[NBCNEWS] A communist "cult leader" who brainwashed three women -- including his own daughter -- and for years controlled every aspect of their lives was convicted Friday of false imprisonment, child cruelty and rape.
Aravindan Balakrishnan, 75, was the "charismatic leader" of a political collective he founded in the 1970s named the Workers' Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought.
All that? Goodness.
While the group's membership dwindled by the end of that decade, its remaining members were mostly women who Balakrishnan convinced he possessed supernatural powers, according to a statement from London's Metropolitan Police following his conviction.
He was "able to manipulate their minds through this regime of abuse," the force said.
His daughter, who was born into the group in 1983, was kept in conditions amounting to slavery and had extremely limited contact with the outside world until she fled two years ago aged 30.
Following her escape, officials tracked down two other women, now both aged 64, who gave similar stories and said they left the commune earlier after more than a decade "following years of degrading treatment."
Balakrishnan was convicted at London's Southwark Crown Court on Friday of cruelty to a child and false imprisonment with regard to his daughter. He was found guilty of 12 other charges including rape, indecent assault and actual bodily harm against the other two women.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2015 00:00 ||
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My takeaway from the festivities in San Bernadino was that the Jihadi couple were well trained in gunnery, probably while in Soddy Arabia. I say that because of the 75 rounds fired, 30 struck a target at least once. As far as a kill ratio goes, the couple were 7.5 to one, while with shooting they were 15 to one.
A commenter on Facebook railed:
...this goatfucker and his half-ewe wife are pathetic third rate jihadists. You have a building full of faggot-ass Californians, two semiauto rifles and two pistols, and you only get 75 rounds off? And only 7 dead each? And maybe 10 wounded each? May God curse all jihadists with such pathetic skills. And how stupid do you have to be to fail to detonate a pipe bomb full of black powder? Jebus, put a string soaked in kerosene in the touch hole! What a shitty waste of oxygen and DNA.
The fact is that this was this couple's first (and last) time out, and trained or not, it was an impressive performance. Special Forces might have better performance, but these were amateurs on a one way mission.
I suspect that they were trained by Al Qaeda, and I say that because they were in Soddy Arabia where Al Qaeda is known to operate, and is funded to some degree. The latest report is that they were in contact with al Nusra, which is Al Qaeda in Syria, but my guess is that their handlers were from Soddy Arabia.
The weapons used, according to the latest data supplied by the UK Daily Mail were a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 and a DPMS, both .223 caliber. The Daily Mail article made much of the fact the rifles were "illegally" modified according to California law, including standard capacity 30-round weapons magazines.
The state of California wants Jihadis and criminals to be better armed than its own citizens, it would seem.
The couple bought around 6,000 rounds of ammunition, some of it stripper clips for rapid reloading of magazines. As you would expect, it was rather breathlessly reported that the amount of ammunition bought was excessive, but I know, and several Rantburgers probably know people for which 6,000 rounds fired at the range is a short weekend.
Which brings up the next topic: training.
Several months ago I saw this video, wherein a Russian Spetsnaz operator was put through the ringer at a Russian confidence course.
OK. Here is the skinny on the Paris Drill, prompted by Fred commenting on my post “Europe in the Fall” linked here.
The Paris Drill is 3 shots at 3 separate 6″ diameter steel targets at 25 yards. Par time is 5 seconds; any misses are a DQ. Fifteen points per second deduction for time over 5.00 seconds; same bonus for less than 5.00 seconds. Ideally, this would be done from the leather, but some ranges (mine included) don’t allow this. In such cases, start with sidearm by your side and eliminate the draw stroke.
Examples:
-Smith shoots his three shots, and gets three hits in 6.48 seconds. His base score is 75 points, less 22.2 for time over 5 seconds, for a total score of 52.8.
-Jones shoots his three shots, and gets three hits in 4.27 seconds, His base score is also 75 points plus a bonus (for being faster than par by 0.73 seconds) of 10.95 for a total score of 85.95.
-Historian shoots three times and misses the third plate. His score is zero.
-Historian tries again and hits all three plates in 10.83 seconds. His score is again zero.
The main thing in these two drills is training yourself to select targets and hit them accurately and rapidly. You could do this with a paper target, as the Russian did in their range, only with rifles at 100 meters and six much smaller targets drawn on/pasted/taped on. Select two to hit with the others you do not want to hit.
A better way would be to set up a non-standard rifle range in which you would be completing this course on your feet and moving. As an apartment dweller, I do not have a home or land I can set up to practice this, but I can at least try to make progressively more difficult shots as my marksmanship improves on the square range.
