Florida doctor loses license in botched abortion

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Esther Rachwal in an email to WDW states, “Here is the story of a Florida doctor that loses his license over a botched abortion. Ironically people are led to believe that abortion is safe and legal, but there have been dozens of women who have either died or developed severe medical problems from so called “legal” abortions. This information is rarely reported.”

“Even now with the Gosnell trial going on 5 weeks, with gruesome details, there is very little reporting. Yet in today’s paper (Monday), a Wildlife Sanctuary of NW Florida held a baby shower for young animals, as reported in the Pensacola News Journal. About 700 visitors brought various things and food donations to help care for the animals. And on April 7th, a large article reported on the abuses of farm animals which were video taped by animal rights activists. These tapes drew swift response from Federal prosecutors in Tennessee. Local authorities in Wyoming charged farm employees with cruelty to animals. So, can you imagine how media would have covered this Gosnell story if it were animals beheaded, and their spinal cords severed while alive?” notes Rachwal.

Cheryl Sullenger | Tallahassee, FL | LifeNews.com | 4/22/13 3:11 PM

The Florida Board of Medicine took action to suspend the medical license of late-term abortionist James Scott Pendergraft, IV on Friday after he failed to pay the board fines from a previous disciplinary action that totaled over $120,000.

The settlement agreement reached between the board and Pendergraft orders that his medical license “shall be indefinitely suspended until such time as [Pendergraft] complies” with the order to pay his fines.

This is the fifth time that Pendergraft’s medical license has been suspended by the Florida Board of Medicine. He continues to operate five abortion clinics in Florida, primarily in the Orlando area.

The fines resulted from a 2010 case where Pendergraft was heavily fined and placed on suspension related to a 2006 botched elective 19-week abortion.

Patient S.B went to Pendergraft for the second trimester abortion on Feb. 3, 2006. He prescribed doses of Cytotec, a drug that is known to cause severe and unpredictable uterine contractions and sent her home for three days to take the medication on her own. Pendergraft did not have a valid DEA number at the time.

When S.B. returned to the clinic, he further illegally administered doses of Cytotec, Demerol, and Phenergan. He attempted the abortion before the patient was adequately dilated, lacerating her cervix and sending her to the hospital where she underwent an emergency hysterectomy.

At the hospital, staff delivered the remains of S.B.’s baby and found that it was missing a lower limb. Efforts were made to locate the limb in the abdominal cavity to no avail. There were no indications on the patient’s chart. Later, it was discovered that the limb had been removed at the clinic. This lack of documentation caused issues in providing the patient with proper emergency care.

Pendergraft was suspended and ordered to pay fines in excess of $122,000. Pendergraft failed to pay, resulting in another disciplinary case attempting to seek payment. Finally, Friday’s action suspended his license until further notice.

Pendergraft has a long history of abortion abuses. An Operation Rescue undercover investigation discovered that he was working illegally in Maryland with another abortionist Harold O. Alexander, to offer late-term abortions while his license was under suspension in Florida and filed complaints. Alexander was later disciplined for destroying patient records related to his business with Pendergraft, closing down Pendergraft’s Maryland operation.

In 2011, Pendergraft was hit with a whopping civil medical malpractice judgment of $36,737,660.16 in compensatory and punitive damages in a case involving a botched 20 week abortion that resulted in the live birth of a child physically damaged by Pendergraft’s incompetent abortion process amid what was described as “third world conditions” with virtually no counseling.

Kermit Gosnell

“Pendergraft is a prime example of how an abortionist operating outside the law in a manner that is reminiscent of the Kermit Gosnell murder case. He is proof that Gosnell is not an outlier, but is a snapshot of degenerate nature of the abortion cartel in America today,” said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. “Pendergraft belongs in prison just as much as Kermit Gosnell, but the reticence of the Board to revoke his license means he will be back to wrecking more havoc on women. People wonder how Gosnell continues to operate for so long, but the Pendergraft case explains it. Oversight agencies are just too slow to revoke abortion offenders.”

More about Pendergraft’s sordid background can be found at AbortionDocs.org.

LifeNews.com Note: Cheryl Sullenger is a leader of Operation Rescue, a Kansas-based pro-life that monitors abortion practitioners and exposes their illegal and unethical practices. The group is known for serving as a watchdog of Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses.

Florida’s Senators far apart on recent gun legislation

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According to Congress.org Senators Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R) are polar opposites when it comes to votes on gun legislation. The following is a list of bills recently considered in the US Senate and how Florida’s Senators voted on each.

