CHRISTINE FORD vs KAVANAUGH - 36 YRS AGO WHO REMEMBERS ALL DETAILS ACCURATELY?

CHRISTINE FORD vs BRETT KAVANAUGH - 36 YRS AGO WHO REMEMBERS ALL DETAILS ACCURATELY?

DIDN’T THIS INCIDENT OCCURR IN HIGH SCHOOL?

I’M NOT MOCKING CHRISTINE FORD NOR AM I TRYING TO SOUND HYPOCRITICAL BUT WHY IS IT ALWAYS LIKE THIS FOR GOP SCOTUS COURT NOMINEES? WHY??

I WAS TRYING TO REMAIN SILENT BUT I HAD TO SPEAK UP.

THIS DRAMA IS NOT ABOUT PROTECTING WOMEN, IT’S STRAIGHT POLITICAL THEATER.


Post Sources: BBC News, Fox News, NBC News, Washington Post, Youtube


***** Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh hearing: Key takeaways so far


With a seat on the Supreme Court hanging in the balance, Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh are appearing in front of senators to state their case and share their stories. Here are some of the key takeaways so far.

Everyone knew what Christine Blasey Ford was going to say before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday morning. Her formal opening statement was released to the public on Wednesday evening.

Reading what she was going to say and hearing her speak it, in a quiet, sometimes faltering voice, are two very different things, however.

The committee hearing began with statements by Republican chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein, and the exchanging accusations of political obfuscation and procedural misconduct threatened to cover the proceedings in a political fog.

For a taut 20 minutes, however, Ms Ford cut through the fog with searing emotion. She spoke of traumatic memories and decades of shame; of a civic duty to come forward and recent months of hounding media and death threats.

The images of her speaking - the first glimpse the public at large has had of her besides a few grainy photos - will linger well beyond Thursday's hearing or even Brett Kavanaugh's ultimate professional fate.


Once Ms Ford concluded, the fog descended again. Thanks in large part to a disjointed format that featured five-minute segments alternating between veteran sex-crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell, a surrogate questioner for the Republicans, and Democratic senators, there was little flow to proceedings.

It was as if viewers were flipping back and forth between a CourtTV criminal cross-examination and a public-access television congressional hearing.

Democrats succeeded in gleaning a few memorable moments from Ms Ford. She said she was 100% certain that Brett - referring to Mr Kavanaugh repeatedly by his first name - was the teenager who assaulted her.

She also, in reply to a question by Vermont Democrat Pat Leahy, recounted how the enduring recollection she has from the incident was Mr Kavanaugh and his friend, Mark Judge, laughing as they stumbled down the stairs after the alleged attack.


Ms Mitchell, in her interrogation, pulled at a number of threads in Ms Ford's story.

Who drove her to and from the house on the night of the party?

Why did she tell Senate investigators that she couldn't meet them in Washington because she was afraid of flying if she frequently travelled by air for pleasure?

Did she or did she not share her 2012 therapist records with a reporter from the Washington Post?

That final line of questioning is key, since it's those records that help corroborate that Ms Ford had spoken about the assault well before Mr Kavanaugh became a candidate for the Supreme Court.

The other questions seemed more geared toward undermining Ms Ford's credibility - the kind of strategy useful during depositions or trials to undermine a jury's trust in a witness or, perhaps, force them to crack under the accumulated pressure of the interrogation.

Every five minutes, however, Democrats threw Ms Ford a lifeline.


In the end, however, Ms Mitchell herself seemed slightly exasperated by the format she was working under. When it comes to trying to arrive at the accurate recollection of trauma, she said, "there's no study that shows that this setting, in five-minute increments, is the best way to do that.

As the first half of the hearing drew to a close, the senators began to argue about entering various outside statements into the record, only to be interrupted by one of Ms Ford's lawyers.

"Can we be excused?" he asked.

With the partisan fog thick again, it's a sentiment many Americans may have shared.

NIKOLAS CRUZ’S DISTURBING INSTAGRAM PAGES vs FREEDOM OF SPEECH (LAWSUITS)

NIKOLAS CRUZ’S DISTURBING INSTAGRAM PAGES vs FREEDOM OF SPEECH:

WHY DID INSTAGRAM EMPLOYEES IGNORE CRUZ’S OBSESSION WITH GUNS?

WHAT WAS CRUZ’S MOTIVE & WHO INFLUENCED HIM?

A 19-YEAR OLD COULD NOT PLAN SUCH MASS MURDER, PREMEDITATED EVIL ALL BY HIMSELF.

CRUZ’S INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK PAGES SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO THE FBI.

WHY DIDN’T FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM REPORT CRUZ TO THE FBI??

