Munich Attack not Jihadist, not Far-Right but a "Classic Shooting Rampage"

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Ali David Sonboly

The term "classic shooting rampage" was taken from The Mirror. The fact that we now apparently have classic shooting rampages is obviously grotesque.

The shooter has been identified as Ali David Sonboly, 18, of Munich.

He had dual German-Iranian citizenship and lived with his Iranian immigrant parents.

I assume from the name "Ali" that he was a Muslim.

However, the evidence suggests that Sonboly was not primarily motivated by Islamic ideology but rather by rage over being bullied.

Apparently he had an obsession with mass shootings and had received treatment for mental health issues.

That Sonboly was a mentally-ill teenager who was obsessed with shooting rampages for their own sake (as opposed to sympathizing with a particular ideological cause), might possibly explain why he apparently shouted out "contradictory" slogans in the first few seconds of his shooting spree.

Allahu Akbar!

You s**tty ... foreigners. I am German. You will get it!

I can only assume he was acting out roles in his twisted mind  - "Allah Akbar" as an acknowledgment of his religious heritage and the recent wave of terror attacks, and "You s**tty ... foreigners" as an imitation of the Norwegian Neo-Nazi mass-shooter Anders Breivik, whose photo Sonboly used as his WhatsApp profile photo.

Edit: It seems now that the only evidence of any Breivik link (besides the circumstantial evidence of the date off the attack) is a report from Bild that acquaintances had claimed to see the Breivik profile photo. This should make us cautious. 

Against the view that he was primarily motivated by Islam:

There are a number of reports that he made threats to his "bullying" school peers - some of whom appear to be Muslim - that he would "kill them all."

There are no reports that jihadist materials were found in the apartment where he lived. But there were a number of items discovered pertaining to shooting rampages, such as the bestselling book, Why Kids Kill.

Sonboly allegedly had an image of Breivik as his WhatsApp profile image. And the attack occurred on the precise five-year anniversary of the Breivik attack. Breivik initially claimed that he was motivated to kill seventy-seven people - most off them children or teenagers - by his opposition to Islam. He would seem an odd hero for a Jihadi.    

Sonboly hacked the Facebook account of a Muslim young woman, making an offer to buy free food for her friends at the McDonald's where he planned to initiate his attack. It has not been confirmed that any of the victims were lured to the restaurant by this, but most of the victims appear to be Muslim teenagers, among them were three Kosovaars and three Turks.

In a bizarre verbal exchange with an observer who was filming him after the initial attack, he seemed to reaffirm that he wanted to be known as German.

The shooting rampage ended when Sonboly shot himself in the head. This is almost unheard of behavior for a Jihadi.

On the other hand, some have argued that Sonboly was motivated by or "had links" with the far-right. But this doesn't seem correct either:

If the Bild report is true, it looks like Sonboly might have thought of Breivik as a hero - or at least notable enough to use as a profile photo. But no far-right political writings or materials were reported found, and Sonboly appears to have left no political manifesto. From the rest of the evidence, If he looked up to Breivik, I assume it was for the grotesque but simple reason that Breivik was one of the most "successful" mass shooters in history.

Far-right terrorists don't usually shout "Allahu Akbar!"

See the evidence on bullying, above.

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I expect people will continue to argue about this question interminably. And there is much more information that will presumably come out. I might be wrong in my assessment. We'll see.

Not all terrorist attacks are motivated by Islam. But these days, most are. 

As I write, the death toll in the Kabul suicide bomb attack has reached 81.

French Chief of Intelligence: "We are on the brink of civil war"

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For years, every step of the way, the anti-Islamophobes have claimed there was nothing really to worry about. They have attempted to prosecute, censor or ban anyone who disagreed. Or if that was not possible, viciously smear them.

Even now they are no doubt rushing to deflect responsibility from what they in part caused.

The only thing more noticeable than the blood on their hands is the still prominent smirk on their faces.

This was a headline story in Le Figaro three weeks ago, but was only picked up by the Daily Mail today and then featured in a post by Pamela Geller.

The article in Le Figaro discusses the recent testimony of Patrick Calvary, the head of the General Directorate of Homeland Security (RPS):

"We are on the brink of a civil war," he recently told members of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the attacks of November 13 . . . A few weeks earlier, he had already warned members of the Defense Committee: "This confrontation . . . I think it will take place. Even one or two attacks and it will happen. It therefore behooves us to anticipate and block all these groups . . .

Of course, everyone knows there will be one or two more attacks.

