Tuesday, September 9, 2014


News Clips For The Day


126 years later, notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper ID'd?
By STEPHANIE SLIFER CBS NEWS September 8, 2014, 11:50 AM

A British author and amateur sleuth says he has unmasked Jack the Ripper, the pseudonymous serial killer who allegedly murdered at least five prostitutes in London more than 125 years ago.

No one was ever charged in the murders that plagued London's East End in 1888, but Russell Edwards claims a blood-stained shawl he bought at a 2007 auction helped identify the killer as Aaron Kosminski, a Polish immigrant who was 23-years-old at the time of the killings and who died in an asylum in 1899.

Edwards' book on the subject, "Naming Jack the Ripper," is expected to be released in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

Five murders between Aug. 31, 1888 and Nov. 9, 1888 have historically been blamed on a single killer referred to as Jack the Ripper. Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly were all found stabbed to death and disemboweled within one-fourth of a mile from each other in Whitechapel, London.

Over the years, Jack the Ripper became a notorious figure in crime and countless books, movies and documentaries have speculated on who may have been responsible for the brutal crimes.

The 48-year-old Edwards, of London, reportedly became "captivated" with the murders and spent his spare time investigating them.

The shawl he bought in 2007 was reportedly found by the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the victims. After buying it, he enlisted the help of Jari Louhelainen, an expert in molecular biology who reportedly was able to extract DNA from the shawl. Louhelainen and Edwards say that DNA led them to identify the killer as Kosminski - who had been named for years as one of six key suspects in the killings, reports the Guardian.

"On the testing, the first result showed a 99.2% match. Since the DNA has two complementary strands, we went on and tested the other DNA strand, which game a perfect 100% match," Louhelainen told the Liverpool Echo newspaper.

"The circle is now complete. One of the greatest unsolved crime mysteries of all time has been solved through cutting edge science, historical research and a great deal of determination and good fortune," he added.




“A British author and amateur sleuth says he has unmasked Jack the Ripper.... Russell Edwards claims a blood-stained shawl he bought at a 2007 auction helped identify the killer as Aaron Kosminski, a Polish immigrant who was 23-years-old at the time of the killings and who died in an asylum in 1899. Edwards' book on the subject, "Naming Jack the Ripper," is expected to be released in the United Kingdom on Tuesday.... The shawl he bought in 2007 was reportedly found by the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the victims. After buying it, he enlisted the help of Jari Louhelainen, an expert in molecular biology who reportedly was able to extract DNA from the shawl. Louhelainen and Edwards say that DNA led them to identify the killer as Kosminski - who had been named for years as one of six key suspects in the killings, reports the Guardian.... 'On the testing, the first result showed a 99.2% match. Since the DNA has two complementary strands, we went on and tested the other DNA strand, which game a perfect 100% match,' Louhelainen told the Liverpool Echo newspaper.”

I assume they used DNA from unearthing Kosminski's body, which would presumably have been buried at the asylum site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_the_Ripper_suspects. Jack the Ripper suspects,” From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia – See below.According to this article the DNA testing “has not been peer reviewed,” so maybe this claim is inconclusive like all the others so far.

“Aaron Kosminski (born Aron Mordke Kozminski; 11 September 1865 – 24 March 1919) was a Polish Jew who was admitted to Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum in 1891.[19] "Kosminski" (without a forename) was named as a suspect by Melville Macnaghten in his 1894 memorandum[20] and by former Chief Inspector Donald Swanson in handwritten comments in the margin of his copy of Assistant Commissioner Sir Robert Anderson's memoirs.[21] Anderson wrote that a Polish Jew had been identified as the Ripper but that no prosecution was possible because the witness was also Jewish and refused to testify against a fellow Jew.[22] Some authors are skeptical of this, while others use it in their theories.[23] In his memorandum, Macnaghten stated that no one was ever identified as the Ripper, which directly contradicts Anderson's recollection.[24] In 1987, Ripper author Martin Fido searched asylum records for any inmates called Kosminski, and found only one: Aaron Kosminski. Kosminski lived in Whitechapel;[25] however, he was largely harmless in the asylum. His insanity took the form of auditory hallucinations, a paranoid fear of being fed by other people, and a refusal to wash or bathe.[26] In his book, The Cases That Haunt Us, former FBI profiler John Douglas states that a paranoid individual such as Kosminski would likely have openly boasted of the murders while incarcerated had he been the killer, but there is no record that he ever did so.[27][28] In 2014, DNA analysis which has not yet been peer reviewed[29] claimed to have proved his semen was on a victim's scarf.[30][31] “





'God Loves Gays' Billboard Debuts in Westboro Baptist Church Hometown – NBC

A new billboard with the message "Gods Loves Gays" debuted Monday in Topeka, Kansas, the home city of the Westboro Baptist Church, the notorious congregation known for picketing funerals with signs bearing anti-gay slogans.

