49 victims in shootings at 2 New Zealand mosques

Representatives of governments from around the world are expected to attend a national remembrance service in New Zealand on Friday for the 50 victims of a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch.

Emissaries from round world gathering in Christchurch for remembrance
FILE PHOTO - People visit a memorial site for victims of Friday's shooting, in front of the Masjid Al Noor mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Jorge Silva

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will be represented at the service, but the full list of the attendees from 59 countries was withheld for security reasons, as the country has been on high alert since the March 15 attack.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the governor general Peter Cosgrove and opposition leader Bill Shorten will be among foreign leaders attending the service, Ardern said.

Heads of state from Pacific countries, including Fiji’s President Jioji Konkrote will also be in attendance, she added.

The service will be held in Christchurch in Hagley Park, where tens of thousands of New Zealanders have gathered since the attack to mourn the deaths. It will be televised live on state television networks.

New Zealand PM welcomes Facebook bans on white nationalism, separatism
FILE PHOTO: New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a news conference after meeting with first responders who were at the scene of the Christchurch mosque shooting, in Christchurch, New Zealand March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that she welcomed Facebook Inc's decision to ban praise, support and representation of white nationalism and white separatism on its social media platforms.
 
Very interesting and long article about the possible Israeli and Mossad connections to the shooter, Brenton Tarrant.

'Lone Wolf' Myth Covers Up Possible Mossad Role in New Zealand Terrorist Attack
‘Lone wolf’ myth covers up possible Mossad role in New Zealand terrorist attack
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Excerpt:

What has been downplayed by the yellow press is the specific brand of Islamophobic extremism that was the basis of Tarrant’s attacks. His ideology is revealed in a 73-page manifesto, entitled “The Great Replacement” in reference to the ‘white genocide’ theory held by white nationalist identitarians, which he dispatched less than ten minutes prior to the ambush in emails to several media outlets and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office. While the corporate press is correct that Tarrant and Breivik clearly follow the practices of the anti-Islam xenophobic movement on the rise in Europe, North America and now Oceania, the key element they have deliberately avoided mentioning is a strong collective affinity for the state of Israel. The coverage of Christchurch has repeated the same pattern displayed following the 2011 Norway attacks where the distinguishing characteristic of the extremism both culprits adhere to is of a staunchly pro-Zionist variety which has been decidedly overlooked. In the eight years between the two attacks, the pro-Israel European right has only augmented in size. In his manifesto, Brenton Tarrant even boasted the unverified claim to have had “brief contact with Knight Justiciar Breivik” while taking “true inspiration” from him. His Norwegian idol had his own 1,500 page manifesto where Israel was approvingly name-dropped nearly 400 times while he declared:

“So let us fight together with Israel, with our Zionist brothers against all anti-Zionists, against all cultural Marxists/multiculturalists.”
 
Survivors of the March 15 mosque attacks in New Zealand have described confusion and terror at a door they couldn’t open on one side of the main prayer room in the Al Noor mosque.

28 March 2019 - ‘It doesn’t open’: Mosque survivors describe terror at door

‘It doesn’t open’: Mosque survivors describe terror at door
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Al Noor mosque volunteer Khaled Alnobani says he thinks as many as 17 people may have died trying to get out through the door.

Investigators have likely examined a new electric locking system installed on the door in the days before the attack.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: When the gunman began to attack the Al Noor mosque, Ahmed Alayedy scrambled to get to the nearest emergency exit. He was the first one there.

“I tried to open the door,” he said. “But it doesn’t open.”

Alayedy and other survivors of the March 15 mosque attacks in New Zealand have described to The Associated Press a scene of confusion and terror at the door on one side of the main prayer room, in the first accounts of the role the door played.

Alayedy said so many people began crushing him against the door that some of his ribs cracked. Another survivor, Khaled Alnobani, says he thinks as many as 17 people may have died trying to get out through the door.

Investigators have likely examined a new electric locking system installed on the door in the days before the attack. The mosque say an electrician disabled that system the day before the attack, although some of those who escaped question whether that was the case. What is clear is that nobody managed to open the door that afternoon.

With the gunman in the middle of the room, the door represented the only escape route for those on one side of him, at least until people started smashing windows to get out.

Shagaf Khan, the president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury which oversees the mosque, said the door was closed and latched much like the front door of a house. He said it wasn’t locked, although worshippers may have believed it was in the confusion.

