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Long Beach School District the only one to mention homeless students

Ed. Note: New data show the number of homeless students in California has spiked in recent years. As of the 2012-2013 school year, some 270,000 of the state’s public school student were homeless at some point, accounting for a quarter of all homeless students in the country. But despite the growing need, Long Beach Unified School District was the only district in the state to reference homeless students in its three-year Local Control Accountability Plan, submitted in June as part of a new funding law that directs more money to high need students. LBUSD Homeless Liaison James Suarez spoke to NAM Education Editor Peter Schurmann about what prompted the move and the unique needs of the district’s homeless student population.

Why did LBUSD include homeless students in its LCAP?

LBUSD felt that identifying homeless students — even though this student population is embedded in the “low income” category — was important in recognizing that there are significant differences for these youngsters in needs, not only academic achievement, but counseling, social/emotional issues, etc. By listing homeless students as a distinct category in the [district’s] LCAP — not to diminish the other groups of needy students — I think creates an awareness and attention.

Are you seeing a spike in the homeless student population in Long Beach?

Since the downturn in the economy, there has been an increase in homeless students in the district. As a district, we are getting much better in identifying students who are homeless or “at-risk of homelessness.” Staff at school sites are recognizing signs of homelessness and are making a real difference in providing information to counselors and other specialists to be able to provide a safety net for students. In addition, the district has put resources for case management to enhance efforts in support of students and families.

Do you have a sense of who these students are? What are the ethnic breakdowns of the population?

Most recently, we are finding an increase in students from Central America and unaccompanied youth.

What special educational services do homeless students need that might differentiate them from other low-income students?

Two of the main services that we provide are school uniforms/supplies and transportation. Transportation is very important in that it eliminates a barrier for many homeless students — getting to school. That translates in attendance issues and consequently, lack of instruction (not being in class) and lack of achievement. If students are in school and getting instruction, they can achieve.

Transportation also ensures the stability in keeping a child at one school, even if the family is moving around. Before the homeless education laws, homeless families who are very transient, moved their child from school to school to school, thus creating a fragmented education for the children or, worse yet, a dropout situation. Current laws protect the students from moving school to school by requiring the District to provide transportation to the “school of origin” if it is feasible. That means that even though the family is moving around the city, the student remains at the same school, creating a stable environment.How does the school identify homeless students that may not want to be identified as such? What are the red flags to look for?

There are signs that students may be homeless or “at risk of becoming” home

less. Some of these signs are exhaustion, excessive absenteeism/tardiness, disheveled clothes, lack of proper cleanliness, etc. But there are more subtle signs that sometimes elude us — such as an acute need for attention or safety, which is a basic need for all students, but for homeless students, this is of paramount concern. We are getting better in identifying these students through professional development and site-based training.

For many homeless students, school has become the main service provider for them and their families. Is that your sense?

It is. If not for any other reason, the need for stability and consistency is vastly underrated for these students. The fact that their home life is clearly compromised and a real concern for these students, the six hours at school provide the comfort of a known commodity and a place to rely on. The school provides the steadiness that may be missing at home. For most children, this need is already met by their home, but for homeless students, the school becomes their stable “home.”

H a v e t h e re b e e n cuts to homeless service programs in the city, and if so, how has that impacted your work?

Although I can’t comment for the City of Long Beach, I can say that in recent years, there has been a tremendous effort to connect the district’s homeless education programs with the agencies of the city. In addition, the continuing cooperation for over a decade between the city and the district to create and maintain a hub for non-profit shelters, public and private agencies and the district has been a tremendous win for homeless families.

The Villages of Cabrillo has several shelters and the district has its Bethune Transition Center housed in the Villages. This commitment to providing a local presence in the area in which there is a confluence of homeless families makes the services to students and families seamless.

The District’s Bethune Transitional Center provides a one-stop place for families to go to receive services form district staff — school enrollment help, school uniforms and supplies, basic needs, counseling, school intake, and referrals to other agencies for housing assistance. The staff at Bethune also work with the school sites to understand the needs and is charged with case management. The Center gives front-line assistance where it is needed most.

What is the role of the liaison in serving homeless students? Is there enough funding to meet the need?

Through the leadership of the Board of Education, Superintendent and Executive Staff who all recognize the need, the homeless education program is supported. In addition, we have been fortunate to win the state’s competitive McKinney-Vento grant as a supplement to our Title I Reservation for homeless education. The role of the liaison really is at the center of the administration of effective programs for homeless students and families. But the real work comes at Bethune and at the school sites. These dedicated employees not only recognize the need for supporting homeless students, but take decisive action on their behalf. But let’s also recognize the fact that the district supports (as our mission indicates) every student, every day.

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The five biggest lies about Ebola being pushed by government and mass media

by Mike Adams, Natural News

All the disinformation being spread about Ebola by the U.S. government and the complicit mass media will unfortunately make the Ebola pandemic far worse. That’s because the public isn’t being told the truth about how Ebola spreads and how individuals can help prevent transmission of the disease.

At every level of media and government, protecting the financial interests of drug companies appears to be far more important than protecting public health. So people aren’t told the truth about how Ebola spreads and how they can increase their ability to survive a global pandemic.

Here are five of the biggest lies being spread about Ebola right now. Once you’ve reviewed the lies, learn the truth at www.BioDefense.com

Lie #1) Ebola won’t ever come to the United States

This lie was shattered just this week when the CDC confirmed Ebola in a hospital patient in Dallas, Texas.

Not only has Ebola already spread to America, but a top scientist who used to work for the FDA now says this is only the beginning and that Ebola will spread in America.

As printed in The Extinction Protocol:

“…it appears several people were exposed before the individual was placed in isolation, and it is quite possible that one or more of his contacts will be infected,” he added. What’s more, he conceded that it was “only a matter of time” that the swift-killing African virus arrived in the U.S.