"The Facebook God," a satirical Facebook page with more than 1.7 million "likes," raised more than $80,000 on the crowd-funding platform Indiegogo in order to mount the billboard. "This hate group goes around saying that God hates gay people," an animated depiction of God says in a YouTube video uploaded to the Indiegogo page. "Nonsense! I love gay people. These Westboro psychos protest at the funerals of soldiers, murdered children and more. How dare they!"

Westboro Baptist Church followers believe misfortunes that befall Americans, most infamously 9/11 and the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, are God's punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality, according to the church's website. The South Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization that tracks extremist movements, describes Westboro as a hate group.



Westboro Baptist Church Founder Fred Phelps Sr. Dies – NBC
— Alessandra Malito
First published March 20th 2014, 1:15 pm

The founder of Westboro Baptist Church, the Kansas congregation known for its hate-filled protests of military funerals and an intolerance for gay people, has died.

Fred Phelps Sr., who founded the church in 1955, died around midnight Wednesday at the age of 84, his daughter Margie Phelps confirmed. He was being treated at a Shawnee County medical facility.

There will be no funeral, his daughter said.

The group, made up mostly of Phelps’ family, continually tested the boundaries of free speech and the accepted societal standards for decency. According to the church’s website, it has conducted more than 52,000 demonstrations since June 1991 at gay parades and has picketed more than 400 military funerals.

Phelps believed any misfortune, most infamously the deaths of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was God's punishment for society's tolerance of homosexuality.

In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Snyder v. Phelps that the group’s speech was protected by the First Amendment.

Phelps, who graduated high school with academic honors and a principal appointment to West Point Military Academy, had a religious experience that made him give up West Point and enroll at Bob Jones College in Tennessee. In 1952, he married his wife Margie M. Phelps, and together they had 13 children, 54 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.




“Westboro Baptist Church followers believe misfortunes that befall Americans, most infamously 9/11 and the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, are God's punishment for the country's tolerance of homosexuality, according to the church's website. The South Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization that tracks extremist movements, describes Westboro as a hate group.”

“The group, made up mostly of Phelps’ family, continually tested the boundaries of free speech and the accepted societal standards for decency. According to the church’s website, it has conducted more than 52,000 demonstrations since June 1991 at gay parades and has picketed more than 400 military funerals. Phelps believed any misfortune, most infamously the deaths of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, was God's punishment for society's tolerance of homosexuality. In 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Snyder v. Phelps that the group’s speech was protected by the First Amendment.... Phelps, who graduated high school with academic honors and a principal appointment to West Point Military Academy, had a religious experience that made him give up West Point and enroll at Bob Jones College in Tennessee.”

Bob Jones has long been known for its ultra-right political and religious teachings, and probably set Phelps on his path as a cult leader. Insecure young people in their teens and early twenties have a certain tendency to be drawn to rigid and authoritarian fringe religious groups. The people who join are willing to believe anything in order to gain the security of the very tightly knit group. It's a lot like the reasons behind teenagers joining street gangs. Such associations lead the converts to the scapegoating and closed minded worldview of hate groups. The problem is they really think they are right.





Suspects Identified in 'Ice-Bucket' Prank on Autistic Teen: Lawyer – NBC

Police in suburban Cleveland have identified most of the culprits behind a disgusting ice-bucket challenge "prank" that left an autistic 14-year-old covered in bodily fluids, a lawyer for the boy's family told NBC News on Monday.

"Police were able to identify a majority of the suspects in the video that actually perpetrated this really heinous act," said attorney Dean Valore. "There are still some additional unidentified people, (but) investigators are hoping by the end of the week to turn the case over to the local prosecutor's office."

Valore, a former Ohio and federal prosecutor, said that most of the kids who actually dumped the bucket of urine, feces and spit on the boy are known, but police are still trying to determine who actually filled the container. He said that he'd like to see assault charges, preferably even as a hate crime.

