Sources: Suspected Bomber's Family Received $100K+ in Public Benefits

The family of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers reportedly received over $100,000 worth of state, local and federal benefits over the past decade. 

Sources told News Center 5 in Boston that they had seen 500 pages of documents and that the Tsarnaev family received "every conceivable public benefit available out there."

FULL ARTICLE: Sources: Suspected Bomber's Family Received $100K+ in Public Benefits

Report: Obama Spent Twice as Much Time on Vacation/Golf as Economy

According to a new report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Institute (GAI), President Barack Obama has spent over twice as many hours on vacation and golf (976 hours) as he has in economic meetings of any kind (474.4 hours). The report, “Presidential Calendar: A Time-Based Analysis,” used the official White House calendar,Politico’s comprehensive presidential calendar, and media reports through March 31, 2013 to calculate its results.

GAI’s findings may actually understate Obama’s recreational hours.


FULL ARTICLE: Report: Obama Spent Twice as Much Time on Vacation/Golf as Economy

Channeling Neville Chamberlain: What We Have Already Lost in Syria

by Joel B. Pollak

If you have ever wondered how the entire civilized world could stand by and watch totalitarianism swallow Europe--twice--last week's pathetic performance by President Barack Obama on the subject of Syria was a grim reminder. Last year, he promised that "any use or proliferation of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime would cross a red line for the United States." Last week, amidst growing evidence that Syria has crossed that red line, Obama refused to commit to any course of action, saying only that more information was needed.

FULL ARTICLE: What We Have Already Lost in Syria

Syrian army ordered to use chemical weapons, defected general tells Al Arabiya - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

A former army general from the chemical weapons branch, Zahir al-Sakit, said he was instructed to use chemical weapons. (Al Arabiya)

The Syrian government ordered the use chemical weapons against the Free Syrian Army (FSA) during select battles with Syrian regime forces, a defected general told Al Arabiya late Saturday.

A former army general from the chemical weapons branch, Zahir al-Sakit, said he was instructed to use chemical weapons during a regime battle with the FSA in the southwestern area of Hauran.

But instead, Sakit disobeyed the orders and swapped the chemicals with disinfectant water he called “Javel water.”

“I was given orders to execute the use of poisonous chemicals in caves and tunnels that are used by the Free Syrian Army, but I mixed all chemicals with water and used Javel water instead,” Sakit said...........

FULL ARTICLE: Syrian army ordered to use chemical weapons, defected general tells Al Arabiya - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

FORWARD TO THE PAST: Tightening the Screws: Clampdown on Russia's Civil Society - HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

LINK: Tightening the Screws: Clampdown on Russia's Civil Society - YouTube

Daring to Make a Difference for DR Congo: Lee Ann De Reus at TEDxPSU - YouTube

YOUTUBE DESCRIPTION:

Published on Apr 16, 2013

In the Congo, there are not victims. There are survivors. In her talk, "Daring to Make a Difference for DR Congo", Dr. Lee Ann De Reus conveys the resilience and hope of Congolese women and girls while illuminating the complexities of sexualized violence and issues an inspiring call for all to serve as witness, messenger and advocate.

Lee Ann De Reus is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Women Studies at Pennsylvania State University-Altoona and the co-founder of Panzi Foundation USA. As a scholar activist, she travels regularly to Panzi Hospital in eastern DR Congo to conduct research, develop programs for rape survivors, and inform her advocacy work in the U.S. She is the co-founder/director of several non-profits and groups including Panzi Hospital Foundation USA (www.panzifoundation.org) in support of Panzi Hospital, Beza.

LINK: Daring to Make a Difference for DR Congo: Lee Ann De Reus at TEDxPSU - YouTube

John Prendergast Testifies for Congo at the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs | Enough

On Tuesday, April 16, John Prendergast, Co-founder the Enough Project, testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs on the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The panel of experts that also included Mvemba Dizolele, Strategy and Advocacy Fellow for Eastern Congo Initiative, Father Ferdinand Muhigirwa, Director of Centre d’Etudes pour l’Action Sociale, and Frederico Borello, Director of Investments at Humanity United, provided recommendations to Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) about how the United States government can be involved in ending the conflict in the Kivu provinces.

“As a country with close relationships with all regional players and substantial international leverage, it is critical for the U.S. government to play a much more active role in the upcoming initiatives,” testified Prendergast. “This will require far greater attention from senior policymakers, a step-change in diplomatic engagement in the region, and concentrated focus on areas of U.S. leverage, especially efforts to transform the trade in natural resources from a driver of violence into a catalyst for regional peace.”...............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: John Prendergast Testifies for Congo at the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs | Enough

Hezbollah declares war on Syrian people, SNC chief says - Alarabiya.net English

George Sabra is elected as the interim chief of Syria’s main opposition group until elections for a new president. (AFP)

The Syrian National Coalition’s interim president said Monday the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has declared war on the Syrian people amid reports the movement is leading the fight against rebels in the central province of Homs.

“What is happening in Qusayr in Homs is Hezbollah declaring a war on the people of Syria,” George Sabra said in a press conference in Istanbul shortly after being named the new Syrian opposition interim chief.
“Hezbollah fighters have crossed the border into Syrian towns and cities.”

