- Glasgow-Prestwick will have door staff on the main and airside bars
- They will specifically monitor flights out to Ibiza and Alicante in Spain
- Airport spokesperson says bouncers will assist current security operation
Monday, June 29, 2015
Scottish airport to bring in BOUNCERS to its bars following spree of booze-fuelled incidents on flights taking off there
Sunday, June 28, 2015
French terror suspect took selfie with beheaded victim
Say ‘Sharia’ everyone!
FONTAINES-SUR-SAONE, France (AP) — The top suspect in the beheading of a businessman that French authorities are calling terrorist attack took a "selfie" photo with the slain victim and sent the image via WhatsApp to a Canadian mobile phone number, officials said Saturday.French investigators were working to confirm the identity of the recipient, but weren't able to immediately confirm media reports that it was an unspecified person now in Syria, where the radical Islamic State group has seized territory, the security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.
Leading suspect Yassine Salhi, a truck driver with a history of radical Islamic ties, as well as his sister and wife remained in custody in the city of Lyon a day after he allegedly crashed a truck into an U.S.-owned chemical warehouse and hung his employer's severed head on a factory gate, officials have said.
One of the security officials said the selfie was forwarded via WhatsApp, the globally popular instant messaging system owned by Facebook, to a phone number in Canada.
No group immediately claimed responsibility. The severed head appeared to mimic Islamic State's practice of beheading prisoners and displaying their heads for all to see, and came days after the militants urged attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. French authorities say Salhi had links to radical Salafists in the past.
Paris prosecutor's office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said earlier Saturday that Salhi was refusing to speak to police investigators. She said that one of the other suspects initially arrested on Friday was released without being charged.
Investigators have not turned up any motive or possible foreign connection, Thibault-Lecuivre said. Under French anti-terrorism laws, Salhi and the women can be held up to four days before either being released or handed preliminary charges and locked up.
Separately on Saturday, hundreds of people turned out in the region to honor slain businessman Herve Cornara and denounce the violence. Dozens turned out for a minute of silence in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, the town southeast of Lyon where Friday'sattack took place at an Air Products chemicals warehouse.
Several hundred people also gathered outside a housing project in the town of Fontaines-sur-Saone to honor Cornara, 54, the manager of a transportation company that had employed Salhi since March. They recalled a kind, humble man who was active in the community of the Lyon suburb.
"He lived on the fifth floor, me on the fourth. He spoke with all the young people in the neighborhood. He didn't differentiate between (non-Muslim) French and Muslims," said Leila Bouri, a 24-year-old cafeteria cashier. "If you ever had a problem, you would go see him."
"When I heard this, I was shocked. It's shameful," she said. "I am a Muslim, but you can't kill like this. It's not who we are. In Islam, we're not told to slit throats. We only slit the throats of sheep. You don't slit the throats of people."
The suspected killer, she added, "isn't a Muslim in my opinion."
Leading suspect Yassine Salhi, a truck driver with a history of radical Islamic ties, as well as his sister and wife remained in custody in the city of Lyon a day after he allegedly crashed a truck into an U.S.-owned chemical warehouse and hung his employer's severed head on a factory gate, officials have said.
One of the security officials said the selfie was forwarded via WhatsApp, the globally popular instant messaging system owned by Facebook, to a phone number in Canada.
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Paris prosecutor's office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre said earlier Saturday that Salhi was refusing to speak to police investigators. She said that one of the other suspects initially arrested on Friday was released without being charged.
Investigators have not turned up any motive or possible foreign connection, Thibault-Lecuivre said. Under French anti-terrorism laws, Salhi and the women can be held up to four days before either being released or handed preliminary charges and locked up.
Separately on Saturday, hundreds of people turned out in the region to honor slain businessman Herve Cornara and denounce the violence. Dozens turned out for a minute of silence in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, the town southeast of Lyon where Friday'sattack took place at an Air Products chemicals warehouse.
Several hundred people also gathered outside a housing project in the town of Fontaines-sur-Saone to honor Cornara, 54, the manager of a transportation company that had employed Salhi since March. They recalled a kind, humble man who was active in the community of the Lyon suburb.
"He lived on the fifth floor, me on the fourth. He spoke with all the young people in the neighborhood. He didn't differentiate between (non-Muslim) French and Muslims," said Leila Bouri, a 24-year-old cafeteria cashier. "If you ever had a problem, you would go see him."
"When I heard this, I was shocked. It's shameful," she said. "I am a Muslim, but you can't kill like this. It's not who we are. In Islam, we're not told to slit throats. We only slit the throats of sheep. You don't slit the throats of people."
The suspected killer, she added, "isn't a Muslim in my opinion."
The 9-to-5 office workday is dying in America
Because people can’t find jobs of course. Soon nobody will be working. Then some smart alec won’t be able to tell you to ‘get a job”. Hooray!
'Dangerous, dangerous men': Escaped murderer fatally shot by officer in NY woods, other on run
D'Amico said Matt was shot by a border patrol agent when he failed to comply with commands in the woods near a cabin where a shot had been fired earlier in the day at a camping trailer. A 20-gauge shotgun was found on him, though he did not fire it at officers, he added.
"They verbally challenged him, told him to put up his hands. And at that time, he was shot when he didn't comply," D'Amico said.
A second convicted murderer, David Sweat, has not been spotted since he escaped, though evidence was found a week ago indicating he was with Matt in a cabin that was burglarized about 3 miles from any paved roadway, the superintendent said.
Little-known reasons visitors to Canada may be kicked out
Well imagine that? You can be kicked out of Canada for stealing a potential job away from a Canadian. What's wrong with those people that they care more about their own Canadian citizens than they do foreigners?
At rural South Carolina shop, Confederate flags fly off shelves
ABBEVILLE, S.C. — Three people stood in line recently at the Southern Patriot Shop, Confederate flags tucked under their arms, waiting their turn to check out at the cash register.
Owner Robert Hayes, a 75-year-old with crow’s feet and a lingering smile, had a bit of advice for his customers before they headed back out into a world they say is drifting further and further away from the America they believed in.
“Don’t display them in your house but outside of your house,” Hayes said. “We need to be making a statement to the people that know their history and know that [the flag is] not what it’s being accused of.”
That sentiment is growing among many in this rural part of South Carolina and around the South. Many former supporters say they now understand why the flag should come down from its prominent perch in South Carolina’s capitol complex. But others, especially well outside of Columbia, are stunned at the turn on the flag after photos surfaced of alleged Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof posing with the flag.
Early Saturday, the flag came down briefly from the front of the statehouse after Bree Newsome, 30, a North Carolina educator and activist from Charlotte, scaled the 30-foot pole and detached it. She brought it down the pole and was arrested; authorities later re-raised the flag.
In Charleston, people gathered outside Emanuel AME Church, where a funeral was about to take place for one of the nine victims, had mixed reactions. Lowell Collins, 59, thought it was an inevitable part of efforts to remove the banner. “I’m surprised that it took this long,” said Collins, who lives in Falls Church, Va.
His friend Diane D. Gillie had concerns -- that the act would disrupt momentum, and give flag supporters something to stand behind.
“I hope these kind of things don’t take away from the positive processes that are in place,” she said. Gillie, 58, works in Columbia, two blocks from the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds. She said she tries to ignore it when she walks past.
“I think there’s a place for it, and that’s a museum,” she said.
Later in the morning, about 50 people expressing support for the flag took their concerns to the state capitol, waving Confederate flags and chanting “Heritage not hate!” at passing cars.
Shannon Blume, a 36-year-old from the Columbia area, said at the protest she would push state leaders to put the issue to a statewide referendum. “It doesn’t stand for racism,” she said. “It stands for states’ rights and no big government.”
Southern politicians have lined up to say they disagree, including South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and others. In the emotional aftermath of the gunning down of nine people inside a church, including pastor and state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, state leaders have said that they can no longer ignore the pain the flag causes African Americans. Retailers Amazon and Wal-Mart have yanked Confederate-emblazoned wares and flags from physical and digital shelves.
