Posts
No on Proposition 8
Debunking the myths used to promote the ban on same-sex marriage.
November 2, 2008
Clever magicians practice the art of misdirection -- distracting the eyes of the audience to something attention-grabbing but irrelevant so that no one notices what the magician is really doing. Look over at that fuchsia scarf, up this sleeve, at anything besides the actual trick.
The campaign promoting Proposition 8, which proposes to amend the state Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, has masterfully misdirected its audience, California voters. Look at the first-graders in San Francisco, attending their lesbian teacher's wedding! Look at Catholic Charities, halting its adoption services in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal! Look at the church that lost its tax exemption over gay marriage! Look at anything except what Proposition 8 is actually about: a group of people who are trying to impose on the state their belief that homosexuality is immoral and that gays and lesbians are not entitled to be treated equally under the law.
That truth would never sell in tolerant, live-and-let-live California, and so it has been hidden behind a series of misleading half-truths. Once the sleight of hand is revealed, though, the campaign's illusions fall away.
Take the story of Catholic Charities. The service arm of the Roman Catholic Church closed its adoption program in Massachusetts not because of the state's gay marriage law but because of a gay anti-discrimination law passed many years earlier. In fact, the charity had voluntarily placed older foster children in gay and lesbian households -- among those most willing to take hard-to-place children -- until the church hierarchy was alerted and demanded that adoptions conform to the church's religious teaching, which was in conflict with state law. The Proposition 8 campaign, funded in large part by Mormons who were urged to do so by their church, does not mention that the Mormon church's adoption arm in Massachusetts is still operating, even though it does not place children in gay and lesbian households.
How can this be? It's a matter of public accountability, not infringement on religion. Catholic Charities acted as a state contractor, receiving state and federal money to find homes for special-needs children who were wards of the state, and it faced the loss of public funding if it did not comply with the anti-discrimination law. In contrast, LDS (for Latter-day Saints) Family Services runs a private adoption service without public funding. Its work, and its ability to follow its religious teachings, have not been altered.
That San Francisco field trip? The children who attended the wedding had their parents' signed permission, as law requires. A year ago, with the same permission, they could have traveled to their teacher's domestic-partnership ceremony. Proposition 8 does not change the rules about what children are exposed to in school. The state Education Code does not allow schools to teach comprehensive sex education -- which includes instruction about marriage -- to children whose parents object.
Another "Yes on 8" canard is that the continuation of same-sex marriage will force churches and other religious groups to perform such marriages or face losing their tax-exempt status. Proponents point to a case in New Jersey, where a Methodist-based nonprofit owned seaside land that included a boardwalk pavilion. It obtained an exemption from state property tax for the land on the grounds that it was open for public use and access. Events such as weddings -- of any religion -- could be held in the pavilion by reservation. But when a lesbian couple sought to book the pavilion for a commitment ceremony, the nonprofit balked, saying this went against its religious beliefs.
The court ruled against the nonprofit, not because gay rights trump religious rights but because public land has to be open to everyone or it's not public. The ruling does not affect churches' religious tax exemptions or their freedom to marry whom they please on their private property, just as Catholic priests do not have to perform marriages for divorced people and Orthodox synagogues can refuse to provide space for the weddings of interfaith couples. And Proposition 8 has no bearing on the issue; note that the New Jersey case wasn't about a wedding ceremony.
Much has been made about same-sex marriage changing the traditional definition of marriage. But marriage has evolved for thousands of years, from polygamous structures in which brides were so much chattel to today's idealized love matches. In seeking to add a sentence to California's Constitution that says, "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized," Proposition 8 supporters seek to enforce adherence to their own religious or personal definition. The traditional makeup of families has changed too, in ways that many religious people find immoral. Single parents raise their children; couples divorce and blend families. Yet same-sex marriage is the only departure from tradition that has been targeted for constitutional eradication.
Religions and their believers are free to define marriage as they please; they are free to consider homosexuality a sin. But they are not free to impose their definitions of morality on the state. Proposition 8 proponents know this, which is why they have misdirected the debate with highly colored illusions about homosexuals trying to take away the rights of religious Californians. Since May, when the state Supreme Court overturned a proposed ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional, more than 16,000 devoted gay and lesbian couples have celebrated the creation of stable, loving households, of equal legal stature with other households. Their happiness in no way diminishes the rights or happiness of others.
Californians must cast a clear eye on Proposition 8's real intentions. It seeks to change the state Constitution in a rare and terrible way, to impose a single moral belief on everyone and to deprive a targeted group of people of civil rights that are now guaranteed. This is something that no Californian, of any religious belief, should accept. Vote no to the bigotry of Proposition 8.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-prop8-2-2008nov02,0,7071124.story
Monday, November 3, 2008
Native AMERICAN Bones in McCain's Closet
Native AMERICAN Bones in McCain's Closet
The ACSA challenges Senator McCain on his legislative history of Human Rights Violations: "a Skeleton in his closet: UNFIT to hold public office!"
(Public Law 93-531 as amended in 1996 (Partition), 1999 (Settlement), 2001 (Enforcement of Resettlement) and 2005 (Expansion of Resettlement) by bills introduced by Senator McCain - has led to the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Hon Abdeltalif Amor's condemnation of human rights violations inside the US, over the stripping of rights and forced resettlement of these gentle and deeply spiritual band of Dineh-Navajo Indians from Arizona, swept off of lands they'd owned since 1500 A.D. so that Peabody Western Coal could mine the Coal from beneath their farmlands and tap their wells to slurry pipe it to a power station in Nevada).
ACSA study reveals that after assembling a team of "pro-Peabody Western Coal" Indians and obtaining a false "Hopi-Navajo" Tribal Counsel designation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for these paid Tribal representatives, in the period 1974-1996, Senator McCain was able to get large bands of the Dineh-Navajo relocated off their lands, so that Peabody Western could mine the coal under their farms at nominal expense. Common Cause has suggested McCain was indirectly compensated by street name cash contributions to his Federal Election Fund during three Presidential runs, and through family business with Las Vegas Casinos who benefited from the coal driven power he supplied.
PRESS RELEASE
< return home
(Advances Magazine - February 5, 2008)
A public research website: http://www.cain2008.org has brought together diverse historical elements of factual proof that Senator John McCain's was the key "point man" introducing, enacting and enforcing law that removed Dineh-Navajo Families from their reservation on the Black Mesa in Arizona. The McCain revised law relocated them to Church's Hill, Nevada (a Nuclear Waste Superfund Site, called "the New Lands" in PL 93-531). The Dineh-Navajo, a deeply spiritual and peaceful people, engaged in only peaceful resistance to being moved off lands they'd owned since 1500 A.D. Nonetheless, the Public Press and UN depicted brutalization, rights deprivation and forcible relocation.
According to the website (and the United Nations studies) a small band of Indians claiming to be of the "Hopi-Navajo" band (an impossibility as Hopi is the parent culture of all Indian tribes), consisting of 3-5 local Arizona individuals assembled originally by Kennecott attorney John Boyden, Esq (Kennecott is a predecessor owner of the Peabody Western Group) and Congressman Wayne Owens, progressively laid claim to more and more of the lands actually owned by the "Dineh-Navaho" and subsequently offered the "Dineh's" coal rights to Peabody Western Group at nominal cost, while laws enacted by McCain, the Senate and signed into law, forced the relocation of the Dineh-Navajo.
