The Vince Coakley Radio Program | Iran War | SC Senate Race | Meditation Monday

What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available today on Tacoma, Tundra, and Forerunner with the space and features for any adventure. It means driving for less, with available hybrid options, delivering great MPGs without sacrificing power. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, meaning your truck will hold its value for years to come. Shop Toyota.com to find out more. Toyota. Let's go places. Iran's foreign minister said a deadly Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Gaspian Sea cannot go unanswered, calling this a violation of the United Nations charter. In a social media post on Sunday, the foreign minister accused Israel provoking the attack in an attempt to drag Europe into its war. He said he made the comments and calls with the European Union foreign policy chief and the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. So what happened here? What we learned, Volodymyr Zelensky attacked an Iranian commercial vessel killing a sailor. They're saying this is a blatant UN charter violation prompted by Israel.

So what happened here? The Ukrainian attack caused the commercial vessel to explode, killing a sailor, injuring several others. Ukraine said it targeted a Russian warship and vessels used for transporting Iranian-linked military cargo in the Caspian Sea. But the foreign ministry said Iran has never intervened in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Meanwhile, a senior Iranian lawmaker has warned Ukraine could face retaliation over the strike in a post on X today, the head of parliament. The National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said any attack on Iran always comes with a cost, and that remains true today. The U.S. and Israel are well aware of this. Ukraine too may soon come to understand Iran does not let actions go unanswered, calling the attack miscalculated. Iran has summoned Ukraine's charge and affair in Tehran over the strike protesting what it called a hostile and criminal act. The same day, Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on X, Ukraine had achieved very strong results with long-range missiles, long-range strikes in the Caspian Sea, including against vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran as well as a warship. He's accusing Russia of supplying Iran with military support. Since the beginning of July, we've recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S. military facilities. These images subsequently appear in Iran. Now, since the invasion of Ukraine back in 2022, They've accused Tehran of aiding Moscow's air attacks on Ukrainian cities by supplying thousands of drones. Also expressing solidarity with countries in the Middle East targeted by Tehran following the U.S.-Israel war, sending Ukrainian military personnel to Gulf states to help intercept those drones. Do you see the picture building here? Do you think this is going a good direction? Or do you think there's cause for concern here and escalation? I certainly have the latter view. What are your thoughts here about the intersection now of two conflicts on the globe? And do you have recommendations on how we get out of this thing? What sort of decisive measure can we take to bring this to resolution? Now, you may remember a very important strategy decision that was made years ago to help Joe Biden. Do you remember what it was? Well, this is going to be employed yet again. We're going to tell you what it is and why.

Well, we'll just leave it there. That's coming up a little bit later on right here on the Vince Coakley radio program. Over on the WBT text line, driven by Liberty, Buick, GMC. Chuck writes in, happy Monday, Vince. Your intro was on point. Short memories. Possibly a separate subject for another day. In regard to a Saudi nuclear deal, it was touched on last week. How many Saudi Arabians were involved in the 9-11 attacks? Yeah, Chuck, we were talking about that. Short memories. Alan would like to know why we don't just heavily strike pickaxe Mountain. Wouldn't that at least set Iran back on acquiring a nuclear weapon? I'm sure it's among the list of targets here. Vince, here's your off-ramp to the Iran war. Turn it over to Israel. Turn them loose. We're done now. I trust them to do in two weeks what we could not do in five months. And that is to take out all of the leadership. Yeah. You know, this is, I really even hate to say this, to be honest with you, because I'm not a person. And I think you understand this. I am not a person who has been interested in us getting involved in this war in the first place. But wars are freaking messy. They are. And one of the things I said, and I continue to say, If we're going to jump into one of these, we better be prepared to go all out to do whatever's necessary if we're going to do it. And that's really where we are. And you can say whatever you want, but I guarantee you the main reason we're not doing more political considerations. That's what's going on here. But I think we're at the point where... Politics are not going to work either way. It's not going to work on the pacifist side, and it's probably it may not work on the militant side. I think unless, and here's the key thing, unless the militant side brings about some resolution to this very quickly. The bottom line is politically you're going to tick off a lot of people. That's what it comes down to. But I think since you've already gone in, you may as well do the job. Just get it done. And I think that's where a lot of people seem to be when we have discussed this particular subject. And now we have the potential of this expanding beyond where it is right now. And that's a very real possibility. One of the things we talked about in recent days is how we moved from the concern about the Strait of Hormuz, now into the Red Sea. We've got activity there. Not good. So what's going on here with Americans in terms of the impact on Americans? The casualties.