In this part of rural South Carolina, seemingly a world away from the prying eyes of a shocked world, those seeking out new Confederate items said they will not be silent as the state and federal government continues to wage a war, in their words, on Southern heritage and history.
Hayes, a member of the League of the South, a pride organization considered by some to be a hate group, said he’ll probably benefit from the marketplace’s dearth of Confederate flags, although his store is about far more than making a buck. Confederate-themed knickknacks include phone covers, books, vests, lighters, shirts, stickers, bathing suits, pins, belts, magnets and postcards, plus dozens of historical flags.
Shoppers and Hayes said they were horrified and saddened by the shootings. But Hayes said that targeting the flag is the same as going after the Rice-A-Roni and ramen noodles that Roof reportedly ate.
“The blacks that say it’s racist — they are the racists,” said Joyce Davis Wareshoals, a 66-year-old from Abbeville. “That’s their heritage as much as it is our heritage.”
Hayes pulls out a well-worn manila folder. Inside are pictures of the Ku Klux Klan marching with U.S. flags over their shoulders.
“The U.S. flag, the U.S. flag, the U.S. flag!” Hayes said.
By the end of the day Thursday, Hayes said his shelves were nearly empty. He’d sold more than 100 flags — a store record, he said. “And we’re a little small, out-of-the-way town,” he said. His supplier also told him he was sold out and wouldn’t be able to deliver additional flags until the next week.
Owner Robert Hayes, a 75-year-old with crow’s feet and a lingering smile, had a bit of advice for his customers before they headed back out into a world they say is drifting further and further away from the America they believed in.
“Don’t display them in your house but outside of your house,” Hayes said. “We need to be making a statement to the people that know their history and know that [the flag is] not what it’s being accused of.”
That sentiment is growing among many in this rural part of South Carolina and around the South. Many former supporters say they now understand why the flag should come down from its prominent perch in South Carolina’s capitol complex. But others, especially well outside of Columbia, are stunned at the turn on the flag after photos surfaced of alleged Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof posing with the flag.
Early Saturday, the flag came down briefly from the front of the statehouse after Bree Newsome, 30, a North Carolina educator and activist from Charlotte, scaled the 30-foot pole and detached it. She brought it down the pole and was arrested; authorities later re-raised the flag.
In Charleston, people gathered outside Emanuel AME Church, where a funeral was about to take place for one of the nine victims, had mixed reactions. Lowell Collins, 59, thought it was an inevitable part of efforts to remove the banner. “I’m surprised that it took this long,” said Collins, who lives in Falls Church, Va.
His friend Diane D. Gillie had concerns -- that the act would disrupt momentum, and give flag supporters something to stand behind.
“I hope these kind of things don’t take away from the positive processes that are in place,” she said. Gillie, 58, works in Columbia, two blocks from the Confederate flag on the statehouse grounds. She said she tries to ignore it when she walks past.
“I think there’s a place for it, and that’s a museum,” she said.
Later in the morning, about 50 people expressing support for the flag took their concerns to the state capitol, waving Confederate flags and chanting “Heritage not hate!” at passing cars.
Shannon Blume, a 36-year-old from the Columbia area, said at the protest she would push state leaders to put the issue to a statewide referendum. “It doesn’t stand for racism,” she said. “It stands for states’ rights and no big government.”
Southern politicians have lined up to say they disagree, including South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and others. In the emotional aftermath of the gunning down of nine people inside a church, including pastor and state Sen. Clementa Pinckney, state leaders have said that they can no longer ignore the pain the flag causes African Americans. Retailers Amazon and Wal-Mart have yanked Confederate-emblazoned wares and flags from physical and digital shelves.
In this part of rural South Carolina, seemingly a world away from the prying eyes of a shocked world, those seeking out new Confederate items said they will not be silent as the state and federal government continues to wage a war, in their words, on Southern heritage and history.
Hayes, a member of the League of the South, a pride organization considered by some to be a hate group, said he’ll probably benefit from the marketplace’s dearth of Confederate flags, although his store is about far more than making a buck. Confederate-themed knickknacks include phone covers, books, vests, lighters, shirts, stickers, bathing suits, pins, belts, magnets and postcards, plus dozens of historical flags.
Shoppers and Hayes said they were horrified and saddened by the shootings. But Hayes said that targeting the flag is the same as going after the Rice-A-Roni and ramen noodles that Roof reportedly ate.
“The blacks that say it’s racist — they are the racists,” said Joyce Davis Wareshoals, a 66-year-old from Abbeville. “That’s their heritage as much as it is our heritage.”
Hayes pulls out a well-worn manila folder. Inside are pictures of the Ku Klux Klan marching with U.S. flags over their shoulders.
“The U.S. flag, the U.S. flag, the U.S. flag!” Hayes said.
By the end of the day Thursday, Hayes said his shelves were nearly empty. He’d sold more than 100 flags — a store record, he said. “And we’re a little small, out-of-the-way town,” he said. His supplier also told him he was sold out and wouldn’t be able to deliver additional flags until the next week.
5 Mistakes That Will Lead To The Fall of America
What is the fix? Or is it too late for a fix?
6/27/2015 8:10:00 AM - John Hawkins
There are all sorts of theories, but nobody really knows.
However, if American falls, historians won’t have to speculate because the problems that are destroying our country are right there for anyone to see. You want to know how to break the greatest nation the world has ever seen over the course of a few short decades? Just look at what we’re actually doing because future generations will point to it when they’re trying to figure out where we went wrong.
1) Unsustainable Debt: By 2020, projections indicate that we’d need 20% of the GDP of the ENTIRE PLANET just to finance our debt, which will continue to increase at a rapid pace. Despite the fact that it would require a miracle bigger than what Joan of Arc accomplished in order for Social Security and Medicare to function for another 20 years without enormous tax increases, we just added another costly entitlement program (Obamacare) and politicians are incessantly clamoring for new spending. Simply put, that is unsustainable over the long haul and without almost revolutionary changes that are currently politically unimaginable, our country will either go bankrupt or our money will be inflated so much that we’ll need wheelbarrows full of greenbacks to buy a loaf of bread.
2) Enormous Centralized Government: The bigger the tick, the less blood there is for the dog and there is no larger collection of blood suckers on Planet Earth than our own federal government. Our government has become so massive that lawmakers don’t even read the bills they pass any more, trivial changes to regulations made by unelected bureaucrats can drive productive businesses into bankruptcy and perhaps worst of all, 49% of the public gets benefits. That has not only bled the private sector and made our economy less dynamic, it has led to massive corruption. As P.J. O’Rourke said, “When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.”
3) An Overly-Progressive Income Tax Code: There are a lot of ramifications to almost half of all Americans paying no income taxes and few of them are good. There are few brakes on high income taxes because half the country isn’t impacted at all. Moreover, the progressive nature of the tax code stifles movement between economic classes. It’s a lot harder to go from “rags to riches” when the government starts looting you like a Somali pirate the moment you make any real income. Additionally, if half of Americans aren’t paying “their fair share,” then the other half has to overpay to make up for it. That reduces investment and production from the people in the best position to create jobs, thus slowing economic output even further. What happens when the tax code gets so skewed that the “takers” outnumber the “makers” in the United States? We’re getting very close to that tipping point and it’s doubtful that we’ll like the answer when we find out.
4) Moral Decay: It’s highly ironic that Americans have pushed Christianity to the side and embraced an, “If it feels good, not only is it okay to do it, but other people should celebrate you for it,” mentality at the very moment America is being decimated by a profound moral crisis. It’s no coincidence that America has the largest prison population in the world, drug use is rampant, 41% of births are out-of-wedlock and mass murders have become all too common in a Christian nation that has turned its back on God. As our nation becomes increasingly decadent, we’re learning what John Adams meant when he said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
5) Backward Immigration Policies: When America is still considered the most desirable place to live on the planet, immigrationshould be a huge boon to the country. At times in our nation’s past it certainly was, but today this potential source of strength is a wash at best and a drag on the country at worst.
