Good morning!

After what’s been blogged and talked about in the last few days, this seemed like a natural follow-up write.

#TalkPoverty

Real People. Real Stories. Real Solutions For Poverty.

In America, too many of us fall into the trap of thinking: “Poverty is terrible but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Today, the Half in Ten Education Fund — dedicated to cutting poverty in half in 10 years — introduced a new project called talkpoverty.org dedicated to demonstrating that exactly the opposite is true: we know how to dramatically reduce poverty. The website is a hub where people can learn about poverty in America and what we can do to reduce it.

It also serves to unite and strengthen the antipoverty community, bridging the gap between local and national voices, between grassroots activism and policy work, and between those who are struggling and those who are more economically secure. At the site, you can find basic data and interactive maps about poverty in America; hear from people living in poverty and people dedicated to the fight against poverty; and get involved with local, state and national organizations to take action.

Celebrity chef, food activist, and head judge on Bravo’s Top Chef Tom Colicchio helps kick off the site with one of it’s first posts: “It’s time to #VOTEFOOD.” He traces his history as a chef: from not thinking about hunger and poverty, to attempting to offer food “at a more democratic price point” than his fancy restaurants, to raising money for organizations combating hunger, to finally starting the activist network Food Policy Action. He writes:

As soon as one legislator loses their job over the way they vote on food issues, it will send a clear message to Congress: We’re organized. We’re strong. Yes, we have a food movement, and it’s coming for you.

Former governor Ted Strickland (D-OH), the President of CAP Action, recalls his own personal story of growing up in poverty and always remembering those less fortunate than himself. “It’s un-American, frankly, that you can work and work and work and not get out of poverty,” he concludes.

National figures aren’t the only voices, however. Another featured post is by Sherita Mouzon, a member of Witnesses to Hunger and a Peer Mentor for the Salvation Army in Philadelphia. She writes:

My scars run long and deep—they will always be there. The long lasting effects of trauma stick with you. But I refuse to let my past dictate my future. My memories keep me humble. I’m shaped not by the commonly accepted “fact” that since I grew up in poverty I have to live in poverty now. Instead, I’m shaped by the idea that while you can’t change the past, you can change the future.

Talkpoverty.org melds these activists’ voices with an extensive data set of poverty indicators and demographic data, as well as interactive maps like the one below:

CREDIT: TALKPOVERTY.ORG

In addition to blog content and data, the website will include:

• Updates on local, state, and national anti-poverty campaigns and how to get involved
• Features on anti-poverty victories and lessons learned
• Alerts for anti-poverty actions and events
• Synopses and links to the latest research, articles, videos, television programs, and
  other media

Head over and check it out now!

BOTTOM LINE: 46 million Americans live in poverty, including more than one in five children. We need to have an informed conversation about how to dramatically reduce poverty in this country, and low-income people themselves should play a leading role. By listening to those who are living in poverty and those who are fighting poverty every day, we can grow the movement we truly need to ensure that all Americans have a fair shot at economic prosperity.

*****

Readers: Well, as I am sure you discovered, the full version of Robert Greenwald’s movie, Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition, was not on the live stream on Tuesday. However, if you haven’t watched it yet, you can watch it on Brave New Films. I think it’s important for all of us to take the time to watch and spread the word in any way we can: Talk about it, blog it, have a party and show the screening of the film. I HOPE that you do.

Thanks to Robert Greenwald for producing this movie. Thanks to Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders, and Marge Baker  for taking the time to speak out against the Koch Brothers in the live stream on Tuesday.

Howie: Thanks for posting. Done.

Will, Lilly, Katy et al: Thank you all for supporting me in keeping the Koch Brothers and their greedy ways exposed. This is just the beginning, so I HOPE you’ll continue to keep blogging it here and elsewhere. Thanks.

Christopher*: I am a little surprised to read parts of your comment. Voting Republicans out and retaining control of the Senate, and getting control of the House is the only way for Obama to be successful in anything and any chance of bringing about change for the betterment of all, and we can do it. Thinking for a moment that it won’t produce the desired effect that we are hoping for is not a “can do” attitude. We have no other choice but to vote out the repubs. It is something we must do. By the way, I signed too. Thanks for posting.

Von: Thanks. I won’t. I HOPE you won’t either.

