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CSUSB professor explains difficulties prosecutors face when considering hate crime charges The Sacramento Bee/The San Diego Union-TribuneMay 28, 2019 An article about hate crimes in San Diego County included a comment from Brian Levin, director of CSUSB’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, on the difficulties prosecutors face when considering adding hate crime allegations to a case. While there are stand-alone hate crimes under state law, the most common application is through the hate crime allegation, experts said. That means prosecutors have to prove both the underlying crime of say, assault, and then prove it was motivated by hate. Police respond to and investigate far more hate crimes than are prosecuted. While the San Diego County District Attorney's Office filed 29 total hate crime cases between 2015 and 2017, San Diego police alone logged 160 hate crime investigations in the city in those years, records show. Experts like Levin said that disparity is an indication that while it may be easier to prove the assault, it can be more challenging to assemble evidence and convince jurors the assault was motivated by hate alone, experts said. 'It's difficult,' Levin said. 'When you have to prove motivation, the evidence is different.' Read the complete article at “Hate crime cases pose challenges for prosecutors.”
U.S. official offers no evidence in accusing Iran with using naval mines to damage commercial ships, CSUSB professor says Press TVMay 29, 2019 David Yaghoubian, CSUSB professor of history, was interviewed about statements made by John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser to Donald Trump, who said alleged attacks on oil tankers in early May off the coast of the United Arab Emirates were the result of mines from Iran, though Bolton offered no evidence. “I think what we are seeing is this desperate and pathetic and rather non-sensical attempt to actually create a policy where there is no effective policy,” Yaghoubian said. “Directly related to Bolton’s statement, first of all, he has absolutely no evidence he’s putting forward,” adding that the number of ships actually involved is murky. “There has been no evidence provided, and at this point, I believe John Bolton truly less credibility in terms of political figures on the international stage than anyone. And I don’t think that’s an overstatement.” Read the complete article and see an online video of the interview at “Bolton’s allegation against Iran psychological op: Academic.” Press TV is a 24-hour English language news and documentary network affiliated with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
CSUSB professor writes on latest developments in Ethiopia’s politics ZeHabeshaMay 27, 2019 Alemayehu G. Mariam, CSUSB professor emeritus of political science, wrote in his weekly opinion column about the latest in politics in Ethiopia: “Word on the street is that the Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is talking to ‘K’ Street lobbyists to get the attention of the Trump administration. “According to the little bird who told me, the TPLF has retained a lobbying firm in Washington, D.C., to provide them access to top Trump officials for the purpose of thwarting, undermining and stopping the current reforms in Ethiopia. “The TPLF lobbying effort is said to be geared towards using U.S. aid, sanctions and other punitive policies to pressure the government of H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed to retract and significantly cut back on the ongoing political and economic reforms in Ethiopia.” Read the complete article at “TPLF’s last hurrah, or latest whimper for a comeback to power in Ethiopia?”
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