Daily Archives: June 18, 2017

The lingering ghost of yesteryear – Jamaica Gleaner

Posted: June 18, 2017 at 11:39 am

Book: The 1935 Riots in St Vincent: From Riots to Adult Suffrage

Author: Adrian Fraser

Critic: Dr Glenville Ashby

Societies, like every organism, go through periods of transition, for better or worse. It's the law and an inevitable dynamic. In his revelatory work, The 1935 Riots in St Vincent: From Riots to Adult Suffrage, Adrian Fraser presents a vivid historical account of a colony beset with social and political disputes.

It is the early 20th century and St Vincent is in the throes of an existential meltdown, not unlike its regional neighbours. Adrian Fraser's scholarly undertaking examines an island teetering on collapse. Inadequate housing, land shortage, a substandard archaic education, and an underutilised human resource bedevilled a society strafed by neglect.

A self-serving political elite only added to an untenable situation. By1935, we learn that "[a] small social and economic clique controlled what level of internal power existed, [and that] the government [was] still being irresponsible by nature for the colonial political dynamics that advanced the interests of the colonial power rather than the people of the colonies."

The economic paralysis we learn, "was blamed on the administration by persons who made submissions to the commission, [and that] it was, for some time, a commonly held belief that if the people had a greater say in their affairs, the economic situation would not have been as desperate as it was".

By the early 1930s, substantive parcels of available lands remained uncultivated as land owners resisted land-settlement programmes. And sugar, no longer a readily sought produce, disrupted the work culture. Sugar was replaced with arrowroot and cotton, and the export of tomatoes, peas, and mangoes gained ground as labourers refocused their attention on utilising small parcels of land.

Against the backdrop of a withering class struggle, the masses remained politically and socially engaged. Avid readers they were as the media flourished. It was a paradox that arguably threatened the status quo. The media, Fraser notes, served as a catalyst for change and was the only viable means to a meaningful education. Meanwhile, harsh social conditions and the restriction of voting rights led to calls for a progressive political union.

In a 1932 conference in Dominica, delegates argued that "the Crown colony government ... neglected the poorer sections of the community and was responsible for the colonies' economic failure." More important, they demanded that all taxpayers should be granted voting rights, "and that the franchise, with regard to property and income qualifications, should be lowered." Adding fuel to simmering discontent was Italy's 1935 invasion of Ethiopia. The resistance was galvanised.

A growing chorus against the legislative council in 1935 saw some marginal gains by the people, but the legislature remained an exclusive body comprising wealthy land owners.

With socio-economic conditions approaching critical mass, an uprising was imminent.

Of interest are the unique circumstances surrounding the riots that began on October 21, 1935.

Fraser states that while unrest in neighbouring colonies exploded on plantations, St Vincent's revolt erupted in the capital at a meeting of the legislative council convened to discuss the colony's financial. An exigent need for revenue to fund multiple projects was needed. The governors sought to increase taxes on imports and raise licensing fees for vehicles as viable solutions.

A price increase on commodities agitated the working class, which immediately demanded clarification of the council's intent. They also sought an audience to discuss the Workingmen's Compensation Law and the Minimum Wage Bill.

As the day progressed, the clamour of the crowd intensified. Fraser captures that pivotal moment. He writes that as the governor stood on the stairs leading from the legislative council, the noise escalated [with] shouts of "We can't stand any more duties on our food and clothes!", "We want work," "We are hungry!" "Something will happen in this town today if we are not satisfied!"

One news paper reported that "sticks and other weapons were brandished over the heads of the Governor and Administrator as they, with diplomatic tact, tried to mitigate the high feelings of the mob".

Law enforcement was mobilised as chaos raged. Stores were looted, the jail was emptied, and the courthouse and cable office were attacked. There were casualties on both sides.

The suburbs were not spared. Ignoring the Riot Act, violence flared in Cane Garden, Georgetown, and Byrea. Armed with sticks and cutlasses, mobs besieged the homes of the wealthy.

When the days of anger quieted, an investigation was launched regarding the subversive role played by the media. The masterminds behind the uprising were also identified. George McIntosh was singled out, put on trial, closely monitored, and persecuted. There were allegations of media censorship, followed by the enactment of the Seditious Publication Ordinance and a state of emergency.

