‘Imminent’ terrorism threat shuts down Brussels stores, rail transit, concerts
BRUSSELS, Belgium — The metro system closed down, department stores were shuttered, concerts were canceled and residents retreated indoors Saturday as the government warned of a “serious and imminent” threat against the Belgian capital similar to the coordinated assault that killed 130 people in Paris just over a week ago.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said officials had identified shopping centers and public transportation as soft targets for a possible attack involving multiple assailants at multiple locations. The government warned residents to avoid crowded spots. Bars and restaurants in the city center were asked to close at 6 p.m. as fears of another terrorist strike in Europe mounted.
The U.S. Embassy in Brussels urged Americans “to shelter in place and remain at home.”
The latest threat, following one that led German officials to evacuate a soccer stadium Tuesday night in Hanover, heightened fears across an already-tense continent and showed the crippling effect of terrorism on daily life.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20151121-imminent-terrorism-threat-shuts-down-brussels-stores-rail-transit-concerts.ece
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For decades, Belgium let in hundreds of thousands of North Africans, mostly Moroccans. They gave them money, apartments, money for cell phones, the whole welcoming package minus the one thing needed to keep things peaceful: the welcome.
No mass effort to integrate the newcomers into Belgian society, no equal treatment under the law, no schooling them on what Belgian law even was. Just, here's the money, vote for us. Moroccan bands of youngsters got little work, but they were able to ride trams, refuse to pay the fare, and then beat the shit out of the conductors when they demanded fare. One time, a Moroccan kid was bashing in the window of a car to rob it, right in front of a police station near where I work (I'm there once a week, speak both French and Flemish). The cops came out and arrested him, and said WTF do you think you're doing, trying this right in front of our noses. The kid answered back, why are you bothering to arrest me, since you know I'll be right back here in an hour?
Indeed, these people enjoyed (in the name of "tolerance"
de facto immunity from prosecution. Friends of mine were beaten up, and the cops said, sorry, we can't do anything against Moroccans. The Belgians cynically started saying that violent crimes were committed by "the Swedes," as their newspapers weren't permitted (I am not making this up) to report that violent crimes were committed by Moroccans.
So who was helped by this? Predictably: the far right, formerly a bad joke in Belgium, gradually gets some real support, and in turn, now that it is finally OK to point fingers, young Moroccans, many of whom still feel like outsiders in Belgium, even if they were born there, are ripe pickings for Islamic radicalization. Why? Because in that milieu, they ARE welcome. Ka-boom.
For the first time since I've had my job (and that was 40 years last August), I've had to blow off a work trip to Belgium for security fears. It sucks. But you can't reverse thirty years of stupidity overnight. This isn't over.
