Remember that hundreds of elected Republicans support Russia over the US interests and vote against any aid to Ukraine. This is the country the right wing media support and want the US to become. Seems they really hate democracy. Hugs
Torture in Russia is becoming part of the government’s policy, the head of a disbanded anti-torture organization warned Sunday.
Sergei Babinets, the head of the Russian Committee for the Prevention of Torture, announced that his organization is disbanding after the government labeled it a “foreign agent.” It is the latest indication of Moscow violating human rights at home and through its invasion of Ukraine.
In a Telegram post, Babinets wrote that he did not want to continue to work under the label, which he described as “an insult and slander,” from the Russian government, according to a report from The Moscow Times.
“Despite the obvious importance of our mission, the authorities have been trying for many years to portray it as foreign and harmful,” he said in his post, according to the newspaper. “The authorities are sending a signal that torture is becoming [or has already become] a part of government policy.”
Torture in Russia is becoming part of the government policies, warned the leader of an anti-torture NGO that disbanded on Sunday. The news came one day after authorities labeled the organization a foreign agent. Russian Police officers run to detain a man holding a poster reads: “No war” during a unsanctioned protest rally at Manezhnaya Square in front of the Kremlin, March,13,2022, an inset of Committee for the Prevention of Torture NGO.GETTY/NGO
In Russia, the “foreign agent” label is often used against organizations, journalists, and opposition members accused of being funded by foreign governments. Those who carry the label may be subject to penalties or other constraints, according to the Times.
The committee, founded in 2000, has advocated for justice against Russian authorities accused of torture, particularly in Chechnya, which is viewed as a particularly authoritarian region in Russia where the group has faced security concerns, according to a 2016 report from The Guardian.
Their work had been made more difficult by the Russia-Ukraine war as thousands of Russians have been arrested for protesting the invasion that was ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin in late February, Babinets said in a March interview with the organization Civil Rights Defenders.
“Currently, the work of the Committee is facing more and more obstructions, and human rights are practically seen as an ‘enemy’s value,'” he said at the time.
The organization’s press secretary Natalia Kurekina, in the same interview, warned of “alarming” violence from police against those engaged in anti-war demonstrations, including “ill-treatment” and beatings. She added the government’s crackdown on the independent media has made it more difficult to publicize this information.
It’s the latest sign of the Russian government potentially cracking down on human rights. According to data from OVD-info, an organization that tracks the number of arrests in Russia, at least 15,451 protesters have been arrested so far since the conflict began.
The Russian military has also faced allegations of human rights abuses in Ukraine, including attacks targeting civilians, including on kindergartens and hospitals.
German LGBT+ pride goers were subject to attack. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)
A Pride event in Karlsruhe, Germany descended into chaos after 30 men violently attacked the crowd and set an LGBTQ+ flag ablaze.
The incident occurred on Saturday (4 June) when the group ganged up on the flag carrier and began to hurl a barrage of insults and hate speech, as reported by Queer.de.
Members of the crown attempted to help the person being attacked, but were in turn attacked themselves. People reported that they were pulled by their hair, kicked, brought to the ground and further beaten.
The attackers then proceeded to steal the flag and burn it. The person carrying the flag sustained several minor injuries and was transported to the hospital.
Karlsruhe police have opened an investigation into the incident, but have been accused of failing to prevent the attack and of reacting “inappropriately”.
An eyewitness at the event alleged that the police let the group of men “run on without being checked.”
German journalist Amelia Brandt wrote on Twitter: “The police who were called reacted to the situation in an extremely inappropriate way.”
She added: “Despite a police presence of at least 10 vans, only 9 police officers got out and took care of those affected.”
— 🍂 Armilla Brandt 🍂 (@armillabrandt) June 6, 2022
Brandt also alleged that the those who were injured and attended to by emergency services were met with anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments.
Criminal police are now investigating. A statement released on Monday (6 June) said: “Police headquarters in Karlsruhe have received allegations from various quarters that investigations were not carried out on site and subsequently not with the required intensity.”
