NYPD: Suicide Bombing Suspect Wanted Revenge

He was mad at the U.S., and that was his motivation for wearing the bomb strapped to his body that exploded this morning in New York City.

According to the New York Post, police authorities say suspect Akayed Ullah, 27, "is a former New York City cab driver who told investigators he carried out the attack for revenge." In addition to Ullah, three other people were injured but not seriously.

Ullah is believed to be from Bangladesh and was living in Brooklyn, told authorities in sum and substance from his hospital bed: “They’ve been bombing in my country and I wanted to do damage here,” sources said.

[Note: The U.S. has not been bombing Bangladesh, which has been fighting terrorism in its own country. Bangladesh has officially condemned the bombing in New York today.]

“Let’s be clear that this was an attempted terrorist attack,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference.

Officials say Ullah was a city cab driver but his license expired. Today he set off a “low-tech” homemade pipe bomb strapped to his body at 7:20 a.m. "inside the subway passageway between West 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue and West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue." More at the New York Post.

The incident was captured on transit surveillance footage.

UPDATE: NYPD Sift Through Video of Subway Bombing

"New York City police say they are combing through video of the bombing in the subway system. They say the suspect meant to set off the bomb, but it's not clear if he meant to do so in a passageway in the Times Square area where it went off Monday during the morning rush hour. Twenty-seven-year-old Akayed Ullah is in police custody. Officials say he sustained burns to his abdomen and hands and cuts after the crude pipe bomb exploded." More from 13ABC.com. Suspect Akayed Ullah was wearing the pipe bomb strapped around his mid-section. He may have intended to set of his explosive device in Times Square.

With No Gun, Crazed Man Slaughters Five in Brooklyn

Police lead the suspected killer away
from the Brooklyn murder scene.
Photo: Paul Martinka / New York Post

October 27, 2013 - Horror in New York, on Saturday night: A mother and four children were stabbed to death in an apartment on 57th Street near Ninth Avenue. A machete and scissors were taken from the apartment by police as evidence. 

"A crazed man turned a Sunset Park, Brooklyn, home into a slaughterhouse late Saturday, leaving a 37-year-old mom and her four young children stabbed to death," reports the New York Post. "A 25-year-old suspect - preliminarily identified as the children’s mentally troubled older cousin - was arrested after being subdued at the scene, his feet bare and soaked in blood."

"The toddler and two girls....were already dead from their wounds when paramedics arrived just after 11 p.m.," reports New York Daily News. The mother and [a] boy were taken to local hospitals, "but doctors were unable to save them, officials said."

Police released the five victims' names on Sunday: 37-year-old Qiao Zhen Li and her children, 9-year-old Linda Zhuo, 7-year-old Amy Zhuo, 5-year-old Kevin Zhuo, and 1-year-old William Zhuo.

Nobody has yet called for a national discussion about knife or blade control. There have been no calls in the past for tighter controls on how the mentally ill obtain sharp objects such as steak knives, machetes, ice picks and other potentially dangerous non-guns things.

Update 3: Nine Shot When Brooklyn BBQ Blasted By Bullets

616 E. 52nd Street, Brooklyn NY (Google Maps)

June 30, 2013 - 1:30 AM EDT - Eight people - four men and four women - were injured in a multiple shooting incident early at 12:50 AM EDT at 616 E. 52nd Street. The residence, located  near Clarendon Road, is in Brooklyn's East Flatbush neighborhood. Reports say a barbecue was being held at the home "when a gunman fired a barrage of bullets," reports NY Daily News at 2:11 AM EDT.

Update, July 2: 
NBC New York reports that "Nine people were wounded at the party on East 52nd Street in East Flatbush when gunfire erupted shortly before 1 a.m., according to NYPD. The victims suffered a range of injuries, including gunshot wounds to the side, lower back, calf and foot, but all are expected to be OK." More at NBC...

The New York Daily News reports that "A fugitive suspected of shooting and wounding nine people outside of a wild weekend house party on E. 52nd St. in Brooklyn was apprehended Tuesday at the Holland Tunnel. Tyrone Brown, 24, was pinched when Port Authority officer Michael Cerullo spotted the hulking suspect in a white Nissan Altima in Jersey City, near the Holland Tunnel, just before 4 p.m., sources said." More at nydailynews.com...  Brown, of Crown Heights, has been charged with "attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment," reports WPTV.

