November 25, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/us/chicago-officer-charged-in-death-of-black-teenager-official-says.html?_r=0

Chicago Protests Mostly Peaceful After Video of Police Shooting Is Released
By MONICA DAVEY and MITCH SMITH
NOV. 24, 2015

Video -- Dashboard-camera video shows Laquan McDonald, 17, shot and killed by Officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago in October 2014. By CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT on Publish Date November 24, 2015. Photo by Chicago Police Department. Watch in Times Video »
Photograph -- Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago police officer charged with the murder of Laquan McDonald, arrived at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago on Tuesday. Credit Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune, via Associated Press
Photograph -- A memorial for Laquan McDonald, 17, and other victims at a school in Chicago in April. Credit Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune, via Corbis
Video -- Officials in Chicago, addressing a dashboard camera video that shows the police shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald last year, called for calm and a peaceful public response. The officer was charged with murder Tuesday. By MARCUS DiPAOLA on Publish Date November 24, 2015. Photo by Marcus DiPaola for The New York Times. Watch in Times Video »
Photograph -- Dan Herbert, a lawyer for the Chicago police officer who fatally shot Laquan McDonald, held a news conference in Chicago on Friday. Mr. Herbert has said Officer Jason Van Dyke feared for his safety. Credit Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune, via Associated Press
Photograph -- Demonstrators blocked an intersection in Chicago after the video was released on Tuesday. Credit Joshua Lott for The New York Times
Graphic Image -- An autopsy report noting the gunshot wounds to Laquan McDonald, 17, who was fatally shot in October 2014. According to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, he was shot 16 times. Credit Cook County Medical Examiner
News Conference -- Chicago Officials’ Response to Video, Officials in Chicago, addressing a dashboard camera video that shows the police shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald last year, called for calm and a peaceful public response. The officer was charged with murder Tuesday. By MARCUS DiPAOLA on Publish Date November 24, 2015. Photo by Marcus DiPaola for The New York Times. Watch in Times Video »


CHICAGO — Demonstrators took to the streets of this city’s downtown in tense but largely peaceful protests after the release of video on Tuesday showing the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white Chicago police officer.

Into the early morning hours of Wednesday, protesters led clusters of police officers on a march through the streets of Chicago’s Loop, blocking intersections, chanting outside a police station and, along a major road to the city’s largest highways, unfurling a banner that cited deaths at the hands of the police.

The night of protest followed a day of fast-moving events: first-degree murder charges against the officer, Jason Van Dyke, in the shooting of Laquan McDonald, 17, and, hours later, the release of graphic video from a police dashboard camera of the 2014 shooting, which a judge had ordered the city to make public by Wednesday.

In a period that has seen sometimes - violent unrest over police conduct in places like Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore, some in Chicago seemed relieved by the relative calm. “While on the whole last night’s demonstrations were peaceful, a few isolated incidents resulted in five arrests related to resisting arrest and assaulting police officers,” a police spokesman said on Wednesday.

Still, some community leaders have called for more demonstrations here, including a boycott and protest on Friday, the post-Thanksgiving shopping day, of this city’s famed shopping district along North Michigan Avenue known as the Magnificent Mile.

The grainy, nighttime dashboard camera video, which a judge ordered released last week, shows the young man running and then walking past officers in the middle of the street and spinning when bullets suddenly strike him down. For a moment, lying on the ground, he moves but then is still after he appears to be shot several more times. An officer kicks an object away from his body. The video shows none of the officers on the scene offering Mr. McDonald assistance.

Standing with community leaders before releasing the video, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Garry McCarthy, the Chicago police superintendent, said they expected demonstrations in response to the graphic nature of the video, and urged people to avoid violence. “It’s fine to be passionate, but it is essential that it remain peaceful,” Mr. Emanuel said.

Officer Van Dyke, 37, who has been with the Police Department for 14 years, is the first Chicago police officer in decades to be charged with murder in an on-duty shooting. The city previously fought to keep the video private, citing a continuing investigation into the shooting.

Officer Van Dyke was charged and the video released just over a year after Mr. McDonald was shot 16 times, even after he had stepped slightly away from the officer, prosecutors said. Witnesses said Mr. McDonald, who was carrying a three-inch folding knife, never spoke to Officer Van Dyke or any of the other officers and did not make threatening moves toward him. None of at least seven other police officers on the scene fired their weapons.

The N.A.A.C.P., on Twitter, called it “unacceptable” that it took over a year for the video to be released.

The family of Mr. McDonald, which had opposed the video’s release, issued a statement through its lawyers calling for calm. “No one understands the anger more than us, but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful,” the family said. “Don’t resort to violence in Laquan’s name. Let his legacy be better than that.”

In announcing the murder charge, Anita Alvarez, the Cook County state’s attorney, acknowledged that she had pushed to charge the officer before the video became public. “I made a decision to come forward first because I felt like, with the release of this video, that it’s really important for public safety that the citizens of Chicago know that this officer is being held accountable for his actions,” Ms. Alvarez said.

Since late last year, the shooting has been investigated by a team that included the F.B.I., the United States attorney’s office in Chicago and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. But Ms. Alvarez said she decided to proceed with charges on her own when the videotape was ordered released. Federal charges are still possible, legal experts said, and the federal authorities said their investigation was continuing.

Ms. Alvarez, a two-term Democrat who is seeking re-election in March, defended herself against suggestions that the investigation had taken too long, saying investigations into police shootings often take more than a year. And she rejected claims that she had buckled to political pressure by filing the charges before the video came out, saying she had reached a conclusion several weeks ago that charges were warranted.

Hours before the video’s release, a judge, Donald Panarese Jr., ordered Officer Van Dyke held without bail, indicating that he wanted to see the video before revisiting the question of bond at a hearing on Monday. Officer Van Dyke faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted.

Dan Herbert, a lawyer for Officer Van Dyke, has said the officer believed the shooting was justified because he feared for his safety and that of other officers. Mr. Herbert said his client “absolutely” intended to go to trial. Dressed in a beige sweater and jeans, Mr. Van Dyke said little during the brief hearing.

Dan Herbert, a lawyer for the Chicago police officer who fatally shot Laquan McDonald, held a news conference in Chicago on Friday. Mr. Herbert has said Officer Jason Van Dyke feared for his safety. Credit Zbigniew Bzdak/Chicago Tribune, via Associated Press

The charges and the release of the video came amid a national debate over race, police shootings and a growing number of violent encounters with the police captured on video. Chicago’s police force has its own sometimes painful history, which by some estimates includes more than $500 million in settlements and other costs over the last decade tied to police misconduct as well as reparations for black residents who said a group of officers abused and tortured them in the 1970s and ’80s.

In April, the city agreed to pay $5 million to the McDonald family, even before a suit had been filed in the case.

On the evening of Oct. 20, 2014, police officers approached Mr. McDonald on the city’s Southwest Side, prosecutors said, after a resident reported seeing him breaking into trucks and stealing radios. Mr. McDonald, who had the folding knife in his hand, walked away as officers arrived. Someone called for a police unit with a stun gun, though it was not clear whether anyone ever appeared with one. At one point, Mr. McDonald “popped” the tire on a police car, apparently with his knife, the prosecutors said.

With more officers arriving car by car, Mr. McDonald kept walking and jogging along, not responding to orders to drop the knife, prosecutors said. Near a Burger King along a busy stretch of Pulaski Road, Officer Van Dyke’s marked Chevrolet Tahoe pulled up alongside other police vehicles, including one containing a dashboard camera. Officer Van Dyke was on the scene for fewer than 30 seconds, prosecutors said, before he began shooting his service weapon, which had a 16-round capacity.

The shooting spanned 14 or 15 seconds, and in about 13 of those seconds, prosecutors say, Mr. McDonald was lying on the ground. He was hit 16 times, including in his backside. An autopsy showed the presence of the drug PCP in his system.

For months, the city had refused to release the video. On Thursday, Franklin Valderrama, a Cook County judge, ordered it released. The city initially indicated that it would appeal, but Mr. Emanuel then announced that Chicago would release the video, and he issued a statement condemning Officer Van Dyke’s actions and calling for prosecutors to take prompt action.

“In accordance with the judge’s ruling, the city will release the video by Nov. 25, which we hope will provide prosecutors time to expeditiously bring their investigation to a conclusion so Chicago can begin to heal,” Mr. Emanuel said last week. On Monday, he met privately with community leaders and pastors.

