Thursday, August 6, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/freddie-gray-fallout-psychological-firm-screening-baltimore-cops-under-review/

Psych firm cut corners when screening Baltimore cops, docs show
AP August 6, 2015

Photograph -- Baltimore officers arrest Freddie Gray, who was severely injured in police custody on April 12, 2015 and died five days later. CBS NEWS
Photographs -- 71 PHOTOS -- Freddie Gray: Baltimore reacts
Play VIDEO -- Baltimore police commissioner ousted after spike in murders
Play VIDEO -- Freddie Gray autopsy results leaked


BALTIMORE -- A psychological firm paid to evaluate troubled Baltimore police, including a lieutenant charged in the killing of Freddie Gray, is under investigation by the city and has been put on probation by the state police for cutting corners in its mental health screenings of officers.

The Maryland State Police took action against Psychology Consultants Associated in June after an investigation showed the firm's president, psychologist Kenneth Sachs, and his employees and contractors were completing evaluations of officers' mental stability in 15 minutes instead of the 45 minutes required by the state contract, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Experts say 15 minutes is far too short to adequately conduct psychological assessments, either for police applicants or officers seeking to return to active duty.

Baltimore's law department and inspector general are also investigating the firm's assessments of city police officers, said Kevin Harris, a spokesman for the city.

"Both are looking into allegations that have been made against PCA, and looking at whether they are fulfilling their contractual obligations," he said.

Harris said PCA is the department's sole contractor for psychological evaluations of officers. The contract is still active and will remain in place "pending the conclusion of the investigation," he said.

As part of his contract with the Baltimore City Police Department, Sachs assessed the mental health and fitness for duty of officers who were removed from active duty due to psychological problems.

That should have included Lt. Brian Rice, who was hospitalized in April 2012 and had his guns confiscated by Carroll County sheriff's deputies. Court records and the sheriff's reports raised concerns about Rice's self-control and judgment. Rice was accused in June 2012 of removing a semi-automatic handgun from the trunk of his personal vehicle and threatening the mother of his child.

Michael A. Wood, a retired Baltimore police sergeant who said he wrote the department's medical policy, said Rice "absolutely would have had a fitness for duty evaluation, and would have been referred to PCA. It would have been required."

In May, Rice was charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office in Gray's death from injuries suffered while in police custody. Five other officers were also charged in connection with Gray's death, which prompted mass protests, as well as looting and rioting.

Baltimore Police declined to answer any questions about PCA, referring all queries to City Hall.

In the past five years, PCA has held contracts with at least 17 Maryland law enforcement agencies, including the Baltimore City Schools Police, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department, the Baltimore City Sheriff's Department and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.

State police documents turned over to AP through a public information request show that the state police placed Sachs and PCA on probation June 10 after determining the firm spent 15 minutes evaluating the mental health of officers seeking to return to active duty, and of police academy applicants.

"After receiving a complaint that the vendor was not providing the required 45 minute clinical interview, the Human Resources Division investigated and determined that PCA/Dr. Sachs was not meeting this contract requirement," reads a June 10 performance report from the state police. The report said a "tracking and audit mechanism" was developed and PCA was placed on probation.

The complaint came from psychologist Tali Shokek, whom Sachs offered part-time work. In an email she forwarded to city and state agencies, Sachs told her, "it takes me 15-20 minutes to interview and dictate a boilerplate report."

"You'll see 3-4 per hour and get paid $50 each," Sachs wrote to Shokek.

Richard Berger, a lawyer for Sachs, denied the allegations.

Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman, said Sachs and his firm are still on probation and being monitored to ensure the contract requirements are being met. Sachs still holds an active contract with the agency.

Jack Leeb, a psychologist whose firm performs psychological assessments for 30 law enforcement agencies in Maryland said screenings typically take him at least 40 minutes.

"If you have a young person with no significant issues, he's never been arrested or done drugs - those types of things - if the answers are no, no, no, no, the interview could take as little as 20 minutes," Leeb said. "But that's just the interview. To dictate the report, that takes between 10 and 15 minutes by itself. In a really clean case it would take 35 minutes, and that would be on the low side. But 15 minutes for the whole thing? They can't possibly be asking all the questions."

Dr. Lewis Schlosser, a police psychologist with the Institute for Forensic Psychology, said his pre-employment screening interviews take roughly 30 minutes. However, a fitness for duty assessment for an officer on administrative leave takes between one and two hours.

Philip Deitchman, director of human resources for the Department of Juvenile Services, which also contracted with Sachs' firm, expressed concern about Sachs in intradepartmental emails obtained by AP.

"This alert does not surprise me," Deitchman wrote in a June 5 email after a state police official sent him an email saying Sachs was "short cutting the required clinical interview and boiler plating the written results." Deitchman's own email mentioned "the lack of in depth reports and the inconsistency of his reports."

Department of Juvenile Services spokesman Eric Solomon said the agency has not received any complaints about Sachs, and is in the process of renewing its contract with his firm.

Additionally, Sachs and his firm are the subject of a lawsuit involving allegations of shoddy screenings. Baltimore police officer Angeline Todman, who had bipolar disorder, killed herself with her service weapon just five days after Sachs deemed her fit to return to active duty following two involuntary hospitalizations.

Todman had been committed to a hospital due to paranoia, hallucinations and drastic changes in behavior. Four months later she was hospitalized a second time, and upon her release asked to be reinstated. Sachs denied her request, but ultimately found her fit for duty and authorized the return of her service weapon.

Marc Rosen, an attorney representing Todman's family, said Sachs apparently "had very limited contact" with Todman.

"I see very little time expended with the patient by anyone qualified," he told AP.




“A psychological firm paid to evaluate troubled Baltimore police, including a lieutenant charged in the killing of Freddie Gray, is under investigation by the city and has been put on probation by the state police for cutting corners in its mental health screenings of officers. The Maryland State Police took action against Psychology Consultants Associated in June after an investigation showed the firm's president, psychologist Kenneth Sachs, and his employees and contractors were completing evaluations of officers' mental stability in 15 minutes instead of the 45 minutes required by the state contract, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press. …. In May, Rice was charged with manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct in office in Gray's death from injuries suffered while in police custody. …. In the past five years, PCA has held contracts with at least 17 Maryland law enforcement agencies, including the Baltimore City Schools Police, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police Department, the Baltimore City Sheriff's Department and the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. …. State police documents turned over to AP through a public information request show that the state police placed Sachs and PCA on probation June 10 after determining the firm spent 15 minutes evaluating the mental health of officers seeking to return to active duty, and of police academy applicants. …. The complaint came from psychologist Tali Shokek, whom Sachs offered part-time work. In an email she forwarded to city and state agencies, Sachs told her, "it takes me 15-20 minutes to interview and dictate a boilerplate report." "You'll see 3-4 per hour and get paid $50 each," Sachs wrote to Shokek. Richard Berger, a lawyer for Sachs, denied the allegations. …. Jack Leeb, a psychologist whose firm performs psychological assessments for 30 law enforcement agencies in Maryland said screenings typically take him at least 40 minutes. …. Dr. Lewis Schlosser, a police psychologist with the Institute for Forensic Psychology, said his pre-employment screening interviews take roughly 30 minutes. However, a fitness for duty assessment for an officer on administrative leave takes between one and two hours. …. . Baltimore police officer Angeline Todman, who had bipolar disorder, killed herself with her service weapon just five days after Sachs deemed her fit to return to active duty following two involuntary hospitalizations. Todman had been committed to a hospital due to paranoia, hallucinations and drastic changes in behavior. Four months later she was hospitalized a second time, and upon her release asked to be reinstated. Sachs denied her request, but ultimately found her fit for duty and authorized the return of her service weapon. Marc Rosen, an attorney representing Todman's family, said Sachs apparently "had very limited contact" with Todman.”

