November 30, 2015


News Clips For the Day


http://news.yahoo.com/planned-parenthood-shooting-iraq-war-veteran-144049002.html#

Iraq War veteran killed at Planned Parenthood was trying to save others, his family says
By Dylan Stableford, Yahoo News
November 30, 2015

Photograph -- Iraq War vet killed in Colorado shooting

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Iraq Veteran Killed In Colorado Shooting Leaves Behind Children In Texas CBS Dallas Fort Worth (RSS)
Man killed in Colorado shooting was veteran, served in Iraq Associated Press
The Latest: Victim of Colorado clinic shooting was Iraq vet Associated Press
The Latest: Documents sealed in Planned Parenthood attack Associated Press
Stay-at-home mom, Iraq war veteran named as Colorado clinic fatalities Reuters
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An Iraq War veteran was killed in Friday's shootings at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., while trying to save others, family members said.

Ke'Arre Stewart, a 29-year-old who served in the U.S. Army's Fourth Infantry Division, had stepped outside the clinic to get cellphone service when he was shot, his brother, Leyonte Chandler, told NBC News.

Stewart then ran back inside to try to help others.

"He tried to run back inside the building — well, he did — and tell the other people inside, you know, 'Take cover, get down.' People started taking cover, hiding in bathrooms and whatnot," Chandler said. "I believe that's his military instinct, you know: Leave no soldier behind, leave no civilian behind, just leave no one behind. I don't know where he was at, as far as how many more breaths he had, but he knew. And before his time ran out, I guess that was his main priority: to help and save other lives."

"He was just a standup guy; he would take a bullet for you," Amburh Butler, a lifelong friend, told The Associated Press. "He was the most sincere person I'd ever met."

Chandler added: "People were terrified, people were crying and scared, seeing other people get shot ... I believe my brother put his life on the line to prevent that. That's definitely heroic."

Stewart, a father of two young girls, was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs until 2014, when he was discharged.

Chandler called his brother "a tremendous father, a wonderful father."

Stewart was one of three people killed after the alleged gunman, 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear, opened fire at the clinic.

Garrett Swasey, a police officer at the University of Colorado's Colorado Springs campus, was killed while responding to the call to assist with an active shooter at the nearby clinic.

Swasey, a 44-year-old married father of two, was a co-pastor at a local evangelical church and a former competitive figure skater who won a national championship as a junior.

"He was literally like a little brother to me," figure skater and Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan said Sunday. "I saw him every day. We trained together."

Jennifer Markovsky, a 36-year-old mother of two, was killed while accompanying a friend to the clinic, her father, John Ah-King, told the Denver Post.

"I miss you, my daughter," he wrote on Facebook. "Life was too short."

Five other officers and four other civilians were wounded in the attack.

Dear is expected to appear in court Monday.



http://news.yahoo.com/latest-planned-parenthood-shooting-suspect-due-court-141237915.html

The Latest: Documents sealed in Planned Parenthood attack
AP November 30, 2015


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The latest on the shooting at a Colorado Planned Parenthood clinic (all times local):

Related Stories

The Latest: Lynch: Clinic shooting crime against women Associated Press
The Latest: Victim of Colorado clinic shooting was Iraq vet Associated Press
Suspect in Colorado clinic shooting to appear in court Associated Press
Planned Parenthood says Colorado shooter opposed abortion Reuters
Planned Parenthood Shooting Appears To Have Been Politically Motivated Huffington Post

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10:35 a.m.

A judge has sealed court documents for a man accused of killing three people, including a police officer, at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs.

Acting at the request of prosecutors, Judge Stephen J. Sletta issued the order sealing the arrest warrant for 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear and the search warrant for his home. The order was made available Monday after being issued Friday, the day of the attack.

Such documents detail evidence gathered by investigators that justify arresting suspects and searching property.

Prosecutors said making them public would jeopardize the ongoing investigation.

The judge agreed to keep the records sealed until the termination of the case or a further order of the court.

7 a.m.

The man accused of opening fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs is set to make his first court appearance Monday.

Fifty-seven-year-old Robert Lewis Dear is scheduled to appear at 1:30 p.m. before a judge in a video hearing. He'll be advised of the charges that could be filed against him.

Dear is accused of killing a police officer and two civilians — an Iraq war veteran and a mother of two — who were accompanying separate friends to the clinic. The rampage touched off an hours-long standoff and shootout Friday that also left nine other people in the hospital.



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/planned-parenthood-shooting-appears-to-have-been-politically-motivated_565a60cfe4b079b2818a98ab

Planned Parenthood Shooting Appears To Have Been Politically Motivated
After he killed 3 people and was arrested, Robert Lewis Dear said, "no more baby parts."

AP/HuffPost
Posted: 11/28/2015


COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- The man who police say staged a deadly shooting attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic that offers abortion services said "no more baby parts" after his arrest, a law enforcement official said Saturday.

The official could not elaborate about the comment by the 57-year-old suspect, Robert Lewis Dear. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Planned Parenthood said late Saturday that witnesses said the gunman was motivated by his opposition to abortion. An official who has been briefed on the investigation told The Washington Post that the attack was "definitely politically motivated."

