927 Israel destroys Palestinian Solar project provided by Netherlands. Reported in WaPo but not NYT

Israel destroys Palestinian Solar project provided by Netherlands.
Reported in WaPo but not NYT

Newsletter published on 15 July 2017

(1) Israel destroys Dutch development project; Netherlands furious
(2) This Palestinian village had solar power — until Israeli soldiers
took it away - WAPO
(3) Israel Confiscates Palestinian Shepherds' Solar Units - Haaretz
(4) Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a
lifeline (2012)
(5) Israel to Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program (2012)

(1) Israel destroys Dutch development project; Netherlands furious

http://nltimes.nl/2017/06/30/israel-destroys-dutch-development-project-netherlands-furious

By Janene Pieters on June 30, 2017 - 08:29

{photo} Empty structures that used to hold solar panels - Israeli army
destroys a Dutch development project in the Palestinian village Jubbet
adh Dhib on the west bank of the Jordan, 28 Jun 2017. Photo: Comet-ME /
Facebook {end}

Israel demolished a Dutch development project consisting of 96 solar
panels and other equipment for supplying power to Palestinian village
Jubbet Adh Dhib on the west bank of the Jordan. The Netherlands spent
about half a million euros on the project last year. The Ministry of
Foreign Affairs is furious, AD reports.

"We immediately protested seriously with the Israeli authorities and
demanded return of the goods. We're currently investigating the exact
damages and what next steps can be taken", Foreign Affairs spokesperson
Chris Bakker said to the newspaper.

Israeli soldiers raided the village on Wednesday morning. "The Israeli
soldiers also tried to drag the batteries away, but they were apparently
too heavy. They were damaged, however", said Tamar Cohen, organizational
development manager at Comet-me, the organization with whom the
Netherlands donated the solar panels. Israel regularly evacuates
Palestinian settlements because of the lack of property acts or building
permits. "But that always goes through the court first and then we can
litigate. This is the first time soldiers seized goods unannounced",
Cohen said to the newspaper.

COGAT, the Israeli government on the west bank of the Jordan and the
Gaza strip, said that the Dutch solar panels were illegal, in a
statement given to AD. "The necessary permits were lacking. A ban on
building solar panels in the village has now been imposed. We emphasize
that the village has other power sources."

The Netherlands donates tens of millions of euros to projects for
Palestinians on the west bank of the Jordan and in the Gaza strip every
year. Aid agencies often don't request building permits from the Israeli
military government, because of long waiting times and very low chance
of success. In practice this basically means that the projects are
dependent on Israeli goodwill.

This is not the first time Israel destroyed a Netherlands funded
project. In 2015 Israeli troops seized Dutch funded agricultural
machinery for Palestinian farmers in the village of Kusra. The
Netherlands also paid the fines to get the machinery back, because the
farmers themselves couldn't. And in 2000 Israeli tanks bombed a port
under construction in the Gaza strip. The Netherlands contributed 23
million euros to that port.

The international community considers Israel's occupation of the
Jordan's west bank to be illegal and strives for an independent
Palestinian state in parts of the area. But the peace process between
Israel and Palestine has been deadlocked for years.

(2) This Palestinian village had solar power — until Israeli soldiers
took it away - WAPO

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/this-palestinian-village-had-solar-power--until-israeli-soldiers-took-it-away/2017/07/05/d4b8a5fc-6036-11e7-a4f7-af34fc1d9d39_story.html

This Palestinian village had solar power — until Israeli soldiers took
it away

By Anne-Marie O'Connor

July 7

JUBBET ADH DHIB, West Bank — The residents of this dirt-poor Palestinian
village waited decades for electricity. But in November, a Dutch-funded
solar project finally gave them round-the-clock power to refrigerate
food or do a load of laundry.

That ended last week when Israeli military administrators in the West
Bank sent soldiers with assault rifles and a team of workers to shut
down the $400,000 project, ripping out its electrical components and
driving away with 96 solar panels, some of them broken, villagers said.

Israeli officials called the construction illegal, but the builders
contested the charge, saying they are providing desperately needed
humanitarian aid that is required under international law.

"It was a disaster. We are all in mourning," said Fadia al-Wahsh, head
of the local women’s committee, hours after the soldiers left, as
villagers discussed how to save food and medicine from the stifling
summer heat.

The confiscation was the latest round of a widening conflict between
European donors and the Israeli government over projects that benefit
Palestinians in Area C, about 60 percent of the West Bank under full
Israeli control.

  "The Netherlands immediately protested to the Israeli authorities and
demanded the return of the confiscated goods," said Dirk-Jan Vermeij, a
spokesman for Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, who he said told Dutch
parliament Tuesday that "this confiscation is simply unacceptable." He
said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had discussed the issue with Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon declined to comment
in a text exchange but referred questions to Israel’s military
Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, known as
COGAT. A spokesman for COGAT said in an email that the solar and
electric panels were installed without the necessary permits.

COGAT said the parties involved could "file a request for releasing the
equipment as long as the organization will promise that the illegal
construction will not be established without the necessary permits again."

[20 minutes from modern Jerusalem, a Palestinian village is stranded in
the past]

The incident illustrates a Catch-22 in the West Bank: For years, Israel
has denied most permit requests for Palestinian construction in Area C.
But if Palestinians build homes or other structures without permits,
Israeli authorities say the structures are subject to demolition because
they lack permits.

The European Union said in a recent report that there has been an
"exceptional upsurge" in seizures or demolitions of European-funded
projects by the Israeli government, which faces pressure from Israeli
settlers to shut them down.

The report said Israeli forces have seized or demolished 117
European-funded humanitarian projects for Palestinians from September
through February: latrines, animal shelters, agricultural projects and
emergency shelters for families displaced by Israeli home demolitions.

   A Dutch-funded solar energy system was installed in this impoverished
Palestinian village in November. Its panels were seized last week by
Israeli authorities who called it illegal construction, saying the
village did not have the necessary permits. The village women's
committee has been trying to acquire electricity for the village, which
first requested power three decades ago.  (Courtesy of Comet-ME/Courtesy
of Comet-ME)

"E.U. humanitarian activities are carried out in full accordance with
international humanitarian law," the E.U. said in a February statement,
calling on Israel "to halt demolitions of Palestinian houses and
property in accordance with its obligation as an occupying power under
international humanitarian law."

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told Army Radio
that he saw political motives behind E.U. construction, the Times of
Israel reported.

"Like thieves in the night, they are building illegal buildings .?.?. to
create territorial contiguity for the Palestinians," he was quoted as
saying. "They are creating facts on the ground."

A May U.N. report said Israeli authorities reportedly rejected permits
for 391 of the 428 requests for building in Palestinian communities in
Area C in the first half of 2016, the most current figures available.

Most of the permits approved were reportedly issued by Israeli
authorities to transfer Bedouin populations, the United Nations said.

" ‘Lack of permits’ is the cynical pretext used by Israeli authorities
to create the illusion that proper procedures exist," B’Tselem, an
Israeli human rights group, said in a statement.

[A new Jewish settlement begins to rise in the West Bank ]

A Israeli government proposal to allow thousands of new housing units in
the Palestinian town of Qalqilya recently drew outraged public
statements from Israeli settler leaders — who call for Israel to annex
Area C — and was openly criticized by several right-wing ministers in
the Netanyahu government.

Jubbet adh Dhib, a village of 170 people, has requested a hookup to the
electrical grid numerous times since 1988, according to Human Rights
Watch. European-funded solar streetlights were dismantled in 2009 at the
request of Israeli authorities, European diplomats say.

A few hundred yards from it is the Jewish settlement of Sde Bar, founded
in 1998, according to the nongovernmental Settlement Watch. Residents
say they received Israeli utilities and protection for years before Sde
Bar was legalized retroactively in 2005.

Michael Sfard, the legal counsel for Comet-ME, the Israeli-Palestinian
nonprofit that installed the solar electricity system, said he would
fight the decision to shut it down and would appeal to Israel’s highest
court, if necessary, on the grounds that Israel was violating
international law by damaging humanitarian aid without providing an
alternative.

"This has nothing to do with law enforcement," Sfard said. "We have two
neighboring communities in the West Bank, one with all the privileges,
and another that has nothing. It’s cruel."

COGAT said Jubbet adh Dhib has an electricity alternative, an apparent
reference to a generator that consumes $100 a day in diesel fuel —
villagers say they can afford to run it only a few hours a day.

"I explained to them that we had medicine in the refrigerator, insulin
for diabetics," said Amna al-Wahsh, a member of the women’s committee.
"They said, ‘Move away; let us do our job.’ "

Anat Ben Nun, external relations director of Peace Now, said demolitions
of Palestinian homes reached record levels in 2016, while unauthorized
Israeli outposts with roads, water and electricity, "all built
completely illegally — are being retroactively legalized."

The solar project in Jubbet adh Dhib was touted as an inspirational
success for the women’s committee, which is trained to cope with medical
emergencies, such as delivering babies.

At a March International Women’s Day event in Ramallah, Amna al-Wahsh
described the transformation of her village.

"We have refrigerators, washing machines," she said. "Our children can
study whenever they like. I used to be afraid to let my children go to
the bathroom with a candle, because they could burn down the house."

