CHICAGO — Fast food giant McDonald’s severed ties with one of its American egg suppliers Friday after a video taken by undercover animal rights activists exposed shocking cruelty to chickens at a farm.
The footage showed chicks having the tips of their beaks being burned off by a machine and then tossed into cages along with images of barely identifiable corpses of birds that were left to rot in cages.
It also showed unwanted chicks left to die in plastic bags, birds mangled by the bars of overcrowded cages, and a chicken flapping its wings in distress as a plant worker swung the creature on a rope in a wide circle.
There are no federal laws governing the treatment of poultry on U.S. farms and most states have sweeping exemptions for farmed animals which allow for abuses to run rampant without prosecution.
“Unfortunately, much of the abuse we documented is not only standard, it’s legal,” Nathan Runkle, director of Mercy for Animals, which obtained the clandestine footage, told AFP.
“We’ve done over a dozen investigations at factory farms from coast to coast,” he said. “Every time we’ve sent an investigator into one of these facilities they’ve come out with shocking evidence of abuse and neglect.”
McDonald’s confirmed it had directed its supplier, Cargill, to stop sourcing McDonald eggs from Sparboe, the company at the center of the cruelty video.
“The behavior on tape is disturbing and completely unacceptable,” McDonald’s said in a statement.
“McDonald’s wants to assure our customers that we demand humane treatment of animals by our suppliers. We take this responsibility — along with our customers’ trust — very seriously.”
Sparboe, a family-run company, said it had launched a probe after learning of the video and has fired four workers who engaged in mistreatment of chickens.
In a message posted on a dedicated website, owner Beth Sparboe Schnell said an independent auditor from Iowa State University confirmed the company is in “full compliance with our animal welfare policies.”
She said Sparboe Farms was the first American egg producer to have its “science-based animal care production guideline” certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
But Runkle noted that the video shows that “much of the mishandling type of abuse took place directly in front of and under the watch of supervisors and managers” at Sparboe facilities in Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado.
He also said McDonald’s decision to drop Sparboe as a supplier also fails to provide a solution to the real problem — the use of cramped battery cages which give hens no room to walk or spread their wings, Runkle added.
Mercy for Animals said it was urging McDonald’s to use its influence as the largest egg purchaser in the United States to improve industry standards and stop buying eggs from farms that use such cages.
The video was released a day after federal inspectors issued a warning letter to Sparboe citing “serious violations” of food safety rules, including inadequate rodent control and testing for the presence of deadly Salmonella bacteria. Source
McDonald’s Cruelty: The Rotten Truth About Egg McMuffins
November 17 2011
Factory Farming is what they are talking about.
Factory Farming is horrid and the cruelty towards animals is beyond anything imaginable. Your really should see what happens to the animals you are eating and the unhealthy environment they are raised in.
I have a few examples of it below.
Food Inc. An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.
This documentary covers Chickens and Cattle For eating.
Go HERE for Documentary Wait for the Free User to come up and click on it.
Go HERE for more links if the Above one does not work.
Now here we have a few other Shorter Videos on Factory Farming
Hens Abused at Major California Egg Factory Farm
Rosebud Hog Factory – Part 1
At this crowded South Dakota factory farm, pigs limp across their pens exhibiting basketball-sized ruptures (hernias) and huge infected abscesses.
Rosebud Hog Factory – Part 2
Nebraska Hog Factory – Part 1
Emaciated female breeding sows, many with open sores, are housed at this factory farm in crates measuring 19 inches wide — even smaller than the industry norm of 24 inches
Nebraska Hog Factory – Part 2
Downed Animals
Disabled cows at this Nebraska slaughterhouse are dragged off trucks with a chain, then are abandoned for days without food, water, or protection from the elements. Many die from their injuries, illnesses, starvation, or dehydration.
Humane Farming Association on Oprah
September 21, 2011
HFA’s Bradley Miller talking about the veal industry on Oprah.
Cow Factory Farming.
Investigation Reveals Cruelty at Pig Factory Farm
This video I posted so you can see what is done to the baby pigs. Even if your not a vegetarian you must still see this as very cruel inhumane treatment of an animal.
The Pig Picture Part 1
The Pig Picture highlights never-before-seen-HFA investigative footage. This powerful 18-minute video traces the development of commercial pig rearing in America – from the small-scale family farms of yesterday – to the corporate owned pig factories of today.
Any animals who are caged or over crowed, as the animals in the videos go insane.
Imagine if you were trapped in a small room 10 feet by 10 feet with 20 people how would you feel. You have to stay in that small room until the day you die.
Think about it.
There are still many farmers who do not use factory farming methods to raise their animals.
The food they produce is much safer and the animals have less illnesses.
Antibiotics nor hormones should be put into food fed to animals.
The only time antibiotics should be used is if he animals is ill.
The US needs to protect your food supply, not let things like Factory Farming take over your food supply. Factory Farming should be outlawed and normal farmers grow your food. Farm Animals need to be protected.
Imagine if those things were done your a dog or cat. Well Farm Animals need love and protection just like your pets.
Farm animals have feelings too.
I know I grew up around farmers. They never would do anything this horrible to any animal. They treated their animals extremely well.
Factory Farms are not Real Farmers they are just greedy profiteers.
Real Farmers take great care with their animals.
I buy all my meat from Real Farmers.
I know first hand how they are treated.
I know first hand what they are fed.
I know the Farmers personally.
Factory Farms put Real Farmers out of business.
The thought of eating anything that comes from a Factory farm turns my stomach.
I kid you not Been there, Done that, Got the tee shirts.
Just watching the Videos of those poor animals made me chuck my cookies.
I don’t eat Fast Food. I would never know where the meat comes from.
I don’t take chances with my health. I also do not want to contribute to animal cruelty.
If you hate puppy mills then you should hate Factory Farms.
If you however wish to continue to eat Factory Farm Food
Remember you are contributing to the cruelty of innocent animals.
A happy animal is a healthier animal.
Animals need to go outside and have freedom to live just like we do. They need to feel the grass under their feet, the sunshine and enjoy the shade of trees. They should be respected and treated humanly.
As a consumer you can demand food from Real Farmers who raise animals in a safe, clean, healthy and humane environment.
We are after all the 99%.
Don’t allow A Factory Farm in your community.
This doesn’t just happen in the US. Factory Farming has spread to other Countries.
Now for something else you should know about
Supreme Court case: meat industry sues to keep downed animals in food supply
By Michael Greger, M.D.
Nov 3 2011
This week I participated in a press briefing to discuss National Meat Association v. Harris, a case appearing before the Supreme Court next week. The meat industry is trying to overturn a California law meant to keep “downed” animals—those too sick and disabled to walk to slaughter—out of the American food supply.
In 2008, an undercover investigation of a dairy cow slaughterplant in California showed that downers were being dragged to slaughter for hamburger meat distributed to the Federal School Lunch Program. The Humane Society of the United States investigators documented workers dragging downed cows with chains, ramming them with forklifts, shocking cows repeatedly in the face and eyes, beating them, and even shooting high-pressure hoses up their nostrils—anything to squeeze every last bit of profit from these animals. The investigation triggered the largest meat recall in U.S. history—143 million pounds of beef—for violations of food safety regulations meant to protect the public from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (“mad cow disease”).
The investigation prompted California to strengthen its laws to keep downer livestock out of the food supply. The meat industry—represented by the National Meat Association and the American Meat Institute—responded by suing the State of California to block the enforcement of the law on the grounds that only USDA had the authority to determine which animals are turned into meat. The California Attorney General argued that states should have the right to protect their citizens from the risks and abuses inherent in slaughtering downed animals. In response to the meat industry lawsuit, a federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of the downer ban, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the decision and reinstated the law. So the National Meat Association took it to the Supreme Court.
The handling of downers is not just an animal welfare issue. Inability to stand can be a symptom of disease that could threaten public health. Compared to those able to walk, downed cows were found to have 3 times the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7, the strain that kills dozens of Americans a year. The researchers concluded “downer dairy cattle harboring E. coli O157:H7 at slaughter may be an important source of contamination and may contribute to the health risk associated with ground beef.” A single downed cow infected with such a pathogen could theoretically contaminate more than 100,000 hamburgers with an infectious dose.
Downer pigs and sheep may also present a food safety risk. Downed pigs have been found to have 16 times the odds of antibiotic resistant Campylobacter infection, the most common cause of bacterial food poisoning in the United States. Allowing downer pigs in the food supply, concluded one team of researchers, “potentially endangers public health.”
Even if one doesn’t eat meat, more than half of downer pigs tested in the Midwest were found to be actively infected with swine flu, both the classic swine flu virus and the triple hybrid mutant that led to the 2009 human pandemic that killed more than ten thousand Americans.
Other human pathogens linked to downed farm animals include anthrax, Salmonella, and mad cow disease. At least two-thirds of the 22 mad cows so far discovered in North America have been downer cows. Though the riskiest tissues—the brains, eyes, and spinal cords—of most cattle are now excluded from most food items in the United States, there may be contamination of muscle meat via aerosolization of the spinal cord during carcass splitting. Significant amounts of central nervous system debris found accumulating in the splitting saws used to halve the carcasses may have the potential to then transfer contagion from one carcass to the next. Although, technically, processors are instructed to knife-trim “material grossly identifiable as brain material, spinal cord, or fluid from punctured eyes,” researchers have reported finding nervous tissue contaminating muscle in a commercial slaughter plant. Contamination of meat derived from cattle cheeks with brain tissue can also occur if the cheek meat is not removed before the skull is fragmented or split. Finally, captive bolt stunning, the predominant method used to render farm animals insensible before being bled to death, may blow a shower of embolic brain tissue into the animals’ bloodstream. Texas A&M University researchers found bodily brain fragments as large as 14 cm. The researchers concluded that mad cow pathogens could potentially be “found throughout the bodies of animals stunned for slaughter.”
An unequivocal ban on the slaughter of downed animals for human consumption would remove the incentive for the meat industry to transport and torment these animals rather than euthanize them, and thereby bolster the safety of the food supply. Sick animals can lead to sick people. Source
A War Crimes Tribunal in Malaysia has found former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair guilty of war crimes for their roles in the Iraq war, Press TV reports.
The five-panel Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal decided that Bush and Blair committed genocide and crimes against humanity by leading the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a Press TV correspondent reported on Tuesday.
In 2003, the US and Britain invaded Iraq in blatant violation of international law and under the pretext of finding weapons of mass destruction allegedly stockpiled by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The Malaysian tribunal judges ruled that the decision to wage war against Iraq by the two former heads of government was a flagrant abuse of law and an act of aggression that led to large-scale massacres of the Iraqi people.
Bombings and other forms of violence became commonplace in Iraq shortly after the US-led invasion of the country.
In their ruling, the tribunal judges also stated that the US, under the leadership of Bush, fabricated documents to make it appear that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.
However, the world later learned that the former Iraqi regime did not possess WMDs and that the US and British leaders knew this all along.
Over one million Iraqis were killed during the invasion, according to the California-based investigative organization Project Censored.
The judges also said the court findings should be provided to signatories to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, and added that the names of Bush and Blair should be listed on a war crimes register. Source
They should be tried by the ICC but that will never happens as the US has a lot of control over who gets prosecuted. The ICC like other entities the UN, NATO, IMF World Bank etc have all been corrupted.
The ICC says it will look at the War crimes in Libya. Sure they Will? They will sweep it under the carpet and no real justice will be served. The ICC is useless when it comes to convicting real criminals. Like Iraq the war in Libya was based on lies and fabricated propaganda.
I already know what the ICC will do. Absolutely nothing.
If any ordinary person did this they would go to Jail.
When Lawmakers make Laws that allow them to break the law that is a crime.No Lawmaker should be above the Law.
This is an absolute Breach of Trust. I would even say and act of Treason against the citizens of the US.
I knew about this years ago so what took everyone else so long to figure this out? If the US mainstream media had not been so corrupt this would have been brought to light years ago.
Koto’s to 60 minutes.
’60 Minutes’ Blows The Lid Off Congressional Insider Trading
’60 Minutes’ Blows The Lid Off Congressional Insider Trading
Zeke Miller | Nov. 14, 2011, 7:52 AM
Members of Congress can legally make trades on non-public information they obtain during their official duties, CBS News’ ’60 Minutes’ reported on Sunday night.
Legalized Corruption of Government Exposed by Abramoff
Former lobbyist Jack Abramoff (who spent time in prison after
pleading guilty to corrupting public officials) exposed how the
U.S. government is legally corrupted.
Government Corruption: U.S. Congress Exempts Itself From Insider Trading Laws
Washington conducts public business for private gain
By: Examiner Editorial
November 19 2011
It’s not been a good week for those whose livelihoods depend on either having access to the power brokers and decision makers of the Washington federal establishment or being one of them. Like the great and mighty Wizard of Oz who was exposed as all too human when Dorothy’s little dog Toto pulled back the curtain, the public’s business in Washington was shown to be conducted for private gain.
To begin with, among the multiple stunning revelations from Peter Schweizer’s book, “Throw Them All Out,” was that two past speakers of the House made millions of dollars as a result of information and opportunities afforded by their positions. Democrat Nancy Pelosi and her husband cashed in big time by getting special access to an initial public offering of Visa stock even as the House under her leadership refused to move important credit card industry reforms. Similarly, Republican Dennis Hastert bought a piece of land back home, then used an earmark to channel federal funds to build a highway nearby. Hastert more than doubled his money when he sold the land not long after.
Making a killing from public service is far from limited to Pelosi and Hastert, and often it’s perfectly legal because Congress exempts itself from many of the laws the rest of us have to observe, including those against insider trading. Lawmakers frequently say that they make a financial sacrifice to serve in Congress, but somehow they manage to leave Washington with a great deal more money than they had when they arrived. As former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote Friday in the Wall Street Journal, “the corruption isn’t confined to one political party or just a few bad apples. It’s an endemic problem encompassing leadership on both sides of the aisle. It’s an entire system of public servants feathering their own nests.”
The same culture of corruption is found at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, too. Just this week, President Obama – facing recession-levels of unemployment and a tough re-election campaign – had a choice between a decision that would create thousands of new jobs, or one that would insure millions of dollars in campaign contributions for his effort to secure a second term. At least 20,000 new jobs would have resulted if Obama had approved the Keystone XL pipeline, but that would have angered the environmentalists who oppose the project — and who have donated generously to Obama in the past.
You’d think that Obama would have locked up the environmentalist vote with the billions of tax dollars that he’s sent their way already. We learned additional details about that corrupt process this week when it was revealed that more than $16 billion of the $20 billion spent by Obama’s clean energy loan program went to companies linked to former members of his White House staff, prominent corporate campaign donors, and campaign contribution bundlers. The U.S. Constitution begins with the words “We, the people,” and goes on to frame a government that is supposed to be their servant. It’s time Washington was reminded of who serves who. Source
This another Documentary on Corruption but a bit different.
This explains how the US Government interferes with other countries. Corrupts their politicians and wages illegal wars. The US has also and still does drive other countries into financial ruin.The Weight of Chains explains a lot. These are the things still being done to many countries today. Do take the time to watch it. Knowledge is power.
