csmonitor--2020-12-10--State-sponsored assassination: New tools, old questions

It may be that if such capabilities continue to spread , the major powers may once again decide that tolerating , and using , assassination is not in their interests .
Today , that is again the case .
Islamic State is believed to be able to use armed drones in the same way U.S. forces do , for example .
In Venezuela , amateurs rigged up explosive drones with components they bought on the internet in order to launch an assassination attempt against President Nicolás Maduro .
But toward the end of the 19 th century , the leading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was not – or not only – because they thought it the right thing to do .
It was because assassination had become a common tactic of the underdog – a weaker state or a disaffected individual – in order to level the odds .
Assassination has a long history ; 2,500 years ago , the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu recommended picking off enemy generals .
Nine hundred years ago , the Hashishiyyun , agents of a minority Muslim sect , used the tactic against rival rulers .
Last month , somebody @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nuclear scientist .
It was almost certainly the Israelis , but it marked only the latest in a string of “ targeted killings ” by nations such as the United States and Russia .
It was over within seconds : a hail of gunfire amid the hills and orchards east of Tehran .
Yet last month ’ s deadly strike against a key figure in Iran ’ s nuclear program has roots stretching back 2,500 years , to an ancient struggle for supremacy in China – and future implications going well beyond its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For the attack on Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the latest sign that assassination ( “ targeted killing ” in modern military parlance ) – a practice shunned internationally and legally proscribed for over a century – is finding official favor again and making a comeback .
And where once the assassin may have wielded simply a sharp knife , today he might use space-age technology .
According to the latest Iranian account of the attack on Mr. Fakhrizadeh , almost certainly carried out by the Israelis , he was killed by a truck-mounted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it , Iran said .
It was operated by remote control via satellite , using facial recognition technology to confirm they had the right man .
Advances in military technology , such as drones and other remote-control weaponry , have made targeted killings easier for all sorts of actors , not only sophisticated national armies .
The nature of war , too , has changed : Since the 2001 Al Qaeda attack on the twin towers in New York , conflicts between countries have given way to a more nebulous “ war on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new age of assassination has dawned depends on a tangle of thorny questions .
Some are familiar , such as the ethical and legal issues behind past international prohibitions of such attacks : the need to avoid injuring civilians , for instance , or to demonstrate a compelling military reason for striking .
There are also questions as to whether such attacks actually achieve their aim , or lead to unintended and unforeseen consequences .
Yet looking ahead , it might be an entirely different and more practical concern that prompts any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in place .
The technology that governments use to target individuals for assassination is increasingly easily available to those individuals for use against governments .
Still , so far there seems no sign the trend is abating .
This may have something to do with the rise of nationalism and the weakening of international alliances and institutions .
That could help explain why old-style attacks by authoritarian regimes against their own rivals or dissidents have also been getting so brazen in recent years .
Russia has used the deadly chemical polonium and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ living in Britain , and gunned down a former insurgent from Chechnya in a Berlin park .
North Korean agents employed a nerve agent to kill a half-brother of dictator Kim Jong Un in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia .
To understand the resurgent use of assassination – and the readiness of once-reticent Western powers like the United States to employ it – you need to look at how the practice got started more than 2 1/2 millennia ago , how it spread , and how it ultimately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ China , the tactic was seen not so much as a tool of all-out war , but as part of a prudent leader ’ s strategy to avoid a costly , protracted struggle against a powerful rival .
That was the context in which the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu – in his famous tract “ The Art of War ” – advocated using spies to locate and kill an enemy ’ s key commanders and his lieutenants .
Over the centuries , assassination attacks became a common tactic around the world , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or insurgents , or disaffected individuals – in order to level the odds against more powerful rivals .
Their frequency in 15th -century Italy , including the so-called Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici family ’ s rule in Renaissance Florence , figured in Niccolo Machiavelli ’ s “ The Prince.
” No fewer than five of pre-Soviet Russia ’ s emperors were assassinated .
Little surprise , then , that it was the established powers which moved in the latter part of the 19th century , to ban assassinations .
That consensus hardened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sparked by the 1914 assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist .
After World War II the Geneva Conventions barred the killing of anyone not directly involved in combat .
As American academic Audrey Kurth Cronin pointed out in a fascinating article on state-sanctioned assassination early this year , in the journal Lawfare , major governments wanted to outlaw assassination not just because they believed it was “ the right thing to do ; it was how modern nation-states consolidated their power.
” Yet that consensus has been unravelling – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ region that the latest Tehran attack has propelled back onto the front pages : the Middle East .
The very term “ assassin ” originated in what is now Iran .
In the 1100s , a minority sect of Islam , seeking to expand its influence , organized knife-wielding squads to kill rival leaders .
These units were known as the Hashishiyyun , from their reputation for using hashish before setting off on missions .
This weak-versus-strong equation also helps explain Israel ’ s venture into targeted killings in the 1970s .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large , well-armed standing armies , which rejected its very existence as a state , while also facing a challenge from Palestine Liberation Organization guerrillas .
The immediate catalyst was the attack by the PLO ’ s “ Black September ” faction on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics .
For years afterward , special Israeli units tracked down and killed dozens of Palestinians whom the Israelis held responsible for the Olympic assault and other attacks .
A desire for punishment and revenge was surely a factor in the campaign .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the main aim was more defensive and future-focused : deterrence .
Israel ’ s widened use of targeted killings since the early 2000s might also have made sense to Sun Tzu as a hedge against all-out war .
Wars have broken out anyway , against the Islamist Hamas government of Gaza , and Iranian-armed Hezbollah militia forces across the northern border in Lebanon .
But by killing individual Palestinian military figures in Gaza , and more than a dozen people involved in the nuclear program inside Iran , Israel has sought to forestall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ calculation for the Americans has been similar , especially in light of widespread reluctance among voters and politicians of both parties to send U.S. troops into major combat since the 2003 Iraq War .
Advances in military technology have encouraged Washington to rely more often on targeted killings of Al Qaeda and Islamic State leaders , and others .
Some of those attacks have caught the public ’ s attention and stirred legal and political debate , not least because of the frequent risk of civilian casualties in such operations .
But much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially those involving America ’ s Central Intelligence Agency , has been held back .
Widespread attention and public scrutiny have been limited largely to the deaths of major figures such as Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at the hands of special operations forces , and Qassem Soleimani , commander of Iran ’ s military forces in Syria , Lebanon , and elsewhere in the Middle East , killed by a drone-launched missile .
Hundreds of other drone strikes on individuals deemed dangerous by the U.S. have gone almost unnoticed .
Barack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time in office , but he sought to minimize the impact of their withdrawal by authorizing some 500 drone operations .
Speaking to The Atlantic near the end of his second term , he said he had come to realize “ the dangers of a form of warfare that is so detached from what is actually happening on the ground.
” He had therefore initiated moves to implement internal “ checks and balances.
” Not long before leaving office , he also issued an executive order requiring the release of information on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outside combat zones .
But President Donald Trump rescinded the order last year , and has overseen a fresh surge in deadly American drone attacks .
Though such operations are permitted under U.S. domestic law , even the Trump administration , despite its resistance to international oversight of American actions , still seems sensitive to long-held standards such as the Geneva Conventions and other rules of conflict .
After General Soleimani ’ s assassination – which occurred in Iraq , a country with which the U.S. is not at war – officials argued @ @ @ @ @ @ @ self-defense , given his role in an alleged imminent attack against Americans .
The United Nations ’ top investigator of extrajudicial killings rejected that argument on the grounds that there was “ insufficient evidence provided of an ongoing or imminent attack , ” which meant that the assassination breached international law .
It seems unlikely , in the current international climate , that legal or political pressure could rein in assassination as a tactic .
More persuasive , perhaps , is the fact that the U.S. , its European allies , and Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deploy new technology .
Iran can deploy armed drones too , as can its Houthi allies fighting in a civil war in Yemen .
Islamic State forces appear to have formed a unit equipped with drones capable of delivering explosive charges .
In a particularly dramatic sign of how accessible such capabilities are becoming , a CNN investigation found that opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro built the explosive drones that swooped in on him during a high-profile public address in 2018 from a kit bought from a U.S. supplier on the internet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s life failed , but only because the explosive charge detonated a few seconds prematurely .
In other words , the proliferation of assassination could once again enable less powerful states , and nonstate actors , to level the odds against more powerful adversaries .
Not for the first time in assassination ’ s controversial history , the self-interest of major powers may prove to matter most in deciding its future .

