Students at the University of California, San Diego are protesting an upcoming visit by the Dalai Lama claiming the Tibetan leader is oppressive.

Chinese students are leading objections to the event, which will see the Dalai Lama give a commencement speech on graduation day.

They have claimed that his presence is offensive because of his campaign to make Tibet more independent contrary to the Communist governments position that Tibet is a region of China under their control.

Arguments over Tibetan independence have raged for decades but this dispute is remarkable because activists are conducting it through the language of social justice.

As noted byQuartz, the Chinese student association framed their complaints as an example of cultural oppression and a problem of equality.

A statement accused university leaders of having contravened the spirit of respect, tolerance, equality, and earnestnessthe ethos upon which the university is built.

One student posting on Facebook said: So you guys protest against Trump because he disrespects Muslims, blacks, Hispanics, LGBT.., but invites this oppresser [sic] to make a public speech?? The hypocrisy is appalling!

Likewise, an alumni group based in Shanghai said UCSD will be breaching its ethos of diversity and will leave them extremely offended and disrespected if the Dalai Lamas speech dips into the political.

Chinese officials are known to be extraordinarily hostile to any groups who get close to the Dalai Lama, and do their best to punish governments who engage with the exiled Tibetan regime.

They consider the Dalai Lama a threat to stability in China, akin to a terrorist who wants to split the country.

This is despite his stated aim being increased autonomy rather than outright independence for Tibet, which he fled in 1959.

His insistence on peaceful protest and non-violent resistance won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. It is hard to see who he is oppressing by touring the world, giving speeches and promoting peaceful opposition to China.

Questions have been raised about whether the Chinese government is directly involved in lobbying against the address.

A statement by the Chinese Students and Scholars Association originally said it was seeking support from the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, but later denied that claim.

Government officials are certainly not above getting involved in campus politics.

At the University of Durham in northern England, the Chinese Embassy in London tried to stop a Chinese-born activist and beauty queen speaking in a debate.

Anastasia Lin, a Miss World Canada winner, was asked to speak at the Durham Union Society on whether China was a threat to the West

But the students organizing the debate received angry calls from embassy officials, claiming that if Lin spoke it could damage UK-China relations, according to aBuzzFeed report.

The students ignored them and went ahead with the debate anyway (Lins side lost).

But the incident underlines that China is prepared to take advantage of a newly censorious atmosphere on campus and its supporters are happy to use the posture of SJWs to get their way.

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UC San Diego Students Protest Visit by 'Oppressive and Offensive' Dalai Lama - Heat Street

Legendary renaissance man, TV host, best-selling author, and punk icon Henry Rollins was the keynote speaker for the 3rd Annual International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco.

During his talk, he spoke about cannabis and other drugs, as well as theexperience of facing government oppression and censorship during his punk years with Black Flag and his solo project, Rollins Band. While Mr. Rollins doesnt use cannabis or other drugs himself, he explained how if someday he wants to use cannabis, the government should recognize that choice.

"Radical" Russ Belville, as he is known on-air, hosts The Russ Belville Show, a two-hour news and talk radio program for the cannabis community, weekdays at 3pm Pacific on CannabisRadio.com. With well over 2,000 shows heard by hundreds of thousands of listeners, "Radical" Russ is one of the most recognizable voices in the marijuana media. Russ is based in Portland, Oregon, and travels extensively, lecturing and presenting on marijuana law reform issues. In addition to his writing for WeedNews.co, Russ's writing is featured in print in HIGH TIMES, Cannabis Now Magazine, and Oregon Cannabis Connection, and online on HIGHTIMES.com, Pot.TV, Alternet, Huffington Post, and many other websites.

View all posts by "Radical" Russ

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Henry Rollins Doesn't Smoke Pot, But Demands The Right to Choose To - Weed News

Stars and Stripes

Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul Stars and Stripes Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the latest operation on state TV. Using the Arabic acronym for IS, he said government forces were moving to "liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh oppression and terrorism forever." Police units ... Iraqi forces launch offensive to drive IS from western MosulNews Chief Iraqi forces push to retake western MosulThe Australian Iraq launches offensive to 'liberate' western Mosul from ISISABC News all 483 news articles »

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Iraqi forces advance on Islamic State-held western Mosul - Stars and Stripes

The bitter cold in the Kashmir Valley cuts through the bones, but yet it fails to chill the publics spirit. Right through the winter, when hundreds of Indian security forces come to a locality to kill less than a handful of militants taking shelter in a house, the local population come out in support of the militants to prevent the security forces from conducting their operations, at times even managing to help the militants escape. For the security forces, of course, the local population supporting the militants are anti-national and they have no qualms in dealing severely with the civilians.

The fact is that many in the local population readily risk their very lives to save the militants. The killing of every militantand they are all Kashmiris, mostly from East Kashmir, administered by India, with a few from West Kashmir, administered by Pakistanis deeply resented. Each encounter killing of a militant or militants, and especially when civilians are killed, sparks public protests, despite the bitter cold outside. And when such protests gain momentum, the security forces fire into the crowds, triggering a wave of further protests.

The Kashmiri people have now faced what is akin to military rule for 27 years; practically the whole area is claimed to have remained disturbed, with the armed forces enjoying immunity from prosecution for harm done to civilians, whether of rape, torture, disappearance, or killing. According to a statement dated 10 January 2017 of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), in the ongoing uprising from 8 July last year, more than a hundred civilians have so far been killed. More than one thousand civilians have either been blinded or have sustained serious eye injuries as a result of the firing of pellets by the security forces. There have been mass arrests and detentions under the draconian Public Safety Act, 1978. Official government figures put the number of arrests under different criminal charges at around 8,000. Prolonged curfews, media and internet blackouts, suspension of the fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression and of peaceful assembly, have been the order of the day.

Indeed, one can sense the agony of the parents and other loved ones of the disappeared persons. For the period from 1989 onwards, the APDP has estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 Kashmiristhe earlier Omar Abdullah-headed Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government had admitted to a figure of 3,744 in the J&K legislative assemblywere subjected to enforced disappearance and subsequently killed in fake encounters. But the Indian state and the establishment have been in a state of denial of the enforced disappearances and subsequent killings, blaming the very victims of the violence for the violence. On the 10th of every month, the APDP stages silent sit-in protests against the enforced disappearances in J&K, and has been bringing out a memory calendar. It has taken on the responsibility of not allowing the memories of the sufferings of (the) families (of the disappeared persons) to pass into oblivion. Indeed, the callousness of successive state governments in J&K is also evident in the fact that the state assembly is yet to pass a law on protection from enforced disappearances. Successive central governments have also been utterly insensitive in not ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Basically for 27 years, India has been using military force against the people of the Kashmir Valley many of whom do not want to be part of India. New Delhi justifies all of this in the name of territorial integrity and secularism. It blames Pakistan for what is happening in the Kashmir Valleyall the mass protests and the militancy are supposed to be Pakistan-sponsored. Yet, the nationalism of the present union government is not even all-Indian; it is a communal Hindutvavadi nationalism representing a section of the Indian population. The Hindutvavadi nationalists in power currently have no qualms in forcing their rule on the Kashmiri Muslims in the name of secularism. Needless to say, the Congress version of nationalism was no less in this respect. Not that Pakistani nationalism is any better. Now the Hindutvavadi nationalists, clearly not out of any real solidarity, have claimed that they support the Balochi national liberation movement in Pakistan; the Pakistani nationalists, on their part, claim that they are for Kashmiri azaadi from India, even as they have made of Azad Kashmir a virtual colony. But given New Delhis use of military force in the Kashmir Valley over the last 27 years, Kashmiri azaadi is, indeed, among other things, principally a cry from the heart of the Kashmiri people for freedom from Indian oppression.

