Muslim Suicide Bomber Destroys Nigerian Catholic Church

A suicide bomber drove a jeep packed with explosives into a Catholic church in northern Nigeria Sunday morning, killing 

at least eight people, injuring more than 100 and triggering reprisal attacks that killed at least two more, officials said.

The bomber drove right into the packed St. Rita's church in the Malali area of Kaduna, a volatile ethnically and religiously mixed city, witnesses said.

MICHAEL SMITH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Soldiers stand guard as people look at the burnt remains of the bomber’s car.

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) spokesman Yushua Shuaib said eight people were confirmed killed and more than 100 others were injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed similar attacks in the past as it intensified its campaign against Christians in the past year.

A wall of the church was blasted open and scorched black, with debris lying around. Police cordoned the area off.

Church attacks often target Nigeria's middle belt, where its largely Christian south and mostly Muslim north meet and where sectarian tensions run high. Kaduna's mixed population lies along that faultline.

MICHAEL SMITH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The suicide bombing sparked fierce reprisals that saw a Christian mob burn a man alive in day of a bloody of violence that left at least 10 people dead and 145 wounded.

Shortly after the blast, angry Christian youth took to the streets armed with sticks and knives. A Reuters reporter saw two 

bodies at the roadside lying in pools of blood.

"We killed them and we'll do more," shouted a youth, with blood on his shirt, before police chased him and others away. Police set up roadblocks and patrols across the town in an effort to prevent the violence spreading. See Chick's MEN OF PEACE?

Animals Sacrificed in Islamic Ritual

SOUTH BRUNSWICK -- An unidentified Islamic group sacrificed goats as part of a religious ritual Friday morning.

Nearly 100 people from the group were reportedly sacrificing goats on Dey Road near Dey Farms as part of the Eid-Ul-Adha holiday, according to one person in attendance who declined to be identified.

"This is part of a religious holiday, part of which requires an animal sacrifice," said a young male in attendance who declined give his name.

Police were called to the scene by a passing motorist, with intial reports indicating a connection to the occult.

"There is a large penned area with goats inside where people are apparently chasing the goats around with a stick before bringing them around to be slaughtered," said police spokesman Sgt. Jim Ryan. "We're still sorting things out, but it appears to be some kind of religious ceremony."

Sgt. Ryan said the group obtained a permit from the New Jersey Department of Agriculture to perform the ceremony. The ASPCA told police that if a permit had been obtained then the group was allowed to perform the ritual. Police said the group is not connected to the Islamic Society of Central Jersey.

"We're working with the Department of Agriculture to determine if this type of activity is allowed," Sgt. Ryan said. 

Eid-Ul-Adha, also known as the "Festival of Sacrifice," commemorates Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ishmael to God, before God intervenes and gives him a ram (sheep) to sacrifice in Ishmael's place, according to www.whyislam.org.

The holiday is one of two major festivals celebrated by over one billion Muslims worldwide. The holiday involves Muslims offering special prayers and sacrificing animals, whose meat is then distributed to the poor and the needy, according to www.whyislam.org.

Sgt. Ryan said the group had performed the ritual at the location on Dey Road for the previous three years. The ritual involves people paying to kill a goat before bringing it home to be prepared in a certain way. It was not immediately clear how many goats were slaughtered.

More Tibetan Suicides in Protest of Chinese Occupation

A Tibetan farmer has died after setting himself on fire in remote northwest China, in the second self-immolation death near the Labrang Monastery in two days and the latest of dozens of such anti-China protests by Tibetans.

The monastery in Gansu province's Xiahe county is one of the most important outside of Tibet, and was the site of numerous protests by monks following deadly ethnic violence in Tibet in 2008 that was the most sustained Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in decades.

The Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet said in an email that Dorje Rinchen, a farmer in his late 50s, set himself on fire Tuesday on the main street in Xiahe and died later. China's official Xinhua News Agency also reported that a 58-year-old man died after self-immolating Tuesday afternoon in Xiahe near the Labrang Monastery, but did not provide his name.