“Baltimore Police declined to answer any questions about PCA, referring all queries to City Hall.” Department of Juvenile Services spokesman Eric Solomon said the agency has not received any complaints about Sachs, and is in the process of renewing its contract with his firm.” …. Michael A. Wood, a retired Baltimore police sergeant who said he wrote the department's medical policy, said Rice "absolutely would have had a fitness for duty evaluation, and would have been referred to PCA. It would have been required. "That, unfortunately, didn’t happen.

This is not the first time that police problems have been linked directly with local courts and City Hall, and sometimes with the collection of certain lucrative fees from citizens after receiving tickets. In many departments officers are REQUIRED to give out a certain number of tickets to keep their jobs. That looks illegal to me. If it isn’t it should be. I wonder if state governments have any involvement. The Dept. of Juvenile Services of Baltimore is ignoring the problem as witnessed by their head himself who is “in the process of renewing” their contract. I wonder who ordered that renewal? Who is really in charge in that department? Likewise, the statement by retired Officer Wood who wrote the medical policy said that Rice, who apparently was NOT examined by a psychiatrist, absolutely should have been, so management of the PD is directly called into question.

First, there seems to me to be reason to examine all psychology groups who do these evaluations for their procedures. That looks like a very lucrative gig to me. Second, people within two Baltimore departments ignored the requirement for an exam when an officer has exhibited a mental problem already, including Rice. Third, only one examiner, Dr. Lewis Schlosser of the Institute for Forensic Psychology, said that his pre-employment interview takes 30 minutes and a return to duty interview takes one to two hours, not 15 minutes. Now that, from my experience with real psychologists doing their job in private practice, is more like the period required to diagnose a problem. One hour at minimum, with written tests. It also looks wrong to me for these groups to include the 15 minutes taken to write up the report in the examination time. That isn’t examination and seems to me to be “padding” of the report.

Fourth, I’m going to say something really controversial. People who are drawn to violent jobs such as police work, the army or other such activities are in my opinion – at least potentially -- not really mentally sound at all. That goes also for those who collect large numbers of guns, knives, etc., especially automatic weapons, and who spend lots of time recreationally shooting them whether or not they are killing game, should be included in this group. I might also include those who really love very violent film footage such as some horror movies I have seen. There is right now a horrible new TV show that is very popular, apparently – “The Walking Dead” – and some others that don’t look healthy either such as “Extant.” There are so many of these borderline people in our society, I think, because we are in very many cases uneducated and with roots in poverty. Apocalyptic religious theology is behind “The Walking Dead,” I gather. That isn’t one of the good things that religion does, but something damaging to those who believe in it. We encourage violence as long as “our side” is winning. This is why there is such a need for careful psychological examination of every person man or woman who applies to a police department for work even if their own crime and drug records are clean, and especially if they have done anything erratic or violent during their job performance.

Cops don’t tend to be prosecuted, I think, because they are considered heroes by many even when they do very violent acts. Okay, force is a part of their job a good part of the time, but there are often ways to minimize this and even avoid it altogether. I again bring up the British police who have considerably better rate of arrest that don’t include a beating or a shooting than we do. That has to be about SELECTION of officers and TRAINING. We need to study their laws about policing and their training and selection procedures. That’s why we have such a society-wide problem with the police here, I am convinced.

Racism keeps popping up also as part of the mixture. It’s no surprise that it comes up regularly in police departments around the country. Racism is not just a Southern problem. The two articles in yesterday’s blog on the 1965 Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights provisions showed a widespread pattern of local governments and states as well where some form of voting obstruction had been found, so those governments were required to file a formal request to make any change to their voting qualification requirements. The Southern states hated that, but it was effective until the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that the problem of obstruction no longer existed, so the requests need no longer be submitted. Wrong!! In no time flat the Republicans began writing laws to limit easy, convenient and free of charge voting on the grounds that there were (suspected but rarely proven) cases of Hispanic people or black ex-felons trying to vote illegally. It seems they prefer to disenfranchise thousands of poor people rather than have one illegal Hispanic person or felon vote for a Democrat.

In Florida a felon who is released after fully serving his time has to write a letter to a certain department petitioning to get back his right to vote. I don’t know if there is a fee for that or not, but the applicant has to go on a computer and look up the procedure for doing that, and lots of really poor people just don’t have access to a computer or perhaps even can’t read well enough to do it. True, if they go to the public library and ask a reference librarian to do it for them they can get the info. They may not know how to do even that. I just know that a lot of ex-felons never get their voting rights back.

It’s a huge, complex and difficult problem, but a law needs to be written in my opinion which makes specific requirements of police officers and of the departments that supervise them, and which isn’t so full of loopholes as our current laws are, into which these killings and beatings tend to fall, only to go unpunished. It probably should be a federal law also. The rightwingers will pounce on that immediately, of course. States Rights forever!!



GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS


http://news.yahoo.com/ending-calais-migrants-crisis-top-priority-vow-britain-005858444.html

Ending migrant crisis 'top priority', vow Britain and France
AFP By Fran Blandy
August 2, 2015

Video -- View A French gendarme films migrants trying to enter the Eurotunnel in Coquelles near Calais …

Paris (AFP) - France and Britain vowed Sunday that a cross-Channel migrant crisis was their "top priority" in a united front that belied simmering anger over an issue which has become a political hot potato.

Beefed-up security has curbed the number of attempts by migrants in the port city of Calais trying to make it through an undersea tunnel to Britain, with only 400 bids Saturday night, a police source said, compared to 2,000 earlier in the week.

Around 3,000 people from Africa, the Middle East and Asia are camped in Calais waiting to smuggle themselves into Britain, and the costly crisis has strained ties across the Channel.

"Tackling this situation is the top priority for the UK and French governments," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and his British counterpart Theresa May in a statement published in France's Journal Du Dimanche and Britain's Telegraph newspaper.

"We are committed and determined to solve this, and to solve it together."

However, in a sign of the political anger on the ground, a French opposition lawmaker accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of failing to grasp "the severity of the problem".

"If he continues not to propose anything else, let's let the migrants leave and let Mr Cameron handle his politics in his own way, but on his own island," former employment minister Xavier Bertrand told the Journal Du Dimanche.

"The English must change their rules on migrant labour because in England... the reality is it is possible to work without papers."

- Blame trading -

At least 10 migrants have died since June in the nightly attempts to find a way onto a train a lorry headed for Britain -- seen as a better economic option by migrants, many of whom do not speak French.

The incursion attempts on Saturday night saw traffic blocked for five hours, a Eurotunnel spokesman said, adding the measure was taken for the security of both clients and migrants.

The spokesman said the migrants had changed tactics and instead of making a dash into Eurotunnel premises in small groups, were attempting to storm security barriers in large numbers.

In Britain, politicians reminded Cameron of the soaring economic cost of the traffic chaos, demanding more compensation from the French.

Acting Labour Party leader Harriet Harman said the crisis was costing hauliers 700,000 pounds (900,000 euros) a day.

