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Terror network’s leader on trial

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The self-proclaimed military commander of the Southeast Asian terror network behind the Bali bombings faced a possible death penalty, as his trial opened in the Indonesian capital Wednesday.

Police say Abu Dujana, who was arrested in June on charges of illegal possession of explosives and firearms, led the armed branch of Jemaah Islamiyah, blamed for a series of deadly attacks in Indonesia — the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Dujana, 37, received military training in the southern Philippines from 1999 to 2000 and harbored Malaysian fugitive Noordin Top, wanted for alleged involvement in the series of bomb attacks, a state attorney said.

The defendant and his friends conspired to commit criminal terrorist activities from 2004-2007, said prosecutor Payaman, who like many Indonesian goes by a single name. They possessed, delivered and ordered deliveries of ammunition and explosives to carry out terrorist attacks.

Dujana has not been charged in the Bali bombings. He is charged with stockpiling weapons in the eastern Indonesian town of Poso, where in recent years Islamic militants have launched a series of bloody attacks on Christians and government workers.

The allegations were read aloud in court and the trial was adjourned until next week when the defense will respond.

Among the strikes attributed to Jemaah Islamiyah and affiliate groups are the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali that killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists; the 2003 and 2004 attacks on the J.W. Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta; and the 2005 triple suicide bombings on restaurants in Bali.

More than 240 people died in the bombings, some of which police say were carried out with the backing of al Qaeda. Jemaah Islamiyah is believed to have suffered a severe setback by the arrest of hundreds of militants across Indonesia since the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

Ahead of Wednesday’s proceedings, Dujana said the group’s goal of defending the Muslim people and Islam has not changed.

Dujana, who wore a white shirt and black cap, spoke to The Associated Press while sitting in a holding cell at the South Jakarta District Court, surrounded by dozens of security guards.

There are other people outside jail running the operation, Dujana said. It is up to them to decide if they want to continue or not.
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CNN Student News Transcript: December 13, 2007

(CNN Student News) — December 13, 2007

Quick Guide

GOP Presidential Debate - Get a glimpse of the last GOP presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses.

Failing Grades - Hear how the results of a new report tie education to socioeconomics.

Recruiting James Bond - Learn about a British intelligence agency’s new recruitment methods.

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: We’re glad to have you with us for a new day of CNN Student News. From the CNN Center, I’m Carl Azuz. Let’s get things started today with a quick quiz!

Shoutout

MICHELLE WRIGHT, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Take a look at these nine people. What do they have in common? Are they all: A) presidential Cabinet members, B) Republican presidential candidates, C) Democratic presidential candidates or D) Governors? Here’s a look at them again. You’ve got three seconds — GO! These folks are nine Republicans hoping to become the next president. That’s your answer and that’s your Shoutout!

First Up: GOP Presidential Debate

AZUZ: And all nine of those White House hopefuls were in Iowa yesterday to debate the issues and each other. It’s the last time that they’ll all be on the same stage together before the state’s presidential caucus next month. It’s the first one in the nation and it’s just three weeks away, which means it’s crunch time for the candidates. Laura Taylor fills us in on what went down during Wednesday’s debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA TAYLOR, CNN REPORTER: Republican presidential candidates debated for the final time before the January 3rd Iowa caucuses. Ron Paul said Americans should not have to make any sacrifices on the road to national debt reduction.

RON PAUL, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We maintain an empire which we can’t afford. We have 700 bases overseas. We’re in 130 countries. We cut there.

TAYLOR: John McCain went to the head of the class with his stance on the quality of educators.

JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We need to reward good teachers, and find bad teachers another line of work.

TAYLOR: Duncan Hunter said it’s time to level the playing field on trade.

DUNCAN HUNTER, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Stop China from cheating on trade.

TAYLOR: Joining the Republicans for his first major debate of the 2008 campaign, announced candidate and former ambassador Alan Keyes.

ALAN KEYES, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I’m in favor of reducing global warming. I think the most important emission we need to control is the hot air emission of politicians who pretend and don’t deliver.

TAYLOR: Seems all the GOP debates have had a reference to acting since Fred Thompson joined the lineup.

FRED THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My goal is to get into Mitt Romney’s situation, where I don’t have to worry about taxes anymore. (laughter)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Five percent in your situation.

