Monday, May 12, 2014

News Clips Of The Day

Is Climate Change Real? The Pentagon Sure Thinks So – NBC
BY BILL BRIGGS
First published May 9th 2014

The military and intelligence agencies are increasingly monitoring and preparing for how, when and where the consequences of a warmer planet will collide with national security, requiring the eventual need to deploy American troops to weather-torn lands.

As climate-change arguments continue at home — including pundits who assert the scientific consensus on the issue is overblown or concocted — current and former Department of Defense officials are mapping future strategies to protect U.S. interests in the aftermath of massive floods, water shortages and famines that are expected to hit and decimate unstable nations.

“For DoD, this is a mission reality, not a political debate,” said Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman. “The scientific forecast is for more Arctic ice melt, more sea-level rise, more intense storms, more flooding from storm surge, and more drought.

“Those changes shape the future operating environment, help us predict missions we'll have to undertake, and create challenges and constraints on how we operate on our bases,” Wright said. “We're taking sensible measured steps to mitigate the mission risk posed by climate change.”

“Therein is a recipe for the kind of instability that will inevitably involve the United States in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief or, indeed, in a regional conflict.”

The White House on Tuesday released an alarming litany of current and near-term weather calamities that Americans should plan to endure due to ongoing atmospheric shifts. That report also noted: “The implications of climate change for U.S. national security are significant.” And the White House cited a 2010 Pentagon review that, for the first time, acknowledged climate change would play a “significant role in shaping the future security environment.”

But inside and outside the DoD, many experts agree U.S. national security already is being tested by massive unrest, revolts and humanitarian calamities triggered, in part, by climate change.

The civil war in Syria, which has left an estimated 100,000 people dead, has its roots in a regional drought, said retired Navy Vice Adm. Lee Gunn, now a member of the military advisory board for CNA Corporation, a non-profit research and analysis organization in Alexandria, Virginia.

“The current Syrian situation is linked in my mind, in part, to a food shortage and drought in the region, which among other things drove people from the farms to the cities,” Gunn said. “The cities were unprepared in Syria to deliver the services demanded by a rapidly increasing population. Whatever the other stresses were that the Syrian government was undergoing, this had the potential to accelerate that set of conditions.”

The 2011 Arab Spring — a torrent of civil wars, ruler ousters and riots that spread from North Africa into the Middle East — similarly can be tied, in part, to a colossal winter drought in China plus record heat waves and flooding in several other countries, including Russia, where much of the wheat for the Middle East is grown, Gunn said.

“There was a drought and a wheat shortage that resulted in an increase in wheat prices and, therefore, a increase bread prices, a staple in North Africa," Gunn said.

“For DoD, this is a mission reality, not a political debate."

U.S. security experts are scoping a new potential hazard: the rice fields of Southeast Asia, and specifically Vietnam. The CNA military advisors already have predicted that melting of Himalayan glaciers would add to a sea-level rise that could ruin that rice-producing basket. The same flooding could ravage Bangladesh, creating a potential, mass refugee flow into India, and also threaten the fresh-water resources of India and Pakistan — nuclear-armed nations that need to share and collectively manage their water, Gunn said.

“Our sense of that is it’s going to be the case where these people who need to cooperate are essentially going to be torn apart by the conditions that are changing,” Gunn said.

Among U.S. security and military strategists, perhaps an even higher concern involves already unstable governments and fragile societies that probably would not withstand mass weather disasters. If those governments crumble, terrorists could fill the resulting power voids, said Dennis McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy and a retired Navy vice admiral.

“We're taking sensible measured steps to mitigate the mission risk posed by climate change.”

“The last thing in the world these nations need are the severe and more frequent effects of bad weather, including crop failures,” McGinn said. “Therein is a recipe for the kind of instability that will inevitably involve the United States in humanitarian assistance, disaster relief or, indeed, in a regional conflict.”

McGinn’s feel for the nexus of climate change and national security is based on his time as president of the American Council On Renewable Energy, and from his collaboration with Lee Gunn on the CNA military advisory board.

Should weather disasters overwhelm and destabilize governments, ultimately wiping out the existing rule of law, “that’s where you get all manner of bad folks filling that vacuum,” McGinn said. “It could be terrorists. It could be paramilitary, crime syndicates in the absence of good governance. That’s the big concern.”

