TRUMP CLAIMED THE CAPITOL RIOTERS WERE 'HUGGING AND KISSING THE POLICE'

Two US Capitol Police officers sue Trump and say he should be held responsible for January 6 attack

 

By Marshall Cohen and Katelyn Polantz

 

CNN

March 31, 2021

 

Two US Capitol Police officers who say they were injured during the January 6 insurrection are suing former President Donald Trump for inciting the crowd.

The officers -- the first police to sue in court following the riot -- say they suffered physical and emotional damages because Trump allegedly "inflamed, encouraged, incited (and) directed" the violent mob that stormed the Capitol.

 

Capitol Police Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, who have been with the force for a combined 28 years, said they were injured during the attack. Hemby "was crushed against the doors" of the Capitol, was "sprayed with chemicals" and bled from his face, the lawsuit says. Blassingame claims he was slammed against a stone column, injuring his head and back.

 

A rioter sprays capitol cops with bear repellent 

Each of the officers are seeking at least $75,000 in damages. They accuse Trump of aiding and abetting their assaults and directing his supporters to assault them, according to their new complaint.

 

Trump hasn't yet responded to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Washington, DC. He has previously denied any responsibility for the violent attack and falsely claimed last week that the rioters posed "zero threat" and were "hugging and kissing the police" at the Capitol.

 

Representatives for Trump didn't respond immediately Tuesday night to CNN's request for comment. The US Capitol Police did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment.

 

The lawsuit from Blassingame and Hemby also describes the sheer terror that the officers felt inside the Capitol, while they were vastly outnumbered by the armed pro-Trump mob. The lawsuit says Blassingame now suffers from depression and that the "severe emotional toll ... continues to reveal itself."

 

Blassingame "is haunted by the memory of being attacked, and of the sensory impacts -- the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of the attack remain close to the surface," the lawsuit says. "He experiences guilt of being unable to help his colleagues who were simultaneously being attacked; and of surviving where other colleagues did not."

 

The lawsuit also claimed that Blassingame was called a racial slur throughout the assault, saying, "He lost count of the many times the racial slur was hurled at him."

 

This is the third major civil lawsuit that is trying to hold Trump liable for the insurrection, after two Democratic lawmakers filed lawsuits against Trump and others, attempting to hold the President and other speakers accountable for his words and his supporters' actions. The lawsuits are all in their earliest stage, and Trump's lawyers have not yet responded in court.

 

The two officers declined to comment further about their allegations.

 

"The insurrection was a traumatic event and hard to relive, especially for people not used to being in the public eye," their lawyer, Patrick Malone, said in an email.

 

The Justice Department has said dozens of police officers were hurt during the hours of violence and are pursuing criminal cases against many of the rioters.

ARE U.S. CITIZEN FOSTER CHILDREN BEING KICKED OUT TO MAKE ROOM FOR ILLEGALALIEN MINORS?

It Appears That The Answer May Be YES

 

by Bob Walsh

If Fox News is to be believed (which I realize is not a for-sure thing) the U S government is applying economic incentives to shut down group homes housing U S citizen foster children in order to make room for housing of illegal alien minors.  The idea (presumably) is to lessen the visual / psychological impact of the horrid and evil Donald Trump "kids in cages" talking point by jamming kinds from Honduras and El Salvador into houses like sardines and letting the U S citizen minors fend for themselves.  

Since the new natural constituency of the Democrat-Socialist party is much more heavily weighted towards undocumented Democrats than economically disadvantaged citizens there is little if any down side to Joe The Hairsniffer to kicking U S kids out.  I am hoping he is guessing wrong there, but I would not bet money on it.

MISOGYNISTIC ASSHOLE OR RELIGIOUS BIGOT?

by Bob Walsh

Ron Weiser is a member of the Board of Regents of the University of Michigan.  He is also the head of the Michigan Republican Party.  He is also either a serious misogynist asshole or a religious bigot.

He referred to three female politicians in the state as "witches" who should be "ready for burning at the stake."   Fellow members of the board have called for his resignation.

The badly written news piece I got this from sort-of says the female targets of his original comment were Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

Just goes to show you.  Assholes come in all variations of quasi-humanity. 

COP SAVES INFANT FROM FENTANYL OVERDOSE

by Bob Walsh

A quick-thinking Concord P D officer saved a 2-year old with a dose of Narcan.  The child's mother, who was smart enough to say that the child "got ahold of some fentanyl" is currently a guest of the county.  The child is in protective custody with CPS.   

TWO TEXAS DEPUTIES CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER IN 2019 ARREST

2 former sheriff's deputies have been charged with manslaughter in the 2019 death of Javier Ambler

 

By Azmi Haroun

 

Insider

March 30, 2021

 

Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced that a Travis County grand jury delivered two indictments of second-degree manslaughter against former Williamson County Sheriff's Deputy James Johnson and former Williamson County Sheriff's deputy Zachary Camden.

 

               James Johnson

 

              Zachary Camden

 

The two men were charged in connection to the death of Javier Ambler, who died in their custody when they repeatedly tased him after a pursuit, as he shouted "I can't breathe."

 

                                            Javier Ambler

 

Both former deputies had their bail set at $150,000 and are barred from working with law enforcement after the decision.

"With these indictments, we have taken another critical step towards justice for the Ambler family and for our community," said District Attorney Garza. "While we can never take away the pain of the Ambler family, the grand jury has sent a clear message that no one is above the law."

According to CBS Austin, the incident was caught on video for a now-canceled TV show called "Live PD." 

After being tased by the former deputies, Ambler could be heard saying, "I have congestive heart failure," before falling unconscious and dying in Williamson County Sheriff's custody.     

BRITISH HANNIBAL LECTER

Self-described ‘Hannibal Lecter’ kills wife, chops up body over French fries fight

 

By Yaron Steinbuch

 

New York Post

March 31, 2021

 

 

                   Thomas and Yvonne McCann in happier times

 

A self-described “Hannibal Lecter” murdered his wife of 24 years and dismembered her body after a fight about a bag of French fries — and has been sentenced to a minimum of 13 years behind bars, according to a report.

Monster husband Thomas McCann, 49, admitted strangling his “childhood sweetheart” Yvonne, 46, at their Stockport home in May 2020, the BBC reported.

The couple, who had four children, had argued about the fires that had been left out of the fridge, the Manchester Crown Court heard.

