Bits and Bites from Around the World > Most criminals aren't very bright but this fool adds a whole new dimension to that

 

Arson suspect whose pants caught on fire

sought by B.C. RCMP

Richmond RCMP say the suspect was wearing a dark, long-sleeved crew neck shirt 'charred' pants

Black Press Mediaa day ago

Richmond RCMP is looking to identify an arson suspect whose pants caught on fire while he allegedly tried to light an object on fire.(Richmond RCMP handout/Contributed to Black Press Media)

RCMP is looking to identify two arson suspects – one whose pants caught on fire while he allegedly tried to light and object on fire at a Richmond business in April.

Richmond RCMP were called to a business in the 2600-block of Simpson Road on April 24 after an alarm went off, according to a news release Wednesday (July 3). When officers arrived they found a broken window and a small fire directly in front of it.

Police say there was evidence to show the fire had been intentionally set. 

Video surveillance showed two men wearing masks had approached the business on foot and then smashed a window and lit an object on fire. 

However, while lighting the fire, one of the suspect's pants caught on fire and "despite efforts of both suspects, the pants continued to burn." During that, his mask came off.

The suspect is described as Caucasian, 40 to 50 years old, with a medium build and slicked back, long, dirty blonde hair. He was wearing a dark, long-sleeved crew neck shirt and a "charred" beige or tan pants. 

Richmond RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Adriana O'Malley said that based on the nature of the fire, "there's a high probability that this suspect sustained injuries to his lower body."

The second suspect is described to be tanned or have a medium complexion, in his late 20s to 30s, with an athletic build. He was wearing a dark-coloured balaclava, dark-coloured joggers with blue stripes down the sides, dark-coloured gloved, a hoody and Nike Jordan high tops. 

Police say both suspecs left the area on foot. One headed north on Simpson Road, while the other went east along the railroad tracks. 

War on Christianity - Torches Another Ancient Cathedral in France

Nantes: Arson suspected in fire at

Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral

The blaze destroyed stained glass windows and the grand organ

A fire at the cathedral in the French city of Nantes is believed to have been started deliberately, prosecutors say.

Three fires were started at the site and an investigation into suspected arson is underway, Prosecutor Pierre Sennes said.

The blaze destroyed stained glass windows and the grand organ at the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, which dates from the 15th Century.

It comes a year after the devastating fire at Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

But the local fire chief said the fire in Nantes had been contained and was "not a Notre-Dame scenario".

"The damage is concentrated on the organ, which appears to be completely destroyed. The platform it is situated on is very unstable and risks collapsing," Laurent Ferlay told reporters.

The cathedral roof had not been touched by the blaze, he said.

President Emmanuel Macron has reacted, tweeting: "After Notre-Dame, the St Peter and St. Paul Cathedral is in flames. Support to the firefighters who are taking all the risks to save the Gothic jewel."

The fire began in the early morning, with massive flames visible from outside the building. More than 100 firefighters brought it under control after several hours.

Mr Sennes said the national police would be involved in the investigation and a fire expert was travelling to Nantes

"When we arrive at a place where a fire has taken place, when you see three separate fire outbreaks, it's a question of common sense, you open an investigation," he said.

Newsagent Jean-Yves Burban said he heard a bang at about 07:30 local time (05:30 GMT) and saw flames when he went out to see what was happening.

"I am shook up because I've been here eight years and I see the cathedral every morning and evening. It's our cathedral and I've got tears in my eyes," he told Reuters.

This is not the first fire at the cathedral. It was damaged by Allied bombing in 1944, during World War Two, and then in 1972 its roof was largely destroyed.

It was rebuilt 13 years later with a concrete structure replacing the wooden roof.

In 2015 a huge fire destroyed part of the 19th Century basilica of Saint-Donatien in Nantes.

2 Members of All-Female Islamic Terrorist Cell Sentenced to 25+ Years for Botched 2015 Notre Dame Bombing

It could have been anybody who set that fire - a lunatic, a few screwed-up kids. My guess is either anarchists or Islam. Will we ever find out?

