Military plans would put women in most combat jobs

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2012 file photo, female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky., in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. Women may be able to begin training as Army Rangers by mid-2015, and as Navy SEALs a year later under broad plans Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is approving that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in the country?s elite special operations forces, according to details of the plans submitted to Hagel that were obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2012 file photo, female soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division train on a firing range while testing new body armor in Fort Campbell, Ky., in preparation for their deployment to Afghanistan. Women may be able to begin training as Army Rangers by mid-2015, and as Navy SEALs a year later under broad plans Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is approving that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in the country?s elite special operations forces, according to details of the plans submitted to Hagel that were obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE ? In this May 17, 2013 file photo Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey take turns talking to media during a news conference at the Pentagon. Women may be able to begin training as Army Rangers by mid-2015, and as Navy SEALs a year later under broad plans Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is approving that would slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, including those in the country?s elite special operations forces, according to details of the plans submitted to Hagel that were obtained by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A top general says cultural, social and behavioral concerns may be bigger hurdles than physical fitness requirements for women looking to move into the military's special operations units.

Maj. Gen. Bennet Sacolick, director of force management for U.S. Special Operations Command, says "the days of Rambo are over."

He says he has seen women working alongside special operations teams in Afghanistan who met difficult physical requirements. But he says the commandos usually deploy as small teams, often with a dozen or fewer troops, in austere conditions for long periods of time.

He says he is more concerned about the men's reactions to having women in their ranks.

Military leaders are detailing plans to slowly bring women into thousands of combat jobs, although after studies some exception may be made.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-18-Women%20in%20Combat/id-420574588ce74a4bb18c190a4df2ca23

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Ladies ? No Heels, No Service - Portland Food and Drink

A local bar/restaurant is on the defensive this week after posting a new dress code that mandated ?must have heels? for female patrons. According to Huffington Post,

ProAbition, located about an hour outside Los Angeles in Riverside, California,?posted a flyer for its Twenties-themed opening?with the following dress code:

No tennis shoes. No baggy attire. No sports hats. No hooded sweaters. No t-shirts. Ladies: No flat shoes or sandals. Must have heels. (Exception will be made if injured.)

The uproar on Facebook was enough that ProAbition posted a response later that day, defending the policy:

We have put a lot of time, money, and effort into creating ProAbiton; and we wish to create and maintain an atmosphere that is consistent with our vision. With that, we believe the people ? our customers, and friends that come to ProAbtion are the biggest part of that atmosphere. That is why we have a dress code ? to promote and maintain this atmosphere for the enjoyment of all.

Actually, I kind of like the idea of a Twenties-themed nightclub ? but then I wouldn?t have to wear heels. Twenties drinks, atmosphere, cocktails ? I?d be there in top hat and tails.

"I have a wide-range of food experience - working in the restaurant industry on both sides of the house, later in the wine industry, and finally traveling/tasting my way around the world. Whether you agree or disagree, you can always count on my unbiased opinion. I don't take free meals, and the restaurants don't know when, or if, I am coming."

Source: http://portlandfoodanddrink.com/ladies-no-heels-no-service/

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White House threatens veto of anti-abortion bill (The Arizona Republic)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Edward Snowden: NSA leaker reveals himself, expects retribution

The Guardian newspaper Sunday revealed the principal source for its reports on NSA telephone and Internet intelligence gathering. Edward Snowden is a hero to some, while others see him as a highly damaging leaker of important secrets that could harm US national security.

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / June 9, 2013

U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden is pictured during an interview with the Guardian in his hotel room in Hong Kong Sunday. The 29-year-old NSA contractor revealed top secret U.S. surveillance programs.

Ewen MacAskill/The Guardian/REUTERS

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The most famous ? and possibly the most influential ? leaker of classified information in recent times has been revealed: Edward Joseph Snowden, a 29 year-old systems administrator working for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

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The Guardian newspaper, a British publication, revealed Mr. Snowden?s identity Sunday in an article and a 12-minute videotaped interview recorded in Hong Kong.

The newspaper reported: ?The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity.?

"I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong," Snowden says in the interview.

Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg of the Pentagon Papers and WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning.

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," the Guardian reported, but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

Key takeaways from the interview as listed by Business Insider:

? "The NSA and the intelligence community in general is focused on getting intelligence wherever it can by any means possible. It believes on the grounds of self-certification that they serve the national interest."

? "Any analyst at any time can target anyone ... I sitting at my desk certainly have the authorities to wiretap anyone ? from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the President."?

? "This is something that is not our place to decide, the public needs to decide whether these programs and policies are right or wrong, and I'm willing to go on the record to defend the authenticity of them."

