#it would still be unacceptable to force people out of their homelands for another group's 'greater good'

[stardust-falling]

No matter how much trauma you have experienced, you never have the right to inflict that trauma on others.

[stonebreakerseries]

Day 5: Beloved + “Unacceptable, try again.”

Another piece for @oc-growth-and-development‘s OC-tober, also incorporating the Day 5 #Fictober20 prompt. This one was, ah... a fair bit harder to merge. But I did my best!

This piece is set about 10 years prior to the events in Stonebreaker, focusing on the aftermath of the War of Chains (I might include it as a flashback or an interlude between parts - I have yet to decide).

                       -------------------------------------------------------

Series: Stonebreaker (Original Fiction) Character(s): Dassian Varo, Alessia Torvul, Faldoran Crestus, Hemlan.

                       ---------------------------------------------------------

The pale stone walls of the war room seemed too bright that morning. Garish, pristine, uncompromising. Perhaps it was fitting, given the group that currently crowded around the replica map. The undulating landscape of central Peiora was crafted with minute and painstaking detail, spanning from Talvera all the way to the Bleakwood. It used to be the map that encompassed all of the Allied Kingdoms. Now Valcreta, the City of Artifice, stood like a stain at the southwestern corner. A reminder of their failure.

Breathing out, Dassian Varo, War King of Signea, High King of the Allied Kingdoms, found himself staring at that spot. One of the mapmakers had painted the area gold, the colour used to denote Khathi Empire territory. It was recently done; the paint was still tacky, its damp gleam visible in the mid-morning light.

Where had we gone so wrong?

Of course, Dassian knew. He knew when the decree had been passed, though he had been too much of a fool to admit it. The idea of it - freedom for the bondsmen throughout the Allied Kingdoms - had been something he had supported for years. Decades, even, though perhaps he had been less vocal in his youth. Less self-assured. Less powerful. 

Divider’s Own, what he would give, now, for even half the confidence he used to have.

Deep down, Dassian had known it wasn’t truly about freedom. It never had been. But his doubts at the time had simply been outweighed by his belief that, sometimes, intentions didn’t matter. What mattered was the result. It was hard to imagine that any man or woman, when freed from their chains, would care about whether it was done for the ‘right’ reason. All that mattered was that it had happened. Their lives were now their own, to do with as they pleased.

Or, at least, that had been the ideal, sold to them just under two years ago. It had been the start of Felling, when High King Leoric had called a meeting of the rulers. He remembered it vividly - the trees had just started to change, soft leaves turning crisp, red bleeding into green... 

“Your Majesty?”

Stirring, Dassian blinked and tore his gaze from the map. Crowded around the table stood his closest advisors. They were the only people, so soon after ascending to the throne, that he was willing to trust.

To his right stood Faldoran Crestus, his well-cared sword eternally strapped to his side. Dressed in a thick doublet, the courtly attire was barely able to contain his powerful form; an incongruity that only emphasised the man’s obvious discomfort. Recently promoted to Marshal, he was now expected to attend all meetings pertaining to Signea and her defense - a fact that, upon its discovery, had twisted his scarred face into a perpetual frown. They did not always agree on matters, but Faldoran was the only man Dassian could have chosen for such a vital position. The only man he trusted to replace him. 

Next to Faldoran, a wooden writing board resting along her forearm, was Alessia Torvul, the former king’s Cipher. The woman, with pale Talveran skin and copper hair, was a handful of years his senior, and carried each of them with pride. She met Dassian’s gaze without a moment’s hesitation, green eyes calm. Knowing. Encouraging. Most had assumed he would not trust her, given her proximity to King Leoric and his family. They had assumed he would petition other Cipher families for a replacement. 

They had assumed wrong. 

Finally, a short man stood on Dassian’s left, his brown hair thinning, his stomach straining against a dark leather belt. As though sensing Dassian’s thoughts on him, he cleared his throat. “Ah, if you please, your Majesty. With Valcreta being... u-um… well, I how should I put this---”

---“Unacceptable,” Dassian snapped, dark eyes flashing dangerously as they cut across to the man. “Try again.” 

Hemlan stiffened, mouth dropping open in shock. Dassian had expected that response from him. He’d always been spineless. But Alessia’s frown, scalding him with disapproval from halfway across the room, was his cue that he had genuinely misstepped. 

Stop it. You need these people on your side. All of them.

Sighing, Dassian leaned forward, pressing his hands to the lacquered edge of the table. “I apologise, Hemlan. Please, just... say what you mean.” Divider, he was tired. It didn’t seem to matter how much he slept. Not that he slept well, alone in a room large enough to house an entire platoon. “King Leoric may have ruled by platitudes, but I have no patience for them.”

Even as the words left his lips, Dassian winced, wishing he could take them back. There he went again. It was never wise to disparage a fallen monarch; certainly not before his funeral had even taken place. This meeting was a mistake. He should have waited another day. Divider, he was almost too exhausted to even feel ashamed of himself. 

Almost. 

“This has been… a trying campaign, your Majesty. A few improprieties behind closed doors are to be expected.” To his surprise, the timidity in Hemlan’s voice had all but vanished, even after the undeserved reprimand. By the time Dassian looked back at the man, his entire demeanour had already shifted. He stood straighter now, pale gaze regarding the map, the thumb of his right hand hooked into his belt. Bemused, Dassian sent a questioning look to Alessia, who simply shrugged, a faint smile tinging her lips. 

I see. 

He’d always wondered how a man like Hemlan had found his way into a position as coveted as Court Advisor. In truth, he was only even present at Alessia’s insistence. Whenever he had spoken to Hemlan in the past, the man had been a stuttering mess, barely making eye contact, frustrating him with his sweating and apologising and bumbling until…

Dassian froze.

… until he had told Hemlan whatever he wanted to know, just to make him leave.

“If I may,” Hemlan continued, tugging Dassian from his quiet revelation, “it is important that we discuss the potential of a Khathi assault. With Valcreta now a viable waypoint for their army and their knowledge of our weakened forces, the threat is greater now than it has been since the conception of the Allied Kingdoms.”

The Allied Kingdoms. Their formation had been a defensive maneuver, spurred by King Leoric at the beginning of this reign. That had to have been, what… twenty years ago? More?

Where had the time gone?

“Have the armies patrol the western border,” Dassian said. “I trust we still have the numbers for that?”

Faldoran nodded, arms folded, the heavy shelf of his brow almost casting a shadow over his eyes. “We do. But I wouldn’t waste any soldiers down by Tel Shival.” He leaned forward, tapping a gloved finger on the swath of blue directly east of their current location. “The Pale’s still swollen from the thaw up north, so all those feeders running into the marsh will be full to bursting.” He shook his head, straightening. “No - there’s no fear of an army getting through that way. Not at this time of year.”

It was true enough. Even their own army had been forced to swing north, bypassing the Crossroads, adding a full two-turns to their journey. In any other circumstance, ten days would have felt like nothing. But among exhausted soldiers, wounded, hungry, battle-worn…

Alessia shifted her footing. “If I may? It would still be beneficial to build more outposts along the southern outskirts. If nothing else, we will find ourselves better positioned once the weather changes.” She glanced at Faldoran, who just grunted, then returned her attention to Dassian. “If we cannot spare soldiers for the task, I imagine there are a number among the recently liberated seeking paid work.”

“Yes. Good. See it done.” As Dassian replied, he noticed that Alessia was actually transcribing the discussion, her quill scratching away over the parchment with her usual ruthless efficiency. Of course. This is all official, now. 

However, more importantly, Alessia had raised a valid point. In Dassian’s opinion - one he shared with many - the handling of the bondsmen had been one of Leoric’s greatest failings. Of all the kingdoms who had implemented the decree, the High King himself had taken the most indolent approach. He had simply declared the owning and trading of bondsmen a criminal offense, signed a few papers, and considered the matter resolved. Even back then, he had already been fixated on the war with Valcreta - the war he knew was coming. He’d lost sight of his own citizens at the very moment they needed him most.

Of course, many of the former bondsmen were resourceful. Some grouped together, forming their own communities in the kingdom’s outskirts. Some stayed put, joining the more welcoming towns and cities where they had grown up or lived out a good portion of their lives. Some returned to their homelands, seeking families that may or may not still be waiting for them. But others? Others struggled, without property, without work, without support, cut off from their pasts, uncertain of the futures. 

The rest just left Signea entirely, once they realised the extent to which the King had forgotten them. 

To some, High King Leoric was beloved. To others, his shortcomings were simply too great and too many to overlook. Dassian had yet to decide in which camp he intended to raise his own flag.

Closing his eyes, he bowed his head and drew a deep, slow breath. He could feel the concerned gazes of his closed council on him, but chose to ignore them for the moment, collecting himself, gathering his thoughts. After all, Alessia and Faldoran had seen him in far worse states than this - recently, too. 

And Hemlan? 

Well, Hemlan seemed willing and able to adapt to whatever he needed, whenever he needed it. He had yet to decide if that was incredibly useful, or incredibly terrifying.

“Tell me,” Dassian said suddenly, “what are the people saying?”

At first, silence met his question. Alessia shifted, rolling back her shoulders, but seemed hesitant to respond. Even Faldoran somehow managed to look even more uncomfortable, his mouth drawn into a tense line.

That left Hemlan.

“It is… mixed, your Majesty,” the portly man began, clasping his hands behind his back. He kept his blue eyes fixed on the map, as though he somehow knew the last thing Dassian wanted was his scrutiny. “The sudden retreat from Valcreta was a surprise to many. Soldiers, common folk, and nobility alike.”

“Damn right it was,” Faldoran agreed, crossing his arms. “Had my work cut out for me, explaining that one to the soldiers. Reckon I got through to most of the ones that mattered, but…” He shrugged. “There’s always going to be mutterings. Just the way it goes.”

Dassian nodded stiffly. Of course he knew that. But still, somehow, he just wished he could make them see. Make them understand that it had to be done. 

“Some call you a hero,” Hemlan continued, unfazed by the interruption. “Being named War King on the field of battle gained you favour among the more military-minded, as well as a number of noble families. But, as with all things, even the most valuable coin has two sides. Others call you a coward, some even going so far as to raise questions about the legitimacy of your ascension.”

“What?” Dassian stood up straight at that, alarmed. Not at the accusations of cowardice - he had expected those. Prepared for them. But the idea that he had somehow cheated his way to the throne? “There were witnesses present - several, high and low ranking alike. They have all made statements. On what grounds are they questioning it?”

“Unfounded grounds, your Majesty,” Hemlan replied quickly. “I apologise if I caused undue alarm. The accusations are not enough to pose any real threat, nor are they bold enough to outright denounce you...” He paused. Looking up, Hemlan studied Dassian’s face for a moment, gauging something. Then, he sucked in a breath, and added, “... yet. Right now, the war is still fresh, as is the memory of your coronation. It is important we continue to monitor these rumours, but at present, that is all they are.”

A cold feeling settled at the center of his chest. “At present,” Dassian repeated quietly. Divider...

Expression softening, Hemlan simply nodded. “At present, your Majesty.”

“We will be vigilant,” Alessia added, voice firm. “If the talk ever becomes serious enough to threaten your life or the stability of the kingdom, we will convene and act accordingly.” 

Dassian nodded distractedly, then paused, realising something. She had stopped writing, leaving this part of their conversation off the official record. 

So it’s that much of a concern, then.

“Very well,” he said after a moment. “Hemlan, report to me every second turn. I don’t want to find myself blindsided by any of this.” He shifted his gaze to Faldoran. “Marshal Crestus, meet with me this evening. We will discuss the fortification of the border in more detail then. For now, you are both dismissed.”

The two men nodded and took their leave, Faldoran snapping a sharp salute, Hemlan bowing low. That left him and Alessia, standing at opposite sides of the large map. Slowly, calmly, she went about organising her affairs, capping the small vial of ink, dabbing the tip of her quill against a piece of sponge inlaid in her writing board. 

Dassian just watched her, silent, and waited for the inevitable.

“You can’t solve every problem in the kingdom on your first day, Dassian.” She glanced up, green eyes seeming to pierce right through him. They always did. “It will take many Kings - High, War, whatever you like - to fix the mistakes of the past twenty years. Even then, new ones will only rise to take their place.”

“Then what would you have me do?” he demanded. She had stood by him when so many had refused; believed him on the battlefield when his own men had started to doubt. Practically committed treason with him. He owed her more than he dared admit, but sometimes she drove him halfway mad. “Should I do nothing? Delegate my duties to others, like Leoric did? I can’t do that, Alessia. I’m not that kind of man.”

As he expected - as he feared - the Cipher just sighed. She didn’t seem disappointed. Not even angry or bitter. In fact, she almost seemed to have been expecting his exact response. He wouldn’t be surprised if she’d written it down before he’d even said it. “Then it is something you will just have to learn, Dassian, whether you want to or not. That, and many other things.” She shook her head and stepped away from the map, angling towards the door. “Despite the way it is portrayed in the history books, ruling a kingdom is never done alone. The crown is a symbol. It is a kind of power, yes, but it is not absolute. You need to surround yourself with people. The right people.”

She began to walk out, shoes whispering over the floor tiles. “I’m not alone,” Dassian said as she passed by him, voice low, gaze averted. “I have you, don’t I? And Faldoran. Hemlan.”

Alessia paused. Just for a breath. “You do,” she said. “But we are not enough.”

With that, she bowed and left, her floor-length dress shifting gently with each step. Soon, the War King found himself alone once more, the light streaming in through the high windows suddenly too bright. Too damning, laying bare all of his flaws. There were certainly enough of them.

Rest, he thought, leaning his weight against the table, not quite trusting his legs to hold him. I just need to rest. 

Then I can worry about fixing everything else in this damn kingdom.

[bountyofbeads]

Filth and Crammed Cells at Border Centers, Federal Report Finds https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/us/politics/border-center-migrant-detention.html

I dare anyone to tell me these #TrumpCamps are not #ConcentrationCamps. WHAT WOULD YOU CALL THESE DETENTION CAMPS?

#NeverAgainIsNow

“There seems to be open contempt for the rule of law and for basic human decency,” Mr. Cummings said. “The committee needs to hear directly from the heads of these agencies as soon as possible in light of the almost daily reports of abuse and defiance.”

“This baby had been given a new onesie and given a plastic blanket, and despite her best efforts, her little newborn’s fingers and toes were still blue,” said Dr. Lisa Ayoub-Rodriguez, a pediatrician in El Paso.

Squalid Conditions at Border Detention Centers, Government Report Finds

By Zolan Kanno-Youngs | Published July 2, 2019 | New York Times | Posted July 3, 2019 |

WASHINGTON — Overcrowded, squalid conditions are more widespread at migrant centers along the southern border than initially revealed, the Department of Homeland Security’s independent watchdog said Tuesday. Its report describes standing-room-only cells, children without showers and hot meals, and detainees clamoring desperately for release.

The findings by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General were released as House Democrats detailed their own findings at migrant holding centers and pressed the agency to answer for the mistreatment not only of migrants but also of their own colleagues, who have been threatened on social media.

[Read the report from inspector general’s office.]

In June, inspectors from the department visited five facilities in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, and found children had few spare clothes and no laundry facilities. Many migrants were given only wet wipes to clean themselves and bologna sandwiches to eat, causing constipation and other health problems, according to the report. Children at two of the five facilities in the area were not given hot meals until inspectors arrived.

Overcrowding was so severe that when the agency’s internal inspectors visited some of the facilities, migrants banged on cells and pressed notes to windows begging for help.

“At one facility, some single adults were held in standing-room-only conditions for a week, and at another, some single adults were held more than a month in overcrowded cells,” according to the report, which built off an initial inquiry by the inspector general in May that described similar conditions in facilities in El Paso.

The report fueled Democratic lawmakers’ resolve to press for answers from the Customs and Border Protection agency even as they continued to fight among themselves over an emergency spending bill that passed last weekwithout the strict conditions that liberals and Hispanic members had demanded. Their sense of urgency was stoked further after  ProPublica unearthed a secret Facebook group for current and former Border Patrol agents that featured jokes about migrant deaths and threats to members of Congress.

