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Handcuffs

Profiting from barbarity: Hunger, solitary confinement the norm for imprisoned immigrant women and children

immigrant detention center
© AP / Eric GayA Spanish and English welcome sign in a secured entrance area at the Karnes County Residential Center in Karnes City, Texas.
Hundreds of undocumented families who have fled from poverty, violence and organized crime in Central American countries including Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are locked up in "residential centers" in Karnes County and Dilley, Texas; Berks County, Pa.; and, until recently, Artesia, N.M. The families are imprisoned while awaiting their immigration hearings.

The fact that we have "family detention" centers in the U.S. to imprison whole families, including newborns, ought to frighten the hell out of us. How we treat the most vulnerable among us is a measure of our humanity. By the yardstick that these centers offer us, we are downright barbaric.

When President Obama took office in 2009, he rightly ended the practice of family detention, which began under President George W. Bush. Hundreds of families were being held at the notorious T. Don Hutto Residential Center, a former state prison in Taylor, Texas. Inside the center, which was privately run by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), conditions were appalling—particularly for children, who made up half the population. The New York Times described the policy change to end family detention as "the Obama administration's clearest departure from its predecessor's immigration enforcement policies."

Families apprehended at the border were once more allowed to stay with relatives in the U.S. while awaiting their court hearings for asylum and other immigration-related requests. Then, five years later, President Obama abruptly decided to resume family detention, a decision made public in an ill-timed announcement by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—on World Refugee Day in 2014. The change in policy was likely a response to the influx of unaccompanied Central American minors arriving in the U.S. last summer, which caused great controversy in Congress. Now, reported The Times, "Since June of last year, the Obama administration has upended that tradition [of allowing asylum applicants to live with family and friends]. Rather than release the families on bond to await a hearing, officials place virtually all women with children into the new detention facilities." That includes a baby as young as 14 days old.

Comment: The US has participated in the destruction of many Latin American countries, thereby creating the conditions that have caused many to seek refuge from hunger, poverty and violence. And what kind of treatment do they receive for their efforts in attempting to reach the 'land of the free'? More hunger, violence and trauma. Yes, America is certainly 'exceptional', but only in its inhumanity to the poor and vulnerable.


Attention

Israel's lies go unchallenged on BBC's flagship current affairs show

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BBC's airwaves are always available for Israel's propaganda chief Mark Regev to spin his lies unchallenged.
In March, the BBC's flagship news program Today broadcast an interview with Moshe Yaalon, Israel's defense minister.

Yaalon was given free rein to disseminate lies and propaganda with not a single interruption or challenge from Today presenter, Sarah Montague.

In response, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and many individuals complained to the BBC about the substandard level of interviewing. The replies received from the BBC have revealed the extent to which the organization is prepared to make a fool of itself in order to justify and protect its soft interviews with Israeli spokespeople.

Many had complained that Yaalon was allowed to deny the occupation and the siege on Gaza, and had falsely claimed the Palestinians have "political independence" with Israel not wanting to "govern them whatsoever" — and had done so without any challenging interventions from Montague.

Comment: You would think that the BBC would have, by now, at least attempted to seem fair and impartial towards the Palestinian plight after such events as 'Operation Protective Edge' in which thousands of Gazans were killed, maimed, and left in a horrific humanitarian crises.


Airplane

Southwest Airlines flight diverted to Denver after pressurization problem

Southwest Airlines planes
© Reuters/Lucy NicholsonSouthwest Airlines planes are seen in front of the Las Vegas strip, Nevada, United States on April 23, 2015.
A Southwest Airlines flight, traveling from Las Vegas to Milwaukee, was diverted to Denver late Friday, because of a pressurization problem. The latest incident follows Wednesday's emergency landing by a SkyWest Airlines flight, traveling from Chicago to Connecticut, after three passengers fell unconscious due to suspected pressurization problems.