We have information about those, the Pentagon reporting more than 600 Iran war casualties in a quiet database update. Figures are a source of dispute as U.S. Defense Department days ago reduced the number of troops killed and wounded. The Pentagon updated the official war casualty database over the weekend, adding more than 140 wounded service members, the defense casualty analysis system, also introduced a new casualty category labeled overseas operations for personnel killed and wounded starting July 7th. According to the updated database, the official toll for the earliest phase of the U.S. Iran War, known as Operation Epic Fury, now stands at 14 service members killed, more than 400 wounded inaction. These figures have been the point of contention after the Pentagon previously reduced the totals from 18 deaths and 482 wounded, that had been recorded just days earlier. This dispute comes after the collapse of the ceasefire with Iran and the resumption of near daily airstrikes that started July 6th. Analysts and officials have questioned whether casualties from the renewed fighting should be counted separately from Operation Epic Fury, a move that would be unprecedented. The Trump administration is seeking to classify the renewed military campaign as separate from Operation Epic Fury.

By the way, TILUS vote is going to be critical to advance in any budget resolution before the August recess set the stage for advancing a $95 billion reconciliation package that includes $73 billion in funding for the Pentagon and U.S. intelligence agencies. TILUS is a growing crisis of confidence in excess of leadership, and there's no sign. No indication of a resolution in sight. Do you agree? You know, as much as so many of the people in this audience are not fans of Thom Tillis, can you really disagree with him on this point? 7045-70179 is the number. If you'd like to weigh in on Pete Hegseth, is he getting the job done. Or is he beginning to falter? Coming up, we'll talk about the concern about a missile shortage. And we've also touched on this, the new danger in the Red Sea for Saudi Arabia. That much more as we continue our broadcast, the Vince Coakley radio program. What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Right now, your local Toyota dealer has great deals available on some of the most reliable trucks on the market, like the off-road ready Tacoma, rugged full-sized tundra, and legendary forerunner, each with the space, tech, and features to handle it all, from the work site to the trails. It means driving for less, with efficient hybrid options available. extending your overall driving range and delivering great MPGs, meaning bigger savings at the pump without sacrificing power. And it means trading for more. The Tacoma and Tundra are ranked number one and number two in resale value over all vehicles, according to Kelly Boo Book, which can mean thousands more than average right back in your pocket when it's time to trade in. That's Toyota affordability. Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. Shop Toyota.com or your local dealer for deals and details. Vehicles projected resale value is specific to the 2026 model year. For more information, visit Kelly Blue Books, KB.com. Toyota brand average resale value is 53% versus the average vehicle at 45%. Toyota, let's go places. Back on the broadcast, 39 minutes after 10 o'clock over on the WBT text line. We have this from Paul. You realize people listen to this station to get away from all the hate this administration gets. Pete Hegseth is doing a fine job. Paul, I just have to ask you the question. Just because someone has a different view, is it automatically hate? I hate to say this to you, Paul, but you sound like liberals. This is what liberals have been doing for years. You disagree with some liberal idea. You're a hater. And unfortunately, now a lot of people on the so-called right are adopting the same language. You can't just disagree with something. Chris writes in,

