Christine King Farris is the married older sister of Dr. King.

Dr. King's sister is alive and well.

Christine King Farris, sister of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., smiles as President Barack Obama is sworn in on her brother's bible (Reuters)

...Christine King Farris (click here) discusses the Klu Klux Klan presence in Georgia and major issues affecting the African American community, which included desegregation and voting rights. Her father, Martin, Sr., was an outspoken man who was very active in the community, working with voters' registration and to get equal pay for black educators in Atlanta. These issues were discussed extensively over dinner, and the children were encouraged to participate, which made them socially conscious at a young age. Farris' first experience with tragedy came with the death of her maternal grandmother, who died of a stroke while visiting another church. She describes the family's sorrow and her brother Alfred's guilt caused by his decision not to attend church. Farris talks about her parents' colleges and the assumption that the children in the family would attend Morehouse College and Spelman College like their parents.

Christine King Farris discusses her parents' home on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, and her father's purchase of a home at 193 Boulevard after her grandmother's death. The neighborhood in which her family lived was an African American community with its own banks, shops and restaurants. Farris describes her father's sermons and her brother's decision to pursue ministry during his freshman year at Morehouse College. Farris and Martin, Jr. attended Atlanta University Laboratory School until it closed, after which they attended Booker T. Washington High School. After graduating from Spelman, Farris attended Columbia University for graduate school and Martin, Jr. attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Upland, Pennsylvania. She discusses her family's relationship with Dr. Benjamin Mays, who encouraged her brother to continue pursuing activism, and describes the dangers her brother faced while traveling through the South during the Civil Rights Movement....

...Christine King Farris discusses her family's pets, including a monkey and a deer. She talks about her grandmother's death and her brother Martin, Jr.'s grief and guilt. Farris describes the various scarves that women wore when she was a child, and tells the story of her brothers taking her grandmother's fox head stole, and using it to frighten neighbors. Farris talks about the facilities built in honor of her brother, Martin Luther King, Jr., and her work to properly entomb him after his assassination. This required three separate moves due to hateful vandalism and violence against his grave site. Martin's body was permanently placed on the grounds of the Martin Luther King Center. Farris discusses her brother's achievements, and believes that he would be humbled by the number of monuments and facilities built in his honor.

The King children were raised to be leaders.

 

Martin, Jr. (a graduating senior at Morehouse) and sister Christine (a graduating senior at Spelman) in 1948. (click here)

In reading about Dr. King it became very obvious his entire family were celebrities and celebrated in the African American community.

Cover Jet Magazine July 18, 1974 - Courtesy: The Mike Glenn Collection

Dr. King had a younger brother and a sister. His brother was as committed to obtain civil rights as his older brother was. He was an activist and a target.

...Alfred Daniel Williams King (click here) was born on 30 July 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia. A. D., was the third child of Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King, Sr. In contrast to his peacemaking brother, Martin, A. D. was, according to his father, “a little rough at times” and “let his toughness build a reputation throughout our neighborhood” (King, Sr.,126). Less interested in academics than his siblings, A. D. started a family of his own while still a teenager. He was married on 17 June 1950, to Naomi Barber, with whom he had five children. Although as a youth he strongly resisted his father’s ministerial urgings, King eventually began assisting his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church. In 1959, King graduated from Morehouse College, and that same year he left Ebenezer to become pastor of Mount Vernon First Baptist Church in Newnan, Georgia.

A. D. King was arrested with King, Jr., and 70 others while participating in an October 1960 lunch counter sit-in in Atlanta. In 1963, A. D. King became a leader of the Birmingham Campaign while pastoring at First Street Baptist Church in nearby Ensley, Alabama. On 11 May 1963, King’s house was bombed. In August, after a bomb exploded at the home of a prominent black lawyer in downtown Birmingham, thousands of outraged citizens poured into the city streets intent on revenge. As rocks were thrown at gathering policemen and the situation escalated. A. D. King climbed on top of a parked car and shouted to the rioters in an attempt to quell their fury: “My friends, we have had enough problems tonight. If you’re going to kill someone, then kill me. . . Stand up for your rights, but with nonviolence.” (“Bomb Hits Home in Birmingham”)...