Senator McCain and his predecessors introduced legislation (S1973-1 and S.1003) which they claimed were justified by what has turned out to be a non-existent range war between the Dineh (mainly consisting of grandfathers and grandmothers in their 70's living on farmlands that had belonged to their tribe since 1500 AD) and the Hopi (the 3-5 individuals rapidly assembled to assist Peabody Western Group by Senator McCain, Congressman Owens and John Boyden).
Subsequently, as the Dineh were removed from their farms by the "Relocation Commission" authorized by the US Senate at the behest of the revisions to the Public Law 93-531 introduced as S.1973-1 (1996 Partition) and S.1003 (2001 and 2005 accelerated removal of the Dineh by amendment) by Senator McCain, expanded Coal Mining Rights to their lands were granted to Peabody Western who with Bechtel Corp, have been mining the lands formerly occupied by the Dineh, and piping the coal to the Mohave Generating Station in Nevada, which serves the Las Vegas and Reno areas power needs. A map of the Mining and Piping operations are found depicted below.
Not that long ago, the United Nations performed a Human Rights Investigation of the forced Navajo resettlement from Arizona to Nevada, under Special Rapporteur A. Amor. A law revised and submitted to Congress by Senator John McCain and others before him was determined to be the root cause of violations, which after ratification by President Clinton in 1999 during a globally publicized sit in by Songstress Julia Butterfly Hill at Big Mountain, Arizona. The enactment led to the removal of the Dineh band of Navajo from the Black Mesa to free the lands up to mining, and could lead to relocation of the Dineh-Navaho from Big Mountain, all based on a tissue of deceit, false claims of prior ownership by a small group of paid Arizona locals of Indian descent led by one Wayne Taylor, working for McCain and Peabody. To quote the UN website
(http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/wedo.htm#dineh) :
"The Black Mesa region in Arizona, USA is home to the indigenous communities of the Dineh (Navajo) and Hopi peoples. This region also contains major deposits of coal which are being extracted by North America's largest strip mining operation. The coal mines have had a major impact on families in the region. Local water sources have been poisoned, resulting in the death of livestock. Homes near the mines suffer from blasting damage. The coal dust is pervasive, as well as smoke from frequent fires in the stockpiles. Not coincidentally, the people in the area have an unusually high incidence of kidney and respiratory disease. "
"The Dineh (otherwise known as Navajo) were stripped of all land title and forced to relocate. Their land was turned over to the coal companies without making any provisions to protect the burial or sacred sites that would be destroyed by the mines. People whose lives were based in their deep spiritual and life-giving relationship with the land were relocated into cities, often without compensation, forbidden to return to the land that their families had occupied for generations. People became homeless with significant increases in alcoholism, suicide, family break up, emotional abuse and death. "
-- Marsha Monestersky for the UN Commission on Human Rights and Women Enacting Change at the UN
"The forcible relocation of over 10,000 (Dineh) Navajo people is a tragedy of genocide and injustice that will be a blot on the conscience of this country for many generations."
-- Leon Berger, Executive Director, Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation Commission upon resignation in 2001
"I feel that in relocating these elderly people, we are as bad as the Nazis that ran the concentration camps in World War II."
-- Roger Lewis, federally appointed Dineh Relocation Commissioner upon resignation in 1998
"I believe that the forced relocation of Navajo and Hopi people that followed from the passage in 1974 of Public Law 93-531 is a major violation of these people's human rights. Indeed this forced relocation of over 12,000 Native Americans is one of the worst cases of involuntary community resettlement that I have studied throughout the world over the past 40 years."
-- Thayer Scudder, Professor of Anthropology, California Institute of Technology in a letter to Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance in 1999
According to http://www.cain2008.org, as verified by the Library of Congress and the Congressional Record, Senator McCain, as author and as chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, created the final agreement and amended 1974 Act as captained through the Senate in 1996. Senator McCain proposed a land partitioning scheme which led to the construction of a fence along the Dineh Range blocking their ability to field range their cattle (PL S.1973-1 1996 Dineh Proposal for Land Partitioning), eventually leading to seizure of their cattle for bridging the fence, and capping of their wells, which water was then sequestered for use by Peabody Western Group.
In what can only be called a miscarriage of justices, a grossly misinformed Supreme Court
(http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/01-1375.pdf) unfortunately upheld the right of Peabody Western Group to mine the lands vacated by the Dineh under the law that forcibly relocated them, and for the Dineh to be compensated for only $2500 per farm seized by Peabody for mining under the auspices of the Bureau of Mines, royalties paid solely to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navaho Resettlement Act P.L. 93-531 (as amended). License fees for coal under Dineh lands were never turned over to the Dineh-Navajo by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and have simply just "disappeared" according to the budget director of the BIA, allegedly used for contractor cleanups of Peabody's strip mines (cit. ref. on http://www.cain2008.org).
In its 2007 study of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee's support for Peabody's mine and tapping of wells for mining in the Dineh's territories, the current Special Rapporteur's (Hon. Abdel. Amor) office of the UN Human Rights Commission is quoted as stating :
"There are other detrimental impacts due to government failure to enforce environmental regulations. The presence of the mine and the use of the water source were destroying the Navajo and Hopi cultures. Both the aquifer and the land are sacred to the Hopi and Navajo tribes." (see UN website).
The ACSA website "Am I My Brother's Keeper" (http://www.cain2008.org) goes into the greatest detail of the history of this tragic series of events, accurately showing how Senator McCain and others capitalized on the tragic relocation of the gentle tribe of artisans, elders and grandmothers that has had such horrible consequences.
The ACSA believes in this Election Year that the behavior of each and every candidate or any political affiliation be brought to light in the Public Eye.
ACSA has determined that the law in question (25 U.S.C. 640d-11) has been amended many times, since it's introduction by Congressman Wayne Owens, and signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974. Among the key amendments introduced by Senator McCain were the organization of a Hopi-Navajo Resettlement Commission (a Commission actually charged with relocating the Dineh-Navaho) and modifying the Settlement allegedly agreed to by the Hopi-Navajo to remove any Dineh who sought sanctuary legally under their membership in the Hopi "parent culture" of all Indians in America. These and other amendments were introduced by Senator McCain as public law in 1996 through 1999, and some were submitted to the Senate and House in 2005 as PL S.1003, subsequently incorporated into the language of the 2005 amendment of 25 U.S.C. 40d-11, all to rig the situation for the Senator's sponsors, Peabody Western Coal Company (Peabody Group today) and Bechtel, who operates the Mohave Generating Station, so they could more easily remove the coal from the Dineh-Navaho's rightful properties.
Within the legal maneuverings of Senator McCain, the non-existent tribal counsel, called: the "Hopi-Navajo Counsel", made up of Peabody Group proxies of local Kayenta, Arizona area origin, surfaced false claims of prior ownership and eminent domain, and then successfully testified before the Senate (the Dineh were not invited to testify about their own fate before the Senate by Senator McCain, leading to a hue and cry in 1999) and demanded the removal of the rightful landowners, the Dineh-Navajo, claiming "encroachment on lands granted us by President Chester A. Arthur." They demand completion of the removal of the Dineh-Navaho from the Black Mesa and Big Mountain.
Or course, as it turns out, the term "Hopi" refers to all Indians everywhere in the USA, and not any single tribal unit. The testimony by alleged "Hopis" from Arizona who count in number some five individuals, has with the help of Senator McCain, managed to testify at every hearing without the Senate every once questioning whether such a tribe exists, or whether it has rights to the territories which, now with many of the Dineh-Navajo having been forcibly removed, some 25,000 families and growing, are now being mined by Peabody Group in Black Mesa, with its sights set on Big Mountain.
