March 17, 2016


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-john-kerry-obama-administration-declares-isis-guilty-of-genocide/

U.S. declares ISIS guilty of genocide
CBS/AP
March 17, 2016, 9:33 AM

Photograph -- People from the minority Yazidi sect are seen at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, Iraq, where they fled from ISIS, Dec. 21, 2014. REUTERS
Play VIDEO -- Civilians flee ISIS-controlled Mosul in race for freedom
Play VIDEO -- Are Yazidis facing genocide at the hands of ISIS?


WASHINGTON -- Secretary of State John Kerry announced Thursday that the U.S. government had determined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is committing genocide against Christians and other minorities in its territory.

Kerry announced his findings on Thursday, meeting a congressional deadline just a day after the State Department said he would miss it. The delay was sharply criticized by lawmakers and others who have advocated for the determination.

CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan said the declaration of genocide carries significant legal requirements for action from the U.S. government, which is why the White House was initially reluctant. The Obama administration argues it is already taking significant action to counter the extremist group.

The House also passed a resolution to demand that the State Department assess whether the Assad regime has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Kerry specifically mentioned Christians, Yazidis and Shiite groups as victims of genocide.

Rights groups, anti-government activists and other governments have long decried the horrific tactics employed by ISIS, and CBS News has heard first-hand of some of the atrocities committed by its members.

Just this week, CBS News correspondent Holly Williams watched as about a dozen people who managed to escape ISIS' grasp in Mosul, Iraq, made it to safety in Kurdish territory.

Few have made it out of Mosul, one of the militant group's strongholds that they have sealed shut, confiscating residents' cell phones and brutally enforcing their own strict interpretation of Islamic law.

The escapees said they had seen other Mosul residents who tried but failed to flee the city beheaded by ISIS militants. One man showed Williams the scars from where he said he was tortured by the extremists for smoking.

United Nations Human Rights Office has already said that the crimes committed by ISIS amount to genocide.



“The delay was sharply criticized by lawmakers and others who have advocated for the determination. CBS News correspondent Margaret Brennan said the declaration of genocide carries significant legal requirements for action from the U.S. government, which is why the White House was initially reluctant. The Obama administration argues it is already taking significant action to counter the extremist group. …. The House also passed a resolution to demand that the State Department assess whether the Assad regime has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kerry specifically mentioned Christians, Yazidis and Shiite groups as victims of genocide. …. Just this week, CBS News correspondent Holly Williams watched as about a dozen people who managed to escape ISIS' grasp in Mosul, Iraq, made it to safety in Kurdish territory. …. The escapees said they had seen other Mosul residents who tried but failed to flee the city beheaded by ISIS militants. One man showed Williams the scars from where he said he was tortured by the extremists for smoking.”


I do wish I thought a declaration of genocide would initiate military aid to the beleaguered groups. I know we don’t have enough soldiers and probably weapons to make an invasion on ISIS, but we certainly could arm the courageous Kurds and send in more US special forces groups to fight alongside them rather than merely giving them some sort of technical assistance. Seeing benign groups such as the Yazidis slaughtered without our making a better effort to protect them than we have so far is to me shameful.

Here we go again – “group think” run amok and utter depravity is the result. Christians are usually protected under Islam from such murder or abuse, but not in the eyes of ISIS. A Yazidi man is quoted as showing a scar which is the result of torture in punishment for merely smoking. It’s not only “shameful,” but ridiculous. People so often just don’t show any common sense, and this is one of those cases.

A couple of news articles in the past have quoted an Islamic person stating that ISIS is “unIslamic,” and certainly not the arbiter for their views. The Yazidis are a fascinating group who are in addition, peaceful good neighbors, but who bear no relationship to any other surviving religion and ethnic group in the Middle East. That is why they are so hated by many Islamic groups, especially ISIS.

Interestingly, they do closely resemble Hindu society and religion. The Yazidis are one of the Kurdish groups, but their religion gives away their cultural ties. The Quora article gives more clues to their religious origins. They are Caucasian but culturally linked to the Hindus. See the following Wikipedia article on the Yazidi religion and geographic areas. Then, for a treat, go to the MUST READ Quora article on Hindu links below and TheEthicalWarrior. In that article DNA is discussed. Since DNA analysis has been going on internationally to discover ties, the history books are being rewritten literally. I know the following material is long, so scan it, but pay close attention to the photographs! See below.


https://www.quora.com/Are-Yazidi-tradition-and-culture-similar-to-those-of-Hindus

Are Yazidi tradition and culture similar to those of Hindus?

Shweta Singh, exploring
26.4k Views • Upvoted by Saumya Pandey, Proud of being a Hindu

Research into the origins and identity of the Yazidis has yielded some startling and unmistakable similarity with India’s Hindus. there is little doubt that the Yazidis are a lost tribe linked to the ancient Hindus of India. The overlapping features are clearly not those that are to be found among the Abrahamic religions.

