Please note that the poems and essays on this site are copyright and may not be reproduced without the author's permission.


Tuesday 26 January 2016

Black and White Like Day and Night (More Funny Things White People Do)

.
Embedded image permalink

 #NobodyLikesItWhen You seize public land for the #KochAgenda #bundymilitia: image via Anomaly's Army @edmeyer_able, 25 January 2016

Ammon Bundy, leader of an armed group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, sits at a desk he's commandeered at the Refuge on Friday, toting up the day's bonanza of free stuff: photo by Keith Ridler/AP, 22 January 2016

Embedded image permalink

[untitled]: image via Nemoj Danas Satano @NDSatano, 13 January 2016
 
Embedded image permalink

[untitled] #monopoly #YeeHawd #YeeHawdists #yokelharem #OregonUnderAttack #oregonstandoff #dicksfordicks #supportmalheur: image via DerekB @punkrockmohawks, 14 January 2016

Embedded image permalink

#hypocrite #YallQaeda #Oregonstandoff#YeeHawd #YeeHawdists #dicksfordicks #supportmalheur: image via DerekB @punkrockmohawks, 19 January 2016
 
Embedded image permalink

A class act! #YallQaeda #YeeHawd #YeeHawdists #leech #SupportMalheur #dicksfordicks #VanillaIsis: image via DerekB @punkrockmohawks, 19 January 2016

Blaine Cooper
  
Blaine Cooper playing dress up: image via Daily Kos, 19 January 2016

Melissa Cooper taking her children from a friend or family member

Melissa Cooper taking her children from an unidentified home: image via Daily Kos, 19 January 2016

Melissa Cooper chugs an energy drink while planning the next meal. Cooper is in charge of sorting supplies, cooking, and setting up new arrivals with a place to sleep. "I'm tired. I'm getting four hours of sleep a night," she said.

Melissa Cooper chugs an energy drink purchased by donations from supporters, while planning the next meal for the armed men occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. Cooper is in charge of sorting free donated supplies, cooking, and setting up new militia arrivals with a place to sleep. "I'm tired. I'm getting four hours of sleep a night," she said: photo by Amanda Peacher/OPB, 22 January 2016 

Strange War Song in the High Desert

Embedded image permalink

A strange challenge from the occupied Malheur Wildlife Refuge. #Liveon2
: screengrab from Kelly Gneitng's You Tube account via KATU News, 25 January 2016


Oregon refuge occupant challenges Chris Christie to sumo wrestling: KATU, 25 January 2016

HARNEY COUNTY, Ore. (KATU) -- One of the men occupying the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in Harney County has challenged New Jersey governor and presidential hopeful Chris Christie to 10 sumo matches.

In a video posted to YouTube Saturday, Kelly Gneiting says the group's occupation of the refuge will end if Christie wins the challenge.

Gneiting is a 425-pound, five-time U.S. sumo champion.

Christie has not yet responded to the video.

Gneiting refers to Christie as his "younger brother" several times in the video while issuing his challenge.

The former long-haul trucker turned U.S. sumo wrestler didn't take kindly to Christie's comments about disbanding the Oregon wildlife refuge "militia" turned occupiers.

"Remember when we used to call you 'Little Christie,'" Gneiting says continuing his taunt.


Embedded image permalink

 Burns Paiute Tribe to feds: Stop allowing #OregonStandoff's Bundy free passage to refuge: image via The Oregonian Verified account @Oregonian, 25 January 2016

Embedded image permalink

Gov pleads with Obama, Attorney General and FBI Director to intervene in the #OregonStandoff
: image via Talking Points Memo Verified account @TPM, 21 January 2016


Embedded image permalink

Man en route to refuge occupation threatens officers, arrested for DUI: image via KATU News @ KATUNews, 25 January 2016

Man arrested after saying he wanted to join Oregon militia to kill federal agent: Video shows Joseph Stetson refusing to hand over his gun, and he threatened to murder police as he was being arrested for driving under the influence: Sam Levin in San Francisco for The Guardian, 26 January 2016

Oregon  police have arrested a man after he said he wanted to join Ammon Bundy’s armed militia occupying a wildlife refuge and intended to “help with killing federal agents”.

Joseph Stetson, 54, was armed with a pellet gun and on his way to join the protests at the Malheur national wildlife refuge when Oregon state police stopped him and eventually arrested him for driving under the influence of alcohol, according to local prosecutors.