It may be that if such capabilities continue to spread, the major powers may once again decide that tolerating, and using, assassination is not in their interests.
Today, that is again the case. Islamic State is believed to be able to use armed drones in the same way U.S. forces do, for example. In Venezuela, amateurs rigged up explosive drones with components they bought on the internet in order to launch an assassination attempt against President Nicolás Maduro.
But toward the end of the 19 th century, the leading powers moved to outlaw assassination. That was not – or not only – because they thought it the right thing to do. It was because assassination had become a common tactic of the underdog – a weaker state or a disaffected individual – in order to level the odds.
State-sanctioned assassination appears to be back in fashion. But as nonstate actors too acquire drones for “targeted killings,” will that convince the great powers to think again?
Assassination has a long history; 2,500 years ago, the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu recommended picking off enemy generals. Nine hundred years ago, the Hashishiyyun , agents of a minority Muslim sect, used the tactic against rival rulers.
Last month, somebody assassinated Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a top Iranian nuclear scientist. It was almost certainly the Israelis, but it marked only the latest in a string of “targeted killings” by nations such as the United States and Russia.
It was over within seconds: a hail of gunfire amid the hills and orchards east of Tehran. Yet last month’s deadly strike against a key figure in Iran’s nuclear program has roots stretching back 2,500 years, to an ancient struggle for supremacy in China – and future implications going well beyond its effects on today’s Middle East.
For the attack on Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was the latest sign that assassination (“targeted killing” in modern military parlance) – a practice shunned internationally and legally proscribed for over a century – is finding official favor again and making a comeback.
And where once the assassin may have wielded simply a sharp knife, today he might use space-age technology. According to the latest Iranian account of the attack on Mr. Fakhrizadeh, almost certainly carried out by the Israelis, he was killed by a truck-mounted machine gun. But no one fired it, Iran said. It was operated by remote control via satellite, using facial recognition technology to confirm they had the right man.
Why We Wrote This State-sanctioned assassination appears to be back in fashion. But as nonstate actors too acquire drones for “targeted killings,” will that convince the great powers to think again?
Advances in military technology, such as drones and other remote-control weaponry, have made targeted killings easier for all sorts of actors, not only sophisticated national armies.
The nature of war, too, has changed: Since the 2001 Al Qaeda attack on the twin towers in New York, conflicts between countries have given way to a more nebulous “war on terror” against nonstate groups.
Whether a new age of assassination has dawned depends on a tangle of thorny questions. Some are familiar, such as the ethical and legal issues behind past international prohibitions of such attacks: the need to avoid injuring civilians, for instance, or to demonstrate a compelling military reason for striking. There are also questions as to whether such attacks actually achieve their aim, or lead to unintended and unforeseen consequences.
Yet looking ahead, it might be an entirely different and more practical concern that prompts any international moves to put new legal guardrails in place. The technology that governments use to target individuals for assassination is increasingly easily available to those individuals for use against governments.
Still, so far there seems no sign the trend is abating.
This may have something to do with the rise of nationalism and the weakening of international alliances and institutions.
Matt Dunham/AP/File View caption Hide caption Marina Litvinenko, widow of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, holds a copy of a British judicial report into her husband's 2006 death in London. Judge Robert Owen said there was a "strong probability" that the Russian secret service directed the killing.
That could help explain why old-style attacks by authoritarian regimes against their own rivals or dissidents have also been getting so brazen in recent years. Russia has used the deadly chemical polonium and a military-grade nerve agent against former security-service officers living in Britain, and gunned down a former insurgent from Chechnya in a Berlin park. North Korean agents employed a nerve agent to kill a half-brother of dictator Kim Jong Un in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.
To understand the resurgent use of assassination – and the readiness of once-reticent Western powers like the United States to employ it – you need to look at how the practice got started more than 2 1/2 millennia ago, how it spread, and how it ultimately fell into international disfavor.
In ancient China, the tactic was seen not so much as a tool of all-out war, but as part of a prudent leader’s strategy to avoid a costly, protracted struggle against a powerful rival. That was the context in which the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu – in his famous tract “The Art of War” – advocated using spies to locate and kill an enemy’s key commanders and his lieutenants.
Over the centuries, assassination attacks became a common tactic around the world, used by leaders of weaker forces – or insurgents, or disaffected individuals – in order to level the odds against more powerful rivals. Their frequency in 15th -century Italy, including the so-called Pazzi Conspiracy against the Medici family’s rule in Renaissance Florence, figured in Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince.” No fewer than five of pre-Soviet Russia’s emperors were assassinated.
Little surprise, then, that it was the established powers which moved in the latter part of the 19th century, to ban assassinations. That consensus hardened after World War I, a conflict sparked by the 1914 assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist. After World War II the Geneva Conventions barred the killing of anyone not directly involved in combat.
As American academic Audrey Kurth Cronin pointed out in a fascinating article on state-sanctioned assassination early this year, in the journal Lawfare, major governments wanted to outlaw assassination not just because they believed it was “the right thing to do; it was how modern nation-states consolidated their power.”
Yet that consensus has been unravelling – and nowhere more so than in the region that the latest Tehran attack has propelled back onto the front pages: the Middle East.
The very term “assassin” originated in what is now Iran. In the 1100s, a minority sect of Islam, seeking to expand its influence, organized knife-wielding squads to kill rival leaders. These units were known as the Hashishiyyun, from their reputation for using hashish before setting off on missions.
This weak-versus-strong equation also helps explain Israel’s venture into targeted killings in the 1970s. The country was surrounded by Arab states with large, well-armed standing armies, which rejected its very existence as a state, while also facing a challenge from Palestine Liberation Organization guerrillas.
The immediate catalyst was the attack by the PLO’s “Black September” faction on Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. For years afterward, special Israeli units tracked down and killed dozens of Palestinians whom the Israelis held responsible for the Olympic assault and other attacks. A desire for punishment and revenge was surely a factor in the campaign. But Israelis involved in it have insisted that the main aim was more defensive and future-focused: deterrence.
Israel’s widened use of targeted killings since the early 2000s might also have made sense to Sun Tzu as a hedge against all-out war.
Wars have broken out anyway, against the Islamist Hamas government of Gaza, and Iranian-armed Hezbollah militia forces across the northern border in Lebanon. But by killing individual Palestinian military figures in Gaza, and more than a dozen people involved in the nuclear program inside Iran, Israel has sought to forestall more complicated, boots-on-the-ground conflicts.
The calculation for the Americans has been similar, especially in light of widespread reluctance among voters and politicians of both parties to send U.S. troops into major combat since the 2003 Iraq War.
Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/File View caption Hide caption An unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over Kandahar Air Field in southern Afghanistan. Former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump both made frequent use of such drones to carry out "targeted killings" of individuals deemed dangerous by Washington.
Advances in military technology have encouraged Washington to rely more often on targeted killings of Al Qaeda and Islamic State leaders, and others. Some of those attacks have caught the public’s attention and stirred legal and political debate, not least because of the frequent risk of civilian casualties in such operations.
But much of the information about such attacks, especially those involving America’s Central Intelligence Agency, has been held back. Widespread attention and public scrutiny have been limited largely to the deaths of major figures such as Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at the hands of special operations forces, and Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s military forces in Syria, Lebanon, and elsewhere in the Middle East, killed by a drone-launched missile.
Hundreds of other drone strikes on individuals deemed dangerous by the U.S. have gone almost unnoticed. Barack Obama brought U.S. troops home during his time in office, but he sought to minimize the impact of their withdrawal by authorizing some 500 drone operations.
Speaking to The Atlantic near the end of his second term, he said he had come to realize “the dangers of a form of warfare that is so detached from what is actually happening on the ground.” He had therefore initiated moves to implement internal “checks and balances.”
Not long before leaving office, he also issued an executive order requiring the release of information on the number of civilians killed in such attacks outside combat zones. But President Donald Trump rescinded the order last year, and has overseen a fresh surge in deadly American drone attacks.
Though such operations are permitted under U.S. domestic law, even the Trump administration, despite its resistance to international oversight of American actions, still seems sensitive to long-held standards such as the Geneva Conventions and other rules of conflict. After General Soleimani’s assassination – which occurred in Iraq, a country with which the U.S. is not at war – officials argued that it was a necessary act of self-defense, given his role in an alleged imminent attack against Americans.
The United Nations’ top investigator of extrajudicial killings rejected that argument on the grounds that there was “insufficient evidence provided of an ongoing or imminent attack,” which meant that the assassination breached international law.
It seems unlikely, in the current international climate, that legal or political pressure could rein in assassination as a tactic. More persuasive, perhaps, is the fact that the U.S., its European allies, and Israel are not alone in their ability to deploy new technology. Iran can deploy armed drones too, as can its Houthi allies fighting in a civil war in Yemen. Islamic State forces appear to have formed a unit equipped with drones capable of delivering explosive charges.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
In a particularly dramatic sign of how accessible such capabilities are becoming, a CNN investigation found that opponents of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro built the explosive drones that swooped in on him during a high-profile public address in 2018 from a kit bought from a U.S. supplier on the internet. The attempt on Mr. Maduro’s life failed, but only because the explosive charge detonated a few seconds prematurely.
In other words, the proliferation of assassination could once again enable less powerful states, and nonstate actors, to level the odds against more powerful adversaries. Not for the first time in assassination’s controversial history, the self-interest of major powers may prove to matter most in deciding its future.


