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Charlie Hebdo suspect caught trying to join ISIS Associated Press / August 7, 2016 A student who was cleared of being the ‘third man’ in the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France has now been arrested for allegedly trying to join Islamic State. Hamyd Mourad, 20, was originally thought to have been the getaway driver when two Al-Qaeda operatives massacred 12 people around the Paris offices of the satirical magazine in January 2015. There was a huge campaign aimed at releasing Hamyd, who was then a teenager, with classmates eventually providing an alibi then led to him being released without charge. But now, in what appears to be another huge failure by France’s security agencies, Mourad was intercepted in Turkey’ on July 28th as he tried to join the ISIS caliphate in Syria. Mourad, who remained on a terrorist watch list in France, was deported to Bulgaria, where he remains in a detention centre awaiting his return to France. Paris intelligence sources say material found in Mourad’s backpack, including a phone and laptop computer, made him a clear 'candidate for jihad’. Anti-terrorism prosecutors in Paris have opened a judicial investigation in order to issue a European arrest warrant for Mourad. Mourad was the brother-in-law of Cherif Kouachi, who carried out the murders at Charlie Hebdo with his brother Said Kouachi. The pair used AK47s to assassinate writers and cartoonists whom they accused of insulting the Prophet Mohammed, before they themselves were later gunned down by police commandos. In the hours after the attack, Hamyd’s name was released as a prime suspect and a manhunt was launched. Hamyd handed himself into a police station in his home town of Charleville-Mezieres, some 160 miles from Paris, and was interrogated for several days. The Charleville-Mezieres prosecutor said Mourad had been ‘reported missing’ by his family on July 25th. Many of the terrorists involved in lethal attacks in France and Belgium since the Charlie Hebdo atrocity were on watch lists. The two Isis affiliated teenagers who murdered a Roman Catholic priest in Normandy last month had both tried to join the ISIS caliphate via Turkey before being deported. Back in France, one was electronically tagged for a few hours a day, but they were otherwise free to move about.

Parent murders 3 children, wife, commits suicide CBS News / August 7, 2016 A family of five, including three small children, was found dead in their Berks County, Pennsylvania, home on Saturday along with what authorities described as a murder-suicide note. Police in Sinking Spring, just outside Reading, responded to the family's home on the unit block of Winding Brook Drive about 2 p.m. Saturday after a concerned relative asked them to check on the family. Inside the home, police found 40-year-old Mark Jason Short Sr., his wife, Megan L. Short, 33, and the couple's three children, 8-year-old Lianna, 5-year-old Mark Jr. and 2-year-old Willow, along with the family's dog, all dead of gunshot wounds. Mark Jason Short Sr. shot his wife, three children and dog to death after learning that his spouse planned to leave him after 16 years of abuse. Responding officers discovered a murder-suicide note in the home, as well as a handgun near one of the deceased adults. An investigation revealed there had been "domestic issues" between Mark and Megan Short. Articles in The Reading Eagle in 2014 and The New York Times in 2015 profiled the family after Willow, the youngest of their three children, underwent a heart transplant as an infant. The news stories detailed the family's difficulties obtaining anti-rejection medication for Willow. A blog post Megan Short wrote in April about her family's ordeal treating Willow's heart condition, "Learning to Heal: My Experience with PTSD" on the Philly at Heart blog,, sheds some light on the struggles they faced. .

