Chicago Erupts Over Shooting, Turkey Tensions

Nation: Protests erupted in Chicago last night after the release of a 2014 police dash cam video of a white officer shooting a black 17-year-old armed with a knife 16 times. The Chicago police department had suppressed the video until a judge ordered its release.

The video shows the windshield view as officer Jason Van Dyke speeds to the scene and stops his car. The suspect Laquan McDonald was moving about 20 feet away when Van Dyke fired every bullet in his gun. McDonald was not facing Van Dyke when the first shots were fired. He was down, but still moving, when the last bullets were pumped into him.

Van Dyke has always said he fired because he feared for his life, but he was the only cop who fired. Yesterday Van Dyke was formally charged with murder. Cook County prosecutor Anita Alvarez said at a news conference, “Clearly, this officer went overboard and he abused his authority, and I don’t think use of force was necessary.”

The War: Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Turkey’s shootdown of a Russian fighter jet was a “stab in the back delivered by the accomplices of terrorists,” and warned that there would be “serious consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.” But today Russia said it’ not going to war with Turkey.

Aside from military retaliation, Russia could cut off more than half of Turkey’s natural gas supply and shut down tourism to the Turkish coast, where four millions Russian vacation every year.

Despite Russian denials, Turkey released radar records showing the Russian jet flew a mile inside Turkey despite 10 warnings. Turkey was within its rights if that’s true, but a little quick with the trigger.

Both Russian pilots bailed out of the jet, but one was killed, apparently by ground fire as he floated to earth under a parachute. The other pilot was rescued by a Syrian commando unit. One Russian marine was killed in the rescue effort.

The Politics of War: President Obama pledged his allegiance with France yesterday after a meeting with President Francois Hollande, but he did not announce any new military efforts. Both Hollande and Obama have said they will not send ground troops.

France has a capable but small military, more suited to pinpoint actions than large-scale operations. Hollande goes next to Moscow where he’ll be walking into a propeller blade after the latest events between Turkey and Russia.

The Real Thing: Coca Cola’s top scientist is quitting after revelations that she and the company orchestrated a disinformation scheme to downplay the role of Coke’s sugary drinks in obesity. The scientist, Rhona Applebaum, helped establish a nonprofit group called the Global Energy Balance Network, which tried to convince the public to focus on exercise rather than calories in fighting fat.

Final Frontier: Blue Origin, the private space exploration company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched and landed a rocket that could dramatically reduce the cost of space travel. The Rocket called New Shepard flew to 330,000 feet and landed on its feet in Texas. Bezos said, “Full reuse is a game changer, and we can’t wait to fuel up and fly again.”

The NewsBiz: As the movie “Spotlight” about the Boston Globe and the Catholic Church scandal shows the life changing work that good newspaper journalism can do, buyouts this week at the Los Angeles Times tell a sadder story about what’s happening in the business. The list of departing veterans includes editors, reporters, bureau chiefs … even the wine columnist. One insider said, “It’s a lot of manpower walking out the door.”

Grandmother’s House: An estimated 46.9 million Americans will be taking trains, planes, and automobiles to grandmother’s house this week to talk about Donald Trump at the Thanksgiving table.

-30-

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Page Two

The Most Corrupt Justice

Monday, October 2, 2023

Democracy and Video in the Dark

Sunday, February 26, 2023

Page Two: Do the Right Thing

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Page Two: Sound Recall

Monday, September 13, 2021

Page Two: Cuomo Must Go

Friday, August 13, 2021

Trump and the Truth

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

The “Great” President

Monday, March 30, 2020

The Wright Stuff

Saturday, February 29, 2020

It's Been Said

"In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have, no excuses."

-Andrew Cuomo, resigning as governor of New York after accusations of sexual harassment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.