Free Amer Jubran Action Alert/Update: Petition Drive + NLG Calls for Release of Amer Jubran

***Please forward widely***

5/30  ACTION ALERT AND UPDATE

1) Petition Drive to Release Amer Jubran: Sign the Petition, Spread the Word Now!

2) National Lawyers Guild Calls for Release of Amer Jubran, Detained in Jordan


Friends, 

June 5th will mark 1 month that Amer Jubran has been detained in Jordan without charge or legal 
counsel. 

Hundreds of people from all over the world have joined the call for Amer's release including several 
local state representatives, a senator, and the National Lawyers Guild
http://nlginternational.org/news/article.php?nid=594 
(see NLG statement below). 
Thank you for your support!
 
We still need your help! We are planning to present the petition demanding Amer's release to the 
Jordanian Embassy in Washington, DC soon. Help us show the Embassy and the Jordanian government 


that there is popular support for Amer's immediate release. 

Please follow these action steps now: 
 
***1) Sign the petition to free him online (**you only need to list your name, nothing else is required
 and you do not need to join a list or a petition site to do it-- it takes a minute!***) and please forward


 the petition to all your contacts. This petition will be presented to the Jordanian Embassy in Washington, 
DC. You can sign it at: 
http://freeamerpetition.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/petition/

2) Forward this e-mail and all action calls to your lists. 

3) Share this facebook page with friends: 
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Amer-Jubran/754671091222315#

4) Join the Update list (low volume) for action calls: 
http://mail.amerjubrandefense.org/mailman/listinfo/free_amer_amerjubrandefense.org

For more information on the case of Amer Jubran, please see: 
http://freeamer.wordpress.com/

Thank you again for your support of Amer!

Amer Jubran Defense

National Lawyers Guild Palestine Subcommittee calls for release of Amer Jubran, detained in Jordan

The Palestine Subcommittee of the National Lawyers Guild expresses its grave concern for Jordanian national, Palestinian Amer Jubran who was detained on May 5th, 2014 in Amman, Jordan.

It is our understanding that Jubran has not been charged with any crime and has had no access to a lawyer. Jubran is an internationally recognized and respected speaker, activist and writer on Palestinian human rights, and a critic of the U.S./Israeli occupation of the region. Having already been targeted by the US government for his political speech while a legal resident of the US in 2004, Jubran’s current detention raises concerns that this is a political arrest aimed at silencing dissent and suggests cooperation between Jordanian authorities, the United States and Israel in suppressing criticism of US and Israeli policies.

Jordan is a signatory party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 9 of the ICCPR prohibits arbitrary arrest or detention, and requires that deprivation of liberty, even if legally sanctioned, must be necessary and reasonable, predictable, and proportional to the reasons for arrest. Article 19 (2) of the ICCPR guarantees the right to freedom of expression, including "freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice."

The United Nations Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights has advised that Jordan should end its current practice of administrative detention. Furthermore, Jordan’s penal code has still not been amended to comply with its 2011 guarantees to strengthen constitutional free speech. Jordan proclaims that it is undergoing democratic reforms and respecting civil liberties, claiming to have accepted a number of Amnesty International’s recommendations to limit the use and duration of administrative detention, and to ensure that all detainees are brought before an independent judicial authority promptly after arrest and charged, or else promptly released. However, Jordan’s use of arbitrary arrest and administration detention aimed to limit freedom of speech continues to be criticized in ongoing reports by international human rights organizations.

Friends and colleagues of Jubran have repeatedly contacted the Jordanian Embassy in the United States and the Ministry of the Interior in Jordan. They have been told that Jubran’s detention will be looked into, but no further information has been forthcoming.

The Palestine Subcommittee of the National Lawyers Guild urges compliance with internationally recognized standards of due process and the right to freedom of expression.

We expect

• the prompt release of Jubran, if he is not to be charged;
• access to an attorney of his choosing;
• the prompt setting of a reasonable bail if he is charged;
• visitation with his family;
• consultation with health care professionals;
• the immediate release of information regarding his whereabouts and condition;
• and an immediate explanation of why he has been held since May 5, 2014.

