From the Archive: You can’t understand the worsening Mideast violence without knowing the modern history of Palestine, a story that begins with European anti-Semitism causing Zionists to claim Palestine for the Jews and to expel the Arabs, wrote retired U.S. diplomat William R. Polk in the first of three parts.
In England, we see most clearly what some leading politicians thought might be the answer: encouraging the emigration of Jews from Europe to the colonies. One of the early proponents of this, essentially anti-Semitic, policy was Sir Laurence Oliphant. As he proposed, getting rid of the Jews as neighbors, that is, in England, and thus solving the “Jewish Problem” would foster British trade and help Britain consolidate its empire if they established themselves as colonies in Africa or Asia.
Oliphant, his successors in the British government and others in the French government were not concerned about what their policies did to native peoples. The British were keen to take the lands of African blacks and to plunder the Indians of India while the French engaged in policies approaching genocide in Algeria. As focused on Palestine, the British sought to solve the problem of what to do with the Jews at the expense of peoples who could not defend themselves, and to benefit from the work of the Jews rather like medieval kings did, rather than to reform their own attitudes toward Jews.
Moreover, for the most laudable of reasons, the Zionist regulation that forbade exploitation of natives, the dispossessed villagers could not even work as landless laborers on their former lands. Nor could the land ever be repurchased from the Jewish National Fund which provided that the land was inalienable.
First, the Zionists understood and were informed by the British studies that if they were to succeed in taking over Palestine, they would need far more Jewish immigrants than the British were likely to allow. So already in 1934, shortly after the Hope-Simpson report, they organized the first ship, a Greek tramp steamer, to take “illegals” to Palestine. The little SS Velos would be the first in what became a virtual fleet, and the 300 passengers it carried would be followed by many thousands in the years to come. British attempts to limit the flow, to try to keep the peace in Palestine, were generally ineffective and were, in part nullified by the anti-Semitism of the European states and particularly by the Nazis.
Their first move was to take over, literally to buy, the virtually defunct Red Cross headquarters in Romania. The newly arrived Soviet army was otherwise occupied so under the “Red Cross” emblem, the Zionist organization was able to restart the program of shipping Jews to Palestine. What the Zionist agents found was that the condition of the hundreds of thousands of remaining Romanian Jews was desperate; they were willing to go anywhere to get out Romania. Allegedly 150,000 signed up to go to Palestine, but the problem remained, how to get them there.
So, the Zionists felt justified in slandering, boycotting or even destroying those who thwarted or threatened to reveal their actions. When the head of the United Nations program charged with giving aid to the displaced persons in Germany, General Sir Frederick Morgan, reported that some “unknown Jewish organization” was running a program to transfer European Jews to Palestine, exactly what they were doing he was pilloried as an anti-Semite.
But the “brutal and murderous crime an insane act of terrorism” accomplished its purpose. Almost everyone, except of course the Palestinians, had concluded that the attempt by the British to establish an acceptable level of security had failed.
Feeling increasing isolated and desperate to turn to the host of problems it faced, both domestically and throughout the other parts of its increasingly fragile empire, the British government urged that America join in what was hoped to be a final commission, the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, which was to focus not primarily on Palestine but, for the first time, on the plight of the European Jewish community.
Then on April 10, about five weeks before the final British withdrawal, came the event that would establish the precondition of the Palestinian refugee tragedy, the Deir Yasin massacre. The regular Zionist army, Haganah, had tried to take the village, known to be peaceful and, insofar as anyone then was, neutral, and ordered the terrorist group, the Irgun, which was under its command, to help.
Together the two forces captured the village. The Irgun, possibly acting alone, then massacred the entire village population, men, women and children, and called a press conference to announce its deed and to proclaim that this was the beginning of the conquest of Palestine and Trans-Jordan. Horror and fear spread throughout Palestine. The precondition for the flight of the entire Palestinian community had been established. Much worse was to follow.


George Roman, a former standout football player at Penn Hills High School who later went on to play three seasons in the NFL, died June 30 at his home in Columbus, Ga. He was 77.
Mr. Roman, who grew up in Verona, had suffered from emphysema and diabetes.
Large for his day at 6 feet, 4 inches and weighing more than 240 pounds during his pro career, Mr. Roman decided against attending better-known schools such as Notre Dame and Wisconsin to enroll at Western Reserve College in Cleveland.
Less than a year into his college education, the outbreak of World War II led to Mr. Roman being drafted into the Army. He served as a medic from 1943 to 1946, spending 2 1/2 years in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations.
After his tour of duty was over, Mr. Roman returned to Western Reserve for two more seasons before being drafted in 1948 by the Boston Yankees of the NFL as a defensive tackle. He also played for the New York Bulldogs in 1949 and for the New York Giants in 1950.
A back injury cut short his professional career.
"He was just so big that he'd just roll over you in games," remembered childhood friend Bill Patellos. "There wasn't just two guys on him. Sometimes it took three guys on him to knock him down. Back in those days if you were 180, 190 pounds you were a brute. He was 6-4, 220 in high school easy. But he was also a calm individual. Just because he was big, he wasn't one of those bullies."
During his travels in the Army and in professional football, Mr. Roman rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. He once dated singer Patti Page, befriended actor John Wayne and developed friendships with other up-and-coming players of the era, such as Tom Landry and Bobby Kennedy, who played for Harvard in 1948.
"His path crossed [those of] so many interesting people. He could expound on any subject you wanted to talk about."
Mr. Roman brought his stories and life experiences to the classroom after his playing career. In 1956, he taught science and English at Boysville High School in Macon, Mich., and later at Brake Junior High in the Taylor, Mich., public school system until retiring in 1985.
He spent the past 17 years in retirement in Georgia.
He is member of the athletic halls of fame at Penn Hills and Case Western Reserve University.
In addition to his sister Cathy, Mr. Roman is survived by four children, Peter Schileci of Valencia, Calif., and Mark Schilecci, Paul Schilleci and Pamela Davis, all of Aubrey, Texas; and two sisters, Mary Lorraine Gruber of Bedford, Ohio, and Renee Dolores Duda of Parma, Ohio.
Interment was in All Saints Cemetery in Braddock.


ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A phone app and a database of more than 50 million voters were key weapons in the successful campaign of cricket legend Imran Khan in last month’s general election, though rivals allege Khan also received clandestine aid from Pakistan’s powerful military.
It partly explains why Khan’s party managed to win tight-margin races in the nuclear-armed nation of 208 million people, though Khan’s rivals allege he also benefited from the powerful military’s support - an allegation he staunchly denies.
Developed by a small tech team, the CMS was a key response to Khan’s bitter complaints after the 2013 poll loss that his party failed to translate mass popularity into votes because it did not know the “art of winning elections”.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ran a more erratic campaign, hurt by divisions within the party and the loss of key leaders who were either disqualified or in case of Sharif and his daughter, jailed.
Weeks before the elections, Khan sent out a video via WhatsApp urging PTI candidates to embrace CMS.
Created by former U.S.-based real estate businessman Tariq Din and Shahzad Gul, a tech consultant, the early version of the system was not immediately embraced by PTI.
By typing in a voter’s identity card number into the app, PTI workers could see details such as family home address, who else lived in the same household, and where they needed to vote.
It became so crucial to the PTI campaign that when on election day the programme went down for an hour, it triggered some panic in the party’s ranks.
When CMS came back up, Khan’s ally messaged again: “Thank God”.
CMS architects say the system’s power was only partly utilised as there was not enough time to train workers across the country and some politicians resisted using it.
In the run up to election day, PTI workers were also able to print out “parchis”, or slips, that voters needed to enter the polling station. PML-N workers had to help voters fill the paper slips with a pen.


Filed to: Tracy mcgrady?Filed to: Tracy mcgrady?
Tracy McGrady, who's surprising just about everyone including probably Tracy McGrady with a good season so far in Atlanta, is launching a new daily deals site for NBA fans and gadget lovers and collector clock collectors. And the most bizarre thing about it might be how much sense it makes.
TMac's Deals has discounted items from places like Adidas (a longtime McGrady sponsor), Lids, Sports Authority, Best Buy, Finish Line, and whoever makes this Tracy McGrady street sign that appears to be the only "Recommended" deal on the site so far.
Which sounds plenty random and out there on its own. But let's go down the list of reasons this actually isn't super crazy: People buy stuff from NBA players. T-Mac is still a big enough name to draw some rubbernecking. NBA fans are quietly pretty tech savvy. And the content on the site fits a niche that's mostly ignored by Groupon, LivingSocial and Woot.
And I mean, if Stephon Marbury can be a successful businessman, McGrady can figure this thing out, right?


Tired of being “between gigs”?
WHAT: Two “Navigating the Future” job-hunting workshops on cover letters, resumes and interview tips.
Stand out in the candidate pool! Your cover letter and rÃ©sumÃ© provide the first impression you make to a potential employer. Learn tips and techniques to put together a cover letter and rÃ©sumÃ© that will get positive results.
Get valuable tips about how to prepare for a successful interview and find out what to expect during the interview process. Human Resources staff members will provide an overview of various interview questions that will prepare you in making a lasting impression on your potential employer.
WHERE: Highline Community Collegeâ€™s main campus, Building 99, room 132. Highlineâ€™s main campus is located midway between Seattle and Tacoma at South 240th Street and Pacific Highway South (Highway 99); address: 2400 S. 240th St., Des Moines, WA 98198.
RSVP: To register, call (206) 878-3710, ext. 3812, or e-mail [email protected] .
Highline Community College was founded in 1961 as the first community college in King County. With approximately 10,000 students and 350,000 alumni, it is one of the stateâ€™s largest institutions of higher education. The college offers a wide range of academic transfer and professional-technical education programs, with day, evening and weekend classes. Alumni include former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, entrepreneur Junki Yoshida and Washington state poet laureate Sam Green (and yes, even the Publisher/Editor of the BTB…).


