Criminal Justice And Human Rights Law Blog

Know Anyone Who Thinks Racial Profiling Is Exaggerated? Watch This, And Tell Me When Your Jaw Drops.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Jury Convicts 2 Of Hate Crime In Fatal Beating : NPR

Jury Convicts 2 Of Hate Crime In Fatal Beating : NPR

A jury convicted two Pennsylvania men Thursday of a federal hate crime in the fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant, finding they attacked the man primarily out of hatred for Hispanics.

An all-white jury in Scranton convicted Derrick Donchak and Brandon Piekarsky of violating the civil rights of 25-year-old Luis Ramirez, who died in July 2008 following a confrontation with a group of white high school football players in the former mining town of Shenandoah. The jury also convicted Donchak of two other counts related to a plot to cover up the beating.

Donchak, 20, sobbed as the verdict was read. Piekarsky, 18, put his head in his hands. Both were led away in handcuffs and ordered held behind bars pending their Jan. 24 sentencing. They could be sentenced to life in prison.

Crystal Dillman, who had two children with Ramirez, told The Associated Press she "couldn't be happier.''

"My family finally gets justice, well, some justice and Luis can finally rest a little bit easier in peace knowing that some justice was served,'' Dillman said. "It's like a burden's lifted off my chest to know that something was done for Luis.''

Prosecutors alleged that Donchak and Piekarsky beat and kicked Ramirez because they didn't like Hispanics and wanted them out of their town.

"They showed no remorse that night ... no sense of responsibility for having beaten a man to the point of death,'' Justice Department prosecutor Myesha Braden told jurors Wednesday in her closing argument.

Japan PM calls for release of Chinese Nobel laureate - The China Post

Japan PM calls for release of Chinese Nobel laureate - The China Post

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan called Thursday for the release of jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last week.

"From the viewpoint that universal human rights should be protected across national borders, it is desirable" that Liu be released, Kan told parliament.

"Japan-China relations are getting back to the basics of a mutually beneficial strategic partnership which I confirmed with President Hu Jintao in June" when Kan took office, he added.

Liu Xiaobo was sentenced in December to 11 years in jail on subversion charges but international calls for his release have mounted since he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, triggering Chinese fury.

Kan's comments came as Japan and China are seeking to put their relationship back on track after the worst diplomatic row in years between the Asian economic giants.

China broke off all high-level contact with Tokyo last month after Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat captain whose vessel collided with Japanese coastguard patrol ships in waters claimed by both sides in the East China Sea.

________________________________

The China Post is Taiwan's leading English language newspaper.

John H. Armwood

The Cause Of Suicide Bombings? Military Occupation Says Researcher : The Two-Way : NPR

The Cause Of Suicide Bombings? Military Occupation Says Researcher : The Two-Way : NPR

The Cause Of Suicide Bombings? Military Occupation Says Researcher : The Two-Way : NPR

University of Chicago Professor Robert Pape has a novel idea: If you want to stop suicide bombings, withdraw American troops. Pape says his data shows the biggest cause of suicide attacks is military occupation. From Politico:

Pape and his team of researchers draw on data produced by a six-year study of suicide terrorist attacks around the world that was partially funded by the Defense Department's Defense Threat Reduction Agency. They have compiled the terrorism statistics in a publicly available database comprising some 10,000 records on some 2,200 suicide terrorism attacks, dating back to the first suicide terrorism attack of modern times — the 1983 truck bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed 241 U.S. Marines.

"We have lots of evidence now that when you put the foreign military presence in, it triggers suicide terrorism campaigns, ... and that when the foreign forces leave, it takes away almost 100 percent of the terrorist campaign," Pape said in an interview last week on his findings.

Related articles

They hate us for our occupations (salon.com)

Suicide bombing is not about religion, it's about foreign occupation [Thoughts from Kansas] (scienceblogs.com)

Rachel Maddow Calls On Obama To End Don't Ask Don't Tell, Instead Of Just Talking About It

President Obama's administration should not appeal the decision of the Federal Court in California ordering an end to the military's constitutionally flawed "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy". This is a basic human rights (civil rights) issue.
John H. Armwood

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Supreme court weighs inmate rights, claims for DNA evidence - USATODAY.com

Supreme court weighs inmate rights, claims for DNA evidence - USATODAY.com

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday considered whether condemned prisoners may make a civil rights claim for DNA evidence, in the case of a Texas convict whose death was postponed in March within an hour of his scheduled execution.

