[Page 2] Canadian Stupidity Over Alaska’s Prince Rupert Ferry Terminal Stoking Tensions

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Since 1963, the Alaska Marine Highway System has operated out of Prince Rupert, BC. As the sole user of that particular facility, a fifty-year lease that ended in 2013, and was subsequently renewed. The initial lease provisions required that the Prince Rupert Port Authority was to maintain the terminal facility. In Alaskan Legislative Committee notes dating back to January, 2009 the Alaska Marine Highway System responded to questions regarding the total purchase of the facility noting that the Alaska ferry authority believed the Port Authority of Prince Rupert was not fulfilling the obligations of their contract. The Alaska House Transportation Sub-Committee notes indicate:

The lease requires Prince Rupert to provide dock maintenance, he [Mr. Beedle – the Alaska Marine Highway System Director] advised. However, due to financial constraints the maintenance has not been performed although the Prince Rupert authorities maintain the dock is safe. He acknowledged that Prince Rupert eventually spent $1 million dollars to repair the dock, but ‘this is kind of a band-aid for a three to five year timeline.’ He opined that Prince Rupert does not want to be in the dock business or to finance rebuilding the dock.

In May of 2014, the engineering firm CH2MHILL performed an environmental assessment of the Port Facility in Prince Rupert for the State of Alaska and concluded:

…structural upgrades were completed in 2005… The Terminal is now approaching 50 years of service with significant wear on all parts of the marine facilities. Although the Terminal has had a series of repairs and modifications, it is in poor condition and has reached the end of useful life. Wholesale terminal replacement with modern steel and concrete structures and a new lift system similar to other AMHS ferry terminals is now warranted

The findings by CH2MHill with regard to the Prince Rupert, BC terminal facility seem to support the contention that the Port Authority and City of Prince Rupert were likely in complete abrogation of their contractual obligations long before the State of Alaska took it upon itself to formulate plans to demolish and replace the facility.

The circumstances surrounding the Prince Rupert ferry terminal replacement appears to be the result of the Canadian Government’s decision to ignore their original commitments, and remains as a hallmark of their initial obligations. The conclusion now seems obvious that the need to repair and replace the dock is the direct result of decades of neglect that the local government in their malfeasance failed to perform.

As a result of unjust treatment on the part of select segments of the Canadian populous and some Canadian politicians, Alaskans may be entering a new era of renewed hostilities that are precipitated by a distant Ottawa government. It appears that certain Canadian politicians would rather score some cheap political points thousands of miles away and make illogical statements about Canadian steel and concrete rather than addressing the needs of the local communities they are required to serve. The interference of the Canadian government in a rather trivial ferry terminal facility that they have no vested financial commitment towards is astonishing and not based on tangible harm to the local economy.

The State of Alaska and the United States federal government have been cooperative in all their actions regarding the Prince Rupert ferry terminal leading up to this latest breach of trust by Canadian authorities. In particular, the emphatic statement by Canada’s International Trade Minister, Ed Fast, that a 15 million dollar ferry terminal replacement on about an acre of property will be, “An affront to Canadian Sovereignty.”

As a matter of fact, a 15 million dollar project, solely financed and built for the benefit of Canadian infrastructure with United States tax dollars is a very good deal for our Canadian neighbors and will do much to enhance the economy of the Prince Rupert area. The deal is all the more advantageous and obviously beneficial considering that the Prince Rupert Port Authority all but abandoned that facility a decade ago. (Read page 3 of this story about the Prince Rupert Ferry terminal issue HERE)

Re-Elected Virginia Lawmaker Pressed with Even More Criminal Charges

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A Virginia lawmaker who was just re-elected despite being jailed for a sex scandal with a teenager has been indicted on new felony charges, according to a special prosecutor.

The forgery and perjury indictment of Del. Joseph D. Morrissey was returned and sealed the day before the election, and announced Wednesday by Spotsylvania County Commonwealth’s Attorney William Neely.

