MasterAdrian

Gay guy, Amsterdam, NL, human interest, pro-equality, anti-hate.

  • Israeli Ground Invasion of Gaza Imminent

    Posted: 16 Nov 2012 12:50 AM PST

    IDF heavy weaponry, including tanks and armored personnel carriers are massing near the Gaza border, signalling Israel’s intent to launch a ground invasion of the enclave. 16,000 reservists have been summoned for military service, another sign of a planned assault. The AP has been speaking of tomorrow as the date for launching the new offensive. If these indications prove correct, then the killing machine will move into high gear and we should expect a rise in the casualty count (on both sides).

    My Israeli source tells me that there is one dominant reason why Bibi must invade. He can’t allow himself to be outdone by his rival, Ehud Olmert, who had an invasion of his own in 2009. Ehud Barak too, needs an invasion because he was defense minister during the first Gaza war and couldn’t stand for accepting less than what he “achieved” then. You may argue that this is overly cynical. My response? First, this perspective comes not from me, but from someone who has played senior roles in past governments and knows the players in this game well. Second, this should tell you how much great Israeli decisions of state are motivated by naked ambition, self-pride, and political survival. It may be true that when other world leaders launch a war they do so with strategic objectives in mind and for well-thought-out reasons. Not so, Israel. There, an election or a petty political rivalry is enough to cause the deaths of thousands. It reminds me of Nero’s fiddling while Rome burned.
    no to gaza war

    “No to Gaza War: Protest”

    Till now, 15 Gazans have died (including several small babies) and three Israelis have died. Today, a rocket struck Rishon Lezion, a southern suburb of Tel Aviv and a missile landed in the sea near Tel Aviv. This is the first time these communities have seen such weapons since the 1991 Iraq War.

    Israel has the Iron Dome anti-missile system. But as of yesterday, it only intercepted 20 of 80 projectiles fired into Israel. Even if we discount those which it detected would land harmlessly and which it didn’t target, clearly Iron Dome is quite fallible. It’s supposed to have an 80% success rate. I doubt it’s achieved that level of effectiveness.

    In my ongoing effort to deconstruct the lies and myths of the Israeli propaganda machine, it’s been common to hear Ahmed Jabari, the assassinated leader of Hamas’ military wing, spoken of as Gaza’s Osama bin Laden. It’s a great sound byte, punchy, visceral, dramatic. But as usual with these things, if you spend a few seconds contemplating the parallel, it’s entirely inapt. Jabari and bin Laden have only one thing in common: both were Muslims. Aside from that, little or nothing. Jabari stood for Islamism in the context of Palestine. He was a Palestinian nationalist, unlike bin Laden who dreamed of a world caliphate. Jabari believed in the gun, but only as a tool, not as a permanent strategy. He was, in fact willing to negotiate with Israel when it suited his purposes, which is how the Gilad Shalit deal was reached.

    A much more apt analogy is between Jabari and Israeli pre-state military heroes like Rabin, Sharon, Begin, Shamir or Avraham Stern. They too were radical in their demands. Truculent and willing to kill both the enemy (Arab and British) and their own fellow Jews if it advanced the cause of Jewish-Israeli nationalism. You hear few Israelis concede that if they look closely in the mirror they see Palestinians as reflections of themselves, their own national aspirations, and violent guerrilla past.

    One of the most disturbing developments today, is this article published by Haaretz, which reveals for the first time that Gershon Baskin, who was the Israeli mediator with Jabari in the Shalit deal, had transmitted to the Hamas leader only a few hours before his murder, a draft for a permanent truce agreement. The Israeli government appointed a staff committee to work on the project. The deal would’ve provided for Israel and Hamas to put down their weapons over an extended period of time. The agreement, if implemented, might have radically transformed the southern front and created room for further peace initiatives.

    For those of you with longer memories of the conflict, this will echo another historic assassination of a Hamas leader, Saleh Shehadeh in 2003. At that time, news reports spoke of his exploration of a long-term deal that would’ve called for a de-escalation of the conflict with Israel.

    This tells you that Israel doesn’t want stability on the Palestinian side. It doesn’t want a responsible partner. If a potential partner is responsible, better that he be killed.

    There is yet another historical parallel here to what happened among the Palestinians in the 1970s and 80s. Those who pursued a pragmatic approach that involved accommodation with Israel were pursued and assassinated by the radical elements of the Palestinian movement: Issam Sartawi was but one example. The rejectionists, whether Israeli or Palestinian, need chaos in order to achieve their ends. For Bibi, the end is permanent decimation of the Palestinians so they pose no threat to his expansionist national agenda.

    Do not believe another Israeli government representative who tells you Israel wants peace, Israel wants a ceasefire (as Michael Oren mendaciously told NPR today), etc. Israel wants war until it pulverizes the Palestinians into permanent submission.

    Speaking of Michael Oren, if you heard his interview, did you note both the interviewers relatively softball questions (BBC interviewers are MUCH tougher), and the fact that they interviewed no one critical of the Gaza assault to balance his hasbara? It reminds me of Oren’s last visit to Seattle during which Steve Scher of KUOW interviewed him for 20 minutes during which there was no guest to offer a counter-perspective, nor were listener call-ins permitted. Our U.S. media has caved shamefully to the hasbara steamroller. Instead of being journalists, they allow themselves to be exploited on behalf of Israel’s national interests.

    I was also tickled by Oren’s practically beseeching Hamas to accept a ceasefire, one that the Islamist movement offered Israel a day or so before it murdered Ahmed Jabari. The Gentleman Liar wants the world to believe that Israel doesn’t want to kill Gazans, but that the victims simply give them no choice. Diabolical, as is so much of Israeli hasbara these days.

    The hasbarafia of UK Jewry has rallied to Israel’s defense, touting the IDF’s “Jewish ethical ethos.” This is a moral abomination. Killing babies is neither Jewish nor ethical. Support this travesty if you wish. But not in the name of Judaism.

    Rabbi Eric Yoffie, former leader of Reform Judaism, has also attempted to co-opt Jewish progressives by arguing that this war is just, and that continuing the intolerable status quo:

    …Undermines the sovereignty of the Jewish state and strikes a fatal blow at the very raison d’etre of Zionism.

    L’hefech, learned rav. Murdering babies does far more to undermine Israeli sovereignty and the Zionist Idea. I was raised to respect rabbis and the rabbinate. But such nonsense reminds me that even rabbis can be just as stupid as the rest of us.

  • Italian Catholic Church to pay property tax from next year

    source:
    http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2012/11/italian-catholic-church-to-pay-property-tax-from-next-year

    Posted: 15 Nov 2012 04:25 PM PST

    Italy’s Catholic Church will be forced to pay taxes starting in 2013 after the EU pressured the country’s government to pass a controversial law stripping the Church of its historic property tax exemption.

    The Catholic Church in Italy is excluded from paying taxes on its land if at least a part of a Church property is used non-commercially – for instance, a chapel in a bed-and-breakfast. “The regulatory framework will be definite by January 1, 2013 – the start of the fiscal year – and will fully respect the [European] Community law,” Italian premier Mario Monti’s government said in a statement on Tuesday.

  • 10 tips for coming out
    Randy Neece - Huffpost Gay Voices blogger
    November 14th, 2012

    10 tips for coming out

    For most people who are struggling to come out, way up at the top of “Life’s Most Dreaded Moments” is uttering, “Mom, Dad, I have something to tell you: I’m gay.” For many parents, it’s not exactly the moment they’ve always dreamed about, either. Reactions from parents can range from, “Not if you want to continue being my son, you’re not,” to, “Duh, we’ve known since you were 6 and could sing ’Over the Rainbow’ from start to finish.”

    If you’re heading home for Thanksgiving dinner with the family and thinking this might be the right time to come out to your parents, here are 10 tips to consider as you plan what to say.

    1. Consider the timing. If you’re going to spill the beans at Thanksgiving, do it after dinner, not before or while you’re passing the cranberry sauce. Someone’s gone to a lot of trouble to cook this meal, so first enjoy the turkey, and then raise the topic at the appropriate time.

    2. Determine whether this is the right time. Do you still live under your parents’ roof or rely on them to cover expenses such as your education, clothes, car payments, gas money or insurance? If you think they’ll be reasonable in their reaction to the news, then go for it, but if you think they might try to use this in some way as leverage against you (for example, restricting who you can see or even perhaps cutting you off financially), then waiting until you’re no longer dependent on your parents might be a better time to come out to them.

    3. Be in a good place in your life. Be comfortable and confident with who you are. I came out to my parents after I had learned that my boyfriend of 18 months was cheating on me with another friend of mine. I was heartbroken and tired of living a lie, so I made the mistake of choosing that moment to come clean. Do not spill your guts when they are already tied up in knots. Showing your parents how miserable you feel at the moment is only going to reinforce their imagined fears that you’ll end up living a sad and lonely life.

    4. Be realistic and anticipate what their reactions will be. Parents can sometimes surprise you and may not have any issues at all. They may even embrace you for being honest with them. But if they are socially conservative and proud members of Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, don’t expect them to trade in their membership card for a PFLAG T-shirt anytime soon. Be prepared with what you’re going to say and how you’re going to respond to their reactions.