The LGBTQ+ spokesperson for Germany’s ruling SPD party, Florian Wahl, said: “Our sympathy goes to the victims of this attack. But anti-queer attacks are increasing across Germany, and we have to take decisive action against them.”
Wahl said that allegations made about the Karlsruhe police would be investigated. He said: “An anti-queer attack is not a simple brawl… but an attack on the existence of the victim. The state government must ensure that the police recognize anti-queer attacks, call them by name and act appropriately and sensitively.”
Hate crimes continue to be a concern for the LGBTQ+ community in Germany. Reuters reported that violence against queer people increased by 36 per cent in 2020.
Markus Ulrich, a spokesperson for Germany’s biggest LGBTQ+ group LSVD, told Reuters at the time: “Hate crimes against queer people have been on the rise in the past three or four years.”
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Germany since 2017 and a Pew Research survey found that 86 per cent of Germans think homosexuality should be accepted.
What the republican right wants to happen here in the US. I have five of these stories in my news feed this morning. I doubt I will post all of them, but it shows that attacks on the LGBTQ+ is on the rise worldwide. This is not normal that this hate would continue unless it is fueled by something / someone. Here in this story it is politicians that refuse and block change. Why? Who is paying them to anti-LGBTQ+ instead of moving forward toward acceptance? Religions? Big money fascism? The worst of these stories come from the former Soviet countries and Russia. Russia is exporting anti-tolerance hard. No wonder the right wing in the US loves Putin, they all hate the same groups. Hugs
Uzbekistan LGBT+ continue to face violent human rights violations. (Photo by Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP) (Photo by MONIRUL BHUIYAN/AFP via Getty Images)
A new report has found that the LGBTQ+ community in Uzbekistan is under renewed threat as many face persecution, imprisonment, abuse, and brutal human rights violations.
Thirty-six LGBTQ+ people were convicted under the Article 120 of the Uzbek Criminal Code, which criminalises homosexuality in the majority Muslim country, in 2021, found a new report by the International Partnership for Human Rights, Association for Human Rights in Central Asia (AHRCA), and the Eurasian Coalition on Health, Rights, Gender and Sexual Diversity (ECOM).
Twenty-five of them were imprisoned.
Police play a key part in the persecution of queer folk, demanding money in exchange for not outing people to relatives, and torturing and humiliating them.
One young man recounted his experience in a detention centre in the report, and said: “They suspended me from the ceiling using handcuffs, beat me severely, and tried to rape me with a truncheon.
“I have never been beaten and intimidated like that in my entire life. I wanted to die to free myself from this torture.”
The police told him to pay $2,000 (£1,623) or face imprisonment under Article 120. The man paid the police officers and was released.
Elsewhere in the report, one gay man reflected on Uzbekistan attitudes towards the LGBTQ+ community. He said: “It’s as if we lived on a different planet, where it is normal to hate, imprison, discriminate, and kill people simply for who they are.”
Uzbekistan redrafting of the criminal code will make life harder for LGBT+ people. ( Credit: ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP via Getty Images)
Stories like this continue to crop up in the former Soviet country, the only one which still hasn’t removed its Soviet-era anti-LGBTQ+ laws.
The report even found that police use information from HIV centres to find people in order to exploit and extort money from them.
Currently under Article 120, same-sex sexual conduct can be a punishable offence up to three years. Uzbekistan is currently drafting a new criminal code but the law would merely transpose Article 120 into a new Article 154, with the wording unchanged, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Between 2017 and 2021 it was reported by HRW that police carried out bogus, debunked anal examinations to find and prosecute men for same-sex relations, but these were in fact found to be forms of torture and abuse.
Politicians have stood in between any kind of legislation changes.
In 2021 Alisher Kadyrov, leader of Uzbekistan’s National Revival party, even suggested identifying LGBTQ+ people in the country and taking away their citizenship so that other countries could offer them refuge.
