Here is Some Good News and Not So Good News for the Day

Judge blocks release of Tennessee man seen with zip ties at Capitol riot

Iran says it will reverse nuclear actions when U.S. lifts sanctions

Texas freeze could send gas prices soaring very soon

Bill Gates says U.S. can avoid a ‘fall wave’ of COVID-19

US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII

Severe winter weather wreaks havoc on COVID-19 vaccine rollout

Pfizer to begin Covid vaccine clinical trial in pregnant women

Bill Gates: Permanent Facebook ban of Trump would be ‘a shame’

Vincent Jackson’s family donates his brain to CTE study after his death

U.S. begins admitting asylum seekers blocked by Trump, with thousands more waiting

Dolly Parton says it’s not ‘appropriate’ to put statue of her at Tennessee Capitol

North Korea Using Psychological Warfare to Bargain with U.S.

We have all witness numerous attempts by North Korea to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with from threats of war against South Korea to attacks on the United States with long range nuclear missiles, however the end result of these threats have left the North Korea with little bargaining power as the United Nations has sanctioned them for repeated offenses and South Korea grows tired of the tantrums. What is the next logical step in North Korea’s psychological warfare? North Korea now hopes to use an old trick from the past that is sure to get the United States’ attention. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that North Korea will try an American detainee for allegedly trying to overthrow the government complicating an already tense relationship between Pyongyang and Washington. The indictment comes as North Korea has run out of ammo to use against the U.S. and South Korea in order to force bargaining between the nations. North Korea remains angry over U.N. sanctions passed in February over nuclear tests and the ongoing U.S. South Korean drills though most believe the motive behind the indictment is to force its Korean War foes to negotiate on its own terms according to the Associated Press.

The man identified above, Kenneth Bae, also known by his Korean name in North Korean state media, Pae Jun Ho, is a tour operator arrested after arriving with a tour on Nov.3 in Rason which is a special economic zone bordering China and Russia. He is the sixth American detained in North Korea since 2009, however the other detainees were eventually deported or released after high profile diplomatic interventions with some involving President Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. According to the Korean Central News Agency, “The preliminary inquiry into crimes committed by American citizen Pae Jun Ho closed. In the process of investigation he admitted that he committed crimes aimed to topple the DPRK with hostility toward it. His crimes were proved by evidence.” Under North Korea’s criminal code terrorist acts include murdering, kidnapping and injuring the country’s citizens can lead to a death sentence or life in jail AP reports.

The actual trial of Bae has not been set and the charges have yet to be announced by the KCNA as little information has been made public. North Korea and the United States do not have diplomatic relations due to the 1050-53 Korean War as the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represent the United States. Friends, colleagues and activist in South Korea said that Bae is a missionary based in a border town in China who made frequent trips to North Korea to feed orphans , but do not know whether he tried to evangelize while in North Korea AP reports. Officially, North Korea guarantee freedom of religion, however authorities have been known to crack down on Christians who are seen as threats to government because of the western influence. The distribution of Bibles and secret prayer services do carry a penalty of banishment to a labor camp or execution according to defectors from the country.

 

Stricter Rape Laws Fail to Deter the Rape and Torture of a 5 Year Old

Of all human atrocities committed in the world, a rape and torture of a 5 year old girl tops the list. As India tries to find effective ways of implementing the new stricter rape laws, another rape has occurred fueling the anger many women and men have against the government for allowing it to happen. A second suspect Monday was arrested in the rape of a 5 year old girl who was found in a locked room according to New Delhi police as a new wave of protests ramp up against the Indian authorities handle of sex crimes. Pradeep Kumar, a 19 year old factory worker, was arrested Monday and after questioning lead to Manoj Kumar, 24, who was arrested Saturday in Bihar and flown back to Delhi according to the Associated Press. The two men are not related. The men are accused of abducting, raping and attempted murder of the 5 year old who went missing April 15 and found two days later by neighbors who hear her crying in the same New Delhi building where she lives with her family. The police said the girl was left for dead and was found alone.