SIGN THE JERICHO COINTELPRO PETITION!

Free All Political Prisoners!
• www.jerichony.org

First American Banned from Internet: Rev. Pinkney

“We have, as far as possible, closed every avenue by which light may enter [slaves'] minds. If we could extinguish the capacity to see the light, our work would be complete; they would then be on a level with the beasts of the field, and we should be safe.” - Henry Berry addressing Virginia House of Delegates, 1832.

The Internet is important for marketing products and services, and it is convenient for dissemination of information that politicians want released. The downside for the corporate government structure is that human rights advocates also use the Internet to air news and voice opinions that are not considered beneficial to the "status quo," which is elite white supremacy. Among other things, online activists object to wars, environmental destruction, mass incarceration, racism and class consciousness in the justice system, and the destruction of citizens' rights supposedly for increased security.

Before the Internet, freedom of press was not a widely used right. Until recently, elitists could contain certain news by simply placing a call to owners of mainstream media companies. Controlling news reports made it possible to largely control public opinion. That day is gone now that hundreds of thousands of individuals have made of themselves news reporters through video uploads, blogs, and independent news companies online. Some people use the Internet to release a single video depicting overuse of force by police, and others galvanize tens of thousands of people around a cause. Along with increased use has come increased attacks against the First Amendment rights that Americans have. In fact, an activist minister from Michigan has apparently become the first person in history to be banned from using the Internet - the Reverend Edward Pinkney.

Rev. Pinkney has not been convicted of any crime whatsoever, but a gag order was issued forbidding him from using the Internet. His wife Dorothy has not even been accused of any crime, but she is forbidden from using the Internet in their home. No person who has been convicted using the Internet for cyber stalking, child pornography, or bank fraud has ever been banned from using the Internet, but Rev. Pinkney, who is accused of election fraud, was ordered to refrain from going online for any reason.

Rev. Pinkney sponsored a recall petition against the mayor of Benton Harbor, Michigan that gathered sufficient signatures. The recall petition has been more rigorously investigated than murders of young black men whose bodies are continually found in that area. Armed police officers went door to door interviewing petitioners and asking exactly what day (as much as six months before) they signed the petition. The rigorous investigation led to criminal charges against Pinkney. When he went to the hearing connected with this matter, a gag order was instituted that completely blocks him from using the Internet, although the petition for recall of the mayor did not collect online signatures.

Rev. Pinkney's gag order was probably instituted to prevent success of his following initiatives:
1) the annual OCCUPY the PGA demonstration, protesting the sale of public lands for a golf course for elitists;
2) the boycott against Whirlpool products;
3) the protest against Benton Harbor Police Department for refusing to investigate the deaths of numerous black people, which are perceived by Rev. Pinkney and others as being unrequited racial murders; and
4) the recall of elected officials who Rev. Pinkney and others perceive as being in place to represent corporation interests rather than the people of Benton Harbor.

The democratic process allows for elections and recalls of government officials. America allegedly has a government of, by and for the People. The People decide who represents them by voting for officials they choose and recalling officials as they see fit. But as Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. discussed years ago, there is a disconnect between what actually happens in America (particularly regarding black people) and what "she said on paper." Therefore, an activist minister has become the first person to be banned from using the Internet. A number of years ago, the same man was the first minister prosecuted for reciting bible verses when a judge perceived it as a terrorist threat when Rev. Pinkney quoted Deuteronomy 28.

Attorney Robin Yeamans joined this radio host on May 29 to explain how unprecedented the ban against Rev. Pinkney's Internet use is. Listen to the two(2) tapes of radio shows at the links below, IF they let you.
Tape No. 1: We spoke with Attorney Robin Yeamans regarding Rev. Pinkney's "unprecedented gag order." Listen by computer
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/realtalk1dr/2014/05/30/real-talk-for-real-solutions
The call-in number for this "Real Talk w/ the No. 1 Doctors" channel is 619.393.2837.