For example, did you know that, “in 2010, 36 percent of immigrant-headed households receive benefits from at least one welfare program, compared to just 23 percent of households headed by U.S. natives. Among households with children, immigrant welfare households outnumbered non-immigrants by a similarly wide margin: 57 percent to 40 percent.”
The percentage of immigrants on welfare should be zero. After all, why would we want to bring someone into our country who’s going to end up on the dole?
Instead of selecting the cream of the crop, the rich, the geniuses, the skilled, and people who can add to our tax base, we take pretty much anybody who has a relative here or who claims that he’d be in danger in his home country (and let’s face it, the vast majority of them are lying). Do we get SOME great Americans this way? Sure, but why not spend all our time searching out those people instead of getting a few of them, lots of welfare cases and a handful of Dzhokhar Tsarnaevs in the process?
This is even truer for illegal immigrants who are overwhelmingly poor, uneducated, minimally skilled and by definition, are not law-abiding people. In a world where an education and a high level of skill are becoming ever more necessary to get most jobs worth having, why import massive numbers of people who will never fit that definition to undercut poor American workers who are already struggling to climb the ladder?
On top of all this, instead of encouraging immigrants to adapt to this most successful culture in recorded human history, they’re encouraged to nurse grievances, despise their own adopted home country and cling to the cultures of the failed nations from which they’ve come. Instead of a source of strength, immigration is handled so poorly that we’d be better off stopping it entirely until our laws can be rewritten from top to bottom rather than continuing on with a system that’s completely broken.
As currency dies, Zimbabweans will get $5 for 175 quadrillion local dollars
Monopoly money is worth more.
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans will start exchanging 'quadrillions' of local dollars for a few U.S. dollars next week, as President Robert Mugabe's government discards its virtually worthless national currency, the central bank said on Thursday.The southern African country started using foreign currencies like the U.S. dollar and South African rand in 2009 after the Zimbabwean dollar was ruined by hyper-inflation, which hit 500 billion percent in 2008.
At the height of Zimbabwe's economic crisis in 2008, Zimbabweans had to carry plastic bags bulging with bank notes to buy basic goods like bread and milk. Prices were rising at least twice a day.
From Monday, customers who held Zimbabwean dollar accounts before March 2009 can approach their banks to convert their Zimbabwean dollar balance into dollars, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya said in a statement.
The process will legally end the local currency. Zimbabweans have until September to turn in their old bank notes, which some people sell as souvenirs to tourists.
Bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars will be paid $5. Those with balances above 175 quadrillion dollars will be paid at an exchange rate of $1 to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.
The highest - and last - bank note to be printed by the RBZ in 2008 was 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollars. It was not enough to ride a public bus to work for a week.
The RBZ said customers who still have stashes of old Zimbabwean dollar notes can walk into any bank and get $1 for every 250 trillion they hold.
That means a holder of a 100 trillion bank note will on Monday get 40 cents.
At the height of Zimbabwe's economic crisis in 2008, Zimbabweans had to carry plastic bags bulging with bank notes to buy basic goods like bread and milk. Prices were rising at least twice a day.
From Monday, customers who held Zimbabwean dollar accounts before March 2009 can approach their banks to convert their Zimbabwean dollar balance into dollars, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mangudya said in a statement.
The process will legally end the local currency. Zimbabweans have until September to turn in their old bank notes, which some people sell as souvenirs to tourists.
Bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars will be paid $5. Those with balances above 175 quadrillion dollars will be paid at an exchange rate of $1 to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.
The highest - and last - bank note to be printed by the RBZ in 2008 was 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollars. It was not enough to ride a public bus to work for a week.
The RBZ said customers who still have stashes of old Zimbabwean dollar notes can walk into any bank and get $1 for every 250 trillion they hold.
That means a holder of a 100 trillion bank note will on Monday get 40 cents.
Chart: The animals that are most likely to kill you this summer
Guess which animals kill the most people?
Alleged Gang Members Steal 55 Guns For Possible Revenge Killing Plot
A pair of burglars stole a mix of 55 rifles, shotguns, and handguns in two burglaries of a Zion, Illinois gun store as part of an apparent plot to retaliate against police for a bizarrely controversial killing of armed criminal:
Howell was shot twice in the back in April after pointing a handgun at Zion police officers during afoot chase. Howell had just stolen the gun from another criminal, and turned and pointed the gun at pursuing officers as he attempted to flee the crime scene.
As we noted at the time:
Howell’s family howled loudly over his justified shooting, spurring minor protests briefly buoyed by the professional agitators of the socialist/communist-supported “black lives matter” campaign.
Two Zion men are charged with stealing guns worth about $30,000 from a gun store, and investigators are looking into an allegation that they planned to retaliate against police for a controversial recent shooting by an officer, prosecutors said.Another account identifies both men as gang members.
Lawrence Taylor and Clarence Williams, both 18, are charged with burglarizing a Zion gun store and stealing about 55 rifles, semi-automatic handguns and shotguns in two alleged break-ins the night of May 31 and early June 1, according to court records and Assistant State’s Attorney Reginald Mathews.
A 17-year-old is also in custody but had not been charged Wednesday morning, Mathews said.
A witness told investigators that the group planned to sell some of the guns allegedly taken from 5 Star Firearms and use others to retaliate against Zion police for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Justus Howell by one of the department’s officers April 4, the prosecutor said. Mathews stressed that police are still looking into that information.
Howell was shot twice in the back in April after pointing a handgun at Zion police officers during afoot chase. Howell had just stolen the gun from another criminal, and turned and pointed the gun at pursuing officers as he attempted to flee the crime scene.
As we noted at the time:
…Howell attempted to illegally take possession (via strong-arm robbery) of what is likely a stolen weapon while underage. He was then allegedly dumb enough to brandish the weapon, instead of immediately dropping it when police arrived.The officer who shot Howell was exonerated during an investigation as expected, and has returned to desk duty.
Howell then attempted to evade arrest, still brandishing the weapon, when officers made a judgement call and shot him twice as he attempted to escape, killing him.
According to the fleeing felon rule, which allows law enforcement officers to use lethal force against felony suspects, this appears to be a “good shoot.”
Howell’s family howled loudly over his justified shooting, spurring minor protests briefly buoyed by the professional agitators of the socialist/communist-supported “black lives matter” campaign.
Police Killed An Unarmed White Man In Iowa And His Community Didn't Seem To Notice
Looks like the white folks in Iowa were not upset about having a criminal nuisance removed from their midst. Imagine that!
So how do white people in Iowa respond when police kill a white person under questionable circumstances in a heavily white neighborhood? If Des Moines is any example, they don't: A single protester showed up outside the police press conference on Wednesday, according to the Register. There was no wall-to-wall media coverage of large-scale demonstrations, because there were no demonstrations to cover.
The city's apparent apathy is about more than racial demographics. Iowa generally has little experience with fatal police shootings. Bolinger is only the third person killed by police in the state in 2015, according to The Guardian. One was an armed robbery suspect killed after allegedly pointing a gun at police following a car chase. The other was a woman reportedly killed by an errant bullet fired by an officer who slipped while attempting to shoot a dog that had jumped on him. Both were white. (For comparison, the Los Angeles Police Department alone has killed more than three times Iowa's total so far this year, which speaks to longstanding concerns about the LAPD's use of force.)
Do Britain’s gunless bobbies provide answers for America’s police?
In a word…No! The question that the article does not ask is why are ANY British police officers carrying guns now. Fifty years ago almost no British police officers carried guns routinely. Now some 7000 out of 130,000 British police officers are routinely armed. What changed? Two things for certain: the death penalty for killing a policeman was repealed and Great Britain (UK) became more multicultural and as a consequence its crime rates sky rocketed. More British police carry guns now than in the past because Great Britain has more violent crime (robbery, murder, rape, assault) than in the past and more criminals willing to assault and /or murder police. More non-violent crime (burglaries, car thefts, etc.) than in the past as well. It has become well know by now that much crime in Great Britain goes unreported and that the authorities under record incidents of crime, such that crime rates in Britain are even worse than officially reported.
