CNN anchor Don Lemon, in a stunning act of racism, calls "white men" the biggest terror threat in the United States.

CNN logo. 

CNN anchor Don Lemon claimed that "white men" are the biggest terror threat in the United States. The Hill. In a stunning act of hypocrisy, Lemon started the segment saying "I keep trying to point out to people and not to demonize any one group or any one ethnicity,". He followed it up with "So, we have to stop demonizing people and realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them," [emphasis added]. He also said "There is no travel ban on them. There is no ban on — you know, they had the Muslim ban. There is no white guy ban.". The comments were made on Tuesday but went viral today after conservative pundits spread the video on twitter. 

The video can be seen in this tweet below. 

CNN's Don Lemon: We have to "realize the biggest terror threat in this country is white men, most of them radicalized to the right, and we have to start doing something about them." pic.twitter.com/CqefzgIntd

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 30, 2018

My Comment:
CNN's descent into madness continues. This was an incredibly racist statement and the fact that CNN tolerates it and hasn't fired Don Lemon leaves no other conclusion that they are racist as well. I will leave this as an exercise for the reader, as doing this on my own would probably violate Google's TOS, but replace "whites" with any other ethnic group and be amazed. If he had said the same thing about black people, Hispanics, Muslims, Jews, Women, Gays or whoever, he would be unemployed right now.

The amount of hypocrisy here is just amazing too. How someone in the same breath could argue that he's against demonizing people based on race or ethnicity and then go on to bash white men as a group is just stupid. He's essentially saying that white males aren't people, which is pretty much the opposite of not demonizing people.

I also think that Lemon was making a pretty big threat against an entire race. He said that "we have to start doing something about [white males]" which is pretty unambiguous. He then suggested that there should be some kind of travel ban for white males, which is just stupid. For all the noise about people choosing their words more carefully lest they incite violence, will they be speaking out about this? Because if that theory of behavior is correct, then isn't there a chance that someone hear's Lemon's words and decides to shoot up a bunch of innocent people or set off a bomb?

Does Lemon have a point about white male terrorism? Not really. Very few of the most recent terror attacks were based on racial prejudice from white males. There are two obvious examples of that though, with the most recent being the synagogue shooting and of course the Charleston mass shooting at a church. The vast majority of terror attacks in America are committed for political or religious reasons. Race is sometimes a factor but it's uncommon.

Also the idea that the travel ban was somehow just about Islam is stupid. For one thing, North Korea is included in the ban, which has pretty much zero Muslims. And many of the most populous and important Muslim countries, like Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Pakistan are not included in the list. Of the ones that are there, most of them have active Sunni insurgencies, are national enemies like Iran or are both like Syria.

CNN has lost pretty much all credibility for me. It's not just bias it's behavior and Lemon's racism is just the latest. I still remember when they threatened to dox a random Reditor just because he shared a funny gif of the President wrestling. They have also gotten dozens of major stories wrong. How anyone continues to watch them or visit their website is beyond me. Many sites and channels have bias but I'm not aware of any that do the kinds of things that CNN does.

And I also want to point out that CNN has been terrible before President Trump got elected. I still remember their horrible coverage of the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown cases. They had a narrative they wanted to push back then and they ignored exculpatory evidence in both cases and there was quite a bit of violence and disorder due to their (and the rest of the media's) behavior. I haven't watched them since but it's clear that they are even worse now. I sincerly hope they go out of business soon.

Russia's only aircraft carrier damaged in a dry dock accident.

Russia's Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier. LA Times/AFP.

Russia's only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetov, has been damaged in a dry dock accident when a crane fell on it. LA Times. The floating dry dock suddenly took on water and sank, causing the crane to hit the carrier. Four people were injured in the accident and one may be missing. The dock sank due to a power failure. The carrier ended up with a hole in its deck and hull. The damage should be easy to repair, but the dry dock's damage is a concern as it was Russia's biggest one. Without the dry dock Russia's efforts to modernize and repair their navy will be significantly affected. The Admiral Kuznetov has a reputation as an unlucky ship as it has had several accidents an failures and lost two jets to accidents with the arrestor wire failing as planes were trying land on it.  

My Comment:

Very bad news for Russia. Their only carrier is out of commission for some time. Though Russia claims that the damage was minor I am not so sure they are telling the truth. Not only did a huge crane fall on their ship, it was also partially flooded and almost sank.That makes me think that the damage is a lot worse than they are letting on. 

As bad as the situation with thee Admiral Kuznetov is, the situation with the dry dock is even worse. This was their largest and most important dry dock and losing it for any long amount of time is going to be devastating. Though they have other dry docks, this was one of the better ones for their capital ships. 

This is going to make repairing the carrier much harder and will delay Russia's efforts to repair and modernize their fleet. Without that effort Russia's navy is going to have trouble deploying anywhere in case of a war or some other kind of disaster. And without a carrier Russia's ability to project force will be greatly diminished. 

From what it sounds like this accident occurred because Russia lost power causing the dry dock to flood. The ballast pumps were connected to the civilian power grid an they had a power failure. Power failures are a thing that happens so you would think that the Russians would have had backup generators. This seems like an accident that could have been easily prevented. 

Admiral Kuznetov has a reputation now as a cursed ship. They have had several major accidents, power failures and plane crashes. Part of that is due to the age of the ship as she was launched in 1985 and is pretty outdated. That being said, Russia has always had these kinds of maintenance problems. The ship is pretty much a joke when compared to US carriers and even the UK and French carriers have a better reputation. 

President Trump orders 5200 troops to the US border with Mexico in response to the caravan.

National Guard troops at the border in Arizona. USA Today/Arizona Republic. 

President Donald Trump has ordered 5200 troops to the US border with Mexico in response to a caravan of illegal immigrants from Central America. USA Today. 2100 National Guard troops are already deployed to assist border enforcement. The second deployment, dubbed Operation Faithful Patriot, will consist of regular Army troops. These troops will not conduct law enforcement duties but will assist law enforcement agencies. The deployment will involve aviation units and night vision equipped troops to detect border crossers and engineers to erect temporary barriers and concertina  wire on the border. President Trump is expected to give a speech about the deployment and the other steps he is taking, including ending asylum requests on national security grounds, this week. 

Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border. Please go back, you will not be admitted into the United States unless you go through the legal process. This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018

My Comment:
I predict that this will be a popular move. The migrant caravan is still a huge concern for normal people even as the media has moved onto other issues. Everyone understands that these aren't people fleeing war but are instead people looking for work. They are economic migrants, not refugees. People want something done and have been demanding that the president do something like that.

Any claims of asylum are not valid anymore. Mexico has already offered to host these people in Mexico. Those offers were rejected by the organizers of this caravan and the group has continued to the border. It's very clear that they just want to enter America for the job opportunities.

