If there is a Jewish Nobel for saving Jews, Ahmed al-Ahmed just won it - comment

 Jerusalem Post   "Ahmed al-Ahmed belongs in that moral family tree of the "Righteous Among the Nations.' "

SHOCKING FOOTAGE: 11 MINUTE VIDEO OF THE HANUKAH TERROR ATTACK IN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA pic.twitter.com/nWmZqoQN5b

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 14, 2025

 "The footage is hard to watch, and impossible to forget.

"On the eve of Hanukkah’s first night, as families gathered on Bondi Beach to celebrate the Festival of Lights, gunfire tore through the crowd. Then, in the middle of chaos, one man did the unthinkable. Identified by Australian and international media as Ahmed al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old Sydney fruit shop owner and father of two, he moved toward the attacker, wrapped him from behind, wrestled away the long gun, and forced the shooter to retreat. He was shot and hospitalized, but his split-second decision is widely credited with preventing even greater carnage.

"There is something profoundly Hanukkah about that moment.

"Not because Ahmed is Jewish (as far as the reporting shows, he is not), and not because heroism belongs to any one people or faith. It is Hanukkah because Hanukkah is the insistence that light is not a metaphor. It is a responsibility. A candle does not negotiate with darkness. It pushes back, stubbornly, flame-first."

"In Jewish history, the phrase “Righteous Among the Nations” is reserved for non-Jews who risked everything to save Jews during the Holocaust, recognized by Yad Vashem under a framework established by Israeli law. The names are etched into the Jewish conscience: Oskar Schindler, who used his factory to save Jews marked for death, and Raoul Wallenberg, who helped rescue Jews in Budapest with Swedish protective papers. Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who issued visas that became lifelines. Irena Sendler, a Polish social worker who helped smuggle Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto. The Ulma family in Poland, murdered for hiding Jews." . . .

12 Dead in Sydney Terror Attack As Gunmen Target Jewish Families at Bondi Beach Hanukkah Gathering

 RedState 

 “This attack was designed to target Sydney’s Jewish community on the first day of Hanukkah,” he added. “What should’ve been a night of peace and joy celebrated in that community with families and supporters has been shattered by this horrifying evil attack.”

"At least 12 people (including one gunman) were killed in a targeted terrorist attack against the Jewish community during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday evening.

"The shooting occurred around 6:45 p.m. local time in Archer Park near the Bondi Pavilion, where over 1,000 people had gathered for an event known as "Chanukah by the Sea 2025."

"The event was to celebrate the first night of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, but two armed men broke the peaceful celebration when they began to open fire from a bridge.

"One gunman has reportedly been killed, while another has been taken into custody in critical condition, officials said. Another 29 individuals are known to have been wounded in the attack at this time.

"Videos of the attack have surfaced on social media." . . .

Elsewhere: Brown Shooting That Killed 2, Wounded 8 Might Have Targeted Jewish Economics Professor   . . . "Rachel Friedberg is Teaching Professor of Economics, Faculty Associate of the Program in Judaic Studies, and Faculty Associate of the Population Studies and Training Center. Friedberg served for four years on the faculty of the Department of Economics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"Her research focuses on the economics of immigration, specifically econometric analysis of the outcomes and impacts of immigrants in the United States and Israel, about which she has testified before Congress and participated in Knesset committee deliberations. She is currently exploring the intersection of economics and Jewish studies. 

SENDCONGRESSHOME   

"Australia took away almost all firearms from the public so these shooters were shooting at least 10 minutes straight without anyone firing back

"I don't ever want to hear anyone tell us to weaken the 2nd Amendment

Tyler Robinson Smiles and Laughs in First In-Person Court Appearance

American Greatness

 Candace Owens Turned Charlie Kirk’s Murder Into a Stage for Herself     "When Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10, America didn’t just lose a leader—we lost a stabilizing force, a moral compass, and a man who spent his entire adult life lifting others. I wrote For Christ and Country: The Martyrdom of Charlie Kirk because his death deserved seriousness, honesty, and moral clarity—not spectacle. Unfortunately, Candace Owens chose spectacle.

