"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." Northwoods is a ministry dedicated to refreshing Christians and challenging them to search for the truth in Christianity, politics, sociology, and science
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Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
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A New York court sentenced Mohammed Othman, who brutally attacked Joseph Borgen on May 20, 2021, to five-and-a-half years in prison on Wednesday.
Othman assaulted and pepper-sprayed Borgen on Broadway near West 49th Street in the Diamond District while the latter was en route to a pro-Israel rally during the Israel-Gaza war (“Operation Pillar of Defense”). Othman pleaded guilty in October to second-degree assault as a hate crime.
Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Felicia Mennin added five years of post-release supervision to Othman’s sentence. Prosecutors had asked for five years of incarceration for Othman, who was the second defendant in the case whom Mennin sentenced beyond what prosecutors sought….
Borgen was wearing a yarmulke when Othman and four other men ambushed him, shouting antisemitic slurs. Punched and kicked repeatedly and beaten with a crutch, Borgen suffered a concussion, wrist injury and black eye. His body was left bruised. He said he will require another wrist surgery and still deals with the incident’s lingering physical effects.
Video evidence showed Othman pepper-spraying Borgen three times and spraying a bystander who tried to protect Borgen.Othman was also recorded throwing a firework at a Jewish woman, burning her, from the back of a pickup truck.
Othman, 26, of Staten Island, had six prior arrests, including domestic violence charges….
Three other attackers have been sentenced. Waseem Awawdeh, who beat Borgen with a crutch and reportedly said of the attack, “If I could do it again, I would,” pleaded guilty to attempted assault as a hate crime and received 18 months in jail.
In November, Mahmoud Musa received seven years in prison for his role in the attack, when he maced, kicked, punched and beat Borgen with crutches. The sentence was six months beyond the prosecutor’s recommendation….
Are NYC prosecutors in the pockets of George Soros? Maybe they should start protecting New Yorkers rather than Muslim Jew haters.
After an agreement was made by several countries to protect the Red Sea from Houthi pirates, they committed virtual Hari Kari by continuing their assaults on freighters in the presence of two American warships. How stupid can they be? Where was Allah when their boats were being blown to Hell?
US forces sink 3 boats, kill gunmen after attack
by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in Red Sea
By
Social Links forAmanda Woods
Published Dec. 31, 2023
Updated Dec. 31, 2023, 11:58 a.m. ET
The US military fired on and sank three boats operated by Iran-backed Houthi rebels – killing their crews – after the militants tried to attack a Maersk container vessel in the Red Sea early Sunday, officials said.
Helicopters from the USS Eisenhower and USS Gravely warships opened fire on “four Iranian-backed Houthi small boats,” sinking three of them, while responding to an SOS from the Singapore-flagged vessel Maersk Hangzhou around 6:30 a.m. local time, according to the US Central Command (CENTCOM). Ten Houthi rebels were killed, according to Haaretz.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby later insisted that the US is not looking to expand the conflict and that the boats were sunk in self-defense — while warning America will strike preemptively if needed to protect its interests.
“We’ve got significant national security interests in the region just on our own, the United States, and we’re going to put the kind of forces we need in the region to protect those interests, and we’re going to act in self-defense going forward,” Kirby told ABC News.
“We don’t seek a conflict wider in the region, and we’re not looking for a conflict with the Houthis. The best outcome here would be for the Houthis to stop these attacks, as we have made clear over and over again,” he said.
Asked whether the US might fire a pre-emptive strike, Kirby replied, “We’re not ruling anything in or out, but we have made it clear publicly to the Houthis and privately to our allies and partners in the region we take these threats seriously, and we’re going to make the right decisions going forward.”
USS Gravely
The fourth boat escaped the attack, which officials say was launched in self-defense.
The operators of the boats, originating from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, opened fire at the Maersk Hangzhou and intended to board it, coming as close as 65 feet, CENTCOM said.
The incident marked the second time in less than 24 hours that the Maersk vessel came under attack, according to CENTCOM.
Late Saturday, the USS Gravely shot down two ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen while responding to a missile strike on the same ship, which was navigating the southern Red Sea, CENTCOM said.