“When I put forward this proposal on social networks, up to 100 LGBT people got in touch with me and agreed with what I had said,” Kadyrov said, according to EurasiaNet.
Ethan Schmidt, a friend of Arizona MAGA candidate Kari “KKKari” Lake, was arrested on an outstanding warrant on Sunday in Mesa.
Schmidt showed up at a March For Our Lives rally with an assault weapon. Then, he found out what happens when you show up at an anti-gun rally with an assault weapon.
This is the same fine person who said he’d be “hunting LGBT supporters” at Target stores during Pride Month and also has been filmed harassing Black Lives Matter protesters.
Schmidt previously appeared on JMG when he harassed cancer patients at a wig store for wearing masks.
In January, he was banned from the Arizona Capitol after harassing a black lawmaker, saying that his mask was a “slave muzzle.”
In February, he earned national headlines when he berated store employees for selling Black History Month items.
Earlier this month he was detained after his group harassed abortion rights protesters and his accomplice was arrested for assault.
According to the Tucson Sentinel, Schmidt is currently awaiting trial for DUI. In a video posted to Reddit, Schmidt can be seen flaunting his ankle monitor.
Ethan Schmidt was arrested after harassing people at the March For Our Lives rally in Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/SofYObVcBi
Ethan Schmidt, a right wing provocateur who has made videos with Kari Lake, Wendy Rogers, and Paul Gosar, warned Target he will “hunt LGBT supporters” in their stores and across Phoenix in June, stating they “are not safe” and they “can’t hide.” pic.twitter.com/O3ReHVN3qY
Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers made a video promoting Ethan Schmidt, who is now stating he will “hunt LGBT supporters” at Target and across Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/1CBmJGHYvN
Kari Lake appeared in a video promoting Ethan Schmidt’s account.
Kari Lake refuses to publicly denounce Ethan who is now stating he will “hunt LGBT supporters” at Target and across Phoenix. pic.twitter.com/FB9Ue831G9
My question as well. In my opinion, just threatening to hunt people down and shoot them should be a crime. I thought it was. Silly me. I guess they’ll be giving him a $300 bail and give his gun back when they release him.
What is most pathetic about people like him and people of his ilk is that he has no ideology except hate. Anything he disagrees with is all about the 2nd amendment and using weapons to take back their lives. They really don’t understand what they are hating. They just threaten against anything they disagree with. Very sad and very republican.
Another dumb fuck who has had stupid hammered into him He has no clue what the second amendment mean but can only parrot ‘second amendment second amendment. These people have always been around but have achieved a high degree legitimacy under X#45 . Lethal confrontation has become an accepted norm
School districts across Ohio will be able to authorize teachers, principals and other staff to carry firearms into classrooms this fall after 24 hours of training.
The new law, signed Monday by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, will lower the required training hours for armed school personnel from about 700 hours to four scenario-based training hours, plus a maximum of 20 hours for first-aid training, history of school shootings and reunification education.
“In life we make choices, and we don’t always know what the outcome is going to be,” DeWine said at a news conference. “What this Legislature has done, I’ve done by signing it, is giving schools an option based on their particular circumstances to make the best decision they can make with the best information they have. That’s all any decision-maker can do.”
Ohio school districts are not required to allow staff to carry firearms under the law. House Bill 99 allows local boards of education to decide whether they want staff to carry firearms at all and how much training will be required.
DeWine said he directed the Ohio School Safety Center to require at least 24 hours of training and eight hours of requalification training each year. The move appeared aimed at eliminating confusion among lawmakers over whether the bill established a minimum number of training hours.
Private businesses that want to train school staff must also meet the 24-hour minimum to have their curriculum approved, DeWine said.
‘Do something’
Democrats and gun control advocates panned the new law, saying it won’t do enough to prevent gun violence and mass shootings. Law enforcement officials have also said 24 hours is not enough time to learn how to safely use a firearm.