Social Butterfly: -Thanks. Done. Oh…/SB: Yes, you read that correctly and my sentence was confusing in my rush to write it. Thanks for noticing. I was out late the night before and didn’t have a chance to proof it until yesterday morning. I scheduled the blog to post at 9:00 AM yesterday, the evening before, as I usually do. I proofed it early yesterday morning and saw where I needed to clarify + a few other things I wanted to change. I tried to update my changes but the server kept scrolling and wouldn’t make them, nor could I put off the scheduled post until a later time so that I could make my changes. So, unfortunately the blog posted and I couldn’t make the few changes until the early afternoon when I could get on.

#PeaceOut. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Michelle Obama hardly ever gets written up enough for what she does as an amazing woman and FLOTUS. So when I find something written about FLOTUS besides her chic fashion sense (Which I do enjoy! But c’mon she has so much more to offer us, if we just can just get the opportunity to read and listen.), I get excited.

Michelle Obama, a Wonderful Woman Of The World, gave a wonderful warm, heartfelt, honest, living-in-the-real-world speech, when she spoke to graduating students on Senior Appreciation Day in Topeka, Kansas, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the landmark Brown v Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

So, just what is the landmark Brown v Board? Here’s the write from the L.A. Times. I was not familiar with all of the details, and perhaps you aren’t either:

Brown vs. Board of Education: Here’s what happened in 1954 courtroom

EDITOR’S NOTE: On May 17, 1954, a hushed crowd of spectators packed the Supreme Court, awaiting word on Brown vs. Board of Education, a combination of five lawsuits brought by the NAACP’s legal arm to challenge racial segregation in public schools. The high court decided unanimously that “separate but equal” education denied black children their constitutional right to equal protection under the law, effectively removing a cornerstone that propped up Jim Crow, or state-sanctioned segregation of the races.

Associated Press reporter Herb Altschull chronicled the decision and what it meant for segregation, which in 1954 permeated many aspects of American life. Using the style and language of journalists of his era, including a reference to Asians as “Orientals,” Altschull captured the uncertainty hanging over a society on the brink of seismic change. Here is Altschull’s compelling report. 

The Supreme Court ruled today that the states of the nation do not have the right to separate Negro and white pupils in different public schools.

By a unanimous 9-0 vote, the high court held that such segregation of the races is unconstitutional.

Chief Justice Warren read the historic decision to a packed but hushed gallery of spectators nearly two years after Negro residents of four states and the District of Columbia went before the court to challenge the principle of segregation.

The ruling does not end segregation at once. Further hearings were set for this fall to decide how and when to end the practice of segregation. Thus a lengthy delay is likely before the decision is carried out.

Dean Acheson, secretary of State under former President Harry Truman, was in the courtroom to hear the ruling. He called it “great and statesmanlike.”

Atty. Gen. [Herbert] Brownell was also present. He declined comment immediately. Brownell and the Eisenhower administration, like Truman’s, opposed segregation.

For years 17 Southern and “border” states have imposed compulsory segregation on approximately two-thirds of the nation’s Negroes. Officials of some states already are on record as saying they will close the schools rather than permit them to be operated with Negro and white pupils in the same classrooms.

In its decision, the high court struck down the long-standing “separate but equal” doctrine first laid down by the Supreme Court in 1896 when it maintained that segregation was all right if equal facilities were made available for Negroes and whites.

Here is the heart of today’s decision as it deals with this hotly controverted doctrine:

“We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other ‘tangible’ factors may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal education opportunities?”

“We believe that it does.”

James C. Hagerty, presidential press secretary, told a news conference the White House would have no comment at this time. He noted that Warren’s opinion said formulation of specific decrees must await later hearings.

Gov. Herman Talmadge, one of the most outspoken supporters of segregation, hit back from Atlanta that the court’s decision had reduced the constitution to “a mere scrap of paper.”

“It has blatantly ignored all law and precedent and usurped from the Congress and the people the power to amend the Constitution and from the Congress the authority to make the laws of the land,” Talmadge said.

Thurgood Marshall, Negro attorney from New York who had argued the case against segregation last December, said he was highly pleased that the decision was unanimous and that the language used was unequivocal.

“Once the decision is made public to the South as well as to the North,” Marshall said, “The people will get together for the first time and work this thing out.”

He said he was not in any way fearful lest the final decree nibble away at the principles in the decision. Marshall said, too, he believes the people of the South will abide by the ruling. “The people of the South are just as law abiding as any other good citizens,” he said.

