A report out of Nairobi, Kenya this morning says more U.S. Naval reinforcements are heading toward Captain Richard Phillips sitting in that lifeboat held hostage by "pirates." But the story is that "pirate reinforcements with an international gallery of hostages" - also "rushed toward the spot where four Somali bandits" are holding an American citizen. And the terrorists are not fearing American warships. Updates will added to the bottom of this article as they are available.
Captain Richard Phillips
According to this report, fellow-pirates plan to up the ante. They plan to "link up with their colleagues," and use their "Russian, German, Filipino and other hostages captured IN RECENT DAYS as human shields.
What has happened to America, the Super Power, who allows sea terrorists from a Muslim Nation to hold us hostage?
This Captain, who offered his life in exchange for the lives of his crew, tried to escape by jumping overboard early this morning. He didn't make it, and was hauled back into the boat in some fashion. Make no doubt about it, this man's life has been in mortal danger since the moment his ship was taken, and especially once in the lifeboat with the terrorists.
We took comfort in the American warship that arrived. We should not have. I listened to a retired American General interviewed by FOX News just as the warship arrived. It was still dark outside. He was confident that when light dawned and the pirates saw that magnificent warship looming, they would give back the Captain. Right. We all know that America no longer works that way.
There is only one option guaranteed to work for this man's safety: Snipers take out the pirates - three bullets at the same time. We know it can be done. What about Navy Seals?
I know what every man aboard the Naval ship wants to do. I know what every American military member around the world wants to do, and most of the time can successfully do, but our politically correct, terrorism-denying, political leadership has succumbed to previously un-known, un-American attitudes.
The ship, the Maersk Alabama, was traveling through the Gulf of Aden at the time of the assault. Somalia on one side, Yemen on the other - one of the most dangerous areas of the world for ships from the free world. The ship was carrying humanitarian relief supplies to refugees.
Pirates are not fearing American warships - not one warship, not even multiple warships. They have hostages, after all. We have nothing but warships impotent to do anything.
(1) "Reached by Reuters via satellite phone, the pirates on the lifeboat sounded desperate. "We are surrounded by warships and don't have time to talk," one said. "Please pray for us."
(2) The attacks have occurred for years but hit unprecedented levels in 2008. Pirates hold 18 vessels with a total of 267 hostages, many of them from the Philippines, according to the Kenya-based East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme.
Also, FOX News is reporting Navy Seals are onboard the warship.
Update 4/10/09 7:35 p.m. EST: In addition to the U.S.S. Bainbridge, an amphibious assault ship, the U.S.S. Boxer is in the area, as is the U.S. Halyburton, a guided-missile frigate with helicopters.
A note from Radarsite: I could spend the remainder of my life (which, as some of my friends know, is somewhat circumscribed) responding to Obama's recent stupid and unforgivable anti-American speeches overseas. This misguided, totally uninformed anti-Americanism is the reason I started Radarsite. A year-and-a-half ago I wrote a small article titled "A Brief Message to America", wherein I attempted to envision what General "Old Blood and Guts" Patton might have to say to this current weak-kneed leftist/pacifist generation, were he around to say it. Surprisingly, I received more hate mail for this piece than for anything I have written either before or since. Of course, this reaction triggered a new article which I am reproducing here in the hope that it reinvigorates the patriots and shames the lily-livered PC libs who are hell-bent on destroying this great nation of ours. -rg
As some of you may know, I have written many articles critical of many things. Most often, of course, I've been critical of that dangerous Religion of Peace, called Islam. However, I have also found time to criticize feminists, liberals, Mexican-Americans, and even the Queen of England. But, no other article I have ever written has generated more angry hate mail, nor more malicious personal attacks than a short piece I wrote earlier this week.
No, it wasn't that one about those deadly Mohammad cartoons; and it wasn't that piece about the Jews and anti-semitism -- which I was certain would receive all kinds of objectionable comments, but actually received none.
The article that generated the most vicious and hateful responses -- even more than any of my anti-Islam pieces -- was that short essay I wrote in praise of America, ABrief Message to America. Even some of those people who had previously been generally acceptive of my point of view got upset enough to let me know about it. In sum, the common theme of these protests was that the article in question was "disgusting" and made them "sick". A lot of jokes about running to get the bucket. One angry commenter accused me of "never having written anything of value since I first started posting". I had, till then, never experienced real unmittigated visceral hatred for something I had written.
Evidently, the subject of patriotism is even more inflammatory and controversial than the subject of anti-semitism. What, I wonder, does this say about us here, today, in America? What does this tell us about ourselves that we don't already know? Do you find this as revealing as I do?
In general, I am being accused of two major personal faults: either being a "phony" or a "fool". To me, a phony is someone who says things that they don't really mean; therefore I am not a phony. As to being a fool, I suppose that's for others to decide. Some ninety per cent of the hate mail came from right here in the U.S. -- although, surprisingly, some of the most disturbing came from -- of all places -- New Zealand.
However, I am also happy to report that this little article unapologetically extolling the virtually-ignored virtues of America and Americans also garnered some of the warmest and most genuinely supportive comments I have ever gotten for any other piece (including, to my surprise, Fox News). The most fulsome praise for that article's praise of America came -- not surprisingly -- from our loyal allies in Australia. [See "KG's comments below]
The article is just an article -- but the reactions are significant. Significant and disturbing. This is the nature of our current and growing 'civil war'. These are the enemies we face.
For me, being patriotic is as natural and uncomplicated as loving your parents. Are our parents without fault? Do they sometimes make mistakes? (although, I must admit, the older I get the less mistakes they seem to have made) The answer to both is of course, Yes. But they are our parents and we love them, don't we? We love them and we honor them, because they are good and they are decent and they have raised us up and nurtured us and protected us from harm to the best of their ability. And, again, the older I get, the more I appreciate how much they sacrificed for me so that I could have a chance at leading a free and productive life.
When I was an adolescent, I thought as an adolescent, and I was more than eager to find fault with them and with all of their 'phony values' and with the way they looked at this world. And I rebelled against them, as I rebelled against all authority figures and all of those loathsome symbols of The Establishment. In this way I was, of course, being a perfect conformist; conforming to the expectations of rebellious adolescence.
Thankfully, and finally, I've grown up now. After September 11, 2001, I've grown up even more -- as I'm sure a lot of us here have.
