March 13, 2004
EIGHT MILLION STRONG
After the Bali attacks, the Sydney Morning Herald expected Australians to become timid and frightened:
The mood is subdued. When people talk, even light-heartedly, about bracing themselves for a Harbour Bridge crossing, it is a sign that something has clicked in the city psyche. Summer crowds - at the cricket, at concerts and malls - now look like places to be avoided.
The hell with that. As the SMH conceded a few months later:
Far from shunning large public gatherings because of the threat of terrorist attack, Australians are flocking to events in record numbers.
You think the Spanish are intimidated after Thursday’s attacks? You think they’re hiding and scared? No way:
More than eight million people took to Spain's streets in an unprecedented show of grief and fury at bomb attacks the day before on Madrid commuter trains that killed 199 people, police said.
Well done, terrorists. You’ve successfully not terrified anybody.
UPDATE. Other images here and here. Iowahawk puts the news in perspective. And Instapundit has much more.
UPDATE II. Look at these faces, from photographs taken by Mario Carbonell.
I pray for the Spanish, Aussies, British, and Americans to keep their courage. Those of us who reject such savagry and their supporters will have to suffer whatever counterpunches they can muster. But we will win: cruelty and inhumanity are their own worst enemy. And we will be credited as victors, we will be thanked by generations to come, and we will be the ones who will make sure these animals die anonymously far from home. The worthless French, Germans, Russians, Arabs, and Left-wing terror sympathizers may save their skins by being cowards, but people will spit when they hear their names and wish they had been erased with the enemy.
Posted by: brett at March 13, 2004 at 02:12 PMYeah, but let's hope it's not a march of "See I
told you this would happen" treachery in which
it's all our fault for upsetting those nice AQ
guys.
PS. For fuck's sake would someone please give AQ
directions to the SMH .
Today's letter page is a disgrace,in which the
above tactic is used while the corpses are still
warm and perps unknown.
Another clue? An Islamist strategy document has been found on the web, arguing that Spain is the best US ally to attack (in order to weaken the coalition in Iraq), and just before the election is the time to attack.
I've put some pictures and one video in my weblog.
You can see it at:
http://www.mariocarbonell.com/weblog/archives/000147.html
Thanks Mario. Its good to see that Terror has been overcome.
Posted by: FH at March 13, 2004 at 02:55 PMI grieve for the lovely spanish people. No-one deserves this, what a black day.
It is pathetic with ETA coming out and saying - "oh no it wasn't us - we are only low calorie terrorists - not the full strength type!!" A terrorist is a terrorist - just because you kill on a lower scale (body count) doesn't somehow exonnerate you. ETA RIP.
Posted by: Rob at March 13, 2004 at 03:03 PMBah, there weren't even 8 million Spanards in Europe in 2004. Er, um, those bombs were swimming pools. There have been lots of bombings through-out history, Dresden comes to mind, why aren't people talking about that at the moment? HOUSE OF CARDS! HOUSE OF CARDS!
In all seriousness, I turned to indymedia.org to see what the real attendance of this so-called "march" was. The main page doesn't mention it, nor the "bombings" themselves. From that, I can only conclude the wool has been pulled over your eyes once again.
Anarcho-Syndicalists unite! End the Madrid Bombing Industry!
Posted by: Karl at March 13, 2004 at 03:51 PMWhen any of our citizens are attacked in such a monstrous way, it's healthy to grieve and mourn and then ... go after the bastards that did it to make sure they NEVER do it again.
Hiding in our houses will not do anything but encourage more attacks. Hunting down the terrorists and their supporters is the only response that guarantees the attacks will stop.
Always send your armed forces as a response to terrorism. Never send in your diplomats.
Posted by: Chris Josephson at March 13, 2004 at 05:03 PMMeant to include this in previous post:
It's great to see the Spanish take to the streets AGAINST the terrorists. Great pictures of the crowd and closeups. You can see the pain and grief, mixed with anger and outrage, on the faces
of the marchers. It causes me to feel some of it with them.
This is the reaction a normal, healthy society has when their citizens are murdered.
Posted by: Chris Josephson at March 13, 2004 at 05:28 PMIt's also heartening to see the Basque people demonstrate against the terrorists. There are some people with enough decency and common sense to know that when people kill in your name, you need to work extra hard to distance yourself from them and try to re-enter the family of man.
Next time one of Arafat's boys blows up a busload of Israeli women and children or one of the mad mullah's zombies blows up a cafe, please send me a link to pictures of Muslims protesting against terrorism. My email is above -- please send me any indication that they care to separate themselves from Muslim terrorism one inch.
While the bodies of my neighbors were still burning at Ground Zero on 9/12, American Muslims were complaining that they were scared of a backlash. They should have been down at Ground Zero pawing through the rubble with their bare hands until they were raw trying to save people; they should have been delivering food in my neighborhood; they should have been swarming the streets demonstrating against the monsters in their mosques; they should have come to my fricking door begging for forgiveness for what had been done in their name. In short, they should have been kissing my ass, and hard.
Basque people have done the right thing to move fast to speak against this. Let me know if you ever see Muslims do the same.
Posted by: brett at March 13, 2004 at 06:13 PMUh . . . so I guess you didn't hear about those hardly reported anti-terror marches in Iraq either, huh? Muslims are getting blown up by terrorists too, you know.
Posted by: Sortelli at March 13, 2004 at 07:36 PMLook at this and know that we are at war.
Today we are all Spanish.
Posted by: Pig Head Sucker at March 13, 2004 at 08:30 PMI'd feel a good deal more confident if those people pictured were waving M-16s instead of their hands.