The 1935 riots must be viewed through a multiplex prism. There was an anaemic economy on one hand and racial indicators on the other. Indeed, race and economics were inseparable. Italy's aggression against a sovereign black nation and the philosophy of the Garvey movement stirred racial pride among blacks and added to social anxiety and fear.

The growing activism of blacks in the labour movement and the prodigious insight of McIntosh in forming the Workingmen's Association opened a new chapter in the history of St Vincent. Long-standing grievances such as land distribution, wages, workers' compensation, and the poor state of education were addressed. The urgent need for constitutional reform and autonomy based on adult suffrage and single-chamber legislatures were strongly advocated. A more binding union between the colonies of the Windward and Leeward Islands was also advanced.

By 1949, small town boards and village councils accommodated elected and nominated members, ushering a new political reality that predicated adult suffrage and the establishment of a federation.

That literacy should determine voting rights was challenged by McIntosh, who argued that "the man who can't read or write has greater need to have manhood suffrage ... I want to see the widest scope of democracy ... Give them every opportunity to rise."

Fraser details the atmosphere and excitement of the 1951 elections that fielded the United Workers, Peasants and Rate Payers Union. He argues that "[t]he working people who participated in the riots made the connection between what went on in the courtyard on October 21 and the governor's response in recognising the validity of some of their demands and purporting to accede."

The 1935 Riots in St Vincent is a living, breathing testament to the socio-political dynamics that spur disenfranchised peoples to confront oppression. Fraser's work attests to the significance of grassroots mobilisation.

For sure, free will and ingenuity will never be vanquished by oligarchic rule. History has shown that much.

The 1935 Riots in St Vincent: From Riots to Adult Suffrage by Adrian Fraser 2016

The University of the West Indies Press, Mona, Jamaica

ISBN: 978-976-640-597-7

Available: http://www.uwipress.com

Rating: Highly recommended

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The lingering ghost of yesteryear - Jamaica Gleaner

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We’ll pass on the Liberal Lollapalooza – Net Newsledger

Posted: at 11:38 am

In July of 1764 near what the Anishinabek called the crooked place Niagara Falls Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for British North America, met with some 2500 Chiefs and headmen to create an alliance that would be key to they creation of Canada. illustration by Charles Hebert

By Maurice Switzer

THUNDER BAY OPINION So, if you had a neighbour who kept stealing stuff from your yard, and constantly screamed obscenities at your kids, would you attend his birthday party if you got an invitation in your mailbox?

How about if you had a neighbour who stole your yard and kidnapped your kids?

Now you have some idea of how First Nations people feel about all the fuss being made over Canadas 150th birthday.

In the first place, 150 years isnt very long to people whove been around for thousands of years it leaves one with the same feeling you get when you see some wet-behind-the-ears pup like Justin Bieber publishing an autobiography TOO SOON!

People need to understand that those 150 years just happen to represent the worst period in history for the first peoples to inhabit these lands. Dont expect any July 1st fireworks displays in the 100 First Nations who live under boil-water advisories some for over a decade.

The $500 million being spent by the federal government on Canadas sesquicentennial bash is triple the amount it was ordered by a human rights tribunal to provide equal funding for First Nations child welfare agencies. This discriminatory gap is literally costing Native kids their lives.

This is the first of a series of four columns that will list 150 reasons Indigenous peoples have to feel less than enthusiastic about participating in the Liberal Lollapalooza. There are many more, but we just want to offer enough information to rain a little on the parade, not entirely engulf it.

3-4. The two sons of Chief Donnacona are kidnapped by Jacques Cartier in 1534 on the French explorers first trip up the St. Lawrence River, where he is greeted with great hospitality at the Iroquoian village of Stadacona. Cartier whisks them off to show as trophies to the King of France in what undoubtedly qualifies as the worst example of making a good first impression in the history of European diplomacy.

5-6. Two Mohawk chiefs are killed by the same musket-ball fired by Samuel de Champlain during a 1609 sortie into what is now New York State in which the celebrated Father of New France accompanies Huron fur-trading partners. This alliance results in the Iroquois virtually annihilating the Huron Nation within the next 50 years.

