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Sunday, April 5, 2015

NATO Lies and Provocations

Splitting the Atlantic Alliance

NATO Lies and Provocations

by MIKE WHITNEY
“The war has been provoked to destroy the Russian World, to draw Europe into it, and to surround Russia with hostile countries. Unleashing this world war, America is trying to deal with its own internal problems.”
– Sergei Glazyev, Advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin
The fabrications of NATO’s top commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, have driven a wedge between Germany and the United States that could lead to a collapse of the Atlantic Alliance. According to the German news magazine, Der Spiegel, Breedlove has repeatedly sabotaged Chancellor Angela Merkel’s attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine by spreading “dangerous propaganda” that is misleading the public about Russian “troop advances on the border, (and) the amassing of munitions and alleged columns of Russian tanks.” But while the unusually critical article singles out Breedlove for his hyperbolic exaggerations of so-called Russian aggression, the real purpose of the Spiegel piece is to warn Washington that EU leaders will not support a policy of military confrontation with Moscow.
Before we explain what’s going on, we need to look at an excerpt from the article. According to Spiegel:
“…for months now, many in the Chancellery simply shake their heads each time NATO, under Breedlove’s leadership, goes public with striking announcements about Russian troop or tank movements … it is the tone of Breedlove’s announcements that makes Berlin uneasy. False claims and exaggerated accounts, warned a top German official during a recent meeting on Ukraine, have put NATO — and by extension, the entire West — in danger of losing its credibility.
There are plenty of examples….At the beginning of the crisis, General Breedlove announced that the Russians had assembled 40,000 troops on the Ukrainian border and warned that an invasion could take place at any moment. The situation, he said, was “incredibly concerning.” But intelligence officials from NATO member states had already excluded the possibility of a Russian invasion. They believed that neither the composition nor the equipment of the troops was consistent with an imminent invasion.
The experts contradicted Breedlove’s view in almost every respect. There weren’t 40,000 soldiers on the border, they believed, rather there were much less than 30,000 and perhaps even fewer than 20,000. Furthermore, most of the military equipment had not been brought to the border for a possible invasion, but had already been there prior to the beginning of the conflict. Furthermore, there was no evidence of logistical preparation for an invasion, such as a field headquarters.
Breedlove, though, repeatedly made inexact, contradictory or even flat-out inaccurate statements.”…
On Nov. 12, during a visit to Sofia, Bulgaria, Breedlove reported that “we have seen columns of Russian equipment — primarily Russian tanks, Russian artillery, Russian air defense systems and Russian combat troops — entering into Ukraine.” It was, he noted, “the same thing that OSCE is reporting.” But the OSCE had only observed military convoys within eastern Ukraine. OSCE observers had said nothing about troops marching in from Russia.
Breedlove sees no reason to revise his approach. “I stand by all the public statements I have made during the Ukraine crisis,” he wrote to SPIEGEL in response to a request for a statement accompanied by a list of his controversial claims.”
(Breedlove’s Bellicosity: Berlin Alarmed by Aggressive NATO Stance on Ukraine, Der Spiegel)
While it’s easy to get swept up in the Spiegel’s narrative of a rabid militarist dragging Europe closer to World War 3, the storyline is intentionally misleading. As anyone who’s been following the Ukraine fiasco for the last year knows, there’s nothing particularly unusual about Breedlove’s distortions. Secretary of State John Kerry has made similar claims numerous times as have many others in the major media. The lies about “Russian aggression” are the rule, not the exception. So why has the Spiegel decided to selectively target Breedlove who is no more deceitful than anyone else? What’s really going on here?
Clearly, the Spiegel is doing Merkel’s work, that is, undermining the credibility of Washington’s chief commander in Europe in order to discourage further escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. But while Merkel wants to humiliate Breedlove to show that Germany will not sit on its hands while Washington plunges the region into the abyss; she has also shown considerable restraint in limiting her attack to the General while sparing Kerry and Obama any embarrassment. This is quite an accomplishment given that –as we said earlier–virtually everyone in the political establishment and the media have been lying nonstop about every aspect of the conflict. Merkel doesn’t want to discredit these others just yet, although the Spiegel piece infers that she has the power to do so if the “bad behavior” persists.
The Spiegel article is part of a one-two punch designed to force Washington to change its confrontational approach. The second jab appeared late Sunday afternoon when EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announced that Europe needed to field its own army. Here’s the story from Reuters:
“The European Union needs its own army to face up to Russia and other threats as well as restore the bloc’s foreign policy standing around the world, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a German newspaper on Sunday…
“With its own army, Europe could react more credibly to the threat to peace in a member state or in a neighboring state.
“One wouldn’t have a European army to deploy it immediately. But a common European army would convey a clear message to Russia that we are serious about defending our European values.” (Juncker calls for EU army, says would deter Russia, Reuters)
Can you see what’s going on? On the one hand, the Spiegel delivers a hammer-blow to the credibility of NATO’s top officer and on the other, the President of the EU Commission blindsides US powerbrokers by announcing a plan to create an independent EU fighting force that will render NATO redundant. These are big developments that have undoubtedly left the Obama troupe reeling. This is a full-blown assault on NATO’s role as the primary guarantor of EU regional security. Maybe the European people are gullible enough to accept Junker’s absurd claim that an EU army will “send an important message to the world”, but you can be damn sure that no one at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue believes that nonsense. The move is clearly designed to send a message to Washington that Europe is fed up with NATO and wants a change. That means it’s “shape up or ship out time” for Breedlove and his ilk.
Ironically, these developments align Merkel with Putin’s view of things as stated in his famous Munich speech in 2007 when he said:
“I am convinced that we have reached that decisive moment when we must seriously think about the architecture of global security. And we must proceed by searching for a reasonable balance between the interests of all participants in the international dialogue … The United States, has overstepped its national borders in every way … And of course this is extremely dangerous. It results in the fact that no one feels safe. I want to emphasize this — no one feels safe.” (Russian President Vladimir Putin, 43rd Munich Security Conference, 2007)
How can the US possibly cast itself as “steward of the global security system”, when its interventions have left a trail of decimated failed states from the southernmost border of Somalia to the northern tip of Ukraine, a chaotic swathe of smoldering ruin and agonizing human suffering that rivals the depredations of the Third Reich.
Europe’s security requirements cannot be met by a belligerent, warmongering US-controlled entity that acts solely in Washington’s interests. At present, NATO gets 75% of its funding from the US, which is why the alliance is less interested in peacemaking and security than it is in internationalizing its imperial war of aggression across the planet. Prior to the crisis in Ukraine, European leaders didn’t see the danger of this idiotic arrangement (even though interventions in Serbia, Libya and Afghanistan should have brought them to their senses) But now that NATO’s recklessness could vaporize Europe in a nuclear firestorm, leaders like Merkel and Hollande are starting to change their tune. Keep in mind, the ideal scenario for the US would be a limited war that levels large parts of the European and Asian continents, thus restoring the US to its post WW2 heyday when the “rubblized” world was Washington’s oyster. That would be just fine for genocidal maniacs and armchair warriors who rule the globe from the safety of their well-stocked DC bunkers. But for Europe, this is definitely not a winning strategy. Europe doesn’t want a war, and it certainly doesn’t want to be used as cannon fodder for the greater glory of the dystopian NWO.
Putin advisor, Sergei Glazyev, figured out what Washington was up to long before Kiev launched its wretched “anti terrorism” campaign against federalist rebels in the East. Here’s how he summed it up:
“The main task the American puppet masters have set for the (Kiev) junta is to draw Russia into a full-scale war with Ukraine. It is for this purpose that all of these heinous crimes are committed – to force Russia to send troops to Ukraine to protect the civilian population…
The bankruptcy of the US financial system, which is unable to service its foreign debt, the lack of investments to finance a breakthrough to a new technological order and to maintain America’s competitiveness, and the potential defeat in the geopolitical competition with China. To resolve these problems, Americans need a new world war.” (Sergei Glazyev)
Bingo. The steadily-declining empire, whose share of global GDP continues to shrivel with every passing year, has wanted a war from the get go. That’s the only way that the US can reverse its precipitous economic slide and preserve its lofty spot as the world’s only superpower. Fortunately, EU leaders are beginning to pull their heads out of the sand long enough to grasp what’s going on and change their behavior accordingly.
It’s worth noting, that no one in the Merkel administration or anyone else for that matter, has publicly challenged the allegations in the Spiegel article. Why is that, do you think?
Doesn’t their silence suggest that they knew all along that all the anti-Putin propaganda hullabaloo was pure bunkum; that “evil” Putin didn’t send tanks and soldiers across the border into Ukraine, that Putin didn’t shoot down Malaysian Airline 17, that Putin didn’t have a political opponent gunned down gangland style just a few hundred yards from the Kremlin? Isn’t that what their silence really says?
Of course, it does. The reason no one in power has spoken out is because –as the Spiegel cynically admits–“A mixture of political argumentation and military propaganda is necessary.”
“Propaganda is necessary”?
Whoa. Now there’s an admission you’re not going to see in the media too often. But it’s the truth, isn’t it? The Euro-leaders have been going along with the lies to keep the public in line. In other words, it’s a healthy dose of perception management for the sheeple, but the unvarnished truth for our revered overlords. Sounds about right. Only now these ame elites have decided to share the facts with the lumpen masses. But, why? Why this sudden willingness to share the truth?
It’s because they no longer support Washington’s policy, that’s why. No one in Europe wants the US to arm and train the Ukrainian army. No one wants them to deploy 600 paratroopers to Kiev and increase US logistical support. No one wants further escalation, because no one wants a war with Russia. It’s that simple.
For the first time, EU leaders, particularly Merkel, understand that the United States’ strategic objectives (the pivot to Asia) do not align with those of the EU, in fact, Washington’s geopolitical ambitions pose a serious threat to Europe’s security. Regrettably, it’s not enough for Merkel to simply understand what is going on. She needs to huddle with her EU colleagues and take positive steps to derail Washington’s plan now, otherwise the US will continue its incitements and false flags until Putin is forced to respond. Once that happens, a broader and, perhaps, catastrophic conflagration will be unavoidable.

