Kindly Muslims make another attempt to destroy Egypt's tourist industry

A roadside bomb has struck a tourist bus near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt, killing at least four people and injuring 12 others.

Three Vietnamese visitors died when the homemade device ripped through the bus after it was concealed behind a wall, officials said.

The Egyptian tour guide who had accompanied them was killed in the explosion at 6.15pm local time (4.45pm GMT) while the driver, also Egyptian, was injured.

Another 10 of the 14 tourists from Vietnam were hurt in the explosion while only one without physical injuries.  

Pictures from the scene showed the side of the bus ravaged by the explosion, near the country's historic landmarks.

Officials said the bus was travelling in the Marioutiyah area near the pyramids on Friday when the roadside bomb went off.   

The improvised explosive device was placed near a wall along a street, officials said this evening.

Security services were immediately dispatched to the area and have opened an investigation into the explosion.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack and it was not clear whether the vehicle had struck the bomb or whether it was launched from the side of the road. 

Egypt has battled Islamic militants for years in the Sinai Peninsula in an insurgency that has occasionally spilled over to the mainland, hitting minority Christians or tourists.

However, this is the first attack to target foreign tourists in almost two years. 

Western tourists have been warned of the dangers, with Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office advising that an attack in Egypt was 'very likely'.

The FCO has stopped short of advising against any travel to Cairo and Giza but has warned of threats to foreigners posted on websites and social media.

Visitors are also warned that 'tourists at high-profile sites like the Giza Pyramids may be confronted aggressively for money or business'.

Meanwhile the U.S. State Department also urges caution, saying terrorists 'have targeted religious sites, to include mosques, churches, monasteries, and buses traveling to these locations'. 

Both countries advise against any travel to the northern Sinai peninsula nearest Israel due to the threat from terrorism. 

Egypt's vital tourism industry had been showing signs of recovery after years in the doldrums amid political turmoil and violence after a 2011 uprising.

It will likely prompt a further tightening of security ahead of the New year's Eve celebrations and next month's Christmas celebrations of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the dominant denomination among Egypt's estimated 10 million Christians.

Over the past two years, militant attacks against Christians in Egypt - usually targeting churches or buses carrying pilgrims to remote desert monasteries - have killed over a hundred people.

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Brain dead: Sen. Durbin Urges Trump to Reduce ‘Shootings and Homicides’ in Chicago by Increasing Federal Spending

Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D.-Ill.) is urging President Donald Trump to help reduce “shootings and homicides” in Chicago by increasing federal investment in housing, economic development, job training, education, public health and “community policing.”

“As you prepare your Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request, I urge you to use this budget framework as an opportunity to support efforts to help reduce gun violence in Chicago, rather than scapegoating the city’s challenges to promote ideological political agendas,” Durbin told Trump in a letter sent on Dec. 13.

“I urge you to prioritize federal support and resources that will help Chicago reduce violence by expanding economic opportunities and addressing health and education disparities in the hardest-hit communities,” Durbin said.

“The number of shootings and homicides that Chicago continues to experience is tragic and unacceptable,” Durbin told Trump.

“But while it may be easy to tweet about the problem, generating real and measurable solutions to help Chicago reduce gun violence requires more than 140 characters,” Durbin said. “Reducing violence in Chicago requires a comprehensive approach involving partnerships with local education and health officials, law enforcement, community stakeholders, and the federal government.

“Through sustained and targeted investment of federal funding in underserved communities, the federal government can play an integral role in addressing the economic and societal issues that contribute to violence,” Durbin said.

The senator went on to explain how increased federal investment in housing would help reduce violence in Chicago.

“Violence in Chicago is often located in communities with higher unemployment and years of neglect and disinvestment,” said Durbin. “Two of the most important ways the federal government can help break the cycle of violence and provide stability in these neighborhoods is by ensuring access to safe, affordable housing and encouraging economic and community development.”

Here is the full text of Sen. Durbin’s letter to President Trump:

Dear President Trump,

As you prepare your Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request, I urge you to use this budget framework as an opportunity to support efforts to help reduce gun violence in Chicago, rather than scapegoating the city’s challenges to promote ideological political agendas. I urge you to prioritize federal support and resources that will help Chicago reduce violence by expanding economic opportunities and addressing health and education disparities in the hardest-hit communities.

The number of shootings and homicides that Chicago continues to experience is tragic and unacceptable. But while it may be easy to tweet about the problem, generating real and measurable solutions to help Chicago reduce gun violence requires more than 140 characters. Reducing violence in Chicago requires a comprehensive approach involving partnerships with local education and health officials, law enforcement, community stakeholders, and the federal government. Through sustained and targeted investment of federal funding in underserved communities, the federal government can play an integral role in addressing the economic and societal issues that contribute to violence.