    5. Arm yourself with answers ahead of time. There isn’t a concern that your parents could voice that hasn’t already been discussed in dozens of articles and blogs online. You’ll find some great suggestions on how to phrase your answers that will make you sound like Einstein. You know your parents better than almost anyone else, and if you anticipate their concerns, you can be ready with some answers that will be hard for them to dispute.

    6. Be ready for the “hellfire and damnation” argument. If your parents are nonreligious, skip to #7. But if they’re anything like my parents were, read on. You probably aren’t going to win this argument in the first conversation, but you can avoid losing it. Educate yourself with some basic answers to what you know will be their main arguments. They may not comprehend what you’re saying or even agree with you if they do, but at least they’ll know you have given this a lot of thought, and you’ll know how to respond to them in later conversations.

    7. Stay calm, even if your parents aren’t. You might have someone like Sally Field for a mother — her reaction to her son being gay was, “So the f*#% what?!” — but if your parents are more like mine, be ready for them to get angry, melodramatic and downright cruel. Don’t join in. Keep your cool and be the rational adult in this encounter.

    8. Their approval or permission is not required. Don’t expect too much from your parents right away. It’s taken them a lifetime to believe what they believe, and that’s not going to change in one conversation, and maybe not even in 100 conversations, so try not to measure the success or failure of your first coming out conversation by their initial response. If it’s not what you had hoped for, don’t despair and don’t give up. Give them time, but do not give them the impression that you’re asking for their approval or permission. This isn’t about them. It’s about you and who you truly are. Show them that you are the same person they’ve always loved, just more honest now.

    9. Know when and how to make your exit. When I came out to my parents, there was a lot of anger and drama, and I was hurt that they weren’t welcoming this news with open arms. So I took the old “frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” approach and stormed out. Thought it felt pretty good, it wasn’t very effective. You might consider a less dramatic exit line. It’s important to be sensitive to what they may be feeling and put yourself in their shoes. Their concerns may be all over the map, from, “Will we ever have grandchildren?” to, “Please, God, don’t let my son get AIDS.” Whatever happens, try to leave the door open, even if you or your parents feel like shutting it.

    10. In the end, know that they love you. My parents are both gone now. One of the last moments I remember before my mother died was when I came home to find my husband, Joe, sitting by the phone with his eyes filled with tears. Mom’s health was failing fast, but she had an important phone call to make. She wanted Joe to know that she loved him as if he were her own son, and she told him how grateful she was that we had each other to love. She passed away a few months later. In the end she realized that the most a parent can hope for is that their children are happy and loved, and that’s really all that matters. It didn’t take my father long to come to the same conclusion. Yours will, too. Just give them time. If they don’t come around, at least you were honest with them and with yourself, and the charade is finally over.

  • HISTORY OF THE CAR RADIO

    Seems like cars have always had radios, but they didn’t. Here’s the true story:

    One evening, in 1929, two young men named William Lear and Elmer Wavering drove their girlfriends to a lookout point high above the Mississippi River town of Quincy, IL, to watch the sunset.
    It was a romantic night to be sure, but one of the women observed that it would be even nicer if they could listen to music in the car.

    Lear and Wavering liked the idea. Both men had tinkered with radios (Lear had served as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy during World War I)and it wasn’t long before they were taking apart a home radio and trying to get it to work in a car.

    But it wasn’t as easy as it sounds: automobiles have ignition switches, generators, spark plugs, and other electrical equipment that generate noisy static interference, making it nearly impossible to listen to the radio when the engine was running.

    One by one, Lear and Wavering identified and eliminated each source of electrical interference. When they finally got their radio to work, they took it to a radio convention in Chicago.

    There they met Paul Galvin, owner of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. He made a product called a “battery eliminator” a device that allowed battery-powered radios to run on household AC current.
    But as more homes were wired for electricity more radio manufacturers made AC powered radios.

    Galvin needed a new product to manufacture. When he met Lear and Wavering at the radio convention, he found it. He believed that mass-produced, affordable car radios had the potential to become a huge business.

    Lear and Wavering set up shop in Galvin’s factory, and when they perfected their first radio, they installed it in his Stuebaker. Then Galvin went to a local banker to apply for a loan. Thinking it might sweeten the deal, he had his men install a radio in the banker’s Packard.

    Good idea, but it didn’t work — Half an hour after the installation, the banker’s Packard caught on fire. (They didn’t get the loan.)

    Galvin didn’t give up. He drove his Studebaker nearly 800 miles to Atlantic City to show off the radio at the 1930 Radio Manufacturers Association convention. Too broke to afford a booth, he parked the car outside the convention hall and cranked up the radio so that passing conventioneers could hear it. That idea worked — He got enough orders to put the radio into production.

    WHAT’S IN A NAME
    That first production model was called the 5T71. Galvin decided he needed to come up with something a little catchier. In those days many companies in the phonograph and radio businesses used the suffix “ola” for their names - Radiola, Columbiola, and Victrola were three of the biggest. Galvin decided to do the same thing, and since his radio was intended for use in a motor vehicle, he decided to call it the Motorola.

    But even with the name change, the radio still had problems: When Motorola went on sale in 1930, it cost about $110 uninstalled, at a time when you could buy a brand-new car for $650, and the country was sliding into the Great Depression. (By that measure, a radio for a new car would cost about $3,000 today.)

    In 1930 it took two men several days to put in a car radio —The dashboard had to be taken apart so that the receiver and a single speaker could be installed, and the ceiling had to be cut open to install the antenna.

    These early radios ran on their own batteries, not on the car battery, so holes had to be cut into the floorboard to accommodate them. The installation manual had eight complete diagrams and 28 pages of instructions. Selling complicated car radios that cost 20 percent of the price of a brand-new car wouldn’t have been easy in the best of times, let alone during the Great Depression —

    Galvin lost money in 1930 and struggled for a couple of years after that. But things picked up in 1933 when Ford began offering Motorola’s pre-installed at the factory.

    In 1934 they got another boost when Galvin struck a deal with B.F. Goodrich tire company to sell and install them in its chain of tire stores. By then the price of the radio, installation included, had dropped to $55. The Motorola car radio was off and running.

    The name of the company would be officially changed from Galvin Manufacturing to “Motorola” in 1947.

    In the meantime, Galvin continued to develop new uses for car radios. In 1936, the same year that it introduced push-button tuning; it also introduced the Motorola Police Cruiser, a standard car radio that was factory preset to a single frequency to pick up police broadcasts.
    In 1940 he developed with the first hand-held two-way radio — The Handie-Talkie — for the U. S. Army.

    A lot of the communications technologies that we take for granted today were born in Motorola labs in the years that followed World War II.
    · In 1947 they came out with the first television to sell under $200.
    · In 1956 the company introduced the world’s first pager; in 1969 it supplied the radio and television equipment that was used to televise Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon.
    · In 1973 it invented the world’s first hand-held cellular phone.

    Today Motorola is one of the largest cell phone manufacturer in the world —And it all started with the car radio.


    WHATEVER HAPPENED TO
    The two men who installed the first radio in Paul Galvin’s car, Elmer Wavering and William Lear, ended up taking very different paths in life.
    Wavering stayed with Motorola. In the 1950’s he helped change the automobile experience again when he developed the first automotive alternator, replacing inefficient and unreliable generators.

    The invention lead to such luxuries as power windows, power seats, and, eventually, air-conditioning.

    Lear also continued inventing. He holds more than 150 patents. Remember eight-track tape players? Lear invented that. But what he’s really famous for are his contributions to the field of aviation.

    He invented radio direction finders for planes,aided in the invention of the autopilot, designed the first fully automatic aircraft landing system, and in 1963 introduced his most famous invention of all, the Lear Jet, the world’s first mass-produced, affordable business jet.

    (Not bad for a guy who dropped out of school after the eighth grade.)

  • Rogue State: Israeli Violations of U.N. Security Council Resolutions
    by Jeremy R. Hammond
    January 27, 2010

    Following is a list of United Nations Security Council resolutions directly critical of Israel for violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions, the U.N. Charter, the Geneva Conventions, international terrorism, or other violations of international law.

    Res. 57 (Sep. 18, 1948) – Expresses deep shock at the assassination of the U.N. Mediator in Palestine, Count Folke Bernadotte, by Zionist terrorists.

    Res. 89 (Nov. 17, 1950) – Requests that attention be given to the expulsion of “thousands of Palestine Arabs” and calls upon concerned governments to take no further action “involving the transfer of persons across international frontiers or armistice lines”, and notes that Israel announced that it would withdraw to the armistice lines.

    Res. 93 (May 18, 1951) – Finds that Israeli airstrikes on Syria on April 5, 1951 constitutes “a violation of the cease-fire”, and decides that Arab civilians expelled from the demilitarized zone by Israel should be allowed to return.

    Res. 100 (Oct. 27, 1953) – Notes that Israel had said it would stop work it started in the demilitarized zone on September 2, 1953.

    Res. 101 (Nov. 24, 1953) – Finds Israel’s attack on Qibya, Jordan on October 14-15, 1953 to be a violation of the cease-fire and “Expresses the strongest censure of that action”.

