This is it! It is time once again for the Hero Bowl! Please come out and support our brave fire fighters and police officers as they play football to help the wounded. Proceeds are going to go to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
Here we go again!
When are people going to learn that the Chinese care nothing about the health and safety of anyone in the world, not even themselves! There was a story at the end of last year about vendors in China selling cardboard filled dumplings to their own citizenry! And you trust the products that we buy from them, dumbass?!
Chinese Gyoza dumplings
First, it was dog food. Then on to toothpaste and shellfish. Now practically anything you purchase that was made/grown in China is like playing russian roulette! This is becoming such a problem, the United States may want to rethink its trade agreements with China.
At least pay attention to what food products you buy. We may never completely be rid of all Chinese products in our country but at the very least, you the consumer, should continously decide not to put Chinese food products into your body. I will be to compile an exhaustive list of Chinese food products. If you find me face down in an aisle at the store, it was either fatigue or a hit. Either way, please help.
Insecticide poisons Chinese dumplings
5-year-old girl in serious condition, charges considered as food recalled
Posted: January 30, 2008
2:54 p.m. Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
In the latest scare from Chinese exports, dumplings containing insecticide have made 10 people in Japan ill, including a girl in serious condition, according to police who warn they could press criminal charges.
In a live press conference broadcast nationally last night, distributor JT foods announced it was recalling the product, Agence France-Presse reported.
“We pray for the early recovery of those whose health was affected,” said Mutsuo Iwai, an executive with a JT Foods subsidiary, Japan Tobacco.
“We sincerely apologize for the trouble.”
In one of a series of WND stories that first brought attention to the problem, FDA inspectors reported tainted food imports from China are being rejected with increasing frequency, because they are contaminated with pesticides and tainted with carcinogens, bacteria and banned drugs.
JT Foods said the dumplings contained an insecticide called methamidophos, AFP reported. The popular “gyoza” dumplings, with historical origins in China, are usually made with ground meat inside.
A mother and her four children were among the 10 people who got sick eating the Chinese dumplings, the news agency said. A 5-year-old girl was reported in serious condition.
At least five people remained hospitalized after suffering vomiting, stomach aches or diarrhea.
China is Japan’s second largest source of food imports, behind the U.S.
A WND investigation into the safety of Chinese exports triggered widespread interest in a problem that continued through the most recent Christmas season – highlighted by a series of recalls of children’s toys and other holiday items.
Concerns with China imports began with a pet food scandal that killed or maimed up to 39,000 American cats and dogs. WND’s investigation continued into imports of foods meant for human consumption. The New York Times and other major U.S. media followed.
Members of Congress have referenced statistics gathered in WND’s investigation of product recalls from China. WND found most of the safety recalls involved imports from the Asian giant, which were recalled twice as often as products made everywhere else in the world, including the U.S.
WND reported China, the leading exporter of seafood to the U.S., is raising most of its fish products in water contaminated with raw sewage and compensating by using dangerous drugs and chemicals, many of which are banned by the FDA.
China consistently has topped the list of countries whose products were refused by the FDA. The list includes many countries, including Mexico and Canada, that export far more food products to the U.S. than China.
China is the second largest source of imports for the U.S. while the U.S. is China’s largest overseas market and second largest source of foreign direct investment.
It would seem that Pakistan is quite possibly realizing that they will need to rout these folks from the wild tribal lands or face a lot of violence and terror on their military and populace.
I was always curious why Musharraf was hesitant on dealing with these folks. Mr. Roggio was on the show a couple of weeks ago and explained that if Musharraf were to crack down on the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in the tribal lands, he would probably face the same fate as Benazir Bhutto. It is well known that there are some folks in his own security forces, or ISI, that are sympathetic to the Taliban. See the story of Rashid Rauf from two weeks ago.
The best guess estimates of people who sympathize with the Taliban on a ‘per capita’ analysis is appoximately 8 million people of the 165 million person total population. That may not seem much, but 8 million people anywhere is a lot of folks.
It is only obvious that the Taliban are growing stronger in the tribal lands and are now willing to conduct paramilitary operations against Pakistan itself. They initiated this conflict by seizing five supply trucks bound from Northern Waziristan province. Maybe this will finally change Musharraf’s mind about allowing us to send some of our forces into the tribal lands to quell the Taliban stranglehold on the area and their capability to conduct operations into Afghanistan.
Let’s pray…
From The Long War Journal.org :
Pakistani paramilitaries kidnapped in Kohat
By Bill Roggio January 27, 2008 12:45 PM
The Pakistani military and the Taliban continue to battle in the tribal agencies of Orakzai and South Waziristan. While the Pakistani military spokesman is claiming success in Orakzai, more than 50 paramilitary troops from the Frontier Corps have been reported captured since the military moved in several days ago. The military is reporting success during operations in South Waziristan.
Orakzai
Fighting has been reported to be intense in the tribal agency of Orakzai. The clashes in Orakzai started on Jan. 25 after Taliban forces seized five trucks laden with supplies destined for forces in North Waziristan. The military moved in forces and cordoned the city of Darra Adam Khel, while the Taliban took over the Kohat Tunnel, a strategic link along the Indus Highway that connects Peshawar to the southern tribal agencies. The military declared a cease-fire in Darra Adam Khel on Jan. 26 while local religious leaders formed a peace jirga, or committee, to resolve the situation.
The Pakistani military has claimed at least 34 Taliban were killed during the opening round of the fighting, but has only reported two soldiers killed. Yet Pakistani news outlets are reporting Frontier Corps troops have been captured during two separate clashes. The Taliban abducted 14 Frontier Corps troops from a checkpoint in Kohat at the start of the battle, The Nation reported. “Locals informed [The Nation] that the militants had paraded the 14 hostages in a bazaar of Darra Adam Khel.”
Another 40 Frontier Corps troops were captured attempting to regain control of the tower at the peak of the Kohat Tunnel Mountain, The Frontier Post reported. “Eight Frontier Corps men were slaughtered, the sources further claimed, adding that local religious men were dragging [the bodies of the paramilitary troops] in the main bazaar to expose the heads of the beheaded personnel.” The Taliban are said to be wearing Army and Frontier Corps uniforms to conduct clandestine operations.
The military stated it has now recaptured the Kohat Tunnel. “After fierce fighting, the security forces have cleared the area of miscreants and are in control of Kohat tunnel and surrounding areas,” according to a military press release. “Reportedly 24 miscreants have been killed, many have fled leaving behind huge quantity of arms and ammunition.” No casualties were reported among the Pakistani troops.
South Waziristan
The Pakistani military launched an operation in South Waziristan on Jan. 24 after Taliban forces commanded by Baitullah Mehsud overran two military outposts and conducted attacks against other forts and military convoys in the agency during the past several weeks. The Pakistani military is claiming great success, with scores of Taliban killed or captured and low casualties on the Pakistani military side. The reporting from South Waziristan has been largely limited to reports from the Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s public affairs outfit.
“The miscreants have been evicted from Spinkai, Nawakali, Raghzai and Marghaband areas of South Waziristan Agency,” the Associated Press of Pakistan reported based on an ISPR press release. The term “miscreant” is used by the Pakistani military and government to describe foreign fighters, or al Qaeda. “Successful operations of Security Forces against miscreants on Jandola and Kotkai continued for the fourth consecutive day,” the APP continues. “During search operations of various strongholds of miscreants a huge cache of arms, ammunition and prepared suicide jackets have been recovered.”
A sketch map of North and South Waziristan. Blue arrows are Pakistani army movements. Map from The Khyber Gateway. Click to view.
Dawn also reported, based on an ISPR press release, that the military has cleared the Ladha and Nawazkot regions, while infantry, backed by tanks and air support, are striking in Touda Cheena and the Makeen areas. The Daily Times has an unconfirmed report that South Waziristan Taliban commander Qari Hussain was killed in an airstrike in Spinkai.
The government and the Taliban have already begun to conduct peace talks. “Elders of the Mehsud tribe are likely to proceed to Peshawar from Tank on Sunday to hold talks with the NWFP Governor, Owais Ahmad Ghani,” according to Dawn’s sources. “A 15-member committee was set up in Tank on Saturday to initiate efforts for a ceasefire between the security forces and the militants in South Waziristan.”
Pakistan has conducted numerous negotiations with the Taliban in 2006 and 2007. The South Waziristan Accord ceded control of the agency to the Taliban in April 2006. The peace agreement was followed by the North Waziristan Accord in September 2006, and agreements in Bajaur, Swat, and Mohmand in 2007.
Former Northwest Frontier Province governor Ali Muhammad Jan Orakzai, who resigned in early January 2008, was a backer of holding peace talks with the Taliban. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz Khan said Orakzai was relieved due to the failure of the Taliban peace negotiations as these agreements led to the spread of the Taliban and al Qaeda in the Northwest Frontier Province and the tribal areas.
See The Fall of the Northwest Frontier Province for the full history of the rise of the Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal regions and beyond.
This is the Eight of the State for this week, January 26th, 2008:
1. Laura I. Flores – She should pay back every cent and then spend the rest of her life in jail!
2. Los Angeles Unified School District – Makes you want to raise a child in LA, huh?!
3. Arun Gandhi – I’m not saying that Ghandi was a dumbass, but he should have taught his grandchildren to NOT follow in his footsteps!
4. Charlena Graham – This is just evil. Screw life in prison, just deport her to Iran!
5. Luis Sanchez-Barron – Speaking of ‘deporting’, send this guy to Iran too. Just tattoo a giant christian cross onto his chest first!
6. Kirk Hanson – It’s lawyers like this that give guys a bad name!
7. The Socialist Left – As Europe goes, so too will America follow.
8. New York City Education Department – Let this happen to my child! Heads will roll, literally!
Blue Falcon of the Week
The Blue Falcon of the week for January 26, 2008 is:
John McCain!
This is exactly why this man in ‘unfit for command’.
Skeptics of candidate’s immigration stance highlight appointment
Posted: January 25, 2008
12:45 p.m. Eastern
By Jerome R. Corsi
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
The Hispanic outreach director for Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is a dual American-Mexican citizen known for his “Mexico first” declarations to immigrants in the U.S., WND has confirmed.
Word of the appointment, made in November, spread across the Internet last night, sparking reaction from secure-border activists who charge Juan Hernandez’s position in the campaign belies the Republican candidate’s attempt to position himself as an advocate of border security.
McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers emphasized to WND that Hernandez is “a non-paid volunteer to the campaign, and he does not play a policy role.”
“Juan works with us to reach out to the Hispanic community to meet with the folks in the various states,” Rogers said.
Asked if the McCain campaign has repudiated Hernandez’s “Mexico first” declarations, Rogers did not give a direct answer.
