Waterloo looks to continue recent progress – Times Daily

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Brad Palmers teams have trended in the right direction since he took over as head coach in 2014, and hes confident the progress will continue in his fourth year at Waterloo.

After having to play so many underclassmen in 2014 and 2015, the 2016 seasons team finally had enough experience to compete in the region. The result was winning as many games in 2016 as in the previous four seasons combined.

The biggest thing is that were finally able to mature more, said Palmer. Its just hard for ninth-graders and tenth-graders to play against eleventh- and twelfth-graders. And we still only had five seniors last year, so we have the majority of our players coming back.

The Cougars will have seven seniors on this years roster, which is about the average for Class 1A Region 8.

With experience across the board on several key contributors returning, dont be surprised if Waterloo makes it to the postseason this fall for the first time since 1992.

We feel good about what we have coming back and what we can do, said Palmer. Theres a little more excitement around.

Last year the Cougars averaged 28 points per game, which was a 17.4-point per game increase from the prior season. The spread offense will be in good hands once again as two-year starter Bryce Palmer returns at the quarterback position.

He can throw the ball well and also run it, too, Brad Palmer said. Hes a multi-dimensional player that makes it easier for us to game plan.

When Bryce Palmer isnt making plays with his arms and legs, he can hand the ball off to senior running back Trevor Darby.

(Darby) is a tough runner with decent speed, Brad Palmer said. Hes not afraid of contact and will drag two or three people down with him.

Bryce Palmer will also have plenty of throwing options when he drops back to pass with Coleman Caddell, Christian Irons, Andrew Hinton and Hayden Hester lining up at wide receiver.

We have a good veteran group coming back, said Caddell.

The Cougars will return four of the five starting offensive linemen from last season, with several freshmen getting an opportunity to push for playing time.

Last season Waterloo gave up 31 points per game, which doesnt sound flattering, but it was a 13-point improvement from the previous year.

The Cougars hope to cut another two touchdowns off the opponents scoreboard again this season.

Our team speed on that side of the ball is a lot better than what it was two years ago, Brad Palmer said. I think we have the players to improve on last years defense. We just need to pay attention to the details.

Waterloo will roll out several players on the four-man front, including Darby, Hester, Cole Payne, Brayden Montgomery and John England.

The Cougars run a 4-2-5 formation on defense, with two safeties playing closer to the line of scrimmage like outside linebackers, which allows the defense to adapt to different schemes.

Brad Palmer admits that some of the starting positions at linebacker are still up in the air but to expect Cole Payne, Mason Cole and Hester to contribute.

Ball-hawking safety Bryce Palmer will lead the secondary once again this season. The other defensive backs will include several of the offensive skill guys such as Irons and Hinton.

We have some smart kids that dont mind the contact, Brad Palmer said.

The special teams will have a different look this year as Waterloo wont have German exchange student Luca Lentwojts leg to rely on.

Hinton is expected to takeover kicking duties as well as be the teams punter.

Our (field goal) range is definitely going to be shorter, Brad Palmer said. It will change our philosophy on offense, but luckily we have an offense that should be able to move the ball. Kickoffs will change, too, because we wont be able to kick it to the five or goal line.

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Waterloo looks to continue recent progress - Times Daily

Honeymoon in Vegas: Why Sin City is more than a wild party … – Independent.ie

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Honeymoon in Vegas: Why Sin City is more than a wild party location

Independent.ie

When I think of Vegas, I think of fun. Hedonistic pool parties, over-the-top cocktails, dancing till dawn and excessive eating, all in the name of a good time.

http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/world/honeymoon-in-vegas-why-sin-city-is-more-than-a-wild-party-location-36037986.html

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When I think of Vegas, I think of fun. Hedonistic pool parties, over-the-top cocktails, dancing till dawn and excessive eating, all in the name of a good time.

In most people's minds, Sin City is just that - a place to be bold. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

Perhaps that's why friends and family were surprised when I booked a weekend there as part of our honeymoon. People are far more likely to associate the Nevada city with stag or hen parties, or ill-thought-out nuptials. Vegas is also known for its top-class shows, incredible restaurants and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, however - so why wouldn't it make a great stop on our multi-city romantic holiday?

My new husband, Joe, and I love eating, drinking and having fun... so a trip to Sin City seemed right up our street.

I'll be honest. A major factor in wanting to go was Celine Dion's residency in The Colosseum (below) at Caesars Palace (caesars.com). We planned to start our honeymoon in Napa, California, before flying to Orlando, Florida, so why not schedule a three-night pit stop to see my idol's highly acclaimed show in between?

Luckily, Joe agreed.

We arrived in Vegas exactly one week after our wedding, batteries slightly recharged after North Cali's wine country. We checked into our suite at The Venetian (venetian.com, top), one of the classier establishments on the Strip. Twinned with The Palazzo next door, it's an all-suite, Italian-themed enclave complete with shopping mall, food court, casinos, theatre, countless restaurants and several bars, as well as a spa. All the rooms are enormous, the staff courteous and everything you could possibly desire is right there.

You needn't set foot outside if you don't want to, but there's so much more to Las Vegas than the casino floor, as we were soon to learn.

Our first stop was at In-N-Out Burger (in-n-out.com), a very unromantic joint famous on the West Coast. Las Vegas is its most easterly outpost, so my new husband insisted we go for a double-double, and as I was dragging him to a Celine Dion concert, I complied. We washed it down with a couple of icy ones from Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville (margaritaville.com) as we walked down the Strip, and then went to get ready for Celine's show.

It did not disappoint. I cried so much, the lady next to me handed me a tissue. But they were good tears. Afterwards, we whiled away the hour or so before dinner with some good ol' fashioned gambling. I love the casino at Caesars Palace as it's pretty old-school and traditional. For somewhere pumped full of oxygen, brightly lit and crammed with drinking and smoking gamblers, it's very pleasant. I had a mini-winning streak on the blackjack, so we trotted off to dinner a bit squiffy.

We had late dinner reservations at the Vegas branch of my favourite New York restaurant, Beauty & Essex (above; beautyandessex.com). Its Sin City edition is situated in The Cosmopolitan - one of the latest additions to Las Vegas Boulevard. We underestimated the walk between it and Caesars, and ended up half-jogging, but it was worth it. The food was just as good as it is in New York; we devoured Caesar toast, barbecue fries, ravioli and ragu, all washed down with whiskey cocktails.

Next morning, revived by greasy sandwiches from the food court in our hotel, we took an Uber (the most efficient and inexpensive transport in the city) to the Neon Boneyard (neonmuseum.org), spending an hour among the old signage before heading back to stroll through The Wynn.

It's another stunning hotel, with a gorgeous lakeside bar and restaurant, whimsical dcor and very Instagrammable details. I made a mental note to return.

That night, we decided to check out everything our own hotel had to offer. First up, pre-dinner cocktails at The Dorsey on The Venetian's casino floor. Next, another show, this time Baz. Based on the movies of auteur director Baz Luhrmann, it's a cabaret show/musical hybrid that includes scenes from Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby - many of the tables are on the stage or the runways leading off it, so the actors and dancers perform around you. If you want your drink refreshed, you press a little light on your table and a waiter visits when it's safe. Very enjoyable!

That night's feast was at Yardbird, one of the more casual restaurants at The Venetian, but still with tip-top service and delicious Southern-inspired food (when they heard we were newlyweds, they brought out a very impressive dessert complete with sparkler). More gambling ensued, this time less successfully, although I did learn to play Spanish 21 - a game in which there are no 10s (just say "hit me" and hope for the best). Cocktail waitresses bring free drinks as you spend... many a person's downfall.

Slightly delicate the next day, we made our way to Lago at the Bellagio (bellagio.com, above) for lunch and hair of the dog. Italian tapas is its thing: small sharing plates of pizza and pasta. Carbs, cheese, a seat outdoors on a lovely terrace and an Aperol spritz (or two) were just what we needed before chilling out on The Venetian's pool deck.

Our last dinner was at Mandalay Bay's Aureole (mandalaybay.com), a semi-fine dining experience with a heavy wine angle. The restaurant looked a bit chain-hotel to me, but there's a four-storey wine tower that a 'wine angel' travels up and down on a wire to fetch the bottle of your choice. Gimmicky, but fun.

We left Las Vegas a little depleted, but not as much as expected. Nightclubs and all-out hedonism were avoided, but there was so much to see, do and eat, they didn't even factor. It might not be a traditional honeymoon destination, but Vegas definitely has a classy, romantic, softer side.

Flats are essential for walking between resorts (quite a distance). A cross-body bag is good for women, freeing up hands for cocktails and casinos while avoiding pickpockets. Bring lots of light layers - it can be hot outside, but hotels are heavily air-conditioned to keep gamblers perky!

There are no direct flights from Ireland, but you can go via London or through another major American city Aer Lingus offers direct flights to LA (aerlingus.com), for example. Download the Uber app: youll use it religiously (resorts have separate entrances for Ubers and car-share rides).

See also visitlasvegas.com.

The all-suite Venetian (venetian.com) is gorgeous, complete with gondola rides and a good location on the Strip. Suites start from $259/220, plus a $39/33 resort fee (theres a 15pc discount if you book direct). Id also recommend The Cosmopolitan (cosmopolitanlasvegas.com).

Weekend Magazine

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Honeymoon in Vegas: Why Sin City is more than a wild party ... - Independent.ie

The Picture of Dorian Gray is getting a gender-swapped film adaptation – Quartz

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For the umpteenth time, Oscar Wildes only novel is getting a film adaptionbut this one promises to be perhaps the most unique spin on the story since it was first published 127 years ago.

Annie Clark, the Grammy-winning musician best known as St. Vincent, will direct a film based on The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wildes 1890 novel about a young man whose portrait ages while he remains eternally young, living a life of hedonism. In Clarks film, the title character will instead be a woman, Variety reported.

The film will be Clarks feature film debut. She previously directed one of the installments in XX, a horror anthology film directed by all women, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. As a musician, Clark has won many accolades, including the Grammy for best alternative album in 2015.

