VENEZUELA - The Power Struggle

"In Venezuela, Guaido calls for military to turn against Maduro" PBS NewsHour 4/30/2019

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SUMMARY:  The political power struggle in Venezuela took a violent turn Tuesday, as opposition leader Juan Guaido appealed to the military to turn against President Nicolas Maduro’s regime, and for the public to take to the streets.  Thousands turned out in support, but it was unclear whether the armed forces are indeed ready to shift allegiance.  William Brangham reports on a volatile day in Venezuela.

"In Venezuela, Maduro holds on to power as Guaido’s military support falters" PBS NewsHour 5/1/2019

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SUMMARY:  After Tuesday’s violent clashes, Wednesday dawned quiet in Caracas but eventually grew chaotic again.  Police threw tear gas at Venezuelans demonstrating in support of opposition leader Juan Guaido.  Meanwhile, it was unclear why Guaido’s earlier talks with military leaders about joining his campaign to unseat President Nicolas Maduro appeared to have fallen through.  William Brangham reports.

"Venezuelan standoff continues between Maduro and Guaidó" PBS NewsHour 5/4/2019

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SUMMARY:  As the standoff over transition of power in Venezuela continues at least 50 countries including the U.S. have thrown their support behind Juan Guaidó whose recent calls for military support and for mass demonstrations have not been successful.  Columbia University’s Christopher Sabatini joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the power struggle, Russia's role and the U.S. government response.

CRIME SCENES - Access to Violent Extremist Videos

"When limiting access to violent extremist videos could be erasing evidence" PBS NewsHour 9/13/2017

The answer is, WHY and by WHO the video is posted?  Was it posted for sensitizing violence, an extremest view, or to promote hate?

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SUMMARY:  Aiming to remove violent and extremist content from its website, YouTube took down hundreds of videos from the Syrian war.  But researchers and advocates have pushed back, claiming the company removed potential evidence of human rights violations.  Former U.S. Ambassador Stephen Rapp and Issie Lapowsky of Wired Magazine, join Hari Sreenivasan to discuss these concerns.

ROAD TO MOSUL - Civilian Executions

"ISIS executes civilians as Iraqi forces gain ground in Mosul" PBS NewsHour 11/12/2016

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SUMMARY:  As Iraqi forces continue to gain ground in Mosul against Islamic State militants, thousands of residents are attempting to flee the city.  The United Nations reports that ISIS is carrying out mass executions of civilians.  Alex Milutinovic, who is directing relief efforts in Iraq for the International Rescue Committee, joins Alison Stewart to discuss the plight of those civilians.

ALISON STEWART, PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND ANCHOR:  Iraq's government says its security forces, with U.S. support, reclaimed two more districts in Mosul today from ISIS militants.  This footage released today by the Iraqi defense ministry shows helicopter attacks on ISIS positions to dislodge militants who have occupied Iraq's second largest city for two years.  The defense ministry says it has destroyed more than 40 ISIS hideouts and killed about 900 militants in the past month.

As thousands of Mosul residents try to flee the city, the United Nations reports ISIS is carrying out mass executions of civilians.

Joining me now to talk about this is Alex Milutinovic, who is directing relief efforts in Iraq for the International Rescue Committee.  He is in the Iraqi city of Erbil, about 50 miles east of Mosul.

And, Alex, we understand from the World Health Organization, as many as 48,000 people have fled Mosul.  Where are they going?

ALEKSANDAR MILUTINOVIC, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE:  At the moment, we have over 50,000 people that have fled the surrounding of Mosul City.  Most of the people, two-thirds of them, are leaving towards the camps and the remaining one third of people are living with host community.

ALISON STEWART:  Is the Islamic State allowing people to leave?  Because there have been reports that the idea is to use civilians — their idea is to use civilians as human shields.

ALEKSANDAR MILUTINOVIC:  Unfortunately, the civilians are not allowed to leave the Mosul City.  They are being used as a human shield and our concern goes to the people of Mosul City who are now trapped in a very difficult situation.  They are basically trapped between the — you know, in the fighting zone and they have a hard time fleeing and finding safety.

SYRIA - The Haunting Image

"Will the haunting image of an injured Syrian boy make a difference?" PBS NewsHour 8/18/2016

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SUMMARY:  Airstrikes are a constant in Aleppo, Syria.  But this week, global attention was captured by a haunting snapshot of one strike's aftermath: A 5-year-old boy bloodied, dust covered and dazed.  Such images have a history of going viral.  But do they make an impact?  Hari Sreenivasan asks Susan Moeller, a professor of journalism at the University of Maryland, and the New York Times' Anne Barnard.  *An editor's note:  The 1972 napalm airstrike in Vietnam that led to the iconic photo of a naked, burned Young girl running down a road that is mentioned in this conversation was conducted by the air force of South Vietnam, not the United States.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  It's hard not to be moved by images like that, but some pictures capture the world's attention more than others.

We begin with an image that emerged last night from the frantic attempts to rescue people caught in the aftermath of air strikes.  And again, another warning:  Some images in this story may disturb some viewers.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Airstrikes are Aleppo's terrible routine.  This one hit an apartment a building in the city's rebel-held area.  Amateur video captured the frantic scramble to save lives amid horror.

Then, a boy, pulled from the rubble, sits in an ambulance.  He's dazed, bloodied, covered in dust.  He wipes his face.  His name: Omran Daqneesh, age five.  He survived without major injuries.  So did his parents and three young siblings.

Almost immediately, his image swept across social media worldwide, making Omran the latest symbol of heartbreak in the now-five year old conflict.

There one comment I can disagree with, "And so, pictures like this hopefully, whatever your political stripe, remind you that we’re talking about just ordinary human beings." - Anne Barnard

Sorry, there is at least one NON-human in Syria, Assad.