Tape No. 2: Dr. Jean Kennedy and Mary Neal discussed the GAG ORDER against Rev. Edward Pinkney, which is apparently an unprecedented assault on free speech. Listen at
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/nnia1/2014/05/30/enslavement-and-genocide-of-africans-and-indigenous-peoples The call-in number for National Network in Action (NNIA1) is (818) 572-2947.

The Internet allows working class and indigent people throughout the world to unite and promote or oppose whatever they choose in a way that was not possible before. Any languages can be translated by computer, making all humans able to speak "one language," as stated in Genesis 11:6. There is nothing so frightening to oppressive elitists as regular people having control over the flow of information and the ability to influence public opinion. As GOD said, united people who speak a common language can accomplish any goal.

And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. ~Genesis 11:6

Repeat of Paragraphs 1 and 2: “We have, as far as possible, closed every avenue by which light may enter [slaves'] minds. If we could extinguish the capacity to see the light, our work would be complete; they would then be on a level with the beasts of the field, and we should be safe.” - Henry Berry addressing Virginia House of Delegates, 1832.

The Internet is important for marketing products and services, and it is convenient for dissemination of information that politicians want released. The downside for the corporate government structure is that human rights advocates also use the Internet to air news and voice opinions that are not considered beneficial to the "status quo," which is elite white supremacy. Among other things, online activists object to wars, environmental destruction, mass incarceration, racism and class consciousness in the justice system, and the destruction of citizens' rights supposedly for increased security.

MaryLovesJustice Neal

MaryLovesJustice@gmail.com

http://justicegagged.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/first-american-banned-from-internet-rev.html

U.S. wrongfully convicted-The side affects of not being taught

It does not take someone that study rocket science nor any one that profess to study the affects of wrongful conviction to realize those that have been affected as the result of wrongful conviction in the United States will come out different. While it may be true that many will mature, what has not been spoken of much through media and other social media outlets is the affect of wrongful conviction. If you were to take a child or perhaps a love one and place them inside their bedroom for decades without them ever knowing if they will be released, feeding them food in which most in society view as pig slop, providing them mail that is 14 to 30 days behind, and ill preparing them to deal with the affects and responsibilities of life then one must view them as defective. IMAGINE BEING LOCKED INSIDE A STEEL CAGE. You are in this cage much as 16 to 21 hours each day if you are privileged to not be in a isolation tank commonly known as "Segregation or super max" in which those inmates are confined much as 23 hours to a cage each day. Hope for those that experience wrongful conviction often grow dim as they are forced to adopt to the adjustment of residing in total hell of psychological abuse for weeks, months, years, and decades. They sleep in hell, they wake up to hell, they experience hell. Guards are screaming at someone they view as garbage. The guards are allowed by the U.S. Government to abuse and in some cases kill should a inmate decide to stand up for their humanality. Guards are permitted to systematically harass and in some cases openly break the law toward visitors.

What does most inmates do? suck it all in. Most are deprived of their children by women that have made a choice to move on with their lives, however abandoning the inmate. Cries of loud screams filling the hallways during the night hours as some experience the affects of being deprived completely away from society. No matter how good or bad they become, they are treated as inmates. Most affected by wrongful convictions have lost as the result of death a father, mother, brother, sister, son, or daughter. Not to fail to mention that Grandfathers, Grandmothers, Uncles, Aunts, and cousins die off and in most cases fade away out of the inmates life in three to five years. None are taught how to survive, however they are reminded daily that they are inmates and will most likely die behind the wall of an U.S. prison. Men such as Rodney Reed in Texas and Jeffrey Havard in Mississippi who are on death row are often reminded as they watch the news or read a news paper that they are on death row and the State in which they are held desires them to be put to death. The anguish of wrongful conviction never fades.