A Faustian philosophical horror about the value of beauty, The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most widely read (and studied) works of 19th century literature. At the time of its publication, though, the novel was met with contempt from a Victorian society offended by the novels perceived amoralityin particular, its homoerotic subtext. Wilde, whod later be convicted and imprisoned for gross indecency with men, was forced to expunge some of the novels references to homosexuality when it was republished in 1891.

The character of Dorian Gray has been female once before, in the 1983 made-for-TV movie The Sins of Dorian Gray. But that film eliminated the character of Basil Hallward (the artist whos infatuated with Gray and paints his portrait), and with him, much of the storys queer subtext. In order for Clarks film to retain that element of Wildes novel, Hallward would likely have to be a woman too.

The novelthe only one Wilde ever wrote before his death in in 1900, was first made into a silent film in 1910. Since then, its been adapted dozens of times and has inspired countless films, songs, books, and plays. Dorian Gray is a major character in the Showtime horror series Penny Dreadful, which uses several characters from 19th century British and Irish literature. Gray was also featured in the 2003 film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, based on the comics of the same name.

David Birke, who wrote the Oscar-nominated French thriller Elle, will write Clarks adaptation. Lionsgate is developing the project, which does not yet have a release date.

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The Picture of Dorian Gray is getting a gender-swapped film adaptation - Quartz

Cambridge University Press censorship ‘exposes Xi Jinping’s authoritarian shift’ – The Guardian

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A general view of Kings College Chapel, Cambridge. Photograph: Adam Davy/PA

The censorship row involving the worlds oldest publishing house and its most powerful one-party state has exposed the increasingly authoritarian turn China has taken under Xi Jinping, the editor of the journal at the centre of the controversy has said.

Criticism of Cambridge University Press intensified on Sunday over its controversial decision to comply with a Chinese request to block access to more than 300 articles from the China Quarterly, a leading China studies journal, so as to avoid having other publications targeted by Beijings censors.

Some vowed to boycott publications produced by CUP - which printed its first book in 1584 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I - until the step was reversed.

Speaking to the Guardian, Tim Pringle, China Quarterlys editor, said he hoped Chinese authorities would scrap their instruction to block more than 300 articles they deemed objectionable. He also hoped CUP chiefs would use meetings at a Beijing book fair this week to tell the Chinese government that the move represented a significant step backwards in terms of academic freedom.

However, Pringle, who is a senior lecturer at Londons School of Oriental and African Studies, admitted he was pessimistic about the chances of a Chinese change of heart. I cant see this being rolled back anytime soon, although we will lobby for that to happen. I think this is more about the configuration of the current leadership. It is a reflection of the Xi Jinping era. Its a stronger shade of authoritarian government that is less pragmatic, or certainly appears to be less pragmatic [that the previous administration].

Pringle described Chinas previous leaders, president Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao, as authoritarians who had nevertheless been willing to take on views from an emerging and at times buoyant civil society and to respond pragmatically to some of those views.

That changed dramatically after Xi became the Communist partys general secretary, almost five years ago, in November 2012, and instigated a dramatic clampdown on opposition voices. Targets have included academics and journalists who have been ordered to toe the party line; human rights lawyers and their supporters who have been disappeared or jailed; and, now, the worlds oldest publishing house.

Pringle said: If you look at the foreign NGO law, if you look at the measures taken against various sectors of civil society, the feminist five, labour activists being sentenced and detained starting in December 2015, if you look at the very serious clampdown on lawyers since July 2015, [and] also journalists - this is an excluding of external and critical voices.

Pringle said he believed China Quarterly had been targeted because it contained the kind of critical material that was no longer welcome under Xi. We are outside the system [and] outside party control ... If there is one thing worse than an external voice its an external voice talking about things you dont want to hear.

In a biting open letter Georgetown Universitys James Millward accused CUP of showing a repugnant disdain for Chinese readers who now only had access to a misleading, neutered simulacrum of its journal, shorn of articles about politically-sensitive topics such as Tibet, democracy and the Tiananmen Square massacre .

Cambridge University Presss current concession is akin to the New York Times or The Economist letting the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] determine what articles go into their publications something they have never done. It would be unimaginable for these media to instead collaborate with PRC party censors to excise selected content from their daily or weekly editions.

Millward, a specialist in the far-western region of Xinjiang who has been repeatedly denied visas to visit China, noted that those news outlets had refused to produce incomplete, scissored-up, CCP versions because of pressure from Beijing. Cambridge University Press, on the other hand, is agreeably donning the hospital gown, untied in the back, baring itself to the Chinese scalpel, and crying cut away!

In an interview, Millward, whose name appears once on the list of censored China Quarterly articles, said he believed CUP had been far too quick to acquiesce to Chinas demands. They should have said, China Quarterly is a package deal: take it or leave it and not have worried that CUP products across the board would be banned from China.

I really doubt there was some sort of explicit threat that was delivered to them, Millward added. I rather think that they were leaping to that conclusion, that if they didnt comply then they would be retaliated against, and I think that conclusion is a false one.

Were we still in the paper-bound journal age, then there would be huge holes in these journals. And for Cambridge just to say, OK, we are just going to cut these out of the virtual version of the journal is really kind of appalling.

The Georgetown scholar said he did not believe Chinas leaders had issued a direct order to ban sensitive China Quarterly material. Rather, the instruction was likely to have been given by lower-level officials who were responding to the chilly political climate that has gripped China since Xi took power. Academic institutions and publishers around the world had been far too reticent about pushing back against such demands, he added.

Sebastian Veg, a Hong Kong specialist whose work was also on the list of blocked articles, admitted there was no ideal solution in a case like this, when you have to choose between doing the work of the censors for them or seeing your entire content blocked.

[However] I dont think its morally acceptable for a University Press to proactively censor its own content to gain access to any market.

Other foreign publishers and victims of Chinese censorship demands now needed to speak out. Resisting censorship requires naming and shaming.

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Cambridge University Press censorship 'exposes Xi Jinping's authoritarian shift' - The Guardian

MMA Championships Use Bitcoin To Circumvent Censorship – Bitcoin News (press release)

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Bitcoin proponents often talk about the many benefits the decentralized currency can offer the world, and one of these attributes is bitcoins censorship resistance. This week news.Bitcoin.com chatted with, Firas Zahabi, a well known Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) grappling trainer from Canada who decided to use bitcoin as an incentive to promote online grappling events.

Also read: Markets Update: Bitcoin Cash Rallies for Three Solid Days

Firas Zahabi has trained many champion MMA fighters and is the founder of Tristar Gym, a grappling martial arts training center located in Quebec, Canada. The gym is well known as one of the worlds top MMA training camps, and grappling fights are very popular in the region. However, Zahabi tells us over a phone conversation that the local governments in Canada have deemed holding MMA events illegal. Grappling martial arts itself is legal in the region, but MMA events are not allowed, which gives young Canadian fighters less of an opportunity to compete and show their skills. So Zahabi decided to create online MMA events on Youtube which he calls the Pure Victory Championship and fighters compete for bitcoin prizes. Zahabi believes the act of hosting events online decentralizes the playing field and bitcoin leaves the middle man out of the equation.

Bitcoin.com (BC): Can you tell our readers about the Pure Victory Championship?

Firas Zahabi (FZ): Recently they made grappling events illegal where Im from here in Quebec, and then they made events illegal in Ontario. Quebec is a hotbed for grappling talent, and the biggest MMA event in the world called the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) is happening soon, and two of my students are attending this year. So grappling in Quebec is really popular, but the local governments made it illegal because there was bickering back and forth between event promoters that were calling the cops on each other. They were trying to cancel each others events and corner the market.

Law enforcement got tired of all these calls, and now we are not allowed to have grappling events. Grappling is perfectly legal still, but holding grappling events here is illegal. Alongside this, Canada recently declared bitcoin as a commodity, and to the government, its not money, not a currency. So Im not allowed to hold events and give out prize money, but we are allowed to film and upload ourselves fighting online. And now the fighters get bitcoin, and its kinda like them getting a free t-shirt or swag, because I am giving them a commodity as a prize for participation. We thought it was an excellent idea and the viewers can tip the fighters as well and our grapplers have been making money during an event. The grapplers are also enthusiastic about competing again in the future and the audience absolutely loves it.

Its been all positive feedback and people are following the events. We only have four episodes so far and the fifth episode should launch next week. Its really creating a great buzz with just four episodes.

BC: How much bitcoin have the fighters been getting?

FZ: Theyve been getting roughly $100-300 dollars in bitcoin between winnings and tips. Dont forget that theyre getting bitcoin and that could be worth a lot in the future. This is only after one match, and when you grapple you have to pay to compete, so it helps the fighters earn. Further, these episodes could still give fighters some earnings, and after twenty videos it will create a fishnet effect. I think the fighters havent finished collecting and once they get more and more popular they create a bigger following, and the prizes will get bigger.

BC: What gave you the idea to include bitcoin into these events?

FZ: The politics and the government. They need to let young fighters have a place to release their energy. If these kids cant find anything to do they will likely find some trouble and grappling is such an amazing outlet for the youth. Not only are they getting fit but they are exercising their minds, and they are building a whole community. We are a thriving community, and they just came and shut us down. Could you imagine if they made baseball events illegal? I dont understand it, these kids need an outlet rather than being in the pool halls and the streets. Martial arts is one of the most constructive things a human being can do, especially in their youth.

So I said lets decentralize jiu-jitsu. If we cant have grappling events how can we monetize our skills? The middleman is just such a problem, hes always sticking his hands in our pocket and always bullying us. So lets decentralize our jiu-jitsu, lets make it so the audience can see the competitors compete, pay them in cryptocurrency and remove the middleman.

So my next phase for Pure Victory Championship will be global and what Im going to do is let fighters film their match, and if your game is good enough I will air it, and the winner will get $300 in cryptocurrency. Which is a lot for fighters just starting off, and the internet is hard to stop.

BC: Did the government give a formal explanation to why they made grappling events illegal?

FZ: No they told us if you have any more grappling events they will come and shut us down, and they have already. One major grappling event was canceled with hundreds of competitors. So what Im hoping to do is put the power back into the competitors hands.

BC: Have the fighters mentioned anything about receiving cryptocurrency as a prize?

FZ: They love it, every fighter loves it. Look at the price of bitcoin right now. The guy who recently got $100 worth of BTC is pumped as its worth about $300-400 right now.

