<> U.S. Troops Apologize For Wikileaks Massacre Video
<> Arizona Sheriff Says Cops Are Being Killed by Illegal Aliens; Joins Call for U.S. Troops at Border
<> Exercise allows accounting students to become honorary IRS special agents
<> Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to Reduce Rate of Re-offenders with IBM Predictive Analytics
 
 

http://www.infowars.com/u-s-troops-apologize-for-wikileaks-massacre-video/

Paul Joseph Watson - Prison Planet.com
 

Two soldiers who were in the same company as the culprits featured in the infamous Wikileaks “Collateral Murder” video, which showed troops in Apache helicopters slaughtering Reuters cameramen and children while laughing about it, have apologized for the massacre while stating that the footage only begins to depict the suffering inflicted upon innocent Iraqis as a consequence of the occupation. The Wikileaks video provoked an international firestorm earlier this month after it showed U.S. troops slaughtering over a dozen innocent people, including two Reuters employees and the father of two children who were trapped in a rescue vehicle that also came under fire. The two children, Sajad Salah and his little sister Duaa Salah, survived but were badly wounded. One of the soldiers who wrote the letter of apology for the massacre, Ethan McCord, was the man who rescued the children from the van after his colleagues had finished bombarding it with gunfire, conscious of the fact that children were inside, while chuckling and making excuses for themselves.

[videos of these murders is availabe at http://www.collateralmurder.com/ and on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0]

Former U.S. Army specialists Josh Stieber and Ethan McCord have now publicly apologized for the massacre, expressing in an open letter to the Iraqi people their sorrow at the incident while pointing out that it represents just one example of the brutal suffering inflicted on the Iraqis since the March 2003 invasion.

“We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions,” states the letter.

“We have been speaking to whoever will listen, telling them that what was shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have created. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other veterans we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region.”

The regret expressed by the soldiers in the letter completely demolishes sick attempts by neo-cons to justify the unprovoked slaughter witnessed in the Wikileaks video.

As we reported when the video was released, neo-cons immediately set about defending the massacre, with some even claiming that the footage was part of an elaborate hoax. War crime apologists claimed the murders were justified because the footage showed Iraqis pointing RPGs at U.S. troops, but as the London Guardian reported at the time, “The video shows there is no shooting or even pointing of weapons. The men are standing around, apparently unperturbed.”

A subsequent allegorical video in which Alex Jones tortured and destroyed an iPad as a way of highlighting how people care more about the suffering of inanimate objects than they do Iraqis was met with similar debauched responses, with some individuals aggressively encouraging the slaughter of puppies and children in Iraq to “keep America safe from terrorists”.

Now that U.S. troops themselves are finding their souls and expressing their deep regret for the many abuses committed in Iraq, will neo-cons and other apologists for war crimes find it in their hearts to acknowledge the fact that killing innocent journalists, children and puppies, while torturing thousands in the numerous detention camps located not just in Iraq but all over the world, is not how the good guys are supposed to behave?

Will the Apache helicopter pilots who were directly responsible for the massacre now step forward and face justice for the slaughter, thereby setting a precedent and drastically reducing the number of innocent people murdered in these kind of incidents in future? Or will they, like the neo-cons, continue to make apologies and justifications for the brutal annihilation of innocent men, women and children?

The full letter can be read below.

AN OPEN LETTER OF RECONCILIATION & RESPONSIBILITY TO THE IRAQI PEOPLE

From Current and Former Members of the U.S. Military

Peace be with you.

To all of those who were injured or lost loved ones during the July 2007 Baghdad shootings depicted in the “Collateral Murder” Wikileaks video:

We write to you, your family, and your community with awareness that our words and actions can never restore your losses.

We are both soldiers who occupied your neighborhood for 14 months. Ethan McCord pulled your daughter and son from the van, and when doing so, saw the faces of his own children back home. Josh Stieber was in the same company but was not there that day, though he contributed to the your pain, and the pain of your community on many other occasions.

There is no bringing back all that was lost. What we seek is to learn from our mistakes and do everything we can to tell others of our experiences and how the people of the United States need to realize we have done and are doing to you and the people of your country. We humbly ask you what we can do to begin to repair the damage we caused.

