Here There and Everywhere

Expat wanderer

Bringing Great Good from the Evil of 9/11

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A reading from today’s Forward Day by Day helps us to cope with the resonating horrors of that monstrous day. We are living in a world where we are more and more inextricably interconnected. Where I am living, I often hear people talk about how “Moslems are killing Christians all over the world!” and my heart breaks, thinking of the wonderful friends I have lived among is so many Moslem countries, their kindness, their hospitality, our long pleasant conversations. I learned so much.

I am glad we believe in a God who knows our hearts. I am thankful for grace, and forgiveness. When we talk about killing, we also need to take account for all the civilians we have killed, trying to bring about peace, trying to eradicate Al Qaeda, Al Shebaab, those who would harm us.

God asks us to love one another. He doesn’t say “Christians, you love just the Christians.” He shows us how to love the Samaritans, the lame, the blind, the mentally ill, the “other”. He tells us, clearly, to love our enemies. The Gospel that speaks the loudest is the gospel of our lives lived to honor him.

THURSDAY, September 11

Acts 15:8-9 [Peter said], “And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them…and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.”

Thirteen years ago, this day became one of those days that divide time into what life was like before, and after; one of those days when you will remember, always, where you were, what you were doing—this time when you heard the news that airplanes had crashed into the World Trade Center and thousands of people had died.
Job asks, “Does not calamity befall the unrighteous?” (31:3), but we learned, vividly, on September 11, 2001, that the righteous and the innocent suffer too.

Psalm 59:6 exhorts God to “show no mercy to those who are faithless and evil.” The terrorists who flew the planes on 9/11 forced us to confront the power of evil and challenged us to find a way to respond with forgiveness. Perhaps we can learn something about that in Peter’s response to the heated discussions about Jews and Gentiles, about who could be saved, and how: “God, who knows the human heart…has made no distinction between them and us” (Acts 15:8-9).

Then, as now, there were good people and evildoers on all sides, religions, and races. Now, as then, judgment and salvation comes only through the mercy and grace of God.

September 11, 2014 Posted by | Charity, Circle of Life and Death, Civility, Community, Counter-terrorism, Crime, Cross Cultural, Events, ExPat Life, Faith, Friends & Friendship, Interconnected, Lectionary Readings, Pensacola, Political Issues, Quality of Life Issues, Spiritual | | Leave a comment

Pensacola Drug Sweep Arrests 13 with Warrants for 20 More

Wooo HOOOO Pensacola, getting those dealers off the streets. It’s not like its permanent, but it’s a start. There is one funny thing you will spot in this write-up in the Pensacola News Journal, that the next to last man named had charges that include selling cocaine within 1000 feet of a place of worship.

If you’ve ever been to Pensacola, you will understand how hilarious that is. You can’t go 1,000 feet away from one house of worship and not be within 1,000 feet of the next. It’s just like the mosques in Qatar and Kuwait, if you are lost, you can’t call someone and when they ask where you are, you can’t say “I’m by the big mosque/church on the corner!” because there are mosques/churches on EVERY corner! Pensacola has churches everywhere! I just think that’s interesting, that it seems to be an additional charge on the sheets in Pensacola.

An approximate 4-month-long investigation targeting street-level drug dealers resulted in the arrests of 13 people for selling crack cocaine to undercover Pensacola Police officers Friday.

Warrants for selling cocaine also have been issued for an additional 20 people, said Sgt. Marvin Miller, who supervises the department’s Vice & Narcotics Unit. Miller said the investigation targeted areas notorious for narcotics sales.

All of the charges are third-degree felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. Additional prison time can be added for selling within 1,000 feet of a specified area such as convenience stores, schools, and places of worship, or if the person is a repeat offender.

Officers from various units within the Pensacola Police Department spent approximately 12 hours today making the arrests.

Arrested today and charged with sale of cocaine and conspiracy to sell cocaine were:

Alfred Peasant, 34, of 1300 block of North Sixth Avenue, Pensacola
Sharon Pickett, 49, of 100 block of North J Street, Pensacola.
David Jones, 24, of 3600 block of Swan Lane, Pensacola.
Demarko Weathers, 21, of 2000 block of West Chase Street, Pensacola.
Minnie Mae Sapp, 54, of 100 block of South N Street, Pensacola.
Terry Crenshaw, 28, of 1000 block of West Hillary Street, Pensacola.
Larry Dornall Knight, 52, of 3600 block of North Ninth Avenue, Pensacola.
Antoine Booker, 34, of 1100 block of West Hope Drive, Pensacola.

Also arrested today were:

Donte A. Brazile, 36, of 3000 block of Torres Avenue, Pensacola. Charged with sale of cocaine.

Dominique Blackwell, 19, of 600 block of North B Street, Pensacola. Charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell within 1,000 feet of a place of worship.

Kernist Ferrell, 57, address unavailable; Robert Lee Watts, 23, address unavailable; and Michael Coleman, 33, of 600 block of North A Street, Pensacola.

All three, who are currently in jail, were charged with sale of cocaine.

September 6, 2014 Posted by | Bureaucracy, Community, Crime, Cultural, Doha, ExPat Life, Faith, Humor, Kuwait, Law and Order, Living Conditions, Pensacola, Quality of Life Issues, Social Issues, Values | Leave a comment

And Fifteen Chickens?

This guy is a disaster. So sad, nuts with guns, and who suffers? He claims his dog jumped out of the truck, causing the accident (dog died) and then his truck rolls over and all these legal and illegal weapons fall out, and fifteen chickens??? IED’s???