"In the days and weeks following Charlie’s murder, while millions of Americans were grieving and searching for answers, Candace wasn’t pursuing justice or truth. She was pursuing attention. She didn’t treat Charlie’s assassination as a tragedy; she treated it as content—a new stage on which to perform, posture, and provoke. And that alone tells you everything.

"She did not wait for facts or investigators or the family or the people closest to Charlie to speak. She rushed forward with innuendo, insinuation, and theatrics—not to illuminate the truth, but to position herself at the center of a national tragedy she had no proximity to and no responsibility for. In a moment that demanded humility, she chose hubris. In a moment that demanded sobriety, she chose sensationalism." . . .  More...

Tyler Robinson Smiles and Laughs in First In-Person Court Appearance

Robinson seemed unbothered by the charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child.

Trouble in Lefty Paradise? Recent Mamdani Moves Might Already Be Giving His Radical Base Buyer's Remorse

"Zorhan Mamdani’s Democratic Socialist Party just published its concern that he won’t be able to deliver all those promised freebies and that DSA will suffer from the backlash. DSA admits those promises were made when they thought it was unlikely he would become mayor." Sue Ellena

Rich Terrell

"With a little over two weeks to go before New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is sworn into office, Americans all over the country will be watching as the Big Apple begins its experiment in socialism. Mamdani is a textbook socialist. He comes from a well-to-do family and has never had a real job, with the possible exception of State Assemblyman. He has lots of grandiose socialist ideas in mind, but no idea how to pay for them. But as he gets closer to the Mayor's Office, the people who helped get him there are afraid he is going to go squishy on them and their causes after Inauguration Day on January 1.

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) claim Zohran Mamdani as a member, and they amassed an army of roughly 99,000 people who conducted door-knocking, phone banking, and other campaign operations for him. Mamdani still has ties to the group, so much so that among the hundreds of people on his transition team, 26 of those are members of New York City's DSA chapter. So, what has the DSA convinced that Zohran Mamdani is going to go wobbly on them once he is the mayor?

"Since his victory in November, Mamdani has announced that Jessica Tisch would remain New York City Police Commissioner, not a popular move with a group that advocates for abolishing police and prisons. Mamdani has also endorsed New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is not a DSA candidate, in his run to unseat Democrat Rep. Dan Goldman (NY-10). But perhaps Mamdani's most egregious offense is his Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump, which appeared to be friendly. Trump also stated that he and Mamdani agreed on many issues, like affordability and crime. 

"While the DSA is still publicly supportive of Mamdani, Stu Smith, an analyst at City Journal, who is an observer of DSA politics, said this about a possible rift in the group over the incoming mayor," . . . More...

Becky Noble has been a political writer for over ten years. She has written for Politichicks, The Black Sphere, and The Political Insider. She holds a degree in Communications/Journalism from Regent University. Her Substack page is "Gumshoe Politics," and she hosts a weekly short podcast called  "In Your Face." 

Trump's support costs Machado liberal support

 Don Surber  

"Reporter: “If you can seize a tanker without killing anyone, shouldn’t that be how we handle these fishing boats?”   Senator Eric Schmidt: “FISHING BOATS?! The drug runners?! Those aren’t FISHING BOATS.” Reporter: “Yeah, but...' ”

"María Corina Machado left her hiding place in Venezuela to visit Oslo, where her daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for Machado on Wednesday—just as President Trump seized an oil tanker that was trying to smuggle contraband oil for the Venezuelan regime. The seizure was not a covert operation to overthrow the government because Trump is quite transparent about his activity.

"In Norway, Machado faced the press.

Reporter: Yesterday, the U.S. seized a ship off the coast of Venezuela. Would you welcome a U.S. military intervention in Venezuela?

María Corina Machado: Look, some people talk about an invasion in Venezuela, the threat of an invasion, and I answer: Venezuela has already been invaded. We have Russian agents. We have Iranian agents. We have terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas operating freely with the regime’s approval.

We have the Colombian guerrilla and drug cartels controlling 60% of our territory, involved not only in drug trafficking but also in human trafficking and networks of prostitution. This has turned Venezuela into the criminal hub of the Americas.

What sustains the regime is a very powerful, well-funded system of repression. Where does that funding come from? From drug trafficking, the black market in oil, arms trafficking, and human trafficking.

