Daily Commentary – Friday, January 16, 2015 – Chinese Man Caught Smuggling 94 iPhones into Mainland China

• The man caught the attention of border guards because he was walking funny. After the metal detector went off they searched and found the phones duct taped to his body

35 Year Old Wendy Holland Sentenced to 219 Years in Prison for Sodomy, Sexual Abuse & Incestuous Sex Ring in Molesting Children (VIDEO)

Wendy Holland sentenced to 219 years in prison and it probably wasn’t even enough for her heinous crimes …

On Thursday, 35 year old Wendy Holland was sentenced to 219 years for her role in an incestuous sex ring accused of molesting children for years. Holland was previously convicted of incest, sodomy, sexual abuse, sexual torture, child endangerment and molestation. Prior to sentencing Judge Jody Bishop stated in the ”Fourteen years I’ve been on the bench, I have never seen a case come as close as bad as this one has been in terms of acts of sexual abuse.”  Wendy Holland is the aunt of Brittany Wood who went missing at age 19 in May of 2012 and is now presumed dead. Defendant, William Brownlee, 50, received the maximum sentence of 20 year s for his crimes. This POS was convicted of sodomy and sexual abuse in October 2014. Judge Bishop stated the maximum sentence was not long enough. Agreed!

Holland, one of the leaders of an incestuous sex ring, was sentenced Thursday by a Baldwin County judge to 219 years in prison.

Holland, 35, stood expressionless as Judge Jody Bishop sentenced Holland for sex crimes she committed to children. She was convicted by a jury on charges of sodomy, sexual torture, and sex abuse to a child under age 12.

“Fourteen years I’ve been on the bench, I have never seen a case come as close as bad as this one has been in terms of acts of sexual abuse,” Bishop said before sentencing. “The court can’t … understand why you did all of this action.”

Also sentenced Thursday was family friend, William “Billy” Brownlee, 50, to 20 years in prison. He also participated in deviant sexual acts to children inside the Wood homes in Stockton and Fairhope.

Brownlee and Holland also face pending charges in Mobile County.

Facebook: Hometown Search for Brittany Wood.

Stephanie Hanke, Brittney Wood’s stepmom reacts to 219-year prison sentence given to Wendy Holland

Holland and Brownlee were among 11 people charged with sex crimes following the disappearance in 2012 of a suspected victim of the ring, 19-year-old Brittney Wood.

In a letter read in court, the underage female victim in both cases said years of abuse left her traumatized. She has a hard time trusting anyone, gets angry easily and rarely feels safe.

“I was a little girl being held down and raped,” wrote the victim, who was in court.

Authorities said the two were part of a group of relatives and friends who sexually abused children and swapped their own kids for sex for years.

Holland is the widow of the alleged leader of the group, Donnie Holland, who was Brittney Wood’s uncle. The teen went missing around the time Holland was found with a gunshot to the head; his death was later ruled a suicide.

Even without Brittney Wood to testify, two of her uncles and an older brother already pleaded guilty to sex charges before juries convicted Wendy Holland and Brownlee.

Flu Vaccine Only 23% Effective this Year … Do We Even Get to Call that Effective?

Geez, even the flu  vaccine effective rate stinks under Barack Obama …

Hey America, aren’t you glad you got a flu shot that is only 23% effective? US health officials at the CDC have stated that this years flu vaccine has one of the worst effective rates in the last decade. It amazingly has only a 23% effective rate primarily because it does not combat against the flu strain that has been making most sick, the H3N2 virus. Oops. That particular flu strain has caused 2/3 of the illnesses. This might surprise many people. Each year the flu vaccine is reformulated, based on experts’ best guess, at which three or four strains will be the biggest problem. THEY GUESS?!? Are you kidding me? So between the US population and an influenza flu pandemic we have a bunch of “experts” throwing darts at a dartboard and grabbing names out of a hat to determine what makes up the flu vaccine. Hmm, how did that work out for us?

As predicted, this year’s flu vaccine is doing a pretty crummy job. It’s only 23 percent effective, primarily because it doesn’t include the bug that is making most people sick, according to a government study released Thursday.

That’s one of the worst performances in the last decade, since U.S. health officials started routinely tracking how well vaccines work. In the best flu seasons, the vaccines were 50 to 60 percent effective.

“This is an uncommon year,” said Dr. Alicia Fry, a flu vaccine expert at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was involved in the study.

The findings are not surprising. In early December, CDC officials warned the vaccine probably wouldn’t work very well because the it isn’t well matched to a strain that’s been spreading widely.

Each year, the flu vaccine is reformulated, based on experts’ best guess at which three or four strains will be the biggest problem. Those decisions are usually made in February, months before the flu season, to give companies that make flu shots and nasal spray vaccine enough time to make enough doses.

But this year’s formula didn’t include the strain of H3N2 virus that ended up causing about two-thirds of the illnesses this winter. And that strain tends to cause more hospitalizations and deaths, particularly in the elderly, making this a particularly bad winter to have a problem with the flu vaccine.

Weekly US Map: Influenza Summary Update

CDC Says H3N2 viruses fuel ‘epidemic’ levels of flu season deaths.