People are sick and tired of the gates to America being open. These people aren't here to escape war, they are here to take American jobs and effect American politics. Not only are these people trying to subvert the immigration system they are trying to skip in line for all the good people that are trying to get into this country the right way. And it's very clear that they are being funded by people that care more about the Democrats getting votes than what is best for America.

What will these troops do? My guess is that it will be a very limited role. People thinking that they are going to open up on the caravan with their weapons are idiots. That isn't going to happen. Period. That being said they can use military assets like night vision and engineers to make sure that any border crossers are caught immediately. They will do very little besides that. Anyone expecting some kind of military conflict is pretty dumb.

I do think that the caravan is going to be broken up before they get to the border. The last time they tried this stunt most of the illegals ended up giving up and staying in Mexico. The few that did attempt to cross either were arrested or simply requested asylum. I doubt very many of these people will actually attempt to cross the border.

Promoting this caravan is not the right move for Democrats. This plays into Donald Trump and the Republicans hand. Trump got elected largely because of his plans for a border wall and stepped up deportations of illegal aliens. Right now the Democrats who support this caravan are essentially saying that they don't care if these people are breaking the law and that they don't care if people are upset about it. If you are, then to them you are no different than the man who shot up the synagogue in Pennsylvania. That is not a winning message, vote for us or you are a Nazi. This action will allow Trump to refocus the narrative that the Democrats are in favor of open borders and illegal immigration.

Florida GOP office hit in drive by shooting, no injuries or deaths.

The damage to the GOP office. NBC News. 

A Florida GOP office has been attacked in a drive by shooting which thankfully resulted in no casualties. AP. Four shots were fired at the Republican Executive Committe of Volusia County. The attack occurred near Daytona Beach and the office was empty at the time. Police are still investigating the attack and speculate that the motive was vandalism. 

No one was hurt. At least 4 bullets went through the windows pic.twitter.com/34a6MEthJR

— Mike Springer WFTV (@mspringerwftv) October 29, 2018

My Comment:
Compare the coverage this incident is getting to the fake bomb attacks that occurred last week. Those were and are still headline news with hours and hours of coverage. This attack? I had to search for it after seeing it on twitter this morning. A few news outlets, like Fox News, the Associated Press and the Washington Post covered it but not to the extent the bomb threats got. Part of that is of course the fact that the targets in the bomb hoax were famous and powerful while this attack is targeting a county level office, but that doesn't mean that this incident shouldn't get some coverage. There is bias at work here.

Calling this attack vandalism is fairly dishonest. A brick through the window or someone spray painting something on the walls would be vandalism. This feels more like someone throwing a Molotov cocktail into a building. The main goal might be property destruction but the chance of someone getting injured or hurt is a lot higher in both an arson attack and a shooting like this. This kind of attack is inherently more threatening than typical vandalism.

I also don't know if the attacker realized that the office was empty. If he or she thought that the office was occupied at the time then this attack is elevated from vandalism to attempted murder. Given that the attack happened at night when the office was closed it's probably pretty likely that the attacker did realize that the office was empty. That means that I feel this attack is a bit more serious than vandalism but not as bad as attempted murder.

The main goal in this attack seems to be pretty much the same as the fake bomb threats against various Democrats that ended in the arrest of a man. It's no coincidence that this happened right before the 2018 midterms. The goal in both attacks is to silence people on the other side through threats and intimidation.

I do think that this attack is a lot more intimidating, not that the bomb attacks weren't. The bomb attacks never even had a chance to hurt someone. The bombs couldn't have exploded unless the victims were stupid enough to get a lighter and detonate the bombs themselves. This attack could have very easily killed someone even by accident. Plus, with the suspect still not caught there is a chance that a follow up attack could happen that could kill or injure someone.

The good news is that I expect things to calm down a bit after the midterms. Right now that election is bringing out all the crazies on both sides and once that election is decided I am hoping that we won't see anymore political attacks in the short term. But unfortunately the division and hysteria in the media that is fueling this conflict will probably ramp up again in 2020...

Jair Bolsonaro wins in Brazil, shifting politics in the country rightwards.

Jair Bolsonaro. BBC/EPA.

Right wing populist candidate Jair Bolsonaro has won the presidency in Brazil. BBC. Bolsonaro won against left wing candidate Frenando Haddad in a 55 to 45% victory. Jair Bolsonaro has been called racist and sexist by the media and his opponents but he said he will defend the constitution, democracy and freedom. Bolsonaro campaigned on a platform of conservative values and promising a crackdown on crime and an expansion for Brazilians gun rights. He is also saying he will cleanse Brazil of its famous corruption problem. 

My Comment:

I am utterly amazed that the BBC article or any of the articles I have read about Bolsonaro mentioned the fact that he was almost murdered by a leftist on the campaign trail. That was the moment that I knew that Bolsonaro was going to be president. When someone almost dies for a cause an then keeps on going it shows that he's dedicated to the cause and gives great sympathy for ordinary people. I think it was a crucial reason why he was elected and to leave it out is just bad journalism. 

Bolsonaro's victory isn't that surprising. Brazil is famously corrupt and crime ridden and the previous administrations didn't do much of anything to prevent that. Indeed, some of their presidents ended up in prison for the corruption. Something had to be done differently and if the liberals in Brazil have a problem with it then they should have done a better job running the country. The crime and corruption that happened under leftists who have had control of Brazil for quite some time now is proof that they were not competent. 

Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of being racist, sexist and every other ist that exists. How true are those accusations? Probably a better case to be made against him that everyone else who has been slandered that way. He has said some pretty out there stuff that goes beyond what most people have said. That being said, I don't think Brazil cares anymore. Better to have a racist in power than a liberal, so the thinking goes. 

As far as policy goes there is one reason why I personally am happy that Bolsonaro won. He has come out in favor of gun rights very strongly. Brazilians essentially don't have gun rights but the criminals all have weapons. Right now they are completely defenseless but Bolsonaro has vowed to change this. No matter what else happens in his presidency if he manages to get a Brazilian 2nd amendment and CCW for Brazilians then he would be a hero for gun rights. 

Bolsonaro is part of a global resurgence in right wing populism. Brexit, President Trump and the various right wing parties gaining ground in Europe shows that people are tired of globalism and leftism. Now it is happening in South America as well. I think the world feels that things aren't working anymore and that it is time for a change. Bolsonaro is just another example of this. 

11 deaths in a mass shooting at a Synagogue, suspect was motivated by antisemitism.

Police and medical personnel respond to the attack. USA Today/AP.

11 people are dead and more were wounded during a mass shooting at a Synagogue committed by an avowed antisemite. USA Today. The attack took place at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania during a bris. The attacker was Robert Bowers, a 46 year old who had a social media presence and regularly denigrated Jews. He used a rifle and three handguns in the attack. When police responded to the massacre they engaged Bowers and four officers were wounded taking him into custody. Bowers survived and has been charged. The motive for the attack was very clearly antisemitism. Bowers was also a critic of President Donald Trump. 