Israeli Units Attack Palestinian Prisoners in Israeli Remon Jail, Injuries Reported


 


RAMALLAH, April 4, 2015 (WAFA) – Israeli Special units late Friday night stormed Palestinian prisoners' cells in the Israeli Remon Jail, firing tear gas canisters at them and causing many to suffocate, said the Detainees and ex-Detainees Affairs Committee on Saturday.

A report issued by the committee said that the incident came shortly after Israeli special units brutally beat up three Palestinian prisoners, causing them injuries. The prisoners were  identified as Ibrahim Samhan, Hilmi Hamamreh and Amir Abd An-nabi, who was transferred to Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel, for treatment after being struck on the head.

The incident infuriated Palestinian prisoners; who protested by chanting religious slogans and banging on the doors. In response, the units stormed wards 5, 6, and 3, where they fired tear gas and sound grenades at prisoners, leaving around 24 prisoners suffering from tear gas suffocation.

 The prison administrations imposed further sanctions on prisoners following the incident; including transferring prisoners to ward seven  at midnight, where they were left without blankets to shield them from the  cold weather. The prison warders also smashed the walls and damaged prisoners’ personal belongings and electric appliances, as well as cut off the electric and water supply.

Meanwhile, in protest over the incident prisoners threatened to embark on various protest measures; including going on a hunger strike. They made several calls urging to halt the prison service’s ongoing brutal policy committed against them.

More than 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners are currently held in Israeli jails, of whom dozens serve multiple life sentences. About 1,500 prisoners are believed to have health problems due to medical negligence.

Palestinian prisoners are held in overcrowded cells that lack basic health standards, including the infestation of insects and rats, extreme cold and lack of heating methods, and wastewater leakage into their cells, which further aggravates their already poor conditions.

Prisoners are often subjected to physical abuse during their detention, interrogation and transfer between prisoners, which is prohibited by international law.

T.R.

Palestinian child wounded in Israeli gunfire loses eye

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM, (PIC)-- 13-year-old Zakariya al-Julani, from Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem, has lost his left eye at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital as a result of his exposure to a gunfire attack a few days ago by an Israeli female soldier near the camp.

Zakariya had suffered his eye injury immediately after he and other students left the camp's UNRWA school last Tuesday when a female sniper opened fire with no reason from a watchtower at the military checkpoint of Shuafat.

There were no violent events or stone throwing in the area where the shooting incident took place.

The child was then rushed to Hadassah hospital where he underwent surgery to remove a rubber bullet that penetrated his left eye area and to stop the bleeding.

According to his family, the Israeli police investigated the incident and admitted that the situation in the camp and its checkpoint was calm.

However, the soldier who committed the crime has not been arrested.

During the past two weeks, Israeli soldiers at the same watchtower opened fire at two children and caused them rubber bullet injuries.

Four French Air Force Academy students planned to bomb a Mosque

Posted: 04 Apr 2015 04:11 AM PDT
Four students from the Grenoble Air Force Academy were planning to bomb a mosque in Montelimar.
The four students aged 16 to 17 years old, first in class, and were arrested on Wednesday 2nd April in the academy of which they are residents. They are suspected of plotting attacks with explosives in a mosque in Montelimar.
Source

Arnoud Van Doorn: Former Islamophobe who became a Muslim

Posted: 04 Apr 2015 12:45 PM PDT
Arnoud van Doorn is a former far-right politician from the anti-Islamic Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) of Geert Wilders. In December 2011, the party broke with Van Doorn, because he decided to become a Muslim a few years later, after learning about the teachings of Islam. This is his journey to Islam.
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Saturday, April 4, 2015

Was 19th Century apewoman a yeti?

