Saturday, April 26, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Ukraine Monastery Unites the Faithful as Country Splinters
By Jim Maceda
First published April 26 2014

SVYATOGORSK, Ukraine - Revolution in the West, insurrection in the East and Russian troops massing just across the border: There are plenty of reasons why Ukrainians might seek solace in God.

At this quiet monastery atop a hill, faith is bringing together regular parishioners despite their deep political divides.

"All Ukrainians have faith," said Alexandra Panova, a nurse visiting Svyatogorsk monastery with her nine-year-old son. "We all believe. I come here for peace of mind, both generally, and because of the current conflict."

Many indeed are trying to find peace in this ancient spiritual center about 20 miles from Slaviansk, an eastern stronghold of pro-Russian, armed men and checkpoints reinforced by truck tires and sandbags.

Svyatogorsk, or Holy Hill, is surrounded by fir trees and overlooks the Donets River. Monks built the first monastery on the summit five centuries ago, and it has been a citadel of pilgrimage for millions of Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Church members.
But contemplation and prayer don’t erase the political differences between those who attend services at Svyatogorsk.

Elena Naunova, a middle-aged Ukrainian who’s worked her whole life as a cook, believed Ukraine should remain united, and rejected the aggression of the pro-Russian insurgents.

She also blamed the media for drumming up trouble and disrupting the peace.
"The TV is constantly going on about terrorists and provocations. Jet fighter planes shooting and bombing. But look, you see, it is calm, thank God," she said. "Everything should be peaceful, they should demand their rights in a peaceful way, and the authorities should listen."

While the monastery has been able to unite regular parishioners like Naunova and Panova in prayer despite their opposing beliefs, those at the top of the church seem unable to remain above the political fray.

The Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Patriarchs’ words could hardly have been more discordant during the traditional Easter messages last weekend. Kirill, the Russian, asked to pray for the people of Ukraine.

"For an end to violence, for people’s love for each other, so that they should not be divided," he said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Filaret openly called Russia "the aggressor."
"Russia has taken Crimea from us the eastern regions of Ukraine," he said. "But we must remember that before the resurrection there was the crucifixion and suffering."

The Russian church encompasses its Ukrainian affiliate, although they have their own hierarchies.

Meanwhile, inside the Church of St Nicholas next to the monastery, monks moved busily in unison in their black robes, lighting candles before a sumptuous altar, rolling out carpets, kissing icons and preparing incense.

Men like these have repeated the same rituals in this church thousands of times. But this time, dozens of worshippers all seemed to be praying with a purpose, bracing for a civil war that could be just around the corner.

Kolya Kaupatenko fears the growing violence in his hometown of Slaviansk.
"Ukraine has been left without God," said Kolya Kaupatenko, a twenty-something Ukrainian who feared the growing violence in his hometown of Slaviansk. "It’s terrible. There’s banditry everywhere. What kind of life is this?"
Still, people here feel they will survive because Svyatogorsk always has through the centuries.

"The events in Kiev, the revolution, should never have happened the way it did," Panova said. "But I have Svyatogorsk, and I don’t think I’ll leave Ukraine, no matter what. Life goes on, as they say."




Svyatogorsk or Holy Hill was first built by monks 500 years ago and serves both Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox members. Elena Naunova, who believes Ukraine should “remain united,” and opposes the Russian advances, but blames the media for the constant focus on the separatists and “disrupting the peace.” She says of the separatists, "Everything should be peaceful, they should demand their rights in a peaceful way, and the authorities should listen."

Well, she's right. It just isn't the Russian plan to do that, and apparently it isn't the Kiev Ukrainians view that they should give in without a struggle. It is also obvious that the unrest is not caused by “the media,” but by partisan Ukrainians struggling for control with the help of Russia. Russia has said at least once that the US is involved in the Kiev revolution, but I don't believe it. There is no evidence of that, and I would expect Putin to make a much greater outcry if it were true. He just expected the Ukrainians to roll over and play dead with “the world” allowing him to march in and take control, and that hasn't happened.

At last week's Easter service the Russian priest prayed for unity and love among Ukrainians and the Ukrainian priest openly blamed the Russians for aggression. “Men like these have repeated the same rituals in this church thousands of times. But this time, dozens of worshippers all seemed to be praying with a purpose, bracing for a civil war that could be just around the corner.”

Kolya Kaupatenko says of life in Slaviansk, "It’s terrible. There’s banditry everywhere. What kind of life is this?" We have had our racial riots and some political disturbances here, especially in the 1970s, but the US government is strong enough that it does, when necessary, step in and prevent the unrest from becoming a revolution. The real key, though, is that we have a very active communication line between citizens and their legislative representatives, and even the President monitors public concern and comments on issues from time to time. On his website is a collection of petitions which collect citizens' signatures on any number of issues. If the number of signatures reaches a certain number he will consider addressing the issue publicly.




Last Residents of Picher, Oklahoma Won't Give Up the Ghost (Town) – NBC
By Dan Shepherd
First published April 26 2014

PICHER, Okla. -- Thirty years and hundreds of millions of dollars since work began to clean up this former lead and zinc mining boomtown, progress is still being measured in inches or feet. That gauge is provided by the towering but slowly diminishing piles of “chat,” or tailings, that still loom over what is now a virtual ghost town.

Picher, which in its heyday in the 1920’s boasted a population of nearly 20,000 people, no longer exists as a town. After being labeled one of the most polluted places in America by the EPA, declared a federal “Superfund” hazardous waste site, and also getting hit by a destructive tornado, it ceased municipal operations in 2009.
That same year, Picher-Cardin High School, perhaps best known for its distinctive “Gorilla” mascot, graduated its last class of 11 students.

Finally, in November 2013, after nearly all of its residents had accepted federal buyouts on their homes and moved away, the town formalized the obvious -- and dissolved its charter.

Today, there are only about 10 hardy souls left in Picher to watch as the clean-up slowly carves away at the dozen or so remaining piles of chat and restores Tar Creek, whose waters still run red from heavy metal runoff, to some semblance of its former self. If their health holds out, they likely have another 20 or 30 more years to take in the slow-motion show in this quiet northeastern corner of Oklahoma, near the Kansas and Missouri borders.

Among those still living and working in the town is 59-year-old Gary Linderman, who has owned and operated the Ole Miner Pharmacy on U.S. Highway 69 for 16 years. He first came to Picher in 1975, when he went to work as a student extern for the previous owners of the pharmacy. Despite the hardships visited on his town over the last century, he senses a change of fortune in the wind.

“I think there’s going to be a resurgence in Picher -- in time,” he said.

Pharmacist Gary Linderman, 59, runs the remaining retail business in Picher, Ole Miners Pharmacy. It's a social hub for former residents who remain loyal to the store and travel from nearby towns for their medicine.

That time is still some way off, according to Bob Sullivan, the Environmental Protection Agency site manager for the cleanup.

He says the federal government has spent $301 million since Picher and the surrounding areas were declared a “Superfund” site in 1983, when the town’s toxicity levels surpassed even those of the infamous Love Canal site in upstate New York in the mid-1970s.

Another $178 million is expected to be spent on the cleanup over the next 20 years, Sullivan says.

Most of the remediation work going on now involves excavating contaminated sludge and remodeling stream beds with clean soil, adding water treatment units, collecting clean water from existing uncontaminated wells and distributing it via a pipeline network to the few remaining homes and farms in the area, while also drilling new wells. Contractors continue to chew away at the chat piles as well, although the pace of that work can appear slow, since down-river Oklahoma residents have to wait for contaminated areas of Kansas and Missouri to be cleaned first.

That’s because cleaning up the Picher area is just part of the challenge. The so-called “Tar Creek Superfund Site,” which covers 40-square miles and also includes the towns of Quapaw, Commerce, Cardin and North Miami, is just one of four “sub sites” within what is called the “Tri-State Mining District,” an area that covers 2,500 square miles and extends into southeastern Kansas and southwestern Missouri. Rivers and soils in Kansas and Missouri are also polluted by toxic runoff, and work needs to continue there to prevent that pollution from undoing the progress that’s been made in Oklahoma.

The length of the cleanup in Picher is largely due to the long period of time that environmental damage was inflicted on the town and its surroundings.

Starting in the late 19th century, Picher was at the forefront of Oklahoma’s lead and zinc mining industry. At the height of the boom, in the 1920s, it had over 14,000 resident miners and possibly another 5,000 townspeople.

During both World Wars, 75 percent of all the bullets and bombshells expended by American troops were made from metals mined in the region.

The chat piles – mountains of crushed limestone, dolomite and silica-laden sedimentary rock that sometimes rose to heights of 300 feet or more – were the leftovers after the metal ore was separated.

Jack Greene, 91, worked in the mines beneath Picher from 1938 to 1941, before he was drafted into the Army during World War II. He remembers tremors from the mines shaking pencils off the desks at the high school. "They let people destroy this country from being so greedy," he said, describing the practice of removing pillars of rock originally left in place by miners to support the caverns they'd dug out.

By the time mining ceased operations in the late 1960s, there were an estimated 178 million tons of chat, mill sand and sludge in about 30 piles scattered in and around Picher. As the town dwindled to fewer than 2,000 residents, the chat piles became an integral part of the local culture. Families picnicked on them, 4-wheelers rode their bikes up and down them, while the local high school track team trained on them.
They knew to avoid Tar Creek after the waters started running red in the late 1970s – the result of pollution from heavy metals like lead, zinc, cadmium, arsenic, iron and manganese – but folks were slow to realize the extent to which the “chat” piles were slowly poisoning them.

A few local doctors did notice that kids in Picher seemed to get sick often, and teachers observed that their students always seemed to be lagging behind those in other parts of the state in testing. But no one linked the high lung cancer rates, cases of hypertension, respiratory infections and high infant mortality rates to the “chat” piles in Ottawa County.

Then health studies from the University of Kansas School of Medicine via an EPA Technical Assistance Grant in 2004 produced some alarming statistics. Some rates of disease in the three state mining area were 20 to 30 percent above average, but the rate of the chronic lung disease pneumoconiosis, for example, was 2,000 percent higher.