Twice he referred WND to McCain’s immigration position on the campaign presidential website arguing for border security.
In an appearance on ABC’s Nightline in 2001, Hernandez said, referring to Mexican immigrants in the U.S., “I want the third generation, the seventh generation, I want them all to think ‘Mexico first.’”
Hernandez told the Associated Press the same year, “I never knew the border as a limitation. I’d be delighted if all of us could come and go between these two marvelous countries.”
Last August, Hernandez published a book entitled “The New American Pioneers: Why Are We Afraid of Mexican Immigrants?” in which he argued Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, were at the forefront of establishing a new North American market combining the U.S. with Mexico.
Mark Krikorian, director for the Center for Immigration Studies, asked last night on a National Review Online blog, “Has McCain offered Hernandez, a former high-level foreign government official who presumably swore an oath to uphold the Mexican constitution, a place on a future McCain Administration? That’s not a rhetorical question.”
Columnist Michelle Malkin posted equally critical comments this morning on her blog HotAir.com.
Noting that McCain has attempted to distance himself from the comprehensive immigration reform bill he co-sponsored with Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy, Malkin said the appointment of Hernandez “tells me that John McCain is as weak on border security now as he ever was.”
While McCain is now emphasizing border security, the policy posted on his website repeats many of the “flexible labor market” arguments advanced in the Kennedy-McCain comprehensive immigration reform bills, arguing for the necessity of a guest-worker program.
Hernandez has appeared on various cable news talk shows aggressively arguing against building any fence on the Mexican border, insisting the frontier need to remain wide open so illegal immigrants can easily cross into the U.S.
Hernandez was the first U.S.-born cabinet member to serve President Vicente Fox, operating from Los Pinos, the Mexican White House. Hernandez represented the 24 million Mexicans living abroad whom Fox then called “heroes” for representing Mexico in the foreign nations in which they lived.
In 1996, Hernandez was responsible for inviting Fox, then governor of the Mexican state of Guanajuanto, to speak at the University of Texas, Dallas, where he met George W. Bush, then governor of Texas, for the first time.
Hamas is proving to be a worthy foe. It is of little doubt exactly what they want of us. They make it abundantly clear that they want us to convert to Islam or die! Every leader of these ‘militant groups’ says this bluntly. Read Aaron Klein’s book for more info.
A few comments on Hamas’ strategy from a Marine’s point of view.
MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images
What can we do, you ask? I have said for a long time, the most dangerous person in the world is a letter writer. Break out that dusty pen and write a letter to your congressman and senator. If they refuse to address your concerns then work to get them voted out of office. We are the only ones with the power to make change, not a single president or congress!
From WorldNetDaily:
Hamas wins in Gaza
Posted: January 24, 2008
2:00 p.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
TEL AVIV – As the madness in the Gaza Strip continues, one thing is clear – Hamas has won against Israel, Egypt and the United States on all fronts.
The crisis began last week when Palestinian terrorists fired over 200 rockets from the Gaza Strip aimed at nearby Jewish communities. Rockets have been regularly flying from the territory since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but last week’s increased bombardment marked an escalation that prompted widespread calls here for the Israeli government to carry out a large-scale anti-rocket operation and ground assault in Gaza.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s government, in no shape to withstand a difficult military operation, decided instead to get creative and cut back fuel supplies and shipment trucks entering Gaza from the Israeli border in an effort to pressure Gaza’s Hamas leadership. But Israeli officials say they continue to transfer sufficient aid and materials to the Palestinians to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and allow Gaza’s power plants to run.
Still, on Sunday, Hamas unilaterally decided to shut down Gaza’s only electrical plant, which supplies power to about 20 percent of Gaza, including over 400,000 people in Gaza City. Hamas claimed it did not have enough fuel to run the plant due to Israeli cutbacks, a contention strongly contested by Israel.
The Hamas power shutdown resulted in a flurry of human-interest media reports regarding the poor Palestinians trapped in the dark.
And then yesterday Hamas went for the kill. Masked gunmen blew dozens of holes in the wall delineating the Egypt-Gaza border, destroying nearly two-thirds of the structure separating the frontier. Hundreds of thousands of “starving” Palestinians reportedly poured out of Gaza and into Egypt.
Hamas leaders claimed Palestinians blasted the Egypt-Gaza border spontaneously so the masses can escape the “Israeli prison” created in Gaza, but reports abound that Hamas planned the border break for at least the past few months. According to Hamas-allied sources quoted by Israel’s Haaretz daily and Britain’s Daily Telegraph, Hamas operatives had been sawing away at the foundations of the wall for a few months to make it easier to blow it up.
But those reports don’t much matter. Hamas already won the public relations war. From the New York Times through China’s Xinhau news agency, thousands of articles and television reports around the world tell of the “starving” Palestinians besieged by Israel.
A good deal of the media coverage is false and nearly openly sides with Hamas. The Israeli blockade has been allowing enough food and supplies – including fuel – into Gaza to avert a humanitarian crisis. In fact, the Palestinians receive more international aid per capita than any other civilization on earth. With all the supplies that flowed into Gaza the past two years, there shouldn’t be much of a shortage.
But slanted media reports abound and have been reaching new levels of ridiculousness.
One BBC report, for example, claimed due to the Israeli blockage the Palestinians ran out of burial shrouds and have resorted to draping their dead in old flags. But neither Israel nor any humanitarian agency, including the United Nations, has ever shipped burial shrouds to Gaza, meaning the Israeli blockage could not have created any shortage.
Compounding the reports, the U.N.’s farcical Human Rights Council yesterday passed a one-sided resolution condemning Israeli military action in Gaza, calling for international action to protect the Palestinians and for Israel to lift its blockade of the territory.
Lost in all the media coverage and the international diplomatic response is what prompted the Israeli “blockade” of the Gaza Strip in the first place. Israeli ministers didn’t wake up one morning and decide to place a siege on Gaza residents. The blockade is in response to rampant rocket attacks devastating Jewish population centers.
In spite of the blockade, Israel continues to supply the Gaza Strip directly with nearly two-thirds of its power. The power stations that supply most of Gaza’s juice are located in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, into which Palestinian terrorists have been launching rockets at a furious rate the past few days!
Meanwhile and for the first time ever, Hamas now openly controls the Egypt-Gaza border in a direct threat to Egypt.
When the border wall was breached yesterday, Egyptian forces, some of whom were likely paid off by Hamas using Iranian money, stood down as Hamas policemen directed throngs of Palestinians, including well-known terrorists, into the Egyptian Sinai desert. Some of those Palestinians likely wont be returning to the Gaza Strip.
“Egyptian security men at the border were very passive – they wanted this to happen; they didn’t prevent anything from coming in or going out,” said one Palestinian gunman, speaking to me yesterday from the Gaza side of the border.
In an effort to save face, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced yesterday he “allowed” the Palestinians into Egypt to “come and eat.”
Mubarak didn’t allow anything. Hamas broke down and stormed his border while useless Egyptian security forces did nothing. Nearly three years after Israel’s evacuation of the Gaza Strip and Hamas not only threatens the Jewish state but also U.S.-ally Egypt.
According to Hamas sources, the terror group, in a position of power, will next attempt to broker a deal whereby it will jointly control the Egypt-Gaza border along with Egyptian forces. Until now, in line with a deal brokered by the U.S., the border has been controlled by Egyptian and Palestinian forces with the help of European monitors. Nevertheless, Hamas has been able to smuggle in weapons and militants, but the new deal would allow them to bring into Gaza whatever they want by the truckload.
In the face of all this, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is trapped. His blockade backfired. He’s nearly out of options to counter the rocket attacks, as demanded by the Israeli populace.
Olmert can’t launch a major ground assault – the only thing that would actually limit rocket onslaughts – for two primary reasons:
First, Olmert is negotiating with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to create a Palestinian state, as mediated by the Bush administration starting at this past November’s Annapolis summit. Any ground assault would cause peace negotiations to falter.
Second, the Israeli leader faces major domestic troubles due to a report coming out next week probing his handling of the 2006 war in Lebanon. He is already being blamed for “needless” deaths of Israeli soldiers, with some ministers, army officers and a sizable segment of the Israeli public demanding his resignation. Olmert can’t afford more troops killed during a major ground assault.
And so Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip this past June, once again sits a victor atop its Gaza thrown, this time with its tentacles in the Egyptian Sinai plotting its next advance on the volatile chess board that is the Middle East.
Cook County District Court Branch 29 was alive with activity this afternoon. On the Courts call this afternoon was the case against Jay Grodner, if you do not already know who Mr. Grodner is he is the gentleman that keyed Sgt. Michael Mc Nulty’s car producing $2400 in damage on December 1st of this past year.
Cook County District Court Branch 29 was alive with activity this afternoon. On the Courts call this afternoon was the case against Jay Grodner, if you do not already know who Mr. Grodner is he is the gentleman that keyed Sgt. Michael Mc Nulty’s car producing $2400 in damage on December 1st of this past year.
The case was scheduled to be heard at 1:30 and as the time drew closer the Court Room rapidly filled. Mr. Grodner’s was not the only case that was scheduled to be heard, there was approximately 15 to 20 total misdemeanor cases to be heard. Those people that were involved with one of the other 14 cases came into the courtroom they found it hard to find a seat to wait for their case to be called. Sitting in the courts gallery was a sea of Eagle Globes and Anchors, Patriot Guards, Navy, and a couple of suits Kirk Morris a Candidate for the House of Representatives was one of those suits; and this was just those of us that did not know Sgt. Mc Nulty. All Sgt. McNulty’s supporters took about 70 percent of the available seats in the gallery leaving very little room for anyone else that had business in court this afternoon. Sgt. McNulty also had the support of his friends Brian and Tim Sullivan as well as his brother Tim McNulty. All totaled I would be surprised if Sgt McNulty’s cheering section was under forty.
As I looked around the Courtroom I noticed a trend, and not with the crowd that had gathered, but with those that worked at the Courthouse. There were several of the Cook County Deputies that were proudly displaying Marine Corps pins. The Prosecutor was too. I later came to learn that Mr. Kelly had volunteered to prosecute this case, he was a Former Marine Corps Sergeant, and his partner was a Former Green Beret.