"We are indescribably happy," she said, as the audience, including
European and American donors, applauded.

(3) Israel Confiscates Palestinian Shepherds' Solar Units - Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/.premium-1.799795

Israel Confiscates Palestinian Shepherds' Home Solar Power Units

The units were intended to operate refrigerators, used to store cheeses
– on which the family's livelihood depends – and medicines for the sheep
and the family

   Jul 06, 2017 11:38 AM Amira Hass

Israel confiscated Wednesday two home solar power units that had been
contributed by the European Union to a small sheep-herding...

(4) Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a
lifeline (2012)

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/mar/14/palestinians-prepare-to-lose-solar-panels

Palestinians prepare to lose the solar panels that provide a lifeline

Israel is planning to demolish 'illegal' solar panels that are the only
source of electricity for Palestinians in West Bank villages

Phoebe Greenwood in Tel Aviv

Wednesday 14 March 2012 18.00 AEDT

First published on Wednesday 14 March 2012 18.00 AEDT

Two large solar panels jut out of the barren landscape near Imneizil in
the Hebron hills. The hi-tech structures sit incongruously alongside the
tents and rough stone buildings of the Palestinian village, but they are
fundamental to life here: they provide electricity.

Imneizil is not connected to the national electricity grid. Nor are the
vast majority of Palestinian communities in Area C, the 62% of the West
Bank controlled by Israel. The solar energy has replaced expensive and
clunky oil-powered generators.

According to the Israeli authorities, these solar panels – along with
six others in nearby villages – are illegal and have been slated for
demolition.

Nihad Moor, 25, has three small children. The family live in a two-room
tent kitted out with a fridge, TV and very old computer. She also has a
small electric butter churn, which she uses to supplement her husband's
small income from sheep farming.

"The kids get sick all the time. At the moment, because of a change in
the weather, they all have colds. Without electricity I wouldn't even be
able to see to help them when they need to use the [outdoor] toilet at
night," Moor says. "I don't want to imagine what life would be like here
if [the panels] were demolished."

Imneizil's solar system was built in 2009 by the Spanish NGO Seba at a
cost of €30,000 to the Spanish government. According to the Israeli
authorities, it was built without a permit.

Guy Inbar, a spokesperson for the Israeli authorities in the West Bank,
explains: "International aid is an important component in improving and
promoting the quality of life of the Palestinian population but this
does not grant immunity for illegal or unco-ordinated activity."

The problem for Palestinian communities here is that permission to build
any infrastructure is very hard to come by. According to figures from
the civil administration quoted by the pressure group Peace Now, 91
permits were issued for Palestinian construction in Area C between 2001
and 2007. In the same period, more than 10,000 Israeli settlement units
were built and1,663 Palestinian structures demolished.

The Jewish settlements in Area C are connected to the national water and
electricity grids. But most Palestinian villages are cut off from basic
infrastructure, including water and sewage services. Imneizil, which
borders the ultra-religious settlement of Beit Yatir, currently has nine
demolition orders on various structures, including a toilet block and
water cistern for the school.

Comet ME is an Israeli NGO trying to circumvent these crippling
restrictions on Palestinian development by harnessing Hebron's abundant
natural energy sources – wind and sun.

Funded largely by the German government, the organisation has already
provided tens of Palestinian villages with electricity through solar
panels and wind turbines. Its goal is to reach all villages in the
southern Hebron area by the end of 2013.

"In technical terms it's do-able, but it depends on Israeli policies,"
says Elad Orian, Comet ME's founder. "Power is a human right, like
housing and education," he says. "We deal with providing basic energy
services. Renewable energy provides the best route to do it."

The green energy solution has its flaws. At a cost of around $4,500 per
family, it is expensive. Nor does it generate enough electricity to
sustain a community. But it has offered a lifeline to the 150,000
Palestinians living in Area C's impoverished communities.

However, it will become increasingly difficult to convince donors that
alternative energy is worth investing in if the expensive technology
they are funding is destroyed. After the order issued against the
Imneizil solar panels in September, six alternative energy systems built
by Comet ME in Hebron have received demolition orders.

A legal fight waged by Rabbis for Human Rights has succeeded in
suspending, but not lifting, the demolition of Imneizil's panels. The
German foreign office has launched an intense diplomatic effort to save
the others in nearby villages.

One UN expert, speaking anonymously as they are not authorised to talk
to the media, believes the crackdown on the alternative energy movement
by the Israelis is part of a deliberate strategy in Area C. "From
December 2010 to April 2011, we saw a systematic targeting of the water
infrastructure in Hebron, Bethlehem and the Jordan valley," the source
said. "Now, in the last couple of months, they are targeting
electricity. Two villages in the area have had their electrical poles
demolished.

"There is this systematic effort by the civil administration targeting
all Palestinian infrastructure in Hebron. They are hoping that by making
it miserable enough, they [the Palestinians] will pick up and leave."

According to UN research, that is happening. Ten out of 13 Palestinian
communities living in Area C surveyed by the Office for the
Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs in 2011 reported that families had
already left their land as a result of Israeli policies. Ali Mohamed
Hraizat, 49, head of Imneizil's village council, fears that if the solar
panels are destroyed, his community will see an exodus.

"We've been here since 1948. We try to stay and maintain our lives, but
people will leave if the electricity is cut off," he says. "They are
used for light for their children to study by and for televisions. They
will move into town. The solar panel isn't doing any harm … I just don't
see the point in demolishing it."

(5) Israel to Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program (2012)

https://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/02/16-4

https://www.revleft.space/vb/threads/168014-Israel-To-Demolish-Palestinian-Solar-Energy-Program

Israel To Demolish Palestinian Solar Energy Program

Thursday, February 16, 2012

by Common Dreams staff

A sustainable energy program in 'Area C' of rural West Bank is being
threatened by Israeli authorities. The program, which recently installed
solar panels and wind turbines in 16 communities, is providing 1,500
Palestinians with electricity -- who were formerly without reliable
energy.(Photo: AFP/Menahem Kahana)

The foreign aid program, thus far successful, has become a new target
for Israel as it threatens to demolish the structures that supposedly
lie within Israeli 'administration'.

* * *

Der Spiegel reports:

     The best part is when the lights in the tents go on, one by one,
says Elad Orian. Electricity here, in the hills south of Hebron, was
long unreliable. Either it was not available or it was too expensive,
produced for just a few hours each day by a noisy, diesel-guzzling
generator. That changed when Elad Orian and Noam Dotan, two Israeli
physicians who had tired of conflict, came along three years ago and
installed solar panels and erected wind turbines. Since then, such
facilities have been installed in 16 communities, providing 1,500
Palestinians with electricity. [...]

     The success, though, could soon be a thing of the past. Israel has
threatened to tear them down with five municipalities in recent weeks
having received "stop work" orders -- the first step on the road to
demolition. The problem is that the facilities are in the so-called Area
C, which covers 60 percent of the West Bank and is administered by
Israel. Permission from the Israelis is a requirement before
construction projects can move ahead -- and permits are almost never
given to Palestinians. [...]

     European diplomats in Ramallah and Tel Aviv suspect that the
demolition orders are a reaction to a recently drafted, unusually
critical EU report on the situation in Area C. It states: "The window
for a two-state solution is closing rapidly with the continued expansion
of Israeli settlements." The conclusion: The EU needs to target
investment in economic development and improved living conditions of
Palestinians in Area C. [...]

"What can you do if there are impediments to development, such as an
undefined de-development policy?" says Tsafrir Cohen, Middle East
coordinator of Medico International, which supported two of the systems.

     A few months ago, a similar project co-financed by the Spanish
government was scheduled for demolition, something which has been
prevented thus far through massive diplomatic pressure.

     Projects funded by foreign aid organizations or the EU have often
been destroyed in the past, the best known example being the Gaza
airport, financed with $38 million from the EU only to be destroyed by
Israeli bombs a short time after its construction. Generally, though,
the demolitions have been the result of security concerns. The fact that
harmless solar cells -- installations which are funded by allied
countries to provide basic humanitarian needs -- are at risk of
demolition is a new development. [...]

     Hundreds of people live in the village, and they are the poorest of
the poor. A community of shepherds, they moved freely through the area
until Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967. Since then, they have
settled, collecting rain water during the winter and buying expensive
drinking water brought in by a truck along a gravel track in the summer.
A well-maintained road to the settlement doesn't exist, despite the fact
that Shaab al-Buttum lies between two Israeli outposts. The settlements
are illegal, but miraculously they have all the basics their Palestinian
neighbors are missing: electricity, water and roads.

* * *

Ma'an News reports:

     In recent months, the army issued demolition warnings against six
solar and wind power systems in the South Hebron Hills, which were
funded by European governments and development groups.

     "What can you do if there are impediments to development, such as
an undefined de-development policy?" says Tsafrir Cohen, Middle East
coordinator of Medico International, which supported two of the systems.

     Known locally as Masafer Yatta, the communities lie almost entirely
in Area C, the 62 percent of the West Bank under full Israel civil and
security control since the 1993 Oslo Accords. [...]

     Cohen says if Medico International abandons development work in
Area C, moving to Palestinian Authority-controlled areas where permits
are not a problem, they would do little more than "painting the walls of
Bantustans."

