Historic John Kerry apology deleted from US State Department website

• Joseph Patrick McCormick
• 24^th January 2017, 2:05 AM

• 
  
• 
  
• 
  

Ads by Kiosked

The apology by John Kerry was removed from the State Department website

In the first week of the Trump administration, a historic apology by John Kerry has been deleted from the State Department’s website.
America’s most powerful diplomat earlier this month issued a formal apology for discrimination “on the basis of perceived sexual orientation.”

Ads by Kiosked

The apology applies to US diplomats who gave experienced prejudice and discrimination over the years.
Kerry has issued a statement saying that discrimination against LGBT State Department workers has gone on since the 1940s.
In a strongly worded statement, he says denying some people jobs and forcing diplomats out of the foreign service was “wrong then” and “wrong today.”

But the apology disappeared some time after Sunday.
The Wayback Machine, which shows archived versions of websites, shows that the apology was still showing as recently as Sunday.
Other information relating to the State Department’s special envoy for the human rights of LGBT persons, as well as Pride month observances has gone missing from the site.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) expressed concerns about the missing information.
“With each passing hour, the Trump administration continues to show the extent of their contempt for the enormous progress made over the past eight years,” said HRC President Chad Griffin.
“Secretary Kerry’s apology to LGBTQ employees and their families who were targeted, harassed, and fired set the right tone for the State Department, even if it couldn’t undo the damage done decades ago. It is outrageous that the new administration would attempt to erase from the record this historic apology for witch hunts that destroyed the lives of innocent Americans. The apology, along with the other important LGBTQ content that has been removed, should immediately be restored, and President Trump should condemn such behaviour at all departments and agencies.”
The press secretary for the Trump administration also today said he “doesn’t know” whether the new President will repeal discrimination protections for LGBT people.
The Trump administration took control at the weekend, immediately deleting all mention of LGBT rights from the White House website.
As Donald Trump and Mike Pence were sworn in today, a mostly-seamless transition took place online, with the new administration taking control of the official Presidential media channels.
But amid the exchanges of Twitter account handles and Facebook profiles, the official White House website has also been relaunched reflecting the new administration’s agenda.
The new President has never released a policy plan on LGBT issues, and also has no policy plan on HIV/AIDS. He failed to detail policies on either issue during his election campaign.
One of the new President’s only direct policy pledges it to sign the Republican-backed First Amendment Defence Act, a law that would permit forms of anti-LGBT discrimination on the grounds of religion.

Trump Inauguration Sets Stage For Christian Theocracy

Trump Inauguration Sets Stage For Christian Theocracy
by Michael Stone
Trump’s inauguration was an alarming display of religiosity for those who value the separation of church and state. More like a church service than a government ceremony, the inauguration of Donald J. Trump signals the ascendancy of conservative Christians to political power, and the ominous and growing threat of a Christian theocracy for the United [Read More...]

Senate Confirms Dangerous Christian Extremist as CIA Director

Senate Confirms Dangerous Christian Extremist as CIA Director
by Michael Stone
The new head of the CIA is a dangerous Christian extremist who believes the U.S. is at war with Islam. Earlier today, the U.S. Senate confirmed Representative Mike Pompeo as the new head of the powerful Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Pompeo, a Kansas Republican and prominent member of the House Intelligence Committee, is a radical [Read More...]

Video shows police cornering mentally ill man and fatally shooting him: 'This was an execution'

Video shows police cornering mentally ill man and fatally shooting him: 'This was an execution'

Graphic surveillance video released Wednesday shows a throng of Fontana police officers surrounding a legally blind man in a convenience store before an officer opens fire and fatally shoots him.
Read more

Christian activists are losing their minds over these ads for shoes

By Jeff Taylor 13 hours ago

Volley Australia has launched an ad campaign called #Grassroots that has drawn the ire of one of the heads of the Australian Christian Lobby.
Wendy Francis, ACL Queensland director, tweeted out a warning to parents over the campaign, noting that the brand also sells shoes for children.
“Rooting” is slang for sex.
Samuel Leighton-Dore, one of the campaign’s models, told Mashable via Messenger, “I’m not sure she’s offended by the images so much as what they seem to represent, which is freedom, sexuality, and … footwear.”
Related: 20 advertisers that made 2016 gayer than ever
“I think when recognisably Australian brands start to embrace diversity and sexuality in their branding, it’s a sign that organisations like ACL are fighting the tide,” he added.
The campaign’s website has text on the homepage reading:

We’re sick of being socially engineered and we shun political correctness.
We’re young and we’re rooting for change.
We are children of the sun and are comfortable in our own skin, so don’t tell us who to love or how to be.
Our campaign is all about the celebration of sexual expression whilst remembering to stay safe.
For this reason we’ve joined arms with Ansell condoms in support of safe sex, as whilst we’re all about rooting, we believe in ‘safety first’.
So stay safe this summer and root for us, root for change, root for VOLLEY.
GET BEHIND US
#GRASSROOTS

Related: Another cute commercial, another Million Moms meltdown
Head here to watch the ad.

Education secretary pick Betsy DeVos says parents must be able to send their children to alternatives to public schools if those schools are failing

Education secretary pick Betsy DeVos says parents must be able to send their children to alternatives to public schools if those schools are failing

Associated Press - WASHINGTON (AP) — Education secretary pick Betsy DeVos said Tuesday that American parents must be able to send their children to high-quality schools, including charte...

President Obama commutes sentence of Chelsea Manning

January 17, 2017

President Obama commutes sentence of Chelsea Manning

President Obama has sharply reduced the sentence of Chelsea Manning, the U.S. Army private convicted of leaking thousands of classified reports to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in 2010, it was announced today.
Read more >>

Eight billionaires 'as rich as world's poorest half'

By Katie Hope Business reporter, BBC News, in Davos

• 16 January 2017
• From the section Business
• 334 comments

Share

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Superyachts are the calling card of some ultra-wealthy individuals

The world's eight richest individuals have as much wealth as the 3.6bn people who make up the poorest half of the world, according to Oxfam.

The charity said its figures, which critics have queried, came from improved data, and the gap between rich and poor was "far greater than feared".
The richest eight include Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffett.
Mark Littlewood, of the Institute of Economic Affairs, said Oxfam should focus instead on ways to boost growth.
"As an 'anti-poverty' charity, Oxfam seems to be strangely preoccupied with the rich," said the director-general of the free market think tank.
For those concerned with "eradicating absolute poverty completely", the focus should be on measures that encourage economic growth, he added.
Ben Southwood, head of research at the Adam Smith Institute, said it was not the wealth of the world's rich that mattered, but the welfare of the world's poor, which was improving every year.
"Each year we are misled by Oxfam's wealth statistics. The data is fine - it comes from Credit Suisse - but the interpretation is not."

Jump media player

Media player help

Out of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue.

Media captionEconomist Amartya Sen tells Radio 4's Today that economic inequality must be tackled

'Elite gathering'

Oxfam's report coincides with the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, a Swiss ski resort. The annual event attracts many of the world's top political and business leaders.
Katy Wright, Oxfam's head of global external affairs, said the report helped the charity to "challenge the political and economic elites".
"We're under no illusions that Davos is anything other than a talking shop for the world's elite, but we try and use that focus," she added.

---

The world's eight richest billionaires

1. Bill Gates (US): co-founder of Microsoft (net worth $75bn)
2. Amancio Ortega (Spain): founder of Zara owner Inditex (net worth $67bn)
3. Warren Buffett (US): largest shareholder in Berkshire Hathaway (net worth $60.8bn)
4. Carlos Slim Helu (Mexico): owner of Grupo Carso (net worth $50bn)
5. Jeff Bezos (US): founder and chief executive of Amazon (net worth $45.2bn)
6. Mark Zuckerberg (US): co-founder and chief executive of Facebook (net worth $44.6bn)
7. Larry Ellison (US): co-founder and chief executive of Oracle (net worth $43.6bn)
8. Michael Bloomberg (US): owner of Bloomberg LP (net worth $40bn)
Source: Forbes billionaires' list, March 2016

---

UK economist Gerard Lyons said focusing on extreme wealth "does not always give the full picture" and attention should be paid to "making sure the economic cake is getting bigger".
However, he said Oxfam was right to single out companies that it believed fuelled inequality with business models that were "increasingly focused on delivering ever-higher returns to wealthy owners and top executives".
Oxfam's Ms Wright said economic inequality was fuelling a polarisation in politics, citing Donald Trump's election as US president and the Brexit vote as examples.