Officer Van Dyke has worked as a Chicago police officer since June 2001, records show. He had been on administrative duty pending the investigation, and on Tuesday was placed on no-pay status because of the criminal charge, Mr. McCarthy said.

Mr. Herbert, the officer’s lawyer, said Officer Van Dyke was highly decorated with an excellent record and numerous awards. But records show that the officer had been the subject of numerous complaints from residents, including allegations of using excessive force and making racial slurs.

Mr. Herbert said that no merit had ever been found by the authorities in any of the allegations against Officer Van Dyke.

The Chicago police are frequently involved in shootings, including 15 from July to September this year. But officers here rarely face charges for firing their weapons.

Dante Servin, a detective, is perhaps the most notable exception in recent memory. Mr. Servin was charged with involuntary manslaughter in a 2012 off-duty shooting that resulted in the death of Rekia Boyd, an unarmed black woman. A judge acquitted Mr. Servin this year.

Officials said Mr. McDonald was a ward of the state at the time of his death, and was attending an alternative school, Sullivan House High School. “He was coming every day, joking and even giving hugs,” Thomas Gattuso, the principal, said in an interview.

Michael D. Robbins, a lawyer for Mr. McDonald’s family, said he had been raised, in large part, by a grandmother, who died in 2013. His mother had been working to regain custody before his death, Mr. Robbins said.

His mother has not been able to bring herself to watch the video, he said. “She is very, very distraught,” Mr. Robbins said Monday evening. “It’s a reminder about the loss of her son — and it’s going to come as this big, glaring, publicly displayed event. She is very emotional.”



“The night of protest followed a day of fast-moving events: first-degree murder charges against the officer, Jason Van Dyke, in the shooting of Laquan McDonald, 17, and, hours later, the release of graphic video from a police dashboard camera of the 2014 shooting, which a judge had ordered the city to make public by Wednesday. In a period that has seen sometimes - violent unrest over police conduct in places like Ferguson, Mo., and Baltimore, some in Chicago seemed relieved by the relative calm. “While on the whole last night’s demonstrations were peaceful, a few isolated incidents resulted in five arrests related to resisting arrest and assaulting police officers,” a police spokesman said on Wednesday. …. The grainy, nighttime dashboard camera video, which a judge ordered released last week, shows the young man running and then walking past officers in the middle of the street and spinning when bullets suddenly strike him down. For a moment, lying on the ground, he moves but then is still after he appears to be shot several more times. An officer kicks an object away from his body. The video shows none of the officers on the scene offering Mr. McDonald assistance. Standing with community leaders before releasing the video, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Garry McCarthy, the Chicago police superintendent, said they expected demonstrations in response to the graphic nature of the video, and urged people to avoid violence. “It’s fine to be passionate, but it is essential that it remain peaceful,” Mr. Emanuel said. Officer Van Dyke, 37, who has been with the Police Department for 14 years, is the first Chicago police officer in decades to be charged with murder in an on-duty shooting. The city previously fought to keep the video private, citing a continuing investigation into the shooting. …. Witnesses said Mr. McDonald, who was carrying a three-inch folding knife, never spoke to Officer Van Dyke or any of the other officers and did not make threatening moves toward him. None of at least seven other police officers on the scene fired their weapons. …. The family of Mr. McDonald, which had opposed the video’s release, issued a statement through its lawyers calling for calm. “No one understands the anger more than us, but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful,” the family said. “Don’t resort to violence in Laquan’s name. Let his legacy be better than that.” In announcing the murder charge, Anita Alvarez, the Cook County state’s attorney, acknowledged that she had pushed to charge the officer before the video became public. “I made a decision to come forward first because I felt like, with the release of this video, that it’s really important for public safety that the citizens of Chicago know that this officer is being held accountable for his actions,” Ms. Alvarez said. …. Federal charges are still possible, legal experts said, and the federal authorities said their investigation was continuing. …. The charges and the release of the video came amid a national debate over race, police shootings and a growing number of violent encounters with the police captured on video. Chicago’s police force has its own sometimes painful history, which by some estimates includes more than $500 million in settlements and other costs over the last decade tied to police misconduct as well as reparations for black residents who said a group of officers abused and tortured them in the 1970s and ’80s. In April, the city agreed to pay $5 million to the McDonald family, even before a suit had been filed in the case.”

“Ms. Alvarez, a two-term Democrat who is seeking re-election in March, defended herself against suggestions that the investigation had taken too long, saying investigations into police shootings often take more than a year. And she rejected claims that she had buckled to political pressure by filing the charges before the video came out, saying she had reached a conclusion several weeks ago that charges were warranted.” Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ms. Alvarez are both Democrats, yet it looks as though they have been involved in a city cover-up of this shooting. It was only one officer who opened fire, and when he started to reload his gun, his partner stopped him. Predictably yesterday’s news stated that according to his lawyer, his defense is going to be that he was “in fear for his life.” This is in spite of the fact that the report states McDonald did not move toward the officers nor did he speak to any of them.

What he didn’t do was halt on command. That’s another common element in these stories -- officer is dissed, officer shoots. Under no circumstances is breaking into cars and stealing radios a capital offence. Police shootings are certainly sometimes defensible, but when the crime is a misdemeanor and is non-violent the officer should be charged with murder as this officer has been. The autopsy did show that the young man had PCP in his system, but I doubt that the officers knew that at the time. PCP is known to make some users very violent. This video didn’t show any violence on his part, however.

Situations like this are the reason which makes the phrase “Black lives matter” particularly apt. White people aren’t generally shot down for so little reason. Another piece of information in this article is that none of the police officers actually attempted to help the victim/suspect, but left him on the street where he lay. I think that is one of the things that officers are supposed to do in these cases, along with using some restraint in the shooting – attempt to render aid. Sixteen shots, fourteen of which came after he fell to the ground, is in my view despicable. It’s like the South Carolina video from last year when an officer shot the man down rather than running after him. It’s not that I think police are all bad. Far from it. It’s just that those who do this kind of “broken windows policing” are too rarely punished for their crimes. For that, I fault Emanuel and Alvarez. The police force brass are also at fault, but the two strong Democrats who should have overridden the police cover up did not. It’s not surprising that the citizenry is up in arms about the matter. They need to take it to the ballot box and kick out the unreliable leaders in state and local government.

See below the CBS article of Wednesday, November 25, as it includes some additional information or updates on the story. A quotation from Jesse Jackson, "This is a panicky reaction to an institutional crisis within the criminal-justice system," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a leading civil rights activist who said he hoped to see "massive" but peaceful demonstrations.” He is correct that there is an “institutional crisis,” in that the most democratically minded US citizens no longer believe in giving police officers carte blanche in the way they choose to do their jobs. There has been too little training, supervision and quality selection of officers as long as I can recall. When I lived in Thomasville, NC I heard that one high school bully was recruited for the police force, and that they frequently use that criterion to make their choices. The source of police crime used to be the true nature of public opinion. I think more whites are standing behind the views of black citizens now. The racial divide is slightly better than when I was in school.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/laquan-mcdonald-chicago-police-shooting-video-sparks-protests/

Chicago police shooting video sparks protests
CBS/AP
November 25, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Graphic video shows Chicago police shooting
Play VIDEO -- Chicago cop charged with murder of black teen
Photograph -- Laquan McDonald, right, walks on road before being shot 16 times by police officer Jason Van Dyke in Chicago, in still image taken from October 20, 2014 police vehicle dash camera video that was released by Chicago police on November 24, 2015. REUTERS
Photograph -- 2015-11-25t091209z512407983gf20000073118rtrmadp3usa-race-chicago.jpg, Police officers scuffle with protesters during a demonstration after the release of a video showing the shooting of Laquan McDonald, in Chicago, Illionois November 24, 2015. REUTERS/ANDREW NELLES
Photograph -- Officer Jason Van Dyke, left, and Laquan McDonald CBS NEWS
Play VIDEO -- Protesters scuffle with police in Chicago


CHICAGO -- A white Chicago police officer who shot black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times last year was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday, hours before the city released a video of the killing that many people feared could spark unrest.

Protests began soon after the video was made public, and those angry at the incident largely heeded the calls of family and community leaders to remain peaceful, despite a handful of arrests.

The question now is whether those efforts will be enough to address the simmering resentment that authorities took more than a year to share the footage and charge the officer who emptied an entire magazine into the teen even after he had crumpled to the ground.

Police officer Jason Van Dyke, 37, a 14-year veteran of the force, turned himself in earlier in the day.