     "We cannot just facilitate a nice jail cell, and a system where
people don’t have rights." [...]

     Threats to demolish vital village resources are intended to
"silently move us from the land," village council head Ali Muhammad Ali
Heirezat says. "We have been here since 1948, and we don’t have another
place to go."

* * *

Several West Bank villages had been without electricity for years. Not
long ago, however, international funding and an Israeli foundation made
it possible to erect solar panels and wind turbines. In total, 16
communities with 1,500 residents have benefited. Here, a woman in the
West Bank village of Susya.

926 Gay activists pressure Aboriginal elders to accept Homosexuality

Gay activists pressure Aboriginal elders to accept Homosexuality

Newsletter published on 15 July 2017

(1) Gay activists pressure Aboriginal elders to accept Homosexuality
(2) Missionaries helped save Aborigines from early European
Pastoralists; but Aboriginal kids today receive no parenting
(3) Aboriginal Homelands - Tony Ryan

(1) Gay activists pressure Aboriginal elders to accept Homosexuality

From: Tony Ryan <tonyryan43@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2017 12:25:41 +0930
Subject: Re: Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can now be charged with a
  Hate crime, & jailed

It is infuriating that so many commentators equate "the formula for
marriage being male/female", as a religious position. I acknowledge no
deities, multiple or mono; but I do acknowledge that human marriage has
been around for half-a million years; and other mammal marriages for
millions of years. Also, that the entire function of marriage has, over
that period, been the production, nurturing and protection of children.
Civil rights are cultural and peripheral. I also have listened to
Aboriginal seniors angrily condemning people who try to impose
homosexuality on their culture, they being adamant that Aborigines had
no such relationship experience. On Bathurst Island (Tiwi) I was
recently told that gay activists had visited the island and told locals
that they must arbitrarily accept homosexuality as a natural human
condition, and therefore, must accept gay marriage. I label that
behavior as homosexual colonialism.

Today, there are homosexual Aboriginal children but these are
essentially the product of European child-raising methods; and
invariably the product of unsuccessful mixed marriages. Culture, in
terms of family behavior, is now around 90% broken down on all
Aboriginal communities. This outcome is to be expected, as I and others
have always maintained that it is European child-raising practices that
are responsible for the emergence of homosexual behavior. For the same
reasons, I anticipate a diminution of phenomenal Aboriginal memories. I
doubt that this is good either.

I have the advantage of 47 years of perspective when it comes to the
reality of Aboriginal culture in Arnhem Land (which is a sight more
Aboriginal than Redfern in metro-Sydney), so I really have no interest
in the observations of academics and activists who do not even speak
Aboriginal languages and who know nothing about Aboriginal culture.

And, I might add, I was in the vanguard of homosexual rights in the
1960s, when most of my co-workers were 'camp' and my flatmate was a drag
queen... the famous 'Egypt'. Although I am heterosexual, to describe me
as homophobic (fear of homos? You have to be kidding) Many of my
street-fights of that era were protecting camps from poofter-bashers. My
motivation was simple; I opposed bullying, of any kind, or of any kind
of victim. I still despise bullying, the worst of which today appears to
be perpetrated by gays victimising and repressing straights; by AGW
believers repressing and condemning 'deniers'; and by urban Aboriginal
activists blaming non-Aborigines for their own criminality, laziness,
and irresponsibility in failing to adequately parent their children.

Finally, let me congratulate veteran journalist Eric Walberg for noting
that real world gays are not necessarily supporters of gay marriage, or
adoption. Can I add to this that reliable independent surveys identify
only 1% of the population as gay; so why, in a supposed democracy, can
1% dictate to to the majority? Why do gay rights movement financiers
tend to be people like the sinister George Soros? Why are gays so
opposed to a plebiscite? And why is the loudest opposer of a plebiscite,
Penny Wong. Can it be that Wong, like me, has actually surveyed a full
demographic and discovered that more than 50% oppose gay marriage.

Tony Ryan

(2) Missionaries helped save Aborigines from early European
Pastoralists; but Aboriginal kids today receive no parenting

From: Tony Ryan <tonyryan43@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2017 13:55:30 +0930
Subject: Re: Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can now be charged with a
  Hate crime, & jailed

Hi Peter

I will address your last question first... which will contextualise and
clarify your own observations.

 > It seems that Christian Aboriginal
 > communities are not affected.
 > Why so?

The missionaries were commissioned by the Commonwealth Government to
prevent the violent extinction of Aborigines in the Top End, a
gun-totin' pastoral-generated genocide which lasted fifty years (until
1936).

By default, because this and other intrusions were happening in remote
regions, acculturation occurred at a much slower pace, relative to
places closer to highways, cattle stations, and settlements.

The missionaries tried to bury culture but this was resisted, which
forced deals to be made. For example, Catholic missionaries traded
polygamy for in-ground burials and baptism, and the right to build
churches. Methodists, almost entirely through the atypical flexibility
of one man, Bapa Sheppy (aka Rev Shepherdson), went for baptism and
churches and left polygamy and ceremonies alone. Anglicans made no trade
at all and repressed languages and culture with gusto. The Lutherans
were by far the most humane and compassionate regarding women and children.

 From 1936 to 1973, little changed. The Aborigines I knew then, and were
adopted by (at Galiwin'ku), were acculturally divided into three groups:
the Christian converts, the ceremonial traditionalists, and the
two-bob-each-way diplomats. On pastoral properties, Aborigines dressed
like Europeans but surreptitiously practiced their culture and ceremonies.

However, the 1973 ALP Commonwealth Government rushed in to help the
Aboriginal people, and the Self-Determination policy caused an
intensification of Songline influence and direction, which precipitated
the Homeland Movement. What this means is that each language group
(Mala) operates under the spiritual umbrella of its own section of
songlines, which criss-cross the mainland of Australia. This food cycle
traversed-'section' is the geographical expression of their own
Songline, which is also their history, their source of clan identity,
individual identity, and even almanac for all activities... ceremonial
right through to prosaic hunting activities and seasonal recognition.
(See attachment on Homelands).

If I may put it bluntly and uncompromisingly, Songlines and Homelands
are the key to Aboriginal development and survival. Multi-clan
communities simply do not have the capacity to move forward. Another
thing I would like to put forward with equal absence of compromise... it
is not possible to understand Aboriginal culture without first learning
the language. The language is the sole window to the culture. This was
pointed out in 1926 by the anthropologist Elkin, but was advice ignored
by anthropologists and government, ever since. This is the primary
reason why every development programme has failed, and is the central
reason for Aboriginal ill-health and mortality. Ergo... information
about pathogens and disease, and nutrition and processed food toxicity,
must be in repeated verbal clan-language presentation to be accessible
to 98% of Aborigines in the NT. For 229 years, NT Aborigines have had to
negotiate their survival in a foreign language.. English; which few
understand and even fewer can speak. This is absolute disenfranchisement
and imposition of a communication barrier. What little communication
does occur, is one way.

This sad (and globally condemned) situation led to the manipulation of
the original Land Rights Act of 1976, creating a land council based on
leadership instead of the implementation of indigenous consensus
protocols. More succinctly, this was the replacement of pure democracy
consensus, with inevitably corruptive hierarchism. This is what Acton
was referring to when he pointed out that power corrupts and absolute
power corrupts absolutely. Historically, what happened is that New York
globalists (David Rockefeller and his Trilateral Commission) realised
that Aboriginal consensus decision-making would prevent mining. It was
critical, they concluded, that consensus be replaced with appointed or
elected Aboriginal leaders. The globalists, led by the Rothschild-owned
Bank for International Settlements (BIS, Basle, Switzerland), who
actually employ Reserve Bank of Australia executives (ie not the
Australian Government, as most people presume), ordered the Governor of
RBA, Nugget Combs, to intervene. Thus, people who were owned by the
land, suddenly discovered they had individual Traditional Land-Owners...
(TOs), and that the chairman of their Northern Land Council, instead of
precipitating clan consensus on issues, became their Leader. Thus, a man
with no ceremonial status or knowledge of Songlines, but a commitment to
expand his car hire company, Gerry Blitner, became the first NLC
Chairman. This was closely followed by Gallarrwuy Yunupingu. Yunupingu,
whose articulation profoundly shocked and terrified senior bureaucrats
and politicians, was initially committed to Yolngu cultural
resurrection, but quickly succumbed to the temptations of accumulation
of power. As planned.

To European Australians, it is the body paint, weapons and dances which
represent Aboriginal culture. Consequently, the Garma Festival appears
to be indicative of regionally-retained culture. Ironically, the Garma
Festival was largely the outcome of western influence, the names
Yunipingu and NLC being central as drivers of this production. Garma is
what we might call, PR. Concomitant with Garma, are calls for tokenistic
and ephemeral objectives such as Reconciliation, Treaty, Close the Gap,
and Recognise; all entirely without survival substance. These campaigns
are supported by highly paid Aboriginal media celebrities, not one of
whom speaks an Aboriginal language or possesses Aboriginal culture.
Unsurprisingly, funding flows from Riotinto and BHP coffers and the LNP
Federal Government.