Lie #2) Ebola is only spread via direct contact with body fluids

This outrageous medical lie may soon cost the lives of millions of innocent people. In truth, Ebola can spread through the air over short distances via aerosols – airborne particles.

Ebola can also spread via contaminated surfaces. When an infected patient makes contact with a surface such as a doorknob or ATM keypad, they may leave behind the Ebola virus which survives for many minutes or hours in the open, depending on environmental conditions (temperature, humidity, etc.) Another person who touches the same surface may then become instantly infected by simply touching their own eyes, nose or mouth.

The ability of Ebola to spread via contaminated surfaces is why victims in Africa have become infected by riding in taxi cabs. This also means any form of public transportation — airplanes, ambulances, subways — may harbor the virus and accelerate the spread of an outbreak.

Like all viruses, Ebola is destroyed by sunlight. But it can remain viable for a surprisingly long time in environments where sunlight never reaches — such as underground subways, which are the perfect breeding grounds for viral transmission.

Lie #3) Don’t worry: Health authorities have everything under control

The overarching lie about Ebola that’s being repeated by the U.S. government is “Don’t worry, we have it under control!”

Of course, the fact that an infected Ebola victim just flew right into the country with Ebola, then walked around the city of Dallas for 10 days while carrying Ebola, utterly belies the false promises of health authorities who claim to have things under control.

In truth, Ebola is completely out of control which is precisely why its sudden appearance in a Dallas hospital surprised nearly everyone. The sobering fact of the matter is that despite all the money being spent on “homeland security,” DHS has no way to stop Ebola from walking right into the USA, including on foot from our wide open southern border.

If the U.S. government has everything under control, then why did the government just purchase 160,000 Ebola hazmat suits? Why did Obama just recently sign an executive order authorizing the forced government quarantine of anyone showing symptoms of infectious disease?

While the public can be easily lied to and told everything is under control, behind closed doors at the highest levels of government, everybody knows this pandemic could rapidly become a global killer that no one can stop.

Lie #4) The only defense against Ebola is a vaccine or a pharmaceutical drug

This lie may get millions of people killed if the Ebola outbreak gets worse. In a desperate bid to make sure Ebola generates billions of dollars in profits for vaccine makers and pharmaceutical companies, the CDC, FDA and even the FTC routinely censor truthful information about natural treatments that might hold promise (such as colloidal silver).

Companies that offer extremely beneficial essential oils and colloidal silver products have already been threatened with criminal arrest and prosecution by the FDA. The mainstream media remains complicit in the systematic oppression of natural cures, printing the FDA’s propaganda while completely avoiding any balanced reporting that might highlight the extraordinary anti-viral capabilities of many medicinal herbs as I’ve described in Episode Six of Pandemic Preparedness.

If we really want to stop the spread of this viral pandemic right now, both government and the media should be urging citizens to boost their immune defenses by consuming more nutritious foods, herbal spices, superfoods and anti-viral plants (which include peppermint, basil, rosemary, cinnamon and oregano, just to name a few).

Everyone should be immediately urged to make sure they have sufficient vitamin D circulating in their blood, and those who have low vitamin D — which includes just about everyone in America today — should be urged to take vitamin D supplements.

But instead of urging the public to enhance their immune function and boost their natural defenses against Ebola, everyone is ridiculously told to “wash your hands” and wait around for a drug company to introduce an Ebola vaccine.

Lie #5) Ebola came out of nowhere and was a random fluke of nature

The modern-day version of Ebola that’s so aggressively circulating today may actually be a bioengineered virus, according to one scientist who wrote a front-page story in Liberia’s largest newspaper.

“Ebola is a genetically modified organism (GMO),” declared Dr. Cyril Broderick, Professor of Plant Pathology, in a front-page story published in the Liberian Observer.

He goes on to explain:

[Horowitz] confirmed the existence of an American Military-Medical-Industry that conducts biological weapons tests under the guise of administering vaccinations to control diseases and improve the health of “black Africans overseas.”

Further supporting this genetic engineering research claim, the U.S. government patented Ebola in 2010 and now claims intellectual property ownership over all Ebola variants. That patent number is CA2741523A1, viewable at this link.

Read more about the patenting of Ebola and control over its research in this Natural News article.

This means the U.S. government claims all control over Ebola research, too, because any research project involving replication of the virus would violate the government’s patent.

In fact, the vastly improved transmission ability of the Ebola strain currently circulating (compared to previous outbreaks in years past) has many people convinced this strain is a “weaponized” variant which either broke through containment protocols at government labs or was intentionally deployed as a population control weapon.

Several U.S. scientists have openly called for global depopulation using genetically engineered bioweapons such as Ebola. Dr. Eric Pianka of the University of Texas at Austin reportedly advocated the use of Ebola to wipe out 90% of the human population, according to Life Site News.

It appears he may soon get his wish. If the current Ebola explosion continues, the global population may be in serious jeopardy and many millions could die.

Those who wish to live through a global pandemic should learn how to get prepared now by listening to the audio chapters at www.BioDefense.com

urging citizens to boost their immune defenses by consuming more nutritious foods, herbal spices, superfoods and anti-viral plants (which include peppermint, basil, rosemary, cinnamon and oregano, just to name a few).

Everyone should be immediately urged to make sure they have sufficient vitamin D circulating in their blood, and those who have low vitamin D — which includes just about everyone in America today — should be urged to take vitamin D supplements.

But instead of urging the public to enhance their immune function and boost their natural defenses against Ebola, everyone is ridiculously told to “wash your hands” and wait around for a drug company to introduce an Ebola vaccine.

Lie #5) Ebola came out of nowhere and was a random fluke of nature

The modern-day version of Ebola that’s so aggressively circulating today may actually be a bioengineered virus, according to one scientist who wrote a front-page story in Liberia’s largest newspaper.