7-13. Seven years is the length of the apprenticeship the Hudson Bay Company requires applicants with any Indian heritage to serve if they hope to get jobs with the greedy multinational fur merchant. At the same time, raw European recruits qualify immediately for employment.

14-17. Four months how long it takes King George III to whip together the Royal Proclamation after Odawa chief Pontiac and a couple of hundred warriors capture nine British forts on what is the western frontier of Canada. Pontiac is not impressed with the arrogant English, who have defeated the French in the Seven Years War and experimented in germ warfare by distributing smallpox-infected blankets among the Natives. The Royal Proclamation says the Indian tribes of North America are nations, who are not to be molested in their own lands.

18-41. The largest gathering of Indigenous peoples in the history of the North American continent 3,000 chiefs representing 24 Nations of peoples living around the Great Lakes convene at Fort Niagara in July, 1764. They hear the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for British North America Sir William Johnston pitch the first major treaty on the continent. In exchange for the rights to create settlements and share existing Indian territories, the Kings representative offers an estimated 35,000 gifts, the cash equivalent in todays terms of $20 million, a huge swath of the centre of North America to be set aside as exclusive Indian territory, and a sacred promise to the assembled chiefs that Your people will never be poor; they will never want for the necessities of life..as long as the sun shines, as long as the grass grows, as long as the rivers run, and as long as the British wear red coats.

On July 1st, 2017, the sun will be shining over Parliament Hill, the grass will be growing even if temporarily trampled by thousands of Canadians watching performers on a huge stage and waiting for the fireworks to start and the Ottawa River will be roaring over the Chaudiere Falls. Tourists will be asking to pose for photos beside Mounties wearing their scarlet Red Serge tunics.

The half-billion-dollar party will be taking place on land that has never been legally acquired by the Government of Canada, and will be watched on television by thousands of people, some of whom live in homes without a safe source of drinking water, and whose children experience the highest degrees of poverty, disease, and youth suicide in the Western world.

To be, unfortunately, continued.

Maurice Switzer is a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation. He operates Nimkii Communications, a public education practice with a focus on the Treaty Relationship between First Nations and Canada.

This is part one of a series stay tuned for the next part on Monday, June 18/17

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We'll pass on the Liberal Lollapalooza - Net Newsledger

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The History Channel Is Finally Telling the Stunning Secret Story of the War on Drugs – The Intercept

Posted: at 11:38 am

The good news for Grassley, and for everyoneelse, is that starting Sunday night and running through Wednesday the History Channel is showing a new four-part series called Americas War on Drugs. Not only is itan important contribution to recent American history, its also the first time U.S. television has ever told the core truth about one of the most important issues of the past fifty years.

That core truth is: The war on drugs has always been a pointless sham. For decades the federal government has engaged in a shifting series of alliances of convenience with some of the worlds largest drug cartels. So while the U.S. incarceration rate has quintupled since President Richard Nixon first declared the war on drugs in 1971, top narcotics dealers have simultaneously enjoyed protection at the highest levels of power in America.

On the one hand, this shouldnt be surprising. The voluminous documentation of this fact in dozens of books has long been available to anyone with curiosity and a library card.

Yet somehow, despite the fact the U.S. has no formal system of censorship, this monumental scandal has never before been presented in a comprehensive way in the medium where most Americans get their information: TV.

Thats why Americas War on Drugs is a genuine milestone. Weve recently seen how ideas that once seemed absolutely preposterous and taboo for instance, that the Catholic Church was consciously safeguarding priests who sexually abused children, or that Bill Cosby may not have been the best choice for Americas Dad can after years of silence finally break through into popular consciousness and exact real consequences. The series could be a watershed in doing the same for the reality behind of one the most cynical and cruel policies in U.S. history.

A still frame of former crack kingpin Rick Ross in the HISTORY documentary Americas War on Drugs.

Photo: Courtesy of HISTORY

The series, executive produced by Julian P. Hobbs, Elli Hakami and Anthony Lapp, is a standard TV documentary; theres the amalgam of interviews, file footage and dramatic recreations. Whats not standard is the story told on camera by former Drug Enforcement Agency operatives as well as journalists and drug dealers themselves. (One of the reportersis Ryan Grim, The Intercepts Washington bureau chiefand author of This Is Your Country on Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America.)