Was 19th Century apewoman a yeti? 6ft 6in Russian serf who could outrun a horse was 'not human', according to DNA tests on her ancestors

Yeti
A leading geneticist claims to have evidence that a towering woman named Zana who lived in 19th Century Russia - and appeared to be 'half human, half ape' - could have been the fabled yeti (pictured inset). Witnesses described the six-foot, six-inches tall woman as having 'all the characteristics of a wild animal'. Known as the 'ape woman', she had at least four children by local men and some of her descendants still live in the region. Now DNA analysis on the remains of her son (right) and living granddaughter could prove that she belonged to an ancient 'sub species of modern humans'.

Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing recommends divestment from the private prison industry

Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing recommends divestment from the private prison industry


  • DIVESTMENT | ASCRI has unanimously voted to recommend divestment from the private prison industry.
Updated: 04/02 at 9:56 p.m.
Columbia's Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing recommends that the board of trustees divest any direct stock ownership interests from the private prison industry, the committee said in a statement released on Wednesday.
ACSRI said that their decision was based on “community sentiment, the merits, and the possibilities for shareholder engagement.”
"We would like to thank the Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing for their hard work and thoughtful recommendation on this issue. This is precisely the kind of inclusive, deliberative process that contributes so much to how we as a university community address complex questions facing our institution and our society.  We look forward to giving careful consideration to the committee's recommendation as we develop our official position on private prison divestment," University President Lee Bollinger and the Board of Trustees said in a statement.
The committee’s recommendation cited constitutional problems with private prisons as one of the main reasons for divestment.
“Private prisons have been the subject of litigation alleging violations of constitutionally required minimal levels of maintenance, welfare, and medical conditions,” the statement read.
Columbia Prison Divest core member Gabriela Pelsinger, CC ’15, said she was excited by the decision, because it demonstrates how grassroots campaigns can hold institutions accountable.
“This call is about recognizing the University practices, which include its investment practices, and how they have a direct impact on the students and the communities the students come from,” she said.
Since winter 2014, CPD—a committee of Students Against Mass Incarceration—has been campaigning on campus to raise awareness Columbia's investment in the private prison industry, particularly in the Corrections Corporation of America and G4S.
“These [private prison] companies make their profit by incarcerating as many people for as long a time as possible,” Pelsinger said.
The group has worked to build grassroots support for divestment and has met with administrators including University President Lee Bollinger to advocate for their position. CPD also presented the proposals to ACSRI that led to today's announcement.
"We've been working with ACSRI for about a year, so although long overdue, this decision is great news to us,” said Dunni Oduyemi, CC ’16, a core member of CPD, and former editor in chief of The Eye. “We hope that President Bollinger is responsive to the support that we've gotten from the SAC and ACSRI, as well as the overwhelming student support that investing in private prisons is fundamentally unjust.”
ACSRI’s announcement comes days after the University Senate’s Student Affairs Committee voted 23 to zero to support private prison divestment.
University Senator Marc Heinrich, CC ’16 and a member of SAC, said he was glad that ACSRI has voted to support Columbia’s divestment from private prisons.
“This is an important issue that Columbia Prison Divest has worked on for the past year, and I’m glad that SAC had a role in making this happen,” Heinrich said.
While all ACSRI members agreed on the content of the resolution itself, an addendum to the resolution said that some committee members did not want their decision to mean that “proponents of the divestment resolution would undertake additional efforts towards improving conditions and outcomes in private prisons and public prisons.”
Additionally, the addendum noted that some ACSRI members had concerns about the racial makeup of inmates in private prisons.
The resolution also included a footnote saying that an independent manager disposed of the University’s holdings in CCA—one of the private prison companies that has been mentioned most often by CPD—in February 2015, although Columbia may own shares in other firms.
CPD announced plans on March 30 to pack today’s University Senate meeting to demonstrate student support for prison divestment.
“An educational institution that claims concern for the future, for its students, and that prides itself as a global leader, should not profit from racist and classist systems of incarceration and detention,” CPD said in a release following the announcement from SAC.
After ACSRI’s recommendation, the University’s board of trustees will make the final decision regarding divestment from the private prison industry.
Pelsinger said she hopes to see trustees act upon the recommendation as soon as possible.
news@columbiaspectator.com | @ColumbiaSpec
Correction: An earlier version of this story misquoted Gabriela Pelsinger. Spectator regrets the error.

Double standard in US political culture: BDS is fine for Indiana, not Israel

Double standard in US political culture: BDS is fine for Indiana, not Israel
US Politics
Philip Weiss on April 2, 2015
The news is filled with outrage over the Indiana legislature’s enactment of a bill that would protect “religious freedom” by allowing businesses to discriminate against LGBT people to whom a business-owner objects. There have been wide calls to isolate and boycott Indiana over the discriminatory law. The AP reports:
Businesses and organizations are canceling events and barring travel to Indiana over a religious objections law that critics say would allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.
That article lists a number of performers and organizations that have canceled appearances in Indiana. And lots of states have imposed travel bans.
The list of cities and states banning government-funded travel continues to grow. Governors in Connecticut, New York, Washington state and Vermont have barred travel over the law, along with mayors in New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Washington, D.C
There’s even action from within: Indianapolis is pressuring the state government.
Bear in mind that the law was passed last week, and the governor of Indiana signed it a week ago. The alacrity of the boycott movement, and its enthusiastic coverage in the media, stand in stark contrast to the widespread efforts in our mainstream political culture to stifle actions to boycott Israel over its openly-discriminatory practices. This is a country whose Prime Minister issued an election-day appeal to Jewish voters to counter “Arab voters” coming out in droves– an appeal that our State Department condemned. Israel has at least 30 laws that discriminate between Jews and Arabs inside Israel, including the ability to buy land and to marry; and the 4-5 million Palestinians inside territories occupied by Israel have no rights to speak of. Their situation is widely described as apartheid or even slavery.
There is a global movement to boycott Israel — the BDS movement, or boycott, divestment and sanctions movement — that is racking up victories around the world. But American leaders are deadset against it, including liberal Democrats who are spearheading the boycott Indiana movement. Lawrence Summers and other Democratic figures have described the movement as “anti-Semitic.”
Last week the leading Israel lobby group AIPAC crowed about a bill in Congress to stop BDS:
Bipartisan Bill to Combat BDS Movement Introduced in Congress
The legislation, which AIPAC designed and worked on drafting for months, would impose penalties on countries that support boycott measures against Israel.
Over the past several years, a growing contingency of countries across the globe have sought to isolate and delegitimize Israel through BDS. This bill leverages ongoing trade negotiations to discourage prospective U.S. trade partners from engaging in economic discrimination against Israel
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo opposes BDS. He went to Israel and Palestine last summer to congratulate Israel on its onslaught on Gaza.
But he’s on the Indiana case like a duck on a junebug. Yesterday he issued an executive order barring state travel to Indiana unless it was necessary as a matter of public safety or health. He ordered
All agencies, departments, boards, authorities and commissions to review all requests for state funded or state sponsored travel to the state of Indiana so long as there is law in effect there that creates the grounds for discrimination against LGBT citizens.

