ISIS Hostage Situation in Sydney Cafe

[nrupatunga]

Rediff uvacha

Two bombs in cafe, two in Sydney CBD, claims gunman : Gunman at Lindt cafe claims to have planted two bombs in the cafe and two in Sydney CBD. Demands a phone call with Austraila PM Tony Abbott.

 

[Extragalactic Janitor]

I agree the only way to keep these lone wolves in check is some form of neighbourhood watch. Not saying government should be spying on every citizen 24/7 like Orwell's 1984. Rather, neigbhours and friends should keep an eye out for each other, not to spy and snitch, but to check whether everything is all good. Sounds common sense but it's something that's quite out of touch in Western developed countries. Sometime you have neighbours that rarely talks or know anything about each other.

 

[Ray]

The massive spy network developed and maintained in communist regimes, especially in East Germany, came about because the state was spying on practically every facet of lives of the people. They were not only concerned with specific issues like terorrism but the lifestyle and all sorts of anti-communist deviance.

And we must also not forget the Moral Police, that is an official arm of the Govt, which preys on the citizens like the footpads of Victorian England!

The US' national database and the manner in which it surveils the citizenry, even though not in line with Human Rights, is possibly one of the ways to control the idiocy that has gripped some sections of the international society.

Of course, once the scourge has been controlled, such measures could be discarded.

One has to be safe rather than sorry and one has to give up some rights if it is the sole way to being safe.

 

[Srinivas_K]

Sydney hostage crisis: 10 important developments

NEW DELHI/SYDNEY: Australian police locked down the center of the country's biggest city on Monday after an armed assailant walked into a downtown Sydney cafe, took hostages and forced them to display an Islamic flag, igniting fears of a jihadist attack. Here are the 10 latest developments in the crisis so far:

1: Five people, three men and two women, have fled the cafe. The first development came six hours after the hostage crisis began, when three men were seen running from a fire exit of the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in downtown Sydney. Shortly afterward, two women, one after another, sprinted from the cafe and into the arms of heavily armed police. Both were wearing aprons with the Lindt chocolate logo, indicating they were cafe employees.

2: The gunman appears to be in his late 40s to 50s, wearing a back and white bandanna

3. There is at least one hostage-taker.

4. According to Australian TV channels, the hostage-taker has two demands: To speak with Australian PM Tony Abbott and to have an Isis flag brought to the cafe.

5: The hostage-taker has warned that four bombs have been planted around the city
6. Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has warned of militant plans to strike Australian targets, said there were indications the hostage situation at the cafe was politically motivated.

"This is a very disturbing incident. I can understand the concerns and anxieties of the Australian people," Abbott told reporters in Canberra, without providing any information on the siege.

7. The hostages were forced to raise a black flag with white writing. Local media reports said the flag was the Shahada, a general expression of faith in Islam, a translation of which is: "There is no god but Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

8. Major banks closed their offices in the central business district and people were told to avoid the area. Shops in a four block radius were shut, leaving large parts of the CBD all but deserted by mid-afternoon.

9. Ray Hadley, a popular radio jockey, said he had been contacted by a hostage and could hear the suspected gunman issuing orders in the background. Police declined to comment on Hadley's claim.

10. Concerns about an attack in Australia by radical Islamists have been growing for more than a year, with the security agency raising its national terrorism public alert to "high" in September.

Helplines for NRIs: 0061481453550, 0061 41968700

 

[asianobserve]

(self-deleted)

 

[Srinivas_K]

[tweet]544395485901881344[/tweet]

 

[Srinivas_K]

Live: One Indian among hostages in Sydney cafe, Venkaiah Naidu says

 

[Srinivas_K]

 

[Extragalactic Janitor]

Sydney hostage crisis: 10 important developments

4. According to Australian TV channels, the hostage-taker has two demands: To speak with Australian PM Tony Abbott and to have an Isis flag brought to the cafe.

Helplines for NRIs: 0061481453550, 0061 41968700

Yep the gunman called a radio station earlier to demand someone to bring an IS flag. He forgot to bring it or doesn't have one. That's why I suspect he's a lone wolf retard.

