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Konnor and Viktor of the Ascension Released by WWE After 8 Years with Company – Bleacher Report

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Danzig

WWE releasedThe Ascension's Konnor and Viktor, the company announced Sunday.

Sin Cara and Luke Harper joined them in leaving the promotion. In those cases, both performers had previously requested to be released.

Konnor and Viktor last appeared in a televised match when they competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35 in April.

The Ascension still own the record for longest reign as NXT tag team champions (343 days).They beat Adrian Neville and Corey Graves in October 2013 for the belts and held the titles until suffering a defeat to The Lucha Dragons at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way in September 2014.

They made their main roster debut in November 2014, earning a win over The Miz and Damien Mizdow on Raw.

The pair have basically been stuck in tag team purgatory since then, continuing what has been a trend for duos who achieved stardom in NXT.

Whereas NXT has historically put a big emphasis on tag team wrestling, Raw and SmackDown haven't provided the division with the same luxury. As a result, former NXT tag champions have either become afterthoughts (The Revival, The Vaudevillains) or gotten broken up shortly after their arrival (American Alpha, Sanity).

The Ascension's most memorable contributions on the main roster were when they involved themselves in Breezango's "Fashion Files" backstage segments.

Getting released by WWE will allow Konnor and Viktor to start booking independent dates together or go in separate directions.

Konnor and Viktor of the Ascension Released by WWE After 8 Years with Company - Bleacher Report

Ascension partners with GBR Food Bank for free food distribution – Weekly Citizen

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Danzig

ThursdayDec12,2019at11:26AM

Ascension Mobile is scheduled for Thursday, December 19, 2019, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., at the Lemann Center Pavilion, 2162 Thibaut Drive, Donaldsonville.

Ascension Parish President Kenny Matassa announced today that parish government will partner with the Greater Baton Rouge Food bank for a free food distribution.

Ascension Mobile, as the program is called, will provide enough food to serve 400 families. The distribution is not based on need, and will be first come-first served. The only requirement to receive the distribution is to be a resident of Ascension Parish. Those seeking a food distribution should be prepared to show proof of residency.

Ascension Mobile is scheduled for Thursday, December 19, 2019, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m., at the Lemann Center Pavilion, 2162 Thibaut Drive, Donaldsonville.

The mobile will be conducted as a drive through; participants do not get out of their vehicles. From Marchand Drive (Highway 3089), drivers should turn onto Church Street, take a right onto Clay Street, and be routed through the Lemann Center parking lot. From the Lemann lot, cars will be directed to the Pavilion.

Only one distribution per car is allowed; multiple families in one vehicle will be served only once. When cars reach the distribution point, the product will be loaded in the vehicle for them.

For more information, contact the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank at 225-359-9940.

Contributed by Ascension Parish Government

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Ascension partners with GBR Food Bank for free food distribution - Weekly Citizen

The Ascension of Justin Hamilton to Defensive Coordinator – 247Sports

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Danzig

(Photo: Scooter Waller, 247Sports)

On Sunday, Virginia Tech appointed former Safeties Coach Justin Hamilton to the role of Defensive Coordinator. His ascension through the program is quite remarkable, as he reaches the highest defensive position title after two years at the university.

Playing Career

Hamilton, a former Virginia Tech player, played at the University until 2005. He played wide receiver, tailback and safety, recording three touchdown rushes, a touchdown catch and three interceptions in his career as a multi-position player.

He was selected in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns in the seventh round. He played as a rookie but missed the next season due to injury and was waived. He jumped to the Washington Redskins, but only lasted until October 14 of the 2008 season. His NFL career would be over after two seasons.

Coaching Career

Following his playing career, Hamilton moved to University of Virginia - Wise. He served as the defensive coordinator. He then moved to VMI where he coached outside linebackers from 2014-2017.

He re-joined his Alma Mater nearly 12-years following his playing days. He joined as the Director of Plyaer Personnel in 2018. The next season he was appointed Safeties Coach, replacing Tyrone Nix.

Now in 2019, two years after joining the staff, Justin Hamilton has become the next Defensive Coordinator after Bud Foster.

Justin Fuente weighed in on the decision:

"Justin has earned this opportunity to lead our defense and our football team," Fuente said. "Everyone in our program has a great deal of respect for him and his abilities. Coach Foster has reiterated to me on several occasions that Justin is ready for this next step in his coaching career. I feel the same way and am convinced he's exactly the right fit for this role at Virginia Tech. Coach Hamilton is a talented coach and recruiter with a deep passion for both the game and Virginia Tech. He possesses a great knack for connecting with our players. His voice carries tremendous weight on the field and in the locker room because he's worn that helmet and experienced many of the same things the young men in our program are going through."

Bud Foster also chimed in on the decision:

"I couldn't think of anyone better to continue our tradition of Virginia Tech defense than Justin Hamilton," Foster said. "Justin embodied our team-first mentality as a player and did anything and everything we ever asked of him. He was a gritty player and he's exactly the same way as a coach. He's fought and competed for every opportunity he's earned in the coaching profession and I respect the way he's approached it from day one. When we brought Justin back to Virginia Tech, in the back of my head I was hoping that I could help groom him to someday become a defensive coordinator. While I didn't know when or where that opportunity might come, I'm thrilled that it's happened for him at Virginia Tech. "When Coach Fuente asked whether Coach Hamilton was ready, my answer was, 'Absolutely, he's ready. He's a guy who will evolve, learn and get better from every experience,'" Foster continued. "I know Coach Fuente didn't have to ask my opinion, but when he did it just confirmed what we were both already thinking, that we had the right man already in the building to carry the torch for the Lunch Pail Defense. I couldn't be more proud of Justin and I'll continue supporting him and the Hokies in any way I can in my new role away from the field."

Early treatment can reduce hernia complications – WTHR

Posted on December 13, 2019 by Danzig

INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - If you've had a hernia, you know they can be painful.

This month's Check Up 13 gives you a chance to have a free check with your doctor if you have or think you might have a hernia.

A hernia is a weak spot in the muscle or tissue. Doctors say patients tend to procrastinate getting a repair and don't realize hernias don't go away. Untreated, they can lead to complications.

"In general, as you get them to progress, they will progress to larger hernias which are more difficult to fix, which are more likely to have complications associated with it and are more likely to come back," said Ascension St. Vincent surgeon Dr. Paul Szotek.

Some people are born with hernias, others see them develop over time after surgery, pregnancy, overexertion or weight gain.

An overwhelming majority of hernia cases are in men like Ralph Hutcheson. He had his first hernia 20 years ago and said he learned an important lesson.

"Don't wait. It's never going to get better, it can only get worse," the 76-year-old said.

When his second hernia developed on the other side of his body, Hutcheson went to see the doctor right away. He knew that if he waited, the hernia could get bigger and cause complications.

His surgeon used the newer robotic surgery for his repair. He was amazed at the improved recovery time.

"Seven days out, feeling good," he said.

If you are 18 or older and you'd like to talk with medical staff about your hernia concerns, you can do so, free of charge, courtesy of Check Up 13 and Ascension St. Vincent.

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Early treatment can reduce hernia complications - WTHR

Amnesty International Canada Questions Freedom of Speech and Assembly – Reason

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

On November 20, a pro-Israel group at York University hosted an event entitled "Reservists on Duty: Hear from former Israeli Defence Force soldiers." Various leftist campus groups vowed to shut the event down. They didn't, thanks to a heavy police presence, but they did disrupt the event while shouting anti-Israel and pro-terrorism slogans; a few lovely individuals chanted to the organizers, "Intifada, Intifada, go back to the ovens." Scuffles between protesters seeking to block entrance to the event and attendees often broke out; contemporary news sources almost universally attribute blame for the violence to the protesters.

Amnesty Canada has now weighed in with an extraordinary letter to York University's president. If you think Amnesty spoke up in favor of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and against violence and disruption by protesters, well, you haven't been paying attention to how groups that used to believe in human rights have evolved into far leftist activist groups with a particular obsession with hating Israel (my bolding):

Amnesty International is writing this Open Letter to request that you convene an independent review into all concerns associated with the "Reservists on Duty: Hear from former Israeli Defence Force soldiers" event, organized by the Herut Zionism Club at York University on November 20, 2019.

As you know, this controversial event was met with protests which descended into violent confrontations outside the venue. It was clearly foreseeable that there would be controversy and protest, given the history of human rights violations committed by Israeli Defence Force soldiers amidst the illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territories. That was exacerbated by the fact that members of the Jewish Defense League, a far-right group classified as a terrorist organization in the U.S. and with a record of violence and assaults at protests, were allowed on campus.

