Saturday, June 14, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Angelina Jolie honored by Queen Elizabeth II
- The Associated Press
First published June 14th 2014

Angelina Jolie can add royal recognition to Hollywood stardom. The Oscar-winning actress has been named an honorary dame — the female version of a knight — by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.

Jolie, a United Nations special envoy, received the honor on Friday for her work combating sexual violence in war zones.

Jolie, who won a supporting actress Academy Award in 2000 for "Girl, Interrupted," has spoken of scaling back her movie roles to focus on humanitarian work. She said that "to receive an honor related to foreign policy means a great deal to me, as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to."

Because she is not a British or Commonwealth citizen, Jolie won't be entitled to use the title "dame" before her name. Previous U.S recipients of honorary knighthoods include director Steven Spielberg, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and former President Ronald Reagan.

Jolie, who was in London this week to co-host an international summit on sexual violence, was among hundreds of people recognized in the queen's annual Birthday Honors List for services to their community or national life.

Most of the honors go to people who are not in the limelight — from soldiers and civil servants to academics and entrepreneurs — but there is always a sprinkling of famous names.

Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis was made a knight "for services to drama" and can now call himself Sir Daniel. The actor, who won Academy Awards for "My Left Foot," "There Will Be Blood" and "Lincoln," said he was "entirely amazed and utterly delighted in equal measure."There were damehoods for novelist Hilary Mantel, author of the prize-winning Tudor page-turners "Wolf Hall" and "Bring Up the Bodies," and for fashion designer Zandra Rhodes.

Actress Maggie Smith, who plays the imperious Dowager Countess of Grantham on TV's "Downton Abbey," was made a Companion of Honor, an award limited to 65 people "of distinction."

"Homeland" star Damian Lewis was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, or OBE.

The British actor said he was "very surprised but very happy" with the honor.




Angelina Jolie has been honored by the queen for diplomatic work against the practice of sexual assault as a part of war, giving her the title of honorary dame. As she is an American citizen, she is not eligible for the title of Dame. “'She said that "to receive an honor related to foreign policy means a great deal to me, as it is what I wish to dedicate my working life to.'" The queen's awards go to a wide array of people with various life achievements. Queen Elizabeth has always played an active part in the life of the UK. I remember her as a young queen. She has always seemed to me to be a happily married, family oriented person, and very attractive, who took an interest in the arts. She is easy to like.






Parents of gunman in Oregon school shooting apologize – CBS
AP June 13, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. - The parents of a teenager who fatally shot a classmate at an Oregon high school released a statement Friday in which they apologized for their son's actions, and said they never promoted violence or hatred.

Michael Padgett and his ex-wife Kristina said they are at a loss for how and why the shooting occurred. The letter states they taught Jared Padgett and their other children the values of compassion, forgiveness, patience and love in Jesus Christ.

"These were all natural attributes we observed within Jared daily," the statement said. "Knowing that these are the values that we have taught our children, we are horrified and distraught by the actions perpetrated by our son."

The statement was hand-delivered Friday afternoon to KPTV, the FOX affiliate in Portland. It came three days after Jared Padgett, 15, opened fire after arriving at his high school east of Portland heavily armed.

The freshman killed 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman in the boy's locker room and another bullet grazed physical education teacher Todd Rispler. When confronted by officers, Padgett went into a bathroom and died from a self-inflicted gunshot, police said.

Investigators have yet to reveal a possible motive, and the statement shed no light on what may have led the devout Mormon and aspiring serviceman to become a school shooter.

The parents said they have cooperated with detectives through an interview process that has left them "deeply confused and shocked by the information delivered." The statement did not elaborate.

Included in the letters were apologies to Hoffman's family and friends, Rispler and the community.




The Padgetts, the shooter's parents, said they taught him “the values of compassion, forgiveness, patience and love in Jesus Christ. These were all natural attributes we observed within Jared daily," the statement said. "Knowing that these are the values that we have taught our children, we are horrified and distraught by the actions perpetrated by our son." They didn't mention any mental health issues that their son obviously had. Parents, too often, are not alert to the signs of mental disturbance, and often, as in this case, have relied on religion to mold their children into good people. Young people who are not mentally ill don't do these things, though, unless they have strayed into the area of membership in violent gangs where they learn to kill and do harm as a member of the group. This boy was not, apparently, a gang member. He was probably one of those “too quiet” kids who are harboring resentments and may possibly be the victims of bullies. This is one more sad story.