There are few pictures of Alberta Christine Williams. The one to the left is her family and husband with Michael King.

Alberta Christine Williams (click here) was born on September 13, 1904, the only daughter of Reverend Adam Daniel Williams, who was then the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and Jenny Celeste Parks. Williams attended high school at Spelman Seminary and obtained a teaching certificate at the Hampton Normal and Industrial Institute (now Hampton University) in 1924.

Alberta Williams met Martin L. King (then known as Michael), whose sister Woodie was boarding with her parents, shortly before leaving for Hampton. After returning from college, she announced her engagement to King at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. She worked for a short period as a teacher before the marriage on Thanksgiving Day in 1926. As female teachers were then not allowed to work while they were married, she had to give up her job as a teacher.

After the wedding, the Kings moved in with her parents. Their first child, a daughter Willie Christine King, was born on September 11, 1927. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 while their third child Alfred Daniel Williams King was born on July 30, 1930 and named after his Grandfather. During this period, Michael King changed his name to Martin Luther King, Sr.
Alberta King worked hard to instill self-respect into her three children. In an essay written at Crozer Seminary, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote that his mother "was behind the scenes setting forth those motherly cares, the lack of which leaves a missing link in life." Martin Luther King Jr. was close to his mother throughout his life.

This photo is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s father, mother and wife.

Alberta King's mother Jennie Williams died on May 18, 1941 of a heart attack. Martin Luther King, Jr. was so upset over his grandmother's death that he jumped from the second floor of the house. The Kings later moved to a larger yellow brick house three blocks away. Alberta King would also serve as the organizer and president of the Ebenezer Women's Committee between 1950 and 1962. By the end of this period, Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. were joint pastors of the church.

Christmas with the Kings in 1961. Daddy King and Alberta King pose with their children, in-laws and grandchilden. Standing behind them are A.D. and Naomi King; Christine and Issac Farris; and Martin and Coretta King. Alveda King, the first grandchild and A.D. King's daughter, hugs her grandparents.

I never knew Dr. King's mother was killed as she served in her church. It is somewhat unnerving to realize African Americans face this issue within their churches all the time. The burning of church buildings is equally as troubling. I am not used to thinking about deaths in a church or having it burned to the group or defaced by fire. That is a sincere reality of the African American community in the USA. It is troubling and I want to apologize to the community that know what it is to be a victim within their own faithful lives. 

I guess they do readily forgive. This really needs to stop. I have never experienced any emotional trauma or otherwise in a church. It is suppose to be a sanctuary. 

June 30, 1974
By Rebecca Burns

On Sunday June 30 1974, (click here) Alberta Christine Williams King played “The Lord’s Prayer” on the organ of Ebenezer Baptist, the church where her father, A.D. Williams, her husband, Martin Luther King Sr., and son, Martin Luther King Jr., all had served as pastors.
The song finished, and most of the congregation had their eyes closed and heads bowed in preparation for prayer when they heard a shout: “I’m taking over here!”...
...The man—Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr. (click here)—fired every round in his gun, hitting Alberta King, church deacon, Edward Boykin, and congregation member Jimmie Mitchell. As the gunman sprinted out the side door leading to Jackson Street, the sanctuary was chaotic.
Farris eventually made her way outside. As she later described the scene:
There were people everywhere. There was a throng of onlookers. When I looked in their eyes I saw what is often described as  “the thousand-yard stare.” It was a kind of blankness I’d never seen before. There were bewildered and in shock. Many were crying; most had their hands pressed to their mouths in disbelief.
Farris and other family members made it to Grady hospital, where they learned that dean Boykin and Mrs. King had died....

The King family loved God. Church and learning was at the center of their lives.

This picture of Martin Luther King, Sr. He was born Michael King and lived from December 19, 1899 to November 11, 1984. He was 84 when he died. There is every reason to believe Martin Luther King, Jr. would have lived at least as long as his father if he had not been assassinated on April 4, 1968.