Theres no mealy-mouthed truckling about what happened. The first episode opens with the voice of Lindsay Moran, a one-time clandestine CIA officer, declaring,The agency was elbow deep with drug traffickers.

Then Richard Stratton, a marijuana smuggler turned writer and televisionproducer, explains, Most Americans would be utterly shocked if they knew the depth of involvement that the Central Intelligence Agency has had in the international drug trade.

Next New York Universityprofessor Christian Parenti tells viewers, The CIA is from its very beginning collaborating with mafiosas who are involved in the drug trade because these mafiosas will serve the larger agenda of fighting communism.

For the next eight hours, the series sprints through historythats largely thegreatest hits of the U.S. governments partnership with heroin, hallucinogen and cocaine dealers. That these greatest hits can fill up most of four two-hour episodes demonstrates how extraordinarily deep and ugly the story is.

First we learn about the CIA working with Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante, Jr. in the early 1960s. The CIA wanted Fidel Castro dead and, in return for Trafficantes help in various assassination plots, was willing to turn a blind eye to the extensive drug trafficking by Trafficante and his allied Cuban exiles.

Then theres the extremely odd tale of how the CIA imported significantamounts of LSD from its Swiss manufacturer in hopes that it could used for successful mind control. Instead, by dosing thousands of young volunteers including Ken Kesey, Whitey Bulger, and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, the Agency accidentally helped popularize acidand generate the 1960s counter-culture of psychedelia.

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. allied with anti-communist forces in Laos that leveraged our support to become some of the largest suppliers of opium on earth. Air America, a CIA front, flew supplies for the guerrillas into Laos and then flew drugs out, all with the knowledge and protection of U.S. operatives.

The same dynamic developed in the 1980s as the Reagan administration tried to overthrow the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. The planes that secretly brought arms to the contras turned around and brought cocaine back to America, again shielded from U.S. law enforcement by the CIA.

Most recently, theres our 16-year-long war in Afghanistan. While less has been uncovered about the CIAs machinations here, its hard not to notice that we installed Hamid Karzai as president while his brother apparently was on the CIA payroll and, simultaneously, one of the countrys biggest opium dealers. Afghanistan now supplies about 90 percent of the worlds heroin.

To its credit, the series makes clear that this is not part of a secret government plotto turn Americans into drug addicts. But, as Moran puts it, When the CIA is focused on a mission, on a particular end, theyre not going to sit down and pontificate about What are the long-term, global consequences of our actions going to be? Winning their secret wars will always be their top priority, and if that requires cooperation with drug cartels which are flooding the U.S. with their product, so be it. A lot of these patterns that have their origins in the 1960s become cyclical, Moran adds. Those relationships develop again and again throughout the war on drugs.

What makes this history so grotesque is the governments mind-breaking levels of hypocrisy. Its like Donald Trump declaring a War on Real Estate Developers that fills prisons withpeople who occasionally rent out their spare bedroom on AirBnb.

That brings us back to Charles Grassley. Grassley is now chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a longtime committed drug warrior and during the 1980s a supporter of the contras.

Yet even Grassley is showing signs that he realizes there may have been some flaws in the war on drugs since the beginning. He recently has co-sponsored a bill that reduce minimum sentences for drug offenses.

So now that the History Channel has granted Grassley his wish and is broadcasting this extraordinarily important history, its our job to make sure he and everyone likes him sits down and watches it. That this series exists at all shows that were at a tipping point with this brazen, catastrophic lie. We have to push hard enough to knock it over.

Top photo: A still frame from the HISTORY documentary Americas War on Drugs.

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The US War on Drugs started 46 years ago today. Some … – American Enterprise Institute

Posted: at 11:38 am

Today is the 46th anniversary of Americas War on Drugs Otherwise Peaceful Americans Who Voluntarily Choose To Ingest or Sell Intoxicants Currently Proscribed by the Government, Which Will Put Users or Sellers in Cages if Caught, see todays previous post on CD here. To bring awareness to this immoral, failed, costly, and shameful war on the American people, heres some commentary below from Nobel economist Milton Friedman.