He said an electrician had tested the new electric locking system on Thursday, and then disengaged it for Friday prayers. He said that to open the door, somebody needed to turn a lever. It was just happenstance, and perhaps the cool weather that day, he said, which meant the door wasn’t wide open as usual. “On any other Friday, the door would be open,” he said. “But on this Friday, nobody opened that door.”

He said he agreed that more people would have escaped if the door had been open.

“If it had been completely open, it would have been easy for people to get out,” he said. “But nobody was prepared for this. We were prepared for an emergency like a fire or an earthquake, and people would still have time to get out. This is something totally different. You don’t put this in your emergency plan.”

Alayedy said that in the confusion, he can’t be sure if he simply failed to turn the lever properly or if something else stopped the door from opening.

Alnobani, said he, too, tried to open the door and it didn’t work, and he’s familiar with the lever. He said he believes the door was electronically locked. Simply pushing a button next to the door would have unlocked it, he said, but nobody knew about the new system.


Khan said the mosque was in compliance with regulations, which require emergency exits to be clear from objects, easily accessible, and unlocked.

Police said the scene examination is part of their investigation and they will not be commenting while the investigation is ongoing.

Robert Wright, the Christchurch City Council head of building consents, said in an email the mosque was in compliance with the Building Act at the time of the attacks and had a valid certificate known as a “Building Warrant of Fitness.”

Alayedy, 30, said that on the day of the attack, he’d been listening to a holy speech by imam Gamal Fouda when he heard six or seven shots. He thought it was an electrical fault at first but then heard screaming and ran for the door. “All the brothers come in behind each other, on top of each other,” he said.

Because he couldn’t open the door, he said, he tried punching the hexagonal piece of glass in the lower part of the door. When that didn’t work, he drove his knee through it, shattering the glass, and then kicked it out. He crawled through and ran for safety.

Another survivor provided a second escape route near the door by diving through a window with his arm wrapped around his eyes. Tarik Chenafa said he heard a tat-tat-tat-tat-tat and knew right away it was a semi-automatic weapon from his two years of compulsory military training in the Algerian army. “I know someone is coming to kill us,” he said.

Alnobani said that when he first came to the mosque that Friday, he’d noticed the side door was shut and considered opening it but then saw there were some older worshippers. It was a little cold and windy outside, he figured, so he left it alone.

Alnobani said he also managed to crawl through the door’s smashed glass and run. He returned to help rescue a young boy whose father was shoving him through the opening, he said, and then helped the father as well.

Chenafa said he’s still sad and confused, and finds it hard to sleep. And he doesn’t know what to believe about the door.
“There will be a lot of waiting to find out the truth,” he said.
 
Tens of thousands gathered in Australia and New Zealand at Anzac Day memorials on Thursday amid heightened security following the shooting massacre at Christchurch mosques and deadly suicide bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.

April 24, 2019 - Thousands gather for Anzac Day in Australia, New Zealand amid heightened security
A member of the 324 Squadron during the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, April 25, 2019. AAP Image/Steven Saphore/via REUTERS

A member of the 324 Squadron during the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, April 25, 2019. AAP Image/Steven Saphore/via REUTERS

A Sri Lankan government minister says the bombings on Easter Sunday were retaliation for the Christchurch massacre on March 15, in which a lone gunman killed 50 Muslim worshippers at two mosques. New Zealand says it has no evidence of a link.

Turkish authorities arrested a suspected member of the Islamic State group they believe was planning to attack an Anzac Day commemoration at Gallipoli attended by hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders, Turkish police said on Wednesday.

Anzac Day commemorates the bloody battle on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey during World War One. On April 25, 1915, thousands of troops from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) were among a larger Allied force that landed on the narrow beaches of the Gallipoli peninsula, an ill-fated campaign that would claim more than 130,000 lives.

While the Gallipoli campaign against the Turks failed, the landing date of April 25 has become a major day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand for their troops killed in all military conflicts.

Addressing thousands gathered for a dawn service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that, in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, Anzac Day 2019 should be an even greater uniting force.

“Let us recommit to always remembering our shared humanity that there is more that unites us than divides us,” Ardern said.

“Our sense of independence is as strong as our sense of responsibility to each other and not just as nation states but as human beings. That is part of the Anzac legacy,” she said.

Heavily armed police surrounded the function area and snipers were positioned on rooftops during the ceremony.

Britain’s Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, paid tribute at the Auckland War Memorial alongside Ardern. He will travel to Christchurch later on Thursday to honor the 50 victims of the shooting.