Bay Village Police Chief Mark Spaetzel told Cleveland.com on Monday that suspects had been identified, but added, "We are being very thorough in gathering all the necessary facts before presenting to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office. We are not sure when that will happen because we have additional interviews to conduct and further investigative avenues to pursue."

Meanwhile, Valore said that the boy and his family have been "overwhelmed" — "but it's a good kind of overwhelming" — by the outpouring of support from celebrities and regular folks alike. Over the weekend, comedian Drew Carey offered $10,000 to help find the responsible culprits behind the prank.

"We’ve been inundated with an outpouring, nationally and internationally, of support, both financially and moral support — from celebrities, from moms in their kitchens with autistic kids calling me."



http://www.cleveland.com/bay-village/index.ssf/2014/09/rally_shows_bay_villages_suppo.html

Rally shows Bay Village's support for teen victim of fake ALS Ice Bucket Challenge (Photo gallery)
By Barb Galbincea, Northeast Ohio Media Group 
September 05, 2014

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio -- Dozens of people from Bay and other communities turned out Friday evening to promote tolerance and show their support for the teen who was the victim of the fake ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

The family of the victim, who has autism, reported the incident to Bay police on Wednesday. The family said the bucket dumped on the teen contained urine, feces and spit. A video of the incident was posted to social media. Those involved are believed to be Bay High classmates of the teenager.

Friday night's rally, where people chanted "No Hate in Bay" and "No room for hate," was organized by Bay High graduate Elizabeth Sweeney and her sister, Sarah Sweeney.

"We wanted something positive to come out of a horrible act," said Elizabeth Sweeney. "We got an overwhelming response from everyone."

Amy Helgeson, executive director at the area office of Autism Speaks, said it was heartwarming to see so many people come out in support of the teenager. The organization was passing out informational pamphlets at the rally.

Sherry Kennedy, a Bay High graduate, said that as someone who has worked with special needs students, "I felt compelled to  be here."

Kira Pilat said she's a music therapist who has worked with special-needs kids and she came to the rally to promote tolerance.

Bay Village Superintendent Clint Keener said he was proud of the way that Bay High students had responded after hearing about the incident this week. He said they have collected money for the ALS Association and for Autism Speaks.

Keener also noted that so many Bay students volunteer for the PAL program to accompany their special-needs peers on outings that the district has to turn away some of the volunteers.

The superintendent said the incident clearly does not represent the majority of Bay High students, but he said it does illustrate that teaching tolerance and respect has to be ongoing.

Police said Friday afternoon in a press release that they are "working closely with the Bay Schools, analyzing the device used to record the video, interviewing witnesses, determining exactly where and when this occurred and identifying those involved. Preliminary information suggests this occurred prior to the start of the school year at a home in Bay Village. "

When police finish their investigation, they intend to turn over the information to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office. 



COMMENTS

pjs6 hours ago
I am in support of all the charges being handed down to all those involved,  however they do not address the potential health risks involved with body fluid exposure from multiple sources. Sure assault fits, but I would like to see harsher charges against these children who may have infected this child with one of many bacterial or viral infections associated body fluid exposures.  This child may have aspirated some of the fluids, had open wounds or gotten some of the fluid in his eyes.

The humiliation these criminals caused the victim is unimaginable  I am assuming Bay Village is a small community that prides itself on its small town values,  presents itself as a loving Christian community.  Although I am sure that some of the community members  do exhibits these qualities,  those involved in this crime use the church and religion for appearances only.

I am also wondering how the school is handling the incident?  Are they choosing to  defensed them selves as did the  Ohio High School who allowed members of its football team rape a female classmate?? Time to start making these kids pay for there crimes regardless of there social hierarchy.  Schools want to stop bulling ,  then stop handing kids the tools to do so.

And what about the parents role?  Kids learn what they live.  I am certainly not blaming all parents,  but as parents we  have the responsibility  of teaching our children right from wrong . We as adults need to  behave in a manner that is also kind and respectful of others.

  This is a terrible CRIME  that needs punished,  we need to send the message out to all those who bully passively or aggressively that we as a society will no longer allow you to continue to remain anonymous regardless of your age. You gave your victim no mercy,  why do you think you deserve mercy. 