In 1991 Nobel economist Milton Friedman (pictured above giving a talk at AEI, exact year unknown) was interviewed by Emmy Award-winning drug reporter Randy Paige on Americas Drug Forum, a national public affairs talk show that appeared on public television stations. In the interview, Milton Friedman discussed in detail his views on Americas War on Drugs, legalization of drugs, the role of government in a free society, and his pessimistic view of Americas future if we continue moving in the direction of socialism. Videos of the entire 30-minute interview appears below in three parts, and here is the transcript of the interview.

Here are some of my favorite parts of the interview (emphasis added):

1. Paige: Let us deal first with the issue of legalization of drugs. How do you see America changing for the better under that system?

Friedman: I see America with half the number of prisons, half the number of prisoners, ten thousand fewer homicides a year, inner cities in which theres a chance for these poor people to live without being afraid for their lives, citizens who might be respectable who are now addicts not being subject to becoming criminals in order to get their drug, being able to get drugs for which theyre sure of the quality. You know, the same thing happened under prohibition of alcohol as is happening now.

Under prohibition of alcohol, deaths from alcohol poisoning, from poisoning by things that were mixed in with the bootleg alcohol, went up sharply. Similarly, under drug prohibition, deaths from overdose, from adulterations, from adulterated substances have gone up.

2. Paige: For us to understand the real root of those beliefs, how about if we just talk a minute about free market economic perspective, and how you see the proper role of government in its dealings with the individual.

Friedman: The proper role of government is exactly what John Stuart Mill Said in the middle of the 19th century in On Liberty. The proper role of government is to prevent other people from harming an individual. Government, he said, never has any right to interfere with an individual for that individuals own good.

The case for prohibiting drugs is exactly as strong and as weak as the case for prohibiting people from overeating. We all know that overeating causes more deaths than drugs do. If its in principle OK for the government to say you must not consume drugs because theyll do you harm, why isnt it all right to say you must not eat too much because youll do harm? Why isnt it all right to say you must not try to go in for skydiving because youre likely to die? Why isnt it all right to say, Oh, skiing, thats no good, thats a very dangerous sport, youll hurt yourself? Where do you draw the line?

3. Paige: Is it not true that the entire discussion here, the entire drug problem is an economic problem to

Friedman: No, its not an economic problem at all, its a moral problem.

Paige: In what way?

Friedman: Im an economist, but the economics problem is strictly tertiary. Its a moral problem. Its a problem of the harm which the government is doing.

I have estimated statistically that the prohibition of drugs produces, on the average, ten thousand homicides a year. Its a moral problem that the government is going around killing ten thousand people. Its a moral problem that the government is making into criminals people, who may be doing something you and I dont approve of, but who are doing something that hurts nobody else. Most of the arrests for drugs are for possession by casual users.

Now heres somebody who wants to smoke a marijuana cigarette. If hes caught, he goes to jail. Now is that moral? Is that proper? I think its absolutely disgraceful that our government, supposed to be our government, should be in the position of converting people who are not harming others into criminals, of destroying their lives, putting them in jail. Thats the issue to me. The economic issue comes in only for explaining why it has those effects. But the economic reasons are not the reasons.

Of course, were wasting money on it. Ten, twenty, thirty billion dollars a year, but thats trivial. Were wasting that much money in many other ways, such as buying crops that ought never to be produced.

4. Paige: There are many who would look at the economicshow the economics of the drug business is affecting Americas major inner cities, for example.

Friedman: Of course it is, and it is because its prohibited. See, if you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel. Thats literally true.

Paige: Is it doing a good job of it?

Friedman: Excellent. What do I mean by that? In an ordinary free marketlets take potatoes, beef, anything you wantthere are thousands of importers and exporters. Anybody can go into the business. But its very hard for a small person to go into the drug importing business because our interdiction efforts essentially make it enormously costly. So, the only people who can survive in that business are these large Medellin cartel kind of people who have enough money so they can have fleets of airplanes, so they can have sophisticated methods, and so on.