Heightened security saw about 1,000 police deployed across New Zealand at hundreds of locations and security concerns meant Anzac Day events in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, and elsewhere were scaled back.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed a dawn service in Townsville, Queensland, where he shared memories of his grandfather, who served in World War Two.

“Our heroes don’t just belong to the past, they live with us today,” Morrison said.

Turkey detains suspect believed planning to attack ANZAC service: police
Turkish authorities have arrested a suspected Islamic State member they believe was planning to attack a World War One commemoration at Gallipoli attended by hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders, police said on Wednesday.

New Zealand PM says no intelligence linking Sri Lanka attacks to Christchurch
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks during a news conference in Christchurch, New Zealand March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su
New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday that her government was not aware of any intelligence suggesting that a devastating attack on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for deadly shootings on a mosques in Christchurch.

Three men survive freezing waters after helicopter crashes off New Zealand
Three men miraculously survived after their helicopter crashed into the freezing sub-Antarctic waters off New Zealand's southern tip by swimming to shore at night and camping on an island for hours until they were rescued.
 
It gets better behind the backdrop of Paris.


The summit in Paris begins on May 15 and was organized by Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron. It will see world leaders and tech executives sign a pledge called the "Christchurch Call," which aims to end the use of social media for acts of terrorism.

Ardern told CNN on Tuesday that the meeting "is not about regulation, it is about bringing companies to the table," adding that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has given "Facebook's support to this call to action."

The focus will "very much be on violent extremism," she said. The pledge will not limit or curtail "the freedom of expression."
Also expected to attend are Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, British Prime Minister Theresa May, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey and Facebook head of global affairs Nick Clegg.
 
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New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern "doesn't understand" why the U.S. hasn't imposed gun control on its citizens.

We can see how New Zealand's gun control prevented terrorists from attacking those mosques with automatic weapons. You would think that it would be an example of failure rather than an argument for stripping citizens of self-defense. :umm:
 
Apologies for carrying on but, Hollywood's is in production of this event. With San Diego goose step-in concerto (making point's with the recent appearance of the accused), of the San Diego event.

May 14, 2019 1:34PM PT
Moez Masoud will helm “Hello Brother,” a movie about the deadly terror attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The film will follow a family facing death and destruction in Afghanistan who escape with their lives. Their story meshes with that of the recent attacks by a 28-year-old white supremacist on the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic center. The shootings claimed the lives of 51 worshipers and were partly live-streamed on social media. The title of the project is based upon the words of the gunman as he entered the first mosque.

Masoud is a producer, Cambridge scholar and noted public speaker. His movie, “Clash,” was the opening film in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard in 2016.

“In Christchurch, on March 15, the world witnessed an unspeakable crime against humanity,” Masoud said. “The story that ‘Hello Brother’ will bring to audiences is just one step in the healing process, so that we might all better understand each other, and the root causes of hatred, racism, supremacy and terrorism.”

Films covering terror attacks include Paul Greengrass’ Netflix film “July 22” and Norwegian helmer Erik Poppe’s “U – July 22,” both about Norwegian neo-Nazi terrorist Anders Behring Breivik’s massacre of 77 civilians in 2011. “Hello Brother” is thought to be the first confirmed project about the Christchurch shootings.

Masoud will produce the New Zealand-set film through his Acamedia Pictures banner. He co-wrote the “Hello Brother” script with Rick Castañeda. Mohamed Hefzy, whose “Yomeddine” was in competition at Cannes in 2018, and Eric Lagesse, whose “The Wound” was at Sundance in 2017, will exec produce.

Acamedia is on the ground at Cannes presenting the project to partners. Other members of the film’s team are visiting Christchurch to meet officials and families of the victims of the shooting, as well as survivors and potential partners.

World leaders, and New Zealand film figures including Peter Jackson and Taika Waititi, expressed their sympathies, and solidarity with different cultural and religious groups, after the horrific shootings. “Hello Brother” writer-producer-director Masoud said that he wants his film “bring people all over the world together to discuss that day and continue a positive dialogue for a future based on genuine mutual understanding.”

A man accused of opening fire inside a Poway synagogue, killing a woman and injuring three other people, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to more than 100 federal hate crime charges alleging he acted out of hatred toward the Jewish and Muslim communities.