Amnesty International has an active and dynamic student group at York University that works on a range of campaigns, including our serious concerns about widespread and longstanding human rights violations associated with Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Territories. The group brings a positive voice for human rights to York, in keeping with the university's encouragement of student agency and leadership. They actively defend and promote universal human rights protection for all people, including the freedoms of speech, expression and assembly and the obligation to condemn war crimes occurring anywhere in the world.

While Amnesty International at York had no official presence at the protest, a number of our members chose to participate in an individual capacity, as is clearly their right. We are very troubled to learn that some members were physically assaulted during the confrontations that occurred and have been receiving threatening messages on their cell phones. They are now fearful when they are on campus and have taken to limiting their movements, staying in groups, and ensuring that there are safe spaces to study in security.

It is evident that the considerable confusion, tension and fear associated with the November 20th event and its aftermath lingers. That is clear from the number and nature of statements and resolutions that have been issued by various student groups on campus. We have noted from your statement on November 21st that you have taken two steps in response, namely: (1) tasking the Vice President of Equity, People and Culture and your Division of Students to take the lead in developing a strategy for "fostering a more productive dialogue around these issues"; and (2) the launch of an upcoming Freedom of Speech Working Group to "make specific recommendations on how to create a more respectful climate on campus for the discussion of difficult topics."

Given conflicting views about what happened that evening, the worrying ongoing impact on students at York and the important human rights considerations that are at stake, Amnesty International urges York University to go further and convene an independent review of all circumstances associated with the Herut Zionism Club event and its aftermath, with a mandate that includes examination of:

considerations that were taken into account in approving the event, including the fact that the speakers were former members of a military with a clear record of responsibility for war crimes and other serious human rights violations;

decisions made with respect to the presence of members of the Jewish Defense League on campus;

Note: (1) Amnesty does not condemn the disruption and antisemitic remarks made at the event; (2) Amnesty is apparently taking the position that anyone who has ever served in the Israeli armed forces should be treated as a presumptive war criminal [as the spouse of an IDF veteran, you can stick it where the sun don't shine, Amnesty]; (3) Amnesty suggests that hosting a pro-Israel event is inviting violence and disruption, and the university should therefore consider whether it was appropriate to allow such an event to proceed; and (4) Amnesty suggests that a public university should be screening members of the public for their political affiliations before they should be allowed to

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Amnesty International Canada Questions Freedom of Speech and Assembly - Reason

CoE urges Azerbaijan to respect freedom of expression, support IDPs – Emerging Europe

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

No progress has been made in Azerbaijan regarding the protection of freedom of expression, since local journalists and social media activists, who express dissent or criticism of the authorities, are continuously deprived of their liberty on a variety of questionable charges, Dunja Mijatovi, the commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, the continents leading human rights organisation, has said.

In a report published after Mrs Mijatovis recent visit to the country, the CoE human rights commissioner called on the authorities to release all those detained because of the views they expressed and to fully implement several judgments of the European Court of Human Rights relating to arbitrary restrictions of freedom of expression.

Mrs Mijatovi expressed doubts regarding the lawfulness of travel bans imposed on dozens of journalists, lawyers, political activists and human rights defenders, stressing that authorities must refrain from imposing arbitrary or disproportionate travel bans. She also recommended decriminalising defamation and bringing legislation and practice affecting Azerbaijans internet freedom in line with European standards.

The commissioner said that there was an acute shortage of lawyers in Azerbaijan, in particular in regions outside the capital Baku, which prevents many people from having access to legal assistance and representation. However, she noted the several steps which have been taken by the authorities and the Bar Association, a local NGO, to increase the number of lawyers.

The authorities should adopt a law on legal aid in line with Council of Europe standards and ensure that all persons effectively enjoy the right to legal assistance, she said, adding that the use of disciplinary sanctions against lawyers remains a serious concern.

While the commissioner commended the Azerbaijani governments actions to help people displaced over the countrys unresolved conflict with Armenia in Nagorno Karabakh, she warned that many internationally displaced persons (IDPs) are not provided with proper living places, with many of them living dormitories and collective centres.

The authorities should further enhance IDPs access to all economic and social rights, in particular the right to adequate housing and the right to employment she pointed out, recommending the Azerbaijani government to allow IDPs participation in municipal elections.

Photo: Council of Europe

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CoE urges Azerbaijan to respect freedom of expression, support IDPs - Emerging Europe

Lebron and student athletes alike deserve freedom to speak – The Tide

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

Fight for Freedom, stand with Hong Kong. These seven words well phrase the voices of pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters and symbolize the current uprise in the United States. It all started on Oct. 4, when American sports executive and general manager of the Houston Rockets of the NBA Daryl Morey uploaded a tweet concerning his support for the pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters. This tweet led the NBA into an international feud with China, as Chinese businesses withdrew finance support from their joint ventures with the league and initiated a media boycott of the NBA.

The nightmare continued, this time affecting the opposite spectrum, when basketball player LeBron James criticized Daryl Moreys recent tweet, claiming that Morey was misinformed and that his tweet could have potentially harmed the NBA teams that were playing in China. LeBrons tweet brought upon another uproar, as pro-democracy Hong Kong protesters stomped on and burned James jerseys, indicating a disapproval on his beliefs. The issue has since simmered down, but the debate on athletes freedom of speech remains.

In the U.S., freedom of speech is a right that is ensured to every individual. Especially in the 21st century, a denial of freedom of speech would not only be absurd but also questionable in the context of the Constitution and the democratic stance of the U.S. On the other hand, its important to acknowledge that freedom of speech comes with responsibilities and at times inalienable consequences. I think in any situation, if you want to exercise that right and speak freely on issues that may or may not be controversial, then you should do so understanding the consequences, RMs Athletic Director Jon Freda said, I know theres a big thing that athletes should just shut up and play their sport; I dont agree with that.

There are situations and times where we should be aware of how our speech may affect the opponent and there is without a doubt a certain ethical line that should be kept despite of freedom of speech. However, whether it be athlete, teacher, student or child, we should not be suppressed in expressing our beliefs. We live in a democracy, and under the Constitution and the Amendments everyone has the freedom of speech. I dont think just because of a career choice you should be restricted. I think athletes especially should watch out about what they say, because of where they are and how many people are watching them literally all the time. I dont think they should not be able to comment about other things besides sports, senior Naimah Lewis said.

At such sensitive times, its important to acknowledge the pros and cons of sports becoming intertwined with international issues. Athletes have the unique advantage of having a platform where they are able to advocate for issues they are passionate about and send out messages much faster than the everyday citizen. I think sports is a great way to bring people together, especially over national borders, but I think people have to recognize that they are two separate things. Usually NBA players get pulled from high school or college, so while their life knowledge is of a 30 year old, they dont necessarily know what to say all the time because they didnt get that from school, when they should speak out and how to voice our their opinions, Lewis said.

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Lebron and student athletes alike deserve freedom to speak - The Tide

Fox host lambasts Trump over ‘most sustained assault on press freedom in US history’ – The Guardian

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

A leading host on Fox News, a conservative network notorious for its loyalty to the White House, has lambasted Donald Trump for mounting the most direct attack on press freedom in American history.

Chris Wallace, widely admired for breaking ranks from Fox colleagues by putting tough questions to administration officials, delivered his most stinging critique yet of the US president at an event celebrating the first amendment.

I believe that President Trump is engaged in the most direct sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history, Wallace said to applause at the Newseum, a media museum in Washington, on Wednesday night.

He has done everything he can to undercut the media, to try and delegitimise us, and I think his purpose is clear: to raise doubts when we report critically about him and his administration that we can be trusted. Back in 2017, he tweeted something that said far more about him than it did about us: The fake news media is not my enemy. It is the enemy of the American people.

Wallace recalled that retired admiral Bill McRaven, a navy Seal for 37 years, had described Trumps sentiment as maybe the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime because, unlike even the Soviet Union or Islamic terrorism, it undermines the US constitution.

The veteran broadcaster added: Lets be honest, the presidents attacks have done some damage. A Freedom Forum Institute poll, associated here with the Newseum, this year found that 29% of Americans, almost a third of all of us, think the first amendment goes too far. And 77%, three quarters, say that fake news is a serious threat to our democracy.