? "Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded ... you don't have to have done anything wrong, you simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody ? even by a wrong call ? and then they can use the system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you've ever made."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/_NvaoMdShV0/Edward-Snowden-NSA-leaker-reveals-himself-expects-retribution

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Japanese troops head to Calif. beach for training

SAN DIEGO (AP) ? Japanese troops will converge on California's southern coast in the next two weeks as part of a military exercise with U.S. troops aimed at improving that country's amphibious attack abilities.

U.S. and Japanese military officials said the unprecedented training, led by U.S. Marines and sailors, will help Japan's Self-Defense Force operate in stronger coordination with the United States, its main ally, and better respond to crises such as natural disasters.

China may see it differently, however, given the tensions between Tokyo and Beijing over a long-running dispute concerning islands claimed by both in the East China Sea.

"It's another dot that the Chinese will connect to show this significant expanding military cooperation," said Tai Ming Cheung, an analyst of Chinese and East Asian security affairs and director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California, San Diego.

China asked the United States and Japan to cancel the drill, scheduled to begin Tuesday, Japan's Kyodo News service reported, citing unnamed Japanese government sources. The Japanese Defense and Foreign Ministries would not confirm whether China had made any request but said they are going ahead with the exercises.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to The Associated Press for comment on whether China requested a cancellation. In regard to the drill itself, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "We hope the relevant sides can focus on peace and stability in this region, and do more to contribute to mutual trust and regional peace and stability."

U.S. military officials said strengthening Japan's amphibious capabilities is vital as the U.S. focuses more attention on developing an Asia-Pacific strategy amid ongoing U.S. Defense Department budget cuts. The region has been roiled by tensions due to North Korean long-range rocket and nuclear tests and maritime territorial disputes between China and its neighbors.

"If the 20th century taught us anything, it is that when democracies are able and willing to defend themselves it preserves peace and stability," said Col. Grant Newsham, Marine liaison to the Japanese military. "Most Asian countries welcome ? even if quietly stated ? a more capable (Japanese force) that is also closely allied to U.S. forces."

The drill comes just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit with President Barack Obama at an estate in the nearby California desert, at which the two discussed topics including the Pacific region's mounting tensions.

China recently asserted its dominance over what they call Diaoyutai, and Japan calls the Senkaku Islands, by sending government ships into Japanese territorial waters in April. China has said it is only safeguarding its sovereignty.

The uninhabited islands are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China. Japan's nationalization of the islands in September triggered violent protests across China. Beijing has increasingly patrolled the area, prompting Japan to dispatch fighter jets to monitor Chinese aircraft, raising the risk of missteps that could trigger a clash.

Japan's navy is among the world's best-equipped and best-trained, but its skills at storming beaches and other amphibious capabilities have been weak since its national defense force formed in the 1950s.

Largely in response to China's growing military might ? including the acquisition of its first aircraft carrier last year ? Japan has been buying amphibious landing craft and beefing up training for potential conflicts in or around small islands. Japan is also repositioning its troops to better monitor and defend its southern borders and sea lanes.

In September, a small group of Japanese soldiers practiced bombing maneuvers and joint command training with U.S. Marines and sailors in Guam.

The San Diego exercise marks the first time the country's troops will travel aboard warships so far from home, and members of Japanese air, sea and ground forces will train together with the U.S. military, said Cmdr. Takashi Inoue, spokesman for the Japanese Self-Defense Force.

The drill, which ends June 28, will train Japanese troops "on truly necessary" skills to help them deploy swiftly, whether to defend territory or provide disaster relief, Inoue said. With limited landing craft, Japan needed help from U.S. Marines to rescue people along its tsunami-devastated coast following the 2011 earthquake.

Japan is sending three warships, about 1,000 service members and about four combat helicopters to the so-called Dawn Blitz exercise, Inoue said. Forces from New Zealand and Canada also will take part.

The troops will practice an amphibious assault on San Clemente Island, a naval training ground off San Diego's coast, and also conduct a mock beach invasion at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Tokyo's move to boost its amphibious training is "hugely significant" since the United States is obligated to defend Japanese territory under a post-World War II security pact, said Kerry Gershaneck of the Pacific Forum-Center for Strategic & International Studies.

"We cannot ask young American Marines to fight and die doing a job that Japanese forces cannot, or will not, do," he said. "The U.S. Marines will help, but they must have a capable partner."

