WITH THE BIDEN (OBAMA) ADMINISTRATION, ISRAEL AND THE GULF STATES FEEL THEY CAN NO LONGER TRULY RELY ON AMERICA AS A SHIELD AGAINST THEIR FOES

America is Losing the Middle East

“If the Americans won’t side with Israel against Iran, what’s the chance they will side with us?”

 

By Ryan Jones

 

Israel Today

April 3, 2022

Obama and Biden’s foreign policies are indistinguishable. During the 2020 campaign, Biden promised to resurrect his old boss’s pact on Iran which was nixed by Donald Trump in 2018

 

It’s come as a shock to some that Israel has refrained quite resolutely from joining the United States in condemning and sanctioning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

Israel has historically fallen in line with Washington’s global policies, wary of being isolated from its most committed ally and benefactor.

But it’s not only the Jewish state that is loosening ties to the US. A chorus of Arab voices are warning that America is losing its grip on the entire Middle East due to reckless, contradictory and even hypocritical policies.

 

Israel and the Gulf states feel they can no longer truly rely on America as a shield against their foes

 

“The Saudi-US relationship is in the throes of a crisis,” wrote Mohammed al-Yahya, former editor-in-chief of the pan-Arab, Saudi-owned news network Al-Arabiya.

That al-Yahya penned his op-ed not for a major American publication, but for The Jerusalem Post already tells you that the Arabs are looking to diversify their alliances, and see in Israel as worthy a partner as any other to whom to air their grievances.

The prominent Arab journalist said that while the White House still fails to fully comprehend what’s happening, the Arab states on the Persian Gulf see themselves in the throws of a “divorce.”

This breakup began with the previous Iran nuclear deal facilitated by former US President Barak Obama, a deal that for all its efforts to avoid such an outcome still, in the words of al-Yahya, “paves a path for Iran to a nuclear bomb.” Former Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was of the same opinion, which is why he so vigorously, to the point of violating diplomatic protocol, opposed the agreement.

Now, continued al-Yahya, President Joe Biden is doing the same with the nuclear deal emerging from ongoing talks in Vienna. He lamented that when these concerns were raised at the recent summit in southern Israel, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken did little more than “paper over the rift that the nuclear deal has created by presenting an image of regional solidarity, but the region is not deceived.”

The conclusion that the Arabs have arrived at is that the United States no longer has their back, at least not in the way that would protect them from Iranian aggression.

Israel has reached much the same conclusion, even if it doesn’t say so in such explicit terms. Repeatedly have Israeli leaders said that the Jewish state can ultimately rely only upon itself for its defense.

And interestingly enough, it is Israel’s realization in this regard that has the Arabs better understanding where the US really stands, and that they too should start seeking other, or at least additional, allies, including Israel.

“If the Americans won’t side with Israel against Iran, what’s the chance they will side with us?” wondered al-Yahya.

He wrote such in regards not only to the dangerous nuclear agreement, but also in response to the oddly feeble American reaction to an Iranian missile attack on US facilities in Erbil in northern Iraq last month. The Iranians claimed the attack targeted secret Israeli installations, and the Biden Administration, at least in Arab eyes, seemed largely unconcerned, if not tacitly approving.

This comes from a foreign policy approach under which both Obama and Biden have stressed “balance” in order to maintain stability.

So al-Yahya and others wonder then why the US is so adamant that Israel and the Arab Gulf states join it in directly opposing Russia, rather than maintaining a balance that suits their own national interests.

“Why should America’s regional allies help Washington contain Russia in Europe when Washington is strengthening Russia and Iran in the Middle East?” the Arab journalist stressed.

By contrast to America’s contradictory policies and positions, he noted that Russia and China are far more straightforward in what they want and expect. And this is why Israel and the Western-aligned Arab states are increasingly looking to one another and to those other rising superpowers in with wake of America’s faltering. They can’t afford to do otherwise.

TRIBUTE TO BETTY REID SOSKIN ..... AN AMAZING 100-YEAR-YOUNG LADY

The oldest park ranger, who told the stories of Black women in WWII, retires at 100

 

By Bill Chappell 

 

NPR

April 1, 2022

 

 

National Park Service ranger Betty Reid Soskin, 100, retired on Thursday. She's seen here in 2016, working at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif.  

 

 

There's no better way to learn history than from the people who lived it. And for years, Betty Reid Soskin — a.k.a. Ranger Betty — brought her invaluable perspective to work at the National Park Service, sharing experiences that otherwise would have been gone unacknowledged.

                      

"What gets remembered is a function of who's in the room doing the remembering," Soskin, who turned 100 last fall, has said.

For years, Soskin was the oldest active ranger in the park service, leading public programs at the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif. That chapter of her rich life has finally come to a close: She retired on Thursday, capping a career that saw her enrich histories of the World War II home front with her own experience as a woman of color facing segregation and hours of toil.

While Rosie the Riveter was the famous public face of women's industrial work during the war, Soskin literally had to create the space to tell stories like her own.

"That really is a white woman's story," Soskin said of the iconic bandanna-wearing worker, in a 2014 interview with NPR.

Soskin initially helped shape the historical park in Richmond through planning meetings. Then she worked with the park service through a third-party grant highlighting Black Americans' experiences during World War II. Her drive to ensure park visitors understand the broader context of the war effort, and the backdrop of racism and segregation, led to her accepting a temp position at age 84, and then a permanent job.

 

Ranger Soskin as a young woman (bottom insert)

As a young woman during World War II, Soskin worked as a shipyard clerk for an all-Black auxiliary lodge of the Boilermakers union, which didn't allow people of color to join as regular members. 

