Category: International Headlines

Here is yet another example of a mass shooter with possible mental issues:

For six years starting in 2009, Johnson served in the Army Reserve as a private first class with a specialty in carpentry and masonry, the military said.

In May 2014, six months into his Afghanistan tour, he was accused of sexual harassment by a female soldier. The Army sent him stateside, recommending an “other than honorable discharge,” said Bradford Glendening, the military lawyer who represented him.

That recommendation was “highly unusual,” Bradford said, since counseling is usually ordered before more drastic steps are taken.

“In his case, it was apparently so egregious, it was not just the act itself,” Glendening told The Associated Press. “I’m sure that this guy was the black sheep of his unit.”

According to a court filing Glendening read over the phone Friday, the victim said she wanted Johnson to “receive mental help,” while also seeking a protective order to keep him away from her and her family, wherever they went. Johnson was ordered to avoid all contact with her.

Glendening said Johnson was set to be removed from the Army in September 2014 because of the incident, but instead got an honorable discharge months later — for reasons he can’t understand.

“Someone really screwed up,” he said. “But to my client’s benefit.”  [Associated Press]

You can read more at the link, but just like the Orlando shooting it appears a guy with mental issues influenced by radical hate spread through mainstream and social media decided to take action at the urging of others.

This story has been sweeping the Internet because it appears to show the extreme double standard between Hillary Clinton and everyone else that is not politically connected:

A Marine Corps officer who has been locked in a legal battle with his service after self-reporting that he improperly disseminated classified information will use Hillary Clinton’s email case to fight his involuntary separation from the service, his lawyer said.

Maj. Jason Brezler’s case has been tied up in federal court since he sued the service in December 2014. He became a cause celebre among some members of Congress, Marine generals and military veterans after he sent a classified message using an unclassified Yahoo email account to warn fellow Marines in southern Afghanistan about a potentially corrupt Afghan police chief. A servant of that police official killed three Marines and severely wounded a fourth 17 days later, on Aug. 10, 2012, opening fire with a Kalashnikov rifle in an insider attack.  [Washington Post]

You can read more at the link, but it is important to realize that like Clinton, Maj. Brezler was not criminally charged.  Instead he received a career ending report that led to involuntary separation proceedings by the Marine Corps.  So the circumstances are different and not the best comparison in my opinion.  I still think the David Petraeus situation is a better comparison considering he was criminally charged and punished for doing something in my opinion was a far less of a transgression than what Clinton did.

What that all said I don’t blame this Marine or anyone else in trouble fill spillage for citing the Clinton case as a way to avoid punishment.

It is amazing how interconnect the world has become when Britain leaving the European Union is having financial ripple effects across the entire world to include in South Korea:

Korea’s stocks and currency plunged as investors panicked over the possible fallout of Britain’s surprise vote to exit from the EU, dealers said.

Analysts said growing uncertainties on global financial markets, triggered by the Brexit, will overshadow the sluggish Korean economy. They ruled out any immediate huge direct impact on the real economy, but said it will weaken overall investment and consumer sentiment.

The benchmark KOSPI closed down 3.09 percent at 1,925.24 points. The tech-loaded KOSDAQ market plunged 4.76 percent to 647.16.

The won tumbled, closing at 1,179.9 won against the dollar, losing 29.7 won from the previous day.

Analysts said the Seoul stock market will remain weak for the time being on growing uncertainties in global financial markets. [Korea Times]

You can read more at the link.

This is a horrible tragedy with so many dead and wounded caused by the terror attack on a Orlando nightclub.  I am actually amazed a terrorist has not tried to attack a packed night club sooner considering how crowded they can be and have few exits to escape:

A gunman opened fire inside at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday, killing 50 people and leaving 53 others hospitalized in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.  Officials identified the gunman as Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen. According to the Washington Post, Mateen’s family is from Afghanistan, while Mateen is believed to have been born in the United States. According to CBS News, Mateen had no apparent criminal history.