Below are some among the innumerable visages of the Yazidis and their cultural life that leave little scope for denying the obvious.

1) Yazidis kiss a peacock shaped lamp. Hindus light a peacock shaped lamp

2) azidis temples have a pyramid-shaped gopura, just like Hindu temples

The Yazidi symbol is a peacock with its wings spread. The peacock is the mount of Skanda or Subrahmanya, son of Lord Shiva. The most important point to note is that peacock, the national bird of India, is a native of south and southeast Asia, and Africa. It is not found in Iraq or Syria at all, which are West Asian lands.

3) The Yazidi mural on wall of their holy Lalish temple is unmistakably Hindu. One can see the saree, India’s unofficial national dress.

4) Yazidi temple at Lalish has snake symbol at the entrance. You won't find this among other tribes of Arabia or Mesopotamia. For Hindus, Subrahmanya is the other avatara of snakes and worshiped very closely for all snake related pujas like Naga Panchami.

GO TO QUORA WEBSITE FOR MORE HINDU LINKS.


https://theethicalwarrior.wordpress.com/2014/09/08/who-are-the-yazidis/

The Ethical Warrior
Fighting to uphold the truth

Who Are The Yazidis?
09/08/2014

The recent news from Iraq about the plight of the Yazidis has a few wrinkles in it. First of all, the media typically identifies the Yazidis as Christians, although they are not. The media also has overlooked a major element of the story. You see, the Yazidis are Caucasian and some of their children are indistinguishable from many American children. For example, here’s a picture of one Yazidi child.

Historical background

Historically the Yazidis, mostly Kurdish-speaking people, have lived primarily in Iraq, Syria, and Turkey as well as further north (e.g. Armenia and Georgia). Yazidis are monotheists who trace their roots back to Adam (sound familiar). Many of their religious beliefs were derived from Zoroastrianism, arguably the first monotheistic religion and a forerunner to Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

Yazidis, Aryans and the pharaohs

So what do the Yazidis, Aryans (ancient Persians) and some of the Egyptian pharaohs have in common? Well, for one thing, they were all Caucasian. So too, the mummies of other ancient Caucasian people have been found ‘round the globe (from China to North and South America to the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa). According to the history books, this is considered to be impossible. Yet, impossible it is not (for obvious reasons).

DNA tells the story

So you might ask how come we haven’t heard of this before? Well, the story has been intentionally suppressed for hundreds of years. However, DNA testing has recently cracked the door wide open. DNA tests on King Tut, the famous child pharaoh of Egypt, proves that he is directly related to most men in modern day Europe. Further, King Tut and these European men all have a common Caucasian ancestor who lived in the area near the Black Sea some 10,000 years ago.

Aside: The Black Sea is bordered by Turkey and Georgia, among other countries. Turkey and Georgia, can you spell YAZIDI?

The origins of Caucasians

The history books say that the Caucasian race can be traced back to the Caucasus Mountains of the Black Sea some 10,000 years ago. While Caucasians still live in that area (Russians in the south of Russia, for example), some of them were said to have migrated in ancient times with many migrating into Europe which resulted in the establishment of Western Civilization. That theory is based in part on language with respect to the Indo-European family of languages (which include Spanish, French and German, among many others) which is said to have originated in the area generally between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. Today, over 3 billion people on the planet speak a Indo-European language making it the largest language family in the world.

Of course, Caucasians also migrated east to China and to parts of India and Pakistan. Anatolia (modern day Turkey), which lies just south of the Caucasus Mtns. was originally home to various groups of Caucasians. Caucasians also migrated to Iran (where they were known as Persians or Aryans). Then to, there are the Yazidis who migrated to Iraq and Syria (where they still live today). In North Africa, the Berbers and the Tuaregs have been the dominant ethnic groups for thousands of years and they are also Caucasian. So Caucasians have lived from China all the way to America, including portions of India, Pakistan, the Middle East and North Africa. After the King Tut DNA results, plus the existence of assorted mummies of Egyptian pharaohs, Egypt was definitely home to a Caucasian population in ancient times and still is today to some extent.

Aside: I’ve left out the Middle East’s Arab population although as Semites they’re also Caucasian!

A biblical perspective

The Hebrews of the Old Testament and the ancient Egyptians both descended from Noah, the Egyptians from Ham and the Hebrews from Seth. So to begin with they were kissing cousins (literally). Their bloodlines, especially that of the royal families, were mixed many times, one of the most famous of which was Sarah’s marriage to the pharaoh Tuthmosis III.

Of course, they lived a stone’s throw away from each other. At times Egypt controlled Canaan and at times the Hebrews migrated to Egypt, often because of famine. For good measure, the Bible even states that Esau and King David had red hair. So too, Mary Magdalene has always been portrayed by artists as having red hair although it is uncertain where that idea originated from.

