I guess we shouldn’t be surprised that a party which is opposed to science and so in favor of legislating (so-called) morality is promoting ex-gay conversion therapy, also known as “reparative therapy.” This weekend, 7,000 delegates at the Texas GOP Convention at the Forth Worth Convention Center ratified a platform which recognized the “legitimacy and value of counseling which offers reparative therapy and treatment to patients who are seeking escape from the homosexual lifestyle.”
Category Archives: racism
Obama administration declares surge at TX-Mexico border of unaccompanied minors a “humanitarian crisis” | La Prensa San Diego
Fleeing life-threatening violence, extreme poverty or just wanting to be with their parents are reasons cited as to why there has been a 90 percent increase over last year of children from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico making the dangerous journey to the United States by themselves.
While various immigrant advocates have been sounding the alarm over the past several years regarding the issue, it’s finally gotten the attention of Washington.
It’s because the increase, happening mainly at the Texas-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley, is overwhelming local officials and has triggered recognition from the Obama administration that this influx of “unaccompanied alien children” is a humanitarian crisis. To address the crisis, the President has created an “interagency Unified Coordination Group.”
No candle-lit vigils for raped and murdered girls — New Internationalist
It’s been pointed out that these girls are not dalit, though most Indian newspapers reported otherwise. They were, nevertheless, extremely poor, powerless and from a lower caste. The perpetrators, apparently, routinely molested and raped lower caste women and this particularly brazen rape and murder, was to teach the poor and powerless a lesson, to show them their place in the feudal, caste hierarchy. Recently, dalit and lower caste people had protested against the behaviour of the dominant caste Yadav men who until now have ruled the roost in the surrounding villages. The local policeman who slapped the victim’s father belonged to the same caste as the perpetrators. And two policemen reportedly, not merely abetted in the crime, but participated in the assault too.
The girls’ bodies bore marks of excessive brutality. The usual scratches, bite marks, bruises, but also a pattern of blood clotting which indicated beating and torture. And the post mortem revealed they were hanged while still alive. Commentators have pointed out that the levels of violence and viciousness in the new rape culture is frightening, calling for immediate and effective action. Much of it comes from the porn which circulates freely on mobile phones. It’s not merely rape now. And the fact that I write ‘merely rape’ illustrates how terrifying the situation is. Almost as though one has to be grateful one is ‘merely raped’.
It is with a heavy heart that I note, that the outpouring of grief and outrage which rocked India in December 2012 for the Nirbhaya Delhi rape victim, is noticeably absent in cities across India, for the Badaun cousins. They are not middle class, dominant caste, city women. These were two lower caste, village girls. Not ‘people like us’.
via No candle-lit vigils for raped and murdered girls — New Internationalist.
ELLE UK Persuades Pharrell Williams into Becoming the Latest Red Face Disgrace
It’s time we stop settling for meaningless apologies and demand that celebrities and brands be held accountable for their actions. It may seem overkill, but we should still be bombarding ELLE, ELLE UK, American Express, and Pharrell’s label and discussing why this is an issue that cannot be fixed with words. Corrective actions must be taken because the only way to stop this willful ignorance is if the offenders feel the consequences, whether it’s through fines or being dropped from labels and tours or losing sponsorships. At this point, an apology doesn’t it cut it because the magazine will still be released with the same cover and the same disrespectful photographs. Pharrell and ELLE magazine will still be promoting and profiting from their blatant disregard of indigenous people and that is unacceptable. Our ancestors did not sacrifice their lives to preserve our cultural heritage so that vapid celebrities, designers and hipsters could feel superior, exotic and trendy by playing “Indian”.
via ELLE UK Persuades Pharrell Williams into Becoming the Latest Red Face Disgrace.
TeaParty weirdness in Mississippi – 3 McDaniel Allies Were Hanging Out In a Locked Mississippi Courthouse with Some Ballots – The Wire
McDaniel faced off against incumbent Sen. Thad Cochran in the Republican primary election on Tuesday, where neither won enough voted to avoid a runoff later this month. But after the results were announced, Janis Lane (president of the Central Mississippi Tea Party), Scott Brewster (McDaniel’s coalition director), and another man were in the building from around 2 a.m. until 3:45 a.m. early Wednesday morning.
The sheriff’s department spokesman, Othor Cain, told The Clarion-Ledger that the investigation is looking into how the three entered the building, which would be easier if their stories lined up. “There are conflicting stories from the three of them, which began to raise the red flag, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of it,” Cain said. “No official charges have been filed at this point, but we don’t know where the investigation will lead us.”
