Blue Horseshoe

Mother of J train stabber compares son to Daniel Penny, starts legal defense fund ....The mother of the man accused of fatally stabbing an ex-con who attacked his girlfriend on a J Train this week compared the young man to Daniel Penny, as she has started an online fundraiser for his legal defense. Jordan Williams, 20, was justified when he knifed Devictor Ouedraogo on a Brooklyn subway Tuesday night because he was defending other straphangers from “danger which was already taking place,” his mom, April Williams, wrote on a GiveSendGo fundraiser she created. Then she invoked Penny, the 24-year-old former Marine who was indicted for killing troubled homeless man Jordan Neely after Neely allegedly threatened other passengers on an F train in Manhattan last month.“Simply stated, these cases have become all too familiar in NYC, and this situation resembles that of Daniel Penny.....” she wrote. “We just pray for that same opportunity!”.....“He should not suffer because he can not afford bail on a case where he simply was justified in the actions he took,” April Williams said of her son. “Why should Jordan have to suffer at Rikers Island and fight his case from a cage?.....” ....Williams fatally stabbed Ouedraogo, a 36-year-old man who was hassling other commuters on a northbound J train that was approaching Marcy Avenue in Williamsburg Tuesday evening, police sources told The Post. Ouedraogo started arguing with Williams, who was onboard with his girlfriend. Then Ouedraogo, of Bedford-Stuyvesant, allegedly socked the woman in the face, the sources said. The two fought, and had each other in headlocks before the younger man pulled a knife and stabbed Ouedraogo twice, sources said....Williams was released without bail Thursday after his arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court. Williams has been charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, authorities said. He faces up to 25 years in prison for the first charge, while the second could tack on an extra 12 months..... https://nypost.com/2023/06/15/mother-of-j-train-stabber-jordan-williams-compares-son-to-daniel-penny-starts-legal-defense-fund-to-bail-him-out/

Dozens arrested over alleged child sex abuse following murder of two FBI agents ....A total of 98 people have been arrested in connection with child sex abuse, and 13 children rescued from harm, US and Australian authorities said Tuesday, more than two years after two FBI agents were killed investigating an alleged international pedophile ring.....In a news conference Tuesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) said 79 arrests, 65 indictments, and 43 convictions in the US were carried out as a result of the joint operation, while 19 men were arrested in Australia....Two FBI agents investigating the alleged ring were shot dead in 2021 while executing a search warrant for a computer programmer suspected of possession of child abuse material, CNN previously reported.... ....The alleged child abuse ring was a “peer to peer network” with “some offenders committing offenses for over 10 years,” said Australian Federal Police Commander Helen Schneider.....“This operation was highly complex,” the FBI’s legal attaché in Canberra, Nitiana Mann, told reporters Tuesday. “The complexity and anonymity of these platforms means that no agency or country can fight these threats alone.”....Most of the Australian alleged offenders had jobs that required advanced IT skills, police said in a statement.....Members of the network allegedly used “software to anonymously share files, chat on message boards and access websites within the network,” using encryption and “other methods to avoid law enforcement detection,” the statement added. AFP Commander Schneider said the alleged offenders operated a “sophisticated network.” .....“Viewing, distributing and producing child abuse material is a horrific crime, and the lengths that this network went to to avoid detection is an indication of just how dangerous they were,” she said. “The longer people like this avoid detection, it means the longer the cycle of abuse continues.....” .....FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger died in shootout at a Sunrise, Florida apartment complex while executing a federal search warrant on February 2, 2021. Three other agents were wounded and the suspect in the shooting died at the scene. At the time, Miami FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro called the shooting and the loss of Alfin and Schwartzenberger, “a very dark day for the FBI.” The agents were known for their exemplary efforts in the field, curbing child abuse with their investigatory work and educating students to the perils of sex crimes. Their deaths marked the first time since November 2008 that an FBI agent was fatally shot in the line of duty.... https://ktvz.com/news/national-world/cnn-world/2023/08/07/dozens-arrested-over-alleged-child-sex-abuse-following-murder-of-two-fbi-agents/