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AzaadiFreedom from Indian Oppression - Economic and Political Weekly

Interesting times these are.

While the Pope of my church seems to spare no occasion to castigate Western societies for allegedly not doing enough to welcome and accommodate Islamic refugees from the Middle East, he rarely says anything about the epidemic of anti-Christian persecution around the world.

In stark contrast, while addressing the topic of Middle Easterners who are seeking refuge in the United States, President Trump--who, readers may recall, Pope Francis once suggested wasn't really a Christian because of his expressed desire to build a wall along America's southern border--explicitly resolved to provide relief for Christians.

Trump's critics immediately pounced on him for religious discrimination.

Some context on this matter readily reveals that the Pope's view is as morally confused as the President's is sensible.

Firstly, contrary to what the Christophobes would have us believe, Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world today. In 2016, approximately 900,000 Christians suffered persecution.

Secondly, many (though not all) of these victimized Christians to whom the President was referring, those seeking refuge from the oppression that they've encountered in places like Syria, say, are prey to Islamic predators.

Of course it's true that there are decent Muslims (and others) who are also victimized by their co-religionists. Equally true, however, is that it is predominately Muslims who are menacing the vulnerable.

And they are menacing Christians because the latter reject the religion of Muhammad.

Yet it would be a mistake to think that it is only Muslims who persecute Christians.

Open Doors (OD) is among the organizations that exists for the sake of drawing people's attention to the phenomenon of anti-Christian persecution around the planet. It defines "persecution" thus:

"Christian persecution is any hostility experienced from the world as a result of one's identification as a Christian. From verbal harassment to hostile feelings, attitudes and actions, Christians in areas of with severe religious restrictions pay a heavy price for their faith. Beatings, physical torture, confinement, isolation, rape, severe punishment, imprisonment, slavery, discrimination in education and employment, and even death are just a few examples of the persecution they experience on a daily basis."

Christians in at least 60 countries suffer persecution because of their faith. On a monthly basis, 322 Christians are murdered. When they aren't losing their lives, 772 acts of violence--from rapes to beatings; from abductions to arrests and forced marriages--are visited upon them. And each month, 214 churches and Christian properties are destroyed.

Open Doors distinguishes three gradations of persecution: "extreme persecution," "very high persecution," and "high persecution." Of the 50 most oppressive countries for Christians, about four out of five them, or 80%, are Islamic. However, the worse of the worst persecutors is North Korea.

North Korea's government is that of a communist dictatorship. Of its 25,405,000 residents, some 300,000 are Christian. The reasons cited by OD for the government's ruthless persecution of Christians are two: "communist oppression" and "dictatorial paranoia."

North Korea is a "totalitarian communist state" where "Christians are forced to hide their faith completely from government authorities, neighbors, and, often, even their own spouses and children." Because of the government's "ever-present surveillance, many pray with their eyes open, and gathering for praise or fellowship is practically impossible."

All North Koreans must worship the ruling family, "and those who don't comply (including Christians) are arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed." Moreover, whole "Christian families are" routinely "imprisoned in hard labor camps, where unknown numbers die each year from torture, beatings, overexertion and starvation."

As for those who attempt to flee to South Korea via China, they "risk execution or life imprisonment [.]"

In North Korea, the act of possessing a Bible is a capital crime. Christians must meet secretly in the woods if they wish to worship.

In Islamic Nigeria, particularly the Borno State in the northeaster section of the country, there are 27 camps of roughly 5,000 "internally displaced peoples." The mostly Christian residents of these camps are infected with HIV/AIDS courtesy of the notorious Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram, for most of the patients were once held captive by the latter.

The Boko Haram insurgency that transpired in Nigeria also decimated the Christian communities that had at one time existed there. Those Christians who returned to their homes are now in danger of starving, for there is no work, and those who did have work before they fled because of the insurgency have been fired from their jobs. Thus, they are under immense pressure from Muslims to convert to Islam in exchange for financial support.

And what about Iraq, a place that Christians had been calling home for as long as there have been Christians? Barack Obama's announcement to the world that he would be withdrawing troops from Iraq was the beginning of the end for the country's Christians, for the vacuum that he created in effect created the ruthless Islamic State (ISIS).

Iraq is the seventh most oppressive place on the planet for Christians. As OD states, although the Christian community in Iraq is ancient, it is now "on the verge of extinction." The Christian-aid organization elaborates:

"The overall persecution situation in Iraq is characterized by impunity, the threat of attacks and second class treatment by the authorities. Historical Christian communities and Protestant Christian communities are seriously affected by persecution, especially from Islamic movements, authorities and non-Christian leaders. Communities of converts to Christianity from Islam suffer severely from persecution, especially at the hands of family, but also from the above mentioned persecutors if their faith is known."

For all of the left's crocodile tears over "Islamophobia," Muslims are by far the least persecuted religious group in the world, and certainly throughout the Western world where they live far freer and better than they ever could have imagined doing in their homelands.

It is Christians who are under attack for their faith.

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Christophobia: a Global Perspective - AINA (press release)

A select group of top Turkish academics has become the latest casualty of the countrys state of emergency. Some 330 academics were among the thousands of public sector employees purged by an emergency decree issued on 7 February.

Such decrees are now part of life in a country that is still traumatised by last years coup attempt, which claimed hundreds of lives. The state of emergency put in place swiftly in its wake grants sweeping powers to the authorities. Indeed, a large number of drastic rulings that would have been near impossible in normal times were introduced,including the closure of 15 private universities and the abolishment of the vice-chancellors elections nationwide.

The primary target of the early decrees was the Gulen movement led by Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic cleric based in the US members of whom were behind the coup attempt. The numbers were staggering: by November 2016, more than a 100,000 people were dismissed from public service including one-third of all judges and more than 100 generals. Despite their scale, these operations did not face much opposition in the early stages. What was more alarming for most was the extent of infiltration by the Gulenists into the higher echelons of power, particularly in the army and the judiciary.

Yet the purge on 7 February caused outrage.This is primarily due to who was in the firing line.Among the names were some of Turkeys top academics based in the countrys most established institutions. For example, brahim Kabolu, a leading constitutional law specialist who I am currently collaborating with on a book about constitutional reform, has been dismissed from Marmara University. Others included Murat Sevin, another leading constitutional law expert; Yksel Takn, a top political historian; gel ktem Tanr, the countrys first specialist in neuropsychology, as well as almost the entire faculty of the department of theatre at Ankara University.

It became immediately clear that the newly dismissed included many who could not be linked to violence in any shape or form, much less to a terrorist plot the official accusations underlying many of the previous dismissals. One common feature of 115 of the 330 expelled scholars was that they were all signatories to a peace declaration in January 2016 that criticised the security operations in the southeastern part of the country and called on the government to resume talks with representatives of the Kurdish community in hope of achieving peaceful solution.