I bet a few US politicians made a bundle on some these events as well.
In the UK seems some of the Politicians are also corrupt.Well this is old news. They have been corrupted for years.
If the mainstream media in both countries ever did their job as they were suppose to all of this would have come out years ago and much of the corruption would have been prevented.
A select few have done their jobs but many other have not. What the world needs now is a media that actually does their jobs. Oddly enough what governments do affects their families friends and recitatives as well. Of course if the owners of such media are preventing the truth from being told then those bosses should be reported. Publishing lies is illegal. The guy at the top is responsible.
Failing to tell the truth is a crime against the public at large.
The US main stream media promotes propaganda to promote their wars. The wars initiated by the US are all based on lies/fraud/misinformation.
When the press tells these to the public they are as guilty as the Government who wages the wars.
It is the job of the press to expose the lies/fraud/misinformation.
What is needed is for the journalists to do what the OWS folks are attempting, which is to say we’re not going to take it anymore. So to all the journalists take over the media and tell the truth. Start a new News site what ever but do take over and tell the truth. How many reporters are there in the US. If is were not for you those rich guys at the top would be broke. They need you more then you need them.
So to all the Journalists who want to tell the truth. Strike for truth. Join the OWS protesters. Imagine if every journalist in America walked off the job because they were forced to tell lies by the bad owners.
If it wasn’t for Bloggers and a few honest Journalist we would all be living in complete darkness.
The Iraq war was based on lies. Many in Congress or those who worked for the Bush Administration profited from that war.
Now it is Libya. Yes many in the US Government and other Governments will profit from the Invasion of Libya.
Libyans money was stolen with the help of the UN. Now much of that money cannot be found. This is theft. So who stole the money that not be fond. It didn’t just mysteriously vanish off the face of the earth.
Do we have a real reporter out there who can find out who stole the money or as usual will it be swept under the carpet?
Activists in Bali protest against the ASEAN summit and the presence of U.S. president Barack Obama.
From November 18 2011
Indonesians demonstrate in Bali during a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to protest US President Barack Obama’s presence at the meeting.
November 18 2011
Protesters gathered outside the United States consulate in Bali on Friday and chanted slogans against the ASEAN summit and East Asia Summit (EAS), Reuters reported.
The event is being held in Nusa Dua, around 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the provincial capital of Denpasar, amid a security lock down that has been in place since the weekend.
The Bali demonstrators called on Indonesians to reject capitalism and pressure the government to put the interests of the Indonesian people first.
“We reject the summit as it’s not important because in our opinion, the Indonesian government had better concentrate on their own country because all internal crises are caused by the country’s wealth being taken by other countries,” said protest coordinator Hendry Saragih said.
The Indonesian demonstrators also called on Washington to stop its economic and military initiatives in the Asia-Pacific and instead mind the massive anti-corporatism protests it has been faced with over the past two months.
“He (Obama) does not need to come to the summit in Indonesia. He should just take care of his own country, we can see by the Occupy Wall Street movement that the United States has a serious problem concerning capitalism, and he must acknowledge it,” Saragih urged.
Obama is the first United States president to take part in the East Asia summit, which comprises the 10-member ASEAN group, along with China, Australia, India, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Russia. Source
This could start happening all over the world. The US is not wanted.
Can’t say I blame them.
Obama should be taking care of business at home for sure.
Police brutality is getting out of control as you will see in the link below.
Business and economic deals and commitments have been made between Southeast Asian nations and their partner countries during the 2011 ASEAN and East Asia Summit, which included the United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, India and Australia.
ASEAN and China have pledged to further liberalize trade in services, signing a new protocol to expand sectoral coverage of their commitments beyond the existing general agreement on trade in services (GATS) and the first package of ASEAN China Trade in Services agreement (AC-TIS), according to an official press statement issued by ASEAN officials.
ASEAN secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan said the enlarged free trade pact, which previously only included trade of goods and investment, would further boost trade and investment between ASEAN and China.
Earlier on Friday, Chinese banks, led by state-run China Development Bank (CDB), signed a US$1.3 billion agreement to disburse loans for the $2 billion Sumatra coal railway to be executed by Indonesia’s Bukit Asam Transpacific Railways.
“China will actively participate in regional cooperation with solidarity, cooperation and development in the region. How to maintain the positive momentum has been a common aspiration of East Asian leaders,” China’s assistant foreign minister Liu Zhenmin said.
With the United States, which joined the East Asia Summit together with Russia this year, Indonesia, ASEAN’s chair for 2011 and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, also signed intergovernment and business-to-business deals surpassing $22 billion during the summit.
Indonesia’s largest private airline Lion Air has made the largest ever purchase of the 230 aircrafts from the US’ manufacturer Boeing in a deal worth $21.7 billion, which US President Barack Obama considered a milestone for the nation’s stalling economic recovery.
“What we see here, a multibillion-dollar deal between Lion Air, one of the fastest-growing airlines, not only in the region, but in the world, and Boeing, is going to result in over 100,000 jobs back in the United States of America over a long period of time,” Obama said in his remarks.
On the government-front, the US Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has granted Indonesia $600 million for poverty reduction projects to sustain the country’s economic growth through plans in reducing energy costs, increasing productivity and improving public expenditure.
Outside of the ASEAN-Japan summit, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yukio Edano has also met with Indonesian Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa to follow-up on Japan’s estimated ¥4 trillion investment commitment to ease infrastructure bottlenecks in the nation’s capital Jakarta in the Metropolitan Priority Area (MPA) master plan.
Adding to that, Indonesian Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Jero Wacik said Japanese multinational electronics giant Sharp is also eyeing a $1 billion investment to build solar energy in Indonesia, which could “provide electricity and reduce costs for people in remote areas”.
South Korea, Australia and India also seek to enhance economic activities in ASEAN, with the free trade agreements (FTA) and comprehensive economic partnerships they have already agreed to with the region.
The ASEAN Economic Community Council has mulled a plan to consolidate all of the region’s FTAs with its six dialog partners (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand), which would make a free market of half of the world’s population with combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $20 trillion, Indonesian Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa said.
Police Evicted from Occupy UC Davis after Pepper Spraying Peaceful Protesters
November 18 3011
If you haven’t seen this video yet from yesterday’s police action at Occupy UC Davis, you have to watch it, and watch it through the end. Honestly… it brought tears to my eyes. Tears of joy.
It starts with a group of students quietly and peaceful sitting on the ground and linking arms as they are viciously pepper sprayed by UC Davis police… officers whose job it is to protect them. You can’t see from this video, but reports and photos from the campus newspaper, the California Aggie, show that the students were sitting in a circle around a small group of tents at an encampment in the university quad.
The attack on the students is provoked by nothing except their refusal to obey police orders. The usual chaos ensues for a few minutes. Victims shriek in pain, while some in the crowd frantically search for water. Several of the protesters are cuffed and dragged away, rather than receiving the medical attention they need. It is outrageous. It is unforgivable. And then something amazing happens.
The remaining students, who far outnumber the contingent of police, slowly start to encircle the officers while chanting “Shame on you!” The chants get louder and more menacing as the crowd gets closer, herding the police into a defensive huddle. Officers raise their weapons toward the crowd, warning them to back off, but at this distance and in these numbers, their riot gear would offer them little protection should the crowd suddenly charge. Sensing their advantage, the students change their chant to the more defiant “Whose university? Our university!” Tensions rise. One twitchy trigger finger and anything could happen. Then a lone voice initiates the familiar call and response of the human mic:
Voice: “Mic check!”
Crowd: “Mic check!”
Voice: “We are willing…”
Crowd: “We are willing…”
Voice: “To give you a brief moment…”
Crowd: “To give you a brief moment…”
Voice: “Of peace…”
Crowd: “Of peace…”
Voice: “In order to take your weapons…”
Crowd: “In order to take your weapons…”
Voice: “And your friends…”
Crowd: “And your friends…”
Voice: “And go.”
Crowd: “And go.”
Voice: “Please do not return…”
Crowd: “Please do not return…”
Voice: “We are giving you a moment of peace.”
Crowd: “We are giving you a moment of peace.”
The crowd then starts chanting “You can go! You can go!”, and after a few moments the police turn their backs to the crowd and do exactly that, wisely taking advantage of the offered truce, and eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd.
Two quick observations. First, anybody who defends the use of pepper spray in situations like this is not only defending police brutality, but clearly advocating for the incitement of violence. Everybody involved, the officers and the students, are fortunate that the crowd showed such admirable restraint.
Second, anybody who still dismisses civil disobedience of this sort—resisting the removal of illegal encampments—as either inappropriate or counterproductive to the message and aims of the Occupy movement, has their head stuck thoroughly up their ass. This is what democracy looks like. Source
Scott Olsen suffered a skull fracture during tear-gas filled clashes between police and demonstrators on Oct. 25. Dottie Guy of Iraq Veterans Against the War said Sunday that Olsen was released last week. She says he can now read and write, but still has trouble talking.
A protester is arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers after he attempted to join a group of Occupy LA demonstrators occupying a park in front of the Bank of America building, November 17, 2011 in downtown Los Angeles. Several dozen were arrested by the LAPD after marching through downtown. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
For more photo’s and information go to the link below. They have over 50 photo’s to date.
Retired Captain Ray Lewis of the Philadelphia police has joined Occupy Wall Street and gives his perspective on the general police mentality.
OWS video: NYPD arrest Philly police retired captain Raymond Lewis
Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacts after being hit with pepper spray
during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011 at Westlake
Park in Seattle. Protesters gathered in the intersection of 5th Avenue and
Pine Street after marching from their camp at Seattle Central Community
College in support of Occupy Wall Street. Many refused to move from the
intersection after being ordered by police. Police then began spraying pepper
spray into the gathered crowd
hitting dozens of people. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Joshua Trujillo)
Dorli Rainey has a few things to say. Check link below
Protester and three-tour American veteran Kayvan Sabehgi was beaten by Oakland police during the Occupy protest’s general strike on 2 November. Sabehgi, who was ‘completely peaceful’, according to witnesses, was left with a lacerated spleen. It is all too obvious the police attacked him. Sabehgi, 32, an Oakland resident and former marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, has since undergone surgery on his spleen. He says it took hours for him to be taken to hospital, despite complaining of severe pain.
End the wars, regulate the banks, rid the US of corruption,
government corruption included.
Audit the Privately owned Federal Reserve and eliminate it.
Get a real Central Bank owned by the people of the US,
not a private Central Bank filled with Corruption.
The US government must work for the people and not the corporations.
The citizens of the US are fed up with corruption.
Get rid of the corrupt Lobby groups. All of them.
Some include
Corporate Lobby groups.
Israeli Lobby groups.
Private Prison Lobby Groups.
Drug Lobby Groups for pharma companies.
Oil Lobby Groups
The list goes on and on.
It is also time for the mainstream media to start telling the truth.
No more lies on behalf of the Government.
No more lies for the corporations.
No more lies. Journalist must do their job not tow the lies.
Now if that happened that would be a miracle.
The world is fed up with US corruption. It is destroying the World.
All Free Trade Agreements must be revisited.
They have caused much poverty World Wide.
A few other Corrupt entities on the planet.
NATO
UN
World Bank
IMF
WTO
The list is longer, but these area few of the worst. They attempt to control the entire world, as well as the Governments of many Countries. They are the real Dictators.
Around 1.5 million homeless as US enters 2011
December 30 2010
With the New Year just a day ahead, the United States has about 1.5 million people in need of shelter. How dire is the situation? We got some insight from Massachusetts social worker Jay S. Levy.