Rachel Zegler Is Officially Disney’s New Brie Larson ...It’s official. Rachel Zegler is Disney’s new Brie Larson – but not for the reasons you think. Since being cast as Snow White in the upcoming live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Rachel Zegler has received endless flack from Disney fans and non-fans alike.....the latest being that Zegler is allegedly “ungrateful” for playing such an iconic character and doesn’t understand the lore of Snow White. .....These accusations stem from two videos. One is a resurfaced interview from 2022 in which Zegler argues that her version of Snow White won’t be “saved” by the prince like the 1937 version. “It’s no longer 1937,” she said. “We absolutely wrote a Snow White that is not gonna be saved by the prince. And she’s not going to be dreaming about true love. She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be.....” ....The second is a video from the frontlines of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes where Zegler states, “If I’m going to stand there for 18 hours in a dress of an iconic Disney princess, I deserve to be paid for every hour that it is streamed online.”....Twitter and TikTok have since been overrun with comments and videos accusing Zegler of hating the character she’s set to play in next year’s live-action reboo....as well as dissecting the “pseudofeminism” .......this isn’t the first time the Disney community has zeroed in on an actress and accused them of being rude or ungrateful – Brie Larson has received similar treatment from the moment she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Carol Danvers (AKA Captain Marvel).... https://insidethemagic.net/2023/08/rachel-zegler-is-officially-disneys-new-brie-larson-cj1/

Lil Durk Addresses Active Shooter And Merch Theft At Chicago Concert ....Lil Durk concert at United Center in Chicago ended early due to reports of an active shooter. Videos emerged of crowds evacuating the venue, as did videos of attendees looting unattended merch stands. There was already some skepticism about the claims, with police scanner accounts claiming that arena security had already confirmed that no shots had been fired....... Police are now investigating as to who was responsible for the false reports of an active shooter, which caused mass panic and the premature end of the concert. No injuries have been reported and no arrests have been made. While some attendees still claim to have heard shots, no evidence to corroborate that has been found.... ....Taking to Instagram, Lil Durk addressed the various claims coming out of the Chicago concert. “.... And who all stole the merchandise – tag me so I can repost y’all crazy @ss.....” While Durk mentioned the merchandise theft, his response did not mention the allegations of an active shooter.....Durk has been linked to the murder of FBG Duck through an FBI informant. Documents relating to the case were published on Instagram over the weekend, with Durk and his brother both being mentioned by a confidential informant. Several fans have taken this to mean that Durk is actively working with law enforcement.... https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/702777-lil-durk-active-shooter-concert-statement ****** Imagine you are in a large crowd, then there is a report of an active shooter. Then you see nearly everyone around you fleeing in panic. Would you or would you not wish you had a firearm on you right at that moment? Look at the video above, people were fleeing, but the conditions were potentially lethal. Few exits. Huge crowd. All fighting to get out in the same narrow areas and corridors. You could just as easily be stampeded as much as shot. I'm not advocating for anyone to take firearms in to a concert. I am saying the public situation you are in could go very very bad, very very quickly. And having a firearm might be your only chance to survive. Some of you will disagree. That's your right. It's also your right to be gunned down by some psychopath mass shooter as well while being cornered and unarmed. But it might not end up that way. What's the difference? If you are armed, you have some control over your own destiny. If you are unarmed, your fate will rest in the actions and behavior of other people. It's pretty much that simple.