Over these past years, something has become increasingly apparent to me, a little theory of mine, which I can of course in no way corroborate with facts. It is simply this: the people I have known in my life who seem to be the most productive, the happiest, the most at ease with themselves and this world, are those people who speak of their parents with simple, unreserved affection, loyalty and love. Whether these were attributes which had always been present, or whether they were learned later on through life's experience -- as mine were -- they were almost invariably present and obvious.
I pity our enemies, for I think that they are unhappy and empty, I pity them as I pity all of those current rebellious adolescents who, for the sake of conforming to some perceived convention, have turned on their parents and their country and learned how to despise them and everything they stand for.
Israel will never take out Iran's nuclear facilities. When President George Bush walked out on his promise to never allow a nuclear Iran, it left the most moral of world decisions unhinged. The Bush exit left the decision to Barack Obama. Iran's Achmadinejad and the Mullahs...now they will have their way with Israel, because the most moral of decisions is left to Barack Obama. Barack Hussein Obama will not touch Iran - not with weapons or with sanctions - not even with some strongly couched verbal threats.
Israel
But now we have Benjamin Netanyahu at Israel's head, and he says Iran will never be nuclear. That has been a comforting promise since Bush looked the other way. I believe that promise is what got Netanyahu back into office in Israel, because just think what it must be like to live there.
But can Netanyahu attack Iran? Israel has the weapons. They do not have the resolve of the free world, however, to back them up. But does it make any difference? It seems clear...cut and dried...Israel will take out the Iranian nuclear program. But...but what if...what if the United States Air Force prevents an Israeli attack. What if the Israeli Air Force cannot pass over Barack Obama's Air Force?
At first, I thought this American Thinker article was a bit dramatic, although I am always completely serious anytime I think about Israel - and the danger they live with just heightens every day. I didn't read the beginning of this article with a careless attitude. When I see a title such as Farewell to Zion. Forever., it captures my full attention.
Cliff Thier's article doesn't ask questions. It answers them, even the questions we haven't asked for many, many years.
Since the Obamas came on our horizon, we've heard and learned many things about America, things I surely didn't know before these two got to a microphone: We are not a Christian nation, we are arrogant, dismissive and derisive. "Our souls are broken in this nation." There is no "war on terror," only man-made disasters. The current man-made disaster is battled through the Overseas Contingency Operation, "focusing your life on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition," and maybe the most frightening: "we cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as strong, just as well-funded, and "we will defeat the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Pakistan."
We've seen many things: election fraud at stunning levels with the offenders protected by the White House, veterans being asked to provide their own insurance to treat war wounds, American taxpayer dollars paying for abortions overseas and doctor's forced to participate in abortions, our government grabbing up companies and firing executives, the Executive Office taking control of the U.S. census, the Obama administration taking control of cyberspace under very tough rules - and capable of shutting-down "we the people" without notice or cause. The Obama administration accepting tax evaders into the highest offices in the land, the President of the United States telling Turkey that the United States is not a "Christian nation," the Treasury Secretary seeking authorization to seize financial entities that he deems in trouble. And we've seen our President bow to the King of Saudia Arabia in a low bow that is shocking the world. As I said on more than one occasion in comments around the blogs, this was not a etiquette faux paux - the man was having a moment, an emotional moment. No need to mention the distribution of my wealth and yours through the Stimulus.
We've had countless promises broken: "lobbyists "will not find a job in my White House," "very seldom will you hear me simplify a problem," "You will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime.
So why would we discount Cliff Thier's hypothesis, which I think he sees as a very sure bet? I hope you will read this article, then come back here and let me know what you think. Be sure to read to the end.
This question will be the first one asked in each Jewish home tonight at the start of the Passover Seder. At the Seder meal, Jews around the world retell the story of our Exodus from bondage in Egypt.
Passover or Pesach begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. It is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Shavu'ot and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, but little attention is paid to this aspect of the holiday. The primary observances of Pesach are related to the Exodus from Egypt after generations of slavery. This story is told in Exodus, Ch. 1-15. Many of the Pesach observances are instituted in Chs. 12-15.
Probably the most significant observance related to Pesach involves the removal of chametz (leaven; sounds like "hum it's" with that Scottish "ch") from our homes. This commemorates the fact that the Jews leaving Egypt were in a hurry, and did not have time to let their bread rise. It is also a symbolic way of removing the "puffiness" (arrogance, pride) from our souls.
We may not eat chametz during Pesach; we may not even own it or derive benefit from it. We may not even feed it to our pets or cattle. All chametz, including utensils used to cook chametz, must either be disposed of or sold to a non-Jew (they can be repurchased after the holiday). Pets' diets must be changed for the holiday, or the pets must be sold to a non-Jew (like the food and utensils, the pets can be repurchased after the holiday ends).
The process of cleaning the home of all chametz in preparation for Pesach is an enormous task. To do it right, you must prepare for several weeks and spend several days scrubbing everything down, going over the edges of your stove and fridge with a toothpick and a Q-Tip, covering all surfaces that come in contact with food with foil or shelf-liner, etc., etc., etc. After the cleaning is completed, the morning before the seder, a formal search of the house for chametz is undertaken, and any remaining chametz is burned.
Needless to say, Every Jewish family goes a bit crazy trying to clean their homes. I like to call it: Spring Cleaning on Steroids!
Now imagine the days of Passover when all you can eat is a dry cracker instead of bread. And imagine Passover occuring weeks before or after Easter, and you still have to attend school. I still have memories of going to school during those days, opening my lunchbox, and pulling out a piece of matzah. Never mind that my mother also sent along Tupperware containers (G-d help you if you lost them) filled with Gefilte Fish, fruit, a hard boiled egg, and Cream Cheese (to put on the matzah). I was stuck with this dry cracker which after a few days I didn't want to see ever again. And worse of all, my non-Jewish friends were eating real sandwiches. Made with real bread. They had Twinkies, and Yo-Yo's. Cupcakes and Devil Dogs. All the foods that were forbidden to me. I knew what Adam must have felt like in the Garden of Eden when G-d Commanded him not to eat of a certain tree. I tried to do a swap, like kids always try to do with their lunches. Just my luck, no takers. So I sat and quietly ate lunch while envying my friends.
Did I grow spiritually? Perhaps a bit. I did get a greater understanding of how different I was.
Today with the liberal attitude in our schools could this happen again? No. For the Jewish children would been segregated to a different part of the lunch room, where they wouldn't be subjected to the sight of leavened bread. Now that's a pity. For we learn valuable lessons when confronted with problems and awkward situations.
