It is very sad to see a Christmas market attacked in Germany, but we can expect little else from certifiable lunatics brainwashed with the crystal-meth of extreme Islamism.
Of course, it is sadly inevitable if you let one million refugee claimants in that some will turn out to be wrong-un's - worse still if you decide not to vet them at all.
The sadder part is with Schengen these people have been free to roam around Europe should they so want, as we saw with Brussels links to the Paris attacks. So no potentially all of Europe is infected with these few crazed terrorists - great leadership, Germany. #Sad!
And yet, amongst the carnage I can't ignore that whilst Germany is trying to come to terms with what has happened, their leaders are happy to keep suggesting that UK citizens might be expelled post-Brexit and can offer no guarantees; and nor should we vice versa despite our PM offering that deal a while ago to the EU. It was Merkel that said nein.
To be fair to Merkel, how could she have stopped a million or so people, already on the continent, who intended to enter Germany, from entering Germany?
The choice was between pretending it wasn't happening, forcibly preventing entry plus detention and deportation of illegals and welcoming them.
Germany didn't cause the Syrian civil war and (as far as I know) hasn't been propagating it either.
I think you put the comma in the wrong place -surely it was meant to be: " The choice was between pretending it wasn't happening forcibly, preventing entry plus deportation..."
Libya was the genie out of the bottle moment, SL. Those ME tyrants were our best defence.
It couldn't be clearer that we are regarded by the Left as the threat.
Mrs Merkel has to try and convince her people that she had no choice. Either way it is an admission that this is out of control.
SL - they had the power to bail out Greece and force the issue to be dealt with at the EU borders or like the UK could have poured money into turkey and other countries to help them with the crisis.
Or they could have stepped into quell the civil war.
Anyway, realistically a one a fraction of these people are from Syria. The issue of immigration to Europe is bigger than one regional conflict, however harrowing it is.
I think SL is in a parallel universe. Scotland, where approximately nobody has ever moved to for the money or lifestyle.
Merkel made a big sign and lit it up for all to see which said Come Here You Will Be Looked After. Lots of people went, shockingly enough.
Anyway this Berlin attack is awful. Driving a lorry into a crowd is scarily easy. No special equipment or expertise required. Expect big barriers to appear in cities near you.
Simply nothing to add to that.
BE - "No special equipment or expertise required"
By all accounts the truck's satellite positioner showed it moving to and fro after being hijacked - as if someone was either being given a quick lesson on the gears or finding out what the real-life thing was like. Remember the 9/11 bunch took flying lessons and bought flight simulators to check out the controls on the jets?
Well, you can do that for a big Scania artic.
SL - "To be fair to Merkel, how could she have stopped a million or so people, already on the continent, who intended to enter Germany, from entering Germany?"
How do Israel and Egypt do it? With fences and guns which they're prepared to use. People get the message pretty quickly. How come Hungary's not overrun?
It makes for very disturbing reading.
@SL - Merkel rather cynically invited them. Germany has a demographic issue, and Merkel saw a future where the children of the best and brightest Syrians (the ones wealthy enough or smart enough to make it) would be tomorrows best and brightest Germans. And having worked with some Syrians, it was a nice theory, albeit one that didn't stop to think about the long-term consequences of asset stripping the ME of the sane and the educated. Of course it turned out we'd be getting some rather shorter term consequences too.
At no point was it considered that such an invitation would *also* be RSVP'd by the nutters, and for that matter, anyone who figured that pretending to be Syrian would offer a better future than being their current nationality.
At no point was it considered that setting up a safe zone in Syria would be a vastly saner path to achieving Merkel's aims, instead, oh no, they pay the gangsters, cross the Med on dodgy boats or traipse through various countries and hope they don't die. Meanwhile Erdogan looks up 'danegeld' on Wikipedia, and smiles at the stupid Europeans.
The EU wants things to be easy, they want the rewards with the risks, well life isn't like that and it's an attitude that tends to make things worse by catching the eye of every deity of unintended consequences out there.
@EK - Farage has gone so far down in my estimations he's hoving into view of Corbyn. Ever since the shiny toy, an ambassadorship, he thought The Donald was going to get him has remained out of his reach, he's just been getting more odious. We owe him for getting Brexit, but his pathetic tantrums is devaluing that coin somewhat. Turns out he's just another X-Factor level wideboy who feels entitled to something they're not, which is sad, I thought he was better than that.