It's not clear whether by "all these groups" Calvary means Islamists or anti-Islamists. It's possible he means both. I have no reason to doubt Cavalry's integrity or commitment to the safety and security of France. But I think at this point, cracking down on a few "extremist" groups is at least twenty years too late.

Or rather, it still might be within their power to forcibly suppress the rising right, in which case we'll get an authoritarian quasi-sharia France just in time for writer Michel Houellebecq's prediction in 2022.

"Paris is Like a Warzone"

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Paris is "like a war zone," declared one witness.

Here is a video of a woman getting caught in a mass street fight near Notre Dame and the Louvre:

And here's a video of a man who had been knocked unconscious, staggering through the mob: 

 

The city is officially in a "state of emergency" since the November terrorist attacks. But there are no police to be seen.

Take a good look at the perpetrators. No doubt they are extremist Hindus. Or maybe they are extremist Baptists or Sikhs.

As that bloodied man staggers through the crowd, a woman in a hijab makes a call on her cellphone.

From the Daily Mail:

Mob violence in lawless Paris: Terrifying video shows 'woman tourist' viciously attacked by marauding youths in city deserted by police despite 'state of emergency' and Euros rampage 

• Young woman viciously beaten 'within sight of Notre Dame' in Paris 
• Bloodcurdling screams and horrific attack caught on witnesses camera 
• Extended attack not attended by police despite police station next door 
• Paris is 'like a warzone,’ a witness told MailOnline who said he was terrified 

A young woman screamed helplessly as she was set upon by a violent gang in the centre of tourist Paris today. 

She was repeatedly punched and kicked in the head and upper body as around 15 mainly men surrounded her, knocking her to the ground. 

The terrifying attack, which was captured on video, took place within sight of Notre Dame Cathedral, and less than half-a-mile from the Louvre museum. 

Police were nowhere to be seen, as the savagery continued until the early hours of this morning, with others reporting muggings and gratuitous assaults. 

Another video obtained by Mail Online shows a man who was knocked unconscious by another gang staggering away from the scene of the crime with a head wound. 

This is despite France officially being under a ‘State of Emergency’ following the terrorist attacks in which up to 150 people were murdered in Paris last year. 

The arrival of thousands of football fans, including many from the UK, as well as ‘ultra’ hooligans from countries like Russia for Euro 2016 is also meant to have improved security.’ 

But this did not stop the marauding mobs carrying out their assaults unchallenged. 

‘It’s one of the most terrifying situations I’ve ever experienced in my life,’ said a 42-year-old Englishman who asked not to be identified by name. 

At around 1am the woman (circled) and a group of friends were walking in front of an entrance to Chatelet Metro Station, when the violence exploded around them. 

A crowd of some 1,000 people congregated outside a Caribbean restaurant, where giant speakers and a small stage were set up, but the atmosphere soon turned ugly. 

‘Gangs of youths had the freedom of the streets to attack and steal from anyone they wanted. Paris is no longer a safe tourist city – it’s like a warzone.’ 

It all took place during the 35th annual ‘Fete de la Musique’ (Music Party), an event that is meant to be celebration of the arts, with hundreds of thousands taking to the street. 

Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist mayor of Paris, and President Francois Hollande are among those who regularly show off the event as a ‘celebration of Paris life’. 

Manuel Valls, the Prime Minister, even said this year’s Party was ‘the best response to terrorism’, arguing that people should go out and enjoy themselves, in defiance of threats of violence. 

The annual music party is supposed to be a celebration of the art as hundreds of thousands take to the streets. Above a man in a white T-shirt and black backpack tries to help those caught up in the trouble. 

But the attack on the woman – who has not been identified – paints a very different picture. 

She was with a group of friends who attended a rap gig on a street close to Rue de Rivoli, the equivalent of London’s Oxford Street in Paris.

But trouble started almost immediately, when a man was set upon by a gang early in the evening, and knocked unconscious. 

Video shows him being helped up by other members of the crowd, before he staggers away with a head wound. 

The ugly atmosphere grew, as revelers openly smoked cannabis, and drank bottles of beer from nearby supermarkets. 

There is a police station close next to Les Halles shopping centre, next door to where the attacks happened, but not a single officer appeared to deal with the trouble.

Bandit Pianist "Klavierkunst" Plays Imagine at Cox Memorial Service

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It almost looks like he's wearing a hijab.

Yes, he also played Imagine outside of the Bataclan, a few days after the massacre there.

