Tuesday, October 31, 2017

During the Rachel Maddow Show, it was stated Daesh does not claim attacks if the attacker is alive and in police custody. It was noted it was probably to give the attacker a chance to have a good defense. Possibly, but, there is a greater possibility the attacker's status has not changed to Allah. So, it is pragmatic as a legal defense to the attacker, but, also there was no martyrdom for him either.

The primary weapon was a vehicle.

So sorry to hear about the tragedy in New York City. Sincerest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims.

October 31, 2017
By Tom Winter, Corky Siemaszko and Phil Helsel

Eight people were killed and a dozen more were injured (click here) Tuesday when a motorist in a rented pickup truck deliberately drove down a bike path in lower Manhattan and mowed down several people before crashing into a school bus. Officials said it was a terrorist attack.

The gunman hopped out of the truck and shouted "Allahu Akbar" before firing a BB or pellet gun, four senior law enforcement sources told NBC News.

A police officer on patrol in the area returned fire, hitting the suspect in the abdomen and ending the Halloween horror less than a mile from the World Trade Center....

The guns used are rather bizarre, aren't they? Did the guns cause injury or death? It doesn't diminish the deaths and injuries, but, I find this odd. I can't but wonder if he has mental health issues and could not purchase different guns.

"Home Depot?" He stole the truck. Does he have a driver's license? 

He drove a distance, the Orlando killer in the Pulse nightclub had driven a distance, too? Not as far as this guy. New York City is a high profile city. Anyone in the world knows New York City with a large population.

How long has he been in the country? Family? Uzbecks that are Muslim are extremists, to begin with, at least that is how they are characterized. How connected is he with his homeland? 

7 January 2017
By Mansur Mirovalev

Thousands of Muslims in Uzbekistan (click here) have been imprisoned for alleged "religious extremism" as part of a government crackdown on peaceful Muslims who practise their faith outside government-approved mosques, according to a rights group.

At least 12,800 people - including human rights defenders, independent journalists, and activists - have been jailed since 2002, the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders said in an annual report released on Thursday.

At least 300 Muslims have been arrested and convicted in 2015 alone, it said....

I think the United Nations and advocating for the folks back home would have worked better.









Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, a 29-year-old man 

Actually, he might have known what he was doing, but, his timing was off. If he was there now, there would have been far more casualties. He was a NYC truck driver. He knew the streets. He has only been in the country eight years. I think he did expect to be shot to death. He couldn't get guns in NYC.

He wanted to kill kids. Halloween parade is somewhere he would find children. The killer came to the USA in 2010 when things in Uzbekistan was not great for Muslims. The annual report below is a USA government publication.

He would have been seven to eight years younger. That would make him 21 to 22 years old. He may have relatives in the homeland. 

So, he is a charismatic member of Daesh. Daesh is a cult. The basis of his religion is wrong. He would never receive the promised rewards after his death.

I think the taxi and truck drivers of New York City should report weakness in the infrastructure. The city government can't survey everything. Even though prevention, in this case, seems obvious now, it wasn't before. I think there should be an "Infrastructure to Prevent Harm to Citizens from Radicals" website or meetings or some kind of method to be taken seriously with citizen insight. 

Local insight should be valued with plans to improve perceived danger. We walk through life thinking about these things, but, frequently dismiss them as silly paranoid thinking. But, I think it is mentally healthy to be cautious in the world we live in. I also think reporting concerns is healthy and empowering. Today could have been prevented, it wasn't.


International Religious Freedom (2010): Annual Report to Congress (click here)





The First Lady is in New York City? I am sure she has a good reason to be at her NYC home. I thought with all the bad news from the FBI, she might be in DC.

"Booooooo," every American is paying for the politics of the climate crisis.

It is called denial and inaction! ie: Pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

"Trick or Treat"

The "Phased In Tax Cut" should be explored by families to incorporate.

The Republicans want to take away the deduction of State and Local Taxes. It is an attack on the local economy. Since the upper Middle Class is being targeted by Congress, there is the option of a family incorporating and setting up a trust. A visit to a lawyer and/or accountant will provide insight to this loss of deduction on income tax returns.

Basically, if the US Congress is going to assail the Middle Class, including the Upper Middle Class, Americans should feel free to move into areas in the new tax plan where taxes are being lowered, including incorporation and trusts as a family.

- Taxpayers (click here) who itemize deductions on their federal income tax are permitted to deduct certain taxes paid to state and local governments from their gross income for federal income tax liability purposes.

- State and local tax deductibility would be repealed under the House Republican Blueprint, and capped—along with other itemized deductions—under the campaign plan put forward by President Donald Trump.

- The state and local tax deduction disproportionately benefits high-income taxpayers, with more than 88 percent of the benefit flowing to those with incomes in excess of $100,000. (That is a two income household earning professional salaries, ie: doctors, lawyers, accountants, independent business persons and nurses. Yes, nurses. These are the college graduates with student loans.)

The deduction favors high-income, high-tax states like California and New York, which together receive nearly one-third of the deduction’s total value nationwide. Six states—California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, and Pennsylvania—claim more than half of the value of the deduction.

A change in tax structure should not target ONLY six states. If the Republicans feel comfortable targeting six states, then they should be comfortable targeting the filthy rich and mandate a minimum payment each year. A person earning millions of dollar US is able to pay federal tax without it effecting their lifestyle. There are Republicans longing for a flat tax. Issue a flat tax for the filthy rich. 

- The state and local tax deduction in New York and California represents 9.1 and 7.9 percent of adjusted gross income respectively, compared to a median of 4.5 percent.

- The deduction reduces the cost of state and local government expenditures, particularly in high-income areas, with lower-income states and regions subsidizing higher-income, higher-tax jurisdictions.

On Halloween, conservationists turn to the protections of bats.

Ah, Halloween. (click here) It’s finally here. You can practically envision the cute pumpkins and the horrors of ghosts, goblins, vampires, bats… wait… bats? Hold on! Why do bats come to mind when thinking about the creepy and hair-raising aspects of Halloween?

There’s no doubt that the culprits are the books, movies, and Halloween decor that make bats out to be villains of the night. The rampant use of bats to evoke fear that has perpetuated through generations in popular culture becoming engrained in our consciousness that bats are scary and vile. Yet all these charges are completely unjust and could not be further from the truth. Bats are vital to ecosystems around the world, enriching our earth through their invaluable roles as pollinators and pest-containment operatives....

The truth is bats are diminishing in number due to habitat loss and a fungus found in cold wintertime caves called "White Nose Syndrome." (click here)

Bats are important to ecosystems. They reduce the number of insects in the air. They are not pets.