NEWSHOUR BOOKSHELF - “American Heiress”

"When the victim becomes the criminal: A fresh look at the story of Patty Hearst" PBS NewsHour 8/5/2016

I can well remember the events and how they effected me, I was living in Los Angles County at the time.  Also, for our younger generations, home-grown terrorism is NOT new.

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SUMMARY:  In 1974, William Randolph Hearst's granddaughter Patty was abducted from her California home by members of the radical Symbionese Liberation Army.  After subsequent events suggested the teenager had joined the group, she was captured and sentenced -- but later pardoned.  Jeffrey Toobin tells the story anew in “American Heiress:  The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst.”

JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour):  On February 4, 1974, 19-year-old Patty Hearst, granddaughter of publishing titan William Randolph Hearst, was kidnapped from her home in Berkeley, California, by members of a radical group that called itself the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

It was an event that riveted the nation, even more so when, not long after her abduction, it began to look as though Hearst might have joined the group.  In April, she took part in a bank robbery.  Hearst was captured in September 1975, more than a year after six members of the SLA were killed in a gun battle with police in Los Angeles.

She served almost two years in prison before her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter.  She later received a full pardon from President Clinton.

The incredible story is told anew in “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst.”

And author Jeffrey Toobin, staff writer at “The New Yorker” and legal analyst for CNN, joins me now.

Welcome.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, Author, “American Heiress”:  Good to be here.

JEFFREY BROWN:  I want to begin where you do.  It's the strangeness of this period, the early 1970s, the violence that was almost routine in a country at that time that is difficult to even remember or imagine.

JEFFREY TOOBIN:  Think about one fact, one fact alone, 1,000 political bombings a year in '72, '73, '74.  Almost inconceivable.  That was what the world was like.

Skyjackings were epidemic.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Yes.

JEFFREY TOOBIN:  You had an actual revolutionary movement in this country that, while never likely to succeed, was disrupting the country, especially Northern California, in a way that's it's just hard to believe.

JEFFREY BROWN:  I was just even thinking about the opening of the Olympics, of course, in 1972 was the Munich Olympics, right, what happened there.

JEFFREY TOOBIN:  Of course.

JEFFREY BROWN:  That the world…

JEFFREY TOOBIN:  And Watergate (scandal), and the energy crisis, nervous breakdown collectively for the country.

ISIS - Syrian Child-Soldier's Escape

"One Syrian child soldier's desperate struggle to escape ISIS" PBS NewsHour 8/5/2016

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SUMMARY:  Their faces are flooding the internet:  the thousands of child soldiers fighting in Syria.  Whether they join armed groups out of economic need or a sense of cultural obligation, these children become instruments of violence and propaganda, often witnessing--and executing--acts of sheer inhumanity.  For those able to escape, like 15-year-old Ibrahim, the trauma proves difficult to overcome.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  For centuries, children have been used as weapons of war.  Today's conflict in Syria is no exception.

ISIS has recruited and exploited children in Syria and Iraq, using them as soldiers, informants and even executioners.

NewsHour special correspondent Marcia Biggs brings us a profile of one former ISIS child solder, and his deep emotional scars.

And a warning:  This report contains material that may be disturbing to some viewers.

MARCIA BIGGS (NewsHour):  The images are all over the Internet, children growing up in the ranks of armed groups in the war in Syria.  This child in an ISIS propaganda video beheads a Syrian regime soldier.  These children execute captured soldiers in the ancient city of Palmyra.

According to a study published by Georgia State University, it's a phenomenon that's playing out on all sides of the conflict, with almost 1,000 children in the last three years showing up in online eulogies, calling kids martyrs, having died for the cause.

And those are only the ones whose videos made it to the Internet.

Riyad Al-Najem represents one of only a handful of small local organizations trying to combat this problem inside Syria, visiting families one by one.

RIYAD AL-NAJEM, Executive Manager, Hurras Network:  In some areas, the main reason of child recruitment is poverty.  Parents can't find food for their children, so they push them into armed groups to get money and food.  In other areas, it's about culture.  Parents consider that their children have become men, and they should carry weapons, that it's not acceptable for a child of his cousin holding a weapon and he's not.

MARCIA BIGGS:  In Idlib province, activists from the group Children Not Soldiers hang signs and spray-paint graffiti to create awareness.

The U.N. has a campaign of the same name, but has not yet been able to gain a foothold here.  Fighting recruitment of children is an uphill battle within a brutal war.  And no activists can work in highly radicalized areas, where a sinister form of manipulation is used as ammunition.

We met Ibrahim and his mother, Rania, in a hotel in Southern Turkey.  They were too afraid of ISIS sleeper cells to meet elsewhere.  We can't show you their faces.

Before the revolution, Ibrahim loved math and dreamed of being an aeronautical engineer.  His father was killed by a sniper in 2012, leaving his mother alone with three children.  Ibrahim was 13 years old when ISIS took his town of Deir el-Zour, and enlisted him and his friends.

IBRAHIM, Former ISIS Soldier (through translator):  They started to recite verses from the Koran, speeches from Mohammed.  They said they were the real Islamic State and would fulfill all the obligations of Islam.  They came to us and said, you will be martyrs and you will earn paradise and virgins.

MARCIA BIGGS:  He says he began as an informer, and then graduated to weapons training.

IBRAHIM (through translator):  They had me be a rat for the people who smoked, who didn't go to mosque.  They forced me to follow the women who didn't wear the right clothes and bring them in from the street.  Sometimes, they brought captive soldiers, and they told us, if you want to kill any of these prisoners, you are allowed to kill them.

POLICING IN AMERICA - The Questions

"What is it like to be a black police officer in America?" PBS NewsHour 7/15/2016

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SUMMARY:  NewsHour's Hari Sreenivasan sits down with the President of the Black Police Association of Greater Dallas for a deeper look at police misconduct, the code of silence, and what it is like to be both a police officer and an African American in 2016. 