For added perspective, consider that Soskin's great-grandmother, who had been born into slavery in 1846 and lived to be 102, was still alive as her family's youngest members continued to cope with institutional racism — even as Soskin helped the U.S. war effort.

In 1945, Soskin and her husband, Mel Reid, opened a renowned record store — Reid's Records — in Berkeley that stayed in business for nearly 75 years before closing in 2019, selling soul and gospel music.

Soskin says she has lived "lots and lots of lives"

Soskin has lived "lots and lots of lives," she told NPR in 2014, including writing protest songs during the civil rights movement and working for years in local politics. Years after enduring segregation, she used those experiences to add vivid life to tours and discussions at the Rosie the Riveter Home Front park.

Accolades have rolled in for Soskin. The California Legislature named her Woman of the Year in 1995. The World War II Museum in New Orleans awarded her its silver medallion. She has a middle school named after her.

And in 2015, Soskin introduced President Barack Obama during the national tree-lighting ceremony in Washington. For that occasion, she carried a unique piece of her own history in her pocket: a photo of her great-grandmother.

It was the same photo she brought to watch Obama be sworn in as president, in 2009.

"It's a kind of experience that covers years, and decades, and centuries," she said of bringing an image of her ancestor along to those historic moments.

EXCITING ENTERTAINMENT AT A HOUSTON ROCKERS GAME

Streaker interrupts Rockets vs Kings, Internet calls it 'more entertaining than the game'

'Condolences to Rockets fans, who had to endure two straight losses to the Kings in Houston AND a streaker,' a user tweeted 

 

By Divya Kishore 

 

meaww

April 1, 2022

 

The naked man incident that happened on April 1 

 

People on the internet are amused after a naked man interrupted the game between Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings on Friday, April 1, as he ran onto the court and began dancing before being escorted out. As per reports, the unidentified man, who had a man bun, was only wearing what seemed like speedo-style undergarments and tall black socks and shoes.

However, as he began his antics, security forced him to the ground before lifting him and putting him outside. The game was reportedly paused for a few minutes as the situation was managed. It has been said that people in the stands started cheering while security people were taking the man outside.

                              

Many fans felt the streaker was more entertaining than the game

A number of people have shared about the incident on Twitter with many attaching videos and pictures too. Rob Perez, an NBA Twitter personality, posted the video and wrote, “streaker on the court, gets welcomed to C̶L̶U̶T̶C̶H̶ Suplex City.” A user tweeted, “More entertaining than the game.” Another one reacted, “I hope that streaker from the Rockets game is doing okay. Not the best game to do it, but that was...something.”

A person wrote: “Man with nothing on but a g string and they decided to carry him out butt cheeks up 😭😭😭😭.” A tweet from ClutchFans read: “The Rockets had a seven-point lead when the streaker ran out on the court and have been outscored 44-28 since. This idiot might become a tanking legend. (📷 by @DaKidGowie ).”

A user expressing his amusement asked, “Why does there have to be tackling, like streakers are dangerous. Every time someone runs across a field or court the response is violent. It’s weird.” The second one said: “Today at the Rockets game Elisabeth and I for the first time came on the big screen for the kiss cam that was awesome, and for the first time we also saw a streaker run down the court 😂 #HoustonRockets.” “That streaker definitely made it memorable!” the third user noted.

A tweet reacting to the incident stated, “Wild, I've only ever seen streakers came out to play in soccer and rugby matches!  Oh! and cricket too! 😂.” Another sarcastic tweet was “Condolences to Rockets fans, who had to endure two straight losses to the Kings in Houston AND a streaker. I mean, unless that's your thing. Then no condolences for that part.” “Imagine wasting your one streaker opportunity on a 25% occupancy crowd,” a person mentioned. “I have so much more respect for arena streakers than stadium streakers. Less room to maneuver, more painful consequences for failure, smaller audience I mean these guys just simply have that dog in em,” a tweet added.

The Big Lead shared: “There was a streaker during tonight's Rockets - Kings game. Though, technically, he was wearing polka dotted underwear when security tackled him.” “Whatever happens here tonight, these have been two great games against the Kings. Down to the wire, both teams going on runs throughout both games, some brilliant highlight moments and of course... A H-Town streaker 😂 @HoustonRockets @TheRyanHollins @ca_rockets,” a user tweeted.

Meanwhile, the April Fool’s day game saw the Sacramento Kings winning as the host team lost with a final score of 122-117. The Sun reported that “the Rockets are 15th in the Western Conference. The Kings are 12th in the same conference.”

THE ACTUAL MURDERER'S ACCUSATION LED POLICE TO BUST THE FORMER BOYFRIEND

Wrong boyfriend arrested for murder in NJ domestic incident, cops say 

 

By Dana Kennedy

 

New York Post

April 2m 2022

 

 

Andre Daniels was falsely accused and arrested for fatally stabbing his former girlfriend Alicia Arnone in her home in Leonia, New Jersey. Nile Diakos, the new boyfriend and actual murderer, was arrested later and the charges against Daniels were dropped

         Nile Diakos, a gangbanger, was arrested and charged with the Alicia Arnone’s murder after the former boyfriend had been wrongly charged   

 

A gang banger fatally stabbed his girlfriend and slipped away from the scene — then tried to throw cops off his trail by reporting the killing himself, according to police and the victim’s family.

Alicia Arnone, 35, was found in a pool of blood at the top of a staircase by her 13-year-old daughter, who had heard her mother’s screams, and the sound of someone leaving their Leonia home, Arnone’s family told The Post.