Land Line (OOIDA) / August 5, 2016 Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes has been in law enforcement for two decades. In that time, she has witnessed many people go out of their way to help a crash victim. However, Montes said the efforts made by a truck driver to save another trucker’s life on Thursday morning in Apopka, Fla., were truly heroic. Jason Williams, a 31 year-old truck driver for Clowney Truck-N-Tractor in Sanford, Fla., rescued Michael Bridges from a burning dump truck after an accident on State Road 429. As of Friday morning, Bridges was at a hospital in critical but stable condition. “Every day, I see accidents out there on the highway,” Williams said. “I was thinking that if it were me, I’d want someone to come over and help me out. I wouldn’t want to burn alive in my truck.” Bridges, a 61-year-old truck driver from Orlando, Fla., was traveling northbound on 429 when his dump truck blew a tire. According to the report from the Florida Highway Patrol, Bridges then lost control of the vehicle and the dump truck swerved through the center grass median and into the southbound lanes before clipping a 2014 Honda. The dump truck continued off onto the west shoulder, overturned and then caught fire. Williams, who had been traveling southbound, saw the whole thing. “Mr. Williams jumped out of his truck, crossed all the lanes of traffic by himself and went down to try and help the victim,” Montes said. “He didn’t know if the victim was alive or not.” When Williams arrived at the vehicle, he eventually heard Bridges scream for help. Williams climbed up to the driver’s seat and attempted to pull Bridges out by his arms. The fire was already so hot, however, that Williams lost his grip as the skin began to slide down to Bridges’ wrists. Williams regrouped and then gave Bridges a bear hug to pull him out. They both landed in the grass. Williams suffered slight burns to his face and wrist. The dump truck eventually burned to the ground. “He gave me a big hug and thanked me,” Williams said. “Then another citizen came, and we helped him as we waited for the ambulance to come.” Williams said he received a call from Bridges’ wife and daughter on Thursday night, thanking him for his actions. Bridges is set to have several surgeries for his burns, Williams said the family members told him. While Williams has downplayed his actions, Montes said the truck driver is definitely worthy of appreciation. The Florida Highway Patrol plans to nominate Williams for a Carnegie Medal and is requesting that he be recognized by the governor. “Had Mr. Williams not gone inside that truck, Mr. Bridges couldn’t have gotten out and he would have burned alive,” Montes said. “He received some serious burns. He’s still in critical but stable condition at the hospital, but he’s alive today because of Mr. Williams. “This guy is truly a hero.” .

Ford Trucks Press Release / August 5, 2016 Ford Truck continues to expand its presence in North Africa’s heavy truck segment with the opening of a new 50,000 square meter flagship location in Casablanca. Also this year, Ford Trucks has opened an additional full-service location in Morocco, in the city of Marrakesh. We opened our latest facility in North Africa in support of our goal to become one of the top 3 heavy truck brands in the region Auto Hall, operator of the new Casablancan facility, has been Ford’s distributor in Morocco for over one hundred years. Its founder, Gabriel Veyre, was tasked by the Sultan in the early 1900’s to bring the automobile to Morocco. After extensive research, in 1911 he chose Ford. Auto Hall began selling Ford cars and trucks to the newly mobile Moroccans soon after, and due to growing demand, it incorporated Auto Hall in 1920. Morocco is the best-selling market for Ford in North Africa. "Morocco is Ford Trucks’ strategic starting point for investing in the North African market,” said Ford Trucks International Markets Director Emrah Duman. “We continue to invest with the goal of becoming one of the top 3 heavy truckmakers in North Africa. Opening modern heavy truck facilities in major Moroccan cities including Casablanca and Marrakesh is all a part of the framework of the global vision of Ford Trucks.” .

MAN Trucks & Bus Press Release / August 7, 2016 .

Yes Bob, it was built at the Blue Diamond plant in Escobedo. My thought is, both Navistar and Ford had applicable engines in their portfolios in 2006.........and they chose the wrong one. When Navistar announced on January 13, 2009 that the two companies would end their diesel engine supply agreement effective Dec. 31, 2009, that was the death knell for the slow selling LCF/CityStar. Again, there has always been a US market demand for low cab forwards. Ford and Navistar really botched a great opportunity from A to Z.