csmonitor--2020-12-10--Minneapolis police budget shifts some funds to social services

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget early Thursday that will shift about $ 8 million from the police department toward violence prevention and other programs – but will keep the mayor ’ s targeted staffing levels for sworn officers intact , averting a possible veto .
Mayor Jacob Frey , who had threatened to veto the entire budget if the council went ahead with its plan to cap police staffing , said the vote was a defining moment for the city , which has experienced soaring crime rates amid calls to defund the police since the May 25 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all share a deep and abiding reverence for the role our local government plays in service of the people of our city , ” Mr. Frey said .
“ And today , there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis.
” The City Council had initially approved a proposal to cut the city ’ s authorized police force to 750 officers , down from the current 888 , beginning in 2022 .
But they changed course late Wednesday after the mayor called the move “ irresponsible.
” The council @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cap at 888 .
“ Tonight the City Council passed a budget that represents a compromise , and also a big step forward into a more compassionate and effective public safety future , ” said City Council member Steve Fletcher , co-author of the proposal to lower the cap on staffing .
He said the City Council has more work to do and “ we can not afford to remain stuck in the past any longer.
” Supporters call the City Council ’ s plan “ Safety for All , ” the latest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” movement that Minneapolis and other cities have considered since Mr. Floyd ’ s death ignited mass demonstrations against police brutality and a nationwide reckoning with racism .
The plan cuts nearly $ 8 million from Mr. Frey ’ s $ 179 million policing budget and redirects it to mental health teams , violence prevention programs , and other initiatives .
More than 300 Minneapolis residents signed up to speak about the proposal Wednesday , with some pleading for City Council members to deliver the reforms they promised after Mr. Floyd ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be irresponsible to cut officers .
Some in favor of the plan called police officers cowards , gang members , white supremacists , or terrorists .
They spoke about violence that African Americans and other minorities have experienced at the hands of police .
Those against the plan said the City Council was acting irresponsibly and has bungled its attempts to bring change .
They cited increasing violence , saying they don ’ t feel safe .
“ The place I grew up this summer burned , ” said Will Roberts , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ And it burned because of police misconduct.
” Loraine Teel , of south Minneapolis , said she supported the mayor ’ s position , telling council members : “ You can not achieve reform without a plan that includes the cooperation of those being reformed .
... You have failed miserably.
” Cities around the United States , including Los Angeles , New York City , and Portland , Oregon , are shifting funds from police departments to social services programs in an effort to provide new solutions for problems traditionally handled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some departments to lay off officers , cancel recruiting classes , or retreat from hiring goals .
In Minneapolis , violent crime rates have surged since the death of Mr. Floyd , a Black man who was handcuffed and pleading for air for several minutes while Derek Chauvin , a white former officer , pressed his knee against his neck .
Mr. Chauvin and three others were charged in Mr. Floyd ’ s death and are expected to stand trial in March .
Police have recorded 532 gunshot victims this year as of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same period a year ago .
Carjackings have also spiked to 375 so far this year , up 331 % from the same period last year .
Violent crimes have topped 5,100 , compared with just over 4,000 for the same period in 2019 .
“ This summer happened because George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department and it wasn ’ t an accident , it ’ s because the system of policing we know now is not just racist , but it doesn ’ t create safety for all , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Black Visions , which supports “ Safety for All ” as a step toward more transformational change .
Due to austerity forced by the coronavirus pandemic , the mayor ’ s proposal already includes a $ 14 million cut to the department compared with its original 2020 budget , mostly through attrition .
Mr. Frey aims to hold the number of sworn officers around 770 through 2021 with hopes of eventually increasing the force to its current authorized cap of 888 .
The department is already down by about 120 – partly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from a summer of unrest – with more preparing to leave amid retirements and poor morale .
A proposal over the summer to dismantle the department and replace it with a “ Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention ” initially had support from a majority of the council but faltered when a separate city commission voted against putting it on the November ballot .
The city was paying $ 4,500 a day at one point for private security for three council members who reported getting threats after supporting defunding .
This story @ @ @ @ @ @ @

The Minneapolis City Council unanimously approved a budget early Thursday that will shift about $8 million from the police department
toward violence prevention and other programs – but will keep the mayor’s targeted staffing levels for sworn officers intact, averting a possible veto.
Mayor Jacob Frey, who had threatened to veto the entire budget if the council went ahead with its plan to cap police staffing, said the vote was a defining moment for the city, which has experienced soaring crime rates amid calls to defund the police since the May 25 death of George Floyd.
“We all share a deep and abiding reverence for the role our local government plays in service of the people of our city,” Mr. Frey said. “And today, there are good reasons to be optimistic about the future in Minneapolis.”
The City Council had initially approved a proposal to cut the city’s authorized police force to 750 officers, down from the current 888, beginning in 2022. But they changed course late Wednesday after the mayor called the move “irresponsible.” The council voted 7-6 on Wednesday to keep the cap at 888.
“Tonight the City Council passed a budget that represents a compromise, and also a big step forward into a more compassionate and effective public safety future,” said City Council member Steve Fletcher, co-author of the proposal to lower the cap on staffing. He said the City Council has more work to do and “we cannot afford to remain stuck in the past any longer.”
Supporters call the City Council’s plan “Safety for All,” the latest version of the “defund the police” movement that Minneapolis and other cities have considered since Mr. Floyd’s death ignited mass demonstrations against police brutality and a nationwide reckoning with racism.
The plan cuts nearly $8 million from Mr. Frey’s $179 million policing budget and redirects it to mental health teams, violence prevention programs, and other initiatives.
More than 300 Minneapolis residents signed up to speak about the proposal Wednesday, with some pleading for City Council members to deliver the reforms they promised after Mr. Floyd’s death, and others warning it would be irresponsible to cut officers.
Some in favor of the plan called police officers cowards, gang members, white supremacists, or terrorists. They spoke about violence that African Americans and other minorities have experienced at the hands of police. Those against the plan said the City Council was acting irresponsibly and has bungled its attempts to bring change. They cited increasing violence, saying they don’t feel safe.
“The place I grew up this summer burned,” said Will Roberts, who grew up in the Longfellow neighborhood. “And it burned because of police misconduct.”
Loraine Teel, of south Minneapolis, said she supported the mayor’s position, telling council members: “You cannot achieve reform without a plan that includes the cooperation of those being reformed. ... You have failed miserably.”
Cities around the United States, including Los Angeles, New York City, and Portland, Oregon, are shifting funds from police departments to social services programs in an effort to provide new solutions for problems traditionally handled by police. Such cuts have led some departments to lay off officers, cancel recruiting classes, or retreat from hiring goals.
In Minneapolis, violent crime rates have surged since the death of Mr. Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed and pleading for air for several minutes while Derek Chauvin, a white former officer, pressed his knee against his neck. Mr. Chauvin and three others were charged in Mr. Floyd’s death and are expected to stand trial in March.
Police have recorded 532 gunshot victims this year as of last Thursday, more than double the same period a year ago. Carjackings have also spiked to 375 so far this year, up 331% from the same period last year. Violent crimes have topped 5,100, compared with just over 4,000 for the same period in 2019.
“This summer happened because George Floyd was murdered by the Minneapolis Police Department and it wasn’t an accident, it’s because the system of policing we know now is not just racist, but it doesn’t create safety for all,” said Oluchi Omeoga, a cofounder of Black Visions, which supports “Safety for All” as a step toward more transformational change.
Due to austerity forced by the coronavirus pandemic, the mayor’s proposal already includes a $14 million cut to the department compared with its original 2020 budget, mostly through attrition. Mr. Frey aims to hold the number of sworn officers around 770 through 2021 with hopes of eventually increasing the force to its current authorized cap of 888. The department is already down by about 120 – partly due to officers claiming post-traumatic stress disorder from a summer of unrest – with more preparing to leave amid retirements and poor morale.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
A proposal over the summer to dismantle the department and replace it with a “Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention” initially had support from a majority of the council but faltered when a separate city commission voted against putting it on the November ballot. The city was paying $4,500 a day at one point for private security for three council members who reported getting threats after supporting defunding.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.