This week is the holy week for both Jews and Christians. It is the week of Passover for Jews, and Holy Week (culminating in Easter) for Christians. It is a time of remembering what the Lord has done for us. For releasing us from the bondage of Egypt, into the freedom of Israel.
Passover is not about matzah, it is about freedom both physical and spiritual.
Oh yes, I have finally made peace with matzah. It now takes me 6 days before I start looking at it in horror.
A note from Radarsite: Well, I'm back again, just in time to hear Obama's groveling apologies to our cowardly EU "allies". As I have previously written, incredulously, America has bought into the preposterous lie that America is the cause of the world's problems, and only by changing what it means to be an American can we fix things. I should say, half of America has bought into this blatant untruth. The other half is seething with righteous anger and looking for ways to fight back, to fight this great battle for our wondrous meritocracy. One way we can fight back is to never let the bastards have the last say. So here's my two cents. I wrote this a while ago in reply to a condescending comment from an anti-Yank Brit. However, I think it will serve equally as well as a corrective to OB's ill begotten Chamberlainesque foreign policy overtures. - rg
"Not surprisingly the author is N. American, a continent grown incontinent after 9/11 and where most people's knowledge of Europe fits snugly on the back of a very small stamp." "The average American citizen doesn't care about the world's problems, they only care about what brand of shoes they wear...sad but true!"
-- Recent comment from a British website
Really? I, for one, have grown sick and tired of these false and deceptive Old World arguments eagerly put forth against our great country, sick of the dishonest and transparent ruse of comparing the lowest forms of our American culture to the highest forms of some other culture in order to make the point that America is degrading the native cultures of the world. Too many pictures of those tacky MacDonald's Golden Arches in Cairo or those blaring Coke signs in Rome. We didn't exactly force this on you, you know? We didn't twist your delicate arms until you cried Uncle. If you didn't want this materialistic glitter, it wouldn't be there. Simple as that. You despise our degenerate culture yet you adore our fantasy Disneylands.
But, what about all those other things? What about all those tremendous advances in medicine, science, technology, and the arts? What of our long honorable history of unparalleled generosity? What of all those war torn countries -- many of whom were our bitterest enemies -- who, through our open-hearted generosity were saved from utter collapse and ruin? What of our fashionably despised and dishonored military who, if they had not taken up their honorable duty in Britain and in Europe and tolerated the condescending insults from the very people they were protecting, who would have fallen under the boot of brutal Fascist or Communist tyrannies long ago and more than once?
Yet of course you despise us for this, you despise the strength that protects you. Why then not forswear our help and turn to that ever-more-hopelessly conflicted and useless UN for your protection? Or put your trust in that comically befuddled military power of the EU? The answer of course is simple. You need us. You need our protection and you despise us for that fact.
You love our inane glitzy Hollywood culture and of course you despise us for that, too. You look down your pinched noses at our pedestrian morays, but you would sell your grandmother for a shot on American Idol. Your pervasive multicultural absurdities have led you to eagerly embrace the blatant lie of Muslim moral superiority -- despite all of the buckets of bloody evidence to the contrary. You have meekly acquiesced to a degenerate belief system that attempts to equate the embarrassment of a Britney Spears to the beheading of a Daniel Pearl. And you are proud of your cowardice and call it a shining example of tolerance and open-mindedness. You have refined yourself out of reality, and the delicate and precious world that you have constructed in its place will shatter about you like glass at the very first assault.
Simply put, you are dishonoring the honorable heritage of your brave grandparents, you are losing your will to fight back and thereby losing your precious and honorable society, yet you have the pomposity to attempt to condescend to our strong and brave America, whose soldiers are fighting and dying all over this violent world for other people's freedoms. You insult us and you degrade us. And you rest assured in the comfortable conviction that you are somehow inherently intellectually and morally superior to us.
Well, this particular Yank, who has spent his whole adult life studying, is getting a little fed up with taking these innumerable snide remarks from a little people who haven't shown the backbone or courage to save their own wonderful country from this growing onslaught of brutal barbarians. To appease your oppressors and save your precious hides, you have turned your backs on your own heroic sons, like the brave Lionheart, and criminalized his honesty and driven him from his home. You have embraced the cowardice of Chamberlain as your role model, and attempted to disguise your weaknesses by pretending that they are some higher form of civilized behavior called Multiculturalism.
We, then, the rude Yanks, are the new barbarians now. Yet, how then is it that somehow we have managed to accumulate more symphony orchestras than any other two European countries combined? more successful operas, more successful ballets, more internationally recognized artists and authors than any other country in this hemisphere? And why is it that this crass, unlettered public of ours, who is only interested in what brand of shoes they wear, works harder and puts in more hours and takes less vacations than any of those feeble and declining unionized socialistic European workers wallowing in their increasingly failing and stagnant economies could ever conceive of?
Through our good-hearted but misguided generosity we have become a paradigm of East Berlin in reverse -- we are being forced to build walls to keep out the daily onslaught of frantic and desperate invaders who besiege our degenerate nation daily, literally dying and selling their very bodies to just get one foot into our detestable imperialistic country -- to grab hold of that slim chance that perhaps today, if they're lucky, and if they don't get raped or robbed or sold off into prostitution rings, they just might make it past the border control and find a place here to live and perhaps find a little hope and happiness. These desperate people put the lie to all of those self-serving intellectual bullsh*t arguments about the declining moral promise of America or the unjust system of our government daily with their own blood.
For at least two generations now we Americans have been taking it on the chin from ignorant, self-righteous student activists and disillusioned psuedo-intellectuals brought up on that pervasive academic witches brew of those Marxist-driven, Moscow coordinated sanctimonious and cynically manipulated student protest movements of the 60s. We -- and you -- are now living with the bitter fruits of their destructive labors. Cynicism and disillusionment have become a refined art form throughout Old Europe and the UK, the motley uniform of the latest anti-capitalist, anti-American, antiwar avant-garde. To be wise is to be cynical, distrustful, and anti-American -- only trailer park bumpkins are unthinkingly patriotic, only the uninformed, unwashed, beer-drinking chain-smokers are to be seen saluting the American flag without embarrassment.
Your house is on fire, yet somehow you manage to find the time to come over here and criticize our garden.
Tiny and dying but still-powerful stars called pulsars spin like crazy and light up their surroundings, often with ghostly glows.
So it is with PSR B1509-58, which long ago collapsed into a sphere just 12 miles in diameter after running out of fuel.
And what a strange scene this one has created.