The countries where the police go unarmed invariably have homogenous non-multicultural populations and low crime rates. Comparing the USA to Great Britain is an apples to oranges comparison because Great Britain is a long established European country with an ethnically homogenous population, whereas the USA is a recently established country, a former European colony, and has an ethnically diverse population. It would be much more valid to compare Great Britain to Switzerland (another long established European, country) and to compare the USA to Brazil, another former European colony. When making such a comparison one sees then that the countries with restrictive gun laws actually have more crime and violence than the similar countries that do not have restrictive gun laws.
FYI: in Northern Ireland, all police officers carry firearms.
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Woman fires at home burglars: 'I let loose on them'
Detroit — Five men who broke into Dietta Gueye's east side home early Tuesday morning got more than they bargained for when the 34-year-old woman opened fire at them with the 9 mm Glock she keeps by her bedside.
"They weren't ready for that 9 I had," she chuckled from a lawn chair in front of her house hours after the home invasion.
One of the men shot back and hit Gueye in the right thigh. But after treatment at a local hospital, she said she felt fine.
"I'm kind of just a little sore," she said. "I'm OK, though."
The incident is the second this week in which a woman with a concealed pistol license opened fire on criminals in Detroit. On Monday, a 27-year-old woman shot a 16-year-old would-be carjacker in the arm.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig made national headlines last year when he said "good Americans" with concealed weapons licenses could lower the crime rate, because it would make criminals reluctant to attack them.
Gueye believes the five men who broke into her house Tuesday likely will think twice before doing it again.
"I hope they take this as a lesson," she said. "Beware, because you never know if someone you're trying to hurt is packing."
Dems want police license for handguns -- photos, fingerprints, background check
The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. This bill has no chance of being passed given that the Republicans currently control both Houses of Congress. Nevertheless the Leftists are relentless; they never quit! They will never stop trying to take our guns away from us. The sponsors of this bill are all Democrats from east coast states with extremely restrictive gun laws. When the leftist talk about “commonsense gun laws“ they really mean that to them it is “commonsense” that nobody should be allowed to own a gun. If this leaves us all at the mercy of the criminal element, so what? That is of no concern to the Leftists. Therefore we must always be on guard and politically aware and involved if we are to protect our Second Amendment Rights. If you own a gun join the National Rifle Association!
Python Eats Porcupine In What Turns Out To Be A Disastrous Final Meal
So who wins when a python eats a porcupine? Apparently not either animal.
A cyclist making a trek through the Lake Eland Game Reserve in South Africa this month came across a rare and bizarre act of nature, with a greedy python eating a whole porcupine.
But the bicyclist didn’t know that at first. The snake, which suffocates its prey and then swallows it whole, was seen only with a giant bulge in its midsection and no indication of what was inside. The biker shared pictures of the python and posted then online, where they got plenty of attention.
While speculation built over what the python could have eaten, park rangers soon found out the truth. The snake was found dead not far from where it was initially spotted, so rangers decided to cut it open and see what it had for a last meal.They found that the python had eaten a whole 30-pound porcupine, which helped to cause its death. Rangers said the snake had fallen from a small ledge, and the impact caused the animal’s sharp quills to impale the inside of the snake, leading to its demise.
From LiveScience, “As [game reserve general manager Jennifer Fuller] noted, pythons in the Lake Eland Game Reserve have been spotted consuming even larger prey, including adult oribi antelope, which can weigh nearly 50 lbs. (22.7 kg). Pythons possess the incredible ability to alter their metabolism, as well as the size of their organs, after a meal. This allows the a python to digest prey that is much larger than the snake is, according to a study published in 2013 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
The story of the python eating the porcupine made headlines last week, and now scientists are shedding more light on the snake’s disastrous final meal.
Johan Marais, a snake expert, told Earth Touch News Network that porcupine is actually a common part of a python’s diet and that the death was unusual.
“Pythons do eat porcupines and usually without problems other than the odd quill stuck somewhere,” he said. “But when disturbed after a large meal, the natural reaction for a snake is to regurgitate its meal so that it is mobile again and can escape. But regurgitating a porcupine is not that easy, and I am sure that is where things went wrong.”
Those who are curious to see what happens when a python eats a porcupine can click here for more pictures, but be warned that it may be a bit graphic for some viewers.
[Image via Lake Eland Game Reserve]
But the bicyclist didn’t know that at first. The snake, which suffocates its prey and then swallows it whole, was seen only with a giant bulge in its midsection and no indication of what was inside. The biker shared pictures of the python and posted then online, where they got plenty of attention.
While speculation built over what the python could have eaten, park rangers soon found out the truth. The snake was found dead not far from where it was initially spotted, so rangers decided to cut it open and see what it had for a last meal.They found that the python had eaten a whole 30-pound porcupine, which helped to cause its death. Rangers said the snake had fallen from a small ledge, and the impact caused the animal’s sharp quills to impale the inside of the snake, leading to its demise.
From LiveScience, “As [game reserve general manager Jennifer Fuller] noted, pythons in the Lake Eland Game Reserve have been spotted consuming even larger prey, including adult oribi antelope, which can weigh nearly 50 lbs. (22.7 kg). Pythons possess the incredible ability to alter their metabolism, as well as the size of their organs, after a meal. This allows the a python to digest prey that is much larger than the snake is, according to a study published in 2013 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
The story of the python eating the porcupine made headlines last week, and now scientists are shedding more light on the snake’s disastrous final meal.
Johan Marais, a snake expert, told Earth Touch News Network that porcupine is actually a common part of a python’s diet and that the death was unusual.
“Pythons do eat porcupines and usually without problems other than the odd quill stuck somewhere,” he said. “But when disturbed after a large meal, the natural reaction for a snake is to regurgitate its meal so that it is mobile again and can escape. But regurgitating a porcupine is not that easy, and I am sure that is where things went wrong.”
Those who are curious to see what happens when a python eats a porcupine can click here for more pictures, but be warned that it may be a bit graphic for some viewers.
[Image via Lake Eland Game Reserve]
When Erasing Symbols of Slavery, Don't Forget the Democratic Party
In the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, there are increasing and ever louder calls for the removal of all symbols, objects and persons connected to slavery or the Confederate States of America. Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, and so all honors given him should be renamed, and all copies of the Declaration of Independence shredded. Robert E. Lee fought for the South, so all his effigies should be melted down and his rebel flags shredded, even though the Confederacy had nothing to do with the shooting. The Confederacy is no more; however, there still exists an organization that gained power from instituting slavery and segregation: the Democratic Party.
The founders of the Democratic-Republican Party were prominent slave holders, like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Its opponent, the Federalist Party, was founded by abolitionists, like Alexander Hamilton. While the main point of contention was Federalism vs anti-Federalism, the parties were strangely divided between abolitionists and anti-abolitionists. The Democratic-Republican Party split in 1832, due to the rivalry of John Quincy Adams (abolitionist) and Henry Clay (emancipator) against Andrew Jackson (slavery advocate). Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren (anti-abolitionist), James K. Polk (slavery compromiser), and Stephen A. Douglas (slavery fence-sitter) founded the current Democratic Party. The abolitionists wandered in the wilderness for a while, mixing with Whigs, and finally coalescing into the Republican Party in 1854, with abolition as its singular purpose.
During the first half of the 1800's, slavery was a contentious and persistent issue. Many slave owners and Democrats viewed slavery as a necessary evil, and abolition as unnecessary contention. Thomas Jefferson advocated for mass emancipation and deportation, for he viewed the black race as too childish, and based on the 1791 Haiti rebellion, unable to handle the anger engendered by their enslavement. Another common view held that the black race was simply unable to care for itself, and thus slaves were better off under the care of their masters, and that slavery only needed greater compassion, a view still held by the Democratic Party to this day. Why do you think Democrats promote government assistance programs for African Americans? If Democrat-advocated programs are taking care of blacks, then who is the master?