Police, however, have not disclosed a motive for Friday's attack during which they say Dear stormed the Colorado Springs clinic, killing three people, including a police officer, before he surrendered to authorities.

Attorney General Loretta Lynch released a statement on Saturday evening, describing the attack as "not only a crime against the Colorado Springs community, but a crime against women receiving healthcare services at Planned Parenthood, law enforcement seeking to protect and serve, and other innocent people."

The attack thrust the clinic to the center of the ongoing debate over Planned Parenthood, which was re-ignited in July when anti-abortion activists released undercover video they said showed the organization's personnel negotiating the sale of fetal organs.

Planned Parenthood has denied seeking any payments beyond legally permitted reimbursement costs for donating the organs to researchers. Still, the National Abortion Federation says it has since seen a rise in threats at clinics nationwide.

The anti-abortion activists, part of a group called the Center for Medical Progress, denounced the "barbaric killing spree in Colorado Springs by a violent madman" and offered prayers for the dead and wounded and for their families.

The facility provides women's health services and has long been the site of regular anti-abortion protests. A Roman Catholic priest who has held weekly Mass in front of the clinic for 20 years said Dear wasn't part of his group.

"I don't know him from Adam," said Rev. Bill Carmody. "I don't recognize him at all."

Dear, who was in custody and is expected to make his first court appearance Monday, was described by neighbors as reclusive. They said he stashed food in the woods, avoided eye contact and warned neighbors about government spying.

At a vigil Saturday at All Souls Unitarian Church, Rev. Nori Rost called the gunman a "domestic terrorist." In the back of the room, someone held a sign that said: "Women's bodies are not battlefields. Neither is our town."

Vicki Cowart, the regional head of Planned Parenthood, drew a standing ovation when she walked to the pulpit. She promised to quickly reopen the clinic. "We will adapt. We will square our shoulders and we will go on," she said.

After her remarks, a woman in the audience stood up, objected to the vigil becoming a "political statement" and left.

Cowart said the gunman "broke in" to the clinic Friday but didn't get past a locked door leading to the main part of the facility. She said there was no armed security when the shooting began. He later surrendered to police after an hours-long standoff.

In the parking lot of the two-story building, one man said the gunman shot at him as he pulled his car out, blasting two holes in his windshield. Inside, one worker ducked under a table and called her brother to tell him to take care of her kids if she was killed.

At one point, an officer whispered reports into his radio as he crept through the building. Others relayed information from surveillance cameras and victims in hiding. "We've got a report of a victim texting from just east of the lobby," someone said.

In the end, a six-year veteran University of Colorado police officer was killed. Two civilians also died, though their identities weren't immediately released. Five other officers and four people were hospitalized.

Cowart said all 15 clinic employees survived and worked hard to make sure everyone else got into safe spaces and stayed quiet.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said the city is mourning and praised the bravery of first responders. He said the nation is wrestling with the causes of violence but that it's too early to discuss that while the city is reeling.

"This is the kind of thing that hits the entire community in the gut," he said.

Cowart said the organization would learn from the attack. When asked if the clinic should have more security, she said the clinic's clients shouldn't have to walk through metal detectors.

The attack marked the latest mass shooting to stun the nation, and drew the now-familiar questions about a gunman's motives and whether anyone, from government to relatives, could have done anything to prevent an attack.

In a Saturday morning statement, President Barack Obama addressed the shooting. "The last thing Americans should have to do, over the holidays or any day, is comfort the families of people killed by gun violence," he said. "And yet, two days after Thanksgiving, that’s what we are forced to do again."

The president said that something needed to be done about the "easy accessibility of weapons of war."

"This is not normal," Obama said. "We can’t let it become normal."

Those who knew the 6-foot-4-inch, 250-pound Dear said he seemed to have few religious or political leanings.

Neighbors who lived beside Dear's former South Carolina home say he hid food in the woods as if he was a survivalist and said he lived off selling prints of his uncle's paintings of Southern plantations and the Masters golf tournament.

John Hood said Saturday that when he moved to Walterboro, Dear was living in a doublewide mobile home next door. Hood said Dear seemed to be a loner and very strange but not dangerous.

He pointed to a wooden fence separating their land and said he put it up because Dear liked to skinny dip.

Hood said that Dear rarely talked to them, and when he did, he tended to offer unsolicited advice such as recommending that Hood put a metal roof on his house so the U.S. government couldn't spy on him.

"He was really strange and out there, but I never thought he would do any harm," he said.

Dear also lived part of the time in a cabin with no electricity or running water in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He kept mostly to himself, his neighbors said. When he did talk, it was a rambling combination of a number of topics that didn't make sense.

He tended to avoid eye contact, said James Russell, who lived a few hundred feet down the mountain from Dear's cabin.

"If you talked to him, nothing with him was very cognitive," Russell said.

Other neighbors knew Dear, too, but they didn't want to give their names because they said they were scared of him.

Russell and others said the only companion they saw with him was a mangy dog that looked to be in such bad shape they called animal control because they worried he was beating it.