The dispute pits inmate rights against states' interests in the finality of convictions against the backdrop of advances in DNA technology. Since 1989, according to the Innocence Project, affiliated with the Cardozo School of Law in New York, more than 250 people in 34 states have been exonerated through DNA testing .

The vast majority of states allow for some DNA testing after conviction. Wednesday's case focused on a convict's opportunity to invoke federal civil rights law when he is denied access to DNA evidence under state law.

ACLU Files Lawsuits After Government Wrongfully Deports U.S. Citizen With Mental Disabilities | American Civil Liberties Union

ACLU Files Lawsuits After Government Wrongfully Deports U.S. Citizen With Mental Disabilities | American Civil Liberties Union

ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Georgia and the ACLU of North Carolina today filed lawsuits in federal courts in Georgia and North Carolina on behalf of Mark Lyttle, a U.S. citizen of Puerto Rican descent with mental disabilities who was wrongfully deported to Mexico and forced to endure over four months of living on the streets and in the shelters and prisons of Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala.

"What happened to Mark Lyttle is unconscionable," said Judy Rabinovitz, Deputy Director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project. "Our Constitution and our laws demand fair treatment for people with mental disabilities in any court, including immigration courts. Pushing Mr. Lyttle through proceedings that he clearly couldn't understand and then deporting him was not only inhumane but a gross violation of his due process rights. The complete lack of concern for the well being of a man who would have obvious difficulties surviving on his own is truly appalling. What he suffered shouldn't happen to anyone regardless of citizenship status."

Lyttle's entanglement with immigration authorities began when he was about to be released from a North Carolina jail where he was serving a short sentence for inappropriately touching a worker's backside in a halfway house that serves individuals with mental disorders. Despite having ample evidence that Lyttle was a U.S. citizen – including his social security number, the names of his parents, his sworn statements that he was born in the United States and criminal record checks – officials from the North Carolina Department of Correction referred him to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as an undocumented immigrant whose country of birth was Mexico. Lyttle had never been to Mexico, shared no Mexican heritage, spoke no Spanish and did not claim to be from Mexico.

The state of North Carolina has an agreement with ICE requiring state officials to report all incarcerated individuals who they believe were born in other countries. ICE began investigating Lyttle and sent him to the Stewart Detention Facility, an immigration detention center in Lumpkin, Ga. where he spent six weeks.

Hatewatch | Southern Poverty Law Center » Racist E-mails Lead to Resignation of a Florida Police Chief

Hatewatch | Southern Poverty Law Center » Racist E-mails Lead to Resignation of a Florida Police Chief

An embattled South Florida police chief – already serving a 30-day unpaid suspension for using city computers to share racist, tasteless Internet jokes with his command staff, including one E-mail suggesting President Obama should have been shot by his own honor guard – resigned Tuesday.

A city investigation determined that Wilton Manors Police Chief Richard E. Perez distributed 86 messages with “inappropriate content” using the city’s E-mail system during a four-month period this spring and summer. According to a South Florida Times [1] report published on its website today, Perez was given a resign-or-be-fired ultimatum from City Manager Joseph Gallegos after an internal probe detected that Perez also violated the city’s leave policy.

Perez’s resignation comes in the wake of reporting by veteran South Florida Times reporter Elgin Jones. Jones’ investigative work uncovering racist and offensive E-mails sent by city officials has been causing a stir in Wilton Manors, which abuts Fort Lauderdale, for more than two years. The weekly publication is the region’s most influential African-American community newspaper.

One E-mail from Perez’ account, sent on May 27 to his second in command, Capt. Dorris “Dee” Seibert, contained a short audio file in which a man with a pronounced African-American dialect delivers a cheerful greeting. “Good mornin’ ma’am! And iddn’t it a lovely morning?” to which a white-sounding woman replies, “Up yours, nigger!”