THE PARENTS OF THOSE 17 DEAD TEENS SHOULD SUE INSTAGRAM.


Sources: Telegraph.co.uk, CBS News, Fox News, TIME, Youtube


***** Nikolas Cruz: Florida school massacre suspect had 'disturbing' social media history and 'was crazy about guns'


TThe gunman who allegedly killed at least 17 people at a Florida high school on Wednesday was a former student who posted disturbing material on social media and was "crazy about guns".

Police identified the suspect as Nikolas Cruz, a 19-year-old who had been expelled from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Miami.

The suspect was wearing a gas mask and carrying smoke grenades, Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida told CNN.

Mr Nelson, who said he had been briefed by the FBI, said the attacker "set off the fire alarm so the kids would come pouring out of the classrooms into the hall. And there the carnage began."

He said he did not know if the gunman had used the smoke grenades but he assumed that's why he had a gas mask on.

Frightened students ran out onto the streets as shots rang out before SWAT team members swarmed the building.

Authorities later announced that they had taken the suspect into custody and took him to hospital after locating him in Coral Springs, a little over a mile away from the school. The gunman surrendered to police without a struggle, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

Inside the suspect's disturbing Instagram page

The Instagram page of the alleged shooter paints a picture of a man obsessed with guns and knives.

One of the more recent posts shows target practice, captioned "Group therapy. Sometimes it really f---ing works."

Others show him posing proudly with his weapons, which include pistols and knives, and in one Instagram post, he seemingly asks followers for advice on a certain model of gun.

He also posed for selfies where he wore all black clothes and a balaclava.

One photograph shows a dead toad, which he claims to have killed.

His Instagram profile contained the word “annihilator.”

One post about purchasing a shotgun reads: “I plan on getting this but I need more information on it so if someone could give advice on how much I’m spending and background cheeks [sic] please to god let me know."

Students at the school have confirmed the Instagram page is his.

One student, who escaped the shooting, wrote on Twitter: "He literally had an Instagram where he posted pictures of animals he killed gruesomely."

Flagged as a threat

Jim Gard, a Maths teacher, said Cruz had been in his class last year.

“We were told last year that he wasn’t allowed on campus with a backpack on him,” Mr Gard told the Miami Herald. “There were problems with him last year threatening students.”

However, Robert Runcie, the Broward County School District Superintendent, told reporters he was not aware of any concerns raised about the student.

“We received no warnings,” Mr Runcie said outside the school. “Potentially there could have been signs out there. But we didn't have any warning or phone calls or threats that were made.”

One student, who did not wish to be named, told TV station WSVN-7 that Cruz had said he had guns at home and talked about using them.

“He’s been a troubled kid,” the student said. “He’s always had a certain amount of issues going on. He shot guns because he felt it gave him, I guess, an exhilarating feeling.”

'Very disturbing' social media history

Mr Israel said the gunman had an AR-15 assault rifle and "countless magazines".

“We already began to dissect his websites and the things on social media that he was on and some of the things that came to mind are very, very disturbing," he said.

His Instagram account was taken down after the shooting, but screenshots were sent to various media outlets.

“Everything he posts is about weapons,” one student told ABC News. “It’s sick.”

Daniel Huerfano, a student who fled Wednesday's attack, said he recognised Cruz from an Instagram photo in which Cruz posed with a gun in front of his face. Huerfano recalled Cruz as a shy student and remembered seeing him walking around with his lunch bag.

"He was that weird kid that you see ... like a loner," he added.

One pupil said other teenagers had long thought the suspect would “shoot up the school”.

The pupil told local television station WFOR-TV: “A lot of people were saying it was going to be him. A lot of kids threw jokes around saying that he was going to be the one to shoot up the school. It turns out that everyone predicted it. That’s crazy.”

Broward County Mayor Beam Furr said during an interview with CNN that the shooter was getting treatment at a mental health clinic for a while, but that he hadn't been back to the clinic for more than a year.

"It wasn't like there wasn't concern for him," Mr Furr said. "We try to keep our eyes out on those kids who aren't connected ... Most teachers try to steer them toward some kind of connections. ... In this case, we didn't find a way to connect with this kid."

Another student, named as Brandon, was asked whether he was surprised to learn the identity of the gunman, and replied: “No.” He continued: “He told me he got kicked out of two private schools, and was held back twice. He seemed a little off.”

'Crazy about guns'

Chad Williams, 18, a senior at Stoneman Douglas High school, remembered Cruz as a troubled classmate from when they attended middle school together. He said Cruz would set off the fire alarm, day after day, and finally got expelled in the eighth grade.