Yahoo News has a live update post for this attack. 

A few examples of Bowers Gab.ai posts are below. 

My Comment:

I have to be very careful in this post because in order to explain antisemitism sometimes you get mistaken as an antisemite. As a precaution that I hope isn't needed I want to make sure that people understand that I have no problems with Jews and that I am not an antisemite. Explaining what other people believe does not mean that you believe those things yourself. Such warnings shouldn't be necessary but in the aftermath of an attack like this, it's probably warranted. 

This was a pretty bad mass shooting and one that was not expected, at least by me. Though I do think that antisemitism is getting worse globally I hadn't expected any violence. This was very obviously an attack that was motivated by a hatred of Jews. Obviously the social media posts and the fact that the attacker literally yelled "all Jews must die!" during his attack makes it very hard to blame it on anything else. Generally speaking though I didn't think people were that serious about antisemitism here.

Some are, of course, trying to blame this on things other than the attacker and his beliefs anyways. Obviously, antisemites are trying to distance themselves from this attack, which doesn't seem to be working since it's impossible to not claim Bowers as one of them. The media seems to be going with the fact that Bowers was anti-immigration and trying to link him to Donald Trump despite the fact that Bowers appears to hate President Trump. And if immigration was the reason for this attack, why not attack one of the secular or Christian charities that do the same immigration work? The fact that he didn't leaves no doubt in my mind that antisemitism was the motive in this attack, not that it makes it better.

Speaking of President Trump, Bowers was not a fan. Though I don't buy into any conspiracy theories about this attack, I don't think it was a coincidence that it happened right before the midterms. Bowers said "screw your optics" meaning he didn't care if this hurt the GOP in November or not and that he hated President Trump for being pro-Jewish. Though obviously his main goal was to kill innocent people I think he also didn't mind that this could hurt the GOP in November and considered that a bonus. My guess is that he was trying to force the GOP to become the anti-Jew party even though such an idea is ludicrous to say the least. 

There is no doubt in my mind that Trump was always going to be pro-Jewish and pro-Israel as his daugher and son-in-law are both Jewish and his base is wildly supportive of Israel. I think many on the political fringes thought that the media spin on Trump was correct and when he got sworn in and is now very obviously a pretty typical pro-Israel Republican they felt it as a personal betrayal even though it should have been very obvious from the start that Trump wanted nothing to do with antisemitism. 

The gun control debate may be revived due to this attack. President Trump has already said that they should have had armed guards and it's very hard to argue with that. It may not have prevented this shooting but it would have probably bought time for people to escape and led to a smaller body count. Generally speaking though I doubt that angle will be covered for long even though the media's favorite boogyman, the AR-15, was used in this attack. 

I do have to say that I have never understood Jewish opposition for gun rights. Though there are a few noted exceptions in the Jewish community, many do support gun control. You would think a group that has been almost wiped off the face of the earth more than once would be more willing to arm themselves not only to protect themselves but to take a few of the people with them if something like the Holocaust happens again. But that has never been the case and I just don't understand why. I do know that if I knew any Jewish people I would be more than willing to take them to a gun range in the wake of this attack if they wanted too. I think they should take steps to protect themselves, just like everyone else. 

Free speech is going to come up more than gun control I'm afraid. Gab.ai is getting a ton of flack for having this guy on their site and apparently verifying him. Bowers account has now been removed (which I always hate because it prevents private investigations) but Paypal has pulled their business with Gab. I'm a free speech absolutist and believe that everyone should be able to have social media accounts regardless of their beliefs but I fear that this attack may lead to more censorship. Full disclosure, I do have an account at Gab.ai to promote this blog but I of course don't approve of the antisemites that use the site, even if I do think they should be allowed to speak. Kicking them off of Twitter was a mistake as now they get less pushback when they say something stupid.

I also think that 4chan's /pol/ board might be in trouble as well. There is quite a bit of antisemtism there, most of which is tongue and cheek. A lot of it is real though (and international, many non-Americans post there as well) so I am guessing that they get blamed, even though there is no evidence that Bowers posted there. 

I do have to say that antisemitism seems to be increasing rapidly on both the far right and far left. Indeed, that's one of the few things they, and Radical Islam, agree on. They do take a different path to reach the same conclusions though. For the far left it is Israel. They hate the Jewish state and un-ironically call it an apartheid state. There is also some more general anti-capitalism stuff about Jewish businessmen but that's rarer than straight up hating Israel. As the socialist wing of the Democratic Party becomes ascendant I have seen quite a bit more anti-Jew stuff coming from the left, to the point where I don't think it's controversial to say that the Democratic Party is becoming anti-Israel. 

It's a different story on the far right. Though they hate Israel as well (while at the same time hating Muslims for the most part, which gets really confusing for normal people) generally these people are much more concerned about the actions of American Jews. Support for globalism is a big part of it as many Jews do support that belief system. The fact that many feel that Jews are massively over-represented in entertainment, technology and the academic systems (which is backed up by demographics) is a huge part of it as well. Many also see quite a bit of racism against whites as coming from Jewish individuals. (Keep in mind I am just explaining their beliefs, not advocating them).

I also don't think that this attack occurring at a bris was an accident. A bris is a celebration of circumcision and there are few things in this world that are more controversial than circumcision. Indeed, I often have trouble figuring out if these people hate circumcision because of Jews or hate Jews because of circumcision. Either way, I would be willing to bet that this attack was at least partially motivated by hatred of the practice. They idea that a little flap of skin is worth killing over is beyond stupid but it's a disturbingly common thought. Thankfully the baby wasn't shot in this attack. 

I do think that these kinds of attacks might continue. America has always been very friendly to Jews but I do think that antisemitism is on the rise here. It used to be that there wasn't any place in the world that was safer for Jews than America outside of Israel (and not even there during wartime) but I am wondering if that is true anymore. It probably is still a better situation than Europe, which has been overrun by both Muslims and antisemites on the left and right, but I do wonder if this attack is a start of something worse... I do think there is quite a bit of potential for a copycat attack(s). 

Suspect arrested in letter bomb case

Cesar Sayoc mugshot. Wall Street Journal.

A suspect in the letter bomb case has been arrested for sending bombs to several high profile Trump critics. Wall Street Journal. Cesar Sayoc, a 56 year old from south Florida was arrested for the crimes. Sayoc was a Trump supporter and a male stripper who had several run ins with the laws. This was not the first time he made threats as he had served a one year probation sentence for a 2002 incident where he threatened to bomb a utility office he was having a dispute with. Sayoc is half white and half Native American. 

My Comment:

Though I think the threat this man represented has been massively overblown in the media, I am happy that he is in custody. Sending fake bombs to people isn't something that is ever ok, even if it is against people I don't like. I don't believe in political violence in any way, even if it's just a threat like this. I sincerely hope that Mr. Sayoc spends a very long time in prison. 