    To bar any such publically funded or publically sponsored travel to such location, unless such travel is necessary for the enforcement of New York State law, to meet prior contractual obligations, or for the protection of public health, welfare, and safety;

    New York State’s ban on publically funded travel shall take effect immediately and shall continue while such law remains in effect.

The University of Buffalo promptly committed itself to the travel ban– without any talk about academic freedom for Indiana scholars, the issue that American liberal academics cite when they object to BDS:

    From: Satish K. Tripathi, President [to provost and deans]

    …The University at Buffalo is committed to fostering an academic community characterized by the respectful, fair, and equitable treatment of all its members, and strongly shares the Governor’s conviction that “the exercise of religious freedom should not be a justification for discrimination based upon sex, sexual orientation or gender identity, or other protected classes.”

    Therefore, in accordance with Executive Order #144, and in solidarity with its stated intent to “promote fairness, protect the welfare of the citizens of the state of New York, and combat discrimination,” unless specifically exempted by Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order #144, University at Buffalo employees and students are prohibited from conducting state-funded or state-sponsored travel to the state of Indiana while this ban remains in effect…

Back to Israel and Palestine. Over the weekend the Virginia Bar association canceled a legal seminar trip to Jerusalem in November because “certain” members had objected to “unacceptable discriminatory policies and practices” at Israeli borders. And all hell has broken loose. Forbes has tried to shame the bar. The speaker of the Virginia House has urged the bar to reverse the decision:

    The State Bar’s decision to cancel this upcoming trip is inconsistent with the policy of the Commonwealth and sends the wrong signal about our relationship with Israel.

Today a Washington Post columnist, David Bernstein, calls on bar officials to apologize for the decision. In doing so, he justifies racist discrimination against Arabs and Muslims by Israel, in the pages of the Washington Post:

    There are obvious reasons why people of Arab, Middle Eastern or Muslim origin may be more likely to arouse suspicion of Israeli security personnel: they are more likely to have traveled to visit relatives in countries hostile to Israel; they are more likely have names similar or identical to names on Israeli terror watchlists; having absorbed propaganda from the Arab media about baby-eating Israeli Jews, they may be more nervous about going through Israeli security, and nervousness is one sign “profilers” look for in determining whom to question.

Imagine rationalizing the Indiana restrictions with similar stereotypical smears. Gays get nervous…

The VA Bar has stood by its decision to bar the travel. One reason: “An [Israeli] embassy official expressed a desire to facilitate the trip but acknowledged that security protocols are strict and could lead to exclusion or restriction of some VSB [Virginia State Bar] members.” Not cool.

It’s also worth pointing out (as Phan Nguyen notes) that the current threats to boycott Indiana cite the Colorado boycott of 1992, after Colorado voters passed an initiative to deprive gays of protected anti-discriminatory status. That boycott garnered so much mainstream legitimacy– hurting Aspen, Vail, Telluride and Steamboat in the process– that even the New York Times Editorial Board supported it in a piece called “The Case for the Colorado Boycott.” The final sentence in that editorial was:

    “The boycott is a legitimate weapon in a democratic society and, historically, one of the most effective.”

 Thanks to Adam Horowitz.
- See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/04/standard-political-culture#sthash.A4Jlow0v.dpuf

Nearly 200 Palestinian children in Israeli jails

Published Wednesday 01/04/2015 (updated) 03/04/2015 10:24
A Palestinian child is arrested by Israeli soldiers in Aida refugee camp
near Bethlehem in early March. (MaanImages/File).
BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- 182 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli prisons at the end of February, with more than half being held in jails outside of the occupied Palestinian territories and thus stranded from families and relatives.

Military Court Watch, a Palestinian legal monitor focused on the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli detention, said in a statement that the numbers showed a substantial increase over January's figures.

Of the 182 Palestinian children being held, 25 were between the ages of 14-15 while 157 of them were between 16-17.

Two of the minors being held were girls while the rest were boys, the group said.

93 of those detained were being held inside Israel even though they were arrested in Palestinian territory. The practice is considered a violation of international law, which forbids the transfer of detained persons from occupied territories.

The nearly 200 minors being detained make up a small but significant part of the total of 5,609 Palestinians from East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank who were being held as so-called "security prisoners" at the end of February, the group said.

In addition to security prisoners, there were about 1,970 Palestinian being held as "criminal prisoners," including about 25 children.

Statistics released by Israeli military courts in the West Bank in 2011 show that 99.74 percent of Palestinians brought before them are convicted of their crimes.

Courts also approve 98.77 percent of all requests to extend the detention of Palestinian prisoners being held without charge or trial.

Activists charge that the statistics show how Palestinians in Israeli courts are perpetually doomed to an unfair trial and lengthy prison sentences, regardless off the evidence of their involvement in any actual crimes.

Liberal Democrats sympathize with Palestinians over Israel by 68-60

Liberal Democrats sympathize with Palestinians over Israel by 68-60 -- Pew

Shared by
Mondoweiss
mondoweiss.net - Look at these numbers from a March 2015 Pew research poll closely. Overall, they state that Americans sympathize with Israel over the Palestinians. But drill down in the Democratic numbers and you ...

High School Football Player Comes Out As Gay In Creative 'Sorry Ladies' Social Media Post

High School Football Player Comes Out As Gay In Creative 'Sorry Ladies' Social Media Post

Warren
Last November 17-year-old Sean Warren decided he was tired of hiding in the closet and wanted to come out. But he didn't want just any old "coming out" post. He wanted to make it special.
"I just wanted to come out in a unique way," the junior football player at Pinnacle High School in Phoenix told Outsports. "I was at my friend's house and thought, what if I just Photoshopped a picture of a rainbow behind me? Then I looked at more pictures online and saw the picture I used, which was more retro, it was more of a cartoon. What if I cropped out his face and used my face instead?
Sean2
Outsports continues:
"People describe me as a person who doesn't really conform. I wanted to do something different than people just announcing that they're gay. I wanted to come out in my own way, since that's how I feel coming out should be. I wanted to do it in a fun sort of way and so it wasn't awkward."

Sean1The reaction was all positive, though some wondered if they were being put on. "Some of the football players asked if it was a joke. He said no, and they said OK," said Warren's mom, Kathy Hurford, an accountant. "There was no ugliness. They were very much accepting. I'm just really proud of him. He's a strong kid and he's got a great personality."

With that post, Sean Warren came out to his world and he hasn't looked back. He is now telling his story publicly in hopes of making a difference for other LGBT teens who are suffering through what he did.
Sean's mother was initially apprehensive about her son's decision to come out publicly because of prior instances of bullying. Sean, however, has received a great deal of acceptance, including from his teammates and coach.
Check out Warren's inspiring story in full over at Outsports.

