Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Hillar - Related




July 08, 2011, Knight Ridder/Tribune, Vets Contest Man’s Claimed ‘Black Hawk Down’ Exploits,

A Kinston, N.C., man who told The Free Press for a story published Sunday that he served as an Army Ranger and took part in an infamous battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, was not a participant in that fight and was not a Ranger, according to former Rangers who were there.
Jeff "Rock" Harris, who was featured in a story that ran with the headline "Kinston resident recalls extraordinary experiences that led to 'Black Hawk Down,'" is apparently not listed on the official manifest of Soldiers with the 75th Ranger Regiment in Mogadishu at the time of that October 1993 fight nor is the name Michael J. Harris, the name that appears on documents Harris showed a Free Press reporter last week.

"There is no Michael Jeff Harris, not in the 75th Ranger Regiment," said Mark Bowden, author of the non-fiction book "Black Hawk Down," who checked the manifest for The Free Press on Tuesday.

Raleigh Cash, who served in Mogadishu, and Matt Eversmann, the Ranger who was a central figure in both Bowden's book and the movie that followed, both told The Free Press they had "never heard" of Harris. The pair worked together to author "Battle of Mogadishu," another account of the Somalian conflict.

Harris said he was a member of the 3rd Ranger Battalion, the 75th Ranger Regiment. Cash said Harris was not assigned to the 3rd Ranger Battalion from 1990 to 2002, when Cash was.

In his interview last week with The Free Press, Harris showed a reporter what he claimed was his DD214 Form, which is his record of military service, as well as an Army Ranger Certification and certificates indicating Harris was awarded a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.

A public affairs officer for the 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., where Harris said he served, said she could not provide information on individuals who may have served there. The Free Press has filed a Freedom of Information request seeking Harris' service record.

"Based on the information we now have, it appears that in attempting to publish a story highlighting the bravery of an American fighting man on the Fourth of July weekend, The Free Press instead became the victim of a pretty elaborate lie," Patrick Holmes, editor and publisher of The Free Press, said. "We owe our readers an apology and the promise that, as a news organization, we will be more vigilant in our fact-checking." A supervisor at Down East Protection Services said he reviewed Harris' DD214 before he was hired and did not suspect it could have been false.

In the Free Press interview, Harris also claimed he worked on covert missions, or black ops, and that there is no record of because of national security issues.

"What I did was what they call black ops, and there's not a lot said about it," Harris said then. "None of that is ever made public record."

Cash said he has heard of about 10 people falsely claiming to have been in Mogadishu and many use "black ops" as a cover.

"That's poser 101 -- black ops, secret missions, there's no record of it," Cash said. "If you ever hear that, that person is completely full of poop. That kind of stuff doesn't happen. There's a record. There's always a record."

Tuesday, after the story attracted the attention of Rangers and other military service veterans nationwide, Harris asked The Free Press to print a retraction to "choose the lesser of the two evils."

Harris said he wanted to release a formal apology, but also stated he "didn't lie about the whole story. I think what happened was there was some misunderstanding."

Here are further clarifications about Harris' story and his interview:

** Harris told a reporter Tuesday some of the information he said may have been incorrect. He said he hadn't read the story until Tuesday after receiving hate-mail, though he sent an email to the reporter who wrote the story on Sunday that stated: "Thank you and God bless you for the story, so many great comments. You have a God-given talent and I appreciate you for it."

** Harris said he had 316 confirmed sniper kills, all of which were in the last three years of his service. "I think you had the number of confirmed kills wrong. ... I must have been talking about my overall unit," Harris told the reporter Tuesday. A review of the interview, recorded on a voice recorder, showed he did, in fact, say 316. Cash and Eversmann said there's no truth in the unit having 316 confirmed kills, either. Cash said he believed the record for confirmed sniper kills was about 90 for an individual, and that happened during the Vietnam War.

** Harris claimed his DD214 stated he had earned the Distinguished Service Cross. Doug Sterner, the impetus for the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2005 that punishes those fraudulently claiming military decorations and awards, said Harris never earned the award, which is second to the Medal of Honor. "I have digitized the citation for every man and woman in history that has received the Distinguished Service Cross online," Sterner said.

** Harris claimed his DD214 stated he had won two Silver Stars, which cannot be true, according to Sterner. "There have only been two people since the Vietnam War who have received two Silver Stars," Sterner said. "Only one was in the Army ... and he was killed in action."



August 30, 2011, Associated Press, Naval Officer Guilty in 9-11 Fraud, by Nedra Pickler,

A retired naval officer honored for his valor during the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon was found guilty Monday of defrauding the victims' compensation fund by exaggerating his injuries.

After a three-week trial, a federal court jury found retired Cmdr. Charles Coughlin of Severna Park, Md., guilty of making a false claim and stealing public money after he got $331,034 from the fund set up by Congress after the 2001 attacks. The charges carry maximum penalties of up to 15 years in prison, but prosecutors say they expect to argue for three to four years based on his lack of a criminal record and the nature of the offense when U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth sentences Coughlin on Nov. 21.

Coughlin's claim said he was in constant pain after being injured twice on Sept. 11, 2001 - first when objects fell on him when a hijacked plane struck the building and later when he went back inside to rescue others and hit his head. But prosecutors said Coughlin, now 52, continued playing lacrosse and ran a marathon after the attacks and lied when he claimed he needed surgery.

The case was not a slam dunk for prosecutors: It took three trials to convict him. Coughlin was first tried in 2009 along with his wife, also accused of making a false claim to the fund in support of her husband's application. The jury found Charles Coughlin not guilty on three mail fraud counts, but couldn't agree on a verdict on four counts against him or the charge against his wife. Afterward jurors said they thought Coughlin was the kind of man who would exercise through pain and seemed credible when testifying that he didn't lie.

Prosecutors dropped the case against Sabrina Coughlin but put Charles Coughlin on trial again a few months later on the remaining four counts. In the midst of that trial, a Supreme Court decision changed the standard for retrying defendants after a hung jury, eliminating two remaining mail fraud counts against Coughlin.

This time he was tried on the remaining two counts, which were the most serious against him.

Coughlin bowed his head and pursed his lips as the guilty verdict was read from the jury of seven men and five women.

"Charles Coughlin tried to make a profit on the 9/11 tragedy by making false claims on the fund set up to compensate the many heroic victims of the attack," Ronald Machen, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said afterward.

Coughlin is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard Business School who spent most of his 21-year naval career in the submarine service. He had a top-secret security clearance and commanded nuclear submarines. He was working at the Pentagon when a plane hijacked by terrorists crashed into the building about 75 feet from his office. He said he went back inside the burning building to help rescue others, and he was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and Purple Heart for his actions and injuries that day.

Coughlin's claim to the victims' compensation fund said he was left with constant pain in his neck, headaches, weakness in his left arm and numbness in his left hand and elbow. He said it changed his life physically - he used to work out daily, play basketball and lacrosse, run marathons and work on projects around the house.

But prosecutor Susan Menzer said Coughlin ran another marathon in November 2001 and showed the jury a picture of him running on the lacrosse field gripping a stick, taken after the attacks. She also showed jurors copies of check carbons she said he gave to the fund, falsely claiming they were for services he could no longer perform around the house. For example, she said he claimed a check for his lacrosse league dues was actually for someone to lay mulch in his yard. Coughlin said they were not fraudulent but mistakes due to sloppy accounting by his wife.

Prosecutors argued Coughlin should have to forfeit to the government the family's two vehicles - a 2002 Mercedes Benz C230 and a 2002 Honda Odyssey - as proceeds of his theft because Coughlin paid them off after receiving his check from the fund. But the jury sided with Coughlin that he didn't have to forfeit them. The government also has a civil case pending against the Coughlins in which they could potentially be fined up to the three times the amount of their award from the fund.



January 6, 2008 Article Learning Chinese more than a language lesson, By Susan Spano ,Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
...Language and Culture University, I often wondered...Chinese at the Monterey-based Defense Language Institute Foreign Language...degree from the University of Chicago and...I revered myinstructors, especially Wu...

May 27, 2006 Article Pilgrim's Progress in Iran By Borzou Daragahi ,Times Staff Writer
...the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where he was placed...get himself into the Universityof Redlands' Johnston...academic year at Mofid University in Qom, which was...therapist and yogainstructor in Pomona, and father...




August 30, 2011, The Associated Press, Army Green Beret Impersonator in Maryland Gets 21 Months in Prison, By Sarah Brumfield,

BALTIMORE — For years, William Hillar’s tales about his exploits as an Army Green Beret and a puffed up resume helped him land jobs teaching counterterrorism and drug and human trafficking interdiction, but the scheme has now earned him 21 months in federal prison.