Dozens of Tibetans have set themselves on fire since March 2011 in ethnic Tibetan areas of China to protest what activists say is Beijing's heavy-handed rule in the region. Many have called for the return of the Dalai Lama, their exiled spiritual leader. The government has confirmed only some of the self-immolations.

China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday reiterated its claim that supporters of the Dalai Lama have been inciting the immolations.

"In order to achieve their separatist goal, the Dalai clique has showed no hesitation in inciting self-immolations," ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular press briefing. "This is despicable and deserves people's condemnation."

The Dalai Lama and representatives of the self-declared Tibetan government-in-exile in India say they oppose all violence.

Chinese authorities routinely deny Tibetan claims of repression and have accused supporters of the Dalai Lama of encouraging the self-immolations.

Following Tuesday's incident, International Campaign for Tibet sent a photo allegedly showing Dorje wrapped in blankets after the immolation, his neck and head badly charred and swollen. It was not clear whether he was still alive when the blurry, poorly lit picture was taken.

Two other photos obtained by the London-based Free Tibet group that appeared to be taken by someone on the sidewalk in front of Dorje show his body engulfed in flames. One shows him mid-sprint, his entire frame covered in flames except for one leg. The other shows him still in flames but lying face down on the paved street.

Free Tibet said the self-immolation occurred in front of the Xiahe Public Security Bureau. A woman who answered the phone at the bureau refused to answer questions about the self-immolation and the phone of the local Communist Party propaganda office rang unanswered Wednesday. The number for the Labrang Monastery appeared to not be in service.

On Monday, a Tibetan herdsman died after setting himself on fire near the monastery. See Chick's KINGS OF THE EAST.

White House Knew Christian Video Wasn't the Cause of Attacks w/in 2 Hours

Officials at the White House and State Department were advised two hours after attackers assaulted the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 that an Islamic militant group had claimed credit for the attack, official emails show.

One of the emails, obtained by Reuters from government sources not connected with U.S. spy agencies or the State Department and who requested anonymity, specifically mentions that the Libyan group called Ansar al-Sharia had asserted responsibility for the attacks.

White House officials went out of their way to blame the attacks on a Christian video maker, who has since been jailed for a parole violation (posting videos on the internet) and is not expected to be released until three days after the election. 
The brief emails also show how U.S. diplomats described the attack, even as it was still under way, to Washington.

U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the Benghazi assault, which President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials ultimately acknowledged was a "terrorist" attack carried out by militants with suspected links to al Qaeda affiliates or sympathizers.

Administration spokesmen, including White House spokesman Jay Carney, citing an unclassified assessment prepared by the CIA, maintained for days that the attacks likely were a spontaneous protest against an anti-Muslim film.

While officials did mention the possible involvement of "extremists," they did not lay blame on any specific militant groups or possible links to al Qaeda or its affiliates until intelligence officials publicly alleged that on Sept. 28.

There were indications that extremists with possible al Qaeda connections were involved, but also evidence that the attacks could have erupted spontaneously, they said, adding that government experts wanted to be cautious about pointing fingers prematurely.

U.S. intelligence officials have emphasized since shortly after the attack that early intelligence reporting about the attack was mixed.

A spokesman for the White House had no comment. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the emails and the reports that followed "are simply further indication of the fluidity in reporting that night and in the days that followed."

"An independent board is conducting a thorough review of the assault on our post in Benghazi," Toner said in an emailed statement. "Once we have the board's comprehensive account of what happened, findings and recommendations, we can fully address these matters."

Although this scandal couldn't have come at a worst time for the White House (on the eve an the elections), many in the mainstream media are not giving it much attention. Requests for copies of the emails from the White House have not been provided and the President has said he is "offended" by accusations he is playing politics by dragging his feet on the matter. See Chick's BUSTED.

New York Court Undercuts DOMA

A divided federal appeals court in Manhattan struck down the Defense of Marriage Act Thursday as unconstitutional, joining an appeals court in Boston in rejecting the law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The Supreme Court is expected to take up the case in the next year.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its 2-to-1 ruling only weeks after hearing arguments on a lower court judge's findings that the 1996 law was unconstitutional.