From today’s AOL News

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By RYAN GORMAN

Officers responding to a single-SUV crash Friday in West Virginia found bombs, drugs, guns and more than a dozen chickens inside the vehicle – and may have thwarted a domestic terror attack.

Seth Grim, 21, somehow managed to roll the SUV off a highway about 40 miles northeast of Charleston. Police found four improvised explosive devices, two AK-47s, a rifle and about 15 chickens inside the vehicle, police said. They also uncovered a large amount of marijuana.

Authorities also found about 10 loaded magazines and body armor, they could possibly have halted a major tragedy. Two of the bombs were six inches long, two were four inches long, police said.

Grim’s Ford Explorer rolled off Interstate 79 at around 3:30 a.m., police told the West Virginia Gazette.

Grim apparently blamed the wreck on his rottweiler, which he told police jumped out the window while he was speeding down the highway, Office of Emergency Services Director Melissa Gilbert told AOL.

The dog was found dead several yards away, Roane County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Mike King told AOL.

West Virginia State Police arrived on the scene shortly after and found the chickens inside a cage, said Gilbert.

A number of the chickens were dead on the road and a few others escaped, said King. They were not recovered. Also scattered on the road were a few of the loaded magazines.

Cops also found multiple improvised explosive devices, assault rifles and several loaded clips stashed inside with the chickens, according to Gilbert.

King shot down reports Grim was on the run from police in Pennsylvania. Police are not clear where he was heading or what his intentions were. Several agencies are waiting to speak with him, according to the officer.

Grim suffered minor upper body injuries but was immediately arrested. The potentially dangerous man also declared himself a “sovereign citizen” upon his incarceration, according to Gilbert.

A bomb squad took the bombs to a secure location to be detonated out of harm’s way, Gilbert said.

Sovereign citizens often refuse to pay taxes as a form of protest against the federal government. They are seen by the FBI as domestic terrorists.

Terry Nichols, who helped plan the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, is the most infamous sovereign citizen.

A call to local police seeking further information about the charges filed against Grim and to find out why he was running from police in Pennsylvania was not immediately returned.

Only the marijuana and IEDs are illegal in West Virginia, according to King. Grim faces four felony counts for possessing them.

He remains in a West Virginia jail.

August 22, 2014 Posted by | Character, Crime, Cultural, Law and Order, Living Conditions, Quality of Life Issues, Safety | , , , , , | 2 Comments

$10M For Me!

Yeh. Right.

Karen Diamond kdiamond@obps.org

From: Karen Diamond
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2014 2:54 AM
To: Karen Diamond
Subject:

My name is Mrs. Rachel Williams, 72 yrs old widow.I got your contact information from a Christian website. I decided to bequeath the sum of $10,000,000.00 to you. Please Contact My Lawyer on email for more information (Contact; zenithlawfirm@rogers.com TELL: +447031975915 )

August 20, 2014 Posted by | Crime, Lies, Scams | Leave a comment

Amazon.com Scam

The first thing I do when I get something like this is to look at the details of the sender’s address. This one says:

service@coupon.com

That does not look like Amazon.com to me!

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August 13, 2014 Posted by | Crime, Financial Issues, Lies, Scams | 2 Comments

“You Are Having a Problem With Your Computer”

Unknown

The man with the West African accent called at noon, explaining that he was a part of my security network and I was having a problem with my computer. My computer was not on. AdventureMan’s computer was not on.

“WHO are you with?” I asked, two or three more times, and he would explain that hackers were trying to get into my computer through my Windows system. I told him I didn’t recognize the name of his security system and he told me I was registered with them, and read off my (correct) name and address.

Anyone can get my name and address. My magazine subscriptions have my name and address, my bills, you can find my name and address by asking the right questions on the internet. I am so not buying into this.

What was interesting to me was that the caller was enjoying the process. He wasn’t stuck on a memorized script; he had a few points memorized and would repeat them now and then, but he would also improvise. He wanted me to get on my computer and he would “fix everything.”

After a few minutes I said “I think this is a scam. I am going to hang up now and call the police.”

He did not protest, nor did he call back.

August 2, 2014 Posted by | Communication, Crime, Lies, Nigeria, Pensacola, Scams, Technical Issue | , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t All Lawyers Send Summons by E-Mail? LOL

I was about to hit delete, and I thought I would post so anyone else getting this who might think to check would come across this posting.

No. No, this is not how legal firms communicate with people. It is a great way to scam a person, or steal their identity, scare them and scam them.

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July 13, 2014 Posted by | Crime, Scams | Leave a comment

Scam Targets CitiBank Customers

Right. Just sign in and give this scammer all your identification data for CitiBank. And I am not even a CitiBank Customer, LOL.

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July 12, 2014 Posted by | Crime, Lies, Scams | , , | Leave a comment

Scam Death Notice: A New Low in Scams

Today I got this. It’s a common name; it’s entirely possible I know someone of that name, but I have never seen a notice like this, official, impersonal, and not mentioning the specific name of the deceased. It smells. No. It stinks.

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July 7, 2014 Posted by | Circle of Life and Death, Crime, Lies, Scams | , | Leave a comment

Generous Pedro Quezada

 

 

 

 

My friend, “Pedro Quezada”, wants to share his lottery wealth with Me! Who knew?

 

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June 7, 2014 Posted by | Crime, Scams | Leave a comment