In a speech (click here) expressing his views on ‘‘the true mission of the Church’’ Martin Luther King, Sr. told his fellow clergymen that they must not forget the words of God: ‘‘The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor.… In this we find we are to do something about the brokenhearted, poor, unemployed, the captive, the blind, and the bruised’’ (King, Sr., 17 October 1940). Martin Luther King, Jr. credited his father with influencing his decision to join the ministry, saying: ‘‘He set forth a noble example that I didn’t [mind] following’’ (Papers 1:363).

King, Sr. was born Michael King on 19 December 1897, in Stockbridge, Georgia. The eldest son of James and Delia King, King, Sr. attended school from three to five months a year at the Stockbridge Colored School. ‘‘We had no books, no materials to write with, and no blackboard,’’ he wrote, ‘‘But I loved going’’ (King, Sr., 37).

King experienced a number of brutal incidents while growing up in the rural South, including witnessing the lynching of a black man. On another occasion he had to subdue his drunken father who was assaulting his mother. His mother took the children to Floyd Chapel Baptist Church to ‘‘ease the harsh tone of farm life’’ according to King (King, Sr., 26). Michael grew to respect the few black preachers who were willing to speak out against racial injustices, despite the risk of violent white retaliation. He gradually developed an interest in preaching, initially practicing eulogies on the family’s chickens. By the end of 1917, he had decided to become a minister.

In the spring of 1918, King left Stockbridge to join his sister, Woodie, in Atlanta.

The following year, Woodie in Atlanta. The following year, Woodie King boarded at the home of A. D. Williams, minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church. King seized the opportunity to introduce himself to the minister’s daughter, Alberta Williams. Her parents welcomed King into the family circle, eventually treating him as a son and encouraging the young minister to overcome his educational limitations.... 

From Public Boardcasting: (click here for audio)

Not unlike many Americans in the late 1800 and early 1900s their birth dates are not necessarily accurate.

Martin Luther King, SENIOR faced Jim Crow and racism early in his life. He was born in 1897 one year after the Supreme Court’s Plessy v. Fergusson decision that upheld the “separate but equal” doctrine.
As a young man during the early 1900s, King “known by many today as Daddy King” was inspired by local ministers who risked speaking out against racial injustice. He decided to become a minister and -eventually — a civil rights activist.
King headed Atlanta’s Civic and Political League and NAACP. He organized voting rights rallies and worked to initiate equal pay for Atlanta black teachers.
A supporter of former governor Jimmy Carter, King was instrumental in garnering the support of civil rights activists for Carter’s bid for the Presidency. Carter asked King to deliver invocations at both the 1976 and 1980, Democratic National Conventions.
But perhaps King, Sr.’s most significant contribution to Atlanta and the civil rights movement was the influence he had on the development of Martin Luther King, Jr. WHO once said of his father, “He set forth a noble example that I didn’t mind following.”

Violent culture has followed African Americans into their churches.

The Rev Martin Luther King Sr and his wife Alberta Williams King at the funeral of their son, Martin Luther King Jr, Ebenezer Church Atlanta, 9 April 1968. Photograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images 

1 July 2014
By Simon Winchester
 
The 70-year-old mother (click here) of the late Rev Martin Luther King, the civil rights leader who was assassinated six years ago, was herself shot and killed today as she played the organ for morning service in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in the centre of Atlanta, Georgia.
Her assailant, a young black man, who eye-witnesses said "went berserk," and who was later reported to have said that "all Christians" were his enemies, was held by members of the church choir after he had wounded two other members of the congregation, one of them fatally.
Aware of the potential consequences of this latest tragedy, the Mayor of Atlanta, Mr Maynard Jackson, issued a statement beseeching the community to remain calm.
Mr Jackson, elected last year as the first black mayor of a major southern city, had returned abruptly to Atlanta from a West Coast conference last Wednesday after ominous civil disturbances had erupted in the streets following the police shooting of a young black man who had violated his parole. The mood in the city had been calming after the tense and uneasy week when this morning's tragic shootings took place.
Atlanta said later that a 21-year-old black man, Marcus Wayne Chenault, of Dayton, Ohio, had been charged with two counts of murder, one of assault, and one of carrying a concealed weapon.
According to witnesses Mrs Alberta King, whose husband, the Rev Martin Luther King Snr, is pastor of the church on Auburn Avenue, was playing the organ for the Lord's Prayer near the start of the service when the attack began. A young black man jumped and screamed: "You must stop this! I am tired of all this! I'm taking over this morning."...