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  How long do you think until this community heals itself from this?

LIEUTENANT THOMAS GLOVER, President of the Black Police Association:  I'd like to say we're on our way to healing now but all it takes is the next bad actor to upset that…

HARI SREENIVASAN:  We went to see Lieutenant Thomas Glover in Dallas two days after the police shootings.  He's the President of the area's Black Police Association and has the perspective on what it's like to be a police officer and an African American.  I started by asking him if it's possible to want criminal justice reform while at the same time valuing the life of every police officer.

LIEUTENANT THOMAS GLOVER:  I think it is, as an individual I'm that way, as an African American man, in America with over 35 years on the police department, I am that way.  The majority of the police officers that I know, we all want to see behavior that is improperly exhibited by a police officer criminalized.  You have to do your job as a police officer and then, on the other hand, when you remove your uniform and badge and you go home many of us spend our times in the black community.  The social organizations we tend to become members of are black, the fraternities, sororities, alumni associations so we go from being police officers who work in a process where its our duty to do what we were sworn to do and that's uphold the laws but then you have some very heinous things that happen.  I will not compromise my convictions, as an African American male for the convenience of being a police officer, just can't do it.  I have reported misconduct.  I have reported what I believe was to be excessive force and I have vigorously tried to call out people who openly practice what I would say were discriminatory acts or racist acts of treatment of people of color.  And so that crossroads is very evident as an African American police officer because first of all you are a part of the community.  There's nothing I will ever be able to do that will dissolve my black skin, nothing. 

"A long, violent battle over policing meets hope for change in Newark" PBS NewsHour 7/15/2016

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SUMMARY:  Forty-nine years ago this week, Newark, in New Jersey burned in rebellion against police brutality and racial injustice.  Today, activists and authorities continue to grapple with many of the same issues.  In this segment, hear perspectives from protesters and police at a Newark rally in the wake of the shootings in Dallas, St. Paul and Baton Rouge. 

"Social media plays major role in national debate on police violence" PBS NewsHour 7/15/2016

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SUMMARY:  Last week, news broke on social media on the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, and of police officers in Dallas.  Platforms like Facebook Live provided audiences with a front row seat to violent and graphic imagery that sparked national debate about police brutality and race relations in America.  At the same time, social media provided a platform for messages of support and pleas for unity.  Hari Sreenivasan reports. 

"Would eliminating low-level offenses stop police shootings?" PBS NewsHour 7/15/2016

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SUMMARY:  Newshour Weekend special correspondent Chris Bury reports on new efforts in the Twin Cities of Minnesota to change how and when police interact with residents.  In almost an opposite theory to what's been called “Broken Windows” policing, there is an organized move to eliminate many low-level offenses.  This approach raises the question:  Would many of the police shootings of young men of color happen, if they were never pulled over or stopped in the first place?

"Finding common ground amid civil unrest" PBS NewsHour 7/15/2016

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SUMMARY:  Monifa Bandele, the senior campaign director of MomsRising.Org; Journalist Ian Tuttle, a fellow at the National Review; and retired NY police detective Marquez Claxton, director of the Black Law Enforcement Alliance, discuss their thoughts on how to find common ground on policing, protest and race.

TERRORISM - Attack in France

"SCORES KILLED AFTER TRUCK RAMS CROWD" by ALISSA J.  RUBIN, ADAM NOSSITER, CHRISTOPHER MELE; San Diego Union-Tribune 7/15/2015

NOTE:  This is from the on-line version of the paper, therefore no link to article.

Driver plows through revelers watching Bastille Day fireworks in Nice; Hollande calls it terrorist assault

A Bastille Day fireworks celebration was shattered by death and mayhem Thursday night in France’s southern city of Nice when a large truck barreled for more than a mile through an enormous crowd of spectators, crushing dozens in what the president called a terrorist assault.  It came eight months after the Paris attacks that traumatized the nation and all of Europe.

Officials and witnesses in Nice said at least 80 people, including children, were killed by the driver of the rampaging truck, who mowed them down on the sidewalk.  He was shot to death by the police as officers scrambled to respond on what is France’s most important annual holiday.

Graphic television and video images showed the truck accelerating and tearing through the crowd, dozens of victims sprawled in its path, and the bullet- riddled windshield of the vehicle.  Municipal officials and police officers described the truck as full of weapons and grenades.

“The horror, the horror has, once again, hit France,” President François Hollande said in a nationally televised address early today.  He said the “terrorist character” of the assault was undeniable and he described the use of a large truck to deliberately kill people as “a monstrosity.”

“France has been struck on the day of her national holiday,” he said.  “Human rights are denied by fanatics, and France is clearly their target.”  Hollande, who only hours earlier had proclaimed the impending end of a state of national emergency on July 26, said it would be extended by three months and that additional soldiers would be deployed for security.

In Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama released a statement Thursday night condemning “what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack in Nice, France.”  He said he had directed his team to get in touch with French officials to assist with the investigation into the attack.

“We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack,” the statement said.

French officials quickly came to the conclusion of terrorism as the likely motive, as the scope of the slaughter grew clear.  The use of a large commercial truck as the principal weapon of death raised new questions over how to prevent such attacks.  The officials warned residents to stay indoors and canceled all further scheduled festivities in Nice, a seaside city of 340,000, including a five-day jazz festival and concert tonight by Rihanna.  “There are numerous victims,” said Pierre-Henry Brandet, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, on BFM Television.  “It’s a tragic, exceptional situation.”

Witnesses described scenes of pandemonium, with conflicting accounts on social media, including a false report of hostage-taking in Nice.

“We were enjoying the celebrations when we suddenly saw people running everywhere and tables being pushed down by the movement of panic,” said Daphne Burand, 15, who was at a bar near the beach to watch the fireworks.