“Ebola is a genetically modified organism (GMO),” declared Dr. Cyril Broderick, Professor of Plant Pathology, in a front-page story published in the Liberian Observer.

He goes on to explain:

[Horowitz] confirmed the existence of an American Military-Medical-Industry that conducts biological weapons tests under the guise of administering vaccinations to control diseases and improve the health of “black Africans overseas.”

Further supporting this genetic engineering research claim, the U.S. government patented Ebola in 2010 and now claims intellectual property ownership over all Ebola variants. That patent number is CA2741523A1, viewable at this link.

Read more about the patenting of Ebola and control over its research in this Natural News article.

This means the U.S. government claims all control over Ebola research, too, because any research project involving replication of the virus would violate the government’s patent.

In fact, the vastly improved transmission ability of the Ebola strain currently circulating (compared to previous outbreaks in years past) has many people convinced this strain is a “weaponized” variant which either broke through containment protocols at government labs or was intentionally deployed as a population control weapon.

Several U.S. scientists have openly called for global depopulation using genetically engineered bioweapons such as Ebola. Dr. Eric Pianka of the University of Texas at Austin reportedly advocated the use of Ebola to wipe out 90% of the human population, according to Life Site News.

It appears he may soon get his wish. If the current Ebola explosion continues, the global population may be in serious jeopardy and many millions could die.

Those who wish to live through a global pandemic should learn how to get prepared now by listening to the audio chapters at www.BioDefense.com

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Obama broke his promise to latinos

[Author]Why are we still supporting him?
 

by Carmen Velasquez[/Author]

 

When Barack Obama and I last sat down in 2006, I refused to shake his hand. Today, I still won’t. His announcement last weekend that he would delay executive action on immigration is his fifth broken promise to Latinos on this all-important issue for our community. He has been blind to the pain of the 1,100 deportations our communities face every day and the anguish our families feel as they are swung back and forth as political pawns.

The question for us Latinos – especially the nearly 24 million of us eligible to vote – is, what to do about this? How can we ensure that the fastest-growing demographic in the country isn’t taken for granted by Democrats who purport to be our allies but often dash our hopes in the face of the least bit of political pressure? There are no obvious or even satisfactory answers, but one thing is clear: We’ve been slapped in the face one too many times by this president. And it probably won’t be the last: Obama has a long record of betraying Latinos – and it predates his days in the White House. I’ve seen it up close.

When Obama ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004, he promised to represent Latinos and lead on immigration reform. His speech during the Democratic National Convention that year captivated me. While busy running six health clinics for low-income and mostly undocumented immigrants on Chicago’s southwest side, I strongly urged every Latino and immigrant registered voter I came across to support Obama. As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant who picked beets in South Dakota in the 1940s and then moved to Chicago to open a successful jukebox business, I was proud to pull the ballot for Obama on Election Day.

But as Illinois’ new senator, instead of working to pass immigration reform, Obama in 2006 voted in favor of building a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Security first, then reform, we were told. Sometime later that year, Obama came to Chicago for a damage-control meeting with some 50 of his closest Latino allies. He worked the tables, walking from person to person and shaking everyone’s hand. He extended his hand to me three times and three times I refused. How could I offer that symbol of friendship when he had just stabbed us in the back?

When Obama ran for president, he promised immigration would be the top priority in the first 100 days. I still wanted to believe, so I cast my vote for him again, despite the disappointment from 2006. He broke that promise, opting instead to spend his political capital on passing his signature health care reform program. He went on to deport more than 400,000 immigrants in his first year – far more than George W. Bush in his last year. On the anniversary of his first year in office, Hoy, the Spanish-language newspaper in Chicago, ran a full-page picture of the president on its cover under the headline “Promesa Por Cumplir” (“Unkept Promise”).

And still we held out hope that this president – our president – would make something happen. So again I listened eagerly when Obama delivered an immigration speech at American University in 2010 promising action on immigration reform. With a Democrat-controlled Senate and House, how could changes not be forthcoming? As always, Obama said all of the right things, while doing the opposite of what he pledged. He said, for example, how terrible it was to rip a mother from her child, even as he went on to become the deporter-in-chief – removing more than 2 million immigrants, including the mothers and fathers of some 150,000 U.S. citizen children, each year. In the run-up to his second election, Obama vowed that immigration would be the top priority in his second term. Latinos made their mark on election night 2012, and many voted with the plights of their undocumented mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles and best friends in mind. We delivered for Obama, with 71 percent of us supporting the president. Only 27 percent favored Mitt Romney – a lower percentage than Republican candidates received in the last three presidential elections. Our votes made a difference: We helped Obama win the key states of Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado.

We believed in Obama’s “Audacity of Hope.” We put him back in the White House expecting him to keep his end of the bargain – finally.

This year, Obama promised us action on immigration at the end of spring. Then he promised movement after the summer recess, when federal lawmakers returned to Washington. Now, he promises to take up the issue after the November elections.

Lie to me once, shame on you. Lie to me five times, what do you expect us to do? Obama and the Democrats who supported and encouraged him have little credibility among Latino voters. Obama may have done more to suppress the Latino vote through broken promises than any hostile action taken by the Republicans.

Last weekend, Obama backed off his most recent promise to push immigration reform through executive action to protect vulnerable Senate Democrats who would otherwise come under fire during the upcoming midterms. But by trying to shield those lawmakers, he may have harmed others.

Colorado Sen. Mark Udall, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, Illinois Reps. Brad Schneider and Bill Foster – all Democrats who have kept their promises to the Latino community and consistently supported reform – will face reelection and risk losing if disaffected Latinos refuse to show up at the polls. Between now and the midterms, more than 60,000 Latinos and immigrants will very likely be separated from their loved ones and thousands of U.S. citizen children will be left without a mother or a father before the president acts. Most of these human beings have lived in the United States for more than a decade and do backbreaking work that Americans do not want to do, contributing to and growing industries that Americans cannot do without. All they ask is for a chance to get right with the law, legally enter the workforce and stay together with their families. Obama’s broken promise and delayed action will mean many of them will be deported.

Their suffering and that of their families, friends and children should weigh on the consciences of the president and the Democrats who encouraged Obama to put off – again and again and again and again and again – the push for immigration reform.

As for our own plan of action? It’s hard for me to imagine many of us voting for Republicans, who have at times been downright hostile to immigrant communities. But maybe Latinos in places like Colorado, Florida, Arkansas and North Carolina – states with closely contested Senate or governor’s races – should sit this election out. Maybe only by paying a price at the polls will Democrats finally stop throwing us under the bus.

Carmen Velasquez is founder and retired executive director of Alivio Medical Center in Chicago.

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6th Annual San Francisco Latino Festival

[Author]Compiled by the

El Reportero’s staff
[/Author]
 

Cine+Mas SF celebrates its 6th year of the San Francisco Latino Film Festival, opening with our annual kick-off event sponsored by KPIX-CBS local at their studios (855 Battery St, SF) on Tuesday, September 16, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.

The SFLFF program includes award winning and critically acclaimed documentary, feature and short films from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador, Peru, Uruguay, Guatemala and the USA. Local and visiting filmmakers from around the country and Latin America will be in attendance.

The festival is proud to open this year at the Brava Theater in San Francisco’s Mission District, recently designated as the Latino Cultural Corridor. The opening night celebration will be at Brick & Mortar in San Francisco. Additional venues include Opera Plaza Cinemas (SF); Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (SF); Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (SF); Red Poppy Art House (SF); Eastside Cultural Center (Oakland), La Peña Cultural Center (Berkeley); Mexican Heritage Plaza (San Jose).

“The festival’s purpose is to build community through film, while educating, entertaining, and recognizing the work of Latin American, Spanish and US Latino filmmakers which otherwise may not be seen in San Francisco,” said festival director Lucho Ramirez.

Some of the Short Films include a documentary animation this year: Frontera! Revolt & Revolution on the Upper Rio Grande, (USA/San Francisco), directed by John Jota Leaños, about the seminal events and colonial entries that have shaped the deeply contested territories of the US-Mexico Borderlands. Native and Chicano narrators recall this living history through memory, play, humor and song. The film is a collaboration between Chicano and Native artists in New Mexico and California.

From September 19 through the 27 at different locations in the SF Bay Area, with extended locations. For more info http://www.sflatinofilmfestival.org or call 415-826-7057. For tickets visit www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006.

 

Extraordinary free Cuban music performers events at Yerba Buena Gardens

A central figure in Cuban music for three decades, Juan de Marcos has set himself a lifetime mission: to show the wealth, diversity and vitality of Cuban music to the world.  His work with super groups and incredible artists such as the Afro-Cuban All Stars, the Buena Vista Social Club, Rubén González, Ibahim Ferrer, Siera Maestra and others has  had extraordinary success in introducing the whole range of Cuban music around the globe.

On Sept. 21, from 1 – 2:30 p.m. perform Juan de Marcos & The Afro-Cuban All Stars, at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, Mission Street, between 3rd and 4th Street, SF; and from 6 – 7:30 p.m. We Are CA Series, “Meet Juan de Marcos” in a Q&A session, at the California Historical Society, 678 Mission Street, SF., and conducted by Chelis López of KPOO-FM Radio, followed by a reception. FREE EVENTS!!! RSVP to reception appreciated: rsvp@ybgfestival.org.

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Benicio del Toro, Emely Blunt film Resolution 6 in Mexico

[Author]by the El Reportero news services[/Author]

 

Puerto Rican actor Benicio del Toro and British actress Emily Blunt filmed several scenes for the movie Resolution 6 in the city of Nezahualcoyotl, one of the most violent in the central state of Mexico, the producer said.

The film’s producer, Edward McDonnell, said that Mexican settings were chosen to “stamp the movie with scenic realism,” the city council said in a communique.

McDonnell said he needed a Mexican city to develop his story and, after checking out several locations, chose Nezahualcoyotl as “the perfect place.”

He did explain, however, that the choice of locations “had nothing to do with the theme of violence,” and said his decision was based more on what the streets looked like.

He was looking for “an authentic Mexican setting,” he said.

The city of Nezahualcoyotl has been considered by federal authorities and civilian organizations as one of the most violent, together with Naucalpan, Tlanepantla, Ecatepec and Chalco, where a number of criminal organizations operate.

The film’s plot revolves around an FBI agent who investigates a series of murders in Phoenix, Arizona, and along the border with Mexico, and travels to that country to hunt down a drug trafficker.

Actors who have taken part in the shoot are Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt and Gustavo Sánchez Parra, who have handed out autographs and had their pictures taken with local residents.

McDonnell said the actors have never felt in danger for a single minute, and noted Benicio del Toro’s attachment to Mexico, a country where he has participated in a number of projects.

He also praised the work of the Mexican team that has taken part in the production, including citizens of Nezahualcoyotl who have worked as “extras and have been very cooperative.”

The movie, which will premiere in the fall of 2015, also includes scenes in the town of Naucalpan and others in the eastern state of Veracruz.

The shoot astonished locals over the past three days with police vehicles coming out in force as part of the production.

 

Colombia’s Carlos Vives shows off soccer skills while performing greatest hits

Colombian singer Carlos Vives wowed his fans in Bogota on the weekend with the second extraordinary concert of his “Mas corazon profundo Tour.”

With a soccer ball in his hands, Vives, the winner of seven Latino Grammy awards took the stage on Saturday night in the Colombian capital’s Simon Bolivar Park before a crowd of some 45,000, including the former captain of the Colombian national soccer team, Mario Yepes.

The singer, who was born in Santa Marta on the Atlantic coast, gave concertgoers a complete show overflowing with passion.

He kicked off the concert about an hour late with Mil canciones, the anthem of the Colombian soccer team at the World Cup in Brazil earlier this year.

Vives offered more than two hours of music to his fans, alternating big hits like “Fruta Fresca” and “La gota fria” with songs from his latest albums, including Corazon profundo and the new single Cuando nos volvamos a encontrar.

El mar de tus ojos, Volvi a nacer, “Bailar contigo and Como le gusta a tu cuerpo were among the numbers performed by the singer who internationalized Vallenato music, the popular folk style from Colombia’s Caribbean region.

Vives, who has released 15 albums, will continue his Colombian tour, which he launched on Friday in Villavicencio, in the cities of Medellin, Barranquilla and Santa Marta, where he will wrap things up on Sept. 27.

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How the excessive militarization of the police is turning cops into counterinsurgents

[Author]FROM THE EDITOR:

 

Dear readers,[/Author]

I don’t need to repeat the horror stories that have been plaguing the mainstream media or corporate media, as it is now called, about the increasing police executions of people in their “line of duty.” The same excuses: the suspect had a gun (but who didn’t shot a bullet); he didn’t obey police command to stop but kept running; he didn’t show his hands; I called the police to help me restrain my daughter who was acting crazy, etc. They all got killed. The following article, written by Matthew Harwood, brings us inside of the how the police are becoming more violent, and how the killings go unpunished. Third part

 

To terrify and occupy: how the excessive militarization of the police is turning cops into counterinsurgents

 

by Matthew Harwood

TomDispatch

 

Third Part: How the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are up-armoring the police

 

When police departments look to muscle up their arms and tactics, the Pentagon isn’t the only game in town. Civilian agencies are in on it, too.

During a 2011 investigation, reporters Andrew Becker and G.W. Schulz discovered that, since 9/11, police departments watching over some of the safest places in America have used $34 billion in grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to militarize in the name of counterterrorism.

In Fargo, North Dakota, for example, the city and its surrounding county went on an $8 million spending spree with federal money, according to Becker and Schulz. Although the area averaged less than two murders a year since 2005, every squad car is now armed with an assault rifle. Police also have access to Kevlar helmets that can stop heavy firepower as well as an armored truck worth approximately $250,000. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1,500 beat cops have been trained to use AR-15 assault rifles with homeland security grant funding.

As with the 1033 program, neither DHS nor state and local governments account for how the equipment, including body armor and drones, is used. While the rationale behind stocking up on these military-grade supplies is invariably the possibility of a terrorist attack, school shooting, or some other horrific event, the gear is normally used to conduct paramilitary drug raids, as Balko notes.

Still, the most startling source of police militarization is the Department of Justice, the very agency officially dedicated to spreading the community policing model through its Community Oriented Policing Services office.

In 1988, Congress authorized the Byrne grant programs in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which gave state and local police federal funds to enlist in the government’s drug war. That grant program, according to Balko, led to the creation of regional and multi-jurisdictional narcotics task forces, which gorged themselves on federal money and, with little federal, state, or local oversight, spent it beefing up their weapons and tactics. In 2011, 585 of these task forces operated off of Byrne grant funding.

The grants, Balko reports, also incentivized the type of policing that has made the war on drugs such a destructive force in American society. The Justice Department doled out Byrne grants based on how many arrests officers made, how much property they seized, and how many warrants they served. The very things these narcotics task forces did very well. “As a result,” Balko writes, “we have roving squads of drug cops, loaded with SWAT gear, who get money if they conduct more raids, make more arrests, and seize more property, and they are virtually immune to accountability if they get out of line.”

Regardless of whether this militarization has occurred due to federal incentives or executive decision-making in police departments or both, police across the nation are up-armoring with little or no public debate. In fact, when the ACLU requested SWAT records from 255 law enforcement agencies as part of its investigation, 114 denied them. The justifications for such denials varied, but included arguments that the documents contained “trade secrets” or that the cost of complying with the request would be prohibitive. Communities have a right to know how the police do their jobs, but more often than not, police departments think otherwise.

 

Being the police means never having to say you’re sorry

Report by report, evidence is mounting that America’s militarized police are a threat to public safety. But in a country where the cops increasingly look upon themselves as soldiers doing battle day in, day out, there’s no need for public accountability or even an apology when things go grievously wrong.

If community policing rests on mutual trust between the police and the people, militarized policing operates on the assumption of “officer safety” at all costs and contempt for anyone who sees things differently. The result is an “us versus them” mentality.

Just ask the parents of Bou Bou Phonesavanh. Around 3:00 a.m. on May 28th, the Habersham County Special Response Team conducted a no-knock raid at a relative’s home near Cornelia, Georgia, where the family was staying. The officers were looking for the homeowner’s son, whom they suspected of selling $50 worth of drugs to a confidential informant. As it happened, he no longer lived there.

Despite evidence that children were present — a minivan in the driveway, children’s toys littering the yard, and a Pack ‘n Play next to the door — a SWAT officer tossed a “flashbang” grenade into the home. It landed in 19-month-old Bou Bou’s crib and exploded, critically wounding the toddler. When his distraught mother tried to reach him, officers screamed at her to sit down and shut up, telling her that her child was fine and had just lost a tooth. In fact, his nose was hanging off his face, his body had been severely burned, and he had a hole in his chest. Rushed to the hospital, Bou Bou had to be put into a medically induced coma.

The police claimed that it was all a mistake and that there had been no evidence children were present. “There was no malicious act performed,” Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It was a terrible accident that was never supposed to happen.” The Phonesavanhs have yet to receive an apology from the sheriff’s office. “Nothing. Nothing for our son. No card. No balloon. Not a phone call. Not anything,” Bou Bou’s mother, Alecia Phonesavanh, told CNN.

Similarly, Tampa Bay Police Chief Jane Castor continues to insist that Jay Westcott’s death in the militarized raid on his house was his own fault. “Mr. Westcott lost his life because he aimed a loaded firearm at police officers. You can take the entire marijuana issue out of the picture,” Castor said. “If there’s an indication that there is armed trafficking going on — someone selling narcotics while they are armed or have the ability to use a firearm — then the tactical response team will do the initial entry.”

In her defense of the SWAT raid, Castor simply dismissed any responsibility for Westcott’s death. “They did everything they could to serve this warrant in a safe manner,” she wrote the Tampa Bay Times — “everything,” that is, but find an alternative to storming the home of a man they knew feared for his life.

Almost half of all American households report having a gun, as the ACLU notes in its report. That means the police always have a ready-made excuse for using SWAT teams to execute warrants when less confrontational and less violent alternatives exist.

In other words, if police believe you’re selling drugs, beware. Suspicion is all they need to turn your world upside down. And if they’re wrong, don’t worry; the intent couldn’t have been better.

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Five best foods for fighting depression

[Author]by Aurora Geib[/Author]

 

Depression is a cruel disease. It starts out as an unobtrusive emotion and, when left unattended, eventually becomes a life altering and sometimes even a life threatening condition. Judging from the many stories shared on the internet describing actual cases of depression, one thing seems to stand out – a certain lack of hope. This hopelessness is further compounded by the fact that it is accompanied by a helpless feeling and manifested through antisocial behavior that characterizes depressed people.

Aside form omega 3 fatty acid rich foods, below are some more examples of foods that can also have a beneficial effect on mood:

Turkey – This food contains tryptophan, an amino acid needed to produce serotonin, a brain chemical. It is a deficiency in serotonin production that is thought to cause depression, so increasing its production could possibly address symptoms. A study published in the online journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior shared that tryptophan can be used as an anti-depressant in mild to moderate cases of depression and there is evidence to support its ability to decrease aggression. Tryptophan is also found in meat, beans and eggs.

Vegetables, nuts and whole grains – This food group contains B vitamins: folic acid, B2, B6 and B12. In a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, it was suggested that low levels of the B vitamin, folic acid and high levels of homocysteine, a high level protein, can likely produce depression. It was further suggested that increased doses of folic and vitamin B12 could potentially improve treatment outcome in depression.

Organic Potatoes, corn and rice grain – This food group is an example of complex carbohydrates which, when broken down, become glucose. Glucose fuels the brain, boosting cognitive performance and improving adeptness at tasks involving memory and attention. Avoid eating too much sugar, however, as it causes spikes in the blood sugar and aggravates symptoms of depression.

St. John’s Wort – Although there is evidence to the effect that the effectiveness of St. John’s Wort in treating serious cases of depression is more akin to placebo, there is also scientific evidence suggesting the herb’s efficacy in dealing with milder forms of depression. This herb is widely prescribed in Europe for depression.

Despite the evidence suggesting that depression may be treated by diet, it is still not enough to build a tight case. For now, most doctors agree that proper medical care cannot be substituted by a depression diet or from food or dietary supplements. From the current medical viewpoint, psychotherapy and medication is still the most effective means of dealing with depression.

Sources of the article:

Treatment of depression: time to consider folic acid and vitamin B12

Coppen A. and Bolander-Gouaille, C.

We review the findings in major depression of a low plasma and particularly red cell folate, but also of low vitamin B12 status. Both low folate and low vitamin B12 status have been found in studies of depressive patients, and an association between depression and low levels of the two vitamins is found in studies of the general population. Low plasma or serum folate has also been found in patients with recurrent mood disorders treated by lithium. A link between depression and low folate has similarly been found in patients with alcoholism. It is interesting to note that Hong Kong and Taiwan populations with traditional Chinese diets (rich in folate), including patients with major depression, have high serum folate concentrations.

However, these countries have very low life time rates of major depression. Low folate levels are furthermore linked to a poor response to antidepressants, and treatment with folic acid is shown to improve response to antidepressants. A recent study also suggests that high vitamin B12 status may be associated with better treatment outcome.

(NaturalNews)

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Cuba claims U.S. embargo has cost the island $1.1 trillion

[Author]by the El Reportero’s wire services
[/Author]
The Cuban government on Tuesday denounced the “systematic worsening” of the U.S. economic embargo, the impact of which Havana calculated at more than $1.1 trillion – taking into account the depreciation of the dollar against the international price of gold – since being imposed on the island in 1962.

The embargo is a “genocidal and vile act … (with) an extraterritorial dimension,” given that the United States is trying to impose it on third countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno said in presenting the Cuban government’s annual report to the United Nations on the U.S. sanctions.

Moreno emphasized that the “extraterritorial character” of laws associated with the embargo “have a direct impact” on foreign trade and the promotion of foreign investment in the country.

The damage to Cuban foreign trade between April 2013 and June 2014 amounted to $3.9 billion, the report said, adding that without the embargo, Cuba could have earned $205.8 million selling products such as rum and cigars to U.S. consumers.

Moreno accused Washington of carrying out the “implacable persecution” of investors in Cuba and the country’s financial transactions via the numerous sanctions that create substantial disincentives for establishing economic links with Havana.

He also emphasized the damage inflicted on tourism, with that sector being unable to earn at least $2 billion due to the impediments on traveling to the island imposed on U.S. citizens.

Moreno insisted that the embargo creates an obstacle to Cuba’s being able to provide basic and free services to its population, including education and health care.

In the health sector, no figure can “reflect the intangible costs of the social and human importance of the damage caused by the impossibility of getting access to medications and technology,” the deputy foreign minister said.

He also blamed the embargo for the difficulties in accessing the Internet on the island, saying that the United States prevents companies providing broadband services from operating normally in Cuba.

 

Colombia receives nearly 700 pre-Columbian artifacts repatriated from Spain

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry on Monday publicly presented a total of 691 pre-Columbian artifacts repatriated from Spain in recent weeks.

The items – from different epochs, cultures and regions – include objects with organic and geometric designs, the Colombian Anthropology and History Institute, or ICANH, said in a recent communiqué.

In the collection can be found representations of human faces, small flutes known as “ocarinas” and a large number of stamps and molds with symbolic images used by the indigenous peoples to paint their bodies and stamp cloth, ICANH added.

The process of repatriating this group of items began a year ago with the intervention of the foreign ministry, the culture ministry, the Colombian Embassy in Spain, ICANH and the Colombian Attorney General’s Office.

Colombian authorities asked for the return of the pieces, which had been seized by Spanish police in 2003 after they were discovered during the course of Operation Florencia against drug and money laundering cartels.

For a decade, the collection was in the custody of the Museum of the Americas, a Spanish government entity that preserved the pieces under optimal conditions during that entire time, according to ICANH, until it notified the Colombian government of the collection’s existence in 2011.

Now, the pieces will be studied to precisely determine their origins with an eye toward mounting a big exposition next month, ICANH personnel told Efe.

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New study: Prop. 47 would help California address overcrowded prisons

[Author]by Ngoc Nguyen and Nicole Hudley

New America Media
[/Author]
SAN FRANCISCO – A measure on the November ballot would reclassify six non-violent felonies to misdemeanors, a move that observers say could help California finally comply with a federal mandate to reduce its overcrowded prison system.

Under Proposition 47, those who commit certain low-level offenses – check fraud, drug possession, forgery, petty theft, receiving stolen property and shoplifting – would receive lighter sentences as long as they had no serious or violent crimes on their record. The reclassification would apply to property crimes involving amounts less than $950, and it would apply retroactively.

The change is expected to reduce the number of prisoners in state facilities, and state savings would be funneled into mental health and drug abuse treatment, K-12 education, and victims’ services.

Prop. 47 would move California closer to meeting a looming deadline to shrink its prison population under a federal-court mandate, according to a new study by the California Budget Project.

For the last three years, the state has been attempting to address overcrowding in state prisons by shifting nonviolent offenders — and funding — to local county jails, a process known as realignment.

But while the policy has succeeded in reducing the state prison population, it hasn’t been enough.

In 2011, a panel of three federal judges found that California’s severe prison overcrowding was the main reason it was failing to provide prisoners with adequate medical and mental health care, in violation of the U.S. Constitution. It set a prison population benchmark that the state was supposed to have met this year, to reduce the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons to 137.5 percent of design capacity. California still has not met the threshold and court judges have extended the deadline by another 17 months.

According to the Budget Project analysis, state prisons housed 115,972 individuals as of August. It still needs to shrink that number by about 2 percent –roughly 2,300 individuals – to comply with the federal-court mandate, and it has to do this by February 2016.

Barry Krisberg, a senior fellow at UC Berkeley, says Prop. 47 will help the state achieve that goal, without having to release violent offenders.

“Frankly, the only way you could bring the prison population [down] even further, you’d have to start releasing more lifers…you’d have to go to the violent population,” said Krisberg, who researches juvenile justice issues at UC Berkeley’s School of Law.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates that Prop. 47 could impact 40,000 people and generate savings in the low hundreds of millions annually.

According to the Budget Project report, the measure, if passed, would reduce prison overcrowding in two ways: Going forward, fewer individuals would be sent to state prison for the reclassified crimes; and those already in state prison for those offenses would be resentenced and sent to county jails.

Some county jails are already experiencing their own overcrowding problems as a result of realignment. But San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon, a sponsor of the measure, says the change wouldn’t worsen conditions in county lock-up. Shorter sentences for individuals convicted of the reclassified crimes, he says, could ease overcrowding in the county jails.

And because misdemeanors carry shorter sentences than felonies, he says, “there will be a reduction in the time that people will spend in custody.”

But not everyone affected by Prop. 47 would be sent to county jails. Instead of jail time, someone who was convicted of a misdemeanor could receive supervised probation or court-ordered drug treatment.

“Prop. 47 will help, not hinder, counties working to reduce any pressures they are experiencing in their jails,” said Lenore Anderson, who directs Californians for Safety and Justice. The group has a 501 c4 Vote Safe that is a sponsor of Prop. 47.

The measure grows out of an idea that began with realignment, explains Rev. Ben McBride of PICO California. The question both are trying to address, he said, is: “How do we get non-violent offenders closer to getting home, building relationships with families?”

“When folks are closer to family…visitation of clergy…they keep more connected [and it helps] the process of rehabilitation,” McBride said. “The further they are from what PICO calls the ‘lifeline to healing’…the worse they will be.”

These community-based practices, the Budget Project analysis found, help lower crime rates and save money. For example, mental health courts that prescribe therapy instead of jail time for non-violent offenders has lowered re-arrest rates in San Francisco.

Similarly, drug courts that mandate drug treatment in the city reduce recidivism by up to 26 percent.

“Most people agree we have a challenge because a lot of crime incidents are connected to drug addiction and mental issues and yet our communities don’t have resources to really address those issues,” said Anderson. “A lot of those problems get much worse in the criminal justice system.”

UC Berkeley’s Krisberg noted that Prop. 47 has very little opposition thus far. Opponents, including the California Police Chiefs and the California Correctional Officers Organization, have raised $8,000 – far less than supporters of the measure, who have raised more than $3 million.