Flight 100, with 175 passengers and six crew members on board, was diverted after flying for about 90 minutes. The passengers were evaluated after the plane landed, without any incident. The Denver Fire Department responded to gate C27 at the Denver International Airport (DIA) to assist the evacuation of the plane. Company officials said only one passenger required medical assistance.

The airline said the flight to Milwaukee will continue and the passengers will be accommodated in another aircraft set to arrive about two hours late.

Comment: Last week it was reported that the SkyWest Airlines flight, traveling from Chicago to Connecticut, Flight 5622, descended rapidly from an altitude of over 28,000 feet to 10,000 feet in a few minutes and had to make an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport. However, an investigation into the incident later found that there was no problem in cabin pressure and that the oxygen masks did not release. A passenger Frank Angelo said the plane went into a "nosedive" and the "airplane was shaking."

So what caused this dramatic descent?

Recently a cargo plane, Carson Air Flight 66, crashed in Vancouver's North Shore Mountains following an "uncontrolled descent". According to Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill Yearwood:
"The radar track showed a very steep descent," he said. "The crew did not call, declare an emergency or have any stress, which gives us an idea that whatever happened, happened suddenly. The radar track gives us information on how fast it was descending ... and that is consistent with uncontrolled flight."



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Gay teens jumped by 20 kids, 'not a hate crime' say police, victims will be charged

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Homophobic slurs shouted during a fight at an Atlanta high school that wounded at least one gay student with a screwdriver, will not merit a hate or bias investigation, according to authorities. At least 100 students watched "a fight amongst kids" during an April 20 scuffle outside Carver High School, as described by Atlanta Police Department, despite a 16-year-old victim's claims that the attack was premeditated because of his sexual orientation.

"They don't like us cause we're gay," victim Timothy Jefferson told WXIA—TV, showing off a gash on the right side of his face where one attacker allegedly sliced him with a screwdriver. A parent drove Jefferson and a second victim, 17-year-old Zy'derryo Brown, to the hospital. Brown had a bloody mouth and loose teeth after being kicked in the head, a police report states.

"They beating them f-----s," and "gay a-- n----r" are just some of the profanity-laced insults witnesses say they heard batted around the fight. Both Jefferson and a second victim came out as gay in 2013.

Comment: It seems like the establishment in various parts of the country is unwilling to even fulfill the basic laws on the books when it comes to pursuing and protecting minorities from hate crimes. Oddly enough, they have no problem protecting cops who kill, rape or maim innocents. When the system prosecutes victims and protects criminals you know you live in a pathocracy.


Airplane

Turkish Airlines plane makes emergency landing in Istanbul after engine fire

 Turkish Airlines #TK1878 with an engine on fire
© ‏@airlivenetTurkish Airlines #TK1878 with an engine on fire at Ataturk International Airport

A plane travelling to Milan has made an emergency landing after one of its engines caught fire


A Turkish Airlines plane returning from Milan made an emergency landing in Istanbul on Saturday after one of its engines caught fire.

Footage on NTV television showed smoke and flames coming from plane's right engine as firefighters rushed to meet the Airbus 320 as it touched down.

It was the latest in a string of such incidents in recent weeks that have forced Turkey's national flag-carrier to make emergency landings or divert flights.


"All 97 passengers have been taken to the terminal with no health issues. The reason for the incident will become clear after the investigation," Turkish Airlines spokesman Ali Genc wrote on Twitter.

It was not clear whether the plane had caught fire as it landed or mid-air.

The NTV broadcast conversations between the control tower and the plane revealing that the pilot remained calm throughout the emergency.

turkish airlines engine fire
© @airlivenetThe Turkish Airlines A320 landed safely at Ataturk Airport

No Entry

Coup in a small town: Missouri cops block newly elected mayor from taking office

Betty McCray
© APApril 23, 2015: Kinloch city attorney James Robinson, left, asks Kinloch Mayor-elect Betty McCray if he can show the impeachment papers to the media at the Kinloch City Hall, in Kinloch, Mo
On April 7th, Betty McCray was elected mayor of the town of Kinloch, just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. However, after she was sworn in earlier this week, she headed toward city hall to start her term, when she was stopped by nearly two dozen police officers in front of the building (I should add that there are over 50 members of the police department for this town of 300 residents). They claimed that she had been suspended and served impeachment papers for voter fraud.