At 2:14 AM EDT, ‏@NewsBreaker tweeted this:
CONFIRMED: NYPD tells @NewsBreaker 7 people shot at a residence in Brooklyn:
*Domestic dispute *1 critical *6 non life threatening injuries

At the same time, @NYCityAlerts tweeted this: 
Brooklyn: Clarendon Rd & East 52 St. NYPD o/s with 7 people shot 1 in traumatic arrest 4 in serious condition. Level 1 called.

At 2:25 AM EDT, @TheNewsHQ tweeted:
Brooklyn U/D: NYPD Says 1 woman is in critical condition other 6 are stable, Shooting started at a BBQ party, No arrest has been made.

Russia Today (RT) reproduced one of the tweets from Twitter. "Seven people were reportedly shot at in Brooklyn, New York, while at a barbecue. A nearby hospital is preparing to receive the injured, with one reported in critical condition," reported RT.

DEVELOPING STORY......

New York MTA Gives In To Pro-Savage Complaints, Bans Free Speech In Subway

This advert was too scary for New York's MTA

Sept. 30, 2012 - You KNEW this would happen, didn't you? When New York City blogger Pamela Geller went balls-out and bought space in the city's subway stations for her pro-Israel, anti-Jihad posters, it caused instant controversy.

Sadly, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) of New York is composed of spineless pussies who caved in to the screeches and howls of those who objected to the First Amendment-protected posters.  

Freedom of speech is under assault by the Left, folks: The banning of Gellers subway placards comes on the heels of Barack Obama's recent anti-free speech statement at the United Nations, in which he said, "The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam." Obama got that backwards, of course: The First Amendment guarantees you and me the freedom to say whatever we bloody well please about Mohammed, pro or con, or about any other religion or religious figure. The future, then, must never belong to those who would suppress my right to criticize Mohammed, Jesus, Moses, Donald Duck, Winston Churchill, the Chicago Bears or anything else.

The placards simply said, "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad." They were not anti-Islam per se. They were specifically anti-Jihad. Reasonable Americans know what that means: Violent, murderous militant radical Muslims. In fact, the words "Muslim" and "Islam" did not appear in the ads.

Will the ACLU weigh in on this issue? They already did, actually. Fox News reported on Sept. 23 that Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, supported Geller's right to run what she called the "patently offensive" ads. "More offensive would be their censorship," Fox quoted Lieberman as saying, "because that would violate the guarantee of free expression of all ideas regardless of how distasteful they are."

Indeed, the First Amendment is supposed to protect speech even if it offends some people.

Frankly, I find the Geller anti-Jihad placards to be much less offensive than Jihadists' videos of beheadings, suicide bombings and hangings. Don't you prefer Geller's approach to protesting against something she dislikes (jihad and savagery) over the manner in which so many Muslims worldwide take?

Was ChrisStevens killed by savages? Well, yes.

You know, like the killing U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens in Benghazi, Libya on Sept. 11, 2012. Or like the countless numbers of violent protests and attacks and - sure, let's throw these in, too - stoning of women, executions of gay people just because they are gay people, burning hotels and killing guests because they engaged in (gasp) drinking beer ... and so much more.  

"Savage" seems appropriate when describing those things. Doesn't it? Does it describe all Muslims? No, it does not. It only describes the savage ones. This is so simple that it's almost painful.

At first, the MTA used one of their own regulations that allows them to turn down ads if they “demean an individual or group of individuals on account of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, gender, age, disability or sexual orientation.”

Look at the wording of Geller's placards, and at the MTA regulation that initially banned it, and you see a sort of disconnect from reality. "In any war between the civilized man and the savage," said the placards, "support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat jihad."  Could "savage" be offensive to an unthinking, overly sensitive, guilt-ridden, Jihad-supporting Muslim? I suppose so, but can a reasonable person argue that suicide belt-wearing people bent on killing innocent people just because they are not Muslims are not savages? I think not....

Cops Find Huge Weapons Cache and Drugs in Long Island Home

Marc Ringel mugshot: NCPD

Marc Ringel (NCPD)

March 7, 2012 - Police found a very large number of weapons and bomb-making ingredients in a man's home in Woodmere, Long Island, New York on Tuesday afternoon.

Nassau County police arrested 53-year-old Marc Ringel and were stunned by what they found in his home.