“No one explained to us what was happening, and I heard some gunshots not very far away,” she said.  “I waited at the bar for more information because I thought it was a false alert.  But then, people were still running.”

San Diegan Tony Molina told news stations he was vacationing in Nice with his wife and 14-year-old son and had witnessed the attack.

“It was zig-zagging,” he said of the truck in a brief interview aired by CBS News 8 in San Diego.  “I would say it was going about 25 to 30 miles an hour as it did so, and just plummeting through.  It looked like it was hitting several people.  I can tell you right now, even as I look out in front of our area, I see about 10 covered bodies that they haven’t even begun processing yet.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, and the identity of the driver was not immediately clear, but the Nice Matin newspaper reported early today that he was a 31-year-old Frenchman of Tunisian origin.

Christian Estrosi, a former mayor of Nice and currently president of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, said in one of a series of Twitter messages that the truck was carrying arms and explosives when it struck the crowd about 10:30 p.m.  local time.

Estrosi told French television channel BFM TV that “the driver fired on the crowd, according to the police who killed him.”

He added that the driver’s behavior appeared to be “completely premeditated.”

The attack amounted to a gut-punch to a nation that was struggling to restore some sense of normalcy and had begun to drop its guard.

Hours after Hollande said during Bastille Day festivities in Paris that “we cannot prolong the state of emergency eternally,” the massive white truck came crashing through.

The main strip through Nice was littered with bodies, one after the other.

“Whatever the nature of what happened in Nice, the threat of terrorism is particularly high,” Brandet, the Interior Ministry spokesman, said on the iTele television station.  He added that security forces were on high alert in the area and in cities around France.

Dozens of people were seriously injured and many more were psychologically shocked, Brandet said.  The region has activated a so-called White Plan, put in place during the Nov. 13 Paris terror attacks, to open all emergency rooms to receive victims, he added.

The Islamic State, the militant group that asserted responsibility for the attacks in Paris last November that killed 130 people, did not make any immediate claims for the Nice assault.

It typically takes the Islamic State several hours, and sometimes up to one and even two days, to assert responsibility for attacks in Western countries.  It typically does so through its Amaq channel on the encrypted phone app Telegram, which serves as the group’s news wire.

However, as in the hours immediately after the Paris, Brussels and Orlando attacks, there was a now familiar celebration on channels run by groups that support the Islamic State, as well as on at least one channel affiliated with the group, also known as ISIS and ISIL.  They cheered, and laughed at the carnage.

On a channel created Thursday, called the United Cyber Caliphate, run by a group that has previously attempted to carry out cyberattacks in the Islamic State’s name, a message included a single word — France — followed by a smiley face.

The channel of an Islamic State member, Aswarti Media, which has repeatedly been shut down, was posting the phrase “Allahu Akbar.”  Yet another suspected pro-ISIS channel showed an image of the Eiffel Tower going up in flames.

Several pro-Islamic State forums posted old messages in which the terrorist group urged followers to carry out lone-wolf attacks against France.

Analysts noted that the Islamic State has called on its followers to kill civilians in Western countries by any means possible.

The Nice attack took place just as the Euro 2016 soccer tournament had concluded.  France had hosted the tournament, and the entire country had been on high alert.  There had been reports that suspects linked to the attacks in Paris and the Brussels assault in March had planned an attack during the tournament.

With tens of thousands of people gathered at stadiums and in designated “fan zones” during the games, the police and private security took extraordinary measures to try to secure the sites.

It was difficult to know if the measures were successful or if in fact there were no plans to attack the soccer tournament.

One question people will be asking is whether the security forces, as well as civilians, let their guard down once the tournament was over thinking that the danger had passed.

TERROR IN AMERICA - Orlando Shooting

"LGBT, Latino community hit hard by massacre in Orlando" PBS NewsHour 6/12/2016

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SUMMARY:  Pres. Barack Obama said Sunday that he stands in support with the LGBT community after a gunman killed 50 people at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando.  Carlos Smith of Equality Rights, a group that advocates for LGBT rights, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss what the attack means to the community.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  President Obama noted that today's mass shooting is especially painful for gay and lesbian Americans as a club where they socialized in solidarity was the target.  To discuss what the Orlando mass shooting means for the LGBT community, I am joined by Carlos Smith from Equality Florida, a group that fights for LGBT rights.  Tell us a bit about the community that was affected today.

CARLOS SMITH, EQUALITY FLORIDA:  Sure.  Well, our entire community is devastated, and Equality Florida sends its thoughts and prayers to all of those who were affected by this tragedy.  This tragedy happened at a popular nightclub, Pulse Orlando, a gay nightclub.  It happened during LGBTQ Pride Month.  It happened at a time when the club was at maximum capacity.  So it's clear that the shooter had every intent of inflicting the maximum amount of violence and damage.

And I think what's really important to understand is that the LGBTQ community has gone to gay nightclubs like Pulse Orlando and places around the country for decades, since the days of Stonewall, as a place where people can be safe, as a place where people can with who they are and have a sense of community.

So we're devastated to see this type of violence.  But I think it's also important that people understand that the central Florida LGBTQ community is standing in solidarity also with the Muslim and Islamic community.  Both of our communities have been targets of violence, of hate and of discrimination.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Is there a history of disproportionate discrimination or just any discrimination against the LGBT community in Florida, in central Florida?

CARLOS SMITH:  Well, what we've seen unfortunately in the last couple of years is there has been a rash of violence, particularly against transgender women of color.  There was a hate crime murder incident that happened actually recently in Florida that was devastating to the community that targeted a transgender black woman.

And what we're seeing now is that even in the year 2016, hate and bigotry still exists.  And we're doing what we can in our communities, at the local level, at the state level, at the national level, to eradicate all forms of hate and discrimination, and to make sure that we fight against all phobias.  Not just homophobia, not just transphobia, but also against Islamophobia.

