William M. Arkin on National and Homeland Security
Special Operations Prepared for Domestic Missions
The U.S. Northern Command, the military command responsible for "homeland defense," has asked the Pentagon if it can establish its own special operations command for domestic missions. The request, reported in the Washington Examiner, would establish a permanent sub-command for responses to incidents of domestic terrorism as well as other occasions where special operators may be necessary on American soil.
The establishment of a domestic special operations mission, and the preparation of contingency plans to employ commandos in the United States, would upend decades of tradition. Military actions within the United States are the responsibility of state militias (the National Guard), and federal law enforcement is a function of the FBI.
Employing special operations for domestic missions sounds very ominous, and NORTHCOM's request earlier this year should receive the closest possible Pentagon and congressional scrutiny. There's only one problem: NORTHCOM is already doing what it has requested permission to do.
When NORTHCOM was established after 9/11 to be the military counterpart to the Department of Homeland Security, within its headquarters staff it established a Compartmented Planning and Operations Cell (CPOC) responsible for planning and directing a set of "compartmented" and "sensitive" operations on U.S., Canadian and Mexican soil. In other words, these are the very special operations that NORTHCOM is now formally asking the Pentagon to beef up into a public and acknowledged sub-command.
NORTHCOM's compartmented and sensitive operations fall under the Joint Chiefs of Staff "Focal Point" program, a separate communications and planning network used to hide special operations undertaken by the Joint Special Operations Command, headquartered in North Carolina, and by CIA and other domestic compartmented activities.
Since 2003, the CPOC has had a small core of permanent members drawn from the operations, intelligence and planning directorates. In an emergency, the staff can be expanded. According to NORTHCOM documents, CPOC is involved in planning for a number of domestic missions, including:
-- Non-conventional assisted recovery
-- Integrated survey programs
-- Information operations/"special technical operations"
-- "Special activities"
What are all of these programs? CPOC's basic missions include responding to incidents of weapons of mass destruction, support for continuity of government, protection of the president, response to domestic terrorism and insurrection and (presumably) domestic intelligence collection. ("Special activities" is a euphemism for covert operations.)
A number of operations plans have been associated with these domestic operations:
-- CONPLAN 0300 is the basic contingency plan for combating domestic terrorism (and may have been folded into newer such plans now under the control of U.S. Special Operations Command).
-- "Power Geyser" is the contingency plan for incidents of weapons of mass destruction in the Washington area. This includes both recovery of a stolen nuclear weapon or disabling of an improvised weapon or dirty bomb.
-- USNORTHCOM Antiterrorism Operations Order 05-01 deals with domestic counterterrorism and domestic intelligence against groups intent on attacking military interests.
With all this going on, for NORTHCOM to ask permission now seems beside the point. Still, it's always better to ask. Isn't it?
2007-06-22
Detective to be tried on molest charges
RIVERSIDE - A Pomona police detective will stand trial on charges he molested and tried to rape his adopted daughter.
At a preliminary hearing Thursday in Riverside Superior Court, Judge Judson W. Morris Jr. found there was sufficient evidence to try Donald Sevesind on three counts of lewd acts upon a teenager and one count of attempted rape.
Sevesind, 49, of Riverside, is a 25-year veteran of the Pomona Police Department, specializing in burglary investigations. He has been on administrative leave since his arrest.
Prosecutors say between summer 2005 and April 2006, the detective entered his then-15-year-old daughter's room and molested her.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Virginia Blumenthal, sheriff's Detective Joel Morales said the girl, referred to as Jane Doe, asked her father to give her a back rub.
He said she fell asleep, only to wake up and find her shirt around her neck, her bra removed and her underwear down to her knees. He said she pretended to be asleep as her father caressed her breasts and genital area.
"She said she was scared and in disbelief," Morales said.
About a month later, she told detectives she woke to find her clothing rearranged
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and her father fondling her for the second time. Again she said she pretended to be asleep, as she said she did when she woke to find her father fondling her a third time in October.
On April 25, 2006, Morales said, the girl told detectives she woke to find her blankets pulled down to the end of the bed and her clothing rearranged. But this time, she said her father was wearing only a T-shirt and was straddling her.
She said when he attempted to rape her she pulled away. Morales said she told detectives he tried to pull her back, then left the room.
Two days later, after reluctantly reporting the alleged incidents to a school counselor, she was taken to the sheriff's Jurupa Valley station by Riverside County Child Protective Services and questioned.
Morales said detectives videotaped her interview, and taped two calls they had her make to her father asking him about the incidents. Morales said he told her they would talk about it later.
Sevesind was arrested early the next day.
Blumenthal argued that the evidence presented was insufficient to bring Sevesind to trial, but Morris was unconvinced.
"I have to respectfully disagree," he said. "This is a pretty solid attempted rape."
Sevesind showed no emotion during the hearing. He remains out of jail on $100,000 bail, and is scheduled to be arraigned
July 11.
If convicted, he faces up to six years in state prison.
Staff writer Mark Petix can be reached by e-mail at mark.petix
At a preliminary hearing Thursday in Riverside Superior Court, Judge Judson W. Morris Jr. found there was sufficient evidence to try Donald Sevesind on three counts of lewd acts upon a teenager and one count of attempted rape.
Sevesind, 49, of Riverside, is a 25-year veteran of the Pomona Police Department, specializing in burglary investigations. He has been on administrative leave since his arrest.
Prosecutors say between summer 2005 and April 2006, the detective entered his then-15-year-old daughter's room and molested her.
Under cross-examination from defense attorney Virginia Blumenthal, sheriff's Detective Joel Morales said the girl, referred to as Jane Doe, asked her father to give her a back rub.
He said she fell asleep, only to wake up and find her shirt around her neck, her bra removed and her underwear down to her knees. He said she pretended to be asleep as her father caressed her breasts and genital area.
"She said she was scared and in disbelief," Morales said.
About a month later, she told detectives she woke to find her clothing rearranged
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and her father fondling her for the second time. Again she said she pretended to be asleep, as she said she did when she woke to find her father fondling her a third time in October.
On April 25, 2006, Morales said, the girl told detectives she woke to find her blankets pulled down to the end of the bed and her clothing rearranged. But this time, she said her father was wearing only a T-shirt and was straddling her.
She said when he attempted to rape her she pulled away. Morales said she told detectives he tried to pull her back, then left the room.
Two days later, after reluctantly reporting the alleged incidents to a school counselor, she was taken to the sheriff's Jurupa Valley station by Riverside County Child Protective Services and questioned.
Morales said detectives videotaped her interview, and taped two calls they had her make to her father asking him about the incidents. Morales said he told her they would talk about it later.
Sevesind was arrested early the next day.
Blumenthal argued that the evidence presented was insufficient to bring Sevesind to trial, but Morris was unconvinced.
"I have to respectfully disagree," he said. "This is a pretty solid attempted rape."
Sevesind showed no emotion during the hearing. He remains out of jail on $100,000 bail, and is scheduled to be arraigned
July 11.
If convicted, he faces up to six years in state prison.
Staff writer Mark Petix can be reached by e-mail at mark.petix
2007-06-19
Intelligence services have evidence of US-orchestrated destabilization plan
Intelligence services have evidence of US-orchestrated destabilization plan
Prensa Latina: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced that the intelligence services have evidence on the existence of a US-orchestrated plan aimed at destabilizing the country, and called it a "slow fuse."
In a phone call to "Venezolana de Television," Chavez pointed out the intention is to pave the way for a large-scale conflict, and allow for international condemnations.
"They have tried to attract some military sectors but, fortunately, the Armed Force is well consolidated," he said.
The President indicated that an extreme right-wing ploy orchestrated by the US, to try to weaken the country and overthrow him, lays behind the recent student protests.
US contacts with students are unlikely to be direct, but evidence corroborates there is a covert strategy to incite violence, Chavez commented.
It is not a new ploy, but a change of strategy, stated the President.
Prensa Latina: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has announced that the intelligence services have evidence on the existence of a US-orchestrated plan aimed at destabilizing the country, and called it a "slow fuse."
In a phone call to "Venezolana de Television," Chavez pointed out the intention is to pave the way for a large-scale conflict, and allow for international condemnations.
"They have tried to attract some military sectors but, fortunately, the Armed Force is well consolidated," he said.
The President indicated that an extreme right-wing ploy orchestrated by the US, to try to weaken the country and overthrow him, lays behind the recent student protests.
US contacts with students are unlikely to be direct, but evidence corroborates there is a covert strategy to incite violence, Chavez commented.
It is not a new ploy, but a change of strategy, stated the President.
2007-06-14
Incremental Civilian Disarmament: Strip-Tease of the Liberties
A gun in the wrong hands: Chuck Schumer, seen here compensating for some hidden shortcoming (but not for all of his obvious ones).
“When the NRA and I agree on legislation,” oozed the incarnate glob of viscous evil known as Senator Chuck Schumer, “you know that it's going to get through, become law, and do some good.”
Schumer was referring to the measure passed in the House yesterday (June 13) -- by an unrecorded voice vote! -- that will expand the scope and funding of a national database used in background checks of prospective gun buyers.
The Quisling outfit called the National Rifle Association, ever eager to see that patently unconstitutional gun laws are faithfully enforced, supported the measure. Gun Owners of America, the only national gun rights group worthy of that description, did not. As GOA's Erich Pratt told the New York Times, this system is designed to force “law-abiding people ... to prove their innocence to a bureaucrat before they exercise their constitutional rights” to purchase and own a firearm.
The putative purpose of the measure is to prevent deranged people and other “mental defectives” like the Virginia Tech mass murderer Seung-Hui Cho from buying firearms. But this law, like every other gun law, will give criminals of that sort an additional competitive advantage over the law-abiding.
This, Schumer would insist, falls under the heading of doing “good.”
One must keep in mind that from Schumer's perspective, which differs from that of the Khmer Rouge only in relatively trivial matters of detail, doing “good” involves denuding individuals of their privacy and the means to resist the government.
To understand more fully Schumer's passion to reduce Americans to servitude, it's useful to picture him not as a Senator, freshly groomed and swaddled in an expensive, well-tailored suit, but rather as a grimy, unshaven patron of a malodorous strip club, his beady eyes fixed with unblinking, predatory lust on the hapless Chinese immigrant girl forced to perform for his amusement (her career as an “exotic dancer” being written into the contract with the Snakehead that brought her to the U.S.).
As the dancer, trembling from the effort to suppress her disgust, discards each layer of clothing, Schumer (the version in our example) becomes more agitated, his illicit appetites growing more insistent. He will not relent until that unfortunate girl is deprived of any modesty or decency, fully exposed to his inspection and subject to his whims.
In this respect, Schumer is not significantly different from most representatives of our political class, irrespective of the political brand name under which they conduct their assault on our liberties. In dealing with Americans who insist on defending their rights, Schumer emits a dense musk of unfiltered malice; his arrogance is palpable, as is his desire to reduce Americans to helotry. During the 1995 congressional hearings into the Waco Holocaust, Schumer gave the impression that he was disappointed that the federal mass murder at Mt. Carmel was a one-off event, rather than the opening shots of a campaign to annihilate gun owners nation-wide.
Schumer's demeanor and tactics in that hearing left me with the strong impression that he was somehow the product of a genetic experiment combining the salient traits of Soviet gulag master Lazar Kaganovich with those of the equally repellent Roland Freisler, the histrionic Communist-turned National Socialist who presided over Nazi Germany's “People's Court”:
Schumer's ideological ancestor Lazar Kaganovich, the "Wolf of the Kremlin" (left) and Nazi Judge Roland Freisler (below, right), whose demeanor and comportment uncannily matched those of New York's senior Senator.
The purpose of the Second Amendment, as I've pointed out before, is not merely to protect a clearly articulated individual right to armed self-defense, although this is certainly one of its important function. Its central purpose, I believe, is to make it clear that in the republic the Founders created (how I wish it were still in operation), the government did not have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.
The people who wrote that Amendment, we should never forget, were pretty much the same group that took part in history's noblest act of sedition by signing a document setting out some of the conditions under which it was proper and necessary to “alter or abolish” the government that ruled them. The right to keep and bear arms must be viewed in that context: When the time comes for an oppressive government to be confronted and, if necessary, abolished, the people must be armed.
(A quick digression: Why is sedition – a word directly related to “separation” or “secession” -- considered a crime? It seems to me that when a government attempts to criminalize sedition, becoming a seditionist is the moral duty of every citizen.)
On the other hand, the reason why the Regime is intent on collecting as much information as it can on law-abiding gun owners is to make gun confiscation possible. This is theoretical only as it applies to the Regime's actions domestically: As I've documented elsewhere, the Regime has eagerly conducted gun confiscation programs as part of “peacekeeping” missions in Haiti, Somalia, and elsewhere. We shouldn't forget the effort to disarm victims of Hurricane Katrina.
And those who don't think that our rulers are capable of systematically destroying their disarmed victims really should acquaint themselves with the Federal Government's treatment of American Indians during the 19th Century. Once again, we're not discussing this issue in an abstract, theoretical realm.
Schumer and his loathsome ilk seek to strip us of all of our rights. They would love to denude us in a single paroxysm of violence, of course, but from their perspective a forced strip-tease works just as well. The outcome would be the same in either case.
“When the NRA and I agree on legislation,” oozed the incarnate glob of viscous evil known as Senator Chuck Schumer, “you know that it's going to get through, become law, and do some good.”
Schumer was referring to the measure passed in the House yesterday (June 13) -- by an unrecorded voice vote! -- that will expand the scope and funding of a national database used in background checks of prospective gun buyers.
The Quisling outfit called the National Rifle Association, ever eager to see that patently unconstitutional gun laws are faithfully enforced, supported the measure. Gun Owners of America, the only national gun rights group worthy of that description, did not. As GOA's Erich Pratt told the New York Times, this system is designed to force “law-abiding people ... to prove their innocence to a bureaucrat before they exercise their constitutional rights” to purchase and own a firearm.
The putative purpose of the measure is to prevent deranged people and other “mental defectives” like the Virginia Tech mass murderer Seung-Hui Cho from buying firearms. But this law, like every other gun law, will give criminals of that sort an additional competitive advantage over the law-abiding.
This, Schumer would insist, falls under the heading of doing “good.”
One must keep in mind that from Schumer's perspective, which differs from that of the Khmer Rouge only in relatively trivial matters of detail, doing “good” involves denuding individuals of their privacy and the means to resist the government.
To understand more fully Schumer's passion to reduce Americans to servitude, it's useful to picture him not as a Senator, freshly groomed and swaddled in an expensive, well-tailored suit, but rather as a grimy, unshaven patron of a malodorous strip club, his beady eyes fixed with unblinking, predatory lust on the hapless Chinese immigrant girl forced to perform for his amusement (her career as an “exotic dancer” being written into the contract with the Snakehead that brought her to the U.S.).
As the dancer, trembling from the effort to suppress her disgust, discards each layer of clothing, Schumer (the version in our example) becomes more agitated, his illicit appetites growing more insistent. He will not relent until that unfortunate girl is deprived of any modesty or decency, fully exposed to his inspection and subject to his whims.
In this respect, Schumer is not significantly different from most representatives of our political class, irrespective of the political brand name under which they conduct their assault on our liberties. In dealing with Americans who insist on defending their rights, Schumer emits a dense musk of unfiltered malice; his arrogance is palpable, as is his desire to reduce Americans to helotry. During the 1995 congressional hearings into the Waco Holocaust, Schumer gave the impression that he was disappointed that the federal mass murder at Mt. Carmel was a one-off event, rather than the opening shots of a campaign to annihilate gun owners nation-wide.
Schumer's demeanor and tactics in that hearing left me with the strong impression that he was somehow the product of a genetic experiment combining the salient traits of Soviet gulag master Lazar Kaganovich with those of the equally repellent Roland Freisler, the histrionic Communist-turned National Socialist who presided over Nazi Germany's “People's Court”:
Schumer's ideological ancestor Lazar Kaganovich, the "Wolf of the Kremlin" (left) and Nazi Judge Roland Freisler (below, right), whose demeanor and comportment uncannily matched those of New York's senior Senator.
The purpose of the Second Amendment, as I've pointed out before, is not merely to protect a clearly articulated individual right to armed self-defense, although this is certainly one of its important function. Its central purpose, I believe, is to make it clear that in the republic the Founders created (how I wish it were still in operation), the government did not have a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.
The people who wrote that Amendment, we should never forget, were pretty much the same group that took part in history's noblest act of sedition by signing a document setting out some of the conditions under which it was proper and necessary to “alter or abolish” the government that ruled them. The right to keep and bear arms must be viewed in that context: When the time comes for an oppressive government to be confronted and, if necessary, abolished, the people must be armed.
(A quick digression: Why is sedition – a word directly related to “separation” or “secession” -- considered a crime? It seems to me that when a government attempts to criminalize sedition, becoming a seditionist is the moral duty of every citizen.)
On the other hand, the reason why the Regime is intent on collecting as much information as it can on law-abiding gun owners is to make gun confiscation possible. This is theoretical only as it applies to the Regime's actions domestically: As I've documented elsewhere, the Regime has eagerly conducted gun confiscation programs as part of “peacekeeping” missions in Haiti, Somalia, and elsewhere. We shouldn't forget the effort to disarm victims of Hurricane Katrina.