When the case was called at just after 1:30 everything was ready except Mr. Grodner. Mr. Grodner or anyone to represent him was absent. Judge William O’Malley said that he would recall the case in fifteen minutes. When the time came for the case to be called a second time there was still no sign of or word from Grodner. The Judge immediately issued a Bench Warrant in the amount of $20,000 for Mr. Grodner. Minutes after the case was called a second time, a member of the Courts staff passed a note to the judge as the Prosecutor walked to the Bench to address the Judge. It turns out that at 1:40 Grodner called the court and spoke to the Prosecutor, Mr. Grodner said that he would be in shortly after 2 PM so that the assumed gathered media could disperse, there was only one member of the media present, John Kass from the Chicago Tribune and he did not leave because Grodner did not show up on time, thankfully he stayed to get the whole story. While we all waited the Judge told those present in Court that Mr. Grodner would be taken into custody on the Bench Warrant that had just been issued when he came into the Court.
When Grodner showed up he was taken into custody just outside of the Courtroom by Cook County Sherriff’s Deputies, unfortunately outside of my view. The Deputies brought Grodner to the Bench where the Judge chastised him for disrespecting his Court for the second time by arriving late, and that his lack of respect for the Court had earned him a trip through the system. He was then promptly taken away to a holding room to await a trip to the County Jail.
With the show over the crowd congregated in the lobby of the Courthouse celebrating a victory for those who wear the Uniform. Some left to return to work, some left to go home under the pressumtion that day was done and we would come back for a new date. Others stayed and continued to chat. Then the Deputies and other staff members from the Court came out and told us that Grodner was coming back into Court. He had made a deal with the Prosecutor.
The few of us that had remained went back into the Courtroom to wait for Grodner to come back out and face the music. Grodner stalled by asking a Deputy to ask the Judge if he could have the time to put his belt back on and re-lace his shoes, the Judges response was classic, “He’ll be treated just like everyone else that comes before my Court.”
When Grodner came before the Judge he still behaved as though he had done nothing wrong and was rather belligerent. When asked about the facts of the case Grodner would not give a straight answer, trying very unsuccessfully to skirt his actions, attempting to turn his excuses into the facts of the case. He only seemed to take things more seriously after the Judge told him if his excuses continued and he did not live up to the agreement that he entered into he could go to jail, post bail, and come back on another day to face up to what he had done.
Grodner was sentenced to one year of Court Supervision; and $600 in restitution, that Sgt. McNulty is having donated to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, to paid within the next 30 days. He was given a stern warning that if he failed to live up to any of the terms in this agreement that he would be taken into custody again and jailed for 364 days in jail and a $2500 fine, the maximum allowed by law.
The best part of the day was when the Judge let Grodner have it. I do not remember it word for word but I can come very close. The Judge asked Grodner if he had noticed the crowded Courtroom when he appeared before the Bench initially, because all of those that were in the Courtroom at the time, or “a vast majority of them were there because of an old adage in the Marine Corps, no one is left behind. Sgt McNulty was unable to be here himself but all of these Former Marines came in his place.” That is not all that was said, but that to me was the highlight.
Thank you again to all of you that showed up and showed support to Sgt McNulty. May God Bless all of you and those who wear the Uniform or support them.
Mr. Jay Robert Grodner is a divorce and family attorney from Chicago, Illinios. He has in the past been in trouble for fraud and forging documents, and now seems to be in trouble for keying someone’s car.
That someone just happens to be a Marine Corps Sergeant who is about to leave on his second tour to Iraq. Michael McNulty was visiting his friend on Eastlake Terrace when a trash truck prohibited him from parking behind his friend’s house in an alley. Mr. McNulty had to back up down the alley to allow the trash truck to pass so that he could proceed to his destination. Mr. Grodner witnessed Mr. McNulty back down the alley and noticed his Marine Corps license plate and sticker. Mr. Grodner then followed Mr. McNulty’s car down the alley to the parking stall. Mr. McNulty just happened to look out the window at his car and noticed Mr. Grodner making circles around it with his keys in his hand. Mr. McNulty went downstairs and confronted Mr. Grodner as to what he was doing and Mr. Grodner then went on an anti-war, anti-military tirade in Mr. McNulty’s face.
The following is the transcript of the final court appearance of Mr. Grodner in relation to this case, specifically. Whether Mr. Grodner will be in court again to answer for future actions remains to be seen, but for now, just know that Mr. Grodner is an untrustworthy fellow.
Also note, Mr. O’Malley, the judge in this case, is a former Marine Lance Corporal! I thoroughly enjoyed the choice words that Mr. O’Malley had for Mr. Grodner. Every Marine who reads his admonishment to Mr. Grodner would be proud of him. Thank you Mr. O’Malley and Semper Fi!
Nods to Beverly Perlson of The Band of Mothers and Howie at Howie’s Head.com.
1 STATE OF ILLINOIS )
) SS.
2 COUNTY OF C O O K )
3 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
4 COUNTY DEPARTMENT-MUNICIPAL DIVISION
5 PEOPLE OF THE STATE )
OF ILLINOIS, )
6 )
Plaintiff, )
7 )
-vs- ) CASE NO.
8 ) 07-MC1-318441
JAY GRODNER, )
9 )
Defendant. )
10
TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS held on
11
the 18th of January, 2008, before the HONORABLE
12
WILLIAM P. O’MALLEY, Judge of said court,
13
Branch 29, Chicago, Illinois.
14
APPEARANCES:
15
HON. RICHARD A. DEVINE, STATE’S ATTORNEY
16 OF COOK COUNTY, BY:
MR. PATRICK KELLY & MR. ARUNAS BUNTINAS,
17 ASSISTANT STATE’S ATTORNEYS,
18 Appeared on behalf of the People;
19 MR. JAY GRODNER, THE DEFENDANT,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
20
Appeared Pro Se.
21
22
JEAN M. DRISCOLL, C.S.R.
23 OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER
69 WEST WASHINGTON, SUITE 900
24 CHICAGO, IL 60602
Page 1
1 THE CLERK: 406-7, Jay Grodner.
2 MR. KELLY: Good afternoon, Your Honor. For
3 the record, Patrick Kelly, K-e-l-l-y, for the
4 People.
5 MR. BUNTINAS: Judge, Arunas Buntinas, last
6 name B-u-n-t-i-n-a-s, with State’s Attorney’s
7 Office.
8 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Grodner is not
9 here.
10 Would one of the sheriffs go out in the
11 lobby to see if he’s there? Otherwise, I’m issuing
12 a warrant for his arrest.
13 THE SHERIFF: Judge, there’s no response in
14 all the common places and the lobby.
15 MR. BUNTINAS: Judge, we’re asking for a bond
16 forfeiture warrant.
17 THE COURT: Bond forfeiture warrant $20,000.
18 Wait around, Pat. He’ll probably wander in and
19 I’ll take him into custody.
20 MR. KELLY: Very well. Thank you, Your
21 Honor.
22 MR. BUNTINAS: Thank you, Judge.
23 THE COURT: This matter has been up before.
24 He waltzed in the last time 15 minutes late.
Page 2
1 Okay.
2 (WHEREUPON THE CASE
3 WAS PASSED AND
4 RECALLED.)
5 THE COURT: Recall Jay Grodner.
6 THE CLERK: Jay Grodner.
7 THE COURT: State.
8 MR. KELLY: Your Honor, I had a conversation
9 with Mr. Grodner a couple moments ago on the
10 telephone. At about 1:40, he called and said that
11 he was running late. He would be here in about a
12 half an hour. He wanted an opportunity to give
13 the press time to leave before he arrived.
14 THE COURT: Yeah. Mr. Grodner — The message
15 I got, which was relayed to my clerk from Mr. Kelly
16 here, says that Mr. Grodner called at 1:40.
17 Of course, he was suppose to be here at
18 1:30. He knows that since he showed up late, and I
19 warned him about that the last time. He says that
20 he would be here in about a half hour. He wanted
21 the press to clear out. He was told that a warrant
22 was issued.
23 So, for those of you in the press, you
24 might want to know that. But, the warrant should
Page 3
1 still stand. Should Mr. Grodner appear in this
2 courtroom, he’ll be taken into custody. Should he
3 not appear, the Chicago Police Department can do
4 whatever or execute that warrant.
5 MR. KELLY: Thank you, Judge.
6 (WHEREUPON THE CASE
7 WAS PASSED AND
8 RECALLED.)
9 THE CLERK: 406, line 7. Jay Grodner.
10 THE DEFENDANT: Good afternoon, Your Honor.
11 THE COURT: Yeah, it is good afternoon. It’s
12 2:00. You were suppose to be here at 1:30. The
13 last time –
14 THE DEFENDANT: I apologize, Your Honor.
15 THE COURT: — this matter was up, you
16 showed up at 1:45. I admonished you that the
17 courtroom starts at 1:30. The complaining witness
18 last time was here at 1:30.
19 I struck the warrant at that time that
20 had previously been issued because the complaining
21 witness was still here.
22 THE SHERIFF: Mr. Grodner, put your hands
23 behind your back.
24 THE COURT: You were warned once. I got a
Page 4
1 message that you were — you didn’t want to come
2 here because you wanted to wait for the press to
3 leave.
4 I don’t run my courtroom that way. You
5 have no regard for the Court. Bail is increased to
6 $20,000. Take him into custody.
7 State, I’ll either give him the eight-day
8 date; or, you folks can talk to him and see if he
9 wants to work something out.
10 THE DEFENDANT: We already have something
11 worked out, Your Honor.
12 THE COURT: Take him into custody. They can
13 talk to him through there.
14 THE SHERIFF: Let’s go, Mr. Grodner.
15 (WHEREUPON THE
16 DEFENDANT TAKEN
17 INTO CUSTODY.)
18 THE CLERK: 406, line 7. Jay Grodner.
19 THE COURT: Mr. Grodner, I understand that you
20 made some agreement with the State’s Attorney’s
21 Office.
22 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, sir.
23 THE COURT: I told them that it was my
24 intention to just give you the regular court date
Page 5
1 that I would for any other prisoner.
2 They said that they have reached an
3 agreement with you; and, so, I will attempt to
4 dispose of your case today.
5 THE DEFENDANT: Thank you, Your Honor.
6 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Kelly, what have
7 you — Mr. Grodner, I understand that you’re
8 entering a plea of guilty — Let me see the
9 file — to the charge of criminal damage to
10 property.
11 That you knowingly damaged the property
12 of Michael McNulty; such property being a 2002
13 black BMW, located at 7631 North Eastlake Terrace,
14 without consent in that you rubbed along the
15 passenger side of the vehicle causing scratches.
16 Is that what you did?
17 THE DEFENDANT: (No response.)
18 THE COURT: Mr. Grodner, I’m talking to you.
19 Is that what you did?
20 THE DEFENDANT: Yes. Yes, we have a
21 stipulation to the facts, –
22 THE COURT: Is that what you did; yes or no?
23 THE DEFENDANT: Without the “knowingly”, yes.
24 THE COURT: Sir, I’m asking you did you
Page 6
1 knowingly cause damage to this car?
