I did not believe the official story of Hasna Ait Buolacehn the moment I saw it. The official line was that she was a suicide bomber who blew herself up when the police stormed the apartment in St Denis where the alleged terrorist ringleader was hiding out. But that story seemed to me completely incompatible with the recordings on which she could plainly be heard screaming “He is not my boyfriend! He is not my boyfriend” immediately before the explosion. She sounded like a terrified woman trying to disassociate herself from the alleged terrorist. It was a strange battle cry for someone who believed themselves on the verge of paradise.
Then yesterday the truth emerged from forensics that she was indeed not a suicide bomber. None of the mainstream media appeared to find this in any way troubling. And just in case anybody did, the BBC (and I assume all the French and major international media) then immediately did an interview with an anonymous member of the French Police attacking squad, who stated that Hasna was:
“trying to say she was not linked to the terrorists, that she had nothing to do with them and wanted to surrender”.
But he said that due to prior intelligence, “we knew that she was trying to manipulate us”.
Unfortunately this would have been a very great deal more convincing had it been stated 48 hours earlier, rather than only after the original reports that she was a suicide bomber had been corrected on forensic examination. As it is, it looks very much like a post facto justification, a new story to cover the new facts.
Besides, it is very difficult indeed to see what prior intelligence could explain if someone was genuinely trying to surrender or not. There appears to be no information available to the public that gives the slightest indication that Hasna was an extreme Islamist; what public information there is paints the opposite picture. The best the media have been able to dredge up are quotes from friends saying “if she was, then she must have been drugged or brainwashed”. Google it yourself.
But even were she an extreme Islamist, that does not mean she was not attempting to surrender. All of which is a bit nugatory if she were then killed by an explosion triggered by the terrorists themselves. But the changing story about Hasna makes me less than confident that is what actually happened.
I have no difficulty with the principle that the police should shoot people who are shooting at them. I outraged many friends on the left for example by not joining in the criticism of the police for killing Mr Duggan. People who choose to carry guns in my view run a legitimate risk of being shot by the police, it is as simple as that. Jean Charles De Menezes was a totally different case and his murder by police completely unjustifiable. In Paris it appears plain that the police were in a situation of confrontation with armed suspects.
There are severe intelligence disadvantages to killing people with profound knowledge of terrorist organisations. It also cheats the justice system. Nevertheless I can conceive of situations where simply taking out by an explosion a terrorist cell might be justified. But only if you are quite certain of the situation. The case of Hasna is to me troublingly reminiscent of the case of Jean Charles De Menezes, in that it became obvious in the days after his death that everything the police and establishment had leaked to the media about him (leaping over barriers, running through the tunnels, heavy jacket, wires protruding) was a complete, utter and quite deliberate lie.
The media could help if they were in any way rational and dispassionate, or ever questioned an official narrative. It is an urgent and irrepressible question as to why the BBC journalist did not ask the French policeman “and why did you not say this 48 hours ago when you were content to allow the story to run that she was a suicide bomber?”
Similar media manipulation is at use here by the Guardian in telling us the police stormed a “terrorist apartment”. What is a “terrorist apartment”? Are the walls made of semtex? The intent of course is to assure us everybody inside was a terrorist. It is not just the Guardian. The phrase is all over the media. Again, google it.
I am worried in case Hollande’s Rambo impersonation is steamrollering justice. It may well be that Hasna was a dreadful and bloodthirsty terrorist. I do not know. It may well be she was killed by the terrorists not the police. All we know at the moment is she was in an apartment with people who allegedly were terrorists, and died in the “battle”. But I do not trust the changing stories of the authorities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberstalking
Lo Zuccone 11.47am [ and previous ]
You’re showing all the signs of an unhealthy obsession . Unhappy home life or something more psychiatrically-oriented ?
Mary, when are you moving to Palestine in order to give them em>real support, instead of this camping here, and reporting, on an relatively speaking inconsequential blog?
After all, you hate England/the UK!
Vote with your feet!!! 😉
” Have you done anything yet about taking in a refugee on a temporary basis? Stop stalling – you have room, you can afford it and you have often expressed loud support for refugees. Get on with it! ”
Habby, don’t you think Mary can do better than that? viz my insight above of her best foot forward?
” At the risk of appearing contrarian, I should be inclined to move a vote of posthumous thanks to the unknown thief for having saved the reading public from yet more Hemingway. ”
Seconded in a jiffy! Nice one Habby!
What do you eat for breakfast to keep that wit well honed?
Habbabkuk, yes many people might agree with you. But consider if the suitcase fell into your hands: you might deem the content to be junk in artistic terms, but it would nonetheless be very valuable junk, commanding a high price at auction.
