New Zealand Bans Assault Weapons

This is what responsive governance looks like. 

Five days after a white supremacist unleashed a terror attack on two mosques with an assault weapon in Christchurch, NZ that killed 50 people, New Zealand has taken action to fix the problem with their gun laws that allowed it to happen.

On March 20, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a ban on all military style assault weapons.   This took just ten minutes.



And here's PM Ardern's speech announcing the ban and other adjustments to NZ's gun laws, including a buyback for already purchased weapons.

Welcome, everyone. On 15 March, the nation witnessed a terrorist attack that demonstrated the weakness of New Zealand’s gun laws. New Zealand’s regulation of arms primarily dates back to 1983. Sadly, since that time, the most substantive changes to our laws came following the Aramoana shootings. Those changes, however, did not go far enough. Successive attempts have been made, and failed, to change our laws since then. Those attempts were in 1999, 2005, 2012, and more recently though a select committee inquiry in early 2017. And still, none of the changes that have been made in the past dealt with one of the most glaring issues we have that sets New Zealand apart from many other nations: the availability of military-style semi-automatic weapons.

The attacker on 15 March took a significant number of lives using primarily two guns. They were assault rifles, and they were purchased legally on an A category gun license, the standard license held by gun owners in New Zealand. The capacity of these assault rifles was then enhanced using 30+ round magazines, essentially turning them into military-style semi-automatic weapons. While the modification of these guns was illegal, it was done easily, through a simple online purchase.

The guns in this terrorist attack had important distinguishing features. First, the capacity, and also, the delivery. They had the power to shoot continuously, but they also had large-capacity magazines. I absolutely believe there will be a common view amongst New Zealanders, those who use guns for legitimate purposes, and those who have never touched one, that the time for the mass and easy availability of these weapons must end. And today, they will.

Today I am announcing that New Zealand will ban all military-style semi-automatic weapons. We will also ban all assault rifles. We will ban all high-capacity magazines. We will ban all parts with the ability to convert semi-automatic or any other type of firearm into a military-style semi-automatic weapon. We will ban parts that cause a firearm to generate semi-automatic, automatic, or close-to-automatic gunfire. In short, every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned in this country.

These changes will require legislation. That legislation is now being drafted and will be introduced under urgency. A short and select committee process will apply, so I encourage all those who wish to submit to start now. My expectation is that the law will be in place by the end of the next two-week sitting session, which is by the 11th of April.

As a government, however, we did not wish to allow a situation where irresponsible dealers continue to sell weapons that will be banned within a few weeks. That is why we have taken an interim measure. As at 3 p.m. today, an order-in-council took effect. These changes to our regulations will ensure virtually all of the weapons I have announced as being banned will be categorized as weapons that require an E-Class endorsement. The effect of this will mean that no one will be able to buy these weapons without a permit to procure from the police. I can assure people that there is no point in applying for such a permit. This is an interim measure to ensure the trade of these weapons ceases from 3 p.m. today.

As a government, we acknowledge that there will be gun owners who have legitimately purchased weapons we have now moved to ban. Some, for instance, will use them for large scale culling, such as dog. We will as a cabinet work through legalized exemptions for these purposes, but they will be tightly-regulated. For others, these guns will now come out of circulation. I acknowledge and thank those retailers who have voluntarily ceased to sell military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles. You have seen the collective issues we face as a country and I thank you for that. For other dealers, sales should essentially now cease. My expectation is that these weapons will be returned to their suppliers, and never enter into the New Zealand market again.

For current owners of the weapons we have moved to ban, I acknowledge that many of you will have acted within the law. In recognition of that, and to incentivize their return, we will be establishing a buy-back scheme. The details of the scheme are being developed in parallel to the drafting of the legislation to enforce the ban.

In the meantime, we are asking all current holders of military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles to visit www.police.govt.nz. There they will find details of the weapons included in this ban. In the next 48 hours, a form will be available on this site that we are asking these gun owners to complete, identifying what banned guns they hold. The police will then arrange for these weapons to be handed over, and eventually destroyed. Details of the weapons handed back by owners that are covered by the ban will also be taken to ensure that fair and reasonable compensation is paid once the buyback is in place. If owners are unable to complete the online form, they are able to contact the police on the phone to arrange the handover of these now-banned guns. I do want to emphasize, to manage the flow of information to the police, online is the best way to arrange the return of your weapons. Do not arrive at the police station unannounced with these weapons in your possession.

As the legislation is developed, we will determine the time available for the return of military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles, and the duration of the buyback scheme. I can assure people that there will be time for the returns to be made, and that they will not be criminalized overnight. After a reasonable period for returns, those who continue to possess these guns will be in contravention of the law. Currently, the penalties for this range from fines of up to $4,000 and or three years in prison. The draft legislation will look to increase these penalties.