For an example of testimony by the fake Hopi tribal counsel: leader Wayne Taylor, at Senate Hearings on the forcible resettlement of the Dineh Navajo, tried to claim encroachment of lands he claimed "were occupied by our people for 1000 years", falsely alleging that the Navajo were relative newcomers. The claims are historical falsehoods, as the Navajo and all Indian Tribes of America are sub-units of the overall Hopi, which term refers to all Indian Tribes.
(see Wayne Taylor's statement before the Senate: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411336)
The behavior by Senator John McCain in manipulating the laws and circumstances of this horrific affair is pervasively criminal, in the ACSA's opinion, and also quite worthy of the prosecution and incarceration of Senator McCain, and his associates in sponsorship of the bills, the proxy Hopi "wooden indians" bought and paid for by McCain and Peabody, and the profiteering from the coal mining of the Black Mesa, for Criminal Fraud, Conspiracy and Misconduct of Office. ACSA would further not be in a position to hand McCain any endorsement in his Presidential run, we opine and consider his election, the election of a known criminal, would ultimately damage the United States in ways as of yet not conceived.
Hence: http://www.cain2008.org "Am I My Brother's Keeper" -- visit it and view a remarkable film online for free: VANISHING PRAYER, which film cinematically documents many of the tragic events that led to this ongoing Holocaust.
The ACSA is the world's largest computer science foundation with some 9.5 million registered members, and 15,000 sponsoring companies. Its primary charter is one of Public Advocacy and its website is found at http://acsa.net .
Copyright (c) 2008 ACSA
The ACSA challenges Senator McCain on his legislative history of Human Rights Violations: "a Skeleton in his closet: UNFIT to hold public office!"
(Public Law 93-531 as amended in 1996 (Partition), 1999 (Settlement), 2001 (Enforcement of Resettlement) and 2005 (Expansion of Resettlement) by bills introduced by Senator McCain - has led to the United Nations Special Rapporteur, Hon Abdeltalif Amor's condemnation of human rights violations inside the US, over the stripping of rights and forced resettlement of these gentle and deeply spiritual band of Dineh-Navajo Indians from Arizona, swept off of lands they'd owned since 1500 A.D. so that Peabody Western Coal could mine the Coal from beneath their farmlands and tap their wells to slurry pipe it to a power station in Nevada).
ACSA study reveals that after assembling a team of "pro-Peabody Western Coal" Indians and obtaining a false "Hopi-Navajo" Tribal Counsel designation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs for these paid Tribal representatives, in the period 1974-1996, Senator McCain was able to get large bands of the Dineh-Navajo relocated off their lands, so that Peabody Western could mine the coal under their farms at nominal expense. Common Cause has suggested McCain was indirectly compensated by street name cash contributions to his Federal Election Fund during three Presidential runs, and through family business with Las Vegas Casinos who benefited from the coal driven power he supplied.
PRESS RELEASE
< return home
(Advances Magazine - February 5, 2008)
A public research website: http://www.cain2008.org has brought together diverse historical elements of factual proof that Senator John McCain's was the key "point man" introducing, enacting and enforcing law that removed Dineh-Navajo Families from their reservation on the Black Mesa in Arizona. The McCain revised law relocated them to Church's Hill, Nevada (a Nuclear Waste Superfund Site, called "the New Lands" in PL 93-531). The Dineh-Navajo, a deeply spiritual and peaceful people, engaged in only peaceful resistance to being moved off lands they'd owned since 1500 A.D. Nonetheless, the Public Press and UN depicted brutalization, rights deprivation and forcible relocation.
According to the website (and the United Nations studies) a small band of Indians claiming to be of the "Hopi-Navajo" band (an impossibility as Hopi is the parent culture of all Indian tribes), consisting of 3-5 local Arizona individuals assembled originally by Kennecott attorney John Boyden, Esq (Kennecott is a predecessor owner of the Peabody Western Group) and Congressman Wayne Owens, progressively laid claim to more and more of the lands actually owned by the "Dineh-Navaho" and subsequently offered the "Dineh's" coal rights to Peabody Western Group at nominal cost, while laws enacted by McCain, the Senate and signed into law, forced the relocation of the Dineh-Navajo.
Senator McCain and his predecessors introduced legislation (S1973-1 and S.1003) which they claimed were justified by what has turned out to be a non-existent range war between the Dineh (mainly consisting of grandfathers and grandmothers in their 70's living on farmlands that had belonged to their tribe since 1500 AD) and the Hopi (the 3-5 individuals rapidly assembled to assist Peabody Western Group by Senator McCain, Congressman Owens and John Boyden).
Subsequently, as the Dineh were removed from their farms by the "Relocation Commission" authorized by the US Senate at the behest of the revisions to the Public Law 93-531 introduced as S.1973-1 (1996 Partition) and S.1003 (2001 and 2005 accelerated removal of the Dineh by amendment) by Senator McCain, expanded Coal Mining Rights to their lands were granted to Peabody Western who with Bechtel Corp, have been mining the lands formerly occupied by the Dineh, and piping the coal to the Mohave Generating Station in Nevada, which serves the Las Vegas and Reno areas power needs. A map of the Mining and Piping operations are found depicted below.
Not that long ago, the United Nations performed a Human Rights Investigation of the forced Navajo resettlement from Arizona to Nevada, under Special Rapporteur A. Amor. A law revised and submitted to Congress by Senator John McCain and others before him was determined to be the root cause of violations, which after ratification by President Clinton in 1999 during a globally publicized sit in by Songstress Julia Butterfly Hill at Big Mountain, Arizona. The enactment led to the removal of the Dineh band of Navajo from the Black Mesa to free the lands up to mining, and could lead to relocation of the Dineh-Navaho from Big Mountain, all based on a tissue of deceit, false claims of prior ownership by a small group of paid Arizona locals of Indian descent led by one Wayne Taylor, working for McCain and Peabody. To quote the UN website
(http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/mgroups/wedo.htm#dineh) :
"The Black Mesa region in Arizona, USA is home to the indigenous communities of the Dineh (Navajo) and Hopi peoples. This region also contains major deposits of coal which are being extracted by North America's largest strip mining operation. The coal mines have had a major impact on families in the region. Local water sources have been poisoned, resulting in the death of livestock. Homes near the mines suffer from blasting damage. The coal dust is pervasive, as well as smoke from frequent fires in the stockpiles. Not coincidentally, the people in the area have an unusually high incidence of kidney and respiratory disease. "
"The Dineh (otherwise known as Navajo) were stripped of all land title and forced to relocate. Their land was turned over to the coal companies without making any provisions to protect the burial or sacred sites that would be destroyed by the mines. People whose lives were based in their deep spiritual and life-giving relationship with the land were relocated into cities, often without compensation, forbidden to return to the land that their families had occupied for generations. People became homeless with significant increases in alcoholism, suicide, family break up, emotional abuse and death. "
-- Marsha Monestersky for the UN Commission on Human Rights and Women Enacting Change at the UN
"The forcible relocation of over 10,000 (Dineh) Navajo people is a tragedy of genocide and injustice that will be a blot on the conscience of this country for many generations."
-- Leon Berger, Executive Director, Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation Commission upon resignation in 2001
"I feel that in relocating these elderly people, we are as bad as the Nazis that ran the concentration camps in World War II."