Jay S. Levy’s recently published book Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing (Loving Healing Press, 2010) is about homelessness and the issues related to outreach counseling, case management, and advocacy for long-term and episodically homeless individuals. Jay’s book presents real-life narratives of homeless people with whom the author worked to help them with housing, care, and treatment. The book discusses several key points involved in successful transition of people from homelessness to housing, and afterward. Jay has spent the last 20 years working with individuals who experience homelessness. He is currently employed by Massachusetts’ Eliot CHS-Homeless Services as the Western and Central MA Regional Manager for the statewide SAMHSA-PATH Program. In the following conversation, Jay talks about the fundamental facts and findings on homelessness, drawing on his personal experience of working for and with the homeless. Ernest: Hello Jay! It’s the first time for me to talk to an expert about homelessness. Now the general view of a homeless person is one who lives in the open and can’t financially afford living in a house. Is that correct? Jay: Firstly, thanks for the opportunity to discuss the important issue of homelessness. This is a very broad issue and the word homeless can encompass many things. It refers to individuals as well as to families. People are considered homeless if they are residing at a shelter, or outside, or in a vehicle, or any place that is normally not meant for human habitation. Some definitions of homelessness include the large numbers of people doubled up or couch surfing… adults or families who have no home of their own, but are dependent upon others for shelter. The HUD definition of homelessness does not include this large number of doubled up persons and is more restricted to counting people who are living outside or residing in homeless shelters. As you’ve mentioned, there is almost always a financial issue that intersects with any homeless situation, but the reasons and causes of homelessness are numerous. Ernest: So, as we speak here, how many people are homeless in America? Jay: There are various estimates and counts that are different due to either the definition of homelessness or the methodology used. Every year, HUD authorizes a point in time count that is done by the various continuums of care (regional networks) across the nation. The 2009 count reports over 643,000 persons, which is composed of approximately 63% individuals and 37% families and children. It is a one-night snapshot of homelessness, so the number is far less than reflected in the yearly count (HUD AHAR, 2010) that estimates over 1.5 million people seeking shelter. This includes the vast majority of short-term homeless folks that use the shelter on a temporary basis, while in between jobs and relationships, or for some other reason lack access to income or affordable housing. Also, it should be noted that the vast majority of adults that comprise homeless families are women, while homeless single adults are predominantly men. When you factor in the unsheltered population throughout an entire year or other definitions of homelessness, the estimates range from 2.3 to 3.5 million people who are homeless annually (Burt and Aron). A researcher by the name of Dennis Culhane has shared some important data that indicates that over a one year period, approximately 80% of individuals experiencing homelessness are in shelters on a short-term basis due to temporary setbacks resulting from job loss and lack of access to housing. In fact, our observations (among outreach workers) have confirmed that the vast majority of homeless persons very quickly cycle in and out of homelessness. That being said, jobs have really dried up and the economic tailspin has led to greater than nine percent unemployment. This has already negatively impacted family homelessness where the numbers have steadily risen over the past couple of years and there is concern that a similar trend may be now occurring with individuals. Ernest: What are some other reasons besides financial fragility that render people homeless in America? Jay: There are many things that are considered contributing factors that go beyond income and affordable housing issues. What we find among homeless individuals is a range of functioning levels, as well as chronic medical, substance abuse, and mental health issues are all part of the picture in conjunction with poverty and lack of affordable housing. Trauma and homelessness are clearly interlocked. What one experiences in order to become homeless can be emotionally devastating. The lasting effects may or may not warrant the DSM diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but its impact remains profound and enduring. Sub-groups among the long-term homeless have experienced trauma at different levels. In fact, it is not unusual to meet homeless persons who have experienced layered trauma from an array of traumatic events. Veterans account for at least 13% of homeless individuals in America (HUD AHAR, 2010, p. 16) and many have experienced combat trauma. While less frequent, it is not unusual to meet homeless men and women, with foster care histories, who report profound physical and/or sexual trauma during their childhoods. Further, there are others who have sustained traumatic brain injury (TBI). An impact brain injury can cause major functional impairment, as well as significant psychological difficulty from the traumatic event that caused it. In addition, the high occurrence of substance abuse among homeless individuals (HUD AHAR, 2010, p. 22) and the associated lack of judgment and unstable relationships can result in the increased likelihood of witnessing or directly experiencing personal violence. This is especially true when you consider the unsafe living conditions that homeless persons often endure. The numbers of people who are homeless and have experienced trauma are significant, and so it is vital that a trauma-informed approach is adopted and consistently utilized. Finally, it should be noted that one of the main causes of homelessness is institutional discharges. Whether it be from foster care, the hospitals (mental health & medical), or the jails, people are discharged on a daily basis into homelessness without access to affordable housing and without adequate follow up plans. The long-term homeless are comprised of unaccompanied adults and couples who have been homeless for a year or more, as well as folks who have experienced multiple episodes of homelessness. Many of these people suffer from chronic medical issues, mental illness, and addictions, as well as from not having a home. We call this group the chronically homeless and this is where my expertise and interest converges. A significant percentage of this group consists of highly vulnerable people and unfortunately, every year many of them die from untreated illness and/or exposure to the elements. Our mission is to reach out to long-term homeless individuals and to build pathways to housing and needed treatment. My book tells the stories of different people experiencing long-term homelessness and gives an intricate view of the challenges inherent to building these pathways. In many instances, the outreach worker and client go on a figurative and literal journey in pursuit of housing, stability, and a better quality of life. That’s why my book is entitled “Homeless Narratives & Pretreatment Pathways: From Words to Housing”. I want to get beyond the numbers and tell people’s stories in an effort to provide a better connection between policy, programs, clinical approaches, and what people are really experiencing on the ground. Ernest: I assume the homeless are more vulnerable to accidents and diseases. What kinds of threats/misfortunes are these homeless people generally prone to, as tells your experience? Jay: The world of a person experiencing homelessness is fraught with challenges to one’s safety and it is not unusual to witness or experience violence. Many homeless individuals avoid the shelters due to fear for their own safety or concerns around their belongings being stolen. However, there is a catch 22 because if you stay outside in areas that either get exceedingly cold or hot, you are at risk for issues ranging from dehydration and heat stroke to frostbite and hypothermia. Many of the homeless we meet suffer from chronic untreated medical conditions. A national survey of homeless providers and their clients (Burt, et al. 1999, p. xix) found that 46% of these clients report chronic health conditions such as arthritis, cancer, diabetes, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, etc. These health issues, as well as chronic mental illness and addiction, are only exacerbated by unsafe, substandard living conditions that lack basic access to food, clean clothes, sanitary bathroom facilities, and a secure place to sleep. Additional research (Hwang et al., 1998; Hwang, 2000) shows that adults who are homeless and unsheltered for at least 6 months are at high risk of death if they fit one or more of the following criteria: age above 60, three or more visits to the emergency room during the prior 3 months, triple diagnosed (major mental illness, substance abuse, medical illness), history of frostbite and/or hypothermia or immersion foot, other medical conditionscirrhosis, heart failure, renal failure. When one considers the impact of unstable and chaotic environments on health issues, it’s hard to fathom why healthcare professionals and residential programs serving at-risk homeless individuals have often prioritized compliance with treatment above housing placement. It is clear that successful treatment is often dependent upon living conditions that promote, rather than diminish, health and safety. This is one of the main reasons why housing first initiatives and harm reduction approaches are vital to successfully addressing long term homelessness. Ernest: Okay Jay, tell us a little about the resources and services available to a person experiencing homelessness? Jay: I have found that many people with in the homeless community are very savvy as to where to find needed resources and services. The outreach worker is well served to use this naturally evolving community resource base, in addition to surfing the Internet or abiding by local service directories. That being said… one of the more important tasks of outreach work is to help people to become acquainted and eligible for the array of basic services and resources that are available, as well as serve as a guide through the bureaucratic maze that one inevitably encounters. It is critical that homeless persons are able to access what they need in order to survive and move beyond homelessness. Most major urban centers such as Washington DC, New York City, and Boston provide access to meal programs, shelters, Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), Social Security offices, and housing authorities, as well as other homeless providers. However, smaller urban centers and rural areas often lack needed resources, making it difficult to find basic things… like food and shelter! In addition, public transportation is often not available to help people reach more resource and service rich areas. On the other end of the spectrum, one of the more exciting developments has been the promulgation of Housing First alternatives. A housing first approach recognizes that the critical intervention is to house people as rapidly as possible, while simultaneously offering support services, but not require treatment as a prerequisite to getting housed. This approach has shown some initial success by demonstrating housing retention and reducing the financial costs associated with homelessness (Stefancic and Tsemberis, 2007). Out in Western MA, where I work, and many other places, such as Denver, NYC, and Boston, we have begun providing affordable housing alternatives with support services that long-term homeless persons can easily access as long as they’re agreeable to taking on the challenges of paying rent, getting along with neighbors, and taking care of their apartment. There is some compelling evidence that housing First Programs have not only reduced financial costs and the numbers of unsheltered long-term homeless individuals, but it has also saved people’s lives. Many of the people who are among the long-term homeless are untreated while suffering from major mental illnesses, addictions, and chronic medical issues. They often lack the necessary insight and judgment to accept needed treatment services unless they are first housed and then provided with the opportunity to gradually build trusting relationships with service providers. Housing First can and does eventually lead to treatment, while keeping people safe from the elements. It is the ultimate harm reduction program! Ernest: And what are some of the major roles that government and non government entities can serve in helping the homeless in America? Jay: Considering the reported difficulties of accessing resources and services and the dizzying effects of needless bureaucracy, it is important to utilize what we have in the most efficient manner possible. Currently, Ten and Five Year Plans have been developed and implemented in an effort to end chronic homelessness, and thereby reduce social and financial costs (All Roads Lead Home, 2008; The Commonwealth of MA, 2003; National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2000). Ultimately, these plans are based on collaborative efforts between concerned individuals, advocacy groups, local city and town employees, politicians, policy makers, non-profit service providers, charities, businesses, etc. These collaborative networks are being established to address fundamental issues such as developing affordable housing with support services, promoting better access to community-based resources and services, and implementing strategies of prevention in order to reduce future homelessness. Advocates and policy makers now understand that addressing access, resource and prevention issues are paramount, if we are to be successful in turning long-term homelessness into a rare or unusual phenomenon. This has culminated in the Obama Administration’s recent unveiling of the first National Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness (US Interagency Council on Homelessness, 2010). This plan declares support for housing first initiatives and continued interagency collaboration in an effort to make significant inroads with both families and individuals. While this is good news from the standpoint of new cooperative networks and more efficient use of resources, this does not directly address macroeconomic issues that impact unemployment, underemployment, and the lack of affordable housing. Ernest: Tell me Jay, what can the layman do to help the homeless? Jay: There are a number of things that can be done. Many positive things can happen when there is a sense of caring and human contact. Get to know the names of some of the homeless persons that you frequently meet in your daily travels or in your neighborhood. Don’t be afraid to ask if they are getting any help or if there are any basic things that they need. If you are wary of donating money directly to a person experiencing homelessness, consider giving them need items such as food, clothes, or even information regarding a nearby resource center. Many organizations working for the homeless accept financial donations. If you know of any homeless services and resources, it’s a pretty sure bet that these organizations are financially strained. Consider donating, but doing so toward funding a specific cause such as providing rental assistance and supporting transitions to housing. Many other places like the Salvation Army or community resource centers accept donations of food, household items, and clothes. Another nice way to contribute is by way of volunteer service. Currently, my daughter volunteers her time at a Survival Center that provides clothing, serves hot meals, and has a food pantry that serves our local community, which includes the homeless. Meal programs are often in need of volunteers to help prepare and serve meals to people who are struggling to make ends meet. Ernest: For all interested readers, would you tell us who and/or where to reach for help in case some homeless person/family is noticed in search of help? Jay: The key is to find out what are the homeless resources and services in your area. Every state has PATH programs that are funded by both state and federal dollars. PATH stands for Projects for Assistance in Transitions from Homelessness. The people in charge of these programs are very informed regarding homeless resources and services. Most states have funded various non-profits, so you want to locate the right service provider for your region. This can be done by going to the following website: http://pathprogram.samhsa.gov/Channel/Default.aspx. Once you get to the PATH-SAMHSA website, just click on the “Grantees” tab and then you can do a search for the homeless service organization that serves your particular state and region. I work for Eliot CHS-Homeless Services and we are the sole PATH Provider serving Massachusetts. I am the regional manager for both Central and Western Massachusetts and have counterparts that manage the North East and South East regions of our state. Our program is listed on the PATH website and if someone were to call, we could direct them to critical resources and services. Other places to look for help include the local Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), where people can access Food Stamps, Emergency Assistance funds, and health insurance. Local DTA caseworkers normally have access to information on family and individual shelters and meal programs across the region that they cover. If that fails, an Internet search under homeless shelters and/or meal programs for your particular area will most likely yield results. Finally, check your local phone directory under Social & Human Services, or inquire with your local church or synagogue. Places of faith are often quite involved with supporting community meal programs and other charitable efforts toward helping those who are most in need. Directing a homeless family or person to local resources and services can be the first critical step toward attaining critical assistance ranging from shelters and meals to healthcare and housing. Ernest: Many thanks Jay for sharing your precious knowledge and taking time for this talk! Jay: I appreciate you taking the time to interviewing me, and providing a forum for talking about these important issues. If anyone would like more information on my book including some recent reviews, please check out my website. Thanks! Source
In 2011 2.3 million people are in prison
In 2009: People
On Probation 4,203,967
On Parole 819,308
In Jail 760,400
In Prison 1,524,513
Grand Total 7,225,80
The total numbers are higher now. Profiteers are making a fortune on prisoners.
The US government is making ‘coordinated efforts’ aimed at suppressing the ‘Occupy’ movement that has spread across the country, an American journalist says.
“The fact that all the mayors seem to be reading from a script when they explain why they are cracking down, it’s almost ludicrous how they use the same excuses, the same wording, and the same techniques,” author and investigative journalist, David Lindorff said during an interview with Press TV’s US Desk.
According to Lindorff, Oakland’s mayor Jean Quan, has admitted to having a conference call with 18 other mayors, while in Washington.
Lindorff added that he is almost certain the call was organized by the US government, most likely “by someone like Janet Napolitano from the Homeland Security.”
The investigative journalist further criticized the unnecessary violent response peaceful protesters were receiving from riot police, questioning their claims of concerns “about sanitation and safety.”
The Occupy movement owes its name to ‘Occupy Wall Street’ (OWS), which emerged on September 17, when a group of demonstrators gathered in New York’s financial district to protest social inequality and top-level corruption in the country.
Despite police hindrance and mass arrests, the Occupy movement has now spread to major US cities.
The movement has also inspired similar pushes across the world, including in Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Portugal. Source
This is a must watch Video.
Speakers are Dan Glazebrook, Lizzie Phelan, Harpal Brar
Israeli parents protest growing extremist bent in religious schools
Our outcry is over the prohibition against kindergarten girls singing,’ Ariela Miller, mother of three children in the Orthodox state school system, tells Haaretz.
By Talila Nesher
Parents of some 400 children in the state religious school system have banded together to protest what they view as the extreme bent the system has taken.
“People are angry over the issue of women [prohibited from] singing in the IDF, but our outcry is over the prohibition against kindergarten girls singing,” Ariela Miller, the mother of three children in the Orthodox state school system, told Haaretz.
Girls and boys lining up separately for school buses at Tel Aviv’s Zeitlin School, part of the national-religious school system. Photo by: Nir Kafri
“Children are habituated to rabbis being the only source of authority, much before educators. No wonder that when they come to crossroads in life, they cannot use their own judgment,” Miller said.
Unlike Miller, most of the parents are afraid to reveal their names for fear of a negative impact on their children’s schooling. One activist, who works for the Education Ministry, said she was summoned for a talking-to and told to stop her activities against the Education Ministry.
Another mother said that the main extremist influence was coming from organized groups of Orthodox people moving into a community with the purpose of increasing religious observance in that community. “But make no mistake, the Education Ministry is a full partner and is pushing them forward,” she said.
Parents are brimming with examples of increasing extremism in state religious schools. One father who has children in Tel Aviv’s Moriah school said: “On the last Memorial Day, some of the girls did not sing in the ceremony because ‘it is not modest,’ and they have already begun talking about the fact that at the end of the year event the fathers won’t be able to see the girls perform and that there will even be separate events for boys and girls.”
Another father said the school principal has no choice but to accede to the demands of the parents of the ultra-Orthodox group that has moved in, “and if an instruction is not implemented, it comes later from above – from [the Education Ministry's] supervisor.”
The father added that when he complained he was told that if he did not like it, he could take his daughter to another school.
A mother from a state religious kindergarten in Kiryat Gat said that when she asked if a date had been set for the class Hanukkah party, the teacher said the event was being organized by the Orthodox residents’ group, and that fathers would not be invited because “it is not modest for girls to dance and sing in the presence of the fathers, which would [also] prevent the mothers from dancing.”
Classroom hours have also been changed unrecognizably, the father of a child at the Shilo school in Kiryat Ono says. When the parents first received the schedule of classes, it seemed alright, he said. “Only later did we realize that there are sacred studies disguised as secular studies: homeroom, for example, is suddenly being taught by the school rabbi, who certainly doesn’t deal with civics, but rather with Jewish law.”
The father said his daughter showed him a book that the school had purchased for the children, which he said was “completely ultra-Orthodox.” The father said the male figures in the book were depicted with ultra-Orthodox skullcaps and sidelocks and on the page teaching about showing respect to parents “there was only a father, no mother at all.”
A project to further classic Israeli literature at the Tomer kindergarten in Ramat Hasharon by subsidizing the purchase of books was scrapped last year, a parent said, after the group of Orthodox people who had moved into the community to further its religious observance said Haim Nahman Bialik and Lea Goldberg were “not modest.”
A mother of a child in the Tomer kindergarten said the group of Orthodox residents “impose censorship instead of the Education Ministry” in checking the plays the school was paying for the children to see.
A parent from the Moriah school said: “One fine day they decided to separate the children on the bus: the boys in the front and the girls in the back. Recess is also taken in different yards.”
Parents from Kiryat Gat said that on the first day of kindergarten they were given a flyer in which mothers were instructed “to come to the kindergarten in modest dress (skirt or dress, no pants and certainly not without sleeves ).”
