Daily Blend: 04/15/13

Gitmo

My thoughts and hopes go to Boston, MA today. How utterly senseless.

Alternate lede: “Sure, Gitmo detainees ^[pictured] were captured without charges and illegally imprisoned far away from home for many years with zero due process … but hey, they get to enjoy books and videogames (in between all that sleep deprivation and waterboarding)!”
(via @ggreenwald)

In response to UK’s current measles epidemic, The Independent gives platform to discredited quack responsible for modern anti-vaccination movement. (They later retracted the article.)

Canadian feminist becomes latest target of those compassionate, “human rights”-oriented Men’s Rights Activists.

And finally, here’s what religion has done for us this month:

Transcript: (click the [+/-] to open/close →)

[−]

Massive Islamic protests in Bangladesh calling for the hanging of “blasphemous” bloggers;

The New Zealand Herald: “Beheadings in Papua New Guinea for sorcery”;

Five Jerusalem women arrested for violating Israeli law by praying out loud in public, which ultra-orthodox men find “provocative”;

The Guardian: “Muslim Brotherhood backlash against UN declaration on women rights”;

Hamas in Gaza Strip orders genderal segregation in all schools;

BBC News: “Kenya condom advert pulled after religious complaints”;

French man Wilfred de Bruijn assaulted and beaten for walking with his boyfriend in public;

Large anti-gay protests in Paris, France against pending same-sex marriage legislation;

Gay Star News: “Gay man ‘stoned to death’ in Somalia”;

Senior pastor Bertheophilus M. Bailey Sr. at Claremore, OK’s Mount Zion Baptist Church charged with punching his son in the face;

WHNT.com: “Former Franklin County Pastor Charged With Sexual Torture, Abuse”;

Teacher at Pleasanton, CA’s Centerpointe Christian Preschool ties up two-year-old girl for refusing to nap;

The Times: “Priest accused of sexual abuse at West Sussex children’s home”;

Indiana megachurch pastor Jack Schapp fired and jailed for molesting troubled 16-year-old girl across state lines;

BBC News: “Ex-priest Patrick McCabe sentenced for child abuse”;

Pastor Artelino Vallada at Toronto, CA’s Jesus Christ the Open Door Church charged with sexually assaulting four girls and women;

Irish Central: “Irish Priest accused of sexual abuse pleads with Pope Francis not to be dismissed from Church”;

Police confiscate computers from priest’s home after tracing downloads of child porn to his parish offices;

RTE News: “South African cardinal says paedophilia 'not a criminal condition'” [Which it isn’t. Child molestation is. Get it right, people. —JM]

Priest Angel Perez of Woodburn, OR’s Saint Luke Catholic Church accused of molesting 12-year-old boy;

al.com: “Former Wetumpka youth pastor sentenced to 10 years in prison in sexual abuse of child”;

Rev. David Kramer jailed for molesting young boys in US and Australia;

PostBulletin.com: “Oregon priest gets 6 years for child sex abuse”;

Associate pastor Darin Evans at Elmhurst, IL’s West Suburban Community Church imprisoned for having sex with an underaged girl in public spaces;

PressTV: “Austrian former priest charged with sexual abuse of minors”;

Rev. James Burnett of Mokena, IL’s Saint Mary’s Parish accused of molesting several young boys in his care; diocese accused of knowingly sheltering crooked priests;

Pink News: “Cardinal O’Brien alleged to have been in long-standing physical relationship with male priest”;

North Carolina Republican lawmakers propose bill to establish state religion (bill has since failed);

Oneindia: “Rajasthan: Video reveals family commits suicide to meet god”; and

Woman at church asks worshipers give “$100”, “$1,000” or “$150,000” if they can.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Daily Blend: Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Scenes from the Prison State of America. Keep in mind that more than half were convicted of nonviolent offenses, in large part thanks to the Drug War.
(via @radleybalko)

Lawsuit: Santa Fe, NM cop Tasers 10-year-old boy who refused to clean his patrol car.
(via @radleybalko)

The only honest answer to whether global warming helped create Frankenstorm Sandy: “We don’t know, but it’s somewhat likely.”
(via @BadAstronomer)

And finally, have a marshmallow-loving fox:
(via @KyellGold)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Canada fires all prison chaplains … except Christians

Min. Vic Toews

You know, I really don’t think I care much for Canada’s Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, given that the only times he came to my attention over the last year were when he excused the use of fundamentally flawed information gained through torture in certain circumstances and compared defenders of people’s right to privacy to “child pornographers” in his attempt to garner support for his Internet snooping bill. And now, it seems he may be a tad logically challenged to boot, as indicated in this report about how he’s firing all prison chaplains … who aren’t Christian:

The federal government is cancelling the contracts of non-Christian chaplains at federal prisons, CBC News has learned.