When The Advocate's 'God Is Gay' Cover Infuriated the World

PENCE
When The Advocate's 'God Is Gay' Cover Infuriated the World
Would the same cover today incite accusations of sacrilege? Read more

Virginia State Bar cancels Israel trip, citing ‘discriminatory’ border policies

Virginia State Bar cancels Israel trip, citing ‘discriminatory’ border policies

The Virginia State Bar has canceled its midyear legal seminar in Jerusalem, citing “unacceptable discriminatory policies and practices pertaining to border security that affect travelers,” in a decision that provoked a swift reaction Sunday among some political leaders
The decision to cancel the trip followed an online petition launched by bar members who said exit and entrance policies in Israel would discriminate against Arab, Muslim and Palestinian members of Virginia’s legal community.
“It is unacceptable that the Virginia State Bar has decided to hold a conference in a location that actively discriminates on the basis of racial, religious, and national origin grounds, and effectively prevents Arab, Muslim and Palestinian members of the [Virginia State Bar] from attending,” the petition said.
As word of the state bar’s decision buzzed on social media, with some critics describing it as a “boycott,” House Speaker William J. Howell (R-Stafford) wrote a letter Sunday urging the group to reconsider. Virginia has a long-standing relationship with Israel, Howell noted, and shares deep cultural and economic ties, including $75 million in exports last year.
The decision to cancel “is inconsistent with the policy of the Commonwealth and sends the wrong signal about our relationship with Israel,” he wrote.
Virginia State Bar leaders said the decision was being misinterpreted and did not in any way represent a boycott or other political action.
“We are not a political group,” said Edward L. Weiner, the group’s president-elect. “We are making no political stand whatsoever. We are not making any statement about Israel, Israel’s security policy, zero.”
A spokesman said Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) had no comment on the state bar’s action, noting that the governor does not belong to the bar or work with it regularly.
Weiner said that it was his idea to hold the November event in Jerusalem but that such plans are contingent on sufficient participation. With an April 1 deadline for having 60 members signed up, the group had only about 25, he said. “We were looking way short,” he said.
In previous years, the organization has scheduled midyear legal seminars in Spain, Italy, England, Argentina, Greece and Puerto Rico. “The trip is never a go until we know we’ve reached our numbers,” he said.
Weiner said that as interest was falling short, the association received the petition, which was signed by 39 members of the bar. The organization has more than 40,000 members.
He said the bar checked the U.S. State Department Web site, which advises that “some U.S. citizens holding Israeli nationality, possessing a Palestinian identity card, or who are of Arab or Muslim origin have experienced significant difficulties in entering or exiting Israel or the West Bank.”
Weiner said the group also called the Israeli Embassy and was told officials could not guarantee that someone in the group would not be questioned or stopped.
Weiner and bar President Kevin E. Martingayle decided Friday to look for a different location for the trip, hoping that another destination might draw more participants and make everyone “feel welcome.”
In the e-mail, Martingayle wrote that as a state agency, the Virginia State Bar “strives for maximum inclusion and equality, and that explains this action.” The message said the group still has enough time “to find a suitable location” for the November trip.
Irving Blank, a past president of the Virginia State Bar and member of the bar committee planning the trip, said the episode had been blown out of proportion, placing much of the blame on an online opinion piece posted on the Volokh Conspiracy blog on The Washington Post Web site that used the word “boycott” in the headline.
Blank, who sits on the Virginia Israel Advisory Board and says he is a strong supporter of Israel, said he has received e-mails and texts from around the world from people who wrongly believed that the state bar was taking a political position. “The use of the word boycott was disingenuous and wrong and incendiary and just not true,” he said.
Former U.S. Senate candidate and Republican Party head Ed Gillespie tweeted Saturday a one-word response to the move: “Outrageous!” He said if the state bar wasn’t trying to make a policy point, then the cancellation e-mail left the opposite impression.
“It’s not in the interest of the commonwealth to have a perception that an official agency has initiated a travel boycott of Israel,” Gillespie said.
The online petition, posted on the Web site Change.org, complained that American visitors of Arab or Muslim background are routinely singled out for extra scrutiny when they enter Israel. It said the bar shouldn’t subject its members to such “discriminatory practices.”
The petition pointed out that the event’s own reservation form cited State Department warnings on travel to Israel, among them advisories that “U.S. citizens whom Israeli authorities suspect of being of Arab, Middle Eastern, or Muslim origin may face additional questioning by immigration and border authorities.”
It also cited similar guidance from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem and reports compiled by an advocacy group about Arab American travelers being subjected to invasive body searches, prolonged detention and confiscated phones and laptops.
Laurie Forbes, 62, a lawyer in Fairfax, said she hadn’t heard of the controversy until she received the e-mail announcing the cancellation. She looked up the petition, went to the State Department Web site to read the travel warnings and then added her name. Forbes said she has sympathy for both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but views the border procedures as profiling.
“The Israeli government has a right to put in place whatever policies they think they need to protect themselves,” Forbes said. “But if those measures result in discrimination against members of my organization based solely on their surname or their religious background, then my organization has no business going there.”
In response to an interview request sent to an e-mail for the group “Concerned Members of the Virginia State Bar,” a person who declined to be identified said there would be no further comment.

Jewish settlers attack Palestinian rescue team

Jewish settlers attack Palestinian rescue team

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Jahan Alom
falastinews.com - A horde of Israeli fanatic Jewish settlers afternoon Thursday attacked an emergency rescue team in Yatta town, south of the West Bank city of al-Khalil. Coordinator for the anti-settlement committe...

Missing Israeli Soldier Staged His “Kidnapping”

Missing Israeli Soldier Staged His “Kidnapping”

author Friday April 03, 2015 02:48author by IMEMC & Agencies Report post
Israeli sources have reported that the 22-year-old soldier, who was believed to be missing, or “kidnapped," staged his own disappearance, after the soldiers initiated a search campaign and found him, on Friday at dawn, sleeping in Kiryat Arba Jewish settlement in Hebron.
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Israeli Ynet News has reported that the army searched the entire area for 10 hours, before locating the soldier, identified as Niv Asraf, 22, with “canned food and a sleeping bag.”

The army later issued a statement, after questioning the soldiers, saying that Asraf fabricated the whole kidnapping allegation.

The Police said it will be investigating the motives behind making up such a claim, and that it will deal with it to the full extent of the law.

The abduction claim started surfacing after the police received a call after 4PM, Thursday, alleging that the soldier had a flat tire while on his way to Hebron “to pray,” while the caller, his friend, said Asraf wanted to find tool to fix the “flat tire.”

When the soldiers arrived at the scene, they did not find a flat tire, an issue that raised suspicion, and took the soldier’s friend for interrogation.

Big oil is pressuring scientists not to link fracking to earthquakes in Oklahoma

Big oil is pressuring scientists not to link fracking to earthquakes in Oklahoma | Jason W Murphey

theguardian.com - Many Oklahomans can still vividly recall the day they experienced their first earthquake. Ever since 2009/2010, earthquakes in the state have increased exponentially – leading to what are called “s...