Brewster’s involvement is interesting considering his connection to the Clayton Thomas Kelly fiasco, when the pro-McDaniel blogger illegally video tapped Cochran’s wife in her nursing home. McDaniel and most of his campaign officials denied knowing anything about the video, but Brewster said he remembered when the video came out and “think(s) people made some calls” to have it removed.
But even without that connection the story is very weird. The county’s Republican executive chairman, Pete Perry, told the Clarion-Ledger he had a “concern with someone being in the courthouse with all the election material down there.” The ballots were secure but some of the precinct information was not.
via 3 McDaniel Allies Were Hanging Out In a Locked Mississippi Courthouse with Some Ballots – The Wire.
Massive Investigation Uncovers White Supremacist Criminal Network in Oregon | Hatewatch
A massive investigation in Oregon shows evidence of a criminal web – involving guns, drugs, stolen property, identity theft and violence – linking white supremacists and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
“Operation White Christmas,” as the year-old investigation is code-named, so far has resulted in the arrests of 54 individuals, mostly in the Portland area, leading to 11 criminal cases in state court and another 43 in federal court.
As for its scope, the investigation based in Portland and Multnomah County rivals the prosecutions of members of another violent gang, the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.
The Oregon suspects variously are affiliated with at least five known street and prison white supremacist gangs – European Kindred (EK); Rude Crude Brood; All Ona Bitch (AOB); Fat Bitch Killers (FBK) and Insane Peckerwood Syndicate (IPS), authorities say.
Josh Sparks
Others arrested, investigators say, are associates of the Gypsy Jokers outlaw motorcycle gang whose members were believed to be involved in firearms and drug trafficking with the white supremacist gangs.
via Massive Investigation Uncovers White Supremacist Criminal Network in Oregon | Hatewatch.
No respect, no shame, “we can do whatever we want!” Israeli Occupation Forces raid al-Aqsa mosque compound
Settlers accompanied the Israeli Occupation Police are raiding the al Aqsa mosque compound. The Israeli Occupation Forces laid siege to the Palestinians at al-Aqsa Mosque compound gates.
Palestinian sources informed PNN that around 60 Israeli Settlers raided the compound this morning with the purpose of performing Talmudic prayers. Following the raid, Israeli Police Forces prevented Palestinians from praying, in order to protect the settlers who were still in the compound.
The sources added that the department of Awqaf in Jerusalem is attempting to open the compound gates and evacuate the settlers.
The Palestinian Organizations in Jerusalem are afraid that these raids may activate the Israelis’ plan to divide the compound.
John McCain Position Switch On Bergdahl Deal-Is He The Most Disingenuous Member Of Senate Or Simply Unfit To Serve?
While McCain notes that he objected to an earlier proposal that would have called for releasing the very same high value terrorists as an act of “confidence building” with the Taliban, he clearly states that he would support the release of these people if the prize were to be the American soldier being held by the Taliban. He later modifies his response to say that if the exchange were for one of these terrorists—whom he told us just this past Sunday were people responsible for the deaths of thousands—he would support the deal.
Does anyone out there believe that the critics would have been silenced if the exchange had only involved one terrorist…or two…or three? If you believe that our policy of not negotiating with terrorists is the correct policy, does negotiating for the release of one high ranking terrorist make it better? Yet, there is Mr. McCain voicing his support for a deal that , just three months later, he would go on TV to condemn.
I don’t think anything more need be said except that we should all be embarrassed and deeply concerned that this man continues to hold such an important position in our government.
12 Haters Running this Fall – Electoral Extremism | Southern Poverty Law Center
The typically baseless claims of these candidates range from demonizing propaganda about certain minority groups to the promotion of fantastic conspiracy theories about the federal government’s allegedly evil machinations. What follows are snapshots of a dozen such candidates, including Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, independents and others who are running for political office this fall or who ran earlier in the year.
Growing Up To Be Like Yuri Kochiyama | Race Files
She may be best known in the public eye for the iconic picture that shows her cradling Malcolm X’s head in her lap after he was killed in a Manhattan auditorium, but Yuri Kochiyama’s life and legacy stood for much more, especially to Asian Americans. Many of us learned of Yuri Kochiyama’s recent death, not from mainstream news outlets, which have yet to do her legacy full justice, but from one another. And we have had very similar collective responses: tremendous gratitude for how she influenced us, coupled with a redoubling of our commitment to the principles she lived by.





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