To me, it looks like both sides got stupid in several ways. One LEO panicked and ran out in front of Finicum's truck, and Finicum had to swerve harder into the snow to avoid killing him. Finicum panicked and jumped out of his truck and kept reaching inside his jacket for his gun. After Finicum was shot they left him laying there for about ten minutes rather than tend to him. Supposedly they were dealing with the other protesters. Seems to me they had enough LEOs there to take care of them quite handily while one could have at least tried to see if they could have helped Finicum.
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why all the high pressure tactics so that both sides feel it's do or die and things are likely to get out of hand. Finicum probably felt like he was surrounded and marked for death and couldn't think straight. The police, again and as-usual, placed themselves too close to the suspect to be able to retreat. If you want to generate an excuse to kill someone, that's a good way to do it.
Shoulda just left an opening and used a spike strip or ten. Maybe park a semi truck across the road a half mile after the spike strips. How far are they going to get in that snow before they call it quits?
Now a family of 11 children is without a father. Lots of already edgy friends are pissed off. This may not play out well in the long run.
newc submitted a link to the uncut video here, for those who want to compare. Click on the headline above to see the L A Times' edited version.
The FBI released video Thursday that shows Oregon State Police fatally shooting one of the men who occupied an Oregon wildlife refuge. Officials said he was reaching for a handgun that was in a pocket inside his jacket.
The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon during a traffic stop on a rural stretch of Oregon highway, where law enforcement had hoped to peacefully arrest the leaders of the armed group that had occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge since Jan. 2.
As of Thursday evening, four holdouts remain at the refuge, officials and one occupier said.
In video taken from an aircraft, Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, 55, can be seen speeding away from law enforcement officials during an initial traffic stop. He then drives his white truck into a snowdrift near a roadblock, nearly hitting a law enforcement officer.
"Law enforcement showed great restraint, and when the vehicle took off it just about seriously injured a law enforcement officer as it barreled toward that barricade," Greg Bretzing, special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon, said at a Thursday evening news conference where officials released the video.
It shows Finicum getting out of the vehicle and then lifting his hands in the air as Oregon state troopers approached him with their guns drawn. The video, which is shot from a distance, shows him then lowering his hands toward his body, then falling into the snow as he is shot.
"On at least two occasions, Finicum reaches his right hand toward a pocket on the left inside portion of his jacket. He did have a loaded 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun in that pocket," Bretzing said.
Bretzing said that because law enforcement officials still had to deal with the other occupants of the vehicle, it took 10 minutes to start giving Finicum medical aid. An official time of death has not been released.
The encounter took place on a remote stretch of U.S. Highway 395 roughly halfway between the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and the town of John Day, where Finicum and several other occupiers were headed to attend a community meeting.
Until now, officials had released no information about how Finicum was killed. He wasn't formally identified by government officials until Thursday, though his supporters had confirmed his death to the media. A major-incident investigative team from Deschutes County, Ore., is reviewing the shooting.
The FBI's account of the shooting came almost two full days after two passengers gave their own accounts in videos that were shared widely over social media.
A man named Mark McConnell posted a video on Facebook early Wednesday in which he said that he was driving one of the group's vehicles and that Finicum had been driving the other.
McConnell said that after officials detained him and the other passengers in his vehicle -- including Ammon Bundy, one of the leaders of the occupation -- Finicum sped away with Bundy's brother, Ryan, a woman named Shawna Cox and "an 18-year-old girl."
"LaVoy is very passionate about this ... about what we're doing here. ... But he took off," said McConnell, who said he was released after two hours of interrogation. He said he was not among the original occupiers.
At the Thursday news conference, Bretzing said that about 30 seconds after the shooting, officers threw nonlethal explosive devices, known as "flash-bangs," to disorient the occupants of Finicum's truck. They followed up with less-harmful "sponge projectiles" that contained capsules similar to pepper spray, Bretzing said.
Ryan Bundy, Shawna Cox and an unidentified woman were then taken out of the vehicle, Bretzing said. Bundy, 43, and Cox, 59, were arrested and charged, and the unidentified woman was released.
Officials found two loaded .223-caliber semiautomatic rifles and a loaded .38 Special revolver in Finicum's truck, Bretzing said.
There have been a series of desertions since law enforcement surrounded the federal refuge Wednesday morning.
One of the four remaining occupiers, David Fry, told The Times in a phone interview Thursday afternoon that "we're willing to leave" but wanted assurances from the FBI that they wouldn't be charged.
Some occupiers have been allowed to pass through the police checkpoints, but others have been arrested and charged with federal intimidation charges for occupying the refuge.
"Right now the only thing that's keeping us here is them not being clear with us with what's going on," said Fry, adding that the holdouts have been in periodic contact with two law enforcement negotiators.
"They're saying three of us can leave and if we leave right now, we'll be fine," but a fourth member of the group, a man, faces a criminal charge when he departs the compound, Fry said.
"Everybody's really skeptical of what's going on there," Fry said.
Fry said that he had spoken with his family. "They're basically just saying to surrender, it's not worth dying for," he said.
#1
There have been a series of desertions since law enforcement surrounded the federal refuge Wednesday morning.
Easy to armchair quarterback, but it looks like a missed opportunity. These 'desertions' could have been used as route reconnaissance and intelligence gathering missions.
Two unmarked pickup trucks blocking the highway on a curve with deep snow embankments?
The advantage favours numerics. Alamo efforts usually end in failure. Ruby Ridge, Waco, anyone recall the outcomes? The ranchers and occupiers should have called it a day long ago.
#3
When he first got out of the truck his hands were in the air but then he kept bringing one hand down toward his jacket. Mixed signals and nervous cops. Not a good combination.
#6
I'm not so sure this guy did anything to merit getting shot in the back. Did he have some kind of injury he was pointing to? I highly the video we have seen is the only one available. There a lot of unanswered questions here.
[The White House] Today, the Administration is announcing a series of changes to modernize and strengthen how the Federal Government performs and safeguards background investigations for its employees and contractors.
The Federal Government is responsible for issuing, handling and storing much of America's most important data. The Government also performs key functions with these data, such as conducting background investigations to assess whether individuals may serve as Federal employees, members of the Armed Forces, or contractors, be granted access to its facilities and information systems, and be trusted with classified and other sensitive information. As the world's technologies continue to evolve and our economy becomes ever more digitally connected, the Federal Government's tools, systems, and processes for managing such sensitive information and conducting background investigations must keep pace with these advancements in order to better anticipate, detect, and counter malicious activities, as well as threats posed by trusted insiders who may seek to do harm to the Government's personnel, property, and information systems.
Today's announcement comes after an interagency 90-Day Suitability and Security review commenced last year in light of increasing cyber security threats, including the compromise of information housed at OPM, to re-examine reforms to the Federal background investigations process, assess additional enhancements to further secure information networks and systems, and determine improvements that could be made to the way the Government conducts background investigations for suitability, security and credentialing.
#1
I suspect it's an interim move. NBIB will likely be independent of OPM very soon [with direct reporting to regime staffers or POTUS]. No need to play into the pub 'larger and larger gov't' narrative.
Here, this is all you'll likely need for background info. Upgrade to TS/SCI as quickly as possible, and backdate the PR's to 1999 if you would please.
* Sidney Stone Blumenthal (born November 6, 1948) is an American journalist, activist, writer and former political aide. He is a former aide to President Bill Clinton; a long-time confidant to Hillary Clinton; and a journalist, especially on American politics and foreign policy.
#2
Lots of layers created to cover peoples' asses rather then just fire people who screw up as an example to others. Amazing how much you can flatten an organization if you tag accountability and consequences to functions while clearing the way for more competent people to hold the job.
A Russian Su-27 jet fighter came within 20 feet of a U.S. RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea on Monday in Moscow's latest military provocation involving dangerous aerial encounters.
"On Jan. 25 an RC-135 aircraft flying a routine route in international airspace over the Black Sea was intercepted by a Russian Su-27 in an unsafe and unprofessional manner," Navy Capt. Daniel Hernandez, chief spokesman for the U.S. European Command, told the Washington Free Beacon. "We are looking into the issue."
[Guardian] Canada spy agency stops sharing intelligence with international parters.
Move not to share with Five Eyes partners comes after Communications Security Establishment revealed it had illegally collected Canadians' metadata.
Canada's ultra-secret eavesdropping agency has stopped sharing intelligence with international partners after revealing it had illegally collected Canadians' metadata in sweeps of foreign communications.
In a report to parliament, the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said on Thursday the breach was unintentional and had been discovered internally in 2013.
A CSE official blamed a software flaw that resulted in sharing of metadata, used to identify, manage or route communications over networks that could identify Canadians.
The agency said the likelihood of this leading to any abuses was "low".
But as a precaution, the CSE suspended its sharing of metadata with its Five Eyes intelligence partners -- Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States -- until it finds a fix to the problem.
Canadian defense minister Harjit Sajjan said he was satisfied that any data that had already been shared with the intelligence alliance before the software glitch was discovered "did not contain names or enough information on its own to identify individuals".
He also said he accepted an investigation's conclusion that the breach of Canadian privacy and national security laws was "unintentional". It was unclear what, if any, impact the metadata sharing stoppage has had on Five Eyes intelligence gathering. Public safety minister Ralph Goodale said Canada's allies have been "very supportive" while the CSE told AFP it continues to have "strong and collaborative relationships" with its allies in other areas.
In another report also released on Thursday, Canada's spy agency watchdog raised concerns about efforts by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to counter "insider threats".
The Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) said it identified "a number of deficiencies" in the way CSIS prevents and investigates classified document leaks, following the high-profile leaks by Edward Snowden in the United States and the 2012 arrest of Canadian navy officer Jeffrey Paul Delisle for selling state secrets to Russia.
It highlighted "one situation in particular [in which] SIRC found that CSIS had failed to give a case the appropriate level of attention and to take follow-up action," but provided no details.
CSIS rejected its recommendations, it noted.
SIRC also raised a potential legal concern with respect to CSIS's use of paid al-Qaida or Taliban informants, saying it was in conflict with United Nations al-Qaida and Taliban Regulations that prohibit association with or funding of these two jihadist groups.
The release of both reports was delayed by October's legislative elections, and comes as the new Liberal government undertakes a complete review of Canada's security intelligence framework.
[DAWN] The head of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), Muhammad Khan Sherani, on Thursday said he is willing to review blasphemy laws -- that critics say are regularly misused and have led to the deaths of hundreds -- to decide if they are Islamic.
The CII is a constitutional body that advises the legislature whether or not a certain law is repugnant to Islam.
Religious and political elites almost universally keep clear of debating blasphemy laws in a country where criticism in relation to Islam is a highly sensitive subject. Even rumours of blasphemy have sparked rampaging mobs and deadly riots.
Sherani told Rooters he was willing to reopen the debate and see whether sentences as harsh as the death penalty were fair.
"The government of Pakistain should officially, at the government level, refer the law on committing blasphemy to the Council of Islamic Ideology. There is a lot of difference of opinion among the clergy on this issue," Sherani said in an interview at his office close to the Parliament in Islamabad.
"Then the council can seriously consider things and give its recommendation of whether it needs to stay the same or if it needs to be hardened or if it needs to be softened," Sherani, dressed in a traditional black robe, said.
Sherani, who has hit the headlines in recent weeks after his council obstructed a bill to deter child marriages, did not disclose his own position.
Pakistain's blasphemy laws mandate the death penalty, although no sentence has been carried out. Critics say the law is abused in poor, rural areas by people falsely accusing rivals in order to settle personal scores.
Presenting evidence in court can be considered a new infringement, so judges are reluctant to hear cases.
Those acquitted have often been lynched.
Salman Taseer, a prominent liberal politician, was killed by his own bodyguard in 2011 after he had championed the cause of a Christian woman sentenced to death under the law.
Child marriage
Sherani, a member of Parliament representing the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...a pak religious party. It is usually part of the govt, never part of the solution... -- Fazl, for some embodies the country's struggle to balance modern, democratic ideals with pleasing conservative religious bodies demanding the imposition of strict Islamic law.
In recent years, his 54-year old council has ruled DNA cannot be used as primary evidence in rape cases, and supported a law that requires a woman alleging rape to get four male witnesses to testify in court before a case is heard.
His members' decision this month to block a bill to impose harsher penalties for marrying off girls as young as eight or nine has angered human rights ...which are usually entirely different from personal liberty... activists.
Senators have since debated whether the council, in its current form, is right for the modern democratic Pakistain that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... has said his country must represent.
Sherani, head of the council since 2010, defended its recommendations, saying it was his job, as mandated by the Constitution, to ensure the laws of the land were in line with Islam. The council's advice is not binding.
"The state should only be concerned up until a point with the question of marriage," he said.
"After reaching the age of maturity (puberty), the child has the right to reject a union."
Three per cent of girls in Pakistain are married before they turn 15 and 21 per cent before age 18, according to Unicef.
Sherani said there were many un-Islamic laws on the statute book that he was advising the government to overturn, including presidential pardons for a murderer.
Many of Pakistain's problems, including violence against religious minorities, were the result of the government failing to be sufficiently Islamic and instead pandering to the West, he said.
"Pakistain's present government is a defender of the interests of the West," Sherani said. "Don't equate what the government thinks to what Islam is."
Posted by: Fred ||
01/29/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
We should send Westboro to advise in the review.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
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