March 23 and 24, 2017


News and Views


AMERICANS ARE STIRRED UP IN MANY CASES, ESPECIALLY THESE PAST SEVERAL YEARS SINCE 9/11, BUT IN THE BILL CLINTON PRESIDENCY, TOO, WITH THE FAR RIGHT ANTI-GOVERNMENT CROWD WHO BLEW UP THE OKLAHOMA CITY COURTHOUSE JUST ON GENERAL PRINCIPLES. THAT WAS DONE BY TWO LONE WOLF AMERICAN TERRORISTS BEFORE THE FEAR OF ISLAM BEGAN. WE NOW ARE FILLED WITH A FEAR OF POSSIBLE TERRORIST ATTACKS, WHICH IS CAUSING US TO DISREGARD THE IMPORTANCE OF DEMOCRACY OVER SHORT TERM GOALS. THIS IS A TIME OF NATIONAL HYSTERIA, IN MY VIEW, AND WE NEED TO DO AS PM MAY SAID, JUST GO ABOUT OUR LIVES. ONE GOOD THING THAT WAS SAID A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, AFTER THE BOSTON BOMBING, PERHAPS, WAS “IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING.” SIMPLY PAY ATTENTION TO ONES SURROUNDINGS AND THE PEOPLE WE MEET, REPORT THE SUITCASE LEFT SITTING ON THE STREET TO POLICE, AND IF WE ENCOUNTER SOMEONE SEEMS THREATENING ON THE STREET, MAKE CORRECTIVE MANEUVERS IF NEEDED. DON’T, HOWEVER, WALK AROUND DAY AFTER DAY FEELING ANXIOUS OVER SOME POSSIBLE DANGER. AN ATTITUDE OF FEAR LEADS TO EXTREME MEASURES, AND THE INEVITABLE GROUP HATREDS THAT THEN FLOWER IN THEIR GROTESQUE GLORY. A JEWISH CEMETERY IS VANDALIZED, A MUSLIM WOMAN IS RAPED, ALL BECAUSE FEAR PRODUCES ANGER, WHICH CAN QUICKLY BECOME VIGILANTE “JUSTICE.” A LOT OF PEOPLE NEED ONLY ONE THING TO BECOME VIOLENT, A MINOR EXCUSE AND THE TACIT PERMISSION OF THE SOCIETY.

THIS MAN, 52 YEARS OLD, HAD SEVERAL THINGS ABOUT HIM THAT SHOULD HAVE CAUSED POLICE TO KEEP BETTER TRACK OF HIM. HE HAD AN INVOLVEMENT WITH RELIGIOUS EXTREMISTS AND HE HAD SEVERAL ALIASES. A RELIGION THAT BRINGS INSIGHT AND CONTEMPLATION IS INDEED A GOOD THING, BUT RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM IS PRESENT THESE DAYS IN A VERITABLE EPIDEMIC, AND IS BEING USED OVER AND OVER AGAIN AS AN EXCUSE TO KILL.

ABOUT ALIASES, THOUGH A FAIR NUMBER OF PEOPLE DO HAVE ONE ALTERNATE NAME WITH LEGAL STATUS, FOR INSTANCE WOMEN WHO USE THEIR MAIDEN NAME RATHER THAN THEIR HUSBAND’S, WHO WRITE UNDER A PEN NAME, ETC., ANYONE WHO HAS PLURAL ALIASES IS LIKELY TO BE UP TO SOME DISHONEST ENTERPRISE. MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO ALIASES AT ALL, WITHIN MY EXPERIENCE, AND EXCEPT FOR CASES OF STALKING OR OTHER THREATS TO THEIR SAFETY, THEY DON’T NEED ANY.

OUR POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND LOCAL FBI AGENCIES NEED TO HAVE SOME KNOWLEDGE OF PEOPLE WHO “RAISE RED FLAGS,” EVEN IN ONLY ONE WAY, THOUGH THERE MAY NOT BE PROBABLE CAUSE TO ARREST THEM AT THE TIME. I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE THE SHOOTER AT THE GAY BAR IN ORLANDO, FL LAST YEAR HAD BEEN UNDER SUSPICION A COUPLE OF YEARS EARLIER, AND THEN WHEN HE WAS CLEARED THE FBI STOPPED PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO HIM AT ALL. PEOPLE WHO “MAKE ME NERVOUS” BY THE WAY THEY LOOK AT ME, OR MORE OFTEN REFUSE TO LOOK AT ME, SHOULD NOT BE TOTALLY DISMISSED AS HARMLESS. OFTEN THE TICKING TIME BOMB IS “THE QUIET ONE.” IN THIS CASE, MASOOD BLEW UP ONE DAY FOR WHO KNOWS WHAT EXTERNAL CAUSE – IT’S THE CAREFULLY HIDDEN INTERNAL TURMOIL THAT DOES THE HARM, AFTER ALL. THE LINE IN THIS STORY THAT BRINGS ME CLOSE TO TEARS IS THE POLICE OFFICER’S WRITING IN THE MEMORIAL BOOK: “KEITH, MY FRIEND, WILL MISS YOU.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/london-attack-suspect-identified-khalid-masood/
London attack suspect identified as Khalid Masood
CBS/AP March 23, 2017, 11:44 AM

LONDON -- British police have identified the person responsible for the London attack as 52-year-old Khalid Masood.

Police said Masood plowed an SUV into pedestrians on one of London’s famous bridges Wednesday and then stabbed a police officer to death at Britain’s Parliament. The attack left three people dead and ended when Masood was shot to death by police.

