and of Islamofascism, a doctrine of hatred towards the West and what it stands for, including LGBTQ rights.
It holds secular liberal democracy in contempt, hates non-Muslims, degrades women and is racist towards non-Arabs, especially black Africans.
It is a supremacist death cult that has the end times as its ultimate goal."

Confused about Muslims? Read this!

I admit to being confused about Islam, about Muslims, and about why the Orlando massacre and all the other troubles in the world seem to have some connection with Islam. But I'm not the only one. Agent 9 has sent along the following....

Let's see if I'm getting this right...

The Shoe Bomber was a Muslim

The Beltway Snipers were Muslims

The Fort Hood Shooter was a Muslim

The Underwear Bomber was a Muslim

The U.S.S. Cole Bombers were Muslims

The Madrid Train Bombers were Muslims

The Bafi Nightclub Bombers were Muslims

The London Subway Bombers were Muslims

The Moscow Theater Attackers were Muslims

The Boston Marathon Bombers were Muslims

The Pan-Am flight #93 Bombers were Muslims

The Air France Entebbe Hijackers were Muslims

The Iranian Embassy Takeover was by Muslims

The Beirut U.S. Embassy bombers were Muslims

The Libyan U.S. Embassy Attack was by Muslims

The Buenos Aires Suicide Bombers were Muslims

The Israeli Olympic Team Attackers were Muslims

The Kenyan U.S. Embassy Bombers were Muslims

The Saudi, Khobar Towers Bombers were Muslims

The Beirut Marine Barracks bombers were Muslims

The Besian Russian School Attackers were Muslims

The first World Trade Center Bombers were Muslims

The Bombay & Mumbai India Attackers were Muslims

The Achille Lauro Cruise Ship Hijackers were Muslims

The September 11th 2001 Airline Hijackers were Muslims

Think about it:

Buddhists living with Hindus = No Problem

Hindus living with Christians = No Problem

Hindus living with Jews = No Problem

Christians living with Shintos = No Problem

Shintos living with Confucians = No Problem

Confucians living with Baha'is = No Problem

Baha'is living with Jews = No Problem

Jews living with Atheists = No Problem

Atheists living with Buddhists = No Problem

Buddhists living with Sikhs = No Problem

Sikhs living with Hindus = No Problem

Hindus living with Baha'is = No Problem

Baha'is living with Christians = No Problem

Christians living with Jews = No Problem

Jews living with Buddhists = No Problem

Buddhists living with Shintos = No Problem

Shintos living with Atheists = No Problem

Atheists living with Confucians = No Problem

Confusians living with Hindus = No Problem

WHEREAS
Muslims living with Hindus = Problem

Muslims living with Buddhists = Problem

Muslims living with Christians = Problem

Muslims living with Jews = Problem

Muslims living with Sikhs = Problem

Muslims living with Baha'is = Problem

Muslims living with Shintos = Problem

Muslims living with Atheists = Problem

MUSLIMS LIVING WITH MUSLIMS = BIG PROBLEM

They're not happy in Gaza

They're not happy in Egypt

They're not happy in Libya

They're not happy in Morocco

They're not happy in Iran

They're not happy in Iraq

They're not happy in Yemen

They're not happy in Afghanistan

They're not happy in Pakistan

They're not happy in Syria

They're not happy in Lebanon

They're not happy in Nigeria

They're not happy in Kenya

They're not happy in Sudan

So, where are they happy?
They're happy in Australia

They're happy in England

They're happy in Belgium

They're happy in France

They're happy in Italy

They're happy in Germany

They're happy in Sweden

They're happy in the USA & Canada

They're happy in Norway & India

They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic!

And who do they blame?
Not Islam... Not their leadership... Not themselves...

They blame the countries they're happy in!
And they want to change the countries they're happy in
to be like the countries they came from
where they were unhappy!

I'm completely stumped....

The "racist" card isn't Trump any more

Following the Orlando massacre, Donald Trump called for a temporary ban on immigration from all places who support or tolerate the Islamic terrorists who have declared themselves the enemies of America and its allies. He didn't name any countries in particular, but Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Syria spring to mind, along with several others. What do these states have in common? Islam is their official religion, and they are governed by Muslims, some of them according to Sharia law.

For suggesting that it might be a good idea not to admit into the USA people who might have an axe to grind -- so to speak -- Mr Trump was immediately and stridently called a racist. Ho hum. Does that matter to anyone, in the light of what's happened in Orlando, San Bernardino, Paris, Brussels, etc etc? A growing number of Americans seem to be saying, "If this be racism, make the most of it."

At least, that's what Scott "Dilbert" Adams found when he did a little polling on Twitter today.

If I were Hellery Clinton, I wouldn't count on the racism card to be the ace of trumps any more.

Footnote: In the comments section, "CatherineEarnshaw" posted this editorial cartoon, which I think pretty much sums up the approach of la Clinton, the Prez and the lamestream media.

Orlando massacre: Trump says "I called it!"

This is a follow-up to "LATEST on gay nightclub massacre - what kind of terrorism?", posted and updated this morning.

It didn't take The Donald long to say what Walt and 1000s of others were thinking -- "Told ya so!" The presumptive GOP nominee offered words of support to the surivors and the families of the 100+ people killed and injured by Omar Mateem.

Mr Trump then tweeted about something the lamestream media, not to mention the Prez, have barely mentioned. The late Mr Mateem -- he was killed in a firefight with Orlando cops -- was an Afghan-American and a Muslim. His father told the press he was upset and offended by the sight of two men kissing at the gay nightclub. Moments before opening fire, he called 9-1-1 and declared his allegiance to ISIS.

Mr Trump said, quite rightly, that he had been right about Islamic extremism, and right in saying that this was going to happen. And early this afternoon, as President Barack Hussein Obama stepped to the podium in Washington to address the nation, The Donald tweeted, "Is President Obama going to finally mention the words 'radical Islamic terrorism'? If he doesn’t he should immediately resign in disgrace!"

POLITICALLY CORRECT UPDATE: Here's the latest fudge from the lamestream media: Donald Trump was not right when he warned about the Muslim threat. Yes, Omar Mateem was a Muslim. Yes, as a follower of the Prophet he would have believed that homosexuality is haram -- evil, dirty, unclean, taboo. But he was not a member of ISIS, you see, only a "lone wolf" who was merely an admirer of ISIS. So that's OK, then.

Further reading: "Ex-CIA Director: Obama’s Refusal to Call Out Radical Islam Is Doing 'Real Damage'", National Review, 12/6/16.