mnemosyne

b. medusa 10 December 2007 8:07:35 am

today is International Human Rights day. so let’s begin shall we…

EDIT: just found this after completing the post:

Seven Year Old Alexis Goggins Shot Six Times Protecting Her Mother

A 7-year-old-girl is being hailed as an “angel from heaven” and a hero for jumping in front of an enraged gunman, who pumped six bullets into the child as she used her body as a shield to save her mother’s life.

Alexis Goggins, a first-grader at Campbell Elementary School, is in stable condition at Children’s Hospital in Detroit recovering from gunshot wounds to the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm.

“She is an angel from heaven,” said Aisha Ford, a family friend for 15 years who also was caught up in the evening of terror.

The girl’s mother, Selietha Parker, 30, was shot in the left side of her head and her bicep by a former boyfriend, who police said was trying to kill Parker. The gunman was disarmed by police and arrested at the scene of the shooting, a Detroit gas station. Police identified him as Calvin Tillie, 29, a four-time convicted felon whom Parker had dated for six months.
[...]
Ford said she dialed 911 on her cell phone as she walked into the station.“The first operator clicked off and I dialed again and told that operator a guy with a gun was holding me hostage with a mother and baby and threatening to kill us. I told her the name of the gas station and then she said they didn’t have a unit to send.”Ford said she paid for $5 of gas and slowly returned to the vehicle, stalling for time as she handed Tillie the change. She said she kept stopping and starting the pump, hoping the police would show up.“I told him I needed more gas and took money out of my purse and went back into the station,” she said. The attendant, Mohammad Alghazali, 30, said he noticed Ford was crying and she told him what was happening. He called 911 as he heard shots coming from the vehicle.
[…]
Alghazali said a police car on a street nearby arrived in less than a minute after his call.

an update on her condition can be read here. a fund has been set up for Alexis, checks should be made out to the Alexis Goggins Hero Fund & sent to the following address:

Campbell Elementary School
c/o Alexis Goggins Hero Fund
2301 E Alexandrine St
Detroit, MI 48207

for information, call (313) 494-2052

ADDITIONAL INFO (courtesy of all about race): Alexis is a special needs child, due to a massive stroke she suffered as an infant. she walks with a limp & has a weak left eye. her right eye was just removed.

Alexis, who walks with a limp, slipped momentarily on the icy sidewalk and as she helped the girl up, she saw the man and recognized him as Tillie. He was holding a gun.
[...]
Before Tillie could fire again, Alexis jumped over the seat between her mother and the gunman and begged him not to shoot her mother.

The police report said Tillie “without hesitation” pumped six shots into the child.

G*TD*MN M*THAF*CKIN SORRY *SS PIECE OF SH*T!!!!!

(i don’t usually bleep myself here, but i don’t want to be excessively disrespectful to my readers. all 2 of them.)

also contact the msm & ask them why they’ve ignored this story.

CNN
Phone: 404-827-1500

Fox News Channel
Phone: 212-301-3000

ABC News
Phone: 212-456-7777

CBS News
Phone: 212-975-4321

NBC
Phone: 212-664-4444

MSNBC
Phone: 201-583-5000

Newsweek
Phone: 212-445-4000

Associated Press
Phone: 212-621-1500

Reuters
Phone: 646-223-4000

United Press International
Phone: 202 -898-8000

i don’t have to tell you why this is a human rights (as well as police brutality) issue do i?

i can’t believe i missed this story until now. much respect & gratitude to Sylvia, Nez, Carmen D., Ann & all other bloggers covering this.

• activism , assholes , capitalism run amok , community , disability , domestic abuse , feminism , gender , history , imperialism , infrastructure , networking , oppression , organizing , police brutality , politricks , poverty , privilege , racism , rape , sexism , violence , war , war is a racket
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b. medusa 12 November 2007 7:29:54 pm

posted the day after because we vets are so easily forgotten. how many times have you seen “Support Our Vets”?

UPDATE: Military demands return of bonus pay from wounded vets (h/t to pudgyindian)

Wounded Vet Told To Pay Back Bonus
Partially-Blinded In Iraq, GI Billed For Army Signing Bonus; Pentagon Admits Mistake

Veterans more likely to be homeless

WASHINGTON (CNN) — More than 25 percent of the homeless population in the United States are military veterans, although they represent 11 percent of the civilian adult population, according to a new report.

On any given night last year, nearly 196,000 veterans slept on the street, in a shelter or in transitional housing, the study by the Homelessness Research Institute found.

