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Speak Out!
retailer, and when the retailer sells it to the
customer.
It is one of two marijuana-related ballot
initiatives that passed this week. Amend-
ment 64 in Colorado will amend the state
his state and presumably Washington state
must still navigate federal laws before citi-
zens can legally buy and sell cannabis.
And germane to the Washington and Col-
orado initiatives, the Drug Enforcement
Administration issued a state-
ment Wednesday morning say-
ing its “enforcement of the
Controlled Substances Act
remains unchanged.”
“In enacting the Controlled
Substances Act, Congress
determined that marijuana is a
Schedule I controlled sub-
stance,” the DEA said. “The
Department of Justice is
reviewing the ballot initiatives,
and we have no additional comment at this
time.”
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Washington and Colorado
must still navigate federal laws
before citizens can legally
buy and sell cannabis
constitution to legalize and regulate the pro-
duction, possession, and distribution of
marijuana for persons ages 21 and older.
But Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper
warned after his state’s vote that it’s too
soon to “break out the Cheetos,” because
Bales
continued from page 1
penalty if convicted.
Several soldiers testified that Bales
returned to the base alone just before dawn
the morning of the attacks, covered in
blood, and that he made incriminating state-
ments such as, ``I thought I was doing the
right thing.’’
Prosecutors say he also made a mid-mas-
sacre confession, returning to the base to
wake another soldier and report his activi-
ties before heading out to the other village.
The soldier testified that he didn’t believe
Bales and went back to sleep.
The Army held nighttime sessions of the
hearing on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for
the convenience of the Afghan witnesses.
They were as young as Robina, just 7,
who wore a deep-red head covering and a
nervous smile as she described how she hid
behind her father when a gunman came to
their village that night.
The stranger fired, she said, and her father
died, cursing in pain and anger.
One of the bullets struck her in the leg, but
she didn’t realize it right away.
Robina’s friend Zardana, 8, sipped from a
pink juice box before she testified. She suf-
fered a gunshot wound to the top of her
head, but after two months at a military hos-
pital in Afghanistan and three more at a
Navy hospital in San Diego, she can walk
and talk again.
Zardana’s brother, Quadratullah, recalled
that he and others scrambled
when the gunman attacked,
yelling ``We are children!
We are children!’’ The man
fired anyway.
Afghan witnesses recount-
ed the villagers who lived in
the attacked compounds and
listed the names of those
killed. The bodies were
buried quickly under Islamic custom, and
no forensic evidence was available to prove
the number of victims.
None of the Afghan witnesses were able
to identify Bales as the shooter, but other
evidence, including tests of the blood on his
clothes, implicated him, according to testi-
mony from a DNA expert.
Bales sat quietly throughout, betraying no
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
continued from page 1
King County Council Chair Larry Gossett, Washington State Legislator Cindy
Ryu, Executive Director of ACLU Pennsylvania Reggie Shuford and Seattle
Human Rights Commissioner Chris Stearns heard testimony about racial
profiling and its effects on national security, immigration enforcement and
criminal justice. Speak Out! Racial Profiling in the Northwest was held Nov.
12 in the Bertha K. Landes Room at City Hall and was part of the 2012
Rights Working Group National Meeting which took place in Seattle on Nov.
12-13 at the Westin Hotel.
reaction to what he heard. Sometimes he
watched testimony on a large monitor in the
courtroom, and other times he lowered his
head and watched on a laptop computer in
front of him.
Bales, 39, an Ohio native and father of
there might have been more than one shoot-
er.
``There’s no way it was one person,’’ Maj.
Khudai Dad, chief of criminal techniques
with the Afghan Uniform Police, opined
Sunday night.
But Dad offered no evidence to
support his speculation, and the
vast majority of other testimony
pointed to there being a single
gunman. A video taken from a
surveillance blimp also captured
a sole figure returning to the
base.
