April 12, 2016


News And Views

John Kasich: "Zero chance" I'd agree to be Donald Trump's running mate
By REBECCA SHABAD CBS NEWS
April 12, 2016, 9:57 AM

Video -- CBS This Morning, Kasich’s Case


John Kasich on Tuesday there's "zero chance" he would agree to be Donald Trump's running mate if he wins the Republican nomination.

In an interview on "CBS This Morning," the Ohio governor and presidential candidate was asked if that would give the GOP the best chance to win in November.

"Zero chance," he reiterated. "Look, I am running for president of the U.S. and that's it. If I'm not president -- which I think I have an excellent shot to be -- I will finish my term as governor and maybe I will be a co-host on your show. You never know."

In an interview for a USA Today column published Monday, Trump named Kasich as one of several people he likes when asked whether Marco Rubio would be a potential vice presidential pick.

Kasich, however, remains confident Tuesday that none of the candidates, including Trump, would win the GOP nomination on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July. He has been hoping for a contested convention for months because he thinks it's his best shot at winning.

On CBS, he rejected the idea that he's under pressure to drop out and he took a swipe at GOP officials, saying "the party leaders haven't been doing so great here over the last few years."

Asked to elaborate, Kasich said Republicans have not been good at proposing ideas and said that "the party has a tendency to be against things more than being for things."

He also touched on a speech that he would deliver later Tuesday morning about the two paths he sees for the electorate in 2016 -- one is the path to darkness. Kasich said Trump and Ted Cruz would lead the country down that dark path.

"On one hand, you're targeting Muslim neighborhoods, but secondly you're deporting 11.5 million people...or you're making crazy promises that are not gonna be fulfilled," Kasich said on CBS.

He also weighed in on speculation that delegates would consider Speaker Paul Ryan for the nomination -- a scenario the Wisconsin Republican has adamantly rejected.

"It's hard to say who the delegates are gonna look at. It's kind of up to the delegates. I think a wide, open convention is something that is good for the party and it allows people to determine who it is that can unite the country," Kasich said.

According to CBS News' latest count, Trump has 743 delegates, Cruz has 540 and Kasich has 143. Kasich hasn't picked up any additional delegates for several weeks.



EXCERPT -- “John Kasich on Tuesday there's "zero chance" he would agree to be Donald Trump's running mate if he wins the Republican nomination. …. Asked to elaborate, Kasich said Republicans have not been good at proposing ideas and said that "the party has a tendency to be against things more than being for things." He also touched on a speech that he would deliver later Tuesday morning about the two paths he sees for the electorate in 2016 -- one is the path to darkness. Kasich said Trump and Ted Cruz would lead the country down that dark path.”


I don’t vote Republican, but I do like Kasich pretty well. He has said some “conservative” things, but in the way he speaks and comports himself, he is a gentler and more generous creature than such men as Cruz and, especially, Trump. There are too few Republicans speaking out for a fair, beneficent and equal path in this country, especially since 9/11, the election of Obama, and the Tea Party agendas. I must admit I first thought Tea Partiers were ridiculous, but relatively unable to do harm to our democratic way of life. I now see that many uneducated and fundamentalist people in the US are behind the anti-minority, anti-poor, anti-LGBT, anti-free thought and even anti-education politicians, as Trump’s disconcerting popularity among lower class whites shows.

In other words, they are not only relatively uneducated themselves, they consider working for an education by reading or going to college to be elitist unless it relates directly to making more money, and “dangerous” to the culture. Free and enlightened thought is dangerous. To me it is not dangerous, per se, but it does make a citizenry less easy to dominate and control, which is the elite’s goal. In my view the reason they fear economic and social democracy, helping the poor underclasses (which does include whites, we must remember) as somehow unethical, is that they understand on a certain level that if they allowed poverty programs and true social justice to increase, they would personally lose their unearned social status and income level due to their white skin.

To them the classist and racist social structure that we have ALWAYS had in this country, works in their favor and therefore they, too, gain value from it by having better treatment than black and Hispanic people, at least in many ways. If they were to try to actually climb the social ladder in this country, however, they would find, even if they were to become wealthy, that they would be unacceptable as personal companions to the wealthy elite. As Carl Sandburg pointed out in a videotaped interview, the word which to so many in the US means only good things, “exclusive,” means instead “to exclude,” and they would certainly be excluded themselves as is implied in the scornful phrases, “the great unwashed” and “poor white trash.” For a great classic movie experience, go to the library and take out “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” with Debbie Reynolds, and while you’re at it, “The Great Gatsby.”



