November 17, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/paris-attacks-french-police-hunt-second-fugitive/

AP: French police hunt second fugitive after Paris attacks
CBS/AP
November 17, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Belgian police search for mastermind of Paris terror attack
Play VIDEO -- Kerry: U.S. promises to help Paris terror investigation


PARIS -- French police are hunting for a second fugitive directly involved in the deadly Paris attacks, officials said Tuesday after France made an unprecedented demand that its European Union allies support its military action against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

The disclosure of a second possible fugitive came on the same day that France launched new airstrikes on the militants' stronghold in Syria; as Vladimir Putin ordered a Russian military cruiser to cooperate with French on fighting ISIS in Syria and as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hinted at a possible upcoming cease-fire in Syria that would let nations focus on fighting ISIS.

French and Belgian police were already looking for key suspect Salah Abdeslam, 26, whose suicide-bomber brother Brahim died in the attacks Friday night that killed at least 129 people and left over 350 wounded in Paris. ISIS militants have claimed responsibility for the carnage.

Seven attackers died that night - three around the national stadium, three inside the Bataclan concert hall, and one at a restaurant nearby. A team of gunmen also opened fire at nightspots in one of Paris' trendiest neighborhoods.

However, three French officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that an analysis of the attacks showed that one person directly involved in them was unaccounted for. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details about the ongoing investigation, said the second fugitive has not been identified.

The Paris attacks have galvanized international determination to confront the militants.

The French government invoked a never-before-used article of the EU's Lisbon Treaty obliging members of the 28-nation bloc to give "aid and assistance by all the means in their power" to a member country that is "the victim of armed aggression on its territory."

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all 27 of France's EU partners responded positively.

"Every country said: I am going to assist, I am going to help," Drian said.

Arriving for talks in Brussels, Greek Defense Minister Panagiotis Kammenos told reporters that the Paris attacks were a game-changer for the bloc. "This is Sept. 11 for Europe," he said.

Paris police said 16 people had been arrested in the region in relation to the deadly attacks, and police have carried out 104 raids since a state of emergency was declared Saturday.

French military spokesman Col. Gilles Jaron said the latest airstrikes in the Islamic State group's de-facto capital in the Syrian city of Raqqa destroyed a command post and training camp. NATO allies were sharing intelligence and working closely with France, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.

In Moscow, Putin ordered the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, currently in the Mediterranean, to start cooperating with the French military on operations in Syria. His order came as Russia's defense minister said its warplanes fired cruise missiles on militant positions in Syria's Idlib and Aleppo provinces. ISIS has positions in Aleppo province, while the Nusra militant group is in Idlib.

Moscow has vowed to hunt down those responsible for blowing up a Russian passenger plane over Egypt last month, killing 224 people, mostly Russian tourists. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the Oct. 31 attack.

Seven of the Paris attackers died Friday - six after detonating suicide belts and a seventh from police gunfire - but Iraqi intelligence officials told The Associated Press that their sources indicated 19 people had participated in the Paris attacks and five others had provided hands-on logistical support.

Mohamed Abdeslam, another brother of fugitive Salah Abdeslam, on Tuesday urged his brother to turn himself in. Mohamed, who was arrested and questioned following the attack before being released Monday, told French TV BFM that his brother was devout but showed no signs of being a radical Islamist. He said Salah prayed and attended a mosque occasionally, but also dressed in jeans and pullovers.

Two men arrested in Belgium, meanwhile, admitted driving to France to pick up Salah Abdeslam early Saturday, their lawyers said.

Mohammed Amri, 27, denies any involvement in the Paris attacks and says he went to Paris to collect his friend Salah, according to his defense lawyer Xavier Carrette. Hamza Attou, 21, says he went along to keep Amri company, his lawyer Carine Couquelet said. Both are being held on charges of terrorist murder and conspiracy.

Belgian media reported that Amri and Attou were being investigated as potential suppliers of the suicide bombs used in the attacks, since ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be used to make explosives, was discovered in a search of their residence.

Their defense lawyers said they could not confirm those reports.