I want to acknowledge that the weapons available in New Zealand are only part of the problem, and loopholes with our current law continue to exist. On Monday, Cabinet will receive and consider further amendment to our gun laws. These proposals will however go through a more fulsome process. But be assured, this is just the beginning of the work we need to do.

Finally, I want to repeat a message I have consistently shared since announcing our laws would change. We do have guns in New Zealand that are used for legitimate purposes by responsible owners every single day, and that includes our rural community. They manage pests, they’re used for animal welfare, and also for recreation. I’ve been steadfast in my belief that the vast majority of these owners will support what we are doing here today, because it’s about all of us, it’s in the national interest, and it’s about safety. I will work hard to retain that support as we work on the remaining tranches of reform that we must make to prevent an act of terror happening in our country ever again. I will now hand over to the Minister of Police

Brava PM Ardern and New Zealand.

Imagine what we could do in the US with the political will and no NRA 

Not Surprised Austin Terrorist Bomber Was White Male

Color me not shocked to discover that the terrorist bomber that caused fear all over the city of Austin killed two people and wounded three others was a white male.

Maybe that explains the reluctance of the media to call the series of bombings a terrorist attack.

23 year old Mark Anthony Conditt of Pflugerville, TX blew himself up with an explosive device as SWAT officers were closing in on him.

Austin PD and the FBI tracked him to a hotel parking lot in Round Rock, TX, 18 miles  north of the ATX where they found him .inside his vehicle.   The officers on the scene wanted to wait for backup before engaging him but Conditt drove off.

Conditt stopped on the side of the I-35 frontage road and as a SWAT officer approached the car Conditt detonated an explosive device, killing himself and injuring the SWAT officer approaching the vehicle.  Shits were fired at the car in response.

After being cricket chirping silent about the terror attacks for weeks, White Supremacist in Chief Trump finally commented on the terror attacks by congratulating the officers for their 'excellent police work'

No words from Trump to the families who lost loved ones to the bombing like Draylen Mason or Anthony House, or those who are recovering from their injuries.

Then again, why expect someone like 45, who cares about no one but himself,  to have empathy for others?

Austin can exhale a bit, but officials are warning there may still be some bombs he shipped or mailed before he killed himself, so they are advising people to be alert

But once again, just proves the point the Republicans an the conservative movement tried to suppress in 2009 that domestic terrorism in the United States has a right wing, white male face.   

Moni's Thoughts On Vegas Terrorist Attack

I woke up this morning to discover this 62 year old thug, Stephen Paddock opened fire from his 32nd story room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel on an outdoor country concert across the street from his hotel.

Paddock killed 50 people, and injured or wounded another 400 before killing himself in the worst mass shooting terrorist attack since last year's Pulse one.

It's sad that every time I hear about a mass shooting, the first though that crosses my mind is "please don't let the shooter be a person of color'  (or enter your marginalized group here). 

The way the white dominated media covered the shooting told me everything thing i needed to know about it before I even saw a picture of the alleged perpetrator.    The reluctance to call it a terrorist attack.   The insistence of the use of 'lone wolf' to describe this terror attack.   The reluctance to immediately put a photo up of the terrorist or call him that.   The attempt to humanize the perpetrator and refrain from demonizing him like they would if the person executing this attack was anything but a white male. 

So what does this say about white males and their propensity for violently shooting people?   When will Congress open up an investigation about that?

This Las Vegas terror attack also speaks volumes to non-white Americans about how the media and conservative politicians have racialized terrorism

Let's call it what it is and not sugarcoat it because a white male is involved.   It was a terrorist attack executed by another radicalized white male seeking to Make America Great Again when it comes to our unmatched ability to rain death upon our fellow citizens by stupidly allowing anyone with a pulse at the behest of the National Racist  Rifle Association to own an assault weapon. 

When police entered his room they found ten rifles and magazine and ammo

Spare me any chatter about 'this isn't the right time' to talk about banning assault weapons?  When will be the right time?  When you lose a loved one to the next terrorist attack executed by some radicalized white male?

Tell me when is the 'right time' to talk about gun violence?  Because it seems that the right time to talk about it for you ammosexuals and mass shootings overwhelmingly being committed by white males is 'never'.

And once again the Republican Party will do nothing.  They will 'offer prayers', then will back then up with the same inaction that we have seen for over a decade, and then wring their hands when the next terrorist attack involving assault weapons happens.
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Pulse Terror Attack: One Year Later

This was an attack on the entire TBLG community, and we cannot allow the people killed at Pulse to die in vain.  Far from the entire community cowering in fear, we should be even more determined to openly live our lives and work to ensure that homophobia and transphobia are eradicated from our culture.-TransGriot  June 13, 2016

I definitely remember where I was when I heard about the Pulse nightclub terror attack in Orlando.  I was in Philadelphia staying at Dionne Stallworth's place for the just concluded Philly Trans Health Conference.