Hillar, 66, of Millersville, pleaded guilty to wire fraud earlier this year and was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court. He must pay $170,000 in restitution to the law enforcement and first responder organizations and schools that hired him believing that he had spent 28 years in the U.S. Special Forces, reaching the rank of colonel. He must also perform 500 community service hours at Maryland’s veteran cemeteries.

His scheme started to unravel when a skeptical veteran emailed members of the Special Forces community to see if anyone knew of Hillar, former Green Beret Jeff Hinton testified Tuesday. Hillar’s story was suspicious because there were only a handful of colonels during the period Hillar claimed to have served, he said.

Hinton, whose "Professional Soldiers" social networking site for Special Forces members has become a clearinghouse for people checking on possible fraudsters, filed Freedom of Information requests. When he learned that U.S. Special Operations Command had not heard of Hillar, he decided to expose him and warn the organizations that had hired him, he said.

"The training he was giving them would most likely put people at risk," he said. "Basically it's worthless."

While Green Beret impostors are not uncommon, Hinton called Hillar the most prodigious fraud he has come across, noting that this case is the first he has seen result in jail time. Hillar's trading on a reputation that's "forged in blood" is reprehensible, dishonorable and disrespectful to those who have served and died, he said.

Hillar was paid more than $170,000 by state and local organizations across the country and the federal government — including the U.S. Army at Aberdeen Proving Ground, FBI Command College and various local divisions of the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs — to teach, lead seminars or speak since 1998, according to his plea agreement.

Prosecutor Leo Wise argued for a prison term on the higher end of the sentencing guidelines, as a deterrent to others: 27 months. Hillar not only endangered first responders with worthless information, he also displaced qualified trainers, Wise said.

Wise played a recording of Hillar’s introduction at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in which Hillar tells the audience he was fortunate to be in the military for 28 years.

"I have been trained as a terrorist," he said, explaining that an American would consider him a freedom fighter, but to an enemy in the Balkans or elsewhere he would be a terrorist. He said he was an adviser in Laos during the Vietnam War, spent time in drug interdiction in central America, trained with U.S. Special Forces’ British, German and Israeli counterparts and spent time training mujahedeen during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, becoming an “adrenaline junkie.”

"I like the rush that you get, or at least that I get," he said. But he told the audience that his life came with a price: His morals were compromised and he ended up in counseling.

"The only thing true about this is that he compromised his value system and his morality. The victims in this thought they were getting 'Black Hawk Down,'" Wise said, referring to a book and movie depicting real-life experiences in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia. "Instead they got 'Rambo' — a fiction."

Hillar told the judge he takes full responsibility, apologized and said he has had to admit to himself that he is a fraud. He told the judge that people just assumed that he had a background with Special Forces.

"I never denied it and after years I actually adopted it," he said. "I know that was wrong and I apologize. I didn’t do it for the money and believe it or not, I’m a patriot."

Hillar also portrayed himself as a human trafficking expert whose daughter was kidnapped and killed by sex traffickers. He said the movie “Taken” was based on his search for his daughter. Monterey even held an essay contest with cash prizes in memory of the daughter, whom prosecutors said was not kidnapped and is alive.

Public Defender Gary Christopher, who argued for a sentence of time served — Hillar spent six weeks in a maximum security prison — and probation, said Hillar was a teacher at heart and his teaching style involved storytelling.

"He just could not resist embroidering himself into those tales," Christopher said. "He needed to be the hero."



 August 06, 2011, FoxNews.com, Helicopter Crash in Afghanistan Reportedly Kills Members of SEAL Team 6,



AP

Aug. 6: Virginia Beach residents Tom Hall, left, and Mark Janik, center, watch as news about the Navy Seal Team Six helicopter accident is displayed on a television at a bar in Virginia Beach , Va. The headquarters for the Navy Seal Team Six is located in Virgina Beach.

President Barack Obama said Saturday that the deaths of Americans in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan are a reminder of the "extraordinary" price the U.S. military is paying in the decade-long Afghan war.

Insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite unit as the Navy SEALs who killed former Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden, U.S. officials said Saturday. It was the deadliest single loss for American forces in the decade-old war against the Taliban.



July 26: Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a gathering with high ranking Afghan military officials at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.

One current and one former U.S. official said that the dead included 25 Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six, the unit that carried out the raid in Pakistan in May that killed bin Laden. They were being flown by a crew of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because families are still being notified.

A total number of 38 people died in the crash, killing 7 Afghans and one interpreter.

"We don't believe that any of the special operators who were killed were involved in the bin Laden operation," a senior U.S. military official told Fox News.

President Barack Obama mourned the deaths of the American troops, saying in a statement that the crash serves as a reminder of the "extraordinary sacrifices" being made by the U.S. military and its families. He said he also mourned "the Afghans who died alongside our troops."

The death toll would surpass the worst single day loss of life for the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001 -- the June 28, 2005 downing of a military helicopter in eastern Kunar province. In that incident, 16 Navy SEALs and Army special operations troops were killed when their craft was shot down while on a mission to rescue four SEALs under attack by the Taliban. Three of the SEALs being rescued were also killed and the fourth wounded. It was the highest one-day death toll for the Navy Special Warfare personnel since World War II.

The Taliban claimed they downed the helicopter with rocket fire while it was taking part in a raid on a house where insurgents were gathered in the province of Wardak late Friday. It said wreckage of the craft was strewn at the scene. A senior U.S. administration official in Washington said the craft was apparently shot down by insurgents. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the crash is still being investigated.

NATO confirmed the overnight crash took place and that there "was enemy activity in the area." But it said it was still investigating the cause and conducting a recovery operation at the site. It did not release details or casualty figures.

"We are in the process of accessing the facts," said U.S. Air Force Capt. Justin Brockhoff, a NATO spokesman.

With its steep mountain ranges, providing shelter for militants armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eastern Afghanistan is hazardous terrain for military aircraft. Large, slow-moving air transport carriers like the CH-47 Chinook are particularly vulnerable, often forced to ease their way through sheer valleys where insurgents can achieve more level lines of fire from mountainsides.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday gave the first public word of the new crash, saying in a statement that "a NATO helicopter crashed last night in Wardak province" and that 31 American special operations troops were killed. He expressed his condolences to President Barack Obama.

The helicopter was a twin-rotor Chinook, said an official at NATO headquarters in Brussels. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he was receiving his information from an Afghan officer in Kabul.

The volatile region of Wardak borders the province of Kabul where the Afghan capital is located and is known for its strong Taliban presence.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement that Taliban fighters downed the helicopter during a "heavy raid" in Sayd Abad. He said NATO attacked a house in Sayd Abad where insurgent fighters were gathering Friday night. During the battle, the fighters shot down the helicopter, killing 31 Americans and seven Afghans, he said, adding that eight insurgents were killed in the fight.

There have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year.

Most of the crashes were attributed to pilot errors, weather conditions or mechanical failures. However, the coalition has confirmed that at least one CH-47F Chinook helicopter was hit by a rocket propelled grenade on July 25. Two coalition crew members were injured in that attack.

Meanwhile, in the southern Helmand province, an Afghan government official said Saturday that NATO troops attacked a house and inadvertently killed eight members of a family, including women and children.

NATO said that Taliban fighters fired rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire at coalition troops during a patrol Friday in the Nad Ali district.

"Coalition forces responded with small arms fire and as the incident continued, an air strike was employed against the insurgent position," said Brockhoff. He added that NATO sent a delegation to meet with local leaders and investigate the incident.

Nad Ali district police chief Shadi Khan said civilians died in the bombardment but that it was unknown how many insurgents were killed.

Helmand, a Taliban stronghold, is the deadliest province in Afghanistan for international troops.

NATO has come under harsh criticism in the past for accidentally killing civilians during operations against suspected insurgents. However, civilian death tallies by the United Nations show the insurgency is responsible for most war casualties involving noncombatants.

In south Afghanistan, NATO said two coalition service member were killed, one on Friday and another on Saturday. The international alliance did not release further details.

With the casualties from the helicopter crash, the deaths bring to 365 the number of coalition troops killed this year in Afghanistan and 42 this month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



 January 25, 2012, guardian.co.uk, / Associated Press, US navy Seals who killed Bin Laden rescue two hostages from Somalia, American woman and Danish man safe and nine kidnappers killed after troops mount daring raid following parachute drop,
Wednesday  11.14 EST, Article history


Dane Poul Hagen Thisted and American Jessica Buchanan have been rescued from Somalia by US navy Seals. Photograph: Danish Refugee Council/AP

An American woman and a Danish man being held hostage in Somaliaare free after a rescue mission by US navy Seals that left nine kidnappers dead.

The same unit that killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May parachuted into the African country under cover of darkness early on Wednesday and crept up to an outdoor camp where the two hostages were being held.

Barack Obama had authorised the mission, by Seal Team 6, two days earlier. And minutes after he gave his state of the union address to Congress on Wednesday, he was on the phone to the American's father to tell him his daughter was safe.