A good number of those who were dismissed have also been vocal opponents of the governments increasingly authoritarian stance and of the proposed constitutional changes that will be voted on at the forthcoming referendum on 16 April.

Academia in Turkey is no stranger to such purges on political and ideological bases. Indeed, they were repeated with such regularity in the past that most, if not all, prospective academics in the country view the risk of dismissal as part of the job; almost like the risk of accident for someone considering a genuinely dangerous profession. Korkut Boratav, a veteran, has said poignantly this week: the 1940s purge dismissed my father from academia, the 1980s [one] dismissed me, and todays decree dismissed my last assistant.

Even so, the current situation is much worse than the mass exodus from universities in the early 1980s. There is nothing surprising about a military regime being ruthless over freedom of thought, freedom of speech and, hence, against academia. The tragedy of the current crackdown is that it is taking place under a civil and democratically elected government which, ironically, came to power on a manifesto promising to advance democratic rights and freedoms.

However damaging the dismissals are for the academics in question and they are extremely damaging they are worse for current and future generations of students. I know this from personal experience as a student of economics at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara in the mid-1980s. When we arrived in 1984, universities had become skeletons of their former selves in the aftermath of the military coup.

A large number of academics had left in protest over the treatment of their colleagues. The METU economics department that I joined, which used to be home to one of the strongest economic history teams before 1980, had lost all its economic historians by the time that we enrolled and was unable to appoint anyone in the field until the mid-1990s.

It is not just the loss of academics, either. Even as a supposedly carefree student, you could almost taste the oppression pervading every aspect of university life, hanging over you like a dark cloud. An environment where there is fear over speaking out is no place for teaching the value of critical thinking.

Although most of those expelled in the early 1980s returned to academia later, having successfully appealed against the expulsion decision an avenue not yet open to the currently purged the masses of students who had completed their studies in the meantime had lost out permanently.

Students today will lose both through missing out on being taught by some outstanding academics, and also because higher education is transformed into something completely different in such authoritarian periods. The end result will be generations of graduates who have to settle for what is on offer, without questioning the merit of what is presented to them, and who have to accept knowledge as a given rather than seeking the truth.

It is only to be expected that a society made up of individuals ready to accept whatever is fed to them would also be a place where alternative facts can flourish.

Gulcin Ozkan is a professor of economics at the University of York.

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Turkey purge: dark cloud of oppression hangs over country's universities - Times Higher Education (THE) (blog)

In his new book, The Deplorables Guide to Making America Great Again, Fox News host and radio talker Todd Starnes proudly declares himself an irredeemable deplorable. He writes (with characteristic humor and directness), Mrs. Clinton matter-of-factly dubbed half of Donald Trumps supporters a bunch of xenophobic, homophobic, Islamophobic bigots. Im surprised she didnt say we hated puppies too.

Starnes connects being a worthwhile deplorable with traits he also associates with the duties of citizenship:

To this Starnes adds marching orders:

In other words, make yourself an upstanding participant in your society and community even as others are ridiculing and diminishing you.

But the sting of being shouted down as subhuman is not unique to a particular religion or political party. Certainly as a Jew born in the 20th century the notion of being dehumanized and threatened based on a rigid self-serving philosophy is something that resonates with me deeply.

It all begins with the abrogation of free speech; falsely defining it as the freedom of only your views being heard. Absent is true dialogue; replaced by open ridicule. The Nazis branded their disabled victims as useless eaters. Starnes responds defiantly to the demeaning deplorable branding with concrete plans for participation.

Starnes also provides a moral code for deplorables to live by, a way to overcome the marginalizing of others. You dont have to kowtow to the so-called arbiters of public morality, he writes. Dont bend the knee to these people anymore. If someone as brash and occasionally offensive as Donald J. Trump could win the White House, surely you can speak up in your house, your neighborhood, your school system, your city. Remember, the country cant be saved by one man on Pennsylvania Avenue. It takes all of us rowing in the same direction.

Starnes provides the rallying cry and organizational tools for Deplorables. And when I think of Deplorables I of course mean not just Christians, not just vilified Trump supporters, but all of us who at one time or another have been diminished or marginalized for our views. Who doesnt relate to a mean putdown or mischaracterization based on a preconceived notion or negative generalization. We are all of us Jews, all of us Deplorables, all of us humble before the eyes of God.

What we can do about it is bond together, rise up and cast our vote, rejoice in our otherness and our freedom in unexpected ways. Starnes, for instance, celebrates the presence of Chick-fil-A in New York City despite a call for a ban on the chain chicken joint by Mayor de Blasio (who Starnes says eats pizza with a fork). Starnes proposes Chick-Fil-A be the official Deplorable poultry, steeped in corporate values and the Christian faith of its founder. I would of course prefer kosher chicken as my official food, maybe Empire or Schnitzel Express.

Beyond eating chicken, argues for a populist community and religion-based uprising to resist government oppression. It is not the first time such a call is being made and it wont be the last. But it is a refreshing reminder of what every doctor knows - that our bones and arteries and even our hearts and brains all look the same under the microscope, no matter what our critics suppose.

Marc Siegel MD is an internist in New York. His most recent book is The Inner Pulse; Unlocking the Secret Code of Sickness and Health.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward.

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Fox News' Todd Starnes Redefines 'The Deplorables' - Forward

Over the weekend, Prime MinisterStefan Lofven led a Swedish delegation to Iran. Lofven was received warmly by the Islamic Republic's political elite Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweeted positively about his meeting withLofven, adding that Sweden had a good reputation in Iran and the two countries agreed upon a number of trade-related deals.

Back home, however, coverage of the Swedish government delegation's trip to Tehran has focused on something else. As Sweden's media noted Monday, a number of female officials who joined the trip, including Trade Minister Ann Linde, chose to wear Islamic headscarves while in Iran.

According to Expressen newspaper, there were 11 women on the trip out of 15 total in the Swedish delegation. The women were photographed wearing headscarves almost all of the time they were in Iran, with the exception of a number of events that took place at the Swedish Embassy.

By law, women are required to cover theirhair and wear loose-fitting clothes when they appear in public in Iran, a country governed by a conservative Islamic elite. Many choose to wear loose-fitting hijabs, like the one worn by Linde in the picture above.

These rules require international visitors to dress modestly even if they are only in the country for a short time.

Lofven's Swedish government describes itself as a feminist government, and it has spoken of the need for a feminist foreign policy. Hillel Neuer, executive director of U.N. Watch, a human rights group and frequent critic of Iran ,noted this apparent contradiction in a tweet shared Sunday night.

Masih Alinejad, a journalist and activist who started a Facebook page that invited Iranian women to share photographs of themselves without a hijab, also criticized the Swedish delegation.

By actually complying with the directives of the Islamic Republic, Western women legitimize the compulsory hijab law, Alinejad wrote on Facebook. This is a discriminatory law and it's not an internal matter when the Islamic Republic forces all non-Iranian women to wear hijab as well.

Alinejad later shared to Facebook a recent image of Sweden's deputy prime ministerIsabella Lovin signing a document with an all-female staff behind her. That imagerecently went viral, as many viewed it as a criticism of President Trump's abortion policies. Trump's words on women are worthy of condemnation; so are the discriminatory laws in Iran,Alinejad wrote.

