London: ‘Happy’ Guy in White Van Hits Pedestrians Leaving Mosque
Posted: June 18, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, Religion, Terrorism | Tags: Ariana Grande, Benefit concert, Greater Manchester Police, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Manchester, Miley Cyrus, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Pharrell Williams Leave a commentDade Hayes reports:
… The driver of the vehicle, a large white van, was arrested on the scene. While police have not released his identity, he was described in numerous accounts as being a white man. The Financial Times cited witnesses who counted at least a dozen people injured. The newspaper also said the driver “looked happy” and was waving to onlookers as he was arrested. Another witness told BuzzFeed that the driver said he was going to “kill all Muslims.”
Police have thus far declined to say whether they are labeling the incident in a neighborhood popular with immigrants as a terrorist attack. Read the rest of this entry »
French Magazine Charlie Hebdo Recovers Its Mojo With Controversial Theresa May Cover
Posted: June 7, 2017 Filed under: Humor, Mediasphere, Politics, Terrorism | Tags: 2015 Copenhagen shootings, Al-Bukamal, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Charlie Hebdo, Donald Trump, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, London, Manchester, President of the United States, satire, Suicide attack Leave a commentWhat is it with headless humor these days?
The June 7 issue of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo arrives on the heels of the Manchester and London Bridge terrorist attacks. Indeed, the bubble remark–‘Too much is too much’–comes from remarks made by U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May in the wake of the latter June 3 incidents.
The cover is tasteless. English-language media reaction is just starting to trickle in, but stay car-tooned. There will be lots of it. The cover line, translated, reads as ‘Multiculturalism is the British Way.’
From a U.S. perspective, it’s impossible not to think of the wrath that descended upon comedian Kathy Griffin last week … (read more)
Source: Adweek
‘ENOUGH’: New York Post Cover for Monday, June 5, 2017
Posted: June 5, 2017 Filed under: Crime & Corruption, Mediasphere, Religion, Terrorism, War Room | Tags: Britain, England, ISIS, Islamism, Jihadism, journalism, London Bridge, Manchester, media, New York Post, news, Tabloid 2 CommentsSource: Covers | New York Post
London Attack: ‘They literally just started kicking them, punching them, they took out knives… it was a rampage really.’
Posted: June 4, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Global, Religion, Terrorism, War Room | Tags: Birmingham New Street station, British Airways, British Transport Police, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Information technology, London, Manchester, Paul Crowther (police officer), United Kingdom 1 CommentThe prime minister has said “it is time to say enough is enough” as she condemned a terror attack on “innocent and unarmed civilians” which left seven people dead and 48 injured in London.
A white van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at about 22:00 BST on Saturday, then three men got out and stabbed people in nearby Borough Market.
The three attackers, who wore fake bomb vests, were shot dead by police.
Several arrests have been made after police raids in Barking, east London.
It is the third terror attack in the UK in three months, following the car and knife attack in Westminster in March, which left five people dead, and the Manchester bombing less than two weeks ago, in which 22 people were killed.
Most political parties have suspended national general election campaigning, but Mrs May said full campaigning would resume on Monday and the general election would go ahead as planned on Thursday.
- Latest updates on London Bridge attack
- What we know so far
- In pictures: Attack aftermath
- London Bridge: The morning after
Eyewitnesses to the attack described seeing a white van travelling at high speed along London Bridge, hitting pedestrians, before crashing close to the Barrowboy and Banker pub.
BBC reporter Holly Jones, who was on the bridge, said it was “probably travelling at about 50 miles an hour” and hit “five or six people”.
Three men then got out and began attacking people in the nearby market – an area known for its bars and restaurants, which were busy on a warm summer evening.
Terrified drinkers rushed away from the scene, some taking shelter in London Bridge Underground station.
‘Rampage’
One witness, Gerard, told the BBC he saw a woman being stabbed “10 or 15 times” by men shouting “This is for Allah”.
Another, Eric, told the BBC the men “ran towards the people that they nearly ran over”.
