'Firearms Prohibited' at Terrorized Theater

This article first appeared at Show of Force, used by permission.

By now you have, no doubt, heard about the tragic shooting spree that occurred in Aurora, Colorado. If not, you can see a video of one of the original news report here...

CBS News

When I heard about the tragedy, one of my first thoughts was to wonder how this could have happened in Colorado, which is a fairly gun-friendly state, where many citizens carry firearms regularly. I was surprised that the shooter was able to kill and wound so many people without anyone in the theater returning fire and killing the gunman.

My question was answered when I learned about the policy of Cinemark Holdings Inc. who own the Century 16 theater where this tragedy took place. Although it is not stated on their website, the company prohibits legally carried firearms in their theaters, unless you are a law-enforcement officer.

Which means, of course, that any citizen in that theater who did legally own a firearm, was barred from attending the show with their weapon. Any citizen in that theater who might have engaged the threat, lacked the necessary tool to do so.

There have been complaints in the past to Cinemark about their weapons policy. You can search the web to find them, but here is an example shared at DefensiveCarry.com and another at OpernCarry.org

To any sensible person, this tragedy is yet another example about the ineffectiveness of gun-control policies. Those who institute such policies endanger the lives of free and law-abiding citizens of this country.

When Cinemark instituted a ban on firearms, they also took on a responsibility to effectively enforce that ban. They failed to do so, and now at least 14 people are dead as a result. Not to mention all of the wounded, injured, and psychologically traumatized patrons who will be effected by this horrific event for the rest of their lives.

I hope that Cinemark is sued into bankruptcy for their critical error. I also hope that other companies are put on notice by this, that our government eases restrictions on the Constitution, and that citizens stand up to demand that our right to bear arms not be infringed.






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Regime Change in Ethiopia?

If recent reports are to be believed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia may not be in power much longer. Seen by many as a tyrant and brutal dictator, despised even in his own hometown, Meles Zenawi has ruled over the troubled African nation since 1991.

In May the Prime Minister attended the G8 Food Security Symposium in Washington DC, where his speech was interrupted by a journalist-activist demanding "freedom." Some have said that it might have been political mistake for US President Barack Obama to invite the unpopular leader to the symposium, noting that there are a half-million Ethiopians who live in Virginia, an important swing state for the upcoming Presidential election.

Many political leaders face hecklers, but this report seems to substantiate the notion that the Prime Minister's grip on power is slipping fast, and that he is now a de facto puppet of the CIA who has turned over control of his ministries to them, and technocrats of the US State Department. Ethiopia has the largest, most advanced military in Africa, and is a critical asset to US regional interests at the cost of $7-billion annually in aid. With his power-bases all but evaporated and his popularity at home nearly non-existent, Zenawi has maintained his grip on power by purging any viable candidates, particularly from the military, who would be viable candidates to succeed him. This also puts the CIA in the difficult position of not having a backup plan should the dictator become no longer viable whatsoever. Or so the CIA might make it appear anyway.

September 2011

What appears to be true at this point, is that the 57-year old is gravely ill. The latest reports indicate that he is in critical condition at a hospital in Brussels, Belgium. This is denied by his government, who say the Prime Minister is only mildly ill and will be back in the public eye in days.

June 2012

These are not the first rumors of ill health either. About a month after his US visit with Barack Obama, Zenawi attended the annual G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, where he appeared to not be well. Some correspondents also report that it was his last public appearance. Since then he has missed an important meeting of the African Union, in Addis Ababa. A government press conference scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.

Rumors range from a stomach ailment, to treatment for cancer in his bloodstream, to a brain tumor. Some have suggested a CIA conspiracy to poison him, in order to remove him efficiently and install a new proxy without much turmoil. Others speculate that if Zenawi dies, the US will lose a critical ally in the region, and even that a new civil-war in Ethiopia might ensue.

With so much chaos in neighboring Egypt and Libya, it is hard to imagine that if Zenawi were to fall from power now, there would not be tumultuous repercussions for the region.