I was in the midst of an empowering few days that started with me going to Washington DC and the White House for my first LGBT Pride Reception with Ruby Corado, then immediately leaving with Fiona Dawson to ride up I-95 to Philadelphia for my early Friday morning PTHC media panel moderated by Brynn Tannehill after arriving a little after midnight.

I was in Philadelphia preparing to catch a Megabus to Washington DC for Capital Pride and my flight back to the Houston area when Dionne hit me with the first disturbing early Sunday morning news about the Pulse shooting.

The details were still coming out as I headed to the Megabus pickup stop in Philly for my trip back down I-95 to DC, and I sent out a tweet that incensed the right wing haters when I said "This tragedy is the result of six months of nonstop GOP anti-gay hatred for their political gain."

That started a swarm of GOP leaning Twitter trolls heading to my Twitter feed to swarm attack me.  I spent the entire 139 mile (224 km) bus ride calling out and then blocking them until I hit DC's Union Station.   I spent some time at the nearby Capital Pride, and noticed the increased police presence for the event before heading to BWI airport a few hours later.

49 people died during that terror attack on Latin Night, with another 53 people being wounded.   And yes, I still do blame all the anti-gay and anti-trans Republican rhetoric in being a catalyst for the Pulse attack.

And still haven't forgotten that reprehensible tweet Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick (R) unleashed on the world early that morning.

It also made me think about the fact less than a few hours before I'd been in a predominately trans convention space.  I noted when I entered the convention center for PTHC's Saturday sessions the security level for our event and thinking we needed more than the single unarmed security company person at the doors in light of all the anti-trans rhetoric that had been put out there across the country by the Republicans and other conservative media.

A few months later I got the opportunity to see the Pulse site for myself while attending this year's LGBT Media Journalists Convening in Orlando.  

Earlier that Saturday morning during one of our sessions we'd heard from one of the survivors who urged us to remind people in our upcoming anniversary articles we would soon write that this happened on Latin Night.

I noted when our buses rolled up from the hotel the Puerto Rican flags put up as part of the memorial. I noted the reverent silence at a site that should have had vehicles filling its parking lot and excited anticipation building for another night in which the Orlando TBLGQ community gathered at this location for fun and to meet that special person.

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chavez-Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Jean C. Nieves Rodriguez, 27 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old

#WeAreOrlando #Pulse #Orlando #Solidarity

Instead, it is now quiet because of a senseless mass shooting that targeted our community and the makeshift memorials that now cover portions of that fenced off parking lot.

The Orlando City soccer club has 49 rainbow flag seats in Section 12 with #OrlandoUnited on them in its new stadium just two miles from the club in honor of the persons we lost that night.  

The Pulse club itself in now a memorial    And sadly, we now have an idiot in the White House who is pandering to the right wing fundamentalists and members of his base who would love for that to happen again.

No, it can't be allowed to happen again.   And we must redouble our efforts as a TBLGQ community to eradicate homophobia and transphobia from our greater societal ranks

15th Anniversary of The 9-11 Terror Attacks

September 11, 2001 is one of those dates etched into American history as one you remember what you were doing and where your were when the event happened.

15 years ago today an Al Qaeda terror attack that used hijacked planes to slam into the World Trade Center towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC and another that was planned to either slam into the White House or the US capitol building.

That attack was thwarted when the passengers of United Flight 93 overpowered the hijackers and the plane crashed near Shanksville, PA,

The shock and horror of that day was amplified when the twin World Trade Center towers both came crashing down

The 9-11 attacks shocked the world and killed over 3000 people   Our airspace was closed for two weeks in response to the attack, and Canada in Operation Yellow Ribbon opened their airports, hearts and homes to international flights and travelers forced to land there because of the closure of US airspace.

While a new World Trade Center building rises 1776 feet into the New York skyline at the spot where the former towers stood, the gaping hole in the Pentagon has been repaired, and Osama Bin Laden long ago was killed in a SEAL raid, for many of the people who lost loved ones or who survived the attacks, the infamy of that day hasn't subsided..

Here are President Obama's remarks at the memorial service remembering the attack on the Pentagon.

Moni's Thoughts About The Pulse Terror Attack

I was in the midst of one of the more empowering weeks I have had in my life between getting to attend my first White House LGBT Pride reception, a well received Philadelphia Trans Health Conference media panel on Friday, and experiencing the love of much of my community (except for five haters who know who they are)

So it was a shock but not too surprising for me when I awoke on Sunday morning to hear the distressing news about the Pulse TBLG nightclub in Orlando being attacked on Latinx Night.

Why am I not surprised it happened?  Because of the ramped up anti-trans and anti-gay animus that has been stoked by the Republican Party and fundamentalist preachers like James Dobson, I have been concerned that something like this was going to happen.   When you keep demonizing a marginalized group, just a matter of time before something like this happens in a country with far too many guns and easy access to acquire them.

