Organized Crime Brings Italy's Economy To Its Knees By Infiltrating Each Business And Public Body In The South... And Taking A Cut From Every Deal

John Hall at the British newspaper the Daily Mail offers a piece on how organized crime has hurt the Italian economy by infiltrating businesses.   

The struggling economy and 'permanent state of underdevelopment' in southern Italy is allowing violent mafia groups to flourish, as locals struggle with spiraling debt and youth unemployment.

Businesses in Sicily, Campania and Calabria face tough choices about whether to pay protection money to crime lords, who can easily drive them out of business.

While the threat of violence remains, it is increasingly the thought of intimidated would-be customers staying away from companies that refuse to pay 'tribute' to local mafia bosses that keeps many southern Italian small business owners up at night.

Add to this mix a drastic lack of jobs for young men and the ever growing riches associated with organised crime - particularly through the drug trade - and Italy once again finds itself faced with an uphill struggle in the battle to degrade and destroy the mafia.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3246259/The-Mafia-mobsters-bring-Italy-s-economy-knees-infiltrating-business-public-body-south-taking-cut-deal.html

Howie Carr: Whitey Bulger Wanted Me Dead

Howie Carr, a Boston Herald columnist, broadcaster and author of the crime novel Killers, offers a piece at the Daily Beast on why Boston mob boss wanted Whitey Bulger wanted him dead.

BOSTON – Did Kevin Weeks and his gangland boss Whitey Bulger want to murder me? Undoubtedly.

Did they ever concoct an actual scheme to accomplish their goal, either by blowing me up with military-grade explosives or by shooting me from a cemetery across the street from my home?

I’m not so sure about that.

I can’t say that I’m displeased that Weeks has put me back in the news, especially with the new Bulger biopic Black Mass opening wide. Weeks’ story about the 40 pounds of C-4 explosives that the gang obtained from corrupt FBI agents is great publicity for my new novel about the Boston underworld, Killers, which is available on Amazon and everywhere else.

Every knock a boost, as they say. There are worse things than being called a “vicious bastard” by a vicious bastard. I think I’ll use it as a blurb for the paperback edition.

Of course Weeks and Whitey knew where I lived—I was a neighbor of one of Weeks’ brothers. And Whitey did hate me. I had committed an offense he considered punishable by death. I had embarrassed his younger brother, the state Senate president, William M. Bulger. And I had done so in the worst possible way, by repeatedly linking the imperious pol to his serial-killing, cocaine-dealing gangster sibling.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/23/whitey-bulger-wanted-me-dead.html

Obama's Dangerous Drive to Make US Combat Troops Co-Ed

I find it difficult to respect a Commander-in-Chief who not once, but twice, referred to a Navy Corpsman as a "corpse-man." Did Obama think the decorated sailor was a mortician?

And I resent the Obama administration's attempts to promote social change via the U.S. military.

Betsy McCaughey offers a piece at the New York Post on the administration's efforts to make American combat troops co-ed.

President Obama is already weakening our military by shedding troops, weapons and ships. But even these cuts aren’t as dangerous as his misguided crusade for a gender-blind military.

“Valor has no gender,” Obama naively announced. True, but strength, speed and sharpshooting accuracy are gender-specific. A new 9-month, $36 million study conducted by the Marine Corps shows that the overwhelming majority of women Marines underperform on tasks such as running while wearing 100 pounds of gear, or carrying a wounded buddy to safety, or firing an M4 rifle to stop the enemy’s grenade.

These politically incorrect facts should make the Obama administration reconsider zealously opening all combat jobs to women.

Don’t get me wrong. Women already are making valuable contributions, and rising through the ranks. More than 90 percent of military roles are open to them. But Obama’s order would require elite combat units to include women, even though it means lowering standards.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus brushes off the new research and insists all combat units should be co-ed. He claims “a more diverse force is a stronger force.”

In general, that’s true. Adding women to the mix enhances strategic thinking, whether it’s in business or in the military. But the Obama administration’s extreme application of gender diversity will cost soldiers their lives.

The research shows that co-ed combat units move slower, suffer more injuries and fire weapons less accurately than all-male units. Women shooting M4 rifles hit the target 28 percent of the time, compared with 44 percent for men. “When negotiating the wall obstacle, male Marines threw their packs to the top of the wall, whereas female Marines required regular assistance in getting their packs to the top.” OK in training, but not in war.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2015/09/22/obamas-dangerous-drive-to-make-us-combat-troops-co-ed/

50th Anniversary of 'The Unmaking Of A Mayor': A Look Back At Bill Buckley's Joyous NY Mayoral Run

When William F. Buckley Jr was running for mayor of New York City in 1965, he was asked what he would do if he won the election, and Buckley famously responded, "Demand a recount."

