Links For Halloween

It's time for October to end, young trick-or-treaters to walk around their neighborhoods in scary costumes, and adults to dress up for parties.  Naturally, I hope that everyone's costumes will include copious amounts of cultural appropriation and offend as many people as possible.

Here are some stories in the news, some of which are downright scary:

From Yahoo News, citing Newsweek, a North Korean nuclear test may have resulted in the deaths of 200 people due to tunnel collapse.  (H/T Mary B. for the Tweet)

From MSN, citing the Associated Press, the two women who claim to have been lost at sea for month never turned on their emergency beacon.

From the NL Times, human rights organizations allege that terror suspects are mistreated in Dutch prisons.

From Dutch News, the population of the Netherlands increased by 80,000 in the first nine months of 2017, mostly due to immigration.

From Westmonster, in France, 32 terror plots have been foiled since November 2015.  The article cites a French source, Le Dauphine.

From The Local FR, a family of five people have been found shot to death on their pig farm.

From Breitbart London, Hungary warns that a list of allies of George Soros should "raise alarm bells".

From the Express, where are the Eurosceptics and Europhiles?

From The Guardian, the E.U. "anti-migration" fund is criticized as "too opaque".  (As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I'm not sure that his fund accomplishes anything in the first place.)

From Euractiv, Catalan leader Carles Puidgemont and five others flee to Brussels.

From National Review, "the advantages of liberal insurance".

From FrontpageMag, Israel destroys a Palestinian terror tunnel.

From Townhall, there could be more indictments from Special Counsel Mueller, including members of both parties, according to Leon Panetta, who worked for presidents of both parties.

From The Week, "Mueller is running amok".

From AhlulBay News Agency, according to the Taliban, their hostage Kevin King is having serious health problems.

From BBC News, a woman in Pakistan is charged with murdering 14 of her husband's relatives.  (via the New York Post)

From NewsBusters, although the economy has recently done well, the networks say nothing.

And from Cosmos, Jupiter's newly discovered southern aurora is different from the northern one.

UPDATE:  I must add two more stories, one historical and the other more recent than the original post.

From Finding Dulcinea, on today's date in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a chapel door in Wittenburg, Germany.  That makes today the 500 year anniversary of this event.  (The article itself is six years old, but still relevant.)

And from the Daily News, in New York, a man runs people over with his truck.  (I had previously mentioned that he also shot people from his truck, but I'm not sure that's what happened.)  The suspect was reportedly "waving an air pistol and a BB gun", and was shot by police.  He also, according to several witnesses, yelled "Allahu akbar!"

Manafort Gets Indicted, And Other Stories

It seems that today can be called Manafort Monday.  Justice Department Special Counsel Mueller has indicted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates, who also worked for the Trump campaign, on charges including money laundering and making false statements.  In a separate development, George Papadopoulos, who had been a foreign policy advisor to then-candidate Trump, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI.  The indictment does not mention President Trump himself.  The charges, from what I can tell, have to do with alleged behavior that occurred before the two defendants worked for the Trump campaign.

Read more at The New York Times, CNN (which has posted the text of the indictment), ABC News, Fox News and The Hill.

In some tangentially related items:

From The Washington Free Beacon, Wolf Blitzer confuses the Greek-descended Georges.

From Twitchy, Ben Shapiro sums up the meaning of the indictments.

From The Daily Caller, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders "brushes off" Papadopoulos's guilty plea.

From Politico, Democrat lobbyist Tony Podesta, under investigation by Mueller, steps down from the firm that bears his name.  (via the New York Post)

Here are some completely different things in the news:

Again from Politico, Senator and defendant Robert Menendez (D-NJ) will not get a mistrial.

From CNS News, in Yemen, children are being used as human shields.  (H/T luchadora for the Tweet.  This gets the "terrorism" label because anyone who uses the innocent as human shields is a terrorist.)

From Philly(dot)com, Penn State disciplines two more fraternities.

From Fox News, Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos will reportedly be subpoenaed.

From the Washington Examiner, animal rights activists are getting help from a Trump.  (via The Daily Caller)

From The Daily Signal, according to a sociology professor, America is going "through another sexual revolution", and the "ugly truth" about sex change surgery.

From Legal Insurrection, there's a plan to divide California into three.  (Which of them would fall into the Pacific Ocean if something happens to the San Andreas Fault?)

From the Express, the European Union faces more eurosceptism.

From The Old Continent, the obligation to house migrants is causing a housing crisis in Sweden.

From The Local SE, in Sweden, groups other than migrants "go without".

From Breitbart London, a French court orders the removal of a cross from a statue of Pope John Paul II because the cross is a religious symbol in a public space.  (But a statue of a pope, who has been canonized by the Catholic church is not?)

From the NL Times, a man is attacked with a hammer.

From the Metro, in Britain, a Pakistani Christian is beaten up for having poppies in his car.

From The Guardian, violence at detention centers in Libya causes migrants to return home.