_____

AP reporters Eric Talmadge in Tokyo and Zhao Liang in Beijing contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-troops-head-calif-beach-training-134839635.html

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Santa Monica College reopens after deadly rampage

Akiva Sherman, right, 62, repairs the wall next to a makeshift memorial Sunday, June 9, 2013, where a victim's vehicle crashed during the shootings at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. The shootings on Friday left six people dead, including the gunman. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

Akiva Sherman, right, 62, repairs the wall next to a makeshift memorial Sunday, June 9, 2013, where a victim's vehicle crashed during the shootings at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif. The shootings on Friday left six people dead, including the gunman. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

This undated photo provided on Sunday, June 9, 2013, by the Santa Monica Police Department shows John Zawahri, 23, who police have identified as the shooter in Friday's deadly rampage at Santa Monica College. The suspect was shot and killed by authorities Friday after a violent spree that claimed the lives of five people and wounded several others. (AP Photo/Santa Monica Police Department)

Debra and Russell Fine pose for a photo Sunday, June 9, 2013 in Santa Monica, Calif. Debra Fine, who was wounded Friday when shooting suspect John Zawahri went on a deadly rampage in Santa Monica, was released in good condition late Saturday from Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, according to a hospital statement. Bullets missed his wife?s vital organs by inches, Russell Fine told the AP Sunday. (AP Photo/Tami Abdollah)

A picture of the suspect entering Santa Monica College Library is seen as Jacqueline Seabrook, Chief of Santa Monica Police department speaks during a news conference Saturday June 8, 2013, in Santa Monica, Calif., to discuss more information regarding the suspect in the shooting that left five people dead, including the shooter, near Santa Monica College on Friday. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)

This photo provided by the Santa Monica Police Department during a news conference Saturday, June 8, 2013, shows a frame grab from a surveillance camera revealing the suspect entering Santa Monica College Friday, in Santa Monica, Calif. The Police chief said Saturday that the gunman who went on a chaotic rampage killing four people before being fatally shot by police at the college planned the attack and was capable of firing 1,300 rounds of ammunition. (AP Photo/Santa Monica Police Department)

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) ? Santa Monica College reopened under extra security Monday except for the library, where police shot and killed a heavily armed gunman after a rampage that left five people dead.

Students who fled Friday would be able to resume final examinations and retrieve backpacks, car and other belongings, according to the college website.

Counselors were on hand and a candlelight vigil was planned for Monday evening in front of the library.

Investigators, meanwhile, were trying to determine why John Zawahri, 23, killed his father and older brother in a home near campus Friday, leaving the house in flames. He fired at a car, wounding the driver, took another motorist hostage and forced her to drive as he shot at people and a bus in the neighborhood. He shot a woman in the head on campus and was shot and killed by police in the college library after gunning down a total of five people in fewer than 15 minutes.

Debra Fine was wounded when Zawahri opened fire on her car. She said the attacker had spiky hair, wore black clothing and a ballistics vest, and a cold, intense stare.

There was "no hesitation, no flick of a muscle, nothing. Just absolutely staring and going onto the next step," Fine recalled. "I just simply got in his way. And he needed to kill me. That was it."

She recognized the eyes in a 2006 high school yearbook photo of Zawahri shown to her by The Associated Press.

Investigators were trying to determine whether Zawahri had mental health problems that may have sparked the rampage.

Authorities hoped his mother, who returned early from a trip abroad and was interviewed Sunday by police, could help provide clues about what triggered the violence.

"A big piece of the puzzle just came home," Sgt. Richard Lewis said.

The killing began as a domestic violence attack when Zawahri killed his father, Samir, 55, and brother, Christopher, 24, in their home near Interstate 10 in a working-class part of town a few miles from the beachside attractions that draw tourists year-round.

The gunman, carrying a duffel bag with 1,300 rounds of ammo, fired shots in the neighborhood and took his rampage on the road.

Fine was the first stranger shot by Zawahri. She was using side streets after her singing lesson to avoid traffic from President Barack Obama's visit three miles away when the gunman motioned at the car of the woman in front of her with his rifle, telling her to pull over.

Fine thought the man was providing security for the president's visit. Then he pointed the rifle at the woman and started to yell.

Upset that he would yell at someone who cooperated, Fine accelerated.

"He looked right at me," Fine said. "Stared right at me and then shot. No hesitation."

Zawahri then walked toward her, shooting again. Fine was hit in the shoulder, arm and ear, and she lay on the passenger seat, pretending to be dead. Zawahri, meanwhile, carjacked the woman he'd stopped and directed her to Santa Monica College, firing at bystanders along the way and shooting up a city bus.

At the college, he blasted a Ford Explorer driven by Carlos Navarro Franco, 68, killing the driver and his daughter, Marcela Franco, 26, who died Sunday. The father was a longtime groundskeeper at the college and was taking his daughter to buy textbooks for summer classes.