“People didn’t connect any of this to the mine,” said Rebecca Jim, executive director for the Local Environment Action Demand (LEAD) agency, a local, nonprofit environmental group. “They didn’t go, ‘This is causing me to get sick.’ Lead poisoning in children, you can’t tell it. They don’t walk funny. They don’t walk with a limp. With lead poisoning, it’s so subtle you don’t notice it unless it’s an extreme dose.”

Karen Harvey, 53, lived in Picher from 1960 to 2002, and as a kid she played on chat piles and swam in tailings ponds. "We'd go swimming in them and our hair would turn orange and it wouldn't wash out," she said. At age 18 she had surgery to correct bone growth in her ears that interfered with hearing. Noting that she's also dyslexic and was recently tested with an I.Q. of 65, she said she's starting to wonder if her childhood in Picher contributed to her health problems. "I don't know if that has something to do with it or not," she said. "I'm just figuring it out as I get older."
The federal and state governments were slow to appreciate the hazard as well.
After tests ordered by the state of Oklahoma showed heavy metals contamination in 1980, the EPA plugged wells and studied the local aquifer more closely. By the mid-1990’s, crews started removing six to 10 inches of surface soil from residents’ yards, hoping this would limit resident’s exposure to chat dust and contaminated drinking water.

By the early 1980’s, however, it became clear that half measures would not suffice and that the health risks were far greater than initially thought.

Meanwhile, another mining-related problem continued wreaking havoc in Picher. So many tunnels had been carved beneath the town that sinkholes began to appear as mines were abandoned, and officials realized they couldn't guarantee the safety of residents. An Army Corps of Engineers study in 2006 showed that almost nine out of 10 buildings in town were susceptible to sudden collapse. The federal government began making buyout offers to residents and business owners, many of whom were reluctant to leave a place that had been called 'home' for several generations.

Tires float with other junk in a pond formed by a collapsed mine outside Picher. Before the ground at this spot collapsed into the cavern below, leaving a 250-foot wide hole, there were three mine shafts visible at the surface, each with a five-by-seven-foot opening. The threat of more such collapses eventually prompted the government to offer buyouts to Picher residents.

The final blow to the town was delivered in May 2008, when a powerful EF4 tornado decimated 20 blocks of homes and businesses, killing eight residents and injuring 150 others.

After the tornado, nearly all of those who had rejected the buyouts were ready to concede that maybe it was time to move on.

Linderman was one of the few who didn’t. He says he didn’t want to leave his home and the government wasn’t offering all that much anyway.

So he continues to commute from his ranch near the small town of Welch, Okla., occasionally staying in the apartment he keeps at the back of the pharmacy. Even though the town of Picher no longer exists, his business is still on the electrical grid and he gets his water from wells that are tested and serviced by the nearby Quapaw tribe.

He says he believes the water is safe and that he has no concerns about his health -- “not one bit.”

Even though he’s very nearly the last man standing in town, he says business is still good, with former neighbors driving extra miles to pay a visit and pick up their medicines.

Why does he stay?
“Well, I’m very person-oriented and Picher, the people here are a very close-knit family, as I call it,” said Linderman. “They’re not just a clientele, they’re friends."




Piles of “chat” or industrial waste from the lead and zinc mining industry, according to Wikipedia is gravel (chat) or dissolved (tailings) which contain heavy metals and are dangerous to humans. The gravel is sometimes used during snow emergencies to put on the roadways for greater safety. The city's former population was 20,000, but in 2009 ceased civic operations. “After being labeled one of the most polluted places in America by the EPA, declared a federal “Superfund” hazardous waste site, and also getting hit by a destructive tornado.” There are 10 people left living in the former city limits.

Gary Linderman, who owns a pharmacy there, is hopeful, however. He said, “I think there’s going to be a resurgence in Picher -- in time.” Bob Sullivan who heads up the cleanup says that Federal funds are expected to be used there for at least 20 years. The polluted water from the Tar River also affects nearby towns of Quapaw, Commerce, Cardin and North Miami, while rivers in Kansas and Missouri are also polluted by the mine there. The length of the recovery is due to the long years of mining there, from the late 1800s through the two world wars.

Jack Greene, an ex-miner, said "They let people destroy this country from being so greedy." Around 2000 residents continued to live there after the mines stopped operating in the 1960s, but schools noticed that their kids were showing low achievement scores and there were more illnesses than normal. “But no one linked the high lung cancer rates, cases of hypertension, respiratory infections and high infant mortality rates” to the polluted water and gravel piles until an EPA Technical Assistance Grant in 2004 showed test results about the local illnesses. “Some diseases” were occurring at a rate 20 to 30% higher than normal, with a lung disease pneumoconiosis at 2000 times above normal throughout the Tri-state area.

Rebecca Jim, executive director for the Local Environment Action Demand (LEAD) agency states that the mining pollution was not blamed for the diseases. Karen Harvey, 53, a long time resident of the city tells of years of contact with the chat and polluted water growing up, and of her abnormal bone growth in her ear, dyslexia and a recent test giving her an IQ score of 65. Another health hazard began to appear in the 1970s in the form of sinkholes from the mining tunnels underneath the ground. “An Army Corps of Engineers study in 2006 showed that almost nine out of 10 buildings in town were susceptible to sudden collapse.” At that point the Federal government began making buyout offers to the citizens. Of Linderman the pharmacist, he says “he believes the water is safe and that he has no concerns about his health -- “not one bit.” To each his own.




'Kill Jews' Town Highlights Spain's Struggles with Anti-Semitism – NBC
By F. Brinley Bruton
First published April 26 2014

It is a case of better late than never: Centuries after thousands of Jews were forced to convert, burned at the stake or expelled, Spain is still grappling with its brutal and deep-seated anti-Semitic past.

The 56 residents of Castrillo Matajudios, which is near the northern city of Burgos, are set to decide on May 25 whether to change the village's name, the second half of which translates to "Kill Jews."

Matajudios is also still a surname and remains an expression in Spain used to say that someone's "a bit of a Jew."

“In some ways the name of the town tells us so much about Spanish history,” said Fordham University Professor Doron Ben-Atar. "Part of what Spain is, Spanish nationalism, is defined by its hostility to Judaism."

The looming vote does not obscure the fact that the country has not yet completely erased traditions that are directly linked to the extinction of a once-thriving Jewish culture in Spain.

Jews existed alongside Christians for centuries in Spain, often uneasily, until Roman Catholic forces expelled the ruling Muslim Moors in the 14th and 15th centuries. After that, being Jewish was deemed unacceptable.

Residents of the small Spanish town of Castrillo Matajudios, which means "Castle Kill Jews" in English, chat on Monday.

"I always tell my students that the expulsion from Spain -- one doesn't even want to think about it -- would be like the expulsion of Jews from the United States today," said Moises Orfali, a professor of Jewish history at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University.
Jewish-Christian conflict appears to have started pretty much from day one on the Iberian Peninsula where modern Spain is located.

"The Jews were being set upon by Christians early on"
In 308 A.D., bishops issued a decree preventing Christians from marrying and dining with Jews, says Elizabeth Drayson, who specializes in medieval and early Spanish literature and cultural history at Britain's Cambridge University.

“The Jews were being set upon by Christians early on,” she said. “What is interesting is there is a tale of Jewish treason that establishes itself from those times in the Christian cultural memory."

A concept of Christian purity which grew from the unification of Spain when the Moors were driven out and then brutally enforced for centuries by the Spanish Inquisition, continues to this day, according to Drayson.

“There is an element of denial of how appalling that sort of prejudice is in Spain,” Drayson said. “There is still a very strong right-wing faction that wants to foster that idea that it was a great thing that Christianity conquered the other two religions and drove out the Muslims and Jews from the peninsula. It is part of a kind of ethos of purity in Spain among some high-ranking academics and politicians.”
Indeed, this strict Christian view of Spanish history extends to the way the Moors are dealt with. Statues and other depictions of St. James the Moor-slayer, or "Matamoros," dot the country.

It isn't clear exactly how Castrilla Matajudios got its now-offensive name -- historic chronicles are notoriously unreliable.

Castrillo Matajudios Mayor Lorenzo Rodriguez Perez speaks to Spanish TV on Tuesday.
It is thought that the town's original name, which translates to "Hill or Mount of Jews," came about after dozens of Jewish men were slaughtered by Christians in the neighboring town of Castrojeriz in 1035.

Fleeing families took refuge on the hill and the town’s name was born, and in a significant nod to its past, the town’s crest contains the Jewish star of David.
But in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled or burned at the stake Jews who refused to convert to Catholicism.

"The reality is that European Jews feel terribly unsafe."
The town only changed its name to Castrilla Matajudios in the early 17th century. One version of the story is that the name was mis-transcribed onto official documents -- Matajudios is only one letter away from Motajudios -- which means "Hill of Jews."
Another version is that the town intentionally changed its name amid the intense pressure to conform to the ideal of Christian purity that had become central to Spanish identity, according to experts.

The town is only about 30 miles away from Burgos, a city renowned for its elaborate cathedral and being a major stop along the Camino de Santiago, one of Europe's most popular Catholic pilgrimage routes.

Regardless, the name seems to hit on the fact of persistent and some say growing anti-Semitism throughout Europe (a recent study found that 76 percent of respondents felt that anti-Semitism had worsened over the past five years).

“The reality is that European Jews feel terribly unsafe,” Fordham University's Ben-Atar said.

Orfali, the Jewish history professor, notes that the word "Matajudios" is not just a name.

"It is a tradition to drink on Easter during the festivals of Good Friday, a special sort of sangria and toast saying 'killing Jews,'" he added. "'Matar judios' does not mean to kill them physically but to have this drink. The connotation of this is to remember other times in the Middle Ages in which Jews were afraid to be seen in public by Christians."