-- Roger Lewis, federally appointed Dineh Relocation Commissioner upon resignation in 1998
"I believe that the forced relocation of Navajo and Hopi people that followed from the passage in 1974 of Public Law 93-531 is a major violation of these people's human rights. Indeed this forced relocation of over 12,000 Native Americans is one of the worst cases of involuntary community resettlement that I have studied throughout the world over the past 40 years."
-- Thayer Scudder, Professor of Anthropology, California Institute of Technology in a letter to Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance in 1999
According to http://www.cain2008.org, as verified by the Library of Congress and the Congressional Record, Senator McCain, as author and as chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, created the final agreement and amended 1974 Act as captained through the Senate in 1996. Senator McCain proposed a land partitioning scheme which led to the construction of a fence along the Dineh Range blocking their ability to field range their cattle (PL S.1973-1 1996 Dineh Proposal for Land Partitioning), eventually leading to seizure of their cattle for bridging the fence, and capping of their wells, which water was then sequestered for use by Peabody Western Group.
In what can only be called a miscarriage of justices, a grossly misinformed Supreme Court
(http://www.supremecourtus.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/01-1375.pdf) unfortunately upheld the right of Peabody Western Group to mine the lands vacated by the Dineh under the law that forcibly relocated them, and for the Dineh to be compensated for only $2500 per farm seized by Peabody for mining under the auspices of the Bureau of Mines, royalties paid solely to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navaho Resettlement Act P.L. 93-531 (as amended). License fees for coal under Dineh lands were never turned over to the Dineh-Navajo by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and have simply just "disappeared" according to the budget director of the BIA, allegedly used for contractor cleanups of Peabody's strip mines (cit. ref. on http://www.cain2008.org).
In its 2007 study of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee's support for Peabody's mine and tapping of wells for mining in the Dineh's territories, the current Special Rapporteur's (Hon. Abdel. Amor) office of the UN Human Rights Commission is quoted as stating :
"There are other detrimental impacts due to government failure to enforce environmental regulations. The presence of the mine and the use of the water source were destroying the Navajo and Hopi cultures. Both the aquifer and the land are sacred to the Hopi and Navajo tribes." (see UN website).
The ACSA website "Am I My Brother's Keeper" (http://www.cain2008.org) goes into the greatest detail of the history of this tragic series of events, accurately showing how Senator McCain and others capitalized on the tragic relocation of the gentle tribe of artisans, elders and grandmothers that has had such horrible consequences.
The ACSA believes in this Election Year that the behavior of each and every candidate or any political affiliation be brought to light in the Public Eye.
ACSA has determined that the law in question (25 U.S.C. 640d-11) has been amended many times, since it's introduction by Congressman Wayne Owens, and signed into law by President Gerald Ford in 1974. Among the key amendments introduced by Senator McCain were the organization of a Hopi-Navajo Resettlement Commission (a Commission actually charged with relocating the Dineh-Navaho) and modifying the Settlement allegedly agreed to by the Hopi-Navajo to remove any Dineh who sought sanctuary legally under their membership in the Hopi "parent culture" of all Indians in America. These and other amendments were introduced by Senator McCain as public law in 1996 through 1999, and some were submitted to the Senate and House in 2005 as PL S.1003, subsequently incorporated into the language of the 2005 amendment of 25 U.S.C. 40d-11, all to rig the situation for the Senator's sponsors, Peabody Western Coal Company (Peabody Group today) and Bechtel, who operates the Mohave Generating Station, so they could more easily remove the coal from the Dineh-Navaho's rightful properties.
Within the legal maneuverings of Senator McCain, the non-existent tribal counsel, called: the "Hopi-Navajo Counsel", made up of Peabody Group proxies of local Kayenta, Arizona area origin, surfaced false claims of prior ownership and eminent domain, and then successfully testified before the Senate (the Dineh were not invited to testify about their own fate before the Senate by Senator McCain, leading to a hue and cry in 1999) and demanded the removal of the rightful landowners, the Dineh-Navajo, claiming "encroachment on lands granted us by President Chester A. Arthur." They demand completion of the removal of the Dineh-Navaho from the Black Mesa and Big Mountain.
Or course, as it turns out, the term "Hopi" refers to all Indians everywhere in the USA, and not any single tribal unit. The testimony by alleged "Hopis" from Arizona who count in number some five individuals, has with the help of Senator McCain, managed to testify at every hearing without the Senate every once questioning whether such a tribe exists, or whether it has rights to the territories which, now with many of the Dineh-Navajo having been forcibly removed, some 25,000 families and growing, are now being mined by Peabody Group in Black Mesa, with its sights set on Big Mountain.
For an example of testimony by the fake Hopi tribal counsel: leader Wayne Taylor, at Senate Hearings on the forcible resettlement of the Dineh Navajo, tried to claim encroachment of lands he claimed "were occupied by our people for 1000 years", falsely alleging that the Navajo were relative newcomers. The claims are historical falsehoods, as the Navajo and all Indian Tribes of America are sub-units of the overall Hopi, which term refers to all Indian Tribes.
(see Wayne Taylor's statement before the Senate: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411336)
The behavior by Senator John McCain in manipulating the laws and circumstances of this horrific affair is pervasively criminal, in the ACSA's opinion, and also quite worthy of the prosecution and incarceration of Senator McCain, and his associates in sponsorship of the bills, the proxy Hopi "wooden indians" bought and paid for by McCain and Peabody, and the profiteering from the coal mining of the Black Mesa, for Criminal Fraud, Conspiracy and Misconduct of Office. ACSA would further not be in a position to hand McCain any endorsement in his Presidential run, we opine and consider his election, the election of a known criminal, would ultimately damage the United States in ways as of yet not conceived.
Hence: http://www.cain2008.org "Am I My Brother's Keeper" -- visit it and view a remarkable film online for free: VANISHING PRAYER, which film cinematically documents many of the tragic events that led to this ongoing Holocaust.
The ACSA is the world's largest computer science foundation with some 9.5 million registered members, and 15,000 sponsoring companies. Its primary charter is one of Public Advocacy and its website is found at http://acsa.net .
Copyright (c) 2008 ACSA
Bill Clinton opposes California's Prop. 8
Besides the contentious issues listed below, Clinton also advised 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry to campaign against gay marriage.
http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/clintonprop8103108.html
Bill Clinton: No on Proposition 8
by Nick Cargo
Former President Bill Clinton urged millions of California voters Thursday night to reject the state's proposed constitutional gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.
Clinton said: "This is Bill Clinton calling to ask you to vote NO on Proposition 8 on Tuesday, November 4th. Proposition 8 would use state law to single out one group of Californians to be treated differently -- discriminating against members of our family, our friends and our coworkers."
Clinton's turbulent past with LGBT rights includes his signing of the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military only if they remained closeted, and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, framed as a states' rights measure, which bars all parts of the federal government from recognizing a same-sex marriage. As a result, married same-sex couples are unable to file taxes jointly, claim federal benefits, and in some cases, married gays have been unable to obtain passports because their legal names were changed on their marriage documents, which the State Department cannot acknowledge.
In an interview in March, Clinton disagreed that the policies were anti-gay, or that his administration had thrown gays "under the bus," as musician Melissa Etheridge said at LOGO's 2007 "Visible Vote" forum during Senator Clinton's candidacy. "It's a slight rewriting of history," Clinton said, "for Melissa [Etheridge], whom I very much respect, to imply that somehow this was anti-gay, when I had more openly gay people in my administration, and did more for gay rights--and tried to provide an opportunity for gays to serve in the military; and did provide an opportunity for gays to serve in civilian positions involving national security that they had previously been denied from serving in."
