February 11, 2016


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/standoff-in-oregon-occupiers-surrender-malheur-national-wildlife-refuge/

Last armed occupiers surrender in Oregon standoff
CBS/AP
February 11, 2016, 2:04 PM

Photograph -- Media wait at a checkpoint about 4 miles from the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters near Burns, Oregon, on Feb. 11, 2016. ROB KERR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES


BURNS, Ore. -- Surrounded by FBI agents in armored vehicles, the last four occupiers of a national wildlife refuge surrendered Thursday, and the leader of a 2014 standoff with federal authorities was criminally charged in federal court.

The four occupiers were arrested without incident, the FBI said. They were expected to be arraigned in federal court in Portland on Friday.

The holdouts were the last remnants of the group that seized the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 2 and demanded that the government turn over the land to locals and release two ranchers imprisoned for setting fires.

Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of a 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the Oregon occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation.

On Thursday, the elder Bundy was charged in the 2014 standoff. Federal authorities may have feared Bundy's presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts.

A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas charged the 69-year-old Bundy with conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction, weapons charges and other crimes. He's accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland.


It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to represent him ahead of a court appearance in federal court in Portland.

Federal authorities say the Bundy family has not made payments toward a $1.1 million grazing fee and penalty bill.

The holdouts and 12 others connected with the occupation have been charged with conspiracy to interfere with federal workers.

The occupiers arrested Thursday were 27-year-old David Fry of Blanchester, Ohio; Jeff Banta, 46, of Elko, Nevada; and married couple Sean Anderson, 48, and Sandy Anderson, 47, of Riggins, Idaho.

In a live stream of a telephone call during the final moments of the standoff, Fry said the three others had surrendered but he refused to. He later said he was giving up.

After the arrests, Gov. Kate Brown thanked authorities on Twitter.

The FBI began moving in on the holdouts Wednesday evening, surrounding their encampment with armored vehicles. Over the next several hours, the occupiers' panic and their negotiation with FBI agents could be heard live on the Internet, broadcast by a sympathizer of the occupiers who established phone contact with them.

Fry, an Ohio resident, said he was declaring war against the federal government.

"Liberty or death, I take that stance," he declared Thursday and later said he was pointing a gun at his head.

"I'm actually feeling suicidal right now," Fry told the sympathizer, identified on his YouTube channel as Gavin Seim, and KrisAnne Hall, an activist who was also on the call.

Fry could be heard yelling at an FBI negotiator: "You're going to hell. Kill me. Get it over with."


The occupiers calmed down after a while, and arrangements were made for them to surrender at an FBI checkpoint on Thursday.

A Nevada lawmaker has been key in getting that agreement. Michele Fiore is also a friend of the Bundy family. She came to Portland on Wednesday to show support for Ammon Bundy. When she heard the FBI had surrounded the refuge, she called into the online talk show to try to calm down the occupiers.

Fiore rushed to Burns to help negotiate a peaceful surrender of the occupiers.

The Oregon standoff began Jan. 2 when Ammon Bundy and his followers took over the refuge south of Burns to protest prison terms for two local ranchers accused of setting fires on federal lands, and to demand that the refuge be handed over to local residents.

Federal agents, Oregon state troopers and sheriff's deputies monitored the occupation to avoid a confrontation. There were growing calls for the FBI to act, including from Oregon's governor.

They did, on Jan. 26. On that day, Ammon Bundy and other occupation leaders were heading for the town of John Day to give a talk on federal overreach. FBI agents and Oregon state troopers stopped the group's two-vehicle convoy. Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was shot dead in that confrontation. The FBI says he was going for a pistol inside his jacket pocket. Ammon Bundy and four others were arrested.

A total of 12 people were arrested that week. Most of the occupiers fled the refuge after hearing they would be arrested if they left quickly. Four stayed behind, saying they feared they would be arrested if they left.

Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said Wednesday night that the situation had reached a point where it "became necessary to take action" to ensure the safety of all involved.

One of the occupiers rode an ATV outside "the barricades established by the militia" at the refuge, Bretzing said in a statement. When FBI agents tried to approach the driver, Fry said he quickly returned to the camp.