Cops quickly arrested the girl’s father, Andre Daniels, in her March 26 killing.

Daniels, who has a lengthy rap sheet, and Arnone dated on-and-off for 14 years, and he had a history of assaulting her, according to her family and reports.

When the cops arrived at the crime scene at the first-floor apartment on Grand Avenue, they found Arnone’s daughter along with the woman’s new boyfriend, Nile Diakos, 35, of Paterson, who had called police at 9:59 a.m. to report a stabbing, authorities said.

Both Diakos and the girl told police that Daniels, who had had restraining orders issued against him in the past because of abusive incidents involving Alicia, was the murderer, according to court papers cited by Daily Voice.

In a chilling twist, police now believe that Diakos stabbed Arnone, slipped out of the house and circled back after calling police to report the murder. Charges against Daniels in the case have been dropped, and he was released from custody Wednesday.

Police received phone recordings of Diakos confessing to killing Arnone, court documents show. Diakos, who calls himself an “OG Cripp” and said he “studied at Trenton State Prison” on his Facebook page, was arrested Thursday and charged with first degree murder, police said.

The tragic mix-up was understandable on the part of Alicia’s daughter, Arnone’s mother told The Post Saturday, because the girl had witnessed her father’s abuse for so long.

Karen Arnone said the girl woke up when she heard her mother screaming and heard someone leaving the house.

 

New Jersey police initially arrested Andre Daniels on suspicion of killing Alicia Arnone

 

“She didn’t see him but she thought it was her father,” Karen Arnone said.

Arnone said Daniels kicked the door in and beat up Alicia in December, and there were orders of protection against him forbidding him to go near either Alicia or their daughter but he ignored them.

Daniels had a 20-year criminal history involving assaults, threats, harassment and violating restraining orders, police sources told Daily Voice last week. The outlet also reported that there had been multiple reports of domestic violence between Daniels and Arnone. A final restraining order was issued in 2021 to prevent any contact between the two.

“Alicia and Andre were together for so long,” her mother said. “She thought she could fix him. He beat her so badly in December. That’s why we all thought he was the murderer. We don’t really know this new guy.”

Diakos posted a tatted-up selfie on March 15, less than two weeks before Alicia’s murder, and wrote: “A chick says she loves u but then this,,,IMA get her bacc…”

The day after Alicia’s murder, Diakos posted a photo of her on Facebook.

“R.I.P. Alicia Arnone. Ur in the lords arms now…no more pain,” Diakos wrote.

Daniels did not return several phone calls and texts from The Post.

ALL YOU WHITE PEOPLE, LEAVE WILL SMITH'S NAME OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MOUTHS

The true horror is urban violence, not Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars 

 

By Michael Benjamin

 

New York Post

April 1, 2-22

 

 

Every celebrity in Hollywood screamed their horrified reaction to Will Smith's slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars - but not a single A-lister is worried about street violence across their nation

 

On Sunday, much of America — those on Facebook, Twitter and other social media, in particular — lost their collective mind when actor Will Smith sauntered up to a grinning Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars and smacked him across his face.

Chris Rock’s lame GI Jane joke at the expense of an alopecia-stricken Jada Pinkett didn’t warrant Smith’s theatrical display of machismo.

While the David-vs.-Goliath match-up didn’t sit well with fans of either man, the outrage expressed on social media and in the news was out-of-proportion to the incident — and dwarfed public fury over the real-life horrors on the streets every day, including those Smith and Rock grew up on.

I was initially mostly agnostic and dismissive of the whole affair before seeing a friend’s Facebook post and others who characterized the slap as “horrific.”

“Horrific? Horrific was Junior Guzman-Feliz being killed inside a Bronx bodega,” I replied. “Horrific was a homeless maniac shoving a young woman [Michelle Go] to her death in front of an oncoming subway train.”

As the week dragged on, we saw the inevitable use of a racial-inequality lens to refract thinking about The Slap.

The Guardian declared, “White outrage about Will Smith’s slap is rooted in anti-Blackness.”

 

The Post highlighted at least 21 children dying from street violence in New York City in 2021

 

“Will Smith and the unfair burden Black men face,” harrumphed USA Today.

AP went with “Will Smith’s slap sparks debate on defense of Black women.” (Frankly, I’m surprised — but not triggered — that the Associated Press even uses that cisgendered term.)

It was the equivalent of these writers and news outlets telling white people, “Leave Will Smith’s name out of your f–king mouths.”

Yet while the Smith-Rock dust-up drew so much of a stir about violence, the daily carnage in New York City and other urban areas barely gets even mere handwringing — except, of course, to blame police, unemployment and the lack of opportunity.

You want “horrific”? On Oscars weekend and during the week that followed, the city witnessed these incidents:

• On the Friday before the telecast, a 16-year-old boy was shot a few blocks from Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens.
• A 3-year-old girl was struck by a stray bullet while walking past a Brooklyn day-care center also on Friday.
• Two 15-year-old boys were shot in their legs during a dispute near a public-housing complex in East Harlem on Wednesday night.
• While sitting in a car on Thursday night, a 12-year-old boy was shot in the head and killed in East Flatbush.

And that’s just a taste of the week’s violence in the city.

It angers me to no end that the daily tragedies visited upon New York City, Chicago, Baltimore, South Central LA, Philadelphia and other urban communities don’t merit similar attention — and loud demands for law and order — as The Slap Heard Round the World.