And those who don't think that our rulers are capable of systematically destroying their disarmed victims really should acquaint themselves with the Federal Government's treatment of American Indians during the 19th Century. Once again, we're not discussing this issue in an abstract, theoretical realm.
Schumer and his loathsome ilk seek to strip us of all of our rights. They would love to denude us in a single paroxysm of violence, of course, but from their perspective a forced strip-tease works just as well. The outcome would be the same in either case.
2007-06-13
Lewis campaign filed incomplete funds report
By BEN GOAD
Washington Bureau
Rep. Jerry Lewis' campaign committee failed to properly report more than $276,000 in stock earnings to the Federal Election Commission last year, campaign finance records show.
Campaign officials for Lewis, R-Redlands, filed a response to the election commission calling the discrepancy an oversight and saying they would amend their reports to fix the error.
Jim Specht, a spokesman for Lewis, said he is confident the amended report would resolve the issue. Days before November's election, Lewis cashed out a decades-old mutual fund account containing more than $500,000, Specht said.
Lewis, who had contributed heavily to individual Republican candidates in tight races, agreed to give $335,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee at the 11th hour.
The rest of the cash from the mutual-fund account was put back into the Lewis campaign fund.
In the end, Democrats won control of both the House and Senate and Lewis was hit with more than $108,190 in capital gains taxes stemming from the transaction.
The Lewis campaign paid those taxes, records show. But the $276,614.66 that the mutual fund account had earned over the years was not reflected on campaign-finance disclosure forms filed with the election commission in December.
Officials from Williams & Jensen, the Washington, D.C., law firm that handles Lewis' campaign finances, did not return calls seeking comment.
The discrepancy was discovered this spring, when federal election officials received Lewis' regular financial disclosure report and saw an unaccounted for increase in funds. On May 22, they sent the Lewis campaign a letter requiring an explanation.
Every year, the Federal Election Commission sends thousands of requests for information to members of Congress based on apparent finance mistakes or irregularities.
Thus, the discrepancy and subsequent correspondence are not unusual, said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a no
Washington Bureau
Rep. Jerry Lewis' campaign committee failed to properly report more than $276,000 in stock earnings to the Federal Election Commission last year, campaign finance records show.
Campaign officials for Lewis, R-Redlands, filed a response to the election commission calling the discrepancy an oversight and saying they would amend their reports to fix the error.
Jim Specht, a spokesman for Lewis, said he is confident the amended report would resolve the issue. Days before November's election, Lewis cashed out a decades-old mutual fund account containing more than $500,000, Specht said.
Lewis, who had contributed heavily to individual Republican candidates in tight races, agreed to give $335,000 to the National Republican Congressional Committee at the 11th hour.
The rest of the cash from the mutual-fund account was put back into the Lewis campaign fund.
In the end, Democrats won control of both the House and Senate and Lewis was hit with more than $108,190 in capital gains taxes stemming from the transaction.
The Lewis campaign paid those taxes, records show. But the $276,614.66 that the mutual fund account had earned over the years was not reflected on campaign-finance disclosure forms filed with the election commission in December.
Officials from Williams & Jensen, the Washington, D.C., law firm that handles Lewis' campaign finances, did not return calls seeking comment.
The discrepancy was discovered this spring, when federal election officials received Lewis' regular financial disclosure report and saw an unaccounted for increase in funds. On May 22, they sent the Lewis campaign a letter requiring an explanation.
Every year, the Federal Election Commission sends thousands of requests for information to members of Congress based on apparent finance mistakes or irregularities.
Thus, the discrepancy and subsequent correspondence are not unusual, said Massie Ritsch, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics, a no
Webb in damage-control mode
Webb in damage-control mode
Defense attacks expert's testimony
By Rod Leveque, Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO - Attorneys for the former sheriff's deputy on trial for shooting an unarmed man at the end of a car chase worked Tuesday to soften the testimony of a police-tactics expert who earlier told jurors the shooting appeared inappropriate and unprovoked.
The witness, Joe Callanan, had testified for prosecutors that the deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., abandoned proper procedures and appeared to be out of control when he shot and wounded an off-duty Air Force enlisted man in Chino on Jan. 29, 2006.
But during cross-examination Tuesday, Webb's lawyers portrayed Callanan as a Monday-morning quarterback of sorts, who - unlike Webb - had the luxuries of hindsight and unlimited time in forming his opinions.
"You didn't have two drunks trying to divert your attention, did you?" defense attorney William Hadden asked him.
"No," Callanan said.
"Didn't have to worry about anyone taking your gun?" Hadden asked.
"That's true," Callanan said.
Webb is on trial charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the shooting of Elio Carrion, who was the passenger in a Corvette that led the deputy on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended when the driver, Luis Escobedo, crashed into a wall on Francis Street in Chino. A tape of the shooting made by a resident shows Webb shoot Carrion as Carrion appears to comply with Webb's orders to get up.
Webb's lawyers have argued the shooting was legally justifiable.
They say Carrion did not comply with the deputy's orders to shut up, reached a hand toward Webb's gun, and also reached a hand into his own jacket, as though going for a weapon.
Carrion and Escobedo were legally drunk at the time of the shooting.
Callanan is a retired Los Angeles County sheriff's lieutenant and an expert on police tactics pertaining to the use of deadly force.
Prosecutors called him to testify on Monday to render his opinions on whether Webb's actions were consistent with how other reasonable and objective police officers would have behaved in similar circumstances. He remained on the stand Tuesday as well.
Under the questioning of Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope, Callanan gave a blistering critique of Webb's actions, slamming the former deputy for everything from his decision to give chase to his demeanor after the shooting.
"I would not see a reasonable officer or an experienced officer shoot under these conditions," he testified Tuesday before the start of his cross-examination.
Hadden barely began his questioning of Callanan before the trial was adjourned for the day.
However, he wasted little time in attacking Callanan's conclusions.
Callanan conceded that he has not personally been involved in a police pursuit or shooting since he retired in 1989.
He also admitted he formed his opinions in the comfort and safety of his office, while Webb had to make life-or-death decisions on a dark street and in the uncertainty and chaos following a high-speed car chase.
Cross-examination of Callanan will continue Thursday, when Webb's trial resumes in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Webb no longer works for the Sheriff's Department. He faces as much as 18 years in prison if convicted.
Carrion survived the shooting and has since returned to the Air Force.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
Following the Webb case
Jan. 29, 2006: Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion is shot three times by a sheriff's deputy after a high-speed chase that ends on Francis Street in Chino. The incident is captured on videotape by a nearby resident. The driver, Luis Escobedo, is arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of felony evading. Carrion is hospitalized at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., is placed on paid administrative leave.
Jan. 31: Escobedo is released without being charged. The FBI launches an investigation into possible violations of Carrion's civil rights at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Sheriff's Department also requests the FBI's assistance to produce an enhanced copy of the videotape.
Feb. 3: Carrion's family demands the arrest of Webb. Carrion is released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
Feb. 10: The Sheriff's Department concludes its investigation into the officer-involved shooting and turns its reports over to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
March 5: The District Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department interview Carrion.
March 7: District Attorney Michael A. Ramos charges Webb with attempted voluntary manslaughter and Escobedo with felony evading and driving while under the influence. Carrion returns home to his family, but continues outpatient physical therapy.
March 8: Webb and Escobedo are arraigned. Both plead not guilty.
July 12: Carrion's attorney files a claim against San Bernardino County asking for unspecified damages for violating his civil rights.
July 19: Carrion receives the commendation medal for his service in Iraq, at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Aug. 28: A judge orders Webb to stand trial for attempted voluntary manslaughter.
Sept. 11: At his arraignment, prosecutors add a second charge against Webb - claiming the former sheriff's deputy committed assault with a firearm.
Nov. 3: A trial date of Jan. 5 is set for Webb.
Dec. 27: Carrion files a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Gary Penrod and Webb.
April 30, 2007: Jury selection begins for Webb's trial in which 400 potential jurors were summoned.
May 29: Opening statements made in Webb's trial.
May 30: Escobedo testifies in the trial.
May 31: Recording of radio traffic from the night of the shooting played in court.
June 4: Carrion testifies that Webb ordered him to get up off the ground, and shot him when he tried to comply.
June 5: Carrion finishes testifying and Jose Luis Valdes takes the stand, saying that he started to tape the incident after he thought he saw Webb kick Carrion.
June 6: Valdes finishes his testimony and his wife, who also witnessed the incident, takes the stand.
Thursday: The first officers who reported to the scene testify Webb told them that Carrion lunged at him.
Monday: An expert in police tactics and training testifies Webb made critical mistakes and didn't follow proper procedures before the shooting.
Tuesday: Webb's attorney cross-examines the expert in police tactics, pointing out that he had the luxuries of hindsight and unlimited time in analyzing Webb's actions.
Defense attacks expert's testimony
By Rod Leveque, Staff Writer
SAN BERNARDINO - Attorneys for the former sheriff's deputy on trial for shooting an unarmed man at the end of a car chase worked Tuesday to soften the testimony of a police-tactics expert who earlier told jurors the shooting appeared inappropriate and unprovoked.
The witness, Joe Callanan, had testified for prosecutors that the deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., abandoned proper procedures and appeared to be out of control when he shot and wounded an off-duty Air Force enlisted man in Chino on Jan. 29, 2006.
But during cross-examination Tuesday, Webb's lawyers portrayed Callanan as a Monday-morning quarterback of sorts, who - unlike Webb - had the luxuries of hindsight and unlimited time in forming his opinions.
"You didn't have two drunks trying to divert your attention, did you?" defense attorney William Hadden asked him.
"No," Callanan said.
"Didn't have to worry about anyone taking your gun?" Hadden asked.
"That's true," Callanan said.
Webb is on trial charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the shooting of Elio Carrion, who was the passenger in a Corvette that led the deputy on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended when the driver, Luis Escobedo, crashed into a wall on Francis Street in Chino. A tape of the shooting made by a resident shows Webb shoot Carrion as Carrion appears to comply with Webb's orders to get up.
Webb's lawyers have argued the shooting was legally justifiable.
They say Carrion did not comply with the deputy's orders to shut up, reached a hand toward Webb's gun, and also reached a hand into his own jacket, as though going for a weapon.
Carrion and Escobedo were legally drunk at the time of the shooting.
Callanan is a retired Los Angeles County sheriff's lieutenant and an expert on police tactics pertaining to the use of deadly force.
Prosecutors called him to testify on Monday to render his opinions on whether Webb's actions were consistent with how other reasonable and objective police officers would have behaved in similar circumstances. He remained on the stand Tuesday as well.
Under the questioning of Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope, Callanan gave a blistering critique of Webb's actions, slamming the former deputy for everything from his decision to give chase to his demeanor after the shooting.
"I would not see a reasonable officer or an experienced officer shoot under these conditions," he testified Tuesday before the start of his cross-examination.
Hadden barely began his questioning of Callanan before the trial was adjourned for the day.
However, he wasted little time in attacking Callanan's conclusions.
Callanan conceded that he has not personally been involved in a police pursuit or shooting since he retired in 1989.
He also admitted he formed his opinions in the comfort and safety of his office, while Webb had to make life-or-death decisions on a dark street and in the uncertainty and chaos following a high-speed car chase.
Cross-examination of Callanan will continue Thursday, when Webb's trial resumes in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Webb no longer works for the Sheriff's Department. He faces as much as 18 years in prison if convicted.
Carrion survived the shooting and has since returned to the Air Force.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
Following the Webb case
Jan. 29, 2006: Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion is shot three times by a sheriff's deputy after a high-speed chase that ends on Francis Street in Chino. The incident is captured on videotape by a nearby resident. The driver, Luis Escobedo, is arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of felony evading. Carrion is hospitalized at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., is placed on paid administrative leave.
Jan. 31: Escobedo is released without being charged. The FBI launches an investigation into possible violations of Carrion's civil rights at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Sheriff's Department also requests the FBI's assistance to produce an enhanced copy of the videotape.
Feb. 3: Carrion's family demands the arrest of Webb. Carrion is released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
Feb. 10: The Sheriff's Department concludes its investigation into the officer-involved shooting and turns its reports over to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
March 5: The District Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department interview Carrion.
March 7: District Attorney Michael A. Ramos charges Webb with attempted voluntary manslaughter and Escobedo with felony evading and driving while under the influence. Carrion returns home to his family, but continues outpatient physical therapy.
March 8: Webb and Escobedo are arraigned. Both plead not guilty.
July 12: Carrion's attorney files a claim against San Bernardino County asking for unspecified damages for violating his civil rights.
July 19: Carrion receives the commendation medal for his service in Iraq, at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Aug. 28: A judge orders Webb to stand trial for attempted voluntary manslaughter.
Sept. 11: At his arraignment, prosecutors add a second charge against Webb - claiming the former sheriff's deputy committed assault with a firearm.
Nov. 3: A trial date of Jan. 5 is set for Webb.
Dec. 27: Carrion files a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Gary Penrod and Webb.
April 30, 2007: Jury selection begins for Webb's trial in which 400 potential jurors were summoned.
May 29: Opening statements made in Webb's trial.
May 30: Escobedo testifies in the trial.
May 31: Recording of radio traffic from the night of the shooting played in court.
June 4: Carrion testifies that Webb ordered him to get up off the ground, and shot him when he tried to comply.
June 5: Carrion finishes testifying and Jose Luis Valdes takes the stand, saying that he started to tape the incident after he thought he saw Webb kick Carrion.
June 6: Valdes finishes his testimony and his wife, who also witnessed the incident, takes the stand.
Thursday: The first officers who reported to the scene testify Webb told them that Carrion lunged at him.
Monday: An expert in police tactics and training testifies Webb made critical mistakes and didn't follow proper procedures before the shooting.
Tuesday: Webb's attorney cross-examines the expert in police tactics, pointing out that he had the luxuries of hindsight and unlimited time in analyzing Webb's actions.
2007-06-12
Pentagon Confirms Research To Develop A 'Gay Bomb'
Pentagon officials confirmed Friday that they had considered developing a "gay bomb."
Oddly enough, the U.S. military in 1994 sought to create a hormone bomb that might turn enemy soldiers into rampant homosexuals, leading to an orgiastic gang bang.
Edward Hammond of the Sunshine Project in Berkeley, Calif., used the federal Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.
As part of a military effort to create nonlethal weapons, the proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely nonlethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior."
The documents indicate the Air Force lab asked for $7.5 million to develop such a chemical weapon.
"The Ohio Air Force lab proposed that a bomb be developed that contained a chemical that would cause enemy soldiers to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistibly attractive to one another," Hammond said after reviewing the documents.
"The notion was that a chemical that would probably be pleasant in the human body in low quantities could be identified, and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical, the notion was that soldiers would become gay," Hammond said.
The Pentagon told CBS 5 News that the proposal was made by the Air Force in 1994.
"The Department of Defense is committed to identifying, researching and developing nonlethal weapons that will support our men and women in uniform," said a DOD spokesperson, who suggested that the "gay bomb" idea was quickly shelved.
Hammond said the government records he obtained indicate the military was keener on the idea than it is now suggesting.
"The truth of the matter is, it would have never come to my attention if it was dismissed at the time it was proposed," he said. "In fact, the Pentagon has used it repeatedly and subsequently in an effort to promote nonlethal weapons, and in fact they submitted it to the highest scientific review body in the country for them to consider."
Gay community leaders in California said Friday that they found the idea of a "gay bomb" both offensive and ridiculous.
"Throughout history we have had so many brave men and women who are gay and lesbian serving the military with distinction," said Geoff Kors of Equality California.
"So, it's just offensive that they think by turning people gay that the other military would be incapable of doing their job. And it's absurd because there's so much medical data that shows that sexual orientation is immutable and cannot be changed." (Stewart Who?, Gay.com U.K.)
Oddly enough, the U.S. military in 1994 sought to create a hormone bomb that might turn enemy soldiers into rampant homosexuals, leading to an orgiastic gang bang.
Edward Hammond of the Sunshine Project in Berkeley, Calif., used the federal Freedom of Information Act to obtain a copy of the proposal from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.
As part of a military effort to create nonlethal weapons, the proposal suggested, "One distasteful but completely nonlethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior."
The documents indicate the Air Force lab asked for $7.5 million to develop such a chemical weapon.
"The Ohio Air Force lab proposed that a bomb be developed that contained a chemical that would cause enemy soldiers to become gay, and to have their units break down because all their soldiers became irresistibly attractive to one another," Hammond said after reviewing the documents.
"The notion was that a chemical that would probably be pleasant in the human body in low quantities could be identified, and by virtue of either breathing or having their skin exposed to this chemical, the notion was that soldiers would become gay," Hammond said.
The Pentagon told CBS 5 News that the proposal was made by the Air Force in 1994.
"The Department of Defense is committed to identifying, researching and developing nonlethal weapons that will support our men and women in uniform," said a DOD spokesperson, who suggested that the "gay bomb" idea was quickly shelved.
Hammond said the government records he obtained indicate the military was keener on the idea than it is now suggesting.
"The truth of the matter is, it would have never come to my attention if it was dismissed at the time it was proposed," he said. "In fact, the Pentagon has used it repeatedly and subsequently in an effort to promote nonlethal weapons, and in fact they submitted it to the highest scientific review body in the country for them to consider."