On foot, Zawahri headed for the library, spraying gunfire around campus as students, who were in the middle of final exams, took cover in classrooms or bolted for their lives. He fatally shot one woman in the head and then casually strolled past a cart of books into the library where he fired 70 shots without striking anyone.

In a shootout with three police officers, Zawahri was struck multiple times. His body was taken outside, where he was pronounced dead.

A small cache of ammunition was found in a room of the burnt house.

The elder Zawahri brought his family to the neighborhood of small homes and apartment buildings tucked up against Interstate 10 in the mid-1990s, according to property records.

Not long after arriving on Yorkshire Avenue, Samir Zawahri and his wife Randa Abdou, 54, went through a difficult divorce and split custody of their two boys, said Thomas O'Rourke, a neighbor. When the sons got older, one went to live with his mother while the other stayed with the father.

Public records show Abdou, who lives in an apartment a couple miles away, was the ex-wife of Samir Zawahri and former co-owner of the house where the first shooting took place.

John Zawahri had a run-in with police seven years ago, but Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks wouldn't offer more details because he was a juvenile at the time. She said the gunman was enrolled at Santa Monica College in 2010.

Home from the hospital on Sunday, Fine recalled the moments after she was shot. Neighbors had come to help her, one holding towels to her wounds. Fifteen minutes later paramedics arrived. Her husband Russell Fine said he rushed to her side by using the family GPS tracking feature on his phone to pinpoint her location.

"When I got ... into the trauma room and I heard one of the doctors say, 'Two more have arrived but they're DOA,' that's when I realized that this was part of something bigger, and that his intent had been to kill people," Fine said. "I'm just, I feel very, very lucky to be here."

"I've always been right in the middle on the gun control issue, and I'm not anymore," she added. "When are we going to get the guns out of the hands of the people who are mentally ill, or when is there enough proof that it's very dangerous to have those types of weapons out there?"

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Weber contributed to this story. Tami Abdollah can be reached at: http://www.twitter.com/latams

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-06-10-Santa%20Monica%20Shooting/id-e9390af9f89e45dc907feb03aa04e04c

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Another NSA leaker? More expected to come on spying revelations

Columnist?Glenn Greenwald, who broke the NSA spying story, expects there'll be more whistle blowers and more stories based on leaks. The government is treating that as criminal activity.

By Brad Knickerbocker,?Staff writer / June 9, 2013

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper listens to testimony at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in March. He says recent leaked reports about secret NSA data gathering have caused "huge, grave damage to our intelligence capabilities."

Susan Walsh/AP

Enlarge

The explosive revelations about the nation?s super-secret electronic intelligence gathering organization ? so secret its acronym was nicknamed ?No Such Agency? ? has brought major push-back from the Obama administration.

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Top officials are defending the National Security Agency?s data-gathering program involving billions of phone and Internet records, going so far as to declassify some information, including the existence of the PRISM program.

They?re rebutting some of the claims made in press reports about NSA activities even as some news sources are pulling back from what initially was asserted in some of those reports.

And in a move that may have major implications for national security and First Amendment rights ? both of which in turn have the potential for political battles involving unusual alliances ? the administration has begun criminal proceedings aimed at finding the leaker who blew the whistle in providing highly-classified information to the Washington Post and the British news publication the Guardian.

?For me, it is literally ? not figuratively ? literally gut-wrenching to see this happen because of the huge, grave damage it does to our intelligence capabilities,? Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told NBC News?s Andrea Mitchell Saturday night.

?I think we all feel profoundly offended by that,? Mr. Clapper said, speaking of the leaker. ?This is someone who, for whatever reason, has chosen to violate a sacred trust for this country. And so I hope we?re able to track down whoever?s doing this, because it is extremely damaging to, and it affects the safety and security of this country.?

In a statement Saturday, Clapper spoke of ?reckless disclosures,? ?a rush to publish,? and ?significant misimpressions that have resulted from the recent articles.?

"Disclosing information about the specific methods?the government uses to collect communications can obviously give our enemies a 'playbook' of how to avoid detection,? he said.

The ?crimes report? filed by the NSA now goes to the US Justice Department for investigation and possible prosecution. It comes at a time when the Justice Department ? including its politically beleaguered Attorney General Eric Holder ? has been under fire for what critics say is an overly-aggressive and inappropriate effort to ferret out leakers in cases involving the Associated Press and Fox News.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/idSH_NiROMs/Another-NSA-leaker-More-expected-to-come-on-spying-revelations

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