Sabra also said there are ongoing massacres in Syria, citing recent reports that at least 500 people have been killed in the past week by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“Some of them were killed [with] knives in very barbaric ways. We are afraid this kind of behavior will continue. It is a massacre. It is crime against humanity,” he said, adding: “We put this fact in front of the international community to do what [it] has to do.”.....................

FULL ARTICLE: Hezbollah declares war on Syrian people, SNC chief says - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Israel urges U.S. action over Syrian chemical weapons - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Zev Elkin says the U.S. should consider military action to curb Syrian chemical weapons. (Photo Courtesy: Haaretz)
 
The United States should consider military action to curb Syrian chemical weapons after Washington went public with suspicions they have been used in the country’s civil war, Israel’s deputy foreign minister said on Friday.  

 The challenge by Zev Elkin, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, underscored tension this week over the allies’ assessments on Syria, as well as longer-running disputes about how aggressively to confront Iran’s nuclear program.

FULL ARTICLE: Israel urges U.S. action over Syrian chemical weapons - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Exclusive: Syrian troops STILL defecting to join opposition - YouTube

LINK: Exclusive: Syrian troops defecting to join opposition - YouTube

LOOKING FOR MISHA: Sen. Graham: Authorities Seeking 'Third Man' in Boston Bombings

Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Thursday that a third man is being sought as s possible suspect in last week’s Boston Marathon terror bombings — a Muslim convert who may have had ties to the 26-year old man who was killed in gun battle with police on Friday.

“We now know of a third person,” the South Carolina Republican, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. “The young man tells us that they were self-radicalized from watching videos.

“Now, we’re looking for someone who was close to the older brother,” he said, referring to Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He died in the gunfight with police.

A man described by Tamerlan’s uncle only as Misha is believed to be a Muslim convert who steered the 26-year-old to a more radical form of Islam. The man has not been found by authorities.


FULL ARTICLE: Graham: Authorities Seeking 'Third Man' in Boston Bombings

OBAMA STILL PROCRASTINATING: Crossing a 'red Line'? US Says Syria Used Poison Gas

The White House declared Thursday that U.S. intelligence indicates Syrian President Bashar Assad has twice used deadly chemical weapons in his country's fierce civil war, a provocative action that would cross President Barack Obama's "red line" for a significant military response. But the administration said the revelation won't immediately change its stance on intervening.

The information, which has been known to the administration and some members of Congress for weeks, isn't solid enough to warrant quick U.S. involvement in the 2-year-old conflict, the White House said. Officials said the assessments were made with "varying degrees of confidence" given the difficulty of information gathering in Syria, though there appeared to be little question within the intelligence community.

As recently as Tuesday, when an Israeli general added to the growing chorus that Assad had used chemical weapons, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the administration was continuing to monitor and investigate but had "not come to the conclusion that there has been that use."................

Crossing a 'red Line'? US Says Syria Used Poison Gas

REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN HORROR: The Forgotten Genocide: Why It Matters Today | FrontPage Magazine

A still frame from the 1919 documentary film Auction of Souls, which portrayed eye witnessed events from the Armenian Genocide, including crucified Christian girls.

Yesterday, April 24, marks the “Great Crime,” that is, the Armenian genocide that took place under Turkey’s Islamic Ottoman Empire, during and after WWI.  Out of an approximate population of two million, some 1.5 million Armenians died. 

If early 20^th century Turkey had the apparatuses and technology to execute in mass—such as 1940s Germany’s gas chambers—the entire Armenian population may well have been decimated.  Most objective American historians who have studied the question unequivocally agree that it was a deliberate, calculated genocide.....(CONTINUED)

FULL ARTICLE: The Forgotten Genocide: Why It Matters Today | FrontPage Magazine

Syria’s civil war: The most brutal of them all | The Economist

ANTONIO GUTERRES is a man of experience. A former prime minister of Portugal, he has run the UN’s High Commission for Refugees since 2005, dealing with crises from Afghanistan to Congo and Iraq. But of all the humanitarian catastrophes he has witnessed, nothing has proven as appalling or as dangerous as what is happening in Syria.

“This is the most brutal, even with very brutal conflicts elsewhere,” Mr Guterres has said. “If one looks at the impact on the population, or the percentage of the total population in need, I have no doubt that since the end of the Cold War it is the worst,” he told the Guardian, a British newspaper. “And it will become even worse still if there is no solution. My belief is that if we take all of these elements, then this is the most dramatic humanitarian crisis that we have ever faced. Then if we look at the geopolitical implications, I have no doubt that this is the most serious that we have ever dealt with.”.........

FULL ARTICLE: Syria’s civil war: The most brutal of them all | The Economist

White House: US believes Syrian regime used chemical weapons - U.S. News

By Kristen Welker, Jim Miklaszewski, Courtney Kube and Tracy Connor, NBC News

The White House said Thursday that the U.S. believes "with some degree of varying confidence" the Syrian government has used chemical weapons — specifically the nerve agent sarin — against its own people.  

A letter from the White House to members of Congress said the assessment was based on "physiological samples" but called for a United Nations probe to corroborate it and nail down when and how they were used.  

"We are continuing to do further work to establish a definitive judgement as to whether or not the red line has been crossed and to inform our decision-making about what we'll do next," a White House official said.  "All options are on the table in terms of our response," the official added............  

FULL ARTICLE:  
White House: US believes Syrian regime used chemical weapons - U.S. News

Drugs sales may have financed Boston terror plot - CBS News

LINK: Drugs sales may have financed Boston terror plot - CBS News

Libyan Ministers condemn attack on French embassy | Libya Herald

By Umar Khan.