What I'm hearing about the president's exhibiting signs of progressive cognitive decline, such as sundown syndrome, is true. The country needs to consider a midterm presidential succession. Oh, boy. You'll really get people stirred up with comments like that on the text line. So we talked about the confidence issue with Pete Hegseth. Then we have another issue reported by the Times. The U.S. Iran War has been paused for a second straight day. Why? President Trump put off plans to escalate the fighting in part because of dwindling stockpiles of interceptor missiles. So what's going on here? No strikes on Iran have been reported since Friday, while Iran has similarly held off attacking American allies around the Middle East after about two weeks of skirmishes brought the two countries back to the brink of full-blown war. President Trump decided last week to put off plans to escalate the assault on Iran, at least for now, according to U.S. officials, Mr. Trump and his aides were motivated in part by dwindling stockpiles of interceptors to shoot down Iranian missiles. Mr. Trump has struggled to decisively end the war. The United States and Israel started jointly five months ago. Even as the global economic toll and number of American casualties have mounted, the ceasefire signed last month, effectively collapsed. After Iran continued to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, as you know, that's the vital waterway for global oil and gas shipments. We've talked about this before. And it also raises questions about our... readiness for combat in other places. This is certainly not a good thing. And now we've got the issue of the Houthis again. The Iran-backed Houthis have seized on a vulnerable moment for Saudi Arabia, which is reluctant to enter another war to try to force political concessions in Yemen. This gets messy, doesn't it? For more than four years, a fragile truce prevailed in Yemen, where a Saudi-led military coalition and the Iran-backed Houthi militia fought a war that pushed the country to the brink of famine. The limbo was most likely never to last. Talks toward a durable peace stalled, and the Houthis were growing increasingly frustrated. Saudi officials distracted by other crises. Loath to return to combat, hope the stalemate would hold a bit longer. Now into this tinderbox, the U.S. war with Iran flung a spark. Over the past few weeks, the Houthis in Saudi Arabia have rapidly spiraled into a conflict that could expand into a full-blown war. Saudi officials expressed little interest in another clash with the Houthis. The previous bombing campaign became a decade-long quagmire that depleted the kingdom's finances, damaged its reputation, and contributed to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from violence, hunger, and disease. How much attention did we pay to this one?

The battle-hardened Houthis apparently believe they have little to lose and much to gain from escalating their confrontation with Saudi Arabia, including obtaining access to oil revenue from Yemen and greater authority over the country. The Houthis are acting to aid their main ally Iran, but also to force the kingdom and the international community to make political concessions in Yemen. The Houthis have one solution for every problem in the world, which is to go to war. That's what one research group is saying. The Saudis solve every problem by trying to shower it with money. The Houthis by shooting at it. This is crazy, isn't it, folks? And, you know, one of the reasons I'm telling you about this, is this not why so many people voted for Donald Trump? Because they recognize that this area of the world is a mess. It's a cluster. And they wanted us to stay out. And now we find ourselves enmeshed in situations that have nothing to do with us. And there could be further escalation here. What are your thoughts? 704-5701.079 on the Vince Coakley radio program. Back to the broadcast, nine minutes before 11 o'clock. Coming up in the next hour, we're going to talk about the terrorist attack that occurred in Europe. Let's talk about something going on closer to home before I forget some more of your items here in the WBT text line. We also have, let's see, Russ writing in about Pete Hegseth. On balance, he's doing a good job. He's promoting and removing the right people for the right reasons, everyone I've spoken to that served or is still. They think it's been a refreshing change over senior leadership I've seen most of my life. The fact that Thom Tillis has lost confidence is actually a plus for me. If Thom Tillis was supportive of Pete Hegseth, I'd really have to reconsider my support of him. A lot of suspicion about Mr. Thom Tillis. My thoughts. I think it's the dumbest thing that people in charge think is a bright ideal to tell the planet the enemy is the USA that we're low on military supplies. How absolutely stupid are we? Well, somebody has apparently put that information out there.