Marshall is a special counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which has spearheaded the drive against segregation. He said NAACP people will meet this week to discuss “what we are going to do.”

Today’s decision was the first major ruling of the Supreme Court since Warren became chief justice last October, succeeding the late Fred Vinson.

The court confined its ruling to the question of the segregation of Negro public school pupils, but it obviously is applicable to the exclusion from public schools of any minority group — Orientals, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and so on.

Today’s decision was the latest in a series of court rulings wiping out legal restrictions on Negroes.

In previous cases the Supreme Court had:

1. Ruled that colleges must admit Negroes to study professional courses not open to them in Negro colleges.

2. Ruled that Negroes may not be excluded from train and bus coaches operated in interstate travel.

3. Ruled that Negroes may not be barred from eating in restaurants in the District of Columbia.

The “separate but equal” doctrine was set forth in a 7-1 decision on May 18, 1896, in a case involving Homer Adolph Plessy, who was part Negro.

Plessy boarded a train for a ride from New Orleans to Covington, La., and took a seat in a coach assigned to white passengers in violation of a Louisiana law which required segregation of whites and Negroes on trains.

The conductor asked Plessy to leave the white coach but he refused. A policeman arrested Plessy and took him to jail in New Orleans.

That set off a vigorous legal battle in which the Louisiana Supreme Court eventually upheld the state law. Plessy appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States and the decision went against him.

Justice Henry Billings Brown, who wrote that decision, said the Louisiana law was not in conflict with the U.S. Constitution since Plessy was not refused the right to ride in trains so long as he stayed in a coach restricted to Negroes.

Thus grew up the philosophy of “separate but equal” facilities. Warren, in today’s decision, wrote that the Plessy case involved transportation, not public schools. Inasmuch as he called special attention to the distinction, it is apparent that the court is not now dismissing all forms of segregation.

Warren said that when the 14th Amendment was enacted, “education of Negroes was almost nonexistent, and practically all of the race were illiterate. In fact, any education of Negroes was forbidden by law in some states.”

“Today, in contrast, many Negroes have achieved outstanding success in the arts and sciences as well as in the business and professional world.”

Warren noted that in the early 1870s when cases dealing with segregation first went to the Supreme Court, “compulsory education was virtually unknown” and that for this reason the question of school segregation was unimportant.

After the 1896 decision, Warren wrote, American courts began using it as a basis for decisions on all matters dealing with separation of Negroes and whites.

But it was not until the present cases were brought before the court, Warren said, that the “separate but equal” doctrine was challenged insofar as it might deal with public school education.

Warren noted that the lower courts, in finding against Negro appellants on the basis of the 1896 decision, maintained that the Negro and white schools involved had, in fact, been equalized “with respect to buildings, curricula, qualifications and salaries of teachers and other ‘tangible’ factors.”

But, the Chief Justice said, “our decision. cannot turn on merely a comparison of these tangible factors in the Negro and white schools involved in each of the cases. We must look instead to the effect of segregation itself on public education.”

The Warren opinion recalled that in an earlier decision dealing with the question of whether Negroes should be admitted to graduate courses in segregated universities, the court had said this:

“To separate them (Negroes) from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.”

Reaction from Capitol Hill was swift and in some cases strongly critical.

Sen. [Richard] Russell of Georgia, leader of Southern Democrats in the Senate, termed the decision “a flagrant abuse of judicial power.” He said questions like that of segregation should be decided by the lawmakers, not the courts.

Other Southerners were plainly unhappy, but they did not go so far as Russell. Sen. [Marion Price] Daniel (D-Texas) said the verdict was “disappointing” and that he couldn’t see how the court could arrive at such a decision.

Sen. [Allen J.] Ellender (D-La.) said, “I am of course very much disappointed by this. But I don’t want to criticize the Supreme Court. It is bound to have a very great effect until we readjust ourselves to it.”

He said there would be “violent repercussions” if enforcement were ordered too quickly.

Rep. [Kenneth B.] Keating (R-NY), a strong backer of civil rights legislation, said “There is no doubt about the soundness of the court’s decision.”

Gov. William B. Umstead of North Carolina said in a statement put out by his office that he was “terribly disappointed.”

J.M. Hinton, South Carolina conference president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), said:

“Christianity and democracy have been given a great place in America through the elimination of segregation in public school and communism has lost a talking point.”