I really don't know what Sayoc was trying to accomplish here. If he was actually trying to murder people, which I don't think he was, he failed miserably. I do believe that I heard that Sayoc said he didn't want to hurt anyone but I haven't been able to find a source for that to confirm it. If he was trying to shut up the people he sent the fake bombs to, it didn't work. I doubt any of them were really intimidated and they now have the opportunity to gain sympathy from the attacks. 

Indeed, Sayoc's plot probably did damage to the man he claims to support. The last thing President Trump needed was this idiot making threats against his enemies. The media is having a field day with this and will probably cover it until and after the 2018 midterms. If he was trying to help he was a complete failure. 

It seems like Sayoc wasn't all there mentally. Someone in the Walls Street Journal was quoted as Sayoc being a racist, which makes little sense as he isn't fully white himself. Plus the pictures of the van he owned showed he was WAY too into politics. And I say that as someone who is too into politics. With his entire van covered in Trump pictures I wonder if he wasn't trying to draw someone into a fight. He also had a criminal history of making bomb threats, so it isn't too surprising that he did this. 

I do wonder if Sayoc had some help. I kind of think that Sayoc might have been a "known wolf" and been known to the FBI or other law enforcement. The FBI has a long history of encouraging terror plots to the point of giving them weapons and/or explosive and then arresting them at the last minute. Though I have no proof, I wonder if that is what happened here. If it did, I doubt we will hear about it anytime soon. 

I don't think this case effects the election all that much. The people that hate President Trump will still hate him while the ones that love him will continue to do so. I doubt that even one vote has been changed because of this attack. The general public seems very willing to move on to other things.

The general response I have seen from Trump supporters has been that Sayoc wasn't one of us and that none of us support this kind of political violence. Indeed, the main reason I supported President Trump in the primaries was due to the violence against him and his supporters. Compared to some of the major attacks against Republicans, including the Alexandria baseball shooting, the attack on Rand Paul and the various powder/Ricin attacks, not to mention the constant attacks against normal Trump supporters, this incident was basically a joke. Nobody was ever in any real danger. Some are still thinking there is a wider conspiracy, and I do agree that there are questions about that this case that should be asked, but for the most part we have already moved on. 

The Democrats and media are trying to act like innocent victims  but I am not buying it. I don't think it's a coincidence that almost everyone targeted in this incident were people that have either threatened Trump and his supporters with violence or didn't speak out against it. I think in Sayoc's mind he thought he was helping to protect the president. Given how violent the left was, I can at least understand that line of thinking even if Sayoc's response was completely unjustified to say the least. 

I don't plan on covering this story again, as I feel it really isn't that important in the grand scheme of things. Indeed, I am somewhat annoyed that the amount of coverage for this case greatly exceeded even the coverage of the Alexandria shooting. A fake bombing campaign is a serious thing, but not the world changing event that the media is making it out to be. 

One of my senators replied to my message about the Kavanaugh confirmation.

Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) Wisconsin. Senate photo.

Last month I wrote to both of my US senators regarding the Kavanaugh confirmation. I had not heard back from them until now. Senator Tammy Baldwin replied to my e-mail today and I will post it in full below. 

Before that though, a few words about my reaction to it. It's obviously a form letter but I wasn't expecting anything else from a busy US senator. I am happy that I got any response at all from either of my senators, even if it wasn't one I plan on voting for this November. As for content, though I disagree with her reasoning I do appreciate that she said we need to do a better job in protecting due process rights And say what you will about Tammy Baldwin, but she did get back to me a lot sooner, if at all, then Senator Ron Johnson. If Johnson sends me a letter as well I will post it too with a link to this post so you can compare and contrast. 

Here is the letter posted in full with the only redaction being my name at the header: 

Dear Mr. [Redacted]:

Thank you for contacting me about the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy. I appreciate hearing from you about this important issue.

It is the unique constitutional design for the United States Senate to advise and consent on nominations that the President offers. I take this responsibility very seriously.   The Supreme Court’s rulings have a profound impact on the daily lives of Wisconsin families, and t he people of Wisconsin need a fair, non-partisan and independent Supreme Court Justice.    Based on everything we learned during Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination process, I do not have confidence that Judge Kavanaugh will be that justice, and I voted against his confirmation when it came before the Senate on October 6, 2018.

The stakes are too high for the American people, who do not want the Supreme Court to advance a political agenda or undermine the constitutional rights and freedoms of all Americans.   At a time when so many in Washington are working to overturn the law of the land that helps provide affordable health care for 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions—including more than 2 million Wisconsinites—I did not believe we could afford a nominee who could serve as the deciding vote to take us back to the days when powerful insurance companies wrote the rules. Additionally, the President vowed to appoint judges to the Supreme Court who would overturn Roe v. Wade, and I could not support a nominee for a lifetime appointment who would turn back the clock on a woman’s constitutional right and freedom to make her own health care choices, including access to birth control.

Many have expressed disappointment with the level of political discourse at Judge Kavanaugh’s hearings and throughout the nomination process. Others have shared concerns about a lack of due process for Judge Kavanaugh with regard to the allegations raised by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and others.   While I am not a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and therefore did not participate in the hearings, I agree that we must do better, and Members of Congress have a great responsibility to treat people with respect—the constituents we serve, our colleagues in Congress, and those with whom we may disagree.   Furthermore, like you, I believe   that every individual who faces criminal charges, including of sexual assault, must be afforded due process of law, as guaranteed by our Constitution.   However, the Senate’s role with regard to Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination was not to determine his guilt or innocence, but to assess his fitness to serve in the extraordinarily privileged position of a lifetime seat on our nation’s highest court.    

Please be assured that I will continue to carefully review all judicial nominees and will be evaluating whether they support the ideal that all Americans should have an opportunity to achieve their hopes and dreams. That is the promise of America, and I will fight to make sure we keep it.

Once again, thank you for contacting my office.  It is important for me to hear from the people of Wisconsin on the issues, thoughts and concerns that matter most to you.  If I can be of further assistance, please visit my website at www.baldwin.senate.gov for information on how to contact my office.

  Sincerely,

Tammy Baldwin
United States Senator

Ebola virus in Democratic Republic of Congo is out of control as conflict prevents treatment.

A man recives the Ebola vaccine. The Guardian/Reuters. 

Efforts to stop an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo are being complicated by conflict and rebel groups. The Guardian. 157 people have died in the outbreak of which at least 122 cases confirmed. 244 cases of Ebola have been confirmed. Vaccinations and contact tracing are effective at stopping Ebola but those efforts have been impossible due to attacks by Islamist groups. Aid workers and civilians have been attacked by these Islamists and even killed. International aid groups are saying that if something doesn't change than the outbreak could get much worse. Ebola has already spread to the major city of Beni. 20,000 people have been vaccinated and contact tracing has been done for 11,000 people. The last major outbreak of Ebola in 2014-2016 killed 11,300. 