His schtick, for which he has earned swoons from the usual circles, is that he cycles to the scenes of demonstrations, wars and murders with a piano attached to his bike.

And then he plays various hits including that well-known Khmer Rouge theme song:

Imagine there's no heaven 

Imagine there's no countries 

And no religion too 

Imagine no possessions

He wanted to go to Orlando. No doubt Milo Yiannopoulos would have splintered his grand with a Pink Pistol.

Davide Martello, aka "Klavierkunst," is a twit.

He's an ambulance chaser without the socially useful upside.

Real men shoot back. They don't plonk on people's graves.

Dodgy Dave Slammed for Exploiting Murder of Jo Cox

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A few months ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron was given the nickname "Dodgy Dave" by Dennis Skinner, the famously cantankerous Labour MP.

It fits.

Two hours ago (Sunday morning in Great Britain) Cameron wrote a disgusting anti-Brexit piece on his Facebook page.

He started out by spending three paragraphs referencing the murder of Jo Cox--"Jo Cox’s murder was one of those events that stop you cold; that shock you down to the core"--and then he transitioned into a political pitch against Brexit.

It is not easy, in the wake of Jo’s murder, to turn to the question of Thursday’s referendum.

But of course for Cameron, it's totally easy. If it hadn't been easy, he wouldn't have mentioned "Jo's murder." But as it is, he used the savage ending of her life to attempt to save his own life--his political life, that is.

And so we get nine more paragraphs of blah blah in the furtherance of that effort. The most oily paragraph--where he accuses Brexit supporters of sliming the motives of their opponents and then slimes the motives of Brexit supporters--is here:

Finally, there is this question about the kind of country we want to be. I’m so proud of Britain – this open, tolerant, big-hearted country of ours. But I believe this referendum has now become a watershed moment for our country. And we are going to have to make a defining decision on Thursday: are we going to choose Nigel Farage’s vision– one which takes Britain backwards; divides rather than unites; and questions the motives of anyone who takes a different view. Or will we, instead, choose the tolerant, liberal Britain; a country that doesn’t blame its problems on other groups of people; one that doesn’t pine for the past, but looks to the future with hope, optimism and confidence?

He might have just as well accused Brexit voters of being in favor of shooting and stabbing innocent female members of Parliament.

Oh right. He already sort of did (see first three paragraphs).

Cameron was quickly slammed in the comments--with most accusing him of using Cox's murder for political gain. I assume someone must have agreed with him. But scrolling down after ordering the comments by number of likes, I still haven't found a single supportive comment. And I'm stopping now as my scrolling finger hurts. Here are the first eight comments, verbatim: 

Using a poor woman's murder for political advantage. I didn't think you could get any worse. I wish I'd never voted for you. Still, you'll be gone as soon as we leave the EU, and I can't wait to get a decent Tory leader again. Like: 684. 

Britain is the 5th largest economy in the world, with the 4th largest military budget. A founder member of the UN and NATO. We don't need to be part of a failing sclerotic bureaucratic political project to still be an important player on the world stage. In fact, our European friends might be looking to us to lead the way out of the mess they have got themselves into. Like: 351. 

David Cameron you are a tasteless honourless man. How dare you politicize her death and use it to try and win your poor argument for remaining. I will still be voting leave and then once I've done that I'm campaigning for you to be booted out of number 10 😡😡😡😡. Like: 258. 

It is very sad that Jo was killed on our streets and it is unforgivable for Cameron to use this young ladies death to push forward this ridiculous campaign to remain but the bottom line is that this madness happened while we are still in the EU so I'm struggling to see your point on this one Dave! Like: 215 

Starting to use this women's murder for political gains is just wrong. It was also reported at the time that another person was injured in this horrid attack. But we hear nothing about this person. Like: 122. 

Wow, how low can you go.. absolutely no reason to reference Jo's murder in this thread, you are a pathetic excuse for a human being.. I have my suspicions that you lean towards a vote to leave as your PR has done them more good than you could ever imagine. Like: 87. 

So the other post was removed. But you are still linking Jo's death with the referendum. However you word it you are still using her death as political propaganda to scare people into voting in. Let people make up their own minds and don't stoop so low. Have some respect. Like: 79. 

Wow didnt think anyone would be low enough to use the murder of that poor, innocent woman for political gains. Then Davie came along... 😳 Quite ashamed that a working class Sunderland lad like me has voted for you twice now, not the Tories but you... Like: 62.