Gay community leaders in California said Friday that they found the idea of a "gay bomb" both offensive and ridiculous.
"Throughout history we have had so many brave men and women who are gay and lesbian serving the military with distinction," said Geoff Kors of Equality California.
"So, it's just offensive that they think by turning people gay that the other military would be incapable of doing their job. And it's absurd because there's so much medical data that shows that sexual orientation is immutable and cannot be changed." (Stewart Who?, Gay.com U.K.)
AT&T 'Spy Room' Documents Released, Confirm Wired News' Earlier Publication
By Ryan Singel, June 12, 2007 | 12:43:22 PMCategories: Spooks Gone Wild, Sunshine and Secrecy, Surveillance
kleinsecretroomsmallAT&T agreed to allow large portions of sealed documents that sit at the heart of an anti-spying case against the telecom giant which alleges the company illegally installed secret surveillance rooms in its internet facilities at the behest of the National Security Agency. The case brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in January 2006 relies on documents provided to the group by Mark Klein, a retired AT&T technician who took three documents home with him when he retired in 2004.
AT&T acceded to the disclosure only after the EFF threatened to ask a federal appeals court to unseal documents that had been published by Wired News and Frontline, which would have forced the company's lawyers into the embarrassing position of arguing that documents available on the internet for more than a year were secret, according to Cindy Cohn, the EFF's legal director.
Those documents, along with a signed declaration from Klein and an interpretation of the documents by internet expert J. Scott Marcus, were kept mostly under wraps by court order that applied to the parties in the case. However, Wired News was able to independently acquire significant portions of the wiring diagrams, equipment list and task orders, and published them in May 2006. Today's newly released portions of the Hepting documents confirm that the Wired documents are the same as those under seal.
The document release comes as AT&T, the EFF and the government prepare to battle in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in August, where the government and AT&T seek to overturn lower court order allowing the case to proceed. The government argues that the case must be thrown out since it involves national security matters, while AT&T says it can't defend itself without spilling classified information. Federal district court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled last July that the case could proceed because the president admitted the existence of the NSA's warrantless wiretapping of Americans' overseas communications.
"Dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security," Walker wrote.
The interpretation of Klein's documents by Marcus, a former CTO for GTE and a former advisor to the FCC, are the most interesting documents released today.
"This configuration appears to have the capability to enable surveillance and analysis of internet content on a massive scale, including both overseas and purely domestic traffic," Marcus wrote.
AT&T likely has 15 to 20 of these rooms around the country, shipped data out of the rooms via a separate network to another location and collectively, the rooms were able to keep tabs on some 10% of the nation's purely domestic intenret traffic, according to Marcus.
The obvious and natural design for a massive surveillance system for IPO-based data, and the one most cost-effective to implement, would in my judgment be comprised of the following elements: (1) massive data capture at the locations where the data can be tapped, (2) high speed screening and reduction of the captured data at the point of capture in order to identify data of interest, (3) shipment of the data of interest to one or two central collection points for more detailed analysis, and (4) intensive analysis and cross correlation of the data of interest by very powerful processing engines at the central location or locations. The AT&T documents demonstrate that the equipment that is well suited for the first three of these tasks was deployed to San Francisco, and, with high probability, to other locations. I infer that the fourth element also exists at one or more locations.
Cindy Cohn hopes the new documents will let people see that there case is grounded in fact and that the government's argument that national security is at risk is overblown.
"It really paints them in to a corner how unreasonable their claims of state secrets are," Cohn said. "I'm hoping [the document release] demonstrates we are right and know what we are talking about and that we don’t need much more to win our case. We are much claoser than people think."
AT&T did not respond to questions about the quality of Marcus' analysis. Instead a company spokesman re-issued its long-standing, canned statement: "AT&T is fully committed to protecting our customers' privacy. We do not comment on matters of national security."
Wired News, which AT&T called a "scofflaw" for publishing the documents, unsuccessfully attempted to get the documents unsealed.
PDF documents: Klein statement released today. Wiring diagrams released today. Marcus declaration released today. Klein documents published by Wired News last year. EFF argument to appeals court.
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kleinsecretroomsmallAT&T agreed to allow large portions of sealed documents that sit at the heart of an anti-spying case against the telecom giant which alleges the company illegally installed secret surveillance rooms in its internet facilities at the behest of the National Security Agency. The case brought by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in January 2006 relies on documents provided to the group by Mark Klein, a retired AT&T technician who took three documents home with him when he retired in 2004.
AT&T acceded to the disclosure only after the EFF threatened to ask a federal appeals court to unseal documents that had been published by Wired News and Frontline, which would have forced the company's lawyers into the embarrassing position of arguing that documents available on the internet for more than a year were secret, according to Cindy Cohn, the EFF's legal director.
Those documents, along with a signed declaration from Klein and an interpretation of the documents by internet expert J. Scott Marcus, were kept mostly under wraps by court order that applied to the parties in the case. However, Wired News was able to independently acquire significant portions of the wiring diagrams, equipment list and task orders, and published them in May 2006. Today's newly released portions of the Hepting documents confirm that the Wired documents are the same as those under seal.
The document release comes as AT&T, the EFF and the government prepare to battle in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in August, where the government and AT&T seek to overturn lower court order allowing the case to proceed. The government argues that the case must be thrown out since it involves national security matters, while AT&T says it can't defend itself without spilling classified information. Federal district court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled last July that the case could proceed because the president admitted the existence of the NSA's warrantless wiretapping of Americans' overseas communications.
"Dismissing this case at the outset would sacrifice liberty for no apparent enhancement of security," Walker wrote.
The interpretation of Klein's documents by Marcus, a former CTO for GTE and a former advisor to the FCC, are the most interesting documents released today.
"This configuration appears to have the capability to enable surveillance and analysis of internet content on a massive scale, including both overseas and purely domestic traffic," Marcus wrote.
AT&T likely has 15 to 20 of these rooms around the country, shipped data out of the rooms via a separate network to another location and collectively, the rooms were able to keep tabs on some 10% of the nation's purely domestic intenret traffic, according to Marcus.
The obvious and natural design for a massive surveillance system for IPO-based data, and the one most cost-effective to implement, would in my judgment be comprised of the following elements: (1) massive data capture at the locations where the data can be tapped, (2) high speed screening and reduction of the captured data at the point of capture in order to identify data of interest, (3) shipment of the data of interest to one or two central collection points for more detailed analysis, and (4) intensive analysis and cross correlation of the data of interest by very powerful processing engines at the central location or locations. The AT&T documents demonstrate that the equipment that is well suited for the first three of these tasks was deployed to San Francisco, and, with high probability, to other locations. I infer that the fourth element also exists at one or more locations.
Cindy Cohn hopes the new documents will let people see that there case is grounded in fact and that the government's argument that national security is at risk is overblown.
"It really paints them in to a corner how unreasonable their claims of state secrets are," Cohn said. "I'm hoping [the document release] demonstrates we are right and know what we are talking about and that we don’t need much more to win our case. We are much claoser than people think."
AT&T did not respond to questions about the quality of Marcus' analysis. Instead a company spokesman re-issued its long-standing, canned statement: "AT&T is fully committed to protecting our customers' privacy. We do not comment on matters of national security."
Wired News, which AT&T called a "scofflaw" for publishing the documents, unsuccessfully attempted to get the documents unsealed.
PDF documents: Klein statement released today. Wiring diagrams released today. Marcus declaration released today. Klein documents published by Wired News last year. EFF argument to appeals court.
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Classified US Intel Budget Revealed Via Powerpoint
Atario writes "In a holdover from the Cold War when the number really did matter to national security, the size of the US national intelligence budget remains one of the government's most closely guarded secrets. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the highest intelligence agency in the country that oversees all federal intelligence agencies, appears to have inadvertently released the keys to that number in an unclassified PowerPoint presentation now posted on the website of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). By reverse engineering the numbers in an underlying data element embedded in the presentation, it seems that the total budget of the 16 US intelligence agencies in fiscal year 2005 was $60 billion, almost 25% higher than previously believed."
Deputy cleared in shooting
SAN BERNARDINO - The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has declined to file criminal charges in an officer-involved shooting of a Rancho Cucamonga man in February.
Trent Lemmon, 36, of Rancho Cucamonga died Feb. 12 after being shot by Deputy Joseph Parker.
The District Attorney's Office on Monday ruled the killing was legally justified because he had an immediate and apparent great bodily injury or death threat.
Inside the report, Parker said Lemmon told him, "I have a gun, I'm going to kill you" after he was told to "let me see your hands."
Lemmon then repeated the phrase more than once and shoved his hand into his pocket. Parker saw a silver or gray object that appeared to be metal and then fired his gun.
- Wes Woods II, (909) 483-9378
Trent Lemmon, 36, of Rancho Cucamonga died Feb. 12 after being shot by Deputy Joseph Parker.
The District Attorney's Office on Monday ruled the killing was legally justified because he had an immediate and apparent great bodily injury or death threat.
Inside the report, Parker said Lemmon told him, "I have a gun, I'm going to kill you" after he was told to "let me see your hands."
Lemmon then repeated the phrase more than once and shoved his hand into his pocket. Parker saw a silver or gray object that appeared to be metal and then fired his gun.
- Wes Woods II, (909) 483-9378
Tactics expert offers testimony at ex-deputy's trial
SAN BERNARDINO - An expert in police tactics and training testified Monday that a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy made critical mistakes and didn't follow proper procedures before he shot and wounded a man at the end of a car chase in Chino.
The deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., erred in virtually every move he made, from the moment he gave chase to the fleeing car right through his decision to pull the trigger of his pistol, according to testimony from Joe Callanan, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff's training officer and police use-of-force specialist.
Callanan said Webb acted that night like "a one-man task force," and characterized the former deputy's decisions as "a disaster."
"This is not what you expect from a trained, professional, experienced peace officer," he testified. "It simply is not reasonable, and there is no explanation for it."
Webb is on trial in San Bernardino Superior Court for attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the on-duty shooting of Elio Carrion.
Webb shot Carrion, an Iraq war veteran and Air Force senior airman, three times on Jan. 29, 2006, after chasing a Corvette in which Carrion was a passenger.
The chase ended when the Corvette crashed on Francis Street in Chino. Carrion crawled out of the car onto the ground as a local man videotaped the incident from his front yard.
The tape appears to show Webb shoot Carrion as Carrion complied with the deputy's orders to "get up."
Prosecutors called Callanan to testify Monday as an expert witness on police training and procedure.
Callanan spent about 20 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant before he retired in 1989. During that time, and since, he helped craft procedures regarding police use of deadly force that have become the standard for law-enforcement agencies across the country, he said.
He now works as a private consultant, billing $120 to $250 per hour for his services.
He previously testified for prosecutors during grand jury proceedings for the LAPD officers indicted in connection with the infamous Rodney King beating, though he said it's rare he works for the prosecution.
Most of his work is done on behalf of officers or police agencies involved in use-of-force incidents, he said.
Callanan said he reviewed the videotape of Webb's shooting, scores of police reports, witness interviews, police radio logs and other evidence in reaching his opinions on the Webb incident.
In his testimony Monday, he spared no criticism of the former deputy's actions. On several occasions, he said any cadet who tried to use Webb's tactics during training exercises at the academy would probably flunk.
"These are things that are taught to them in the earliest academy days," Callanan testified.
According to earlier testimony, Webb never reported over his police radio that he was engaged in a pursuit. His first transmission was to report that he was holding two suspects at gunpoint.
Then he gave backup officers at least two erroneous reports of his whereabouts, leaving them unable to find and help him.
Callanan told jurors that Webb probably shouldn't even have given chase to the Corvette, given the danger of pursuing such a fast car through a residential area. And once the chase began, Webb should have reported it over the radio, along with the reason for the chase and his speed.
He also should have constantly updated his location. If he wasn't sure where he was, he should have told his colleagues and given a general description of the area, Callanan said.
Once the Corvette crashed, Webb parked his squad car at an angle almost parallel to it, with his own door toward the two suspects. He then walked right up to Carrion with his gun drawn. Webb stayed within several feet of Carrion through the time of the shooting.
Callanan said this, too, was a mistake.
Webb should have parked his squad car pointed at the Corvette so he could use his headlights and spotlights to illuminate the area for safety. He then should have armed himself with a shotgun, stood behind his door in a defensive posture and shouted commands to the suspects over his loudspeaker until backup arrived, Callanan testified.
By not doing so, Webb failed to utilize the best and safest tools he had at his disposal, Callanan said.
"He should not approach the Corvette, and he should not approach the man on the ground," Callanan said.
Webb continued to worsen the situation by shouting confusing, insulting and vulgar commands at Carrion, Callanan said. Officers are trained to be calm and assertive, but Webb appeared to lose his cool with his suspect for no clear reasons, the witness said.
An officer's goal should be to calm and subdue suspects. Webb's words to Carrion, in which he called him a "punk" and used a stream of curse words, were more likely to agitate the situation, Callanan testified.
"It's just abusive treatment, and nobody likes it, period," he said.
The tape of the shooting appears to show Carrion disobey Webb's orders to "shut up." It also shows Carrion repeatedly lift his hands off the ground as he tried to tell Webb he means him no harm. At one point, a hand appears to come close to Webb's gun.
Still, Callanan said he didn't see Carrion make any moves that would have justified Webb to shoot him - especially after telling Carrion to "get up."
"There's not a threat relative to the man on the ground that would indicate that such a high level of force - deadly force - be deployed," he said.
Callanan also said that the manner in which Webb fired the gun appeared deliberate, and is not consistent with "panic fire."
Webb's personnel records show that the deputy had been repeatedly trained in proper techniques for use of deadly force. Webb, in fact, had just attended refresher classes in August 2005, about five months prior to the shooting, Callanan said.
Webb's lawyers will get their chance to cross-examine Callanan when testimony in the trial resumes today. Defense attorney Michael Schwartz on Monday declined to comment on Callanan's testimony thus far.
Webb's legal team is likely to call their own experts in the trial, as well.
Webb's attorneys have previously argued the shooting was justified.
They say Carrion repeatedly ignored orders from the deputy and reached a hand into his black Raiders jacket, as though he were grabbing for a weapon.
Webb no longer works for the Sheriff's Department. He faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted.
Carrion has returned to light duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
The deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., erred in virtually every move he made, from the moment he gave chase to the fleeing car right through his decision to pull the trigger of his pistol, according to testimony from Joe Callanan, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff's training officer and police use-of-force specialist.
Callanan said Webb acted that night like "a one-man task force," and characterized the former deputy's decisions as "a disaster."
"This is not what you expect from a trained, professional, experienced peace officer," he testified. "It simply is not reasonable, and there is no explanation for it."
Webb is on trial in San Bernardino Superior Court for attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the on-duty shooting of Elio Carrion.
Webb shot Carrion, an Iraq war veteran and Air Force senior airman, three times on Jan. 29, 2006, after chasing a Corvette in which Carrion was a passenger.
The chase ended when the Corvette crashed on Francis Street in Chino. Carrion crawled out of the car onto the ground as a local man videotaped the incident from his front yard.
The tape appears to show Webb shoot Carrion as Carrion complied with the deputy's orders to "get up."
Prosecutors called Callanan to testify Monday as an expert witness on police training and procedure.
Callanan spent about 20 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant before he retired in 1989. During that time, and since, he helped craft procedures regarding police use of deadly force that have become the standard for law-enforcement agencies across the country, he said.
He now works as a private consultant, billing $120 to $250 per hour for his services.
He previously testified for prosecutors during grand jury proceedings for the LAPD officers indicted in connection with the infamous Rodney King beating, though he said it's rare he works for the prosecution.
Most of his work is done on behalf of officers or police agencies involved in use-of-force incidents, he said.
Callanan said he reviewed the videotape of Webb's shooting, scores of police reports, witness interviews, police radio logs and other evidence in reaching his opinions on the Webb incident.
In his testimony Monday, he spared no criticism of the former deputy's actions. On several occasions, he said any cadet who tried to use Webb's tactics during training exercises at the academy would probably flunk.
"These are things that are taught to them in the earliest academy days," Callanan testified.
According to earlier testimony, Webb never reported over his police radio that he was engaged in a pursuit. His first transmission was to report that he was holding two suspects at gunpoint.
Then he gave backup officers at least two erroneous reports of his whereabouts, leaving them unable to find and help him.
Callanan told jurors that Webb probably shouldn't even have given chase to the Corvette, given the danger of pursuing such a fast car through a residential area. And once the chase began, Webb should have reported it over the radio, along with the reason for the chase and his speed.
He also should have constantly updated his location. If he wasn't sure where he was, he should have told his colleagues and given a general description of the area, Callanan said.
Once the Corvette crashed, Webb parked his squad car at an angle almost parallel to it, with his own door toward the two suspects. He then walked right up to Carrion with his gun drawn. Webb stayed within several feet of Carrion through the time of the shooting.
Callanan said this, too, was a mistake.
Webb should have parked his squad car pointed at the Corvette so he could use his headlights and spotlights to illuminate the area for safety. He then should have armed himself with a shotgun, stood behind his door in a defensive posture and shouted commands to the suspects over his loudspeaker until backup arrived, Callanan testified.
By not doing so, Webb failed to utilize the best and safest tools he had at his disposal, Callanan said.
"He should not approach the Corvette, and he should not approach the man on the ground," Callanan said.