My Comment:

Very unreported story considering how deadly the last Ebola outbreak was. Our American media is completely out to lunch as they refuse to report on anything that isn't negative news about President Trump. The outbreak is pretty serious though. 

In some ways the medical community is much better at dealing with Ebola than we were during the last outbreak. For one thing we now have an effective vaccine that can prevent the disease from spreading. The vaccine isn't perfect but it is something we didn't have last time. Plus the medical community has a lot more experience and learned some valuable lessons how to treat the disease. This outbreak could have been a lot worse but we have been somewhat successful ins slowing down the virus. 

The problem is that the local Islamists, the ADF has decided to attack the main center of the outbreak, Beni. They have even gone so far as to attack aid workers and they are preventing proper treatment of the disease. This is allowing the disease to spread through the city of Beni. Beni isn't a huge city as it's population is around 200,000 people, but without proper treatment many of those people could fall ill. 

Doing so makes little sense for the ADF. Letting Ebola spread won't help them win their insurgency. It will weaken their government opponents, but not so much that they can defeat the Congolese military. And even the best case scenario where they somehow manage to capture the city, it just means that their own troops will come down with Ebola. 

The good news is that even though the ADF is attacking the Beni area, it is helping stop the spread of the virus. Why? Because people are too scared to travel to the city. If people don't come it's pretty hard to spread the disease. In the short term this should slow the spread of the virus. 

That being said if either crisis comes to ahead people might start to flee Beni and some of them will be infected with the Ebola virus. That means the virus could spiral out of control and become a national and international emergency. I don't think we will see anything on the scale of the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak. Our response to the Ebola virus is much improved and the vaccine should prevent a global outbreak. Still, I would feel better if the ADF would wise up and let the international community do their job. 

Bombs sent to various Democrats and CNN.

A picture of the bomb sent to CNN's New York Officer. NYPD. 

Apparent bombs have been sent to various left wing individuals and groups, including former President Obama and Hillary Clinton. Fox News. The targets also include infamous representative Maxine Waters, former DNC leader Debbie Wasserman-Schultz billionaire George Soros and the New York offices of CNN. President Trump condemned the attacks, which are believed to be connected. Democrats instead condemned President Trump saying his rhetoric was responsible for the attacks. 

My Comment:

What a joke this attack is. Though I don't doubt that the explosives were real, it seems as though nobody was in any danger. The picture released of the bomb sent to CNN doesn't have any trigger and the clock doesn't even have an alarm. A bomb without a trigger is still dangerous but this wasn't a serious attempt at someone's life. Plus a mail attack against well defended targets like a former president and first lady was NEVER going to work. 

Indeed, this is one of the more incompetent attacks I have seen. Even the recent Ricin attacks, which failed miserably, had more of a chance of succeeding than this one. In that case people did open the mail and were exposed to a dangerous substance, even if there was only a small chance of success. This case had no chance of actually hurting anyone unless the other bombs were more sophisticated. 

I do expect that a few more bombs will be sent before this guy is caught. He is probably reveling in the attention his plot is getting right now. And he hasn't been caught yet either so I am guessing that this will continue. I don't expect any deaths but I guess it is possible that the bomber might graduate to a bomb that actually has the potential to hurt anyone. 

I think the Democrats are being hugely hypocritical with their response to these attacks. Republicans have been shot at, beaten up and even poisoned by radical leftists but as soon as someone does something similar in response they blame President Trump. 

Trump wasn't the one that shot up a congressional baseball game. Trump wasn't the one that beat up and almost killed Rand Paul. Trump wasn't the one that sent Ricin to various government and elected officials. And Trump wasn't the one that attacked a presidential candidate and then got an interview on CNN. 

And of course there is no evidence of who is responsible for this attack either. Though the targets have all been far leftists, there is no evidence that it was a person affiliated with Donald Trump. Indeed, there is a very decent chance that this is a "false flag" by someone who wants to gain sympathy for the left. There isn't any evidence for that either but without a suspect behind bars or some kind of manifesto it's pretty hard to tell what the motive for the attack is. Hell, for all we know it's someone wearing a tinfoil hat that wants Democrats to stop beaming messages into their brain. We just don't know at this point.

I will say that this doesn't read as a Republican attack to me. For one thing, the attack failed. I am guessing someone on the right would be much more competent and if they chose bombing as an attack it would have actually worked. Letter bombs are hard to pull off, but not that hard and I would expect a more dangerous attack. 

Plus, Hillary Clinton is one of the targets. Most Republicans do hate Hillary Clinton but they also think that she is the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to the midterms. Her foot is permanently in her mouth and her words are a better get out the vote campaign for Republicans than pretty much anything else. We also don't want her dead, we want her in prison. Killing her does not bring her to justice and we all want her to have a long and healthy life... behind bars. 

I also think that there aren't many GOP people that are stupid enough to try and do this. It is hugely counter productive as it is one of the few things that could give the Democrats any sympathy at all. If you hate Democrats you vote against them, you don't send them bombs. Given how massively counterproductive leftist violence has been for the past three years you would think that someone on the right would realize that doing the same thing is worse than pointless since it actively damages Republican chances in the midterms.

All that being said, I do hope whoever is responsible for this is brought to justice and prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I don't approve of political violence, even political violence that has pretty much zero chance of working out. It doesn't matter who the targets are and who is responsible for it, political violence is not ok. Whoever this is needs the book thrown at him and the sooner the better. We can worry about whatever the motive is later. 

VIDEO: Ukrainian SU-25 makes super low pass on airfield.

SU-25 Frogfoot making a very low pass. RT/Youtube. 

It's a slow news day so while looking for stories I found this video and it was too good not to share. It's an Ukrainian SU-25 Frogfoot with a wingman making an extremely low pass on an airfield. RT has a bit more background, but its not clear where the event happened in Urkaine or why the pilots were hotdogging it so much. 

No, I don't know why the video maker decided to use that music. Don't ask me. 

As far as the stunt, that SU-25 couldn't have been any higher than 10 to 15 feet off of the ground and he was traveling fairly fast as well. There was a good chance he could have pancaked the plane right on the ground but it didn't work out that way unfortunately. This tells me the pilot has a lot of skill but some pretty poor judgement. His wingman who stayed up higher was also fairly crazy but all and all the stunt worked. 

Illegal immigrant caravan swells to 10,000 people as President Trump threatens to cut off aid.

Central Americans on their way to the US. Note the lack of women and children. Reuters. 

An illegal immigrant caravan made up of Central Americans has swelled to 10,000 people as President Trump threatens to cut off the aid to three Central American countries that the caravan originated from. Reuters. Trump said that the governments of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras have not done enough to prevent migrants from leaving their country and is putting pressure on Mexico to stop the caravan before it reaches the US border. The convoy is still 1,100 miles from the US border and travel may be slowed by a series of hurricanes and tropical storms. 