On Wednesday morning, Kevin K. McAleenan, the acting secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, cited “disturbing & inexcusable social media activity that allegedly includes active Border Patrol personnel.”

Acting Sec. Kevin McAleenan

✔@DHSMcAleenan

Reporting this week highlighted disturbing & inexcusable social media activity that allegedly includes active Border Patrol personnel. These statements are completely unacceptable, especially if made by those sworn to uphold the @DHSgov mission, our values & standards of conduct.

8:41 AM - Jul 3, 2019

Acting Sec. Kevin McAleenan ✔

Reporting this week highlighted disturbing & inexcusable social media activity that allegedly includes active Border Patrol personnel. These statements are completely unacceptable, especially if made by those sworn to uphold the @DHSgov mission, our values & standards of conduct.

Acting Sec. Kevin McAleenan

✔@DHSMcAleenan

I have directed an immediate investigation, and as the @USBPChief has made clear, any employee found to have compromised the public’s trust in our law enforcement mission will be held accountable. They do not represent the men and women of the Border Patrol or @DHSgov.

8:41 AM - Jul 3, 2019

In a statement on Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the “inspector general’s report provides a shocking window into the dangerous and dehumanizing conditions that the Trump administration is inflicting on children and families at the border.”

“This report is even more troubling after the discovery of the vile, crude comments made on social media by some of those in C.B.P. responsible for caring for migrant families and children,” she said. “The inhumanity at the border is a challenge to the conscience of America.”

After touring a facility in Clint, Tex., where a group of lawyers had reported that children had gone unfed and unwashed, Democratic lawmakers said they had met migrants who were not given fresh water and were forced to drink from toilets.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, one of the Democrats, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who was the target of some of the more offensive posts in the Facebook group, described Customs and Border Protection as a “rogue agency.”

Representative Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, demanded on Tuesday Mr. McAleenan, and the newly appointed acting commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, Mark Morgan, come to Capitol Hill to discuss the Facebook group and the allegations in the report.

“There seems to be open contempt for the rule of law and for basic human decency,” Mr. Cummings said. “The committee needs to hear directly from the heads of these agencies as soon as possible in light of the almost daily reports of abuse and defiance.”

The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees both announced hearings next week into the conditions at detention centers.

According to the report, details of which were first reported by BuzzFeed News, 826 of the 2,669 children detained at the facilities were held longer than 72 hours, in violation of a federal court settlement and Customs and Border Protection policy. Senior managers raised security concerns at the facilities, calling the situation “a ticking time bomb,” according to the report. Images published in the report show crowds of migrants packed into cells pressing their hands onto the windows. One migrant held a cardboard sign up reading, “Help.”

Some migrants clogged their toilets with blankets and socks in order to be released from the crowded cells. When some refused to return, Border Patrol brought in a special operations team “to use force if necessary.”

“Additionally, detainees have attempted to escape while removed from their cells during maintenance,” according to the report.

While senior Department of Homeland Security officials have for months sounded the alarm over a record number of Central American families crossing the southwestern border, officials in recent weeks have disputed the descriptions of the conditions of detained migrants. Mr. McAleenan last week described the allegations at the Clint facility as “unsubstantiated” and called it “clean and well managed.”

But the government’s own report backed up the Democrats’ descriptions. The facilities were built for the short-term stay of adults expected to be quickly deported. Central American children, who under immigration law cannot be immediately deported back to their origin country, are supposed to be moved to facilities managed by the Department of Health and Human Services within 72 hours. Single adults are supposed to be moved to facilities built for longer-term detention managed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“These are not facilities that are designed to hold people for more than three days,” said Representative Will Hurd of Texas, the only Republican representing a border district. “You shouldn’t be holding anybody in these facilities for more than that.”

But Department of Homeland Security officials have said other facilities are full as well. To deter migration to the border, the department recently threatened to start nationwide raids to deport undocumented families, which President Trump said will begin after July 4.

An ICE spokesman also said on Tuesday that the agency was issuing fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars to unauthorized immigrants who refused to comply with deportation orders.

The agency began sending out the notices, with fines up to $799 per day, in December. On Tuesday, NPR reported that one woman was sent a fine for nearly $500,000.

Among border sectors, the Rio Grande Valley has seen some of the largest surges of migration, according to senior department officials. The agency has built tent camps in the area to hold hundreds of the asylum seekers and this year began flying unprocessed migrants to facilities with more space in San Diego.

Last week, Customs and Border Protection gave reporters a rare tour of a detention facility in McAllen, Tex., where migrants of all ages were being held inside chain-link fences, lying on worn gym mats and snacking on sandwiches.

Stacked on shelves inside “la hielera,” or the icebox, as migrants commonly call the facility for its frigid temperatures, were diapers, baby wipes, formulas and other materials the authorities use to care for the migrants. Two medical teams operate out of the facility, and screen the migrants when they arrive after being apprehended by Border Patrol agents.

“This is kind of ground zero for us,” said Carmen Qualia, the acting executive officer for law enforcement operational programs of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley sector.

But the inspector general’s report questioned whether the department was doing enough for the children.

At a news conference on Tuesday, doctors in Texas who care for children released from the facilities said they were surprised more had not died. At least six migrant children have died in federal custody or shortly after they were released since September.

They described children having lifesaving medication taken away, or released with serious ailments but without any medical records from the time they were detained. One doctor related the story of a young mother who described how hard it was to keep her newborn baby warm while in custody.

“This baby had been given a new onesie and given a plastic blanket, and despite her best efforts, her little newborn’s fingers and toes were still blue,” said Dr. Lisa Ayoub-Rodriguez, a pediatrician in El Paso.

Robert E. Perez, the deputy commissioner for Customs and Border Protection, said he was “very confident” his agents were providing fresh water, food and hygiene products to migrants in Border Patrol custody. His agents are overwhelmed, he said, because of a record number of families crossing the border, which has filled facilities built for short-term detention.

“We take any and every allegation of misconduct incredibly seriously,” Mr. Perez said on CNN. “And there will be consequences to those who do not adhere to our standards of conduct.”

Emily Cochrane and Simon Romero contributed reporting from El Paso, and Mitchell Ferman from McAllen, Tex.

[auncyen]

Parts 1 & 2 of the Hanahaki prompt story can be found here. I probably need a title for this at some point.

Before that day, Ringabel had thought he would have had a knack for sensing when danger was afoot, just as he had a talent for piloting an airship. Part of having a rogue's charm. Apparently that idea had been completely wrong, and now the ship he'd been growing to like had been brought low and constrained to the inner sea, unable to help them reach Florem, because he had completely missed Edea's charming friend making a visit. The dark knight Alternis Dim had struck Tiz by surprise and broken the skystone to ground their group. "Really! You'd think with how long they've known each other, he would at least hear her out before breaking ships and punching people," Ringabel complained. "It would have been nice," Tiz agreed. Now that he'd had time to recover from the punch, his color was back to normal, though he winced every once in a while as they trudged toward the miasma woods that separated Ancheim from Florem. "He thought we'd kidnapped her though. And once she told him she was with us of her own free will, he really lost it." "Alternis has always been like that," Edea said blandly. "He tries to act stoic, but he couldn't keep a cool head unless he was risking frostbite." "And you have a passion to match," Ringabel mused. "I must have missed quite the row." "Excuse me?" Ringabel quickly raised his hands in surrender, though he didn't miss the slightest smile on Agnès' face, and he was a bit suspicious of how conveniently Tiz had to cough into his hand at that moment. "There's nothing wrong with having passion, is there? You were defending Tiz and Agnès!" She stared him down longer than he would have liked, but after a few seconds, Edea accepted it, turning back around and leading the way. "At any rate, I hope that's the last we see of him. But Alternis seemed to have other ideas, and he's known for his tenacity. I'd keep an eye out for him." "...To be honest, I'm still surprised you two are childhood friends," Agnès said quietly. "Some of the things he said were...quite harsh." Edea offered only a half-hearted shrug. Ringabel frowned. Just what had Alternis said? "Of course, he's only angry at me for how this might reflect on my parents. I couldn't have expected anything else from him." "Not concerned for your safety?" Ringabel said. "I would expect that, given his feelings." "What feelings? I told you, he got his flowers removed." "What? But, what does that have to do with..." Ringabel completely stopped in his confusion. Alternis loved Edea. He'd had Love's Languish, Hanahaki disease because she didn't reciprocate, and he was only cured because he'd had the flowers removed. Wasn't that what Edea had told him before? But nothing about that meant the man should no longer love her. Tiz made a small 'hm?', slowing in his steps as he looked between Ringabel and Edea, but it took the girl a couple more seconds before she stopped walking ahead. "Oh, I see...I suppose I didn't really explain well enough before. It's fairly common knowledge in Eternia." Ringabel couldn't see her face, as she remained facing forward, but he saw how her head turned down, her hand resting on her chest. "The surgery is to remove the flowers, but because they're the manifestation of emotions, the person loses those feelings too. It's apparently typical for people to be indifferent toward the former object of their affection afterward. Though, in Alternis' case..." She didn't seem to want to finish that thought, and Ringabel was too upset to indulge in curiosity and ask. "That's a very critical detail," he said, his throat tight. "It would be one thing if it simply cured people, but when it deprives them of their feelings--" "Of one feeling! One feeling that was making them miserable!" Now Edea did turn around, stomping her foot as she did. "You are suffering for some girl you don't even remember, don't tell me that's reasonable!" "It's you, I've told you, I know it is!" "You have no memory." "I do still remember that I have amnesia, funny enough. I may have no memory, but I have my heart, and I know, it's you." "And I don't love you." In the corner of one eye, Ringabel could see Tiz and Agnès having a small exchange between themselves and putting a few extra feet between the two of them and Edea and him. He supposed this was starting to seem like a fight, and he tried taking a step back himself, despite the pressure he felt building up in his chest. "I know you don't. But I have hopes you may in the future, and even if--" Edea was just not having it. "Ohh, no. No. I've heard the 'even if you don't' before, and it's not true. You have hopes. That's all. And I can tell you right now, I don't love you, I am not going to fall in love with you, and if you want to stop coughing up flowers, your choices are either moving on of your own accord, or getting the surgery to help you move on. It's those two. Your pick. Because I don't feel particularly attracted to shamelessly flirty men who lack common sense--" Ringabel took a deep breath. Or tried to. Between the thickness of the miasma in the air and the flowers tangling in his lungs, his breath caught, and Agnès looked sharply at him before stepping forward. "Edea, you two may have this discussion once we are clear of the woods, but not a moment sooner. Ringabel, ...save your breath and take care of yourself." "We've only restored one crystal's light!" Airy chimed in from Agnès' shoulder. "We don't have time for silly arguments!" Edea huffed an aggrieved sigh. "Even if Alternis hates me now, at least he can argue with me without coughing up flowers," she muttered. She'd clearly caught his trouble too, and Ringabel turned away from the others with shame burning his cheeks as he waited for his breathing to calm. She'd gotten him good with that unflattering description, and ...if she really saw him that way, perhaps it would be better to get the flowers removed, with a chunk of his heart besides. But to be indifferent to her? To hate her? The way she'd touched her chest while talking about the surgery's side effect...even though she played it off as a necessary consequence, he was fairly sure it bothered her that her childhood friend no longer liked her, even if he was in better health now. But he had to leave the matter alone for now. She was upset, and so was he. Only Tiz chattered, trying to restore a better mood in the group, and even his efforts petered out after they went nowhere. The group made the rest of their way through the miasma woods in relative silence.

[sotina886]

lawmakers and activists decry police response to attack on US Capitol

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden, civil rights leaders and activists blasted law enforcement agencies for their slow response to rioters at the U.S. Capitol, noting the massive show of police force in place for Black Lives Matter demonstrations last ear over police killings of unarmed Black men and women.

Biden said his granddaughter pointed out the unfair difference in images that showed the violence wielded against Black Lives Matter protesters versus the seemingly muted response against those who attacked the U.S. government.

"No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol," Biden said in remarks to the nation Thursday.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Thursday the actions of law enforcement Wednesday highlighted the "two systems of justice" in the U.S.

"We have witnessed two systems of justice: one that let extremists storm the U.S. Capitol yesterday, and another that released tear gas on peaceful protestors last summer," she said on Twitter. "It's simply unacceptable."

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio and former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, also questioned law enforcement officials' security efforts.

"The Capitol police were unprepared, ineffective and some were complicit. All of them should be held to account," Fudge, who was still in lockdown by the evening and who has been tapped by Biden to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told USA TODAY Wednesday night.

Fudge said there's "no question" the response was different than at last year's Black Lives Matter protests at the Capitol. She shared a picture of a row of police standing guard on the steps of the Capitol.

"There is a double standard,'' she said.

As thousands of people of color and allies took to the streets last year to protest police brutality — most of them peacefully — law enforcement often clashed with demonstrators, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, bruising faces and bodies, and, in one incident that went viral, pushing an elderly man to the ground.

But as thousands of President Donald Trump supporters, mostly white, marched from a campaign-style rally to the Capitol Wednesday and broke into the building as lawmakers were convening to count presidential electoral votes, forcing lawmakers and staff to shelter in place, crowds of law enforcement were notably absent.

Trump, who previously characterized Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs," said on Twitter that the people involved in the riots Wednesday were "great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long."

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he applauded Capitol police officers who bravely stood in the line of duty against the "failed insurrection."

"With that said, yesterday represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government," he said in a statement. "A painstaking investigation and thorough review must now take place and significant changes must follow."

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police defended Thursday his agency’s response from criticism that officers did not stop the incursion. Chief Steven Sund said his agency "had a robust plan" for what he anticipated would be peaceful protests, but what occurred Wednesday was "criminal riotous behavior."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, called for Sund's resignation and said that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, another key security official, had already submitted his resignation. He reports directly to Pelosi, while Sund answers to both the House and Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’ll fire the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger once he takes control of the Senate for the GOP later this month.

D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said the mob of Trump supporters came to Capitol Hill "following the president's remarks" and was "intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police to force entry into the United States Capitol."

But only a small group of riot police stood outside the back of the Capitol building in the early afternoon, and as rioters called for breaching the building, hundreds started swarming into the area, reporters at the scene noted Wednesday.

As people began climbing up the side of the building and on the back balcony, police appeared to retreat. After the break-in, police attempted to secure one section outside the building but were quickly overwhelmed, according to reporters at the scene.

One video posted to social media showed several people in D.C. Capitol Police jackets removing barriers outside the Capitol building, allowing rioters to pass through to the building. Videos posted to Twitter also showed at least one person who appeared to be an officer taking selfies with people who had breached the Capitol. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the identities of the people in these images.

By Wednesday afternoon, Army Gen. Mark Milley said the D.C. National Guard had been fully activated. "We have fully activated the D.C. National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement as they work to peacefully address the situation," Miller said in a statement.

Several videos shared to social media Wednesday afternoon showed officials slowly escorting people out of the building. One officer in riot gear could be seen helping a white woman in a Trump hat down the Capitol steps, holding her hand, according to a CNN livestream.

By Wednesday evening, nearly a full day after the rioters first clashed with police Tuesday night, officers began using tear gas and percussion grenades to begin clearing crowds, ahead of a 6 p.m. curfew. In the moments before, there were violent clashes between the police and rioters, who tore railing for the inauguration scaffolding and threw it at the officers.

One woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound inside the capitol, Contee said. At least 13 people were arrested, and five firearms were recovered.

By comparison, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked last year's protest movement, more than 100 people were arrested over the course of three days in Minneapolis. In subsequent days, cities across the country arrested dozens of people in a single night, with Los Angeles arresting more than 500 in one day.

"When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets," Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, said in a telephone interview. "We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating."

'A fanciful reality':Trump claims Black Lives Matter protests are violent, but the majority are peaceful

Johnson questioned why the Capitol police and other local law enforcement agencies weren’t prepared for thousands of Trump supporters, including the Proud Boys. There had been plenty of warnings on social media and talk shows about the potential for riots, he said.

"We should not be witnessing what we are witnessing today in this nation,'' he said. "It is a global embarrassment.”

Johnson said tens of thousands of people joined protests at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington without this level of violence. "None of this took place," he said.