"If I know one thing about California, I know that is not what you're about.. That is not what America is about," the Thursday call concluded. "Please vote NO on 8. It's unfair and it's wrong. Thank you."
http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/clintonprop8103108.html
Bill Clinton: No on Proposition 8
by Nick Cargo
Former President Bill Clinton urged millions of California voters Thursday night to reject the state's proposed constitutional gay marriage ban, Proposition 8.
Clinton said: "This is Bill Clinton calling to ask you to vote NO on Proposition 8 on Tuesday, November 4th. Proposition 8 would use state law to single out one group of Californians to be treated differently -- discriminating against members of our family, our friends and our coworkers."
Clinton's turbulent past with LGBT rights includes his signing of the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gays and lesbians to serve in the military only if they remained closeted, and the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, framed as a states' rights measure, which bars all parts of the federal government from recognizing a same-sex marriage. As a result, married same-sex couples are unable to file taxes jointly, claim federal benefits, and in some cases, married gays have been unable to obtain passports because their legal names were changed on their marriage documents, which the State Department cannot acknowledge.
In an interview in March, Clinton disagreed that the policies were anti-gay, or that his administration had thrown gays "under the bus," as musician Melissa Etheridge said at LOGO's 2007 "Visible Vote" forum during Senator Clinton's candidacy. "It's a slight rewriting of history," Clinton said, "for Melissa [Etheridge], whom I very much respect, to imply that somehow this was anti-gay, when I had more openly gay people in my administration, and did more for gay rights--and tried to provide an opportunity for gays to serve in the military; and did provide an opportunity for gays to serve in civilian positions involving national security that they had previously been denied from serving in."
"If I know one thing about California, I know that is not what you're about.. That is not what America is about," the Thursday call concluded. "Please vote NO on 8. It's unfair and it's wrong. Thank you."
Sunday, November 2, 2008
TAKE ACTION:Get Voters out to the Polls and ROCK THE VOTE!
Starbucks is offering a free tall coffee on Tuesday to everyone who votes! After you vote, go to any Starbucks and say that you have voted to get your free tall coffee! Spread the word, bring people to the polls with you, and then go to Starbucks! Pass This On.
TAKE ACTION:
Get Voters out to the Polls and Pass This On.
ROCK THE VOTE!
Election day is approaching fast. We have very little time left to make this important voter turnout drive succeed.
This is one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. The economy is in big trouble, jobs are disappearing, people are losing their homes, two wars are raging, and the cost of living is soaring. Millions have no health care and global warming needs to be addressed. The way to get the change we need is to elect the right leaders.
Every vote counts, and your vote and participation in this voter turnout drive can make all the difference. It is your civic duty and your Constitutional right to vote, and your help is needed to get out the vote.
Rock The Vote has made voting easier with the information you need. But you must act now, Electon Day is November 4th!
Please join in and help get voters out, and then pass this important message on to everyone in your address book.
Click Here to see how you an help
Rock The Vote!
http://rockthevote.org/
Dear Rock the Vote Friends,
Last year, Rock the Vote joined with Live Earth as its partner. On 7-7-07, millions of people worldwide experienced Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis. In doing so, they were making the commitment to take action against the climate crisis. Besides the hundreds of thousands of people attending the Live Earth concerts on seven continents, over 10,000 "Friends of Live Earth' in 195 countries participated in house parties to watch the event and at least ten million more people viewed the concerts online.
Don't be left behind! Join the millions of people across the world who have pledged to take action against the climate crisis.
Together, we will solve the climate crisis.
Remember to register to vote because you can't vote if you're not registered! Why is voting important when it comes to stopping the climate crisis? Well, here are some things to consider:
- The next U.S. president will inherit a country that makes up less than 5% of the world's population but produces nearly a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases.
- Legislation regarding environmental issues is crafted by the lawmakers YOU elect.
- Congress appropriates the funds for the development of clean renewable energy sources.
- The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, which has the legal responsibility to regulate carbon emissions, will be appointed by the next president.
Register now at and tell your friends to register as well.
The future is now. We cannot wait. Together we will make a difference.
Get Ready Rock The Vote: Tuesday 11-4 is Election Day
This November 4th is Election Day in The United States of America. It is your Constitutional right and your civic duty as an American to vote. Your vote matters, EACH and EVERY vote counts! This year's elections offer you some important opportunities to make your vote count!
I urge you to get ready to vote Tuesday, November 4th. Voting is one of the most important things that you can do. The polls open early, and stay open late. The time to act is now. Get out and vote, don't miss your chance to make a difference!
Tell your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to vote. Remind them that election day is November 4th. Offer to bring people to the polls or go with them. Pass this message on to everyone in your address book.
Rock The Vote!
Tuesday, November 4th
http://www.rockthevote.com/home.html
November 4th--Election Day 2008--is just around the corner.
The bottom line is if you target and talk to people they will vote. Get Involved!
Click Here to Rock The Vote:
http://www.rockthevote.com/home.html
Don't wait for '08!
Our future and real change depends on you.
Project Vote
We cannot turn out voters who never made it onto the rolls to begin with. By the time Election Day 2009 comes around it will be too late; the time to act is now.
It turns out there are still a lot of people in Washington and our state capitals who are working to discourage Americans from voting.
One of our most important groups working to register and protect voters -- Project Vote -- recently released a study which documented in great detail years of voter suppression all over the country. The result is that hundreds and thousands of minority voters, many of them 'single mothers,' were purged from the rolls and deprived of their right to vote in 2004 and 2006. That is outrageous!
And if it sounds sickeningly familiar, you are right. These are the same anti-American tactics that kept people from voting in the South during the Civil Rights movement. And it has to stop.
Please join is in this monumental battle for our democracy. Step up and say there is nothing more important than the ability to vote in America. Will you fight with us to ensure that every single eligible voter can go to the polls?
By the time Election Day comes around it will be too late. We cannot turn out voters who never made it onto the voter rolls to begin with. Early work to get voters on the rolls and make sure they stay there no matter what is crucial to our fight to take back our democracy.
Project Vote
http://www.projectvote.org/
If you are registered to vote get out and VOTE!
The polls open early and close late. Vote before or after work or on your break.
Find out where to vote here or contact your local Board of Elections:
http://www.rockthevote.com/electioncenter/
If you are not registered to vote, register now!
Call or write your local board of elections for a voter registration form or click here to get one:
http://www.rockthevote.com/
http://projectvote.org/our-work-pages/our-work/voter-registration.html
Not sure who to vote for?
Educate yourself. Read the Voter's Guide in your local newspaper or on line to find out who and what is on the ballot in your Election District. Read the websites of the candidates and parties to find out where they stand on the issues that matter to you. Ask about the candidates and find out their qualifications and where they stand. Talk to people and find out who they are voting for and why. Read the ballot initiatives and find out what they mean and how they affect you. Get a sample ballot before you go into the voting booth and take your time deciding who and what to vote for. You Can Make a Difference!
ROCK THE VOTE
Tuesday, November 4th
I invite you to join our Yahoo groups here for informative news and discussion:
Click these links and join our fine groups:
4 United We Stand Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4UnitedWeStand/
Matthew Shepard Pride and Tolerance Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MatthewShepardPrideandTolerance/
New York State Senate Shift Control To Democrat Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewYorkStateSenateShiftControlToDemocrat/
--
Together, We Can Change The World, One Mind At A Time!