The police said in a statement Thursday that Masood was born in southeastern England and was most recently living in the West Midlands, in central England.

Police say Masood, who had a number of aliases, wasn’t the subject of any current investigation and that “there was no prior intelligence about his intent to mount a terrorist attack.”

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A man later identified by police as Khalid Masood is treated by emergency services outside Parliament in London March 22, 2017. Knives can be seen on the ground. STEFAN ROUSSEAU, PA VIA AP

He had been arrested previously for assault, possession of offensive weapons and public order offenses.

His first conviction was in November 1983 for criminal damage and his last was in December 2003 for possession of a knife.

Also Thursday, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a somber but defiant statement, Britain’s prime minister declared that “we are not afraid.”

Theresa May says Parliament attacker was known by police
Play VIDEO
Theresa May says Parliament attacker was known by police

The attacker once came under investigation for links to religious extremism, British Prime Minister Theresa May said Thursday in a sweeping speech before the House of Commons.

Police raided properties in London and Birmingham, which is in the West Midlands, and made eight arrests.

A Utah man visiting London with his wife for their 25th anniversary and a British woman who was a school administrator were killed by the SUV attack on Westminster Bridge and at least 29 others were hospitalized, seven critically.

May set an unyielding tone Thursday, saluting the heroism of police as well as the ordinary actions of everyone who went about their lives in the aftermath.

London attack: New info on victims and suspect
Play VIDEO
London attack: New info on victims and suspect

“As I speak millions will be boarding trains and airplanes to travel to London, and to see for themselves the greatest city on Earth,” she told the House of Commons. “It is in these actions - millions of acts of normality - that we find the best response to terrorism - a response that denies our enemies their victory, that refuses to let them win, that shows we will never give in.”

Parliament began its moment of silence at 9:33 a.m., honoring the shoulder number of the slain officer, Keith Palmer, a 15-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police and a former soldier. Then Parliament, which was locked down after the attack, returned to business - a counter to those who had attacked British democracy.

In 1,000-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest part of Parliament’s buildings, politicians, journalists and parliamentary staff lined up to sign a book of condolences for the victims. Among them was a uniformed policeman, who wrote: “Keith, my friend, will miss you.”

The rampage was the first deadly incident at Parliament since 1979, when Conservative lawmaker Airey Neave was killed in a car bombing by Irish militants.

After London attack, overnight raids lead to arrests
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After London attack, overnight raids lead to arrests

Some parliamentarians said they were shaken, and all were somber. But they were also determined.

“There is no such thing as 100 percent security,” said Menzies Campbell, a member of the House of Lords. “We have to learn to live with that.”

The London attack echoed deadly vehicle rampages in Nice, France, and Berlin last year that IS has claimed.

ISIS said through its Aamaq News Agency that the London attacker was a soldier of ISIS who “carried out the operation in response to calls for targeting citizens of the coalition” of countries fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

ISIS has been responsible for numerous bloody attacks around the globe and has specifically called for Western followers to carry out this kind of attack in their own countries, though the group has also claimed events later found to have no clear links to it.

Behind the investigation into London attack
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Behind the investigation into London attack

Police believe the attacker acted alone and there is no reason to believe “imminent further attacks” are planned, May said. He had been investigated before but police believed he was a peripheral figure, May said.

Labour Party lawmaker Khalid Mahmood, who represents part of Birmingham, condemned the “barbaric attack” and urged his fellow Muslims to report concerns about radicalization to the police.

“We have to condemn this outright,” he said. “There are no ifs or buts. This is a hugely tragic incident. These people do not belong to any faith. They certainly don’t belong to my faith of Islam.”

Mahmood said the attacker and those like him “should be condemned by everybody and this shouldn’t serve as a tool for division within our community.”

Tactics against vehicle terror attacks
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Tactics against vehicle terror attacks

Many suspects in British terror attacks and plots have roots in the city, which has been described in a recent terror analysis by the Henry Jackson Society conservative think tank as a center for Islamist extremism. Several local mosques have also been linked to extremist clerics.

British security forces have foiled 13 plots in the past four years.

Witnesses said the attacker went straight after the police officer after ramming into the pedestrians.

“This man got out of the car with two knives in his hands and while he was running he was stabbing people. He arrived in front of the entrance to the parliament and he started to stab a policeman,” said Vincenzo Mangiacarpe, an Italian boxer who was visiting Parliament. “You can imagine if someone was playing a drum on your back with 2 knives - he gave him around 10 stabs in the back, then he left the policeman and he came toward us.”

U.S. law enforcement on alert after London attack
Play VIDEO
U.S. law enforcement on alert after London attack

Metropolitan Police counterterrorism chief Mark Rowley revised the death toll from five to four, including the attacker. He said 29 people required hospitalization and seven of them were in critical condition. He also said that authorities were still working out the number of “walking wounded.” Police had previously given the total number of wounded in Wednesday’s attack as around 40.

May said people from 11 countries were among the victims. They included 12 Britons, three French, two Romanians, four South Koreans, one German, one Pole, two Irish, one Chinese, one Italian, one American and two Greeks required hospital treatment.

Kurt Cochran, a Utah man visiting London with his wife Melissa for their 25th anniversary, was named as among the dead by his brother-in-law, Clint Payne. Cochran’s wife Melissa was seriously injured in the attack and was still hospitalized.

President Trump was among the world leaders offering their condolences.

London has been a target for terrorism many times over past decades and the threat level for the British capital was already listed at severe, meaning an attack was “highly likely.” Just this weekend, hundreds of armed police took part in an exercise simulating a “marauding” terror attack on a tourist boat on the River Thames.