That’s rich coming from her, this neo nazi was so scared of Iraqi children that she thought it was ‘worth it’ that 500 000 died from the sanctions her fascist regime inflicted on Iraq.
Madeleine Albright Slams Ben Carson and Other Politicians For Anti-Refugee Rhetoric
By Tom McKay November 21, 2015
Like Mic on Facebook:
Former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright joined the ranks of those calling for the U.S. to continue admitting Syrian refugees and others from conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere this week, saying she was dismayed by the harsh rhetoric being used by American politicians in the wake of Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris which killed 129 people.
“The debate over refugees has been driven by fear, and our politics should never be based on the fear factor,” Albright told a conference call organized by the progressive Center for American Progress, according to MSNBC.
Albright reserved particular ire for Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson, who compared refugees to “rabid” dogs this week.
http://mic.com/articles/128999/madeleine-albright-slams-ben-carson-a..
Madeleine Albright – The deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children was worth it for Iraq’s non existent WMD’s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0uvgHKZe8
KOWN
“Habbabkuk, yes many people might agree with you. But consider if the suitcase fell into your hands: you might deem the content to be junk in artistic terms, but it would nonetheless be very valuable junk, commanding a high price at auction.”
_________________________
I should like to think that I would have the strength of will to do a service to literature by burning the said suitcase and its contents.
However, should I weaken (perhaps out of consideration for the fringe element that still considers Hemingway to be worth reading) and sell it, I would not keep the proceeds for myself – I have no need of the money – but give them, in equal shares, to an Israeli and a Palestinian charity.
Alcyone
“What do you eat for breakfast to keep that wit well honed?”
_______________
I’ll let you into my secret, Alcyone: it is not the contents of my breakfast but rather a number of other positive life-style choices. As a (small) sample: don’t read books containing conspiracy theories (it turns you into a Conspiraloon and it is well known that Conspiraloons have no sense of humour); no Kindle (ditto when comnibed with reading books containing conspiracy theories); no posturing about my educational attainments (it makes one far too solemn and pontifical); avoid large vessels as much as possible (risk of radiation turning you gaga prematurely); frequent as much as possible “real” parts of the UK rather than the unreal, leafier, sawfter parts (this is necessary for acquiring and keeping a sane perspective on life)……
I wish you a good day and the same to all on here save the usual succubi and incubi (you know who you are! 🙂 )
“I wish you a good day and the same to all on here save the usual succubi and incubi (you know who you are! 🙂 )”
___________________
Speaking of which, where are our two Transatlantic Friends?
Which charities?
Habbs donating to Palestinian as well as Israeli charities. Sun is shinning. Could there be a break out of love and peace on the blog?
Mary
So your argument is that we can ignore Assad dropping barrel bombs on his own subjects because others drop bombs as well – truly pathetic moral relativism rears its ugly head again.
“Mary, when are you moving to Palestine in order to give them real support, instead of this camping here,”
_________________
Alcyone touches on an interesting and significant matter when he uses the word “camping”.
It must surely be a matter of concern to all who wish Craig and his blog well that there are some people out there who are CAMPING (I would use the word SQUATTING) on his blog and using it as a means of giving their obnoxious and/or crazy views the oxygen of publicity.
Synonyms could include free-loaders, failures, obsessives – take your pick.
These are people who cynically use the blog of a well-intentioned, honest, true dissident (true in the sense that he paid for his dissent)as a vehicle for externalising their loneliness and the complexes they harbour as a result of their awareness that no one listen or pays any attention to them and their views in real life.
Their place is, surely, not on this blog but in small therapy circles organised by their local social security authority within the framework of care in the community.
Fwl
“Which charities?”
________________
I would of course ask our friend Mary to advise on the most appropriate Palestinian charity.
Assuming she would be able to help in that regard.
Fwl
“Habbs donating to Palestinian as well as Israeli charities”
_________________
As the very old joke about the Irish judge has it : “in trying this case I shall lean neither to partiality nor to impartiality”.
Both Oxfam and MSF work in Palestine – and I have no problem in giving to both. Don’t give to Viva Palestina, it was removed from the Register of Charities by the Charities Commission for failing to account for how it used its donors contributions
http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/commission-removes-galloways-viva-palestina-charities-register/finance/article/1219637
“At the risk of appearing contrarian, I should be inclined to move a vote of posthumous thanks to the unknown thief for having saved the reading public from yet more Hemingway.
The mature Hemingway was ghastly (I refer to the man’s output but that is true of the man himself) so God only knows what literary horrors his juvenile stuff might have contained.”