The world loves MMA and its a very popular sport and grappling enthusiasts are going to hear an awful lot about cryptocurrency this year.

What do you think about FirasZahabis Pure Victory Championships? Let us know in the comments below.

Images via Pixabay, Bitcoin.com,FirasZahabis, and Pure Victory Championship

Need to calculate your bitcoin holdings? Check our tools section.

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MMA Championships Use Bitcoin To Circumvent Censorship - Bitcoin News (press release)

Counterprotesters swarm Boston after police deem free speech …

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One week after violent protests rattled Charlottesville, Virginia, a scheduled free speech rally in Boston Saturday was met with thousands of counterprotesters, but the day went off mostly smoothly, police said, with 33 arrests but few injuries.

The free speech rally was deemed "officially over" by police ahead of its official end time, but thousands of counterprotesters continued to spread out in the city throughout the afternoon, with some protesting peacefully but others confronting officers and people.

A total of 33 arrests were made Saturday, mostly from disorderly conduct and a few assaults on police officers, the Boston Police Department announced. Police Commissioner William Evans said at a news conference this afternoon that some urine-filled bottles were thrown at officers, and police indicated on Twitter that some demonstrators were throwing rocks at police.

But for the most part, Evans said, the day of direct action went off smoothly as police planned, with very little injury and property damage.

"Overall I thought we got the First Amendment people in, we got them out, no one got hurt, no one got killed," he said.

Police did stop three people with ballistic vests and a gun, Evans said, "but we were lucky to get those three out of here and confiscate the vests."

Evans said roughly 40,000 people descended on Boston Saturday, "standing tall against hatred and bigotry in our city, and that's a good feeling." He added that he wished the "trouble makers stayed away," who he said weren't there for either the free speech side or the counterprotesters' side, but "were here just to cause problems."

Evans said that "99.9 percent of the people here were for the right reasons -- that's to fight bigotry and hate."

Saturday's massive gathering of demonstrators across Boston was sparked by a free speech rally set to take place from noon to 2 p.m. at Boston Common. But the rally was deemed "officially over" in a tweet from Boston police at 1:30 p.m ET, and police said the demonstrators had left the Common.

Libertarian congressional candidate Samson Racioppi, who was set to speak at the free speech event, told ABC affiliate WCVB, "I really think it was supposed to be a good event by the organizers, but it kind of fell apart."

An organizer of the free speech event said the group has no affiliation with the white supremacists involved in the violence in Charlottesville, but a small number of Ku Klux Klan members were expected to attend, ABC affiliate WCVB in Boston reported.

After the free speech event has concluded, counterprotesters still swarmed Boston this afternoon, and riot police also responded in the city.

The giant crowds of counterprotesters first gathered in the city this morning holding signs with phrases like, "hate speech is not free speech" and "white silence is violence."

Counterprotesters chanted "no fascists, no KKK, no racist USA."

One Massachusetts woman who drove three hours to Boston to attend today's counterprotest told ABC News she has felt "months of depression" and "absolute outrage."

"And after Saturday [at Charlottesville]," she said, "I just cannot be silent anymore."

Of the free speech rally attendees, she said, "I was glad to see that their crowd was very small. That spoke volumes to me.

"We have a really long way to go and we have to end white supremacy in all of its forms," she added.

Another counterprotester told ABC News, "I just wanted to come out and confront them head on, and I didn't want to miss this chance."

"I didn't think that we would ever have to have this confrontation in 2017," she said, "so it feels really vital to just come out and try to stamp it out today. And I'm encouraged by how many other people came out."

While many counterprotesters marched peacefully, some scuffled with armed officers.

Video showed several officers taking an individual to the ground after he angrily confronted the officers.

Amid the confrontations, Boston police tweeted that individuals are asked to "refrain from throwing urine, bottles and other harmful projectiles at our officers."

President Trump on Saturday afternoon thanked the police in a tweet, saying they look "tough and smart" against what he said appeared to be "anti-police agitators."

Trump also tweeted, "I want to applaud the many protestors in Boston who are speaking out against bigotry and hate. Our country will soon come together as one!" Boston Mayor Marty Wash responded to that message by saying that his city stood together for "peace and love."

First daughter Ivanka Trump on Saturday night tweeted, "It was beautiful to see thousands of people across the U.S.A come together today to peacefully denounce bigotry, racism & anti-Semitism ... We must continue to come together, united as Americans!"

Throughout the day, protesters also scuffled with each other.

In one tense scene between a man and a counterprotester at the Common, the counterprotester followed the man, saying, "We only hate hate." The man shouted, "Get away from me. Stay right there! You're not even a me [sic], you're not even a woman, you're an it!" As the man walked away, he kicked and punched into the air, leading one counterprotester to yell "Get your bigotry out of here, a------." The man shoved another counterprotester, which caused more people to step in to make sure the situation didn't escalate.

Boston city officials said they planned to deploy hundreds of police officers today to prevent violence similar to what took place in Charlottesville last weekend, where a rally by white nationalists, including neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members demonstrating over plans to remove a Robert E. Lee statue, ended in the death of a counterprotester after a car was rammed into a crowd that was marching through the streets.

"We're going to respect their right to free speech, Walsh said Friday, but "they don't have the right to create unsafe conditions."

Scheduled to speak at the free speech rally, which was organized by the Boston Free Speech Coalition, were Kyle Chapman, who caused controversy online after photos emerged of him hitting anti-Trump protesters, Joe Biggs, who previously worked at the website InfoWars, run by conservative radio host Alex Jones, Republican congressional candidate Shiva Ayyadurai and Racioppi.

Walsh said that some of those invited to speak "spew hate," The Associated Press reported.

John Medlar, who said he is an organizer for Boston Free Speech, said the group has no affiliation with the white supremacists who marched in Charlottesville, Boston.com reported.

"While we maintain that every individual is entitled to their freedom of speech, and defend that basic human right, we will not be offering our platform to racism or bigotry. We denounce the politics of supremacy and violence," the group wrote on its Facebook page.

The group is largely made up of students in their mid-teens to mid-20s, Medlar told Boston.com.

WCVB reported that the KKKs national director, Thomas Robb, said as many as five KKK members from Springfield and possibly more from Boston were planning to attend today's rally.

Several other rallies were planned across the U.S. Saturday. Many are in response to the Charlottesville violence last weekend, as well as the movement to remove Confederate statues across the country, and in reaction to Trumps controversial press conference on Tuesday.

The "Rally Against White Supremacy" took place in Austin, Texas, while the Black Lives Matter Protests to remove Confederate statues took place in Houston, and the United Against HATE: Demand Racist President Trump Resign rally was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Events were also planned in cities including Atlanta, New Orleans and Dallas.

ABC News' Erin Keohane and Meghan Keneally contributed to this report.

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Counterprotesters swarm Boston after police deem free speech ...

Boston "free speech" rally ends after counter-protesters take …

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BOSTON --Thousands of demonstrators chanting anti-Nazi slogans converged Saturday on downtown Boston, dwarfing a small group of conservatives who cut short a "free speech rally" in a boisterous repudiation of white nationalism, just a week after racially tinged bloodshed in Virginia.

Police confined a small group of "free speech" protesters to the Parkman Bandstand on historic Boston Common as they blocked off the massive counter-protests, CBS Boston reports. The permit issued for the rally came with severe restrictions, including a ban on backpacks, sticks and anything that could be used as a weapon.

Boston's police commissioner, William B. Evans, said an estimated 40,000 people attended the counter-protests and there was very little property damage.

The Boston police department tweeted there were 33 arrests.

A large crowd of people march towards the Boston Commons to protest the Boston Free Speech Rally in Boston, MA, U.S., August 19, 2017.

STEPHANIE KEITH / REUTERS

The Boston Police Department announced at 1:30 p.m. that the "free speech" rally had ended. Police vans escorted conservatives out of the area, and angry counter-protesters scuffled with armed officers trying to maintain order.

Police in riot gear struggled to push the large crowd of counter-protesters away from the area, pushing them back in the area of Boylston and Tremont Streets.

On Twitter, the police department asked "individuals" in the area to refrain from throwing urine, bottles and other "harmful projectiles" at officers. They later confirmed that rocks were thrown at officers.

Several images on social media showed at least one counter-protester burning a Confederate flag.

A protester burns the Confederate flag in Boston on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017.

Jordan Presley/Twitter

President Trump tweeted on Saturday,applauding the police presence and their responsein Boston. "Looks like many anti-police agitators in Boston. Police are looking tough and smart! Thank you," he wrote.

In a separate tweet, Mr. Trump said, "Great job by all law enforcement officers and Boston Mayor [Marty Walsh]."

He also applauded protesters who were "speaking out against bigotry and hate," saying the country would "soon come together as one!"

Organizers of the "free speech" event had publicly distanced themselves from the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and others who fomented violence in Charlottesville on Aug. 12. A woman was killed at that Unite the Right rally, and scores of others were injured, when a car plowed into counter-demonstrators.

Aerial footage shows where police confined a small group of "free speech" protesters as they blocked off massive counter-demonstrations in Boston.

CBS Boston

John Medlar of the Boston Free Speech Coalition, which organized the event, is a 23-year-old student at Fitchburg State College. He told CBS News correspondent DeMarco Morgan that his group would not tolerate hate speech.

"Reasonable people on both sides who are tolerant enough to not resort to violence when they hear something they disagree with, reasonable people who are actually willing to listen to each other, need to come together and start promoting that instead of letting all of these fringe groups on the left and the right determine what we can and cannot say," Medlar said.

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Police officers in riot gear clashed with protesters following a planned "free speech" rally in Boston on Saturday.Thousands of counter-protester...

Some counter-protesters dressed entirely in black and wore bandannas over their faces. They chanted anti-Nazi and anti-fascism slogans, and waved signs that said: "Love your neighbor," ''Resist fascism" and "Hate never made U.S. great." Others carried banners that read: "Smash white supremacy."

TV cameras showed a group of boisterous counter-protesters on the Common chasing a man with a Trump campaign banner and cap, shouting and swearing at him. But other counter-protesters intervened and helped the man safely over a fence into the area where the conservative rally was to be staged. Black-clad counter-protesters also grabbed an American flag out of an elderly woman's hands, and she stumbled and fell to the ground.