'Fair share'

"People are angry and calling out for alternatives. They're feeling left behind because however hard they work they can't share in their country's growth," she said.
The charity is calling for "a more human economy" and is urging governments to crack down on executive pay and tax evasion and impose higher taxes on the wealthy.
It also wants business leaders to pay a "fair share of tax" and has urged companies to pay staff the "living wage", which is higher than the government's National Living Wage.
Oxfam has produced similar reports for the past four years. In 2016 it calculated that the richest 62 people in the world had as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population.
The number had fallen to just eight this year because more accurate data was now available, Oxfam said.
It was still the case that the world's richest 1% had as much wealth as the rest of the world combined, Oxfam said.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan

Some of the eight richest billionaires have given away tens of billions of dollars. In 2000 Bill Gates and his wife Melinda set up a private foundation that has an endowment of more than $44bn.
In 2015 Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan pledged to give away 99% of their net worth in their lifetimes, which equated to about $45bn based on the value of Facebook shares at the time.
It takes cash and assets worth $71,600 to get into the top 10%, and $744,396 to be in the top 1%.
Oxfam's report is based on data from Forbes and the annual Credit Suisse Global Wealth datebook, which gives the distribution of global wealth going back to 2000.
The survey uses the value of an individual's assets, mainly property and land, minus debts, to determine what he or she "owns". The data excludes wages or income.
The methodology has been criticised as it means that a student with high debts, but with high future earning potential, for example, would be considered poor under the criteria used.

Trump to Great Britain: “Veto any future anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution”

Trump to Great Britain: “Veto any future anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution”

Trump to Great Britain following Paris Conference: “Veto any future anti-Israel UN Security Council resolution”

Five Palestinian fishermen seized this morning by Israeli occupation forces

• Campaigns
• Fishers Under Attack
• News

January 16, 2017

Photo: Rosa Schiano, January 2012

On Monday morning, 16 January, the Israeli occupation navy has so far seized five Palestinian fishers. Early in the morning, the Israeli navy forced two Palestinian fishermen from their boats off the coast of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, seizing the two of them and confiscating their boat.  The two, Ourans Sultan and Mohammed Sultan, were taken to an unknown destination.  Just before noon on Monday, three more fishers were seized by occupation forces in the sea off the northern coast of Gaza and fire is continuing toward fishing boats.
The attack on the fishers came after two Palestinian merchants from the Gaza Strip were also seized by Israeli occupation forces on Sunday evening, 15 January, as they attempted to cross the Beit Hanoun/Erez border crossing. The two traders, Medhat Karam and Hazem Touman, had secured permits to cross for trade purposes; however, they were subjected to arbitrary and lengthy interrogation before being taken to an unknown location.
The Palestine Prisoners Center for Studies noted that these arrests come after a year of escalating arrests against all sectors of society in the Gaza Strip. In 2016, 125 fishermen were arrested by Israeli forces and dozens of boats confiscated. While the vast majority of fishers were shortly released, they were frequently subject to physical injury and the confiscation, damage to or loss of their valuable fishing boats, at a time when fishers in Palestine have been economically devastated due to the Israeli occupation forces’ restriction of their fishing area.
On Wednesday, 4 January, Palestinian fisherman Rashad Hissi was in his fishing boat west of northern Gaza, 5 nautical miles from the shore. As the Fishermen’s Committee of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees in the Gaza Strip noted, “one of the Israeli navy boat ran into the fishing boat directly without any prior warning, resulting in capsizing and damaging the boat completely and the loss of the fisherman, Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Jamil Hissi, who is still missing.” Hissi was later declared dead. The fishermen urged international action to protect Palestinian fishermen seeking to work and secure their livelihood under attack by Israeli occupation forces, as well as an end to the siege on Gaza.
There were a total of 223 Palestinians from Gaza arrested last year by occupation forces; 15 of them were merchants, as well as patients going to receive medical treatment and students seeking to study abroad.