But it's gonna get a hell of a lot worse. We were discussing this exact scenario at work. After electrification, the second largest investment in future vehicles is autonomous driving or guided missiles as we've started calling them. Simply dial in your target and wave it goodbye.
JH "crystal-meth of extreme Islamism."
Actually cannabis and Islamism. I predict it will be found in the culprit's blood.
Can't blame Farage for having a snipe. How low in your estimation are the people who caused this to happen ?
As pointed out by CU's first para, Farage is right. Again.
You lot have lost the plot on this. It was only a few months ago this blog was talking sense about the unstoppable exodus of the poor, hopeful and desperate into Europe. And said exodus was one of the main reasons I voted 'leave'.
Germany could have projected military power in the middle east?
You've lost the plot, it's not lorries that kill people, it's people. More or less any grown man with the will to do so, and armed only with a few inexpensive items from the hardware store, could kill 12 people and injure dozens more in a rampage. The 'barriers' suggestion says you're feeling a bit threatened?
You want EU countries to change their laws/policies and allow the Police to shoot people for suspected immigration offences? You definitely win today's star prize for the most terrorised person.
OT: (Rise of the robots) has anyone else seen Disney's CGI Peter Cushing in the new Star Wars movie yet? I'd be bloody worried if I was an actor.
"Star prize for the most terrorised person"
2 simple measures: tow the boats back to Libya, and shoot anyone who crosses a border fence without permission. The flow will stop instantly.
SL: "Germany didn't cause the Syrian civil war and (as far as I know) hasn't been propagating it either." Indeed, Germany has been welcoming to Muslim refugees in fact. She is quite innocent.
Muslim fundamentalists attack pre-emptively. They want to eradicate or convert the infidel everywhere.
SW "2 simple measures: tow the boats back to Libya, and shoot anyone who crosses a border fence without permission. The flow will stop instantly."
You ARE the enemy that Hate not Hope (and the whole darn celebrigentsial elite) are fighting against. There is not a hope in hell of such measures and European civilisation is being lost to regressive religious belief as a result.
Our grandchildren will be Islamists.
The only joy is that the Left will have been hit hardest after all of this is done.
It should be safe to allow in non-Muslims from Syria (or other parts of the Middle East).
They are persecuted and so they really are refugees.
We need strong fences and men with guns who are prepared to use them.
The Med is about as stronger fence as you will get. Greek soldiers should be machine gunning African and Arab immigrants on the beaches is basically what you are saying.
SL - You are right to point out, as I tried in the article, that there is more to this than Syrian immigration. To me and for a long time now the only solution has been to reinforce the borders of the UK. That is it, all the world's problem's will arrive on our doorsteps literally without this. The 1990's experiment of Londonistan will look like a lovely little tea party by comparison.
On the other hand, we are a long way from machine-gunning people on the beach but agree some of the comments here border on that philosophy. We should look to the Australian way they answered this question well a few years ago when threatened but were not reduced to sinking boats full of children.
God. Can't believe I've just supported machine gunning people clambering over fences (I don't) but that is what the USSR and Gaddafi did for us in the past, we should not be too sanctimonious.
Leaving the EU and a bit of the Australian solution is all our people want. A bit too late now though, I'm afraid.
"Germany didn't cause the Syrian civil war": indeed, but many of the "Syrian" "refugees" are neither Syrian nor refugees.
Nothing will be done, regarding uncontrolled immigration, at the moment as the number of acceptable casualties has not reached (politically) worrying figures.
@EK - my estimation for those people are also low.
That doesn't mean Farage gets a pass. If I'm a pub with two people, both of whom are dicks, one being worse than the other, I don't get pally with the least dickish, I go park myself away from them both. The only chance of a bit of real-world realpolitik is if one gets lairy, in which I'll cheerfully join forces with the other to take them down. Enemy of my enemy and all that.
As for having a pop, he's quite right about Merkel's legacy - although directly apportioning blame to her for the attack is quite wrong. There's a difference between setting up the scene and committing the act.
Merkel has a case to answer for in upping the liklihood of such attacks, but the blame for the attack itself lies squarely, and solely, with the actual perpetrators.