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Victimhood culture and traditional justice are on a collision course

“I just want to say to the men in this country, just shut up and step up.” Responding to Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing for his nomination to the Supreme Court, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) put American men on notice: Their day was over. The mainstream press and social media were more specific in echoing who needed to shut up: old white men in government. According to social justice, the proper role for this privileged group is to mutely support victimized ones. Presumably, they could also step aside.   

Congress has a culture war on its hands and the battles will blaze for the foreseeable future. Congress is a microcosm of the schism that is tearing America apart--ideologically, morally and emotionally.

Understanding the dynamics of the conflict requires a grasp of the “victimhood culture” that Hirono’s statement epitomized in its message and its tone. The message of this #MeToo approach is “get out of the way of oppressed groups”; the tone is rage.

A key to understanding the victimhood ideology is how it defines “justice.”  

Identity justice

Victimhood is an integral part of identity politics and the social justice movement of past decades. People are separated into categories according to their secondary characteristics, such as gender or race. (Their primary characteristic is being human). A person’s political status is then viewed through the lens of his or her group identity, with heavy emphasis placed upon whether the group is considered to be oppressed or oppressive. Men oppress women, for instance. The purpose of social justice is to balance the status of all groups, which requires an imbalance of treatment because some groups are seemingly privileged at the expense of others.

Social justice is identity justice applied to groups. This runs counter to the ideal of traditional Western justice that seeks to erase secondary characteristics from how the law treats individuals. Ideally, it does not matter if someone is white or black, male or female. The same legal principles and practices, such as the presumption of innocence, are applied equally to every human being. Western justice is individual justice for all.

Ideals are rarely manifested in pure form. Law enforcement does not always handle a black person with the same respect as it does a white one, for example. When this happens, the situation needs to be rectified. One way is to remove the cause of discrimination against blacks, which could mean reforming aspects of the system or removing specific personnel. The goal is equal justice for all, which is achieved by treating everyone as an individual to be judged on the merits of evidence and according to concepts encompassed by the words, “due process.”

To the victimhood culture, however, Western justice is a creation of white privilege and it cannot deliver fairness to oppressed groups. Indeed, the ideals and structure of Western law are an obstacle to social justice. Old legal and political principles must be either discarded or redefined.

The redefinition toward social justice has been active in Congress for some while; it has also been actively resisted — a trend that is likely to accelerate. The recasting of justice includes:

Expanding the scope of punishable offenses. The version of the Violence Against Women Act that is up for reauthorization expands the definition of domestic violence (DV) to include non-violent and common behavior, such as persistently telephoning an ex-partner after a break-up. This broadening is to the legal advantage of alleged DV victims, who are usually viewed as women, at the expense of alleged DV perpetrators, who are usually viewed as men.

Reducing due process. #Believewomen was a mantra of activists during the Kavanaugh hearings and it is an increasingly common sentiment expressed in Congress. In response to a question about Roy Moore whose aspirations for senatorhood were scuttled by accusations of sexual abuse, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, “I believe the women.” Immediately believing an accusation is the opposite of due process, however, which demands evidence and presumes innocence.

Creating incentives for false accusations by not punishing them. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) recently commented on a "fabricated allegation" against Kavanaugh. Grassley contended that the accuser “just wanted to get attention.” Political motives may have been in play, as well.

Normally, such allegations go unpunished, which allows false accusers to achieve their goals, without paying a legal price. In this case, however, Grassley asked the Department of Justice to investigate.  

The victimhood culture and traditional justice are on a collision course. 

The victimhood culture draws upon the natural compassion that people feel for those who are treated unfairly. Compassion is one of the best qualities within human beings and society; it should not be politically abused. The culture also elicits support by pointing to the make-up of institutions, such as Congress. On its surface, at least, Congress does not seem to represent the American demographic. But the solution should not be to demonize a category of people or to abandon traditional standards of justice.

The victimhood culture has used people’s compassion and sense of fairness to restructure the principles of justice that protect individuals against government overreach and false accusations. Traditional justice is a defining aspect of Western civilization. The incivility that now haunts society reflects the breakdown of such institutions. Without justice for all, there is violence. 

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'This is a race war - it's never been this bad': Masked Vietnamese teenager promises violent revenge against African gangs in Australia

Comment from a correspondent in Victoria:  "The mainstream media has recently started referring to Melbourne's African gangs as boys. I would not call them boys. They are youths at least. They are bigger than most men, they are mostly 6 feet and more tall, carry weapons, and bash and rob anyone they like.

They like preying on citizens out for a walk. To stop the nightly assaults on train passengers, in the last year or so every Melbourne suburban railway station has has a fortified police station placed on it, and two armed transport police stationed on every suburban platform right through the night.