"It is wrong for UK businesses and families to face these costs given border security failures in France," she wrote in a letter to Cameron.

"Your discussions with the French government should therefore include a request for compensation backed up by any diplomatic pressure that may become necessary."

- Streets not paved with gold -

Earlier this week, the British government pledged 10 million euros ($11 million) to improve fencing around the Eurotunnel rail terminal in Coquelles, outside Calais.

And Cameron, who has warned that the crisis could last all summer, promised "more fencing, more resources, more sniffer dog teams" to aid French police in their nightly cat-and-mouse game with the migrants.

The new measures sent "a clear message", according to Cazeneuve and May.

"Our border is secure, and there is no easy way into the UK," they wrote.

They said the world was facing "a global migration crisis" that required a European and international response, and warned that the burden of tackling the problem should not lie with Britain and France alone.

"Many of those in Calais and attempting to cross the Channel have made their way there through Italy, Greece or other countries," the pair wrote.

Ultimately, the crisis had to be addressed at the roots by "reducing the number of migrants who are crossing into Europe from Africa" for economic reasons.

"Our streets are not paved with gold," they said, adding that both governments were currently sending back around 200 migrants a month who do not qualify for asylum.

- 'Britain first' -

Divided public opinion on the issue of immigration sparked small rival protests on Saturday in the British port town of Folkestone, at the mouth of the Channel Tunnel, with those welcoming migrants in one camp and far-right wingers opposed to their presence in the other.

"We are here to make it clear to the migrants that many people here would welcome them and that the way they are being treated is not in our name," said Bridget Chapman, organiser of the pro-migrant demo.

But nearby right-wingers chanted: "Britain first, taking our country back."

"British people don't want immigration," said Paul Golding, leader of the Britain First party.

"We are a small overcrowded island. We haven't got enough space for our own people, let alone a torrent of mass immigration into this country."


Related Stories

France, Britain present united front as anger soars over migrants AFP
Britain, France say ending Calais migrant crisis is 'top priority' AFP
French police foil '1,000 bids' to cross Channel AFP
EU offers to help France, Britain face Calais migrant crisis AFP
French riot police disperse migrants at Channel Tunnel Associated Press



http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-immigration-and-migration/

Immigration vs Migration

The terms immigration and migration are sometimes confused by native English speakers and language learners alike: as are the words immigration and emigration. All of these are related to the movement of peoples between countries, but they are all subtly different.

Migration is a noun that is used to describe the movement of people, or even animals, between countries. It is the umbrella term under which both immigration and emigration fall. Migration is used when you are talking about waves of movement of people between countries possibly both directions: coming into a country and leaving another country. For example: ‘Following World War II there was mass migration around the world.’

The difference between immigration and emigration is an easy one and once you have grasped it, it is not difficult to remember. To immigrate means that someone has moved to a new country. For example: ‘Thomas immigrated to Australia from his native Ireland when he was ten years old.’ To emigrate is to refer to the country from which they have moved. For example: ‘Thomas emigrated from Ireland to Australia when he was ten years old.’

An easy way to remember the difference between immigration and emigration is to think that immigration refers to someone coming into a country and the word immigration begins with ‘I’.


Read more: Difference Between Immigration and Migration | Difference Between | Immigration vs Migration http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-immigration-and-migration/#ixzz3i48B0byg




“Around 3,000 people from Africa, the Middle East and Asia are camped in Calais waiting to smuggle themselves into Britain, and the costly crisis has strained ties across the Channel. "Tackling this situation is the top priority for the UK and French governments," French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and his British counterpart Theresa May in a statement published in France's Journal Du Dimanche and Britain's Telegraph newspaper. "We are committed and determined to solve this, and to solve it together." However, in a sign of the political anger on the ground, a French opposition lawmaker accused British Prime Minister David Cameron of failing to grasp "the severity of the problem". …."The English must change their rules on migrant labour because in England... the reality is it is possible to work without papers." …. The spokesman said the migrants had changed tactics and instead of making a dash into Eurotunnel premises in small groups, were attempting to storm security barriers in large numbers. In Britain, politicians reminded Cameron of the soaring economic cost of the traffic chaos, demanding more compensation from the French. …. Earlier this week, the British government pledged 10 million euros ($11 million) to improve fencing around the Eurotunnel rail terminal in Coquelles, outside Calais. And Cameron, who has warned that the crisis could last all summer, promised "more fencing, more resources, more sniffer dog teams" to aid French police in their nightly cat-and-mouse game with the migrants. The new measures sent "a clear message", according to Cazeneuve and May. "Our border is secure, and there is no easy way into the UK," they wrote. …. "a global migration crisis" that required a European and international response, and warned that the burden of tackling the problem should not lie with Britain and France alone. "Many of those in Calais and attempting to cross the Channel have made their way there through Italy, Greece or other countries," the pair wrote. Ultimately, the crisis had to be addressed at the roots by "reducing the number of migrants who are crossing into Europe from Africa" for economic reasons. …. "We are here to make it clear to the migrants that many people here would welcome them and that the way they are being treated is not in our name," said Bridget Chapman, organiser of the pro-migrant demo. But nearby right-wingers chanted: "Britain first, taking our country back." "British people don't want immigration," said Paul Golding, leader of the Britain First party. "We are a small overcrowded island. We haven't got enough space for our own people, let alone a torrent of mass immigration into this country."

This European immigration problem has been in the news for months to a year now, with no article really saying what could account for so many arrivals. Months ago it was large and overcrowded boats arriving in Greece with the same tone of panic coming from their officials as Britain and France are now voicing. In the US recently it was thousands of unaccompanied minors who, it turned out, were actually being SENT by their parents through “coyotes” or illegal human traffickers. I wonder if something like this is happening in “Africa, the Middle East and Asia” -- which is not very helpful phraseology after all. What places on those continents? What nations are failing economically or governmentally and bleeding masses of their citizens like this? What is the UN trying to arrange to stop the process?

Our influx of children and teens here in the US was stopped by an agreement with Mexico to close their Southern borders and the three South American nations that were “sending” them up to us to intervene with the parents to keep them at home, and perhaps to arrest the “coyotes,” who were living in plain sight in small towns and cities across the whole area untouched by the police or military. I’ll bet there are “coyotes” by another name in those places profiting from the local problems there too. I know there have been news reports several times in the last ten years of Chinese people found crammed into storage containers on ships entering the US.

Of course those who are running from ISIS are another problem. I wonder if ISIS has managed to get into all of those continents also. I believe the “free” world may have to fight ISIS on the battlefield at some point, and if all these migrants indicate governmental weakness, perhaps those countries also. When a national government fails, chaos usually erupts. A number of African nations have been in the news for that reason. Somalia is in that category. Of course with the Islamic religion, where you stifle one fanatical group fully another will spring up in its place. That may be cynical, but that’s the way it looks to me right now, and something drastic must be happening in the places where these thousands of migrants are coming from. This worldwide migration does worry me. Of course they will try to come to all the wealthier nations, but there aren’t even enough jobs for the native citizens. Sooner or later the “crisis” will become a war.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/coast-guard-crew-seizes-submarine-carrying-8-tons-of-cocaine/

Coast Guard crew seizes submarine carrying 8 tons of cocaine
CBS NEWS
August 6, 2015

Photograph -- A Coast Guard Cutter Stratton boarding team opens the bridge of a self-propelled semi-submersible interdicted in international waters off the coast of Central America, July 19, 2015. The Stratton’s crew recovered more than 6 tons of cocaine from the 40-foot vessel. COAST GUARD PHOTO COURTESY OF PETTY OFFICER 2ND CLASS LANOLA STONE
Photograph -- Coast Guard Cutter Stratton crewmembers secure cocaine bales from a self-propelled semi-submersible interdicted in international waters off the coast of Central America, July 19, 2015. U.S. COAST GUARD DISTRICT 11

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Alameda, California stopped a semi-submersible vessel carrying more than 16,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean last month -- the largest bust of its kind in Coast Guard history.