Bergdahl Wasn't Only Soldier to 'Walk Off' Afghan Outposts



WASHINGTON - Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl left his combat outpost in Afghanistan in 2009 and fell into enemy hands for five years, but the former Taliban prisoner wasn't the only trooper to sneak out of a U.S. base in recent years, military sources told ABC News on Sunday.

"At least a dozen guys just walked off their posts" in Afghanistan since 2009 for a variety of reasons, said an experienced soldier, one of four Afghan war veterans familiar with the incidents who spoke to ABC News. The other sources estimated the number could be more than a dozen.

The highly experienced combat veterans -- whose deployments cover the entire Afghan campaign -- said the significant incidents spanned a timeframe from when President Bush in late 2008 boosted conventional troop numbers in Afghanistan to well beyond President Obama's early 2010 surge that added 30,000 more troopers to the fight.

The soldiers discreetly slipped "outside the wire" to find drugs or were already intoxicated, left to "hang out" with local Afghan villagers or Afghan forces, or just simply snuck away without any idea where to go or what to do, the Army sources said.

"There was one kid who walked off his camp with an axe and some beef jerky with a plan to walk to Iran. The Afghan Local Police found him and brought him back," a second seasoned soldier with many deployments to Afghanistan confirmed.

The most infamous incident involved Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a Stryker Brigade soldier who left a U.S. special operations camp in Kandahar province one night in March 2012 without authorization or apparently being noticed and entered a local village. Bales gunned down 16 Afghan civilians, half of whom were small children, and set their remains on fire. He was charged with murder by the Army, pleaded guilty and received a life prison term.

Military officials declined comment on Sunday. A spokesperson for the Office of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel referred an ABC News reporter to NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, which in turn said U.S. Central Command was the proper authority to comment on the issue. A spokesman for that combatant command based in Tampa, however, said it was a matter that should be addressed by the U.S. Army since it involved soldiers leaving their posts. An Army spokesperson advised a reporter to contact ISAF and CENTCOM.

There is no evidence that any of the soldiers who walked off post were charged with any form of desertion or intended to join the enemy. All were disciplined in various ways, the military sources said.

"This happens in wartime," said Gary Solis, a retired Marine Corps prosecutor who has taught law at West Point and Georgetown University.

Bergdahl's intentions once he left Combat Outpost Mest in Paktika province remain murky to officials five years later, though Army leaders have said they will hold him accountable as part of his reintegration process should any misconduct be proven.

In 2010, a Green Beret staff sergeant at Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost took one of his teammates and a low-level "Category One" Afghan interpreter on an unauthorized joyride outside the base which ended in a deadly shootout with Afghan National Security Forces at a checkpoint, the four soldiers told ABC News, including sources who knew the Special Forces operator and a senior officer who is familiar with details of the case.

"While off base, they were mistakenly engaged by Afghan forces," the senior officer said. "The interpreter died and the SF soldier was wounded... I believe the SF soldier was administratively separated from the Army as a result of this."

Do you have information about this or a related story? CLICK HERE to confidentially send your tip in to the Investigative Unit.

One soldier who knew the joyriding Special Forces soldiers said they were suspected of being high on hashish, a highly concentrated form of marijuana, which is a cash crop in Afghanistan. But blood test results were misplaced.

"They took his beret and gave him the boot," the soldier said.

The senior officer said the investigation did not turn up evidence of drug use, but acknowledged drugs and alcohol are often prevalent at many outposts, including Special Forces camps. Bales admitted to using steroids, which he claimed altered his mood.

"Pills are huge over there because they're so cheaply made in Pakistan," said the first soldier, whose background and knowledge was verified by other soldiers.