May said the attack in London targeted “free people everywhere,” and she said she had a response for those behind it: “You will not defeat us.”


FASCINATING AND BEAUTIFUL ART. IT IS INDESCRIBABLE, SO PLEASE DO GO ON THIS WEBSITE AND EXPLORE THE EXHIBITS FOR YOURSELF.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/yayoi-kusama-exhibit-dc-hirshhorn-museum-infinity-mirrors/
Enter legendary artist Yayoi Kusama’s infinite world
CBS NEWS March 23, 2017, 1:29 PM

Washington is the first stop of a North American tour for a new exhibit by legendary Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Her “Infinity Mirrors” exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a collection of psychedelic art that appears to go on forever.

The first 9,000 tickets were reserved in just six minutes. The museum’s website crashed from demand. There is almost no end to the number of people wanting to enter Kusama’s infinite world, reports CBS News correspondent Errol Barnett.

One step into the space, and the experience is quite literally limitless.

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Yayoi Kusama’s “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins” CBS NEWS

From her quirky latest work titled “All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins” to her earliest mirror display, never before have so many of the 88-year-old artist’s captivating “Infinity Mirrors” rooms been shown in the same place at the same time.

Rarely seen outside of Japan, Kusama, who identifies herself as an avant-garde artist, established herself in the American art world after her move to New York in 1957.

“In the late ‘50s, it’s the post-World War II period in Japan, and I think it was also very much a period where if you wanted to become an artist you really had to go to a place like New York,” Hirshhorn Museum director Melissa Chiu said.

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Legendary artist Yayoi Kusama HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN
“I would say that it started with her arrival in New York … She became kind of enamored with performance art, which was developing at that time,” Chiu added.

As an anti-war activist, Kusama staged what she called “Happenings” against violence at the height of the Vietnam War.

“She wanted recognition. She wanted to be known as an artist,” said Mika Yoshitake, who has studied Kusama’s work for decades.

“The young people who were in her studio also frequented Warhol’s studio, and so she had her-- she was very kind of competitive,” Yoshitake said.

As one of the few women in an art world dominated by men, Kusama saw male artists like Andy Warhol as rivals, but the pace of her life in New York was unsustainable.

“She came back to Japan in 1973 and went through quite a dark period,” Yoshitake said.

She worked herself mad in “40 to 50 hours at a stretch,” Yoshitake said.

kusama-infinity-mirrored-room-the-souls-of-millions-of-light-years-away-installation.jpg
Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrored Room CATHY CARVER/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Kusama has lived in a Tokyo mental institution for 40 years, checking herself out to work at a nearby studio every morning and returning to the psychiatric hospital each evening.

In a video made for the exhibit, the media-shy artist shared her philosophy.

“The effect of infinite, constant repetition leads us to finding our ever-expanding hope,” Kusama said in Japanese.

“She’s developed a method or a rhythm to stabilize her condition and art really is a way for her, it’s a healing process,” Yoshitake said.

“Is she happy?” Barnett asked.

“That’s a hard question I think. There’s a lot of kind of, dualities in her work,” Yoshitake said. “Some of her work is very dark.”

The art of Yayoi Kusama

“So you wouldn’t go as far as to say she’s happy, she’s maybe, in many ways, conflicted,” Barnett said.

“She barely smiles when I see her. I think the only time she smiles is when she finishes one of her paintings,” Yoshitake said.

Kusama has described her art as therapy and her appeal has been profound.

“This is the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history,” Yoshitake said.

Kusama’s “Obliteration Room” started out with no color at all. Museum-goers, who are given sheets of stickers, are encouraged to cover the room in polka dots in every size and color.

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Yayoi Kusama’s “Obliteration Room” CBS NEWS
One visitor said “it’s a trip,” while another said “it is a reality unto itself.”

It’s an immersive experience created by a tormented artist with a decidedly positive impact.

“It made me feel really happy!” young visitor Zena Bochkared said.

Of course something like this has become a hit on social media. Hashtag #infinitekusama has reached 43 million accounts on Twitter and Instagram, with 212 million impressions. From D.C., the exhibit heads to Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto, Cleveland and Atlanta.



AS FAR AS I CAN SEE FROM THIS ARTICLE, THIS YOUNG MENTALLY DISTURBED MAN AND HIS FATHER, BOTH JEWISH, FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON PHONED IN A LARGE NUMBER OF BOMB THREATS AT JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTERS. THEY USED A LARGE ARRAY OF ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT. I WONDER IF THEY HAD A WIDER OPERATION GOING FOR MONEY OR FOR INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE – SPYING PERHAPS?
FOR SOME PEOPLE, TECHNICAL DEVICES ALONE ARE SO FASCINATING THAT THEY GIVE PLEASURE IN THEIR USE WITH NO PARTICULAR REASON. THE NUMBER OF SMART PHONES BOUGHT IN THIS COUNTRY JUST BECAUSE THERE IS A NEW DESIGN OUT MYSTIFIES ME. I CAN IDENTIFY WITH THAT UP TO A POINT, BECAUSE I HAVE ALWAYS HAD AN INNER HAPPINESS IN BUYING (YET ANOTHER) BOOK, BUT I DON’T GO ACT OUT THE PLOT IN EVERY MURDER MYSTERY I BUY. THIS ARTICLE ON THESE MEN NEEDS SOME MORE EXPLAINING, FOR INSTANCE ANOTHER ARTICLE CONTAINING MORE RESEARCH.