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) confirmed the two aid workers, Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, were "on their way to be reunited with their families".

Buchanan, 32, and Thisted, 60, were working with a de-mining unit of the DRC when gunmen kidnapped them in October.

The navy Seals came in quickly – catching the guards as they were sleeping after having chewed the narcotic leaf qat for much of the evening, according to a pirate who gave his name as Bile Hussein.

Hussein said he had spoken to pirates who were there and been told that nine pirates had been killed and three "taken away".

A US official confirmed that the Seals parachuted into the area before moving on foot to the target near the town of Adado.

Seal Team 6 is also known as the naval special warfare development group.

Obama directed his security team to develop a rescue plan after intelligence emerged last week that Buchanan's health was "deteriorating rapidly", according to a senior administration official speaking anonymously.

Mary Ann Olsen, a DRC official, said Buchanan was "not that ill" but needed medicine.

Obama said: "As commander-in-chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts.

"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice."

Another official said the rescuers and the freed hostages flew by helicopter to a US military base at Camp Lemonnier in neighbouring Djibouti.

The defence secretary, Leon Panetta, visited the camp just over a month ago. Djibouti, a key US ally in the region, has the only American base in sub-Saharan Africa.

Buchanan lived in Kenya before transferring to Somalia, and worked at a school in Nairobi from 2007-09. Rob Beyer, dean of students at Rosslyn Academy, described her as quick to laugh and adventurous.

"There have been tears on and around the campus today," he said. "She was well-loved by all her students."

The DRC had been trying to work with Somali elders to win the hostages' freedom but had found little success.

The Danish foreign minister, Villy Soevndal, told his country's TV2 channel: "One of the hostages has a disease that was very serious and that had to be solved." He also congratulated the Americans for the raid.

The DRC said both hostages were unharmed "and at a safe location". The group said in a separate statement that the two "are on their way to be reunited with their families".

Olsen informed Thisted's family of the successful military operation and said "they were very happy and incredibly relieved that it is over".

Olsen said the hostages would soon be moved from Djibouti to a "safe haven". She added that Buchanan did not need to be hospitalised.

The workers appear to have been kidnapped by criminals – sometimes referred to as pirates – and not by Somalia's al-Qaida-linked militant group, al-Shabab.

As large ships at sea have increased their defences against pirate attacks, gangs have undertaken land-based kidnappings.

Muhammad Sahal, a Somali elder who had been contacted by the DRC, said: "We are really happy with the successful release of the innocents kidnapped by evildoers.

"They were guests who were treated brutally. That was against Islam and our culture … these men [the pirates] have spoiled our good customs and culture, so Somalis should fight back."

Following the kidnapping of Buchanan and Thisted in October in Galkayo town, Somalis held demonstrations demanding the pair's quick release.

Their Somali colleague was detained by police on suspicion of being involved in the crime.

The two hostages had been working in northern Somalia for the Danish Demining Group, which clears mines and unexploded ordnance in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East.

Several hostages are still being held in Somalia, including British tourist Judith Tebbutt, two Spanish doctors seized from Kenya and a|US journalist kidnapped on Saturday.




May 4, 2011, Guardian.com, Seal Team 6: inside the Osama bin Laden assassination squad, Elite navy unit had spectacular success with killing of al-Qaida leader but its history has included deadly blunders, by Sam Jones and agencies, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 05.55 EDT, Article history,


US navy Seals on a night mission in the Middle East. Seal Team 6, which killed Osama bin Laden, is a secret elite unit that works closely with the CIA. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images


The US navy's elite Seal Team 6, which stormed Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound and killed the al-Qaida leader, prides itself on two things: efficiency and secrecy.

However, the unit has enjoyed a somewhat mixed reputation since a bloody raid in Pakistan three years ago and the botched rescue attempt that led to the death of the British aid worker Linda Norgrove in 2010.

A measure of its commitment to secrecy came when the head of the navy Seals sent the Bin Laden team a congratulatory email reminding them to keep their mouths shut afterwards. "Be extremely careful about operational security," added Rear Admiral Edward Winters. "The fight is not over."

The unit is made up of only a few hundred personnel based in Dam Neck, Virginia. It is known officially as Naval Special Warfare Development Group, or Devgru, and is part of a special operations brotherhood, members of which call themselves "the quiet professionals".

The unit works so often with the CIA that it is sometimes called the agency's Praetorian Guard. The partnership started in Iraq as an outgrowth of the fusion of special operations forces and intelligence in the hunt for militants there.

Although the bulk of Seal Team 6 missions are now in Afghanistan, it has raided targets in countries including Yemen and Somalia in the last three years.

Until Sunday its most recent high-profile deployment stood in stark contrast to the Bin Laden success. In October last year sailors from the unit were dispatched to rescue the British aid worker Linda Norgrove, who had been kidnapped by militants in Afghanistan.

Norgrove died during the raid after one of the Seals threw a fragmentation grenade close to where she was sheltering.

Initial reports suggested she had been killed by an insurgent's suicide bomb vest. But when the Seal commanding officer reviewed surveillance video recordings he saw an explosion after one of the Seals threw something in Norgrove's direction. A number of the Seals were disciplined as a result.

The last time the public was made aware of a Seal raid on Pakistani soil was three years ago, when the raiders flew a mile over the border to the town of Angurada. Their high-value targets had fled and those left behind in the compound fought back, resulting in a number of civilian casualties, according to US and Pakistani officials.

The US usually does not comment on covert actions – especially those that go wrong. But the 2008 incident was caught on mobile phone video, so the Americans confirmed it and apologised publicly.

In the wake of the killing of Bin Laden a US publisher is racing out a behind-the-scenes account of Seal Team 6.

The publication of Seal Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper, by navy Seal Howard E Wasdin and co-author Stephen Templin, had been originally planned for 24 May after St Martin's Press bought the rights almost a year ago.



http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16700385?nclick_check=1

http://www.montereyherald.com/breaking/ci_16650855?nclick_check=1

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/play/479



http://www.humantrafficking.org/

Taken (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



June 14, 2011, mgx.com Blog, FBI expands domestic surveillance powers and activities,

From Democracy Now. Peacefully exercising civil liberties is becoming increasingly regarded as domestic terrorism by federal agencies. The costs associated with domestic surveillance are high and produce few results.

Civil liberties advocates are raising alarm over news the FBI is giving agents more leeway to conduct domestic surveillance. According to the New York Times, new guidelines will allow FBI agents to investigate people and organizations “pro-actively” without firm evidence for suspecting criminal activity. We speak to former FBI agent Mike German, who now works at the American Civil Liberties Union, and Texas activist, Scott Crow, who has been the focus of intense FBI surveillance from 2001 until at least 2008.


February 21, 1998, The Baltimore Sun, Maybe anthrax plot wasn't a plot at all Man who tipped FBI was in odd business deal with suspects, by Scott Shane and Douglas M. Birch,

A week ago, they chatted on a Las Vegas radio talk show about a deal to build and sell a New Age therapeutic device that could supposedly cure deadly diseases with the flip of a switch.

And, bragged Ronald G. Rockwell, he and William J. Leavitt Jr. planned to test the gizmo on the deadly anthrax bacterium.


But Wednesday, Rockwell set the FBI on the trail of his potential business partner and another man. Then all hell broke loose.

What the FBI presented Thursday as a sinister plot to use deadly anthrax bacteria in a terrorist attack began yesterday to look more like an eccentric business collaboration gone sour.

Army biological warfare specialists were still testing vials

yesterday of suspected anthrax seized during the Wednesday arrest of Leavitt and Larry Wayne Harris, a white supremacist who the FBI says had threatened to wage germ warfare in the New York City subway.

But as details about the relationship between Rockwell, the FBI's informant, and Leavitt and Harris emerged, some people in Nevada began to wonder whether Leavitt is not a would-be bio-terrorist but an idealistic scientist with monumentally bad judgment.

"He was kind of like some Walter Mitty scientist, hobbyist guy who got caught up with the wrong people," said Jim Villanucci, whose radio program took calls Thursday from Leavitt's admirers.

"He may have been taken in because of his own naivete," said Daniel F. Royal, Leavitt's friend and physician. "His character is really above reproach."

It was outside Royal's office in Henderson, Nev., that FBI agents nabbed Leavitt and Harris.

Inside they retrieved a white Styrofoam cooler and petri dishes placed there after Royal had gone.

No one could say yesterday how the two suspects and the FBI tipster met, but they were linked by an interest in new ways to vanquish human ills.

Rockwell had the rights to a cure-all gizmo called the AZ-58 Ray Tube Frequency Instrument Prototype.

Leavitt spent long nights in his home lab laboring to devise treatments for multiple sclerosis and AIDs and dreamed of ending drug addiction with herbs, acupuncture and subliminal messages.