The argument for paying for insurance with a credit card

Pogue’s Basics: Money - The argument for paying for insurance with a credit card

Progressive, GEICO, State Farm, Allstate, Esurance — all major insurance companies let you pay for your insurance with a credit or debit card.

And you know what? You should. Because if you have a rewards or cash-back credit card, you’re getting rewards or cash back on a big expense: the thousands a year you spend on insurance. If you have a typical $900-a-year car-insurance plan, your card will kick back $18 each year; if you spend $3,000 a year on homeowners insurance, your card will refund $60 every year.

You’ve got several kinds of insurance to pay. You’ve got utility bills, too—same trick. It adds up handsomely.

As a handy bonus, you can set up a recurring, automatic charge to your card each month. That way, you never forget to pay your premium (and never have to bother).

For a typical American consumer, this trick will save you about 150 bucks a year.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pogues-basics-money-the-argument-for-paying-for-insurance-with-a-credit-card-215400124.html

Were Ancient Greeks gay or not according to Solon’s 9 laws?

Tomes of books have been written about homosexuality in ancient Greece

Tomes of books have been written about homosexuality in ancient Greece, and how widely accepted and prevalent it was in mainstream society. Historians’ opinions are partly founded on ancient vases found depicting homoerotic images between males. The reality is that this pottery cases represents a minute percentage of the thousands of ancient Greek items found in antiquity. There can be now doubt that relations between same sex couples were present in ancient Greece, as they were in all civilisations throughout history. But the question of how much mainstream society accepted these, or even condoned them is a totally different matter altogether. One of the misconceptions that has prevailed over the centuries in western literature is the misinterpretation of the ancient Greek word “pederastry” as meaning homosexual activities between a boy and a man.
But the actual meaning of the word is closer to “mentorship” than sexual relations. The word in ancient Greece for homosexuality was “kinaidos”, a practice widely shunned and giving rise to great shame to those engaged in such activity, to the degree that men caught having sexual relations could be stripped of their political rights, banished or even put to death. Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet who was remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic, and moral decline in archaic Athens. If the legislations of laws is a measure of societal will and inclinations, then his laws would actually suggest that homosexuality was a shameful and immoral practice to be avoided. According to his laws, any man practising homosexuality was:

• banned from becoming a member of the council of nine;
• was banned from standing for elections as a priest;
• was banned from being a citizen’s advocate;
• was not allowed to exercise power in or outside the city of Athens;
• was not permitted to be sent an emissary of war;
• was banned from expressing his opinions;
• was banned from entering public temples;
• was banned from being wreathed in races;
• was not allowed to enter the agora.

All these violations were punishable by death, according to Solon’s Laws.
Read more here.

Sea Shepherd Catches Japanese Poaching Fleet with Dead Whale in Australian Sanctuary

Sea Shepherd Global - Sea Shepherd Catches Japanese Poaching Fleet with Dead Whale in Australian Sanctuary

Shared by
Shark Goddess

seashepherdglobal.org - After five weeks of patrolling the Southern Ocean, Sea Shepherd has located the Japanese whale poachers’ factory whaling vessel in the Australian Whale Sanctuary with a dead minke whale on its flen...

Impact of Israeli settlement expansion detailed in new UN report

 

January 14, 2017 at 7:22 am | Published in: International Organisations, Israel, Middle East, News, Palestine, UN

Settlement constructions by Israel continue in east of Jerusalem [Daniel Bar On/Anadolu]

 