If all you read was the local mainstream news, you'd think this was a cut-and-dried case. It wouldn't be hard to believe either. Political corruption isn't exactly unheard of in America.

But in reality, there are a few holes in this story.

Treasure Chest

Anticipating financial collapse? JP Morgan accumulating largest stockpile of silver in history

silver
Why in the world has JP Morgan accumulated more than 55 million ounces of physical silver? Since early 2012, JP Morgan's stockpile has grown from less than 5 million ounces of physical silver to more than 55 million ounces of physical silver. Clearly, someone over at JP Morgan is convinced that physical silver is a great investment.

But in recent times, the price of silver has actually fallen quite a bit. As I write this, it is sitting at the ridiculously low price of $15.66 an ounce. So up to this point, JP Morgan's investment in silver has definitely not paid off. But it will pay off in a big way if we will soon be entering a time of great financial turmoil.

During a time of crisis, investors tend to flood into physical gold and silver. And as I mentioned just recently, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon recently stated that "there will be another crisis" in a letter to shareholders...

Comment: The writing is on the wall as it seems the banks aren't the only ones preparing for a financial meltdown:


Attention

Questionable convictions: The FBI's flawed analyses confuse dog and human hair

Santae Tribble
For a while now, thanks in part to the reporting of the Washington Post's Spencer Hsu, it's been known that something was not quite right with the FBI's hair forensics unit in the past. But only but only recently has the FBI admitted that failings within the unit led to hundreds, maybe thousands of questionable convictions before 2000.

In one particularly shocking case from 1978, two FBI-trained hair analysts who helped in the prosecution of a murder case couldn't even tell the difference between human hair and dog hair.

The case involved a murder in Washington D.C. that year. The victim, a cab driver, was robbed and killed in front of his home. Before long, police centered upon Santae Tribble, then a 17-year-old local from the neighborhood, as a suspect.

Comment: Admission by FBI that hair analysis technique could be inaccurate


People 2

Putting a human face on homelessness

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Sandy Sheller understands that, sometimes, the best counseling session might take place just waiting for the bus.

Sheller, the coordinator of mental health training for the Salvation Army of Greater Philadelphia, vividly remembers a client who was having trouble making it to a drug rehabilitation program. A caseworker informed Sheller that the woman, who was in her late 30s, was being "noncompliant" by refusing to go to the rehab program, which was a requirement for her to stay in the shelter.

Instead of lecturing the woman, demanding an explanation or jumping to conclusions, Sheller asked the client to talk about her situation. The key, Sheller says, was asking in an empathetic, nonjudgmental way. "I wasn't trying to make her do anything, and she knew that," says Sheller, who worked as an art and family therapist in an inner-city Salvation Army family shelter for about five years before becoming a coordinator a year ago.

Comment: Homelessness seems to be yet another consequence of psychological, physical isolation, and lack of community that's so prevalent in our world today. The many and varied tentacles of pathology and it's anti social nature infects our lives and spreads like a virus among the general human population. Perhaps social inclusion and empathy for ourselves and others may be the key to addressing this issue.


People

Solutions: One last look at the real economy before it implodes

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All problems, all crises, have at least one solution, if not many solutions. There is no such thing as an unwinnable scenario. Some may not be smart enough or courageous enough to see it, but the solution is always there, waiting to be discovered. The only fight that cannot be won is the fight in which the enemy makes all the rules and we foolishly abide by those rules. Life is not a game of chess, and a man can choose to be more than a pawn anytime he has the guts to do so.

In the past, I have likened the liberty movement to a rebellion against not just tyrants but the game itself - a group of people willing to walk away from the chess board and make their own rules. I stand by that assertion. However, simply walking away is not enough; we must also be willing to take actions that will destroy the game entirely.

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