Another, sent by Perez on July 21 – entitled, “Urban schools are finally starting to teach practical math that these kids can use in real-world situations!” – abounded with racial stereotypes demeaning blacks and Hispanics: “Lajames has an AK-47 with a 200-round clip. He usually missed 6 of every 10 shots and he uses 13 rounds per drive-by shootin. How many mofos can Lajames ice on a drive-by before he gotta reload? … Leroy has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an 8 ball to Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what be the street value of the rest of his shit? … Dwayne pimps 3 ho’s. If the price is $85 per trick, how many tricks per day must each ho turn to support Dwayne’s $800 per day Crack habit?” Six other “test questions” were included.

Obama was a frequent target of the jokes and insults traded among Perez and his subordinates. One E-mail to Perez from Sgt. Peter Bigelsen read, “I sat, as did millions of other Americans, and watched as the government under went a peaceful transition of power a year ago. At first, I felt a swell of pride and patriotism while Barack Obama took his oath of office. However, all that pride quickly vanished as I later watched 21 Marines, in full dress uniform with rifles, fire a 21-gun salute to the President. It was then that I realized how far America’s military had deteriorated. Every damn one of them missed the bastard.”

Another e-mail Perez forward to his command staff on July 23 said, “A little boy said to his mother, ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white.’ His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there, Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’”

All of the available samples of Perez’s E-mails had a singular political slant – against liberals in general and Obama specifically. They ranged from the mildly funny – “Q: What was the most positive result of the ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program? A: It took 95% of the Obama bumper stickers off the road.” (E-mail of April 21; joke attributed to David Letterman) – to mean-spirited: An E-mail with the subject line, “Stupid is as stupid does,” contained a photograph purportedly showing Barack and Michelle Obama at a White House ceremony saluting with their left hands over their hearts. (Stupid, in that case, might better apply to anyone who believed the doctored photograph was genuine: Snopes.com and other urban-legend sites busted the hoax by turning up the unaltered original photo, and others taken at the same time, showing the Obamas saluting correctly.)

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Glen Beck and Fox News Inspires Attempted Violent Hate Crime! What Else Could We Expect From These Right Wing Un-American Republican Rabble Rouser

Judge Orders Injunction on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ - NYTimes.com

Judge Orders Injunction on ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ - NYTimes.com

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge issued a worldwide injunction Tuesday stopping enforcement of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, ending the military's 17-year-old ban on openly gay troops.

U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips' landmark ruling was widely cheered by gay rights organizations that credited her with getting accomplished what President Obama and Washington politics could not

"This order from Judge Phillips is another historic and courageous step in the right direction, a step that Congress has been noticeably slow in taking," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United, the nation's largest organization of gay and lesbian troops and veterans.

He was the sole named veteran plaintiff in the case along with the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay rights organization that filed the lawsuit in 2004 to stop the ban's enforcement.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Legal experts say the department is under no legal obligation to do so and could let Phillips' ruling stand.

Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the government was reviewing Phillips' ruling Tuesday and had no immediate comment.

Legal experts say government attorneys are not likely to let the ruling stand since Obama has made it clear he wants Congress to repeal the policy.

"The president has taken a very consistent position here, and that is: 'Look, I will not use my discretion in any way that will step on Congress' ability to be the sole decider about this policy here,' " said Diane H. Mazur, legal co-director of the Palm Center, a think tank at the University of California at Santa Barbara that supports a repeal.

Government attorneys had warned Phillips that such an abrupt change might harm military operations in a time of war. They had asked Phillips to limit her ruling to the 19,000 members of the Log Cabin Republicans, which includes current and former military service members.

The Department of Justice attorneys also said Congress should decide the issue — not her court.

Phillips disagreed, saying the law doesn't help military readiness and instead has a "direct and deleterious effect" on the armed services by hurting recruiting during wartime and requiring the discharge of service members with critical skills and training.

"Furthermore, there is no adequate remedy at law to prevent the continued violation of servicemembers' rights or to compensate them for violation of their rights," Phillips said in her order.

She said Department of Justice attorneys did not address these issues in their objection to her expected injunction.

Phillips declared the law unconstitutional after listening to the testimony of discharged service members during a two-week nonjury trial this summer in federal court in Riverside.

Court Issues Decision On Civil Rights Coalition Lawsuit Against Arizona Racial Profiling Law | American Civil Liberties Union

Court Issues Decision On Civil Rights Coalition Lawsuit Against Arizona Racial Profiling Law | American Civil Liberties Union

PHOENIX, AZ – Plaintiffs in Friendly House et. al. v. Whiting et al. won an important legal victory in their constitutional challenge to SB 1070, Arizona’s racial profiling law. Among other things, the court found that the plaintiffs’ claim that “Racial discrimination was a motivating factor for [S.B.] 1070’s enactment” establishes a valid constitutional challenge to the law. This decision was filed in response to the defendants’ motions to dismiss the case and the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction.