Even if they publicly stated that slavery was wrong, Democrats consistently worked against abolition and emancipation, often by compromising: abolitionists get a free state, slavers get a slave state. In this way, Democrats could publicly side against slavery, while obtaining the support of wealthy slave owners. Does this tactic seem familiar, on other issues? No slaver ever supported a Republican; they meant what they said and did what they meant, and it started a war.
But that was yesterday's Democratic Party! Guess again. After the Civil War, Democrats implemented new strategies to re-enslave or oppress African Americans. They introduced things like Jim Crow laws. President Woodrow Wilson (D) segregated the Army and Federal government. They were integrated by Republicans before him, and again by Republicans after Roosevelt. President Roosevelt appointed a leader of the Ku Klux Klan to the Supreme Court, and another KKK leader, Robert Byrd, was a prominent Democratic Senator for decades. Republicans had tried to pass the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts since the mid-50's, but Democrats blocked them, until President Johnson (D) gutted the Acts and passed them as part of a scheme to pacify blacks and snare their votes.
Presidents Roosevelt and Johnson passed public assistance, known as the War on Poverty, and heavily promoted it among African American neighborhoods. For many African American communities, it might be better termed the War on Prosperity. When real African American leaders like Bobby Gore rose up to free blacks from their new masters, Democrats like Mayor Richard J. Daley were more than happy to pound them back down. The Democratic Party has employed a new generation of house slaves, called community organizers, to convince African Americans that all of their woes are due to their skin, and to train blacks to beg for government to take care of them, unaware of their new master.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream of a colorblind society. How strange that after his death, two very well connected Democrats, Jessie Jackson(who was there when it happened) and Al Sharpton, profited greatly from fomenting racial tension in a race-aware society. The Democratic Party has an evil and vile history of slavery and racism, that continues to this day, and it deserves to be erased. Will any reporter ever ask Hillary or Barack when they will leave the Party?
Blind abandonment of symbols, organizations and persons for their association with slavery or the Confederacy is counter-productive. General Lee's battle flag is also known as the "rebel flag", and has long been a symbol against central authority. It was, after all, the symbol of the rank-and-file soldiers, for whom the Civil War was by far about resisting an intrusive Federal government, and by less about slavery. General Lee, who adopted the flag as the symbol of his army, had a rather interesting view on slavery: it was immoral and wrong, but The Allmighty intended it, for the betterment of the black race. A Merciful Providence, to whom two thousand years are but as a single day, that would lead the black race [in America] to better things.
What are these better things? One hundred and fifty years later, African Americans have been the victims of a public education, community organization and welfare scheme, carefully designed and orchestrated to tie them forever to their new master: Government under the Democratic Party. A better, more compassionate form of slavery, as advocated by the slavers. The new house slaves, the Jacksons, Sharptons and Crumps of the Democratic Party and Grievance Industry, have fixated African Americans on the ire of their slave blood and color of their skin, to distract them from the pecking party meant to subjugate them, but this tactic can backfire.
It should be obvious from the founding of this Country, but nearly every person here has slave blood. Rather than being privately owned, we were all government owned serfs (slaves, in another language), with kings, dukes, counts, barons and knights as our masters. A better, more compassionate form of all-powerful government, as Democrats love to advocate, is as illusory and oppressive as a better, more compassionate form of slavery. Absent the propaganda, African Americans are about as conservative and libertarian as it gets. Filled with the ire of slavery and ever more anti-authoritarian, perhaps they will one day forever leave the Democratic Party and join with other conservatives to reestablish the promise of a free America, for everyone.
The founders of the Democratic-Republican Party were prominent slave holders, like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Its opponent, the Federalist Party, was founded by abolitionists, like Alexander Hamilton. While the main point of contention was Federalism vs anti-Federalism, the parties were strangely divided between abolitionists and anti-abolitionists. The Democratic-Republican Party split in 1832, due to the rivalry of John Quincy Adams (abolitionist) and Henry Clay (emancipator) against Andrew Jackson (slavery advocate). Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren (anti-abolitionist), James K. Polk (slavery compromiser), and Stephen A. Douglas (slavery fence-sitter) founded the current Democratic Party. The abolitionists wandered in the wilderness for a while, mixing with Whigs, and finally coalescing into the Republican Party in 1854, with abolition as its singular purpose.
During the first half of the 1800's, slavery was a contentious and persistent issue. Many slave owners and Democrats viewed slavery as a necessary evil, and abolition as unnecessary contention. Thomas Jefferson advocated for mass emancipation and deportation, for he viewed the black race as too childish, and based on the 1791 Haiti rebellion, unable to handle the anger engendered by their enslavement. Another common view held that the black race was simply unable to care for itself, and thus slaves were better off under the care of their masters, and that slavery only needed greater compassion, a view still held by the Democratic Party to this day. Why do you think Democrats promote government assistance programs for African Americans? If Democrat-advocated programs are taking care of blacks, then who is the master?
Even if they publicly stated that slavery was wrong, Democrats consistently worked against abolition and emancipation, often by compromising: abolitionists get a free state, slavers get a slave state. In this way, Democrats could publicly side against slavery, while obtaining the support of wealthy slave owners. Does this tactic seem familiar, on other issues? No slaver ever supported a Republican; they meant what they said and did what they meant, and it started a war.
Presidents Roosevelt and Johnson passed public assistance, known as the War on Poverty, and heavily promoted it among African American neighborhoods. For many African American communities, it might be better termed the War on Prosperity. When real African American leaders like Bobby Gore rose up to free blacks from their new masters, Democrats like Mayor Richard J. Daley were more than happy to pound them back down. The Democratic Party has employed a new generation of house slaves, called community organizers, to convince African Americans that all of their woes are due to their skin, and to train blacks to beg for government to take care of them, unaware of their new master.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream of a colorblind society. How strange that after his death, two very well connected Democrats, Jessie Jackson(who was there when it happened) and Al Sharpton, profited greatly from fomenting racial tension in a race-aware society. The Democratic Party has an evil and vile history of slavery and racism, that continues to this day, and it deserves to be erased. Will any reporter ever ask Hillary or Barack when they will leave the Party?
Blind abandonment of symbols, organizations and persons for their association with slavery or the Confederacy is counter-productive. General Lee's battle flag is also known as the "rebel flag", and has long been a symbol against central authority. It was, after all, the symbol of the rank-and-file soldiers, for whom the Civil War was by far about resisting an intrusive Federal government, and by less about slavery. General Lee, who adopted the flag as the symbol of his army, had a rather interesting view on slavery: it was immoral and wrong, but The Allmighty intended it, for the betterment of the black race. A Merciful Providence, to whom two thousand years are but as a single day, that would lead the black race [in America] to better things.
What are these better things? One hundred and fifty years later, African Americans have been the victims of a public education, community organization and welfare scheme, carefully designed and orchestrated to tie them forever to their new master: Government under the Democratic Party. A better, more compassionate form of slavery, as advocated by the slavers. The new house slaves, the Jacksons, Sharptons and Crumps of the Democratic Party and Grievance Industry, have fixated African Americans on the ire of their slave blood and color of their skin, to distract them from the pecking party meant to subjugate them, but this tactic can backfire.
It should be obvious from the founding of this Country, but nearly every person here has slave blood. Rather than being privately owned, we were all government owned serfs (slaves, in another language), with kings, dukes, counts, barons and knights as our masters. A better, more compassionate form of all-powerful government, as Democrats love to advocate, is as illusory and oppressive as a better, more compassionate form of slavery. Absent the propaganda, African Americans are about as conservative and libertarian as it gets. Filled with the ire of slavery and ever more anti-authoritarian, perhaps they will one day forever leave the Democratic Party and join with other conservatives to reestablish the promise of a free America, for everyone.