The appeals from the four states – Kansas, Delaware, Virginia and South Carolina – challenged the legality of segregation on the ground that it violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The District of Columbia complaint alleged violation of the 5th Amendment.

The 14th Amendment, put through shortly after the end of the Civil War, was designed to reinforce the rights of the newly freed slaves. It said that no state may deprive any person of due process or equal rights under the law.

The 5th Amendment gives all persons involved in court cases dealing with federal matters the right to due process of law.

Actually, the court did not decide the question purely on the basis of these amendments.

Warren wrote that the court “cannot turn the clock back” to the enactment of the 14th Amendment in 1868 or the imposing of the “separate but equal” doctrine in 1896.

“We must consider public education,” Warren wrote, “In the light of its full development and its present place in American life throughout the nation. “

“Only in this way can it be determined if segregation in public schools deprives these plaintiffs of the equal protection of the laws.”

“Today, education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments… It is the very foundation of good citizenship… In these days it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education.”

“Such an opportunity where the state has undertaken to provide it, is a right which must be made available to all on equal terms.”

The court minced no words in applying the “equal rights” section of the 14th Amendment to the issue of school segregation. It said:

“We hold that the plaintiffs and others similarly situated for whom the action has been brought are, by reason of the segregation complained of, deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.”

It disposed of the “due process” section in this way:

“This disposition makes unnecessary any discussion whether such segregation also violates the due process clause…”

That was for the cases of the four states. But in the District of Columbia case, the court applied the due process provisions of the 5th Amendment, saying:

“We hold that racial segregation in the public schools of the District of Columbia is a denial of the due process of law guaranteed by the 5th Amendment to the Constitution.”

Warren’s opinion noted that enforcement of the court ruling raised “problems of considerable complexity.”

It was for this reason that the court ordered further arguments in the fall. Brownell and the attorneys general of all states where segregation is now permitted were invited to take part, so that appropriate decrees can be worked out.

Briefs must be filed by Oct. 1.

The decision was made public in a highly unusual manner. Normally, copies of Supreme Court rulings are given to reporters simultaneously with the start of their reading from the bench.

In this case, no copies were given out until after Warren had finished reading the opinion. Thus it was not until he was well into it was the full import of the court’s decision known— that segregation had been ruled unconstitutional.

No reason was announced for this departure from the usual practice.

The court had weighed the issues for a long time. The first arguments on the cases were held in December 1952. Rearguments were heard in December 1953, after the Eisenhower Administration took over.

And...I posted the video, so you could watch her full speech. It is 20 minutes but so worth it.  Powerful and moving.

 First Lady Michelle Obama Addresses Senior Appreciation Day

Readers: What an awesome speech. I am so moved. I love the way Michelle Obama puts the power into the hands of the young to bring about change. I HOPE they take it on.

Thoughts? Blog me.

Peace & love…to all.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

As promised, you can watch the live press briefing and premier of the Koch Brothers Exposed: 2104 Edition, live stream @ at 2:45 PM PST/5:45pm EST, right here!

KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED: 2014 Edition

Press Briefing and Premiere of Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition with Senator Harry Reid, Representative Nancy Pelosi, and Filmmaker Robert Greenwald.

On May 20th, 2014, Brave New Films will host a press briefing and premiere* of our upcoming documentary Koch Brothers Exposed: 2014 Edition with Senator Reid and several other congressional leaders. Senator Reid will be opening the event with statements about the Koch Brothers and the effect of money in politics. This will be followed by segments of our upcoming documentary and statements from several members of Congress who will share their plans to overturn Citizens United.

*****

Readers: I realize the live stream is right in the middle of the day but if you can watch it, I encourage you to. I think you’ll also be able to watch on Brave New Films.org as well if for some reason you can’t see it here. Although, I tried to get onto the site last night and couldn’t. Let’s HOPE we can all watch it today.

And then…Blog me.

In the meantime, here is a segment from the Ed Show interviewing Robert Greenwald:

Ed, Evelyn, Julie: Keep saying it, because I can’t say it enough – Get out and Vote out the republicans!

Peace out. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

From Brave New Films.

KOCH BROTHERS EXPOSED: 2014 Edition

*****

Readers: Stay tuned. If I am able, I’ll be posting it live tomorrow right here.

Blog me.