 

Mayor Eric Adams is trying to stop New York City’s crime plague by deploying more NYPD officers

 

Did The Post’s extraordinary Oct. 1, 2021, front page, which featured 21 kids killed in street violence last year cause outrage or trigger elites? Ha! The sound of crickets was the response from far too many people, despite the numerous unfortunate young black males gone too soon.

Yet Smith slaps Chris Rock and everybody loses their minds, whether they support or condemn him.

People are “traumatized.” It was “horrific.” Whites are holding Smith to a higher standard.

 

Kade Lewin, 12, was fatally shot on March 31 while sitting in a car in East Flatbush, Brooklyn

 

Meanwhile, dozens of inner-city minorities are getting their lives shredded at the hands of their peers and . . . crickets.

That in itself is outrageous. Inner-city violence and chaos should be far more “triggering,” traumatizing and life-altering than Smith’s and Rock’s sandbox behavior.

On inner-city streets, any number of slights — from a dumb joke about your girl to someone accidentally stepping on your brand-new kicks to a diss about your Facebook post — can result in senseless stabbings and shootings.

Wouldn’t it be nice if all the A-listers (and ordinary folk) horrified by Will Smith’s behavior last Sunday night turned their outrage against violence into action that saves the lives of young black men in the ’hood? Wouldn’t it be nice it some of them actually dedicated themselves to supporting violence-reduction and positive interventions?

C’mon: Let’s be “horrified” enough to actually end the bloodshed so that every mother’s son and daughter alive today are alive to celebrate Mother’s Day with their moms next month — and many more thereafter.

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU SHOULD JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP

by Bob Walsh


All this information comes from a news story so I can not say it is absolutely true.  Also, ASSUMING the story is accurate, the elderly gentlemen is on solid legal ground so he will PROBABLY be ok, at least in Ohio.  But still......


James Lowgher, 74, was at home minding his own business.  A 16-year old forced his way into the home.  The news story quotes the resident as saying, "He didn't belong here and I knew.....after he came through the door like that, I can shoot him."  He also added, "I pumped two into him there.  He went down the steps that way and I got him a third time I hope."


The cops arrived and found the teenager on the steps going down into the basement.  He had multiple gunshot wounds.  The elderly gentleman can still shoot apparently.  The resident was unharmed.


It should be noted that these statements attributed to Lowgher were made to the press, not to the cops.  


As I said it looks like this is a "good shoot."  I would expect most people in a clear-cut case of self defense in your own house would talk to the cops.  I would respectfully suggest that talking to the press in this situation is a BAD idea.  In the event this ends up with Lowgher being charged a prosecutor or a civil attorney could make him look like a callous slug or a demented old man who was just itching to shoot somebody.  


Talk to the cops, maybe-probably.  Talk to the press, NO.  
 
EDITOR'S NOTE: Some argue that you should not talk to the cops without the presence of a lawyer. 


Self defense?  Since the intruder was shot in at least two different spots, this looks like a case of murder, not self defense.

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE 6TH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL?

Suspected serial killer to stand trial after 10 years in jail

 

By Jessica Willey

 

KTRK

April 1, 2022

 

 

  

                                                             Steven Alexander Hobbs

 

 

HOUSTON, Texas -- A suspected serial killer is finally slated to stand trial after more than a decade in Harris County jail.

Steven Alexander Hobbs, 51, has lived at the Harris County Jail in the maximum security unit for more than 10 years.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office says his stay has been generally uneventful. Although, the length of his stay is extraordinary.

"I've been doing this for 30 years. I've never seen anyone in for over a decade," said Crime Stoppers' Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan.

Hobbs is the longest serving current Harris County inmate. He's been jailed and awaiting trial since his arrest in 2011.

In October 2011, investigators with the HCSO announced the arrest in a news conference and then dropped a bombshell that they suspected he is a serial killer.

"Steven Hobbs has been a predator. He has been a predator for at least a decade. So now, we're looking at everything just to see if he fits," explained then-HCSO Homicide Unit Lt. Rolf Nelson in 2011.

Hobbs is charged with two capital murders in the deaths of Sarah Sanford and Patricia Pyatt. He is also a suspect in the death of Wanda Trombley. Hobbs is charged with two rapes, one kidnapping and two aggravated assaults with a deadly weapon. Investigators have always believed there are more victims.

"The number of deceased victims, I have no way of knowing that at this time. The number of living victims, I really can't guess either," said the prosecutor.

Deputies said Hobbs, a security guard commissioned to carry a gun, preyed on sex workers in the Crosby, Highlands, and Barrett Station in areas of east Harris County. They said he used a gun, baton, handcuffs, his towering height and weight to attack.

Investigators believe the married father of two targeted prostitutes because they are hesitant to go to police.

Trombley's body was found in September 2011 along Red Bluff Road. Sanford's body was found naked and bound with handcuffs in 2010 in a wooded area five miles from Hobbs' Crosby home. Pyatt, a mother of 5 children, was found strangled in 2002 along the banks of the San Jacinto river. DNA linked Hobbs to Pyatt and Sanford's murders, investigators said.

Living victims identified him.

"This guy was thinking no one was going to catch him," said then-Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

Hobbs was set to stand trial in 2015, but new DNA testing put it on hold. By the time the case was ready to go again, Hurricane Harvey hit causing the courthouse to shut down for years and the COVID-19 pandemic added to the delay.

"It's finally time to get this case to fruition," said Kahan.

The Harris County District Attorney's office is now moving at a fast pace in the Sanford case, filing a number of motions this week. A pre-trial hearing on the admittance of Hobbs' statement is schedule for April 6. Trial is set for May. Prosecutors declined an interview request so close jury selection.