City officials and community leaders have been bracing for the release of the police dashboard-camera video, fearing the kind of turmoil that occurred in cities such as Baltimore and Ferguson, Missouri, after young black men were slain by police or died in police custody.

A judge had ordered that the recording be made public by Wednesday. Moments before it was released, the mayor and police chief appealed for calm.

"People have a right to be angry. People have a right to protest. People have a right to free speech. But they do not have a right to ... criminal acts," Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said.

The family of Laquan McDonald, 17, also called for calm. Lawyers issued a statement on their behalf saying, "No one understands the anger more than us but if you choose to speak out, we urge you to be peaceful. Don't resort to violence in Laquan's name."

Shortly after the video's release, protesters began marching through city streets. Several hundred people blocked traffic on the near West Side. Some circled police cars in an intersection and chanted "16 shots."

Chicago police said Wednesday they arrested five protesters during the overnight demonstrations. The five people were charged with offenses including assaulting a police officer, weapons possession and resisting arrest.

One of those arrested was 38-year-old Dean M. Vanriper of Murrieta, California. Police say he had a stun gun and a knife. A 22-year-old Chicago man, Malcolm London, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery of a police officer. Police say he struck an officer during one protest Tuesday night in downtown Chicago.

The officer was treated for injuries that weren't life-threatening and released.

"I'm so hurt and so angry," said Jedidiah Brown, a South Side activist and pastor who had just seen the video. "I can feel pain through my body."

Groups of demonstrators, at times numbering in the hundreds, marched through streets in the downtown and near South Side areas, gathering at one point outside the police department's District 1 headquarters.

Later, along Michigan Avenue, at least one person was detained, which led to a tense moment as protesters tried to prevent police from taking him away. Some threw plastic water bottles at officers and sat behind a police vehicle, refusing to move. Officers pulled them away, and the vehicle sped off.

The biggest group had mostly dissipated by 11 p.m., with a few dozen returning to the District 1 building. Another group of at least 50 people briefly blocked a busy expressway before walking toward a lakefront park. A few yelled at police officers, others chanted as they blocked a street.

The relevant portion of the video runs less than 40 seconds and has no audio.

McDonald swings into view on a four-lane street where police vehicles are stopped in the middle of the roadway. As he jogs down an empty lane, he appears to pull up his pants and then slows to a brisk walk, veering away from two officers who are emerging from a vehicle and drawing their guns.

Almost immediately, one of the officers appears to fire from close range. McDonald spins around and crumples to the pavement.

The car with the camera continues to roll forward until the officers are out of the frame. Then McDonald can be seen lying on the ground, moving occasionally. At least two small puffs of smoke are seen coming off his body as the officer continues firing.

In the final moments, an officer kicks something out of McDonald's hands.

CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports that officer was a Van Dyke partner, who had told Van Dyke to hold fire when he saw Van Dyke reloading.

Police have said the teen had a knife. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said Tuesday a 3-inch knife with its blade folded into the handle was recovered from the scene.

City officials spent months arguing that the footage could not be made public until the conclusion of several investigations. After the judge's order, the investigations were quickly wrapped up and a charge announced.

Father Michael Pfleger, who took part in the protests, asked CBS Chicago, "Why did it take a year for Anita Alvarez to come out and the feds still haven't come out?"

"It's unacceptable," he continued. "You can't ask people to trust the system if the system is broken and the system isn't working. Servin should have been fired, this guy should have been indicted 13 months ago."

Alvarez defended the 13 months it took to charge officer Jason Van Dyke. She said cases involving police present "highly complex" legal issues and that she would rather take the time to get it right than "rush to judgment."

Alvarez said concern about the impending release prompted her to move up the announcement of the murder charge.

"It is graphic. It is violent. It is chilling," she said. "To watch a 17-year-old young man die in such a violent manner is deeply disturbing. I have absolutely no doubt that this video will tear at the hearts of all Chicagoans."

Van Dyke "went overboard," she said. "He abused his authority. And I don't believe the force was necessary."

But she insisted she had made the decision "weeks ago" to charge Van Dyke and the video's ordered release did not influence that.

Some community leaders said there was no doubt that Alvarez only brought charges because of the order to release the video from Oct. 20, 2014.

"This is a panicky reaction to an institutional crisis within the criminal-justice system," said the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a leading civil rights activist who said he hoped to see "massive" but peaceful demonstrations.

Months after McDonald's death, the city agreed to a $5 million settlement with his family, even before relatives filed a lawsuit.

The city's hurried attempts to defuse tensions also included a community meeting, official statements of outrage at the officer's conduct and an abrupt announcement Monday night that another officer who has been the subject of protests for months might now be fired.

An autopsy report showed that McDonald was shot at least twice in his back and PCP, a hallucinogenic drug, was found in his system.

At the time of his death, police were responding to complaints about someone breaking into cars and stealing radios.

Van Dyke, who was denied bond on Tuesday, was the only officer of the several who were on the scene to open fire. Alvarez said the officer emptied his 9 mm pistol of all 16 rounds and that he was on the scene for just 30 seconds before he started shooting. She said he opened fire just six seconds after getting out of his vehicle and kept firing even though McDonald dropped to the ground after the initial shots.

At Tuesday's hearing, Assistant State's Attorney Bill Delaney said the shooting lasted 14 or 15 seconds and that McDonald was on the ground for 13 of those seconds.

Van Dyke's attorney, Dan Herbert, maintains his client feared for his life and acted lawfully and that the video does not tell the whole story.

Correspondent Reynolds notes Van Dyke said McDonald had lunged at him, but the video shows him moving away from Van Dyke.

Van Dyke, stripped of his police powers, has been assigned to desk duty since the shooting.

Herbert said the case needs to be tried in a courtroom and "can't be tried in the streets, can't be tried on social media and can't be tried on Facebook."





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-su-24-fighter-jet-shot-down-syria-turkey-airspace-violation/

Turkish military shoots down Russian fighter jet over Syria
By TUCKER REALS CBS NEWS
November 24, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Turkey shoots down Russian jet near Syrian border
Photograph -- turkeyradarrussianjetsyria.jpg, A radar image released by the Turkish Ministry of Defense purportedly shows the flightpath of a Russian Su-24 fighter jet over southern Turkey's Hatay Province (Turkish territory outlined in blue), Nov. 24, 2015. Turkey said it warned the jet 10 times before shooting it down. The jet crashed into Syrian territory. TURKISH MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
Photograph -- russianturkishjetsyria.jpg, A Russian Su-24 fighter jet crashes in flames in a mountainous area in northern Syria after it was shot down by Turkish fighter jets near the Turkish-Syrian border, Nov. 24, 2015. REUTERS
Play VIDEO -- Syria's Assad says Russian airstrikes essential
Play VIDEO -- How is the U.S. battling ISIS?


LONDON -- Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet over Syria Tuesday saying the Su-24 jet's pilots violated Turkish airspace and failed to heed multiple warnings to leave.

A U.S. official told CBS News that radar tracking confirmed the Russian plane was in Turkish airspace, saying, "it was close," but it did cross the border.

Russia flatly denied that its warplane had crossed into Turkish airspace.

"We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet. The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight," the Russian ministry said in a statement.

The Turkish Defense Ministry was quoted by Reuters as saying the Russian jet was warned 10 times within five minutes to leave Turkish airspace before it was shot down. Turkish officials said the Su-24 was warned as it flew over Yaylidag, in Turkey's southern Hatay province, and the Ministry of Defense released radar images purportedly showing the Ru-24's flightpath over the southern tip of Turkey's Hatay province, which juts down into northern Syria.

The Russian jet crashed down into Syrian territory. Amateur videos showed it plummeting to the earth with flames trailing behind it before it disappeared behind a hill. Two parachutes were seen floating down to the ground, also; evidence that the two pilots from the jet had ejected.

CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata says unverified video posted by Syrian rebels from the area showed what appeared to be a lifeless Russian crewman. The rebels in the video said he was dead, though it was unclear, if true, whether he died in the initial strike or whether he was killed in crossfire on the ground.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the incident would have "significant consequences" for his country's relations with Turkey, and insisting that the Su-24 jet remained just less than a mile inside Syrian airspace on a mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

He said Moscow considered the shoot-down a "stab in the back by the terrorists' accomplices," and accused Turkey of helping ISIS.

"Instead of discussing the incident with Moscow, they turned to their NATO partners as if it was us who downed their jet," Putin said. "It's as if Turkey wants to put NATO at the service of ISIS."