1835 Car Fires This Year and 300 Shootings Last Year in Sweden is the New Normal

Buildings, 7 cars & pizzeria torched in Sweden overnight

as arson attacks continue

FILE PHOTO. Swedish firefighter trying to extinguish a burning car.

© TT News Agency/Johan Nilsson / Reuters

Several buildings, including a pizzeria and a garage, as well as seven cars, were set on fire overnight in southern Sweden as police remain clueless on how to curb the ongoing wave of arson attacks.

The fire services received calls saying that a house was burning in a residential area of Kristianstad municipality shortly before midnight on Wednesday. The police said that a fire at the local pizzeria had started upstairs and quickly spread through the building.

The firefighters fought the flames for several hours, but couldn’t save the building, which was “totally destroyed.”

A garage and several other buildings were also set on fire during the night, creating a risk of the flames spreading to nearby homes, but the firefighters managed to localize the blazes.

Later in the night, law enforcers and rescuers also had to respond to several reports of car fires occurring at various locations in central Kristianstad. Seven cars in different areas were set on fire, with two of them burning out completely, the police said. There were no fatalities or injuries as a result of the incidents in Kristianstad, it added.

When asked by SVT paper if the fires were arson attacks, chief police officer Tommy Bengtsson, replied that “of course, it can’t be ruled out,” but refused to speculate about whether Wednesday’s fires were connected.

Good grief! And he's Chief of Police! When will you stop pretending there are no serious problems with migrants? No wonder you have no clue as to how to stop them, you won't even admit that they are the problem.

1835 car fires this year

Youth gangs have been blamed for staging multiple car arsons across Sweden in recent years. There were 1,835 such incidents between January and July this year, according to data by the National Council on Crime Prevention.

More than 100 car fires on one night

The police warned that the arson trend may spike in the wake of the start of school in late August. On Monday, more than 100 cars were torched in the Swedish cities of Gothenburg, Stockholm and elsewhere in what was believed to be coordinated attack.

300 shootings last year

Vandalism, rape, murder and other crimes have spiked in the country in recent years, and this has been linked by some to the European migrant crisis in 2015. Last year, the country saw more than 300 confirmed shooting incidents, which left 41 people dead and 135 injured. The Swedish police are blamed for lacking resources and training to reverse the situation.

The crime rise and the inability of the state to integrate the arriving migrants have created favorable conditions for the rise of the right-wing Sweden Democrats. The anti-migrant party is currently polling at 19 percent, according to Ipsos, and is looking to record its best-ever result in the forthcoming election on September 9.

Sweden Democrats cannot win the Sept elections and that's too bad because there is a desperate need for new leadership in Sweden. Lofven is completely over his head. The 3 headlines immediately above do not sound like Sweden, but, apparently, is the new normal embraced by the lunatic left.

Sri Lanka Declares State of Emergency as Sectarian Violence Erupts

By Sara Shayanian  

A state of emergency in Sri Lanka prompted the deployment of police officers and soldiers to civilian-populated areas, after clashes between Muslim and Buddhist communities. File Photo by M.A. Pushpa Kumara/EPA-EFE

UPI -- Sri Lanka declared a state of emergency Tuesday after violence erupted between Sinhalese and Muslim communities.

Officials said soldiers will be deployed to civilian areas for ten days, and a curfew was put in place.

Sinhalese - a people originally from northern India, now forming the majority of the population of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka's government condemned recent arson attacks and riots in the central district of Kandy -- which damaged some places of worship, residences and businesses. Similar violence occurred last month when mobs set fire to Muslim-owned businesses and a mosque.

"The government also condemned the hate and mischievous targeting the Muslim community in particular and another as well, with the clear objective of creating among communities and inciting violence," officials said in a statement.

"The government urged for total cooperation from all citizens irrespective of any communal, religious differences to build a nation that is stable, peaceful and the progressive where diversity is respected."

Tensions flared in the country after a group of Muslim men were accused of killing a Buddhist man. The body of a 24-year-old Muslim man was later found in the town of Digana.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe tweeted Monday that the government would not hesitate to take action against the violence.