While its true that over 2.3 million people are confined to U.S. prisons most are provided with an out date, with over a million that are sentenced to long term sentences, including death row inmates are not provided any rehabilitative programs that would be of benefit to them should they be deem wrongful convicted. Every week we view one or two people walking out of an U.S. prison that was innocent while some are also viewed as individuals that were sentence to excessive prison terms. They are taught in most cases by other inmates how to survive behind the walls of prison, with all confined to max security prisons never afforded with any training nor program that teach them realistic goals to receive housing nor jobs.

It is not one person that has ever stepped a foot inside a U.S. prison that has been deemed to be wrongful conviction that returned back to society without psychological scars from their incarceration. Those scars must be viewed as deep WOUNDS of psychological and emotional abuse. While confined to their cages, they were never taught how to survive outside prison settings. We view after decades of legal fights on television of men and women jumping up and down, happy to finally be released but in their minds the stress of survival. Yesterday they were treated as inmates, screamed at, some deprived of the basic functions of life while all faced with the reality they will take on a new responsibility and once again be labeled a citizen of this country. They were led to be slaughtered as the result of a citizen that either lied on them or provided false identification to authorities to imprison them. Society viewed them as criminals, society permitted their mistreatment by guards and now he or she has been finally freed to a retaliatory society that does not want to acknowledge their pain and suffering. Often most struggle to find employment. They often grow frustrated as they attempt to convince a employer they are no longer guilty, frequently carrying around news paper clippings that tell decades of suffering at the hands of the State. Many were never afforded with any opportunity to gain education, however find themselves in a less them sympathetic world that is filled with discriminatory laws. In some cases it takes weeks, and even months for someone that was in prison to gain identification. Meanwhile they have no opportunity to attempt to gain food stamps nor any assistance from the State.

The jumping around that many of you have viewed over the television of some man or woman finally freed after decades inside a prison quickly turns into anguish and frustration. Despite being exonerated, they remain to be viewed as criminals and often told if they truly did not commit that crime, they have committed other crimes, so don't feel bad about being in prison. Many become ponds to women and men through relationships and marriages, with their SPOUCE ambition to gain and to market themselves through the attention that flows from wrongful conviction. Their baby mama's or daddy's resurfacing with hidden motives that is not often seen by the person that suffered years of neglect and abuse at the hands of prison officials. The men and women having a pure desire to only be accepted and loved, however finds themselves in positions that cause them to be taken advantage of and in some cases in the worst way. Despite having psychological affects many are never provided with treatment and when they are compensated by the State they are viewed as "CITIZENS" that are often weak, that are often in position to help others but neglect the opportunity as they chase dark memories of prison life far from their reach through the gain of millions of dollars. Thousands if not millions are spent to restructure the life of someone that has been incarcerated due to wrongful conviction.

Today in the city of Chicago their are some that were wrongful convicted that received millions in compensation from the city and county who contributed to their findings of guilt, that are penniless and who sleeps under railroad tracks to survive. They are often seen by society and labeled as nut's. These were men and women that gain millions to waste it all on people that scatted like roaches when the money ran out. Their own families that felt it worthy to hung in their midst while the money was their, now finds it worthy to see to it that they reside homeless under railroad tracks or inside abandon buildings. People viewing the fact that before they they gain money they were dealing with psychological affects, but never mentioning it to their family member or friend until once the money had ran out. I love you's have turned into I hate you or that you are stupid, because they have no more money to silence the opinion of those they felt loved and cherished them.

WRONGFUL CONVICTED MEN AND WOMEN ARE NOT ON SOCIETY LEVEL

Often I must remind someone that I have suffered, that I am not on their level and cannot be on their level because the anguish of wrongful conviction comes with a price that is generally known as "psychological affects", struggle to survive, and the reality thatdecades were taken away from my life in which I will never be able to regain. Hospitals and Universities all across this country must start to invest dollars toward treating victims of wrongful conviction. Families and friends of those wrongfully convicted must start to be provided counseling and other services that can help transform the lives of people that never asked to be placed inside a U.S. prison. 