More recently, Williams saw Cruz carrying several publications about guns when they ran into each other at the high school. Williams thought Cruz was there to pick up a younger sibling.

“He was crazy about guns,” Williams told Reuters, speaking by the side of the road near the high school. “He was kind of an outcast. He didn’t have many friends. He would do anything crazy for a laugh, but he was trouble.”

Victoria Olvera, a 17-year-old junior, said Cruz was expelled last school year after a fight with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend. She said Cruz had been abusive to his girlfriend.

'If anyone would do it, it was him'

Dakota Mutchler, 17, said he used to be close friends with Cruz but hadn't seen him in more than a year following his expulsion from school.

"He started progressively getting a little more weird," Mutchler said. "He started going after one of my friends, threatening her, and I cut him off from there.

"I think everyone had in their minds if anybody was going to do it, it was going to be him."

Travis Julmice, an 18-year-old senior, said he had not been in a class with Cruz since middle school.

"You could tell he was a little off," Julmice told Reuters at the Coral Springs hotel. "He was always like a troubled kid, getting in-school suspension a lot. And detentions."

FLORIDA SHOOTING, 15+ DEAD, ACTION NEEDED, GUN CONTROL

FLORIDA SHOOTING, 15+ DEAD, ACTION NEEDED, GUN CONTROL:

SHOOTING SUSPECT IS NICHOLAS CRUZ, 19.

I SUPPORT 2nd AMENDMENT RIGHTS BUT GUN CONTROL SHOULD BE ENFORCED.

SOME FORM OF GUN CONTROL IS BETTER THAN NO GUN CONTROL AT ALL.

EVEN IF THE U.S. MILITARY NEEDS TO BE INVOLVED.

OUR GOV’T HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT ITS CITIZENS.

IT’S TIME FOR MORE PRAYER.

IT’S ALSO TIME FOR A LEGISLATIVE COMPROMISE ON GUN CONTROL.

TIME FOR PRES TRUMP & CONGRESS TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE WHO ELECTED THEM INTO PUBLIC OFFICE.

NO MORE SLAUGHTER OF HUMAN LIVES VIA MASS SHOOTINGS.

DEAR GOD, HELP US ALL.


Sources: AP, CNN, Yahoo News, Youtube


****** At least 17 dead in Florida school shooting, law enforcement says


At least 17 people were killed Wednesday in a high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel said.

The suspect, 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz, is in custody, the sheriff said. The sheriff said he was expelled for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

At least 14 people have been taken to area hospitals following the shooting, Israel said.

Law enforcement responded to reports of a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shortly before 3 p.m. The shooting sent students and staff streaming out of the school in a panic. Some students said a fire drill earlier in the day added to the confusion.

mmediately after the shooting, aerial footage from CNN affiliate WSVN showed people lying on the ground outside the school, being treated for injuries and moved to ambulances.

Freshman Kayden Hanafi said he heard two gunshots and saw people running out of another building on campus. As he and his classmates went into lockdown in a classroom, many thought the noise might have been firecrackers.
"It's really a blessing to still be alive," he said.

Nicole Baltzer, 18, said she was in trigonometry class about 10 minutes before the end of the school day when the fire alarm went off. As students evacuated, she heard six gunshots and everyone started running back inside the school, Baltzer told CNN's Sara Ganim.

"I heard so many gunshots, at least like six. They were very close," Baltzer said.

A police officer told her to close her eyes as she walked past a classroom with broken glass, telling her "there's nothing good to see in there," she said.
A freshman named Aidan posted a photo on social media from inside his math class while on lockdown. Since then, he has left the building.

"We have been liberated. God bless, America," Aidan tweeted after being evacuated from the building. "Love each other. You may never know when it may be the last day you meet someone."
There had been a fire drill at the school earlier in the day, leading some to believe at first that the afternoon incident was another drill, a student told CNN affiliate WSVN. "Everyone just started freaking out."
"But then word started going around that it was shots and not just, like, something else, everyone just started running towards the canal," the student said.

Parkland, with a population of 31,000 people in 2016, was named Florida's safest city last year, according to an analysis by the Washington-based National Council for Home Safety and Security, a home security industry trade association.

The south Florida city had seven reported violent crimes and 186 property crimes the previous year, according to the analysis.

Stoneman Douglas High School had an enrollment of about 3,100 students in the 2015-16 year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

As news of the shooting spread, desperate parents gathered near the property searching for their children.
Lissette Rozenblat told CNN that her daughter safely evacuated the school and took shelter at a nearby Walmart.
"She was very nervous, she said that she could hear the person who was shot crying out for help, and was just a nervous wreck," Rozenblat said.

Agents from the Miami office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are responding to the scene, a spokesman said.