We have been speaking to whoever will listen, telling them that what was shown in the Wikileaks video only begins to depict the suffering we have created. From our own experiences, and the experiences of other veterans we have talked to, we know that the acts depicted in this video are everyday occurrences of this war: this is the nature of how U.S.-led wars are carried out in this region.

We acknowledge our part in the deaths and injuries of your loved ones as we tell Americans what we were trained to do and what we carried out in the name of “god and country”. The soldier in the video said that your husband shouldn’t have brought your children to battle, but we are acknowledging our responsibility for bringing the battle to your neighborhood, and to your family. We did unto you what we would not want done to us.

More and more Americans are taking responsibility for what was done in our name. Though we have acted with cold hearts far too many times, we have not forgotten our actions towards you. Our heavy hearts still hold hope that we can restore inside our country the acknowledgment of your humanity, that we were taught to deny.

Our government may ignore you, concerned more with its public image. It has also ignored many veterans who have returned physically injured or mentally troubled by what they saw and did in your country. But the time is long overdue that we say that the value of our nation’s leaders no longer represent us. Our secretary of defense may say the U.S. won’t lose its reputation over this, but we stand and say that our reputation’s importance pales in comparison to our common humanity.

We have asked our fellow veterans and service-members, as well as civilians both in the United States and abroad, to sign in support of this letter, and to offer their names as a testimony to our common humanity, to distance ourselves from the destructive policies of our nation’s leaders, and to extend our hands to you.

With such pain, friendship might be too much to ask. Please accept our apology, our sorrow, our care, and our dedication to change from the inside out. We are doing what we can to speak out against the wars and military policies responsible for what happened to you and your loved ones. Our hearts are open to hearing how we can take any steps to support you through the pain that we have caused.

Solemnly and Sincerely,
Josh Stieber, former specialist, U.S. Army
Ethan McCord, former specialist, U.S. Army

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/64385

By  Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

 

(CNSNews.com) – Law enforcement officials from the Arizona counties hardest hit by illegal immigration say they want U.S. troops to help secure the border, to prevent the deaths of more officers at the hands of criminals who enter the country illegally. “We’ve had numerous officers that have been killed by illegal immigrants in Arizona,” Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Monday at a Capitol Hill news conference. “And that shouldn’t happen one time.”  Babeu said the violence in Arizona has reached “epidemic proportions” and must be stopped. “In just one patrol area, we’ve had 64 pursuits -- failure to yield for an officer -- in one month,” Babeu said. “That’s out of control.” The recent murder of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz, who was shot to death last month on his own property, apparently by an illegal alien, also has fueled public outrage.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu says violence in Arizona by criminal illegal  aliens has reached "epidemic proportions." He spoke at a Capitol Hill news  conference on Monday, April 19, 2010. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

 

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called a press conference on Monday, April 19, 2010 to announce  a 10-point plan to secure the border between Mexico and Arizona, including the immediate  deployment of 3,000 National Guard troops to the region. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

Arizona Sens. John McCain and John Kyl, both Republicans, called Monday’s news conference to announce a 10-point plan to secure the border between Arizona and Mexico. They are requesting the immediate deployment of 3,000 National Guard troops and a permanent increase of 3,000 more Custom and Border Protection Agents along the state’s border by 2015.   McCain, who faces a tough primary election against conservative Republican JD Hayworth in September, sponsored an immigration-reform bill in 2000 that would have established a guest-worker program and a “pathway to citizenship” for illegal immigrants. The bill was opposed by many conservatives. He also supported immigration-reform bills in 2006 and again in 2007. But on Monday, McCain was talking only about enforcement: "The lesson is clear: First we have to secure the border," McCain said.  "If you want to enact some other reforms, how can that be effective when you have a porous border?”

Later on Monday, McCain told Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly that he changed his stance on immigration over a year ago. McCain also made that point at Monday’s press conference:

 

“Let me just say that one of the requirements is absolutely that we need to send 3,000 National Guard troops along the Arizona Mexico border – something that Senator Kyl and I called for well over a year ago,” McCain said. Kyl said the effort to make sure the government fulfills its responsibility to enforce federal immigration law goes back to the days when Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano was still governor of Arizona.  But Napolitano has not responded to the latest request for troops through the proposed 10-point plan.   “Every one of these recommendations has been recommended to us by people who are on the front line,” Kyl said. “And many of these recommendations are not new. They have been part of what we have been writing to the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security about for a long time.”   The senators’ plan includes a wide range of tactics for securing the border, including funding and supporting Operation Streamline, which calls for criminal charges against and incarceration of individuals who enter the U.S. illegally.