"It was certainly not unheard of in Vietnam," added Solis, a Vietnam veteran, referring to both substance abuse as well as troops walking off their combat bases. "In Afghanistan, there were so many outposts 'away from the flagpole' out in the countryside."




This article talks about soldiers going AWOL fairly frequently in Afghanistan and about drugs and alcohol being available on posts, which I would have thought the army is able to control and prevent. Apparently soldiers are rigidly controlled during training, but when in the field the situation is looser. It was interesting that the writer of the article was sent from one person to another five or six times seeking someone who was authorized to talk about it. This is the first news story I've seen in years about such things, but talking to young men who were students at UNC I heard of the same kind of events going on in Vietnam. The army doesn't want to discuss it, I suppose, because it's so bad for morale. I'm glad I'm not a man, because I wouldn't have wanted to live under strict rules governing every aspect of life, and I wouldn't have wanted to be expected to kill. I had to kill a mouse trapped in a sticky trap one time, and it really hurt me. I drowned it to prevent a slow death.

I don't have any anger or scorn toward Bergdahl or others who walk off their posts. Patriotism and valor in battle are not the highest achievements in my book, as I consider war to be an anomalous circumstance and in most cases either immoral or unnecessary. The recent cases in Eastern Ukraine and now in Iraq of whole groups of guards giving up their weapons and allowing their posts to be captured, however, does strike me as wrong. They should at least try to fight for their people. Every country has to have an army which is assigned the task of defending the people, as every town has to have a police force for the same purpose. When the military itself can't be relied upon, the people are unsafe in their homes, and that is a grave problem. I hate to see citizens undefended so that a force like the Taliban in Afghanistan, or in Ukraine the Russians, can simply roll in with their tanks and take over.





Young Iraqis Volunteer to Fight Surging Militants – ABC
By HAMZA HENDAWI and SAMEER N. YACOUB Associated Press
June 14, 2014 (AP)

Hundreds of young Iraqi men gripped by religious and nationalistic fervor streamed into volunteer centers Saturday across Baghdad, answering a call by the country's top Shiite cleric to join the fight against Sunni militants advancing in the north.

Dozens climbed into the back of army trucks, chanting Shiite slogans and hoisting assault rifles, pledging to join the nation's beleaguered security forces to battle the Sunni group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which has launched a lightning advance across the country.

"By God's will, we will be victorious." said one volunteer, Ali Saleh Aziz. "We will not be stopped by the ISIL or any other terrorists."

The massive response to the call by the Iranian-born Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, issued via his representative Friday, comes as sectarian tensions are threatening to push the country back toward civil war in the worst crisis since U.S. forces withdrew at the end of 2011.

Fighters from the al-Qaida splinter group, drawing support from former Saddam Hussein-era figures and other disaffected Sunnis, have made dramatic gains in the Sunni heartland north of Baghdad after overrunning Iraq's second-largest city of Mosul on Tuesday. Soldiers and policemen have melted away in the face of the lightning advance, and thousands have fled to the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

On Saturday, insurgents seized the small town of Adeim in Diyala province after Iraqi security forces pulled out, said the head of the municipal council, Mohammed Dhifan. Adeim is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad. There was no official confirmation of the loss of the town.

Jawad al-Bolani, a lawmaker and former Cabinet minister close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said a military offensive was underway Saturday to drive the insurgents from Tikrit, Saddam's hometown north of Baghdad, although fighting in the area could not be confirmed.

AP Television News footage showed Kurdish fighters, known as peshmerga, driving out militants who had taken over an army outpost some 24 kilometers (15 miles) west of the oil city of Kirkuk. The position had earlier been abandoned by Iraqi army troops. Long coveted by the Kurds who have a self-rule region in northern Iraq, Kirkuk fell under the control of the peshmerga this week after Iraqi army forces left.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday his Shiite nation is ready to help Iraq if asked, adding that it has "no option but to confront terrorism." Addressing a news conference, he suggested the Sunni militants in northern Iraq are linked to Iraqi politicians who lost in parliamentary elections held in April.

"We will study if there is a demand for help from Iraq. Until today, no specific request for help has been demanded. But we are ready to help within international law," he said. "Entry of our forces (into Iraq) to carry out operations has not been raised so far. It's unlikely that such conditions will emerge."