You can read much more at the link, but the FBI is treating this as an act of domestic terrorism despite not knowing if the shooter was inspired by radical Islam:

Orlando authorities said they consider the violence an act of domestic terror. The FBI is involved. While investigators are exploring all angles, they “have suggestions the individual has leanings towards (Islamic terrorism), but right now we can’t say definitely,” said Ron Hopper, assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Orlando bureau.  [CNN]

Also get this authorities according to the article are also investigating if this is a hate crime.  ABC News is reporting that Omar Mateen has been on the radar of authorities as a possible threat:

Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S.-born citizen, has been identified as the suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting that left at least 50 dead and more than 50 others wounded at the Pulse Nightclub, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Mateen’s parents were born in Afghanistan, and he was “on the radar” of U.S. officials for some time, but was not the target of a specific investigation, law enforcement officials told ABC News.  [ABC News]

TMZ is reporting that Omar Mateen was a security guard with proper fire arms licensing and they have a picture of the terrorist wearing an NYPD shirt:

The killer in the Orlando nightclub slaughter is 29-year-old Omar Mateen.  TMZ has done a records search and found he held a Florida security officer license and a state firearms license.  [TMZ]

His parents say the killings had nothing to do with religion and instead he just hated gay people.  NYPD also says that Mateen has nothing to do with the department.

How come I have a feeling that after this there will once again be an effort to restrict everyone’s right to own a firearm instead of finding ways to keep firearms out of the hands of the mentally ill and terrorists that commit just about every mass shooting in the US?

Coincidentally this weekend “The Voice” singer Christina Grime was gunned downed in an unrelated shooting in Orlando this weekend as well.

Condolences to everyone affected by both shootings.

Could you imagine what would happen to the US military if it soldiers were limited to a 41 hour work week?  Imagine what the over time bill would like after a year long deployment:

The German military, once the most feared fighting force in Europe, is being forced to lay down its weapons by restrictive new overtime limits.

German soldiers taking part in a four-week Nato exercise in Norway earlier this year had to leave after just 12 days because they had gone over their overtime limits, it has emerged.

Troops have complained to a parliamentary watchdog that they are being forced to spend entire days doing nothing under the new rules.  (…..)

Under the latest reforms, in force since January, the military working week has been reduced to 41 hours and troops can no longer be paid for working overtime.

Instead they must be compensated with alternate time off.

Mr Bertels, an MP appointed to oversee the armed forces, said the new rules had forced training camps to close at 4.30pm and left soldiers stranded on base.  [The Telegraph via reader tip]

You can read more at the link.

Considering how authorities have been scouring Brussels for terror suspects ever since the Paris terror attacks you would think it would be hard for these guys to execute such attack.  Fortunately this US military family was not killed by this latest terror attack in Europe.  I hope they have a speedy recovery from their injuries:

A U.S. airman and his family were among the scores wounded in a series of bombings in Brussels Tuesday claimed by the Islamic State group that killed more than 30 people, prompting a temporary travel restriction to the country for all American forces, U.S. military officials said.

The airman, assigned to Joint Force Command Brunssum, Netherlands, was injured at Brussels’ international airport, the Air Force said in a statement. The Airman, who the Associated Press reported was a lieutenant colonel, “sustained various injuries,” the statement said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

#BREAKING President Hollande blames #IslamicState group for #ParisTerrorAttacks that killed at least 127 people pic.twitter.com/j2gxmnavCA

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) November 14, 2015

It seems we can’t go more than a few months without a missing Malaysian linked airplane making headlines:

South Korea’s foreign ministry said Sunday that at least three South Koreans were on board an AirAsia plane that went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore.

The ministry said that a South Korean man and a woman in their 30s, and an infant were among the 162 passengers and crew members on AirAsia’s flight QZ8501 that lost contact with Jakarta’s air traffic control after takeoff early Sunday.

The foreign ministry said it convened an emergency meeting to address the issue, saying that it will monitor progress in the search operations for the missing plane.

“The Seoul government plans to closely watch related authorities’ search operations and will study various options, including the dispatch of a response team,” Lee Jeong-gwan, ambassador for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, said at the opening of the meeting. [Yonhap]

AirAsia’s majority ownership is from a Malaysian company which the industry considers as having a very good safety record.

Police have released more information that the Virginia Tech shooter Cho Seung-hui may have conducted a dry run of his shooting rampage just two days before the shootings.  Additionally the police still have not been able to link why Cho shot certain victims as well as why he shot students in the building that he did. 

The strangest thing is that Cho hid hard drives from multiple computers that he owned.  The police have been unable to find where Cho had the hard drives.  If those hard drives could be found I bet a lot of questions about why Cho did what he did could be answered.

Anywhere from 18-23 Korean missionaries and NGO workers were kidnapped by Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan during a bus ride from Kandahar to Kabul.  The Taliban is demanding that Korea withdraw their troops from Afghanistan for the safe return of the abducted people.  The Marmot has an excellent post following the developments of this story as they happen.