Oh, boy. So let's talk about what is going on south of the border, as in South Carolina, because there's a couple of interesting stories going on. Do you remember back in the year 24? Can you believe it's been that long ago when we had a presidential election? What is going on today? And one of the strategies was to make sure that this particular contest, the first contest, took place in South Carolina. What was the reason for this? Well, the thought was, this was going to be. something that would be helpful to Joe Biden. All you have to do is ask Jim Clyburn. He's one of the people who pushed for this and helped to give Joe Biden a strong push toward becoming president of the United States in 2020. Well, we've got the same playbook setting up for 2028. The DNC committee has set up South Carolina to vote first. in the Democrats' 28 presidential primaries. Key Democrats push for the state as a signal of black voters' importance, especially after the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act. Can I just give you a translation? They're pandering. They are pandering. So, South Carolina will be first. In the front of the line, recommended by the Royals Committee Friday, set to be presented at the full DNC at its summer meeting next month. It's settling a month's long battle among a handful of states. Nevada, New Hampshire, also vied to be the lead-off state. We'll hold the second and third nominating contests, respectively. New Mexico, Michigan, Virginia, will round out the first six contests prior to Super Tuesday. The crazy thing is, guess which state is getting pushed out of the early voting window altogether? Iowa. This had served as the opening contest for both parties up until 2024, when Democrats pushed it back after issues with the 2020 caucuses. The new calendar... It changes the calculus for Democratic presidential candidates, replacing two heavily white states at the top with states with more diverse populations while still preserving three of the four traditional early state contests. And adding two more states before Super Tuesday means there will be more delegates up for grabs for candidates to win before March. So the race to kick off the Democrats presidential nominating contest. It was hard fought and drawn out with state's first pitching DNC rules to many members during a January meeting in Puerto Rico, and they pressed hard in the month since. It was quite a tense struggle between Nevada and South Carolina in recent weeks. Some framed the debate as one.

Between two pieces of the Democrat Party's base, Latino voters make up a large portion of the Nevada electorate. Black voters, the foundation of South Carolina is Democratic electorate. But what they've come up with, South Carolina. South Carolina Democratic Party chair. Chris Dale Spain said this week during an interview with political commentator Roland Martin, when South Carolina goes first, the deep south goes first. Black voters go first. Black voters are the backbone of this party. And so we should continue to elevate black voters' role in the process, not push it further back. I thought you would find that interesting, and I especially would love to know. With those of you in South Carolina, think about this. Are you proud and excited that you'll have the opportunity to go first in the Democratic primary contest? 2028. It's crazy to think this, but we're just two years away. Actually, less than. So, brace yourselves because the hard campaigning for that is certainly going to begin. in November as soon as the midterms are over with coming up our number two of our broadcast will talk about terrorism and our Monday meditation you don't want to miss it stay with us What is Toyota affordability? It all starts with buying smart, and your Toyota dealer has great deals available to qualified customers on reliable cars and SUVs, including the redesigned RAV-4, Spacious Grand Highlander, sporty Camrys, and Corolla's. It means driving for less, with efficient hybrid and plug-in hybrid options available throughout the lineup, extending your overall driving range and delivering great MPGs, saving you money at the pump. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles. And as the best resale value brand, according to Kelly Blue Book, your Toyota can be worth thousands more than average when it's time to trade in. That's Toyota affordability. Buy smart, drive for less, and trade for more. Shop Toyota.com or your local dealer for deals and details. Vehicles projected resale value is specific to the 2026 model year. For more information, visit Kelly Blue Books KB.com. Toyota brand average resale value is 53% versus the average vehicle at 45%. Toyota, let's go places. Welcome to our number two, the Vince Coakley Radio program, and we have coming up in this hour conversation about what has taken place in Europe, another terrorist attack. Surprise, surprise. All of the elements are very predictable. It's happened before. It's likely going to happen again. We'll discuss that coming up. We will also have some new polling information from South Carolina on the Senate race that is coming up in a matter of days. First are Monday meditation. You know, it's really interesting to me that I find that a lot of things that...

the Bible speaks to it amazes me how timeless these matters are they're timeless and so it ends up happening at least wise people come to discover some of the truths in scripture and recognize them as truths what they are You've probably heard this one before. This is Matthew 7, 3 to 5, New International Version. When you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye, why do you do that? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye when all the time there's a plank in your own? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye. then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. At some point, I may write a column on this because I think there's a lot of a wealth of wisdom to apply in our lives individually, first and foremost, but also to groups. And I'll tell you what I mean by this, because I've kind of talked about this before.