In response to the label "serial killer," Mandy Miller, one of three defense attorneys said, "The defense team is eager to see what evidence the State has to substantiate such a claim."

Hobbs, whose wife has not divorced him, spends his time in the jail's law library and has corresponded with the court, on occasion.

After more than 10 years, he may soon be moving out of the Harris County jail.

Kahan empathizes with the victims and their families.

"It's absolutely gut-wrenching to wait this long and I hope, finally, perhaps in 2022, we're going to come to fruition and get this case disposed of one way or another," said Kathan.

TEXAS JUDGES SOFT ON MURDERERS

'A no-brainer for no bond': Families furious after capital murder suspect released on bond twice

Devan Jordon was released on bond after the murder of a young Houston man. Then, he was charged with the murder of a League City man. Now, he's out on bond again.

 

By Michelle Homer

 

KHOU 11 

March 31, 2022 

 

 

 Devan Jordon was grnted bond twice, each time for capital murder

 

HOUSTON — Two Houston-area families are demanding answers after the suspect charged with murdering their loved ones was released on bond twice.

Devan Jordon, 21, posted a $1 million bond Wednesday in Galveston County where he was charged with capital murder in the shooting death of a League City businessman during a robbery last June.

"This was a no-brainer for no bond," Crime Stoppers Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan said Thursday. "I don't know how you can come to the conclusion that he is not a walking, ticking time bomb that's a threat to everybody within a multi-county jurisdiction."

In November, Jordon bonded out of the Harris County Jail on a $500,000 bond for another capital murder charge.

“I have never in my life seen a defendant released on multiple bonds for capital murder in two different counties,” Kahan said. “Two bonds for two capital murders? ... That’s not gonna go over.”

Kahan said capital murder is the only crime in Texas where judges do not have to grant a bond. He said Jordon's history of violence should have been enough for both judges to keep him behind bars.

Devan Jordon timeline

When those murders happened, Kahan said Jordon was out on bond in Fort Bend County on an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge.

Dec. 4, 2019: Aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in Fort Bend County; posts $150,000 bond

April 14, 2021: Two felony evading arrest charges in Harris County; the notes in the court documents called Jordon "a threat to community safety," Kahan said. Released on bond

May 19, 2021: Harris County said Jordon never appeared in court and never had a GPS put on. He was ordered to report to court on May 27.

May 27, 2021: Joshua Sandoval, 28, was shot and killed during a robbery in Rice Military.

June 11, 2021: Jeffrey Johnson was shot and killed during a robbery outside his League City home.

Oct. 4, 2021: Houston police announce the arrest of Jordon for the capital murder of Sandoval.

November 2021: Jordon posted a $500,000 bond and was set free.

Dec. 20, 2021: Jordon was arrested and charged with capital murder in Johnson's death.

March 30, 2022: Jordon was released from the Galveston County Jail after a judge set his bond at $1 million.

Victim #1: Joshua Sandoval

The mother, sister and brother of Joshua Sandoval spoke at the news conference Thursday.

His mother said she's devastated and in disbelief that her son's alleged killer is out on the streets again.

"He spread nothing but joy his entire life. He could light up a room instantly with a smile," big brother Omar Sandoval said. "His personality, his energy, his warmth were just infectious."

"Something I carry around in my purse with me, as a reminder, this is a picture of me holding my brother's hand hours before we had to let him go," sister Aimee Castillo said.

She doesn't want other families to have to endure the same pain and heartache.

"It is time for us to fight back. Judges need to face the facts and wake up – no bond for repeat violent felony offenders," she said.

Kahan said they know of at least 110 capital murder defendants currently out on bond in Harris County. But Jordon is the only one charged with two capital murders who's out on bond.

Victim #2: Jeffrey Johnson

After his release in November, Jordon was arrested in Galveston County where he was charged with the League City murder.

In that case, Jeffrey Johnson and his wife were followed home from the Capital Grille restaurant in the Galleria area last June. After the victim's wife went inside, robbers ambushed Johnson and shot him.

In December, investigators identified Jordon as Johnson's killer and he was charged with another count of capital murder.

He remained in the Galveston County Jail until this week.

According to Crime Stoppers, Jordon was also on bond out of Fort Bend County on a charge of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.

"The public needs to be warned that this defendant is back out in the community and based on his track record, someone will more than likely pay the price," Kahan said.

Investigators said Jordon was part of an organized crime ring responsible for several violent robberies that stalked people in the Galleria area. They targeted victims at high-end shops and restaurants.

The victims included two New Orleans police officers shot and killed outside Grotto restaurant last August. Jordon was not named as a suspect in the Grotto shooting.

We reached out to both judges who set bonds for Jordon and neither wanted to comment.

_____________

 

Attorney defends capital murder suspect granted bond in two cases

 

Devan Jordon, 21, is charged with capital murder for the deaths of Joshua Sandoval in Harris County and Jeff Johnson in Galveston County

 

 

 

By Grace White 

 

 

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A man facing two capital murder charges posted a $1 million bond this week, frustrating victims' families. However, the defense attorney representing Devan Jordon said there are two sides to the story.

“This young man is not the shooter in any one of these cases," attorney Letitia Quinones said. “He deserves the right for his parents and his family to want to try their best to do what they can to save his life, too."

The 21-year-old is facing charges in three counties, Harris, Fort Bend and Galveston. In two counties, he's facing capital murder charges. One for the death of Joshua Sandoval who was shot during a robbery last May at his Rice Military townhome.