Legislation – Concealed-Carry Reciprocity Amendment – Vote Rejected (57-43)

This proposal from Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas would allow someone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon the right to carry it in any state which has a concealed-carry law. The amendment states that permit holders from other states must abide by the laws of states in which they are located, though it would prohibit states from placing restrictions on individuals with out-of-state permits, treating such individuals as if they carried an “unrestricted” permit. The remainder of the failed amendments included proposals to reinstate and expand a ban on so-called assault weapons; to ban ammunition magazines holding more than ten rounds; and to prevent veter ans from being deemed “mental defectives” – thus losing their ability to own firearms – without a court decision. Two amendments did pass muster. The first, offered by Wyoming Republican John Barrasso, would penalize states and localities for publicizing gun ownership data. The second, from HELP committee leaders Tom Harkin, D-Iowa and Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., would overhaul the nation’s mental health system. (Roll Calls 100-105)

Sen. Bill Nelson voted NO
Sen. Marco Rubio voted YES

Firearms Legislation – Background Checks Amendment – Vote Rejected (54-46)

The Senate voted on a flurry of amendments to the first major legislative response to last December’s massacre in Newtown, CT. In a sign of the difficulty facing proponents of stronger gun laws, most of the amendments were defeated, beginning with a proposal by pro-gun senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. and Pat Toomey, R-Pa. to strengthen background checks. The Toomey-Manchin amendment would have expanded the current system to include all sales at gun shows and on the Internet. Though initially hailed as a critical breakthrough, the amendment’s prospects died a slow death in the days leading up to the actual vote, as fence-sitting senators from both parties declared their oppos ition one by one. Ultimately five Democrats opposed the amendment – Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. (Reid voted “no” for procedural reasons which would allow him to call up the amendment for a vote at a later date.) Baucus, Begich and Pryor all face difficult re-elections next year in states that favored Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential contest. Four Republicans supported the amendment – Susan Collins of Maine, Mark Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona, and co-sponsor Toomey.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES
Sen. Marco Rubio voted NO

Firearms Legislation – Republican Substitute Amendment – Vote Rejected (52-48)

The second failed amendment was a Republican substitute offered by Judiciary committee ranking member Chuck Grassley of Iowa. Most Republicans have decried Democratic proposals for reducing gun violence as threatening to Americans’ Second Amendment rights and have emphasized in their own proposals a “law and order” approach. This is reflected in the Republican alternative, which would make it a federal crime to purchase guns on behalf of those legally barred from owning them; expand the scope of mental illnesses barring some individuals from owning firearms; and create a special task force focused on attempted firearms purchases by felons and fugitives. Nine Democ rats supported the Republican proposal, while two Republicans opposed it.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted NO
Sen. Marco Rubio voted YES

Firearms Legislation – Straw Purchases Amendment – Vote Rejected (58-42)

Judiciary Chairman Pat Leahy, D-Vt. co-sponsored an amendment that would make it a federal crime to buy guns on behalf of someone legally barred from possessing them, a practice called straw purchasing. The amendment fell just two votes short of adoption. (In a concession to the reality of a likely Republican filibuster, Majority Leader Reid agreed to raise the threshold for adoption of all amendments to 60 votes instead of the usual 51.)

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES
Sen. Marco Rubio voted NO

Senator Nelson has a mixed record in support of the Second Amendment. The Political Guide reports:

In 2004, Senator Nelson supported the Assault Weapons Ban and stated that AK-47s and assault rifles are for killing, not for hunting. He asserted that law enforcement at every level of government is against terminating the assault weapons ban. He also stated that he was a defender of the constitutional right to bear arms and a defender of the right to have guns of all kinds except when getting to the common sense that it is not worth it in our society to be able to purchase AK-47s. In addition to supporting the Assault Weapons Ban, Senator Nelson voted in favor of the Protection in Lawful Commerce Act.”

This issue is not going away according to President Obama. Let us see how Florida’s Senators vote on future Second Amendment related legislation.

Rubio: The Boston bombing has a bearing on the immigration debate

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio issued the following statement regarding comments by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy that it’s “cruel” to use the Boston Marathon terrorist bombing to halt immigration reform, as well as comments by those who say this attack should derail entirely the current effort underway to fix our immigration system:

“I disagree with those who say that the terrorist attack in Boston has no bearing on the immigration debate. Any immigration reform we pursue should make our country safer and more secure. If there are flaws in our immigration system that were exposed by the attack in Boston, any immigration reform passed by Congress this year should address those flaws. Congress needs time to conduct more hearings and investigate how our immigration and national security systems could be improved going forward.