LivingstonDaily.com is the only place to find all of the automotive deals in Livingston County.
Whether you are looking to buy or lease a new or used automobile or even save some cash on tires, car washes or maintenance like oil changes, LivingstonDaily.com has you covered.
Check back each week for all new automotive and service deals. Only at LivingstonDaily.com. To view or download this week's best auto deals, click the links above. Each advertisement will download in an easy-to-use PDF format that you can save and print out for later use.
Feb. 3, 2017, 10:20 a.m.
Feb. 3, 2017, 10:21 a.m.
Feb. 3, 2017, 10:22 a.m.


Boeing (NYSE: BA), which has come under criticism from Pentagon officials over delays to the KC-46 refueling tanker, is revamping its defense unit in a bid to better manage the tanker and other weapons programs and improve its reputation.
The first batch of tankers, originally slated for delivery last August, are now supposed to arrive before year's end, but Air Force officials have expressed concern that the timetable will slip into 2019. The Pentagon says there are still major deficiencies that must be worked out before deliveries can begin, including issues with the tanker's remote-vision system that have caused the refueling boom to scratch fighters.
"One of our frustrations with Boeing is they're much more focused on their commercial activity than on getting this right for the Air Force, and getting these aircraft to the Air Force," Wilson said, adding that Air Force officials held face-to-face meetings with Boeing in recent weeks about the KC-46, and that "we have asked them to put their A-team on this to get the problems fixed."
The commercial derivatives unit, which will be based in Seattle, would seemingly address Wilson's criticism and show that the company is devoting necessary resources to the KC-46 project. The tanker is a derivative of the 767 commercial model, and the new unit will be led by Tim Peters, a former KC-46 program manager.
A Boeing spokesman told Defense One that the revamp has been under consideration for several months and was not prompted by Wilson's criticism. Regardless, investors and the Pentagon alike should be glad to see Boeing taking steps to get the KC-46 on track.
To be clear, Boeing is hardly the only defense contractor to deal with cost overruns or project delays. Look no further than Lockheed Martin's issues with the F-35 for another very visible example. Given the Pentagon's demand for bleeding-edge technologies, some delays or issues are to be expected.
What the Pentagon does demand is full effort from its contractors. The reason Wilson's statements were so notable was that she suggested Boeing wasn't taking its defense work seriously enough. To the extent that this overhaul shows that Boeing is focused on the issues with the KC-46, it's an important step even if the tanker does get pushed back into 2019.
With defense spending on the rise, it's a poor time to be on the Pentagon's bad side. Boeing's move to shore up the tanker program -- even if months in the making -- is a prudent one for the sake of its entire defense business.


Editor's note: The following column originally appeared on AEIdeas, the American Enterprise Institute blog.
The Fox News poll released Thursday night had a lot of bad news for Donald Trump. He is now down seven points against Hillary Clinton, 45 percent to 38 percent. And after a terrible two weeks in which he spent several days attacking a former Miss Universe, then saw the release of a “hot mic” recording in which he bragged about groping women, then spent several days attacking Republicans who distanced themselves from him over the video of him bragging about groping, Trump has lost significant ground among women.
Fox asked voters whether the two candidates were “very qualified,” “somewhat qualified,” “not very qualified” or “not at all” qualified to be president.
Forty-nine percent said Trump was “not at all” qualified to be president. In other words, half of all American voters believe Trump has no business being anywhere near the Oval Office. That is a devastating number.
Another 7 percent say he is “not very” qualified, so overall 56 percent of Americans believe he is not qualified to be president, compared to just 31 percent who say that about Clinton.
Now those numbers are not broken down by state, so it is possible that in states where Trump is competitive a smaller fraction of the electorate considers him unqualified. And with third party candidates pulling 10 percent of the vote, he only needs a plurality to win. But still, that is a tough ceiling to break through.
It appears that unless some Americans plan to pull the lever for a candidate they believe in unqualified for the job, Trump is going to have a hard time winning the White House.


work to combat Islamic extremism.
Cham Muslims at their prayers in a mosque on Oudong mountain in Kampong Speu province in this file photo.
CAMBODIAN police in three provinces are to attend seminars this week as part of a US effort to promote a closer relationship between Cham communities and Cambodian law enforcement officials as they attempt to keep Islamic extremism at bay in the Kingdom.
In a speech Monday at the opening of the first seminar in Phnom Penh, US Ambassador Carol Rodley said the case of convicted Bali bomber Hambali, who took refuge in Cambodia in 2003, showed that no Muslim communities were immune from malignant outside influences.
"Muslim leaders in Cambodia have been forthright and united in their condemnation of terrorism, pointing out that Islam is a religion of peace," she told the audience.
"Through your dialogue and mutual understanding, networks and bonds can be created which will go a long way towards the prevention of any type of threat - be it terrorist, criminal or social."
US embassy spokesman John Johnson said the seminars, which will be held Tuesday in Kampong Cham and Thursday in Kampot, would focus on ensuring that effective local police efforts involved participation from local Cham communities.
He added that 150 police were expected to take part in the seminars, which are to feature a speaker from the US and two law enforcement experts from Indonesia with firsthand experience of policing in Muslim minority areas.
Rodley added that the knowledge gained in the seminars would help Chams build "stable communit[ies]" and "prevent future Hambalis from taking refuge on Cambodian soil".
Cham representatives and law enforcement officials said they were glad to support the US initiative and called on authorities to work more closely with Cambodia's estimated 400,000 Cham Muslims.
"I am happy to support the US embassy in providing training courses on law enforcement to the authorities who are working with Muslim communities in Cambodia," said Othsman Hassan, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Labour who is also Cham.
"I hope police authorities will make an effort to do their professional duty and cooperate with Khmer Muslim communities for their peaceful social development."
While he had not heard of the seminar, Phnom Penh police Chief Touch Naruth said he hoped law enforcement officials who attended the course would gain experience in working with Cham communities, adding that police who know the law well enjoy "the support and encouragement of the people".
Ahmad Yahya, a Cham government adviser, also said he knew little about the forums but offered his support to all US efforts to prevent extremism from becoming embedded in local Cham communities.
But when asked whether close policing of Cham communities could create problems, he responded that the obligation to prevent Islamic extremism went both ways.
"I don't think [this is a problem]. It is the duty of the police to watch everything," he said Tuesday.
"As Muslim community leaders, we must also watch and see who comes to Cambodia, and for what."


Published: July 30, 2014 at 08:27 p.m.
Updated: Aug. 1, 2014 at 05:16 p.m.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2014 will be enshrined on Saturday. Each day this week, the Around the League crew will pick a player that we believe is also deserving of enshrinement.
The player with the most Super Bowl rings in NFL history has been denied election to the Hall of Fame for five years running.
Charles Haley, a premier pass rusher on the best squads of the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys, has hoisted the Lombardi Trophy five times but has yet to be fitted for a gold jacket in Canton.
If there was an NFC game of the week in the late 1980s and early 1990s, chances are Haley was prominently featured -- often making impact plays.
Haley appeared in six NFC Championship Games in a span of seven seasons. His team won the division in 10 of his 12 years and produced a collective .700 winning percentage. He was twice named NFC Defensive Player of the Year and finished his career with 100.5 sacks.
Haley played all three downs in San Francisco as the rare outside linebacker capable of stuffing the run and harassing quarterbacks. The NFC's balance of power tilted in 1992 when he was traded to Dallas and converted to defensive end.
Buoyed by Haley's playmaking presence on defense, the Cowboys proceeded to reel off three Super Bowl victories in four years, displacing the 49ers dynasty with one of their own.
Legendary Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman has said he's "amazed" that Haley's contributions have not been recognized with a bust in Canton.
Former coach Jimmy Johnson has questioned the voting process that has bypassed Haley in favor of less accomplished players.
"I've said many, many times that Charles Haley should have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago," Johnson said. "No offense to any of the players in there, but I coached and coached against a lot of the players that are in the Hall of Fame, and Charles Haley is better than them."
Armed with a bulletproof on-field résumé, Haley can thank his off-field exploits for the voters' reluctance to place him in football's version of Valhalla.
Haley's locker-room antics would make Richie Incognito blush. He was famously prickly toward reporters.
Voters are instructed to ignore off-field factors, but they are only human. Once those who took the affronts personally are replaced by a new generation of voters, Haley will be rewarded as one of the best defensive players of his generation.
The latest Around The League Podcast talks about the good and bad out of Cowboys camp, then plays the "What's More Likely?" game.


AN MP is calling for people to add a splash of pink to their usual outfits ahead of a breast cancer fundraiser.
Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage will be supporting this year’s Wear It Pink fundraiser at the Houses of Parliament, which will take place on Friday, October 19.
The event, held in support of Breast Cancer Now, will raise money for vital breast cancer research.
Ms Dinenage is calling for people across the region to sign up to the event and wear something pink for the day.
She said: ‘Breast cancer is still the most common form of cancer in the UK – that’s why I’m so passionate about encouraging everyone in Gosport to take part.
‘Wear It Pink is great way to come together with friends and family to have fun whilst raising money for Breast Cancer Now’s vital research.
‘As you can see from my photograph, all it takes is an additional splash of pink.
Baroness Delyth Morgan, chief executive at Breast Cancer Now, added: ‘We hope that by wearing pink, Caroline will encourage her constituents in Gosport to get involved and fundraise in their homes, schools or workplaces, and help us to continue to fund world-class research into this devastating disease.
To sign up, go to wearitpink.org/2018MP.