Before the beginning of the school year at the Morasha school in Petah Tikva, a group of parents petitioned the High Court of Justice over what they perceived as forced gender separation beginning in the first grade. “The High Court ordered the situation to remain as it is until a committee studies the issue,” Idit, one of the mothers said. “But the High Court doesn’t know that it is being tricked, because last year we were forced to separate them under the assumption that it was for one year, so leaving the situation as it is means continuing the separation.”
The Education Ministry responded: “State religious education provides solutions to a variety of communities and the various groups studying in its framework. Discussions are underway to study the matter in all its aspects.” Source
This happened in the US. They tried to impose their will on women, on the buses.
Bus Line Serving Orthodox Jewish Community Tells Women to Sit at the Back of the Bus
In many ways, the B110 bus that connects South Williamsburg and Borough Park seems like any other bus. It has a route number and blue bus stop signs like any other city bus, and it’s open to the public. But the B110 is operated by a private company, Private Transportation Corporation, which pays the city for the right to provide a public service. And reporter Sasha Chavkin finds that on this bus—which caters to a predominately Orthodox Jewish ridership—special rules apply. Namely, women get the Rosa Parks treatment.
Chavkin recently asked an acquaintance to ride the B110 recently and found that female passengers are asked to sit in the back. His canary in the Hasidic coalmine encountered a bus full with “Orthodox Jews with full beards, sidecurls and long black coats, who told her that she was riding ‘a private bus’ and ‘a Jewish bus.’” When she asked why she had to move, a man scolded her, explaining, “If God makes a rule, you don’t ask ‘Why make the rule?”
A female Post reporter had a similar experience when she sat in the front of the B110, where signs written in Hebrew and English also direct women to use the back door during busy times.
Yeah no.
This bus in question is run by a private company, but has a contract with New York City in order to operate — and that contract requires that the franchise “comply with all applicable laws and is prohibited from discriminating in the provision of the bus service on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, sex, age, handicap, marital status, or real or perceived sexual orientation.”
In other words, they’re really not supposed to be sending women to the back of the bus. But it’s kind of amazing how many commenters over at Gothamist are like, “It’s religion, not discrimination!” Sure. Source
In Israel this is what happens.
Woman beaten on J’lem bus for refusing to move to rear seat
December 15 2006
Miriam Shear says she was traveling to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City early on November 24 when a group of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men attacked her for refusing to move to the back of the Egged No. 2 bus.
By Daphna Berman
A woman who reported a vicious attack by an ad-hoc “modesty patrol” on a Jerusalem bus last month is now lining up support for her case and may be included in a petition to the High Court of Justice over the legality of sex-segregated buses.
Miriam Shear says she was traveling to pray at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City early on November 24 when a group of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men attacked her for refusing to move to the back of the Egged No. 2 bus. She is now in touch with several legal advocacy and women’s organizations, and at the same time, waiting for the police to apprehend her attackers.
In her first interview since the incident, Shear says that on the bus three weeks ago, she was slapped, kicked, punched and pushed by a group of men who demanded that she sit in the back of the bus with the other women. The bus driver, in response to a media inquiry, denied that violence was used against her, but Shear’s account has been substantiated by an unrelated eyewitness on the bus who confirmed that she sustained an unprovoked “severe beating.”
Shear, an American-Israeli woman who currently lives in Canada, says that on a recent five-week vacation to Israel, she rode the bus daily to the Old City to pray at sunrise. Though not defined by Egged as a sex-segregated “mehadrin” bus, women usually sit in the back, while men sit in the front, as a matter of custom.
“Every two or three days, someone would tell me to sit in the back, sometimes politely and sometimes not,” she recalled this week in a telephone interview. “I was always polite and said ‘No. This is not a synagogue. I am not going to sit in the back.’”
But Shear, a 50-year-old religious woman, says that on the morning of the 24th, a man got onto the bus and demanded her seat – even though there were a number of other seats available in the front of the bus.
“I said, I’m not moving and he said, ‘I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.’ Then he spat in my face and at that point, I was in high adrenaline mode and called him a son-of-a-bitch, which I am not proud of. Then I spat back. At that point, he pushed me down and people on the bus were screaming that I was crazy. Four men surrounded me and slapped my face, punched me in the chest, pulled at my clothes, beat me, kicked me. My snood [hair covering] came off. I was fighting back and kicked one of the men in his privates. I will never forget the look on his face.”
Shear says that when she bent down in the aisle to retrieve her hair covering, “one of the men kicked me in the face. Thank God he missed my eye. I got up and punched him. I said, ‘I want my hair covering back’ but he wouldn’t give it to me, so I took his black hat and threw it in the aisle.”
‘Stupid American’
Throughout the encounter, Shear says the bus driver “did nothing.” The other passengers, she says, blamed her for not moving to the back of the bus and called her a “stupid American with no sechel [common sense.] People blamed me for not knowing my place and not going to the back of the bus where I belong.”
According to Yehoshua Meyer, the eyewitness to the incident, Shear’s account is entirely accurate. “I saw everything,” he said. “Someone got on the bus and demanded that she go to the back, but she didn’t agree. She was badly beaten and her whole body sustained hits and kicks. She tried to fight back and no one would help her. I tried to help, but someone was stopping me from getting up. My phone’s battery was dead, so I couldn’t call the police. I yelled for the bus driver to stop. He stopped once, but he didn’t do anything. When we finally got to the Kotel [Western Wall], she was beaten badly and I helped her go to the police.”
Shear says that when she first started riding the No. 2 line, she did not even know that it was sometimes sex-segregated. She also says that sitting in the front is simply more comfortable. “I’m a 50-year-old woman and I don’t like to sit in the back. I’m dressed appropriately and I was on a public bus.”
“It is very dangerous for a group of people to take control over a public entity and enforce their will without going through due process,” she said. “Even if they [Haredim who want a segregated bus] are a majority – and I don’t think they are – they have options available. They can petition Egged or hire their own private line. But as long as it’s a public bus, I don’t care if there are 500 people telling me where to sit. I can sit wherever I want and so can anyone else.”
Meyer says that throughout the incident, the other passengers blamed Shear for not sitting in the back. “They’ll probably claim that she attacked them first, but that’s totally untrue. She was abused terribly, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Word of Shear’s story traveled quickly after she forwarded an e-mail detailing her experience. She has been contacted by a number of groups, including Shatil, the New Israel Fund’s Empowerment and Training Center for Social Change; Kolech, a religious women’s forum; the Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC), the legal advocacy arm of the local Reform movement; and the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance (JOFA).
In the coming month, IRAC will be submitting a petition to the High Court of Justice against the Transportation Ministry over the issue of segregated Egged buses. IRAC attorney Orly Erez-Likhovski is in touch with Shear and is considering including her in the petition.
Although the No. 2 Jerusalem bus where the incident occurred is not actually defined as a mehadrin line, Erez-Likhovski says that Shear’s story is further proof that the issue requires legal clarification. About 30 Egged buses are designated as mehadrin, mostly on inter-city lines, but they are not marked to indicate this. “There’s no way to identify a mehadrin bus, which in itself is a problem,” she said.
“Theoretically, a person can sit wherever they want, even on a mehadrin line, but we’re seeing that people are enforcing [the gender segregation] even on non-mehadrin lines and that’s the part of the danger,” she said.
On a mehadrin bus, women enter and exit through the rear door, and the seats from the rear door back are generally considered the “women’s section.” A child is usually sent forward to pay the driver.
The official responses
In a response from Egged, the bus driver denied that Shear was physically attacked in any way.
“In a thorough inquiry that we conducted, we found that the bus driver does not confirm that any violence was used against the complainant,” Egged spokesman Ron Ratner wrote.
“According to the driver, once he saw that there was a crowd gathering around her, he stopped the bus and went to check what was going on. He clarified to the passengers that the bus was not a mehadrin line and that all passengers on the line are permitted to sit wherever they want on the bus. After making sure that the passengers returned to their seats, he continued driving.”
The Egged response also noted that their drivers “are not able and are not authorized to supervise the behavior of the passengers in all situations.”
Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Avner Ovadia said in response that the mehadrin lines are “the result of agreements reached between Egged and Haredi bodies” and are therefore unconnected to the ministry.
A spokesperson for the Jerusalem police said the case is still under investigation. Source
Here is another interesting story you might enjoy. From July 2010
In Israel Arabs are not allowed on buses or roads for Jews only if they do go on a road or a bus they arrested. Absolute segregation.
Rather reminds me of how blacks were treated like in the US.
Palestinian activists arrested on Israeli bus
By DIAA HADID, Associated Press
November 15, 2011
(11-15) 12:39 PST HIZMA CHECKPOINT, West Bank
Six Palestinian activists, clutching national flags and surrounded by dozens of reporters, were dragged off an Israeli bus they planned to ride into Jerusalem after a standoff with police Tuesday.
They were detained and then released a few hours later in the West Bank, said pro-Palestinian activist Jonathan Pollack.
The Palestinians boarded the Israeli bus in a widely advertised action hoping to draw attention to what they call discriminatory measures in the West Bank, particularly travel restrictions.
Tuesday’s action highlighted how some Palestinians are adopting peaceful actions in their struggle for statehood in the West Bank, where the Western-backed Palestinian Authority has a measure of self-rule. Even as the bus protest unfolded in the West Bank, Palestinian militants in Gaza to the south fired rockets at nearby Israeli communities.
“We want to show the system of discrimination that we live in here. My point isn’t go to jail — my point is to have the freedom to get on a bus,” said Badia Dwaik, a 38-year-old civil servant, shortly before he was dragged off the Israeli number 148 Egged bus, which serves Israeli settlements.
Israeli officials say the travel restrictions on Palestinians are needed to prevent militants from entering Israel or West Bank settlements to stage attacks. The restrictions increased during the violent Palestinian uprising of 2000-2005, when buses were frequently blown up by suicide bombers.
The Palestinian activists dubbed themselves “Freedom Riders” after 1960s American civil rights activists who worked in the U.S. South to counter racial discrimination and segregation there, though there were no security elements in the American rights struggle.
In the West Bank — home to 2.5 million Palestinians and some 300,000 Jewish settlers — the two sides usually use different bus systems.
Although no specific rule prevents Palestinians from riding the “Israeli” buses — they are generally not allowed into the Jewish settlements these buses serve. The Palestinians also need permits to enter Jerusalem.
Tuesday’s protest began at a stop near the Jewish settlement of Migron. Posted on the bus stop were posters praising the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, an extremist who argued that Palestinians should be expelled from Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The first three “number 148″ buses — apparently aware of the planned provocation — sped by. But the fourth pulled up.
Maggie Amir, 48, from the nearby Jewish settlement of Rimonim, who was waiting to board, said Palestinians shouldn’t be allowed on.
“This is our bus,” she said, adding: “Quite simply, we are afraid of them.”
The Palestinians paid their fares and boarded, as reporters jostled to board. Dwaik sat a row away from Haggai Segal, a 54-year-old Israeli from the settlement of Ofra, once jailed for planting a car bomb that badly wounded a Palestinian mayor. The two did not interact.
Dozens of reporters clustered around the six activists, who wore T-shirts emblazoned with “justice” and “freedom.” Several wore black-and-white checkered headscarves.
After an uneventful 20-minute ride, the bus stopped at the Hizme checkpoint on Jerusalem’s outskirts. Israeli police boarded, demanding to see their Jerusalem entry permits. Lacking the permits, the Palestinians refused to get off.
“I am not going to obey your discriminatory law,” Dwaik told the policeman, speaking Arabic.
“So you are detained,” the policeman said, also in Arabic.
“Fine. I am not moving.”
About an hour later the six Palestinians were detained, dragged off the bus and taken away in a police car to a nearby station — in Jerusalem, having somewhat reached their destination. Source
Israel effectively annexes Palestinian land near Jordan Valley
State gave Israeli kibbutz 1,500 dunam (375 acres ) of Palestinian-owned land over Green Line.
By Akiva Eldar
November 18 2011
Israel carried out a de facto annexation of Palestinian land northeast of the Jordan Valley and given it to Kibbutz Merav. Merav, part of the Religious Kibbutz Movement, is about seven kilometers northwest of the parcel.
The route of the separation barrier in the area was changed so that the plot in question, about 1,500 dunams (375 acres ), would be on the Israeli side.
Israel has previously built roads on and given Palestinian land in the West Bank to Jewish settlements, but this is thought to be the first instance of Palestinian-owned land being transferred to a community on sovereign Israeli territory.
A spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Maj. Guy Inbar, confirmed that the property is in the West Bank and said, “Kibbutz Merav has been farming this land for decades.”
The issue of the land’s legal status and its transfer to Merav is clouded in mystery, and official statements have been contradictory. All efforts to locate documents explaining the situation have failed, Inbar said.
The kibbutz is in the Emek Mayanot Regional Council, whose jurisdiction is entirely within the Green Line. In a statement, council officials said the land is beyond its jurisdiction and that the Israel Lands Administration controls land allocations to the council’s member communities.
Ofer Amar, a spokesman for the World Zionist Organization’s Jewish settlement division said the tract is classified as farmland within the Emek Mayanot Regional Council. He said the settlement division had no authority over the parcel.
Kibbutz Merav’s secretary general, David Yisrael, confirmed the kibbutz has been farming the land for years, growing field crops including corn as well as citrus fruit. He said he had a lease with the ILA for it, but refused to show it to Haaretz.
An official in the Civil Administration said Yisrael refused to show the contract to his agency, too.
ILA spokeswoman Ortal Tzabar said the ILA had no knowledge of the matter, as it does not deal with land outside sovereign Israeli territory.
“There is a straight line from plundering these 1,500 dunams to Amona, Migron and Givat Asaf, outposts that were built years later,” said Dror Etkes, director of Peace Now’s Settlements Watch Project, who detected the annexed land in aerial photographs.
If the appropriation of the Palestinian farmers’ lands in the Jordan Valley had happened now, rather than in the 1970s, Israeli civil rights groups would have prevented it, Etkes said.
“This is an example of why it so important for MK Ofir Akunis and his wacky right-wing colleagues to conceal and silence leftist organizations and turn the High Court of Justice and the media into the government’s puppets,” Etkes said.
Ashraf Madrasa, from the nearby village of Bardallah, showed Haaretz an ownership deed from 1961 for a 36-dunam tract of the land. He said the Israel Defense Forces seized the land, declared it a “military area,” drove out the owners and ordered never to return.
A number of landowners were given alternative plots belonging to “absentee” Palestinians who fled during the 1967 Six-Day War. Sami Rajab, whose family farms in the area, said that in exchange for several plots in the area he was evicted from, his father received a tract that belonged to his uncle, who emigrated to Canada.
Recently his cousin came to visit and demanded his lands back, Rajab related. “We told him he had to ask the Israeli government to give it back to him,” Rajab said.
According to international law Israel is the custodian of absentee property in the West Bank and is prohibited from giving it to settlers, not to mention to communities within Israel.
In an opinion issued in 1997, the Civil Administration’s legal adviser said: “The Custodian of Absentee Property in the West Bank is nothing but a trustee looking after the property so it is not harmed while the owners are absent from the area … the custodian may not make any transaction regarding the asset that conflicts with the obligation to safeguard the asset as stated, especially his obligation to return the asset to the owner upon his return to the region.”