"Orlando Sentinel editor on shooting:  ‘We joined that list'" PBS NewsHour 6/12/2016

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SUMMARY:  The attack that killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando was a devastating blow to the local community.  Managing Editor of the Orlando Sentinel joins Hari Sreenivasan via Skype to discuss the latest developments.

"Can the U.S. do more to prevent ISIS-inspired attacks?" PBS NewsHour 6/12/2016

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SUMMARY:  When a terror attack occurs in the U.S. -- often it can provoke a change in policy which may or may not be in the country's best interest.  Stephen Biddle of the Council of Foreign Affairs and Policy joins Hari Sreenivasan for some analysis on what policymakers can do to respond to these attacks.

OPINION - Shields and Brooks 6/3/2016

"Shields and Brooks on persistent violence at Trump rallies, Clinton’s new line of attack" PBS NewsHour 6/3/2016

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SUMMARY:  Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Hari Sreenivasan to discuss the week in politics, including the continued violence at Donald Trump’s rallies, how the Obama administration could have approached the recession differently, House Speaker Paul Ryan’s conflicted presidential endorsement, and Hillary Clinton’s new line of attack against Trump.

Trump!

PARIS RECKONING - Anti-Radicalization Conference

"Relatives of Western jihadist fighters go public, hoping to stop others" PBS NewsHour 5/3/2016

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SUMMARY:  Relatives of fighters who joined the Islamic State militants and other groups came together at an anti-radicalization conference in Paris with hopes of reaching a turning point in the fight against extremism.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  While we’re reporting on that war-torn country, for months, we have reported on Western-born young people who travel to Syria to join the Islamic State.

Parents and relatives of some of the young European men who’d joined ISIS and other extremist groups met late last week at a conference in Paris.  Among the group were also family members of victims of the terrorist attacks last fall in Paris.  They gathered to grieve, to condemn terrorism and the extremism that drives it, and look for ways to prevent other young people from following the fates of their loved ones.

From Paris, special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

MALCOLM BRABANT (NewsHour):  This is the Bataclan club, where Islamist gunmen slaughtered 89 concert-goers last November the 13th.

It was, briefly, a place of pilgrimage for a group of people inextricably linked to the massacre through the ideology embraced by their relatives, even though they didn’t participate in the attack.

Karolina Dam, mother of 18-year-old Lukas, a boy with learning difficulties, converted and radicalized in Denmark and believed killed in an airstrike on the Syrian Turkish border.  Janne Mortensen (ph), also from Denmark, whose convert foster son, Kenneth, was killed in Syria three years ago.

Briton Michael Evans, whose brother Thomas converted and joined Al-Shabaab in Africa.  This footage shows the jihadist with the nom de guerre Abdul Hakim just before he was killed in a battle with Kenyan troops.

MICHAEL EVANS, Brother of Killed Foreign Fighter:  It’s just such a tragic waste of life.  You know, people out just enjoying their night were cut down for nothing.  It’s so sad to be here.  I don’t understand how someone who is my own flesh and blood could be — could think like this.  I just don’t understand.

MALCOLM BRABANT:  Canadian Christianne Boudreau wants deradicalization programs to make the most of the experiences of families like these, by using them as educators, helpers, and guides.

She’s campaigning in memory of her convert son Damian killed in fighting near Aleppo in Syria.
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BJORN IHLER, Utoya Survivor:  All forms of extremism are very similar in many ways.  Extremism thrives on the same kind of factors regardless of what ideology is titled.  And at the end of the day, their ideology very quickly becomes just an excuse, essentially, for being violent.

The issues we need to address are not necessarily the theological issues, but rather the ideological issue of violence and how violence is being used for political means.

RUNNING SCARED - Assassins in Kenya

"Why assassins are hunting these Burundian refugees in Kenya" PBS NewsHour 4/26/2016

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SUMMARY:  One year ago, Burundi's president announced he was running for a third term, which triggered a failed coup, protests and a violent crackdown.  Hundreds died and at least 220,000 have left the country.  Special correspondent Nick Schifrin reports from Nairobi, where some Burundian refugees from the opposition have fled for safety, but instead are being hunted down by men sent by the government.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  It has been one year since Burundi's president, Pierre Nkurunziza, announced he was running for a third term, a move widely considered unconstitutional.  His announcement triggered a failed coup, a questioned election, mass protests, and a violent crackdown on the opposition.

Since then, at least 400 people have been killed and 3,500 arrested.  More than 220,000 people fled the country.  Divisions between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups have characterized past violence in Burundi, but, on Sunday, Marguerite Barankitse was honored for her work helping Burundian orphans and refugees, regardless of ethnicity.  She received a million dollars from an Armenian group.  The money will be donated to the organization of her choice.

Still, ethnic identity can be a matter of life or death for Burundians, even those outside the country.

Special correspondent Nick Schifrin, partnering with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, found Burundian refugees 900 miles from home, in Nairobi, Kenya, where they thought they'd be safe.  But their enemies have tracked them down.

NICK SCHIFRIN (NewsHour):  It's just past midnight.  We're in Nairobi, Kenya, and this isn't only a cornfield.  This is a kind of protection because, right behind me, there's a house full of men, and all night, every night, two of them are in the field standing guard, using old weapons like a crowbar and a rusty knife.

They are too scared to sleep, and too scared to show their faces.  They are Burundian refugees who say they're being hunted.

The men who are guarding the house, can they really defend you from the people who are hunting you?

MAN (through interpreter):  The weapons you see here can only be used against the dogs you hear barking.  If there were an enemy coming here with a grenade or a machine gun, we wouldn't be able to resist.

NICK SCHIFRIN:  Twenty-year-old Arnold is a Burundian refugee.  He lives in this tin shack with seven other refugees.  It's a 150-square-foot church library.