Mark A. Clements

Death Penalty - Defendant with Low IQ

Richard Dieter, Ex. Dir. of the Death Penalty Information Center, discusses the Supreme Court decision in Hall v. Florida. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that Florida could not refuse to take into account psychological factors other than an intelligence test reflecting a borderline IQ. This particular decision will probably affect only a small group of people facing the death penalty.

Escaping A Generational Curse

Chaos in his childhood home ushered Norm into a life of hard drugs. After a drug arrest, his life was dramatically changed when he was sent to a Christian based recovery center.

THE HOMELESS CHILD EXPERIMENT!

I began this film with the intent of glorifying the goodness of society after watching the video shot in a European country where everyone gave Johannes a jacket when he was cold. I did not expect to capture so much lack of empathy. We shot all day, and came out with $2.10 which was all returned. The issue is not about him "not looking homeless enough" or "people thinking he's a scam." It's about how they don't even try to look and turn a blind eye so they can go about their days. Was it too much to stop for two seconds and ask him what was up? Where his parents were? Where his sister was sleeping? Nothing. And it was truly heartbreaking. We have the opportunity to help out and take it for granted while kids in other countries are dying and have no helping hand. Where is the love?

Thank you for watching! If you enjoyed, please Subscribe by clicking here http://bit.ly/1jJ9uw1 I try to do videos every week! :D 

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Interact with me on these sites: 
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Music credited to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQKG...

for collabs, business, bookings please email: bookFOUSEY@gmail.com 

send me goodies here: PO. Box 64888 Los Angeles CA 90064

see you next week!

Snowden story becoming big $$$$

Edward Snowden is becoming a big industry. From books and action figures to comics and movies, the business of capitalizing on Snowden's now-famous story is growing. Many of the whistleblower's supporters and fellow activists are concerned, however, that this may damage the credibility of the former National Security Agency contractor's work. RT's Anastasia Churkina speaks to some of those supporters and gets their thoughts

Here's Everything Wrong With The War On Drugs

"What if you could pay the cops a bunch of money and have a felony turned into a misdemeanor? Does that sound like a good idea? It does to David Eyster, the district attorney for Mendocino County, California, who, the Los Angeles Times reports, has instituted a system that allows certain marijuana offenders to give the cops some money—$50 per pot plant and $500 per pound of product—in order to avoid prison time and get straight probation. This "restitution" program is great for the rich, but not so great if you care about people being treated equally under the law.

Eyster took over as the Mendocino DA three years ago, when the county's court system was drowning in pot cases. To reduce the clog, Eyster took a California health and safety statute meant to compensate the police for cleaning up toxic meth labs and used it to allow certain pot offenders—those who have clean records and didn't grow on public lands—to pay for what amounts to a get-out-of-jail-free card. "* The Young Turks hosts Ana Kasparian and John Iadarola break it down.

*Read more here from Lucy Steigerwald / Vice: 
http://www.vice.com/read/in-mendocino...

Anonymous - Please share this video

Loving Day Celebrations in 21 Cities Starting June 1st!

Here's the list have so far, with more to come! Keep scrolling for some highlighted events.

Our complete list and latest updates are at http://lovingday.org/find-a-celebration

Happy Loving Day, everyone!

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11th annual Loving Day Flagship Celebration in NYC 

Saturday, June 14th from 3:00 - 7:00pm

FREE BEER! Amazing DJ's! And the Kimchi Taco Truck!

Complete event info at: http://ow.ly/xnhXk

or share on Facebook: http://ow.ly/xnhYq

Please RSVP at Flavorpill! http://goo.gl/lHj7mT

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Loving Day Celebration and Discussion at Busboys and Poets

Date: Sunday June 1st - 5:00pm

Location: Busboys and Poets, 2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC

A Loving Day celebration and discussion with Ken Tanabe at a very cool cafe and event space. This event is part of the A.C.T.O.R. (A Continuing Talk on Race) open discussion series.