From Russia Today, Spain's foreign minister says that independence is ruled out, but there may be more autonomy for Catalonia.

From Reuters, Singapore bans two foreign Muslim preachers for their "divisive views".

From the Independent, Saudi Arabia will allow women into (three specific) sports venues.

From Qantara, the Turkish parliament has passed a bill, which is opposed by women's right groups, to allow Islamic muftis to register weddings, alongside civil registrars.

From the New York Post, sometimes taking an unpaid break is a good idea.

And from the Mirror, ten weird facts about Halloween.

Links For National Cat Day

Today's Twitter hashtag is #NationalCatDay.  Thus, I must set forth my own definition of a cat - a martial arts expert with knives attached to all 20 digits.  Fortunately, we've domesticated them, and as result, usually don't have to deal with their fighting skills.  But if you're a small varmint, the furry critter that purrs and meows for humans is your worst nightmare.  On the other hand, if you're a human, grab your pussy (you know, the four-legged kind) and read some stories:

From Voice Of Europe, in Italy, three Moroccans allegedly murder a 79-year-old woman.

From the Sunday Express, after being ejected from a night club in Salford, England, a man returns with a knife and launches a chemical attack.

From Russia Today, pro-unity demonstrators scuffle with police in Barcelona, Spain (which apparently is not going to become Barcelona, Catalonia any time soon).

From Deutsche Welle, the E.U. threatens to restrict visas from countries that won't take back their failed asylum seekers.  (My spellchecker rejects Welle, but has no problem with Deutsche.)

From Breitbart London, the German immigration agency usually doesn't bother to check if a refugee's home country is safe.

From Breitbart Sports, there are still plenty of available seats.

From Decider, President Trump and Michael are fighting - on Twitter.

From Assyrian International News Agency, Iraqi forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga start new talks.

From AhlulBayt News Agency, Armenia wants to help rebuild Syrian infrastructure.

From Townhall, how liberals "are destroying America's culture".

From National Review, could there be a Senator Mitt Romney?

From Arutz Sheva, in Israel, both Muslim and Christian religious leaders oppose the sale of land to Jews.

From Daily News & Analysis, in a dozen women and a former union minister have been "ousted" from Islam for allegedly worshiping a Hindu deity.

From Scroll(dot)in, a Muslim woman's family supports her right to marry a Christian man.  (Normally, Muslim women are not allowed to marry non-Muslim men, but adherence to this rule varies to some degree.)

From Gatestone Institute, "terrorism in Europe".

From Quartz, because Gambia is now democratic, European countries are urging migrants from that country to go back.

From The Hill, five people Trump could pick as the new leader of the Federal Reserve.  (via HotAir)

And from The Sun, ouch!  (via the New York Post)

Twin Bombs Strike Mogadishu - Again

Two weeks after over 350 people were killed by two bombs in Mogadishu, a suicide bomber drove into a hotel before setting off his bomb, and a second blast occurred minutes later.  There are also reports of gunfire in the hotel, which is near the Somali presidential palace.  Some outlets are reporting that at least 13 people have been killed.

Read more at BBC News, ITV, Sputnik International, Sky News and The Sun.

Catalonia Declares Independence, And Other Stories

The parliament of Catalonia has declared independence from Spain.  Regional leader Carlos Puigdemont called the action "a long-desired step".  MP's from three parties walked out, thus boycotting the vote.  Spain's national government has warned that it will impose direct rule.

Read more at Russia Today, the Express, BBC News, Reuters, the Financial Times and The Telegraph.

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Other things going on out there:

From Cambridge News, about 25 minutes before President Kennedy was shot, that very organization received a mysterious phone call.  (via the New York Post)

From Philly(dot)com, beware Mischief Night.

From Info Security, beware the robot vacuum cleaner.

From ABC News, the selection of a Montana company to help restore Puerto Rico's power did not involve the Trump administration.

From Voice Of Europe, a Dutch politician writes a "resistance manual" against Islamization.

From Breitbart Jerusalem, the Dutch government admits that their technology might have helped three countries develop WMD.

From The Local SE, in Sweden, a police dog wins a national award, after finding a lost six-year-old girl.

From The Local CH, the number of billionaires in the world has increased 15 percent since 2015.

From The Old Continent, in Germany, a former policeman says "politicians endanger us".

From the Daily Mail, in Lancashire, England, Muslims are expected to boycott school lunches because of a ban on halal meat.

From the Birmingham Mail, British police have arrested a would-be suicide bomber (with video).

From the NL Times, one third of the European jihadists who went to Syria are back in Europe.

From Russia Today, "scores" of French jihadists received welfare benefits while fighting alongside ISIS.

From the Express, United Kingdom officials predict their country having a population of 70 million in 2030.

From FrontpageMag, at a tournament in Abu Dhabi, Israeli judokas don't get to see their flag or hear their national anthem.

From Townhall, we've got a "disconnect".