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/terror-in-molenbeek-schaerbeek-brussels-belgium/

Terror in Brussels: Hiding in plain sight
By RACHID HAOUES CBS NEWS
April 11, 2016, 6:00 AM


BRUSSELS -- Nearly overnight, one of Europe's major cities was transformed and it seems no one was able to stop it. Brussels' reputation as a lively city known for beer and chocolate has been eclipsed by the dark shadow of terrorism.

Play VIDEO -- Full Episode: CBSN Originals - Terror in Brussels
Photograph -- brusselsmap.jpg, Several European cities are just a quick train or drive away from Brussels, making it an ideal outpost for terror groups to plot and carry out attacks. CBS NEWS
Play VIDEO -- Molenbeek: Terror recruiting ground
Photograph -- brusselsguard.jpg, A military soldier stands guard near the office of the Molenbeek police department. CBS NEWS
Photograph -- brusselsgeraldine.jpg, Geraldine Henneghien, the mother of a foreign fighter who died in Syria, speaks to students at a Brussels school about the perils of radicalization. CBS NEWS



The attacks at the city's airport and subway on March 22 were a painful coda to November's deadly Paris attacks: many of the assailants who had carried out that massacre grew up in Brussels and now radicals from those same communities turned to a new target - their neighbors.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings that left 32 dead and hundreds injured. The extremist group's ability to recruit in Belgium has been prolific. The country exports more foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq per capita than any other country. And it's no fluke that ISIS picked Brussels as its terror recruiting ground, according to Michael Privot, the director of the European Network Against Racism.

"If I was in the shoes of Daesh, I would establish myself in Brussels," said Privot, referring to ISIS by an alternate name. "It's really very practical in terms of connections and the fact that you can easily disappear in a very diverse population."

Brussels' geography allows terrorists easy access to some of Europe's major cities: Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, just to list a few. But its location isn't the only explanation to why it has become such a ripe target for radicalization.

"It's a series of factors," said Tewfik Sahih, a lifelong Schaerbeek resident. "The first one is socio-economic."

The districts of Molenbeek and Schaerbeek, which make up what's known as the "poor croissant" of Brussels, are home to a large population of Moroccan and Turkish immigrants. In Molenbeek, it's estimated that 1 out of 2 young men of Moroccan origin are without a job.

"When you have no life objectives, no long-term objectives, you try to find your quest for self elsewhere," said Sahih. "Many people feel discriminated [against] here. Some citizens here don't feel part of the national community."

The average age of Belgium jihadists ranges from 20 to 24, according to analysis by the Brussels-based Egmont Institute, a think thank [sic] specializing in international relations. Two of the Brussels terrorists were Belgian-born brothers of Moroccan descent: Brahim el-Bakraoui, 29, and Khalid el-Bakraoui, 27. Both had spent time in prison for violent crimes.

Mohamed Azaitraoui works with juvenile delinquents in Brussels, including those at risk of being radicalized. He explained that radicalization does not happen in official mosques because the mosques would be denounced and face problems from the police. Instead, recruiters work the streets and the internet.

"They choose someone who is available first, someone who has hate for the West," he said. "They prey on international conflict and use atrocious images of children to say, 'Look, our cause is to fight for the weak.' The recruiters are very welcoming and offer financial help. The young people look at them as a savior and become indebted so that when they're asked to go and commit and attack, they'll say yes."

Geraldine Henneghien is the mother of one of these young Belgian men who fell for the trap. Her son Anis became an ISIS recruit and wound up dead in Syria.

"The persons, they destroy my family, now they destroy my country," said Henneghien, who is part of a growing group of families whose children have left for Syria.

Since CBSN last spoke to her in December of 2015 after the attacks in Paris, Henneghien has been busy speaking to young students at schools to warn them of the perils of radicalization. As hard as it is for her to relive the death of her son, Henneghien believes it is her duty to expose the fraud the recruiters shill out.

"The young people we meet in school, they say, 'Oh we didn't know that it was so and now we know the truth,'" said Hennighen.

For the moment, Henneghien and the other parents are self-funding their efforts but hope to get financial aid from the government.