Speaking to Expressen,Linde said she had not wanted to wear a headscarf. But it is law in Iran that women must wear the veil. One can hardly come here and break the laws, she explained.

Other Swedish politicians were more critical.Jan Bjrklund, leader of the opposition Liberals party, told Aftonbladet newspaper that the headscarf is a symbol of oppression for women in Iran and that the Swedish government should have demanded that Linde and other female members of the delegation be exempted from wearing it.

Iran's rules on female attire often draw the ire of international visitors just last year, U.S. chess starNazi Paikidze made waves after refusing to travel to Iran to play inthe world championshipsbecause she would not wear a hijab. For female politicians, it represents a bigger challenge, however, as flouting the rules or refusing to travel to Iran could damage relations with the country.

Almost all female politicians who visit Iran cover their hair when they appear in public, but in some cases that has not stopped criticism. Marietje Schaake, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, was criticized by Iranian conservatives for wearing relatively tight clothes and a headscarf that did not cover her neck during a visit to the country in 2015.

The year before that, Italy's then foreign minister, Emma Bonino,was reported to have briefly not worn a headscarf after arriving in the country, which resulted in a back and forth with the conservative Iranian press.

Questions over Islamic attire on diplomatic visits are not limited to Iran. In 2015, first lady Michelle Obama was pictured without a headscarf in Saudi Arabia, where conservative religious dress is customary but not required by law for foreigners. While other female dignitaries visiting Saudi Arabia in the past had also chosen to not cover their hair, Obama's attire sparked criticism on social media from a small but vocal group of Saudi conservatives.

Linde toldAftonbladetthat she will of course not be wearing a veil when she visits Saudi Arabia next month.

More on WorldViews

Some people seem to think this photo of Swedens deputy leader is trolling Trump

Swedens unsent letter to a President-elect Hillary Clinton: It is a milestone for the world

Swedens subtly radical feminist foreign policy is causing a stir

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Sweden's 'feminist' government criticized for wearing headscarves in Iran - Washington Post

In the amendments to the bill tabled by Minister of Finance, Chris Sinckler, it was noted people were selling properties for millions of dollars without paying any taxes to the government while many of them owed were in arrears for the paying of income tax and Value Added Tax (VAT).

But Opposition Leader, Mia Mottley, in her contribution to the debate, said the amendments to the legislation were "ill-advised". While she acknowledged that the paying of taxes is necessary, Mottley said the ease of doing business in Barbados was already difficult and this legislation will make it worse for home owners, hotels and restaurants.

"This debate is not about DLP and BLP and winning an election. This debate is about the passage of legislation that will come to act as an instrument of oppression on both the righteous and unrighteous in this country."

Mottley said the single tax ID number under the proposed amendments will make it difficult for people to dispose of their property "in a way that makes sense"whether it be by lease or sale.

She also said the legislation will impact on the countrys level of competitiveness by making it less attractive to investors. Quoting from the Ease of Doing Business 2017 Report, Mottley noted that Barbados ranked at number 130 out of 138 countries for the registration of property.

She said statistics such as these, along with others in the report, prove that the country cannot affordto bring any legislation which will make it more difficult to operate in the local business environment.

Mottley also said the legislation couldcause financial institutions to add a "new layer of questions and processes" to the loan approval process.

"As members on this side have pointed out, it doesnt only relate to you as an individual, if you are married, if you have partners, to the other persons who are in partnership with you in the ownership of assets - this legislation will grind business in Barbados to a halt."

She suggested the government instead utilise an enforcement unit to cut down on those who take advantage of the loopholes in the tax collection system.

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Mottley: Tax clearance certificate an 'instrument of oppression' - Loop Barbados

WASHINGTON

Feyisa Lelisa, the 27-year-old Ethiopian silver medal winning marathoner, reunited with his wife, Iftu Mulisa, and two children, 5-year-old daugher, Soko, and 3-year-old son, Sora, on Tuesday at the Miami International Airport after being separated from them for six months.

It's been tough living alone, he said speaking to VOAs Afaan Oromoo Service over the phone in his native Afaan Oromoo. Back home, I had a lot of support. It hasnt been easy, but that's part of the struggle. You don't give up, he said.

Lelisa has been given a U.S. special skill visa with the help of his lawyer and has settled in the U.S. state of Arizona in Flagstaff. His family entered the country on immigrant visas. The distance runner made headlines around the world when he crossed his wrists above his head, making a symbol for protests in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. The anti-government gesture at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro put the runner at grave personal risk, and possible retribution toward his family.

Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa, rear, of Ethiopia, hugs his wife Iftu Mulia, his daughter Soko, right, 5, and son Sora, left, 3, while picking up his family at Miami International Airport, Feb. 14, 2017.

Shortly after his refusal to go back to Ethiopia, his wife said that she was scared for the familys safety but wasnt surprised by what he did. He was burning inside when he saw on social media all these dead bodies; people being beaten and people being arrested. So I was not surprised because I know he had a lot of anger inside, she told Reuters when she was back home.

Ethiopia is currently under a state of emergency after a wave of protests persisted in the Oromia region starting in November 2015 and continued throughout 2016 spreading in the Amhara region. The anti-government protesters initially were about land related issues. However, protesters demands shifted to demands for basic human rights and political representation. Since then, security forces are accused of killing hundreds and detaining tens of thousands of protesters, according to Human Rights Watch.

Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa, of Ethiopia, carries his son Sora, 3, and pulls along his daughter Soko, 5, after picking up his family at Miami International Airport, Feb. 14, 2017.

One of many restrictions under the current state of emergency is the very political gesture that Lelisa is famous for. I didn't make the decision to protest because of my family, he said speaking about his decision to continue protesting. I did so to shed light on the oppression, imprisonment, killing and displacement of my people.

At the time of his protest in the Olympics, the Ethiopian information minister, Getachew Reda, congratulated the athlete, then and assured him that he is safe to return home. Lelisa, however, decided to stay abroad.

Lelisa has no regrets and he pledges to continue working for the betterment of his people back home. I actually don't think I have done enough for my people. I am still young and have some time to help, he said. I would do it all over again. And I am prepared to do all I can and do my part until the Oromo people win their freedom. It remains my biggest preoccupation.

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Ethiopian Athlete Who Made Anti-government Gesture in Rio Reunites With Family - Voice of America

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The UMass Amherst Sanctuary Campus Movements Facebook page states that students will not attend class on February 17 and instead will hold a meeting at the student union to demand a sanctuary campus policy.

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The UMass Amherst Sanctuary Campus Movement aims to have UMass declare itself a Sanctuary Campus system, the groups Facebook page reads. We define Sanctuary as a space that actively cultivates immigration equality as well as economic, racial, gender, and sexual equality.

The sanctuary campus group also lists three major demands from the University:

The group has asked students not to support the University of Massachusetts financially until it enacts a sanctuary campus policy, as MassLive reported.

In a week, the UMass Student Government Association will vote on a resolution to demand Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy make the university a sanctuary.

Subbaswamy has signaled potential support for the policy in a statement where is says the University will remain committed to the welfare and success of all members of our community, whether they be student, faculty or staff, and (pledges) to do everything within our legal and moral authority to protect them, no matter their national origin, race, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual identity, disability or immigration status, according to MassLive.

