Friday, February 13, 2009
Aussie Fire Suspect "Cannot Be Named", Also Charged With Child Porn
The Australians appear to have a very hot potato in custody and charged with setting the Churchill fire in Gippsland, one of several massive brushfires that have devastated parts of the country over the past weeks. The suspect has not been named and is being kept isolated under extreme police security. Police have called for restraint "amid fears of a violent backlash against suspected arsonists" and have called upon surivors of the estimated 181 fire victims to resist the temptation to take "vigilante action". The suspect is also charged with possession of child pornography. As has been noted, al qaeda jihadists have been using password-protected and heavily encrypted child porn sites to communitate and plan attacks.
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Backlashes against suspected arsonists? Do they have their own parts of town or something? This statement implies that there is a recognisable group of people that would suffer such a backlash which is weird because I've never known arsonists to wear distinguishing clothing or badges that make clear their allegience.
Now, if the arsonist was a Muslim, with the link to forest jihad I can well understand why they are keeping it a secret as the Ozzies are not exactly known for their patience or diplomacy on such matters :-) I wonder how long it takes for the name to be leaked?
Anybody want to start a pool?
If you go to the Herald Sun site eventually the audio comes up on this story. The police commissioner has taken extraordinary measures to prevent disclosure of this suspect's name of a picture of him getting out. The words "Muslim", "jihad", or "terrorist" have not even been mentioned but it is obvious that the authorities are not merely concerned that somebody is going to lash out at that eccentric bloke next door out of frustration. So, if fire jihad has already been set in motion, how long do they expect to be able to cover that up? Those fires are not out yet. What happens if there is another disastrous loss of life?
Until we, as a society, can call a spade a spade, we are going to be continuing down the road to self-destruction.
the press give some hints to identity:
via The Australian
* The man was arrested in his home town yesterday
* Detective Senior Sergeant Adam Shoesmith of the Arson Squad said the suspect was arrested in a public place
* Enraged locals pounded the police van carrying the suspect,
[If 'enraged' people witnessed his arrest someone will leak his identity online.]
* The suspect, in his home page on a social networking site, attacks his ex-girlfriend for her alleged infidelity in his opening remarks. A woman with the same name left several affectionate comments for him via the site.
* She is pictured several times on her own page wearing a Country Fire Authority uniform with feathered angel wings attached. She is also pictured with a dog. The woman lists her address on the site as Gippsland, while he puts his as Latrobe Valley.
* The man describes himself on the site as "semi-retired" and says his last known job was at a large local employer. Relatives of the man last night refused to comment on his arrest.
* The CFA last night confirmed that the man charged was not one of its volunteers.
* The man's lawyer said his client, who did not appear at the hearing but was in the courthouse, was in a fragile mental state. He was concerned that people would react strongly if the suspect's identity was revealed.
And the pièce de résistance :
* * Assistant Commissioner Dannye Maloney, who heads the Phoenix Taskforce, said moving the accused to Melbourne was a "natural reaction" to the local mood. "We have a very emotive environment out there ... people are pointing fingers, people are jumping to conclusions. Rumours and innuendos are being spread.
[What rumours, innuendos and conclusions would alarm the authorities so?]
If what I suspect about this arrest is true, and they are able to successfully covert it up -- though how they will do that I can't imagine -- how will that not serve as a green light for every jihadist within reach of a match to go start their own fire jihad? It is understandable that Australian law enforcement wants to prevent vigilantism -- ("A riot is a terrible thing. And it's just about time we had one!") -- but if they catch more suspected arsonists who just happen to be Muslim how do they expect people to just sit there and take it?
I can imagine few threats more frightening than an arsonist on the loose, especially on this scale. Being afraid to sleep at night because you might wake up to face a sheet of flame. If it proves to be the case that there is an active fire jihad at work in Australia, that is an act of war as surely as was the Blitz.
Well, if what they have is just an enraged boyfriend scorned who wanted to get back at his County Fire Authority girlfriend via arson, which does sound plausible, why are they making such an extreme security case out of it? It is understandable if they are afraid that enraged fire victims might take it out on the suspect's family, but that could be the case in almost any arson fire. If this guy was arrested in public his name and description must be all over town by now. There is still something very strange here.
His name is Irving Blumenstein, and he works for Gowanus Scungilli Bros. Garbage Carting and VENDING LLC.
NOT
FUGGETABOUDIT
via Guardian.co.uk
[before arrest]
Earlier this week a local resident, Janice Michelsson, whose house burned down in the Churchill fires, wrote a letter to the newspaper: "You bastard. You are a fire terrorist. You are a murderer. You have taken my neighbours, my friends. You have taken my home. Do you hate people so much that you really want to see this misery?"
****
In another open letter to the arsonist, Churchill CFA captain Steve Barling said "the devastation you have caused is unimaginable".
He likened the disaster to terrorism, and wanted the arsonist to know he had never witnessed such horror.
"This is like a terrorist act," he wrote. "It is just so unbelievable. I have been in the CFA for 20 years, and I have never seen a fire as rapid."
***
[Perhaps this is the rhetoric the authorities are concerned about.]
From yesterdays IBA (a computer drawing of the suspect):
http://ibloga.blogspot.com/2009/02/photo-fit-published-in-search-for.html
That may not be the same guy. When that sketch came out it was said to be of a man in his 20s. The one they arrested is 39.
Yes, emotions are running high and people are calling the arsonists "terrorists". That is not "rhetoric", that is a fact. It is what arsonists are, as anyone who has lived in an arson-struck community can tell you. Their personal motives may not be terrorism per se, but that is the effect they have on people's lives. Yet I fail to see how hiding the suspect's identity and thereby fueling the rumor mill contributes to law and order unless there might be wider implications if his identity was known.
" unless there might be wider implications if his identity was known."
EXACTLY!
I'm not familiar with the relevant Australian laws. But the suspect almost assuredly has a Muhammadan name if there is no real legal basis on withholding his identity. It will come out, though, and the government is going to look worse for attempting to hide it.
Truth be told, we will not be able to put a stop to the jihadist onslaught until we do two things - make the Islamists and their sympathizers understand that the 'infidel' community will be MORE brutal in their response, and that there will be no more PC crap to cover up their onslaught.
One fights fire with fire, in a figurative sense, of course.......
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