Syrian refugees begin arriving in Germany
Syrian refugees begin arriving in Germany
The first hundred or so refugees from Syria arrived in Hanover recently. Germany is offering temporary shelter to up to 5000 people fleeing Syria’s horror.
Thus far the fabric of German society seems to be holding.
Come on, Australia. Time to open our hearts and our homeland to those fleeing terror.
Liberator
Have you kept track of Defense Distributed? Here is their Liberator video, just in case. It’s the WikiWeapon age, you know.
Who brings about cyber war?
It’s been a long time between drinks, but Herald is delighted to bring you more front-page news from the world’s kookiest corner, the editorial offices of Rodong Sinmun, the DPRK’s leading daily.
Enjoy this little excursion into the strange world north of the 38th Parallel. Apparently “To grasp the Asia-Pacific region by force of strength is the main in the U.S. external military policy” and “The acts of the United States which is engrossed in sabotaging peace and security in the world while militarizing even the internet space are arousing surging indignation of the international community.” Thus Kim’s penman.
Herald has long known some cyberwarriors live in worlds of their own, but this is a bit much 🙂
Not ronery this time…
Vale Sub-Inspector Negara, Afghan National Police
Vale Sub-Inspector Negara, Afghan National Police
Helmand’s top policewoman, Sub-Inspector Negara, of Lashkar Gah CID, died of wounds received on Sunday. In what reads like a targeted assassination, her motorcycle-mounted assailants approached the Inspector outside her home. There was a brief exchange of fire between the unknown attackers and Inspector’s bodyguards during which she was mortally wounded. She died in hospital early Monday morning.
This is the latest in a series of attacks on prominent women in Afghanistan – which may or may not mean a new Taliban campaign to intimidate women. It may also simply be part of the wider hostilities in that country.
Vale another brave one, gone too soon.
More trouble in Nigeria
As though things aren’t bad enough in Nigeria, with Boko Haram lunatics in the north, massive inequality and a terrible shortage of doctors everywhere, the central Nasarawa state is now a battleground. Tribal squabbles have grown into armed youth militias torching towns and killing at least 30 people in the towns of Obi and Assakio. Thousands have fled the violence, which will no doubt lead to the usual silent hardship and suffering.
Thus far Nigerian authorities remain tight-lipped, which suggests to Herald they haven’t much idea about what to do next. The madness that is Nigeria continues…
Japan cannot deny its history of aggression – China
Japan cannot deny its history of aggression – China
Most of us have moved on from World War Two. Not the People’s Daily. Under the tres reconciliatory title above, the paper marked the 68th anniversary of Japan’s defeat with stern admonitions against Japan’s “deviation to the right” and its politicians’ tendency to “relentlessly celebrate militarism”. Apparently Japan’s “challenge to the post-war international order is not something that can be allowed.”
Herald can’t say the rest of the world has noticed this new Japanese threat. Are the Japanese developing aircraft carrier capability? No? Perhaps it’s anti-ship missiles or nuclear weapons? No, not that either. Oh, silly Herald. It’s China doing all of those things…
Russia – the gift that keeps on giving
Herald’s been away from the blog for a while. For the first entry back, there was no going past this rabid little spiel in Pravda. It’s too ridiculous for even President Putin to put his name to, however much he might have wanted to. Our old pal Tim Bancroft-Hinchey shows his talents as a Soviet-era propagandist with lines like “double-dealing back-stabbing two-faced policy” and “Washington’s demonic plan”. He appears to be ranting about Syria…
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It’s nice to see some things don’t change. Enjoy the laughs with Tim!
Why Boston?
My thoughts are with the bereaved, the hurt and the dead. There are no words for your suffering. Everyone is thinking of you and remembering you. This is a black day for all the West.
A few hours after the blasts in Boston, what do we know? Two very small IED were detonated near the finish line. The devices were sited approximately one hundred metres apart along the race route, both on the same side of the street. There were a few seconds’ delay between the explosions, with the device nearest the finish line functioning first. Causalties, at this stage, are 3 dead and many injured. Race time was over 4 hours.
What can we deduce?
This was not about mass casualties. Footage of the blasts and post-blast scenes show there were hardly any windows broken. Even the flimsy crowd-control barriers were hardly damaged. And a cameraperson only a few metres away from the first blast kept his or her feet and kept focus on the scene. So the devices were small and were initiated well after the peak crowd period (assuming the crowd peaks around the time the leaders finish, just after 2 hours). It almost seems designed to minimise the number of deaths.
That might have been the bombers’ intent, or it might simply reflect incompetence.
And I know that means nothing to those killed, hurt and bereaved today.
Who profits from this? The list is too long to count right now. Domestic lunatics in their many guises? An enemy probing America’s defences, testing responses ahead of a larger attack? Al-Qa’eda seeking to draw America back into foreign wars to complete their aim of bankrupting the West? North Korea marking Kim Il Sung’s birthday? Or one of the powers that profited from Western entanglement in the War on Terror? It could be anyone at this stage.
We shall see, I have no doubt.
Mexico drug war – another mass killing
Mexico drug war – another mass killing
You probably don’t follow the news from Mexico. But we could all do well to pay more attention to what is probably the bloodiest conflict on the planet right now. The Mexican drug war, which includes a half-dozen heavily armed paramilitary cartels and the Government’s forces, has claimed 70000 lives in the last six years.
The latest development is seven dead in a mass killing in the resort town of Cancun on Sunday. Last month saw another mass killing there, this time of six people with more wounded. This is in a quiet part of the country.
Makes you glad to live somewhere else.
DPRK are the good guys, really
Mad Timmy captioned this “Pyongyang, a modern and vibrant city. Crime rate, next to zero.” Mmm…
DPRK are the good guys, really
…if you’re into Pravda, of course. The Russian daily has wheeled out the amazing tame Brit Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey, who Herald believes is a malevolent version of Lewis Carroll, for this little through-the-looking-glass adventure.
It turns out the DPRK are the good guys and Kim Jong-un’s recent nuclear threats are just a misunderstanding. This is all about French-British-American aggression, though for what purpose is unclear.
This is good for a giggle for Herald’s discerning readers. But don’t forget that this tripe is going on the front page of Russia’s biggest-selling daily paper…
Bringing teh weird…
Revenge for Bali - the massive new tale
Herald of War 