A Teacher at a Jewish School Stabbed in France by ISIS Supporters

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , ,

On Wednesday night, a teacher at a Jewish school in the southern French city of Marseille was stabbed by three people who yelled anti-Semitic and pro-ISIS obscenities. The teacher survived the attack.

Reuters reports that the three attackers were on two scooters and approached the man in the street. One of them wore an Islamic State t-shirt while another showed pictures of Mohamed Merah – a man who killed 7 people in France in 2012 before being shot by police – on his phone to the victim. They stabbed the teacher three times in the arm and leg.

“The three people insulted, threatened and then stabbed their victim in the arm and leg. They were interrupted by the arrival of a car and fled,” Marseille prosecutor Brice Robin told Reuters.

BBC News reports that police are looking for the attackers.

Since the attacks in Paris last Friday that led to the deaths of 129 people, France has been in a state of emergency.

President Obama Tells China to Quit Land Reclamation of South China Sea

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

President Obama spoke on the sidelines of an economic summit of Asia Pacific nations and stated that China had to stop claiming land in the South China Sea.

Obama continued by pledging money and naval assistance to the Philippines who are competing with China for the region due to its many resources.

“We discussed the impact of China’s land reclamation and construction activities on regional stability,” Obama said.

“We agree on the need for bold steps to lower tensions, including pledging to halt further reclamation, new construction, and militarization of disputed areas in the South China Sea,” Obama told reporters after a meeting, according to USA Today.

BBC News reports that China’s land reclamation began in late 2013 when they began building islands on reefs. They continue to claim that their actions are legal and they have “no intention to militarise” those islands.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting will discuss the South China Sea dispute. The summit brings together 21 leaders of the Pacific Rim. Smaller countries – including the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan – worry that China will dominate the area and its oil and gas resources.

According to Yahoo! News, China responded to President Obama’s remarks by saying the U.S. should not get involved in the South China Sea dispute.

“The United States should stop playing up the South China Sea issue, stop heightening tensions in the South China Sea and stop complicating disputes in the South China Sea,” Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

“No country has the right to point fingers at” China’s construction activities, he added.

Beijing has claimed nearly all of the South China Sea, including waters near the coasts of other countries.

Three Israelis Killed in Latest Attacks in Tel Aviv and West Bank

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Israel police told BBC News that at least three Israelis were killed Thursday morning in attacks by Palestinians that took place in Tel Aviv and the occupied West Bank.

Two of the victims were stabbed to death by a Palestinian man at the entrance of a shop in Tel Aviv. The shop also functions as a synagogue. Hours later, a second attack killed another Israeli in a drive by shooting incident.

So far, an official death toll has not been released as multiple news agencies including Haaretz and Fox News are reporting 5 deaths while other agencies are reporting only 2 or 3.

Police officials told Reuters that the first attacker was apprehended.

Dozens of Palestinians and 15 Israelis have been killed since the new wave of violence began in two months ago. Most of the Palestinian deaths were from attackers that were shot by police or were killed in clashes with troops in the West Bank.

ISIS Threatens New York City in Latest Video; World Report Says Boko Haram Deadlier Than ISIS

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,

The latest propaganda video that ISIS has posted online warns of an impending attack on New York City.

According to CNN, the video mentions Time Square and shows an explosive device being built and a bomber putting on a jacket over a suicide belt. CBS News adds that the video featured clips of French President Francois Hollande speaking after the attacks on Paris while the terrorists make remarks in the video.

Additional members of the NYPD’s newest anti-terrorism squad have been deployed throughout the Big Apple as a precaution.

“While some of the video footage is not new, the video reaffirms the message that New York City remains a top terrorist target,” a statement of the NYPD read. “While there is no current or specific threat to the city at this time, we will remain at a heightened state of vigilance and will continue to work with the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the entire intelligence community to keep the city of New York safe.”

However, Mayor Bill de Blasio urged citizens to continue going about their normal business and not to give into fear.

“The people of New York City will not be intimidated,” he said late Wednesday, according to CNN. “We understand it is the goal of terrorists to intimidate and disrupt our democratic society. We will not submit to their wishes.”

Police officials stated that this video was nothing new as ISIS released a similar video back in April. They realize that New York City continues to be a target for terrorist organizations. However, they assured news agencies that they are taking note of the video.

Along with the latest video, Reuters reports that ISIS also released a photo on Wednesday, showing in their official magazine how they brought down the Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last month, killing all 224 people on board. The photo shows a Schweppes soft drink along with a detonator and other bomb components.

In other ISIS related news, a world report by the Institute for Economics and Peace stated that Boko Haram is a deadlier terrorist organization than ISIS, according to multiple news agencies including NPR and the Huffington Post. Out of the 32,000 people killed by terrorism in 2014, Boko Haram was responsible for 6,644 of those deaths, more than any other terrorist group. The Islamic State killed around 6,000 people in 2014. Together, the two organizations are responsible for 51% of all claimed terrorist attacks in 2014, and the majority of deaths came from the few nations of Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Syria. Nigeria experienced a 300% increase in terrorist attacks in 2014. In the past, Boko Haram has claimed to be a branch of ISIS.