Wallace is a rare dissenting voice at the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News, where opinion hosts such as Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham are fiercely pro-Trump. Longtime anchor Shep Smith, who was also praised for his independence, stepped down in October and warned that intimidation and vilification of the press is now a global phenomenon. We dont have to look far for evidence of that.

Wallace, son of distinguished journalist Mike Wallace, conducts some of the sharpest grillings of any of Americas long running Sunday politics shows. When he recently took House minority whip Steve Scalise to task, Trump responded with a tweet that called Wallace nasty and obnoxious.

But at Wednesdays event, a farewell to the Newseum which is closing down after nearly 12 years at its current location, Wallace also warned the media against overreach. I think many of our colleagues see the presidents attacks, his constant bashing of the media as a rationale, as an excuse to cross the line themselves, to push back, and that is a big mistake, he said.

I see it all the time on the front page of major newspapers and the lead of the evening news: fact mixed with opinion, buzzwords like bombshell and scandal. The animus of the reporter and the editor as plain to see as the headline.

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Fox host lambasts Trump over 'most sustained assault on press freedom in US history' - The Guardian

Bethlehem Catholic girls basketball shakes off early nerves in win over Freedom – lehighvalleylive.com

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

The girls basketball season just tipped off this past weekend.

Bethlehem Catholics matchup with Freedom, however, had the atmosphere and nerves of a postseason game.

The Golden Hawks overcame a slow start to defeat the Patriots 61-48 at home on Tuesday night to improve to 2-0 this season.

Give (Freedom) credit, they came out and played great defense. I think the pregame jitters here made it rough early on, Bethlehem Catholic coach Jose Medina said. Credit to our girls, we brought the defense today, too, and thats what kept us in the game.

Good defense inside and the 3-point shooting of guard Kailey Turpening helped the Patriots, ranked No. 2 by lehighvalleylive, sprint out to a 13-6 lead in the first quarter. The sophomore connected on three shots from beyond the arc while Bethlehem Catholic, ranked No. 1, scored just twice from the field in the opening 8 minutes.

We came alive after the first quarter we just said, We need to lock up on defense. Thats our culture here; defense creates offense, senior Taliyah Medina said. During the course of the game, we switched up the defense a lot. We went 2-3; we went 3-2; we were just trying to keep Freedom on their toes.

While the commitment to the zone defense helped the Golden Hawks hold Freedom to just four points in the second quarter, Kourtney Wilsons perimeter shooting provided a much-needed spark to their offense.

The sophomore guard scored seven points to help Bethlehem Catholic go on a 9-2 run in the final 90 seconds of the first half.

We couldnt really play our game in the beginning, but I think that was because of how nervous we were, Wilson said. I felt like once one person could get a shot off, that pushes all of us to keep going and get more. I think it was a turning point because we were cold in the beginning. Once we got hot, thats when we kept going ... We just have this fire; once it sparks you cant put it out.

Freedom scored 10 of its 15 points in the third quarter at the foul line and trailed 40-32 headed into the final period, before Wilson once again ignited Bethlehem Catholics offense.

Wilson hit a 3-pointer just 12 seconds into the final quarter and scored nine points as the Golden Hawks opened the fourth on a 14-2 run that clinched the win.

Kourtney is a great kid. She puts in a lot of work, Jose Medina said. She was patient on offense and the shots came to her. When she found the opportunities, she did a good job knocking down open shots.

Wilson paced Bethlehem Catholic with 19 points and Taliyah Medina added 14, including nine in the third quarter.

Kourtney shot great tonight. I know my shot was off at the beginning, Taliyah Medina said. Were not selfish here. We know if someone is not on, then someone else is and were going to keep feeding them the ball.

Turpening led Freedom with 21 points, while going 8 of 9 from the foul line. Senior Jennifer Kokolus finished with 11 points.

Desmond Boyle may be reached at dboyle@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @DesJBoyle. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

Bethlehem Catholic girls basketball shakes off early nerves in win over Freedom - lehighvalleylive.com

How This 17-Year-Old Rapper Found Freedom In Self-Expression – Yahoo Lifestyle

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

Refinery29 is proud to partner with Target to celebrate Gen Z women who are Future Seekers: inspiring activism, challenging the status quo, and unapologetically pursuing their ambitions with excellence. For 17-year-old musician Tayahna Walcott, that means making music that unabashedly articulates her unique point of view.

Remember the semi-punk, semi-pop music genre mostly characterized by sad, quiet frontmen that was emo in the early aughts? It may be over, but Gen Z has taken it upon itself to revive the moniker for a different type of music the moody, vibey, R&B-influenced kind; the kind that makes you feel all the feels; the kind that articulates emotions we cant even begin to express in regular conversation. This is what 17-year-old Tayahna Walcott has been making for a decade.

A self-taught singer-songwriter, rapper, producer, and DJ, the New York-born-and-raised Walcott has been performing since she was 6 years old, when her mom first entered her into talent shows (which shed always win for her singing). Since then, shes performed at iconic NYC venues like the Apollo Theater and B.B. Kings Blues Club, released an EP called In The Meantime along with a slew of singles, and racked up 26,000 Instagram followers who are always asking for more music.

But Walcott isnt chasing fame instead, what she cares about most is projecting her most authentic self (a growing pursuit for her generation, which is largely pivoting away from fabricated social media personas in favor of honest expressions of real life). For her, part of that means not glossing over her unique perspective for example, by deliberately using the pronoun she in love songs to reflect her lived reality as a queer artist.

Its my outlet. With that also comes difficulty, putting the music out, because its such a vulnerable part of me. With some of my songs, my mom is like, What happened?! Im also just hoping that people can relate to it. When you find a song that really captures your emotions, thats a really good feeling. So I hope I can do that for other people.

Walcotts influences vary widely: Her Guyanese father instilled a love of Caribbean R&B, while her British mother gave her an education in London house music. Theres also her environment (whatever it is at the time), the people she meets and interacts with, the artists dominating the streaming charts right now, as well as the musicians who were famous long before she was born.

Aside from [my parents] taste in music and their own cultures, just being surrounded by people who are open-minded and seasoned in that sense allowed me to have the space to explore different things and listen to different things and be exposed to different things. So thats really important to me my family, my culture, my heritage.

Walcotts music is both incredibly introspective and relatable. With how long do forevers last, lyrics muse on queer romance, whereas 4U recounts bitter fighting between two lovers; another, ill be down, is a more vibey track about living in the now, addressed to a girl whose relationships future is unclear. Theyre moody (emo as she says) and at times sad or, if shes in love, downright corny. Regardless of what emotion shes expressing, Walcotts tracks are a consistently unfiltered window into her mind.

I really take my time in writing meaningful lyrics and making meaningful songs, and I think thats the most important part of my music to me the authenticity, she says. Yes, there are times when Im like, Oh my gosh, I want to be rich and famous, you know, but then, especially doing things like this, I have to make sure that I dont lose myself and Im still authentic and expressive.

Walcott doesnt release a new single until she has perfected every detail of the production: lyrics, melody, beats, instrumentation, and finalizing the track. My production process is intertwined with my songwriting process; whether I start with a concept for a beat or for a song, Ill work on the beat for a little bit, hum a melody, add some more so its kind of like a puzzle. More recently Ive been playing more instruments on my tracks, rather than synthesizing sounds, so I take my time with it. I enjoy playing and figuring it out.

Beyond music, Walcotts creative self-expression also extends to another area of her life her clothing. After wearing a uniform all throughout middle school in a building that had less than 100 kids, she came face to face with almost 3,000 fellow students and no dress code at Manhattans LaGuardia High. A newfound freedom in her wardrobe coupled with a much larger group of peers meant Walcott started to really think about what personal style meant to her.

Dressing for high school is really just about asking myself, How do I want people to perceive me? Especially being queer, I felt like I needed to represent that and figure out how I could depict who I was through my clothes. But gradually it changed to more like, What makes me feel beautiful and what makes me feel comfortable? Thats been liberating and easier to pinpoint because Im not really dressing for other people. I just like what I like, and I put on what I wear. Its pretty simple.

You could say Walcott is the perfect embodiment of Gen Zs propensity for pursuing multiple skills and talents at once, but if it came down to it, shed rather simply represent herself.

I just keep things really real and really blunt with myself about my role in the world in the grand scheme of things. With everything that you do, you have to ask what is the purpose? What do I want to convey? What am I contributing back to the world that can touch people? Asking questions like that keeps me grounded and intentional, with everything that Im doing.