Ariadne2 days ago
Wow!
I'm a mother of two boys on the spectrum, a 10 year old with no verbal skills and a 7 year old that is high functioning...
I can't even imagine this happening to my boys. just the thought of someone harming a boy that can't communicate, and that can't process fast enough to even defend himself makes me crazy! or the high functioning, may agree and go along because all they can grasp is I'm doing something with friends, oblivious to the prank that is at their expense!
Is it malice, hate, embarrassment, or just some young punks that have not been exposed and educated. What amazes me is that here we have some typically developed boys doing things that one would question their cognitive levels! No really, maybe they are intellectually disabled. whatever the reason it's become an issue that should be addressed by every community, schools, families...everyone needs to bring awareness about our special needs community so that we can protect and STOP the bullying!

Bicyclebuckeye3 days ago
@AncientRace
Where this kind of garbage come from?
The police are investigating. They already know at least some of the kids involved if not all of them. They are putting a case together and will  make sure its wrapped up in a bow before sending it off to the prosecutor, which is exactly how it should be handled.

If the parents want to get their kids involved, they should encourage them to do everything they can to make the victim feel accepted by his peer group - which the most important thing in a teenager's life. Justice is fine and so is the rally. But making the victim feel welcome by his classmates will do him a lot more good.

Jane112233443 days ago
I am having a hard time understanding your outrage here. It seems misguided. As one on the parents who attended the rally with my child I feel the need to explain my motivation. For over a decade I have worked with people with autism and other developmental disabilities. Like you, when I read about the video I was really angry and frankly incredibly sad. What could I do? I guess I could have written a Facebook status or a fiery comment on cleveland.com to show my support/disgust. But Instead, I logged off, took my kid and together we went out to show this family that we disagree so strongly to what happened to them that we wanted to gather on their behalf. This activity lead my child and I to have really powerful and important conversations about autism, bullying, personal responsibly and standing up for what is right. It is my hope that through these experiences and conversations my child will never grow to be like the ones who hurt that boy.




So here is another human encounter so sickening and sadistic that it's hard to believe a gang of apparently fairly well to do teenagers could possibly have done it. Parents aren't always teaching their children to be kind and to actively care about other people. I do think cruelty and bullying comes from mental illness on the part of the bully, though they seem to think they are highly superior people. Egotism, after all, is a form of mental illness.

Parents will be the first people to discover their child's bullying tendencies at home in most cases, and the parent has to intervene strongly enough to make an impression on the kid. They should be taught to have compassion for others before they ever get to high school. Start young. Don't let the three year old pick up the cat by its hind legs and throw it. Parents also need to model kindness to their children, as kids learn from the parents' actions as much if not more than from their words.

I just hope these teenaged hoodlums are sentenced with real crimes and punished with real jail time. Dean Valore, an attorney is quoted in the article: “He said that he'd like to see assault charges, preferably even as a hate crime.” Kids should not be exempted from charges because their parents are well-to-do or because they are on the football team. Unfortunately these are often the kinds of kids who do such things, and get away with it. If a poor kid is a bully, he will be expelled from school. I will track the stories in the future for a followup to this incident. Charges should be announced by the prosecutor's office soon.





U.N. Report Finds Carbon Dioxide Levels Hit Record High in 2013 – NBC
- The Associated Press
First published September 9th 2014

GENEVA - Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere reached a record high in 2013 as increasing levels of man-made pollution transform the planet, the U.N. weather agency said Tuesday. In an annual report, the World Meteorological Organization said that carbon dioxide, the heat-trapping gas blamed for the largest share of global warming, rose to global concentrations of 396 parts per million last year, the biggest year-to-year change in three decades. That's an increase of 2.9 ppm from the previous year — and is 42 percent higher than before the Industrial Age, when levels were about 280 parts per million.

"We know without any doubt that our climate is changing and our weather is becoming more extreme due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels," said WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud. "Time is not on our side, for sure." The report also said the rate of ocean acidification, which comes from added carbon absorbed by oceans, "appears unprecedented at least over the last 300 million years."




More bad news on the environmental front. There is no quick cure for the problem of heavy use of Carbon based fuel, either. There is hope – a larger number of experimental vehicles have been developed, and solar panels have produced an appreciable amount of electricity. In one article a local electrical company was complaining that they didn't know how to charge for electrifying a house that had produced too much electricity, so that it needed to send some of the energy back into the grid. The continuing problem, though, is the use of coal in most power plants across the country. Big coal does not want solar energy to become dominant in electrical production because, of course, they will lose money. So much for a patriotic willingness on their parts to help lower our “carbon footprint.”