It's Sunday Night

While looking for an authentic rendition of "Welcoeme Table," I ran across a group of singers in the UK.

Fisk Jubilee Singers (click here)

"Welcome Table" by the Birmingham Jubilee Singers (click here for archive of collection)

I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table some of these days, oh hallelujah.

I'm gonna feast on milk and honey
I'm gonna feast on milk and honey some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna feast on milk and honey
I'm gonna feast on milk and honey some of these days, oh hallelujah

I am gonna sing and never get tired,
I am gonna sing and never get tired, some of these days, hallelujah now
I am gonna sing and never get tired,
I am gonna sing and never get tired, some of these days, oh hallelujah

I'm gonna to tell God all of my service
I'm gonna to tell God all of my service some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna to tell God all of my service
I'm gonna to tell God all of my service some of these days, oh hallelujah

I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me
I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me, some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me
I'm gonna to tell God how you treat me, some of these days, oh hallelujah

Oh, I'm gonna set this world on fire
I'm gonna set this world on fire, some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna set this world on fire
I'm gonna set this world on fire, some of these days, oh hallelujah

I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table, some of these days, hallelujah now
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table
I'm gonna sit at the welcome table, some of these days.

"Meet the new Commander and Chief" of the USA military.

Amazing. Leave it to the American media to finesse war thought INCOMPLETE information.

Here it is, "The Russian airliner was brought down by a terrorist bomb. There is no information to contradict that."

Right Sure.

In other words, let's get on with a war on incomplete information. Where have I witnessed that before? Oh, yeah, Iraq and "W." 

"And stay tuned folks for an exclusive interview with JEB!"

Now, that sounds right. 

In case the truth matters:

November 6, 2015
By The Associated Press

Sharm - el - Sheikh, Egypt (AP) — The latest on the crash (click here) of a Russian plane in Egypt that killed all 224 people onboard last Saturday. (All times local.)
10:25 p.m.
The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian leader Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi spoke by telephone a few hours after Putin called for Russia to suspend passenger flights to Egypt.
A Kremlin statement late Friday said the leaders agreed to further cooperation in order to "confirm the overall effectiveness of the security measures taken by Egyptian authorities at the airports of the country."
Russian carrier Metrojet's Airbus A321-200 crashed shortly after takeoff from the Sharm el-Sheikh airport in Egypt on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier Friday said Russian flights will be suspended for as long as it takes Egyptian authorities to put "a proper level of security" into place. The move is expected to devastate Egyptian tourism....
...9:30 p.m.
Business owners who cater to tourists in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh say the Russian decision to suspend flights to the country may be catastrophic for them.
For 17 years, Ayman Aweiss has been running a cafe on a main drag in the city. On Friday, his cafe was empty. He says every business owner in Sharm el-Sheikh will be forced to leave after a month if there aren't any Russian tourists....
He says that if the situation remains like this "we can't live."...

The fact there is a lower expectation of security in Egypt the Russian government has made it clear the flights cannot continue until better measures are issued in Egypt.

This not an unusual situation in the world. There have been terrorist threats on jets to the USA because extremists could work their way through a country without secure systems.

In my opinion, for whatever it is worth theses days, Russia was correct in demanding better security with or without a potential terrorist attack. Every country in the world is compromised by countries that do not invest in upholding the security measures found in cities of origination of flights. There should be no doubt security in global airports should be seamless. I don't know that I would get on a flight if there wasn't good security. Why fly to a country that has extremists within the society and do little to nothing to insure tourists' safety.

By the way, reporting half truths as 'the truth' is unethical. 

And what did JEB! say? The exact same words as "W." Except, he adds, "We should be focused on the future and not the past." Doesn't everyone wish he would.

The global community, yes including Russia and China, have an opportunity. They should not ignore or dismiss it.