csmonitor--2020-12-10--In Nepal, Kung Fu nuns climb Himalayas to aid needy

Trekking for hours in the thin air of the Himalayas , hundreds of maroon-robed Buddhist nuns are carrying vital aid – and health advice – to villagers left destitute and sick by COVID-19 .
Nicknamed the “ Kung Fu nuns ” because they train in martial arts , the women come from the Drukpa lineage – the only female order in the Buddhist monastic system where nuns have equal status to monks .
Besides hauling sacks of staples from rice and lentils to toiletries and face masks on their backs in the harsh mountain conditions , the nuns have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by COVID-19 .
“ The biggest challenge has been explaining to people how dangerous this virus is , ” Jigme Konchok Lhamo said about COVID-19 , which has killed about 1.57 million people worldwide .
“ People do not take it seriously nor the precautions seriously , ” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Nepal ’ s capital , Kathmandu , via video call .
The villages receiving aid from the nuns lie on both sides of the India-Nepal border , and some 2,000 poor families have been supported so far .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ internet for information , the nuns said locals often dismiss the virus as “ just a cold , ” and shrug off their training sessions on social distancing , hand washing , and how to wear masks .
In recent days , the nuns have been working round-the-clock to get food and hygiene items to a COVID-19-hit village in the mountainous Indian district of Lahaul , which is home to half of the global network of about 700 Drukpa nuns .
All of the village ’ s inhabitants have caught the virus , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relatives .
“ We are scared .
...
But fear can ’ t stop us , ” said Jigme Yeshe Lhamo .
“ We can ’ t change the whole world by ourselves but even if we manage to help one life , that ’ s a big success .
We feel happy about it .
We feel encouraged , ” she said .
Passion to help others Traditionally , nuns are expected to cook and clean and are not permitted to exercise .
But this changed about a decade ago when the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Holiness The Gyalwang Drukpa , encouraged the nuns to learn Kung Fu .
“ They are a new generation of women who are not afraid to break century old taboos and stereotypes , ” said Carrie Lee , a volunteer and former president of Live to Love International charity that supports the Drukpa nuns .
“ They took their practice off the meditation cushion and into the world – often times against criticism and threats to their safety.
” When the pandemic took hold , the nuns started working with their families in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Indian Himalayas – to sew masks for villagers .
They have been enlisting support from others , too .
Nima Sherpa , from northern Nepal , credits the nuns for her passion to help others .
She bought essential items for 100 families when the nuns needed help with their distribution drives .
Nima , who like most Sherpa goes by her first name , said working on the ground opened her eyes to the kind of hardships villagers were facing as job losses left many unable to pay for groceries or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ villagers work in road-building and construction , which came to a standstill due to lockdown curbs – decimating household incomes .
With schools shut and online classes now the norm , many children have been forced to miss a year of education without access to laptops or the internet .
For women , the pandemic has brought additional challenges .
“ When I spoke to my cousin , she said maintaining menstrual hygiene was very difficult because sanitary pads are not available and even if they are , they don ’ t have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nima said .
The nuns said their next campaigns would focus on women ’ s health .
“ We will not only teach about coronavirus precautions but also provide sanitary pads , ” Yeshe said .
This story was reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free .

Trekking for hours in the thin air of the Himalayas, hundreds of maroon-robed Buddhist nuns are carrying vital aid – and health advice – to villagers left destitute and sick by COVID-19.
Nicknamed the “Kung Fu nuns” because they train in martial arts, the women come from the Drukpa lineage – the only female order in the Buddhist monastic system where nuns have equal status to monks.
Besides hauling sacks of staples from rice and lentils to toiletries and face masks on their backs in the harsh mountain conditions, the nuns have been urging villagers to heed the threat posed by COVID-19.
“The biggest challenge has been explaining to people how dangerous this virus is,” Jigme Konchok Lhamo said about COVID-19, which has killed about 1.57 million people worldwide.
“People do not take it seriously nor the precautions seriously,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, via video call.
The villages receiving aid from the nuns lie on both sides of the India-Nepal border, and some 2,000 poor families have been supported so far.
Without regular access to television or the internet for information, the nuns said locals often dismiss the virus as “just a cold,” and shrug off their training sessions on social distancing, hand washing, and how to wear masks.
In recent days, the nuns have been working round-the-clock to get food and hygiene items to a COVID-19-hit village in the mountainous Indian district of Lahaul, which is home to half of the global network of about 700 Drukpa nuns.
All of the village’s inhabitants have caught the virus, including some of the nuns’ own relatives.
“We are scared. ... But fear can’t stop us,” said Jigme Yeshe Lhamo.
“We can’t change the whole world by ourselves but even if we manage to help one life, that’s a big success. We feel happy about it. We feel encouraged,” she said.
Passion to help others
Traditionally, nuns are expected to cook and clean and are not permitted to exercise. But this changed about a decade ago when the leader of the 1,000-year-old sect, His Holiness The Gyalwang Drukpa, encouraged the nuns to learn Kung Fu.
“They are a new generation of women who are not afraid to break century old taboos and stereotypes,” said Carrie Lee, a volunteer and former president of Live to Love International charity that supports the Drukpa nuns.
“They took their practice off the meditation cushion and into the world – often times against criticism and threats to their safety.”
When the pandemic took hold, the nuns started working with their families in Ladakh – a remote Buddhist ex-kingdom in the Indian Himalayas – to sew masks for villagers.
They have been enlisting support from others, too.
Nima Sherpa, from northern Nepal, credits the nuns for her passion to help others. She bought essential items for 100 families when the nuns needed help with their distribution drives.
Nima, who like most Sherpa goes by her first name, said working on the ground opened her eyes to the kind of hardships villagers were facing as job losses left many unable to pay for groceries or utility bills.
Many of the mountain villagers work in road-building and construction, which came to a standstill due to lockdown curbs – decimating household incomes.
With schools shut and online classes now the norm, many children have been forced to miss a year of education without access to laptops or the internet.
For women, the pandemic has brought additional challenges.
“When I spoke to my cousin, she said maintaining menstrual hygiene was very difficult because sanitary pads are not available and even if they are, they don’t have enough money to purchase them,” Nima said.
The nuns said their next campaigns would focus on women’s health.
“We will not only teach about coronavirus precautions but also provide sanitary pads,” Yeshe said.
“It’s a very big issue for women.”
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free.


csmonitor--2020-12-10--For far-flung families, staying put for the holidays is a treat