After being arrested, McCann said he was “Hannibal Lecter,” the cannibalistic serial killer in “The Silence of the Lambs.”

“I killed my wife and disposed of her like garbage,” he told investigators, adding that he “lost control and could not stop.”

Parts of Yvonne’s body were discovered by dog walkers in Reddish Vale Country Park two days after the horrific crime.

The last sign from the woman before her grisly demise came in a text message she sent to a neighbor referring to the quarrel about fries.

McCann was captured on surveillance video leaving their home to collect items from his employer’s truck and carrying trash bags to his car, the BBC reported.

He also used his wife’s cell phone to reply to texts from their children and said she walked out after their argument.

The couple’s relationship went sour after she started a relationship with another man around 2013, the BBC reported. He claimed to have last seen Yvonne after dropping her off near the home of her new partner.

When he was arrested, he had scratches to his cheek, arms and hands, according to the report.

Prosecutor Andrew Smith cited the cause of the attack as “some frozen chips,” using the UK term for French fries.

“During that argument it is now clear that the defendant attacked Yvonne, strangled her to death in the bathroom and thereafter he dismembered her body in the bath,” he said.

During sentencing, Judge Alan Conrad told the truck driver: “Your actions after the killing amount to serious aggravating factors.

“The defense suggest a combination of self-interest and panic, but what you did makes a terrible case even more horrific and even more upsetting to those concerned,” he said.

“Yvonne McCann was a woman with a great deal to live for and a great deal to look forward to when her life was so cruelly cut short by you,” Conrad added.

The couple’s daughter Rachel Lawson said in a statement: “We are all really struggling with this. We love our mum very much, we also love our dad.”

Defense lawyer Louise Blackwell said her client had not planned to murder his wife but that the argument “blew up.”

FIRST ROUND KNOCKOUT

Woman knocks out lawyer after he assaulted his girlfriend at bowling alley

 

By Jackie Salo

 

New York Post

March 30, 2021

 

A South Carolina lawyer allegedly beat up his girlfriend at a bowling alley — prompting a female bystander to intervene and knock him out, authorities said.

 

                                       Pano Michael Dupree

 

Pano Michael Dupree, 58, began the altercation when he showed up earlier this month at Ashley Lanes bowling alley in Charleston, news station WCBD reported.

He allegedly went up to his girlfriend and “started placing his arms around her neck from behind, trying to place her in a chokehold,” authorities said.

When another woman saw, she ran up to Dupree and punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground, police said.

He was brought to the hospital before being booked in jail on charges of third-degree assault and battery, the outlet reported.

Dupree is a lawyer specializing in criminal defense, personal injury litigation, and general services, WCBD reported.

THE JAPANESE TOWN OF MINAMISANRIKU IS GRATEFUL TO ISRAEL

'We will never forget Israel's help'

 

By Neta Bar

 

Israel Hayom

March 30, 2021

 

March 11, 2011, began as just an ordinary winter day with gray skies for the 12,000 people living in the fishing village of  Minamisanriku. None of them knew that within several hours their world would be turned upside down, in the most destructive way imaginable. 

At roughly 3 p.m a massive earthquake was detected not far east of Japan, triggering an immediate severe tsunami warning for the residents of the coast. The people of Minamisanriku began gearing up for what may unfold. "This is a tsunami-prone area and that is why we have been well-drilled on this," Mayor Jin Satosaid.

Sato, together with his team, rushed to a tall building and began relaying orders to facilitate the evacuation of residents. The problem was that while the official warning spoke of a six-meter (20 feet) wave, the actual tsunami was almost three times higher. "It just went over our heads and ravaged the place; I was swept to a staircase and broke two ribs," he recalled.

The waves hit with an unimaginable force, destroying the small wooden homes in its path, leaving behind a long trail of debris and despair. Only the cement buildings were left standing. "We lost 831 members of our small community, with 70% of the buildings razed to the ground. The rest were severely damaged." Sato says. "The industrial area was gone; the municipality building all but disappeared from the frace fo the earth."

This was the worst calamity his town has ever been hit with. Things were on the verge of despair. Roads were either blocked or just destroyed; the power grid and cellular network were down, and the water supply was disrupted. Japan's armed forces brought as much help as they could but the terrified residents who had lost their homes faced a predicament of epic proportions. 

Masafumi Nishizawa, a local physician, was the only medical doctor in the city's evacuation center in the immediate aftermath. "Only after a week did more medical teams arrive, totaling 20 specialists; the problem was that all the medical facilities had been decimated. We had no equipment to examine people or to operate." The local leaders were eager for help, and this came from the other end of the earth: Israel.

An Israel Defense Forces delegation in the area some two weeks after the waves hit. It was the first foreign relief delegation to arrive at the site. The government of Japan made any foreign assistance contingent on having the teams bring their own equipment, and Israel was the only country that could meet that requirement in such short notice. The Japanese parliament also held a special session to issue the Israeli delegation members with a special permit that would allow them to treat the locals. Eventually, after passing through many hoops and dealing with many concerns –  including worries over being exposed to radiation from the reactor in Fukushima that had undergone a meltdown – the delegation landed. It comprised doctors, nurses, X-ray specialists, and all the necessary equipment. They immediately began setting up a field hospital. 

"We required that they be able to conduct tests, but we could not imagine that they would have so much equipment and be so skilled at what they do," Nishizawa recalls in a conversation with Israel Hayom. "Their expertise was amazing and they had everything up and running at record speed." Among the first patients to be admitted to the hospital was Sato's own staff, and he got an X-ray. "They were courteous, they smiled and I was very grateful to get treatment," he recalled.

Despite the predicament and the relief at finally having their medical needs tended to, the Japanese – who only seldom get interaction with foreign medical teams – remained suspicious. The Israelis were worried animosity would develop. "There were many elderly in the city who needed medical attention. When I heard that a foreign delegation was on its way, I was a bit worried because there was concern that they would be terrified of having to be checked – amidst the chaos of this tragedy – by a foreigner, having not met a non-Japanese all their lives," admits Nishizawa, who worked with the Israelis all through their stay. But these concerns were ultimately unfounded, and the doctors – with the help of interpreters – engaged the patients with courtesy and managed to imbue a sense of confidence that they were on their side, despite the cultural gap.