___________
The same of course could be said of Blake, whose works often portray a touch of madness, then I suppose there’s a fine line between madness and greatness.
In Blake’s Jerusalem for example, it seems to be about a visit to England by Jesus Christ, his long historical poems about America and the French Revolution, don’t seem to be about those places at all. Instead they’re filled with exotic and imaginary characters such as Los and Urizel.
In his lifetime mid 17th to early 18th Cent, many thought Blake mad, though Blake claimed he could see angels, and on occasion, speak to them.
Blake also claimed to have dined with the biblical prophets, Ezekiel and Isaiah, he had no real proper education, and although he was a talented poet and painter, he wasn’t really recognised in his day, due to his quirky oddness.
As a result of this his life was spent on the edge of poverty, picking up a few painting commissions here and there.
Resident Dissident.
Do you now regret arguing for UK military intervention in Libya?
Or do you think it was a price worth paying?
“In Blake’s Jerusalem for example, it seems to be about a visit to England by Jesus Christ”
“Seems” is the operative word. Jerusalem is full of religious imagery. Nevertheless the poem is a call for sexual freedom. Unclear whether that’s why it was adopted by the Women’s Institute.
RoS on Blake:
“In his lifetime mid 17th to early 18th Cent..”
Mid-18th to early 19th.
Re charities for Palestinians,
Komodo suggested MAP, which I think is quite good. Don’t give to any of those hard-left frontshops or to one of Galloway’s outfits.
We could organize a whip round for a fiver each and achieve more than Mary has in 10 years of obsessive posting.
@Suhayl Saadi
Another question is what companies were these Daesh accounts supposedly held with.
Habbabkuk (Are you a person of interest?)
22 Nov, 2015 – 1:25 pm
“As the very old joke about the Irish judge has it : “in trying this case I shall lean neither to partiality nor to impartiality”.”
………………………………………………………………………….
Yes it is an old joke Habbabkuk but it is racist non-the-less.
Would it be acceptable here to tell a joke that is disparaging to Jews?
No it wouldn’t and Habbabkuk would be the first to jump in with a cry of “anti-Semitism!!!
“RoS on Blake:
“In his lifetime mid 17th to early 18th Cent..”
Mid-18th to early 19th.”
___________________
(1757-1827) Thank you for that Anon1.
As this thread is on the subject of killing,just have a listen to this.
http://internationaltimes.it/november-paris-blue/
“Does the world public not have a right to be made aware of precisely who is funding/dealing with these groupings? Ought they not be ‘named and shamed’?”
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Jordan and Turkey are known to be providing cash and supplies to “ISIS”.
The UN has just backed ‘all necessary measures’ against the terror network. Cutting off funding and supplies is perhaps the most urgent ‘necessary measure’. Cut it off and “ISIS” is history: allow it to continue and “ISIS” will just keep spawning all over the place.
This could be the UK’s key role. It has good diplomatic relations with all these countries. It is well-placed to work tirelessly behind the scenes, applying pressure to cut “ISIS” off at its roots.
A non-combat role for sure but no less “necessary” for that. Our allies Russia, Iran and Hezbollah probably do not require our assistance on the miliary side of things at this juncture but they simply do not have the clout we have on the diplomatic side.
Wall Street Journal Publishes Israel’s Leading Stone-Cold Arab-Killer
by Richard Silverstein
November 19 2015
‘A few months ago Bennett boasted during a cabinet meeting (see below) that he’d killed “many Arabs” during his military service. And he was proud of it.’
‘A few weeks ago, at the height of the latest Intifada, he was pictured proudly strapping an exposed pistol in his pants while appearing in public.
Yesterday, Israeli-Palestinian Knesset member Haneen Zoabi decried Israel’s banning of the country’s major Muslim organization, the Islamic Movement. She ridiculed the false claim that this group and ISIS are the same or have the same goals. She reminded them that IM had never organized or advocated any terror attack. Instead, she asked the MKs to remember:
There are ministers…here who are proud they killed. There is an education minister who said: “I, in my time, killed Arabs.”
In his reply, Bennett accused her of “lying,” claiming to correct her by saying he hadn’t said he killed “Arabs” but terrorists, and he added: “it’s unfortunate we didn’t kill more.”
Of course, the notion that there is a distinction in his mind between “Arab” and “terrorist” is ludicrous. There is no difference.’
http://www.richardsilverstein.com/2015/11/19/wall-street-journal-publishes-israels-leading-stone-cold-arab-killer/
Suhayl; Good questions. Why is the world waiting on Anonymous and Putin, both having greater success in those theaters than the West?
Putin is cutting off their income (oil) and Anonymous is hobbling their communiques. Can the US be as impotent as they appear?