The majority opinion written by Judge Dennis Jacobs rejected a section of the law that says "marriage" only means a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife and that the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. A federal appeals court in Boston earlier this year also found it unconstitutional.

The issue is expected to be decided by the Supreme Court. The decision came less than a month after the court heard arguments on Sept. 27.

Lawyer Paul Clement, who had argued in support of the law on behalf of the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group of the House of Representatives, was traveling and did not immediately return a message for comment.

In striking down the law, the Jacobs wrote that the law's "classification of same-sex spouses was not substantially related to an important government interest" and thus violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution.

He said the law was written so broadly that it touches more than a thousand federal laws. He said "homosexuals are not in a position to adequately protect themselves from the discriminatory wishes of the majoritarian public."

There is no mention of same sex marriage rights in the Constitution, but activist judges can read such rights into other areas of the Constitution if they want to. Liberals judges believe the old laws can't wait to be changed by the voters and politicians, so they often reinterpret them to expand new rights. It will be up to the Supreme Court to reverse new interpretations of the law (if they stick to the original intent). 

Judge Chester Straub dissented, saying that if the government was to change its understanding of marriage, "I believe it is for the American people to do so."

"Courts should not intervene where there is a robust political debate because doing so poisons the political well, imposing a destructive anti-majoritarian constitutional ruling on a vigorous debate," he said.

The ruling came in a case brought by Edith Windsor. She sued the government in November 2010 because she was told to pay $363,053 in federal estate tax after her partner of 44 years, Thea Spyer, died in 2009. They had married in Canada in 2007.

The law, which denies federal recognition of same-sex marriages and affirms the right of states to refuse to recognize such marriages, was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton after it appeared in 1993 that Hawaii might legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have banned gay marriage but several have approved it, including Massachusetts and New York. See Chick's THE GAY BLADE.

V.P. Debate Touches on Abortion

Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Republican Paul Ryan debated live last night. Overall, Biden gave a spirited defense of the Obama Administration, however, he was constantly rude and interrupting Ryan and drowning him out, or smirking during his answers. Although it is likely to please many party activists, it is also likely to turn off independent women voters, who see such antics as resembling the loud-mouth at a party, never letting anyone else have the last word. 

How'd they fair on the facts Thursday night?

Here's a look at some of their claims:

BIDEN, on whether U.S. should have beefed up security at the U.S. Consulate in Libya before the deadly terrorist attack there: "We weren't told they wanted more security there."

RYAN: "There were requests for more security."

THE FACTS: Ryan is right, judging by testimony from Obama administration officials at a congressional hearing this week.

Charlene R. Lamb, a deputy assistant secretary for diplomatic security, told lawmakers she refused requests for more security in Benghazi, saying the department wanted to train Libyans to protect the consulate. "Yes, sir, I said personally I would not support it," she said.

Eric Nordstrom, who was the top security official in Libya earlier this year, testified he was criticized for seeking more security. He said conversations he had with people in Washington led him to believe that it was "abundantly clear we were not going to get resources until the aftermath of an incident. How thin does the ice have to get before someone falls through?"

___

RYAN: "We should have spoken out right away when the green revolution was up and starting, when the mullahs in Iran were attacking their people. We should not have called Bashar Assad a reformer when he was turning his Russian-provided guns on his own people.

THE FACTS: Neither President Barack Obama nor anyone else in his administration ever considered the Syrian leader a "reformer." The oft-repeated charge stems from an interview Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton gave in March 2011 noting that "many of the members of Congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he's a reformer." She did not endorse that view. The comment was widely perceived to be a knock at senators such as John Kerry of Massachusetts who maintained cordial relations with Assad in the months leading up to his crackdown on protesters.

___

BIDEN: "We went out and rescued General Motors."

THE FACTS: Actually, the auto bailout of General Motors and Chrysler began under President George W. Bush. The Obama administration continued and expanded it.
___

RYAN: "And then they put this new Obamacare board in charge of cutting Medicare each and every year in ways that will lead to denied care for current seniors. This board, by the way, it's 15 people, the president's supposed to appoint them next year. And not one of them even has to have medical training."