The girl was in critical condition on Thursday when she was transferred from a local hospital to a large government run hospital where the girl on Monday was responding well and her condition stabilized. D.K. Sharma, medical superintendent of the hospital in New Delhi said, “She is much better today and her wounds are healing well.” The attack came four months after the fatal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus and a few month after a female tourist was attacked and raped while on vacation. For the third day, protests have erupted in Delhi with many supporters of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party breaking through police cordon and reaching the Parliamentary gates shouting slogans against the handling of the case AP reports. The police arrested several of the protestors and confirmed that they are being detained at a nearby police station then released in a few hours. Another group of a 100 women protested near another area of Parliament directing their protest against the Delhi police who failed to act after the girl was reported missing. The protestors want the police chief removed from office and the police accused of failing to act dismissed.

The Delhi police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar admitted Monday that police did not handle the situation properly. G. Ananthapadmanabhan, head of the Indian chapter of the human rights group Amnesty International, said, “The police must be held accountable for their shocking levels of apathy. They urgently need to review police processes to ensure that all cases of rape and sexual violence – not just those highlighted by the media – are fully and promptly investigated. Those who fail to do their job must be held accountable.” Kumar himself had this to say,”There have been shortfalls, so the station house officer and his deputy have been suspended.” Kumar also commented on that since the December gang rape case, the reported number of complaints about rape and molestation have risen in numbers in the city after instructions were given to police and the number of solved crimes that led to arrests have also increased AP reports. However, sexual violence against women and children can be seen in the Indian newspapers everyday with women feeling insecure about leaving their homes. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has this to say on Sunday at a civil servant meeting,”The gruesome assault on the little girl a few days back reminds us once again of the need to work collectively to root out this sort of depravity from our society.” Activists say the laws passed in response to the December gang rape are not enough as the government must ensure police will crack down on crimes against women.

China in the Wake of a Devastating Quake

On Saturday, an earthquake in Sichuan province, killed at least 186 people injuring more than 11,000 leaving two dozen missing in rural communities around Ya’an city, along the same fault line as another quake to the north five years before that resulted in 90,000 people in Sichuan and neighboring areas being killed in one of the worst natural disasters in China’s history, AP reports. Many relatives search in the rubble in hopes of finding their loved ones still alive, while search and rescue has been working since Saturday to aid the victims and search for survivors.The Lushan and Boaxing counties this time were hardest hit on Saturday even though they escaped the worst of the 2008 quake yet residents said they would of benefited from the region’s rebuilding such as special reinforcements made to building and new evacuation procedures introduced. According to the Associated Press, relief teams flew in helicopters dynamiting landslides in order to reach isolated communities on Sunday. Many residents were upset with emergency teams as little aid was distributed among the areas effected and were busy taking away bodies while searching for survivors. Along the road in Longmen, children carried hand written signs reading “No water, no shelter.”

According to China’s earthquake administration, the earthquake measured a magnitude 7.0 while the U.S. Geological Survey recorded it at a 6.6 and struck at around 8 a.m. Saturday. Aftershocks could be felt throughout the region, leaving about ten thousand people in tents and cars unable to move back home or too afraid. The official totals are yet to be determined as numbers are still coming in but so far 186 people were killed, 21 missing and injured and 11,393 injured from Saturday’s quake as quoted by the Xinhua News Agency from the provincial emergency command center. The government has mobilized thousands of soldiers and others to the area as well as excavators, heavy machinery and even tents, blankets and other emergency supplies to aid the region.  The state media reported that two soldiers died after their vehicle slid off the road falling down a cliff. According to AP, the Chinese Red Cross will deploy relief teams with supplies of food, water, medicine and rescue equipment to disaster areas. The seat of Lushan country has been converted to a refugee camp with tents and volunteers serving noodles and boxed meals to survivors from stalls and vans. Large vans have been converted into mobile banks with ATMs, military medical trucks with X-rays and doctors giving first aid. The most severely injured were sent to the provincial capital as survivors try to deal with limited water and building inaccessibility leading to sanitation issues. The area is still experiencing aftershocks on Sunday while family members and friends try to contact their loved ones inside the crippled quake zone.

The Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing

The capture of the second suspect for many closed the first chapter in the mystery surrounding the Boston Marathon Bombing last Monday, but now many not just the government want answers to why and how. As the lone survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing lies in a heavily guarded room recovering from injuries, no one knows what the 19 year old will say or when as on Sunday he was in serious condition after being pulled bloodied and wounded from a tarp covered boat in a Watertown backyard. One thing is for sure, the American Civil Liberties Union and the federal public defender raised concern over the plan to interrogate Dzhokhar Tsarnaev without reading his Miranda Rights. The capture came on Friday night hours after his 26 year old brother Tamerlan died in a gun battle with police. The U.S. official said an elite interrogation team will be used without reading him his rights invoking the exception because of immediate danger to the public such as bombs planted and ready to go off. ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero called the legal exception in this case as non-compliant with the rule since the rule states that continued threat to public safety and OT an open ended exception to Miranda rights which guarantees the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. The Massachusetts’ federal public defender’s office said they would represent him once charged, however a lawyer should be give as soon as possible because of issues regarding possible interrogation.

