Purveyor
Purveyor's JournalPolice Guards Escort Kids To School Across Chicago Gang Boundaries
Police in Chicago have been guarding thousands of children making their way to classes after the closure of 60 schools meant some kids were crossing 'gang boundaries'.
The BBC reports that as many as 12,000 students out of 400,000 in city-run schools had to negotiate a new route, with many parents, teachers and community activists fearing for their safety.
The police said there were no incidents reported on the first day back to school, but parents were still worried.
"I'm seeing small groups of kids being walked to school by their parents, or their older brothers or sisters," Police Superintendent Gary McCarthy said.
One concerned grandparent said she wondered just how long the authorities would be able to keep up their visible presence, and if the children would end up more vulnerable as the months went on.
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http://www.parentdish.co.uk/2013/08/27/police-guards-escort-kids-to-school-across-chicago-gang-boundaries/
Report: U.S. Shift in Syria Policy Influenced by Israeli Intelligence
The United States’ shift in tone towards Syria in recent days, coming in response to a chemical weapons attack in the country, carried out by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad who are battling anti-regime rebels, can be attributed much in part to Israeli intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
According to the paper’s national correspondent, Adam Entous, officials say that Israel was able to provide intelligence—later verified by the CIA—directly from the Syrian army unit which controls chemical weapons in the country, and reports directly to Assad. According to Entous, Israel was able to show that the unit had transferred a certain type of chemical weapon and rockets to the area later attacked, killing scores of civilians.
According to Entous, the U.S. administration’s position on whether Syria had, in fact, used chemical weapons in last week’s attack was swayed considerably over the weekend by the new information.
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http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/08/28/report-u-s-shift-in-syria-policy-influenced-by-israeli-intelligence-video/
Does Obama Know He’s Fighting On al-Qa’ida’s Side?
BY ROBERT FISK
Tuesday 27 August 2013
If Barack Obama decides to attack the Syrian regime, he has ensured – for the very first time in history – that the United States will be on the same side as al-Qa’ida.
Quite an alliance! Was it not the Three Musketeers who shouted “All for one and one for all” each time they sought combat? This really should be the new battle cry if – or when – the statesmen of the Western world go to war against Bashar al-Assad.
The men who destroyed so many thousands on 9/11 will then be fighting alongside the very nation whose innocents they so cruelly murdered almost exactly 12 years ago. Quite an achievement for Obama, Cameron, Hollande and the rest of the miniature warlords.
This, of course, will not be trumpeted by the Pentagon or the White House – nor, I suppose, by al-Qa’ida – though they are both trying to destroy Bashar. So are the Nusra front, one of al-Qa’ida’s affiliates. But it does raise some interesting possibilities.
Maybe the Americans should ask al-Qa’ida for intelligence help – after all, this is the group with “boots on the ground”, something the Americans have no interest in doing. And maybe al-Qa’ida could offer some target information facilities to the country which usually claims that the supporters of al-Qa’ida, rather than the Syrians, are the most wanted men in the world.
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http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/does-obama-know-hes-fighting-on-alqaidas-side-8786680.html
US Says It Won’t Let Diplomatic Paralysis Slow Action Against Syria
Source: Washington Post
By Associated Press, Published: August 27 | Updated: Wednesday, August 28, 5:20 PM
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Wednesday it would take action against the Syrian government even without the backing of allies or the United Nations because diplomatic paralysis must not prevent a response to the alleged chemical weapons attack outside the Syrian capital last week.
New requests for the United Nations to authorize military action in Syria may have complicated the Obama administration’s plan to take retaliatory action on the purported poison gas attack east of Damascus that U.S. officials claim was carried out by President Bashar Assad’s forces.
But a State Department spokeswoman said possible U.N. rejection of the U.S. plan — most likely led by Russia — won’t slow the administration.
“We cannot be held up in responding by Russia’s intransigence — continued intransigence — at the United Nations,” Marie Harf said. “The situation is so serious that it demands a response.”
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/congress/us-readies-intelligence-legal-justification-for-possible-military-strike-against-syria/2013/08/27/6a9eb726-0f89-11e3-a2b3-5e107edf9897_story.html
Syria Envoy Alleges Rebel Gas Attack, Demands U.N. Investigate
Source: REUTERS
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Syria’s U.N. envoy asked the United Nations on Wednesday to order chemical experts in Damascus to investigate three rebel attacks in which he said Syrian troops “inhaled poisonous gas,” while Britain pushed for the Security Council to act on the crisis.
The United Nations has received at least 14 reports of possible chemical weapons use during Syria’s two-year civil war, and after months of diplomatic wrangling a team of experts, led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom, arrived in Syria on August 18.
The U.N. team led by Swedish scientist Ake Sellstrom was initially going to look into three of those incidents, but its priority became investigating an alleged gas attack in the rebel-held suburbs of Damascus last week, which activists say killed hundreds of civilians.
Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Ja’afari said he has written to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ask that Sellstrom’s team also “investigate three heinous incidents that took place in the countryside of Damascus on (August) 22nd, 24th and 25th where members of the Syrian army inhaled poisonous gas.”
Read more: http://www.firstpost.com/world/syria-envoy-alleges-rebel-gas-attack-demands-u-n-investigate-1067999.html
Soldier Sentenced To Death For Fort Hood Shooting
Source: Associated Press
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- A military court on Wednesday sentenced Maj. Nidal Hasan to death for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, giving the Army psychiatrist a path to the martyrdom he appeared to crave in the attack on unarmed fellow soldiers.