Today’s order is an important first step in challenging this unconstitutional law. The civil rights coalition will continue its legal fight until all of SB 1070 is taken off the books.

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Between Honour Killings, Child Brides And Forced Marriages

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Between Honour Killings, Child Brides And Forced Marriages

At the Law and Individual Rights Session, the family law issue of child brides and forced marriage was a subject of discourse. Since this is an issue affecting mostly developing countries, the panel consisted of human rights experts from India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. In attendance also were practitioners from developed countries like Britain and Germany given that they are affected as a result of the immigrant population in their countries.

Mr. Ranjit Malhotra, a Family Law Specialist, shared the forced marriage and honour killings issue within India's cultural context. He said this was an issue prevalent among the Hindus and because there is an entrenched caste system in their society, child brides that rebel against such marriages are usually seen to have brought dishonour to their families which results in the murder of such young females.

Honour killings are seen as sanctions justifiable for dishonourable behavior which is common in parts of the world like India, Pakistan and the Middle East. In India, there is no government data on the number of murders perpetrated but NGO estimate report about 900 per year.

Honour killings are especially troubling for the Western world since the provision of the Hindu Act has extra-territorial application which allows for immigrant families in Western countries to justify the killings.

In addition, he explained measures put in place by the Indian government to curb these heinous acts such as provision of Human Rights Commissions that take up cases based on petitions from victims without charges.

However, he advised that to effectively deal with the matter, there has to be policy reform, specific law dealing with honour killings different from murder under the Indian Penal Code and such law must have extra-territorial force.

Mrs. Biola Adimula, women's rights activist and former Chair, Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA) dealt with the child brides and forced marriage issues in the African context. For the Nigerian delegation, the issue could not have been more appropriate, given Senator Ahmed Yerima's recent marriage to an underage bride.

She gave statistics on how prevalent it is in Africa. Despite, all African countries (except Somalia) being signatories to the Charter on Rights of a Child, Niger has the highest percentage of child brides at 75% and Zambia the lowest at 42%.Though the Charter and Nigerian laws define a child as human beings under the age of 18, these child brides are given out in marriage as early as 9 years and before they attain puberty.

The reasons for these forced marriages are not dissimilar to India and other countries where such practices occur. They include: poverty, political, religious and traditional reasons. Even though honour killings are not as prevalent as those reported in India, Pakistan or the Middle East, still troubling is the health effects these marriages have on child brides.

Politicsweb - Liu Liu Xiabo Nobel Peace Prize important for Africa - TAC/Section27 - PARTY

Politicsweb - Liu Liu Xiabo Nobel Peace Prize important for Africa - TAC/Section27 - PARTY

Copied in entirety from Politics.web.com

Nathan Geffen

11 October 2010

China is to be a force for good it must improve human rights record

Why it is important for Africa and China that Human Rights Activist Liu Xiabo won the Nobel Peace Prize: TAC and SECTION27 welcome Nobel Committee's decision

Liu Xiabo is Chinese human rights campaigner, a poet and a literary critic. He is one of the authors of Charter 08, a petition calling for freedom, equality, democracy and constitutional rule in China, including a new constitution, an independent judiciary, the election of public officials and a guarantee of human rights. He is currently serving an 11 year prison term for "inciting subversion of state power" because of his role in Charter 08 and for other documents he has written in the campaign for human rights in China.1

The award of the Nobel Prize for Peace for 2010 to Liu Xiabo is a small but important step in the struggle for human rights in China. His treatment exemplifies the way the Chinese government deals with human rights campaigners. TAC and SECTION27, incorporating the AIDS Law Project, have also called for the release of two other Chinese campaigners, both of whom have worked for the rights of people with HIV, Hu Jia and Tian Xi.