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

The kidnapping of the 276 young school girls in Nigeria has been in the forefront of my mind lately. I was enjoying a burger at one of my fave places, and watching the news when I first heard, and yet from the conversations I have had with people, there was hardly a peep about it in the news since the kidnapping of the girls on April 14th.

Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan has received more and more criticism as the weeks have passed and the girls remained missing. A report over the weekend from the Associated Press indicates that it took weeks for Jonathan to accept assistance from the United States, United Kingdom, France, and China in the hunt for the kidnapped schoolgirls. And human rights group Amnesty International last week indicated that the Nigerian military had hours of forewarning before the attack but still failed to either prevent it or pursue the abductors immediately after the attack.

~Think Progress 5/12/14**

President Obama has spoken out, and ordered a team of military intelligence specialists and hostage negotiators to Nigeria to help in the search. Our first lady,  Michelle Obama then posted a photo of herself on Twitter, holding a piece of paper with “#BringBackOurGirls” written on it.

Michelle Obama also gave the Presidential Address last Saturday, in honor of Mother’s Day, condemning the abduction, Outraged and heartbroken, asking for the girls to be released.

So what else is going on to find these missing girls?

Here’s a write From Think Progress. It’s a long one.

Here’s Why Nigeria Hasn’t Yet Found Its 300 Missing Girls

The world isn’t just aware of the plight of three hundred girls kidnapped from their boarding school in Nigeria now. It has become, finally, invested. Globally, people are demanding that the Nigerian government do more to find the 276 girls still missing, while a hashtag, #BringBackOurGirls, unites the web behind their cause.

The world is eager to see the girls, stolen away in the night three weeks ago, returned. But part of the reason why the girls remain abducted lies in just how the government has waged its war against the terrorists who carried out the kidnapping over the last half a decade. And the terrorists who hold them captive remain an unpredictable factor, leaving even experts unsure just how to bring about their freedom from the men determined to prevent them from gaining an education.

Abubakar Shekau, leader of the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram, on Monday appeared in a video taking credit for the kidnapping of the girls from the Government Girls Secondary School in the town of Chibok, located in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state. In the message, Shekau threatened to sell the girls he had kidnapped, saying “God instructed me to sell them, they are his properties and I will carry out his instructions.”

The Nigerian military is facing criticism for how it has handled the kidnapping since the first hours after the girls were taken. Once they realized that the students were missing, family members went searching in the Sambisa Forest, one of the hideouts of Boko Haram. When told that they were near where the abductors had set up camp, the searchers returned to Chibok, according to the Associated Press, and appealed to the soldiers present to join them into the forest. The soldiers refused. The next day, Nigerian media reported that the military had managed to free the majority of the girls taken. Nigeria’s defense ministry was forced to withdraw that claim only a day later.

“The operation is going on and we will continue to deploy more troops,” Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade told the Associated Press. That was now two weeks ago.

Complicating matters further, since the Boko Haram uprising commenced in 2009-2010 as an institution the group has mutated to the point that negotiation to secure the girls’ release will be difficult at best. Lesley Anne Warner, Africa analyst at the CNA Corporation, told ThinkProgress in a phone interview that since Nigeria first took up the fight against Boko Haram, the government’s strategy against them has resulted in very little credibility in terms of being able to deliver the improvement in governance or service delivery needed to address Boko Haram’s grievances. “And so the group over the course of the years has become more and more radical and it’s actually not possible to negotiate with the leaders of Boko Haram right now,” she said, describing instances where efforts on the part of moderates in the group to negotiate were met with either denial of their membership in the group or public beheadings carried out by Boko Haram leadership.

That doesn’t mean that negotiations haven’t been occurring. “The only way to get the girls back is through negotiation, according to an Islamic scholar who has mediated the release of previous hostages,” the Associated Press reports. “The scholar, who remained anonymous because his position receiving messages from Boko Haram is sensitive, said the militants are willing to free the girls for a ransom, but have not specified how much.” Previously, Nigeria’s Channel 4 News interviewed a hostage negotiator who claimed to be in contact with Boko Haram and said, “It would not be hard to engineer a deal. It looks like they want to release them.” The same negotiator also cautioned that “kidnappers have warned, however, that attempts by the military to launch a rescue attempt ‘may result in the deaths of many of the captives.’”