The FBI placed agents at barricades around the occupiers' camp, Bretzing said.

"It has never been the FBI's desire to engage these armed occupiers in any way other than through dialogue," he said. "And to that end, the FBI has negotiated with patience and restraint in an effort to resolve the situation peacefully."



“Meanwhile, Cliven Bundy, who was at the center of a 2014 standoff at his ranch in Nevada, was arrested late Wednesday in Portland after encouraging the Oregon occupiers not to give up. Bundy is the father of Ammon Bundy, the jailed leader of the Oregon occupation. On Thursday, the elder Bundy was charged in the 2014 standoff. Federal authorities may have feared Bundy's presence would draw sympathizers to defend the holdouts. A criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas charged the 69-year-old Bundy with conspiracy, assault on a federal officer, obstruction, weapons charges and other crimes. He's accused of leading supporters who pointed military-style weapons at federal agents trying to enforce a court order to round up Bundy cattle from federal rangeland. It was not immediately clear if he had a lawyer to represent him ahead of a court appearance in federal court in Portland. Federal authorities say the Bundy family has not made payments toward a $1.1 million grazing fee and penalty bill. …. The FBI began moving in on the holdouts Wednesday evening, surrounding their encampment with armored vehicles. Over the next several hours, the occupiers' panic and their negotiation with FBI agents could be heard live on the Internet, broadcast by a sympathizer of the occupiers who established phone contact with them. Fry, an Ohio resident, said he was declaring war against the federal government. "Liberty or death, I take that stance," he declared Thursday and later said he was pointing a gun at his head. "I'm actually feeling suicidal right now," Fry told the sympathizer, identified on his YouTube channel as Gavin Seim, and KrisAnne Hall, an activist who was also on the call. Fry could be heard yelling at an FBI negotiator: "You're going to hell. Kill me. Get it over with." The occupiers calmed down after a while, and arrangements were made for them to surrender at an FBI checkpoint on Thursday.”


No more hoopla! I’m glad the Feds finally got around to charging Cliven Bundy, because they appeared to be letting him off without punishment, which sets a really poor precedent. And what happened to the cattle? Were they removed successfully from government land? I think there should be no use of government land that would damage the land even for a fee, and overgrazing does damage the land by eliminating healthy plant growth. We need a set of government lands which maintain an environment that can sustain wildlife to stop the march of species decimation. Besides, I don’t like to see ruffians coming into an area which is not theirs to despoil it in any way, and we can’t have a total disregard for law, as this was.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/north-korea-kim-jong-un-executes-military-chief-staff-ri-yong-gil/

Kim Jong Un reportedly has his military chief executed
AP February 11, 2016, 8:37 AM

Photograph -- North Korea's army chief of staff Ri Yong Gil makes a speech in Pyongyang, Aug. 24, 2014, in this still image taken from KRT file video. REUTERS
Play VIDEO -- Flash points: Why did North Korea’s Kim Jong Un execute his defense minister?
Photograph -- rtx25t01.jpg, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches a long range rocket launched into the air in this still image taken from KRT footage and released by Yonhap, Feb. 7, 2016. YONHAP/REUTERS


SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had his military chief executed for corruption and other charges, a South Korean official said Thursday.

If true, the execution of Ri Yong Gil, chief of the North Korean military's general staff, would be the latest in a series of killings, purges and dismissals since Kim took power in late 2011.

Details about North Korea's opaque government are notoriously difficult for outsiders to get, even national governments, and South Korean officials have a spotty record of tracking developments in North Korea.

A South Korean official said that Ri's execution was part of Kim's effort to bolster his grip on power. Other charges Ri faced before his execution were abusing his power and forming a clique, the official said.

The official didn't say how the information was obtained and spoke on condition of anonymity because it involves confidential intelligence on North Korea. The government had previously leaked the details to South Korean media.

Ri, an army general who took up the top military job in 2013, had been considered as one of Kim's trusted aides because he frequently accompanied his inspection tours of army units and factories.