The state comptroller wrote in a 2004 report that thousands of dunams of privately-owned Palestinian lands were given to Israeli communities in the Jordan Valley in the 1960s and 1970s, according to ILA and Custodian of Absentee Property documents.
The ILA continued “these allocations, defined in the above documents as apparently illegal, after that as well,” he wrote.
For years, the US government has condemned countries like China and Iran for their clampdown on Internet use. But now, the impact of America’s new censorship laws could be far worse — effectively blocking sites to every Internet user across the globe.
Last year, a similar Internet censorship bill was killed before reaching the US Senate floor, but it’s now back in a different form. Copyright laws already exist and are enforced by courts. But this new law goes much further — granting the government and big corporations enormous powers to force service providers and search engines to block websites based just on allegations of violations — without a trial or being found guilty of any crime!
US free speech advocates have already raised the alarm, and some key Senators are trying to gather enough support to stop this dangerous bill. We have no time to lose. Let’s stand with them to ensure American lawmakers preserve the right to a free and open Internet as an essential way for people around the world to exchange ideas, share communication and work collectively to build the world we want.
Op-Ed: Blacklist Bill allows Feds to remove websites from Internet
The House version of the Internet Blacklist Bill was released October 26, 2011, with no effort to fix problems that existed in the Senate version. A violation of the First Amendment, it is contrary to official positions of internet freedom and censorship.
“Under the Internet Blacklist Bill — S.968, formally called the PROTECT IP Act — the Department of Justice would force search engines, browsers, and service providers to block users’ access to websites that have been accused of copyright infringement — without even giving them a day in court.” (Demand Progress)
The S.968 bill is considered dangerous and short-sighted due to its broad writing that covers a multitude of issues, bringing danger to not only Internet security but is considered a serious threat to free online speech and innovation. The Censorship-galore Department describes it as an attempt to build the Great Firewall of America, requiring service providers to block access to certain websites.
This bill could shut down YouTube, Twitter and many other social websites that bring together the Occupy movements across the nation and world—any user-generated content site where the law can make the sites’ owners legally responsible for the posted content of its users.
Additionally, the bill could shut down music storage lockers and cloud-based products, while its broad-based terminology includes provisions that allow selected websites to be charged with felony charges for streaming unlicensed content—video game play-throughs, coverage of band performances and karaoke videos.
“The bill also threatens to take away Americans’ rights to safe, affordable medications by blocking access to licensed and regulated pharmacies outside of the U.S. that require a prescription.”
As reported to Tech Dirt the CCIA, CEA and NetCoalition prepared a joint letter to members of Congress who had originally sponsored the bill, saying that on behalf of the technology industry they had never been approached about the bill.
This is ironic, as Protect IP is basically driven by the demands of the entertainment industry. Yet the bill will dramatically reduce jobs, job growth and innovation in the country—something promised by the GOP when they were voted into office and something not yet seen.
The House had previously agreed to meet with organizations that represented the tech industry and who would be most affected by Protect IP. However, the House has chosen to rush the bill through this past Wednesday without listening to professional opinions or advice from the tech industry, individuals who feel strongly that the bill is “jobs-destroying,” “innovative-binding,” “and internet-breaking.”
Letter to the GOP House from CCIA, CEA and NetCoalition:
October 24, 2011
Via Facsimile and E-Mail
The Honorable Lamar Smith Chairman Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Ranking Member Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Bob Goodlatte Chairman Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Mel Watt Ranking Member Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Smith and Representatives Conyers, Goodlatte, and Watt:
We want to thank you for convening a meeting on Friday in regard to the legislative proposal to address rogue foreign websites that infringe the rights of U.S. IP owners. We also appreciate the time your staff has devoted to this important and complex issue. We regard this initial meeting as a productive step toward building consensus around a solution, and we urge that the Committee await introducing legislation until the affected stakeholders can comment meaningfully on the specifics of the approach.
One point of consensus that appeared to emerge in Friday’s meeting was that in an area as complex as Internet regulation, the specific text by which the framework is implemented matters greatly. Thus, the stakeholders who stand to be directly affected by the regulatory framework under consideration should be consulted on the text.
For this reason, we urge you to reconvene affected stakeholders and experts when a draft has been prepared, and utilize the input that they may provide before introducing legislation. Our industries remain committed to working with all stakeholders to craft a legislative proposal that addresses this issue without undue collateral damage.
Sincerely, Computer & Communications
Industry Association (CCIA)
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
NetCoalition
With the Internet Blacklist Bill literally shoved through the House, those same copyright holders will be able to cut off advertising and payment processing to such sites. Without court review.
Disastrous IP Legislation Is Back – And It’s Worse than Ever
We’ve reported hereoften on efforts to ram through Congress legislation that would authorize massive interference with the Internet, all in the name of a fruitless quest to stamp out all infringement online. Today Representative Lamar Smith upped the ante, introducing legislation, called the Stop Online Piracy Act, or “SOPA,” that would not only sabotage the domain name system but would also threaten to effectively eliminate the DMCA safe harbors that, while imperfect, have spurred much economic growth and online creativity.
As with its Senate-side evil sister, PROTECT-IP, SOPA would require service providers to “disappear” certain websites, endangering Internet security and sending a troubling message to the world: it’s okay to interfere with the Internet, even effectively blacklisting entire domains, as long as you do it in the name of IP enforcement. Of course blacklisting entire domains can mean turning off thousands of underlying websites that may have done nothing wrong. And in what has to be an ironic touch, the very first clause of SOPA states that it shall not be “construed to impose a prior restraint on free speech.” As if that little recitation could prevent the obvious constitutional problem in what the statute actually does.
But it gets worse. Under this bill, service providers (including hosting services) would be under new pressure to monitor and police their users’ activities. Websites that simply don’t do enough to police infringement (and it is not at all clear what would qualify as “enough”) are now under threat, even though the DMCA expressly does not require affirmative policing. It creates new enforcement tools against folks who dare to help users access sites that may have been “blacklisted,” even without any kind of court hearing. The bill also requires that search engines, payment providers (such as credit card companies and PayPal), and advertising services join in the fun in shutting down entire websites. In fact, the bill seems mainly aimed at creating an end-run around the DMCA safe harbors. Instead of complying with the DMCA, a copyright owner may now be able to use these new provisions to effectively shut down a site by cutting off access to its domain name, its search engine hits, its ads, and its other financing even if the safe harbors would apply.
And that’s only the beginning: we haven’t even started on the streaming provisions.
We’ll have more details on the bill in the next several days but suffice it to say, this is the worst piece of IP legislation we’ve seen in the last decade — and that’s saying something. This would be a good time to contact your Congressional representative and tell them to oppose this bill! Source
We all pay to access the Internet and we all should have a say in it.
Say no to censorship and keep the web as we know it.
As of June 2011 NATO had exacted 26,000 sorties and nearly 10,000 airstrikes. The number of actual Airstrikes is much higher, as the bombing continued up until October 2011.
At least 30,000 people were killed and 50,000 wounded in Libya’s six-month NATO war. The numbers may be higher.
As of today there are at least 7,000 prisoners held by the NTC/Rebels at this point in time probably more.
Libya: detainees and the dead must be respected
October 27 2011
Following the recent fighting, particularly in Sirte, Georges Comninos, who heads the ICRC delegation in Libya, gives an update on the immediate humanitarian priorities and on problems that have recently been the subject of debate, in particular the public display of detainees and the dead.
What will the ICRC’s priorities be in the coming days?
Many people are still being arrested. Obtaining access to people newly detained, in particular those captured following the recent fighting in Sirte and Bani Walid, is a priority. In the framework of a constructive dialogue with the transitional authorities, we have visited 6,000 detainees in Tripoli, Misrata and other cities nearby over the past two months. So we have reason to be optimistic about obtaining access to people recently arrested. That being said, in order to be able to check on the treatment they are receiving and on the conditions in which they are being held, the visits will have to take place without delay.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegates have returned to Sirte several times over the past few days. The fighting was extremely fierce, as can be seen by the large-scale destruction. The city is almost deserted; only a small number of families are starting to return.
At least 200 corpses have so far been found in Sirte. The staff of the National Commission for the Missing, a doctor from Ibn Sina Hospital and civilian volunteers are currently involved in the retrieval and temporary burial of unidentified bodies. The ICRC provided them with advice in order to facilitate the process of having the deceased identified by members of their families.
In the light of information obtained in Sirte, we are also going to intensify our dialogue with the authorities concerned on the conduct of recent hostilities and on compliance with other rules of international humanitarian law.
In cooperation with Libyan Red Crescent volunteers, we will be pressing ahead in the coming days with the delivery of aid to tens of thousands of people displaced from Sirte and Bani Walid. Unexploded munitions in those cities constitute a danger and a further obstacle to the return of the people who fled. It will therefore also be necessary to raise people’s awareness of the danger posed by these explosive remnants of war.
The public display of detainees and of mortal remains has triggered a great deal of reaction and debate in recent days. What is the ICRC’s view of these issues?
Over the past few days, people with their hands tied have been put on display on vehicles, interrogations of detainees have been filmed by local media, and mortal remains have been exposed to public curiosity…
Our view of these issues is based on the applicable rules of international humanitarian law, for which we endeavour to ensure respect.
In each individual case, the parties concerned must refrain from subjecting persons in their power to treatment incompatible with respect for their honour and dignity – in particular, to humiliating and degrading treatment. They must treat them humanely, without any adverse distinction. International humanitarian law also contains rules concerning respect for the dead, such as the obligation to search for, collect and evacuate the dead without adverse distinction, to prevent the dead from being despoiled or mutilated, and to bury the dead with respect.
These rules concerning respect for persons deprived of their freedom and for mortal remains also apply in connection with their display to the general public via the media.
There have recently been numerous allegations of summary executions in places where fighting has taken place, particularly in Sirte. What do you have to say on this topic?
We will not cease to point out that international humanitarian law prohibits at any time, and in any place whatsoever, violence to the life and person of anyone no longer taking an active part in hostilities. Violations of this prohibition by any party involved in the conflict are grave breaches of international humanitarian law which, once established, must be punished.
On issues like this, the ICRC gives priority to bilateral and confidential dialogue with the parties. Source
Unfortunately the Red Cross have not told us how the prisoners are being treated.
Red Cross Statement on Abuzaid Dorda
Nov 14, 2011
Abuzaid Dorda is a very famous Libyan, Once the Prime Minister, and the permanent representative to the UN. Since being arrested in good health, he now has broken bones and his health is in jeopardy, in the last days there are videos on this channel with his brother and his son.
NTC officials deny the allegation and say Dorda incurred injuries including two broken legs whilst either attempting to escape or commit suicide.
Considering the barbaric behavior of the Rebels, I believe the man was brutalized by the Rebels.
Here are just a few reports from Detainees.
Because the detainees expressed fear of reprisals, including some who said they might face beatings for talking with a Human Rights Watch researcher, Human Rights Watch is withholding their real names.
A dark-skinned Libyan, Abdulatif, said that guards in one Tripoli detention facility used electric shock to force him to confess to crimes he said he had not committed:
The rebels were taking turns. There were too many to count. Every day, there was a new face. They zapped me with an electric stick on my legs and on my arms. They did that twice. They asked me questions when they did this…. They asked me again and hit me. I said “No, I swear I didn’t,” so they started electrocuting me. They wanted me to confess but in the wrong way. They hit me every day. They used falaga [beating on the bottom of the feet] and hit me on my back, all over my body, and slapped my face. They did this three times.
Another dark-skinned Libyan, Juma, showed Human Rights Watch his wounds and talked of his interrogation at a large Tripoli prison:
They used cables and engine belts [to beat me]…. They hit me every day. The first days, they beat me for six to seven hours. I fainted. They beat me until I lost consciousness. They were still beating me, but I couldn’t feel it. They poured a bucket of water on my head twice, so I woke up. When I woke up, they would leave me alone, but then they started beating me again.…They put the electric stick on my side, my thighs, my shoulder, my back. If you fall, they put it on your body, anywhere. They use it right away when you fall. I can’t tell you how many times they did this.
The pronounced scars he showed Human Rights Watch were consistent with his claims.
One sub-Saharan African, Mohammed, wept as he showed Human Rights Watch welts on his arms, back, and neck that he said were from beatings by guards at a small detention center. Another African migrant said that guards twice extinguished a cigarette on his arm. “Every day they frighten me,” he told Human Rights Watch. “They say they will slaughter me.”
One Libyan detainee, Ahmed, described daily beatings and mistreatment while he was held at a neighborhood detention center that Human Rights Watch did not visit:
They took an electric cable and started hitting me with it. They didn’t use electricity, but they said that if I didn’t talk, they would…They hit me with a butt of the Kalashnikov (a type of rifle). They kicked me in the face and in the chest. One scratched me with the knife [bayonet] of the Kalashnikov.”
Ahmed showed Human Rights Watch scars on various parts of his body, including from cigarette burns.
There are also children held in those prisons as well, but no one is reporting how many.
I guess the CIA taught them well. Under Libyan law, which obviously doesn’t apply anymore now that the NTC/Rebels have taken over. the police must have a warrant to make an arrest. The police can hold a person for up to 48 hours, and the prosecution has up to six days to file charges, although a judge can extend this period for up to 30 days. Defendants have the right to be informed of the charges against them and to have access to a lawyer from the moment of arrest.
Obama’s War Incited by CNN, Al Jazeera & Co Leaves Thousands of Libyan Children Handicapped or Dead
This is what happened to many children in Libya Not for the faint of heart. Warning it is very graphic, but it is the truth. What did these children ever do to anyone? This is the true face of the US/NATO war against Libyans. If this does not make you angry then there is something wrong with you. What does it take to make you say NO MORE WAR? Imagine this is your children.
No one in Libya will thank you for this. This is American Freedom.
Despite the evidence of ‘mission creep’, NATO leaders seem determined to bet against a future Nuremberg-style war crime action against them, and continue to pound the city of Sirte by night, to ‘break the ground’ for their daytime sniper-fodder ‘relief team.’
During a two day so-called truce in early October the Red Cross tried to enter Sirte to provide humanitarian aid. On the first day they managed to visit a hospital on the southern outskirts, bringing in a few needed supplies, but the hospital came under NTC rebel attack, and they were not able to inspect the whole building let alone get into the city proper and visit other areas.
On the second day the Red Cross tried to take two large aid trucks into the city. But the rebels began firing and so the Red Cross backed up quickly and abandoned their attempt. Preventing access for aid, another war crime.
Forever announcing their ‘final’ assault on Sirte, the NTC rebels have not yet quite managed to achieve it. NATO is now firing missiles from helicopters onto the city. They continue their murderous siege of 100,000 people, maybe more people because many from other towns months ago sought harbor in Sirte, maybe fewer because many have died or fled. Whatever the number, the people of Sirte are defending themselves and their city against NATO’s military might.