Interior Minister Ashour Suleiman Shuwail visited the French embassy some three hours after the car bomb exploded (Photo: Tom Westcott, Libya Herald)

Tripoli, 23 April 2013:

The bomb attack on the French embassy that damaged part of the building, injuring two guards along with a few residents of the neighbouring houses, has been condemned by both the government officials and politicians.

The first censure came  a couple of hours after the bomb went off, from the Minister of Interior, Ashour Shuwail, when he visited the scene of the blast. He described the crime as “regretful” and promised to set up an investigating committee. His sentiments were echoed by the Foreign minister Mohamed Abdulaziz, who called the bomb blast a ‘terrorist act’ and expressed solidarity with the French people.

The Deputy Prime Minister, Awad Barasi, also visited the scene within few hours of the explosion and strongly condemned the attack as a ‘terrorist act”. He stressed that such an outrage was against the “morals of Libyan society”. He also added that the Libyan people and Libyan government would not accept such violent acts.....

FULL ARTICLE: Ministers condemn attack on French embassy | Libya Herald

ARE WE SURPRISED? Boston suspects' mosque has ties to convicted terrorists, fugitives and radical speakers.

Terror suspects, fugitives and radical speakers have passed through the Cambridge mosque that the Tsarnaev brothers are known to have visited.

(Photo: Shakil Adil, AP)

BOSTON — The mosque attended by the two brothers accused in the Boston Marathon double bombing has been associated with other terrorism suspects, has invited radical speakers to a sister mosque in Boston and is affiliated with a Muslim group that critics say nurses grievances that can lead to extremism.

Several people who attended the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, Mass., have been investigated for Islamic terrorism, including a conviction of the mosque's first president, Abdulrahman Alamoudi, in connection with an assassination plot against a Saudi prince..............

FULL ARTICLE: Boston suspects' mosque has ties to convicted terrorists, fugitives and radical speakers.

NAZI INROADS INTO THE MIDDLE EAST: Hitler's Islamist Allies & the War Today - YouTube

LINK: Hitler's Islamist Allies and the War Today - YouTube

Senator: Russia Warned FBI Multiple Times

According to Senator Richard Burr, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned that Russia had contacted the United States multiple times about Tamerlan Tsarnaev. 

In a closed briefing on Tuesday, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee learned that Russia alerted the United States about Tsarnaev in ``multiple contacts’’ -- including ``at least once since October 2011,’’ said Richard Burr, a Republican of North Carolina, speaking with reporters afterward.

Yesterday members of the Senate Intelligence Committee were briefed by Deputy FBI Director Sean M. Joyce and officials from the National Counter-terrorism Center and Homeland Security. The FBI had interviewed Tsarnaev in 2011 when it was tipped-off by Russia. The Bureau determined after investigating Tsarnaev that he did not pose a threat...............

FULL ARTICLE: Senator: Russia Warned FBI Multiple Times

BLACK IRONY: Boston Herald: Tamerlan Tsarnaev Received Welfare Benefits

On Tuesday, Massachusetts Health and Human Services spokesperson Alec Loftus confirmed to the Boston Herald that deceased Boston bombing 'Suspect 1' Tamerlan Tsarnaev received welfare benefits from the state until 2012:

State officials confirmed last night that Tsarnaev, slain in a raging gun battle with police last Friday, was receiving benefits along with his wife, Katherine Russell Tsarnaev, and their 3-year-old daughter. The state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services said those benefits ended in 2012 when the couple stopped meeting income eligibility limits.

Loftus also told the Herald that Anzor Tsarnaev and his wife Zubeidat received welfare benefits for themselves and both of their sons, Tamerlan, age 26, and 'Suspect 2' Dzhokhar, age 19, when they were children. Typically, welfare benefits for dependent children stop at age 18, so Tamerlan received welfare benefits through his parents as long ago as 2005.

FULL ARTICLE: Boston Herald: Tamerlan Tsarnaev Received Welfare Benefits

Uncle: Seeds of Boston Bombers’ Radicalization 'Planted Right There in Cambridge'

On Tuesday, the Associated Press reported that in the years leading up to the devastating bombing attack on the Boston Marathon, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older of the two bombing suspects, “fell under the influence of a new friend, a Muslim convert.” The mentor was known to Tamerlan’s family as “Misha,” and pushed Tamerlan to embrace the most extreme version of Islam. Tamerlan quickly dropped music, read information about 9/11 conspiracy theories, and bought into the notion that the Jews controlled world events, seeking out the anti-Semitic canard The Protocols of the Elders of Zion............

FULL ARTICLE: Uncle: Seeds of Boston Bombers’ Radicalization 'Planted Right There in Cambridge'

Israeli army: Syria’s Assad ‘using lethal chemical weapons’ - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

 

 

“Assad is using chemical weapons in Syria.” Remarks quoted on the army's official Twitter feed. (Twitter screenshot)

Al Arabiya with AFP - 

 

President Bashar al-Assad is using chemical weapons against rebel forces in Syria, a senior Israeli army officer told a conference on Tuesday.

“Assad is using chemical weapons in Syria,” said Brigadier General Itai Brun, head of research and analysis in the army's military intelligence division, in remarks quoted on the army's official Twitter feed..............