Speculation about his fate flared after he missed two key national events in North Korea: a meeting of senior ruling Workers' Party officials last week and a rally celebrating the North's rocket test this week.

During the Workers' Party meeting, Kim called for a fight against misuse of authority, abuse of power and "bureaucratism" that he said undermined single-minded unity in North Korea.

South Korea's intelligence service said in July that 70 North Korean officials have been executed since Kim's inauguration, a number that far exceeds the bloodshed of his dictator father Kim Jong Il's early rule. Before Ri's reported killing, the most notable executions were the killings of Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong Chol for disloyalty last year and Kim's powerful uncle Jang Song Thaek for treason in 2013.

Some outside experts have said repeated bloody power shifts in North Korea indicated the young leader is still struggling to establish himself.



“If true, the execution of Ri Yong Gil, chief of the North Korean military's general staff, would be the latest in a series of killings, purges and dismissals since Kim took power in late 2011. Details about North Korea's opaque government are notoriously difficult for outsiders to get, even national governments, and South Korean officials have a spotty record of tracking developments in North Korea. A South Korean official said that Ri's execution was part of Kim's effort to bolster his grip on power. Other charges Ri faced before his execution were abusing his power and forming a clique, the official said. …. Speculation about his fate flared after he missed two key national events in North Korea: a meeting of senior ruling Workers' Party officials last week and a rally celebrating the North's rocket test this week. During the Workers' Party meeting, Kim called for a fight against misuse of authority, abuse of power and "bureaucratism" that he said undermined single-minded unity in North Korea. …. Some outside experts have said repeated bloody power shifts in North Korea indicated the young leader is still struggling to establish himself.


Seventy assassinations, so far, is more than I had realized. I remember when he had his own uncle killed a couple of years ago. Kim is a truly despicable specimen of the human race. I hope someone slips poison into his tea, perhaps some humble body servant. He very well may start aiming nuclear warheads at us all otherwise.



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/congressional-black-caucus-to-back-hillary-clinton/

Congressional Black Caucus backs Hillary Clinton
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
February 11, 2016, 11:13 AM

Photograph -- Democratic Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton attends the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Foundation's 45th Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, on September 19, 2015. JIM WATSON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Play VIDEO -- Hillary Clinton: Criminal justice system "unbalanced"


The Congressional Black Caucus' political action committee endorsed Hillary Clinton Thursday, just as the Democratic presidential candidate is set to battle with rival Bernie Sanders at a PBS-hosted debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The CBC PAC formally announced its support of Clinton at a news conference near the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"We must have a president who is knowledgeable on both domestic and foreign policy," CBC chair Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-North Carolina, said Thursday. "Black lives are being lost on the streets of America because of police misconduct and gang violence...and so we must have a president that understands the racial divide."

"After considering the entire field, there is no question in our mind and in our minds that one single candidate -- one -- possesses the patience, experience and temperament," Butterfield continued, naming Clinton.

CBC members will hit the trail for the candidate in states where African Americans could swing the outcome of the primary, focusing particularly on South Carolina, where Democrats will gather to vote on Feb. 27.

One South Carolina member of the CBC, Rep. James Clyburn, has decided to remain neutral, despite the caucus' choice to endorse.

But Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in the House and a giant in South Carolina politics, recently told MSNBC in an interview that he may change his mind.


"We'll be meeting with family and friends this weekend when I get down to South Carolina and I'll make some decision after that," Clyburn said Thursday. "I won't be making any endorsements today or this week." Clyburn remained neutral in 2008, as well.

Last month, the CBC chairman Butterfield announced his endorsement for Clinton.

Butterfield penned an editorial for African American news outlet The Grio in January saying it "was not a hard decision" to back the former secretary of state.

"The black community matters, and black votes matter, which is why I publicly and proudly support Hillary Clinton for president," Butterfield wrote. "From fixing the criminal justice system and reforming the voting process to creating jobs and promoting a diverse workplace, Clinton's ambitions match our own."

Clinton has courted minority voters throughout her campaign, which has led to her popularity in states with large African American and Latino populations.

That support has not helped Clinton in the nation's first nominating contests, since Iowa and New Hampshire have little racial diversity.