Following Ferguson, Senate Weighs Use Of Military-Grade Equipment – NPR
by DAVID WELNA
September 09, 2014

Last month, scenes from Ferguson, Mo., showed police in military-style armored vehicles pointing assault rifles at protesters.

Now, the first Congressional hearing in response to those events is being held. It's looking specifically at Washington's hand in militarizing local law enforcement, through federal programs that equipped thousands of police and sheriff's departments with gear made for warfare.

Ferguson is in Sen. Claire McCaskill's home state, and the Missouri Democrat is leading the hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. She says she wanted to hold the hearing "to make sure that the images that we saw where there was a red pinpoint of laser in the chest of a young woman who was protesting, that we don't see that in America again."

She's already called on officials in Ferguson to de-militarize their police force. Now, McCaskill has questions for officials from the Pentagon, Justice Department, and Homeland Security whose programs supply local forces:

"What are the various types of equipment that are being funded, are we training people appropriately, who's paying to maintain this equipment, and maybe the biggest question of all is how much this equipment is actually being used and is it being used effectively?" she asks.

McCaskill expects adjustments in how Washington equips local police forces. A good start, she says, would be requiring that all officers wear body cameras. Others, including the American Civil Liberties Union, want more strings attached to how such equipment is used. The ACLU's Kara Dansky points out that when Congress created the Pentagon's program during the Clinton Administration, it did so in the name of fighting drugs and terrorism:

"So there are some preferences that are stated in the statute in terms of the purposes for which the equipment is intended to be used, at least in the eyes of Congress," she says.

Dansky says too little is known about what happens to the war material that the Pentagon's so-called 1033 distributes. "We think that Congress could require the Defense Department to do much more extensive reporting on the transfers of weapons through the 1033 program and even more importantly, on the use of the weapons that are transferred through the 1033 program," she says.

The Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency runs that military surplus program. It takes a hands-off attitude toward the equipment given to police departments.

Michelle McCaskill, the agency's spokeswoman, says the department doesn't tell departments how to use the equipment. "That's not up to us. The states and the law enforcement agencies determine the use of the equipment that's provided through the program," she says.

The eight thousand law enforcement agencies that do receive military hardware have to file annual inventory reports with the program's coordinators in their states. The Defense Logistics Agency's McCaskill says the point is to identify agencies that have lost track of equipment, everything from assault rifles to armored vehicles:

"That has happened and when that happens, those agencies become suspended from the program, because they have to go back and figure out what happened to that weapon, where did it go, they have to file reports," she says.

And there can be consequences. The states of Minnesota, North Carolina and Alabama have all been suspended from the military surplus program since March due to reporting issues.




“Now, the first Congressional hearing in response to those events is being held. It's looking specifically at Washington's hand in militarizing local law enforcement, through federal programs that equipped thousands of police and sheriff's departments with gear made for warfare. Ferguson is in Sen. Claire McCaskill's home state, and the Missouri Democrat is leading the hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. She says she wanted to hold the hearing 'to make sure that the images that we saw where there was a red pinpoint of laser in the chest of a young woman who was protesting, that we don't see that in America again.'... The Pentagon's Defense Logistics Agency runs that military surplus program. It takes a hands-off attitude toward the equipment given to police departments. Michelle McCaskill, the agency's spokeswoman, says the department doesn't tell departments how to use the equipment. 'That's not up to us. The states and the law enforcement agencies determine the use of the equipment that's provided through the program,' she says.... The Defense Logistics Agency's McCaskill says the point is to identify agencies that have lost track of equipment, everything from assault rifles to armored vehicles: 'That has happened and when that happens, those agencies become suspended from the program, because they have to go back and figure out what happened to that weapon, where did it go, they have to file reports,' she says.”

I think Congress should designate what a piece of equipment is allowed to be used for, rather than merely asking the police department what they have done with it. I also think that a city police department should have to prove a need for heavy weaponry before they get it. “Because we want to look cool walking down the street” is not an acceptable reason. “So we can stop people from banding together to march for justice” is also not acceptable. Marching was allowed as a form of free speech during the Civil Rights era, and certainly should be today. Often groups had to get a “parade permit” to assemble in that manner.

Those people in Ferguson who were looting or throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails were not peaceful, of course, and for that they should be arrested. Senator McCaskill's reference to a picture taken of a woman protester who had a laser light on her chest shows that the officers were going beyond what they should have been doing, even if there was civil unrest. We don't want Soviet style “crack downs” in this country.

Hopefully in the future, after Ferguson does a lot of work on its police force training, discipline, and recruiting, there will be no more uprisings in righteous anger by the citizens. When that level of civil unrest is present there is always suppression occurring, and reform is needed. I believe they are sincerely working on that now in Ferguson, and hope to read some more hopeful stories as time goes on. I heard on the radio this morning that Ferguson is making changes on its city government patterns, establishing a citizens review board to monitor the police department. That's very good.





Arab League Chief Urges 'Confrontation' With Islamic State Militants – NPR
by SCOTT NEUMAN
September 08, 2014

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby is calling on the organization's members for a "comprehensive confrontation" of Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria in apparent support of U.S. plans to build a coalition to stop the militants.

Elaraby said a "clear and firm decision for a comprehensive confrontation" was needed to confront the "cancerous and terrorist" groups in the region.

The 22-member Arab League "could provide crucial support across the Middle East for [President] Obama's effort to assemble an international coalition against the Islamic State," The Associated Press writes.

The Arab League includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Elaraby's comments come shortly after the U.S. stepped up airstrikes near the Haditha dam in Iraq's western Anbar province. They also come ahead of a vote on a new Iraqi Cabinet.

Reuters reports:

"The leader of a pro-Iraqi government paramilitary force in western Iraq said the air strikes wiped out an Islamic State patrol trying to attack the dam — Iraq's second biggest hydroelectric facility that also provides millions with water.

" 'They (the air strikes) were very accurate. There was no collateral damage ... If Islamic State had gained control of the dam, many areas of Iraq would have been seriously threatened, even (the capital) Baghdad,' Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha told Reuters."

President Obama told NBC's Meet the Press that he will address the nation Wednesday to outline a new approach to fighting the insurgency, but that it would not involve U.S. ground forces.

Obama is expected to meet with congressional leaders Tuesday about the plan.

"I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it," Obama told NBC.

Update at 10:30 a.m. ET: Suicide Bomber Kills 16

The AP reports:

"A suicide bomber struck a meeting of Sunni tribal fighters and Iraqi security troops on Monday, killing 16.

"In Monday's attack, the bomber drove an explosives-laden Humvee, apparently seized from the Iraqi military, into the gathering of a major Sunni tribe, the Jabour, and security forces in Duluiyah, some 80 kilometers (45 miles) north of Baghdad, a police officer said."




“Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby is calling on the organization's members for a 'comprehensive confrontation' of Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria in apparent support of U.S. plans to build a coalition to stop the militants. Elaraby said a 'clear and firm decision for a comprehensive confrontation' was needed to confront the 'cancerous and terrorist' groups in the region.... 'The leader of a pro-Iraqi government paramilitary force in western Iraq said the air strikes wiped out an Islamic State patrol trying to attack the dam...' 'They (the air strikes) were very accurate. There was no collateral damage ...'I just want the American people to understand the nature of the threat and how we're going to deal with it and to have confidence that we'll be able to deal with it,' Obama told NBC.”

I do have considerably more confidence now that ISIS can be fought effectively by the ground forces that are available in the Middle East, especially with the Arab League nations joining in and the US running air strikes on ISIS. When the war first began, with Iraqi troops laying down their arms and running, I was not at all happy. Things are looking up now, though we still should arm the Kurds. There was a statement in an earlier article that the US had an agreement with the Iraqi government, but not with the Kurds, so they have to get their weapons from Baghdad. That sounds pointless to me. Now that Baghdad is getting its government whipped up into a better organized condition, though, maybe they will go ahead and give the Peshmerga the weapons they need. It's not bright to fail to use such good soldiers. Meanwhile they have to set the Iraqi government up to include a fair representation of the Kurds, rather than trying to keep them suppressed over religious and cultural reasons. Ukraine has a similar problem with the Russian speakers, when they were peaceful, that is, and in both cases some parliamentary work needs to be done. When all parties are being treated fairly, there should be a new assessment of the chance for peace.