History, the lie commonly agreed

So what’s been missing from the history books? Well for one thing, the Yazidis look pretty much like some of the major figures of the Bible – and why not. Caucasians presumably originated from the Caucasus Mountains which is very close to the Middle East (something akin to New Yorkers crossing the Hudson River to live in New England). After all, Abraham’s ancestors hailed from Turkey at one time. Even today, you can go to Iraq, Iran and Syria and see children with light-colored hair and eyes. Just ask the Yazidis.

What’s missing is the history of the Caucasian race in the ancient Middle East, where they originally came from and where they went to. Ancestry is a funny thing. You never know who you’re related to. Just ask the U.S. presidents (who are virtually all related) – even Barack Obama!


“History is the lie commonly agreed upon.”

– Voltaire



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yazidis

Yazidis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced. See the relevant discussion on the talk page. (December 2015)

The Yazidis (also Yezidis, Êzidî; Listeni/jəˈziːdiːz/ yə-zee-dees) are a Kurdish[18] religious community[19] or an ethno-religious group[20] indigenous to northern Mesopotamia whose strictly endogamous,[21][22] and ancient religion Yazidism[23] is not linked to Zoroastrianism[24][25][26] but to ancient Mesopotamian religions, though Yazidis form a distinct and independent religious community and have their own culture.[27][28][29] They live primarily in the Nineveh Province of Iraq. Additional communities in Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Iran, and Syria have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe, especially to Germany.[30]

The Yazidis are monotheists,[31] believing in God as creator of the world, which he has placed under the care of seven holy beings or angels, the chief of whom is Melek Taus, the Peacock Angel. The Peacock Angel, as world-ruler, causes both good and bad to befall individuals, and this ambivalent character is reflected in myths of his own temporary fall from God's favour, before his remorseful tears extinguished the fires of his hellish prison and he was reconciled with God.[citation needed]

This belief builds on Sufi mystical reflections on Iblis, who refused to prostrate to Adam despite God's express command to do so.[32] Because of this connection to the Sufi Iblis tradition, some followers of other monotheistic religions of the region equate the Peacock Angel with their own unredeemed evil spirit Satan,[33][34][35][36] which has incited centuries of persecution of the Yazidis as "devil worshippers." Persecution of Yazidis has continued in their home communities within the borders of modern Iraq, under fundamentalist Sunni Muslim revolutionaries.[37]

Starting in August 2014, the Yazidis were targeted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in its campaign to "purify" Iraq and neighbouring countries of non-Islamic influences.[38]


ISIS wants to “purify Iraq.” That sounds just like Nazi claims of their need to eliminate the Jews to purify “the master race.”



http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/03/16/470681193/fcc-chair-proposal-would-let-consumers-set-cost-of-internet-privacy

FCC Chair: Proposal Would Let Consumers Determine Value Of Internet Privacy
NPR STAFF
Updated March 16, 20167:07 PM ET
Published March 16, 20163:26 PM ET

Photograph -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler has proposed what could become the first privacy regulations for Internet service providers.
David Ramos/Getty Images
THE TWO-WAY -- FCC Proposal Would Limit What Internet Providers Can Do With Users' Data
THE TWO-WAY -- Verizon Will Pay $1.35 Million Fine In Settlement Over Its Use Of 'Supercookies'


The Federal Communications Commission is proposing, for the first time, privacy regulations for Internet service providers. The goal is to let consumers weigh in on what information about them gets collected and how it's used.

As they connect us to the Internet, ISPs have insight into our lives — websites we frequent, apps we download or locations we visit — and may use that data for their own promotions or sell it to data brokers to be used for marketing or other purposes.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is proposing first privacy regulations for Internet service providers.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler tells NPR's Robert Siegel that ISPs do have to collect a lot of this information simply to run their businesses. "All we're saying in our proposal is that you, the consumer, ought to have a say in whether they can repackage and use information, which is basically your information, not their information," Wheeler says.

Wheeler's plan, expected to be formally proposed on March 31, would let consumers opt out of programs allowing ISPs to use the data to offer you other services themselves, but would require explicit opt-in consent for data to be shared with third parties.

And one interesting question is how this may factor into the prices that ISPs would then charge consumers, given the value of the private information. For instance, AT&T has an ultra-fast high-speed Internet offering that allows subscribers to opt out of Web tracking for an extra fee.

"What we're saying is that we want to empower consumers," Wheeler says. "First you empower consumers to say, 'Do I want my information used?' Then you empower consumers to say, 'Is there a value that I put on my information?' and work some kind of a deal with the Internet service provider to reflect that value."

As NPR's Alina Selyukh has reported, telecom companies are resisting the FCC's push to regulate their privacy practices. The companies argue that this puts them on unequal footing compared with websites and services such as Google that also collect a lot of information about people's digital tracks. And those companies are overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, an enforcement agency more than a rule-making one.

"We're following the same kind of conceptual framework that the FTC has," Wheeler says, "and that's basically, hey, there should be transparency, consumers should be able to know what's being collected and how it's being used. They should have choice about that and whether it is going to be used — and that information should be kept secure so that it doesn't end up in the hands of nefarious forces."