I think the USA needs to be cautious in entering foreign wars and sparking more instability. The USA military is viewed as the do all and end all problem solver. Whenever there are problems with any ally or otherwise the USA is suppose to be tapped to bring weapons and soldiers to solve the problem. I remind Daesh exists because the USA entered into an illegal and immoral war in Iraq.

Everyone accepts that reality, right? France was attacked by people acting in proxy for Daesh. The attackers were recruited to carry out this attack by a charismatic leader in Syria. There are citizens of Australia that have acted on the behalf and also migrated to Syria. These are all facts. No one believes there is no charismatic movement, do they? Where are the facts?

No one wants Europe to be the next war for freedom in the global community. There has been security in Europe and while killing is the enemies domain, it may only serve to increase that capacity if the USA military is involved when there is no solution at the end of that knee jerk reaction.

Seven heavily armed men killed over one hundred people in France and wounded over three hundred. That is nearly 500 people with a new and different reality today. What is going to be the reaction of society if these problems continue?

We all witnessed the attacks of September 11, 2001 and Americans began to stand in lines at airports to secure their flights. Did anyone ever think that would become a reality in a country with infrastructure that is to keep them safe? People value life and if surrendering to a maniacal leader will insure their lives they will live to fight another day. Civilization is in question and how it uses it's power. ie: Iraq post invasion when facing a real security issue.

I think NATO has a responsibility to all it's members. It is up to France to identify where NATO can add to greater security. There is an influx of unknown people. That has to be addressed. We know at least one person was involved in the Paris killings in a way that manifested due to open borders in Europe.

Daesh has stated openly that France is to be a target again. That has to be addressed and if soldiers from NATO in the streets in France brings about greater stability then that is where NATO should be concentrated. What good are soldiers in Syria when it does nothing to end the violence among the people of France?

I think Europe and NATO need to come to the understanding about war and what is EFFECTIVE. The USA in Iraq turned loose the old Saddam Ba'athists to organize and bring about a feared militia in Syria. That was a horrible idea. It was a war of convenience and not necessity. Is Iraq going to be the 51st state of the USA ahead of Puerto Rico? If this lame military effort goes on much longer, the USA will need an income from Iraq's oil to maintain a war of decades.

NATO and the European Union have to come to terms of what caused this instability in their country and deal with it. There is no answer in Syria if all a military operation means is increased dangers in Europe. I remind this attack in Paris was planned by cells of terrorists in the community. The one person from Syria that migrated to Greece could not wait to kill in France and took up weapons without question among strangers. Would that person have been killed by the USA military in Syria? Not necessarily.

The migration of terrorists into Europe is now known. The attacks happened when a member of Daesh was killed for assassinating others. Syria has a dynamic in this as does Iraq, however, currently there are two fronts to this attack in France. There is the war front in Syria and Iraq and now there is a terrorist front in France to the killing of innocent people. Russia has ended it's flights into Sharm el-Sheikh before any conclusion of the investigation of the jet crash.

There cannot be a simple answer for political expediency. If a multi-front war proves to be overwhelming and the violence spreads in Europe as Daesh is planning, the war will get worse and the decisions will be focused on control and causing death and the real question will become, "Will a mulit-front war lead to the use of nukes?"

The reason the USA used nuclear weapons in WWII was because the danger to the USA increased beyond it's military reach and expertise.

If the G20 meeting is successful the entire membership would have decided to act together to end terrorism. It would have identified where each country fits into security on their continent. It would have welcomed a war pact among countries to end the dangers of Daesh. I hope that was at least put into the agenda to meet again for national security measures.

To coin a popular phrase, "The USA is not all that." Sure, the USA has a strong military, but, there are limits. What happens if Venezuela breaks open and there is a near border war in the Gulf of Mexico? I think the global organizations such as the G20 have an opportunity to bring a realistic picture to national and international security. If they miss that opportunity, the civilized world is in trouble. I am convinced of that.

Russia's national security is based in stable governments as allies. That is an interesting concept.

If the downing of a jet is due to terrorists then the reality of Egypt has changed and there are over 200 people dead. Add that to France's deaths known to be caused by terrorism and the totals begin to add up. One hundred here, 200 there and what is the total amount of deaths from terrorism leading to a war without end.