Webb continued to worsen the situation by shouting confusing, insulting and vulgar commands at Carrion, Callanan said. Officers are trained to be calm and assertive, but Webb appeared to lose his cool with his suspect for no clear reasons, the witness said.
An officer's goal should be to calm and subdue suspects. Webb's words to Carrion, in which he called him a "punk" and used a stream of curse words, were more likely to agitate the situation, Callanan testified.
"It's just abusive treatment, and nobody likes it, period," he said.
The tape of the shooting appears to show Carrion disobey Webb's orders to "shut up." It also shows Carrion repeatedly lift his hands off the ground as he tried to tell Webb he means him no harm. At one point, a hand appears to come close to Webb's gun.
Still, Callanan said he didn't see Carrion make any moves that would have justified Webb to shoot him - especially after telling Carrion to "get up."
"There's not a threat relative to the man on the ground that would indicate that such a high level of force - deadly force - be deployed," he said.
Callanan also said that the manner in which Webb fired the gun appeared deliberate, and is not consistent with "panic fire."
Webb's personnel records show that the deputy had been repeatedly trained in proper techniques for use of deadly force. Webb, in fact, had just attended refresher classes in August 2005, about five months prior to the shooting, Callanan said.
Webb's lawyers will get their chance to cross-examine Callanan when testimony in the trial resumes today. Defense attorney Michael Schwartz on Monday declined to comment on Callanan's testimony thus far.
Webb's legal team is likely to call their own experts in the trial, as well.
Webb's attorneys have previously argued the shooting was justified.
They say Carrion repeatedly ignored orders from the deputy and reached a hand into his black Raiders jacket, as though he were grabbing for a weapon.
Webb no longer works for the Sheriff's Department. He faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted.
Carrion has returned to light duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
2007-06-10
Ethics problems abound for Calif. House members
By Erica Werner, The Associated Press
Article Launched: 06/10/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
WASHINGTON - Hollywood party girls don't have a monopoly on trouble in California. A disproportionate number of the state's congressional Republicans are facing ethics questions that threaten to sink their careers and their party's political fortunes too.
Of 201 House Republicans, at least six are known to have attracted the attention of federal investigators - and four are from California. Their woes come in the wake of the lurid corruption scandal that sent ex-GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of San Diego to prison last year for taking $2.4 million in bribes.
Although their situations have a few common threads, some analysts attribute the cluster of California cases to coincidence, plus the state's large size and district lines drawn to protect incumbents.
"When your seat is so safe that you're not concerned about perception, you become too wedded to Washington and you lose touch with your constituency, and you lose touch with your real purpose," said Karen Hanretty, a Republican strategist and former California Republican Party spokeswoman.
Rep. John Doolittle, a nine-term Northern California conservative under investigation in the influence-peddling scandal around jailed GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has his own theory about why federal corruption investigations seem to be concentrated in California.
"I think it's part of this manufactured culture of corruption that the Democrats have come up with and they decided to, given what's happened with Duke Cunningham, they decided that California Republicans on the Appropriations Committee would be a great place to start," said Doolittle, who plans to seek re-election next year.
The ethics cloud is discouraging the party faithful who've already watched the GOP shrink to minority status in California. And they add to the dilemmas of Republican strategists aiming to retake Congress next year following election losses blamed partly on GOP ethics problems.
"There is a sort of feeling among Republican activists who work hard to elect Republicans of, `What the heck is going on here?"' said Los Angeles GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum.
Republican Rep. Richard Pombo was chairman of the House Resources Committee when he lost in a GOP-leaning Central California district last November amid questions about his ties to Abramoff.
That reduced the number of Republicans in the nation's largest congressional delegation to 19, the lowest since their numbers shrank from 24 once district lines were redrawn after the 2000 census.
There are 33 Democrats from California, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, and none are known to be facing active FBI scrutiny. A 34th California Democratic seat is vacant after the cancer death in April of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald.
Article Launched: 06/10/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
WASHINGTON - Hollywood party girls don't have a monopoly on trouble in California. A disproportionate number of the state's congressional Republicans are facing ethics questions that threaten to sink their careers and their party's political fortunes too.
Of 201 House Republicans, at least six are known to have attracted the attention of federal investigators - and four are from California. Their woes come in the wake of the lurid corruption scandal that sent ex-GOP Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of San Diego to prison last year for taking $2.4 million in bribes.
Although their situations have a few common threads, some analysts attribute the cluster of California cases to coincidence, plus the state's large size and district lines drawn to protect incumbents.
"When your seat is so safe that you're not concerned about perception, you become too wedded to Washington and you lose touch with your constituency, and you lose touch with your real purpose," said Karen Hanretty, a Republican strategist and former California Republican Party spokeswoman.
Rep. John Doolittle, a nine-term Northern California conservative under investigation in the influence-peddling scandal around jailed GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has his own theory about why federal corruption investigations seem to be concentrated in California.
"I think it's part of this manufactured culture of corruption that the Democrats have come up with and they decided to, given what's happened with Duke Cunningham, they decided that California Republicans on the Appropriations Committee would be a great place to start," said Doolittle, who plans to seek re-election next year.
The ethics cloud is discouraging the party faithful who've already watched the GOP shrink to minority status in California. And they add to the dilemmas of Republican strategists aiming to retake Congress next year following election losses blamed partly on GOP ethics problems.
"There is a sort of feeling among Republican activists who work hard to elect Republicans of, `What the heck is going on here?"' said Los Angeles GOP analyst Allan Hoffenblum.
Republican Rep. Richard Pombo was chairman of the House Resources Committee when he lost in a GOP-leaning Central California district last November amid questions about his ties to Abramoff.
That reduced the number of Republicans in the nation's largest congressional delegation to 19, the lowest since their numbers shrank from 24 once district lines were redrawn after the 2000 census.
There are 33 Democrats from California, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, and none are known to be facing active FBI scrutiny. A 34th California Democratic seat is vacant after the cancer death in April of Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald.
Attorney: Officer says to drop Haditha charges
By Allison Hoffman, The Associated Press
Article Launched: 06/10/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
SAN DIEGO - Charges against a Marine lawyer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha should be dismissed, the officer's attorney said the investigating officer in the case has recommended.
Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, was charged with failing to report and investigate the deaths of the men, women and children in a deadly sweep on a chaotic day of battle in the village. The battalion lawyer is one of four officers charged in the killings.
His attorney, Charles Gittins, said Saturday that investigating officer Maj. Thomas McCann concluded in a report to the commanding general overseeing the case that Stone should not face court-martial, and the matter should be handled administratively.
The recommendation is nonbinding. A final decision will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case.
Stone, from Dunkirk, Md., faces up to
2 1/2 years in prison and dismissal if his case goes to trial and he is convicted.
Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson declined to comment until Mattis makes his final decision.
Also on Saturday, one of Stone's fellow officers, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, made an unsworn statement in preliminary hearings to determine whether he should face trial on charges of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order for failing to investigate the deaths in Haditha.
The two dozen people were killed as a Marine squad went house to house looking for those responsible for a roadside bomb that killed one Marine and hurt two others.
The Marines have said they believed they were taking fire from the houses. They used fragmentation grenades and machine guns to clear the homes, but instead of hitting insurgents, they killed civilians.
During the statement, which took fewer than 10 minutes to deliver, Chessani told the officer overseeing his hearing that he believes he broke no laws in the aftermath.
"Hindsight is 20/20," Chessani told Col. Christopher Conlin. "I did not believe that my actions and my decisions were criminal, sir."
Article Launched: 06/10/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
SAN DIEGO - Charges against a Marine lawyer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha should be dismissed, the officer's attorney said the investigating officer in the case has recommended.
Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, was charged with failing to report and investigate the deaths of the men, women and children in a deadly sweep on a chaotic day of battle in the village. The battalion lawyer is one of four officers charged in the killings.
His attorney, Charles Gittins, said Saturday that investigating officer Maj. Thomas McCann concluded in a report to the commanding general overseeing the case that Stone should not face court-martial, and the matter should be handled administratively.
The recommendation is nonbinding. A final decision will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case.
Stone, from Dunkirk, Md., faces up to
2 1/2 years in prison and dismissal if his case goes to trial and he is convicted.
Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson declined to comment until Mattis makes his final decision.
Also on Saturday, one of Stone's fellow officers, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Chessani, made an unsworn statement in preliminary hearings to determine whether he should face trial on charges of dereliction of duty and violating a lawful order for failing to investigate the deaths in Haditha.
The two dozen people were killed as a Marine squad went house to house looking for those responsible for a roadside bomb that killed one Marine and hurt two others.
The Marines have said they believed they were taking fire from the houses. They used fragmentation grenades and machine guns to clear the homes, but instead of hitting insurgents, they killed civilians.
During the statement, which took fewer than 10 minutes to deliver, Chessani told the officer overseeing his hearing that he believes he broke no laws in the aftermath.
"Hindsight is 20/20," Chessani told Col. Christopher Conlin. "I did not believe that my actions and my decisions were criminal, sir."
2007-06-09
THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS TERROR ORGANIZATION
On March 15, 2005, Agence France News Agency published a press release that was short, yet chilling. Tariq Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister of Iraq who is being illegally held in prison, appealed to the world for help for him and his imprisoned comrades in a note that literally had to be smuggled out of the building. The plea was hand-written on the pages of a lawyer’s pocket calendar. The lawyer was present as Aziz was being grilled by a United Nations panel investigating corruption in Iraq’s oil-for-food program. It read:
To the world public opinion: we hope that you will help us … We need fair treatment, a fair investigation and finally, a fair trial. Please help us.
We have been (text not clear) for a long time and we have been cut out of our families, no contacts or phones, no letters, even no parcels sent to us by our families and not one given to us.
Other than Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziz was the most recognizable face that the western world saw from Iraq between 1990 and 2003. Many times, he appeared in press conferences giving the Iraqi side to the stories fabricated by the U.S. He was eloquent by any standards in a language that was not his first (English). Watching him speak was a treat to those of us who did not buy into the U.S. fabrications about Iraq. When he finished a speech, the listener came away with not only his current message, but information about world history and sociology as well.
For instance, about six months before the illegal March 2003 invasion, a speech by Aziz was carried by the U.S. network C-SPAN, that was an in-depth lecture about how revolution and terrorism were opposing forces. This was during the time when the Bush administration was giving a full-court press to the absurd concept that Saddam Hussein and Osam bin-Laden were in cahoots in attempting to destroy the U.S.
I was mesmerized by Aziz' mastery of the English language as well as the sociological information he brought forth. No U.S. or British professor could have exceeded his eloquence.
Today, Tariq Aziz rots in a prison cell. He does not know where he is and neither does his family. His incarceration, as well as that of the other imprisoned Iraqi government officials, is a blight that the world should be ashamed of.
Part of the U.S. arsenal is to humiliate people beyond the norms of human behavior. Aziz is now in the middle of such a program.
Much of U.S. culture is based on humiliation. In sports, business, education, and many other cultural pursuits, this humiliation is standard fare in the American psyche, so it is easy to see why the administration uses these methods against its "enemies." I once wrote a piece concerning how the U.S. tried to humiliate President Saddam Hussein in depicting his capture; showing him to be a coward on the run. Fortunately, the truth did emerge and it differed considerably from what was shown on TV and published in the print media. Saddam was captured at a friend's house while shooting it out with U.S. military personnel.
Demonizing a leader who disagrees with the U.S. is a successful manner in which to con the U.S. public. Despite all the truth eventually emerging, the citizenry of America still believes the lies every time they are told. And, the lies are big: the bigger, the more the U.S. public believes them.
Saddam Hussein was crazy. Psychologists (in all probability U.S. administration employees posing as doctors) wrote that he was nuts because his left eyebrow was at a different angle from his right one. The public bought it. Saddam was a madman who must be stopped.
Manuel Noriega, the former president of Panama was depicted in the same terms. And, he was kidnapped by the U.S.
In 1993, the U.S. went into Somalia and after a few months changed strides and began to demonize Mohamed Aidid. Instead of being a nationalist who was fighting for his country, Aidid was again portrayed as a madman.
A little-known fact behind the demonizing of Aidid is the identity of the author of the scenario. The infamous April Glaspie, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq in 1990 who met with Saddam Hussein in July of that year and made the statement, "We (U.S.) take no opinion in Arab to Arab matters," was assigned to Somalia in June 1993 to up the ante. She created anti-Aidid propaganda and the so-called humanitarian mission changed into a manhunt for Aidid.
The U.S. is masterful at creating enemies and depicting them as crazed madmen. It is also masterful at kidnapping and assassinating foreign leaders. Saddam Hussein had been the target of many a U.S. missile or bomb since 1991, as well as CIA-inspired plots from inside Iraq. He survived all and only could be put down by a bogus court that was set up by the U.S. Even seconds before his death, he was defiant and refused to "repent" to U.S. demands.
The U.S. invasion of Iraq was declared illegal by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan. We all know that is was illegal. If so, how can the U.S. be allowed to kill or kidnap members of a legal government and not be held accountable? This is the question that the world should be discussing.
Instead, most countries ignore the plight of the imprisoned leaders. Many are outright afraid of a U.S. reprisal, either in the form of military action, or the taking away of funds used to buy off the countries. Others, such as Arab countries who once benefited from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, are just willing to keep their mouths shut because their leaders do not want to lose the money the U.S. gives them and by not speaking up about Iraq, they are allowed to keep their medieval societies in place without opposition from U.S. propaganda. So much for the U.S. crusade for "democracy" in the world.
The current state of the imprisoned Iraqi government officials transcends the plight of a dozen or so individuals. Several suffered the same fate as Saddam and ended up at the end of the hangman’s noose. Others are being tried and will also be hanged because of the verdict of a kangaroo court. The world has been sent a message that is even more dire than that of the invasion of Iraq: it has been given notice that the U.S. can and will do anything it wants at any time it wants and there will be no opposition. Never in the history of the world has such power been given to any one nation.
The peace groups who once massed in cities worldwide to protest the impending war against Iraq are now mute on the subject of the incarcerated Iraqi government. Most have bought into the administration's line of "what's done is done." They have taken their signs home and thrown them in the trash.
We should be seeing a worldwide movement that could define the history of this planet. We should be seeing massive numbers of people protesting the plight of Tariq Aziz and his comrades. Baghdad should be the destination of millions of fair-minded people to create an atmosphere of protest that no one can ignore. Instead, we hear silence.
There are a few leaders who have stood up for justice in Iraq. Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are two. However, they both are in the cross-hairs of U.S. policy and they know they will be targets, but they have let their integrity rule, instead of fear or greed. How long will they stay alive?
Terrorism is rampant today in the world. Never have their been so many terrorist activities; daily and worldwide. The headquarters for the largest, most efficient, most well-armed and most dangerous terrorist organization in the world are located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
To the world public opinion: we hope that you will help us … We need fair treatment, a fair investigation and finally, a fair trial. Please help us.
We have been (text not clear) for a long time and we have been cut out of our families, no contacts or phones, no letters, even no parcels sent to us by our families and not one given to us.
Other than Saddam Hussein, Tariq Aziz was the most recognizable face that the western world saw from Iraq between 1990 and 2003. Many times, he appeared in press conferences giving the Iraqi side to the stories fabricated by the U.S. He was eloquent by any standards in a language that was not his first (English). Watching him speak was a treat to those of us who did not buy into the U.S. fabrications about Iraq. When he finished a speech, the listener came away with not only his current message, but information about world history and sociology as well.
For instance, about six months before the illegal March 2003 invasion, a speech by Aziz was carried by the U.S. network C-SPAN, that was an in-depth lecture about how revolution and terrorism were opposing forces. This was during the time when the Bush administration was giving a full-court press to the absurd concept that Saddam Hussein and Osam bin-Laden were in cahoots in attempting to destroy the U.S.
I was mesmerized by Aziz' mastery of the English language as well as the sociological information he brought forth. No U.S. or British professor could have exceeded his eloquence.
Today, Tariq Aziz rots in a prison cell. He does not know where he is and neither does his family. His incarceration, as well as that of the other imprisoned Iraqi government officials, is a blight that the world should be ashamed of.
Part of the U.S. arsenal is to humiliate people beyond the norms of human behavior. Aziz is now in the middle of such a program.
Much of U.S. culture is based on humiliation. In sports, business, education, and many other cultural pursuits, this humiliation is standard fare in the American psyche, so it is easy to see why the administration uses these methods against its "enemies." I once wrote a piece concerning how the U.S. tried to humiliate President Saddam Hussein in depicting his capture; showing him to be a coward on the run. Fortunately, the truth did emerge and it differed considerably from what was shown on TV and published in the print media. Saddam was captured at a friend's house while shooting it out with U.S. military personnel.
Demonizing a leader who disagrees with the U.S. is a successful manner in which to con the U.S. public. Despite all the truth eventually emerging, the citizenry of America still believes the lies every time they are told. And, the lies are big: the bigger, the more the U.S. public believes them.
Saddam Hussein was crazy. Psychologists (in all probability U.S. administration employees posing as doctors) wrote that he was nuts because his left eyebrow was at a different angle from his right one. The public bought it. Saddam was a madman who must be stopped.
Manuel Noriega, the former president of Panama was depicted in the same terms. And, he was kidnapped by the U.S.