FULL ARTICLE: Israeli army: Syria’s Assad ‘using lethal chemical weapons’ - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Canada thwarts plot to blow up U.S.-Canada rail line - U.S. News

Shaun Best / Reuters file/A Via Rail Canada passenger train pulls into Dorval Station in Montreal, in this July 22, 2009 file photo. Canadian police authorities said on Monday they had arrested and charged two men with an "al Qaeda-supported" plot to derail a passenger train.

By Andrew Rafferty, Staff Writer, NBC News

Canadian security forces say they have thwarted an al-Qaeda-backed plot to blow up a rail line between Canada and the United States, and officials announced two arrests on Monday afternoon.

The suspects had sought to attack a passenger train that left from the U.S. bound for Toronto once the train crossed the Canadian border, sources told NBC News. The suspects may have scouted trains departing from New York.

FULL ARTICLE: Canada thwarts plot to blow up U.S.-Canada rail line - U.S. News

SAVAGE ASSAD ATTACK: Syrian activist group: Record number of dead found - CNN.com

People walk past destroyed houses in the northern Syrian town of Azaz on Sunday, April 21. This gallery contains the most compelling images taken since the start of the conflict.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

The bodies of 566 people killed over six days are found Sunday.

It is the highest number of victims discovered in a single day in the uprising.

Some 3,000 members of the security forces stormed Damascus suburb over the past week.

(CNN) -- The bodies of at least 566 people who were killed over a six-day period across Syria were found Sunday, according to Local Coordination Committees in Syria, an opposition group based in the country.

That is the highest number of victims discovered in a single day since the war began in March 2011, according to LCC spokeswoman Rafif Jouejati.

At least 450 bodies were found in the Damascus suburb of Jadidat al-Fadel, LCC activist Abu Aasy said.

Over the past six days, some 3,000 members of the security forces stormed the area, and the dead include at least 300 civilians and 150 members of the Free Syrian Army, he said.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Syrian activist group: Record number of dead found - CNN.com

Michael Mukasey: Make No Mistake, It Was Jihad - Wall Street Journal

By MICHAEL B. MUKASEY

If your concern about the threat posed by the Tsarnaev brothers is limited to assuring that they will never be in a position to repeat their grisly acts, rest easy.

The elder, Tamerlan—apparently named for the 14th-century Muslim conqueror famous for building pyramids of his victims' skulls to commemorate his triumphs over infidels—is dead. The younger, Dzhokhar, will stand trial when his wounds heal, in a proceeding where the most likely uncertainty will be the penalty. No doubt there will be some legal swordplay over his interrogation by the FBI's High-Value Interrogation Group without receiving Miranda warnings. But the only downside for the government in that duel is that his statements may not be used against him at trial. This is not much of a risk when you consider the other available evidence, including photo images of him at the scene of the bombings and his own reported confession to the victim whose car he helped hijack during last week's terror in Boston.

But if your concern is over the larger threat that inheres in who the Tsarnaev brothers were and are, what they did, and what they represent, then worry—a lot...........

FULL ARTICLE: Michael Mukasey: Make No Mistake, It Was Jihad - WSJ.com

STILL NO WEAPONS TO ACTUALLY WIN PROVIDED, instead U.S. approves $250m boosted aid package to Syrian opposition - Alarabiya.net English

 

John Kerry. The supplies could include armored vehicles, night vision goggles and advanced communications equipment. (Reuters)

Al Arabiya with AFP - 

U.S. aid to the Syrian opposition is set to double to $250 million, Secretary of State John Kerry said on Sunday, adding that Washington would also provide new non-lethal military equipment for rebel fighters.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: U.S. approves $250m boosted aid package to Syrian opposition - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

BBC News - Boston bombs: Tsarnaev brothers 'planned more attacks'

The brothers suspected of bombing the Boston Marathon were probably planning further attacks, the city's police commissioner has said.

Ed Davis told CBS News that Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev had been carrying homemade bombs and grenades which they threw at police when cornered.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: BBC News - Boston bombs: Tsarnaev brothers 'planned more attacks'

LiveLeak.com - Acts17Apologetics: Understanding the Islamic Bombing of the Boston Marathon

FULL ARTICLE: LiveLeak.com - Acts17Apologetics: Understanding the Islamic Bombing of the Boston Marathon

Boston Bomber Suspects Had Attended Cambridge Mosque, Older Kicked Out Officials Say

A banner reading "United We Stand For Peace on Earth" stands outside the Islamic Society of Boston mosque in Cambridge, Mass., on April 19.

...The Los Angeles Times reported that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was kicked out of the mosque three months ago after he interrupted a Friday prayer service to argue with the imam. The imam leading the service had enraged Tsarnaev by talking about Martin Luther King Jr. A congregant told the newspaper that Tsarnaev shouted, "you cannot mention this guy because he’s not a Muslim!”.......

FULL ARTICLE: Boston Bomber Suspects Had Attended Cambridge Mosque, Officials Say

Investigators explore possible link between Boston bombing suspect and extremist group | Fox News

Investigators are exploring potential links between Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and an extremist group known as the Caucasus Emirate, sources tell Fox News.

The purported leader of the separatist and Islamic extremist group is Doku Umarov, a Chechen Islamic militant in Russia whose ordering of numerous attacks on civilians has earned him the nickname Russia's Usama bin Laden.  The U.N.'s Al Qaeda sanctions committee has also cited Umarov for his alleged connections with Al Qaeda and other extremist groups......