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) has long been an advocate for securing the border  between Mexico and Arizona by using armed troops. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

“If you come into America and you’re here illegally, guess what? There is no catch and release. You should be detained for 14 to 21 days and then formally deported,” Babeu said of Operation Streamline. “You come back, guess what? You’re going to prison. That’s what we’ve got to do,” Babeu said.

The plan also calls for the federal government to reimburse the state for the cost of enforcing immigration laws, the installation of fencing in strategic areas, increasing surveillance capabilities and installing a federal magistrate in the state to oversee immigration cases.

McCain and others at the press conference said that more than half of the 1 million illegal aliens apprehended in the U.S. last year were arrested in Arizona and that 17 percent of those are known to have criminal records in the United States.

“Folks, your cops, your sheriffs cannot do this alone,” Babeu said. “We’re doing our best and we’re overwhelmed. We’re stressed and things are out of control. We need the help of troops that are deployed along the border, additional resources for our border patrol and a zero tolerance policy.”

Cochise County Sheriff Larry Dever said he believes the porous southern border is not only dangerous to Arizona but to the entire nation, since terrorists could slip through just as easily as drug dealers. “To me, therein lies the real threat to our homeland security,” Dever said.

The senators announced their 10-point plan on the same day the Arizona Legislature sent a tough new immigration bill to Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who has not yet said whether she will sign it.

The bill, championed as a law-and-order measure by its supporters, would make it a misdemeanor to be in the state illegally, and it would require police to question people about their immigration status if there's reason to suspect they're in the country illegally.

http://www.mscd.edu/newsroom/top_story/2010/april16.shtml
 
 

Quick – what words come to mind when you think of accountants? Chances are good that gun toting, wire-tapping, undercover ops and backroom drug deals weren’t the first words on your list. Earlier this month, eight special agents with the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), along with 24 eager Metropolitan State College of Denver accounting students, succeeded in shattering stereotypes about the profession in a day-long simulated investigation of real-world fraud cases, called the Adrian Project. The budding accountants became honorary IRS special agents for the day, complete with bulletproof vests, mock firearms, high-tech surveillance equipment and search warrants.

Metro State accounting students used  walkie-talkies in an on-campus exercise  presented by the Adrian Project to  explain duties of an undercover team.  Photo by Jason Braddock.

Accounting Professor Doug Laufer and IRS Special Agent Karen Gurgel brought the project to Metro State—the first time it’s been held in Colorado. “I did research to learn more, and it seemed like such a valuable learning experience for the students,” says Laufer, who learned of the Adrian Project while attending a fraud educators’ seminar. “The next bit of luck was that I met Karen, and we discussed bringing the project to the campus. I provided the students and the venue, and she put the event together.”

Held on college campuses nationwide, and founded nearly a decade ago at Adrian College in Michigan, the event is part of a continuing effort by the IRS to teach students about forensic accounting. Touted as the best financial investigators in the world, IRS CI follows the money trail in tax evasion that often involve money laundering, gambling and narcotics.
 

During the Adrian Project exercise, Metro State  accounting students learned about high-tech  surveillance equipment and search warrants.  Photo by Jason Braddock.

As part of the project students investigated agents who posed as suspects, informants and unscrupulous accountants. The students learned what it was like to be part of an undercover team: how to interview informants so evidence would stand up in court; what it’s like to get wired up for sound; how to apply other surveillance techniques; and how to prepare evidence to secure affidavits for search and arrest warrants. “Our goal is to bring the complaint challenged to a jury and secure a conviction,” Special Agent Matt Garth tells his group. “We need to carefully gather the evidence, investigate the case and determine if informants are telling the truth.”

Garth says allegations don’t necessarily mean there’s a case. “For example we need to know the informant’s motivations and if he perhaps has an ax to grind.”

A student in Garth’s group, Pam Samuel, jumped at the chance to be wired for sound to interview a mock suspect. “It was an awesome experience,” says Samuel, 29, who will graduate this May with a certificate in accounting to add to her bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Samuel says the most exciting part came after the judge approved the search warrant. “Our group got a briefing, some toy guns and bullet-proof vests, and then we burst into the house (a classroom) to search for incriminating evidence,” says Samuel. “We looked just like they do on TV when they raid a house.”