U.K. to Build Cyber Attack Forces to Take On ISIS

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

British Finance Minister George Osborne said on Tuesday that Britain was building an elite cyber force to take down ISIS fighters, hackers, and hostile powers.

Osborne went on to tell Reuters that the Islamic State is trying to develop a way to attack British infrastructure including power networks, air traffic control systems, and hospital.

“The stakes could hardly be higher – if our electricity supply, or our air traffic control, or our hospitals were successfully attacked online, the impact could be measured not just in terms of economic damage but of lives lost,” he told CNBC News.

As a response, he stated that Britain would fight fire with fire by developing their own cyber attack force.

“We will defend ourselves. But we will also take the fight to you,” Osborne said in a speech at Britain’s GCHQ eavesdropping agency.

“We are building our own offensive cyber capability – a dedicated ability to counter-attack in cyberspace. When we talk about tackling (Islamic State), that means tackling their cyber threat as well as their guns, bombs and knives.”

The cyber attack force will be headed jointly by GCHQ – Britain’s spy agency – and the Defence Ministry. They will target criminal gangs, individual hackers, militant groups, and hostile powers.

Public spending on cyber security will be doubled by 2020 Osborne told Reuter, raising the budget to almost $3 billion. GCHQ has already been monitoring various cyber threats as cyber security issues have doubled to 200 a month since last year. The new cyber security plan also includes training coders, blocking bad URLs, and fending off malware attacks.

Currently, ISIS has been using the Internet to spread its propaganda and lead more people to their radical cause.

“They have not been able to use it to kill people yet by attacking our infrastructure through cyber attack,” Osborne added. “But we know they want it and are doing their best to build it.”

The global cyber war against ISIS has also caught the attention of the hacktivist group “Anonymous” who released a video earlier this week declaring cyber war on the Islamic State.

Washington State Storm Kills 2 and Leaves Hundreds of Thousands Without Power

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

A storm in Washington state brought high winds of up to 49 miles per hour, downing trees and triggering mudslides on Tuesday. The storm has so far killed 2 people and has left over hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the Seattle-area without power.

The National Weather Service told Reuters that the majority of the Puget Sound region was under flood watches and warnings through Wednesday afternoon. A windstorm warning has also been issued for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho since Tuesday at noon according to ABC News.

At least two people have been officially reported dead, with some news agencies reporting a third death. In all incidents, downed trees landed on all the victims. Their identities have not been officially released.

The local power companies have told various news sources that almost 178,000 customers are without power in the Puget Sound region due to power lines being downed by trees and landslides. Fox News reports that a power failure at a Tacoma sewer treatment plant has led to sewage water being released into the Puyallup River. Additionally, 136,000 homes and businesses were without power in Spokane and Northern Idaho. Flights leaving or entering the Spokane International Airport had to be cancelled or delayed due to the storm.

Fallen trees and high winds have also led various roads and interstates being closed, including Interstate 84, Highway 2, and Interstate 90.

In other parts of the country, another storm system dumped heavy snow on Colorado and brought tornado threats to millions in the central and southern states, according to Fox News. Northwest Kansas is forecasted to receive up to 15 inches of snow. Two weak tornadoes touched down in Texas early Tuesday and no injuries were reported.

16 Weapons Stolen from Central Massachusetts Army Reserve Center

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,

An Army Reserve Center located in Worcester, Massachusetts reported that 16 weapons were stolen over the weekend.

Local police are cooperating with federal and state authorities to find out how the break-in happened as well as search for the man who stole the weapons, according to CNN. The theft occurred sometime between Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 a.m., according to City Manager Edward Augustus.

The FBI identified the weapons that were stolen: ten 9mm M-11 pistols and six 5.56 M-4 rifles. And while the FBI says there is no indication that the theft of tied to any sort of terrorism, it’s still a concern to officials.

“I’m especially concerned about it — separate and apart from anything that has to do with terrorism — I’m just concerned by the fact that some really high caliber weapons were stolen from a military facility in the first place,” Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters Monday.

The Worcester City Manager told the Washington Post that precautions were being taken. Additional police officers would be stationed throughout the city until further notice.

CBS Boston reported that surveillance footage caught a little bit of the man and his car. Police are looking for a light-skinned man who is about 5’7” to 5’10” tall and has a stocky build. At the time of the theft, he was wearing a white t-shirt and a dark vest. The man’s car was a newer model, dark colored BMW hatchback with sport rims.

Anyone who may have information regarding the theft can send an anonymous text to 274637, or you can call the Worcester Police Department at (508) 799-8651.

Paris Attack Divides U.S. Politicians on Syrian Refugee Crisis More Than Ever Before

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , ,

Governors in more than a dozen U.S. states are refusing to accept the federal government’s plan of taking in Syrian refugees after discovering that one of the perpetrators in the Paris terror attack may have been a Syrian who entered Europe with the migrants in Greece.

