Indiana officials seek cause of fatal church bus crash

A bus carrying teenagers from a youth camp in northern Michigan was just minutes from home when it came speeding off an Indianapolis interstate, struck a retaining wall and flipped on its side.

The accident Saturday afternoon killed three people and injured dozens of others. Now investigators are working to determined what caused the accident that happened after a 390-kilometre journey and just a kilometre or so from the Colonial Hills Baptist Church where the bus was headed.

At the church, parents were waiting to pick up their children after a weeklong camp filled with prayer, zip lines and basketball when a bus carrying younger campers pulled in with passengers screaming.

Jeff Leffew, 44, of Fishers, had sent four daughters to Camp CoBeAc, near Prudenville, Mich. Just one of his girls was on the bus that pulled into the parking lot, and he raced to the crash site in northern Indianapolis. What he found was a surreal scene, with clothing and other items strewn about and windows missing from the bus.

"You're just praying that it's not as bad as it looks," said Leffew, a deacon at the church.

Leffew's daughters escaped with just bumps and bruises, but others weren't as fortunate. Indianapolis fire officials said a husband and wife were dead at the scene, along with a third person whose age they didn't describe. Twenty-six other people were taken to area hospitals, including at least one teenager in critical condition.

'Great tragedy'

Indianapolis Public Safety Director Troy Riggs called the crash a "great tragedy."

"They were not that far from home. ... That only adds to the tragedy," Riggs said at the crash scene.

He said there was no indication that the driver had a medical emergency.

WTHR-TV reported the bus driver told witnesses his brakes failed. Indianapolis Fire Department Lt. Ato McTush said investigators had not determined whether the church-owned bus had mechanical issues.

Witnesses to the crash described a horrifying scene.

Duane Lloyd told WTHR that he heard a loud noise behind him as he was travelling near the intersection and saw the crash around 4:15 p.m. ? about the time youth pastor Chad Phelps had tweeted the group expected to arrive at the church.\

'I heard a skid. I looked back. I see this bus in the air and people falling out of the bus. I could have gone my whole life without seeing that.'?Duane Lloyd, witness to crash

"I heard a skid. I looked back. I see this bus in the air and people falling out of the bus," Lloyd said. "I could have gone my whole life without seeing that."

He said people approached and tried to help.

"People were literally trying to lift the bus," Lloyd said. "You just try to do what you can do."

Sasha Sample, 28, told The Indianapolis Star some victims were lying in the road, while others were able to limp to the side.

"Everybody had boils and scrapes on them," she said. "People were trying to climb from under the bus."

Sample, a nurse, said she borrowed a belt to make a tourniquet for the bus driver's arm but wasn't able to help the man next to him, who was already dead.

"I couldn't do anything for him," Sample said. "So you triage. You help those you can."

Fire officials said 37 people were on the bus and that the injured included children and adults.

Families gather to pray

Nine teenagers were taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital, including one in critical condition. Three of those were treated and released, hospital spokeswoman Sally Winter said. She said 10 others, including nine teenagers and a toddler, were taken to Riley Hospital for Children. Seven of those teenagers were treated and released, Winter said.

Many of the patients had head, arm and leg injuries, fire officials said.

Families of the bus passengers gathered at the church Saturday evening to comfort each other and pray.

Mayor Greg Ballard described many as "remarkably positive" despite their sorrow but said there will be difficult days ahead.

"Some of the teenagers are hurting pretty bad and you can see that in their faces," he said.

Leffew agreed, saying his daughters and other teens on the bus "saw some difficult things" that they'd never had to experience before.

"Their biggest pain is what they saw," he said.

Bob Taylor, who retired as the church's pastor four years ago, said members of the congregation would come together Sunday and take comfort in their faith.

"Our church family will meet tomorrow and pray together and sing songs together and just trust the lord to give his grace," he said.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/07/28/wrd-us-indiana-michigan-indianapolis-colonial-hills-baptist-church.html?cmp=rss

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Sen. Feinstein on State of the Union calls for San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to resign

Today on CNN's State of the Union with Candy Crowley, Senator Dianne Feinstein spoke about embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, calling for his resignation. Feinstein also weighed in on the latest clashes in Egypt, U.S.-Russia relations in light of Edward Snowden?s status, and her support for the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. Highlighted excerpts are below, and a full transcript is after the jump. Additional embeddable video will be posted at http://www.CNN.com/SOTU.