EXCERPTS -- “The districts of Molenbeek and Schaerbeek, which make up what's known as the "poor croissant" of Brussels, are home to a large population of Moroccan and Turkish immigrants. In Molenbeek, it's estimated that 1 out of 2 young men of Moroccan origin are without a job. "When you have no life objectives, no long-term objectives, you try to find your quest for self elsewhere," said Sahih. "Many people feel discriminated [against] here. Some citizens here don't feel part of the national community." …. Mohamed Azaitraoui works with juvenile delinquents in Brussels, including those at risk of being radicalized. He explained that radicalization does not happen in official mosques because the mosques would be denounced and face problems from the police. Instead, recruiters work the streets and the internet. "They choose someone who is available first, someone who has hate for the West," he said. "They prey on international conflict and use atrocious images of children to say, 'Look, our cause is to fight for the weak.' The recruiters are very welcoming and offer financial help. The young people look at them as a savior and become indebted so that when they're asked to go and commit and attack, they'll say yes." …. As hard as it is for her to relive the death of her son, Henneghien believes it is her duty to expose the fraud the recruiters shill out [ sic]. "The young people we meet in school, they say, 'Oh we didn't know that it was so and now we know the truth,'" said Hennighen. For the moment, Henneghien and the other parents are self-funding their efforts but hope to get financial aid from the government.”


This reminds me of the basic way that peer groups like AA and NA work. They don’t preach from above or attempt to intimidate. They provide reading material with a self-awareness bent and hold group meetings in which all of the attendees are in league together toward a specific goal – complete abstinence. Some members serve as “sponsors” to newer or less “successful” (or non-abstinent) people, and all participate in the discussion. The members grow progressively further away from the urge to use an addictive substance by the passage of time, a philosophy of logical thinking, and the personal support of the group for each member.

I am considering whether something like that could possibly help in the stigmatized Islamic communities, so that young people would no longer be duped in this way. There needs to be some method of changing the way these “lost” kids think about their life and the causes of the problem, which is extreme alienation from the overall society. Meanwhile, the government needs to work much harder to teach, provide jobs, alleviate poverty, speak out against abuses by the majority Christians, etc., so that fewer and fewer young people will “run away,” to join ISIS, which is essentially what they are doing, I think. In addition, of course, they need to root out the radical jihadists who are promoting and planning terrorist acts.


POLITICS


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/04/12/hillary-clinton-bill-de-blasio-new-york-primary/82928424/

Clinton, de Blasio racially charged joke draws barbs
David M Jackson, USA TODAY 9:35 a.m. EDT
April 12, 2016

Photograph -- Leslie Odom Jr., left, from the Broadway musical "Hamilton," Hillary Clinton and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio perform at the 94th annual Inner Circle Dinner in Manhattan on April 9, 2016. (Photo: David Handschuh, AP)


A Hillary Clinton joke about Bill de Blasio's support is drawing a racial backlash.

During a weekend press/political dinner that traditionally features skits, Clinton joked to de Blasio about the New York mayor's tardiness in supporting her, saying "thanks for the endorsement, Bill ... took you long enough."

“Sorry, Hillary,” de Blasio said. “I was running on C.P. time" — a comment that some believed referred to "Colored People time," drawing gasps from the crowd.

Leslie Odom Jr., an African-American actor in the hit Broadway play "Hamilton" who was also part of the skit, replied: "I don’t like jokes like that, Bill.”

To which Clinton jumped in with the kicker: “Cautious Politician time — I’ve been there."

Watch the video below — Clinton makes her entrance around the 8:20 mark.

The bit did not go over well. New York magazine called it "amazingly unfunny" and "terribly executed," while some Bernie Sanders supporters have called it downright racist.

Reports The New York Times:

"Speaking on CNN on Monday evening, Mr. de Blasio said that the exchange was part of a scripted event and that all parties were in on the joke, with “cautious politician” being the intended punchline.

"'I think people are missing the point here,' he said.

"The joke came just days after Bill Clinton clashed with Black Lives Matter protesters who accused him of advancing policies during his administration that hurt African-American communities. A day later, the former president said he 'almost' wanted to apologize to the activists.

"Mrs. Clinton has overwhelmingly won the support of black voters and will be counting on them again next week in New York."



EXCERPT -- “Leslie Odom Jr., an African-American actor in the hit Broadway play "Hamilton" who was also part of the skit, replied: "I don’t like jokes like that, Bill.” To which Clinton jumped in with the kicker: “Cautious Politician time — I’ve been there." …. The bit did not go over well. New York magazine called it "amazingly unfunny" and "terribly executed," while some Bernie Sanders supporters have called it downright racist. Reports The New York Times: "Speaking on CNN on Monday evening, Mr. de Blasio said that the exchange was part of a scripted event and that all parties were in on the joke, with “cautious politician” being the intended punchline. "'I think people are missing the point here,' he said.”