FULL ARTICLE: Investigators explore possible link between Boston bombing suspect and extremist group | Fox News

The New York Times vs. David Mamet | FrontPage Magazine

The New York Times is very good at what it does — which nowadays involves a lot of lying in service to a leftist agenda.  There are the outright lies (such as the paper’s recent distortion of a police bias trial to make the NYPD appear racist), the lies of omission (such as its lack of full reporting on the Obama administration’s fatal acts of malfeasance and dishonesty in, say, the Benghazi and Fast and Furious scandals), and the atmospheric lies (such as its rose-colored reporting on the disastrous economy in bluer-than-blue California).  Altogether, these lies combine to make the paper something like the Matrix: a plausible imitation of reality intended to deceive people so that their substance may be milked to feed an overweening state...........

FULL ARTICLE: The New York Times vs. David Mamet | FrontPage Magazine

Watertown Police Chief: Dzhokhar Killed Brother by Running over Him

 

 by Tony Lee 

Watertown police chief Edward Deveau said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the 19-year-old suspected Boston Marathon bomber who was captured alive on Friday, killed his older brother Tamerlan by driving over him and dragging his body through the street with a carjacked SUV Thursday night.

Deveau, in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Saturday, said police officers were handcuffing Tamerlan, who had run out of ammunition, when Dzhokhar came at them in a carjacked SUV. Watertown officers were able to get out of the way.

FULL ARTICLE: Watertown Police Chief: Dzhokhar Killed Brother by Running over Him

Song for Syria - YouTube

LINK: Song for Syria - YouTube

NBCNews.com video: Boston shows resilience after bombings, lockdown

VIDEO LINK: NBCNews.com video: Boston shows resilience after bombings, lockdown

BIG BLOW TO BLOODY FDLR-Congo Siasa: Tanzania reportedly arrests deputy FDLR commander

Numerous sources are now reporting on the arrest of General Stanislas Nzeyimana (aka Izabayo Bigaruka), the deputy commander of the FDLR––the German Tageszeitung wrote about it last Friday, and sources close to the Tanzanian security services are now confirming.

Bigaruka, as he is commonly known, was not directly involved in the 1994 genocide, as he was in undergoing military training abroad at the time. However, he did play a significant role during the insurgency in northwest Rwanda between 1997-1998. He later became commander of the South Kivu division and eventually was promoted to become deputy overall commander in 2008...............

FULL ARTICLE: Congo Siasa: Tanzania reportedly arrests deputy FDLR commander

Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev bled for hours from neck, leg wounds, "might not have lived" if not found - CBS News

VIDEO LINK: Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev bled for hours from neck, leg wounds, "might not have lived" if not found - CBS News

THE JEWISH BOY WHO GOT AWAY: BBC News - Escaping the train to Auschwitz

Simon Gronowksi, pictured aged nine with his parents, two years before he and his mother were arrested. 
On 19 April 1943, a train carrying 1,631 Jews set off from a Nazi detention camp in Belgium for the gas chambers of Auschwitz. But resistance fighters stopped the train. One boy who jumped to freedom that night retains vivid memories, 70 years later.

In February 1943, 11-year-old Simon Gronowski was sitting down for breakfast with his mother and sister in their Brussels hiding place when two Gestapo agents burst in.

They were taken to the Nazis' notorious headquarters on the prestigious Avenue Louise, used as a prison for Jews and torture chamber for members of the resistance.

Today, Gronowski lives a two-minute walk from this building, where he was held for two nights without food or water.........

FULL ARTICLE: BBC News - Escaping the train to Auschwitz

Boston Police: Second marathon suspect in custody | Fox News

BREAKING: Applause broke out in a residential area near Boston, after a tense police standoff - sparked when the second suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing was discovered hiding in a boat in a backyard - ended with the subject of a day-long dragnet in custody.

Police moved in on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Friday evening after tip led them to the home on Franklin Street, where he apparently had been hiding in the back yard. Neighbors said they heard more than 30 shots one likened to "a roll of firecrackers shooting off." Police swarmed the scene, and several explosions, possibly police concussion grenades, were heard after a robot moved in on the boat.....


FULL ARTICLE HERE: Boston Police: Second marathon suspect in custody | Fox News

A JIHADIST TERRORIST? YOU BET: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Favorite Song: “We Will Dedicate Our Lives to the Jihad” | FrontPage Magazine

Terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's photo

From Daniel Greenfield: 

We still don’t know what exactly motivated two Muslim terrorists to kill Americans. Maybe it was the weather. Maybe there was nothing good on television. Or maybe they were Muslim terrorists......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s Favorite Song: “We Will Dedicate Our Lives to the Jihad” | FrontPage Magazine

*Live Updates* Boston Police Scanner: Massive Shootout in Watertown, MA

Social media has lit up over a massive shootout going on in the city of Watertown, Massachusetts. Spectators are listening in to a Boston Police radio scanner for updates. Breitbart News will provide updates on the situation as they occur.

UPDATE (6:23 AM EDT): Police on scanner have not yet confirmed reported suspect in custody is white cap bombing suspect...........