The lawmaker now stands accused of forging a document he vouched for in court, and persuading the girl’s mother to swear to its authenticity as well. That woman, Deidre Warren, also was indicted on perjury and forgery charges. Morrissey faces up to 10 years on each count if convicted, Neely said.

Morrissey says the charges are false and he will fight them in court.

“This is a very harmful and mean-spirited blow, but I’ll do what I’ve always done. I’ll prevail,” Morrissey told reporters after arriving at the Capitol Wednesday for the legislative session. (Read more about the re-elected Virginia lawmaker HERE)

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France: Worst Terror Attack in Recent History (+video)

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By BBC.com. Gunmen have shot dead 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in an apparent militant Islamist attack.

Four of the magazine’s well-known cartoonists, including its editor, were among those killed, as well as two police officers.

A major police operation is under way to find three gunmen who fled by car.

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

Cartoon from Hebdo Satirical French Magazine

The masked attackers opened fire with assault rifles in the office and exchanged shots with police in the street outside before escaping by car. They later abandoned the car in Rue de Meaux, northern Paris, where they hijacked a second car. (Read more about “Worst Terror Attack” HERE)
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Vast Crowds Gather Across Europe to Protest French Massacre

By Stephanie Linning and Sian Boyle. As darkness fell across Europe, tens of thousands took to the streets to show their solidarity with those killed by gunmen at the offices of satirical French weekly Charlie Hebdo.

The scenes were replicated across France, in London and around the world with crowds holding placards bearing the slogan #JeSuisCharlie, which means ‘I am Charlie’ in French. Others were seen carrying enlarged versions of the some of the newspaper’s anti-Islamist cartoons.

Meanwhile the website of French newspaper Le Monde last night showed an interactive map of vigils being held across the world in Dublin, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Rome, Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, and as far afield as Tunis, Lima, Rio de Janeiro and Madagascar.

In London, hundreds of people filled Trafalgar Square at a silent vigil for those killed when masked gunmen stormed the newspaper’s headquarters. Many held pens, pencils and notebooks in the air to show their support for the journalists, cartoonists and police officers who lost their lives.

The gatherings were held as French President Francoise Hollande declared tomorrow a day of national mourning tomorrow in respect for the victims of this morning’s attack. (Read more from this story HERE)

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The Real Story on the Paris Massacre

By Steven Crowder. I’m sure that many of you have already read about this morning’s terrorist attack in Paris, killing twelve people. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and the people of France today.

It was carried out by Muslim terrorists against a satirical newspaper. That’s important to know. This wasn’t a senseless act of violence, but a pre-meditated one in the name of Allah. Yet again, this was an attack designed as a form of censorship through violence, carried out to scare all non-Muslims into silence.

No other religion does this.

It also disproves a common myth. As Americans, we’re often blamed for attacks on our own soil.

If American’s didn’t try to police the world, they wouldn’t hate us!

If we just tried to be more tolerant, Muslims wouldn’t have a reason to be mad at the U.S.!

Right. Well, what about France? The EU in general has been a beacon for multi-cultural tolerance across the globe. Sharia law has even slowly crept into many of their legal systems. I mean, how else can you slap your broad around? Granted, while France hasn’t exactly been as open-armed as England, they can hardly be seen as Team America: World Police. They’re certainly not the evil red, white and blue rednecks invading foreign countries, blowing up every brown person in sight. Because you know, that’s our thing.

Yet still, today in France, they die.

To humanity, there’s no possible justification for this. To Islamists, it already is.

The ideology of Islam is the enemy of humanity. Once you wade through the media circus today, that’s what it comes down to. France is not America. France is a tolerant, multicultural nation with an increasing demographic tilt toward Islam. Yet still, they are hated.

Evading the real issue at hand in the name of political correctness does a great disservice to not only those deceased, but to humanity.

Anytime we see a terrorist attack carried out in the name of Allah and we immediately ask their true motives… Muhammad did it first.