We have 49 people dead with 53 more are injured as a result of the terrorist attack at Pulse and my condolences to the predominately Latinx BTLG family members we lost.  I also pray for the people who survived it, but will be haunted by memories of that  horrific night for a long time to come.

But it seems to me the media is more obsessed with the now deceased shooter Omar Saleem's radicalization and playing footsie with ISIS than pointing out the fact that the Republicans were gleefully trafficking in anti-trans and anti-gay hatred for months before Sunday's attack.

In fact, Texas Lt Governor Dan Patrick unleashed a tweet at 7 AM he later retracted about people 'reaping what they sow' mere hours after the mass shooting happened.  Once again, another day when Texas Republican leaders have embarrassed the state.

I'm also not liking the Republicans, after spending decades demonizing the TBLG community, all of a sudden trying to play like they are our community's best buds.   And the Log Cabin Sellouts Republicans need to check themselves in terms of that press release they put out, but conveniently ignoring that their party was pushing fear and hatred of transgender people for political advantage.

As the details of this mass shooting continue to come out, the nation and the world mourns with Orlando and the national BTLG community.   In addition to the one held in front of the historic Stonewall Inn in New York, the Houston LGBT community held a vigil on Sunday, and there have been others either held or planned as the week has progressed.

This was an  attack on the entire TBLG community, and we cannot allow the people killed at Pulse to die in vain.  Far from the entire community cowering in fear, we should be even more determined to openly live our lives and work to ensure that homophobia and transphobia are eradicated from our culture.

Montreal Gender Surgery Center Subjected To Arson Attack

When my post op sisters talk about what surgeons did their gender confirmation surgeries, sometimes when we are discussing that subject in Trams World they will nickname themselves based on what SRS surgeon did the operation.

For those who went to the late Dr. Stanley Biber, they call themselves 'Biber babies'.  The ones who went to Dr. Toby Meltzer say they were 'Meltzered'.  Those who went through Dr. Marci Bowers are 'Marci's Maidens'

For those who had their gender confirmation surgeries with the now retired Dr. Yvon Menard and with Dr Pierre Brassard who took over his Montreal practice, they are 'Menard Mademoiselles' or 'Brassard Beauties'.

I mention Drs. Menard and Brassard because it has come to my attention that the surgery center where Dr Menard and Dr. Brassard do their work for trans women across Canada and around the world was hit by an arsonist who entered the building on May 2 at 8:45 PM EDT and set it on fire..

While sprinklers quickly extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived and no one was hurt, the arson attack on the Centre Metropolitain de Chirurgie (CMC) resulted in $700,000 of smoke and water damage to equipment and it's indefinitely closed.

The surgeries scheduled between May 3-6 were rescheduled, and the CMC announced in a  May 4 press conference that they were working to transfer surgical operations to another clinic, that the adjoining convalescence home wasn't damaged, and security in the wake of this attack has been ramped up..

The Montreal Police arson unit is investigating the fire, but as of yet haven't announced if they have a person of interest in this anti-trans terror attack or classified it as a hate crime.

Really?  Egale Canada, begs to differ on whether this is a hate crime, and issued a statement in the wake of the May 2 attack on the CMC. .

On May 2nd, 2016, a man armed with a machete, axe, and gas can, stormed Canada’s only sex reassignment clinic in Montréal, and set it on fire.

This act of arson is a symbolic affront to Canada’s trans community, and nothing short of hate crime.

The attack underlines the threat of violence that is endured by Canadian trans people on a daily basis, and affirms the continued need for positive change in our country’s public perception of trans people.

Trans folk suffer a heightened degree of violence, hate, stigma, and discrimination based on gender identity. Due to the May 2 attack, The Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie suffered $700 000 (in damage), and is currently out of commission, further depriving trans folk of their already threatened access to facilities dedicated to safely performing gender confirming procedures.

On the morning of May 4th, 2016 Egale tweeted news headlines related to these events, linking the news to a daily curated news feed. Egale could have provided deeper coverage of this event and taken swifter action to release a statement. Egale Canada Human Rights Trust is dedicated to furthering the human rights of trans folks in Canada and abroad, by providing LGBTQ-inclusivity training at Canadian schools and workplaces, by providing domestic and international government policy consultation, and through counselling, crisis intervention, and housing support of LGBTQ2SI youth.

Needless to say, Egale stands in full support of The Centre Métropolitain de Chirurgie, denounces the actions of its attackers, and of any who choose to attack the human rights or our trans friends and neighbours.

The CMC not only does gender confirmation surgeries, it also does within its walls other cosmetic and reconstructive surgery services.  The private clinic is also the only one in Canada that does SRS, and people from across Canada and the United States wait years for their gender confirmation surgical appointments at the CMC.