The majority of Black Lives Matter-affiliated protests over the summer were peaceful, according to a report by the U.S. Crisis Monitor, a joint effort including Princeton University in New Jersey that collects and analyzes real-time data on demonstrations and political violence in the United States.

Kofi Ademola, a local Chicago activist who helped organize civil rights protests throughout the summer, said he was not surprised Wednesday by the police response.

"It's not any shock that we see this huge contradiction that we can storm a capitol ... break into elected officials’ offices, the chamber, and create other chaos trying to perform a fascist coup, and we see little to no consequences,'' he said.

"But Black protesters here in D.C. and Chicago, we’re heavily policed, brutalized, for literally saying, 'Don’t kill us.' There was no planned insurrections. We were literally just advocating for our lives. It speaks volumes about the values of this country. It doesn’t care about our lives."

CNN commentator Van Jones highlighted the discrepancy in a tweet Wednesday.

"Imagine if #BlackLivesMatter were the ones who were storming the Capitol building," he wrote. "Thousands of black people laying siege to the seat of government – in the middle of a joint session of Congress? Just imagine the reaction."

At the Capitol Wednesday, some lawmakers were holed up in their offices and other places. Several would not say where they were for safety reasons. Staffers were cleared out of the press galleries and the Capitol by the afternoon.

"The after-action review will determine what failures occurred and why,'' said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "The plans should have anticipated the potential for what happened today."

Black Lives Matter Global Network called the law enforcement response to Wednesday's riots hypocritical.

"When Black people protest for our lives, we are all too often met by National Guard troops or police equipped with assault rifles, shields, tear gas and battle helmets,'' the group said in a statement. "When white people attempt a coup, they are met by an underwhelming number of law enforcement personnel who act powerless to intervene, going so far as to pose for selfies with terrorists, and prevent an escalation of anarchy and violence like we witnessed today."

"Make no mistake, if the protesters were Black, we would have been tear-gassed, battered, and perhaps shot,'' the group wrote.

The chaos that unfolded Wednesday stands in particularly harsh contrast to the law enforcement presence seen when U.S. and military police drove protesters out of Lafayette Square, located between the White House and the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, shortly before a presidential photo op with a Bible at the church on June 1. Officers used smoke canisters, shields, pepper balls and horses to force demonstrators from the park.

As violent Trump supporters climbed the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, Trey Williamson, of Burke, Virginia, stood nearby while straddling his bike, arguing with those who would listen. He wore a helmet with Black Lives Matter written on it.

Williamson, a food safety director at a large restaurant, was in Washington, D.C., last year when Trump had the streets cleared so that he could take his photo in front of St. John's. "I got tear-gassed and all I was doing was riding my bike trying to see what was going on," Williamson said.

Lafayette Square photo op:How police pushed protesters aside

He said the police response at the Capitol was lukewarm in comparison to what he experienced during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. "If there were nothing but Black people up there, there would’ve been a lot of injuries," he said. "It sucks, but I know that this is how it is. I know that because Trump people have felt more comfortable to be at ease with their racism."

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., was holed up in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday as rioters continued their assault on the Capitol. During a Zoom call with reporters, said he and his staff were safe and weren’t leaving. Kind said he intended to return to the House chamber to continue the debate over the certification of electoral votes.

"Things are still not in control, unfortunately," he said.

Kind blamed Trump, who has been reluctant to denounce white nationalists and fraudulently insisted he won the November election, for encouraging the violence Wednesday.

"When he was encouraging the demonstrations, tweeting out that this was going to be quote 'wild.' I mean, what would he expect the reaction would be, especially when you're talking about the Proud Boys, militia groups, white supremacists coming into our nation's capital today," Kind said.

Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., put out a series of statements on Twitter Wednesday calling on law enforcement to engage rioters "with the same humanity and discipline with which they should have engaged people who were outraged by a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck."

"What many are saying is true: If this were Black Lives Matter storming the Capitol, tanks would have been in the city by now," she wrote. "The response tells the story of our nation’s racist history and present. How can we stop it from being the future?"

Contributing: Will Carless, Marco R Della Cava and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

[newstfionline]

Friday, July 16, 2021

Authoritarianism advances as world battles the pandemic (AP) Here’s some of what happened while the world was distracted by the coronavirus: China shut Hong Kong’s last pro-democracy newspaper. Brazil’s government extolled dictatorship. And Belarus hijacked a passenger plane to arrest a journalist. COVID-19 has absorbed the world’s energies and isolated countries from one another, which may have accelerated the creep of authoritarianism and extremism across the globe, some researchers and activists believe. “COVID is a dictator’s dream opportunity,” said Theary Seng, a Cambodian-American human rights lawyer who has been indicted on charges including treason in the ostensibly democratic southeast Asian nation, where Prime Minister Hun Sen has been in power for more than three decades. The biggest global public health emergency in a century has handed power to government authorities and restricted life for billions of people. Luke Cooper, a London School of Economics researcher and author of the book “Authoritarian Contagion,” said the vast economic, health and social resources poured into fighting the pandemic mean “the state is back as a force to manage society and to deliver public goods.” Restrictions on civil liberties or political opponents have been stepped up during the pandemic on several continents.

Massive flight delays, cancellations prompt finger-pointing (The Hill) Airlines are racking up an unprecedented number of delays and flight cancellations just months after Congress gave the industry $54 billion so that carriers could retain their employees and facilitate a seamless return to air travel as the nation emerged from the pandemic. From July 1 to July 6, JetBlue delayed 51 percent of its flights, Southwest Airlines delayed 39 percent of its flights and American Airlines delayed 34 percent of its flights, according to data from FlightAware. Those setbacks came after major airlines canceled hundreds of flights this month to prevent additional delays. Industry experts said poor weather conditions grounded many of those flights but also blamed the almost unprecedented uptick in delays and cancellations on a shortage of trained pilots and airport employees. The aviation industry is finding it difficult to find employees to clean airplanes, transport baggage and handle reservations, among other roles.

Drug overdose deaths soared to a record 93,000 last year (Washington Post) Deaths from drug overdoses soared to more than 93,000 last year, a staggering record that reflects the coronavirus pandemic’s toll on efforts to quell the crisis and the continued spread of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the illegal narcotic supply, the government reported Wednesday. The death toll jumped by more than 21,000, or nearly 30 percent, from 2019, according to provisional data released by the National Center for Health Statistics, eclipsing the record set that year. “Every one of those people, somebody loved them,” said Keith Humphreys, a psychiatry professor at Stanford University and an expert on addiction and drug policy. “It’s terrifying. It’s the biggest increase in overdose deaths in the history of the United States, it’s the worst overdose crisis in the history of the United States, and we’re not making progress. It’s really overwhelming.”

Warning Caribbean asylum seekers (Washington Post) For decades, the United States met asylum seekers from Cuba and Haiti with divergent attitudes: for Cubans, open arms, and for Haitians, return tickets. Now, as both countries grapple with domestic turmoil, the Biden administration has delivered them a uniform message: Don’t come. The warning from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Tuesday appeared to be the administration’s attempt to get out ahead of what some experts warn could become concurrent Caribbean migration crises.

Unproven fraud claims delay Peru’s election result (Washington Post) If ever a presidential administration needed a smooth transition, it’s that of Pedro Castillo, the leftist schoolteacher who will apparently be Peru’s next leader. With no experience in public office, he eschewed policy advisers during both rounds of the Andean nation’s presidential elections—even as he made improbable, apparently spontaneous campaign promises ranging from banning imports to expelling thousands of Venezuelan refugees. Peru is grasping for political stability after going through three presidents in a single month last year. And with the world’s worst reported covid-19 mortality rate per capita, the country is in a desperate race to vaccinate as many of its 32 million people as possible. According to Peru’s electoral agency, Castillo leads the fiercely contested June 6 runoff by 44,000 votes out of nearly 19 million cast, taking 50.13 percent of the vote to 49.87 percent for his opponent, Keiko Fujimori. But more than five weeks after election day and less than two weeks before inauguration day on July 28 (also the much anticipated 200th anniversary of Peruvian independence), Castillo, 51, has yet to begin preparing for the official transfer of power—his path blocked by Fujimori’s claims of electoral fraud. With a looming trial for alleged money laundering and the potential for a long jail sentence if she doesn’t acquire presidential immunity, Fujimori, 46, is refusing to concede.

Over 90 dead, dozens missing as severe floods strike Europe (AP) More than 90 people have died and dozens were missing Thursday as severe flooding in western Germany and Belgium turned streams and streets into raging torrents that swept away cars and caused houses to collapse. Recent storms across parts of western Europe made rivers and reservoirs burst their banks, triggering flash floods overnight after the saturated soil couldn’t absorb any more water.

Neck rubs, tapped phones: Merkel has history with US leaders (AP/Washington Post) Neck rubs, pricy dinners, allegations of phone tapping, awkward handshake moments. Angela Merkel has just about seen it all when it comes to U.S. presidents. The German chancellor is making her 19th and likely final official visit to the U.S. on Thursday for a meeting with President Joe Biden—her fourth American president—as she nears the end of her 16-year tenure. Merkel, who turns 67 on Saturday, will be heading into political retirement soon, after deciding long ago not to seek a fifth term in Germany’s Sept. 26 election. One of the longest-serving leaders of one of the closest U.S. allies, Merkel is set for a warm welcome when she meets Biden during her first visit to Washington since he took office in January. Still, contentious issues are on the table—notably the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany, which the U.S. has long opposed.      German perceptions of the US aren’t always positive either. Data from the end of Trump’s term showed that while Americans view Germany as a partner on key foreign policy issues, the feeling was not often reciprocated. Polling data from Pew Research released last year found that 55 percent of Germans thought China had overtaken the United States as the world’s leading economic power. A poll conducted for the Welt newspaper by polling firm Infratest Dimap in December found that only 17 percent of Germans supported siding with the United States in a potential U.S.-China conflict, with three-quarters preferring to remain neutral.

The Taliban’s advance (Foreign Policy) The Taliban seized the second-busiest entry point into Afghanistan on Wednesday as the group continues its advance following the withdrawal of U.S. and international forces. The capture of the Wesh crossing on the Pakistani border comes after similar border crossing seizures in Herat, Farah and Kunduz provinces in recent days. As Peer Schouten observed in a Foreign Policy feature in June, the revenue potential of checkpoints and roadblocks make them “the business model of choice” for insurgent groups the world over.

Afghanistan’s neighbors wary as US seeks nearby staging area (AP) American diplomats are escalating a charm offensive with Central Asian leaders this week as they work to secure a close-by spot to respond to any resurgence of outside militants in Afghanistan after the U.S. military withdraws. But even as high-level U.S. diplomats head to the region, they’re meeting with more doubts from Afghanistan’s neighbors about any such security partnering with the United States. That stands in contrast to 2001, when Central Asian countries made available their territory for U.S. bases, troops and other access as America hit back for the 9/11 attacks plotted by al-Qaida in Afghanistan. There’s distrust of the U.S. as a reliable long-term partner, after an only partly successful war in Afghanistan and after years of widely fluctuating U.S. engagement regionally and globally, former American diplomats say. There’s Russia, blasting out this week that a permanent U.S. military base in its Central Asia sphere of influence would be “unacceptable.” Meanwhile, the Taliban leadership has been visiting regional capitals and Moscow this summer in a diplomatic push of its own, offering broad pledges that it will pursue regional security, peace and trade whatever comes of its fight with the Kabul government.

India internet law adds to fears over online speech, privacy (AP) It began in February with a tweet by pop star Rihanna that sparked widespread condemnation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s handling of massive farmer protests near the capital, souring an already troubled relationship between the government and Twitter. Moving to contain the backlash, officials hit Twitter with multiple injunctions to block hundreds of tweets critical of the government. Twitter complied with some and resisted others. Relations between Twitter and Modi’s government have gone downhill ever since. At the heart of the standoff is a sweeping internet law that puts digital platforms like Twitter and Facebook under direct government oversight. Officials say the rules are needed to quell misinformation and hate speech and to give users more power to flag objectionable content. Critics of the law worry it may lead to outright censorship in a country where digital freedoms have been shrinking since Modi took office in 2014. Police have raided Twitter’s offices and have accused its India chief, Manish Maheshwari, of spreading “communal hatred” and “hurting the sentiments of Indians.”

Hariri abandons bid to form Lebanese government (Reuters) Lebanese politician Saad al-Hariri abandoned his effort to form a new government on Thursday, dimming the chances of a cabinet being agreed any time soon to start rescuing the country from financial meltdown. Hariri announced his decision after meeting President Michel Aoun, saying it was clear they could not agree, underscoring the political squabbling that has blocked the cabinet formation even as Lebanon sinks deeper into crisis. Protesters blocked some roads near predominantly Sunni areas of Beirut after his announcement, setting fire to trash and tyres. Army troops deployed, firing in the air to disperse protesters who pelted the soldiers with missiles, live TV footage showed. The World Bank has described Lebanon's depression as one of the sharpest in modern history. The currency has lost more than 90% in two years, poverty has spread and Lebanon has been crippled by fuel shortages. Fears of social unrest are growing.

South Africans take stand against rioting (AP) Surveying the uneasy standoff between South African soldiers and huddles of young men faced off Wednesday across the rubble-strewn street in front of Soweto’s Maponya mall, Katlego Motati shook her head sadly. “I’m standing here against vandals and hooligans,” the 32-year-old said of the weeklong unrest and looting sparked by the imprisonment of ex-President Jacob Zuma, which has left at least 72 people dead. She was one of scores of residents who came out to stand against the rioting that has rocked poor areas of South Africa. “When I saw the destruction ... I was in tears, seeing how all this has panned out,” Motati said. “At the end of the day, we will be struggling because of this. Our economy is going to be really damaged.”

25,000 troops deployed to quell South Africa riots, 117 dead (AP) In one of the largest deployments of soldiers since the end of white minority rule, 25,000 South African troops began taking up positions Thursday to help quell weeklong riots sparked by the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. At least 117 people have been killed in the violence, authorities said, and more than 2,200 people have been arrested for theft and vandalism. The government said 10,000 soldiers were on the streets by Thursday morning patrolling alongside police, and the South African National Defence Force had also called up all of its reserve force of 12,000 troops. In a show of strength, a convoy of more than a dozen armored personnel carriers brought soldiers into Gauteng province, South Africa’s most populous, which includes the largest city, Johannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria. Buses, trucks, airplanes and helicopters were also being used to move the large deployment of troops to trouble spots in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal province that have seen violence.

[justicesolutionsofamerica]

Biden to Phase Out Privately Run Prisons

by Kevin Bliss

Within the first six days of office President Biden signed the ‘‘First Step’’ executive order preventing the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from renewing any of its contracts with private companies to run its prisons. Activists say the order was nothing more than a token gesture and should have included the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Biden campaigned on a platform promising to address problems in the corrections system. He said he intended to crack down on police and prosecutorial misconduct, reduce prison population and increase probation efforts, improve immigration conditions, and stop profiting off of prison privatization. He said he would ‘‘make clear that the federal government should not use private facilities for any detention, including detention of undocumented immigrants.

He had a ‘‘Day One’’ agenda of eliminating the Migrant Protection Protocols or ‘‘Remain in Mexico’’ policy, defining citizenship procedures to assist asylum seekers, and create a task force to reunite separated families. Once in office, he signed the United States Citizenship Act of 2021, largely making good on his promises. He signed orders ending the Muslim ban, fortifying protections for DREAMers, stopping construction on the border wall, and putting a 100-day hold on deportation.

Still, activists said that this was not enough. Opposition has reduced the effectiveness of many of his reforms. A Trump-appointed federal judge blocked Biden’s 100-day hold on deportations, Republicans filibustered the president’s Department of Homeland Security nominee. Alejandro Mayorkas was finally confirmed  as secretary February 2, 2021.

On January 26, Biden signed the ‘‘First Step’’ executive order preventing the BOP from renewing any contract with a private company to run its prisons. He said it was a ‘‘first step’’ in stopping private industries from profiting off ‘‘incarceration that is less humane and less safe.’’