Kenworth Truck Company Press Release / August 5, 2016 When petroleum hauler Dixon Bros. in Newcastle, Wyoming, wanted to save weight, haul more payload, and enhance productivity, the new Kenworth 40-inch sleeper became the company’s choice for its Kenworth T880s. “We haul primarily gas and diesel to convenience stores, coal mines, and airports, and also transport propane to wholesalers. Most of our runs are 250 or fewer miles one-way, but we do go as out as far as 500 miles – and we do run into Canada,” said Jim Dixon, who founded Dixon Brothers 56 years ago. Dixon Bros. operates 120 power units, nearly all Kenworth models. They’re purchased through Motor Power Kenworth – Billings in Montana. Dixon said the Kenworth T880 with the 40-inch sleeper is now the configuration of choice for Dixon Bros. The trucks feature 525-hp engines and 13-speed automated transmissions. The higher horsepower engines are needed since combination weights can reach as high as 129,000 pounds in Montana and Idaho. When Kenworth launched the 40-inch sleeper last fall, Dixon was quick to recognize the potential benefits. “We run some Kenworth T880s with 52-inch sleepers. Before the 40-inch sleeper, we had to obtain special permitting to run in Canada because of our overall length. With the smaller sleeper we saved 12 inches to reach a 244-inch wheelbase, which allows us to run legal in Canada,” Dixon said. “We can also now mount the lift axle closer to the steer axle to optimize weight distribution. And with the complex bridge laws in the United States, we wanted the 40-inch sleeper so our spec would work in all areas and regions. Kenworth’s 40-inch sleeper is the right size for us, and also offers additional payload opportunities with a 260-pound weight savings compared to the 52-inch sleeper,” he said. Dixon said his drivers might use the sleeper once a week, “or it could be once a month – overall pretty minimal,” he said. “But, we need the 40-inch sleeper just for that, the occasional night’s sleep. It’s also a safeguard for bunk time in bad weather.” Kenworth provides a very versatile product lineup with three sleeper configurations for the T880 and four for the T680, according to Kurt Swihart, Kenworth marketing director. “Some customers need sleepers for everyday living – and we offer what we feel is the premier sleeper in the industry – our 76-inch high and mid-roof models,” said Swihart. “Other truck operators prefer a more compact sleeper for occasional or emergency bunk time. And some want a sleeper compartment that allows the shortest wheelbase possible to conform to overall length laws, while still offering sleeping space.” According to Swihart, each sleeper has its own niche – especially Kenworth’s newest sleeper, the 40-inch model. “This sleeper works great in several vocational industries – especially in certain tank and bulk hauling operations, flatbed, and for those running wreckers. For those who can configure a truck around a smaller 40-inch sleeper, the benefits can be significant, as Dixon Bros. has learned.” The 40-inch sleeper has a compact, yet comfortable sleeping environment and optimal storage. A 24-inch wide by 75-inch long, liftable bunk with 90-degree tilt offers easy access to under bunk storage. The sleeper provides more than 22 cubic feet of storage space to handle gear for occasional stays in the sleeper, and has storage shelves and a cell phone cubby. .

Volvo Trucks USA / August 4, 2016 .

Reuters / August 7, 2016 The German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen's second-largest shareholder, has no plans to sue the automaker for damages caused by its emissions-test cheating scandal, its prime minister, Stephan Weil, told reporters. Earlier this week, the state of Bavaria said it would sue VW, the first regional government in VW's home country to take legal action against the company. The states of Hesse and Baden Wuerttemberg sad they were considering joining Bavaria. VW's home state of Lower Saxony, which has a veto power on the automaker's supervisory board and holds a fifth of VW's voting rights, currently sees no legal basis to claim damages, Weil told Welt am Sonntag. "As a result there are no plans for a lawsuit," he said. Shares in VW plunged in the wake of the revelation of the cheating by U.S. regulators last September, hitting the state coffers and pension funds of German states. Bavaria's state pension fund for civil servants lost as much as 700,000 euros ($780,000).

Reuters / August 7, 2016 U.S. authorities have found three unapproved software programmes in 3.0 litre diesel engines made by Volkswagen's Audi unit, German weekly Bild am Sonntag reported. The software allowed the turbocharged direct injection (TDI) engines used in Audi's Q7, Porsche's Cayenne and VW's Touareg models to shut down emissions control systems after about 22 minutes. Official methods to measure emissions usually last about 20 minutes. Volkswagen has admitted it cheated on U.S. diesel emissions tests for years and said in June it would spend as much as $15.3 billion buying back vehicles from consumers and providing funding that could benefit makers of cleaner technologies. That settlement however would not address about 85,000 larger 3.0 litre Audi, Porsche and VW vehicles that emitted less pollution than 2.0 liter vehicles but were also fitted with illegal emissions-control equipment. Audi and Volkswagen admitted to U.S. authorities the presence of illegal emissions-control equipment in the 3.0 litre vehicles last year. Audi managers are scheduled to appear at a hearing in front of U.S. EPA on August 10.