The truth in the matter is, when you speak of groups, nobody does more harm to you than the group that you are a part of. I want you to think about that for a moment. Despite which you may hear, the propaganda that you're, you know, we're going to, perhaps we'll get to the case of the. mysterious death of a young man and how the assumptions always go to race the finger pointing always starts when the truth of the matter is if you look at crime most crimes against whites are by other white people most crimes against blacks are against other black people You see the pattern here? But you wouldn't know this by paying attention to the mainstream news media. You would think all of this is there's some sort of race war going on. And all these people are against each other. Even to the point of if something happens to gay people, it's very likely straight people who did it. You see how the mindset works? We've got a we've always got a point at the other the opposite when in reality I remind you again first and foremost and this is where it has to start for us no one does more harm to you than you I think if you've been around any length of time on this earth you know a good part of the time you're your own worst enemy am i right if you're going to be stopped a good part of the time it's you i can say that about myself it's getting myself under control that's most important so I take in a lot of social media sources. Christian groups, black groups, white groups, all kinds of social political backgrounds, liberal groups. So it was really gratifying to me to come across this social media post. by someone who definitely has some wisdom. This guy's name is Sterling Archer. And he happens to be gay. I want to read his post because it is so on point. He said this. Being gay can make you hyper aware of rejection, judgment, and other people's opinions. Ironically, That's often what keeps you from becoming aware of yourself. You can read a room in seconds, but can't read your own patterns after years. Ouch. That's a dangerous skill set. The person who knows everyone else's motives but never questions their own isn't insightful. They're just observant in one direction.

Self-awareness starts when you finally turn that talent inward. When I saw this, I thought, this is incredibly insightful. And I've got to tell you, this is what our society desperately needs right now. I mean, across the board, all of us and in every group. We have people want to continue to turn people against each other But the starting place has to be some self-examination self-awareness Rejection judgment other people's opinions Can we read our own patterns? Do we think we have so much insight on other people's motives? But we don't stop to question our own. That's exactly what Jesus was talking about. About getting the log out of our own eye. That's the starting place. I hope this is helpful. Self-awareness. before we move to any other place of analysis about others because truthfully once we do the self-awareness you know what it's also going to do it's going to give us a strong sense of grace as we engage others because we'll recognize you know what without the grace of god what i see out there that's me Back in the broadcast, 20 minutes after 11 o'clock, getting your thoughts on everything we have discussed thus far. You know, I've said before one of the important things about what we do here is to try to really raise our quality of living, whatever it is. That's very, very important. perspective on what is going on with the war those continue to come in on the wbt text line driven by liberty bureau gmc this text are saying if the weapon shortage exists that is a dc issue of loose lips sink ships World War II those responsible need to be dealt with ASAP Middle East is a religious war not a geopolitical war unfortunately the West has no idea how to fight this just like our leaders tried to make Vietnam a conventional war of sorts that generation was an outstanding group of young men for all they had to experience yeah they were thrown into a mess weren't they and to one end This texture would like to know what difference does it make which state goes first in the primaries. Democrats will just put in whoever they want the last minute anyway. That was good. Late to the show today, not sure if you spoke about the Save America Act. There are a few things that bother me. First of all, Trump was elected when Democrats were in the position before him. No said things of impropriety then, the fact that he wants it all.