Hu Jia was sentenced to over three years in jail in April 2008, also for subversion. Hu has campaigned for the environment and the rights of people with HIV. He was arrested as part of a government crackdown in 2007 after peasant leaders demanded land rights.2

Tian Xi was a child when he needed a blood transfusion in the 1990s. At the time thousands of people in Henan and other provinces, including Tian, were infected with HIV through state-sponsored blood selling programs. For the last five years Tian Xi has been campaigning for compensation for himself and hundreds of thousands of others affected by HIV-infected blood, as well as for the Chinese government to admit its culpability in the blood scandal and hold those directly responsible to account. We support these demands. He is currently in his second month in prison while awaiting sentence on trumped up charges after his ‘trial' in September. Furthermore, officials in Henan province are waging a vindictive defamatory campaign against Tian.3

Over the last decade, China has emerged as a new superpower. Its influence on Africa is growing daily. If it is to serve as a force for good here, then it is vital that it helps, not hinders, the struggle for human rights and democracy on this continent. But China can only do so if it moves towards democracy, demonstrates a commitment to human rights and follows the example of our own country, which in 1994 put trust in its citizens by embracing a constitution that respect, protects and promotes human rights. It is in all of our interests to campaign for democracy in China. It is in China's interests - and in keeping with the socialist ideal - that its leaders embrace democratic norms.

Article 33 of the Chinese Constitution states, "All citizens of the People's Republic of China are equal before the law. Every citizen enjoys the rights and at the same time must perform the duties prescribed by the Constitution and the law."

Article 35 states "Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of procession and of demonstration."4

The Chinese Government's national human rights plan 2009-2010 reiterates this, stating "In the period 2009-2010, China will continue to strengthen work to improve democracy and the rule of law, improving systems for democracy, diversifying the forms of democracy and expanding the channels of democracy, strengthening the protection of civil rights in the execution of administrative laws and in judicial practices, and raising the level of ensuring people's civil and political rights."5

Yet the Chinese state is failing to meet its Constitutional and other legal duties to civil liberty. We call on the Chinese government to adopt an attitude of respect for human rights in line with its own Constitution and national human rights action plan. We restate our call for the immediate release of Tian Xi, Hu Jia, Liu Xiabo and many others who are in prison and whose only crime is to defend and promote human rights.

Footnotes

1 NobelPrize.org. Fighting with Words for Freedom of Expression. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2010/speedread.html

2 Wikipedia. Hu Jia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hu_Jia_%28activist%29

3 TAC. Chinese HIV-positive activist Tian Xi to go on trial on trumped up charges. http://www.tac.org.za/community/node/2940

4 Constitution of the People's Republic of China. 1982. http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/constitution/constitution.html

5 Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. 2009. National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010). http://www.china.org.cn/archive/2009-04/13/content_17595407_12.htm

Statement issued by Nathan Geffen, TAC Treasurer, October 11 2010

Monday, October 11, 2010

Judge Advances Civil Rights Groups’ SB 1070 Lawsuit - COLORLINES

Judge Advances Civil Rights Groups’ SB 1070 Lawsuit - COLORLINES

On Friday a federal judge issued a ruling allowing a lawsuit against SB 1070 brought by a coalition of civil rights groups to move forward. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton partially struck down motions from Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu to have the case dismissed. (Scroll down for a breakdown of the lawsuits against SB 1070.)

Bolton dismissed complaints from plaintiffs that said that SB 1070 would restrict immigrants’ speech and travel. The groups had argued that SB 1070 would make people afraid to speak languages besides English, and that is why it had to be struck down. Bolton rejected that complaint because she said the civil rights coalition was not the correct party to be bringing such claims. Nevertheless, civil rights groups are celebrating the broader ruling.

“Today’s order is an important first step in challenging this unconstitutional law,” the coalition said in a joint statement Friday. “The civil rights coalition will continue its legal fight until all of SB 1070 is taken off the books.”

The ACLU, National Immigration Law Center, Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, and NAACP filed their case against Arizona in May, charging that the state violated the Constitution by passing its own immigration law. The coalition of civil rights groups have argued that only the federal government has the right to create and enforce immigration policy.

Justice's widow speaks at African-American site celebration - The Boston Globe

With the appointment of Thurgood Marshall, Joh...

Image via WikipediaJustice's widow speaks at African-American site celebration - The Boston Globe

By Emma Stickgold, Globe Correspondent | October 11, 2010

She spoke softly as she shared the words of her husband, the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, yesterday afternoon, plucking words from a speech he gave more than two decades ago that talked of citizenship and equal rights.