__._,_.___
TAKE ACTION:
Get Voters out to the Polls and Pass This On.
ROCK THE VOTE!
Election day is approaching fast. We have very little time left to make this important voter turnout drive succeed.
This is one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. The economy is in big trouble, jobs are disappearing, people are losing their homes, two wars are raging, and the cost of living is soaring. Millions have no health care and global warming needs to be addressed. The way to get the change we need is to elect the right leaders.
Every vote counts, and your vote and participation in this voter turnout drive can make all the difference. It is your civic duty and your Constitutional right to vote, and your help is needed to get out the vote.
Rock The Vote has made voting easier with the information you need. But you must act now, Electon Day is November 4th!
Please join in and help get voters out, and then pass this important message on to everyone in your address book.
Click Here to see how you an help
Rock The Vote!
http://rockthevote.org/
Dear Rock the Vote Friends,
Last year, Rock the Vote joined with Live Earth as its partner. On 7-7-07, millions of people worldwide experienced Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis. In doing so, they were making the commitment to take action against the climate crisis. Besides the hundreds of thousands of people attending the Live Earth concerts on seven continents, over 10,000 "Friends of Live Earth' in 195 countries participated in house parties to watch the event and at least ten million more people viewed the concerts online.
Don't be left behind! Join the millions of people across the world who have pledged to take action against the climate crisis.
Together, we will solve the climate crisis.
Remember to register to vote because you can't vote if you're not registered! Why is voting important when it comes to stopping the climate crisis? Well, here are some things to consider:
- The next U.S. president will inherit a country that makes up less than 5% of the world's population but produces nearly a quarter of the world's greenhouse gases.
- Legislation regarding environmental issues is crafted by the lawmakers YOU elect.
- Congress appropriates the funds for the development of clean renewable energy sources.
- The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, which has the legal responsibility to regulate carbon emissions, will be appointed by the next president.
Register now at and tell your friends to register as well.
The future is now. We cannot wait. Together we will make a difference.
Get Ready Rock The Vote: Tuesday 11-4 is Election Day
This November 4th is Election Day in The United States of America. It is your Constitutional right and your civic duty as an American to vote. Your vote matters, EACH and EVERY vote counts! This year's elections offer you some important opportunities to make your vote count!
I urge you to get ready to vote Tuesday, November 4th. Voting is one of the most important things that you can do. The polls open early, and stay open late. The time to act is now. Get out and vote, don't miss your chance to make a difference!
Tell your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to vote. Remind them that election day is November 4th. Offer to bring people to the polls or go with them. Pass this message on to everyone in your address book.
Rock The Vote!
Tuesday, November 4th
http://www.rockthevote.com/home.html
November 4th--Election Day 2008--is just around the corner.
The bottom line is if you target and talk to people they will vote. Get Involved!
Click Here to Rock The Vote:
http://www.rockthevote.com/home.html
Don't wait for '08!
Our future and real change depends on you.
Project Vote
We cannot turn out voters who never made it onto the rolls to begin with. By the time Election Day 2009 comes around it will be too late; the time to act is now.
It turns out there are still a lot of people in Washington and our state capitals who are working to discourage Americans from voting.
One of our most important groups working to register and protect voters -- Project Vote -- recently released a study which documented in great detail years of voter suppression all over the country. The result is that hundreds and thousands of minority voters, many of them 'single mothers,' were purged from the rolls and deprived of their right to vote in 2004 and 2006. That is outrageous!
And if it sounds sickeningly familiar, you are right. These are the same anti-American tactics that kept people from voting in the South during the Civil Rights movement. And it has to stop.
Please join is in this monumental battle for our democracy. Step up and say there is nothing more important than the ability to vote in America. Will you fight with us to ensure that every single eligible voter can go to the polls?
By the time Election Day comes around it will be too late. We cannot turn out voters who never made it onto the voter rolls to begin with. Early work to get voters on the rolls and make sure they stay there no matter what is crucial to our fight to take back our democracy.
Project Vote
http://www.projectvote.org/
If you are registered to vote get out and VOTE!
The polls open early and close late. Vote before or after work or on your break.
Find out where to vote here or contact your local Board of Elections:
http://www.rockthevote.com/electioncenter/
If you are not registered to vote, register now!
Call or write your local board of elections for a voter registration form or click here to get one:
http://www.rockthevote.com/
http://projectvote.org/our-work-pages/our-work/voter-registration.html
Not sure who to vote for?
Educate yourself. Read the Voter's Guide in your local newspaper or on line to find out who and what is on the ballot in your Election District. Read the websites of the candidates and parties to find out where they stand on the issues that matter to you. Ask about the candidates and find out their qualifications and where they stand. Talk to people and find out who they are voting for and why. Read the ballot initiatives and find out what they mean and how they affect you. Get a sample ballot before you go into the voting booth and take your time deciding who and what to vote for. You Can Make a Difference!
ROCK THE VOTE
Tuesday, November 4th
I invite you to join our Yahoo groups here for informative news and discussion:
Click these links and join our fine groups:
4 United We Stand Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/4UnitedWeStand/
Matthew Shepard Pride and Tolerance Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MatthewShepardPrideandTolerance/
New York State Senate Shift Control To Democrat Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NewYorkStateSenateShiftControlToDemocrat/
--
Together, We Can Change The World, One Mind At A Time!
__._,_.___
Coming out, not a gay and glad experience
Coming out, not a gay and glad experience
Nilanjana Bose
CNN-IBN
Bangalore/New Delhi: A documentary made by a young Harvard student, Nishit Saran in 1999 became a cult for India's gay men and women and was, in many ways, the coming of age of the queer movement in India.
His was a coming out captured for posterity. Nishit died in a car accident in 2003, a young and a gifted gay man who would have probably been in the forefront today, fighting to get dignity for India's queer population.
His mother Mina Saran feels as strongly as Nishit would have about Section 377 - and tries to tell parents of queer children - that it’s okay to be gay.
“Everybody is an individual. If any one chooses to be in a certain way, why should there be a restriction if that is what is natural to them? Just because society says so? Nishit was a brilliant child. Didn't he have the right to live like other children and live like other children?” she asks
Coming out - many would say is a very Western way of dealing with sexuality. Ask any proud gay man or woman what it was like when they came out, and most would say: do heterosexual people have to come out when they realise they like the opposite sex?
But there does come a time when queer people feel its time to inform their parents and friends. Some take days to muster the courage - others just leave it unsaid.
Sidharth Narrain is 26, a trained lawyer in Bangalore and spends his Sundays relaxing at home, pretty much like anyone else. Till recently he didn't dare tell his parents he was gay and now, even though he feels better about coming out, it hasn’t been easy.
“Though my parents did not completely understand the issue and were not comfortable with it, they still understood I wasn’t doing anything that would bring them harm,” he says.
Ralph lives in Bangalore as well. Brought up as a God-fearing Catholic, for years he believed that God would punish him because he felt attracted to boys when he was growing up.
It was only when he met other people like himself that Ralph realised it was okay to be different. To not want to be with a woman, but with someone of his own sex.
“I have a lot of friends who were girls, I was surrounded by girls in college. I thought they are friends so let me make one of them my girlfriend and then may be I will feel or think differently. But it didn’t happen. There was not even a vague sense of attraction,” he says.
