ALERT State Dept issues alert for summer travel to Europe

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
Probably shouldn't surprise anyone.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://thehill.com/policy/national-...dept-issues-alert-for-summer-travel-to-europe

Home | Policy | National Security

State Dept issues alert for summer travel to Europe

By Julian Hattem - 05/31/16 11:51 AM EDT

The State Department on Tuesday issued a summer travel alert for Europe, warning that major soccer contests and public events could be prime targets for terror attacks.

The department is “alerting U.S. citizens to the risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe, targeting major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation,” the department said in its alert.

“The large number of tourists visiting Europe in the summer months will present greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations, especially at large events.”
In particular, the U.S. pointed to the European Soccer Championship and the Tour de France, which will be held in June and July, as well as the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day in late July in Poland as possible points of concern.

The Tuesday alert amounted to a formal escalation of the Obama administration’s worries about the potential of a terrorist attack striking the heart of Europe this summer, on the heels of violence in Paris and Brussels over the last seven months.

Those attacks were traced back to Europe-based followers of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), who had reportedly been eyeing the Euro 2016 soccer championships before the Brussels violence. European officials have ramped up their security efforts in advance of the international matches, which kick off on June 10.

“European authorities continue to take steps to assure public safety and disrupt terrorist plots,” the State Department said. “We work closely with our allies and will continue to share information with our European partners that will help identify and counter terrorist threats.”

In response to the possibility of an attack, the State Department urged Americans traveling abroad to be mindful of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and have a plan in case of an emergency.

A travel alert is less severe than travel warnings issued by the department for more pressing security matters, but signify some level of concern for short-term events.

Tuesday’s alert expires on Aug. 31.
 

Melodi

Disaster Cat
Yep I just got mine - Germany in the Fall would probably be OK (depending on what happens this Summer) but it looks like they think France is going to be a serious target.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Staycations are the new Norm

This^^^ They came back into vogue after the market crash of '08 and become even more popular with every report of a missing airliner, attacks at major events, sinking cruise ships, and various mishaps at the family fun parks like Disney.

In my area there's been an uptick in home swimming pools, remodels of the backyard bbq area, etc. Small rural cities are putting in more water park features, and more of the malls are putting in kid friendly areas with the whole day at the mall meme for family fun (I wouldn't do that one myself but then I don't like malls).

Camping, hiking, canoeing, and kayaking are also huge here right now, as is horseback riding. The horseback riding one is ironic as there were several huge horse stables here before the markets crashed and soon after they closed assuming they'd have no customer base. Now new owners have taken over and are offering day trips via horse in the green belt area and overnight horse pack camping & riding trips.

Those that can't or don't want to do that are beefing up the home entertainment in the form of home theaters (Netflix recently started sending me emails for my summer movie staycation binge watching, pools, hot tubs, water slides for home pools, huge outdoor kitchen entertainment areas. And this is just from what I'm seeing online.
 

psychrn

Senior Member
Staycations are the new Norm

In response to the possibility of an attack, the State Department urged Americans traveling abroad to be mindful of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and have a plan in case of an emergency.
A travel alert is less severe than travel warnings issued by the department for more pressing security matters, but signify some level of concern for short-term events.


What sentient being would voluntarily fly into this hornet's nest we call Europe? This is like arranging to meet at The Station nightclub on Feb 20,2003.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9NXCwSFKpE 100 people died.

If you want to chance being raped or killed by a muzloid crowd, go ahead and visit anywhere abroad.
 

Melodi

Disaster Cat

In response to the possibility of an attack, the State Department urged Americans traveling abroad to be mindful of their surroundings, avoid large crowds and have a plan in case of an emergency.
A travel alert is less severe than travel warnings issued by the department for more pressing security matters, but signify some level of concern for short-term events.


What sentient being would voluntarily fly into this hornet's nest we call Europe? This is like arranging to meet at The Station nightclub on Feb 20,2003.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9NXCwSFKpE 100 people died.

If you want to chance being raped or killed by a muzloid crowd, go ahead and visit anywhere abroad.
That is like a European assuming that all of the US is a violent and dangerous as some parts of Chicago and using the murder rate for the past year as an example....sorry but ALL of Europe isn't like that.

I mean I just walked half a mile down a lovely country lane; during a rare Irish warm spell seeing only a couple of neighbors also out walking and being almost reduced to tears by the sheer beauty of the green and silent landscape with the slanting sun filtering through the greenery.

You could probably have the same experience in rural Scotland, Germany, Sweden or even Poland; what people need to avoid are mass events like the giant soccer matches, large music festivals, giant gatherings and probably obvious targets like the Vatican (unless you have religious or special interest reasons that make it worth the risk to go there).

Personally, I will try to avoid London if I can and if I do travel to the UK this Summer would be more likely to go directly to Cambridge where most of my friends are; or stay with friends outside of London and only venture in for a specific event - however, at this time I have no plans to go there at all, especially not to a large city or gathering.

I would personally avoid traveling to France this Summer because they are not only suffering from the people quakes from the mass migration but undergoing huge labor strikes of all kinds (including air traffic controllers) and that alone could make it extremely difficult for any response team to react quickly if there was an attack of any sort (especially at anything really large).

If we for some reason need to go to Germany; again we would avoid large crowds and obvious targets but the tiny village where husband's friends live is probably safe - there might be a limited risk getting there but then there is any time you step in your car.

The media sometimes makes it look like all of Europe and the Isles are just giant hotbeds of teaming humanity (refugees) combined with terrorists hiding behind every bush - in Ireland actually so far the greater threat is the old school "new" versions of the IRA stuff; but even that is rare these days, though it isn't something to take lightly either.