*Live Updates* Boston Police Scanner: Massive Shootout in Watertown, MA

It's Time to Act in Syria - By Dennis Ross | Foreign Policy

There can be no doubt that the conflict in Syria confronts the United States with terrible challenges. The humanitarian catastrophe gets worse by the day: Nearly a quarter of Syria's population may now be displaced from their homes, and the death toll approaches 80,000 -- and continues to rise inexorably.

But it is not just our conscience that is affected by this gruesome war. America's interests are also involved because the Syrian conflict is unlikely to remain confined to Syria. As the country unravels, more refugees will flee to neighboring states and more armed groups will gain strength -- threatening each of Syria's neighbors with increased instability........... 

FULL ARTICLE: It's Time to Act in Syria - By Dennis Ross | Foreign Policy

APRIL 19TH, 70TH ANNIVERSARY: The ultimate emblem of resistance: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising | The Times of Israel

 
Nazi liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto. 
(courtesy of the USHMM)

With the dead fell the ghetto walls, and in their place today stands the state of Israel.” – Meyer Barkai, ‘The Ghetto Fighters’

In the pantheon of Holocaust symbols, Anne Frank is the composite victim and the definitive killing site is Auschwitz. Though thousands of Jewish resistance acts punctuated the genocide, only the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising achieved the status as the ultimate emblem of resistance.........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: The ultimate emblem of resistance: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising | The Times of Israel

France, UK say they have proof of use of chemical weapons by Assad forces | The Times of Israel

Alleged victim of chemical weapons attack on Homs, December 23, 2012 (photo credit: screen capture/YouTube)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Britain and France have told the secretary-general they have reliable evidence that the Syrian government used chemical weapons near Aleppo, in Homs and possibly in Damascus, U.N. diplomats and officials say.

The British and French ambassadors told Ban Ki-moon in a letter on March 25 that soil samples and interviews with witnesses and opposition figures backed their belief that the government used chemical shells that had caused injuries and deaths, the diplomats and officials said.....

FULL ARTICLE: France, UK say they have proof of use of chemical weapons by Assad forces | The Times of Israel

AWESOME! The American West as you've never seen it before: Amazing 19th century pictures show the landscape as it was chartered for the first time | Mail Online

TAKE THE TIME TO CHECK OUT THESE AMAZING PHOTOS FROM THE 19TH CENTURY!

  
Breathtaking landscape: A view across the Shoshone Falls, Snake River, Idaho in 1874 as it was caught on camera by photographer Timothy O'Sullivan during Lt. George M. Wheeler's survey west of the One Hundredth Meridian that lasted from 1871 to 1874. Approximately 45 feet higher than the Niagara falls of the U.S and Canada, the Shoshone Falls are sometimes called the 'Niagara of the West'. Before mass migration and industrialisation of the west, the Bannock and Shoshone Indians relied on the huge salmon stocks of the falls as a source of food. And the John C. Fremont Expedition of 1843, one of the first missions to encounter the falls reported that salmon could be caught simply by throwing a spear into the water, such was the stock.
 

Portrait: Native American (Paiute) men, women and children pose for a picture near a tree. The picture is thought to have been taken in Cottonwood Springs (Washoe County), Nevada, in 1875. Known for his dispassionate views towards native Americans on his travels, O'Sullivan was more interested in photographing the true lifestyles of the indigenous people and not a preconceived image that those back east had. Never asking any native American to change his or her dress, O'Sullivan's portraits are noted for their simplicity and truth.

FULL PHOTO ESSAY HERE: The American West as you've never seen it before: Amazing 19th century pictures show the landscape as it was chartered for the first time | Mail Online

AS IT HAPPENED: Margaret Thatcher Funeral: Live Coverage HIGHLIGHTS - Telegraph

FULL ARTICLE and VIDEO HERE: Margaret Thatcher funeral: live coverage - Telegraph

FUNERAL HIGHLIGHTS:

THE LONG ODYESSY OF AN ETHIOPIAN JEW: Teshome Solomon's arduous, triumphant trek to the Knesset | The Times of Israel

Yesh Atid MK Shimon Solomon (photo credit: Miriam Alster/Flash90)

When he was 10 years old, Shimon Solomon and his family walked for weeks from Shire Indaselassie, a small town in northern Ethiopia, to the Sudanese border — the start of a journey they believed would end with the life they were meant to live in Israel.

“We walked every day, and sometimes during the night because we had to hide from the regime,” he recalled. “If they caught you, you’d be in big trouble, it was terrible. Sometimes we hid in the bushes during the day, and walked at night.” At one point, after days of trekking through the desert and with no water left in the jerrycan, his father thought the boy would not make it.

“I still remember until today, how my father, as he saw me about to die, spat inside my throat, trying to do something to keep me alive.”

Eventually, fellow voyagers managed to procure some water and today, 23 years after that life-threatening walk to freedom, Solomon is a member of Knesset for Yesh Atid, one of two lawmakers from the new centrist party who were born in Ethiopia...........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Teshome Solomon's arduous, triumphant trek to the Knesset | The Times of Israel

MUTUAL AID? 'Israeli diplomats met with Syrian oppositionists' | The Times of Israel

Members of the Syrian opposition meet in Istanbul, March 2013 (photo credit: AP)

Israeli diplomats and officers have met with members of the Syrian opposition in Amman, likely in order to gauge the possibility of establishing a buffer zone along the Golan Heights border, a Jordanian news site reported on Wednesday.