“We (the military) have a strong history of being apolitical. We also understand risk. We deal with life-and-death risk,” McGinn said. “This gives us a credibility and a perspective that is necessary in dealing with all kinds of threats to national security, including threats due to climate change.”


“A number of current and former Department of Defense officials are mapping future strategies to protect U.S. interests in the aftermath of massive floods, water shortages and famines that are expected to hit and decimate unstable nations.... 'For DoD, this is a mission reality, not a political debate,' said Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman. Of “unstable and fragile” governments, climatic disasters could drive them under. “If those governments crumble, terrorists could fill the resulting power voids, said Dennis McGinn, assistant secretary of the Navy “

This article is concerned especially with unrest and humanitarian issues around the globe, but the recent devastating drought in California and the shocking strength of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey show that even our country could conceivably become more unstable if more and more natural disasters occur. If people begin to riot in the cities for food or if range wars break out over water sharing issues the National Guard may be needed here. During the early Civil Rights days President Eisenhower called out the National Guard to enforce the desegregation of a school in the south. I don't foresee famine and food riots in this country in the current times, but a disastrous future could be closer than we think.



Ukrainian Guardsmen Fire on Crowd During Disputed Referendum – NBC
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
First published May 11th 2014

Ukrainian national guardsmen fired on a crowd Sunday in eastern Ukraine, where voters were lining up for a disputed referendum on whether to split from rest of the country.

An insurgent leader was quoted by the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass as saying that there were fatalities.

The Associated Press reported that one of its photographers witnessed the shooting, in the town of Krasnoarmeisk, where dozens of guardsmen had shut down voting earlier in the day.

The photographer saw two people motionless on the ground, the AP reported.

The ballots seek approval to declare sovereign the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, where armed pro-Russia insurgents have taken control of government buildings and clashed with Ukrainian troops.


The Ukrainian troops had shut down the voting earlier in the day, but people had still lined up – is that all there was to this incident? There must have been some provocation beyond the fact that people had lined up to vote. Were the Ukrainians harassed? Another article below has a small amount of further information – “a scuffle broke out” and then the guardsmen fired. I think it's safe to say they were probably outnumbered and felt threatened. Still, it's very unfortunate.


http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ukraine-guardsmen-open-fire-crowd
UKRAINE GUARDSMEN OPEN FIRE ON CROWD
May. 11, 2014 

KRASNOARMEISK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian national guardsmen opened fire Sunday on a crowd outside a town hall in eastern Ukraine and an official for the region's insurgents said there were fatalities.

The bloodshed in the town of Krasnoarmeisk occurred hours after dozens of guardsmen shut down voting in a referendum on sovereignty for the region.

An Associated Press photographer who witnessed the shooting said two people were seen lying unmoving on the ground and insurgent leader Denis Pushilin was quoted by the ITAR-Tass news agency as saying there were an unspecified number of deaths.

Several hours earlier, guardsmen came to the town about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the regional capital, Donetsk, and dispersed referendum voting that was taking place outside the town hall and they took control of the building. In the evening, more guardsmen arrived in a van and a scuffle broke out with people who were gathered around the building. Then the guardsmen fired shots.

Eastern Ukraine has been gripped by unrest for the past month as pro-Russia insurgents occupied police stations and government buildings. Ukrainian forces have mounted a limited offensive to try to drive them out.

The Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Sunday conducted referendums on declaring the regions as so-called sovereign people's republics. Leaders of the vote, which is regarded as illegitimate by the central government and the West, say that sometime after the referendum, a decision will be made on whether to remain part of Ukraine, declare independence of seek annexation into Russia.



Mike Rogers: Secret Service might need a leadership change
By REBECCA KAPLAN FACE THE NATION May 11, 2014

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said the latest news about misconduct at the Secret Service is evidence of a larger "leadership failure" at the agency and may indicate the need for a larger personnel shift among top staff there.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend that members of the Secret Service unit responsible for guarding the White House perimeter were diverted from their usual posts for roughly two months in 2011 to protect the assistant of the agency's then-Director Mark Sullivan.

Sullivan was concerned that his assistant, Lisa Chopey, was being harassed by a neighbor, and sent agents to keep watch at her home in La Plata, Maryland, about an hour outside of D.C.