Salah and Brahim Abdeslam booked a hotel in the southeastern Paris suburb of Alfortville and rented a house in the northeastern suburb of Bobigny several days before the attacks, a French judicial official told The Associated Press. She spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak about the ongoing investigation.

Austria's Interior Ministry said Salah Abdeslam, the suspected driver of one group of gunmen carrying out attacks on Paris, entered the country about two months ago with two companions that were not identified. After the attacks, Salah Abdeslam slipped through France's fingers, with French police accidentally permitting him to cross into Belgium on Saturday.

In other developments:

- German police said five people with possible links to the Paris attacks were arrested Tuesday near the western city of Aachen.

- Another Belgian car with a shattered front passenger window was found Tuesday in northern Paris - the third vehicle police identified as having possible links to the attacks.

- Belgium was deploying 300 extra soldiers to help provide security in major cities.

Kerry flew to France as a gesture of solidarity and met Hollande and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Tuesday.

A cease-fire between Syria's government and the opposition - which would allow nations supporting Syria's various factions to focus more on ISIS - could be just weeks away, Kerry said, describing it as potentially a "gigantic step" toward deeper international cooperation.

Standing next to Hollande at the Elysee Palace, Kerry said the carnage in the French capital, along with recent attacks in Egypt, Lebanon and Turkey, made it clear that more pressure must be brought to bear on Islamic State extremists.

A U.S intelligence source told CBS News that U.S. intelligence has identified Abdelhamid Abaaoud as the "mastermind" of the Paris terror plot and the key ISIS operative "for external operations in Europe and is operating in Syria."

Abaaoud has been linked to a failed terrorist plot in Belgium and an attempt to gun down passengers on a high-speed train to Paris that was foiled by three Americans.

CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports that Abaaoud grew up in Molenbeek, an impoverished Brussels neighborhood where the jihadist and criminal worlds meet. It is a terrorist's dream and a security nightmare -- experts call it a "one-stop shopping" for drugs, explosives and automatic weapons.

One official cited chatter from ISIS figures that Abaaoud had recommended a concert as an ideal target for inflicting maximum casualties, as well as electronic communications between Abaaoud and one of the Paris attackers who blew himself up. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive investigation.

It was not exactly clear where Abaaoud is.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve conceded that "the majority of those who were involved in this attack (in Paris) were unknown to our services."

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower shut down again Tuesday, after opening for just a day, and heavily armed troops patrolled the courtyard of the Louvre Museum.

In a show of solidarity, British Prime Minister David Cameron was to join Prince William at a friendly soccer match Tuesday night between England and France in London's Wembley Stadium. Armed police were patrolling the site and British fans, in a show of solidarity, were being encouraged to sing the French national anthem as well.




“The disclosure of a second possible fugitive came on the same day that France launched new airstrikes on the militants' stronghold in Syria; as Vladimir Putin ordered a Russian military cruiser to cooperate with French on fighting ISIS in Syria and as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hinted at a possible upcoming cease-fire in Syria that would let nations focus on fighting ISIS. …. However, three French officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday that an analysis of the attacks showed that one person directly involved in them was unaccounted for. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details about the ongoing investigation, said the second fugitive has not been identified. …. In Moscow, Putin ordered the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, currently in the Mediterranean, to start cooperating with the French military on operations in Syria. His order came as Russia's defense minister said its warplanes fired cruise missiles on militant positions in Syria's Idlib and Aleppo provinces. ISIS has positions in Aleppo province, while the Nusra militant group is in Idlib. …. A cease-fire between Syria's government and the opposition - which would allow nations supporting Syria's various factions to focus more on ISIS - could be just weeks away, Kerry said, describing it as potentially a "gigantic step" toward deeper international cooperation. …. CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey reports that Abaaoud grew up in Molenbeek, an impoverished Brussels neighborhood where the jihadist and criminal worlds meet. It is a terrorist's dream and a security nightmare -- experts call it a "one-stop shopping" for drugs, explosives and automatic weapons."