In addition to which, by keeping goods out and by arresting, lets say, local marijuana growers, the government keeps the price of these products high. What more could a monopolist want? Hes got a government who makes it very hard for all his competitors and who keeps the price of his products high. Its absolutely heaven.

Legalization is a way to stopin our forum as citizens a government from using our power to engage in the immoral behavior of killing people, taking lives away from people in the U.S., in Colombia and elsewhere, which we have no business doing.

5. Paige: So, you see the role of government right now as being just as deadly as if Uncle Sam were to take a gun to somebodys head.

Friedman: Thats what hes doing, of course. Right now Uncle Sam is not only taking a gun to somebodys head, hes taking his property without due process of law. The drug enforcers are expropriating property, in many cases of innocent people on whom they dont have a real warrant. Thats a terrible way to run whats supposed to be a free country.

6. Paige: What scares you the most about the notion of drugs being legal?

Friedman: Nothing scares me about the notion of drugs being legal.

Paige: Nothing.

Friedman: What scares me is the notion of continuing on the path were on now, which will destroy our free society, making it an uncivilized place. Theres only one way you can really enforce the drug laws currently. The only way to do that is to adopt the policies of Saudi Arabia, Singapore, which some other countries adopt, in which a drug addict is subject to capital punishment or, at the very least, having his hand chopped off. If we were willing to have penalties like thatbut would that be a society youd want to live in?

7. Paige: Last question. You have grandchildren.

Friedman: Absolutely. I have a two-year-old granddaughter named Becca.

Paige: When you look at Becca, what do you see for her and for her future?

Friedman: That depends entirely upon what you and your fellow citizens do to our country. If you and your fellow citizens continue on moving more and more in the direction of socialism, not only inspired through your drug prohibition, but through your socialization of schools, the socialization of medicine, the regulation of industry, I see for my granddaughter the equivalent of Soviet communism three years ago.

Part I (below). Milton Friedman interview on Americas Drug Forum (1991)

Part 2 (below). Milton Friedman interview on Americas Drug Forum (1991)

Part 3 (below). Milton Friedman interview on Americas Drug Forum (1991)

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Joey Barton: FA ‘can’t solve’ English football’s gambling problem – ESPN FC

Posted: at 11:37 am

Joey Barton is now a free agent after leaving Burnley.

Joey Barton has criticised the Football Association (FA) for failing to tackle the problem of gambling in football in an interview with the Sunday Times.

Barton was given an 18-month ban in April after admitting breaking FA rules by placing bets on 1,260 football matches, and will be 36 years old by the time he is eligible to return, something he says is now unlikely.

The midfielder, who has been released by Burnley following his ban, says the FA are not equipped to handle the widespread problems that gambling represents for professional footballers or the rehabilitation that many need to reform.

"They've given me such a harsh sentence because they want to maintain to the world, to the people who buy TV rights, that this is a very high-integrity game here," he said. "People who work for betting companies have told me that's the key issue.

"The FA have no actual interest in [tackling] betting. And they can't solve the problem, especially when they've got Ladbrokes as a partner. Because the players are going, 'I'm not doing anything wrong.'

Barton maintains that he is not the only high-profile professional footballer to gamble frequently.

"I've been in dressing rooms with players, where they've a hundred grand staked on mad stuff," he said. "On one bet. Scary. A lot bet massive figures.

"I've seen players who've played in World Cups go out on the pitch and not get anywhere near as much of a buzz from that, or scoring goals, as from betting on the horses ...

"There are many ways to beat this system. This isn't a system difficult to beat ... One thing footballers have in common is they love betting. Because they're competitors."

Follow @ESPNFC on Twitter to keep up with the latest football updates.

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Joey Barton: FA 'can't solve' English football's gambling problem - ESPN FC

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NFL settles lawsuit with charity over gambling policy | ProFootballTalk – NBCSports.com

Posted: at 11:37 am

Getty Images

The NFL usually wins in court. Except when it settles.

When it comes to the lawsuit filed by a youth charity against the league due to the relocation of a bowling event because of the NFLs gambling policy, the league settled.