HIGHLIGHTED EXCERPTS:

ON THE LATEST CLASHES IN EGYPT:
FEINSTEIN: I think this is a real point of definition of what kind of Egypt is going to come out of this. And, for the first time, I am very concerned. I'm surprised that the military would urge people to go to the streets. They had to have known, if they do that, the other side is going to respond, and it became kind of a catalyst for violence. So, I don't think we know what kind of Egypt is going to emerge.

ON SUPPORTING JANET YELLEN AS THE NEXT FED CHAIR:
FEINSTEIN: Well, I was asked to sign and I signed, because I have met Janet Yellen on two occasions. I have followed her. She's very well thought of. She knows the fed, and she's very highly qualified. And I think a woman as head of the Federal Reserve, a qualified woman, would be a very positive thing for this administration.

ON EDWARD SNOWDEN:
FEINSTEIN: "I would be very hopeful that President Putin still would decide to turn him over. I suspect this sort of temporary amnesty or refugee status is to give Russia time to really consider what's in their best interests, and I think, if they think about it hard, what Snowden did, it's not in their best interests? I think that Obama really ought to sit down when he can with Putin and make the case.?

?

Full Transcript

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

CROWLEY: More than 70 demonstrators have been killed and more than a thousand injured this weekend in Egypt, all of it during clashes between the military installed government and its supporters versus backers of ousted President Mohamed Morsy.

In a written statement, secretary of state, John Kerry, said the United States urges an independent and impartial inquiry into the events of the last day and calls on all of Egypt's leaders across the political spectrum to act immediately to help their country take a step back from the brink.

Joining me now is California senator, Dianne Feinstein. Thank you for joining us this morning, senator.

FEINSTEIN: You're welcome.

CROWLEY: I just get the feeling that the U.S., despite these strong military contacts we hear all about the time between Egypt's military and the U.S. military, doesn't have a lot of sway in Egypt when you watch what's going on.

FEINSTEIN: Well, that may well be true, and I think this is a real point of definition of what kind of Egypt is going to come out of this. And, for the first time, I am very concerned. I'm surprised that the military would urge people to go to the streets. They had to have known, if they do that, the other side is going to respond, and it became kind of a catalyst for violence.

So, I don't think we know what kind of Egypt is going to emerge. I think it's very important for this new president and vice president to exert their authority now. It will show whether a democracy, in terms of civilian control of the military, can effectively govern that country. And so, the next few months, I think, are going to be real eye openers for the world.

CROWLEY: Senator, I just want to show a clip of recent what went on in the streets over the weekend. This is in Cairo, I believe. And again, we had more than 70 killed. We believe most of them killed by the military, which staged the coup of a democratically-elected president. As you know, when there is a coup of a democratically- elected leader, the U.S. generally can stop - stops aid. But here's what the spokesperson for the secretary of state said this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The law does not require us to make a formal determination. That is a review that we have undergone as to whether a coup took place, and it is not in our national interests to make such a determination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: So, if it made the determination there was a coup, we'd have to stop aid, and therefore, they're just not going to make a determination because anybody plainly looking at this would say it was a coup. What does that say to the people fighting on the streets of Cairo about the U.S. and its values?

FEINSTEIN: Oh, I'm not sure it says anything to them candidly. You know, the region historically has been - there've been many coups. I think the administration has been right. It has stopped the F-16s from being sold. I think we need to relook. We're right in the middle of the appropriations process now.

We have to relook at granting aid. I think the ball is in Egypt's court, and it's in the court of the President Mansour and the Vice President ElBaradei, and they have to step up, and they have to take over. Failing that ?

CROWLEY: Both were installed by the military.

FEINSTEIN: Failing that, I think you know what military will do now.

CROWLEY: Right. I mean, both those men that you mentioned who are now running Egypt were installed by the military.

FEINSTEIN: Well, that's one thing, but acting is another thing, and they have to be ?

CROWLEY: You want them to take charge of the military now?

FEINSTEIN: That's correct.

CROWLEY: Do you think they can?

FEINSTEIN: Well, we'll see. If they don't, they can't. If they do, they can.

CROWLEY: And if they don't, the U.S. needs to look at cutting off aid?

FEINSTEIN: Well, I think that may be the case.

CROWLEY: Let me move you to Russia, and Edward Snowden still in the airport, as far as we know, in Russia. The U.S. this week pushing very hard through the justice department saying, we're not going to torture him. He won't be subject to the death penalty. You need to hand him over. What are the chances that Russia's going to hand over Edward Snowden?

