Luciferase,

"....Why psychoanalyze the truth out of the way? A spade is a spade."

You're doing it too - why criticise moi?

A hasty conversion to Sunni does not an ISIS member make.

As SteeleRedux pointed out....

"...his first demand was for an ISIS flag. He either forgot it or was making it up as he went."

Gee, for a full-on ISIS convert he was a bit remiss methinks.

He was a violent criminal git who eventually found a violent criminal outlet for his extremist delusions - and the authorities should have rendered him impotent when they had the opportunity.

Have it your way, Poirot. Monis was not an agent of ISIS, just a silly bugger.

ISIS does not run suitability checks on agents, nor necessarily know them nor, does it appear so far, take responsibility for the actions of those it incites to carry out its war, like Monis. In this sense ISIS has been remiss in its duty of care to us. It should have directed a saner person to carry out its bidding, eh?.

There is still this difficult matter of a holy book that legitimizes the actions of ISIS but also serves peaceful Islam, if naughty bits about having to kill people are ignored.

Poirot, I know you can discern sane from mad extremists with a simple thought train, but don't you think a pledge to secularism that overrides anti-social megalo-maniacal religious ambitions would help the average Jo know where churches stand precisely? Coming from the top of each church, the pledge would help those within religion to accept social limits and perhaps even join more wholeheartedly into policing matters.

Poirot there is no point trying to point out some truths re this tragic incident to our resident bigots on this site, who most seriously imagine there are bomb-throwing mad Muslims around every corner in our cities!

From what we have heard through the media, this guy was just a really nasty criminal with mad tendencies, who also happens to be a Muslim.
Do we ask what religion all the other violent murderers or rapists are in our country?
No we don't, unless it is obvious by the way they are dressed.

There hasn't been a huge anti-Muslim outcry over this awful tragedy, because most intelligent Australians know the truth about the situation, and they won't judge this incident as being part of some Muslim conspiracy to take over Australia.....like some ignorant people on this site will.

Dear Hasbeen,

You write;

“Any sensible person in charge would have taken him out, with a head shot, at the first opportunity, & there were many opportunities. The head must roll of the fool in charge of the operation, if only to reinforce their approach was totally wrong, & must never be repeated. If that deputy commissioner in charge of the operation gets away with this catastrophe, the next time, & there will be a next time, this will be a precedent, a career safe way of doing things. This must not happen.”

So you would have taken the shot, never mind the risk of setting off explosives that may have killed far more people than those who lost their lives? Sometimes mate if you don't have a clue it is best just to shut up. Until I have heard far more information there is no way I want to second guess the police in this situation. Until I know otherwise I am going to assume they did a great job in very trying circumstances.

Actually, the problem is less that of a lone lunatic than of a large group of people whose values are not those of the West in general, or Australia in particular. I dare say that almost any Muslim, if asked about the Quran and Mohammad, would unequivocally proclaim their acceptance of the values and tenets derived from the mentioned two.

That is the problem. Islam does not lend itself to freedom of expression and belief, equality or separation of religion and state. Period. Anybody that argues otherwise has his/her head where the sun don’t shine. At the same time, being supposedly perfect, a Muslim must consequently reject any criticism of that perfection as untrue. To admit Islam’s faults is the first step to apostasy (and death). A good Muslim cannot accept or acknowledge criticism of Islamic dogma as valid and remain a Muslim. Therefore we see the need of Muslims to blame others, makes excuses and pretend that misdeeds of some have nothing to do with the “true” Islam. Based upon this principle, it would even seem that Mohammad was not a real Muslim, given his nefarious conduct. Note that not many Muslims want to talk about Mohammad’s endless wars on his neighbors, but they are a suitable study for understanding 21st century Muslim tactics, ideology and deceit

(Continued)

Yes, the state and its apparatus will use incidents such as the Sydney café episode to increase its powers and reach. That is typical of government and it is as pointless as harmful. This is not a manner of guns and bombs, prison and torture, wire taps or media surveillance. This is a war of ideology and the West is losing because it has betrayed its principles, making honesty and basic human rights subordinate to feel-good multiculturalism. Certainly the so-called sheik was not jailed because of our leaders’ fear of being labeled racist, even if this was not about race but actions. Just like the hundreds of Muslims in Rotherham, UK, that abused thousands of young women, the powers that be looked away, so the many crimes of Monis were ignored and down-played in the name of cultural differences and different standards.

This is not the end; more terror will come and people here will write and comment on how these things are not related to Islam, or that the danger is exaggerated. We are fools and we will pay the butcher’s bill in blood.