All posts by : Don Lichterman

Parents of a student murdered in the 2018 Parkland school shooting were arrested and forcibly removed from a Congressional hearing on Thursday.

Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose teen son Joaquin was killed in the attack, were in Washington DC for the hearing of the House Oversight Committee entitled: ‘ATF’s Assault on the Second Amendment: When is Enough Enough?’

Pat Fallon, a Republican congressman representing Texas, said that increased gun control was not a solution to gun violence, pointing to Mexico’s high level of gun ownership despite it being extremely difficult to legally purchase a gun.

Making the point that new laws are not needed, he said: ‘You can’t legislate away evil.’ However, this riled up the parents of the Parkland victim. 

Patricia Oliver is seen on Thursday confronting Republican lawmakers who insisted there was nothing they could do legislatively to end gun violence

Manuel Oliver is seen on Thursday being pinned to the ground by Capitol Police

Manuel Oliver, the father of Joaquin Oliver, is removed from the hearing room

Fallon said: ‘Gun control in Mexico is very strict. Every single firearm in Mexico is supposed to be registered. 

‘Mexico has 124 million people…’

Joaquin Oliver, 17, was a Venezuelan immigrant who came to the US with his family for a ‘better future.’ He was killed during the school shooting in Florida

He was then interrupted by Patricia Oliver, who reportedly yelled that they had taken her son away.

Joaquin’s father was pinned to the ground by Capitol Police and then arrested. It’s unclear if cops will press charges. 

Onlookers were heard shouting: ‘What are you doing to this man? He’s a grieving father.’ 

Joaquin Oliver was killed by a mass shooter at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine’s Day in 2018. 

The Olivers were evicted from a White House event last year, after Manuel Oliver heckled Joe Biden for not doing enough on gun control. 

‘Uh – woah, ma’am. Ma’am. Alright – please remove that woman. You’re removed. You’re breaching protocol and disorder in the committee room. Officers please remove her.’

Manuel Oliver shouted out that the committee was ‘full of s***’.

Fallon said: ‘And remove the gentleman too.’

Patricia Oliver is removed from the hearing after becoming vocal in Washington DC

Her husband is seen being dragged away by Capitol Police. He was handcuffed and arrested

Pat Fallon is seen arguing with Democrat David Cicilline during Thursday’s hearing

Joaquin’s father was pinned to the ground by Capitol Police and then arrested. It’s unclear if cops will press charges

Fallon then read to the room the rules of the committee, which banned interruptions.

Outside the committee room, Manuel Oliver was manhandled by Capitol Police and shoved to the floor. Supporters chanted: ‘He’s not violent!’ 

Fallon, hearing the commotion, called for a recess.

Maxwell Frost, the youngest member of Congress at 26, condemned Fallon’s actions.

Frost, from Orlando, served as the National Organizing Director at March for Our Lives – the student activist group set up by Parkland survivors. 

‘To lose a child to gun violence, to see the photos of your child sitting in a pool of blood – I can’t imagine that,’ he said. 

‘You know, Manny and Patricia have dedicated their lives to fighting for a world where true justice can be achieved — because unfortunately, there is no justice for the dead and true justice is ensuring that this never happens again.’

Frost, in whose office hangs a piece of art created during his campaign by Manuel Oliver, said that the couple were ‘American heroes’. 

‘And what they always say is that they don’t want their son Joaquin to be remembered as a victim, they want him to remembered as an activist.’ 

Frost noted that the leading cause of death for American children is gun violence.

‘Today Republicans on this committee chose to sit in front of those parents, and the survivors and organizers and advocates that are sitting in the audience right now, people who are re-living their trauma listening through this, people impacted by gun violence across the nation, and show that their priority is gun lobby money, manufacturers who profit off death, and creating fake narratives for political gain,’ he said.

He then left the hearing, saying there was ‘no point’, while Republicans remain in the thrall of the gun lobby. 

Wendy Behrend, a school crossing guard who was on duty when a shooter opened fire in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, pays her respects at a memorial for those killed

Point Pleasant Beach is the quintessential Jersey Shore town, packed with fantastic attractions and beautiful seashore views. It’s also one of the best places in New Jersey to get some top-quality seafood – and it doesn’t get any better than The Shrimp Box. This iconic beachside seafood restaurant in NJ has built a reputation as a top family restaurant with incredible views of the water – but it wouldn’t have stood the test of time if the food didn’t live up to the hype. A classic steak-and-seafood menu is elevated with seasonal flavors, daily specials, and skilled preparations that make everything on your table taste as if it came directly from the ocean. Is it even a visit to Point Pleasant Beach if you don’t have dinner at The Shrimp Box? We say no – and after one meal here, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Have you visited The Shrimp Box in Point Pleasant Beach? Let us know about your visit to this beachside seafood restaurant in NJ in the comments section. You can visit the official website and Facebook page of The Shrimp Box for more on what’s cooking now as the spring season ramps up. While you’re in Point Pleasant Beach, explore the charming town and discover why it often feels like the friendliest town in New Jersey.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills added to their offensive line and signed former Rams guard David Edwards to a one-year contract on Thursday. 

Edwards was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the fifth round of the 2019 NFL draft. During his time in L.A., he has appeared in 53 regular season games with 45 starts, including 10 in his rookie year. 

Edwards was also a big part of the Ram’s Super Bowl LVI win in 2022 as he started in all four playoff games and all 17 regular season games during the season.

In his most recent season, Edwards only played in four games last season due to a reoccurring head injury that benched him from Week 6 until the end of the year. 

Edwards is known to already has ties with Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, who was Edwards’ position coach for the first two years of his career with the Rams. 

As previously reported by LSM, in January 2017 a Latvian snow-crab ship was arrested in Norwegian waters off the Arctic island of Svalbard. Latvia claimed that Norway illegally restricted fishing opportunities for European Union (EU) member states and violated international treaties, and took the case to EU Court, eventually losing. The Norwegian Supreme Court in 2019 banned the ship from crabbing in Svalbard waters.

The Norwegian Supreme Court has now confirmed that other countries have no right to fish for snow crabs in specific areas of Svalbard.

The case was followed by fishers across Europe, because the conflict is not only between Norway and Latvia, but between Norway and the European Union, who believe that crabs can be fished by all countries of the European Union, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

“Latvia still has this right to fish crabs in the Svalbard region in line with European legislation, but Norway has another, say, vision and another opinion,” said Normunds Riekstiņš, director of the Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Norwegian Embassy in Latvia explained previously that Norway has the possibility to license the fishing of snow crabs on its continental shelf since the EU and Latvia cannot issue such licenses without the knowledge of Norway.

The decision of the Norwegian Supreme Court on fishing rights is not subject to appeal.

However, the decision of the International Court of Arbitration still awaits in connection with the compensation from Norway for the ruined crab fishing business. If the decision is in favor of the Latvian businessman, there would be more hope for fishing businesses that the European Commission would be more active in fighting for their rights.

Coincidentally Didzis Smits, former president of an organization called the European Crabbing Association (or sometimes the European Crab Fishing Association) is now Latvia’s Minister for Agriculture.  

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