“The attack reinforces why immigration reform should be a lengthy, open and transparent process, so that we can ask and answer important questions surrounding every facet of the bill. But we still have a broken system that needs to be fixed.”

SB 58 American Laws for American Courts is in jeopardy

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According to the Florida Family Association, “SB 58, American Laws for American Courts, did not make it on the agenda for the Senate Rules Committee for Monday, April 22, 2013.  This is the last Rules Committee meeting for the 2013 Florida Legislative Session.”

The Florida House of Representatives passed American Laws for American Courts (HB 351) by a vote of 79 – 39 on April 18, 2013. SB 58 has passed all other Florida Senate Committees.

David Caton of FFA notes, “The failure of SB 58 to be heard in the Committee on Rules was unexpected.  There are enough votes in the Florida Senate to pass SB 58.  Additionally, Governor Rick Scott has said that he will sign the legislation. So why is the bill not going to be heard there?”

One Senate leader is reported to have received 300 phone calls in opposition to SB 58 during the week of April 15, 2013.  The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Florida web site is devoted almost entirely to defeating the American Laws for America Courts legislation (SB 58, HB 351). 

“It would appear that those who advocate (CAIR) for Sharia law are influencing top Florida Senators to derail legislation that would prohibit Islamic law from being considered in Florida Courts,” states FFA.

FFA notes, “Time is running out. The 2013 Florida Legislative Session ends May 2, 2013.”

“If Florida courts accept provisions of Islamic Sharia law or other foreign laws and legal codes which are inconsistent with American laws it will undermine public policies enacted by our representative form of government and change our value system,” states FFA.

Video describes Boston mosque’s terrorist ties

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On May 22, 2010, Massachusetts Governor Patrick embraced Imam Abdullah Faarooq leader of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center, the largest mosque in the NE. This is the mosque that Tamerlan Tsarnaev attended. It was in 2011 that Russia warned the United States about Tsarnaev.

According the the UK Mail Online:

Boston marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev was thrown out of his local mosque for ‘crazy’ behavior after getting involved a ‘shouting match’ with his imam according to one member of the congregation.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev was ejected from his Boston mosque for aggressive behavior after insulting Martin Luther King Jr. during a Friday prayer service three months agoTamerlan Tsarnaev was ejected from his Boston mosque for aggressive behavior after insulting Martin Luther King Jr. during a Friday prayer service three months ago.

Described as being full of rage by a worshiper who would give his name only as Muhammad, Tamerlan was ejected from the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center three months ago for claiming that Martin Luther King Jr. was not a man Muslims should look to emulate.

Imam Faarooq, as seen in the below video, told followers they must “pick up the gun and the sword” in response to the arrests of local Islamic extremist Aafia Siddiqui and terror suspect Tarek Mehanna.

After the Boston bombing some are again asking: Should Governor Patrick give back the money? Did the sensitivity training given to law enforcement officers have an impact on profiling the Boston Massacre bombers? Did the FBI drop the case due to “political correctness”?

Constitution Doesn’t Apply to Boston Bombing Suspect

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Joe Miller from Restoring Liberty reports:

By Jeremy Herb and Mike Lillis from The Hill. Two powerful GOP senators are calling on the Obama administration to treat the captured suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings as an “enemy combatant” and deny him counsel even though he is reportedly an American citizen.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, captured Friday night outside Boston after a tense daylong manhunt, should be questioned for intelligence purposes and not read his Miranda rights.

[…]

With Tsarnaev in custody, the lawmakers said, “the last thing we should want is for him to remain silent.”

[…]

The Department of Justice indicated Friday that the administration would not read 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights, citing a public safety exception.

But Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, said Saturday that the immediate threat is over and that Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who became a naturalized U.S. citizen last year, should now be treated like any other suspected criminal.

Read more.

Pinellas County politicians wasting money defending themselves in lawsuit to limit their terms

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Philip Blumel from Florida Term Limits Blog reports:

May 2nd is approaching and four Pinellas County commissioners are worried. In December, a circuit court judge refused to dismiss the suit against them for violating their legal term limits. Now they face a judge again on May 2 in the final hearing of the case.

In 1996, 73% of Pinellas voters passed 8-year term limits but these renegade commissioners refused to insert the term limits amendment language into the charter as required by law. Then when term limits went into effect 8 years later, they refused to step down.  After all, the language isn’t in the charter!

Citizens were outraged and, after friendly court decisions around the state including a unanimous Florida Supreme Court decision that term limits are constitutional, they filed suit. The three plaintiffs on the people’s side represent diverse political, ethnic, professional and geographical faces of Pinellas County. This is appropriate as term limits are not a Republican versus Democrat issue but one of the people versus unchecked political power.