The CMC was affordable, compared to US GRS surgeons and until the attack, was flying under the radar. That anonymity died no thanks to a transphobic terrorist arsonist.

This terror attack on this clinic also points out not only the need in Canada and the United States for more trained SRS surgeons, but the need for the Canadian government to get busy with the job of protecting the human rights of my Canadian trans siblings at the federal level..

Here's hoping that the Montreal Police expeditiously solve this hate crime and bring the perpetrator of it to justice.

'Liberal Media', Why Is This Not Domestic Terrorism?

On Saturday a group of armed anti-government terrorists seized a federal building on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, announced their intention to occupy it and kill anyone who tried to remove them from it, and called for other like minded terrorists to join them in southeast Oregon.

And what is the media reaction to this event?   Cricket chirping silence.

There has also been the laughable and credibility straining extremes that various media outlets like the AP and ABC News took to avoid calling the armed thugs terrorists or this a domestic terrorist incident.

The only reason it is even beginning to get any coverage at all is because people have been all over Twitter and  on social media calling out the blatant hypocrisy of the initial coverage along with the silence of the major networks about it.

Where you at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX Noise?  Where's the video trucks?  The reporters?   Where are the armed po-po's, the National Guard and their tanks, tear gas and armored personnel carriers ready to take the building back and crush the resistance as we saw deployed against non-white unarmed protesters?

Still haven't heard the call for the Oregon National Guard or the local sheriffs to deal with this situation as was done in Ferguson and Baltimore.

And as you probably guessed, the Whiteness and White Supremacy Protection Brigade are rushing out to do their online defense of VanillaISIS and come up with every excuse to defend their actions of taking over a closed for the holidays federal building.

As a matter of fact, I suspected this would happen again after the 2014 Nevada standoff involving Cliven Bundy and friends, and the feds letting them walk in order to allegedly avoid bloodshed.

Guess when it comes to white lives, you'll do everything possible to do so. When it comes to non white peeps, we get no such considerations whether we're armed or unarmed.

Far from dissuading them from taking it to that level again, it has emboldened these vanillacentric privileged domestic terrorists to try it again.  This time law enforcement and the feds need to drop the hammer on these thugs so they never even think about seizing another federal or attempting another action like this again.    

But then again, the media and the conservative movement are desperate to cover up the fact that when it come to domestic terrorism in the United States, the face of it is an overwhelmingly white male conservative one.

We'll see how this latest incident plays out as the week progresses.

14th Anniversary of 9-11 Terror Attacks

Today is the 14th anniversary of the 2001 coordinated  terror attacks launched by 19 al-Qaeda operatives predominately from Saudi Arabia against the World Trade Center Towers in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and the crash of United Flight 93 that was destined for another target suspected to be the US Capitol building but crashed in southeastern Pennsylvania as the passengers on that airplane attempted to overpower the attackers.

3000 people were killed in the attackers including the al-Qaeda operatives.   I was awake on that fateful morning and saw the second plane hit the south tower on live TV along with their collapse nearly two hours later.

On that site in New York is not only a memorial to those attacks, but a new World Trade Center building that  rises 1776 feet about the city.

There were also ceremonies in New York an Washington DC marking the 14th anniversary of those attacks.




Remembering and honoring all the lives that were lost on that day and may they rest in power.

Let The Tapdancing About This Latest Domestic Terror Attack Begin

Wednesday night 21 year old Dylann Roof walked into a side door of the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston SC and attended a Bible study happening there for an hour/

He then whipped out a concealed handgun and began shooting the attendees, killing 9 people and wounding three before being captured after a 14 hour manhunt yesterday.. 

His stated reason according to one of the survivors, was that "I have to do it.  You're raping our women and taking over the country. You have to go."

And homey was involved with white supremacist groups.   So what do you think the good people at FOX Noise had to say about this domestic terrorism situation involving one of those good conservative Americans?   That it happened because of 'America's acceptance of trans people like Caitlyn Jenner', bellowed Erik Erickson.

Yep, they are in full distract, deflect and 'blamed the victim. mode.  They are also trying to play that tired 'lone crazed wolf' card.

Anything to deflect from the fact that this is the living breathing manifestation of anti-Black hatred they have pushed on right wing talk radio and FOX Noise.    Hate thoughts + hate speech + unfetter gun ownership = hate violence.

So stay tuned to see how the conservative movement tries to whitesplain away this hate crime committed by another white male weaned on their relentless anti-Black talking points?

Why The Lack Of Media Coverage Of The NAACP Terror Bombing?