The other is for the death of Jeff Johnson who was killed during a robbery in June outside his home in League City. Police said he and his wife were followed home from The Capital Grille on Westheimer. Investigators told KHOU 11 News Jordon was the one who rented the car used in the crime spree.

However, his attorney maintains it’s not a slam dunk case.

 

They will tell you that there is no eyewitness that Devan Jordon participated in these capital events," Quinones said. "I want my community to be safe, too, but you have to balance that with the constitution, you have to balance that with the facts of each and every case."

“He is a ticking time bomb, there is no way anyone in the public is safe while he is out here," said Andy Kahan, Director of Victims Services for Crime Stoppers, where Sandoval's family spoke at a news conference.

“Josh’s light was diminished too soon because of the negligence of the court system," said Aimee Castillo, Sandoval's sister.

She's frustrated because Jordon was granted so many bonds.

Court records show in a separate evading arrest case in Harris County, a bond violation report where he never showed up to get his ankle monitor.

“Joshua was my only son, I don’t get a second chance to raise another child," said Glinda Martin, Sandoval's mother.

Jordan’s attorney says his family is supporting him. That’s one reason he was able to make bond and she says they will be working with him to abide by his curfew.

We reached out to Judge Jason Luong in the 185th District Court in Harris County and Judge Lonnie Cox in the 56th District Court in Galveston County, both of which granted bond in the capital murder cases. Both told KHOU 11 News they have no comment.

ANOTHER CONGRESSIONAL CRACKPOT

Madison Cawthorn says DC is orgy-filled, cocaine-fueled ‘House of Cards’ 

 

By Mark Moore

 

New York Post

March 28, 2022

 

 

             Rep. Cawthorn says lawmakers have invited him to take part in orgies and snort lines of cocaine

 

Rep. Madison Cawthorn says his fellow lawmakers have invited him to take part in orgies in Washington and snorted lines of cocaine right in front of him. 

Cawthorn, a 26-year-old Republican from North Carolina, was asked in an interview last Thursday about whether the former Netflix series “House of Cards,” which chronicles a corrupt representative from South Carolina in DC played by Kevin Spacey, was fiction or more like a documentary. 

“The only thing that’s not accurate in that show is that you could never get a piece of legislation about education passed that quickly,” Cawthorn said on the Warrior Poet Society podcast on YouTube.

Then he explained. 

“The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington. I mean, being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 or 70 — [you] look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life, I’ve always paid attention to politics,” said Cawthorn, who was elected in 2020.

“Then all of a sudden you get invited: ‘We’re going to have a sexual get-together at one of our homes, you should come.’ ‘What did you just ask me to come to?’ And then you realize they’re asking you to come to an orgy,” he said. 

North Carolina voters have sued to keep Cawthorn off the ballot this November

Rep. Madison Cawthorn has seen another side of many politicians whom he once admired

 

He also claimed to have seen people he described as leading national anti-addiction efforts snort coke.

“And then you watch them do a bump of cocaine right in front of you. And it’s like, this is wild,” Cawthorn said. 

The Republican also made headlines earlier this month when he referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “thug” and the country’s government as “incredibly evil” to supporters, WRAL in Raleigh reported, citing video obtained of the event. 

Voters in North Carolina have sued to keep him off the ballot this November because of comments he made supporting the US Capitol rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, who attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

WHAT A FOOL!: THE SCHMUCK WAS IN A HALFWAY HOUSE AND HAD ONLY ONE YEAR LEFT WHEN HE TOOK OFF

Gone-fella: Upstate New York mob assassin escapes from federal custody in Florida 

 

By Selim Algar

 

New York Post

April 1, 2022

 

 

Dominic Taddeo had been imprisoned at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex, a medium-security lockup in Wildwater, Florida

 

He’s a gone-fella.

An infamous mob assassin from upstate New York who murdered three rivals in the ’80s has escaped from federal custody in Florida, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.

Dominic Taddeo, 64, who also attempted to whack former Rochester Mafia captain Thomas Marotta on two occasions, was recently serving time at a medium-security federal facility in Coleman, Florida.

Taddeo had since been transferred to a halfway house to prepare for his scheduled release in a year.

The Cosa Nostra killer went out for an approved medical appointment on March 28 and never returned, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

Taddeo had a previous bid for “compassionate” release on COVID-19 grounds denied in 2020.

Judge Frank Geraci Jr. cited the gravity of Taddeo’s crimes in rejecting the request and federal prosecutors argued that he wasn’t at heightened health risk due to the pandemic.

Taddeo was recently transferred to a halfway house

 

Taddeo is no stranger to life on the lam.

Up against federal firearms raps, Taddeo was sprung on bail in 1987 and eluded capture for two years while operating under a series of aliases in several states.

He was finally cuffed after an informant told authorities that he was planning to meet his brother in Toledo.

Taddeo pleaded guilty to RICO charges in 1992.

The raps included the murders of three Rochester mafiosi in 1982 and 1983.

BROKEN WINDOWS: 'QUALITY OF LIFE' OFFENSES ARE PRECURSORS FOR VIOLENCE

Just how backwards can criticism of Eric Adams’ return to ‘broken windows’ policing get?

Post Editorial Board

 

New York Post

March 31, 2022

 

 

 

The Legal Aid Society has pushed back against NY's recent policing efforts

 

All too predictably, the Legal Aid Society is attacking the NYPD’s renewed “quality of life” policing.