Inmates of other faiths, such as Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jews, will be expected to turn to Christian prison chaplains for religious counsel and guidance, according to the office of Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, who is also responsible for Canada’s penitentiaries.

[…]

Toews said he wasn't convinced part-time chaplains from other religions were an appropriate use of taxpayer money and that he would review the policy.

In an email to CBC News, Toews' office says that as a result of the review, the part-time non-Christian chaplains will be let go and the remaining full-time chaplains in prisons will now provide interfaith services and counselling to all inmates.

One can imagine what would happen if it’s the Christian chaplains who’d been let go, thus forcing Christian inmates to resort to Muslim and Hindu counselors. Something tells me there’d be a lot more fuss than is expected with this present move.

But better yet, here’s how he rationalizes these pointless cuts:

"The minister strongly supports the freedom of religion for all Canadians, including prisoners,” the email states. “However, the government … is not in the business of picking and choosing which religions will be given preferential status through government funding. The minister has concluded … [Christian] chaplains employed by Corrections Canada must provide services to inmates of all faiths."

So, he’s upholding the government’s commitment to secularism … by imposing a Christians-only rule for government-employed religious penitentiary counselors.

How the hell does that work?

(via Pharyngula)

Daily Blend: Thursday, September 27, 2012

Bryan Fischer

Keith Kloor at Slate explains why those fear-mongering about GMO food aren’t any more credible than climate change denialists.
(via The Agitator)

“Former inmates abruptly freed after spending up to six years in federal prison even though they were "legally innocent" are coming home with less help than the government typically provides the guilty after they are released.”
(via The Agitator)

Bryan Fischer ^[pictured] apparently thinks that repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” somehow makes it perfectly legal for servicemembers to rape children.

I already posted a Headline of the Day, so here you go: “Buddhist "Iron Man" Found by Nazis Is from Space”

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Keith Kloor • genetically modified organisms • GMOs • food • wrongful convictions • wrongful imprisonment • Bryan Fischer • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • DADT • child molestation • U.S. Military • homophobia • Scientific American • Buddhism • Nazism • space • Iron Man

School to prison in one photo

What Mississippi’s “school-to-prison pipeline” looks like:

(Click the picture for source confirming its legitimacy)

Why, I bet that’ll teach him not to fart in class. Or maybe he just wore the wrong clothes to school that day. Who knows? There’re so many incarcerable crimes to choose from.

(via The Agitator & ACLU of Mississippi)

Tags: Harrison County, MS • juvenile detention • Meridian, MS • school-to-prison pipeline

Daily Blend: Saturday, August 11, 2012

New WikiLeaks ^[pictured] whopper: Leaked emails expose TrapWire, secret U.S.-wide surveillance system that monitors everyone, anytime, anyplace, for “persons of interest”.

Welcome to Meridian, Mississippi, where (predominately Black) schoolchildren are sent directly to prison for skipping class, improper clothes, and “disrespect”.
(via @ebertchicago)

Give up, NOM: You know you’re tanking hard when you resort to passing your own paid staffers for supporters.
(via Joe. My. God.)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: TrapWire • WikiLeaks • surveillance • United States of America • USA • Meridian, MS • DoJ • U.S. Justice Department • Lauderdale County Youth Court • Meridian Police Department • Mississippi Division of Youth Services • Civil Rights Division • due process • National Organization for Marriage • NOM • Minnesota for Marriage

Daily Blend: Thursday, May 31, 2012

Totally not bigotry

Bigots in Murfreesboro, TN strike temporary legal victory against planned mosque. ^[pictured]
(via @radleybalko)

Revised criminal sentencing laws in Ohio result in less crowded prisons, linked to lower recidivism rates.
(via @RightOnCrime)

Ed Brayton debunks “Men in Black 3 supports Creationism!” nonsense, nicely explains the concept (which Creationists never grasp) of contingency.

Why in the world is the FBI including Bill Donohue’s Catholic League in its list of anti-bias organizations?

Seriously evil book.
(via The Agitator)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Murfreesboro, TN • mosques • Islamic centers • Islam • Muslims • Islamophobia • Robert Corlew • Ohio • prison overcrowding • rehabilitation • Men in Black 3 • Drew Zahn • Creationism • Intelligent Design • miracles • contingency • Federal Bureau of Investigation • FBI • The Catholic League • Bill Donohue • hate crimes • phobias • The Pop-up Book of Phobias

Daily Blend: Thursday, March 29, 2012

George Zimmerman

Added two new myths: A19: “Atheists are their own god” and A20: “Atheism is a childish belief”. Quite possibly the two silliest claims I’ve ever heard … which might explain why so many theists happily use them.