Pushing this bill makes me think there's something else in there that we don't see or understand that will stifle voters. Again, I'm not sure exactly what the bill entails. I do believe it's something more than we understand for the percentage of irregularities in voting to be so small, yet he still harps on it, as if his life depended on it. Well, to address what I'm aware of as the concerns here, I know that one of the big concerns is the irregularities in the elections and the, let's just say, sloppiness of some of the processes. Let me give you an example of sloppy. If you can vote, if you can actually decide, okay, all the votes have to be in by a week after. So I forgot. So the day after the election, I'm going to go and I'm going to find somebody who will backdate. You know, in fact, I think I can even write a date on my ballot and go turn it in. See, that's what I call sloppy. That's corrupt. And if I'm a person who is in a position of power, And let's say, for instance, I know that my candidate of choice is 300 votes behind. Well, let's go find the people who didn't vote. And let's rally up these votes. Let's find them. And put inaccurate dates on there to make sure they meet the deadline. See, something's wrong with this. This cannot be acceptable. It's amazing to me how voting day has turned into voting month. And I think this is one of the reasons why there's an effort to get this under control. Also, Debbie writes in, responding to what I said for the Monday meditation, Amen, Vince. Do you have a blog or substack with columns? If so, is there a link on your Facebook page? It's not just race and gender. It's neurodivergent people, particularly autistic adults, blaming everything on their neurotypical parents because they cannot see their own need for introspection and growth. Their echo chamber encourages them to write their parents off. Therapists who are not Christian are encouraging adult children, autistic to write to their parents and write them to actually write their parents off. Good parents who did their utmost. but may have made mistakes based on a lack of knowledge, not a lack of trying, cannot overcome all this bad, unscriptural advice. It's such a disservice to these families who love each other to have these literal tools of the devil breaking them apart, and often there's a political component. Debbie, you... you've described something very well no i do not have a blog you know i used to do a blog in fact i shared an item from that um about my heart attack last week i think it was i've not done anything with this blog or post it for years in fact i was reflecting on that the other day maybe it's time to revisit so thank you for writing in

I yeah I'll just leave it there for now so many things that you know how it is when there are things you want to do and you're already in a place you're questioning am I the things I'm already doing am I doing well and that's really where I am now I want to make sure I get those things under control first before I start venturing into something else So let's talk about South Carolina Senate race. Newsweek is out with new polling information. Lindsey Graham's sister and Ralph Norman lead South Carolina Senate poll. They are leading the pack. It's not surprising. Interim Senator Darlene Graham and Representative Ralph Norman emerging as the frontrunners in South Carolina's compressed Republican Senate primary. According to a survey released less than three weeks before voters head to the polls. The poll conducted July 21st, found Graham supported by 20.8% of likely Republican primary voters followed by Norman at 16.9. No candidate approaching a majority. Which means this August 11th special primary is likely headed to an August 25th runoff. Survey offers an early look at the race following President Donald Trump's July 17th endorsement of Graham and her subsequent decision to seek a full Senate term. The special election triggered by the July 11th death of longtime GOP Senate and close Trump ally Lindsey Graham, Governor Henry McMaster subsequently appointed his sisters, served the remainder of the term. That set off a rapid campaign cycle for South Carolina's first open Senate seat in decades. Now, when appointed, Graham was initially viewed by many Republicans as a caretaker. That dynamic shifted when Trump issued a complete and total endorsement, prompting Graham to enter the race to carry on her brother's political legacy. Despite leading the poll, Graham's position remains fluid. Survey found 17.8% of likely primary voters never heard of her. 31.3% yet to form an opinion. So. This is where we are in this particular contest. I'm very curious about your thoughts. The poll indicates Norman, as in Ralph Norman, posted some of the strongest favorability in the field, performed well as a secondary choice for voters. A vocal Trump ally finished third in the state's recent gubernatorial primary. Norman has pressed forward despite the president's endorsement of Graham. Support among the remainder of the field, fractured. Lieutenant Governor Pam Evett, 9.6%. Representative Russell Fry, businessman Mark Lynch, each at 7.2%. Governor Mark Sanford at 7.1. Nancy Mace at 2.8. Walter Burrell Attorney Duke Buckner at 0.9.