"As a nation that endured a brutal war we are all aware of the values of peace, respect, unity & freedom," Wickremesinghe said.

Alan Keenan, a Sri Lanka specialist with the International Crisis Group, said radical Buddhist groups -- who make up 75 percent of the population -- have targeted Muslims with "a significant degree of regularity" in the last five years.

"One of the key underlying elements is the sense that many Sinhalese and Buddhists have is that Sri Lanka is a Sinhalese and Buddhist island and other community, Muslims and Tamils, are here on the sufferance of the majority," Keenan said.

Sounds like Burma! Peace preaching Buddhists in Asia are seeming to become much more violent in their quest to hold on to historical lands in the face of increasing numbers of Muslims - the religion of Peace. Don't you just love irony?

Mayor of German City Stabbed in Neck After Taking in More Refugees Than Quota

The New Normal - Germany

The mayor of Altena, Andreas Hollstein © Global Look Press

The mayor of the western German town of Altena suffered a slash to the neck in what security authorities believe was an attack with a “political motive.” Under the current mayor, the town has accommodated more refugees than required by national quota.

On Monday evening, a reportedly drunk man approached Mayor Andreas Hollstein, who had gone to a downtown kebab shop to get a donair for his wife. According to German media, the man loudly criticized the mayor’s policies and asked Hollstein if he was the one before pulling out a knife. 

“You let me die of thirst and bring 200 refugees to Altena,” he told Hollstein, according to the mayor, who spoke Tuesday at a press conference. The assailant then stabbed 54-year-old Hollstein in the neck with a blade, local police say, causing a 15cm-long gash. “Shoot me!” yelled the assailant, held by witnesses, when officers arrived. Hollstein was rushed to the hospital and released hours later.

“Yes, I feared for my life and I'm pretty sure I would not have it [life] anymore – if I had not had help,” he confessed, saying it felt like it was his “third birthday,” having also beaten cancer. “I was given another life yesterday.”

The attacker intended to kill the mayor, according to the owner of the kebab shop, where the incident took place. The proprietor was one of those who caught the assailant and held him until the police arrived.

“The attacker asked the mayor whether he was the mayor, the mayor said ‘Yes’ and it happened very fast, he pulled out a knife. I think he took it out of his pocket, he put him in a headlock, and wanted to cut his throat completely,” Ahmet Abdullah told Ruptly.

The attacker had an “alleged xenophobic motivation,” a police statement reads.

“The security authorities believe that there was a political motive to this attack,” North Rhine-Westphalia’s CDU state premier, Armin Laschet, said. The offender commented on a migration issue, Laschet added.

Hollstein’s wife had repeatedly warned him of a possible attack numerous threats against the mayor, he said. Still, he “will continue to work for people, both for refugees and for people who have been there before and will come, just as any other mayor.”

“We have good, bad and normal people everywhere,” he added.

Hollstein’s liberal policies towards asylum seekers have earned his city nationwide fame. Altena, with the population of some 17,300, received the National Integration Prize from Chancellor Angela Merkel for taking in extra refugees and assisting them under a special program. “I believe we are leading Germany towards a bright future - that future is diverse,” Hollstein said at the time.

Ah, yes! Sunny ways! 

However, not everybody in Altena seemed to welcome the policy. In 2015, a firefighter and his accomplice set fire to a house, into which a group of Syrians had just moved. The arsonist later admitted that he didn’t want any refugees in the neighborhood, fearing “thefts, burglaries or sexual assaults.”

Following the Monday attack on the mayor, Chancellor Merkel said she was “horrified,” via her spokesperson in a Twitter post.

ISRAEL BURNING: Muslim Terrorists Burning Down the Jewish State

Arson fires rage across the Holy Land

60,000 evacuated from Haifa

Intifada by fire?

“On Thursday morning, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Army Radio that 50% of these fires were caused by repeated arson.”

We have often seen arson as a weapon of jihad.

Jerusalem Post...