"This is just one of those black marks that make you scratch your head. You have to ask if there is a leadership culture that needs to be ripped out at the Secret Service," Rogers said in an interview on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.

"This is just one more example of a leadership failure at the Secret Service," Rogers added. "When you have someone removed from a post whose primary responsibility is to protect the president, and the White House and its occupants, that is very, very concerning."

The Michigan congressman, who also chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said he was particularly concerned about the potential role of current Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who was Sullivan's chief of staff during the incident. A Secret Service official told the Post that Pierson was unaware of the operation.

"They're going to have some explaining to do. And maybe they've got great explanations. But they're going to have to come up and explain. And if they can't get this piece right I think you're going to have to look at a cultural leadership shift in the Secret Service," Rogers said.



I hate to agree with a Republican, but whoever is the head of the Secret Service does need to look into several things. The 2011 incident was inappropriate, since the Secret Service is not a private security firm, but the two incidents within the last year or so when agents were involved in two scandals were worse, in my opinion. The first was the time when they hired prostitutes and then foolish failed to pay them enough, causing a ruckus that made the news, and the other was the agent who was so drunk he passed out in the hallway. I would like to think that all those agents were fired, but I understand they weren't -- just "disciplined." Hiring prostitutes is not only shameful, it is illegal.

In both cases the President wasn't in town yet, but something like that could happen anytime. Anybody who passes out in a hotel hallway has a serious drinking problem and shouldn't be on the Secret Service staff. When I heard of the second incident I wondered if supervision of the agents is what it should be. I looked the job up on the Internet and found that a fairly low grade of government service is sufficient to get them hired to the job, and I wonder if it shouldn't be a higher grade. I also think their backgrounds should be thoroughly investigated, simply because the job is so very responsible. I hope there will be action about the problem.



Boko Haram suggests prisoner swap for Nigeria girls
By TUCKER REALS CBS NEWS May 12, 2014

Last Updated May 12, 2014 6:46 AM EDT

A video distributed Monday shows the leader of the Nigerian Islamic extremist group Boko Haram saying he is willing to trade more than 200 kidnapped teenage girls for imprisoned members of his group, and offered the first evidence that most of the girls are still alive.

The video, which was obtained by the French AFP news agency, shows Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau addressing the camera with an automatic weapon in his first online appearance since claiming responsibility for the mass-kidnapping and threatening to sell the girls into slavery.

In another portion of the video dozens of young women in traditional Muslim dress are seen gathered in an outdoor area, chanting verses from the Koran in unison. Approximately 150 young women can be seen in the video. At one point a single girl addresses the camera in front of the group, appearing nervous, and recites Koranic verse.

Shekau addresses the camera in a different setting, appearing alone with his assault rifle and speaking in his native Hausa language. He asserts that Boko Haram has "liberated" many of the girls already, referring to many of them who he claims have "become Muslims."

"If you want us to release your girls we kidnapped, those of them that have not accepted Islam, they are now gathered in numbers. And we treat them well the way the prophet would treat well any infidel he seized. They are staying (with us). We will never release them until our brethren are released," Shekau says in the video. He does not name or identify any specific Boko Haram prisoners he would want released in exchange for the girls, but rather seems to suggest the Nigerian government would need to free imprisoned militants en-mass in any exchange deal.

"It is now four years or five years that you arrested our brethren and they are still in your prison," Shekau says, calling for the release of prisoners held across the nation. There was no immediate reaction from Nigerian officials.

Boko Haram kidnapped about 300 girls from their school in the northern Borno state more than four weeks ago, and the Islamic extremists still hold 276 as the U.S., Britain and other nations ramp-up efforts to help the Nigerian government find and rescue them.

Shekau's group is based in Borno, and is believed to be holding most of the girls in the sprawling Sambisa forest where the militants are based. The remote, rough terrain and Boko Haram's comparatively thorough knowledge of it have slowed search efforts to date, but the Nigerian government has also been heavily criticized for reacting too slowly from the beginning of the ordeal.

Experts have expressed concern that many of the kidnapped girls may already have been smuggled across Nigeria's borders into Chad, Niger or Cameroon.