Privatization of prisons began in the 1800s and became popular right after the Civil War. But the modern era was ushered in with mass incarceration policies of the 1980s brought about by the “War on Drugs.” It has since turned into a billion-dollar industry where profits are made by maintaining a high population of prisoners and cutting as many costs as possible. This has translated to overcrowded and inhumane living conditions. Statistics show that private prisons see an increased rate of assaults (both on other prisoners and staff), use of force incidents, and lock downs.

There are currently 11 private prisons in the BOP. The Trump administration permitted the Bureau to enter into more private prison contracts than previously allowed. The Courthouse News Service said he doubled the revenues of CoreCivic and the GEO Group, two of the largest private prison industries in the United States.

Senior advocacy and policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Naureen Shah said these groups make a business off of profiting from human suffering. ‘‘These private prison companies have incentive to minimize their costs at the disregard of human suffering,’’ she said, ‘‘and ICE just gets to point their fingers back at private prison companies, saying, well it’s not us, it’s them. That’s sickening.’’

But, activists said that President Biden’s executive order was no more than a symbolic act, it did not go far enough nor focus on the bureau more greatly affected by the abuses inherent in privatization. According to the Associated Press, out of the 152,000 prisoners in the federal BOP today, only about 14,000 of them are housed in private prisons. Although that is down from the 27,000 the Bureau of Justice Statistics recorded in 2019, it is still only 0.7% of the total 2,000,000 people incarcerated in the United States.

Critics say President Biden should have taken this opportunity to enforce the same restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Private prisons hold 75% of all DHS detention contracts, and ICE has detained 50,000 to 56,000 people daily, according to a 2020 ACLU report, 81% of them in private-run facilities.

News outlet The Daily Beast said that to organizations that have fought for immigrant rights, not including the entire carceral system in this order was unconscionable. ‘‘Whether called ‘jail,’ ‘prison,’ or ‘detection center,’ these systems share the same unjust design: to incarcerate people of color, profit off of them, and strip them of their dignity,’’ stated Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network. ‘‘The Biden administration must now address the private prison industry’s toxic relationship with the Department of Homeland Security.’’

Immigration detention is not even a criminal commitment. It is a civil one and activists believe it is unwarranted, abusive, and discriminatory. Laura Rivera, immigration attorney for Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund and director of its Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative said, ‘‘It’s unacceptable for the Biden-Harris administration to exclude immigrant prisons from today’s executive order. The very concept of detaining immigrants is rotten to its core. This is an irredeemable, profit-driven racket that the Biden-Harris administration must address.’’

Banning private prison contract renewals will not release anyone from prison early, and it will be a gradual closing of private-run facilities. Prisoners will be able to be moved to another facility before the one they are in closes. ‘‘They’ll have time to transfer these people from private facilities to non-private ones,’’’ said Fordham University School of Law professor John Pfaff. ‘‘It doesn’t necessarily mean a shrinking of the footprint of prisons, it just means a transfer from privates to the public.’’

At least BOP prisoners will be able to be moved. In facilities that house both BOP prisoners and ICE detainees, the prisoners will be moved leaving the detainees living in the same housing conditions found ‘‘inhumane’’ for prisoners.

GEO Group spokesperson Pablo Paez said the president failed to consider the economic impact this would have on surrounding communities. He called it a ‘‘solution in search of a problem.’’ The BOP had already decided not to renew several of their contracts with private prisons prior to the order.

‘‘[The] executive order merely represents a political statement, which could carry serious negative unintended consequences, including the loss of hundreds of jobs and negative economic impact for the communities where our facilities are located, which are already struggling due to the Covid pandemic,’’ he said.

Moreover, the order does not address the other privatized aspects of prisons. Director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project David Fathi said it is just a start at curtailing the ‘‘insidious practice’’ of privatization. Other areas still need addressing such as private health care in prisons, which Fathi says has been ‘‘the source of much abuse and malfeasance in recent years.’’

Reform advocates concerns that DHS and ICE were not included in this order have been addressed by White House staffers. Although no similar order was planned as of January 26, the two news sources The Daily Beast and POLITICO reported that the White House said it was now considering drafting an order of the same nature for the two bureaus.

Critics also contend that this bill does even begin to address myriad other problems that plague our criminal justice system. Pfaff called it a ‘‘symbolic’’ act. He stated that he hoped this order did not give the false impression that this would solved the issues of profiting from prisons. ‘‘Saying we’re taking the profit out of prisons by shutting down the private facilities ignores the massive amount of [financial incentives] on the public side,’’ he said.

Prison systems can spend up to two-thirds of their budget on such things as salaries, overtime, and benefits. ‘‘That is very much a form of profit that encourages [legislators] to lobby aggressively to keep their prisons open. When you engage in a symbolic act, which [this order] mostly is, you have to make sure the symbolism doesn’t actually undermine the broader message that you need to convey.’’

Holly Harris, executive director of the bipartisan advocacy group Justice Action Network, told Time the order was an ‘‘important and critical step in right-sizing our justice system.’’

‘‘I get that advocates are frustrated, and I’m grateful that there are so many people out that’s pushing for more,’’ she said. Nonetheless, she added that she believed Biden had plans to accomplish a whole lot more. ‘‘For me, I’m willing to extend some grace on day six to this new administration.’’

Sources: time.com, npr.org, nbcnews.com, The Daily Beast

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Words likewise appeared very early in South African English from Afrikaans - more proof of Dutch beginnings. This table meaning of board is how we got words boardroom also, and also the prominent very early 1900s piece of furniture called a sideboard. See additionally the expression 'move the board', which additionally describes the table significance of board. Different referrals have been pointed out in Arabic and Scriptural works to recommend that it was initially based upon Middle- and also Far-Eastern customizeds, in which blood routines symbolised bonds that were more powerful than family ones. ' The blood of the commitment is stronger than the water of the womb' is an explanation estimated by some commentators.

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If anyone knows of any type of certain recommendations which may sustain this notion and also to link it with the Black Irish expression please tell me. This usage is most likely to be a misconception and abuse of an earlier definition of the 'black Irish' expression, based on black definition mad. for the birds - pointless, unreliable truths, unacceptable or trivial, suggesting that something is only for weak, unintelligent or lesser people - American beginning according to Kirkpatrick and also Schwarz Dictionary of Idioms. Decharne's Dictionary of Hipster Jargon actually references a quote from the Hank Janson unique Chicago Chick" 'It's insane man,' I told him, 'Genuine insane. Purely for the birds.'" - but doesn't state whether this was the original use. Bodybuilding for Weight Loss of Expression as well as Myth absolutely makes no mention of it which suggests it is no earlier than 20th century. The term points the tiny brains of birds, as well as expressions such as 'bird-brain', as an allegory for people of restricted intelligence. amateur - non-professional or un-paid, or much more just recently a disparaging term significance less than professional - the word stems from the very same spelling in Old French 'amateur' significance 'enthusiast', originally indicating in English a lover of a task.

Earliest use of break definition luck was mostly USA, very first recorded in 1827 according to Partridge. employer - manager - while there are myths recommending beginnings from a certain Mr Manager, the genuine derivation is from the Dutch 'baas', suggesting master, which was taken on into the US language from Dutch inhabitants in the 17th century.

Incidentally Brewer additionally suggests that the Camel, 'ruch', became what is currently the Rook in chess. It appears that playing cards were initially called 'the Books of the 4 Kings', while chess was referred to as 'the Video game of the Four Kings'. Maker additionally mentions a recommendation to a specific Jacquemin Gringonneur having "repainted as well as guilded 3 packs for the King in 1392." Unconnected yet remarkably, French slang for the horse-drawn omnibus was '4 commonplace' which equated after that to 'parish stove' - what a wonderful expression. Bum additionally alludes to a kick up the backside, being another method of propulsion as well as ejection in such situations. Partridge/OED recommends the luck element most likely derives from billiards, in which the initial shot damages the first development of the rounds and also leaves either chance or trouble for the challenger. This feeling is supported by the break significance respite or leisure, as in tea-break.

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sitting duck - very easy target or something that is prone or defenceless to attack- an allegory from shooting field sporting activity, in which a sitting or hatching duck, would be a much easier target than one flying airborne. Oddly there is very little etymological reference to the extremely common 'resting duck' expression. doolally - crazy or crazy - originally an armed forces term from India. Soldiers at the end of their term were sent to Deodali, a town near Bombay, to wait to be shipped house. The warm environment, stress and also monotony created strange behaviour amongst the postponed troops, that were claimed to be suffering from 'doolally tap', which was the complete expression. In the late 1600s a domino was a hood, connected to a cape worn by a priest, likewise a shroud put on by a lady in grieving, and also later a domino referred to a cape with a mask, worn at masqueredes. This was from French, stemming at first from common spiritual Domino referrals in priestly language.

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Regardless of your situation, there's nothing you can do to grow your hymen back. A virgin is someone who's never had sex. But people define “sex” and “losing virginity” in many different ways. Bottom line: the definition of virginity is complicated, and it's really up to you to decide what you believe.

Remarkably the ancient Indo-European root word for club is glembh, extremely similar to the origin word for golf. expat/ex-pat - person living or functioning abroad - the modern 'expat' (as well as significantly hyphenated 'ex-pat') expression is frequently believed to be a reducing of 'ex-patriot', however this is not true. Around 1800 the migrant word came to be used as a noun to suggest an expatriated individual, however still after that in the sense of an eliminated person, as opposed to one that had actually willingly moved abroad. The very early use of the expatriate word defined the loss of citizenship from one's homeland, not a momentary or relatively easy to fix situation. The use of expatriate in its modern-day interpretation seems to have begun around 1900, as well as was popularised by Lilian Bell's unique 'The Migrant', concerning well-off Americans residing in Paris, released in 1902. Strictly talking as a result, the appropriate type is deportee, not ex-pat.

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In 1968 the pop group 1910 Fruitgum Company had a small UK chart success with a tune called Goody Goody Gumdrops, as well as there is no doubt that the expression was securely established in the UK, USA and Aus/NZ by the 1960s. There is some organization with, as well as conceivably some impact from the 'Reward Two Shoes' expression, in that the significance is basically buffooning or belittling a gain of some sort. Golf is a Scottish word from the 1400s, at which time words gouf was likewise used. Related to these, kolfr is an old Icelandic word for a pole or blunt arrow. All these acquire eventually from Proto-Germanic kulb, subsequently from the old Indo-European word glebh. The major point of view suggests that words golf possibly entered into Scottish language from Dutch, where comparable words were used particularly referring to games including hitting a ball with a club.

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dead end - dead-end road, a road closed at one end/blind alley - this extensively utilized English street indication and term is from the French, suggesting the very same, from cul as well as sac. Incidentally, calling a person a 'cul' in French corresponds to the insulting English term 'arse', considering that cul likewise indicates all-time low or backside of an individual. I am educated also that cul de cavity is considered a rather vulgar expression by the French when they see it on British street indications; the French usage instead the term 'deadlock' on their own dead-end street indications. The orginal usage comes from the French créole, from Portuguese crioulo, associated the Portuguese verb criar, to increase, from Latin creare, suggesting fruit and vegetables. The name 'Socks' was rather pronounced the champion, and the pet cat appropriately named.

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A supposed John Walker, an outdoor staff of the firm Longman Clementi as well as Co, of Cheapside, London, is one such person referenced by Cassells jargon thesaurus. scam - trick purposely - the hoodwink word is very first tape-recorded in 1562 according to Chambers. It just originates from the actual meaning as well as utilize to define covering the eyes with a hood or blindfold.

It especially relates to private interests and sense of satisfaction or fate. The gratification of personal purpose - past educational and also parental conditioning. A basis of evaluating whether you have actually taken advantage of your life, when it's far too late to have another go. As at September 2008 Google checklists 97 uses of this word on the entire web, yet most/very many of those appear to be typing mistakes accidentally signing up with words life and also longing, which don't count. I'm open to ideas or insurance claims of very first use and source. Sometimes you can see the birth or very early growth of a brand-new word, prior to essentially anybody else, and absolutely prior to the dictionaries. If you read this in 2008 or possibly very early 2009, after that this is maybe one of those celebrations.

The word mews is really from Falconry, in which predators such as goshawks were utilized to capture rabbits as well as other video game. Falconry came to be immensely prominent in middle ages England, and also was a favourite sport of nobility up until the 1700s. Mew was originally a verb which described a hawk's moulting or dropping feathers, from Old French muer, and Latin mutare, indicating to transform. Mew then ended up being a name for the hawk cage, and also defined the technique of maintaining a hawk shut away while molting. The royal stables, initially established in Charing Cross London in the mid-1200s, were on the website of hawks mews, which triggered the word mews to move to stables. lifelonging/to long-lasting - something meaningful wished for every one of your life/or the verb sense of wishing for something for your whole life - a just recently progressed portmanteau word.

Today's metaphorical expression and significance 'to deceive' developed in the very early 17thC from the earlier use of the word to suggest 'hide' in the late 16thC. Her improvement is qualified by her having just a single footwear when poor, as well as being given a set of shoes, which marked the begin of her new found and apparently enthusiastically self-proclaimed joy. The expression might be from as far back as the mid-1800s, given that 'goodie/goody' has been used to describe yummy food since then, which would have provided added importance to the meaning of the expression. Also, the word gumdrop as a name for the variety of crunchy sugared periodontal sweets seems to have actually gone into American English speech in around 1860, according to Chambers. However it's more probable that preferred use of reward gumdrops started in the mid-1900s, amongst children, when mass-marketing of the sugary foods would certainly have boosted.

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Charisma, which most likely grew from charming, which grew from charismata, had actually mostly drunk its spiritual organizations by the mid 1900s, and also evolved its non-religious meaning of personal magnetism by the 1960s. More information about the beginnings and analyses of charm is on the charm web page. Brewer's sight is that playing cards were established from an Indian video game called 'The Four Rajahs', which is consistent with the belief that the roots of playing cards were Asian. In The 4 Rajahs game the playing pieces were the King; the General (referred to as 'fierche'); the Elephant (' phil'); the Horsemen; the Camel (' ruch'); and also the Infantry. Likewise Brewer states that the Elephant, 'phil', was converted into 'fol' or 'fou', suggesting Knave, comparable to the 'Jack'.

Chambers in fact consists of a lot even more detail about the variants of the diet regimen words associating with food particularly, as an example that the word dietician appeared as late as 1905. It is interesting that the initial Greek definition and also derivation of the diet plan - course of life - connects so strongly to the modern idea that 'we are what we eat', which diet plan is so carefully connected to exactly how we feel and also behave as individuals. The modern-day diet plan word currently resonates plainly with its true initial meaning.

The images of a black cloak and also mask eye-holes consequently gave the ideas for the dominoes video game to be supposed - in both languages the game was originally called domino, not dominoes. Remarkably, nitty-gritty arrived in Italy also later, around 1830, from France, cycle to its Latin origins. So, while the lord and master roots exist and also no doubt assisted the adoption of the name, the exact association is to a black cloak as well as mask, as opposed to lordly prominence or the winning purpose of the game. The words entered into the English language by about 1200, as well as 1450, from the Greek, with Latin, after that French. The diet plan definition setting up was likewise affected by Latin passes away definition days, connecting to diary as well as timing. The Latin form diaeta likewise produced the German tag as it appears in the words for assembly, Reichstag, Bundestag, and Landtag.

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The terms 'cookie crashing' (related to breasts and intercourse - use your imagination), 'cookie duster', and also 'cookie crumbs' (Expense Clinton's downfall) expand the the sex-related connotations into much more bawdy region. The paradox is obviously that no-one would have been any type of the better about these meanings had heaven Peter management not looked for to safeguard all of us. Making use of words idea - as a metaphor based on the round of thread/maze story - describing fixing a mystery is first videotaped in 1628, and previously as clew in 1386, in Chaucer's Tale of Great Women. The allusion is to the clingy and also evident nature of a low-cost suit, likely of a tacky/loud/garish/ unappetizing style. In the case of adulation there might also a recommendation of toadiness or sycophancy.

[apocynoideae]

Epilogue: Immortality (Nerium, Alliance Deadlands)

[The following is an epilogue I imagine for my Deadlands PC, who I retired when the Deadlands campaign ended. It spans far into a speculative future.]