My local CBS affiliate had some news report on what to do during an active shooter incident, most of which can be reduced to: how to cower in the face of an existential threat.
Two tactical trainers I follow on social media have videos on how to deal with an active shooter, if you are armed. One is Hoss USMC, and another is James Yaeger.
But as can be expressed, it boils down to how well you can narrow your aim under an existential threat.
As Rantburg's new book reviewer, swksvolFF has said repeatedly, practice, practice, practice.
Prices for pistol ammunition and rifle ammunition were were mixed.
Prices for used pistols were higher across the board while prices for used rifles were mostly lower.
** For some reason I could not find any 150 Grain 7.62x51mm cartridges in bulk for anything less than $0.56 per round, so for the purposes of this one round in bulk, I switched to 147 grain.
Note, also that the price for .223 55 grain ammunition is the lowest it has been since last year at $0.21 per round.
New Lows:
None
Pistol Ammunition
.45 Caliber, 230 Grain, From Last Week: +.03 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LG Outdoors, Silver Bear, FMJ, Steel Case, .27 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Blok Tactical, Store Brand, TMJ, Reloads, .24 per round (From Last week: -.01 Each After Unchanged (3 Weeks))
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 Grain, Unchanged (8 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .22 per round
Cheapest Bulk (5 Box Limit), 1,000 rounds: Freedom Munitions, Store Brand, FMJ, Brass, Reloads; .21 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
9mm Parabellum, 115 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .17 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel Cased, .16 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (3Q, 2015))
.357 Magnum, 158 Grain, From Last Week: +.02 Each After Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 1,000 rounds: J&G Sales, Tulammo, FMJ, Steel cased, .25 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 Grain, From Last Week: -.02 Each
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Midsouth Shooters Supply, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .21 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: LAX Ammunition, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .22 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (4 Weeks))
.308 NATO 150 Grain**, From Last Week: Unchanged (7 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Supply Company, Tulammo, steel cased, FMJ, .38 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds (147 grain **): Ammunition Supply Company, Wolf, Steel Cased, FMJ, .43 per round (From Last Week: +.11 Each (!))
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: +.01 Each After Unchanged (9 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Ammunition Depot, Wolf WPA, steel case, FMJ, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: SG Ammo, Wolf WPA, steel case, .23 per round (From Last Week: +.01 Each)
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds (20 Box Limit): Glen's Army Navy Store, Federal American Eagle, RNL .08 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 325 rounds (1 Box Limit): Sportsman's Outdoor Superstore, Federal, RNL, .08 per round (From Last Week: Unchanged (2 Weeks))
#1
Guns guns guns, guns guns guns, guns guns,
Not Turkey, Turgenev, or funds!
The dreams of your children?
Forget all that, pilgrim,
And kiss a Kardashian's buns.
[WaPo] China has launched an extraordinary set of attacks against Communist Party members in Xinjiang and Tibet, with accusations of disloyalty, secret participation in religious activity, sympathy with the Dalai Lama and even support for terrorism. The accusations reflect President Xi Jinping's determination to push for ideological purity within the party nationwide, stifling debate and dissent.
Critics say they also reflect the reality that the party's hard-line approach toward smasshing "the three evils of separatism, terrorism and religious extremism" has not only alienated many ordinary Tibetan and Uighur people but has also provoked dissent in its own ranks.
Xu Hairong, secretary of Xinjiang’s Commission for Discipline Inspection, complaied that some party officials openly criticize policies handed down from above. In his agency’s official newspaper, he wrote, "Some waver on clear-cut issues of opposing ethnic division and safeguarding ethnic and national unity, and even support participating in violent terrorist attacks."
An article published on party website China Tibet Online said 355 party members had been punished in Xinjiang last year for violating "political discipline." The article said that one had reposted an interview given by prominent Uighur intellectual Ilham Tohti, who was sentenced last year to life in prison on charges of advocating separatism.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party has been recruiting, and the number of members in Xinjiang is said to have risen by 21,000 to 1.45 million in 2014. And that has brought other problems.
#1
NSW Police seek injunction in Supreme Court to stop Cronulla rally
and yet they do not seek similar for the violent hard left protesters that beat people up at Reclaim Australia rallies, denying them freedom to speak and organise
Just look at Detroit, Baltimore, all those urban paradises.
[CA.NEWS.YAHOO] Jean Augustine recalls looking around the rooms of meetings she used to be in and sometimes realized she was the only minority person present. Augustine was the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to the House of Commons, representing the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore from 1993 to 2006.
“I just didn’t see the diversity of my own life reflected in the institutions and organizations I had been appointed to,” Augustine told Yahoo Canada News.