The direly needed shift targets such violations as selling pot, dice games, public drinking and urination, criminal trespass, fare evasion and other acts that Commissioner Keechant Sewell all too rightly calls “precursors for violence.”

 Peeing in public is a 'broken windows' offense for which the pisser should be busted

 

Cue a Legal Aid Society study purporting to show that the effort will be racially discriminatory. It uses 2021 data indicating that the vast majority of those arrested for such offenses were black and Hispanic, and so provided fodder for the usual suspects on the City Council to assail top police brass.

Guess what word is missing from Legal Aid’s study? Victim.

Yet black New Yorkers, about 24% of the city population, make up the vast majority of serious crime victims: 65% of those murdered in 2020, and 74% of shooting victims.

 

Farebeating crimes aren’t violent but have hurt taxpayers

 

Add in Hispanics (29% of the city, though many are also black): In 2019, 88% of murder victims were black or Hispanic, along with 74% of rape victims, 69% of robbery victims and nearly 80% of felony assault victims. And the breakdowns don’t change much as crime soars.

When crime goes up in New York City, it hits people of color (and the poor) by far the hardest. But self-proclaimed “equity” advocates ignore that bitter truth.

No, farebeating and driving without a license (another violation targeted by the new NYPD effort) aren’t violent crimes, per se. (Though farebeating steals from taxpayers, which again hurts the less well-off, and driving without a license endangers everyone.)

But people don’t just wake up one day as murderers. Look at the data around bail reform: in New York over the 12 months ending in July 2021, 69% of felony arrests had a prior conviction or a pending case.

No surprise that Legal Aid ignores all that: It exists to advocate for accused criminals; institutionally, it practically resents the victims. So it cares far more about pushing left-wing narratives around crime than actually addressing it.

Such is the upside-down thinking that Mayor Eric Adams and Commissioner Sewell have to confront as they work to make New York’s streets safer — especially for those the left claims to care about most.

ALBANY DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN TURNING A BLIND EYE TO THE MESS THEY MADE BY THEIR CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS

New York’s crunch time to finally fix criminal justice

Post Editorial Board

 

New York Post 

March 30, 2022 

 

Paramedics carry a gunshot victim outside 380 E. 143rd St. in the Bronx on March 18, 2022

 

It’s crunch time for state budget negotiations, with all manner of nonsense obscuring the No. 1 issue: the urgent need for major fixes to the no-bail law and other botched criminal-justice “reforms.” As we’ve said before, a late budget — even weeks late — is better than one that doesn’t do the job.

If they don’t do the right fixes now, after two previous tries, it’ll take a voter revolution to force their hand.

Even Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 10-point criminal-justice plan may not do enough. As former Queens prosecutor Jim Quinn noted for The Post, it overfocuses on gun-related crimes, ignoring violent perps who use knives or other weapons.

New York judges must get the power the other 49 states allow: to order jail for perps they deem dangerous or at high risk of reoffending, all the way down to serial shoplifters. Unless a gun is involved, Hochul’s “fix” doesn’t allow jail pending trial for those charged with attempted murder, rape, robbery, burglary, first-, second- and third-degree assault, grand larceny, stalking or drug sales, among hundreds of other offenses.

Part of the problem, clearly, is that the gov doesn’t want to offend lawmakers by saying they botched it big-time. Thus, she “defended” her plan with a Daily News column that pretends it was purely the pandemic that caused the two-year crime wave.

Bull: While progressive “anti-law-enforcement” has pushed up crime all across the country, New York needs to focus on the mistakes that did the damage here.

 

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s crime plan doesn’t even address career criminals, serial assaulters and stabbing suspects

Even her analysis (which we don’t agree with) shows a 2% rise in perps arraigned and released on gun charges, only to be rearrested for another crime, from 2019 to 2021, and a 4% rise when the perp already had open felony charges. That translates to thousands of added crime victims who didn’t have to be hurt, killed or otherwise victimized — but for the no-bail law.

Ironically, Hochul cites increased gang violence as a driver of the crime surge — while denying New York’s “reforms” have anything to do with it. In fact, for just one example: Gang leaders have exploited Raise the Age reform to recruit baby gangstas to carry guns and carry out crimes, because youths can almost never be tried in Criminal Court.

But the Legislature’s leaders don’t want to admit their guilt. They keep citing bogus studies, when Quinn has also shown that, under no-bail, 43% of perps who had a prior conviction or pending case when arrested for a felony were rearrested while that new case was pending.

 

Albany Democrats refuse to acknowledge the deadly consequences of criminal-justice “reforms.”

 

Folks like city Comptroller Brad Lander play statistical games to pretend the figure’s only 4%. Yet even Lander’s study shows that the number of times where city judges set bail fell from 24,657 in 2019 to 14,545 cases in 2021.

“Reformers” pretend those 10,000 “extra” releases were all innocents. In fact, they’re overwhelmingly dangerous recidivists.

The public understands this: The latest Siena poll found that 56% of voters statewide believe the 2019 bail reform has been bad for New York, vs. just 30% who call it good policy.

And a commanding 82% said judges should be given more authority to post bail for more defendants, against just 11% opposed.

Hochul and the Legislature can play games with the crime stats, but the public opinion ones will — and should — burn them badly this November if they don’t do their job and truly fix these insane laws.