As of right now, no charges have been brought against Tsarnaev as it is unclear what charges will be filed according to Huff Post. The twin bombing injured 180 and killed three which can carry the most serious charge of a possible death sentence because the use of a weapon of mass destruction to kill people, however Massachusetts does not have a death penalty. According to the Associated Press, President Barack Obama said there are many unanswered question about the bombing including whether the brothers had help and to delay judgement about the motives behind it. Gov. Deval Patrick said on Saturday that Tsarnaev is unable to communicate at this time as he is still recovering at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where 11 victims were treated.

The all day manhunt on Friday lead police in Boston to a Watertown neighborhood and left the city for much of the day at a standstill. The break came when a homeowner spotted blood on his boat and pulled back the tarp to see a bloody Tsarnaev hiding inside. After some gunfire, he was seized, taken into custody in an ambulance and to where he currently resides to treat injuries suffered during the battle. During the night, Tsarnaev brothers killed an MIT police officer, severely wounded another lawman and took part in a shootout and car chase hurling explosives at the police reports AP. The explosives were similar to the ones used at the Boston Marathon attack according to authorities who recovered a pressure cooker lid embedded in a car down the street. Watertown Police Chief Edward Deveau also confirmed that the suspects tossed two grenades before Tamerlan ran out of ammo and police tackled him. But while handcuffed, officers had to dive out of the way as Dzhokhar drove at them in a carjacked Mercedes, while the SUV dragged Tamerlan’s body down the block. Police were able to track the escaped suspect by a blood trail left after abandoning the Mercedes.

Investigators cannot offer a motive for the Boston attack at this time, however interviews with officials and those who knew the brothers has painted a picture of the older brother as someone embittered with the U.S. becoming increasingly radical in his Muslim faith and influential over his brother. According to AP, the Russian FSB intelligence service told the FBI in 2011 that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a follower of radical Islam two law enforcement officials confirmed Saturday. In an FBI news release, a foreign government possibly Russia said Tamerlan Tsarnaev appeared to be a strong believer and his ideology drastically changed since 2010 as he prepared to leave the U.S. for a region in Russia to join an unspecified group. In response, the FBI interviewed the older brothers and relatives finding no domestic or foreign terrorism activity in phone records, online, his travels or his associations. An uncle of the brothers confirmed a falling out with Tamerlan over increased commitment to Islam and spoke to the fact that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the younger brother, has had his life wasted by his older brother and was used for his brother’s benefit not his own. A neighbor of the older brother in Cambridge said that Tamerlan had strong political views about the U.S. quoting Tamerlan as sating the U.S. uses the Bible as “an excuse for invading other countries” AP reports. As of Saturday, 50 people remain hospitalized and three in critical condition.

Some lawmakers have criticized the FBI for not placing Tsarnaev under watch after questioning him over radical beliefs. According to Huff Post, on Sunday Sen. Lindsey Graham of, R-S.C., felt the ball had been dropped while Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. said the FBI repeatedly overlooked possible links to terrorist activity among a subset of Muslims in America. A mosque in Cambridge, Mass. confirmed Saturday that the Tsarnaev brothers infrequently attend services at the center that was a 10 minute walk from their apartment. According to a statement released by the Islamic Center of Boston, “In their visits, they never exhibited any violent sentiments or behavior. Otherwise they would have been immediately reported to the FBI. After we learned of their identities, we encouraged anyone who knew them in our congregation to immediate report to law enforcement, which has taken place.” The Los Angeles Times reports that Tamerlan was kicked out of the mosque three months ago after becoming argumentative with the imam leading the service who praised Martin Luther King Jr. Becoming enraged, Tamerlan shouted, “you cannot mention this guy because he’s not a Muslim!” There were no more incidence after that. The statement released by the center also  said, “Right now, our focus will remain on grieving for the victims and their families, praying for a speedy recovery for the injured, and offering what support we can to all in need.” The investigation of course is ongoing into the motivation for the crime.