In a new image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, high-energy X-rays emanating from the nebula around PSR B1509-58 have been colored blue to reveal a structure resembling a hand reaching for some eternal red cosmic light.
The star now spins around at the dizzying pace of seven times every second — as pulsars do — spewing energy into space that creates the scene.
Strong magnetic fields, 15 trillion times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field, are thought to be involved, too. The combination drives an energetic wind of electrons and ions away from the dying star. As the electrons move through the magnetized nebula, they radiate away their energy as X-rays.
The red light actually a neighboring gas cloud, RCW 89, energized into glowing by the fingers of the PSR B1509-58 nebula, astronomers believe.
The scene, which spans 150 light-years, is about 17,000 light years away, so what we see now is how it actually looked 17,000 years ago, and that light is just arriving here.
A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).
When I first saw this picture, I wasn't reminded of what science would disclose about this Nebula, but what is upcoming in the Passover Sedar to be held this week:
“We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the L-rd, our G-d, took us out from there with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm".
At a time when more and more nations of the world are turning away from Israel and turning towards her enemies, it is a good time to remind the leaders of the world what happens to nations that try to destroy G-d's people.
Egypt was smitten with 10 plagues by G-d to convince Pharaoh to "Let my people go." How many plagues and of what form will G-d's anger take next time?
There is suppose to be a dialog for negotiations of any sort. Each side is suppose to listen, put forth their ideas demands, then see if the other side will accept them. This is true in most negotiations, whether they are a la or dispute, a civil court case, or between nations.
There is one exception: The Palestinians. They are immune from such ideas.
Your March 31 editorial "Israel's New Government" talked a lot about what the Israelis must do to continue to have support from the United States. What I found lacking was a discussion of what the Palestinians must do to have acceptance by Israel and the United States for a two-state solution. If peace is to come in that troubled region, both the Palestinians and the Israelis have to make concessions and bear responsibilities. Pressure should not be put just on Israel alone, as the editorial attempted to do.
For a two-state solution to become a reality, Palestinians in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip must recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. They must also renounce terrorism and understand that they cannot use terrorism as a negotiating tool to achieve their state. The Palestinians must also agree to abide by all previous agreements signed by their leadership. These are simple things and prerequisites for Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank to accept for there to be a peaceful, two-state solution. Since the war in Gaza has ended, Palestinians continue to bombard Israel with missiles threatening Israeli civilians. This must stop if the conflict is going to be resolved.
Peace will come to that region of the world when both sides recognize each other's right to exist in peace and security. It will not come from pressuring Israel to make unilateral concessions in return for worthless promises or worthless pieces of paper.
ELIOT L. ENGEL
U.S. Representative (D-N.Y.)
Washington
Well said Congressman Engel. For the last 15 years Israel has made numerous concessions. What concessions have the Palestinians made? Have they renounced terror? Have they accepted Israel's right to exist? Have they done any thing to build a nation?
The answer to these questions is NO.
Why should Israel make any concessions?
Talk is cheap, and a dialog takes 2 sides to work. All the Palestinians have done is to make demands without giving any thing in return. That concept will no longer work, and it is about time they learn it!
For the upteenth time the nation of Canada has turned out for its support of Israel.
Directly from Carl in Jerusalem on his blog Israel Matzav.
Remember the old joke about how for an Irish wedding you double the liquor and for a Jewish wedding you halve it. Don't believe it. I got the email and pictures below from a reader in Toronto who asks to remain anonymous. This is truly a beautiful story:
Hi Carl,
There was a boycott of Israeli wine at the largest Ontario LCBO (Ontario's liquor distributor) by a group called Not In Our Name (see info at http://www.nion.ca/) and another Palestinian organization (I'm not sure specifically which one). In a counter move, Toronto's Jewish community mobilized and showed up in the hundreds to buy all the Israeli wine at this LCBO. I heard from someone outside that they sold over 500 cases in a matter of a half hour. By the time I got there, about 30 minutes into the counter protest, there was no more Israeli wine available, and the boycotters had left in defeat. Here are some pictures if you are interested for your blog. If you are interested, please refrain from using my name. Thanks and I love the blog.
There are times when people look back into the past to combat a modern problem. That is exactly what Zim has done in an effort to frustrate the pirate of Somalia.
A ship belonging to the Israeli freight company Zim was attacked by pirates on Saturday morning when the ship was sailing some 700 kilometers from Somalia.
The incident began when pirates atop two speedboats opened handgun fire at the ship. They tried to climb the ship, but barbed wire running around the deck prevented them from getting aboard.
After their attempt to board the ship failed, the pirates returned to the speedboats and began tailing the Africa Star, an activity they pursued for several hours. But the ship managed to out-pace the Somali pirates and another mother ship that accompanied them.
A bit of barbed wire, an invention of the old West that has kept cattle out of farmlands since 1874. It is now keeping pirates off of boats in 2009.
I know that it won't be too long before the pirates will start carrying wire cutters, but until then, it just might be an edge in the battle against them.
Isn't it just like those sneaky Israelis to devise a cheap and effective way to foil the pirates?
One dark night outside a small town, a fire started inside the local chemical plant and in a blink it exploded into flames. The alarm went out to the fire departments from miles around.
When the volunteer fire fighters appeared on the scene, the chemical company president rushed to the fire chief and said, "All of our secret formulas are in the vault in the center of the plant. They must be saved. I will give $50,000 to the fire department that brings them out intact."
But the roaring flames held the firefighters off. Soon more fire departments had to be called in as the situation became desperate.
As the firemen arrived, the president shouted out that the offer was now $100,000 to the fire department who could bring out the company's secret files.
From the distance, a lone siren was heard as another fire truck came into sight. It was the nearby Jewish rural township volunteer fire company composed entirely of menschen over the age of 65. To everyone's amazement, the little run-down fire engine operated by this Jewish Fire Department passed all the newer sleek engines parked outside the plant.....and drove straight into the middle of the inferno.
Outside the other firemen watched as the Jewish old timers jumped off and began to fight the fire with a performance and effort never seen before.
Within a short time, the Jewish old timers had extinguished the fire and saved the secret formulas.
The grateful chemical company president joyfully announced that for such a superhuman feat he was upping the reward to $200,000, and walked over to personally thank each of the brave, though elderly, Jewish fire fighters.
The local TV news reporters rushed in after capturing the event on film asking, "What are you going to do with all that money?"