Corritta Lewis of Oceanside , California , has a huge extended family .
Her mom is one of 12 siblings .
Usually , Christmas means that she , her wife , and their 2-year-old son dig out their cold-weather gear for the schlep to Ohio and days of holiday chaos .
“ We ’ re happy to be saving money , spending more time together , and to just have a less stressful holiday , ” said the human resources analyst .
“ We don ’ t have to deal with the crowded airports , stores , and overall mania @ @ @ @ @ @ @ re going to lie in our pajamas and watch movies all day.
” Shannon O ’ Reilly usually travels back home to New Jersey at Christmas from Fort Lauderdale , Florida , “ and it never , ever feels like a vacation.
” She and her husband both have large extended families .
Trying to squeeze in visits with all of them leaves little meaningful face time for any , she said .
“ We ’ re constantly house hopping and never really feel settled when we go back up there .
Quite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the tarmac in Newark , we both look at each other every time and say , ‘ Why are we doing this ?
’ ” This year , it will be just the two of them in 80-degree weather with “ zero familial obligations.
” Though Thanksgiving pleas to stay put were ignored by thousands , and authorities fear the same for Christmas and New Year ’ s , many around the world are gleefully looking forward to spending the December holidays at home without the expense , family drama , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan to use the money they save to buy gifts for those in need as coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations rage on nearly 10 months into the pandemic .
Many who stayed home during Thanksgiving to keep safe already experienced the restfulness of opting out of holiday madness , said Maryanna Klatt , a professor of clinical family medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and a facilitator of mindfulness classes .
“ What has emerged is that many people discovered something via the Thanksgiving restriction of gathering with less people – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would feel a huge sense of loss from the inability to travel and the typical gathering with larger groups , ” she said .
Participants in her classes reported less anxiety without extended family and friends around , and deeper , more meaningful conversations with the smaller numbers left around them .
“ COVID-19 and its ensuing collateral damage may have some realizations that sculpt future behavior , and not all in a negative way .
We just need to have our eyes open to these surprising realizations , ” Ms. Klatt said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lining ” cliche .
As it did for Thanksgiving , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to avoid travel during the December holidays while the pandemic continues to surge .
For those who don ’ t heed the call , the CDC recommends travelers get tested for COVID-19 before and after their trips .
Testing before travel is critical to help stave off asymptomatic spread of the virus , warns Deborah Birx , the White House coronavirus response coordinator .
On the Upper East Side of Manhattan , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s happy to be missing her annual holiday trip to Southern California with her husband and 4-year-old son to visit her parents , siblings , and extended family and friends .
“ This year I ’ m pregnant , and the thought of juggling a busy work schedule with holiday and family activities is more stressful than usual , ” said Ms. Siv , the founder of an online bakery .
“ I can ’ t say I ’ ll miss all the logistics.
” There ’ s the 5- to 6-hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numerous activities and snacks to keep their child calm and contented in transit .
The sentiments are shared around the world .
Ben Taylor lives on the Kent coastline of southeast England with his wife and two kids , ages 6 and 2 .
He calls their normal Christmas holiday a “ crazy magical mystery tour ” that lasts about a week .
They usually travel by car , about four hours , to visit relatives and old friends in Norfolk .
“ I ’ ve always felt a little envious because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where people are relaxing , whilst not getting to do the same thing ourselves , ” he said .
“ Well , now it ’ s our turn !
” Vaccines for COVID-19 are on the way , but they won ’ t come in time to save Christmas for most .
Dr. Birx and other virus experts couldn ’ t be clearer about the need to avoid travel and large gatherings , along with hugging and kissing loved ones outside of one ’ s protective social bubble .
Nicoletta Barbata is an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Greek island of Santorini for nearly four years .
Christmas is usually her one and only trip home to Milan every year .
“ I usually stay for four to six weeks , ” said the single Ms. Barbata .
“ My time back to Milan is devoted to catching up with my family and friends , spending time with my parents , and meeting friends all over Italy who I haven ’ t seen for months.
” While she ’ ll “ deeply miss ” the trip this year , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ friends she ’ s made in Greece .
“ I ’ m a person who always tries to see the positive side of every situation , ” Ms. Barbata said .
Christmas is tinged with sadness this year for Holly Nordenberg in Madison , Wisconsin .
“ My grandfather passed away from COVID last month , ” said the mom of two girls , ages 3 and 5 .
With their patriarch gone , Ms. Nordenberg said the usual extended family get-together with up to 40 people back home in Rock Island , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of whether she goes .
There are other reasons why she ’ s fine not returning .
“ I ’ ve been dreading our Christmas gathering this year because of the political climate and how polarized my family is regarding politics , ” Ms. Nordenberg said .
Instead , she , her husband and their kids will focus on “ gratitude and baking ” at home .
“ I ’ m honestly looking forward to a quiet holiday season , ” Ms. Nordenberg said .
“ We have all our decorations up , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and we ’ re finding ways to really appreciate how fortunate we are each day.
” This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Editor ’ s note : As a public service , the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage .
It ’ s free

Corritta Lewis of Oceanside, California, has a huge extended family. Her mom is one of 12 siblings. Usually, Christmas means that she, her wife, and their 2-year-old son dig out their cold-weather gear for the schlep to Ohio and days of holiday chaos.
Not this year.
“We’re happy to be saving money, spending more time together, and to just have a less stressful holiday,” said the human resources analyst. “We don’t have to deal with the crowded airports, stores, and overall mania that the holiday brings. We’re going to lie in our pajamas and watch movies all day.”
Shannon O’Reilly usually travels back home to New Jersey at Christmas from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, “and it never, ever feels like a vacation.” She and her husband both have large extended families. Trying to squeeze in visits with all of them leaves little meaningful face time for any, she said.
“We’re constantly house hopping and never really feel settled when we go back up there. Quite frankly, as soon as we land on the tarmac in Newark, we both look at each other every time and say, ‘Why are we doing this?’”
This year, it will be just the two of them in 80-degree weather with “zero familial obligations.”
Though Thanksgiving pleas to stay put were ignored by thousands, and authorities fear the same for Christmas and New Year’s, many around the world are gleefully looking forward to spending the December holidays at home without the expense, family drama, and travel headaches they normally endure.
Some plan to use the money they save to buy gifts for those in need as coronavirus deaths and hospitalizations rage on nearly 10 months into the pandemic.
Many who stayed home during Thanksgiving to keep safe already experienced the restfulness of opting out of holiday madness, said Maryanna Klatt, a professor of clinical family medicine at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and a facilitator of mindfulness classes.
“What has emerged is that many people discovered something via the Thanksgiving restriction of gathering with less people – they loved it. They thought they would feel a huge sense of loss from the inability to travel and the typical gathering with larger groups,” she said.
Participants in her classes reported less anxiety without extended family and friends around, and deeper, more meaningful conversations with the smaller numbers left around them.
“COVID-19 and its ensuing collateral damage may have some realizations that sculpt future behavior, and not all in a negative way. We just need to have our eyes open to these surprising realizations,” Ms. Klatt said, falling short of the “silver lining” cliche.
As it did for Thanksgiving, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to avoid travel during the December holidays while the pandemic continues to surge. For those who don’t heed the call, the CDC recommends travelers get tested for COVID-19 before and after their trips. Testing before travel is critical to help stave off asymptomatic spread of the virus, warns Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator.
On the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Rosalin Siv can’t say she’s happy to be missing her annual holiday trip to Southern California with her husband and 4-year-old son to visit her parents, siblings, and extended family and friends.
But she’s relieved.
“This year I’m pregnant, and the thought of juggling a busy work schedule with holiday and family activities is more stressful than usual,” said Ms. Siv, the founder of an online bakery. “I can’t say I’ll miss all the logistics.”
There’s the 5- to 6-hour plane trip, for one, requiring numerous activities and snacks to keep their child calm and contented in transit.
The sentiments are shared around the world.
Ben Taylor lives on the Kent coastline of southeast England with his wife and two kids, ages 6 and 2. He calls their normal Christmas holiday a “crazy magical mystery tour” that lasts about a week. They usually travel by car, about four hours, to visit relatives and old friends in Norfolk.
“I’ve always felt a little envious because it feels like we visit house after house where people are relaxing, whilst not getting to do the same thing ourselves,” he said. “Well, now it’s our turn!”
Vaccines for COVID-19 are on the way, but they won’t come in time to save Christmas for most. Dr. Birx and other virus experts couldn’t be clearer about the need to avoid travel and large gatherings, along with hugging and kissing loved ones outside of one’s protective social bubble.
Nicoletta Barbata is an Italian who’s been living on the Greek island of Santorini for nearly four years. Christmas is usually her one and only trip home to Milan every year.
“I usually stay for four to six weeks,” said the single Ms. Barbata. “My time back to Milan is devoted to catching up with my family and friends, spending time with my parents, and meeting friends all over Italy who I haven’t seen for months.”
While she’ll “deeply miss” the trip this year, she’ll happily make do with the friends she’s made in Greece.
“I’m a person who always tries to see the positive side of every situation,” Ms. Barbata said.
Christmas is tinged with sadness this year for Holly Nordenberg in Madison, Wisconsin.
“My grandfather passed away from COVID last month,” said the mom of two girls, ages 3 and 5.
With their patriarch gone, Ms. Nordenberg said the usual extended family get-together with up to 40 people back home in Rock Island, Illinois, may not happen, regardless of whether she goes.
There are other reasons why she’s fine not returning.
“I’ve been dreading our Christmas gathering this year because of the political climate and how polarized my family is regarding politics,” Ms. Nordenberg said.
Instead, she, her husband and their kids will focus on “gratitude and baking” at home.
“I’m honestly looking forward to a quiet holiday season,” Ms. Nordenberg said. “We have all our decorations up, a pantry full of baking supplies, and we’re finding ways to really appreciate how fortunate we are each day.”
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.
Editor’s note: As a public service, the Monitor has removed the paywall for all our coronavirus coverage. It’s free


csmonitor--2020-12-10--Over 40 US states and FTC sue Facebook for antitrust conduct

