Tag Archives: California

California Man Arrested For Attempting To Join ISIS

A California man has been arrested for lying on a passport application as he attempted to join the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.

Adam Dandach, 21, has also been charged with obstructing justice by attempting to destroy records of his online activity before they could be seized by investigators.

Dandach was stopped at the Orange County airport while attempting to board a flight to Turkey.  He carried an “expedited replacement passport” that he obtained after claiming he threw away his old passport by accident.  Prosecutors say that the man’s mother confiscated the passport when she discovered his plan to join ISIS, so he knew the claim was false.

Court papers showed that Dandach was more disappointed in not being able to join ISIS than he was to be arrested for lying to officials.

If convicted, he could face up to 15 years in prison on a terrorism related count and 25 years on each of the other counts in the indictments.

Children Go To See Spongebob; Get Fifty Shades Of Grey

A drive-in theater in California is under fire from parents after their children were able to see the extremely sexually explicit film “Fifty Shades Of Grey” when they came to see the family-friendly Spongebob movie.

Deborah Powell told KTVU-TV that she had brought a large group of children to the West Wind Solano Drive-In to see “Spongebob: Sponge Out of Water.”  However, from where they had to park to watch the film, they could see the heavy-R Fifty Shades.

“[On the screen] at the time there was a woman being slapped, naked, bound up… so, we had to have our children close their eyes,” she told KTVU. “I could see another car behind us that had children in there with their eyes closed.”

Powell said she expressed her concerns to a theater employee before trying to shield the pornographic film from being able to be seen by her children.  Eventually, they had to leave.

“There is no way to avoid looking at that screen. It’s too tempting. So, we couldn’t stay. So, we had to turn around. My children were devastated.”

The theater company would not comment to KTVU.

Another California drive-in is also under fire because the screen showing Fifty Shades of Grey can be seen from Highway 50 at the Sacramento 6.

UC Davis Chancellor Makes Strong Statement Against Hate

In the wake of the news report that a Jewish fraternity at the University of California Davis was vandalized by swastikas after a vote by the Student Senate to support the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

Here is the letter from Chancellor Linda Katehi:

Dear UC Davis Campus Community:

This morning students at a UC Davis Jewish fraternity discovered despicable and hateful graffiti on their walls, including a large red swastika that appeared to be spray-painted on the exterior of the house.

This kind of behavior is not only repugnant and a gross violation of the values our university holds dear, it is unacceptable and must not be tolerated on our campus or anywhere else.

No matter what religious, political or personal beliefs we hold, as members of a university community we have an obligation to treat each other with respect and dignity, even when we disagree.

Nothing rivals a swastika as a more potent or offensive symbol of hatred and violence toward our Jewish community members, but this odious symbol is an affront to us all. As campus leaders, we are saddened and outraged that this occurred in our community.

As our Principles of Community demonstrate, UC Davis is built on a foundation of tolerance and inclusion, and when those principles are violated in such a reprehensible manner, we have all been violated.

We have requested that the police investigate this act of vandalism as a hate crime. We appeal to every member of our UC Davis community to denounce any and all such acts of bigotry and intimidation. We must instead demonstrate to the world that no matter what issue or debate we engage in, we are a community committed to mutual respect and tolerance. No single act such as this will ever define us, but we must define ourselves as a university community that has no tolerance for prejudice or such an abhorrent symbol and the history of hatred it evokes and extends.

Sincerely,

Linda P.B. Katehi

Chancellor

 

Ralph J. Hexter

Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor

 

Adela de la Torre

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

“Hamas & Sharia Law Have Taken Over UC Davis”

Anti-Semitism is on the rise at the University of California Davis as one Islamist is claiming victory at forcing Sharia law on the campus.

Jewish students were threatened and harassed as they were speaking out against a student government resolution to divest from Israel as part of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

The anti-Semites waved Palestinian flags in the face of the Jewish students before the 8-2 vote in favor of the anti-Semitic movement.

The pro-terrorists in the audience yelled “Allahu Akbar!” following the vote.  The vote was pushed by the pro-Hamas terrorist organization Students for Justice in Palestine.

Immediately after the vote, swastikas were spray painted on a Jewish fraternity’s home.

The celebration among Islamists on campus was loud and immediate.  Azka Fayyaz, who is a member of the University of California Davis student senate, posted on Facebook following the vote: “Hamas & Sharia law have taken over UC Davis.”

Humboldt County California Suffers Severe Quake

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that Humboldt County California was struck by a 5.7 magnitude earthquake Wednesday afternoon.

The quake’s epicenter was underwater about 40 miles southwest of Eureka.

Lt. Wayne Hanson of the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office told NBC that no major damage or injuries were reported but that the shaking was significant.  The USGS “Did You Feel It” website had multiple reports from coastal areas of Level VI shaking, designed as “strong”.

Ironically, the quake struck as a “room full of Public Safety Officials” were meeting at the California Office of Emergency Services.