And while the mayor of Matajudios, Lorenzo Rodríguez Pérez, is making moves to come to terms with the village's past -- he wants to commission excavations to look for Jewish history, for example -- the proposed name change might not have enough support at the ballot box.

"Let's see what the voters say," Orfali said.




“The 56 residents of Castrillo Matajudios, which is near the northern city of Burgos, are set to decide on May 25 whether to change the village's name, the second half of which translates to "Kill Jews." Fordham University Professor Doron Ben-Atar said "Part of what Spain is, Spanish nationalism, is defined by its hostility to Judaism." According to this article the government and society didn't endanger Jews until the Catholics took over from the Islamic Moors.

Moises Orfali, a professor of Jewish history at Israel’s Bar-Ilan University, likens the expulsion of the Jews from Spain to that of the USA, if such were to occur. There were apparently many prosperous Jews in Spain before that the Catholic conquest. A bishop's decree in 308 AD prohibited the intermarriage or even dining together of Christians and Jews. A myth of ethnic and religious “purity” in Spain exists among right-wing people today, who comprise a very strong faction, many of whom have good educations and high positions in the society and government. “There is an element of denial of how appalling that sort of prejudice is in Spain,” Elizabeth Drayson said.

Though Mayor Lorenzo Rodriguez Perez “is making moves to come to terms with the village's past -- he wants to commission excavations to look for Jewish history, for example -- the proposed name change might not have enough support at the ballot box.” According to 75% of people in Spain polled recently, the problem of anti-semitism is worsening over the last five years. “The reality is that European Jews feel terribly unsafe,” said Fordham University's Ben-Atar.

So much of this is linked with nationalism. Nationalism has always been a good thing for societies, and at the same time the source of conflict. It is based on conflict – self-determination by excluding “the other” can bring unity and strength to a group of people – definition. In bad times of such economic turmoil as we are having today, there tends to be more anger in general.

If people could learn to have high self-esteem without looking down on somebody else, we would have much less trouble in our Western culture, and of course such things exist everywhere else as well. The hatred of “the other” is a part of the clan mentality that all humans have at a basic level. Humans are fighters. Anyone who is different is the enemy. It's not one of the signs of our so-called high IQ.

One reason the South has remained a more or less right-wing part of the US is because of their total defeat and humiliation in the Civil War. The Southern states have remained economically and educationally impoverished to a great degree, though there has been a good deal of improvement on that in the last fifty years or so. Piedmont NC, when I go home, is really “looking up.” The South and the West in general are still strongholds of racial, religious and economic bigotry, however, which makes me lucky that I am white and not Jewish or Catholic. I also am glad I don't live in Europe, with the possible exception of England. The European nations are beautiful areas with fascinating histories, but not so easy to live in as the US.





25 million middle-class Americans live hand-to-mouth – CBS
By Aimee Picchi MoneyWatch April 25, 2014

If asked to describe the typical American who lives paycheck-to-paycheck, you might conjure up the image of a minimum-wage worker struggling to make rent each month.

But a new study out of the Brookings Institution finds that two-thirds of U.S. households living "hand-to-mouth" are actually middle class, with homes and retirement assets. Only about one-third of those just getting by financially are what most would consider poor, with median incomes of about $20,000.

Overall, about 38 million American families live hand-to-mouth, or about one-third of all U.S. households.

So why do families with decent incomes and assets have to live "hand-to-mouth," spending all their cash with each paycheck? The reason may be that such middle-class consumers are opting to put money into illiquid investments with better rates of return than a savings account, such as real estate or a retirement portfolio, Greg Kaplan, assistant professor of economics at Princeton University, told CBS MoneyWatch.

"This behavior might look on the face to be kind of crazy, but in some of our other work we show it looks like a very sensible thing to do, given the incentives to invest in retirement accounts and real estate," he said.

Those incentives include tax-deferred contributions to retirement accounts and the home mortgage interest deduction.

Middle-class households living hand-to-mouth tend to be older, at about 40-years-old, than poor paycheck-to-paycheck families and hold an average of about $50,000 in illiquid assets, according to the study, which is from Kaplan, Giovanni Violante of New York University and Justin Weidner of Princeton University.

The findings may alarm financial experts, who typically recommend that households sock away about three to six months of income in a savings account to cover emergencies such as a health problem or the loss of a job. Such crises "are a real risk, but they are fairly uncommon," Kaplan said. Americans may be balancing those unlikely risks with the fact that returns on real estate, stocks and bonds far outpace the almost zero rate of return on a savings account.

America isn't alone: More than one-third of the populations of Canada, the U.K. and Germany also live paycheck to paycheck. The one outlier is Australia, which has almost no poor "hand-to-mouth" households, while about one-fifth of the country is comprised of middle-class paycheck-to-paycheck households. That's due to Australia's requirement that employers contribute to their workers' retirement accounts, the study noted.

The study was designed to consider which households are served by fiscal policies such as government transfers -- tax rebates, for instance -- to stimulate the economy.

"To understand how effective it is, you have to think about whether households are likely to spend that income," Kaplan noted. For fiscal policy to get the "biggest bang for the buck," it's important to figure out which households are actually living hand-to-mouth, which turns out to be a large number of middle-class households.
Of course, that might not come as a surprise to many Americans. For those working for companies with 401(k) programs or pension plans, it may seem painless to put aside money for their golden years. And after taking out taxes, retirement savings and other deductions from the median household income of $53,000, there may be little left for middle-class earners to sock away, even if they wanted to.




According to the Brookings Institute, “two-thirds of U.S. households living "hand-to-mouth" are actually middle class, with homes and retirement assets. Only about one-third of those just getting by financially are what most would consider poor, with median incomes of about $20,000.” Canada, the UK, and Germany are in the same financial condition, but Australia has a law requiring employers to pay for a retirement fund for each employee, so their citizens tend to be better off. That would never be enacted in the US I don't think. I can't imagine the Republican Congress passing it.

This article does explain that the heavy investment in houses and retirement funds do offer better income returns than a simple bank savings account, so the lack of a “rainy day” savings account is understandable, and of course it is usually possible to get cash by selling your house or car if the market is good. The truth is, though, that the Middle Class and the poor are on their way to becoming poorer and the rich are indeed, just like the old song says, “getting richer.” This doesn't make me happy, with medical costs and college tuition going up all the time. I am prepared to hold on tightly financially for the rest of my life and hope for the best. It's all I can do, since I probably won't win the Lottery.





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What Russia Might Gain From A Decentralized Ukraine – NPR
by Corey Flintoff
April 26, 2014

Ukraine's interim government is facing major obstacles: a separatist uprising in the east of the country, an economy in tatters and a presidential election next month.

But the leadership is also facing a longer-term challenge, one that will shape the future of the country: the creation of a new constitution.

The task will be complicated by pressure from Russia, which has already made clear what kind of constitution it thinks Ukraine should have. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, laid out Russia's position in an interview last month.

"They should start agreeing on a federation, where each region has broad authority over its language, education, economic and cultural ties with neighboring countries," Lavrov said.

What Lavrov seemed to be outlining is a country whose regions have such broad authority that they can even control a certain amount of foreign policy. Other Russian statements have specified that Ukraine's constitution should keep the country neutral so it can't join NATO, and that the nation should declare Russian to be an official state language.

Vladimir Ryzhkov, a liberal politician and former member of Russia's lower house of parliament, says federation can work for countries that are diverse and complex, like Russia itself, or the United States, Canada or Germany.

"It's a very good concept for complicated countries, because federalism lets different regions, different minorities to be represented," Ryzhkov says.
Ryzhkov says a federal system could be useful in Ukraine as a way to balance the rights of the country's linguistic and religious minorities, including the Russian speakers in the east and south.

Keith Darden, associate professor at American University's School of International Service, agrees — in principle. Darden says the problem is with the system that Russia is proposing for Ukraine.

"What they're currently putting on the table is really a very weak confederation, with very little central governmental authority in Kiev," Darden says. "Almost all power in separate regions, which would give them authority to conduct their own foreign affairs, for example."

Ryzhkov says the key to successful federations is a strong central government, with power over the regions — again like Russia, the United States and Germany.
The "problem for Ukraine now is, that central government is so weak, almost bankrupt, that federalism could destroy Ukraine, if [the] regions will be almost independent," Ryzhkov says.

Another key ingredient for creating a successful federation, Darden says, is respect for the rule of law.

"In Germany, you had a firm commitment to the rule of law, so that a written constitution actually was realized in a way that was similar to the way it was designed," he says. "In Ukraine, because there's this sort of legal anarchy in some ways, that who controls power controls the law, you have to be a little bit more careful in designing a constitution."

Darden says Russia stands to gain two things if its version of federalism were to be implemented in Ukraine. First, it would guarantee that Ukraine would never become part of the NATO alliance, because Russian-speaking provinces would veto such a move.
"The second thing that they get is the prospect of de-legitimizing the government in Kiev," he says. "This is a way of pulling power out of Kiev, and it's an extreme form of pulling power out of Kiev, to the point where it will destabilize the Ukrainian government."

The debate over constitutional reform has already begun in Ukraine, where the prime minister has promised to start a process that will deliver the new document by September.




The big decision now is how to construct a new constitution, about which Russia has very strong views. "They should start agreeing on a federation, where each region has broad authority over its language, education, economic and cultural ties with neighboring countries," Lavrov said. The article goes on to say that Russia in addition wants Ukraine to be “neutral so it can't join NATO” and have Russian as the national language.

From the article, “Ryzhkov says the key to successful federations is a strong central government, with power over the regions — again like Russia, the United States and Germany....The "problem for Ukraine now is, that central government is so weak, almost bankrupt, that federalism could destroy Ukraine, if [the] regions will be almost independent," Ryzhkov says.

I also foresee Russia constantly messing in the politics in all sections of Ukraine, trying to destabilize the area further – “divide and conquer.” I think a stronger central government with one strong legislative body like the US, with “states rights” as we have under our constitution, giving some rights and responsibilities to the state – or regional unit – and others to the capital or Federal government in Kiev.