From the Sporting News, ESPN staffers are facing another round of layoffs.  (One sporting outlet reporting bad news about another?  I won't fault anyone for using some NaCl one this one.)

And from BGR, scientists don't know what flew by the Earth a few days ago.  (I'm not saying it's aliens, but who knows?)

The Not-New And Some News

While reading through all the various web articles about Harvey Weinstein, including one calling him the "tip of the iceberg", somewhere I came across a song that was not only relevant, but also so old as to show that his alleged behavior is nothing new.  All the way back in 1979, on their album The Long Run, the Eagles recorded the song King Of Hollywood.  The first two verses read:

Well, he sits up there on his leatherette
Looks through pictures of the ones that he hasn't had yet
When he thinks he wants a closer look,
he gets out his little black telephone book
(He's calling, calling, calling
He's calling, calling, calling
He's calling, calling, calling
He's calling)

"Come sit down here beside me, honey
Let's have a little heart to heart
Now look at me and tell me, darlin',
How badly do you want this part?
Are you willing to sacrifice?
And are you willing to be real nice?
All your talent and my good taste,
I'd hate to see it go to waste."

The term "leatherette" refers to an artificial substitute for leather, especially when used for various types of seating.  Since the song's narrator tells "honey" to "sit down beside" him, this sounds like what is known as the "casting couch".  Read the whole song and tell yourself that it's not the same sort of thing that Weinstein and others have recently been accused of doing.

****

Some things in the news:

From The Sofia Globe, European police have busted a "major" migrant smuggling network.  (Such human trafficking operations are an aspect of illegal immigration that pro-illegal immigration people apparently don't like to talk about.)

From Flanders News, more on the migrant smuggling network bust from the Belgian perspective.

From The Washington Free Beacon, a San Francisco columnist tries to justify death threats against members of President Trump's cabinet.

From The Daily Caller, happy birthday to Trump's principal rival.

From Cincinnati(dot)com, the IRS settles two lawsuits against Tea Party groups.

From the Washington Examiner, speaking of the IRS, the president has picked his acting IRS commissioner.

From Politico, now that those files relating to the murder of JFK are about to be released, here's how to read them.

From Voice Of Europe, in one of my ancestral countries, political correctness won't work.

From Russia Today, the main reason for the United Kingdom's rise in population is immigration.

From the Express, E.U. officials are not cooperating with the pipe dreams of the "remainers".

From The Telegraph, British Muslim men do not have any "right" to a second wife.  So writes a Muslim woman.

From Sputnik International, Britain's parliament building faces a long-term terror threat.

From The Old Continent, the German parliament changes an old tradition to prevent a 77-year-old member, from the AfD party, from becoming Alterpräsident (Father of the House).

From the Greek Reporter, almost 800 migrants arrive on the islands of Lesbos and Chios in five days.

From Breitbart Jerusalem, a majority of Australians think that their country is full.

From The Local DE, attempt's by Chancellor Angela Merkel's party to form a coalition are facing some difficulties.

From The NL Times, a controversial imam who was deported from Belgium is now reportedly preaching in the Netherlands.  (via TROP)

And from CBS Sports, the New York Yankees have decided "not to bring back" manager Joe Girardi.

Screaming Against Trump, Romeo & Julio, And Other Stuff

Do you oppose President Trump, and are still upset that he got elected?  Do you need to vent your horrified feelings, even now, 11 and a half months later?  Stay patient for a little while longer, you leftwingers and never-Trumpers.  You'll have your chance this coming November 8th, the first anniversary of the last presidential election, when you get to scream at the sky.

Read more at Fox News Insider, People, The Daily Wire and Newsweek.

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Three grad students at UCLA have produced a reworking of Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet, in which the latter title character has been transformed into a gay Hispanic immigrant named Julio.  I don't know all the details of the short film's plot, but it would interesting if the two meet near a schoolyard.

Someone I follow Tweeted the story from Legal Insurrection, but they got it from The College Fix, who got it from the Daily Bruin.  This means that if you only read it here, you're getting fourth-hand information.

****

And in other stuff:

A psychiatrists says that Italy could soon look like Nigeria.

Kurds protest outside the U.S. consulate in Hamburg, Germany.

Germany deports 14 Afghans.

Germany, believe it or not, now has a website intended to deter migrants.

In Germany, a failed asylum seeker from Pakistan is on the run after allegedly murdering his two-year-old daughter.

In Berlin, an alleged Islamist and his large cache of weapons have been taken into custody.

In Berlin, a prostitution ring has been discovered at a refugee center.

In Britain, object to a mosque, get censored.

In Britain, a terror watchdog warns against "criminalising thought".

Sweden expects fewer asylum seekers in the next few years.

The French police can't stop migrants from going from Calais to Britain.

In Switzerland, more than a third of the adult population have immigrant backgrounds.

Dutch politician Geert Wilders questions the neutrality of the judge handling the appeal of his hate speech conviction.

In Hangzhou, China, City Brain is watching you.

We will soon find out if the Democrats really care about alleged interference from Russia.