FEINSTEIN: Well, it's hard to tell. I know the president talked to President Putin. I would be very hopeful that President Putin still would decide to turn him over. I suspect this sort of temporary amnesty or refugee status is to give Russia time to really consider what's in their best interests, and I think, if they think about it hard, what Snowden did, it's not in their best interests.

And, Putin knows this. He's run the KGB. He knows what intelligence is comprised of. And, I think, to harbor this man is one of two things, one, we want to get hold of this stuff, or, two, we really want to take the time to figure this out as to whether we should return him to the United States.

CROWLEY: Do you think should Putin decide to grant him asylum in Russia, that the president ought to go ahead and go to the G-20 in St. Petersburg, that he has to go ahead and have a unilateral meeting with President Putin in September?

FEINSTEIN: Well, I think - don't think that's a way necessarily to show - not to go does anything. I think that Obama really ought to sit down when he can with Putin and make the case. Here's what this man did ?

CROWLEY: Do you think he should still go to Putin?

FEINSTEIN: Here's what this man did. By his own admission, he came to Booz Allen to be a contractor ?

(CROSSTALK)

FEINSTEIN: I meant Snowden, yes. With the purpose of going in there and taking as much material as he possibly could. He took much more than I could possibly think he could. It's very sensitive data. And then, he went and strategically placed it so that it could come out at different times.

Then, he went to two big cyber-intruding powers, China and Russia, and left China and went to Russia. You've got to ask why did he choose those two? You've got to also ask, do the Chinese have all this material? Do the Russians have it?

CROWLEY: Do we know?

FEINSTEIN: We don't know.

CROWLEY: Oh, OK.

FEINSTEIN: So, it's a very serious situation.

CROWLEY: Let me move you on to something else. You recently signed a letter urging the president to let Janet Yellen, who's currently number two at the Federal Reserve board, take over when Bernanke leaves. I want to play you just a little bit of my conversation With Treasury Secretary Lew, and I asked him about both Janet Yellen and Larry Summers, another name up for consideration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEW: Look, I know the people you've asked me about very well. They're both friends, and I have great admiration for both of them. I'm going to keep the conversation about any future decisions here where it belongs.

CROWLEY: Would they both make good fed chair?

LEW: I think they're both extraordinarily talented people.

CROWLEY: It's not exactly that they would both make a good fit?

LEW: I'm not going to comment on the fed.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: I'll ask you the same question, would either Yellen or Summers make a good fed chair?

FEINSTEIN: Yes. It's very hard for me to tell. Larry Summers had been very supportive of the era of deregulation, supporting derivatives and shorts and those kinds of thing. Janet Yellen has been close to Bernanke. I'm one that believes Bernanke has done a very good job. This country is moving ahead under partially Federal Reserve actions. And I think those ought to be continued for the foreseeable future. (CROSSTALK)

FEINSTEIN: I'm not pressuring him. I mean ?

(CROSSTALK)

FEINSTEIN: Well, I was asked to sign and I signed, because I have met Janet Yellen on two occasions. I have followed her. She's very well thought of. She knows the fed, and she's very highly qualified. And I think a woman as head of the Federal Reserve, a qualified woman, would be a very positive thing for this administration.

CROWLEY: I want to turn to San Diego, Mayor Bob Filner, as you know, there's been already a lawsuit against him, a number of women have come out and said that he sexually harassed them. He came out, basically said, yes, my behavior has been bad. I'm going to go into rehab for two weeks, but I'll still stay as mayor and look at, you know, city business in the morning and in the evening. Should this man resign?

FEINSTEIN: Well, I think he should. I think he should. Of all people, Bob Filner knows what public life is like. He served a time in the House. Being the mayor of a big city, you're a role model for people. You're either inspirational to people or you aren't. It's a very tough job. And I don't think that somebody who is lacking a moral compass really sets a role model or really will provide the kind of leadership that San Diegans want.

FEINSTEIN: This is up to them. This kind of absence of a moral compass is subject to recall. I suspect there will be recalls, and the people will judge.

CROWLEY: You think he should make it easier and resign?

FEINSTEIN: I think he should make it easier and resign, that's right.

CROWLEY: Thank you so much.

FEINSTEIN: Very welcome. Thank you.

CROWLEY: Senator Dianne Feinstein, come by any time. Thank you.

FEINSTEIN: Thank you.