There were no reported injuries during that encounter.
The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for attacks on ships that they say are either linked to Israel or bound for Israeli ports.
They have said their goal is to end Israel’s air-and-ground offensive targeting the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ Oct. 7 sneak attack on Israel.
The Houthi attacks have disrupted world trade, as the Red Sea is the entry point for ships using the Suez Canal – the route for about 12% of world trade, which is essential for the movement of goods between Asia and Europe.
Major shipping companies have opted to take a longer and more expensive route around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope to avoid the conflict.
In an effort to put an end to the disruption and safeguard ships traversing the Red Sea near Yemen, the US Pentagon launched Operation Prosperity Guardian on Dec. 19.
The multinational operation is designed to protect ships during the war.
Since then, 1,200 merchant ships have traveled through the Red Sea region, and none have been hit by drone or missile strikes, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said in an Associated Press interview Saturday.
Maersk, one of the world’s major cargo shippers, opted on Dec. 24 to resume its sailings through the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels have shown no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, according to Cooper, the top commander of US naval forces in the Middle East.
“We are clear-eyed that the Houthi reckless attacks will likely continue,” Cooper said.
British Foreign Secretary David Cameron announced Sunday that he had spoken with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and urged him in their call that his country should help stop the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
“I made clear that Iran shares responsibility for preventing these attacks, given their long-standing support to the Houthis,” Cameron posted on X, adding that the attacks “threaten innocent lives and the global economy.”
Police in Abbotsford, B.C., say a man who has been convicted of drunk driving 21 times could hold a Canadian record.
Abbotsford police say officers were called to the scene of a motorcycle crash in August 2022 where they found a person who was a passenger on the bike being treated for serious injuries.
Police say the owner and driver of the motorcycle, who was known for his history of impaired driving, tried to flee before officers arrived.
They say an investigation led to the arrest of 66-year-old Roy Heide, whose blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit at the time of the crash.
Police say Heide pleaded guilty to multiple impaired driving infractions on Dec. 18, receiving a total jail sentence of just under five years.
He has been convicted of impaired driving 21 times.
Abbotsford police believe that to be the most convictions for impaired driving a person has received in Canadian history. They also warned of the “devastating consequences to innocent road users” of drinking and driving.
That this fool has not killed anyone yet is no fault of the judges who sentenced him for the first 20 impaired driving charges. This is Canada's absurdly criminal-friendly justice system. Victims, and potential victims hold no sway in Canadian courts.
B.C. Supreme Court blocks public drug use ban
By Darryl Greer The Canadian Press
Posted December 29, 2023 11:53 am
Updated December 29, 2023 2:16 pm
The British Columbia Supreme Court has blocked new provincial laws against public consumption of illegal substances.
Friday’s ruling in favour of the Harm Reduction Nurses Association imposes a temporary injunction until March 31, pending a constitutional challenge, with the judge saying “irreparable harm will be caused” if the laws come into force.
He seems to be ignorant of the fact that irreparable harm will be caused if the laws don't come into force. Has he not seen reports of dirty needles found in parks and on beaches, near school grounds, etc., etc.? Is he willing to sacrifice innocent children on the mantle of protecting drug addicts?
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said in a statement the government was “concerned” by the ruling against laws meant to prevent “the use of drugs in places that are frequented by children and families.”
2:04
Reaction to increased restrictions to possession and use of illegal drugs
“(This) decision temporarily prevents the province from regulating where hard drugs are used, something every other province does, every day,” he said.
The Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act was passed by the legislature in November, allowing fines and imprisonment for people who refuse to comply with police orders not to consume drugs in certain public places.
The nurses association argued the act, which has yet to come into effect, would violate the Canadian Charter in various ways if enforced.
But Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson said in his ruling that it was unnecessary to turn to those arguments, since the “balance of convenience” and the risk of irreparable harm weighed in the plaintiff’s favour.
“I accept that lone drug use may be particularly dangerous due to an absence or a diminished degree of support in the event of an overdose,” Hinkson’s ruling says.
“When people are isolated and out of sight, they are at a much higher risk of dying from an unreversed overdose.”
