Tag: Abuse

ICC Looks At Ukraine

The International Criminal Court has issued a statement that it will be looking into the possibility that the forces of ‘Vlad the Invader’ (Russia) is committing human rights abuses against the population of Ukraine.

As Russian forces rolled into the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Wednesday, Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said a “miracle” was needed. It apparently did not arrive. The mayor says Kherson has fallen, making the strategic city of around 300,000 residents the first major city to be captured by the invaders in the week-old conflict, the New York Times reports. Kolykhayev tells the Times that Ukrainian forces have retreated and a Russian commander is in city hall, working on setting up a Russian administrative center. “There is no Ukrainian Army here,” the mayor says. “The city is surrounded.” More:

  • Military denied city had fallen. Earlier Wednesday, the Ukrainian military denied Russia’s claim that it had taken control of the city, the Washington Post reports. The mayor said troops had visited his office to work out an agreement on limits on civilian movement, including a curfew and an order for vehicles to travel at “minimum speed.”
  • Peace talks expected to resume Thursday. The resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, earlier expected to happen late Wednesday, is now expected Thursday, reports the AP. Officials on both sides say delegations are on their way to talks in Belarus. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that while Ukraine is ready for talks to resume, his country will not accept any ultimatums from Russia.
  • Reports of atrocities referred to ICC. Some 39 countries have submitted reports of atrocities in Ukraine to the International Criminal Court, a move that will speed up the investigation process, the Guardian reports. Liz Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary, said Russian forces were targeting civilians indiscriminately. “An investigation by the International Criminal Court into Russia’s barbaric acts is urgently needed,” she said. Prosecutor Karim Khan said an investigation will be opened immediately.
  • Humanitarian crisis looms in Mariupol. The deputy mayor of Mariupol, another port city, told the BBC on Wednesday that Russian forces were trying to “destroy the city” with 15 hours of continuous bombardment. Serhiy Orlov said key infrastructure had been hit, parts of the city were short on food, and a residential area had been nearly destroyed. “We cannot count the number of victims there, but we believe at least hundreds of people are dead,” he said. “We cannot go in to retrieve the bodies. My father lives there, I cannot reach him, I don’t know if he is alive or dead.”
  • Center of Kharkiv is a “wasteland.” The Russian advance on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, has apparently stalled, but troops have surrounded the country’s second city, Kharkiv, where heavy shelling has left the center a “wasteland of ruined buildings and debris,” reports Reuters. Dozens of people have been killed. Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said, “Kharkiv today is the Stalingrad of the 21st century.”

This should be looked into….but sadly their findings will come to nothing.

Why?

The major abusers of human rights like China, Russia, Israel and even the US do not recognize the authority of this organization or its findings.

CNN has stated that it will compile evidence to present to the ICC…..what would that be?

So far all MSM is basic reporting what they are told has happened….none of their journalists have seen these possible abuses first hand only the aftermath.

Why Ukraine?

They have not been so forthcoming it the US drone strikes or the Saudi/UAE destruction of Yemen or the Israeli treatment of Palestinians or hundreds of other ‘minor’ wars.

What is it about Ukraine that they feel they need to weigh into the legal proceedings?

I understand the gravity of war….but why is UKraine the only one?

I think that ALL nations if they have signed onto the UN charter should have to submit to these investigations and should abide by the rulings.

All these proceedings will accomplish is to generate propaganda tools to be used by the nation abused.

Just my thoughts…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

“De-Fund The Police”

Closing Thought–24Jun20

This one term has had a profound effect on the psyche of Americans….from reforms and change to they want to disband the police…..

In my opinion it is the worse possible term to use at this time in our evolving history.

Sorry to my die hard “law and order” readers but the police needs to change……they no long protect and serve but rather look like they are there to “punish and enslave”…..

But is there a way that a my responsive police department can be resurrected from the ruins of their history?

The vague and easily misinterpreted call to Defund the Police has been spreading quickly across the USA. Some may have a knee-jerk reaction to “just say no” to this call, but polls show a vast majority of Americans are concerned about improving the lives of people of color across the country. Reforms such as teaching police to de-escalate conflicts and enforcement of body camera use have support of about 90% of Americans. So, what could solutions to the current situation look like, how could they be paid for, and should relative costs realistically be coming out of police budgets?