We need to cut those flows. Once that happens and the repression is weakened, it’s over, because violence and terror are all the regime has left. We ask the international community to cut those sources, because the regimes supporting Maduro and the criminal networks have turned Venezuela into a safe haven for their operations across Latin America.

"A reporter asked her how she got to Norway. She replied, “One day I will be able to tell you, because certainly I don’t want to put [those who helped her] at risk right now." . . .

'Gaza doctor murdered Israeli hostage by injecting air into her veins... before her father received video of her dying and begging for her life'

Tell me again, Gen Z, who exactly are the "Nazis"? 

Follow-up to previous Legal Insurrection post in the Tunnel Wall: Report: Gaza ‘Doctor’ Murdered Hostage Noa Marciano, 19, as She Begged For Mercy. The Tunnel Dweller

UK Daily Mail 

"He added that what he went through was the 'biggest nightmare you could ever imagine', saying there are mornings he still wakes to the image of her murder replaying in his mind."

"The father of an Israeli woman abducted on October 7 has revealed his daughter was murdered in Gaza by a civilian doctor - and that he was later sent a video showing the moment she was killed.

"In the footage, Avi Marciano said a medical worker is seen injecting air into his 19-year-old daughter's veins as she lies on a bed inside Shifa Hospital, begging for her life. 

"Marciano, who was speaking publicly to a small crowd for the first time, said that by the end of the clip 'she was sweating and showing no signs of life'.

"His daughter was later identified as Cpl Noa Marciano, who the IDF said had suffered injuries during heavy bombing and gunfire but none that were considered life-threatening.

"As Israeli forces advanced towards where Noa was being held, her captors moved her to Gaza City, where she was later killed.

"Marciano said the video was sent to him on Telegram and showed clearly how his daughter died while in Hamas captivity. 

"He added that what he went through was the 'biggest nightmare you could ever imagine', saying there are mornings he still wakes to the image of her murder replaying in his mind."

Marciano seen in a Hamas propaganda video while in captivity.

Avi Marciano, the father of murdered IDF Cpl. Noa Marciano said he learned of his daughter’s death in Hamas captivity through a video of her last moments shared by Israel activist Shai DeLuca on Wednesday

Noa, 19, was one of seven female soldiers to be kidnapped from the Nahal Oz military base on October 7 – the other being Liri Albag, Karina Ariev, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Naama Levy and Ori Megidish – and the only one not to have returned alive.

Celebrity narcissists looking for another virtue to signal have alighted upon a fresh cause appropriate to their moral stature: freedom for a notorious mass murderer of the innocent.

My sweet Lady Jas

 Silvio Canto, Jr.  

"Put me down as someone who welcomes her participation. She will move the party further to the Left, and that's not helpful for Democrats down the ballot."

. . . "Another concern is that she has not spoken much on issues beyond repeating talking points about race or Trump bashing. Where does she stand on health care or ObamaCare? We don't know. What is her position on foreign policy? We don't know.

"Miss Crockett represented a safe "blue" district and has never been forced to campaign or defend her positions. In this Senate campaign, she will have to discuss the kinds of issues that a U.S. senator has to vote on. So far, she has not shown much understanding or interest in those issues.

"We know that her staff can find that Jeffrey Epstein contributed to a GOP campaign. Can they prepare her to talk about foreign policy, economic issues and other stuff? Time will tell but Democrats will privately tell you that they are scared to death."   More...

The levels of stupidity

 Kevin Finn

"The antidote is simple in theory and brutal in practice: humility, curiosity, and the willingness to be embarrassed today rather than catastrophic tomorrow. Most people never descend to the seventh level, but almost everyone has lingered at level two or three."

"Interacting with leftists on social media is quite the experience. I’ve written here before about their reliance on lies, psychological projection, and the logical fallacies. I’ve also come to believe that many leftists (AOC, Ilhan Omar), just aren’t that bright. Other people have commented on this phenomenon, and there are plenty of articles and videos available on the topic. Evidently, there are levels of stupidity. We all share the human condition, and so we all fall into one or more of these categories from time to time.