John Binder is a contributor for Breitbart Texas. Follow him on Twitter at@JxhnBinder.

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U. Mass Students Plot Strike Against 'Oppression' of Migrants - Breitbart News

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The Womens March on Washington on January 21, 2017 has been donned the largest protest in American historya movement that aims to ensure rights for women of all backgrounds, especially in response to the recent election of Donald J. Trump. But for all of our political scientists out there, we must ask ourselves: how does this event measures through our historically stratified political system? In other words, how does the Womens March on Washington compare to the pluralistic ideals of our not-so Founding Fathers?

To answer this question, we must first understand pluralism: the idea that all people in a state receive equal opportunities and resources to vie for power and policies. In other words, government acts as a playing field for groups to gain recognition and representation. In a pluralist system, policy is dictated by winning groups, as part of a larger winner-loser system that is constantly in rotation. Political entities wishing to change their standing may utilize various methods of political engagement, including but not limited to: voting, running for office, grassroots organizing, and protesting. Lastly, groups should be inclusive of all individuals.

So did this march truly act in a pluralistic manner in which groups were able to compete for their divergent interests? While on the surface, the Womens March may have utilized these techniques to pursue pluralistic ideals, such a vision can never reach its full potential in the United States due to our longstanding history of stratification and inequality.

This ideology can be closer identified through the example of the Womens March. Although multiple groups competed for their recognition and representation, some groups were clearly prioritized over others. Many have critiqued the march as under-representative of groups including but not limited to transgender women, non-binary folks, people with disabilities, and racial minorities. We understand the history of stratification and generations of structural inequality to play a fundamental role in the unequal representation and prioritization of groups at the march.

So were not pluralistic. But did the march meaningfully contribute to the national discourse and ongoing political disputes? Many would say yes. For days afterward, photos of the worldwide event circulated domestic and international social media and news outlets. There is no doubt that the Womens March caught the attention of the world. Within certain pocketsincluding Kdiscussions arose surrounding distribution of resources and representation at Womens Marches around the world. But in many discussions, the under-represented groups that received unequal representation at the march seemed to once again be cast aside. It is our dutyas members of the Kalamazoo communityto bring those forms of oppression to the forefront of this movement. It is imperative to view ourselves through a critical lens if we are to progress toward inclusion of all disenfranchised groups.

This movement will go down history. But pluralists shouldnt think their work is done just yet. Empowerment generated by the march for certain groups should not be confused with the reparations of structural inequality in our political system. Although this movement created strides for some, it came at the expense of other disenfranchised groups, proving that fundamental barriers to a truly pluralistic society remain. Until we reconstruct our system as a whole, the longstanding history of political stratification in the United States will endure.

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March on Washington: Drawing the Line between Empowerment and Oppression - The Index

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Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lvin recently attackedU.S. President Donald J. Trump for having men in his top team. However, when her colleagues visited Iran they refused to take a stand against legally enforced female subjugation.

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There were 11 women on thetripled by Prime Minister Stefan Lofven this weekend, according to Expressen, and they were all photographed in headscarves almost all of the time, apart from at events in the Swedish Embassy.

It is illegal for women to go out in public without wearing headscarves in Iran, where thousands of undercover agents and morality police patrol the streets to check for violations. Women found to have their hair or bodies inadequately covered can be publicly admonished, fined, or even arrested.

The veil is a symbol of the oppression of women in Iran, and it is not only customary, but legislated oppression of women, Swedish Liberals Party leader Jan Bjrklund told Aftonbladet.

It is very unfortunate that the Swedish ministers are appearing in pictures, now in circulation, with the veil on.

However, Ann Linde, the Minister for European Union Affairs and Trade from the Social Democrat party, defended the move, arguing they could not violate Iranian law.

Its their law, unlike in Saudi Arabia where it is not required by law to wear a veil. I will go to Saudi Arabia next month and then I will of course not to wear the veil, she said.

Masih Alinejad, an Iranian journalist and writer, attacked the Swedish government for double standards, posting the image of the female ministers mocking President Trump alongside the picture of them wearing veils in Iran on Facebook.

Women in the Swedish government should have condemned an equally unfair situation in Iran, she wrote.

By not showing any opposition to the law of compulsory veiling when visiting Iran, she added, the Swedish government show[s] the Iranian leader that men are more equal and more important!

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Sweden's 'Feminist' Government Defends Veiling in Iran After Attacking Trump - Breitbart News

LSA senior David Schafer, Central Student Government president, vetoed the Israeli-Palestinian lunchresolution, which sparked a heated debate within the student government, Monday afternoon.

The proposedlunches, whichwere meant to foster dialogue between the body and Israeli and Palestinian students on campus, passed last meeting with18 votes in favor, nine opposed and five abstentions.

In his statement, Schafer wrote he did not believe CSG should impose itself and widen its scope within the global-issue conflict.

The overarching purpose of our organization is to address pressing student issues and concerns that have a direct and unambiguous connection to campus, such as mental health, sexual assault prevention, sustainability, and the rights of undocumented students, he wrote. We are best served, and our resources are most efficiently utilized, when we are faithful to this mission.

Another reason the bill was met with disagreement from the executive board was the concern that Student Allied for Freedom and Equality, the pro-Palestinian student organization on campus, was not also a sponsor of the resolution. Schafer said the assembly "flippantly" did not take the absence of SAFE into consideration.

As the student government that seeks to represent every Michigan student, our mostimportant job is fostering an inclusive culture, both within and outside of CSG, he wrote. By advancing this Resolution without weighing the concerns of students in SAFE or any other student who might take issue with this Resolution, we are neglecting this foundational goal. While I do very much appreciate the author's good faith attempts to gain support from a diverse cross-section of students, this conspicuous absence of support is enough reason for me to veto this Resolution.

CSG Vice President Micah Griggs, LSA senior, also touched upon this in the last Assembly meeting, stating she did not feel comfortable the proposed lunches were not open to the public. The resolution asked for a selected group of people who had to take a survey in order to be admitted into the lunches.

It doesnt maximize the student body reach, its not accessible to other students, its exclusive, Griggs said last Tuesday night. I think the reason that there arent any sponsors is because of the bigger problems of this issue If you want real allies in this conversation and its not one-sided or just two-sided then invite members like (Muslim Students Association) or (Intergroup Relations). I just dont see how this will be successful and I just cant support this, and again, its not about the money.

Schafer was also concerned with the structure of the launched resolution, primarily who would be the mediator as it was never clarified and only given surface-level consideration.

Additionally, as was discussed by some Assembly Representatives during 1st and 2nd reads, this event is closed not only to most CSG members, but also to the general public, he wrote. Funding from the CSG Assembly Legislative Discretionary Fund should, at the very least, go to events and programs of which its own members can take advantage.

The resolution authors Eli Schrayer, an LSA representative and junior, disagreed with Schafer at the last meeting, stating CSG had the responsibilities to address the concerns that appear on campus on an everyday basis.

I think this is 100 percent a student government issue because its campus climate, its how students on campus are dealing with one another and their everyday lives on campus; people feel this every single day, Schrayer argued. If not here, then where is the place? This is why I ran for student government, to bring issues that affect my community here. Were simply buying food for people to come together and I dont see a downside to that.