"Vell," said Abe Hertzfeld, the 70-year-old fire chief, "the foist thing ve're going to do is fix the brakes on that feshtunkena truck!"
It's Morty and Rivkah's 50th wedding anniversary and to celebrate, their son Aaron invites the close family to a Golden Wedding dinner at his house. During the evening, Aaron gets very emotional every time he hears his dad call his mom by such endearing terms as ‘darling', ‘petal', and ‘sweetheart'. It's clear to Aaron that his parents are still very much in love.
While Rivkah is out the room, Aaron goes over to his father, kisses him and quietly says, "Dad, I'm so pleased for you both. I think it's fantastic that after 50 years you're still calling mom by those loving pet names."
But Morty, looking very embarrassed, says, "Things are not always what they seem to be, son. I must tell you the truth - I forgot your mother's name about five years ago."
Over 70 tons of bombmaking supplies have entered Gaza according to Shin Bet head
Hamas is continuing to rearm itself two-and-a-half months after Operation Cast Lead, said Yuval Diskin, head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet). More than 22 tons of explosives, hundreds of mortar shells, dozens of rockets and anti-tank missiles and 45 tons of raw material to manufacture arms, have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip.
Diskin added that Egypt is doing its part prevent the smuggling, but that the smuggling under the Philadelphi Corridor between Egypt and the Gaza Strip continued unabated.
Hamas is concerned about an escalation in its confrontation with Israel, especially in light of the freeze in talks for a prisoner exchange and the failure so far of its reconciliation talks with Fatah, Diskin said.
An additional round of Hamas-Fatah reconciliation talks was expected to be held Tuesday and Wednesday in Cairo, but nothing was expected to come of it, he said.
"The difference between the two sides is great," Diskin said.
Diskin, in his last briefing to the current government, said there had been a marked decrease in the number of rocket attacks on the western Negev.
"Hamas's military wing is constantly on watch for fear of an escalation, especially in light of the deadlock reached around the prisoner exchange deal and Hamas-Fatah relations."
"There is indeed a drop in rockets, only one rocket from a small organization was fired in recent days. There are two reasons for this: Hamas is not interested in an escalation or another confrontation with Israel, and as a result, Hamas is carrying out arrests before attacks,” said Diskin.
Diskin also stated that Hamas was taking measures to stop small organizations from firing rockets and had signed an agreement with Islamic Jihad to prevent rocket fire for the short term.
Nevertheless, Diskin warned that the small terrorist organizations were plotting to kidnap soldiers, and were also planning attacks inside Israel - either via Sinai, or with the aid of terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria.
The EU is to be commended for the mandate that it has undertaken to help civilians whose lives have been affected by the recent Gaza war. EU member states remain well aware of the suffering and economic challenges that exist on the Palestinian side of the Gaza conflict.
The EU remains the most significant financial donor to the Palestinian civilians affected by the war.
In 2008 alone, the EU provided almost 500 million Euros for the health and welfare services to the Palestinian population in Gaza.Yet on the other side of the Gaza war, EU humanitarian aid workers may not be aware of the devastating toll that the Gaza war has taken on the lives of thousands of Israeli civilians who have endured eight years of daily rocket explosions and siren warnings.
Writing from the perspective of an NGO in Sderot where I have worked and lived for the past 2 years, I have witnessed and written about countless homes destroyed, children maimed, and families torn apart by the impact of these lethal attacks.
This is a reality where bomb shelters, which dot the entire city, are used almost daily. Life in Sderot is measured by 15 seconds--the time one has to race to bomb shelter when the siren goes off to warn of impending rockets. A recent study found that more than 80% of Sderot children suffer from PTSD symptoms-post traumatic stress disorder. The long term psychological damage inflicted by the constant rocket fire on both adults and children alike has not yet been fully comprehended or addressed.
Given the mandate of the EU to help civilians in the Gaza war zone rebuild their lives, the time has come for the EU to help fund agencies in Sderot that seek to strengthen the mental heath and social functionality of ordinary Sderot civilians who need psychological aid in order to continue life under rocket terror. Two appropriate services come to mind:
1) THE SDEROT MENTAL HEALTH CENTER
Although Sderot has no medical center (residents who are wounded by rockets must be transferred to the Barzeli hospital in Ashkelon located 20 min. away) a Sderot Mental Health Center, under the auspices of Barzeli hospital does exist, and is run by Dr. Adrianna Katz. The Mental Health Center has become a vital service for the Sderot community, providing psychological treatment to those suffering from PTSD and those who enter shock after experiencing a rocket explosion. The center has only four full time workers to help provide mental health services to almost 5,000 people in Sderot who have been diagnosed with severe mental health stress that has resulted from the anxiety of life under rocket attacks.
The Sderot Mental Health Center needs immediate financial aid to ad staff and to service such a large community of patients.
2) THE SDEROT COMMUNITY THEATER THERAPY PROGRAM
Providing psychological therapy for Sderot high school students by the avenue of the arts and theater, Sderot Community Theater Therapy reaches out to young people in Sderot to help them express their fears and anxieties of life under rocket fire. The high school students creatively produce dramatic presentations, under the guidance of a theater director and psychologist.
With the understanding that the EU will address the humanitarian needs of all sides of a war zone, it would be a welcome gesture if the EU would help provide funds to the mental health services of Sderot and the Western Negev. Such financial assistance is vital to the restoration of normal life for future generations of southern Israelis.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Respectfully,
Anav Silverman, Sderot Information Correspondent
I fear that Anav Silverman's words will be falling on deaf ears. For many of us in the US have witnessed these last few years is Europe's embracing of the Palestinian cause and ignoring the suffering that the Palestians are doing to innocent Israeli children.
You don't have to be silent though. You can help.
Remember Sderot and the people of Southern Israel in your prayers. Sign up for Code Red alerts here. Contact your congressman and Senators, reminding them of the United State's commitment to Israel. And if you are able to, donate a few dollars to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post.
What Transnationalism looks like with 20-20 vision Barack Obama Bows to Transnationalism Transnationalism = Globalization (see photo above)
I've heard word "transnationalism" used on television several times this week, and it reminded me that Obama's legislation, The Global Poverty Act, Senate Bill 2433, should be brought up for a vote, probably in the dead of night, before long.
The key to making transnationalism the rule of the world, rather than a choice by a Nation, is a document known as the U.N. Millenium Development Goal (read text here), known as the MDG. Senate Bill 2433 ties our President, whomever he may be, and surprise, surprise, "he" is Barack Obama, to accomplishing the Millennium Goal. Obama wrote this Bill while a Senator. Now he will implement this Bill with the U.N. - something that President Bush would have never considered.