One might have thought that the political murder of Jo Cox would have helped the anti-Brexit vote. But apparently the result has been the opposite. I wonder whether that's because some people think that the anti-Brexit side has been cynically exploiting her murder.

On a lighter note, here's Dennis Skinner being ejected from Parliament for calling Cameron "Dodgy Dave":

BREAKING: Cox Assassin Gives Name at Court as "Death to Traitors, Freedom for Britain"

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Thomas Mair at Westminster Magistrates Court

Yesterday, I tried to provide some context to the murder of British MP Jo Cox, arguing that it was almost certainly anti-Muslim in character.

A few hours ago it was reported that Ms. Cox uttered her last words to her Muslim aide, Fazila Aswat, as Ms. Aswat tried to comfort her.

  

Her father, Ghulam Maniyar, described the scene:

I'm not trying to be coy here. The point is that for anyone who wanted to act out his anti-Muslim views in a violent manner, Ms. Cox was an obvious target.

A few hours ago, the suspect, Thomas Mair, appeared in court. From the Daily Mail:

Unemployed gardener Thomas Mair (left), 52, of Birstall, has appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court this morning after he was charged with the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox (inset). When asked for his name, the suspect (centre) accused of killing the mother of two replied 'death to traitors, freedom for Britain'. He has also been charged with grievous bodily harm, possession of a firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and possession of an offensive weapon. Mrs Cox, 41, was killed on Thursday as she headed to a meeting with constituents in Birstall, near Leeds, West Yorkshire. In court, Deputy Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot ordered that he be remanded in custody until his next appearance, at the Old Bailey on Monday. Ms Arbuthnot suggested that a psychiatric report should be prepared, saying: 'Bearing in mind the name he has just given, he ought to be seen by a psychiatrist.'

Murdered MP Led Constituency with 20% Muslim Population - One of the Highest Outside Major Cities

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Merrie England: Eid in Batley and Spen

Some are still trying to cast doubt on the claim that Jo Cox's assassin has political motivations. For example, there's an ongoing back and forth over whether he shouted "Britain First!" (I think the weight of evidence is that he did).

Unfortunately, for the partisans of the non-political position, reports are now coming out that Thomas Mair had received books and literature from right-wing groups in South Africa and the United States. And we are now hearing that police have found "Nazi regalia" in his home.

But beyond all that, it just seems too coincidental that the first murder of a British MP in twenty-five years would be against one of the most pro-Muslim politicians in the country in a constituency - Batley and Spen - that is small-town ground-zero in the debate over immigration and not have it be political.

I'm not alleging that Britain First or any other anti-immigration or anti-Islam group had anything to do with it.

I suspect the murder is what it seems to be - a lonely mentally-ill man, living in a community undergoing steady "Islamification" was increasingly attracted to anti-immigrant views and finally decided to act on them through a deed of horrific violence.

Muslims comprised 18.77% of the vote in the most recent elections in Batley and Spen. And the largest town, Batley - with a population of 50,000, making up roughly have of the constituency - is now one-third to one-half Muslim. There are eleven mosques in this West Yorkshire town, and a total of sixteen in the constituency. 

Eid Salah at the Batley Cricket Club

Outside of some major cities and towns - London, Birmingham, Manchester, Bradford and a few others - Batley and Spen has one of the largest proportion of Muslims in the country.

Jo Cox literally owed her victory to the Muslim vote, which is among the most monolithic blocks of any segment - reliably voting 75% Labour. And this despite the fact that her Conservative opponent was himself a Muslim.

In the manner of most members of Parliament, she served the values and interests of her constituency faithfully. For example, she was a vocal proponent of boycotting companies that do business with Israel.

The Labour Friends of Palestine (Jo Cox in center) from a tribute to her on Electronic Intifada

It was not always this way. Though Batley has had a significant South Asian population going back to the 1950's, up until the end of the 20th century it was a typical Yorkshire community, among other things being overwhelmingly white. Indeed, Monty Python featured an ongoing skit - the exploits of the Batley Ladies Townswomen's Guild - making fun of the very British but slightly dim small-town residents.

Jo Cox was an important player in the struggle over bringing Sharia to Britain, though she obviously wouldn't have put it that way.

There is no reason to believe that she wasn't anything but well-intentioned.

And of course she didn't deserve to die.

But she was not a random victim of a mentally-ill man. She was murdered for her actions and her beliefs.