The Human Rights groups and United Nations community are being tested. On whether the international member nations have the moral courage to stand up to the powerful NATO nations, point out the illegality of the war on Libya, and insist that their ambassadors take that message to the UN. Meanwhile Gaddafi is proven right yet again, when he observed years ago that the UN did not provide fair treatment for its smaller and less powerful member nations.
TORONTO CONFERENCE Sept 9, 2011, The Truth about Libya and NATO’s “Humanitarian” Military Road Map – Cynthia McKinney, Mahdi Nazemroaya and Michel Chossudovsky speak at Friends Place in Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya – Independent journalist who just returned from Libya, and Research Associate of the Center for Research on Globalization – GLOBAL RESEARCH
New leaders in Greece, Italy call for united front to combat debt crisis
Respected economic experts have stepped into the political vacuum created by the collapse of partisan governments in Athens and Rome, raising the hopes that they can build a broad coalition to combat the debt crisis.
November 15 2011
Non-partisan technocrats slated to take the reigns of power in Greece and Italy are seeking to consolidate their political support ahead of upcoming parliamentary confidence votes, while opposition continues to simmer in Athens and Rome over austerity measures aimed at reducing national debts and stabilizing the eurozone.
Mario Monti, nominated by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to succeed Silvio Berlusconi as prime minister, said it was “premature” to discuss whether or not Italy would have to adopt further austerity measures to dig itself out from under 1.9 trillion euros ($ 2.6 trillion) of sovereign debt.
“Blood no, tears no, but maybe sacrifices,” said Monti, an economist and former EU official famous for pursuing trust-busting cases against Microsoft and General Electric during his tenure as Europe’s commissioner for competition.
Several members of Berlusconi’s conservative PDL party have said that Monti should only stay in power long enough to implement economic reforms. Monti, however, opposes any timeline imposed by parliament that would force his prospective government to dissolve before the 2013 national elections.
“If a date before (2013) is set, this haste would take away credibility from the government’s actions,” Monti said.
Monti, who is currently seeking support among Italy’s political parties, has not announced a deadline for the formation of a cabinet. President Napolitano said he hoped a new government would be approved by a vote of confidence this week.
Simmering opposition
Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos called on members of his national unity coalition – made up of socialists, conservatives and nationalists – to sign a written pledge to implement the austerity measures demanded by Brussels in exchange for the latest rescue package.
But Antonis Samaras, leader of the conservative New Democracy party, has refused to sign the pledge, saying that he “agrees with the goals to cut government spending” but opposes “whatever stunts growth.”
Papademos, former vice president of the European Central Bank (ECB), came to power after former Greek prime minister George Papandreou resigned in the aftermath of an aborted call for a referendum on the latest EU rescue package. Papademos is scheduled to face a vote of confidence on Wednesday.
The so-called troika – the ECB, EU Commission, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) – are expected to visit Athens on Friday to assess whether or not Greece has met the conditions for the next tranche of 8 billion euros in bailout out money, which has been frozen since August. Greece currently has enough reserves to last until December 15.
Ahmad picked up a bright metal object in a park where he was celebrating his 5th birthday in Lebanon. It was an unexploded cluster bomblet, which blew up in his face, killing him slowly in front of his family.
Three years ago, public pressure pushed through a ban of these cruel bombs. But now the US is lobbying nations to quietly sign a new law that allows their use — signing the death warrant for thousands of other children. Most countries are still on the fence on how to vote. Only if we raise the alarm across the world can we shame our governments to block this deadly decision.
Positions are being drawn up now. We only have days until countries meet to send our leaders a clear message: stand up for the cluster bombs ban and keep our children safe. Click below to sign the petition — it will be delivered directly to delegates at the Geneva conference:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/cluster_bombs_ii_b/?vl
Thousands of people — many of them children — have been maimed or killed by these bombs. When they are fired, they spray small “bomblets” over a wide area, many of which fail to explode. Years later, people disturb them in their fields or school playgrounds not knowing what they are, and they explode.
In 2008, over half of the world’s governments outlawed these weapons by signing the Convention on Cluster Munitions. But now, shockingly, countries like France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the UK, who all signed the Convention, are under pressure from the US, China and Russia to run rings round the ban by signing a separate agreement that would allow them to use cluster munitions. Only Norway, Mexico, Austria and a few others are fighting this horror.
Negotiators at the Convention on Conventional Weapons meet in Geneva next week. Most governments don’t really want this protocol and have not said which way they will vote, but they are under severe pressure from the US to comply and will only object if the global public persuades them.
There’s no time to lose — the conference starts on Monday. Let’s call on our governments to reject this deadly and cynical US campaign to legalize cluster killing. Click below to sign the petition and forward this email widely — we’ve done it before, let’s do it again:
Cluster bombs and land mines were banned because citizens raised the alarm across the world — with victims and survivors leading the way. For their sakes and to ensure no more lives are lost, let’s not allow these cruel weapons back and join together now to demand a more peaceful world.
Please pass this on. And do take the time to sign it. US to stockpile cluster bombs in Australia? Despite Australia having signed the convention against cluster munition, a US base may transport and stockpile munition.
The Harper Government wants to create more Criminals. The total crime rate for serious offences fell by 19% between 2000 and 2010. The crime severity rate has fallen 6% since 1998, which means that Canadians commit fewer violent crimes like murders, attempted murders and serious assaults. There are also fewer brake-ins, car thefts, robberies and drunk driving charges — still Harper wants to spend massive amounts of our money locking up more Canadians.
Crime rates in Canada have been falling steadily for over a decade yet Harper insists on spending our money to lock up our most vulnerable citizens like youth and aboriginals. Spending billions on bad crime laws means that our taxes will rise or valuable social programs like Employment Insurance will be cut. Quebec and Ontario have already said they won’t pay.
Creating mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana smokers and putting kids who make mistakes behind bars is not the way to make Canada a better place. Join the call to show Harper that we’d rather invest in social programs that really help Canadians.
This week, experts are speaking out against the massive crime bill that our Conservative government is rushing through Parliament.1 Even conservative Texans are warning Canada not to follow American’s failed path of mandatory sentences and massive prison expansion.2 Now, we need a massive public outcry to stop the bill, and make Canada safer, not meaner.
Experts agree that the crime bill would make Canada a more dangerous place by filling new prisons with people who should not be there. Instead, experience shows that we should focus on proven strategies to prevent crime, rehabilitate people and reintegrate them into society.1,3 The stakes are huge: if this bill passes we will be spending billions to trap people and create a permanent underclass of Canadians with little hope for a better life.4
The good news is that more and more Canadians are speaking out and public opinion is close to a decisive shift. The Conservatives want to be “Canada’s natural governing party” and they care about public opinion. We need to show the Conservative government that they can either choose a better path, or they will pay a serious political cost for making Canada a meaner and more dangerous place.
Mandatory sentences and prison expansion backfired in the United States, a country with only 5% of the global population and 25% of all the world’s prisoners. Today, state after state is in crisis and is repealing those laws.2
One conservative Texan, Judge John Creuzot of the Dallas County Court, has warned us, saying: You will spend billions and billions and billions on locking people up. And there will come a point in time where the public says, ‘Enough!’ And you’ll wind up letting them out.” 2
We all want to make Canada safer. Yes, there is a role for punishment that is proportionate to the crime and wisely chosen for the circumstance. However, in the vast majority of cases, rehabilitation is better than long jail sentences. Canada âs focus on prevention and rehabilitation has already brought crime rates to historic lows.3,5
Every billion dollars our federal government forces our provinces to spend on new prisons is a billion dollars that could have been spent preventing crimes by supporting programs for at-risk youth, drug and alcohol treatment programs, and strategies for mental health.
The crime bill represents a creeping erosion of Canada’s social fabric. We know that millions of Canadians believe that prevention and restorative justice – approaches that make sure the victim’s needs are met and the community is healed – should be the heart of Canadian justice.
This crime bill would move us in the wrong direction. Who benefits from one-size-fits-all punishments? Who benefits from massive prison expansion? Who benefits from throwing more of Canada’s youth, poor, and mentally ill in prison?
It’s time we speak out together. This petition is an essential first step in a major campaign. Will you join us?
Click here to tell Justice Minister Rob Nicholson and your MP you want a new strategy for Canadian justice:
[6] Open letter to the Government opposing mandatory sentences from over 550 Canadian experts and public health professionals (Urban Health Research Initiative): http://uhri.cfenet.ubc.ca/content/view/90
[9] Rough Justice in America: Too many laws, too many prisoners – Never in the civilised world have so many been locked up for so little (The Economist): http://www.economist.com/node/16636027
[12] The cartoon is by Malcolm Mayes, in the Edmonton Journal.
The Harper Government in Canada wants to create Legislation similar to the Drug offenses in the US. Lets hope Canadians do not get coerced into this. Marijuana is not that bad. It has many uses medically and fewer violent crimes if any are committed because of it. Alcohol is far worse as far as crimes. Those who use Marijuana are non violent.
If a police officer had a choice of going into a room with 20 Marijuana users or 20 drunk people the room with the Marijuana uses would be a much safer room. Drunk people are much more violent and much more dangerous. Marijuana users would be listening to music and eating. They don’t even bother to argue they just enjoy themselves. Drunk people fight and argue and alcohol is addictive where as Marijuana is not.
So I have to say Harper’s bill is wrong on many counts. If anything Marijuana should be legalized and the Government could regulate it and make profits/taxes on it. Open stores to have it sold etc.
It would eliminate grow ops and many other problems now associated with Marijuana.
If individuals grew their own or buy it from a Government store there would be no need for dealers and all the other problems now faced by police at this time.
Then the police could spend their time looking for dangerous criminals.
It would save a lot of money and make a lot of money.
End of a lot of problems.
Check the link below and get some insight as to how Medical Marijuana helps people and it is safer then many Pharmaceuticals.
It will even get rid of a headache.
The lobby groups who want to prevent the legalization of Marijuana are the Pharmaceutical companies. Not because it is dangerous, but because it would cut into their profits.
Legalizing Marijuana would create a lot of jobs something we all can agree on is needed. Maybe the drinkers would take up smoking Marijuana and make the world a safer place especially for women who are beaten by their drunken spouses.
What’s wrong with Harper’s omnibus crime bill
By Paula Mallea
September 20, 2011
Prime Minister Harper will be launching his tough-on-crime agenda today. Our criminal justice system is by no means perfect, but the omnibus crime bill will send us back to a 19th century punishment model. Here are some reasons why Canadians need to speak out against this legislation.
The former U.S. drug czar (Asa Hutchinson) has encouraged Canada not to make the same mistakes the U.S. made. The two mistakes he cited were mandatory minimum sentences, and insufficient attention to rehabilitative programs.
1. The cost of the Harper crime agenda will be colossal, and a large part of it (some say most) will be borne by the provinces, who are responsible for implementing whatever the feds pass. So provinces and territories (many of them in elections as we speak) will be expected to pay for additional courts, clerks, prisons, Crown Attorneys, judges, sheriffs, court reporters and so on. And the numbers are high-$5 billion over 5 years for the one piece of legislation which was examined by the Parliamentary Budget Officer. The new drug sentences alone will increase numbers of offenders by a huge amount. The Corrections department is one of the few which is receiving huge increases in its budget as we speak.
2. Virtually all of the crime legislation is directed towards increasing punishment by way of more prison terms for more people and for longer. Virtually nothing in any of the legislation does anything to prevent crime (as the Conservatives claim), help victims (as they claim) or target guns, gangs, drugs and organized crime (as they claim). The Harper government’s stated objectives will not be met by the omnibus crime bill.
3. Other jurisdictions, notably the United States, have rejected the Harper approach. Newt Gingrich is fronting a group called Right on Crime which advocates for less incarceration. Ronald Reagan presided over a huge reduction in incarceration when he was governor of California. Maggie Thatcher refused to allow incarceration rates to rise in Britain. Many states are abolishing mandatory minimum sentences and reducing the proportion of sentences which must be served before release.
4. Canada is moving in the wrong direction, and the results will not be pretty. I predict there will be expanding deficits at all levels, an increase in misery for all parties, including offenders’ families and communities, and victims (who in fact advocate for improvements in preventive and rehabilitative programs). The picture becomes darker when you consider that up to 80 to 90 per cent of offenders in some institutions are addicts (mostly to alcohol), and up to 40 per cent have mental illnesses. A huge proportion are Aborignal people. Many offenders are homeless, illiterate, victims of sexual abuse, and so on. What is significant is that we have the means to deal with all of these conditions-we know how, and the resources required would be a fraction of the budget necessary to incarcerate so many new inmates. Dealing with these issues would not only reduce crime but would also make for a healthier community. Because the Conservatives are so concentrated on the punishment model, there will be no resources (and no inclination) to fund the programs necessary to deal with these fundamental problems.
5. Journalists continually state that the omnibus crime bill is considered necessary by the Harper government because the crime legislation was otherwise “unpassable” or because of “obstructive measures” taken by the opposition. This is demonstrably not true. The opposition never got a chance to oppose most of the crime legislation because it never came to a vote: most of the laws died on the order paper when Mr. Harper prorogued Parliament twice and when he called the 2008 election. Most of the rest of them were never brought forward in a timely manner.
The Conservatives have the majority they need to pass this legislation. The only thing that might give them pause would be a public groundswell against the law. If for no other reason than financial, we should be making our voices heard.
Paula Mallea, B.A., M.A., Ll.B, practised criminal law for 15 years in Toronto, Kingston, and Manitoba. She acted mainly as defence counsel, with a part-time stint as prosecutor, and spent hundreds of hours in penitentiaries representing inmates. She is a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. She is the author of The Fear Factor: Stephen Harper’s Tough On Crime Agenda and Lorimer Publishing will be releasing her book on the tough-on-crime agenda this fall.
The prison industry in the United States: big business or a new form of slavery?
by Vicky Pelaez
March 10, 2008
El Diario-La Prensa, New York
Human rights organizations, as well as political and social ones, are condemning what they are calling a new form of inhumane exploitation in the United States, where they say a prison population of up to 2 million – mostly Black and Hispanic – are working for various industries for a pittance. For the tycoons who have invested in the prison industry, it has been like finding a pot of gold. They don’t have to worry about strikes or paying unemployment insurance, vacations or comp time. All of their workers are full-time, and never arrive late or are absent because of family problems; moreover, if they don’t like the pay of 25 cents an hour and refuse to work, they are locked up in isolation cells.
There are approximately 2 million inmates in state, federal and private prisons throughout the country. According to California Prison Focus, “no other society in human history has imprisoned so many of its own citizens.” The figures show that the United States has locked up more people than any other country: a half million more than China, which has a population five times greater than the U.S. Statistics reveal that the United States holds 25% of the world’s prison population, but only 5% of the world’s people. From less than 300,000 inmates in 1972, the jail population grew to 2 million by the year 2000. In 1990 it was one million. Ten years ago there were only five private prisons in the country, with a population of 2,000 inmates; now, there are 100, with 62,000 inmates. It is expected that by the coming decade, the number will hit 360,000, according to reports.
What has happened over the last 10 years? Why are there so many prisoners?