Marco Rubio: women with Zika should not be allowed abortions The Guardian / August 7, 2016 Florida senator Marco Rubio has said women infected with the Zika virus should not be allowed to have abortions, even if their babies have microcephaly, the severe developmental disorder than can result from infection with the disease. “If I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of life,” Rubio said. Rubio, who has championed Zika funding bills in the Senate, also blamed Democrats for the failure to pass such federal aid. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) figures, Florida is the state second-worst affected by Zika, after New York, but is the only state to have infections caused by local mosquitoes. Most Zika cases in the US have been found in people who travelled to affected countries Rubio ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination and only recently decided to run for re-election rather than give up public life. During the presidential campaign, he said he was opposed to abortion in all instances, including in cases of rape or incest. “I understand a lot of people disagree with my view – but I believe that all human life is worthy of protection of our laws,” he said. “And when you present it in the context of Zika or any prenatal condition, it’s a difficult question and a hard one. But if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on the side of life.” CDC Director Tom Frieden has estimated that the lifetime cost of caring for a child born with microcephaly could reach $10 million. Florida Governor Rick Scott was asked about criticism he has received over a 40% cut to the state’s mosquito control budget in 2011. “What we’ve done is allocate the dollars better,” he said. “We reduced some funding originally but we dramatically increased the funding over the last five, six years I’ve been in office. We have a very good mosquito board. I’ve allocated $26.2 million of state funding.” As of Friday [despite the ramifications of Zika curtailing healthy normal reproduction in the United States], Florida officials had released only $1.9 million of those funds.

The National Interest / August 6, 2016 It is now plainly evident, incontrovertibly so, that the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government consider what was once known as “federal law” to now be merely “federal suggestions.” Recent events confirm this to be true. On August 1, the United States military launched airstrikes in Sirte, Libya against ISIS. According to Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook, the action was ordered by the president and came “at the request of Libya's Government of National Accord.” When asked what legal justification the President based the strikes on, Cook claimed it was the “2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force [AUMF] similar to our previous airstrikes in Libya.” Yet that authorization, also known as Public Law 107-40, explicitly limits the president to use force only against “those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.” Recognizing that ISIS didn’t exist in any form in 2001, U.S. Army Capt. Nathan Smith recently filed a lawsuit against the president for violating this law. Perhaps he should also have named the Senate and House of Representatives as accomplices. Congress routinely surrenders its constitutional obligations to the White House and blithely ignores its own laws. The Constitution, of course, ascribes to Congress the sole authority to declare wars. But more to the point, the 1973 War Powers Resolution restrains the administration’s ability to independently wage war. The law is explicit and irrefutable in its provisions. It requires that the “President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities.” Not “some” instances and not just for major combat operations. It specified “in every possible instance,” which includes sending U.S. military personnel to bomb targets in a foreign country. In his lawsuit, Smith factually notes that the president “did not get Congress's approval for his war against ISIS.” Administration lawyers predictably claimed the suit should be thrown out. “The President has determined that he has the authority to take military action against ISIL,” the motion to dismiss claimed. And in any case, the brief continued, the president’s action actually did have Congressional approval, claiming that “Congress has ratified that determination by appropriating billions of dollars in support of the military operation.” Apparently they did not read the entire War Powers Resolution, because it expressly forbids such rationalization. “Authority to introduce United States Armed Forces into hostilities . . . shall not be inferred” from any legislative action “including any provision contained in any appropriation Act, unless such provision specifically authorizes the introduction of United States Armed Forces into hostilities.” The 2001 AUMF does not authorize the President to engage the Islamic State anywhere and the 1973 Resolution specifically states the appropriation of funds does not constitute approval for the use of force. The net result is that the president ignores the law, and Congress refuses to hold him accountable to it. The lethargy of inaction has effectively amended the Constitution so that Congressional approval is no longer required for war and peace decisions. It now resides exclusively in the hands of a single individual: the president. What does this portend for the future? The Founders wisely designed a system of government which called for a separation of powers for a reason. Congress is a powerful and critical check on the executive, which has steadily consolidated more and more power in recent history. This should alarm all who cherish the Constitution. Regardless of who occupies the White House, are the American people prepared to confer the power over war and peace to any one person, freeing them from any restraint or accountability to act as they personally see fit? Our first president certainly didn’t think so. In his farewell address in 1796, George Washington warned against the tendency to subtly expand power in the presidency. He cautioned: The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism… If, in the opinion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates. But let there be no change by usurpation; for though this, in one instance, may be the instrument of good, it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. For the security of our nation and the preservation of our democratic government, we must demand that Congress fulfill its obligations and either approve or disapprove the use of force in the name of the United States. If the case for military force is strong, let the administration plainly put forth its justification. But the very least Congress could do for the American public is conduct vigorous and open debate. For the past several decades, U.S. administrations have been unwilling to seek congressional approval for the use of force. The House and the Senate have been unwilling to challenge the president. In 2013, however, popular opinion clearly constrained the White House from going to war with Syria. Voters must again flex their democratic muscle. Whether it be by voting only for those candidates who credibly promise to fulfill their constitutional obligations or again communicating its displeasure to Washington, the people have apparently become the last line of defense providing checks and balances on the government. It’s time our elected officials stop placing burdens on the backs of our citizens and started doing the job for which they were elected. Daniel L. Davis is a widely published analyst on national security and foreign policy. He retired as a Lt. Col. after twenty-one years in the U.S. Army, including four combat deployments, and is a Foreign Policy Fellow for Defense Priorities and a member of the Center for Defense Information's Military Advisory Board.