Meanwhile, the Christians launched the Mala Leaders Council back in
1976, an oxymoron if ever there was one. Those who manipulate behind the
scenes have welded the Mala Leaders concept to the Land Council
representatives and Chairmen, ALPA executives, local government, and a
plethora of Christian-led fellowships and lobbies; all to reinforce the
leadership concept. The NT Government has just constructed a $20 million
boarding school in Nhulunbuy to promote Aboriginal leadership. The
success of the Leadership Movement is an accurate gauge of Aboriginal
cultural breakdown. Another is the breakdown of family.

Wheras fifty years ago, parents bestowed consummate love and affection
on babies and children, practicing absolute indulgence, it was not until
Dhapi Age (circumcision ceremony) that an uncle would traditionally
commence discipline, and instilling all-important self-discipline
(raypirri). Grandparents nurtured a series of other supportive
relationships.

Today, because of the intervention of school teachers, police, courts,
welfare, the Intervention, and revamped genocide, most of this
development network has evaporated. Children today receive virtually no
parenting in replacement of the lost roles. This is by far the most
significant manifestation of acculturation and breakdown of indigenous
culture. It is pretty much invisible to westerners.

Over a period of 47 years, I have supported the cultural retention and
restoration movement, especially in terms of Homelands, but it is only
now that circumstances have colluded to enable an effective fight-back.
This is taking the form of a resurrected Wangurri homeland community on
Arnhem Bay, which will feature: traditional consensus decision-making,
homes that promote pathogen resistance, traditional hunting and
gathering, and permaculture food gardens. Business enterprise
initiatives are also envisaged. The house design, which accommodates
Aboriginal culture, will cost around $20,000; compared to the $600,000
to $900,000 unhealthy versions currently imposed on Aboriginal
communities. Although the NT Chief Minister and PM, Malcolm Turnbull,
were asked to support this strategy, neither even acknowledged our
correspondence. Finally, the NT Departments of Health and Housing have
expressed interest and have requested house design and cost details. We
are finally hopeful the genocide can be turned around.

In this brief narrative, I have grossly simplified what is a vastly more
complex situation. So, Peter, I have added a couple of attachments which
might breach the inevitable comprehension gulf.

BTW, congratulations on your penetration of the knowledge-contributing
component of the online media. You are the only Australian to have
achieved this.

Kindest regards

Tony Hayward-Ryan
Nhulunbuy NT

(3) Aboriginal Homelands - Tony Ryan

From: Tony Ryan <tonyryan43@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2017 15:00:40 +0930
Subject: Re: Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can now be charged with a
  Hate crime, & jailed

Gidday Peter

HOMELANDS

1. What are Aboriginal Homelands and why are these important to Yolngu?

2. How are homelands of relevance to the non-Yolngu population of Nhulunbuy?


The answers to the above questions are significant for Nhulunbuy’s future.

*

When we use the term Homeland, we refer to a region that is the historic
and prehistoric genesis of a given Aboriginal language group, and the
word homeland may also refer to an urban community located on the wider
homeland region. This is as opposed to the larger ex-missionary
communities such as Yirrkala, Milingimbi, and Galiwin’ku, which are
peopled by multiple language groups, even though these towns are also
simultaneously the homeland of a single language group (clan).

As one can readily imagine, residing on another clan’s ‘country’ is a
source of anxiety, friction, confusion, and embarrassment. And for the
host clan, there is ongoing simmering resentment of what they see as
interlopers.

These larger communities are an accident of history, peopled by refugees
from the genocides perpetrated by international pastoral corporations
and by a few murderous individuals, a fifty-year internecine war which
only finally ended in 1936. During the massacres some entire language
groups were wiped out and surviving Yolngu eventually realized that to
say no to white people was likely invite lethal reprisals.

Although the missions were intended as places of refuge from the
pastoral killing fields, some of the missionaries themselves lacked
normal social restraints, with some even resorting to whips to exert
personal control. Moreover, until 1975, Yolngu were even forbidden to
approach the front doors of missionary homes; a combination of racism
and classism that made for an uneven relationship.

These are the episodes of history Arnhem Land has inherited, invoking
vivid memories for some old people; so It can easily be understood why
many Yolngu are still distrustful of Balanda. The entire multi-clan
community sources of conflict are another reason why most adults prefer
life on homeland communities. But the main reason for preference of
homelands, is spiritual.


Homelands are the geographical expression of clan Songlines.

And Songlines are a combination of:

o Geographical and clan history;
o Almanac for management of the land and waters;
o Guide to seasonal food access and natural phenomena;
o Birth certificate and source of identity for every clan member;
o The medium for daily clan cohesion and continuity;
o A spreadsheet which measures the inter-relationship between all clans;
o The key to spiritual kinship to clans thousands of Ks away;
o Genealogical documentation;
o Roadmap for funeral management and burial authority;
o Source of names for new babies;
o Lawbook for social and spiritual behavior; and
o The essential source of strength to sustain new ventures.


Songlines deliver much more than is listed here, but these are the
attributes easily understood by Balanda.

Pretty much anyone who has closely observed Yolngu developments for more
than a few decades has concluded that economic independence, optimal
health, and successful social cohesion, will only be achieved through
successful regeneration of Homelands.

Having said this, Federal Government politicians insist that Homelands
are an anachronism and reflect a self-indulgent and retrogressive
reversion to a living museum… paraphrasing the expressed ‘wisdom’ of
former Cabinet Minister, Amanda Vanstone. That Vanstone’s appalling
depth of misinformation should have struck a chord within the entire
Liberal National Coalition is indicative of the prevailing lack of
intelligence and general knowledge of politicians today. (This comment
is in no way politically partisan).

The prevailing attitude reflects the belief of most politicians, which
is that Aboriginal culture belongs to the past and is incompatible with
the future. Deep down, this is based on a belief in white superiority, a
position which makes researching empirical evidence a non-necessity.
While left-leaning politicians are mandatorily voluble about their
respect for Aboriginal culture, few could describe this culture
coherently; which explains why the ALP seamlessly continued The
Intervention with its own equally repressive Stronger Futures.

The measurable reality is that politicians pretend to respect Aborigines
but when push comes to shove, denial of even basic rights is supported
across the board. This was evident last year when a NT Aboriginal
electoral representative made a parliamentary speech in the language of
her electorate. Other politicians were outraged, oblivious to the
fundamental right of the electorate to witness representations in their
own language. The dissenting politicians were not only endemically
racist, they lacked even a fundamental grasp of democracy.

Ordinary Australians are actually much more tolerant and most would like
to understand a little bit about Aboriginal culture. A little-known
aspect of history, once we are familiarised, can enable us to accept
that a different value system does not mean that one cultural group is
necessarily superior to the other, as we will see from the following
comparison…

Three and half thousand years ago, Chinese philosophers evolved the
concept of eternally-interactive qualities of positive and negative, a
view that describes the electro-magnetic integrity of the entire
universe and everything within it. They called this Yin and Yang and
quickly realized that all Chinese society must conform to this pattern
to be truly enlightened, and to become compatible with the world around
them. In other words, learn to live with nature, rather than against it.

The Chinese people simply could not let go of hierarchism and thus
condemned themselves to dynastic overthrows in perpetuity as the only
means of temporarily escaping the inevitable repression that imperial
overlords impose.

However, 12,000 years ago, Yolngu identified the same counterbalancing
forces, and they named these Yirritja and Dhuwa. They too realized that
in order to live in harmony with the universe, and themselves, they must
reshape their value systems and their view of the world. Evidently, they
were very successful and eventually this moiety concept spread across
all mainland Australia.

Rejecting hierarchism accordingly, they thenceforth made decisions by
invoking intricately structured consensus protocols. Thus, the person
whose name demonstrated that his or her birth spirit was most closely
associated with the issue under discussion, made that person responsible
for identifying consensus. Consequently, every man, woman and child was
free to present their individual views, which were modified or
reinforced by songlines as interpreted by respected Mala seniors.

The outcome was pure democracy, which is why Yolngu had no chiefs or
kings; which is also why they also had no experience of enforced
poverty, repression, torture, imprisonment, slavery, ritual execution,
geographical hegemony, or war.

Philosophically-speaking, it is clear that Yolngu were around 9000 years
ahead of the rest of humanity in understanding the fundamental role of
positive and negative in terms of physics and universal integrity; and,
moreover, were probably the only culture which successfully adapted
their entire social organization to this manifest reality (Kung and
Inuit may also have shared this distinction).

So, pretty obviously, there is plenty of room here for mutual respect.
In terms of physics-supported philosophy, Aborigines were millennia
ahead of the west. And they are still way ahead of the rest of the world
when it comes to coexisting with nature, and in sophistication of social
organisation.

Today, Homelands are the most active expression of Yolngu aspirations,
and their means of achieving these.

Unfortunately, Australia’s lacklustre leadership is not up to
recognition of the need to assist Homeland developers create their own
self-sustaining economy, and to create a living environment which
delivers health-giving nutrition and home designs which do not breed
disease and conflict.

Because such homelands once successful will eventually enable Nhulunbuy
to become the regional servicing hub, thereby creating local urban
prosperity, it is clear commonsense for us to support the Homeland cause.

In practical terms, this can be achieved through a Community Declaration
of Support for Homelands, delivered to Federal and State/Territory
governments, with copies presented to appropriate UN support bodies,
which may nudge governments to act in more stately fashion.