The ACLU's definition of "justice" apparently encompasses a 17-year-old illegal alien getting an abortion in Texas at taxpayer expense.

The "communist experiment" failed because it was communist.

And to finish, former NFL quarterback Brett Favre can still throw the ball.

Fats Domino 1928-2017

Fats Domino, the singer-pianist who helped create rock and roll, died yesterday of natural causes at his home in Harvey, Louisiana.  He was 89.

Antoine Domino Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana and was the youngest of the eight children of Antoine Domino Sr. and Marie-Donatille Gros.  The family was of French Creole descent, and spoke the Louisiana Creole dialect of French.  He was a student at a community college when he learned piano.  In 1947, he was invited to join a band called the Solid Senders by their leader Billy Diamond, who gave him the nickname "Fats", after two other pianists, Fats Waller and Fats Pichon.

Domino's first recording was a song entitled (perhaps appropriately) The Fat Man, which was written with his producer Dave Bartholomew.  In 1955, his Ain't That A Shame reached the Top Ten.  His biggest hit was Blueberry Hill, written in 1940 by Vincent Rose, Al Lewis and Larry Stock.  Among his other hits were I'm Walkin', I Want To Walk You Home and Walkin' To New Orleans.  In 1986, he became one of the earliest inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Although he became a highly successful musician, Domino continued to reside in a working class neighborhood in New Orleans, until the area was flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina.  He and his family moved to Harvey, across the Mississippi River.

Fats Domino married Rosemary Hall in 1947.  The couple had eight children.  Mrs. Domino passed away in 2008.

Read more at The New York Times, CNN, Rolling Stone, TMZ and Variety.

Links For National Food Day

According to the hashtags on Twitter, today is #NationalFoodDay, so go eat something (as if we Americans don't already eat enough).  When you're done, here are some things to read, so your brain can help burn off some of those calories:

From the Express, Poland (again) blames Europe's migration crisis on "irresponsible" leaders, and more African migrants storm Spain's enclave of Ceuta.

From ZeroHedge, in Germany, terror cases quadruple in one year.

From Sputnik International, in Sweden female staffers at refugee reception homes bring about a sex scandal.

From Voice Of Europe, if you want to vacation in Europe this winter, go east.

From WestMonster, Austria's new leader starts talking with his fellow rightwingers.

From CNS News, according to the DEA, there were 52,404 drug overdoses in 2015.  (H/T luchadora for the Tweet)

From Fox News, without even intending to, scientists have made bacon less hazardous to your health.

From Breitbart Sports, the NFL is now less popular than major league baseball.

From Townhall, taking a knee has been "bad for business".

From The Washington Post, how many MS-13 members are there in Fairfax County, Virginia?

From National Review, why the Weinstein scandal is different.

From the Independent, don't fat-shame Harvey Weinstein.  (via The Daily Caller)

From The New York Times, a Yale student accidentally gets her illegal alien father detained.  (again, via The Daily Caller)

From The Washington Free Beacon, a Rutgers professor faults Israel for not killing Palestinians.

From Philly(dot)com, two House committee chairmen have announced a probe of the Obama administration Justice Department.

From Balkan Insight, 250 ISIS fighters return to their homelands in the Balkans.

From Natural News, a "sacred plant" that doctors aren't allowed to talk about.

From Newsweek, the ISIS-affiliated fighters in Niger who killed four Americans may have been tipped off.

From Step Feed, in Saudi Arabia, the popular hashtag is "make polygamy compulsory".

From NYOOOZ, in Mumbai, an imam is arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 8-year-old student.

From Premier, a Christian group intervenes in an inheritance case involving the estate of deceased Muslim in Greece.

From Free Malaysia Today, a Saudi court rules against compensating the victims killed or injured when a crane fell in Mecca two years ago.  (This story, and the four just above, come via The Religion Of Peace.)

From AZ Central, Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) will not run for re-election in 2018.  (via HotAir)

From Fox Business, Budweiser will bring back an earlier version of their beer.

And from the New York Post, dogs dress up and go on parade.

Music Break

Once again, one of these has become way overdue.  Let me start with something from Ted Nugent's eponymous 1975 debut solo album.  To record this album, the Nuge teamed up with bassist Rob Grange (a holdover from his earlier band the Amboy Dukes), singer/guitarist Derek St. Holmes, and drummer Cliff Davies.  While St. Holmes sings most the album's songs, Davies sings Stormtroopin', and I dare say sounds a bit like Ozzy.  (In their live set, St. Holmes sang this one.)

Paris Signatories Not Complying Very Well

This story is the subject of a post at Pirate's Cove, and comes from Breitbart's Big Government.  The proprietor of Pirate's Cove, who calls himself William Teach, has been a blogosphere friend, not so much to myself, but to Raven, the creator of AndRightlySo, the first blog to which I contributed.  According to Breitbart's BG:

Following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, a number of other nations have quietly begun ignoring the Paris energy goals, according to a new report out of Canada.

