Latest news with #JohnCarroll
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland looking to bounce back from England defeat against Wales
Ireland Boys' Captain John Carroll says the future is bright as his players were resolute in defeat to England on the second day of the R&A Boys' & Girls' Home Internationals in Cork. A youthful looking Irish outfit battled hard against their more experienced opponents with Isaac Oliver (5&4), William O'Riordan (3&1) and Caelan Coleman (3&2) grabbing three precious victories in the afternoon singles. It was a tough day for the combined Irish side, with England claiming a 14.5-6.5 win and while they turn their attentions to Scotland and a winner-takes-all clash tomorrow, Ireland will face Wales looking for more positives. 'It was always going to be tough. We came here knowing that England are probably the strongest of the four home nations but we gave it a good go,' said Carroll. 'We have picked a very young team with a view to giving them experience for next year, we had a disappointing European Championships in Czech Republic where we got relegated to Division 2. 'Hopefully these 16-year-olds, and in one case a 15-year-old, will get the experience to get us back up next year to Division 1. We have got one more chance against Wales so hopefully we will get a positive result tomorrow. Barry O'Connell (Douglas) takes a shot. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon 'They are a great bunch of lads, I took over as Captain last November and I have had the best time. Fantastic group, there is never an issue with them, travelling around France, Scotland, England, Spain, all over Europe. 'A great crew, they have built up a great bond and they are a young team. This year wasn't their year but hopefully next year and the year after will see a big improvement. 'Our girls will go out first (against Wales), our girls have been flying, they came third in the European Championships getting a bronze medal, doing the country proud. 'We have got some fantastic girl golfers, they will be leading us out first thing in the morning and then the boys will be out afterwards. 'Hopefully we can reverse the result from today and get a win tomorrow.' Ireland had two victories in the morning foursomes today with Hannah Lee-McNamara and Zoe McLean-Tattan, and Caelan Coleman and Harry O'Hara winning their matches. However, they fell 4.5-2.5 behind and England took control early in the afternoon singles. Scotland also secured their second straight win on Wednesday after a comprehensive 15-6 defeat of Wales. The Scots were 5.5-1.5 ahead following the morning foursomes and won nine of the singles matches to keep their campaign on track. 'Delighted with that, I thought today would be a really tough game and it was but the troops have come through again. Some great golf out there from both teams and very happy to win,' said Scotland Captain Stuart Johnston. 'That (England) will be tough obviously, they are a good team. They have got a lot of great players so we will just go out and do our best, take it match by match. 'If we prevail then that is fantastic, if we don't then we will give it our best shot.'
Yahoo
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
VIDEO: Following perfect regular season in 2024, John Carroll Catholic readies for 2025
Highlights from the John Carroll Catholic football team's second official fall practice for the 2025 season.
Associated Press
11-07-2025
- Associated Press
Police reassignment at issue in case against Virginia man charged in double-killing
FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — A Virginia judge has ordered prosecutors to give the defense documentation about the reassignment of a digital forensic examiner who had been working on the case in which a man is accused of plotting with an au pair to kill his wife and another man. Fairfax Circuit Court Chief Judge Penney Azcarate on Thursday ordered Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Clingan to collect and distribute any documentation of the assignment change to the defense for Brendan Banfield. Banfield is charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joe Ryan. The defense had also sought information on the transfer of the lead detective on the case. But the judge declined. An attorney for Brendan Banfield alleged in court this week that Fairfax County police commanders had reassigned the two employees who disagreed with the top brass' analysis of the evidence, particularly a premise that the case involved the husband catfishing one of the victims. 