The initial reason for going to Ringel's home had nothing to do with why they ended up arresting him: They went there in response to a silent alarm. Officials say that Ringel had enough explosive material to level and entire city block.

"The incident," reports Newsday, "which began when Fourth Precinct police officers responded to a panic alarm set off by Ringel Tuesday afternoon, turned into an evacuation of the area after those officers found a handgun and two hand grenades inside the residence. Police said that came after officers detected 'the strong smell' of marijuana emanating from the house."

CBS Local New York quotes Police Chief Steven Skrynecki as saying that a search of Ringel's home turned up "15 destructive devices, specifically pipe bombs. Fifteen improvised grenades, approximately 100 handguns, 20 long guns, approximately 50 pounds of ingredients that could be used to make explosives,” and “There was enough explosive material in there to level that house and possibly the entire block.”

Curiously, few reports mention that the FBI and ATF were involved in this arrest. A blog called Private Investigations posted yesterday that "the FBI responded to a home on Long Island with a bomb disposal unit. Police responded to alarm at the home on Narrow Lane in Woodmere at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday. When police arrived a man was in driveway. Police asked him for ID. He showed them a credit card. They said that wasn't correct ID. "

Private Investigations (PI) also says that Ringel then went into his house, and when he opened the front door "police got overwhelming smell of pot. Police opened up the door and saw tons of pot plants. They also spotted a handgun and two grenades."

PI quotes one of Ringel's neighbors as saying that he "looked like he could have been on drugs or drunk.” Another friend of Ringel "called Ringel a good man caught in a bad circumstance."

Commentary: Sure, we all get caught up in bad circumstances now and then. I mean, who doesn't occasionally find his home packe with marijuana plants, bomb-making materials, grenades and a carload of guns?

Related articles

• Arsenal of Weapons, Explosives Found at NY Home (abcnews.go.com)
• Cops Believe the Long Island Killer Is Just One Person Again (theatlanticwire.com)

UPDATED: NYPD Arrests Bomb Suspect; US Citizen Followed al-Qaeda; His Mom Apologizes To New York

Jose Pimentel at
Manhattan criminal court,
Sunday, Nov. 20, 2011
Photo: Tom Hays, AP

Police say this surveillance 
photo shows Jose Pimentel
making a bomb

November 20, 2011 - New York City - Police arrested a man who allegedly planned to blow up police vehicles, post offices and U.S. soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. A report by the Los Angeles Times says that NYPD said that one of his motives was to "protest U.S. military presence in those countries."

That man is Jose Pimentel, age 27, (photos, top) is a native of the Dominican Republic who was raised in Manhattan and converted to Islam. According to NYPD, Pimentel was in the process of constructing a pipe bomb when they arrested him. He had been on an FBI watch list for several years. See press conference video below; also see the press release from Mayor Bloomberg's office.

Authorities recently stepped up their surveillance of Pimentel after September 30. That's when Anwar Awlaki  was killed by a U.S. drone missile strike in Yemem. Pimentel is said to have been greatly influenced by Awlaki.  CBS News has posted the entire criminal complaint against Jose Pimentel.

According to a CBS report about Pimentel, "The complaint reveals the Pimentel made numerous incriminating statements to a confidential informant during a 12-month investigation. On Sept. 7, Pimentel allegedly told the informant he was interested building small bombs targeting government or police buildings and banks. Three weeks later, he allegedly gave the informant a flash drives containing two bomb-making manuals."

On Monday, November 21, Pimentel's mother actually apologized to New York for her son's alleged actions. New York Daily News quotes Carmen Sosa, 56, as saying, “I want to apologize to the City of New York,” and “I love the city. I’ve been here since 1987 and I’m very disappointed with what my son was doing. I didn’t raise him that way." She even praised the NYPD. “I feel very bad about the situation. I thank the police. They did what they’re supposed to do.”

NYPD Evicts Occupy From Zuccotti Park

Tuesday, 15 November 2011 - New York - 4:23 PM ET - New York police in riot gear are in the process of evicting thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters from Zuccotti Park.

There were reports of police using tear gas and flash grenades. Some protesters were pepper sprayed and handcuffed. At least 36 have been arrested.

"Authorities declared that the continued occupation of Zuccotti Park," reports the Globe and Mail, "which had become a sea of tents, tarps and protest signs with hundreds of demonstrators sleeping there – posed a health and safety threat."