Newly released surveillance footage destroys George Zimmerman’s ^[pictured] claims that Trayvon Martin attacked him. Is anyone really surprised?

Bob Cesca on the Right’s habit of attacking children. It’s true that some on the Left do the same, but it cannot be denied that conservatives do it far more frequently and viciously.
(via @mmfa)

Pew Research Center offers a (somewhat vague) look at religious demographics in U.S. prisons, estimates up to 10% of inmates may be nonreligious.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Pew Research Center • prisons • United States • USA • atheists • religious nones • Trayvon Martin • George Zimmerman • ABC News • Bob Cesca • conservatives • Republicans • Rush Limbaugh • Michelle Malkin • Bill O'Reilly • Glenn Beck

Canadian senator: Inmates should have the right to suicide

Sen. Pierre-Hughes Boisvenu (C-Qc)

A Conservative Canadian senator has apparently created a bit of a fuss after letting slip a comment about letting prison inmates hang themselves in their cells:

A Canadian senator has said imprisoned murderers should have the "right to a rope in their cell".

Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, a Conservative senator, later backtracked from the statement, which came a month after two Canadians charged but not convicted of murder were found dead in jail.

Canada abolished the use of capital punishment in 1976.

Mr Boisvenu founded a victims' rights group after his 27-year-old daughter was raped and murdered in 2002.

[…]

Mr Boisvenu made his comments to reporters ahead of a meeting of the Conservative caucus.

"Each assassin should have the right to a rope in his cell to make a decision about his or her life," he said. He serves on the committee currently reviewing Canada's omnibus crime bill.

Of course, the morality police came down on him like a sack of bricks and he soon retracted his comments and apologized.

Now, I’m probably the last person you’d expect to defend a right-winger’s inflammatory remarks, but the truth is that I just don’t think what Boisvenu said was all that unethical or controversial. Granted, it sounds like a “heat of the moment” sort of thing, and it was a bit poorly phrased, but the general idea – that inmates should have the right to end their own lives as they see fit – is one I can absolutely get behind. Not only is it a practical concept, given the growing issue of prison overcrowding and the exorbitant costs of the long process leading up to state-sanctioned executions, but it is also a moral one on two levels – first because it certainly offers many long-term inmates a preferable option to wasting away for decades behind bars, and second because everyone has (or should have) both the right to life and the right to end it.

Daily Blend: Monday, January 30, 2012

Excellent essay by Radley Balko on the chilling effect of the war over prescription painkillers on pain patients and the medical community.
(via @radleybalko)

Also, another excellent essay by Adam Gopnik on the U.S.’s vast prison state. (And meanwhile in the Netherlands …)
(via @ggreenwald)

Ed Brayton on the battle of government regulation vs. deregulation (and why the Libertarian idea of a self-correcting “free market” is folly).

Phil Plait rips into climate-change-denying articles in the Wall Street Journal and The Daily Mail.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: prescription painkillers • chronic pain • doctors • opioids • Oxycontin • Percocet • DEA • Drug Enforcement Administration • USA • United States • prison system • Netherlands • Ed Brayton • externalities • Libertarians • free market • regulation • deregulation • The Wall Street Journal • The Daily Mail • David Rose • Phil Plait

Daily Blend: Wednesday, January 11, 2011

Rick Santorum

• (Last October) Rick Santorum ^[pictured] thinks it’s “wonderful” ^{[warning: auto-start video]} that Iranian nuclear scientists are being murdered.
  (via @ggreenwald)

• Two Houston, TX 10-year-old boys charged with molesting 8-year-old boy on school bus. Why do I get the feeling there’s something deeper and far worse going on behind the scenes?
  (via The Agitator)

• I was about to mention nearly all of these stories individually before deciding to just link to Balko’s post instead.