In short, the U.N. defines transnationalism as a type of globalization that is, this minute, turning the world into a "global village." That "global village" will give back control of "peace, equity, social justice, democracy and human rights," to the people. The U.N.'s vision of globalization is one that makes all industry, throughout the world "work for the benefit of everyone to eradicate poverty and hunger globally..."
The U.N. MDG says this:
This can happen only if global corporations, international financial and trade institutions and Governments are subject to effective democratic control by the people..."
You get the picture. The U.N. wants world-wide socialism - no surprise there.
I urge everyone to keep a close watch on The Global Poverty Act, s.2433. It will rear it's ugly head sometime soon, and it's sponsors will attempt to get this innocuous-seeming Bill through without a lot of noise. Here's some information on how fossil fuels, currency, and land are to be taxed throught the MDG, as well as plans for globalized militaries.
Frank Gaffney, Jr. has a column this week on transnationalism. It's something we should all familiarize ourselves with because it is galloping at us at a very high speed. Here is Mr. Gaffney's article. Pay close attention to what is happening to former Bush U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others:
Looming specter of transnationalism U.S. needs a State Department defender of its sovereign rights by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. Washington Times Tuesday, March 31, 2009
COMMENTARY:
What is wrong with this picture? We learned this weekend that a Spanish judge, Baltasar Garzon, is preparing to prosecute six Americans who worked as senior legal and policy advisers to former President George W. Bush - including former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Undersecretary of Defense Douglas J. Feith. The purported crime? The opinions they provided Mr. Bush supported the use of torture against enemy combatants.
Most Americans would find this assertion of what has come to be called “transnational law” to be troubling on several grounds. Its application is an affront to due process and the rule of law in this country. It would criminalize internal U.S. policymaking deliberations, with profound implications for U.S. sovereignty. If allowed to run its course, this prosecution would have a profoundly chilling effect on the willingness of subordinates to provide a president with advice or perhaps even to serve in government.
One would hope President Obama would recognize that this use of legal mechanisms as a form of warfare against the United States - increasingly known as “lawfare” - holds serious dangers not just for the country and those who ran it for the past eight years, but for his administration as well. That would appear not to be the case, however, in light of his choice of Harold Koh to be the State Department's top lawyer.
In fact, as dean of Yale's law school, Mr. Koh has been an unalloyed enthusiast for transnational law. For example, in a 2006 article in the Penn State Law Review, he extolled the “transnationalist faction” on the Supreme Court and the wisdom shown by four, and sometimes five, of its justices in rejecting the impulses of what he disdainfully calls “the nationalist faction”:
“Generally speaking the transnationalists tend to emphasize the interdependence between the United States and the rest of the world, while the nationalists tend instead to focus more on preserving American autonomyThe transnationalists believe in and promote the blending of international and domestic law, while nationalists continue to maintain a rigid separation of domestic from foreign law. The transnationalists view domestic courts as having a critical role to play in domesticating international law into U.S. law, while nationalists argue instead that only the political branches can internalize international law.
“The transnationalists believe that U.S. courts can and should use their interpretive powers to promote the development of a global legal system, while the nationalists tend to claim that U.S. courts should limit their attention to the development of a national system. Finally, the transnationalists urge that the power of the executive branch should be constrained by judicial review and the concept of international comity, while the nationalists tend to believe that federal courts should give extraordinarily broad deference to executive power in foreign affairs.”
How many Americans are aware that some, let alone an actual majority, of the Supreme Court's justices think this country should be ruled by something other than the Constitution of the United States, laws made pursuant thereto and treaties clearly consistent with it? Assuredly, few of us know such an assault on our sovereignty is afoot; in all likelihood, fewer still would support it.
The same likely would apply to Mr. Koh's embrace of myriad other controversial transnationalist initiatives. He favors U.S. submission to the International Criminal Court, enabling that tribunal to have the right tomorrow to take up the sort of foreign prosecutions of Americans contemplated by Spain's Judge Garzon today.
Mr. Koh goes even further than Sen. John Kerry, who argued that American uses of force must meet what he euphemistically called a “global test.” Mr. Koh says the United States must obtain pre-authorization by the U.N. Security Council. In keeping with this view, he condemned the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which lacked such a mandate, as “illegal.”
The State Department legal adviser-designate has also actively opposed virtually every instrument the previous administration deemed necessary to wage and win the war against terror-wielding adversaries. Mr. Koh insisted that Guantanamo Bay be closed, coercive interrogation techniques be halted and trials in civilian U.S. courts be afforded to captured enemy combatants. To be sure, these positions largely track with those of Mr. Obama, although the latter has left himself some latitude in their implementation. Mr. Koh's critique of the government's terrorist surveillance, though, is even more extreme than that of Mr. Obama, who as a senator voted to allow the program to continue.
It is absolutely predictable that the United States will find itself under ever greater assault in the form of lawfare as notions of the supremacy of transnational law take hold among elites, both here (notably in the Supreme Court) and abroad. Mr. Obama can spare himself and the country considerable grief when he meets this week in Europe and Turkey with some of the leading practitioners of lawfare by repudiating Judge Garzon's extraterritorial overreach, rejecting the application of transnational law more generally and selecting a State Department legal adviser who is an avowed nationalist, not a committed transnationalist”
Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is president of the Center for Security Policy and a columnist for The Washington Times.
Apparently the notorious and rejected MIAC Militia report is now being used by the TSA to harass American Patriots. Shame on this young man for asking TSA to explain what law he had broken! After watching this video it’s pretty obvious who the game players were.
Man detained and harassed at airport for carrying CASH!
SPOTLESS SUNS: Yesterday, NASA announced that the sun has plunged into the deepest solar minimum in nearly a century. Sunspots have all but vanished and consequently the sun has become very quiet. In 2008, the sun had no spots 73% of the time, a 95-year low. In 2009, sunspots are even more scarce, with the "spotless rate" jumping to 87%. We are currently experiencing a stretch of 25 continuous days uninterrupted by sunspots--and there's no end in sight.
This is a big event, but it is not unprecedented. Similarly deep solar minima were common in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and each time the sun recovered with a fairly robust solar maximum. That's probably what will happen in the present case, although no one can say for sure. This is the first deep solar minimum of the Space Age, and the first one we have been able to observe using modern technology. Is it like others of the past? Or does this solar minimum have its own unique characteristics that we will discover for the first time as the cycle unfolds? These questions are at the cutting edge of solar physics.