This resolution is in response to SAFEs attempts at a divestment resolution. Since 2002, SAFE haspresentedresolutions to the body asking it to support the groups request of asking the Universitys Board of Regents to divest from certain companies operating in Israel. The group believes the business practices in Israel and the products produced contribute to the oppression of Palestinians.

The last CSG meeting had the closest vote on the divestment yet, with 34 against and 13 in favor. However, the resolution has failed since its introduction.

SAFE member Devin Jones, LSA senior, addressed the student government after the resolution failed.

When you argue on the claim that we did not know what we were talking about, that you are somehow better than us that is the epitome of privilege, Jones told the crowd. (I am) paying tuition, in which a portion of my tuition goes to companies that go to the oppression of my people You have to live with this. You have to stare me in the face.

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CSG President vetoes Israel-Palestinian lunch resolution | The ... - The Michigan Daily

The government of Sweden has been accused of hypocrisy for attacking Donald Trumps stance on womens rights but rolling over for the oppressive regime in Iran.

Female ministers in Sweden who claim to run a feminist government gloried in viral fame earlier this month for Trump over his executive order restricting funds to pro-abortion groups.

After Trump was slammed for signing the order surrounded by men, Swedish officials staged an all-women photo as a smug rebuke to the White House.

However, just weeks later they have been accused of double standards for sucking up to Iran when they demanded government visitors wear the hijab a symbol of female oppression during a trade visit.

Swedish trade minister Ann Linde was photographed in a veil in Tehran, alongside female officials and journalists, who all had to do the same thanks to Irans Islamic modesty laws.

Activists in the country said the incident shows that Sweden is happy to put economic advantage ahead of womens rights when it suits them.

The My Stealthy Freedom campaign which records how Iranian women are arrested and beaten upby police for wearing the wrong clothes released a statement condemning the Swedish authorities:

The criticism was taken up by Swedish politicians, who attacked their government for abandoning its principles.

Amineh Kakabaveh, a Swedish MP of Iranian descent, said: Iranian women are fighting to not wear the veil. Then the feminist government representatives go and put on the veil instead taking a stand.

An article by the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladetreported that the dress of Swedish female visitors was closely policed when they came on the visit.

It said: During the visit President Hassan Rouhanis staff went round the female journalists and ensured that they wore a tightly concealing shawl.

Even women from the Swedish government received instructions.

Originally posted here:

Anti-Trump Swedish Government Accused of Hypocrisy for Kowtowing to Iran - Heat Street

MIAMI (AP) Cuban-American lawmakers from Florida helped shape U.S. relations with the island for years until they found themselves on the outside during a historic thaw in relations.

But they could be getting the upper hand on Cuba policy again under President Donald Trump with a possible return to an earlier, more hard-line U.S. stance toward relations with Cuba's government.

"We have had more conversations with high-level Trump officials than we had in eight years of the Obama administration," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, one of a handful of Republican members of Congress from Florida who long had an outsized role on U.S. foreign policy related to Cuba.

What Diaz-Balart and other Cuban-American lawmakers hope is that their renewed access to the U.S. government under Trump's leadership will help them reverse the steps taken by President Barack Obama and President Raul Castro to normalize relations between the two countries.

"Everything is going to be very different," predicted Rep. Carlos Curbelo, another Miami-area Republican who said he felt shut out under Obama.

The congressional delegation from South Florida, home to the largest number of Cuban-Americans in the nation, was long able to help craft U.S. policy toward the island. They had hoped to continue isolating the Castro government and both Democrat and Republican politicians went along, at least in part.

Diaz-Balart recalled that under President George W. Bush he and other Cuban-Americans persuaded the administration to grant travel visas and asylum to Cuban doctors working overseas, helping drive a brain drain from the island.

"When something came up, we could call and they responded to us immediately," he said.

But that changed under Obama, who Diaz-Balart said refused to meet with him as the administration used executive orders to lift some restrictions on travel, trade and investment and ended the so-called "wet-foot, dry foot" policy that allowed Cubans to stay and apply for legal residency if they reached U.S. soil.

Diaz-Balart and other Cuban-American lawmakers want U.S. policy to return to where things were before December 2014, citing what he says is the Castro government's "brutal oppression." Curbelo agrees about the return to earlier policies but does not oppose the easing of restrictions on travel that allow Cuban-Americans to more easily visit family back home.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, another Florida delegation member, declined to speak to The Associated Press but recently forwarded a letter to the Trump administration calling for a policy focused on "freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights" that enforces sanctions written into U.S. law. Sen. Marco Rubio, who also declined an interview request, has criticized what he calls Obama's "failed Cuba policy," and recently said he expected Trump would reverse the previous administration's order halting the asylum program for doctors.

During the presidential campaign, Trump was critical of the opening with the Castro government and said Obama wasn't paying enough attention to human rights on the island. He promised to re-evaluate the agreements with Cuba and cancel those he doesn't believe serve U.S. interests. He named several anti-Castro Cuban-Americans to his transition team, but has not yet said publicly whether he intends to reverse specific policies of his predecessor.

Some supporters of the opening with Cuba see reason for optimism. James Williams, head of Engage Cuba, a corporate-backed bipartisan group that supports improving ties to the island, said Trump may not want to reverse what he sees as the "positive progress" of the last three years.

"We have seen more positive progress in Cuba over the last two years than the last 55 years combined," said Williams, adding that a thorough review of current policy should show the Trump administration the advantages of moving toward normalization.

Diaz-Balart and Curbelo said the meetings they and others have had with officials from the new administration, as well as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's confirmation hearings, have given them hope that Obama's executive orders restoring relations with Cuba would be reversed. "Without a doubt, the days of those orders are numbered," Diaz-Balart said.

Even though Ros-Lehtinen and Curbelo did not endorse Trump, some believe they, like Diaz-Balart and Curbelo, will have significant influence on the new administration.

"They are going to be the guides of the policy toward Cuba," said Sebastian Arcos, associate director of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International University.

Frank Mora, who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Western Hemisphere under Obama, agreed: "Trump is going to go back to handing the foreign policy of the U.S. toward Cuba to the Cuban-American legislators."

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Anti-Castro Cuban-American lawmakers see a champion in Trump - The Daily Progress

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Feb 13, 2017

Prior to last years election, supporters of Hillary Clinton worried that Donald Trump and his supporters might not accept Hillary Clintons victory as legitimate. It never occurred to them that the shoe might soon be on the other foot. Shortly after it became apparent that there would be no Clinton victory party, many of her supporters instantly switched gears and began to question the legitimacy of Trumps victory.

No matter how much it angers some people, though, Donald Trump is the duly elected President of the United States. Still, there is a much more fundamental question about the legitimacy of the government he leads. Its has nothing to do with who won the election.

Over the past four decades, American government has been completely transformed by the growth of the Regulatory State. Most governing decisions are now made by distant bureaucrats with little input from Congress. Courts rarely provide any checks and balances giving executive branch officials free reign to interpret laws according to their own preferences and agendas.