CBS San Francisco reports that on July 18, the crew apprehended four suspected smugglers and captured 275 bales of cocaine worth more than $181 million wholesale from the self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel, a low-riding vessel often used to smuggle massive quantities of narcotics across the ocean nearly undetected.

But not this time. The U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft found the 40-foot "narco-submarine" more than 200 miles south of Mexico.

"Our success intercepting this drug-laden, self-propelled semi-submersible is a testament to the collaboration of our partner agencies, and demonstrates the importance of our increased presence in the Western Hemisphere," said Vice Adm. Charles W. Ray, commander, Pacific Area. "Every interception of these semi-submersibles disrupts transnational organized crime networks and helps increase security and stability in the Western Hemisphere."

After removing the majority of cocaine from the vessel, the Coast Guard Cutter Station crew left 4,000 pounds of cocaine on board to stabilize it as they towed it to shore for evidence. However, the submersible began taking on water and sank along with the 2 tons of cocaine.

The same Bay Area crew has intercepted 15 different drug smuggling attempts since April and have seized more than 33,000 pounds of cocaine worth over $540 million since May 2015.

Nearly 80 percent of drugs smuggled into the U.S. in 2012 came from maritime routes, according to a U.S. Foreign Military Studies Office report. And about 30 percent of the drugs that arrived by sea come from narco submarines.

There have been 25 known semi-submersible busts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since November 2006.



Semi-submersible - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“A semi-submersible is a specialised marine vessel used in a number of specific offshore roles such as offshore drilling rigs, safety vessels, oil production platforms, and heavy lift cranes. They are designed with good stability and seakeeping characteristics. Other terms include semisubmersible, semi-sub, or simply semi.”




“CBS San Francisco reports that on July 18, the crew apprehended four suspected smugglers and captured 275 bales of cocaine worth more than $181 million wholesale from the self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) vessel, a low-riding vessel often used to smuggle massive quantities of narcotics across the ocean nearly undetected. But not this time. The U.S. Navy maritime patrol aircraft found the 40-foot "narco-submarine" more than 200 miles south of Mexico. …. "Every interception of these semi-submersibles disrupts transnational organized crime networks and helps increase security and stability in the Western Hemisphere." After removing the majority of cocaine from the vessel, the Coast Guard Cutter Station crew left 4,000 pounds of cocaine on board to stabilize it as they towed it to shore for evidence. However, the submersible began taking on water and sank along with the 2 tons of cocaine. …. Nearly 80 percent of drugs smuggled into the U.S. in 2012 came from maritime routes, according to a U.S. Foreign Military Studies Office report. And about 30 percent of the drugs that arrived by sea come from narco submarines. There have been 25 known semi-submersible busts in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since November 2006.”

I wonder how difficult it is to spot a semi-submersed vessel like these narco subs. Do they get tips that the boat will be in the area? I’m surprised that this one suddenly began to take on water and sank, thus losing 2 tons of cocaine. That would be convenient for someone who wanted a large amount to sell on the streets. No proof, right? The story could just as easily be true as stated, of course. It’s just interesting to me that 25 low-riding boats only 40 feet long have been found in the huge Pacific Ocean.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/antioch-tennessee-movie-theater-attack-has-investigators-looking-for-motive/

Tenn. movie theater attack has police asking "Why?"
CBS NEWS
August 6, 2015

Photograph -- released by Metro Nashville police shows Vincente David Montano. METRO NASHVILLE PD
Play VIDEO -- Axe-wielding man shot dead at Tennessee movie theater


Investigators are trying to determine why a 29 year-old man with a history of mental illness viciously attacked a group of people inside a movie theater in Tennessee, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud.

Vincente Montano bought a ticket at the Carmike Hickory Cinema Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. He went inside one of its eight theaters to a showing of "Mad Max: Fury Road."

"He pulled out, like, a hatchet and started attacking this family and then he pulled out a gun and we all ran out of the theater," one person said to 911 dispatch

Metro Nashville police say Montano entered the cinema wearing a surgical mask, toting a pellet gun and a hatchet. He clouded the room with pepper spray before swinging the blade at a man and his daughter.

"All of the citizens who gathered around us helped my daughter when we were pepper sprayed," the father, Steven, said. "That kind of gives me a little more faith in humanity again."

Three people suffered minor injuries.

When Montano tried to leave through the theater's back door, he was met by a SWAT team.

"There was a noise made by that gun and it was then that the officer fired," police spokesman Don Aaron said said.

A witness captured the loud gunshots heard during the SWAT team's take-down.

A bomb squad then detonated Montano's backpack.

"The things that were put into that duffle bag, backpack were put in there to resemble a hoax explosive device," Aaron said.

The 29-year-old attacker died at the scene, rolled away on a gurney.

Just two days before the attack, his mother, Denise Pruett, filed a missing person's report with Murfreesboro, Tennessee, police.

The report says Montano was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in April 2006. Pruett told police she hadn't seen her son since 2013.

"It sent chills, just chills through my whole body," neighbor Dorethea Cummings said.

She lived next door to Montano for a decade and told CBS News police were regularly called to the house.

"He was highly agitated, he was pacing back and forth, so this went on for several hours," she said.

Montano was charged with assault on a Murfreesboro police officer and resisting arrest in September of 2004. He was committed twice that year and two more times in 2007.

This attack comes just two weeks after two women were killed by a gunman inside a theater in Lafayette, Louisiana.




“Investigators are trying to determine why a 29 year-old man with a history of mental illness viciously attacked a group of people inside a movie theater in Tennessee, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud. Vincente Montano bought a ticket at the Carmike Hickory Cinema Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. He went inside one of its eight theaters to a showing of "Mad Max: Fury Road." "He pulled out, like, a hatchet and started attacking this family and then he pulled out a gun and we all ran out of the theater," one person said to 911 dispatch. Metro Nashville police say Montano entered the cinema wearing a surgical mask, toting a pellet gun and a hatchet. He clouded the room with pepper spray before swinging the blade at a man and his daughter. …. “Three people suffered minor injuries. When Montano tried to leave through the theater's back door, he was met by a SWAT team. "There was a noise made by that gun and it was then that the officer fired," police spokesman Don Aaron said said. A witness captured the loud gunshots heard during the SWAT team's take-down. A bomb squad then detonated Montano's backpack. "The things that were put into that duffle bag, backpack were put in there to resemble a hoax explosive device," Aaron said. …. The report says Montano was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in April 2006. Pruett told police she hadn't seen her son since 2013.”

I must say he was well-prepared, except that all but the hatchet were not lethal weapons. Being schizophrenic, I wonder if he didn’t realize that he would meet a SWAT team. On the other hand, maybe this was classic “suicide by cop.” Schizophrenics are often depressed.