Iran has built close political and economic ties with Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam's Sunni-led regime and many influential Iraqi Shiites, including al-Maliki, have spent years in exile in the Islamic Republic.

The fast-moving rebellion has emerged as the biggest threat to Iraq's stability since even before the Americans left.




“Hundreds of young Iraqi men gripped by religious and nationalistic fervor streamed into volunteer centers Saturday across Baghdad, answering a call by the country's top Shiite cleric to join the fight against Sunni militants advancing in the north.” The Sunni attack has not gone unanswered, as young Shia men are volunteering in large numbers to fight them, and Iran has offered its help. So far the Iraqi government hasn't accepted their offer. In addition, however, the Kurds are armed and have taken over an army outpost outside the oil city of Kirkuk from the Sunni militants. Hopefully the combined forces will be able to stand off the Sunni who represent what is said to be an even more extreme threat than al-Qaeda. President Obama has said that the Iraqi government can expect some help, possibly air raids with drones or bombers, but no soldiers on the ground. He also said they needed to make changes in their government, possibly to give the Sunni minority more rights.






Egypt Sends 13 to Trial for Sexual Violence – ABC




Egypt's top prosecutor referred Saturday 13 men to trial for attempted rape and assault of women during public rallies in Cairo's iconic Tahrir square, the first implementation of tough new penalties against rampant sexual violence, the state news agency reported.

The speedy trial reflects a government push to address the issue, and comes less than a week after the swearing in of Egypt's newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Harassment has long been a problem in Egypt, but assaults have become more frequent and gruesome over the past three years of turmoil.

Since longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak stepped down in February 2011, rallies in Tahrir had witnessed frequent and escalating attacks on women — raising concerns from activists that it was an attempt to keep protesters away from a public square that had become a place of dissent. But authorities did little to combat the phenomena then, and independent groups started initiatives to protect women in the square.

The mob assaults last week caused particular public outcry as they came during celebrations of el-Sissi's inauguration and footage of one brutal attack was widely circulated. That prompted the new leader to make the highest profile condemnation yet of the escalating phenomena and order a crackdown on perpetrators.

El-Sissi paid a visit to one of the survivors of the violence, issuing what may be the first presidential apology to a civilian and promising her to take tough actions against the attackers.

The First Lady, in her first official function, also paid a visit to the survivor Friday.

Egypt's state news agency MENA said the country's top prosecutor Hesham Barakat referred 13 men to trial for taking part in at least three separate incidents of sexual assault, including one at the inauguration celebration and one from January 2013. One of the defendants is a minor, aged 14.

The men are accused of kidnapping the women, assaulting them, torturing them, robbing them, and attempting to murder and rape them. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The news agency said the prosecutor is also investigating the person who shot and uploaded the video of the attack, calling it a "violation of public decency." Egypt asked YouTube to remove a video of the woman being sexually assaulted. YouTube removed copies of the video in which the woman can be identified, but is allowing other versions that blur her image to remain on the site because the company considers them to be newsworthy. Viewers who want to watch the blurred video also must vouch that they are at least 18 years old.

Egypt only recently criminalized sexual harassment, a much lesser charge than that which the 13 men face.

In one of his last decisions before stepping down, Adly Mansour, Egypt's interim president and el-Sissi's predecessor, decreed sexual harassment a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. The decree issued earlier this month was much-anticipated as a way to combat the abuse, deeply rooted in Egypt. The decree amended the country's existing laws, which did not criminalize sexual harassment and only vaguely referred to such offenses as indecent assault.

Harassers face between six months to five years in prison, with harsher sentences reserved for offenders holding a position of power over their victims, like being a woman's superior at work or being armed with a weapon.

Offenders would be prosecuted whether they commit harassment in public or in private, and repeat offenders would see their sentences doubled.

Along with the maximum five-year sentence, offenders can be fined up to 5,000 Egyptian pounds, or about $714, with the maximum fine reserved for harassers who use a weapon or pressure.