An unaccountable government, insulated from the public and their elected representatives, threatens the very legitimacy of a democratic political system, according to Yale Universitys Jonathan G.S. Koppell. The Regulatory State is not merely unconstitutional; it is anti-constitutional, adds Boston University Law Professor Gary Lawson. The Constitution was designed specifically to prevent the emergence of [these] kinds of institutions.

By placing its faith in unaccountable government officials to pick winners and losers, the Regulatory State is a rejection of the core American values of freedom, equality and self-governance. This hostile takeover of Americas government did not happen by accident or misunderstanding. Its architects did not misunderstand the Constitution, explains Lawson. They understood it perfectly well. They just didnt like it.

Lacking Constitutional authority, the Regulatory State might conceivably claim legitimacy by appealing to the higher values expressed in the Declaration of Independence. But that great document says clearly that governments can derive just authority only from the consent of the governed.

The Regulatory State fails on that front as well. During the entire four decades of its existence, there has never been a time when a majority of Americans trusted the federal government (other than a brief blip immediately following 9/11). The longer that people have lived under the regulatory regime, the less they support it. Over the past decade, the number trusting the federal government to do the right thing most of the time has fallen to 25 percent or less.

The Regulatory State, therefore, can claim no legitimacy from either the Constitution or the Declaration. Regardless of who sits in the Oval Office and who controls Congress, it is an illegitimate form of government. It gives far too much power to the president, a fact that instills tremendous fear of oppression among those who support the losing candidate.

Its time to re-establish a legitimate government in America and restore our national commitment to freedom, equality, and self-governance. That means forcing the bureaucracy to live within our Constitutional system of checks and balances. Its the only way to ensure a bright future for our nation. Its also the only way to ensure that, regardless of who wins an election, all Americans can enjoy the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.

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Do we have a legitimate government? - Altoona Mirror

Commentary by Danya Zituni |

February 12, 2017

Minneapolis protest against Trump's Muslim ban. (Fight Back! News/staff)

Tampa, FL - On Jan. 27, President Trump signed an executive order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States which bars entry of nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries regardless of whether they have valid visas, green cards or refugee status.

This is a racist attack that specifically targets the people of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. These same countries in the Middle East and Africa have been subjected to the terror of U.S. wars, bombings and economic sanctions for decades. With military bases in foreign lands, armed personnel in 130 countries, and a military budget larger than the next ten governments combined, the U.S. ruling class maintain a worldwide empire of oppression that is constantly at war.

Sovereign governments that dare not bow to U.S. political and economic domination are punished with crippling sanctions as a form of collective punishment against civilians, and are targeted for brutal overthrow through direct invasion or proxy groups. Sanctions on Iran alone have resulted in massive inflation and 40% of the entire population in poverty, while the total death toll from ten years of the U.S.-led War on Terror is estimated at 2 million lives, according to a study from Physicians for Social Responsibility.

Trumps executive order calls for a review of the visa and refugee programs arguing numerous foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since Sept. 11, 2001. But why should people perceive foreign-born terrorists as grave domestic threats when the FBI continually manufactures its own plots? In 2012, Petra Bartosiewicz in The Nation reviewed the post-9/11 body of terrorism cases and concluded that nearly every major post-9/11 terrorism-related prosecution has involved a sting operation, at the center of which is a government informant. Many informants are incentivized by money, and can be paid as much as $100,000 per assignment. The U.S. government provides the weapons, suggests the targets, and entraps Muslims to justify their War on Terror.

The billions invested yearly by the U.S. government into racist state repression and genocidal wars for corporate profit could instead be used to finance and improve education, health care, people's rights and welfare. However, it is not in the interests of bank-bailing and investor-driven politicians to make such radical changes a reality. Only through organizing independent of the political establishment controlled by and built for the rich can oppressed people harness and exercise our collective power as a conscious and united force to demand change. Through coordinated action we are saying that there can be no business as usual until our demands are met, and that the ruling class who own everything in society cant actually produce anything or make schools run without subservient students or workers.

A federal judge issued a temporary halt on Feb. 4 against the Muslim ban after tens of thousands of people protested in airports, communities and campuses across the country. Around 1000 Yemini owned stores closed for eight hours on Feb. 2 in the city of New York. Grassroots, mass-based organizations such as Arab American Action Network (AAAN) and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) have continued to organize and raise demands for sanctuary campuses and cities. The Council on American and Islamic Relations (CAIR) has engaged in a legal battle with the Trump administration over the ban.

Additionally, one of the biggest victories for Muslim communities recently was the dismantling of a long existent bi-partisan Muslim registry called the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS). NSEERS devastated our communities, alongside aggressive FBI surveillance and vicious entrapment. Thousands of families were torn apart, jobs were lost; some communities never fully recovered. Only after 14 years of almost constant organizing by groups such as Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM) was it successfully dismantled.

The lesson of our recent victories, and nearly every historic struggle that won people's basic rights under this system, is that we need to build organizational power opposed to both parties of the capitalist 1% and their oppressive policies. Organizing paves the way for people to learn through struggle the necessity of organization as a means to protect their rights and welfare, a lesson we must consistently summate when educating our communities about their rights.

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Organize to defeat Trump's Muslim ban | Fight Back! - Fight Back! Newspaper

Rob Neufeld, Columnist Published 10:58 a.m. ET Feb. 12, 2017 | Updated 6 hours ago

The attic chapel built by Jacob Shook around 1800 was photographed by Henry Neufeld in 2009, soon after the Shook-Smathers house (now a museum) was put on the National Register of Historic Places.(Photo: Courtesy of Henry Neufeld)

When 20-year-old Jacob Shook arrived with his family, after a 600-mile trek, at what is now the Conover area, he was stepping into a political maelstrom.

His starting point had been Williams Township, Pennsylvania, the Lutheran enclave his grandfather, Johannes Schuck, had found after having fled Alsace-Lorraine with his family in 1732.

In 1767, Johannes died, and Jacobs dad, George, age 45, and uncle, Wilhelm Volprecht, 49, pulled up stakes and made the next big exodus, down the Great Wagon Road to greener pastures in Carolina.

Jacob married Isabella Weitzel in 1770, some sources say perhaps having shared expectations on the journey and the American Dream looked as promising as the Cape May shore had looked to Johannes in 1732 when hed led his family off the pink, John and William, after 17 weeks at sea, a mutiny, a quarantine and a customs check.

Jacobs dad, George, had been six years old on the journey.Did Jacob, growing up, witness his dad and grandfather differ on how and even if to tell the saga?

For Johannes, it had been a survival story.One of the strange things that had happened on board, according to Rick Bushongs web-posted history, Murder Lurks on the Pink John and William, was that Joseph Hubley, a writer condemned by the Catholic Church as a heretic, had probably been murdered by a French assassin whom Hubley had hired as a valet.

For George, the John and William experience may have been too grim to tell, for as the ship had taken five extra weeks to come ashore, clean water had run out and many children had died and been thrown overboard.

A pink is a small, flat boat, about the size of a restaurant, with a cargo area below deck.They were generally not used for trans-Atlantic trips, but aging ones came to serve the immigrant and slave markets.

Hearing these stories and seeing his fathers trauma may have given Jacob his first experience of being spared from horror by distance.

Jacobs new big horror was the royal governments war against Regulators militias resisting governmental oppression in western North Carolina. Most of it was taking place many miles east of the Shooks, whod settled on Lyles Creek, a western branch of the Catawba River.