Shortly after the adverse decision in December, the commissioners doubled their legal team adding four additional lawyers. Yes, that’s right, they spending an enormous amount of the people’s money to fight the clearly expressed will of the people. And why? To directly benefit themselves.

In addition to lawyering up, commissioner Ken Welch publicly declared in February that he is seeking another position in local government and may not serve his full term. One of the reasons, he said, is that the judge may decide he cannot serve his full term. The plaintiffs hope part of the reason also is that he knows resigning is the right thing to do. Fellow scofflaws Karen Seel, John Morroni and Susan Latvala should follow Welch’s lead.

Citizens may attend the hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2nd at the Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Courtroom C, Clearwater.For more detail on the case, go here.

Of Florida’s 20 charter, or “home rule” counties, 12 have term limits. Miami-Dade voters just approved 8-year limits last November. In all but one of the dozen, the popular term limits laws are respected and enforced. It is hoped that on May 2 the citizens will triumph and a decade of political corruption in this beautiful county will be swept away.

(Pictured, the three plaintiffs Maria Scruggs, H. Patrick Wheeler and Beverley Billiris.)

Who gave the anti-Second Amendment class at a Jacksonville elementary school?

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Marsha G. Oliver, MBA, Chief Officer, Public Relations & Marketing for Duval County Public Schools released the following statement:

Duval County Public Schools’ Professional Standards office has completed its investigation into the assertions made by a parent that a Cedar Hills Elementary School teacher conducted an inappropriate lesson in January on constitutional rights. Upon examination of the civics-based lessons and activities, and interviews with students, teachers, and school administrators, officials have found no evidence of indoctrination by the teacher. In fact, the teacher never taught the lessons in question.

The controversy began when the father of a Cedar Hills Elementary 4th-grader became furious after finding the below crayon-written paper in his child’s backpack stating: ‘I Am Willing to Give Up Some of My Constitutional Rights…to Be Safer’.

For a larger view click on the image.

“It is our responsibility to address parent concerns,” said Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti, Superintendent of Duval County Public Schools. “However, there is an equal responsibility that the media and community share in ensuring that persons are not condemned until all of the facts are gathered and analyzed.”

Oliver states, “A statewide program founded in 2006, Justice Teaching [the organization that gave the class] is an association of attorneys and judges who deliver standards-based curriculum on government to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.”

The program and curriculum are approved by the Florida Association of District School Superintendents.

Karen K. Cole, Circuit Judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit

According to the Justice Teaching website volunteers for Duval County Public Schools comes from 4th Judicial Circuit.  The Justice Teaching local point of contact is the Honorable Karen K. Cole, Circuit Judge, Fourth Judicial Circuit, which includes Jacksonville.

According to the City of Jacksonville official website, “Judge Cole graduated from Jacksonville University in 1978 and from the University of Florida College of Law in 1981. She is a past president of the Jacksonville Bar Association. While she was in the private practice of law, Martindale-Hubbell, the recognized lawyer rating service, accorded her its highest rating (AV) rating for her competence and ethics. Judge Cole has served as president of the Chester Bedell American Inn of Court, a Jacksonville chapter of a national organization designed to improve the professionalism, ethics, and competence of trial lawyers. Judge Cole was appointed to the circuit bench in 1994, and since then has presided over civil, criminal, family, and juvenile divisions.”

WDW called Judge Cole’s office and requested the name of the lawyer or judge who taught the class and for a comment on the lesson. Our call has not been returned.

WDW also called and emailed Justice Teaching to request an interview with the lawyer who volunteered to teach at Cedar Hills Elementary. Our calls and email request have not been answered.

If anyone knows the name of the person who gave this class please contact us at florida@watchdogwire.com.

WDW will continue to pursue this story.

Russia warned US about Chechen immigrants

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Russia Today reports:

The US may be shocked that the terrorist suspects behind the Boston bombings are Chechen natives, but Russia has long cautioned Washington about giving asylum to Islamists from the North Caucasus, political analyst Dmitry Babich told RT.

Two bombs exploded in Boston during the city’s Marathon on April 15, killing 3 people and injuring 176 others.

The suspects in the attack were identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and his brother Dzhokhar, 19, Chechen natives, who lived in the US for some time. The elder brother was killed in a stand-off with police on Thursday, while the younger one is still at large.

The Voice of Russia radio station’s political analyst, Dmitry Babich, believes that it’s time for the West to understand that the Islamist activity in the North Caucasus is a threat not only to Russia, but the US and Europe as well.