Reading from a 1987 speech delivered by her late husband, the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court, Cecilia Marshall drew a standing ovation before she offered these lines before a sizable audience at Converse Hall in the Tremont Temple Baptist Church: “For a sense of the evolving nature of the Constitution we need look no further than the first three words of the document’s preamble: ‘We the People.’ When the Founding Fathers used this phrase in 1787, they did not have in mind the majority of America’s citizens.’’

Marshall was part of a team of prominent people who read fragments of speeches originally delivered by historical figures like Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Boston African American National Historic Site.

Of landing Marshall as a speaker, Beverly Morgan-Welch, the executive director of the Museum of African American History, which is part of the site, said, “It made only good sense to have her present, given all the incredible work of her husband, so we asked her and she said, ‘Yes.’ ’’

Earlier in the evening, Morgan-Welch explained to attendees that recent news of federal stimulus money — roughly $4 million — coming their way was just what was needed to make restorations to the African Meeting House, the oldest existing black church in the country. That work, she said, is expected to be completed by early December.

“This 4 million will really push them to the finish line,’’ said Sean Hennessey, a National Park Service spokesman.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino lauded the success of African Americans in Boston in the 18th and 19th centuries, saying they changed the nation’s history.

“This anniversary has so much meaning to our city,’’ he added.

Menino said that while celebrating a rich history is important, looking to the future is equally critical.

Liu Xiaobo's wife under house arrest | World news | guardian.co.uk

Liu Xiaobo's wife under house arrest | World news | guardian.co.uk

Nobel prizewinner's wife, Liu Xia, has not been allowed to leave apartment in crackdown by Chinese authorities

Liu Xia, wife of Nobel peace prizewinner Liu Xiaobo. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

The wife of Liu Xiaobo, this year's winner of the Nobel peace prize has been placed under house arrest as part of a crackdown by the Chinese authorities aimed at stifling celebration following the award.

Liu Xia was allowed to meet her husband after the announcement of the award on Friday and told followers that he was dedicating the prize to the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre.

But later in an update on Twitter and in emails to friends she said since returning from the visit she had not been allowed to leave her apartment and that her phone had been cut. Since then, contact with her has been cut off.

She joins more than 30 Chinese intellectuals who have been detained, warned or placed under tight surveillance since the Nobel committee announced that it was giving the award to Liu.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Paladino Attacks Gays in Brooklyn Speech - NYTimes.com

Paladino Attacks Gays in Brooklyn Speech - NYTimes.com

The Republican candidate for governor, Carl P. Paladino, told a gathering in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Sunday that children should not be “brainwashed” into thinking that homosexuality was acceptable, and criticized his opponent, Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, for marching in a gay pride parade earlier this year.

Addressing Orthodox Jewish leaders, Mr. Paladino described his opposition to same-sex marriage.

“That’s not how God created us,” he said, reading from a prepared address. “I just think my children and your children would be much better off and much more successful getting married and raising a family, and I don’t want them brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid and successful option — it isn’t.”

And then, to applause at Congregation Shaarei Chaim, he said: “I didn’t march in the gay parade this year — the gay pride parade this year. My opponent did, and that’s not the example we should be showing our children.” Newsday.com reported that Mr. Paladino’s prepared text had included the sentence: “There is nothing to be proud of in being a dysfunctional homosexual.” But Mr. Paladino omitted the sentence in his speech.

About an hour after Mr. Paladino’s remarks, Mr. Cuomo’s campaign released a statement condemning them.

“Mr. Paladino’s statement displays a stunning homophobia and a glaring disregard for basic equality,” it said. “These comments along with other views he has espoused make it clear that he is way out of the mainstream and is unfit to represent New York.”

Mr. Paladino declined a request to be interviewed after his appearance. His campaign manager, Michael R. Caputo, denied assertions that Mr. Paladino was antigay, and noted that he employed a gay man on his campaign staff.

More black people jailed in England and Wales proportionally than in US | Society | The Guardian

More black people jailed in England and Wales proportionally than in US | Society | The Guardian

New study finds seven times more black people per population are in prison – in the US number is just four times as many

The number of black people jailed in England and Wales is seven times larger than the amount they make up of the population. Photograph: i love images / Alamy/Alamy

The proportion of black people in prison in England and Wales is higher than in the United States, a landmark report released today by the Equality and Human Rights Commission reveals.