I CAN’T SEE WHY THE FATHER WOULD BE HELPING HIM, BUT THE ARTICLE SAID THAT BOTH THE YOUNG MAN AND HIS FATHER ARE CHARGED WITH THE SAME CRIMES. AS FOR THIS LONG STRING OF ANTI-JEWISH CRIMES, HOWEVER, I AM EVER SO GLAD TO SEE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN CAUGHT. BOMB THREATS ARE BAD, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN DEFACED PROPERTY AND WRECKED GRAVE SITES AS WELL, AND TO ME THE NEXT STEP TO EMERGE COULD BE VIOLENT ATTACKS. JUST BECAUSE A HATE CRIME IS A FAIRLY SMALL ONE, DOESN’T MEAN IT’S UNIMPORTANT, BECAUSE IT EXPOSES THE THOUGHT PATTERN IN THE CRIMINAL’S MIND.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/suspect-arrested-israel-connection-bomb-threats-us-jewish/story?id=46323084&cid=clicksource_4380645_1_hero_headlines_headlines_hed
Israeli-American man arrested in connection to bomb threats against Jewish centers
By EMILY SHAPIRO MIKE LEVINE JOSH MARGOLIN Mar 23, 2017, 3:15 PM ET


A 19-year-old Jewish man who is an Israeli-American dual citizen was arrested early this morning in Israel in connection with a series of bomb threats made against Jewish community centers and Jewish schools in the United States and other countries, police and sources told ABC News.

The suspect's father has also been arrested for the same charges, an Israeli government official said.

Police believe the man made fake bomb threats in New Zealand and Australia and against scores of Jewish institutions across the U.S.

PHOTO: Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson said there was no bomb found and investigation into the threat continues at the Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center, March 7, 2017, in Rochester, N.Y.Tina Macintyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle/USA TODAY
Brighton Police Chief Mark Henderson said there was no bomb found and investigation into the threat continues at the Louis S. Wolk Jewish Community Center, March 7, 2017, in Rochester, N.Y.more +

He also allegedly called in fake bomb threats to two Delta flights at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport in 2015, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

The threats grounded the flights while passengers were evacuated and luggage was rescreened.

The suspect was arrested early this morning in his family's home in the southern city of Ashkelon after a monthslong investigation that included the FBI and European law enforcement agencies, Rosenfeld said. The teenager resisted arrest, Rosenfeld said, explaining that the teen moved toward one of the arresting officers in what is believed to have been an attempt to grab the officer’s sidearm, but the teen never reached the gun.

Israeli police confiscated several computers, antennas, satellite equipment and other advanced technology. Some of the equipment was allegedly used to "camouflage" the suspect's voice for automated calls, Rosenfeld said. He added that the suspect also allegedly had equipment that allowed him to use many IP addresses, making it hard to trace him.

PHOTO: A police officer blocks an entrance as officials respond to a bomb threat at the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, Ky., March 8, 2017. Bryan Woolston/Reuters
A police officer blocks an entrance as officials respond to a bomb threat at the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, Ky., March 8, 2017. more +
The suspect appeared in an Israeli court today, and the judge ruled that his identity would not be released until his next court appearance on March 30.

According to an official briefed on the investigation, the suspect had been deemed insufficiently mentally stable to be drafted into the Israeli Army.

The suspect's attorney, Galit Bash, told ABC News in a statement, "This is a young man without a criminal record who suffers from serious medical problems from a young age. There is a concern that his medical condition affects his cognitive functions. In light of this, we asked the court to order the young man to undergo a medical examination. The court accepted our arguments and ordered the police to examine the young man's medical condition."

Police have not commented on the teen's motives. It is unclear if he will be tried in Israel or the U.S., police said.

Man accused of making threats against Jewish community centers arrested in St. Louis
As communities cope with recent anti-Semitic attacks, Jewish officials urge action
More than 60 threats to Jewish centers across the US, authorities investigating
Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said it was "heartbreaking to learn that a Jewish man is a prime suspect."

Doron Krakow, the president and CEO of the JCC Association of North America, said the organization is "troubled to learn that the individual suspected of making these threats against Jewish Community Centers — which play a central role in the Jewish community, as well as serve as inclusive and welcoming places for all — is reportedly Jewish."

He continued, "Emblematic of of JCCs and the important model they represent for acceptance, inclusion and appreciation the strength for diversity is the remarkable support we have received from communities and community leaders across North America, including civic, political and faith community leaders. Throughout this long running period of concern and disruption that we are hopeful has come to an end, JCCs have had the opportunity to review and assess our security protocols and procedures, and we are confident that JCCs are safer today than ever before."

PHOTO: Rabbis with the local community share water with first responders as local and federal officers respond to the bomb threat at the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, Ky., March 8, 2017. Bryan Woolston/Reuters

Rabbis with the local community share water with first responders as local and federal officers respond to the bomb threat at the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, Ky., March 8, 2017. more +

Gilad Erdan, Israel's minister of public security, said in a statement after reports of the arrest, "I congratulate the Israeli police on leading a complex international investigation, together with law enforcement agencies from around the world, which led to the arrest of the suspect. We hope that this investigation will help shed light on some of the recent threats against Jewish institutions, which have caused great concern both among Jewish communities and the Israeli government."

The FBI said in a statement, "Investigating hate crimes is a top priority for the FBI, and we will continue to work to make sure all races and religions feel safe in their communities and in their places of worship."

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the arrest "the culmination of a large-scale investigation spanning multiple continents for hate crimes against Jewish communities across our country."

"The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the civil rights of all Americans, and we will not tolerate the targeting of any community in this country on the basis of their religious beliefs," he said in a statement. "I commend the FBI and Israeli national police for their outstanding work on this case.”