"Hundreds of helmeted, baton-wielding police officers flooded Zuccotti Park in an under-cover-of-dark showdown early Tuesday," reports the New York Daily News, "ripping down protesters' tents and ordering them to get out or face arrest. Police surrounded the park around 1 AM and read a notice over a bullhorn telling the Occupy Wall St. protesters that sanitation trucks would be removing tents and other property from the site."

Two Amazing Hurricane Irene Maps

August 26, 2011 - New York City - In preparation for the arrival of Hurricane Irene, Mayor Michael Bloomberg today ordered a mandatory evacuation for "Zone A" low-lying areas, "as well as the complete evacuation of the Rockaways," reports Business Insider. A map of the NYC's evacuation zones was issued as a PDF by the city government. Crisislanding has an amazing interactive map of Hurricane Irene's entire path. Business Insider also notes that "major affected neighborhoods include" Manhattan’s Battery Park City, Coney Island and other Brooklyn beach communities, The Rockaways in Queens, Shore areas of Staten Island. New York City police will patrol the streets to enforce "the evacuation mandate."

Painting New York (Video)

This is a beautiful video, which deserves to be called a mini-documentary. Hat tip to iOwnTheWorld for bringing this to our attention. IOTW observed that "You may note that several Stella Artois ads are shown in the film; Stella Artois sponsored the film, though it covers other advertisements as well, and focuses more on painters than the ads themselves." It's a fascinating look at a dying artform, as told by the artists themselves. Although these are commercial paintings, they are "public art" in every sense.

UP THERE from The Ritual Project on Vimeo.

Will NY Gov. Paterson Resign on Feb. 8?

February 7, 2010 - The Democrats sure have problems this year. First, Scott Brown took Kennedy's old seat in Massachusetts. Then, Scott Lee Cohen embarrassed the Illinois Democrats (he quit the Quinn ticket tonight), but now insiders are buzzing that New York's governor, David Paterson, may resign on Monday, Feb. 8, thanks to pressure from the Democrat Party, partly because of an extramarital affair: 7:32 PM EST, 2/7/10 - BUSINESS INSIDER UPDATE: The governor's office completely denies any plans to resign and says "the Times story" will not run tomorrow. Rumors have been swirling around for a number of days now about a New York Times story that will break Monday about a possible career-ending issue on New York's Gov. David Paterson (D). Business Insider is reporting the latest... (from the Washington Times) RELATED: SCOTT LEE COHEN GIVES IN, QUITS RACE Protecting Paterson SOURCE: The NYT's Big David Paterson Bombshell Will Break Monday ... Gov. David Paterson Spokeswoman Denies NYT Resignation-Profile Bombshell Lewis Departs From WFP, Perjury Charges Possible In Staten Island Case Paterson Bombshell Rumor Watch: Resignation Imminent? Leave a Comment * Conservative T-Shirts * Follow CNB on Twitter * RSS Feed

Health Care Protest, Sen. Gillibrand's NYC Office, Dec. 5

The 9/12 Project of Greater NYC Meet-up Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009 2:00 - 4:00 PM (the new time!) What: Health Care Protest When: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2:00 PM Where: Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's Office, 780 Third Ave. (between 48th and 49th Streets, NYC 10017) Time Change Reminder: It's now at 2:00 pm, not 1:00 pm. Protest outside of Senator Gillibrand's office against government run healthcare. Bring signs, megaphones and friends! See who's coming or update your RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/The-9-12-Project-of-NYC/calendar/11910151/t/cr1c_rt Leave a Comment Conservative T-Shirts Follow CNB on Twitter RSS Feed