"We will never tolerate such atrocities as happened today and we hope that the international community will find the strength to join forces and fight this evil," Putin said on Russian television.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a planned visit to the Turkish capital he had been scheduled to make on Wednesday, and the ministry released a statement warning Russian nationals against traveling to Turkey.

Speaking in Moscow, the deputy head of the Russian Duma, the lower house of Parliament, said the strike against the Russian jet was carried out with U.S. support.

Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led miltiary coalition in Iraq and Syrai, confirmed that American military were "able to hear everything that was going on" as the Russian and Turkish pilots communicated, and said the Turks had warned the Su-24 pilots 10 times to change course.

D'Agata said Russian helicopters were seen flying over the area of the crash in an apparent search and rescue operation for their lost crewmen.

The Su-24 crashed down in part of northwest Syria where Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army and Turkmen rebels hold territory.

Turkey said the plane was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter jets, but the Russians said ground-based artillery hit the Su-24. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the varying reports.

The shootdown of a Russian jet highlights the tense situation in the skies over Syria, where a growing list of nations -- with often divergent interests -- are carrying out airstrikes. It was the first time in five decades that a NATO member had shot down a Russian plane.

Turkey and NATO warned in early October -- after Russia said one of its warplanes had crossed into Turkish airspace near the Syrian border by "mistake," in addition to a couple other infringments by Russian planes -- that the infractions were "very serious," even dangerous.

A senior U.S. defense official told CBS News at that time that the Russian violation did not appear to be accidental, as claimed by Moscow.

The U.S. moved half a dozen more F-15C fighter jets from Britain to a base in southern Turkey after the early October incidents, in an effort to shore-up a key NATO ally. NATO's governing body, the North Atlantic Council, was to hold an "extraordinary" meeting later Tuesday, at Turkey's request, to discuss the incident.

The Turkish government has been a staunch opponent of Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime since the uprising against his family's decades-long rule first began in 2011. Russia, on the other hand, remains one of Assad's most valuable allies.

Russia dramatically upped its stake in the Syrian war at the end of Sepetember, unleashing a wave of airstrikes against rebel groups that were putting significant pressure on Assad's beleagured military. Moscow initially claimed it was focusing its attacks on ISIS militants, but it was clear the real focus was other groups pushing toward Assad's stronghold in Damascus.

Russian planes have targeted ISIS fighters and infrastructure more frequently in recent weeks, and the group's apparent role in smuggling a bomb onto a Russian passenger plane that was blown up over Egypt on Oct. 31 has focused Moscow's anger on the Sunni Islamic extremist group.

Nevertheless, the area where the Russian jet was downed, in the Turkmen Mountains region of the costal Lattakia Province, where Russia's military force in Syria is based, has seen fierce fighting in recent days.

Assad's forces hard [sic] begun making advances in the area -- under cover of Russian airstrikes -- against rebel groups including the FSA and al Qaeda affiliate the al-Nusra Front.


U.S.-led coalition strikes have focused almost exclusively on ISIS, and have been given a recent boost by a more active French role in the campaign following the Paris attacks blamed on the group that killed 130 people.

CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin reported Monday that a couple of the most recent airstrikes carried out by the U.S. destroyed almost 500 tanker trucks that were being used by ISIS to smuggle oil and sell it on the black market.

By one estimate, Martin said U.S. strikes had destroyed about half the trucks ISIS uses to rake in an estimated $1 million each day in revenue.



“Russia flatly denied that its warplane had crossed into Turkish airspace. "We are looking into the circumstances of the crash of the Russian jet. The Ministry of Defense would like to stress that the plane was over the Syrian territory throughout the flight," the Russian ministry said in a statement. …. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the incident would have "significant consequences" for his country's relations with Turkey, and insisting that the Su-24 jet remained just less than a mile inside Syrian airspace on a mission against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). …. "Instead of discussing the incident with Moscow, they turned to their NATO partners as if it was us who downed their jet," Putin said. "It's as if Turkey wants to put NATO at the service of ISIS." "We will never tolerate such atrocities as happened today and we hope that the international community will find the strength to join forces and fight this evil," Putin said on Russian television. …. Speaking in Moscow, the deputy head of the Russian Duma, the lower house of Parliament, said the strike against the Russian jet was carried out with U.S. support. Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the U.S.-led miltiary coalition in Iraq and Syria, confirmed that American military were "able to hear everything that was going on" as the Russian and Turkish pilots communicated, and said the Turks had warned the Su-24 pilots 10 times to change course. …. The Su-24 crashed down in part of northwest Syria where Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army and Turkmen rebels hold territory. Turkey said the plane was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter jets, but the Russians said ground-based artillery hit the Su-24. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the varying reports. …. U.S.-led coalition strikes have focused almost exclusively on ISIS, and have been given a recent boost by a more active French role in the campaign following the Paris attacks blamed on the group that killed 130 people. CBS News senior national security correspondent David Martin reported Monday that a couple of the most recent airstrikes carried out by the U.S. destroyed almost 500 tanker trucks that were being used by ISIS to smuggle oil and sell it on the black market.”


“Turkey and NATO warned in early October -- after Russia said one of its warplanes had crossed into Turkish airspace near the Syrian border by "mistake," in addition to a couple other infringments by Russian planes -- that the infractions were "very serious," even dangerous. A senior U.S. defense official told CBS News at that time that the Russian violation did not appear to be accidental, as claimed by Moscow. …. U.S.-led coalition strikes have focused almost exclusively on ISIS, and have been given a recent boost by a more active French role in the campaign following the Paris attacks blamed on the group that killed 130 people. …. By one estimate, Martin said U.S. strikes had destroyed about half the trucks ISIS uses to rake in an estimated $1 million each day in revenue.”


“U.S.-led coalition strikes have focused almost exclusively on ISIS….” This does imply that by this article’s story, our air strikes have not been totally focused on ISIS, either.” There have been several other such incidents of Russian encroachments or near misses thereof, off the US shorelines during the last year, especially since Russia’s invasion of Eastern Ukraine. I suppose they could be spy missions, or they could be simple harassment. Whatever they are, Turkey took it seriously and responded to the threat in kind. I wonder what will happen next time if Donald Trump becomes president? Has Putin thought about that? Today’s follow-up article states that “Russia will not wage war against Turkey.” The article says the Russian plane was only over Turkish territory for 17 seconds, but that they were flying knowingly within a mile of the Turkish border. That is harassment to me, and it isn’t the first time in the last couple of years. Ever since Ukraine they have been aggressive, including flying close to the US borders. They deserve what they got.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/martin-omalley-unveils-his-healthcare-plan/

Martin O'Malley unveils his healthcare plan
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
November 24, 2015

Photograph -- Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Governor Martin O'Malley speaks at the Central Iowa Democrats Fall Barbecue in Ames, Iowa November 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mark Kauzlarich


Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley on Tuesday unveiled a healthcare plan that would seek to expand healthcare coverage to 95 percent of people in the U.S. over the next few years.

The 10-page plan would build on ObamaCare and crack down on prescription drug costs, among others things.

"The next president must build on the [Affordable Care Act's] success, while continuing to reduce costs, expand access, and improve the quality of care," the plan said.

The plan from the former Maryland governor would ban price gouging for prescription drug costs and use the government's purchasing power to ensure more reasonable prices for drugs.

It would also repeal the so-called "Cadillac" tax on high-cost plans, eliminate waiting periods for Medicaid and improve primary care coverage for new U.S. immigrants.

The proposal would support universal access to reproductive care and family planning services, improve addiction treatment and mental health care and end the criminalization of mental illness.

O'Malley's goal is to expand healthcare insurance to cover 95 percent of people by 2020. He said 36 million people are still uninsured even with ObamaCare, which has provided insurance to nearly 17 million people.

Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, have also presented health care proposals that they say would expand on ObamaCare's successes.

Over the weekend, Clinton proposed a new tax credit for middle-class families to provide care for aging parents or grandparents.



“Democratic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley on Tuesday unveiled a healthcare plan that would seek to expand healthcare coverage to 95 percent of people in the U.S. over the next few years. The 10-page plan would build on ObamaCare and crack down on prescription drug costs, among others things. "The next president must build on the [Affordable Care Act's] success, while continuing to reduce costs, expand access, and improve the quality of care," the plan said. …. It would also repeal the so-called "Cadillac" tax on high-cost plans, eliminate waiting periods for Medicaid and improve primary care coverage for new U.S. immigrants. The proposal would support universal access to reproductive care and family planning services, improve addiction treatment and mental health care and end the criminalization of mental illness. …. O'Malley's goal is to expand healthcare insurance to cover 95 percent of people by 2020 …. Over the weekend, Clinton proposed a new tax credit for middle-class families to provide care for aging parents or grandparents”.