The Israelis won over the locals with various gestures that underscored just how dedicated they were to help them. "Pregnant women faced particular duress because they lacked proper equipment. They had to travel long distances just to get checkups or for giving birth," Nishizawa says. "But the Israeli delegation had a doctor trained in delivering babies, and after he had learned of the situation he began making house calls with patients, accompanied by a local female nurse. This level of dedication and their willingness to extend a helping hand to the community was really touching for me," Nishizawa says with admiration.

Far away, but close at heart

On April 10, a month after the disaster, the delegation left Japan, having handed over a functioning field hospital to the local authorities. Today, a memorial stands on the grounds of the former facility, donated by Israel. The memorial is a testament not just of the horrific events of 2011 but also of the bond that was forged between the two nations in their wake.

In the 10 years that have passed the city made tremendous strides in building new homes, commercial centers and restoring parks and neighborhoods. The fishing industry also got back to business and provides employment to many locals. But the gaping hole left by the tsunami in the hearts of the residents has remained. "Our biggest challenge is getting back up and recreating the sense of community," Mayor Sato says. "Over the past 10 years, our community has seen crises many times, as people left to other places. We want them to come back and feel safe again; this is a daunting task." 

Despite the great loss of life and the hardship that has ensued in the years since, both Sato and Nishizawa can't forget the tremendous bond that was created in its wake between the medical staff and the local residents. "Israel helped us so much after the disaster struck, and we are greatly indebted to hit," the mayor says. "Last year we wrote a letter of thanks to all Israelis and had it sent to the Israeli Embassy. Our people are very grateful for this, we will never forget Israel's help." 

When Nishizawa speaks about his experience with the Israeli teams, he also mentions  Israel's rapid pace of vaccinating its citizens against COVID-19. "This shows more than anything else what Israelis are capable of," he says.

"I think that for many Japanese, Israel is considered to be some far-flung country; but for us, Israel  – despite it being so far away and so different – will always be remembered as the first country that came to our rescue and gave us the feeling that we are connected to the rest of the world. Japan is an island nation, and our first inclination when disaster strikes is to handle things on our own; but Israel, rather than focus on its own problems, extended its outstretched and we are tremendously thankful for its assistance."

NANOSATELLITES

Israeli Nanosatellites Begin Collecting Data

 

By Michael Selutin

Israel Today 

March 31, 2021

Nanosatellites developed by the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) in Haifa and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will enable high-precision geolocation.

The equipment includes KI / ML processors from the Israeli space company Ramon. The propulsion system was developed by Rafael and is based on krypton gas. Never before has such a small satellite been operated in this way anywhere in the world.

CubeSat satellites measure just 10 × 10 × 10 centimeters with a mass of about 1.33 kilograms per unit. They are about the size of a shoebox. Each nanosatellite in the mission weighs around 8 kilograms and acts autonomously. The solar panels also act as sails to steer the formation without fuel if necessary by using the drag of the atmosphere. Each of the nanosatellites is equipped with its own receiver.

The task of the satellites is to receive signals from the earth in order to calculate the position of people, planes and ships. It is used for search and rescue operations, remote sensing and environmental monitoring.

The satellites were launched in Kazakhstan. The orbit is at an altitude of 550 kilometers. The Technion is responsible for evaluating the information obtained.

The development of nanosatellites is very advanced in Israel and allows the small country to carry out space missions that previously only the big players could finance. “You could compare the innovation of the nanosatellites with the switch from the PC to the mobile phone,” said a member of the research team.

The University of Tel Aviv, in cooperation with NASA, also built a nanosatellite that measures cosmic radiation, among other things. Scientists expect thousands of nanosatellites to be orbiting the earth in the near future. Among other things, the Internet connections worldwide will be drastically improved by them.

Israel continues to firmly establish itself as a member of the club of global space powers.

JOE 'WHITE OBAMA' BIDEN IS MADE OF THE SAME CLOTH AS THE BLACK OBAMA

SAINT GEORGE

Sainthood has been bestowed on George Floyd by the media, BLM and Al Sharpton, but he was an ex-con and career criminal

 

By Howie Katz

 

Two Houston cops guard George Floyd mural

 

Now that the legal lynching of Derek Chauvin is under way, let's have a look at the real Saint George wo has been bestowed with sainthood by the media, BLM and Al Sharpton.

George Floyd was far, far from a saint.  He was an ex-con and career criminal.

Here is a list of Floyd's credits:

6 burglaries, 3 car thefts, and multiple illegal trespasses,

An ongoing cocaine and alcohol addiction.

Committing 2 violent home invasions, 3 armed robberies,
 

Using Fentanyl and meth, 

 

Passing counterfeit money,

 

Beating 4 victims senseless and

Being arrested 23 times since 1998.

 

Chauvin arrested Floyd for passing a counterfeit $20 bill.  An autopsy revealed that at the time of that arrest, Floyd had a fatal dose of fentanyl in his system.

 

In any case, Floyd appears to have been rehabilitated.  He has not committed a crime in over nine months now.

PAWN SHOP DECIDES TO GIVE ROBBERY VICTIM HIS ROLEX ALTHOUGH CALIFORNIA LAW ALLOWS THEM TO KEEP IT

Robbery Victims Struggle to Reclaim a Stolen Watch After Thief Dies in Fall During Escape

 

By Eric Leonard

 

NBC 4

March 29, 2021

 

More than a year after a violent street robbery left an elderly couple severely injured, the husband and wife are now closer to reclaiming a Rolex wristwatch that was stolen during the assault. 

The watch has been held at a Los Angeles pawn shop that loaned the thief more than $16,000 and had demanded the robbery victims pay the store that amount to get their own stolen property back.

“Almost my life going away,” Hasin Oh told the I-Team about the roadside beating and robbery that took place in Henderson, Nevada on Oct. 19, 2019. Oh was struck on the head, arms, and body before his prized watch was pulled from his wrist. His wife was beaten when she tried to intervene and suffered injuries to her legs.

The 24-karat gold watch was a 75th birthday present from Hasin and Myungja Oh’s three adult children, who said it represented their father’s remarkable achievement of his own "American dream," and was a symbol of his accomplishments as he retired.

Hasin and Myungja Oh immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1975 with only a few hundred dollars. They worked delivery and service jobs before saving enough money to open a discount store, and later, bought, managed and built motels and hotels before retiring to the Las Vegas area.

“We were thinking it was going to be the start of our family heirloom,” daughter Sumee said.

She called the I-Team after getting a demand letter from the pawn shop and getting nowhere with local police, who said there was little they could do because the dispute was a civil matter.

