Shooting at Muhammad Cartoon Contest at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX at Pamela Geller Texas Free Speech Event (Update: Two Gunman Dead)

A SHOOTING HAS TAKEN PLACE OUTSIDE THE TEXAS FREE SPEECH EVENT IN GARLAND, TX HELD BY PAMELA GELLER …

According to FOX News, two individuals were shot outside of the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, TX where the Texas Free Speech Event was taking place. The center was put on lock-down following the shooting. The ‘free speech” event (VIDEO) was a ‘Muhammad Art and Cartoon Contest’. This was the same location that hosted a pro-Islam contest last month. Of course there were no gunman trying to kill people at that conference who disagreed with that one.

The First Annual Muhammad Art Exhibit and Contest will be hosted by the Curtis Caldwell Center.

Pamela Geller.com

Two individuals were shot dead by police outside of the event as it was reported, “two males drove up to the front of the building in a car,” as the event was coming to an end. “Both males were armed and began shooting at a Garland … security officer. Garland Police officers engaged the gunmen, who were both shot and killed.” It is probably not that much of a stretch that the two gunman that were killed were Islamists looking to quell free speech.

Shooting at Muhammad Cartoon Contest Garland, Texas: 2 Gunmen Killed, Officer Down

Pamela Geller – Twitter

A Prophet Muhammad art exhibit and contest in Dallas is on lockdown Sunday after a reported shooting outside the building that left two suspects reportedly dead and one officer injured.

According to the Dallas Morning News, two men  pulled up in a vehicle and  then shot an officer outside the Curtis Culwell center Sunday evening. They were then fatally shot by police officers.

The officer’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, the paper reported.

An officer dressed in SWAT gear took the stage toward the end of the event at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland and told attendees, including an Associated Press reporter, that a shooting had occurred.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the shooting was related to the event.

Garland Police Department spokesman Joe Harn declined to confirm the SWAT officer’s statements and said he had no details.

VIDEO via The Gateway Pundit

UPDATE I: Bomb Squad is on the scene with mechanical robot investigating a suspicious vehicle.

8:11pm CT: Suspects’ vehicle being checked for explosives. It is scheduled to be detonated.

8:20pm CT: Authorities tell CBS 11 that SWAT will escort 48 people at a time out of arena soon, but many are parked in a now secured area and cannot access cars.

UPDATE II: From The Gateway Pundit … “Shariah is Light” posted this at at 6:35 CENTRAL TIME and took credit for the attack.

UPDATE III: According to VIDEO below from Newsy, the identities of the shooters have not yet been released and it has not yet been determined whether the attack was was religiously motivated. I think it is safe to say that it was.

Gunmen Shot Outside ‘Draw Muhammad’ Event in Garland, Texas

UPDATE IV: The security officer, Bruce Joiner,  was released from the hospital after his wounds were treated.

The two men pulled up in a vehicle and shot a Garland ISD security officer. The men were fatally shot by Garland police, and their bodies remain on the street outside the events center.

The security officer, Bruce Joiner,  was released from the hospital after his wounds were treated.

No one was being allowed to leave the facility, where an art show centering on caricatures of Muhammad was being held. Nearby businesses, including a Walmart and Sam’s Club, were evacuated.

UPDATE V: Follow more updates from Breitbart.com.

UPDATE, 11:09 PM: ISIS has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the Rowlett/Sachse Scanner:

UPDATE ON THE POLICE INCIDENT:

Officers are advising the scene is NOT safe. It is believed that explosive(s) have been placed near the Curtis Culwell Center. FBI Bomb Squad, Garland Police, Garland SWAT, Rowlett Police, Rowlett SWAT, and Texas State Troopers are on scene.

There is a huge perimeter set. No one gets in and no one gets out.

ISIS is taking responsibility for this attack.

UPDATE, 10:59 PM: Attendees were just informed by police that the FBI would be coming to interview them all, prior to law enforcement letting them go.