THE FACTS: Ryan is referring to the Independent Payment Advisory Board, created under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law. It has the power to force cuts in Medicare payments to service providers if costs rise above certain levels and Congress fails to act. But it doesn't look like the board will be cutting Medicare "each and every year," as Ryan asserts. Medicare costs are currently rising modestly and the government's own experts project the board's intervention will not be needed until 2018 and 2019 at the earliest - after Obama leaves office if re-elected to a second term.

___

BIDEN, when asked who would pay more taxes in Obama's second term: "People making a million dollars or more."

THE FACTS: Obama's proposed tax increase reaches farther down the income ladder than millionaires. He wants to roll back Bush-era tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000 and couples making more than $250,000.

The religious portion of the debate covered abortion. Ryan defended his (Catholic) pro-life position, while Biden insisted he would not allow his personal (Catholic) position to effect his political position (pro-choice). Ryan did not attack Obama's record of defending late term abortions to the extreme, even denying medical care to babies born in botched abortions (resulting effectively in infanticide). See Chick's WHO MURDERED CLARICE?  

White House Mislead Public on Terror Attacks

The deadly September attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya was not precipitated by an anti-American protest, as had originally promoted by the White House, the State Department disclosed Tuesday night. According to reports from ABC and the Associated Press, the State Department now acknowledges that "gunfire and explosions near the front gate" were the first signs of danger precipitating the attacks that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans.

This revelation stands in contrast to the story originally reported by the Obama administration and others, who claimed that a protest against the anti-Islam film "The Innocence of Muslims" outside the American consulate was co-opted by violent extremists.

The administration has come under harsh criticism from conservative critics in recent weeks over its actions before and after the attack. Critics point out that the President's party "spiked the football" when they bragged about killing Bin Laden just days before the attack during their Democratic National Convention, then refused requests by the embassies to beef up security after repeated warnings of possible threats. The first congressional hearing on the subject is scheduled for Wednesday. 

Below is a detailed chronology of the attack, as the State Department now claims it played out (via the AP):

Sept. 10-11, 2012:

Stevens arrives in Benghazi and holds meetings on and off the consulate grounds on Sept. 10. He spends the night, and for the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. holds meetings only inside the compound. It is an enclosed area about 300 yards long by 100 yards wide, with a 9-foot outer wall topped by barbed wire and augmented by barriers, steel drop bars and other security upgrades. There are four buildings in the compound. Five diplomatic security officers are present, along with four members of a local militia deployed by Libya's government to provide added security.

Around 8:30 p.m.:

Stevens finishes his final meeting of the day and escorts a Turkish diplomat outside the main entrance of the consulate. The situation is calm. There are no protests.

Around 9:40 p.m.:

Agents hear loud noises, gunfire and explosions near the front gate. A barracks at the entrance housing the local militiamen is burnt down. Agents viewing cameras see large group of armed men flowing into the compound. Alarm is sounded. Telephone calls are made to the embassy in Tripoli, officials in Washington, the Libyan authorities and a U.S. quick reaction force located at a second compound a little over a mile away.

Grabbing weapons:

One agent, armed with a sidearm and an M4 submachine gun, takes Stevens and computer specialist Sean Smith to a safe room inside one of the compound's two main residences. It has a heavy metal grill and several locks, medical supplies and water, and windows that can be opened only from the inside. The other agents equip themselves with long guns, body armor, helmets and ammunition at other buildings. Two try to make it to the building with Stevens. They are met by armed men and are forced to retreat.

Attackers breach the compound:

Attackers penetrate Stevens' building and try to break the grill locks for the safe room, but cannot gain access. They dump jerry cans of diesel fuel in the building, light furniture on fire and set aflame part of the exterior of the building. Two of the remaining four agents are in the compound's other residence. Attackers penetrate that building, but the agents barricade themselves in and the attackers can't reach them. Attackers try to enter the tactical operations center, where the last two agents are located. They smash up the door but cannot enter the building.