We have had enmity expressed as jokes as long as I can remember. I can think of two which were very funny, but definitely delivered a put-down to blacks. Blacks also make such jokes against both blacks and whites, I think, and blacks freely call each other “nigger.” I don’t think it’s good, no matter who is saying it, and even if we are “just having fun.”

We need to move toward a society in which these hateful little things don’t happen, because nobody thinks such things in the first place. Little jibes are like a splinter in the finger. It really does hurt and can cause a serious infection if one of those “superbug” bacteria infect the wound. Maybe we could even eliminate it from our historical memory! No more jokes based on “otherness.” Such things are the beginning of more serious race baiting, conscious injustice, and physical assaults. I’m one of those people who believes that being as polite as we know how to do is not “political correctness,” but just the right thing to do.



http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/12/473982918/n-c-governor-signs-order-that-clarifies-controversial-gender-identity-bill

N.C. Governor Signs Order That 'Clarifies' Controversial Gender Identity Bill
BILL CHAPPELL
April 12, 2016 3:03 PM ET

Photograph -- Citing feedback over HB2, Gov. Pat McCrory said that he's seen "misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy." Screen shot by NPR
YouTube -- McCrory also said that his order expands North Carolina's equal employment opportunity policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity.


Responding to criticisms over his state's controversial new law that voids cities' anti-discrimination rules protecting members of the LGBT community, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has issued an executive order that "seeks legislation to reinstate the right to sue in state court for discrimination."

The law, HB2, spawned a lawsuit by the ACLU and brought cancellations of high-profile events that were planned to take place in North Carolina – everything from a Bruce Springsteen concert to an expansion by PayPal.

The governor said he is acting "to protect the privacy and equality of all North Carolinians," by both clarifying the law and adding new protections.

"I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina," McCrory said in a video address Tuesday, citing feedback about the bill.

The North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is calling McCrory's order "a poor effort to save face," with Acting Executive Director Sarah Preston saying that the governor's actions "fall far short of correcting the damage done" by the bill. She added that legal protections are still lacking, and that "transgender people are still explicitly targeted by being forced to use the wrong restroom."

After the legislation was passed, Attorney General Roy Cooper refused to defend it from any challenges, saying, "House Bill 2 is unconstitutional. Therefore, our office will not represent the defendants in this lawsuit nor future lawsuits."

The governor's move comes one day after competing rallies were held over the legislation at the state capitol, with hundreds of demonstrators voicing their support for McCrory and the law and dozens of counter-protesters calling the law a disgrace, according to member station WUNC.

Announcing his signing of Executive Order 93 Tuesday, McCrory said in a videotaped address that his order "maintains common sense gender-specific restroom and locker room facilities in government buildings and schools" while also affirming the private sector's right to establish its own policies.

The governor also called the city of Charlotte's measure that sought to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination "a solution in search of a problem," and a case of government overreach.

The state legislation voiding that measure was adopted in a special session — and signed by McCrory on March 24, a week before Charlotte's law was set to take effect.

As Camila wrote for the Two-Way at the time, "The most controversial element of Charlotte's expanded ordinance was the fact that it would allow trans people to use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity."

News from the North Carolina governor's office that he had signed an executive order that "clarifies existing state law" echoes some of the same language used in a similar case last year, when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he supported efforts to "clarify the intent" of a new law allowing businesses to cite religious objections as grounds to refuse to offer services to gay people.

Days later, lawmakers in both Indiana and Arkansas (which had a similar law) approved changes to laws that were called "religious freedom" bills by their supporters and deemed discriminatory attacks on rights by their opponents.


EXCERPT -- “Responding to criticisms over his state's controversial new law that voids cities' anti-discrimination rules protecting members of the LGBT community, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has issued an executive order that "seeks legislation to reinstate the right to sue in state court for discrimination." …. The governor said he is acting "to protect the privacy and equality of all North Carolinians," by both clarifying the law and adding new protections. "I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina," McCrory said in a video address Tuesday, citing feedback about the bill. The North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is calling McCrory's order "a poor effort to save face," with Acting Executive Director Sarah Preston saying that the governor's actions "fall far short of correcting the damage done" by the bill. She added that legal protections are still lacking, and that "transgender people are still explicitly targeted by being forced to use the wrong restroom." After the legislation was passed, Attorney General Roy Cooper refused to defend it from any challenges, saying, "House Bill 2 is unconstitutional. Therefore, our office will not represent the defendants in this lawsuit nor future lawsuits." …. The governor also called the city of Charlotte's measure that sought to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination "a solution in search of a problem," and a case of government overreach.”