"Over time, over many years, the people grow into heroes - into people like you have been, who can shape the world into what they want it be, like you have. And there will be a knock at the door: a friend, a remembrance, a memorial, a raised glass in celebration. And sometimes it will be a man, with faded scars where once lines of brilliant blue light glowed with power, standing there with a pot in one hand and a block of cheese in the other, saying ‘Hello, friend. I love you.’"

(The Deadlands Epilogue -- Evan as Chithiss)

---

Fondue sat ready next to a plate of apples and two glasses. Surion asked Chithiss if he'd like wine or beer. The man who had once been the Withering had become a friend. The man who changed the reality of Laerthan was, somehow, in many ways just a man.

Nerium held onto a baby Biata with one hand and a third glass with the other. Kestilen’s orphanage was not well suited for an infant, and so her long-time volunteers became parents. The girl was named Vera, after Vry. Lord Vryan had remained a friend. A leader, a hero, a good man, a brother in arms.

Nerium reflected upon the story Heresy told her when he guided her through Resurrection. He had shown her what he believed could be her future: Nerium, possessed of the calm often found among her long-lived people, and Surion beside her. She wished she could thank him one more time for that story, and show him the peace she had at this moment. But he was human, and he was gone.

Surion lived to his four hundred and ninth year. He fell for the last time defending Moonsong, and died as honorably as he lived. Their adopted daughter had taken after him, with black feathers and a preference for spears. Vera fought beside her namesake and her mother in yet another war against the desperate and short sighted.

Vry vanished without a trace in his old age, and the natural lifespan of Elves was what made his death apparent. Vera lived to see a time of peace, and died at 1,712.

Philomena came and went, sometimes as a lover and sometimes as a friend, on and off for 600 years. Her paintings became famed enough that Nerium read of her death in the newspaper 5,000 years later. Her parents reached nearly 7,000 years old before an epidemic claimed them together. Her sister died in warfare 300 years later.

Eire fell. The fall of the nation did not threaten Laerthan itself, and Nerium had not gone to war. To do so would not have saved lives or freedom, and her duty was not to one nation.

Another human-majority nation stood strong where Eire once thrived, and found its path to prosperity. Despite the sideways looks she got sometimes, with curiosity or distrust toward the horns that were so rare in this part of the continent, Nerium founded a small school in a small town. Though she preferred teaching healing to the older children and leaving skills like reading to her wife's care, she could not stop herself from teaching alchemy and Celestial magic to the most interested students. Her neighbors were not like the adventurer companions of the long past. The dual-school wizard intimidated many of them, and the school boarded more orphans than it enrolled from town.

She woke one morning to wailing at the door -- a toddler too young to tell her his name or where he'd come from, and a note in his pocket that only said “I'm sorry.” She named him Essie, and considered them both fortunate that he had far less dangerous habits than his namesake. He preferred alchemy to healing, blades and guns to Celestial magic, and the life of a guard to a life of crafting. The coincidence only went so far; he wed another human and she lost track of his family line after ten generations.

Nerium changed identities countless times. Cosmetic Transformation after Cosmetic Transformation, move after move. There was only so long she could conceal what she had become. Her skills were not practiced solely as hobbies, and she put them to use when needed -- but a known dragon mage made an impression on the neighbors even in cities with shadow mages. In time she found comfort only among adventurers, even though such groups thrived only in times of the upheaval she wished would end.

She knew, and had always known, it wouldn't end. Fear, need, vanity, greed, envy -- conflict was in the nature of mortals. Good intentions combined with desperation led to evil. Nerium rarely took sides. When she did, with conviction that lives would be preserved by a particular force’s victory, her long-cultivated bond to Laerthan rose to protect its people from one another. She wielded more force than she believed belonged in the world.

So long ago, the adventurers of Chiram’s Hollow befriended the man who reshaped the world. They discussed what it should look like, some of them with as much understanding as their perspective could encompass of the gravity. They had seen the Sundering, the Withering, living rituals, dragons, Cerebral Devourers -- complete cosmic power was believable if not comprehensible, and not nearly as frightening as it should have been. Nerium grew into the awe she was too numb to feel at time. She grew into power of her own that she actively sought, though she wished it felt unnecessary.

She lost track of Tova, and did not seek to find out if she withstood a long life instead of the short one inherent to her people. Kinayo stood Guardian of Eternity for millennia, but was not made for eternity himself and went mad. The Sphinx preserved their city out of time, but time claimed them and they became stone. Nerium learned the truth about Francis Teawaddle. She spoke with dragons and learned magic from them. She spoke with Chithiss and learned thoroughly that “reality” did not mean what people thought it did. She spoke with the Earth and learned balance.

She stopped considering years, then developed little care for centuries. The world she was born in was long gone, and time held little meaning. Her options were to live in the moment or live in madness and pain. She chose the sense of urgency she never really outgrew, though the panic that once came with it had faded. She chose dedication and commitments. She chose to love and lose. In the middle of a cold war, she chose a partner and to bear his child.

She could not count how many she had raised. Some had been brought to her as infants, and some as old as teenagers. But it had been 500 years since she last raised or taught children. She welcomed the sleepless nights with a newborn, and the innate free spirit of the first young Sylvan she'd seen in a millenium. She wanted a bond of blood and the tether to Laerthan.

Nerium loved her daughter as much as she loved the land. She loved Thalia’s father, though she knew a human’s lifespan was fleeting. She realized quickly that a short-lived human was better prepared to raise a long-lived Sylvan than she was as an immortal. Nerium could not explain modern mindsets or technology. She still rode horses more often than horseless carriages. People read about Eire as ancient history if they read about it at all, and couldn't imagine living in a country like it. Nerium had adapted to most of the changing world, and forgotten much of her past, but she was not modern.

The need for Reality Anchors was long gone. Nerium and Tova had become landbonded and immortal to strengthen Laerthan against the Cerebral Devourers, but Chithiss could shut them out himself. She'd been freed of that duty long ago. The Earth's children threatened each other in the absence of threats from beyond the mortal plane, and she held the land bond only to protect them from each other and the land from them. It felt necessary and right, dangerous and arrogant, heavy yet freeing. But these were the Earth's children, not her own. She was not meant to be Anaxion, believing himself the rightful protector of mortals who did not know as much as he, who would be better off with his rule, because he was ancient and powerful beyond their reach. She was born mortal and remained a Sylvan. Her daughter was Sylvan. This was a much needed reminder.

Thalia’s father had only 40 years to give her. Nerium offered 400. She found joy without judgment in the strange ways her daughter lived, which were not unusual by the standards of her homeland. Nerium learned new games, new jokes, and new fashion. She learned to let go.

The Perfect Harmony had seemed unacceptable when Chithiss tried to force it on mortals who very much wanted to stay that way. It had seemed like a Curse of Undeath, unnatural and deeply undesirable. Chithiss had learned this, and changed, and protected mortals so they could keep the lives they so wanted, but he was still the same being. His demand had become an invitation, but what he had not explained to the adventurers of Chiram’s Hollow was that it was an inevitability. They wouldn't have liked that information. Nerium certainly hadn't when Chithiss told her the first time, nor the second. But she had made her peace, and then sought peace.

“You will live as long as Laerthan exists.”

“You can become Chithiss.”

For the love of the land, for the love of Laerthan's people, and for the hope that tomorrow would be a better day, Nerium did both.

Featuring: Surion, played by Sean C. Chithiss, played by Evan (NPC) Vry, played by Albert Heresy, played by Gary Philomena, played by Samara (NPC) Tova, played by Melissa Kinayo, played by Bill (NPC) The Sphinx, played by Samara (NPC) Francis Teawaddle, played by Samara (NPC) Anaxion, played by Sean M. (NPC)

[armeniaitn]

Los Angeles City Council passes resolution condemning Azerbaijan

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/politics/los-angeles-city-council-passes-resolution-condemning-azerbaijan-61010-30-09-2020/

Los Angeles City Council passes resolution condemning Azerbaijan

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian sponsored a resolution today through which the City of Los Angeles has condemned the brutal and unprovoked invasion launched over the weekend by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Council President Nury Martinez, demands that the Trump Administration and the Congress “utilize all diplomatic, economic and political means to compel Azerbaijan to engage meaningfully in the peace process.”

Krekorian’s resolution emphasizes that support for Artsakh is essential to US interests and core American principles.  “Because our country is based on and committed to the values of democracy, liberty and the right of self-determination, the United States has a moral obligation to stand up and speak out on behalf of the people of the Republic of Artsakh, who have earned their right of self-governance and have flourished as a free, democratic and sovereign nation for almost 30 years,” the resolution states.

“The world community must condemn Azerbaijan for renewing warfare, violating its ceasefire agreement with Armenia, and causing death and destruction to the Armenian population that it so detests,” Krekorian added.  “Its corrupt and autocratic regime is using brute force against civilians in a misguided attempt to reimpose Stalin-era oppression over the indigenous Armenian people of Artsakh in their own ancient homeland.”

In co-sponsoring the resolution, City Council President Nury Martinez said, “Since Saturday, the people of Artsakh have been under attack by Azerbaijan’s military, who have violently and recklessly attacked children and families, causing the loss of innocent lives.  The City of Los Angeles stands with the Armenian people and the Republic of Artsakh and denounces Azerbaijan for these vicious attacks and violating a cease-fire that is in place. Today, I joined Councilmember Krekorian and my colleagues in issuing a resolution calling on the White House, Secretary of State and Congress to denounce this attack and work to end it immediately.”

Krekorian noted the strong ties between the City of Los Angeles and the Republic of Artsakh. Through Krekorian’s prior work, Los Angeles recognized Artsakh’s sovereignty in 2014, laying the groundwork for California and other states and cities to follow LA’s lead.  In 2012, Krekorian led Los Angeles to establish a historic formal Friendship City relationship with Shushi.  More recently, the government of Azerbaijan unsuccessfully attempted to stop Krekorian from hosting Armenian President Pashinyan at Los Angeles City Hall.  “The City of Los Angeles has always stood in strong solidarity with the people of Artsakh, recognizing the sovereignty of its people and the democratic values of its government,” Krekorian said.

Krekorian was quick to condemn Azerbaijan on Sunday and provide succinct information about the latest Azerbaijani aggression in a letter to constituents and community members.

Asbarez obtained the letter and is providing in full below.

Yet again, Azerbaijan’s military forces have launched a deadly and unprovoked attack against its Armenian neighbors.  Yet again, Azerbaijan’s recklessness puts innocent civilian lives and fundamental United States interests at risk.  And yet again, the Armenian people face a genuine threat of the continuation of Turkish efforts to annihilate us.

As you know, last night, Azeri tanks, helicopters and artillery attacked Artsakh, including Stepanakert.  This invasion follows the deadly attacks Azerbaijan launched just two months ago against rural villages in Armenia.  During a time when the UN has called for ceasefire around the world due to the COVID pandemic, Azerbaijan instead is renewing warfare, violating its ceasefire agreement with Armenia, and causing death and destruction to the Armenian population that it so detests.

This reckless invasion is a direct threat not only to the Armenian population of the region, but also to regional stability.  Already, Turkish dictator Erdogan is threatening Armenia and offering full support to the Azeri invasion.  It is not hard to imagine that a full scale war against a country that borders on Turkey, Russia and Iran presents a grave danger to the world.  Azerbaijan’s actions create an immediate danger of escalation that would enflame a tinderbox and severely damage US strategic interests in the region.

The corrupt Baku regime’s outrageous warmongering and racist hatred of Armenians seems to know no limits.  This attack is just the latest in a consistent record of Azeri barbarity directed at Armenians who just want to go about their lives in peace.  The Azeris targeted Armenian civilians with mass murder in the pogroms of 1988 and 1990.  They targeted Armenian civilians with indiscriminate shelling during Artsakh’s war of independence.  Twenty years ago they destroyed a thousand year old Armenian cemetery at Julfa, ignoring the pleas of UNESCO and desecrating tens of thousands of graves.  They celebrated as a hero and rewarded the Azeri soldier who beheaded an Armenian with an axe during a NATO “Partnership for Peace” program in 2004.  They targeted Armenian civilian villages and committed shocking war crimes during their 2016 invasion of Artsakh.  And now they are engaging in the same kinds of ruthless violence and abomination yet again.

If that were not enough, the bellicose Azerbaijan government recently threatened to launch a missile attack on a nuclear power plant, releasing massive amounts of radiation only 20 miles from Yerevan.  The spokesperson for the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry today bragged about their capability of hitting the power plant, which would, as he put it, “lead to a great disaster for Armenia.”  This rhetoric is a continuation of Azerbaijan’s repeated threats, including from its famously corrupt and dictatorial president, to destroy and conquer all Armenian lands. This outrageous and consistent pattern of aggression completely shreds all international norms and notions of human decency.  Worse, Azeri violence and threats carry with them the echoes of generations of pan-Turkish commitment to erasing the Armenian population and culture from the world.

The most dramatic manifestation of this lust for ethnic cleansing, of course, was the Armenian Genocide — but the actions, statements and active preparations of Azerbaijan and its enabler Turkey make clear that genocide is a genuine threat in our time as well.

The United States, France and Russia, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have attempted for years to mediate a sustainable negotiated peace, but those efforts have utterly failed.  Azerbaijan has consistently violated the ceasefire with scores of attacks across the border, resulting in both civilian and military deaths in both Armenia and Artsakh.  The United States nonetheless still refuses to state clearly that there is only one perpetrator that continues to be responsible for the violence, bloodshed and instability in the region, and that is Azerbaijan.  Any statement of moral equivalence in the face of continued massive violence, aggression and genocidal threats by the government of Azerbaijan is entirely unacceptable. Our government has an obligation to hold Baku accountable for Azerbaijan’s destruction of the peace process and its ongoing crimes and threats.

Unless Azerbaijan immediately faces meaningful consequences and international condemnation, there is little chance of achieving lasting peace.  The interests of the United States will be harmed by instability in this vital region, and our reputation in the international community will be irreparably damaged by our failure to stand up and speak out on behalf of the victims of this inexcusable and continuing record of Azeri aggression and violence.  And if another genocide of Armenians comes, the nations who failed to stop it will have no excuse for their complicity.

I therefore have called upon the United States government to condemn Azerbaijan unequivocally for its latest violation of the ceasefire, and to demand an immediate and permanent cessation of all Azeri hostile action.  I further have called upon the Trump Administration and the United States Congress to take immediate action to cease all military support and cooperation with Azerbaijan, including suspending all arms shipments to Azerbaijan.

Finally, I have called upon the United States Department of State to utilize all diplomatic, economic and political means to compel Azerbaijan to engage meaningfully in the peace process, through the Minsk Group or otherwise, to achieve a sustainable, lasting peace that ensures the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Artsakh.

In solidarity with the people of Artsakh, I remain

Read original article here.

[hellofastestnewsfan]

Updated on July 27 at 2:34 p.m. ET

“He lives in a tiny mountain village by the river, on the border between two states in Honduras.” This was the scant information given to Clara Long, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, and her partner, a Honduran lawyer affiliated with the Justice in Motion defender network, as they embarked on a mission to correct one of the most serious mistakes of the Trump administration. The man in question was the father of a 4-year-old boy. The two had been separated as a result of the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy earlier this year: Miguel, the father, was in Honduras; his toddler son was 1,800 miles away in Chicago.

According to Long, Miguel and his son had come to the United States seeking asylum at an official port of entry. A local narco-trafficker in Honduras had repeatedly threatened to kill Miguel and had already murdered his cousin. (Miguel’s lawyers asked that his real name not be used, because of the dangers he continues to face in Honduras.) But when the father and son arrived at the American border, they were put in a detention center—and several days later, federal agents came to Miguel’s cell and took his child away. Then they informed Miguel that he would have to go home.

“They told him he was being deported, and he was never given a chance to discuss his credible-fear claim—as would have been required by law,” Long told me. This was, she said, Miguel’s second time seeking asylum in the U.S., and his second time being denied.

Back home in Honduras, according to Long, Miguel tried for a week to contact his son, who was in a children’s detention center somewhere in the United States. He was finally able reach a hotline, the phone number passed to him by another father who had been separated from his child. Miguel eventually connected with his son, but he remained worried—about the delays in getting his 4-year-old out of detention, about who would take care of him once he was released. One was in a bustling American metropolis, the other in a tiny town in remote Honduras—and Miguel had no phone. The U.S. government had not given legal advocates any records for the father or son, according to Long, and attempts to gather the necessary information from Miguel were difficult, if not impossible. (A request to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the specifics of Miguel’s case was not immediately returned.)