Brent Schrotenboer of USA Today reports that the settlement happened Friday. The league has no comment, and the lawyer representing the plaintiff said simply that the matter has been resolved. Thats standard practice in the settlement of civil cases involving private entities; the party making the payment always asks for (and almost always receives) a confidentiality provision.

The case was set or trial on September 25, and the charity recently commenced an effort to secure sworn testimony from Commissioner Roger Goodell. Coincidentally (or not), the case has now gone away.

The group had planned to host a bowling event last year on property owned by a casino in Las Vegas, with the participation of NFL players. Citing a policy that makes far less sense now that the Raiders will be moving to Las Vegas, the charity moved the event to a smaller venue, incurring expenses and/or losing revenue.

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Boston man tells NYPD cops he was kidnapped over gambling debt … – New York Daily News

Posted: at 11:37 am

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Updated: Friday, June 16, 2017, 5:26 PM

A terrified Boston restaurant worker flagged down cops Thursday morning in Queens and told them he had been kidnapped over a $50,000 gambling debt by men who threatened to chop off his fingers, sources said.

The 27-year-old man said he escaped their clutches by leaping out of a second-story window in Fresh Meadows and stealing a car, sources said.

Paul Chen, 37, the owner of the car, told the Daily News that he watched in shock as the shirtless man materialized and sped off in his mint green 2007 Toyota Yaris on 67th Ave. near 197th St. in Fresh Meadows about 10:15 a.m. Thursday.

I don't even know when he appeared, Chen said. It was just like out of nowhere and (woosh) in my car. Maybe he was just trying to hide from everyone. I don't know how he got in my car.

Chen, who works as an engineer for a company broadcasting NFL games, called 911.

Meanwhile about two miles east, the kidnapping victim, still in Chens car, flagged down cops near the Long Island Expressway and Bell Blvd. in Flushing and told them the scary tale.

He said the kidnappers threatened to cut off his fingers if he didn't pay back the money he had been loaned to gamble with, sources said.

Chens face crumpled in disbelief when told the man who stole his car was a kidnapping victim.

With his hand over his heart, he said the saving grace was that his baby son was not in the car at the time.

Most important is my family, he said. To be honest I would rather to die than live without my baby. My baby's only 9 months old. Being a father is your primary job.

He had left the keys in the ignition while loading laundry into his car outside his home. He was returning to the car with the second load when the car zoomed off.

It's like a movie. It's scary, he said. He was definitely speeding west. He was undressed, no shirt. I didn't see his pants. He was already in my car.

The car wasnt gone long.

"While I was writing a report I heard a women over the walkie talkie say 'I think I found his car.'"

The kidnapping victim was being loaded into an ambulance at the scene when cops brought him to retrieve it, Chen said.

The victim was taken to Queens Hospital.

Chen said he was unlikely to press charges.

Kidnapping in Boston? It's really scary, Chen said.

The only thing I can say is god bless him. There is nothing I can do. I hope he can recover soon.

Both the police and the FBI are investigating. The FBI did not return phone calls Friday.

Some of Chens neighbors were not surprised the victim was targeted.

If you're in gambling debt, it's obvious people would chase you, said Joe Cheng, 21. If the guy owes $50,000, he had it coming ... You kind of figure someone would be after him.

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Boston man tells NYPD cops he was kidnapped over gambling debt ... - New York Daily News

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Telangana To Issue Ordinance To Ban Online Gambling – Outlook India

Posted: at 11:37 am

The Telangana cabinet today decided to issue four ordinances to amend existing acts.

One of these ordinances will amend the Gaming Act to ban online gambling, said deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari after the cabinet meeting here.

Another ordinance will amend Record of Rights Act to ban registration of government lands in the name of private persons and effect cancellation of past illegal registrations of these lands, he said.

"Soon after the formation of Telangana, the CM had ordered police to crack down on clubs and other places which encourage gambling. But the government received complaints that people are now indulging in online gambling. We want to eliminate gambling in all forms. So the Gaming Act would be amended, banning online gambling. The cyber police will track online gambling and act against violators," Srihari said.

An ordinance amending the Preventive Detention Act is aimed at curbing the sale of spurious seeds and fertilisers, adulteration of food items and the use of fake educational certificates.