To read more, please visit Steven Crowder’s website HERE.

Keep up with Steven and his work via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Two Arrested for Selling Meth in Nome (KNOM)

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Photo Credit: AST

Editor’s Note: Our apologies, but KNOM (a Nome, Alaska “Catholic radio station”) has objected to our Fair Use re-posting of several paragraphs from this story. Importantly, Restoring Liberty sends tens of thousands of visitors every month to websites from which we aggregate excerpts. This drives viewers and revenue to the original publishers. Nevertheless, in line with our publishing standards, we respect the originating source’s request, although not required to do so under widely-accepted standards of Fair Use.

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60 Percent of GOP Voters Want John Boehner Replaced NOW!

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Photo Credit: APBy Alex Pappas. Sixty percent of Republican voters would prefer that John Boehner not be elected speaker of the House next week, according to a new poll moving around conservative circles Friday.

The poll — conducted by Caddell Associates and commissioned by the People’s Poll — shows just 25 percent of Republicans supporting Boehner’s re-election in the formal vote on the House floor.

Fifteen-percent of those polled said they don’t know or are undecided about Boehner. The poll surveyed 602 Republican voters and independents who lean Republican and voted GOP in 2014.

The official speaker’s election is set for Jan. 6, when the House will convene for a public floor vote to open the new Congress. (Read more on why voters want John Boehner replaced HERE)

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Too Little, Too Late? John Boehner Tries to Regain Some Support, Criticizes Obama’s Afghanistan Strategy

By Philip Ewing. Early warning signs in Afghanistan show that President Barack Obama’s withdrawal strategy there is already foundering, House Speaker John Boehner charged on Tuesday.

“Has President Obama not learned from his mistakes in Iraq?” the Ohio Republican asked in a statement.

The speaker’s office released a number of excerpts from news reports describing an increase in combat deaths in Afghanistan, areas of territory lost to the Taliban and the comparative weakness of the Afghan National Security Forces without American help. The U.S. troop pullout is premature, Boehner charged, and a “formal” end to the conflict does not mean it’s actually over. (Read more from this story HERE)

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ISIS is Setting Sites on Israel (+video)

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Photo Credit: ISIS video

Photo Credit: ISIS video

By WND. A new video issued by ISIS contradicts the oft-repeated claim that the Islamic movement now controlling large portions of Iraq and Syria has no interest in the Palestinian jihad against Israel.

ISIS, which now calls itself the Islamic State after declaring the creation of a new caliphate, vows in the video: “Allah willing, we will continue to fight against the Israelis and their allies.”

Islam researcher Robert Spencer, editor of Jihad Watch, notes, for example, Jay Michaelson claimed in the Jewish Daily Forward that “the Islamic State is a Salafist jihadist/fundamentalist movement that regards Hamas as impure and the Israel/Palestinian conflict as largely irrelevant.” (Read more on how ISIS is setting sites on Israel HERE)

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Islamic State Releases Interview with Captured Jordan Pilot

By Newsmax. The hardline Islamic State group has released what it said was an interview with a Jordanian pilot captured last week after his plane crashed during U.S.-led coalition bombing in eastern Syria.

It was not possible to independently verify the interview published in the group’s English-language online magazine Dabiq in which First Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh was quoted as saying his F-16 fighter was “struck by a heat seeking missile”.

“I heard and felt its hit. The other Jordanian pilot in the mission contacted me from a participating jet and told me that I was struck and that fire was coming out of the rear nozzle of my engine,” Kasaesbeh said.

He made brief comments about life at his base, sharing meals with hundreds of U.S. personnel.

“The Americans sometimes have dinner with us and eat mansaf (a traditional Arab dish) which they like alot. Their talk does not include details about operations because of matters of secrecy and security.” (Read more from this story HERE)
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ISIS Complains About Media Treatment of Australian Hostage-Taker

By Patrick Goodenough. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on Monday praised the man responsible for a 17-hour siege at a café in Sydney, Australia this month, saying he had “added his name to the list of Muslims who answered the Khilafah’s [caliphate’s] call to strike those waging war against the Islamic State wherever they may be.”