In 1993, the U.S. went into Somalia and after a few months changed strides and began to demonize Mohamed Aidid. Instead of being a nationalist who was fighting for his country, Aidid was again portrayed as a madman.
A little-known fact behind the demonizing of Aidid is the identity of the author of the scenario. The infamous April Glaspie, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq in 1990 who met with Saddam Hussein in July of that year and made the statement, "We (U.S.) take no opinion in Arab to Arab matters," was assigned to Somalia in June 1993 to up the ante. She created anti-Aidid propaganda and the so-called humanitarian mission changed into a manhunt for Aidid.
The U.S. is masterful at creating enemies and depicting them as crazed madmen. It is also masterful at kidnapping and assassinating foreign leaders. Saddam Hussein had been the target of many a U.S. missile or bomb since 1991, as well as CIA-inspired plots from inside Iraq. He survived all and only could be put down by a bogus court that was set up by the U.S. Even seconds before his death, he was defiant and refused to "repent" to U.S. demands.
The U.S. invasion of Iraq was declared illegal by the U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan. We all know that is was illegal. If so, how can the U.S. be allowed to kill or kidnap members of a legal government and not be held accountable? This is the question that the world should be discussing.
Instead, most countries ignore the plight of the imprisoned leaders. Many are outright afraid of a U.S. reprisal, either in the form of military action, or the taking away of funds used to buy off the countries. Others, such as Arab countries who once benefited from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, are just willing to keep their mouths shut because their leaders do not want to lose the money the U.S. gives them and by not speaking up about Iraq, they are allowed to keep their medieval societies in place without opposition from U.S. propaganda. So much for the U.S. crusade for "democracy" in the world.
The current state of the imprisoned Iraqi government officials transcends the plight of a dozen or so individuals. Several suffered the same fate as Saddam and ended up at the end of the hangman’s noose. Others are being tried and will also be hanged because of the verdict of a kangaroo court. The world has been sent a message that is even more dire than that of the invasion of Iraq: it has been given notice that the U.S. can and will do anything it wants at any time it wants and there will be no opposition. Never in the history of the world has such power been given to any one nation.
The peace groups who once massed in cities worldwide to protest the impending war against Iraq are now mute on the subject of the incarcerated Iraqi government. Most have bought into the administration's line of "what's done is done." They have taken their signs home and thrown them in the trash.
We should be seeing a worldwide movement that could define the history of this planet. We should be seeing massive numbers of people protesting the plight of Tariq Aziz and his comrades. Baghdad should be the destination of millions of fair-minded people to create an atmosphere of protest that no one can ignore. Instead, we hear silence.
There are a few leaders who have stood up for justice in Iraq. Presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela are two. However, they both are in the cross-hairs of U.S. policy and they know they will be targets, but they have let their integrity rule, instead of fear or greed. How long will they stay alive?
Terrorism is rampant today in the world. Never have their been so many terrorist activities; daily and worldwide. The headquarters for the largest, most efficient, most well-armed and most dangerous terrorist organization in the world are located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
In-law defends ex-detective accused of killing his wife
By PAUL LAROCCO
The Press-Enterprise
CALIMESA - As a former San Bernardino police detective sits in jail on suspicion of killing his wife, the woman's brother says her family stands behind him.
Blair Christopher Hall was arrested Thursday after his wife, Cristi Lynne Hall, died in a hospital. She had been found about an hour earlier unconscious in the couple's backyard spa in Calimesa.
Riverside County sheriff's detectives said they have enough evidence to arrest Hall in connection with the death of his 46-year-old wife. Hall reported the incident himself.
Cristi Hall's brother said Saturday he does not believe his brother-in-law is involved.
"It's not something that's in his character, and we just want to say that we believe in him 100 percent," Lance Carlton said. "He should be home with us during this time."
Carlton said there is an explanation for his sister's death that he hopes the district attorney's office sees when it reviews the case Monday. The couple was remodeling the bathroom at their Belle Road home, and Cristi Hall was unable to use it while getting ready for work at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where she was an X-ray technician.
So she chose to bathe in the backyard spa after turning down an offer to use the shower at her parents' home in Banning, Carlton said. She went to the outdoor spa with her bath products just after 6:30 a.m., Carlton said.
"She was taking a bath in the Jacuzzi, and she slipped and fell," Carlton said. "And that's the end of the story."
But after nearly 12 hours of investigation, detectives arrested the husband on suspicion of murder. He is being held at Southwest Justice Center. Bail is set at $1 million.
The 48-year-old Hall, who runs a private-investigation firm in Yucaipa, retired from the San Bernardino Police Department in 1994 after being injured during a robbery while working as an undercover narcotics detective.
Hall, his wife and three children moved to Idaho, where he became police chief of Cascade, a town of 1,000 people. He worked there several years in the late 1990s, but quit shortly before being convicted of embezzling $19,000 from a drug task force fund.
Neighbors say Hall and his wife of 29 years had a loving relationship, and Carlton agreed.
He said his sister was not unhappy, and that Hall is not a killer.
"Chris is our family," Carlton said. "He doesn't deserve this."
Reach Paul LaRocco at 909-806-3064 or plarocco@PE.com
The Press-Enterprise
CALIMESA - As a former San Bernardino police detective sits in jail on suspicion of killing his wife, the woman's brother says her family stands behind him.
Blair Christopher Hall was arrested Thursday after his wife, Cristi Lynne Hall, died in a hospital. She had been found about an hour earlier unconscious in the couple's backyard spa in Calimesa.
Riverside County sheriff's detectives said they have enough evidence to arrest Hall in connection with the death of his 46-year-old wife. Hall reported the incident himself.
Cristi Hall's brother said Saturday he does not believe his brother-in-law is involved.
"It's not something that's in his character, and we just want to say that we believe in him 100 percent," Lance Carlton said. "He should be home with us during this time."
Carlton said there is an explanation for his sister's death that he hopes the district attorney's office sees when it reviews the case Monday. The couple was remodeling the bathroom at their Belle Road home, and Cristi Hall was unable to use it while getting ready for work at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, where she was an X-ray technician.
So she chose to bathe in the backyard spa after turning down an offer to use the shower at her parents' home in Banning, Carlton said. She went to the outdoor spa with her bath products just after 6:30 a.m., Carlton said.
"She was taking a bath in the Jacuzzi, and she slipped and fell," Carlton said. "And that's the end of the story."
But after nearly 12 hours of investigation, detectives arrested the husband on suspicion of murder. He is being held at Southwest Justice Center. Bail is set at $1 million.
The 48-year-old Hall, who runs a private-investigation firm in Yucaipa, retired from the San Bernardino Police Department in 1994 after being injured during a robbery while working as an undercover narcotics detective.
Hall, his wife and three children moved to Idaho, where he became police chief of Cascade, a town of 1,000 people. He worked there several years in the late 1990s, but quit shortly before being convicted of embezzling $19,000 from a drug task force fund.
Neighbors say Hall and his wife of 29 years had a loving relationship, and Carlton agreed.
He said his sister was not unhappy, and that Hall is not a killer.
"Chris is our family," Carlton said. "He doesn't deserve this."
Reach Paul LaRocco at 909-806-3064 or plarocco@PE.com
2007-06-08
Retired SB cop held on suspicion of homicide
Wife found floating in backyard hot tub
Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/08/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
CALIMESA - The wife of a retired San Bernardino police officer was found floating face-down in their backyard hot tub Thursday morning, and the husband was arrested on suspicion of homicide.
Cristi Lynne Hall, 46, was found unresponsive at 6:48 a.m.
Riverside County Sheriff's deputies pulled her from the water and administered first aid. She was rushed to San Gorgonio Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:35 a.m.
Sheriff's homicide detectives uncovered enough evidence, they said, to arrest Blair Christopher Hall, 49. He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
For most of the day, the Sheriff's Department withheld the names of the victim and the suspect, saying only that the death was suspicious and under investigation by the homicide unit.
The home where the incident occurred is listed in the report as in the 1200 block of Belle Road.
This is not Blair Hall's first run-in with the law.
A few years ago, he pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $19,000 from a state-administered federal grant intended to train a drug-enforcement task force, while he was police chief in Cascade, Idaho.
Though he told the judge he intended to pay it back, Hall admitted spending the money on a TV satellite dish, clothing and a room at Cactus Pete's casino in Nevada, court records show.
Hall started his career as a police officer in San Bernardino, where he was hired in 1982. He was promoted to narcotics detective in 1988 and medically retired in 1994 after being shot in the leg by a would-be carjacker.
He moved to Idaho to become police chief the following year with his wife and three daughters. He resigned in 1998.
From there, Hall took the same post in Emmett, Idaho, where he lasted fewer than 100 days.
He then became a security officer at San Manuel Bingo & Casino, where he was working when the embezzlement charges were filed.
Hall most recently ran a private-investigation agency in Crown Village Center in Calimesa.
The family could not be reached for comment late Thursday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call investigators Darren Wills of the sheriff's central homicide unit at (760) 836-1632 or John Mott at the Cabazon Station at (951) 922-7100.
Contact writer Stacia Glenn at (909) 386-3887 or via e-mail at stacia.glenn@sbsun.com.
Stacia Glenn, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/08/2007 12:00:00 AM PDT
CALIMESA - The wife of a retired San Bernardino police officer was found floating face-down in their backyard hot tub Thursday morning, and the husband was arrested on suspicion of homicide.
Cristi Lynne Hall, 46, was found unresponsive at 6:48 a.m.
Riverside County Sheriff's deputies pulled her from the water and administered first aid. She was rushed to San Gorgonio Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:35 a.m.
Sheriff's homicide detectives uncovered enough evidence, they said, to arrest Blair Christopher Hall, 49. He was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.
For most of the day, the Sheriff's Department withheld the names of the victim and the suspect, saying only that the death was suspicious and under investigation by the homicide unit.
The home where the incident occurred is listed in the report as in the 1200 block of Belle Road.
This is not Blair Hall's first run-in with the law.
A few years ago, he pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $19,000 from a state-administered federal grant intended to train a drug-enforcement task force, while he was police chief in Cascade, Idaho.
Though he told the judge he intended to pay it back, Hall admitted spending the money on a TV satellite dish, clothing and a room at Cactus Pete's casino in Nevada, court records show.
Hall started his career as a police officer in San Bernardino, where he was hired in 1982. He was promoted to narcotics detective in 1988 and medically retired in 1994 after being shot in the leg by a would-be carjacker.
He moved to Idaho to become police chief the following year with his wife and three daughters. He resigned in 1998.
From there, Hall took the same post in Emmett, Idaho, where he lasted fewer than 100 days.
He then became a security officer at San Manuel Bingo & Casino, where he was working when the embezzlement charges were filed.
Hall most recently ran a private-investigation agency in Crown Village Center in Calimesa.
The family could not be reached for comment late Thursday.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call investigators Darren Wills of the sheriff's central homicide unit at (760) 836-1632 or John Mott at the Cabazon Station at (951) 922-7100.
Contact writer Stacia Glenn at (909) 386-3887 or via e-mail at stacia.glenn@sbsun.com.
Contradiction caught on tape
SAN BERNARDINO - The former sheriff's deputy on trial for shooting an unarmed man at the end of a car chase in Chino reported to two other officers immediately after the incident that he shot because the man attacked or lunged at him, according to testimony in the deputy's trial Thursday.
The first backup officer to arrive that night, Chino police Detective Brian Cauble, testified Thursday he came upon the scene to find the deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., standing above a wounded Elio Carrion with his gun drawn.
Cauble said he immediately asked Webb what was going on.
"He told me the subject had tried to attack him," Cauble said.
Richard Swigart, a San Bernardino County sheriff's sergeant who also went to the scene, testified Webb told him a similar story.
"He said the guy lunged at him and he shot three times," Swigart testified.
Webb's statements from that night were the central issue Thursday as his trial continued in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Prosecutors contend the statements are contradicted by a videotape of the shooting that appears to show Webb shoot Carrion just after ordering him to get up.
They also claim that after the video of the shooting surfaced, Webb changed his story to say he shot Carrion because he believed Carrion reached into his jacket for a weapon.
Webb's lawyers contend the shooting was justified. They say Webb has been honest about what happened from the beginning, and his statements at the scene were cursory and made in the heat of a stressful situation.
Webb is charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the Jan. 29, 2006, incident. He faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted as charged.
Carrion was the passenger in a car that led Webb on a high-speed chase. After the driver, Luis Escobedo, crashed on Francis Street in Chino, Carrion crawled out onto the ground and Webb held him a gunpoint.
A local resident videotaped the following encounter from his front yard.
The recording appears to show Carrion and Webb shouting back and forth at each other. Carrion is on the ground as he tells Webb he means him no harm. Moments later, Webb appears to order Carrion to "get up." As Carrion rises, Webb shoots him.
Swigart testified Thursday that he was a supervising sergeant at the Chino Hills sheriff's station on the night of the shooting. Swigart said he responded to Francis Street after hearing radio traffic from deputies about a car chase and shots being fired.
When he got there, Carrion was on the ground wounded, he said.
Swigart approached Webb and asked for a brief statement about what happened, he said.
Webb told him that Carrion had repeatedly defied his orders to stay on the ground, he said. Webb said he had kicked Carrion down and warned him that he would be shot if he tried to get up again.
Webb claimed Carrion disregarded that order, Swigart testified.
"He said the guy tried to get up quickly in a lunging motion, so he shot him," Swigart testified.
Swigart said Webb appeared coherent but was also noticeably upset over having shot someone.
Cauble testified Thursday that he was on patrol when he heard a radio call about an officer needing assistance. When he got to Francis Street, Webb was still holding Carrion and Escobedo at gunpoint. Carrion had already been shot.
As Cauble approached Webb, the deputy immediately said Carrion tried to attack him, Cauble said.
After hearing the statement, Cauble said he activated an audio recorder on his belt.
Prosecutors played the recording for jurors Thursday morning.
On it, Webb makes an additional statement about being attacked.
"Mother (expletive) gonna get up trying and (expletive) attack me!" he says in an angry tone.
Cauble testified Webb made the above statement while walking toward Escobedo, who was still in the driver's seat of the car.
Escobedo is then heard on the tape challenging Webb's statement.
"He told him to get up!" Escobedo shouts.
The retort appeared to agitate Webb, who then repeatedly shouted at Escobedo to shut up.
Cauble then asks Webb to "settle down, man."
San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Leland Boldt, who supervised the investigation, testified Thursday afternoon that he and his team first saw the video of the shooting about three hours after it occurred.
He said the man who made the video, Jose Luis Valdes, invited about five detectives into his home and played the tape on a large, flat-screen television mounted on his wall.
"When he stopped the video the room was dead silenced for a few moments," Boldt testified.
Boldt said his detectives then took the video to the Chino Hills station, where it was played repeatedly for supervisors.
Testimony in the trial is scheduled to resume Monday. Prosecutors plan to rest their case by Tuesday, and Webb's lawyers will begin calling their witnesses by the middle of next week.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
The first backup officer to arrive that night, Chino police Detective Brian Cauble, testified Thursday he came upon the scene to find the deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., standing above a wounded Elio Carrion with his gun drawn.
Cauble said he immediately asked Webb what was going on.
"He told me the subject had tried to attack him," Cauble said.
Richard Swigart, a San Bernardino County sheriff's sergeant who also went to the scene, testified Webb told him a similar story.
"He said the guy lunged at him and he shot three times," Swigart testified.
Webb's statements from that night were the central issue Thursday as his trial continued in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Prosecutors contend the statements are contradicted by a videotape of the shooting that appears to show Webb shoot Carrion just after ordering him to get up.
They also claim that after the video of the shooting surfaced, Webb changed his story to say he shot Carrion because he believed Carrion reached into his jacket for a weapon.
Webb's lawyers contend the shooting was justified. They say Webb has been honest about what happened from the beginning, and his statements at the scene were cursory and made in the heat of a stressful situation.
Webb is charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the Jan. 29, 2006, incident. He faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted as charged.
Carrion was the passenger in a car that led Webb on a high-speed chase. After the driver, Luis Escobedo, crashed on Francis Street in Chino, Carrion crawled out onto the ground and Webb held him a gunpoint.
A local resident videotaped the following encounter from his front yard.
The recording appears to show Carrion and Webb shouting back and forth at each other. Carrion is on the ground as he tells Webb he means him no harm. Moments later, Webb appears to order Carrion to "get up." As Carrion rises, Webb shoots him.
Swigart testified Thursday that he was a supervising sergeant at the Chino Hills sheriff's station on the night of the shooting. Swigart said he responded to Francis Street after hearing radio traffic from deputies about a car chase and shots being fired.
When he got there, Carrion was on the ground wounded, he said.
Swigart approached Webb and asked for a brief statement about what happened, he said.
Webb told him that Carrion had repeatedly defied his orders to stay on the ground, he said. Webb said he had kicked Carrion down and warned him that he would be shot if he tried to get up again.
Webb claimed Carrion disregarded that order, Swigart testified.
"He said the guy tried to get up quickly in a lunging motion, so he shot him," Swigart testified.
Swigart said Webb appeared coherent but was also noticeably upset over having shot someone.
Cauble testified Thursday that he was on patrol when he heard a radio call about an officer needing assistance. When he got to Francis Street, Webb was still holding Carrion and Escobedo at gunpoint. Carrion had already been shot.