According to NPR, the states are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. All of those states, with the exception of New Hampshire, are Republican states.

The move comes as a way to protect the public safety of U.S. citizens after the tragedies that befell Paris and Beirut last week due to ISIS terrorist attacks.

“The first and foremost responsibility of government is to keep its people safe,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Monday. “We are working on measures to ensure … that Texans will be kept safe from those refugees.”

Abbott, along with the majority of governors from the states listed above, vowed that they would “suspend” the resettlement of Syrian refugees. NBC News reports that Idaho and North Carolina governors are opposed to the idea accepting Syrian refugees, but have not stated that they wouldn’t accept them.

“There may be those who will try to take advantage of the generosity of our country and the ability to move freely within our borders through this federal resettlement program, and we must ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard the security of Americans,” GOP Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin told USA Today.

Despite the opposition, legal analysts say that state governors probably have very little say in this matter. CNN reports that admitting refugees is a federal issue, not a state one, however, state governments can make the acceptance process more difficult.

American University law professor Stephen I. Vladeck put it this way to CNN: “Legally, states have no authority to do anything because the question of who should be allowed in this country is one that the Constitution commits to the federal government.”

“So a state can’t say it is legally objecting, but it can refuse to cooperate, which makes thing much more difficult.”

President Barack Obama argued that the refugees who would be admitted to the U.S. are people who have been affected the most by terrorism.

“The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism, they are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife,” Obama said from the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. “They are parents, they are children, they are orphans.”

“Slamming the door in their faces would be a betrayal of our values,” he said. “Our nations can welcome refugees who are desperately seeking safety and ensure our own security. We can and must do both.”

Obama also criticized those opposing the admittance of the refugees based on their religious practices.

However, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wrote a letter to the president stating: “Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terroristic activity. As such, opening our door to them irresponsibly exposes our fellow Americans to unacceptable peril.”

However, many other government officials agree that the U.S. should not turn its back on people who are struggling to find a safe place among all the chaos. As as far as security concerns, Ben Rhodes, President Obama’s deputy national security adviser, told NBC News that there will be a screening process for those entering the country.

“We have very expansive screening procedures for all Syrian refugees who have come to the United States,” Rhodes said. “There’s a very careful vetting process that includes our intelligence community, our national Counterterrorism Center [and] the Department of Homeland Security, so we can make sure that we’re carefully screening anybody who comes to the United States.”

But others argue that the government can’t screen everyone.

“There are a lot of holes, gaping holes,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in on “Meet the Press.”

“We don’t want to be complicit with a program that could bring terrorists into the United States.”

Despite the arguments on both sides, Fox News reports that the U.S. has already accepted 2,000 refugees since the 2011 Syrian civil war. President Obama will continue with his plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees next year, unless Congress steps in.

Preliminary 6.1-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Greek Island; At Least 1 Dead

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , ,

A strong earthquake with at least a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 struck the western Greek island of Lefkada on Tuesday, and an hour later, a 5.2-magnitude aftershock struck the area.

Different organizations are reporting different magnitude readings at this time. The Athens Geodynamic Institute told the Associated Press that the preliminary magnitude was 6.1 and that the quake struck at 9:10 a.m. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the preliminary magnitude was 6.5. Different agencies will usually have different readings hours and days after the quake, according to the Associated Press. Despite the lack of an official magnitude, residents in neighboring islands and even in Athens – 186 miles east of the island – felt the tremors.

Local officials stated that there has been at least one death. An elderly woman was killed after her house collapsed under a falling rock. Local residents told Reuters that another elderly woman was killed in a stable in a mountain village, but Greek police have not confirmed the second death. However, other news sources including the Washington Post have confirmed the second death.

The Christian Science Monitor reports that Greek officials are having a hard time assessing the damage because of landslides that are blocking roads. The Vassiliki harbor is also partially submerged due to the quake.

Other damages include several badly damaged houses and government buildings. Schools closed down in order for authorities to assess the safety of the buildings.

Earthquakes are common in Greece according to multiple news agencies. The Ionian Sea located to the west of Greece, is one of most seismically active areas of the world.

ISIS Threatens Paris-style Attack on Washington D.C. and Other Countries

By Jim Bakker | | Filed in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , ,

The Islamic State recently posted a video on one of their websites, claiming that more attacks like the one carried out in Paris would be executed in other countries contributing to strikes against ISIS in Syria, including the United States.

In fact, the Washington Post reports that ISIS specifically threatened to carry out an attack on Washington D.C. in the 11 minute video after showing new clips of the carnage in Paris.

“We say to the states that take part in the crusader campaign that, by God, you will have a day, God willing, like France’s and by God, as we struck France in the center of its abode in Paris, then we swear that we will strike America at its center in Washington,” the man says, according to a translation from Reuters.

Another member of ISIS also threatened other European nations in the video.

“I say to the European countries that we are coming — coming with booby traps and explosives, coming with explosive belts and [gun] silencers and you will be unable to stop us because today we are much stronger than before,” he said.

Reuters added that it was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the video.