As the week came to a close, some of Boston resumed some normalcy with tension still running high and another race pays tribute to the fallen and injured. On Saturday, Governor Patrick of Massachusetts and dozens of local and state police appeared at the first home game for the Boston Red Sox since the bombing on Monday. While at home the streets of Boston began to buzz with life again, thousands of runners participating in the London Marathon on Sunday paid tribute to those killed and injured in the Boston Marathon six days earlier. According to the Associated Press, participants paused for a moment of silence in the beginning wearing black ribbons o their chest in solidarity while two runners finished carrying a banner “For Boston.”  As Valerie Bloomfield, a 40 year old participant from France, put it,”It means that runners are stronger than bombers.” The London Marathon is the first major international marathon since the bombing on Monday and some 35,000 runners took part in the race that drew tens of thousands of spectators turning up to show their solidarity and strength with no fear. Authorities in London boosted security by 40 percent adding in extra surveillance to be safe. Many who were present when the bombs exploded in Boston were determined to run in the London Marathon this year. Yet some did show apprehension and anxiety on Sunday as some feared a copy cat bombing might happen telling friends and family not to come.

As the race began, a moment of silence was given to the city of Boston and many showed support for the bruised city. Many in the crowd wore Boston t-shirts as half a dozen police officers mingled and chatted with the runners. Before the race began, announcer Geoff Wightman announced over the loudspeaker that a moment of silence would be given for the city of Boston as running is a global sport that united people in every continent in a spirit of friendship. During the moment of silence, only the buzz of helicopters and beeping trucks could be heard AP reports. Security was on high alert but not intrusive to the race as marathon staff, officials and journalist were bag checked before the race in response to the Boston attack. Marathon organizers plan to donate money to a Boston fund set up for victims, while in Germany 15,000 runners participated in the Hamburg Marathon wearing armbands with the slogan “Run for Boston.”

Meanwhile back in Boston some groups fear retaliation in the form of hate crimes, while the city braces for a very large bill. In the days after the bombing, the region’s Muslim community has condemned the violence and distanced themselves from the suspects. It is unclear if the possible motives were related to politics, religion or difficulty assimilating after immigrating to the United States nearly a decade ago. The Muslim community faces a hard questions now: Do they accept the men as Muslim despite the allegations against them? If so, will Tamerlan get an Islamic burial? Mosques and Islamic groups fear retaliation if associated with the brother after friends and family identified them as Muslim and their interest in Islamic Chechen insurgency groups according to social accounts. Disagreement about whether to bury Tamerlan as a Muslims have arisen among mosques in the Boston area with the Islamic Institute of Boston claiming the brother does not deserve a Muslim burial and the other Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center saying the brother should be buried according to his religious traditions. No funeral has been set as the body is in the possession of law enforcement for forensic experts, medical examiners and investigators to inspect for more details about his death and actions. Several organizations have released statement appealing for restraint and understanding after the identities of the bombing suspects were publicized and reveled to be of Chechen descent, AP reports. As for the amount of money lost because of the bombing, the numbers are only estimates. Due to closed streets and the increase in state resources used for the manhunt, the estimated bill according to Jim Duffley, chief regional economist at research firm IHS, could be between $250 and $333 million per day for the shutdown Business Week reports. The Washington Post’s WonkBlog according to Huff Post took a shot at calculating the cost and put their estimates closer to a billion dollars a day but the effects could be smaller than that more like a major blizzard.

420 Friendly: The Rule Rather Than Exception

As Washington struggles to find a solution to the fiscal crisis now in swing, several states have found a way to capitalize on the legalization of marijuana in their state which has the potential to bring billions in revenue to states struggling to meet their own budgetary concerns. According to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank Huff Post reports, the federal legalization of marijuana would offer large new revenue streams that could potentially relieve some of financial strains on the federal budget. Carol Davis, a senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told the Huff Post that, “We don’t know the size of the marijuana market right now, and we certainly don’t know what would happen to the price and the demand for marijuana under different levels of legalization. But we do know that legalization would lead to a positive revenue impact on the income and sales tax side.”According to a 2010 study, legalizing the drug would generate $8.7 billion in federal and state tax revenue annually assuming that it would be taxed similar to alcohol and tobacco as well as the income earned by pot producers to standard income and sales tax.