Police Commissioner William Evans said Friday that 500 officers would be deployed to separate the two groups.

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Boston "free speech" rally ends after counter-protesters take ...

Boston Prepares for Free Speech Rally and Counterprotests …

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(BOSTON) Boston will deploy about 500 police officers on Saturday to prevent possible violence at a free speech rally and planned counterprotests, the mayor and police commissioner said Friday.

"We will not tolerate any misbehavior, violence or vandalism whatsoever," Police Commissioner William Evans said at a City Hall news conference.

The city granted permission for what organizers are calling a free speech rally on Boston Common, but which some people fear is actually a white nationalist event similar to the Unite the Right rally in Virginia last weekend that erupted in violence and left one person dead.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh pointed out that some of those invited to speak "spew hate." Kyle Chapman, who described himself on Facebook as a "proud American nationalist," said he will attend.

"They have the right to gather no matter how repugnant their views are," Walsh said. "We're going to respect their right of free speech. In return they must respect our city."

The Boston Free Speech Coalition says its rally has nothing to do with white nationalism, Nazism or racism and that they are not affiliated with the organizers of the Charlottesville, Virginia, rally.

"While we maintain that every individual is entitled to their freedom of speech and defend that basic human right, we will not be offering our platform to racism or bigotry. We denounce the politics of supremacy and violence," the group said on its Facebook page.

Its permit is for 100 people, though an organizer has said he expected up to 1,000 people to attend.

Organizers of a counterprotest expect thousands of people to join them on a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) march from the city's Roxbury neighborhood to the Common to "stand in defiance of white supremacy," activist Monica Cannon said.

"I don't think what they are exuding is free speech, I believe it is hate speech," she said at a separate news conference Friday.

Organizers promised a peaceful counterprotest.

Another group is planning a separate "Stand for Solidarity" rally on the Statehouse steps near the Common.

The police presence in Boston will include undercover officers mingling in the crowds and officers on bicycles, Evans said. More officers will be held in reserve in case of trouble. Transit police will increase their presence at subway stations in the area. Weapons of all kinds, even sticks used to carry signs, are banned. The sides will be separated by barricades.

Popular tourist attractions, including the Frog Pond on the Common, and the Swan Boats in the adjacent Public Garden, are being shut down for the day. Streets around the Common are also being blocked to vehicle traffic.

Extra security cameras have been installed at the bandstand where the free speech rally is taking place. Walsh noted it's a spot where Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr., and President Barack Obama have spoken.

State police troopers are also available if needed, Gov. Charlie Baker said.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure tomorrow is about liberty and justice, and about freedom and peace," he said.

Boston isn't the only city preparing for such a rally.

Dallas police said Friday they will have extra officers on duty for a rally against white supremacy planned for City Hall Plaza on Saturday night.

Supporters of keeping the city's Confederate monuments have also posted on social media about a counterprotest, but it was unclear Friday whether that event would occur.

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Boston Prepares for Free Speech Rally and Counterprotests ...

Far outnumbered, Boston ‘Free Speech’ rally ends early

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After a day of mostly peaceful protest, President Donald Trump told marchers that he applauded them for speaking out against bigotry and hate. But only after he also called out "many anti-police agitators" for their actions.

A right-wing group had planned to protest in Boston Common Saturday, but broke up their rally prematurely as thousands over counterprotestors overwhelmed their event.

Trump praised the Boston Police Department and Mayor Marty Walsh for how they handled a controversial "Free Speech Rally" and thousands-strong counterprotest Saturday.

The counter-protest reportedly drew at least 30,000 people occasionally erupted into confrontation, and almost 30 arrests were made, according to the Boston Globe.

Hours after the sparsely attended rally ended, the Boston Police Twitter feed reported individuals near a "sit-in" protest close to the intersection of Tremon and West were throwing rocks, urine, and other projectiles at officers.

At least one public transit station had been shutdown, according to the Boston Transportation department.

The event was held a week after a white supremacist march and counter-protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, ended in bloodshed.

Trump said in a tweet Saturday afternoon that he saw many "anti-police agitators" in coverage of the event and praised the police for looking "tough and smart."

The president went on to thank law enforcement and Boston's mayor for a "great job."

He later tweeted that the "country has been divided for decades," that sometimes protest is necessary in order to "heel" (sic).

He then resent the tweet with the proper spelling of the word "heal."

A law enforcement official told the Associated Press earlier Saturday that there were about 20 arrests, but no serious injuries were reported during the event.

Many counterprotesters still remain in the area, including a few who were among people chanting "Black Lives Matter" who burned a confederate flag, AP reported.

The "Free Speech" rally itself was sparsely attended, according to Boston.com. Barely 20 people were reportedly seen attending the rally in Boston Common, which had a permit to go until 2 p.m.

According to multiple reports, the few "Free Speech" protesters in the park left around 1 p.m. local time, escorted by police. It's unclear if there are other events being held elsewhere in the city.

The "Free Speech Rally" organizers have publicly distanced themselves from the white supremacist groups that marched in Charlottesville last week.

Hundreds of counter-protesters had surrounded the perimeter of the park in downtown Boston during the rally.

Boston's Walsh on Friday had urged counter-protesters to stay away from the event, arguing that their presence would simply draw more attention to the far-right activists. But on Saturday, the mayor was seen walking with the march, and later attended a rally called West Broadway Unity Day in South Boston, according to Boston.com.

Organizers of the "Free Speech" rally had denounced the violence and racist chants of the Charlottesville "Unite the Right" protest.

"We are a coalition of libertarians, progressives, conservatives, and independents and we welcome all individuals and organizations from any political affiliations that are willing to peaceably engage in open dialogue about the threats to, and importance of, free speech and civil liberties," the group said on Facebook.

The event's scheduled speakers include Kyle Chapman, a California activist who was arrested at a Berkeley rally earlier this year that turned violent, and Joe Biggs, formerly of the right-wing conspiracy site Infowars.

At least 500 police officers, many on bicycles, were on hand to keep the expected crowd of a few hundred people at the "Free Speech" rally separate from thousands attending a counter-protest by people who believe the event could become a platform for racist propaganda.

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Far outnumbered, Boston 'Free Speech' rally ends early

The Second City’s Free Speech! (While Supplies Last)

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La Jolla Playhouse Presents

July 29 August 21, 2016

Free Speech! (While Supplies Last) offers an irreverent look at Americas electoral insanity. This topical new show features political satire made famous by Second City stars like Tina Fey, Stephen Colbert and Keegan-Michael Key, as well as brand new scenes, songs and improv straight from their sold-out shows in Chicago and Toronto. This must-see evening of comedy features some of Chicagos best and brightest in a special three-week engagement.

Click here for full company bios and to read more in-depth articles about the show.

Contains strong language and adult situations.

Patron Services will be happy to answer any questions you have at (858) 550-1010.

Please check back for more information.

Please check back for press and reviews.

The Mandell Weiss Forum is a 400-seat thrust stage theatre, with audience members surrounding the stage on three sides. It contains a rehearsal hall, two courtyards and an outdoor "lobby." Built with sleek industrial materials and intersecting geometric shapes, it has a long free-standing entry wall with massive reflective smoky-glass panes that generate the illusion of being both within and outside of the partition.

> Learn more

Children under the age of 6 are not permitted in the theatre during performances unless otherwise posted.

Every Thursday during the run of Free Speech, starts at 7:00 pm

Join us before your performance for complimentary beer tastings from Modern Times Brewery. Presented by La Jolla Playhouse in partnership with James Place. Includes two 3-oz beer tastings.

Every Friday during the run of Free Speech (except August 5), starts at 6:00 pm

Theatergoers are invited to attend Foodie Fridays, where a ticket to select Playhouse performances also includes access to some of San Diegos finest food trucks!

Every Saturday evening during the run of Free Speech

Enjoy live music before the show. More details to follow.

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The Second City's Free Speech! (While Supplies Last)

In Charlottesville, some on the left attacked free speech …

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NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Wednesday, August 16, 2017, 2:50 PM

Let's get one thing straight from the start: President Trump was utterly and completely wrong to equate the white supremacists who converged on Charlottesville, Va., last weekend with the counter-protesters who challenged them.

By saying that there were "bad people" in both groups, he implicitly placed them on the same moral plane. And by repeatedly emphasizing that "both sides" engaged in violence, he ignored the obvious fact that only one side the white supremacists counted a murderer among their numbers.

I'm talking about James Alex Fields, Jr., of course, the reported neo-Nazi who killed paralegal Heather Heyer and injured 19 others by driving his car into a crowd. There was nothing even close to that on the other side.

But the counter-protesters did engage in violence, wielding fists and sticks to attack some of the white supremacists. It was small potatoes, by comparison, but it has big implications for free speech. Across the political spectrum, a growing number of Americans want to deny that right to people they detest. And once you do that, you can visit any wrong upon them.

John Kelly's five stages of grief during Trump's news conference

Witness the assault on Jason Kessler, one of the key organizers of the white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville. When he tried to speak at a press conference on Saturday, a pair of men charged at him; one of them shouted an obscenity, and the other said, "Indict for murder now."

As Kessler scurried away from the podium, a man identified as Jeff Winder punched him. "Jason Kessler has been bringing hate to our town for months and has been endangering the lives of people of color," Winder said. "Free speech does not protect hate speech."

Actually, it does. For the past 50 years, the Supreme Court has upheld the right of Americans to say pretty much anything they want. The lone exception is for "fighting words," personal threats that pose an immediate danger of physical harm to somebody else.

Did Kessler's words pose that kind of peril? Of course not. Instead, they provoked a violent reaction against him, by people who took it upon themselves to decide what he should and shouldn't be allowed to say.

Mom of Charlottesville victim says daughter's cause won't stop

And if you think that's OK, how can you object when other people try to muzzle speech that you might approve, but which they find abhorrent? I'm thinking especially of Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, whose selection as a commencement speaker at the City University of New York School of Public Health last spring provoked protests outside the university and death threats against Sarsour.

Calling Sarsour a supporter of terrorism, which she resolutely denied, critics urged Gov. Cuomo to cancel her speech. He refused, fortunately, and Sarsour delivered her address without incident. But she also had to hire two private bodyguards to accompany her to public events.