“Veterans make up a disproportionate share of homeless people,” the report said. “This is true despite the fact that veterans are better educated, more likely to be employed and have a lower poverty rate than the general population.”

[...]

Veterans such as Jason Kelley find themselves in a Catch-22, not able to find a job because of the lack of an apartment, and not being able to get an apartment because of not having a job, The Associated Press reported.

“The only training I have is infantry training, and there’s not really a need for that in the civilian world,” the AP quoted Kelley as saying in a phone interview. In addition, he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he told the AP. Kelley served in Iraq with the Wisconsin National Guard, the news agency said.

full article (h/t to ABB)

Military Sexual Trauma

Roughly one in seven of America’s active duty military soldiers is a woman, but a NOW investigation found that sexual assault and rape is widespread. One study of National Guard and Reserve forces found that almost one in four women had been assaulted or raped. Last year alone, almost 3,000 soldiers reported sexual assault and rape by other soldiers.

In one of the only national television broadcasts of the issue, NOW features women who speak out for the first time about what happened. One woman recounts her ordeal of rape by her superior officer. Many more don’t report the incidents for fear of how it will affect their careers. The shocking phenomenon has a label: military sexual trauma, or MST. NOW meets women courageously battling to overcome their MST, bringing light to an issue that’s putting the Army in shame.

read the transcript
watch the video

Veteran Dies After VA Refuses Treatment For Days

Since Walter Reed is considered the military’s premier medical facility, many are now questioning the condition of military and veteran facilities around the country.

Today we look at the story of a 58-year-old Vietnam veteran named Willie Dougherty. He died in October after suffering two pelvic fractures. His family says he died because he was refused treatment.

full transcript

Monsanto’s Agent Orange: The Persistent Ghost from the Vietnam War
Meryl Nass, MD

From 1962 to 1970, the US military sprayed 72 million liters of
herbicides, mostly Agent Orange, in Vietnam. Over one million
Vietnamese were exposed to the spraying, as well as over 100,000
Americans and allied troops. Dr. James Clary, a scientist at the
Chemical Weapons Branch, Eglin Air Force Base, who designed the
herbicide spray tank and wrote a 1979 report on Operation Ranch Hand
(the name of the spraying program), told Senator Daschle in 1988,

“When we (military scientists) initiated the herbicide program in the
1960s, we were aware of the potential for damage due to dioxin
contamination in the herbicide. We were even aware that the ‘military’
formulation had a higher dioxin concentration than the ‘civilian’
version due to the lower cost and speed of manufacture. However,
because the material was to be used on the ‘enemy,’ none of us were
overly concerned. We never considered a scenario in which our own
personnel would become contaminated with the herbicide.”

quoted by Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, 1990
[...]
By 1983, 9170 veterans had filed claims for disabilities that they
said were caused by Agent Orange. The VA denied compensation to 7709,
saying that a facial rash was the only disease associated with
exposure.

Congress passed the Veterans’ Dioxin and Radiation Exposure
Compensation Standards Act of 1984 in response. It required the VA to
appoint a ‘Veterans’ Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards’ to
review the literature on dioxin and submit recommendations to the head
of the VA.

According to Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, “The VA.directly contradicted its
own established practice, promulgating instead the more stringent
requirement that compensation depends on establishing a cause and
effect relationship,” improperly denying the bulk of the claims.

full article

fast forward to DU

Military may ease standards for recruits
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Faced with higher recruiting goals, the Pentagon is quietly looking for ways to make it easier for people with minor criminal records to join the military, The Associated Press has learned.

The review, in its early stages, comes as the number of Army recruits needing waivers for bad behavior — such as trying drugs, stealing, carrying weapons on school grounds and fighting (hate crimes? – b. medusa ¹) — rose from 15 percent in 2006 to 18 percent this year. And it reflects the services’ growing use of criminal, health and other waivers to build their ranks.

Overall, about three in every 10 recruits must get a waiver, according to Pentagon statistics obtained by AP, and about two-thirds of those approved in recent years have been for criminal behavior. Some recruits must get more than one waiver to cover things ranging from any criminal record, to health problems such as asthma or flat feet, to low aptitude scores — and even for some tattoos (spider webs? swastikas? – b. medusa ²).

full article

^{1, 2}Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts

• counter-recruitment , fta , imperialism , militarism , oppression , poverty , rape , veteran mistreatment , violence , war , war is a racket
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b. medusa 3 November 2007 9:26:22 pm

you prolly think life is precious, dontcha? all life. and in time of disaster, if it is humanly possible to rescue everyone, then everyone should be rescued. well, prepare to be disabused of that quaint notion:

Rapture rescue will airlift you to safety. If you can afford it

The booming business of privatised disaster services in the US goes against the principle that every life is of equal value

I used to worry that the US was in the grip of extremists who sincerely believed the Apocalypse was coming and that they and their friends would be airlifted to heavenly safety. I have since reconsidered. The country is indeed in the grip of extremists who are determined to act out the biblical climax – the saving of the chosen and the burning of the masses – but without any divine intervention. Heaven can wait. Thanks to the booming business of privatised disaster services, we’re getting the Rapture right here on earth.

