Society's Child
Judge Richard Moore ruled that the statues of Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson are war memorials and therefore cannot be removed by the city without permission from the state.
All of this stems from a lawsuit against both current and former city councilors who voted to remove those two Confederate statues back in 2017.
On Monday, April 29, one of the men who advocated for the relocation of the statues is weighing in on Judge Moore's decision.
"I absolutely disagree with it," Don Gathers, a community activist, said. "It's painful because all it does is retraumatize the community once again."
Mark Steven Domingo, 26, boasted about amassing an arsenal of weapons, including 80 pounds of nails for a bomb, to carry out the attack in retaliation for the killing of Muslims by a white supremacist in the city of Christchurch, according to an affidavit supporting the criminal complaint.
He was arrested April 26 after he received what he thought was a live bomb but was, in fact, a phony explosive device supplied by an FBI informant, authorities said.
"There were mosque shootings in new Zealand," Domingo posted to a private group online after the shootings, according to federal prosecutors. "[T]here must be retribution."

Police officers and vehicles are seen behind police cordon, in Christchurch, New Zealand in this still image taken from video April 30, 2019
Police cordoned off streets in the Phillipstown area of the city on New Zealand's South Island, with a bomb disposal team, ambulance and fire and emergency crews sent to the scene.
"Police have located a package containing a suspected explosive device and ammunition at a vacant address ... in Christchurch," district police commander Superintendent John Price said in a statement.
An explosives disposal unit rendered the package safe and a 33-year-old Christchurch man was arrested, the statement said. The police cordon was later lifted.
The New Zealand Herald said police were called due to "threats about an explosive device".
Wohl and Republican lobbyist Jack Burkman reportedly attempted to convince several young Republican men to claim Buttigieg, the gay South Bend, Indiana mayor who has been climbing the Democratic ranks in 2020 presidential polls, sexually assaulted them, according to the Daily Beast, which claims to have spoken to two of the dynamic duo's would-be partners.
One of the would-be victims supposedly provided the Beast with a recording of his meeting with Wohl and Burkman, in which Wohl refers to Buttigieg as a "terminal threat" to the re-election of Donald Trump. The comedy of errors that ensues is almost too ridiculous to be believed - Wohl and Burkman introduce themselves with obvious fake names, attempt to seduce the mark with promises of wealth, fame, and stardom (using Brett Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford as an example of the superstardom awaiting the mark if he just gives a press conference accusing Buttigieg of sexual assault), and promise the mark that there are plenty of "actual victims" just waiting for him to be first. When he demurs, they ask him if he has any friends that would do it.

Hashim is suspected to be an organizer of the attacks shortly after senior government officials accused the National Thawheed Jama’ut (NTJ) of involvement, according to multiple media sources. Hashim is both an Imam, and a prolific lecturer for the NTJ, and is said to have used social media to incite violence, including against rival mosques.
The accused identified as Riyas A alias Riyas Aboobacker (29), a native of Palakkad in Kerala during interrogation disclosed that has been following speeches/videos of Zahran Hashim of Sri Lanka for more than a year and has also followed the speeches of Zakir Naik. He admitted that he wanted to carry out a suicide attack in Kerala, a statement from the agency said.
"Riyas has been in online contact with absconding accused Abdul Rashid Abdulla @ Abu Isa for a long time and has been following his audio clips including the clip which he had circulated on social media platform instigating others to carry out terror attacks in India. He revealed that he was also having online chat with Abdul Khayoom Abu Khalid, who was believed to be in Syria", the NIA statement added.

Emirates and Flydubai chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum speaks to reporters at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
The low-cost carrier is seeking compensation from Boeing for its grounded 14 Boeing 737 Maxs and believes the US planemaker's communication about fixes on the jet can be improved, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the carrier's chairman, said at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai on Monday. Flydubai, which operates an all-Boeing 737 fleet, has ordered 250 of the re-engined narrowbody model.
"That gave me an option to talk to Airbus to see what exactly will happen because you have to understand until today we don't have a definite date when this aircraft will be flying," Sheikh Ahmed told reporters. "I cannot just not do anything about it."
Flydubai joins carriers such as Norwegian Air in demanding compensation from Boeing, who is facing mounting costs and a crisis of confidence in its Max jets after the model was involved in two deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia within a span of five months. Flydubai grounded its fleet of 14 Maxs following directives from the UAE aviation regulator in March. The narrowbody aircraft is the workhorse of airlines, especially low-cost carriers.
Comment: Probably a wise response to the situation as it doesn't appear the problems will be quickly solved; and with the level of corruption exposed, caution is well-advised:
- Boeing whistleblowers report more 737 Max problems to FAA
- Flawed analysis, failed oversight, greed: How Boeing & FAA certified faulty 737 MAX
The Arctic whale was first sighted last Thursday by a group of fishermen off the coast of Ingoya Island in Norway's north. It was quite friendly and willing to play with humans, but what was peculiar about it was the harness it was wearing, public broadcaster NRK reported.
The fishermen took pictures of the animal and reported their find to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, which is tasked with freeing whales from ropes, fishnets and other trash in which they may get tangled. The authorities sent a crew to the location and encountered the same whale. They tried to take the harness off, but the beluga would not allow them, so they had to send in a swimmer in a warm suit to relieve the mammal of the attire.
The group was busted during a joint operation of several Russian law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Russia's Investigative Committee said Monday. It released an undated video, showing a special police task force raiding a house somewhere in the Moscow Region and arresting several men.
Footage of the arrest indicates that at least one firearm was seized during the raid. Apart from that, the police uncovered a cache of prohibited extremist literature and digital materials.
Comment: The source of funding and supplies for these "foreign emissaries" is pretty clear by now:
- Fleeing terrorists leave behind US & Israeli weapons, ammo and medicine in southwestern Syria
- Ex-Iraqi PM lets cat out of bag: 'US president Obama created ISIS to take over our country'
- 'Mysterious helicopters' have rescued and supplied ISIS and al-Qaeda time and time again
- International watchdog: ISIS weaponry bought by United States and Saudi Arabia before being shipped to terrorists in Syria and Iraq
- Syrian army finds ISIS warehouses full of US-made lethal weapons
Shay Charka, a cartoonist for Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon published his own 'response' to the controversial New York Times cartoon on Sunday after the leading US paper was accused of printing anti-Semitic imagery.
In Charka's version, Donald Trump was swapped for a copy of the NYT and the dog's head was replaced with a copy of 'the Protocols '- a reference to the so-called Protocols of the Elders of Zion - a century-old anti-Semitic forgery. First published in late-imperial Russia, the discredited document quickly became a centerpiece in anti-Semitic propaganda across the globe, claiming that Jews secretly seek world dominance.
Comment: And of course this last gentlemen would be correct - the cartoon has everything to do with politics and nothing to do with anti-Semitism. The crux of the matter, which is obscured by hyped up charges of 'anti-Semitism', is the well documented meddling in US politics by Netanyahu and other Israeli groups in general.
Also see:
- AIPAC and the US Federal Election Commission
- Israel's meddling in US elections and the increasing pushback
- Why is Israel allowed to meddle in US politics over the Iran deal?
- Leaked documentary exposes Israeli lobby's impact on Western media, US lawmakers
- Meddling, anyone? Pro-Israel groups spent $22 million on US lobbying & campaign contributions in 2018












Comment: Forgive the cynicism, but the FBI sorely needed some image polishing - and the masses always need to be reminded why we need them: FBI Organizes Almost All Terror Plots in the U.S.
The manufactured clash of civilizations grinds on...