The proposal stems directly from the FCC's new so-called "net neutrality," or Open Internet, rules, which expanded the agency's authority over Internet providers. The fate of those rules is pending in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"I think we're going to find a decision coming out of a court in the next few weeks," Wheeler says, "and we're confident of our authority in this matter."

Pedestrians walk past a Verizon Wireless shop.
Moody's this week said the FCC's privacy restrictions could hurt the credit ratings for broadband providers like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and others, according to Reuters. But Wheeler argues the data collection restrictions wouldn't hurt the industry.

"The threshold question is we get to make the decision as consumers. And I can think of reasons why I would want my Internet service provider to do this," he says. "So I don't think that this is going to end up shutting down their ability to do things and to monetize the information that they see going over their pathways. But it's going to give me choice."



“The Federal Communications Commission is proposing, for the first time, privacy regulations for Internet service providers. The goal is to let consumers weigh in on what information about them gets collected and how it's used. As they connect us to the Internet, ISPs have insight into our lives — websites we frequent, apps we download or locations we visit — and may use that data for their own promotions or sell it to data brokers to be used for marketing or other purposes. …. And one interesting question is how this may factor into the prices that ISPs would then charge consumers, given the value of the private information. For instance, AT&T has an ultra-fast high-speed Internet offering that allows subscribers to opt out of Web tracking for an extra fee. "What we're saying is that we want to empower consumers," Wheeler says. "First you empower consumers to say, 'Do I want my information used?' Then you empower consumers to say, 'Is there a value that I put on my information?' and work some kind of a deal with the Internet service provider to reflect that value."


“'Is there a value that I put on my information?'” You betcha there’s a value on my personal information, but it just isn’t sensitive enough for me to pay AT&T or anyone an extra fee concerning it. What we need is not a blinking fee, but a law that the info will NOT be collected and shared ever. Wheeler isn’t really one of the “good guys,” I don’t think.



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/16/470691826/voters-unseat-prosecutors-criticized-for-laquan-mcdonald-and-tamir-rice-probes

Voters Unseat Prosecutors Criticized For Laquan McDonald And Tamir Rice Probes
MERRIT KENNEDY
Updated March 16, 20167:25 PM ET
Published March 16, 20165:10 PM ET

Photograph -- Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez was defeated by Kim Foxx in the Democratic primary on Tuesday. Alvarez had been criticized for the investigation into the shooting of Laquan McDonald by a police officer. Charles Rex Arbogast/AP


Voters unseated the top prosecutors in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Cook County, Ill., in Democratic primary races on Tuesday. Both have been under fire for their handling of fatal shootings by police.

Two-term Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez faced criticism for the amount of time it took her to indict the white officer who shot black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. As the Associated Press reports, Alvarez "explained the yearlong investigation by calling it complex and meticulous."

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty provoked anger over his investigation into the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Nov. 2014. As we reported, a grand jury declined to bring charges against the two Cleveland police officers involved.

"Simply put, given this perfect storm of human error, mistakes and miscommunications by all involved that day, the evidence did not indicate criminal conduct by police," McGinty told reporters as he made the announcement in December 2015.

In Cook County, Democratic Party leadership did not initially side with any candidate, according to the Chicago Tribune. However:

"That changed after a Cook County judge forced the city of Chicago to release a dash-cam video of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old McDonald 16 times. Alvarez indicted Van Dyke just hours before the video was released, and she instantly became the target of criticism from protesters and others who said she acted too slowly in indicting the officer because her office had the video for more than a year before it was released."

Protesters have regularly interrupted Alvarez's campaign events, the Tribune reports.

The opponents of Alvarez and McGinty both focused on the controversial cases during their campaigns.

Kim Foxx, who beat Alvarez in the primary, discussed the Laquan McDonald case on the campaign trail "to underscore her argument that change was needed at the top of the state's attorney's office," the Tribune reports.

Likewise, Michael O'Malley, who defeated McGinty, "criticized McGinty for recommending that the grand jury not indict the officers in the Tamir case," Cleveland.com reported. However:

"O'Malley repeatedly refused to say whether he thought the officers had broken the law. He said only that he would have made no recommendation to the grand jury and would not have sought outside opinions by use-of-force experts on whether the officers' actions were reasonable given the circumstances."

McGinty conceded late Tuesday night, Cleveland.com reported. "The voters have spoken," he said.



“Voters unseated the top prosecutors in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Cook County, Ill., in Democratic primary races on Tuesday. Both have been under fire for their handling of fatal shootings by police. …. In Cook County, Democratic Party leadership did not initially side with any candidate, according to the Chicago Tribune. However: "That changed after a Cook County judge forced the city of Chicago to release a dash-cam video of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting the 17-year-old McDonald 16 times. Alvarez indicted Van Dyke just hours before the video was released, and she instantly became the target of criticism from protesters and others who said she acted too slowly in indicting the officer because her office had the video for more than a year before it was released." …. Kim Foxx, who beat Alvarez in the primary, discussed the Laquan McDonald case on the campaign trail "to underscore her argument that change was needed at the top of the state's attorney's office," the Tribune reports. Likewise, Michael O'Malley, who defeated McGinty, "criticized McGinty for recommending that the grand jury not indict the officers in the Tamir case," Cleveland.com reported. However: "O'Malley repeatedly refused to say whether he thought the officers had broken the law. He said only that he would have made no recommendation to the grand jury and would not have sought outside opinions by use-of-force experts on whether the officers' actions were reasonable given the circumstances."