Additional reports:

Huffingtonpost.com

Addis Voice 

Ethiopiantimes

Ethiopia Forums



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Edward Mordrake Was Born With Two Faces

Edward Mordrake was a young man who lived in the 18th Century. He was heir to an English peerage.

Edward was born with a second face on the back of his head. The face could laugh and cry, but did not eat, and would only speak in whispers to Edward at night, making satanic and demonic statements to him. Edward begged doctors to have his "devil twin" removed, but none would attempt the surgery. The tale of his life and death are not easily confirmed because of poor record-keeping and conflicting accounts of his apparent suicide at age 23.

Craniopagus parasiticus



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Cops Deny Negligence After Killing Innocent Man in His Home

Lake County, Florida - In the early morning hours of July 15, police were in hot pursuit of attempted murder suspect Jonathan Brown, who had allegedly tried to hit someone in the head with a cinder block. When they spotted the suspect's motorcycle parked in front of an apartment, Sheriff's deputies assumed that the suspect was inside. At 1:30 a.m. they pounded on the door, but did not identify themselves as police "for safety reasons" and "out of fear that the suspect would run."

Tenant Andrew Scott, 26, opened the door armed with a pistol in hand, and was shot dead by police. His girlfriend was also in the apartment at the time of the shooting.

Police did not realize that they had killed the wrong man until they finally caught up with their actual suspect, hours later, in a nearby building.

Some media outlets disgracefully chose to focus their reports on the irrelevant fact that some drug paraphernalia was discovered in the shooting victim's apartment, and that he had been convicted of non-violent drug offenses in the past. 

"The bottom line is, you point a gun at a deputy sheriff or police office, you're going to get shot." ~ Lt. John Herrell

But as already admitted by the shooters, they had not identified themselves.  It is also not known if the victim actually pointed the gun at them, as they claim.




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Pictorial Essay: Myth vs. Reality of Living on Welfare

This piece was originally presented by No Joke Broke, used by permission. 

"People on welfare are lazy." 

Employment has been a requirement for welfare assistance since 1996. Sadly, there are simply not enough jobs to go around, while hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers lucky enough to have jobs are still forced to get foodstamps and other assistance.

"Everyone on welfare has a flat-screen TV, I can't even afford one."

The reality is that most people who are poor, or who are on welfare, cannot even afford television service so they would have no need of a television set at all.

"I always see people on food stamps taking their groceries of the store and loading them in a Cadillac."

Appearances are not always what they seem. Just because someone gets into a nice car doesn't mean it's their car at all, or that they didn't just lose their job and the repo man will be the next person you see behind the wheel. Sadly too, people tend to exaggerate to get their point across when voicing their anger about public assistance programs.

"If they were really poor, they couldn't afford nice clothes."

Just because a person is not a slob and tries to take care of their things, doesn't mean that they are not poor. In fact, keeping up appearances is instrumental when trying to pull oneself back out of poverty, after losing a job or otherwise hitting hard times financially.

"How are you online? If you were actually poor you couldn't afford a computer."

Modern technology is often taken for granted on the one hand, but then at the same time looked upon as something privileged, that only people of some financial means should have access to. In the modern world however, it would be next to impossible to get a job, make crucial appointments such as court appearances or doctor's visits, or otherwise operate in society at all without things like cell phones and computers.

"If you can afford cigarettes, you don't need welfare."

Living in poverty is a state of constant high-level stress, combined with long, tedious hours of forced idleness and despair. Cigarettes are not only an addictive habit, but also come to represent normalcy and freedom to someone who no longer has any control over their own lives. You might be surprised what someone would stoop to in order to taste the freedom of lighting up.

"How is it that poor people can afford to go out and get tattoos, but they can't afford to pay for a doctor?"

If you can find a doctor that will treat a bad case of Lyme disease for two packs of Newports and a bootleg DVD of Sons of Anarchy, you let us know down there in the comments section. In the meantime, poor folks will continue to get what they pay for.

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