Terrorists Attack Upscale Mali Hotel

 As we #PrayForMali we are faced, yet again, with the question if this tragedy could have been prevented? Here is what we know:

1. The Western African Nation of Mali has been in a civil war since 2012.

2. #France has lead the way with minimal U.N. troops aiding them to stop the bloodshed in the country since the fighting has begun.

3. Countries stating citizens known to be in the #RadissonBlu (An upscale hotel) in the Capital city of #Bamako include: The U.S., Turkey, China, France and India so far.

4. Over 340 Malians civilians have been killed this year by terrorist groups.

5. #Al-Mourabitoun, an affiliate of #AlQaeda, has claimed on twitter that they are the terror group wreaking havoc at the hotel.

6. A peace treaty was taking place today at the hotel to try and end the civil war in Mali.

7. Escapees have said that the terror group is asking hostages to quote a passage of the Quran to see if they are loyal to Islam.

8. Malian troops along with French and U.N. Peace Keepers are going floor-to-floor seeking trying to rescue as many hostages as possible.

9. The death toll is 27 and there is a number of injured. So far Belgium has stated one of their diplomats have been killed, along with Malian security officers and a French soldier. The attackers have all escaped and Mali troops is vowing to hunt them down.

10.  Reuters is reporting Al Qaeda is already celebrating the attack on the Radisson Blu  as a success and #ISIS should learn from them.

   In conclusion, the attack could have been a lot worse. It is another somber reminder of how terrorists groups across Africa are out of control. The attack on the Radisson Blu follows the attack in Paris which took less than a week ago. Despite what International leaders are stating in regards to having an upper hand on terror groups around the world, the facts are starting to show the opposite. When you have terror groups competing on who can wreak the most havoc and bragging about it on social media, a message to international travelers has been sent.

Top Reasons to Boycott Ferguson

The family of teenager Michael Brown announced that they will soon be filing a wrongful death civil lawsuit against Officer Darren Wilson formerly of the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department.  This announcement comes less than 24 hours of a staving report from the Department of Justice(DOJ) concluding that the police department and city officials had routinely practiced racial bias and profiling but there was no solid evidence of wrongdoing by the Officer Wilson. Based on the DOJ report here are the top 10 reasons why you should not visit or move to Ferguson anytime soon: 

10. Even though the city of Ferguson is 67% Black, the mayor is White and they only have one Black council member. Lack of representation over the years has lead to systemic racism that reached its boiling point in 2014.

9.   The DOJ concluded that even though Ferguson is 67% Black, they received 85% of the traffic stops, 90% of the citations, and 93% of the arrests made.

8.   Minor offenses such as parking tickets lead to crippling debt and jail time due to one's inability to pay. Many Blacks have also lost their drivers license.

7.   Over 96% of the warrants issued by the city of Ferguson was for Blacks and less than 68% of their cases were dismissed.

6.   Police and court staff joked about a black woman having abortions as a way of decreasing crime.

5.   The city financial coordinator and the police chief worked together regarding ways of how to increase city revenue through citations. The number of citations jumped from 400 to 700 in one month.

4.   Police/City officials mocked President Obama depicting him as a chimpanzee.

3.   Violations of first amendment rights including the recording of police activities and lawfully protesting perceived injustices.

2.   African-Americans are more than twice as likely to be searched during vehicle stops, but are found in possession of contraband 26% less often than white drivers.

1.    Violations of your fourth amendment rights with unreasonable searches and seizures(Just sitting at the bus stop can get you arrested if you're not careful.)