The fires that have burned across Israel since Tuesday continue to rage, with new areas threatened by flames as other blazes have come under control.

The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and Israel Police announced Thursday afternoon that they have detained a number of suspects on suspicion of arson.

Channel 2 reported that some 60,000 residents have been evacuated from the Haifa area in light of fires in the northern port city, according to police estimates as of Thursday afternoon. According to latest figures, there were 30 reports of light injury due to smoke inhalation.

The University of Haifa was also evacuated on as a precautionary move as fires raged closer.

Police Chief Roni Alsheich said on Thursday that only those in neighborhoods affected should leave their homes, in order to leave important traffic arteries free for those who need to evacuate quickly, as well as for the use of emergency services.

Alsheich said residents in neighborhoods which are in need of evacuation would receive automatic SMS notifications.

He added that not all fires will be connected to arson, and said that these rumors will only strengthen the hand of those who seek to cause more terror.

That is true, but at the height of fire season when many fires are already burning, setting new ones increases the risk and the damage exponentially. 

New York Times...

Asked how long Haifa was likely to be battling the blazes, Mayor Yona Yahav told reporters, “This is a question that has to be referred to God.”

Israeli officials said the fires had been fanned by unusually strong winds and made worse by a dry atmosphere, but they also said they suspected that many of them had been caused by arson and negligence. Dozens of people have been slightly affected by smoke inhalation, but no serious injuries or fatalities have been reported.


We Christians should be praying for the winds to abate and for rain to sweep across Israel. Please join me in that prayer right now. Lord, I pray for the winds to drop or to reverse and blow the fires back onto themselves. I also pray for a cool, damp weather system to settle upon Israel for a couple days regardless of how unlikely that is. Glorify Yourself, Lord.

Dispute Over Observing Ramadan Results in Refugees Razing Center

Ramadan row sparked Dusseldorf migrant center blaze - German prosecutor

An aerial picture shows exhibition halls used as refugee camps after they were damaged in a fire in Duesseldorf, Germany, June 7, 2016 © Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters

The catastrophic fire which gutted migrant accommodation in Dusseldorf followed weeks of tension between inhabitants and may have been sparked by an argument over Ramadan meals, according to local reports.

On Tuesday, a building used to accommodate migrants close to the Messe Dusseldorf trade fair grounds to the north of the city burned to the ground in what police believe was a case of arson by residents.

Police say nobody was seriously injured in the inferno but 28 residents and two emergency services personnel were treated for smoke inhalation. According to DW, the 5,000 sq meter building is home to 282 men from countries in North Africa and the Middle East.

Six men residing in the halls were arrested and questioned by police on suspicion of starting the blaze, according to a police statement.

The suspects originate from Morocco, Algeria, Syria and Iraq, according to German newspaper Express, who report that displeased residents had previously torched a mattress at the facility.


To Ramadan or not to Ramadan

German prosecutor Ralf Herrenbruck has suggested that problems at the facility finally came to a head over the festival of Ramadan on Tuesday.

“During this time of Ramadan, there was one group that wanted to strictly observe the fast, and another that insisted on the usual timetables and usual servings,” Herrenbruck told broadcaster WDR, report AFP.


Power shovels remove debris from a burned down Duesseldorf Fair exhibition hall previously used as a home for asylum seekers and migrants in Duesseldorf, Germany, June 8, 2016 © Wolfgang Rattay / Reuters

“This had led on several occasions to disputes and altercations with officials of the German Red Cross. It got to the point where threats were made over what would happen if things didn’t change, and that one threat was obviously implemented.”

It has since emerged that police had been called to at least four other attempted arsons at the asylum seeker facility two weeks before Tuesday’s blaze, reports broadcaster WDR.

While residents at the Red Cross-supported facility are expected to stay at the site for only around six weeks, some of the residents had reportedly been living there for months.

“If so many different ethnic groups live together… there is also a dispute,” a Red Cross spokesperson said.

Footage from the incident shows thick black smoke and a wall of flames rising from the site which borders the Rhine River. An investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the blaze.