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How This 17-Year-Old Rapper Found Freedom In Self-Expression - Yahoo Lifestyle

European rights body urges Azerbaijan to respect freedom of expression – Reuters

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

FILE PHOTO: Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, holds a news conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia, December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo

BAKU (Reuters) - Azerbaijan needs to respect freedom of expression, improve access to lawyers and uphold the rights of internally displaced persons, the top European rights watchdog said on Wednesday.

Western nations have courted Azerbaijan because of its role as an alternative to Russia in supplying oil and gas to Europe. But various European bodies and rights groups have accused President Ilham Aliyev of muzzling dissent and jailing opponents. Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic, denies this.

Dunja Mijatovi, human rights commissioner at the 47-nation Council of Europe, called on Azeri authorities to free journalists and social media activists who had been jailed on she said were a variety of charges that defied credibility.

She said that another problem was an acute shortage of lawyers, particularly in regions outside the capital Baku, which prevented many people from getting access to legal assistance.

The authorities should adopt a law on legal aid in line with Council of Europe standards and ensure that all persons effectively enjoy the right to legal assistance, said Mijatovic, who visited Azerbaijan in July.

Azeri authorities rejected the Councils criticism, saying it contained a number of inaccuracies that failed to reflect the genuine situation of human rights in Azerbaijan.

The Council of Europe, founded in 1949 and based in Strasbourg, France, is a separate body from the European Union and so only advise member states on policy but not pass laws.

Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Mark Heinrich

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European rights body urges Azerbaijan to respect freedom of expression - Reuters

Minnesota Brothers Have Taught Firearms Safety Together for More Than 50 Years – America’s 1st Freedom

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

Photo courtesy of John Wallin.

Calvin Wallin, age 80, started volunteering to teach youth firearms safety in Pequot Lakes, Minn., in the autumn of 1969, just a few months after Apollo 11 landed on the moon. And his younger brother, John, age 78, has been teaching it with him since 1970.

In the spring after Calvins 50-year anniversary, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) honored him at an annual banquet they hold for volunteers. They later presented him with a commemorative watch. Now that John has hit the 50-year mark, hell probably receive something similar next spring. The community also honored the brothers after the most recent course, throwing a party complete with cake and banners celebrating their 50-year anniversaries.

The brothers have taught the Minnesota DNR firearms safety certification course to more than 2,000 kids since they started. Youth in the state can obtain a hunting license at age 12 once they complete this course, which requires a minimum of 12 hours of classroom learning on safe firearms handling, hunter responsibilities, and wildlife conservation. Students also complete field experience, which includes scenario-based training on a range.

While the courses name emphasizes firearms safety, the Wallins said they teach much more than that, such as water and boating safety and what to do if lost in the woods. John said the two grew up hunting and learned early the value and importance of being safe.

John told Americas 1st Freedom they make sure their young trainees understand the seriousness of the course. He tells them: This is a very important seven nights youll be spending in here, and this is your one and only warning to take it seriously. If the students are disruptive or clearly not paying attention, they dont earn their hunting license and must try again later.

The Pequot Lakes community has been very supportive of the course. A local high school hosts the class in a gathering room with tiered seats. Parents and grandparents often learn alongside the youth shooters, and Calvin said he gets a lot of thanks from students of all ages.

Its a good program, Calvin told Americas 1st Freedom. I would like it to be required to be taught in all schools, even if the person chooses never to hunt or shoot, just so they understand firearms and how to handle them.

The Wallin brothers say theyre both encouraged by how much interest young people are showing in hunting and shooting sports. For example, nearly 12,000 students participated in the states youth trap shooting program last year. Its one of the safest sports, John noted. And its something you can do if you cant do other sports.

Given their ages, Calvin and John Wallin arent sure how much longer theyll be teaching. Well just keep doing it until we can't, John said with a laugh. Others have said they want to take up the mantle, thoughincluding one Wallin nephew.

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Minnesota Brothers Have Taught Firearms Safety Together for More Than 50 Years - America's 1st Freedom

Freedom wrestling rolls to championship at Battle of Bethlehem – lehighvalleylive.com

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

Host Freedom dominated the Battle of Bethlehem Duals on Saturday.

The Patriots won five duals by 23 points or more to win the event.

Freedom defeated Honesdale 63-12 in the first-place match. The Patriots won their pool with wins over Southern Lehigh (59-15). St. Josephs Prep (66-6), Neshaminy (46-23) and Abington Heights (54-18).

Going 5-0 on the day for Freedom were Chris Horvath (106), Luis Vargas (120), Reinaldo Lebron (126/132), and Mike Gomes (145). Connor Huber (126/132) and Matt Bargardo (220/285) went 4-0.

Southern Lehigh finished seventh at the event and Bangor 10th.

Get Lehigh Valley Wrestling Insider text messages from wrestling beat writer Brad Wilson: Cut through the clutter of social media and communicate directly with Brad. Plus, news, tidbits, analysis and maybe some fun every day. Sign up now.

Brad Wilson may be reached at bwilson@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @bradwsports. Find Lehigh Valley high school sports on Facebook.

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Freedom wrestling rolls to championship at Battle of Bethlehem - lehighvalleylive.com

Hong Kong’s Struggle Against Tyranny, and Why It Matters – City Journal

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

The last time a despotic power devastated Hong Kong was during World War II. On December 8, 1941, Imperial Japanese troops poured over the hills from China, overwhelmed the main line of British colonial defenses, and took up positions on the Kowloon peninsula, across the harbor from Hong Kong Island. From there, they shelled and bombed the island, then crossed the harbor and on Christmas Day completed a subjugation of the city that lasted until 1945, when Japan lost the war and Britain retook control.

Today, the tyranny ravaging Hong Kong is that of its own sovereign master, the Peoples Republic of China. The tactics are less broadly lethal but brutal nonetheless, targeting the freedoms vital to the soul of this vibrant city. China is trying to grind down Hong Kongs democracy movement, while preserving global-facing amenities like the airport and the banking system. Its a campaign fought with propaganda, surveillance, arrests, and a local police force turned against Hong Kongs own people. Beijing has threatened Hong Kong with the abyss and cautioned that those who play with fire will perish by it. Chinas President Xi Jinping warned in October, clearly aiming at Hong Kongs protesters, that any attempt to divide China would end in crushed bodies and shattered bones.

Contrary to Chinas claims, the Hong Kong crisis is not an internal matter. It is a violation of Chinas treaty promise, after Britains 1997 handover of its former colony, that Hong Kong would be governed as an autonomous territory, entitled to all its accustomed rights and freedoms, for at least 50 yearsa promise that China dubbed one country, two systems. It is also a warning to the world of how Beijing views frees societies and what Xis China Dream of global dominance has in store for them. Hong Kong is the only enclave under Chinas flag with any freedom to speak out. At great risk, Hong Kongs people have sounded alarms about the methods and ambitions of Chinas ruling Communist Party. Americans need to understand why, in this twenty-first-century contest of values, Hong Kongs fight is our fight, too.

Hong Kong exemplifies the marvels of freedom. Built with free trade and minimal government, a haven in British colonial days for refugees fleeing Communist China, it is a mighty entrept conjured out of little more than a rocky island, a magnificent harbor, and generations of freewheeling human enterprise.

Until this year, Hong Kong figured on the world scene chiefly as a great place to do business. Home to 7.5 million people, with a large expatriate community, including more than 80,000 Americans, the city has long served as a crossroads of Asia and the main conduit for Chinas financial dealings with world markets. Via Hong Kong, foreign investors in China could rely on the legacy of British law, vastly preferable to the vagaries of Chinas Communist Party-driven system. China, in turn, could avail itself of Hong Kongs banking system and trade, leveraging to its own benefit the privileges accorded to a territory operating as part of the free world, though under Chinas flag.

At the time of the 1997 handover, many worried that China would plunder Hong Kong outright, killing the golden goose. But for more than two decades, no grand crisis materialized. Yes, Beijing was leaching away Hong Kongs freedoms, reneging on the promise of free elections, overwhelming the citys culture with mainland visitors and threatening, disenfranchising, and, in some cases, jailing its most active pro-democracy figures. And yes, Hong Kongs people pushed back, staging many demonstrations, some quite largenotably the 2014 Umbrella Movements 79-day occupation of Hong Kongs Central business district. (Umbrellas became the symbol of the protests after they were used as protection from pepper spray.) But these protests were peaceful. The world yawned. Business carried on.