Just look at what is happening in southern California. Even as wildfires devoured whole swaths of the region, some homes in the heart of the inferno were left intact, as if saved by a higher power. But it wasn’t the hand of God; in several cases it was the handiwork of Firebreak Spray Systems. Firebreak is a special service offered to customers of insurance giant American International Group – but only if they happen to live in the wealthiest zip codes in the country. Members of the company’s Private Client Group pay an average of $19,000 to have their homes sprayed with fire retardant. During the fires, the “mobile units”, racing around in firetrucks, even extinguished fires for their clients.

[...]

And your home alone. “There were a few instances,” one of the private firefighters told Bloomberg News, “where we were spraying and the neighbour’s house went up like a candle.” With public fire departments cut to the bone, gone are the days of rapid response, when everyone was entitled to equal protection. Now, increasingly intense natural disasters will be met with the new model: Rapture response.

During last year’s hurricane season, Florida homeowners were offered similarly high-priced salvation by HelpJet, a travel agency launched with promises to turn “a hurricane evacuation into a jet-setter vacation”. For an annual fee, a company concierge takes care of everything: transport to the air terminal, luxurious travel, bookings at five-star resorts. Most of all, HelpJet is an escape hatch from the kind of government failure on display during Katrina. “No standing in lines, no hassle with crowds, just a first-class experience.”

Naomi Klein
Saturday November 3, 2007
The Guardian

read the full article
(i thought the Titanic was a better metaphor than the Rapture, but that’s just me – b. medusa)

what did Michael Moore say about our socialized rescue services in Sicko? hmm, i guess that was prior to Rescue Version 2.0.

by now everyone knows about the ongoing tragedy of Katrina (unless you’ve living in a cave for the last 2 years). you may not be aware of the treatment that was accorded to native americans or those assumed to be undocumented immigrants during the California fires. pay attention, because if you think paid rescue will allow “the little people”* to get in the way of providing the rich w/ “a first-class experience”, think again.

* that’s the rest of us, no matter how much better you think you are than “those people”

• assholes , capitalism run amok , class war , hierarchy , infrastructure , poc , poverty , privatization
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b. medusa 29 October 2007 2:01:43 pm

Charity accused of smuggling minors

The French ambassador to Chad has said that six charity workers will be held accountable for trying to fly 103 children to France illegally from the Chad-Darfur border.

Bruno Foucher visited the orphanage on Sunday in Abeche where the children stayed before the French charity Arche de Zoe (Zoe’s Ark) last Thursday put them on a plane to Paris.

The children were allegedly being removed from Chad to be adopted by families in France who had paid up to $8,600 per child to the organisation.

full story here

after having a look around a few national news sites & my favorites in the blogosphere, i realized this story was probably off the radar. not surprising, since i just saw this yesterday on CCTV:

• Chad president vows tough punishment over kidnapped children

other sources:

• Chad angry at ‘child smuggling’
• Prison ‘likely’ in Chad child row

• global south , information , kidnapping , media , oppression , poverty , violence , war
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b. medusa 6 September 2007 2:41:04 am

i already posted this on my event calendar, but i just saw an article about their 3 year struggle on dissident voice:

The UWA, a human rights group founded by homeless day laborers in Baltimore, represents 800 low-wage workers who make up the pool of the 100-120 people who keep Camden Yards clean. Stadium workers — the people who clean out the bathroom stalls, sweep up the small mountains of cigarette butts and make the Camden Yards experience as pristine as promised — make poverty wages, just $7 an hour.

Work schedules for stadium workers can vary as well. Some workweeks can be well over forty hours; in other weeks, if the Orioles are on the road, the laborers don’t work at all. Take-home pay varies accordingly, depending on the number of home games in a week and how long the games last. The windfall earned from a game that goes into extra innings can make a real difference in the way a family eats in a given week.