If Russia will, in fact, fight with France against ISIS rather than against Assad’s enemies, maybe something can be done. Meanwhile Americans are trying to induce Obama to press harder on ISIS, and we may participate in a cease fire. Hopefully something important will happen now.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-cia-nsa-director-michael-hayden-isis-fight-under-resourced/

Ex-NSA chief: ISIS fight "under-resourced and over-regulated"
By JEAN SONG CBS NEWS
November 17, 2015


The fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq is "under-resourced and over-regulated," former National Security Agency and CIA director Michael Hayden said, the latest veteran among the U.S. intelligence community to weigh in on the series of terror attacks in Beirut and Paris.

"We need to commit more to the fight and we need to loosen our rules of engagement," he said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning."

"A classic case in point: About 36 hours ago, American air power destroyed over 100 tanker trucks in Syria. They were being used to literally fuel the treasury of the Islamic State," Hayden added. "We could have done that on Thursday, but we only decided to do it on Sunday. I think there are a whole host of decisions like that, that if we loosen the rules of engagement, we can actually more strongly take the fight to the Islamic State."

The retired general, who now works with global risk management firm Chertoff Group, also said he "absolutely" agreed with CIA director John Brennan's comments Monday on how U.S. intelligence capacities have been damaged.

"In the past several years, because of the number of unauthorized disclosures and a lot of hand-wringing over the government's role in the effort to try to uncover these terrorists, there have been policy and other legal changes that make our ability to collectively find these terrorists much more challenging," Brennan had said at the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Global Security Forum.

Hayden cited the timeline of the "past two and a half years," alluding to June 2013 when Edward Snowden leaked details of NSA's surveillance programs that gathered domestic phone and Internet usage data to detect suspicious behaviors linked to terrorism.

"Suddenly, that big stack of meta data doesn't look like the scariest thing in the room, does it?" Hayden said with a tight-lipped smile.

Former CIA official: Obama's ISIS strategy has failed

While the Obama administration is being criticized for its strategy against ISIS, with questions raised on whether the U.S. is underestimating the terror group or whether America needs boots on the ground, President Obama defended his administration's tactics Monday at the G-20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey.

For one, Mr. Obama said he and his closest military and civilian advisers think a larger ground force in Iraq and Syria would be a mistake.

"Not because our military could not march into Mosul or Raqqa or Ramadi and temporarily clear out ISIL, but because we would see a repetition of what we've seen before -- which is if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface," Mr. Obama said.

Hayden acknowledged local Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have seen success, as evidenced by the Iraqi-Kurdish troops' recent efforts to take back Sinjar from ISIS, but said the Kurds can be "self-limiting."

"They've been very powerful in and near Kurdish areas, but for them to go much further into Arab lands, their usefulness begins to reduce," Hayden said. "We need Arab allies on the ground stiffened -- stiffened, assisted, enabled -- by a larger American footprint. But no one is calling for American maneuver units to return to the deserts of Iraq or enter the deserts of Syria."

While reducing ISIS' capabilities is first in the process of defeating ISIS, Hayden pointed to the ideological warfare in the fight against ISIS.

"This is a fight where the ideological struggle, the motivation, is tightly tied to their success on the battle field," Hayden said. "Look, these guys are claiming they're enacting the will of God and they are the hand of God. And the more they are successful, the more they look inevitable, the more they motivate the kind of people [who are willing to die for the ISIS cause]. And so if we can break this narrative, we actually begin to break their ideological foundation."

All in all, Hayden stressed that the U.S. would be a tougher target than its European allies because of the distance, differing demographics, cultural assimilation and -- "because we're actually pretty good at this."