UPDATE VI: Tonight at Police Press Conference … Garland Police said they are using robot to check suspects car for bombs. Also, they gave not moved the two dead bodies because of their proximity to the vehicle and they may have explosives on their bodies. The police were not going to put officers or medical examiners in harms way until all has been cleared.

The bodies of suspects lay dead next to vehicle as police continue to check for explosives.

Pic – Hat Tip Jim Hofts, Twitter

Islamist Terror Attack in Paris France … 12 Killed at French Satirical Magazine Charlie Hebdo (VIDEO of Attack)(Update: Shouted “Allahu Akbar!”)

Islamist Terror Attack in Paris France …

Eleven people are dead and 5 in critical condition after a terrorist attack at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.  This is the same magazine that was fire-bombed in November 2011 a day after it carried a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad.The attack took place at 11.30 am local time as two black-hooded individuals  entered the building with assault rifles and opened fire. The terror suspects who committed this heinous act are on the loose and a massive manhunt is underway.

This was not a lone wolf attack, this was an orchestrated terror attack on a media organization with a getaway plan. This was not a terrorist suicide attack looking to end up with 72 virgins. The training these men appear to have had is startling. Political correctness kills folks, get tough on terrorists or else.

Gunmen have attacked the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people and injuring seven in an apparent Islamist attack.

At least two masked attackers opened fire with assault rifles in the office and exchanged shots with police in the street outside before escaping by car.

The gunmen shouted “we have avenged the Prophet Muhammad”, witnesses say.

President Francois Hollande said there was no doubt it had been a terrorist attack “of exceptional barbarity”.

A major police operation is under way in the Paris area to catch the killers.

ABC NEWS Video – 12 Dead in “cowardly attack”. 

UPDATE I:  12 dead after gun attack at French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.

Twelve people are confirmed dead, 10 from the  Charlie Hebdo magazine and 2 police officers.

A huge manhunt is underway in Paris after at least 12 people were killed and seven others injured in a shooting at the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

Police said two of those killed were police officers and that four of the wounded are in a critical condition.

Witness Benoit Bringer said the attack started at 11.30 am local time: “Two black-hooded men entered the building with Kalashnikovs (automatic assault rifles). A few minutes later we heard lots of shots.” He added the men were then seen fleeing the building.

Other reports spoke of three or four gunmen, who made off in a car which may have been hijacked, hitting a pedestrian as they drove.

President Francois Hollande called it “an act of barbarism”. He added: “This is a terrorist attack, there is no doubt about it.”

The government said it was raising France’s security level to the highest notch and the prime minister’s office confirmed extra security has been put in place at official buildings and media offices.

UPDATE II: VIDEO of attack:

VIDEO – Reuters

Reuters:

Hooded gunmen stormed the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning radical Islam, killing at least 12 people, including two police officers in the worst militant attack on French soil in recent decades.

One of the men was captured on video shouting “Allah!” as four shots rang out. Two assailants were then seen calmly leaving the scene.

In another clip on Television station iTELE, they are heard shouting: “We have killed Charlie Hebdo. We have avenged the Prophet Mohammad.”

UPDATE III: The UK Telegraph – Paris Charlie Hebdo attack: (LIVE – VIDEO):

13.56 Charlie Hebdo cartoonist has told a French newspaper of the moment he encountered the two attackers as they entered the office.

The gunmen apparently said: “We’re al-Qaeda”:

Quote I had gone to get my daughter at nursery.

When I arrived in front of the door of the building of the paper, two men hooded and armed brutally threatened us.

They wanted to come in, go up. I pressed in the code.

They shot on Wolinski, Cabu… it lasted 5 minutes… I had hidden under my desk… they spoke French perfectly… they said they we’re al-Qaeda.

UPDATE IV: VIDEO (Warning) Check out these sick SOB’s as they shoot and kill a wounded police officer on the side walk.

More VIDEOS can be seen at TWS.