Because they are doing “day labor,” members of the UWA who show up to work are sent home if they’re not needed. The wages are so low, and the job so “flexible,” that some workers live in homeless shelters. One worker was kicked out of public housing because her pay that month couldn’t match the monthly rent.

[...]

Also of note is that the UWA is largely composed of African-American and Latino workers. In an era when communities of color are often pitched against one another, their solidarity inspires hope.

excerpted from Cleaning Up After the Orioles by Dave Zirin.

read the full article. more info also @ http://unitedworkers.org/

IMPORTANT UPDATE!!! TOMORROW’S CONCERT NOW A VICTORY CELEBRATION!!!
visit the United Workers link above for more info. see also:
Stadium crews get raise|Maryland agency approves $11.30 ‘living wage’ next year
Hannah Cho, Baltimore Sun

Md. Workers Cancel Hunger Strike
Ben Nuckols, AP/Forbes.com

• activism , art , community , music , organizing , poetry , poverty , privilege
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b. medusa 24 August 2007 12:00:13 am

After three years of broken promises, the cleaners at Camden Yards are fed up. That’s why we’ve set Sept 1st as the deadline for this publicly-owned stadium to end subpoverty wages.

On Sept. 3rd we will begin a living wages hunger strike at the stadium. It will continue until living wages are secured from the Maryland Stadium Authority.

More info at the unitedworkers.org web site

• activism , community , event , oppression , organizing , poverty
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b. medusa 23 August 2007 12:02:39 pm

you know its election year in b’more. the mayor showing up in previously unseen places (like my neighborhood), info packets hanging on your front door, inserts in the water bill…

speaking of which: the last bill contained an insert extolling the virtues of b’more’s water. “major improvements to facility X”, upgrades to plants Y & Z”, the entire 2nd & 3rd page devoted to charts outlining how uncontaminated the water supposedly is (i say supposedly because the chart was gobbledy-gook to me), & an endorsement from a local rag giving b’more’s water an “A” – “baltimore’s water is among the very, VERY best.” (their emphasis, not mine).

so according to all that i shouldn’t even need this on my tap right? ah, but a look @ the actual filter reveals a different story. to be fair though, the report didn’t say anything about rust. too bad i can’t afford filters for the shower head.

another take on the rust situation. no that’s not highly diluted piss. y’all don’t even want to know how it looked before i put bleach tablets in the tank.

still trying to ascertain what department is responsible. given the age of the pipes running beneath b’more (& every other city on the east coast), i think its gonna be awhile before this gets resolved. infrastructure anyone?

off-topic: i just noticed that traffic has been a non-issue this year during baseball games. of course, if its been anywhere nearthis bad all season, i understand why. sounds like bad karma to me.

• assholes , infrastructure , politricks , poverty , water
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b. medusa 12 August 2007 11:59:55 am

just in case anyone thought mistreatment of vets was a fairly recent phenomena:

The Bonus Army

In 1924, a grateful Congress voted to give a bonus to World War I veterans – $1.25 for each day served overseas, $1.00 for each day served in the States. The catch was that payment would not be made until 1945. However, by 1932 the nation had slipped into the dark days of the Depression and the unemployed veterans wanted their money immediately.

In May of that year, some 15,000 veterans, many unemployed and destitute, descended on Washington, D.C. to demand immediate payment of their bonus. They proclaimed themselves the Bonus Expeditionary Force but the public dubbed them the “Bonus Army.” Raising ramshackle camps at various places around the city, they waited.

[...]

on July 28, Attorney General Mitchell ordered the evacuation of the veterans from all government property, Entrusted with the job, the Washington police met with resistance, shots were fired and two marchers killed. Learning of the shooting at lunch, President Hoover ordered the army to clear out the veterans. Infantry and cavalry supported by six tanks were dispatched with Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur in command. Major Dwight D. Eisenhower served as his liaison with Washington police and Major George Patton led the cavalry.

[...]

The veterans, assuming the military display was in their honor, cheered. Suddenly Patton’s troopers turned and charged. “Shame, Shame” the spectators cried. Soldiers with fixed bayonets followed, hurling tear gas into the crowd.

excerpted from “The Bonus Army” EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2000).

read the full article

• activism , counter-recruitment , fta , history , oppression , poverty , violence , war is a racket
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b. medusa 10 August 2007 5:00:27 am

Black President, pt 3

• art , film , imperialism , militarism , music , oppression , poverty
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b. medusa 3 August 2007 5:00:58 am

Black President, pt 2

• art , film , imperialism , militarism , music , oppression , poverty
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