THOMPSON: Five percent? You know, you’re getting to be a pretty good actor, actually. (laughter)

TAYLOR: Democratic candidates will debate on the same stage on Thursday. For CNN Student News, I’m Laura Taylor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Word to the Wise

WRIGHT: A Word to the Wise…

socioeconomic (adjective) based on a combination of the society and income levels of the people around you

Failing Grades

AZUZ: And a new report says that American students’ socioeconomic status plays a big part in how well they do in school. Every few years, an international organization tests teenagers from around the world. The questions aren’t just about what you learn in school; they’re about how you might apply that information to real-life challenges. Christine Romans looks at the most recent results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN REPORTER: American students’ success is influenced more by their family wealth and socioeconomic status than children in other industrialized countries. This from an important international analysis of worldwide science and math scores.

GOV. BOB WEISS, ALLIANCE FOR EXCELLENT EDUCATION: One out of four of these students in the United States are low performing, and much of that is directly linked to socioeconomic status. And yet the American dream is that a good education gives everyone the ability to move ahead. Clearly, we are falling short on providing that good education.

ROMANS: The 2006 Program for International Student Assessment surveyed 15-year-olds in 57 countries. The newly released rankings alone are troublesome enough. American students rank 29 in science and 35 in math. But perhaps even worse: In America, a student’s social and economic status has a stronger impact on their science and math scores, more than twice as much as the top scoring countries: Finland, Canada and Japan. Socioeconomic disparities have a strong impact on student performance in the U.S. Something must be done.

AMY WILKINS, THE EDUCATION TRUST: The formula is a pretty simple one. It is providing them with the very best teachers we have to offer. It’s providing them with the sort of rich and challenging curriculum that middle class kids and more affluent kids get as a matter of course. It’s expecting a lot from them. It’s holding them to high standards.

ROMANS: But education advocates say the system is failing. These results seem to correspond with another recent analysis from the bipartisan Economic Mobility Project; finding the American Dream is not shared equally in this country. That report found only 6 percent of children born to parents at the bottom of the income scale ever make it to the top. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Recruiting James Bond

AZUZ: If having a View to a Kill doesn’t scare The Living Daylights out of you, then we’ve got a story that’s For Your Eyes Only. MI6; It’s home to arguably the most famous spy ever — James Bond — and the agency is recruiting. But it doesn’t want any 007 wannabe’s. Phil Black fills us in on what Her Majesty’s Secret Service is looking for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL BLACK, CNN REPORTER: Sometimes, James Bond’s job doesn’t seem that appealing.

JAMES BOND (FROM MOVIE): Do you expect me to talk?

GOLDFINGER (FROM MOVIE): No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die.

BOND (FROM MOVIE): Oh no you don’t.

BLACK: Sometimes it does. Bond is the iconic image of a British spy. Harry Ferguson was a real spy, a former MI6 officer. In the age of global terrorism, the British government needs lots of people who are like Harry, and many who are not.

HARRY FERGUSON, FORMER MI6 OFFICER: We want tall, short, fat, old, young; preferably young, because you get more mileage out of them when you train them. So, there shouldn’t be a typical intelligence officer.

BLACK: So great is the demand for new talent in Britain’s intelligence services, they are recruiting more openly and more creatively than ever before. The Government’s Communications Headquarters, or GCHQ, is Britain’s high-tech listening post. And now, to find computer-savvy new blood, it is posting job ads inside online video games.

ALAN THOMPSON, GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATIONS HEADQUARTERS: People who need to react in very quick time scales to deliver the needs for our services.

BLACK: MI5, Britain’s domestic security service, has its own recruitment Web site. So does MI6, the foreign spy agency, where hopefuls can take an online test to see if they’ve got what it takes. And for the first time, MI6 officers and its chief recruiter have given a radio interview, shooting down the Bond myth.

‘MARK’, MI6 HEAD OF RECRUITMENT (BBC RADIO): It does tend to turn up quite a lot of thrill seekers and fantasists, and we’re really not interested in them.

BLACK: MI6 is based in this building on the River Thames. We know this because it was in a James Bond movie. So, working over there has nothing to do with fast cars, beautiful women or being licensed to kill. Those who’ve done the job say, in general terms, it’s about getting other people around the world to reveal their secrets, often while risking their lives. They say it’s hard work, never glamorous; but there are rare moments that almost live up to the hype.

