Fanatic attacks in Australia, hostages taken in cafe

This is just coming in:

http://news.sky.com/story/1391970/police-operation-under-way-in-sydney

Australian police have cordoned off one of Sydney's main business areas, with reports that hostages are being held in a cafe.

Part of Martin Place, home to the Reserve Bank of Australia, commercial banks and close to the New South Wales state parliament, was closed off by armed officers.

Live television footage showed patrons inside a cafe standing with their hands pressed against the windows.

A black and white flag similar to those used by Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria was also visible.

New South Wales Police tweeted: "A police operation is under way in Martin Place, Sydney's CBD. People are advised to avoid the area."

More follows...

Terrified customers and employees were among those standing with their hands against the window at the Lindt cafe in Sydney

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html#ixzz3Lv4cRR7s
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The flag being held up in the window of the cafe is believed to be a Shahada flag, which is used by the group, Jabhat al Nusra.
Jabhat al Nusra was formed in January 2012, in the Syrian civil war to fight the Syrian government forces.
Jabhat al Nusra, or JN, aims to overthrow the Assad regime and replace it with a Sunni Islamic state.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2873855/Gunman-takes-hostages-cafe-Sydney.html#ixzz3Lv5s0BMg
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook



Send that fool in to take the place of the poor, innocent hostages.

Does this mean that it isn't ISIS?

They're all the same, Sabot, which is one of the many reasons I have been known to rant about the sheer stupidity of the West arming and training these fanatics in the forlorn hope they would stop at regime-changing Syria - doing the West's dirty work, in short.

Completely predictably, the monster has turned on its creator. God help those poor souls in that cafe.

Didn't we see things just like this coming somewhere?

Update, this morning, 5 hostages have escaped.   LL

I wish that was funny.

lily wrote:Didn't we see things just like this coming somewhere?

We did indeed, Lily. I do wish idiot politicians would grasp that some things are absolutely predictable, because technology may change, but human nature, and the way humans react according to their own belief set, doesn't.

That clown Abbott is the one that threatened Putin with physical violence; he sounded as if he was going to burst into tears last night when it dawned on him that his vainglorious desire to play with the Big Boys had brought Middle East wars back to his own doorstep.

Harper's another one that has been brown-nosing Obama over various matters; I doubt if many Canadians feel safer because of it.

The scant consolation is that this snackbar appears to be a lone lunatic - and no, torturing some Afghan farmer kidnapped ten years ago would NOT have helped. Helped cause it, more like.

Also, the Aussie police seem to have a policy of endless patience, and will talk for days to keep things calm, providing the hostages are not in immediate danger. So they aren't likely to go charging in with flashbangs and get hostages killed.

I do wish Western 'leaders' would grasp a few things. The invasion of Iraq was ILLEGAL; not surprisingly, many in the Middle East are just a little bit angry that we killed over a million people and destroyed the oldest civilization on earth. Oh, and kidnapping and torturing brown people hasn't helped either. We are no longer the Good Guys.

Time, IMO, to bring the troops home and sort out our own countries - and face the reality that enforced 'multi-culturalism' has been an unmitigated disaster, especially when people that detest us are involved.

I've just seen someone on Sky from Sydney going, Why us, who hates Australia?

The answer is, Thanks to your swollen-headed politicians, rather a lot of people.

http://www.news.com.au/national/australia-under-pressure-as-ex-detainees-come-forward-after-cia-torture-report/story-fncynjr2-1227152907496

Australian government doing NOTHING when they knew Australian citizens were being tortured by the CIA.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-may-send-up-to-400-additional-troops-to-iraq-20141111-11kjqv.html

Australia sending ever-more troops to Iraq - and don't ask me WTF Iraq has got to do with Australia, besides Abbott does whatever Obama tells him.



Or this gem:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/us-to-extend-darwin-marine-base-as-tony-abbott-meets-barack-obama-to-push-g20-agenda/story-fn59nm2j-1226952627611?nk=7e00efc75d71b489c27e7052c1ac28d3


AUSTRALIA has struck a defence agreement with the United States that prepares the ground for more American troops, aircraft and ships to operate from Australian bases to ward off threats in South East Asia.

The outcome will give the two countries the capacity for “additional reach” into the region as a result of talks in Washington overnight between Tony Abbott and US President Barack Obama.

“Aussies know how to fight and I like having them in a foxhole if we’re in trouble,” Mr Obama declared at the end of a meeting with Mr Abbott.

Translation from Obama-speak- Oh good, I can stir up trouble and the fool Aussies can get themselves killed because their PM thinks he's one of the Big Boys now.

One can only assume that Aussies who don't know why anyone would 'hate Australia' have been asleep for the last few years. Do they even know what the Five Eyes are?

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/09/five-eyes-surveillance-pact-appeal-disclosure-human-rights

The secret "Five Eyes" treaty that authorises intelligence sharing between the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand should be published, according to an appeal lodged on Tuesday at the European court of human rights.

The application by Privacy International (PI), which campaigns on issues of surveillance, to the Strasbourg court is the latest in a series of legal challenges following the revelations of the US whistleblower Edward Snowden aimed at forcing the government to disclose details of its surveillance policies.

This seems to be one of the better, less-hysterical reports:

http://news.sky.com/story/1391970/sydney-siege-gunman-switches-lights-out

And it contains this interesting snippet:

Channel 9 News reporter Mark Burrows told Sky News the gunman is "quite well known to the media in Sydney".

I do hope the snackbar doesn't turn out to be one of these creatures that has been ranting and making threats for a while, but has been ignored because it's his Free Speach Yuman Rite, innit?

So, the MSM isn't reporting what the snackbar is demanding via hostages' twitter and FB, but others are:

http://www.infowars.com/report-sydney-terrorist-claims-to-be-isis-member-threatens-to-kill-hostages/

Oh dear Lord....

All round bad lot and general head case, Lily:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheikh_Haron

I see he did play the Free Speach card in previous brushes with the law. As for his ex-wife being stabbed and set on fire....

On 14 March 2014, Haron was arrested and charged with sexually and indecently assaulting a young woman who went to his consultancy in Wentworthville, New South Wales for "spiritual healing", after seeing an advertisement in a local newspaper. Haron claimed he was an expert in "astrology, numerology, meditation and black magic" services.[16]

No, not a devout Muslim.

Something seems to be happening, gunshots have been fired, more hostages have got out, and there's an alarm going off.

The police appear to have stormed the cafe, but it's all very confused. Also, there is a deliberate delay on the live feed, presumably in case something horrible has happened that shouldn't be seen or ghouled over.

Is it over now?

Seige over, no deaths, looks like they took him alive. LL

looks like they took him alive

Pity, that means we'll have to put up with rants in courtrooms, and the Australian taxpayers will have to foot the bill. He seems to be an all-round nasty bit of work, and would have been no loss to humanity at all.

Big congratulations to the Australians, though, if they've got all the hostages out alive, though some do seem to have been injured. Main thing is that they're OK.

Phew!  I agree that it is a pity about the hostage taker coming out alive.

Do you know, I actually hoped that they had shot him. My bad.

According to The Mail, he is dead. Not that this is much to go on.

Not bad at all, Sabot, perfectly acceptable, downright Darwinist, in fact. He's no use to man nor beast, a violent criminal, con man and possible wife-killer. It's going to cost a lot of money to keep him in prison, money that doubtless could be better spent in Australia.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if the reason he wasn't deported back to Iran long ago is that they take a dim view of black magic and similar 'heresies'.

ETA, I hope the Mail have got something right for once then, Sabot....