Showing posts with label Manchester Terror Attack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Manchester Terror Attack. Show all posts

Monday, June 5, 2017

One Love Manchester Concert



From the Wall Street Journal:
Ariana Grande led a lineup of global pop stars on Sunday in putting on a show of defiance against terror attacks in Britain, opening her set with the song “Be Alright.”

Her “One Love Manchester” concert, held at the Emirates Old Trafford, came less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured more than 100 others at Manchester Arena just after Ms. Grande had ended her show.

...Sunday’s benefit to pay tribute to and raise funds for the Manchester attack victims drew a sold-out crowd of 60,000 and featured Liam Gallagher, Take That, Miley Cyrus, Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Coldplay, Pharrell Williams and others.

I've seen a few clips from the One Love Manchester concert but I didn't watch the live stream. What I saw was mostly messages of peace and love and understanding from Ariana Grande and the other artists performing.

It certainly is impressive that Grande returned to Manchester just over two weeks after the terrorist bombing there.

What's even more impressive is that tens of thousands of people chose to attend the concert. The bombing two weeks ago and the attack in London just a day earlier didn't deter them.

The images of the massive crowd gathered to enjoy music sent a loud message to radical Islamic terrorists. Thousands and thousands refused to cower in fear.

However, although the concert was an important display of defiance and a nice expression of solidarity, let's not pretend it solved anything in terms of eradicating the terrorists. That will require action by leaders willing to address the reality of radical Islamic terrorism.

Sixty thousand people is a huge audience for a live performance. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of thousands of people harboring the beliefs and goals of radical Islam.


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Ramadan Abedi, Hashem Abedi, and Ismail Abedi Arrested



From the Telegraph:

The father and younger brother of the Manchester Arena bomber have been arrested in Libya.

The Telegraph understands Hashem Abedi, 20, the brother of suspected attacker Salman Abedi, was arrested last night in the capital Tripoli by counterterrorism forces on suspicion of links to the Islamic State group.

Three armed vehicles arrived to take away their father, Ramadan Abedi, an administrative manager of the Central Security Force in Tripoli, late Wednesday afternoon.

A third brother, Ismail, has also been arrested after police raids in the UK. The family are believed to live between Manchester, where the children were born and grew up, and Libya.
Terrorism is the Abedi family's legacy.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

UK Terror Threat Level: Critical

THERESA MAY: It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack. This morning, I said that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, the independent organization responsible for setting the threat level on the basis of the intelligence available, was keeping the threat level under constant review. It has now concluded, on the basis of today's investigations, that the threat level should be increased, for the time being, from severe to critical. This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely, but that a further attack may be imminent.



So, now what?

Morrisey: Manchester Statement

From Facebook:

Celebrating my birthday in Manchester as news of the Manchester Arena bomb broke. The anger is monumental.
For what reason will this ever stop?

Theresa May says such attacks "will not break us", but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues. Also, "will not break us" means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration. The young people of Manchester are already broken - thanks all the same, Theresa. Sadiq Khan says "London is united with Manchester", but he does not condemn Islamic State - who have claimed responsibility for the bomb. The Queen receives absurd praise for her 'strong words' against the attack, yet she does not cancel today's garden party at Buckingham Palace - for which no criticism is allowed in the Britain of free press. Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says the attack is the work of an "extremist". An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?
In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to officially say what we all say in private. Politicians tell us they are unafraid, but they are never the victims. How easy to be unafraid when one is protected from the line of fire. The people have no such protections.

Morrissey
23 May 2017.

It is time to address reality.

We are simply accepting terrorism by our inaction to do more to stop it.

Dead little girls?

Yeah, I feel bad about that, but it's yesterday's news.

Did you see Melania seemed to reject Trump's attempt to hold her hand?

Abbas Gives Stipends to Terrorists' Families

This is worth noting:

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: If the Manchester attacker was Palestinian and the victims Israeli, the terrorist's family would receive a stipend from Mahmoud Abbas.

Trump: Terrorists 'Losers'

Salman Abedi

Salman Abedi has been named as the terrorist responsible for the Manchester attack.



From the Telegraph:
The suicide bomber who killed 22 people and injured dozens more at the Manchester Arena has been named as 22-year-old Salman Abedi.

Born in Manchester in 1994, the second youngest of four children his parents were Libyan refugees who came to the UK to escape the Gaddafi regime.

His parents were both born in Libya but appear to have emigrated to London before moving to the Fallowfield area of south Manchester where they have lived for at least ten years.

...Abedi was named by Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins on Tuesday.

..."As you would expect the police response to this across Greater Manchester has been significant as we support people to go about their daily business.

"Part of this response has seen us arrest a 23-year-old man in connection with the attack and we have also carried out two warrants, one in Whalley Range and one in Fallowfield that included a controlled explosion to enable safe entry.

"We understand that feelings are very raw right now and people are bound to be looking for answers. However, now, more than ever, it is vital that our diverse communities in Greater Manchester stand together and do not tolerate hate.

"We have been visited by the Prime Minster and Home Secretary and we have taken them through the emergency response so far and what we plan to do in future days.

"I can confirm that the man suspected of carrying out last night's atrocity has been named as 22-year-old Salman Abedi. However, he has not yet been formally identified and I wouldn't wish, therefore, to comment further.

"The priority remains to establish whether he was acting alone or as part of a network."
After these terrorist attacks, this talk is common:

"[I]t is vital that our diverse communities in Greater Manchester stand together and do not tolerate hate."

Yes, members of diverse communities need to get along. Tolerance is critical in a free society, but not tolerance of hate.

The problem is radical Islamic terrorists are not tolerant. They hate. They kill. To an extent, we tolerate that.

Hashtags and candlelight vigils aren't solutions to the problem.

Expressing condolences and offering prayers are legitimate reactions. I believe that prayer is very powerful. I'm not diminishing its importance. However, action needs to be taken to deal with the terrorists.

Abedi killed innocent children, little girls.

Authorities knew him to be a risk.

This carnage won't stop until we enact policies to rid our communities of the terrorists. Can't we being with the known radicals?

Political correctness gets people killed.



Ariana Grande Concert, Manchester - Terror Attack

Another terror attack.

This one targeted young kids at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England.








Notice how quick authorities are to call this terror. Here in the U.S., that doesn't happen.

Given the age of Grande's fans, it's likely some of the victims were children. That makes this an especially heinous attack.

So what happens now?




______________________


The death toll now stands at 22.