The commission's first triennial report into the subject, How Fair is Britain, shows that the proportion of people of African-Caribbean and African descent incarcerated here is almost seven times greater to their share of the population. In the United States, the proportion of black prisoners to population is about four times greater.

The report, which aims to set out how to measure "fairness" in Britain, says that ethnic minorities are "substantially over-represented in the custodial system". It suggests many of those jailed have "mental health issues, learning disabilities, have been in care or experienced abuse".

Experts and politicians said over-representation of black men was a result of decades of racial prejudice in the criminal justice system and an overly punitive approach to penal affairs.

"People will be and should be shocked by this data," said Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust. "We have a tendency to say we are better than the US, but we have not got prison right."

Lyon said that although there had been "numerous efforts to address racism in the prison system … we have yet to get a better relationship between justice authorities and black communities. Instead we have ended up with mistrust breeding mistrust."

Evidence of this damaged relationship can be found in the commission's report. On the streets, black people were subjected to what the report describes as an "excess" of 145,000 stop and searches in 2008. It notes that black people constitute less than 3% of the population, yet made up 15% of people stopped by police.

The commission found that five times more black people than white people per head of population in England and Wales are imprisoned. The ethnic minority prison population has doubled in a decade – from 11,332 in 1998 to 22,421 in 2008. Over a similar period, the overall number of prisoners rose by less than two thirds. The commission says that the total number of people behind bars accelerated in the last decade despite "a similar number of crimes being reported to the police as in the early 1990s … the volume of indictable offences has fallen over this time".

A quarter of the people in prison are from an ethnic minority. Muslims now make up 12% of the prison population in England and Wales.

Some on the left of the Labour party blame its policies while in power. Diane Abbott, who raised the alarm over the growing numbers of jailed black men as a backbencher, said she "very much regretted that the last Labour government swallowed [former home secretary] Michael Howard's line that 'prison works'."

"There was never a serious examination of the consequences of locking up a generation of young black men. The result is there are some prisons in the south east which are now virtually all black. Many are converting to Islam."

The problems may start at school. The commission points out that black children are three times as likely to be permanently excluded from education.

"We are reaping the effects of criminalising a community in the 1970s," says Ben Bowling, professor of criminal justice at Kings College London and a former adviser to the home affairs select committee.

Intellectuals held in China crackdown after Liu Xiaobo gets Nobel peace prize | World news | The Guardian

Liu Xiaobo

Image via WikipediaIntellectuals held in China crackdown after Liu Xiaobo gets Nobel peace prize | World news | The Guardian

Reaction 'predictable and stupid' says head of writers group as fears grow for laureate's missing wife

Pro-democracy protesters calling for the release of Liu Xiaobo carry his picture as they march to China's liaison office in Hong Kong today. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

More than 30 Chinese intellectuals have been detained, warned or placed under house arrest in a crackdown to stifle celebration of the Nobel peace prize being awarded to the imprisoned democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo.

Among those facing restrictions are the laureate's wife Liu Xia who visited her husband in Jinzhou prison earlier today.

However, she tweeted today that she visited her husband and found he was told on Saturday that he had won the award. Liu Xia told reporters her husband cried and dedicated his prize to the "dead spirits of Tiananmen".

"The reaction of the authorities is predictable and stupid. They have tried to block the flow of information on the internet, detain people and cut telephone communications," said Zhang Yu, the Stockholm-based head of the Writers in Prison Committee of the freedom of expression group, Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC). "I'm sure they have planned for this."

The Norwegian Nobel peace prize committee announced on Friday that this year's winner will be Liu, a former literature professor who co-drafted the Charter 08 campaign for increased political liberties in China.

US president Barack Obama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Czech president Vaclav Havel were among a host of world leaders who commended the decision, but the Chinese government has responded with fury.

The foreign ministry summoned the Norwegian ambassador for a dressing down and declared the decision a "blasphemy" and insult to the Chinese people.

Censors cut foreign broadcasts of the announcement and police have been mobilised to choke any sign of domestic support for Liu.

About 20 of those affected were at a celebration party in Beijing on Friday night that was broken up by police. Three participants are now under eight days administrative detention for "disturbing social order". The others are under house arrest or heightened surveillance.

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