Will The Summer Of 2016 Go Down In History As ‘The Summer Of Blood’?
It has again been a rough week. First of all, the protests carried out by Black Lives Matter (and the shooting of police officers in Dallas) have prompted the governments of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and the Bahamas to issue travel warnings to it citizens, especially those who plan to visit any large cities where protests might be taking place. Meanwhile, there were rumors circulating on the internet that Friday, July 15 was going to be a “Day of Rage” — hence, a series of protests by Black Lives Matter in major cities across the United States. These rumors include the possibility of martial law. Such protests were allegedly being sponsored by the group Anonymous, as well as George Soros. However, it turned out that this “Day of Rage” turned out to be a false alarm.
The second event was the terrorist attack in Nice, France. A Tunisian citizen named Mohammed Lahouaiej Bouhel drove a cargo truck into a crowd watching the Bastille Day fireworks celebration, while also opening fire onto the crowd. The police then opened fire on him, while a few civilians had unsuccessfully tried to climb on to the truck in an apparent effort to overpower Bouhel. In the end, Bouhel was shot dead by the police. His actions resulted in 84 people being killed and around 300 injured. The investigation is ongoing, and the authorities have arrested several individuals, including Bouhel’s wife. Since this terrorist attack took place on Bastille Day, then perhaps the French will be more aggressive in dealing with Radical Islam.
Then there was the failed coup in Turkey. The military made an attempt to overthrow the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, Erdogan countered by calling for the citizens of Turkey to take to the streets, and they complied. This strategy, as well as sporadic fighting and many arrests, resulted in the coup ending in failure. The coup would have been a good thing, given Erdogan’s Islamist leanings.
Finally, there was the shooting of six police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Three of them died, while the other three were wounded. One suspect has been killed, while two others are at large. This shooting has again prompted debates on race relations, police methods, and gun control. There has also been speculation on martial law being imposed.
With the upcoming Republican Party convention in Cleveland and the Democratic Party convention in Philadelphia, extra security measures are no doubt being put into place, given the current mood of the nation. One thing is certain, it will be hot in Cleveland. I wonder if it will be sunny in Philadelphia.
Image: screen shot: http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20160715/5010666/Americans-father-and-son-were-killed.htm