2 If you say “no”, then we’ll set it down
3 for a trial date.
4 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.
5 THE COURT: You did. Thank you.
6 You realize that I could sentence you to
7 jail for up to one year. Fine you $2500. That by
8 pleading guilty, you’re waiving your right to a
9 jury trial. You’re not going to have a trial at
10 all.
11 Do you understand that?
12 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I do.
13 THE COURT: You’re waiving your right to hold
14 the State to the burden of proving you guilty
15 beyond a reasonable doubt. You’re not going to be
16 able to cross-examine witnesses and to present
17 witnesses on your own behalf.
18 Do you understand that?
19 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I do.
20 THE COURT: Now, is there a stipulation to
21 those facts contained in the complaint?
22 THE DEFENDANT: Yes.
23 THE COURT: Is that correct?
24 THE DEFENDANT: That’s correct.
Page 7
1 THE COURT: And, you have chosen to represent
2 yourself; even though, I continued this case once
3 for you to obtain an attorney. Is that right?
4 THE DEFENDANT: That’s right.
5 THE COURT: All right. And, –
6 THE DEFENDANT: My attorney –
7 THE COURT: — you are a licensed attorney
8 in –
9 THE DEFENDANT: I am, Your Honor.
10 THE COURT: — the State of Illinois; is that
11 right?
12 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I am.
13 THE COURT: All right.
14 MR. KELLY: Your Honor, the State would
15 stipulate to the facts, also.
16 THE COURT: There’s a factual basis for the
17 plea. There’s a finding of guilty –
18 MR. KELLY: May we read that into the record?
19 THE COURT: What?
20 MR. KELLY: May we read that into the record?
21 THE COURT: Read what?
22 MR. KELLY: The alleged facts in this case.
23 THE COURT: Yeah. I did already, Pat; but,
24 I’ll read them again. I’m more than happy to.
Page 8
1 MR. KELLY: Thank you.
2 THE COURT: “That on December 1, at 7631
3 North Eastlake Terrace, the Defendant, Mr. Grodner,
4 knowingly damaged the property of Michael McNulty;
5 such property being a 2002 black BMW, located at
6 7631 North Eastlake Terrace, without consent
7 rubbed along the passenger side of the vehicle
8 causing scratches in violation of 720 5/21-1(a) of
9 the Illinois Compiled Statutes, in the City of
10 Chicago, County of Cook.”
11 MR. KELLY: So stipulated, Your Honor.
12 THE DEFENDANT: So stipulated, Your Honor.
13 THE COURT: All right. Finding of guilty.
14 State, what was the agreement that you
15 worked out with Mr. Grodner?
16 MR. KELLY: Subject to the Court’s approval,
17 we would recommend one year of Court supervision.
18 THE COURT: Social Services –
19 MR. KELLY: Social Services. Reporting for
20 the payment of restitution only. The restitution
21 would be in the amount of $600, Your Honor. That’s
22 to be paid on or before January 19, 2008.
23 Those monies will be donated by Social
24 Services to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
Page 9
1 THE COURT: January 19th only gives him until
2 tomorrow. Is he able to pay it today?
3 MR. KELLY: That’s my error, Judge. I’m
4 sorry. The 25th.
5 THE DEFENDANT: 2009?
6 THE COURT: January 25th?
7 MR. KELLY: That’s the probation. I looked at
8 the wrong one. It was January 25th of 2008.
9 Will you be able to pay it by then?
10 THE DEFENDANT: Suppose to be six months.
11 THE SHERIFF: Put your hands behind your
12 back.
13 THE DEFENDANT: Jesus Christ.
14 THE COURT: You’re the Defendant, sir. You’re
15 in custody. You have to behave as such.
16 Pat?
17 THE DEFENDANT: I’m trying to negotiate with
18 Counsel, Your Honor.
19 THE COURT: I know. Talk to him.
20 MR. KELLY: I’m sorry. That’s what I was
21 told. For the year.
22 THE COURT: Talk to him.
23 (WHEREUPON THE
24 ASSISTANT STATE’S
Page 10
1 ATTORNEY AND THE
2 DEFENDANT HAD A
3 DISCUSSION OFF THE
4 RECORD.)
5 THE COURT: Hey, if there is no agreement,
6 we’ll set it down for trial. I don’t have any
7 problem with that.
8 MR. KELLY: If we could just have one minute,
9 Your Honor?
10 THE COURT: Sure.
11 MR. KELLY: I believe we have — still have
12 an agreement, Your Honor.
13 THE COURT: All right. When is he going to
14 pay this money and what fund is it going to be
15 directed to?
16 MR. KELLY: It would be directed to the
17 Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, on College
18 Boulevard, in Oceanside, California.
19 It’s a fund that’s used to treat and
20 rehabilitate Marines and other Service Members who
21 were injured, either physically or psychologically,
22 in the conflict between the United States and Iraq.
23 THE COURT: When is that going to be paid by?
24 MR. KELLY: January 25, 2008.
Page 11
1 Is that doable for you?
2 THE DEFENDANT: I don’t know. I wasn’t put
3 in the — It wasn’t put –
4 THE COURT: It has to be paid January 25,
5 2008.
6 What was the other part of the agreement?
7 Anything else?
8 MR. KELLY: No, sir.
9 THE COURT: All right.
10 MR. KELLY: Am I missing anything?
11 THE COURT: One year — Any community
12 service? Any fees or fines?
13 MR. BUNTINAS: Judge, we’re not asking that
14 the Court waive the $50 per month probation fee –
15 or, Social Services fee.
16 THE COURT: You are or you are not?
17 MR. BUNTINAS: We are not.
18 THE COURT: No. The fees won’t be waived.
19 MR. BUNTINAS: Right.
20 THE COURT: Are there any additional court
21 fees and costs –
22 MR. BUNTINAS: None, Judge.
23 THE COURT: — that the State wants to asses?
24 MR. BUNTINAS: None, Judge.
Page 12
1 THE COURT: All right. Mr. Grodner, because
2 the State has agreed to this, this is what I will
3 sentence you to. One-year Social Service
4 supervision and that would terminate 1-16-2009;
5 and, $600 restitution to be paid –
6 MR. KELLY: May I interrupt the Court, Judge?
7 THE COURT: What?
8 MR. KELLY: The Defendant has indicated that
9 he’s going to need a month. So, we’re changing the
10 agreement, if the Court will so allow, to February
11 25th of ’08. One month.
12 THE COURT: Restitution to be paid 2-25-08.
13 Mr. Grodner, you have 30 days to withdraw
14 your plea. That motion must be in writing. It
15 must allege any error you deem to have occurred
16 during the course of these proceedings. Otherwise,
17 they’ll be waived on appeal.
18 Beyond that, you have 30 days to appeal
19 that. If you couldn’t afford to hire a lawyer, pay
20 for transcripts, we would provide them for you.
21 I need a signed Jury Waiver.
22 (WHEREUPON A JURY
23 WAIVER WAS SIGNED BY
24 THE DEFENDANT AND
Page 13
1 TENDERED TO THE
2 COURT.)
3 You’re fortunate, Mr. Grodner, that you
4 made that agreement with the State. My
5 understanding is that you caused damage to this
6 young Marine sergeant’s car because you were
7 offended by his Marine Corps license plates.
8 I’m going to tell you something, Mr.
9 Grodner. The Marine Corps license plates do not
10 involve anything dealing with an ego. The proceeds
11 go to the Marine Corps Scholarship Fund, which
12 provides scholarships for all children of all
13 Marines and Navy Corpsmen that fight and aide the
14 Marine Corps; and, a larger amount of money goes to
15 scholarships for those who have lost their lives.
16 You probably also wondered why there was
17 a whole crowd of people here today, Mr. Grodner.
18 THE DEFENDANT: I don’t want wonder.
19 THE COURT: That’s because there is a little
20 principle that the Marine Corps has and has had
21 since 1775, when they had fought and lost their
22 lives so that people like you could enjoy the
23 freedom of this country; and, that is a little
24 proverb that we follow: “That no Marine is left
Page 14
1 behind.”
2 So, Sergeant McNulty couldn’t be here;
3 but, other Marines showed in his stead. Take him
4 away.
5 MR. KELLY: Your Honor, lastly, the Defendant
6 asked permission of the Court to be allowed to
7 leave the State of Illinois periodically during the
8 period of his supervision.
9 We have no objection to that.
10 THE COURT: Mr. Grodner, you can leave the
11 State of Illinois periodically if you comply with
12 what the Social Services Department tells you to
13 do.
14 I’m telling you right now, if you violate
15 any conditions of this supervision, you’re going to
16 jail for 364; and, you can count on that.
17 Is everything filled out, Pat?
18 MR. KELLY: Yes, Your Honor.
19 THE COURT: Okay.
20 MR. KELLY: And, it has been — For the
21 record, it has been shown to the Defendant.
22 Your Honor, is there going to be a quash
23 and recall order on the warrant?
24 THE COURT: The warrant has been stricken at
Page 15
1 the State’s request.
2 MR. KELLY: Thank you, Your Honor.
3 THE SHERIFF: That’s it?
4 THE COURT: Take him back.
5 THE DEFENDANT: Bond remains at $1,000
6 recognizance, sir?
7 THE COURT: You’re going to be released, sir.
8 THE DEFENDANT: Thank you.
9 (WHEREUPON THOSE
10 WERE ALL OF THE
11 PROCEEDINGS HELD IN
12 THE ABOVE-ENTITLED
13 CAUSE.)
Mr. Mitchell is the attorney for Mr. Michael McNulty, whose car was keyed by a Mr. Jay Grodner because Mike McNulty was a Marine. Mr. Mitchell came on to explain what happened in court and the ultimate outcome of the case.
Here is the Eight of the State for this week’s show January 19th, 2008:
1. District Judge Roger Klein – I can understand doing your duty for your country but this is ridiculous!
2. The Transatlantic Policy Network – How the hell did this crap get so far along?! I think it is time to vote a bunch of people out and clean some house. Folks have been in there just too long!
3. Dr. Jack Kevorkian – What a chump. Apparently, some people can get all of the education in the world and still be a dumbass!
4. Westboro Baptist Church – Hey Shitbirds! Marines hate you!
5. Teacher’s Curriculum Institute - Now this is a legit reason to me to burn your school books!
6. George Clooney – If this guy is a “messenger of peace”?! Then how come people are still being slaughtered over there?!
7. Jay Grodner – Need I say more?!
8. Juashaunna Kelly – Hey lady! The rules are THE RULES! Play by them or find another sport.
The Blue Falcon of the Week
They call me a killer. They say that I am a victim. But what do they know. I am actually neither. I am a warrior of our society. They can say what they think is reality, but only we, the warrior class, know the truth.