So yeah, I think this is probably NOT the Summer to visit Paris; but that's as much because of the labor strikes as the terror warnings (which are also real); but if your goal is hill walking in Brittany to explore Cather castles, it is probably safe to do so though I'd recommend NOT flying into Paris but coming into a local airport (even if that means changing planes in say Iceland or the UK).

No place on Earth is totally safe, it is all about common sense and making choices.
 

Plain Jane

Just Plain Jane
It's the larger gatherings that may be the problem. And they traditionally attract tourists from the states. The attacks on Westerners have begun already.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-...re-sexually-assaulted-refugees-music-festival

18 German Women Sexually Assaulted By Pakistani Refugees At Music Festival

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/31/2016 18:27 -0400


Less than a month after adamning report emergedthat a high-ranking police officer has alleged that his seniors tried to strike the word rape from an internal police report after the mass sexual assaults in Cologne over New Year, Germany is gripped in a new sexual assault scandal involving refugees. Eighteen German women have filed police complaints saying they were sexually assaulted at a musical festival in Darmstadt. Police arrested three refugees from Pakistan at the scene after three of the women immediately reported their attacks.

According to Die Welt, the sexual assaults are reported to have taken place at the Schlossgrabenfest music festival in the city of Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, on Saturday night. The festival in Darmstadt took place over four days and attracted some 400,000 revelers.

Three of the women immediately alerted police at the festival that they had been assaulted. They said they had been surrounded and then sexually harassed by a group of men who were of South Asian appearance.

"Unfortunately several women were sexually harassed on Saturday, when the dance floor area was completely packed,”
the police said in a statement, quoted by RT.

And once again, refugees are implicated: as RT adds, due to the quick intervention by the law enforcement officers, three suspects, who are asylum seekers from Pakistan and aged between 28 and 31, were promptly apprehended. Police added that there could be more who took part in the attacks that are still at large.

Since the arrests were made, a further 15 women have come forward since Tuesday, to say they were sexually assaulted at the festival. The women added that the pattern of the attacks was similar, as they were surrounded by a group of men, who proceeded to assault them sexually.
These attacks take place just over two weeks after two female teenagers, 17- and 18-years-old, were sexually harassed by a group of 10 men during a street festival in Berlin. The men allegedly pressed against the teens and groped them, blocking their attempts to escape.

Following that attack, police arrested three teenagers aged between 14 and 17 at the scene, while they tweeted that the three suspects were known to the police from prior incidents, adding that "two are of Turkish descent and the third is [of] unknown [origin]."

The attacks in May were reminiscent of numerous allegations of sexual assaults being reported in Cologne on New Year’s Eve. Some 1,049 people said they were victims of attacks allegedly committed by men of North African and the Middle Eastern descent, while about 821 complaints were filed with the police.

German police were heavily criticized for their perceived lack of activity during the New Year’s Eve celebrations in the city as well as for their poor investigations into the crimes. Cologne Police Chief Wolfgang Albers resigned a week after the incident.

A welcoming Germany has taken steps to try and assimilate asylum seekers into German culture, with one education center even holding classes to explain to refugees how they should interact with women in Germany, as well as flyers how to interact with women at local public pools.


Additionally, as reported recently, the country went so far as to create a website explaining the "nuances" of sex in Germany, what is allowed, what is prohibited, as well as providing a remedial high school lesson in male and female biology.

“The majority don’t have a clue how to approach the opposite sex in this country,” said sex therapist Christian Zech, who works with the Pro-Familia center, specializing in sexuality, partnership and family planning.

We doubt that excuse justifies the recurring stories of sexual assaults involving refugees and local women.

Meanwhile, the German government has said will allocate nearly €94 billion (US$105 billion) for incoming refugees over the next five years. The money will be used for housing, "integration", German language courses and social welfare benefits, as well as dealing with the underlying causes of the refugee influx.

The Federal Finance Ministry expects around 600,000 refugees to enter Germany in 2016, some 400,000 in 2017 and about 300,000 each consecutive year. In 2015, an estimated 1.1 million arrived in Germany seeking asylum.

Some in Germany have not taken kindly to the mass arrivals of asylum seekers, mainly from the Middle East and North Africa, with German police recording 45 cases of arson at refugee centers since the start of the year, while there have been calls for Chancellor Angela Merkel to cap the number of refugees entering Germany.

Curiously, none other than Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama opined on the current migrant crisis in Europe. Cited byAustria's Krone, the monk said that he is skeptical about the refugee trend in Germany:
"Germany cannot become an Arabic country, Germany is Germany!", he told reporters of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".

He added that from an ethical point of view, it is justifiable to only accept refugees on a temporary basis.
"The number of migrants in Germany is too high. The aim should be, that these people return to their home countries and help rebuilding infrastructure."

Ultimately, the future of such dramatic scenes may be in the hands of none other than Turkey's president Erdogan, who has repeatedly warned that if Europe does not follow through with its promises of visa-free travel for Turkish citizens, he may unleash another wave of refugees using the "land corridor" which ultimately ends in Germany.
 

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
You know, when I think of "sexual harassment", I think of inappropriate, personal comments and maybe gestures. Once someone puts their hands on a woman, it's *molestation*.

This changing of the language to attempt to obuscate and reduce the perception of the severity of the crimes going on is sickening.

Summerthyme
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
The media sometimes makes it look like all of Europe and the Isles are just giant hotbeds of teaming humanity (refugees) combined with terrorists hiding behind every bush.

This seems to be par for the course with all of the media. follow the money, whose making big bucks off of this type of reporting?
 
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