The giant tech companies whose services are woven into the fabric of social life are now the targets of a widening assault by government competition enforcers .
Regulators filed landmark antitrust lawsuits Wednesday against Facebook , the second major government offensive this year against once seemingly untouchable tech behemoths .
The Federal Trade Commission and 48 states and districts sued the social network giant , accusing it of abusing its market power to squash smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of Facebook ’ s prized Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services .
The company ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ harmed their data privacy , the regulators charged .
Once lionized as innovators and job creators – and largely left alone by Washington for nearly two decades – Big Tech companies have seen their political fortunes plummet .
Facebook , Google , Amazon , and Apple have come under scrutiny from Congress , federal regulators , state attorneys general , and European authorities .
Their once-considerable political support in Congress has eroded .
Lawmakers of both major parties are championing stronger oversight of the industry , arguing that its massive market power is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and endangering consumer privacy .
There ’ s little likelihood the pressure will ease up .
President-elect Joe Biden has said the breakup of Big Tech giants should be seriously considered .
Lawmakers and consumer advocates have accused Facebook of anticompetitive behavior , most starkly in buying up aspiring smaller rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp and by copying features introduced by competitors .
Critics say such tactics squash competition and could limit viable alternatives for consumers looking , for instance , for comparable services that do less tracking for targeted advertising .
Businesses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ might have to pay more for ads if they have fewer choices to reach consumers online .
The new lawsuits were announced by the FTC and New York Attorney General Letitia James , culminating separate investigations over the past year and a half .
The FTC said Facebook has engaged in a “ a systematic strategy ” to eliminate its competition , including by purchasing smaller up-and-coming rivals like Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 .
At a news conference , Ms. James said “ it ’ s really critically important that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that we restore confidence to the market.
” “ For nearly a decade Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition , all at the expense of everyday users , ” said Ms. James , a Democrat .
“ They reduced choices for consumers .
They stifled innovation , and they degraded privacy protections for millions of Americans.
” Facebook called the government ’ s claims “ revisionist history ” that punishes successful businesses and noted that the FTC cleared the Instagram and WhatsApp @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now wants a do-over , sending a chilling warning to American business that no sale is ever final , ” Facebook general counsel Jennifer Newstead said in a statement .
Antitrust skeptics point to newer social media services such as TikTok and Snapchat as rivals that could “ overtake ” older platforms like Facebook .
Facebook is the world ’ s biggest social network with 2.7 billion users and a company with a market value of nearly $ 800 billion .
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the world ’ s fifth-richest individual and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ms. James alleged that Facebook had a practice of opening its site to third-party app developers , then abruptly cutting off developers that it saw as a threat .
The lawsuit – which includes 46 states , Guam , and the District of Columbia – accuses Facebook of anti-competitive conduct and using its market dominance to harvest consumer data and reap a fortune in advertising revenues .
Online ads make up the bulk of the company ’ s revenue , which reached over $ 70 billion last year .
North Carolina Attorney @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the executive committee of attorneys general conducting the investigation , said the litigation could alter the communications landscape much the way the breakup of AT & T ’ s local phone service monopoly did in the early 1980s .
“ Our hope is to restructure the social networking marketplace in the United States , and right now there ’ s one player , ” Mr. Stein told reporters .
Antitrust expert Rebecca Allensworth , a law professor at Vanderbilt University , said it is “ hard to win any antitrust lawsuit and this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as far as antitrust cases go , she added , the government has a strong one .
“ These lawsuits mark an important turning point in the battle to rein in Big Tech monopolies and to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement , ” said Alex Harman , competition policy advocate for Public Citizen , a nonprofit consumer advocacy group .
The Justice Department sued Google in October for abusing its dominance in online search and advertising – the government ’ s most significant attempt to buttress competition since its historic case against Microsoft two decades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two weeks before Election Day , brought accusations of political motivation from some quarters .
It was filed by a cabinet agency headed by an attorney general seen as a close ally of President Donald Trump , who has often publicly criticized Google .
The FTC , by contrast , is an independent regulatory agency whose five commissioners currently include three Republicans and two Democrats .
Two of the three Republicans , Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson , voted against the agency ’ s action against Facebook .
And the coalition of 48 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bipartisan .
Instagram and WhatsApp are among some 70 companies that Facebook has acquired over the past 15 years .
But they are the ones most frequently held up by Facebook critics as properties that should be split off .
Facebook paid a mere $ 1 billion for Instagram – considered one of the cleverest deals ever in the industry – bolstering the social network ’ s business a month before its stock went public .
At the time , the photo-sharing app had about 30 million users and wasn ’ t producing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Facebook acquired WhatsApp , an encrypted messaging service , for $ 19 billion .
Mr. Zuckerberg vowed both companies would be run independently , but over the years the services have become increasingly integrated .
Users are now able to link accounts and share content across the platforms .
Instagram now has more than 1 billion users worldwide .
Such integration could make it more difficult to break off the companies .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP journalists Barbara Ortutay in Oakland , California , and Gary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , contributed to this report .

The giant tech companies whose services are woven into the fabric of social life are now the targets of a widening assault by government competition enforcers. Regulators filed landmark antitrust lawsuits Wednesday against Facebook, the second major government offensive this year against once seemingly untouchable tech behemoths.
The Federal Trade Commission and 48 states and districts sued the social network giant, accusing it of abusing its market power to squash smaller competitors and seeking remedies that could include a forced spinoff of Facebook’s prized Instagram and WhatsApp messaging services. The company’s conduct has crimped consumers’ choices and harmed their data privacy, the regulators charged.
Once lionized as innovators and job creators – and largely left alone by Washington for nearly two decades – Big Tech companies have seen their political fortunes plummet. Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple have come under scrutiny from Congress, federal regulators, state attorneys general, and European authorities. Their once-considerable political support in Congress has eroded.
Lawmakers of both major parties are championing stronger oversight of the industry, arguing that its massive market power is out of control, crushing smaller competitors and endangering consumer privacy.
There’s little likelihood the pressure will ease up. President-elect Joe Biden has said the breakup of Big Tech giants should be seriously considered.
Lawmakers and consumer advocates have accused Facebook of anticompetitive behavior, most starkly in buying up aspiring smaller rivals like Instagram and WhatsApp and by copying features introduced by competitors. Critics say such tactics squash competition and could limit viable alternatives for consumers looking, for instance, for comparable services that do less tracking for targeted advertising. Businesses, including mom and pop shops, might have to pay more for ads if they have fewer choices to reach consumers online.
The new lawsuits were announced by the FTC and New York Attorney General Letitia James, culminating separate investigations over the past year and a half.
The FTC said Facebook has engaged in a “a systematic strategy” to eliminate its competition, including by purchasing smaller up-and-coming rivals like Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014.
At a news conference, Ms. James said “it’s really critically important that we block this predatory acquisition of companies and that we restore confidence to the market.”
“For nearly a decade Facebook has used its dominance and monopoly power to crush smaller rivals and snuff out competition, all at the expense of everyday users,” said Ms. James, a Democrat. “They reduced choices for consumers. They stifled innovation, and they degraded privacy protections for millions of Americans.”
Facebook called the government’s claims “revisionist history” that punishes successful businesses and noted that the FTC cleared the Instagram and WhatsApp acquisitions years ago. “The government now wants a do-over, sending a chilling warning to American business that no sale is ever final,” Facebook general counsel Jennifer Newstead said in a statement.
Antitrust skeptics point to newer social media services such as TikTok and Snapchat as rivals that could “overtake” older platforms like Facebook.
Facebook is the world’s biggest social network with 2.7 billion users and a company with a market value of nearly $800 billion. CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the world’s fifth-richest individual and the most public face of Big Tech swagger.
Ms. James alleged that Facebook had a practice of opening its site to third-party app developers, then abruptly cutting off developers that it saw as a threat. The lawsuit – which includes 46 states, Guam, and the District of Columbia – accuses Facebook of anti-competitive conduct and using its market dominance to harvest consumer data and reap a fortune in advertising revenues.
Online ads make up the bulk of the company’s revenue, which reached over $70 billion last year.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, who was on the executive committee of attorneys general conducting the investigation, said the litigation could alter the communications landscape much the way the breakup of AT&T’s local phone service monopoly did in the early 1980s.
“Our hope is to restructure the social networking marketplace in the United States, and right now there’s one player,” Mr. Stein told reporters.
Antitrust expert Rebecca Allensworth, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, said it is “hard to win any antitrust lawsuit and this one is not any different.” But as far as antitrust cases go, she added, the government has a strong one.
“These lawsuits mark an important turning point in the battle to rein in Big Tech monopolies and to reinvigorate antitrust enforcement,” said Alex Harman, competition policy advocate for Public Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group.
The Justice Department sued Google in October for abusing its dominance in online search and advertising – the government’s most significant attempt to buttress competition since its historic case against Microsoft two decades ago.
That suit, announced just two weeks before Election Day, brought accusations of political motivation from some quarters. It was filed by a cabinet agency headed by an attorney general seen as a close ally of President Donald Trump, who has often publicly criticized Google.
The FTC, by contrast, is an independent regulatory agency whose five commissioners currently include three Republicans and two Democrats. Two of the three Republicans, Noah Phillips and Christine Wilson, voted against the agency’s action against Facebook. And the coalition of 48 states and districts that sued Facebook is bipartisan.
Instagram and WhatsApp are among some 70 companies that Facebook has acquired over the past 15 years. But they are the ones most frequently held up by Facebook critics as properties that should be split off.
Facebook paid a mere $1 billion for Instagram – considered one of the cleverest deals ever in the industry – bolstering the social network’s business a month before its stock went public. At the time, the photo-sharing app had about 30 million users and wasn’t producing any revenue. A few years later, Facebook acquired WhatsApp, an encrypted messaging service, for $19 billion.
Get stories that
empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Mr. Zuckerberg vowed both companies would be run independently, but over the years the services have become increasingly integrated. Users are now able to link accounts and share content across the platforms. Instagram now has more than 1 billion users worldwide. Such integration could make it more difficult to break off the companies.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP journalists Barbara Ortutay in Oakland, California, and Gary D. Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-12-10--College football’s resourceful rehuddle