Opponents argued DeWine walked back on promises to address gun violence after a gunman killed nine people in Dayton in 2019. The governor responded to cries of “do something” by unveiling a package of gun control reforms, but they never went anywhere in the GOP-controlled Legislature.
“I feel like a putz for believing him,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “He did something, alright. He gave in like a coward, and he made the problem worse.”
DeWine has signed three bills loosening gun restrictions since the shooting.
“It’s a complete bastardization of what people said in Dayton, frankly,” said former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who is running for governor against DeWine. “This is not what the people of Dayton had in mind when they started chanting that.”
During Monday’s news conference, DeWine urged lawmakers to consider provisions of the 2019 legislation that would increase penalties for straw purchases and prevent people with severe mental health conditions from possessing a firearm.
DeWine touts school safety efforts
DeWine’s signature puts an end to years of debate over how many hours of firearm training Ohio teachers should have.
Parents in the Madison Local Schools district in southwest Ohio sued the district over its armed teacher program, arguing that the training required – about 24 hours – violated state law. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled for the parents in 2021.
The court ruled in a 4-3 decision that Ohio Revised Code required anyone authorized to carry a gun on school grounds to have 20 years of experience or peace officer training. DeWine argued the ruling made firearm training unmanageable for school districts that wanted to permit it.
But some law enforcement disagreed.
“I think it’s a horrible idea to arm our teachers,” Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant said. “There’s a lot of training that’s involved in that. It’s naïve to believe that is something we can put on them and expect them to respond to from a law enforcement perspective.”
The governor used Monday’s news conference to highlight other school safety initiatives that he’s rolled out since the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The new capital budget includes $100 million in grants that schools can use to upgrade building security. The state is also investing in training to help school staff identify behavioral health problems in students.
“We are trying to do and have been trying to do every single day things that people keep safer – keep kids in school safer but also these same children who go home to neighborhoods where there’s violent crime and repeat violent offenders,” DeWine said. “Their lives are important, too. All children’s lives are important.”
#BREAKING: Gov. Mike DeWine, joined by Lt. Gov. Jon Husted Monday morning, confirmed he has signed a bill that allows teachers and education staff to carry guns with training slimmed down from peace officer requirements. DETAILS: https://t.co/Dq6Fh9OwhZpic.twitter.com/0676jRWreW
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday that he signed a bill permitting teachers to carry guns to school. The bill requires only 24 hours of training if school districts opt into the new legislation.
Republicans: teachers are communists who want to molest your kids and change their genders while listening to Bob Marley. Also republicans: we need to arm teachers.
The violence by these right wing groups is getting worse. It started with hate preachers, and now is a normal tool of intimation and fear caused by gang thugs who are the brownshirts of the Republican party. We know how deep these groups were in the insurrection. I have a fear that this is what is going to be the normal for the right to any they disagree with. I also want to point out as I have before how traumatized these little kids must have been. These were little kids. As has happened before at other libraries and bookstores these little kids are being terrified by these angry men coming and screaming, yelling, angry, making threats and saying bad things. Yet these gang thugs claim there are there to protect the children, the very kids they are scaring to death. We had better take this seriously because this is a prelude to what will be happening at any event that displease the right, as we seen with school board meetings during Covid. Right now red states are passing bills to have their armed, yes in some cases armed, supporters as poll workers to challenge voters of color or those they know are democrats. This is not democracy. History has shown us what happens if this is not stopped. Hugs
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a group of men who disrupted a drag queen storytelling event at the San Lorenzo Library Saturday with homophobic slurs.
The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said the incident occurred Saturday afternoon at around 1:30 p.m. at the San Lorenzo Library located on Paseo Grande.
Authorities said a group of men entered the library its “Drag Queen Story Time” event and made “homophobic and transphobic remarks against a member of the LGTBQ+ community who was hosting the event.”