Samford, as you know, challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2020 and one of the most prominent South Carolina critics announcing a Senate bid after the poll was conducted, mace dropped out of the race on Monday. So what are your thoughts on this particular contest? I want to know. Those of you in South Carolina, who are you going to vote for? to represent you for the next six years beginning in January, 704-570-1079. Not just who will you vote for, but also why. Very important to know that as well. Still to come, we will talk about the terror attack in Berlin and much more as we continue the broadcast. So let's go across the pond to talk about what happens in Germany. BBC describing an atmosphere of grief, shock, and increasingly anger about the attack at Berlin Pride Saturday night, left one Polish woman dead, injured, at least 29 others. The main suspect, Abdul-Balut, 21-year-old German citizen with Lebanese heritage, shot to death by police Sunday. What's interesting about this, this guy's been on the radar screen for a while. The interior minister saying that Balut previously drew attention to himself through a high volume of criminal offenses, radicalization and affiliation with the Islamist scene. The big question that people are raising now, why was this guy not in prison? Here is just a setup to explain his background. 2025, Balut decided to try to join the Islamic State group, the armed struggle in Syria, traveling via Turkey to Lebanon. In Lebanon, he met several people we believe were members of ISIS. He was arrested in Lebanon, July 2025, sentenced to three months in prison for incitement to religious and sectarian conflict. Then in November of last year, he returned to Germany, arrested at Berlin, Brandenburg Airport, held in pretrial detention. May of this year, Berlin court sentenced Balut to a juvenile sentence of one year and 10 months for preparing a serious act of violence endangering the state. May of this year. That sentence suspended while prosecutors appealed against the verdict calling for a longer sentence. Ballute released and placed under the supervision of a probation officer. Boy, that was effective, wasn't it? The Interior Minister saying the decision to impose a suspended sentence was certainly incomprehensible given the level of danger involved in the case. Authorities are investigating how this happened. I'm telling you, folks, these folks are profoundly suicidal. They are. Here is how one witness describes the mayhem that broke out on Saturday. Here is Eric Mueller.

We go to the main station, directly to the main station, and then we saw a big crowd of people come towards us. And at first, we didn't know what they had a knife with a man. And we hear so many information and we don't know what is right, was it wrong. So it was a really, really crazy time. That it was, a crazy time. Berlin's mayor. defiant about all of this with the concern and you know the concern in this kind of atmosphere what is terrorism designed to do it's designed to scare people into changing their behavior and the Berlin mayor is having none of that with his defiance we will not allow our way of life and our way of living together to be taken from us understandably after all of this the police presence was stepped up and understandably so this is something that people in Europe have experienced before and in this kind of situation what you have to do is you have to put a lot of armed personnel out on the street that's the only thing you can do here is how BBC journalists characterizes that police presence So this is a massive police response. They have shut down basically the entire park area where this happened in central Berlin known as the Tiergarten. This is a huge park, similar to Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London. It's just right outside the medieval walls of the old. Berlin, the former hunting grounds of the Kaiser. This is a very large area right near the Brandenburg gate for people who know Berlin. So, you know, this is a very intense police response. Nobody is getting in or out at the moment. Pretty scary situation there. Coming up, you're going to hear more about what is happening. The predictable reaction out of political people. who still do not get it. After all that has happened, we'll talk about this more as we continue. What is Toyota affordability? It's buying smart. Your local Toyota dealer has great deals available today on RAV4, Grand Highlander, Camry, and Corolla with the features and style you deserve. It means driving for less with hybrid and plug-in hybrid options across the lineup, delivering great MPGs. And it means trading for more. Toyota is known for building long-lasting vehicles, meaning your car will hold its value for years to come. Shop Toyota.com to find out more. Toyota, let's go places. Final stretch, the Ben's Crockley Radio program. Interesting insights as well from Breitbart reporting on what happens.