College football’s resourceful rehuddle

College football in America often comes with surprises , but the saga of Rice University ’ s season symbolizes just how unprecedented this year has been .
The team was unable to play seven of the 12 games on its schedule because of pandemic concerns .
Yet the Owls , 1-2 at the time , pulled a remarkable upset by beating the then-undefeated and nationally ranked Marshall Thundering Herd in a dominating shutout recently .
The 2020 season has become a time to expect the unexpected .
And against a backdrop of sobering statistics related to the pandemic , these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vitality and exuberance .
Teams that normally schedule opponents years in advance suddenly were looking around from week to week to find a quick game with a team not sidelined by COVID-19 precautions .
In one game Brigham Young University made a quick deal to play Coastal Carolina and in just a few days flew nearly cross-country to play .
The two undefeated schools put on quite a show , with Coastal prevailing by a whisker .
A quick glance at the top contenders for the national championship might suggest business as usual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Clemson , and Ohio State top the list .
But even these teams have had to endure unusual hardships .
Ohio State recently played Michigan State with its head coach and 23 of its players unavailable – including several starters – mostly due to pandemic-related causes .
( It still won 52-12 . )
Other traditional powers , such as Penn State , Michigan , and Louisiana State University ( the defending national champion ) have suddenly fallen on hard times , struggling to win a handful of games among them .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ upstarts , who are treating their fans to unexpected successes .
Teams like the Iowa State Cyclones and the Indiana Hoosiers have risen from their accustomed place at the bottom of the standings to post sparkling records .
Much of the chaos , of course , can be attributed to the pandemic .
Games are canceled or postponed when positive tests pop up on a team .
But even before the season more than 150 players had decided to opt out of playing this year .
Many more have joined them as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disruption , bright spots emerged .
One has been the fun of watching matchups between teams that have never played each other .
One lesson may be to schedule fewer games years in advance and add more spontaneous pairings .
If 2020 is teaching anything in sports , it ’ s that keeping things flexible isn ’ t as impossible as previously thought .
Another lesson is that playing through the pandemic – with all due precautions – seems to have brought players and coaches even closer .
At Indiana , for example @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is “ LEO ” – love each other .
The love runs from coach to players too .
At Iowa State , head coach Matt Campbell told The Washington Post , “ The neat thing about this group of seniors that we have is all 16 have become the best version of themselves they can be.
” That ’ s one good effect on athletes in any season – not just the surreal one of 2020 .

College football in America often comes with surprises, but the saga of Rice University’s season symbolizes just how unprecedented this year has been. The team was unable to play seven of the 12 games on its schedule because of pandemic concerns. Yet the Owls, 1-2 at the time, pulled a remarkable upset by beating the then-undefeated and nationally ranked Marshall Thundering Herd in a dominating shutout recently.
The 2020 season has become a time to expect the unexpected.
And against a backdrop of sobering statistics related to the pandemic, these games have offered a welcome expression of vitality and exuberance.
Teams that normally schedule opponents years in advance suddenly were looking around from week to week to find a quick game with a team not sidelined by COVID-19 precautions.
In one game Brigham Young University made a quick deal to play Coastal Carolina and in just a few days flew nearly cross-country to play. The two undefeated schools put on quite a show, with Coastal prevailing by a whisker.
A quick glance at the top contenders for the national championship might suggest business as usual: Perennial powers Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, and Ohio State top the list. But even these teams have had to endure unusual hardships.
Ohio State recently played Michigan State with its head coach and 23 of its players unavailable – including several starters – mostly due to pandemic-related causes. (It still won 52-12.) Other traditional powers, such as Penn State, Michigan, and Louisiana State University (the defending national champion) have suddenly fallen on hard times, struggling to win a handful of games among them.
On the flip side are the amazing upstarts, who are treating their fans to unexpected successes. Teams like the Iowa State Cyclones and the Indiana Hoosiers have risen from their accustomed place at the bottom of the standings to post sparkling records.
Much of the chaos, of course, can be attributed to the pandemic. Games are canceled or postponed when positive tests pop up on a team. But even before the season more than 150 players had decided to opt out of playing this year. Many more have joined them as the fall has progressed.
Amid all this disruption, bright spots emerged. One has been the fun of watching matchups between teams that have never played each other. One lesson may be to schedule fewer games years in advance and add more spontaneous pairings.
If 2020 is teaching anything in sports, it’s that keeping things flexible isn’t as impossible as previously thought.
Another lesson is that playing through the pandemic – with all due precautions – seems to have brought players and coaches even closer. At Indiana, for example, the upstart team’s slogan is “LEO” – love each other.
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The love runs from coach to players too. At Iowa State, head coach Matt Campbell told The Washington Post, “The neat thing about this group of seniors that we have is all 16 have become the best version of themselves they can be.”
That’s one good effect on athletes in any season – not just the surreal one of 2020.