John T. Earnest, 19, is accused not only of the synagogue shooting but also of an earlier arson fire at an Escondido mosque. He is being charged by both federal and state prosecutors and faces a possible death sentence in both cases. Neither office has made a decision regarding whether they will pursue the death penalty.

Earnest, of Rancho Penasquitos, is accused of carrying out the shooting at Chabad of Poway on April 27 — the last day of Passover — killing Lori Gilbert Kaye, 60, who was shot twice in the synagogue’s foyer and died at a hospital.

The congregation’s rabbi, Yisroel Goldstein, 57, lost an index finger in the shooting. Two other people — Almog Peretz, 34, and his 8-year-old niece, Noya Dahan — were also injured.

Earnest is also accused of setting a March 24 fire at an Escondido mosque — a crime to which Earnest allegedly confessed in an online manifesto he posted prior to the synagogue shooting.

Following his initial appearance Tuesday afternoon, he’s slated to return to court May 28 for a preliminary hearing. He remains held without bail.

He was charged last Thursday with 109 federal hate crimes:
  • 54 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs using a dangerous weapon, resulting in death, bodily injury and attempts to kill.
  • 54 counts of hate crimes stemming from the synagogue shooting in violation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
  • And one count of damage to religious property by use of fire.
Each of the 54 hate crime and obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs counts apply to a person who was inside the synagogue during the shooting, Brewer said. Among those people, 12 of the congregants present were children, he said.

Earnest is due back in federal court May 28.

Earnest is also charged in state court with murder, attempted murder and arson. His next court hearing in the state’s case is a readiness conference set for May 30.

Kaye, a longtime member of Chabad of Poway, was at the temple with her physician husband and daughter the day of the shooting to honor her mother, who recently died. The rabbi, Goldstein, lost his right index finger in the shooting. Peretz was shot in a leg while shepherding children to safety. His niece was struck by shrapnel in her face and leg.

An off-duty Border Patrol agent working as a security guard was inside the temple when the shooting began, and he opened fire as the suspect fled, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore said. The agent did not strike Earnest, but did hit the suspect’s car, authorities said.

Police said Earnest called 911 at around 11:30 a.m. and said he had been involved in the shooting and was armed.

According to the federal complaint, Earnest told a dispatcher, “I just shot up a synagogue. I’m just trying to defend my nation from the Jewish people … They’re destroying our people … I opened fire at a synagogue. I think I killed some people.” He allegedly added that he shot up the synagogue “because the Jewish people are destroying the white race.”

A San Diego police officer who had been en route to the synagogue spotted the suspect’s vehicle and pulled him over at 17051 W. Bernardo Drive, less than two miles west of the synagogue, Deputy District Attorney Leonard Trinh said.

Earnest got out of his vehicle with his hands up and was taken into custody without further incident, according to police.

In the “open letter” that authorities say Earnest posted online shortly before the shooting, the author espouses flagrant anti-Semitic sentiments and a need to protect the “European race.” He wrote that he spent four weeks planning the attack, citing his “disgust” for Jews and a desire to kill them, and expressed admiration for the Australian white nationalist who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March, killing 50 people.

The writer
also claims responsibility for the March 24 fire set at the Dar-ul-Arqam Mosque, also known as Islamic Center of Escondido. The 3:15 a.m. fire was quickly extinguished by people inside the mosque. Graffiti left on the building made reference to the mosques attacks in Christchurch.

Surveillance footage allegedly captured a suspect arriving at the mosque in the same type of vehicle in which Earnest was captured on the day of the synagogue shooting. Updated at 3:20 p.m. May 14, 2019

May 15, 2019 3:28AM PT (Timing is everything)
Snip:
New Zealand, which already has some of the most generous financial incentives for film, is to launch a fund to help develop feature international films and TV series.

The International Co-Development Fund (ICF) expands the current Co-Production Development Fund for official feature film co-productions. It will include the development and/or packaging of drama series official co-productions or series drama projects with market partners such as a sales agent, streaming platform or broadcaster.

The fund will become operational July 1, and be run by the New Zealand Film Commission. It will have an annual pool of $262,000 (NZ$400,000), which is payable to the New Zealand partner in a co-production as matched development funding.

“SeeSaw and Jane Campion’s acclaimed ‘Top of the Lake’ and more recent series such as ‘The Dead Lands,’ produced by Matthew Metcalfe’s GFC Films for AMC, [and] ‘Straight Forward,’ produced by Philly de Lacey for Screentime, all showcase New Zealand’s ability to deliver world-class and distinctive drama,” said NZFC CEO Annabelle Sheehan. “We want to support more content at this level.”
 