But those efforts haven’t garnered the release of any of the kidnapped girls to date. And according to crisis management firm Red24′s chief Africa analyst Ryan Cummings the new found attention to Boko Haram may be just what the group wants. “The issue with the kidnapping with me is it was conducted with the intention of grabbing of international headlines,” Cummings told ThinkProgress in a phone interview. Any attempts by the military to use a forceful option to rescue the kidnapped girls could be a massive risk to them, Cummings said, confirming the warnings of the negotiator Nigerian media interviewed.

“Everything that they’ve done up to this point from the kidnapping to claiming responsibility when they did, has been really trying to get international focus and to highlight the ineffectiveness of the Nigerian government,” Cummings said. “Especially with the Chibok kidnapping, the more focus, the better Boko Haram’s bargaining position,” he said, adding that this spotlight and need to garner the girl’s release forces the government into the position where they will need to cede to the terrorists’ demands.

A woman takes part in a march demanding Nigeria’s government find the missing girls

CREDIT: AP PHOTO/ SUNDAY ALAMBA

For five years now, Boko Haram — whose name translates to “Western education is sinful” — has sought to impose its harsh view of Islam upon the rest of Nigeria, launching bombings and conducting massacres in mosques, churches, government facilities, and schools. The non-profit International Crisis Group estimates that the group has killed more than 4,000 people since it began its campaign. At least 1,500 Nigerians have died as the result of the conflict this year alone. The rise of the group has also contributed to Nigeria having the most outbreaks of polio in the world, as workers attempting to vaccinate the population have come under attack. And now, even if it’s part of their strategy, Boko Haram is receiving more international attention than ever for its role in kidnapping Borno’s girls.

So why has such a brutal and heinous group managed to not only avoid defeat at the hands of the Nigerian government but remain intact and growing in reach?

“I think the main problem with Nigeria is they have a very heavy-handed approach to countering Boko Haram,” Warner told ThinkProgress. The strategy the government is pursuing, Warner said, is lacking in both a political element to address the concerns of those who might support Boko Haram and a dedication to protecting civilians in the areas that they’re occupying. “So as a result, they’re unable to rely on human intelligence because no one wants to talk to the security forces about what’s going on in the area,” Warner said.

Reports from human rights groups operating in Nigeria bear out Warner’s analysis. Security forces have “allegedly engaged in excessive use of force and other human rights violations, such as burning homes, physical abuse, and extrajudicial killings,” according to a Human Rights Watch report released in 2012. More recently, Amnesty International just this March accused the army of killing some 600 people, mostly former detainees who were rounded up following a Boko Haram attack on army barracks. None of the men killed were given a trial before their death, the international rights group claims.

Those sort of tactics “alienated the population living in the areas the task force is operating in,” Warner said. “And so in a situation like this where the girls are missing, they don’t have seem to have good leads on where the girls are, they can’t really rely on the population for intelligence.” Add in that military is now facing criticism over the fact that in the face of an actual moment where the locals wanted them to take action, the soldiers refused to aid in the search, and it’s easy to conclude that if Boko Haram’s goal was to make the Nigerian government look ineffective, it’s working.

The United States has offered to fill in some of the information gap Nigerian president Goodluck Johnathan’s government is experiencing, according to a CNN report, but Warner told ThinkProgress that the U.S.’ technological superiority won’t likely make much of a difference in the pursuit. “What they need right now is not just technology, they need the human intelligence,” she said. “And unless they’ve already built that trust with the population — they can’t surge trust at this point. I think the lack of human intelligence is going to impede their operations.”

On top of that, according the Jamestown Foundation’s Jacob Zenn, even those offensives against Boko Haram have been less than effective. “The government has not sufficiently resourced the troops in the northeast nor established emergency measures to prevent against abductions,” he wrote to ThinkProgress in an email, adding the kidnapping in Chibok was “neither the first nor will it be the last such abduction so long as there is no strategy in place.” That prediction, emailed on Monday night, seemed proved true on Tuesday with reports that Boko Haram had kidnapped another eight girls in Borno.

Zenn continued on to say that Nigeria lacks a regional strategy for countering Boko Haram, adding to the difficulty in pinning down the group, as there’s “almost no coordination between Nigeria and its neighbors, such as Cameroon, Chad and Niger, which could prevent Boko Haram’s cross-border operations, as in the case of these kidnapped girls.” Local elders in Chibok told reporters last week that several of the kidnapped girls had been taken across the border into Chad and Cameroon. There, they said, the underage girls were “married” off to their captors for the sum of 2,000 Nigerian niara — or $12 US. One report in Nigerian media says one of the escapees described a situation where “young female captives were raped up to 15 times a day, forced to convert to Islam and had their throats cut if they refused.”