Even Harris took time out from racism and religious extremism to sell medical devices called "colloidal silver generators," said to produce a disease-fighting silver concoction, according to journalists who interviewed him last year.

The scheme that brought them together, according to several people they told of the plans, went like this:

Rockwell would sell the ray tube to Leavitt for $2 million, with a possible $18 million more to follow. Harris would help test the miracle machine on anthrax and maybe other organisms in Nevada.

If the AZ-58 worked, Leavitt would mass-produce it in Germany and market it in Europe, far from the pesky oversight of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

At least that's what Rockwell and Leavitt said on Lou Epton's talk show on KXNT-AM in Las Vegas on Feb. 13.

"As we speak, cultures are being prepared -- anthrax or something like it," Rockwell said, according to Epton.

The FBI's criminal complaint identifies the source of the tip that led to the anthrax seizure as "a research scientist specializing in cancer research."

The document noted that he had two felony convictions for conspiracy to commit extortion in 1981 and 1982, but it said he was providing information "simply as a citizen performing his civic duty."

Lawyers for Leavitt said yesterday that the source was Rockwell, and they questioned whether his motive was so selfless.

Kirby Wells, an attorney who helped Leavitt negotiate to purchase the ray tube, said Rockwell was supposed to deliver the machine Wednesday night for testing.

He may have called the FBI, Wells said, because he feared the ray tube wouldn't work.

When Leavitt and Harris showed up, the machine "was not there."

"But a lot of guys with cellophane and tape were," Wells said.

They were FBI and military agents, who used the tape to seal Leavitt's Mercedes and the rest of the seized materials.

At first glance, Leavitt and Harris make the oddest of couples. One is a clean-cut former Mormon bishop and devoted father of three; the other is a bearded, wild-talking prophet of biological apocalypse with a prior conviction for obtaining deadly bubonic plague bacteria.

Leavitt had collaborated with Carl Schleicher, a Silver Spring, Md., inventor and entrepreneur, on several unorthodox projects.

A few years ago, they sought to perfect a basement sealant as a barrier against radon gas.

More recently, they considered purchasing a bankrupt hotel in the desert near Palm Springs, Calif., as a drug rehabilitation center.

"He's a very religious guy," Schleicher said. "Very honorable. I had no reason to think otherwise."

But the two parted ways last year.

Leavitt earns his living selling fire extinguishers and other equipment in Las Vegas under the name AAA Fire Protection.

But his true interest, said Royal, his doctor, is his quest to ease human suffering.



December 15, 2010, Employment Background Screening Blog, United Airlines Pilot Grounded for Posing as Cardiologist

You might assume that those who work in high-trust professions, such as medical doctors, would naturally adhere to a strict set of ethics, and therefore may not require the same strict background screening that would apply to a financial advisor or bank teller, for example. The recent story of a United Airlines pilot posing as a cardiologist shows just how wrong an assumption this can be.

Recent news stories report that for 20 years, United Airlines pilot, William Hamman, reportedly posed as a cardiologist and led seminars for groups at the Western Michigan University Center for Simulation Research, Northwestern University, and on behalf of the American Medical Association (AMA) and American College of Emergency Physicians.

According to news reports, his seminars were widely attended and covered such topics as applying flight skills simulation training to cardiology. In addition to giving seminars, he published in journals with M.D. and PhD credentials attached to his name—neither of which is he reported to hold.

Hamman is reportedly grounded from his job at United Airlines after he submitted a grant proposal at William Beaumont Hospital in which, as part of the grant process, staff attempted to verify his education credentials. He is now barred from giving his seminars with the AMA and his case is under investigation.

During his time posing as a cardiologist, he received a $2.8 million dollar grant to expand simulation training in medical facilities and signed a training contract that paid around $250,000. And while it is believed that he never attempted to treat patients during his time posing as a cardiologist, no doubt this case has left egg in the faces of many who supported his work.
Where Was the Education Background Check?

Look at the negative attention this story is bringing to cardiologists and institutions who relied upon Hamman’s credentials – not to mention the reputation of United Airlines.

And it’s unbelievable to think that Hamman actually led seminars on behalf of the AMA – the body that collects, maintains, and disseminates primary source physician data for virtually every licensed physician in the United States. (Do we need to ask who’s watching the watchers?)

What it boils down to is this: Education background checks are a MUST in any position where an individual’s education-related credential is important. Experts estimate that 40% of all resumes contain misrepresentations. Plus, in today’s world, it is far too easy to obtain fake credentials for everything from a high school diploma to a law degree. And while degree mills and education lies are certainly not the norm, it pays to verify the accuracy and validity of your applicant’s educational claims.

Don’t take a person’s resume and educational claims at face value. Doing so can put your reputation – and more – at risk.

Proforma offers comprehensive employment screening services to reduce your human capital risk and protect your company’s reputation. Open an Account or Request a Proposal to find out how an affordable background check can protect your organization.



December 21, 2010, Hartley Hampton, Medical Malpractice, Birth Injuries and Complex Personal Injury Blog, Investigation Reveals that Airline Pilot Posed as MD for Years,

On behalf of Hartley Hampton posted in Medical Malpractice on Tuesday, December 21, 2010

In medical malpractice news, people all over the country were shocked last week by news of a commercial airplane pilot who had successfully posed as a renowned cardiologist for many years.

Specifically, William Hamman, an airline pilot with United Airlines, was a frequent lecturer at prestigious medical conferences across the nation and was given millions of dollars in grants to conduct research. He even held a post at a Michigan hospital as a researcher and educator.

"He was quite good at what he did," said Dr. Cindy Grines, a cardiologist at the Michigan hospital where Hamman held his post. "He focused on his experience as a pilot and used these skills to develop computer simulations, to implement team strategies to expedite patient care and to develop check lists to assure ACC (American College of Cardiology) recommendations were followed."

Fortunately, it appears that Hamman never actually treated a patient.

Hamman's deception finally came to light when his application for a medical grant revealed major discrepancies in his record. Namely, that he had neither the M.D. nor Ph.D. that he claimed.

The truth was that Hamman did not have either degree, and was also lacking the medical credentials (medical residency, fellowship and 15 years of clinical experience) that he claimed to have had. In fact, the most medical training that he possessed was a few years of medical school. (He attended for a few years but never graduated.)

Upon learning of his actions, United Airlines grounded Hamman and he has yet to return to duty. The Federal Aviation Administration did reveal, however, that Hamman is a fully licensed and experienced pilot.

According to some medical professionals, the deception by Hamman was not only deplorable and dangerous, but actually unnecessary given the subject matter on which he was holding himself out as an expert.

"I was shocked to learn he was not a cardiologist, as that was how he advertised himself, although he said he had never practiced," said Dr. W. Douglas Weaver, head of cardiology at a Detroit-area hospital. "He made a big mistake, and the funny part about it was he did not have to be a physician to be effective in his role as an educator."

If you lost a loved one to what you believe was physician negligence or were seriously injured by amedical error, you should strongly consider contacting an experienced legal professional.

This post was for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal or medical advice.

Stay tuned for more from our Texas medical malpractice blog ...

Related Resources:

Renowned Doctor Exposed as a Fraud (ABC News)

Cardiologists 'Shocked' that William Hamman Passed Himself Off as Doctor (ABC News)



December 13, 2010,  Los Angeles Times, A real pilot but a fake doctor -- and the requirements it takes to really be either one,  By Mary Forgione,  

Booster Shots: Oddities, musings and news from the health world

An accomplished commercial pilot apparently posed as a cardiologist and got away with it -– for about 20 years. In case you missed it, the pilot's unraveling came Monday in a media report. But the real question is: How could anyone possibly pull this off?

Here's what it takes to become a cardiologist, from DegreeDirectory.org: "Cardiologists have a pre-medical bachelor's degree and a doctor of medicine degree, and they complete at least six years of residency training before gaining licensure."



And here are the rules for becoming a pilot: "To become a commercial airline pilot, you must be at least 23 years of age, complete 1,500 hours of flight time, pass a Federal Aviation Administration written and flight exam and pass a medical physical."

Hmm, not a lot of overlap here. Makes you wonder whether an accomplished cardiologist could have pulled off being a commercial airline pilot for 20 years.

Here's the story that’s destined to be a Hollywood screenplay.



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Petition seeks to oust Limbaugh from AFN radio
By Rick Maze - Staff writer

Posted : Monday Mar 5, 2012 15:02:20 EST

Almost 9,000 people have signed an online petition in just one day calling on Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to remove radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh from Armed Forces Network radio, which serves U.S. troops overseas.

The online petition, created Sunday on the White House website, is a reaction to Limbaugh calling a Georgetown University Law School student a “slut” and “prostitute” because she advocated that birth control be covered by employer health insurance.

Limbaugh has since apologized, but his show has lost at least eight advertisers over the controversy.