‘Sleep Well My Love’: A Gay Soldier’s Love Letter From WWII

‘Sleep Well My Love’: A Gay Soldier’s Love Letter From WWII

Hans-Joachim Marseille and his fellow soldier.
Hans-Joachim Marseille and his fellow soldier.

The following heart-rending love letter was written by American World War II veteran Brian Keith to Dave, a fellow soldier he met and fell in love with in 1943 while stationed in North Africa. It was penned on the occasion of their anniversary and reprinted in September of 1961 by ONE Magazine, a groundbreaking pro-gay magazine first published in 1953. The original letter is held, I am told, by the Library of Congress. (Source: ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, via Carrie Kendall.)
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Transcript of the letter:

Dear Dave,
This is in memory of an anniversary — the anniversary of October 27th, 1943, when I first heard you singing in North Africa. That song brings memories of the happiest times I’ve ever known. Memories of a GI show troop — curtains made from barrage balloons — spotlights made from cocoa cans — rehearsals that ran late into the evenings — and a handsome boy with a wonderful tenor voice. Opening night at a theatre in Canastel — perhaps a bit too much muscatel, and someone who understood. Exciting days playing in the beautiful and stately Municipal Opera House in Oran — a misunderstanding — an understanding in the wings just before opening chorus.
Drinks at “Coq d’or” — dinner at the “Auberge” — a ring and promise given. The show 1st Armoured — muscatel, scotch, wine — someone who had to be carried from the truck and put to bed in his tent. A night of pouring rain and two very soaked GIs beneath a solitary tree on an African plain. A borrowed French convertible — a warm sulphur spring, the cool Mediterranean, and a picnic of “rations” and hot cokes. Two lieutenants who were smart enough to know the score, but not smart enough to realize that we wanted to be alone. A screwball piano player — competition — miserable days and lonely nights. The cold, windy night we crawled through the window of a GI theatre and fell asleep on a cot backstage, locked in each other’s arms — the shock when we awoke and realized that miraculously we hadn’t been discovered. A fast drive to a cliff above the sea — pictures taken, and a stop amid the purple grapes and cool leaves of a vineyard.
The happiness when told we were going home — and the misery when we learned that we would not be going together. Fond goodbyes on a secluded beach beneath the star-studded velvet of an African night, and the tears that would not be stopped as I stood atop the sea-wall and watched your convoy disappear over the horizon.
We vowed we’d be together again “back home,” but fate knew better — you never got there. And so, Dave, I hope that where ever you are these memories are as precious to you as they are to me.
Goodnight, sleep well my love.
Brian Keith



Originally published by Letters Of NoteORIGINAL: By Brian Keith. Found on HyperVocal. Image courtesy of ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries. H/T The Gaily Grind.

Think On This...

Think On This...

randyreport.blogspot.com - Think On This... I want you to think on this: As thousands of anti-gay folks pour hundreds of THOUSANDS of dollars into a fund to help middle-class pizza restaurant owners in Indiana 'cope' with go...

Tom Sosnik, Transgender Teen, Comes Out In Amazing Speech

Tom Sosnik, Transgender Teen, Comes Out In Amazing Speech (VIDEO)

Posted: Updated:
This just made our week.
Tom Sosnik may only be 13-years-old, but the articulate teen has a more solid grasp on his sense of self than many adults we know.
In light of the tragic death of transgender teen Leelah Alcorn, Sosnik decided to share his gender identity with his friends and family by publicly coming out.
“I am no longer Mia. I never really was," the teen explains. "And now I finally stand before you in my true and authentic gender identity as Tom. I stand before you as a thirteen-year-old boy."
Sosnik encourages his classmates to talk to him or their parents if they have questions, but to not engage in gossip surrounding his decision to publicly discuss his identity.
"I really hope that you all will support my decision to embark on a harder route in life as the boy I truly am," Sosnik tells the crowd. "Any form of support I receive with much gratitude and I hope that everyone can really support me because you guys are like my second family. And if you support me, I'll feel like the luckiest boy in the world. Thank you for letting me share my story."
As transgender individuals continue to gain more mainstream visibility, we are seeing more brave teens and queer youth publicly discussing their transgender identity. Most recently, 14-year-old transgender teen Jazz Jennings not only became the face of a Clean & Clear campaign, but also signed on to star in an 11-part reality TV series on TLC about her life.
We're proud of you, Tom!
(H/T NewNowNext)

Muslimah assaulted by Moroccan secret police for enquiring about her husband’s detainment

Posted: 03 Apr 2015 07:28 AM PDT
On 27th May 2008, Sister Fatima Haddad went to enquire and protest about her husband Saeed Faris who was imprisoned unjustly for twenty years at the Okasha prison in Casablanca, Morocco.
The Moroccan security police brutally assaulted Fatima attempting to remove her Niqab and forced her to the ground with her baby son Bilal on her back.
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Yes that’s a baby on her back!