RT: Much is being made of the links of those men to the Caucasus where they briefly lived. How important a factor might this be?

Dmitry Babich: Well, I think that indeed it’s a surprise for many people that these two men happened to be out of North Caucasus. But I think it’s not very surprising because, actually, the Russian government has warned a lot about the kind of refugees, about the kind of immigrants that the US and Western European countries are ready to accept. I mean I didn’t interview these people in Europe or in the US, but read a lot of reports from Russian reporters and from Western reporters actually interviewing those people. And a lot of them didn’t change their convictions. A lot of them are die-hard Islamists. They didn’t change after leaving Russia and I can easily imagine that a lot of them consider both Russia and the US parts of the same western decadent civilization. In this situation they can wage their jihad not necessarily in a place like Syria or Iraq, but also in the US.

RT:Why would these men turn on a country which gave them asylum?

DB:Unfortunately, it happened in many countries that people, who got asylum in the West later turned against their hosts and against their benefactors. It’s enough to remember that Ayatollah Khamenei, the founder of modern Iran, was a political refugee in France before he came back as a victor to Iran. If you expect any kind of gratitude and thankful thinking from these people you’re dead wrong. Most of the jihadists are egotists in their convictions. They think that they have the right to ascertain their convictions, they have the right to commit violence acts if they feed their cause. And their cause is the creation of this Islamic State. Maybe it could be an Islamic State in the North Caucasus. It could be a universal Islamic Caliphate. But that’s their thinking and I’m afraid in Boston they are dealing with exactly that kind of thinking.

RT:How would you assess levels of home-grown terrorism in the US right now?

DB: It’s very hard for me to speak from Russia about the level of terrorism in the US, but I think that for many years it was clear that the foreign policy was, at least, strange. Although Russia never made any hostile moves towards the US since 1987, probably – since Gorbachev came to power – the US continues suspecting Russia of having different values. And it always supported groups, sometimes militant Islamic groups, which challenged Russia. I mean, of course, president Clinton didn’t support the Chechen separatists, but then if you read the American press of the time and if you read even certain articles, which appeared on the website of the New York Times today, you can see a lot of simplistic thinking about the so-called Chechen Uprising and the Islamist groups in the North Caucasus.

The American newspapers say that Russia is to blame for all of these terrorist activities. Well, I don’t agree with that. I think that Russia was actually fighting a genuine international Islamism threat in the North Caucasus, at least, during the second Chechen War (in 1999-2000). Obviously, this Islamist activity in the North Caucasus is not only a threat to Russia. It’s also a threat to the US. It’s also a threat to Europe, but somehow the Western countries just refuse to recognize it.

RELATED COLUMNS:

USA needs refuge from refugees

Boston’s Jihadi Terrorists & The Chechen Connection

Jihad comes to Boston

Herald-Tribune: Sarasota family had ‘many connections’ to 9/11 terror attacks

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The Al-Hijji family abruptly left this home at 4224 Escondito Circle in Prestancia, Sarasota at least a week before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. – Herald-Tribune Archive

Abdulazziz al-Hijji

Contrary to previous statements made by the FBI to the news media, a family living in the south Sarasota neighborhood of Prestancia had “many connections” to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to newly released FBI documents.

The family, Anoud and Abdulazziz al-Hijji, had links to 9/11 hijackers — including Mohamed Atta and Marwan al-Shehhi, who trained at a Venice flight school in preparation for the assault on New York and Washington, D.C., that killed 2,996.

Anoud al-Hijji is the daughter of Esam Ghazzawi, a powerful Saudi businessman with long ties to the Saudi royal family. The al-Hijjis have denied any involvement or relationship with the 9/11 hijackers.

But the family abruptly left the Prestancia home that they had lived in for six years roughly a week before the 9/11 attacks, leaving behind clothes, food, children’s toys and other living essentials.

The Telegraph UK reported in February 2012:

“A Saudi Arabian accused of associating with several of the September 11 hijackers and who disappeared from his home in the United States a few weeks before the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, is in London working for his country’s state oil company.

Abdulaziz al-Hijji and his wife Anoud left three cars at their luxurious home in a gated community in Sarasota, Florida — one of them new — and flew to Saudi Arabia in August 2001. The refrigerator was full of food; furniture and clothing were left behind; and the swimming pool water was still circulating.

Security records of cars passing through a checkpoint at the Prestancia gated community indicated that Mr al-Hijji’s home, 4224 Escondito Circle, had been visited a number of times by Mohamed Atta, the leader of the 19-strong hijack team, who piloted American Airlines Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in 2001.