I can't help but wonder.  Are these nations using Trump's withdrawal as an excuse?  The Breitbart article mainly deals with how Paris signatory nations are not living up the agreement and how "global warming enthusiasts" are losing elections.  But the section of the article which I enjoyed the most, due to my Polish heritage, would have to be this:

Late last year, to their national embarrassment, the Germans had to be bailed out of a small energy crisis by Poland when the wind failed to blow for several days and a thick fog surrounded many parts of Germany, driving the output from renewables to just 4 percent of total demand. It was coal-fueled Poland that had to rescue Germany from its self-induced energy crisis.

Considering that World War II (or at least the European phase thereof) was started by the German invasion of Poland, and the current demand by the Polish government for reparations from that war, I can't help but enjoy the historical irony.  Good thing for Germany that European nations generally get along better these days.  The trouble with renewables is that they literally depend on the weather.  (My spellcheck does not like the word "renewables", but has no problem if I remove the final "s".)

Read the full story, and read Teach's post for his commentary, at the first link above.

A Dozen For Sunday

Twelve things going on out there:

From The Local ES, now that Spain has dissolved the Catalan separatist government, what's next for Catalonia?

From Sky News, one U.K. minister recommends harsh treatment for Britons who fight for ISIS.

From Save My Sweden, a mega mosque has opened in a Jewish neighborhood in London.

From the Los Angeles Times, a tech CEO been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child and battery on a police officer.

From the New York Post, here's what has happened to three soldiers who searched for Sgt. Bergdahl.

From the Daily Mail, speaking of the deserter, hear him whine.

From the Evening Standard, a British man in Dubai gets three months for touching a man's hip.

From National Review, there's more to fiscal reform than tax cuts.

From The South China Post, could there again be violence against ethnic Chinese in Indonesia?

From the African Independent, Islamic terrorists strike three police stations in a town in northern Mozambique.

From the Sunday Express, a former Italian Prime Minister says that his country is becoming ungovernable due to eurosceptic parties.

And from Twitchy, Harvey Weinstein has allegedly been cured of his sex addiction after one week of treatment.  (Just one week?  Riiiiiiight!)

A Few Stories For Saturday - Or Early Sunday

It's another Saturday, with another slate of college football games.  So let me take a time out from watching the gridiron and pass on a few stories:

From Breitbart Texas, two members of MS-13 have been arrested in Maryland for their roles in an alleged gang-related murder.  (Yes, it may seem strange that the Texas division of Breitbart covers a story in Maryland, but I guess that's how they work.)

From Breitbart London, the party led by the "Czech Trump" appears to have done very well in the Czech elections.  (If the London division of Breitbart, which is based in the United Kingdom, can cover a story in other European countries, then the Texas division reporting on Maryland wouldn't be all that odd.)

From The Guardian, the Iraqi army has taken Kirkuk from the Kurds.  (via the Assyrian International News Agency)

From the Sunday Express, a British jihadi who joined ISIS is believed to have been killed by ISIS.  (It's Saturday here in the U.S. as I write this, but it's already Sunday over in the U.K.)

From The Telegraph, during the Brexit campaign, the BBC invited one third more Pro-E.U. speakers than Eurosceptic speakers.  (In other words, one British outlet criticizes another.)

From Townhall, John Hawkins takes on the "diversity is our strength" maxim.

From ZeroHedge, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledges an obvious truth.

From Russia Today, in Greece, anti-fascists (as they call themselves) protest against the rightwing party Golden Dawn.

From the Daily Mail, 200 migrants arrive at Piraeus, Greece, the port for Athens.

From Gatestone Institute, Germany has implemented censorship.

From The Sherbrooke Times, a Muslim on trial in France refuses to recognize man-made law.

From The Express-Tribune, a morgue in Peshawar, Pakistan refuses to keep the body of a murdered transgender.

From Sky News, in Germany, a man has been arrested in connection with a knife attack in Munich.

From The Sun, Harvey Weinstein's former chauffeur tells some tales.

And from The New York Times, President Trump will release thousands of currently classified documents relating the assassination of President Kennedy.

Friday Links

Some things going on in today's news, with a bit of opinion thrown in:

From Voice Of Europe, Poland's interior minister blames European leaders such as Angela Merkel for the migrant crisis.

From New Europe, "human trafficking remains big business in Europe".

From the Express, a terror watch boss wants ISIS jihadis "reintegrated" back into British society, and Storm Brian is heading for Great Britain.

From The Old Continent, Syria has suffered a brain drain due to emigration to Europe.

From the NL Times, the Netherlands has granted asylum to Turks who supported Fethullah Gulen, who with his followers has been blamed for a coup in Turkey.

From Sputnik International, at a shopping center in Poland, a man with a knife wounds nine people, one fatally.

From Russia Today, an intelligence chief warns that children returning from war zones controlled by ISIS could become future jihadis.