The New York Times is our Blue Falcon of the Week for January 19th, 2008.
They printed an article last week (Sunday) on the front page claiming that people who serve in the military, you are more likely to commit murder. The numbers they used are questionable at best. The truth is that the military service member who has served in Iraq or Afghanistan, is 5 times less likely to commit murder.
We see your lies NYT! We will not forget either.
From Pat Dollard.com:
This is probably one of the saddest things that I have heard of yet. A veteran organization not doing right by veterans. How can this be?!
There has to be a plausible reason for this heinous transgression against our wounded! Ah, yes! I have it. There are shitbirds in our ranks! Only 25% (or less) of their total income is going to the wounded. The rest is ‘Operating costs’! Their argument is that they are forced to use these fund raising companies to be able to provide the services that the wounded need. Hey Shitbirds! Tell that to the Wounded Warrior Project founder and CEO, John Melia. After he is done laughing at you, he will show you how they get it done without all of that bullshit.
The American Institute of Philanthropy rates charities on many different levels, one of which is how they use their money. Most have either ‘D’ or ‘F’ ratings. I would research carefully who you donate your money to. I can vouche for my friend John Melia and the Wounded Warrior Project as an outstanding organization. John is one of the wounded. His representatives are wounded heroes also.
I have started a list on this site of all of the charitable organizations that I have seen and/ or visited personally. Try donating to one of them, they are worthy. Thank you for your generousity. Semper Fi!
From ABC News:
Luxury for Charity Officials, Budget Cuts for Wounded Vets
Black-Tie Dinners and Luxury Suites at Football Games for Company Officials Top Charity Foundation’s Agenda
By BRIAN ROSS and JOSEPH RHEE
Jan. 17, 2008
Officials of a charity that has raised tens of millions of dollars to help wounded veterans have treated themselves to black-tie dinners, lavish travel and luxury suites at football games while cutting budgets for programs to help the vets, two top officials tell ABC News.
“I am outraged that money that was given in a sacred trust may have been spent in ways other than wisely for the service of veterans,” said Henry Cook, national commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Cook and his top deputy, Joe Palyagi, say they decided to speak out after ABC News revealed their charity had been given an “F” by a charity watchdog group because only 32 percent of the money raised went to charity programs.
“Something has run amok in the process,” said Palyagi.
Watch the “Good Morning America” report.
Money for the Military Order of the Purple Heart is actually raised and controlled by a sister organization, the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, Inc.
The Foundation confirmed that it recently held a black-tie dinner for a retiring official at an estimated cost of $40,000.
At the same time, Cook says he was told to cut the budget for his service programs by at least $250,000.
“When they discuss their finances, they go into a closed session, and I am excluded,” Cook says.
According to the American Institute of Philanthropy, the charity received an “F” grade because they spend so much to raise money and on their administrative costs and salaries.
“It’s a rip-off to the donor; it’s a disservice to the veterans they’re supposed to be helping,” said Daniel Borochoff, the president of the charity watchdog group.
“They just agreed to a campaign with a professional fundraisers to last through 2011 where they’re willing to take only 16 percent of the proceeds,” Borochoff said.
The executive director of the foundation, Richard H. Esau, Jr., acknowledged the new fundraising contract and told ABC News he planned to review it.
In a column in its magazine, Esau defended the foundation and its expensive fundraising efforts.
“Given the magnitude of our campaign effort, it’s necessary we continue to pay for the services of professional fundraisers,” he wrote.
But Cook says the more he learns about how the fundraising arm of his charity works, the more outraged he becomes.
Most grating, says Cook, was an incident at the Washington Redskins football game on Veterans Day last November.
Cook says he was told that wounded veterans were not welcome in the luxury suite provided to charity officials by the Redskins.
“They did give us two tickets, but they were down in the stands, and they told us that those soldiers could not visit the suite, that they had to stay in the stands,” Cook said this morning on “Good Morning America.”
Cook says he was ordered by Esau and other foundation officials not to talk with ABC News but decided to speak out anyway.
“I see it as I’m doing justice for those wounded combat veterans who work daily on behalf of other veterans, and they have been shamed, and I’m here to set the record straight,” Cook said.
This really gets my goat!
This could only happen in Britain, let me tell you! If crap like this occurred here, the girl would have lost her job and then the ACLU would have gotten involved because the girl would have claimed that the bookstore violated her ‘civil rights’ for firing her because she wouldn’t touch a book that she claimed was against her religion! Oh, the humanity. I am actually glad that this didn’t happen here! Lol!
The fact of the matter is Muslims are commanded by Mohammed to respect and even revere the Christian Bible. Mohammed was raised with teachings from the Bible and the Torah. He had great respect for their teachings and understood what they represented. He ordered his followers to respect Jesus Christ because he believed that He was a prophet, and to respect the Bible because it validated the Koran. Truth be told Mohammed wrote the Koran to reflect the Bible because it would make the Koran appear more holy. The real truth is that Mohammed was an epileptic and used it to persuade people that he was talking to Gabriel. He actually changed his own laws to suit his desires and wishes. Salmon Rushdie wrote about one of those incidents in “The Satanic Verses”. Mohammed also changed his mind on the law of not marrying the widow of a brother which he claimed was a law given to him by Gabriel from God. Mohammed also took the daughter of his friend Abu Bekr as his concubine at age 10 and then married her at age 13. Is this a man worthy of the title “Prophet”? Those were different times then (approximately 660a.d. to 680a.d.) and the conduct of men was not as it is today. But Mohammed also taught his followers how to raid and pillage. To behead those that would not bow to his religion. Has anything really changed since the time of Mohammed? Is this befitting a “civilized” society such as Britain?
Beware of the enemy within. There are new rules for conquering afoot and you will either be converted or forced to stand aside for fear of being sued and labeled a “racist”.
From the Daily Express:
OUTCRY AS MUSLIM M&S WORKER REFUSES TO SELL ‘UNCLEAN’ BIBLE BOOK
Tuesday January 15,2008
By Martyn Brown
A MUSLIM store worker refused to serve a customer buying a children’s book on Christianity because she said it was “unclean”.
Shopper Sally Friday felt publicly humiliated at a branch of Marks & Spencer when she tried to pay for First Bible Stories as a gift for her young grandson.
When she put the book on the check-out counter, the young assistant refused to touch it, declared it was unclean and summoned another member of staff to serve instead.
Mrs Friday said she was so upset that she has now complained to the store’s management.
Last night politicians and religious leaders supported her in condemning the high street giant and reigniting the debate over religious beliefs in the workplace.
Conservative MP Philip Davies said the refusal to serve Mrs Friday, 69, was “unacceptable” and “damaging” to community relations.
Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, described the assistant’s comments as “offensive” and called for Marks & Spencer to carry out a thorough investigation.
Mrs Friday said her trip to the sales in Reading, Berks, with her daughter had been ruined.
“I went to the till and heard the girl say it was unclean and then she got someone else to serve me,” said Mrs Friday.
“At first I wasn’t sure what was going on and then I realised she was wearing a headdress and I clicked that the title of the book had Bible in it. I felt very humiliated and immediately left the store.”
Mrs Friday, from Old Basing, Hants, added: “I have given it careful thought and still feel humiliated that, because I am purchasing a children’s Bible story book, a cashier is able to object and refuse to put it through the till.
“Had this been a copy of the Koran I am confident any Christian person would be happy to do her job, and for this to happen in a Marks & Spencer of all places beggars belief.
“I am not racist but I have vowed never to let a person wearing a headdress serve me again. It will be a long, long time before I shop again at M&S.” Mr Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, west Yorkshire, said: “I find it unbelievable. We are a Christian country. I’m afraid it is no good for people to work in Marks & Spencer and not serve their products.
“For M&S to put one of their customers in that position is totally unacceptable. If a Christian lady had refused to serve a Muslim on religious grounds there would have been hell to pay.
“In fact, I am sure someone would be sacked if it had been the other way round. But that won’t happen this time, will it? These kind of things do not do anything for community cohesion. In fact, they damage it.”
Mr Bunglawala said: “This appears to be a very regrettable incident and the ‘unclean’ remark was clearly very offensive and unacceptable.
Many Biblical stories complement the teachings of the Koran. We hope that M&S will investigate this incident.” A spokesman for Marks & Spencer said an investigation was underway. “We would like to apologise to Mrs Friday for any offence this incident has caused,” he said.
“Reading is a very multicultural store and we are surprised and disappointed by this reported incident.
“It does not reflect Marks & Spencer policy and simply should not have happened.
“We will remind all staff at the Reading site of our policy and will contact Mrs Friday to apologise for her distress.”
A source close to the shop assistant claimed there had been a misunderstanding.
“I think there was some confusion over what the customer heard,” she said.
But Mrs Friday’s treatment is just the latest example of Muslim staff refusing to serve customers on religious grounds.
In October 2006, Lloyds chemist was forced to apologise to mother Jo-Ann Thomas after a Muslim pharmacist refused her a morning-after contraceptive pill on religious grounds in Rotherham.
A smoker was refused cigarettes at a Cambridge store in January last year because the Muslim shop assistant said it was against her religion to sell tobacco.
Islamic checkout staff at Sainsbury’s who refuse to sell alcohol are allowed to opt out of handling bottles and cans of drink by calling other staff to take their place.
Other staff have refused to work stacking shelves with wine, beer and spirits and have been found alternative roles in the company.
Sainsbury’s said it was keen to accommodate the religious beliefs of all its staff.
While Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf claims to be cracking down on terrorists as America’s “front-line ally” in the war, he has released from custody – or his police have let escape – top al-Qaida and other terrorists, WND has learned.
Pakistani authorities late last month allowed a major al-Qaida terrorist wanted by British police in connection with the transatlantic skyterror plot to conveniently escape just weeks before he was scheduled to be extradited to Britain for questioning and prosecution in the conspiracy to blow up 10 airliners over U.S. cities.
Top terrorists go free under Musharraf’s care
U.S., U.K. quietly protest released Pak prisoners
Posted: January 12, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
Rashid Rauf in custody in Pakistan
Pakistani authorities late last month allowed a major al-Qaida terrorist wanted by British police in connection with the transatlantic skyterror plot to conveniently escape just weeks before he was scheduled to be extradited to Britain for questioning and prosecution in the conspiracy to blow up 10 airliners over U.S. cities.
Western officials believe Rashid Rauf, who slipped out the back door of a mosque he’d been allowed to pray in, is tied to Pakistan’s notorious intelligence service, the ISI. Even the lawyer for the fugitive, who remains at large, called it a government “organized disappearance.”