“Egypt's top prosecutor referred Saturday 13 men to trial for attempted rape and assault of women during public rallies in Cairo's iconic Tahrir square, the first implementation of tough new penalties against rampant sexual violence, the state news agency reported.... and comes less than a week after the swearing in of Egypt's newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Harassment has long been a problem in Egypt, but assaults have become more frequent and gruesome over the past three years of turmoil.” Since Mubarak stepped down, violence against women during rallies has been escalating. The interim government did little to stop the attack, but apparently newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is going to be another story. A high profile case occurred last week during el-Sissi's inaugural celebration sparked his crackdown on “the escalating phenomena” and the perpetrators. This is great. Unless the government comes down very hard on such antifeminist events, they will continue to happen, and this article says they have become worse in Mubarak's absence.

“El-Sissi paid a visit to one of the survivors of the violence, issuing what may be the first presidential apology to a civilian and promising her to take tough actions against the attackers.” His wife also visited the victim. “Egypt only recently criminalized sexual harassment, a much lesser charge than that which the 13 men face.” I don't believe “sexual harassment” is a criminal offense in the US, though in some Southern areas, black men have been detained for it, if it involved a white woman. Growing up I do remember times when boys or men have “harassed” me, though they didn't touch me. I never thought of it as a crime, but merely as an insult. In a country where women are gravely endangered sexually, the first taunt or lewd behavior could be considered part of an assault.

Looking at it that way, I think we need such a law here. It hasn't been very many years since stalking became punishable as a crime. Before that time women who had been threatened or stalked had to wait until the aggressor touched them physically to make a charge. Thank goodness that's no longer true. Stalking, like harassment, is now considered to be the precursor to a rape. It was Mansour, the Interim President, who first declared it a crime, carrying a sentence of five years or longer, depending on whether the attacker had a weapon or held a position of superiority over her, such as her employer. Sexual assault is described in this article as being “deeply rooted in Egypt.” I hate to say it, but sexual assault and simple battery are “deeply rooted” in the basic relationship between women and men, except where men are specifically trained as they grow up to be respectful and protective toward women. Mansour and El-Sissi have put Egypt on the path to a better society with this new law. Congratulations to them.






Gun Control Activists March Across The Brooklyn Bridge Demanding Action – NPR
by EYDER PERALTA
June 14, 2014

Hundreds of activists marched across the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday, demanding reforms to the country's gun policies.

The march was organized by two groups — Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Everytown for Gun Safety — after a series of news-making mass shootings.

In a press release, Moms Demand Action says they want "common-sense" reform that includes closing loopholes that allow some gun buyers to skirt background checks.

The AP reports:

"About 1,000 activists gathered in downtown Brooklyn and are marching across the bridge to City Hall.

"They will then hold a demonstration outside the building's gates and chant 'Not one more.'

"That's the rallying cry uttered by Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was shot to death in Santa Barbara, California, last month."

Among the protesters is Erica Lafferty, whose mother was gunned down during a rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The two groups at the center of the protests are partially funded by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has become a prominent supporter of more stringent gun control.




I have published an email from Everytown for Gun Safety to my Facebook account after signing a petition for gun reform. I think the machine gun type weapons should be banned outright except for use in the military, and I am for tightening up the gun laws to close the “loophole” of gun sales at gun shows without a background check. I also think that in background checks, people who have been deemed dangerous to themselves or others by a psychologist, or who have had interactions with the police for violence which fell beneath the level of an arrest, even when drunk or under the influence of drugs, should not be able to buy a gun. All too often people who are diagnosed as being merely depressed are also paranoid or filled with anger at the world in general, and people who get involved in fights are often deranged. The police are likely to give them a lecture and turn them loose without making a report. Of course if no judge has ordered the person to undergo psychiatric care, their medical background may be unknown or subject to HIIPA rules. A law which opens up the HIIPA rules so that mental health treatment will be on their records is justified, I think. There are privacy arguments against that, of course, but such information shouldn't become a matter of public records or be disclosed to the press. The way sexual predators are listed on the Internet along with their address breaks their privacy, but there is a need for the neighbors to know so they can watch out for their children, and I think this kind of case is similar.