From Fox News, Romanian police stop 28 people from attempting to enter Hungary.

From The Guardian, a fund used to pay African countries to deter migration is running out of money.  (Was this fund even accomplishing anything in the first place?)

From Al-Monitor, in October, a record number of migrants have gone to Italy.  (So much for paying anyone to deter migration.)

From ANSA, "845 Tunisians arrive on Lampedusa in 4 days".  (Again, so much for paying anyone to deter migration.)

From The Gainesville Sun, three supporters of Richard Spencer have been arrested in connection with a shooting.  (via the New York Post) (Spencer is a white nationalist, and should not be confused with anti-jihadist Robert Spencer.)

From The Washington Free Beacon, the "Women for Peace" rally in front of the Pentagon today includes a performance by convicted sex offender Peter Yarrow.

From The Daily Caller, to oppose Iran, we should support the Kurds.

From Philly(dot)com, in Philadelphia, nine people have been arrested in connection with an alleged illegal street lottery.

From PoliZette, the media, who once vilified President Bush the Younger, now seem to like him after he criticizes his current successor.

From The Washington Times, up to 3.6 million illegal aliens could benefit from legislation proposed to replace DACA.

From Reuters, the underwear bomber sues the U.S. government for violating his rights.

From Lincolnshire Live, a video about the history of Islam made by Lincolnshire police draws a backlash.  The article includes the video, so you can judge for yourself.

From the Metro, the United Kingdom has spent ₤800 million fighting ISIS.

From AhlulBayt News Agency, according to former Afghan president Karzai, the United States is using ISIS as a tool in Afghanistan.

From National Review, what happened in Niger is not "Trump's Benghazi".

From Breitbart's Big Government, the Fourth Circuit has ruled against Bladensburg, Maryland's "Peace Cross".  (Should I go out there and see it, before it gets removed?)

And from the New York Post, thieves in Germany pull off what is called the "largest recorded theft" of one particular type of merchandise.

The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash

Forty years ago today, the chartered Convair CV-240 aircraft carrying the band Lynyrd Skynyrd and their road crew ran out of fuel and crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi.  Six people were killed in the crash - pilot Walter McCreary, co-pilot William Gray, lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/singer Steve Gaines, his sister backup singer Cassie Gaines, and assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick.  Cassie Gaines had been part of a vocal trio known as the Honkettes, which also included Leslie Hawkins and JoJo Billingsley, who was not aboard the flight.  Twenty people survived, including Hawkins, keyboardist Billy Powell, guitarists Allen Collins and Gary Rossington, bassist Leon Wilkeson, and drummer Artimus Pyle.  According to Powell, Van Zant was thrown from the plane as it broke up, his head hitting a tree.  Although suffering broken ribs, Pyle was able to reach a nearby farmhouse and alert the authorities.

In 1980, Collins, Rossington, Powell and Wilkeson formed the Rossington-Collins band with drummer Derek Hess (after Pyle was injured in a motorcycle accident), guitarist/singer Barry Harwood, and lead singer Dale Krantz, who latter married Rossington.  In 1987, Lynyrd Skynyrd reformed with Van Zant's younger brother Johnny on lead vocals, and initially included Rossington, Powell, Wilkeson and Pyle, along with guitarist Ed King, who had left the band in 1975.  Today, of the pre-crash members, only Rossington is still in Lynyrd Skynyrd.  His wife Dale is one of two female backing vocalists.

Read more at Rolling Stone, Ultimate Classic Rock, USA Today and News4Jax.

A Sasquatch's Dozen And A Personal Note

Here are twelve things going on out there:

From Voice Of Europe, Berlin has become riddled with crime by migrants.

From Russia Today, British schools are told to protect free speech.  (The particular types of speech which are still considered "free" over there is another matter.)

From ABC News, a tourist in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy is killed by a piece of falling stone.  (via the New York Post)

From the Daily Mail, an entire Russian village is besieged by large white creatures.  (via The Daily Caller)

From Breitbart London, contrary to a previous report, the Viking burial cloth does not refer to "Allah".

From National Review, Mayim Bialik was right to advise women to protect themselves.

From UCA News, in Pakistan, a Christian student died from being beaten by police.

From Newsweek, the terrorist leader accused of masterminding the Peshawar school massacre has been killed.

From Townhall, Harvey Weinstein's accusers are brave, but such bravery is nothing new.

From The Week, defectors tell BBC interviewers that North Koreans are taught that Americans are wolves.  (via HotAir)

From the Washington Examiner, the southern border wall could contain solar panels.  (via The Daily Caller)

And from CNBC, a new video game involves clapping the fastest for the Chinese president.
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On a personal note, I visited Florence in 2010, including the Basilica of Santa Croce.  To my disappointment, the square outside the church was occupied by a stage and seating for a rock concert, so I could not take a good picture of the church's front.  Fortunately, while inside, I was able to take a photo of the tomb of Galileo, another other things.