CNN / August 7, 2016 Australia is being "swamped by Asians", mosques need to have security cameras, halal-certified food is funding terrorism and "Communist China" shouldn't own Australia's electricity. These are the words of the woman who is now one of Australia's most powerful politicians, newly-elected senator Pauline Hanson. Hanson was confirmed elected to the Australian Senate last week, along with three other members of her One Nation party, according to the Australian Electoral Commission. The surprise result makes hers the fourth largest party in the Senate, meaning the government will need her support to pass all legislation, unless they turn to the left-wing Labor and Greens parties. With 78 overall in the Australian Senate, and 39 required to pass or block legislation, Hanson's four One Nation senators can join with the 35 Opposition and Green party members to stop any legislation. Among the policies of Pauline Hanson's One Nation party are surveillance cameras in mosques, banning the burqa, stopping Muslim immigration to Australia and holding a national inquiry into Islam. . . .

For a time, I owned the very last highway coach manufactured by Kenworth, the XW-1. It was built in October, 1948 which was coincidentally the same month and year that North Coast Transportation was sold to Greyhound and became North Coast Greyhound, then wrapped into Northwest Greyhound which consisted of several small regional lines that the hound was buying up. The XW-1 was a demo that had some features not found on the 25 previous W-1 coaches that Kenworth turned out. KW was unsuccessful in getting GHL interested in purchasing more W-1's although they did operate the XW-1 (NWGHL unit no. Y1001) for several years on the old North Coast routes, primarily up and down Hwy. 99 between Vancouver BC and Portland. The W-1's were only sold to North Coast and Intermountain Transportation of Anaconda, MT. They were powered by Hall Scott 190's which were 779 cubic inch 240 hp "pancake" gas engines, with either a 4 or 5 speed Spicer. The XW-1 featured torsion bar suspension and 37 reclining seats with underfloor and trunk baggage bays. The big Hall Scott, although an excellent long life engine only produced around 3-4 mpg and just could not compete with the General Motors Diesel 6-71 which was taking over the industry by that time. With no further orders, Kenworth dropped out of the highway coach market. The lucrative school bus division was transferred to Pacific Car and Foundry (the Kenworth Pacific) and a few years later sold off to Gillig. The excellent picture that you posted is of a deck and a half, or "decker" as North Coast referred to them. During the '30's Kenworth quite often relied on out of house body builders to furnish the body that went on the KW chassis. The body on the bus pictured was built by either Heiser or TriCoach and the bus had a Hall Scott 180. Most of the NCL coaches, including the Kenworth W-1's had the distinctive round NCL light on the upper front. Kenworth produced buses from 1922 to 1948 (not counting the above mentioned school bus production). http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/index.php?topic=22124.0

The Italian border town of Ventimiglia where hundreds of unwanted (and unvetted) Sudanese, Eritrean and Ethiopian economic migrants have been trying to cross into France from Italy. . . Uninvited, unwanted and out of control.

Immigration into the United States reached its peak between 1880 and 1920. Our policies on immigration, our thought process, can not today be the same as before. That was then..........this is now. Our situation today is 100 percent unlike the United States of that time some 100 years ago. Our house is full. Our life support functions are already working far over their designed capacity. Speaking of "these" alleged refugees, who in reality are economic migrants alike the ones that have Europe in chaos, their Islamic Law (Sharia) -based religion, literally, clashes with western culture and values.