A new United Nations report has documented how Israeli settlements can control, and restrict access for Palestinians to, an area more than twice their designated municipal boundaries.
The report is part of December’s Humanitarian Bulletin by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), and looks specifically at “the humanitarian impact of de facto settlement expansion” in the case of Talmon-Nahliel bloc.
The official Israeli-designated municipal boundaries of Nahliel and Talmon settlements – combined population 4,400 – cover 6,200 dunums. But the area controlled by the settlements and in which Palestinian access is “severely restricted or impossible”, is almost 2.5 times larger (15,100 dunums).
According to Israeli official records, “more than half of the land” within these de facto boundaries is privately owned by Palestinians from six nearby villages: Beitillu, Ras Karkar, Al Janya, Deir Ammar, Mazra’a Al Qibliya and Kobar, home to approximately 20,000 people combined.
According to OCHA, six new residential settlements (outposts) were established on the hilltops surrounding Talmon between 1997 and 2002.
Even though “all but one were established without a building permit or formal authorization”, in recent years “the Israeli authorities have initiated multiple planning processes to retroactively make these settlements legal under Israeli law.”
These processes have included the requirement to declare large areas of privately-owned Palestinian land as ‘state land’.
In addition, “eight water springs are located within the affected area” that “were used in the past by Palestinian farmers and herders for irrigation and the watering of livestock, but have now become largely inaccessible.”
Five of those springs “have been taken over by settlers and developed as tourist sites with the support of government bodies.” In addition, a hilltop “which until the late 1990s was a popular destination for Palestinian pilgrimage” was also taken over and developed as a tourist lookout point.
Since 2008, OCHA reports, “settlers have occupied and begun cultivating, mainly as vineyards, nearly 140 dunums of land, mostly privately owned by Palestinians according to Israeli official records.” All of the above “de facto expansion” has been “facilitated by the development of an extensive road network connecting the different residential, tourist and agricultural sites.”
This road network, extending over almost 60km and including main roads paved by the Israeli authorities on private Palestinian land requisitioned for “military needs”, is “largely banned for Palestinian use.”
According to OCHA researchers, “there are nearly 11,000 dunums of cultivable land within the area controlled by Talmon-Nahliel.” If Palestinians enjoyed free access, “the cultivation of this area…would generate an output of approximately $2.3 million a year” – a “conservative estimate.”
“The establishment and continuous expansion of settlements, in contravention of international law, is a key driver of humanitarian vulnerability”, states OCHA, continuing:
“It has resulted in Palestinians being deprived of their property and sources of livelihood, restricted access to services and has given rise to a range of protection threats that trigger demand for assistance from the humanitarian community.”
OCHA is seeking to to increase understanding of “means of [settlement] expansion such as road networks and the development of agricultural and tourist sites, mostly on privately-owned Palestinian land, without formal permits, but with the acquiescence of the Israeli authorities.”

Uncle Sam to Donald Trump: Please explain these shady practices and dubious donations

Uncle Sam to Donald Trump: Please explain these shady practices and dubious donations

Shared by
#TheResistance

salon.com - The Federal Election Commission is on Donald Trump’s case over a slew of potential campaign finance violations. The agency sent the campaign a sternly worded letter regarding its final disclosure o...

Exposing Real Friends and Enemies of Israel in the Arab World

Exposing Real Friends and Enemies of Israel in the Arab World

This article was first published by palestinechronicle.com

The Israeli Institute for National Security Studies has just issued its 275 page report entitled “Strategic Survey for Israel 2016-2017”. This Israeli research institute and think tank is headed by former IDF Military Intelligence Chief, General (ret.) Amos Yadlin. Its analysis offers a valuable insight into the how the Israeli intelligence and security community view and prioritize developments regionally and globally, and in the process, also exposes who are the real friends and enemies of Israel in the Arab world.

Following are a small sampling of the findings and the recommendations (labelled “challenges and responses”) contained in the report’s summarized conclusion:

* “Israel’s peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have withstood the tumult in the Arab world. The Cairo and Amman embassies in Tel Aviv are an expression of a stable element in the regional system, and constitute an important part of Israel’s strategic position.” Page 252

* “The change in Saudi policy has expanded Riyadh’s base of shared interests with Israel, thereby facilitating closer ties between the two countries and possibly encouraging Saudi Arabia to make those ties public.” Page 252

* “From Israel’s standpoint, the non-state actors in the region are deeply involved in fighting for their existence, making them less able to concentrate on the struggle against Israel mandated by their ideology. The Islamic State branch that controls territory bordering Israel in the Golan Heights is for the most part inactive against Israel.” Page 249

* “Although Hezbollah continues its military buildup and poses a significant strategic threat to Israel, and despite the substantial resources invested by Hamas in rebuilding its military force, Israel’s overall strategic position gives it unprecedented freedom of action to initiate military operations aimed at preserving its security interests and restricting the increase in quality of its enemies’ military buildup.” page 250

* “The complete standstill in the political process and the deterioration of security in the Palestinian arena continued in 2016, and Israel continues to pay a price in lives, and in its economy, international standing, and internal political arena.” Page 253