    Res. 106 (Mar. 29, 1955) – Condemns Israel’s attack on Egyptian forces in the Gaza Strip on February 28, 1955.

    Res. 111 (Jan. 19, 1956) – Condemns Israel’s attack on Syria on December 11, 1955 as “a flagrant violation of the cease-fire” and armistice agreement.

    Res. 119 (Oct. 31, 1956) – Considers that “a grave situation has been created” by the attack against Egypt by the forces of Britain, France, and Israel.

    Res. 171 (Apr. 9, 1962) – Reaffirms resolution 111 and determines that Israel’s attack on Syria on March 16-17, 1962 “constitutes a flagrant violation of that resolution”.

    Res. 228 (Nov. 25, 1966) – “Deplores the loss of life and heavy damage to property resulting from the action” by Israel in the southern Hebron area on November 13, 1966, and “Censures Israel for this large-scale military action in violation of the United Nations Charter” and the armistice agreement between Israel and Jordan.

    Res. 237 (Jun. 14, 1967) – Calls on Israel “to ensure the safety, welfare and security of the inhabitants where military operations have taken place” during the war launched by Israel on June 5, 1967 “and to facilitate the return of those inhabitants who have fled the areas since the outbreak of hostilities”.

    Res. 242 (Nov. 22, 1967) – Emphasizes “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war”, emphasizes that member states have a commitment to abide by the U.N. Charter, and calls for the “Withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied” during the June 1967 war.

    Res. 248 (Mar. 24, 1968) – Observes that the Israeli attack on Jordan “was of a large-scale and carefully planned nature”, “Deplores the loss of life and heavy damage to property”, “Condemns the military action launched by Israel in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and the cease-fire resolutions”, and “Calls upon Israel to desist from” further violations of resolution 237.

    Res. 250 (Apr. 27, 1968) – Considers “that the holding of a military parade in Jerusalem will aggravate tensions in the area and have an adverse effect on a peaceful settlement of the problems in the area” and “Calls upon Israel to refrain from holding the military parade in Jerusalem which is contemplated” for May 2, 1968.

    Res. 251 (May 2, 1968) – Recalls resolution 250 and “Deeply deplores the holding by Israel of the military parade in Jerusalem” on May 2, 1968 “in disregard of” resolution 250.

    Res. 252 (May 21, 1968) – “Deplores the failure of Israel to comply with” General Assembly resolutions 2253 and 2254, considers Israel’s annexation of Jerusalem “invalid”, and calls upon Israel “to rescind all such measures already taken and to desist forthwith from taking any further action which tends to change the status of Jerusalem”.

    Res. 256 (Aug. 16, 1968) – Recalls Israel’s “flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter” condemned in resolution 248, observes that further Israeli air attacks on Jordan “were of a large scale and carefully planned nature in violation of resolution 248”, “Deplores the loss of life and heavy damage to property”, and condemns Israel’s attacks.

    Res. 259 (Sep. 27, 1968) – Expresses concern for “the safety, welfare and security” of the Palestinians “under military occupation by Israel”, deplores “the delay in the implementation of resolution 237 (1967) because of the conditions still being set by Israel for receiving a Special Representative of the Secretary-General”, and requests Israel to receive the Special Representative and facilitate his work.

    Res. 262 (Dec. 31, 1968) – Observes “that the military action by the armed forces of Israel against the civil International Airport of Beirut was premeditated and of a large scale and carefully planned nature”, and condemns Israel for the attack.

    Res.265 (Apr. 1, 1969) – Expresses “deep concern that the recent attacks on Jordanian villages and other populated areas were of a pre-planned nature, in violation of resolutions” 248 and 256, “Deplores the loss of civilian life and damage to property”, and “Condemns the recent premeditated air attacks launched by Israel on Jordanian villages and populated areas in flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter and the cease-fire resolutions”.

    Res. 267 (Jul. 3, 1969) – Recalls resolution 252 and General Assembly resolutions 2253 and 2254, notes that “since the adoption of the above-mentioned resolutions Israel has taken further measures tending to change the status of the City of Jerusalem”, reaffirms “the established principle that acquisition of territory by military conquest is inadmissible”, “Deplores the failure of Israel to show any regard for the resolutions”, “Censures in the strongest terms all measures taken to change the status of the City of Jerusalem”, “Confirms that all legislative and administrative measures and actions taken by Israel which purport to alter the status of Jerusalem, including expropriation of land and properties thereon, are invalid and cannot change that status”, and urgently calls on Israel to rescind the measures taken to annex Jerusalem.

    Res. 270 (Aug. 26, 1969) – “Condemns the premeditated air attack by Israel on villages in southern Lebanon in violation of its obligations under the Charter and Security Council resolutions”.

    Res. 271 (Sep. 15, 1969) – Expresses grief “at the extensive damage caused by arson to the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem” on August 21, 1969 “under the military occupation of Israel”, reaffirms “the established principle that acquisition of territory by military conquest is inadmissible”, “Determines that the execrable act of desecration and profanation of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque emphasizes the immediate necessity of Israel’s desisting from acting in violation” previous resolutions and rescinding measures to annex Jerusalem, calls on Israel “to observe the provisions of the Geneva Conventions and international law governing military occupation”, and condemns Israel’s failure to comply with previous resolutions.

    Res. 279 (May 12, 1970) – “Demands the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory.”

    Res. 280 (May 19, 1970) – Expresses conviction that “that the Israeli military attack against Lebanon was premeditated and of a large scale and carefully planned in nature”, recalls resolution 279 “demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory”, deplores Israel’s violation of resolutions 262 and 270, “Condemns Israel for its premeditated military action in violation of its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations”, and “Deplores the loss of life and damage to property inflicted as a result” of Israeli violations of Security Council resolutions.

    Res. 285 (Sep. 5, 1970) – “Demands the complete and immediate withdrawal of all Israeli armed forces from Lebanese territory.”
    Print Friendly

    1 2 3 4 5 Single Page
    Jeremy R. Hammond is an independent political analyst and a recipient of the Project Censored Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism. He is the founding editor of Foreign Policy Journal (www.foreignpolicyjournal.com) and can also be found on the web at JeremyRHammond.com. His new book, “Ron Paul vs. Paul Krugman: Austrian vs. Keynesian economics in the financial crisis”, is now available at Amazon.com. Read more articles by Jeremy R. Hammond.
    http://www.jeremyrhammond.com

    http://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2010/01/27/rogue-state-israeli-violations-of-u-n-security-council-resolut

  • Israel Ignores Intl Law With Gaza Bombing, Enjoys US, UK Support

    By RT

    November 15, 2012 “RT” — The latest attacks by Israel against Gaza have been condemned as a violation of international law. However the US and UK have given their unwavering support to the new strikes on Gaza.

    US President Barack Obama “reiterated US support for Israel’s right to self-defense in light of rocket attacks from Gaza” in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday.

    Meanwhile UK Foreign Secretary William Hague also stepped forward in Israel’s defense, claiming that Hamas “bears principle responsibility” for the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

    Israel has now reportedly hit over 200 “targets” in Gaza, killing 13 and injuring over 120 people.

    The unwavering support by the US and the UK is astounding, considering Israel has yet to comply with to any of the resolutions passed (see list) by the United Nations in relation to the Middle East conflict

    Hamas and the Palestinians have to share some of the responsibility. Ever since Israel was accused of breaking the 10 year truce in 2006, when an explosion killed eight Palestinian civilians, Hamas have launched a number of rocket strikes into Israel. However their retaliations and attacks are severely outweighed and outmuscled by Israel’s military power.

    In addition to the frequent air strikes and shelling, Israel has kept Gaza under blockade since 2010 which is seen as an infringement of the right of the people in Gaza to a decent living, work, health and education.

    UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk explained that since the 1967 war, an estimated 750,000 Palestinians, including 23,000 women and 25,000 children, had gone through detention in Israeli jails. This constitutes approximately 20 per cent of the total Palestinian population in the occupied territory or 40 per cent of the Palestinian male population.

    In 2008 Israel launched a 3 week offensive against Gaza, which resulted in 1,417 deaths, of them 926 civilians. Israel’s death toll was 9.

    Egypt withdrew its ambassador following Israel’s announcement that it would intensify the military campaign and called an emergency UN meeting to discuss the escalating conflict. Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr warned that further aggression from Israel could have “negative repercussions on the security and stability of the region.”

    The Palestinian envoy to the UN slammed Israeli aggression during the meeting, decrying it as “vulgarly and publicly boasting about its willful killing of Palestinians.” Following Wednesday’s offensive that killed Hamas military leader Ahmed Jabari.

    US Ambassador Susan Rice supported Israel saying there is no justification “for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel.”

    The meeting was adjourned without any conclusion, although the general message was to de-escalate the conflict in order to avert any more civilian casualties.

    At least 15 Palestinians have been reported dead so far, among them two children, according to Palestinian authorities.

    UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern at the situation and voiced expectation that “Israeli reactions are measured so as not to provoke a new cycle of bloodshed.”

    The White House released a transcript of President Obama’s communications with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday night. Obama stressed Israel’s right to defend itself and has decried rocket fire from Gaza into the country.