According to an attorney familiar with the California laws that regulate the pawn industry, the stores can be considered a second "victim" when stolen property is inadvertently purchased or pawned, and the law allows brokers to recoup from crime victims the amount of money that was paid to whoever brought in the stolen goods.

Sometimes stolen items are ordered returned to the victims by a judge after a thief is prosecuted, which couldn’t happen in this case, because the man who police say stole and pawned the watch is dead.

Police in Henderson sent investigators and a crime scene technician to the Oh’s home after the robbery. The couple’s car was swabbed for DNA and dusted for fingerprints. When analyzed one swab produced a DNA profile that matched a person already entered in CODIS, the national criminal DNA database.

“It actually comes back to the individual that pawned the item,” Henderson PD Detective Nathan Calvano told the I-Team. 

That man’s name was Robert E. Pearce, 39, and within days, Calvano learned that the stolen watch had been pawned at a broker in Los Angeles, Mr. Steve’s Pawn Shop, after the store entered the watch’s serial number in an electronic system that connects with a law enforcement database.

Calvano obtained the paperwork for the watch from the store, and saw that the person who turned in the watch had left an electronic thumbprint as part of the transaction. It matched Pearce.

“So I submitted an arrest warrant affidavit to our Clark County District Attorney's Office,” Calvano said, which charged Pearce with robbery.

On Jan. 27, 2021, members of an LAPD-FBI fugitive task force attempted to arrest Pearce at a 5th floor apartment on Sunset Boulevard near North Cherokee Avenue. After agents and officers knocked, Pearce could be seen exiting through a sliding door on to a balcony.

“Pearce was seen climbing over the railing where he tried to move down to a lower balcony located one floor below,” an LAPD detective wrote in a death report.

“Pearce lost his grip and fell approximately five stories landing on the south sidewalk of Sunset Blvd.” Pearce died about two hours later in the emergency room at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Since there was no prosecution, there was no opportunity for a judge to order the watch returned.

Sumee Oh said she was furious to learn the pawn broker had bought the watch directly from the man who had attacked her parents and was refusing to return it to its rightful owner without payment. 

“It was directly from the man that, you know, beat my father unconscious and caused my mom to suffer a lifelong injury,” she said. “Being made whole, or you know, restitution should be from the deceased, from the criminal that victimized Mr. Steve's and us.”

After the I-Team inquired about the circumstances of the case, Mr. Steve’s Pawn sent NBC Los Angeles a letter that said the store would return the watch to the Oh family, if the family agreed to allow a claim against its insurance policies. 

Late Monday, the store’s attorney said the owner decided, "after a lot of thought," to give the watch back -- no strings attached.

“My client will be returning the watch to the Oh family and is waiving his claim for recovery of costs associated with the pawn of this item,” the attorney said. The owner of Mr. Steve’s declined to discuss the case with NBCLA.

A representative for the pawn broker, who declined to be identified or quoted, said the store was also a victim, and that the watch might never have been found had it been sold through a private sale or sold on the street--where the serial number would not have been added to a law enforcement database.

IF YOU DON'T SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS, THEY MIGHT NOT BE YOUR FRIENDS ANY MORE

by Bob Walsh
 
One of the thing the Trump administration did was tweak the tax code so that high state and local taxes were no longer deductible from your federal taxes.  This affected mostly rich people in New York and California, many of who are large Biden supporters.


They are now after Biden hot and heavy to change the tax code back.  That leaves the presiicent in an awkward position (assuming he is still capable of higher mental functions).  He is literally SCREAMING that the rich must pay "their fair share" but his major supporters, who want their quid pro qjuo, are pressuring him to ensure they pay LESS taxes. 


It must be hard at time to be a hypocritical, lying turd.  
 
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Daily Mail reports that Biden will announce $3 trillion in tax hikes tomorrow.  He will target corporations, married couples earning over $400,000, and estates "to fund his climate-friendly infrastructure package."   

SORT-OF HIGH SPEED RAIL IN CA DELAYED YET AGAIN

by Bob Walsh

Two weeks ago the High Speed Rail Authority in the formerly great state of California announced a new and improved timetable for finished the 65 mile section of track between North Buttcrack and South Buttcrack in the San Joaquin Valley.  It is necessary for the state to at least pretend to be working on the project or they will have to pay a ton of money back to the feds.

Yesterday the HSR clowns announced yet another two year delay in the minimal project.  April 2025, if the wind keeps blowing in the right direction and nothing else bad or stupid happens.  

The current issue is land acquistion.  Since the project was approved by voters 13 years ago I could see why the state could have not gotten around to securing a right-of-way yet.  (Not really I can't.)

The project was originally supposed to run trains at 220 mph between LA and SF.  Now they are talking at running trains at maybe 120 mph between Bakersfield and Merced.  I am reasonably certain that most people who might have occasion to travel between Bakersfield and Merced will want a car when they get there and will be in no hurry to make the trip.

The God-Emperor Gavin Newsom is DESPERATE to not have to give back money to the feds.  He is also desperate to get more union construction jobs and doesn't really care about pissing off the farmers whose land is being ripped up because they are not going to vote for his ass anyway.   

BLACK MAN COMMITS VICIOUS HATE CRIME AGAINST ELDERLY ASIAN WOMAN IN VIEW OF SECURITY GUARDS WHO DO NOT INTERVENE

Asian woman brutally beaten in suspected hate crime as security guard does nothing to help 

 

By Kenneth Garger and Joe Marino

 

New York Post

March 29, 2021

 

A racist attacker brutally beat an Asian woman who was walking to her church in Midtown on Monday morning — as a security guard in a nearby building watched and did nothing to help, according to police and footage of the incident.

The unidentified suspect spewed anti-Asian statements as he punched and kicked the 65-year-old woman on West 43rd Street near Ninth Avenue at about 11:40 a.m., according to cops.

“Fuck you, you don’t belong here,” the brute yelled at the woman, according to sources.

Video footage of the assault provided by police shows the suspect kicking the victim to the ground — then stomping her in the head several times as she was down on the ­sidewalk.

 

The attacker of the elderly Asian woman caught on surveillance footage leaving the scene

 

Several men from a nearby residential building witnessed the crime, the footage shows, but did not try to help the woman.

One of the men, who was undoing packages, watched the entire incident unfold, the footage shows. Two other witnesses — who appear to be building security — walked over to the door as the attack ended, but did not chase after the suspect.