According to an unnamed Syrian opposition source who spoke to Jordan’s independent Mouab website, the Israeli embassy in Amman recently contacted a number of members of the Syrian opposition living in Jordan, inviting them for “consultation meetings” inside the embassy. Some oppositionists refused the invitation out of hand, while others agreed to meet outside the embassy in complete secrecy, the report said......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: 'Israeli diplomats met with Syrian oppositionists' | The Times of Israel

FBI Hammers Media Over Inaccurate Reporting

After CNN, the Associated Press, Fox News, and a number of local media outlets incorrectly reported that an arrest had been made in the Boston bombing case, the Boston division of the FBI released the following statement:

Contrary to widespread reporting, no arrest has been made in connection with the Boston Marathon attack. Over the past day and a half, there have been a number of press reports based on information from unofficial sources that has been inaccurate. Since these stories often have unintended consequences, we ask the media, particularly at this early stage of the investigation, to exercise caution and attempt to verify information through appropriate official channels before reporting.

FULL ARTICLE: FBI Hammers Media Over Inaccurate Reporting

SURPRISE! SURPRISE! Iran says it may need to enrich uranium to 50% | The Times of Israel

Iran's heavy water nuclear facilities near the central city of Arak 150 miles (250 kilometers) southwest of Tehran. (photo credit: AP/ISNA,Hamid Foroutan, File)

Iran would enrich uranium to around 50 percent in order to fuel boats and submarines if it needed to operate such vessels, the head of the country’s nuclear agency said Tuesday.

International treaties forbid countries from enriching uranium to 20% or higher, since that type of enrichment is considered too high for civilian usage and indicates it could be for military purposes.........
FULL ARTICLE: Iran says it may need to enrich uranium to 50% | The Times of Israel

Al-Qaeda Propagandist Called for Attacks on Sports Events | CNS News

(CNSNews.com) – Although no group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, a leading al-Qaeda ideologue last year recommended that jihadists in America include sporting events in their list of prospective terror targets.

Writing in the online magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Inspire, the terrorist known as Abu Musab al-Suri listed what he called “the most important enemy targets.”

Al-Suri contended that civilians should be targeted “when responding to a brutal practice carried out by America and her allied forces.”..................

FULL ARTICLE: Al-Qaeda Propagandist Called for Attacks on Sports Events | CNS News

THINGS GETTING UGLIER IN VENEZUELA: BBC News - Venezuela President-elect Maduro bans opposition rally

 

Nicolas Maduro has blamed the opposition for violent clashes

Venezuela's President-elect Nicolas Maduro says he will not allow the opposition to hold a rally in Caracas to challenge his election.

He also blamed the opposition for violent clashes after he was proclaimed winner of Sunday's disputed poll.
The attorney general said the clashes left seven dead and dozens injured.

Opposition leader Henrique Capriles said the government was responsible for the violence as it sought to avoid a vote recount...........

FULL ARTICLE: BBC News - Venezuela President-elect Maduro bans opposition rally

SUPREME SOBs: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah Cheer Boston Marathon Bombings | The Gateway Pundit

Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah cheered the Boston Marathon bombings shortly after the bombs exploded.
 Israel National News reported:

Jerusalem, Israel — April 15, 2013 … Shortly after terror bombs exploded and murdered over 12 people at the Boston Marathon, members of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah were reported to be dancing in the streets of Gaza, handing out candies to passerbys.

A number of Palestinians had danced in the street in celebration of the 9/11 attacks in 2001 on the World Trade Center and Washington resulting in the deaths of thousands of Americans.

The head of an Islamic terror organization in Jordan – the Muslim Salafi group says he’s “happy to see the horror in America” after the bombing attacks in Boston............

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah Cheer Boston Marathon Bombings | The Gateway Pundit

The man in the hat at Boston Marathon finish line: Carlos Arredondo didn't set out to be hero - U.S. News

Charles Krupa / AP

Carlos Arredondo helps a victim of the Boston Marathon bombings on Monday.

By John Newland, Staff Writer, NBC News

 

It’s an iconic image that captures a moment when one Boston Marathon bystander became much more.

With blood-soaked hands and wearing a cowboy hat, Carlos Arredondo helps rush a young man in a wheelchair to safety after explosions turned Monday’s race into a disaster scene.........

FULL ARTICLE HERE: The man in the hat at Boston Marathon finish line: Carlos Arredondo didn't set out to be hero - U.S. News

UN aid groups say world must act now to save Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

 

 Leaders of UN aid groups say world leaders must act urgently to break the diplomatic deadlock around Syria. (AFP)

World leaders must act urgently to break the diplomatic deadlock around Syria if they want to prevent the crisis from reaching a dangerous tipping point, the heads of the United Nations aid agencies said on Monday in a rare political appeal.

If the international community continues to dither the crisis could turn into a humanitarian catastrophe that could scar the region for a generation, one of the leaders said.

Two years into Syria’s uprising-turned-civil war, which has killed at least 70,000 people, the international community is mired in a diplomatic stalemate with Russia and China opposing sanctions against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

FULL ARTICLE: UN aid groups say world must act now to save Syria - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Big question: lone-wolf bomber, or organized terrorism? - U.S. News

By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News

The first task for investigators in the bombing that rocked Boston on Monday will be determining whether the carnage was the work of an individual or a terrorist organization, experts said.  