Rauf was arrested August 2006 in Pakistan only after a tip-off from British intelligence investigating the airplane conspiracy.
A dual citizen of Britain and Pakistan, he is married to a relative of Maulana Masood Azhar, the founder and head of Jaish-e-Mohammed – a Pakistani-based terrorist group linked to al-Qaida. ISI, whose main goal is to end Indian rule in Kashmir, has been known to work with J-e-M and al-Qaida to train and finance Kashmiri fighters.
Azhar’s closest confederate happens to be the murderer of American journalist Danny Pearl – British-born Omar Saeed Sheikh. Both terrorists allegedly are protected by the ISI and Musharraf’s regime.
J-e-M remains active in Pakistan, despite promises by Musharraf to crack down on the terror group. Pearl, a Wall Street Journal correspondent, was investigating its financial operations at the time he was kidnapped and beheaded, finding troubling links to the ISI and the Pakistani government. Pearl reported that J-e-M leaders “drove expensive double-cabin Hilux pickup trucks, some with government license plates.”
Azhar reportedly is no longer under house arrest, and is editing a militant newspaper, Al Qalam (The Pen), in Karachi, Pakistan, where Pearl was butchered. And Omar Sheikh, as he’s known, still has not been punished for Pearl’s 2002 murder, while Musharraf continues to block U.S. investigators from interviewing him.
Like their British counterparts who sought the extradition of Rauf, U.S. authorities had asked Musharraf to extradite Omar Sheikh. But he is virtually untouchable inside Pakistan.
In fact, Musharraf appeared to exonerate him in his memoir, claiming that Pearl was really killed by 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, already in U.S. custody, despite earlier evidence Omar Sheikh had masterminded the entire kidnapping and murder operation.
He also made the bizarre claim that far from working for Pakistani intelligence, Omar Sheikh worked for British intelligence. Then he suggested Pearl worked for Israeli intelligence.
In the same book, Musharraf fails to mention that Omar Sheikh was at the home of Musharraf’s ISI friend Brigadier Ijaz Shah a full week before his “arrest” was announced by the police. It was in Rawalpindi, where ISI is headquartered, that Omar Sheikh originally met Pearl and set the trap for him. ISI had been closely monitoring the reporting of Pearl, along with other foreign reporters after 9/11.
So between Feb. 5, 2001, and Feb. 12, 2001, the ISI was protecting Pearl’s killer – and protecting his sources.
Meanwhile, Musharraf was visiting in Washington, telling authorities there he was still looking for Pearl’s killer. Then, during a Feb. 12, 2001, meeting with President Bush to discuss U.S. aid to Pakistan, he announced the arrest of Omar Sheikh. The next day, Bush offered Musharraf an additional $200 million in aid.
While in Washington, the Pakistani strongman also held out hope that Pearl was still alive – when Pakistani authorities knew he had been dead since at least Jan. 31, 2001.
Frustrated with the Pakistani system of justice, Pearl’s widow recently sued Omar Sheikh over her husband’s killing in U.S. district court in New York.
“I don’t have a husband, but Omar Sheikh – he has a wife, he has a son,” Mariane Pearl said. “He is in exactly the same position” now as he was before he was arrested.
Omar Sheikh, Azhar and Rauf aren’t the only terrorists Musharraf has let off the hook, officials complain.
Other terrorists freed
U.S. officials angrily protested Musharraf’s recent release of Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan, a top al-Qaida operative whom the U.S. persuaded Musharraf to arrest in connection with a plot to target U.S. financial buildings.
“We’re not exactly happy about that,” said Vice Admiral John Scott Redd, head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center in Washington.
And earlier this month, Pakistani authorities in Rawalpindi freed from prison four Palestinian terrorists convicted in the hijacking of a Pan Am jet that left 22 passengers and crew dead. They had demanded that Israel release 1,500 Palestinian prisoners.
The terrorists, who were supposed to serve life sentences, got out after just 14 years.
Musharraf further shocked U.S. officials when he said last week that he was “not particularly looking for” Osama bin Laden, who has gained sanctuary inside Pakistan.
Then in an interview this week, he threatened the U.S., warning that U.S. troops would be regarded as invaders if they cross into Pakistan’s border region with Afghanistan to hunt for bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders.
“If they come without our permission, that’s against the sovereignty of Pakistan. I challenge anybody coming into our mountains,” Musharraf said from Rawalpindi. “They would regret that day.”
Here is the Eight of the State for Saturday Jan. 12th, 2008:
1. Westcare Ambulance – Yeah, pal! Paramedics know best, okay?! You don’t know crap!
2. Mexican Government – We should just invade and get it over with. It’s either that or landmines!
3. Juan Leonardo Quintero-Perez – Where’s Johnny Sutton when we need him?! An American needs prosecuting and he is nowhere to be found! Imagine that!
4. Judith Leekin – This is why I am a firm believer in the death penalty. No one deserves it more, except maybe Jimmy Carter!
5. Yaser Abdel Said – This guy needs to be pushed off a cliff too! Bush! Call Ahmedinejad and see if he can help with this one!
6. Al Sharpton – You Sir, are a grabastic, unorganized pile of amphibian shit! You are not even fucking human!
7. James Edwin Harrell – Revoke his citizenship and deport him to Egypt. They love Americans there!
8. Judge James Klein - He’s not a bad guy…He just thinks that property rights are so last century!
The Blue Falcon of the Week
This is, by far, one of the saddest situations that I have ever heard about. I can say that this is not the norm in the Marine Corps. I was fortunate to be in an Infantry unit and was never really around females in the Corps.
But having done some time in the Corps and understanding the mentality of the Marines and the enviroment that they operate in, I have a few questions that I kind of already know the answer to (I could be wrong) and this will help you to see why I have listed this incident as the Blue Falcon for this week.
1. Why did Cpl. Laurean go UA? (That in itself is suspicious. Most Marines don’t go UA (Unauthorized Absence) unless they have something to hide.)
2. Was their unit set to deploy any time soon? (This would explain the pregnancy. Female Marines that get pregnant are non-deployable. Possible motive on her part.)
3. What was the relationship of Cpl. Laurean and his wife? (This would explain the pregnancy also. If he refused to accept the responsibility of the baby then this would explain the rape charge.)
4. Has “Bipolar” ever lead someone to be suicidal? (This would make the note plausible. I think that it is crap, frankly.)
5. Did Cpl. Laurean intend on making the Marines a career? (This would explain his motive for killing her. An attempt to preserve his rank and career because the rape conviction would have expelled him from the Marines with a Dishonorable Discharge.)
So, you see now that the case is simplier than the dumbass sherriff makes it out to be. But then again, this is just one Marines’ opinion.
After all, these charges against Cpl. Laurean are only “allegations”. So technically this would make him the alleged Blue Falcon this week. If he really did the things that he is being charged with, he is a Blue Falcon. Here are on the Watch, you are assumed to not be a Blue Falcon until porven to be a Blue Falcon!
Semper Fi!
Discovery in suspect’s backyard; wife reportedly told authorities of note
(AP) Associated Press
updated 7:10 a.m. PT, Sat., Jan. 12, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. – Investigators hoped to find the remains of a pregnant Marine on Saturday by slowly scraping dirt from a shallow grave at the home of a comrade whom she said raped her.
Authorities said they found evidence inside the house that suggested Lance Cpl. Maria Frances Lauterbach had been killed, even though the prime suspect left a note insisting she committed suicide, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown said.
After some slight digging Friday in a fire pit discovered in the yard of Marine Cpl. Cesar Armando Laurean, detectives found what “appeared to be burnt human remains,” Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said.
“We think we have found what will (contain) the skeletal remains of Maria Lauterbach,” Hudson said. Authorities placed a tarp and two white tents over the area and planned to begin slowly scraping the earth with garden tools Saturday.
Lauterbach, 20, vanished three weeks ago, days after she talked to military prosecutors about a rape case against Laurean, who remains at large. Authorities said Friday that information from another woman, a former Marine, left them certain that she is dead.
Before fleeing Jacksonville on Friday, Laurean left a note that said Lauterbach had “come to his residence and cut her (own) throat,” Brown said.
But crime scene investigators found blood stains and obvious signs of that a cleanup had taken place inside the home, Brown said late Friday.
“Evidence now is showing that what he claimed happened didn’t happen,” Brown said.
Authorities learned about the note from Laurean’s wife, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. In the note, the person said, Laurean wrote that he had nothing to do with Lauterbach’s suicide, but that he had buried her body.
Laurean’s wife, Christina, is “heartbroken,” said her mother, Debbie Sue Shifflet.
“I feel sorry for the other family,” Shifflet said. “It’s horrible what they’re going through. My heart goes out to them.”
Although the outdoor search at the home near Camp Lejeune was suspended for the night, investigators from the State Bureau of Investigation moved indoors and began a search for blood and other evidence inside his one-story, brown brick ranch home.
The search continued late Friday for Laurean, a 21-year-old from Clark County, Nev., who had refused to meet with investigators and apparently left the area without telling his lawyers where he was going, the sheriff said.
Lauterbach met with military prosecutors in December to discuss pursuing rape charges against Laurean, said Kevin Marks, supervisory agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service at Camp Lejeune. He said military prosecutors believed they had enough evidence to argue that the case should go to trial.
In court papers filed this week, prosecutors said the anticipated birth of the baby “might provide evidentiary credence to charges she lodged with military authorities that she was sexually assaulted.” Lauterbach reported the rape in April and was due to give birth in mid-February, authorities said.
In a brief interview with reporters outside the family’s home in Vandalia, Ohio, Lauterbach’s uncle, Pete Steiner, said the rapist was the father.
Authorities said they were not concerned that Laurean would flee because they had information the pair carried on a “friendly relationship” even after she reported the assault to military authorities. There is no indication Lauterbach asked the military to protect her after she leveled the rape allegations, investigators said.
Steiner, however, said his niece didn’t have any kind of relationship with her attacker, and that Lauterbach had been forced to rent a room off base because of harassment at Camp Lejeune.
“She was raped,” Steiner said. “The Marines, unfortunately, did not protect her, and now she’s dead.”
Lauterbach was reported missing Dec. 19 by her mother, who last spoke with her daughter on Dec. 14, authorities said. Her cell phone was found Dec. 20 near the main gate at Camp Lejeune, and she missed a Dec. 26 prenatal care appointment.
Lauterbach was assigned to the 2nd Marine Logistics Group of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune. She joined the Marines in June 2006, and had not been sent to either Iraq or Afghanistan. Laurean worked in the same unit, where both were personnel clerks.