Learn more: http://ow.ly/xniic

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One Drop of Love - a performance by Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni

Date: Thursday, June 12th, 7:00pm

Location: Brooklyn Historical Society, 128 Pierrepont Street, Brooklyn, NY

A multimedia solo performance by Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni that incorporates performance, film, images, and animation to tell the story of how ‘race’ came to in the U.S. $20/$15 for BHS and CBBG members

 Learn more: http://eepurl.com/T4QwH

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Hapa Hotpot Loving Day Celebration with Genevieve Erin O’Brien

Date: Thursday, June 12th, 6-9pm

Location: Thank You For Coming, 3416 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Join artist-in-residence Genevieve Erin O'Brien for a dialogue about Hapa and mixed race identity and how culture, ethnicity, and race engage our sense of self, home, nostalgia, and community through food.

Learn more: http://www.thankyouforcoming.la/2014/05/3559/

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Mixed Remixed Festival

Date: June 14, 2014, 10am-9pm

Location: Japanese American National Museum, 100 N. Central Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

The Mixed Remixed Festival is an exciting new film, book and media festival celebrating stories of the Mixed experience. The Festival is planning the largest West Coast Loving Day celebration to date.

Learn more: http://www.mixedremixed.org

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And MORE!

4th Annual New Orleans Loving Festival  

New Orleans, 06/06/2014 - 6:00pm

http://bit.ly/1k2SHUk

1st Annual Loving Day Vermont  

Burlington, 06/07/2014 - 3:00pm

http://bit.ly/1tppq5Y

ASHA celebrates interracial love!  

Houston, 06/08/2014 - 12:00am

http://bit.ly/1hfvDlf

Unwind at Happy Hour (Loving Day Celebration)  

Arlington, VA, 06/12/2014 - 6:30pm

http://bit.ly/1riNzzs

Chicago 10th Annual Loving Day Celebration!  

Chicago, 06/13/2014 - 6:00pm

http://bit.ly/1mInAfN

Newark's First Annual Loving Day Celebration  

Newark, OH, 06/14/2014 - 11:00am

http://bit.ly/1gCrBTt

Loving Day Potluck Celebration  

Osaka, Japan, 06/14/2014 - 12:00pm

http://bit.ly/1hfvNsP

Loving Day Atlanta!  

Hampton, 06/14/2014 - 12:00pm

http://bit.ly/1tSdxaU

Loving Day Celebration at PBUUC  

Aldephi, MD, 06/14/2014 - 12:00pm

http://bit.ly/1hfvPkt

MASC celebrates Loving Day by participating in Mixed Remixed Festival  

Los Angeles, 06/14/2014 - 3:00pm

http://bit.ly/SSLV8s

Idaho Falls Loving Day Celebration

Idaho Falls, 06/14/2014 - 4:00pm

http://bit.ly/TW2n8B

Twin Cities Loving Day 2014  

St. Paul, 06/14/2014 - 3:00pm

http://bit.ly/1riNSud

MXDWELL Celebrates Loving Day in the Twin Cities!  

Minneapolis, 06/15/2014 - 2:00pm

http://bit.ly/1nEMKwN

Korean BBQ & Jamaican Jerk Chicken in Brooklyn  

Brooklyn, 06/15/2014 - 3:00pm

http://bit.ly/1kiy2Wz

DiversityNU Camp Out! In Georgia

Flovilla, 06/20/2014 - 1:00pm

http://bit.ly/TW1ywu

Loving Day Alabama 2014  

Birmingham, 06/21/2014 - 1:30pm

http://bit.ly/1iufpPM

Denver In Color presents... 3rd Annual Loving Day Celebration  

Denver, 06/22/2014 - 3:00pm

http://bit.ly/1pm6Az9

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Host your own Loving Day Celebration!

It's fun and easy to host your own celebration to mark the anniversary of the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision. Your event can be anything from a backyard barbecue to a Loving Day bowling night. All you need are great people, a place to meet, and something fun to do.

http://www.lovingday.org/celebrate

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Promote and share the message: Buy Loving Day Merchandise!