Kendall and Kylie Jenner achieved a fashionable slam dunk while sitting courtside on Tuesday evening (Mar. 16) as the stylish siblings took in a match between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. Their bold, front-row fashion definitely made a statement.
Kim Kardashian’s younger sisters attended the basketball game in party-ready ensembles.
Kendall and Kylie both rocked thigh-high boots at the game.
Dressed in an oversized beige coat and black choker necklace, Kendall opted for a pair of thigh-high Sophia Webster boots. The stiletto Mila shoes, which retail for USD$2,250, laced up to the model’s thighs as she rocked the Kardashian family’s signature black-and-white colour palette.
Following her sister’s lead, Kylie also wore boots to the sporting event. The 18-year-old anchored her red-and-white jersey dress with over-the-knee black patent Kurt Geiger boots. However, unlike her model sister's stilettos, the avid Snapchatter's shoes featured a chunky heel.
Kylie shared a snap of the duo's twinning boot moment with her nearly 55 million Instagram followers. She captioned the photo, “Game shoes.” The Kylie Lip Kit founder's shoes are currently available here for USD$150.


While walking through the massive exhibit hall today, I was handed a couple of sample comics as I passed by a booth. I was about to put them in my bag when I noticed that they were from the American Physical Society; one was about Spectra the Laser Girl and the other was about Nikola Tesla (battling the nefarious Thomas Edison). I backtracked so I could find out more. Physicist Rebecca Thompson-Flagg, dressed as Spectra, explained that they made some fun superhero comics that also teach a little science. Spectra has all the powers that actual lasers do, and the Tesla-inspired comic is more of a non-fiction piece that shows what an interesting character Tesla really was.
But what I thought was particularly cool was this little device demonstrated in the video above. (Apologies for the poor sound quality; the exhibit hall is not a quiet place.) Here's the gist: the SpectraSound is a little assemble-it-yourself kit that plugs into the audio-out port of your iPod or other audio device, and sends it to a small laser pointer. The device modulates the laser, which is then received by a solar cell attached to an audio jack that you can plug into a speaker across the room, or down the hall, or around a corner reflected in a mirror. Basically, you can send audio across pretty great distances with a laser! Pretty awesome.
The kit is $15 and is available here. For more about Spectra, visit Physics Central.


Well, at least one 4-year-old Australian cattle dog can.
Whisper apparently became the first "wingsuit BASE jumping dog" in the world, when the Queensland Heeler flew down the Eiger in Switzerland attached to her owner, Dean Potter, a self-described "climber, line walker and human-body-flyer."
Potter is a Yosemite National Park resident who runs a company called "Whisper Films." And in August 2013, he strapped on a GoPro camera to capture the dog-and-man jump off the 13,025-foot Eiger, a limestone buttress known in mountaineering as one of the six great north faces of the Alps.
A 46-second video Potter posted on May 27 attracted more than 350,000 views by Thursday morning. Potter's Instagram account was hopping, too, with fans liking still images of Whisper being thrown up into the air and clinging to a mountaineering rope.
The YouTube clip shows the little gray dog with brown legs, who wore glasses and a blue cap while strapped to the backpack Potter wore during the free fall, sniffing the wind and looking around at the scenery on her way down to the ground. The end of the video shows him prancing, jumping and licking Potter's girlfriend, Jen Rapp.
In an interview Thursday from Yosemite, where he lives in a tepee on 32 acres of property near Glacier Point, Potter said Whisper loves the jumps. He believes his dog is the first to take part in jumps of this kind.
"Whisper does what she wants to do," he said, adding that she's afraid of vacuum cleaners, but apparently not of heights. "If she doesn't want to do something, she runs away. And she's faster than us."
Whisper, Potter said, sits on his wingsuit each time he pulls it out, as if she doesn't want him to jump without her. She's jumped about a dozen times, he said.
"And no, no animal rights activists have ever attacked us," he said.
In a National Geographic post last year, Potter wrote that he has spent more than 20 years ascending noteworthy big walls — without ropes — and is one of the pioneers of both slacklining and BASE jumping. He said he invented free BASE, a form of free solo climbing that uses a parachute for protection in 2008.
National Geographic wrote about Potter as the 2009 Adventurer of the Year.


Stephen S. Campanelli has spent the past three decades carving out an amazing career as a cameraman on some of Hollywood’s biggest films. Most notably, he has served as along-time camera operator for film icon and legendary director, Clint Eastwood, which is certainly an amazing place to cut your teeth. In 2015, Campanelli has made the transition to the director’s chair for his feature film debut. The result is “Momentum” — a fun, fast-moving action-thriller starring Olga Kurylenko and James Purefoy. The story focuses on Alex (Olga Kurylenko), an infiltration expert with a secret past. She accidentally reveals her identity during what should have been a routine heist, quickly finding herself mixed up in a government conspiracy and entangled in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with a master assassin (James Purefoy) and his team of killers. Armed with her own set of lethal skills, Alex looks to exact revenge for her murdered friends while uncovering the truth. Jason Price of Icon Vs. Icon recently caught up with Stephen S. Campanelli to discuss his career, the challenges of bringing his directorial debut from script to screen and what the future might hold for him in the director’s chair.
You are a seasoned veteran of the film industry and have a ton of great credits to your name. How did you get started on your journey?
No one in my family is in the film business. I don’t know why but one day I just picked up my parents Super 8 camera and started making some home movies. I borrowed some ketchup from my mom’s fridge to make blood and did recreations of “The Godfather” and film’s like that, editing in camera, with all of my friends. I never really thought about making it a career, it was just for fun. Somehow, I kept getting drawn to it and kept filming little movies. When I went to University, I took a film course and I instantly fell in love with it and said, “This is what I want to do!” I did a three-year program and fell in love with the art form. I worked my way up from the bottom. I always knew I wanted to do camera and I made my mark. I did a lot of steadicam and there was hardly any of it back then. I learned that craft and it was a very sought after machine on many TV shows and features. I just kept working really hard to get to where I am today.
Who were some of the big influences that impacted you as a filmmaker?
Director Stephen S. Campanelli on set.
That brings us to your latest project, your directorial debut, “Momentum.” What brought you to this project?
It came to me through a friend, my composer. He had worked with the producer before and they were looking for a new director for the project. He recommended me and said, “He is primed to direct. That is all he wants to do now.” Luckily, the script came to me. It needed a bit of work but I gave the producer my notes on how I wanted to change it and make it better. He agreed with all of them and told me I had the job. That is how it came to me. I don’t know if I wouldn’t have chosen “Momentum” as my first movie because it was a huge undertaking and doing a huge action movie as your first film as a director is a tough one! I felt very well prepared for it after being a cameraman for 25 years. I knew where to put the camera, how to deal with actors and how to deal with the crew, so it was a seamless transition. I felt very confident, I knew what I wanted and I had my cinematographer, Glen MacPherson, by my side to help me along. Like I said, it wouldn’t have been my normal first choice but I am glad it was! It was a great thrill ride and I really enjoyed it!
Did you have any particular goals or aspirations for the film? Anything you wanted to tackle from a directorial standpoint?
Yeah. It’s funny because working with Clint all these years, it has become obvious that he is a great storyteller but, as I said, he doesn’t let the camera go to crazy to take you out of the movie. With “Momentum,” because it is an action film, I thought I wanted to make the camera and the storytelling very visual to help move along what was on the page. Those are the things I really tried. I always had written on my script and my mandate to the camera crew was to always shoot through shifts. That was written on my script and was a constant reminder to the old films of Hitchcock that have some foreground, middleground and background, so I always had elements in front of the lens to really have the camera travel through and it gives the film a great sense of depth. That was the one thing I don’t get to do much of on Clint’s films but I wanted to make it my style for my own film. I think we achieved that very well and I am very proud of the look of the film and what the camera guys did!
What adjustments did you have to make with the script when you started shooting?
The cast of the film is terrific. What can you tell us about the process of finding the right mix of actors to bring the characters to life?
That is a good question because I think on some movies casting can be a major hassle. I was very fortunate to have worked with Olga on a movie called “Seven Psychopaths,” where I worked as a camera operator. She is so beautiful and so nice. She is really the sweetest person and very talented. I had thought to myself, “One day if I direct, I want to see if I can get her in the movie.” So, I stayed in touch with her and, luckily enough, when this movie came along she read the script and she liked it. It is a female lead, which I think is something lacking in the market right now, so she was totally attracted to it. With James Purefoy, we had never met, but I saw him on “The Following” and thought, “Oh my God! This is the perfect bad guy!” Luckily, through CAA, we got a hold of him. We had a lovely phone conversation. It was very sweet because he said, “I really like the script. We can make it better of course, but after talking to you I am even more excited about working on this movie.” That was a huge compliment. I am a huge fan of his work. I met him for the first time in South Africa and it was a real treat to see him. Morgan Freeman is someone who I have worked with a bunch of times. He has always been very supportive of my career. He said, “When you do your first movie, let me know if I can help you out at all.” That is how I got him for the movie! It all came together quite nicely!
Obviously, you have years of experience under your belt but you undoubtedly learn something with every project. What was biggest lesson you learned from directing your first feature?
The biggest hurdle or challenge for me was that we filmed it in Capetown, South Africa and I didn’t have any of my support crew with me, except for my cinematographer. It was all local South African crews and I didn’t know anybody. I felt I was very alone. Normally, I would have my own production designer, first assistant director, sound guys and a bunch of other key people to surround me. That is the thing with Clint, he has kept the same people around for 21 years and we are a tight family. That allows everything to operate very smoothly. That wasn’t the case for this film. The crew was fantastic but we had to get to know each other and try to fit everything into a very tight, 36 day schedule. It was a bumpy ride because we didn’t have the trust among each other and there were a lot of people who had never worked together before. It became a big challenge to try and get the amount of work done we needed everyday. In addition, we couldn’t work more than 12 hours a day. That was the toughest thing for me, feeling very alone and not being surrounded by the people I would normally go to direct a movie. In the end, like I said, the crew and cast came through with flying colors and we managed to make a great film.
Was there a film you worked on in the past that had a big impact on you and your craft?
To be very honest, every time I have worked with Clint, it has been very inspiring because I see the way he works with the crew, the cast and the way he tells a story so simply. I have wanted to direct for 10 to 15 years but I was enjoying working with Clint so much. I think the catalyst that made me want to direct was a film I worked on as a camera operator called “The Maze Runner.” The director was Wes Ball, a great guy, but very young and didn’t have a lot of set experience. He came up to me and said, “I really need your help in this movie. I have seen your resume.” I basically collaborated with him and the cinematographer and it was a big success. That is the point where I knew I really wanted to stop as a camera operator and I wanted to direct and be responsible for my own final product. I just came back for one more Clint Eastwood movie. We just finished the Sully Sullenberger story, the guy who landed the plane in the Hudson River, but I am going to go right back to directing again. I am very happy to have worked on that project. I will always work with Clint but I am not trying to do any jobs but my own at this point!
What can we expect from you next? Is there a clear trajectory at this point?
Yeah. I directed a second film called “Rio Heat.” We shot it in Rio De Janeiro, hence the title. It is a buddy cop movie, something kind of like “Moonlighting,” where there are two partners who should never be together. Harvey Keitel plays, for lack of a better comparison, a “Charlie’s Angels” type of character who keeps giving them their assignments and watches the chaos unfold. It is more of a light-hearted action comedy. It is a lot of fun. They are in the process of selling it right now, so I don’t know where it is going to end up but it should be out next year sometime!
You can definitely serve as a great inspiration to young filmmakers. What is the best lesson we can take from your journey so far?
The first thing I think of is don’t be afraid to work hard, sacrifice and stay dedicated. It is a really tough grind to get to the top but when you get there it is worth it! Another thing I tell people is to dream big. I didn’t dream big enough. I wanted to meet Clint Eastwood as a kid, just as a fan and get an autograph or a picture. I never thought I would be working with him 21 years later! I always tell people, “If you are going to dream, dream bigger” because one day you will actually achieve it. That is my thing — work hard, be dedicated, be personable because if people like you they want to be around you and work with you and if you do your job well it is more of a bonus. Those are my words of advice!
Awesome! Thanks so much for your time today. The film is terrific and I can’t wait to see where your journey takes you in the future! I really thought “Momentum” was a homerun!
We will be spreading the word!
I really appreciate it! Thank you!
Starz Digital released the film theatircally in October and Anchor Bay Entertainment is releasing the film on Blu-ray and DVD on December 1st.