The fourth ordinance will amend the VAT Act, to enable it to be in force for six years after the GST roll-out to resolve pending VAT disputes.

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Sick puppy facing euthanasia because she might be a pit bull – Newshub

Posted: at 11:37 am

Despite asking to adopt the puppy and offering full medical care, Ms Ob was told she couldn't. She got in touch with an animal rescue group, who were also turned down.

She says a vet tried to enter on Sunday morning, but was not allowed in. The centre has now closed for the day.

Hope is suspected to be part-pit bull. Auckland Council's website says it has "a long-standing policy, as did all of the legacy councils before it, not to adopt out dogs that are of this type".

"The Dog Control Act allows councils throughout New Zealand to adopt this policy and many of them do. We strongly believe that this policy is in the best interests of the community as a whole."

But Tracey Moore, Auckland Council's animal management manager, says the dog's breed has not been determined yet.

"It has not been with us for the full seven days yet. Any determination would be premature."

If the dog is found to be a pit bull, it will leave euthanasia perhaps the shelter's only option.

Ms Ob says the shelter workers seemed "truly as heartbroken" as she was.

"I'm not saying that the animal shelter is at fault, but they're holding a puppy so young and she's sick. And she's so sweet, but quiet and withdrawn, because she's so small."

Tracey Moore, Auckland Council's animal management manager says it's sad, yet avoidable.

"[It's a] situation our team sees on a daily basis where yet another dog owner has failed to take responsibility. The council strongly recommends people think very carefully before taking on the responsibility of giving a dog a home, and that dog owners desex their animals."

The dog will be checked by a vet tomorrow, when she passes to legal ownership of the council. A decision will then be made on Hope's fate.

Newshub.

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Snapshot of jurors in the Yanez case – Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: at 11:36 am

The jurors The case of the State of Minnesota v. Jeronimo Yanez started with a jury pool of 50 randomly selected residents of Ramsey County. Here are sketches of the final 12 jurors, revealed during the selection process:

Juror 1: Young black man who works as a shift manager at Wendys and personal care attendant for his mom. He said hed never had a run-in with police.

Juror 2: An older white woman who manages a White Bear Lake gas station that has a contract with police. She said she had never heard of the Philando Castile case. The judge denied an attempt by prosecutors to strike her after it was revealed that she had pro-police posts on her Facebook page.

Juror 3: Middle-aged white man whose wife works for the St. Paul School District, as did Castile but she did not know him. He lives very close to where Castile was shot and is the No. 1 guy at a small metal finishing shop.

Juror 4: A middle-aged white man who had very little knowledge of the case. He said he owns a gun and called the criminal justice system a very fair process.

Juror 5: A middle-aged white woman who works at an assisted-living center and is highly active in church volunteer work. She said she had heard about the shooting at the time it happened but knew little else.

Juror 6: A white man in his 40s who is a wellness coach and became the jury foreman. He said he believes too many victimless crimes are prosecuted, including drug use and sex work.

Juror 7: A white woman in her late 30s to early 40s who works as a nurse at the same hospital as Yanezs wife but said she does not know her. She said she watched Diamond Reynolds Facebook video, but didnt seek out news about the case and knew a moderate amount about it.

Juror 8: An 18-year-old Ethiopian-American woman who immigrated to America when she was 10. She said she had not heard about the Yanez case before jury selection and doesnt watch the news. The defense tried to strike her due to unfamiliarity with the U.S. legal system, but the judge denied the attempt.

Juror 9: A white middle-aged computer support worker, who was not familiar with the Yanez case, and said, Im thankful we have police officers. She believes in the right to own a firearm, but added Im trying to stay away from them right now.

Juror 10: A middle-aged white male who is retired from preprinting work. He said he followed news about the case off and on. He said he had seen Reynolds Facebook video.

Juror 11: A middle-aged white man who owns several shotguns and long rifles to hunt pheasants. He said in his questionnaire that the criminal justice system has problems but is the best in the world.

Juror 12: A middle-aged white man and pipe fitter who moved to Minnesota four years ago to get a new start. He said hes a regular listener to MPR who knew a lot about the case. He took a permit-to-carry class three months ago.

Staff reports

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