Since this writer didn’t give any details on Clinton’s and Sanders’ plans, except for her new tax credit, it’s hard to compare theirs. Still O’Malley’s recommendations do sound good, especially increasing mental health and addiction coverage. The mention of “criminalization” of mental illness above is a fairly new concept, though it’s not a new phenomenon. Read the following article on the subject of simply shoving people who are having a mental episode in jail or prison where they are not properly treated and are in fact too often abused; likewise for addiction issues. See below: http://blog.nami.org/2014/08/criminalization-of-mental-illness-it.htmlm, “Criminalization of Mental Illness: It’s a Crime,” By Mary Giliberti, NAMI Executive Director. Articles dealing with this have mentioned the lack of good inpatient treatment facilities in local areas where the interaction with police has occurred. Hopefully one of my Dems will win the presidency in 2016 and sweep the House and Senate as well. Then we would see some good humane laws enacted.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-brewing-battle-with-wall-street-journal-owner-rupert-murdoch/

Trump dukes it out with Murdoch, Wall Street Journal

CBS NEWS
November 23, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Donald Trump proposes database to track Muslims
Play VIDEO -- Trump calls NAFTA a "disaster"


GOP candidates are used to duking it out with the mainstream media, but Donald Trump is getting it from all sides.

Now, one of the most powerful moguls is taking aim at Trump, reports CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford.

Some call it a grudge match between the two billionaires - media tycoon Rupert Murdoch versus the flamboyant dealmaker, who also happens to be a leading candidate for president.

"From the very beginning, Rupert Murdoch has been skeptical and concerned about a Donald Trump candidacy," said Gabriel Sherman, author of "The Loudest Voice in the Room."

Murdoch hasn't tried to hide it. On Twitter, he rails against Trump.


But the gloves really came off when one of Murdoch's premier properties targeted the Donald.

"This is one of the worst trade deals," Trump said at the most recent Republican debate.

Following the debate, the Wall Street Journal - owned by Murdoch - wrote in an editorial that Trump's take on the trade deal was flat-out wrong.


"It wasn't obvious that he has any idea" what the deal involves, the paper wrote.

Trump - in the Journal's words - "went bananas" over the editorial.

"I'm suggesting that the Wall Street Journal editorial board doesn't know what they're talking about, that they're third rate," Trump said on Fox Business Network, which is also owned by Murdoch and - despite Murdoch's efforts - continues to give Trump a big platform.

"You have all of these, you know sort of titans at the height of their game are all dancing around each other," said Sherman. "So far... no one has been able to take (Trump) down."

Or count him out. Complaining he had "been treated very badly," Trump met last week with the Journal editorial page to try to clear the air. The paper said it got "the full Donald."

"The Wall Street Journal is seen as representative of or close to business," said Republican strategist and CBS News contributor Frank Luntz. "And business is not happy with Trump when it comes to trade, immigration and other issues."

Trump's numbers were slipping, but the world changed with the Paris attacks and his message again is resonating with the people.


The latest polls show him with a commanding lead and voters who lean Republican say they overwhelmingly trust Trump to deal with the threat of terrorism.

Trump's kept the upper hand in part because he's not dependent on traditional conservative media. He takes his message directly to voters on Twitter, and he's found an audience with anti-establishment conservative commentators - like Ann Coulter, Mark Levin and Laura Ingraham.

The night of the Paris attacks, Coulter declared: "Donald Trump was elected president tonight."


And on her radio show, Ingraham gives him a warm welcome. "Where is President Trump on ground troops -- another American ground force in the Middle East?" she asked him in a recent appearance on the show.

"Well, President Trump is for knocking the hell out of ISIS and doing it rapidly and also getting other people to do it with us," Trump answered.

Right now, those voices are striking a chord, and even the Journal is acknowledging Trump's staying power.

"Maybe it's time to start imagining Mr. Trump, come January 2017, in possession of the nuclear launch codes," the paper wrote.

"So many people in the business community and the Wall Street Journal never thought that he would do as well as he's done or would be able to sustain that success. They waited too long and they may be too late," Luntz said.

The next line of attack on Trump is from super PACS - millions of dollars of ads are expected to drop in the next month or so.

But as Luntz said, the remarkable thing about Trump is the more negative things said about him, the more his supporters like him.



"From the very beginning, Rupert Murdoch has been skeptical and concerned about a Donald Trump candidacy," said Gabriel Sherman, author of "The Loudest Voice in the Room." Murdoch hasn't tried to hide it. On Twitter, he rails against Trump. But the gloves really came off when one of Murdoch's premier properties targeted the Donald. "This is one of the worst trade deals," Trump said at the most recent Republican debate. Following the debate, the Wall Street Journal - owned by Murdoch - wrote in an editorial that Trump's take on the trade deal was flat-out wrong. "It wasn't obvious that he has any idea" what the deal involves, the paper wrote. …. "The Wall Street Journal is seen as representative of or close to business," said Republican strategist and CBS News contributor Frank Luntz. "And business is not happy with Trump when it comes to trade, immigration and other issues." …. Trump's kept the upper hand in part because he's not dependent on traditional conservative media. He takes his message directly to voters on Twitter, and he's found an audience with anti-establishment conservative commentators - like Ann Coulter, Mark Levin and Laura Ingraham. The night of the Paris attacks, Coulter declared: "Donald Trump was elected president tonight."


"Maybe it's time to start imagining Mr. Trump, come January 2017, in possession of the nuclear launch codes," the paper wrote. "So many people in the business community and the Wall Street Journal never thought that he would do as well as he's done or would be able to sustain that success. They waited too long and they may be too late," Luntz said. The next line of attack on Trump is from super PACS - millions of dollars of ads are expected to drop in the next month or so.”

Many of the ultraconservative voices in this country are blue collar and relatively poor, and of course white males. They’re into guns, racism, antifeminism, anti-intellectualism, anti-liberalism, Fundamentalist religion, militias and the hoarding of all kinds of goods and ammunition for the Apocalypse. They’re waiting for The Walking Dead to appear on their doorstep. They relate to Trump because he is brash, crude, overweight, rich (which they judge to be a good thing above all others) and mostly inelegant in his speech. He’s a man’s man in that segment of our society. In other words, the worst American Southern and Western traits have taken over our culture and they are embodied in Donald Trump. It would be a horrible occurrence, but it is possible that Trump could win an election over Clinton – who has always been hated by that anti-everything segment of our population – and over Sanders who is an avowed “Democratic Socialist.”




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-toddler-killed-after-sibling-put-her-in-oven-court-docs/

Houston toddler killed after sibling put her in oven: court docs
CBS/AP
November 23, 2015

Photograph -- Police investigate the scene of the death of a toddler in Houston on Nov. 17, 2015. KHOU


HOUSTON - A toddler who died after suffering severe burns was put in an oven by one of her two 3-year-old siblings when the children were left alone in their Houston apartment, according to court documents.

The two siblings told investigators with Texas Child Protective Services that one of them put 19-month-old J'zyra Thompson in the oven and the other turned it on, KTRK-TV reported Thursday, citing court documents it obtained.

Police believe J'zyra was one of four children who had been left alone Monday by their mother and her boyfriend when the girl and two of her siblings began playing with the oven. CPS says the couple left the four kids home alone without telling a grandmother who lived in the same apartment complex.

The two 3-year-olds told CPS workers they made the oven "hot" and that the baby was kicking the oven door while inside, according to court records.

The girl's mother tried performing CPR when she got home, but it was too late as the child had multiple burns, according to court documents.

Police have not filed any charges against the mother or her boyfriend, but CPS workers said in court documents that charges are expected to be filed.

CPS declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the girl's death as the court records in the case have since been sealed by a judge.

The three other children who were living in the home have been taken into CPS custody.

"There are concerns that the children were often left home alone and without adult supervision. CPS had prior involvement with the mother and her children," agency spokeswoman Estella Olguin said in an email on Friday.

Neighbors told CBS affiliate KHOU it was not uncommon to see the toddler and her siblings unsupervised.

"With just a Pamper on, no shirt, no shoes or nothing," Miranda Oneil Johnson, a neighbor, said. "Like, running around. I'm like, 'Where is the momma or the daddy?'"