I'm not equating Sarsour with Jason Kessler. My point is simply that "hate speech" is in the eye of the beholder. That's why we need to protect it, no matter how vile or offensive it seems.

19 photos view gallery

The alternative is to have the government define and delimit hate speech, via laws and regulations. Every federal court who has examined such rules including campus speech codes has struck them down. And thank heavens for that, because our own government is now led by one Donald J. Trump.

Trumps response to Charlottesville attack was weak and cowardly

At every turn, Trump has shown himself to be an enemy of free speech. During his campaign, he openly wished for the demise of newspapers that criticized him. He encouraged supporters to attack protesters at his rallies, even offering to pay the resulting legal bills. Do you really want this guy deciding what you can and can't say? I didn't think so.

And that's one of the sad ironies of our current moment. The last few days have witnessed a surge of disgust for President Trump, who has openly defended racists and white supremacists. But we have also seen attacks on free speech, including a tweetstorm against the American Civil Liberties Union for upholding the rights of these same white supremacists.

That plays right into Trump's hands. At this delicate juncture, the last thing we should be doing is restricting freedom of speech. In America, everyone should have their say. And if you say otherwise, watch out! He might be coming for you next.

Zimmerman teaches education and history at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author (with Emily Robertson) of The Case for Contention: Teaching Controversial Issues in American Schools.

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In Charlottesville, some on the left attacked free speech ...

Boston ‘free speech’ rally ends early amid flood of counterprotesters; 27 people arrested – Washington Post

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Boston police said 27 people were arrested during day-long demonstrations to protest hate speech a week after a woman was killed at a Virginia white supremacist rally. (Reuters)

BOSTON Tens of thousands of counterprotesters crammed Boston Common and marched through city streets Saturday morning in efforts to drown out the planned free speech rally that many feared would be attended by white-supremacist groups.

By 1 p.m., the handful of rally attendees had left the Boston Common pavillion, concluding their event without planned speeches. A victorious cheer went up among the counterprotesters, as many began to leave. Hundreds of othersdancedin circles andsang, Hey hey, ho ho. White supremacy has got to go.

City officials said that at least 40,000 people participated in the counter protest, 20,000 of whom participated in a march across town.Tensions flared as police escorted some rally attendees out of the Common, prompting several physical altercations between police and counterprotesters.

Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said there were 27 arrests, primarily for disorderly conduct. He said no officers or protesters were injured and there was no property damage. Evans added that three individuals were wearing ballistics vests, one of whom was later found to be armed. It is unclear if those three are among the arrests.

Evans said there were three groups of people in attendance: attendees of the free speech rally, counter protesters, and a small group of people who showed up to cause trouble.

Overall everyone did a good job, Evans said. 99.9 percent of people were here for the right reason, and thats to fight bigotry.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh met up with the counterprotesters at themarch.

I think its clear today that Boston stood for peace and love, not bigotry and hate, he said.

[Donald Trump brought me here today: Counterprotesters rout neo-Nazi rally in Berlin]

President Donald Trump praised law enforcement and Mayor Marty Walsh via tweet Saturday afternoon for their handling of the crowds, saying that there appeared to be many anti-police agitators in Boston. More than an hour later, he tweeted support for protesters.

The showdown between right-wing ralliers and the far larger group of counterprotesters in the heart of downtown Boston comes just one week after a chaotic gathering of far-right political groups including neo-Nazis, white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan members left dozens injured and one woman dead in Charlottesville aftera reported neo-Naziallegedly plowed his carinto a crowd of counterprotesters.

In anticipation of potential violence, city officials corralled more than 500 police officers onto the Common, installed security cameras and constructed elaborate barriers to separate the free-speech rally from the massive demonstration in opposition to it. The handful of rally attendees gathered beneath a pavilion near the center of the Common, surrounded by metal barriers and dozens of police. Several hundred feet away, thousands of counterprotesters surrounding them carrying signs declaring Black Lives Matter and Hate Has No Home In Boston, while mockingly chanting we cant hear you when it appeared the ralliers had begun to speak.

One moment of tension came when rally attendees ventured outside of the barriersand were promptly confronted by counterprotesters. One man, draped in a Donald Trump flag, was immediately surrounded by media, while demonstrators chanted at him to go home.

[Shame!: Part of Bostons protest looked eerily like a scene from Game of Thrones]

One rally attendee, Luke St. Onge,a young man wearing a red Make America Great Again hat and GOP T-shirt, saidhe came even though he knew it might be attended by white-supremacist groups, whose views he said he does not agree with.

I definitely wouldnt associate myself with the KKK or any white supremacist. I dont stand with them at all, said St. Onge, who is from Las Vegas. I do support their right to an opinion, he added. Free speech is definitely something I stand for.

Plans for the Boston rally, which organizers said was not about white supremacy or Confederate monuments, were nearly scrapped following the violence in Charlottesville. Several speakerspulled out of or were uninvited from the event, but John Medlar, a Boston-area college student and the rallys lead organizer, said that the rally would go on.

Among those who were scheduled to speak were Joe Biggs, formerly a writer for the conspiracy-theory website Infowars, and Kyle Chapman, a far-right activistcharged with beating counterdemonstratorswith a wooden pole during a clash at the University of California in Berkeley earlier this year, though it is unclear if either man attended. Members of the KKKtold the Boston Heraldthat they expected several of the groups members to attend, but there was little, if any, visible KKK presence at the rally.

There have been questions about why we granted a permit for the rally, Walsh said on Friday. The courts have made it abundantly clear. They have the right to gather, no matter how repugnant their views are. But they dont have the right to create unsafe conditions. They have the right to free speech. In return, they have to respect our city.

Wewill not be offering our platform to racism or bigotry, organizers said in aFacebook postearlier this week. We denounce the politics of supremacy and violence.

Last weeks gathering in Virginia was ostensibly in protest of the proposed removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. In the days since, cities across the nation have announced the removal of dozens of Confederate monuments, sparking anew the long-heated debate over what, if anything, should be done with the hundreds of statutes, streets, and schoolhouses named after or in honor of those who fought to maintain slavery.

[Deconstructing the symbols and slogans spotted in Charlottesville]

Thousands of protesters are expected to attend rallies calling for the removal of Confederate monuments at cities across the country this weekend, including Dallas and New Orleans. Meanwhile, supporters of the Confederate monuments are also organizing, with a rally plannedin Hot Springs, Ark.

Organizers in Boston said todays gathering is not in solidarity with white nationalists, but few of those who attended the massive counterprotest believed them.Across town, thousands began gathering before 10 a.m. on Malcolm X Boulevard for a march to the Common.

Were not standing for it. Were not standing (for) white supremacy. Were not going to have it in our city, not in Boston, said Boston activist Monica Cannon, who was among those who organized the counterprotest. We want to send a clear message that you dont get to come to the city of Boston with your hatred.

Thousands of people demonstrated against a rally featuring right-wing political figures in downtown Boston on Aug. 19. (Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

Rebecca Koskinen stood in front of her brick rowhouse on Tremont Street, awaiting the marchers, with her daughters Elle, 5, and Liv, 1. The older daughters sign read Im only five and even I know Black Lives Matter.

Koskinen said she and her husband, who are white, had taken the girls to the several other marches earlier this year and felt that it was important to show support for an event that was particularly important to people of color especially because Elle will soon start kindergarten at a private school that is less diverse than the South End neighborhood where they live.

Because shes not going to public school, it felt really important to me to talk about this with her and how different groups are treated, Koskinen said.

Joel Moran, a Boston resident who attended the march with his partner and a friend, said he was moved to have my voice heard against white supremacists, against people who think that, for some reason, they have more rights than other people have.

Moran said they were absolutely influenced to participate today after the tragedy in Charlottesville.

It wasnt even on my radar until last weekend, he said. After seeing that and having a very emotional and disturbing response to that, I feel like its basically my responsibility.

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Boston 'free speech' rally ends early amid flood of counterprotesters; 27 people arrested - Washington Post

As a ‘free speech’ rally fizzled, a march for unity triumphed – The Boston Globe

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Counterprotesters during Saturdays march from Roxbury to Boston Common.

Boston Common was the scene of two rallies Saturday. One was joyous and boisterous, the other minuscule and impotent. One triumphed, one fizzled.

There was supposed to be a free speech rally at which self-described libertarians were supposed to make some kind of statement about their rights, with the help of a few speakers from the far right. It started late, ended early, and its headliners were fortunate to make it out of the area unscathed.

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The so-called counterprotest was the days true main event a resounding display of unity and harmony.

The crowd for the counterprotest began gathering early in Roxbury. By the time they began marching from Malcolm X Boulevard to the Common, the crowd was an estimated 15,000 strong, far larger than anticipated. It was a mix of Black Lives Matter activists, suburban Womens March veterans, organized labor stalwarts, and regular citizens intent on refusing to let intolerance carry the day. There was a visible, through unobtrusive, police presence, bolstered by a significant cadre of undercover officers and a SWAT team.

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As the crowd grew, Superintendent in Chief Willie Gross of the Boston Police Department worked the crowd. He thanked marcher after marcher, individually, for coming out to make their voices heard. He complimented people on their creative signs. He took dozens of pictures with marchers who looked relieved to discover that the police werent there to give them a hard time.

This is how we do it in Boston, he said. We exercise our right to free speech, but we do it peacefully. If anyone starts anything [at the Common] well get them right out.

Gross was also monitoring events around town by radio. And something unexpected was happening or not happening downtown: right-wing troublemakers, who so many feared would trigger violence, were barely showing up.

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By the time, the counterprotesters, fortified by a brass band, began their march down Columbus Avenue, the it was clear that the other side was likely to be drowned out.

After the counterprotesters were on their way, Gross stopped into the command center at Boston Police headquarters. There, a group of officers from agencies across the area watched both the Common and the counterprotesters on a bank of television monitors. Commissioner William Evans was in charge.

To my surprise, Governor Charlie Baker was there too. True to form, he was immersed in the details. He said he was there because hed been nervous. But by early afternoon, everyone in the room was breathing a tentative sigh of relief. As planned, the protesters and counterprotesters were far enough apart to have little opportunity for direct confrontation. The major concern of the free speech group seemed to be getting out of the area.