Since then the Africans beat people up in places other than railway stations. They now like beating people up on Melbourne beaches. St Kilda beach has been attacked many times, by small gangs and gangs of 200. I think calling them boys is the media trying to minimise the threat.

I like St Kilda foreshore, and I am in Melbourne at present and would like to watch the Melbourne fireworks tonight from St Kilda pier, but I do not wish to have to deal with African thugs, so I will not be going.

The video here shows Africans attacking a group of Vietnamese. As usual the Africans were physically and psychologically prepared to assault someone, they are out and about looking for prey, while their targets are just going about their usual day.

But regardless, the Vietnamese appear to do a reasonable job of defending themselves. Good on them. I hope they do an even better job next time. Vietnamese know how to fight. Their favourite weapons are meat cleavers and machetes.

If the Africans continue to target Vietnamese, then I would expect Africans to start losings hands and fingers. that is unlikely to change the Africans though. Cutting off lions toes does not stop them being lions. They will just target weaker prey.

They are unlikely to be deported back to Africa so we seem to be stuck with these savages roaming our streets looking for prey.


A masked Vietnamese teenager has promised war against African youths to combat the newly-formed Blood Drill Killer gang's street rampages.

Melbourne's north-west is on high alert following a series of shop and restaurant robberies, assaults on customers and open-air fights.

One Vietnamese teenager has had enough of the violence in St Albans and wants revenge. 'There will be huge conflict. We need to take action,' he told A Current Affair from an undisclosed location.

The Blood Drill Killers are the latest African youth gang to be allegedly unleashed on Melbourne, following previous rampages across the Victorian capital by Menace to Society and Apex.

Fearing more attackers, the Vietnamese teenager vowed there would be vigilante action.

'We must mass protest right now, and band together and hurt any African youths in our way,' he said.

Concerned shopkeepers have told Daily Mail Australia the St Albans Lunar Festival, planned for January 6, could go feral if African thugs turned up looking for trouble.

The warning comes just days after a gang of African teens was filmed brawling with middle-aged Vietnamese men dining outside the Song Huong restaurant on Alfrieda Street in St Albans, in Melbourne's north-west.

It is the very same street where the Lunar New Year will be celebrated, with the thoroughfare transformed into a festival featuring stalls, food, entertainment, bands, rides, fireworks and dancing.

African Blood Drill Kill gang members, aged from 14 to 17, left a trail of destruction in the lead-up to Christmas. 

On Christmas Eve, a 46-year-old man was hospitalised with cuts to his face after African youths allegedly attacked the Song Huong Vietnamese restaurant in St Albans.

The previous day, 20 youths armed with baseball bats threw tables and chairs at patrons outside B&D Kitchen next door.

On December 19, there was another attack in the area which led to an alleged juvenile gang member being charged with robbery and assault.

On Friday, scores of frightened and angry shopkeepers told Daily Mail Australia that they feared the law would be taken into their own hands if police did not step in to halt the violent teen thugs.

One female shopkeeper, who herself had been a victim of multiple, brutal attacks by African teens,  said she feared the Vietnamese youth would rise up against the thugs.

'I haven't seen the police until the past few days,' she said.

The young woman, who is in phone sales, told Daily Mail Australia she had been attacked twice inside her shop.

So brutal were the attacks that one left her with a huge gash in her scalp after a teenage thug smashed her over the head with a phone he was stealing. A customer was also attacked.

She and her neighbours all called triple zero, but police did not come.  'They told us they couldn't come. They were too busy,' one man said of the attack.

His wife had chased out a gang of youths from their shop not long before the attack.

The violence hasn't been confined to Melbourne's western suburbs with a gang of African youths on Friday storming on Chelsea Beach, in the city's south-east, before allegedly smashing a glass bottle over a teenager's head, assaulting multiple swimmers and stealing their wallets.

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Political correctness is most pervasive in universities and colleges but I rarely report the  incidents concerned here as I have a separate blog for educational matters.

American "liberals" often deny being Leftists and say that they are very different from the Communist rulers of  other countries.  The only real difference, however, is how much power they have.  In America, their power is limited by democracy.  To see what they WOULD be like with more power, look at where they ARE already  very powerful: in America's educational system -- particularly in the universities and colleges.  They show there the same respect for free-speech and political diversity that Stalin did:  None.  So look to the colleges to see  what the whole country would be like if "liberals" had their way.  It would be a dictatorship.

For more postings from me, see TONGUE-TIED, GREENIE WATCH,   EDUCATION WATCH INTERNATIONAL, AUSTRALIAN POLITICS and  DISSECTING LEFTISM.   My Home Pages are here or   here or   here.  Email me (John Ray) here.  Email me (John Ray) here. 

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