"Police have not filed any charges against the mother or her boyfriend, but CPS workers said in court documents that charges are expected to be filed. CPS declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the girl's death as the court records in the case have since been sealed by a judge. …. There are concerns that the children were often left home alone and without adult supervision. CPS had prior involvement with the mother and her children," agency spokeswoman Estella Olguin said in an email on Friday.”

“Prior involvement” has occurred with this woman, yet nothing was done. A certain kind of person should never have the care of a child. There is no law stating that a US citizen must have a specified IQ level, certification of good mental health including the issue of drug abuse, or proof of acceptable childcare facilities for them to be allowed to have a child. We just hope for the best. Luckily we don’t make laws like that, which were on the books in some states during my childhood, the so-called Eugenics laws.

I do feel, though, that even one incident such as those that are recorded in this news article should bring a jail sentence and the child should be taken away. No child three years old or younger should be walking around outside by himself or left alone in the house, either. They are very exploratory at that age, capable of climbing up to the top of the cabinets and may do almost anything that occurs to them. There’s a reason for the intense protectiveness among psychologically normal parents in the evolutionary path of Homo sapiens.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/terror-suspects-abroad-capture-or-kill/

Terror suspects abroad: Is the U.S. killing or capturing?
By REBECCA KAPLAN CBS NEWS
November 25, 2015

Play VIDEO -- "Jihadi John" apparently dead: What's the significance?
Play VIDEO -- What are the chances Guantanamo Bay detainment camp closes?
Play VIDEO -- Benghazi terror suspect appears in federal court


Although President Obama is pledging to intensify the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), that fight is unlikely to produce what the war in Afghanistan once did: hundreds of terror suspects for detention and, potentially, interrogation.

The Obama administration has largely relied on lethal force to kill its enemies on the battlefield, rather than capturing them. The most famous example of this is the raid in Pakistan that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Another example -- U.S.-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki was dispatched with a drone in Yemen.

More recently, airstrikes have been used to kill Sanafi al-Nasr, a top al Qaeda commander, and two key ISIS figures, Abu Nabil and Mohamed Emzawi. Emzawi, known colloquially as "Jihadi John" because he was British, was best known for beheading several Western hostages in a series of videos released by ISIS.

"It's a matter of practicality, it's a function of risk, and it's the nature of the landscape of our both operations and our limitations," said CBS News Senior National Security Analyst Juan Zarate.

In the immediate aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, U.S., Afghan and Pakistani forces were able to capture many al Qaeda leaders. But the current terror threat is concentrated in places like Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya - countries where there is no major U.S. presence to hunt down and trap those threatening the country.

"In some ways, we don't have the facilities overseas -- or in general -- to detain and question people that may be relevant. And we haven't been engaging in the types of daily, on-the-ground raids that are putting us in physical contact with the kind of people we would want to question," Zarate said.

And there is another consideration. The accumulation of so many suspects in the last decade necessitated a place to house them. That led to the creation of the Guantanamo Bay prison. President Obama campaigned on a pledge to close the prison, and although he has faced stiff resistance from Congress in achieving that goal, his administration has not added a single person to its population.


"It's certainly not lost on the Obama administration that the Bush administration got itself into a deep morass both domestically and internationally by holding a bunch of people," John Bellinger, an adjunct senior fellow for international and national security law at the Council on Foreign Relations told CBS News.

"It was a whole lot easier for the Obama administration to not have to deal with detention, much less interrogation, and simply easier to launch drones at people, particularly when they were deep in the mountains of Pakistan," said Bellinger, who was also George W. Bush's legal adviser for the State Department.

Last week the president reaffirmed his commitment to close Guantanamo Bay in spite of the recent terror attacks in Paris. Administration officials have been working for months on a plan they can submit to Congress, but the proposal is stalled over questions about costs. The Pentagon promised to deliver the plan as soon as it is complete, but said in a statement, "We don't have a specific timeline."

The president acknowledged the difficulties in capturing terrorists during a 2013 speech at the National Defense University, but said it was still the administration's top priority.

In places like parts of Somalia and Yemen, "the state only has the most tenuous reach into the territory. In other cases, the state lacks the capacity or will to take action," Mr. Obama said. "And it's also not possible for America to simply deploy a team of Special Forces to capture every terrorist."

There are places, he pointed out in that speech "where it would pose profound risks to our troops and local civilians." But he added, "America does not take strikes when we have the ability to capture individual terrorists; our preference is always to detain, interrogate, and prosecute."

That was also the speech in which he set the elevated standard for using drone strikes to kill a terror suspect: "There must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured."

In practice, the number of civilian casualties the administration will accept depends on the target, reports CBS News Pentagon Correspondent David Martin. The military aims for zero civilian casualties, but has accepted up to five in the past.

The administration has captured some high-profile suspects and brought them back to the U.S. to face trial. In April, the American-born Muhanad Mahmoud Al Farekh was detained by the Pakistanis and brought to the New York to face federal terrorism charges.

Abu Khatallah, a suspected leader of the 2012 attacks on a U.S. diplomatic facility in Benghazi, Libya, was captured by U.S. Special Operations Forces during a secret raid in June 2014. He has appeared in federal court on murder charges.

In October 2013, Nazih Abdul-Hamed al-Ruqai - better known as Abu Anas al-Libi - was captured in Tripoli, detained at sea for questioning, and brought to the U.S. He was charged in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. He died of complications from liver surgery while awaiting trial.

And in 2011, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame, was captured off the coast of Somalia and interrogated at sea for several months before being brought to the U.S. He pled guilty in federal court to several charges.

For the Obama administration, "that's kind of the ideal case," Zarate said.

"We can capture a guy, we can interrogate him for a while in this kind of limbo state, a ship, and then we can ship him back when we're ready to go for criminal prosecution."

But Zarate and others have warned that killing terror suspects, while sometimes the easiest route, has an opportunity cost.

In a Showtime documentary called "The Spymasters - CIA in the Crosshairs," that will air on Nov. 28, Former CIA Director James Woolsey argues that the Obama administration is losing the opportunity to gather valuable intelligence.

The president "is killing more people than he needs to, and we'd be better off capturing some of them and interrogating them," he says.

Zarate said the U.S. hasn't grappled with the potential that the U.S. might capture a detainee and bring him back to the U.S. to stand trial, only to see him gain access to the U.S. legal system and possibly be ordered released by arguing he was unlawfully imprisoned.

"He has nowhere else to go but you can't keep him custody...that's a real thorny issue that no one has answered," Zarate said.

He also suggested that the U.S. may not necessarily have the intelligence framework it needs to fight ISIS effectively if it's forgoing the chance to extract information from captured leaders by killing them instead.

Bellinger was less certain of that argument, countering, "The Bush administration's interrogation program certainly was not a clear success .... While one can argue in the abstract that if someone was detained, that one theoretically could interrogate them and theoretically obtain useful information from them, in practice, that has been much harder and certainly caused huge problems for the Bush administration."




“Although President Obama is pledging to intensify the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), that fight is unlikely to produce what the war in Afghanistan once did: hundreds of terror suspects for detention and, potentially, interrogation. The Obama administration has largely relied on lethal force to kill its enemies on the battlefield, rather than capturing them. …. And there is another consideration. The accumulation of so many suspects in the last decade necessitated a place to house them. That led to the creation of the Guantanamo Bay prison. President Obama campaigned on a pledge to close the prison, and although he has faced stiff resistance from Congress in achieving that goal, his administration has not added a single person to its population. …. Zarate said the U.S. hasn't grappled with the potential that the U.S. might capture a detainee and bring him back to the U.S. to stand trial, only to see him gain access to the U.S. legal system and possibly be ordered released by arguing he was unlawfully imprisoned. "He has nowhere else to go but you can't keep him custody...that's a real thorny issue that no one has answered," Zarate said. He also suggested that the U.S. may not necessarily have the intelligence framework it needs to fight ISIS effectively if it's forgoing the chance to extract information from captured leaders by killing them instead. Bellinger was less certain of that argument, countering, "The Bush administration's interrogation program certainly was not a clear success .... While one can argue in the abstract that if someone was detained, that one theoretically could interrogate them and theoretically obtain useful information from them, in practice, that has been much harder and certainly caused huge problems for the Bush administration."