Links For Frank Beamer's Birthday

Today is the 71st birthday of retired Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, who now works as a special assistant to VT's Director of Athletics Whit Babcock, after saying "enough for one lifetime" during the 2015 season.  As I wish a "happy birthday" to Mr. Beamer, here are some other things going on out there:

From Voice Of Europe, the German media already has a very unflattering nickname for Austria's new chancellor.

From Breitbart Jerusalem, the new Austrian Chancellor does not appear to deserve the new nickname.

From Breitbart Texas, a member of MS-13 is arrested after allegedly falsely claiming U.S. citizenship.

From Breitbart Sports, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has a suggestion for what NFL players could protest against.

From National Review, QB-in-exile Colin Kaepernick's collusion claim is not likely to be successful.

From The Hill, "beware of the Bannon".  (Like both yours truly and the above-mentioned retired coach, "the Bannon" earned his bachelor's degree at Virginia Tech.)

From The Daily Caller, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) faults a Fox News reporter for asking a "dumb" question.

From The Old Continent, singer Noel Gallagher says that "hippy idealism about religion" won't protect anyone.

From Radio Poland, according to Poland's defense minister, hackers have launched cyber attacks against Poland.

From the Express, for his immigration policies, French President Emmanuel Macron is called "two-faced".

From Total Croatia News, the number of illegal migrants entering Croatia from Bosnia and Hercegovina has increased by 350% over last year.  (This article is a translation.  The Croatian-language original comes from Index.)

From The Local SE, a Swedish police station is damaged by an explosion.

From the NL Times, hundreds of foreign prisoners get an early release and deportation.

From Reuters, Tunisian smugglers offer migrants a route to Europe.

From Russia Today, French police arrest 10 rightwing extremists.

From NBC Washington, a gunman is on the loose after killing three people and wounding two others at his workplace in Edgewood, Maryland.

From The Telegraph, a Singaporean newspaper has come under fire for a column by a Muslim cleric about wife-beating.

From the Mirror, a Nobel prize-winning Pakistani woman is trolled for dressing like a Westerner.

From the Hindu Post, police in Hanyara, India rescue a Hindu girl from Muslim captors who planned to convert and sell her.

From the Washington Examiner, a longtime confidant of the Clintons claims to have warned three Democrat executives about Harvey Weinstein.  (via Lucianne(dot)com)

From the Los Angeles Times, if you've got about $3.7 million lying around, you can own Judy Garland's former house in Malibu.

From the Independent, to deal with a political crisis in North Ireland, here comes Mr. Bill.  (How do you say "oh noooooo!" in Irish Gaelic?)

From Fox2 Now, a woman carrying a gun on the University of Missouri campus, possibly a suicide threat, has been taken into custody.

And from The Week, some old-time advice for parents.

Carrick Furnace

After setting out for Buchanan's Birthplace State Park, with which I was already familiar, I set out for an unfamiliar place.  It was a short drive from said state park to Carrick Furnace, located along Pennsylvania Route 75, which has a junction with PA 16 in Mercersburg.  The furnace sits in a field just north of a place named Metal.  According to Wiki, the furnace was built in 1828 and operated until 1837.  It sat idle until 1879, when it was adapted to provide steam for a blowing engine.  This operation continued until 1884.  I walked through some overgrown vegetation to get this shot of the furnace and some adjacent machinery, possibly the remains of the blowing engine.

Buchanan's Birthplace State Park

Buchanan's Birthplace State Park is located just off Pennsylvania Route 16 near the village of Cove Gap, between Mercersburg and McConnellsburg, in a gap of Tuscarora Mountain.  The park has an area of about 18.5 acres, and includes two covered picnic areas and other tables.  Every once in a while, I've stopped in there to take a break from driving, and to see the pyramid that marks the former location of the log cabin in which President James Buchanan was born.  Here's a front view.  Direct sunlight and shadows from leaves make for a high amount of contrast.

Monday Links

Another weekend is over, so here comes another Monday full of bah-dah, bad-da-da-dah:

From the Washington Examiner, California's sanctuary policy shows the disconnect between the people and Democrat elites.

From Science News, thar's gold in them thar.......colliding neutron stars?

From Assyrian International News Agency, a priest issues a prayer appeal for persecuted Christians in Iraq.

From The Daily Signal, the policeman who wrongly arrested a nurse is now an ex-policemen.

From EUReporter, the Austrian election, in which rightwing parties appear to have done well, is a wake-up call to the E.U.

From the Express, the victory for Eurosceptics in Austria could be a nightmare for the E.U.

From The Local AT, Austrian conservative Sebastian Kurz promises "great change".

From Russia Today, in Austria, it's the "rise of the right".

From Breitbart London, a Swedish woman defends Islamic polygamy.

From WestMonster, Angela Merkel faces calls for her resignation - from her own party.

From BosNewsLife, Hungary pledges to take in "a limited number" of Christians.

From Dutch News, some people in the Netherlands will be paying a higher tax rate, despite recent tax cuts.