The logs also indicated that Marwan Al-Shehhi, who crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower, and Ziad Jarrah, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, had visited the house.

All three men had trained to fly at Venice Airport, which is 19 miles from Sarasota.”

Jihad comes to Boston: The Chechnya Connection

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Fox News reports, “Ties between Islamic extremist groups and Chechnya well-documented. [C]ongressional researchers and foreign policy analysts have long tracked a connection between the Chechnya region and Islamic extremists with Al Qaeda and the Taliban. If the suspects are indeed Chechen, analysts told Fox News they may represent part of a jihadi network which has made its way to American soil. “The Chechen jihadi network is very extensive,” Middle East analyst Walid Phares said Friday. “They have a huge network inside Russia and Chechnya.”

Chris Kyle in his autobiography American Sniper wrote that during the 2006 battle of in Ramadi,  Iraq, “I saw a whole bunch of guys standing there in desert camouflage—the old brown chocolate-chip stuff from Desert Storm, the First Gulf War. They were all wearing gear. They were all Caucasian, including one or two with blond hair, obviously not Iraqis or Arabs… We looked at each other. Something flicked in my brain, and I flicked the trigger on the M-16, mowing them down. A half-second’s more hesitation, and I would have been the one bleeding out on the floor. They turned out to be Chechens, Muslims apparently recruited for a holy war against the West. (We found their passports after searching the house.)” [My emphasis]

Clare Lopez, former CIA  Operations officer and Russia expert, in a statement to WDW noted, “This attack is not about Russia. This is an act of jihad. As time goes on our best friends are the media who will get into the background of these two men and reveal the truth.”

Time/Yahoo News reports:

Tamerlan, who was killed in a shootout earlier today, appears to have been sympathetic to Islamist radicalism. Five months ago he appears to have created a channel on YouTube called “Terrorists.” The channel features videos from the one of the leaders of the insurgency in Dagestan who goes by the name Amir Abu Dudzhan. YouTube appears to have removed two of the videos but in a third features Dudzhan calling for jihad. Holding a Kalashnikov rifle, he says, “Jihad is the duty of every able-bodied Muslim.” Among the other videos on his channel is one of Timur Mutsuraev, the bard of the Chechen resistance in the 1990s; it features his song, “We will devote our lives to jihad.” See Tamerlan’s video list here.

Here is the video on  Tamerlan’s YouTube channel calling for jihad by Amir Abu Dujana Rabbanikaly:

Reuters reports:

“Boston bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev posted links to Islamic websites and others calling for Chechen independence on what appears to be his page on a Russian language social networking site.

Abusive comments in Russian and English were flooding onto Tsarnaev’s page on VK, a Russian-language social media site, on Friday after he was identified as a suspect in the bombing of the Boston marathon.

Police launched a massive manhunt for Tsarnaev, 19, after killing his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a shootout overnight.”

Click on image for a larger view.

According to Reuters:

On the site, the younger Tsarnaev identifies himself as a 2011 graduate of Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, a public school in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

His “World view” is listed as “Islam” and his “Personal priority” is “career and money”.

He has posted links to videos of fighters in the Syrian civil war and to Islamic web pages with titles like “Salamworld, my religion is Islam” and “There is no God but Allah, let that ring out in our hearts”.

He also has links to pages calling for independence for Chechnya, a region of Russia that lost its bid for secession after two wars in the 1990s.

The page also reveals a sense of humor, around his identity as a member of a minority from southern Russia’s restive Caucasus, which includes Chechnya, Dagestan, Ingushetia and other predominately Muslim regions that have seen two decades of unrest since the fall of the Soviet Union.

A video labelled “tormenting my brother” shows a man resembling his dead brother Tamerlan laughing and imitating the accents of different Caucasian ethnic groups.

The Washington Post provides this background on Chechnya:

The Chechen conflict dates to the early 1990s. In the summer of 1999, fighters in the predominantly Muslim republic rose up in an attempt to throw off Russian domination. Vladimir Putin, then the Russian prime minister, responded quickly, firmly and brutally to put down the rebellion.

Later that summer, there were several explosions across Russia and Putin blamed Chechens. Putin sent the army back by force, which resulted in Western criticism of Russian tactics and human rights violations.

In the most dramatic episode, about 40 armed Chechen separatists took more than 900 hostages at a Moscow theater. After a two-day siege, Russian special police pumped a chemical agent into the theater’s ventilation system and raided the building. About 130 hostages died, and all of the Chechens were killed.