“SHOOTER” AT MILITARY EXERCISE SITE


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/camp-shelby-investigation-man-arrested-says-noises-were-truck-backfiring-not-gunfire/

Backfire, not gunfire? Man arrested near Camp Shelby says he didn't shoot
CBS/AP
August 6, 2015

Video -- Video at the scene where Mississippi authorities took into custody a man for questioning over two reported shootings near a military facility shows a small maroon pickup truck pulled off the side of the road.
WHLT


NEW AUGUSTA, Miss. -- Soldiers participating in a training exercise on a Mississippi military base heard them Tuesday and Wednesday - noises they believed were gunshots at the edge of the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center.

The man who apparently made the noises told authorities who arrested him Wednesday that they were only his battered pickup backfiring.

Video from CBS affiliate WHLT in Hattiesburg showed the arrest. Still, Alfred Baria Sr. remains in jail, charged not only with misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace but also felonies. That's because police found guns at his mobile home and the 61-year-old is barred from having them after a previous felony conviction.

Baria's son said he understood concerns about military safety, but said he felt officials were overreacting following repeated public statements about gunfire and a large police search.

"I feel like they were just embarrassed," Alfred Baria Jr. told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday evening at the home he shares with his father in remote southern Perry County.

WHLT's Candace Coleman, reporting from the scene of the arrest, tweeted that while the noises coming from Baria's truck sounded like gunfire, officers on the scene said it may have been the truck backfiring: -- ‏@candacescoleman
The man stuck his hand out the window as the pop went off. I thought it was a gunshot, MHP officers say it sounded like the truck backfired.”

Local and state authorities say they're still checking out the father's story, though Wednesday's charges don't allege he shot at soldiers.

"Other charges could be forthcoming," said Warren Strain, a spokesman for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. "It depends on what the investigation yields."

Wednesday's arrest eased some tension at one military installation that has tightened security after a gunman opened fire in July on two military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Camp Shelby closed one of its gates, and gate guards are now armed following an executive order from Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant.

The worries began Tuesday morning when soldiers performing traffic control for a training exercise involving 4,600 National Guard and Army troops heard what they thought were shots from a maroon pickup driving down a road on Camp Shelby's southern edge. Then it happened again Wednesday morning.

"There were no confirmations of actual gunshots, so no weapons were actually visibly seen by individuals," said Camp Shelby commander Col. Greg Michel.

Authorities found the maroon Isuzu pickup about 11:20 a.m. Wednesday when Alfred Baria Sr. drove past officers on a state highway just south of New Augusta.

Officers took him into custody at gunpoint, calling a bomb squad from Biloxi to investigate plastic pipes and other items found in the truck. All the while Wednesday, armored vehicles chugged through 134,000 acres of pine forest while fighter planes staged mock attacks overhead.

"One suspected destructive device was found and analyzed and X-rayed and was found not to be a destructive device at all," Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith told reporters.

Alfred Baria Jr. said his dad's pickup explodes every time someone shifts gears and steps on the gas.

"It actually sounds like it hits you, it's so loud," the son said.

Sheriff Smith said he couldn't verify whether the truck backfires.

"I have not tested the vehicle so I'm not willing to say one way or the other on that part of it," he said. The sheriff said Baria admitted driving the truck in the places and times where the noises were heard. Smith said Baria hasn't admitted firing any shots and authorities have found no shell casings.

The son said he believed his father was driving along the southern border of Camp Shelby to a store when soldiers heard the noises.

And those pipes? Two big, long ones were for plumbing a newly built auto repair shop in the backyard, Alfred Baria Jr. said. Small pipe containers painted green with caps were for storing auto parts and hardware, he said, showing a reporter one on a shelf inside the shop.

Authorities interpreted the container as a possible pipe bomb. Jason Denham, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told The Clarion-Ledger that the father "more than made it, he painted it... He wanted it to look like" a pipe bomb.

Alfred Baria Jr. said he owned the rifle and pistol that netted felony charges for his father, not realizing the father, previously convicted on drug charges, couldn't be anywhere on the property with them.

Smith said Baria would likely be appointed a lawyer at a bail hearing Thursday.




“Video from CBS affiliate WHLT in Hattiesburg showed the arrest. Still, Alfred Baria Sr. remains in jail, charged not only with misdemeanor charges of disturbing the peace but also felonies. That's because police found guns at his mobile home and the 61-year-old is barred from having them after a previous felony conviction. …. "I feel like they were just embarrassed," Alfred Baria Jr. told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday evening at the home he shares with his father in remote southern Perry County. …. Wednesday's arrest eased some tension at one military installation that has tightened security after a gunman opened fire in July on two military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Camp Shelby closed one of its gates, and gate guards are now armed following an executive order from Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant. …. Alfred Baria Jr. said his dad's pickup explodes every time someone shifts gears and steps on the gas. "It actually sounds like it hits you, it's so loud," the son said. Sheriff Smith said he couldn't verify whether the truck backfires. "I have not tested the vehicle so I'm not willing to say one way or the other on that part of it," he said. The sheriff said Baria admitted driving the truck in the places and times where the noises were heard. Smith said Baria hasn't admitted firing any shots and authorities have found no shell casings. …. Authorities interpreted the container as a possible pipe bomb. Jason Denham, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told The Clarion-Ledger that the father "more than made it, he painted it... He wanted it to look like" a pipe bomb.”

A news report yesterday stated about the truck that Baria “could make it backfire on purpose,” but Baria Jr. said it “always backfires” if the gear is changed and then the footfeed is pressed. Now the ATF agent says he made an object that looks like a pipe bomb and painted it to further that impression. It would take a pretty disgruntled and slightly wacky adult to do all that as a prank, though some of those local citizens who are complaining about the military exercises may be very angry and I don't doubt that they are wacky. The son sounds pretty normal, though, so I think there is probably no serious problem here, except that Baria Sr is in trouble for being anywhere in the vicinity of firearms. Maybe there will be no more to this story after today, and Baria Sr will get off without any more jail time.





http://news.yahoo.com/federal-court-strikes-down-discriminatory-texas-voter-id-182619778.html

Federal court says Texas voter ID violates Voting Rights Act
Associated Press
By PAUL J. WEBER
August 5, 2015

Photograph -- In this Nov. 5, 2013 file photo, a sign in a window tells of photo ID requirements for voting at a p …

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas' voter ID law has a "discriminatory" effect on minorities in a victory for President Barack Obama, whose administration took the unusual step of bringing the weight of the U.S. Justice Department to fight a wave of new ballot-box restrictions passed in conservative statehouses.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 2011 Texas law runs afoul of parts of the federal Voting Rights Act — handing down the decision on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights law.

Texas was allowed to use the voter ID law during the 2014 elections, thereby requiring an estimated 13.6 million registered Texas voters to have a photo ID to cast a ballot.

The ruling was a victory, albeit not a sweeping one, for Democrats and minority rights groups. Whereas a Texas federal judge last year called the voter ID law the equivalent of a poll tax, a three-judge panel of the New Orleans court disagreed. It instead sent the law back to the lower court to consider how to fix the discriminatory effects.

Until then, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the law will remain in effect, though he did not acknowledge the issues raised by court's mixed ruling.

"I'm particularly pleased the panel saw through and rejected the plaintiffs' claim that our law constituted a 'poll tax.' The intent of this law is to protect the voting process in Texas, and we will continue to defend this important safeguard for all Texas voters," Paxton said.