- END -

Source: http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/28/sen-feinstein-on-state-of-the-union-calls-for-san-diego-mayor-bob-filner-to-resign/

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Dragons Crown Is Sold Out Almost Everywhere in Japan

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Source: contoso --- Sunday, July 28, 2013
If you live in Japan and don't want to settle with the digital version of Dragon's Crown you may want to hurry, as the latest game by Vanillaware appears to have made a big splash in the archipelago of the rising sun, big enough to be sold out at almost every retailer. ...

Source: http://animeshinbun.com/news/1320957/dragons-crown-is-sold-out-almost-everywhere-in-japan

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Major Key Blues

Lately I?ve been enchanted by a series of minor-keyed sad songs converted to major keys, and vice versa. Hearing familiar songs switched into a different minor or major key is quite strange, and is unsettling to my ears in a way that I can?t quite pin down.

My two favorites of the moment are REM?s Losing My Religion and the The Beatles? Hey Jude, both below. Take a listen!

Losing My Religion, switched to a major (?happy?) key:

Hey Jude, now in a minor (?sad?) key:

Why are most sad-sounding songs in minor keys, and most happy-sounding songs in major keys? And why does it make me feel so strange to hear a happy, major-keyed song in a minor key?

There are a few things that researchers have pointed to that might make songs sound sad. One is the minor third, which is perhaps based on sad speech patterns, and another is the appoggiatura, as are used in Adele?s Some Like You. But since there are so many cultural and individual factors that come into play when someone perceives a song as ?sad,? it is doubtful that the essence of a sad song is comprised of a strict formula on which all can agree.

I?ve been considering the role of scientific studies within cultural, sociological, and individual frameworks. How much of our perception of sad music is cultural, and how much approaches universal? As we push toward progress in these areas, I?ll be listening to these inverted songs and wondering about my own personal influences that make these songs sound strange.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/~r/sciam/basic-science/~3/SfZtve0h-gg/post.cfm

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White House announces Medal of Honor recipient (cbsnews)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/322127050?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Save Caribbean snorkeling and 'eat a lion,' conservationists say.

Red lionfish have invaded the Caribbean and threaten to devastate the marine ecosystem in a region renowned for diving and snorkeling.

By Ezra Fieser,?Correspondent / July 27, 2013

An Indo-Pacific red lionfish swims in the Caribbean in this undated photograph.

Courtesy of Mark Albin/Oregon State University/Reuters

Enlarge

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic

Here?s the last thing you?d expect to hear from a conservationist: Eat a lion.

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But that?s exactly what marine biologists are telling people across the Caribbean, where red lionfish ? an invader from the Pacific ? threaten to devastate the marine ecosystems that make the region a renowned destination for SCUBA divers and snorkelers.

Lionfish share little with their big cat namesake other than a fan of fins that resembles a flowing mane and, more importantly, a veracious appetite. The fish gobble up the small native fish that are an integral piece of the food chain and an important link in maintaining dazzling underwater seascapes.?With no natural predators or diseases to keep the population in check, lionfish are now found on nearly every coral reef from New York to Venezuela and they are multiplying fast. Lacking other options, conservationists are pushing a simple message: capture them and cook them. Fishing communities are learning how to catch and process lionfish, which carry a painful dose of venom in their fins. And restaurants and markets are trying to sell the white flakey filets, which taste like snapper or grouper.?

Researchers say divers and fisherman appear to be the only players that can do anything to keep lionfish numbers down. Native predators, such as large groupers and sharks, don?t recognize lionfish as a prey.

"In addition to further research, it seems that the only thing we can do to control lionfish at this point is to keep spearing them," says Serena Hackerott, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Ms. Hackerott was the lead?author on a 2013 study, published in PLOS One, that found native predators, such as large groupers and sharks, are not controlling lionfish populations to a discernible degree.

"I think that?s our best bet now. I'm not optimistic that natural resistance is going to be enough of an interdiction to control the population."

?Great eating fish?

Unlike other fish that can be caught on a line, lionfish have to be netted or speared, making it a time-consuming catch. Across the Caribbean, conservation groups have worked with local communities to teach them how to capture and then process lionfish, pointing out how to avoid getting pricked by one of the venomous spines.

?My arm was inflamed all the way up to my shoulder,? says Mildred Minaya, a public relations executive for a Dominican bank who, with six office workers, formed a SCUBA diving group that goes out monthly to monitor and control the lionfish population at a marine park outside of the capital, Santo Domingo. ?And I wasn?t even pricked directly. It just nicked me.?

The venomous fins are easily removed, and lionfish are completely safe to eat. Convincing diners of that, however, is another matter.