Labour MP Jo Cox Has Died After Man Shouting "Britain First!" Shoots and Stabs Her

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Jo Cox, 41

UPDATE (11:56 AM CST): This is first and foremost a horrible tragedy for Ms. Cox and her family. But it is now being reported that the "Britain First!" claim may have been a hoax, started or abetted by a Labour colleague. 

A few seconds ago it was reported that Jo Cox lost her fight for life in the hospital.

It hasn't been confirmed that the attacker shouted "Britain First!" but there is no reason to doubt it. The attacker has now been identified as "Tommy Mair, 52," who neighbors described as a "loner."

Apparently, Ms. Cox "passionately defended immigration." 

From the Mirror:

An eyewitness told the Huddersfield Examiner the man was shouting what sounded like "Britain First, Britain First." 

One man who saw the incident unfolding revealed the man "shot her once, then shot her again – and shot her once more". 

Cafe owner Clarke Rothwell, who saw the shooting, told BBC News: “I could hear a loud popping noise which sounded more like a balloon bursting. 

"When I looked round there was a man stood there in his fifties, with a white baseball cap on and grey jacket with a gun, an old-fashioned looking gun in his hands. 

"He shot this lady once, then he shot her again and she fell to the floor. Went over, shot her once more in the face area, somebody tried grabbing, wrestling with him, then he was wielding a knife, a hunting knife. 

"He just started lunging at her with a knife, half a dozen times. 

"People were screaming and running from the area, people tried running towards him and as you were running towards him he was lunging with the knife at everybody. 

A gentleman with a bald head in his 50s got very close and he lunged forward and stabbed him straight in the stomach, and tried to reload his gun to shoot people nearby again but people were sort of trying to surround him. 

"Obviously with him having a gun and a knife you couldn’t get too close, he then found an exit point and he just ran down the one-way street and disappeared off.

The man was tackled by police a few minutes later. Read the rest of this article here, although ongoing updates are streaming in from British media.

Police, on top of the attacker

Europe in 2020

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Oddly, I first saw this powerful and short (1:47) video on Friday morning, only a few hours before the Paris attacks. One could say that it has been eclipsed by events. But I don't think that's true. Or at least the perception is that it hasn't.

The perception still is that while Europe may indeed now be in a war, it is merely a "war on terror". Or rather, even if we can identify the particular group--they are members of a maniacal and bloodthirsty cult with headquarters in the Syrian desert-- it's nothing that a determined conventional police and military effort cannot solve.

No.

Even before the recent refugee crisis which brought a million people--mostly young Muslim males--into Europe in only a few months, the Muslim population of most major cities in Western Europe was approaching or surpassing 10%. And if the borders were closed today, the demographic momentum would still double that figure in a generation. This is a grave problem not because Muslims are different per se but because the controlling ideology of their communities is in favor of replacing liberal civilization with illiberal barbarism. ISIS is not the ultimate cause of the current crisis, merely a symptom.

The most notable thing about the identity of the attackers was not that two of them may have "infiltrated" with the refugees, but that a few spoke perfect French and were probably Parisians.

Islam is at war with Europe, whether Europe wishes to acknowledge it or not. And its "soldiers" have already arrived.

A few words about the video. It's a bit too "racial" for my taste. A few years ago I might even have called it racist. The text claims that immigrants are "bringing their wars with them". That's not quite right, and it's certainly not fair to, say, the minority Christian refugees who have been on the receiving end of those wars. 

I couldn't care less about "white people" or even "Europeans" if defined as a quasi-race. Bring in more Syrian Christians or Somali animists or Hindus or Chinese. Heck, even a few more Americans. Europe would probably be better for it. It's Islam not racial or religious diversity that is the enemy.

But possible disagreements aside, I applaud the video's creators.  

The attacks on Friday were the beginning. What will be the end?

I expect large scale violence--on a scale much greater than we have so far seen. The worst scenario is civil war.

Either Islam will be effectively banned, which presumably would provoke a violent response (it's too late for that not to happen) or it won't be. But if it isn't effectively banned, then it will only grow in strength, largely though not entirely due to demographics. I do not believe most Europeans want to live under Sharia, nor (unfair jokes about the French aside) will they put up with a plurality Muslim-leftist alliance that may attempt to impose it on them.

So, one way or another, real war will come, perhaps not by 2020 (though even that is possible), but sooner than most of us think.

I hope I'm wrong. But at this point doing nothing (except hoping) isn't enough. Whatever we do will involve more terrorism, violence and, yes, war of some kind. But what can we do to minimize it, or to at least avoid the worst-case scenario depicted below?