Girl, 16, arrested after she ‘harassed’ and assaulted Asian family on NYC subway ....A teenager was arrested Tuesday on assault charges after allegedly verbally harassing an Asian family on the subway and then assaulting another passenger.... A video of the incident shows the teenager attacking both 51-year-old Susan Young, a Nevada mom sitting with her 11-year-old twins, as well as Joanna Lin, who filmed the encounter.....The teen was charged with two counts of assault Tuesday, and although police were reportedly considering hate crime charges... ....“One of the girls stood up and went to Joanna and just punched her. I mean, punch, punch, punch, like repeatedly. I saw at least three, maybe two or three,” Ms Young told The Post, prompting her to stand up from her seat. That’s when another girl approached the Nevada mom, and because she was screaming at her, Ms Young pushed the girl away to try to get to Ms Lin. Then, the 16-year-old turned her attention to the mom, Ms Young explained to the outlet. “Well, as soon as I made contact and pushed her shoulders away, they all came after me. I backed up, but the girl in the white t-shirt came slugging at me… She grabbed my hair, I grabbed her hair, and I basically just grabbed onto her hair to shield my face because she was swinging....” ....From there, however, things allegedly escalated. The video shows one of the women who had allegedly been hurling abuse at the Asian family run towards the camera, at which point it cuts out. In one of the captions for the video, Ms Lin wrote that “This ferocious one runs over to hit me. I put down my phone to cover my head and took the blow.”...According to an NYPD tweet, which identified the victim in the case only as a 51-year-old woman, the assailant “made an anti-ethnic remark, pulled her by the hair & punched her.” The victim has since identified herself as Sue Young — a 51-year-old from Reno, Nevada who was visting New York on vacation with her family....Video of the attack, which quickly went viral, sparked outrage in New York. The attack comes more than three years after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes in the city and around the country that left some AAPI community members fearful for their safety in public.... https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/new-york-police-woman-asian-family-b2390214.html

Possible Giant grocery store closure in Southeast DC causes concern ....Word has gone around that the rampant theft and crime may drive out the Giant Food on Alabama Avenue in Southeast D.C. Shirl Holsey said she’s sick of the violence. The D.C. resident lost her nephew to a shooting last month. “I’m concerned about crime period. In grocery stores. In our streets,” she said outside the grocery store on Friday. She said they need this grocery store....“That means where would we go then?” Holsey said. “This is necessary. We have senior citizens that have no where else to go....” ....While Giant officials .....they are concerned about the theft and violence at the store that is “getting worse, not better.” They say it has cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars....District councilmember Trayon White Sr., held a news conference on Friday in the store’s lot on the subject. He said regional Giant brass told him in a Zoom meeting that they have grave concerns about staying in the location without the growing expense....“What we heard was disheartening,” White said. “We learned that this Giant has lost over $500,000 in product loss which is about 20% of its sales after theft.”....White, who represents Ward 8, said that it’s critical to keep Giant open because this is the only grocery store east of the Anacostia River. It serves many people who do not have transportation to go to other grocery stores....“We cannot afford to hurt ourselves by constant taking from the store because that means that everybody is going to be without a place to eat....” ....He said that he has contacted D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office regarding the topic of keeping the store. Her deputy mayor is scheduled to also meet with Giant officials soon. Ralph Nelson, who has lived in the area since the 1950s, said it was a difficult task to get the grocery store to even come into Southeast D.C. because of the violence in the area. “I’m concerned because it’s been a long time before we ever had a grocery store over here,” he said. Nelson said one of the problems he’s seen are people loitering and dealing drugs right in front of the store. He would like to see more police presence to tamp down on the crime, he said.... https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/possible-giant-grocery-store-closure-in-southeast-dc-causes-concern/