Across the U.S. this year, there have been five waves of bomb threats at JCCs and Jewish schools. The JCC Association of North America reported 100 incidents this year alone. No bombs were found at any of the locations. The FBI and the Justice Department's civil rights division were investigating the incidents.

PHOTO: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department K-9 officers search the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada after an employee received a suspicious phone call that led people to evacuate the building, Feb. 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department K-9 officers search the Jewish Community Center of Southern Nevada after an employee received a suspicious phone call that led people to evacuate the building, Feb. 27, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. more +
While the threats were false, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, told ABC News earlier this month the threats created "terror" for the people evacuated from the facilities — including preschool children, the elderly and teenagers — as well as their family members.

In a statement today he said called the crimes "acts of anti-Semitism."

"These threats targeted Jewish institutions, were calculated to sow fear and anxiety and put the entire Jewish community on high alert," Greenblatt said. "Even though it appears that the main culprit behind the majority of these attacks has allegedly been identified, anti-Semitism in the U.S. remains a very serious concern. No arrests have been made in three cemetery desecrations or a series of other anti-Semitic incidents involving swastika graffiti and hate fliers. JCCs and other institutions should not relax security measures or become less vigilant."

PHOTO: A security guard stands outside the entrance to the David Posnack Jewish Community Center and David Posnack Jewish Day School after people were evacuated because of a bomb threat, Feb. 27, 2017, in Davie, Fla.Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo
A security guard stands outside the entrance to the David Posnack Jewish Community Center and David Posnack Jewish Day School after people were evacuated because of a bomb threat, Feb. 27, 2017, in Davie, Fla.more +
A former journalist arrested in the U.S. earlier this month was accused of making at least eight threats against JCCs, Jewish schools, a Jewish museum and the Anti-Defamation League. The man was not believed to be the main suspect behind this year's rash of bomb threats. Law enforcement officials told ABC News the man appeared to take advantage of news coverage of the threats in order to exact revenge on a woman who had ended a romantic relationship.

ABC News' Benjamin Gittleson, Jordana Miller and Jack Date contributed to this report.



THANK YOU, REP. SCHIFF! LET’S KEEP THIS TRAIN ROLLING.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/adam-schiff-says-theres-more-than-circumstantial-evidence-now-of-collusion-in-trump-russia-probe/
Adam Schiff says there's "more than circumstantial evidence" of Trump-Russia collusion
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
March 23, 2017, 8:14 AM

The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that there is now “more than circumstantial evidence” that Trump’s associates colluded with the Russians to interfere in the U.S. election.

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily,” host Chuck Todd asked if Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, currently has a circumstantial case.

“Actually, no, Chuck. I can tell you that the case is more than that. And I can’t go into the particulars, but there is more than circumstantial evidence now,” Schiff said.

Asked if he’s seen direct evidence of collusion, Schiff said, “I don’t to want go into specifics, but I will say that there is evidence that is not circumstantial, and it very much worthy of investigation. So, that is what we ought to do.”

Schiff said that his confidence in the integrity of the investigation was “severely shaken” Wednesday because of actions by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Nunes revealed to reporters Wednesday that it’s possible that President Trump’s personal communications might have been picked up by the intelligence community through “incidental collection.” He said that the intelligence community collected information about members of the Trump transition team on numerous occasions, the information was widely disseminated, and there was additional unmasking of these names. Nunes added that the surveillance had nothing to do with Russia, the investigation into Russian meddling in the election or the Trump transition itself.

Schiff said he first found out about the developments at Nunes’ press briefing with reporters. He railed against his GOP counterpart and reiterated his call for an independent commission to investigate Russian efforts to interfere in the election.



I’M GLAD TO SEE A SCHOOL IN THE DEEP SOUTH PUTTING CHALLENGING THINGS INTO THE SCHOOL. THAT’S WHAT STIMULATES CURIOSITY, WHICH STIMULATES READING AND RESEARCH, WHICH STIMULATES LEARNING! I NOTICED THAT THERE ARE BLACK KIDS IN THE CHESS CLUB, TOO. THAT GETS RID OF THE LOWERED EXPECTATIONS THAT SO MANY MINORITY KIDS ENCOUNTER.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chess-program-creates-state-championship-team-in-rural-mississippi/
Chess program creates state-championship team in rural Mississippi
The game of chess takes root in Franklin County, Mississippi, growing students' horizons and changing a whole community
Mar 23, 2017

In rural Franklin County, Mississippi, just seven of the 93 high school graduates last year went on to a four-year college. But that number may rise dramatically over the next few years, thanks to a chess program that has broadened the outlooks of hundreds of school children, while lifting the hopes of their parents and community. Sharyn Alfonsi reports from Franklin County on the next edition of 60 Minutes Sunday, March 26 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

chess-preview.jpg
In only a year-and-a-half, the chess program started in Franklin County by Dr. Jeff Bulington has turned out a state-champion chess team. It was a seminal moment when Franklin County dominated the state championships. “That was very sobering for them to suddenly realize ‘Wow, we are good.’” says Mitch Hamm, a team member’s parent. “The realization of their own potential was a beautiful moment.”

Some of the Franklin County grade schoolers out-played high schoolers in that statewide victory. They also overcame a stereotype. “People said country kids couldn’t learn chess,” says one of the players, Parker Wilkinson.

Even some locals were skeptical. They weren’t sure their kids were natural chess players. Says Bulington, “I was asked...’do you think...these kids have it? Could you have a chess program here?’ And I was, ‘yeah, of course. They’re as smart as any other kids I’ve ever met.’” Bulington came from Memphis, Tennessee, where he had built a chess program for city kids. He was recruited by a benefactor who is paying his salary. The benefactor wishes to remain anonymous.