'It is a theory in search of facts rather than a series of facts supporting a theory,' John Carroll, Banfield's attorney, said in court Thursday. In court, prosecutors argued officials had given over all the documentation they had in the case to the defense, objecting to notions that personnel transfers were part of criminal case evidence. Brendan Miller, a digital forensic examiner with the Fairfax County Police Department, testified Thursday that he analyzed dozens of devices and concluded Christine Banfield had connected with Ryan through a social networking platform for people interested in sexual fetishes. Miller's analysis found that the two also chatted through Telegram, an encrypted messaging app. Ryan agreed to come to the house for what appeared to be a consensual sexual encounter. But Miller's findings diverged from a theory held by other officials in the department that the messages Ryan was receiving were actually from Brendan Banfield posing as his wife in a ruse to lure Ryan to the Banfields' home as a scapegoat in a double-killing scheme. Deputy Chief Patrick Brusch, who oversaw the department's major crimes bureau at the time, confirmed in testimony that he said Miller would 'never be doing another digital forensics case in your major crimes bureau' after he analyzed the evidence. Miller was transferred out of the department's digital forensics unit in late 2024, though Brusch testified the reassignment was not punitive or disciplinary. The University of Alabama's police department peer reviewed and affirmed Miller's digital forensic findings, according to evidence submitted to the court by Carroll. In October 2023, the family's au pair, Juliana Peres Magalhães, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. She later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in what prosecutors described as a scheme to frame Ryan, a Fairfax County native, in the stabbing of Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse. The au pair, who authorities said had a romantic affair with Brendan Banfield, agreed to cooperate with officials in their case against him. Brendan Banfield was arrested nearly a year after Magalhães. In a proffer, the au pair backed officials' belief that the husband was behind the online account in a plot to kill his wife and stage it to look like he and the au pair shot a predator in defense. On Thursday, Clingan acknowledged there were multiple case theories among officials, but Magalhães' account narrowed them down to one. 'With 12 different homicide detectives, there were 24 different theories,' Clingan said. 'Now, one theory.' Kyle Bryant, who was the lead detective on the case and was moved off the homicide team earlier this year, testified he faced mounting pressure from higher-ups at the department to support the catfish theory. Bryant testified he followed what he believed the evidence showed. 'Were you ever confronted by command staff about the theory of the case that you disagreed with?' Carroll asked Bryant. 'Yes,' he testified. Though Judge Azcarate did not find that prosecutors intentionally withheld information about Miller's transfer, she ordered Clingan to collect and distribute any documentation of the assignment change to the defense. She did not tell prosecutors to hand over documents on Bryant's transfer. 'The transfer that gives the court pause is Miller's because it relates to the theory of this case,' the judge said. Brendan Banfield's trial is set for October.
Japan Forward
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Forward
Ishigaki Then and Now: The Battle of Okinawa, Grief and Forgiveness
The Ryukyu Kingdom was formally absorbed into the Empire of Japan in 1872. It was then reorganized as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. Until the Ishigaki City Council launched an initiative to properly console the souls of the 128 Chinese who died on the island due to diseases such as measles and malaria, malnutrition, or suicide, the Robert Bowne Incident was largely forgotten. Last of two parts Read Part 1: Then and Now: Ishigaki Island and the Story of the Tojin Tombs With the support of local residents, overseas Chinese, and the government of Taiwan, which sent craftsmen for its construction, the Tojinbaka arose in 1971. It even includes calligraphy by Chiang Kai-shek. A pair of shisha guardian lions flank the steps leading up to the monument. The Tojinbaka, or Tojin Tomb, on Ishigaki Island. (©John Carroll) That was the same year that the United States and Japan signed a treaty providing for the return of Okinawa to Japan. The Okinawa reversion took place in May 1972, after 27 years of US administrative control. Then, in September 1972, Japan recognized the People's Republic of China. At the same time, it severed formal relations with Taiwan. Today, as in the past, Ishigaki finds itself caught up in the maelstrom of history, a witness to great power rivalries. Tokyo is 1,950 kilometers away, Shanghai a little over 800 kilometers, and Taiwan a mere 270 kilometers. A few yards from the Tojinbaka stands the Ishigaki American Servicemen's Memorial. This monument consists of three six-foot-tall stone triangles that symbolize spirits rising to heaven. It also has two large plaques in English and Japanese below that tell another sad tale. The Battle of Okinawa was the bloodiest battle of the Pacific War. It was a conflict that the historian John Dower has aptly characterized as a "war without mercy." From the initial landing of the US invasion force on April 1, 1945, to the American declaration of victory on June 22, an estimated 240,000 people were killed or went missing during the combat. That number includes as many as 100,000 civilians. There were also 110,000 Japanese regular troops and Okinawa conscripts. As well, there were more than 12,000 American and allied troops among them. The US Army Air Force had already begun low-altitude nighttime firebombing of Japanese cities in February 1945. And the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were to follow in August. T he