The USGS reported measurements from the quake over 200 miles to the north, east and south.

30 Babies Placed Under Home Isolation In Measles Outbreak

An outbreak of measles that started at Disneyland is causing massive problems throughout California according to the LA Times.

Thirty babies are now in home isolation in Alameda County because of possible exposure to measles. Sherri Willis of the Alameda County Public Health Deaprtment told the LA Times that the children were not infected but had contact with measles patients.

“It is our job to try to determine who has been exposed,” Willis said.

There have been 87 confirmed cases of measles connected to the Disneyland strain.  Officials say that most of the people who have contracted the disease were not vaccinated against it and urged all people to get vaccinations if they did not as a child.

Measles is spread through the air by coughing or sneezing.  The U.S. had a record number of cases last year, with 644 infections in 27 states.

Other precautions being taken include over two dozen high school students from Huntington Beach High School being sent home because they were unvaccinated and one student was confirmed to have measles.

“Unimmunized students are excluded from school for 21 days past the date of exposure, during which they need to monitor themselves for signs of measles,” Deanne Thompson, Orange County health care agency spokeswoman said. “This is to avoid spreading the disease.”

Measles Outbreak At Disney Grows To 70 Patients

A measles outbreak traced to Disney theme parks in California continues to grow with 70 people sickened from the highly contagious disease.

The outbreak has now spread to five states and into Mexico with the majority reported in California.

State epidemiologist Gil Chavez told reporters that anyone who has not had the MMR (mumps/measles/rubella) vaccine should temporarily avoid Disney theme parks.  He also said highly crowded locations like airports or bus stations should also be avoided.

He said anyone who’s been vaccinated has nothing to fear.

State officials said cases range from 7 months to 70 years old.  About 25% of those infected had to be hospitalized and five of the sickened were Disney employees.

Chavez said California averages 4 to 60 measles cases a year, so 2015 is off “to a bad start.”  He said that it’s likely they won’t be able to find patient zero for this outbreak.

Idaho and California Hit With Quakes

Weekend earthquakes shook California and caused rock slides in Idaho.

Two back-to-back quakes struck southern California Saturday night with the strongest a magnitude 4.2 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.  That quake was centered around 8 miles north of Castaic, California.

“All of the sudden it was two big rattles and little rumbles afterwards,” Castaic resident Jessica Shickle told NBC Los Angeles. “It was like the Lord literally just took our house and just kind of gave it a couple shakes, and that was it and it went away.”

USGS seismologist Dr. Lucy Jones told NBC the quake was basically small.

“This really is a very small earthquake,” Dr. Jones said. “It’s a size that’s relatively common in Southern California. I did a check and there were eight earthquakes 4.2 and larger in 2014.”

On Sunday, a 4.9 magnitude quake rocked Challis, Idaho and surrounding areas.  The quake was followed by aftershocks of 4.0 and 3.6 a few hours later.

The 4.9 quake caused rock slides that blocked roadways but officials say there were no serious injuries.

Earthquake Strikes Near San Pedro, California

The U.S. Geological Survey reported a magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck Tuesday off the coast of San Pedro, California.

The tremor struck around 3:26 p.m.

The epicenter was 16 miles from Long Beach and 14 miles from Rancho Palos Verdes.  The quake was reportedly shallow at a depth of 2 miles.

Residents of the area said that the quake felt a lot bigger than the USGS report.

“Felt much stronger than a 3.9,” Chris DuRee, who was near downtown Long Beach, told KTLA-TV. “Rattled softly and then a few strong rolls. No damage anywhere.”

No reports of significant damage or injuries according to local officials.

Earthquake Could Cut Off L.A.’s Water Supply

Los Angeles is one earthquake away from losing a major part of their water supply.

The city of Los Angeles gets almost 90 percent of its water from three major aqueducts.  These aqueducts run from the Colorado River, Owens Valley and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

The aqueducts cross the well-known San Andreas Fault a total of 32 times.

This means any major quake along that fault line could end the water supply into the nation’s second largest city.

Mayor Eric Garcetti is calling on city officials to create better plans to protect the city’s water supply.

“[Water is] one of L.A.’s greatest earthquake vulnerabilities,” Garcetti told the L.A. Times. “If it were to take six months to get our water system back … residents and businesses would be forced to relocate for so long that they might never come back.”

Officials are looking to San Francisco’s Public Utilities Commission for a possible solution.  The SFPUC recently installed a specially designed pipe over a fault line that has “accordion-like joints” that would allow the pipe to flex and move in any direction should the fault line move.

“We’re the first city that’s really bet its life on outside water,” U.S. Geological Survey seismologist Lucy Jones told the Times. “We have to cross the faults. There’s no way to not go over the fault.”

“There should be a serious dialogue among the agencies that are responsible for the three sources of water to Southern California,” said Thomas O’Rourke, a Cornell University engineering professor. “Sometimes it’s very difficult to go beyond those institutional barriers…. Somebody just has to take it up.”