“I feel like chess could take us anywhere. But it’s not about where it takes us, it’s about how far it takes us.”

Just 7,000 reside in Franklin County in Mississippi’s southwest region. In a rural, poor county with two stoplights, some can’t see far beyond the county line. Chess is changing that, says Hamm. “You always want to see your kids go further,” he tells Alfonsi. He sees the game, the competition, as a vehicle. “This gives them a window at a young age, that [says] ‘Hey, there’s a whole world out there. I don’t need to set my goals at making $8 an hour,’” says Hamm. “’I need to set my goals at whatever I want them to be.’”

Many of the students playing chess have gained a new confidence and seen a rise in their grades. Rebekah Griffin was in the fifth grade last year when she played in the state championships. “I didn’t really think about it until somebody told me, ‘You played a guy with a beard!’” Griffin is excited about her future. “I feel like chess could take us anywhere. But it’s not about where it takes us, it’s about how far it takes us.”

Every chess player who spoke to 60 Minutes plans to attend college.



THE MENTALITY OF THIS MAN IS TRULY FRIGHTENING GIVEN HIS POSITION IN THE COUNTRY

http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/23/politics/trump-time-interview-wiretaps-falsehoods/index.html
Trump defends wild claims: 'I'm president, and you're not'
By David Wright, CNN
Updated 8:34 PM ET, Thu March 23, 2017

(CNN)President Donald Trump defended some of the most controversial claims of his young political career in a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published Thursday, in which he offered a simple and absolute defense of his method:

"I'm a very instinctual person, but my instinct turns out to be right. Hey, look, in the meantime, I guess I can't be doing so badly, because I'm president, and you're not," he told Time's Washington bureau chief, Michael Scherer.

In interview about his falsehoods, President Trump offers new ones

The discussion for the cover story -- titled "Is Truth Dead?" -- covered subjects that ranged from Trump's wiretap accusations to the 2016 campaign trail conspiracy theory in the National Enquirer falsely connecting Sen. Ted Cruz's father and the JFK assassination.

Here are some takeaways from Trump's Time interview:

Anderson Cooper breaks down timing of information 03:50

Stands by Obama wiretap claim

Trump was unrepentant about his charge that former President Barack Obama "wiretapped" his phones at Trump Tower during the 2016 election -- an allegation soundly refuted by FBI Director James Comey in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee earlier this week. Trump defended the claim by shifting its focus.

"When I said wiretapping, it was in quotes. Because a wiretapping is, you know, today it is different than wire tapping. It is just a good description. But wiretapping was in quotes. What I'm talking about is surveillance," Trump told Time.

Lemon: Nunes looked like shill for Trump 03:17

Nunes' trek to the White House

Trump pointed to a stunning news conference Wednesday from Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, in which the congressman unilaterally revealed that communications of Trump and associates may have been picked up after the election by intelligence agencies conducting surveillance of foreign targets. The President, however, dismissed the key distinction between his claim and the type of legal and incidental intercepts Nunes had suggested.

"Just today I heard, just a little while ago, that Devin Nunes had a news conference, did you hear about this, where they have a lot of information on tapping. Did you hear about that?" Trump said. "House intelligence chairman Devin Nunes told reporters, wow. Nunes said, so that means I'm right, Nunes said the surveillance appears to have been ... incidental collection, that does not appear to have been related to concerns over Russia."

White House silent on wiretap claims 01:10

If he saw it on TV, it's real (unless it's fake news)

Trump also defended his administration's controversial assertion that the British spy agency GCHQ surveilled his campaign at the request of the Obama administration -- an allegation the agency has fiercely denied, and which prompted a diplomatic incident that national security adviser H.R. McMaster was drawn in to defuse. Trump seemed to concede that the information might have been bad, but wouldn't admit fault for repeating it.

"I quoted the judge the other day, Judge Napolitano," Trump told Time, referring to the Fox News contributor Andrew Napolitano, who reported the information on Fox News using anonymous sources, on which Trump's White House based the claim. "I have a lot of respect for Judge Napolitano, and he said that three sources have told him things that would make me right. I don't know where he has gone with it since then. But I'm quoting highly respected people from highly respected television networks."

Trump doubles down on denial of linking Cruz's dad to JFK assassination 01:33

If he reads it in a newspaper, it's real (unless it's fake news)

Trump was also asked about his baseless claim during the 2016 campaign that the father of Sen. Ted Cruz, Rafael, could be linked to the JFK assassination -- information he gleaned from a tabloid, the National Enquirer

"Well, that was in a newspaper," Trump said. "No, no, I like Ted Cruz. He's a friend of mine. But that was in a newspaper. I wasn't, I didn't say that. I was referring to a newspaper. A Ted Cruz article referred to a newspaper story with -- had a picture of Ted Cruz, his father, and Lee Harvey Oswald having breakfast."

Trump claims Brexit is preview of things to come 03:43

'I tend to be right'

Presented with a litany of other falsehoods and mischaracterizations, Trump offered this nonchalant rebuttal to his critics: "What am I going to tell you? I tend to be right. I'm an instinctual person, I happen to be a person that knows how life works."

As for evidence, Trump repeatedly returned -- unprompted -- his prediction that the Brexit vote would succeed, something many predicted wouldn't happen.

"Brexit, I predicted Brexit, you remember that, the day before the event. I said, 'No, Brexit is going to happen,' and everybody laughed, and Brexit happened. Many many things. They turn out to be right," he said.