In the latest edition of its propaganda publication Dabiq, ISIS lashed out at media for highlighting the fact that at the time of the “daring raid,” the hostage-taker, Man Haron Monis, was awaiting trial on several criminal charges.

It said any past transgressions had been wiped away by his act of martyrdom. (Read more from this story HERE)

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In US-Cuba Prisoner Swap, Mystery Surrounds the Unnamed 53

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prisonerCuba’s most prominent dissidents say they have been kept in the dark by U.S. officials over a list of 53 political prisoners who will be released from jail as part of a deal to end decades of hostility between the United States and Cuba.

For years, dissident leaders have told the United States which opponents of Cuba’s communist government were being jailed or harassed, but they say they were not consulted when the list of prisoners to be freed was drawn up or even told who is on it.

The lack of information has stoked concern and frustration among the dissidents, who worry that the secret list is flawed and that genuine political prisoners who should be on it will be left to languish.

“We’re concerned because we don’t agree with the silence, because we have a right to know who they are. Who are they?” said Berta Soler, leader of the Ladies in White dissident group, which marches in Havana on Sundays to demand the release of prisoners.

“There are not just 53 political prisoners, there are more, and we are concerned that the U.S. list might have common criminals on it,” she told Reuters in Havana. (Read more on the US-Cuba prisoner swap HERE)

LGBT Activist, Lesbian Hired as the Dean for Religious Life at Stanford

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the-very-reverend-dr.-jane-shawThe church needs to focus more on art and less on religion and converting people in an effort to become less “churchy,” according to Stanford University’s Dean for Religious Life, The Very Reverend Dr. Jane Shaw.

“I think people are always slightly surprised that I’m not very churchy as a person,” Shaw told the Palo Alto Online in an interview. “I don’t think church is to be more churchy. I think church is about, anyone should be welcome. I’m really interested in how you welcome many different kind of constituencies, certainly not convert them, not even necessarily to do religion all the time.”

Stanford announced that Shaw, 51, was to join the school’s Department of Religious Studies in July as a dean and professor of religious studies, moving to the school from Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. At Grace Cathedral, Shaw was not only the first woman to head the church, but the first openly lesbian dean.

Shaw, hailed as a “champion within the LGBT community” by the Palo Alto Online, was a founding member of the Chicago Consultation, a think tank made up of Anglican and Episcopal bishops, clergy, and lay people who support the full inclusion of LGBT people into the church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.

According to the university’s press release, Shaw is to “provide spiritual, religious and ethical leadership to the university community, serve as minister of Memorial Church and also teach undergraduates and graduate students as a professor of religious studies.” (Read more about the lesbian hired as dean HERE)

Young Boy Escapes ISIS by Becoming a Suicide Bomber

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ISIS BeheadingBy Nicholas Kurch. Fourteen-year-old Usaid Barho of Syria was just like any other kid: He loved playing sports, listening to music and wanted to one day become a doctor.

Then he was thrust into the world of ISIS, who pressured him to become a member by using his Islamic faith. When he realized that ISIS was not for him, he escaped the terror group the only way he knew how.

He volunteered himself to become a suicide bomber.

Rather than killing himself and many others at a mosque in Baghdad, Barho immediately surrendered himself to authorities. The bomb-vest was disarmed and the boy was taken into custody:

“’If I were a fighter and tried to surrender to security forces they might kill me, with my gun in my hand,’ he said explaining how he used the opportunity as a suicide bomber to escape ISIS.” (Read more about how the young boy escapes ISIS HERE)

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Nearly 2,000 Executed by ISIS Since June

By Newsmax. Islamic State group jihadists have murdered nearly 2,000 people in Syria — half of them from an important Sunni tribe — since announcing their “caliphate” in June, a monitoring group said Sunday.