It’s now been three weeks since the girls were abducted, led from their beds by men in army uniforms promising to keep them safe before being driven off in a convoy, their school on fire behind them. The frustration with the government has grown exponentially in the days since, with now regular protests taking place in the capital city, Abuja, demanding that the government take action. Use of the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls has provided a rallying point for the world to unite behind the mothers, aunts, and sisters of the missing. Some frustrated activists online decided to aid in the hunt in their own way through publishing the names of those missing in the hopes of drawing further attention to their plight and aiding in their rescue. According to scholars of the region and other activists, however, this publicizing of their names presents a threat to the girls’ well-being.

“Boko Haram could be monitoring Twitter, selecting out named girls for special abuse,” tweet out Laura Seay, an assistant professor at Colby College, “Err on the side of caution.” In their most recent report on the kidnapping, the Associated Press noted that most of those they interviewed preferred to speak anonymously, “fearing that giving their names would also reveal the girls’ identities and subject them to possible stigmatization in this conservative society.”

All of this leaves the international community, governments and individuals alike, struggling to decide how best to help the missing girls. Aside from the intelligence sharing CNN reported, details of how the United States is offering to help Nigeria find the girls are still lacking even as the list of pledges to do just that grows. “The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime, and we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice,” Secretary of State John Kerry said this weekend. On Monday the Huffington Post report that Attorney General Eric Holder would be offering law enforcement assistance to Nigeria to aid in the search. And on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki announced that the U.S. had offered — and President Johnathan has welcomed — sending a team of “experts” to help find the girls.

But the trail is beginning to run cold. The number missing remains locked at 276 after rising over the past three weeks. Boko Haram continues to launch attacks, including one against the town of Gamboru Ngala just Monday. According to one resident, “They burned the market, the customs office, the police and almost all shops in the city and killed people but I do not know how.” And the families of the missing continue to hope to see their sisters, nieces, cousins, and daughters again.

*****

Readers: Doesn’t it just enrage you when you hear men say that God told them to do something? It is always the excuse men use when they want to keep women down and dumb so they can do to just do as they please. Sickening.

Note: Although the above write was written 9 days ago I thought it was worthy of a blog post because of the content. However, I found this latest update this morning from **Think Progress:

New Video Allegedly Shows Kidnapped Nigerian Girls

A new video released on Monday purportedly shows the leader of Boko Haram alongside around half of the girls his group kidnapped from a school in Nigeria just under a month ago, claiming that he his willing to release some of the abducted in exchange for prisoners.

The video, which is approximately 17 minutes long and originally obtained by French news agency AFP, shows more than one hundred girls wearing full length hijabs and several in the back holding a version of the black flag that jihadi groups around the world carry.

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(If you’d like to continue to read, click here.)

At least now we know the girls are alive, and they seem to be safe. But who knows for how long. These are sick men- they are killers.  These girls need to be helped. Let’s HOPE they are found and rescued soon and returned home safely to their families. It is disturbing and I am anxious for something to be done. Time is of the essence. My heart and prayers go out to the girls and their families and friends.

Readers: What do you think needs to happen to make this happen? It’s Friday…start flapping. Blog me.

Peace & Love: “Live it, Give it.”

Christopher*: I like what you said. I like when solutions are suggested. We can all bitch…and I certainly do, but in order to move forward we need to take action, consistent solution oriented action.

With respect to your comment about Sam, it’s too bad there are some people that don’t think that way. The little dick white boys just can’t take it when a black man succeeds…and now a gay black man…that just gets their boxers all bunched up.

Alycedale: I was wondering if someone was going to bring that up.

Oh, speaking of taking solution oriented action towards the sickening…don’t you just love the way men feel they can call you an insane man hating bitch just because you’ve got one strapped on for protection and have needed to use it? As if the men who were trying to rape you were the victims. When men think like that, it is no wonder we need to protect ourselves, because it’s obvious we are not being protected by men making such a comment.

If men didn’t do the horrific things they do, women wouldn’t have to take such precautions, and be the bad ass bitches that we can be. I HOPE you’re doing good.

Happy Friday everyone! Thanks for being here with me. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

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