Deaths due to influenza and pneumonia have hit “epidemic” levels in the U.S. as flu activity became widespread in 36 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials reported 837 flu and pneumonia deaths to the CDC through its 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System during the 51st week of the year. Those deaths accounted for 6.8% of the 12,358 total deaths that week, just meeting the epidemic threshold.

Influenza activity was considered “widespread” in 36 states during week 51, according to the CDC’s most recent FluView report. These states included Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Two People Killed Thursday in An Anti-Terrorism Operation in Verviers, Belgium (VIDEO)

Two people jihadists have been killed and a another has been arrested in an anti-terrorism operation in  Verviers, Belgium. The individuals are believed to have links to ISIS and to have been planning attacks in Belgium.  The operation was intended to check on suspected radicals, one of several being conducted against people believed to have returned to Belgium after taking part in the Syrian civil war. As reported at the Jerusalem Post, public service radio RTBF said there were no casualties among the security forces involved. Two unidentified people were killed and a third seriously wounded. Several others were detained. This comes on the foot-heals of the terrorist attacks in Paris that left 17 dead. Looks like Europe may finally have gotten the wake up call on radical Islam.

Counter-terror police, in a series of raids, rounded up suspects they believed were intent on launching terror operations in Belgium, officials said.

At least two suspects died during the raids, and another was injured, officials told members of the media today. The officials said no police or civilians were injured after the suspects opened fire with automatic weapons.

VIDEO – Sky News

CNN:

Two people were killed Thursday in an anti-terrorism operation in the eastern Belgian city of Verviers, CNN affiliate VTM News reported.

The group is believed to have links to ISIS and to have been planning attacks in Belgium, CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank said.

Federal Belgian police took at least one suspect into custody near a train station, VTM News said. Further details weren’t immediately available.

Verviers is about 69 miles (111 kilometers) east-southeast of Brussels and 200 miles (322 kilometers) northeast of Paris.

The anti-terrorism raid comes amid heightened alerts in Europe after this month’s attack on the office of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

Anti-terrorism operations were underway in other cities, a senior Belgian counter-terrorism official told Cruickshank.

Amateur Video – Assault rue de la colline, Verviers

The Telegraph – Casualties in Belgium police anti-terror raid in Verviers:

The suspects opened fire on police in Verviers, in the east of the country, before being killed, the prosecutor said. No policemen were injured during the operation, in which 10 buildings were searched.

The group was about to mount terrorist attacks on a “grand scale”, the prosecutor said.

“A second Paris has been avoided,” a ministry of justice source told Nieuwsblad newspaper.

Local residents in Verviers heard a fusillade of machine gun shots and explosions.

A local resident said: “I heard two explosions and saw two young men run away. They were between 25 and 30 years of Arab origin.”

UPDATE I: Belgium on high alert after deadly anti-terror raid.

Referring to the raid itself, he said: “The suspects immediately and for several minutes opened fire with military weaponry and handguns on the special units of the federal police before they were neutralised.”

Officials said police came under sustained fire from a flat above a bakery.

After the operation, four Kalashnikovs, bomb-making equipment and police clothing were found, according to local media. Security forces remain in the Verviers area.

Police are expected to provide more details at a briefing on Friday.

CNN Poll: Majority of Americans Back the Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline as Barack Obama Vows to Veto It if Passed

Shocker, Barack Obama once against doing something against the will of the American people … 

A recent CNN poll shows that a majority of Americans are in favor of the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. A resounding 57% are in favor of building the 1,179 mile Canada to Texas pipeline, while only 28% oppose. Of course you already know what side of the fence Barack Obama takes on this matter. Obama continues to pander to the environmental wackos and facing no more elections, once again goes against the will of the American people.  No matter how many jobs, permanent ones, part time or otherwise are created by this oil pipeline project, the fact of the matter is that jobs will be created. This is a bad thing how? But Obama will tell you he wants to create jobs for the American people. Really? Even though Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, the House has passed the construction of it, Obama has vowed to veto the bill. Yeah, he really cares about putting people to work.

Read CNN Poll here.

Poll Question: Based on what you have read or heard, do you favor or oppose building the Keystone XL pipeline?

A majority of Americans favor the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline — a result that could give Republicans a boost as they move toward a showdown with President Barack Obama over the project — a CNN/ORC poll has found.

The 1,179-mile Canada-to-Texas pipeline is backed by 57% of the 1,011 Americans surveyed on Dec. 18-21. Just 28% oppose it, while 15% say they are unsure.

The controversial project has become the subject of a battle between liberal environmentalists who argue it would contribute to global warming and conservatives who say it would create jobs and help the United States break away from Middle Eastern oil.

President Barack Obama has threatened to veto a measure that the Senate is set to vote on as soon as next week, which would end the State Department’s six-year-old review of the project and authorize its construction immediately. Obama has said he objects to the decision-making process being removed from the executive branch.

Not only do 57% back the construction of the pipeline, in the same CNN poll, as reported at The Daily Caller, “a majority of those polled, at 57 percent, say global warming will not pose a serious threat to their way of life,” and that only 43 percent “expect global warming to threaten them.”