'SKY DEW': ISRAEL' S SPY IN THE SKY

The New Spy Balloon That Watches Over Israel

Psalm 121 says, “He that watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.” The IDF and its US technology partners are adding their efforts as well

 

By David Shishkoff |

 

“Sky Dew” will augment the protection of the skies of Israel and the citizens of Israel

 

A recent joint ceremony marked the inauguration of a new “Zeppelin” balloon hovering at an undisclosed location in the Galilee – an “eye in the sky” watching over the borders of northern Israel and beyond. On the underside of the blimp advanced sensors look unblinkingly toward Iranian and other threats, to give advanced warning so that the IDF generals can respond to airborne threats facing the small country before they penetrate our airspace.

The entire width of Israel from the Syrian border on the Golan Heights to the coastal metropolis of Haifa, is only 80 km (around 50 miles). The distance from the border with Lebanon and its Iranian-controlled Hezbollah to Haifa is only 30 km (around 20 miles).

The blimp and its associated system is called “Sky Dew” – Tal Shamayim (טל שמיים) in Hebrew. It was first inflated and sent aloft several months back and provided a spectacular and surreal experience for residents and visitors in the whole area. For Galileans suddenly seeing it from their window or yard, the white balloon was reminiscent of a child’s Helium balloon or a 1960s era science fiction film – especially when illuminated on a foggy night.

Although the balloon is impossible to hide, official data has understandably not been released regarding the classified details of its performance and payload. The balloon has already been seen ascending aloft to heights of around 1 km. The extra height allows the airborne radar sensor technologies to peer much further into enemy territory than land-based sensors, and thus give a clearer picture of imminent threats and grant longer advance warning.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said: “I congratulate … the Israel Air Force, Israel Aircraft Industries and the American partners, on another technological breakthrough that will augment the protection of the skies of Israel and the citizens of Israel. The success of the new system fortifies the wall of defense that Israel has built in the face of both distant and nearby air threats being formed by its enemies. Through the detection capabilities, and the multi-layered defense system, Israel’s advantage in the region will be preserved, and the operational scope required to maintain its security will be enabled.”

Head of Project Moshe Fattal, of the Ministry of Defense – Directorate of Defense Research & Development (IMOD DDR & D) added: “In the past year, we have proven in a large number of successful experiments, the ability of the entire multilayer defense system to cope with advanced threats, including cruise missiles. The project management… together with the American Missile Defense Agency, in cooperation with the Air Force and Industries, continues to strengthen Israel’s detection capabilities. The aerial detection balloon will fly at high altitude, will see long distances and will allow maximum detection capability of advanced threats from different directions. ”

19th century technology meets 21st century technology

The basic technology of filling a balloon with a gas lighter than air so that it can “float,” has been around for hundreds of years. Zeppelin balloons even provided air transport in the early 1900s, although they were quite slow compared to modern jetliners. They were relatively safe as long as they were filled with inert Helium gas as opposed to its flammable alternative Hydrogen gas.

In an era of continued, dizzying technological advances it seems counterintuitive that this “simple” method should still be in use. Nevertheless, it proves to be a reliable and cost effective means of posting surveillance equipment high in the sky at a stable vantage point to see farther than what is visible at ground level or even mountain top elevations. Advanced warning aircraft (AWACS) can perform similar functions but require constant movement, a lot of jet fuel, and putting a crew of technicians high in the sky. Israeli surveillance balloons have been posted at the northern border with Lebanon in the past, as well as over the Southern Negev Desert. The Sky Dew in the North, boasts new and advanced capabilities. The unmanned, tethered craft is one of the largest of its kind in the world.

FIRED COP IN CALIFORNIA REINSTATED AFTER TWO YEARS

by Bob Walsh

Back in 2020 Sheriff's Deputy Brian Fowell was terminated by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office for the use of excessive force against a 14-year old boy.  Pretty much the only evidence was a less than one minute cell phone video.  

At that time Fowell was working as a Rancho Cordova police officer.  Police services for Rancho Cordova are supplied under contract by the S.O.  Fowell appealed his termination in October of 2020.  This past Monday an arbitration decision came down, stating that while it was appropriate for some sort of discipline in this case sacking Fowell was unreasonable.  Fowell had an exemplary record up until this incident.

During the incident Fowell was attempting to cuff 14-year old Elijah Tufono.  The kids family and much of the press described the situation as a "beating." The officer, and his lawyer, described the blows struck by the officer as "distraction blows."  These are a generally recognized and accepted method of gaining control of a resistive subject, though the optics kind of suck.   The kid was on the ground and the officer was attempting to gain control of him.  

Fowell approached the youth after witnessing him purchasing tobacco.  The kid refused to identify himself and actively resisted being placed in handcuffs.  At the time Fowell was part of a Problem Oriented Policing team which was suppose to act on minor criminal acts which might be ignored by patrol officers.

The decision to reinstate was made by the Civil Service Commission and the arbiter. 

THE TIMING IS SUSPICIOUS

by Bob Walsh

Joe Biden announced today that he is releasing 1 million barrels per day of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months.  That is about 1 % of the worlds daily consumption of oil.  Let's see, what significant is happening in six months?  That would be November, wouldn't it.

Also he announced he is activating the Defense Production Act to increase the production of electric car batteries.  He would be a lot more helpful if he would direct the Army Corp of Engineers to start planning major upgrades of the national electric grid.  There is no way the current electric grid could support a huge increase in electric car charging.  There is no way that solar and windmills can come anywhere near powering the country for the foreseeable future.  CA is further peeing in the soup by pretty much banning natural gas home hookups in the future, even though we have TONS of natural gas and it is very clean.  

Being a liberal means never having to say your sorry, even if you are a fucking moron and have stupid ideas, because those stupid ideas make you FEEL GOOD.  They don't help much, but you sure feel good about yourself.