The dire situation of Muslims currently in Goulburn’s Supermax prison, Australia

Posted: 04 Apr 2015 12:29 AM PDT
Here is an update on our brothers’ situation in prison who are currently in Goulburn’s Supermax prison in Australia.
The prisoners are united in their stand against these oppressive and unacceptable changes made by the Government and the Attorney General. They are the 13 brothers charged with terrorism-related offences. They are objecting to the new classification they have been branded with, along with the other cruel and inhumane restrictions (not allowed to speak in Arabic / Farsi etc when communicating with family, conditions making it very difficult for family to visit them, harsh treatment, refused buy-ups to purchase halal food and clothing, etc). They have chosen to protest against their treatment and conditions by:
* Going on a hunger strike
* Refusing visits with family and friends under the stipulated conditions
* Remaining in 24 hour lock down (refusing access to sunlight in individual yards or association time with other inmates) and/or refusing to return to cell at the end of the day by staying stationary until carried or escorted to their cell.
All the brothers under these inhumane restrictions will partake in this protest by one or all of the above.
Make dua for them – ‪#‎BrothersBehindBars‬
– Hanan Dover
These are letters from family members of some of the Muslims currently being held at Goulburn Supermax. Despite the attempts of media and politicians to dehumanise Muslims, the suffering resulting from the exceptional treatment of Muslim prisoners is real. As you read the letter we ask you to ponder over the exceptionally unjust treatment of Muslim prisoners, and the exceptional treatment of Muslims more broadly. Where is this all heading? What does the future hold? From Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, Palestine to local ‪#‎AntiMuslimLaws‬, harassment at the airports, audio and visual surveillance, pressuring Imams, targeting our youth in schools, abuse in the streets, control orders, passport cancellations, welfare cancellations, revoking citizenship, the list is as long as it is confronting.
The exceptional treatment should be of concern to us all, inhumane treatment is being justified on the back of dubious accusations and narratives. We must never allow ourselves to accept such a lowering of human treatment, ever.
Letter 1:-
Bismillah
Assalaamu alaykum warohmatullahi wabarokaatuhu
Just the week before the changes I was preparing to write to Peter Severin to ask him to relax the phone call restrictions and difficulties with booking a visit that my son and his family have endured for the last nine and a half years, I was just waiting to speak to my son about it.
Then I got a message from a friend of my son letting me know that when he called to book a visit he was told there would be no visits that weekend due to “operational procedures”. I immediately knew there was a problem.
I waited day after day for my son to call me. The week ended, the weekend passed. Then my son called on Monday morning the 9th March.
His voice was sombre but calm. He said “don’t be upset mum, they’ve made some changes”. My heart went to my throat anticipating what was to come. “We can’t have contact visits any more, only box visits and we can’t speak Arabic on calls or visits and no more “buy up” money.
“WHAT?!” I was furious, but my son stayed calm and just said “remember the battle of Khandaq” and then he recited verse 22 of surah Ahzab to me and told me the translation.
“And when the believers saw the companies, they said, “This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth.” And it increased them only in faith and acceptance.”
“Sabran jameelan mum, we know it’s going to be hard, coz we are believers and we are going to be tested and tested.”
Alhamdulillah, by the mercy of Allah they did not cut the call straight away when he recited this verse to me. Maybe they hadn’t had enough practice yet being early Monday morning. But now we are very cautious, although we both speak English, naturally as Muslims we use a lot of Arabic terms – including the quotation of verses from the Holy Quran. But how about the other brothers and their relatives? One of the mothers is quite elderly, may Allah give her saakinah, and she knows no English. Now she is prevented from speaking with her son?
This is the offering of State Attorney General Brad Hazzard:
“in rare cases the Corrective Services Commissioner could use his discretion to allow inmates to speak other languages provided an immediate translation was supplied, for example if an inmate was speaking with his 90-year-old grandmother who spoke no English.” (Daily Telegraph 8/3/15)
Mr Hazzard wishes to ‘kindly’ subject an elderly woman to a small, stuffy steel room, so that she may talk to her son through a closed window, with a stranger beside her, listening and immediately translating her conversation with him? And only a rare case like that would a translator be allowed.
“We don’t want to create a situation where they feel there’s no sense of humanity, because there will be,” Mr Hazzard said. (Daily Telegraph 8/3/15)
There will be humanity? We’ve been waiting nine and a half years to be treated like human beings.
We have been restricted to just a few calls per week of only 6 mins duration. My son has more than one family member he needs to speak to so each of us only get to speak to him now and then. He doesn’t get to choose when he can call, so sometimes we miss his call. It’s impossible to have a decent conversation in that time, so difficult to communicate about important matters, especially family matters. Mail takes a minimum of one week to be received by him or us, so a matter that needs to be dealt with can take two weeks or more. Can you just try to imagine the frustration, inconvenience, hardship and worry it causes.
Visits are only once a week on a weekend for only one hour. Not like other prisoners who can have visits for up to four hours. Booking a visit is not as simple and straight forward as it may seem. Who can go? Which car can we use? Who can take care of the kids? There’s a lot to organise. When you book a visit they say your visit is “locked in” and you can’t make changes to the booking, only cancel but not re-book. Well our lives are not “locked in”- cars break down, people get sick, another relative can come after all but no- “no changes to bookings”. The Ombudsman looked into this matter for me in the past but to no avail. They have the same answer for everything “Security Reasons” and security reasons are unquestionable. Other prisons allow changes to booking visits so long as you can I.D. yourself on the phone. How is it a security issue to add a child to visit booking? How is it a security issue to cancel and re-book another time. I was once even rudely told that I should arrange things before I called to make a booking. You think I don’t spend two or three days chasing around making arrangements? Sometimes things just don’t work out the way you plan. That’s normal life for everyone….but not for us. We are not allowed to have a normal life. They make everything as unreasonably difficult as possible.
What are these men supposed to eat now? They need “buy up money” to buy halal food. Now they only get $13 prisoner allowance per week! They also need money to pay for phone calls and stamped envelopes, let alone warm prison clothes for the coming winter. One of the brothers has a wife and son overseas, but because of this outrageous restriction he cannot call them anymore.
The Corrective Services Dept. explains to the families how important it is that inmates and families maintain relationships through visits, mail and phone calls .. but this “privilege” does not extend to the prisoners of Supermax Goulburn.
“Maintaining family ties has real benefits for prisoners and their families. It can be hard work to keep in contact with a family member in a centre. Fares, petrol and other costs can make visiting expensive, and dealing with correctional centre security can be frustrating. Everyday demands can make it hard to find time for visiting or staying in contact in other ways.
However, prisoners who keep in close contact with family are less likely to re-offend once they’re released, do better on parole and have better mental health. Families also benefit from better mental health and better family relationships when the prisoner returns home.
It’s easy for prisoners to become institutionalised, meaning that they can’t cope without the structure of a correctional centre. Keeping in contact with families helps maintain an identity as a partner, friend, brother, sibling or parent. Family ties remind the prisoner that they’re more than just an ‘offender” and help them stay focused on the roles they can play beyond the correctional centre.
Away from home and loved ones, it’s easy for prisoners to believe that people will stop caring about them.
This can produce feelings of isolation, hopelessness and despair. Regular visits and letters from family are important reminders to prisoners that there are people on the outside who love and care for them.
Keeping in contact also means family can assist prisoners in planning for the future, and supporting them after release.” http://www.correctiveservices.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/247979/families-handbook.pdf
page 56
This statement, while perfectly comprehensive and true, is only rhetoric for my son and all inmates of SuperMax prison.
The level of contact is so restricted they cannot possibly maintain even a remotely “normal” relationship with their families or friends.
How are they supposed to maintain family relationships, their own identity and roles in the family?
How are they expected to be prepared for release, “rehabilitated” or even sane?
How are they going to re-join their families when their relationships have been destroyed through the unjust and oppressive lack of contact? Marriages are already destroyed and a significant contributing factor has been the restrictions on communication.
I ask all Muslims of Australia and all fair minded people who have to demand NSW Attorney General, Brad Hazzard, Minister of Justice to stop these unjust and oppressive restrictions, not just regarding visits, mail and phone calls but all areas of “life” in Super Max, Goulburn.
If not, then Allah knows best and I put my trust in Him.
I cannot identify myself as I have been given strong legal advice that if I do, then my visits with my son will probably be suspended as punishment. They punish people on the outside of the prison walls as well as inside. Where is the humanity in that?
Source: Government Intervention in the Muslim Community

These Newly Released Emails Show Just How Deeply Racist Ferguson’s Justice System Is

These Newly Released Emails Show Just How Deeply Racist Ferguson’s Justice System Is