Comments, amendments, criticisms, suggestions, and support can be sent to:

Tony Hayward-Ryan
tonyryan43@gmail.com

925 Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can be charged with a Hate crime, & jailed

Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can be charged with a Hate crime, &
jailed

Newsletter published on 2 July 2017

(1) Gay marriage or 'Gay Shame'? - Eric Walberg
(2) More Revelations of Intolerance from Gay Marriage Activists
(3) Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can be charged with a Hate
crime, & jailed
(4) California bans state employees from traveling on official business
to anti-LGBTQ states
(5) Canadian Parents refused adoption unless they accept accept Gender
ideology
(6) Swedish PM tells priests to carry out same-sex marriages ‘or do
something else’
(7) Kentucky judge refuses to hear adoption cases involving gay parents
(8) Harvard discriminates against Male Clubs
(9) Google renames Margaret Court tennis arena after her anti-Gay comments
(10) Top Gear gay joke

(1) Gay marriage or 'Gay Shame'? - Eric Walberg
    Eric Walberg<walberg2002@yahoo.com> 2 July 2017 at 00:17

Gay marriage or 'Gay Shame'?

http://ericwalberg.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=664:gay-marriage-or-gay-shame&catid=41:culture-and-religion&Itemid=94

Gay marriage or 'Gay Shame'?

Thursday, 29 June 2017 15:05   Eric Walberg

  It's official: gay marriage is as legit as marriage between a man and
woman. Dissenters to this new self-proclaimed truth are pilloried as
dinosaurs or bigots. The Pope is an object of ridicule, as is, of
course, Islam. Bakers who refuse to take an order for a gay couple's
wedding cake are convicted of discrimination and given a hefty fine.

The 'yeas' have triumphed among straights (heterosexuals) in the
secular, rich West, where gaylib established itself 50 years ago as the
latest trendy social movement. Larger and popular Gay Pride Day marches
in June have more straights than gays in attendance, and floats by
(straight) Google employees, Starbuckers, what-have-you, are the
centrepieces. June has been declared 'gay pride month' in Canada, the US
and much of western Europe, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall riots, a
series of spontaneous, violent (yes!) demonstrations against a police
raid that took place June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the
Greenwich Village.

Legalization of homosexual activity came both before (UK and Canada) and
after 'Stonewall', and "buggery", the last frontier of sexuality (for
both gay and straight), was grudgingly removed from the legal code, with
only a few US states still holdouts. Of course, this is all part of the
western secular world bubble, though Russia legalized homosexuality in
1993 and China decriminalized it in 1997.

Gay marriage and the state: win-win

Gay marriage became the focus of the 'struggle' in the 21st century, the
final frontier. Why is gay marriage so important to activists? Civil
unions are perfectly adequate to cover the secular legal issues of
divorce. Those who opt for marriage should presumably be religious, but
there's not much left of religion these days, so what's the big deal?

The gay Christian Metropolitan Community Church (222 member
congregations in 37 countries) led the campaign for government approval
and it paid off. Today, MCC congregations around the world perform more
than 6,000 same-sex marriage ceremonies annually. Some gays are sincere
Christians and reform Jews, but marriage is being embraced by secular,
non-religious gays, who rarely frequent a church, even the MCC. Why? Is
it just the latest fashion? Or is it a recognition that marriage is as a
kind of commitment beyond just sex and material needs? Or is it more a
sign of acceptance by straight society? 'We are just as good as you.'

Why would the state and media embrace it, coolly throwing aside
millennia-old legal and public traditions? The legislative drive to
legalize marriage is a sign of how insignificant these traditions are in
our secular world. Most Protestant Christian churches gave in to state
and media pressure with little resistance. Only the Catholic Church,
Islam and Orthodox Judaism are holdouts.

Gay marriage is suddenly as kosher as 'motherhood', or rather
'parenthood' -- as 'mother' and 'father' too are being relegated to the
dustbin of history. Ontario Premier Kathleen Gwynne tried (so far,
unsuccessfully) to change all government documents and laws to erase
those supposed anachronisms from our minds. Parents can now be 'two
mommies' or 'two daddies'.

Marriage bandwagon

The loud voices touting marriage are not necessarily representative of
gays. No polls look at the actual numbers of gays who tie the knot, only
different ethnicities, age levels, political affiliates, i.e., straight
views. Some sleuthing shows 0.3% of marriages were of same-sex couples
in 2016 in the US. Given 3-5% of the population self-identify as gay,
this is roughly 10% of gays,* vs roughly 50% of straights, suggesting
gays are actually far less interested in gay marriage than the broader
population are interested in either straight or gay marriage.

Many homosexuals reject marriage, calling themselves "queer" in defiance
to what they see as a trivialization of their uniqueness. There is even
a Gay Shame movement, rejecting the commercialization and mainstreaming
of sexual nonconformists. Some, for religious reasoning, who hesitate to
tamper with millennia-old traditions, some, for the misuse of language
-- What can 'two husbands' possibly mean? What do the two pictures above
-- 2 straight-looking middle class guys vs a flaming queen -- have in
common?

Many take pride in their radical, slightly subversive nature and
history. Where would western civilization be without the culture that
sexual nonconformers have produced over thousands of years? Culture
means a critical analysis of society, best done by outsiders, a love of
beauty for its sake alone, without the distractions of sex, or a
starving family to support.

Gay marriage - a western stopgap

That said, given the decadence of western society since WWII, where
'anything goes', where AIDS and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are
of epidemic proportions, and where gay male-fueled promiscuity is now
the norm for both gays and straights, the less cynical supporters of
this new 'morality' see there's a problem, and implicitly realize it is
not a stable state of affairs.

The sexual instinct is a very uncontrollable, dangerous impulse. In
Plato's Republic, a friend asks Sophocles: "How are you in regard to
sex, Sophocles? Can you still make love to a woman?" "Hush man," the
poet replied, "I am very glad to have escaped from this, like a slave
who has escaped from a mad and cruel master."

That is why historically marriage became the foundation of civilization
everywhere, why the violation of marriage bonds is (or was) considered
the worst sin in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. With the rise of
secularism and the waning of Christianity and Judaism, only Islam
maintains this. The eagerness of gays to join in the marriage ritual
ironically reflects the realization by gays themselves that maybe the
old ritual is not such a bad thing, and is a good way to tame the beast.

Get married, live longer

Monogamy appears to be gaining the ascendancy again, replacing
promiscuity as the long-term goal in social life. In the first place for
physical health reasons, including mental well-being. Studies confirm
for both straight and gay that having a committed monogamous
relationship extends life, improves the quality of life. Marriage is the
most sophisticated version of monogamy, as a sacred commitment, not just
a casual agreement, reflecting both the power of the sex drive in our
lives, the need to control it in the service of our own selves, and of
society at large.

Now, when population growth is a world problem, 'barren' marriages are
not so unusual, where foster children are many, and there is a huge and
growing population of refugees, 'two daddies' can be an acceptable
alternative to no parents at all. The issue of surrogate mothers and
sperm donation is perhaps, then, the last of the last frontier,
something for rich, designer parent wannabes. The moral issue there is
to say the least, cloudy.

The international branch of western gaylib would have this new scenario
being shaped in the West's Petri dish extended to the whole world, by
force if necessary (as the proverbial missionary handmaidens of
imperialism). This is most unlikely to succeed. Far better to deal with
our precarious western cultural bubble and make it less self-destructive
all round.

What's to be proud of?

Perhaps gay marriage is a hint of a return to morality and spirituality
in our relationships. So I would not spurn attending a gay marriage in
principle, though you won't catch me at a Gay Pride march. Gays are
humans and deserve civil rights. They long ago won them Canada, and
marches on Yonge St today will not do gays in Russia or Egypt any good.

What's there to be proud of? No one wants to be gay, and no parent wants
their child to be gay. It's something to be accepted and dealt with by
you and your relatives. A Gay Pride march is really the latter day
equivalent of a St Patrick's Day Parade, a quaint reminder of a
minority, once repressed, now celebrated or pitied (or to be gawked at,
like visiting a zoo).

Andrew Holleran, in Dancer from the Dance (1978) captures the
bittersweet tragedy of being born gay:

I don't think two men can love each other ... in that way. It will
always be a sterile union, it will always be associated with guilt.
Sometimes I think that God was sitting up above the world one day, after
He had created it and someone said 'Now what could we throw in to spoil
it? You've created such a perfect existence, how could it go amok?'
Someone said, 'Confuse the sexes. Have the men desire men instead of
women, and the women desire women.'
Life would be marvelous if we weren't homosexual. To grow up, to fall in
love, to have children, grow old and die. But then God threw in that
monkey wrench. As if out of sheer mischief!

When those affected realize their dilemma, they have to work hard to
make their antisocial lifestyle work – for themselves and society. It
will always mean higher suicide rates and social isolation. The 'gay
ghetto' is here to stay. So good luck with your marriage vows. The odds
of 'till death do us part' are probably less that one in two, given the
stats for straight marriages. But it may make your hard life a little
less hard, and disrupt society a little less.

XXXX

*According to Gallup, 11.4% of LGBT men are married to a same sex
partner. 13.2% of LGBT men are married to an opposite sex spouse, which
would mean more gay men are married to women then other men.