    “The President urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to make every effort to avoid civilian casualties. The two agreed that Hamas needs to stop its attacks on Israel to allow the situation to de-escalate,” the White House statement said. Netanyahu’s office said that he “deeply appreciated” the President’s support.

    The US justifies its unwavering support of Israel in its terrorist classification of Hamas. RT correspondent Gayane Chichikyan highlighted what is seen as the US’s double standard policy in its classification of terrorism, stressing they were not so quick to brand opposition attacks in Syria as “terrorism”, in spite the fact the UN condemns them as such. [JPLO Note: No such accounting has been made by the UN SC, in fact it has done nothing at all.]

    “There seem to be different interpretations of the term ‘terrorism’ in Washington,” said Chichikyan.

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article33039.htm

  • The latest news from www.dutchnews.nl

    Dutch economy contracts over 1%, jobless total rises again
    The Dutch economy contracted by a ’considerable’ 1.1% in the third quarter of this year while the unemployment rate has reached 6.8%, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday. More...

    Cabinet will not support higher UN status for Palestinian Authority
    The Netherlands will not support an request to boost the status of the Palestinian Authority within the UN, foreign minister Frans Timmermans said. More...

    Green group threatens government with court over climate change
    A pressure group is threatening to take the Dutch government to court unless it starts acting seriously to prevent climate change, Britain’s Guardian newspaper reports. More...

    Dozens of multinationals base their brand rights in Holland
    Dozens of multinational companies have based their branding rights in the Netherlands in order to reduce their tax bills, according to Financieele Dagblad research. More...

    We’re ready for business, says Rutte, extending a hand to the opposition
    The cabinet is raring to get down to business and will work together with the opposition, unions, employers and other organisations, prime minister Mark Rutte said at the end of a two-day debate on the new government’s strategy. More...

  • A MESSAGE FROM HRH THE QUEEN

    To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

    In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up ’revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

    Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).

    Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

    Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

    To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

    –----------------------

    1. The letter ’U’ will be reinstated in words such as ’colour,’ ’favour,’ ’labour’ and ’neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ’doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ’-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ’-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ’vocabulary’).

    –-----------------------

    2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ’’like’ and ’you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ’u’’ and the elimination of ’-ize.’

    –------------------

    3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

    –----------------

    4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.

    –---------------------

    5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

    –---------------------

    6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

    –-------------------

    7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

    –------------------

    8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

    –------------------

    9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

    –--------------------

    10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.

    –--------------------

    11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

    –--------------------

    12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

    –-------------------

    13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.

    –----------------

    14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

    –--------------

    15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

    God Save the Queen!

  • Gay penguin couple adopts egg « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/14/gay-penguin-couple-adopts-egg

    Gay penguin couple adopts egg
    November 14, 2012

    Gay penguin couple adopts egg
    Yahoo!7 November 12, 2012, 9:40 am

    Gay penguin couple adopts egg

    Two gay penguins at a zoo in Denmark have adopted an abandoned egg and are now raising the chick as their own.

    The male King Penguins, who became a couple around a year ago, have adopted and incubated an egg abandoned by a female in their enclosure.

    King Penguins are usually monogamous, but the female had abandoned the egg because she already had one to incubate from another partner.

    The two males had previously tried to incubate a dead herring and attempted to steal the eggs of other penguins.

    Sensing the males wanted to become parents, zoo keepers tested their parenting skills with a ball, then the abandoned egg.

    With King penguins, they mix it between the male and female. One stands with the egg while the other goes to feed and then they shift. It was the same with this pair. They both incubated the egg.

  • School groping surge blamed on internet porn: Third of sixth-form girls have been abused by classmates

    By Daniel Martin

    PUBLISHED: 23:55 GMT, 13 November 2012 | UPDATED: 08:56 GMT, 14 November 2012

    Comments (152)
    Share

    Ann Coffey said a third of sixth-form girls had been touched inappropriately by boys in their school

    Ann Coffey said a third of sixth-form girls had been touched inappropriately by boys in their school

    Easy access to internet porn is behind a worryingly high number of girls being groped or sexually manhandled at school, an MP claimed yesterday.

    Ann Coffey revealed a third of sixth-form girls had been touched inappropriately by boys in their school.

    The chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on runaway and missing children, put the blame firmly on the increasing impact of internet pornography, which she said was ’distorting’ teenage boys’ views of sex.

    She warned that many boys were developing ’harmful attitudes and behaviours’ such as seeing girls simply as sex objects because they believe they have a ’sense of entitlement’ to do what they want to them.

    The MP called for sex and relationship education to be made compulsory in schools, saying the situation was so bad that boys had to be supported to form ’respectful attitudes to girls’.

    Unless the situation is changed, more girls would suffer ’physical and emotional harm’, which could damage their education and future career prospects.

    The Daily Mail is campaigning for an automatic block on online porn to protect children from stumbling across it.

    Over-18s would only be able to access adult images by ’opting in’ with their internet provider following a strict age verification check. Speaking during a debate on child sexual exploitation in the Commons, Miss Coffey cited a YouGov poll by the End Violence Against Women campaign, which surveyed 800 teenagers.

    More...

    An avalanche of junk mail: Nearly half daily postbag is now direct marketing... and the Royal Mail wants us to get even more!
    Is Apple about to begin making the iPhone 5S (just as you’ve bought the 5)?

    It found 29 per cent of 16 to 18-year-old girls had suffered ’unwanted sexual touching’ at school.

    Almost as many, 28 per cent, said they had seen sexual images on mobile phones at school ’a few times a month or more’. And 71 per cent said they had heard sexual name-calling at school ’daily or a few times a week’.

    Some 40 per cent said they had never had lessons teaching them about the need for sexual consent.

    Miss Coffey said children should be taught what sexual coercion and exploitation is, as well as being alerted to signs of when they are being sexually groomed. She said lessons should also cover how to shape healthy relationships

    ’The focus needs to be on both boys and girls,’ she said. ’Boys need to be supported to form positive and respectful attitudes to girls.’
    The Daily Mail is campaigning for an automatic block on online porn to protect children from stumbling across it. Over-18s would only be able to access adult images by ’opting in’

    The Daily Mail is campaigning for an automatic block on online porn to protect children from stumbling across it. Over-18s would only be able to access adult images by ’opting in’ (stock pic)

    The Labour MP for Stockport said one of the main problems was boys accessing adult websites. ’We know harmful attitudes and behaviours are developed at a young age, and there is growing evidence about the impact of pornography on boys’ attitudes to girls,’ she said.

    ’It is a problem that boys are accessing adult websites which give them a distorted attitude about what is appropriate in terms of their relationships with girls.’

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2232582/School-groping-surge-blamed-net-porn-Third-sixth-form-girls-abused-clas
    Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

  • Designer’s incredible concept car based on science fiction movies… and a Chevrolet « MasterAdrian’s Weblog
    http://masteradrian.com/2012/11/13/designers-incredible-concept-car-based-on-science-fiction-movies-and-a

    Designer’s incredible concept car based on science fiction movies… and a Chevrolet
    November 13, 2012
    Prepare for hyper-drive! Designer’s incredible concept car based on science fiction movies… and a Chevrolet

    Created by car designer Michael Vetter at The Car Factory in Florida
    The concept car costs £75,000
    It has a windscreen five-feet high and gullwing windows which open by remote control

    By Alex Ward

    PUBLISHED: 09:38 EST, 8 November 2012 | UPDATED: 14:33 EST, 8 November 2012

    This incredible ‘Extra Terrestrial Vehicle’ is a sci-if fan’s ultimate toy but the concept car will set a buyer back £75,000, the same pricetag as a Porsche 911.This futuristic creation by car designer Michael Vetter, or Kit Car Mike as he is known, is based on a run-of-the-mill Chevrolet but is unlike any other car on the road.

    Looking more like the car driven by Tom Cruise in Minority Report than anything seen in sci-if blockbuster E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, the supercharged engine is a concept car still sure to impress die-hard sci-if fans.
    Sci-fan fantasy: The ’Extra Terrestrial Vehicle’ is a sci-fi fan’s ultimate toy but will cost £75,000Sci-fan fantasy: The ‘Extra Terrestrial Vehicle’ is a sci-if fan’s ultimate toy but will cost £75,000

    Created by car designer Michael Vetter, or Kit Car Mike as he is known, is based on a run-of-the-mill ChevroletConcept car: Created by car designer Michael Vetter, or Kit Car Mike as he is known, is based on a run-of-the-mill Chevrolet

    With a windscreen five feet high and gullwing windows which open by remote control, the futuristic car makes the famous De Lorean, from the Back To The Future films, look outdated.

    Kit Car Mike, who runs The Car Factory in Florida, America, has made seven ETVs and one model is on display at the London Motor Museum in Middlesex.
    Set to impress: The car has a windscreen five feet high and gullwing windows which open automatically by remote controlSet to impress: The car has a windscreen five feet high and gullwing windows which open automatically by remote control

    Kit Car Mike said that he gets ’five times as many people photographing it than if I was in a supercar’Unlike anything on the road: Kit Car Mike said that he gets ‘five times as many people photographing it than if I was in a supercar’

    He said: ‘This ETV is built for the person that has had every kind of car and is still looking for something different.

    ‘I have built more than 100 custom cars and this is the best of the best in terms of looks and reliability.