Why Atheists Are a Myth
Because whatever our strongly held beliefs are, that is our religion.
There’s no such thing as religious versus non-religious; there’s just organized religion versus disorganized religion. Probably a big difference between me and an atheist is that I can easily write out a list of unprovable things I believe in while an atheist would have more trouble listing them while still having just as many beliefs.And because we all have these unprovable beliefs that guide our actions, that’s why it’s nonsense to try to keep religion out of politics, as everything we do is religion.
Where Were the Parents of the McKinney Pool Party Troublemakers?
So now the race debate has moved to McKinney, Texas, a bedroom community of Dallas, with an out-of-control party invading a quiet family-oriented community. The story is encapsulated and reduced by the all-seeing media to a ten-second clip of a white police officer manhandling a pretty teen girl wearing only a swimsuit to the ground.
“Oh, waily, waily!” the liberal media screamed. “Clearly this is yet another case of racey-hatey racist white men oppressing the black children!”
Well, sure they do. But what I saw on that video was not a situation where black lives don’t matter. Instead, I saw a young lady who clearly had not been taught respect for authority, who repeatedly returned after a police officer told her to leave an area where she was trespassing, and who finally pushed him into using physical force to make her behave. And then she resisted, crying and hollering for her mama. Had she not resisted, there would have been no juicy video. Had she done what she was told, this would be a local story at best.
I would be utterly humiliated if any of my children, INCLUDING THE AUTISTIC ONE, had behaved in such a way when confronted by a police officer. I’d have been furious at them for participating in an out-of-control party like the one that was broken up.
Here’s what you really need to know about this “party”:
These party-goers were teenagers. Think back just a few weeks ago to Baltimore. The first night of rioting, the earliest altercations were started by teenagers not in school or employed or at home with their families. They threw rocks at the police, some of them as big as bricks. They put one cop in the hospital overnight.
This isn’t a case of race problems. This is, rather, a problem of parenting and of idle kids with no employment prospects. I am reminded of Toya Graham, who was hailed as the Mom of the Year when she dragged her 16-year-old son Michael away from a riot he was participating in.
I loved her actions, but my reaction was not to hail her as MotY. Instead, I wondered where the hell all the other parents were. Most kids in that riot had at least one parent out there who presumably cared about them. How come they were not out there dragging their little darlings home by the ear?
Flash forward again to McKinney. Same situation: hordes of teenagers with nothing better to do than cause trouble for other people, cops called in, video captured and used for political propaganda, not a parent in sight.
Shouldn’t we be asking whether the kids know where their parents are?
“Oh, waily, waily!” the liberal media screamed. “Clearly this is yet another case of racey-hatey racist white men oppressing the black children!”
Apparently unlike the media, I took the time to inform myself: I listened to interviews with the black man who made the call (the man was fully supportive of the cop, by the way), watched the entire seven-minute clip made available publicly, and listened to other community members who witnessed the incident. There was way more to the story than that ten seconds of looped and incendiary video.
Black activists, smelling another opportunity to hoover up cash and sympathy, were not so skeptical. Instead, they organized an 800-person march from a neighborhood school to the swimming pool of the mixed-race, mixed-income neighborhood, chanting and singing the whole way about how black lives matter.Well, sure they do. But what I saw on that video was not a situation where black lives don’t matter. Instead, I saw a young lady who clearly had not been taught respect for authority, who repeatedly returned after a police officer told her to leave an area where she was trespassing, and who finally pushed him into using physical force to make her behave. And then she resisted, crying and hollering for her mama. Had she not resisted, there would have been no juicy video. Had she done what she was told, this would be a local story at best.
I would be utterly humiliated if any of my children, INCLUDING THE AUTISTIC ONE, had behaved in such a way when confronted by a police officer. I’d have been furious at them for participating in an out-of-control party like the one that was broken up.
Here’s what you really need to know about this “party”:
- A small private neighborhood pool was commandeered for a graduation party. This party included a DJ who played music that was, according to one neighborhood resident, not appropriate for children, and not really appropriate for underage teens.
- Present, but not attending the party, were children and families entitled to use the pool. They were just there to hang out at their neighborhood pool for a quiet afternoon in the sun.
- Social media was used by party-goers to put out a call to bring other kids in.
- The neighborhood pool prohibits any resident from having more than two guests. Unauthorized people at this pool are, by law, trespassing.
- The party quickly spiraled out of control, with neighborhood residents confronting trespassing party-goers and escalating to a physical altercation between two women. The neighborhood security guard was unable to control the situation.
These party-goers were teenagers. Think back just a few weeks ago to Baltimore. The first night of rioting, the earliest altercations were started by teenagers not in school or employed or at home with their families. They threw rocks at the police, some of them as big as bricks. They put one cop in the hospital overnight.
This isn’t a case of race problems. This is, rather, a problem of parenting and of idle kids with no employment prospects. I am reminded of Toya Graham, who was hailed as the Mom of the Year when she dragged her 16-year-old son Michael away from a riot he was participating in.
I loved her actions, but my reaction was not to hail her as MotY. Instead, I wondered where the hell all the other parents were. Most kids in that riot had at least one parent out there who presumably cared about them. How come they were not out there dragging their little darlings home by the ear?
Flash forward again to McKinney. Same situation: hordes of teenagers with nothing better to do than cause trouble for other people, cops called in, video captured and used for political propaganda, not a parent in sight.
Shouldn’t we be asking whether the kids know where their parents are?
James Last, King of Easy Listening, Dies at 86
Now when you go to the doctor’s office or step into an elevator you won’t hear anything.
Billionaire Bunkers: Exclusive Look Inside the World's Largest Planned Doomsday Escape
For the very first time, a modern day Noah’s Ark has opened its doors for an exclusive inside look offering up plans for the ultimate Billionaire bunker and doomsday escape.
Vivos founder and CEO Robert Vicino announced Vivos Europa One which will be an invitation only, five star, underground survival complex, similar to an underground cruise ship for the elite. Each family will be provided a private 2,500 square foot of floor area, capable of two story improvements for a total of 5,000 square feet of private living quarters. With fit and finish comparable to a mega-yacht, each member family will hire their own architect and contractor to build out their living quarters to the custom standard they desire.
The expansive shelter is located in Germany and is one of the most fortified and massive underground survival shelters on Earth. Originally built by the Soviets during the Cold War, this shelter was a fortress for military equipment and munitions. After the DDR was merged with Germany, the German government inherited this relic and intended to use it for the same purpose of weapons storage. However, due to a law prohibiting the storage of ammunition near a major highway, the German Government soon realized they could not continue with their plans and decided to auction this 76 acre complex. A wealthy investor purchased the entire property, along with all of its improvements, both above and below ground. Vicino says “We are proud to bring this epic project forward in these increasingly dangerous times.”
The hardened facility is capable of withstanding a substantial close range nuclear blast, a direct airplane crash, biological and chemical agents, shock waves, earthquakes, tsunami, electro-magnetic pulses, and virtually any armed attack.
The complex includes over 21,108 square meters (227,904 square feet) of secured, blast proof living areas; and, an additional 4,079 square meters (43,906 square feet) of above-ground office and warehouse buildings, including a train servicing depot. The typical chamber area is 5 meters wide (16.40 feet), by 6 meters tall (19.68 feet) and 85 meters (278.87 feet) long. Collectively there are over 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of continuous tunnel chambers (equivalent to 71 Boeing 747’s fuselages stretched end to end). All shelter areas are located behind 3 separate nuclear blast and radiation proof vehicle entrances, and a number of other passages for access by people only. Each of the three main tunnel entrances includes an outer security door system, followed by a 40 ton hydraulic truck access door with hardened steel rods which expand into the surrounding encasement, and a second set of massive steel doors providing an airtight seal shut, protecting against chemical, biological and gas intrusion. The underground main traffic corridors are large enough to allow mechanical transportation of heavy equipment to almost any point within the complex.