MAN (through interpreter):  We have no mattresses, no food.  As refugees, we can't find jobs, and we are scared of being arrested and sent back from where we were.

NICK SCHIFRIN:  Where they were was Burundi's capital, Bujumbura.  A systematic campaign targeted the government's political opponents, leaving some of their bodies in the street.

The U.N. warns that President Nkurunziza is helping lead the country to a second civil war by transforming politics into ethnic conflict between Hutus and Tutsis.  That's the same ethnic divide in Rwanda that sparked the 1994 genocide.

In the last year, 225,000 Burundians have fled the violence to cities they hoped were safe.  But, even here, they hide their faces.

Today, here in Nairobi, which of you is afraid?

All of these men escaped from Burundi.  Kenyan activist Tom Oketch brought them together to discuss their rights and try to calm their fears.

NIGERIA - Pain and Promise

"Civilians are caught in the middle of the war against Boko Haram" PBS NewsHour 11/30/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  While the Nigerian military has made significant gains against Boko Haram, killings by the group continue, with some civilians caught in the middle.  As part of a week-long series "Nigeria: Pain and Promise," special correspondent Nick Schifrin reports with producer and cameraman Zach Fannin on the government's attempts to wipe out the militant group.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  Tonight, we begin a week-long series on Africa’s most populous country, “Nigeria: Pain and Promise.”

Special correspondent Nick Schifrin and producer and cameraman Zach Fannin spent more than a month on the ground there, chronicling a nation in the midst of an encouraging and impressive economic boom, but still plagued by income inequality, corruption and terrorism.

This evening, we look at the government’s attempts to wipe out Boko Haram, a terrorist group that killed more people in 2014 than the Islamic State we hear so much about.

While the Nigerian military has made significant gains, the killings by the group continue.  As we report, some civilians are getting caught in the middle.

A warning:  Some of the images in this report may be disturbing.

NICK SCHIFRIN (NewsHour):  On the outskirts of Maiduguri, the men who protect the city fight with whatever they can find, 40-year-old shotguns and iPhone ear buds.  Some carve their own clubs.  Others patrol in floral and kitchen knives.

What they lack in weaponry, they make up for in divinely inspired confidence.

There’s a couple of shotguns.  There’s a few machetes, a few knives, but that’s it.

ABBA AJI KALLI, Civilian JTF:  Yes.

NICK SCHIFRIN:  I mean, what would you actually be able to do if you ran into Boko Haram out here?

MAN:  We chased them out of Maiduguri with stick and we didn’t even have a gun, and when they have AK-47, they have RPG on their hand, but we pushed them out.

ABBA AJI KALLI:  God has put the fear of the Civilian JTF in their heart.  Well done.

NICK SCHIFRIN:  Fifty-one-year-old Abba Aji Kalli leads the Civilian JTF, for Joint Task Force.  He used to be a government auditor.  Today, he’s more comfortable on the front lines.

"Can Nigeria’s booming economy lift its poorest people?" PBS NewsHour 12/1/2015

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SUMMARY:  Nigeria is a nation of superlatives.  It’s Africa's richest country and its fastest growing economy.  At the same time, millions still live in poverty and lack basic services like running water.  As part of a week-long series "Nigeria: Pain and Promise," special correspondent Nick Schifrin reports on the country's massive economic surge, new millionaires, growing inequality and those fighting to provide new opportunities for all Nigerians.

"How a cancer of corruption steals Nigerian oil, weapons and lives" PBS NewsHour 12/2/2015

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SUMMARY:  In Nigeria, where corruption is part of daily life, police officers routinely demand bribes, local government leaders pocket money meant for schools and the former national security advisor is accused of stealing billions from the military.  As part of a week-long series "Nigeria: Pain and Promise," special correspondent Nick Schifrin reports on the challenges of fighting corruption.

"Gay Nigerians face beatings, harsh prison sentences, even death" PBS NewsHour 12/3/2015

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SUMMARY:  Nigeria made same-sex marriage and gay rights activism illegal last January.  Since then, gay Nigerians say abuse and extortion have become commonplace by state-sponsored vigilantes, police and public mobs.  As part of a week-long series "Nigeria: Pain and Promise," special correspondent Nick Schifrin reports on the threats and violence that LGBT citizens face in that country.

"Understanding Nigeria, a country of pain, promise and complexity" PBS NewsHour 12/4/2015

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SUMMARY:  NewsHour has focused in on Nigeria for a week-long series, “Pain and Promise,” examining the fight against Boko Haram, economic development, corruption and LGBT discrimination.  Special correspondent Nick Schifrin and Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of "Americanah," speak with William Brangham about that country’s complexity.

FRANCE - Paris Attacks

"Attackers launch coordinated terror strikes on multiple sites in Paris" PBS NewsHour 11/13/2015

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SUMMARY:  Terror has struck again in Paris, where multiple shootings and bombings across the city, leaving as many as 120 dead.  Police say scores were killed at a concert hall, where attackers also took hostages.  Judy Woodruff gets an update from Kate Moody of France 24.

"What authorities are asking about the Paris attacks tonight" PBS NewsHour 11/13/2015

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SUMMARY:  Who is capable of conducting the multiple-target attack that terrorized Paris on Friday night?  Judy Woodruff talks to Lorenzo Vidino of George Washington University.

CAMEROON - U.S. Troops

"U.S. sending troops to Cameroon to monitor Boko Haram" PBS NewsHour 10/16/2015

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SUMMARY:  A series of suicide bombings rocked Nigeria today.  They come as the Obama administration announced 300 U.S. soldiers would be sent to neighboring Cameroon.  For more on the situation, Hari Sreenivasan speaks to Peter Pham of the Atlantic Council.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  The deadly attacks in Nigeria this week come as the Obama administration announced 300 U.S. soldiers would be sent to neighboring Cameroon.