In the small town of Hartsel, Colorado, about 60 miles west of Colorado Springs, about a dozen police vehicles and fire trucks were parked outside a small white trailer belonging to Dear located on a sprawling swath of land.

Property records indicate Dear purchased the land about a year ago.

Another law enforcement official said authorities searched the trailer Saturday but found no explosives. The official, who has direct knowledge of the case, said authorities also talked with a woman who was living in the trailer. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.

Zigmond Post, who lives near the RV where Dear lived, said he didn't have many interactions with Dear but he said the suspect once gave him a pamphlet opposing President Barack Obama.

"He didn't talk about them or anything. He just said 'Look them over when you get a chance,'" Post said.

Jamie Heffelman, owner of the Highline Cafe in Hartsel, said residents would occasionally see Dear at the post office to get his mail but he never said much. "Nobody really knows him. He stays to himself," she said.

MORE: Colorado Springs, Colorado Shooting, Colorado Springs Shooting, Colorado Planned Parenthood, Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood, Colorado Planned Parenthood Shooting, Colorado Planned Parenthood Attack, Planned Parenthood Shooting



Hero -- “Ke'Arre Stewart, a 29-year-old who served in the U.S. Army's Fourth Infantry Division, had stepped outside the clinic to get cellphone service when he was shot, his brother, Leyonte Chandler, told NBC News. Stewart then ran back inside to try to help others. …. "He was just a standup guy; he would take a bullet for you," Amburh Butler, a lifelong friend, told The Associated Press. "He was the most sincere person I'd ever met." Chandler added: "People were terrified, people were crying and scared, seeing other people get shot ... I believe my brother put his life on the line to prevent that. That's definitely heroic." …. Stewart, a father of two young girls, was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs until 2014, when he was discharged. Chandler called his brother "a tremendous father, a wonderful father."


Documents – “Acting at the request of prosecutors, Judge Stephen J. Sletta issued the order sealing the arrest warrant for 57-year-old Robert Lewis Dear and the search warrant for his home. The order was made available Monday after being issued Friday, the day of the attack. Such documents detail evidence gathered by investigators that justify arresting suspects and searching property. Prosecutors said making them public would jeopardize the ongoing investigation.”


Political -- “Planned Parenthood said late Saturday that witnesses said the gunman was motivated by his opposition to abortion. An official who has been briefed on the investigation told The Washington Post that the attack was "definitely politically motivated." …. Attorney General Loretta Lynch released a statement on Saturday evening, describing the attack as "not only a crime against the Colorado Springs community, but a crime against women receiving healthcare services at Planned Parenthood, law enforcement seeking to protect and serve, and other innocent people." The attack thrust the clinic to the center of the ongoing debate over Planned Parenthood, which was re-ignited in July when anti-abortion activists released undercover video they said showed the organization's personnel negotiating the sale of fetal organs. Planned Parenthood has denied seeking any payments beyond legally permitted reimbursement costs for donating the organs to researchers. Still, the National Abortion Federation says it has since seen a rise in threats at clinics nationwide. …. The anti-abortion activists, part of a group called the Center for Medical Progress, denounced the "barbaric killing spree in Colorado Springs by a violent madman" and offered prayers for the dead and wounded and for their families. .… A Roman Catholic priest who has held weekly Mass in front of the clinic for 20 years said Dear wasn't part of his group. "I don't know him from Adam," said Rev. Bill Carmody. "I don't recognize him at all." …. Vicki Cowart, the regional head of Planned Parenthood, drew a standing ovation when she walked to the pulpit. She promised to quickly reopen the clinic. "We will adapt. We will square our shoulders and we will go on," she said. After her remarks, a woman in the audience stood up, objected to the vigil becoming a "political statement" and left. …. The president said that something needed to be done about the "easy accessibility of weapons of war." "This is not normal," Obama said. "We can’t let it become normal." …. Neighbors who lived beside Dear's former South Carolina home say he hid food in the woods as if he was a survivalist and said he lived off selling prints of his uncle's paintings of Southern plantations and the Masters golf tournament. John Hood said Saturday that when he moved to Walterboro, Dear was living in a doublewide mobile home next door. Hood said Dear seemed to be a loner and very strange but not dangerous. He pointed to a wooden fence separating their land and said he put it up because Dear liked to skinny dip. …. Hood said that Dear rarely talked to them, and when he did, he tended to offer unsolicited advice such as recommending that Hood put a metal roof on his house so the U.S. government couldn't spy on him. "He was really strange and out there, but I never thought he would do any harm," he said.” …. Other neighbors knew Dear, too, but they didn't want to give their names because they said they were scared of him. Russell and others said the only companion they saw with him was a mangy dog that looked to be in such bad shape they called animal control because they worried he was beating it. …. Zigmond Post, who lives near the RV where Dear lived, said he didn't have many interactions with Dear but he said the suspect once gave him a pamphlet opposing President Barack Obama. "He didn't talk about them or anything. He just said 'Look them over when you get a chance,'" Post said.”