A Pentagon spokesman says the military’s network will continue to air Rush Limbaugh’s radio program. George Little says the American Forces Network offers a wide range of programming to reflect listeners’ interests and he is unaware of any plans to review that decision.

White House petition policy allows anyone to create an online petition, but only those that get enough signatures receive a response. In this case of the Limbaugh petition, the White House website says it needs 25,000 signatures by April 3 — one month from its creation — to merit an official response.

The petition objects to taxpayer money being spent on a show hosted by someone whose “remarks this week were well beyond the pale of what should be broadcast to our military and their families, supported with our tax dollars,” the petition states. “There is no excuse for the U.S. government, in any capacity, giving this man an audience.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



March 7, 2012,  The Associated Press, Green Beret dies trying to save kids from fire, By Emery P. Dalesio and Michael Biesecker, Posted : Wednesday 6:06:18 EST

HOPE MILLS, N.C. — A decorated Green Beret leapt from the second-story of his burning home early Tuesday, wrapped himself in a blanket and ran back inside in an attempt to save his two young daughters.

Firefighters recovered the body of Chief Warrant Officer 2 Edward Cantrell on the second floor of his North Carolina home. Cantrell was found not far from the remains of 6-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Natalia.

"He never made it back out," said Debbie Tanna, spokeswoman for the Cumberland County sheriff's office.

Cantrell's wife and the girls' mother, Louise, also jumped from the second floor. She was treated and released from a Fayetteville hospital for smoke inhalation. The family dog, a Rottweiler named Sasha, also survived the fire.

Cantrell was a special operations forces paratrooper who served six tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Friends and relatives gathered to recover what they could from burned-out house in Hope Mills, a small community about a 20-minute drive from the gates of Fort Bragg.

The house, which featured a broad front porch with tall columns, was built in 1920. Tanna said the old home's timbers were likely very dry, causing a fast-moving blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A sign at the end of the driveway blocked with yellow police tape says "The Cantrells Est. Feb. 7, 2004." Bouquets of flowers and two teddy bears had been placed nearby.

Firefighters from Cotton Volunteer Fire Department, which is fewer than two miles away, were on the scene within four minutes of receiving the dispatch call. Assistant Chief Kevin Dove said the house was already engulfed in flames.

"They perished before our arrival," said Dove, a veteran firefighter. "It was horrible."

Cantrell, 36, was a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg. He held the rank of chief warrant officer 2, which authorized Cantrell to lead half of his 12-member Green Beret team if it was split up, said Lt. Col. April Olsen, a spokeswoman for Army Special Forces Command.

Records show Cantrell joined the Army in 1994, listing a home address in Plant City, Fla. He had one combat deployment to Iraq and five to Afghanistan, returning from the last mission in August, Olsen said.

His record included four Bronze Stars and one Purple Heart, awarded for wounds suffered in a war zone, Olsen said.

"There are no words to express the sorrow felt in our close-knit community when a family suffers such a tragedy," the command said on its Facebook page.

Family members declined interview requests, as did a soldier who served with Cantrell.

Isabella attended nearby Ed V. Baldwin Elementary School. Principal Todd Yardis said the girl's teacher and a grief counselor broke the news of what happened to her classmates shortly after they arrived in the morning.

Yardis said both Cantrell parents had been very active at the school, with Edward Cantrell sometimes stopping by in his Army uniform. He recounted how excited the young girl was when her father returned home from his most recent tour of duty.

"Bella was a very happy, loving girl," Yardis said. "She was one of those students who would run up and hug you around the leg when you passed her class in the hall."

Yardis said Cantrell was a hero for trying to save his girls. The father had recently spoken about retiring from the service, rather than returning overseas and being separated from his family again.

"He talked about wanting to get out of the military and opening his own business," Yardis said. "He wanted to open a tattoo parlor."

Cindy Jacobs, who works at an assisted living home next door, said Louise Cantrell ran to the facility during the fire to get the staff to call 911. Jacobs said she knew the family, especially the mother, who would often stop to make small talk as she drove by. The two girls were often in the car or outside playing.

"She was with those girls all the time," said Jacobs, the executive director of the ARC of Hope Mills. "It's so sad. I can't imagine what she's going through."

Jacobs said she learned Edward Cantrell was in the military when investigators visited to ask about him as part of the procedure for getting a top secret security clearance.

"We knew he was Special Forces," Jacobs said. "He was just a heck of a guy. Very, very friendly."

The girls were energetic children, said Jacobs, who has an active-duty son in the Navy and whose husband is a civilian employee at Fort Bragg. "They were just adorable little girls," she said.

Dalesio reported from Raleigh. Associated Press wirter Allen G. Breed also contributed to this report.



January 25, 2011, The Daily Emerald, Details surrounding arrest of former University professor revealed, by Stefan Verbano,

FBI agents arrested former University adjunct instructor and professional speaker Bill Hillar at his home in Millersville, Md., Tuesday following the completion of a fraud investigation involving his fabricated experiences as an American war hero, doctoral degree holder and father of a kidnapped daughter.

According to the FBI’s affidavit, the 66-year-old instructor had been teaching, leading workshops, giving speeches and conducting training for almost 40 public and private-sector clients across the county “for at least the past 10 years under fraudulent pretenses.”

During his trips to Oregon, Hillar occasionally instructed one-credit drug trafficking, human trafficking and other University summer classes to hundreds of students. The classes were offered through the Substance Abuse and Prevention Program on campus.

University graduate and journalism major Victoria Davila took two of Hillar’s weekend SAPP classes in May 2010, and remembers the speaker’s heartfelt stories leaving a palpable impression on the student audience.

“He got classes of at least 180 students in tears … he got students after class waiting to shake his hand,” Davila said. “It’s completely appalling and disgusting that someone would do that.”

To this day, Davila remembers Hillar saying, “I began to realize that we all wear a mask of sanity” which, in retrospect, she said now seems more like a portent than a piece of scholarly philosophy. The recent alumnus also raised critical questions about how Hillar was hired in the first place.

“We all pay thousands of dollars to make sure we get a quality education from quality teachers,” Davila said, “and if (the University) is not doing that, then what are we paying for? I could have taken something else.”

Federal officials said evidence indicated Hillar earned more than $100,000 for teaching and speaking stints while using his illegitimate identity, including $33,000 from the University. In addition to the $32,500 earned from Middlebury College’s Monterey Institute for International Studies in California for teaching two 15-hour workshops per year since 2005, he is reported to have received $24,140 from the Federal Executive Board of Los Angeles, according to court records.

He conducted training through a small business, Bill Hillar Training, operating out of Millersville, and ran a now-defunct website, billhillartraining.com, crediting himself as a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel.

On Nov. 22, 2010, an FBI Internet Archive search revealed that Hillar had claimed to have “served in Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America, where his diverse training and experiences included tactical counterterrorism, explosive ordinance, emergency medicine and psychological warfare.”

Last fall, student veterans taking Hillar’s class at the Institute challenged his credentials as a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel and recipient of a University of Oregon doctorate, saying he did not exhibit the mannerisms of a high-ranking army officer.

According to the affidavit, the Middlebury official responsible for hiring Hillar told the FBI she used his website biography and resume to make a hiring decision.

Middlebury discovered Hillar’s claim of holding a University Ph.D. was false, and was unable to verify his military experience. Middlebury officials issued a public apology explaining that Hillar was not a formal employee, so he did not receive a background check. The Institute has now decided to perform background checks for all classroom instructors, in addition to offering Hillar’s former students the option of taking another single-credit course free of charge.

When asked whether the University would instigate a similar policy for affected students, University spokesperson Phil Weiler said administrators have not yet determined whether to mimic Middlebury’s conciliatory efforts.

“I don’t know that the University has addressed that issue at this time,” Weiler said. “If there are students who have taken (his) classes and are concerned about the credits they have earned, they should contact academic affairs so we can come to a solution that works for everybody.”

During the FBI’s investigation, the Department of Defense revealed that Hillar’s only military experience was an eight-year stint as an enlisted sailor in the Coast Guard. According to the affidavit, Hillar never served in the locations he claimed, nor was given any training in the fields mentioned during his service in the Coast Guard.

Hillar had also claimed a personal relationship with human trafficking, boasting that the 2008 action film “Taken,” starring Liam Neeson, was inspired by events in his life and his daughter’s kidnapping, enslavement and murder. The movie’s directors and writers have never mentioned Hillar in interviews.

After being arrested, he appeared before a federal magistrate Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and was ordered to be detained after he was unable to post a $50,000 bond. If convicted, Hillar faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, federal officials said.

sverbano@dailyemerald.com


By STEFAN VERBANO | NEWS REPORTER
Published January 27, 2011

FBI agents arrested former University adjunct instructor and professional speaker Bill Hillar at his home in Millersville, Md., Tuesday following the completion of a fraud investigation involving his fabricated experiences as an American war hero, doctoral degree holder and father of a kidnapped daughter.