Author: April 3, 2015 7:52 pm
Officials in Ferguson, Mo. have released the unredacted versions of racially-charged emails that got two Ferguson police officers, and a court clerk, fired. The emails preceded the events leading up to Michael Brown’s death in August 2014 by several years, and they underscore the deeply racist environment that exists in Ferguson. The Washington Post obtained the emails in a FOIA request.
The three people fired were Mary Ann Twitty, Ferguson’s court clerk; former Ferguson police captain Rick Henke, and former police sergeant William Mudd. The Justice Department referenced the emails in their report on Ferguson’s policies and culture, but this is the first time anybody’s been able to see who sent which email. The Washington Post posted some and quoted others. One email, from Mudd to Twitty, said:
“A black woman in New Orleans was admitted into the hospital [for] pregnancy termination. Two weeks later she received a check for $5,000. She phoned the hospital to ask who it was from. The hospital said, ‘Crimestoppers.'”
Another, also from Mudd, said:
“Last week I went to sign my two dogs up for welfare. At first the lady said, ‘Dogs are not eligible to draw welfare.’ So I explained to her that my dogs are mixed in color, unemployed, lazy, can’t speak English and have no frigging clue who their Daddies are. They expect me to feed them, provide them with housing and medical care. So she looked in her policy book to see what it takes to qualify. My dogs get their first checks Friday.
Damn, this is a great country!!”
An email from Twitty was a picture of Ronald Reagan feeding a baby monkey. The caption on the photo says:
“Rare photo of Ronald Reagan babysitting Barack Obama in early 1962.”
According to page 72 of the DOJ report, one email was a photo of bare-chested women, presumably dancing in Africa, and it bore a caption that said, “Michelle Obama’s High School Reunion.”
The report said that there were many more inappropriate, racist emails as well, and there were no records indicating that anybody had ever been disciplined for these. They also didn’t see any evidence that anyone had asked the senders of these emails to stop, or that the emails were reported to anybody, which indicates a pervasive culture of not only racism, but also of fear that speaking up could lead to all sorts of problems.
WaPo reports that officials at all levels of government condemned the emails, as did Ferguson Mayor James Knowles, saying that they did not reflect the culture of Ferguson’s police department.
Yet, with everything the DOJ report shows, these emails are merely further evidence that the justice system in Ferguson was stacked heavily against the black community, and they had zero intention of changing that. These emails come from 2008 to 2011, so passing racist jokes along was neither new, nor were these isolated incidents. Racism and hate were present, and worse, allowed to grow and flourish. These emails show that in stark detail.

Featured image by Loavesofbread – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Gay Former Eagle Scout Hired As Leader Of Boy Scout Camp

Gay Former Eagle Scout Hired As Leader Of Boy Scout Camp
PASCAL TESSIER GAY ADULT



There's high drama in the world of scouting today, and not a bear in sight.
For the first time in history, an out gay adult has been hired to supervise young scouts. The Greater New York Councils of the Boy Scouts of America announced today that it has hired Pascal Tessier, (he's in the center in the photo above) a former Eagle Scout, and an advocate for gays in scouting, to be a leader at Boy Scout Camp this summer. The hire is in direct contempt of the 2013 national Boy Scout policy which accepted gay scouts until they turn 18, but bans all gay adults from becoming leaders. 
"We’ve accepted him, he was put through the normal process,” Richard Mason, a spokesman for Greater New York Councils, told BuzzFeed News. "From our perspective, it’s really direct. This is a young man, who is also an Eagle Scout, very well qualified, applied for a job with one of the summer camps that the Greater New York Councils runs. On the merits, his applications clearly passes our standards … and we don’t discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. So, we’ve accepted his application on the merits."
The New York Boy Scout Councils have led the way in promoting gay scouts, so the announcement that they have hired a gay former Eagle Scout to supervise boys at camp this summer did not come as a huge surprise. What the national organization does now could be.
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Nationally, the Boy Scouts of America is under the command of former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, (photo right) who has said he is in favor of gay adult scout leaders, but would bow to the will of the majority.
“I would have supported having gay Scoutmasters." Gates told the Associated Press, "but at the same time, I fully accept the decision that was democratically arrived at by 1,500 volunteers from across the entire country.”
 Mr. Gates is at the tail end of his two year term as head of the Boy Scouts - his tenure ends May 22 - which would make this an ideal time for him to show the courage of his convictions and change the discriminatory policy. But even if he doesn't, it's not over. 
If the national organization of the Boy Scouts challenges Pascal Tessier's hiring, he already has a lawyer. Not just any lawyer; he's represented by David Boies, who famously argued for marriage equality with strange bedfellow Ted Olson. Boise told reporters he hopes the hiring of Mr. Tessier goes unchallenged, saying:
"We’re hopeful that this signals the end of the last vestige of the Scouts’ discrimination. Of the national BSA’s policy, however, he added, "That’s obviously against the law in a number of states, including New York."
I'm optimistic former Sec. Gates won't allow a challenge to the hiring. Less so about him ending the ban on gay adults. Then again, I think I would enjoy hearing David Boise question him in court.
High drama in the world of scouting. No bears needed.

In an unprecedented move, the Boy Scouts of America's New York chapter has hired an openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader.
The decision to hire Pascal Tessier, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout from Maryland, as a counselor at the Ten Mile River Scout Camp in upstate New York is a direct challenge to the Boy Scouts' existing ban on openly gay adult participants, the Associated Press is reporting.
Board member Richard G. Mason praised Tessier, who has been an outspoken advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, as an "exemplary candidate" for the counselor role, and said New York members "did not want our policy of non-discrimination to be affected by the national policy" in an email statement sent to The Huffington Post.
"New York City and New York State law clearly prohibit employers from excluding qualified men and women from employment based on sexual orientation," he noted, and said he and other board members welcomed Tessier and "look forward to his participation in our camp program."
Among those to applaud the move was Scouts for Equality's Executive Director Zach Wahls, who called Tessier's hiring "a watershed moment."
"As the controversy swirling in Indiana, Arkansas, and elsewhere demonstrates, Americans are no longer willing to tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation," Wahls said in a statement. "We are proud to see such an important Boy Scout council standing up for the full inclusion of gay members and affirming that the values and principles of scouting are important to all people regardless of sexual orientation or age."
Echoing those sentiments was Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin, who called it "a historic day for the Boy Scouts of America -- and for the courageous and talented young man, Pascal Tessier, who seeks only to work for the organization that he loves."
It isn't the first time that Tessier has made history. In 2014, he became the first out Eagle Scout to be approved after the Boy Scouts lifted its ban on gay youthparticipants.
"Even if I had been kicked out along the way, I wouldn't have changed anything," he told the AP at the time. "The whole experience was something worth having, not only for myself but also for all the other people involved -- and for all the people it affects."
If his hiring is challenged at the national level, however, Tessier is already represented by lawyer David Boies, BuzzFeed reported. Boies told reporter Chris Geidner that the formal BSA policy is "obviously against the law in a number of states, including New York."
"While I don’t want to be overly optimistic, I think this signals at least the end of this type of discrimination on a national level," he is quoted as saying.