A way to "improve" the forum is to create thread topics that actually invest in this community. I appreciate that @BunnysBastatrds started a Chain Restaurant Draft and supported that. He organized it, recruited for it and executed on his promise to do it. I can respect the effort. I've started 75 thread topics since I've gotten here in the GC. People can agree or disagree with my viewpoints, but none of my threads are cheap. I make it a point to support my own threads. And I can handle myself just fine if someone wants to come at me. Also it should be clear that I'm not any "alias" of any kind. No one posts like I do, no one. Instead of complaining what other people aren't giving you, go do something about it. Do you want to see change? Then set an example. Show people what good thread topics that enrich this community look like. And I'm not telling anyone here to do anything that I'm not doing right now, on my own, already. And your previous thread likely got deleted because inside of it with some replies, it involved some people holding timschochet's feet to the fire for his routine gaslighting BS. Of course he was going to get squistion or Sho Nuff to use one of their aliases or one of his own to Report Button you. Speaking up means zero unless you also choose to step up. And I can say that here. Even though I'm new, I've earned that here. I'm not just saying it, I'm also doing it. This is the part where you try to gaslight everyone by saying how little you care, and then you'll ignore the part where if that was true, why are you even complaining in the first place?

Vivek Ramaswamy reveals ‘dirty little secret’ on US defense spending: ‘We are way behind’ ....2024 GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is pulling the curtain back on President Biden's self-serving national security policy, making the bold declaration that "much" of the U.S.'s military defense spending within the last few decades has not been properly allocated..... VIVEK RAMASWAMY: "We need a modern Monroe Doctrine in this country. The dirty little secret, Maria, is that much of our military defense spending in the last several decades has not actually gone to national defense. The reality is, if we do enter a serious conflict, and I worry that Joe Biden is sleepwalking us into potential nuclear conflict with Russia, and Russia and China being in a military alliance with one another that would mean both nations....The reality is, we need defense capabilities of the homeland, nuclear defense capabilities, cyber defense capabilities, super EMP, electromagnetic pulse capabilities, that could take out our electric grid. We are way behind. And so the hallmark of my foreign policy is going to be you don't mess with the homeland. Start with that first...." https://www.foxnews.com/media/vivek-ramaswamy-reveals-dirty-little-secret-us-defense-spending-way-behind

EXCLUSIVE: Biden's TWO missed chances to prevent Kabul Airport suicide attack that killed 13 troops during chaotic Afghan withdrawal .....In the days before a suicide bomber killed 13 service personnel at Kabul airport in 2021, U.S. military commanders were aware of the threat and twice missed chances to take out the deadly terrorist network behind the plot, according to a new book.....The Taliban, who had seized control of Afghanistan, refused a request to raid a hotel that was a known staging post for ISIS-K, who carried out the atrocity. And at around the same time, superior officers vetoed a plan for a drone strike elsewhere because of the 'negative response' of the Taliban to such a raid. Taken together, the shocking conclusion is that the bloodiest moment in President Joe Biden's presidency might have been avoided if American troops had not been reliant on their enemy for protection in the final days of the evacuation. A total of 183 people were killed in the blast, including the bomber..... ....The details are set out in 'Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden's Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End,' which is published by Center Street on Tuesday — the two-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover. Some 13 U.S. service members were killed in a suicide attack at the Abbey Gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in 2021. ....'Our findings — tucked away in the Pentagon’s own documents and in the own words of military officers personally involved in the Afghanistan evacuation — provide more damning evidence about the dangerous stupidity of relying upon terrorists like the Taliban to provide security at Kabul airport,' said Jerry Dunleavy, one of the book authors and an investigator. He is helping lead the Afghanistan withdrawal investigation for the House Foreign Affairs Committee..... .....In a hearing earlier this year, Vargas-Andrews, described how he was stationed in a snipe tower on the day of the blast. He said he identified a person in the throng that matching the description of a suspected suicide bomber just hours before the attack. He said his superiors failed to act on his warning. The result was one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in the last decade of the war. At least 160 Afghans also died. Hasson said three different officers — across two separate investigations — stated that the military and the intelligence community were tracking ISIS-K members likely linked to the Abbey Gate bombing, and that they were nearly certain that an attack was imminent, but no offensive measures were taken. ....'Leaders in D.C. made one unforced error after another throughout the withdrawal, and each mistake compounded the risk to the men and women on the ground. ....'Ultimately, it led to U.S. commanders tailoring decisions to the desires of Taliban leaders who had them surrounded, and to the loss of thirteen brave Americans.....' https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12400973/Kabul-Afghanistan-suicide-attack-airport-13-Biden.html