Then, in 2019, Hong Kong became a battleground. As it turned out, China had greatly underestimated the value Hong Kongs people attached not solely to prosperity, but to freedom. In June, Hong Kongs Beijing-installed Chief Executive Carrie Lama longtime Hong Kong civil servant with the political instincts of Marie Antoinettetried to rush through Hong Kongs rubberstamp Legislative Council (Legco) a law that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, breaching the protection afforded by Hong Kongs separate and independent legal system. Faced with local objections that this would spell the end of whatever liberty and justice Hong Kong still enjoyed under the eroding promise of one country, two systems, Lam refused to reconsider.

Hong Kong erupted in the most massive protests the city had ever seen. It was heroic, given the risks; and heartbreaking, given the prospects. On June 9, a record 1 million people marched through the streets, mass protest being their only recourse in a system rigged by Beijing to deprive them of a direct say in their own government. Lam shrugged it off. Three days later, protesters physically blocked lawmakers from entering the legislature to pass the bill. Police responded with teargas, beatings, and arrests. When Lam then suspended passage of the bill but refused to withdraw it entirely, denouncing the protesters as rioters, an estimated 2 million people marchedmore than one-quarter of the citys population. Lam gave them nothing. This focused public attention on Lam herself, and the perils and injustice of a political setup that left Hong Kongs people no way to choose or depose their own chief executive. In short order, Hong Kongers came up with an amplified list of demands, including universal suffrage.

A signal moment came on July 1, the anniversary of the 1997 handover, when protesters broke down doors and windows of the legislature, briefly occupied the main chamber, spray-painted black Hong Kongs Beijing-imposed emblem of a Bauhinia flower, proclaimed a list of demands for justice and democracy, and graffitied a message in Chinese on the nearby premises: It was you who taught me that peaceful protests are useless.

A complex culture of protest rapidly developed, incorporating the lessons of the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Some brought their young children to huge, peaceful rallies and marches. Civil servants, bankers, teachers, and students participated in city-wide strikes and impromptu demonstrations. Old and young linked hands to form human chains for miles, calling for freedom and democracy and chanting the Cantonese slang phrase ga yau, meaning add oila call to keep going. Protesters came up with a haunting anthem, Glory to Hong Kong, and began singing it at sports matches, in shopping malls, and while they marched in protest through the streets.

Because leaders of the Umbrella Movement had gone to prison, the protesters of 2019 avoided anointing leaders. Crowdsourcing tactics online, under a slogan plucked from a Bruce Lee movie, Be water, they staged flash protests around the city. They developed a uniform of sorts and an order of battle. The frontliners wore helmets, goggles, gas masks, and black t-shirts, and wielded as weapons an ad hoc arsenal that escalated from umbrellas, laser pointers, and bricks to Molotov cocktails, slingshots, and flaming arrows. Support protesters, including volunteer medical teams and bucket brigades, resupplied the frontlines with everything from bottled water to first aid supplies. Across the city, donations rolled in to support the protests: money, food, drink, and protest gear. When police launched a dragnet in August, setting up subway and ferry checkpoints, anonymous Hong Kongers got in their cars and whisked protesters to safety in an impromptu vehicular operation they dubbed Dunkirk.

Instead of trying to defuse the protests with talks and compromise, Lam defaulted to the methods of a police state, dispatching Hong Kongs cops to wield force. Hong Kongs police, once regarded as among the finest in Asia, were transformed into shock troops for China, trying to beat, gas, and terrorize the democracy movement into submission. Police began referring to protesters as cockroaches. Stories circulated that ranks of local cops had been beefed up with members of Chinas Peoples Armed Police, overheard speaking mainland Mandarin rather than Hong Kongs Cantonese dialect.

By early December, police had fired more than 15,000 rounds of tear gas, blitzing not only streets across much of the city but also subway stations, residential buildings, shopping malls, and universities. They pepper-sprayed pro-democracy lawmakers who were trying to reason with them, shot three protesters with live ammunition, drenched not only protesters but a Kowloon mosque with caustic blue dye from water cannons, and carried out more than 6,000 arrests. The protesters escalated their tactics to smashing the windows of pro-Beijing businesses and setting fire to subway entrances and street barricades. The police were caught on video beating and kicking trussed-up protesters and launching unprovoked attacks on bystanders and journalists. In November, an attempted police raid on Hong Kongs Polytechnic University turned into a flaming battle, followed by a 12-day police siege from which some protesters escaped by abseiling from a pedestrian walkway or traversing the sewers.

Through it all, Lam remained cloistered in official surroundings, issuing periodic statements that there could be no serious dialogue until calm and order was restored. Never mind that it was precisely the lack of any genuine government dialogue or compromise that was driving the escalating havoc.

One of the most potent protests came in mid-summer, when thousands of protesters occupied the citys airport, in a bid to force the governments hand on a world stage, and in a venue where the police might surely hesitate to respond harshly. Hong Kongs airport is one of the worlds busiest. Travelers transiting the outer halls of the huge building found themselves surrounded by Hong Kongers holding up signs in English and Chinese denouncing the encroaching tyranny of China. Protesters packed the arrival hall, their chant echoing through the vast atrium: Fight for Freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!

Near the departure desks, beneath an official sign welcoming visitors to Asias World City, protesters hung a huge banner, flanked by American flags, saying President Trump Please Liberate Hong Kong. They papered the walls, windows, and baggage carts with signs blasting police brutality and demanding justice. On the information desks, they replaced the brochures for shopping, dining, and Disneyland with pamphlets calling for democracy, apologizing to visitors for the inconvenience. One young man, wearing the protesters trademark black t-shirt and face mask, roamed the halls with a hand-lettered sign offering to explain the situation to baffled travelers: Feel free to ask me, I do speak English!

Hong Kongs government, forced briefly to shut down the airport, finally ended the inconvenience with threats, riot police, pepper spray, arrests, and greatly constricted access. Large security cordons now control entry to the building, admitting only those with tickets and passports. Teams of security agents patrol the premises. Public transport to the airport is now closely monitored and sometimes greatly curtailed, to thwart any crowds heading that way.

This lockdown did nothing to address the protesters demands for liberty and justice, but for official purposes it fixed the problem at the airport. The governments solution for the airport appears to be the template for the future. In Beijings scheme of calm and order, Hong Kong is not a polity of, by, and for the people; it is merely a large asset of Chinas government. As such, it is the profitable utilities, not the people themselves, that the government would protect, under the cloying slogan: Treasure Hong Kong: Our Home.

Ive loved Hong Kong since I first beheld it, during a family stopover decades ago. I lived and worked there from 1986 to 1993, as editorial-page editor of what was then the print edition of the Asian Wall Street Journal. With Hong Kongs glorious sweep of hills and harbor, its kaleidoscopic street life, its savvy mix of Chinese and Western traditions, and the constant hum of commerce, it felt like the most invigorating city on the planet. You could fly out of Hong Kong to report on the regions tyrannies, observing the strictures and enduring the minders of, say, China, Vietnam, or North Korea. Then you could return to Hong Kong, with its can-do culture and laissez-faire waysand exhale. In the summer of 1989, returning to Hong Kong after reporting in Beijing on the June 4 Tiananmen massacre, I was speechless with relief. Hong Kong residents were staging huge protests against the repression in China. I was back in the free world.

Thats not how it feels today. In September, Lam finally announced that she would withdraw the despised extradition bill. But by then, her administration was importing some of the cruelties of Chinas system wholesale. During many weeks of reporting there since June, I found an atmosphere of defiance edged with fear; a city of people in face masks, keeping a wary eye out for advancing cordons of riot police. Under pressure from China, companies such as Hong Kongs flagship airline, Cathay Pacific, carried out purges of personnel who had in any way shown sympathy with the protesters, an intimidation described locally as white terror. Hong Kongers, when they take their leave these days, are less likely to say goodbye than to warn, take care.

How did it come to this? The answer tracks back to the era of Queen Victoria, Britains Opium Wars, and unintended consequences, good and bad, played out over almost two centuries. The British did not set out to develop Hong Kong into a world-class metropolis of millions; they simply wanted a trading post, for the noxious purpose of selling opium into China. So they went to war to get it. In the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, China ceded to Britain in perpetuity the island of Hong Kong, a name which in Cantonese means Fragrant Harbor. At the time, it was home to a fishing village, a war prize famously ridiculed by Britains foreign secretary, Lord Palmerston, as a barren island with hardly a house upon it.