The Harney County sheriff’s office on Monday night published body camera footage of an Oregon state police trooper questioning and handcuffing Stetson at a gas station about 30 miles away from the wildlife sanctuary that a rightwing militia seized on 2 January to protest the federal government.

Body camera footage released by the Oregon state police showed the trooper questioning and handcuffing Joseph Stetson.

Police had received reports Monday morning that Stetson was armed and had made comments that he wanted to join Bundy’s militia and intended to “help with killing federal agents”, according to the Harney County district attorney.

Stetson told troopers that he wanted to be Bundy’s “personal guard”, officials said.

The video shows Stetson, from Woodburn, Oregon, refusing to hand over his gun and claiming that the smell of alcohol on his breath was from medicine. Once the officer started arresting him –- after he reminded him that police were recording the conversation –- Stetson began threatening to murder law enforcement officials.

“I will kill all of you. You don’t believe me?” the man said on the footage. “If I go to jail, when I come out, I will kill you. … You friggin’ coward sons of bitches! … Are you a real state trooper?” He later screamed: “I’m the last hope! … Let me go, dammit!”

Officials said Stetson also kicked and damaged the police vehicle door.

Stetson has a violent history, according to police. He was convicted in 2009 in a case involving burglary and domestic rampage, the Oregonian reported.

For the past three weeks, commentators across the country have criticized law enforcement for continuing to let people freely enter and exit the Malheur occupation, which has enabled a steady flow of supplies and allowed new groups of armed men  to join the protests. Leaders of the militia have even recruited supporters outside of Oregon.

Police have made a handful of other arrests associated with the occupation -- but all have occurred away from the refuge. One militiamen drove a stolen government vehicle off the wildlife sanctuary and into the nearby town of Burns, 30 miles away.

Another man was arrested for a firearms offense while driving outside of the refuge. A third man who had spent time at the occupation crashed his car on an icy road but was only cited for driving without a license, according to police.

It’s unclear how and when the militia leaders intend to end the occupation. Bundy recently spoke with FBI officials but made no commitments about leaving the refuge.


An Oregon state police trooper speaks with Joseph Stetson before his arrest in this screengrab of body camera footage
: image by You Tube via The Guardian, 26 January 2016

Embedded image permalink

Not sure how well it'll work to tweet a panorama, but took aside from #oregonstandoff to shoot the Steens yesterday
: image via Dave Killen #@killendave, 26 January 2016
 
Black and White Like Day and Night

Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake ...Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (ESA) shared this stunning nighttime photograph with his social media followers on January 25, 2016, writing, "Beautiful night pass over Italy, Alps and Mediterranean."  / AFP / esa/nasa / TIM PEAKE / == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / ESA/NASA / TIM PEAKE "/ NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS == TIM PEAKE/AFP/Getty Images

Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency shared this photograph with his social media followers writing, “Beautiful night pass over Italy, Alps and Mediterranean”: photo by Tim Peake/AFP, 26 January 2016

A sunbeam illuminates the eye of a zebra in the zoo of  Frankfurt, central  Germany, Tuesday Jan. 26,  2016. Weather forecasts predict rising temperatures for Germany.   (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)
 A zebra in the zoo at Frankfurt, Germany: photo by Boris Roessler/AP, 26 January 2016

Migrants Wait For Trains In Sub Zero Temperatures On The Serbian Border...PRESEVO, SERBIA - JANUARY 26:  A group of migrant children wait for hot food in sub zero temperatures near the Serbian-Croatian border on January 26, 2016 in Presevo, Serbia.  Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)
A group of migrant and refugee children wait for hot food in sub zero temperatures near the Serbian-Croatian border in Presevo, Serbia: photo by Milos Bicanski via FT Photo Diary, 26 January 2016

Palestinian refugee children during cold weather in Gaza City...epa05125781 A Palestinian refugee girl poses for a photograph outside her family's small house during cold weather on a rainy day in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, 25 January 2016. 
A Palestinian refugee girl poses for a photograph outside her family’s small house during cold weather on a rainy day in Gaza City: photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA, 26 January 2016

