Feb 7, 2022
CNN – Esha Mitra
Some people in a cheering crowd called for her to be raped. Many were women
There is on occasion an article that merits attention simply because the implications and impact are horrendous. This article is one of those! The story comes from India and from the struggle in India to confront the painful gender and historical impact of patriarchal society still rampant today, still exacting a most painful setback for human rights and criminal justice. The one possible understanding is that the extent of the patriarchy, so widespread in acceptance, has made the victims into perpetrators. “Her hair was cut off and her face painted black before she was paraded into the street where some people in a cheering crowd called for her to be raped… But perhaps the most shocking aspect of the attack in a Delhi neighborhood last month is that video shared on social media shows that most of the baying mob were women.” https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/04/india/india-delhi-rape-victim-shamed-intl-dst-hnk/index.html Related article: New Jersey.com – Noah Cohen, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com Ex-officer gets probation in abuse of inmate at troubled N.J. women’s prison https://www.nj.com/hunterdon/2022/02/ex-officer-gets-probation-in-abuse-of-inmate-at-troubled-nj-womens-prison.html
Ottawa Citizen / Washington Post – Paulina Villegas and Reis Thebault
‘Freedom Convoy’ raises millions on Christian site after GoFundMe freezes donations – The rapid influxes of donations have prompted questions about the origin of the funds and sparked concern about the use of online platforms for financing fringe organizations that could allow the interference of foreign entities
The trucker’s convoy has raised more questions about itself than the government or the covid mandates. The first is the source of the funding – apparently American. No sooner has GoFundMe refused funds on the basis of legitimacy but a second US funder scheme – this one allegedly ‘Christian’ – took over and raised several million in less than 2 days. The issue here is the funding – internationally in this case – from sources that re-direct money and incur some responsibility to ensure that the funding is legal and used for legal activity. Additionally, there are questions about if the funding is indeed generic or coming from large and politically motivated sources. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/canada/freedom-convoy-raises-millions-on-christian-site-after-gofundme-freezes-donations/wcm/e05116ad-ccf9-4369-9c01-62ba71bafb48
CTV News – Josh Pringle and Ted Raymond ‘We need an additional surge of resources:’ Ottawa police chief ‘We need an additional surge of resources:’ Ottawa police chief A second and equally pressing issue is what the Trucker’s convoy means for the mandate of police and who or what resources are needed to respond to the on-going disruption. What are the implications for the Police Services Act if Chief of Police Sloly is conceding that he does not have the proper resources to confront the occupation? Is this another way to justify the unending increase of city taxes to fund what police cannot do anyway, according to the chief? https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/we-need-an-additional-surge-of-resources-ottawa-police-chief-1.5769085 Related article: Ottawa Citizen – Elizabeth Payne and Matthew Lapierre Mayor declares emergency after weekend of chaos; police begin choking off fuel supply to protesting truckers – Watson said declaring a state of emergency “reflects the serious danger and threat to the safety and security of residents posed by the ongoing demonstrations. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/mayor-declares-emergency-after-weekend-of-chaos-police-begin-choking-off-fuel-supply-to-protesting-truckers?comments=&__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_content_recirculation_with_ads#vf-11851775-3cf7-4bf4-b62e-c7598e0d9d35 (cf 4 minute video of Sloly summarizing the circumstances.)