Gaym Intolerance

(2) More Revelations of Intolerance from Gay Marriage Activists

http://australianmarriage.org/revelations-intolerance-ssm-activists/

More Revelations of Intolerance from SSM Activists

It’s been another big week in the marriage debate. Around the world, the
fallout from countries that have legalised same-sex marriage is becoming
more and more evident and the future of freedoms in these countries is
looking bleak.

According to Huffington Post: "California has banned state employees
from traveling on official business to four additional states that have
passed anti-LGBTQ legislation." Would you believe that these states
require people to use toilets that correspond with their biological
reality and/or grant foster kids their chance at enjoying the equally
valuable input of a Mum AND a Dad. How outrageous!

Canada is charging towards a totalitarian regime with yet another Bill
restricting freedoms for those who support traditional, science-based
views of gender. The Christian Institute reports: "The Bill adds ‘gender
expression’ and ‘gender identity’ to Canada’s Human Rights Code and to
existing hate crime legislation. Dr Jordan Peterson, of the University
of Toronto, previously warned that [the Bill] could result in him being
charged with a hate crime for refusing to use gender-neutral pronouns."

And according to RT: "Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has suggested
that all Church of Sweden priests be compelled to perform gay marriages,
despite the Lutheran Church’s position that clergy members should have
the right to refuse."

"We Social Democrats are working to ensure all priests will consecrate
everyone, including same-sex couples," Lofven told Kyrkans Tidning
magazine."

Imagine a "male only" political party hosting an event to celebrate a
total lack of female representation in parliament. A baker is asked to
create and decorate a cake to commemorate the occasion. The baker
rightfully declines the invitation because he cannot, in good
conscience, participate in an event that denies the equally important
and invaluable role of women in Parliament. He would be lauded a hero
for standing up for gender equality!

This same baker is asked to create a cake to celebrate a union that
denies the equally important and invaluable role of a woman in marriage
and family. He is vilified and fined. This is what is happening in the
USA right now to bakers who are simply fighting to maintain their
artistic freedom. These bakers happily bake birthday cakes for members
of the gay community, but cannot, in good conscience, participate in an
event that denies gender equality.

This article from Christianity Today highlights the issue: "Jack’s
ability to make a living and run his family business shouldn’t be
threatened simply because he exercised his artistic freedom. Artists
speak through their art, and when Jack creates custom wedding cakes, he
is promoting and celebrating the couple’s wedding," said ADF senior
counsel Jeremy Tedesco. "He simply can’t put his artistic talents to use
on a custom cake for an event so at odds with his faith convictions."

Perhaps the most disturbing revelation of bullying and intolerance has
come from our own shores where a SSM activist has once again published
the family home address of ACL’s Lyle Shelton, along with current and
former members of the ACL board.

"There is only one reason for publicising someone’s home address and
that is to bully and intimidate," Lyle said.

"ACT Police have advised me that there is little they can do and I
should engage a private security firm to make recommendations about
upgrading security at my house."

Just days later, Christopher Pyne was caught out boasting that SSM is
closer than we think. According to The Australian: "Malcolm Turnbull
says he will not let any private member’s bill to legalise gay marriage
be debated in the parliament if a plebiscite is not held first, as
conservatives urge colleagues to return to the ‘main game’."

If you value freedom of conscience, freedom of artistic expression and
freedom of speech, you must speak up now, before we are all compelled,
by the full force of the law, to "forever hold our peace".

Written by AJ

(3) Canadians who oppose Transsexualism can be charged with a Hate
crime, & jailed

http://www.christian.org.uk/news/canada-law-force-citizens-affirm-trans-agenda/

Canada law could force citizens to affirm trans agenda

     22 Jun 2017

Canadians who refuse to endorse transsexualism could be charged with a
hate crime, fined or even jailed under a controversial new law.

Critics say Bill C-16 may compel citizens to use the terms ‘ze’ and
‘zir’ when asked, instead of ‘he’ and ‘she’.

It was passed in the Canadian Senate by a vote of 67 to 11, and welcomed
as "great news" by the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Bill adds "gender expression" and "gender identity" to Canada’s
Human Rights Code and to existing hate crime legislation.

Dr Jordan Peterson, of the University of Toronto, previously warned that
C-16 could result in him being charged with a hate crime for refusing to
use gender-neutral pronouns.

After it was passed, Peterson tweeted:

Senate passes Bill C16 without amendment 67 for 11 against. Compelled
speech has come to Canada. We will seriously regret this.

— Jordan B Peterson (@jordanbpeterson) June 15, 2017

‘People of faith’

The Bill has also been criticised by the Campaign Life Coalition (CLC).

"This tyrannical bill is nothing but social engineering to the nth
degree, all in the name of political correctness", said Jeff Gunnarson,
CLC Vice President.

Jack Fonseca, Senior Political Strategist for CLC, added: "this law will
not be used as some sort of ‘shield’ to defend vulnerable transsexuals,
but rather as a weapon with which to bludgeon people of faith and
free-thinking Canadians who refuse to deny truth".

‘Totalitarian’

The Bill is the latest piece of Canadian legislation to restrict free
expression.

It follows an Ontario Act, which mandates the use of gender-neutral
pronouns on parents looking to adopt.

Critics say that Ontario’s Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act,
will bar parents from adoption or fostering, who oppose gender ideology
for not providing a home ‘in the best interests of the child’.

The Bill, described as "totalitarian" by critics, was passed earlier
this month by a vote of 63 to 23 by the Ontario Legislature. It was
pushed through by Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is herself in a
same-sex marriage.

(4) California bans state employees from traveling on official business
to anti-LGBTQ states
http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/california-travel-ban-lgbtq_us_594d7c22e4b02734df2a71ae

California Extends State Worker Travel Ban To 4 'Discriminatory' States

Restrictions now target eight states that have passed anti-LGBTQ laws.

24/06/2017

California has banned state employees from traveling on official
business to four additional states that have passed anti-LGBTQ legislation.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a speech in San Francisco
on Thursday that state employees will no longer be permitted to use
state funds to visit Alabama, South Dakota, Kentucky or Texas. A
September 2016 law already prohibits state-funded travel to Kansas,
Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.

"While the California DOJ works to protect the rights of all our people,
discriminatory laws in any part of our country send all of us several
steps back," Becerra said in a statement. "That’s why when California
said we would not tolerate discrimination against LGBTQ members of our
community, we meant it."

The state travel ban went into effect on Jan. 1 in response to the
anti-LGBTQ "bathroom bill" passed by North Carolina in March 2016. The
law, repealed a year later in an equally controversial "compromise
bill," required people to use public restrooms corresponding to their
biological sex. Kansas, Mississippi and Tennessee had proposed similar
anti-LGBTQ legislation.

California’s travel ban allows exceptions for enforcing state laws, or
to comply with requests from the federal government to appear before
committees. The law was written to allow the addition of other states
that enact anti-LGBTQ policies.

"If other states try and pass similar laws, we will work to stop them,"
state Assemblyman Evan Low, who co-authored the measure, said in a
statement in January. "Our zero-tolerance policy says there is no room
for discrimination of any kind in California, and AB 1887 ensures that
discrimination will not be tolerated beyond our borders."

The four new states on the list have enacted legislation that the
California Department of Justice deems discriminatory. Laws in Alabama,
South Dakota and Texas could prevent same-sex couples from adopting or
fostering children. A Kentucky measure makes it possible for student
groups at public schools and colleges to turn away LGBTQ students.

The discriminatory state laws "are completely out of step with the
values that make California the vibrant economic powerhouse that it is,"
Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California, said in a statement.

Ashley Morris, organizing director of the ACLU of Northern California,
also supported the ban.

The travel ban will apply to a state for as long as any law deemed
discriminatory on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or
gender expression remains in effect, the state Department of Justice
says on its webpage. Becerra told SF Gate he wouldn’t rule out extending
the ban to more states.

(5) Canadian Parents refused adoption unless they accept accept Gender
ideology

http://www.christian.org.uk/news/parents-told-accept-gender-ideology-refused-adoption-canada/

Parents told to accept gender ideology or be refused adoption: Canada

    30 Jan 2017

Families in Ontario, Canada are being threatened by a proposed Bill
which could be used to promote gender ideology in the home.

The "Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act" is being pushed
through by Ontario’s Premier Kathleen Wynne, who is herself in a
same-sex marriage.

The Bill described as ‘totalitarian’ has been widely criticised since
being put forward.

Gender ideology

Critics say that under the Bill parents who oppose gender ideology may
be ruled out for adoption and fostering for not providing a home
considered ‘in the best interests of the child’.

This would encompass the notion that there are more than two sexes or
that someone can be ‘trapped in the wrong body’.

Jeff Gunnarson, Vice President of Campaign Life Coalition, said: "The
premise that banning traditionally principled Canadians from becoming
parents is in the children’s best interests is a lie that must be exposed."

He added: "This Liberal government is actually telling Canadians who
don’t believe in the theory of gender identity or the gay lifestyle:
‘You are unfit to be parents. You are second class citizens who must be
banned from adopting children.’"