According to the FBI’s affidavit, the 66-year-old instructor had been teaching, leading workshops, giving speeches and conducting training for almost 40 public and private-sector clients across the county “for at least the past 10 years under fraudulent pretenses.”

During his trips to Oregon, Hillar occasionally instructed one-credit drug trafficking, human trafficking and other University summer classes to hundreds of students. The classes were offered through the Substance Abuse and Prevention Program on campus.

University graduate and journalism major Victoria Davila took two of Hillar’s weekend SAPP classes in May 2010, and remembers the speaker’s heartfelt stories leaving a palpable impression on the student audience.

“He got classes of at least 180 students in tears … he got students after class waiting to shake his hand,” Davila said. “It’s completely appalling and disgusting that someone would do that.”

To this day, Davila remembers Hillar saying, “I began to realize that we all wear a mask of sanity” which, in retrospect, she said now seems more like a portent than a piece of scholarly philosophy. The recent alumnus also raised critical questions about how Hillar was hired in the first place.

“We all pay thousands of dollars to make sure we get a quality education from quality teachers,” Davila said, “and if (the University) is not doing that, then what are we paying for? I could have taken something else.”

Federal officials said evidence indicated Hillar earned more than $100,000 for teaching and speaking stints while using his illegitimate identity, including $33,000 from the University. In addition to the $32,500 earned from Middlebury College’s Monterey Institute for International Studies in California for teaching two 15-hour workshops per year since 2005, he is reported to have received $24,140 from the Federal Executive Board of Los Angeles, according to court records.

He conducted training through a small business, Bill Hillar Training, operating out of Millersville, and ran a now-defunct website, billhillartraining.com, crediting himself as a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel.

On Nov. 22, 2010, an FBI Internet Archive search revealed that Hillar had claimed to have “served in Asia, the Middle East, and Central and South America, where his diverse training and experiences included tactical counterterrorism, explosive ordinance, emergency medicine and psychological warfare.”

Last fall, student veterans taking Hillar’s class at the Institute challenged his credentials as a retired U.S. Army Special Forces colonel and recipient of a University of Oregon doctorate, saying he did not exhibit the mannerisms of a high-ranking army officer.

According to the affidavit, the Middlebury official responsible for hiring Hillar told the FBI she used his website biography and resume to make a hiring decision.

Middlebury discovered Hillar’s claim of holding a University Ph.D. was false, and was unable to verify his military experience. Middlebury officials issued a public apology explaining that Hillar was not a formal employee, so he did not receive a background check. The Institute has now decided to perform background checks for all classroom instructors, in addition to offering Hillar’s former students the option of taking another single-credit course free of charge.

When asked whether the University would instigate a similar policy for affected students, University spokesperson Phil Weiler said administrators have not yet determined whether to mimic Middlebury’s conciliatory efforts.

“I don’t know that the University has addressed that issue at this time,” Weiler said. “If there are students who have taken (his) classes and are concerned about the credits they have earned, they should contact academic affairs so we can come to a solution that works for everybody.”

During the FBI’s investigation, the Department of Defense revealed that Hillar’s only military experience was an eight-year stint as an enlisted sailor in the Coast Guard. According to the affidavit, Hillar never served in the locations he claimed, nor was given any training in the fields mentioned during his service in the Coast Guard.

Hillar had also claimed a personal relationship with human trafficking, boasting that the 2008 action film “Taken,” starring Liam Neeson, was inspired by events in his life and his daughter’s kidnapping, enslavement and murder. The movie’s directors and writers have never mentioned Hillar in interviews.

After being arrested, he appeared before a federal magistrate Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and was ordered to be detained after he was unable to post a $50,000 bond. If convicted, Hillar faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, federal officials said.
sverbano@dailyemerald.com



EMERALD NEWS STAFF STRIKES
By ASHLEY CHASE AND ALLIE GRASGREEN | EDITOR IN CHIEF AND MANAGING EDITOR
Published March 6, 2009

The entire editorial staff of the Oregon Daily Emerald is on strike, effective at 6 a.m. Wednesday, March 4. The strike is in response to recent actions of the Emerald’s Board of Directors, which oversees the entire Emerald organization. This is the last edition of the Emerald we will publish until the board meets the four demands the entire newsroom staff presented to the board at its executive session meeting last night. A copy of that speech can be found at the end of this article.

The demands address recent hiring decisions of the board that are far out of line with the Emerald’s guiding values and ethics. The Emerald is in the midst of a transformation that we hope will allow us to continue to publish as long as the University is enrolling students, but we are in dire financial straits and if these changes are not made soon, the Emerald may have to close its doors within the next few years.

However, the newsroom is not willing to sacrifice student control and editorial independence of the Emerald, nor the integrity of this organization, in the process.

These changes will not be easy; they are multi-faceted and include a reconnection with our audience by investing in alternative products and moving toward a multi-platform newsroom that is more readily available to readers. In order to set these changes into motion, the Emerald needs the best leadership it can find; not only someone who can make these things happen, but someone who can immediately move our financial status out of the red and toward the black. We need someone who has a tangible plan to start making money.

In November, the Emerald recruited Steven A. Smith, Emerald alum and former editor in chief of The Spokesman Review in Spokane, Wash., to work as a consultant and draft a strategic plan for the future of the Emerald. In Smith’s strategic plan, he recommended hiring a publisher with a five-year contract to replace the current general manager position. Smith wrote a loose job description for the publisher position, including its responsibilities. As described in Smith’s proposal, the publisher would have supervisory control over the student editor, which the general manager does not have. This poses an obvious threat to student control and editorial independence that is key to the service we provide. Smith’s job description stipulated that the publisher would not have control over editorial content. However, we believe that if the editor is reporting directly to the publisher, an inherent conflict of interest exists that would pressure the student editor into making decisions aligned with the publisher’s wishes.

At its Feb. 10 meeting, the board voted to conduct a nationwide search to recruit a publisher. We must note that at that meeting, most board members stressed the importance of conducting a nationwide search; many said that not to do so would be a disservice to the Emerald. Then-board chair, UO Libraries employee Mark Watson, asked the board to consider the possibility of offering the publisher position to Smith. After debate, the board decided it would encourage Smith to apply for the position but still run a search. Watson had lunch with Smith the next day to see if he would be interested in applying, but Smith said he was not inclined to participate in a search. Watson said in an e-mail to several Emerald staff members, “Steve was very clear with me that he would not apply for the job if we run a search this spring. He is not interested in putting his hat in the ring.”

Smith, however, made a counter-offer to Watson: He would serve as interim publisher for one year while the board ran a search. He then sent Watson an e-mail with a proposal for his employment with the following conditions, among others: “My pay would be $80,000 for the 12-month period … I would assume the duties outlined in the draft publisher job description I presented to you two weeks ago.”

Watson also stated in his e-mail that Smith said he was willing to do the job because “it’s likely that he will also be able to teach in the SOJC (School of Journalism and Communication).”

The board debated this proposal at its Feb. 17 meeting. Editor in chief Ashley Chase, managing editor Allie Grasgreen and news editors Robert D’Andrea and Rebecca Woolington, who was the board’s newsroom representative and a voting member, attended the meeting and voiced their concerns with Smith’s proposal: The editors felt that the Emerald cannot afford the salary Smith proposed, and were extremely concerned that allowing Smith to work as an adjunct instructor at the journalism school while serving as publisher was an obvious conflict of interest, for multiple reasons. If Smith worked for the journalism school and the newsroom worked for Smith, he would have the potential power to censor the paper if we wrote something critical about the University. Because the Emerald is independent from the University, we are able to report freely and objectively on the institution. Newsroom employees could also be answering to Smith in the classroom and in the workplace. The editors were also concerned that Smith would be at the Emerald for only one year and if things didn’t go how he planned, if the Emerald actually ended up losing money, he would not be held accountable.

The Emerald editors felt that, at that meeting, most board members shook off our concerns. The board passed a motion stating it would conduct a job interview with Smith, and then be prepared to discuss contract terms. Watson e-mailed Smith while that meeting was still in session to offer him an interview, and Smith responded a few minutes later saying he was not inclined to do an interview for the same reasons he did not want to apply for the position. Several minutes later, Watson left the room and the meeting ended in disarray. The next day, Watson resigned as chair. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Smith would no longer work as a consultant with the Emerald.

A few days later, board member and Register-Guard sports reporter Rob Moseley sent an e-mail to board members saying he thought the board made a mistake in passing up Smith’s offer. Moseley said he would make a motion at the next meeting to offer Smith the job without an interview or negotiation. Jeanne Long, an Emerald advertising executive who now serves as chair of the board, sent an e-mail to board members stating that any further discussion about hiring the publisher would be done in executive session. Executive session excluded any non-voting member, effectively silencing the voice of the newsroom and other professional staff.