In fact, one of those men appears to shut the building door as the attacker takes off and the victim lies helplessly, according to the video.

The suspect was still being sought early Tuesday morning.

A doorman at the building where the surveillance video was recorded said on Monday night that he was unaware that the attack had taken place.

The victim, who suffered a fractured pelvis, was taken to NYU Langone Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, authorities said.

She declined to comment when reached by The Post Monday night.

The NYPD’s Hate Crime Task Force is investigating, police said.

The department has recorded a 1,300 percent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Last year, the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force recorded 28 anti-Asian attacks compared with two incidents in 2019, according to officials.

“This is absolutely vile,” City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a Monday night tweet. 

“These attacks against Asian-American New Yorkers must end. Hate has no place here and we must always call it out when we see it.

“My office is reaching out to the precinct and will do anything we can to be of assistance.”

REDWOOD TREE CRUSHES CAR, LEAVES FIVE CHILDREN ORPHANED

Parents of 5 killed when redwood tree falls on their car in California 

 

By Kenneth Garger

 

New York Post

March 29, 2021

 

A married couple with five children died last week when their car was smashed by a falling redwood tree as they were driving in California.

 

Jessica and Jake Woodruff — who were celebrating Jessica’s 45th birthday with a road trip — were driving on Highway 199 near Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park when they were killed by the 175-foot-tall tree, according to police and a GoFundMe page.

“This was a shocking and unexpected event, and the tragedy of this accident makes it difficult to accept as real,” the GoFundMe page reads.

“These children are facing the devastating reality of what was just ripped from their lives in a split second,” it continues, adding they’re facing a “lifetime of expenses” without their parents’ help.

Authorities are investigating what caused the tree to fall.

“This is a very forested area,” California Highway Patrol spokeswoman told SF Gate.

“We have trees everywhere. It’s in the middle of the redwoods. It’s just old growth and we have no idea why the tree fell.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bob Walsh adds that "mother nature is a nasty, dangerous bitch." 

WHAT ARE NECKTIES GOOD FOR? ..... ONE USE IS FOR STRANGLING SOMEONE

Indiana woman allegedly poisoned ex with fentanyl, strangled him with ‘favorite tie’ 

 

By Joshua Rhett Miller

 

New York Post

March 29, 2021

 

An Indiana woman has been charged with poisoning her ex-boyfriend by putting fentanyl in his oatmeal and then strangling him with his “favorite tie,” authorities said.

Heidi Marie Littlefield, 41, was charged on Thursday after repeatedly trying to poison her ex Francis Kelley after unsuccessfully hiring her 22-year-old daughter’s boyfriend to kill the man, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Littlefield, along with daughter Logan Marie Runyon and Runyon’s boyfriend, Robert James Walker, 29, were all busted in connection with the Jan. 18 murder-for-hire plot.

 

(L-R) Heidi Marie Littlefield, 41, her daughter, Logan Marie Runyon, 22, and Runyon's boyfriend, Robert James Walker, 29

 

Kelley — who was mired in a custody battle with Littlefield regarding their 2-year-old daughter — was found dead on the couch of his Carmel home. 

He had bruising around his eyes, elbows, knees and hand, but “no obvious signs of foul play” were spotted. A bag of cocaine was also discovered beneath a couch, a probable cause affidavit shows.

An autopsy revealed Kelley had been strangled and suffered blunt-force trauma to his head. His death was ruled a homicide after investigators also discovered fentanyl in his system.

Phone records showed that Kelley suspected Littlefield had a hand in the fentanyl poisoning.

“Did you do something to the oatmeal that was in my fridge?” Kelley texted Littlefield three days before he was found dead. “You were in my fridge last night and it tasted funny after a couple bites and now I am light-headed.”

Walker, who was arrested Tuesday in Ohio, told police Littlefield paid him $2,500 to hire someone to kill Kelley, but said he spent it on drugs and had no intention of carrying out the slaying, court records show.

“He’s better off dead,” Littlefield told a relative after Kelley was found, court records show. “I didn’t mean to kill him last time. I might as well say I did it and just say I’m crazy and pregnant.”

Walker told cops the January killing was actually Littlefield’s third try at killing her ex, claiming she had snuck in Kelley’s home with their daughter in October and put fentanyl in his miso soup, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Walker claimed Runyon told him that she and Littlefield got into Kelley’s house after he ate the laced oatmeal to finish off the planned slaying, authorities said.

“Walker advised Heidi tried to get Logan to ‘snap his neck,’ but Logan couldn’t do it, so Heidi then tied his ‘his favorite’ tie around his neck and began smashing his head into the ground,” the affidavit states.

Kelley and Littlefield were scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 27 after she allegedly violated a custody order involving their 2-year-old daughter, WISH reported.

Walker said Littlefield had discussed with him “doing work around her house,” which they used as code for their plan to kill Kelley, court documents show.

Walker claimed Littlefield also tried to get Runyon to “take the blame for the whole case,” which the woman’s daughter told him she planned to do, the affidavit shows.

“Walker advised he recalled Heidi asking Logan if Logan ‘was cool with going to prison’ for the rest of her life,” investigators wrote.

Littlefield, of Sheridan, had her initial court appearance Friday. She was ordered held without bond ahead of her June 15 pretrial hearing. Runyon and Walker, both of Englewood, Ohio, did not have initial court dates listed as of Friday, WISH reported.

PIERS BRANDS CBS AS THE 'COWARDLY BROADCASTING SYSTEM'

I'm not a racist and neither is Sharon Osbourne but that didn't stop the woke mob lynching her just for defending me in a shocking episode that shames the Cowardly Broadcasting System and should horrify anyone who values free speech

 

By Piers Morgan

 

Daily Mail

March 29, 2021

 

Imagine for a moment that I went on stage in a comedy club and said: 'There's still two rules in the fucking Morgan family: Don't marry somebody black and don't park in front of our house.'

Then imagine that a black female member of the audience sitting in the front took exception to my horribly racist remark, stood up and flipped me her middle finger.

Then imagine me turning on that black woman and sneering: 'Sit your fucking ass down. I'm talking, bitch. You paid to see a show, sit your ass down. [If] you can't take a joke, you're at the wrong motherfucking place. You got two choices…sit your fucking ass down or get the fuck out of here.'