American Servicemen's Memorial on Ishigaki Island. (©John Carroll) That was the background to an atrocity that occurred on Ishigaki, which became a tragedy for all concerned. The inscription on the English monument reads: On the morning of April 15, 1945, in the closing days of World War II, a Grumman TBF Avenger, assigned to the carrier USS Makassar Strait, was shot down off the coast of Ishigaki Island by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The three aviators parachuted into the water near Ohama and swam to a coral reef where they were captured by Japanese sailors. After being interrogated and tortured they were executed during the night at the foot of Mount Banna, at the Imperial Navy Headquarters. The torture of prisoners of war was a violation of the Geneva Convention on the rules of war signed by the international community in 1929. Vernon L Tebo and Robert Tuggle Jr. were beheaded. Warren was beaten and stabbed with bayonets by numerous numbers of sailors and soldiers. This incident was a tragedy which took place during war. Lt Vernon LTebo, 28, a Navy pilot of Illinois, Aviation Radioman 1st Class Warren H. Loyd, 24, of Kansas [And] Aviation Ordnance 1st Class Robert Tuggle Jr, 20, of Texas To console the spirits of the three fallen American service members and to honor their deaths, we jointly dedicate this monument in the hope that this memorial stone will contribute to the everlasting peace and friendship between Japan and the United States, and that this monument will serve as a cornerstone to convey to future generations our keen desire for eternal peace in the world and our determination to renounce war. August 15 2001 The Avenger in question was part of an early morning strike mission that targeted anti-aircraft emplacements, structures, and Ishigaki Airfield. It had also destroyed or damaged two dozen Japanese planes. Intense antiaircraft fire ensued, and the aircraft piloted by Lt Tebo crashed a few kilometers south of the airfield. The airmen parachuted from their aircraft and swam to a coral reef where they were taken captive by Japanese sailors. After their executions, the ashes of the POWs were scattered at sea. Japan had signed but never ratified the 1929 Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Nor was the Soviet Union a party to the international accord. And although Germany was a signatory, the Nazis often treated prisoners in line with their theory of racial hierarchy. That meant Jews, Slavs, and others were considered subhuman, fit only for slave labor or extermination. The Ishigaki executions represented only one small incident in the horrific Battle of Okinawa, in which no quarter was given by either side. But the repercussions for those involved were tremendous. The incident only came to light two years after the end of the war. Occupation authorities then arrested and prosecuted the former Japanese Navy captain who had been commander of the Ishigaki Garrison and 45 other former Japanese military members involved in the incident. In 1948, the Yokohama Military Tribunal also sentenced all 46 to death. Later, however, through commutation, that number was reduced to seven. Others received prison sentences of five years to life. Shown left to right: Robert Tuggle Jr, Lt Vernon L Tebo, and Warren H Loyd (Archives/Open Source) Imagine the impact of the incident on the small community of Ishigaki. Although residents could not forget, they were naturally reluctant to talk about it since some of their relatives had taken part in the murders. Not until over half a century later was this monument built. Its construction came at the initiative of the late Takeo Shinohara, a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, who had been deeply moved when he heard about the tragedy. Shinohara worked closely with US Air Force Tech Sergeant Tim Wilson to develop the project. They collected financial donations from Okinawa residents and the American military community. After the memorial was unveiled in 2001, it became a symbol of remembrance, shared grief, and forgiveness. An annual ceremony is held at the memorial on April 15 to remember the three slain airmen and reaffirm the commitment of Japan and the United States to a shared future. Once enemies, now allies, as the wheel of history takes another turn. After visiting the Airmen's Memorial, I crossed the highway to have lunch. The fashionable café I entered featured a bright nautical décor, with white tables and chairs on the outside veranda. I sat outside and gazed at the low hills of Iriomote Island off in the distance. The deep blue sea was calm, and any terrors it might hold remained hidden. I took the young Japanese couple seated at the table next to me to be honeymooners. A couple of tables away sat a family speaking French. Earlier, a local had told me that some wealthy French working in Tokyo or Osaka had started purchasing vacation homes on Ishigaki. Violating Japanese airspace, a Chinese helicopter also takes off from a Chinese Coast Guard vessel near the Senkakus on May 3. (©Japan Coast Guard) I assumed that few, if any, of the diners around me had an inkling of the horrors that occurred nearby in the past. It was hard to believe that this beautiful area had witnessed such awful events in its history. And thinking of the Chinese naval vessels lurking not so very far away, I prayed that this peaceful scene might never be disturbed. Author: John Carroll