“News from the North Carolina governor's office that he had signed an executive order that "clarifies existing state law" echoes some of the same language used in a similar case last year, when Indiana Gov. Mike Pence said he supported efforts to "clarify the intent" of a new law allowing businesses to cite religious objections as grounds to refuse to offer services to gay people.” I agree with the writer Chappell 100%. These “clarifications” are merely a result of admitting defeat on their original intent to limit civil rights to the point of non-existence. The uprising against the conservative politicians surprised and unsettled them, so they backed down. It is not a “clarification,” at all. Sometimes I really do despise politicians, who make a daily practice of lying and deceiving in order to gain and maintain their own position of power.

Unfortunately, the governor stated that his “common sense” law on transgender use of public restrooms and dressing rooms remains in place. Hopefully there will be a further push to change that. What might be useful is to limit all public restrooms to only one occupant at a time, so that there would be a queue outside the restroom waiting to get in. That would be annoying, but it would eliminate the problem of what the gender really is, based on their manner of dress and of any possible sexual assaults in the restroom. As the situation has been as long I can remember, there have been some few cases of a person of the opposite gender sneaking into the woman’s restroom and successfully assaulting someone. Restrooms in “high class” establishments, oftentimes, have a female staff member installed inside the facility to clean up some of the unsightly messes that people make and also to specifically protect all users from such attacks.



http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/europes-border-crisis/bono-congress-violence-refugee-crisis-affects-us-all-n554921

NEWS EUROPE'S BORDER CRISIS
Bono to Congress: Violence, Refugee Crisis 'Affects Us All'
by HALIMAH ABDULLAH
APR 12 2016, 4:46 PM ET

Video -- Bono Testifies Before Congress on Immigrant Crisis 1:47
Photograph -- Image: US-POLITICS-BONO, Bono, lead singer of the rock band U2 and humanitarian activist, left, listens to testimony by Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, April 12, 2016, in Washington, DC. MIKE THEILER / AFP - Getty Images


Bono took center stage on the Hill on Tuesday as he leveraged his celebrity status to focus attention on the need for greater humanitarian aid in war-torn nations and long-term development assistance.

Failure to do so, Bono told members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, is a mistake that will come back to haunt Western nations as the numbers of refugees fleeing violent extremism will continue to increase. He described the plight of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East and Africa—a stark scenario that is having a global impact and has caused political backlash in some European countries grappling with the influx.

"I am talking about an existential threat to Europe the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1940s," he said. "You should be very nervous in America about it."

The hearing focused on the connection between the refugee crisis and the rise of violent extremism.

In an op-ed for the New York Times, Bono wrote of that connection.

"Europeans have come to realize — quite painfully in the past year or two — that the mass exodus from collapsed countries like Syria is not just a Middle Eastern or African problem, it's a European problem. It's an American one, too. It affects us all," he wrote.

He also pushed back against the idea that such assistance is "charity."

"For too long, aid has been seen as charity—a nice thing to do when we can afford it" the U2 front man and co-founder of the ONE campaign, an anti-poverty organization said in his written remarks. "But this is a moment to reimagine what we mean by aid. Aid in 2016 is not just charity — it is national security."

Deputy Secretary Of State Anthony Blinken also spoke of what helps drive the rise of violent extremism: state sponsored violence and abuse, personal experience with petty state corruption, being discriminated against, marginalization and living in a place where there are intra and inter state conflicts.

"We must work to prevent the spread of violent extremism in the first place — to stop the recruitment, radicalization and mobilization of people, especially young people, to engage in terrorist activities," he said in his written testimony.


EXCERPT -- “Bono took center stage on the Hill on Tuesday as he leveraged his celebrity status to focus attention on the need for greater humanitarian aid in war-torn nations and long-term development assistance. Failure to do so, Bono told members of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee, is a mistake that will come back to haunt Western nations as the numbers of refugees fleeing violent extremism will continue to increase. "I am talking about an existential threat to Europe the likes of which we haven't seen since the 1940s," he said. "You should be very nervous in America about it." The hearing focused on the connection between the refugee crisis and the rise of violent extremism.”


Bono is saying something that I have been hesitant to say for fear of inflaming further the far right hatred against all immigrants. He is proposing a new Marshall Plan to reduce the human discord which ends up as terroristic attacks. Those people hunkering down in crowded neighborhoods need jobs and acceptance as people. Several Islamic youths have been quoted as saying that they felt they were not an accepted part of European society. They aren’t incorrect, either.