Then imagine me continuing to rant 'I'm going to make that choice for you – get the fuck out of here. Bye. Bye. Bye', at which point the black woman and her friends get up and leave the venue.

Then imagine me, two days later, doubling down on the incident when it provoked public uproar and tweeting: 'You have 2 choices, have a good day or get the fuck out.'

Now imagine my friend Sharon Osbourne appearing on her hit show The Talk two days after that tweet, defending me and also mocking the woman by blaming HER for the abuse she endured and saying: 'I would have said, 'bitch, that's why nobody's going to marry you cause you talking in my show'.'

That would be outrageous, right?

I mean, it would be incontrovertible evidence of Sharon publicly supporting a racist, sexist, misogynist pig who had shockingly abused a young black woman.

And frankly, she would have deserved to be fired for it.

But obviously, I didn't do or say any of those things.

And nor did Sharon Osbourne.

No, it was Latino comedian George Lopez who racially abused the black woman at a gig in Phoenix, Arizona in February 2017.

 

In 2017, Sheryl Underwood vigorously defended comedian George Lopez after he subjected a black woman in the audience to a racist rant

And the person on The Talk who mounted such a passionate defence of his appalling behavior was Sheryl Underwood, one of Sharon's long-time co-hosts.

Underwood, herself a black woman, told the panel: 'Once you throw up the bird twice and you are in the first few rows, you have now inserted yourself into the show and it depends on the mood of the comic on how they handle it. I am pro-black female, but if you put yourself into it, you goin' get lit up. I would've said: 'bitch, that's why nobody's going to marry you cause you talking in my show.'

In other words, the black female victim of the sickening abuse had it coming for reacting badly to a disgusting racist slur and deserved all the abuse she got.

It's hard to imagine a more shameful thing to say on national television but Ms Underwood was applauded for it by the audience and suffered no disciplinary action from her CBS bosses.

Now cut forward four years to the episode of The Talk that aired on CBS on March 10, the day after I quit my UK breakfast show Good Morning Britain after refusing to apologize for disbelieving Meghan Markle's disingenuous load of fact-devoid baloney in her lengthy Oprah whine-athon with Prince Harry, much of which has now been proved to be untrue.

Sharon Osbourne had tweeted her support for me, saying: 'I am with you. I stand by you. People forget that you're paid for your opinion and that you're just speaking your truth.'

And Sheryl Underwood wasn't happy with her about it.

 

Sheryl Underwood accuses Sharon Osbourne of being a racist for defending Piers Morgan

 

'What would you say to people,' she demanded, 'who say that while you're standing by your friend, you appear to be giving validation or a safe haven to something he has uttered that is racist?'

This was a staggering, bare-faced lie.

I've never said a single thing about Meghan Markle that could possibly be construed as racist, either in print or on television.

In fact, the only time I've ever mentioned her race has been to repeatedly say how great it was that a bi-racial woman was marrying into the very white British royal family.

It's true that having once been friendly with her, I've been very critical of her in the past three years because I believe she's a fake virtue-signalling hypocrite who ruthlessly exploits her royal titles for financial gain.

But none of that honestly held opinion is based on anything to do with her skin color. I've been equally critical of Harry for his own ludicrous antics and he's white.

Sharon was stunned by Underwood's question.

'Tell me what he said that's racist?' she retorted, several times, but Underwood was unable to say because she knows I never have.

'It is not the exact words of racism,' she eventually clarified. 'It's the implication and reaction to it. To not want to address that because she is a black woman, and to try to dismiss it or make it seem less than what it is. That's what makes it racist.'

So, let me get this straight: to disbelieve Meghan Markle, even when she's demonstrably lying about very serious and incredibly damaging claims – her son Archie was NOT banned from being a Prince because of his skin color, just as she's now admitted they didn't get secretly married three days before their wedding - is now an automatic confirmation of racism?

'I don't understand,' said a bemused Sharon. 'If Piers doesn't like someone, and they happen to be black, does that make him a racist?'

'No,' said Underwood.

'Right, so why can't it be he just doesn't like her? Why does it have to be racist?'

Underwood didn't answer.

Instead, she said: 'I don't want anybody here to watch this and think we're attacking you for being racist.'

Sharon chuckled ruefully. 'I think it's too late, that seed's already sown.'

Yes, it had been, just as the seed had been sown about my own supposed racism with zero evidence to support it.

And it was done very deliberately, and utterly disgracefully.

As a result of their emotion-charged debate, during which Sharon became understandably enraged by the sheer injustice of seeing a friend who she knows isn't racist being branded a racist with nothing to back it up, and seeing herself smeared in the process as a racist-sympathiser, she's now been forced out of her job at The Talk after ten years in which she's been by far its biggest star and most interesting panellist.

I've been friends with Sharon for over 20 years, and we became particularly close when we worked together for five seasons on America's Got Talent.

She's one of the smartest, feistiest, funniest and most outrageous people I know - and I love her for it.

What you see with Sharon is what you get, on and off camera.

Like me, she's incredibly opinionated and loves a good argument.

As she told DailyMail.com last week: 'Piers and I have got a great friendship. But we fight—we have huge fights. I've slapped Piers. Piers has seen my breasts! We get drunk together, we argue a lot over things we don't agree on but at the end of the day, that's it. I don't agree with his opinion all the way, I don't. But the difference is, he knows Meghan and I don't. The guy has a right to his opinion – I'm sure I say things and he goes, she's fucking nuts!'

(Factcheck: I do.)

I've also appeared many times with her on The Talk, including last October when ironically, I warned of the increasingly sinister cancel culture that was destroying free speech.

'I never want to have an argument with someone like Sharon,' I said, 'and then say at the end, right because I don't agree with you, I want you fired from The Talk immediately. That is not democracy.'

'I agree with him,' said…. Sheryl Underwood!

Yet here we are, just five months later, and the same Sheryl Underwood's sat back and watched Sharon Osbourne get driven off the show for disagreeing with her, after deliberately rattling her cage with a fake racism slur against me.

It's an absolute disgrace and given how Underwood defended HER friend George Lopez when he DID say racist things that were caught on camera, it's disgustingly hypocritical of her.

As is the behaviour of CBS, the Cowardly Broadcasting System, who've so pathetically bowed to the woke mob illiberally baying for blood like a bunch of crazed language-policing fascists.

In their statement announcing Sharon's departure, CBS made it clear she was leaving specifically for what happened on that episode and not because of any of the other historic allegations of alleged inappropriate behaviour made against her by aggrieved former panel members, all of which Sharon vehemently denies.