Posted by: Theodopoulos Pherecydes at March 13, 2004 at 08:54 PMTheodopoulous: Look up the history of the Alcazar and the Battle for Madrid during the Spainish Civil War. The Spainish people-all of them- were a hardcore lot then, and I see no reason to believe that they've changed in any of the essentials. ETA, AQ, whoever did this has just made one mother of a bad enemy.
Has anybody heard if John Pilger considers the victims to be "legitimate targets"?
Posted by: Arty at March 14, 2004 at 12:54 AM"They should have been down at Ground Zero pawing through the rubble with their bare hands until they were raw trying to save people;"I know of at least one, name of "Mo", either a fireman or construction worker, who was at Ground Zero doing just that. He was mentioned in a newspaper or magazine; I forget. They didn't make a big deal of it. He was just one of many pitching in to do the job. It is true that most of his fellows were not there, or were even passing out candies. The latter have my deepest contempt. But as for Mo, he was there breathing that dust and seeing sights that he will carry to his grave. I would be glad to shake his hand. Posted by: Ernie G at March 14, 2004 at 07:46 AM
I'm Spanish. I were at the demostration in my city (more than 300000 people were there in a city of 200000 habitants) against ETA and terrorim.
I wish to thank all your words (really confort me to see you folks suporting spanish people).
According to all the spanish media and the gubernamental information, more than 11 million people were in the streets against terrorism.
Unfortunetly, today (its 23:37 pm of 4/13 here in Spain), hundreds of peolpe blamed the spanish goverment the deaths of the 200 victims of the terrorist acts in Madrid. Its becuase tomorrow elections, socialist (the 2nd party here in Spain) and communist parties are doing propaganda against the goverment and their comunication policy (in Spain partys cant`s do political propaganda by law). They call the goverment and the Popular party (the ruller party) "Killers", yes KILLERS, and acusing them not to inform well the population.
Today also, spanish police caught the first 5 "guys" who are involved in the terrorists acts. 3 of them from morrocco and 2 of them from India (too confusing).
I'm wondering WHY the leftist politicians use the deaths for a political propaganda. As we say in Spain: "los cadáveres de los muertos todavía están calientes" LET THE DEATH REST IN PEACE
Just say a second time THANKS TO ALL YOU.
Posted by: Diego at March 14, 2004 at 08:50 AMI also have to say sorry for my poor english, but it's hard to express your toughts in another languaje where you are impressed by the horror.
I hope you understand my situation.
Posted by: Diego at March 14, 2004 at 08:52 AMDiego,
I stood at my window and watched 9/11 live here in New York City. I know how shocking this is, and I know the grief and anger you must feel.
Just remember this: no matter how much propoganda and confusion the Left tries to spread over there, reasonable people know what happened right before their eyes and will make reasonable decisions when the time comes. What happened on 9/11 and 3/11 was a graphic display of the most barbaric and bloodthirsty behavior imaginable -- no one can deny that, no one can compare it to any other crimes in the past, no one can justify it, no one can give it any name but murder. It is such obvious and indisputable evidence that radical Muslims do not consider us even animals to be slaughtered with the respect of hilal, any reasonable person seeing it will know in their hearts that these Muslims must be destroyed without delay.
I am happy to see the Spanish energized to fight and in the street saying No to this behavior. But the important thing is to fight this fight with good arguments. At the end of the day, only those sides with compelling arguments will win, and you must fight stupidity with clear, informed arguments at every chance. If people there say that this is what Spain gets for fighting Saddam and his terror state and terror networks, then tell them that this is just further proof that the people truly hurt and angered by the invasion of Iraq are people who have forfeited their place at the table with the rest of humanity.
This is not a question of anger, revenge, or justice: this is a matter of the calculated extermination of anyone who practices or supports Islamic fundamentalism.
Posted by: brett at March 14, 2004 at 05:50 PMActually, it was the incumbant Right Wing PP government insisting that it was an attack by ETA, only hours after the event, without any proof whatsoever. They had obviously political reasons to do so. Later, the facts slowly emerged, and it appeared that not only was it more likely that Al Qaeda was resposible, but the PP government had also been concealing information from the people before the crucial election... a leftist plot? I don't think so.
Y por Diego... lee sus periodicos, por favor. Y si quiere matar, mata su hermano, es al mismo cosa al fin. Disculpe mi español malo, es dificil que escritor en una idioma segunda, especialmente cuando tengo enfadada.
For the benefit of non-spanish speakers, my last comment addressed to Diego said " Read your newspapers, please. And if you want to kill, then kill your brother, it is the same thing in the end. Please excuse my bad spanish, but it is difficult to write in a second language, especially when I am angry."
Just to clarify what I mean... if Diego, or any other person, takes action which results in the death of another person (in the name of revenge... safety for all mankind?) then it is not unreasonable to assume that the friends or family of the person who is killed will also want to take revenge, and will end up killing the brother of Diego... where does it end boys? Theo wants to see the Spanish people waving M-16´s? Tell me, who is profiting most from the arms trade? And how does waving M-16's protect us from brainwashed individuals blowing up a cruise ship in Greece, or a musuem in London or the Sydney Opera House (just for example)
Posted by: Sophia at March 15, 2004 at 07:04 AMI translated Sophia's post as "Take your meds, bend over and shut your eyes."
Oh, and read your newspapers, Sophia. If you believe that there was any coverup by the PP, you've been punk'd.
Posted by: Sortelli at March 15, 2004 at 04:51 PM