I Don't Cry Easily But This Just Slew Me

[Mosaic]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-30490838

[Old_Geezer]

It is very sad, but folk are lost to their families every day, and tragedy happens often enough. Such sieges are a daily occurrence (maybe not extremist related) in the States are they not ?

[jno]

yes, there was one yesterday, rather lost in all the live coverage from Sydney

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-30484534

I wouldn't swear that either incident was extremist-related: both seem to be the work of disturbed men who might have kicked off for any reason.

[Gromit]

Yes, such senseless loss of life, and very sad when you hear their families express their love.
Wonder what the family of the monster who did this are feeling?

[Svejk]

Really, jno?

[vulcan42]

At the end of the article in the"more on this story" it states " he was alienated from the Sydney muslim community" from those who knew him. How very convenient for them.

[-Talbot-]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/12/16/sydney-siege-sunrise-host-natalie-barr-weeps-reveals-death-katrina-dawson_n_6331936.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cuk%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D315638

[jno]

svejk, yes, though professedly religious he seems to have decided quite recently he was a Sunni and not a Shia. That sounds more like a flag of convenience than unswerving fanaticism.

[murraymints]

was it even politically motivated ? perhaps he knew he was going down for a long time on existing charges, death/suicide by cop perhaps ? go out with a bang kind of thing... it is so sad for the victims and questions need to be asked as to why he was at liberty anyway !

[Svejk]

So he was a Sunni extremist as opposed to a Shia extremist.
You said in your first post 'he might have kicked off for any reason' (coffee not frothy enough) Interesting spin but we all know exactly why he 'kicked off'.

[Svejk]

///was it even politically motivated ?///
I should say sending gloating messages to the parents of Oz soldiers killed in Afghanistan would give give us a big clue.

[-Talbot-]

Even if it was caused because he was not happy with his frothy coffee, taking people as hostage would come under the banner of 'extremism' to me.

[murraymints]

that still does not make his motivation political if all he really wanted to achieve was death by cop in a blaze of glory, more a means to an end...just my take on it !

[jno]

Talbot, I assume OG meant "religious extremism". And we don't know why he kicked off. If it was a terrorist incident, who was he trying to terrorise, and why and how?

[bazwillrun]

"That sounds more like a flag of convenience than unswerving fanaticism. "

oh, you mean like the untold thousands upon thousands of muslims and others over here that use British to classify themselves...yet hate us !

[chaptazbru2]

Yes, it's very, very sad Mosaic.

Well said baz.