Though the war has officially ended, the Russians have maintained a tight grip on Chechnya, backing a strongman friendly to Moscow and maintaining a robust military presence. Efforts have also been underway in recent years to rebuild the shattered capital of Grozny.

Still, sporadic violence and kidnapping have continued in Chechnya and separatists retain a following. The years of fighting, crime and economic difficulties led tens of thousands of Chechens to leave their homes for other former Soviet republics.

Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Killed, 2nd Got away on foot (+ video)

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There’s a police operation underway in the town of Watertown near Boston following the shooting of a policeman on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Police have confirmed one suspect has been killed and that the other suspect is still at large and is connected to Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing. Residents of Watertown are being told to remain inside.

Asjylyn Loder & Esmé E. Deprez from Bloomberg report:

“Minutes before the bombs blew up in Boston, Jeff Bauman looked into the eyes of the man who tried to kill him.

Just before 3 p.m. on April 15, Bauman was waiting among the crowd for his girlfriend to cross the finish line at the Boston Marathon. A man wearing a cap, sunglasses and a black jacket over a hooded sweatshirt looked at Jeff, 27, and dropped a bag at his feet, his brother, Chris Bauman, said in an interview.

Two and a half minutes later, the bag exploded, tearing Jeff’s legs apart. A picture of him in a wheelchair, bloodied and ashen, was broadcast around the world as he was rushed to Boston Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee.”

Read more.

The featured photo, courtesy of Kelvin Ma, is of first responders including Carlos Arredondo, in cowboy hat, tend to Jeff Bauman, who was severely wounded after two explosions occurred along the final stretch of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street in Boston on April 15, 2013.

The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men

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Not every election that is important is held in November of each year. There are many local races for public office and referendums that are voted on in out-of-cycle elections. There is a growing  concern that out-of-cycle elections ultimately suppress the vote. Cases in point are two elections being held in May 2013. One is in Sarasota, Florida and the other in Los Angeles, California.

PRNewswire reports, “Entravision Communications Corporation (NYSE: EVC), a diversified Spanish-language media company, today announced a multi-platform campaign to encourage Los Angeles Latino voters to participate in the upcoming runoff election for Mayor, being held May 21, 2013. With only 16% of registered voters turning out for the Primary Nominating Election that was held in March, Entravision is committed to using its radio and digital assets in Los Angeles to raise awareness of the upcoming election and instill the importance of participating in the democratic election process.” [My emphasis]

Sarasota Today, in an Editorial titled “Why I vote (even though I am apathetic)“, notes, “Ap·a·thy. lack of interest of concern. P·a·rty. a large group of people. This is the reason some people believe causes such a low turnout in our City Elections (which are held in March and May). Apathy is what takes us from a 75% voter turnout in November to a 17% voter turnout  four months later in March. Although I disagree with the premise, I am going to accept that this must be true (mostly because I am sick of fighting about it – and I just want to find a solution).” [My emphasis]

It appears citizens from Sarasota to Los Angeles are taking an interest.

PRNewswire reports:

“At Entravision, we believe that the Los Angeles Mayoral election is extremely important to the future of the city. As an active member of the community, it is our civic duty to encourage as many citizens as possible to exercise their right to vote,” said Walter F. Ulloa, Entravision’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “With this election being only the third time in the last 75 years that an incumbent mayoral candidate has not been on the ballot in Los Angeles, this election offers a unique opportunity for citizens to vote with their voice and help shape the future for the city. By leveraging Entravision’s multiple media properties in Los Angeles, we will provide a valuable service to the community and help encourage voter participation for this special election.”

Sarasota Today coined the phrase “Apathy Party”. The Sarasota Today editorial analyzes the impact of the Apathy Party:

So here is my attempt at giving specific examples of why you (assuming you don’t vote) should consider leaving the Apathy Party.

Reason 1: You are more likely to lose your job due a decision made by a City Commission, than by the President of the United States.

Here is my reasoning. If you are young and live in Sarasota most likely you are in the “service” industry. You probably work in hospitality, retail or the restaurant business. All three of these industries (which are the largest in the City) depend HEAVILY on tourism. So, if the City Commission votes to install parking meters or by chance bans live music – then the tourists will probably not come downtown anymore. So when tourists leave, revenue leaves – and businesses suffer. When business suffers – people lose jobs. The City Commission makes decisions each month that effect local businesses short term and long term. If you think voting in the national elections will change your life – you should really pay attention to local elections.

It’s math.

City makes “anti-business” decisions = Businesses fail = Jobs Lost = Bad Tourism Experience = Bad Economy.