At the Feb. 24 meeting, the board approved a motion to offer Smith the job under the terms he proposed. The next day, Long called a professional staff meeting to announce that Smith had accepted the position.

After last night’s board meeting at which the newsroom presented its demands, Long e-mailed Chase the board’s response. She wrote, “The Board of Directors cannot accept the demands presented to it by the staff of the ODE newsroom on 3/3/09. Acceding to these demands would essentially dissolve the structure of the corporation. Furthermore, the Board refuses to be bullied and blackmailed. The Bylaws stipulate the various and proper roles that each part of the organization plays. The Board has fulfilled all its responsibilities to the corporation in good faith. The responsibility of the Board is to oversee the financial welfare of the corporation, and the newsroom cannot dictate financial, nor personnel policy. The Board reserves the right to determine the future operations of the organization.”

We do not believe the board acted in good faith. We also do not see how meeting our demands would dissolve the structure of the corporation, considering that our demands simply speak to preserving what makes the Emerald the Emerald. The board may reserve the right to determine the future operations of the Emerald, but for board members to not consider that the entire newsroom is adamantly against the decisions it is making calls into question wheth
er the Emerald is truly the board’s first priority.

Following is a verbatim copy of the speech Chase read to the board at its meeting last night. We ask that the board perform the task it was charged with – and said it would do – and not sacrifice the Emerald’s student control and independence. We hope that you, our readers, will support us in this strike. We want desperately to return to work, but we cannot do so quietly and against our journalistic values. A blog, independentjournalism.wordpress.com, will serve as our outlet to keep readers informed on our strike until we can return to the newsroom.

To the Oregon Daily Emerald Board of Directors:

The newsroom is here tonight to address recent actions of the Board of Directors that we believe have been unethical and demonstrated extremely poor business practices.

As you all have said many times before, the Emerald is in the midst of crucial and radical change. Because we are facing what is perhaps the most pivotal year in Emerald history – one that could solidify the Emerald’s survival or its demise – extreme care must be taken with every decision, especially in choosing our leadership.

Three weeks ago, the board voted to conduct a nationwide search for a publisher who would begin in the 2009-10 academic year. The board determined a search would be the most effective way to attract the best candidates for the Emerald and ultimately lead to a fitting hire, someone the board agreed should have, above all, a business background and a tangible plan to lead us out of our dire financial straits.

The actions of the board since that motion was approved, however, have been reckless, irresponsible and, frankly, embarrassing. Rather than dedicate itself to the time and energy that is necessary to conduct a worthwhile search, the board chose the easy way out. It chose to forgo its responsibility to the Emerald, the Emerald staff and the Emerald’s readers by grabbing at a quick fix thinly veiled as an opportunity. The board chose to hire a candidate without performing even the most basic hiring protocol; there was no job interview, no references were contacted and, most appalling of all considering the Emerald’s financial state, there was no negotiation of the candidate’s salary proposal. The most powerful position this organization has seen in its 109 years of publication is set to be filled by a person who wrote his own contract and job description, which takes occupational liberties that are far out of line with the Emerald’s guiding values and ethics.

Steven A. Smith may ultimately be the best candidate for this position. However, that cannot be determined unless the board utilizes standard hiring practices. Any and all candidates interested in such a powerful position should be scrutinized as such.

The actions the board took throughout this hiring process are a profound disservice to this organization and would fundamentally alter the spirit of student control and editorial independence of the Emerald. Since the Emerald separated itself from the University in 1971 and became a completely independent, student-run publication, its obligation to report objectively on this institution has been fully realized. But two clauses the future publisher has included in his job description and employment stipulations threaten student voice and independence: One gives the publisher authority over the student editor in workplace matters, and the other allows him to teach in the School of Journalism and Communication while simultaneously leading our newsroom. Emerald representatives have brought these concerns before the board at past meetings and have, for the most part, been ignored. We are confident that past generations of Emerald staffers who fought hard for our independence would be outraged that this board could be rendering their battle obsolete.

Therefore, it is the consensus of the newsroom that we cannot and will not in good conscious continue our duties unless the Board of Directors meets the following four demands:

1. Immediately rescind the offer to Steven A. Smith to serve as interim publisher April 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010.

2. Conduct a nationwide search for a publisher, as originally voted at the Feb. 10 board meeting.

3. Stipulate in the chosen publisher’s contract that he or she shall not be employed in any capacity by the University, including at the School of Journalism and Communication.

4. Stipulate in the chosen publisher’s contract that he or she shall not have immediate supervisory control over the editor; rather, the publisher and student editor shall remain equals in the organization, as the general manager and student editor currently are.

In meeting these four demands, the board will uphold the guiding values of the organization it oversees. To quote a 2006 Emerald editorial, which points to upholding the highest ethical standards of journalism as one of this publication’s guiding values, “It would by hypocritical of our values to hold other groups accountable yet not hold those within our own organization up to our own ethical standard.” If we do not hold the Board of Directors accountable, we are not fulfilling our fundamental obligation to our community, our readers or ourselves.

In meeting the newsroom’s demands, the board will also fulfill its duty to this organization by doing everything within its power to preserve the Emerald for future generations.

If the above demands are not met at the board meeting this evening, March 3, each newsroom employee standing before you will be on strike, effective Wednesday at 6 a.m. We will return to the newsroom to finish tonight’s newspaper production, but beginning Wednesday, we will not produce the Emerald until the board meets our demands. It pains us to think of being the first newsroom to – intentionally or unintentionally – miss an Emerald publication date, but we believe that to not take a stand would be a grave mistake and have far worse repercussions for years to come.

We hope – and we are confident – that the Emerald Board of Directors will choose integrity and accountability over convenience.

Editor’s notes:

This article reflects the opinions of the newsroom staff. Every member of the Emerald newsroom signed the above speech before it was presented to the board.

All the information divulged in this article regarding board discussions and e-mails is obtainable through Oregon Public Records Law.

The Emerald Board of Directors’ voting members are Mark Blaine, Kevin Boots, Melody Ward Leslie, Jeanne Long, Katie Miller, Rob Moseley, Laura Paz Smith and Mark Watson.

The third issue of Emerald Magazine was completed and sent to the press Monday, March 2, before the newsroom went on strike. It is slated to be on stands Monday, March 9.



 February 2010, Published in The Portland Alliance, New coalition challenges the status quo of “Pornland, OR”

I have been a feminist a long time. First just a feminist, then a liberal feminist, then a sex-positive feminist by my early 20s. To my life-changing joy, I discovered radical feminism and I'm still in that camp, but traipsing through my early 30s brought me to a new way of working for women's rights. I am now a soroptimist.
Since last week I have been asking people if they know who the Soroptimists are and what they do. Some folks had vague recollections of community do-gooders, but most externalized the dialogue that ran through my brain upon receiving word of the conference, “Sorop-wha?”

Soroptimist means “best for women.” They are an international volunteer organization of professional women comprising more than 1,400 clubs in 19 countries who work to improve the lives of women and girls. From microcredit to funding media projects and more, throughout the day I heard astonishing success stories that convinced me they're not bragging about that “best for women” declaration.

Soroptimists are the key constituents behind the Northwest Coalition Against Trafficking (NWCAT), the official sponsor of the anti-trafficking conference that drew a crowd of 500 to Portland's Red Lion Hotel on January 9. Soroptimist International Northwestern Region is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that has formed a coalition of agencies, political leaders, community organizers, media and business contacts throughout the Northwest to work against trafficking.

And mama mia is there trafficking in the Northwest. Deputy Keith Bickford, director of the Oregon State Human Trafficking Task Force, explained why Portland is a major slave hub in the United States, “Lots of pimps have come to Portland because there have been few prosecutions.” One pimp told him “schools are buffets” where slavers can find teen girls to turn out by the bunch. Bickford blamed the city's legal sex industry, lax trafficking enforcement, large numbers of homeless youths, proximity to two interstate freeways and seasonal farmwork, but highlighted the fact that pimps only provide what johns demand. Research on Scottish johns from 2008 revealed twice as many prostitute-using men identified themselves as politically left than politically right (32% versus 17%). Portland progressives need to stop smirking at the sexual capitalism that has masqueraded under liberalism's aegis for too long.

Talk of building a shelter for prostituted girls has been buzzing for about two years, but little headway has been made into the enormous project. Greg Moawad of the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office used his session “Prosecution 101” to explain the critical role of a safe haven in seeing traffickers brought to justice. Prosecution is almost impossible without victim testimony, but these girls are scared for their lives. “The very reasons she was selected as a victim makes it hard for her to effectively prosecute them,” Moawad reported. Between the arrest date and the court date, girls often run away rather than go to court and face their enslavers. A shelter will provide victims with the security and social assistances they need to put these career criminals in jail.