Vivos founder and CEO Robert Vicino announced Vivos Europa One which will be an invitation only, five star, underground survival complex, similar to an underground cruise ship for the elite. Each family will be provided a private 2,500 square foot of floor area, capable of two story improvements for a total of 5,000 square feet of private living quarters. With fit and finish comparable to a mega-yacht, each member family will hire their own architect and contractor to build out their living quarters to the custom standard they desire.
The expansive shelter is located in Germany and is one of the most fortified and massive underground survival shelters on Earth. Originally built by the Soviets during the Cold War, this shelter was a fortress for military equipment and munitions. After the DDR was merged with Germany, the German government inherited this relic and intended to use it for the same purpose of weapons storage. However, due to a law prohibiting the storage of ammunition near a major highway, the German Government soon realized they could not continue with their plans and decided to auction this 76 acre complex. A wealthy investor purchased the entire property, along with all of its improvements, both above and below ground. Vicino says “We are proud to bring this epic project forward in these increasingly dangerous times.”
The hardened facility is capable of withstanding a substantial close range nuclear blast, a direct airplane crash, biological and chemical agents, shock waves, earthquakes, tsunami, electro-magnetic pulses, and virtually any armed attack.
The complex includes over 21,108 square meters (227,904 square feet) of secured, blast proof living areas; and, an additional 4,079 square meters (43,906 square feet) of above-ground office and warehouse buildings, including a train servicing depot. The typical chamber area is 5 meters wide (16.40 feet), by 6 meters tall (19.68 feet) and 85 meters (278.87 feet) long. Collectively there are over 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) of continuous tunnel chambers (equivalent to 71 Boeing 747’s fuselages stretched end to end). All shelter areas are located behind 3 separate nuclear blast and radiation proof vehicle entrances, and a number of other passages for access by people only. Each of the three main tunnel entrances includes an outer security door system, followed by a 40 ton hydraulic truck access door with hardened steel rods which expand into the surrounding encasement, and a second set of massive steel doors providing an airtight seal shut, protecting against chemical, biological and gas intrusion. The underground main traffic corridors are large enough to allow mechanical transportation of heavy equipment to almost any point within the complex.
Six Ukrainian servicemen killed, 14 wounded
KIEV (Reuters) - Six Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 14 wounded in separatist eastern territory in the past 24 hours, despite a four-month-old ceasefire deal, news agency Interfax Ukraine cited the Ukrainian military as saying on Saturday.
The casualties were a result of active fighting and shelling by pro-Russian separatists, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko was quoted as saying.
The casualties were a result of active fighting and shelling by pro-Russian separatists, military spokesman Andriy Lysenko was quoted as saying.
Where’s the Pope’s Encyclical on Christian Persecution?
Good question. His Holiness seems remarkably unconcerned about the murder of Middle Eastern and African Christians at the hands of Muslim fanatics compared to the global warming and other “progressive” issues. What gives?
Pope Francis recently released a new encyclical. Portions of it deal with environmentalism, global warming, and climate change. Naturally, this has prompted controversy.
It’s noteworthy that Francis didn’t merely opine on global warming during this or that sermon, but that he issued a papal encyclical on the matter. Encyclicals are much more formal and significant that passing comments made during mass. They are letters written by a pope and sent to bishops all around the world. In turn, the bishops are meant to disseminate the encyclical’s ideas to all the priests and churches in their jurisdiction, so that the pope’s teaching reaches every church-attending Catholic.
Said Pope Francis:
The pope could instruct bishops to acknowledge the truth about Christian persecution and to have this news spread to every Catholic church. Perhaps a weekly prayer for the persecuted church could be institutionalized—keeping the plight of those hapless Christians in the spotlight, so Western Catholics and others always remember them, talk about them, and, perhaps most importantly, understand why they are being persecuted.
Once enough people are acquainted with the reality of Christian persecution, they could influence U.S. policymakers—at least to drop those policies that directly exacerbate the sufferings of Christian minorities in the Middle East.
Today, indigenous Christians who’ve been in the Middle East before Islam was conceived are being slaughtered, their churches burned to the ground, their women and children, enslaved, raped, and forced to convert. “ISIS” is the tip of the iceberg.
Even in the West, statistics indicate that Islam is set to supersede Christianity, at least in numbers.
Yet no encyclical from Pope Francis on any of this. Instead, Francis deems it more fit to issue a proclamation addressing the environment and climate change.
Whatever position one holds concerning these topics, it is telling that the pope—the one man in the world best placed and most expected to speak up for millions of persecuted Christians and Catholics around the world—is more interested in speaking up for “the world” itself.
Bear in mind, the Christian worldview is not about “saving the earth”—“where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”—but in saving souls, both in the now and hereafter. The Lord questioned Saul of Tarsus as to why he was persecuting his flock, not about the environment.
Yet here we are: if even the Catholic Pope does not deem the ongoing, systematic assault on Christianity and Christians a priority issue in need of its own encyclical, what can be expected from the average secular/atheistic politician in the West?
The answer is before us: brutal persecution and slaughter of Christians on the one hand, and absolute indifference from the West on the other.
It’s noteworthy that Francis didn’t merely opine on global warming during this or that sermon, but that he issued a papal encyclical on the matter. Encyclicals are much more formal and significant that passing comments made during mass. They are letters written by a pope and sent to bishops all around the world. In turn, the bishops are meant to disseminate the encyclical’s ideas to all the priests and churches in their jurisdiction, so that the pope’s teaching reaches every church-attending Catholic.
All this leads to the following question: Where is Pope Francis’ encyclical concerning the rampant persecution that Christians—including many Catholics—are experiencing around the world in general, the Islamic world in particular?
To be sure, the pope has acknowledged it. On April 21, during mass held at Casa Santa Marta, Francis said that today’s church is a “church of martyrs.” He even referenced several of the recent attacks on Christians by Muslims (without of course mentioned the latter’s religious identity).Said Pope Francis:
In these days how many Stephens [early Christian martyred in Book of Acts] there are in the world! Let us think of our brothers whose throats were slit on the beach in Libya [by the Islamic State]; let’s think of the young boy who was burnt alive by his [Pakistani Muslim] companions because he was a Christian; let us think of those migrants thrown from their boat into the open sea by other [African Muslim] migrants because they were Christians; let us think – just the day before yesterday – of those Ethiopians assassinated because they were Christians… and of many others. Many others of whom we do not even know and who are suffering in jails because they are Christians… The Church today is a Church of martyrs: they suffer, they give their lives and we receive the blessing of God for their witness.The pope is obviously well acquainted with the reality of Christian persecution around the world. So why isn’t he issuing an encyclical about it? Such an encyclical would be very useful.
The pope could instruct bishops to acknowledge the truth about Christian persecution and to have this news spread to every Catholic church. Perhaps a weekly prayer for the persecuted church could be institutionalized—keeping the plight of those hapless Christians in the spotlight, so Western Catholics and others always remember them, talk about them, and, perhaps most importantly, understand why they are being persecuted.
Once enough people are acquainted with the reality of Christian persecution, they could influence U.S. policymakers—at least to drop those policies that directly exacerbate the sufferings of Christian minorities in the Middle East.
Whatever the effects of such an encyclical—and one can only surmise positive ones—at the very least, the pope would be addressing a topic entrusted to his care and requiring his attention.
In 1958, Pope Pius XII issued an encyclical that addressed the persecution of Christians. A portion follows:We are aware—to the great sorrow of Our fatherly heart—that the Catholic Church, in both its Latin and Oriental rites, is beset in many lands by such persecutions that the clergy and faithful … are confronted with this dilemma: to give up public profession and propagation of their faith, or to suffer penalties, even very serious ones.