CBS said: 'The events of the March 10 broadcast were upsetting to everyone involved, including the audience watching at home. As part of our review, we concluded that Sharon's behavior toward her co-hosts during the March 10 episode did not align with our values for a respectful workplace.'

What a load of sanctimonious, two-faced twaddle.

So, it's OK for Sheryl Underwood to passionately defend someone who spews racist abuse at a black woman, but it's not OK for Sharon Osbourne to passionately defend someone who didn't?

This is such an outrageous double standard.

And how can it even be happening in a country so proud of its First Amendment constitutional right to free speech?

But then, this is the same CBS that allowed Meghan and Harry to spray-gun the British royals and media with all sorts of unsubstantiated highly damaging garbage, the veracity of which has been unravelling faster than Sharon Osbourne was jettisoned at the altar of politically correct bullshit.

Oprah Winfrey barely challenged a word her two friends said, leaving Americans and the woefully gullible US media to assume every sensational bombshell of self-serving tittle-tattle was fact when much of it wasn't.

It's hard to overstate the pain and hurt these claims have caused the Queen, and to make it even worse, they were made at a time when her 99-year-old husband Prince Philip lay seriously ill in hospital.

This sham of an 'interview' was a shameful betrayal of journalistic standards by CBS.

And when it comes to the company's 'values', this is the same CBS which has just given a platform to shamed film director Woody Allen to dismiss serious sex abuse allegations made by his daughter Dylan.

They seem to specialise in allowing people to peddle THEIR version of the truth without any regard for what THE truth may be.

Sharon Osbourne was entitled to defend me without being deemed a racist.

Just as I was entitled not to believe Meghan Markle without being deemed a racist.

The fact we've both lost our jobs is not just an appalling attack on free speech, but it's also a terrible indictment of woke cancel culture bullshit and the stinking hypocrisy that lies at the heart of it.

Every journalist and commentator in America should be as incensed as I am about this, because they could all be next.

CALIFORNIA MAN SUBMITTED AT LEAST 400 FRAUDULENT UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS

LA Man Allegedly Obtains $3 Million In State Unemployment Benefits Using Identities Of 23 Inmates, Others

 

LAPPL News Watch

March 29, 2021

 

A Los Angeles man indicted by a federal grand jury this month for possessing methamphetamine and unauthorized debit cards is suspected of using the identities of 23 inmates and others to obtain more than $3 million in state unemployment benefits, according to court records. 

Edward Kim, 35, allegedly submitted at least 400 fraudulent claims with the California Economic Development Department from March 30 to Sept. 8, 2020, according to an arrest affidavit filed by U.S. Department of Labor Special Agent Anthony Clark. 

At least 120 of those EDD claims were filed under the names of inmates incarcerated in California prisons, authorities said. 

Kim was arrested in November following a traffic stop by La Habra police, who allegedly discovered methamphetamine and EDD materials. 

Officials with the U.S. Department of Labor and EDD declined to comment on Kim’s arrest or the fraud he is accused of perpetrating. 

THEFT OF CATALYTIC CONVERTERS

To Deter Thieves, SoCal Law Enforcement Help Residents Etch License Plate Numbers On Catalytic Converters Amid Increase In Thefts

 

LAPPL news Watch

March 29, 2021

In an effort to deter thieves, some law enforcement agencies in Southern California have been helping drivers etch license plate numbers on their vehicles’ catalytic converters. 

 

The exhaust emission control devices are increasingly being cut from vehicles and stolen because they contain precious metals and can be scrapped for quick profit. 

 

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported that catalytic converter thefts skyrocketed 400% in 2020. Earlier this month, 19 people were arrested and $750,000 worth of catalytic converters were recovered in an operation targeting several locations in Los Angeles. 

 

The Sheriff’s Department’s different stations have recently been hosting “Catalytic Converter Etching Events,” where drivers can get their license plate numbers etched onto the car parts to make them easier to track if stolen. 

 

The latest of such events were hosted by Palmdale and San Dimas sheriff’s stations. On Thursday, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station provided the service to residents.

HOLY SHIT: SATAN SHOES ..... AND ONLY $1,018 A PAIR

Nike denies involvement with Lil Nas X 'Satan Shoes' containing human blood

 

By Doha Madani

 

NBC News

March 28, 2021

 

 

                    Lil Nas X

 

The devil wears Prada — and now, according to rapper Lil Nas X, he also wears custom Nike sneakers containing human blood.

Lil Nas X, the "Old Town Road" artist, is collaborating with the streetwear company MSCHF on a pair of "Satan Shoes," only 666 pairs of which will be on sale Monday. The controversial kicks — apparently modified Nike Air Max 97s — are decorated with a pentagram pendant and a reference to Luke 10:18, a Bible verse about Satan's fall from heaven. They'll be sold for $1,018.

 

The sneakers also contain a drop of human blood in the sole, drawn from members of the MSCHF team, the company told NBC News on Sunday.

News of the shoes drew outrage over the Palm Sunday weekend; some critics slammed both Lil Nas X and Nike. But Nike was quick to distance itself from the shoes, pointing out that they're custom adaptations of existing products.

"We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF," Nike said in a statement. "Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them."

MSCHF previously released a pair of modified Nike Air Max 97s called the "Jesus Shoes," which contained what it described as holy water in its sole drawn from the River Jordan.

The release of the Satan Shoes coincides with Lil Nas X's latest single, "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)," and its accompanying music video. In the video, Lil Nas X is seduced out of what appears to be the Garden of Eden, falls into hell and gives the devil a lap dance.

 

Lil Nas X giving the Devil a lap dance

The music video has been viewed more than 29 million times since its release Friday.

The rapper, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, put out a short YouTube video on Sunday titled "Lil Nas X Apologizes for Satan Shoe." While holding the sneaker, Lil Nas X begins speaking, and before it gets to the advertised apology, the video cuts to the clip from "Montero" of him giving the devil a lap dance.

He also tweeted a defense of the shoes Sunday.

After the release of the song Friday, Lil Nas X put out an open letter to his younger self about coming out. The rapper, who is openly gay, explained that the song was about a guy he met last summer.

"I know we promised to never come out publicly, I know we promised to never be 'that' type of gay person, I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist," he wrote.

The music video for "Montero" includes a voiceover with a similar message.