Seth Lipsky at the New York Post looks back at Buckley's book on the mayoral election, The Unmaking of a Mayor.

What a nifty coincidence, if that’s what it is. Just as Mayor de Blasio has put New York City into a downward dive on the road to the 1970s, New Yorkers are about to get a 50th anniversary edition of William F. Buckley Jr.’s book about running for mayor.

Buckley’s 1965 mayoral campaign failed. He won but 13 percent of the vote in the election that handed up John Vliet Lindsay as the 103rd mayor. But the campaign revitalized the conservative movement in New York — and America.

That’s a fact to savor at a juncture when, for the first time in a generation, the city is suffering under an all-Democratic city government. As things go downhill from the Giuliani-Bloomberg years, there is no one to blame but the party of Bill de Blasio and Melissa Mark-Viverito.

This is more dire than 1965. Back then, the Republicans still held, via Nelson Rockefeller, the governorship. Robert F. Wagner Jr.’s mayoralty was ending; the Democrats nominated Abe Beame.

The GOP chose as liberal a Republican as there was.

Lindsay was so liberal that when asked to explain his vote in Congress against legislation to combat pornography and Communism, he famously replied that they were major industries in his district. Lindsay was way to the left of the national Republican Party and Buckley way to the right of the state’s GOP.

Buckley ran on the ticket of the newly formed Conservative Party. “Why didn’t you run in the Republican Primary,” he later asked himself in a mock-interview that is included in the memoir, which is called “The Unmaking of a Mayor.”

“Why didn’t Martin Luther King run for Governor of Alabama?” is the quip with which he answered his own question. The memoir is full of the jaunty arguments and ripostes that made the founding editor of National Review such a celebrated figure.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://nypost.com/2015/09/22/lessons-for-de-blasios-new-york-from-bill-buckleys-joyous-mayoral-run/

Defense Department Confirms Deaths Of ISIL Leader, Al-Qaida Operative

Cheryl Pellerin at the DoD News offers the below piece:

WASHINGTON September 22, 2015 — Recent coalition airstrikes have killed a senior leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and an al-Qaida explosives expert, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said today.

Cook confirmed the Sept. 10 death of senior ISIL leader Abu Bakr al Turkmani and the July 5 death of French national David Drugeon, an al-Qaida operative and explosives expert.

The press secretary said the coalition airstrike that killed Turkmani near Tal Afar, Iraq, “will help disrupt ISIL operations in the Tal Afar area and shows that their leadership is not beyond the coalition's reach.”

Disrupting ISIL

Turkmani, an ISIL administrative amir, was part of al-Qaida in Iraq before joining ISIL and was a close associate of many ISIL senior leaders in Iraq, Cook said. Drugeon, killed by a coalition airstrike near Aleppo, Syria, belonged to a network of veteran al-Qaida operatives sometimes called the Khorasan group, who are plotting attacks against the United States, its allies and partners, Cook told reporters.

“As an explosives expert, he trained other extremists in Syria and sought to plan external attacks against Western targets,” the press secretary said.

The action, he added, will degrade and destroy ongoing al-Qaida external operations against the United States, its allies and partners.

Russian Actions

Cook also addressed the status of Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s Sept. 18 conversation with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and the department’s policy on suspicions of sexual abuse committed by Afghans against children.

At the Russians’ request, the press secretary said, Carter spoke with Shoigu to discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign. Cook said the secretary agreed to continue the dialogue if Russian actions focus on countering ISIL and advancing a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Syria.

Actions not in line with those goals “will not be seen or treated as constructive,” Cook added.

Carter continues to consult with the rest of the national security team on next steps in the dialogue, but no calls or meetings have been scheduled, the press secretary said.

Campbell Statement

Cook also directed attention to a statement received today from Army Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of NATO’s Resolute Support mission and of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, underscoring the Defense Department’s policy on the handling of suspicions of sexual abuse committed by Afghans against children.

“Campbell makes clear in that statement that he expects all personnel to treat others with respect and dignity,” Cook said, “and that he further expects that any suspicions of sexual abuse would be immediately reported to the chain of command [no matter] who the alleged perpetrators or victims are.”

Campbell said the chain of command will take appropriate action under applicable laws and DoD and military regulations, Cook added.

If the abuse involves Afghans, Campbell said that he will receive a report through operations channels and the report will be copied to the staff judge advocate so the Afghan government can be advised and asked to take action, the press secretary said.

