Beet L. Jooz

‘To me, he’s just a sick, sociopathic criminal’

‘Is this part of the Trump effect here?’

Interesting.  As previously said: the biggest takeaway from the documents today, showing the 2017 communication between Christopher Steele and Bruce Ohr, is the fact that Steele viewed Robert Mueller as part of the soft coup team. In this interview Rudy … Continue reading →

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A student adviser chosen by Stanford University to lead other students in a residential environment that allows “all views (popular and unpopular)” to be voiced, heard and explored is out of a job after threatening online to “physically fight” Zionists.

The American Center for Law and Justice brought the issue to the attention of Stanford officials.

It was on July 20 that Hamzeh Daoud, who had been confirmed as a paid student adviser at the California university, posted on Facebook the statement: “im gonna physically fight zionists on campus next year if someone comes at me with their ‘israel is a democracy’ bull— : ) and after I abolish your —- I’ll go ahead and work every day for the rest of my life to abolish your petty —- ethnosupremacist settler-colonial state.”

ACLJ said it was retained by a Stanford undergraduate student on behalf of himself and others who had been directly impacted by the threats. The legal group wrote to Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne earlier this month arguing that while freedom of speech must be protected, there is no freedom to threaten others.

“Disagreements on college campuses are not uncommon, and the ACLJ supports the free exchange of ideas protected by the First Amendment,” ACLJ said. “Mr. Daoud’s post, however, contains the kind of hate, vitriol, and direct threats of physical violence that have no place on campus whatsoever.”

Shortly after, Stanford “released a statement reiterating the fact that threats of physical violence have absolutely no place in the Stanford community, and that the threatening student had agreed to step down from his position as an RA and begin psychological treatment,” ACLJ said.

The organization noted that threats of violence “should always be taken seriously, especially a threat of physical violence made because a student does not like the ‘ethnosupremacy’ of a ‘Jewish state.'”

“It is important to note that, according to a recent report by the FBI, the majority of religiously motivated hate crimes in the United States were committed against Jewish people – and this despite Jews making up less than 2 percent of the population. In fact, since the FBI began reporting these statistics in 1993, there has not been a single year in which Jewish people were not the victims of the majority of religiously motivated hate crimes.”

Regarding the Stanford student’s threat’s, ACLJ said that ultimately, it is up to the university administration “to decide if the student should be removed from campus entirely for having violated the Stanford Fundamental Standard (violation of which ‘will be sufficient cause for removal of the university’).”

“That was not the purpose of our letter though, or of our representation. All we asked for, and received, was that the rights of our client, and of countless other students, be respected. Stanford University must support, among other things, the right of all students to physical safety in their dormitories and campus environment, and their right to speak freely and respectfully without fear of violent repercussions from university employees and authority figures.”

ACLJ noted the school’s failure to address the problem right away, taking some two weeks to respond.

“Had Daoud made a similar threat to commit violence upon a member of another group – had he, for instance, threatened women, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or a person of color – indeed had he simply threatened violence without targeting a group – this letter would undoubtedly be unnecessary as we are sure that Stanford would have swiftly, and justifiably, taken action.”

The letter also pointed out that the posting undoubtedly violated the Unruh Civil Rights Act in the state.

Daoud tried to backtrack after being caught, the letter noted, insisting it was a “spur-of-the-moment emotional reaction.”

However, the “fact remains that Daoud was faced with a choice during an emotional moment and chose to threaten violence.”

 

Vox and ProPublica take aim at President Trump’s heightened concern for gangs in the United States in a recently published video, claiming his harsh characterizations of MS-13 are unfair.

The gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, numbers in the tens of thousands and is composed primarily of outlaws from El Salvador, Honduras, and other Central American countries. Trump’s hardline stance on crime and border security has made MS-13 a more widely recognized public menace. But instead of acknowledging the rising violent threat that MS-13 poses to the American people, progressive media outlets like Vox and ProPublica are casting the Trump Administration’s actions with regard to illegal immigration and law enforcement as irresponsible, dangerous, and factually unsound.