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German attackers directed by ISIS contacts in Saudi Arabia The Financial Times / August 7, 2016 The two refugees who launched terror attacks in Germany last month were in contact with suspected members of the militant group ISIS, including one with a Saudi Arabia phone number. Records of internet communication now in the hands of German investigators show both men, the Afghan teenager Riaz Khan Ahmadzai, and Mohammed Daleel, a 27-year-old Syrian, were advised and directed by ISIS, which provided tips on ensuring the maximum number of casualties. Ahmadzai was shot dead by police after going on the rampage with an axe and a knife near the Bavarian town of Würzburg on July 18, wounding five people, while Daleel died after blowing himself up outside a wine bar in Ansbach, also in Bavaria, six days later, injuring 15 people. Germany is still reeling from the attacks, the first committed by Muslim refugees who were part of the big wave of migrants that has entered the country over the past few years. They have become a problem for Angela Merkel, Germany's long-serving chancellor, whose popularity has taken a big knock in the wake of the attacks. A poll published by ARD-Deutschlandtrend on Thursday showed her approval rating dropped 12 percentage points to 47 per cent this month. Merkel insists she will not deviate from her open-door refugee policy, despite repeated calls for a rethink from the CSU, sister party to her CDU. The ARD poll showed that about two-thirds of Germans are unsatisfied with the policy. German media — including news magazine Der Spiegel and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung — said Ahmadzai had been in contact with an ISIS member shortly before he launched his attack aboard a train near Würzburg. He had suggested the teenager drive a car into a crowd, much like Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, the 31-year-old Tunisian who had killed 85 people in Nice four days earlier. But the teenager said he could not drive. His contact allegedly replied: "You should learn. The damage would be a lot greater". Instead, Ahmadzai said he would board a train and attack the first passengers he saw. The Sueddeutsche said Daleel sent a picture of the site of the open air concert in Ansbach that he planned to attack to his Isis contact, who reportedly lives in Saudi Arabia, saying: "This area will be full of people." The contact replied: "Kill them all." Sueddeutsche quoted from an analysis of the two attacks by the Bundeskriminalamt, Germany's Federal Criminal Office, which said they showed jihadi social networks were "not only capable of motivating volunteers through the use of general propaganda, but also of actually advising and instructing them". The paper said Ahmadzai was in touch with his ISIS contact just before he launched his axe-and-knife attack, saying he was waiting for the train. The contact promised he would send a video the teenager had filmed of himself brandishing a knife and pledging to kill "infidels" to the "centre", and that Isis would claim responsibility for the attack. Ahmadzai had filmed footage a few days earlier in his foster home in the small Bavarian town of Ochsenfurt. Meanwhile, Spiegel reported that investigators believe Daleel's death may have been an accident. He reportedly intended to leave his rucksack, packed with explosives, in a crowd of people at the music festival and detonate it remotely. Shortly before the bomb exploded, his handler had told him to film the blast and its aftermath and send the footage to Isis. But according to Spiegel the bomb exploded prematurely, killing Daleel and injuring 15 people. The magazine said Daleel clearly intended to carry out further attacks, since investigators found more bomb-making material in his flat. Also, in the video message claiming responsibility for Ansbach he appeared with his face covered.