Swedish Politician Says Country ‘Facing Collapse’ Due to Mass Influx of Refugees

Passengers among them migrants and refugees, exit the German ferry terminal
in Goteborg, Sweden. © Scanpix Sweden  / Reuters
Some just can't help but be adorable

A leading Swedish politician says the country is facing a refugee catastrophe, which will lead to the “country collapsing.” The bold claims were made by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, who adds the EU needs to do more to take the strain off Stockholm.

The northern European country expects to accommodate around 190,000 by the turn of the year, but this is putting a strain on the country both economically and socially. Wallstrom says that Stockholm needs more help and intends to put pressure on European Union member states to take a greater share of the burden the continent is facing from the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Africa.

“I think most people feel that we cannot maintain a system where perhaps 190,000 people will arrive every year – in the long run, our system will collapse. And that welcome is not going to receive popular support,” said Wallstrom, who is also a member of the Social Democrat party. (The ruling left leaning party).

However, not everyone in Europe is wanting to follow Sweden’s lead, while along with Germany, the Scandinavian nation is one of the most popular destinations for refugees, due to its generous benefits system.

“I have to admit that there have been moments recently of very great disappointment. I have heard statements from member states that have been completely astonishing and very discouraging,” the foreign minister added in an interview with Dagens Nyheter, which was cited by The Local.

Closer to home, Wallstrom has also highly critical of the far-right Sweden Democrats, who have been “creating fear and are becoming the trigger for attacks.” Sweden has been rocked by a number of arson attacks against refugee centers and the foreign minister says a worrying trend is being repeated.

Hmmm. She just said the country is going to collapse, and she's accusing the Sweden Democrats of spreading fear. I don't see any hypocrisy there. Pfft!

“We also had fires when we received refugees from the Balkans. This is a pattern that is being repeated. The Sweden Democrats have a responsibility,” she said speaking to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper. Wallstrom was referring to the mass number of immigrants the Scandinavian country accepted following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

The foreign minister has called on the Sweden Democrats to condemn the crimes saying more must be done to try and stop the arson attacks. Wallstrom noted that Swedish Democrat activists in the university town of Lund had been spreading addresses of planned refugee sites.

“It’s time for a referendum in Sweden on our immigration policy,” party leader Jimmie Akesson told supporters during an annual summer speech, AFP reported. His party, the Sweden Democrats, has recently come in at the top of a Swedish opinion poll for the first time.

Since they are now leading the polls, can they  still be considered 'far-right'? If the majority of people support them, they are no longer 'far-anything'! If anything, the governing Social Democrat Party is becoming far-left - not that they have moved, but the country is shifting to starboard.

Having accepted 80,000 refugees last year, Sweden has taken on the burden of accommodating the largest number of migrants in the EU as a percentage of the native population. Sweden’s migrant-friendly policies have long made it one of the most favored destinations among asylum-seekers.

Sweden should consider tightening up its welfare program to make it less attractive and more sustainable.

Sweden experienced five arson attacks against refugee centers in the space of two weeks in October. All the buildings were apparently set on fire on the eve of opening their doors to migrants and refugees, who have come to Sweden from countries in the Middle East and North Africa devastated by domestic conflicts and outside interventions.

The Swedish authorities say that, in view of the suspected arsonists’ tactics, they are keeping secret the exact plans to welcome new groups of asylum seekers for fear of new attacks. However, so far the locations of some centers are apparently being discovered or leaked, with 14 suspected arson attacks on refugee centers in Sweden since the start of the year.

Poster found the next day were a thinly veiled threat of more attacks.
Authorities don't believe they are credible.

Meanwhile Swedish police say a man who killed two people at a school in Trollhattan, in the south of the country “was driven by racist motives.”

The 21 year-old went on a rampage on October 22 with a sword, before he was shot by police and died of his wounds in hospital.

"We are convinced that the assailant was driven by racist motives when he carried out the act," he said. "We have reached this conclusion based on what we found when we searched his apartment and his behavior during the act, and also on the basis of how he selected his victims,” Police Chief Niclas Hallgren said on October 23.