Monday Post

Quickly now...


Attempting to humanise the man who killed thirty-nine people:

On Wednesday, Saif Rezgui sat down with friends in his Tunisian hometown to chat about his favorite soccer team, girls and his break-dance skills over coffee and cigarettes.

On Thursday, he met up with his uncle in Gaafour, catching up on family matters, on a break from his master’s studies in the nearby historic town of Kairouan.

A day later, Resgui walked calmly though the Imperial Marhaba beach hotel on Tunisia’s Mediterranean coast opening fire with a Kalashnikov, and in more than five minutes slaughtered 39 foreign tourists in the name of Islamic State. 

Once again, Tunisia is in shock over how one of its young men with little warning turned from what appeared to be a normal life to hardline violent ideology of Islamic jihad.

Again, a well-educated Tunisian from a middle class family appears in a short time to have fallen prey to radical recruiters who turned him away from a life of soccer and music to become a militant Islamist.

Yes, about that:

Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the tax in acknowledgment of superiority and they are in a state of subjection.

**

...Mohamed Atta was the mastermind behind the September 11th terrorist attacks in 2001. He was the youngest son of a lawyer. Raised in a suburb of Cairo, Atta has been described as a shy and polite child. His father felt like Atta was spoiled by his mother, according to an interview with The New York Times. "I used to tell her that she is raising him as a girl," Mohamed al-Amir Atta Sr. said.

Atta came from a modern Muslim family. His older sisters went on to careers in medicine and academia. Atta pursued an engineering degree at Cairo University and graduated in 1990. Under pressure from his father, he continued his studies overseas at the Hamburg Technical University in Germany.

 
So there's that.


People take crazy pills (ultra-redux):

A video of the Saturday performance drew some angry comments on YouTube. In the highly charged political atmosphere ahead of a fall federal election, it was Prime Minister Stephen Harper who took the brunt of blame for the militaristic display.

“Thanks Harper, this is super easy and fun to explain to children,” ElectricPhase wrote.

“This is a disgusting display to have in front of children. Militarized police performing for entertainment is what happens in North Korea… not Canada,” wrote a user identified as Israfil Smith.

**

About 20 children, appearing to be kindergarten age, were given front row seating at Toronto’s “Gay Pride” flag raising ceremony this week at city hall. During one city councilor’s speech, she spoke directly to them and told them to “make sure the work is carried forward” of promoting the acceptance of homosexuality in society.  ...

The children, who were led to the event by two activists dressed as fruits — a kiwi and a blueberry — were handed mini gay pride flags and were used by the mayor and other homosexual activists for a photo op.

We need a new war.


Greek banks were shut down after austerity talks failed:

Tens of thousands of Greeks rallied on Monday to back their leftwing government's rejection of a tough international bailout after a clash with foreign lenders pushed Greece close to financial chaos and forced a shutdown of its banking system.

Israeli navy stopped a Swedish vessel in its yearly attempt at pretending that Gaza is a prison-state:

Israel's navy intercepted a Swedish vessel attempting to breach a naval blockade of the Gaza Strip early Monday and brought it to an Israeli port, where it said the foreign activists would be questioned before they are sent back to their home countries.

The military said that after exhausting all diplomatic efforts, the government ordered it to block the vessel. Israeli naval forces boarded the Marianne and searched it in international waters without needing to use any force, the military said.

Yawn.


And now, there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run...