From The Local FR, in France, any "undocumented foreigner" (a.k.a. illegal alien) who commits a crime (besides being in the country illegally) will be deported.

From The Local SE, in Sweden, police have a difficult time deporting failed asylum seekers.

From The Telegraph, in Portugal, 27 people have reportedly died as a result of wildfires.  (I think that California might have the right to say, "Welcome to the club.")

From CNN, Sgt. Bergdahl pleads guilty.

From AOL, citing Thomson Reuters, President Trump says that Congress is working on a "short-term solution" for health insurance markets.

From NBC News, Trump claims to understand his friend Steve Bannon's "war on GOP establishment".

From the Los Angeles Times, Trump blames the Cuban government for sonic attacks on U.S. diplomats.

From the Daily Mail, the Egyptian division of ISIS carries out a sharia punishment, and after her town was taken from ISIS, an Iraqi woman joyfully rips off her burqa.

From the Inquirer, in the Philippines, two dead terrorists will be given an Islamic burial.

From The Korea Herald, according to National Security Adviser McMaster, America's options on North Korea are "under constant refinement".

From Philly(dot)com, Philadelphia's soda tax produces all-too-predictable consequences.

And from The Daily Caller, the president apparently would welcome a rematch.  (As a certain saying goes, be careful what you ask for.)

Are You Ready For Professor Hillary Clinton?

Former First Lady/Senator/Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, most recently seen running unsuccessfully for President, might be reclaiming a title she once had before those listed above.  She has reportedly been in talks with Columbia University to take on a role as professor, and possibly even store her archives there.  (As for how many emails are in those archives, your guess is as good as mine.)  I say "reclaiming a title she once had" because she once was a law professor in Arkansas.

Read more at the New York Post and the Daily News.  All the other websites reporting on this story, as far as I can find, refer back to the Daily News.

Twin Truck Bombs Strike Mogadishu

Yesterday two truck bombs went off in Mogadishu Somalia, about two hours apart.  Some outlets are reporting 85 people killed, while others say that the death toll is 189.  At least 200 others have been wounded.  The Somalian government has blamed the al-Shabab terrorist group, but no one yet has claimed responsibility.  Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed has declared three days of mourning.

Read more at Sky News, The Telegraph, the Independent, The Indian Express, ABC News (where "A" stands for "Australian") and The New York Times.

Football And Other Stuff

First, the football:

No, this is not about the NFL anthem kneelers, but the football that I really care about, which is played by college students.  This not to say, of course, that the NCAA is without sin.  Like it not, as long as the participants are human, there are going to be problems.  But that said, I've always been more fond of the college game.  One reason is that under normal circumstances, a college athlete gets to play for a total of four years.  (These can be spread out over five years, the non-playing year called a "redshirt".)  This forces coaches to think about the future, and gives them a reason to put in their backups and reserves, who are mostly younger than the starters, to give them some experience.  This helps prepare them for more extensive roles that come after the older players graduate.

This weekend, starting with Friday the 13th yesterday, has seen some stunning upsets.  Last night, unranked Syracuse beat #2 Clemson 27-24.  (Clemson had given my Virginia Tech Hokies their only loss two weeks earlier.)  Later on the west coast, California easily defeated #8 Washington State.  Today, Boston College, who last week lost to VT 23-10 at home, went on the road to Louisville (whose quarterback is a Heisman Trophy winner) and beat them 45-42.  VT has no game this weekend, after playing half (six) of our regularly scheduled games, which gives Hokies such as myself a chance to mentally relax and watch other schools' games.

UPDATE:  Just after I finished this post, I learned of another upset.  LSU comes back to defeat #10 Auburn 27-23.

Now for the other stuff:

My response to this headline is "They're not alone."

Something is foreign-subsidized in Denmark.

In Britain, almost 3,400 people got arrested in 2016 for "offensive" online comments.

British civil servants are told not to use gendered pronouns.

Conservative speaker Laura Ingram blasts the "enemies" of President Trump's supporters.

A former sheriff blasts a former secretary of state.

The Academy kicks out Harvey Weinstein.

France might revoke Weinstein's Legion of Honor.

The proposed observance of Muslim holidays in Germany, which I mentioned yesterday, isn't going over too well.

Some E.U. states are "fed up" with Macron and Merkel trying to block Brexit.

In its upcoming meeting, the E.U. will not decide whether to admit Turkey.

Switzerland will vote on whether to ban the burka.

In South Africa, another white farmer is murdered.

Kneeling spreads to the other football.

Contrary to leftwing criticism, President Trump's decision to discontinue Obamacare subsidies to insurance companies is perfectly legal.

Two DACA recipients have been caught trying to smuggle in (other) illegal aliens.

A man whose family was held hostage by the Taliban tells his horror stories.

A proposal could allow women to go on the Hadj without male escorts.

Thousands of people have been evacuated due to California's 16 major forest fires.

And finally, a comedian flops by telling anti-Trump jokes.  (intermediate source)