Daesh has presented a sincere concern for every nation because of it's SUCCESSFUL charismatic movement. The global community can bring about stability or it can act foolishly and bring about a world at war with it's own inability to see the best way forward.

Every country in the world have known stability problems. If war breaks out, as it did in France and citizens are forced to take up arms, the civilized world ends and anarchy reigns. Don't think for one minute terrorist organizations won't thrive if countries are at odds with each other; quite the contrary, terrorism will flourish.

How can a mad man in Afghanistan bring about a world at war with Islamists in every country on Earth? Who will win? What is the cost in lives, cultural survival and stability of governments? These blood thirsty Islamists don't care about how the deaths occur among the infidels, they are willing to find a way to turn a nuclear power facility in France to a weapon of death. They aren't messing around and political dogma to instill faux ideas of safety is a defeat in the face of enormous power and how it is best used. 

President Hollande has every asset that NATO has at his disposal. He needs to act in a way that will end the danger to his people, not simply accept a politically attractive act of muscle flexing and more danger.

I think anyone can ask religious leaders to help with fears.

Fear is a real thing. It can create dangerous behaviors in people. I think any American feeling fear or anxiety has the right to approach religious leaders to bring about an understanding within a community.

That is the beauty of a local political and economic environment. The population is known and there can be an understanding about hate and violence. I don't believe Americans conduct themselves in networking in a community enough.

An example of community organization is found in the minority communities in the USA. Frequently, leaders in the minority communities have their finger on the pulse of the people.

We hear about town hall meetings during years of elections, but, town halls can be an organizing event for a community as well. There are also community organizations that encourage involvement such as homeowners associations. They meet regularly and discuss the community. Homeowners associations set up rules for their community and they are legal requirements.

Democracy is a beautiful thing. Democracy is under attack. The freedoms people have in a democracy allows for an element of danger. People have to overcome that in their communities. When people sign leases for apartments there are community rules. Those rules allow for a more peaceful co-existence.

Leaders and religious leaders should be asked to attend meetings to talk about real fears of violence in a community or a building for that matter. That process of being aware of the activities within a community is called mitigation. I think Americans are smart enough to find ways of EFFECTIVELY dealing with fears; by treating fears as a real and palpable commodity.

When a community understands its environment, of course, police and law enforcement can be asked to interfere with reliable fears and what they are based in. Since, September 11, 2001 there has been this idea of 'free floating' fears. Who can we trust? Who will become violent? How can a person protect themselves from the unseen and unknown? I sincerely believe if a community cares about each other and has a central organization to mitigate these fears and ask the infrastructure to intervene in real fears, there can be more and better security of a person's day and their work and home environments.

Americans are very resourceful. They can do anything if they put their minds to it. Often we take our day for granted and don't recognize small ways of improving our quality of life. Fear interferes with quality of life. Such concerns are real in the American courts as well, too. Having a clear understanding of fear and what is causing such concerns in a community can also minimize dangers to freedom such as the over lay of authority of warrantless searches. If a community is secure and resource people know their community members well, it is far easier to dispute any government action within that community.

The American legal infrastructure values privacy, that right to privacy can be increased and vigilantism diminished if there is far less fear and more knowledge.

Have family elections for the one person a family can resource to attend meetings and carry their fears to the community meeting. An organization can be micromanaged to the point of any household. Orgnaization and mitigation is a good thing. Increase quality of life and end fear and anxiety.

November 15, 2015
By Benjamin Mueller and Michael S. Schmidt

They paused over their morning coffee (click here) and in the middle of Broadway shows, on subways and buses carrying people into some of the country’s most crowded areas, reckoning with how the spasm of terror that struck Paris on Friday, seemingly at random, might pierce American lives, too.

Teenagers’ cellphones blinked with warnings texted from parents to stay out of big crowds and heed feelings of foreboding. Families huddled over whether a Saturday outing still made sense. A young woman from South Carolina in a Manhattan hotel prayed over breakfast for scores of victims who, she said, were uncomfortably like her: concertgoers, diners at fashionable restaurants, soccer fans.