For more on all this, I’m joined now by Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.

What does the U.S. hope to accomplish here?  What kind of skills are we bringing?

PETER PHAM, Atlantic Council:  Well, two things, Hari, first to provide better intelligence on the increase in cross-border activity of Boko Haram.

It’s no longer just a threat in Nigeria, but the group is reaching into Niger, into Chad and into Cameroon, so to monitor those movements.  And then, secondly, to — once the full complement of the 300 U.S. personnel are there, to engage in some further training of Cameroon’s military.

Cameroon’s military has a unit, the so-called rapid reaction force, known by its French acronym BIR.  The BIR has been U.S.-trained, has had U.S. cooperation and equipment since 2009.  It’s one of the best military units in the region, and so bringing them up to speed, up to the level necessary to fight this new type of challenge that they’re facing.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  And compare that to the rest of the neighborhood, so to speak, or their military capacity.

PETER PHAM:  Well, Nigeria has the largest military in terms of personnel in the region, but, since 1999, when the military ceded power back to civilian rule, in an effort to avoid future military coups, the Nigerian military was starved of resources.

And where the resources were allocated, it was primarily to build up peacekeeping capability.  And Nigeria has contributed very well to peacekeeping activities in Africa and places like Darfur, as well as elsewhere in the world.  But the skill sets in peacekeeping are entirely different from war fighting, much less the type of specialized warfare, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism that Boko Haram calls for.

Chad has a battle-seasoned army, but it again faces a new type of challenge in Boko Haram.  Niger is one of America’s best partners in Africa, but it’s a desperately poor country.  It’s been a good cooperation in security cooperation, but it needs our help.

So, really, we’re struggling to find the units that can be trained up to the standards we need.

MALE CHAUVINIST WORLD - Teen Consent

"Prep school rape trial raises questions about teen consent" PBS NewsHour 8/28/2015

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SUMMARY:  Nineteen-year-old Owen Labrie, a former student at a prep school in New Hampshire, was accused of raping a freshman girl in 2014, but a jury cleared him of felony rape, convicting him on other lesser charges.  Jeffrey Brown discusses the case and the idea of sexual consent with Deborah Tuerkheimer of Northwestern University School of Law and Emily Bazelon of The New York Times Magazine.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  ..... we return to questions and concerns being raised about sexual assault among teens at the high school and college level, and what sort of consent can and should be given.

A trial over an alleged case of rape at an elite boarding school in New Hampshire concluded today.  The case has attracted national attention, and it touches on some broader issues.

Jeffrey Brown starts with some background.

WOMAN:  Guilty or not guilty?

WOMAN:  Guilty.

JEFFREY BROWN (NewsHour):  Owen Labrie wept as the verdict was read aloud in a New Hampshire state courtroom.  The former prep school student had been accused of raping a freshman girl before his graduation in May 2014.

But the jury this afternoon cleared him of felony rape and instead convicted him on three misdemeanor sex charges and one felony count of using a computer to lure a minor for sexual contact.  During the trial, prosecutors argued Labrie forced himself on the alleged victim during a so-called senior salute, a tradition at Saint Paul’s where some older students arrange trysts with younger ones, including for sex.

OWEN LABRIE, Defendant:  I thought she was having a good time.

JEFFREY BROWN:  Labrie said there was consensual sexual contact between the two, but later testified that — quote — “divine inspiration” compelled him to stop short of intercourse.

OWEN LABRIE:  I thought to myself, maybe we shouldn’t do this.  It hadn’t been my intention going into the night to have sex.

JEFFREY BROWN:  The identity of the victim, now 16 years old, has not been released.  She testified that she said no to Labrie three times during the encounter.

INTERNET - Viral Violence

QUESTION:  Is violence going viral on the internet different from violence gone 'viral' on TV news?

"When a shooter’s violent video goes viral" PBS NewsHour 8/27/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  A shocking, televised murder in Virginia has provoked a wide array of questions about the shooter and how horrific images go viral online.  Gwen Ifill speaks with Deborah Potter of NewsLab; Lance Ulanoff, chief correspondent and editor-at-large at Mashable, and Barry Rosenfeld of Fordham University.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  We look now at what made this latest shooting sadly familiar and shockingly different with Lance Ulanoff, chief correspondent & editor at large at Mashable, the digital media Web site; Barry Rosenfeld, a professor of psychology and director of clinical training at Fordham University; and Deborah Potter, the founder of NewsLab, a nonprofit journalism resource center.  She is also a former television news correspondent and anchor.

Lance Ulanoff, was it only a matter of time before someone live-tweeted something so horrific?

LANCE ULANOFF, Mashable:  Yes, unfortunately, I think that’s true.

We are never without our technology.  It surrounds us.  It permeates our lives.  We have powerful computers in our pockets, and we have been — you know, we are training our children from the youngest age to use social media, so it’s something that comes very naturally to us.

And what I noticed as part of this, this horrifying crime, is that the use of social media seemed to be kind of a natural act happening as he was doing these things.  It didn’t feel — that part of it didn’t feel particularly premeditated.

GWEN IFILL:  Well, not only his act, but also was it a natural act that people instinctively shared what he put up online?

LANCE ULANOFF:  Yes.  Yes, it is.

But, you know, it’s funny, because I look at this guy, Flanagan, and I think to myself, this is a person who committed a heinous crime who wasn’t in his right mind, and used social media in a way that terrifies me.  The people who reshared what they saw, I understand the impulse, because you see something, it’s newsworthy, that is what we do in this modern age.

But I am surprised that they didn’t stop for a moment and realize and think about what they were doing.  And that’s kind of where I think we probably have to take a closer look.