2:25
B.C. premier sticking with drug decriminalization program
The law would allow police to order people to “cease using an illegal substance in a specified area,” or to leave that area.
The places specified in the act include sports fields, beaches, or parks, within six metres of building entrances and within 15 metres of a playground, skate park or wading pool.
People who refuse could be fined up to $2,000 and imprisoned for up to six months.
The act would give police discretion to arrest those who don’t comply and seize and destroy their drugs.
Lawyer Caitlin Shane with the Pivot Legal Society represented the nurses association. She said the injunction shows “substance use cannot be legislated without scrutiny.”
Shane said in an interview that most people who use drugs in B.C. “live in communities that do not have safe, legal indoor spaces to use drugs.”
Fine! If they stay in their encampments, children are not going to be wandering around them. It's when they go to areas where children play that they could potentially do great harm.
She said the court granting the injunction was a “welcome decision” because even though the act hadn’t been brought into legal effect, it was already being enforced by police.
“We have heard, kind of, on the ground from people in communities around B.C., that police have already begun attempting to enforce this law, which was never in effect,” Shane said. “So this judgment makes absolutely certain and confirms the fact that the law is not enforceable. It is not in effect and it can’t be used against people.”
2:00
Public drug use controversy continues
Shane said the law “stands against” the provincial government’s public positions about “appropriate responses to drug use and the toxic drug supply.”
“A law like this imposes even greater burden and hardship on people who are already being failed by B.C.’s laws and policies respecting drug consumption,” she said.
Shane said there’s been a “backlash” since the provincial government’s decriminalization approach began, and the law was passed in response to the ongoing “stigma.”
Shane said the province’s approach under Premier David Eby has signalled a “change of course” since his time as a legal advocate with the Pivot Legal Society.
“It’s interesting insofar as some of the things that we are advocating for are things that our premier once advocated for too,” she said.
Farnworth said the province was reviewing the court’s decision and “assessing our next steps.”
“We’re determined to keep doing everything we can to save lives in the face of the toxic drug crisis by treating drug addiction as a health matter rather than a criminal one, while recognizing that hard drugs should not be used in public places frequented by children and families, as well as vulnerable community members,” he said.
That's just plain common sense. Why can't the BC Supreme Court see that? Are they devoid of common sense?
Farnworth said hard drug use should be subject to similar regulations governing “smoking, alcohol and cannabis.”
In October, the province said the new laws provided “a consistent approach throughout the province.”
BC United opposition leader Kevin Falcon said in a statement after the ruling that the Eby government was “reckless” with its decriminalization policy, and the act “fell woefully short and is now subject to a temporary injunction.”
“As this legislation is now further scrutinized following today’s temporary injunction, it will still be illegal in most communities to enjoy a glass of wine at a picnic in the park while unchecked consumption of potentially lethal drugs such as crystal meth, crack cocaine, and fentanyl in that same park remains the reality under this NDP government,” Falcon said.
According to the BC Coroners Service, at least 13,317 people have died due to unregulated drugs in B.C. since a public-health emergency was declared in April 2016.
In an update issued at the end of last month, the service said unregulated drugs had claimed at least 2,039 lives in the first 10 months of the year.
An estimated 1.5 million people are expected to attend the New Year's Eve celebration at the Champs-Elysees. French authorities fear the celebration could be the target of a terrorist plot in light of the conflict in Gaza. Photo by Maya Vidon-White/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 29 (UPI) --French police are tightening security measures on New Year's Eve in anticipation of a "very high terrorist threat."
France's Domestic Intelligence Chief Celine Berthon said Friday there will be increased security measures nationwide, including the deployment of 90,000 police officers, on New Year's Eve.
An estimated 1.5 million people are expected to attend the New Year's Eve celebrations on the Champs-Elysees. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Paris plans to deploy 6,000 police officials to ensure security during the celebrations. Officers will be permitted to use drones for the first time as part of the operation.
Darmanin attributed the high likelihood of a terrorist plot to the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.
France has been on high alert for days after a number of thwarted ISIS plots targeting Europe. Counterterrorism experts said the group is taking advantage of the conflict in Gaza to rally support for its own cause.