Expedition 46 On International Space Station...IN SPACE - JANUARY 20: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (NO SALES) In this handout image supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA), A photo of an aurora taken by ESA astronaut Tim Peake from on board the International Space Station, January 20, 2016. Expedition 46-47 crewmembers ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut commander Yuri Malenchenko were welcomed aboard the International Space Station by Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Korniyenko and Oleg Kononenko, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly for a six-month mission, as part of Expedition 46. (Photo by Tim Peake / ESA via Getty Images)

An aurora photographed by ESA astronaut Tim Peake from on board the International Space Station: photo by Tim Peake/ESA, 25 January 2016

Gaza daily live...epa05119169 Seven years old Wafa-a (L) and her sister 10 years old Soa-ad Wahdan play next to their family house, which was damaged during Israeli war against Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014 in the east of Beit Hanun town in the northern Gaza Strip, 22 January 2016.  EPA/MOHAMMED SABER

Seven year old Wafa-a Wahdan plays next to her family house, which was damaged during the Israeli war against Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014 in the east of Beit Hanun town in the northern Gaza Strip: photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA, 25 January 2016

Children attend a party for children affected by war and in need for psychological support, in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus...Children attend a party for children affected by war and in need for psychological support, in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria January 24, 2016. The party was organized by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Picture taken January 24, 2016. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh

Children attend a party for children affected by war and in need for psychological support, in the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, Syria.The party was organised by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent: photo by Bassam Khabieh/Reuters, 25 January 2016

A sunbeam illuminates the eye of a zebra in the zoo of  Frankfurt, central  Germany, Tuesday Jan. 26,  2016. Weather forecasts predict rising temperatures for Germany.   (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

A sunbeam illuminates the eye of a zebra in the zoo at Frankfurt, Germany: photo by Boris Roessler/AP, 26 January 2016

 Expedition 46 On International Space Station...IN SPACE - JANUARY 20: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (NO SALES) In this handout image supplied by the European Space Agency (ESA), A photo of an aurora taken by ESA astronaut Tim Peake from on board the International Space Station, January 20, 2016. Expedition 46-47 crewmembers ESA astronaut Tim Peake, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian cosmonaut commander Yuri Malenchenko were welcomed aboard the International Space Station by Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Korniyenko and Oleg Kononenko, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly for a six-month mission, as part of Expedition 46. (Photo by Tim Peake / ESA via Getty Images)

An aurora photographed by ESA astronaut Tim Peake from on board the International Space Station: photo by Tim Peake/ESA, 25 January 2016

Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake ...Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (ESA) shared this stunning nighttime photograph with his social media followers on January 25, 2016, writing, "Beautiful night pass over Italy, Alps and Mediterranean."  / AFP / esa/nasa / TIM PEAKE / == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / ESA/NASA / TIM PEAKE "/ NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS == TIM PEAKE/AFP/Getty Images

Expedition 46 flight engineer Tim Peake of the European Space Agency shared this photograph with his social media followers writing, “Beautiful night pass over Italy, Alps and Mediterranean”: photo by Tim Peake/AFP, 26 January 2016


A new artwork by British artist Banksy opposite the French Embassy, in London. The artwork depicts the young girl from the musical Les Miserables with tears streaming from her eyes as a can of CS gas lies beneath her. The work is criticising the use of teargas in the refugee camp in Calais.: photo by Alastair Grant / AP, 25 January 2016
Occupation / "Settlement" = No Refuge
 

Palestinian Bedouin boys climb on the remains of their makeshift homes near al-Azariya, on the West Bank. The Israeli army said it demolished the homes as they were built illegally. The illegal Jewish settlement of Maale Adumin is seen in the background
.: photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP, 26 January 2016

Palestinian Bedouins play around the remains of makeshift homes that were demolished by the Israeli army in the West Bank city of al-Azariya, on January 21, 2016. (AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinian Bedouins play around the remains of makeshift homes that were demolished by the Israeli army in the West Bank city of al-Azariya: photo by Ahmad Gharabli/AFP, 26 January 2016

Ban Ki-moon calls Israeli settlement expansion an 'affront' to the world: Netanyahu says Ban giving ‘tailwind to terror’ as UN chief says violence born of Palestinians’ despair after ‘half-century of occupation and paralysis of peace’: Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem for the Guardian, 26 January 2016

Israel recently confirmed that it would appropriate a large tract of fertile land in the occupied West Bank.

The land is near Jordan, in an area where Israel already has many illegal settlement farms built on land Palestinians seek for a state.

UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon said he was “deeply troubled” by reports that the Israeli government had approved plans for more than 150 new homes in “illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank”. “These provocative acts are bound to increase the growth of settler populations, further heighten tensions and undermine any prospects for a political road ahead,” Ban told a United Nations security council meeting on the Middle East. 
 

Embedded image permalink

Non stop killing! Between 14-20 January 5 pal civilians killed 23 injured across #WestBank: image via Ray - #Palestine @rayoosheh, 22 January 2016
Danegeld

Embedded image permalink

Denmark to adopt controversial reforms aimed at dissuading asylum seekers
: image via Yahoo News @Yahoo News, 26 January 2016


Danish parliament approves plan to seize assets from refugees: New laws allow police to search asylum seekers to secure cash and valuables, along with other measures to deter migration: David Crouch in Copenhagen and Patrick Kingsley in London for The Guardian, 26 January 2016

Denmark has become the latest European state to force refugees to hand over their valuables, with the continent increasingly using scare tactics and physical deterrents to deal with the biggest migration crisis since the second world war.

Following similar moves in Switzerland and southern Germany, Denmark’s parliament voted on Tuesday to allow police to search asylum seekers on arrival in the country and confiscate any non-essential items worth more than 10,000 Danish kroner (about £1,000) that have no sentimental value to their owner. 


Denmark-PM-reuters.jepg_.gif

Danish prime minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has come under fire for his government's anti-immigration party: photo via The Independent, 26 January 2016

The bill presented by the centre-right minority government of the prime minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, was approved by 81 of the 109 lawmakers present, as members of the opposition Social Democrats backed the measures.

The Danish government says the procedure is to cover the cost of each asylum seeker’s treatment by the state, and mimics treatment of Danish citizens on welfare benefits.

Refugees

The new measures are aimed at deterring refugees from seeking asylum in Denmark: photo by Johan Nilsson / TT News Agency/PA via ITV News, 26 January 2016 

The UN has nevertheless called the move concerning and regrettable, while an opposition party termed it “morally horrible”. An academic specialist confirmed that Danes are expected to use their own income before claiming benefits, but pointed out that except in rare occasions police do not have the right to search Danish welfare claimants.
Rights campaigners have also criticised the laws, which will also prevent refugees from applying to be reunited with their children for three years, and will only give war refugees from Syria a single year of protection.


Mohammed, 19, from Bangladesh, at the refugee camp in Thisted, northern Jutland. Danish politicians have approved a law allowing the state to seize valuables from refugees to cover the cost of their maintenance
: photo by Sara Gangsted/EPA, 26 January 2016


Earlier this month, government spokesman Marcus Knuth told the Guardian it was “ludicrous” to compare the new law to the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust, since similar laws apply to Danish citizens on welfare benefits. “We’re simply applying the same rules we apply to Danish citizens who wish to take money from the Danish government,” Knuth said.

But opponents of the law argue that while refugees can in general still expect to be treated humanely in Denmark, the new legislation is ethically unsound. Pernille Skipper, an MP and legal affairs spokesperson for Enhedslisten, a leftwing Danish party, said: “Morally it is a horrible way to treat people fleeing mass crimes, war, rapes. They are fleeing from war and how do we treat them? We take their jewellery.”

Denmark's Minister of Immigration and Integration Inger Stojberg

Denmark's Minister of Immigration and Integration, Inger Stojberg, listens to the parliamentary debate: photo by Reuters/Mathias Loevgren Bojesen/Scanpix via ITV News, 26 January 2016

Klaus Petersen, professor at the Centre for Welfare State Research at the University of Southern Denmark, confirmed that Danish welfare claimants have to give up their savings before they receive benefits -- but not their valuables, unlike refugees. They will also not be searched except in rare circumstances.

Petersen said: “A Danish citizen could be searched in an extreme case if the municipality has a suspicion of fraud, but you need court permission to do so. For refugees, you would not need a court permission.”

A regional spokesman for the UN refugee agency, Zoran Stevanović, said: “Denmark has traditionally been an inspiration to others for setting human rights standards. However, rather than showing and providing solidarity and sanctuary, Denmark is focusing on developing and implementing individual and restrictive responses. UNHCR regrets that Denmark is introducing restrictions to its asylum policy rather than focusing on building and promoting a fair distribution of asylum seekers within all countries in the EU.