It should have been a festive day for lawmakers, but they couldn’t escape a shutdown that has no end in sight.
It's not the way they wanted to start the 116th Congress.
On a day that should have been solely marked by ceremony and celebration, lawmakers couldn’t shake the gloom of a government shutdown that has no end in sight.
“It does put a damper on things. We’re all thinking about those people that are working without pay today, or who are furloughed,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), adding that he’s been speaking to constituents who’ve been affected by the shutdown.
It’s the first time in history that a government shutdown has dragged on from one Congress to the next, underscoring a sense of dysfunction in Washington that appears to have only intensified in the Donald Trump era.
Scores of new House Democrats arrived for their first day of work Thursday, with freshly pressed outfits and sparkling new member pins.
But instead of advancing the first pieces of their ambitious progressive agenda, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her Democratic majority were setting up Thursday night votes on legislation to reopen the federal government. That’s despite the fact that the plan has already been panned by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), ensuring the partial shutdown will drag on well past its 13th day.
The funding lapse has left a particularly dark cloud over the heads of lawmakers who felt encouraged by the passage of so many other spending bills last year. Congress funded three-quarters of the federal government before running into a shutdown over Trump’s demand for border wall money.
Plenty of the pomp and circumstance of the beginning of a new Congress was still evident Thursday.
Just before Pelosi formally reclaimed the gavel, dozens of freshly elected Democrats crowded the chamber to receive their first tokens of the office, including their pins, voting cards and congressional license plates, as they mingled with their new colleagues for the first time.
It was a show of pure joy, coming after an election that swept 67 new Democrats into the House. Members, old and new, introduced each other to their spouses and grandchildren. Many snapped photos, flagrantly breaking the chamber’s no-cameras rule, as prominent first-termers like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) walked by.
On the Senate side, the 10 newly elected members rode the subways with their families at the same time that the Senate's spending chief, Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), warned that the shutdown could go on for "months and months."
Meanwhile, the impasse over Trump’s border wall has only worsened as nine federal agencies prepare to enter their third week without funding. Hundreds of billions of agency dollars — and the paychecks of 800,000 federal workers — are at risk the longer the shutdown continues.
Pelosi, McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will head back to the White House for yet another sit-down with Trump on Friday. The plan from there, according to multiple lawmakers and aides, is entirely unclear, with both sides increasingly dug in.
The funding lapse remained in focus even as McConnell and Schumer took to the floor to welcome their new colleagues to the Senate.
McConnell accused Democrats of "political theater" in their attempt to reopen the federal government with a plan that is dead-on-arrival in the Senate, adding that the party is only concerned with its “political standoff" with Trump.
The Senate and House are expected to leave town this weekend without a resolution, showing a glaring lack of urgency in both chambers as growing swaths of the government run out of their rainy-day funds.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the head of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus who is close to Trump, predicted Thursday that the standoff would last for several more weeks.
“I think there’s a very good possibility that this could be the longest shutdown that we’ve had in the history of Congress,” Meadows said. The current record is 21 days, which was set in 1996 during another period of fiercely divided government.
For some, a shutdown at the start of the new Congress is just more of the same.


Kerala box office - March 31 to April 13.
The film, in its first week in 77 screens in Kerala, has taken a distributors share of Rs 1.55 cr, which is very good.Urumi has netted Rs 27.40 lakhs from Padma and Sridhar in Ernakulam in 19 days, the highest ever for a Prithviraj film. The film has been classified as a hit by the trade and is the number at the KBO.At the number two is Mohanlal's multi-starrer Christian Brothers, which continues to do extraordinary business. The film is reported to have already got a share of Rs 8.5 cr in 25 days from releasing stations, which no film has done before.In third position is Jayaram's Makeup Man, which is very strong in small stations, and at number four is Marykundu Oru Kunjadu.In fifth place is Mammootty's August 15, which has failed.
Trade Facts : No story, too long.
Multi starrer, lot of stars and glitz No story, too long.


Did Target Accidentally Reveal Eminem's "Revival" Release Date?
Eminem fans, particularly those on Reddit, are constantly searching for information about Slim Shady’s new album, Revival. Oddly enough, they may have received the most definitive detail so far from an unexpected source — Target.
A Twitter used reached out to Target, via its customer service Twitter, after obtaining a photo from a store that shows a placeholder for a deluxe edition of Eminem’s highly anticipated LP. The rep behind the Twitter account responded by stating that the company has a December 15 release date listed for Revival.
We're excited for the release date for this album to come. You probably already know, this date is controlled by the record company and is subject to change. What we currently have is a street date of December 15, 2017. Thanks for connecting with us.
The @AskTarget account quickly changed its tune though. When asked later for some confirmation about the release date, it was much more coy with its answer.
“Currently we don’t have an official release date, so please be sure to check back for additional details. Thanks!
Currently we don't have an official release date, so please be sure to check back for additional details. Thanks!
A previous report by HITS Daily Double claimed Eminem’s album was expected to drop on December 8.
Much to fans’ disappointment, November 17 came and went without Eminem’s new album, Revival. Although the date was mere speculation to begin with, it quickly circulated around the internet as that magical day Hip Hop fans would finally get a Slim Shady album, his first since 2013’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2.
Now, the same site that initially sparked the rumor is back with another projected release date for Em’s ninth studio album. According to HITS Daily Double, Revival will hit the shelves on December 8.
“U2 is now expected on 12/1 and Eminem is believed to be coming on 12/8,” the post reads.
Although Shady’s camp hasn’t confirmed a particular date, the release of Em’s latest single, “Walk On Water” featuring Beyoncé, his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, a rare interview with Shade 45 and the limited edition “Stan” merch all indicate a project is on the horizon.
It’s difficult to determine why the rollout is taking so long, but one clever Reddit user pointed out that “Walk On Water” is no longer being promoted as Revival‘s lead single on Em’s website. On November 10, it said the song was the “first single from his forthcoming album” and now, that part has been removed from the description.
Some are speculating the team is back to the drawing board.
Whatever the case, get ready for December 8 when fans can either rejoice or be let down once again.