Nation Talk
Canadian Human Rights Tribunal decision – Canada has been discriminatory in its funding of Indigenous Policing Services
Police services has always been a sore point between Indigenous people and the various levels of government. The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) has now pronounced a judgement that the situation is a violation of human rights in acknowledging the legitimacy of a complaint “filed in 2016 by Pekuakamiulnuatsh First Nation Chief Gilbert Dominique, who denounced the chronic underfunding of the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP).” The decision refers to the Quebec Police Act but is widely seen as applicable to all jurisdictions. The remedies are still to come from a further meeting of the CHRC. https://nationtalk.ca/story/canadian-human-rights-tribunal-decision-canada-has-been-discriminatory-in-its-funding-of-indigenous-policing-services
Religious News Services (US) – Jack Jenkins
Immigration reform used to unite faith groups—not any more – In a new survey, white evangelicals no longer report majority support for creating a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants
Faith communities traditionally have been staunch supporters of welcoming the strangers, the displaced, the homeless, those fleeing war, civil strife and poverty. There seems to be some cracks appearing on the presence of faith groups supporting government policy and practice around immigration and refugees. In a recent survey the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) has upset that expectation too: “PRRI found that, while overall support for a pathway to citizenship has remained virtually unchanged between 2013 and 2021 (63% to 62%), some faith groups have undergone notable shifts. Support among white Catholics dropped from 62% to 54%, for example, and those who claim a non-Christian religion dipped from 68% to 55%…. The most notable shift occurred among white evangelicals: In 2013, most of them (56%) backed a pathway to citizenship in 2013, but now only 47% say they support it today. That makes white evangelicals the only religious group without a majority who support a pathway to citizenship, a difference that widens when limited to those who attend religious services weekly or more (58% to 45%).” https://religionnews.com/2022/02/04/immigration-reform-used-to-unite-faith-groups-not-anymore/ Related article: The Guardian (Manchester, UK) – Simon Parkin ‘I remember the feeling of insult’: when Britain imprisoned its wartime refugees (recalls as well the Canadian imprisonment of Italian refugees) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/01/when-britain-imprisoned-refugees-second-world-war-internment- camps?utm_term=61fe4aa52417920565a1793f3f464349&utm_campaign=TheLongRead&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&CMP=longread_email
Omaha World Herald (US) – Danielle Conrad
Midlands Voices: New prison is most expensive, least effective option
Here’s a rather stark bottom line calling out the notion that the required solution to crime and growing prison population is to build newer, bigger prisons. “Costs are surging. Prison spending has outpaced general budget growth and growth in human services and education budgets year over year. Our prison population has stark racial disparities for Black and Indigenous Nebraskans. The Sentencing Project ranks our disparities among the worst in the nation… Trying to build our way out will only make things worse. The Nebraska Legislature must continue smart justice reforms, charting a path focused on strengthening mental health and drug treatment options while improving re-entry support and modernizing our sentencing structure for nonviolent drug offenses. That approach has worked on the federal level and in our sister states.” https://omaha.com/opinion/columnists/midlands-voices-new-prison-is-most-expensive-least-effective-option/article_75546850-8537-11ec-a8de-f350493917a6.html
Understanding Kentucky’s Persistent Felon Offender Act Feb 9, 2022 – 6PM – 8PM
What is the event about? “In the state of Kentucky, the persistent felony offender (PFO) statute gives prosecutors the option of enhancing a defendant’s sentence if they were previously convicted of a felony. In the last four decades, Kentucky prosecutors have used the law more than 140,000 times. And while the statute was intended to reduce the state’s violent and serious crimes, the law is often used to target minor drug and other non-violent offenses instead. Furthermore, Black defendants are three and a half times more likely to see a PFO charge than white defendants.” To register: (The event is free but requires registration) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/understanding-kentuckys-persistent-felony-offender-law-tickets-257541903767
Prison Reform Trust:
UK Prison Info Resource published: Winter 2022 edition of the Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile, our annual compendium of facts and statistics about prisons and the people in them. http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/Bromley%20Briefings/Winter%202022%20Factfile.pdf?dm_i=47L,7Q1T9,6JSCMH,VHEEU,1 ( Downloadable 68 page PDF File)
Washington Post – Jason Rezaian
Opinion: What China won’t let you see amid the glitzy coverage of the Olympics
The opinion Rezaian offers involves the China treatment of journalists during the Olympics, added to the human rights issues. “According to a recent report by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China, 99 percent of foreign journalists polled said that reporting conditions “did not meet what they considered international standards.” The report found that 62 percent of respondents had been obstructed from reporting by police or other officials, and 47 percent had faced obstruction by unidentified individuals.” Rezaian lists denial of visas, actual attacks on foreign journalists and heavy surveillance of nationals working for the foreign press, and an estimated 127 journalists detained across the country. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/07/china-press-freedom-journalists-olympics-worsening/