Khori Petinaud, an actress in the Broadway show “Aladdin,” said nerves had run high backstage on Friday night....

November 15, 2015
By Alan Sosnowski

A powerful storm (click here) will blast the central United States with flooding rain, heavy snow, strong winds and the potential for damaging thunderstorms during the third week of November.
According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, people traveling through or living in areas from the central Rockies to the Mississippi Valley should be prepared for a dynamic weather event during the first half of the week.
"The storm is likely to hit more than a dozen states from New Mexico and Colorado to Texas, Louisiana and Illinois very hard," Abrams said....

The Democratic Debate was good. I think the candidates got their message out.

There was enough time for all of them to speak about their views and policy decisions.

Senator Bernie Sanders said something that should not be ignored.

When the panel and the candidates were talking about Wall Street, Senator Sanders stated, "Wall Street operates within corruption." He is correct. I'd like to point out evidence of that.

When Scott Brown ran for the US Senate and won he was backed by all the Wall Street banks. He then worked to protect them during his short time in the Senate.

Currently, Marco Rubio has enormous amounts of monies from Wall Street. He also pushed through the Columbian Free Trade Act as soon as he was sworn into office. It benefits Wall Street if the violence and corruption in Columbia finally ends.

If a study was done to find out exactly how many newly elected Congressman or Congresswoman did so with nearly exclusive help by Wall Street; the numbers would be a surprise to the American electorate.

Wall Street Banks gets the newbies backed into a corner from the inception of their ambitions to office. The banks provide significant monies to these Congressmen and women so they are elected.

When Senator Sanders states Citizen's United is destroying our democracy he talks about the SuperPACs. But the truth is, the corruption of Congress to bias Wall Street occurs far earlier and when the new nominee is still developing policy for their campaigns.

The American electorate looks to have a new member of the House or Senate to rid our government of corruption. What the American electorate doesn't know is that the people replacing the incumbent is just as, if not more, corrupt.

With all the problems Citizens United has caused, Americans need to realize restricting candidates to raising monies from the electorate with matching public funds is the best direction for the country. Why elect people already under the thumb of Wall Street?

Senator Sanders does not have a SuperPAC, nor does he want one. He accepts donations in small dollar amounts while planning to accept Public Funding after the first primary. It is the way it should be. In the debates his always speaks his mind and reminds people how important the upcoming election is to the country's stability and future. An elected President, Senator and House Representative should be in office to benefit the people, not temper legislation to accommodate Wall Street corruption.

The first explosion occurred outside the stadium when a guard found an explosive device. (click here)

If the guard hadn't found the suicide vest filled with bolts the death toll at the stadium would have been far higher and President Hollande could have been effected.

There have been arrests in Beligum. There were some reports the guns and munitions were purchased in Brussels.

November 14, 2015
By Jon Williams, Matthew Mosk and Meghan Keneally 

At least three people (click here) have been arrested in Belgium -- including one officials say was involved in the attack -- as the investigation into the deadly Paris attacks has now spread across borders, officials told ABC News.

The investigation crossed borders after cars used in the coordinated attack were tracked to Brussels, officials said. One of the people arrested is believed to have been involved in the coordinated attacks Friday, and investigators continue to search for others.

A spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor told the Associated Press that family members of one of the attackers has also been detained. He is believed to be a French man born in the Parisian suburbs.

"Because they are looking for suspects, it was important to conduct operations in Brussels because of the ties they could potentially have here," an official told ABC News.

The operations are being conducted in the Molenbeek district of Brussels, the official said....

Iran cannot stand alone. There is only one enemy and it is Daesh.

Mourners chant slogans as they carry the body of Adel Termos, killed in a twin bombing attack, during his funeral in the village of Tallussa in the Nabatiyeh governorate on November 13, 2015 (AFP Photo/Mahmoud Zayyat) 

Beirut (AFP) - Lebanon on Friday (click here) mourned 44 people killed in a Hezbollah bastion in south Beirut in a twin bombing claimed by the Islamic State group, the bloodiest such attack in years.