One of them was followed down Charles Street South by a group of counterprotesters chanting Shame! as police led him away. Others, on the Tremont Street side, were taken out by police in riot gear. A small number were held voluntarily, police said in a building on Boylston Street across from the Common, until after the crowd thinned out.

In effect, the free speech rally became a giant peace rally. The were a few tense encounters between police and demonstrators, but nothing out of the ordinary for an event like this.

To be smug about that would be silly. Theres doesnt seem to be much doubt, in this unstable time, that those who harbor bigotry and hate feel more free to express, and act on, those feelings than they have in years. Theres no question that a president who cannot bring himself to condemn evil has emboldened it.

But Boston resisted, emphatically. Thats no small thing.

Toward the end of the day, Gross stared over at an empty Boston Common bandstand, abandoned ahead of schedule by the free speech provocateurs.

I wont say they were driven out, but they decided to leave, Gross said. I think they were influenced by love. They couldnt stand any more.

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As a 'free speech' rally fizzled, a march for unity triumphed - The Boston Globe

Colleges grappling with balancing free speech, campus safety – The Mercury News

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By MARIA DANILOVA and JOCELYN GECKER,Associated Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) When Carl Valentine dropped off his daughter at the University of Virginia, he had some important advice for the college freshman: Dont forget that you are a minority.

As classes begin at colleges and universities across the country, some parents are questioning if their children will be safe on campus in the wake of last weekends violent white nationalist protest here. School administrators, meanwhile, are grappling with how to balance students physical safety with free speech.

Friday was move-in day at the University of Virginia, and students and their parents unloaded cars and carried suitcases, blankets, lamps, fans and other belongings into freshmen dormitories. Student volunteers, wearing orange university T-shirts, distributed water bottles and led freshmen on short tours of the university grounds.

But along with the usual moving-in scene, there were signs of the tragic events of last weekend, when white nationalists staged a nighttime march through campus holding torches and shouting racist slogans. Things got worse the following day, when a man said to harbor admiration for Nazis drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one woman and injuring 19 others.

Flags flew at half-staff outside the universitys Rotunda, and a nearby statue of founder Thomas Jefferson was stained with wax from a candlelight vigil by thousands of students and city residents in a bid to unite and heal. Some student dormitories had signs on doors reading, No Home for Hate Here.

In an address to students and families on Friday, UVA President Teresa Sullivan welcomed every person of every race, every gender, every national origin, every religious belief, every orientation and every other human variation. Afterward, parents asked university administrators tough questions about the gun policy on campus, white supremacists and the likelihood of similar violence in the future.

For Valentine, of Yorktown, Virginia, the unrest brought back painful memories of when, as a young boy, he couldnt enter government buildings or movie theaters through the front door because of racial discrimination.

Weve come a long way, but still a long way to go for equality, he said.

His daughter Malia Valentine, an 18-year-old pre-med student, is more optimistic.

It was scary what happened, but I think that we as a community will stand together in unity and well be fine, she said.

Christopher Dodd, 18, said he was shocked by the violence and initially wondered if it would be safe at UVA.

Wow, I am going to be in this place, it looks like a war zone, Dodd, a cheerful redhead, remembered thinking. But I do think that we are going to be all right, there is nothing they can do to intimidate us. I am not going to let them control my time here.

Others feel less confident.

Weston Gobar, president of the Black Student Alliance at UVA, says hell warn incoming black students not to take their safety for granted. The message is to work through it and to recognize that the world isnt safe, that white supremacy is real, that we have to find ways to deal with that, he said.

Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education, said colleges are reassessing their safety procedures. The possibility of violence will now be seen as much more real than it was a week ago and every institution has to be much more careful.

Such work is already under way at UVA.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan said the university will be revamping its emergency protocols, increasing the number of security officers patrolling the grounds and hiring an outside safety consultant.

This isnt a matter where we are going to spare expense, Sullivan said.

Hartle said some universities may end up making the uneasy decision to limit protests and rallies on campus and not to invite controversial speakers if they are likely to create protests. There is an overarching priority to protect the physical safety of students and the campus community, he said.

Student body presidents from over 120 schools in 34 states and Washington, D.C., signed a statement denouncing the Charlottesville violence and saying college campuses should be safe spaces free of violence and hate.

Jordan Jomsky, a freshman at UC Berkeley, said his parents had advice he plans to follow: They told me to stay safe, and dont go to protests.

I wish people would just leave this place alone. Its become this epicenter. Were just here to study, said Jomsky, an 18-year-old from a Los Angeles suburb.

The school has become a target of far-right speakers and nationalist groups because of its reputation as a liberal bastion. In September, former Breitbart editor Ben Shapiro is scheduled to speak on campus. Right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos has vowed to return for a Free Speech Week in response to violent protests that shut down his planned appearance last February.

UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ told incoming freshmen last week that Berkeleys Free Speech Movement in the 1960s was a product of liberals and conservatives working together to win the right to hold political protests on campus.

Particularly now, it is critical for the Berkeley community to protect this right; it is who we are, Christ said. That protection involves not just defending your right to speak, or the right of those you agree with, but also defending the right to speak by those you disagree with. Even of those whose views you find abhorrent.

We respond to hate speech with more speech, Christ said to loud applause.

At the same time, though, she said, theres also an obligation to keep the campus safe. We now know we have to have a far higher number of police officers ready, she said.

Concerns for safety are compounded for international students, many of whom have spent months reading headlines about the tense U.S. political situation and arrived wondering if their accents or the color of their skin will make them targets.

It was scary taking the risk of coming here, said Turkish international student Naz Dundar.

Dundar, 18, who considered going to university in Canada but felt relief after attending orientation at UC Berkeley. So far, no one hated me for being not American.

She plans to stay away from protests. Especially as a person of another race I dont want to get stoned, she said.

______

Associated Press writers Sally Ho in Nevada and Kantele Franko in Ohio contributed to this report.

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Colleges grappling with balancing free speech, campus safety - The Mercury News

Employee of International Organization & NATO Visa

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Important Notice: Same-sex Marriage

Effective immediately, U.S. Embassies and Consulates will adjudicate visa applications that are based on a same-sex marriage in the same way that we adjudicate applications for opposite gender spouses.Please reference the specific guidance on the visa category for which you are applying for more details on documentation required for derivative spouses. For further information, please see ourFAQs.

Diplomats, government officials, and employees who will work for international organizations in the United States need G visas. Officials and employees of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) who will work for NATO in the United States need NATO visas. With the exception of a Head of State or Government who qualifies for an A visa regardless of the purpose of his or her visit to the United States, the type of visa required by a diplomat or other government official depends upon their purpose of travel to the United States.

If you are an employee of an international organization or NATO personnel who is physically present in the United States on assignment:

Requesting to renew (reapply for) your visa or that of an immediate family member, select Renewing a G or NATO Visa in the United States to learn more. G-5 and NATO-7 visa holders must reapply for their visas outside the United States.

Requesting to change status into or out of G or NATO status, select Change of Status to/from A,G, NATO to learn more.

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International Organization Employees

To receive a G-1, G-2, G-3, or G-4 visa, you must be traveling to attend meetings at, visit, or work at a designated international organization. If you are entitled to a G visa, under U.S. visa law, you must receive a G visa. The exceptions to this rule are extremely limited. International organization officials and employees requiring visas include:

Designated Organizations List - Review the authorized list of designated International Organizations in the Foreign Affairs Manual (9 FAM 402.3-7(N)).

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

To receive a NATO-1, NATO-2, NATO-3, NATO-4, NATO-5, or NATO-6 visa, you must be traveling to the United States under the applicable provision of the Agreement on the Status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the Protocol on the Status of International Military Headquarters Set Up Pursuant to the North Atlantic Treaty. This includes national representatives, international staff, and immediate family members. Personal employees or domestic workers of a NATO-1 6 visa holder may be issued NATO-7 visas. SelectPersonal Employeesto learn more.

Passport and Visa Exemptions for NATO Forces -Many armed forces personnel are exempt from passport and visa requirements if they are:

When traveling in visa exempt status, such personnel generally enter the United States by military aircraft or naval vessel. You must present your official military identification card and NATO travel orders.Note:Immediate family members are not included in the passport and visa exemption. Therefore, when family members are traveling with you or who will join you at a later date, each person must have a passport and NATO-2 visa to enter the United States.

G and NATO Visas Required for Official Travel

International organization and NATO officials and employees traveling to the United States to engage in official duties or activities must enter the United States with a G-1 - 4 or NATO-1 - 6 visa. International organization and NATO officials and employees traveling for official purposes are not permitted to enter the United States on any other visa category or under the Visa Waiver Program. Please note that U.S. law requires international organization and NATO officials and employees and their qualified immediate family members to receive G-1 - 6 or NATO-1 - 7 visas, if entitled. Exceptions are extremely limited.

Travel Purposes Not Permitted on G or NATO Visas - Examples:

There are several steps to apply for a visa. The order of these steps and how you complete them may vary at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate where you apply. Please consult the instructions available on the embassy or consulate website where you will apply.

As part of the visa application process, an interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate is required for most visa applicants applying abroad. Embassies and consulates generally do not require an interview for those applying for G-1 - 4 and NATO-1 - 6 visas, although a consular officer can request an interview.

Personal employees, domestic workers, and attendants of the above visa holders, applying for G-5 or NATO-7 visas, are required to be interviewed. Review information in the Personal Employees section below.

All applicants for G and NATO visas should complete the following:

All applicants for G and NATO visas should gather and deliver the following required documents to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in your home country:

Review the instructions for how to apply for a visa on the website of the embassy or consulate where you will apply. Additional documents may be requested to establish if you are qualified.

Individuals who qualify for an official visa classification (A, G, C-3, NATO) are exempt from paying visa fees.

More About Visa Fees - Individuals holding diplomatic passports may be exempt from visa fees regardless of visa classification and purpose of travel, if they meet one of the qualifying categories. Possession of a diplomatic passport or the equivalent is not by itself sufficient to qualify for a no-fee diplomatic visa. The consular officer will make the determination whether the visa applicant qualifies for an exemption of fees under U.S. immigration laws. Official passport holders are not charged for official visas, but are required to pay visa application and reciprocal issuance fees, if applicable, for all non-official visas.