State control

Gwen Landolt, Vice President of REAL Women of Canada, said the Bill is a
reflection of the gender ideology of a Premier who "doesn’t think much
of the family, who thinks the state should be in control of children,
with her sex education".

"It’s a reflection of her ideology, but not that of the rank and file
parents", she added.

The Bill also removes the religious faith in which the parents are
raising the child as a consideration for child protection services.

Instead, it instructs parents to raise their children "in accordance
with the child’s or young person’s creed, community identity and
cultural identity".

(6) Swedish PM tells priests to carry out same-sex marriages ‘or do
something else’
https://www.rt.com/viral/393867-sweden-gay-marriage-priests/

Published time: 24 Jun, 2017 13:50

Same-sex weddings have been legal in Sweden since 2009, although priests
can decline to carry out these ceremonies under the country’s marriage code.

This could now change, however, given Lofven’s recent comments about the
role of priests in Swedish society.

The prime minister indicated in an interview with a church magazine that
if a priest cannot bless a gay marriage, they should consider another
vocation.

"We Social Democrats are working to ensure all priests will consecrate
everyone, including same-sex couples," Lofven told Kyrkans Tidning magazine.

"I see parallels to the midwife who refuses to perform abortions. If you
work as a midwife you must be able to perform abortions, otherwise you
have to do something else… It is the same for priests," he said.

Official documents from the church say it "offers" both heterosexual and
homosexual marriage ceremonies. Although it is not against gay marriage,
the Church of Sweden’s official stance is that "no priest should be
obliged to officiate at the wedding of a same-sex couple."

In the interview, Lofven, who is not religious, defended the perceived
political incursion into the practice of religion, saying "the church
must stand up for human equality."

"The church will continue to play a major role, especially in times like
these with terror and refugee crisis," he added.

"The church binds society together and provides security," he added.

From: Peter Myers <petermyersaus@gmail.com> Subject: Kentucky judge
refuses to hear Gay adoption cases; Harvard’s nondiscrimination
hypocrisy To: Peter Mailstar <peter@mailstar.net>

(7) Kentucky judge refuses to hear adoption cases involving gay parents

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/05/01/as-a-matter-of-conscience-a-kentucky-judge-refuses-to-hear-adoption-cases-involving-gay-parents

As ‘a matter of conscience,’ a Kentucky judge refuses to hear adoption
cases involving gay parents

By Samantha Schmidt May 1

Judge Mitchell Nance says he won't hear anymore adoption cases that
involve gay adults.https://t.co/0LhGamWtV5

— WKYT (@WKYT) April 28, 2017

Two years after a Kentucky county clerk stirred national attention for
refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, a family court
judge in the same state announced he will no longer hear adoption cases
involving gay parents, calling his stance on the issue "a matter of
conscience."

Judge W. Mitchell Nance, who sits in Barren and Metcalfe counties in
Kentucky, issued an order Thursday saying he believes that allowing a
"practicing homosexual" to adopt would "under no circumstance" promote
the best interest of the child, he wrote in the order obtained by The
Washington Post.

The judge disqualified himself from any adoption cases involving gay
couples, citing judicial ethics codes requiring that judges recuse
themselves whenever they have a "personal bias or prejudice" concerning
a case. Nance’s "conscientious objection" to the concept of gay parents
adopting children constitutes such a bias, he argued.

The announcement garnered support from some conservative groups, while
also spurring intense criticism from some lawyers and judicial ethics
experts who viewed the blanket statement as discriminatory, and a sign
that Nance is not fit to fulfill his duties as a judge. Kentucky state
law permits gay couples to adopt children, and the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled in 2015 that all states must allow same-sex marriage.

That ruling came in four cases consolidated as Obergefell et al. v
Hodges, one of which specifically involved a couple who wanted to adopt
but was barred from doing so because Michigan banned same-sex marriage
and adoption by unmarried couples.

Nance’s recusal drew some comparisons to the case of Rowan County Clerk
Kim Davis, who was jailed after she refused in the face of multiple
court orders to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples,
saying she couldn’t issue the licenses because her name was on them, and
it violated her religious beliefs. Eventually, deputies in her office
began issuing licenses. Kentucky’s governor and General Assembly would
later remove the name of clerks from the marriage licenses.

Reached by phone Sunday night, Nance told The Post he stood by his
order, "based on the law, based on my conscience," and to "minimize any
disruption in the litigation," he said. He declined to comment further
on the order or calls from the public for him to resign. But he gave no
indication that he would be stepping down.

Nance told the Glasgow Daily Times he issued the order so there wouldn’t
be a lag if an adoption case was filed in his court concerning adoption
by gay parents. Because Nance’s court, the 43rd Circuit Court, has two
divisions, the judge of the other division will hear any adoption cases
affected by Nance’s recusal. Gay parents seeking to adopt a child in the
affected counties should not expect a legal delay as a result of Nance’s
decision.

"I don’t have any plans to recuse myself from any so it should not
affect the ability of any same sex couples to adopt in Barren or
Metcalfe counties," the judge of the other division, Judge John T.
Alexander, told the Glasgow Daily Times.

Charles Geyh, an Indiana University law school professor who specializes
in judicial ethics, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that by issuing
such an order, Nance could be violating his oath to uphold the law,
"which by virtue of the equal protection clause does not tolerate
discrimination on the basis of race, religion or sexual orientation," he
said.

"If he is unable to set his personal views aside and uphold the law —
not just in an isolated case, but with respect to an entire class of
litigant because he finds them odious — it leads me to wonder whether he
is able to honor his oath," Geyh said.

Chris Hartman, Kentucky Fairness Campaign director, told the Glasgow
Daily Times Nance’s decision not to hear adoption cases for gay parents
is "clear discrimination."

"And if Judge Nance can’t perform the basic functions of his job, which
are to deliver impartiality, fairness and justice to all families in his
courtroom, then he shouldn’t be a judge," Hartman said.

Yet other groups, such as the Family Foundation, a Lexington-based group
that promotes "family-first conservatism," expressed their support of
the judge’s decision to recuse himself.

"If we are going to let liberal judges write their personal biases and
prejudices into law, as we have done on issues of marriage and
sexuality," spokesman Martin Cothran said in a statement on the group’s
Facebook page, "then, in the interest of fairness, we are going to have
to allow judges with different views to at least recuse themselves from
such cases."

Cothran added that he was unaware of any state law that would require a
judge to place a child in a home with same-sex parents, prompting him to
wonder why judges were being held to such a standard.

"When adoption agencies abandon the idea that it is in the best interest
of a child to grow up with both a mother and father, people can’t expect
judges who do believe that to be forced to bow the knee," said Cothran.
"Judges have a right of conscience like everyone else."

[‘Mexican heritage’ judge bashed by Trump will oversee deported
‘dreamer’ case]

Lawyers told the Courier-Journal that Nance should now also have to
recuse himself from any legal cases involving gay people, including
divorces involving a spouse coming out as gay. Nance told the newspaper
he understands that gay and lesbian people would have reservations about
appearing before him.

Nance, who was first assigned to family court in 2004, performs
marriages, but has never been asked to marry a gay couple, he told the
Glasgow Daily Times. If he were asked, Nance said he would decline.

He told the Glasgow Daily Times he could recall being assigned to two
adoption cases involving gay parents, including one from which he
recused himself several years ago. About two to three months ago, Nance
was assigned to a case in Metcalfe County involving a same-sex couple
seeking to adopt. Nance said he ruled in favor of the parents, but
decided then he should take action to recuse himself permanently from
hearing such cases.

"It made the matter come to my awareness more directly, I would say,"
Nance told the Glasgow Daily Times. "I felt it would be more prudent to
go ahead and address it," he said.

(8) Harvard discriminates against Male Clubs
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/harvards-nondiscrimination-hypocrisy/2017/04/21/519cff78-2540-11e7-b503-9d616bd5a305_story.html

Harvard’s nondiscrimination hypocrisy

Harry Lewis, a former dean of Harvard College, is a computer science
professor at Harvard University.

When should traditional liberal values be sacrificed to important but
narrower ends? That is the question behind Harvard University’s effort
to subordinate freedom of association and freedom of speech to a locally
fashionable form of "nondiscrimination."

Last spring, the university decided to attack the off-campus, all-male
Final Clubs by disqualifying their members from Rhodes Scholarships and
other distinctions — unless the clubs admitted women. A few of these
clubs are infamous for loud parties and drunken misbehavior. The new
strategy against them had the merit of novelty, even in the absence of
evidence that coed clubs would behave any better.

Faculty members reacted with alarm, recalling Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s
persecution of Harvard professors in the 1950s simply for belonging to a
hated organization. Students deserve a better lesson from Harvard than
an attempt to solve social problems by blackballing members of unpopular
groups.

The policy covers all "single-gender social organizations" consisting of
Harvard students, so the same sanctions would be visited on women’s
clubs, including sororities. More women than men are affected, even
though most of the women’s clubs don’t have real estate, much less
raucous parties. Hundreds of women staged a surprise protest in response.

The current rationale for punishing single-gender groups is that they
are discriminatory. Problems that the policy was initially supposed to
address — sexual assault, elitism, drunken parties — have fallen away
under scrutiny, leaving gender exclusivity as the clubs’ irreducible
sin. As a university official stated, "Our commitment to a
non-discriminatory experience is unwavering."