Japan Forward
03-07-2025
- Japan Forward
Then and Now: Ishigaki Island and the Story of the Tojin Tombs
Memories are a funny thing, especially memories of unfamiliar places we have visited and unfamiliar things we have seen. Sometimes we miss the significance entirely unless we delve deeper and uncover the underlying story. One memory that has stuck in my mind concerns a trip to Ishigaki Island in the Yaeyama Islands in 2021. First of two parts To the casual tourist, Ishigaki might appear as just another laid-back subtropical island in Okinawa Prefecture's southernmost chain. However, it has actually witnessed some amazing events. These days, Ishigaki, with a population of around 49,000, is known primarily as a sightseeing destination. In fact, it is regularly ranked as the number one island in Japan. Among its leading attractions are Kabira Bay on the northwest coast of the island — famed for its black pearls and glass-bottom tour boats — and Shiraho near the airport, which boasts the largest blue coral reef in the Northern Hemisphere. Ferries also depart from Ishigaki Harbor for Iriomote, a World Heritage Island, Taketomi, and other islands farther afield. They are all technically part of the city. A Japan Coast Guard vessel patrols the waters off Ishigaki and the Yaeyama Islands. (©John Carroll) The casual traveler might get the impression that Ishigaki is a peaceful refuge from our strife-torn world. But one look at the many large Japan Coast Guard patrol vessels homeported here tells a different tale. There is a menace lurking beyond the horizon. These ships have their hands full dealing with incursions by Chinese government vessels into waters around the Senkaku Islands, roughly 170 kilometers to the north, which are also administered from Ishigaki. On the day I visited Kabira Bay, I left Ishigaki City early. I wanted to make a stop at the Tojinbaka (the Tojin Tombs), located four kilometers to the west of the city center. Tojin (literally "people of Tang") was a name used in the past to refer to overseas Chinese. It was a reference to the great Tang Dynasty. Social media sites I consulted had quite a few dismissive comments about the Tojinbaka, such as "Pretty, but not worth the stop." Nevertheless, I was determined to visit this monument as I was fascinated by its origin story. As lions protect those resting in the tomb, stairs lead to the colorfully decorated memorial for the Tojin Tombs. (John Carroll) The Tojinbaka is located in a park on the side of a slope near the Kannonzaki Lighthouse, facing the cobalt blue ocean and Iriomote in the distance. It is a traditional Chinese structure decorated with figures from Chinese history and mythology. Easy to find, it is recreated in a riot of colors, with reds, yellows, and greens predominating. The area is justly known for its beautiful sunsets. "We should learn from history." So goes an old adage. However, history's lessons are often opaque, ambivalent, fragmentary, and contradictory. That is certainly true of the story of the Robert Bowen Incident of 1852 and the dead Chinese laborers whom the Tojinbaka commemorates. Prior to the incident, the biggest crisis Ishigaki had faced was undoubtedly the Great Yaeyama Tsunami of August 1771. According to scientific data and historical records, it appears to have been 30 meters high and killed 10,000 people. It also destroyed the local economy and killed thousands more later due to disease and famine. The area had still not recovered by the mid-19th century. Many guidebooks and travel websites, in both Japanese and English, characterize the Robert Bowen Incident of 1852 as a mutiny or "slave rebellion" on an American ship sailing from the Chinese port of Amoy (Xiamen). It was carrying 405 contract laborers (coolies) to the goldfields of California. Gold had been discovered there in January 1848. In the 1850s, nearly 66,000 Chinese contract laborers made the more than 100-day trip to California. The coolie trade was dominated by British and American shippers. According to later investigations, the Chinese all came from poor villages in Fujian Province that had suffered drought for several years. They became irate when Captain Lesley Bryson had crew members cut their braided queues. At the time, all Chinese males were required to wear the braids by the ruling Manchus, on pain of execution. Bryson also had them scrubbed down on the deck of the ship while naked. Some sources additionally claim they were branded on their chests. Furthermore, the crew dumped the bodies of sick coolies into the sea. (Accounts differ as to whether they were alive or dead at the time.) The Chinese might also have concluded that their actual destination was not California, but rather the dreaded "Death Islands" off Peru. Ishigaki Island coastline. (John Carroll) The result was a mutiny on March 30, 1852. After murdering the captain and five other crew members, the mutineers demanded that the remaining crew members take them to Taiwan. However, the Robert Bowen ended up hitting a reef off Sakieda Village on Ishigaki and 380 of the Chinese coolies managed to make it to shore. At that time, Ishigaki Island was part of the nominally independent