The husband of a woman friend of mine gave me a pamphlet similarly denouncing President Obama a couple of years ago, along with a highly energetic spiel about his not being an American citizen, etc. He was a Fundamentalist Christian and a Republican. I just handed the booklet back to him and said I didn’t want it, and that I am a Democrat. He said no more. He and his wife were growing a backyard garden, keeping chickens and bees, which I thought was cool until I heard him say that they were preparing for the government’s upcoming takeover by leftist forces waging war on the citizens. This was not something that was new to me, but having lived in Washington DC, I had been away from it for about 25 years. It is the same viewpoint of the 1950’s and 60’s when “creeping communism” was the fear of the day. McCarthyism and the “Law and Order” presidency of Richard Nixon set the stage for today’s often unnecessary police violence and the more bizarre Tea Party related movements. The one that comes to mind right now is the Sovereign Citizens mania. I call it a mania, but it is becoming a movement as tiny towns are being targeted by the “Sovereign Citizens” via the Internet for migration into those areas, and then they begin to vote in local and state elections to establish control. They are very “conservative.” What frightens me about that particular thing is that it is not actually illegal for a group to purposely come in and just take over as long as it isn’t done by force.

My NC friend graduated from a North Carolina state college in the mountains, where he studied sports and physical education. He became a teacher and coached the high school wrestling team. He was a nice man with a good sense of humor and apparently sane, but not untainted by the paranoia which is gripping our country now. Those flames are being fanned by fanaticism and ignorance. It is quite possible to get a college degree while failing to change ones’ mind about anything important, thus remaining “ignorant.” Just holding beliefs like that does not automatically make people “dangerous” or “insane.” It is, however, a step in the wrong direction if enough of our citizenry do that.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/freddie-gray-case-to-draw-from-pool-of-80-potential-jurors-black-and-white/

Freddie Gray case to draw from pool of 80 potential jurors, black and white
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
November 30, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Jury selection in first Freddie Gray trial starts Monday


The jury selection process began Monday in Baltimore in the first trial related to the arrest and death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray while he was in police custody in April.

Officer William Porter, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and has pleaded not guilty, is the first of six police officers to be tried in the case.

Eighty potential jurors poured into a Baltimore courtroom Monday while about 20 people protested outside as the selection process began.

Every juror was familiar with the Gray case, the riots and curfew that followed Gray's death and the $6.4 million civil settlement that the city reached with his family.

The defense had argued for the trial to be moved outside of Baltimore because of the effect the case had on the city's residents.

Half of the jury pool is black and half is white and the group is evenly split between men and women, with a range of ages represented.

Only a few jurors knew some of the 150 potential witnesses the judge read from a list. Half of the potential jurors said that they had either been a victim of a crime, charged with a crime or other contact with law enforcement.

Potential jurors will now be questioned individually. Once they are seated, the judge has ruled that they will remain anonymous, but won't be sequestered during their service.

Gray suffered a severe spinal injury while he was in police custody on April 12 and died a week later. His death triggered citywide protests and violence for several days.

The judge said the trial will begin in a few days and won't go past Dec. 17.



“Officer William Porter, who was charged with involuntary manslaughter and has pleaded not guilty, is the first of six police officers to be tried in the case. Eighty potential jurors poured into a Baltimore courtroom Monday while about 20 people protested outside as the selection process began. …. Half of the jury pool is black and half is white and the group is evenly split between men and women, with a range of ages represented. Only a few jurors knew some of the 150 potential witnesses the judge read from a list. Half of the potential jurors said that they had either been a victim of a crime, charged with a crime or other contact with law enforcement. …. Once they are seated, the judge has ruled that they will remain anonymous, but won't be sequestered during their service.”


This is the most malicious case of police misconduct in my opinion which has come to light since Ferguson. The so-called “rough ride” is a totally abusive example of police “punishing” a citizen for some infraction. It is not their place to punish anyone, but to arrest them and gather evidence of whatever crime has been charged. The judge and jury are to decide on the guilt or innocence and then see that justice is administered. I think the Black Lives Matter movement is appropriate and timely. For your information go to their website at blacklivesmatter.com. Their tenets and policy statements are outlined there, and it is not a political rant at all. It’s very impressive.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-finds-peace-corps-volunteers-blamed-fired-after-reporting-sexual-assault/

Peace Corps volunteers blamed, punished for reporting sexual assault?
CBS NEWS
November 30, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Peace Corps accused of ignoring rape victims


Nearly 7,000 Peace Corps currently serve in about 65 countries. Roughly one in five of them is sexually assaulted during that service, according to the results of a recent anonymous Peace Corps safety questionnaire, obtained exclusively by CBS News.

The report also shows that nearly half don't report the assaults.

Pressure to change a culture of victim-blaming goes back years, but some survivors still claim they are blamed or punished. One volunteer wrote that in reporting an assault, "I made myself a target."

"My thought was they're going to rape me. These men are going to rape me," said Danae Smith, who volunteered in the remote Dominican Republic town of Los Mosquitos for eight months.