That invites serious thought about discrimination.

Most of the newer clubs arose as the Harvard student body became more
diverse. They come, go and change as students and social mores change.
They receive no Harvard funds. One alumnus who had been an immigrant
student on scholarship described his multiethnic, multinational
fraternity as a comforting "ragtag group of misfits." Students whose
high school classmates joined fraternities and sororities at state
universities resent the implication that doing so at Harvard makes them
shamefully discriminatory.

I asked some female students what they thought. "Well, I am in a
sorority," one said. "You can guess what I think." When I pressed her,
she icily responded, "Give me a break. I’m a math major. I am the gender
inclusivity in most of my classes. After being taught by men and
surrounded by men all day, I don’t need a lecture from Harvard about
hanging out with women at night." There is, in fact, not a single
tenured woman in the Harvard Mathematics Department.

In response to such resistance, Harvard last month delayed enforcing the
policy against women’s groups, but not men’s. The "unwavering"
institutional commitment to nondiscrimination will be implemented in a
curiously and perhaps unlawfully discriminatory manner.

Don’t students have the right to associate with whomever they want off
campus? President Drew Gilpin Faust thought not, darkly comparing
freedom-of-association arguments with the tactics Southern racists used
to preserve segregated schools.

American society still accepts single-gender institutions such as
Faust’s alma mater Bryn Mawr College, long after turning against
all-white organizations. Harvard is coed, but even at Harvard race and
gender aren’t parallel categories. Men and women are roomed separately
but ethnic groups are not intentionally segregated. Gender may be a
social construct, but when it comes to the tensions of physical
proximity, gender does have something to do with sex.

Using "nondiscrimination" as a cudgel against students’ private
associations is odiously patronizing. No similar policy applies to
Harvard faculty or staff. Even worse, Harvard will compel students
seeking scholarships and leadership positions to affirm their compliance
with the policy — to respond to a McCarthyesque "Are you or have you
ever been a member" question, under the threat of punishment for perjury.

Harvard prohibits such questions in job interviews. It is an old
authoritarian trick to compel speech and then punish lies, a trick
Harvard has a history of resisting. For decades, Massachusetts teachers
had to swear their loyalty to the Constitution — until MIT and Harvard
professors refused in the 1960s and the law was overturned.

Could Harvard today require oaths about club memberships but resist if
the government required students to swear that they are lawfully on U.S.
soil?

In civil society, freedom of association is built into the Bill of
Rights because the state does not always know what is best for
individuals. It is an expression of American confidence that even when
authorities disapprove, the energy of heterodox private associations
improves society in the long run. And freedom of speech includes the
freedom not to be compelled to speak.

Ironically, Harvard is now in the process of writing a reference to the
Puritans out of its alma mater — to update the anthem "for the 21st
century" — even as it reasserts their practice of harsh, intrusive
judgments on private lives. A backlash is arising against this
institutional overreach. Students, faculty and alumni are marshaling
venerable liberal values — freedom of thought, of association and of
speech — against a twisted new nondiscrimination orthodoxy.

(9) Google renames Margaret Court tennis arena after her anti-Gay comments

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-08/google-prematurely-renames-margaret-court-arena/8600168

Margaret Court Arena prematurely renamed to Evonne Goolagong Arena in
Google Maps By Jon Healy

The calls for Margaret Court Arena to be renamed appear to have been
heeded by Google, albeit slightly prematurely.

The tennis legend has come under fire for a host of recent comments
surrounding homosexuality, primarily for saying she planned to boycott
Qantas for its support of same-sex marriage.

That prompted fellow tennis star Martina Navratilova to write an open
letter in Fairfax Media calling for, among other things, Margaret Court
Arena to be renamed to remove all traces of the 64-time major winner.

"I think the Evonne Goolagong Arena has a great ring to it," Navratilova
wrote.

"Now there is a person we can all celebrate. On every level."

Well, on Thursday it looked like Google had jumped the gun, with their
maps displaying the new moniker. Evonne Goolagong Arena Photo: Someone
should probably let Evonne Goolagong know she has a court named in her
honour. (Supplied: Google)

Court need not worry, though, as a quick click into Melbourne's famed
tennis precinct changed the court back to its regular name. Margaret
Court Arena Photo: Court's name has not been completely erased on Google
Maps. (Supplied: Google)

By the afternoon, Google had fixed the problem.

A spokesperson for Google said the organisation's use of "a wide range
of sources, including third-party providers, public sources, and user
contributions" helped make their maps all-encompassing, but there was a
trade-off.

"We recognise that there may be occasional inaccuracies that could arise
from any of those sources," the spokesperson said.

But calls for the change to become a reality are growing louder. More on
Court:

Aussie doubles star Casey Dellacqua opens up on life as a mother in a
same-sex relationship Margaret Court tennis academy 'targeted with
abuse' after same-sex marriage comments The Conversation — Note to
Margaret Court: Don't read the Bible that literally Stosur clarifies
comments after Australian Open boycott confusion Margaret Court Arena
furore could spark scheduling chaos, Andy Murray says

After Navratilova's letter, Tennis Australia (TA) released a statement
saying Court was unmatched as a player, but her personal views were out
of line with TA's "values of equality, inclusion and diversity".

There was some discussion around a boycott of the second-biggest stage
at the Australian Open after Samantha Stosur said "[we will see] who
wants to play on Margaret Court Arena and who doesn't".

Since then, the 'Rename the Margaret Court Arena the Evonne Goolagong
Arena' petition on Change.org has garnered more than 8,500 supporters.

"We think it is unsuitable for your arena to continue to be named in
honour of someone who has been consistently outspoken about her
opposition to equality, diversity and inclusion," the blurb reads.

"Evonne Goolagong, who was Australian of the year in 1971, is also a
great Australian tennis champion. She has a reputation for generosity
and inclusiveness. She is a far more suitable candidate for the official
name of your stadium."

(10) Top Gear gay joke

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/38442533/richard-hammond-is-criticised-for-gay-ice-cream-joke-on-amazon-show-the-grand-tour

Richard Hammond is criticised for gay ice cream joke on Amazon show, The
Grand Tour

27 Dec 2016

TV presenter Richard Hammond has been criticised after making a joke
about eating ice cream being gay.

He was responding to a comment made by Jeremy Clarkson on The Grand Tour.

Talking to an audience, co-host Clarkson points at a photo of a Volvo's
interior and says: "The only problem is that in one of those, you
couldn't enjoy a chocolate Magnum ice cream."

Richard Hammond replied: "It's all right, I don't eat ice cream. It's
something to do with being straight." More related stories George
Michael How I featured on a George Michael song This is a photo of a
stack of Christmas gifts. What your Christmas behaviour say about you
People in the barber shop 2016 viewed from the barber's chair

After the audience on the Amazon Prime show applauded, Jeremy Clarkson
asks: "Why are you applauding him? What do you mean? You're saying all
children are homosexual?"

Richard Hammond replies: "What? What? Ice cream is a bit - you know...
There's nothing wrong with it, but a grown man eating an ice cream -
it's that way, rather than that way.

"I'm right. I can't believe you can't see that. It's easy. It's in front
of you."

But Twitter users aren't happy about the comments.

Years & Years singer Olly Alexander made a joke about it while others
people went further.

LGBT campaigner, Peter Tatchell, has also criticised Richard Hammond.

Speaking on BBC 5 Live Daily, he's told Adrian Chiles that he thinks the
comments "pander to prejudice".

"It's a perverse world when everyday pleasures like ice cream becomes
the butt of homophobic innuendo," he said.

"That Richard Hammond thinks he needs to boast about his heterosexuality
is weird and it will get people wondering, 'Why? Why is he saying that?'
Jeremy Clarkson Image caption Jeremy Clarkson asked the audience why
they were applauding Richard Hammond

"His pandering to prejudice is bad enough, of course. But the audience
applause that he got makes it even worse, and I think it shows that we
still have some way to go to end bigoted banter."

There's no word yet from Richard Hammond or the producers of The Grand Tour.

The comments were made on the sixth episode of the Amazon Prime show,
which was called Happy Finnish Christmas.

It was released on 23 December.

A spokesman for LGBT equality charity Stonewall said: "Hammond's choice
of words were not just ridiculous, but chosen purposefully to mock and
belittle.

"This is the sort of childish language heard in playgrounds across Britain.

"Stonewall trains teachers to tackle homophobic, biphobic and
transphobic slurs like these, so to hear this sort of language on
television is extremely disappointing and sends the wrong message to
young people."

In the same episode Richard Hammond also takes a dig at the Top Gear
scene filmed at the Cenotaph in central London earlier this year.

Driving a Mustang on a tour of the city, he says: "That is the Cenotaph,
where we remember those who died fighting for us. Slow down a bit here,
show some respect." Mustang going past the Cenotaph

The BBC show, formerly fronted by The Grand Tour's Richard Hammond,
Jeremy Clarkson and James May, was criticised after new host Matt
LeBlanc and a professional driver performed "doughnuts" near the war
memorial. Matt Leblanc takes part in filming for the new BBC Top Gear
series near Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, on 13 March 2016

Former co-host Chris Evans apologised for the stunt, and said he and the
crew were "mortified".