FERGUSON: Because you’re dealing with other countries’ security, because you’re dealing with terrorists, there are moments when it is the best job in the world.

BLACK: Gone are the days when spy recruits were tapped on the shoulder by university professors doubling as talent scouts. Britain now wants non-British-looking spies who speak obscure languages. Suave, trigger happy womanizers or maneaters need not apply.

WOMAN (FROM MOVIE): Who are you?

BOND (FROM MOVIE): Bond. James Bond.

BLACK: Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

AZUZ: It doesn’t take James Bond to find CNN Student News. We’re everywhere! You can watch our show every day on Headline News or at our Web site, CNNStudentNews.com. And you can even download us at iTunes! Just search for CNN Student News, and there we are. On air, online, on iTunes: zero commercials, zero cost, three ways to watch!

Before We Go

AZUZ: Before we go, history repeats itself, fashion style. The zebra stripes, the crazy colors; Zubaz are back! Now, you won’t remember these patterned pants, but your teachers might. Back in the late 1980s, Zubaz were everywhere: on the street, at the gym, even on the sidelines of pro football games. But the fad flopped when the business went bust a decade ago. Then last month, one of the original creators relaunched the line.

DAN STOCK, ZUBAZ FOUNDER: What product can you buy that’s gone down in price over 20 years, you know? Same quality. Same fit. We haven’t changed or cheapened anything.

AZUZ: Except maybe the fashion industry. This wild wear might qualify as kitsch couture, or it could fall out of favor as a fashion faux pas. Either way, we say welcome back.

Goodbye

AZUZ: Because, let’s face it, Zubaz is just fun to say. And that’s where we say goodbye for today. But we hope to see you again tomorrow. Have a great day. I’m Carl Azuz. E-mail to a friend

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Army pays $725 to WWII vet for unfair trial, imprisonment

LEESBURG, Florida (CNN) — Samuel Snow thought when he got a check from the Pentagon that the Army was finally ready to give him the apology and the compensation he’d been denied for 63 years. He was wrong.

The Army imprisoned Snow in 1944 for a crime he says he couldn’t have committed. The military overturned his conviction this year and sent him his back pay for the 15 months he spent in prison: $725.

Snow is one of just two defendants still alive from one of the biggest military trials of World War II.

Twenty-eight black soldiers were sent to prison after an Italian prisoner of war, Guglielmo Olivotto, was found hanged to death following a night of brawling at Fort Lawton in Seattle, Washington.

At a time when the military forces were segregated, 41 black soldiers were tried in one large group and were provided two attorneys to defend them all.

According to the Army, 28 of the soldiers were convicted of rioting, including Pvt. Samuel Snow, who spent 15 months behind bars.

Two of those soldiers also were convicted of manslaughter in the death of the POW and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Thirteen of the men were acquitted.

After being released from prison, Snow returned to the segregated South. He arrived home with a criminal record, a bad conduct discharge and no benefits such as those provided by the GI Bill of Rights. He became a janitor.

In October, the Army Board for Corrections of Military Records determined the defendants were denied a fair trial. The board said the prosecutor refused to give defense attorneys access to confidential evidence.

As a result of the findings, the Army overturned the convictions — but stopped short of finding the defendants not guilty.

What it is saying is that they didn’t receive their fair day in court, said Army spokesman Col. Dan Baggio.

The Army wrote checks to the surviving defendants as compensation for the back pay they were denied while in prison. Snow assumed that figure would be a substantial amount of money — until the $725 check arrived at his home in central Florida.

If the payment had been adjusted for inflation, Snow would have received $7,768.13, according to the inflation calculator on the Labor Department’s Web site.

If the $725 had been invested in 1946, when Snow was discharged from the Army, at 8 percent interest, compounded annually, it would have been worth more than $82,000 by now.

The Army said there are no legal provisions that allow it to consider adding accrued interest, adjustments for inflation or compensation for lost benefits.

Snow said the size of the check didn’t surprise him. I didn’t think it was no kind of mistake, he told CNN. They don’t care.

The case might have been buried in history if not for the work of Seattle author Jack Hamann.

Hamann, a former CNN correspondent, spent years detailing the riot and flawed prosecution of the black American soldiers for his 2005 book, On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII.

Fort Lawton is now a public park, and most of the buildings have been torn down. But Hamann was able to pinpoint the very spot where Snow says he was knocked unconscious as he left his barracks. The author said it proves Snow was innocent, because he never made it to the Italian POW barracks to join the fight.

He never had a chance to be involved in the riot, Hamann said. He was just responding quickly to what he thought was an attack, and he was knocked out of it almost immediately.

The revived story of how Snow and 27 others were convicted on little evidence caught the attention of Congress. U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, asked the Army to review the nearly forgotten case.

A real injustice had been done to a whole lot of black guys who were serving their country, and somebody had to speak up for them, McDermott said.

McDermott told CNN he does not blame the Army for going by the book but said he will look for ways Congress can help. Snow said he wants his name cleared, medical benefits and retirement pay.

But at age 83 and in poor health, he said he wonders if he will live long enough to see it happen.
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Dad’s plea for mental health care: ‘Make VA go to the soldier’

WASHINGTON (CNN) — At the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, there was an eruption of emotion on Capitol Hill for 23-year-old Army Specialist Tim Bowman — an Illinois National Guardsman who completed a combat tour in Iraq, came home and killed himself.

His father, Mike, spoke of the agony. As my family was preparing for a 2005 Thanksgiving meal, our son Timothy was lying on the floor, slowly bleeding to death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His war was now over, his demons were gone.

His parents Mike and Kim are on Capitol Hill to talk about what they believe is a crisis in mental health care for troubled veterans.

When these veterans come home, they find an understaffed, under-funded, under-equipped VA mental health system that has so many challenges to get through it that many just give up trying, said Mike Bowman.

The Department of Veterans Affairs says that more than 100,000 of the 750,000 veterans back from Iraq and Afghanistan have come to the VA with a mental health condition, and that the VA is doing the best it can.

Funding for mental health services is up, with more than $1 billion added to the budget since 2001. In July, the VA began a new nationwide suicide prevention hotline, which has already received more than 9,000 calls. There are more than 10,000 VA mental health staffers across the country.

But for young combat veterans, perhaps tormented and unable to cope, is it enough? Mike Bowman wants to know about the ones who, like his son, don’t ask for help.

Why isn’t the VA sitting there when they get off the bus when they are coming home from Iraq? There’s 118 guys coming off of three buses at the National Guard armory. Why don’t they have somebody at that armory with a computer and desk registering them before they can go home? They are coming out of combat. You know they are going to need help. Sign them up right there; that way, you know where they are, who they are, and they are in the VA system right away. Don’t make it so that the solider has to go to the VA; make the VA go to the soldier. Watch Mike Bowman speak out about his son

Members of Congress were not convinced that the VA made its case.

The message that I want to say is that we have an epidemic as has been said before, that we have a public health crisis. And no matter how hard you are working now, we are not doing the job. We need to do more, said Rep. Bob Filner, D-California, the committee chairman.

Tim’s mother, Kim Bowman, wants her son remembered as more than a statistic. Tim will never be realized for what he was, which was an excellent soldier. He’ll always be remembered as a suicide.
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Controversial rock pioneer Ike Turner dies at 76

SAN DIEGO, California (AP) — Ike Turner, whose role as one of rock’s critical architects was overshadowed by his ogrelike image as the man who brutally abused former wife Tina Turner, died Wednesday at his home in suburban San Diego. He was 76.

He did pass away this morning at his home in San Marcos, said Scott M. Hanover of Thrill Entertainment Group, which managed Turner’s musical career.

There was no immediate word on the cause of death, which was first reported by celebrity Web site TMZ.com.

Turner managed to rehabilitate his image somewhat in later years, touring around the globe with his band the Kings of Rhythm and drawing critical acclaim for his work. Watch a report about Turner’s death

He won a Grammy in 2007 in the traditional blues album category for Risin’ With the Blues.

But his image is forever identified as the drug-addicted, wife-abusing husband of Tina Turner. He was hauntingly portrayed by Laurence Fishburne in the movie What’s Love Got To Do With It, based on Tina Turner’s autobiography.

In a 2001 interview with The Associated Press, Turner denied his ex-wife’s claims of abuse and expressed frustration that he had been demonized in the media while his historic role in rock’s beginnings had been ignored.

You can go ask Snoop Dogg or Eminem, you can ask the Rolling Stones or (Eric) Clapton, or you can ask anybody — anybody, they all know my contribution to music, but it hasn’t been in print about what I’ve done or what I’ve contributed until now, he said.

Turner, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is credited by many rock historians with making the first rock ‘n’ roll record, Rocket 88, in 1951. Produced by the legendary Sam Phillips, it was groundbreaking for its use of distorted electric guitar.

But as would be the case for most of his career, Turner, a prolific session guitarist and piano player, was not the star on the record — it was recorded with Turner’s band but credited to singer Jackie Brenston.

And it would be another singer — a young woman named Anna Mae Bullock — who would bring Turner his greatest fame, and infamy.

Turner met the 18-year-old Bullock, whom he would later marry, in 1959 and quickly made the husky-voiced woman the lead singer of his group, refashioning her into the sexy Tina Turner. Her stage persona was highlighted by short skirts and stiletto heels that made her legs her most visible asset. But despite the glamorous image, she still sang with the grit and fervor of a rock singer with a twist of soul.

The pair would have two sons. They also produced a string of hits. The first, A Fool In Love, was a top RB song in 1959, and others followed, including I Idolize You and It’s Gonna Work Out Fine.

But over the years they’re genre-defying sound would make them favorites on the rock ‘n’ roll scene, as they opened for acts like the Rolling Stones.

The densely layered hit River Deep, Mountain High was one of producer Phil Spector’s proudest creations. A rousing version of Proud Mary, a cover of the Creedence Clearwater Revival hit, became their signature song and won them a Grammy for best RB vocal performance by a group.

Still, their hits were often sporadic, and while their public life depicted a powerful, dynamic duo, Tina Turner would later charge that her husband was an overbearing wife abuser and cocaine addict.

In her 1987 autobiography, I, Tina, she narrated a harrowing tale of abuse, including suffering a broken nose. She said that cycle ended after a vicious fight between the pair in the back seat of a car in Las Vegas, where they were scheduled to perform.

It was the only time she ever fought back against her husband, Turner said.

After the two broke up, both fell into obscurity and endured money woes for years before Tina Turner made a dramatic comeback in 1982 with the release of the album Private Dancer, a multiplatinum success with hits such as Let’s Stay Together and What’s Love Got To Do With It.

The movie based on her life, What’s Love Got To Do With It, was also a hit, earning Angela Bassett an Oscar nomination.

But Fishburne’s glowering depiction of Ike Turner also furthered Turner’s reputation as a rock villain.

Meanwhile, Turner never again had the success he enjoyed with his former wife.

After years of drug abuse, he was jailed in 1989 and served 17 months.

Turner told the AP he originally began using drugs to stay awake and handle the rigors of nonstop touring during his glory years.

My experience, man, with drugs — I can’t say that I’m proud that I did drugs, but I’m glad I’m still alive to convey how I came through, he said.

I’m a good example that you can go to the bottom. … I used to pray, `God, if you let me get three days clean, I will never look back.’ But I never did get to three days. You know why? Because I would lie to myself. And then only when I went to jail, man, did I get those three days. And man, I haven’t looked back since then.

But while he would readily admit to drug abuse, Turner always denied abusing his ex-wife.

After years out of the spotlight his career finally began to revive in 2001 when he released the album Here and Now. The recording won rave reviews and a Grammy nomination and finally helped shift some of the public’s attention away from his troubled past and onto his musical legacy.

His last chapter in life shouldn’t be drug abuse and the problems he had with Tina, said Rob Johnson, the producer of Here and Now.

Turner spent his later years making more music and touring, even while he battled emphysema.

Accolades for both his early and later work continued to come in as he grew older, and the once-broke Turner managed to garner a comfortable income as his songs were sampled by a variety of rap acts.

In interviews toward the end of his life, Turner would acknowledge having made many mistakes, but maintained he was still able to carry himself with pride.

I know what I am in my heart. And I know regardless of what I’ve done, good and bad, it took it all to make me what I am today, he once told the AP.
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