Other Republican-controlled states, including Wisconsin and North Carolina, have passed similar voter ID measures in recent years, but the Texas law signed by then-Gov. Rick Perry is widely viewed as one of the nation's toughest. It requires one of seven forms of approved identification, but unlike other states with voter ID restrictions, Texas doesn't recognize university IDs from college students. It does, however, accept concealed handgun licenses as proof of identity.

Free voting IDs are available from the state, but opponents have said getting those cards still put underlying financial costs on voters, such as paying for birth certificate copies and travel.

"We believe in a secure ballot, but this law doesn't get us there. Now we have an opportunity to improve on the legislation and make sure the interests of the minority community are not ignored in this process," said Jose Garza, attorney for the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, one of the groups that sued over the voter ID law.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott called it "imperative" that Texas has a voter ID law, and said the state will continue fighting for the measure.

Democrats and minority rights advocates had early success in blocking the law. However, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act in 2013, the path was cleared for Texas to enforce the new restrictions that supporters say prevent voter fraud.

Section 5, one of the parts of the act that was struck down, had forced certain state and local governments — including Texas — to get pre-clearance from the federal government before changing voting laws to ensure they were free of discrimination.

Without that provision to rely on, opponents of the voter ID law had to meet the higher threshold under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of proving the law discriminated against minority voters.

The New Orleans panel sustained the lower court's ruling that the law interacts with "social and historical conditions in Texas to cause an inequality in the electoral opportunities enjoyed by African-Americans and Hispanic voters."

The Justice Department had argued that the Texas law would prevent as many as 600,000 voters from casting a ballot. While there have been anecdotal reports of confusion, there were not widespread issues with voters being unable to cast ballots because they lacked proper identification. Garza said there is no way to measure the number of voters disenfranchised but said that, anecdotally, he knew of "a lot" of ballots in rural counties that had been rejected.

Even though the lower court in Corpus Christi, Texas, found the law unconstitutional in 2014, it was allowed to remain in effect because the ruling had come so close to the election.




“A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Texas' voter ID law has a "discriminatory" effect on minorities in a victory for President Barack Obama, whose administration took the unusual step of bringing the weight of the U.S. Justice Department to fight a wave of new ballot-box restrictions passed in conservative statehouses.” …. The ruling was a victory, albeit not a sweeping one, for Democrats and minority rights groups. Whereas a Texas federal judge last year called the voter ID law the equivalent of a poll tax, a three-judge panel of the New Orleans court disagreed. It instead sent the law back to the lower court to consider how to fix the discriminatory effects. …. It requires one of seven forms of approved identification, but unlike other states with voter ID restrictions, Texas doesn't recognize university IDs from college students. It does, however, accept concealed handgun licenses as proof of identity …. Section 5, one of the parts of the act that was struck down, had forced certain state and local governments — including Texas — to get pre-clearance from the federal government before changing voting laws to ensure they were free of discrimination.”

Nowadays the ladies at the polling place always have a computer list of all registered voters. I am asked for my Picture Id, which is my Driver License, and they find my name on the list and give me a Democrat ballot. I assume they do then update the computer records to show my vote so I can’t come back through later and vote twice. I don’t remember showing a birth certificate to get a Driver License in the first place, but nowadays at the polls they only ask me for my driver license so there’s a good chance I did have to prove my identity in that way to get my original license. That was back in 1995, and I have simply renewed mine over and over since that time on my birthday. I, of course, am white and I don’t know what blacks and Hispanics have to do to get their proper IDs. I know people born in Mexico into poverty may not even have a birth certificate, and some American born at home rather than in a hospital likewise may not. I have seen a description of the process for getting an official voter ID from one state and it did require a birth certificate. It does vary from place to place, though, and the costs individuals can incur for the personal documents that are necessary can run into the hundred dollar range, I understand, and no one, especially a poor person, should have to pay that. We need to do something serious about this. I hope Obama and the DOJ can find an effective solution. Like the poll tax it’s just an annoyance to someone who has a good job, but to the very poor it could be prohibitive.

FOR SPECIFIC WORDING OF THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT SECT. 2 AND 5 SEE WIKIPEDIA AND WWW.JUSTICE.GOV BELOW .THESE SECTIONS ARE LONGISH, BUT INTERESTING AND INFORMATIONAL. THE “FORMULA FOR COVERAGE” WAS ELIMINATED BY THE SUPREME COURT IN 2013 ON THE GROUNDS THAT STATE ABUSES OF VOTING RIGHTS WERE NO LONGER A PROBLEM, WHICH ALLOWED IN THE FLOOD OF NEW DISCRIMINATORY PRACTICES THAT WE HAVE NOW. ABUSE OF POWER MAY LIE QUIETLY WHEN IT MUST, BUT IT DOES NOT DISAPPEAR, APPARENTLY.

THE FORMULA FOR COVERAGE IS THE ENFORCEMENT SECTION OF THE LAW. THE LIST OF STATES COVERED INCLUDED A LARGER NUMBER THAN I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT AND NOT ALL WERE IN THE WEST AND SOUTH, EITHER. SPECIFIC COUNTIES NAMED WERE ALMOST ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. APPARENTLY MOST STATES HAVE AT LEAST ONE OR TWO ENCLAVES OF ULTRACONSERVATIVES.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act_of_1965

Voting Rights Act of 1965
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

. . . . Designed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the Act resulted in the mass enfranchisement of racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Act is considered to be the most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever enacted in the country.[9]

The Act contains numerous provisions that regulate election administration. The Act's "general provisions" provide nationwide protections for voting rights. Section 2 is a general provision that prohibits every state and local government from imposing any voting law that results in discrimination against racial or language minorities. Other general provisions specifically outlaw literacy tests and similar devices that were historically used to disenfranchise racial minorities.

The Act also contains "special provisions" that apply to only certain jurisdictions. A core special provision is the Section 5 preclearance requirement, which prohibits certain jurisdictions from implementing any change affecting voting without receiving preapproval from the U.S. Attorney General or the U.S. District Court for D.C. that the change does not discriminate against protected minorities.[10] Another special provision requires jurisdictions containing significant language minority populations to provide bilingual ballots and other election materials.

Section 5 and most other special provisions apply to jurisdictions encompassed by the "coverage formula" prescribed in Section 4(b). The coverage formula was originally designed to encompass jurisdictions that engaged in egregious voting discrimination in 1965, and Congress updated the formula in 1970 and 1975. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula as unconstitutional, reasoning that it was no longer responsive to current conditions.[11] The Court did not strike down Section 5, but without a coverage formula, Section 5 is unenforceable.[12]



http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/vot/misc/sec_4.php

Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act

When Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it determined that racial discrimination in voting had been more prevalent in certain areas of the country. Section 4(a) of the Act established a formula to identify those areas and to provide for more stringent remedies where appropriate. The first of these targeted remedies was a five-year suspension of "a test or device," such as a literacy test, as a prerequisite to register to vote. The second was the requirement for review, under Section 5, of any change affecting voting made by a covered area either by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or by the Attorney General. The third was the ability of the Attorney General to certify that specified jurisdictions also required the appointment of federal examiners. These examiners would prepare and forward lists of persons qualified to vote. The final remedy under the special provisions is the authority of the Attorney General to send federal observers to those jurisdictions that have been certified for federal examiners.

Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act

When Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it determined that racial discrimination in voting had been more prevalent in certain areas of the country. Section 4(a) of the Act established a formula to identify those areas and to provide for more stringent remedies where appropriate. The first of these targeted remedies was a five-year suspension of "a test or device," such as a literacy test as a prerequisite to register to vote. The second was the requirement for review, under Section 5, of any change affecting voting made by a covered area either by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or by the Attorney General. The third was the ability of the Attorney General to certify that specified jurisdictions also required the appointment of federal examiners. These examiners would prepare and forward lists of persons qualified to vote. The final remedy under the special provisions is the authority of the Attorney General to send federal observers to those jurisdictions that have been certified for federal examiners.

Section 4 also contains several other provisions, such as Section 4(e) and Section 4(f), that guarantee the right to register and vote to those with limited English proficiency. Section 4(e) provides that the right to register and vote may not be denied to those individuals who have completed the sixth grade in a public school, such as those in Puerto Rico, where the predominant classroom language is a language other than English. In Section 4(f), the Act addresses the ability of those persons who are members of language minority groups identified in Section 4(f)(2), to register and vote as well as to get information relating to the electoral process in a manner that will ensure their meaningful participation in the electoral process.

The formula for coverage under Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act

 As enacted in 1965, the first element in the formula was whether, on November 1, 1964, the state or a political subdivision of the state maintained a "test or device" restricting the opportunity to register and vote. The Act's definition of a "test or device" included such requirements as the applicant being able to pass a literacy test, establish that he or she had good moral character, or have another registered voter vouch for his or her qualifications.
 The second element of the formula would be satisfied if the Director of the Census determined that less than 50 percent of persons of voting age were registered to vote on November 1, 1964, or that less than 50 percent of persons of voting age voted in the presidential election of November 1964. This resulted in the following states becoming, in their entirety, "covered jurisdictions": Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia. In addition, certain political subdivisions (usually counties) in four other states (Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, and North Carolina) were covered. …. Voting changes adopted by or to be implemented in covered political subdivisions, including changes applicable to the state as a whole, are subject to review under Section 5.
 In 1970, Congress recognized the continuing need for the special provisions of the Act, which were due to expire that year, and renewed them for another five years. It added a second prong to the coverage formula, identical to the original formula except that it referenced November 1968 as the relevant date for the maintenance of a test or device and the levels of voter registration and electoral participation. This addition to the formula resulted in the partial coverage of ten states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Wyoming. Half of these states (Connecticut, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, and Wyoming) filed successful "bailout" lawsuits.
 In 1975, the Act's special provisions were extended for another seven years, and were broadened to address voting discrimination against members of "language minority groups," which were defined as persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives or of Spanish heritage." As before, Congress expanded the coverage formula, based on the presence of tests or devices and levels of voter registration and participation as of November 1972. In addition, the 1965 definition of "test or device" was expanded to include the practice of providing any election information, including ballots, only in English in states or political subdivisions where members of a single language minority constituted more than five percent of the citizens of voting age. This third prong of the coverage formula had the effect of covering Alaska, Arizona, and Texas in their entirety, and parts of California, Florida, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and South Dakota.
 In 1982, the coverage formula was extended again, this time for 25 years, but no changes were made to it. In 2006, the coverage formula was again extended for 25 years.
 Section 4 also provides that a jurisdiction may terminate or "bailout" from coverage under the Act's special provisions. Originally enacted in 1965 as a means to remedy any possible over inclusiveness resulting from application of the trigger formula, Congress amended this procedure in 1982 so jurisdictions that meet the statutory standards can obtain relief. The amendment, which took effect on August 5, 1984, establishes an "objective" measure to determine whether the jurisdiction is entitled to "bailout".
 On June 22, 2009, the Supreme Court held that any jurisdiction currently required to make Section 5 submissions may seek to "bailout" from coverage if it meets the statutory criteria set forth below.
 The successful "bailout" applicant must demonstrate that during the past ten years: …. The following is a list of all the specific efforts made by states to disenfranchise citizens. To read this list and further material go directly to the website above.”





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/renewed-activity-possible-iran-nuclear-site-parchin-says-watchdog/

Watchdog: "Renewed activity" at possible Iran nuclear site
AP August 6, 2015

Photograph -- This 2012 satellite photo of Parchin, an Iranian military site. ISIS/GEOEYE
Play VIDEO -- Obama: Rejecting Iran deal will lead to war


VIENNA -- Satellite imagery of an Iranian site possibly used for work on a nuclear weapon shows crates, trucks and construction that may be linked to a renewed attempt to clean up before an inspection by the U.N.'s nuclear monitor, a nonproliferation institute said Thursday.

That monitor - the International Atomic Energy Agency - has repeatedly cited previous evidence of possible attempts to sanitize the Parchin site. But the report now by the Institute for Science and International Security is significant because the IAEA plans to visit the site soon as part of the deal between Iran and six world powers focused on limiting Iran's nuclear programs in exchange for the removal of economic sanctions.


The institute cited commercial satellite images in an email to The Associated Press, saying they show "renewed activity" at the site. It said that "could be related to refurbishment or cleanup prior to any IAEA inspection or the taking of environmental samples."

It said the images show what appear to be a bulldozer or a steamroller, containers that have been repositioned and two new structures "of unknown purpose" that appeared between late May and early July.

"This renewed activity ... raises obvious concerns that Iran is conducting further sanitization efforts to defeat IAEA verification," said the Washington-based think tank, which is often consulted by the U.S. government.

Calls to the Iranian mission to the IAEA in Vienna seeking comment were not answered Thursday.

Access to Parchin would follow years of refusal by Iran, which denies any interest in - or work on - nuclear arms. Based on U.S., Israeli and other intelligence and its own research, the IAEA suspects that the Islamic Republic may have experimented with high-explosive detonators for nuclear arms at that military facility south of Tehran, and other weapons-related work elsewhere.




“Satellite imagery of an Iranian site possibly used for work on a nuclear weapon shows crates, trucks and construction that may be linked to a renewed attempt to clean up before an inspection by the U.N.'s nuclear monitor, a nonproliferation institute said Thursday. That monitor - the International Atomic Energy Agency - has repeatedly cited previous evidence of possible attempts to sanitize the Parchin site. But the report now by the Institute for Science and International Security is significant because the IAEA plans to visit the site soon as part of the deal between Iran and six world powers focused on limiting Iran's nuclear programs in exchange for the removal of economic sanctions. …. It said the images show what appear to be a bulldozer or a steamroller, containers that have been repositioned and two new structures "of unknown purpose" that appeared between late May and early July. "This renewed activity ... raises obvious concerns that Iran is conducting further sanitization efforts to defeat IAEA verification," said the Washington-based think tank, which is often consulted by the U.S. government. …. Access to Parchin would follow years of refusal by Iran, which denies any interest in - or work on - nuclear arms. Based on U.S., Israeli and other intelligence and its own research, the IAEA suspects that the Islamic Republic may have experimented with high-explosive detonators for nuclear arms at that military facility south of Tehran, and other weapons-related work elsewhere.”