Knee injuries forced Jeff Clement, once a can't-miss prospect, from catcher to first base. Now, he seeks a job with the Twins.
Video (08:27) : Twins pitcher Mike Pelfrey talks about his three shutout innings vs. Tampa Bay on Sunday.
FORT MYERS, FLA. - In a way, it's a little odd that the Twins would sign Jeff Clement and assign him a spring-training locker four stalls away from Joe Mauer. It's not as if Clement has a contagious disease or anything, but he definitely serves as a reminder of how "sure things" occasionally can go wrong. And how much punishment the body absorbs behind the plate.
Their résumés are so similar, it's spooky. Clement and Mauer are both catchers born in the Upper Midwest in 1983. They each earned national attention for their high school exploits, and they both originally were drafted by the Twins. Mauer, the first overall pick in 2001, turned pro right away. But Clement decided to attend college, where he became so highly valued, he was chosen almost as high -- third overall by Seattle in 2005 -- as Mauer in baseball's amateur draft.
Both were projected to be future All-Stars, about as certain a payoff as a baseball team can ask for.
But while Mauer flourished almost right away, Clement took far longer. Too long, in fact -- because as he gradually began to gain confidence as a hitter, his body betrayed him.
And this is the part where Twins officials, with $138 million still owed Mauer, might want to avert their eyes.
"My [left] knee just couldn't do it anymore," Clement said of a gradual deterioration over several seasons. "I felt like I was improving as a player every year, but it all got washed out by the [three] knee surgeries. And catching was the main reason I got hurt."
A torn meniscus in 2006. Two ligaments scoped in 2008. And when the pain in his knee gradually grew worse in 2010, his surgeon used the word that pro athletes fear: microfracture.
"At that point," Clement said, "it was very clear that my everyday catching days were finished."
But not his baseball career. As his knee worsened, Clement began the transition to first base, and he's in camp this year trying to earn a backup job at the position with the Twins, the team that brought him to the Metrodome for a workout more than a decade ago before drafting him in the 12th round.
"I guess I've come full circle now," said Clement, who set a national high school record with 75 career home runs for Marshalltown, Iowa. "They drafted me a long time ago, and I'm finally here."
Question is, can he stay here? That will depend, the Twins say, on his bat. Manager Ron Gardenhire would like to beef up his bench, and the lefthanded Clement is confident he can reclaim the stroke that made him a .282 hitter with decent power in the minor leagues.
"He's putting it into play, so he's been fun to watch," Gardenhire said of Clement, whose short stints with the Mariners and Pirates produced only a .218 average and 14 homers in 152 total games. "I think he's comfortable here, and that's a good thing. He's going to be in some pinch-hit situations, he's going to come off the bench."
He'll play first base, too, which is how he became former manager Tom Kelly's star pupil.
"Since he's been in this camp, his improvement at first base alone is unbelievable, really," Gardenhire said. "He came in a little stiff, and he's been working really hard at it. TK's been doing a whopper of a job with him. He's really learned a lot in a short amount of time."
It's still an adjustment for a lifelong catcher, Clement said.
"It's like learning a whole new way to play baseball, being out in the field and having balls hit at me. But I'm definitely more comfortable at first base now than I ever have been before."
Even Kelly, a tough teacher, is impressed.
"He has a hard time, because he's a pretty thick guy. He's a catcher, and he's got to change his throwing angles and his way of moving," Kelly said. "But he tries. He's very enthusiastic, and when you get that effort, you'll improve."
Pinch hitter. Backup first baseman. It's not exactly what Clement envisioned after winning the Johnny Bench Award at Southern California. He's come to terms with his career, though.
"I don't dwell on it. Being drafted as highly as I was, I would have thought by now I would be in a different position, but I'm not," Clement said. "The bottom line is, I've still got a uniform on, and that's what's important."


DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa.– The band director for Hershey High School has been charged with corruption of minors.
Jonathan Pinkerton is facing one count of corruption of minors for an incident that took place in August 2010, when he was employed by the Lower Dauphin School District, according to court documents.
The Lower Dauphin School District confirmed Pinkerton’s employment at the time of the incident. Pinkerton served as a high school music teacher, and directed the school’s marching band, concert band, and jazz band, the district said.
“Derry Township School District has extended indefinitely the administrative leave of a Hershey High School staff member accused of inappropriate behavior while employed at another school district. The district had previously placed the employee on leave when it was notified of an investigation and took immediate action to further extend that leave following criminal charges being filed on November 13.
Although the charges do not relate to Derry Township School District or any students from the district, and the alleged activity pre-dates the teacher’s employment here, as a public school entity focused at all times on providing a safe and secure learning environment, we take any allegation of impropriety extremely seriously.
Certainly, every citizen has a right to due process. As an employer we have a legal obligation to honor that right – including the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise. By placing the employee on leave while the matter is being adjudicated, we have taken appropriate action to maintain school safety while still preserving the rights of the accused.


Calling for a "new college compact," Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday unveiled a $350 billion plan aimed at making college more affordable and reducing the crushing burden of student debt.
At a town hall meeting in New Hampshire, the state with the highest average student debt in the country, Clinton proposed steps to reduce the cost of four-year public schools, make two-year community colleges tuition-free and cut student loan interest rates, according to campaign aides.
She pitched her plan as a public-private partnership, requiring a contribution from the federal government and states, the colleges and universities and students themselves.
"Americans will have to work hard to put themselves through school to out-learn and out-hustle our competitors, just like we always have," she told voters gathered at a high school in Exeter, New Hampshire.
The college affordability plan, a main plank of her policy platform, is an effort to address a major financial stress for many American families and satisfy a central demand of the Democratic party's liberal wing.
The proposal centers on a $200 billion federal incentive system aimed at encouraging states to expand their investments in higher education and cut student costs. States that guarantee "no-loan" tuition at four-year public schools and free tuition at community colleges will be eligible to receive federal funds.
But Clinton doesn't go quite as far as some of her primary challengers. In May, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders released his own plan that would eliminate tuition and fees for public universities. The $70 billion annual proposal would be funded by imposing a tax on transactions by hedge funds, investment houses and other Wall Street firms. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has proposed giving all students access to debt-free college at in-state universities within five years.
Although she didn't mention her rivals by name, Clinton said simply asking the federal government to pay for tuition is not an appropriate way to lower the burden on students.
"We can't expect the federal government just to pay the bill for free, that's not how America works," she said.
While military veterans, lower-income students and those who complete a national service program, like AmeriCorps, would go to school for free in the Clinton plan, others would incur costs for their schooling and living expenses at four-year public universities. "For many students, it would translate into debt-free tuition," said Carmel Martin, executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress, who advised Clinton on that plan. "It will depend on the student circumstances and the institution they are going to."
Bush Greets Voters, Talks Debate in N.H.
For most students, their families will still be expected to make a "realistic" contribution, say Clinton's aides, and students will contribute wages from ten hours of work per week.
Those currently repaying loans would be able to refinance their outstanding debt at lower rates, a change Clinton's aides say will save an average of $2,000 for 25 million borrowers over the life of the loan - an amount equal to just about $17 per month over a 10-year repayment period. She would also expand income-based repayment programs, allowing every student borrower to enroll in a plan that would cap their payments at 10 percent of their income with remaining debt forgiven after 20 years.
The cost of Clinton's plan would be offset by capping itemized tax deductions for wealthy families at 28 percent, like those taken by high-income taxpayers for charitable contributions and mortgage interest. That proposal, which has long been included in President Barack Obama's annual budget, would raise more than $600 billion in the next decade, according to the Treasury Department.
Clinton's plan would likely face a steep climb in Congress: A $60 billion Obama administration initiative for free community college has gotten little traction.
Republican presidential candidates criticized the costs of Clinton's proposal on Monday morning.
"Every time you add more money and financial aid, (traditional colleges) raise their tuition rates," Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said in an interview on Fox News. "That's what's going to happen here again unless they have competition."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush released a statement saying the proposal would "raise the cost of college even further and shift the burden to hardworking taxpayers."
College affordability has emerged as a major issue on the presidential campaign trail, as families face the highest debt burden in generations. National student debt is near $1.3 trillion dollars and the average price for in-state students at public four-year universities is 42 percent higher than it was a decade ago, according to the College Board.
Clinton aides believe their plan will help build enthusiasm for her candidacy with younger voters - whose support twice helped catapult Obama into the White House. The policy roll-out is timed for when students return to college campuses. Clinton organizers plan to promote the plan at registration events and other gatherings kicking off the school year, according to a campaign aide, in an effort to galvanize college students.
Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, which has advocated to elevate college affordability to a top political issue, praised Clinton's "bold proposal."
"It represents a sea change in this conversation in just a year or so," he said.


Tushar Lall and the The Indian Jam Project are back at it again, and this time, they've paid tribute to the mother of all movie scores – STAR WARS.
The Indian classical collective used the harmonium, sitar, sarangi, flute, tabla, keyboards and the ghungroos of an actual Kathak dancer to produce one of the most unique renditions of John Williams' timeless score.
The musicians combined the original Star Wars theme, the theme for The Force Awakens, as well as the famous piece, "The Imperial March".
P.S: Watch out for the awesome tribute to the Cantina Band!
As Yoda would probably put it, "Blown, my mind is."


The spectacle of soldiers departing for war zones has become all too frequent since Sept. 11, 2001. From mid-May through today, 2,400 members of the Minnesota National Guard received sendoffs at armories across the state, including West St. Paul, Bloomington, Maplewood and Fort Snelling this week alone.
Many of these events have received little notice, perhaps because they have become such regular events. We want those soldiers and their families to know how much their departure from home and their service to our country mean to us.
This is a large deployment of the 1st brigade combat team, 34th Red Bull Infantry Division – the second largest single departure of Minnesota National Guard members since World War II. They will be stationed in Kuwait for one year to support the pullout of U.S. soldiers from neighboring Iraq, and their duties will include base security and securing the transport of troops and supplies throughout Iraq.
West St. Paul Mayor John Zanmiller, who served in the guard in more peaceful times, addressed the troops at the local armory on Tuesday. He said he was impressed by soldiers serving second and third tours in the war zone. “They’re just setting their lives on hold, saying goodbye to their kids for months at a time,” he said.
We wish them a safe and successful deployment and look forward to their arrival back home next spring.
We hope our readers got to the end of a column in Thursday’s newspaper by David Brooks of the New York Times. He wrote about the traditional graduation speeches given this time of year, in which speakers focus on the many wonderful opportunities facing graduates and on the importance of them following their dreams and finding themselves.
But, he said, the real meaning in life comes when something finds us – a problem or task or a job we care about and devote ourselves to.
Our Mister Brooks can speak at our kids’ graduation any time.
Word is that Ricky Rubio, a 20-year-old Spanish basketballer currently playing in the beautiful Mediterranean city of Barcelona, has agreed to terms with the Minnesota Timberwolves. We are happy to have him and hope he can help the struggling – OK, awful – Wolves.
Sunny Barcelona’s winters are so mild as to be non-existent. The average high temperature in January (55) and February (57), in the heart of the NBA season, is more than 30 degrees warmer than the Twin Cities’ average highs for January (21) and February (27).
And the low temps? Better not discussed other than to say, Bundle up, Ricky!
You might spot Harry Potter, Pippi Longstocking or even Minnesota’s Betsy and Tacy in the crowd on Sunday at Grand Old Day.
Kids are invited to dress as a favorite storybook character and join the children’s parade presented by the St. Paul Public Library to launch its Summer Reading Program (check in at the parking lot at Whole Foods on the corner of Grand and Fairview; registration at 9:15 a.m.; parade at 9:45).
It sounds like serious fun, celebrating a program that’s essential for our community.
For generations, parents and educators have worried about kids losing ground over the summer, returning to their classrooms needing to re-learn skills they’d mastered the year before. With pressure on our students and teachers to perform, and school time and resources increasingly precious, we applaud efforts that will keep kids learning and making progress throughout the summer. As part of its community literacy effort, the Pioneer Press is among sponsors who’ve supported the Summer Reading Program for years.
We all have a stake in the success of our next generation of students – and readers. Perhaps a child you know could use encouragement to spend time with good books this summer, to keep a reading record and to become a regular visitor to our libraries. Special free events and entertainment continue through August at St. Paul’s libraries and recreation centers. For more information, visit the library website at sppl.org.
We welcome Eric Schwartz, appointed this week as dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The Humphrey School exerts a strong influence on future scholars and on our community. Schwartz is an assistant secretary at the U.S. State Department with experience at the National Security Council and the United Nations. He has a doctorate in law from New York University and has been a visiting lecturer at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson school. He succeeds Brian Atwood, who left in January, and will start work here in October.
Further, looking for a touque in Barcelona,Opinuendo sayeth not.
The Friday Opinuendo Poet was struck by the number of injuries befalling our beloved Minnesota Twins.