City makes “smart business” decisions = Businesses grow = More Jobs = Good Tourism Experience = Healthy and Diverse Economy

Reason 2: Your wallet will be more effected by the policies supported by the City, than by the Federal Government.

I always hear that people “vote with their wallet”. If that is true, than you definitely want to reconsider voting in local elections. Everyone’s income has taken a hit due to a horrible economy. Although things are improving, we still need to find ways to save money month-to-month. Tax Loop Holes don’t help anyone except big corporations. So how does the local government help us save money? Let’s start with the big one – rent. If you are like most people, rent is your biggest expense (or if you are a home owner – you property taxes and loan payment). The City of Sarasota has had a “no-growth” policy that has back-fired on our economy and it is lowering property values and raising taxes – and thus it is making your rent higher. For example, our zoning code only allows a developer to build 50 units per acre for a 10-story building. If you do the math – you can quickly see that these are BIG EXPENSIVE units – which means BIG rent. These restrictions are everywhere throughout the city – even in deprived neighborhoods like Rosemary District.  Since it is close to impossible to build a 10-story building with 50 unites and make it financially work – nobody builds. When nobody builds – there is less taxes going into the City’s revenue base. So, the City has to raise taxes and the buildings that exist in downtown raise rent (because they can due to lack of inventory).

It’s math.

It is math. Historically, off-cycle elections have lower voter turnout. Lower voter turnout leads to the few dictating to the many. It is not time for the many to be heard?

Rubio: Leaving immigration the way it is, it’s amnesty (+ video)

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Senator Marco Rubio’s comments on the US Senate floor:

Excerpts from Senator Rubio’s floor speech: “As far as the economy of the United States, a couple points. First of all, you can’t compare this bill to nothing, you have to compare it to what we have now. And what we have now is worse. What we have now is costing our economy. You have people in this country illegally, they get sick, they go to the emergency room, and the tax payer pays for it. You have people in this country that are having children, who are U.S. citizens and they go to our schools. They are driving in our streets without a driver’s license, which means they have no car insurance – which means all of us have to pay more in car insurance as a result. This is not good for us, it’s obviously not good for them, but it’s not good for us. What we have today is devastating and horrible for our economy. We can’t continue to have this, we have to fix this problem, and we have to fix it in a way that is fair to the people that have done it the right way, and fix it in a way that makes sure that this never ever happens again. And I believe that the bill we are working on does that. And I look forward to the input that my colleagues have.

“One more criticism I hear, ‘It’s being rushed through.’ That’s just not true. Just yesterday we voted on a series of amendments that I had less than twelve hours to review. And these amendments dealt with a fundamental right, the Second Amendment constitutional right. This bill has been online already for 48 hours. The Committee on Judiciary won’t even begin to consider amendments to this bill until next month. People are going to have three to four weeks to review it. It’s posted on my website, people can go on there now and see it. And beyond that, it will be available all these weeks, then it is going to go through an extensive committee process, then it will be brought here – hopefully to the floor – where we can debate it openly as well. Look, I am not claiming the bill is perfect – I am sure it can be improved. And I hope my 92 other colleagues will work hard to improve it, because we have an opportunity to do something important.

“My last point I address to many of my fellow Americans who share my deep commitment to upholding the Constitution of the United States, to limiting the size and scope of government, to encouraging the free enterprise system as the best way to create economic opportunity. America is a nation of immigrants, but both Republicans and Democrats have failed to enforce our immigration laws, and as a result we have millions of people here illegally. We are not going to deport them. So let’s secure the border, and let’s identify these people – let’s undergo a background check, get in the back of the line, pay a fine, pay taxes, no federal benefits. We all wish we didn’t have this problem, but leaving it the way it is, it’s amnesty. We have to solve this problem, and I hope we will.”

VIDEO: If you know either of these “suspects” in the Boston bombing call the FBI

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The FBI released images on Thursday of two men they said that they would like to question in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings. If you know or know where to find either of these two individuals call 1-800-CALL-FBI:

“Today we are enlisting the public’s help to identify the two suspects,” said Richard DesLauriers, the special agent in charge of the F.B.I.’s Boston field office.

Videos and photographs of the men wanted for questioning were posted online at www.fbi.gov.

UPDATE:

The Washington Times reports:

One of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing is dead after the killing of a university officer and a shootout with police, and a massive manhunt is underway for the other, authorities said early Friday.

Residents of Watertown, a Boston suburb, have been advised by police to keep their doors locked and not let anyone in.

“We believe this to be a terrorist,” said Boston Police Commissioner Ed David. “We believe this to be a man who’s come here to kill people. We need to get him in custody.”

Read more.