I really don’t like the direction this article is going – straight back to extraordinary rendition and torture in an effort to get information. Many people have agreed that the quality of the information gained under duress of that kind is unreliable, so we aren’t really winning the war that way. We are only becoming enured to cruelty like the ISIS radicals themselves are. I personally prefer killing them on the battlefield to increasing the ranks of our known Cuban prison camp and those “black sites” elsewhere around the world which are not so well known. I am very pleased to learn that the Obama administration has not added even one prisoner to the population at Gitmo. That’s because he’s a better man than George W. Bush. The besmirching of our national reputation to that degree was fiercely painful to me, and I don’t want to see it happen again. See the ACLU articles below.



https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet-extraordinary-rendition

Fact Sheet: Extraordinary Rendition

Beginning in the early 1990s and continuing to this day, the Central Intelligence Agency, together with other U.S. government agencies, has utilized an intelligence-gathering program involving the transfer of foreign nationals suspected of involvement in terrorism to detention and interrogation in countries where -- in the CIA's view -- federal and international legal safeguards do not apply. Suspects are detained and interrogated either by U.S. personnel at U.S.-run detention facilities outside U.S. sovereign territory or, alternatively, are handed over to the custody of foreign agents for interrogation. In both instances, interrogation methods are employed that do not comport with federal and internationally recognized standards. This program is commonly known as "extraordinary rendition."

The current policy traces its roots to the administration of former President Bill Clinton. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, however, what had been a limited program expanded dramatically, with some experts estimating that 150 foreign nationals have been victims of rendition in the last few years alone. Foreign nationals suspected of terrorism have been transported to detention and interrogation facilities in Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Diego Garcia, Afghanistan, Guantánamo, and elsewhere. In the words of former CIA agent Robert Baer: "If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear -- never to see them again -- you send them to Egypt."

Administration officials, backed by Department of Justice legal memoranda, have consistently advanced the position that foreign nationals held at such facilities, outside U.S. sovereign territory, are unprotected by federal or international laws. Thus, the rendition program has allowed agents of the United States to detain foreign nationals without any legal process and, primarily through counterparts in foreign intelligence agencies, to employ brutal interrogation methods that would be impermissible under federal or international law, as a means of obtaining information from suspects.

The Department of Justice's arguments notwithstanding, the extraordinary rendition program is illegal. It is clearly prohibited by the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment, ratified by the United States in 1992, and by congressionally enacted policy giving effect to CAT. As Congress made clear, it is the policy of the United States not to: expel, extradite, or otherwise effect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, regardless of whether the person is physically present in the United States.

Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, ("FARRA"), Pub. L. No. 105-277, § 2242, 112 Stat. 2681 (Oct. 21, 1998), reprinted in 8 U.S.C. § 1231, Historical and Statutory Notes (1999) (emphasis added).

Congress has recently reaffirmed this policy, providing in an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the Iraq War and Tsunami Relief, 2005 (P.L. 109-13) that it will not authorize the funding of any program that "subject[s] any person in the custody or under the physical control of the United States to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment that is prohibited by the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States." P.L. 109-13, § 1031 (2005). The President, too, has confirmed that it is the policy and practice of the United States neither to use torture nor to hand over detainees to countries that use torture. See www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/04/20050428-9.html.



https://www.aclu.org/cases/el-masri-v-tenet

El-Masri v. Tenet
Updated: June 1, 2011

In a history-making lawsuit, the ACLU challenged the CIA on behalf of Khaled El-Masri, an entirely innocent victim of rendition who was released without ever being charged.

The lawsuit charged that former CIA Director George Tenet violated U.S. and universal human rights laws when he authorized agents to abduct Mr. El-Masri, beat him, drug him, and transport him to a secret CIA prison in Afghanistan. The corporations that owned and operated the airplanes used to transport Mr. El-Masri are also named in the case. The CIA continued to hold Mr. El-Masri incommunicado in the notorious "Salt Pit" prison in Afghanistan long after his innocence was known. Five months after his abduction, Mr. El-Masri was deposited at night, without explanation, on a hill in Albania.

A judge dismissed the case in May 2006 after the government intervened, arguing that allowing the case to proceed would jeopardize state secrets, despite the fact that Mr. El-Masri's story was already known throughout the world. The ACLU appealed the dismissal in November


2006. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the lower court decision that denied MR. El-Masri a hearing in the United States. In October 2007, the United States Supreme Court refused to review Mr. El-Masri's case.

In the most recent development, on April 9, 2008, the ACLU filed a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of El-Masri. The petition asks the IACHR to declare that the extraordinary rendition program violates the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; to find the U.S. responsible for violating El-Masri’s rights under that declaration; and to recommend that the U.S. publicly acknowledge and apologize for its role in violating El-Masri’s rights to be free from arbitrary detention and torture.

EVIDENCE
•Flight Logs for Aircraft N313P (PDF)
•El-Masri's Account of His Experiences



http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/11/25/457374128/deaths-persist-in-youth-and-student-football-despite-safety-efforts

Deaths Persist In Youth And Student Football Despite Safety Efforts
Kelly McEvers, LAUREN SILVERMAN and BECKY SULLIVAN
Updated November 25, 2015

Photograph -- Cam'ron Matthews played safety on the Alto, Texas, varsity football team. The 16-year-old died after a game in October. Laurie Gould Photography
Photograph -- The Alto Yellowjackets take the field on Nov. 13, a month after Matthews died. Lauren Silverman/NPR
Photograph -- Mississippi defensive back Roy Lee "Chucky" Mullins tackled Vanderbilt fullback Brad Gaines on Oct. 28, 1989. The tackle paralyzed Mullins from the neck down. He died two years later. Bruce Newman/AP


We know more than ever about concussions, the permanent brain damage of chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the other physical risks of football.

Yet so far this year, at least 19 students have died playing football, according to the University of North Carolina's National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research.

Though participation is slowly declining, football is still the country's most popular high school sport. Over a million high schoolers played last season.

Researchers at UNC have been tracking football-related deaths since the 1960s. Director Kristen Kucera describes two main tallies: deaths caused directly by football, like a broken spine or brain trauma, and those that are indirect like heat stroke or sudden cardiac arrest that occurred during a game or practice.

The good news is that there are fewer fatalities than there used to be. Back in the 1960s, around 30 or 40 players died each year. Then came a steep decline thanks to new safety measures: a standardized helmet that must be certified for use in a game; a rule banning headfirst tackling; and improvements in athletic medical care.

But instead of dropping to nil, the number of football-related fatalities leveled off in the 1990s. Since then, a persistent average of about four or five football players have died each year as a direct result of playing their sport, along with an average of 10 or so indirect fatalities.

When asked why the numbers have leveled off instead of reaching zero, Kucera hesitates. "That's a great question," she says. "That's what we're working really hard to figure out."

One player who died this year was Cam'ron Matthews, a 16-year-old from Alto, Texas.

On a Friday night in November, one month after Matthews died, the Alto Yellowjackets bounded out of their black-and-yellow inflated tent through an artificial cloud of mist and onto the field. There was no trace of sadness. They were focused on winning.

Alto is a small town of about 1,200, and on Friday nights it feels like everyone comes to watch the boys play. Some parents like Misty Collins get there early to stake out a spot on the metal bleachers. Collins was there Oct. 16, when Matthews told the coach he felt dizzy, then collapsed on the sideline.

"We just all prayed," she remembered. "We prayed that he was going to be OK, but the good Lord took an angel that was down here on Earth."

That's how people who knew Matthews talk about him. The 6-foot safety was one of the team's captains. He was the only junior elected.

"He's our number one, that was his jersey number," Collins said. "He was an awesome student, and very polite, and anything that came out of his mouth was 'Yes, ma'am' and 'No, ma'am.' He was an awesome guy."

After he collapsed, medics took Matthews to a hospital in East Texas, where he died the next day.

Doctors told the family he likely died from a burst brain aneurysm, though they're still waiting for an autopsy to confirm that.

A fatal aneurysm could be related to football or other vigorous activity, according to Robert Cantu, a neurosurgeon in Concord, Mass., who specializes in football injuries. That activity could cause an aneurysm, which is a weak area in the wall of an artery, to burst, which in turn could cause dizziness, collapse and death. Aneurysms can run in families, but are "very uncommon" in 16-year-olds, Cantu says.

Matthews' friend and teammate Keenan Johnson said it's been hard to get back in the groove. But instead of falling apart, he says, the team has pulled together.

"It hurts that he's not here," Johnson says. "He's one of my closest friends, and we worked out all summer. But we dedicate it to him. We're trying to win the state championship for him, be number one for him."