The video — candidly titled, “Why the street gang MS-13 is an American problem” — opens by framing MS-13 as a uniquely American issue. It’s true the gang was founded in the United States during the early 1980s, but the roots of MS-13 are distinctly un-American.

Let’s review: Beginning in 1979, El Salvador was gripped by a nasty and brutal civil war between the established military junta and a newly-formed coalition of Marxist insurgents. Around a million people were displaced by the 12-year conflict and many sought asylum in the United States. The refugees, mainly anti-government sympathizers who resented American intervention in the war, illegally crossed the border and settled in southern California, mostly in Los Angeles’ Pico-Union neighborhood. Unsurprisingly, the young men from these impoverished alien communities started street gangs for personal and financial security. By 1984, they called themselves “Mara Salvatrucha” as a designation of their ties to the Salvadoran rebels.

This context is wholly absent from Vox’s presentation. The video succinctly describes the origins of MS-13 as “a group of teenagers, hanging out, smoking pot, listening to rock music” who eventually became “juvenile delinquents involved in street crimes who were stuffed into American jails.”

Vox specifically defends MS-13 against Trump’s charge that the gang is a drug-smuggling criminal cartel. The voiceover states, “that’s not really the case” and notes that the group “doesn’t have global ambitions.” Hannah Dreier, a ProPublica reporter showcased in the video, says “MS-13 is not really involved with the international drug trade.” Senior Vox reporter Dara Lind adds that “the organization doesn’t have that kind of sophistication to really play with the major players.” These assertions are made despite the fact that there is a growing mountain of evidence to the contrary.

For one thing, the video implies that the Obama-era decision to designate MS-13 as a “transnational criminal organization” had little or no factual basis. But a 2012 report from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point detailed the growing cooperation between MS-13 and Los Zetas, one of the most dangerous cartels in the world. Additional reports also suggest that MS-13 actually has bigger international ambitions, popping up in Italy, Spain, Argentina, and Australia. And according to a 2015 threat assessment by the D.E.A., MS-13 also has working connections with the Gulf Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, and La Familia Michoacána.

For what it’s worth, Dreier has been reporting from Long Island for over a year, and she gives up a little glimpse of her personal perspective on MS-13. She says the gang members she observes “are working after-school jobs, they’re living with their parents, they get around Long Island on bicycles because they can’t afford cars …” This innocuous depiction of MS-13 indicates substantial ignorance of the recent havoc that the group has wrecked upon the citizens of Long Island.

In the past year alone there has been an arrest for 2nd degree assault, a conviction for murder threats and attempted coercion, another arrest for murder, four indictments for ordering a violent attack on a 16-year-old boy, 17 more indictments for drug trafficking and several murders (including a 13-year-old boy), as well as 24 more indictments for 15 more murders. All of these criminals are MS-13 gang members.

Additionally, nearly 40 percent of all murders from two years ago in Suffolk County were linked to MS-13 gang violence. The situation has become so treacherous and heartbreaking that just a few months ago, Gov. Andrew Cuomo added $7.5 million to combat gang violence on Long Island. (While I was writing this, CNN came out with a segment about the tragic impact of MS-13 on Long Island communities.)

The national scene hasn’t fared much better. January yielded arraignments for 17 suspected MS-13 members in New York state. Authorities say that the seven-month investigation also confirmed the presence of MS-13 activity in New Jersey, Virginia, Texas, France, South Korea, and Egypt. Then in February, the city of Columbus was rocked by a new federal indictment of 23 MS-13 gangsters, which included (but was not limited to) murder, extortion, illegal immigration, obstruction of justice, assault, and drug trafficking.

In April, an East Coast kingpin for MS-13 was charged with five counts of conspiracy and three counts of drug trafficking, specifically helping the Mexican Mafia sell heroin. And just last month, a federal grand jury in Maryland hit two dozen MS-13 members with a laundry list indictment of offenses ranging from murder to robbery to money laundering.