My Comment:

First of all, there is obvious and over the top bias in the Reuters report, which is sad since Reuters is one of the news outlets with less bias overall. First of all, they said Trump's statement that many of the migrants are criminals is "without evidence" but the fact that they entered a country illegally means by definition they are criminals. They also claim that these are not economic migrants but refugees when the evidence doesn't support that conclusion. Such bias is to be expected but it is getting truly tiring to have to see it in every report that isn't explicitly right wing. 

What's my take? This is less of a migration wave and more of an invasion. If they were truly fleeing from violence they could stop in some of the safer places in Mexico or, better yet, flee to the south where warfare is less common. The fact that they are bound and determined to go to the United States is proof that they have a different motive. 

It's also clear that this is a manufactured crisis. People are supporting this caravan and giving them money and supplies. I am guessing they are also being provided with transport as there is no way that they are simply going to walk all the way to the US border. I am guessing that globalist organizations are promoting these people in order to cause drama that they think will help them in the 2018 midterms. Plus they support the concept of open borders in general and they hope they can get people to sympathize with these criminals by portraying them as victims of nationalism. 

If so, they are pretty damn stupid. It seems that people are bound and determined to get Republicans out to the polls. If the Kavanaugh debacle wasn't enough this caravan will be. American citizens already think that illegal immigration is a huge problem and don't want these people here to compete with our jobs. The GOP attack adds right themselves, if the GOP is smart enough to use this crisis to their advantage. President Trump obviously is, but the rest of the GOP needs to capitalize on this as well. This is such an unforced error that you have to wonder if the Democratic Party is being set up to fail. 

It's also clear that these people are the worst of the worst. Not only are they flagrantly violating international laws, it's clear that they are doing it for political reasons. I think a lot of people understand that if these people were to make it to the United States they would be disruptive highly political types and would likely try to vote in our elections. They have no right to be let in over people that have followed all the rules to get there or even the ones that have entered the country illegally but have kept a low profile. 

For it's part, Mexico seems to be overwhelmed by the caravan. They have made some token efforts to stop it, but they face the same problem the United States will face when they reach the US border. Any action to detain and deport these people will be reported in the press as human rights abuse. Even if people don't trust the press all that much, some still listen and it could be a dangerous thing for a government in transition like Mexico is. I think that they will take some action and the convoy will be broken up, but it's going to take some time.

I do think the easy thing to do for both America and Mexico is to go after whoever is funding these people and prosecute them. If they are a charity pull their tax exempt status and if they are private individuals, charge them with a crime. Once the funding dries up so will the caravan. 

Of course the last time this happened the caravan broke up on it's own long before they reached the border. Mexico put quite a bit of pressure on them and they never even attempted to cross the border. I see something like this happening again as I doubt these people will ever come close to entering the United States. 

Weather too seems to be a disruptive factor as well. Hurricane Willa, a category 4 storm, is bearing down on Mexico as I write this and looks like it could cause huge problems for Mexico. It's unclear what path the storm will take and if it will enter the area the caravan is currently, but not only will it disrupt the travel plans of the caravan it will likely turn the Mexican public against them. Nobody there is going to care about a bunch of illegal immigrants when their own people are struggling with a natural disaster. That makes me think that this migrant caravan has even less of a chance of ever reaching the US border. 

Weekend Movie Night: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

STX Films.

It's been a long time since I wrote up a movie review on this website but the last one I saw was something I just had to write about. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is either the best bad movie I have ever seen or the worst good one. It's a film that has some obviously huge problems that ruined the film, but at the same time I was extremely impressed with the technical aspects and production. Plus I could tell that the filmmakers were passionate about the project In this way it reminds me of Avatar, a movie I greatly disliked in terms of story and message but was incredibly well made. 

There will be SPOILERS beyond this point. 

Let's start with the positive. The special effects in Valerian were excellent. All the various aliens and locations looked very realistic for the most part and even the space battle near the end of the movie was impressive. I never thought that I was looking at CGI even when I knew I was. If the only thing you care about is impressive special effects than Valerian is a must see. 

The world building was also a good feature of this film. The opening sequence of mankind's space station growing from a couple of ships meeting in space, to being the meeting place between humans and aliens to finally setting off on their own was probably the best part of the film. And all the various aliens and environments were amazing. 

That's about all of the praise I have for Valerian. The rest of the film was a train wreck. The story itself was fairly dumb. One rouge military officer accidentally (or on purpose, the film never made it clear) blew up an alien world and the aliens needed to recover an animal and a pearl so they can rebuild their homeworld. Those aliens are portrayed as absolutely perfect people an their is no ambiguity in the film at all. Had the officer been less of a card carrying villian and the aliens less perfect it would have been an actual story. Since the world was destroyed in combat he very easily could have made the point that he did what he had to do to win the battle and that winning the war was important too, but he didn't. Instead he just seemed to be an asshole for the sake of being an asshole which isn't much of a motivation for a villain. 

Casting was a massive problem in this movie and is considered one of the reasons it failed at the box office. The two leads, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevinge, were not the right people for this role. Both of them seemed way younger in the film than their characters were supposed to be and there was very little in the way of chemistry between them. DeHaan doesn't seem like leading man material. Delevinge was a bit better but wasn't able to carry the film by herself. 

The rest of the cast was either wasted or didn't add anything to the story. Both Rutger Hauer and Ethan Hawke were in this movie but it was a case of extended cameos for both of them, which is a total waste of their acting talent. I hadn't even realized that Hauer was in the movie until I was looking at the cast list. Given how talented I think both men are, it was a total waste to have them in roles that could have been portrayed by extras. 

 Rihanna was in the movie as well and did nothing for me in her role as a shapeshifter. Though many people probably did like her PG rated striptease, I have never found her attractive in any way. I have always seemed to be in the minority there so others will probably disagree with me. Like the fanservice or not though, her character could have easily been cut from the film and would have improved the film considerably. I was also baffled when her character called herself an "illegal immigrant" when it was clear she was a trafficked sex slave. It was just pointlessly political. Her section of the movie slowed the film down to a crawl. Plus it's not like Rihanna's acting was great or anything, though it wasn't horrible I guess. 

Plot wise there were a lot of threads that were just left hanging. I don't know if they were expecting a sequel or what but there were so many things that were just left out at the end. For example, the crime boss that serves as the starter antagonist is built up as a huge threat and he vows revenge. We never see him again. We also never find out why the big climatic space battle that destroys the alien planet happens and we never find out if there were any consequences for killing the emperor of another alien species. Part of this was due to the filmmakers trying to make the movie work like it's comic book source where smaller adventures fit in to a larger plot, but it just didn't work well. 