The Red Cross said at least 239 people were wounded, several in critical condition, in the blasts that hit a busy shopping street in Burj al-Barajneh, a neighbourhood where the Shiite Hezbollah movement allied to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is popular.

The attack harked back to a campaign against Hezbollah between 2013 and 2014, ostensibly in revenge for its military support of regime forces in neighbouring Syria's civil war.

But it was the largest attack ever claimed by IS in Lebanon, and among the deadliest bombings to hit the country since the end of its 1975-1990 civil war.

Hundreds of people attended funerals on Friday after hospitals started to hand over the bodies of victims to their families....

One victim, Adel Tarmous, was hailed as a hero in the newspapers for having prevented a bomber from entering a Shiite place of worship....

Exporting Terrorism from Syria. They aren't refugees or migrants. The attacks are for different reasons with the same result. France has freedom of speech and expression and received attacks for it's cartoons of Mohammad. Hezbollah was attacked because they are not Daesh sympathizers, they have loyalties to Assad.

So, while the result is the same in causing death, the motivations are different. It would not surprise me if Daesh is putting Texas in it's play book. Crackpot Cartoonists. 

I don't think the attacks are as random as some may think. There is suppose to be a religious morality to inspire Islamists to act. France - cartoons, Lebanon - Shia and Assad. These Islamists don't view themselves as murderers. They see themselves as acting with their faith. There are motivations.

November 14, 2015
Eleni Chrepa

The Syrian passport (click here) found next to the body of one of the suicide bombers in Paris yesterday was registered on the Greek island of Leros, the Greek government said, suggesting that the holder came into Europe claiming to be a political refugee.
The passport was recorded by Greek officials on Oct. 3, Greek Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas said on a statement posted on the ministry’s website Saturday. Toskas said he didn’t know whether the passport was later processed by other authorities elsewhere in Europe.

Don't be stupid about this stuff.  

Prime Minister Cameron is correct. This is an ongoing problem. It is as much domestic now as in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia uses a model to remove Islamists intent on violence to prison and reform before they act and kill innocent people. This mess is not new. It is millennium old. The countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, knows how to maintain the peace in the homeland.

Is it good to have Russia at our side still yet again.

NATO needs to decide how best to end this war. The Islamists won't end it, they will proliferate it.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, post war vermin.

The American people don't understand what happened in Paris.

This is the status quo for terrorism. This is literally gang warfare in the name of Allah. It never stops. When one is killed there are half a dozen others that will avenge the death. I am not joking. Islamic war is about retribution. Why are there always Islamists killing each other? There is no such thing as peace. Entering Iraq began a war without end. 

NATO needs to decide how best to end the war that is now in it's second decade.

It is an absolute mistake to accept the idea this is "The New Normal." We have no new normal, that would mean The West will be at war inside it's own borders forever.

This has to end. 

Europe never participated in the killing in Iraq. France is an easy target. France has violent Islamists within their borders. What happened in France was Daesh's proxy war with the USA.

Islamist views emphasize the implementation of Sharia (Islamic law); of pan-Islamic political unity; and of the selective removal of non-Muslim, particularly Western military, economic, political, social, or cultural influences in the Muslim world that they believe to be incompatible with Islam.

These violent people are Islamists. They are not jihadists. Jihadists is not a name, it is a method of warfare. Jihad is the identity of an Islamist. Jihad carries out acts of war. Being a jihadist is like saying they are soldiers. Jihadists are ordered by holy men to act. The purpose of these attacks is best defined as Islamists. They have goals. An Islamist is a personal identity dedicated to bring about a different world including economic and political dialogues.

Jihadist = Soldier 

Jihad is a form of warfare. 
Suicide bomber is a form of warfare.

What good did the NSA do anyone? When government organizations exist for the purpose to exist, it does not solve problems, it causes problems. The mission of the NSA is absent. The people VESTED in the existence of the NSA will only add a faux sense of security. The Congress and the EU have to decide to close electronic communication at their borders or in the case of the EU at the borders of the organization.

The countries involved have to reclaim their sovereign right to protect the citizens. I don't know a country that does it better across the internet than Pakistan.