Another scenario involved an undercover agent who bought drugs from a small-time dealer to get him to reveal his source once he was charged with tax fraud.

Garth says it’s not unusual for the Drug Enforcement Agency to request the IRS CI unit help bring drug dealers to justice by proving tax evasion.

And if any doubts linger about how important the IRS is in bringing criminals to justice, remember, an accountant helped nab Al Capone.
 
 

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/29885.wss

Armonk-- - 14 Apr 2010: SPSS, an IBM (NYSE: IBM) Company, today announced that the Florida State Department of Juvenile Justice selected IBM predictive analytics software to better understand, predict behaviors and properly assign rehabilitation programs for the state's juvenile justice system.

More than 85,000 youth enter the juvenile justice system in Florida each year for varying degrees of offenses – from drug abuse to robbery or property crimes. As each youth enters the system for a different reason and with varying backgrounds, the best program for positive rehabilitation is very specific – what may work for one juvenile may not work for another. The goal of the collaboration with IBM is to apply analysis to predict the best programs and rehabilitation for each juvenile offender based on their crime and background.

Mark Greenwald, chief of research and planning at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, said, “The State of Florida believes that if youth are rehabilitated with effective prevention, intervention and treatment services early in life, juveniles will not enter the adult corrections system. Our goal is to ensure juveniles do not return to the system. IBM SPSS predictive analytics will allow our organization to refine our current practice and better intervene in juvenile lives earlier to help them become — and stay — law abiding citizens.”

The organization selected IBM predictive analytics to improve its existing screening and placement process. With the new analytics system in place, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice will analyze key predictors such as past offense history, home life environment, gang affiliation and peer associations to better understand and predict which youths have a higher likelihood to reoffend.

With that information, the organization can more effectively place specific segments of juveniles into the best programs for rehabilitation. For example, juveniles identified as having a higher likelihood for re-offense can be placed in a more focused program, such as one that addresses issues on substance abuse or mental health, if appropriate to the need. Additionally, the organization will direct those youth with a lower chance of re-offense to a less restrictive program, again providing services better tailored to meet their rehabilitative needs.

Prior to predictive analytics, the organization used Excel for basic analysis on projections for the number of delinquency cases they would take in, which had limited functionality. They selected IBM SPSS predictive analytics due to the ease of use and the advanced analytic capabilities.

The organization will now utilize the new predictive analytics system as a component in many of the performance measurement analyses conducted and distributed to agency staff throughout the year. These reports assess the future of delinquency cases to evaluate what juvenile crime trends may look like in the immediate future. This information will help the organization to better plan and project staffing and other resource needs.

IBM recently also announced that the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom uses predictive analytics to assess the likelihood of prisoners reoffending upon their release to help improve public safety. With predictive technology from IBM, the Ministry of Justice is analyzing hidden trends and patterns within the data. IBM SPSS predictive analytics has helped identify whether offenders with specific problems such as drug and alcohol misuse are more likely to reoffend than other prisoners.

Deepak Advani, vice president of predictive analytics at IBM, said, “Predictive analytics gives government organizations worldwide a highly-sophisticated and intelligent source to create safer communities by identifying, predicting, responding to and preventing criminal activities. It gives the criminal justice system the ability to draw upon the wealth of data available to detect patterns, make reliable projections and then take the appropriate action in real time to combat crime and protect citizens.”

IBM has invested more than $12 billion to build an analytics portfolio which includes organic innovation and acquisitions. In addition, IBM has assembled 4,000 analytics consultants with industry expertise, and opened a network of seven analytics centers of excellence. Today, IBM is working with more than 250,000 clients worldwide on predictive analytics, including 22 of the top 24 global commercial banks, 18 of the world's top 22 telecommunication carriers and 11 of the top 12 U.S. specialty retailers.

To learn more about SPSS, an IBM Company, please visit: http://www.spss.com

To learn more about IBM business analytics please visit: www.ibm.com/gbs/bao

Follow developments on IBM Business Analytics at:

IBM Business Analytics & Optimization Online Press Kit
IBM Business Analytics & Optimization: Smarter Planet on Tumblr
IBM Business Analytics on Twitter
 
 

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