Ardern told CNN on Tuesday that the meeting "is not about regulation, it is about bringing companies to the table," adding that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has given "Facebook's support to this call to action."

May 15 2019 - Facebook Restricts Live Feature, Citing New Zealand Shooting
Facebook announced it will introduce a new set of rules around its live-streaming feature as it increases efforts to combat hate speech aimed at curbing online violence in the aftermath of the mass shooting in New Zealand.

On visit to New Zealand mosque, U.N. chief vows to combat growing hate speech
FILE PHOTO: Armed police officers stand guard outside Al Noor mosque where more than 40 people were killed by a suspected white supremacist during Friday prayers on March 15, in Christchurch, New Zealand April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Edgar Su

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres aims to draw up a global plan to fight a rising tide of hate speech, he said on Tuesday, during a visit to a New Zealand mosque where dozens of worshippers were killed in a mass shooting in March.
 
We can see how New Zealand's gun control prevented terrorists from attacking those mosques with automatic weapons. You would think that it would be an example of failure rather than an argument for stripping citizens of self-defense. :umm:
New Zealand had tough gun laws before the shooting and now of course they are even tougher. But lets be honest, the state of gun laws in a country has no impact on this sort of an event. If people want semi automatic and automatic weapons, they will get them, laws or no laws. To think that these new laws will stop more massacres is just a flagrant example of foolish, wishful thinking. But it sure makes Ardern look good on the world stage.
 
New Zealand had tough gun laws before the shooting and now of course they are even tougher. But lets be honest, the state of gun laws in a country has no impact on this sort of an event. If people want semi automatic and automatic weapons, they will get them, laws or no laws. To think that these new laws will stop more massacres is just a flagrant example of foolish, wishful thinking. But it sure makes Ardern look good on the world stage.

Yep, Mexico's Naco's have shown the world with enogh money anything can be had.
 
Didn't the C's say something about the coming of the Guillotine's ?

Snip 4-5 minute Read:
A non-binding resolution called the Christchurch Call, jointly unveiled this week by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron, seeks to bring tech companies and governments together in an effort to stem such content. So far, the governments of the UK, Canada, France and Australia have signed on, as have Facebook, Twitter, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon, as Recode reports.



In part, the call-to-action statement reads:
The Christchurch Call is a commitment by Governments and tech companies to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. It rests on the conviction that a free, open and secure internet offers extraordinary benefits to society. Respect for freedom of expression is fundamental. However, no one has the right to create and share terrorist and violent extremist content online.
But the Trump Administration, true to form, did not attend the summit in Paris hosted by Macron, and has found reason to avoid signing on with these other countries because of concerns about free speech. Clearly it is using this move as a dog whistle to its supporters on the far right, and all of the monotonous champions of "free speech" on Fox News who feel persecuted on social media for being conservative.

 
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Didn't the C's say something about the coming of the Guillotine's ?

I am not sure how you are relating the guillotine to the articles but if you mean the loss of free speech by de-capitation I guess it may be "headed" in that direction.

The only place I found "guillotine" in the sessions was here:

Session 5 February 2000:
Q: The article will attract further outside interest?

A: Yes, tv, news, authors, publishers, etc... Remember, the Saint Petersburg Times has a well visited web site, too!

Q: Well, why do we feel like we are waiting for the guillotine to fall on our heads?

A: Guillotine will miss its mark if one retracts head.


{Personal exchange re: private information about other people.}

I can envision them cracking down on anti-semitism as terrorist content or anything that opposes their agenda like anti-vaccination, global warming denial, pro-smoking, anti-gender pronouns enforcement, pre-pubescient gender change indoctrination or....on and on...

So, I think it is good advice to be aware of the trend and not place our heads on the block unnecessarily or keep our eyes open and "retract " quickly. I think maybe you have hit the nail on the "head".
 
I am not sure how you are relating the guillotine to the articles but if you mean the loss of free speech by de-capitation I guess it may be "headed" in that direction. The only place I found "guillotine" in the sessions was here:Session 5 February 2000:

The Munchkins of the PTB (like above) will set a standard response to dissidence whom don't comply with the agenda. I think we will see a knew trend in capital punishment. I suppose there will need to be many more false flags, and along with Hyper-Dimensional Interference.

Will head's roll, wait and see I guess.
 
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