Ryukyu Kingdom. Ryukyu was a "mini-kingdom" with a total population of about 170,000. During the 15th century, merchant ships from the Ryukyus had ranged as far as Siam and Java. They had also transported high-end Chinese products to Japan and Korea. However, they lost much of their business after the Portuguese and Spanish appeared in East Asian waters during the 16th century. In 1429, the Ryukyu Kingdom had become a tributary state of the Ming Empire, and some among the ruling elites were culturally and emotionally attached to China. Nevertheless, after the Satsuma feudal domain in Kyushu invaded the main island of Okinawa in 1609, the Satsuma pulled the strings from the shadows. This double attachment made resolution of the Robert Bowen affair even more difficult. It became an international crisis, involving the Ryukyu Kingdom, the Qing Empire, Satsuma, Great Britain, and the United States. Detail from the Tojin Tombs telling a fanciful Chinese story. (©John Carroll) After the Chinese laborers got on dry land, they were given refuge by the local islanders. Temporary shelters were built for them, and islanders shared their meager food supplies. In the meantime, the ship refloated and remaining members of the crew tied up the 19 coolies left on board. Those apparently included the ringleaders. They then sailed back to Amoy, where they reported the mutiny. Later, the USS Susquehanna , flagship of the US Far East Station, arrived in Ishikagi and took 69 of the Chinese back to Canton. Incidentally, this same ship formed part of Commodore Matthew Perry's flotilla that arrived off Tokyo Bay the following year. That event opened up Japan from nearly three centuries of isolation. Actually, before that, a British warship showed up off Ishigaki. It bombarded the encampment of the laborers before British soldiers landed. According to a lurid version of the story, they hunted down the Chinese, killing 128, many by hanging, and capturing a few dozen more. Terrified, many of the other Chinese fled into the bush. Shinyo Tajima, a former high school teacher living on Ishigaki, has conducted extensive research on the Robert Bowen affair. He has also translated official Ryukyu records concerning the incident, and even journeyed to London to comb libraries and archives there for information. In a book he wrote in 2011, he argues that much of what had been taken for fact about the Robert Bowen Incident was totally wrong or exaggerated. For example the vessel was characterized as a "slave ship" in order to condemn the evils of the coolie trade. On another point, he concluded that the British cannon only fired warning shots. Similarly, the actual number of Chinese killed by the British soldiers was only three. That is not to deny that the coolie trade was inhumane. In fact, in the ports of southeast China it was colloquially referred to as the "pig trade." That term referenced the barracoons ( zhuziguan ), the cramped holding barracks where the laborers waited for transportation on ships that were nearly as overcrowded as those that made the notorious Middle Passage from Africa with Black slaves. Most of the indentured Chinese laborers were recruited from Fujian and Guangdong provinces. In many cases, they were hoodwinked into signing false contracts or even drugged and then kidnapped. A memorial to the Chinese coolies who escaped the "Robert Bowen" mutiny and reached the shore. (©John Carroll) Meanwhile, the ships that took coolies to the Chincha Islands off Peru or the sugar cane fields of Cuba were indeed slave ships in all but name. Most of the laborers sent to those two destinations died from overwork or suicide before completing their contracts. Fortunes were made in the guano trade in the 19th century. Dried excrement from fish-eating seabirds was in great demand for use as fertilizer because of its high content of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium. And deposits up to 30 meters thick were found on the Chincha Islands. Contract laborers sent to dig guano on these "Islands of Hell," located 25 kilometers off the coast of Peru, almost never survived. As of 1860, it was calculated that not one of the 4,000 coolies brought to do the backbreaking work of extracting, had survived to leave the islands. They were first maltreated by their Peruvian overseers. But beyond that, their lungs were quickly ruined by the ammonia-infused dust that they labored amidst. Back in Canton, the US Consul tried and convicted 17 of the Chinese who had returned on the Robert Bowen after charging them with aggravated piracy and murder. They were handed over to the Chinese authorities, but only one of them was eventually executed. Finally, in May 1854, Ryukyu government officials finally provided two ships to repatriate the Chinese on Ishigaki. By then, there were only 172 survivors. Others who had not already been repatriated on Western warships had succumbed to disease, starvation, or suicide. They were buried in fields on Ishigaki with their graves marked by coral gravestones. Throughout the ordeal, the officials sent from Naha showed little concern about the residents of the island. They were more anxious to please the Chinese government, even though it showed little interest in getting its countrymen back. Continues in part 2 Author: John Carroll