In our country, the Federal government sees to that all children will be sent to school until they are a certain age – 16 I believe – and that the schools will not be racially or otherwise segregated, but the states can have a great deal of control about who is hired to teach and what textbooks are selected. That's why some school texts teach “intelligent design” in their biology classes rather than only Darwin's theory of evolution. It's also why many public schools would like to have prayer daily in the school classrooms, but the Federal government doesn't allow it, because an absolute freedom of religion is guaranteed in our constitution, and mandating a Protestant or Catholic or Jewish prayer would violate that.

Many “conservative” religious people would like to change that, but I don't consider that viewpoint to be conservative at all. It is radical. Anyway, they will have to make a constitutional amendment to make a change, and I don't think they have enough votes to do that. Too many people in the US think education should not be prejudiced as to religious views. That is partly why the position of Jews is our country is not as endangered as it is in Europe. Our textbooks are not allowed to denigrate anyone by race or religion.




Apology -- I drive to church and a visit with my friend one Sunday a month and that is going to happen tomorrow, so I will not do a blog. It is too time consuming. Best wishes to you all.

Friday, April 25, 2014


News Clips For The Day



Man in Wheelchair Says He Was Humiliated at Minneapolis McDonald's – NBC
By Daniel Arkin
First published April 24 2014


A disabled man in a wheelchair who uses a service dog says he was mocked and humiliated on two occasions when he tried to order food and eat inside a McDonald's restaurant in Minneapolis, according to a federal lawsuit.

Robert Mingo, 52, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and a chronic back ailment, alleges that he encountered hostility and poor treatment during two separate visits to the McDonald's in August 2012 and May 2013, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday.

He is suing the owner of the McDonald's franchise as well as the global corporation in federal court seeking unspecified damages and requirements that company employees be educated about the disabilities act.

The lawsuit concedes that Mingo was ultimately served on both visits, although on the second visit he was denied the right to eat in the designated dining area by a manager who said, "I am the law" — a remark that allegedly drew laughter from nearby customers.

Mingo's suit claims that in August 2012, he was told at the counter that his service dog, Max, prevented him from being served. He then wheeled up to the drive-through, where the same employee said: "We don't serve those things in the drive-through."
The man was eventually allowed to buy food but told that he was barred from returning, according to the suit.

Mingo alleges that in May 2013, he returned to the same McDonald's, where his order was taken "without any issues." But the manager then demanded documentation that Max is a service dog, and in response, Mingo said his wheelchair was sufficient documentation. He was again ordered to leave, the lawsuit said.

Representatives for the McDonald's franchise and the McDonald's corporation did not immediately return calls placed by NBC News.

The McDonald’s location’s owner, Tim Baylor, said in a statement to the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he takes “complaints like this seriously (and) we do our best to provide a great customer experience to every customer.”

Baylor would not address Mingo’s specific allegations, according to the Tribune.




People in wheelchairs should always be served with extra care, and the presence of a service dog is not so unusual that it wouldn't generally be understood. I have encountered service dogs a number of times and they are always well-behaved and gentle. Businesses like McDonald's aren't hiring the most educated employees sometimes, but they should be told not to be disrespectful and disruptive to any customer's experience there. For the manager to be rude is even worse. There are better hamburgers on the market than McDonald's and if they aren't careful Wendy's will take over their business.




Russia 'Wants To Start World War III': Ukrainian PM Yatsenyuk – NBC
Reuters contributed to this report.
- Alexander Smith
First published April 25 2014

Russia "wants to start World War III" and Moscow's veiled threats of military action could start an armed conflict in Europe, Ukraine's prime minister said Friday,

Arseniy Yatsenyuk made the comments a day after Russia said it had been "forced" to start fresh military drills just over the border because of increased activity by NATO and the Ukrainian military.

"Attempts at military conflict in Ukraine will lead to a military conflict in Europe,'' Yatsenyuk told a cabinet meeting broadcast live and translated by Reuters.
"The world has not yet forgotten World War II, but Russia already wants to start World War III."

Russian Msta-S self-propelled howitzers fire during military exercises in the Volgograd region on April 2.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukrainian attempts to drive armed pro-Moscow separatists out of occupied buildings across the east of the country would be met with "consequences."

A day earlier, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the crisis to Russia's war with Georgia in 2008 and said Moscow may be forced to act in a similar way again.

Ukraine's operation against the separatists - whom the West says are backed by Russia - turned deadly Thursday amid reports that five pro-Russian militiamen had been killed in the city of Slaviansk.

Ukrainian officials denied reports Friday it had suspended its so-called anti-terror operation (ATO) in the face of the Russian drills.

"There has been no suspension of the ATO in connection to the threat of invasion by Russia's armed forces," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page, translated by Reuters. "The ATO goes on. The terrorists should be on their guard around the clock. Civilians have nothing to fear."


2008 Georgia–Russia crisis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Georgia–Russia crisis is an international crisis between Georgia and Russia that escalated in 2008, when both countries accused each other of military buildup near the separatist regions Abkhazia and South Ossetia. On March 6, 2008 Russia announced that it would no longer participate in the Commonwealth of Independent States economic sanctions imposed on Abkhazia in 1996.[1]

Increasing tensions led to the outbreak of the Russo-Georgian war in 2008. After the war, a number of incidents have occurred in both conflict zones, and tensions between the belligerents remain high. The crisis has been linked to the push for Georgia to receive a NATO Membership Action Plan and, indirectly, the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.[2]

War[edit]
Main article: Russo-Georgian war
This crisis gave rise on August 7, 2008, to a war involving Georgia and Russia along with Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. During the night of 7 to 8 August 2008, Georgia launched a large-scale military offensive against South Ossetia, in an attempt to reclaim the territory.[109]
Post-war events in 2008[edit]

On August 26, 2008, Russia officially recognized both South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states.[110] In response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian government announced that the country had cut all diplomatic relations with Russia.[111] Russia had already closed its embassy right after the beginning of the war in South Ossetia in August 2008 before diplomatic relations between the two countries ended.[citation needed




“Ukrainian attempts to drive armed pro-Moscow separatists out of occupied buildings across the east of the country would be met with "consequences," said Putin yesterday. Lavrov threatened that Russia may be “forced to act in the same way” as it did in Georgia in 2008. This military attempt by Georgia against South Ossetia began on August 7, 2008, and ended less than a month later with Russia recognizing South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states, while Georgia cut all diplomatic ties with Russia. Russia had already closed its embassy there. Note that the conflict in Georgia was partly over their desire to join NATO, and Russia has made the same complaint against Ukraine recently.

On reports that Ukraine had pulled back in its efforts in the east, is the following: “There has been no suspension of the ATO in connection to the threat of invasion by Russia's armed forces," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page, translated by Reuters. "The ATO goes on. The terrorists should be on their guard around the clock. Civilians have nothing to fear." The crisis goes on.




Amish Seek Measles Shots After Ohio Outbreak Sickens 15 – NBC
By JoNel Aleccia
First published April 25 2014

Members of an Ohio Amish community normally reluctant to vaccinate their children flocked to a makeshift clinic for measles shots this week after an outbreak that may have sickened at least 15 people.

More than 135 people crowded into a local woodworking business Thursday where nurses used up every available dose of vaccine — and then ordered 300 doses more, said Pam Palm, a spokeswoman for the Knox County, Ohio, Health Department.

“Not getting immunizations has been the way the Amish have felt in the past, but they certainly have responded in this situation,” Palm said.

The outbreak was detected this week when four unvaccinated Amish community members showed evidence of measles infection following a March trip to the Philippines to offer humanitarian aid to typhoon victims. More than 20,000 people have caught measles in the Philippines and at least 50 have died in a severe ongoing outbreak.
"They certainly have responded in this situation.”

Those four travelers likely infected at least 11 others aged 2 to 48, Palm said, adding that tests are still pending. Amish religious doctrine doesn’t prohibit vaccination, but many families object to immunization and rates are far lower than in the general population, according to a 2011 study.

They were part of groups convened by Christian Aid Ministries, an Amish-Mennonite organization based in Berlin, Ohio. David Leid, a project coordinator, said that the group had planned to send at least two dozen more groups to the Philippines in coming months, but that the measles outbreak may have changed that.

Volunteers are encouraged, but not required, to be vaccinated, Leid said.
“We can’t stop people from going to another country."

Health officials have asked unvaccinated people who traveled to the Philippines to isolate themselves for 21 days, a self-quarantine to prevent any measles cases that may develop from spreading. That request would apply to any future groups who travel to and from the country while the outbreak continues, Palm said.

She acknowledged that local, state and federal health officials have no authority to prevent unvaccinated people from traveling to disease-prone areas. “We can’t stop people from going to another country,” she said.

Palm said the sight of so many community members with high fevers and rashes may have influenced the decision to seek measles shots. Measles is highly contagious and can cause serious illness and in rare cases, death.

The U.S. is experiencing a surge of measles this year fueled in large part by unvaccinated travelers, mostly to the Philippines, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. At least 129 cases have been confirmed in 13 states, the highest number reported during this period since 1996.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/06/anti-vaccine-movement-is-giving-diseases-a-2nd-life/7007955/
Anti-vaccine movement is giving diseases a 2nd life

Some American families who fear vaccines may cause autism, and others who don't trust the federal government are choosing not to vaccinate. In some places diseases once thought to be conquered are making a comeback.

Kathryn Riffenburg decided on a closed casket for her baby's funeral.

She didn't want her family to see what whooping cough, her son's first illness, had done to 9-week-old Brady Alcaide. The nearly forgotten disease, which has in recent years afflicted thousands of Americans, left Brady's tiny body swollen and unrecognizable.

So his mother dressed him in a white baptismal suit and hat and tucked him into a tiny white casket. Brady's burial came just four weeks after his first laugh — inspired by her version of I'm a Little Teapot — and two weeks after his family learned that he had contracted a vaccine-preventable illness.

"It just seemed like it was impossible," says Riffenburg, 31, of Chicopee, Mass. "It felt like we were dropped in The Wizard of Oz. We went from sitting in the hospital day by day, waiting for him to get better for almost two weeks, to doctors telling us we had a 50/50 chance he was going to make it."