Worst of all, the romance plotline between the two leads simply doesn't work. Valerian and Laureline spend the whole film arguing about whether they are going to get married when it's clear that they haven't even had sex and don't appear to be in a relationship at all. Such an old school take on marriage would be a surprise if it wasn't immediately undermined by the fact that Valerian is portrayed as some kind of lady killer (again hurt by the casting). And since both of the actors look so young it seems surreal to see people that look barely older than teenagers talking about getting married. Had the romance plot been that the two had just met and weren't long term partners or that they were older and ready to settle down it wouldn't have brought the film down so much. As it stands right now it is by far the worst part of the movie and I think it would have been improved it they just cut romance out of the film entirely. 

The film never really was able to figure out if it should take itself seriously. It's like it kept bouncing around between very silly or funny moments, and darker more dramatic ones. It did the humor at lot better and if they had dropped the darker moments it would have been a better film. It could have been the other way around but I think the market for grimdark sci-fi films is over-saturated and there hasn't been a good campy sci-fi adventure outside of the comic book genera in a long time. 

The most frustrating thing though is it was very clear that the filmmakers tried their best to make a good movie and simply failed at doing so. There was a lot of love put into the way this film was made and it's a pity it was dragged down by the issues I pointed out above. Had they had better casting and a less stupid plot it could have been a decent movie and we would probably be watching a sequel by now. Instead it will go down for me like Avatar or Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones as well made movies with a poor overall plot. 

Editor's Note: Overtime.

I'm going to be extremely busy with work for the next couple of days. I got called in for a 12 hour overtime shift today and will be doing to same thing on Sunday so I will have little time if any to blog. Don't expect any major posts for the next couple of days and I probably won't be saying much on social media either. I will be making quite a bit of money via overtime so I am not too upset about it.

Putin says ISIS took 700 people hostage in Syria, including Americans and Europeans.

ISIS fighters in Syria. DW. 

Vladimir Putin claims that ISIS has taken 700 people hostage, including Americans and Europeans in Syria. DW. Putin said that ISIS had made demands and would execute 10 people a day if they were not met and that 10 people had already been executed. Putin also said that ISIS was expanding in US controlled areas and a Russian news outlet said that ISIS had taken the hostages from a refugee camp in Dier Ez Zor province. 

RT.com has a Russian perspective on this story.

My Comment:

Fox News had a story up about this saying the US government had said this story is fake news but it came up as 404 not found and now I can't even find the link. I assume it was legitimate but I haven't been able to find another source that dismissed these charges. 

What do I think? I think Putin is probably making stuff up. If this had happened it would have been major international news. Sure, the United States government has reasons to cover it up since it would damage their credibility but there is nothing in the world that the US media wouldn't want more than to destroy the credibility of Donald Trump. 

Putin also has a major reason to lie. Making ISIS into a bigger boogyman that it really is helps his ambitions in the region and justifies keeping troops in Syria. He wants to make it look like our Syria policy is so bad that hundreds of people could be kidnapped from right underneath our noses. 

Of course, with only Putin's word to go on, it's very hard to tell what the truth is. ISIS certainly would kidnap people and execute them if their ransom demands aren't met. They have been doing so for years now and they are capable of anything. It's not like this would be out of character for them. 

But I don't think this happened. Why? For one thing ISIS has been greatly diminished. There are rumors that they are making a bit of comeback, but I don't think they have the troops to pull off such a major operation, especially on the side of the Euphrates where they have little presence. 

Secondly, ISIS tends to make a big deal out of hostage taking. Though their media empire has been demolished it doesn't take much to buy a Go-Pro, execute some people and then post it on the internet. As far as I am aware this hasn't happened. 

Finally, I struggle to think who the captured Americans and Europeans could be. Though there have been some foreign fighters working with the Kurds and rebels, many of them have gone home and the ones that haven't wouldn't be hanging out in a refugee camps. Aid workers are a possibility but that would leave a paper trail and the organizations they were working with would say something. And any CIA or other foreign intelligence agents captured would be a propaganda coup for ISIS and they would not remain silent. 

Time will tell if this story is real or not. My gut says it isn't but I have been wrong before. Either way, I'm not going to take Vladimir Putin's word on it. He's got a bunch of reasons to lie about it and without outside confirmation I will remain skeptical.  

Canada becomes the first western country to fully legalize marijuana

The first Canadians to buy legal pots. BBC/Reuters. 

Canada has become the first western country to fully legalize marijuana. BBC. Canada was the second country to legalize pot for recreational use after Uruguay. There are many questions about how the pot rollout will work out as Canada does not have the infrastructure to meet the probable demand for legal pot.  Pot will still be illegal for minors and people will not be able to buy from unlicensed dealers or carry more than 30 grams in public. 

My Comment:

As time passes marijuana has become more and more acceptable throughout the world. Canada an Uruguay have legalized it as well as many states. And medical marijuana is legal in many other American states. There is a definite trend happening here and it is to legalization and decriminalization.

What do I think? I'm not a fan of pot and I have never tried it. I would never smoke ANYTHING as I have bad allergies and even being in the same room as someone smoking cigarettes or pot is enough to make me feel like garbage. If it was totally legal I might eat a pot brownie but I would have to be sure that there weren't any legal or professional consequences for doing so. Even in states where pot is legal you can still get fired if you fail a drug test. In all honestly, pot doesn't appeal to me even if it was legal 

That being said, do I think pot should remain illegal? I think there are upsides and downsides to it. People already do it illegally and making it legal would probably make it safer and would push less people into the legal system. The downsides would be high drivers and the fact that pot smoke is annoying. Plus there are health issues to smoking in general that could increase. 

The good thing is that Canada is doing the experiment for us. If there are unforeseen consequences we haven't anticipated Canada will find it out for us. If there isn't we can legalize it ourselves. Canada is basically America Jr. so I doubt there would be much difference in our rollout compared to them. 

So will it happen here? I think so. And it might come sooner than we think. President Trump is a supporter of medical marijuana and generally thinks that states should handle their own affairs. What Trump could do is decriminalize marijuana federally or change the schedule of the drug. And if congress passes the law, he will probably sign it. If he does that would probably guarantee him a 2020 victory as it would put a lot of people that enjoy pot on his side. Time will tell what will happen but even if Trump and this congress doesn't pass legal pot, I think it's only a matter of time before it happens. 

Mass shooting at a college in Crimea kills 19 people.

Russian national guard respond to the attack. BBC/PA.

A mass shooting at a college in Crimea has killed 19 people and wounded dozens more. BBC. An 18 year old man named Vladislav Roslyakov ran through the Kerch Technical College shooting his fellow students with a shotgun and using explosives against them as well. Roslyakov then killed himself. Russian authorities say the attack was not related to terrorism but was instead an act of mass murder. Roslyakov's motive remain unclear but he had expressed anger about the college and wanted "revenge" on his teachers. It is unclear how Roslyakov got his weapons as some reports say he had a permit while others say he did not. 

For a Russian source covering this attack see RT's coverage here.

Another Russian source, Sputnik, has live updates.