* “Israel’s image in Western countries continues to decline, a trend that enhances the ability of hostile groups to engage in actions aimed at depriving Israel of moral and political legitimacy and launch boycotts in various areas. Indeed, the international campaign to delegitimize Israel continues, as reflected in the BDS movement. Israel’s current right wing government has contributed to this deterioration.” page 254

* “… the worst scenario is a conflict with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon. Conflicts in the Gaza Strip will probably be limited, and Israel is well equipped to deal with them.” Page 255

The Recommendations:

– “Even if there does not appear to be a partner on the Palestinian side for reaching or implementing an agreement, Israel has an important interest in halting the gradual drift toward an irreversible one-state situation, and instead, progressing toward a two-state situation that ends Israel’s rule over Palestinians, while carefully maintaining and even improving Israel’s security.” Page 257

– “Israel must prepare measures against Lebanon’s national infrastructure without distinguishing it from Hezbollah, and develop capabilities for a ground campaign…” Page 259

– “Against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, military preparation should aim to shorten the duration of the next campaign and anticipate the tactical and systemic surprises that will be encountered.” Page 259

– “Both arenas, against Hamas and Hezbollah, should be discussed with the Trump administration, with understandings reached about Israel’s red lines, and about what will be considered a legitimate policy on the use of force against these groups in the event of another military conflict.” Page 259

– “The dialogue between Israel and Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states indicates that an effective process with the Palestinians, even if it does not include negotiations for a permanent settlement ending in a full agreement, will make a breakthrough in relations with the Gulf states possible, including making these relations public.” page 260

– “Israel can expect conflicts in both the military sphere and in soft power areas – economics, diplomacy, communications, the social networks, and the courts (lawfare)…It is therefore necessary for Israel to devise organizational frameworks, strategies, and multidimensional, coordinated methods to handle the challenges facing it.” Page 260

Woodmont Country Club may deny Obama membership due to UNSC Resolution 2334

Members of the Woodmont Country Club said that they will not accept Barack Obama as a member because he did not veto the anti-settlement UN Security Council resolution. According to one member, Obama “has done more to damage Israel than any president in American history.”

Jan 11, 2017, 10:00AM Becca Noy

US President Barack Obama Photo Credit: Reuters/Channel 2 News

Following his decision to abstain from vetoing the anti-settlement UNSC resolution, US President Barack Obama is expected to pay a price even after he leaves the White House. Obama plans to join an exclusive golf club in Maryland but its members, most of whom are Jewish, are expected to reject his application.
According to various reports, the members of Woodmont Country Club are currently debating whether to allow Obama to join the club once he returns to being a private citizen. Many of the members believe that Obama deserves to be excluded because he did not prevent the UN Security Council from passing Resolution 2334.
“In light of the votes at the UN and the Kerry speech and everything else, there’s this major uproar with having him part of the club and a significant portion of the club has opposed offering him membership,” a source told the New York Post.
“Originally, this was supposed to be a back-door thing to get this done and give him the membership — free of charge — and circumvent the rules,” another source said. “But now, with the UN thing, they are not in [a] position or likely to do it.”
“Can you imagine how angry I would be if I had paid $80,000 [the initiation fee] to have to look at this guy who has done more to damage Israel than any president in American history?” an official in a Washington Jewish organization told the New York Post.
The Woodmont Country Club was established in 1913 by the Jewish community after its members were prohibited from joining other clubs in the area. Obama first played there in 2015 and shortly thereafter, rumors started to spread about his intentions to join the club when he leaves the White House. The president of the club welcomed the idea and said that it would be an honor to have Obama as a member.

Salvation Army failed to protect boys from abuse for decades

Salvation Army failed to protect boys from abuse for decades, report says

Royal commission found a ‘culture of frequent physical punishment’ which was sometimes brutal and accompanied by sexual abuse

The report found much of the abuse went unreported by the victims out of fear. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Helen Davidson

@heldavidson

Tuesday 17 March 2015 06.09 GMT Last modified on Thursday 27 October 2016 00.27 BST

Shares

82

The Salvation Army failed to protect young boys from sexual, physical and psychological abuse by officers and employees in four of its homes over decades, the royal commission has found.
The findings in a report released on Tuesday follow public hearings into abuse at four Salvation Army boys’ homes in NSW and Queensland from 1956 until their closure. Documentary evidence from the homes at Indooroopilly, Gill, Riverview and Bexley suggested the abuse stretched back to the 1940s.
The royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse examined how the Salvation Army responded to allegations and evidence it received of child abuse – sexual and otherwise – by officers and staff, including five named Salvation Army officers, and other resident boys.