“I thought, ‘Oh maybe they’re worried about them and trying to comfort them…’
“[Then] they literally just started kicking them, punching them, they took out knives… it was a rampage really.”
The three suspects were shot dead within eight minutes of the first 999 call being received.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick praised the “extraordinary bravery” of her officers, on and off duty, who risked their lives by rushing to confront the attackers.
Among the main developments:
- More than 80 medics were sent to the scene. The injured, some of them in critical condition, are being treated in five London hospitals
- The Met Police has set up a casualty bureau on 0800 096 1233 and 020 7158 0197 for people concerned about friends or relatives
- One of those hurt was a British Transport Police officer who was stabbed as he went to help. His injuries are serious, but not threatening.
- Three other police officers were also injured
- Two Australian citizens “have been directly impacted,” says the country’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
- Four French citizens have been injured, one seriously, according to foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian
Another eyewitness, Steven Gibbs, who was drinking in St Christopher’s Inn, just metres from the scene, told the BBC: “A black cab drove past and the driver shouted, ‘Terrorist attack, run!’
“I stood up to take a look and then all of a sudden there were gunshots. Lots of people were screaming.”
Steven was taken into the basement of the bar before the police came in and told everyone inside to run. Read the rest of this entry »
BREAKING: London Bridge Closed Amid Reports of Car Mowing Down Crowd
Posted: June 3, 2017 Filed under: Breaking News, Crime & Corruption, Religion, Terrorism, War Room | Tags: Amber Rudd, Ariana Grande, BBC, Islamism, Jihadism, London, Manchester, Metropolitan Police Service, United Kingdom Leave a commentLONDON – British police rushed to an incident on London Bridge on Saturday after witnesses said a van plowed into pedestrians.
Police said they were dealing with an incident but gave no further details. A Reuters reporter near the scene said she saw 10 police cars rushing towards London Bridge.
Footage from London Bridge #BreakigNews pic.twitter.com/T3KZME2QdZ
— Kaine Pieri (@PieriKaine) June 3, 2017
A witness told the BBC she saw a speeding white van veering into pedestrians. The witness said the van hit five to six people … (more)
BREAKING NEW VIDEO: several London police officers enter bar at London Bridge telling people to get down. pic.twitter.com/bjq15uVEmN
— The Rouser (@RouserNews) June 3, 2017
Source: New York Post
[VIDEO] Pikotaro Sweeps the World with Comic Song: ‘Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen’ Viewed 67 Million Times
Posted: November 16, 2016 Filed under: Art & Culture, Asia, Entertainment, Japan, Mediasphere | Tags: Billboard (magazine), Billboard Hot 100, Justin Bieber, Kosaka, Manchester, Pikotaro, PPAP, Twitter, video, YouTube Leave a commentThe slim, bespectacled man in leopard print looks a little strange, but he has swept across the world. A music video featuring him singing a song titled “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen” (PPAP) while swaying his body has even impressed Canadian superstar Justin Bieber. His name is Pikotaro, a fictional character created and directed by entertainer Kosaka Daimao, according to a statement by Kosaka. In fact, Kosaka himself plays Pikotaro, but keeps it secret.
In the latest development, the song debuted at number 77 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts on Oct. 19.
The song’s English lines are simple and nonsensical, but catchy and even addictive. Once you listen to it, it will probably become an earworm.
Because of its popularity, Kosaka’s video of “PPAP,” along with three other songs sung by Pikotaro, were distributed simultaneously in 134 countries and territories earlier this month by entertainment management agency Avex, to which Pikotaro belongs.
This number is the largest ever for the agency. Although they represent many other popular artists, several dozen countries and territories were at most for this kind of reach, according to Avex.
[Read the full story here, at The Japan News]
The video only lasts about a minute and features Pikotaro singing phrases such as “I have a pen,” “I have an apple” and “Pineapple pen” to rhythmical dance music while dancing and miming sticking a pen into an apple and a pineapple.
It all started out with the short video posted online on Aug. 25 that gradually gained popularity.