"Stupidity isn’t just the absence of intelligence; it’s an active force that distorts reality and invites catastrophe. What begins as innocent ignorance can, through pride, emotion, and collective pressure, escalate into a deliberate and even malicious rejection of truth. Stupidity can evolve from a personal flaw into a civilizational threat.

"The first level is simple ignorance — a state of simply not knowing." . . .

. . . "The sixth level is intellectual conceit — pride in being wrong together. Inquiry is shut down, sources are dismissed without investigation (“I don’t trust that source”), and critics are demonized rather than engaged. William Paley is quoted as saying, “There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance - that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” Stupidity here wears the mask of certainty and treats doubt as treason. Societies at this stage stop learning; they begin persecuting anyone who still tries.

The seventh and final level is what Martin Luther King Jr. purportedly called “conscientious stupidity.” Here, ignorance is weaponized. The person or institution is blindly certain, impervious to evidence, and willing, and even eager, to inflict harm in service of their noble cause. False logic justifies reckless action; collateral damage is dismissed as necessary.

The Million Petty Annoyances of California’s Regulatory State

 American Greatness   "California’s endless tangle of petty rules shows a state so obsessed with control that even simple daily tasks have become exercises in regulated misery. 

Let’s be clear. The time it takes to fulfill all these steps is often greater than the amount of time that it takes to do the actual work. In many cases, the expense for the excessive designs and disclosures and fees also adds up to more than the actual labor and materials.  

   "The litany of reasons California is broken is well documented. The highest cost of living and the highest taxes. The highest percentages of homeless people and people living in poverty. Unaffordable homes and unaffordable rent. High crime and failing schools. A hostile business climate and record migration out of state as people and businesses flee.

   "But not often enough are we reminded of the countless small things that have gone wrong. Small things that add up to a big problem: a state legislature that is out of touch with the people it represents; a state legislature that, for all practical purposes, holds its constituents in contempt; a state legislature that is doing everything in its power to make life difficult.

   "Just a few days ago, the latest in this long train of abuses arrived. No more plastic bags. Although 2026 is still a few weeks away, this grocery store has already converted to paper only—heavy, fragile paper bags with handles that tear off under the slightest stress. Everything was double-bagged just to lower the probability of catastrophic failure of the handles.

   "The problems with this are more than the inconvenience of having to pay 20 cents for every double-bagged bag full of groceries. With plastic bags, you could loop their handles around your fingers and carry several of them securely in one hand. Try that with a paper bag. And there are no uses after the first use for a paper bag. Shall we use paper bags for cat litter? Trash can liners? Maybe, but they won’t work very well. And storing them uses up space fast.

   "So what’s the advantage? Are we saving oil? Certainly not much. And if savings are what we’re after, why did they ever force us in 2014 to stop using ultra-thin plastic bags in favor of “reusable” bags that nobody reuses for groceries, yet have 10-15 times as much plastic in them per bag? Funny how the plastic industry rolled over on that one. “Please don’t regulate us” morphed into “Never mind, we’ll split with the state that dime we’re charging now per bag.” Corporation wins. State wins. Misanthropic regulations abuse the rest of us.

   " 'Now the plastic bags are gone. But the dime per paper bag? That stays.

"Does this law reduce the “footprint” of plastic? Yes. Marginally. Meanwhile, it increases the footprint of paper bags, which are actually worse for the environment. And maybe that’s the biggest problem here: California’s corporate special interests, their lobbyists, and their fanatic green marionettes are all too ready to force “solutions” onto the public before the technology has caught up." . . . Full article here.

Edward Ring is a senior fellow of the Center for American Greatness. He is also the director of water and energy policy for the California Policy Center, which he co-founded in 2013 and served as its first president. Ring is the author of Fixing California: Abundance, Pragmatism, Optimism (2021) and The Abundance Choice: Our Fight for More Water in California (2022).

Bonus: Visit California: It's America's Future

Kamala Harris’s Sad Book Tour Will Now Be Longer Than Her Campaign

Trump lives gratis in the brains of Hillary. Kamala, Joe, Rosie, all named Joy and your choice of late night host. TD

 The American Spectator   

"But Harris seems not to have asked herself if spending more time mulling over her defeat is a good way to prepare for a new presidential bid."