In Iowa last week, Clinton barely eked out a victory over her opponent in the state caucuses. And in this Tuesday's primaries, Sanders trumped Clinton with a 22-point advantage among New Hampshire voters.



“The Congressional Black Caucus' political action committee endorsed Hillary Clinton Thursday, just as the Democratic presidential candidate is set to battle with rival Bernie Sanders at a PBS-hosted debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The CBC PAC formally announced its support of Clinton at a news conference near the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C. "We must have a president who is knowledgeable on both domestic and foreign policy," CBC chair Rep. G.K. Butterfield, D-North Carolina, said Thursday. "Black lives are being lost on the streets of America because of police misconduct and gang violence...and so we must have a president that understands the racial divide."


I feel sure that Sanders “understands the racial divide,” and that he will be behind efforts to improve black lives. His way of doing that might be more the leveling of the classist economic and cultural divide in this country, and providing free college education at state supported schools to all. I, too, am of the opinion that the social class differences have at least as much to do with the personal income problems as skin color does. Poor whites will be outsiders as well as poor blacks, and even in an improved America both will have to struggle upward to reach the middle.

I think that if black kids know that they will be financially able to get through college, they will be more likely to study and prepare themselves for it. Why believe and trust in something that doesn’t seem to be real? More black lawyers, teachers, business men, doctors, politicians and writers will provide the kind of example to the kids coming up that will show them there is a better way of making a living than selling drugs or becoming a professional sports hero. Goals like that are terribly self-limiting. As long as black kids think that studying is “acting white,” there will be little progress.

Finally, no government action is going to miraculously solve all the problems. Who we vote for does matter greatly, but blacks, Latinos, religious minorities and whites will only get along well if all groups step up closer to the lines that divide us and get to know each other as people. Talk, for goodness sake! That does mean that whites have to open up to blacks and vice versa when they deal with them in the schools, in apartment buildings and in the workplace. We have much less actual segregation now than when I was young. That’s one reason why I’m getting impatient with the progress of change. It should be better than it is by now and the problems are not all caused by the whites. It takes two to tango!

We are at a point that we must work together to bring about the end of all vestiges of legally based racial discrimination, which affects everything from the right to walk down the street without being arrested, freedom from discrimination in housing, schools and on jobs, and enough money in every household to buy good quality clothing and other marks of Middle Class status. What I want to see in the US is a true Middle Class and a safety net for the poor. That’s what Sanders wants to put through. That’s what he means by a revolution. It’s a bloodless revolution, and all the better for that.

Race should not define who will fit into the Middle Class, though in my opinion education and personal behavior should. If that means “acting white,” then so be it. If you look at the developing African nations where blacks everywhere are getting their educations and getting ahead, it’s clearly not a “white” thing at all. It’s just wisdom and hard work. That’s why I think the plan Sanders offers is the best route to real help for black people. Let’s face it. Not all black people need help.

Many of them are already lawyers, doctors, teachers, professors, movie stars and writers. They got to those spots by getting a college education and personally working hard in some structure – a business, a college, a government. To get that college degree they had to study hard in grades K-12. Learning requires work. If a black citizen gets to the point of having a professional position and some negative event does occur, such as the arrest of Professor Gates by an idiotic policeman when he was on his own front porch, then he will get out of that scrape quickly and easily because he will use the law in his favor rather than any longer being its’ victim. He will call his lawyer, and if he wants to – and he probably should – he will sue that police officer and the city as well, perhaps. Don’t lie down and give up or resort to useless violence. That only puts us in the wrong.

It’s almost certain that the police officer in Gates’ case was indeed doing the old “racial profiling”, and probably wasn’t punished as he should have been for it either, but the matter did raise an instantaneous outcry of unfairness across the nation. Things really aren’t as bad as they were even fifteen years ago. The reaction of both black and white citizens to the Ferguson situation is going to continue to roll the snowball of good societal changes down the hill, too, as long as we have a free press in this country. If black people, usually the poor ones, persist in negativity and don’t vote they will surely impede that process of improvement.