In addition to network bigwigs like Fischer, Washington Bureau Chief Antoine Sanfuentes, David Gregory and NBC News President Steve Capus, some of the District’s top reporters were in the house to raise a glass to MTP’s press rep. Jeff Zeleny from the New York Times, soon-to-be USA Today reporter Jackie Kucinich, WaPo‘s Paul Kane, Tammy Haddad, Roll Call‘s Jessica Brady and Politico‘s Mike Allen, Jonathan Martin, Manu Raju, and Keach Hagey all found their way out to Fischer’s Falls Church, Va. maison.
*Unfortunately for FishbowlDC, last night we learned the hard way that you should start a car more than once every three months to prevent its battery from dying. R.I.P. battery and congrats Erika!
For more photos and info from the Masonhall fete, check out WHCInsider here.


South Korean officials have finally tracked down the source of last month's cyber attack and the culprit is, as suspected by some, North Korea.
Last month's mysterious cyber attack that crippled banks and television stations in South Korea was executed by North Korea's intelligence agency, according to official investigators based in Seoul.
The findings were revealed in the Korea Herald today as South Korea's Ministry of Science, ICT (information communications technology) and Future Planning connected the attacks to North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau.
On March 20, the computer systems of local South Korean television stations KBS, YTN, and MBS, as well as banking firms Shinhan, Jeju, and NongHyup experienced major disruptions in what appeared to be a coordinated attack. Because of recent regional tensions, international security experts immediately raised the possibility of North Korea's involvement, but South Korean officials appeared hesitant to lay the blame on its neighbor. A day after the attack, South Korea investigators reportedly traced the attack to an IP address in China, but quickly retracted those claims, adding to the confusion regarding the source of the attack.
Finally, during a major press conference today (above), the ministry outlined the specifics of the now confirmed North Korean cyber attack. "The attacker gained control of personal computers or server computers within the target organizations at least eight months ago," the agency said. "After maintaining monitoring activities, [the attackers] sent out the command to delete data stored in the server, and distributed malware to individual computers through the central server."
Officials also tagged at least six computers in North Korea as the source of South Korean banking attacks that span as far back as June 2012.
Tensions are high in the region as North Korea has repeatedly given U.S. intelligence officials reason to believe that a provocative missile launch test may be imminent. While South Korea is reportedly unphased by the saber rattling, nearby Japan is on high alert. Earlier today, one city official in Yokohama mistakenly tweeted "North Korea has launched a missile," only to retract the erroneous message shortly thereafter, issuing an apology for the false alarm.
Earlier this month, North Korea's official Twitter and Flickr accounts were hacked, reportedly as part of "hacktivist" group Anonymous's efforts to disrupt the Communist country's Web presence.


The India Meteorological Department has predicted above-normal rainfall this year in the June-September period at 106 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA), with a model error of +/- 5 per cent.
This is good news as it comes after two successive years of deficient monsoons. In 2015, the south-west monsoon ended with an overall deficit of 14.3 per cent after a deficit of 11.9 per cent in the 2014 monsoon as well.
The country’s foodgrain production has hence dropped sharply. From a record production of 265 million tonnes in 2013-14, it dropped to 252.02 million tonnes in 2014-15 and is estimated to be at 253.16 million tonnes in 2015-16 with crops such as sugarcane, tur, coarse cereals and soyabean likely to see a 4-12 per cent drop in output.
With two successive years of drought, the water level in major reservoirs across the country has also diminished. Currently (as on April 7), according to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the total water stored in 91 reservoirs that it monitors is 37.92 BCM (billion cubic meter) which is less than a fourth (24 per cent to be precise) of their capacity and 77 per cent of the average availability during the last 10 years.
Compared to the same time last year, the water available is just 69 per cent. Of the five regions, the south, which includes Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, is the worst hit. In the 31 reservoirs in this region monitored by CWC, the total water available as on April 7 was 8.08 BCM — which is just 16 per cent of their capacity and 27 per cent of the average storage of the last 10 years. If 2016 turns into a drought year again, farm production will be severely hit.
The west coast and central parts of India, which were hit by a severe drought in the last two years, should, however receive good amount of rainfall, says Skymet.
This includes Marathwada and Vidarbha in Maharashtra. Last year, more than 3,000 farmers in Maharashtra had committed suicide due to mounting debts, according to the Centre’s data.
The drought and subsequent crop failures have hit farmers badly. Consumers, though, didn’t feel the heat much as the crash in commodity markets globally gave them the needed relief.
Recent data shows that CPI inflation hit a six-month low of 4.83 per cent in March with a drop in food prices (5.52 per cent in February to 5.27 per cent March), especially pulses, and lower inflation in fuel prices.
However, depending on the diet pattern of individuals, inflation may still pinch, as the prices of pulses are still 30-35 per cent higher over last year. So, a good monsoon is crucial to bring down prices of key food items.
So, what’s the outlook on pulses specifically? “It depends on how the monsoon spreads to the Deccan area which grows tur and urad. The chana crop this year is sub-normal, which tends to push up prices of the entire basket. Therefore, careful monitoring is essential to ensure that we can import in case of shortfalls. Only then can price rise be negated. The MSPs will also play a role as we tend to increase them sharply whenever there is crop failure in the previous year,” he adds.


The South Korean baseball league will bid adieu to one of its greatest players with a series of special events in his final All-Star Game this weekend.
The Korea Baseball Organization said Thursday that Samsung Lions slugger Lee Seung-yuop will take the field with his two sons, Eun-hyuk and Eun-yuop, prior to the midsummer classic at 6 p.m. Saturday at Daegu Samsung Lions Park in Daegu. Eun-hyuk, 13, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch, with his younger brother Eun-yuop, 7, standing at the plate and their father taking the catcher's position.
Lee, who turns 41 next month, will retire after the 2017 season, after 15 seasons with the Lions, his hometown team. Lee was drafted as a pitcher out of high school in 1995 but converted to first baseman as a pro.
He is the KBO's all-time leader with 459 home runs, 1,465 RBIs, 1,328 runs scored and 3,979 total bases. These totals would have been higher had Lee not spent eight seasons in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball from 2004 to 2011.
Lee also owns the KBO's single-season home run record with 56 from the 2013 season. He is a five-time regular season MVP and remains the only player to win the top individual award in three consecutive seasons (2001 to 2003).
Also on Saturday, Lee will have an autograph session at the ballpark starting at 3:50 p.m. After the ceremonial pitch, KBO Commissioner Koo Bon-neung will present Lee with a commemorative All-Star jersey.


Archives|ATTACKS DIVORCE OF MRS. DENNISTOUN; Counsel for Colonel Dennistoun Denies It Is Valid in England -- Plaintiff Defends It. LAWYERS IN SHARP DUEL Lady Carnarvon Shows Distress -- Judge Upholds the Use of Letters That Caused Scandal.
ATTACKS DIVORCE OF MRS. DENNISTOUN; Counsel for Colonel Dennistoun Denies It Is Valid in England -- Plaintiff Defends It. LAWYERS IN SHARP DUEL Lady Carnarvon Shows Distress -- Judge Upholds the Use of Letters That Caused Scandal.


MTV has canceled “Eye Candy” after one season.
Victoria Justice, star of the freshman drama, made the announcement Saturday on Twitter.
The cyber thriller, based on R.L. Stine’s best-selling novel and executive produced by “Twilight’s” Catherine Hardwicke and Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions, centered on a tech genius who tried to capture a serial killer who preyed on dating websites in New York.
The 10 episode series premiered in January 2015.


has per- plexed the police and all who feel an interest in undiscovered crime, has been at last revealed. On Tuesday Miss Constance Kent appeared before Sir Thomas Henry, and surrendered herself as the murderess of her half-brother Francis Saville Kent, a child of four years old. It appears that after her acquittal in 1860 she was sent abroad, but returned two years since to England, and obtained a home in a religious house at Brighton, where she has remained ever since. Her confession of guilt was first made to Mr. Wagner, the well-known Vicar of Brighton, but the idea of a public confession came, he says, from herself. Before the magis- trate she was perfectly calm, and exhibited no trace of that ten- dency to insanity which it is said has been manifest in her mother's family. No motive has yet been assigned either for the murder or the confession, and a part of the public seems inclined to believe that the criminal's belief in her own guilt is a mere delusion. We cannot accept that solution, but it is certain that if the confession is limited, as at present, to a bare statement of the fact, it will be very difficult to obtain evidence sufficient for trial. The father, after living five years under suspicion in order to protect his daughter, cannot be expected to say much, and the nurse, the principal witness, is married, and in Australia.