Fox and O’Malley both spoke for change, Fox calling for a shakeup at the state level. O’Malley, however, failed to state that the police officers had committed a crime. He only blamed the court for recommending that the officers not be charged. He wanted to say enough to get the official -- whose place he wanted to take -- kicked out of office, but not enough to make the Rightist citizens angry at him as a “traitor to his own race.” Okay. Maybe I’m cynical.




http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/17/470792212/watch-michigan-gov-rick-snyder-testifies-on-the-flint-water-crisis

WATCH: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Testifies On The Flint Water Crisis
MERRIT KENNEDY
March 17, 20169:52 AM ET

Photograph -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy are sworn in to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in Washington on Thursday.
Andrew Harnik/AP


"Let me be blunt," Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said in his opening statement to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. "This was a failure of government at all levels. Local, state, and federal officials – we all failed the families of Flint."

He is answering questions at a Congressional hearing this morning that is investigating the lead-laced water crisis in Flint, Mich. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will also testify at the hearing.

You can watch it live here:
YouTube

As we have reported, the lead problem started after Flint switched to a new water source in 2014 to save money. Here's more:

"Water from that new source, the Flint River, was not adequately treated with corrosion controls and this caused lead from pipes to contaminate the water. The city switched back to its original source late last year, but the water remains unsafe."

"Not a day or night goes by that this tragedy doesn't weigh on my mind ... the questions I should have asked ... the answers I should have demanded ... how I could have prevented this," Snyder said.

Snyder places a hefty share of the blame on the "systematic failures" from Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality: "The fact is, bureaucrats created a culture that valued technical competence over common sense – and the result was that lead was leaching into residents' water."

He also blames the EPA: "Inefficient, ineffective, and unaccountable bureaucrats at the EPA allowed this disaster to continue unnecessarily."

He says he's committed to a "complete and comprehensive change in state government that puts public health and safety first."

This is the third hearing on the Flint water crisis. Snyder did not testify during the earlier sessions.

Michigan Radio's Steve Carmody reports on Morning Edition that Snyder is losing support in the wake of this crisis. "In the past six months, Snyder's approval rating has fallen about 30 percentage points. Quite a reversal for a soft-spoken businessman turned politician, once thought to have national appeal."



"This was a failure of government at all levels. Local, state, and federal officials – we all failed the families of Flint." He is answering questions at a Congressional hearing this morning that is investigating the lead-laced water crisis in Flint, Mich. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will also testify at the hearing. …. Snyder places a hefty share of the blame on the "systematic failures" from Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality: "The fact is, bureaucrats created a culture that valued technical competence over common sense – and the result was that lead was leaching into residents' water." He also blames the EPA: "Inefficient, ineffective, and unaccountable bureaucrats at the EPA allowed this disaster to continue unnecessarily." He says he's committed to a "complete and comprehensive change in state government that puts public health and safety first." This is the third hearing on the Flint water crisis.”


When I was living in Washington DC there were some very funny jokes told about government workers, and very insulting. My favorite is “How do you know a government worker is dead?” “He won‘t reach out and take his paycheck.” In that same vein, Snyder is now blaming bureaucrats on all levels. He didn’t say once that he was in part responsible. For instance, if my memory serves me correctly, he appointed the temporary boss in Flint who first, switched to river water to save money and second, decided against using the required chemical to stop the lead from leaching, again for financial reasons. Republicans have a tendency to put the financial” bottom line” over all other considerations, and the life and welfare of living things are at the very lowest point on the food chain.



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/16/470722236/academys-apology-for-asian-jokes-at-oscars-falls-flat

Academy's Apology For Asian Jokes At Oscars Falls Flat
LAURA WAGNER
Updated March 16, 20167:40 PM ET
Published March 16, 20167:03 PM ET

Photograph -- In one segment of this year's Oscar telecast, host Chris Rock introduced three Asian children who emerged onstage as PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants, invoking a tired stereotype about Asians being good at math. Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP


Prompted by a letter signed by more than 20 academy members of Asian descent, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apologized for offensive jokes about Asians during the awards ceremony.

"Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns about our 88th Oscar show, which are valid. We appreciate your perspective and take your points very seriously. It certainly was never the Academy's intent to offend anyone," the letter read, in part.

For some, the apology was hollow.

Actor George Takei, who signed the initial letter to the academy, told The New York Times that the response from academy CEO Dawn Hudson was "patronizing" and infuriating. "It was a bland, corporate response," he said. "The obliviousness was actually shocking. Doesn't anyone over there have any sense?"