According to court documents filed this week, Lauterbach’s mother told investigators that her daughter was bipolar and had a history of compulsive lying. Steiner said the family wanted to give authorities a fair and accurate impression, and that while Lauterbach tended to stretch the truth in stressful situations, “she was not a compulsive liar.”
“We’re all going to miss Maria horribly,” Steiner said. “She was a big part of our lives. What I personally hope comes out of this is that victims of sexual assault in the armed services will be taken more seriously and this will be handled differently in the future.”
Earlier Friday, the family released a statement through Dayton’s WDTN-TV.
“We would like to thank everyone for their prayers in this time of grieving. Maria has been a gift for her family and friends. The outpouring of love from family, friends, neighbors and the general community has been very touching.
“Please understand that the family needs time alone to deal with this tragedy. We wish to thank everyone for their love and concern.”
There were flower deliveries at the family home, and a steady stream of people came to visit, many bringing food.
Earlier, Brown, the Onslow County sheriff, spoke to TODAY co-host Matt Lauer and expressed the likelihood of a positive outcome. But that was before detectives received news of Lauterbach’s death from the anonymous source, he said.
“I came out before y’all on cloud nine,” Brown said. “Then I had my insides knocked out with this negative information. I was about to cry.”
The Oakland School District
How money grubbing is this school district? That is basically what the school district is thinking about. They get federal and state assistance for the number of students attending the district. They are only concerned about lining their pockets and not actually educating the students.
The school district is stupid in thinking that they are above federal jusidiction and that ICE won’t be able to come on campus to arrest alleged ‘illegal’ immigrants. You know, this sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before…Ah, yes! The dumbass churches across America thought that they were above the law when they decided to harbor Illegals from ICE. ICE spokesman expressed that no one is above federal jurisdiction.
That is kind of a scary thought though, huh? Obviously, they would need a warrant.
Still, how often have you heard that our school districts are suffering from a lack of funds? Well, if our tax dollars were not going to teach “immigrants” the native language so that the teachers could actually teach something. Imagine if we didn’t have to pay for that? Teachers would actually make a living wage!
Anyway, our federal educational system has become so perverted by the socialist/communist kooks that claim they are concerned about our kids, we have lost the true purpose of education itself! Aristotle said that the purpose of public education is to teach and train new citizens. I don’t believe that our educational system is doing that any longer.
From Inside Bay Area.com:
Resolution forbids immigration officers on campus without lawyers being called first
By Katy Murphy, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 01/10/2008 08:20:54 AM PST
OAKLAND — The Oakland school board on Wednesday night took a stand in support of its immigrant students, including those whose families are living in the country illegally.
The policy passed at the board meeting — the first of its kind in the Oakland school district — was written in response to an incident at Melrose Bridges Academy, an elementary school in East Oakland. On the morning of Dec. 18, immigration officers accompanied a pregnant mother, Maria Ramirez, into the school and detained her for questioning after her tearful 6-year-old daughter went to class.
Noel Gallo, the school board member who introduced the resolution, said he hoped the new policy would assure Oakland’s immigrant population that the district was committed to educating all of its students.
He also said he hoped it would prevent such events from happening again.
“I’m trying to establish a good relationship with local law enforcement,” Gallo said. “I’m also appealing to them to not conduct their business at a school site unless there’s an imminent danger.”
The policy forbids school staff to ask about a student’s immigration status or to require families to provide a Social Security number during registration. It also directs schools to contact the district’s legal counsel before allowing immigration officers to enter a school, on the grounds that such a visit would cause a disruption to the educational environment.
Because the district does not collect information which would reveal students’ immigration status, the number of undocumented children attending Oakland schools is unknown.
Moyra Contreras, principal of the predominately Latino Melrose Leadership Academy, the sister middle school of Melrose Bridges, said she was encouraged by Gallo’s resolution, and that she hoped Oakland city officials would take a similar stance.
“I think it’s very important that the school district take a position on this,” Contreras said. “Families need to feel safe coming to school and sending their children to school.”
Parents and staff at Melrose Bridges Academy and at Melrose Leadership Academy were shaken by what unfolded that rainy December morning. Contreras and others said they feared attendance and school participation would suffer as a result.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Virginia Kice said the agents accompanied Ramirez into the school to make sure her daughter arrived safely to her classroom.
Kice said Ramirez was questioned about her husband’s small business, Pepe’s Cabinets, and was released hours later. Ramirez’s husband, Jose De Jesus Guzman-Baez, faces federal criminal charges of knowingly hiring illegal immigrants for his business. Both parents face deportation.
No wonder we are so broke in this country. We have to pay for leeches! I firmly believe that this is directly related to the vilification of patriotism in our schools. People are taught in our public school systems that being patriotic is bad and that we should, to borrow a phrase from a bumper sticker, “Think globally, Act locally”.
What ever happen to hiring American workers? Have the unions increased wages so much that businesses don’t want to pay for the American labor? Have people forgot that the younger generations typically used to trim trees and mow lawns for money in high school? Have parents forgot that they used to work fast food jobs in the summer while in school to save up money to take a girl out, or to buy a car to be cool in high school?
Has this newest generation gotten so soft that they don’t want to work while in high school? What is happening to my America?!
Now I go to a fast food restaurant and can’t communicate with the people behind the counter, or I have to yell at them in spanish so they get it right. Now I have to fight through the swarms of people trying to cram themselves into my car when I attempt to pull into Home Depot. Now I can’t take my son to the emergency room at 1am because there is an eight hour wait and the waiting room is filled with Mexicans. Now I hear spanish music on the overhead speaker systems at Wal-Mart. Now you can’t pay the neighbor kid to mow your lawn without getting sued by his parents when he accidently hurts himself on your mower! Now I have to pay $10,000 to have my son, but if my name was ‘Rodriquez-De La Cruz-Perez’ I could have had him for free! Now I can’t qualify for WIC or medical from the state, but if my last name was Gomez, I would have had it already! Now I can’t say or imply the things that I am actually implying because the ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center will attempt to shut down my show! Now you can’t eat at a taco shop for fear of getting ‘Brain Worms’! Now you can’t buy a house in a track community because all of the concrete workers were Mexican and poured the concrete too wet without an inspector present and your slab will crack in about a year! Now I can’t walk around a jobsite without seeing human crap in corners of builidngs because the stupid ass workers are too lazy to use the porta-potty 100 feet away! Now my dad can’t use the bathroom at his shop because the other “Non-American” workers throw their feces covered toilet paper in the trash can instead of in the toilet (in Mexico the plumbing is worthless so they throw away the used toilet paper so it doesn’t clog the toilet!).
Enough said. You get the point. Landmine our southern border and save us all some money…please.
Citizens blast tax-funded ‘sanctuary’ for illegals
‘The town of Jupiter is a symbol of what is wrong in this country’
Posted: January 12, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Felicia Dionisio
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
The next time you need someone experienced in lawn care, landscaping, general labor, moving, construction cleaning, house cleaning, and many other jobs, whether for a few hours or a few days, come to EL SOL. You will be glad you did.
– Friends of El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center
That’s the pitch being used to bring illegal aliens together with prospective employers in Jupiter, Fla.
The El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center was the town’s solution for stopping ”migrant workers” from lining the streets each day to wait for employers to drive by and hire them.
Sometimes as many as 100 ”day laborers” gathered each morning. Neighborhood residents complained they blocked traffic, scared people and created a public nuisance.
So, backed by legal opinions that said the center did not violate any laws, the town of Jupiter bought a building next to town hall and the police station for $1.9 million and encouraged Catholic Charities, along with the migrant advocacy group Corn Maya and community volunteers, to lease it for $1 a year, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Since then, the center has registered more than 1,730 workers and 2,577 employers and claimed an average daily hiring rate of 25 percent, according to Catholic Charities.
“The town is not trying to make a statement,” Mayor Karen Golonka told the Florida paper. “It is simply trying to find a way at our level to provide a local solution to our community.”
South Florida talk radio host and anti-illegal immigration activist Joyce Kaufman is an outspoken critic of the center and others like it.
“The rationale is that there’s something endearing and American about allowing these people to come to the U.S. That’s true. It’s called immigration and we have legal channels to do that. It doesn’t mean that everyone who crosses the border at night has the right to a job,” Kaufman told WND.
“We’ve got guys who take photos of contractors and homeowners who pick these people up. They’re breaking the law.”
The center’s website features testimonials from El Sol’s happy customers:
1. Jeff A. (business owner): ”There’s nothing better as far as I’m concerned. I will continue to use them. They work hard and they do a good job and I wish more people would use them.”
2. Mark S. (Hired workers for clearing debris, removing trees, etc.): ”They do an outstanding job. They work hard and if I need help again, I’ll definitely be there because there are no problems.”
3. Anonymous: ”We the friends and workers of the El Sol Resource Center of Jupiter declare this occasion as an appreciation time to you Mayor and your supporters and staff for making the dream of El Sol a reality!”
4. Doug (flooring company owner): ”I keep going back to El Sol because they’re good workers. Guatemalans are the best workers I’ve had work for me and I’ve worked all over the country.”
5. Candy (electrical contractor): ”We enjoy using El Sol because it is so handy and the workers have done very well – absolutely!”
According to the Sentinel, the center intentionally does not ask laborers for documentation regarding their immigration status. The center’s services are free and employers pay the workers directly.
But now, a little more than a year since the center first opened, the same street that once teemed with ”day laborers” is now occupied by protesters demanding the center be shut down.
Though the town’s attorneys and the center disagree, the protesters believe it is flouting the law, reports the Sentinel.
”The town of Jupiter is ignoring the laws to allow immigrants to do things at this center, and we wonder how can the city leaders expect us to follow the laws when they don’t?” John Ryznic told the Jupiter Courier. He said he was also concerned by the proposed for the United States, Mexico and Canada to create a North American Union.
”With this union, there would be one law, and the U.S. could lose her sovereignty, which would mean that the U. S. couldn’t stop illegals from coming into this country.”
”We need our borders sealed right now,” said Jim Schmoyer of Stuart. ”The lobbyists, the Catholic Church and the Chamber of Commerce don’t care about the American people, but the bottom line. If the borders were sealed, we could assimilate these people, but we can’t assimilate them if there are 50 million more who come in.”
Jupiter’s attorneys told the city if it closed down Center Street, the traditional location for workers to gather, without an alternate venue, it would open itself to a lawsuit for denying people their right to assemble, Mayor Golonka told the Sentinel.
“We do not have powers to round up and deport people,” she added. “That is something the federal government does.”
However, the activists involved in the protests see things differently.