As Cauble approached Webb, the deputy immediately said Carrion tried to attack him, Cauble said.
After hearing the statement, Cauble said he activated an audio recorder on his belt.
Prosecutors played the recording for jurors Thursday morning.
On it, Webb makes an additional statement about being attacked.
"Mother (expletive) gonna get up trying and (expletive) attack me!" he says in an angry tone.
Cauble testified Webb made the above statement while walking toward Escobedo, who was still in the driver's seat of the car.
Escobedo is then heard on the tape challenging Webb's statement.
"He told him to get up!" Escobedo shouts.
The retort appeared to agitate Webb, who then repeatedly shouted at Escobedo to shut up.
Cauble then asks Webb to "settle down, man."
San Bernardino County sheriff's Detective Leland Boldt, who supervised the investigation, testified Thursday afternoon that he and his team first saw the video of the shooting about three hours after it occurred.
He said the man who made the video, Jose Luis Valdes, invited about five detectives into his home and played the tape on a large, flat-screen television mounted on his wall.
"When he stopped the video the room was dead silenced for a few moments," Boldt testified.
Boldt said his detectives then took the video to the Chino Hills station, where it was played repeatedly for supervisors.
Testimony in the trial is scheduled to resume Monday. Prosecutors plan to rest their case by Tuesday, and Webb's lawyers will begin calling their witnesses by the middle of next week.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
2007-06-05
U.S. Army War College professor Steven Metz argues that American forces should stop trying to fight complex insurgencies
U.S. Army War College professor Steven Metz has quietly released a radical new study. In it, he argues that American forces should stop trying to fight complex insurgencies, like the one raging in Iraq -- and stop trying to prop up governments that are battling insurgents. Instead, Metz asserts, the U.S. military should serve as "neutral mediators and peacekeepers (even when [we] have much more ideological affinity for the regime than for the insurgents)." Getting out quickly should be the highest goal. "Protracted conflict, not insurgent victory, is the threat," he writes. Here's a snippet:
Contemporary insurgency has a different strategic context, structure, and dynamics than its forebears. Insurgencies tend to be nested in complex conflicts which involve what can be called third forces (armed groups which affect the outcome, such as militias) and fourth forces (unarmed groups which affect the outcome, such as international media), as well as the insurgents and the regime. Because of globalization, the decline of overt state sponsorship of insurgency, the continuing importance of informal outside sponsorship, and the nesting of insurgency within complex conflicts associated with state weakness or failure, the dynamics of contemporary insurgency are more like a violent and competitive market than war in the traditional sense where clear and discrete combatants seek strategic victory.
This suggests a very different way of thinking about (and undertaking) counterinsurgency. At the strategic level, the risk to the United States is not that insurgents will “win” in the traditional sense, takeover their country, and shift it from a partner to an enemy. It is that complex internal conflicts, especially ones involving insurgency, will generate other adverse effects: the destabilization of regions, resource flows, and markets; the blossoming of transnational crime; humanitarian disasters; transnational terrorism; and so forth. Given this, the U.S. goal should not automatically be the defeat of the insurgents by the regime (which may be impossible and which the regime may not even want), but the most rapid conflict resolution possible. In other words, a quick and sustainable resolution which integrates insurgents into the national power structure is less damaging to U.S. national interests than a protracted conflict which leads to the complete destruction of the insurgents. Protracted conflict, not insurgent victory, is the threat.
If, in fact, insurgency is not simply a variant of war, if the real threat is the deleterious effects of sustained conflict, and if it is part of systemic failure and pathology in which key elites and organizations develop a vested interest in sustaining the conflict, the objective of counterinsurgency support should not be simply strengthening the government so that it can impose its will more effectively on the insurgents, but systemic reengineering. This, in turn, implies that the most effective posture for outsiders is not to be an ally of the government and thus a sustainer of the flawed socio-political-economic system, but to be neutral mediators and peacekeepers (even when the outsiders have much more ideological affinity for the regime than for the insurgents). If this is true, the United States should only undertake counterinsurgency support in the most pressing instances and as part of an equitable, legitimate, and broad-based multinational coalition. (emphasis mine)
Contemporary insurgency has a different strategic context, structure, and dynamics than its forebears. Insurgencies tend to be nested in complex conflicts which involve what can be called third forces (armed groups which affect the outcome, such as militias) and fourth forces (unarmed groups which affect the outcome, such as international media), as well as the insurgents and the regime. Because of globalization, the decline of overt state sponsorship of insurgency, the continuing importance of informal outside sponsorship, and the nesting of insurgency within complex conflicts associated with state weakness or failure, the dynamics of contemporary insurgency are more like a violent and competitive market than war in the traditional sense where clear and discrete combatants seek strategic victory.
This suggests a very different way of thinking about (and undertaking) counterinsurgency. At the strategic level, the risk to the United States is not that insurgents will “win” in the traditional sense, takeover their country, and shift it from a partner to an enemy. It is that complex internal conflicts, especially ones involving insurgency, will generate other adverse effects: the destabilization of regions, resource flows, and markets; the blossoming of transnational crime; humanitarian disasters; transnational terrorism; and so forth. Given this, the U.S. goal should not automatically be the defeat of the insurgents by the regime (which may be impossible and which the regime may not even want), but the most rapid conflict resolution possible. In other words, a quick and sustainable resolution which integrates insurgents into the national power structure is less damaging to U.S. national interests than a protracted conflict which leads to the complete destruction of the insurgents. Protracted conflict, not insurgent victory, is the threat.
If, in fact, insurgency is not simply a variant of war, if the real threat is the deleterious effects of sustained conflict, and if it is part of systemic failure and pathology in which key elites and organizations develop a vested interest in sustaining the conflict, the objective of counterinsurgency support should not be simply strengthening the government so that it can impose its will more effectively on the insurgents, but systemic reengineering. This, in turn, implies that the most effective posture for outsiders is not to be an ally of the government and thus a sustainer of the flawed socio-political-economic system, but to be neutral mediators and peacekeepers (even when the outsiders have much more ideological affinity for the regime than for the insurgents). If this is true, the United States should only undertake counterinsurgency support in the most pressing instances and as part of an equitable, legitimate, and broad-based multinational coalition. (emphasis mine)
2007-06-04
Airman testifies he was following deputy's orders
Airman testifies he was following deputy's orders
By Rod Leveque, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/04/2007 10:48:56 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO - The Air Force senior airman who was shot by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy at the end of a high-speed car chase in Chino testified today that he was following the deputy's orders to get up off the ground when the deputy shot him.
Elio Carrion said the deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., told him twice to stand up.
"I repeated, 'I'm going to get up,'" Carrion testified. "As I get up, he shoots me."
Carrion took the witness stand Monday as Webb's trial resumed in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Webb is charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the shooting.
Carrion was the passenger in a Corvette that led several sheriff's deputies in a high-speed chase on Jan. 29, 2006. The driver, Luis Escobedo, eventually lost control and crashed into a fence on Francis Street in Chino.
A videotape of the altercation that followed appears to show Webb shoot Carrion as the unarmed man followed the deputy's orders to stand up while he surrendered.
Prosecutors say the tape is evidence of Webb's guilt.
Webb's lawyers claim the shooting was justified.
They say Carrion did not follow the deputy's commands to surrender and reached a hand toward his jacket, as though he were grabbing for a weapon.
Carrion, who was shot three times, came to San Bernardino Superior Court on Monday wearing a black suit over a white dress shirt and red tie. He wore his hair in a short, military-style cut.
He described the altercation calmly from the witness stand.
Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope again played the videotape of the shooting for jurors while Carrion was on the witness stand.
He will continue to testify throughout the day.
Carrion required months of rehabilitation to recover, and has since returned to light duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
He is here on leave to testify.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
By Rod Leveque, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 06/04/2007 10:48:56 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO - The Air Force senior airman who was shot by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy at the end of a high-speed car chase in Chino testified today that he was following the deputy's orders to get up off the ground when the deputy shot him.
Elio Carrion said the deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., told him twice to stand up.
"I repeated, 'I'm going to get up,'" Carrion testified. "As I get up, he shoots me."
Carrion took the witness stand Monday as Webb's trial resumed in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Webb is charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the shooting.
Carrion was the passenger in a Corvette that led several sheriff's deputies in a high-speed chase on Jan. 29, 2006. The driver, Luis Escobedo, eventually lost control and crashed into a fence on Francis Street in Chino.
A videotape of the altercation that followed appears to show Webb shoot Carrion as the unarmed man followed the deputy's orders to stand up while he surrendered.
Prosecutors say the tape is evidence of Webb's guilt.
Webb's lawyers claim the shooting was justified.
They say Carrion did not follow the deputy's commands to surrender and reached a hand toward his jacket, as though he were grabbing for a weapon.
Carrion, who was shot three times, came to San Bernardino Superior Court on Monday wearing a black suit over a white dress shirt and red tie. He wore his hair in a short, military-style cut.
He described the altercation calmly from the witness stand.
Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope again played the videotape of the shooting for jurors while Carrion was on the witness stand.
He will continue to testify throughout the day.
Carrion required months of rehabilitation to recover, and has since returned to light duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
He is here on leave to testify.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
San Bernardino County Faces State Lawsuit for Ignoring Land Use Impact on Global Warming
Its population of 2 million projected to exceed 2.5 million by 2030, San Bernardino County east of Los Angeles, the biggest in the continental U.S., includes inhabitable deserts and mountains, but also an ever-larger Inland Empire -- ''freeways, fast-growing cities, traffic congestion and seemingly endless sprawl,'' and having failed to deal with sprawl-related greenhouse gases in its new 25-year growth plan is now facing a state lawsuit for ignoring land use impact on global warming.
Sued earlier on similar grounds by the Center for Biological Diversity, now joined in a separate case by the Sierra Club and the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, reports USA Today writer John Ritter, the county passed its updated growth plan in March, prompting state Attorney General Jerry Brown to file an April suit under the 1970 California Environmental Quality Act, which treats greenhouse gases as any other pollution.
''San Bernardino has never seen a project it didn't like,'' said Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Brendan Cummings. ''They rubber-stamp development. It's very much a frontier mentality.''
The Attorney General and other plaintiffs, the writer reports, want the county to augment its plan's environmental impact section with provisions for measuring greenhouse gases and reducing their emissions.
''It's ground-breaking,'' commented University of California-Berkeley's Center for Environmental Law and Policy Executive Director Richard Frank. ''California is just leading the way for other states and jurisdictions that will ultimately follow.''
Indeed, states that have also taken aggressive steps against climate change are closely watching the unprecedented lawsuit, the writer observes, mentioning Massachusetts, New York and Washington.
If the suit is successful, he writes, ''California cities and counties could be forced to take steps to limit sprawl, promote compact development, require builders to design energy-efficient houses that offer solar power, and encourage less driving, more mass transit and use of alternative fuels.''
Bernardino County spokesman David Wert expressed disappointment over the state lawsuit, saying the county has no control over 85 percent of its land, which is under municipal, state and federal jurisdiction, and its plan to combat global warming has already been redone.
Still, he promised to make sure that employment and housing centers are near transportation corridors and to step up efforts to promote compact development and mass transit.
San Diego lawyer and planning consultant Cary Lowe calls the climate-change suits against San Bernardino County ''a wake-up call'' for other jurisdictions, saying, ''They know there's a good chance they'll get sued.'' -- USA Today 6/4/2007
Sued earlier on similar grounds by the Center for Biological Diversity, now joined in a separate case by the Sierra Club and the San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, reports USA Today writer John Ritter, the county passed its updated growth plan in March, prompting state Attorney General Jerry Brown to file an April suit under the 1970 California Environmental Quality Act, which treats greenhouse gases as any other pollution.
''San Bernardino has never seen a project it didn't like,'' said Center for Biological Diversity senior attorney Brendan Cummings. ''They rubber-stamp development. It's very much a frontier mentality.''
The Attorney General and other plaintiffs, the writer reports, want the county to augment its plan's environmental impact section with provisions for measuring greenhouse gases and reducing their emissions.
''It's ground-breaking,'' commented University of California-Berkeley's Center for Environmental Law and Policy Executive Director Richard Frank. ''California is just leading the way for other states and jurisdictions that will ultimately follow.''
Indeed, states that have also taken aggressive steps against climate change are closely watching the unprecedented lawsuit, the writer observes, mentioning Massachusetts, New York and Washington.
If the suit is successful, he writes, ''California cities and counties could be forced to take steps to limit sprawl, promote compact development, require builders to design energy-efficient houses that offer solar power, and encourage less driving, more mass transit and use of alternative fuels.''
Bernardino County spokesman David Wert expressed disappointment over the state lawsuit, saying the county has no control over 85 percent of its land, which is under municipal, state and federal jurisdiction, and its plan to combat global warming has already been redone.
Still, he promised to make sure that employment and housing centers are near transportation corridors and to step up efforts to promote compact development and mass transit.
San Diego lawyer and planning consultant Cary Lowe calls the climate-change suits against San Bernardino County ''a wake-up call'' for other jurisdictions, saying, ''They know there's a good chance they'll get sued.'' -- USA Today 6/4/2007
2007-06-03
Office of Nation's Top Spy Inadvertently Reveals Key to Classified National Intel Budget
In a holdover from the Cold War when the number really did matter to national security, the size of the US national intelligence budget remains one of the government's most closely guarded secrets. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the highest intelligence agency in the country that oversees all federal intelligence agencies, appears to have inadvertently released the keys to that number in an unclassified PowerPoint presentation now posted on the website of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). By reverse engineering the numbers in an underlying data element embedded in the presentation, it seems that the total budget of the 16 US intelligence agencies in fiscal year 2005 was $60 billion, almost 25% higher than previously believed.
In the presentation originally made to a DIA conference in Colorado on May 14, Terri Everett, an Office of the Director of National Intelligence senior procurement executive, revealed that 70% of the total Intelligence Community budget is spent on contractors. (This was reported by Tim Shorrock on Salon.com.) Everett also included a slide depicting the trend of award dollars to contractors by the Intelligence Community from fiscal year 95 through a partial year of fiscal year 06 (i.e. through August 31st of FY06.) Because these figures are classified, a scale of the total number of award dollars was omitted from the Y-axis of the bar chart. The PowerPoint presentation was first obtained by Shorrock for Salon.com and it was later posted on the DIA's website where I downloaded it. Although it would not have been visible to the conference attendees, the data underlying the bar graph--the total amount of Intelligence Community funds spent on contractors--is readily available in the actual presentation. By double clicking on the bar chart, a small spreadsheet with the raw classified data appears:
Odnislide11
(To view this spreadsheet in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's actual PowerPoint presentation, make sure you are opening the presentation in the PowerPoint program and not a web browser, view slide #11 and, depending upon your version of PowerPoint, making sure you're not on the 9/11 image object double-click on the chart or right click on it and choose Chart Object/Open.)
Here are the dollar amounts in tens of millions spent by the US Intelligence Community on contractors, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as embedded in the spreadsheet data underlying the bar graph (pictured above):
Contractordollars_2
Note: FY06 data as of 31 August. (The numbers are in tens of millions of dollars, although this is not noted, but it is previously known that the amount spent on contracts is a double-digit billion plus dollar figure.)
This 70% of the Intelligence Community budget spent on contractors most likely includes all Intelligence Community direct acquisitions from contractors, including satellites and other very expensive hardware programs as well as more mundane supplies in addition to contracted services--(e.g. "green badgers" or staff contracted to the CIA.) The remaining 30% of the Intelligence Community budget most likely includes both personnel (i.e., civilian federal employee) and as well as intergovernmental operations and maintenance and supplies (e.g. payments by some Intelligence Community elements to GSA to lease office space and acquire government pens and office supplies.) By taking the 70% of the intelligence community budget that now goes to contractors in conjunction with the actual dollars spent on contractors, it is possible to reverse-engineer the budget using simple algebra.
This top line $60 billion figure is 25% above the estimated $48 billion budget for FY 08. It is quite probable that this total figure was not even known by the government until recently. Greater control and oversight of the Intelligence Community budget was a hallmark of the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 that created the position of the Director of National Intelligence and gave it the mandate to get an overview of the entire amount spent on intelligence government-wide. To this end, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has recently gathered all parts of the previously fragmented Intelligence Community budget together for the first time as part of its Intelligence Resource Information System (IRIS). In the report from the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence released last Thursday, the committee praised the Office of the Director of Intelligence for creating a "single budget system called the Intelligence Resource Information System." It also recognizes their efforts in helping create what "will be used for further inquiry by the Committee’s budget and audit staffs and will be a baseline that allows the Congress and DNI to derive trend data from future reports."
Earlier, lower estimates were most likely only included what fell directly under the Director of Central Intelligence and which would have omitted parts of NSA, NRO. A total Intelligence Community number, with the Intelligence Community as defined by 50 U.S.C. 401a(4), would also now include the various military intelligence services (e.g. Army Intel, Navy Intel, etc.), each with its respective weapon technology intelligence exploitation shop. A total budget would also include a large portion of the budget of the Department of Homeland Security which was previously fragment across multiple government agencies. A $60 billion government-wide Intelligence Community budget is not at all out of line with the post 9/11 organizational reality. It seems that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is just now getting a clear picture of the fragmented intelligence community budget.