For A, G, and certain NATO visas, immediate family member is defined as:

1- Thespouseof the principal alien, who is not a member of some other household and who will reside regularly in the household of the principal alien, or

2-unmarried legal sons and daughtersof the principal alien, who are not members of some other household and who will reside regularly in the household of the principal alien, provided that such unmarried sons and daughters are:

If a son or daughter does not qualify as immediate family under this section, he or she may still qualify under section 3:

3- Immediate family member may also include any other person who:

Aliens who may qualify for immediate family status on this basis include: any other relative, by blood, marriage, or adoption, of the principal alien or his/her spouse; a same-sex domestic partner; and a relative by blood, marriage, or adoption of the same-sex domestic partner. The term "domestic partner" means a same-sex domestic partner. Domestic partners may be issued A or G visas if the sending country would provide reciprocal treatment to domestic partners of U.S. citizen government and international organization officials and employees.

For NATO visas, immediate family member means the spouse or child of a member depending on him or her for support.

Personal employees, attendants, domestic workers, or servants of individuals who hold a valid G-1 through G-4, or NATO-1 through NATO-6 visa, may be issued a G-5 or a NATO-7 visa, if they meet the requirements.

The employment contract must be in English and, if the employee does not understand English, also in a language the employee understands.

Employment Contractsigned by both the employer and the employee which must include each of the following items:

The contract must state that wages will be paid to the domestic employee either weekly or biweekly. As of March 2011, the Department determined that no deductions are allowed for lodging, medical care, medical insurance, or travel. As of April 2012, deductions taken for meals are also no longer allowed.

Important Notices:Employers and Personal Employees/Domestic Workersare advised to keep their passport and a copy of their contract in their possession. They should not surrender their contract and/or passport to their employer. Personal employees and domestic workers are advised that they will be subject to U.S. law while in the United States, and that their contracts provide working arrangements that theemployeris expected to respect.

There are several steps to apply for a visa. The order of these steps and how you complete them may vary at the U.S. embassy or consulate where you apply. As part of the application process, an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate outside the United States is required. The employer and/or recruitment agent does not attend the interview.

You must schedule an appointment for your visa interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate in your home country. Please consult the instructions available on the embassy or consulate website.

Visa applicants for G-5 and NATO-7 visas must submit each of the items explained in this webpage and How to Apply sections including:

Learn about your rights in the United States and protection available to you by reading theLegal Rights and Protectionspamphlet, before applying for your visa.

During your visa interview, a consular officer will determine whether you are qualified to receive a visa. You must establish that you meet the requirements under U.S. law to receive a G-5 or NATO-7 visa.

Ink-free, digital fingerprint scans will be taken as part of your application process. They are usually taken during your interview, but this varies based on location.

After your visa interview, your application may require further administrative processing. You will be informed by the consular officer if further processing is necessary for your application.

If the visa is approved, you will be informed how your passport with visa will be returned to you.

Personal employees should keep their passport and a copy of their contract in their possession. They should not surrender their contract and passport to their employer under any circumstances. Personal employees should understand that their contracts provide working arrangements that the employer is expected to respect.

Recent changes to U.S. law relate to the legal rights of certain employment-based nonimmigrants under Federal immigration, labor, and employment laws and the information to be provided about protections and available resources. Employers, as well as personal employees, should review the Nonimmigrant Rights, Protections and Resources pamphlet explained above.

Personal employees and domestic workers should understand that they must follow U.S. laws while in the United States.

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Change of Status Into, Within, Between, or Out of G or NATO Status in the U.S.

Select Change of Status to learn about:

Visa Denial and Ineligibility

Review Visa Denials for detailed information about visa ineligibilities, denials, and waivers.

Misrepresentation or Fraud

Attempting to obtain a visa by the willful misrepresentation of a material fact, or fraud, may result in the permanent refusal of a visa or denial of entry into the United States.

Review Ineligibilities and Waivers: Laws.

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Employee of International Organization & NATO Visa

NATO’s Balkan Dream: ‘Gaining Access to Key Strategic Facilities’ – Sputnik International

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Europe

10:58 20.08.2017(updated 11:57 20.08.2017) Get short URL

The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has ruled that the Veliki Zep military facility in the countrys Serb-dominated Republika Srpska is owned by the state. In an interview with Sputnik, Serbian political analyst Andjelko Kozomara said the decision could help Bosnia move toward NATO membership

NATO wants togain access tokey strategic facilities. The Yugoslav Army always deployed its bases atstrategic locations and byregistering them as prospective military property, the Bosnian authorities are making them available toNATO, which plans tostation its forces there, he said.

He added that the Constitutional Courts ruling violates the terms ofthe 1995 Dayton Accordspeace accord underwhich 49 percent ofthe countrys territory belongs toRepublika Srpska.

Re-registration ofthe so-called prospective military property is the final step inBosnia and Herzegovinas bid tojoin NATO, the so-called Membership Action Plan.

Just likeSerbia, the majority ofBosnian Serbs do not want tojoin NATO. If Serbia does not want tojoin NATO, then Republika Srpska will not let Bosnia and Herzegovina join this military alliance. We fear, however, that things may develop just asthey did in1992 when Croats and Bosnians voted ina referendum tobreak away fromYugoslavia. The Bosnian Serbs did not vote, butthe international community still recognized the results ofthat plebiscite, Andjelko Kozomara continued.

Meanwhile, the vice speaker ofRepublika Srpskas parliament, Nenad Stevandic said that the re-registration ofmilitary property will byno means facilitate Bosnia and Herzegovinas integration intoNATO because the Bosnian Serb Republic will not abide bythe Courts ruling, which violates the terms ofthe Dayton Accords and creates a new crisis inBosnia and Herzegovina.

He added that ina situation likethis Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be able tojoin any alliances.

They are pressuring us toset offa new crisis and blame it all onthe Serbs. They have been using this practice since1992 bymaking decisions we cant subscribe tobecause they deprive us ofour legitimate rights, and then blaming us for destabilizing the situation, Nenad Stevandic told Sputnik.

Commenting onthe situation inan interview withRepublika Srpskas news agency, the Russian ambassador toSarajevo Pyotr Ivantsov said that matters directly pertaining toone ofthe countrys entities cannot be decided withoutits consent.

Sarajevo and Brussels have been discussing Bosnias NATO membership sincethe mid-2000s.

Bosnia and Herzegovina joined NATOs Partnership forPeace program in2006. It was expected tojoin NATO by2011, butthe plan hit a snag overthe need tohand overmore than60 military facilities tothe federal government.

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NATO's Balkan Dream: 'Gaining Access to Key Strategic Facilities' - Sputnik International

Large-scale Russian military exercises in Belarus feared to be set-up for Putin’s next conquest – CNBC

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There are growing concerns large-scale war games planned next month by Russia with its neighbor Belarus could be a cover for something very sinister by Vladimir Putin perhaps another Crimea.

There is alarm in Europe that the Russian president could use the military exercises as a sort of Trojan horse or pretext for an annexation of Belarus, a former Soviet republic. Putin has had an increasingly acrimonious relationship with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, particularly since Russia annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea.

"Russia is billing it as modest exercises under 13,000 troops, but everything points to probably the largest military exercise in post-Soviet history," said Leon Aron, resident scholar and the director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank.

According to Aron, these types of exercises preceded Russia's invasion and later conflict with Georgia, a former Soviet republic that before the war was getting closer to Washington. Similarly, Russia used military exercises as a cover for its assault on the former Soviet republic of Ukraine.

Russia insists its quadrennial Zapad (or Russian for west) joint military drills scheduled Sept. 14-20 will include 12,700 troops and are designed to "test military coordination." However, the New York Times reported last month the entire exercise could involve up to 100,000 people when also including "security personnel and civilian officials."

"We urge Russia to share information regarding its exercises and operations in NATO's vicinity to clearly convey its intentions and minimize any misunderstandings," Pentagon spokesman Johnny Michael told CNBC.

Playing out in the background, though, are concerns from Estonia and its other Baltic NATO neighbors that the Russian 2017 Zapad military exercises have a hidden agenda.

Indeed, Vice President Mike Pence during a recent visit to Estonian capital of Tallinn said: "Russia seeks to redraw international borders by force, undermine democracies of sovereign nations and divide the free nations of Europe."

In April, Reuters quoted then-Estonian Defense Minister Margus Tsahkna as saying his country and other members of NATO obtained intelligence that Russia planned to send troops and resources to Belarus and that when they leave, they will not remove all the equipment and leave some permanent forces behind.

"For Russian troops going to Belarus, it is a one-way ticket," Tsahkna told Reuters. "This is not my personal opinion, we are analyzing very deeply how Russia is preparing for the Zapad exercises."

Tsahkna also was quoted as saying Moscow asked for about 4,000 rail cars to Belarus to transport tanks and other military hardware for the war games. German reports have indicated that is 1,000 more rail cars than the 2013 Zapad.

"Unfortunately, the Russians have a big habit of actually doing operational activities under the guise of war games," said James Carafano, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, the Washington think tank. "This goes back to the days of the Soviet Union. So it definitely makes people nervous."

Carafano, who advised the Trump transition team on foreign policy, said the upcoming Zapad military maneuvers also are drawing attention because Russia is getting out from having to invite outside observer nations by claiming it will have less than 13,000 soldiers in the drills. Also, by holding several smaller drills at once Moscow skirts the international treaty known as the Vienna Document and could potentially have the 100,000 people.

"We defer to Russia obviously for anything specific to their military exercises and posture," the Pentagon official said. He also indicated Russia has "conducted several large-scale snap exercises along NATO's eastern flank with little to no notice and in a non-transparent manner."

Then again, Russian media claim Baltic states of Lithuania and Latvia two former Soviet Republics now part of NATO are sending observers to the upcoming drills. CNBC reached out to NATO for comment.

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Large-scale Russian military exercises in Belarus feared to be set-up for Putin's next conquest - CNBC

9to5Rewards: Clockwork Synergy’s new Perlon and NATO Apple Watch Bands [Giveaway] – 9to5Mac

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This week were partnering with Clockwork Synergy for a giveaway of some of its latest Apple Watch bands. Head below to learn how you can win a new strap for yourself.