“The fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq is "under-resourced and over-regulated," former National Security Agency and CIA director Michael Hayden said, the latest veteran among the U.S. intelligence community to weigh in on the series of terror attacks in Beirut and Paris. "We need to commit more to the fight and we need to loosen our rules of engagement," he said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning." …. "We could have done that on Thursday, but we only decided to do it on Sunday. I think there are a whole host of decisions like that, that if we loosen the rules of engagement, we can actually more strongly take the fight to the Islamic State." …. Hayden cited the timeline of the "past two and a half years," alluding to June 2013 when Edward Snowden leaked details of NSA's surveillance programs that gathered domestic phone and Internet usage data to detect suspicious behaviors linked to terrorism. "Suddenly, that big stack of meta data doesn't look like the scariest thing in the room, does it?" Hayden said with a tight-lipped smile. Former CIA official: Obama's ISIS strategy has failed …. "Not because our military could not march into Mosul or Raqqa or Ramadi and temporarily clear out ISIL, but because we would see a repetition of what we've seen before -- which is if you do not have local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface," Mr. Obama said. …. "We need Arab allies on the ground stiffened -- stiffened, assisted, enabled -- by a larger American footprint. But no one is calling for American maneuver units to return to the deserts of Iraq or enter the deserts of Syria." While reducing ISIS' capabilities is first in the process of defeating ISIS, Hayden pointed to the ideological warfare in the fight against ISIS. …. And the more they are successful, the more they look inevitable, the more they motivate the kind of people [who are willing to die for the ISIS cause]. And so if we can break this narrative, we actually begin to break their ideological foundation."


Better funding, looser “rules of engagement,” and more/better Arab allies as well as the Kurds are needed, according to this article. Lack of “local populations that are committed to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes” is a problem that has been obvious for years now. The Islamic refugee woman who was attacked in Toronto just across our border today and called a terrorist, spoke of this image problem that ISIS and other radicals are causing for her. (See the next article below.) Unfortunately there will almost certainly be more civilian attacks on refugees in Europe, and perhaps the US also. The problem is that the peaceful Islamic folks are too peaceful – they won’t unite, arm themselves and fight back. The Iraqi army was in the news for simply running away from the battlefield and leaving their weapons for ISIS to collect for their own use. It’s a very painful and discouraging situation. The US, nor any other Western outsider group can prevail without local help. Hopefully the US is going to band together with Russia and France soon, however, as mentioned in one of yesterday’s articles.






http://www.cbsnews.com/news/toronto-muslim-womans-assault-appears-motivated-by-hate/

Assault on Muslim mom appears "motivated by hate"
CBS/AP
November 17, 2015


TORONTO -- Police in Toronto are investigating the assault and robbery of a Muslim woman, saying the incident appears "motivated by hate."

Police say two men beat the woman up Monday while she was heading to pick up her son from school.

Const. Victor Kwong says the attack was unprovoked and the men hurled bigoted slurs at her while trying to rip off her hijab.

"One of the males commented to the victim that she should go back to her country, that she was a terrorist," Staff Sgt. Hunter Smith told CBC News.

The woman was treated in a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.

Toronto Mayor John Tory condemned the attack on Twitter:

John Tory ✔ @JohnTory
The anti-Muslim attack on a Toronto mother in Flemingdon Park is disgusting, unacceptable and not reflective of our city's values.
12:45 PM - 17 Nov 2015 • Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The assault came two days after an Ontario mosque was set on fire in an act police are treating as a hate crime.

Police are still searching for suspects in the Saturday night blaze and say it is unclear if it was connected to the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris the previous day.




“Police say two men beat the woman up Monday while she was heading to pick up her son from school. Const. Victor Kwong says the attack was unprovoked and the men hurled bigoted slurs at her while trying to rip off her hijab. "One of the males commented to the victim that she should go back to her country, that she was a terrorist," Staff Sgt. Hunter Smith told CBC News. The woman was treated in a hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.”


This is sad, but to be expected, not because we in the US and Canada are bad people, but because a certain percentage of the population will be react in this way and commit renegade style actions rather than supporting the law enforcement personnel. They don’t seem to care that they damage our society when they do.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/republicans-in-congress-intensify-push-to-block-syrian-refugee-plan/

Republicans in Congress move to block Syrian refugee plan
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
November 17, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Paris attacks prompt resistance to Syrian refugees
Map -- refugeesmap.jpg, States rejecting refugees. CBS NEWS
Related Articles -- Can governors legally block Syrian refugees from coming to their states?
GOP presidential candidates and members of Congress have quickly weighed in.



Congressional Republicans are moving to halt the Obama administration's plan to take in more Syrian refugees following the Paris terrorist attacks.

Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, told reporters Tuesday morning that the Syrian refugee situation "requires a pause." He said he has assembled a task force to develop legislation that addresses the administration's plan to take in at least 10,000 refugees from Syria over the next year.