Besides federal benefits, according to the study, states and local governments stand to save billions on the current spending regulating marijuana use. The state of Washington estimates it will generate $1.9 billion in additional revenue in five years due to the legalization, while eighteen states and Washington D.C. have already legalized medicinal marijuana and another 10 are currently considering legislation according to the National Cannabis Industry Association. A recent Pew Research Center poll shows a majority of Americans support the legalization of weed, however opponents argue that fiscal benefits are outweighed by social impact such as violence, crime and social disintegration according to a Heritage Foundation report.

Could the United States become a 420 friendly society? Possibility but with restrictions. What does 420 friendly mean? Well I have often wondered about the origins and had look no further than Huff Post. Depending on who you ask and how coherent they are, the answers range from the number of active chemicals in weed to teatime in Holland to even yes Hitler’s birthday according to Huff Post. The origin of the term celebrated by pot enthusiasts around the world on April 20 has been lost in the smoke filled memories of the people who created it. The Huff Post has actually traced the origins back to a Point Reyes, California forest where it turns out it not only started but explains how it spread. High Times, a marijuana focused magazine, published the story that the term 420 came from police code in San Rafael, California in the 1970s where the police began to use it to refer to marijuana and from there spread. However the true story does start in San Rafael, but involves five San Rafael High School friends known as Waldos as they hung out at a wall outside the school coined the term in 1971. Today the code appears in pop culture and mainstream like in Pulp Fiction, Price is Right, Craigslist postings and in 2003 when California Legislature codified medicinal marijuana under the bill named SB420.

The Waldos have proof that they used the term in the early 70s speaking with Huff Post and prefering to stay with the names Waldo Steve, Waldo Dave, Waldo Mark, etc. as pot was still illegal in 2009 when the interview took place. California since then has decriminalized possession making the fine a little more than a parking ticket as medicinal marijuana shops have popped up all over the state and weed is not so taboo. In 2012, their story was told by Huff Post to set the record straight about the origins and spread of the term 420. The story begins in 1971 when the Waldos got word that a Coast Guard service member could not tend his marijuana plants anymore near Point Reyes Peninsula Coast Guard Station, so the group with a treasure map decided to find the free bud. The Waldos would meet at the statue of Louis Pasteur outside school at 4:20 p.m. after practice to begin their hunt. The group would remind each other to meet up at 4:20 to search for the treasure and were unsuccessful in their first couple of searches. The group would take a ride out to Point Reyes at 4:20 smoking the entire way week after week, but never actually found the patch. The group adopted the codeword to used around school and parents to hide the fact they were smoking pot.

As they continued to use the term, eventually luck would have it that the term would spread farther than they could ever imagine thanks to the Grateful Dead. As San Francisco’s hippie utopia collapses and miscreants took over The Haight, the Grateful Dead packed up and moved to Marin County hills just blocks from their high school. Beside the geographic location, several of the guys had connections to the Dead through family like Mark Gravitch’s father who took care of real estate, Dave Reddix’s older brother, Patrick, managed a Dead sideband and was good friends with the bassist Phil Lesh. Patrick Reddix recalls to Huff Post that he smoked with Lesh but couldn’t recall if he used the term 420 around him but must have. The Dead, recalls Dave Reddix, had a rehearsal space on Front Street, San Rafael, California and they used to practice there. The friends would hang out listening to the music and smoking making it possible that Patrick spread the term to Phil Lesh as well as Dave himself while hanging with Lesh. As the Grateful Dead toured through the 70’s and 80’s playing hundreds of shows per year, the term spread through the underground and once High Times picked up on it the magazine made the term global. The Waldos say it took a few years for the term to spread but by the early 90’s were hearing it all over San Rafael, even in unexpected places such as Ohio, Florida and Canada as well as spotting the digits on signs and park benches.

In 1998, the Waldos set the record straight and got in touch with High Times even presenting evidence to back up their story. Stashed away in a San Fransisco bank vault, Reddix, Gravitch, Capper and Patty Young have kept a flag with the 420 stitched on it, letters, newspaper clipping and other pieces of memorabilia Huff Post reports. The men are still excited to this day about their impact on international subculture as the group is considering doing a documentary about their experience, a dictionary of slang and whatever else might come their way.