[…]
Missionaries who have left their homes and dear native lands and suffered many serious discomforts in order to bring the light and the strength of the gospel to others, have been driven from many regions as menaces and evil-doers…Note that Pius does not mention the burning and bombing of churches, or the abduction, rape, enslavement, and slaughter of Christians. The reason is that Christians living outside the West in 1958 rarely experienced such persecution. In other words, today’s global persecution of Christians is exponentially worse than in 1958. Pius complained about how Christianity was being contained, not allowed to spread and win over converts.
Today, indigenous Christians who’ve been in the Middle East before Islam was conceived are being slaughtered, their churches burned to the ground, their women and children, enslaved, raped, and forced to convert. “ISIS” is the tip of the iceberg.
Even in the West, statistics indicate that Islam is set to supersede Christianity, at least in numbers.
Yet no encyclical from Pope Francis on any of this. Instead, Francis deems it more fit to issue a proclamation addressing the environment and climate change.
Whatever position one holds concerning these topics, it is telling that the pope—the one man in the world best placed and most expected to speak up for millions of persecuted Christians and Catholics around the world—is more interested in speaking up for “the world” itself.
Bear in mind, the Christian worldview is not about “saving the earth”—“where moth and rust do corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”—but in saving souls, both in the now and hereafter. The Lord questioned Saul of Tarsus as to why he was persecuting his flock, not about the environment.
Yet here we are: if even the Catholic Pope does not deem the ongoing, systematic assault on Christianity and Christians a priority issue in need of its own encyclical, what can be expected from the average secular/atheistic politician in the West?
The answer is before us: brutal persecution and slaughter of Christians on the one hand, and absolute indifference from the West on the other.
Friday, June 26, 2015
With Knife Murders Spiking After Gun Ban, UK Urges “Save a Life–Surrender Your Knife”
Don’t try to think this one through.
The logic fail and sheer volume of absurdity might just make you sick if you do.
For the UK – whose laws and policies all-too-often influence those of the U.S. – gun control isn’t enough. Probably nothing will ever be enough.
Now a call to surrender knives, ongoing for years, is in full swing. Via Citizen Action:
Since knives are used for food preparation and many other basic and essential activities, and virtually any crude material can be transformed into a knife, even police admit the “amnesty” for turning in knives will do nothing to stop knife crimes (but it will do a great deal for instilling a mentality of helplessness while heaping on more and more rules).
Here is what the murder rate looks like since the UK’s gun ban – with knife murders spiking drastically:
The logic fail and sheer volume of absurdity might just make you sick if you do.
For the UK – whose laws and policies all-too-often influence those of the U.S. – gun control isn’t enough. Probably nothing will ever be enough.
Now a call to surrender knives, ongoing for years, is in full swing. Via Citizen Action:
The right to bear arms might be under attack here in America–but in the United Kingdom, police are trying to do something even more ridiculous: they’re attempting to ban knives.There is, however, a ban on people under 18 buying knives – going so far on the absurdity scale as to ban underage purchases of plastic knives! No joke. One woman in her 20s was even barred from buying spoons without proper ID:
The British police have recently joined forces with liberal grassroots activists in the UK, launching the “Save a Life–Surrender Your Knife” program. Knife crime has been climbing recently in major UK cities like London.
The program involved several weeks of “amnesty” for “pointed knives.” Civilians can turn in these apparently dangerous weapons at their local police station in exchange for “amnesty,” apparently, even though knives (rounded or pointed) aren’t illegal in the United Kingdom.
Since knives are used for food preparation and many other basic and essential activities, and virtually any crude material can be transformed into a knife, even police admit the “amnesty” for turning in knives will do nothing to stop knife crimes (but it will do a great deal for instilling a mentality of helplessness while heaping on more and more rules).
Because the problem with knife crime, however, is that it’s pretty much impossible to stop just by banning knives itself. Virtually every person in the United Kingdom owns a knife–and, as long as food needs cutting, that’s not going to change.Despite the attempt to paint knife crimes as an impulsive issue of short tempers and petty disputes, carjackings, robberies and premeditated murders are frequently committed with knives in the UK… and the system is trying to make sure victims remain defenseless.
[…] the problem is that “many assaults are committed impulsively, prompted by alcohol and drugs, and a kitchen knife often makes an all too available weapon.”
Here is what the murder rate looks like since the UK’s gun ban – with knife murders spiking drastically:
Police departments in the UK, urging people to give up their blades, including those from the kitchen, are literally advising people to NOT to become a victim by NOT defending themselves:
The same “logic” has of course been used in American debates on guns, with Homeland Security training even advising would-be victims at schools and offices to hide or throw cans of soup at active shooters.Don’t be a victim
If you feel you are in immediate danger from knife crime there are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself:
• Move away from the situation towards a public place (shop, house, restaurant etc.) as quickly as possible.
• Make as much noise as you can.
• Instead of carrying a knife, carry a personal alarm.
• Don’t fight back.
It is a good enough assertion at this point to suppose that all the sharpest knives in the drawer have already been turned in or confiscated… as clearly no one in a position of authority has common sense or wits about them at all.
Your thoughts on this madness?
Holly Madison: I wanted to kill myself in Hugh Hefner's 'twisted world'
But she can’t kill herself! Not until she has fulfilled all of MY fantasies.
Blast from the Past -Man Beats Up Woman, Gets Paid and Praised for It
More “Mondo Cane” (strange world) news for the past. Even The Onion can't top the weird stuff happening nowadays. Apparently its Ok for a man to beat up women if he gets his junk cut off first.
As far as I can tell, the opening salvo in World War T was the long, celebratory article “A Pioneer, Reluctantly” in the New York Times on May 10, 2013. It was about transsexual mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox’s heroic struggle to overcome outdated prejudices and be allowed to beat up women for money.
Here’s an update on last night’s MMA bout from Knuckle Junkies:
In the co-main event, Fallon Fox and Tamikka Brents engaged quickly with Fox unleashing a brutal barrage of knees from the clench opening a nasty cut on the forehead of her opponent. Brents had no choice but to pull guard, and worked from an open guard before Fox passed and would eventually take the back. That is where Fox rained down punches and put the on the hurt Brents, who was unable to answer or improve her position and forced a stoppage to the fight.Ray Rice beating up his fiance (now wife) is the worst thing in the history of the world because Rice is a man, but Fox beating up women for money requires our You Go, Girl approbation because because Fox is an ex-man.
Fox improves to 5-1 as a professional, and pleaded with the promoters from Invicta to give her a shot in her post-fight interview with Mylas Copeland. Brents drops to 2-2 and looked to have sizeable swelling on her left eye…
NJ cop pleads guilty in dashcam unzipping - Exposed self to motorists
I don’t understand this. It seems like there is no pleasing people these days. Would the motorists have been happier if the cop had pointed his gun at them?
In Newton, New Jersey, young men allegedly got a little more than what they asked for when they were pulled over for traffic offenses by an officer.
Officer Jason Miller, a patrolman for 14 years, was suspended by Newton Police without pay and turned himself in to the Sussex County Prosecutor's Office last week.
Miller allegedly unzipped his pants and exposed himself during a number of traffic stops.
The acts were caught on police dashcam video.
On Monday, Miller appeared in Sussex County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.
He also was charged with two counts of official misconduct, one count of a pattern of official misconduct, and one count of lewdness.
Newton Police were tipped off by anonymous tipsters in October, which led to the investigation.
Miller is accused of exposing his genitals to motorists he had pulled over for traffic violations then letting them leave without issuing tickets or summonses. These incidents occurred between March and October 2014.
Sentencing is set for early August.
Miller allegedly unzipped his pants and exposed himself during a number of traffic stops.
The acts were caught on police dashcam video.
On Monday, Miller appeared in Sussex County Superior Court and pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence.
He also was charged with two counts of official misconduct, one count of a pattern of official misconduct, and one count of lewdness.
Newton Police were tipped off by anonymous tipsters in October, which led to the investigation.
Miller is accused of exposing his genitals to motorists he had pulled over for traffic violations then letting them leave without issuing tickets or summonses. These incidents occurred between March and October 2014.
Sentencing is set for early August.
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