Saleem Kidwai is Muslim, a historian and author and a proud gay man. In the 70s, his was perhaps the first openly gay generation in India. But being Muslim and gay is something he carries off with a quiet dignity
“Luckily, I haven't been mocked to my face but the prejudice I have faced personally its no more or less than I have faced being a Muslim,” he says.
It's some thing that Fakroon Lakdawalla understands. Sixty-year-old Fakroon is from Gujarat but is settled in Canada. He is a deeply religious man and has been openly gay for years now.
“When you walk down the street you are accosted and sometimes not in a nice way. I have faced prejudice for being coloured and also for being gay. They say things like Paki fag,” he says
Fakroon, Saleem and Sunil have been friends for more than 30 years. Now in Delhi together for a reunion of sorts, this is a place close to their hearts.
The Jamaali Kamali mosque in Mehrauli in many ways pays tribute to male love. This is where a Sufi poet and his disciple - who the poet was very close to - lie buried side by side.
“This is the first monument where you have male bonding surviving as a monument very much within the sufi tradition which is so important to us Indian Muslims,” says Kidwai.
There are many who say India is not ready to accept homosexuality. But is it just about a way of life that many feel are alien to or is it more about giving people the choice and the right to live the way they want to, to love who ever they wish to - and to proudly be who they are?
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/coming-out-not-a-gay-and-glad-experience/77309-19.html
Nilanjana Bose
CNN-IBN
Bangalore/New Delhi: A documentary made by a young Harvard student, Nishit Saran in 1999 became a cult for India's gay men and women and was, in many ways, the coming of age of the queer movement in India.
His was a coming out captured for posterity. Nishit died in a car accident in 2003, a young and a gifted gay man who would have probably been in the forefront today, fighting to get dignity for India's queer population.
His mother Mina Saran feels as strongly as Nishit would have about Section 377 - and tries to tell parents of queer children - that it’s okay to be gay.
“Everybody is an individual. If any one chooses to be in a certain way, why should there be a restriction if that is what is natural to them? Just because society says so? Nishit was a brilliant child. Didn't he have the right to live like other children and live like other children?” she asks
Coming out - many would say is a very Western way of dealing with sexuality. Ask any proud gay man or woman what it was like when they came out, and most would say: do heterosexual people have to come out when they realise they like the opposite sex?
But there does come a time when queer people feel its time to inform their parents and friends. Some take days to muster the courage - others just leave it unsaid.
Sidharth Narrain is 26, a trained lawyer in Bangalore and spends his Sundays relaxing at home, pretty much like anyone else. Till recently he didn't dare tell his parents he was gay and now, even though he feels better about coming out, it hasn’t been easy.
“Though my parents did not completely understand the issue and were not comfortable with it, they still understood I wasn’t doing anything that would bring them harm,” he says.
Ralph lives in Bangalore as well. Brought up as a God-fearing Catholic, for years he believed that God would punish him because he felt attracted to boys when he was growing up.
It was only when he met other people like himself that Ralph realised it was okay to be different. To not want to be with a woman, but with someone of his own sex.
“I have a lot of friends who were girls, I was surrounded by girls in college. I thought they are friends so let me make one of them my girlfriend and then may be I will feel or think differently. But it didn’t happen. There was not even a vague sense of attraction,” he says.
Saleem Kidwai is Muslim, a historian and author and a proud gay man. In the 70s, his was perhaps the first openly gay generation in India. But being Muslim and gay is something he carries off with a quiet dignity
“Luckily, I haven't been mocked to my face but the prejudice I have faced personally its no more or less than I have faced being a Muslim,” he says.
It's some thing that Fakroon Lakdawalla understands. Sixty-year-old Fakroon is from Gujarat but is settled in Canada. He is a deeply religious man and has been openly gay for years now.
“When you walk down the street you are accosted and sometimes not in a nice way. I have faced prejudice for being coloured and also for being gay. They say things like Paki fag,” he says
Fakroon, Saleem and Sunil have been friends for more than 30 years. Now in Delhi together for a reunion of sorts, this is a place close to their hearts.
The Jamaali Kamali mosque in Mehrauli in many ways pays tribute to male love. This is where a Sufi poet and his disciple - who the poet was very close to - lie buried side by side.
“This is the first monument where you have male bonding surviving as a monument very much within the sufi tradition which is so important to us Indian Muslims,” says Kidwai.
There are many who say India is not ready to accept homosexuality. But is it just about a way of life that many feel are alien to or is it more about giving people the choice and the right to live the way they want to, to love who ever they wish to - and to proudly be who they are?
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/coming-out-not-a-gay-and-glad-experience/77309-19.html
Monday, October 27, 2008
Torturing Democracy
" Torturing Democracy ", a 90-minute film, from Emmy and DuPont awarding-winning producer Sherry Jones, relies on the documentary record to connect the dots in an investigation of interrogations of prisoners in U.S. custody that became ?at a minimum, cruel and inhuman treatment and, at worst, torture,? in the words of the former general counsel of the United States Navy.
Up to date with the latest revelations, Torturing Democracy details how the government set aside the rule of law in its pursuit of harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. It features in-depth interviews with numerous senior military and government officials.
With exclusive interviews and little-known archival footage, the documentary traces how the secret U.S. military training program ? ?Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape? or SERE ? became the basis for many of the harshest interrogation methods employed first by the CIA and subsequently by interrogators at Guantanamo and in Iraq.
The documentary also details the experiences of prisoners in U.S. custody, including Shafiq Rasul (Detainee # 086), Moazzam Begg (Detainee #558), and Bisher al-Rawi (Detainee #906) in their own words. All were eventually released, with no charges filed against them and no reason given for their years in custody.
Watch Torturing Democracy
Read the Transcript
Up to date with the latest revelations, Torturing Democracy details how the government set aside the rule of law in its pursuit of harsh interrogations of suspected terrorists. It features in-depth interviews with numerous senior military and government officials.
With exclusive interviews and little-known archival footage, the documentary traces how the secret U.S. military training program ? ?Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape? or SERE ? became the basis for many of the harshest interrogation methods employed first by the CIA and subsequently by interrogators at Guantanamo and in Iraq.
The documentary also details the experiences of prisoners in U.S. custody, including Shafiq Rasul (Detainee # 086), Moazzam Begg (Detainee #558), and Bisher al-Rawi (Detainee #906) in their own words. All were eventually released, with no charges filed against them and no reason given for their years in custody.
Watch Torturing Democracy
Read the Transcript
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sex uncovered poll: Homosexuality
Sex uncovered poll: Homosexuality
One in five have had sex at work. A third of us lose our virginity before the age of consent. Half of us have had one-night stands. Almost all men are happy with their 'size'. One in four of us think we are very good in bed. Men are more likely to be unfaithful than women. How do you measure up? This special Observer Sex Poll 2008 reveals all ...
While only six per cent of Britons define their sexual orientation as homosexual or bisexual, more than twice that number (13 per cent) of Britons have had some form of sexual contact with someone of the same sex.
Sixteen per cent of women have had sexual contact with another woman, while 10 per cent of men have had sexual contact with another man.
It seems that much of this can be attributed to youthful sexual experimentation as 23 per cent of the 16-24 age group have had sexual contact with someone of the same sex.
Same sex marriage has been legal in the UK since 2005 , but 45 per cent of Britons still feel that gay couples should not be allowed to get married. When the same question was asked in 2002, 50 per cent held this view, but the introduction of the Civil Partnerships Act has only changed the views of five per cent of the population.
Men are significantly more likely than women to oppose same sex marriages (55 per cent compared with 36 per cent).