Tribune Content Agency

"146 days. That’s how long Kamala Harris’s book tour will be when combining the fall leg of the tour and the additional spring dates she announced on Wednesday. That eclipses the 107 days she spent on the campaign trail.

"Her speaking tour complaining will now exceed the time she spent campaigning. Perhaps that’s appropriate for Harris. It’s symbolic of the fact that she will be remembered much more for losing than for anything she accomplished in office.

"Unfortunately for Harris, her book tour is coming at a time when her prospects for the 2028 presidential campaign are dimming. 

"While in February she led all Democratic presidential candidates in a SurveyUSA poll with 37 percent support, an August Emerson poll placed her well behind Gavin Newsom. In that survey, Newsom received 25 percent support, followed by Buttigieg with 16 percent support, with Harris trailing at 11 percent support.

"Recent state polls have also placed her behind both Newsom and Buttigieg. A November St. Anselm poll put Pete Buttigieg in the lead at 28 percent support, followed by Gavin Newsom at 24 percent support. Harris came in third, but well behind, with 6 percent support. A November Emerson poll in Nevada put Newsom in the lead with 37 percent support, Buttigieg in second with 19 percent support, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in third with 9 percent support, and Kamala Harris in fourth at 6 percent support. 

"Last month, the Washington Post placed her in the “middle of the pack” of Democratic presidential contenders, saying that many Democrats have taken issue with her decision to blame others for letting Biden run for office again (when she herself was his vice president and repeatedly claimed that he was cognitively capable). 

"One question Democrats are increasingly asking themselves is why they should go with Harris in 2028 when she already had her chance and failed. Even one Democratic senator, who remained anonymous, put forward this line of reasoning against a second Harris bid." . . .

More...

(RELATED: Kamala Finally Says Something True, And Now She’s Truly Cooked)

(RELATED: The Spectacle Ep. 279: Kamala Harris’ Book Tour of Excuses)

Erika Kirk Urges Parents: 'Step Up' to Stop Political Violence

NewsMax 

Charlie Kirk KILLER STARES Into The Cameras; Tyler’s LAUGHS & SMIRKS In Court Set Off Outrage"

"Erika Kirk, widow of conservative leader Charlie Kirk, issued a stark call to parents on Thursday to "step up" and counter online radicalization and political violence, saying during a CBS News town hall that many adults are failing to guide their children in a deeply polarized political era.

"Speaking alongside CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss at the prime-time event set to air on CBS on Saturday, Dec. 13, Kirk urged parents to be more vigilant about what their children are exposed to online and to take responsibility for their influence on young minds. 

" 'When you become a father, when you become a mother, how are you raising your kids? Are you taking responsibility, or are you giving them a device and saying, 'Go down that rabbit hole. I'm trying to go to Pilates class,'" Kirk said in the conversation.

"Her remarks reflect broader concerns about the rise of extremist content and ideological echo chambers online, which many experts and lawmakers have linked to radicalization and real-world violence." . . . 

Charlie Kirk's Alleged Assassin Makes First In-Court Appearance, Shows Why Cameras Are Necessary

RedState  

"Other images show Robinson smirking at times. Not a very good look when your attorneys are pleading for your life in front of a jury. Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, stated in a November interview on Fox News that she wanted the trial to be televised. Kirk said she wanted everyone to "see what true evil is.' "

"The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk in the middle of a college event looked calm and chuckled with his lawyers as he appeared for the first time in person in a Utah court — with his family in the gallery.

Tyler Robinson, 22, was brought into the Provo courtroom wearing a simple blue button down and tie as his lawyers prepared to argue that media shouldn’t be allowed to film his hearings by claiming they could potentially taint a jury.

Judge Tony Graf allowed cameras to film for part of Thursday’s proceedings. The judge said he would hear from both sides behind closed doors and then open the courtroom back up to the public afterward. Even Robinson’s family was barred from the secret hearing, despite his lawyers request the kin be allowed to remain.

Robinson looked calm behind the defendant’s table flanked by his attorneys, and even smiled as he appeared to whisper joking comments to one before the hearing began.

Erika Kirk Torches Leftist Ghouls Celebrating Charlie’s Murder in Explosive Town Hall: Sick in Your Soul