• Scorned health inspector shuts down respected NYC diner after owner records him with his cellphone.
  (via The Agitator)

• On whether prison inmates should be allowed to masturbate and enjoy porn. Seems like giving confined convicts the right to release some sexual tension in private might be a smart thing, there.
  (via The Agitator)

• Exploring the vertical slums of Caracas, Venezuela.
  (via The Agitator)

• List of the best New York Times corrections ever.
  (via The Agitator)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Rick Santorum • Iran • sexual assault • rape • George's • Bill Koulmentas • Kenneth Reid • jail • masturbation • Caracas, VE • Venezuela • David's Tower • slums • The New York Times

The problem with private prisons (in their own words)

As usual, who better to expose the amorality and greed of chain-holders than themselves?:

“Our growth is dependent upon our ability to get new contracts… The demand for our facilities and services could be adversely affected by the relaxation of enforcement efforts… / … For instance, any changes with respect to drugs or ‘illegal’ immigration could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted and sentenced, thereby reducing demand for our correctional facilities to house them.” - Corrections Corporation of America Annual Report

Aren’t corporations just great, folks? The Republicans are right: Let’s let ’em take over everything! Surely nothing nefarious can arise from a wholly privatized society, can it? That’s just commie-talk.

(via The Agitator)

Tags: Corrections Corporation of America • private prisons

Daily Blend: Tuesday, September 27, 2011

• Seattle, WA police ^[pictured] manage to “lose” tens of thousands of dash-cam videos.
  (via The Agitator)

• Japanese teen killed during exorcism.
  (via @BenCOGrimm)

• Houston, TX cops arrest man for having pot brownies. … which the cops eat. … and then brag about it.
  (via @radleybalko)

• Five common crime-fighting tactics that are statistically bullshit. Of course, I now expect police departments everywhere to drop them and adopt more efficient techniques … right?

• CNN’s LZ Granderson: The government is broken because of stupid voters.
  (via @todayspolitics)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Seattle Police Department • KOMO News • Japan • Kazuaki Kinoshita • Atsushi Maishigi • Tomomo Maishigi • Nicholas Hill • pot brownies • Houston, TX • interrogation • Reid technique • false confessions • composite sketches • police lineups • jails • LZ Granderson • voters

Daily Blend: Friday, September 23, 2011

Rick Santorum

“Cheering an execution, then cheering letting an uninsured man die, now booing a soldier in Iraq. GOP debate audiences, you never disappoint.” — @MarkHarrisNYC

• Canada has stupid drug laws, too: New anti-pot legislation could overwhelm British Columbian jails.

• Today in fucked-up: Rick Santorum ^[pictured] brought his dead, prematurely born infant son home for his young children to “[kiss] and cuddl[e]” for hours.
  (via @todayspolitics)

• Mother orders two school-bus bullies to leave her son alone, gets banned from school grounds and bus stop. I wish I could applaud her in person.
  (via @todayspolitics)

• Oh, dear.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Republicans • GOP • British Columbia • marijuana • pot • jails • Rick Santorum • Gabriel Santorum • Karen Santorum • Tanya Sidney • Sovante Griffin • churches • church signs • sexual exploitation • Clairmont Baptist Church

Daily Blend: Thursday, June 23, 2011

Mother Teresa

• Florida GOP pushing for “conscience clause” allowing Medicaid providers to forgo family planning services.

• Radley Balko: Myths Of The Criminal Justice System, Part 2/3. Includes higher standards, technicalities and false confessions. (Part 1 here.)

• The terrible legacy of Mother Teresa [pictured].
  (via @PersonalFailure)

• Arctic ice continues to shrink, and so does a climate change denialist claim about volcanic C0₂ emissions.

• Darryl Cunningham investigates Evolution. (Previously: Climate change denialism, Moon landing denialism, homeopathy and antivaccination.)
  (via @ebertchicago)

• The Illinois Family Institute’s perverted obsession with gay (male) sex is either hilarious or disturbing.

• Vox Day misses the point (shocker): The fact that a tiny fraction of atheists in UK prisons has grown “explosive[ly]” into a slightly less tiny fraction is irrelevant – it’s still a tiny fraction compared to non-prison demographics. (Among other glaring fallacies in his post.)

• US Airways stops Black man with saggy pants from flying, then allows White man in panties to board.
  (via @todayspolitics)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Florida • GOP • Medicaid • conscience clauses • appellate courts • prosecutorial immunity • false confessions • Radley Balko • Donal MacIntyre • Mother Teresa • global warming • climate change • global warming denialism • natural selection • Illinois Family Institute • Laurie Higgins • homosexuality • Vox Day • atheists • United Kingdom • prison demographics • US Airways • Deshon Marman • crossdressing • racism • Darryl Cunningham • Evolution

Daily Blend: Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Planned Parenthood logo

• Congratulations, Republicans: Tens of thousands of Indiana Medicaid patients bite the dust due to impending shutdown of Planned Parenthood [pictured] services.

• Measles rates soar due to lack of vaccinations.