Cheers and Prayers Erupt Nationwide As the Boston Manhunt Ends Friday

Friday night ended with the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wanted in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing Monday according to Boston Police Department. According to the Associated Press, authorities say the suspect, along with his slain 26 year old brother, killed an MIT police officer, severely wounded another lawman and hurled explosives at police in a car chase and gun battle. Law enforcement responded to gunfire around 7 p.m. in Watertown, Mass. an hour after lifting the lockdown on the area where Tsarnaev, 19, was hiding in a small boat. Police cornered the suspect not so far from the shootout the previous night that killed his brother and accomplice, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The AP reports the suspects were identified as ethnic ChenChen brothers living in Dagestan neighboring Chechnya in Southern Russia, but had moved to the U.S. a decade ago living in Cambridge, Mass.

David Henneberry was not trying to be a hero when he spotted the 19 year old suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, near his boat following a shootout earlier on Friday. Henneberry tipped off police leading to the capture of the suspect Friday night. Speaking to the “Today” show, family spokesman Robert Duffy described how his stepfather came across the wanted suspect in his 20 foot boat in the backyard. Duffy explained that his mother and David stepped into the backyard to get some air after the ban was lifted and noticed the tarp over the boat was flapping in the wind. He decided to take a closer look at saw the retention strips were cut not worn, so he decided to take a closer look inside the boat noticing a small amount of blood. He knew something was wrong, backing off, and calling the police. The family was moved to a safe location while the police investigated the tip  leaving the family with no way to communicate with their family that they were safe.

Soon after the suspect was taken by ambulance to be treated for his wounds, the streets of Watertown erupted with cheers as the manhunt ended with the suspect alive. According to Huff Post, residents were relieved to see the heavily armed ambulance headed east on Mount Auburn Street even though it was unclear who was inside, but the sense of danger was over. A Justice Department Official, according to Huff Post, says the Boston Marathon suspect will not be read his Miranda rights as the government was invoking a public safety exception. Two officials came forward saying the 19 year old will be questioned by a special interrogation team for high value suspects. The public safety rule allows law enforcement to engage in a limited and focused interrogation of a suspect and allows the government to introduce the statement into evidence in court. The rule may be used when police officers find objectively reasonable need to protect the police or public from immediate danger.

Within the few minutes of the news reaching stadiums, televisions and radios around the country, people began to cheer and shout in elation as the bombing suspect was captured alive. When the news finally sunk in about the second bomber being captured in Watertown, the town and crowds around the country cheered with excitement as police radios echoed the words “suspect in custody.” Sports fans rejoiced after learning Friday night of the capture at stadiums around the country. New York’s Citi Field, home of the Mets, saw fans jump to their feet and cheer at the news during the game with the Washington Nationals chanting “USA!USA!” and similar reactions in Houston, Cincinnati and at the St. Louis Blues’ home game against the Dallas Stars. In Watertown, church bells rang as crowds lined the streets with teenagers waving flags, cars honking, and loud cheers as emergency vehicles went by. Hundreds of people marched down Commonwealth Avenue, chanting “USA” and singing the Red Sox Anthem “Sweet Caroline” heading toward Boston Common as the police blocked off traffic to accommodate the impromptu parade. Fans in Arlington, Texas, Anaheim, California, and San Fransisco Giants sang along with the Rangers, Angels and Giants  to the tune also between innings breaks. In Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood, where an 8 year old boy killed in the bombing lived, people set off fireworks in celebration on Friday night.

As people continue to celebrate the capture of the second bomber, many in Boston and around the country are praying not only for the victims of the bombing but for the suspects as well even echoing this sentiment in social media. Prayers for the victims can be seen on twitter, but prayers of another kind are being posted, according to Huff Post, for Tsarnaev. Reverend Manny Alvarez, a preist for the Archdiocese of Miami, tweeted shortly after the arrest that, “A wise young lady just reminded me that as we pray for everyone in Boston, we must pray for this 19 year old too…because we’re Catholic.” CatholicOmnia tweeted from their twitter account: “We also need to remember to pray for the suspect, because we are Catholic. He is also a child of God, after all.” @OpenlyCatholic wrote,”While you’re praying for the suspect, also keep the petitions to heaven going for all the victims of the #BostonBombers , alive and dead.” Besides the clear religiously connected prayers, many other people offered up their elation over the capture even offering up prayers for the suspect as well. In a sleepy town in Kyrgyzstan, where the two brothers lived previously, former neighbors were greeted with shock and disbelief as they recall a quiet family that was never in trouble and two decent, obedient boys.