As NPR's TV critic Eric Deggans reported after the awards show, there were disparaging remarks made and stereotypes perpetuated at the expense of Asians during the ceremony. He wrote:

"Sacha Baron Cohen offered a line about the animated yellow Minion characters from the Despicable Me franchise that recalled stereotypes about Asian sexual endowments, while [host Chris] Rock ushered three Asian children onstage saying they were the accountants handling Oscar votes, in an embarrassing nod to stereotypes about Asians being good at math."

Already facing criticism for the fact that only white actors and actresses were nominated for the top award categories — for the second year in a row — the backlash against the jokes regarding Asians was swift on social media. Then on March 9, some academy members sent a letter addressed to Hudson and other officials. It was published this week by Variety:

"In light of criticism over #OscarsSoWhite, we were hopeful that the telecast would provide the Academy a way forward and the chance to present a spectacular example of inclusion and diversity.

"Instead, the Oscars show was marred by a tone-deaf approach to its portrayal of Asians.

"We'd like to know how such tasteless and offensive skits could have happened and what process you have in place to preclude such unconscious or outright bias and racism toward any group in future Oscars telecasts.

"We look forward to hearing from you about this matter and about the concrete steps to ensure that all people are portrayed with dignity and respect.

"We are proud that the Oscars reach several hundred million people around the world of whom 60% are Asians and potential moviegoers."

Hudson's response did little to address these questions specifically. The rest of her letter read:

"We are committed to doing our best to ensure that material in future Oscar telecasts be more culturally sensitive. It pains us that any aspect of the show was considered offensive, and I apologize for any hurt the skits caused.

"Our Awards Committee and Academy leadership will be exercising more oversight to make sure that concerns like yours are fully addressed."

The exchange came as the academy's board met to discuss diversity and figure out how to implement reforms announced in January. The Times reports that "the board reaffirmed its January resolution to take away voting privileges for inactive members, although the organization's various branches will have some limited flexibility to determine the criteria for establishing what constitutes activity."

In its bid to double the number of women and people of color in its membership by 2020, the academy also decided to go forward with a plan to add three board seats earmarked for women and minorities.



“Actor George Takei, who signed the initial letter to the academy, told The New York Times that the response from academy CEO Dawn Hudson was "patronizing" and infuriating. "It was a bland, corporate response," he said. "The obliviousness was actually shocking. Doesn't anyone over there have any sense?" As NPR's TV critic Eric Deggans reported after the awards show, there were disparaging remarks made and stereotypes perpetuated at the expense of Asians during the ceremony. He wrote: "Sacha Baron Cohen offered a line about the animated yellow Minion characters from the Despicable Me franchise that recalled stereotypes about Asian sexual endowments, while [host Chris] Rock ushered three Asian children onstage saying they were the accountants handling Oscar votes, in an embarrassing nod to stereotypes about Asians being good at math."


We have never been a very sensitive society. We, without evaluating the clearly implied meaning of the phrase, have taken to calling all politeness “political correctness.” We’re becoming bad people, not merely uneducated people. That is the atmosphere which gives rise to a Donald Trump or worse.


http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/16/470729477/only-script-in-shakespeares-handwriting-urges-compassion-for-migrants

Only Script In Shakespeare's Handwriting Urges Compassion For Migrants
BOB MONDELLO
Updated March 17, 20167:54 AM ET
Published March 16, 20166:11 PM ET

Photograph -- A section of the only surviving script in Shakespeare's handwriting.
Courtesy of the British Library
Portrait -- William Shakespeare, circa 1600. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Youtube -- Sir Ian McKellan’s monologue


This week the world's been treated to a commentary on immigration reform from a surprising source: William Shakespeare.

2016 being the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death, many institutions are doing celebrations of one sort or another. The British Library, in hosting a major exhibition, has put online the only surviving scrap of a script in Shakespeare's handwriting — a scene that finds eerily poignant echoes in today's arguments about refugees and immigration on both sides of the Atlantic.

It's a speech from a play, The Book of Sir Thomas More, that was not by Shakespeare. Nor was it produced in his lifetime, apparently for fear that it would incite unrest at a time of religious tensions that had created an unprecedented refugee crisis in Europe. The Bard and several other authors did rewrites, but while his own contribution was an impassioned plea for tolerance, the revisions weren't enough to get the play produced, and its script languished for centuries.

When it was finally staged in London in 1964, a young Ian McKellen played Sir Thomas More (which has enabled him to joke in speaking engagements that he is "maybe the last actor who can say 'I created a part written by William Shakespeare'.") SEE YouTube

A part only partly written by the Bard, but powerfully so. In the stirring speech penned in Shakespeare's hand, it is More's task to silence a mob that's rioting about "strangers" in their midst. King Henry VIII had offered safe haven to too many refugees, scream the rioters. "They must be removed!"