• Georgia officials horrified to discover that enacting legislation forcing illegal immigrants out is indeed forcing illegal immigrants out, destroying their agricultural sector in the process.
  (via The Agitator)

• Nebraska prisons now at 141% capacity. Bah, they can hold up until 180%, right?
  (via The Agitator)

• Possible answer to why women live longer: Being male is bad for your health. (So to speak.)
  (via The Daily Grail)

• British soldier killed in Afghanistan, leaves friends over $160,000 for a wild vacation in Las Vegas in his memory.
  (via The Agitator)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Planned Parenthood • Medicaid • Indiana • GOP • Measles • children • Georgia • farming • illegal immigrants • Nebraska • Alan White • women • David Hart • Las Vegas

Daily Blend: Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Ryan Dunn

• Reminder: Washington, DC’s highest court rules that that police are not liable if their gross incompetence leads to horrific crimes.
  (via @todayspolitics)

• My thoughts about Ryan Dunn’s [pictured] death: If you drink and drive, it does, in fact, make you a jackass. Sensitivity has nothing to do with it. (Ebert has more on his blog.)

• False accusation leads to police raid and police dog attack on innocent neighbor.
  (via The Agitator)

• Desperate man robs bank for $1 to get medical attention in prison.
  (via @todayspolitics)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Warren v. District of Columbia • Washington, DC • Carolyn Warren • Joan Taliaferro • Miriam Douglas • Marvin Kent • James Morse • Ryann Dunn • Bam Margera • Roger Ebert • drunk driving • UI • Travis Prespentt • Brandwynne Prespentt • James Richard Verone

Daily Blend: Friday, June 03, 2011

VS Naipaul

• US Health and Human Services Department rejects Indiana GOP’s attempt at axing Planned Parenthood funding with proposed Medicaid changes.
  (via ThinkProgress)

• … So, naturally, Indiana officials proclaim their bold intention to enforce the illegal law anyway, putting all critical state Medicaid funding at risk. Brilliant tacticians, aren’t they. | Update: (06/16/11) – Justice Department now joins the battle against these idiots.
  

• Orthodox Jewish leaders apparently think the way the Catholic Church deals with clerical child abuse cases is the right approach to take.

• You know the report that the ACLU is supposedly suing to give prisoners access to porn? Rightist-spread bullshit, as usual.

• VS Naipaul [pictured]: No woman author past or present writes as good as I do! Me: At least people have actually actually heard of Stephanie Meyer.
  (via @ebertchicago)

• The Courtier’s Reply … in sausages.
  (via Pharyngula)

• Headline of the day.
  (via @radleybalko)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: US Dept. of Health and Human Services • Indiana • GOP • Republicans • Planned Parenthood • Medicaid • Orthodox Jews • Catholic Church • ACLU • The Drudge Report • VS Naipaul • The Courtier's Reply • Answers in Genes

Daily Blend: Monday, May 23, 2011

Jordan Miles with beating injuries

• Shocking: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania cops who beat a music student [pictured] after mistaking Mountain Dew bottle in his pocket for a gun let off the hook.
  (via The Agitator)

• War in Libya now even more illegal than before. It really doesn’t seem to matter which party is in power, does it?

• US Supreme Court orders California to cut over 30,000 inmates from its horribly bloated penal system. No word on whether those released will be primarily non-violent drug offenders.

• Protestant Church of Scotland votes to allow gay & lesbian ministers, provides gateway to possible future same-sex marriage.
  (via @BreakingNews)

• Interesting experiment with even more interesting results. Restaurant allowing clients to pay anything (or nothing) for meals proves that people are fundamentally good.
  (via Zon)

• Color photographs from the Great Depression.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

“Crime-infested drug haven” Netherlands forced to close empty prisons

If this amusing report isn’t one to send the Drug Warriors digging for yet more excuses:

For years prohibitionists, including our own Drug Enforcement Administration, have claimed — falsely — that the tolerant marijuana policies of the Netherlands have made that nation a nest of crime and drug abuse. They may have trouble wrapping their little brains around this:

The Dutch government is getting ready to close eight prisons because they don’t have enough criminals to fill them. Officials attribute the shortage of prisoners to a declining crime rate.

Just for fun, let’s compare the Netherlands to California. With a population of 16.6 million, the Dutch prison population is about 12,000. With its population of 36.7 million, California should have a bit more than double the Dutch prison population. California’s actual prison population is 171,000 ^{[PDF, 67.47 KB]}.

So, whose drug policies are keeping the streets safer?

I think the answer to that is becoming increasingly clear, especially given the increasing levels of desperation the prohibitionist US government is displaying when demonizing these drugs.

(via @todayspolitics)