Reuters / August 7, 2016 A machete-wielding radical Islamist man yelling “Allahu Akbar!” (God is Great) injured two female police officers before being shot outside the main police station in the southern Belgian city of Charleroi on Saturday. One of the female officers suffered significant "wounds to the face". The attacker, who was shot by a third officer, subsequently died of his wounds. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Prime Minister Charles Michel condemned the attack, while Interior Minister Jan Jambon called it cowardly. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Web comments: All this will continue until European and U.S. policies and methods change. The radicals, IS, ISIS, OR WHOEVER, are not more organized or dedicated than World War Two Nazi led Wermacht soldiers or those of the Imperial Japanese military. Muslim radicals are not better equipped, not more willing to die, and not more ruthless. Allied policy to defeat the Axis powers was to kill so many of their combatants and supporters that their war fighting ability simply ceased to exist. That policy did not wait for the enemy to DO anything but simply to identify with and support Axis goals. It is war....again. --------------------- A barbarian, reared in a culture from another Century, perhaps 16th Century, is unable to integrate into 21st Century culture. He is wielding a sword injuring 2 unfortunate female police officers. Some will say this is no clash of cultures. They are entitled to their opinion. But for me, this is a primitive, from a primitive religion teaching that unbelievers are pigs to be slaughtered. So he sets about trying to slaughter them ! The Turks raged against the Germans in the 16th Century. Islam is still trying to rule the world by the sword. --------------------- The Western Europeans have forsaken their culture, heritage and way of life by refusing to secure their borders. They will never again know the carefree security they once enjoyed in no small part due to the sacrifice of American lives and treasure. Their haughty and foolish leaders were dismissive of the hard lessons their ancestors learned at Tours, Lepanto, Malta, the Reconquesta, Constantinople, Vienna and countless other bloody encounters. Islamic culture is simply not compatible with the values, practices and institutions of the West. The very definition pf peace is different. They should also come to understand that it is not likely that Americans will again make major sacrifices to ensure for them what they themselves are not willing to defend. There are quite enough American military cemeteries in Europe. --------------------- I think Aesop said it best all those centuries ago: "A farmer picked up a viper that was half-dead from the cold. When the farmer had warmed the viper, the viper uncoiled and grabbed hold of the man's hand and with a fatal bite, he killed the man who had wanted to save him. As he was dying, the man spoke some words that are well worth remembering: 'Well, I got what I deserve for having shown kindness to a scoundrel!" --------------------- Many people around the world have grievances with this country [the U.S.], therefore, they have grievances with the American people, we the people. When we do need immigration, we should be looking for immigrants that do not have a grievance. Importing immigrants with grievances is only destroying our country. This is common sense. If one has a grievance with this country, stay where you are at. Being an American means…being an American, means assimilating and respecting our institutions including the legal system. If one wants a special legal system of another country, then stay put. This failed experiment of trying to settle world grievances through immigration is a losing proposition. --------------------- If people weren't being killed and hurt it would be hilarious. the authorities are dumbfounded. if only they could figure what ties all of these attacks together. if we only had some clue as to what it is about all of these people that makes them attack seemingly random people on the street without provocation. it is almost as if they are being directed to do it by some creed or organized belief system... but that would be criminal. any belief system that espoused such barbarism and violence surely would be considered a hate group and banned from society. at the highest levels of government and law enforcement the best and brightest are scratching their heads while furiously pacing back and forth desperately trying to make the connection. what could it be? what could possibly be driving these people to these outrageous acts of violence? we may never know. shrugs shoulders. sighs. --------------------- That's why a new PewCenter study of the migrants streaming into Europe is so important — because it transports us beyond the daily drumbeat of sensational headlines to gaze upon the alarming demographic reality confronting the continent, and to extrapolate its likely political end point. The study is filled with illuminating data — on the national origin of the migrants (the number of asylum seekers coming from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq more than quadrupled between 2013 and 2015); on the leading destinations of asylum seekers (Germany ranks first); on public attitudes toward the EU's asylum policies (overwhelmingly negative). But the most ominous numbers can be found in a chart titled, "Young men make up 42 percent of all of Europe's asylum seekers in 2015." That's right: 42 percent of first-time asylum seekers in 2015 were men aged 18 to 34. And the percentage of asylum seekers who were women in that age cohort? Eleven percent. That imbalance — much larger in some countries — points to a future in which considerable numbers of young men will find it extremely difficult to find spouses. And that's a serious problem. As a leading expert on the topic put it a few months ago in an important articlefor Politico: Societies with extremely skewed sex ratios are more unstable even without jihadi ideologues in their midst. Numerous empirical studies have shown that sex ratios correlate significantly with violence and property crime — the higher the sex ratio, the worse the crime rate. "Even without jihadi ideologues in their midst." When such ideologues are around, offering those unmarried, sexually frustrated, economically and culturally alienated young men the prospect of lashing out in vengeance at the world around them in acts of spectacular violence that supposedly contribute to a noble cause — well, let's just say it's unlikely to end well. .

Both Ford and International had a important place in their portfolios for a solid low-cab-forward (LCF), and still do ! I was rather shocked when they launched the Ford LCF and International CF/CityStar with that cramped Mazda "Titan" cabin. First you had that small, cramped cab, then you had the noisy VT275 4.5-liter Navistar V-6 diesel, and finally you had a dealer body that didn't know how to sell such an important new addition to their line-up. Why couldn't Ford have put their heart into it and fund a cutting edge new LCF cab........with American characteristics ? Ford sold the LCF from 2006 to 2009*. The inline 5-cylinder Ford 3.2L Duratorq TDCi was available from 2006 rated at 200hp and 350 lb-ft, and Ford should have used it (Today in the 2017 US market Transit, the 3.2L is still rated at 350 lb-ft ). Ford has also built it's 3.0L "Lion" V-6 diesel rated at 237, 251 and 271hp, and 330, 370 and 440 lb-ft. The F-150 will (finally) be offered with a version of that. * The International CF/CityStar was launched earlier, sold from 2004 thru 2009.