BERNIE IS THAT RARE COMMODITY IN US SOCIETY, AN HONEST MAN WITH PLENTY OF CHUTZPAH, AND THAT DOES ATTRACT PEOPLE.

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/23/bernie-sanders-has-become-the-most-popular-politician-in-america-with-no-help-from-the-inside/
THURSDAY, MAR 23, 2017 10:00 AM EDT
Bernie Sanders has become the most popular politician in America — with no help from the inside
Democrats appear to be struggling to cope with their election loss in November, but Bernie continues to resonate VIDEO
CHARLIE MAY

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is the most popular of his peers in America right now, and it’s not even close, according to a recent Fox News poll. He currently holds the highest approval rating of any politician in the country, at 61 percent. The senator has very low disapproval rating as well — only 32 percent.

However, those numbers did not seem to impress Minority House Leader Nancy Pelosi. During a CNN interview Tuesday, Anderson Cooper asked her who she feels the leader of the Democratic Party is right now. Her response? Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

The Democrats appear to be struggling to cope with their election loss in November, and hold an approval rating at 36 percent, just a few points higher than Sanders’ disapproval rating. While there may not be much love for Sanders from Democratic party leaders, there is plenty of love outside the beltway. Sanders’ consistency may have a large part to do with that, as he continues to address issues such as the wealth gap, including his recent criticism of the Securities Exchange Commission for delaying a Dodd-Frank rule requiring CEOs to disclose how much money they make in comparison to their employees.

Sanders spent Tuesday outside the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Headquarters fighting for the rights of immigrants, and sending a direct message to President Trump.

“President Trump thinks he’s a tough guy because he’s taking on farm workers who make nine or ten bucks an hour; he’s a tough guy because he can throw moms and dads out of this country,” Sanders said, the Huffington Post reports.

“Well, I say to Mr. Trump, ‘If you’re such a tough guy, why don’t you take on the insurance companies and the drug companies and Wall Street.’”

Sanders has also focused on finding cost-effective solutions for alternative sources of energy. Last week the senator took a tour of Green Mountain Power’s Stafford Hill Solar Farm, where he also spoke to teenagers.

Sanders continues to reach out to the working class at a crucial time — 50 percent of American workers make less than $30,000 per year now — and his popularity continues to rise. It seems his message is resonating with Americans, including in West Virginia, a state he won in the Democratic primary but Trump carried in the general election. During a town hall meeting the senator discussed topics like coal, jobs, healthcare and the opioid crisis. The senator received massive applause when he proclaimed that “healthcare is a right.”



SEE THE GREAT SALON ARTICLE BELOW ON OUR “SMUGNESS” PROBLEM IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY. ATTITUDES TOWARD THE POOR – IT ISN’T JUST HOW WE ACT TOWARD THEM, BUT HOW WE ACTUALLY FEEL ABOUT THEM. REMEMBER A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE POOR ARE WHITES. OUR MIDDLE CLASS WERE NOT PRIMARILY COLLEGE EDUCATED PROFESSIONALS, BUT PEOPLE WHO WERE ABLE TO BUILD A MODEST HOUSE “MAKING GOOD MONEY” IN FACTORIES, PLUMBING, CONSTRUCTION, ETC. THOSE PEOPLE ARE SLIDING DOWN THE ECONOMIC HILL FASTER AND FASTER NOW AND THEY STILL DON’T HAVE A COLLEGE DEGREE, SO WHAT DOES THEIR FUTURE HOLD?

IF TRUMP DOES NOT MAGICALLY PRODUCE SOME FACTORY LEVEL JOBS, OR TAKE THE TIME AND MONEY REQUIRED TO TRAIN THEM FOR MORE TECHNICAL JOBS, I DON’T SEE THAT TURNING AROUND. SANDERS, OF COURSE, HAS MENTIONED AT LEAST ONCE A “GUARANTEED MINIMUM WAGE,” WHETHER OR NOT THE PERSON IS WORKING. THAT WOULD BE HARD FOR US TO GET USED TO, HOWEVER, BECAUSE IT ISN’T SOMETHING THAT MAKES PEOPLE PROUD. OF COURSE, STARVING AND HAVING NO HEALTH CARE OR AN AUTOMOBILE OR COLLEGE COURSES, ETC. MAKE US PROUD, EITHER.

WHAT WILL WE DO WHEN COMPUTERS DO EVERYTHING IN THE NEAR FUTURE? I KNOW! CHARITY WORK. THE TRUTH IS THAT THE “WONDERFUL” TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION HAS CREATED A SITUATION TO WHICH THE HUMAN CREATURE IS SIMPLY NOT ADAPTED. IN THE 1970S PEOPLE TALKED OF A “LEISURE SOCIETY.” AS GOOD AS THAT MAY SOUND, I DON’T BELIEVE IT IS, BECAUSE IT DENIES PEOPLE SOME OF WHAT THEY INHERENTLY NEED “TO COMPLETE THEMSELVES.” THAT IS A PART OF WHY WE ARE SO UNHAPPY AS A SOCIETY NOW. IT ISN’T JUST THOSE CONSARNED IMMIGRANTS AND GAYS AND ALL THOSE PEOPLE FROM THE WRONG RELIGIONS, BUT WHAT THE FRENCH CALL “ENNUI.” IT’S AN EMPTY PLACE IN THERE WHERE THE HEART SHOULD BE. THERE WAS A STATEMENT ON THE TV NEWS YESTERDAY THAT THE LOWER MIDDLE CLASS ARE NOT ONLY DISSATISFIED, THEY ARE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY ILL AND SUICIDES ARE UP. IT’S A SERIOUS PROBLEM, AND IF WE CAN’T AFFORD PSYCHIATRIC MEDS AND THERAPY IT MAY BE A TERMINAL ONE.