SOUTH AFRICA - Migrant Fear

"Living in fear after attacks on migrants in South Africa" PBS NewsHour 8/5/2015

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SUMMARY:  In South Africa this year there has been a wave of xenophobic attacks against migrants coming from other parts of Africa.  Special correspondent Martin Seemungal looks at roots of the violence and the fear that these foreigners face.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  We turn now to South Africa, where a wave of violence against migrants earlier this year left many victims frightened and the government struggling for a solution to the resurgence of xenophobia, the fear of people from other countries.

NewsHour special correspondent Martin Seemungal has our report from Durban, South Africa.

A warning:  Some of the images in this story may be disturbing.

MARTIN SEEMUNGAL (NewsHour):  Six dead, hundreds injured, 5,000 migrants forced to seek refuge in hastily organized camps, all due to a wave of anti-foreigner violence in South Africa.

Police have watched over this refugee camp for immigrants for two months, guarding people who came here for safety, being told now it is time to return home.

Anicet Bigirimana is from Burundi.  He says the attack on his family was sudden and extremely violent.

ANICET BIGIRIMANA, Migrant:  The first time they came, they put — they took my son.  They put him — a tire in the petrol.  They almost burned him.  But today — there’s another neighbor who grip (grabbed) him from their hands.  That’s how they started.

MARTIN SEEMUNGAL:  This Somali immigrant running for his life from a group of South Africans also survived, this attack, one of many in April, part of a wave of xenophobic attacks against other Africans living and working here.

According to official statistics, there are just over two million immigrants in South Africa, and somewhere between 500,000 and one million are undocumented.  The worst violence was in the Durban area.  Parts of downtown became battle zones, as migrants fought back.

It appeared to be part of a systematic campaign against people from African countries, in particular Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Congo, and Malawi, but there is no clear indication who was responsible for organizing the attacks.

Chris Van Den Berg is a city councilman for a district in Durban that includes a number of villages in the surrounding hills.

CHRIS VAN DEN BERG, City Councillor, Durban:  There was a group about 80-odd plus, people with bangers and bush knives, telling people very clearly that they could not be here Sunday morning, that they were going to be — they were either going to be killed or attacked.

HOMICIDE IN AMERICA - The Surge in Cities

"After declining for decades, homicides surge in cities across the country" PBS NewsHour 8/4/2015

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  The first half of this year has been a more violent and tragic one in many cities, leading police, community leaders, families and friends of victims to ask, what’s happening?

Across the country, scenes like these are playing out, at an escalating pace.  The Major Cities Police Chiefs Association reports homicides have spiked this year after hitting 50-year lows in 2013.  Members of the group voiced alarm at a Washington meeting on Monday.

J. THOMAS MANGER, President, Major Cities Chiefs Association:  What we focused on was the fact that we’re going to shooting scenes now where you have got more and more victims being shot, you have got more spent rounds being collected as evidence, and we’re finding more and more high-capacity magazines involved in these shootings.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  The association reports homicides are up an average of 19 percent in 35 big cities.  Chicago has the dubious distinction of leading the list, with 252 killings, up 20 percent.  But Saint Louis and Milwaukee have seen increases of 64 to 88 percent.  The city of Baltimore had 45 homicides in July alone, the most since 1972.

That followed the death of Freddie Gray in police custody last April, and the resulting riots.  Yesterday, Baltimore leaders announced federal agencies will embed special agents with city detectives.

Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings:

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), Maryland:  The only people who are getting — making — doing pretty good now are the morticians.  They’re the only ones.  And I say that we are a city that is better than that.  And so to all of our — all those folks who think that you have got to — you get your power from carrying a gun and shooting somebody and hurting somebody, I’m begging you, put your guns down.

JUDY WOODRUFF:  Meanwhile, police chiefs say they are still trying to fully understand what’s behind the surge in killings.

"What caused the dramatic tipping point in deadly shootings?" PBS NewsHour 8/4/2015

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SUMMARY:  Why has there been a dramatic spike in homicides this year?  Judy Woodruff speaks to Col. Sam Dotson, chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and Edward Flynn, chief of the Milwaukee Police Department, two cities that have seen a substantial rise in murders, about the wide availability of guns, scrutiny of the criminal justice system, an increase in heroin use and systemic poverty.

GUNS IN AMERICA - Mass Shootings

"Shooting at movie theater kills two, injures nine" PBS NewsHour 7/24/2015

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SUMMARY:  A shooting at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, has left two dead, and nine injured.  The shooting comes in the wake of two recent mass shootings; one in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where four Marines and a sailor were killed; and another in Charleston, South Carolina, where nine members of the Charleston AME church were killed.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  We take a deeper look now at last night’s deadly shooting in Louisiana and the broader questions raised after tragedies involving guns.

William Brangham starts us off.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (NewsHour):  Police and emergency responders quickly descended on the Grand 16 movie theater after gunfire erupted during a showing last night of the comedy “Trainwreck.”

WOMAN:  We were buying popcorn at the concession stand when a whole group of people, teenagers mainly, running out, telling everyone to run for their life.  And then we saw a lady with blood all over her leg.  I just grabbed my child.  I mean, we just all ran.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM:  The gunman, identified as 59-year-old John Russel Houser, opened fire on the crowd just 20 minutes into the film.  Investigators this morning characterized Houser as a drifter.

JIM CRAFT, Lafayette, Louisiana, Police Chief:  It is apparent that he was intent on shooting and then escaping.  What happened is that the quick law enforcement response forced him back into the theater, at which time he shot himself.

"Why is it so difficult to stop mass shootings in the U.S.?" PBS NewsHour 7/24/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Following recent mass shootings, NewsHour begins a series called “Guns in America” where we will talk with people intimately involved in the gun control debate.  Tonight we speak to author and advocate Mark Kelly, husband of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011, and Meghan Hoyer, part of the team at USA Today producing “Behind the Bloodshed:  The untold story of America’s mass killing.”