Here are some steps you can take to make a difference:

educate yourself about public budgets, and how they can be improved
find out where and when relevant decisions are made, go there and be vocal
influence the media by writing to the press, being active on social media
mobilize your family and friends to take action with you
ensure that alternative solutions are created, proposed, and heard

Why and How to Defund the Police

I wrote about this on my op-ed blog, Gulf South Free Press……https://gulfsouthfreepress.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/what-does-de-fund-mean/

For example……how much has been given to PDs in military stuff?

According to a CNN analysis of federal data, the Department of Defense (DoD) has sent at least $760 million worth of military equipment to local law enforcement agencies since August 2017. This includes $5.3 million of gear used to quell protests, such as riot shields, gas masks, tasers, and other materials local law enforcement requested for “crowd control.”

Across the country, more than 8,000 police departments have been suppled with such equipment, at no cost, through the 1033 program, which allows the DoD to donate surplus combat material to law enforcement agencies.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/24/pros-j24.html

That needs to cease NOW!

Society cannot wait any longer….police reform is needed now and any postponement will only matter matters worse the next time.

Citizens want reform and change now….and they have taken to the streets….

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research surveyed 1,301 adults between June 11 and 15 and found majorities “overwhelmingly” in favor of a number of proposed reforms to the U.S. policing system. 

Nearly nine in 10 Americans are calling for requirements that police officers use body cameras and 86% say clear standards must be established and enforced regarding the use of force by police. Just five years ago, Americans were far less likely to say police violence was a serious problem facing the country.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/23/why-we-march-poll-shows-overwhelming-us-support-police-reform-increased

Not to be outdone the Dems have offered up a cosmetic bill of reforms…..

The Democrats have offered up their own slate of cosmetic changes largely mirroring Trump’s, including banning chokeholds and creating a national database of abusive officers, while also explicitly rejecting the demand, popular among protestors, to “defund” the police. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee, has called for $300 million in additional federal funding to shore up police departments across the country, while Senator Bernie Sanders has said that cops need to be paid higher salaries.

Such measures will amount to less than nothing. They might as well propose to change the color of police uniforms. Inevitably, “reforms” from these representatives of the ruling class will end up strengthening the police.

If you would like more information on this subject then there are a couple of articles that could assist you…..

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/14/21290877/democrats-defund-police-omar-clyburn

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/6/12/21283813/george-floyd-blm-abolish-the-police-8cantwait-minneapolis

https://www.vox.com/culture/2020/6/8/21281069/abolish-the-police-black-lives-matter-george-floyd-protests-minneapolis-new-york

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Just A Few “Bad Apples”

I know you have heard the term “bad apples” referring to those cops that are caught beating and abusing the public and why should all cops be punished for the acts of a few “bad apples”?

There seems to have been 85,000 investigations of police wrong doing…in the past decade…..

At least 85,000 law enforcement officers across the USA have been investigated or disciplined for misconduct over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY Network found.

Officers have beaten members of the public, planted evidence and used their badges to harass women. They have lied, stolen, dealt drugs, driven drunk and abused their spouses.

Despite their role as public servants, the men and women who swear an oath to keep communities safe can generally avoid public scrutiny for their misdeeds.

The records of their misconduct are filed away, rarely seen by anyone outside their departments. Police unions and their political allies have worked to put special protections in place ensuring some records are shielded from public view, or even destroyed.

Reporters from USA TODAY, its affiliated newsrooms across the country and the nonprofit Invisible Institute in Chicago spent more than a year creating the biggest collection of police misconduct records.

Obtained from thousands of state agencies, prosecutors, police departments and sheriffs, the records detail at least 200,000 incidents of alleged misconduct, much of it previously unreported. The records obtained include more than 110,000 internal affairs investigations by hundreds of individual departments and more than 30,000 officers who were decertified by 44 state oversight agencies.

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2019/04/24/usa-today-revealing-misconduct-records-police-cops/3223984002/

Sorry but those numbers stated in the article are a bit more than a “few bad apples”…..

But not to worry…all politicians are jumping on the bandwagon of reform…..not of which will actually change anything.

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”