The mother, who was inoculated years before giving birth to Brady, later learned that she could have gotten a booster shot during her pregnancy that likely would have saved Brady's life. Although Riffenburg didn't know to get revaccinated, people actively choosing not to are helping diseases once largely relegated to the pages of history books — including measles — make a comeback in cities across the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recent measles outbreaks in New York, California and Texas are examples of what could happen on a larger scale if vaccination rates dropped, says Anne Schuchat, the CDC's director of immunizations and respiratory diseases. Officials declared measles, which causes itchy rashes and fevers, eradicated in the United States in 2000. Yet this year, the disease is on track to infect three times as many people as in 2009. That's because in most cases people who have not been vaccinated are getting infected by others traveling into the United States. Then, Schuchat says, the infected spread it in their communities.

The 189 cases of measles in the U.S. last year is small compared with the 530,000 cases the country used to see on average each year in the 20th century. But, the disease — which started to wane when a vaccine was introduced in 1967 — is one of the most contagious in the world and could quickly go from sporadic nuisance to widespread killer.

Measles kills about once in every 1,000 cases. As cases mount, so does the risk. "We really don't want a child to die from measles, but it's almost inevitable," says Schuchat. "Major resurgences of diseases can sneak up on us."

Vaccination rates against most diseases are about 90%. Fewer than 1% of Americans forgo all vaccinations, Schuchat says. Even so, in some states the anti-vaccine movement, aided by religious and philosophical state exemptions, is growing, says Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He points to states like Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon and Vermont — where more than 4.5% of kindergartners last year were unvaccinated for non-medical reasons — as examples of potential hot spots. Such states' rates are four times the national average and illustrate a trend among select groups.

"People assume this will never happen to them until it happens to them," Offit says. "It's a shame that's the way we have to learn the lesson. There's a human price for that lesson."

The most vulnerable are infants who may be too young to be vaccinated, children with compromised immune systems and others who may be unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons, scientists say.

In communities across the nation, Americans of all stripes are making dangerous decisions to reschedule or forgo immunization, says Alan Hinman, a scientist who sits on the scientific advisory board of Voices for Vaccines, which supports and advocates for on-time vaccinations.

The anti-vaccination movement has picked up steam in the past decade with support from celebrities such as actress Jenny McCarthy, actor Aidan Quinn and reality TV star Kristin Cavallari, who last month said not vaccinating was "the best decision" for her children. Many continue to believe the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism, while others don't trust the federal government or the pharmaceutical companies responsible for these vaccines.

DISEASE CAN STRIKE ANYWHERE
Riffenburg hopes her family's experience will serve as a wake-up call. At first, Brady seemed to have a simple cold. As his symptoms worsened, Riffenburg and her fiancé, Jonathan Alcaide, took him to the hospital, where doctors suspected he had whooping cough.

Two weeks later, Brady stopped breathing. His brain was without oxygen for some time, and he was put on life support, where Riffenburg said the horrific effects of the disease made her child become unrecognizable. A day later, she made the excruciating decision to take him off machines. The child died while cradled in her arms.
"I hope Brady has saved babies and protected them because we have spread his story," RIffenburg says.

Since then, Riffenburg has made sure that her fiancé and her two daughters, now 7 and 10, get all of their booster shots. She was also inoculated while pregnant with her now 1-year-old son, Jaxon. And she insisted everyone — including doctors, family members and even the hospital photographer — got booster shots before they came near Jaxon.

It is not clear where Brady contracted whooping cough. Schuchat says that is precisely why communities must maintain high vaccination rates. Many might not know they are carrying a disease but can still be contagious and pass it on before symptoms arrive.

"It doesn't have to be on an airplane or at an airport. It could be at a grocery store or the concert you went to," Schuchat says.
During a 2008 measles outbreak in San Diego, CDC officials were shocked to find school districts where one in five children were not vaccinated against the disease, she says.

Last year, California had the largest number of unprotected kindergartners not vaccinated for their parents' philosophical reasons: 14,921. This year, 49 cases of measles had been reported by March. The state had four cases by that time last year.

'WE CRIED FOR A LONG TIME'
As cases of these diseases flare and create headlines, parents whose children have suffered are pushing back.

Jeremiah Mitchell, 10, plays Xbox with no hands, writes with a pencil strapped to what remains of his arms and prefers eating pizza because it's one of the few foods he can hold.

Four years ago, doctors working to rid his body of meningitis amputated both his arms and legs as well as parts of his eyelids, jaw and ears. At the time, Jeremiah, then 6, was a kindergartner in Oologah-Talala Public Schools in Oklahoma. An outbreak of meningitis in the school system killed two children and infected five others, including Jeremiah.

In 12 hours, Jeremiah went from being a child who loved climbing trees and riding his bicycle in the mud to being in a coma, says his mother, Michaela Mitchell, 42, of Tulsa. He spent 14 days unconscious in the hospital as parts of his body became blackened and burned-looking from t​he disease.

"He came out with all his limbs cut off and wrapped up like a mummy — I fainted," Mitchell says. "We cried for a long time."

Jeremiah wasn't vaccinated against meningitis because at his age his school didn't require it, Mitchell says. CDC suggests all 11- or 12-year-olds get the vaccine and receive a booster shot at 16. And though his family did everything according to medical recommendations, Jeremiah was exposed because someone brought the disease into their community.

Now Mitchell, who takes care of her son full time, and Jeremiah, who faces more reconstructive surgeries, work with Meningitis Angels, a non-profit that supports families affected by bacterial meningitis and advocates for vaccinations.
Other organizations including the National Meningitis Association, Every Child By Two, and PKIDs combine personal stories and scientific evidence to encourage vaccinations.

From the medical side of the equation, some physicians have resorted to their own defenses to protect their patients from those who won't vaccinate.

Doctors at Olde Towne Pediatrics in Manassas, Va., won't take new patients if the parents don't plan to vaccinate their children. It's not clear how many other physicians do the same, as experts say no comprehensive studies of the practice have been done.

"We don't want to put our patients at risk because people for their own personal reasons don't want to vaccinate," said Anastasia Williams, a managing partner of the practice who has been a pediatrician for 15 years. "We are doing our due diligence to protect our children who wait in our waiting room."

Several states have also worked to make getting an exemption tougher.
In Colorado, where 4% of kindergartners last year didn't have their shots for non-medical reasons, a proposed bill sponsored by State Rep. Dan Pabon, a Democrat from Denver, would require parents to get a doctor's note or watch a video about risks before opting out of vaccines.

VACCINE SKEPTICS
Such measures offend Sarah Pope, a Tampa mother of three, and Shane Ellison, a father of three in Los Angeles. They both decided against vaccinating their kids because they fear the potential side effects.

In 2006, all three of Pope's children — now 9, 11 and 15 — contracted whooping cough, the same disease that killed Brady. Seven years earlier, Pope had decided against vaccinating any of her children. After seven weeks of coughing, and with treatment by a holistic doctor and natural supplements, all three recovered without complications, she says.

"I wasn't scared by it," says Pope, 49, who runs The Healthy Home Economist, a healthy living website and blogs about vaccines. "People only see the bad with infectious diseases. But infectious diseases do help children strengthen their bodies."

Pope and Ellison say it is unfair to pressure parents into using vaccines that aren't 100% effective. However, doctors note that all drugs — even aspirin — have risks, and none is 100% effective.

High vaccination rates can protect even unvaccinated people by lowering the level of infectious disease in the community, a phenomenon known as herd immunity, says Hinman, a senior public health scientist at the Task Force for Global Health. The more people who are vaccinated, the less likely anyone in that community will be infected.

Though vaccines are considered safe, Schuchat points out that they can cause reactions in some children, which in rare cases can be serious. But one of the most publicized fears of the anti-vaccine movement — that they cause autism — has been debunked by dozens of studies that have found no link.

Even so, parents like Ellison, 39, don't buy it, and he points out that he comes to the issue with some expertise: He has a master's degree in organic chemistry and used to work in the pharmaceutical industry designing medicines. His children — 6 months old, 8 and 12 — were all born at home. Aside from one visit to an emergency room for a bruised finger, none of them has ever been to a doctor, and they're all healthy, he says, except for the occasional sore throat or common cold.

"The doctors all have the same script for vaccines," says Ellison, who runs The People's Chemist, a website about health.

He is working to build and support his children's natural immune system using three healthy meals a day, exercise and sunshine. He says if his kids get sick he would rather rely on emergency care than vaccines.

"It's much more soothing to trust emergency medicine than a vaccine, which for me is like playing Russian roulette," he says.

Yet as Samantha Purkiss learned, bringing infected people to the emergency department is simply another way to spread disease.

Purkiss' 7-month-old daughter, Olivia, got measles while in a San Diego hospital emergency room last month. Olivia had visited the ER while her dad was having an ingrown toenail removed. Two weeks later, Olivia was back in the emergency room with measles. Doctors spent 12 hours testing and observing her. She later recovered.
"We are blessed because she didn't end up with any complications," says Purkiss, 20, who is 16 weeks' pregnant and takes care of Olivia full time. "If the wrong person is in the wrong place, that happens."




“Some American families who fear vaccines may cause autism, and others who don't trust the federal government are choosing not to vaccinate.” When unfounded rumors, a group identity, religion or simply a philosophy that is espoused by some prevent people from getting up-to-date medical treatments, I am worried for our society. Too many people in this country don't keep up with scientific progress and “fear” science. Freedom of religion and thought prevents the government from requiring a set of beliefs. If I remember correctly, however, during the polio epidemic and also while smallpox had not been irradicated, children were required to get their shots or they couldn't come to school, so apparently some actions can be mandated.

“Vaccination rates against most diseases are about 90%. Fewer than 1% of Americans forgo all vaccinations, Schuchat says. Even so, in some states the anti-vaccine movement, aided by religious and philosophical state exemptions, is growing, says Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.” According to this there is a religious and philosophical exemption in some states. “Last year, California had the largest number of unprotected kindergartners not vaccinated for their parents' philosophical reasons: 14,921.” Some physicians have begun refusing people as patients who don't vaccinate their children. Some states are making the exemptions more difficult to acquire. That's good to see.

One of the main problems with this philosophy of not vaccinating people is that it endangers the whole population. Many people can spread disease before they develop symptoms, and young babies and other unvaccinated people can then catch it. If something like smallpox ever comes back the death tolls will be much higher than with measles. In fact, polio has recently reemerged. Sometimes it seems that we have made no real progress in this society. As for diseases, they may have been eradicated in the US, but there are other parts of the world that still have them, so we all should still be getting our vaccinations.




Missouri looks to revive journalism drones
CBS/AP April 25, 2014

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- The University of Missouri journalism school has modified its classroom use of aerial drones as a legal challenge to the FAA ban on commercial use of the flying robots unfolds.

The School of Journalism grounded its outdoor use of news- gathering drones after receiving a cease and desist letter from the Federal Aviation Administration last summer.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that a judge in early March ruled that the federal agency lacks the authority to enforce such a ban. The FAA has appealed that ruling to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Mizzou students in the one-credit drone journalism class fly the devices indoors while the ban on outdoor use remains. The FAA has said it expects to issue revised rules on commercial drone use by next year.

The head of the FAA predicts at least 7,500 drones will be maneuvering through the skies in the next five years, CBS News' Bigad Shaban reported.

We may see these unmanned aircraft performing search and rescue operations, delivering emergency supplies, and even dropping off packages. They'll bring us birds-eye views of our favorite sporting events. Classified versions are already used in military strikes.

"The potential growth is pretty much infinite," Mike Richards, the president and CEO of Drone America, told CBS News earlier this year. "People need to think of these machines as a tool." Richards is an engineer turned entrepreneur. His company is already designing the next generation of drones.




Concerning the ban on the drone journalism class using drones, “...a judge in early March ruled that the federal agency lacks the authority to enforce such a ban. The FAA has appealed that ruling to the National Transportation Safety Board....The FAA has said it expects to issue revised rules on commercial drone use by next year.”

Mike Richards, the president and CEO of Drone America refers to the drones as “tools.” In an Aljezeera article the FAA's concerns are given as safety and privacy. We are apparently soon going to have unmanned machines, hopefully avoiding each other and things on the ground, flying around fairly commonly if this article is accurate. 7,500 drones is a lot. I don't think I want my package delivered by a drone, leaving it at the wrong address or breaking the item I ordered. I don't want unmanned cars on the road either. Things like this are too prone to error.





Military suicides dropped last year amid changing "cultural mindset"
CBS/AP April 25, 2014

WASHINGTON -- Suicides across the military dropped by more than 15 percent last year, but new detailed data reveals an increase in the number of Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers who took their own lives.

The overall totals provided by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps give some hope that prevention programs and increased efforts to identify troops at risk may be taking hold after several years of escalating suicides. But the increase among Army National Guard and Reserve members raises questions about whether those programs are getting to the citizen soldiers who may not have the same access to support networks and help that their active duty comrades receive.

Not only did the Army National Guard and Reserve suicides increase from 140 in 2012 to 152 last year, but the 2013 total exceeded the number of active duty soldiers who took their own lives, according to the Army. There were 151 active duty soldier suicides last year, compared with 185 in 2012, Army officials said.

The Pentagon plans to release a report Friday on military suicides. But those numbers differ a bit from the totals provided by the services because of complicated accounting changes in how the department counts suicides by reservists. Some of the Pentagon numbers were finalized a year ago, while the services have more recently updated totals that reflect the results of some death investigations.

According to the four military services, there were 289 suicides among active duty troops in 2013, down from 343 in 2012. The vast majority were in the Army, the nation's largest military service. The Navy saw a 25 percent decline, from 59 in 2012 to 44 in 2013. The Marines went from 48 to 45, while the Air Force went from 51 to 49.
Due to the accounting changes and other updates, the Pentagon numbers are generally a bit lower and reflect a larger decline in overall active duty suicides of about 18 percent from 2012 to 2013. In some cases, the services are counting Guard and Reserve members who have been called to active duty as part of the active duty total, while the Pentagon did not.

Both sets of numbers, however, show the same trends: fewer active duty suicides across all four services and slightly more deaths among the Army National Guard and Reserve.

Military leaders say it's too soon to declare success in the battle against suicides, but they say that some programs appear to be working.

"I think we've changed the cultural mindset - that it's OK for a sailor or a soldier or an airman or Marine to come forward and ask for help," said Rear Adm. Sean Buck, the Navy's officer in charge of suicide prevention and resilience programs. "We're trying to reduce the stigma that used to exist."

Buck said the Navy has focused on doing more programs designed to reduce stress, including teaching sailors coping mechanisms and stress management tools.
As an example, he said Navy leaders noticed a spike in suicides by medical specialists, including doctors and nurses, reaching a total of 22 for 2011 and 2012 combined. The Navy surgeon general started a program that found that there seemed to be a lot of transitions during that time involving the sailors' jobs or base locations.

Buck said that due to the frequent moves, sailors could sometimes find themselves unconnected to their family or unit or higher command. "In many instances, if you find yourself in time of need and you're not in a permanent command, you may not know who to turn to," he said.

In response, Navy leaders were told to reach out and communicate with their medical specialists on a daily basis, checking with them to see how they were doing and if there were any problems.

Last year, Buck said, there was a sharp decline in suicides among the medical community, with six in 2013.

Lack of consistent contact with leaders or units could also be a factor for reservists.

Scattered across the United States, often in small or remote rural communities, many members of the Army National Guard and Reserve report for training about one weekend a month and two weeks in the summer. And they often don't have quick access to military medical or mental health services that may be on bases far from their homes. That means the outreach effort by the armed services to address the increase in suicides may not always get to reservists in need - particularly those who don't actively seek help.

According to the Army data, more than half of the reservists who committed suicide in 2012 and 2013 had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials, however, have not been able to establish a strong link between military service on the warfront and suicide.

Army spokeswoman Lt. Col. Sunset Belinsky said the Army set up several programs to deal with the problem, including a 24-hour suicide prevention phone line. The Army Reserve set up six Army Strong Community Centers in New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Connecticut and Michigan.

Mental health in the Army has been a concern amid rising rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicide. But, recent research suggests more than 75 percent of soldiers diagnosed with mental health disorders said their conditions started before they enlisted.

About 25 percent of soldiers had a mental health disorder before enlisting compared to 11.6 percent of the general population, Harvard researchers reported in the March 4 issue of JAMA Psychiatry. Eleven percent of Army soldiers likely met criteria for two mental health disorders prior to enlistment.




"I think we've changed the cultural mindset - that it's OK for a sailor or a soldier or an airman or Marine to come forward and ask for help," said Rear Adm. Sean Buck, the Navy's officer in charge of suicide prevention and resilience programs. "We're trying to reduce the stigma that used to exist." According to Buck, the Navy's efforts to teach stress management methods is helping. A program initiated by the Navy Surgeon General found that frequent changes in job and locations may have left sailors “not knowing where to turn to” when they were having problems. Similarly, reservists who are isolated from bases and units much of the time may have been deprived of mental health care.

“But, recent research suggests more than 75 percent of soldiers diagnosed with mental health disorders said their conditions started before they enlisted.” According to JAMA Psychiatry, about 25% of soldiers who enlisted had a mental health problem, as opposed to 11.6% of the general population. I think some people are drawn to the military because it offers a great deal of physical and financial security. Unfortunately some of them, at the time that they are moved to enlist, can't get a job and realize that the army will feed and care for them during their service, plus giving them college scholarship money and house loans when they get out. I think those benefits are good, of course, because the soldiers run a grave risk of being killed or wounded and deserve the extra help.

Going to a war zone and having to commit acts which involve killing is very difficult for some sensitive men or women to do. There is also the fact that just because you don't want to do that or you are profoundly lonely for home, you will have no choice in the matter as far as changing your situation goes. If you refuse an order, even if you think it is an illegal order, you will have to defend your action and will probably be jailed. Being in the army has similarities to being in prison. It is not surprising to me, even without any other “mental illness,” that a soldier may become seriously depressed and suicidal. The military isn't for everybody. Just the constant restrictions would very seriously turn me off. I would rather shift for myself than get my “security” at the expense of my freedom. Still, according to this article the military is doing better in it's outreach programs to those who need help, and the suicide rates are down. That's good to see.




­
Does Russia Have The Military To Take Ukraine? – NPR
by Corey Flintoff
April 25, 2014

Russia says it is once again staging military drills near the border of eastern Ukraine.

Russia's defense minister says the exercises are a reaction to NATO maneuvers in Eastern Europe and what he calls "Ukraine's military machine."

The Russian military carried out similar maneuvers while well-armed, well-trained Russian troops seized key objectives in Crimea. One question now is whether Russia's military is ready to take on a much larger challenge by invading eastern Ukraine.
After Russia completed its annexation of Crimea, this video appeared on YouTube titled: "On the accomplishment of the objective of detachment 0990 from February 22 until March 22 on the territory of Crimea."

For a little more than 7 minutes, it shows a Russian military unit taking key objectives: the Crimean parliament, administration and security buildings, and bases. At first the music seems incongruous, but you quickly realize that it reflects the precision and discipline with which these troops are carrying out their mission. You see masked gunmen entering buildings, securing them, emptying armories and collecting weapons.

Colby Howard, a former U.S. Marine who has been serving as a research fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) in Moscow, says he was impressed at the smoothness of the operation from what he saw in the video.

"The tactical coordination within the team, on the ground seemed well-coordinated, to the extent that it wasn't their first time," he says.

Howard says the team members, good as they look, still have a ways to go to match the best special operations forces from the U.S. and other countries, but they were more than adequate for the operation in Crimea.

That success looks even better when you compare it with what Russia's army looked like the last time it was in action, during the war with Georgia in 2008.

Its victory was marred by embarrassing technical and mechanical failures, poor coordination and indiscipline on the part of badly trained troops. Ruslan Pukhov, the director of CAST, says Russia's military had to modernize and understand it no longer had enough military-age people to field a giant army.

"We don't have enough people; that's why we [are] supposed to fight in another way," he says. "Now we understand, we [are] also supposed to care about the soldier, because there are not enough of them."

Pukhov says that means hiring and training professional soldiers rather than relying on draftees, and providing those soldiers with better pay and living conditions.
Still, he says, modernization has a long way to go.

"Obviously, such a big machine could not be reformed in such a short period of time, but some important things were done," he says.

Russia put a big share of its oil wealth into defense spending, but at least one analyst says the country still doesn't have enough well-trained professional soldiers to carry out an invasion of Ukraine.

Russian conscripts serve only one year, meaning they spend much of their time in training, and are only combat-ready for about half of their stint in the military.
"That's why it's so important that we either move now, and order the conscripts to stay in units because of a war situation, or we don't move at all," says Pavel Felgenhauer, a defense analyst and columnist for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta.
Felgenhauer says half of the draftees are ready to be discharged, so unless Russia acts by the middle of May, the army won't be fully combat-ready again until sometime in August.

And that, he says, could give Ukraine the time it needs to bring its own outdated and demoralized military up to fighting strength, which would make it a much more dangerous opponent for Russia.


“Colby Howard, a former U.S. Marine who has been serving as a research fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST) in Moscow says he was impressed at the smoothness of the operation from what he saw in the video. Howard says the team members, good as they look, still have a ways to go to match the best special operations forces from the U.S. and other countries,” but that they have improved since 2008 in Georgia. They have too few military-age men at the present time, so their forces are smaller than they may need, according to “one analyst,” in order to invade Ukraine.”

Pavel Felgenhauer of Novaya Gazeta has said that “half of the draftees” at present are ready to be released from the military, so if the invasion does not come before the middle of May – holding them in longer due to “a war situation” -- it cannot succeed. If that happens, Russia could not recover its fighting strength before August. He continues, that “could give Ukraine the time it needs” to bring its forces up to standard, thus making it “a much more dangerous opponent” for Russia.

This may explain why Putin vacillates between being pugnacious and asking for diplomatic solutions. One thing is clear, though, he doesn't want NATO membership for Ukraine or presumably any of the nations which used to be included in the Soviet Union. He seems to fear having Western-leaning neighbors along his borders, plus the possible desire to recreate the old Soviet Union. Whichever, it doesn't seem clear to me that he really wants a war. He wants to intimidate Ukraine and the US for the most part, I think.

Thursday, April 24, 2014


News Clips For The Day


Palestinians to form unity govt in weeks
http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0423/610464-israel-palestine/
RTE News
Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Gaza-based Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organisation have agreed to implement a unity pact, both sides announced in a joint news conference.

The move envisions forming a unity government within five weeks and holding national elections six months after a vote of confidence by the Palestinian parliament.
Palestinians have long hoped for a healing of the political rift between the PLO and Hamas, which won a Palestinian election in 2006 and seized control of Gaza from forces loyal to Western-backed Mr Abbas in 2007.

But Arab-brokered unity pacts reached between the two sides have yet to be implemented, leaving many Palestinians sceptical about their leaders' reconciliation pledges.

"This is the good news we tell our people: the era of division is over," Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh told Palestinian reporters to loud applause.

Hamas has repeatedly battled Israel, which it refuses to recognise.

Mr Abbas said the pact did not contradict peace talks he is pursuing with Israel.
He said that an independent state living peacefully alongside Israel remained his goal.

Before the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned Mr Abbas over the unity efforts, saying he had to choose between peace with Israel or Hamas.
Mr Abbas's Fatah party has remained in control of the Palestinian Authority in the occupied West Bank and pursued troubled peace talks with Israel, which are set to expire on 29 April.

An Israeli air force jet struck northern Gaza wounding six people, one seriously, Hamas said shortly after the announcement.

The raid came as thousands took to the streets of Gaza City to celebrate the agreement to form a unity government to end seven years of divided administration.
Israel has cancelled a planned session of peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
In a statement, Mr Netanyahu's office said: "Israel has cancelled a negotiations meeting that was expected to be held this evening." It did not provide further details.

The United States said it was disappointed by the unity pact and said it could seriously complicate peace efforts.

"The timing was troubling and we were certainly disappointed in the announcement," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a regular news briefing.

"This could seriously complicate our efforts. Not just our efforts but the efforts of the parties to extend their negotiations."


Raidió Teilifís Éireann
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Raidió Teilifís Éireann[3] (Irish pronunciation: [ˈradʲo ˈtʲɛlʲəfʲiːʃ ˈeːrʲən] ( listen); Radio [and] Television of Ireland; abbreviated as RTÉ) is a semi-state company and the national public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on 1 January 1926,[4] while regular television broadcasts began on 31 December 1961,[5] making it one of the oldest continuously operating public service broadcasters in the world.

RTÉ is financed by a television licence fee and through advertising. Some RTÉ services are only funded by advertising, while other RTÉ services are only funded by the licence fee. RTÉ is a statutory body, run by a board appointed by the Government of Ireland

Radio Éireann, RTÉ's predecessor and at the time a section of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, was one of 23 founding organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950



Hamas and the PLO have pledged to form a unity agreement, but “Arab-brokered unity pacts” have yet to be achieved, and many Palestinians are doubtful of the outcome. If it does come into being, the two parties will form a unity government and hold elections six months after a vote of confidence by the Palestinian parliament.

Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organisation have different stances. Hamas refuses to recognize Israel as a nation and the PLO is oriented more toward Western ideas. Abbas has said that he can still pursue peace with Israel and that his goal is an independent Palestinian state living in peace beside Israel. Israel's Netanyahu, however, has “cautioned” Abbas that he must choose between Israel and Hamas.

The peace talks between the PLO and Israel are set to expire on April 29 of this year. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki is concerned that the agreement will “complicate” the peace efforts. I must say, however, that the peace negotiations have been almost hopeless for the whole time I have been watching the news, with Israel being as recalcitrant as Palestine, and a unified Palestine might be a step toward greater internal peace and prosperity. I do hope it works out for the good internationally.





Pro-Russian Separatists Slain During 'Anti-Terrorism' Drive – NBC
Alexander Smith
First published April 24 2014


Ukrainian troops continued their push Thursday to wrest back control of the east of the country from pro-Russian militias, clearing several towns and checkpoints manned by the separatists.

The interior ministry said its forces had killed "up to five" pro-Russian separatists during its operation to retake the city of Slaviansk, one of the nine towns and cities in the Donetsk region under the de facto control of pro-Russian forces.
Earlier, troops riding in five light armored vehicles cleared a checkpoint north of the city, Reuters reported.

However it was clear that the separatists were not prepared to go down easily. Slaviansk's self-appointed separatist mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, told a news conference Wednesday night that "we will make Stalingrad out of this town," referring to the Soviet Union's five-month city defense against the Germans in World War II.

Ukrainian special forces take up positions in Slaviansk, Ukraine, on Thursday.
Ukraine announced Wednesday it was restarting an "anti-terrorism" operation to clamp down on the armed separatists who seized buildings and demanded a referendum to join Russia earlier this month.

The first action of this renewed drive came when the interior ministry announced it had "liberated" the resort town of Svyatohirsk "from unlawful armed groups," according to the Kiev Post.

This was followed in the early hours of Thursday by another announcement that the City Hall in Mariupol had been cleared of the separatists who had been occupying it.

However there was some confusion about the details of this incident. Interfax reported Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov as saying the position was cleared by security forces, but he added that "the role of civic activists was great."

Yulia Lasazan, a spokeswoman for Mariupol's police department, told The Associated Press that 30 masked men with baseball bats stormed the building and started beating the pro-Russian protesters. The pro-Russians called the police and five people were taken to hospital, the AP reported.




Ukrainian troops have cleared “several towns and checkpoints” of the separatist control. In the town of Mariupol the role of “civic activists” in the Ukrainian takeover was acknowledged by Avakov, while Yulia Lasazan of Mariupol's police department said that 30 masked men with baseball bats “stormed the building and started beating” the separatists, five of whom were taken to the hospital. I must say, the Russian separatists have been the aggressors, and if Kiev succeeds in overcoming them that's all to the good. I do hate to see a bully complain when his victim fights back.




South Korea Ferry Crew: We Were Ordered to Abandon Sinking Ship – NBC
Reuters
First published April 24 2014

A crew member on the sunken South Korean ferry said on Thursday she and her colleagues were "under command" to abandon ship while passengers were trapped on board.

The unidentified crew member spoke briefly to reporters on the way from court back into detention. She was wearing a surgical mask and a baseball cap with a jacket hood.
Investigations are focused on human error and mechanical failure, but authorities have expressed anger at the actions of the crew, most of whom survived after abandoning the Sewol while passengers were still on board.

Hundreds of passengers died after being told to stay in place rather than escaping the ship.

South Korea's president Park Geun-hye on Monday accused the captain and crew of the country's sunken ferry of "unforgivable, murderous behavior."

More than 300 people, most of them students and teachers from the same school, are dead or missing presumed dead in the April 16 disaster. As the ferry began sinking, the crew told the children to stay in their cabins.




This event is not only profoundly sad, it is shocking. Whatever happened to the idea that the captain and crew are supposed to try to the very last to save the passengers? This captain will surely go to prison at the very least and so should the crew, because they should have known that if he did order them to leave the ship, it was an illegal and immoral order. I will watch for news on the trials that will surely come.




GOP Scrambles to Condemn Rancher's Remarks on Race – NBC
By Carrie Dann
NBC's Kasie Hunt contributed.
First published April 24 2014

Offering words of encouragement for a rancher leading an armed standoff against federal rangers turns out to be not so great of a political move – especially when the rancher in question muses publicly about the benefits of slavery.

Republicans – including possible 2016 candidate Rand Paul -- are scrambling to distance themselves from defiant Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy after he made startling comments about slavery and African-Americans in a New York Times article published Wednesday night.

From the Times’ Adam Nagourney:
“I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” he said. Mr. Bundy recalled driving past a public-housing project in North Las Vegas, “and in front of that government house the door was usually open and the older people and the kids — and there is always at least a half a dozen people sitting on the porch — they didn’t have nothing to do. They didn’t have nothing for their kids to do. They didn’t have nothing for their young girls to do.

“And because they were basically on government subsidy, so now what do they do?” he asked. “They abort their young children, they put their young men in jail, because they never learned how to pick cotton. And I’ve often wondered, are they better off as slaves, picking cotton and having a family life and doing things, or are they better off under government subsidy? They didn’t get no more freedom. They got less freedom.”

Bundy had previously drawn support from some GOP lawmakers for his clash with the Bureau of Land Management.

After Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called Bundy and his allies “domestic violent terrorist wannabes,” fellow Sen. Dean Heller countered last week that they are “patriots.” Paul urged Reid to “calm the rhetoric” and criticized the federal government for what he described as an intimidating presence during the standoff. “The federal government shouldn’t violate the law, nor should we have 48 federal agencies carrying weapons and having SWAT teams,” he told a Kentucky radio station.

In statements after Bundy’s remarks, both Paul and Heller condemned his comments.
"His remarks on race are offensive and I wholeheartedly disagree with him,” said Paul.
And a spokesman for Heller told the Times that the senator “completely disagrees with Mr. Bundy’s appalling and racist statements, and condemns them in the most strenuous way.”




This rancher is the same man who was recently in the news for putting up an armed resistance, along with some of his other "Patriot" friends, against Federal agents who had rounded up his cattle, which were grazing illegally on government land. For the Tea Party, or any Republican representatives to defend these “domestic violent terrorist wannabes,” is to me a scandal. The “Patriot” movement is known to be racist and anti-government at the least, with a number of actual crimes on their record as well, and all those Federal agents did was to remove the cattle. They didn't even try to arrest Bundy.

Right-wing politicians should be careful how extreme their playfellows are. Rand Paul was in the news recently trying to make a case for his eligibility for the office of President of the US. That should require freedom from radical viewpoints, in my book. He has some good sounding ideas, but also some that are appalling. I certainly would never vote for him.




Israel's Nightmare: Mobsters Trained by Country's Own Military – NBC
By Jeff Moskowitz, GlobalPost Contributor
First published April 24 2014

JERUSALEM — In the last year, fewer Israelis were killed by terrorist attacks than at any point since the outbreak of the second intifada. But as Palestinian terrorism has receded, bombings haven’t stopped. In fact, they may be increasing. This time the perpetrators aren’t jihadists, but rather much more technologically advanced organized crime groups. Israelis are discovering the drawbacks of a society where everyone serves in the army: a whole lot of citizens know how to use explosives.

In October of last year, a known criminal living in the northern Israeli city of Haifa was gunned down in an underground parking garage. Three days later in Ashkelon, in the south, a powerful car bomb shook the buildings downtown, gravely injuring two alleged associates of the Domrani crime family who were inside the vehicle. One later died of his wounds.

These were the opening shots fired in a mob war that has been raging throughout Israel for much of the last six months. There have been at least twenty assassinations and attempted assassinations of organized crime figures since October — many of them using powerful explosives and carried out in major cities in broad daylight. The attacks have included motorcycle hitmen gunning down a rival on the Tel Aviv beachfront and a grenade thrown into a busy market in Petach Tikvah, east of Tel Aviv. And mafiosos haven’t been the only victims — a city councilman in Lod, a Tel Aviv district prosecutor and the deputy mayor of Petach Tikvah have all been targeted, as well.

In February, Chief of Police Yohanan Danino said he considers the underworld hits a form of “terrorism,” and called for the same tools employed by the Shin Bet (the unit responsible for dealing with Arab terrorism) to be used against organized crime. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the incidents “a threat to the rule of law.”
The ebb of terrorist attacks and rise of organized crime in recent years has sparked drastic changes in police enforcement. “In 2001 we were dealing with 80 percent terrorism and 20 percent criminal and now it’s the opposite,” national police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld says. “In 2014 the police deal with 80 percent criminal and organized crime and only 20 percent terrorism.”

"Now it’s trendy, it’s easier to get a bomb … they’re using them on guys that are nobodies."

According to Rosenfeld, the police arrested roughly 500 people connected to the major Israeli organized crime families in 2013, but their job has been made more difficult by the frequent use of targeted explosives. These devices leave no fingerprints and are easy to acquire — partly because the entire population serves in the army, so there are a large number of civilians capable of building precision detonators.

Ben Hartman, veteran crime reporter for Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, says that the bombs are “stolen from IDF depots, or they’re actual IDF munitions, mines and amateur pipe bombs. And there are a ton of grenades.” Hartman estimates that the street price for one is about 1,000 shekels, roughly the cost of a low-end washing machine.
He says it’s not just the explosives that are raising alarm, but also their targets. “They’ve always had bombings in the [criminal] underworld, but to get blown up you had to be a big guy. Now it’s trendy, it’s easier to get a bomb … they’re using them on guys that are nobodies.”

The criminals have other tools at their disposal as well. When a well-timed police raid in February caught a crime family safe house by surprise, officers were shocked to find equipment for tracking the cellphones of rivals, sophisticated devices for hi-resolution mapping of their movements, and screens showing footage of the targets under surveillance by the gang’s field operatives. Officers on the scene compared the technology to that used by an intelligence agency and had to call in the cyber crime unit for advice.

The police have had a few successes in addition to the safe house. In October they managed to arrest and charge six members of the Domrani family plotting a hit as revenge for a bombing targeting two of their operatives. Officers in Jaffa succeeded in intercepting three relatives of a man killed in Tel Aviv who were on their way to avenge his death.

But Hartman and others have also called out a worrisome trend in the past six months. Though the police are making a lot of arrests for organized crime, many of the suspects go free days later when it becomes clear that the authorities don't have the evidence to make a case against them. Hartman and other observers speculate that some of the arrests may be more for show than anything else.

"That theory — it's inaccurate and misleading," responded Rosenfeld, when asked about Hartman's analysis. He stressed that the police were working not only to make cases but also to prevent the crimes from happening in the first place, often by catching suspects in the planning stages and on their way to commit the act. Rosenfeld declined to compare conviction rates in Israel to those of other countries, saying that "you can't compare" Israel's data sets to those of the US, for example: "The scale is much smaller."

He added, however, that "the Israeli police commissioner has told the 433 unit [police intelligence] that organized crime should be their main emphasis."
Israel's police force should not operate by the same rules as the military, a former police officer says — but they do deserve more funding.

Avi Dawidowicz, who served in the Israeli police for more than thirty years — including as head of investigations in the unit responsible for pursuing international organized crime — believes that the police are doing the best they can under the circumstances. He pointed to the drop in murder rates Danino presented at a Knesset hearing on organized crime in March as an example of improvement.
Dawidowicz cites budgetary constraints as the main impediment to further progress. “Only the army, without the Shin Bet or the Mossad, spends 62 billion shekels a year. The police spend only 9 billion,” he says. “The police want more authority, more money.”

However, Dawidowicz doesn’t think the police should be operating in the style of those fighting terrorism. “I don’t agree with the comparison to terror that Danino and the politicians have been making,” he says. “There are a lot of similarities, but we don’t want the police to use the tools the Shin Bet does.” It’s not appropriate for a country’s police to operate by the same rules as its military, he adds.
According to a document recently released by the Ministry of Public Security, the police force has big plans for 2014. They are cooperating with the US Department of Homeland Security to increase the use of DNA databases, smart street cameras that flag dangerous behavior, and other advanced crime-fighting tools.

This past weekend, police capped off a two-month undercover investigation by arresting eight individuals involved in plans to steal IDF materials from bases and sell them to organized crime groups. Among those arrested were an IDF serviceman and three non-commissioned officers. A vehicle the police confiscated, according to the Times of Israel, was carrying 10 shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets, 30 shrapnel grenades and 50 explosive bricks.

It’s a big victory for the police, who say these eight had long been shuttling IDF arms to criminal groups. Reading like a conspiracy out of an Ian Fleming novel, however, the case also reveals the sophistication of the network the police are up against.

When asked about the arrests and the ongoing issue of army weapons and techniques showing up in the criminal underworld, an IDF spokesman declined to give specifics.
"Because the incident ... is currently under both Israel Police and Military Police investigations we unfortunately cannot comment about the case," the spokesman said by email.

"We can however say that the IDF views any illegal and criminal activity involving IDF soldiers and/or property with the utmost seriousness."




A serious crime wave involving criminal gangs is taking place in Israel. Cases involving organized crime have become much more common than terrorist crimes, amounting to 80% of the total crime as opposed to its former 20%, while the terrorist crimes o the other hand have diminished to 20%. This is odd to me. I would expect both to be high. The fact that a group of members of the IDF have been arrested for stealing grenades and other bombs from the military stockpiles and transferring them to the gangs is another matter.

“This past weekend, police capped off a two-month undercover investigation by arresting eight individuals involved in plans to steal IDF materials from bases and sell them to organized crime groups. Among those arrested were an IDF serviceman and three non-commissioned officers. A vehicle the police confiscated, according to the Times of Israel, was carrying 10 shoulder-fired anti-tank rockets, 30 shrapnel grenades and 50 explosive bricks.” A raid on a gang run safe house uncovered a great deal of electronic equipment for surveillance use also. In 2013 a whopping five hundred gangland criminals were arrested by the police.

“They (the Israeli police) are cooperating with the US Department of Homeland Security to increase the use of DNA databases, smart street cameras that flag dangerous behavior, and other advanced crime-fighting tools.” I hope they discover, while they are arresting mafiosi, why the terrorist attacks have gone down. Maybe it's unrelated, but it doesn't make sense to me.