You can monitor the progress of solar minimum with a new "Spotless Days Counter" on spaceweather.com. Instead of counting sunspots, we're counting no sunspots. Daily updated totals tell you how many spotless days there have been in a row, in this year, and in the entire solar cycle. Comparisons to historical benchmarks put it all in perspective.
100 HOURS OF ASTRONOMY: This week, astronomers are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Galileo's original telescopic exploration of the sky with "100 Hours of Astronomy," a cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy. Running from April 2 through April 5, many different public programs are planned worldwide. Is one of them near you? Visit the 100 Hours web site to find out here. Note that the celebration ends on Sun Day, April 5th, a special date devoted to observations of the sun: http://solarastronomy2009.org/100-hours-sunday/ .
This is an exciting time in science. If you have a telescope, and your seeing is good, then join in the fun.
Yesterday Shlomo Nativ, age 16, was murdered by an axe welding, peace-loving member of the Religion of Peace.
Shlomo Nativ, age 16
Sixteen-year-old Shlomo Nativ was killed and a seven-year-old boy was moderately injured in an attack carried out by a terrorist carrying an axe in the West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin Thursday noon.
According to the police, the terrorist managed to flee the scene. The IDF launched a hunt for the terrorist, set up roadblocks and boosted security throughout the communities in the area.
Palestinian sources reported that IDF forces were surrounding a house in the nearby village of Khirbet Safa where they suspected the attacker may be hiding.
A Magen David Adom rescue team tried to resuscitate the teen, who they said ran into a house after being attacked, but he died of his injuries. Ozer Zilbershlad, a ZAKA rescue service volunteer at the scene told Ynet, "You could see a trail of blood where the deceased ran."
At 16 you haven't had time to do much in life. He was too young to drive, to young to vote, to young to drink. And being a religious young man, he never even had a girlfriend.
Yet the Palestinians are rejoicing over this great victory. President Obama and the world's leaders are demanding that Israel surrender its nation to these animals, and the children of Israel are paying the price.
It is time for Israel to take a very hard stand and tell the world NO!
NO Negotiations! NO 2-State Solution! NO to Oslo, Annapolis, Saudi or any other so-called peace plan! NOTHING until the Palestinians give up terror as a tactic!
Yesterday, Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu assumed the leadership of the State of Israel.
Binyamin Netanyahu took the oath of office as Prime Minister shortly before midnight on Tuesday after the Knesset voted 69-45 in favor of the new government. Five Labor party Knesset members abstained from voting in a protest move against the coalition agreement engineered by party chairman and outgoing Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The swearing-in ceremony included a declaration of faith in serving the public and agreeing to abide by Knesset decisions. The same oath was taken by 30 Cabinet ministers, who will become part of the country’s largest ever Cabinet.
Immediate past Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On (Kadima) ridiculed the new government in a lengthy speech in which he charged that the bloated Cabinet will cost taxpayers eight billion shekels ($2 billion a year.)
He also chided the new prime minister for violating the same principles he adopted and fought for during the past several years, particularly his opposition to raising child support payments, which Shas demanded as the price of its joining the Likud-led coalition.
Kadima’s opposition to the Shas demand cost the party a chance to form the government last September and forced new elections after chairwoman Tzipi Livni failed to convince enough parties to join a government to replace the one led by her predecessor, Ehud Olmert. He continued in office in the wake of Livni's failure.
She took her seat in the Opposition on Tuesday night, bitterly attacking Labor party chairman Barak for joining the government despite his having promised after the February election of the new Knesset that he would sit in the Opposition.
Netanyahu now heads the 32nd government since the re-establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The new prime minister has returned to the office for a second time, having presided over the government 10 years ago until opposition from the national religious parties brought down his coalition.
Netanyahu lost the ensuing election to Ehud Barak, who served as prime minister for only 18 months after a no-confidence vote toppled his government due to extensive concessions to the Palestinian Authority (PA). Yasser Arafat, who at the time was chairman of the PA, immediately launched the Oslo War, also known as the Second Intifada, after having rejected Barak's offer to hand over to the Arab entity nearly all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu was born in 1949 in Tel Aviv and grew up in Jerusalem. He attended High School in the US, where his father, historian Benzion Netanyahu, was doing research. Returning to Israel in 1967, Mr. Netanyahu enlisted in the IDF and served in an elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal. He took part in a number of military operations, including the rescue of hostages in a high-jacked Sabena airplane in 1972. In the same year, he was cited for outstanding operational leadership by the late Major General Motta Gur. Discharged from the IDF in 1972, Mr. Netanyahu participated in the Yom Kippur War and reached the rank of captain.
Mr. Netanyahu received a B.Sc. degree in architecture and a M.Sc. in business management from MIT. He also studied political science at MIT and Harvard University.
In 1998 Mr. Netanyahu was elected to the Knesset on the Likud party list and was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the Gulf War he served as Israel's principal representative in the international arena. In 1991, he was a senior member of the Israeli delegation to the Madrid peace conference and as such, participated in the first strategic cooperation program between Israel and the US.
In 1993 Mr. Netanyahu was elected Likud party chairman and served as head of opposition until his election to Prime Minister of Israel in 1996.
During his term as Prime Minister, Mr. Netanyahu implemented policy that combined fighting terror with advancement of the peace process. Its cornerstone was the conclusion of well-measured agreements with the Palestinians that insisted on reciprocity. During his three year term the number of terror attacks drastically decreased.
Mr. Netanyahu has written a number of books that appeared in Hebrew and English, with some also translated into Russian, French, Arabic, Japanese and other languages.
After the weak and ineffective leadership of Kadima these past years it is refreshing to see Israel once again in the hands of a strong leader. One who will not bow down to the demands that the Obama government will try to impose on Israel in order to weaken the Jewish nation and eventually destroy it.
The crescent memorial to Flight 93 would have been stopped long ago if the media was willing to check and report simple facts like the Mecca-orientation of the giant crescent. The same thing happens whenever the facts of a case are not congenial to our left-wing elites.
Another extreme example is now taking place in Oakland California, where inflammatory reports of police criminality in the New Year's Day shooting of Oscar Grant are held up by the Oakland street mob as justication for last week's murder of four police officers. Even after this massacre of Oakland police, the press still refuses to publish dramatic exculpatory evidence in the Oscar Grant case.