csmonitor--2020-12-11--Supreme Court rejects Texas lawsuit to overturn election

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden ’ s election victory , ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation ’ s highest court .
The court ’ s order was its second this week rebuffing Republican requests that it get involved in the 2020 election outcome and overturn the will of voters as expressed in an election regarded by both Republican and Democratic officials as free and fair .
The justices turned away an appeal from Pennsylvania Republicans on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to formally elect Mr. Biden as the next president .
President Trump had called the lawsuit filed by Texas against Georgia , Michigan , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin “ the big one ” that would end with the Supreme Court undoing Mr. Biden ’ s substantial Electoral College majority and allowing Mr. Trump to serve another four years in the White House .
In a brief order , the court said Texas does not have the legal right to sue those states because it “ has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its elections.
” Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas , who have said previously the court does not have the authority to turn away lawsuits between states , said they would have heard Texas ’ complaint .
But they would not have done as Texas wanted pending resolution of the lawsuit , and set aside those four states ’ 62 electoral votes for Mr. Biden .
Three Trump appointees sit on the high court .
In his push to get the most recent of his nominees , Justice Amy Coney Barrett , confirmed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be needed for any post-election lawsuits .
Justice Barrett appears to have participated in both cases this week .
None of the Trump appointees noted a dissent in either case .
Eighteen other states won by Mr. Trump in last month ’ s election , 126 GOP members of Congress , and Mr. Trump himself joined Texas in calling on the justices to take up the case that sought to stop electors from casting their votes for Mr. Biden .
The four states sued by Texas had urged the court to reject the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by another 22 states and the District of Columbia .
Republican support for the lawsuit and its call to throw out millions of votes in four battleground states based on baseless claims of fraud was an extraordinary display of the party ’ s willingness to subvert the will of voters .
The House members backing the suit included House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana .
“ This lawsuit is an act of flailing GOP desperation , which violates the principles enshrined in our American Democracy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a message to Democrats on Friday .
A few Republicans have expressed concerns about the case .
Many others have remained silent even as Mr. Trump endlessly repeated claims that he lost a chance at a second term due to widespread fraud .
“ Texas is a big state , but I don ’ t know exactly why it has a right to tell four other states how to run their elections .
So I ’ m having a hard time figuring out the basis for that lawsuit , ” Republican Sen. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Todd in an interview for “ Meet The Press ” that will air Sunday .
To be clear , there has been no evidence of widespread fraud .
The Texas complaint repeated false , disproven , and unsubstantiated accusations about the voting in four states that went for Mr. Trump ’ s Democratic challenger .
The high court had never before been asked for such a dramatic remedy .
Two days after Mr. Paxton filed his suit , Mr. Trump jumped into the high court case .
Hours later , the president held @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scheduled before the suit was filed , with a dozen Republican attorneys general , including Mr. Paxton and several others who backed the effort .
“ If the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage , the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history , and our Electoral Process will be respected again !
” he tweeted Friday afternoon .
Mr. Trump had spent the week relentlessly tweeting about the Texas case with the hashtag “ overturn ” and claiming , falsely , that he had won the election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the top state Republican prosecutors who urged the court to get involved acknowledged that the effort was a long shot and sought to distance themselves from Mr. Trump ’ s baseless allegations of fraud .
North Dakota ’ s Wayne Stenehjem , among the attorneys general supporting the case , said North Dakota is not alleging voter fraud in the four states at issue .
“ We ’ re careful on that , ” said Mr. Stenehjem , who noted that his office has received thousands of calls and emails from constituents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ But it ’ s worth it for the Supreme Court to weigh in and settle it once and for all , ” he said .
The case has inflamed already high tensions over the election .
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office staff received two death threats Thursday after he signed onto the brief supporting the case .
The lawsuit has also divided officials in some states .
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox supported Texas ’ case , even though he said the suit was “ belated ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ best.
” Fox said the case raised “ important constitutional questions about the separation of powers and the integrity of mail-in ballots in those defendant states.
” But Gov .
Steve Bullock , D-Mont.
, urged the court to reject the case .
He said the fact that Texas is not suing Montana , which Mr. Trump won , even though the state similarly used mail-in ballots underscores that “ this action is less about election integrity than it is about attempting to overturn the will of the electorate.
” The litigation rankled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maura Healey , co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association , called the attempt to overturn votes “ unconscionable.
” Support among other leading lawyers was disturbing , Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford , who ’ s also co-chair of the Democratic attorneys general group , told The Associated Press .
“ I do think that these individuals are kowtowing to a president who has implemented some level of control and authority over the duly elected attorneys general in their states in a way that is unfortunate , ” he said .
Many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have shown greater political ambitions .
In Kansas , Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt , who is considering a bid for governor in 2022 , announced that he would back the effort only hours after former Republican Gov .
Jeff Colyer – another potential candidate for governor – tweeted that Mr. Schmidt ’ s office should .
Despite the political pressure , Idaho ’ s Republican attorney general chose not to join Texas .
“ As is sometimes the case , the legally correct decision may not be the politically convenient decision , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ But my responsibility is to the state of Idaho and the rule of law.
” This story was reported by The Associated Press .
Merchant reported from Houston and Richer reported from Boston .
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers David Pitt in Des Moines , Iowa ; John Hanna in Topeka , Kansas ; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena , Montana ; James MacPherson in Bismarck , North Dakota , Keith Ridler in Boise , Idaho ; Michelle Price in Las Vegas and Sophia Eppolito and Lindsay Whitehurst @ @ @ @ @

Nomaan Merchant, Alanna Durkin Richer, and Mark Sherman

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit backed by President Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory, ending a desperate attempt to get legal issues rejected by state and federal judges before the nation’s highest court.
The court’s order was its second this week rebuffing Republican requests that it get involved in the 2020 election outcome and overturn the will of voters as expressed in an election regarded by both Republican and Democratic officials as free and fair. The justices turned away an appeal from Pennsylvania Republicans on Tuesday.
The Electoral College meets Monday to formally elect Mr. Biden as the next president.
President Trump had called the lawsuit filed by Texas against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin “the big one” that would end with the Supreme Court undoing Mr. Biden’s substantial Electoral College majority and allowing Mr. Trump to serve another four years in the White House.
In a brief order, the court said Texas does not have the legal right to sue those states because it “has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.”
Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who have said previously the court does not have the authority to turn away lawsuits between states, said they would have heard Texas’ complaint. But they would not have done as Texas wanted pending resolution of the lawsuit, and set aside those four states’ 62 electoral votes for Mr. Biden.
Three Trump appointees sit on the high court. In his push to get the most recent of his nominees, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, confirmed quickly, Mr. Trump said she would be needed for any post-election lawsuits. Justice Barrett appears to have participated in both cases this week. None of the Trump appointees noted a dissent in either case.
Eighteen other states won by Mr. Trump in last month’s election, 126 GOP members of Congress, and Mr. Trump himself joined Texas in calling on the justices to take up the case that sought to stop electors from casting their votes for Mr. Biden.
The four states sued by Texas had urged the court to reject the case as meritless. They were backed by another 22 states and the District of Columbia.
Republican support for the lawsuit and its call to throw out millions of votes in four battleground states based on baseless claims of fraud was an extraordinary display of the party’s willingness to subvert the will of voters. The House members backing the suit included House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and Minority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
“This lawsuit is an act of flailing GOP desperation, which violates the principles enshrined in our American Democracy,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a message to Democrats on Friday.
A few Republicans have expressed concerns about the case. Many others have remained silent even as Mr. Trump endlessly repeated claims that he lost a chance at a second term due to widespread fraud.
“Texas is a big state, but I don’t know exactly why it has a right to tell four other states how to run their elections. So I’m having a hard time figuring out the basis for that lawsuit,” Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander told NBC’s Chuck Todd in an interview for “Meet The Press” that will air Sunday.
To be clear, there has been no evidence of widespread fraud.
The Texas complaint repeated false, disproven, and unsubstantiated accusations about the voting in four states that went for Mr. Trump’s Democratic challenger. The high court had never before been asked for such a dramatic remedy.
Two days after Mr. Paxton filed his suit, Mr. Trump jumped into the high court case. Hours later, the president held a meeting at the White House, scheduled before the suit was filed, with a dozen Republican attorneys general, including Mr. Paxton and several others who backed the effort.
“If the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!” he tweeted Friday afternoon. Mr. Trump had spent the week relentlessly tweeting about the Texas case with the hashtag “overturn” and claiming, falsely, that he had won the election but was robbed.
Still, some of the top state Republican prosecutors who urged the court to get involved acknowledged that the effort was a long shot and sought to distance themselves from Mr. Trump’s baseless allegations of fraud. North Dakota’s Wayne Stenehjem, among the attorneys general supporting the case, said North Dakota is not alleging voter fraud in the four states at issue.
“We’re careful on that,” said Mr. Stenehjem, who noted that his office has received thousands of calls and emails from constituents asking the state to support the suit. “But it’s worth it for the Supreme Court to weigh in and settle it once and for all,” he said.
The case has inflamed already high tensions over the election. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said his office staff received two death threats Thursday after he signed onto the brief supporting the case.
The lawsuit has also divided officials in some states.
Montana Attorney General Tim Fox supported Texas’ case, even though he said the suit was “belated” and its chances “are slim at best.” Fox said the case raised “important constitutional questions about the separation of powers and the integrity of mail-in ballots in those defendant states.”
But Gov. Steve Bullock, D-Mont., urged the court to reject the case. He said the fact that Texas is not suing Montana, which Mr. Trump won, even though the state similarly used mail-in ballots underscores that “this action is less about election integrity than it is about attempting to overturn the will of the electorate.”
The litigation rankled Democratic attorneys general. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, co-chair of the Democratic Attorneys General Association, called the attempt to overturn votes “unconscionable.” Support among other leading lawyers was disturbing, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who’s also co-chair of the Democratic attorneys general group, told The Associated Press.
“I do think that these individuals are kowtowing to a president who has implemented some level of control and authority over the duly elected attorneys general in their states in a way that is unfortunate,” he said.
Many of the attorneys general supporting the case have shown greater political ambitions.
In Kansas, Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who is considering a bid for governor in 2022, announced that he would back the effort only hours after former Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer – another potential candidate for governor – tweeted that Mr. Schmidt’s office should.
Despite the political pressure, Idaho’s Republican attorney general chose not to join Texas.
“As is sometimes the case, the legally correct decision may not be the politically convenient decision,” Lawrence Wasden said in a statement. “But my responsibility is to the state of Idaho and the rule of law.”
This story was reported by The Associated Press. Merchant reported from Houston and Richer reported from Boston. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa; John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas; Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana; James MacPherson in Bismarck, North Dakota, Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho; Michelle Price in Las Vegas and Sophia Eppolito and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City.