Appropriate Action

Cook said the Defense Department considers the reports of sexual abuse abhorrent, and that DoD leaders are deeply concerned about them.

“This form of sexual exploitation of children is a violation of Afghanistan's laws and international obligations,” Cook said. “There is no policy in place that directs any U.S. military or government personnel overseas to ignore human rights abuses.”

Cook said the department closely monitors such atrocities and continually stands up for those who have suffered exploitation and denial of basic human freedoms.

“Our annual Trafficking in Persons Report and our human rights report on Afghanistan have noted this form of child sexual abuse, and training of Afghan law enforcement has focused on human rights in order to improve reporting and accountability,” he added.

The department continues to urge the Afghan government to strengthen enforcement of its laws, Cook said.

Freedom's Safest Place: NRA Produces Inspiring Videos Featuring Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clark And Marine Lt Col Oliver North

The website americas1stfreedom.org offers a piece about the National Rifle Association's (NRA) series of inspiring videos that feature Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke (seen in the above photo), former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell and Marine Lt Col Oliver North.

When it comes to American warriors, few are more front-and-center than veteran Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, Lt Col Oliver North and Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke. In the new “Freedom’s Safest Place” videos, Luttrell, North and Clarke weigh in on aspects of freedom they consider critical right now.

....“The young Americans who raised their hands to fight radical Islamic terror deserve a commander-in-chief as courageous as they are,” North says. “They volunteered to fight an enemy you won’t name … and many gave their limbs and lives to win ground you surrendered. No previous generation of American soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen or Marines have been sent into harm’s way by political leaders so unwilling to define what matters most: victory!”

North concludes by detailing the kind of president Americans must elect next November.

“These are my heroes, willing to fight and die for my freedom,” he says. “And I demand a commander-in-chief worthy of such sacrifice. I’m the National Rifle Association of America. And I’m freedom’s safest place.”

... Sheriff Clarke, a strong Second Amendment advocate, addresses those Americans who have become overly critical of—even antagonistic toward—our nation’s law-enforcement personnel in a spot titled “My Honor.”  

“You critics don’t define our honor,” Clarke says. “You try to shame us for doing our job. You teach children to fear us, crowds to attack us and good people to doubt us. But we will never back down from our sworn duty to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.”

Clarke adds that it is the American law-enforcement officer who wakes up every day, straps on a gun and goes into the mean streets to protect and serve all citizens.

“We are Americans, and we are the American police officer,” he says. “We stand with the National Rifle Association of America, and the NRA stands with us. Together, we’re freedom’s safest place.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

http://www.americas1stfreedom.org/articles/2015/9/23/warriorwire-marcus-luttrell-ltcol-oliver-north-and-milwaukee-county-sheriff-david-clarke/

You can watch the Luttrell, North, Clarke and other videos via the below link:

https://www.nranews.com/series/freedoms-safest-place?utm_source=Channel_Feature&utm_medium=Outbound_link&utm_content=nranews_com_series_freedoms-safest-place-2015-09-22&utm_campaign=FSP

Pope Francis Appeases The Castros In Repressive Cuba

The Washington Post editorial board criticizes Pope Francis for his lack of criticism of the Castro dictatorial regime during his trip to Communist Cuba.

In his visit to the United States beginning Tuesday, Pope Francis will meet not just President Obama and Congress but also those marginalized by our society: homeless people, immigrants, refugees and even the inmates of a jail. He’s expected to raise topics that many Americans will find challenging, such as his harsh critique of capitalism. His supporters say it’s all part of the role the pope has embraced as an advocate for the powerless, one that has earned him admiration from both Catholics and some outside the church.

How, then, to explain Pope Francis’s behavior in Cuba? The pope is spending four days in a country whose Communist dictatorship has remained unrelenting in its repression of free speech, political dissent and other human rights despite a warming of relations with the Vatican and the United States. Yet by the end of his third day, the pope had said or done absolutely nothing that might discomfit his official hosts.

Pope Francis met with 89-year-old Fidel Castro, who holds no office in Cuba, but not with any members of the dissident community — in or outside of prison. According to the Web site 14ymedio.com, two opposition activists were invited to greet the pope at Havana’s cathedral Sunday but were arrested on the way. Dozens of other dissidents were detained when they attempted to attend an open air Mass. They needn’t have bothered: The pope said nothing in his homily about their cause, or even political freedom more generally. Those hunting for a message had to settle for a cryptic declaration that“service is never ideological.”

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/deferring-to-the-castros/2015/09/21/30001198-6075-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_headlines