Today, Shook Road, shouldering Lyles Creek, crosses the bucolic Rock Barn Country Club and Spa. Recently, the club went from being semi-private to private. We did sell memberships before, Det Williams, the clubs interim general manager told Cory Spiers of the Hickory Record, in May, but the value of exclusivity wasnt there.

In 1771, all of what is now Catawba County, had contained only 200 families, according to Charles Preslars 1954 History of Catawba County.

While the Shooks were doing such things as communally raising barns, with posts and beams and local stone, in the German fashion, the royal governor was cracking down on suspected rebels; and the rebels were fighting back.

After the May 1771 Battle at Alamance Creek, a Regulator defeat, the royal government offered rebels pardons under oaths of loyalty, a situation, Bob Jones wrote in Jacob Shook and the War of Independence, that could lead to their hanging if ever again caught in arms against the Government.

On August 8, 1774, the Rowan County Committee of Safety responded with a declaration of independence nine months before the famous Mecklenburg Declaration.

The Rowan resolutions opposed taxes levied by Great Britain, affirmed solidarity with New England, instituted a boycott of British goods, encouraged local manufacturing, and opposed slavery.

The women of Rowan formed their own association ad resolved that they will not receive the addresses of any young gentlemenexcept the brave volunteers who served in the expedition to South Carolina, and assisted in subduing the Scovalite Insurgents.

The Scovalites were Scots whom the Crown granted land in the Cross Creek area of South Carolina, and who maintained loyalty to the royal government.

General Griffith Rutherford called for troops to fight the Cross Creek Tories. And Jacob and his younger brother, Andrew, answered the call.

When a large part of Rutherfords army went to stop the Scovalite soldiers from reinforcing the Kings army in Wilmington, the Shooks stayed in Cross Creek to keep guard over that hotbed.Jacob was once again at a distance when the Patriots devastated the Loyalists at Moores Creek, 20 miles inland from Wilmington.

Rutherfords men had gotten there first and had removed the planks from the bridge and greased the runners, so that when the Scovalites crossed, which they felt they must do, they were easy targets in an ambush.

With their faces painted blue, the kilted warriors, dressed in the colors of their clans, raised broadswords as they fell into the six-foot deep water and bagpipes wailed.

Jacobs next call came a few months later.

On April 9, 1776, the N.C. Provincial Congress funded two battalions and three companies of Light Horse, to be led by General Rutherford, to put down the Cherokee, who had begun a series of attacks on North Carolina homes as far east as Rowan County.

Each enlistee would immediately receive a bounty of 3, 40 shillingsabout what contracted workers got for one month of hard labor.John Kaighn, a Pennsylvania merchant, was, by comparison, offering 3 to anyone whod produce 15,000 cocoons on a mulberry tree.

The Congress also resolved that a penalty of 5 be inflicted on any person who shall knowingly secrete, harbour, succour or entertain, for the space of 24 hours, any deserter from the service, with half the fee going to the informer.

Rutherford wrote Colonel William Christian, a fellow commander in Virginia, that he was ready to march and by the assistance of Divine Providence, crush that treacherous, barbarious [qv] Nation of Savages, with their white abbetors, who lost to all sense of Humanity, honor and principle, mean to extinguish every spark of freedom in these United States.

The Shooks marched slowly with a huge army, 1,400 pack horses, and a requisite number of pack horse drivers, across the French Broad at present-day Biltmore Estate; through present-day Pack Square, where they saw the graves of Shawnees killed by Cherokees in 1735; and single-file along mountain trails until they reached a two-week camping spot in present-day Clyde.

That was a somewhat idyllic respite.The corn was high; and fish and game were plentiful.

It preceded the one experience in which Jacob was not lucky enough to be at a distance.We do not know in what ways he was involved in burning crops and homes, killing Cherokees, and capturing prisoners.We do not know what experiences he shared with his brother, and what qualms they expressed.

We do know that they returned home in October, and that, according to John Chappo in his article Shock and Awe for Saber and Scroll, many of Rutherfords men would eventually succumb to disease and exhaustion following the expedition.

In May, 1781, Jacob served again in the militia, and was stationed at Davidsons Fort (now Old Fort).After the war, In 1783, he and two others went to court and presented a charge against a man from Lyles Creek.They accused the man of supporting the king during the war, Wilma Hicks Simpson writes in Greater Than the Mountains Was He.

Old divisions were still fresh.One family genealogist has noted that Jacob had had an anger problem.

Then, Jacob moved his family to Clyde, the beautiful haven salvaged from his nightmare. Several years later, swept up by the Great Awakening, he converted to Methodism, and provided a chapel in the attic of his house, where Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury is said to have preached.

When did Jacobs moment of grace come about?

Reverend T.F. Glenn in his History of Methodism wrote that, one day, under conviction of sin, Jacob went to work in his cornfield, praying and weeping when his burden of guilt was lifted and his soul was flooded with joy.He shouted and praised the LordHe dropped the lines, left his plow, lost his hat, and shouted all over the field.

What was he putting behind him and what did he see ahead?

Rob Neufeld writes the weekly Visiting Our Past column for the Citizen-Times. He is the author of books on history and literature, and manages the WNC book and heritage website,The Read on WNC.Follow him on Twitter@WNC_chronicler; email him at RNeufeld@charter.

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Visiting Our Past: Odyssey of Clyde pioneer Jacob Shook - Asheville Citizen-Times

Yet the really bewildering part of the cartoon is the clear identification of the church as part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the use of its logo. As leaders of the two ELCA congregations in Dickinson, we were surprised to see a political cartoon so directly pointed at our denomination.

While it is not true to say that the ELCA resettles refugees in North Dakota, it is true that the ELCA works very closely with Lutheran Social Services (LSS). LSS is the only intuition in the state of North Dakota that resettles refugees. If the cartoon version of Craig Cobb was hoping to be resettled in a town like Leith or Nome, he would likely be disappointed to find out that refugees are only resettled in Fargo, Bismarck, and Grand Forks. If he was angry at the ELCA for their work with refugees, he would also be disappointed to find many other denominations (like Catholics, Methodists, Congregationalists, and Episcopalians) that support the Christian effort to provide hospitality, safety, and refuge to those who flee from violence, fear, and oppression.

Craig Cobb is no refugee. He is not fleeing the threat of death by an oppressive government or war. He does not have the proper UN designation. He has not been vetted for years by both the UN and the US a process he would undoubtedly fail.

But in the meantime, if Craig Cobb would like to visit one of our ELCA churches in Dickinson, we would be more than happy to tell him all about the radical love of Jesus Christ - a love that does not distinguish between race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, or religion. It is a love with the power to transform even the most stone-hearted people. And unlike the cartoon depicted, that would not be the work of the devil. That would be the work of the Holy Spirit, who brings all kinds of people to our churches doorsteps.

Sincerely,

Pastor Joe Natwick, St John Lutheran Church

Pastor Lisa Lewton, St John Lutheran Church

Pastor Ellery Dykeman, Peace Lutheran Church

Deacon Anna Dykeman, Peace Lutheran Church

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LETTER: Evangelical Lutheran Church respond to political cartoon - The Dickinson Press