A Dead Tree Turned Into Art, What...???

Utilizing a machine saw and a few practical carving tools, this man has amazingly created real art. He turns a dead tree into hilarious wooden art. See the photos below and watch the video to find out the processes.

Giovanni Gambino Says Mafia Can Fight Islamic State Group

Breaking and Controversy... “The rise of global terrorism gives the Mafia a chance to show its good side,” Gambino said in a 2012 interview with NBC, which was redistributed in a press release on Thursday.

The son of infamous mob figure John Gambino says La Cosa Nostra is ready to fight ISIS in New York City — and that the Mafia can do a better job of protecting the city from terror attacks than the NYPD.

Giovanni Gambino said during an interview with NBC (below) that “the rise of global terrorism gives the Mafia a chance to show its good side.”

“We make sure our friends and families are protected from extremists and terrorists, especially … the Islamic State,” Gambino said.

DNA Test Clears Man of 3 Sexual Assault Charges After Serving 16 Years in Prison

A Los Angeles judge overturned Luis Lorenzo Vargas' 1999 assault conviction Monday after DNA evidence linked to a suspect known as the "teardrop rapist." The case had relied on eyewitnesses.

Luis Vargas, now 46, was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 1999 for kidnapping three women and raping one of them.

A man who was imprisoned for 16 years for two attempted sexual assaults and a rape he did not commit was exonerated Monday, based on new DNA evidence linking the crimes to Los Angeles' notorious "Teardrop Rapist" -- who sports a similar-shaped tattoo as the innocent man.

Luis Vargas, now 46, was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 1999 for kidnapping three women and raping one of them. The father of three reportedly broke down in the LA courtroom yesterday when Superior Court Judge William Ryan issued the exoneration.

One of Vargas's lawyers, Alex Simpson, who is the Associate Director of the California Innocence Project — the group that requested the DNA tests — told VICE News that despite the exoneration, Vargas is still not a free man.

Even though Vargas is a lawful permanent resident, the conviction meant his green card status has been placed on hold, and he was transferred immediately from state prison and placed into the custody of immigration officials, Simpson said.

"We're hoping that a reversal of the conviction will help fix this," Simpson said.

Vargas was convicted based on eyewitness testimony from three Hispanic women who said they were approached by an attacker at a bus stop in the early morning hours. The rapist asked the women for directions before forcing them into an alley. Two of the women escaped unharmed, but one of them — who was 15-years-old at the time — was raped.

The witnesses recalled the rapist sporting a teardrop tattoo under his left eye, similar to a faded tattoo Vargas has in the same area on his face. At the time of his arrest, Vargas also had a prior forcible rape conviction and the two factors led police to believe Vargas was the perpetrator, Simpson said.

Vargas maintained his innocence throughout the trial. At his sentence hearing, he told the court he was "concerned [the] individual [who] really did these crimes might really be raping someone out there, might really be killing someone out there."

The Teardrop Rapist, who has been suspected of carrying out more than 30 rapes in the area since 1996, is still at large.

"I’m Frightened After Paris Attacks", A New York City Muslim Complained

When in the subway, stand away from the platform edge, preferably with your back against a wall. Walk in groups after dark. Stay alert at all times.

In the days since the Paris terrorist attacks, Muslims in New York and elsewhere have guarded against a violent backlash, changing their routines and trying to manage their fear.

Still, the violence has come.

In the past week and a half, several Muslims in New York, mostly women wearing head scarves, have reported being victims of verbal abuse and physical assault. Even some non-Muslims — including at least one Latino mistaken for a Muslim — have been subjected to Islamophobic taunts or worse, community leaders said.

In an episode the Council on American-Islamic Relations reported this week, two Muslim women in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn said that a man claiming to be a postal worker assaulted them, elbowing one and spitting in her face, and telling them he was going to burn down their “temple.” The police arrested a man on Tuesday in connection with the episode and charged him with aggravated harassment and menacing as a hate crime.

“We’ve never seen so much backlash against the Muslim community” since the Sept. 11 attacks, said Sadyia Khalique, director of operations for the New York office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “I’m frightened.”

You're 'Stab in the Back': Vladimir Putin to Turkey's Downing of Fighter Jet

"Today’s tragic event will have significant consequences, including for Russia-Turkish relations," Putin said. Russia has said the jet was shot down over Syria and not over Turkey's airspace.

Two big powers supporting different factions in the Syrian civil war clashed with each other on Tuesday when Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian warplane that Turkey said had strayed into its airspace.
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The tensions immediately took on Cold War overtones when Russia rejected Turkey’s claim and Ankara responded by asking for an emergency NATO meeting, eliciting more Russian anger and ridicule. After the meeting, the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, called for “calm and de-escalation” and said the allies “stand in solidarity with Turkey.”

It was thought to be the first time a NATO country has shot down a Russian plane in half a century. And while few expect a military escalation, with neither Russia nor NATO wanting to go to war, the incident highlighted the dangers of Russian and NATO combat aircraft operating in the same theater and has soured chances for a diplomatic breakthrough over Syria.
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As President François Hollande of France met with President Obama in Washington to urge a closer and more aggressive alliance with Russia against the Islamic State, Turkey’s decision to fire on a Russian warplane attacking targets in Syria has raised tensions between Moscow and NATO and undercut efforts to persuade Russia to drop its support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.

Candidate Says Maybe Black Lives Matter Activist Should Have Been Roughed Up, Trump Says

"It was absolutely disgusting what he was doing," Trump told Fox News Sunday. Mercutio Southall told CNN that attendees at a Trump campaign rally attacked him after he yelled, "Black lives matter."

Further, In a recently released excerpt from his October interview with GQ, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump revealed that he does believe in Heaven and is working hard to get there.

“I’ve done a fabulous job and made the lives of many, many people much better,” Trump told GQ‘s Chris Heath.

“Do you believe in Heaven?” Heath asked in response.

“Yes,” answered the real-estate mogul. “I hope [I’ll be going]. That’s what I strive for.”

Donald Trump Said, "Muslims DID Celebrate on 9/11 in New Jersey since We Saw It"

Donald Trump is telling the truth about Muslims celebrating in New Jersey on September 11, 2001.

I drove with family members though Patterson, N.J. that morning, after the planes hit. It’s not the kind of thing you forget.

We witnessed people in traditional Muslim garb dancing, jumping, shouting and celebrating like their team had won the Super Bowl, just as Trump said.

“I watched when the World Trade Center came tumbling down,” Trump said Saturday. “And I watched in Jersey City, N.J., where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down. Thousands of people were cheering.”

Trump has refused to back off of those comments. He told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos Sunday, “it did happen. I saw it.”

Media outlets and politicians have been quick to call the Republican presidential front-runner a liar but the fact is it happened just like he said.

I didn’t see thousands of Muslims celebrating but I absolutely saw a pocket, perhaps 100, jumping for joy at the sight of the smoke rising from where the Twin Towers used to be.

The funny part of the media-made controversy is that until Trump recalled his experience on that day, these events were a commonly accepted fact by Jerseyans.

Others in N.J. have spoken about witnessing these events.

Suddenly we are all being called liars in order for Trump-haters to cast aspersions on him.

Well, I defy anyone in the media to call me a liar to my face.

Was the Washington Post lying in an article on September 18, 2001 when it wrote the following?