    ‘I was unprepared for the initial response I would get while driving it but I would say I get five times as many people photographing it than if I was in a supercar.
    Only seven ETVs have been made and one is one display at the London Motor Museum in MiddlesexRare: Only seven ETVs have been made and one is one display at the London Motor Museum in Middlesex

    The car is powered by a two litre supercharged engine which sends 270bhp to the front wheels through a five-speed gearboxSupercharged sci-if: The car is powered by a two litre supercharged engine which sends 270bhp to the front wheels through a five-speed gearbox

    ‘If you think a Bugatti Veyron gets a lot of attention, be prepared for something of a different flavour as this brings in so much positive energy.’

    The Car Factory website says of ETVs: ‘ We offer to build any style of futuristic or concept car in a high quality manner where you will be able to drive the car every day if you like.’

    It is powered by a two litre supercharged engine which sends 270bhp to the front wheels through a five-speed gearbox.

    There are also two cameras inside making it easier to park this awkwardly-shaped car.
    Cruise’s car: The ETV looks similar to the car Tom Cruise drove in Minority Report, a concept car by LexusCruise’s car: The ETV looks similar to the car Tom Cruise drove in Minority Report, a concept car by Lexus

    Old school sci-fi: The ETV makes favourite sci-fi car the De Lorean, from the Back To The Future films, look a little outdatedOld school sci-if: The ETV makes favourite sci-if car the De Lorean, from the Back To The Future films, look a little outdated

  • Special prosecutor appointed in investigation of hate group leader
    Brody Levesque - LGBTQ Nation
    November 12th, 2012

    Eugene Delgaudio Eugene Delgaudio

    ARLINGTON, Va. — A special prosecutor has been appointed to conduct an investigation into allegations of misuse of public office and improper campaign fund raising by veteran Loudoun County, Va., Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling, Va.).

    Delgaudio is head of the organization “Public Advocate of The United States,” a non-profit group that advocates against LGBT rights, and has been named as an anti-gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

    He has been accused by a former staffer of mixing that organization’s business with county business.

    The appointment of Arlington Commonwealth’s Attorney Theophani Stamo on Friday, follows a request by Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman, in Circuit Court documents filed in Leesburg, Va., earlier in the week.

    In the court documents, Plowman cites the fact that his office had received additional information concerning the allegations against the four term supervisor “that merited further review.”

    "This information requires a request for an independent prosecutor from outside Loudoun County to conduct the investigation which would act to preserve public confidence in the integrity of any conclusions,” Plowman wrote.

    The investigation into Delgaudio was initiated after Donna Mateer, a former staffer, alleged that she spent the majority of her working hours early this year scheduling political fundraising meetings.

    In her complaint to the Loudoun County’s human resources department last spring, Mateer also claimed that Delgaudio subjected his employees to a hostile working environment. After news of the investigation was made public, Delgaudio reportedly fired her.

    Mateer had turned over documents, including fundraising spreadsheets and e-mail records related to her allegations, to county officials, and, on several occasions, met with FBI agents regarding Delgaudio’s activities.

    Delgaudio, who has publicly denounced gay people as “perverts” and “freaks,” has routinely injected himself into political battles across the country through his conservative nonprofit group, Public Advocate.

    In particular, Delgaudio has used Public Advocate to rail against same-sex-marriage initiatives in various states and argue that federal anti-bullying legislation and even airport pat-downs are evidence of a “radical homosexual” agenda.

    Delgaudio’s organization is also the target of a lawsuit filed in U. S. District Court in Colorado for the unauthorized use of a gay couple’s engagement photo in several anti-gay propaganda direct mailers used in two separate GOP primary races last spring.

    Delgaudio has repeatedly denied the accusations, including in the Colorado case, and neither he nor his attorney, Charles King, responded to requests for comment.

    To read the original story or to visit LGBTQ Nation, a content partner with SDGLN, click HERE.

  • Fijian government says gays have nothing to fear in Fiji
    Fiji government building


    Government of Fiji responds to protestors on the roof of an immigration detention center in Sydney
    13 November 2012 | By Anna Leach
    The government of Fiji has responded to claims by protestors at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney who said yesterday there are no gay rights in the Pacific islands nation.

    Three protestors climbed onto the roof at the immigration center yesterday. One protestor, Sai Bulewa said gay people have no rights in Fiji and they fear abuse.

    Fiji Village reports today that a government spokesperson said that ‘there are no grounds to support the Fijian protestors’ claims… that they face persecution in Fiji for their sexual orientation’.

    AAP reports today that the protestors are still on the roof despite hours of negotiation.

    Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said the protest started when a female Fijian asylum seeker climbed onto the roof with two others at 7am yesterday to protest against her deportation.

    ‘The Immigration Department should withdraw the removal notice,’ said Rintoul, The Age reports. ‘That is the first step to de-escalate the situation and remove the threat of forcible removal.’

    The Fijian government spokesperson added that Fiji has some of the most liberal gay laws in the Pacific and the government has specifically decriminalized acts between consenting adults.

    In February 2010 a Crime Decree decriminalized gay sex in Fiji, following an outcry after an Australian, Thomas McCosker, was arrested and eventually sentenced to two years in jail for sodomy in 2005.

  • Gary Bauer Insists GOP Can Win If More Antigay
    BY Lucas Grindley
    November 12 2012 3:56 PM ET
    Gary Bauer

    As Republicans argue about the future of their party, Gary Bauer claims the way to lure minority voters into the fold is by amplifying their antigay policy positions. Recent data, though, seems contradictory to his advice.

    Bauer led a PAC called the “Campaign for Working Families” that bought ads during the election for the likes of Missouri’s failed Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin — the “legitimate rape” candidate who as congressman tried to ban same-sex weddings on military bases. Bauer said during a discussion on CNN’s State of the Union that social issues supposedly unite minority voters.

    “There’s been research done on Hispanic voters on what motivates them,” he said excitedly, offering a list of issues before making his claim that Republicans should go even more anti-abortion and antigay. “The research also shows that Hispanics are overwhelmingly pro-life and pro-family. You’re suggesting that we drop issues that we might have the best chance to appeal to those voters about.”

    But on marriage equality, Bauer’s contention doesn’t match with exit polling or with major polls of Latino voters conducted since President Obama offered his support for letting gays and lesbians marry.

    ABC News reported on Election Night that preliminary exit polls showed Latino voters are actually more likely than other voters to back same-sex marriage, with 59% siding with equality.

    That finding matched almost exactly with a poll from NBC Latino/IBOPE Zogby in October that found 60% support marriage equality.

    Bauer had appeared Thursday on The Janet Mefferd Show and insisted that the reason Romney lost was his failure to talk more about social issues. It’s a theme others like the National Organization for Marriage’s president, Brian Brown, have also struck.

    “Romney was pro-life and pro-family but I don’t think we really engaged in the ad war on those issues, and I think if we would’ve engaged instead of being forced to be on the defensive, I still think we would’ve gotten many, many more of what used to be the Reagan Democrats,” he told Mefferd.

    On CNN, he clarified, that “I’m not saying the campaign should have been run on them, the economy was obviously the major issue, but you can’t take a crouching position.”

    Former Utah governor and Obama administration ambassador to China, Jon Huntsman, was also on the CNN panel and insisted “people don’t want to be moralized to, they don’t want to be lectured to” and above all they “want to be left alone.”

    “The Republican Party needs to decide whether it wants to win or lose going forward,” said Huntsman, who lost the Republican primary race for president.

    “It’s about how we talk about those values and principles,” he explained. “As a father of seven, married for 30 years, people can see the way I live my life, I don’t need to sit there and rub it in people’s faces.”

  • Video: Survivors of Israeli attack on Gaza says bombs continued to fall on the al-Shoja’iya neighborhood as civilians raised white flags
    Nov 12, 2012 11:22 am | Adam Horowitz

    The video above interviews two survivors of the Israeli attack on the al-Shoja’iya neighborhood east of Gaza City. Here is a summary published by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights over the weekend on what took place in the neighborhood:

    Over the past 72 hours, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated their aerial and ground attacks against the Gaza Strip. Five Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, have been killed, and 52 others, including 6 women and 12 children, have been wounded. Four of these deaths and 38 of the injuries resulted from an Israeli attack on a football playground in al-Shoja’iya neighborhood east of Gaza City. Additionally, 2 members of the Palestinian resistance were killed, and some civilian facilities were destroyed or damaged.

    According to investigations conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 15:30 on Saturday, 10 November 2012, Israeli military vehicles stationed at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel fired an artillery shell at a number of Palestinian children who were playing football at al-Mentar Hill east of al-Shoja’iya neighborhood, which is east of Gaza City and nearly 1,500 meters away from the border. As a result, 2 children were instantly killed:

    1- Mohammed Ussama Hassan Harara (16); and

    2- Ahmed Mustafa Khaled Harara (17).

    Following this attack, a number of Palestinian civilians, who were in the consolation house of the Harara family, rushed to the area, where the IOF immediately fired another 3 shells. As a result, 2 Palestinian civilians were instantly killed:

    1- Ahmed Kamel Al- Dirdissawi (18); and

    2- Matar ‘Emad ‘Abdul Rahman Abu al-‘Ata (19).