Apparently for some reason the US or others have requested access to Parchin before, but Iran has denied it. That’s what the above wording suggests to me, at any rate. According to the Free Dictionary .com, the Institute+for+Science+and+International+Security (or ISIS) is a nonprofit whose purpose is to “inform "the public about science and policy issues affecting international security".[1] It was founded in 1993 in Washington DC and is lead by David Albright, formerly of the IAEA. Of ISIS official position, the free dictionary states "we do know that a lasting, military solution to Iran’s nuclear program is not realistic. This leaves diplomacy as the best route to bring about a suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, regardless of who holds Iran’s presidency."[10]. Today’s news report of new activity at Parchin the Republicans, Israel, etc. will surely be raising an uproar. The question is whether there is really a better alternative.

http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Institute+for+Science+and+International+Security says the following on ISIS:

“ISIS has been following since the 1990s the circumstances surrounding the Iranian nuclear program and has created a website dedicated to informing readers about the history of Iran's nuclear program and facilities, providing IAEA reports, providing information about diplomatic efforts, and providing ISIS technical assessments.[9]

A June 2009 posting on ISIS argued that "we do know that a lasting, military solution to Iran’s nuclear program is not realistic. This leaves diplomacy as the best route to bring about a suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment program, regardless of who holds Iran’s presidency."[10]

On October 2, 2009 ISIS posted a subject to revision working document by IAEA safeguards experts which it described as an "Internal IAEA Document on Alleged Iranian Nuclear Weaponization".[11] The document led media to report that Iran has tested a two-point implosion design.[12] Gordon Oehler, who ran the CIA’s nonproliferation center and served as deputy director of the presidential commission on weapons of mass destruction, wrote “if someone has a good idea for a missile program, and he has really good connections, he’ll get that program through.. But that doesn’t mean there is a master plan for a nuclear weapon.”[13] Outside experts noted that the parts of the report made public lack many dates associated with Iran's alleged activities.[14] The Washington Post reported that "nowhere are there construction orders, payment invoices, or more than a handful of names and locations possibly connected to the projects."[15] Former IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei said the Agency didn't have any information that nuclear material has been used and didn't have any information that any components of nuclear weapons had been manufactured.[16] Iran asserted that the documents were a fabrication, while the IAEA urged Iran to be more cooperative and Member States to provide more information about the allegations to be shared with Iran.[17]

In December 2009, the conservative-leaning[18][19] The Times, working with ISIS analysis, claimed that a document from an unnamed Asian intelligence agency described the use of a neutron source which has no use other than in a nuclear weapon, and claimed the document appeared to be from an office in Iran's Defense Ministry and may have been from around 2007.[20][21] The Institute for Science and International Security, said that it “urges caution and further assessment” of the document and noted that "the document does not mention nuclear weapons .. and we have seen no evidence of an Iranian decision to build them. [22] Western intelligence agencies did not give any authentication to the document,[22] while Russia noted that though the IAEA is in possession of these documents, the IAEA's findings "do not contain any conclusions about the presence of undeclared nuclear activities in Iran."[23] In response to allegations that the document was forged from Iran and some within the United States,[24][25] Albright said ISIS felt "that this document does need to be authenticated, and we welcome a debate and actually a collecting [of] information from people, people who've done linguistic analysis, inside information".[26]




This ISIS statement does indicate that the document claiming a document mentioning a "neutron source having no use other than a nuclear bomb" may not be legitimate and may have been forged by someone in Iran and in the US. If that is true, then the hard right conservatives may have been involved in the forging. At any rate this article gives me some evidence other than hope and faith that Obama is not stupid, weak, or deceitful in trying to use a peaceful process rather than more "saber rattling," as the conservatives want him to do.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/controversial-report-changed-war-coverage-in-america/

Controversial report changed war coverage in America
Fifty years ago, CBS News aired Morley Safer's report from Cam Ne, Vietnam, showing U.S. Marines torching villagers' huts
August 5, 2015

Photograph -- Cam Ne, Vietnam. 1965 CBS NEWS

Fifty years ago today, CBS News aired a report from Vietnam that "ignited a powder keg of suspicion, even hatred," in the words of Morley Safer.

That report, broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, was an uncensored look at the war in Vietnam. It made Safer's career, yet put his life in danger, and it ultimately changed how war is covered in America.

In 1965, Morley Safer was a young foreign correspondent for CBS News, bringing stories of the Vietnam War into America's living rooms. On August 5 of that year, Safer filed a controversial story from the hamlet of Cam Ne. The footage showed U.S. Marines torching thatched huts -- using flamethrowers, Zippo lighters, and matches -- as villagers stumbled from their homes in shock.

"The Marines went on a search-and-destroy mission, but it really was a destroy mission," Safer told Ann Silvio of 60 Minutes Overtime in the video player above. "What was in the village were a lot of old women and men, young women and babies, and the Marines went in shooting and burning."

"The Marines went on a search-and-destroy mission, but it really was a destroy mission."

The original report, which aired on August 5, 1965, is posted in full below.

"That evening, I shipped the film report and narration of the Cam Ne story to New York," writes Safer in his 1990 book "Flashbacks: On Returning to Vietnam." "The reaction to it was incendiary. The Defense Department laid siege to Fred Friendly, then-president of CBS News, demanding that I be recalled from Vietnam. The Marines felt they'd been stabbed in the back."

After the story aired, Safer received death threats. In "Flashbacks," Safer writes that he lay awake in bed all night with a loaded 9mm pistol -- the only time in Vietnam he carried a weapon. A few nights later, he awoke to the sound of a drunken male voice, screaming "Communist Broadcasting System," as he emptied his gun into the air.

"The most outraged reaction to Cam Ne came from the White House," wrote Safer. The morning after the broadcast, President Lyndon Johnson called Frank Stanton, then-president of CBS, and gave him what Safer calls "a dreadful tongue lashing" and accused CBS News of desecrating the American flag. A few days later, according to Safer, Stanton was summoned to the White House where President Johnson threatened to go public with embarrassing information about Safer.

"The worst of it was the spreading of totally false allegations, saying that they had evidence I was a Communist," Safer told Silvio in the above Overtime interview from 2010. "And the president was reminded that I was not a Communist, I was a Canadian. And he said, 'Must be the same thing.'"




“That report, broadcast on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, was an uncensored look at the war in Vietnam. It made Safer's career, yet put his life in danger, and it ultimately changed how war is covered in America. …. On August 5 of that year, Safer filed a controversial story from the hamlet of Cam Ne. The footage showed U.S. Marines torching thatched huts -- using flamethrowers, Zippo lighters, and matches -- as villagers stumbled from their homes in shock. "The Marines went on a search-and-destroy mission, but it really was a destroy mission," Safer told Ann Silvio of 60 Minutes Overtime in the video player above. "What was in the village were a lot of old women and men, young women and babies, and the Marines went in shooting and burning." …. "The worst of it was the spreading of totally false allegations, saying that they had evidence I was a Communist," Safer told Silvio in the above Overtime interview from 2010. "And the president was reminded that I was not a Communist, I was a Canadian. And he said, 'Must be the same thing.'"

Safer made his point, which is shocking in that this kind of barbaric pattern of war wasn’t supposed to be what the great USA would have been doing. Like the torture in Iraq, however, it turns out to be true. The president’s statement “must be the same thing” shows a cold and unethical President Johnson. This article didn’t specify exactly what the incident did to the way news organizations reported the war, however, except that it may have caused new agencies to voluntarily self-censor. There is no report here that the US actually violated the freedom of the press. Did they, I wonder? The pattern of “embedding” reporters with soldiers was probably partly an attempt to protect them in an active war zone, and at the same time to control what they reported to the world by camera. This time it failed and Johnson was furious. Safer, however, did not lose his job or serve time in jail and CBS continued to broadcast. I would really like for CBS to explain exactly what they meant by this headline -- “controversial-report-changed-war-coverage-in-america.” This is really interesting and they should tell us more!