Stop me when you’ve heard this one before.   Three black teenagers punch a…..  [this should not be a surprise when you consider THIS]
NEW JERSEY – Three New Jersey boys, two age 13 and one 14, have been arrested and charged with killing a homeless man after allegedly stalking and killing him in what police are calling a game of ‘knockout.’
The teens are accused of following Ralph Santiago, 46, and punching him in the back of the head in broad daylight in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 10.
He fell against a fence and snapped his neck, killing him. His body was left on the quiet residential street before it was discovered by a passerby.
The boys were taken into custody and charged on Friday after prosecutors released surveillance images of the suspects in the hopes of identifying whoever killed Mr Santiago. (more…)

Sounds like David Cameron and Barack Obama have similar dispositions toward terrorism and Islam.   If they coordinate messaging, and work at it hard enough, the narrative stemming from the Kenyan Mall Massacre could be considered “angry shoppers resort to violence“….

[…]  The attack saw men, women and children slaughtered if they could not recite the Koran or name the mother of the Prophet Mohammed.  (link)

(Londonistan)  Speaking on Sunday, Cameron said he had offered the Kenyan authorities “every assistance” in a call to President Uhuru Kenyatta, who lost members of his own family in the attack.
The prime minister stressed that the perpetrators did not represent the majority of Muslims but had carried out the atrocity “in the name of terror, violence and extremism”.
He added: “These appalling terrorist attacks that take place, where the perpetrators claim they do it in the name of a religion – they don’t. They do it in the name of terror, violence and extremism and their warped view of the world.”   (read more)
Meanwhile, in the real world, a good approach continues in Egypt…. (more…)

Looks and sounds like the IDF were instrumental in ending the hostage crisis and taking back the Mall from the terrorists.   Thank You Israel.
(Via Daily Mail)  The FBI is investigating claims that up to  five of the terrorists who killed 68 people in a despicable attack on an  upmarket Kenyan shopping mall are Americans, as the Kenyan military reported  that it had rescued hostages and secured  ‘most parts’ of the center following the two day standoff.
Sources close to terror group Al Shabaab told  CNN on  Sunday that nine extremists had been named on their Twitter account along with  their nationalities and allegedly included U.S. citizens. The account has now  been suspended by the site.
And just before sundown Kenya Defence Forces  posted on its Twitter account that ‘most of the hostages hostages have been  rescued’ and that security forces had taken control of ‘most parts of the  building’ – however, the operation is still continuing and only a small number  remained under the control of the militants.
The dramatic assault, which began shortly  before sundown, came as two helicopters circled the Westgate mall, with one  skimming very close to the roof.  (continue reading)

(UK Independent)  While the Assad regime in Damascus has denied responsibility for the sarin gas missiles that killed around 1,400 Syrians in the suburb of Ghouta on 21 August, information is now circulating in the city that Russia’s new “evidence” about the attack includes the dates of export of the specific rockets used and – more importantly – the countries to which they were originally sold.
They were apparently manufactured in the Soviet Union in 1967 and sold by Moscow to three Arab countries, Yemen, Egypt and Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya. These details cannot be verified in documents, and Vladimir Putin has not revealed the reasons why he told Barack Obama that he knows Assad’s army did not fire the sarin missiles; but if the information is correct – and it is believed to have come from Moscow – Russia did not sell this particular batch of chemical munitions to Syria. (more…)

(Via UK Daily Mail)  Americans were injured in a terror attack by  as many as 10 gunmen at a Nairobi, Kenya, shopping center that has left at least  40 people dead and as many as 300 injured – a female Canadian diplomat and a  pregnant popular Kenyan radio journalist are among the dead.
The US State Department has confirmed that  four Americans were hurt in the mass shooting Saturday in a statement issued  from the US Embassy in Nairobi, but declined to give names or an exact number of  Americans hurt. Americans are not  believed to be among the dead at this time. The dead range in ages from two to  78-years-old, according to a Kenyan government official. Five hostages were  released around 2am local time.