"We think it's necessary to have a pause," Ryan said. "We've assembled a task force starting Saturday to consider legislation as quickly as possible."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that there should be a "pause or moratorium" in the admission of Syrian refugees.

As details trickled out over the weekend about the suspects behind Friday's attacks, authorities said that a Syrian passport -- which U.S. intelligence says may be fake -- was found near the body of one of the attackers, raising questions about whether he might have entered France as a refugee.

That key detail has immediately sparked an uproar over President Obama's decision to accept at least 10,000 additional refugees from Syria into the U.S. over the next year. Nearly two-dozen governors -- including one Democrat -- said their states would refuse Syrian refugees or suspend their programs until the government conducts a full review of the vetting process.


"I call on you to temporarily suspend the admission of all additional Syrian refugees into the United States pending a full review of the Syrian refugee resettlement program," Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, wrote in a letter to Mr. Obama on Monday.

"Our nation has a proud tradition of welcoming refugees into our country, but in this particular case the high-threat environment demands that we move forward with greater caution," McCaul added.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, stopped short of calling for the plan to be suspended. Instead, he said he would hold the administration's "feet to the fire" to ensure anyone admitted as a refugee is properly vetted.

Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, who's also running for president, said Monday that the U.S. needs a "timeout on Syrian refugees" and "until we have a system that we think will work." The GOP presidential candidate in early September had called on the administration to admit its "fair share" of Syrian refugees.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, another GOP presidential candidate, circulated a petition asking supporters to back his opposition to the refugee plan.

"Will you stand with me today and sign the petition to express your support for my opposition to the dangerous refugees being allowed into our country?" he asked in an email to supporters.

And on the campaign trail Monday, GOP presidential contender Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas, told students at the College of Charleston that it's "absolutely lunacy" to accept Syrian refugees.

To complicate matters further, Republicans like Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Alabama, is calling on appropriators in Congress to hold votes on legislation to not only authorize the refugee resettlement plan, but to deal with its funding.

GOP presidential candidate Ben Carson called on Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky on Monday to pass legislation to block funding for the president's Syrian refugee plan.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey will brief House members Tuesday evening about the details behind the Paris attacks this week.

But if opposition to the refugee plan continues to grow, Republicans could try and block the implementation of the plan in the government spending package Congress must pass by Dec. 11. President Obama has stood by the plan since the attacks on Friday and the disagreement could trigger another government shutdown threat over the next few weeks.

At his press conference Tuesday, Ryan was asked if such a provision could be included in that spending package.

"We don't want to wait that long," he said. "We want to work faster than that."

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats have been mostly supportive of the plan. The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, California, slammed calls for the plan to be halted.

"With reports of a Syrian refugee's passport at the scene of the stadium attack, some are already calling for an end to America's acceptance of any refugees fleeing the horrors of ISIS and the Assad regime," Schiff said.

"But to turn our backs on those escaping persecution, many of them religious minorities, runs counter to the proud and generous heritage of a United States that has always helped those in need during turbulent times."




"We think it's necessary to have a pause," Ryan said. "We've assembled a task force starting Saturday to consider legislation as quickly as possible." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters Tuesday afternoon that there should be a "pause or moratorium" in the admission of Syrian refugees. …. That key detail has immediately sparked an uproar over President Obama's decision to accept at least 10,000 additional refugees from Syria into the U.S. over the next year. Nearly two-dozen governors -- including one Democrat -- said their states would refuse Syrian refugees or suspend their programs until the government conducts a full review of the vetting process. …. Meanwhile, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, who's also running for president, said Monday that the U.S. needs a "timeout on Syrian refugees" and "until we have a system that we think will work." The GOP presidential candidate in early September had called on the administration to admit its "fair share" of Syrian refugees.”


As I assumed there would be, there is a strong debate on both sides about admitting refugees, and if so under what conditions. How can 10,000 people be thoroughly vetted in a short span of time? Yet the events in France show the need for it.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/south-carolina-cafeteria-manager-accused-of-enslaving-mentally-disabled-worker/

Cafeteria manager accused of enslaving mentally disabled worker
CBS/AP
November 17, 2015

Photograph -- Bobby Edwards, WGCL


COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A former cafeteria worker in South Carolina says his former employer subjected him to treatment akin to slavery and years of mental and physical abuse, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.