http://www.salon.com/2017/03/20/the-smug-style-in-american-liberalism-its-not-helping-folks-but-theres-a-better-way/?source=newsletter
The smug style in American liberalism: It’s not helping, folks — but there’s a better way
Maybe it's human nature to gloat while Trump's voters lose their health care — but it's not the path to victory
CONOR LYNCH
MONDAY, MAR 20, 2017 05:00 AM EDT

Photographs -- Rachel Maddow; Bill Maher; Keith Olbermann (Credit: AP/Nam Y. Huh/Janet Van Ham/Getty/Frederick M. Brown)

When various reports came out last week revealing that the American Health Care Act (Trumpcare) would disproportionately hurt segments of the population that favored Donald Trump in the presidential election, many liberals could hardly contain their glee.

“Good, I hope this impacts them horribly. Fuck them. They deserve to be hit the hardest,” wrote one commenter on the liberal website Daily Kos, while a Reddit user opined: “They voted for this to happen to other people, they deserve it.” Other liberals, though not exactly celebratory, could offer no sympathy to the ignorant rubes who let themselves get played by the Donald. Another Reddit user complained, “I think most people who call themselves liberals are tired of having their logic and valid arguments countered with total apathy and ignorance. They deserve [to lose their health insurance]. Period.”

The overall response from liberals, however, was more of a collective sigh than a collective sneer. For Democrats, this was an entirely predictable development and yet another example of large numbers of American people voting against their apparent interests because of their ignorance and cultural backwardness.

After decades of watching millions of Americans vote for right-wing charlatans who advocated economic policies that serve the wealthy and screw everyone else, some liberals have basically given up on appealing to these perceived yokels, who seem to care more about criminalizing abortion and hoarding guns than obtaining health are and decent wages. They are dumb, credulous and often intolerant; so why should we — progressive, rational, forward-thinking liberals — sympathize or try to reason with them? Let them lose their health care; maybe they’ll learn something this time around (though we all know they won’t).

In a prescient essay for Vox last year, Emmett Rensin called this condescending and contemptuous attitude the “smug style in American liberalism,” which he described as “a way of conducting politics, predicated on the belief that American life is not divided by moral difference or policy divergence . . . but by the failure of half the country to know what’s good for them.”

“If the smug style can be reduced to a single sentence,” Rensin worte, “it’s, Why are they voting against their own self-interest?”

VIDEO WHY TRUMP’S BUDGET CUT FOR ARTS FUNDING WILL BE A CULTURAL DISASTER — AND MAKES NO FISCAL SENSE,
Current Time 1:22/Duration Time 2:34

This question was bound to become even more prevalent with the election of Trump, who essentially won by flipping several Rust Belt states that Barack Obama had handily won in 2008 and 2012. Sure enough, many liberals have seemingly doubled down on this smug style, which tends to come out in full force whenever the president screws over his dumb, country-bumpkin supporters.

But this attitude has also been challenged by those on the left who argue that the Democratic Party has to offer a more populist vision and break out of its technocratic bubble in order to start winning elections again. This tends to offend many liberals, who respond by reminding everyone that the Democrats ran on the “most progressive platform in party history,” yet still failed to persuade uninformed blue-collar Americans, who credulously fell for the countless lies and false promises of Trump.

Both sides have a point, of course, and it is hardly smug to point out that American voters are overwhelmingly ignorant and uninformed about politics and government or that Trump supporters are particularly misinformed. Nor is it smug to correct someone when he or she states an obvious falsehood or to challenge the nonsensical rhetoric of a demagogue like Trump. The truth is, it can be hard not to come across as smug when you have to repeatedly debunk the endless falsehoods and conspiracy theories that come out of the president’s mouth (and when so many of his supporters seem unwilling to listen to reason).

It is smug, however, to disparage people for “voting against their interests” when in reality both parties have failed to adequately address the real problems facing poor and working-class communities across America today. While there can be no doubt that Hillary Clinton would have been a better president for the working and middle classes, it is also true that Trump was better on certain issues that are important to blue-collar workers, such as free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. (Even though Clinton opposed the TPP during her campaign, she didn’t have much credibility after having repeatedly praised it for years, whereas Trump immediately withdrew from the deal once in office). As Rensin noted in his essay, “No party these past decades has effectively represented the interests of these dispossessed,” but only one has “made a point of openly disdaining them too.” He continued:

Abandoned and without any party willing to champion their interests, people cling to candidates who, at the very least, are willing to represent their moral convictions. The smug style resents them for it, and they resent the smug in turn.

Last week Sen. Bernie Sanders did something that many liberals would have probably considered a waste of time, holding a town hall-style meeting in a coal mining county in West Virginia where voters had overwhelmingly cast ballots for Trump. During the meeting one person expressed support for universal health care and said he had voted for Trump “solely because he said he was going to help us,” adding, “he was going to put the coal miners back to work, and we’re going to have health care and this and that.” Rather than disparaging this man as an ignorant hick — the natural impulse for many liberals in such a situation — Sanders respectfully informed him and the audience that Trumpcare would result in millions of people losing their health insurance while giving the wealthiest Americans a massive tax cut. By the end of the town hall meeting, Sanders had seemingly won over the entire crowd.

As Trump and his Republican colleagues continue to screw over poor and working-class people in the days and months ahead, Democrats will have a perfect opportunity to expose the president as the fraud that he has always been and reclaim the “party of the people” title. Cheering as people lose their health insurance may not be the best way to go about this.