25th Year Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall … Nov. 9, 1989

It is hard to believe it has been 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall …

Nov. 9, 1989, 25 years later and it seems like yesterday I can remember watching the news of the German people hammering, chiseling and tearing down the Berlin Wall, symbolizing the freedom of the East German people and the defeat of Communism. Thousands of East Berliners poured into West Berlin and freedom.  It was a moment in history that you remember where you were when you saw the images of the fall of Communism and the rise of freedom. It is a forever remembered moment in history for the world, not just Germany. The people celebrated in the streets, as Germans shed their hammers and sickles for hammers and chisels and brought the wall down forever.

White balloons spanning a stretch of the former death strip floated over hundreds of thousands of revelers in the German capital on Sunday, culminating a day of celebrations to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

More than 300,000 people gathered in Berlin to watch a light installation of 8,000 helium balloons tracing a nine-mile stretch be released into the night sky, police said. The illuminated balloons snaked past historic locations such as Checkpoint Charlie as part of a celebration that included music and fireworks at the city’s Brandenburg Gate—a location once circumvented by the wall.

Speaking earlier in the day, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the fall of the Berlin Wall proof that dreams could come true during a ceremony to mark the event’s 25th anniversary. She added that its collapse offered hope to regions where “freedom and human rights are threatened or even trampled on.”

For days, celebrations throughout Germany have been commemorating the opening of the East German border on Nov. 9, 1989. The breaching of the border heralded the collapse of the Communist system and led to German reunification less than a year later.

The Iconic Photo of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

National Geographic on the Berlin Wall, pretty good documentary.

The Guardian: A city undivided: the fall of the Berlin Wall commemorated 25 years on.

This year’s commemoration of the fall of the Iron Curtain may also feel more poignant because there is a palpable sense that peace in Europe in 2014 is more fragile than it was at the 20th anniversary in 2009.

In her speech at the wall memorial on Bernauer Strasse on Saturday afternoon, Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, had explicitly emphasized the geopolitical resonances of the event, instead of indulging in personal reminiscences.

“We have the strength to shape things, to turn things from bad to good, that is the message of the fall of the wall,” she said. “These days, that message is directed at Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and many, many other regions in the world.”

Let us never forget what real leadership looks like. Where US President Ronald Wilson Reagan not only went to Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987 and gave his famous speech when he uttered those famous words  that would eventually come true … “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall,” but also helped bring about the fall of Communism. Wow, imagine that, a president with a spine and resolve to effectuate real change that brought liberty to millions, not one apologizing for America’s actions. A president that looked to unify people, not divide them. A president that looked to end Communism, not partake in it. God bless Ronald Reagan. These days we can only say, what a novel concept.

President Ronald Reagan – Speech at the Brandenburg Gate – West Berlin, Germany – June 12, 1987:

Chancellor Kohl, Governing Mayor Diepgen, ladies and gentlemen: Twenty-four years ago, President John F. Kennedy visited Berlin, speaking to the people of this city and the world at the City Hall. Well, since then two other presidents have come, each in his turn, to Berlin. And today I, myself, make my second visit to your city.

We come to Berlin, we American presidents, because it’s our duty to speak, in this place, of freedom. But I must confess, we’re drawn here by other things as well: by the feeling of history in this city, more than 500 years older than our own nation; by the beauty of the Grunewald and the Tiergarten; most of all, by your courage and determination. Perhaps the composer Paul Lincke understood something about American presidents. You see, like so many presidents before me, I come here today because wherever I go, whatever I do: Ich hab noch einen Koffer in Berlin. [I still have a suitcase in Berlin.]

In the 1950s, Khrushchev predicted: “We will bury you.” But in the West today, we see a free world that has achieved a level of prosperity and well-being unprecedented in all human history. In the Communist world, we see failure, technological backwardness, declining standards of health, even want of the most basic kind–too little food. Even today, the Soviet Union still cannot feed itself. After these four decades, then, there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion: Freedom leads to prosperity. Freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace. Freedom is the victor.

And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control.

Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it? We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

United States Patent & Trademark Office Cancels the Washington Redskins Trademark Registration … Says Football Team’s Name “Disparaging to Native Americans”

JUST CURIOUS, HOW WAS THE NAME “REDSKINS” CONSIDERED OK FOR 82 YEARS?

Don’t ask for things, you might just open Pandora’s box … The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark stating that Federal trademark law does not permit registration of trademarks that “may disparage” individuals or groups. However, the action does not prevent the NFL’s Washington Redskins from using the name, with no patent protection, the team could lose revenue from preventing others to produce and sell merchandise using the same name.

But of course it is only a coincidence that this issue has grown with the presence of a community agitator as president.

 The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office canceled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration on Wednesday, a move that won’t force the NFL team to change its name but fuels the intense fight by opponents to eliminate what they view as a racial slur against Native Americans.

The 99-page decision by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board said the team’s name and logo are disparaging. It dilutes the Redskins’ legal protection against infringement and hinders the team’s ability to block counterfeit merchandise from entering the country.

But its effect is largely symbolic. The ruling cannot stop the team from selling T-shirts, beer glasses and license-plate holders with the moniker or keep the team from trying to defend itself against others who try to profit from the logo.

From Eugene Volokh at the WAPO: 2-to-1 decision, Blackhorse v. Pro Football, Inc. (USPTO TTAB June 18, 2014). A quick excerpt:

[T]hese registrations must be cancelled because they were disparaging to Native Americans at the respective times they were registered, in violation of Section 2(a) of the Trademark Act of 1946, 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a) [which bars, in relevant part, registrations of marks that "may disparage ... persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs, or national symbols, or bring them into contempt, or disrepute"]. This decision concerns only the statutory right to registration under Section 2(a). We lack statutory authority to issue rulings concerning the right to use trademarks.

Hmm, so who is next, the Cleveland Indians? And those of you at Atlanta Brave games doing the “tomahawk chop” will be arrested and cited for a hate crime.

Legal Insurrection opines, if the “Redskins” trademark is cancelled by USPTO as “disparaging,” are  “Negro” and “Colored” next? So does that mean the United Negro College Fund and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People should have their trademarks revoked?

Other names up for consideration, the Washington Scandals, Washington Tyranny, Washington PC’s, or my personal favorite the Washington Waste.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Says that Conservatives Who are Right to Life & for 1st and 2nd Amendmends ‘Have No Place in the State of New York’

More liberal tolerance … What has taken over the Democrat party … So much of a government in NY state of, by and for the people, all people.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said during a WCNY radio interview with Susan Arbetter that that if “extreme conservatives” are “right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay,” then “they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.” Seriously? Isn’t the governor of a state supposed to represent all the people? Could you imagine if a governor from a “red” state said that no one who was pro-choice, pro-gay or pro-gun control has no place in their state? The MSM would be in a complete and total uproar. Cuomo  went on to say that “moderate Republicans have a place in this state” and noted that he can work with moderate Republicans, as they’ve consistently passed his agenda. So only those that agree with Cuomo have a place in New York state. UNREAL! Imagine if Chris Christie made such a comment? Once again we are witness to another double standard. Let’s hope this socialist clown never runs for president.

“Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that’s who they are and if they are the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that’s not who New Yorkers are.”

This intolerance is coming from a state governor, this is why the framers and Founding Fathers wrote a Bill of Rights to the US Constitution to protect the people from a tyrannical government.

So let’s get this correct, an individual who expresses their First and Second Amendment rights of the US Constitution have no place in New York state? I thought it was the Democrats who claim to have a big tent and are oh so tolerant. The sad reality of Andrew Cuomo’s comments is that he is being seriously and this is what the liberal, socialists who have taken over the Democrat party believe. So for all you folks outside of New York City and who live in upstate New York, you best not be for the rights of new born babies, you best not support the right to bear Arms and you best not be for religious freedom and the right to follow your religious beliefs.