‘Mob of criminals’ stole up to $100k worth of merchandise at Los Angeles mall, police say ......A “mob of criminals” stole up to $100,000 worth of merchandise from the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon....“Today at around 4 p.m., a mob of criminals stole items from the Topanga Mall with an estimated loss of $60,000 to $100,000,” the Los Angeles Police Department said on social media. “Topanga Division officers were on the scene quickly and have several investigative leads. To criminals, it is just property taken.” Multiple individuals wearing black from head to toe could be seen ransacking a store at the mall, carrying duffel bags, purses and other items past the broken glass on the floor, in a video posted by the police department. The crime has left the community with, “a loss of feeling safe,” police said..... ....“The LAPD will exhaust all efforts to bring those responsible into custody and seek criminal prosecution,” the department said. CNN has reached out to the police department and the Westfield Topanga Shopping Center for comment. In a statement, Mayor Karen Bass called the incident “absolutely unacceptable.”.....“Those who committed these acts and acts like it in neighboring areas must be held accountable,” Bass said. “The Los Angeles Police Department will continue to work to not only find those responsible for this incident but to prevent these attacks on retailers from happening in the future.”...A similar scene unfolded Tuesday in nearby Glendale, where police said thieves stole $300,000 worth of property in a “bold, flash mob burglary” at an Yves Saint Laurent store....“These ‘flash mob’ burglaries involve a large, coordinated group of individuals simultaneously rushing into the store, overwhelming staff, and taking it over. The suspects grab as much merchandise as possible before fleeing in multiple vehicles,” the Glendale Police Department said in a statement.... https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/13/us/los-angeles-mob-steals-100k-mall/index.html

It's not uncommon to have military assets and personnel embedded in hospitals, schools, public works, etc, etc. I'm not saying that it's the specific case here, but it's not as simple as immediately assessing pure carnage for the sake of carnage. Three different things can be true at the same time 1) At the ground level, rank and file soldiers have absolutely no desire to kill civilians unless there is some kind of immediate threat or if they are ordered to do so by some lunatic, it's a hazy proposition to order your men to blindly start executing civilians. Contractors and mercenaries? That's a different story. Certain specific specialized units? That's potentially a different story. But it's crushing to general morale to start gunning down innocents, particularly children. Remember that both sides have friends and family and associates that exist across the border for each of them. The apprehension to casually killing civilians is true of just about any formal rank and file military in the entire world. 2) The average Westerner is only going to get to hear what the establishment corporate media wants them to hear, which means they only will get mostly canned news vetted and approved from the current Military Industrial Complex. I'd take EVERYTHING with a grain of salt. 3) In order to maintain a practical "occupation force" for the means of stripping southern Ukraine of it's valuable natural assets ( timber, copper, iron, etc, etc) near the Black Sea, that will require some form of ethnic cleansing eventually. Russia has attacked civilian targets at will in some instances. In other cases, they are also attacking "civilian" centers that are functionally military threats as well. I don't agree with what Putin and Russia are doing in general here. That being said, what happens on the ground is an entirely different animal. During Operation Gothic Serpent ( known to the layman as "Black Hawk Down"), at some point after taking heavy casualties, the Rangers were simply firing at anyone who walked out onto the street. They were surrounded and being shot at by everyone. Men, women, kids, in all circumstances. The "rules of engagement" changed as the situation got more desperate. It would be easy to judge them at distance, but they were fighting for their lives. No one wants to shoot a kid down. But if he picks up an AK47, then what do you do? What if he picks it up, then puts it down again? What if he sneaks about with a radio and messages to others on where to hit you with RPGs and mortar rounds? Again, not so simple. The idea and narrative that the average Russian infantryman is some kind of sadist and tyrant without measure is just not realistic. Again, contractors and mercenaries can be a different story. There is nuance here. But Raytheon can't sell billions in weapons with nuance.