Brussels is pictured recently as being more unfair to immigrants than many other areas, resulting in the violence there. Several years ago France was in the news for having similar problems, before the birth of ISIS. I remember their banning the wearing of traditional Islamic garb. That didn’t go over well, even if there was some rationale for it. A woman whose face or total body is covered in a thick cloth can’t be identified on sight, and therefore is a potential danger. There were even reports in Iraq while the US was still very active there of male or female suicide bombers hiding their belt of explosives under a burka. I agree with Bono that the drastic improvement of social and economic issues in tightly packed enclaves of minority ethnic groups is what is needed first and foremost. Most people lately agree that those conditions directly give rise to warlike hostility, and an extremely dangerous situation.



http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/spate-suicides-hits-canadian-tribe-n554836

NEWS Spate of Suicide Attempts Hits Canadian Tribe
by SEAN FEDERICO-O'MURCHU and CORKY SIEMASZKO
APR 12 2016, 3:56 PM ET

Photograph -- Canadian Village Sees Suicide Spike 1:27
Photograph -- Image: FILE: A tattered Canadian flag flies over a teepee in Attawapiskat, Ontario, on Dec. 17, 2011. POOL / Reuters
Photograph -- Image: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Graham Hughes / AP


A Canadian tribe declared a state of emergency in their remote territory after the community was ravaged by a spate of suicide attempts.

The Attawapiskat First Nation made the declaration and asked Ottawa for help after 11 residents tried to kill themselves on Saturday, including a 10-year-old, the CBC reported.

"Trying to be positive here, but getting emotional drain," a desperate Chief Bruce Shisheesh said on Twitter. "Need your prayers here."

There have been more than 100 suicide attempts and one death since September among the 2,000 residents of Attawapiskat, which is located in a remote section of Ontario on Hudson Bay, according to the CBC.

"The news from Attawapiskat is heartbreaking," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. "We'll continue to work to improve living conditions for all Indigenous peoples."

While Trudeau dispatched teams of doctors and mental health workers to northern Ontario, the Canadian parliament was set to hold an emergency debate Tuesday evening aimed at addressing the growing crisis.

"We need to come together as Parliamentarians to discuss this issue and begin to find solutions," Canadian MP Charlie Angus posted on his Facebook page. "Let's work with the youth, parents and community leaders to find solutions that work at the grassroots level so that young people become empowered and have access to the resources they need."

Angus, who represents the area in parliament, has been pushing the Canadian government for more resources to help a people long-ravaged by poverty, drug and alcohol abuse — and hopelessness.


EXCERPT -- “The Attawapiskat First Nation made the declaration and asked Ottawa for help after 11 residents tried to kill themselves on Saturday, including a 10-year-old, the CBC reported. "Trying to be positive here, but getting emotional drain," a desperate Chief Bruce Shisheesh said on Twitter. "Need your prayers here." …. "The news from Attawapiskat is heartbreaking," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. "We'll continue to work to improve living conditions for all Indigenous peoples." While Trudeau dispatched teams of doctors and mental health workers to northern Ontario, the Canadian parliament was set to hold an emergency debate Tuesday evening aimed at addressing the growing crisis. "We need to come together as Parliamentarians to discuss this issue and begin to find solutions," Canadian MP Charlie Angus posted on his Facebook page. "Let's work with the youth, parents and community leaders to find solutions that work at the grassroots level so that young people become empowered and have access to the resources they need."


Let’s hope that the Canadian government can get a handle on what the root cause or trigger is in this case. Eleven attempts in one day sounds like a suicide pact. The need for access to resources, grassroots empowerment, these point to a pattern of truly ignoring brown skinned people by Caucasians to the point that everyone was surprised when this breakdown occurred. We Whites are so used to paying no attention at all to other groups that we are unaware that to do such a thing is an abuse as ugly as a physical assault against them.

I grew up in the west side of a small industrial city, and around a turn in the road no more than a quarter mile away from our house was a black section. I was aware of them and sometimes I felt concern for them, but in the 1950s I was blissfully unaware of that societal issue of segregated housing and what it meant. At this time in my life, I feel shame over that. I was “fitting in” with my poor to lower middle class white neighbors. Clearly Canadians are facing the same issue with their Indigenous groups. I’m glad to see that the government has stepped up to the plate quickly and already sent in doctors and mental health workers. I hope to read some happier news about this soon.