The stories you need to read, in one handy email

Read more

The Salvation Army had earlier revealed that 115 of 157 complaints received by January 2014 related to sexual abuse of former residents of these four boys’ homes.
The report found there was a “culture of frequent physical punishment” which was on occasion brutal and accompanied by sexual abuse. Much went unreported by the victims out of fear. In most cases when boys did report sexual abuse to a manager or officer they were punished, accused of lying or ignored.
Among its 36 findings, the royal commission noted the Salvation Army accepted that much of the alleged abuse did occur, and that accusations often went uninvestigated, including by senior officers at divisional and territorial headquarters.

Advertisement

Boys lived a highly regimented life in the homes, were called by numbers and given little emotional support, the report found.
Despite state law restricting corporal punishment to a method of “last resort”, only to be inflicted with an “approved cane or strap” and never in front of other children, punishment occurred regularly and excessively in all four homes, including in “punishment parades”.
“Punishment was also brutal at times. At Riverview, one boy was dangled head first into a well. Another was tied to a tree with a chain attached to a metal collar. Others were put into a ‘cage’. One was forced to crawl around an oval naked holding a chicken in the air while others stood by laughing,” the report read.
The royal commission concluded the Salvation Army’s policies and procedures were “inadequate to oversee managers who were, in some cases, involved in abuse” and had a high degree of control over the boys and staff. Most officers began work with no child-specific training.
Of five Salvation army officers specifically examined in the hearings, two worked at all four homes and only one ever faced disciplinary proceedings. Two have died.
“The Salvation Army has since paid considerable compensation to former residents affected by [Victor] Bennett’s conduct, but Bennett himself died without facing disciplinary action or criminal prosecution,” the report found.
The Salvation Army put children at further risk of sexual abuse by not removing one man, Captain Donald Schultz, from his position at Indooroopilly in 1975. Between 1965 and 1977 officers at the centre of allegations and evidence of abuse were transferred between the four homes.

Advertisement

The report found Queensland department of children’s services staff were aware of the abuse, including rape allegations, but were “slow to respond”.
The NSW department of child welfare “regularly reported on the [NSW] homes but rarely recorded allegations of child sexual abuse”. Officers’ reports were cursory, generalised and included only occasional comments on the children’s care.
During the February 2014 hearings the commission heard the Salvation Army unreservedly apologise to victims. It has also offered support for a voluntary compensation scheme for victims but said it would “resist having to contribute” to funding unless it retained some authority over staffing, decision making and the ability to question costs.
The royal commission has recommended a $4.38bn redress scheme with no fixed end date as the “ideal” proposal.

Netanyahu thanks US Congress for condemning UN anti-Israel resolution

The US House of Representatives has condemned the UN Security Council’s resolution against Israeli settlements. In an official message, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Congress for its support.

Jan 6, 2017, 3:40PM Judith Abramson

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Photo Credit: Channel 2 News

As reported earlier by JOL, the US House of Representatives voted last night in favor of condemning the UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements. In response to the wide-spread support, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today (Friday): “Thank you, America. Thank you, Congress.”
After the outrageous anti-Israel resolution at the UN, the US House of Representatives voted yesterday resoundingly to support Israel and reject this one-sided resolution,” Netanyahu added. “Democrats and Republicans alike know that the Western Wall isn't occupied territory.”
“They voted to either repeal the resolution at the UN or change it—and that's exactly what we intend to do,” Netanyahu continued. “I want to thank the US House of Representatives which reflects the tremendous support Israel enjoys among the American people.”

Israeli Security Cabinet declares: Terrorist bodies won’t be returned

For the first time in two and a half years, a discussion was held in the Israeli Security Cabinet today on Israeli citizens and victims’ bodies being held by Hamas in Gaza. The cabinet decided unanimously on a plan of action on the issue and agreed to a new policy: the bodies of Hamas terrorists won’t be returned.