There is a broad correlation with age in that older Britons are most likely to oppose same sex marriage. However, a significant proportion (37 per cent) of those aged 16-24 also oppose it.
There are other indications that, despite the gradual absorption of gay culture into the mainstream, many Britons still vehemently oppose homosexuality. Fifty-six per cent of the population currently believe that homosexuals should not be allowed to adopt children and 40 per cent believe that the age of consent for homosexual sex should be higher than it is for heterosexual sex.
The answers to both of these questions have changed little since they were previously asked in 2002.
Most striking of all, almost one in four Britons (24 per cent) believe that homosexual sex should be made illegal. The proportion of the population who hold this view has actually increased by one per cent since 2002. As with all of these questions, men are more likely than women to hold a negative view towards homosexuality. There is also some correlation with social class as those in the ABC1 social groups are generally more likely to hold liberal views than those in the C2DE groupings.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/26/relationships
One in five have had sex at work. A third of us lose our virginity before the age of consent. Half of us have had one-night stands. Almost all men are happy with their 'size'. One in four of us think we are very good in bed. Men are more likely to be unfaithful than women. How do you measure up? This special Observer Sex Poll 2008 reveals all ...
While only six per cent of Britons define their sexual orientation as homosexual or bisexual, more than twice that number (13 per cent) of Britons have had some form of sexual contact with someone of the same sex.
Sixteen per cent of women have had sexual contact with another woman, while 10 per cent of men have had sexual contact with another man.
It seems that much of this can be attributed to youthful sexual experimentation as 23 per cent of the 16-24 age group have had sexual contact with someone of the same sex.
Same sex marriage has been legal in the UK since 2005 , but 45 per cent of Britons still feel that gay couples should not be allowed to get married. When the same question was asked in 2002, 50 per cent held this view, but the introduction of the Civil Partnerships Act has only changed the views of five per cent of the population.
Men are significantly more likely than women to oppose same sex marriages (55 per cent compared with 36 per cent).
There is a broad correlation with age in that older Britons are most likely to oppose same sex marriage. However, a significant proportion (37 per cent) of those aged 16-24 also oppose it.
There are other indications that, despite the gradual absorption of gay culture into the mainstream, many Britons still vehemently oppose homosexuality. Fifty-six per cent of the population currently believe that homosexuals should not be allowed to adopt children and 40 per cent believe that the age of consent for homosexual sex should be higher than it is for heterosexual sex.
The answers to both of these questions have changed little since they were previously asked in 2002.
Most striking of all, almost one in four Britons (24 per cent) believe that homosexual sex should be made illegal. The proportion of the population who hold this view has actually increased by one per cent since 2002. As with all of these questions, men are more likely than women to hold a negative view towards homosexuality. There is also some correlation with social class as those in the ABC1 social groups are generally more likely to hold liberal views than those in the C2DE groupings.
guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2008
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/26/relationships
Khadr military commission trial delayed until January
Khadr military commission trial delayed until January
Michael Sung at 11:31 AM ET
[JURIST] A US military judge on Friday rescheduled the trial of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] for January 26. US Army Col. Patrick Parrish granted the defense's motion for an independent psychological and psychiatric examination [Globe and Mail report], which may determine whether Khadr's prior statements to government investigators could be admitted as evidence in the trial. The delay also means that the trial will not resume until the next US president takes office. Both Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama have indicated a desire to close detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. CBC News has more.
Khadr faces possible life imprisonment if convicted of crimes allegedly committed while he was at the age of 15 while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive]. Khadr was charged [charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] in April 2007 with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying.
Michael Sung at 11:31 AM ET
[JURIST] A US military judge on Friday rescheduled the trial of Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [DOD materials; JURIST news archive] for January 26. US Army Col. Patrick Parrish granted the defense's motion for an independent psychological and psychiatric examination [Globe and Mail report], which may determine whether Khadr's prior statements to government investigators could be admitted as evidence in the trial. The delay also means that the trial will not resume until the next US president takes office. Both Republican Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain and Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama have indicated a desire to close detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. CBC News has more.
Khadr faces possible life imprisonment if convicted of crimes allegedly committed while he was at the age of 15 while fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan [JURIST news archive]. Khadr was charged [charge sheet, PDF; JURIST report] in April 2007 with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, providing material support for terrorism, and spying.
Yemen security officials illegally detaining hundreds: HRW
Yemen security officials illegally detaining hundreds: HRW
Michael Sung at 10:00 AM ET
[JURIST] Yemeni security officials have unlawfully and arbitrarily detained hundreds of individuals [press release] as part of its campaign against northern Yemeni rebels since 2004, according to a report [PDF text] released Friday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. The report found that government security forces sometimes unlawfully arrested individuals who have committed no crime to pressure a wanted family member to surrender, silence journalists, or to put pressure on human rights activists. According to the report:
Human Rights Watch investigated 62 cases of disappearance and arbitrary arrest linked to the Huthi rebellion.... In nearly all of the cases, arresting officials did not identify themselves or inform the detainee or his family why he was being arrested and where he was being taken. The families of persons forcibly disappeared did not know for weeks or months after their arrest whether their loved ones were alive or not, who their captors were, or where they were being held. Some still do not know.
Most detainees, when they reappeared, did so at the Political Security Organization, the security and intelligence agency directly linked to the office of President Saleh, after having been effectively “disappeared” for weeks or months without
acknowledgement of their location. Some remain missing—the earliest unresolved enforced disappearance investigated by Human Rights Watch dates back to June 2007.
Human Rights Watch urged the Yemeni government to establish an independent commission with full authority to investigate the alleged disappearances and unlawful arrests, and prosecute officials and members of security forces involved in the illegal acts. AP has more.
Since 2004, the Yemeni government has been fighting a civil war against Huthi rebels from the Believing Youth Movement [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The movement seeks to revive the influence of Zaidi Hashemites imams, which had been previously heavily involved in government in northern Yemen until 1962.
Michael Sung at 10:00 AM ET
[JURIST] Yemeni security officials have unlawfully and arbitrarily detained hundreds of individuals [press release] as part of its campaign against northern Yemeni rebels since 2004, according to a report [PDF text] released Friday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website]. The report found that government security forces sometimes unlawfully arrested individuals who have committed no crime to pressure a wanted family member to surrender, silence journalists, or to put pressure on human rights activists. According to the report:
Human Rights Watch investigated 62 cases of disappearance and arbitrary arrest linked to the Huthi rebellion.... In nearly all of the cases, arresting officials did not identify themselves or inform the detainee or his family why he was being arrested and where he was being taken. The families of persons forcibly disappeared did not know for weeks or months after their arrest whether their loved ones were alive or not, who their captors were, or where they were being held. Some still do not know.
Most detainees, when they reappeared, did so at the Political Security Organization, the security and intelligence agency directly linked to the office of President Saleh, after having been effectively “disappeared” for weeks or months without
acknowledgement of their location. Some remain missing—the earliest unresolved enforced disappearance investigated by Human Rights Watch dates back to June 2007.
Human Rights Watch urged the Yemeni government to establish an independent commission with full authority to investigate the alleged disappearances and unlawful arrests, and prosecute officials and members of security forces involved in the illegal acts. AP has more.
Since 2004, the Yemeni government has been fighting a civil war against Huthi rebels from the Believing Youth Movement [GlobalSecurity backgrounder]. The movement seeks to revive the influence of Zaidi Hashemites imams, which had been previously heavily involved in government in northern Yemen until 1962.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)