The British turned it into a Crown Colony, named its harbor for their queen, and set up shop. They fought a second Opium War, and in 1860, China ceded the tip of the Kowloon peninsula, also in perpetuity. In 1898 Britain signed a 99-year lease with China for some adjacent turf, called the New Territories, stretching up to the hills that form a natural boundary with mainland China. That produced the full map of what we know as modern Hong Kong.

Out of this, about a half century later, came one of the great economic miracles of modern Asia. Hong Kong at the end of World War II was a shattered city with a population of less than 600,000. In 1949, Mao Zedong imposed his Communist revolution on China. Millions fled to Hong Kong, embracing its culture of enterprise and providing labor and talent that under British liberty and law created soaring wealth.

Not that the British permitted genuine democracy in Hong Kong; governors appointed in London ruled the colony. But behind that setup were the checks and balances of British democracy, to which the governors were ultimately accountable. Hong Kongs people, post-World War II, had freedom of speech and assembly, and an independent judiciary based on British rule of law.

Hong Kong was a colony richly primed for democracy and independence, in an era when the British empire was breaking up and decolonization was sweeping the globe. The United Nations, founded at the end of World War II, compiled a list of colonies slated for eventual self-determination. Initially, Hong Kong was on it. But in the early 1970s, China swiped away that right. In 1971, during President Richard Nixons rapprochement with China, Beijings Communist government took over the UN seat for China, held until then by the rival Nationalist government on Taiwan. China immediately joined the UN committee on decolonization. Within weeks, the committee removed Hong Kong from its list of colonies, on grounds that its fate was Chinas affair. That was the end of any UN support for Hong Kong choosing its own future.

When China informed the British that there would be no renewal of the lease on the New Territories, due to expire in 1997, London had no appetite for a showdown over Hong Kongconsidered indefensible without the New Territories, and dependent on China for its water supply. In 1984, Britain and China signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, scheduling the handover for July 1, 1997. This treaty, deposited with the United Nations, stipulated that for 50 years following the handover, Hong Kong would be governed as a Special Administrative Region, enjoying a high degree of autonomy, with its people retaining their Rights and freedoms, including those of the person, of speech, of the press, of assembly, of association, of traveland a host of others.

Thus did Hong Kong become the worlds only free society with a distinct shelf date. For Britainhanding over a substantially free population to a tyrannythe grace period allowed a face-saving retreat, bolstered by the bequest of a mini-constitution, or Basic Law for Hong Kong, hammered out with Beijing before the handover, in which China agreed to the ultimate aim of allowing Hong Kongs people to elect their own chief executive and entire legislature via universal suffrage. Conveniently for Beijing, no date was spelled out for this goal.

For China, then miserably self-impoverished by decades of Communist central planning, acquiring Hong Kong was a colossal windfall. As a bonus, it carried the implied message that the worlds great democracies, under pressure from Beijing, would not defend their own.

If the promised half century of grace for Hong Kong sounded like a long time back in 1997, it doesnt anymore. Officially, the clock has ticked down to 28 years remaining. In practice, if China has its way, the deadline will arrive much sooner. Meantime, a generation born in Hong Kong around the time of the handover has come of age. Many are descended from parents or grandparents who fled Communist repression in China. They describe themselves not as Chinese but as Hong Kongers. They are the vanguard of Hong Kongs protests, and many say they are prepared to die for freedom.

This passion did not appear out of thin air. Nor is it a productas Chinas propaganda has chargedof foreign influence organized by sinister black hands. Hong Kongs protesters today are heirs to a homegrown democracy movement that dates to British colonial days. It was fostered decades ago by leaders such as barrister and former lawmaker Martin Lee, who in 1997 greeted the handover with the defiant declaration: The flame of democracy has been ignited and is burning in the hearts of our people. It will not be extinguished. Then theres self-made businessman Jimmy Lai, publisher since 1995 of Hong Kongs widely circulated pro-democracy Chinese newspaper, Apple Daily, who told me in an interview this August: We cant give up. If we give up, we will have to endure the darkness of dictatorship. Lee, now in his eighties, and Lai, now in his seventies, both marched at the front of some of this years protests.

Down the generations, this movement is packed with brave and articulate figures, including pro-democracy lawmakers whom police during the past six months of protest have tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and drenched with water cannon. Some of the youngest democracy advocates, such as Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, both in their mid-twenties, have served time in prison for their leadership of the 2014 Umbrella movementand emerged to continue arguing the case for Hong Kongs rights.

Hong Kongs passion for democracy was on rich display in elections on November 24 to seats on the citys district councils. These are relatively powerless positions, dealing with local matters such as bus routes and trash collection. But theyre the only elections in Hong Kong that entail a genuinely democratic process. Hong Kongers turned out in record numbers to send a message at the polls, delivering a landslide for pro-democracy candidates, who won control of 17 of the 18 district councils.

These are valiant achievements against fearful odds. Hong Kongs freedom movement is up against the regime of Xi Jinping, who, since he became president in 2013, has been ratcheting up repression across China, styling himself as the modern Mao. Under the label of perfecting socialism with Chinese characteristics, the 66-year-old Xi has been establishing himself as president for life of a techno-authoritarian state. Chinas system now includes a program of social credit, meant to engineer human behavior to please the party, and reeducation camps to brainwash Uyghur Muslims. Hong Kongs protesters harbor well-grounded fears that Xi might have similar plans in store for them. If this movement dies, well be living in the Orwellian society that is coming, says one Hong Kong academic.

Xi has thrown visible support for years behind Lam. In 2019, after Lam triggered the huge protests and then further enraged the public with her refusal to concede to any demands or corral the police, she was caught on a recording, leaked to Reuters, lamenting that she could no longer go to shopping malls or a hair salon for fear of black-masked young people waiting for me. A month later, she incited yet more public fury by invoking despotic emergency powers to ban face masks. The following month, Xi summoned her to an audience in Shanghai; Chinese state media reported that he still firmly supported her. By then, casualties in Hong Kong were extensive, rubble lined many of the streets, and Hong Kongs economy had tipped into recession.

Should Americans care? Especially since the end of the Cold War, America has spent blood and treasure trying to foster free societies around the globe, on the reasonable theory that this tends toward a safer, more prosperous world. Its a tall order. But in Hong Kong, with no grand programs of foreign aid and consultancies, and under the shadow these past 22 years of Chinese sovereignty, a free society has materialized, and its people are calling for us to stand with them against tyranny. If we do nothing but watch while China swallows Hong Kong whole, Beijing will learn the relevant lesson.

The endgame here is desperately uncertain. Neither America nor any other nation is likely to go to war in defense of Hong Kong. An armed conflict, even if meant to defend the city, would likely destroy it. But America can enforce its new Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which President Trump signed into law last month, and which requires annual reports on whether China is respecting Hong Kongs rights under one country two systemsand imposes penalties if China is not. We can expose the lies with which China tries to discredit Hong Kongs democracy movement. We can sound the alarm generally on Chinas maneuvers to undermine the democratic world, and we can build up the U.S. military both to counter directly Chinas military rise and to give Americas leaders a stronger hand in dealing with Beijing. We could offer asylum to as many of Hong Kongs people as America can absorb. Not least, we can look with respect and gratitude on a people who prize freedom so highly that, while they call for us to stand with them, they themselves, outnumbered and certainly outgunned, are facing down Chinas tyranny on the frontlines, in the streets of their own city.

Claudia Rosett is a foreign policy fellow with the Independent Womens Forum.

Photos by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

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Hong Kong's Struggle Against Tyranny, and Why It Matters - City Journal

OSCE warns Albania not to block freedom of expression online – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Monday urged authorities in Albania to further amend a draft law on a new registration system for online media.

Harlem Desir, the OSCEs media freedom representative, urged the Albanian Parliament to make more amendments to the new legislation, adding that much will also depend on the implementation.

He stressed that the regulatory agency must be fully independent and free of political interference.

Last years draft law on online media and the governments threat to impose heavy fines on unregistered electronic media providers were criticized by the OSCE and local media organizations.

Desire said that the law must not be interpreted as a right of censorship or restriction of freedom of expression.

The possibility of blocking access to online content will now be limited to three areas, Desir said: child pornography, promotion of terrorist acts and breaches of national security.

He also has recommended several additional modifications to clarify safeguards to freedom of expression and avoid any risk of undue restrictions or sanctions on electronic media providers.

Albanias post-communist media outlets have until now generally been used or exploited by the governing political party.