    Additionally, 38 civilians, including 8 children, were wounded; the wounding of 10 of these civilians was described by medical crews as being serious.

  • USA: Locked away for decades - the plight of California’s isolation prisoners
    More than 3,000 prisoners in California endure inhuman conditions in solitary confinement.

    More than 3,000 prisoners in California endure inhuman conditions in solitary confinement.

    © Rina Palta/KALW

    More than 3,000 prisoners are held in high-security isolation units known as Security Housing Units (SHUs) in California, in what Amnesty International recently described as ’shocking conditions of detention’

    During the 16 years Joe Simpson (not his real name) was held in an isolation unit in Pelican Bay prison, California, the only living creature he had meaningful contact with was a frog.

    Joe had found the animal in the small exercise yard he was allowed to use sporadically and spent months collecting worms and bugs to feed it.

    But when he decided to go on hunger strike in July 2011 to protest against his detention conditions, the guards took the frog away.

    Joe is one of the estimated 25,000 prisoners who are being held in “supermaximum” isolation facilities in at least 44 states across the USA and in the federal system.

    Of those, more than 3,000 are held in high-security isolation units known as Security Housing Units (SHUs) in California, in what Amnesty International recently described as “shocking conditions of detention”.

    No other state in the country holds as many prisoners in isolation for such long periods of time. In fact, it is believed that as many as 78 men have been held in isolation for more than 20 years each.

    Amnesty International’s experts who visited Pelican Bay and other SHU units in late 2011 said inmates are held for upwards of 22 and a half hours a day in cells measuring fewer than eight square metres with no windows and with poor access to natural light or fresh air.

    The 1,000 men held with Joe in Pelican Bay are only allowed to leave their cells for one and a half hours each day to exercise in a bare, concrete yard with 20-foot-high walls with only a patch of sky visible through a partially meshed plastic roof.

    Rehabilitation programmes are almost non-existent, there are no group activities, and human contact with anyone is severely restricted.

    Pelican Bay is in a remote part of the state and many prisoners receive few, if any, visits. The only contact most prisoners have with the outside world is through letters. Even consultations with medical staff routinely take place behind barriers and a glass screen separates prisoners from family or lawyers when they visit. Phone contact with relatives is also extremely limited.

    Some prisoners have spent more than a decade without family visits.

    Isolation is so severe that one inmate told Amnesty International delegates touring Pelican Bay that they were “the only outsiders they had seen in years”.

    Built for purpose
    Prisons such as Pelican Bay were built in the 1980’s – during a steep rise in prison population in the USA and with California at the forefront of moves to toughen penalties.

    Pelican Bay was designed specifically as a “non-programming” prison facility, constructed with no communal space for recreation, education or any other group activity.

    The rationale given by the US authorities for building super-maximum facilities was that isolating the most dangerous or disruptive prisoners would make the rest of the prison population safer – although many prisoners who end up in such units have mental illness or behavioural problems and have sometimes been confined for repeated, relatively minor rule infractions and disruptive behaviour.

    What authorities seem to have underestimated is the long-term health impact of this kind of incarceration.

    Prisoners in Pelican Bay SHU have reported serious medical and psychological problems as a result of their detention in isolation, including: deteriorating eyesight as a result of years of deprivation of natural light and confinement in spaces which obstruct vision; problems due to lack of natural light (causing vitamin D deficiency) and exercise; chronic asthma exacerbated by the enclosed conditions; severe insomnia and memory loss.

    As one inmate who has been held in isolation for 16 years told Amnesty International: “Being housed in the SHU has left me looking like a ghost as my colour has faded to a very pale shade as many inmates here do without any sunlight to beat down upon our faces. How I long to feel warmth steadily beating on me.”

    A blow to mental health
    The severe negative psychological consequences of long-term isolation are reflected in data showing that inmate suicides occur disproportionately in isolation units (compared to the general prison population).

    According to the reports of a court-appointed monitor, 42 per cent of suicides that took place in California’s prisons between 2006 and 2010 – an average of 34 a year – took place in administrative segregation or SHU units.

    One of them was Alex Machado, who took his own life on 24 October 2011.

    Alex had been transferred to Pelican Bay in February 2010 after he was classified as a member of a gang and told he would serve an indeterminate term in isolation.

    According to his family, he had shown no significant psychological problems during his prior 11 years of incarceration and he had been literate and articulate, assisting other prisoners with their legal appeals.

    His mental state started to deteriorate significantly after a year of isolation in Pelican Bay. From January to June 2011, prison mental health records show he exhibited increasing anxiety and paranoia – the reports note that he suffered from anxiety, sleeplessness and panic attacks. He also felt he was being watched, suffered from visual hallucinations and thought he heard voices and knocking on his cell walls.

    When he threatened to kill himself on 12 June 2011, he was placed in a crisis cell. However, he remained in the unit, despite continuing to have “active psychotic symptoms”.

    According to the autopsy report, Alex was last seen alive at approximately 12.15 am on the day of his death “as he was examined and then cleared by medical staff for a complaint of heart palpitations”. Thirty minutes later, an officer found him “hanging inside his cell”.

    The day after
    For many prisoners, the problems follow them after their release from prison.

    On average each year, 900 inmates are released on parole directly from isolation units in California, with little more than a few dollars and an ID card.

    Transitional programmes are rare.

    As a former prisoner from Pelican Bay told Amnesty International: “There are no rehabilitation programmes, no church, no education, no supplies for artists. They say we can’t have cell mates because it would be too dangerous but that is not true. Many of the inmates have been held in solitary confinement for more than 15 years, some for more than 20. Even for me after being in solitary confinement for almost seven years…that rush of loneliness still vibrates through me…so try to imagine the effect on their minds.”

    Earlier this year, the California Department of Corrections proposed changes which would allow prisoners some opportunity to work their way out of isolation through a “step-down” program.

    However, under the proposals, prisoners serving indeterminate SHU terms would remain in isolation for at least two years and there would be no change to the physical conditions in Pelican Bay SHU.

    Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to use isolation only as a last resort; to remove from isolation prisoners who have already spent years in the SHU; and to improve conditions for all prisoners who remain in segregation.

  • UPS drops funding of Boy Scouts

    by Matt Comer Editor editor@goqnotes.com
    Published: November 12, 2012 in Blog

    The UPS has announced it will no longer fund the Boy Scouts of America due to the youth group’s anti-LGBT discrimination.

    According to BuzzFeed, the UPS Foundation updated its website on Monday with this announcement: “The UPS Foundation seeks to support organizations that are in alignment with our focus areas, guidelines, and non-discrimination policy. UPS and The UPS Foundation do not discriminate against any person or organization with regard to categories protected by applicable law, as well as other categories protected by UPS and The UPS Foundation in our own policies. These include, but are not limited to race, gender, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran or military status, pregnancy, age and religion.”

    UPS gave the Boy Scouts $167,000 in 2010. UPS joins Intel in dropping scout funding.

    The Boy Scouts of America has long discriminated against openly gay youth and leaders. Gay men and young adults were also regularly tracked in the group’s so-called “perversion files” and listed there alongside accused and admitted child molesters.

    Matt Comer is the current editor of QNotes, serving in the role from Oct. 1, 2007, to Jan. 20, 2012, and from June 18, 2012, to the present. He can be reached via email at editor@goqnotes.com or via phone at 704-531-9988, ext. 202. Follow him online at facebook.com/matthew.mh.comer or at twitter.com/interstateq.

  • Liberians Launch Campaign Against Gay Marriage
    By Jonathan Paye-Layleh
    Associated Press
    Sunday Nov 11, 2012MONROVIA, Liberia — A few hundred Liberians representing the Christian and Muslim faiths and civil society organizations gathered here Saturday to launch a campaign to press the government to ban same-sex marriage.

    The campaign is seeking 1 million signatures supporting a resolution to ban gay and lesbian activities here.

    More than 25,000 signatures have already been gathered, the head of the citizens’ movement spearheading the campaign, Jim Tornonlah, told The Associated Press.

    The Liberian senate recently passed a bill strengthening the law against homosexuality. It must be approved by the House of Representatives before it is sent to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to sign into law.

    Earlier this year Johnson Sirleaf expressed her opposition to same-sex marriage saying that if a law supporting it was brought before her she would not sign it.

    However after the United States State Department took exception to her stance on gay rights, she softened her position and said that her government would “guarantee people’s civil liberties.”

    At Saturday’s anti-gay marriage rally, an outspoken clergy, representing the Liberia Council of Churches, Rudolph Marsh, lashed out at the influence of foreign powers.
    “There are good things in America that we can copy,” said Rudolph Marsh, lashing out at the influence of foreign powers, “we don’t have to copy the bad ones; let’s leave the bad ones with Americans.”

    “There are good things in America that we can copy,” he said, “we don’t have to copy the bad ones; let’s leave the bad ones with Americans.”

    Marsh called on Liberian Christians and Muslims to remain united “and stand together and tell the world that Liberia is a place of civilized people and will not allow same-sex marriage.”

    Muslim leader Sheikh Omaru Kamara, representing his faith at the ceremony, hailed the unity of purpose that both Christians and Muslims were showing against homosexuality.