Back in 2010 I asked the question when is a terrorist attack NOT a terrorist attack?   I asked that in the wake of the predominately white media twisting themselves into pretzels to avoid calling the dive of a private airplane into the IRS building in Austin by a white anti-tax zealot a  terror attack when conservative media was gleefully stirring up anti-government fervor as a tactic to stop passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Now in a time in the USA in which we have heightened racial animus because of police brutality aimed at African-American and our protests against it, an attempted bombing of an NAACP headquarters in Colorado Springs yesterday morning by a white male suspect has gotten little media coverage on CNN or other major news networks.

And when CNN probably because of the building social media outrage finally covered ittoday , they neglected to mention the ethnicity of the suspect, who is a balding while male in his 40's driving a white pickup truck.

I'd be willing to bet that if an IED had gone off across town at Focus on The Family's headquarters building and the suspected perp was a member of the LGBT community, FOX Noise and the networks would have been on that story ad nauseum like pigs at their feeding trough.

But in an incident eerily reminiscent of the Jim Crow era Klan terror bombings aimed at churches and the homes of back in the day African-American civil rights leaders, an improvised explosive device exploded outside the headquarters building of the Colorado Springs NAACP branch on S. El Paso St. in an incident in which the FBI initial investigation is calling deliberate.

Well duh, they damned sure weren't attacking the hair salon next door.

In a statement on the NAACP website about the attempted bombing:

No injuries were reported in what is believed to be an explosion near the Colorado Springs NAACP Branch located on the 600 block of S. El Paso St. The cause of the explosion is still unknown. The NAACP looks forward to a full and thorough investigation into this matter by federal agents and local law enforcement.

But one group it seems to the increasing agitation of African-Americans that seems disinterested in covering this unfolding story is the media.   

And why is that?  Could it be because this is a concrete example of another White on Black terror attack that we can thank God didn't have fatalities attached to it?  

Or is it because you white media peeps are reluctant to admit, that when it comes to domestic terror in the United States, and especially when those terror attacks have been aimed at my people, it has historically had an overwhelmingly white male face..

Hey CNN, The Boston Bombers Weren't 'Dark Skinned Males'

Funny, they were light-skinned males who looked remarkably like you, John King.

Countdown to how fast the media, Fox Noise, the conservative movement and right wing talk radio try to other and paint the now captured naturalized American citizen Dzhokar Tsarnaev and his deceased green card holding brother Tamerlan as lone wolves in this Boston Marathon bombing attack that killed three people and wounded hundreds on Monday.

But you're 'scurred' of allowing Haitians, Mexicans, continental Africans, citizens of other Caribbean nations besides Cuba, citizens of other Latin American nations, and Asians into this country and giving them the opportunity they would appreciate to earn US citizenship and legal status.  

Yeah, I'm happy to see that the Tsarnaev brothers were speedily identified, little brother was captured quickly, big brother was shot to death before anyone else could be harmed last night  and Dzhokar will be brought to justice for their  heinous crime. 

But one thing that pissed me off was how quickly the wingers and elements of the news media tried to pin this on 'Islamic terrorists' or 'dark skinned males' in order to politically flagellate President Obama with as being 'soft on terror'. 

We know from our recent history that terror attacks in the United States have an overwhelmingly white male slant to it.  

Think I'm kidding?  Let's scroll back through recent American history if you think I'm being harsh shall we?

The Klan since their 1866 founding. 'Dynamite Bob' Chambers during the civil rights era.  The September 1963 bombing of the Sixteenth Street Church in Bombingham Birmingham.  The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.  The 1996 Atlanta Olympic Park attack.  The abortion clinic bombings and assassination of Dr. George Tiller.  The 2010 Austin IRS building suicide airplane crash.  The various mass shooting attacks at the University of Texas in 1966, Columbine HS, Aurora, Newtown...
      
 But once again we have a domestic terrorism incident conducted by a white male (or in this case as the conservative media will strenuously point out) a pair of European immigrant white males.  

We also have the white male dominated media (and conservative movement) trying to deflect attention from the fact that it is predominately white right wing conservafool voting males who comprise the bulk of United States domestic terror groups.   Those groups have only grown in number since President Obama took office and have gotten even angrier since his re-election in 2012. 

These right wing 'terriss' have the long reprehensible track record and the will to act as domestic enemies to the United States government, so why aren't we dedicating the same federal resources to crack down on these groups as was done in smashing al Qaeda?

Is it because these groups are part of the Republican base now?

Going to interesting to see how this story plays out over the next few weeks and months now that we know that the Boston Marathon bombers weren't dark-skinned men.
       

40th Anniversary Of The Munich Olympic Massacre

If you younglings are wondering why security is a major issue at every Olympic Games and what the moment of silence kerfluffle was about in the runup to the recently concluded London Games, it's because of what happened during the XX Olympic Games in Munich 40 years ago today.

On this date 11 members of the Israeli Olympic delegation and a German policeman died during a failed attempt to end the hostage standoff and rescue nine athletes being held in two helicopters at the NATO Fürstenfeldbruck airbase.  Five of the eight PLO terrorists also died during the failed rescue mission with three survivors being captured..

When Munich won the Olympic bid on April 26, 1966 to host the Games over Madrid, Montreal and Detroit concerns were expressed over the facts this would be the first Summer Olympics held in Germany since the 1936 Berlin Games and Munich was where the Nazi Party was founded and headquartered.

The (West) Germans were extremely sensitive to that history and when the Games opened on August 26, 1972 they wanted to make certain they took every opportunity to present an optimistic, happy, non-militaristic and democratic Germany to the world. 

But there were stormy political clouds intruding on that sunny picture the Germans planned to present to the world.  The IOC denied a request by the Palestine Liberation Organization for it to send a Palestinian team to the Olympic Games, and in response chatter started that retaliation would take place during the Games. There were rumblings and intelligence warnings before the Munich Games started that were unfortunately ignored that some kind of terrorist attack would take place as late as September 2. 

The Israeli Olympic delegation was understandably nervous in the runup to the Munich Games, had asked to have their own security team present, a request that for some reason was denied.   They were concerned during the Games about the lack of armed security guards patrolling the fences surrounding the Olympic Village and lax security procedures to enter and exit it once the Games started on August 26. 

In the early morning hours of September 5 eight members of the PLO terrorist group Black September scaled the two meter (six foot) fence surrounding the Olympic Village dressed in track suits, made it to the apartment building at 31 Connollystrasse housing the Israeli Olympic team, broke in, killed Youssef Romano and Moshe Weinberg, two members of the team that tried to resist the apartment invasion and took the remaining nine members hostage.  Fortunately the female members of the Israeli team were housed in a separate section of the Olympic Village, and the team members participating in the sailing events were 400 km away in Kiel.

It triggered an almost 18 hour standoff between the Black September terrorists and German authorities in which the PLO terrorists demanded the release of over 200 of their comrades in Israeli jails, Germany release the notorious Red Army Faction founders Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof and be given safe passage out of the country in exchange for the Israeli hostages.

Later that evening the terrorists and their hostages were helicoptered to Fürstenfeldbruck airbase  to ostensibly be transported by air to Egypt but in reality were flying into a planned German ambush that went horribly wrong.

A firefight ensued with Anton Fliegerbauer, one of the undermanned German police team members snipers conducting the rescue operation being shot and killed in the control tower along with five of the eight Black September terrorists. 

When the remaining terrorists saw armored cars being deployed they realized their chances of holding out were over.  They shot four of the Israeli hostages on one of the helicopters and then detonated a grenade that resulted in their incineration.   The five remaining Israeli hostages on the second helicopter were then machine-gunned by another terrorist.



In the wake of the attack and amongst mounting international pressure to do so, the IOC suspended Olympic competition for 24 hours and a memorial service was held September 6 in the Olympic stadium for the slain athletes.  The three captured surviving terrorists were later released by the German government October 29 in response to demands by terrorists who hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615.  

Two of the released Munich Massacre terrorists were later allegedly assassinated by Israeli Mossad agents and Jamal Al-Gashey, the surviving Munich Black September attacker is alleged to be still in hiding somewhere in Syria or an unnamed North African nation.

In addition to the Munich Olympic Massacre leading to heightened security at every subsequent Olympic Games, the failed rescue mission led to a German government reassessment of their anti-terrorism policies and forming the elite GSG-9 unit in response to the multiple failures of September 5.  

The Israelis in addition to the Mossad unleashed an anti-terrorism campaign called Operation Act of God with the goal of assassinating individuals in the PLO either directly or indirectly involved with the 1972 Munich Massacre.   

September 5, 1972 still remains 40 years later one of the most horrific days ever for the modern Olympic movement.  I agree with many people including the widows of those 11 Israeli athletes there should have been a moment of silence at the London Games opening ceremony.

Andre Spitzer, Kehat Shorr, Youssef Gutfreund, Amitzur Shapira, Yakov Springer, David Berger, Ze'ev Friedman, Mark Slavin and Eliezer Halfin, those of us who remember what happened on that horrific September 5 day, the world shall never forget you.  

Youssef Romano and Moshe Weinberg, we'll never forget your heroism in sacrificing your lives and giving enough of a warning to your teammates that it allowed several members of your delegation to escape. 

German police officer Anton Fliegerbauer also gave his life in order to rescue the Israeli Olympians.

And shame on you IOC for not taking the time during these just concluded games to remember the September 5 attack and all the people who died in it.

Osama Bin Laden Gone-President Obama Political Promise Kept

Today is the one year anniversary of the SEAL Team Six mission in Pakistan that resulted in the death of al Qaeda leader and 9-11 attack mastermind Osama bin Laden.

The Republicans are trying to obfuscate and ignore the irrefutable fact that it was the African-American commander in chief who gave the order for that ultimately successful mission while the previous White House occupant failed to do so and much less was disinclined to go after him.