In April, two men with machetes forced the 23-year-old off the village's main road. Smith got away and reported the assault to the Peace Corps and within a week, the agency told her she was going home.

"They also told me that my attack had occurred because I had been walking in my site and that as a volunteer, it was my job to have been more proactive to prevent it from happening," Smith said.

More than 500 volunteers have reported experiencing a sexual assault in a little over two years. CBS News spoke with nearly a dozen who questioned how their recent cases were handled. They told us they felt criticized and were threatened they would be fired.

Five years ago, the Peace Corps - a government agency - faced intense scrutiny over its response to sexual assaults. Congress passed a law and the agency's director at the time vowed change.

"I hired a nationally recognized leader in victims' rights to be our first agency's victim advocate," former Peace Corps director Aaron Williams said during a congressional hearing in 2011.

That leader was Kellie Green.

"I'm getting phone calls and I'm getting emails from returned volunteers that are in tears because they can't get the help that they need," Green said.

CBS News found some Peace Corps employees attempting to limit the number of in-country counseling sessions for sexual assault survivors to a maximum of six.

Peace Corps volunteers detail sexual assaults

Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault?
In one 2014 email, a Peace Corps clinical psychologist said of a volunteer: the "need for ongoing therapy is an indication" the volunteer was "not a good fit for Peace Corps Service."

After another volunteer asked for additional counseling, a Peace Corps medical officer sent an email saying, "I'm sure this will make no difference in her behavior."

"I pushed the agency to really do what they have the capability of doing," Green said. "And that's what's so frustrating because they have the ability to do this and it is a choice not to."

Earlier this month, the Peace Corps suspended her without pay for allegedly creating a hostile work environment. But Green says she was punished for standing up for the victims she was hired to protect.

Bonnie Scott was a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania. Earlier this year, she says she alerted Peace Corps that one of its American officials was allegedly sexually assaulting Albanian women.

But shortly after the official sent this email saying he was resigning for personal reasons, the Peace Corps fired Scott for improperly filling out paperwork.

"He was given the option to resign rather than face misconduct charges, which meant that everything would be covered up," said Scott. "They basically kicked me out, 10 days after they let this sex offender just resign," Scott said.

Inspector General reports show multiple cases of Peace Corps personnel - accused in sexual assaults - resigning ahead of administrative action, then being allowed to re-apply to the agency.

A 2014 Inspector General report warned the Peace Corps' screening process for re-hiring was not detecting past misconduct.

One volunteer who admitted to violating the agency's sexual assault policy was later hired to work at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"That person is no longer employed by Peace Corps. But I will also say that we are putting in place systems, mechanisms that will make sure that that does not happen again in the future," said Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. "This is unacceptable to us and we are trying to change the culture."

Hessler-Radelet also added 96 percent of volunteers questioned for a sexual assault response quality assurance survey indicated they are "satisfied with their services."

That anonymous survey was sent to 183 people. Just 52 responded.

"We have made enormous progress, but it is a huge task and every single day we are providing better care," Hessler-Radelet said.

But Danae Smith feels only disappointment.

"I feel like Peace Corps failed me every step of the way," she said.

So far, the Peace Corps says it has instituted more than 30 reforms regarding sexual assault, and works to retrain employees who appear unsympathetic to trauma victims.

Green is pursuing whistleblower protection, but the Peace Corps disputes any claims that it retaliated against her.



"They also told me that my attack had occurred because I had been walking in my site and that as a volunteer, it was my job to have been more proactive to prevent it from happening," Smith said. …. Five years ago, the Peace Corps - a government agency - faced intense scrutiny over its response to sexual assaults. Congress passed a law and the agency's director at the time vowed change. "I hired a nationally recognized leader in victims' rights to be our first agency's victim advocate," former Peace Corps director Aaron Williams said during a congressional hearing in 2011. That leader was Kellie Green. …. CBS News found some Peace Corps employees attempting to limit the number of in-country counseling sessions for sexual assault survivors to a maximum of six. Peace Corps volunteers detail sexual assaults. Where are Peace Corps volunteers most at risk of sexual assault? In one 2014 email, a Peace Corps clinical psychologist said of a volunteer: the "need for ongoing therapy is an indication" the volunteer was "not a good fit for Peace Corps Service." …. "I pushed the agency to really do what they have the capability of doing," Green said. "And that's what's so frustrating because they have the ability to do this and it is a choice not to." Earlier this month, the Peace Corps suspended her without pay for allegedly creating a hostile work environment. But Green says she was punished for standing up for the victims she was hired to protect. …. But shortly after the official sent this email saying he was resigning for personal reasons, the Peace Corps fired Scott for improperly filling out paperwork. "He was given the option to resign rather than face misconduct charges, which meant that everything would be covered up," said Scott. "They basically kicked me out, 10 days after they let this sex offender just resign," Scott said. …. - resigning ahead of administrative action, then being allowed to re-apply to the agency. A 2014 Inspector General report warned the Peace Corps' screening process for re-hiring was not detecting past misconduct. …. said Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. "This is unacceptable to us and we are trying to change the culture." Hessler-Radelet also added 96 percent of volunteers questioned for a sexual assault response quality assurance survey indicated they are "satisfied with their services." That anonymous survey was sent to 183 people. Just 52 responded. …. "I feel like Peace Corps failed me every step of the way," she said. So far, the Peace Corps says it has instituted more than 30 reforms regarding sexual assault, and works to retrain employees who appear unsympathetic to trauma victims. Green is pursuing whistleblower protection, but the Peace Corps disputes any claims that it retaliated against her.”


Last time I read an article like this one it concerned the army, with superior officers often being the rapists. Whenever women go out their front doors they run the risk of sexual assault. We must have a very randy male population here. Of course, men always say “she wanted it” and give as evidence the way the woman was dressed. Even if a woman is dressed provocatively a man doesn’t have a right to take her against her EXPRESSED will. We have to learn that no means NO, and furthermore, “Maybe” doesn’t mean “yes” either.





http://www.npr.org/2015/11/30/457889016/post-paris-obama-administration-changes-visa-waiver-program

After Paris, Obama Administration Changes Visa Waiver Program
By Shirley Henry and Domenico Montanaro
November 30, 2015

Photograph -- President Obama and French President Francois Hollande place flowers at the Bataclan, site of one of the Paris terrorists attacks. Obama is in Paris for a climate-change conference.
Evan Vucci/AP


The Obama administration has announced some changes to the visa waiver program, which allows travelers from some 38 countries including France, Belgium and other European countries, to come to the U.S. without a visa.

The White House announced several steps, including attempting better tracking of past travel, fines for airlines that don't verify passport data, assisting other countries on the screening of refugees and with border security.

It is also promising reports to the president in two months from the State Department and the FBI about how to include better fingerprinting and photographing, as well as an evaluation of the state of intelligence coordination between the U.S. and its allies.

The visa waiver program has come under scrutiny in the wake of the Paris attacks as a possible security gap — the idea being that Europeans, for example, who've gone to Syria to train with ISIS could then easily slip into the U.S. because of this program. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working on legislation aimed at tightening the program.

See below for some steps the administration is taking unilaterally, per a White House release. The White House has also indicated it is working with Congress on further changes:

"New Changes Announced Today

"Given the terrorist attacks in Paris and the ongoing threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, the United States is aggressively strengthening its Visa Waiver Program and bolstering our relationships with VWP partners by immediately moving forward on the following administrative actions:

"• DHS will immediately take steps to modify its Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications to capture information from VWP travelers regarding any past travel to countries constituting a terrorist safe haven. The Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, will identify and regularly review these countries so that traveler risk assessments can be made on the most up-to-date information.

"• The Department of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of State and other appropriate agencies will accelerate its review process for VWP partner countries and within 60 days, will provide a full report to the President:

"• Identifying possible pilot programs designed to assess the collection and use of biometrics (fingerprints and/or photographs) in the VWP to effectively increase security; and

"• Identifying any countries that are deficient in key areas of cooperation, along with recommended options to engender compliance using a range of penalties and incentives available under his current authority including the more frequent submission of ESTAs and/or the suspension of ESTA issuances (new and/or renewals) for citizens of countries that fail to meet key metrics.

"• The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation will evaluate the terrorism information sharing that occurs between the United States and VWP countries, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and provide a report to the President of the United States within 60 days identifying options to mitigate any deficiencies.

"• DHS will offer assistance to countries to better facilitate terrorism information sharing, specifically to include biometric pilots. For example, DHS and the Terrorist Screening Center will assist all interested VWP countries in screening refugees or asylum seekers, including through the application of extensive terrorism information already provided to VWP members and through piloting capability for conducting near real time biometric checks.

"• The Secretaries of DHS, State, and Commerce will promote the Global Entry program among VWP partners to further expand this trusted traveler program, which includes biometrics.

"• The Secretary of Homeland Security will work with Congress to seek authority to increase Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) fines from $5,000 to $50,000 for air carriers that fail to verify a traveler's passport data.

"• The Departments of Homeland Security and State, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. intelligence community elements will deploy Foreign Fighter Surge Teams to work with countries to counter terrorist travel.

"• The Departments of Homeland Security and State will encourage and provide assistance as needed to enhance border security and legislation related to FTFs of our partner countries, and encourage more robust information sharing, better use of shared information, and more effective and efficient coordination between our partners."




“The White House announced several steps, including attempting better tracking of past travel, fines for airlines that don't verify passport data, assisting other countries on the screening of refugees and with border security. It is also promising reports to the president in two months from the State Department and the FBI about how to include better fingerprinting and photographing, as well as an evaluation of the state of intelligence coordination between the U.S. and its allies. …. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are working on legislation aimed at tightening the program. See below for some steps the administration is taking unilaterally, per a White House release. The White House has also indicated it is working with Congress on further changes …. modify its Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications to capture information from VWP travelers regarding any past travel to countries constituting a terrorist safe haven. …. will accelerate its review process for VWP partner countries and within 60 days, will provide a full report to the President …. Identifying possible pilot programs designed to assess the collection and use of biometrics (fingerprints and/or photographs) in the VWP …. Identifying any countries that are deficient in key areas of cooperation, along with recommended options to engender compliance …. evaluate the terrorism information sharing that occurs between the United States and VWP countries, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, and provide a report to the President …. offer assistance to countries to better facilitate terrorism information sharing, specifically to include biometric pilots …. promote the Global Entry program among VWP partners to further expand this trusted traveler program, which includes biometrics. .… increase Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) fines from $5,000 to $50,000 for air carriers that fail to verify a traveler's passport data …. deploy Foreign Fighter Surge Teams to work with countries to counter terrorist travel. …. enhance border security and legislation….”


This is a good plan. It’s a series of measures that will allow us to “connect the dots” using some information that we already have while increasing our data for the future. It involves a number of other countries, though this article doesn’t say how much we will have of their cooperation. Information sharing should help other countries to identify dangerous individuals at their borders rather than merely sending them on through to some more desirable and welcoming place. It seems to me that Visa Waiver Programs may be a luxury in a time period such as this one, however. Perhaps this needs to be discussed in Congress and with other nations to reevaluate VWP policies.



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/11/30/457900449/bill-gates-and-other-billionaires-pledge-to-take-on-climate-change

Bill Gates And Other Billionaires Pledge To Take On Climate Change
Marilyn Geewax
November 30, 2015

Photograph -- President Obama (from left), French President Francois Hollande and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates applaud a speech during the Mission Innovation event at the UN conference on climate change Monday in Paris.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images


The United States and 19 other countries on Monday promised to work toward doubling their spending over five years to support "clean energy" research.

And at the same time, 28 private investors, including Microsoft's Bill Gates, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, pledged their own money to help build private businesses based on that public research.

The 20 governments and the investors are calling their joint effort "Mission Innovation." They say they must act together because "the pace of innovation and the scale of transformation and dissemination remain significantly short of what is needed."

The announcement came at the start of the 12-day climate-change talks in Paris, where representatives from nearly 200 countries are meeting. Mission Innovation's goal is to boost the collective annual spending on energy research to $20 billion, up from $10 billion.

But do public-private collaborations really work?

Early innovators in energy were pretty much lone rangers and wildcatters. For example, when John D. Rockefeller started the Standard Oil Co., he relied on his brother and some business partners, not a coalition of governments.

In the energy sector, "the argument for government funding is not very good," said Benjamin Zycher, a resident scholar who studies energy policy at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research group.

No matter what taxpayers spend, finding realistic, reliable replacements for proven energy sources is "very unlikely," so the expenditures may not pan out, he said.

But the investors who back Mission Innovation say government support for basic research will allow them to invest wisely through their newly created group called the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.

Many of the billionaire backers made their private fortunes from the Internet, which was created with government funding.

Their coalition promises to "invest early, invest broadly, invest boldly, invest wisely and invest together," according to a statement. It says the "poorest parts of the world require an aggressive global program for zero-emission energy innovation."

But why mix together public and private efforts? If an energy-alternative idea looks promising, shouldn't the private sector just invest in it anyway?

Supporters say that with the existing energy infrastructure — think pipelines and gas pumps and coal mines — it's very hard for new energy sources to grow up. That's especially true now that oil, natural gas and coal are selling at the lowest prices in years.

When it comes to investing in alternatives, "there's no fortune to be made," Gates told The Atlantic in a recent interview.

"For energy as a whole, the incentive to invest is quite limited, because unlike digital products—where you get very rapid adoption and so, within the period that your trade secret stays secret or your patent gives you a 20-year exclusive, you can reap incredible returns—almost everything that's been invented in energy was invented more than 20 years before it got scaled usage," Gates told the magazine.

In other words, developing new sources of energy requires very patient money.

So Gates and his fellow billionaires will offer early-stage capital for technologies with long-term potential to generate clean energy.

In a statement released Monday, Gates did not say specifically how much the investors would spend collectively, but he said he is "optimistic that we can invent the tools we need" to fight climate change.

Collectively, the 28 private participants are worth an estimate $350 billion. Despite their own comfortable lives, "these are investors who care about clean energy and cheap energy," Gates said.

The White House, in a statement, praised the Gates-led group and said the United States would "seek to double its current level of investment in clean energy research," which now is about $5 billion.

But that doubling may not come easily, given that Congress is controlled by Republicans, whose party does not accept mainstream climate-change science.

In an essay Monday, Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, said President Obama "has no way to follow through on any of his promises" regarding climate change efforts.

The 20 countries participating in Mission Innovation are: Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.



“And at the same time, 28 private investors, including Microsoft's Bill Gates, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon's Jeff Bezos, pledged their own money to help build private businesses based on that public research. The 20 governments and the investors are calling their joint effort "Mission Innovation." They say they must act together because "the pace of innovation and the scale of transformation and dissemination remain significantly short of what is needed." …. Mission Innovation's goal is to boost the collective annual spending on energy research to $20 billion, up from $10 billion. But do public-private collaborations really work? …. But the investors who back Mission Innovation say government support for basic research will allow them to invest wisely through their newly created group called the Breakthrough Energy Coalition. Many of the billionaire backers made their private fortunes from the Internet, which was created with government funding. Their coalition promises to "invest early, invest broadly, invest boldly, invest wisely and invest together," according to a statement. It says the "poorest parts of the world require an aggressive global program for zero-emission energy innovation." …. "For energy as a whole, the incentive to invest is quite limited, because unlike digital products—where you get very rapid adoption and so, within the period that your trade secret stays secret or your patent gives you a 20-year exclusive, you can reap incredible returns—almost everything that's been invented in energy was invented more than 20 years before it got scaled usage," Gates told the magazine. In other words, developing new sources of energy requires very patient money. So Gates and his fellow billionaires will offer early-stage capital for technologies with long-term potential to generate clean energy. …. Collectively, the 28 private participants are worth an estimate $350 billion. Despite their own comfortable lives, "these are investors who care about clean energy and cheap energy," Gates said. The White House, in a statement, praised the Gates-led group and said the United States would "seek to double its current level of investment in clean energy research," which now is about $5 billion.”

“Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., who chairs the Environment and Public Works Committee, said President Obama "has no way to follow through on any of his promises" regarding climate change efforts.” Fascinating how when folks try to do something really good, the horrible old green Grinch steps in to block it. At least there are other countries who are cooperating in this also. Congratulations to Gates and his fellow 1%ers in their efforts; something, if not everything, should get done, even without the Congressional Republicans.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/air-pollution-beyond-index-bejing-china-paris-climate-conference/

As leaders meet, pollution "beyond index" in Bejing
By SHUAI ZHANG CBS NEWS
November 30, 2015

28 Photos -- Thick smog hangs over Bejing, China, as the air quality index for the city hit 608 on Nov. 30, 2015 -- more than 24 times the maximum safe level as determined by the World Health Organization. CBS/RANDY SCHMIDT
Play VIDEO -- China's government vows to address smog
Play VIDEO -- Unique ways to deal with China's air pollution


BEIJING -- Dealing with smog has become so much a part to daily life in China that it's a regular feature in weather forecasts.

On Monday, while world leaders converge in Paris for a U.N. conference on climate change, the air quality index for Beijing exceeds 500; categorized as officially "beyond index," right above "hazardous."

The World Health Organization says a safe level of airborne particulate matter -- that which the air quality index measures -- is 25 micrograms per cubic meter. That line is crossed so often in cities like Beijing that even a government official called it unbearable.

By 4 p.m. in the capital city on Monday the index hit 608 -- more than 24 times the safe level dictated by the WHO.

The local government issued an orange pollution alert -- only its second highest in a four-tier system, under red. The move requires work at construction sites and factories to halt.

Coal supplies two thirds of China's energy consumption, and the northern half of the country relies on it to heat buildings in winter months.

The issue wasn't fully recognized by China's leaders until 2010, when the U.S. Embassy in Beijing published a tweet calling the air quality readings in Beijing "crazy bad."

The ensuing media coverage pushed it onto the main national stage. Beijing's local government rolled out their own monitoring system and began publishing its findings from 2013.

The grey-brown-yellow sky has become an embarrassment to hide on occasions that shine a spotlight on China's choked capital city.

For events like the massive parade celebrating the end of WWII, and the APEC summit last year, drastic measures are put in place, and strictly enforced, to clear the skies if for but a few days.

Companies compensate expats for it and tourists run away from it.

If there's a silver lining to the thick layer of smog, it has given birth to a host of creative gimmicks, from a bicycle with a filters to canned fresh air.

The government says a cold front will likely push into the area in the middle of this week to help clear the air.

Until then, for Beijingers it's the usual routine: shut the door and wait it out inside.




“By 4 p.m. in the capital city on Monday the index hit 608 -- more than 24 times the safe level dictated by the WHO. The local government issued an orange pollution alert -- only its second highest in a four-tier system, under red. The move requires work at construction sites and factories to halt. …. The issue wasn't fully recognized by China's leaders until 2010, when the U.S. Embassy in Beijing published a tweet calling the air quality readings in Beijing "crazy bad." The ensuing media coverage pushed it onto the main national stage. Beijing's local government rolled out their own monitoring system and began publishing its findings from 2013. …. If there's a silver lining to the thick layer of smog, it has given birth to a host of creative gimmicks, from a bicycle with a filters to canned fresh air. The government says a cold front will likely push into the area in the middle of this week to help clear the air.”


Of course we’ve been fighting smog here, too, for as long as I can remember, and England is famous for its’ London “fogs,” which are actually smog, according to Wikipedia. Jacksonville, several decades ago, had an air pollution event in which women’s nylon hosiery literally began to melt off. The pollution “ate” nylon. Luckily I wasn’t here then. The city got serious about the smog issues and worked on emissions with some improvements, but it is pretty bad here again, so we need to reexamine the matter. Jacksonville is a pretty place, but we do have factories, including at least one pulp mill. They give off hydrogen sulfide, the stinking, choking “rotten eggs” smell. I am happy to say that I don’t have to smell it where I live.