“The private contracting of prisoners for work fosters incentives to lock people up. Prisons depend on this income. Corporate stockholders who make money off prisoners’ work lobby for longer sentences, in order to expand their workforce. The system feeds itself,” says a study by the Progressive Labor Party, which accuses the prison industry of being “an imitation of Nazi Germany with respect to forced slave labor and concentration camps.”
The prison industry complex is one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States and its investors are on Wall Street. “This multimillion-dollar industry has its own trade exhibitions, conventions, websites, and mail-order/Internet catalogs. It also has direct advertising campaigns, architecture companies, construction companies, investment houses on Wall Street, plumbing supply companies, food supply companies, armed security, and padded cells in a large variety of colors.”
According to the Left Business Observer, the federal prison industry produces 100% of all military helmets, ammunition belts, bullet-proof vests, ID tags, shirts, pants, tents, bags, and canteens. Along with war supplies, prison workers supply 98% of the entire market for equipment assembly services; 93% of paints and paintbrushes; 92% of stove assembly; 46% of body armor; 36% of home appliances; 30% of headphones/microphones/speakers; and 21% of office furniture. Airplane parts, medical supplies, and much more: prisoners are even raising seeing-eye dogs for blind people.
CRIME GOES DOWN, JAIL POPULATION GOES UP
According to reports by human rights organizations, these are the factors that increase the profit potential for those who invest in the prison industry complex:
. Jailing persons convicted of non-violent crimes, and long prison sentences for possession of microscopic quantities of illegal drugs. Federal law stipulates five years’ imprisonment without possibility of parole for possession of 5 grams of crack or 3.5 ounces of heroin, and 10 years for possession of less than 2 ounces of rock-cocaine or crack. A sentence of 5 years for cocaine powder requires possession of 500 grams – 100 times more than the quantity of rock cocaine for the same sentence. Most of those who use cocaine powder are white, middle-class or rich people, while mostly Blacks and Latinos use rock cocaine. In Texas, a person may be sentenced for up to two years’ imprisonment for possessing 4 ounces of marijuana. Here in New York, the 1973 Nelson Rockefeller anti-drug law provides for a mandatory prison sentence of 15 years to life for possession of 4 ounces of any illegal drug.
. The passage in 13 states of the “three strikes” laws (life in prison after being convicted of three felonies), made it necessary to build 20 new federal prisons. One of the most disturbing cases resulting from this measure was that of a prisoner who for stealing a car and two bicycles received three 25-year sentences.
. Longer sentences.
. The passage of laws that require minimum sentencing, without regard for circumstances.
. A large expansion of work by prisoners creating profits that motivate the incarceration of more people for longer periods of time.
. More punishment of prisoners, so as to lengthen their sentences.
HISTORY OF PRISON LABOR IN THE UNITED STATES
Prison labor has its roots in slavery. After the 1861-1865 Civil War, a system of “hiring out prisoners” was introduced in order to continue the slavery tradition. Freed slaves were charged with not carrying out their sharecropping commitments (cultivating someone else’s land in exchange for part of the harvest) or petty thievery – which were almost never proven – and were then “hired out” for cotton picking, working in mines and building railroads. From 1870 until 1910 in the state of Georgia, 88% of hired-out convicts were Black. In Alabama, 93% of “hired-out” miners were Black. In Mississippi, a huge prison farm similar to the old slave plantations replaced the system of hiring out convicts. The notorious Parchman plantation existed until 1972.
During the post-Civil War period, Jim Crow racial segregation laws were imposed on every state, with legal segregation in schools, housing, marriages and many other aspects of daily life. “Today, a new set of markedly racist laws is imposing slave labor and sweatshops on the criminal justice system, now known as the prison industry complex,” comments the Left Business Observer.
Who is investing? At least 37 states have legalized the contracting of prison labor by private corporations that mount their operations inside state prisons. The list of such companies contains the cream of U.S. corporate society: IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, Compaq, Honeywell, Hewlett-Packard, Nortel, Lucent Technologies, 3Com, Intel, Northern Telecom, TWA, Nordstrom’s, Revlon, Macy’s, Pierre Cardin, Target Stores, and many more. All of these businesses are excited about the economic boom generation by prison labor. Just between 1980 and 1994, profits went up from $392 million to $1.31 billion. Inmates in state penitentiaries generally receive the minimum wage for their work, but not all; in Colorado, they get about $2 per hour, well under the minimum. And in privately-run prisons, they receive as little as 17 cents per hour for a maximum of six hours a day, the equivalent of $20 per month. The highest-paying private prison is CCA in Tennessee, where prisoners receive 50 cents per hour for what they call “highly skilled positions.” At those rates, it is no surprise that inmates find the pay in federal prisons to be very generous. There, they can earn $1.25 an hour and work eight hours a day, and sometimes overtime. They can send home $200-$300 per month.
Thanks to prison labor, the United States is once again an attractive location for investment in work that was designed for Third World labor markets. A company that operated a maquiladora (assembly plant in Mexico near the border) closed down its operations there and relocated to San Quentin State Prison in California. In Texas, a factory fired its 150 workers and contracted the services of prisoner-workers from the private Lockhart Texas prison, where circuit boards are assembled for companies like IBM and Compaq.
[Former] Oregon State Representative Kevin Mannix recently urged Nike to cut its production in Indonesia and bring it to his state, telling the shoe manufacturer that “there won’t be any transportation costs; we’re offering you competitive prison labor (here).”
PRIVATE PRISONS
The prison privatization boom began in the 1980s, under the governments of Ronald Reagan and Bush Sr., but reached its height in 1990 under William Clinton, when Wall Street stocks were selling like hotcakes. Clinton’s program for cutting the federal workforce resulted in the Justice Departments contracting of private prison corporations for the incarceration of undocumented workers and high-security inmates.
Private prisons are the biggest business in the prison industry complex. About 18 corporations guard 10,000 prisoners in 27 states. The two largest are Correctional Corporation of America (CCA) and Wackenhut, which together control 75%. Private prisons receive a guaranteed amount of money for each prisoner, independent of what it costs to maintain each one. According to Russell Boraas, a private prison administrator in Virginia, “the secret to low operating costs is having a minimal number of guards for the maximum number of prisoners.” The CCA has an ultra-modern prison in Lawrenceville, Virginia, where five guards on dayshift and two at night watch over 750 prisoners. In these prisons, inmates may get their sentences reduced for “good behavior,” but for any infraction, they get 30 days added – which means more profits for CCA. According to a study of New Mexico prisons, it was found that CCA inmates lost “good behavior time” at a rate eight times higher than those in state prisons.
IMPORTING AND EXPORTING INMATES
Profits are so good that now there is a new business: importing inmates with long sentences, meaning the worst criminals. When a federal judge ruled that overcrowding in Texas prisons was cruel and unusual punishment, the CCA signed contracts with sheriffs in poor counties to build and run new jails and share the profits. According to a December 1998 Atlantic Monthly magazine article, this program was backed by investors from Merrill-Lynch, Shearson-Lehman, American Express and Allstate, and the operation was scattered all over rural Texas. That state’s governor, Ann Richards, followed the example of Mario Cuomo in New York and built so many state prisons that the market became flooded, cutting into private prison profits.
After a law signed by Clinton in 1996 – ending court supervision and decisions – caused overcrowding and violent, unsafe conditions in federal prisons, private prison corporations in Texas began to contact other states whose prisons were overcrowded, offering “rent-a-cell” services in the CCA prisons located in small towns in Texas. The commission for a rent-a-cell salesman is $2.50 to $5.50 per day per bed. The county gets $1.50 for each prisoner.
STATISTICS
Ninety-seven percent of 125,000 federal inmates have been convicted of non-violent crimes. It is believed that more than half of the 623,000 inmates in municipal or county jails are innocent of the crimes they are accused of. Of these, the majority are awaiting trial. Two-thirds of the one million state prisoners have committed non-violent offenses. Sixteen percent of the country’s 2 million prisoners suffer from mental illness. Source
Billions Behind Bars – Inside America’s Prison Industry Part 1-3
Billions Behind Bars – Inside America’s Prison Industry Part 2-3
Billions Behind Bars – Inside America’s Prison Industry Part 3-3
The links below may explain why there are many innocent people in Jail.
The Nov. 17 indictments that a grand jury returned charged Cheney and Gonzales with profiting from private prisons, neglecting conditions and stopping inquiries into assaults/
The average annual operating cost per state inmate in 2001 was $22,650, or $62.05 per day; among facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it was $22,632 per inmate, or $62.01 per day.
In 2001 the average annual cost for state prisons per U.S. resident was $204, up from $49 in 1986.
One out of 32 Americans are on probation, parole or in prison.
This reliance on mass incarceration has created a thriving prison economy. The states and the federal government spends about $74 billion a year on corrections.
I tried to find the cost of the average trial, but couldn’t find much information on it. I imagine it would be a lot.
From 2002 I did find this on Death Penalty Trials
Counties Struggle With High Cost
Of Prosecuting Death-Penalty Cases
January 9, 2002
By RUSSELL GOLD
When a Utah police chief was shot to death in July after responding to a call about a domestic dispute, tiny Uintah County’s decision to seek the death penalty was easy. “It was a law-enforcement officer in the line of duty,” says county attorney JoAnn Stringham.
Now comes the hard part: paying for the trial. So far, the county hopes to avoid raising taxes on its 25,959 citizens by spreading the as-yet undetermined costs over three fiscal years.
Other counties haven’t been as lucky. Jasper County, Texas, ran up a huge bill seeking a capital-murder conviction of three men accused of killing James Byrd Jr., who was dragged to death in a 1998 case that attracted national attention. (Two were sentenced to death; the third got life in prison.) The cost — $1.02 million to date, with other expenses expected — has strained the county’s $10 million annual budget, forcing a 6.7% increase in property taxes over two years to pay for the trial. County auditor Jonetta Nash says only a massive flood that wiped out roads and bridges in the late 1970s came close to the fiscal impact of the trial.
As a growing number of local governments are discovering, there is often a new twist on an old saying: Nothing is certain except the death penalty and higher taxes.
Just prosecuting a capital crime can cost an average of $200,000 to $300,000, according to a conservative estimate by the Texas Office of Court Administration. Add indigent-defense lawyers, an almost-automatic appeal and a trial transcript, and death-penalty cases can easily cost many times that amount.
The cost, county officials say, can be an unexpected and severe budgetary shock — much like a natural disaster, but without any federal relief to ease the strain. To pay up, counties must raise taxes, cut services, or both.
In research published last summer, Dartmouth College economist Katherine Baicker found that counties that bring a death-penalty case had a tax rate 1.6% higher than those that didn’t. Her statistical examination of 14 years of budget data from all 3,043 U.S. counties showed those with a death penalty also spent 3.3% less on law enforcement and highways. Ms. Baicker’s analysis found that the same pattern of raised taxes and spending cuts hits all death-penalty counties regardless of size.
In Texas, Dallas County is struggling to pay for concurrent cases against six prison escapees accused of killing a suburban policeman last year. Gov. Rick Perry gave the county $250,000 from discretionary funds to help.
The fiscal fallout can linger for years. In Mississippi, Quitman County raised taxes three times in the 1990s and took out a $150,000 loan to pay for the 1990 capital-murder trials of two men that went on for years. Now, the county is having trouble attracting a new tenant to a vacant warehouse because it has higher property taxes than any nearby county. A death-penalty case “is almost like lightning striking,” says county administrator Butch Scipper. “It is catastrophic to a small rural county.”
The issue has become more pressing as death-penalty case costs have pushed higher, says Jay Kimbrough, criminal-justice director for Gov. Perry. Among the causes: DNA tests and appellate-court decisions that require longer jury selection and more expensive defense attorneys.
Now local officials are pressing state governments for relief. In Texas, Jasper County’s experience helped persuade lawmakers last year to expand a program to help counties pay for the “extraordinary costs” of prosecuting capital-murder cases. (The discretionary funds given Dallas County last April were not part of this program.) State Rep. Bob Turner, who sponsored the legislation, says he was worried that smaller counties were “downgrading cases” — pursuing lesser charges rather than the death penalty — “to preclude the tremendous drain on the county budget.” While Mr. Turner says he knows of no specific examples, he says he often heard about the cost pressures during meetings with officials from the 17 mostly rural counties he represents.
A Trial ‘s TallyJasper County,Texas,spent more than $1.02 million bringing death penalty cases against three men for the 1998 murder of James Byrd Jr. A breakdown of expenses:
Court-appointed defense attorneys 28.3%
Telephone, travel and misc 20.6
Salary for extra prosecutors 17.3
Jury, courthouse security, court reporter 15.5
Investigation 15.4
Psychiatric evaluation 2.9
Costs notwithstanding, county officials say they pursue the death penalty when the crime warrants it. “It is very expensive and it is very burdensome on communities, so that gives people pause,” says Arthur Eads, who was the district attorney in Killeen, Texas, for 24 years. But, he says, “I never felt the heat to do it or not to do it because of the money.”
Polk County, in east Texas, was the most recent county to receive state help. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the sentence of Johnny Paul Penry, convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in 1979, and sent the case back to Polk County for a third trial. County officials toted up the likely costs: $250 to $350 per hour for the forensic psychiatrist to review and testify about Mr. Penry’s medical records; $700 to copy his 1,500-page prison record; $20,000 to pay for hotels, meals and mileage for prosecutors, investigators and support staff when the trial is moved to a different county, as expected.
Total estimated cost: at least $200,000. In December, Polk received $100,000 from the state to help pay the bill.
Other states have begun to set up what amount to death-penalty risk pools, allowing counties to pay in annually and receive funds in the event of a death-penalty case. Utah created one of the first such pools in 1997 after “the legislature got tired of bailing out counties,” says Mark Nash, director of the Utah Prosecution Council.
Uintah was one of six Utah counties that didn’t participate in that state’s risk pool. The county, in the northeast corner of the state, had never had a death-penalty case until Roosevelt City police chief Cecil Gurr was shot and killed in July, just a few feet inside the county line.
Now, as the county struggles to pay for prosecuting the case, local officials are convinced the insurance is a good idea. In August, Uintah paid $21,500 to join the state risk pool — for the next death-penalty case. Source
So how much did it cost for all the trials. Do the math.
Executions during 2009 52
Executions during 2010 46
Number of prisoners sentence of death 3,173
More on the cost of Death Penalty Trials in Washington State and other Goodies.
“Play faster!” he cried, wildly, over and over. “Play faster!”
The dame who was tickling the ivories complied, out of control herself. The music revved to a dangerous velocity — oh, too fast for decent, sober, well-behaved Americans to bear — and . . . well, you just knew, violence, madness, laughter were just around the corner. The year was 1936 and, oh my God, they were high on marijuana, public enemy number one.
The scene is from Reefer Madness, arguably the dumbest movie ever made — but smugly at the emotional and ideological core of American drug policy for the last three-quarters of a century. The policy, which morphed in 1970 into an all-out “war” on drugs, has filled our prisons to bursting, created powerful criminal enterprises, launched a real war in Mexico and presided over the skyrocketing of recreational drug use in the United States. The war on drugs just may be a bigger disaster than the war on terror.