Make no mistake about it: MS-13 is a growing criminal syndicate that directly deals with larger cartels. To suggest otherwise is wrong and downright asinine. But Vox and ProPublica claim the reality of MS-13 is not properly reflected by these recurring headlines. Dreier says that the MS-13 she reports on “has almost nothing in common with the MS-13 as portrayed by the government …”

This criticism of Trump’s characterization of MS-13 is part of a longer trend. Back in May, Trump called MS-13 members “violent animals.” The comment was seized upon by his political opponents in an effort to paint him as an anti-immigrant extremist. In the aftermath of the leftist outrage, Vox ran an article which not only compared Trump’s rhetoric to that of the Nazis and the perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide, but also implied that the “feelings and experiences” of these murderous gang members should be considered before casting judgement. This new video seems to be an extension of that reactionary trend, in which the Democrats are abdicating their position as a political coalition in favor of being hypersensitive moral arbiters and emotional hemophiliacs.

The video closes by saying “for any policy to work, it’s worth keeping the facts front and center.” But ironically, the left’s insistence on defending the indefensible just for the sake of spiting the president does nothing to demonstrate an honest or accurate grasp of the issue. Rather, it suggests that they view differing political opinions as tantamount to the most evil and egregious acts of violence. Once that equivalency is made, there is no more debate or discussion, only sentimental games of irrational perspectives and petulant responses.

Those who champion ethical and sensible leadership should not engage with this emotional game or its propaganda.

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown is once again slamming player protests during the national anthem, as the National Football League continues to be roiled over the continuing controversy.

An Indiana woman has been arrested after an investigation led police to charge her with falsely reporting a sexual assault as part of a "rape fantasy."

Two more journalists were detained in Belarus on Wednesday on suspicion of hacking the computer systems of state-run news agency BelTA, authorities said, including one who was working for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

With everyone desperate to discover just who is funding this debacle of an LBO/MBO, Bloomberg  is reporting that Musk and Masayoshi Son held talks last year about SoftBank investing in Tesla, including potentially taking the electric carmaker private - but talks broke down over disagreements on control.

Son and Musk met in April 2017 to discuss an investment in Tesla, the people said.

The talks touched on taking Tesla private, but failed to progress due to disagreements over ownership. Musk proposed a structure that would have given him disproportionate control over the company through stock with super-voting rights, one person said.

There are no active talks between the companies now, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

There was more bad news: the FT adds that "people close to SoftBank tell the FT that the fund considers Tesla to be overvalued and there are no indications it wants to invest."

And then there is the new trade war world to consider:

Even if it did want to add Tesla to its stable, SoftBank may face an obstacle in the form of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (Cfius), given its close links to China and record of previous hold-ups on other deals.

Investors are unsure whether to be excited (Softbank 'were' interested) or troubled (talks are over).

Perhaps more worryingly for Tesla shareholders, The FT reports that Softback is said to see Tesla as overvalued.

And so, the hunt for the mystery "funding source" of Musk's buyout continues...

"Most of the obvious funding sources for Tesla’s take-private transaction are foreign-based," Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., wrote in a note. "We imagine the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. would likely object to any foreign investor buying a significant portion of a distinctively American manufacturer such as Tesla"

And for now, TSLA bonds ain't buying it...

Bias at work

Politically incorrect, pro-Brexit politician puts establishment on notice

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) said that he will not recuse himself from a potential recount effort in the state's GOP gubernatorial primary, despite being a candidate in the race.K...

The Trump administration is starting the process of opening up large swaths of land in California to hydraulic fracturing.

Can you imagine how they handled Charlie Rose?

(NEWS.COM.AU) — In 1966 over 300 children and staff from a Melbourne school reportedly witnessed multiple UFOs silently flying through the sky before landing in a nearby field.

It is the largest mass UFO sighting in Australia yet hardly anything was reported on it at the time.

Over the years there have been differing reports about the exact details of what happened on April 6 at Westall High School, such as people claiming there were three saucer-like objects, while some thought there was just one.