“The town of Jupiter is a symbol of what is wrong in this country,” said Dave Caulkett, vice president of the grass-roots group Floridians for Immigration Enforcement. “Jupiter is blatantly complicit in felonious hiring transactions. In a democracy, you cannot have towns violating federal laws,” he told the paper.
The town and the center say the protesters are wrong.
“Nothing unlawful is occurring at the center,” said El Sol President Mike Richmond. “[It] serves as a safe, supervised location for workers to be matched with employers, and where free English, computer classes and job training are given to all residents.”
Elected officials in Jupiter, with a population of about 40,000, claim their project is a huge success and now the neighboring communities of West Palm Beach, Lake Worth and several others are considering creating similar centers.
“Here you have one of the hottest issues in the country right now, but day-by-day the pro-open borders people get these places up and running behind the taxpayers’ backs, and they’re now going to use El Sol as a model for the whole country,” radio host Kaufman told WND.
“They’ve figured out how to get the Hispanic community to petition the government and make these local municipalities do something for them that our government wouldn’t even consider doing for American teens. Would they build a similar center for teenagers to gather? The sons and daughters of taxpayers? Teens don’t have a place to hang out in Jupiter either!”
Kaufman, a Spanish speaker with Puerto Rican roots, hosts a talk program on Fort Lauderdale’s WFTL-AM (850). After experiencing a frustrating ”Press 1 for English” phone call, she began complaining on the air and the floodgates opened up.
”English is the glue that holds our melting pot together. If we don’t insist that it be the language of commerce, we are lost,” Kaufman told listeners at the time.
She gained national notoriety when she traveled to Washington, D.C., with other talk-show hosts from around the country for the recent “Hold Their Feet to the Fire” immigration rally. Kaufman said she would represent her listeners there by bringing their “soles” to the Capitol. In the 10 days before the rally, she collected more than 5,000 pairs of shoes at designated parking lots in South Florida and took them with her to D.C.
Some, including Kaufman, credit talk radio for the latest immigration bill’s June demise. As WorldNetDaily reported, the rally was also used as a forum to call for the release of imprisoned border agents Ramos and Compean and many of the hosts who led the charge against illegal immigration are self-described conservatives. Kaufman says she’s someone with far-left instincts who happens to find herself allied with conservatives on this issue, she says.
“We pay for their health care, their educations, their crimes. You and I are funding everything,” she told WND.
Outside the El Sol center last Saturday, Robert McCormack of Jupiter was also angry.
“No more tax dollars,” he shouted at passing cars. “Throw out Mayor Golonka.”
McCormack, an electrician, told the paper that undocumented workers undercut construction jobs.
“You can’t allow people in office that aren’t going to protect us and spend $1.9 million of my tax money to bring in people that are going to take my jobs,” McCormack told the Sentinel.
Inside, Edmundo Castillo said he believed more people in Jupiter supported the laborers than didn’t.
“We did not come to America to be delinquents. We came here to work,” added Castillo, 27, a former schoolteacher who said he supports his father, his brothers and their six children in Guatemala with the construction job he found through El Sol. “We are humans and no matter what country we are from, we should help each other.”
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a long-shot Republican in this year’s presidential race, is being talked about as a potential candidate for governor of California in 2010.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (Cheryl Senter, NHPR)
Rep. Duncan Hunter’s next gig?
California GOP floating congressman’s name as possible gubernatorial candidate
Posted: January 10, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a long-shot Republican in this year’s presidential race, is being talked about as a potential candidate for governor of California in 2010.
Although he’s barely surfaced in the polls as a 2008 GOP presidential candidate, he’s popular among the party’s “hardline conservatives” in the state because of his tough stance on immigration and border security, says Carla Marinucci, who blogs for the San Francisco Chronicle.
Hunter helped establish a 59-mile prototype for sealing a porous border section along his southern San Diego District boundary susceptible to illegal aliens, drug trafficking and terrorism, and helped pass the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which mandates the building of a double-layered fence covering 854 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.
He’s also sponsored numerous bills for providing resources to border enforcement agencies and has fought for the release from prison of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, two border agents serving long sentences following convictions for shooting an illegal alien drug smuggler.
According to Hunter’s website, he’s received 100 percent ratings from the Christian Coalition, the Eagle Forum and National Right to Life, as well as A-plus ratings from the NRA and Americans for Better Immigration.
The 26-year member of Congress’ conservative credentials appeal to California Republicans in the market for an alternative to the state’s wealthy and moderate insurance commissioner, Steve Poizner, who’s name is also being floated as a possible GOP gubernatorial candidate.
In fact, some speculate Hunter’s bid for the White House was intended as a way to establish name recognition and credibility for a future political move in his home state.
However, some moderate Republicans worry a statehouse bid by Hunter in California will negatively affect the party’s future in the Democratic-leaning state, according to Marinucci.
”If Republicans nominate someone as far to the right as Duncan Hunter in the next gubernatorial campaign, the next sign you’ll see is: ”This Way to the Whig Party,”’ said one leading party insider.
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is prevented by term limits from running for re-election in 2010 and may seek the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer.
Hunter, whose presidential campaign has focused mostly on fair trade, manufacturing and defense issues, says he has no plans to bow out of the race despite a non-existent showing in Iowa and earning just 1 percent of the GOP vote in New Hampshire. In fact, according to a party official, the White House hopeful plans to headline a GOP Lincoln Day dinner in Michigan today. Hunter says he’ll fight all the way to the West, where he believes he’ll garner strong support.
Earlier this week, the candidate lashed out against ABC News and Fox News for excluding him from televised debates leading up to the New Hampshire primary. He said keeping him off the debate panels was the work of “knuckleheads.”
Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College who specializes in national politics, told the North County Times he believes Hunter has no shot.
”The safest bet this campaign season is that Duncan Hunter is not going to be the Republican nominee,” Pitney said, citing lack of money and campaign organization.
”He’s a good guy, and he has been effective in the Armed Services Committee, but he’s not going to be president,” Pitney said. ”But as long as he is not going into personal debt, there’s no reason for him not to stay around. He can tell his grandkids one day that he ran for president.”
WND Editor Joseph Farah recently endorsed Hunter for president, ending his column this way:
“There is much more to say about his excellent record and his fearless championing of all that is good and decent about America.
“The point is this: We don’t have to settle for less. We don’t have to settle for an imitation of the real thing. We don’t have to settle for someone who is right most of the time.
“Duncan Hunter is the real deal.”
“Support him now – so we don’t have to compromise later.”
The Marine Corps Flag flies proudly over a new facility on Stu Segall’s Production lot in San Diego, California. Here our Marines who were wounded in the War on Terror will be trained in skill sets that will enable them to carry out a vital mission; to tell their story. The Wounded Marine Careers Foundation opened up it’s doors, and has started their first semester of classes, this past Wednesday the 9th. 19 wounded Marines will be the first to graduate from a career center designed specifically for them. Upon graduation from this school, these Marines will be able to obtain jobs in the movie and television production industry, as well as the photography and editing fields. Their focus is to not only give Marines an education in the entertainment industry, but to place these Marines as card carrying union members, functioning in society in a job, after 10 weeks of intense training. The first class includes students missing limbs and a paraplegic. Feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness are stomped out in true Marine Corps fashion here.
Chandler’s Watch had a tour of the facility, and we brought some friends along. We thought it would be appropriate for Duncan D. Hunter, a former Marine Corps Captain and Congressional Candidate for the 52nd District of California, Lonnie Moore, the Western Area Director of the Wounded Warrior project and a former Captain in the U.S. Army, who himself was wounded in the War on Terror, as well as Major Cory Cunningham of the Marine For Life Program to come together and see how we could network everyone together to support our wounded brothers and sisters.
Chandler’s Watch would like to extend a heart felt “Thank You” to Mr. Hunter, Mr. Moore, and Major Cunningham for their time and support to the school and America’s wounded! These three are true American heroes!
The Foundation is an amazing place. With an operating budget of over $2 million per 10 week session, the Marines and Navy Corpsman are recieving the best training money can buy. The faculty includes experts in the field of production and entertainment with professors from NYU and USC on the staff. The founder of the school has won three Emmy’s alone! Combined the school boasts roughly 26 Emmys from its faculty alone!
The graduates of this school will be well armed to join the work force and be productive members of society. The union representing the production staff of the movie and television industry is IATSE, or International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, has granted each student a union card upon graduation with the entrance fees waived. Entrance fees into the union could be as high as $5000! IATSE has also said that they would allow the 50 days of the school to count toward work experience needed to obtain a position on a major production (the requirement is 30 days experience). Each graduate will also earn a Panasonic digital movie camera, an Apple IBook laptop, and a professional grade still camera. These will be the tools of the trade to get them started.
By next year, the school plans to open its doors to all branches of the military, but for right now the class sizes are keep small to perfect the curriculum and class scheduling. The students are afforded a “make up” day on Saturday for any classes that they missed during the week due to doctors visits and physical therapy.
Stay tuned to this website for updates on the school and how the students are doing. Also tune into Chandler’s Watch radio show on Saturdays at 5pm Pacific time for interviews with the founders of the school as we check in with them from time to time.
Stay motivated and Semper Fi!
I want you to watch this video carefully. After you have seen it, I challenge you to tell me that this doesn’t scare the crap out of you! It is time to take our coutry back! Beware of Republicans in globalists’ clothing. You may wake up and your country is gone. What can you do about? First off, if you have to ask, our country is doomed. I suggest you write your congressmen and senators and express your distaste at them for the shift in American globalist policies. Threaten them with your vote. We have the power, not them! Then vote for Duncan Hunter for President. It is as simple as that.
This just in…Duncan Hunter has won the Nevada Republican Assemblies endorsement for President of the United States! This is a huge event for the Congressman from California. This could be the event that breaks the ice for Mr. Hunter and allows him to propel even higher in the Republican race. Congratulations to the Hunter family! Standby for more as we get it. Chandler out!
Here is the Eight of the State for this week Jan. 5th, 2008:
1. Jay R Grodner – This guy deserves more than to be disbarred. How about a hate crime?
2. American Taxpayers – Yep! We are all suckers for this one. Come on, it will be fun!
3. Caroline Keeble – Now this one just boggles my mind. She is…and prays for…then votes for…huh?
4. Spiderman – What a waster of a perfectly good super hero! I guess we will have to hire the Hulk to go kick his ass!
5. Hasham Islam (again) – This is bizarre. Someone needs to look into this guy.
6. Security guards at the Peach Bottom Nuclear Power Plant – “Don’t tase me, bro!”
7. Typhoid Mary – I wish they would release her name so that we could publically shun her!
8. Ruby Tuesdays – Appearently Rubys doesn’t like boobies!
NYT John Burns Warns About Making Haste In Iraq Withdrawal