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OSCE warns Albania not to block freedom of expression online - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Democracy in Iraq Depends on Press Freedom – Foreign Policy

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

A group of armed men wearing black uniforms stormed into my house in Baghdad and abducted me, Iraqi blogger Shojaa Fares al-Khafaji told me a few days after his early-morning kidnapping by an Iraqi militia in October. They took me to a remote location overlooking the Tigris River and questioned me about my work, my family, and even my car. They knew I have a blog and I am certain that was the main reason for my abduction.

Khafajis captors ultimately released him, but urged him to keep his mouth shut. He has chosen to live up to his first namewhich is Arabic for braveand continue writing his blog in the face of government repression. But his ordeal was not an unusual one for an Iraqi journalist, and most are not as determined to risk their lives to continue reporting.

Clean Brotherhood, Khafajis popular blog, reports chiefly on politics and corruption in Iraq. It has also covered the ongoing mass protests over unemployment, a lack of basic services, and government corruption that broke out in Baghdad in October and have spread to other southern Iraqi cities. He has published footage of security forces using tear gas against protesters and pictures of protesters who have suffered beatings.

The Iraqi authorities have been trying to avoid drawing publicity to the protests by creating a de facto media blackout. They have repeatedly shut down the internet, raided and banned broadcasters, and forcibly barred journalists from covering the demonstrations, leaving the world largely in the dark about the fate of millions of people. Iraqis have had enough of such treatment. Barely five years ago, armed men in black uniforms under the banner of the Islamic State took control of television and radio stations, rounded up journalists, and created a monopoly over information in the city of Mosul. The international community should push for a post-Islamic State Iraq in which information flows freely, empowering Iraqis to shape their countrys future.

The Iraqi governments heavy-handed security response to the protests has left more than 400 people dead and nearly 20,000 injured, spreading a widespread sense of fear of the armed forces among local reporters. This is especially true of local militia groups, which allege that journalists are instigating the violence. Two journalists have been reported killed so far. (Iraq has historically been one of the deadliest countries for journalists: Some 188 have been killed since 1994, according to data collected by the Committee to Protect Journalists.) Security forces have briefly detained, beaten, and seized equipment from reporters to prevent them from covering the protests. Several journalists have left Baghdad for either Iraqi Kurdistan or abroad for fear of militias. Many journalists feel persecuted, said Jumana Mumtaz, a board member of the independent National Union of Journalists in Iraq. They have left Baghdad because they are afraid of the attacks on broadcasters and the assaults and arrests of colleagues. Even those who left Baghdad are afraid of speaking out. Without media or internet, nobody will know whats happening in Iraq.

Iraq relied heavily on Iran-backed militias to defeat the Islamic State. After they helped drive the group from Iraq in December 2017, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an umbrella organization containing mostly Shiite militias, was integrated into the national armed forces and placed under the direct authority of the prime minister. Iraqi journalists at the time voiced their concern about the growing political and economic influence of the militias and the threat it posed to press freedom.

Militias belonging to the PMF have taken control of the trade in scrap metal from destroyed buildings and vehicles and its transport from Mosul to Iraqi Kurdistan or southern Iraq. They have also gained control over large state-owned construction and engineering companies and are suspected of imposing taxes on commerce and of involvement in oil smuggling in Mosul and Basra. But they have not only cornered parts of the economy. They have also successfully infiltrated Iraqi politics through the Fatah Alliance, which won 48 seats in the 2018 parliamentary election, becoming Iraqs second-largest bloc after Muqtada al-Sadrs Sairun bloc. The Fatah Alliance, which is headed by the leader of the Iran-backed Badr Organization, Hadi al-Amiri, includes the Badr Organization, Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Kataib Hezbollah, and Kataib al-Imam Ali. Militiamen from these organizations have run as candidates and won seats in the Iraqi Parliament in the 2018 election.

Iraqi journalists see militias as the main challenge to press freedom in the country. Fear of militias, and impunity for crimes against journalists in Iraq, can lead to self-censorship, all the more so in the wake of the slaying of Arkan Sharifi, a cameraman for a Kurdish broadcaster, who was stabbed to death by militiamen in 2017. Journalists in Basra faced death threats, beatings, and intimidation from local militiasforcing several of them to leave the countrymerely for covering 2018 protests against deteriorating living standards in the city, where popular anger at growing Iranian influence resulted in the torching of media outlets, militias headquarters, and the Iranian consulate.

Despite the governments crackdown on press freedom and the brutal crushing of the protests, protesters camped out in Baghdads Tahrir Square have created their own newspaper to circumvent the information blackout and the narrative spread by the state-owned media, which barely mentions the unrest, and to air the protesters demands, including the call for an end to foreign influence in Iraq.

The United States and the European Union have both condemned the governments repressive tactics and have publicly supported the protesters right to express their grievances. The special representative of the U.N. secretary-general for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, even visited Baghdads Tahrir Square to condemn the violence and call for a national dialogue.

While these statements and gestures are steps in the right direction, the international community should place Iraqi authorities under greater scrutiny to prevent further bloodshed and combat the assault on Iraqs democratic institutions, escalating sanctions and cuts in foreign and defense aid if state violence against protesters and media continues. The United States and other Western democracies invaded Iraq in 2003 with the stated goal of establishing democracy. They continue to provide billions of dollars in military and foreign aid to fight insurgent groups in an effort to stabilize the country, when in fact more determined and continuous support for democracy and its institutions, including free media and human rights, are necessary for a stable Iraq.

At a time when the balance of power in the post-Islamic State Middle East is rapidly changing, the survival of Iraqs fledgling democracy depends on the preservation of liberal institutions such as the free media. If it is to survive amid a complex regional and global power struggle for influence in the Middle Eastunderscored by several deep socioeconomic challengesthe international community must do its utmost to help Iraqi journalists maintain the free flow of information. This will enable an open, public, and honest debate about the challenges facing the country and, more importantly, how best to resolve them.

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National Security Podcast: Freedom of the press – Policy Forum

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

In the final National Security Podcast of the year, Rory Medcalf and Katherine Mansted discuss why press freedom matters to national security, look back on the big issues of 2019 and tell us what to look out for in national security in 2020.

Is press freedom a national security issue? If it is, what does that mean for Australias regional relations and its fight against foreign interference? In this episode of the National Security Podcast, Katherine Mansted and Rory Medcalf discuss their recent submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and National Security on freedom of the press. They also unpack pivotal national security issues for the region in the past year and discuss what policymakers should keep an eye out for in 2020. Listen here:https://bit.ly/2RCIbJS

Rory Medcalfis the head of the National Security College at The Australian National University. His professional background involves more than two decades of experience across diplomacy, intelligence analysis, think tanks and journalism.

Katherine Manstedis a Senior Adviser for Public Policy at the National Security College and a Non-resident Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

Chris Farnhamis the presenter of theNational Security Podcast. He joined the National Security College in June 2015 and is currently Senior Outreach and Policy Officer. His career focus has been on geopolitics with experience working in and out of China for a number of years as well as operating in Australia and Southeast Asia.

Wed love to hear your feedback for this podcast series! Send in your questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes topodcast@policyforum.net. You can also Tweet us@APPSPolicyForumor find us onFacebook.The National Security Podcast and Policy Forum Podare available onSpotify,iTunes,Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts.

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National Security Podcast: Freedom of the press - Policy Forum

Interview: the Scottish Information Commissioner on freedom of information – Holyrood

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

In an exclusive interview following a Holyrood event, Daren Fitzhenry discusses the benefits and the shortcomings of FOI in Scotland

Daren Fitzhenry has been Scotlands Information Commissioner for a little over two years, a time during which freedom of information (FoI) has been an unusually hot topic.

Since his appointment in October 2017 the question of whether the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act of 2002 (FOISA) works as well as it should has been the subject of debate, both in parliament and outwith it.

Journalists have raised concerns about the way the Scottish Government interprets and implements the law when responding to information requests. Meanwhile local authorities have warned that an ever-increasing number of requests is becoming a strain on their resources.

As a result, the law is currently being reviewed, both through an ongoing committee process and through a Scottish Government consultation on expanding its coverage, which closed last week.

Fitzhenrys role as Information Commissioner involves enforcing FOISA by providing an appeal process for requesters, and by monitoring and assessing how well public authorities meet their statutory requirements.

But the job also involves promoting FOISA; making the public aware of their right to access information and proselytising for a more transparent and open government something he was doing at Holyroods FoI summit last week.