It wasn’t immediately clear
how soon any court-martial
might be held. But if and when it is, military
prosecutors say, the Afghan witnesses won’t
have to testify through a screen any more. It
will be face to face, as the military would
fly the witnesses to Joint Base Lewis-
McChord for court-martial testimony.
Bales faces 16 counts of
premeditated murder and six counts
of attempted murder. He could face
the death penalty if convicted
two from Lake Tapps, Wash., has not
entered a plea and was not expected to tes-
tify at the preliminary hearing. His attor-
neys have not discussed the evidence, but
say he has post-traumatic stress disorder
and suffered a concussive head injury while
serving in Iraq.
During cross-examination of several wit-
nesses, Bales’ attorney John Henry Browne
sought to elicit testimony about whether
Associated Press Writer Mirwais Khan in
Kandahar contributed to this report.
Pets
continued from page 1
during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
prompting Congress to pass the Pets Evacu-
ation and Transportation Standards Act in
2006, which requires that state and local
disaster plans include pets in their proce-
dures.
Most recently, Super Storm Sandy has
displaced what looks to be thousands of
pets. According to the American Humane
Association, some 15 million dogs were in
the storm’s path. Search and rescue opera-
tions and temporary emergency
shelters for pets lost in the storm
are in full effect to help reunite
families with their animals.
Last month, the Seattle Animal
Shelter unveiled the Pet Emer-
gency Trailer-Seattle (PETS).
Funded by a grant from the U.S.
Department of Homeland Securi-
ty, the unit is intended to contain
all supplies necessary to pop-up a
pet shelter during an emergency. Pet shel-
ters can then be co-located with human
shelters so the whole family unit can stay
together in the same area. This allows staff,
volunteers and owners to provide care
throughout the day. Up to 40 animal groups
can be sheltered by the PETS unit at one
time.
“As Hurricane Katrina and Super Storm
Sandy demonstrated, even if you have
emergency supplies for you and your pets
it’s not always safe to shelter in place,” said
Kara Main-Hester, manager of volunteering
and fundraising for the Seattle Animal Shel-
ter. “Previously, pet sheltering was not one
of the services we could provide residents
during and after an emergency. Now we’re
– in one, put everything you and your pets
will need to stay where you are; the other
should be a portable version that can be
taken along during an evacuation. Down-
load a complete pet preparedness checklist
at TakeWinterByStorm.org.
“Pets are family, and just like any other
member of the family, you need to make
sure that you think about their safety and
well-being in an emergency,” said Dr. Gene
Mueller, manager of Regional Animal Serv-
ices of King County
(RASKC). “Never leave
your pet behind if you have
to evacuate your home, and
be sure your pet is wearing
a license, identification tag,
or is microchipped. That
way, if you do get separat-
ed, it’s much more likely
that you will be reunited
after the emergency is
over.”
Simple steps such as creating an emer-
gency kit, making a plan for emergencies
and staying informed can keep families and
pets safe during bad weather and emergen-
cies.
Most recently, Super Storm Sandy has
displaced what looks to be thousands
of pets
able to offer pets a safe place near the rest of
their family should they be forced from
their homes.”
When making a plan for your pets, think
first about the basics for their survival, par-
ticularly food and water. Consider two kits
BE
PREPARED
The Take Winter By Storm website,
TakeWinterByStorm.org, is a one-stop
emergency preparedness information
hub that includes safety tips and region-
al resources related to high winds,
heavy rain, snow, freezing conditions,
power outages, flooding and more.
The public is encouraged to take the fol-
lowing actions in preparation to be
storm ready:
Create an emergency preparedness kit
with at least a three-day supply of non-
perishable food and water for your home
and office. Kits prepared for vehicle road
travel and winter weather evacuation
go-kits are also advised.
Make an emergency plan and practice it
with your family and those who depend
on you – including animals.
Stay informed and monitor the weather
approaching so you are prepared for
whatever Mother Nature throws our way.
November 14, 2012
The Seattle Skanner Page 3