Clockwork Synergy is one of our favorite Apple Watch band manufacturers out there. Based in America, these handmade straps are a great way to change up your wearables look. Each winner will have the chance to choose from Clockworks new Double Perlon and NATO options.

These braided Perlon watch straps arecustom madewith ourupgraded buckleincluded with each strap. In addition to this design made specifically for Clockwork Synergy,these straps are all made and imported from Europe.Anupgraded designhas been implemented for the keepers of these straps, with one fixed keeper at the top of the strap, and one adjustable keeper to fit most wrist sizes. This can help with no longer needing to do a tuck back of the excess strap, as the keeper is able to slide to any position along the strap.

Congratulations to @cmcguire21, our winner of the Anker Bluetooth giveaway.

Our 9to5Rewards program is officially out of beta! Get swag just for being part of our community. Learn more here.

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9to5Rewards: Clockwork Synergy's new Perlon and NATO Apple Watch Bands [Giveaway] - 9to5Mac

The US Spy Hub in the Heart of Australia – The Intercept

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Ashort drive south of Alice Springs, the second largest population center in Australias Northern Territory, there is a high-security compound, codenamed RAINFALL. The remote base, in the heart of the countrys barren outback, is one of the most important covert surveillance sites in the eastern hemisphere.

Hundreds of Australian and American employees come and go every day from Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap, as the base is formally known. The official cover story, as outlined in a secret U.S. intelligence document, is to support the national security of both the U.S. and Australia. The [facility] contributes to verifying arms control and disarmament agreements and monitoring military developments. But, at best, that is an economical version of the truth. Pine Gap has a far broader mission and more powerful capabilities than the Australian or American governments have ever publicly acknowledged.

An investigation, published Saturday by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in collaboration with The Intercept, punctures the wall of secrecy surrounding Pine Gap, revealing for the first time a wide range of details about its function. The base is an important ground station from which U.S. spy satellites are controlled and communications are monitored across several continents, according to classified documents obtained by The Intercept from the National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Together with the NSAs Menwith Hill base in England, Pine Gap has in recent years been used as a command post for two missions. The first, named M7600, involved at least two spy satellites and was said in a secret 2005 document to provide continuous coverage of the majority of the Eurasian landmass and Africa. This initiative was later upgraded as part of a second mission, named M8300, which involved a four satellite constellation and covered the former Soviet Union, China, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and territories in the Atlantic Ocean.

The satellites are described as being geosynchronous, which means they are likely positioned high in orbit at more than 20,000 miles above the earths surface. They are equipped with powerful surveillance technology used to monitor wireless communications on the ground, such as those sent and received by cellphones, radios, and satellite uplinks. They gather strategic and tactical military, scientific, political, and economic communications signals, according to the documents, and also keep tabs on missile or weapons tests in targeted countries, sweep up intelligence from foreign military data systems, and provide surveillance support to U.S. forces.

An aerial image of the Pine Gap surveillance facility, located near Alice Springs in Australias Northern Territory.

Photo: BING

Outside Pine Gap, there are some 38 radar dishes pointing skyward, many of them concealed underneath golfball-like shells. The facility itself is isolated, located beyond a security checkpoint on a road marked with prohibited area signs, about a 10-minute drive from Alice Springs, which has a population of about25,000 people. There is a large cohort of U.S. spy agency personnel stationed at the site, including employees of the NSA, the CIA, and the National Reconnaissance Office, the agency that manages the spy satellites. Intelligence employees are joined by compatriots from the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Pine Gap plays a significant role in supporting both intelligence activities and military operations, according to a top-secret NSA report dated from April 2013. One of its key functions is to gather geolocational intelligence, which can be used to help pinpoint airstrikes. The Australian base has a special section known as the geopit for this function; it is equipped with a number of tools available for performing geolocations, providing a broad range of geolocation capabilities in conjunction with other overhead, tactical, fixed site systems, notes an Aug. 2012 NSA site profile of the facility.

Richard Tanter, a professor at the University of Melbourne, has studied Pine Gap for years. He has co-authored, with Bill Robinson and the late Desmond Ball, several detailed reports about the bases activities for California-based security think tankNautilus Institute. He reviewed the documents obtained by The Intercept, and said that they showed there had been a huge transformation in Pine Gaps function in recent history.

The documents provide authoritative confirmation that Pine Gap is involved, for example, in the geolocation of cellphones used by people throughout the world, from the Pacific to the edge of Africa, Tanter said. It shows us that Pine Gap knows the geolocations it derives the phone numbers, it often derives the content of any communications, it provides the ability for the American military to identify and place in real-time the location of targets of interest.

The base, which was built in the late 1960s, was once focused only on monitoring missile tests and other military-related activities in countries such as Russia, China, Pakistan, Japan, Korea, and India. But it is now doing a great deal more, said Tanter. It has shifted from a national level of strategic intelligence, primarily to providing intelligence actionable, time-sensitive intelligence for American operations in [the] battlefield.

In 2013, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Pine Gap played a key role in controversial U.S. drone strikes. Over the past decade, drone attacks have killed a number of top Al Qaeda, Islamic State, and Taliban militants. But the strikes often taking place outside of declared war zones, in places such as Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan have also resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, and in some cases are considered by human rights advocates to constitute potential war crimes and violations of international law.

The U.S. and its allies regularly use surveillance of communications as a tactic to track down and identify suspected militants. The NSA often locates drone targets by analyzing the activity of a cellphones SIM card, rather than the content of the calls an imprecise method than can lead to the wrong people being killed, as The Intercept has previously revealed. Its really like were targeting a cellphone, a former drone operator told us in 2014. Were not going after people were going after their phones, in the hopes that the person on the other end of that missile is the bad guy.

Concerns about such tactics are amplified in the era of President Donald Trump. Since his inauguration earlier this year, Trump has dramatically increased drone strikes and special operations raids, while simultaneouslyloosening battlefield rules and seekingto scrap constraints intended to prevent civilian deaths in such attacks. According to analysis from the group Airwars, which monitors U.S. airstrikes, civilian casualties in the U.S.-led war against the Islamic State are on track to double under Trumps administration.

Afghan villagers gather near a house destroyed in an apparent NATO raid in Logar province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan in Wednesday, June 6, 2012.

Photo: Ihsanullah Majroh/AP

David Rosenberg, a 23-year veteran of the NSA who worked inside Pine Gap as a team leader for more than a decade, acknowledged that the base was used to geolocate particular electronic transmissions. He told The Intercept and ABC that the base helps to provide limitation of civilian casualties by providing accurate intelligence, and insisted that the governments of Australia and the United States would of course want to minimize all civilian casualties.

But that reassurance is unlikely to satisfy critics.

Emily Howie, director of advocacy and research at Australias Human Rights Law Centre, said the Australian government needs to provide accountability and transparency on its role in U.S. drone operations. The legal problem thats created by drone strikes is that there may very well be violations of the laws of armed conflict and that Australia may be involved in those potential war crimes through the facility at Pine Gap, Howie said. The first thing that we need from the Australian government is for it to come clean about exactly what Australians are doing inside the Pine Gap facility in terms of coordinating with the United States on the targeting using drones.

For more than 100 years, Australia has been a close U.S. ally; the country has supported the American military in every major war since the early 1900s. This relationship was formalized in 1951, when Australia and the U.S. signed the ANZUS Treaty, a mutual defense agreement. Australia is also a member of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance, alongside the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. The countrys electronic eavesdropping agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, maintains extremely close ties with its American counterparts at the NSA. The agencies have a mutually beneficial partnership, according to one top-secret NSA document. While the NSA shares its technology, cryptanalytic capabilities, and resources for state-of-the-art collection, processing and analytic efforts, the Australians provide access to Pine Gap; they also hand over terrorism-related communications collected inside Australia, plus intelligence on some neighboring countries in their region, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

The relationships foundations are strong, but some cracks may be beginning to appear. This was highlighted in late January when, after just two weeks in the Oval Office, Trump had a contentious first conversation with Australias prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. Trump berated his Australian counterpart over the terms of a refugee deal and abruptly ended the call, describing it as ridiculous and unpleasant.

Meanwhile, Trump has adopted a more confrontational tone with China Australias top trading partner and he has threatened North Korea with fire and fury over its repeated missile tests. The situation has created a degree of uncertainty for Australia, and some in the country are pondering whether it is time to reevaluate its traditional alliances.

There are changing moods in the United States, said John McCarthy, one of Australias most distinguished and experienced diplomats, who formerly served as the countrys ambassador to the U.S. So, we then need to think, should we try and develop closer security relationships with other countries in Asia? Should we seek to improve our overall structural relationship with China?

Were entering into a very, very fluid situation in Asia, McCarthy added. I dont know what the outcomes are going to be. But we have to be very, very nimble in terms of trying to create new structures, create new relationships, to be able to look at new circumstances from a very independent security perspective, if we are to do the right thing by the Australian people over the next generation or so.

Because of Australias proximity to the Korean peninsula, the North Korea issue is a particularly sensitive one. The city of Darwin in the Northern Territory is about 3,600 miles from Pyongyang, within range of an intercontinental ballistic missile strike. As such, the implications are severe for Australia: it could be dragged into a devastating conflict if the U.S. were to become embroiled in war with Kim Jong-uns rogue state. And despite its isolated position in the outback, Pine Gap would likely be at the forefront of the action.

Pine Gap literally hardwires us into the activities of the American military and in some cases, that means we will cop the consequences, like it or not, said Tanter, the University of Melbourne professor. Pine Gap will be contributing hugely in real-time to those operations, as well as in preparation for them. So whether or not the Australian government thinks that an attack on North Korea is either justified, or a wise and sensible move, we will be part of that, Tanter added. Well be culpable in the terms of the consequences.

The NSA and the Australian governments Department of Defence declined to comment.

This story was prepared in collaboration with the Australian Broadcasting Corporations investigative radio program Background Briefing and ABC News. Peter Cronau contributed reporting.

Documents published with this article:

Top photo: Australian Defence Facilities Pine Gap in Feb. 19, 2016.

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The US Spy Hub in the Heart of Australia - The Intercept

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