"In life, we hide the parts of ourselves we don't want the world to see," he says. "We lock them away. We tell them, 'No.' We banish them. But here, we don't. Welcome to Montero."

Lil Nas X first appeared to come out in a tweet in June 2019, on the last day of Pride Month, after the chart-topping success of "Old Town Road."

He pointed out a rainbow building on the cover of his album, "C7osure," and said, "Deadass thought I made it obvious."

'IF THE DEVIL IS ATTACKING YOU, THERE IS A REASON'

Pastor David Evans: Slain Oklahoma pastor had threesomes with his wife Kristie Evans and killer Kahlil Square

 

By Kunal Dey

 

MEAWW

March 27, 2021

 

ADA, OKLAHOMA: An Oklahoma pastor had warned his parishioners that the devil would seek to “destroy and kill them” for witnessing God’s power, just hours before he was fatally shot in his bed on Monday morning, March 22. It later emerged that his wife had ordered her lover to kill him after an affair that allegedly involved the pastor at some point.

“Sometimes, I just stop and think. If the devil is not attacking you with everything he’s got in trying to destroy and kill you, maybe (it’s) because you’re not the reason anybody is believing in Jesus. And as a pastor and just as a Christian, what a waste,” David Charles Evans, 50, said during a sermon at Harmony Free Will Baptist Church last Sunday, shortly after he returned from a mission trip to Mexico, the Daily Beast reported.

“And what a challenge to us because who’s coming to Christ because of us? Who’s believing in Jesus because of us? And if we’re doing anything in that direction, expect for the enemy to come to destroy you. So don’t be shocked and start whining and crying. Expect it. Be prepared for it. If the devil is not attacking you, there is a reason. If the devil is attacking you, there is a reason," he added.

 

(L-R) Kristie Evans, Pastor David Evans and Kahlil Square

 

Kristie Dawnell Evans, 47, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after she admitted to her role in her husband’s death. Her lover, Kahlil Deamie Square, 26, was also arrested on Thursday, March 25, on the same charge, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said on Friday, March 26. Police believe Kristie asked Kahlil to end her husband's life as part of a plot the duo hatched while the pastor was in Mexico. The mother of three later told authorities that her husband “was verbally abusive and controlling of her” and “called her names like ‘shit, fat, ugly, and whore,’” according to an affidavit obtained by the Daily Beast.

“Kristie gave David’s gun and a box of bullets to Kahlil,” according to the affidavit, based on what Kristie confessed to investigators. “Kristie and Kahlil agreed upon an approximate time Kahlil would come to the Evans’ residence to kill David. Kristie left the backdoor unlocked so Kahlil could make entry to the resident.” The pastor's wife shockingly claimed to investigators that she and Kahlil “had a sexual relationship that also included David at one point as well”.

“Kristie and David first met Kahlil months ago at a Super 8 Motel,” where the trio had sex on more than one occasion, per the affidavit. One time, “Kristie secretly dropped her phone number on the floor for Kahlil. Kristie continued to communicate by phone daily with Kahlil without David’s knowledge,” it continued. Kahlil had stayed over for three nights while David was in Mexico, Kristie revealed. She apparently told Kahlil during his stay that her husband was verbally abusive and mistreated her, adding that “it would be nice to have more freedom”. “Kahlil simply responded with, ‘damn,’” per the affidavit.

Around 1 am on March 22, Kristie dialed 911 and reported that “someone had shot her husband” inside their Ada residence, located an hour outside of Oklahoma City. Upon arrival, officers saw David lying in bed, bleeding from the nose and mouth with a gunshot wound to the head. They pronounced him dead at the scene.

Kristie had originally told police that she was awakened by a ‘pop’ noise and smelled smoke a few hours after the couple had gone to bed. She then claimed to notice her husband was bleeding from his nose and mouth but was still breathing and making a “gasping noise”. She said she ran outside the house to look outside for any cars or intruders before alerting the authorities.

But her story began to unravel as authorities began to interview friends and neighbors. Neighbor Brian Hughes told police that a white Ford Mustang had been at the house for several days before the pastor was killed. Hughes also provided video surveillance footage of the vehicle in front of the house on March 22. Kristie later admitted that the Mustang belonged to Kahlil, with whom she was having an affair.

Police received a text message on Thursday from Kristie's daughter, saying she wanted to confess, the affidavit stated. Kristie had allegedly revealed to her daughter she begged Kahlil to kill David and that Kahlil shot and killed David with David’s gun.

Kristie later told investigators that she heard Kahlil arrive at the house on Monday night. When she went to the living room, she saw him "crouched down" and was "concerned he was making too much noise." She said she urged him to “proceed with the plan” and stayed in the living room while her lover went to the bedroom and shot her husband to death. Kristie then recalled how she saw David lying in bed with a gunshot wound after Kahlil "ran out the backdoor". She immediately called 911.

Kristie is remanded in custody at Pontotoc County Jail while Kahlil is being held in Cleveland County Jail, according to The Daily Beast.

EDITOR'S NOTE: So the good Reverend called his wife shit, fat, ugly and whore ... all of which appear to be true. 

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM TOMATOES?

Israel Seizes Gold Bars Smuggled from Gaza in Tomatoes

 

Israel Today 

March 29, 2021

You think of the Gaza Strip as the most impoverished piece of real estate on the planet. At least that’s how the media likes to portray it. But one thing Gaza does apparently have is plenty of cash (or in this case, gold) to fund terrorist activities.

Israeli authorities last week were successful in thwarting a creative attempt to smuggle gold bars out of the Gaza Strip. It is believed that the gold was intended for terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria, the so-called “West Bank.”

 

 

Security inspectors at the Kerem-Shalom Crossing found 13 gold bars hidden inside boxes of tomatoes being exported from Gaza to the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories.

The bars, weighing a total of 7 kilograms (15.43 lbs.), were found during a routine security check. There was no report of any specific intelligence regarding the smuggling effort. The crates of vegetables had a double cardboard bottom, and there the gold bars were hidden, painted black to disguise them, and the edges were hidden in large tomatoes.  

The gold was confiscated, and the investigation was handed over to the police and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) to try and locate the intended recipient of the treasure. The leading theory is that the gold was destined for Hamas terrorist elements in Judea and Samaria.

Israel’s combined security agencies have been successful in thwarting thousands of attempts to smuggle illicit materials into and out of the Gaza Strip in the past years.