In the playoff game in November, the Yellowjackets faced a longtime rival – the Groveton Indians. And Matthews was on the sidelines, in a way. His number 1 jersey was perched on a wooden hanger. His sister Paige sat in the bleachers at the 50-yard line. The team won 63 to 14.

Parents rushed onto the field to thank head coach Paul Gould. Gould says he's proud of how the players are handling their teammate's death.

"I think they're doing probably about as good as possible, but this is something they're going to deal with for the rest of their lives," he says.

Gould knows parents are concerned about injuries associated with football, especially concussions. This year the governing body for high school sports in Texas says it will start counting concussions for the first time.

This month, the American Academy of Pediatrics made new recommendations about safety and urged players to consider "whether the benefits of playing outweigh the risks of possible injury." The AAP is urging the expansion of non-tackle leagues like flag football and calling for athletic trainers to be present during practices and games. Only 37 percent of high school nationwide have a full time athletic trainer on staff.

Two University of Minnesota professors have gone even further, calling for the elimination of tackle football programs from public schools altogether.

"Everybody wants their kids to be safe. Everybody wants their kids to be OK, and I understand that," Gould says. "We try to make sure we coach kids to hit the correct way. You try to make your kids as safe as possible, because that's our job."

After Matthews died, Gould says not a single parent pulled their kid from the team. He hopes what happened doesn't fuel negative ideas about the game.

"I can say this: What football teaches kids for the rest of their life, in my opinion, is priceless," Gould says. "I mean, it teaches you to deal with things. This situation is definitely teaching our kids to deal with things as they move forward."

But players who have been involved in a fatal play say the experience will haunt them forever.

Back in 1989, Brad Gaines was a star running back at Vanderbilt University. Then came October 28, a date Gaines will never forget. It was a must-win game at Ole Miss in Oxford.

Vanderbilt received the opening kickoff and drove down the field. On third and goal at the 12-yard line, Gaines and the Commodores lined up for a play designed to pass the ball to Gaines.

The ball snapped and his quarterback threw the pass. An Ole Miss linebacker was close on Gaines's tail.

"As soon as the ball reaches me, reaches my hands ... bang!" Gaines remembers. "Just a fantastic hit from the back, and breaks up the pass, and [the linebacker] just makes a great play."

Gaines headed back to the sideline, then noticed the linebacker hadn't yet gotten back up. At first, Gaines thought this was another of football's routine injuries. A sprained ankle, maybe. But five minutes went by. Ten minutes. The linebacker was still lying on the field, surrounded by trainers and medical staff. Maybe a broken arm, Gaines thought.

Finally Gaines realized it was something more serious when a helicopter ambulance arrived to take the linebacker to Memphis, about 70 miles away.

Later he learned the linebacker's name — Chucky Mullins — and his injury: Mullins had broken his spine and could not move any of his limbs.

"I had the doctor tell me sometime later that when they got him stabilized, when they got him into surgery... his neck looked as if you dropped a grenade down his shirt."

Gaines was horrified.

"The only thing I knew was you strapped up your cleats before practice, you went out and played and it was fun. I didn't know that there was this other part to this game," says Gaines, now 48 and living in Nashville, where he works in health care.

"In an instant, he goes from being a world-class athlete in the best conference in America, and now he's laying on his back, and he'll never move again. He will not be able to brush his teeth. He will not be able to wash his hair. He will never be able to feed himself. And I just felt like I was the cause of that."

Against the advice of his coach and a psychologist, Gaines decided to visit Mullins in the hospital. He was scared to death, petrified, he says, and not prepared for what he saw when he walked in: a much skinnier Mullins, with "cords, tubes, things hanging out of him."

Mullins's guardian was there, and told Gaines that Mullins had something he wanted to tell him.

Gaines leaned over to hear Mullins whisper through his tracheal tube: "It's not your fault."

"And oh my goodness," Gaines remembers. "It's tough saying it now, but I tell you, it was a total selfless act on his part. I don't know if I could have done that."

Gaines and Mullins remained friends for the following year and half, until Mullins died of complications in 1991. Every year still, he drives to Mullins's grave on October 28, the anniversary of the game, and on Christmas.

Today, Gaines regularly receives phone calls from players like him — players, often teenagers, who make a routine play or tackle that ends with an opponent's death. Gaines is one of few people they can turn to who actually understands what they're going through, and he's happy to help.

"What I learned from Chucky Mullins was that selfless nature. It's not about me. It's not about Brad Gaines. I can help people. So if somebody calls me and asks me that's going through something like this, or needs some advice, or counsel, then that's my duty."

Gaines thinks the game is safer today, thanks to things like better concussion protocol and the new kickoff positions that mean fewer kickoff returns. But he still calls himself a football purist. He says he couldn't tell his 11-year-old son not to play football.

"I know that it's not the game's fault. I know that. And I know that there are going to be injuries," Gaines says. "But when you love the game, you accept that. You accept that there could be consequences like this."



“Researchers at UNC have been tracking football-related deaths since the 1960s. Director Kristen Kucera describes two main tallies: deaths caused directly by football, like a broken spine or brain trauma, and those that are indirect like heat stroke or sudden cardiac arrest that occurred during a game or practice. The good news is that there are fewer fatalities than there used to be. Back in the 1960s, around 30 or 40 players died each year. Then came a steep decline thanks to new safety measures: a standardized helmet that must be certified for use in a game; a rule banning headfirst tackling; and improvements in athletic medical care.But instead of dropping to nil, the number of football-related fatalities leveled off in the 1990s. Since then, a persistent average of about four or five football players have died each year as a direct result of playing their sport, along with an average of 10 or so indirect fatalities….. A fatal aneurysm could be related to football or other vigorous activity, according to Robert Cantu, a neurosurgeon in Concord, Mass., who specializes in football injuries. That activity could cause an aneurysm, which is a weak area in the wall of an artery, to burst, which in turn could cause dizziness, collapse and death. Aneurysms can run in families, but are "very uncommon" in 16-year-olds, Cantu says. …. Gould knows parents are concerned about injuries associated with football, especially concussions. This year the governing body for high school sports in Texas says it will start counting concussions for the first time. This month, the American Academy of Pediatrics made new recommendations about safety and urged players to consider "whether the benefits of playing outweigh the risks of possible injury." The AAP is urging the expansion of non-tackle leagues like flag football and calling for athletic trainers to be present during practices and games. Only 37 percent of high school nationwide have a full time athletic trainer on staff. Two University of Minnesota professors have gone even further, calling for the elimination of tackle football programs from public schools altogether. …. "I can say this: What football teaches kids for the rest of their life, in my opinion, is priceless," Gould says. "I mean, it teaches you to deal with things. This situation is definitely teaching our kids to deal with things as they move forward." But players who have been involved in a fatal play say the experience will haunt them forever. ….


“Later he learned the linebacker's name — Chucky Mullins — and his injury: Mullins had broken his spine and could not move any of his limbs. "I had the doctor tell me sometime later that when they got him stabilized, when they got him into surgery... his neck looked as if you dropped a grenade down his shirt." Gaines was horrified. … The AAP is urging the expansion of non-tackle leagues like flag football and calling for athletic trainers to be present during practices and games. Only 37 percent of high school nationwide have a full time athletic trainer on staff. Two University of Minnesota professors have gone even further, calling for the elimination of tackle football programs from public schools altogether.”

Personally, while I think being brave and psychologically prepared to face life is vitally important, many kids in my parents’ generation went through that life change by getting a job while still in school and taking on responsibilities. I think that is a better way of maturing. I feel that there is too great an emphasis on competition in general in this country, especially during high school when they should be getting ready for a challenging series of college courses with the goal of getting a degree of some kind, and one that leads to their helping mankind during their lifetime if possible.

As for the exercise value of football, “flag football” sounds like fun, and basketball is probably a better and certainly more aerobic exercise. It’s also much more exciting than football to me. I think the two college professors who are mentioned without their names -- a fact which annoys me more than a little -- in the article above are correct, that this game of football as we play it is too rough for young bodies. Soccer is also rough, though there’s no tackling, because of the practice called “heading,” and ice hockey has degenerated into an excuse for a fight between the players. That makes it less interesting to me, not more so, but to our violence prone citizens it is clearly an improvement. Hockey players are big heroes, just like football players. I would like to see Americans be more intellectually inclined in general. If they want to compete they could join a chess club. (Personally, I don’t want to compete, so I’m just going to write admittedly biased comments on news articles, some more snarky than others.)