“The law introduces restrictive measures on asylum seekers that increasingly hinder their ability to apply for asylum in Denmark. We are particularly concerned by reduced social benefits and restricted access to family reunification. We are also concerned that refugees with temporary protection are only allowed to reside in Denmark for one year and yet are only able to apply for family reunification after three years.”

Denmark accepted about 20,000 asylum seekers in 2015 -– 2% of the total to arrive in Europe last year.

To further deter future asylum seekers, Denmark also recently introduced more stringent border controls, forcing more potential asylum seekers back to Germany, which took in about 1.1 million migrants last year. 

denmark-refugees-reuters.jpeg

Refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Iraq seek asylum in Denmark: photo via The Independent, 26 January 2016

Welcome to Europe. Give us your valuables.

Embedded image permalink

OK, this was a nazi achievement, but it seems that #Denmark will catch up shortly: image via Thomas Mavrofides @blacktom1961, 26 January 2016
    I honestly just can't wrap my mind around #Denmark's law allowing seizure of refugees' valuables. "Hi, you survived war, now pay for it.": tweet by Rawya Rageh @RawyaRageh, 26 January 2016

    Welcome to Europe. Are you: A multinational corporation > don't worry about tax etc A refugee fleeing war > give us your valuables #Denmark: tweet by David Schneider @David Schneider, 26 January 2016

    "If you've got any money - you certainly don't go to #Denmark. That's just ridiculous." Immigrant to @BBCWorldTonight: tweet by Bonnie Greer @Bonn1eGreer, 26 January 2016 Brent, London

    The European race to the bottom is officially won by #Denmark. Once a humane nation.: tweet by Jan Egeland @NRC_Egeland, 26 January 2016

    The Bridge Series 4: a body is found on the bridge. Social Democrats in #Denmark rush there to see if it has a watch they can pawn.: tweet by Gavan Titley @ Gavan Titley, 26 January 2016  


Danish police officers stopped asylum seekers from Syria in September at the Padborg train station, near the border with Germany
: photo by Mauricio Lima for The New York Times, 26 January 2016



Danish police officers stopped asylum seekers from Syria in September at the Padborg train station, near the border with Germany: photo by Mauricio Lima for The New York Times, 26 January 2016
 

Migrants in Padborg, Denmark, walking to police vans last week after officers checked the identity papers of people on a train arriving from Germany
: photo by. Sean Gallup / The New York Times, 13 January 2016
 
 

Migrants in Padborg, Denmark, walking to police vans last week after officers checked the identity papers of people on a train arriving from Germany
: photo by. Sean Gallup / The New York Times, 13 January 2016















Embedded image permalink

#Denmark's refugee asset grab: The most punitive step yet among EU nations to deter refugees
: image via POLITICO Europe Verified account @POLITICOEurope, 26 January 2016


Embedded image permalink

Press release: #Denmark Parliament must reject cruel changes to refugee law #refugeeswelcome
: image via Amnesty EU @AmnestyEU, 20 January 2016 


Embedded image permalink

Cruel and regressive changes to #Denmark's refugee law MUST be rejected. #refugees: image via Amnesty International Verified account EU @amnesty, 21 January 2016 


Embedded image permalink

#Denmark ADOPTS CONTROVERSIAL LAW TO SEIZE ASYLUM SEEKERS' VALUABLES #migrantcrisis: image via Eta Centauri (ηCen) #ECentauri, 26 January 2016


Embedded image permalink

I've carried this coin from a visit with me for years but clearly #Denmark must be desperate so I'm sending it back: image via Pete Taylor @kimondo, 26 January 2016  Wadsworth, London

Tribute for Passage

Embedded image permalink

An aid worker sits in silence next to the body of a young girl as he waits for police to arrive on North Lesvos
: image via PositiveAction @PositiveActionH, 26 January 2016

3 comments:

billoo said...

Tom, by chance I was reading an article about Ta-Nehisi Coates just this morning. These lines struck me:

To be white now has no meaning divorced from “the machinery of criminal power.”

A bit harsh, but interesting.

Michael Peverett said...

Deeply repelled by Denmark's decision. And by the thought that Sweden might be listening.

STEPHEN RATCLIFFE said...

Tom,
"Ammon Bundy . . . toting up the day's bonanza of free stuff:" -- and meanwhile, breaking news on the Malheur Front, Ammon Bundy busted (probably locked up) . . .