Confounding the Jihad Poverty Pimps

Gates of Vienna:

“Not a single study could make a cogent case that terrorism had economic roots.”

The above quote is something that is well-known within the Counterjihad, even if it has not penetrated the consciousness of our political leaders. Despite what the jihad poverty pimps would have us believe, there is no correlation between Islamic terrorism and the poverty of its practitioners.

In fact, according to a major Pakistani news service, the most recent studies indicate the opposite: Middle-class Pakistanis are twenty-three times as likely to commit terrorist acts than their impoverished brethren.

This is a stunning reversal of the conventional wisdom. If only we could grab the lapels of the political class and shake them until they pay attention!

Sultan Mehmood, the author of the article below, has some refreshing observations to make:

“To understand what causes terrorism, one need not ask how much of a population is illiterate or in abject poverty. Rather one should ask who holds strong enough political views to impose them through terrorism.”

And Also: […]

BREAKING NEWS: 1,500 people evacuated from Eiffel Tower after anonymous phone call claimed explosives had been placed around landmark

H/T Magic Martin

Daily Mail:

  • Police received telephoned warning from a phone booth in a Paris suburb
  • Evacuation carried out shortly after 7.30pm while sniffer dogs searched

By PETER ALLEN

PUBLISHED: 20:47 GMT, 30 March 2013 | UPDATED: 21:04 GMT, 30 March 2013

The Eiffel Tower was evacuated tonight following a telephoned terrorist bomb warning.

Some 1,500 people, including tourists and staff, were escorted out of France’s most famous landmark shortly after 7.30pm.

It follows threats from Al-Qaeda pledging ‘revenge’ for the French intervention in the African state of Mali to fight Islamic terrorists.

Tonight, police were standing guard near the Eiffel Tower in Paris after an anonymous phone call announced an attack on the monumentTonight, police were standing guard near the Eiffel Tower in Paris after an anonymous phone call announced an attack on the monument

Police said an anonymous call had been received from a phone booth in a Paris suburb warning that explosives had been place around the tower.

The bomb warning said the blast would happen at 9.30pm, said police. But by 10pm there had been no explosion.

The tower was still shut, with trained sniffer dog teams searching for a possible bomb.

‘It may be that the tower does not reopen tonight,’ said a police spokesman.

‘Searches are carrying on, but no members of the public are being allowed anywhere near. There has been a full evacuation.’

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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2301676/BREAKING-NEWS-1-500-people-evacuated-Eiffel-Tower-anonymous-phone-claimed-explosives-placed-landmark.html#ixzz2P40KF6kZ
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Germany Calls Hezbollah a Terrorist Group; France Wavers

H/T Ted L

The American Interest:

How many buses and Jewish community centers do you have to bomb for France to call you a terrorist group?

Spiegel reports that Germany is finally putting pressure on the EU to label Hezbollah a terrorist group. The move comes after authorities began to suspect Hezbollah of involvement in a the bus bombing that killed five Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.

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Syrian Jihadist Fighters Getting Western Weapons

H/T Magic Martin

VOA News:

Syria's al-Nusra rebels posted this photo of its fighters using an M-60 anti-tank weapons March 24.
Syria’s al-Nusra rebels posted this photo of its fighters using an M-60 anti-tank weapons March 24.

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Jamie Dettmer
March 25, 2013

A Syrian rebel group the Obama administration considers a terrorist organization is managing to obtain modern anti-tank weapons meant for other groups fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad, according to regional experts.

The Jihadist Jabhat al-Nusra militia is managing to secure weapons being supplied by Saudi Arabia and Qatar to rebel brigades affiliated to the Free Syrian Army, the experts say. The Obama administration considers al-Nusra a terrorist organization because of suspected links with al-Qaida.

The weapons include the Croatian-made M79 portable 90 mm anti-tank gun and M60 recoilless anti-tank weapons. Regional experts say Saudi Arabia and Qatar had been supplying such weapons to rebel units more acceptable to the West, mainly secular or nationalist-focused groups such as the Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigades fighting to oust the Assad government.

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Bomb detonates near Acropolis

H/T Richard

Sky News

A bomb has exploded near the Acropolis in central Athens causing damage but no injuries.

Apparently targeting the house of one of the country’s shipping magnates, the blast close to Greece’s most famous ancient monument occurred at about 8:30pm local time (6.30pm GMT), following a warning call to a Greek newspaper.

Police said an anonymous caller contacted a Greek daily at 8:10pm (6.10pm GMT), saying the bomb would explode at 8:30pm outside the home of shipowner Nikos Tsakos. Officers immediately evacuated the area.

The bomb had reportedly been left in a black backpack outside the entrance of the property.

Police officers search for evidence near the home of a prominent Greek ship owner following a bomb explosion in central Athens
Officers search for evidence near the shipowner’s home after the explosion

Windows were shattered by the explosion and other damage caused, including to neighbouring buildings – but nobody was killed or injured.

Speaking from Athens, Sky News journalist Anthee Carassava said: “Police scrambled to the site, evacuated the area and the residence of a prominent shipowner, who appears to be the target of the attack.

“Bomb experts did not have time to detonate the bomb, which exploded only 20 minutes after the warning call – a very short time in which to react.”

Mr Tsakos was not at home at the time of the attack. One of his guards who was there managed to flee in time.

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Belgian police kill man suspected of terror links: report

H/T Magic Martin

Global Post:

An man of Algerian origin killed by Belgian police in a shoot-out on a motorway Tuesday was suspected of terrorist links, the Belga news agency reported, citing a spokesman for the federal prosecutor.

Belga said the authorities late last year responded to two requests for information about the man from France, suspecting that he belonged to a criminal gang with terrorist ties.

The investigation showed that the man was buying arms and other equipment such as bullet-proof clothing, and had linked him to an armed robbery of a restaurant, Belga said.

It said the authorities decided to arrest the man after receiving information that he was planning an attack.

No details of the incident nor of the man’s alleged terrorist links were given.

A search later of his home in Anderlecht, a suburb of Brussels, revealed arms, ammunition and explosives, plus other equipment which Belga said the police would put on display on Wednesday.

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Muslims claiming to be British may post threat (rephrased from original headline)

H/T EDL Buck

The Telegraph:

 British Muslims fighting in Syria’s civil war could return home to carry out terrorist attacks, intelligence chiefs have warned.

A Free Syrian Army fighter gestures during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus

A Free Syrian Army fighter gestures during heavy fighting in the Ain Tarma neighbourhood of Damascus Photo: REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic
James Kirkup

By , Deputy Political Editor

10:30AM GMT 26 Mar 2013

There are “hundreds” of Europeans now fighting in Syria, some of whom are with groups linked to al Qaeda, the Home Office has told MPs.

In an annual report on its Contest counter-terrorism strategy, the Home Office warned of the risk to Britain and other European nations posed by foreign fighters now gaining military experience in Syria.

The Home Office warning – based on assessments by British intelligence agencies – comes as ministers debate doing more to arm and support the rebels fighting the regime of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

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Major terror attack on scale of 7/7 foiled every year in UK, police reveal

Telegraph:

 Police and MI5 are foiling a plot as big as the July 7 attacks every year, the country’s second most senior terror officer has revealed.

the number 30 double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, which was destroyed by a terrorist bomb on Thursday July 7, 2005

Every year, Britain’s security services are faced with at least one plan to carry out an attack on the level of the 7/7 attacks, which killed 52 commuters Photo: PA
Tom Whitehead

By , Security Editor

5:51PM GMT 21 Mar 2013

Officers also fear a hybrid of terrorist and criminal gangs could bring a new threat on the UK.

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Osborne warned that the country is facing the most complex terror threat in its history.

He said the threat is constantly changing with al-Qaeda inspired Islamic extremists now plotting in smaller, harder to detect groups.

The danger is coming from an increasing number of hot spots around the world and there is also a growing threat from republican groups in Northern Ireland, who would attack mainland Britain if they could.

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Leeds man held after suspect device blown up in park

H/T EDL Buck

BBC

4 March 2013 Last updated at 16:20 ETA suspect device has been blown up at a park in Leeds after being found during a police raid.

The package was discovered during the operation at a house on Sholebroke Avenue, Chapeltown.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said it was taken to Soldier’s Field in Roundhay Park where a controlled explosion took place.

Dozens of homes were evacuated. A 49-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of firearms offences.