How will detained children find their parents?

Long and the Honduran lawyer, together with a local fixer who was a former criminal-justice reporter, set about trying to physically reach Miguel in order to gather the testimony needed for his son’s legal case. To find him, they had little more than a few descriptive lines—ones that sounded more like a nursery rhyme than any sort of geo-data. “And we were given two different names for that particular village,” Long said.

Once Long and her associates arrived in an agricultural center near what (they hoped) was Miguel’s town, the group began asking around, making what Long called “security inquiries.” “Security conditions vary greatly over short distances,” she explained. “Some roads are safe, and some are not. You need to do your research and talk to people to find out.”

Access roads were too risky to attempt, given the criminal syndicates who ran the area, so the group connected with the local police, one of whom—purely by coincidence—knew the mayor of the tiny town where Miguel lived. He, in turn, knew Miguel. By luck or divine providence, Long and her associates were able to get a message to Miguel, and paid for a motorcycle to bring him on a two-hour ride to their location. “Finally, and sort of miraculously, he arrived,” Long said.

But the hour was growing late: Once night fell, the roads would soon become too dangerous for safe passage. So the team quickly took Miguel’s testimony, bribed the local internet café to stay open, printed the document, and had Miguel sign it, just as the sun began to set. Then they all went on their way—a happy outcome that required impossible serendipity and unusual tenacity, simply to begin turning the wheels of justice for one father and one son. As Long finished telling me the story, she said, “And now multiply that by 463.”

That number—463—is the estimated number of migrant children who remain in federal custody, but whose parents have already been deported, according to the Department of Homeland Security (the department’s own figures have been revised multiple times over recent days). This Thursday marked the second deadline, set by a federal judge, to reunite all of the nearly 3,000 children who had been taken from their families, but the U.S. government has so far proven woefully unprepared for the task: It failed to meet its first deadline to reunite the very youngest children by July 10, and it failed to meet this second deadline as well.

Alex Wagner: Can the Trump administration solve its own disaster?

As of Thursday evening, the government said it had reunited 1,442 children aged 5 and up, and that it had fulfilled its obligation to reunite ��eligible” families—begging the question: What determines eligibility? According to The New York Times:

At least 711 other parents of children older than 5 were not cleared to recover their children this week because they failed criminal background or parental verification checks. The parents of 46 children under 5 years of age were similarly excluded.

The parents of about 431 children appeared to have been deported without them, and the government has yet to find the parents. Their futures, along with those of at least 94 other children whose parents’ locations were ”under case file review,” according to court records, remain uncertain.

(The ACLU, for its part, told me that they are concerned these standards for ineligibility are both questionable and unclear.)

While the 463 children of deported parents (or 431, depending on which statistics the government is using) would seem to represent the toughest challenge for this government—the most troublesome examples of its controversial policy—the administration, it seems, has effectively washed its hands of them: No plan is in place to assist these reunifications, no specific resources allocated. As Clara Long told her story, it struck me that the federal government had played no role in facilitating a solution to an unacceptable situation of its own creation: It had made no outreach, shared no records, and remained completely, apparently willfully, on the sidelines.

“They are leaving it to somebody else,” said Michelle Brané, the director of migrant rights and justice at the Women’s Refugee Commission. Lisa Frydman, the vice president of regional policy and initiatives at the advocacy group Kids in Need of Defense (KIND), told me, “We have not seen [these cases] be a priority for the government—the focus on creating a plan and a process to reunify children whose parents have been deported.” A representative from the Department of Health and Human Services clarified that “the administration will continue to work with the court, plaintiffs, and partner agencies on a plan to reunify parents who are outside of the U.S.” Details on (or evidence of) that work remain unclear.

Government lawyers, according to the Times, will not allow parents to return to the U.S. to claim their children, but they have also stipulated that parents must be found and vetted before their children can go back home. And yet they are doing nothing, at present, to ensure that those parents can be found—or vetted. The administration has sought to justify this impossible position by creating false categories of “eligibility,” and effectively shifting blame to the parents. Earlier this month, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said that deported parents made a choice to leave their children in the U.S. But advocates handling these cases say that parents may have been falsely coerced into believing an expedited deportation would result in a faster reunion with their children, or may have had incorrect information at the time. Nan Schivone, the legal director of Justice in Motion, explained, “If someone says to a parent, ‘It will take a long time to seek asylum and you’ll probably lose anyway,’ they are not making a decision with all the facts. It’s troubling that the government spins it that way.”

ICE is pressuring separated parents to choose deportation.

On Wednesday, according to the Times, “the ACLU filed a motion to protect parents whom the government has claimed have waived their rights to immediately recover their children, citing testimony from some who said they did not know what they had agreed to because documents were not translated into their native languages, or who felt they had been forced to sign documents under duress.” But the majority of those cases involve parents still in federal custody, not those who have already been deported.

With the American government content to do nothing, caseworkers are on their own—left to track down parents through intuition and instinct, forced to rely upon internet cafés and local policemen, good Samaritans, and brave local attorneys. Despite the sheer number of children in this predicament, the organizations working on these cases have few resources: Many have directed small local teams of affiliates in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador to work on the issue of separated families—at the expense of their traditional (read: funded) work.

Justice in Motion, for example, has eight attorneys in the region who are working on these cases. “It’s really hard on an organizational level,” Schivone said.“We are a small nonprofit and we happen to be positioned with lawyers who are based in the region, in Honduras, who are already set up to serve this population.”

“We aren’t currently funded to do this kind of work,” she added. “But we are trying hard every day.”

In addition to money and resources, there are concerns about safety and security, as well as the unusual challenges of brokering contact between a child caught in the American legal system and a parent in Central America. Emily Kephart, the senior project coordinator of KIND, explained, “To get additional information—beyond where your child is—could take months. That’s complicated by the fact that, in places like Guatemala, a child’s first language is not Spanish. The Office of Refugee Resettlement uses language line interpreters—which is less than ideal for children who may not even be used to talking on the phone, let alone talking to a parent on the phone through someone else.”

And, she added, “there are huge variations in the dialect being spoken. There are more than 70 different variations just in the Mam language.* We put in our request, but the person you get may be speaking a different dialect. I get that a lot. It makes people less likely to offer full information. It’s hard.”

On Thursday, KIND announced a new initiative that will specifically focus on the children whose parents have been deported to Central America. I asked Frydman what the scope of the program might be, how many families the group aims to target—and she explained that it was still too early for the specifics, that the project was still in its nascent phase. There would be a conference call the next day among the various groups involved in the issue, to try and pool resources and better coordinate activities, and that seemed both necessary and hopeful. Coordination might beget better resources and ease the work of the men and women who—like Clara Long and the unnamed Honduran lawyer—are willing to risk their necks at sunset to gather testimony from fathers who have lost their babies to the American immigration system, selfless servants willing to help lift the shame of a nation.

* This article originally misquoted Emily Kephart on the variations in dialect in places like Guatemala. We regret the error.

from The Atlantic https://ift.tt/2AbCtrj

[sotina886]

lawmakers and activists decry police response to attack on US Capitol

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden, civil rights leaders and activists blasted law enforcement agencies for their slow response to rioters at the U.S. Capitol, noting the massive show of police force in place for Black Lives Matter demonstrations last ear over police killings of unarmed Black men and women.

Biden said his granddaughter pointed out the unfair difference in images that showed the violence wielded against Black Lives Matter protesters versus the seemingly muted response against those who attacked the U.S. government.

"No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol," Biden said in remarks to the nation Thursday.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Thursday the actions of law enforcement Wednesday highlighted the "two systems of justice" in the U.S.

"We have witnessed two systems of justice: one that let extremists storm the U.S. Capitol yesterday, and another that released tear gas on peaceful protestors last summer," she said on Twitter. "It's simply unacceptable."

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio and former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, also questioned law enforcement officials' security efforts.

"The Capitol police were unprepared, ineffective and some were complicit. All of them should be held to account," Fudge, who was still in lockdown by the evening and who has been tapped by Biden to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told USA TODAY Wednesday night.

Fudge said there's "no question" the response was different than at last year's Black Lives Matter protests at the Capitol. She shared a picture of a row of police standing guard on the steps of the Capitol.

"There is a double standard,'' she said.

As thousands of people of color and allies took to the streets last year to protest police brutality — most of them peacefully — law enforcement often clashed with demonstrators, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, bruising faces and bodies, and, in one incident that went viral, pushing an elderly man to the ground.

But as thousands of President Donald Trump supporters, mostly white, marched from a campaign-style rally to the Capitol Wednesday and broke into the building as lawmakers were convening to count presidential electoral votes, forcing lawmakers and staff to shelter in place, crowds of law enforcement were notably absent.

Trump, who previously characterized Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs," said on Twitter that the people involved in the riots Wednesday were "great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long."

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he applauded Capitol police officers who bravely stood in the line of duty against the "failed insurrection."

"With that said, yesterday represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government," he said in a statement. "A painstaking investigation and thorough review must now take place and significant changes must follow."

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police defended Thursday his agency’s response from criticism that officers did not stop the incursion. Chief Steven Sund said his agency "had a robust plan" for what he anticipated would be peaceful protests, but what occurred Wednesday was "criminal riotous behavior."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, called for Sund's resignation and said that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, another key security official, had already submitted his resignation. He reports directly to Pelosi, while Sund answers to both the House and Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’ll fire the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger once he takes control of the Senate for the GOP later this month.

D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said the mob of Trump supporters came to Capitol Hill "following the president's remarks" and was "intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police to force entry into the United States Capitol."

But only a small group of riot police stood outside the back of the Capitol building in the early afternoon, and as rioters called for breaching the building, hundreds started swarming into the area, reporters at the scene noted Wednesday.

As people began climbing up the side of the building and on the back balcony, police appeared to retreat. After the break-in, police attempted to secure one section outside the building but were quickly overwhelmed, according to reporters at the scene.

One video posted to social media showed several people in D.C. Capitol Police jackets removing barriers outside the Capitol building, allowing rioters to pass through to the building. Videos posted to Twitter also showed at least one person who appeared to be an officer taking selfies with people who had breached the Capitol. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the identities of the people in these images.

By Wednesday afternoon, Army Gen. Mark Milley said the D.C. National Guard had been fully activated. "We have fully activated the D.C. National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement as they work to peacefully address the situation," Miller said in a statement.

Several videos shared to social media Wednesday afternoon showed officials slowly escorting people out of the building. One officer in riot gear could be seen helping a white woman in a Trump hat down the Capitol steps, holding her hand, according to a CNN livestream.

By Wednesday evening, nearly a full day after the rioters first clashed with police Tuesday night, officers began using tear gas and percussion grenades to begin clearing crowds, ahead of a 6 p.m. curfew. In the moments before, there were violent clashes between the police and rioters, who tore railing for the inauguration scaffolding and threw it at the officers.

One woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound inside the capitol, Contee said. At least 13 people were arrested, and five firearms were recovered.

By comparison, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked last year's protest movement, more than 100 people were arrested over the course of three days in Minneapolis. In subsequent days, cities across the country arrested dozens of people in a single night, with Los Angeles arresting more than 500 in one day.

"When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets," Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, said in a telephone interview. "We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating."

'A fanciful reality':Trump claims Black Lives Matter protests are violent, but the majority are peaceful

Johnson questioned why the Capitol police and other local law enforcement agencies weren’t prepared for thousands of Trump supporters, including the Proud Boys. There had been plenty of warnings on social media and talk shows about the potential for riots, he said.

"We should not be witnessing what we are witnessing today in this nation,'' he said. "It is a global embarrassment.”

Johnson said tens of thousands of people joined protests at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington without this level of violence. "None of this took place," he said.

The majority of Black Lives Matter-affiliated protests over the summer were peaceful, according to a report by the U.S. Crisis Monitor, a joint effort including Princeton University in New Jersey that collects and analyzes real-time data on demonstrations and political violence in the United States.

Kofi Ademola, a local Chicago activist who helped organize civil rights protests throughout the summer, said he was not surprised Wednesday by the police response.

"It's not any shock that we see this huge contradiction that we can storm a capitol ... break into elected officials’ offices, the chamber, and create other chaos trying to perform a fascist coup, and we see little to no consequences,'' he said.

"But Black protesters here in D.C. and Chicago, we’re heavily policed, brutalized, for literally saying, 'Don’t kill us.' There was no planned insurrections. We were literally just advocating for our lives. It speaks volumes about the values of this country. It doesn’t care about our lives."

CNN commentator Van Jones highlighted the discrepancy in a tweet Wednesday.

"Imagine if #BlackLivesMatter were the ones who were storming the Capitol building," he wrote. "Thousands of black people laying siege to the seat of government – in the middle of a joint session of Congress? Just imagine the reaction."

At the Capitol Wednesday, some lawmakers were holed up in their offices and other places. Several would not say where they were for safety reasons. Staffers were cleared out of the press galleries and the Capitol by the afternoon.

"The after-action review will determine what failures occurred and why,'' said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "The plans should have anticipated the potential for what happened today."

Black Lives Matter Global Network called the law enforcement response to Wednesday's riots hypocritical.

"When Black people protest for our lives, we are all too often met by National Guard troops or police equipped with assault rifles, shields, tear gas and battle helmets,'' the group said in a statement. "When white people attempt a coup, they are met by an underwhelming number of law enforcement personnel who act powerless to intervene, going so far as to pose for selfies with terrorists, and prevent an escalation of anarchy and violence like we witnessed today."

"Make no mistake, if the protesters were Black, we would have been tear-gassed, battered, and perhaps shot,'' the group wrote.

The chaos that unfolded Wednesday stands in particularly harsh contrast to the law enforcement presence seen when U.S. and military police drove protesters out of Lafayette Square, located between the White House and the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, shortly before a presidential photo op with a Bible at the church on June 1. Officers used smoke canisters, shields, pepper balls and horses to force demonstrators from the park.

As violent Trump supporters climbed the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, Trey Williamson, of Burke, Virginia, stood nearby while straddling his bike, arguing with those who would listen. He wore a helmet with Black Lives Matter written on it.

Williamson, a food safety director at a large restaurant, was in Washington, D.C., last year when Trump had the streets cleared so that he could take his photo in front of St. John's. "I got tear-gassed and all I was doing was riding my bike trying to see what was going on," Williamson said.

Lafayette Square photo op:How police pushed protesters aside

He said the police response at the Capitol was lukewarm in comparison to what he experienced during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. "If there were nothing but Black people up there, there would’ve been a lot of injuries," he said. "It sucks, but I know that this is how it is. I know that because Trump people have felt more comfortable to be at ease with their racism."

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., was holed up in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday as rioters continued their assault on the Capitol. During a Zoom call with reporters, said he and his staff were safe and weren’t leaving. Kind said he intended to return to the House chamber to continue the debate over the certification of electoral votes.

"Things are still not in control, unfortunately," he said.

Kind blamed Trump, who has been reluctant to denounce white nationalists and fraudulently insisted he won the November election, for encouraging the violence Wednesday.

"When he was encouraging the demonstrations, tweeting out that this was going to be quote 'wild.' I mean, what would he expect the reaction would be, especially when you're talking about the Proud Boys, militia groups, white supremacists coming into our nation's capital today," Kind said.

Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., put out a series of statements on Twitter Wednesday calling on law enforcement to engage rioters "with the same humanity and discipline with which they should have engaged people who were outraged by a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck."

"What many are saying is true: If this were Black Lives Matter storming the Capitol, tanks would have been in the city by now," she wrote. "The response tells the story of our nation’s racist history and present. How can we stop it from being the future?"

Contributing: Will Carless, Marco R Della Cava and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

[sotina886]

lawmakers and activists decry police response to attack on US Capitol

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden, civil rights leaders and activists blasted law enforcement agencies for their slow response to rioters at the U.S. Capitol, noting the massive show of police force in place for Black Lives Matter demonstrations last ear over police killings of unarmed Black men and women.