More begins by pretending to agree, then points out that there's a problem with mob rule when it denies clemency to the downtrodden. Though Shakespeare's handwritten revisions to The Book of Sir Thomas More qualify as a rough first draft, they do not lack for eloquence in decrying the mob's "mountainish inhumanity."

“You'll put down strangers,/
Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses,/
And lead the majesty of law in lyam/
To slip him like a hound. Alas, alas! Say now the King/
As he is clement if th'offender mourn,/
Should so much come too short of your great trespass/
As but to banish you: whither would you go?/
What country, by the nature of your error,/
Should give you harbour? Go you to France or Flanders,/
To any German province, Spain or Portugal,/
Nay, anywhere that not adheres to England:/
Why, you must needs be strangers.”

Shakespeare's original handwritten script is now on loan at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. It is one of more than 300 texts being digitized as part of the British Library exhibition, Shakespeare in Ten Acts, that opens April 15 in London.


“It's a speech from a play, The Book of Sir Thomas More, that was not by Shakespeare. Nor was it produced in his lifetime, apparently for fear that it would incite unrest at a time of religious tensions that had created an unprecedented refugee crisis in Europe. The Bard and several other authors did rewrites, but while his own contribution was an impassioned plea for tolerance, the revisions weren't enough to get the play produced, and its script languished for centuries. …. A part only partly written by the Bard, but powerfully so. In the stirring speech penned in Shakespeare's hand, it is More's task to silence a mob that's rioting about "strangers" in their midst. King Henry VIII had offered safe haven to too many refugees, scream the rioters. "They must be removed!" More begins by pretending to agree, then points out that there's a problem with mob rule when it denies clemency to the downtrodden. Though Shakespeare's handwritten revisions to The Book of Sir Thomas More qualify as a rough first draft, they do not lack for eloquence in decrying the mob's "mountainish inhumanity."


“Too many strangers” has been a part of the human condition in most countries, literally, forever. If you go back to prehistory there are signs – a new and interesting beaker shaped drinking cup for instance – of newcomers who came in and settled. That’s how the Anglish became English, and white people became Americans. Unfortunately, it most often ends in war, and sometimes genocide. Can humans grow beyond this stage, or will it be our last?


POLITICKING VS STATESMANSHIP -- THREE ARTICLES


http://www.npr.org/2016/03/17/470776585/judge-merrick-garland-to-meet-senators

Judge Merrick Garland To Meet Senators
NINA TOTENBERG
Updated March 17, 20168:05 AM ET
Published March 17, 20165:21 AM ET

Listen to the audio of the Totenberg Report --

“President Obama's Supreme Court nominee will meet with senators on Thursday. Most Senate Republicans had vowed to halt Obama's nomination, but some now appear more welcoming than the majority.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gop-senator-blocking-supreme-court-nominee-are-tough-optics/

GOP senator: "Tough optics" in blocking Supreme Court nominee
By REENA FLORES CBS NEWS
March 17, 2016, 9:19 AM

Play VIDEO -- Elizabeth Warren on battle over Supreme Court nominee, 2016 endorsement


Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary committee, said Thursday that the recent GOP pledges to stall the confirmation of President Obama's Supreme Court pick present "tough optics" for the party.

"Certainly we are justified in waiting," Flake said in a "CBS This Morning" interview. "But there are -- these are tough optics, I will admit, but it's a risk that you take, and this is an important seat, and we want to make sure that we maintain the balance on the court."

Unlike many of his GOP colleagues in the Senate, Flake has promised to meet with U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland, the president's pick to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the high court. Flake has even said he would consider voting for the judge in a lame duck session after the 2016 election.

"There is a concern that since this is a Scalia seat, that if President Obama or somebody else were to name a justice that was decidedly liberal, it would upset the balance of the court," Flake said. "So I think the Republicans are certainly justified in saying we want to wait until a new president can make this nomination."

Of Garland specifically, the Arizona senator said that he has heard "nothing but good about him."

"I don't think anything has changed with regard to Merrick Garland," Flake said. "Like I said, I plan to meet with, him but that's a decision that I make on my own."

Flake, who previously endorsed Republican colleague Marco Rubio in his party's presidential primary, also commented on the state of the White House race, saying he would consider endorsing a different candidate now that Rubio has suspended his campaign.

"I'll probably wait a couple of weeks and see," Flake said. "I'm still hopeful that we can get a nominee that we can be proud of and that can take us through the election."

Asked if he would endorse the bombastic Donald Trump for the nomination, Flake responded: "That's a tough one there. Let me tell you I don't want to say anything now, but I would find it very difficult given the statements that he's made. I believe that we need to win the White House, and we've gotta have somebody that can do it, and I'm not certain he can."


I paused at that odd term above and wondered if I was correct in thinking that “tough optics” is not a legitimate English phrase, at least not when used to mean “the appearance of our actions in the public eye,” which is the only thing Sen. Flake could possibly mean here. Google says that the ONLY usage of “optics” is in a strictly scientific physics context.