That’s an issue the Liberal government says it wants to tackle — by boosting the number of women, minorities and aboriginal people in the hundreds of appointments it will make to agencies, boards and Crown corporations (ABCs).
Olivier Duchesneau, a spokesman for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, told The Canadian Press recently the process would be “open, transparent and merit-based.”
In addition, the party has pledged to create an independent body to make recommendations for positions, including new senators.
“It’s who you know and who put your name in the hat,” explains Augustine, who also served as minister of state for multiculturalism and the status of women and was parliamentary secretary to then-prime minister Jean Chretien from 1994 to 1996.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
More like 'Snowflake' government. For some, it is 'better'. In the dark old days, merit and skill were considered 'better'. However, the tags of efficient, effective, and affordable are not of any priority in the new definition of 'good'.
#2
As long as the goals are published and the success/failure reported quarterly.
We'll need another bureaucracy to do the reporting, of course, put they'll have to have the same diversity as the stated overall goal. How will failure to meet the goal be punished? If we achieve 110% of the goal, who gets a bonus? Why would exceeding the goal be rewarded? How often should the goals be re-evaluated, and on what basis?
All that sounds pretty complicated, so we'll just go for "more". Then it never ends.
Posted by: Bobby ||
12/05/2015 7:39 Comments ||
Top||
#3
"Appointing more women and minorities 'produces better government'"
No, it produces precisely the mess we in the States are in right now: a government that is incompetent, stupid and corrupt. Don't emulate us.
Posted by: Dave D. ||
12/05/2015 8:59 Comments ||
Top||
#4
"Appointing more women and minorities 'produces better government'"
... say the people who cannot cut it in the Dreaded Private Sector.
#1
i dont like the abuse of the #JeSuisCharlie intended to show solidarity with the victims of Islamist violence - cartoonists at a magazine who were shot to death in cold blood.
Instead it is Islamist hijabis that are the real victims? enough to make me vomit.
I read something interesting once. This is just a jihad tactic learnt from the Warlord mohammed.
ALWAYS play the victim. Mohammed attacked innocent people without provocation - but he blamed them because they had “stopped others from becoming Muslims” and had worshiped idols. The attack was their fault, and the Muslims were the victims, not the Kaffirs.
Mohammad became a warlord as soon as he got enough followers. His first battle against the Meccan caravan violated a holy month where no attacks were ever made.
He blamed the Quraysh tribe for not preventing people converting to Islam and refusing Sharia. Blame the victim.
#2
Our families are normal! Just see --
One Muslimah, happy and free,
A sweet Muslim man...
And the Holy Koran...
And Mohammed... and Allah... makes three?!?
[NATION.PK] A 25-year-old man ended his life yesterday by drinking kerosene oil at his house in Jalalpur village near Raiwind.
Muhammad Adnan drank kerosene oil after he got into an argument with his wife, Shazia Bibi, over a domestic dispute. He was rushed to a hospital where he expired later.
Adnan's relatives told the police that the relationship between the issueless couple was not cordial as they used to fight over domestic issues. They body was moved to the morgue for an appointment with Dr. Quincy.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Just to wash down all the sh*t he's had to eat.
[NATION.PK] During last month, the Drug Court of Lahore division imposed Rs2.3 million fines and handed down prison terms of up to four months on quacks and medical store owners selling spurious medicines, sources have told The Nation.
Seventeen medical stores were sealed on the court orders, after their owners were found guilty of running clinics without licenses and selling fake drugs.
The jurisdiction of the drug court is spread over five districts including Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Okara and Kasur.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... not even a single medicine manufacturer of fake and spurious drugs was produced before the court or awarded punishment. Only retailers and bogus medics were brought to justice.
The drug court disposed of around 200 cases in November, according to a court official who wished not to be named. The court acquitted four accused persons during the period.
Experts estimate there is an increasing amount of fake medicines in the local market. There is also a lack of availability of certified doctors in towns and cities of the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... to examine the patients.
Muhammad Mansha, one of those convicted, was found guilty of injecting veterinary drugs to poor patients and running clinic without license and warranty. He was awarded three-month imprisonment and a fine of Rs40,000.
Another quack was awarded one month one month jail and Rs 50,000 fine after he was found guilty of running a clinic without the permission of the government in Sheikhupura district.
The main focus of the health authorities is on those who are running clinics without license or selling poor medicines.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/05/2015 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[WaPo] China has launched an extraordinary set of attacks against Communist Party members in Xinjiang and Tibet, with accusations of disloyalty, secret participation in religious activity, sympathy with the Dalai Lama and even support for terrorism. The accusations reflect President Xi Jinping's determination to push for ideological purity within the party nationwide, stifling debate and dissent.