Police already have made a number of arrests in France, Spain, Austria and Germany during the Christmas period, and five people were apprehended last week in northern France as part of an investigation into a terrorist plot.
The heightened state of security in France comes as German police are planning one of their largest security operations in Berlin. In light of the Middle East conflict, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she was "concerned that New Year's Eve could once again be a day on which we experience blind rage and senseless violence."
Some 4,000 police are expected to be deployed throughout Berlin, and local officers will be supported by officers drafted in from other parts of the country on New Year's Eve.
Pregnant woman and baby dead in Israel after public stabbing
by Cassy Fiano-Chesser, Live Action, December 2, 2023:
A pregnant woman in Israel was stabbed to death, allegedly by her father and brother, with doctors unable to save either mother or baby in the tragic case.
Aya Abu Hajjaj was just 24 and in an “advanced state” of pregnancy, likely her third trimester, when she was murdered while walking her children to school. Video of the attack showed her being followed by an assailant, who jumped on her from behind and stabbed her over 20 times. Her terrified children ran away and seem to have been unharmed during the attack. After stabbing her, the assailant jumped into a waiting car and sped off, leaving her bleeding in the street. Footage of the horrific attack has circulated on social media; in it, you can see her attacker seemingly targeting her torso.
Within hours, the two family members were arrested….
Hagit Pe’er, chairwoman of Na’amat, an Israeli women’s rights group, condemned the attack as “domestic terrorism” and “a double murder of the woman and the fetus.” In a statement to the Times of Israel, she said, “We all hope that the Israel Police will soon find this inhuman terrorist and that Israel will serve him justice, as should be done with terrorists.”…
Inhuman terrorist is right, but terrorists to their own family as are all those who commit honor killings. Jews don't!
Another example of the prolific lying by Palestinians. Trying to make Jews look like the monsters that they themselves are.
A Minnesota dentist is being sued for malpractice for allegedly “disfiguring” a patient by performing more than 30 procedures in a single visit.
The civil lawsuit, filed in Hennepin County, Minnesota last week, alleges that Dr. Kevin Molldrem of Molldrem Family Dentistry performed four root canals, 20 fillings and eight crowns on Kathleen Wilson in one visit to his office in July 2020.
Wilson accuses Molldrem of causing her significant injuries, along with providing an unsafe dosage of anesthesia and falsifying medical records to cover it up, the Star Tribune reported.
The lawsuit alleges that the dentist “perform(ed) this work improperly,” resulting in pain and suffering, as well as emotional distress and disfigurement.
“It is inconceivable that Dr. Molldrem could have prepared and placed 8 crowns under these circumstances in the time allotted, not to mention the additional 20 restorations,” wrote Dr. Avrum Goldstein, a Florida dentist and expert witness brought on by Wilson’s lawyer, in an affidavit, reports USA Today.
Goldstein also wrote that Molldrem’s course of action to deal with Wilson’s “rare condition” of having tooth decay in almost all of her teeth was not the proper treatment.
“She required a slow, thoughtful, careful and measured response to her disease,” he said in his report. “Trying to fill every hole in every tooth in her mouth in one visit is not only the antithesis of what was indicated, it is not humanly possible to achieve in an effective or constructive manner.”
Wilson’s records show that Molldrem said he administered eight tubes of dental anesthetic, known as carpules. But Goldstein found the first dose alone was eight carpules, and he administered 15 carpules throughout the five-and-a-half-hour visit.
Wilson went to a different dental office for an evaluation showing recurrent decay and other damage. For several months in 2022 she was treated at the University of Minnesota Dental School “for repair and replacement of many of her restorations in an attempt to stabilize her mouth,” Goldstein said.
If all of Wilson’s teeth end up having to be removed and replaced with implants, Goldstein said “all of the work that was done and all of the expense associated with it will have been for nothing.”
Wilson is asking for at least US$50,000 in damages.
You should be asking for 10 times that, if not more, Kathleen. What he did was sheer madness.
Molldrem and his lawyer, Nathaniel Weimer, have not responded to requests for comment.