“The war on drugs, as it has been waged, has not only failed to curtail drug use; it has become a major public health liability in its own right,” writes Christopher Glenn Fichtner in his comprehensive new book on our disastrous war on a plant, Cannabanomics: The Marijuana Policy Tipping Point (Well Mind Books).
Fichtner, a psychiatrist — he served as Illinois Director of Mental Health for several years — takes a long, hard look at the politics of irrationality and lays out a compelling diagnosis: “essentially, social or mass psychosis.” You can also throw in racism. The war on drugs is simply a race war by another name, fueled by fear of Mexican and African American culture, with the weight of law brought down on African Americans with wildly disproportionate severity:
“. . . during a period when the number of prison sentences for drug-related convictions increased dramatically for all drug offenders,” Fichtner writes, citing Illinois statistics between 1983 and 2002, “it increased for African Americans at roughly eight times the rate of increase seen for Caucasians.”
But reading Cannabanomics kept leaving me with the sense that there was a deeper irrationality to our anti-marijuana crusade than even the racism. For instance, “Examples abound,” he writes, “in which the application of mandatory minimum sentences has led to harsher penalties for marijuana offenses than for violent crimes ranging from battery through sexual assault and even to murder.”
And the violent enforcement of zero tolerance hasn’t been limited to the pursuit of recreational potheads. Those using cannabis medicinally have also been harassed, arrested and sometimes treated with such shocking violence you have to wonder whether the official paranoia about marijuana use — that it leads to mental derangement and violent behavior — is sheer projection.
For instance, early in the book Fichtner relates the story of Garry, a California man who used marijuana to relieve arthritic pain. Despite the fact that this was legal under state law, his house was raided by federal agents: “As he opened his front door, he was greeted by a battering ram and a physical takedown maneuver that left him with a dislocated left shoulder, right hand fractures, blunt head trauma, and a back injury that aggravated the arthritis for which he grew cannabis in his garage in the first place.”
Much of Cannabanomics is devoted to the extraordinary medicinal uses of marijuana, which has been called one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to the human race. It has been used, usually with little if any side effect, to alleviate chronic pain and chemo-induced nausea and relieve the symptoms of a stunning array of illnesses and conditions, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, cerebral palsy, diabetes, hepatitis C, AIDS, cancer, Tourette’s syndrome, Alzheimer’s. The list goes on.
The herb has been “part of humanity’s medicine chest for almost as long as history has been recorded,” according to Dr. Gregory T. Carter, writing on the NORML website.
In light of this, our war against it — at extraordinary human and economic cost — illuminates a crying need for us to change the way we govern and look after ourselves. Another story Fichtner tells is about an Illinois man named Seth, who had suffered from epileptic seizures most of his life. He reluctantly tried using marijuana — one inhalation a day — because his prescribed medications weren’t helping much, and soon reduced the incidence of grand mal seizures from several per week to one or two per month.
The amazing part of this story, Fichtner notes, is that none of his doctors were willing even to discuss the therapeutic use of marijuana, though they were quick to recommend invasive procedures, including temporal lobe surgery. “. . .we Americans,” he writes, “live in a society in which it is acceptable practice for surgeons to destroy a piece of someone’s brain in order to prevent seizures but where use of marijuana for the same purpose . . . is a criminal offense.”
To my mind, it all smacks of the military-industrial metaphor that rules the American roost. We’re quick to seize on something as the enemy and organize ourselves blindly around its destruction, never stopping to notice that what we’re destroying is ourselves. In the case of the war on drugs, our “enemy” is our greatest ally. Source
Top 3 things YOU need to know about the private prison money scheme:
1) The victims: Private prisons don’t care about who they lock up. At $200 per immigrant a night, this is the “perfect” money scheme.
2) The players: CCA, Geo Group and MTC — combined currently profit more than $5 billion a year.
3)The money: These corporations spend $20 million a year lobbying legislators to get anti-immigrant laws approved and thus more inmates.
Roberto Martinez-Medina died in CCA’s Stewart Detention Center in Georgia in 2009.
Medina had been arrested a month earlier for not having a driver’s license.
CCA profited off of Medina’s incarceration, and ensured a greater profit by denying him critical health care.
CCA has gone to great lengths to hush Medina’s death.
Sign the petition to demand an investigation into Medina’s death: http://immigrantsforsale.org
Pedro Guzman spent 19 months at CCA’s Stewart private detention because he missed an immigration order.
Authorities showed no mercy after Guzman explained the court order was sent to an old address.
CCA profited approximately $72,000 from Pedro’s detention.
Guzman’s wife Emily and only son Logan endured a painful and debilitating struggle to survive while they fought for Pedro’s release.
Doesn’t Pedro deserve to be reimbursed for his unjust detention? Tell CCA To Pay Pedro Back: http://tinyurl.com/paypedroback
Immigration detention: fastest growing incarceration system in the U.S.
The Harper Government in Canada wants to create Legislation similar to the Drug offenses in the US. Lets hope Canadians do not get coerced into this. Marijuana is not that bad. It has many uses medically and fewer violent crimes if any are committed because of it. Alcohol is far worse as far as crimes. Those who use Marijuana are non violent.
If a police officer had a choice of going into a room with 20 Marijuana users or 20 drunk people the room with the Marijuana uses would be a much safer room. Drunk people are much more violent and much more dangerous. Marijuana users would be listening to music and eating. They don’t even bother to argue they just enjoy themselves. Drunk people fight and argue and alcohol is addictive where as Marijuana is not.
So I have to say Harper’s bill is wrong on many counts. If anything Marijuana should be legalized and the Government could regulate it and make profits/taxes on it. Open stores to have it sold etc.
It would eliminate grow ops and many other problems now associated with Marijuana.
If individuals grew their own or buy it from a Government store there would be no need for dealers and all the other problems now faced by police at this time.
Then the police could spend their time looking for dangerous criminals.
It would save a lot of money and make a lot of money.
End of a lot of problems.
Check the link below and get some insight as to how Medical Marijuana helps people and it is safer then many Pharmaceuticals.
It will even get rid of a headache.
The lobby groups who want to prevent the legalization of Marijuana are the Pharmaceutical companies. Not because it is dangerous, but because it would cut into their profits.
The Harper Government in Canada wants to pass some of the similar laws used in the US. Most pertaining to Drugs. They are not affective in the US and will not be affective in Canada. The crimes committed in Canada have dropped. There are enough laws to cover all crimes in Canada as it is, so no new laws are necessary. This will just put people a select group of people in prison longer, no stop crime. Go to the link below and check it out. If you know any Canadians pass this on to them. Seems Harper’s Gov. passes many Bills and Canadians know nothing about them.
Legalizing Marijuana would create a lot of jobs something we all can agree on is needed. Maybe the drinkers would take up smoking Marijuana and make the world a safer place especially for women who are beaten by their drunken spouses.
Hemp growing and use has created many jobs.
Hemp was kept illegal and it is not even a drug because of Oil companies. If there is one thing oil companies did not want it is Hemp on the market. Finally Hemp is making a comeback.
Hemp is not legal to grow in the U.S. under Federal law all because of the Oil lobby. How foolish American are. Gas can be made from Hemp as can plastics and are better for the environment.
The US government would rather go to war for oil, kill millions while they do it, destroy everything in their path and pollute the land for years to come.
Hemp as fuel is safer to produce then it is to drill for oil.
Hemp does not need Pesticides or Herbicides either.
There have been over 4,000 Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested.
Police Brutality is becoming a growing problem.
Did You Know In the Wealthy United States of America, there were 1.3 million homeless as of December 30 2010. Guess what there are more now. Each year the homeless numbers grow in the US.
Over the past 10 years, law enforcement officials have begun to look and act more and more like soldiers. Here’s why we should be alarmed.
At around 9:00 a.m. on May 5, 2011, officers with the Pima County, Arizona, Sheriff’s Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (S.W.A.T.) team surrounded the home of 26-year-old José Guerena, a former U.S. Marine and veteran of two tours of duty in Iraq, to serve a search warrant for narcotics. As the officers approached, Guerena lay sleeping in his bedroom after working the graveyard shift at a local mine. When his wife Vanessa woke him up, screaming that she had seen a man outside the window pointing a gun at her, Guerena grabbed his AR-15 rifle, instructed Vanessa to hide in the closet with their four-year old son, and left the bedroom to investigate.
Within moments, and without Guerena firing a shot–or even switching his rifle off of “safety”–he lay dying, his body riddled with 60 bullets. A subsequent investigation revealed that the initial shot that prompted the S.W.A.T. team barrage came from a S.W.A.T. team gun, not Guerena’s. Guerena, reports later revealed, had no criminal record, and no narcotics were found at his home.
Sadly, the Guerenas are not alone; in recent years we have witnessed a proliferation in incidents of excessive, military-style force by police S.W.A.T. teams, which often make national headlines due to their sheer brutality. Why has it become routine for police departments to deploy black-garbed, body-armored S.W.A.T. teams for routine domestic police work? The answer to this question requires a closer examination of post-9/11 U.S. foreign policy and the War on Terror.
Ever since September 14, 2001, when President Bush declared war on terrorism, there has been a crucial, yet often unrecognized, shift in United States policy. Before 9/11, law enforcement possessed the primary responsibility for combating terrorism in the United States. Today, the military is at the tip of the anti-terrorism spear. This shift appears to be permanent: in 2006, the White House’s National Strategy for Combating Terrorism confidently announced that the United States had “broken old orthodoxies that once confined our counterterrorism efforts primarily to the criminal justice domain.”
In an effort to remedy their relative inadequacy in dealing with terrorism on U.S. soil, police forces throughout the country have purchased military equipment, adopted military training, and sought to inculcate a “soldier’s mentality” among their ranks. Though the reasons for this increasing militarization of American police forces seem obvious, the dangerous side effects are somewhat less apparent.
Undoubtedly, American police departments have substantially increased their use of military-grade equipment and weaponry to perform their counterterrorism duties, adopting everything from body armor to, in some cases, attack helicopters. The logic behind this is understandable. If superior, military-grade equipment helps the police catch more criminals and avert, or at least reduce, the threat of a domestic terror attack, then we ought deem it an instance of positive sharing of technology — right? Not necessarily. Indeed, experts in the legal community have raised serious concerns that allowing civilian law enforcement to use military technology runs the risk of blurring the distinction between soldiers and peace officers.
This is especially true in cases where, much to the chagrin of civil liberty advocates, police departments have employed their newly acquired military weaponry not only to combat terrorism but also for everyday patrolling. Before 9/11, the usual heavy weaponry available to a small-town police officer consisted of a standard pump-action shot gun, perhaps a high power rifle, and possibly a surplus M-16, which would usually have been kept in the trunk of the supervising officer’s vehicle. Now, police officers routinely walk the beat armed with assault rifles and garbed in black full-battle uniforms. When one of us, Arthur Rizer, returned from active duty in Iraq, he saw a police officer at the Minneapolis airport armed with a M4 carbine assault rifle — the very same rifle Arthur carried during his combat tour in Fallujah.
The extent of this weapon “inflation” does not stop with high-powered rifles, either. In recent years, police departments both large and small have acquired bazookas, machine guns, and even armored vehicles (mini-tanks) for use in domestic police work.
To assist them in deploying this new weaponry, police departments have also sought and received extensive military training and tactical instruction. Originally, only the largest of America’s big-city police departments maintained S.W.A.T. teams, and they were called upon only when no other peaceful option was available and a truly military-level response was necessary. Today, virtually every police department in the nation has one or more S.W.A.T. teams, the members of whom are often trained by and with United States special operations commandos. Furthermore, with the safety of their officers in mind, these departments now habitually deploy their S.W.A.T. teams for minor operations such as serving warrants. In short, “special” has quietly become “routine.”
The most serious consequence of the rapid militarization of American police forces, however, is the subtle evolution in the mentality of the “men in blue” from “peace officer” to soldier. This development is absolutely critical and represents a fundamental change in the nature of law enforcement. The primary mission of a police officer traditionally has been to “keep the peace.” Those whom an officer suspects to have committed a crime are treated as just that – suspects. Police officers are expected, under the rule of law, to protect the civil liberties of all citizens, even the “bad guys.” For domestic law enforcement, a suspect in custody remains innocent until proven guilty. Moreover, police officers operate among a largely friendly population and have traditionally been trained to solve problems using a complex legal system; the deployment of lethal violence is an absolute last resort.
Soldiers, by contrast, are trained to identify people they encounter as belonging to one of two groups — the enemy and the non-enemy — and they often reach this decision while surrounded by a population that considers the soldier an occupying force. Once this identification is made, a soldier’s mission is stark and simple: kill the enemy, “try” not to kill the non-enemy. Indeed, the Soldier’s Creed declares, “I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.” This is a far cry from the peace officer’s creed that expects its adherents “to protect and serve.”
The point here is not to suggest that police officers in the field should not take advantage of every tactic or piece of equipment that makes them safer as they carry out their often challenging and strenuous duties. Nor do I mean to suggest that a police officer, once trained in military tactics, will now seek to kill civilians. It is far too easy for Monday-morning quarterbacks to unfairly second-guess the way police officers perform their jobs while they are out on the streets waging what must, at times, feel like a war.
Notwithstanding this concern, however, Americans should remain mindful bringing military-style training to domestic law enforcement has real consequences. When police officers are dressed like soldiers, armed like soldiers, and trained like soldiers, it’s not surprising that they are beginning to act like soldiers. And remember: a soldier’s main objective is to kill the enemy. Source
José Guerena was innocent of any crime and yet the police shot him 60 times. That say’s a lot about the reality America’s live in now.
Wake up America. You live in a Violent Police State.
Court to Consider ‘Series of Complaints’ Against NATO, NTC
by Jason Ditz, November 03, 201
NATO’s careful avoidance of any investigations of the many civilians they killed over several months of bombing western Libyan cities may have kept the situation quiet for awhile, but now it looks like the story is coming out without them.
Moreno-Ocampo confirmed that they have received a “series of complaints” from Libyan civilians about NATO as well as the National Transitional Council (NTC), the Benghazi-based rebel movement NATO’s war was supporting.
Moreno-Ocampo also confirmed reports that Saif al-Islam Gadhafi was attempting to negotiate a surrender to the ICC, saying he had received questions from Saif’s associates about the terms of such a surrender. Source
Lets hope they also investigate all the NATO hired mercenaries as well.
Well I can see this being a sham. They will pretend to investigate and they will say US/NATO did nothing wrong as par usual.
There is no real justice. The great pretenders.
the US/NATO have been committing war crimes for years and gotten away with it. So we can expect a pretend investigation and they will get away with mass murders again.
Then there are the Rebels they supported. Nothing like helping the terrorists. Terrorists that will give them access to oil/gold.
Let them in to privatize everything and steal every last penny from the Libyan people, then leave them to starve in poverty, just like they do to the rest of Africa.
If you think Africa has to be as poor as they are you are wrong. The rich countries make sure they stay poor so they can strip their resources. This has been happening for years.
Speakers Dan Glazebrook, Lizzie Phelan, Harpal Brar