Call to Action: Stop the NYC 9/11 Trial - Rally in Foley Square Dec. 5

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 RALLY IN FOLEY SQUARE: STOP THE TERROR TRIAL IN NYC! New Yorkers to Attorney General Holder: "WE WILL FIGHT YOU ALL THE WAY!" What: December 5th rally protesting the NYC based trial of 9/11 conspirators Where: FOLEY SQUARE, MANHATTAN When: Saturday, December 5th, 2009 12:00 noon Who: US! The 9/11 Never Forget Coalition, a diverse group of 9/11 victims, family members, first responders, active and reserve members of the military, veterans, and concerned Americans, is holding December 5th rally protesting the plan to bring the 9/11 terrorist conspirators to trial in New York City. The Coalition formed to fight the decision of President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to try the 9/11 co-conspirators in New York City's federal court, effectively giving war criminals the same rights as American citizens while endangering the safety of all New Yorkers. Two weeks ago, we sent a letter signed by 300 family members of 9/11 victims to the President, Attorney General and Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking them to reverse course. The letter has now been signed by over 120,000 Americans and is posted below. Debra Burlingame, founder of 911 Families for a Safe and Strong America, said "Our rally on Saturday, December 5 will tell Attorney General Eric Holder, President Barack Obama and their supporters in Congress: We will fight you all the way! " Tim Brown www.theBravest.com www.neverforget@theBravest.com Debra Burlingame* and Tim Sumner 9/11 Families for a Safe & Strong America info@911familiesforamerica.org *Debra Burlingame is also a board member of Keep America Safe. (201) 803-1374 Elyse A. Buongiorno Eagles UP! President/Board Member www.eaglesup.us www.protroopevents.com www.protroopstube.com Leave a Comment Conservative T-Shirts Follow CNB on Twitter RSS Feed

EXTRA: Cable Guy Terrorist

A man who operated a cable television company was convicted in New York recently on charges of supporting Hizballah, a terrorist organization in Lebanon. Now, an organization in New York is demanding a full investigation "a full investigation of all cable systems through the tri state area after a convicted Staten Island TV operator was transporting TV programs to a Hizballah TV Station that was linked to a terrorist group." The organization demanding the investigation is Manhattan Media (see their press release below). NEW YORK—A Staten Island satellite TV operator, Javed Iqbal, aka John Iqbal, has pleaded guilty to providing material support of a Hizballah TV station, a designated foreign terrorist organization.... Prosecutors say Iqbal, 45, operated a satellite television service known as HDTV Limited, d/b/a HDTV Corporation, that maintained certain of its satellite equipment at Iqbal’s residence on Staten Island.... Iqbal pleaded guilty to a charge of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24. (Source: North Country Gazette, NY) The New York Daily News explains that Iqbal "pleaded guilty Tuesday to providing satellite television transmission services to the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah, which the United States has branded a terrorist organization, legal authorities said." (Source)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE [All Emphasis Added] Contact: RJ ROMERO of Manhattan Media Email: manhattanmedia212@gmail.com Terrorism on Staten Island. Staten Island Community Group Calls On Attorney General for Full Investigation of All Cable Systems after Recent Conviction.

The Staten Island Good Neighborhood Association is demanding and calling on New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for a full investigation of all cable systems through the tri state area after a convicted Staten Island TV operator was transporting TV programs to a Hizballah TV Station that was linked to a terrorist group. Staten Island Good Neighborhood Association President John “JE” Englebert says “Children can be affected by messages sent through our airwaves. Although we recognize our First Amendment of free speech we feel this was done illegally through our cable communications system. We feel that our TV systems are not being fully checked and there might be other cable systems affected. We are calling on Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for a full investigation”. Staten Island Good Neighborhood Association Vice President Mark Fiore says "We will be demanding higher penalties for this kind activity". Javed Iqbal, a/k/a “John Iqbal,” 45, of Staten Island, New York, pleaded guilty Tuesday December 23rd in Manhattan federal court to providing material support to Hizballah, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to the criminal Complaint, the count (Count Two) of the Superseding Indictment to which Iqbal pleaded guilty, and statements during the guilty plea proceeding before [a] United States District Judge. Hizballah (”Party of God”) is a Lebanon-based organization whose stated mission is the establishment of a fundamentalist Islamic state and the destruction of the State of Israel. Hizballah regards the United States as its enemy in this struggle and has pursued its mission through, among other things, attacks on civilian targets. Hizballah operates a television station in Lebanon known as Al Manar (”the beacon”) to cultivate support, including raising funds and recruiting volunteers for attacks. Hizballah was designated on October 8, 1997, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. On October 31, 2001, Hizballah was further designated a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and Al Manar itself was so designated on March 23, 2006. Iqbal operated a satellite television service known as HDTV Limited, d/b/a HDTV Corporation that maintained certain of its satellite equipment at Iqbal’s residence on Staten Island. Iqbal admitted that between approximately September 2005 and August 2006 he provided satellite transmission services to Al Manar, in exchange for thousands of dollars in payments from Al Manar. Iqbal pleaded guilty to a charge of providing material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum penalty of fifteen years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for March 24, 2009, at 12:45 p.m. before Judge Berman in Manhattan federal court. The Staten Island Good neighborhood Association Organization is a non political group that is dedicated to the health, safety and well being of Staten Island. It acts as a community watch dog organization for good government and civic activities for the people of Staten Island. The group’s website is http://www.statenislandgoodneighborhoodassociation.com For interviews with the Staten Island Good Neighborhood Association President or Vice President: Contact - RJ ROMERO of Manhattan Media Email: manhattanmedia212@gmail.com