From the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office:
When deputies arrived they learned a LGBTQ community member was hosting a reading event at the library called, “Drag Queen Story Hour.” Present at the event were children, parents and other community members.
A group of men entered the library and disrupted the reading event. The men were described as members of the Proud Boys organization, known to be a right wing hate group with anti-LGBTQ affiliations.
The men began to shout homophobic and transphobic slurs at the event organizer. The men were described as extremely aggressive with a threatening violent demeanor causing people to fear for their safety.
Deputies responded to the scene and were able to de-escalate the situation. An active hate crime investigation is underway as is an investigation into the annoying and harassing of children.
ACSO will dedicate all resources to ensure the safety of members of our LGBTQ community. We will make sure any future events at the library are safe against hate speech and threats of violence.
As we celebrate Pride Month, we will be swift in our response to any incidents where there are threats to harm members of this community.
Image above via Google Street View. The Proud Boys may have been alerted to the event thanks to a tweet from the anti-LGBTQ account, LibsOfTikTok.
Yesterday:
Proud Boys stormed Drag Queen Story Hour at San Lorenzo Public Library, wearing AK-47 shirts & calling the drag queen “pedophile” & “it.”
A right-wing militia was arrested for planning to attack Pride in Idaho.
Direct results of political attacks on LGBTQ people.
— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) June 12, 2022
NEW: San Francisco drag queen Panda Dulce says their Drag Queen Story Hour for kids at San Lorenzo Library today was stormed by people shouting homophobic slurs and hate speech.
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) June 12, 2022
I'm transcribing Dulce's post: "They were wearing AK 47 shirts. they recorded me on their phones, yelled, called me a 'tranny', a 'pedophile' and an 'it', and totally freaked out all of the kids. they got right in our faces. they jeered. they attempted to escalate to violence."
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) June 12, 2022
"I left the room with the security guard. we hid in the back office while the other librarians called the sheriff.
when the sheriff arrived with backup, they escorted the protesters out. the protestors formed a line, tried to block the library exits and waited."
— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez (@FitzTheReporter) June 12, 2022
Hate-crime investigation underway after 5 men who are members of the far-right Proud Boys interrupted a “Drag Queen Story Hour” at @aclib San Lorenzo Library w/kids, parents & community members & shouted homophobic & transphobic comments at event organizer, per @ACSOSheriffspic.twitter.com/6x5Uwaxc1B
These guys aren’t patriots: their self-description is as National Socialists. That’s NAZIS — literally. They actually promote the murder of all Blacks and Jews. They’re in favor of Genocide. The FBI needs to trail them relentlessly. https://t.co/VaO1Gzadt8
They also apparently object to the fact that the library’s activities are, gasp, funded by local property taxes. Presumably most people who pay property taxes have no particular problem with this activity or we would hear more from them. Question: what is the “libs” in this handle supposed to mean?
Generation that grew up laughing uproariously and without any sense of embarrassment at Flip Wilson in drag on prime time as Geraldine…
…now worried what will happen if kids see a drag show.
DeSantis now wants any parent who takes a child to a drag show to be investigated by DCF, charged with child abuse, and have their parental rights taken away.
The Proud Boys, the Three Percenters and the Oath Keepers, among other neo-fascist groups, have been a big problem for quite a while now, and it’s only getting worse, rapidly.
Canada has wisely designated the Three Percenters and the Proud Boys, at least, as “organizations designated as terrorists.” We have not been so wise in the US.
“Investigating?” What exactly needs to be “investigated?” The Proud(ly Idiotic) Boys clearly engaged in trespassing and disturbing the peace. Why aren’t they being arrested?
I think literacy is a noble goal and should be a community effort. We need some of those Drag Queens to go into the teaching profession and teach numeracy too.
Kudos to all the Drag Queens who volunteer to further the effort of educating children. The Proud Boys only teach hatred, violence and idiocy. I see no purpose in being a Proud Boy, except to promote narcissistic Nihilism.
Scottie's Playtime 