In Caribbean and Florida restaurants, you can find the fish fried whole, saut?ed, served up in traditional sauces, or even raw in sushi plates.

?It?s a great eating fish. Even in places where it?s not being consumed or offered in a restaurant or at a fish retailer, there?s a lot of personal consumption taking place,? says Lad Akins, director of special projects at REEF, a Key Largo-based marine conservation nonprofit. ?But it?s an expensive fish to collect, and the market place is still learning how to deal with it.?

At a white tablecloth restaurant off of Santo Domingo?s oceanfront boulevard, Jos? Esteves, a ma?tre d? has been trying to push the lionfish in coconut milk sauce for the past year.

?It?s not very well known and people are a little hesitant to order it,? Mr. Esteves says. The restaurant, Vesuvio, sells the dish for $16.50, about $4 less than the more popular snapper plate. ?There was a campaign, ?eat a lion,? that helped a little. The fish has a nice flavor.?

A ?deepening? problem

Even if there?s a permanent market for lionfish filets, humans might never be able to get ahead of the problem. New research is showing that lionfish are found at depths divers can?t reach: A submersible vessel spotted one 1,000 feet down off the Bahamas. The recommended maximum for recreational divers is around 100 feet or a little deeper.

No one is certain how lionfish arrived in the Atlantic and Caribbean, but scientists believe enough of the popular aquarium fish were dumped into the Atlantic to create a breeding population. When they arrived, they left behind the diseases and natural predators that have kept the Pacific population in check and the population has exploded in recent years.

Although relatively small (around 12 to 18 inches on average), they are skilled hunters. Just before striking, lionfish blow a jet of water to stun and position their prey headfirst to more easily eat them, researchers believe.

Divers observe them lazily hovering around the coral, eating anything they can fit in their mouths, from crustaceans to small fish. Among those fish they?re eating are the young of fish key to maintaining the health of coral reefs already under stress thanks to warming sea temperatures and ocean acidification.

Take parrotfish, a group made up of some 90 often brilliantly colored reef fish found throughout the Caribbean. Parrotfish feed on the algae that chokes ? and eventually kills ? coral reefs. They are key in helping reefs rebound from years of die-off, but they?re also a favorite meal for the lionfish. Unfortunately, because lionfish are recent arrivals, young parrotfish don?t recognize them as predators, making them helpless prey.

The seemingly insatiable appetite doesn?t stop there. It also poses a huge risk to Atlantic fisheries as they wolf down the young of fish like snapper and grouper.

Mr. Akins says evolution will eventually find a way to control the lionfish population. What happens in the meantime is the question.

?What a balance will look like is a complete unknown and the fear is that the picture once that balance is formed may be pretty dire,? he says. ?The species we rely on commercially could be dramatically impacted to the point of potential collapse.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/8_-rFhNNa3o/Save-Caribbean-snorkeling-and-eat-a-lion-conservationists-say

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Snowden's remaining docs unlikely to tie US hands

FILE - This handout file photo taken on Friday, July 12, 2013, and made available by Human Rights Watch shows NSA leaker Edward Snowden during his meeting with Russian activists and officials at Sheremetyevo airport, Moscow, Russia . Russian state news agency says Snowden has been granted a document that allows him to leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport and enter Russia. Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Rusia last week after his attempts to leave the airport were thwarted. The United States wants him sent home to face prosecution for espionage.(AP Photo/Tatyana Lokshina, Human Rights Watch , file)

FILE - This handout file photo taken on Friday, July 12, 2013, and made available by Human Rights Watch shows NSA leaker Edward Snowden during his meeting with Russian activists and officials at Sheremetyevo airport, Moscow, Russia . Russian state news agency says Snowden has been granted a document that allows him to leave the transit zone of a Moscow airport and enter Russia. Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Rusia last week after his attempts to leave the airport were thwarted. The United States wants him sent home to face prosecution for espionage.(AP Photo/Tatyana Lokshina, Human Rights Watch , file)

This photo provided by The Guardian Newspaper in London shows Edward Snowden, who worked as a contract employee at the National Security Agency, on Sunday, June 9, 2013, in Hong Kong. NSA leaker Edward Snowden claims the spy agency gathers all communications into and out of the U.S. for analysis, despite government claims that it only targets foreign traffic. (AP Photo/The Guardian, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? It's the stuff of spy novels: The hunted-down protagonist wins in the end because he's got damaging documents squirreled away, a bargaining chip against the bureaucrats who want to silence him.

If National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden thinks he's living in such a thriller, legal experts say he's got another think coming. Nothing he has is likely to scare off the prosecution.

Snowden, stuck at a Russian airport while he seeks asylum from several countries, has not overtly threatened the U.S. that he would release more damaging documents. But the journalist through whom he has been working, Glenn Greenwald, has said that blueprints that detail how the NSA operates will be made public if something should happen to Snowden.

"This is his insurance policy," said Greenwald, a columnist with Britain's Guardian newspaper who received Snowden's initial leaks and who communicates with the former NSA systems analyst. In a July 13 article in the Argentine newspaper La Nacion, Greenwald said, "The U.S. government should be on its knees praying every day that nothing happens to Snowden, because if something does happen, all the information would be revealed and this would be its worst nightmare."

The Justice Department is not discussing its prosecution strategy. But while the U.S. isn't eager for any more classified information to be disclosed, there's little chance Snowden will be able to use what he has as a bargaining chip to negotiate his prosecution or extradition. That's because giving into threats would risk opening the door for others to take similar action in the future.

The government must take the position: "We don't negotiate with extortionists," said Michael Chertoff, the former head of the Justice Department's criminal division and former secretary of someland security. Chertoff said he can't recall a case in which the U.S. government has caved under this type of threat.

"I'm betting that there is virtually nothing that Snowden could do or threaten to persuade the (U.S. government) not to prosecute," said Peter Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor who was on the team that prosecuted I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the Bush administration official who revealed the name of a CIA officer. Zeidenberg said doing so would send a damaging message from the U.S.: "If you are going to steal secrets, get the crown jewels; that way, the government will never dare to prosecute."

Snowden leaked details of two top secret U.S. surveillance programs. He has been charged with three offenses, including espionage, and could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that if Snowden releases any more of the materials, Russia will not grant him temporary asylum.

"If the Obama administration responds with an even harsher hand against me, they can be assured that they'll soon find themselves facing an equally harsh public response," Snowden said in a June 17 online question-and-answer forum.

"Snowden has information enough to cause more damage to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had in the history of the United States," Greenwald said in the article in La Nacion.

Mark Zaid, an attorney who has represented people charged with espionage, said these threats from Snowden and Greenwald are a form of graymail, a tactic in which defendants charged with spying try to force the government to drop the charges by threatening to expose U.S. secrets on the witness stand.

Zaid said every time Snowden releases more documents it could create additional criminal charges. Zaid is not working on Snowden's defense and hasn't been contacted by the leaker. But if he were representing Snowden, Zaid said, "I'd tell him to shut up" and accept the marriage proposal from Russian spy Anna Chapman. On July 3, the attractive redhead who was swept up with nine other sleeper agents and deported from the U.S. in 2010 tweeted, "Snowden, will you marry me?"

"The only thing really he's got now is either minimize the penalties going forward or work out some favorable resolution he's comfortable with somewhere in the world," Zaid said of Snowden.

And even then, it would be difficult for the U.S. government to negotiate, he said.

"Because it's not just about Snowden anymore," Zaid said. "It's about anyone who would follow in his footsteps."

Graymail is a common defense tactic, and three decades ago a law was passed to combat it. Attorneys say the law was meant to let judges sort out the classified information behind closed doors and determine what the defense genuinely needs to make public. If the judge concludes the defendant cannot get a fair trial without spilling secrets, the government can decide whether to go forward or drop the case.

But Snowden has yet to enter into court proceedings. The government is in the process of trying to extradite him to face the charges.

U.S. officials have said what Snowden already released will harm national security, though it's too early to tell what damage has been done. The U.S. intelligence community has a good idea of what other documents he has.

"I wouldn't describe it as graymail," Chertoff said. "I would describe it as blackmail."

As Chertoff sees it, Snowden's message to the government is this: "If you do anything that Snowden doesn't like he's going to try to hurt you by putting out information that could be damaging."

"To me, that's extortion," Chertoff said.

When Snowden arrived at Moscow's international airport on June 23 he was believed to be planning simply to transfer to a flight to Cuba and then to Venezuela to seek asylum. But the U. S. canceled his passport, stranding him. He hasn't been seen in public since, although he met with human rights activists and lawyers on June 12. He's applied for temporary asylum in Russia and has said he'd like to visit the countries that offered him permanent asylum ? Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Warren in Buenos Aires and Pete Yost in Washington and researcher Monika Mathur in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-07-26-US-NSA-Surveillance-Leverage/id-3305d56ebd9e4ee38cf302aa82fa1f21

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