Biden said his granddaughter pointed out the unfair difference in images that showed the violence wielded against Black Lives Matter protesters versus the seemingly muted response against those who attacked the U.S. government.

"No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol," Biden said in remarks to the nation Thursday.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Thursday the actions of law enforcement Wednesday highlighted the "two systems of justice" in the U.S.

"We have witnessed two systems of justice: one that let extremists storm the U.S. Capitol yesterday, and another that released tear gas on peaceful protestors last summer," she said on Twitter. "It's simply unacceptable."

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio and former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, also questioned law enforcement officials' security efforts.

"The Capitol police were unprepared, ineffective and some were complicit. All of them should be held to account," Fudge, who was still in lockdown by the evening and who has been tapped by Biden to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told USA TODAY Wednesday night.

Fudge said there's "no question" the response was different than at last year's Black Lives Matter protests at the Capitol. She shared a picture of a row of police standing guard on the steps of the Capitol.

"There is a double standard,'' she said.

As thousands of people of color and allies took to the streets last year to protest police brutality — most of them peacefully — law enforcement often clashed with demonstrators, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, bruising faces and bodies, and, in one incident that went viral, pushing an elderly man to the ground.

But as thousands of President Donald Trump supporters, mostly white, marched from a campaign-style rally to the Capitol Wednesday and broke into the building as lawmakers were convening to count presidential electoral votes, forcing lawmakers and staff to shelter in place, crowds of law enforcement were notably absent.

Trump, who previously characterized Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs," said on Twitter that the people involved in the riots Wednesday were "great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long."

Get the Coronavirus Watch newsletter in your inbox.

Stay safe and informed with updates on the spread of the coronavirus

Delivery: Varies

Your Email

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he applauded Capitol police officers who bravely stood in the line of duty against the "failed insurrection."

"With that said, yesterday represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government," he said in a statement. "A painstaking investigation and thorough review must now take place and significant changes must follow."

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police defended Thursday his agency’s response from criticism that officers did not stop the incursion. Chief Steven Sund said his agency "had a robust plan" for what he anticipated would be peaceful protests, but what occurred Wednesday was "criminal riotous behavior."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, called for Sund's resignation and said that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, another key security official, had already submitted his resignation. He reports directly to Pelosi, while Sund answers to both the House and Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’ll fire the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger once he takes control of the Senate for the GOP later this month.

D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said the mob of Trump supporters came to Capitol Hill "following the president's remarks" and was "intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police to force entry into the United States Capitol."

But only a small group of riot police stood outside the back of the Capitol building in the early afternoon, and as rioters called for breaching the building, hundreds started swarming into the area, reporters at the scene noted Wednesday.

As people began climbing up the side of the building and on the back balcony, police appeared to retreat. After the break-in, police attempted to secure one section outside the building but were quickly overwhelmed, according to reporters at the scene.

One video posted to social media showed several people in D.C. Capitol Police jackets removing barriers outside the Capitol building, allowing rioters to pass through to the building. Videos posted to Twitter also showed at least one person who appeared to be an officer taking selfies with people who had breached the Capitol. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the identities of the people in these images.

By Wednesday afternoon, Army Gen. Mark Milley said the D.C. National Guard had been fully activated. "We have fully activated the D.C. National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement as they work to peacefully address the situation," Miller said in a statement.

Several videos shared to social media Wednesday afternoon showed officials slowly escorting people out of the building. One officer in riot gear could be seen helping a white woman in a Trump hat down the Capitol steps, holding her hand, according to a CNN livestream.

By Wednesday evening, nearly a full day after the rioters first clashed with police Tuesday night, officers began using tear gas and percussion grenades to begin clearing crowds, ahead of a 6 p.m. curfew. In the moments before, there were violent clashes between the police and rioters, who tore railing for the inauguration scaffolding and threw it at the officers.

One woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound inside the capitol, Contee said. At least 13 people were arrested, and five firearms were recovered.

By comparison, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked last year's protest movement, more than 100 people were arrested over the course of three days in Minneapolis. In subsequent days, cities across the country arrested dozens of people in a single night, with Los Angeles arresting more than 500 in one day.

"When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets," Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, said in a telephone interview. "We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating."

'A fanciful reality':Trump claims Black Lives Matter protests are violent, but the majority are peaceful

Johnson questioned why the Capitol police and other local law enforcement agencies weren’t prepared for thousands of Trump supporters, including the Proud Boys. There had been plenty of warnings on social media and talk shows about the potential for riots, he said.

"We should not be witnessing what we are witnessing today in this nation,'' he said. "It is a global embarrassment.”

Johnson said tens of thousands of people joined protests at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington without this level of violence. "None of this took place," he said.

The majority of Black Lives Matter-affiliated protests over the summer were peaceful, according to a report by the U.S. Crisis Monitor, a joint effort including Princeton University in New Jersey that collects and analyzes real-time data on demonstrations and political violence in the United States.

Kofi Ademola, a local Chicago activist who helped organize civil rights protests throughout the summer, said he was not surprised Wednesday by the police response.

"It's not any shock that we see this huge contradiction that we can storm a capitol ... break into elected officials’ offices, the chamber, and create other chaos trying to perform a fascist coup, and we see little to no consequences,'' he said.

"But Black protesters here in D.C. and Chicago, we’re heavily policed, brutalized, for literally saying, 'Don’t kill us.' There was no planned insurrections. We were literally just advocating for our lives. It speaks volumes about the values of this country. It doesn’t care about our lives."

CNN commentator Van Jones highlighted the discrepancy in a tweet Wednesday.

"Imagine if #BlackLivesMatter were the ones who were storming the Capitol building," he wrote. "Thousands of black people laying siege to the seat of government – in the middle of a joint session of Congress? Just imagine the reaction."

At the Capitol Wednesday, some lawmakers were holed up in their offices and other places. Several would not say where they were for safety reasons. Staffers were cleared out of the press galleries and the Capitol by the afternoon.

"The after-action review will determine what failures occurred and why,'' said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "The plans should have anticipated the potential for what happened today."

Black Lives Matter Global Network called the law enforcement response to Wednesday's riots hypocritical.

"When Black people protest for our lives, we are all too often met by National Guard troops or police equipped with assault rifles, shields, tear gas and battle helmets,'' the group said in a statement. "When white people attempt a coup, they are met by an underwhelming number of law enforcement personnel who act powerless to intervene, going so far as to pose for selfies with terrorists, and prevent an escalation of anarchy and violence like we witnessed today."

"Make no mistake, if the protesters were Black, we would have been tear-gassed, battered, and perhaps shot,'' the group wrote.

The chaos that unfolded Wednesday stands in particularly harsh contrast to the law enforcement presence seen when U.S. and military police drove protesters out of Lafayette Square, located between the White House and the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, shortly before a presidential photo op with a Bible at the church on June 1. Officers used smoke canisters, shields, pepper balls and horses to force demonstrators from the park.

As violent Trump supporters climbed the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, Trey Williamson, of Burke, Virginia, stood nearby while straddling his bike, arguing with those who would listen. He wore a helmet with Black Lives Matter written on it.

Williamson, a food safety director at a large restaurant, was in Washington, D.C., last year when Trump had the streets cleared so that he could take his photo in front of St. John's. "I got tear-gassed and all I was doing was riding my bike trying to see what was going on," Williamson said.

Lafayette Square photo op:How police pushed protesters aside

He said the police response at the Capitol was lukewarm in comparison to what he experienced during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. "If there were nothing but Black people up there, there would’ve been a lot of injuries," he said. "It sucks, but I know that this is how it is. I know that because Trump people have felt more comfortable to be at ease with their racism."

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., was holed up in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday as rioters continued their assault on the Capitol. During a Zoom call with reporters, said he and his staff were safe and weren’t leaving. Kind said he intended to return to the House chamber to continue the debate over the certification of electoral votes.

"Things are still not in control, unfortunately," he said.

Kind blamed Trump, who has been reluctant to denounce white nationalists and fraudulently insisted he won the November election, for encouraging the violence Wednesday.

"When he was encouraging the demonstrations, tweeting out that this was going to be quote 'wild.' I mean, what would he expect the reaction would be, especially when you're talking about the Proud Boys, militia groups, white supremacists coming into our nation's capital today," Kind said.

Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., put out a series of statements on Twitter Wednesday calling on law enforcement to engage rioters "with the same humanity and discipline with which they should have engaged people who were outraged by a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck."

"What many are saying is true: If this were Black Lives Matter storming the Capitol, tanks would have been in the city by now," she wrote. "The response tells the story of our nation’s racist history and present. How can we stop it from being the future?"

Contributing: Will Carless, Marco R Della Cava and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

[sotina886]

lawmakers and activists decry police response to attack on US Capitol

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden, civil rights leaders and activists blasted law enforcement agencies for their slow response to rioters at the U.S. Capitol, noting the massive show of police force in place for Black Lives Matter demonstrations last ear over police killings of unarmed Black men and women.

Biden said his granddaughter pointed out the unfair difference in images that showed the violence wielded against Black Lives Matter protesters versus the seemingly muted response against those who attacked the U.S. government.

"No one can tell me that if that had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol," Biden said in remarks to the nation Thursday.

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said Thursday the actions of law enforcement Wednesday highlighted the "two systems of justice" in the U.S.

"We have witnessed two systems of justice: one that let extremists storm the U.S. Capitol yesterday, and another that released tear gas on peaceful protestors last summer," she said on Twitter. "It's simply unacceptable."

Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio and former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, also questioned law enforcement officials' security efforts.

"The Capitol police were unprepared, ineffective and some were complicit. All of them should be held to account," Fudge, who was still in lockdown by the evening and who has been tapped by Biden to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, told USA TODAY Wednesday night.

Fudge said there's "no question" the response was different than at last year's Black Lives Matter protests at the Capitol. She shared a picture of a row of police standing guard on the steps of the Capitol.

"There is a double standard,'' she said.

As thousands of people of color and allies took to the streets last year to protest police brutality — most of them peacefully — law enforcement often clashed with demonstrators, deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, bruising faces and bodies, and, in one incident that went viral, pushing an elderly man to the ground.

But as thousands of President Donald Trump supporters, mostly white, marched from a campaign-style rally to the Capitol Wednesday and broke into the building as lawmakers were convening to count presidential electoral votes, forcing lawmakers and staff to shelter in place, crowds of law enforcement were notably absent.

Trump, who previously characterized Black Lives Matter protesters as "thugs," said on Twitter that the people involved in the riots Wednesday were "great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long."

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Thursday that he applauded Capitol police officers who bravely stood in the line of duty against the "failed insurrection."

"With that said, yesterday represented a massive failure of institutions, protocols, and planning that are supposed to protect the first branch of our federal government," he said in a statement. "A painstaking investigation and thorough review must now take place and significant changes must follow."

The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police defended Thursday his agency’s response from criticism that officers did not stop the incursion. Chief Steven Sund said his agency "had a robust plan" for what he anticipated would be peaceful protests, but what occurred Wednesday was "criminal riotous behavior."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., however, called for Sund's resignation and said that House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving, another key security official, had already submitted his resignation. He reports directly to Pelosi, while Sund answers to both the House and Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’ll fire the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger once he takes control of the Senate for the GOP later this month.

D.C. police chief Robert J. Contee III said the mob of Trump supporters came to Capitol Hill "following the president's remarks" and was "intent on causing harm to our officers by deploying chemical irritants on police to force entry into the United States Capitol."

But only a small group of riot police stood outside the back of the Capitol building in the early afternoon, and as rioters called for breaching the building, hundreds started swarming into the area, reporters at the scene noted Wednesday.

As people began climbing up the side of the building and on the back balcony, police appeared to retreat. After the break-in, police attempted to secure one section outside the building but were quickly overwhelmed, according to reporters at the scene.

One video posted to social media showed several people in D.C. Capitol Police jackets removing barriers outside the Capitol building, allowing rioters to pass through to the building. Videos posted to Twitter also showed at least one person who appeared to be an officer taking selfies with people who had breached the Capitol. USA TODAY has not been able to independently verify the identities of the people in these images.

By Wednesday afternoon, Army Gen. Mark Milley said the D.C. National Guard had been fully activated. "We have fully activated the D.C. National Guard to assist federal and local law enforcement as they work to peacefully address the situation," Miller said in a statement.

Several videos shared to social media Wednesday afternoon showed officials slowly escorting people out of the building. One officer in riot gear could be seen helping a white woman in a Trump hat down the Capitol steps, holding her hand, according to a CNN livestream.

By Wednesday evening, nearly a full day after the rioters first clashed with police Tuesday night, officers began using tear gas and percussion grenades to begin clearing crowds, ahead of a 6 p.m. curfew. In the moments before, there were violent clashes between the police and rioters, who tore railing for the inauguration scaffolding and threw it at the officers.

One woman suffered a fatal gunshot wound inside the capitol, Contee said. At least 13 people were arrested, and five firearms were recovered.

By comparison, in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, which sparked last year's protest movement, more than 100 people were arrested over the course of three days in Minneapolis. In subsequent days, cities across the country arrested dozens of people in a single night, with Los Angeles arresting more than 500 in one day.

"When Black folks are protesting and progressives are protesting peacefully they were tear-gassed, they were arrested, they were shot with rubber bullets. They were shot with real bullets," Derrick Johnson, president of the national NAACP, said in a telephone interview. "We watched it take place all summer long when people were peacefully demonstrating."

'A fanciful reality':Trump claims Black Lives Matter protests are violent, but the majority are peaceful

Johnson questioned why the Capitol police and other local law enforcement agencies weren’t prepared for thousands of Trump supporters, including the Proud Boys. There had been plenty of warnings on social media and talk shows about the potential for riots, he said.

"We should not be witnessing what we are witnessing today in this nation,'' he said. "It is a global embarrassment.”

Johnson said tens of thousands of people joined protests at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington without this level of violence. "None of this took place," he said.

The majority of Black Lives Matter-affiliated protests over the summer were peaceful, according to a report by the U.S. Crisis Monitor, a joint effort including Princeton University in New Jersey that collects and analyzes real-time data on demonstrations and political violence in the United States.

Kofi Ademola, a local Chicago activist who helped organize civil rights protests throughout the summer, said he was not surprised Wednesday by the police response.

"It's not any shock that we see this huge contradiction that we can storm a capitol ... break into elected officials’ offices, the chamber, and create other chaos trying to perform a fascist coup, and we see little to no consequences,'' he said.

"But Black protesters here in D.C. and Chicago, we’re heavily policed, brutalized, for literally saying, 'Don’t kill us.' There was no planned insurrections. We were literally just advocating for our lives. It speaks volumes about the values of this country. It doesn’t care about our lives."

CNN commentator Van Jones highlighted the discrepancy in a tweet Wednesday.

"Imagine if #BlackLivesMatter were the ones who were storming the Capitol building," he wrote. "Thousands of black people laying siege to the seat of government – in the middle of a joint session of Congress? Just imagine the reaction."

At the Capitol Wednesday, some lawmakers were holed up in their offices and other places. Several would not say where they were for safety reasons. Staffers were cleared out of the press galleries and the Capitol by the afternoon.

"The after-action review will determine what failures occurred and why,'' said U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. "The plans should have anticipated the potential for what happened today."

Black Lives Matter Global Network called the law enforcement response to Wednesday's riots hypocritical.

"When Black people protest for our lives, we are all too often met by National Guard troops or police equipped with assault rifles, shields, tear gas and battle helmets,'' the group said in a statement. "When white people attempt a coup, they are met by an underwhelming number of law enforcement personnel who act powerless to intervene, going so far as to pose for selfies with terrorists, and prevent an escalation of anarchy and violence like we witnessed today."

"Make no mistake, if the protesters were Black, we would have been tear-gassed, battered, and perhaps shot,'' the group wrote.

The chaos that unfolded Wednesday stands in particularly harsh contrast to the law enforcement presence seen when U.S. and military police drove protesters out of Lafayette Square, located between the White House and the historic St. John's Episcopal Church, shortly before a presidential photo op with a Bible at the church on June 1. Officers used smoke canisters, shields, pepper balls and horses to force demonstrators from the park.