American Elaine Dang, 26, [pictured above] has been identified  as one of the Americans injured in the brutal terror attack.  (continue reading)
NYT Photojournalist on the scene:

[…]  The mall is Nairobi’s most high-end shopping center, completely up to Western standards, with movie theaters, nice cafes, supermarkets and a casino. Pretty much anything you need. I’ve been there, so I knew the layout inside.  (pictures and first hand account – CLICK HERE)

Warning:  Some Graphic Details and Pictures in Links

BREAKING: Hostages still held in Nairobi #Westgate mall, security operation continues

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 21, 2013

Details HERE and also Pictures HERE
Quick Notes:  Early witness indicators are the attack began with a half dozen grenades thrown inside the mall.   Then the shooting started.    Hostages have been taken.  Al Shabaab claiming responsibility.   39 confirmed dead so far.  Western media will not cover this too heavily due to type of attack taking place  (grenades, popular shopping mall, random target of non-muslims etc.).
Al Shabaab (African contingent of al-Qaeda) operatives have been working closely with AQAP (Yemen affiliate) for several years.    Al Shabaab has training base in Mexico, and Al Shabaab operatives have been found in the U.S. crossing the U.S. Mexico border.  Al Shabaab was also the contingent who were foiled in the U.S. when they attempted to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in 2011 at a Washington DC restaurant. 

Background, video and pictures of the attack taking place – CLICK HERE

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN) — Armed gunmen waged a tense standoff with Kenyan police and soldiers inside an upscale Nairobi shopping mall early Sunday, hours after brazenly gunning down shoppers, diners and more.
There was some movement around 1:30 a.m. (6:30 p.m. ET), when five “visibly shaken” hostages were released, the Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre tweeted. But that didn’t mean this horrific story was over as attackers remained dug in, as authorities bore down on them, and as an unknown number of civilians — perhaps dead or being held hostage — remained unaccounted for inside. (more…)

It’s another version of the “depends on what your definition of ‘is’, is”….

I’m still betting the decisions ultimately came from Denis McDonough and Tom Donilon during those critical hours….   both Obama and Biden were indisposed.

Washington DC – On Thursday, while denying that a “stand-down order” was given to Special Forces members ready to help Americans who were under siege at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi last September, one of the heads of the Benghazi Accountability Review Board (ARB) admitted that a “hold in place” order was in fact given.
Testifying before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Admiral Mike Mullen said that the direction given to Special Operations Command Africa commander Lt. Col Gibson was to “hold in place” on the night of the attacks.
Gibson is the boss of Gregory Hicks, the former deputy chief of mission in Libya who had testified that a “stand down” order was given to Special Forces who wanted to help Americans who were under assault in Libya.  (continue reading)

(Via HuffPo)  Before Aaron Alexis went on his Navy Yard shooting rampage, he reportedly carved the words “Better Off This Way,” into his shotgun.

Alexis, who died during Monday’s shooting spree, also carved the phrase, “My E-L-F Weapon” onto the stock of the gun, according to ABC News.

Now, investigators are questioning the meaning of the phrases and if “better off this way” might be a clue that Alexis knew he would die in the altercation.  (link)

I think the first carving, “Better off This Way” is self explanatory….  Suicide by COP, make a name for yourself, and take out a few folks who look like the folks you hate.  Rail against the world and everyone who has grieved you.
The second carving, “My E-L-F Weapon” is probably a reflection of his job and his psychology.   He was an electrical IT type guy right?   Obviously unstable but generally pretty intelligent.   He was more than likely using a common term in his profession as an analogy behind his decision and his weapon to execute the decision: (more…)

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. –  A teenager kidnapped from her home at gunpoint in the middle of the night has been reunited with her family.
Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, was found at a location in Conyers, Ga., according to Clayton County Police Chief Gregory Porter.
The details regarding how she was found have yet to be released.
“She was recovered at a location in Conyers, Ga. The investigation is still active,” the chief said. He added that she has been reunited with her family and is being evaluated.  […]
Porter said Ayvani has been in the metro area since her abduction. She was found around noon on Wednesday. (more…)

Under Secretary of State Patrick Kennedy said the government of Libya is not allowing U.S. law enforcement into the country to arrest individuals connected with the Benghazi attack because the Libyan government “is not in control to that degree” Wednesday in a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.
Kennedy explained ever since the events of September 11, 2012 the country has taken a “serious turn for the worse.”