It is easy to be against trafficking, tantamount as it is with slavery. More difficult by far is to take issue with the trafficker's propaganda machine: the porn industry. Criticisms of pornography that go beyond jokes about bad music, fake breasts, and other purely aesthetic offenses are anathema in Portland. I have reported on many anti-trafficking events over the years and very rarely have the educational sessions or speakers broached the topic of pornography's influence on sexual slavery.

Imagine my delight when I walked into Esther Nelson's workshop and encountered a slide depicting pornography as a form of sex trafficking. Nelson was there representing the Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) and she did a bang-up job explaining how porn stimulates men's desire to use prostitutes. To separate pornography from prostitution is to deny that women and children are often exploited by pimps who can operate camaras. Men who pay to watch prostitutes be prostituted on film are long-distance johns, and many move on to buying sex locally. An increasingly pornified culture was Nelson's target and she criticized the current valorization of all things pimp; television shows like “Pimp My Ride”, feature movies like “Hustle & Flow,” and songs like 50 Cent's career-making “P.I.M.P”:

I let em' do as they please, as long as they get my cheese
Even if they gotta freeze, or if it's a hundred degrees
I keep em' on they knees, take a look under my sleeve
I ain't gotta give em' much, they happy with Mickey D's

Later that afternoon, Soroptimist International of the Americas President Cathy Standiford made a soroptimist out of me when she also pointed a finger-o'-blame at pornography, “80 percent of prostitutes say johns have shown them porn to illustrate what they want.”
Read the rest

Pornography is fundamentally an experience of bought sex, and it is used by pimps to train and groom young girls into prostitution. So-called “modeling agents” take naked photos then threaten to release them publicly unless the girls turn tricks, and one Portland prostitute out of “the life” for years was blackmailed by a former john who threatened to show pictures to her new family if she didn't have sex with him. I found Standiford's forthright statements about internet porn and the increase in sadistic porn's popularity especially refreshing after a decade of lily-livered liberal feminists avoiding the subject.

William G. Hillar's liver is dark, dark red. In 1988, while traveling with schoolmates in Southeast Asia, kidnappers pulled Hillar’s 17-year old daughter off a train and forced her into prostitution. Despite an exhaustive global search, the former Colonel of the U.S. Army Special Forces was unable to save his daughter, and the movie "Taken," starring Liam Neeson is loosely based on his story.

He was a magnetic speaker who ruled the room. I won't tell you the absolutely horrific details of how his daughter was slowly killed to teach other enslaved women the consequences of trying to escape. The worst tortures your imagination could conjure would barely dent the reality. What I want to tell you is what Hillar wants people to understand about sex trafficking:

We have a problem in this country, and a part of that problem is manifested by the fact most of us are amazed that human trafficking is so big here in the Northwest. Part of that problem is that there is a huge gender inequality issue and a double standard that allows us today – still today – to objectify a woman and make them something different than men...It might be that pimps are the problems, but I think they're the middle men. I don't like the pimp just like everybody else, but we need to get to the root cause and it has to do with morality and treating people like equals with their own dignity.

It was a long day of hearing atrocity after atrocity punctuated by moments of hope. The sky started fading to black, and the emotional tenor was a fever pitch when Jeri Williams came onstage. She opened with, “I had to take my shoes off because I'm really feeling like I'm standing on holy ground right now. I have never seen this many people wanting to support this issue before.”

Williams is the program manager for Portland's Office of Neighborhood Involvement and has a long history as a labor organizer. In the summer of 1989, she moved to Portland in order to escape an abusive husband and got jumped into a gang. All of them raped her. During the day she was locked in a bedroom, and every night she was let out to turn at least 15 tricks in order to make her quota of $300 or get beaten.
With the help of Portland's Council for Prostitution Alternatives (CPA) and the West Women's Shelter, Williams was able to turn her life around and become a community leader. CPA's all-volunteer group is still providing crucial services to prostituted women, but without the safe space of a shelter the path to recovery remains impossibly difficult for the most vulnerable women.

Jane Velez-Mitchell, host of CNN's Headline News show “Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell” and author of the book "iWant: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life," was awarded the Soroptimist Ruby Award for women who work to improve the lives of women and girls. A recovering alcoholic, out lesbian, and impassioned animal rights advocate, Velez-Mitchell bravely admitted to having the aforementioned “Soro-wha?” moment upon receiving news of the award.
She sure knows who they are now, and like me she has vowed to get immediately involved with this group of incredibly effective women. Also like me, she uses the power of media to tell women's stories and project women's voices into the world. Here's a snippet from Velez-Mitchell's show dated January 14th, a mere five days after Saturday's conference:

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There is a bill in the Senate, Jeri Williams. You are a survivor. It would crack down on the pimps and the johns. Ten seconds. Why should Americans support it?

WILLIAMS: Americans should support it because, unless we decrease the demand, the supply will be there of young children. If common sense were common, then we`d all have it. And the issue right now is that men should be going to jail for raping children.

I don't know what feminism means anymore. I have been banned from posting at the two largest feminist blogs on the internet and shunned by many more for insisting prostitution is slavery, not work. Soroptimist means “best for women.” These are the world-changing women I've been waiting for.

Samantha Berg



January 31, 2012, SF official wants to restrict police role in terrorism probes, By California Watch,
A San Francisco politician wants tougher oversight of local police and the role they play in terrorism investigations following complaints from residents that they were unnecessarily targeted for questioning and surveillance by Joint Terrorism Task Forces.

Dozens of new task forces led by the FBI were created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks so local, state and federal law enforcement could work together to smoke out terrorism plots. But at times, they’ve been accused of too zealously collecting intelligence on people who have done little or nothing wrong.
San Francisco City and County Supervisor Jane Kim wants the police department to fall in line with state and local privacy rules that restrict what information police can amass, and she wants investigators to refrain from gathering intelligence on people unless there is reasonable suspicion that the person has engaged in criminal conduct.

Controversy around law enforcement spying led to new general orders adopted during the 1990s that, among other things, required senior approval for San Francisco Police Department investigations of a person or group involved in First Amendment activities, such as political demonstrations. The rules also directed that the independent San Francisco Police Commission periodically review the investigations for compliance.But civil liberties groups say police in San Francisco quietly signed a 2007 memorandum with the FBI in which they agreed to follow less-restrictive federal guidelines on intelligence gathering.

Last week, the police department issued a statement saying that the agreement no longer applied and that Chief Greg Suhr, who was appointed by Mayor Ed Lee last year, had since issued an order declaring that all personnel participating in a terrorism task force still operate under the San Francisco department's chain of command and must comply with California law.

“Meaning no disrespect to the authors and supporters of the proposed ordinance, the chief believes that their concerns are already addressed,” the statement says.

The San Francisco Human Rights Commission heard testimony on the issue of police surveillance during a 2010 public meeting in which one civil rights attorney claimed that the FBI had attempted to entice his clients into becoming informants with the promise of citizenship and legal status.

The American Civil Liberties Union in December accused the FBI of using “community outreach” in California as a ruse to racially profile and gather intelligence on Muslims. Heavily redacted documents the group obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed agents had compiled personal information like Social Security numbers and searched state vehicle registration records for the names of people they’d come into contact with at community events.

“The FBI should be honest with community organizations about what information is being collected during meetings and purge any improperly collected information,” Michael German, an FBI agent-turned-ACLU senior policy counsel, said at the time.

While the advocacy group says it considered the bureau’s conduct illegal, FBI officials have argued that they’re simply trying to ease relations with the Muslim community and see to it that the civil rights of people who might be perceived as potential terrorists are protected.

Supervisor Kim is taking cues in part from rules recently instituted in Portland, Ore., long the only city nationally to eschew an intimate partnership with the FBI on matters related to terrorism. Local officials there revisited the decision after the FBI announced charges against a teenager named Mohamed Mohamud in 2010 for allegedly attempting to bomb a Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Mohamud and several other terror suspects since Sept. 11 have claimed they were entrapped by FBI informants who coaxed them into attempted attacks and gave them bogus detonating devices that agents knew all along would cause no harm.

After months of wrangling, Portland eventually decided to rejoin the task force, but only after establishing a set of rules similar to what San Francisco is considering now, such as requiring that terrorism investigations have a "criminal nexus" before Portland officers proceed.

The public learned only after the alleged Christmas tree plot that the city’s mayor had not known the FBI investigation was occurring, nor reportedly did the local FBI special agent in charge know that a previous agreement called on him to brief the mayor about such probes.

Kim in San Francisco said she was motivated by complaints from Muslim and Arabic small-business owners in her district who claimed they were questioned by law enforcement without clear justification.
“We obviously can’t have an impact in terms of what the FBI does,” Kim said in an interview. “But we can certainly have oversight with the SFPD. … We would at least require that there be reasonable suspicion before they launch an investigation and start questioning and detaining members of our community.”
© Copyright 2012 The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC. An MLIM LLC Company. All rights reserved.

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