In the complaint filed in federal court in Florence, attorneys for John Christopher Smith said that he worked at J&J Cafeteria in Conway for more than two decades. But about five years ago, according to the suit, a new manager took over the business and began abusing Smith, who the lawsuit describes as "mentally handicapped with mild cognitive impairment."

Bobby Edwards repeatedly abused Smith, hitting him with objects including a frying pan, belts and tongs dipped in hot frying grease, according to the lawsuit. Edwards also would force Smith to work, to the point the man was so weak he had to be carried home.

Saying some witnessed the alleged abuse, the lawsuit notes that Edwards went after Smith with a belt buckle for being too slow to replenish food items on the buffet line.

"Plaintiff was heard crying like a child and yelling, 'No, Bobby, please!'" according to the suit.

Ernest Edwards, the cafeteria's owner, knew about the alleged abuse but did nothing to stop it, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also accuses Bobby Edwards and Ernest Edwards of race discrimination. Smith is black. His former employers are white.

Bobby Edwards was released from jail on a $10,000 bond on Wednesday, CBS affiliate WGCL reported.

Smith also says he was never paid, told instead by the cafeteria owner that a separate account had more than $30,000 in it for him.

Phone messages left Monday by The Associated Press for both Bobby Edwards and Ernest Edwards were not immediately returned. Court papers listed no defense attorneys for either man.

Smith also lived in an apartment near the cafeteria that Bobby Edwards owned. In those quarters, according to the lawsuit, Smith "lived in what can best be described as squalor." The apartment was "overrun with a cockroach infestation" and overall in a "sub-human condition" described in the lawsuit as "deplorable and harmful to human health."

But, according to the lawsuit, Bobby Edwards threatened to have Smith arrested if he ever reported the conditions, telling him he would "stop Plaintiff's throat" and "beat Plaintiff's brains out of his head."

About a year ago, officials from the Department of Social Services intervened and "rescued" Smith after getting a citizen complaint that a vulnerable adult was being abuse, the lawsuit reads. Scars on Smith's neck matched up with the allegations.

Agency officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment on DSS' involvement in the case.

Last year, Bobby Edwards was charged with assault in state court, and those charges are still pending.




“In the complaint filed in federal court in Florence, attorneys for John Christopher Smith said that he worked at J&J Cafeteria in Conway for more than two decades. But about five years ago, according to the suit, a new manager took over the business and began abusing Smith, who the lawsuit describes as "mentally handicapped with mild cognitive impairment." Bobby Edwards repeatedly abused Smith, hitting him with objects including a frying pan, belts and tongs dipped in hot frying grease, according to the lawsuit. Edwards also would force Smith to work, to the point the man was so weak he had to be carried home. Saying some witnessed the alleged abuse, the lawsuit notes that Edwards went after Smith with a belt buckle for being too slow to replenish food items on the buffet line. "Plaintiff was heard crying like a child and yelling, 'No, Bobby, please!'" according to the suit. …. Ernest Edwards, the cafeteria's owner, knew about the alleged abuse but did nothing to stop it, according to the suit. The lawsuit also accuses Bobby Edwards and Ernest Edwards of race discrimination. Smith is black. His former employers are white. …. Phone messages left Monday by The Associated Press for both Bobby Edwards and Ernest Edwards were not immediately returned. Court papers listed no defense attorneys for either man.”

“About a year ago, officials from the Department of Social Services intervened and "rescued" Smith after getting a citizen complaint that a vulnerable adult was being abuse, the lawsuit reads. Scars on Smith's neck matched up with the allegations. Agency officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment on DSS' involvement in the case. Last year, Bobby Edwards was charged with assault in state court, and those charges are still pending.”