A Chihuahua is in animal custody after leading police on a chase across the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge.
The California Highway Patrol tweeted the small black dog ‘led us on quite a chase’ on Sunday and posted a video of it running furiously on the upper level of the bridge while being trailed by a motorcycle officer.
After it was captured, the Chihuahua was taken to a San Francisco animal shelter where staff members named it Ponch, after the CHP Officer Frank Poncherello played by Erik Estrada in the TV series ‘CHiPs’.
A spokeswoman for the city's Department of Animal Care and Control said the dog wore a tag decorated with a human skull, but it had no identification. Deb Campbell said the dog was recovering from its misadventure.


Flash has long been known as the bane of the Web because of its performance issues and security flaws. Even with less than a week to go before the year is out, another vulnerability has been discovered and thankfully, patched.
As with several other Flash gaffes, Adobe noted that the flaw could potentially allow a hacker to take control of a system and was exploited in ‘limited, targeted attacks’.
That brings the count to 316 Flash Player bugs for 2015 alone, or six bugs a week.
The Web has been calling for Flash’s head to roll all year: a security firm was discovered exploiting flaws in the software to access victims’ computers. Mozilla disabled the plugin in Firefox, Facebook’s chief of security said it needs to go, Google removed support for it in its ads and Adobe ditched the ‘Flash’ name for the latest version of its animation tool.
You’ll want to ditch Flash as we start the new year. Learn how to uninstall it or at the very least, set it to only run when you need it in your browser.
Read next: Marketing the TNW Way #6: What tools do we use?


WOLVERINE AND THE X-MEN #40 First Look: Is the Bromance Alive?
Take an exclusive early look at Wolverine and the X-Men #40, with a tender moment between two old pals who are now pretty bitter enemies. Plus, the debut (at your left) of Nick Bradshaw's cover to the January-shipping issue.
• Battle of the Atom is over -- but the battle for the future of mutankind has just begun!
• For months, S.H.I.E.L.D. has had designs on the Jean Grey school -- now they make their presence known!
• All this, and Cyclops vs. Wolverine as Jason Aaron (THOR) and Pepe Larraz (ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN) bring you the action!


Vancouver residents are dealing with a measles outbreak that has been traced to a man who didn’t vaccinate his kids over concerns about autism, a mythical connection that has been promoted by Jenny McCarthy and other celebrity anti-vaxxers.
Emmanuel Bilodeau says he isn’t an anti-vaxxer at this point in time, but that he and his wife skipped their kids’ inoculations years ago because they saw certain doctors linking them to autism, according to CBC News.
The man whose family is at the centre of a measles outbreak in Vancouver said he didn’t vaccinate his children because he distrusted the science at the time.
In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Emmanuel Bilodeau said he and his then-wife were influenced by reports that linked the vaccine that prevents measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) with autism.
Bilodeau is likely referencing the “research” from 1998 by then-doctor Andrew Wakefield, who came out with a flawed (and now retracted) article claiming the link. The problem here is that, right after Wakefield’s paper came out, it was universally refuted, including by 10 of the 12 co-authors who worked on the study.
Almost immediately afterward, epidemiological studies were conducted and published, refuting the posited link between MMR vaccination and autism. The logic that the MMR vaccine may trigger autism was also questioned because a temporal link between the two is almost predestined: both events, by design (MMR vaccine) or definition (autism), occur in early childhood.
The next episode in the saga was a short retraction of the interpretation of the original data by 10 of the 12 co-authors of the paper. According to the retraction, “no causal link was established between MMR vaccine and autism as the data were insufficient”.
That retraction from the co-authors occurred in 2004, which means that 10-12 years ago – between 2007 and 2009 – it was already established that the study was not a reliable source of information. Bilodeau may have been late to the party, but at least now he acknowledges that he was wrong.
Bilodeau said he knows now the link between the MMR vaccine and autism has been debunked.
“We were hoping we could find a vaccine that was given in a separate shot so it wasn’t such a hit on the kid,” he said.
I appreciate that Bilodeau and his family seem to have learned from their mistakes, but it’s worth noting that this “cautious parents” mentality actually put everyone at risk. They bought into false narratives promoted by celebrities who don’t know what they’re talking about, and as a result at least eight people have the measles in Vancouver.


DuPage County has been given an additional year to transition its circuit court clerk's office to a new electronic filing system required by the state.
Circuit Court Clerk Chris Kachiroubas said he sought the delay because the state-mandated technology lags behind the e-filing system DuPage already has.
DuPage had until July 1 to start using an e-filing system from Tyler Technologies, which has a contract with the state. Every county in Illinois eventually will use the system for the filing of civil court cases.
But in an order filed Tuesday, the Illinois Supreme Court gave DuPage an extension until July 1, 2019. The court denied the county's request for a 2021 deadline.
The court's order was filed just hours after Kachiroubas warned county board members that completing the transition by this July would be costly.
"DuPage's system is so far ahead that we may have to go backward to go forward," he said on Tuesday morning.
Electronic filing for civil cases has been available in DuPage since 2006. The county worked with a company called i2File to develop its system. Now roughly 98 percent of all civil filings in DuPage are done electronically.
Kachiroubas said the county's existing system has more features and functions than the new system. As a result, the county might need to hire programmers to help with the transition.
"At some point in the future, we may to come back to you and ask for additional funding," Kachiroubas told members of the county board's judicial and public safety committee.
DuPage, however, has various budgetary constraints, including the loss of millions of dollars in revenue from the state.
Kachiroubas said he's hoping to avoid requesting more money for his office, so he petitioned the court to extend the deadline.
"I've requested three years to 2021, which would allow Tyler to catch up to me," Kachiroubas said.
While the court denied Kachiroubas' request, it granted the one-year extension "in recognition of the level of integration and e-filing features currently implemented in DuPage County," according to the order.
In the meantime, Kachiroubas said his office is working with Tyler to resolve the differences between DuPage's e-filing system and the new one.


The digital currency known as Bitcoin has been taking the financial world by storm, and now the first ATM to offer the currency is launching in Winnipeg.
As part of CoinFest, the multi-city international event to help educate people about Bitcoin and promote the growing Bitcoin economy, local startup BitTeller will launch the city’s first Bitcoin ATM on February 15.
The event will be held at Santa Lucia Pizza lounge, 4 St. Mary’s Road, from 1-5 p.m.
The pizza lounge will also begin accepting Bitcoin payments for dine-in purchases only to coincide with the event. Local sponsor Best Sleep Centre has hopped on the Bitcoin bandwagon to accept the form of payment as well.


Angelina Jolie has officially dropped Brad Pitt’s last name. The actress, who had hyphenated her last name during her marriage to Pitt, is now back to her original name.
According to People, Angelina Jolie’s decision to drop Brad Pitt’s last name comes just days after the pair were deemed legally single — although they are still working out the details of their divorce.
The couple first met back in 2004 on the set of their film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Brad was married to Friends star Jennifer Aniston at the time. Rumors quickly began to fly that Brad and Angelina may be having an affair, and after Brad and Jennifer’s divorce was announced, fans went wild.
Jolie and Pitt confirmed their romance not long after, and then announced that they were expecting a child together. They went on to have three biological children, Shiloh, Vivienne, and Knox. Brad also legally adopted Angelina’s adopted sons, Pax and Maddox. They adopted a daughter, Zahara, together.
The couple were together for years before finally tying the knot in 2014. However, just two years later, they shocked the world by announcing the end of their marriage.
The pair have been dealing with the aftermath of their divorce filing ever since, and are still figuring out how to split their assets, finances, and custody of their six children.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were spotted at the beginning of the year — having what looked to be an intense meeting.
The couple were said to have gotten a lot of things sorted out about their divorce and co-parenting relationship at the time, and Pitt allegedly wanted to meet face-to-face with his estranged wife. He was reportedly tired of talking through lawyers, who tend to drag things out.
“Brad agreed to their recent meeting because he was hoping to come to some compromise with Angelina. The divorce has been dragging on forever and Brad is tired of arguing with Angie through lawyers about the many details of their split. The entire process has been long and tiring for Brad, he is exhausted and was hoping to tackle things directly with Angelina in person,” an insider told Hollywood Life.
Meanwhile, sources tell In Touch Weekly that Brad Pitt is ready to date again following his split with Angelina Jolie. Now that they’re both officially single, and Angie’s dropped his last name, it looks like she could be ready to mingle as well.


WASHINGTON (AP) — Dozens of U.S. Park Police officers in riot gear and on horseback have converged on one of the nation's last remaining Occupy sites.
The officers arrived before dawn Saturday and placed barricades around McPherson Square, a federal park near the White House where demonstrators have camped since October. They are not evicting the protesters.
The police say they're at the park to enforce a National Park Service ban on camping. They are removing wood, metal and other objects from beneath a big blue tarp draped around a statue in the center of the park.


Valerie June is all set to release her first album as a signed artist, and it's something that it seems we've all been waiting for.
Valerie's been making music for what feels like forever, but over the past year she's started to gather hype and everyone's talking about her. From her performance at last year's Bestival, to her appearance on Later... with Jools Holland and her current support slot with Jake Bugg on his February 2013 UK tour, Valerie's brand of country blues is starting to gather momentum.
With good reason, too. Her southern sound encompasses a wide range of influences, including blues, folk, soul, gospel and bluegrass. We were more than happy to catch up with her, to hear a performance of song and have a quick chat into the bargain.