The overall Intelligence Community budget has long been a well kept secret and this classification did once have relevance when a large shift in the budget could have indicated to the Soviets an addition or cancellation of a major defense program. Now that our greatest adversaries are stateless entities that run on a shoestring budget and strike soft targets, signals of changes in high-dollar defense systems hardly seem worth hiding. Nonetheless, the federal government has frequently gone to court to keep the amount of the national intelligence budget secret. Only the budgets for 1963, 1997 and 1998 have been officially revealed, largely in response to FOIA lawsuits. And in 2005 a US News reporter picked up an apparent slip of the tongue by an official of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at a conference when it was stated the national intel budget was $44 billion, but it was not clear which fiscal year this was in reference to and the DNI refused to confirm if the figure was accurate or the release accidental. At this time, they would not have had total dollar figures through the new IRIS system. But with such a staggering budget, it does seem that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would be well advised to find some room in the Intelligence Community budget for a staff training on PowerPoint and OPSEC.
In the presentation originally made to a DIA conference in Colorado on May 14, Terri Everett, an Office of the Director of National Intelligence senior procurement executive, revealed that 70% of the total Intelligence Community budget is spent on contractors. (This was reported by Tim Shorrock on Salon.com.) Everett also included a slide depicting the trend of award dollars to contractors by the Intelligence Community from fiscal year 95 through a partial year of fiscal year 06 (i.e. through August 31st of FY06.) Because these figures are classified, a scale of the total number of award dollars was omitted from the Y-axis of the bar chart. The PowerPoint presentation was first obtained by Shorrock for Salon.com and it was later posted on the DIA's website where I downloaded it. Although it would not have been visible to the conference attendees, the data underlying the bar graph--the total amount of Intelligence Community funds spent on contractors--is readily available in the actual presentation. By double clicking on the bar chart, a small spreadsheet with the raw classified data appears:
Odnislide11
(To view this spreadsheet in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's actual PowerPoint presentation, make sure you are opening the presentation in the PowerPoint program and not a web browser, view slide #11 and, depending upon your version of PowerPoint, making sure you're not on the 9/11 image object double-click on the chart or right click on it and choose Chart Object/Open.)
Here are the dollar amounts in tens of millions spent by the US Intelligence Community on contractors, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, as embedded in the spreadsheet data underlying the bar graph (pictured above):
Contractordollars_2
Note: FY06 data as of 31 August. (The numbers are in tens of millions of dollars, although this is not noted, but it is previously known that the amount spent on contracts is a double-digit billion plus dollar figure.)
This 70% of the Intelligence Community budget spent on contractors most likely includes all Intelligence Community direct acquisitions from contractors, including satellites and other very expensive hardware programs as well as more mundane supplies in addition to contracted services--(e.g. "green badgers" or staff contracted to the CIA.) The remaining 30% of the Intelligence Community budget most likely includes both personnel (i.e., civilian federal employee) and as well as intergovernmental operations and maintenance and supplies (e.g. payments by some Intelligence Community elements to GSA to lease office space and acquire government pens and office supplies.) By taking the 70% of the intelligence community budget that now goes to contractors in conjunction with the actual dollars spent on contractors, it is possible to reverse-engineer the budget using simple algebra.
This top line $60 billion figure is 25% above the estimated $48 billion budget for FY 08. It is quite probable that this total figure was not even known by the government until recently. Greater control and oversight of the Intelligence Community budget was a hallmark of the Intelligence Reform Act of 2004 that created the position of the Director of National Intelligence and gave it the mandate to get an overview of the entire amount spent on intelligence government-wide. To this end, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has recently gathered all parts of the previously fragmented Intelligence Community budget together for the first time as part of its Intelligence Resource Information System (IRIS). In the report from the Select Senate Committee on Intelligence released last Thursday, the committee praised the Office of the Director of Intelligence for creating a "single budget system called the Intelligence Resource Information System." It also recognizes their efforts in helping create what "will be used for further inquiry by the Committee’s budget and audit staffs and will be a baseline that allows the Congress and DNI to derive trend data from future reports."
Earlier, lower estimates were most likely only included what fell directly under the Director of Central Intelligence and which would have omitted parts of NSA, NRO. A total Intelligence Community number, with the Intelligence Community as defined by 50 U.S.C. 401a(4), would also now include the various military intelligence services (e.g. Army Intel, Navy Intel, etc.), each with its respective weapon technology intelligence exploitation shop. A total budget would also include a large portion of the budget of the Department of Homeland Security which was previously fragment across multiple government agencies. A $60 billion government-wide Intelligence Community budget is not at all out of line with the post 9/11 organizational reality. It seems that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is just now getting a clear picture of the fragmented intelligence community budget.
The overall Intelligence Community budget has long been a well kept secret and this classification did once have relevance when a large shift in the budget could have indicated to the Soviets an addition or cancellation of a major defense program. Now that our greatest adversaries are stateless entities that run on a shoestring budget and strike soft targets, signals of changes in high-dollar defense systems hardly seem worth hiding. Nonetheless, the federal government has frequently gone to court to keep the amount of the national intelligence budget secret. Only the budgets for 1963, 1997 and 1998 have been officially revealed, largely in response to FOIA lawsuits. And in 2005 a US News reporter picked up an apparent slip of the tongue by an official of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at a conference when it was stated the national intel budget was $44 billion, but it was not clear which fiscal year this was in reference to and the DNI refused to confirm if the figure was accurate or the release accidental. At this time, they would not have had total dollar figures through the new IRIS system. But with such a staggering budget, it does seem that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence would be well advised to find some room in the Intelligence Community budget for a staff training on PowerPoint and OPSEC.
2007-05-26
County releases contested files
County attorneys on Friday released logs of documents and calendar entries sought in a lawsuit filed against the county by The Sun and the California First Amendment Coalition.
The logs list 94 e-mails and more than 150 calendar entries that San Bernardino County attorneys argued should not be made public.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge John P. Wade ordered the county to release the logs, two e-mails and redacted versions of the calendars of former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and current board Chairman Paul Biane in March.
The county turned over the e-mails and calendars and sought a stay on the order to release the logs, but was turned down by the 4th District Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court.
County spokesman David Wert said Friday that the county would have no comment.
The newspaper and the coalition sued the county in an effort to obtain documents that might give insight into the activities of Postmus during two major wildfires that destroyed more than 50 homes in July 2006.
County officials have given conflicting accounts of Postmus' activities during the fires, with some claiming he was on vacation but in constant contact with county officials planning the response to the fires, and others claiming he was absent and no one had heard from him.
Karl Olson, an attorney representing the newspaper and the First Amendment Coalition, praised the release of the documents.
"We are pleased that the Supreme Court has turned away the county's last effort to block disclosure of the logs of the e-mails and calendars that it withheld," Olson said. "Now that we have the logs, they reveal just how aggressive the county has been about withholding documents that are directly related to the conduct of the people's business and the spending of taxpayer money."
The logs list 94 e-mails sent to Postmus and other county officials in August 2006 and scores of calendar entries along with short descriptions of the contents of each and the reason they shouldn't be made public.
In the case of two e-mails the judge ordered released - a press release and a news story - county attorneys claimed that making them public would compromise the "deliberative process" of the public officials in question.
County attorneys described the press release, which presumably was sent to constituents and media outlets, as "e-mail regarding public information on County facilities." The e-mail was sent from "Postmus News." The recipients are not listed in the log.
The copy of the news story, from current Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt to Postmus, is described as "e-mail between staff member and supervisor regarding public information about County activities."
At the time, Mitzelfelt was Postmus' chief of staff.
County attorneys argued that making these and other e-mails public would hinder elected officials in carrying out their duties.
Many of the e-mails refer to public information, scheduling meetings, fiscal issues or county facilities.
Redacted calendar entries were described as meetings with unnamed constituents or county employees or as "personal."
The calendars show no entries for Postmus' vacation, and county attorneys have claimed there are no communications or records of communications between Postmus and other county officials in all of June or July 2006, when the fires occurred.
Frank Pine is senior managing editor of The Sun. Reach him via e-mail at frank.pine@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 386-3841.
The logs list 94 e-mails and more than 150 calendar entries that San Bernardino County attorneys argued should not be made public.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge John P. Wade ordered the county to release the logs, two e-mails and redacted versions of the calendars of former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and current board Chairman Paul Biane in March.
The county turned over the e-mails and calendars and sought a stay on the order to release the logs, but was turned down by the 4th District Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court.
County spokesman David Wert said Friday that the county would have no comment.
The newspaper and the coalition sued the county in an effort to obtain documents that might give insight into the activities of Postmus during two major wildfires that destroyed more than 50 homes in July 2006.
County officials have given conflicting accounts of Postmus' activities during the fires, with some claiming he was on vacation but in constant contact with county officials planning the response to the fires, and others claiming he was absent and no one had heard from him.
Karl Olson, an attorney representing the newspaper and the First Amendment Coalition, praised the release of the documents.
"We are pleased that the Supreme Court has turned away the county's last effort to block disclosure of the logs of the e-mails and calendars that it withheld," Olson said. "Now that we have the logs, they reveal just how aggressive the county has been about withholding documents that are directly related to the conduct of the people's business and the spending of taxpayer money."
The logs list 94 e-mails sent to Postmus and other county officials in August 2006 and scores of calendar entries along with short descriptions of the contents of each and the reason they shouldn't be made public.
In the case of two e-mails the judge ordered released - a press release and a news story - county attorneys claimed that making them public would compromise the "deliberative process" of the public officials in question.
County attorneys described the press release, which presumably was sent to constituents and media outlets, as "e-mail regarding public information on County facilities." The e-mail was sent from "Postmus News." The recipients are not listed in the log.
The copy of the news story, from current Supervisor Brad Mitzelfelt to Postmus, is described as "e-mail between staff member and supervisor regarding public information about County activities."
At the time, Mitzelfelt was Postmus' chief of staff.
County attorneys argued that making these and other e-mails public would hinder elected officials in carrying out their duties.
Many of the e-mails refer to public information, scheduling meetings, fiscal issues or county facilities.
Redacted calendar entries were described as meetings with unnamed constituents or county employees or as "personal."
The calendars show no entries for Postmus' vacation, and county attorneys have claimed there are no communications or records of communications between Postmus and other county officials in all of June or July 2006, when the fires occurred.
Frank Pine is senior managing editor of The Sun. Reach him via e-mail at frank.pine@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 386-3841.
2007-05-25
State top court rejects appeal from SB County
The state Supreme Court has refused to hear San Bernardino County's appeal of a trial court's order to disclose documents related to the activities of top county officials.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge John P. Wade last month ordered the county to release redacted calendars, two e-mails and logs of documents sought by The Sun and the California First Amendment Coalition in a lawsuit against the county.
The county turned over the calendars and e-mails, but appealed the order to disclose the logs, arguing that to do so would compromise documents that weren't ordered released - nearly 100 e-mails and numerous entries in the calendars.
After the 4th District Court of Appeal rejected the county's request for a stay on Wade's order, county attorneys petitioned the state Supreme Court, which denied the request on Wednesday.
County spokesman David Wert declined to comment Thursday.
The Sun and the First Amendment Coalition sued the county after county lawyers refused to release calendars and communications of former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and calendars of current Chairman Paul Biane, the only other supervisor to withhold his calendars.
The newspaper first requested the documents after county officials gave conflicting accounts of Postmus' activities during the Sawtooth and Millard fires, which burned 80,000 acres and destroyed more than 50 homes in July 2006.
Some said he was on a family vacation but in constant contact with top county officials coordinating the county's response to the fires, while others said he was absent without explanation.
County lawyers initially refused to provide any documentation at all of Postmus' contact with other county officials. Since then, the county has provided a handful of e-mails written to Postmus, and under court order, redacted versions of his calendar.
None of the documents released give any indication of Postmus' activities during the fires, and according to county attorneys, there are no communications or records of communications between Postmus and other county officials in June and July 2006.
Despite Wade's order to turn over the logs "forthwith" and two higher court denials, county attorneys have yet to turn over the logs.
Frank Pine is senior managing editor of The Sun. Reach him via e-mail at frank.pine@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 386-3841.
San Bernardino Superior Court Judge John P. Wade last month ordered the county to release redacted calendars, two e-mails and logs of documents sought by The Sun and the California First Amendment Coalition in a lawsuit against the county.
The county turned over the calendars and e-mails, but appealed the order to disclose the logs, arguing that to do so would compromise documents that weren't ordered released - nearly 100 e-mails and numerous entries in the calendars.
After the 4th District Court of Appeal rejected the county's request for a stay on Wade's order, county attorneys petitioned the state Supreme Court, which denied the request on Wednesday.
County spokesman David Wert declined to comment Thursday.
The Sun and the First Amendment Coalition sued the county after county lawyers refused to release calendars and communications of former Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Postmus and calendars of current Chairman Paul Biane, the only other supervisor to withhold his calendars.
The newspaper first requested the documents after county officials gave conflicting accounts of Postmus' activities during the Sawtooth and Millard fires, which burned 80,000 acres and destroyed more than 50 homes in July 2006.
Some said he was on a family vacation but in constant contact with top county officials coordinating the county's response to the fires, while others said he was absent without explanation.
County lawyers initially refused to provide any documentation at all of Postmus' contact with other county officials. Since then, the county has provided a handful of e-mails written to Postmus, and under court order, redacted versions of his calendar.
None of the documents released give any indication of Postmus' activities during the fires, and according to county attorneys, there are no communications or records of communications between Postmus and other county officials in June and July 2006.
Despite Wade's order to turn over the logs "forthwith" and two higher court denials, county attorneys have yet to turn over the logs.
Frank Pine is senior managing editor of The Sun. Reach him via e-mail at frank.pine@sbsun.com or by phone at (909) 386-3841.
2007-05-24
Non-cooperation with ICE Resolution Passes Watsonville City Council
The Watsonville City Council meeting was packed on May 8th with attendees in support of a resolution requesting the suspension of random detentions and arrests of residents in Watsonville. An emotional public comment period lasted over an hour with the crowd bursting into chanting "si se puede" after on particularly moving commentary. Personal testimonies and comments ranged from accounts of "three days and three nights" of crossing the border to teachers sharing emotional stories of students distracted and wondering when the migra, or immigration enforcement, was going to come and take away them or their parents.
Migrawatch, a newly formed network of immigrants rights organizations, called for supporters of immigrant rights to speak up and demand that two clauses be added to the resolution before the council vote. The first clause to make the City of Watsonville a "sanctuary" for undocumented people similar to other cities around the country offering a safe space for members of the community. The second amendment sought by activists was a "notification" clause. Since it has become widely known the federal immigration enforcers notify local police departments, communities could be given advance warning before ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids the community. Some speakers referred to the raids as domestic terrorism by our own government and that for this reason the council should adopt a policy of notification as part of the "War on Terror" so that a human rights organization could come and document the raids and prevent unnecessary harm to the community
The room was packed at the Watsonville City Council chambers on Tuesday May 8. Attendees were there to comment on one of the evening's agenda items, a resolution Requesting the Suspension of Random Detentions & Arrests of Residents in Watsonville.
An emotional public comment period lasted for over an hour with the crowd bursting into chanting "si se puede" after on particularly moving commentary. Personal testimonies and comments ranged from accounts of "three days and three nights" of crossing the border to teachers sharing emotional stories of students distracted and wondering when the migra, or immigration enforcement, was going to come and take away them or their parents.
Migrawatch, a newly formed network of immigrants rights organizations, called for supporters of immigrant rights to speak up and demand that two clauses be added to the resolution before the council vote. The first clause to make the City of Watsonville a "sanctuary" for undocumented people similar to other cities around the country offering a safe space for members of the community. The second amendment sought by activists was a "notification" clause. Since it has become widely known the federal immigration enforcers notify local police departments, communities could be given advance warning before ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids the community. Some speakers referred to the raids as domestic terrorism by our own government and that for this reason the council should adopt a policy of notification as part of the "War on Terror" so that a human rights organization could come and document the raids and prevent unnecessary harm to the community.
After the public comment period and some council discussion, Council Member Oscar Rios moved to amend the resolution to include the clause stating that Watsonville be a "sanctuary" for undocumented persons. No Council members supported adding the notification clause to the resolution.
With the Watsonville City Slogan as a backdrop, "Opportunity Through Diversity, Unity Through Cooperation," the council proceeded to vote. Though originally introduced by Mayor Bersamin, Oscar Rios and Antonio Rivas, only two of them ended up voting "yes" on the resolution; Council member Rivas changed to a "no" vote after the sanctuary clause was added to the resolution. Council Member Greg Caput voted "yes" surprising the crowd, joining Mayor Bersamin, Mayor Pro Tempore Kimberly Petersen, and Oscar Rios. In addition to the no vote from Antonio Rivas, Dale Skillicorn and Edward Din voted against passing the resolution bringing the final count to 4-3 in favor of passage.
Migrawatch, a newly formed network of immigrants rights organizations, called for supporters of immigrant rights to speak up and demand that two clauses be added to the resolution before the council vote. The first clause to make the City of Watsonville a "sanctuary" for undocumented people similar to other cities around the country offering a safe space for members of the community. The second amendment sought by activists was a "notification" clause. Since it has become widely known the federal immigration enforcers notify local police departments, communities could be given advance warning before ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids the community. Some speakers referred to the raids as domestic terrorism by our own government and that for this reason the council should adopt a policy of notification as part of the "War on Terror" so that a human rights organization could come and document the raids and prevent unnecessary harm to the community
The room was packed at the Watsonville City Council chambers on Tuesday May 8. Attendees were there to comment on one of the evening's agenda items, a resolution Requesting the Suspension of Random Detentions & Arrests of Residents in Watsonville.