    Liberia’s only known gay and lesbian rights campaigner, Archie Ponpon, insisted Saturday that Liberians should be allowed to practice what they want.

    Ponpon was mobbed at least twice after he announced the formation of his group, the Movement for the Defense of Gays and Lesbians in Liberia (MODEGAL) in April.

    “It is also their right to do what they are doing today,” Ponpon told the Associated Press of the campaign to ban same-sex marriage in Liberia. But he said the campaigners are wrong to make “verbal attacks on me and trying to kill my advocacy.”

    Ponpon, whose mother’s residence was set alight and razed to the ground earlier this year when he announced the formation of his gay-rights body, said he’s still coming under attack for his beliefs.

    Ponpon said over the phone tha

    • And then to realize that Liberia only exists due to the fact of hate, discrimination, and people being regarded and treated as second class people...... the slaves!

      I think the ancestors of the people living in 2012 in Liberia will turn in their graves, and if they could would have their bones removed from Liberian soil as soon as possible!

  • Vatican pledges to continue campaign of homophobia and bigotry

    Vatican doubles down on homophobia and bigotry

    In opposition to justice, the Vatican will continue to fight against marriage equality. According to the Vatican, the Roman Catholic Church will continue their immoral campaign of bigotry and homophobia in an attempt to deny gay and lesbian individuals the right to same-sex marriage.

    In two separate, strongly worded editorials this weekend, the Vatican reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church’s unequivocal opposition to marriage equality. Despite the recent moral progress of the West, the Catholic Church is determined to cling to their immoral and unjust homophobia and bigotry.

    The Vatican editorials come after recent victories for same sex marriage in the U.S., France and Spain. Speaking on Vatican Radio, Father Federico Lombardi said:

    “It is clear that in Western countries there is a widespread tendency to modify the classic vision of marriage between a man and woman, or rather to try to give it up, erasing its specific and privileged legal recognition compared to other forms of union.”

    One must marvel at the moral audacity of Father Lombardi and the Catholic Church. To think that a morally corrupt institution like the Catholic Church presumes to make any moral directives is astonishing. An institution with a long and well established history of protecting and enabling pedophiles, an institution that puts its own reputation above the health and welfare of children, has no business making any moral pronouncements.

    The Catholic Church is a morally backward, bankrupt and corrupt institution. Their continued endorsement of homophobia and bigotry is just one of their many crimes against humanity. By continuing their campaign opposing same-sex marriage, they only confirm that they are a dangerous and despicable institution that stands opposed to human decency and human happiness.

    • Well, as it took the Vatican to acknowledge and realize that the Sun was not circling around the Earth, but that facts were the other way round, it will probably take centuries for the RCC to acknowledge that human beings are intended to be together, regardless of gender....

      In time even the RCC will see the light, and if not... the light will go out for the RCC

      “The Last Member Of The RCC Turns Off The Light”

  • Russia – What tourists should know before coming to St. Petersburg
    Arts, censorship, culture, discrimination Add comments
    Nov 062012
    What tourists should know before coming to St. Petersburg

    What links homosexuality, Nabokov’s novel “Lolita,” saying “good morning,” wheelchairs in the underground, political satire and creaking beds at night? They have all been officially outlawed by St. Petersburg bureaucrats and parliamentarians, according to the city’s bylaws and decrees.

    St. Petersburg is thought to be the cultural capital of Russia: a city that is a museum, the cradle of three revolutions, and Mecca for poets. Pushkin, Akhmatova and Brodsky all lived here. And, in our own time, the city on the Neva River remains one of Europe’s most prominent cultural centers.

    Yet, the truth behind that claim becomes harder to establish with every passing year. Local officials and civic activists are engaged with the populace in a moral struggle, which is conducted primarily by way of banning things. Here are ten examples of the fine work the city’s paper-pushers have been doing.

    1. Banning Nabokov’s”Lolita”

    The promoters of Leonid Mozgovoy’s one-man show, which is based on Nabokov’s “Lolita,” were forced to pull the plug on the production. Citizens of St. Petersburg were denied the opportunity to see the performance of their fellow countryman’s classic novel because a group of teachers, students and Cossacks actively disapproved it.

    Opponents sent a letter to the promoters and demanded that the spectacle be canceled. In their view, the work of the Nobel Prize-winning author was nothing more than wickedness masquerading as art. Mozgovoy subsequently said that he would “no longer have anything to do with narrow-minded people and their chauvinist views.”

    The play was set to be staged on Oct. 21 at the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, whose management was ready and willing to fulfill its obligations and answer for the welfare of its audiences.

    2. Detention for “Good Morning!”

    Every morning, two young St. Petersburg residents appear at subway stations around the city and stand for one hour holding placards that read “Good Morning!” The couple, known as Esther and Jack, say the underground is the most miserable place in the city and is need of extra cheer.

    The police detain them on a daily basis and lecture them extensively on why such activities are banned on the city’s underground system. Some police officers have even asked to see their license – without mentioning what kind of license would cover such activities, or where one could be obtained. Cheerfulness is banned, unless otherwise sanctioned in advance.

    3. Scrapping Marat Gelman’s exhibition

    In mid-October it became known that Vitaly Rizzo – the chairman of the Rizzordi Art Foundation – had made a request to reschedule an exhibition of works by Marat Gelman.The show, named “Icons,” had to be moved from its original opening date on November 2012 to late 2013. The reason given was “the bad atmosphere in the city.”

    In response, Gelman announced that he would be canceling the exhibition all together, since it would have lost its contemporary relevance a year down the line. A number of sources indicate that the Foundation had been pressured by the city’s governor, Georgy Poltavchenko. The governor, in turn, had been pressed by civic activists who had collected 3,000 signatures calling for the exhibition to be scrapped.

    Gelman’s exhibition is a collection of contemporary interpretations of icons, which are presented by artists as pieces of art, rather than as religious objects. The St. Petersburg exhibition was due to include featured work by the prominent British artist Damian Hurst.

    4. Don’t move furniture at night

    Deputies of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly recently signed a new law concerning “Administrative Offenses.” This means that those who enjoy moving furniture around at night face fines of between 500 and 4,000 rubles ($16–130).

    If senior officials become involved, then the fines range between 5,000 and 10,000 rubles ($160-320); companies heard moving furniture or hammering at night can be fined from 25,000 to 50,000 rubles ($800-1595).

    United Russia representative and member of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, Alexei Timofeyev, further suggested that owners of dogs that bark or whine at night also be fined. His suggestion was not included in the final wording of the bill, however.

    5.Outlawing homosexuality

    A ground-breaking amendment to the Law on Administrative Offenses was passed at the beginning of 2012. The amendment prohibits the promotion of “pedophilia, sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgender behavior” amongst minors. It remains unclear why homosexuality (which is not illegal) and pedophilia (which is already covered under the Penal Code) should be included together in one law.

    The leader of A Just Russia party, Alexei Kovalev, believes that the law has actually done pedophiles a favor. “Now, anyone who lures children into prostitution will get off with a fine of 5,000 rubles, instead of doing three years in jail. This is actually what lies behind this amendment – all the stuff about homosexuality is just a smoke screen.”

    Vladimir Erkovich

  • Uganda to officially pass ‘Kill The Gays’ bill
    Speaker Rebecca Kadaga has said 2009’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill will become law by the end of 2012
    12 November 2012 | By Joe Morgan
    Uganda parliamentary speaker Rebecca Kadaga has said the country’s Kill The Gays bill will officially be passed by the end of 2012.

    Uganda will officially pass the ‘Kill The Gays’ bill at the end of this year despite international criticism.

    Speaker Rebecca Kadaga said the anti-gay bill will become law by December since most Ugandans ‘are demanding it’.

    Referring to the law as a ‘Christmas gift’ to the population, she spoke of ‘the serious threat’ posed by homosexuals.

    The law will broaden the criminalization of same-sex relationships by dividing homosexuality into two categories; aggravated homosexuality and the offense of homosexuality.

    ‘Aggravated homosexuality’ is defined as gay acts committed by parents or authority figures, HIV-positive people, pedophiles and repeat offenders. If convicted, they will face the death penalty.

    The ‘offense of homosexuality’ includes same-sex sexual acts or being in a gay relationship, and will be prosecuted by life imprisonment.

    Originally put to government in 2009, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill had been temporarily shelved because of international criticism.

    Several European countries have threatened to cut aid to Uganda if it passes, with the UK government warning Uganda it would face severe reductions in financial help.

    US President Barack Obama has described it as ‘odious’, and Canadian politician John Baird has said it is ‘vile, abhorrent, and offends decency’.

    Uganda lawmaker Atim Ogwal Cecilia Barbara has even suggested there should be a continent-wide ban on homosexuality, saying all African gay people should be jailed for life.

    Gay rights activist David Kato was murdered in Uganda in January 2011 shortly after a local newspaper published images of him and other gay people under a headline urging readers to ‘hang them.’

    Despite this, Uganda’s LGBT community held a weekend of gay pride events this summer.

    According to a 2010 survey by The Pew Research Center, homosexuality is morally unacceptable to 89% of Ugandans.

  • Why Did FBI Agent Go Outside Chain of Command in Reporting Petraeus Case to House Republicans?