Silence Speaks Louders Than Words During Holocaust Memorial Day

On Monday, many turned out for the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Yad Vashem memorial with some survivors participating in the “Every Person Has a Name” ceremony that tries to preserve the memories of the many who died during the holocaust by sharing the personalized stories of individuals, families and communities destroyed during World War II. As pictured above six survivors lit six torches representing the six million victims of the Nazi genocide during the opening ceremonies in Jerusalem on Sunday April 7 2013. The annual memorial begun with a ceremony to mark the 70 years since the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Among the crows was a retired American Air Force colonel from San Fransisco who cam to honor his family he never new as Bertrand Huchberger was too young to remember his parents reports the Associated Press. Along with him, his older sister was also sent to the french countryside to escape the Nazis during World War II and for three years was hidden before being sent to an orphanage eventually being adopted by American Jews at 11 and taken to New York.  Now, 75, Huchberger took part in the ceremony by reading the names of his relatives who were all killed. As he explains, “It is still settling in. It was just overwhelming. This place is `terra sancta’ (holy ground) for people who have been associated with the Holocaust. Now I feel that I find myself and my heritage, and it’s just uplifting … it helps build a spiritual bridge to my parents.” At the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials read names of their relatives killed in the Holocaust.

The country came to a standstill at 10 a.m. Monday to honor the victims with a siren that wails for two minutes across the country as part of the annual tradition with many more poignant moment to follow. The momentary pause allowed everyone to reflect on the past as pedestrians stood still, buses stopped on streets and cars pulled over as the drivers stood on the roads with their heads bowed. Homes and businesses took time to pause and pay homage to the victims of the brutal Nazi genocide that claimed a third of the worlds Jews.  A wreath laying ceremony followed at Yad Vashem with Israeli leaders, Holocaust survivors and visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in attendance while at schools, community centers, and army bases ceremonies took place to commemorate the day with prayers and musical performances. The day marks one of the most solemn days on the calendar in Israel as restaurants, cafes and entertainment shuts down and radio as well as TV programs focus on Holocaust documentaries, interviews with survivors and somber music.

The Israeli flag flew at half-staff to commemorate the day as Peres, 89, in parliament recite the names of his family members and 2060 members of their community who were killed in August 1942 in Vishneva, Poland now Belarus. The Nazis and their local collaborators rounded up the Jews and herded them into wooden synagogue where his grandfather lead the community into the building where the Nazis shot at the structure and set it on fire burning the people to death. This year marks the 70 year anniversary since the Warsaw ghetto uprising symbolizes the Jewish resistance against the Nazis that helped to inspire other acts of uprising and underground resistance. At the opening ceremonies Sunday night at Yad Vashem, Israeli leaders linked the Jewish revolt of 1943 to the warrior mentality that enabled the establishment of Israel five years later reports the Associated Press.  They also tied the Nazi genocide to Iran’s drive to acquire nuclear arms urging the world to stop them as Iranian leaders have denied the scope of the Holocaust while making references to the destruction of Israel. Netanyahu explained, “The murderous hatred against the Jews that has accompanied the history of our people has not disappeared, it has just been replaced with a murderous hatred of the Jewish state. What has changed since the Holocaust is our determination and our ability to defend ourselves.” Just three years after the war Israel was created as hundreds of thousands of survivors came to the country, while today fewer than 200,000 elderly survivors remain and the Jewish genocide of World War II still plays a major role in the Israeli psyche.

The Witch Hunt Continues in Papua New Guinea as Two More Are Beheaded

As police standby last week, two elderly women were beheaded after three days of torture by an angry mob which is the latest in a string of sorcery related crimes. According to the Post-Courier police could not overtake the angry mob leaving them helpless to save the two women from a grisly public death. As Bougainville police inspector Herman Birengka explained to the paper: “We were helpless. We could not do anything” as his officers were threatened while trying to release the women. He described the killing as barbaric and senseless as the women were held captive since Tuesday by relatives of a former school teacher who died recently. He explained that, “The two women were rounded up and taken to Lopele village after they were suspected of practising sorcery and blamed for the death of the former teacher, who was from Lopele village.” The report states that the two women were tortured for three days, suffering axe and knife wounds, before the beheading in front of the police who were there to mediate. The reports comes only days after another report that six women accused of witchcraft were tortured with hot irons in an Easter sacrifice in the southern Highlands and just last month a women accused of the same was burned to death by a mob. Amnesty international  is calling for the government to end the sorcery related violence in Papua New Guinea and stamp out the practice where there is a widespread belief in sorcery and where people do not accept natural causes to explain a death. In recent years, there has been several of these cases as well as cannibalism in the country even reports of a man eating his screaming newborn as part of a sorcery initiation ceremony in 2011.

 

Here Comes World War III

The comparisons are numerous only this time we managed to put ourselves smack-dab in the middle of the controversy that does not directly involve the United States. Isn’t this really a matter for the United Nations to take care of? Is history really going to repeat itself? The reason for the two photos is to compare the rallies of now and the rallies of the past which seem to look rather similar. In today’s times, a little overreaction goes a long way as the world prepares for some sort of conflict whether on a large scale like World War or on a smaller scale such as the Korean War: The Remix. Let’s look at the facts and decide for yourself whether they add up to something we all should be concerned about.

On Wednesday North Korea ratified, according to Reuters, the following:

“We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK (North Korea) and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified,” a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said in a statement carried by the English language service of the state news agency KCNA. (Writing by Kevin Liffey; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

If these are empty threats as most of the U.S. government even South Korea believes then why are we taking precautions? According to the Agence France Presse, the United States has set up THAAD missile defense battery to defend its bases on the Pacific island of Guam following threats from North Korea on Wednesday said the Pentagon. The news came after two Aegis anti-missile destroyers were sent to the western Pacific to intercept any North Korean strikes against the U.S. or allied targets. Guam is a U.S. territory 2100 miles southeast of North Korea in the Pacific Ocean which is home to 6,000 American military personnel, including Marines, submarine and bomber crews (hello, Pearl Harbor).

Does the United States actually know what technology North Korea has or doesn’t have? Short answer would be no. North Korea reports the Associated Press moved a missile with considerable range to the east coast on Thursday according to South Korea’s defense minister but said there was no sign of the North preparing for full scale conflict. The report came hours after he statement release to authorize the attack on the U.S. see above. It is believed that the North at this time does not have the technology to miniaturize nuclear bombs in order to mount them on long range missiles. South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin has dismissed reports in the Japanese media that the missile could be a KN-08 which does have the capabilities to hit the United States if operable. He believes the missile does not have enough range to hit the U.S. mainland and could be the missile know to the North Koreans as Musudan with a range of 1800 miles which could make South Korea, Japan and U.S. bases in both countries targets even though he doubts the accuracy of the missile.

Analysts and experts see the threats of strikes and a potential war as North Korea’s way to provoke softer policy with South Korea, to win diplomatic talks with Washington and to show the strength of their leader Kim Jong Un. As Kim has said the North is not preparing for a full scale conflict as they have shown no signs of mobilization of troops, but does worry about a small scale provocation against the South as in 2010 with the shelling of a South Korean island where four people were killed. The N0rth has become increasingly agitated by the joint U.S. South Korean military exercises taking place in the South as well as the U.N. sanctions for its February nuclear test.

With all the rhetoric it makes hard to believe that full scale war will break out, but some of North Korea’s actions do have some cause for concern. On Tuesday, North Korean announced the restarting of their plutonium reactor and the construction need to restart has already begun according to the U.S. research institute. For the second day on Thursday, the Northern border authorities denied entry to South Korea who manage jointly run factories in Kaesong in North Korea, but allowed South Koreans to return home. The South has already come up with a plan if the North takes workers hostage in Kaesong according to Defense Minister Kim. North Korea has started working to rebuild their nuclear arms program especially working toward an atomic bomb small enough to mount on a long range missile as Kim Jung Un has made it a priority for the North to build their nuclear arsenal along with rebuilding their economy. The U.S. Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies looked at recent commercial satellite imagery of Nyongbyon nuclear facility which was shutdown in 2007 under the disarmament agreement discovered that one cooling tower for the reactor was destroyed in 2008. As the Associated Press reports the analysis published on Wednesday to the institute’s website, 38 North, says the tower will take six months to rebuild but a recent March 27 photo shows the building may have already started for an alternative cooling system that could be operational in weeks even though experts believe it could take three months to year to restart the reactor.