in the terrorist attack. You know, it's really interesting that we see this story played out over and over again. And typically what ends up happening? You remember after 9-11, there was this concern about a backlash against Muslims. And I'm going to be very clear here. Do not hear what I'm not saying. But at the same time, the Islamist threat, political Islam is the threat. That's what has to be identified as an ongoing threat. And we continue to have people who are in denial. Here is one activist. kind of explaining how important it is to avoid some type of backlash. We do not want this deed to be instrumentalized for political ends. We don't want any groups be placed under suspicion for this. People are trying to divide our society and set some people against others. As a CSD in Berlin, we will not allow this. Come on, people. The division is already there. You know, and this is one of the things that was not learned about 9-11. We had an enemy that had already drawn battle lines was at war against us, and we did not actively engage them until after 9-11. That's the problem. And interestingly enough... Those people who do watch these things and study these things, like terrorism expert Raphael Bassem, he says this is all a very familiar strategy. I mean, this is about the eighth or ninth attack of this kind in Europe also more broadly. Unfortunately, this kind of kind of improvised method of vehicle ramics is something that has well been a successful strategy ever since the attack in Nice many, many years ago and also 10 years ago, I mean, 2013 and 2016 then in Berlin. I don't want to sound cynically, but thank goodness this was only... a sort of normal car and not like a large lorry as we had 10 years ago. And the Islamic State early on always ask its followers to take any measure possible, improvised attacks, knives, cars, anything they can get their hold hands on. That's how this works. And, you know, this goes back to where I started this broadcast about how our memories are very, very short. The folks who still wish us harm have not changed. They still wish us harm. The seed of this is at the heart of what's going on in Iran right now. These are not people who are looking to coexist. No matter how many peacnicks wish and hope that that is the case, they're not going to change. Their goal.

is supremacy. That is the goal of political Islam. Now, this is drawing a distinction from your average Muslim who's not thinking about this kind of thing. And then we have this reported by Breitbart. Three people, reportedly including a pregnant woman, injured. This morning in Paris, after a man went on a stabbing spree in the French capital. The mayor of the area confirmed on X one of the victims in the apparent stabbing attack was pregnant. Victims 1924 and 36. Now, despite the attacker reportedly claiming, he was motivated by a law. The case is not currently treated as a terror incident. A source close to the investigation saying the guy said, Allah sent me to kill women, but added, but no, he's crazy. According to a report from the Parisian newspaper, three women attacked in the street by a knifeman near a metro station in northern Paris. The paper asserted one of three victims pregnant at the time of the attack. Two of the victims currently in critical condition, the third in serious condition, all were transported to the hospital. Reports are an off-duty officer witnessed a man with two knives attacking a pedestrian. He said to have called for backup eventually apprehended the suspect. The paper citing footage circulating on social media, which appeared to show the suspected knifeman held down by multiple people. And the video is reportedly heard saying, Allah commanded me. the suspect, a 31-year-old male. At this point, no further information on this person's background. And the paper saying this suspect apparently does not have all of his mental faculties. The Interior Minister adding, He's very, very cautious about the motive of this violent act claiming the suspect was heard uttering incoherent statements. So this may simply be a case of someone who is off their rocker that we will find out more about. But the bottom line, another reminder how we have to remain vigilant about these circumstances. Over on the text line, this person saying, huh, a radical Muslim immigrant, it's always the one you most expect. Again, a sense of denial here. Dan writing again, I agree with you. They're suicidal, but homicidal is a more fitting description. That is true for those folks who are subjecting other people to this, not just themselves. So this is... Another example of how important it is that we stay on top of these immigration issues and law enforcement issues so that we do not see repeat of these like our folks across the pond. That's all the time we have for the broadcast today. Thanks very much for joining us. Have yourselves an awesome day. God bless you. Adios.

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