    Posted: 12 Nov 2012 02:02 AM PST

    The NY Times report on the latest in the Petraeus case raised my eyebrows quite a bit. This is the most strikingly political aspect of this scandal:

    Meanwhile, the F.B.I. agent who had helped get a preliminary inquiry started, and learned of Mr. Petraeus’s affair and the initial concerns about security breaches, became frustrated. Apparently unaware that those concerns were largely resolved, the agent alerted the office of Representative Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, the House majority leader, about the inquiry in late October. Mr. Cantor passed on the agent’s concerns to Mr. Mueller.

    Other news reports (this one published in the Times as well) portrayed this part of the story slightly differently. They say that the FBI agent contacted Rep. Dave Reichert (not Cantor) and that Reichert in turn contacted Cantor. For those who may not know, Reichert is a law-and-order Christian conservative House member representing a suburban Seattle district. His entre to victory in his first House race was that he’d been King County Sheriff when the Green River killings were solved. Reichert is generally an ineffective, do-nothing GOP House member who’s made no mark during his service.

    A number of questions arise about this part of the story: why would the FBI agent go outside the chain of command when he was dissatisfied with the progress in the case? Why did he tell Reichert and Cantor that his was a “national security concern?” Why did he contact Dave Reichert specifically? My guess is that the FBI agent may’ve known Reichert through law enforcement circles (perhaps he served in the FBI’s Seattle office?).

    The claim that knowledge of the affair by Republicans played no role in the decision to let Petraeus go seems weak to me. Once the FBI agent got word to Reichert it became a huge partisan political football. For that reason, the agent should be fired. I want to know everything that Reichert and Cantor did, who they called, what they said, etc. They were sniffing for a political advantage. Did they overstep in their partisan zeal to dig up dirt on a senior Obama appointee?

    Further, it appears this FBI agent began an investigation of the threatening e-mails sent to Jill Kelley because of a personal friendship between the victim and the agent. Again, suspicious. I’ve reported numerous e-mailed death threats sent to me and would love to know who sent them. The FBI has done nothing about them. Curious that they’d take this one so seriously except for that personal connection. I guess I need to make personal friends with some FBI agents.

    Once they discovered that Paula Broadwell was author of the threatening e mails how and why did Petraeus become involved? Since when does having e mails from a former mistress in your Inbox constitute a federal crime?

    I’m having a lot of trouble seeing what specifically Petraeus did that should’ve demanded his resignation. Throughout the investigation, the FBI attempted to uncover evidence that took this case outside the realm of an affair and that would make it a national security case. They couldn’t find any. Petraeus didn’t compromise national security, didn’t share classified documents. He simply had an affair. It appears he chose the wrong woman with which to do so as she caused the unraveling of his career. But why did the FBI take this outside the agency? What crime were they investigating? What evidence of a crime did they have?

    We’re still a nation of laws. What laws were broken? Would the affair be embarrassing to the president and all involved? Sure. But to give a distinguished general the ax because he’d engaged in a sexual indiscretion seems an impossibly high bar. In some senses, we’re returning to those prurient days of the Clinton impeachment when Republicans wanted us to judge a President’s ability to govern based on whether or not he could keep his pants zipped. I thought we, and Congress, said No to that by refusing to convict Clinton. Apparently not when it comes to this president.
    Related articles

  • Dinner with Hitler

    How a brilliant starlet created a worldwide technology boom

    It all started with a skin flick...

    In 1933, a beautiful, young Austrian woman took off her clothes for a movie director. She ran through the woods... naked. She swam in a lake... naked. Pushing well beyond the social norms of the period, the movie also featured a simulated orgasm. To make the scene “vivid,” the director reportedly stabbed the actress with a sharp pin just offscreen.

    The most popular movie in 1933 was King Kong. But everyone in Hollywood was talking about that scandalous movie with the gorgeous, young Austrian woman.

    Louis B. Mayer, of the giant studio MGM, said she was the most beautiful woman in the world. The film was banned practically everywhere... which of course made it even more popular and valuable. Mussolini reportedly refused to sell his copy at any price.

    The star of the film, called Ecstasy, was Hedwig Kiesler. She said the secret of her beauty was “to stand there and look stupid.” In reality, Kiesler was anything but stupid. She was a genius. She’d grown up as the
    only child of a prominent Jewish banker. She was a math prodigy. She excelled at science. As she grew older, she became ruthless, using all the power her body and mind gave her.

    Between the sexual roles she played, her tremendous beauty, and the power of her intellect, Kiesler would confound the men in her life... including her six husbands, two of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th century, and one of the greatest movie producers in history.

    Her beauty made her rich for a time. She is said to have made - and spent - $30 million in her life. But her greatest accomplishment resulted from her intellect... And her invention continues to shape the world we live in today.

    You see, this young Austrian starlet would take one of the most valuable technologies ever developed right from under Hitler’s nose. After fleeing to America, she not only became a major Hollywood star... her name sits on one of the most important patents ever granted by the U.S. Patent Office.

    Today, when you use your cell phone or, over the next few years, as you experience super-fast wireless Internet access (via something called “long-term evolution” or “LTE” technology), you’ll be using an extension of
    the technology a 20- year-old actress first conceived while sitting at dinner with Hitler.

    At the time she made Ecstasy, Kiesler was married to one of the richest men in Austria. Friedrich Mandl was Austria’s leading arms maker. His firm would become a key supplier to the Nazis.

    Mandl used his beautiful young wife as a showpiece at important business dinners with representatives of the Austrian, Italian, and German fascist forces. One of Mandl’s favorite topics at these gatherings - which included meals with Hitler and Mussolini - was the technology surrounding radio-controlled missiles and torpedoes. Wireless weapons offered far greater ranges than the wire-controlled alternatives that prevailed at the time. Kiesler sat through these dinners “looking stupid,” while absorbing everything she heard...

    As a Jew, Kiesler hated the Nazis. She abhorred her husband’s business ambitions. Mandl responded to his wilful wife by imprisoning her in his castle, Schloss Schwarzenau. In 1937, she managed to escape. She drugged her maid, snuck out of the castle wearing the maid’s clothes, and sold her jewelry to finance a trip to London.

    (She got out just in time. In 1938, Germany annexed Austria. The Nazis seized Mandl’s factory. He was half Jewish. Mandl fled to Brazil. Later, he became an advisor to Argentina’s iconic populist president, Juan Peron.)

    In London, Kiesler arranged a meeting with Louis B. Mayer. She signed a long-term contract with him, becoming one of MGM’s biggest stars. She appeared in more than 20 films. She was a co-star to Clark Gable, Judy Garland, and even Bob Hope. Each of her first seven MGM movies was a blockbuster.

    But Kiesler cared far more about fighting the Nazis than about making movies. At the height of her fame, in 1942, she developed a new kind of communications system, optimized for sending coded messages that couldn’t be “jammed.” She was building a system that would allow torpedoes and guided bombs to always reach their targets. She was building a system to kill Nazis.

    By the 1940s, both the Nazis and the Allied forces were using the kind of single- frequency radio-controlled technology Kiesler’s ex-husband had been peddling. The drawback of this technology was that the enemy could find the appropriate frequency and “jam” or intercept the signal, thereby interfering with the missile’s intended path.

    Kiesler’s key innovation was to “change the channel.” It was a way of encoding a message across a broad area of the wireless spectrum. If one part of the spectrum was jammed, the message would still get through on one of the other frequencies being used. The problem was, she could not figure out how to synchronize the frequency changes on both the receiver and the transmitter. To solve the problem, she turned to perhaps the world’s first techno-musician, George Anthiel.

    Anthiel was an acquaintance of Kiesler who achieved some notoriety for creating intricate musical compositions. He synchronized his melodies across twelve player pianos, producing stereophonic sounds no one had ever heard before. Kiesler incorporated Anthiel’s technology for synchronizing his player pianos. Then, she was able to synchronize the frequency changes between a weapon’s receiver and its transmitter.

    On August 11, 1942, U.S. Patent No. 2,292,387 was granted to Antheil and “Hedy Kiesler Markey,” which was Kiesler’s married name at the time.

    Most of you won’t recognize the name Kiesler. And no one would remember the name Hedy Markey. But it’s a fair bet than anyone reading this newsletter of a certain age will remember one of the great beauties of Hollywood’s golden age - Hedy Lamarr. That’s the name Louis B. Mayer gave to his prize actress. That’s the name his movie company made famous.

    Meanwhile, almost no one knows Hedwig Kiesler - aka Hedy Lamarr - was one of the great pioneers of wireless communications. Her technology was developed by the U.S. Navy, which has used it ever since.

    You’re probably using Lamarr’s technology, too. Her patent sits at the foundation of “spread spectrum technology,” which you use every day when you log on to a wi- fi network or make calls with your Bluetooth-enabled phone. It lies at the heart of the massive investments being made right now in so-called fourth-generation “LTE” wireless technology. This next generation of cell phones and cell towers will provide tremendous increases to wireless network speed and quality, by spreading wireless signals across the entire available spectrum. This kind of encoding is only possible using the kind of frequency switching that Hedwig Kiesler invented.FOR MORE INFORMATION GO TO: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr