Melanie Nathan, Posting  an UPDATE on our BREAKING NEWS Article  – San Diego Police Investigate City Heights Deaths as a Murder-suicide (lezgetreal.com):

 San Diego Police Department conducted a welfare check at an apartment where officers found two bodies around in an apparent murder suicide.  

 GLTNN reports that the two bodies found were Eric Schulthise, a SeaWorld employee and Robert “Bob” Agnew, a former Naval Academy instructor. The respected and well-liked Schulthise was a regular in the Bear community, attending many fundraisers and events throughout the city. He was also a frequent go-go dancer at Bacchus House Bear Night. Schulthise and Agnew dated off and on from September through December 2009.

 According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, SDPD confirmed that a gun was found in the apartment. Homicide Detectives are investigating further.

 Fox also reported that neighbors have witnessed the two men arguing in front of the complex. Gun shots were heard and reported but it seems that the Police may not have shown up until a day later. 

 The deaths of both Schulthise and Agnew have stunned and deeply saddened many in the San Diego community. Since the news was reported, Schulthise’s Facebook page has been flooded with messages of condolence from people everywhere. Those close to both men were aware that the one-time couple had relationship troubles that eventually led to their break-up in mid-December.

SDPD has not yet released details on the murder-suicide investigation. GLTNN has learned from sources close to both men that a three-page suicide note was left, addressed to one of the men’s roommates.  We will report further developments as updates in this breaking news story on this same post on this site. Interested readers should subscribe to these comments and posts. 

 By Melanie Nathan nathan@privatecourts.com

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• San Diego Police Investigate City Heights Deaths as a Murder-suicide (lezgetreal.com)

 -

Police said someone asked officers to do a welfare check on a co-worker about 3:40 p.m. because he had not shown up to work in a few days, which was unlike him. The caller also told police that the co-worker was going through a domestic breakup.

About 20 minutes later, officers found two bodies in a first-floor unit of the two-story condominium building on Wilson Avenue near Wightman Street. A gun was found in the apartment, police said.  Some neighbors heard gunshots two nights ago. A neighbor reported that his next-door neighbor, a man in his mid-30s, had confided in him that he was being stalked by someone he had been seeing.

The neighbor had heard a rapid succession of about six gunshots, which was then followed by a single shot.  He called 911, but that in the two hours or so he remained awake afterward he did not see or hear any police.  There is no available report indicating that officers in fact were dispatched to the scene, that remained undiscovered for the following two days.

We do not have any reports as to the identity of the deceased victims, nor confirmation that this was a murder suicide. Report picked up from  Leslie Berestein, a  UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER and  Kristina Davis, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER  published in  Signon, San Diego News.

Posred by Melanie Nathan
nathan@privatecourts.com

1/25/2010- by Natasia Langfelder

On January 22, 2010 Suzanne-Deanna Grover, 21, gave a statement to the Buffalo Police confirming that she stabbed Lindsay Harmon in the eye outside Roxy’s bar in Buffalo, NY. While Grover admitted to the stabbing Harmon, she is expected to claim self-defense.

Grover, with another woman and four men, allegedly attacked Harmon and her two friends on New Years while shouting anti-gay slurs. Harmon was leaving a known lesbian bar. The attack left Harmon is partially blind in her right eye. Proving a bias attack is difficult and hopefully prosecutors assigned to the case will be able to navigate the legal complexities in order to ensure Grover is punished for her crime.

LGBT activists in Buffalo have been working to draw attention to this case in an effort to change the anti-gay sentiment in the city. The Mayor has promised regular meetings with the LGBT community and is providing better lighting around Roxy’s.  

Harmon issued a statement saying,

“I have a long road ahead of me before I physically recover from this attack, but mentally I will never be the same again…My life and the life for my family changed forever on New Year’s Eve. I didn’t ask for this notoriety, but I won’t turn away from it, either.”

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1/24/2010-by Natasia Langfelder

Gay bashing suspect, Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Ford, was tracked down by the NYPD in England. The incident occurred September 26^th, 2009 outside McCoy’s bar on Ninth Ave.  McCoys is a Hell’s Kitchen anchor. The last sports bar, a man’s bar, with scratched up wooden tables and a barely used women’s bathroom, in the increasingly trendy Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.  Ford allegedly flicked a lit cigarette at victims, Blake Hayes, Alec Bell, and Danny Calvert and said “Keep moving faggot”. The victims retaliated by making sun of Ford’s baldness. Ford shoved the victims and punched one in the face.

The NYPD assigned the Hate Crimes Task Force to the case, who tracked Ford down at an Air Force base in England. Ford maintained that the victims were actually the instigators of the brawl, however the NY Daily News maintains that there is surveillance camera footage of Ford attacking the victims.

Despite statements by City Council Member Christine Quinn that this case will send a message that “hate crimes will not be tolerated. The NYPD has decided to let Ford be tried by the Military Tribunal. Expect Ford to get a slap on the wrist.

The main question that this article raises in my mind is, do members of the United States Military enter the service with the inclination to hate gays or is this something that is polarized by the phenomena of groupthink that accompanies the military attitude towards gays that is verbalized in “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT)? How much of the past discrimination towards the LGBT community is perpetuated by the older generation refusing to let go of the perceptions of the past and forcibly hammering it into the minds of the next generation? These questions, while crucial, will be impossible to answer until the institutionalized bias towards LGBT by the Military is abandoned.  

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01/18/10-by Natasia Langfelder

In October, 2009, Daniel Aleman and Daniel Rodriguez beat Jack Price in front of a deli in College Point, Queens. They shouted anti-gay slurs at the openly gay Price and beat him so severely he was admitted to the hospital. On Friday, January 15, 2010 Aleman and Rodriguez were officially charged with a bias crime and can face up to 25 years in jail. They are being held without bail and their arraignment is scheduled for January, 25^, 2010.  

Perhaps the most disturbing part of this case is that most of the College Point community do not think that Aleman and Rodriguez deserve to be slapped with more severe charges because it was a hate crime. NY1, New York City’s 24 hour news station,  interviewed several College Points residents; none who showed any sympathy for the victim. “It could have happened to anybody,” said one of the interviewees, not referring to the victim but to the perpetrators of the crime.  There has been no outpouring of sympathy or even extensive news coverage of this crime in Queens or New York City. No protests or politicians putting Aleman or Rodriguez on blast.

On Martin Luther King Day, it’s important to reflect on where we have been and where we are going. MLK’s message was not for the LGBT community specifically. However, the spirit of his tenets were meant to apply to all minorities; whether that minority is based on race, religion or sexual orientation.  

1/13/10  7.23 PM -Posted by Melanie Nathan Haitian Earthquake Relief Fraud Alert   – The FBI today reminds Internet users who receive appeals to donate money in the aftermath of Tuesday’s earthquake in Haiti to apply a critical eye and do their due diligence before responding to those requests. Past tragedies and natural disasters have prompted individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization and/or a good cause.

Therefore, before making a donation of any kind, consumers should adhere to certain guidelines, to include the following:

Anyone who has received an e-mail referencing the above information or anyone who may have been a victim of this or a similar incident should notify the IC3 via www.ic3.gov.

*****Sign up for FBI e-mail alerts at www.fbi.gov by clicking on the red envelopes.*****
Follow the FBI on Twitter @ FBIPressOffice

 Posted by Mealnie Nathan.

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01/05/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Since Friday, a number of news outlets have noticed an increase in a particular type of comment directed at derailing the debate over the Miller/Jenkins custody case. Many of these comments come from the same group of people, and at least one news organization in Virginia has outed some of these posters for posting repeatedly the same distorted information on different names in order to make it seem as if Lisa Miller has greater support than she does. This effort appears to be coming from people following  instructions on Lisa Millers Face Book Page directing that  Millers distorted talking points on this case are put on any news  site covering this story.

The set up at LezGetReal is not conducive to that kind of manipulation; however, a group of roughly three to four individuals have tried to “flood” the comment pages of this newsblog with comments supporting Lisa Miller and spreading allegations which have been proven false by the courts already.

“The flood of protests “by this handful of people often rely upon an interview given by Lisa Miller to the fundamentalist blog Life Site. Unfortunately, Life Site is very unreliable when it comes to the information that it posts as being accurate. A recent case of a woman threatening to kill a anti-abortion rights activist was distorted by Life Site in order to make it seem as if the woman who threatened to kill this young lady was going in for an abortion when it was never proven to be the case.

The allegations leveled by Lisa Miller were, indeed, investigated by the courts, and proven to be a baseless attempt to slander Janet Jenkins and garner sympathy with those helping to prevent Isabella from seeing her mother. By not following the orders of Judge William Cohen, Lisa Miller has lost custody of Isabella, and now faces a very real possibility of jail time. A wide variety of parents’ rights groups have come out in support of Judge Cohen’s orders, and the feeling among many women even in Virginia is that Lisa Miller should hand over custody of Isabella at this point since she has refused to follow the court’s orders.

Support for Jenkins comes from the fact that the law is very much on her side, something that the courts in Virginia and Vermont have stated, and the Federal Courts. Even the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear this case based upon federal law governing custody battles. There exists a very real probability that, should this case continue back to the Federal level, that it will pit the laws governing child custody and custodial abduction against the Defense of Marriage Act. It is likely that, given the importance of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act, backed up by the Constitution, that the Supreme Court would end up striking down the Defense of Marriage act before undermining parental rights and the authority of every judge and court in the country.

“The flood of comments” have had little effect in the debate largely because the news organizations reporting upon this case are reporting on the facts and not the allegations. Those using the comments are trying to bypass the journalistic integrity of the news organizations by posting these unproven and unfounded allegations by Miller in the comments pages. Often times, far more people have come forward to counter the points attempted to be made by those trying to flood the system. Unfortunately, it is not always easy to spot that those flooding the forums of those stories reporting on this custody battle are a small hand full of people who are posting.

Many Fundamentalist sites which have, in the past, supported Lisa Miller have started pulling back on their support because there is now the very real risk that they could be seen as supporting a fugitive, and that supporting Miller could end up undermining their own political and social platforms. In the end, the support of Lisa Miller has, despite a belief that it would hurt the LGBT Community, has undermined many of the Fundamentalist groups which have most vocally supported her.

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The tactics being employed are not dissimilar to those used by the Teabag Protesters during the August health care reform debate.

01/04/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
It has been three days since Lisa Miller failed to appear at the custody exchange for Isabella. Today, Janet Jenkins’ lawyers filed an emergency motion to hold Lisa Miller in contempt of court for failing to bring Isabella to the reunion with her second mother. In a written statement issued by Jenkins via her lawyer Sarah Star, “I am so worried about Isabella. I do not know where she is or whether she is okay.” Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller have been locked in a custody battle now for six years. At issue was Judge William Cohen’s decision to grant Jenkins unsupervised visitation. Lisa Miller, who claims to be a former lesbian, fled to Virginia in hopes of being able to avoid the visitation orders. Virginia has a strict constitutional amendment not recognizing either civil unions or same-sex marriages. However, the courts in both Virginia and Vermont have both upheld Judge Cohen’s orders due to federal laws governing these cases.

“My goal has never been to separate Isabella from Lisa. I just want Isabella to know and love both of her parents. I just want to be with her, like any parent,” Jenkins stated further in the statement. A year ago, Judge Cohen warned Lisa Miller that she risked losing custody entirely if she failed to uphold his visitation orders. In November, after she failed yet again to uphold these orders, Judge Cohen ordered that Isabella be given to Janet Jenkins, who would have sole custody of her. He took into account all the testimony from child psychologists regarding the exchange of custody.

In the interim, Lisa Miller has done a series of interviews with Christian media in order to slander Janet Jenkins’ name and make her case seem more sympathetic. Miller’s accusations include attempts to make it sound as if Jenkins is a pedophile; however, the courts did look into the accusations and found them baseless.

The hearing regarding the contempt citation is likely to be held Tuesday or Wednesday. According to a source close to the case, it is also possible that, given the behavior of Lisa Miller’s lawyers, that they may also be held in contempt. Judge Cohen is a fairly conservative judge and a stickler when it comes to court discipline. He has a track record of siding with the birth mother in child custody cases unless there is a strong reason not to.

On Friday, Janet Jenkins filed a missing persons report for Isabella. The phone at Lisa Miller’s house has been shut off, and her cell phone goes unanswered. Should this become a criminal case, it is probable that Lisa Miller will be facing jail time, and may lose custody and will likely be unable to get unsupervised visitation even if she does not go to prison.

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Posted by Melanie Nathan

Janet Jenkins,aVermont lesbian mother who has had her daughter abducted her former partner, Lisa Miller, who is defying a legal custody order issued in the State of Vermont, has expressed through her attorney that she is extremely concerned for her daughter Isabella’s safety….

Jenkins’ attorney, Sarah Star, said, “Janet is very disappointed that the transfer of custody did not take place as ordered…. Out of concern for Isabella’s safety, she is asking anyone who sees Lisa or Isabella to contact the authorities.”

If you reflect on the long past history of erratic behavior by Lisa Miller, the mother who has abducted the child in defiance of the Vermont judges order, Ms. Jenkins may indeed have cause for concern.

It is also not helping to have the Christian Evangelist community egging MS. Miller on in her contempt of the Court order.

See LGR earlier posts.

At LGR we are reaching out to Ms. Jenkins and offering to help her in her search for her daughter. Contact Melanie at nathan@privatecourts.com

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/us/2010/01/02/snow.lesbian.custody.battle.cnn.html

Melanie Nathan

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Debbie Thurman

 Posted by Melanie Nathan, 11.05 p.pm PST  1/1/10

  Lisa Miller, ‘ex-lesbian,’ has fled from her legal obligation to hand her daughter over to the custodial parent Janet Jenkins. She has disappeared with the child and all the while egged on by a very righteous bunch of  Christians who deem their interpretation of the Bible superior to civil law of the United States of America.  See my colleague,  Bridgette P. LaVictoire, Ex-Lesbian” Lisa Miller Fails To Hand Over Custody of Isabella To Janet Jenkins Written on 1 Jan, 2010 at 16:05 

Ex-gay proponent,  disguised as mental health expert, Debbie Thurman, creator of a support group, today cheered the disappearance of Miller sometime earlier this Thurman’s blog called this apparent kidnapping an example of “true motherhood”:

Thurman’s BLOG clearly sought to aid and abet the criminal act of Lisa Miller, spurring her along with prayer () and G-d knows what else,  and now guess what like Miller Thurman’s BLOG has done its own disappearing Act, clear evidence of her assistance and encouragement of the sacrificial lamb Miller,  to commit a crime.

I kept a copy of her website BLOG because I knew that when today came if Miller would fail to hand over the child as ordered by a Vermont Judge, Cohen, , Thurman would be compelled to take her BLOG, evidence of her crime, down.  SO if the FEDS want me as a witness I am ready willing and able. There are hundreds of LGBT bloggers out there who have been reporting on this for some time. I am sure they too would be willing to provide any evidence that the Blogosphere may have produced.

It is about time that religions interference and stepping on civil law is exposed for what it is.  The LGBT community is ready to be active when the civil law discriminates and now we are ready to be good citizens to urge the upholding of the civil law when it is broken; and to add insult to injury broken in the name of Jesus.  

The Christian right has no authority to circumvent the  law of this country.  This is the perfect example of the danger in failing to honor the boundary between Church and State. This failure to separate the two and invoke the Bible in place of the law of the land would serve to give us license to stone adulterers, and you all know the rest of what the bible has to say.

This is what Debbie  Thurman’s now missing Post says about now missing Miller :

“Were I in Lisa’s shoes, I could only hope to have the faith and courage she has displayed for the past six years. …

Lisa obeyed God in seeking to raise Isabella in the Christian faith. Isabella learned Scripture, apologetics and the art of prayer at her mother’s knee and in church, to the extent that she found her Christian school Bible classes boring and “childish.” This is an intelligent, precocious 7-year-old, who knows her mind and can speak it. She would have given Janet Jenkins nightmares had she consented to live under the same roof.

I cannot answer the burning question on everyone’s lips: Where are Lisa and Isabella? Somewhere safe, I pray. How and when did they get there? Only God knows. ..

What happens now? A lot of frustration, recrimination and more lies on one side and a collective sigh of relief on the other. The courts still have a huge task set before them, meanwhile. Lisa and Isabella represent only one of many similar cases waiting to be resolved. We need precedents that honor the prevailing states’ rights, laws and constitutions. The majority of Americans overwhelmingly support traditional marriage. If the tyrannical minority wants to push against that, it can and will be met with civil disobedience. There is no other way.

Lisa Miller is a mother who would give up her life to save her child. Of that there is no doubt. She apparently has chosen to forfeit a large measure of her liberty, personal property and pursuit of happiness in assuring that child her God-ordained future, much as a group of patriots pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor more than two centuries ago to establish this nation.

I say God bless and long live Lisa and Isabella Miller. All who have known them are the better for it.

Thurman’s statement seems to confirm allegations that Miller is being used by Thurman and Christian Rightists at the Liberty Counsel as a test case for their Manhattan Declaration, which is a vow to violate any law that fundamentalists happen to disagree with.

MMM, what do you all think?  So go to her BLOG site http://theformers.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/this-is-true-motherhood/

and you will see nada gone bye bye!

And  then there is this guy who ought to be subpoenaed too.

“ I pray,” says  Drew Taggart  “people ‘along the way’ are brave enough and smart enough to render the necessary assistance to Lisa and Isabella so this girl can be raised in a healthy environment. I just hope Lisa did her homework and did this disappearing act properly.”

In a subsequent defense of this statement, Taggart says:

I doubt she’ll ever see a day of jail. Once word of this gets out, millions of people are going to be outraged. And there are plenty of local and a few state law enforcement agencies around the country, who will not waste a minute trying to find her. William Cohen is a leftwing hack and this ruling is a joke. Without the support of law enforcement, especially wherever Lisa opts to call her new home, this ruling is going nowhere.

So back to my having copied the  now barren BLOG as a keepsake, I find the comments  here revealed to show  this Mr. Taggert that sentiment is not always anti-gay but that we have a way of being on the side of what is fair and correct  and average Americans have no problem seeing the danger in what you preach.

Comments from Thurmans now missing BLOG:-

” Surely there are similar precedents to draw upon involving hetro couples. Namely, situations where the mother’s male partner/husband is not the biological father, and has not adopted the child, but at some point had a supportive relationship to the child as a stepfather.

Comment by Priya Lynn — December 30, 2009 @ 2:32 pm“

I can think of anecdotal cases involving people I’ve known (in which case the former stepfather has no rights), but I’m not a legal scholar so I’d appreciate any info on the matter. Anyone?

Comment by Brad — December 30, 2009 @ 12:02 pm

If a warrant is issued for her arrest, anyone providing her with assistance would be aiding a fugitive. Somehow I doubt Debbie Thurman wants to do state or federal time. Since the State of Virginia is now supporting the Vermont Court as they are required, I would guess that Miller would flee south (perhaps even to Mexico). If anyone helps Miller flee Virginia, they are looking at federal penalties. Judges hold a dim view of those who flout court rulings. I wouldn’t expect much leniency in sentencing.

Comment by John — December 30, 2009 @ 1:12 pm

Unbelievably someone on the page made sense in pointing out that Miller hasn’t put herself in a good position and being on the run actually hurts Isabella.

Comment by a. mcewen — December 30, 2009 @ 1:15 pm

So much for Thurman’s lame excuse that she didn’t give Miller any legal advice. Always knew you were a BS’er Debbie, thanks for coming out of the closet and admitting it.

Comment by Priya Lynn — December 30, 2009 @ 1:29 pm

If Miller does not comply with the law and wants to play martyr – I say fine. She can send a few years handcuffed and locked in the can to think about the sin of kidnapping.

What Miller is doing is not holy. She is a poor role model who is mentally abusing her child. There will likely be massive shrink bills in the future for Isabella, thanks to Miller.

Her lawlessness is not to be compared to our nation’s founders. It is criminal behavior, profoundly irresponsible and deeply immoral. It disgusts me that these frauds are cynically co-opting American symbols in their politically based criminality.

It is a shame that Miller allowed herself to be used as a pawn in the Culture War Syndicate. I doubt her friends will visit her much in the hoosegow once she is no longer useful to their political games.

Comment by Wayne Besen — December 30, 2009 @ 1:52 pm

“So much for Thurman’s lame excuse that she didn’t give Miller any legal advice. Always knew you were a BS’er Debbie, thanks for coming out of the closet and admitting it.”

   And you are deducing this how, exactly?

Comment by Debbie Thurman — December 30, 2009 @ 2:24 pm

You really are a piece of work Debbie. You just admitted the truth in your own blog, praising miller for the kidnapping, calling it “true motherhood”. Now of course in your Christian world where black is white and bad is good, you’ll have some pathetic excuse for how your actions are really the opposite of what you’ve done, but we’re not stupid and we’re not buying any of your BS. “ 

Comment by Priya Lynn — December 30, 2009 @ 2:32 pm

THURMANS WEBSITE  is located at http://debbiethurman.com/dt_files/aboutdebbie.php 

Last but not least important, I am urging the FEDS to investigate the Liberty Council, Debbie Thurman, Taggart, et al to see just how Ms Miller has financed her escape… Check the Banks and there is likely to be a trail and who knows that trail might lead to Isabella.

At the same time I urge Ms Miller to turn the child in, the damage is done and your only chance of leniency is that once you have done so you may be reprieved.  I urge also the Christian Ministries involved or not involved to encourage Ms. Miller to subvert the Manhatten Declaration and to obey the Civil Law especially those of you who may be implicated in this.  If you do turn yourself in pronto,  you may find a willing Judge let go of having you do time.  That would be a lot better for Isabella.    A good mediator may then help you with some supervised visitation, once Janet decides she is comfortable with such.  Or do you prefer Jail visits for Isabella?

Blogged by Melanie Nathan: nathan@privatecourts.com
www.oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com

01/01/10-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
And so it has happened. At 1pm today, Lisa Miller failed to hand Isabella to Janet Jenkins at Jenkins’ parents home as ordered by the courts. A missing person’s report has now been officially filed, and the next step is for Judge William Cohen to issue his order. There are several possibilities that could occur should this go forward. According to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction And Enforcement Act, the state of Virginia will have to execute the order to transfer custody from Miller to Jenkins, and given that this has not happened, Judge Cohen is likely to issue a bench warrant citing Miller with civil contempt of court. She can be held indefinitely on contempt charges until custody is transferred, and Jenkins and Isabella are reunited.

The Virginia and Vermont courts have repeatedly chosen to treat this case as with any other custody battle. The Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on it, but did not. Should the case continue to the Supreme Court again, it would more than likely pit the UCCJEA against the Defense of Marriage Act.

There is some information that Miller’s attorneys have assured her that the Virginia Courts are likely to rule in favor of her this time with regards to the order to hand over custody, and that is at the root of the request to Judge Cohen for a delay. However, it is unlikely that this would occur. Part of the reasoning behind the way that the courts have ruled on this case to date is because they do not want to have to deal with the can of worms that ruling against the UCCJEA would open. Specifically, if Miller were allowed to circumvent the court orders of Vermont, this would allow other states to ignore the court orders of other states and could create problems with regards to the court system as a whole. In part, this is why the UCCJEA exists. It is to prevent this kind of jurisdiction crossing during custody disputes.

In his order changing custody, Judge Cohen noted that Lisa Miller had already appeared to disappear as she had not been in contact with her lawyers in a month. Once Judge Cohen issues the bench warrant, it will fall to the the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Marshals Service to track down Miller and enforce the order.

A Federal Parental Kidnapping Protection Act (PKPA), also established national standards for the assertion of child custody jurisdiction within the United States in 1980. The Act does not explicitly state which is the proper state in which an initial child custody matter should be filed, but provides that the assertion of child custody jurisdiction by any State without consideration of the Act’s requirements does not provide a resulting “full faith and credit” in other States.

The Jenkins family called police after Miller failed to show up at their home in the Suburban Washington DC town of Falls Church, VA, who arrived at the soon after. According a police spokeswoman at the scene, an investigator from the Fairfax County Police Department’s child exploitation unit is currently investigating Isabella’s disappearance.

The FCPD said in a statement to LGR this afternoon, that if investigators believe a crime has been committed, they will obtain a criminal warrant charging Miller with parental abduction, and at that point officers would begin searching aggressively for Isabella. However currently, the Fairfax County Police Department was still regarding the case as a civil matter.

In all likelihood, Lisa Miller will be facing jail time, as will anyone who is aiding her in breaking the law. It is also likely that she will, by breaking the law, lose any possible custody going forward, and may even have trouble obtaining visitation rights. While there are many Christian groups who are vocally supporting Lisa Miller’s disappearance, they may find themselves under investigation for supporting a fugitive. Lisa Miller has been supported in violating the court’s orders by the Liberty Council and Liberty University, though it is not clear if they had anything to do with her disappearance.

12/31/09-by Paula Brooks
A special New York Senate committee is likely to recommend that his fellow Senators consider ousting state Sen. Hiram Monserrate for beating up his domestic partner.

You may remember, Monserrate, a Queens Democrat, was convicted in October of misdemeanor assault, and was sentenced to 3 years probation, ordered to serve 250 hours of community service and undergo a year’s worth of counseling for jealousy and anger issues, for slashing his live in girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, in the face with a broken glass last year after dragging her across the lobby of his apartment building.

You may also remember Monserrate joined Republican senators last month to “defend traditional marriage” and vote against marriage equality legislation for New York State.

According to the NT Daily News… The committee, headed by Sen. Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), determined that Monserrate failed to take responsibility for his actions and suggested he was not telling the truth when he claimed the slashing was an accident….

It expects to offer at least two options, one of which will be expulsion, a source with knowledge of the deliberations said.

Another recommendation will be some sort of censure, he added.

“It's very likely there will be a recommendation that some sanction be imposed and among the options presented will be expulsion,” the source said.

The committee wants the Senate to consider each option, rather than “pick and choose,” the source said. A final determination is expected next week.

Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson has not said if he will let lawmakers vote on a resolution calling for Monserrate's expulsion.

“We are waiting for a full, finalized report,” a spokesman said.

One Senate Democrat predicted ousting Monserrate would have “overwhelming” support but that Sampson was reluctant…. (via NY Daily News)

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12/30/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Representative Mark Kirk may end up hoisted on his own petard. It all depends upon the investigation into allegations that his is gay. According to sources within the Pentagon, NCIS has to investigate the allegations made by Rep. Kirk’s opponent in the Republican primary. Andy Martin made the accusations against Rep. Kirk in a recent attack ad. While the ad has been resoundly denounced by the Republicans, the ad’s charges have come to the attention of the military since Rep. Kirk is a member of the Naval Reserves.

Rep. Kirk is strongly opposed to the attempts to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, a law which he is now being accused of having broken. Should he be found guilty of homosexuality, he will be honorably discharged with notation if he does not resign first.

According to Martin’s ad “I helped expose many of Barack Obama’s lies in 2008. Today, I am fighting for the facts about Mark Kirk. Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser says there is a ’solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual.’ Roeser suggests that Kirk is part of a Republican Party homosexual club. Lake County Illinois Republican leader Ray True says Kirk has surrounded himself with homosexuals. Mark Kirk should tell Republican voters the truth.” Of course, Mr. True has shot back that he was never contacted by Martin about this, and that the statements were false.

Currently, there is an attempt being made by Democrats to repeal DADT, but the Military Readiness Enhancement Act is stalled due to opposition by the Conservative Democrats and Republicans. It may be folded into the Defense legislation in the coming year.

Rep. Kirk was dispatched to Kandahar, Afghanistan. According to him, it was “the first time a U.S. Representative-reservist has deployed to an imminent danger area since World War II.”

Because of the seriousness of the allegations, anyone with information is encouraged to contact DC NCIS’ General Crimes and Fraud Hotline 1-800-264-6485.

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Police name Person of Interest Jennifer Bautista

 Posted by Melanie Nathan:    A family in San Jose, California is questioning the death of their lesbian daughter, asking Police to investigate it as a hate crime.  Leticia Martinez was found in the middle of the Street, gravely injured from an apparent car dragging incident and died later in the hospital.  She was dragged for two blocks – the question remains was she intentionally holding on to the car or was the dragging purposeful foul play.   Police are looking for a person of interest, Leticia’s ex-girlfriend.  It seems as if Leticia left the home in response to a call from her.

On the other hand as the The Mercury News reports, according to the family it may well have been a hate crime: 

 ”Police released few details and said they were investigating the case as a ’suspicious death.’ But Rhoda Martinez of Alviso said the victim was her daughter, Norma Leticia Martinez, who goes by Leticia. ‘She was badly beaten,’ she said. No arrests had been made by late Monday. Friends and the victim’s mother said Leticia Martinez was a lesbian, and they suspect she may have been attacked by a man who threatened her in the past because of her sexuality.’ She was a good girl; she worked hard,’ her mother said. San Jose police officer Jermaine Thomas, spokesman for the department, said ‘nothing shows this case is related to hate.’ Residents of Michigan Street said they heard nothing in the early morning hours of Monday. Small groups gathered on street corners throughout the afternoon, and it was hard for them to stop talking about the young woman they called quiet and unassuming.”

Police have named a person of Interest – Patricia Bautista.  Hopefully no one will jump to conclusions and this case will be investigated to the fullest extent.

Please call the Fugitive Watch hot line at 1-800-9-CAUGHT (1-800-922-8448) or text us at 408-355-0999 or CLICK HERE to send a confidential email tip, if you know the whereabouts of this woman or have any information that can help solve this crime.

 Posted by Melanie Nathan.
nathan@privatecourts.com

12/29/09
Ireland has been rocked by official reports on abuse in residential facilities, schools and churches almost constantly in recent memory. In the wake of all these findings, and confirmations of what seemed, at first, to be outrageous accusations against respected members of the clergy, the public are significantly more aware when it comes to issues of sexual abuse.

That growing level of awareness throughout Ireland makes it all the harder to believe the story that came out of Listowel, County Kerry last week. While a convicted rapist was awaiting sentencing, he was greeted by dozens of well-wishers, mostly middle-aged and elderly men, waiting to shake his hand, some with tears in their eyes. Castlegregory parish priest, Fr Sean Sheehy, gave character testimony during the trial, stating that the the rapist had always been “respectful of women”. The sentence was seven years (two suspended).

Additionally, a man jailed for the rape of his daughter over nine years from the time she was 7, was the subject of a glowing report from his employer, who called him, “a first-class man”, noting he had often left his own children in the man’s care. His partner praised his strength while, “living with this case for the last three years.” For nine years of rape, he got ten years in jail.

It seems Ireland has not moved on quite as much as one might hope. Turning a blind eye to abuse (especially if committed by otherwise respectable or genial people) is precisely the problem modern Irish society must face up to when they read that not only did the Roman Catholic church cover up the abuses by their priests, but so did many parents, respected community members, and the Garda Siochana.

Many Irish people responded to the Listowel report by donating, as Maman Poulet suggests, to the Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre.

12/29/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
When all else failed in the custody battle between Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins, the decision that Ms Miller appears to have made is to disappear. That is according to the court documents issued by Judge William Cohen of Rutland Family Court in Vermont. He has refused to stay his order demanding that Miller turn her and Jenkin’s daughter Isabella over to Jenkins’ custody due to the fact that Miller has refused to allow visitation of any kind. Lisa Miller is the biological mother of Isabella, but both Miller and Jenkins were in a civil union when she was conceived via artificial insemination. The two entered into the civil union in 2000, but broke up in 2003 with Miller fleeing to Virginia in order to avoid the custody order which granted Jenkins visitation. Once she arrived in Virginia, Lisa Miller announced that she renounced homosexuality and now considered it a sin.

Because Lisa Miller refused to allow visitation between Jenkins and her daughter, Judge Cohen issued the order that Isabella be handed over to Janet Jenkins on Friday, the first day of 2010. The issue of paternity/maternity would not have been debated in an artificial insemination case involving two people of the opposite sex where one or both were not the biological parent of the child. Janet Jenkins is, however, one of Isabella’s recognized parents in Vermont, and the courts in Virginia have repeatedly upheld the decision of Judge Cohen.

The whereabouts of Lisa Miller cannot be verified currently. She has not answered her phone and does not appear to have had contact with her lawyers in close to a month. Jenkin’s lawyer, Sarah Star, stated that she hoped that Ms Miller was still at her Virginia home. “My client is asking, almost pleading, Ms. Miller to not make it harder than it is. It’s a difficult transition but as adults she is asking her to not make it any harder than it needs to be,” according to Star.

The filings regarding the stay talked about the difficulties involved in the transfer. According to Miller’s lawyers, “The potential effect of any change in Isabella’s housing, school, community and environment could be to ‘induce devastating trauma.’” Liberty Council lawyer Rena Lindevaldsen was quoting a doctor retained to testify on Miller’s behalf. Ms Lindevaldsen also claimed that Jenkins was disdainful of Miller’s religious beliefs, and that Isabella attended a Christian school and held the same beliefs. These beliefs included that homosexuality was a sin.

Judge Cohen, however, felt that the traumas of changing custody outweighed the necessity of Isabella having a relationship with both parents. He refused to stay the order.

If it comes to light that Lisa Miller chose to flee instead of accepting the court order, the US Federal Marshals will be on the look out for her. Federal law states that Vermont’s courts have jurisdiction over this case rather than Virginia’s and that the laws governing the taking of children by one parent over state lines to avoid custody orders regarding another are in full force.

Photo shows Jenkins (L), Isabella (C), and Miller (R), and is via the Rutland Herald

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12/28/09- by Paula Brooks
A former minister once considered by national Southern Baptist leaders as America’s next great black preacher has admitted from prison he fathered the child of a woman who claims he raped her in 2004 during a counseling session in a Florida church.

Darrell Gilyard, a charismatic pastor, once heralded for his preaching ability, last week signed the consent judgment to resolve a paternity suit the woman filed against him after completion of a court-ordered paternity test.

Circuit Judge W. Gregg McCaulie also ordered that the Jacksonville woman be given full custody of the child and while Gilyard, isn’t currently able to pay child support, the judge said Gilyard must notify the mother’s lawyer within 10 days of his release from prison.

Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, were Gilyard was a minister for 15 years, had previously settled a lawsuit filed by the woman for an undisclosed amount. Gilyard came to Shiloh in 1993, and was kept on as its pastor despite another church quietly settling a sexual-misconduct claim against Gilyard three years after he assumed that position with Shiloh Baptist.

While Gilyard was never charge with rape in this current paternity case, he is presently serving a three-year prison sentence for molesting a 15 year-old girl in his church and sending lewd text messages to yet another. He was arrested Jan. 14, 2008 on charges of lewd and lascivious conduct when a member of Gilyard’s church reported to police she found inappropriate text messages from Gilyard on her daughter’s cell phone. An additional girl from Gilyard church also recorded alleged sexual conduct with the minister in her diary.

As a young minister in the 1980s, Gilyard was mentored by top Southern Baptist Convention leaders including Paige Patterson and Jerry Vines and was supported by Jerry Falwell’s Old Time Gospel Hour. Gilyard had often credited his regular appearances on the show produced by Farwell for his early successes.

That support for Gilyard continued until the Dallas Morning News published a series of articles in 1991 detailing how dozens of women had accused him of sexual misconduct and sexual assault and the years of inaction and the subsequent cover up by Baptist Church officials for Gilyard’s abuses.

http://stopbaptistpredators.org/article/darrell_gilyard2.html

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/crime/2009-12-11/story/law_disorder_former_pastor_admits_to_fathering_child

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12/25/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
And then there was one. Two more bishops indicated to Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin that they were prepared to resign over the Murphy Report. Auxiliary Bishops of Dublin Eamonn Walsh and Raymond Field tenured their resignations on Christmas Eve. They had been informed by Archbishop Martin that they faced termination if they did not resign. Galway Bishop Martin Drennan is the only one of the five mentioned in the Murphy Report who has not resigned. Since the release of the Murphy Report pressure has been building for the five Bishops named specifically in the report over their conduct regarding reports of pedophile priests.

The bishops mentioned in the report either failed to take reports seriously, or failed to do more follow up with regards to the conduct of priests suspected of molesting children. Bishop of Limerick Donnal Murphy was highly dismissive when cases of child molestation were reported to him. He resigned in early December. Bishop of Kildare James Moriarty did report to the Archbishop of Dublin at the time he was an Auxiliary Bishop reports of one pedophile among the priesthood, but did little more than caution the priest involved.

In resigning, the hope expressed by the two Auxiliary Bishops is that they can bring some peace to those who were molested during their tenure in Dublin. The Vatican has been doing everything that they can in order to protect its power in Ireland and elsewhere with regards to this scandal. They have been reluctant to actively help bring these men to justice and claimed that they were being punished internally. This has included claims of diplomatic immunity. This has lead to the government of Ireland threatening to break off all diplomatic contact with the Vatican over their conduct over this report.

Quick Post by Melanie Nathan: – A Nigerian passenger, Abdul Madula,  ignited an explosive device Friday on a flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, Michigan, federal authorities say.  The Passengers arriving on a plane from Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan carrying 278 passengers thought they were subduing  an unruly passenger trying to set off fire crackers.  However CNN is now reporting that the Passenger asserts he was attempting to blow up the plane and that he was doing it as a member of Al Qaeda.  CNN TV – seems to be on top of the story.  Also note there were a few only minor injuries. 

Passengers interviewed by Media after the incident described a popping sound like fireworks, they saw a bit of smoke and then saw a small fire in the back.   One passenger jumped over seats to extinguish the fire.

The plane was moved to another location and is now being searched, including a re-screening of all the baggage.  The families waiting at the airport had to wait for six hours before the passengers were allowed to leave.

 Rep. Peter King on House Homeland Security Committee told a news station that he heard it was a fairly sophisticated device.    King said it was a new type of device; unusual to what we have seen before.  He could not reveal more information.  The suspect has third degree burns as a result, reported the station.  President Obama briefed while on family vacation in Hawaii confirmed this was an attempted Act of terrorism and asked that the airports around the country be on heightened alert. 

 Posted by Melanie Nathan.,

12/24/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
On Wednesday 23 December 2009, officials from the State’s Attorneys’ Office of Delaware went public with charges that Dr. Earl B. Bradley raped or molested at least 100 children at his pediatric practice in Lewes, Del. Officials have already contacted authorities in Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bradley holds medical licenses in Florida and New Jersey and attended medical school in Pennsylvania. He moved to Delaware in 1994. It is unclear whether or not Bradley had ever practiced in any of those states.

Earl Bradley was uncovered as a pedophile after a girl told her parents that he had hurt her during an exam. It was common practice for Bradley to ask for parents to see their children alone without parental supervision. He recorded some of these sessions to play back at a later date. Because of the sheer volume of recorded data, it is unclear how many victims there were. Police are still trying to sort through the recordings found on video tapes, DVDs and a computer seized from Bradley’s home. “As of this moment, we have not identified all of the victims in this case, and the investigation is ongoing in an aggressive fashion,” Delaware Attorney General Joseph “Beau” Biden said in a press conference. Currently, Bradley is being held on a $2.9 million bond, and is being held in jail on thirty three felony charges relating to the abuse of seven victims. There are at least fifteen victims that they cannot identify, but are separate from the known victims. The current charges stem only from abuse committed between August and December of this year.

Some of the attacks are reported to have been violent, and one detective described there being an enraged expression on Bradley’s face during one attack. In a statement reported by the New York Times, Bradley’s attorney Eugene Maurer “The accusations are awful. But they are still just accusations.” He also stated that he was concerned that Bradley suffered from mental issues, but there had not been enough time to assess if that was the case yet.

Several complaints were lodged in 2008 and were investigated, but there was not enough evidence to move forward. In this case, the parents of the girl who made the first allegation made the complaint very soon after the abuse happened. Wallace Hudson of Beebe Medical Center stated that the hospital has made arrangements for counseling for parents and victims. His medical license has been suspended, and his patients taken on by other doctors in the area. His practice was located in Lewes, Delaware.

Delaware Pediatrician Is Accused of Raping Patients
Pediatrician Charged With Sexually Abusing Children, ‘Over 100 Potential Victims’

12/24/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The Archbishop of York has denounced the proposed Ugandan law which would have made it a capital offense for anyone to be gay if they had HIV/AIDS, and would impose a life sentence on them if they were just found guilty of being gay. Archbishop John Sentamu is the second highest ranking archbishop in the Anglican Communion and was born in Kampala, Uganda. Archbishop Sentamu stated that he felt that the bill being debated was “victimizing” and that it was “a diminishment of the individuals concerned”. He also went on to say that the Anglican Communion remains committed to recognizing that gays and lesbians were valued by God.

The bill that is under consideration also places a penalty of three years in jail for anyone who does not report anyone they know of who is gay. The bill was introduced by Member of Parliament David Bahati. His rationale is that homosexuality is a choice and that it is a sin. Under his reasoning, the aim of this bill is to put an end to the sin by imposing horrific punishments in hopes of getting the sinner to repent. It is a case of “hate the sin and kill the sinner.” Of course, his rationale has been heavily influenced by people outside of Uganda such as Richard Cohen, one of the leaders of the Ex-Gay Movement, and Pastor Rick Warren. Both have rejected the scientific evidence that homosexuality is genetic. Both have also had a great deal of influence on the Ugandan law, as has the rather mafioso sounding Fundamentalist organization called The Family.

Archbishop Sentamu has pointed out that the bill confuses the difference between consensual homosexuality and aggravated sexuality such as rape. Archbishop Sentamu gave a radio interview reposted on the BBC.

Picture of Archbishop Sentamu via Wikipedia

12/23/09-by Paula Brooks
The medical and scientific consensus in the United States is that ex-gay conversion therapy is likely harmful and should be avoided because it may exploit guilt and anxiety, thereby damaging self-esteem and leading to depression and even suicide. However, the discredited idea that one can change from gay-to-straight, if they just try hard enough has been taken to a new level in Australia….

The Advocate is reporting today that an Australian father has been accused of forcing his teenage son to have sex with a prostitute — out of fear that he was gay and now may face rape charges.

According to The Morning Bulletin, a newspaper in Rockhampton, as the rest of the family celebrated Christmas 2007, Dear Old Dad allegedly took his son to a motel in North Rockhampton, Australia where he paid a prostitute to have sex with his son. He then left the room, but waited waited on a balcony till the deed was done and then demanded that the boy show him a used condom as proof he did the deed.

Detective Sergeant Christine Knapp said police first became aware of the situation when the father tried to report his son to authorities six months later, in May 2008, saying the boy was abusing his younger brother, after the  father called police and said he “tried to sort it out himself by taking his son to a prostitute” to no avail.

A Rockhampton magistrate decided yesterday that there was enough evidence to charge the father with rape.

“First [he] didn’t want to say anything to me,” the boy’s mother testified. “Then he told me his father took him to a motel room and there was a prostitute there. He wouldn’t talk, he just started crying.”

Exodus International argues that conversion therapy, specifically reparative therapy, may be a useful tool for decreasing same-sex desires and you can be sure the official “ex-gay” therapy groups will deny any connection with this incident – and technically that might be correct…. But I am sure dad got the basic idea from them….

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12/22/09- by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The Archbishop of Dublin has issued an ultimatum to four bishops over the Murphy Report. Either they step down or he will ask the Vatican to remove them. The Murphy Report was the long awaited report going into the sexual abuses perpetrated by Catholic Priests throughout Ireland and the subsequent cover up regarding them. The decision to ask for the removal of bishops is rare; however, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin may feel that he has little choice in the matter as some members of the clergy, especially at the top of the power structure, are less willing to leave over the scandal than others. The four that Archbishop Martin is targeting have, in essence, refused to accept responsibility for their part in the scandal.

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland has come under increased fire over the last decade with regards to its practices. An earlier scandal involving the Magdalene Asylums, placed for “fallen women” to be housed to supposedly purge them of sin, caused quite an uproar in Ireland. Many women who went to the Asylums were subjected to harsh physical punishments and were often raped and otherwise molested. The Murphy Report details sexual abuse within the Church inside Ireland, and the Archbishop is taking a collective approach to punishing those responsible.

Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray has already stepped down. The other four, who were once or still are auxiliary Bishops to Dublin have been told that, should they refuse to step down, Archbishop Martin will petition the Congregation of Bishops in Rome for their removal early next year. The remaining four are Bishop Martin Drennan of Galway, Bishop Jim Moriarty of Kildare and Leighlin, and Auxiliary Bishops of Dublin Raymond Field and Eamonn Walsh.

Calls for them to be held accountable for what was mostly their inaction regarding the protection of children have mounted of late. The Irish Primary Principals’ Network, an organization of Irish school principles, has called for these men to be held accountable for failing to discharge their duty to keep children safe. Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Brian Cowen backed Archbishop Martin regarding this decision. “The resignation of Bishop Murray is a welcome indication that those who are in positions of leadership and responsibility in the Church are facing up to their responsibility in the light of the very clear findings of the Murphy Commission.”

However, not all politicians are so willing to back the Archbishop. Galway West Fianna Fail Teacta Dala (Member of Parliament) Frank Fahey stated that there was no reason for Bishop Drennan to resign. Bishop Drennan has stated that his conscience is clear.

Bishop Moriarty also believes that he is not in the wrong regarding his handling of child molesting priests, but he is facing local pressure to resign. Many parents have already begun to pull their children from ceremonies officiated by him. Parents from one of the counties his bishopric covers have threatened to remove their children from any sacraments that he officiates over.

Vatican will be asked to remove four bishops if they don’t quit

12/21/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Arbeit Macht Frei- or Work Makes You Free is what the sign over Auschwitz’ entrance said until it was stolen by a small group of thieves, cut into three pieces, and was going to be sold, apparently for scrap. The five men who stole the sign do not appear to have been part of any neo-Nazi group, though it is unclear if they stole it for their own gain or were hired to steal it by others. Scrap metal thefts have been a problem through the economic downturn. The sign was recovered, and all five men taken into custody. They were arrested in the north of Poland. The thieves cut through metal bars which closed off a hole in the wall of Auschwitz in order to steal the sign early Friday morning. The gap in the wall was left in order to preserve the poplar tree that grows next to it. The tree dates from the war. “We have arrested five men aged from 20 to 39 in the north of Poland. They were picked up shortly before midnight and the sign was found in a house,” Dariusz Nowak, Krakow Police spokesman, said. No further details are available through the police.

Conservationists are working on how best to repair the sign in order to return it to its place over the entrance. “We are extremely grateful to the police who have done fantastic work. This symbol, probably one of the most important of the past century, can be put back in its place,” Pawel Sawicki, spokesman for the Auschwitz museum told the AFP. The museum is preparing to celebrate the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp by the Soviet Army on 27 January 1945. Next year will be the sixty-fifth anniversary of the liberation.

In the three years that the camp operated, around 1.1 million people were executed or died inside the concentration camp complex. Of those, ninety percent were Jewish. The number was of some controversy given that the Soviets had, originally, estimated the number to be over four million. This may have been done to inflate the importance of liberating the camp for the Soviet Army. The official number was later placed at over one million once researchers were able to go through the records after the fall of the Soviet Union and their satellite nations.

Between five and fifteen thousand gay men were sent to the camps. Many were sent to camps in attempts to cure them of their homosexuality. Many were experimented upon in attempts to find a cure for homosexuality. Under Heinrich Himmel’s Reich Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion, the names of many of Germany’s gays were compiled, and roughly 100,000 were rounded up. Half of those were were sentenced to regular prisons. How many died outside of the concentration camps has proven hard to determine. Lesbians were, typically, not relegated to a separate category from anti-social.

12/20/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Having a child molester in the family is never easy for anyone, and it often has devastating consequences even for those who are never abused or molested. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams Jr. has publically called for his brother to turn himself in on charges that he molested Aine (Ahnya) Tyrell. Ms Tyrell is Gerry Adam’s niece and the daughter of Liam Adams. Ms Tyrell has waved the right of anonymity in this case, a rare and unusual step. An arrest warrant has been issued for Liam Adams. It was issued after he failed to appear in court for a preliminary hearing regarding these charges. The family took the unusual step of coming forward publicly with regards to this case. Gerry Adams has stated that he would turn his younger brother in should he discover where he is or if he knew where he was.

In the wake of this call, Gerry Adams Jr. let it be known that his father, Gerry Adams Sr., had physically, emotionally, and sexually abused certain members of his own family. None of his victims have been willing to come forward regarding the crimes, and Gerry Adams Sr. has since passed away. The family chose to keep these crimes from public knowledge largely due to the fact that they had happened in the past and it did not appear that he had molested anyone outside the family, and it would have been up to his victims to have pressed charges, which they did not want to. The abuse by Gerry Adams Sr. only came to light within the family as a whole in the late 1990’s, about a decade ago.

While child sexual abuse is commonly seen in the media as being perpetrated by a non-family stranger, a large number of child molesters abuse only their own children or relatives. It is uncommon, and even rare, for a family to come forward regarding the abuse perpetrated upon family members by one of their own. A large part of why stranger perpetrated child molestation is seen in the media has to do with the public’s need to know about an offender in case there are other victims; however, many family based child molestation cases are handled every year. Many child molesters target children irregardless of sex, and often target young boys because they believe that they are less likely to tell. This is not the case with child molestation within a family since the molester often has greater control over their victims than a stranger would. Of late, there has been a tendency to publicly push the idea that gay men are child molesters. This especially comes from quarters which typically wish to retain the second class status of the LGBT community.

Gerry Adams Jr. comes from a long line of Irish Republicans who fought for the creation of the Irish Republic and have continued to fight for the return of Northern Ireland to the rest of the island. Roughly a decade ago, Adams realized that, in effect, there was life to be had after the struggle and worked to create a peace which has held fairly well since the end of the active fighting between the Catholics and the Protestants. One major change in policy had to do with the extension of rights to Catholics within Ireland.

Gerry Adams Jr. states that they were devastated to find out that there were members of the family that his father had molested, and that the family was still struggling with it.

Here in is the full statement of the family:

In the late 1990s we discovered that our father had been sexually, emotionally and physically abusing members of our family. This abuse happened over many years. This discovery and the abuse which preceded it have had a devastating impact on our entire family. We are still struggling to come to terms with what happened. We live with the consequences every single day. We have been dealing with this with the support of a number of professionals who have the expertise to deal with these matters. We thank them for their help. Abuse of any kind is horrendous but sexual abuse, particularly of a child, is indescribably wounding and heartbreaking.

Our family have debated for some time whether we should publicise our father’s abusive behaviour. We do so now in the hope that, in time, this will assist the victims and survivors to come to terms with what happened and help them to move on from these dreadful events. All citizens need to be educated and children need to be listened to, empowered and protected. Many people in other families have suffered from abuse. Our family knows how deeply hurtful and traumatic that can be. No-one should have to deal with abuse or its consequences in isolation.

Victims of abuse in our family are still, years later, recovering from the trauma inflicted on us. Our prayer is that everyone will be healed. Most of us have grown in strength with the help of other family members, partners and friends. We know this will continue. Our family are united. We believe that there is a way out of this awfulness. We hope this knowledge can be of some help to other families who are in the same situation.

Anyone effected by these issues should contact the Samaritans or any appropriate agency. We would ask the media to give us some privacy, particularly over this Christmas period.

Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams reveals family abuse history
Adams family statement in full
Gerry Adams tells brother to answer abuse allegation

12/17/09-by Paula Brooks

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.~Jesus of Nazareth

The Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray, has resigned over his handling of child sex abuse allegations after he was condemned in an Irish Government report released last month that called Murray’s failure to protect children from predator priests “inexcusable”.

That report by the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, also known as the Murphy report, exposed a culture of concealment by church leaders in Ireland and said they placed the protection of the Churches reputation above the safety and well being of vulnerable children in their care.

The disturbing report detailed the sexual and physical abuse of children by the clergy in Ireland’s capital from 1975 to 2004. That report found that during Murray’s time as an auxiliary bishop in Dublin from 1982 to 1996, he was dismissive of complaints about a priest who went on to abuse again.

It also accused four former Dublin archbishops, five Bishops and senior members of the Irish National Police, the Garda, of covering-up for the predator clergy. According to the report church leaders in the Dublin Archdiocese failed to inform authorities about sexual abuse by priests, while police failed to pursue allegations under the belief that church figures were above the law and in at least one case allowed an alleged perpetrator flee the country to the United States. It also said police and social workers charged with stopping child abuse didn’t start getting cooperation from the church until 1995.

The Vatican was also severely criticized for failing to answer letters from the Dublin Archdiocese investigators. Last week, the Vatican released a statement from Benedict that said he was “deeply disturbed” by the sex-abuse scandal and shares the “outrage, betrayal and shame” felt by many Irish Catholics.

Several investigators and victims have called for Murray to be investigated and prosecuted for obstruction of justice. Retired Garda sergeant John Brennan, one of the prime investigators of the abuses, said last week, “They should be the subjects of a criminal investigation. If there is neglect and evidence of a cover-up, it shouldn’t be a question of somebody resigning. They should be the subjects of a criminal charge.”

The Irish justice minister, Dermot Ahern had said when the report was released, that there should be no hiding place for abusers. “The persons who committed these dreadful crimes will continue to be pursued. They must come to know that there is no hiding place. That justice – even where it may have been delayed – will not be denied.”

Murray, who had been in Rome awaiting his fate for more than a week after meeting with Pope Benedict, returned to Ireland yesterday, saying that Benedict had accepted his resignation on Monday but agreed that Murray should return to Limerick to allow him to be in his diocese when the announcement of his resignation was made.

Murray said, “I know full well my resignation cannot undo the pain that survivors of abuse have suffered in the past and continue to suffer each day. To all survivors of abuse, I repeat that my primary concern is to assist in every way that I can on their journey towards finding closure and serenity.”

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• Catholic Church in Ireland given immunity for child sexual abuse cover-up, report says (telegraph.co.uk)
• Catholic Child Sex Abuse ‘Covered Up’ (news.sky.com)

 Melanie Nathan – Maybe it would help the World if the US stood up domestically for its own  LGBT  Equality. 

(Box Turtle Bulletin reports: )

BTB has just learned that the Rwandan Parliament is scheduled to take up consideration of a change to Rwanda’s penal code which would criminalize homosexuality with a punishment of five to ten years. It would also ban counselling and advocacy that could be interpreted as “encouraging or sensitizing” people to enter into same-sex relationships.

The problematic section in the penal code is article 217 which states that:
“Any person who practices, encourages or sensitizes people of the same sex, to sexual relation or any sexual practice, shall be liable for a term of imprisonment ranging from five (5) to ten (10) years and fine ranging from Two Hundred thousand Rwanda Francs (200.000 RwF) to one million (1,000,000)Rwanda francs.”  The fines range from US$350 to US$1750. The average annual income is just US$370.
One key phrase of the proposed penal code, “encourages or sensitizes,” would have the effect of criminalizing advocacy on behalf of LGBT people. It would also severely impact the ability to deliver health services to LGBT people.

Per Towelroad – “Guess who’s really involved there too? Pastor Rick Warren, who last week was compelled to condemn neighboring Uganda’s “kill the gays” bill, even though he had a hand in helping create it.”

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission reports: “Article 217 violates Rwandans’ basic human rights and is contradictory to the Rwandan Constitution as well as various regional and international conventions. IGLHRC, the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), and Rwanda’s Horizon Community Association (HOCA) will shortly issue a call to action to demand that the Rwandan Parliament withdraw this article. We urge the international community to act against this proposed law and support the equality, dignity, and privacy of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Rwanda.”

Source – Towelroad.
Posted byMelanie Nathan.

12/16/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
It has now been three months since Mitrice Richardson went missing from an LA County Sheriff’s Station. While there have been a few leads, she has not been seen nor heard from since then. Today, the LA Times is reporting that Ms Richardson’s case has been bumped up to Homicide. LA County Sheriff Lee Baca has ordered that a homicide investigation be opened up with regards to Ms Richardson’s disappearance, and stresses that this does not mean that she is dead. Rather, Sheriff Baca is hoping that by opening up a homicide investigation into Ms Richardson’s disappearance he will be able to open up more resources in order to find her. Department spokesperson Steve Whitmore stated “He has declared it a homicide investigation. That does not mean the sheriff believes Ms. Richardson is dead. But by opening up a homicide investigation, it does allow the Sheriff’s Department to put some of our top investigators on the case.” By making this move, Sheriff Baca is able to then add in three more officers- a lieutenant and two detectives- to the case.

Additional information has come out about this particular case. It appears that Ms Richardson may be suffering from extreme bipolar disorder. In the lead up to her arrest, she appears to have spent five days without sleep. According to LAPD Det. Chuck Knolls, the department consulted with mental health professionals who went through several journals which were left in Ms Richardson’s car. According to them, she may have have had a mental health break close to the time of her arrest. She was arrested at the restaurant Geoffrey’s in Malibu, CA where she had ordered dinner but been unable to pay. During her time there, she was speaking in gibberish and acting strangely.

The LAPD has been facing a great deal of criticism with regards to this case. Mitrice Richardson is black, lesbian, and worked at a local gay night club part time. The fact that they released her from custody in the middle of the night has been one of the biggest criticisms that the LAPD has faced. Ms Richardson was released from custody just after 1am in an area of Los Angeles that she likely did not know well. Since then, she has been reported in a few spots, but nothing substantial.

People in the LA area are urged to contact the LAPD if they see Ms Richardson.

L.A. County sheriff orders homicide probe in Mitrice Richardson disappearance
Mitrice Richardson, Still Missing After Two Months

Posted by Melanie Nathan – collected from variety of circulating  emails:-
Walter Trochez, a well-known LGBT activist in Honduras who was an active member of the National Resistance Front against the coup d’etat there, was assassinated on December 13th. Trochez, who had already been arrested and beaten for his sexual orientation after participating in a march against the coup, had been very active recently in documenting homophobic crimes committed by the forces behind the coup.

American University Assistant Professor of Anthropology Adrienne Pine has translated into English on her blog a statement about the Trochez murder by the Centro de Investigación y Promoción de los Derechos Humanos (CIPRODEH — the Center for the Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights in Honduras), which you can find here: http://quotha. net/node/ 629 She has also translated a moving statement about the Trochez murder from the influential youth organization Los Necios, which is here: http://quotha. net/node/ 631

Pine informs –  ”Walter has been one of the most important figures in the LGBT community in Honduras for years. Unfortunately, most of what’s written about him is in Spanish. A volunteer is translating one of his last open letters to the resistance condemning the large number of targeted political assassinations of members of the LGBT community since the coup, which I am pasting below (in case you read Spanish). That letter will be available in English on my website by tomorrow.” For more info, contact Adrienne Pine at pine@american.edu

Amnesty International has issued a statement calling for an investigation of the murder, which you can read here: http://www.amnesty. org/en/for- media/press- releases/ honduras- full-and- prompt-investigation-needed- death-human- rights-campaign

More in Spanish on Trochez’ assassination at:

http://www.kaosenla red.net/noticia/ 110695/honduras- tantas-veces- mataron-tantas- veces-mori- walter-trochez- present and there are several news articles in Spanish available on Google News.

Trochez’s November 19 e-mail on LGBT assassinations in Honduras since the coup, in Spanish, is below.
El 16 de noviembre de 2009 13:44, Walter Trochez <walterhnte@yahoo. com> escribió:

Incremento de los crímenes de odio y homofobia hacia la Comunidad LGTTB a raíz del golpe de Estado cívico- religioso-militar en Honduras

El golpe de Estado cívico-militar sucedido en Honduras el 28 de junio pasado ha dado un vuelco brutal a la nueva perspectiva que se había abierto en el siglo XXI en América Latina. En efecto, la región estuvo sellada en los últimos diez años por la instauración de gobiernos de diferentes características cuyo denominador común es que significaron un cambio de rumbo respecto de las políticas neoliberales que alcanzaron su apogeo en la región en la última década del siglo XX. En muchos casos la forma parlamentaria asumida por los gobiernos de la región enmascaró hasta cierto punto la continuidad e identidad de las políticas sociales y económicas del neoliberalismo con las instauradas en la época de las dictaduras militares. La situación en Honduras vuelve a hacer manifiesta esa indisociabilidad entre las políticas sociales y económicas neoliberales y los intereses a cuyo servicio se perpetraron los crímenes de lesa humanidad por gobiernos de facto.

También vuelve a hacer manifiesto un dato más o menos disimulado por la retórica del “consenso” y la “tolerancia” a que se pretendió reducir la noción de democracia en el período subsiguiente a las dictaduras militares y guerras civiles que devastaron la región: no sólo la persistencia sino el rearme de los sectores civiles que recurrieron en otra etapa a las fuerzas armadas y de seguridad para imponer sus intereses, y que ahora combinan hábilmente su adaptación a los procedimientos democráticos con la conocida prepotencia e ilegalidad con que se imponen a poblaciones seminermes, semi cómplices. Sin ir más lejos, no es difícil ver en las fuerzas que sacaron ventaja en las elecciones legislativas en Argentina el mismo 28 de junio el apoyo, en algunos casos explícito, al golpe de Estado en Honduras, y una comunidad de intereses con el empresariado, las corporaciones mediáticas y la Iglesia Catolica y Evangélica que lo promovieron. A nuestros efectos es de destacar el explícito apoyo de la cúpula religiosa de Honduras al golpe cívico militar que el 28 de junio de 2009 impidió la realización de un plebiscito organizado por el gobierno legitomo constitucional y colocó en el Poder Ejecutivo a el Dictador Roberto y Micheletti.

Un comunicado de la Conferencia Episcopal de Honduras, firmado por los once obispos de la Iglesia Católica, justifica con supuestos fundamentos constitucionales el secuestro, la transitoria desaparición y expulsión del país del presidente constitucional: “las instituciones del Estado democrático hondureño están en vigencia y sus ejecutorias en materia jurídico-legal han sido apegadas a derecho…”. Además define la situación actual como “nuevo punto de partida para el diálogo, el consenso y la reconciliació n…” Por otra parte, en consonancia con la reacción y declaraciones de los movimientos sociales, especialmente LGTTB, campesinos, indígenas, del país, no se hicieron esperar las reacciones de las distintas organizaciones, Lésbicas, Gay, Bisexuales, Transexuales, Travestis (LGTTB), organizaciones, redes y movimientos juveniles, organizaciones Afrodecendientes, organizaciones de mujeres, activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, organizaciones y redes de derechos humanos condenando el golpe de Estado y llamando a la solidaridad regional e internacional con el Estado de derecho y con las víctimas de la represión del gobierno de facto.

Las organizaciones, redes y movimientos LGTTB en resistencia por ejemplo; condenan “el golpe político militar contra el estado de Honduras con el apoyo financiero de los empresarios de la ultraderecha latinoamericana y norteamericana, la promoción de las corporaciones mediáticas nacionales, la protección del Ombudsman mercantilista Ramón Custodio del Comisionado Nacional de los Derechos Humano de Honduras (CONADEH) y la bendición de las Iglesias católica y evangélica” atraves de sus máximos representantes como es el mismo Cardemal Oscar Andres Rodríguez,monseñ or Darwin Andino, Pasquel Rodríguez, Monseñor Garachana de la diócesis de San Pedro Sula, el pastor Oswaldo Canales actualmente presidente del Consejo Nacional Anticorrupció n CNA, el pastor Evelio Pistero de la Iglesia Vida y pisto Abundante, el Pastor René Peñalba y el pastor Alberto Solórzano y los ancianos cofundadores de la Iglesia Evangélica CCI . Expresan su “apoyo irrestricto al regreso del orden constitucional en Honduras que pasa por la restauración de la democracia”, y exige “el cese de la represión que vivimos las y los activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, las organizaciones que nos manifestamos contra el golpe por parte de los cuerpos militares y policiales retirados responsables de los desaparecidos y desaparecidas de la década del 80 en Honduras comandados por el asesino Billy Joya.

“Por su parte la Asociación LGTTB Arcoiris y el Colectivo TTT de la Ciudad de San Pedro Sula, activistas y defensores de derechos humanos, denuncian que desde el pasado 29 de junio del año en curso horas anteriores que se había generado el Golpe de Estado se incrementaron los crimes de odio y Homofobia promovidos por la Cupula Religiosa Hondureña en complicidad con los Grupos Opresores como son la Fuerzas Armadas, la Secretaria Nacional de Seguridad, la Empresa Privada, los Grupos Próvida, el Opus Dei, Estos delitos ponen una vez más en evidencia los altos niveles de odio, estigma y discriminació n contra personas de la diversidad sexual, lo que llamamos, homofobia, lesbofobia, bifobia, y sobre todo transfobia, de los que somos objetos las personas que tenemos una orientación sexual o identidad de género diferente a la del patrón de la norma heterosexual. En la ocasión de la pérdida de dos amigas más esta última semana, reiteramos que NO es ACEPTABLE que en estos últimos 4 meses, durante un tan corto periodo, hayan muerto de forma violenta cruel e inhumana 9 compañeras trans y compañeros gay, 6 de ellas/os en el sector de San Pedro Sula y 3 en la ciudad de
Tegucigalpa”.

Las y los mártires de la Comunidad LGTTB.

1. Viki Hernández 29 de junio, San Pedro Sula
2. Martina Jackson 30 de junio, Choloma
3. Fabio Zamora 05 de julio, Tegucigalpa
4. Héctor Maradiaga 11 de agosto, Tegucigalpa
5. Michelle Torres 30 de agosto, San Pedro Sula
6. Salomé Miranda 20 de septiembre, Choloma
7. Saira Salmerón 20 de septiembre, Choloma
8. Marión Lanza 09 de octubre, Tegucigalpa
9. Montserrat Maradiaga 11 de octubre, San Pedro Sula.

“Sépanlo bien: ni los corrompidos (corruptos) ni los impuros, ni los explotadores y explotadoras, que sirven al dios Dinero, tendrán parte en el reino de Cristo y de Dios”.

“Como revolucionario, estaré hoy, mañana y siempre en las primeras filas de mi pueblo, aún estando consiente que se nos podrá ir la vida”.

With thanks to my good friend, you know who you are,  who keepe me informed.

By Melanie Nathan,  nathan@privatecourts.com

12/13/09-by Paula Brooks
Controversial Anti-Gay reggae singer Buju Banton is making headlines for wrong reasons once again after he was arrested Thursday in Miami on federal drug charges.

According to the DEA, Buju Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, has been charged with possession of more than five kilograms of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Florida DEA spokesman David Melenkevitz said Friday, “Mr. Myrie was arrested on a case based in Tampa. He is charged with intent to distribute cocaine, five kilos or more,” Right now he’s in custody in South Florida and he’ll be transferred to Tampa.”

If convicted, Banton could face as many as 20 years in prison.

Buju Banton has drawn the anger of the LGBT Community for years, in large part because of the violently homophobic lyrics of his 1992 single “Boom Bye Bye,” in which celebrated the murder and torture of gay people by pouring acid on them and shooting them in the head.

Banton also was charged in connection with a 2004 incident in which he, and a group of about a dozen other men, allegedly beat six men believed to be gay, after forcing entry into a house in Kingston, near Banton’s recording studio. One of the victims lost use of an eye in the attack. Charges against Banton were eventually dismissed in that case in January 2006, “for lack of evidence.”

Banton has continued to sing “ Boom Bye Bye” on his current US concert tour. In October 2009, Banton was quoted as saying, “This is a fight, and as I said in one of my songs ‘there is no end to the war between me and faggot’ and it’s clear.”

Due to an outcry by LGBT activist, promoters across the United States ended up canceling the bulk of shows scheduled on Banton’s US tour, and after an announcement that Baton’s latest album Rasta Got Soul, released earlier this year, was up for a Grammy award, Gay Men of African Descent and the National Black Justice Coalition joined with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in a petition drive  protesting that nomination.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Reggae star Buju Banton facing drug charge in Fla. (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Buju Banton Met With the Gays. Then He Spat In Their Faces (queerty.com)
• Buju Banton’s Concerts May be Cancelled, But He’s Just Rescheduling At Different Venues (queerty.com)
• Reggae star in custody over drug charge (cbc.ca)

12/13/09- by Paula Brooks
A 16-year-old Florida girl has been found guilty of the second-degree murder of a female classmate who shot her after being rejected in her romantic advances.

According to prosecutors. Teah Wimberly shot and killed her classmate, 15 year-old Amanda Collette at Fort Lauderdale’s Dillard High School last November after Collette a star dancer on the school’s hip-hop dance squad, had rejected romantic advances from Wimberly in the days just prior to the shooting.

Wimberly had been sending Collette text messages declaring her love, and then shot her after her advances were rebuffed, said prosecutors.

Court documents say, Wimberly and Collette were longtime friends who had stopped speaking just before Wimberly shot Collette. They also say, the day before the shooting Wimberly cut her arms with a razor blade and warned students she was going to shoot someone and then kill herself.

Wimberly’s attorney had argued that Wimberly was insane when she shot her friend after years of physical, emotional and sexual abuse took its toll on the teenager, who already felt isolated after coming out as a lesbian.

During last week’s trial, jurors heard a replay of the 911 call Wimberly made minutes after the shooting. Wimberly emotionally told a dispatcher, “I didn’t want to kill her so I shot her in the back . . . I just wanted to give her the pain she gave me.”

But after three hours of deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict that could net the teen life behind bars.

Wimberly wept and buried her face in her hands as Broward County Circuit Judge John Murphy read the guilty verdicts on the charge of second-degree murder and a charge of possessing of a weapon on school grounds.

“There are no happy endings in this one,” prosecutor Maria Schneider said to the Miami Herald.

“I feel horrible for the family of Teah Wimberly,” Schneider said. “Obviously she’s facing the consequences of her actions and they’re very serious. It’s a terrible situation for everyone involved.”

A sentencing hearing is likely to occur sometime next month, where Wimberly’s attorney says he will ask for time in a mental-health facility rather than life behind bars.

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• Suspected Killer of Gay Puerto Rican Teen Sent for Mental Evaluation (towleroad.com)

 Posted by Melanie Nathan -   Angela Gutierrez, who is nine months pregnant, was driving down the road with her husband and child, when she saw a group of teens attack a police officer. Gutierrez rushed over and helped pull the teens off the officer.  She says it was a gut reaction. The incident was caught on the officer’s dashcam camera. The pregnant woman says she felt like she had to help.

12/09/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The Vatican Bank is more than likely facing investigation into whether or not it was involved in laundering up to 180,000,000 Euros, or around $300 mil. According to the report first mentioned on the TV show Panorama, The Vatican Bank, once known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), allegedly broke a number of anti-money laundering laws with regards to their interactions with UniCredit, a large Italian based European bank, and that further transactions with other banks may be opened up in the near future. The investigation is directed at a specific branch of UniCredit which is just off of St. Peter’s Basilica, and covers transactions made between 2006 and 2008, but that may, of course, be opened up as well as evidence allows.

The Vatican Bank is not a stranger to financial controversy. In 1982, the then IOR was held partially responsible for the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. At the time, the Vatican Bank was a major shareholder and the Vatican itself was held partially responsible for the $1.3 million in bad debts held by the collapsed bank.

In September, Vatican Bank director Angelo Caloia resigned and the board of superintendents was rather hastily replaced. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the new president of the Vatican Bank, and the new board of superintendents reportedly discussed the investigation when they held their first meeting in October.

Right now, the Vatican’s lawyers are debating whether or not to argue that the Vatican Bank is outside Italian legal jurisdiction. This is an argument that the Vatican is starting to make with regards to numerous legal matters including the sexual molestation, physical abuse, and even deaths of people at their various churches and asylums in Ireland over the last 150 years. It has made suing the Vatican directly and the various diocese specifically incredibly difficult. The attempt to declare the Vatican immune due to its separate status could result in, should Silvio Berlusconi be ousted soon, the revocation of the treaty signed by Benito Mussolini which granted the Vatican autonomy. Currently, there is a move within Italy to do that in order to bring the Vatican to order for many of the abuses that they have been party to over the decades.

Vatican Bank reported to be facing money-laundering investigation

12/6/09-by Paula Brooks
New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate, one of the Democrats who helped “defend traditional marriage” in the New York Senate last week by voting against a bill that would have made same-sex marriage legal in the Empire State, was sentenced to 250 hours of community service. 52 weeks of domestic abuse counseling and three years of probation, on an assault conviction stemming from a December 2008 incident where he “accidentally” slashed his girlfriends face while beating the crap out of her after he dragged her through the lobby of his Queens apartment building.

Prosecutors had said that Monserrate, an ex-Marine, lashed out at his domestic partner, Karla Giraldo, with a glass in a fit of rage after he found another man’s business card in her purse. The glass broke against her face, cutting her near her left eye down to her skull and leaving a lasting scar.

Monserrate had been originally charged with two felony counts and two misdemeanor counts of assault after cutting Giraldo’s face during a bitter argument in his apartment on Dec. 19, 2008. However, in October, New York William M. Erlbaum, who presided over his trial, acquitted him on the two felony assault charges, which carried a mandatory sentence of seven years in prison and would have forced him to forfeit his Senate seat.

A security video showed Monserrate dragging Ms. Giraldo through the lobby of his apartment building and statements that doctors at Long Island Jewish Medical Center made said Ms. Giraldo pretty much had the holy shit beat out of her. Justice Erlbaum said, however, that he could not ascertain beyond a reasonable doubt that what happened inside Monserrate’s apartment was an intentional attack.

Monserrate was nonetheless convicted on a single count of misdemeanor assault, which carried a maximum of one year behind bars and, according to court insiders, received the lighter sentence largely because Monserrate was a first-time offender.

Thankfully, Erlbaum did refuse to lift a protection order that has kept them from seeing one another for the past 11 months.

“I am loath to say you can’t be together. But a promise alone that Mr. Monserrate will respect her autonomy is a far cry from remedying the green-eyed monster of jealousy,” Erlbaum added, “I hope the time will come that Karla Giraldo will have the self-respect to stop acting like a slave.”

It should be noted that misdemeanor convictions do not carry an automatic expulsion from the New York Senate and Monserrate has vowed not to resign, even though a Senate committee is investigating whether to censure, suspend or expel him from that body.

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• No Jail Time For Monserrate (cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com)
• NY Sen. Monserrate’s Reward For His Vote Against Marriage? No Jail Time in Face Slashing (queerty.com)
• State Senator Found Not Guilty of Felony Assault on Woman (nytimes.com)
• What This NY Democrat’s “No On Marriage” Vote Teaches Us: Money Doesn’t Buy Support (queerty.com)
• Hiram Monserrate gets probation, counseling (timesunion.com)

12/5/09-by Paula Brooks
Police in Sao Paulo, Brazil have arrested seven members of an alleged neo-Nazi group, saying they are suspects in the bombing of a gay bar during a gay pride parade that injured 22 people last June.

The four men and three women arrested are, according Brazil law enforcement officials, members of group called the “Hooligan Impact.”

According to the chief of Sao Paulo’s Racial and Hate Crime unit, those arrested are alleged to have set off a homemade bomb inside a bar in the city’s gay district after a gay pride parade. Police say two suspects were arrested 10 days ago and five others were placed into custody yesterday.

In addition to the bombing, police said they are also investigating the group’s possible links to the murder of a 35-year-old gay man during the parade.

Authorities say they tracked down the suspects after a threatening email was sent to the parade’s organizers. The message led to a neo-Nazi website with photographs of its members that were then compared to pictures taken near the bar just before the attack.

All seven suspects are to be charged under Brazils organized crime laws and with the bombing at the bar.

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• Analysis of New FBI Hate Crimes Statistics for 2008 (hrcbackstory.org)

11/27/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
In Duluth, young anti-abortion activist Leah Winandy had a knife put to her throat after she decided that it was more important to try and interfere with a woman walking into the Duluth Building for Women than to even notice or discover whether or not the woman was walking into the building to visit the Women’s Health Center, which does provide abortions. There are a total of nine tenants in the building, and most of them provide other services. Even the Women’s Health Center provides services such as cancer screenings and other health related services. Among the tenants of the building is a Lesbian Center called Aurora, and a sexual assault help center.

Leah Winandy and her mother Sarah Winandy were outside the building as normal harassing anyone who was going into the building. In this case, the woman that Leah Winandy chose to harass was Mechelle Tallulah Hall, who brandished a knife that she carried in her purse and informed Leah Winandy not to approach or speak to her. When Ms Hall was almost beyond earshot, Leah Winandy spoke out saying “Don’t do this! Fear God!” Upon hearing this, Ms Hall turned and walked back to Leah Winandy and held the knife to the younger Winandy’s throat. At this time, Ms Hall stated that she was mentally unstable. Leah Winandy was not harmed, but only frightened.

None of the reports on this incident mention that Ms Hall is or was pregnant, nor do they mention that she worked for any of the tenants. She may have been visiting the coffee house inside the building, or one of the other services. In the wake of the murder of George Tiller, it should not be surprising that many of those who have business inside a women’s health clinic, be it for an abortion or many of the other services, may feel threatened by the very presence of often overzealous pro-life activists outside the clinics. While Ms Hall did express regret for her actions while being arraigned, she felt threatened enough at the time to snap.

According to Sarah Winandy, she and her daughter go to the Building for Women every week because “God has called us to be there to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to bring glory and honor to Him…We are there because it is what God wants us to do. He has sent us there, He has made the way for us to be there.” These are, of course, the sentiments of Scott Roeder who shot and killed George Tiller in his own church. Rather than devoting time and money to helping the women who feel that they need to have an abortion care for others, the Winandys spend days outside the building harassing people in a climate that is getting more and more hostile towards them. Sarah Winandy on her blog states that there were fourteen women who went into the building to have an abortion, but that would be impossible to prove since the building’s facade indicates that the entrances to each different tenant is within the building and not accessible directly from outside.

It would certainly be easy for a woman who is visiting the Program for Aid to Victims of Sexual Assault to feel further victimized by the harassment from these two. Certainly someone who has been victimized in a sexual manner might lash out and hurt the new victimizer.

The “interview” with Leah Winandy mentioned at its beginning the murder of James Pouillon. The attempt to portray the murder of Pouillon as martyrdom has not been based on reality since Pouillon was known for being overly agressive and targeting teenage girls for his harangues. His eldest son, also named James, stated that Pouillon was part of the pro-life movement in order to harass and attack women, and that he did not actually care about abortion.

“He did this to stalk, harass, terrorize, scream at, threaten, frighten, and verbally abuse women. He had a pathologic hatred of women: his mom, my mom, everyone. After my mom finally left him and he lost his favorite punching bag the violence and abuse that was always contained within our 4 walls was unleased on the people of Owosso. My dad used the pro-life movement and 1st Amendments foundations to defend him, support him, and enable him. He fooled them all. He was at the high shool because my niece was there, and female family members were always his favorite targets. Again, my dad didn’t care about abortion. He wanted to hurt people, upset people.”

This, of course, shows the danger of the pro-life movement in that it does have a large number of people who do not seem to care for the well being of women in general, and may have major issues regarding women as a whole.

Interview with Young Pro-Life Counselor Threatened with Knife to Throat
Knifing suspect: What I did was wrong
Women’s Health Center & Building For Women Duluth MN. Extraordinarily Cruel To Unborn
James M. Pouillon criticizes father, slain pro-life activist James L. Pouillon, in online post
Welcome! The Duluth Building for Women is…..
Why Do We Go To The Building For Women In Duluth MN. Weekly?

11/26/09-by Paula Brooks
The Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin has released a report that has detailed how the Dublin Archdiocese, other church authorities and Irish government officials covered up clerical child abuse. The Commission findings, released today, followed a parallel report published in May into five decades of rape, beatings and other cruelty committed by Catholic orders of nuns and brothers across Ireland in church-run schools, children’s workhouses and orphanages from the 1930s to mid-1990s.

The 720-page, three-volume report, found that “the structures and rules of the Catholic Church facilitated that cover-up” and that “the State authorities facilitated the cover-up by not fulfilling their responsibilities to ensure that the law was applied equally to all and allowing the Church institutions to be beyond the reach of the normal law enforcement processes.” The investigation also said Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Dublin covered up decades of child abuse by priests to protect the church’s reputation.

Eleven priests convicted of child abuse are named in the report, but 35 others were only referred to by aliases because some of those have criminal cases that are about to begin in Dublin courts.

The commission, set up in March 2006, looked into allegations of child sexual abuse made against clergy in the Irish capital and covered a period from 1975 to 2004.

The report,as well, rejected the churches claim that it was ignorant of both the scale and criminality of priests’ abuse of children and said the primary loyalty of bishops and archbishops is to the Church and not to the victims of the abuses.

Three Dublin archbishops, John Charles McQuaid (1940-72), Dermot Ryan (1972-84) and Kevin McNamara (1985-87), says the report, did not tell police about clerical abuse cases, instead opting to avoid public scandals by shuttling offenders from parish to parish and even overseas to U.S. churches, the commission found.

In addition, investigators also documented how the Dublin Archdiocese negotiated a 1987 insurance policy for future legal costs of defending lawsuits and compensation claims. The report says, at the time, bishops knew of at least 17 priests linked to abuse cases and “the taking out of insurance was an act proving knowledge of child sexual abuse as a potential major cost to the archdiocese.”

The report also said that, “The Dublin archdiocese’s pre-occupations in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, at least until the mid 1990s, were the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the Church, and the preservation of its assets.”

The investigators, led by a judge and two lawyers, said that while it was not their job to confirm the scale of abuse cases, they had no doubt that the 46 priests abused many more than 320 children.

“One priest admitted to sexually abusing over 100 children, while another accepted that he had abused on a fortnightly basis during the currency of his ministry which lasted for over 25 years,” said investigators.

The Investigators spent three years poring over 60,000 previously secret Dublin church files, among those files, were more than 5,500 that retired Dublin Archbishop Cardinal Desmond Connell, tried to keep locked in the in his private vault. The investigation noted that it was not until 1995 when then-Archbishop Connell allowed police to see church files on 17 clerical abuse cases kept in a secret, locked vault, though at the time Connell also had records of complaints against at least 29 other priests he kept secret from Irish Law enforcement officials, the report says.

Commission investigators also condemned Senior Irish Police officials involved in the cases, saying they enjoyed a special relationship with the Church and did not enforce the law. The report said Police “clearly regarded priests as being outside their remit” and handed “complaints to the archdiocese instead of investigating them.”

The report was released this afternoon by Irish Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern, whose department commissioned the report, said in a statement there would no hiding place for those who commit crimes against children and said the state would renew efforts to prosecute more of the 46 priests in the report, as well as police officers that the investigation found colluded with church authorities to suppress complaints.

“No Government can’t guarantee that in the future there won’t be evil people who will do evil things,” said Ahern, “But the era where evil people could do so under the cover of the cloth, facilitated and shielded from the consequences by their authorities, while the lives of children were ruined with such cruelty, is over for good, the bottom line is this: a collar will protect no criminal”.

Today’s report comes six months after the publication of the Ryan report last May, which took depositions from 2,000 people who said they had suffered physical and sexual abuse while in the care of Catholic-run institutions. The Ryan report also found church leaders knew that sexual abuse was “endemic” in boys’ institutions.

Commission of Investigation,Dublin Archdiocese, Catholic Diocese of Cloyne.

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11/26/09-by Paula Brooks
According to most conservative thinking, the term family values means that the traditional Nuclear Family is the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Many also used the term as a buzzword for the promotion of “traditional marriage,” of one man and one woman in support of their opposition to same-sex marriage…

Today I’d like to present a real family values story coming out of Indianapolis featuring a “traditional marriage”…

A man was arrested after police say he left his 5-year-old son in a tractor-trailer while he ducked into an Indianapolis strip club to drink.

The 39-year-old Franklin man was arrested at 1:15 a.m. Tuesday on child neglect and public intoxication charges after calling police to report his truck stolen and his child missing.

Police say the man was too drunk to remember where he had parked.

They found the boy inside watching cartoons on a television inside the cab. The keys were in the ignition, and the doors were unlocked.

Police say the suspect put his son in jeopardy by leaving him exposed in a high crime area.

The man was taken to the Marion County jail, where his wife picked up him and the child.
via Ohio.com – Boy left in truck, dad goes to strip club.

Now I’d have to say that is some real family values there… since mom came and picked up a good part of her traditional marriage Nuclear Family from… jail.

Melanie Nathan Today, after reading  that Elizabeth Smart’s female captor, Wanda Barzee,  received a sentence of 15 years in prison, I decided to start a column in honor of a very brave spokesperson for women’s safety, young Elizabeth Smart, and after finding my first consumer related travesty I named the column LEZ BE SMART.  

 The entire article can be read here http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-elizabeth-smart18-2009nov18,0,6807810.story 

The idea came when I  looked up my new office location on  the National Sex Offender regisrty to find a competing bevy of sites all claiming to have the ultimate access and accuracy.  Punch in your zip and up pops the message – “we have found ten sex offenders in your area…. give us your credit card number and pay $$ and then we will show you who they are.”

Amazing how many sex offender registries sites are online, the  LEZ BE SMART amongst us find that all you need do is go to this website at the Justice Department and there will be no charge at all for the same information. 

http://www.nsopw.gov/Core/Conditions.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

In naming this  column Lez Be Smart Iplan on reporting on ALL consumer related matters, including matters of safety.

Posted by Melanie Nathan.

11/18/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
She’s young, pretty, intelligent and missing. The rest of the factors regarding the disappearance of Mitrice Richardson seem to be what is getting in the way of the case getting a great deal of attention. Mitrice Richardson is African-American, lesbian, a part time dancer at a gay night club, and was arrested shortly before she disappeared from an Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Station in the wee hours of 17 September. While there have been a couple of sightings of Ms Richardson since her disappearance, but few solid leads. That was two months ago.

Ms Richardson appeared erratic before she was arrested. She arrived alone at a fancy restaurant where she was invited to join a group of other young individuals. While with them, she said some strange things, including talking in gibberish and telling them that she was from Mars. The problem began when the check arrived and she could not pay the $89 tab. After unsuccessfully talking to her grandmother about paying the bill, the sheriff’s office was called in. A search of her 1990 Honda Civic turned up a small amount of marijuana. Her car was impounded and she was arrested. At 1am on the 17th, she was released on her own recognizance without money, identification, or transportation. Her identification was in her impounded car. The officer at the Sheriff’s Office offered to let her stay at the station until morning, but she refused. She has not been reliably seen since.

Ms Richardson is a star pupil who has plans to study psychology. There is no explanation for her erratic behavior before her arrest. There certainly were no indications that Ms Richardson was suffering from any mental illness. There may be some other reason, but it is unclear. “She wasn’t diagnosed with any [mental illnesses]. She wasn’t getting any medication,” according to Teresa Moon, Ms Richardson’s girlfriend of two years.

If anyone sees Ms Richardson, please contact the LAPD or their local police organization. Some sightings of Ms Richardson have been as far afield as Thousand Oaks.

For further information on this story:
MSNBC
The Advocate

(To those who come in here screaming about my writing up of this report, follow the links and take a look at the fact that I am reporting what others have reported. It is necessary that she be found and returned to her family. I understand the gravity of the situation. However, even MSNBC is reporting details of her life.)

11/18/09-by Paula Brooks
A study commissioned by US Roman Catholic bishops on the roots of the clergy sex abuse scandal, has so far found no evidence that gay priests are more likely than heterosexual clergy to molest children.

The full report by researchers from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice won’t be completed until the end of next year, but initial finding are saying that evidence so far has found no data indicating that being gay was a predictor of abuse.

“What we are suggesting is that the idea of sexual identity be separated from the problem of sexual abuse,” said Margaret Smith of John Jay College, in a speech to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. “At this point, we do not find a connection between homosexual identity and the increased likelihood of subsequent abuse from the data that we have right now.”

The question has been raised repeatedly within and outside the church because the overwhelming majority of known victims were boys. As part of the church’s response to the crisis, the Vatican ordered a review of all U.S. seminaries that, among other issues, looked for any “evidence of homosexuality”.

Many experts on sex offenders have in the past, rejected any link between sexual orientation and committing abuse. Karen Terry, a John Jay researcher, said it was important to distinguish between sexual identity and behavior, and to look at who the offender had access to when seeking victims.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops commissioned the $2 million study as part of extensive reforms they enacted at the height of the abuse crisis after the scandal rocked the church in 2002 with the cases predator priests in the Archdiocese of Boston, (John Geoghan, John Hanlon, Paul Shanley, Robert V. Gale and Jesuit priest James Talbot) which ultimately resulted in the conviction and sentencing of each to prison. The scandal then spread to nearly every diocese both in the United States and other countries after the church came under  fire for its role in covering up the crimes.

Nearly 14,000 molestation claims have been filed against Catholic clergy since 1950 and abuse-related costs paid out by the church have reached a minimum $2.3 billion in the same period. According to the John Jay report, one-third of the accusations were made in the years 2002-3. Another third of the allegations were reported between 1993 and 2001.

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11/18/09-By Paula Brooks
A central Florida LGBT community center and a gay-owned business in Orlando were the target of vandals Sunday night.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida — also known as The Center — and a second nearby gay-owned business were hit by vandals who spray painted a swastika and the words “Gay Pawer,” “Die Fags,” “Go To Hell” and other homophobic slurs.

“We feel this act is clearly homophobic and transphobic in nature,” said Michael Vance, executive director of The Center. “It is meant to invoke fear in our community; however, we will not act in fear and we will not close our doors. This act illustrates how our services are still badly needed throughout the Central Florida and we will come out stronger and more united as a community.”

The Center said on it web site that it was working to cover the messages on the building and that it has also launched a fund raising effort to install security cameras following the incident to prevent additional vandalism.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Community Center of Central Florida,  has been in operation for over 30 years. It hosts AA, NA, CODA, HIV+ and transgender support groups, CMA, counseling for individuals and couples at a reduced cost, counseling for youth for free, plus various social groups that serve more than 15,000 individuals a year on site and over 8,000 a month online.

The Damage to the two buildings has been estimated to be in excess of $1,000.

http://www.glbcc.org/

11/14/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
In 2008, in the lead up to the Prop 8 ballot fight, hate crimes against gays and lesbians rose significantly. While hate crimes against two specific groups rose significantly, biased motivated crimes over all dropped. Hate crimes rose by two percent in California in 2008 over 2007. Of the increase, the largest was against LGBT-Americans and Jews. Hate crimes against LGBT-Americans rose by twenty-eight percent, and accounted for almost a third of all the crimes.

As a note of caution, hate crimes are not simple categories. A person may fit into multiple categories and the hate crimes may fall into several categories. For instance it is possible for someone to be African-American, gay, and Jewish. Thus, adding up all the numbers from the different categories might result in a number far in excess of the 1,397 reported crimes.

More than half the crimes were committed based upon a person’s race or ethnicity, with the majority of those being against African-Americans.

Of the two categories which saw the biggest rise, hate crimes against Jews rose the most. In 2008, there were 184 threats and assaults against Jews in California, a rise of thirty-seven percent. Crimes against LGBT-Americans rose to 440 crimes.

The rise in hate crimes against these two groups likely has different origins. The rise in crimes against Jews likely has its roots in the economic uncertainty of the last year. While the stereotypes of the wealthy Jewish business mogul are inaccurate, many people tend to believe them. Thus, they tend to blame Jews for the economic problems that they, themselves, are facing.

Hate crimes against LGBT-Americans have more to do with the push for marriage equality rather than economics. When it comes to civil rights pushes, there tends to be a push back irregardless of economic situation. Often times, those perpetrating hate crimes often seek to punish the minority trying to gain equality. This is usually meant to make sure that the group caves in on its demands regarding equality and silently slinks back into the shadows.

All statistics are those released by the office of California Attorney General Jerry Brown.

Tell the U.N.:

To: Ban Ki-moon (U.N. Secretary General)

Sponsored by: CARE go to http://change.org

To: Ban Ki-moon (U.N. Secretary General)

 Just weeks ago in the West African country of Guinea, countless women were brutally raped in a public stadium when soldiers stormed a peaceful protest. The world reacted with outrage, but Guinea is just the tip of the iceberg.

What happened in Guinea is a visible example of the violence and abuse that threatens women and girls all over the world. In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, 36 women and girls are raped every day. This is the world’s shame.

You can do something to change it. Sign the petition at www.change.org to urge the U.N. Security Council to appoint a special representative now who can help hold government forces and armed groups accountable for stopping repeated gender-based violence, and assist survivors of rape and assault. This special representative was called for in a recently passed U.N. resolution to protect women and girls from sexual violence, but pressure is needed to ensure urgent action.

America is not far off in terms of the brutality. Shame USA – what in our culture breeds gang rapists that feel good about brutalizing a 15 year old, 100 pound child at her school dance for over 2.5 hours.  Its man vs. woman – its crimes against women .  Flagrant disregard for humanity. Selflish momentary instances of feeling powerful, which turns back upon itself because of itself;  and serves only as a constant endeavor because in truth those who suffer such loss of their own humanity can barely sustain that feeling of power; and so must compensate by perpetuating the crime.  Its unconscienable in Africa, America and anywhere. It has got to stop.  To my way of thinking omission and inaction is as bad as the bad action itself. If you can do something to stop crimes against humanity you are obligated to do so; and for us that means waking up to the call of our sisters. Silence is tantamount to participation.

Post by Melanie Nathan, Contact nathan@privatecourts.com
www.oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com; www.privatecourts.com

Bishop E. W. Jackson Sr., who leads Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va., says that while he’s against anti-gay violence, he also opposes homosexuality and wants to be free to preach against it, as reported in the Virginian-Pilot. While reading this I am clear that the smiling Bishop and I clearly do not share the same Adonai. His comments were made in conjunction with President Obama’s signing of the Mathew Shepard Hate Crime Act into law, yesterday. Jackson stated that federal legislation defining attacks on gays and lesbians as “hate crimes” will stifle religious freedom.

I say – if stifling religious freedom saves lives, so be it!

Jackson told the newspaper he fears religious leaders could be prosecuted for inciting anti-gay violence, even though the legislation — expected to be signed Wednesday by President Barack Obama — contains language meant to preclude prosecution of religious leaders and others on the basis of speech or beliefs.

I say – let the chips fall where they may!

“We could find ourselves in a situation where we’re accused of inciting someone,” Jackson said. “I am categorically opposed to the hate crimes bill.”

I ask -Why did he not come out against Hate Crimes before sexual orientation was included?

Thank my Adonai for the solace I find in the voice of Rev. Steve Jolly of Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk’s who disagrees, telling the Virginian-Pilot: “If I stand up in the pulpit and say the consumption of alcohol is evil and we should pour it all in the river, that’s a personal opinion. That’s very different from saying, ‘There’s a bar down the road; let’s break in and pour all the alcohol into the river.’”

But I must say – people like the BISHOP – scare me still! Has he considered that the Hate Crimes ACT protects lesbians like me from people like him? His intent is clear and I am pleased to recall my law school lesson where I learnt mens rea is mens rea!

Refs: http://blackchristiannews.com/news/2009/10/virginia-pastor-says-hate-crimes-bill-stifles-religion.html

Blogged by MELANIE NATHAN, of Private Courts, Inc. Consulting, mediation & private advocacy; motivated by injustice, I blog about family, law, mediation, politics, news and LGBT equality and anything that ‘tickles my fancy.’ Otherwise blogging as O-blog-dee-o-blog-da. Websites and blogs include: http://www.privatecourts.com; http://www.divorcemediators.us; www.oblogdeeoblogda.wordpress.com. nathan@privatecourts.com

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10/29/09-by Paula Brooks
Less that 24 hours after President Obama signed into law a federal hate crime law, Los Angeles police are searching for a gunman suspected of shooting at least two people at a synagogue in North Hollywood.

According to a police statement, a man with a handgun approached the synagogue and shot two people in the leg in what is being labeled as a hate crime.

The victims, both Jewish, were shot as they were about to enter the temple for morning prayers. They were transported to a local hospital in stable condition, officials said.

Police say they are searching for a suspect described only as a black man.

Detectives who spoke with LGR this morning on the condition that they not be named because the investigation is ongoing, say they don’t believe the motive was robbery. They also said LAPD officials have alerted other synagogues around Los Angeles about the shooting, and police have stepped up patrols at Jewish religious institutions.

The synagogue is located next to an elementary school. It was not immediately known whether the suspect search affected the school.

The attack occurred 10 miles away from a 1999 shooting at a Jewish community center where white supremacist Buford Furrow wounded three children, a teenager and an adult. He later killed a letter carrier.

2 Shot at North Hollywood Synagogue – KTLA.

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10/29/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crime Prevention bill. The law was named for two men who were the victims of crimes due to their sexual orientation (Shepard) and race (Byrd). The law extended the hate crimes protections to sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability. It also removed the provision from existing laws that these protections are intended specifically for people who are engaged in activities that are considered Federal in nature such as attending school or going to court.

In released statements following the signing, President Obama stated “This is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more than a decade…But the cause endured and the struggle continued, waged by the family of Matthew Shepard, by the family of James Byrd, by folks who held vigils and led marches, by those who rallied and organized and refused to give up, by the late Senator Ted Kennedy who fought so hard for this legislation and all who toiled for years to reach this day.” The President ran down the statistics for the last decade. In that time, 12,000 known hate crimes have been perpetrated based upon the assaulted’s sexual orientation. Roughly 7,600 hate crimes of one form or another occur every year.

“At root, this isn’t just about our laws; this is about who we are as a people. This is about whether we value one another — whether we embrace our differences, rather than allowing them to become a source of animus…But we sense where such cruelty begins: the moment we fail to see in another our common humanity — the very moment when we fail to recognize in a person the same fears and hopes, the same passions and imperfections, the same dreams that we all share,” the President went on to say.

Said Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother and the president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Board of Directors. “The legislation went through so many versions and so many votes that we had to constantly keep our hopes in check to keep from getting discouraged,” she continued. “But with President Obama’s support and the continually growing bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate lining up behind the bill this year, it became clear that 2009 was the year it would finally happen.”

Shepard added, “We are incredibly grateful to Congress and the president for taking this step forward on behalf of hate crime victims and their families, especially given the continuing attacks on people simply for living their lives openly and honestly.”

At the signing was Representative Tammy Baldwin. Rep. Baldwin is openly lesbian, and one of the first openly gay or lesbian members of Congress to be elected. She and Jared Polis were both elected after coming out. Representative Barney Frank did not come out of the closet until after he had already won election. Baldwin is also the co-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. She said this about the death of Matthew Shepard on the day of the signing of the bill that, in part, bears his name, “I remember where I was and what was happening when the news of Matthew Shepard’s murder began to circulate. I remember how many people I encountered who felt scared and frightened themselves because such a heinous attack had been perpetrated against him because of his sexual orientation. It is high time that this Act become law. It has been an effort that I’ve worked on ever since I came to the Congress of the United States, and I think it will send a very powerful message.”

Below is a video from Rep. Baldwin regarding the passage of the Matthew Shepard Act.

10/27/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
The White House announced today that President Obama would hold two White House signing ceremonies tomorrow for the FY 10 defense authorization bill.

After a signing ceremony for the $680 billion defense-spending bill in the White House Rose Garden, the President will host a second event on a new law attached to the defense bill, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

That act will make it a federal crime to assault a person because of his or her sexual orientation, disability or gender identity and is named for Matthew Shepard, a gay teenager from Wyoming who was tied to a fence and beaten to death and James Byrd. Jr., a black man from Texas who was tied to a pick-up track and dragged to death.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates and members of Congress will attend the actual defense bill signing ceremony, the later tomorrow evening the President will host a reception to commemorate the enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Obama is also scheduled to deliver brief remarks around 6:05 PM, and will be joined by Attorney General Eric Holder, civil rights community leaders and others.

10/20/09-by Paula Brooks
A New York mob hit man stunned a Federal Judge in Brooklyn yesterday after he renounced his membership in La Cosa Nostra and then came out as gay.

When Federal Judge Jack Weinstein asked: “Are you publicly willing to resign that organization?”

Robert Mormando said, “Yes your honor, I already have.”

Then for good measure Mormando attorney, Nancy Ennis added, that Mormando had been living in hiding while he was with the mob, not from the FBI, but from his organized crime associates in the fear that they would find out he was gay and kill him.

Members of the Mafia do not accept gays within their ranks and in 1992 former DeCavalcante crime boss John D’Amato was whacked for being gay.

Ennis told the judge, “He has been openly gay since he left the mob.”

Mormando, who was a member of the Gambino crime family, was being sentenced in Weinstein’s courtroom for his participation for the botched shooting of Angelo Mugnolo, a Queens bagel store owner.

According to Mormando, he shot Mugnolo at the behest of Vincent Gotti, the younger brother of late crime boss John Gotti, because Gotti suspected Mugnolo was fooling around with his wife.

Mormando became a government witness shortly after the Mugnolo shooting, but did not have to testify against his accomplices. Vincent Gotti, his nephew Richard Gotti and Angelo Ruggiero Jr., all plead guilty to murder conspiracy charges last year and were sentenced 8 years in prison.

While he faced up to 17 years in prison for his part in the shooting, Mormando was sentenced to time served.

Mormando’s partner refused to enter the witness protection program, but they have relocated and together they “live a peaceful working life,” according to his attorney.

In 1986 another Gambino Hit man, Vito Arena, also turned on the mob, in part for fear that they would kill him for being gay, and ended up bringing down the Gambino families notorious DeMeo crew that was thought to have been responsible for between 75-200 hits in the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. Arena was later gunned down in Houston after he left the witness protection program and returned to a life of crime.

Arena was however the inspiration for The Sopranos character Vito Spatafore, a gay gangster who was eventually killed after he was outed to his mob pals.

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10/09/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
A Manchster man has been arrested for attempting to poison his neighbors in a dispute that involved slug poison and a three legged cat. Gary Stewart, who is 37 and openly gay, is alleged to have attempted to poison his lesbian neighbors Marie Walton and Beverley Sales by putting slug poison in a curry that he baked for them. Mr. Stewart had been arguing with Ms Walton and Ms Sales for several months. The curry was supposed to be a peace offering, but the couple noticed the pellets and called the police.

Mr. Stewart admitted to attempting to poison the couple, but denied that he had made threats to kill them. The slug poison is not typically deadly in adult humans, though it can kill children and animals, and is considered to be moderately hazardous by the World Health Organization.

During this dispute, Stewart apparently abducted the couple’s cat Amber and took her to a nearby village where he dumped her. After canvassing the area with fliers, they were able to locate the cat, and she was returned to the couple. A woman three miles away had taken her in and was taking care of her.

One neighbor said of the whole thing, according to the Daily Mail, ‘It has been nothing short of a nightmare and I hope this brings things to an end because what those two girls have had to endure these past years has been horrendous. He was abusive to them and made their lives a misery. And to cap it off, he kidnapped their cat and dumped it on the streets.’

Apparently, when Mr. Stewart and his partner Paul Kleisier, 47, moved into the neighborhood, they were model neighbors. As time went along they apparently became vindictive and began often petty arguments regarding trivial matters. According to all known information, Mr. Kleisier took ill over the summer and passed away.

It appears that the attempted poisoning was the last straw for Ms Walton and Ms Sales.