The American-born Muslim, who has said he acted to protect Islamic insurgents abroad from American aggression, never denied being the gunman. In opening statements, he acknowledged to the jury that he pulled the trigger in a crowded waiting room where troops were getting final medical checkups before deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The same jurors who convicted Hasan last week had just two options: either agree unanimously that Hasan should die or watch the 42-year-old get an automatic sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole.
Hasan could become the first American soldier executed in more than half a century. But because the military justice system requires a lengthy appeals process, years or even decades could pass before he is put to death.
Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_FORT_HOOD_SHOOTING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-28-14-58-02
Fidel Castro Pens New Essay On Syria, Snowden
HAVANA (AP) -- Fidel Castro can't stay away.
Despite a vow to retire from his second career as a columnist last year, the 87-year-old revolutionary whose interests range from the nutrition benefits of a leafy plant called moringa to the threat of nuclear Armageddon apparently still has a lot to say about world events.
The former president published a new essay Wednesday that took up nearly a full page in the Communist Party newspaper Granma, warning of dire consequences from the conflict in Syria. He also denied a Russian newspaper report that alleged Cuba caved in to U.S. pressure and refused to grant NSA leaker Edward Snowden transit en route to Latin America, calling it a "paid-for lie."
"I admire the bravery and justness in Snowden's declarations," Castro wrote. "In my opinion, he did the world a service by revealing the repugnantly dishonest politics of an empire that lies and cheats the world."
--CLIP
"I am compelled to write because very soon grave things will happen," Castro wrote. "In our time, no more than 10 or 15 years go by without the human race being in danger of extinction."
"The Empire's Navy and Air Force and their allies are preparing to begin a genocide against the Arab people," he added.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_CUBA_FIDEL_CASTRO?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-28-13-10-02
Iraq Bombings, Shooting Kill At Least 70 People
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Car bomb blasts and other explosions tore through Shiite districts around Baghdad during morning rush hour Wednesday in a day of violence that killed at least 70, intensifying worries about Iraq's ability to tame the spiraling mayhem gripping the country.
It was the latest set of large-scale sectarian attacks to hit Iraq, even as the government went on "high alert" in case a possible Western strike in neighboring Syria increases Iraq's turmoil.
A relentless wave of killing has left thousands dead since April in the country's worst spate of bloodshed since 2008. The surge in violence raises fears that Iraq is hurtling back toward the widespread sectarian killing that peaked in 2006 and 2007, when the country was teetering on the edge of civil war.
Most of Wednesday's attacks happened within minutes of each other as people headed to work or were out shopping early in the day.
Insurgents unleashed explosives-laden cars, suicide bombers and other bombs that targeted parking lots, outdoor markets and restaurants in predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, officials said. A military convoy was hit south of the capital.
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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-28-13-37-36
Security Council’s 5 Permanent Members Meet To Discuss Syria; UK Resolution Seems Doomed
Source: Associated Press
By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, August 28, 1:03 PM
UNITED NATIONS — The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council failed to reach an agreement Wednesday on a British-proposed resolution that would authorize the use of military force against Syria.
The draft resolution — if it were to be put to a vote — would almost certainly be vetoed by Russia and China, which have blocked past attempts to sanction President Bashar Assad’s regime
Britain put forth the proposal Wednesday as momentum seems to be building among Western allies for a strike against Syria. U.S. officials, including Vice President Joe Biden, have charged that President Bashar Assad’s government used deadly chemical weapons near Damascus last week.
The U.S. has not presented concrete proof, and U.N. inspectors have not endorsed the allegations.
Read more: Link to source
Obama Meets Panel Reviewing U.S. Surveillance Programs
By Margaret Talev and Mike Dorning - Aug 28, 2013
President Barack Obama met for the first time yesterday with a panel he requested to review U.S. collection of telephone and Internet data, according to a White House statement that identified the group’s members.
The panel includes Richard Clarke, a former U.S. cybersecurity adviser; Michael Morell, a former deputy CIA director; Geoffrey Stone, a University of Chicago law professor; Cass Sunstein, a Harvard Law School professor; and Peter Swire, who served earlier on Obama’s National Economic Council.
The review group was among a series of steps Obama announced at an Aug. 9 White House news conference to quell growing public and congressional criticism of programs that scour data on communications by U.S. citizens to look for links to terrorist activity.
“It’s not enough for me as president, to have confidence in these programs,” Obama said at the news conference. “The American people need to have confidence in them as well.”
The panel will provide interim findings to Obama within 60 days to be followed by a final report, according to the White House statement. The group’s goal, according to the statement, is to examine how the U.S. “can employ its technical collection capabilities in a way that optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while respecting our commitment to privacy and civil liberties.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-28/obama-meets-panel-reviewing-u-s-surveillance-programs.html
Obama’s ‘Outside Experts’ For NSA Review Are Former Intel And White House Staffers
ABC reports that the Obama administration’s surveillance review panel will include former intelligence and White House staffers, including Michael Morell, Richard Clarke, Cass Sunstein and Peter Swire. An official announcement of the members of the panel is expected soon.
The review panel was first announced in a White House press conference on Aug. 9, when Obama said the administration would form “a high-level group of outside experts to review our entire intelligence and communications technologies.”
Privacy advocates aren’t happy with the composition of the group revealed so far. Some privacy groups believe that the White House will insist on all members having top secret clearances, effectively barring most independent privacy watchdogs from consideration for the panel.
Amie Stepanovich, director of the domestic surveillance project at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) found the choices reported by ABC troubling:
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/22/obamas-outside-experts-for-nsa-review-are-former-intel-and-white-house-staffers/
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