I must admit that Flake has been creative in using it, almost poetic, and I’ll bet dozens of Republicans will be using the phrase in a week or so. I hope they do, because that would mean that doing something which simply stinks to high heaven can be described as merely having a bad appearance.

That’s how I feel about all of the blocking tactics they have used ever since Obama came into office to thwart and even shame him. Why should he be ashamed? Because he is half black and therefore “illegitimate” as a President. Flake seems to think that such techniques are politically unwise and might perhaps fail to work in their favor. The following “White House” article states: “The White House hopes to sway other Republican senators, especially those in swing states who are up for re-election in November.” It seems to me that “the people” will get their chance to weigh in on the issue after all by voting the rascals out. Maybe the Republicans will agree to review the nomination after all.




http://www.npr.org/2016/03/16/470715760/white-house-makes-full-court-press-to-push-garland-as-supreme-court-nominee

White House Makes Full-Court Press For Garland As Supreme Court Nominee
SCOTT HORSLEY
Updated March 16, 20166:23 PM ET
Published March 16, 20165:04 PM ET

Photograph -- President Obama stands with U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Merrick Garland, as the president announces Garland's nomination as a justice of the Supreme Court. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP
YouTube – “Meet Merrick Garland…”


President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court is already making telephone calls to senators, hoping to win a confirmation hearing. Merrick Garland will start making in-person visits to the Capitol on Thursday.

That's the normal order of business for a high-court nominee. But with many Senate Republicans insisting they won't consider Garland's nomination, the White House is also taking its case to the American public.

The PR campaign for Garland includes a dedicated Twitter handle (@scotusnom), a feel-good biographical video and a litany of details designed to humanize the well-regarded appellate judge. Not only did Garland graduate with honors from Harvard, the White House noted, he sold his comic book collection to help pay the tuition.

"I'd like to take a minute to introduce Merrick to the American people," the president said in the Rose Garden. He highlighted Garland's record as a prosecutor who helped bring Oklahoma City bombers Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols to justice, and a jurist who's won praise from conservatives including John Roberts and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

The full-court press began hours earlier with a mass email from Obama headlined, "I've made my decision."

"In putting forward a nominee," the president wrote, "I'm doing my job. I hope that our [s]enators will do their jobs, and move quickly to consider my nominee. That is what the Constitution dictates, and that's what the American people expect and deserve from their leaders."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has a different view. He announced just hours after Justice Antonin Scalia died that the potentially tie-breaking seat on the Supreme Court should remain vacant until a new president is in office.

"Give the people a voice in filling this vacancy," McConnell said again Wednesday on the Senate floor.

The National Republican Senate Committee chimed in, calling Garland "an ideologue who would loyally stand with the court's liberal wing and bolster the radical Obama agenda."

The administration hopes to undermine that argument by circulating past testimonials in support of Garland from Republicans like Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad. (Iowa's Chuck Grassley has a key role to play in deciding whether to grant Garland a hearing as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.)

When Garland was named to the appeals court in 1997, 30 Republicans voted for his confirmation, including seven who still serve in the Senate.

The White House PR campaign is designed to paint a picture of a nominee who's so reasonable and centrist that Senate Republicans look unreasonable for not giving him a hearing.

"We will have to see if Republicans can sustain this posture," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. "We continue to believe there will be ample number of Republicans who believe the Constitution comes before their party's political leadership."

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told NPR's All Things Considered she believes the Senate should at least consider Garland's nomination.

"The Constitution is very clear," Collins said. "The president has every right to make this nomination and then the Senate can either consent or withhold its consent. The only way that we can do that is by thoroughly vetting the nominee. And that means having personal meetings which I have scheduled to come up in about three weeks ... and, to hold a public hearing."

The White House hopes to sway other Republican senators, especially those in swing states who are up for re-election in November.



“The White House PR campaign is designed to paint a picture of a nominee who's so reasonable and centrist that Senate Republicans look unreasonable for not giving him a hearing. "We will have to see if Republicans can sustain this posture," White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. "We continue to believe there will be ample number of Republicans who believe the Constitution comes before their party's political leadership." Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told NPR's All Things Considered she believes the Senate should at least consider Garland's nomination.”


I do hope that Republican Senators will each follow an individual path in making their decisions to hold the hearings or not, thus avoiding being seen as “the radicals” themselves. They are fond of calling Obama names like that, when he has actually been too moderate in many ways. Bernie Sanders is closer to the position that I want Democrats to hold. Maybe we should have three parties -- Democratic Socialists, Moderates and Conservatives. I think then people could shift themselves around to be with those who share their views rather than the old traditional names that we treasure, but have outgrown as a society. I want that income differential to decrease considerably and our societal issues that make life so unfair for the poor and less educated people to disappear. We all still need to eat, live a fulfilled life, sleep in a warm, permanent home, wear decent clothes, have needed medical care, VOTE, and a long list of other things which shouldn't, after all, be considered "privileges."