The consequences of deinstutionalizing the severely mentally ill.
MICHELLE CORDERO: Right now our nation is in the middle of a serious debate about gun violence and mass shootings. A year has passed since a former student killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
NEWS ANCHOR: What made the shooting at Stoneman Douglas so different than other mass shootings was how quickly students and parents turned their pain into action.
CORDERO: Some are pushing for broader restrictions on Second Amendment rights. With new legislation like the recently voted on HR-8 that would impose significant burdens on law abiding citizens by mandating universal background checks.
REP. NANCY PELOSI: This will be a priority for us in the next Congress. Common sense background checks to prevent guns going into the wrong hands.
CORDERO: But we've still heard little on a number of other issues that weigh into gun violence and mass shootings. Like mental health, family breakdown, culture, media and more.
CORDERO: Heritage recently released a series of papers that address these issues. One of them tries to help us understand why the United States is suffering from a crisis of untreated serious mental illness.
CORDERO: During the 1960s and '70s, there was a mass removal of the seriously mental ill from inpatient facilities. It officially began in 1963 when the Kennedy administration implemented the Community Mental Health Act. This gave official credence to a movement that had been slowly developing and that kept developing afterward. The process has an official name and it's referred to as de-institutionalization. And between 1955 and 2016, the number of available public psychiatric beds in the United States dropped by 95%.
CORDERO: So what led to this movement? Where did all those who truly needed inpatient care go? And what have been some of the consequences?
CORDERO: Amy Swearer, a legal policy analyst in Heritage's Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies and one of the authors of the report that inspired today's episode, explains.
AMY SWEARER: It is really a combination of about four things. There was kind of this growing public consciousness of some really bad conditions in certain mental health facilities that just left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. But then also along with that, started in the 1950s, you had changes in medicine and in psychiatry in particular. That was not just a general trend of liberalization toward trying to get people out of inpatient facilities, but also the development of new medications that made a lot of doctors rethink their ability to adequately treat people in an outpatient setting.
SWEARER: And so then along with that, you had changes from a fiscal standpoint with Medicaid. So when Medicaid gets introduced in 1965, it defacto encouraged a lot of states to close down inpatient facilities because what Medicaid did was reward states for having outpatient facilities by increasing money for every outpatient commitment that you had. But then saying, "Okay, and if you have inpatient commitments, we're not going to cover that with Medicaid." So, of course, when federal dollars are involved, states start acting accordingly and it was all of a sudden financially beneficial for states to have fewer inpatient beds to fill up so that they could have more outpatient beds and get more money.
SWEARER: And then on top of that, kind of on the further, into the 1970s, or kind of as this is already in full development, you have a series of court opinions from the United States Supreme Courts that on top of all of this, then made it harder for states to commit people to inpatient mental health treatment. It used to be that states could simply prove that someone had a mental illness and could benefit from treatment. But now they had to prove that the person was a risk of danger to themselves or others. And it also, some of these opinions made it easier for these people even if they were mentally ill and in inpatient facilities, it made it easier for them to reject treatment.
SWEARER: And so all of this kind of combined into this grand scheme of deinstitutionalization, just all of it together.
CORDERO: And I want to make sure that we highlight this number, in your research you found that as a result of these social, medical, and legal changes, that the number of available psychiatric beds in the United States dropped by 95% at this time. That's a lot.
SWEARER: Yeah, it is. It's de-institutionalization as a movement was extremely successful. When you put those four factors together, you had states shutting down inpatient mental health facilities. It wasn't financially beneficial, it was hard to do from a legal standpoint, and it just ... I mean, there's no other way to put it except that that movement, as a movement, was extremely successful.
CORDERO: So what do mental health budgets actually look like in states right now?
SWEARER: State budgets, especially since the downturn in 2008, 2009, states have been cutting their budgets across the board. But one of the places in particular that a lot of states have tried to cut their budgets is in mental health spending. So not only have you seen over the last couple of decades that dramatic decrease in inpatient infrastructure, but then on top of that, just between 2009 and 2012, states cumulatively cut about 4.3 billion dollars from their mental health budgets.
SWEARER: Some states more than others, but generally just across the board you saw states slashing mental health budgets. Not just for inpatient commitments, but also for outpatient commitments which were supposed to pick up the burden of all of those individuals who no longer had inpatient beds.
CORDERO: Are there studies that show what we should actually have?
SWEARER: Yeah, so most policy experts, when they talk about a minimum number of inpatient beds that a population needs, they generally recommend between 40 to 60 inpatient beds per 100,000 people. And in most European OECD countries, it's well above that. In the United States, unfortunately, as of 2016, the average state provided only 11.7 beds per 100,000 people.
SWEARER: I think the national average is a bit higher than that when you include federal beds, but it's still well below the minimum that's recommended by policy experts.
CORDERO: So it's sad, actually. What started out with the best intentions actually still hurt our society because the alternatives weren't adequate. And we sort of created a vacuum and our mentally ill are either on the streets or in jails. And that leads me to my next question, which is in your report you mentioned that having fewer inpatient services has been associated with higher crime. Can you tell me about that?
SWEARER: Sure. I mean, as you said, it's important to recognize that the movement of deinstitutionalization started with the best of intentions. The problem was that there weren't adequate numbers of outpatient facilities and community facilities in place. And so all of a sudden you had large numbers of various mentally ill people without any sort of infrastructure for treatment and all of a sudden communities are dealing with this influx. And the burden on communities has been horrific. It's been a very large burden, not just from homelessness. Which homelessness as a concept did not really exist in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
SWEARER: But when you look at studies that have really looked at the results of deinstitutionalization, there have been studies that show strong indications that the dramatic rise in violent crime that we saw as a nation during the 1980s and 1990s was in large part an effect of deinstitutionalization. So you had this massive influx of individuals with serious mental health needs, who became violent when they were untreated. And who were committing other crimes as a result of homelessness or not having their needs being adequately met.
SWEARER: Then when you start seeing this decline again in violent crime during the 1990s and early 2000s, a lot of that is actually attributable and unfortunately to these mentally ill individuals being essentially re-institutionalized, just back into jails and prisons. So there's this direct correlation between the number of severely mentally ill people out on the streets and some of these rises in violent crime.
CORDERO: So, in short, the burden of dealing with the individuals has fallen on law enforcement as opposed to mental healthcare professionals.
SWEARER: Yeah, that's unfortunately exactly right. There has been a tremendous increase in the amount of dealings with law enforcement with mentally ill individuals, to the point where many law enforcement agencies are bringing on board full-time psychiatrists and case managers because they're just seeing the same individuals. Most of the time for nuisance crimes, just over and over and over.
SWEARER: It's bad for people who are mentally ill, dealing primarily with officers who are well intentioned, but not trained in psychiatric needs. It's also dangerous for officers. So studies that have looked at violent confrontations, whether it's assaults on officers or officer involved shootings, a significant percentage of these incidents are related to untreated mental illness.
CORDERO: Amy, tell me more about your research and what you found when it comes to individuals in our jails who are mentally ill.
SWEARER: So recent studies that have looked at the proportion of mentally ill inmates in the United States have found absolutely stunning results that anywhere between 37% and 44%, so about 1/3 of our nation's state and federal inmates have been told by a mental health practitioner at some point in the past that they suffered from a mental illness. So not just, "Oh, they might be exhibiting signs or they're self-diagnosing," but have had a mental health practitioner tell them that they suffer from a mental illness that needs to be treated.
SWEARER: And that's vastly more significant than what you would see in the average population, which is about 1 to 2% of individuals who are dealing with serious mental illness on a given day.
CORDERO: So what can we do?
SWEARER: Well, there's a number of things that we can do. I think one thing we have to keep in mind is no one wants to say, "Well, we need to swing the pendulum back to the 1940s and 1950s where anyone with any sign of mental illness needs to be locked up in an inpatient facility for the rest of their lives." But we do need to start admitting that there is a place in society for inpatient mental health treatment. Especially as psychiatric beds of last resort, for when people are in the midst of a mental health crises and they need that emergency treatment, they need a place to stabilize.
SWEARER: And unfortunately right now we simply as a nation do not have an adequate number of beds. And so you're seeing essentially log jams of wait lists for people who go in and out of ERs with mental health crises, kind of get emergency stabilization treatment, but then there's nowhere for them to go. And so they're just kind of left on their own on wait lists or kind of given inadequate outpatient treatments, but they don't follow up or they don't understand their illness and there really isn't any sort of way of keeping them from deteriorating again.
SWEARER: And so one of the things that states can do to combat some of the effects of deinstitutionalization is to ensure that they are funding enough public psychiatric beds for these types of individuals. So that you're not seeing these long wait lists, you're not seeing this spiral down crisis.
SWEARER: And then another thing that states can do is enforce their existing mental health commitment procedures. So as I mentioned, in the 1970s there was a series of cases that made it harder for states. But even within that, there's some leeway with what states can do and the language that they can use to facilitate mental health commitments. And so one of the things that we talk about is how states can work within the existing framework to change that language and ensure that they're not making it harder than necessary on themselves to ensure that their citizens who are in desperate need of mental health treatment can have courts order them to that treatment.
SWEARER: And lastly, we need to make sure, 'cause as conservatives a lot of times when we're talking about throwing around money and funding things, we are for limited government. But it's important that when we're talking about states investing in public health initiatives such as investing in public psychiatric facilities, ensuring a sufficient number of beds, these are up front costs, yes. But they may seem daunting, but when you look at it in terms of the long term cost of shifting the burden of housing and treatment of severely mentally ill people to the criminal justice system, to the emergency medical systems, not to mention the human and economic costs associated with untreated serious mental illness, homelessness, petty crimes, things of that nature, it really is something that states should consider investing in and not slashing these budgets. Because these are some of the problems that are the underlying causes of so much social angst and ailments that we see in society right now.
CORDERO: Thank you so much, Amy.