Bieber featured the video on Twitter on Sept. 28, introducing it to his more than 88 million followers. As a result, the video immediately spread around the world. Its official video has been viewed more than 67 million times on YouTube.
At least 36,000 videos that use images and sounds from “PPAP” have been confirmed.
Read the rest of this entry »
[VIDEO] ‘Doctor My Eyes’
Posted: May 12, 2016 Filed under: Art & Culture, Entertainment | Tags: David Lindley, Glastonbury Festival, Jackson Browne, Manchester, Music, Performance, Pop, Rock, video Leave a comment
Jackson Browne Band with David Lindley play ‘Doctor My Eyes‘ on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday 26th June 2010. HD
Clinton Campaign’s Controversial Directive
Posted: February 1, 2016 Filed under: Entertainment, Humor, Mediasphere, Politics | Tags: American Broadcasting Company, Bernie Sanders, Bill Clinton, Democratic Party (United States), Hillary Clinton, Manchester, Martin O'Malley, New Hampshire, Parody, Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, satire, Vermont Leave a comment“All those residing in Iowa take heed: Your home shall bear the mark of my campaign this eve, or may God help you. Be within your dwellings with the doors closed and locked before nightfall, and do not cross the threshold before the sun rises again in the sky. The emblem of the red-and-blue H will protect my true voters.”
…said the Democratic candidate after dispatching a phalanx of campaign staffers to all four corners of the state to spread the message of her directive….(read more)
Archaeological News: Ancient Last Supper charm found in John Rylands Library
Posted: September 4, 2014 Filed under: Art & Culture, History, Religion | Tags: Bible, Christian, Greek language, John Rylands Library, Last Supper, Manchester, Mazza, University of Manchester Leave a commentThe 1,500-year-old papyrus charm discovered in the vaults
The fragment was found at the University of Manchester’s John Rylands Library by researcher Dr Roberta Mazza.
“The first ever found to refer to the Last Supper and use magic in the Christian context.”
Dr Mazza said it was an “incredibly rare example of the Bible becoming meaningful to ordinary people”.
She said it would have been put in a locket to protect wearers from danger. Read the rest of this entry »
Mile-High: JFK and Jackie did the Presidential ‘Secret Handshake’ in Air Force One the Day Before his Assassination, Biographer says
Posted: November 19, 2013 Filed under: Breaking News, History, Mediasphere, Politics, White House | Tags: Death Of A President, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, JFK, John F. Kennedy, Kennedy, Manchester, Mimi Alford, New York Post, Philip Nobile, William Manchester 2 Comments
Jackie joined the mile-high club the day before he was shot in Dallas
Postmedia News reveals: A new report says murdered U.S. President John F. Kennedy and wife Jackie joined the mile-high club the day before he was shot in Dallas.
The New York Post reports that historian William Manchester – who wrote extensively about JFK – knew the details and called it a “last hour of serenity.” But the Post says that Manchester covered up the sky-high tryst in his 1967 bestseller,The Death of a President. Manchester later admitted the whitewash in an interview with writer Philip Nobile in the 1970s.
Nobile had been researching a book on Kennedy’s numerous sexual antics when he was introduced to Manchester by their shared literary agent, Don Congdon.
“I filled him in on JFK’s teen-lover intern, Mimi Beardsley, who slept over frequently when Mrs. Kennedy was out of town,” Nobile writes in the Post. ” She confirmed their yearlong liaison in a 2012 memoir, Once Upon a Secret.”
Manchester had painted Kennedy as a paragon of virtue and devoted husband. Nobile said Manchester couldn’t resist trumping him with a bombshell: The Kennedys did not have a separate bedroom in the Rice Hotel in Houston the night before that fateful day in 1963.

AP Photo / The couple shortly before President Kennedy was assassinated
“He asked that I not attribute the tale to him, at least not while he was alive,” Nobile said. “Manchester, who died in 2004, revealed JFK made love to Jackie on Air Force One during the short flight from San Antonio to Houston on the afternoon of the 21st, the day before he was assassinated.”