 

[asianobserve]

We're discussing here of possible measures in this kind of situation: how about a voluntary media ban on covering this drama? Or minimal coverage policy? The jihadists are getting what they want with all the World media focusing their lenses in this kind of drama.

 

[Srinivas_K]

Yep the gunman called a radio station earlier to demand someone to bring an IS flag. He forgot to bring it or doesn't have one. That's why I suspect he's a lone wolf retard.

Must be some bunch of guys who are attracted to ISIS ideology !!

 

[Virendra]

One Indian - an Infosys employee is among the hostages. Infy has confirmed in a formal statement.

 

[Ray]

We're discussing here of possible measures in this kind of situation: how about a voluntary media ban on covering this drama? Or minimal coverage policy? The jihadists are getting what they want with all the World media focusing their lenses in this kind of drama.

Maximum coverage without revealing actions to counter.

Will inform the people what dastardly baskets these chaps are.

Cloaking?

Out of Sight, out of mind!

 

[Redhawk]

The hostage drama continues. Latest news report I got was at 9 p.m. Sydney time. 5 hostages managed to escape earlier. I think this is going to be a protracted affair. I'm inclined to think that this is some local attention-seeking wanking headcase rather than an organised and concerted terrorist action. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. The very fact that 5 hostages managed to escape is not indicative of any great professionalism on the part of the would-be terrorist. Still, it would of course be foolish to underestimate the possible danger of the situation, so naturally we don't.

 

[nrupatunga]

Meanwhile this also is going on though maybe unrelated.

Four armed men enter Belgian apartment : Four armed men have entered a flat in the Belgian city of Ghent and police have sealed off the surrounding area, reports the BBC.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that the four had taken a man hostage and police urged residents to remain indoors for their own safety.

The men burst into the flat in the Dampoort area of the city, in northern Belgium. "They're in the building but it's not clear what's going on inside," a police spokesman said.

 

[Daredevil]

One good thing about this Hostage situation is that Australian Police are acting in a professional manner as well as making the Media to behave in a professional manner. This should be the template for police & media all over the world on how to conduct themselves under such conditions.

 

[asianobserve]

Maximum coverage without revealing actions to counter.

Will inform the people what dastardly baskets these chaps are.

Cloaking?

Out of Sight, out of mind!

The audience of this kind of stunts may not the general public. The audience could be more those people who are vulnerable to radicalization. This kind of stunts might be encouraging these borderline extremists to go over the edge.

But yes, on the other hand, the greater public has to be informed of the barbarity of these people. Maybe a minimum coverage policy would be in order.

 

[Kshatriya87]

He needs to be captured, not killed. Let him rot in jail. Lets see what he has to say about IS then.

 

[Redhawk]

A new development: the gunman has repeated his demands by videoing some of the female hostages relaying his demands addressing them to Tony Abbott PM. The Videos are on Youtube. I can't link to them as I'm too new. But if you search "Sydney Hostage Speaking Part 1" "Sydney Hostage Speaking Part 2" "Sydney Hostage Speaking Part 3" you'll bring them up. He wants an ISIS flag, a live feed to Tony Abbott PM so he can converse with the PM, and apparently not much more. Apparently there are bombs planted around the city which he says he will not detonate if his demands are met. I shall await further developments.

 

[Bangalorean]

A new development: the gunman has repeated his demands by videoing some of the female hostages relaying his demands addressing them to Tony Abbott PM. The Videos are on Youtube. I can't link to them as I'm too new. But if you search "Sydney Hostage Speaking Part 1" "Sydney Hostage Speaking Part 2" "Sydney Hostage Speaking Part 3" you'll bring them up. He wants an ISIS flag, a live feed to Tony Abbott PM so he can converse with the PM, and apparently not much more. Apparently there are bombs planted around the city which he says he will not detonate if his demands are met. I shall await further developments.

I'll bet my ass, the "bombs planted around the city" bit is complete hogwash. There are no bombs anywhere.