Public support for the measure also appears to be high. A June Field Poll found that 57 percent of Californians support the initiative, with 19 percent undecided.

Anderson says the lack of opposition and strong support for Prop. 47 shows state residents are “increasingly frustrated with spending on prisons.”

“We have the ability to …significantly reduce the prison and crime problem in state with this ballot measure,” she said. “And reinvest [the money] into things that Californians think are more important priorities to keep communities safe.”

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Obama ignores Congress, announces Syria strikes

[Author]Assad government to consider any military action an act of war

by Paul Joseph Watson
[/Author]
President Barack Obama is set to ignore Congress once again by launching military strikes inside Syria without consulting lawmakers, a move that threatens to enflame the entire region given that the Assad government has repeatedly insisted it will consider any military activity inside Syrian territory as an act of war.

“President Obama is prepared to use U.S. military airstrikes in Syria as part of an expanded campaign to defeat the Islamic State and does not believe he needs formal congressional approval to take that action, according to people who have spoken with the president in recent days,”reports the Washington Post.

Obama is set to deliver a prime time speech tonight during which he will make the case for U.S. air strikes inside Syria in the name of targeting ISIS militants.

In citing ISIS, which was armed and funded by the United States’ biggest allies in the region, as a justification for a military campaign inside Syria, Obama is set to accomplish what the administration failed to achieve last year after the chemical weapons attack in Ghouta was blamed on the Assad government, despite a subsequent MIT report which concluded the incident was more likely the work of US-backed rebels.

Despite many calling for Washington to renew its support for so-called “moderate” rebels in Syria in the name of combating ISIS, it recently emerged that murdered journalist Steven Sotloff was sold to ISIS by FSA militants. In addition, arms given to FSA rebels that originated from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were later seized by ISIS fighters.

Bassel Idriss, commander of an FSA-run rebel brigade, also recently admitted that US-backed “moderate” rebels are still collaborating with ISIS.

During a recent appearance on Fox News, General Thomas McInerney also revealed how the United States inadvertently bolstered ISIS as a result of the terrorist group obtaining weapons from the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. A more direct method of support involved the U.S. training militants at a secret base in Jordan who later went on to become ISIS fighters in Syria.

Obama’s decision to launch air strikes inside Syrian territory without congressional approval echoes his 2011 assault on Libya, which again was a move to support radical jihadists that ended up with the African country turning into a failed state.

At the time, Obama brazenly undermined the power of Congress by insisting his authority came from the United Nations Security Council prior to the attack on Libya and that Congressional approval was not necessary. “I don’t even have to get to the Constitutional question,” scoffed the President.

According to Congressman Walter Jones, this was an act that constituted “an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor under article II, section 4 of the Constitution.”

Obama’s move to strike inside Syria in the name of fighting ISIS militants which his administration helped boost as a result of its disastrous policy to arm so-called “moderate” rebels threatens to spark a regional war given that the Assad government has repeatedly insisted that any military action within Syrian territory will be considered an act of war.

The global resistance to a U.S. attack on Syria, which successfully derailed last year’s seemingly inevitable assault, has largely evaporated in light of the western media’s ceaseless promotion of ISIS as a catastrophic threat.

As an MSNBC poll showed last night, anti-war fervor amongst liberals has all but disintegrated, with just 12 percent calling on Obama to get permission from Congress before launching an attack on ISIS inside Syria.

 

White House denies murdered journalist was sold to ISIS by US supported Syrian rebels

 

Will not change strategy on supporting Syrian ‘moderates’

Following accusations by the spokesperson for Steven Sotloff, the U.S. journalist murdered by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Obama administration has claimed that the American was not sold to the extremist group by moderate Syrian rebels currently being supported by the White House.

The administration says that its own initial intelligence surrounding the disappearance of Sotloff has not revealed any indications that the journalist was exchanged by Syrian rebels for cash.

“Based on the information that has been provided to me, I don’t believe that is accurate,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Tuesday. “But I do know, at the same time, that this is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation. So this is something that they’re looking into all aspects of this, including how Mr. Sotloff may have come into the hands of [ISIS].”

Appearing on CNN Monday, Sotloff family spokesman Barak Barfi slammed Obama, saying that “The administration could have done more, they could have helped us, they could have seen them through.”

Barfi also revealed that “sources on the ground” in Syria have informed the Sotloff family that the TIME journalist was sold for between $25,000 and $50,000 by the “so-called moderate rebels that people want our administration to support”

Barfi accused the White House of using Sotloff and his compatriot James Foley as “pawns” in their strategy for Syria, saying that the administration had made inaccurate and misleading statements, hiding the fact that the relationship between the family and the White House is “very strained”.

Barfi also threatened to divulge damning information should leaks by the White House to the media continue regarding the situation.

Despite these claims, White House press secretary Earnest said “the thoughts and prayers of everybody here at the White House continue to be with the Sotloff family as they grieve for the loss of their son.”

“Everybody here is grieving alongside them,” he added.

Earnest suggested that the U.S. support of Syrian rebels will not be altered or affected in any way by the accusations, calling the support “a core component of the strategy here.”

“The reason for that is simply that it is very dangerous for [ISIS] to be operating in a virtual safe haven anywhere in the world,” he said. “It’s particularly dangerous for them to be operating in a safe haven in a region of the world as volatile as Syria and Iraq.”

The same extremists who Killed US and NATO Troops in Iraq were supported all the way by the U.S. and its allies in Libya and Syria.

ISIS terrorists had already infiltrated those groups and the U.S. government knew it from their own intelligence and from independent intelligence. Like a cancer, the group grew and eventually consumed the so-called rebels fighting against the Syrian government.

Obama is scheduled to deliver a speech outlining a strategy to defeat ISIS. It is thought that he will advocate entering into a limited conflict that will last beyond his own term as president.

Steve Watson is a London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.

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