An emotional public comment period lasted for over an hour with the crowd bursting into chanting "si se puede" after on particularly moving commentary. Personal testimonies and comments ranged from accounts of "three days and three nights" of crossing the border to teachers sharing emotional stories of students distracted and wondering when the migra, or immigration enforcement, was going to come and take away them or their parents.
Migrawatch, a newly formed network of immigrants rights organizations, called for supporters of immigrant rights to speak up and demand that two clauses be added to the resolution before the council vote. The first clause to make the City of Watsonville a "sanctuary" for undocumented people similar to other cities around the country offering a safe space for members of the community. The second amendment sought by activists was a "notification" clause. Since it has become widely known the federal immigration enforcers notify local police departments, communities could be given advance warning before ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids the community. Some speakers referred to the raids as domestic terrorism by our own government and that for this reason the council should adopt a policy of notification as part of the "War on Terror" so that a human rights organization could come and document the raids and prevent unnecessary harm to the community.
After the public comment period and some council discussion, Council Member Oscar Rios moved to amend the resolution to include the clause stating that Watsonville be a "sanctuary" for undocumented persons. No Council members supported adding the notification clause to the resolution.
With the Watsonville City Slogan as a backdrop, "Opportunity Through Diversity, Unity Through Cooperation," the council proceeded to vote. Though originally introduced by Mayor Bersamin, Oscar Rios and Antonio Rivas, only two of them ended up voting "yes" on the resolution; Council member Rivas changed to a "no" vote after the sanctuary clause was added to the resolution. Council Member Greg Caput voted "yes" surprising the crowd, joining Mayor Bersamin, Mayor Pro Tempore Kimberly Petersen, and Oscar Rios. In addition to the no vote from Antonio Rivas, Dale Skillicorn and Edward Din voted against passing the resolution bringing the final count to 4-3 in favor of passage.
University of California Hunger Strike Against Weapons Labs Passes 1-Week Mark
A hunger strike initiated by 44 University of California students, several alumni and a professor has passed its 1-week mark. The hunger strikers are demanding that the UC Board of Regents withdraw from their contracts to operate Los Alamos and Livermore National Laboratories based on, “the grounds that the Reliable Replacement Warhead program and Los Alamos Labs’ ongoing preparations to conduct plutonium pit manufacturing both clearly violate Article VI of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.” The hunger strikers have put their bodies on the line in a time of enormous flux for US nuclear weapons policy. Their target, the UC, has been identified by them as a site of strategic importance in the wider campaign against new nuclear weapons.
Anchored by the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Labs and the small circle of corporations who run these and other weapons facilities for the federal government, the US nuclear weapons complex is hurriedly working to finalize designs for and to begin building a new nuclear weapon, called the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). This program, if supported by the president and funded by Congress, will expend many billions of dollars on nuclear weapons over the next few decades and guarantee the longevity of the US nuclear weapons complex. It will also lead to a US violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global arms control regime that has mostly worked up to the present. Furthermore, the new US weapons program will necessarily produce many tons of nuclear and toxic waste and create un-imaginable opportunity costs.
Anchored by the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Labs and the small circle of corporations who run these and other weapons facilities for the federal government, the US nuclear weapons complex is hurriedly working to finalize designs for and to begin building a new nuclear weapon, called the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW). This program, if supported by the president and funded by Congress, will expend many billions of dollars on nuclear weapons over the next few decades and guarantee the longevity of the US nuclear weapons complex. It will also lead to a US violation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a global arms control regime that has mostly worked up to the present. Furthermore, the new US weapons program will necessarily produce many tons of nuclear and toxic waste and create un-imaginable opportunity costs.
2007-05-22
May Day Police Attack: Bratton’s “Agitators” Story Untrue
LOS ANGELES, May 22, 2007 – [LA-IMC Special Report] The LA Indymedia Editorial Collective has spoken to many eyewitnesses and reviewed hours of video footage, and has come to the conclusion that the police attack in Macarthur Park on Mayday was unprovoked. Police Chief Bratton's claim that the attack was a response to "agitators," remains unsubstantiated and is believed to be false.
There is mounting evidence that the police violence began when about a dozen police motorcycles drove into the ceremonial Aztec circle at the end of the march at 7th & Alvarado. Shortly thereafter, and without warning, the police fired rubber bullets and charged the crowd. Police then moved into formation along the East edge of the park and attacked without issuing an audible dispersal order. Most people had little to no warning that police were about to open fire into the crowd with rubber bullets and charge with batons. They then swept through the entire park firing and brutally beating nearly anyone remaining in their path
This version of events has been well substantiated by hundreds of eye-witnesses. It has also been captured on video and broadcast by local TV news. Yet in spite of this, three weeks after the attack corporate media is still repeating the line that “agitators” provoked the police. Fox news is repeating this lie even though their own anchorwoman and camerawoman were attacked and are now filing a lawsuit against LAPD.
To date there is no testimony or video to validate the police chief’s claims of “agitators”. Some videos do show a few, scattered incidents of plastic water bottles being thrown, a few of them once the police are already lined up in preparation for the attack, and more once the police line is advancing on people. These videos clearly demonstrate that the few objects thrown were not the 'cause' of the police attack. Much of the evidence that refutes Bratton’s story can be found online at sites such as this one. LA Indymedia would like to thank all those contributors to the newswire who have helped to shed light on what really happened on May 1, 2007 in MacArthur Park.
There is mounting evidence that the police violence began when about a dozen police motorcycles drove into the ceremonial Aztec circle at the end of the march at 7th & Alvarado. Shortly thereafter, and without warning, the police fired rubber bullets and charged the crowd. Police then moved into formation along the East edge of the park and attacked without issuing an audible dispersal order. Most people had little to no warning that police were about to open fire into the crowd with rubber bullets and charge with batons. They then swept through the entire park firing and brutally beating nearly anyone remaining in their path
This version of events has been well substantiated by hundreds of eye-witnesses. It has also been captured on video and broadcast by local TV news. Yet in spite of this, three weeks after the attack corporate media is still repeating the line that “agitators” provoked the police. Fox news is repeating this lie even though their own anchorwoman and camerawoman were attacked and are now filing a lawsuit against LAPD.
To date there is no testimony or video to validate the police chief’s claims of “agitators”. Some videos do show a few, scattered incidents of plastic water bottles being thrown, a few of them once the police are already lined up in preparation for the attack, and more once the police line is advancing on people. These videos clearly demonstrate that the few objects thrown were not the 'cause' of the police attack. Much of the evidence that refutes Bratton’s story can be found online at sites such as this one. LA Indymedia would like to thank all those contributors to the newswire who have helped to shed light on what really happened on May 1, 2007 in MacArthur Park.
Webb trial roadblock
SAN BERNARDINO - Opening statements have been delayed a week in the trial of Ivory J. Webb Jr., the former San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy who shot an unarmed man at the end of a high-speed car chase in Chino.
Webb's trial was supposed to start Monday morning in a downtown San Bernardino courtroom, but the judge postponed it after one of Webb's two lawyers, Michael Schwartz, called to say his wife was in the hospital giving birth.
"I apologize for the delay," Judge Michael A. Smith told jurors. "Obviously this isn't something that we planned."
Opening statements are now scheduled for May 29.
Webb, 46, is charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the videotaped shooting of Elio Carrion on Jan. 29, 2006.
The shooting followed a pursuit in which Carrion, an Air Force senior airman who had just returned from Iraq, was the passenger in a Corvette that led deputies on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended when the driver lost control and crashed into a wall on Francis Street in Chino.
Afterward, Webb held Carrion at gunpoint while waiting for backup. A man recorded the encounter from his front porch.
The tape shows Webb shoot Carrion three times as Carrion seems to comply with the deputy's orders to get off the ground.
Webb has pleaded not guilty to the charges, setting up a highly anticipated trial in which jurors will be forced to decide whether the shooting was a criminal act or the reasonable action of a lawman in a high-stress situation.
Attorneys were scheduled to begin laying out their cases for the jury during opening statements Monday morning. Witnesses could have taken the stand by the afternoon.
Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope said Schwartz told the judge and other attorneys at earlier hearings that his wife's due date was approaching, but they didn't expect she would go into labor so soon.
Cope said the delay would force him to scramble to reschedule witnesses, but he didn't expect it to cause any major problems.
Carrion required months to recover from his injuries, but he has since returned to light duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
He is in California on a 20-day military leave in order to testify at the trial. He has already used the first five days, so he has only about two weeks remaining, his attorney, Luis Carrillo, said Monday.
Any additional court delays could be problematic for him, Carrillo said.
"If the trial keeps getting delayed or postponed, he will have to request additional time from the Air Force," Carrillo said.
The shooting became national news after the dark, grainy videotape was widely broadcast on television and the Internet.
Webb came to court Monday morning surrounded by relatives and supporters.
Nearly a dozen television and still-camera photographers recorded his every move in the courtroom during the brief time he was there.
Afterward, the photographers followed him into an elevator, and then down a series of hallways, cameras whirring and lenses snapping, as the former deputy left the courthouse.
His trial is expected to last through the end of June.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
Following the Webb case
Jan. 29, 2006: Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion is shot three times by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after a high-speed chase that ended on Francis Street in Chino. The incident is captured on videotape by a nearby resident. The driver, Luis Fernando Escobedo, is arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of felony evading. Carrion is hospitalized at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., is placed on paid administrative leave.
Jan. 31: Escobedo is released without being charged. The FBI launches an investigation into possible civil-rights violations of Carrion at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Sheriff's Department also requests the FBI's assistance to produce an enhanced copy of the videotape.
Feb. 3: Carrion's family demands the arrest of Webb in front of sheriff's headquarters in San Bernardino. Jose Luis Valdes, who videotaped the shooting, is arrested by Pomona police on a Miami warrant for a 1997 aggravated assault. Police say they had no knowledge of Valdes' role in the Chino incident until after they arrested him. Carrion is released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
Feb. 10: The Sheriff's Department concludes its investigation into the officer-involved shooting and turns its reports over to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
March 5: The District Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department interview Carrion.
March 7: District Attorney Mike Ramos charges Webb with attempted voluntary manslaughter and Escobedo with felony evading and driving while under the influence. Carrion returns home to his family, but continues outpatient physical therapy.
March 8: Webb and Escobedo are arraigned. Both plead not guilty.
July 12: Carrion's attorney files a claim against San Bernardino County asking for unspecified damages for violating his civil rights.
July 19: At Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, Carrion receives the commendation medal for his service in Iraq.
Aug. 10: A felony charge is dropped in Miami against Valdes. Florida prosecutors drop the nearly decade-old aggravated assault case against Valdes, 38, who had been scheduled to go to trial, in exchange for a guilty plea to a lesser misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charge.
Aug. 28: A judge orders Webb to stand trial for attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm.
Sept. 11: At his arraignment, prosecutors add a second charge against Webb - claiming the former sheriff's deputy committed assault with a firearm.
Sept. 23: Escobedo is arrested by Montclair police on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm.
Sept. 28: Prosecutors file two misdemeanor-weapons charges against Escobedo. The charges stem from an incident in which police say they caught him carrying a loaded revolver in his pocket in Montclair.
Nov. 1: Escobedo pleads not guilty to weapons charges from an unrelated September incident.
Dec. 14: Escobedo pleads guilty to a misdemeanor-weapons charge. He will spend three years on probation and 60 days in jail after admitting to a single count of carrying a loaded gun. He must surrender to begin serving his jail time no later than Jan. 8.
Dec. 27: Carrion files a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Gary Penrod and Webb.
Jan. 12: Escobedo is sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation for drunken driving and evading police.
April 30: Jury selection begins for Webb's trial in which 400 potential jurors were summoned.
Last week: Jury selected.
Monday: Trial postponed.
Webb's trial was supposed to start Monday morning in a downtown San Bernardino courtroom, but the judge postponed it after one of Webb's two lawyers, Michael Schwartz, called to say his wife was in the hospital giving birth.
"I apologize for the delay," Judge Michael A. Smith told jurors. "Obviously this isn't something that we planned."
Opening statements are now scheduled for May 29.
Webb, 46, is charged with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm in connection with the videotaped shooting of Elio Carrion on Jan. 29, 2006.
The shooting followed a pursuit in which Carrion, an Air Force senior airman who had just returned from Iraq, was the passenger in a Corvette that led deputies on a high-speed chase.
The chase ended when the driver lost control and crashed into a wall on Francis Street in Chino.
Afterward, Webb held Carrion at gunpoint while waiting for backup. A man recorded the encounter from his front porch.
The tape shows Webb shoot Carrion three times as Carrion seems to comply with the deputy's orders to get off the ground.
Webb has pleaded not guilty to the charges, setting up a highly anticipated trial in which jurors will be forced to decide whether the shooting was a criminal act or the reasonable action of a lawman in a high-stress situation.
Attorneys were scheduled to begin laying out their cases for the jury during opening statements Monday morning. Witnesses could have taken the stand by the afternoon.
Deputy District Attorney Lewis Cope said Schwartz told the judge and other attorneys at earlier hearings that his wife's due date was approaching, but they didn't expect she would go into labor so soon.
Cope said the delay would force him to scramble to reschedule witnesses, but he didn't expect it to cause any major problems.
Carrion required months to recover from his injuries, but he has since returned to light duty at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.
He is in California on a 20-day military leave in order to testify at the trial. He has already used the first five days, so he has only about two weeks remaining, his attorney, Luis Carrillo, said Monday.
Any additional court delays could be problematic for him, Carrillo said.
"If the trial keeps getting delayed or postponed, he will have to request additional time from the Air Force," Carrillo said.
The shooting became national news after the dark, grainy videotape was widely broadcast on television and the Internet.
Webb came to court Monday morning surrounded by relatives and supporters.
Nearly a dozen television and still-camera photographers recorded his every move in the courtroom during the brief time he was there.
Afterward, the photographers followed him into an elevator, and then down a series of hallways, cameras whirring and lenses snapping, as the former deputy left the courthouse.
His trial is expected to last through the end of June.
Staff writer Rod Leveque can be reached by e-mail at r_leveque@dailybulletin.com, or by phone at (909) 483-9325.
Following the Webb case
Jan. 29, 2006: Air Force Senior Airman Elio Carrion is shot three times by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after a high-speed chase that ended on Francis Street in Chino. The incident is captured on videotape by a nearby resident. The driver, Luis Fernando Escobedo, is arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of felony evading. Carrion is hospitalized at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton. The deputy, Ivory J. Webb Jr., is placed on paid administrative leave.
Jan. 31: Escobedo is released without being charged. The FBI launches an investigation into possible civil-rights violations of Carrion at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Sheriff's Department also requests the FBI's assistance to produce an enhanced copy of the videotape.
Feb. 3: Carrion's family demands the arrest of Webb in front of sheriff's headquarters in San Bernardino. Jose Luis Valdes, who videotaped the shooting, is arrested by Pomona police on a Miami warrant for a 1997 aggravated assault. Police say they had no knowledge of Valdes' role in the Chino incident until after they arrested him. Carrion is released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.
Feb. 10: The Sheriff's Department concludes its investigation into the officer-involved shooting and turns its reports over to the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office.
March 5: The District Attorney's Office, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department interview Carrion.
March 7: District Attorney Mike Ramos charges Webb with attempted voluntary manslaughter and Escobedo with felony evading and driving while under the influence. Carrion returns home to his family, but continues outpatient physical therapy.
March 8: Webb and Escobedo are arraigned. Both plead not guilty.
July 12: Carrion's attorney files a claim against San Bernardino County asking for unspecified damages for violating his civil rights.
July 19: At Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, Carrion receives the commendation medal for his service in Iraq.
Aug. 10: A felony charge is dropped in Miami against Valdes. Florida prosecutors drop the nearly decade-old aggravated assault case against Valdes, 38, who had been scheduled to go to trial, in exchange for a guilty plea to a lesser misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charge.
Aug. 28: A judge orders Webb to stand trial for attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm.
Sept. 11: At his arraignment, prosecutors add a second charge against Webb - claiming the former sheriff's deputy committed assault with a firearm.
Sept. 23: Escobedo is arrested by Montclair police on suspicion of carrying a concealed weapon and carrying a loaded firearm.
Sept. 28: Prosecutors file two misdemeanor-weapons charges against Escobedo. The charges stem from an incident in which police say they caught him carrying a loaded revolver in his pocket in Montclair.
Nov. 1: Escobedo pleads not guilty to weapons charges from an unrelated September incident.
Dec. 14: Escobedo pleads guilty to a misdemeanor-weapons charge. He will spend three years on probation and 60 days in jail after admitting to a single count of carrying a loaded gun. He must surrender to begin serving his jail time no later than Jan. 8.
Dec. 27: Carrion files a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Department, Sheriff Gary Penrod and Webb.
Jan. 12: Escobedo is sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation for drunken driving and evading police.
April 30: Jury selection begins for Webb's trial in which 400 potential jurors were summoned.
Last week: Jury selected.
Monday: Trial postponed.
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