Get your Loving Day T-shirts and temporary tattoos! They are great conversation starters and each purchase supports Loving Day. You can also get mugs, stickers, watches, and more!!  

http://lovingday.org/store

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Share your own Loving Day Event with us: 

Let the world know about your Loving Day Celebration! Promote and invite, or just share your event. Celebration listings can be as public or private as you want - only add the information that you want to share. Make sure you login or register first.

http://lovingday.org/list-your-celebration

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Spread the word! Help us share the Loving Day Message.

There are lots of ways to spread the word about Loving Day, both online and in real life!  Check out this link to get a few ideas to get you started on talking about Loving Day! 

http://www.lovingday.org/spread-the-word

How A Science Experiment Got A Student Arrested

This is the story of Kiera Wilmot, who in her efforts to further her education, found herself caught up in the school-to-prison pipeline -- arrested for a science experiment due to unfair disciplinary policies run without reason or conscious. While Kiera was eventually allowed to return to school and will graduate from high school in June 2014, no student should have to go through what she went through just to explore her love of science.

Anonymous UK ~ Message to the UK Government June 2014

Message to the UK Government June 2014

Joe's Story

Joe was raped over three days in a California state prison by a sex offender who had also raped other gay men in the institution. During the course of those torturous days, Joe tried to ask for help, but was ignored by officers whose job it was to protect him. Luckily for Joe, the perpetrator suffered a cardiac arrest and was rushed out of the cell on the third day. Joe was able to get help from a nurse who alerted her supervisor. Once the supervisor was notified, Joe was chained nude to a chair in the dayroom. All of the other prisoners could see him until he was escorted out of the prison for a forensic exam. The first compassionate response Joe received was when he met with a rape crisis advocate at the forensic exam site. 

This is an edited clip of Joe sharing parts of his story during a conference on prison medical and mental health.

Verbal & Emotional Abuse - What victims hear from their abuser

What a victim of verbal & emotional abuse has heard through the years. You are not alone. If you are a being subjected to this type of abuse, the best book I can recommend is: "Verbal Abuse Survivors Speak Out" by Patricia Evans.

The song is by Red, called "Pieces". Please view my testimony video, under id twirling0408
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4bdB4...

Maya Angelou reading her poem "A Brave and Startling Truth"

Maya Angelou reads her poem "A Brave and Startling Truth" which she wrote in commemoration of the UN's 50th Anniversary, in 1995.


A Brave and Startling Truth

We, this people, on a small and lonely planet
Traveling through casual space
Past aloof stars, across the way of indifferent suns
To a destination where all signs tell us
It is possible and imperative that we learn
A brave and startling truth

And when we come to it
To the day of peacemaking
When we release our fingers
From fists of hostility
And allow the pure air to cool our palms

When we come to it
When the curtain falls on the minstrel show of hate
And faces sooted with scorn are scrubbed clean
When battlefields and coliseum
No longer rake our unique and particular sons and daughters
Up with the bruised and bloody grass
To lie in identical plots in foreign soil

When the rapacious storming of the churches
The screaming racket in the temples have ceased
When the pennants are waving gaily
When the banners of the world tremble
Stoutly in the good, clean breeze

When we come to it
When we let the rifles fall from our shoulders
And children dress their dolls in flags of truce
When land mines of death have been removed
And the aged can walk into evenings of peace
When religious ritual is not perfumed
By the incense of burning flesh
And childhood dreams are not kicked awake
By nightmares of abuse

When we come to it
Then we will confess that not the Pyramids
With their stones set in mysterious perfection
Nor the Gardens of Babylon
Hanging as eternal beauty
In our collective memory
Not the Grand Canyon
Kindled into delicious color
By Western sunsets

Nor the Danube, flowing its blue soul into Europe
Not the sacred peak of Mount Fuji
Stretching to the Rising Sun
Neither Father Amazon nor Mother Mississippi who, without favor,
Nurture all creatures in the depths and on the shores
These are not the only wonders of the world

When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it.