Americans trapped:

Meanwhile, Stevens' building rapidly fills up with thick diesel smoke and burning fumes from the furniture. Inside, visibility is less than 3 feet. Unable to breathe, the Americans go to a bathroom and open a window, but still can't get enough air. They decide to leave the building. The agent goes first, flopping out onto a patio enclosed by sandbags. He takes immediate fire, including probably rocket-propelled grenades. Stevens and Smith don't come out of the building. The agent, suffering severely from smoke inhalation, goes in and out of the building several times to look for them. He then climbs a ladder to the roof of the building and collapses. He radios the other agents to alert them to the situation there.

The other four agents are able to reunite and take an armored vehicle to Stevens' building. They reach the collapsed agent and try to set up a perimeter. They take turns going into the building, searching on hands and knees for the missing Americans. Smith is pulled out, dead. Stevens cannot be found.

Reinforcements:

A six-person quick reaction security team arrives from their compound across town. About 60 Libyan militiamen accompany them. They attempt to secure a perimeter around Stevens' building, and take turns going inside. Taking fire, Libyan forces determine they can't hold the perimeter. A decision is made to evacuate the compound and return with everyone to the reaction force's compound.

Evacuation:

Agents pile into an armored vehicle, with Smith's body, and leave through the main gate. They face immediate fire. Crowds and groups of men block two different routes to the security compound. Heavy traffic means they are traveling only about 15 mph, and trying not to attract attention. On a narrow street they reach a group of men who signal for them to enter a compound. They sense an attack and speed away, taking heavy fire from AK-47 machine guns at a distance of only 2 feet, and hand grenades thrown against and under the car. Two tires are blown out.

They speed past another crowd of men and onto a main street and across a grassy median into opposing traffic. The agents drive against traffic, eventually reaching their compound. Security gets into firing positions around the compound and on the roof. They take more gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades intermittently for several hours.

More reinforcements:

In the night, a team of reinforcements from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli arrives on a chartered aircraft at the Benghazi airport and reaches the security compound.

Around 4 a.m.:

The compound's building is hit by mortar fire. The roof is hit and two security personnel are killed. One agent involved in the attack from the beginning is severely wounded. The men decide to evacuate the city entirely. They spend the next hours securing the annex and moving a large convoy of vehicles to the airport. They evacuate on two flights. 

See Chick's MEN OF PEACE.

14-year-old Mom Kills Baby

A 14-year is accused of choking her newborn to death while the baby was still attached to her by the umbilical cord.

Cassidy Goodson of Lakeland, Fla. is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse, according to theLedger.

Goodson gave birth to a boy in the bathroom of her home on Sept. 19, ABC News reports.

Police say the high school freshman ultimately used scissors to pry the baby out of her body and into the toilet. Lifting the baby out of the toilet, Goodson "placed her hands on the infant's neck and squeezed until he wasn't moving or breathing any longer," according to a statement released by Polk County Sheriff's Office on Friday.

Goodson allegedly killed the child because she "didn't know what to do with it," officials told WTSP.

Goodson had reportedly been wearing baggy clothes to hide from her family that she was pregnant. Two aunts suspected the teen was pregnant, but the girl's mother, Teresa Goodson, "was in complete denial," Sheriff Grady Judd told the Ledger.

As evidence that she wasn't pregnant, Cassidy Goodson had shown her mother two home pregnancy tests that turned up negative. However, the teen had conducted the tests completely alone.

Three days after the birth, the Sheriff's Office received a call reporting that Teresa Goodson, Cassidy Goodson's mother, had found a dead baby inside a shoe box in her home. Teresa Goodson said she found the body when she noticed an odor coming from her daughter's bedroom.

Judd believes that Cassidy Goodson's young age should be taken into account. "Let's remember she is a child," he said. "Where was her support system?"

Officials are considering charging adults who may have known about the pregnancy and kept it a secret. Prosecutors are have not yet decided whether to charge Cassidy Goodson as an adult.

Investigators are currently trying to determine the baby's father.