The St. Louis "UFO" allegedly was a drone. That one solved, you can't help but think of the Area 51 and other alleged "UFO" sighting when you read this: In the early 2000s, Iranian F-14 crews reported seeing increasingly sophisticated and bizarre drones. The CIA’s intelligence drones displayed astonishing hypersonic space-capable flight characteristics, including an ability to fly outside the atmosphere, attain a maximum cruise speed of Mach 10 and a minimum speed of zero, with the ability to hover over the target. And, the drones used powerful [electronic countermeasures] that could jam enemy radars using very high levels of magnetic energy. In November 2004, one F-14 crew intercepted a suspected CIA drone. As the aviators tried to lock onto the drone with their Tomcat’s AWG-9 radar, they “saw that the radar scope was disrupted. The drone lit its green afterburner and escaped. http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/topic/40915-the-iran-deal-whos-kidding-who/?page=2 Ask any Army Air Corps veteran about the so-called "Foo Fighters" they witnessed over Europe. They're not UFO fanatics, rather, just veterans recounting what they really saw. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foo_fighter) Your country, most likely, as two sets of weapons, the conventional ones which you see (for the most part), for the conventional actions of today........and the ones you don't see, possibly to fight off unfriendly "visitors". It's illogical to assume for one moment that we're alone. It is logical to assume, from our experience here, that the galaxy would have as many unfriendlies and it does friendlys. Why keep our highest tech and alien encounters a secret? Because it would all be too much for the masses to digest (you imagine the panic), and of course you never reveal your ace card.

Twin girls die after being left in hot car; drunk father charged with manslaughter Associated Press / August 5, 2016 A father was charged with manslaughter Friday in the deaths of his 15-month-old twin girls, who were left in a hot car in their west Georgia town. Witnesses heard screams and saw Asa North running from the parking lot in front of his home, carrying the toddlers to an inflatable kiddie pool out back. He and his neighbors tried to revive them with water and ice packs, but they were too far gone. Outside temperatures were in the 90s shortly before police were called at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday. North, 24, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two counts of reckless conduct. "I think possibly alcohol was a factor in some of his decisions that day, and maybe played a factor in this," said Carrollton police Capt. Chris Dobbs, who identified the girls as Ariel North and Alaynah North. A man with North had been drinking heavily, and "we believe the father had been drinking that day also," Dobbs said. Police tested North's blood-alcohol level and were awaiting results from a lab, he said. The girl's mother was at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta at the time, visiting her sister, who had been in a serious car crash Wednesday, Dobbs said. "I guess he forgot about the kids and left them in the car," said Donnie Holland, the twins' uncle. "He should have took care of them kids better than that, what he did. He should have never been in the house asleep. He should have got the kids out of the car the time he got out of the car, you know." It wasn't immediately clear who discovered that the twins were unresponsive in their child seats in the back of the SUV. "The neighbors heard some screaming — I guess coming from the father — and saw him running around back with the two children," Dobbs said. Arriving officers performed CPR after finding people trying to cool the girls off in the baby pool. "One of the neighbors got some ice packs out of the freezer and carried it out there," Dobbs said. The twins were pronounced dead at a hospital. Autopsies were being done at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab. The twins died as prosecutors in another metro Atlanta county prepare for the murder trial of Justin Ross Harris, 35, who is accused of intentionally leaving his toddler son to die in a hot SUV for about seven hours in 2014. Harris' trial was moved to the coastal Georgia city of Brunswick after a judge agreed with defense lawyers that an impartial jury could not be found in the Atlanta area. The trial is expected to begin in September. .

More like Ford Australia-designed global Ford Ranger is (finally) coming to the North American market, the only global region that Ford has excluded it from. There are 2 diesel options, the 2.2L 4-cylinder and the 3.2L 5-cylinder. Will both be offered in the US market? While the 3.2L is a blast, I can assure all that the 2.2L has plenty of power to satisfy most people's expectations, with of course the better fuel economy. Hopefully its SUV stablemate, the Everest, will join it. I hope they don't rebadge it as Bronco. The Bronco is a signature Ford product, but the Everest is not a Bronco. The appearance is all wrong, for being a Bronco. About Iveco, that was years ago. Any non-compete clause has expired, and that would have only pertained to the (western) European market. I predict the new-for-2016 Avon Lake F-650/750 will retain the steel Super-Duty cab until the next refresh. And since it's a low-volume, low-priority product, that could be 5 years down the road.