The scope of the attack at the high-security Boston Marathon doesn’t rule out a lone wolf, said Evan Kohlmann, NBC News’ terrorism analyst.  

“There have been individuals who have been capable of doing something like this,” Kohlmann said, pointing to the 1996 Olympics bombing by anti-abortion radical Eric Rudolph. But Kohlmann said an organized group – domestic or international – could also be the culprit.  

FULL ARTICLE: Big question: lone-wolf bomber, or organized terrorism? - U.S. News

KERRY: TALK SOFTLY, CARRY A LITTLE STICK: As US talks up diplomacy, N. Korea takes hard line | The Times of Israel

US Secretary of State John Kerry, center, tours the Zojoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo Sunday, April 14, 2013. (photo credit: AP/Paul J. Richards)

TOKYO (AP) — The United States and Japan opened the door Sunday to new nuclear talks with North Korea if the saber-rattling country lowered tensions and honored past agreements, even as it rejected South Korea’s latest offer of dialogue as a “crafty trick.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Tokyo that North Korea would find “ready partners” in the United States if it began abandoning its nuclear program.

FULL ARTICLE HERE: As US talks up diplomacy, N. Korea takes hard line | The Times of Israel

Superiors Ignored PA Health Official Who Tried to Warn about Gosnell

 

One employee from Pennsylvania’s Department of Public Health did alert her supervisors about the disgusting conditions at Kermit Gosnell’s Women’s Medical Society clinic. No action was taken against Gosnell.

Lori Matijkiw went to Gosnell’s clinic in July 2008 to conduct an AFIX visit, or vaccine inspection. He provided children’s vaccines through a program by the Philadelphia Health Department’s Division of Disease Control using the name “Family Medical Society.” The grand jury saw emails dating back to August 2011 stating Gosnell was suspended numerous times “for failing to maintain logs and for storing vaccines in filthy, unsuitable refrigerators, and at improper temperatures.”

FULL ARTICLE: Superiors Ignored PA Health Official Who Tried to Warn about Gosnell

Why are liberals afraid of black conservatives? | Washington Times Communities

Photo: Frederick Douglass

What is Really Going on? by Wayne Dupree  

WASHINGTON, April 14, 2013 — Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman are heros. Their strength and conviction to free blacks from slavery are a testament to what happens when individuals think more of their community than themselves and are willing to risk everything for a cause greater than themselves.

In comparison, modern black “leaders” like Jesse Jackson Jr. and Al Sharpton are tiny and self-serving. They don’t serve black Americans or champion freedom and liberty for all. They champion liberal politics and ideology, and that’s odd; liberals want to see blacks tucked neatly into the roles of their design.

Liberals can’t abide a black person who leaves the black plantation of poverty and handouts to stand on his own two feet; they treat with contempt a black man who turns his back on their free money to work hard to make a good life for himself and his family. How dare these dissidents show the black community what they can do with their lives if they walk away from poverty and work to better themselves?
 
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Why are liberals afraid of black conservatives? | Washington Times Communities

GREAT VIDEO: Honoring the Marine Corps - YouTube

VIDEO: Pepsico video honoring Marines - YouTube

HONORING Yom Ha-Zikhron: The Memorial Day of Israel | United with Israel

Yom Ha-Zikhron, Israel’s Memorial Day, is a solemn day within the Jewish State. Unlike the United States, it is not a day to go to a BBQ, play football or basketball, and enjoy the outdoors. Instead, it is a day to remember all of ones family and friends who perished either through terrorism or Israel’s various wars. Since men are drafted into the IDF between the ages of 18 and 21, and women are also drafted between the ages of 18 and 20, all Israelis understand what it is like to lose loved ones in armed conflict. It is not like the United States, where only a minority of the population volunteers to serve in the country’s armed forces. 

Between 1920 and 2012, 24,526 Israelis were killed as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 9,714 perished because of terrorism, between 1948 and 1999, as well as between 2006 and 2012. An additional 1,100 Israelis died during the Second Intifada period, between 2000 and 2005. 6,273 Israelis were vanquished during Israel’s War of Independence, representing one percent of the Jewish population in Israel at that period of time. More Israelis died during Israel’s War of Independence than during any other war that Israel fought. On Yom Ha-Zikhron, Israelis always remember these statistics, as well as the stories behind these statistics......

FULL ARTICLE HERE: Yom Ha-Zikhron: The Memorial Day of Israel | United with Israel

THE REAL TERRORISTS: Over 1000 Hezbollah fighters arrive in Syria to back Assad forces - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Hezbollah fighters march and while carrying their movement’s flag. (Courtesy of AP)

Over 1,000 members of the Lebanese Shitte militant group, Hezbollah, entered Syria in the past few days via waterways in the Mediterranean Sea, Saudi daily al-Watan reported on Sunday.

According to the report, around 1,200 fighters arrived to Syria's Tartus port in order to fight alongside regime troops.

The armed members who arrived from Lebanon to Syria committed "a hideous crime" in the town of Talkalkh, the daily said, adding that tens of thousands of fighters entered from Iraq to aid the Syrian regime.

FULL ARTICLE: Over 1000 Hezbollah fighters arrive in Syria to back Assad forces - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page

Chemical warfare looms over Syria. Israel passes atropine to rebels

Israeli tanks on Golan border with Syria

LINK: Chemical warfare looms over Syria. Israel passes atropine to rebels