Jan 1, 2017, 8:16PM Rachel Avraham

The late Shaul and Goldin Photo Credit: Channel 2 News

The Israeli Security Cabinet convened for the first time in two and a half years in order to discuss the return of the bodies of fallen soldier Oren Shaul and Hadar Goldin as well as the fate of other Israeli citizens being held by Hamas.
The Israeli Security Cabinet ruled unanimously on the issue and declared a fixed policy for the treatment of the bodies of Hamas terrorists who were eliminated while waging terror attacks. According to the decision, the terrorist bodies are not to be returned to their families but simply buried.
In recent weeks, progress has been registered in the Israeli Committee on Missing Persons, which held several meetings with the Goldin and Shaul families. The ministers reported on the progress to the families.

Brazil policeman 'killed Greek envoy'

Greek ambassador was killed by Brazil police officer, who was having an affair with envoy's wife, investigator says

For more details, see the BBC News website

Israeli doctors refusing to force feed Palestinian hunger strikers

Israeli doctors refusing to force feed Palestinian hunger strikers

Shared by
#GazaReports

972mag.com - The Knesset passed a law allowing courts to order doctors to force feed Palestinian hunger strikers. But the doctors, it appears, aren’t  so keen on violating basic principles of medical ethics. A ...

Moscow School for U.S. Kids Ordered Shut

Moscow School for U.S. Kids Ordered Shut

A Moscow school for Western diplomats’ children was reported to have received an order Thursday to shut down, in what appeared to be the first blowback over the U.S. response to Russia’s election interference. The Anglo-American School of Moscow, a nonprofit school for pre-kindergarten kids through 12th grade, attended by children of American, British, and Canadian diplomats, received an order from the Russian government to cease operations Thursday, just hours after U.S. sanctions were announced, CNN reported. It’s unclear if the school was given a deadline, but the closure appears aimed at driving Western diplomats out. The move came as Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov promised to make U.S. officials “very uncomfortable” in response to the sanctions. On Facebook early Friday, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry, denied the school was closed as retaliation and slammed the CNN report as “a lie.” Her post ended with a dig at President Obama: “Normally, people ask Santa Claus to bring them something. This year I am asking him to take someone away.”

Taiwanese President Plans 2 U.S. Stops

Taiwanese President Plans 2 U.S. Stops

Taiwan’s president is going ahead with plans to make two stops in the U.S. next month en route to Central America—hitting both San Francisco and Houston on the way. The visit promises to anger China, which has already demanded that Washington prohibit President Tsai Ing-wen and her delegation from landing stateside entirely. The Houston visit will be on Jan. 7, before Tsai goes to San Francisco on Jan 13. According to an official schedule, she travels next to Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Beijing has repeatedly asked the U.S. to prevent Tsai's trip through the U.S., in order to avoid “sending the wrong signal to Taiwanese independence forces.” President-elect Donald Trump last month broke decades of diplomatic protocol, speaking on the phone with Tsai after his election victory. It was believed to be the first contact between a president-elect in the U.S. and the leader of Taiwan since 1979. Shortly afterward, China’s foreign ministry lodged an official diplomatic complaint with the U.S. over the talk.

Putin: I Won’t Expel U.S. Diplomats

Putin: I Won’t Expel U.S. Diplomats

Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a proposal to kick out 35 U.S. diplomats from the country, despite a recommendation to that effect by his foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. “While we reserve the right to respond, we will not drop to this level of irresponsible diplomacy, and we will make further steps to help resurrect Russian-American relations based on the policies that the administration of D. Trump will pursue,” Putin said in a statement. Lavrov had proposed to kick out the officials in response to the U.S. decision to expel the same number of Russians—announced just one day earlier. Putin’s statement also wished Obama, Trump, and all Americans a happy new year, and he invited “all the children of American diplomats accredited in Russia to the new year and Christmas tree in the Kremlin.” The Obama administration decision was largely based on the belief by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia ordered cyberattacks on American political and government organizations in order to influence the 2016 presidential election. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted angrily to the U.S.-imposed measures, calling the Obama administration “foreign policy losers.”