Video proof that Oscar Grant swung his own arm up onto his own back AFTER he was shot by BART officer Johannes Mehserle
Oscar Grant was lying face down on the ground when he was shot in the back by BART officer Johannes Mehserle, who seems to have thought he was firing his newly issued Taser. (Fellow officer Tony Pirone told investigators that Mehserle said he was going to Tase Grant, then warned him to get clear just before firing.)
If Mehserle did experience Taser confusion then he is not guilty of ANY crime. This is what the DA asserted in an earlier California case of Taser confusion:
Wyatt explained that without the intent of criminal negligence, criminal charges against Noriega could not be sustained.
“The required aggravation ... did not occur in this case,” he said.
Criminal negligence is based on foreseeable consequences. If Mehserle thought he was firing his Taser, he can only be liable for the foreseeable consequences of firing his Taser, not his gun. The shooting at that point is just an accident, and the only person who is responsible for creating the dangerous situation in which that accident occurred is Oscar Grant, with his reckless and criminal decision to fight with the police for 30 seconds.
Alameda District Attorney Tom Orloff set aside the Noriega precedent on the grounds that:
... both of Grant's hands were behind his back, a position hands are commonly placed in by police officers in order to handcuff individuals, when the shot was fired into his body.
Orloff somehow decided that the fact that Grant’s hands seemed to be in a compliance position made the shooting “an intentional act” that calls for a charge of murder.
This makes little sense. We already know that Mehserle intended to pull the trigger. His claim is that he thought he was pulling the trigger on his Taser, a point which is unaffected by the position of Grant's hands. Nevertheless, this is the weak reed upon which Orloff decided to hang murder charges, and it turns out to be verifiably false. Grant's hands were NOT both on his back when the shot was fired, as can be seen when the video is slowed down.
Here is an animation of the fatal second:
37;05 – 37;29 of KTVU’s highlighted cell phone video of the shooting, slowed to 1/2 second a frame. Red circle (added) shows the first appearance of officer Mehserle's muzzle flash.
At the start of the animation (after the black frame), Officer Pirone (kneeling on Grant’s shoulder and neck) has just gotten control of Grant’s right hand, pulling it up behind Grant’s back. As the action starts, Pirone lets go and draws back (presumably in response to Mehserle’s Taser warning). Look at the spot where Pirone’s arm pulls back behind his own body. From about this same spot in the image, Grant’s left arm then appears, as Grant starts to swing his own arm up towards his own back. One frame after Grant's left arm first appears (1/15th of a second later), Mehserle’s muzzle-flash first appears (red circle). Then Grant finishes swinging his own arm up onto his own back.
Here is a frame grab of the fatal instant (37;17):
When Mehserle's muzzle flash first appears (red circle) Grant has just started to swing his own left arm (circled in blue) around behind his own back (presumably in a belated attempt to avoid getting Tased).
Grant’s left hand was NEVER under either officer’s control, after they both fought for 30 seconds to get control of it, with Mehserle telling Pirone from the beginning that he thought Grant was “going for his waistband”. Thus Mehserle was certainly justified in trying to Tase Grant, and the clear evidence that he WAS trying to Tase Grant makes this almost certainly an accidental shooting, in which case Mehserle is innocent of ANY crime.
Alec Rawls (the author of these blobgurst posts) has been trying for six weeks to get Bay Area print and television news to let the public know about about this video proof that Orloff's stated grounds for charging officer Mehserle with murder is FALSE. This isn't just news. It vitiates the state's own accusations of criminal behavior, now being used to justify acts of war against the Oakland Police, yet despite repeated outreach to most of the reporters who have been covering this story, the local press still won't report it.
The press also refuses to fact-check Pirone’s claim that the video shows Grant kneeing him multiple times in the groin
Oakland is also inflamed by another portion of the Oscar Grant video, about a minute and a half before the shooting, where Officer Pirone knocks Grant to the ground with a forearm to his head. KTVU interviewed two law professors who both interpreted the blow as an unprovoked criminal assault. Professor Peter Keane, of UC Hastings was the most emphatic:
That officer is committing a crime. … There’s no question in my mind that that’s vivid powerful evidence that he committed a vicious physical assault, unprovoked, upon a citizen, for absolutely no reason.
UC Boalt Professor Franklin Zimring added an important qualification, but unless the public learns that the qualification does in fact apply, the effect is the same:
Unless there’s something more that we don’t see, then the degree of force that was use, and the way it was used, are not justified.
Officer Pirone’s lawyer Bill Rapoport told the press that a frame by frame analysis of the video shows that Pirone was responding to multiple knees to the groin by Grant, but again, our biased media is refusing to fact-check and reported on the accuracy of this easy to verify claim. All they have to do is slow down the video and take a look. Immediately before Pirone strikes Grant, Grant can be seen driving his knees up above 90° into Pirone’s groin. Here is a frame grab of one of the knees:
9;05 from KTVU’s raw cell phone video. Surrounding frames show the denim “7” shape in this frame to be Oscar Grant’s right knee, coming up above 90° as Grant tries to knee Pirone in the groin. Full segment here:
The accusations of criminal assault by Pirone are FALSE. He was defending himself against a criminal assault, as anyone can verify just by looking.
KTVU actually slowed the video down for professors Keane and Zimring, but obviously not enough. All KTVU has to do to verify the accuracy of Pirone’s claims is open up their laptop again and slow the video down a bit more, but they have yet to report this video proof that Pirone was defending himself against a vicious assault by Oscar Grant.
If prosecutors claimed that frame by frame analysis showed some previously undetected evidence of police criminality, the frame by frame video would be prime time news for a week. Since it proves Pirone’s innocence, the press is not interested. Even with the murder of four policemen being justified as retaliation for the alleged criminal behavior of Mehserle and Pirone, the entire bay area media remains silent.
So let’s us break the story. The innocence of Pirone and the almost certain innocence of Mehserle are major unreported news. Shout it at the top of your blogs!
If we can break this story, not only might we save some lives in blue, but we can direct the resulting attention to other explosive facts that the media refuses to examine and report, like the terrorist memorial mosque now being built on the Flight 93 crash site.
The Mecca-orientation of the giant crescent makes it a mihrab, the central feature around which every mosque is built. They call it a broken circle now, but the unbroken part of the circle, what symbolically remains standing in the wake of 9/11, remains exactly as it was in the original Crescent of Embrace design. It is still a giant Islamic shaped crescent, still pointing to Mecca .
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