Still pending? Hopefully with this CBS national coverage something will be done to these truly evil brothers. There are occasional cases of human servitude, usually with Hispanic women, in the news, of course, especially as nannies or housekeepers in wealthy homes.




http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/17/456346500/cats-invade-g-20-summit-stage-bringing-a-welcome-laugh

Cats Invade G-20 Summit Stage, Bringing A Welcome Laugh
Bill Chappell
NOVEMBER 17, 2015

Play Video YouTube -- Cats invade G20 summit stage in feline security breach


Serious and sober talks are being held at this week's G-20 Summit — but the event briefly became a source of comedic relief, after three cats took over its main stage. Unimpressed with their rarefied surroundings, the cats eventually wandered off.

Some of the world's most powerful leaders are attending the summit of the Group of 20 in Antalya, Turkey, where President Obama, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and others have discussed strategies to fight terrorism in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris.

But for a brief moment, the summit was taken over by cats that emerged unannounced onto the stage to trot around and sniff a few flowers before yielding the spotlight back to the dignitaries.

The impromptu catwalk occurred Sunday morning. From the rolling coverage provided by Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News:

"10.35 a.m. Cats walk down the stage at the G-20 Summit as the head organizer attempts to shoo them."

The cats are reportedly strays — but one reader used the CBC's Facebook page to take issue with that label, replying: "They're not strays. They're the leaders of Kittistan and Catlandia."

If they want to prevent feline forays like the one that broke out in Turkey, security teams might look into deploying cucumbers around the venue's entrance.


As two recent compilation videos of cat-reactions show, cats have a rather strong response when they're confronted with a cucumber. Here's one example, from the Huffington Post: (Go to website for video.)




"They're not strays. They're the leaders of Kittistan and Catlandia." These four cats are apparently hungry, or maybe it’s cold outside and they decided to take shelter in the building. But about the cucumber – I had a cat that jumped up, spit repeatedly and fiercely attacked a loose electrical cord that was lying on the floor. I decided that she probably saw the plug as a head and the cord itself as a snake. This cucumber I find harder to understand. Cats will however crouch in alarm if something is out of place in a room that they usually find familiar. The cucumber is a large one, and it’s also possible that the cat hates its scent. I have a friend whose cat wouldn’t let her pet it if she had been eating an orange.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/massachusetts-police-officer-sends-flowers-to-woman-pulled-over-for-speeding/

Police officer sends flowers to woman pulled over for speeding
CBS NEWS
November 6, 2015

Photograph -- Officer Ashley Catatao sent the woman she pulled over a bouquet of flowers and a note which said, "I'm very sorry about your mother. I hope you find comfort in knowing she lived a long life and will continue to live on in your heart and in your memories." CBS BOSTON
Play VIDEO -- Police officer helps shoplifter caught in difficult situation


SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- A Massachusetts woman is thanking a Somerville police officer after an act of kindness, CBS Boston reports.

Earlier this week, Robin Sutherland learned that her 90-year-old mother was going into hospice care. Later that same day, Sutherland was pulled over for speeding in Somerville. She was travelling at 40 mph in a 30 mph zone.

While the female officer went back to her car to give Sutherland a warning, Sutherland says she started crying.

"I just realized when we lose my mother I'm the older generation now and it just hit me," she said.

The officer asked her to take it easy and sent her on her way. Later that evening, Sutherland received a heartwarming surprise.

Somerville Officer Ashley Catatao sent Sutherland a bouquet of flowers and a note which said, "I'm very sorry about your mother. I hope you find comfort in knowing she lived a long life and will continue to live on in your heart and in your memories."

The note was signed, "Officer who pulled you over this morning."

On Thursday, Catatao was celebrated by Somerville's Mayor and the Deputy Chief of Police. Catatao said her actions were just a simple gesture.

"We do things like this all the time. It just doesn't get much notice in the press. I was just doing what I know most people would have done anyways. It just seemed so natural to me," she said.

For Sutherland, the gesture was very meaningful.

"For her to go out of her way for someone who was having kind of a tough day, it was just amazing," she said.




It’s good to see stories of kindness and gentleness on the part of police. Bless Officer Catatao’s heart, as we say in the South. Of course I grew up in a smaller environment than Jacksonville and we had a more personal relationship with officers. I am personally of the opinion that a larger percentage of female officers would help a great deal. They don’t usually shoot first and ask questions later. Maybe if city PDs would release such stories more often it would help their reputation.