Boko Haram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad,[2][3] known by its Hausa name Boko Haram (pronounced [bōːkòː hàrâm]),[4][5] is an Islamic group and militant organization based in the northeast of Nigeria,[6] north Cameroon and Niger.[7][8][9][10] Founded byMohammed Yusuf in 2002,[11] the organization seeks to establish a "pure" Islamic state ruled by sharia,[12] putting a stop to what it deems Westernization.[13][14] The group is known for attacking Christians and government targets,[13] bombing churches, schools and police stations,[15][16] and kidnapping western tourists, but has also assassinated members of the Islamic establishment.[17] Violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency has resulted in an estimated 10,000 deaths between 2002 and 2013.[18][19][20][21][22][23]

Whether it has links to jihadist groups outside Nigeria is disputed. According to one US military commander, Boko Haram is probably linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM),[25][26] but others have found no evidence of material international support,[27] and attacks by the group on international targets have so far been limited.[12] On November 13, 2013 the United States government designated the group a terrorist organization.



Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is stated to have claimed that Boko Haram has “liberated” many of the girls already, referring to a number who he claims have "become Muslims." He offers them back “if they have not already accepted Islam,” in exchange for Boko Haram members who have been prisoners of the Nigerian government for the last four or five years. Boko Haram has seized around 300 girls and is thought to be holding them in the Sambisa forest. US, Britain and other nations have offered help, but the Nigerian government still has not acted, for which they are being “heavily criticized.” This is so very sad.


Rare Set of Twins Hold Hands in Delivery Room – NBC

One Ohio mom got a very special present for Mother's Day, when her identical twin girls were born holding hands.

Sarah Thistlewaite's daughters, Jenna and Jillian, are a rare set of monoamniotic or "mono mono" identical twins, which means they shared an amniotic sack and were in constant contact during the pregnancy.

The condition also meant that Thistlewaite had to remain on bed rest for weeks at Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio. The twins had to be constantly monitored for nearly two months, since mono mono twins can easily become entangled in each other's umbilical cords.

"It's really mentally challenging. It's a very tough experience to go through," Thistlewaite told ABC News.

Thistlewaite, who also has a 15-month-old son, had to check into the hospital for nearly two months so doctors could carefully monitor the babies.

"They hook you up to heart rate monitors to watch for heart deceleration or variables," Thistlewaite said. "That's what they look for the whole time. I got ultrasounds every other week."

Texas Family Welcomes 'One in a Million' Quadruplets

Thankfully for Thistlewaite and her husband Bill, their daughters were born healthy at 33 weeks this past Friday. Doctors planned a Caesarian section because if the twins grew too large, they would be at greater risk for entanglement.

As the girls were born, doctors held them up over a sheet so that Thistlewaite and her husband could see them. The newborns were holding hands.

"I didn't think they would come out and instantly holding hands. It was overwhelming. I can't even put into words," Thistlewaite said. "There wasn't a dry eye in the whole OR."

Although the girls were born healthy, Thistlewaite said Saturday they had some breathing problems, so they were moved to the neonatal unit at Akron Children's Hospital. Today Thistlewaite will get to celebrate Mother's Day by introducing her daughters to their older brother for the first time.

"It's the first time that we'll all be together in one room," Thistlewaite said.


“Sarah Thistlewaite's daughters, Jenna and Jillian, are a rare set of monoamniotic or "mono mono" identical twins, which means they shared an amniotic sack and were in constant contact during the pregnancy.” The mom had to be monitored and on bed rest for almost two months before the birth, because the two babies could become entangled in each other's umbilical cords. They were taken by Caesarean section at just over 8 months. They have had some difficulty breathing and are at the Akron Children's Hospital neonatal unit. Thistlewaite said “there was not a dry eye in the whole OR.”

That is sweet. Identical twins are often very close as they grow up, sometimes even sharing a “language” of their own. I think if I had identical twins I would put a small, beautiful individual tattoo on the hand of each to differentiate them. I wouldn't want to be unable to tell them apart or for teachers to mix them up. They have enough trouble being a separate personality as it is.

I grew up living beside a set of twins who were not identical, and in fact they quarreled often as one identified with her father and the other with her mother. My family and theirs were friends and we as kids were in and out of each other's houses all the time. It was an easygoing time in a small Southern town when we knew our neighbors well and rarely locked our doors in the daytime. It's pleasant to think back to those days.