As violent Trump supporters climbed the steps of the Capitol Wednesday, Trey Williamson, of Burke, Virginia, stood nearby while straddling his bike, arguing with those who would listen. He wore a helmet with Black Lives Matter written on it.

Williamson, a food safety director at a large restaurant, was in Washington, D.C., last year when Trump had the streets cleared so that he could take his photo in front of St. John's. "I got tear-gassed and all I was doing was riding my bike trying to see what was going on," Williamson said.

Lafayette Square photo op:How police pushed protesters aside

He said the police response at the Capitol was lukewarm in comparison to what he experienced during Black Lives Matter protests over the summer. "If there were nothing but Black people up there, there would’ve been a lot of injuries," he said. "It sucks, but I know that this is how it is. I know that because Trump people have felt more comfortable to be at ease with their racism."

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., was holed up in his Capitol Hill office Wednesday as rioters continued their assault on the Capitol. During a Zoom call with reporters, said he and his staff were safe and weren’t leaving. Kind said he intended to return to the House chamber to continue the debate over the certification of electoral votes.

"Things are still not in control, unfortunately," he said.

Kind blamed Trump, who has been reluctant to denounce white nationalists and fraudulently insisted he won the November election, for encouraging the violence Wednesday.

"When he was encouraging the demonstrations, tweeting out that this was going to be quote 'wild.' I mean, what would he expect the reaction would be, especially when you're talking about the Proud Boys, militia groups, white supremacists coming into our nation's capital today," Kind said.

Bernice King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., put out a series of statements on Twitter Wednesday calling on law enforcement to engage rioters "with the same humanity and discipline with which they should have engaged people who were outraged by a police officer kneeling on George Floyd’s neck."

"What many are saying is true: If this were Black Lives Matter storming the Capitol, tanks would have been in the city by now," she wrote. "The response tells the story of our nation’s racist history and present. How can we stop it from being the future?"

Contributing: Will Carless, Marco R Della Cava and N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

[armeniaitn]

L.A. City Council Passes Krekorian Resolution Condemning Azerbaijan

New Post has been published on https://armenia.in-the.news/society/l-a-city-council-passes-krekorian-resolution-condemning-azerbaijan-60964-30-09-2020/

L.A. City Council Passes Krekorian Resolution Condemning Azerbaijan

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian

Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Krekorian sponsored a resolution today through which the City of Los Angeles has condemned the brutal and unprovoked invasion launched over the weekend by Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Council President Nury Martinez, demands that the Trump Administration and the Congress “utilize all diplomatic, economic and political means to compel Azerbaijan to engage meaningfully in the peace process.”

Krekorian’s resolution emphasizes that support for Artsakh is essential to US interests and core American principles.  “Because our country is based on and committed to the values of democracy, liberty and the right of self-determination, the United States has a moral obligation to stand up and speak out on behalf of the people of the Republic of Artsakh, who have earned their right of self-governance and have flourished as a free, democratic and sovereign nation for almost 30 years,” the resolution states.

“The world community must condemn Azerbaijan for renewing warfare, violating its ceasefire agreement with Armenia, and causing death and destruction to the Armenian population that it so detests,” Krekorian added.  “Its corrupt and autocratic regime is using brute force against civilians in a misguided attempt to reimpose Stalin-era oppression over the indigenous Armenian people of Artsakh in their own ancient homeland.”

In co-sponsoring the resolution, City Council President Nury Martinez said, “Since Saturday, the people of Artsakh have been under attack by Azerbaijan’s military, who have violently and recklessly attacked children and families, causing the loss of innocent lives.  The City of Los Angeles stands with the Armenian people and the Republic of Artsakh and denounces Azerbaijan for these vicious attacks and violating a cease-fire that is in place. Today, I joined Councilmember Krekorian and my colleagues in issuing a resolution calling on the White House, Secretary of State and Congress to denounce this attack and work to end it immediately.”

Krekorian noted the strong ties between the City of Los Angeles and the Republic of Artsakh. Through Krekorian’s prior work, Los Angeles recognized Artsakh’s sovereignty in 2014, laying the groundwork for California and other states and cities to follow LA’s lead.  In 2012, Krekorian led Los Angeles to establish a historic formal Friendship City relationship with Shushi.  More recently, the government of Azerbaijan unsuccessfully attempted to stop Krekorian from hosting Armenian President Pashinyan at Los Angeles City Hall.  “The City of Los Angeles has always stood in strong solidarity with the people of Artsakh, recognizing the sovereignty of its people and the democratic values of its government,” Krekorian said.

Krekorian was quick to condemn Azerbaijan on Sunday and provide succinct information about the latest Azerbaijani aggression in a letter to constituents and community members.

Asbarez obtained the letter and is providing in full below.

Yet again, Azerbaijan’s military forces have launched a deadly and unprovoked attack against its Armenian neighbors.  Yet again, Azerbaijan’s recklessness puts innocent civilian lives and fundamental United States interests at risk.  And yet again, the Armenian people face a genuine threat of the continuation of Turkish efforts to annihilate us.

As you know, last night, Azeri tanks, helicopters and artillery attacked Artsakh, including Stepanakert.  This invasion follows the deadly attacks Azerbaijan launched just two months ago against rural villages in Armenia.  During a time when the UN has called for ceasefire around the world due to the COVID pandemic, Azerbaijan instead is renewing warfare, violating its ceasefire agreement with Armenia, and causing death and destruction to the Armenian population that it so detests.

LA City Councilman Paul-Krekorian unveles the Los Angeles-Shushi Friendship Square during his visit to Artsakh in 2014

This reckless invasion is a direct threat not only to the Armenian population of the region, but also to regional stability.  Already, Turkish dictator Erdogan is threatening Armenia and offering full support to the Azeri invasion.  It is not hard to imagine that a full scale war against a country that borders on Turkey, Russia and Iran presents a grave danger to the world.  Azerbaijan’s actions create an immediate danger of escalation that would enflame a tinderbox and severely damage US strategic interests in the region.

The corrupt Baku regime’s outrageous warmongering and racist hatred of Armenians seems to know no limits.  This attack is just the latest in a consistent record of Azeri barbarity directed at Armenians who just want to go about their lives in peace.  The Azeris targeted Armenian civilians with mass murder in the pogroms of 1988 and 1990.  They targeted Armenian civilians with indiscriminate shelling during Artsakh’s war of independence.  Twenty years ago they destroyed a thousand year old Armenian cemetery at Julfa, ignoring the pleas of UNESCO and desecrating tens of thousands of graves.  They celebrated as a hero and rewarded the Azeri soldier who beheaded an Armenian with an axe during a NATO “Partnership for Peace” program in 2004.  They targeted Armenian civilian villages and committed shocking war crimes during their 2016 invasion of Artsakh.  And now they are engaging in the same kinds of ruthless violence and abomination yet again.

If that were not enough, the bellicose Azerbaijan government recently threatened to launch a missile attack on a nuclear power plant, releasing massive amounts of radiation only 20 miles from Yerevan.  The spokesperson for the Azerbaijan Defense Ministry today bragged about their capability of hitting the power plant, which would, as he put it, “lead to a great disaster for Armenia.”  This rhetoric is a continuation of Azerbaijan’s repeated threats, including from its famously corrupt and dictatorial president, to destroy and conquer all Armenian lands. This outrageous and consistent pattern of aggression completely shreds all international norms and notions of human decency.  Worse, Azeri violence and threats carry with them the echoes of generations of pan-Turkish commitment to erasing the Armenian population and culture from the world.

The most dramatic manifestation of this lust for ethnic cleansing, of course, was the Armenian Genocide — but the actions, statements and active preparations of Azerbaijan and its enabler Turkey make clear that genocide is a genuine threat in our time as well.

The United States, France and Russia, as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, have attempted for years to mediate a sustainable negotiated peace, but those efforts have utterly failed.  Azerbaijan has consistently violated the ceasefire with scores of attacks across the border, resulting in both civilian and military deaths in both Armenia and Artsakh.  The United States nonetheless still refuses to state clearly that there is only one perpetrator that continues to be responsible for the violence, bloodshed and instability in the region, and that is Azerbaijan.  Any statement of moral equivalence in the face of continued massive violence, aggression and genocidal threats by the government of Azerbaijan is entirely unacceptable. Our government has an obligation to hold Baku accountable for Azerbaijan’s destruction of the peace process and its ongoing crimes and threats.

Unless Azerbaijan immediately faces meaningful consequences and international condemnation, there is little chance of achieving lasting peace.  The interests of the United States will be harmed by instability in this vital region, and our reputation in the international community will be irreparably damaged by our failure to stand up and speak out on behalf of the victims of this inexcusable and continuing record of Azeri aggression and violence.  And if another genocide of Armenians comes, the nations who failed to stop it will have no excuse for their complicity.

I therefore have called upon the United States government to condemn Azerbaijan unequivocally for its latest violation of the ceasefire, and to demand an immediate and permanent cessation of all Azeri hostile action.  I further have called upon the Trump Administration and the United States Congress to take immediate action to cease all military support and cooperation with Azerbaijan, including suspending all arms shipments to Azerbaijan.

Finally, I have called upon the United States Department of State to utilize all diplomatic, economic and political means to compel Azerbaijan to engage meaningfully in the peace process, through the Minsk Group or otherwise, to achieve a sustainable, lasting peace that ensures the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Artsakh.

In solidarity with the people of Artsakh, I remain

Read original article here.

[bountyofbeads]

A Facebook group for border agents was rife with racism and sexism. Now DHS is investigating.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/01/aoc-immigrants-targeted-racist-sexist-posts-border-agent-facebook-group/

A Facebook group for border agents was rife with racism and sexism. Now DHS is investigating.

By Eli Rosenberg, Robert Moore, Mike DeBonis and Katie Mettler | Published

July 02 at 1:22 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted July 2, 2019 |

EL PASO — Federal officials are investigating whether agents participated in a private Facebook group for Border Patrol employees that hosted racist, sexist and sexually violent memes about immigrants and officials such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Matthew Klein, an assistant commissioner at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, called the Facebook group’s posts “disturbing” and said that the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, of which CBP is a part, began an investigation after a report by the investigative site ProPublica.

The posts on the private group, which says it is for current and former Border Patrol agents, included caustic remarks about the deaths of migrants, sexually explicit images edited to include images of Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and xenophobic asides and comments, according to ProPublica.

The Washington Post was not able to confirm the existence of the group, called “I’m 10-15,” after the law enforcement code for “aliens in custody.” The private group is not visible to people who are not members.

“Where Old Patrol meets New Patrol,” the group described itself, according to images ProPublica shared. “We are family, first and foremost. This is where the Green line starts, with us.”

Some of the memes shared on the group’s page that ProPublica reported on include a photo illustration that depicts Ocasio-Cortez being forced to give oral sex to President Trump. Another depicted her giving oral sex at a detention center for immigrants, ProPublica reported.

On a post about a 16-year-old migrant who died in Border Patrol custody, group members responded with comments such as, “Oh well,” and “If he dies, he dies.”

One commenter talked about starting a fundraising site to support a Border Patrol agent to throw burritos at Ocasio-Cortez and another lawmaker, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Tex.), who were part of a Democratic delegation that on Monday visited Border Patrol stations in El Paso and Clint, Tex., as well as an El Paso facility for children operated by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Before the tour, several members of the delegation asked their hosts in a private briefing whether they would be safe inside, said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.).

The airing of the attacks in the private Facebook group, Aguilar said, made it even more difficult for congressional overseers to trust the Border Patrol as the federal government works to address the surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“It’s very tough to back them up when their active and retired members are part of this Facebook page,” he said in an interview. “Even if it’s a very small percentage, it’s unfortunate they harbor some very dark imagery and very dark thoughts about migrants and members of Congress.”

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus organized the trip after conditions at the Clint facility prompted an outcry last month, with lawyers who visited describing scenes of hundreds of sick and dirty children without their parents and inconsolable toddlers in the care of other children.

During Monday’s visit to Clint, lawmakers saw only about two dozen migrant children being held there, down from about 700 in May, Aguilar said. Members expressed more-pointed concerns about the El Paso facility, where they said several hundred people were still detained.

They described a visit with a group of more than a dozen Cuban women housed in a crowded cell without running water who reported going weeks without showers. Though the delegates’ cellphones were confiscated, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), the caucus’s chairman, managed to bring in a recording device on which he captured photos and video of the women.

He and other delegation members shared the images and footage on Twitter Monday night.

Ocasio-Cortez said one woman said she was told by Border Patrol officers to drink out of a toilet. “And that was them knowing that a congressional visit was coming,” the visibly angry lawmaker said in an interview. “This is CBP on their best behavior, telling people to drink out of the toilet.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), another member of the delegation, echoed Ocasio-Cortez’s description in an account posted to Twitter and said the conditions at the facility were “appalling and disgusting.” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) called them indicative of a “human rights crisis.”

A DHS official, who was not authorized to discuss the visit and spoke on the condition of anonymity, insisted that no Border Patrol agent would make a migrant in custody drink from a toilet and said there was water available.

Aguilar and others said the revelations surrounding the Facebook group — which came to light during the morning visit to the HHS facility — colored the visits later in the day to the Border Patrol sites.

“It shocks the conscience that these agents are entrusted with the lives of anybody in their custody, much less vulnerable people,” Castro said. “And the vulgar xenophobia and sexism is clearly pervasive.”

The Facebook group confirmed “some of the worst criticism of Customs and Border Protection,” Castro told ProPublica.

The report drew wide criticism of the Border Patrol from other Democratic lawmakers, including presidential candidates such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“These racist and sexist comments are completely unacceptable,” Warren tweeted. “We need answers — and the @CBP agents involved must be held accountable.”

“Racist and sexist behavior on the part of those who wear a uniform of the United States is unacceptable,” tweeted Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “The DHS must investigate and take strong action against those found guilty of this vulgar behavior.”

Sanders added: “This is simply horrific. The dehumanization of immigrants has got to end and those involved in this must be held accountable. Thank you @AOC for standing up to the indignity of what is occurring in detention centers.”

[Ocasio-Cortez says dispute with Border Patrol agents started after one tried to take a ‘stealth selfie’]

On Twitter, shortly before visiting a border detention facility in Texas, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: “This isn’t about ‘a few bad eggs.’ This is a violent culture. … How on earth can CBP’s culture be trusted to care for refugees humanely?”

She later returned to the platform to respond to accusations in a news report that she “screamed” at officers in a “threatening manner” while touring the Texas site with other members of Congress.

The Washington Examiner report quoted two unnamed witnesses who claimed that they, along with 40 other people, saw Ocasio-Cortez “crying and screaming and yelling” at a Border Patrol facility in El Paso. The report claimed agents wanted to respond but were held back because she was a lawmaker.

“And to these CBP officers saying they felt ‘threatened’ by me,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in response. “… They confiscated my phone, and they were all armed. I’m 5’4”. They’re just upset I exposed their inhumane behavior.”

In a statement Tuesday, the congresswoman’s communications office called the Examiner’s report an “inaccurate depiction of events.”

“The Congresswoman spoke sternly to a CBP agent that tried to take a stealth selfie with the Congresswoman in a mocking manner, despite the gravity of the situation,” the statement said.

Customs and Border Protection is a central component of the Trump administration’s attempts to stanch the flow of migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.

CBP’s conduct standards forbid making “abusive, derisive, profane, or harassing statements or gestures, or engag[ing] in any other conduct evidencing hatred or invidious prejudice to or about one person or group on account of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability,” including on social media.

The Border Patrol’s chief of operations, Brian Hastings, said on CNN that the posts “do not represent the thoughts of the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol. … Don’t let the actions of a few be representative of the whole, is what I’d ask.”

Hastings added that if any agents are found to have been responsible for the Facebook posts, “the appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken.”

“These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see — and expect — from our agents day in and day out,” Carla Provost, head of the Border Patrol, said in a statement.

The National Border Patrol Council, the union that represents the vast majority of Border Patrol agents, said it condemned the inappropriate content in the Facebook group.

“The content found in this group — whose membership is comprised of agents, retired employees, employees who no longer work for Border Patrol, and members of the public — is not representative of our employees and does a great disservice to all Border Patrol agents, the overwhelming majority of whom perform their duties honorably,” it said in a statement.

John Wagner contributed to this report.