And yeah, may I remind y'all (snicker, snicker) during the 2008 campaign about that October 7, 2008 debate in Nashville, TN with Sen John McCain (R-AZ) in which then Sen. Obama spelled out what would happen in his administration if he got the chance to get Osama Bin Laden.

A certain Willard M. Romney called him 'naive' for doing so
.
***

MR. BROKAW: Senator McCain, thank you very much.

Next question for Senator Obama. It comes from the F Section, and it's from Katie Hamm. Katie?

Q Should the United States respect Pakistani sovereignty and not pursue al-Qaida terrorists who maintain bases there, or should we ignore their borders and pursue our enemies, like we did in Cambodia during the Vietnam War?

SEN. OBAMA: Well, Katie, it's a terrific question.

And we have a difficult situation in Pakistan. I believe that part of the reason we have a difficult situation is because we made a bad judgment going into Iraq in the first place when we hadn't finished the job of hunting down bin Laden and crushing al-Qaida. 

So what happened was we got distracted, we diverted resources, and ultimately bin Laden escaped, set up base camps in the mountains of Pakistan in the northwest provinces there.

They are now raiding our troops in Afghanistan, destabilizing the situation. They're stronger now than at any time since 2001. And that's why I think it's so important for us to reverse course because that's the central front on terrorism. They are plotting to kill Americans right now. As Secretary Gates, the Defense secretary, said, the war against terrorism began in that region, and that's where it will end.

So part of the reason I think it's so important for us to end the war in Iraq is to be able to get more troops into Afghanistan, put more pressure on the Afghan government to do what it needs to do, eliminate some of the drug trafficking that's funding terrorism.

But I do believe that we have to change our policies with Pakistan. We can't coddle, as we did, a dictator, give him billions of dollars, and then he's making peace treaties with the Taliban and militants. What I have said is we're going encourage democracy in Pakistan, expand our non-military aid to Pakistan so that they have more of a stake in working with us, but insisting that they go after these militants.

And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act, and we will take them out.

We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida. That has to be our biggest national security priority.

***

Read it and weep conservafools.  This mission was REALLY accomplished and y'all hate the fact that Osama bin Laden is resting at an undisclosed location near the bottom of the Arabian Sea.

You think this White House isn't going to point out this major success in this so called by you vanillacentric fools 'failed presidency' on the campaign trail?    You damned skippy he needs to pop his collar on this one.  It's deliciously ironic that the Black Democratic POTUS succeeded in his first term mind you where you conservafool chicken hawks miserably failed over seven years.




If this is a 'failed presidency' I want four more years of this kind of 'failure'.

As Vice President Biden recently stated, Osama is dead and the American auto industry is alive.

Is November 6 here yet?   

You Right Wingers Happy With Your 'Second Amendment Remedies' Now?

When it comes to hate speech, while you have the right to say it, it doesn't add anything positive to the political discourse of the nation. All it does is fuel animosity and hatred. As a person of African descent I know all too well that unchecked hate speech far too often leads to escalating violence which can ultimately lead to death or genocide. 


Monica Roberts October 30, 2009   'The Canadians Have a A Point-Hate Speech Should Be Regulated

Been watching the unfolding story involving Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who is fighting for her life in a Tucson hospital after an assassination attempt yesterday that killed six people and wounded 19 others.


One of the six people killed was a nine year old girl who ironically was born on September 11, 2001. 

I'm in total agreement with Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik about the current toxic political climate probably being a factor in this mass shooting.

‎"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous. And unfortunately, Arizona I think has become sort of the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."

Let's review the evidence, because this crap has been building for some time.  

We have a Democratic congressmember who has held a GOP leaning district since 2006.   It has a concentration of Tea Klux Klan members and anti-immigration Minutemen since it borders Mexico.   It was targeted by Caribou Barbie in the last election cycle that Rep Giffords still won by 4000 votes.

Next door in Nevada you have a losing US senate candidate advocating for 'Second Amendment remedies' if they lose the midterm elections

The Tea Klux Klan violence and brownshirt tactics were most prevalent in Democratic districts in 'red states'.  Congresswoman Giffords had during her health care town halls one conservafool drop a gun out of his pocket during the event.  




Rep. Giffords had the front glass door to her Tucson office either shot or kicked in.   Her GOP opponent in this election cycle, Jesse Kelly, has an M16 shooting event promoted with the lines 'Get on Target for victory in November.  Let's Remove Gabrielle Giffords From Office'.


Only hours after she was shot, a mysterious package was found outside her office.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was one of the early favorites on the Democratic side to take on Sen. John Kyl in the next election cycle.

So if you can't beat her fair and square in an election shoot her, and let your GOP governor pick her replacement for the AZ 8th District. 

So are you happy with your 'Second Amendment remedies' now?