Video from the scene of the attack:

My Comment:

A quick note, though I consider it inconsequential to this story, I will recognize that Crimea is largely ethnically Russian and is under control of the Russian government. I only mention it because every western news outlet had to have a couple paragraphs explaining that Crimea was once controlled by Ukraine but was annexed by Russia. I'm not trying to make a political statement about the annexation either way, I just find it easier to call everyone involved in this as Russian. 

As for the attack itself, it seems like the attacker was a fan of American school shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Indeed, photos taken from the scene of the attack makes it pretty clear that Roslyakov was dressed almost identically to Eric Harris during the Columbine attack. It's uncanny and I don't think there is anyway it was unintentional. The Russian sources are making a huge deal out of this so I assume it's legit. 

I don't really understand why a Russian man would idolize those two idiots but apparently he did. It just goes to show how influential our culture is in America if even our killers inspire other people to kill. The intensive media coverage of American school shootings is an international phenomenon and I think this case shows why that is such a bad thing. Had we not made celebrities out of Harris and Klebold perhaps this attack would have never happened. 

It seems that Roslyakov copied more than just the clothing of the Columbine attackers as his weapons were similar as well. The Columbine attacker used pipe bombs and it appears that Roslyakov did too. Harris and Klebold also used a pair of shotguns in their attack and it appears that Roslyakov used one, though I am not sure of the model. I had assumed it might have been a Saiga-12 but the pictures don't really match that. 

Vladislav Roslyakov, who killed 17 people at a Crimea college, used the nickname "Reich" online & was obsessed with serial killers, Russian media are reporting. Creepiest of all is the suggestion he (at right) emulated Columbine killer Eric Harris with a white t-shirt & shotgun pic.twitter.com/8mvrzCSmMe

— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) October 17, 2018

There doesn't seem to be good information as to where Roslyakov got his shotgun from though. Some sources say he had a permit while other sources say he did not. Russia's gun control laws are more restrictive than America's but somewhat looser than Western Europe's, but either way it's very easy to get a gun in Russia and Ukraine, especially after the war in Donbass. 

Watching the video of the attack I was stunned by the reaction of the people. Though their voices seemed pretty shocked it was pretty surreal to see people just walking by a building where dozens of people were getting shot. In America there would have been people booking it out of there and maybe panicking but the people in the video did not see to be worried at all. 

It doesn't seem like the Russian's response time was all that good. With the number of people killed and wounded in this attack, it seems like Roslyakov had plenty of time to shoot. It's unclear what the circumstances of his suicide were as I don't know if he knew cops were on the scene or if he just wanted to end his attack but either way I consider it a failure by the Russian authorities in Crimea that they weren't able to stop him and he went out on his own terms. 

School shootings are seen as an American affair but Russia has had problems with them as well. Everyone should remember the Beslan massacre in 2004 that killed hundreds of people, so it's not like this hasn't happened in Russia before. However, that was a terror attack and it's pretty clear that this was not so perhaps things are changing. 

I don't think this case will be covered much in the American media, unlike American school shootings. First of all, American media absolutely despises Russia to the point where I don't think they would even be upset to see this happen. Second, this attack can't really be used to attack gun rights as Russia has more restrictions on guns than even the most gun controlled blue states, though they have loosened their laws somewhat. Finally, the attacker used a shotgun and explosives, not a scary black rifle, though I doubt the media would understand the difference between a shotgun and a AK variant. Indeed, this story was big news in the morning when I first saw it but I had to look pretty hard to find coverage when I wrote it this evening. I am guessing it gets memory holed soon. 

Domestically, I don't know how Russia reacts to this. Russia has a long and tragic experience with major terror attacks, civil unrest and warfare. The Russian people also tend to be cynical and stoic so I am guessing that this attack won't have the over the top hysteria that we have in America whenever something like this happens. I also don't see any major changes to Russia's gun laws as they have been trending to the other direction where guns are more favored. They recently got CCW but their laws are still fairly strict when it comes to licencing. 

China defends it's Muslim reeducation camps that may hold up to 1 million people.

Uighur Muslims in China. BBC.

In a rare public statement China has defended it's Uighur Muslim reeducation camps that may hold up to 1 million people. BBC. China says that the camps are used to give the Muslims job training and are useful in preventing terrorism. The Muslims are being held in the camps due to speaking out against the government, refusing to give DNA samples or speaking a minority language. China has said the Uighur home province of Xinjiang is struck with "three evil forces", terrorism, extremism and separatism. China released supposed testimonies from people that had graduated from the camps who said their lives ha been improved. 

My Comment:

Very hard to get an accurate take about what is happening in Xinjiang province. I don't think we can take China at their word that these people are being treated well, but I also think that western media is downplaying the very real danger that the more terrorist supporting members of the Uighur minority pose to China. 

The Uighur have had members that have committed some truly brutal terror attacks. They are usually mass stabbings and riots but that doesn't mean that they haven't succeeded in killing and injuring large numbers of people. There is a real and dangerous threat in China from Uighur separatists and there is also the fear that they will eventually hook up with more dangerous and capable terror groups like al-Qaeda or ISIS. 

That being said, it seems pretty clear that China's moves here are extreme even by their standards. They don't have a good human rights record to begin with but throwing a bunch of people into what is essentially concentration camps is beyond the pale. And the idea that they are doing it because people refuse to give up their DNA makes my skin crawl. They might not be at Holocaust level here, but it's at the very leas the equivalent of the Japanese Interment camps America had in World War II. 

Plus I don't know if this kind of thing is the way to go about addressing terrorism. One thing we have learned from the Iraq War is that sending a bunch of terrorist leaders into a group of criminals and other undesirables is that they can team up in prison and spawn new terror threats when they eventually get out. This is exactly how ISIS was formed and I fear that China may end up with the same thing. 

I also think that if what the Chinese are saying is true and that they are providing free food and job training to go along with the political indoctrination, it's probably not going to help much. The people will resent being forced into camps and will probably lie about the camps effectiveness just to get out. Some people might indeed drop out and rejoin Chinese society, but I think they might be the exception, not the rule 

I don't think that Europe's approach to radical Islam is working either. They don't try to integrate their Muslims at all so they are running wild. They have a huge problem with terrorism and sexual assault but they refuse to do anything about it. It's the exact opposite approach as China and it seems like it will be about as effective. 

I think America's approach is probably the best. Though we do occasionally have terror attacks, we also attempt to "Americanize" our Muslim population. We still give them normal rights that any citizen has but we do try and encourage them to be more like us. Despite all the media noise against "racism" against Muslims (who aren't a race), we do a much better job of making them feel like Americans than Europe does and don't just throw them into camps like China does. 

Finally, I have to say that there is a double standard here. Though there have been a few on the left that have been speaking out about what China is doing here, you would think that rounding up Muslims and putting them into camps would be huge news, but it really isn't covered that much. But if the American president doesn't allow people in from countries that have active terror armies rampaging through the countryside he's an irredeemable racist and Hitler 2.0... Rounding up people into camps is way worse but there isn't anywhere near the outrage.