“The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the execution by the Islamic State of 1,878 people in Syria between June 28 when it announced its ‘caliphate’ and December 27,” the group said in a statement. . .

It said the victims were shot dead, beheaded or stoned to death in the provinces of Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, Hama, Homs, Hasakeh and Raqa.

Of those killed, 1,175 were civilians who included four children and eight women.

The dead included 930 members of the Shaitat tribe which rose up against IS in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor in the summer. (Read more from this story HERE)

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ISIS Goes to Twitter to Ask how Fighter Pilot Should be Killed

By Justen Charters. Following the capture of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasba by ISIS terrorists, the Islamic State and its followers have taken to Twitter to show the world that depravity is just a game to them.

While ISIS is infamous for beheading its captives, some of their suggestions on what to do with al-Kasaba are even more barbaric than beheading. According to Voactiv:

ISIS supporters are having the morbid debate predominantly on Twitter, using the hashtag “Suggest a Way to Kill the Jordanian Pilot Pig”. With over a thousand retweets, the hashtag is gaining popularity.

One terrorist recommends to use a bulldozer to run over al-Kasaba. (Read more from this story HERE)

Hundreds of NYPD Cops Turn Backs on NYC Mayor at Ramos' Funeral

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nypd at ramos funeralBy Associated Press. NEW YORK — Hundreds of officers outside the church where a funeral [was] held for a policeman killed along with his partner in an ambush shooting turned their backs on the mayor as he spoke during Saturday’s service.

The reaction from officers watching Officer Rafael Ramos’ funeral on giant TV screens outside the church follows comments from police union officials who said Mayor Bill de Blasio contributed to a climate of mistrust toward police amid anti-police protests.

Inside Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens , however, mourners gave de Blasio polite applause before and after his speech. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Giuliani Says de Blasio “Needs to Apologize”

By Greg Richter. Giuliani appeared Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” where he was challenged by guest host Major Garrett. . .

Giuliani said it was wrong for officers to take the action against de Blasio and also wrong for the police union head Pat Lynch to blame the mayor for the officers’ deaths.

But he said de Blasio should apologize to the NYPD.

“I think he’d get this over with if he did it,” Giuliani said.

“Mayor de Blasio, please say you’re sorry to them for having created a false impression of them,” he said. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Thousands of Police Officers from Across the Country Attend Ramos’ Funeral

By Fox News. Thousands of police officers from across the country assembled in winter sunshine in New York City for the funeral of Rafael Ramos, a police officer shot to death with his partner in an ambush last week.

The officers in dress blue uniforms stood outside the Christ Tabernacle Church in Queens for the Saturday morning services. The sea of blue stretched more than six city blocks.

In his eulogy, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered the city’s condolences to the Ramos family.

“All of this city is grieving and grieving for so many reasons,” he said. “But the most personal is that we lost such a good man.”

Vice President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to Ramos’ two sons. (Read more about the NYPD cops at the funeral HERE)
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GIULIANI: OBAMA USES SHARPTON AS A ‘POSTER BOY FOR HATING THE POLICE’

By Pam Key. Sunday on CBS’s “Face The Nation,” former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said President Barack Obama’s close relationship with Al Sharpton makes it clear to law enforcement across America he doesn’t understand them.

“He has had Al Sharpton to the White House 85 times,” Giuliani said. “Often when he’s talking abut police issues, he has Al Sharpton sitting next to him. If we would like to have a poster boy for hating the police, it’s Al Sharpton. To make him an adviser you turn the police in America against you. You’re going to tell the police in America we don’t understand you. I saw this man help cause riots in New York. I’ve heard his anti-police invective first hand. To have a man who hasn’t paid $4 million in taxes, to have a man who spent his career creating riots, phony stories about police, to have that man sitting next to you, speaks volumes. You know actions speak louder than words. You put Al Sharpton next to you, you just told everyone I’m against the police.” (Read more from this story HERE)