Mumbai Attacks Are NOT 9/11

The world is watching Mumbai and the tragic events there, and we pray for all of the victims. We pray that India will pull this intact and move on. History indicated that they will. However, while we are sympathetic and do not wish to diminish the horrific scope of the events in Mumbai, we would like to remind the world of something:

MUMBAI IS NOT NEW YORK, AND THE TERROR ATTACKS THERE ARE MINISCULE COMPARED TO SEPT. 11, 2001.

The comparison of this week's terror attacks in Mumbai to the terror attack on New York 2001 is flawed for many glaringly obvious reasons. Just a few:

1) The death toll of Mumbai now stands at just under 200 officially. Sadly, many of those already injured will probably not pull through and will add to the death toll. Nevertheless, how do you compare 200 deaths to 3,000?

2) The destruction of property and of businesses in Mumbai this week is a small fraction of that which was destroyed when the World Trade Center towers collapsed.

3) The impact that the New York attacks of 2001 had on the economy of the US and the world was infinitely greater than will be the impact of this week's attacks in Mumbai. Remember that in 2001, all commercial airline flights into and out of the US were grounded, whereas the Mumbai airport continues to function.

4) The events this week in Mumbai will probably not spark a war. Highest level officials of Pakistan and India are talking, face to face. After the 9/11 attack on New York, highest-level US officials did not sit at a table with leaders of al Qaeda or the Taliban in Afghanistan.

5) The 9/11 attacks in 2001 included the Pentagon, the center of US military command. No Indian equivalent was attacked in Mumbai.

So please, for the sake of historical accuracy, and so as not to diminish the scope of September 11, 2001, stop calling this week's events in Mumbai "India's 9/11."

Soy Andina Asks, "Can You Go Home Again?"

Imagine moving from a small Andean village to the crazy world of New York City.

Mitch Teplitsky has done just that, but his beautiful documentary film is more than imagination - it is the reality of a woman who picked up her life and relocated it to the Big Apple.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Teplitsky, the Director/Producer of "Soy Andina." The title translates to "I am Andean," and the woman whose life it follows came to the United States from a village in the Peruvian Andes.

"Soy Andina tells the intersecting stories of two New Yorkers – a modern/hip-hop dance dancer raised in Queens, and a folkloric dancer from the Andes – on a dazzling odyssey through Peru in search of roots and a world of folkloric dance." (More...)

Soy Andina will have its second showing tonight as part of the Chicago Latino Film Festival. It's a lush film, beautiful in its cinematography and dancing, incredible scenery and a compelling storyline. It will show tonight (Monday, April 14) at 8:30 p.m. at Instituto Cervantes, 31 W. Ohio Street, Chicago (directions here).

Mitch and his lovely wife Doris were enjoying coffee at Common Cup, on this bright and sunny morning in Rogers Park, Chicago. I was, of course, blogging. The Teplitskys were at the table next to me and Mitch politely interrupted my conversation with a fellow patron.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," he said with a warm smile, "but I heard that you blog. What do you blog about? What's your web site?"

"This neighborhood, mainly, and other things," I said, adding, "I'm a crazy right wing reactionary."

Again with the warm smile. "I like this neighborhood," he said. "I'll look at your blog."

"Don't hate me after you read it," I said, half kidding.

"I'm a blogger, too," he smiled.

The usual questions ensued. Where are you from, what are you doing in Chicago. He enthusiastically told me about his Soy Andina. He described the film as a "can you go home again?" story.

"Can you go home again?" I asked.

"It's where you heart is, truly," he said.

Mitch met Doris while working on another film project in Peru several years ago. She is a native of Peru. Mitch is a New Yorker, through and through. Through traveling in Peru, the many stories that Doris must have told him, and his researches for the documentary, Mitch Teplitsky is an expert on all things Peruvian.

To get a taste of Peru, check out Soy Andina. If you miss it at the Chicago Latino Film Festival, you can get a copy on DVD. Go to the film's web site for more information.