Sitting for an exclusive interview, Fitzhenry discussed the benefits and the shortcomings of freedom of information in Scotland.

If you think back to where we were 15 years ago, essentially with regard to information, you got to what you were given and be grateful for it, Fitzhenry says, recalling what it was like before the act came into force in 2005.

There was no right to ask for information and certainly no right to be given information. If the authority decided it didn't want to give you it - that was it.

Today the reality is quite different. According to Fitzhenrys most recent report, almost 84,000 requests for information were made to public authorities just last year. These were made by journalists and politicians but also by curious members of the public.

It's difficult to state quite how much a sea change it was. But it's a huge sea change in people's rights and their ability to seek information from the authorities, he says.

If people know that decisions can be looked at and pored over, I think it hones people's minds."

Even more profound than the impact of the act, though, has been the massive cultural change around information and technology that has come along with social media, search engines and smartphones, which makes a review of FOISA necessary.

(Since) the act was drafted you've had changes in technology and you've had changes in society, Fitzhenry says.

You've now got a public expectation that they should be able to get information on whatever they want at the tap of a few buttons, which I don't think you had back in 2002.

Fitzhenry says his own appreciation for the benefits of freedom of information go back to his previous job, heading up the legal advisory team for the Royal Air Forces legal branch.

I'd seen it from its inception to its practice, Fitzhenry says of the UKs Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOI), which is what applies to the armed forces.

In his view, the newly introduced act had actually improved decision-making.

If people know that decisions can be looked at and pored over, I think it hones people's minds, Fitzhenry says.

They would focus on making appropriate decisions on the basis of appropriate evidence.

As he neared the end of his time with the RAF, he says, this positive experience with FOI lead him to apply for the six-year role as Information Commissioner.

Coming out I knew I wanted to have a public service role. That's sort of in my nature. I enjoy public service, he says. It appealed to my sense of actually going out and doing something positive and waking up and thinking, yeah, we're making a difference here.'"

The Commissioners role is independent of government but Fitzhenry is careful not to weigh in too dramatically in topical controversies relating to FoI.

Stories in recent weeks centring on the First Ministers use of non-government email servers and her offices practice of destroying handwritten instructions have sparked concern, with opposition parties claiming that these pose a risk to proper government scrutiny.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie reported the Scottish Government to Fitzhenrys office in late November after his FOI requests and parliamentary questions on Police Scotland mental health staff were refused multiple times. Rennie accused the government of secrecy.

Following the private email revelations, Fitzhenry wrote to Permanent Secretary Leslie Evans seeking assurances that it was understood that government business would still be liable to FOISA no matter where information was stored. He also warned of the risk of reputational harm if it appears that scrutiny was being dodged.

Some campaigners and journalists really would prefer Fitzhenry was more impassioned, sweeping and unequivocal in his public statements. But, perhaps in part because of his background in law, he is very careful with his words.

Fitzhenry believes acknowledging the successes of FOISA should make the starting point of any criticism.

I think there are many areas where the act is actually quite sound as it currently stands, he says.

Still, over the course of the Public Audit and Post-Legislative Scrutiny Committees review of FOISA, Fitzhenry has made suggestions for improvement of both the law and public authorities practice relating to it.

Some areas of the law are simply out of date, he says. The publication scheme duty. That's the key freedom of information duty that's probably aged least well.

FOISA requires authorities to publish information as well as respond to requests. Although every council in Scotland has adopted the commissioners own model publication scheme - setting out what type of information should be proactively published - it is still the case that most authorities could publish a lot more without needing to be asked.

Fitzhenry thinks this aspect of the act could be simplified to place greater onus on the proactive publication of information.

Better to have a system that focuses on bodies pushing out as much information as they can, he says. That creates something that more easily keeps up with technological and societal changes. It's something that can respond to new concerns that are raised in relation to practice.

And if it's an enforceable code of practice then that also helps because it enables us as regulators to help push that agenda towards openness.

Fitzhenry also argues it could make life easier for public authorities.

If you're publishing more then you're less likely to get as many requests for information because if people have found what they're looking for online, theyre less likely to have to ask, he says.

During the scrutiny process, some representatives from local authorities have said that the increasing number of requests is becoming a strain and argued in favour of lowering the cost threshold and extending the 20 working day response duty.

Fitzhenry disagrees with this reasoning. Is the answer to that simply to say, Oh, well, it's all too difficult, let's give them longer? I don't suggest that it is, he says.

Besides, his report shows that public authorities are succeeding in meeting this deadline around 85 per cent of the time.

It's not just a benefit to the users. It's also a benefit to the authorities

As well as publishing more up front, he encourages authorities to see FoI as a mutually beneficial process.

If an FoI request is showing that the authority is working on the basis of incorrect data, is it not better that that is seen to be the case? The authority can then say, right, okay, we've made a mistake here. Let's work on the basis of the correct data. Let's improve things.

It's not just a benefit to the users. It's also a benefit to the authorities, he says.

In order to help along the process, Fitzhenry recommends his offices enforcement powers in relation to interventions be extended.

It would be good to have the ability to enforce good practice - or at least the directive elements of good practice, so that we're not purely relying on breaches of the act, he says.

Ultimately, at the moment, if an authority is breaching good practice but it's not breaching the act, I'm very limited in what I can do.

He adds: While freedom of information, to be honest, is largely carrot, it's also necessary to have a bit of stick.

One thing Fitzhenry thinks should go, which he dubbed an anachronism, is the First Ministers power of veto over FOISA.

While it has never been used, Fitzhenry thinks having it there isnt quite in the spirit of openness.

This is something which I think has had its day, he says. This is a provision essentially if one wants to call it a get out of jail free card this was an ability in an untested regime when nobody was quite sure of what freedom of information would lead to.

Getting rid of it would be something that I think would be an easy change and the message sent out by removing it would be a very positive one, Fitzhenry suggests.

The process of reviewing FOISA was triggered after a controversy in 2017 involving the Scottish Governments practice of involving special advisers in the process, allegedly to check for politically damaging details before deciding to release information.

While freedom of information, to be honest, is largely carrot, it's also necessary to have a bit of stick.

After these concerns were raised by journalists, Fitzhenry launched an intervention. Does he think this behaviour is wrong? He is typically measured in his response.

It's not wrong in and of itself to involve them in the process. And we've never stated that it is, he says.

What we have done in the report on the intervention is to focus on the importance of transparency and seeing how are they involved? What are they saying and what's their advice? And is the decision changed as a result?

So (its about) being transparent as to, well, what is their actual involvement? And we recommended that an improvement in records management of keeping these notes of what those involvements were and for the advice from the special advisors was.

An update on the intervention into the Scottish Government is expected in 2020. So hopefully when we go back next summer and we look at these, we will hopefully be able to look up the files and see, well, ah, they have been involved - but this is what they said, Fitzhenry says.

What about the more recent controversies about the First Ministers office and hand-written notes?

Freedom of information deals with information that the authority has at the time that the request is made, he says. So if the authority holds the information that's great. If it doesn't hold the information, my powers are limited. So in terms of what records should be held or how they should be held - that's more an information management issue, which more appropriately lives with the Keeper of the Records rather than fair and square within my bailiwick.

Freedom of information is about information. It's not necessarily concerned about the format in which that information is held.

Looking ahead, what does Fitzhenry hope will come from the post-legislative scrutiny?

I really hope that we will at the end of the process, see the committee's view on key aspects of things that they think should be done, he says. Hopefully they'll take all that, distill it, and come out with something that brings us that little step closer to an actual bill in due course down the line, ultimately leading to amendment to the act.

Interview: the Scottish Information Commissioner on freedom of information - Holyrood

How the U.S. was able to win Princeton University students freedom from Iran – NJ.com

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

WASHINGTON The release of Princeton University doctoral student Xiyue Wang after more than three years of captivity in Iran was the product of months of negotiations facilitated by the Swiss government, a senior administration official said Saturday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he hoped the release would lead to other U.S captives being freed from Iran.

Wang was released Saturday in exchange for Iranian scientist Massoud Soleimani, who had been arrested by U.S. authorities on charges that he violated sanctions against Tehran. Those charges were dropped.

Were very happy to have our hostage back," President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday, according to pool reports. "The whole Princeton University community is very thrilled. And there was a one-on-one hostage swap.

I think its a great thing for Iran," he said. "It might have been a precursor to what could be done.

The swap ended an ordeal that lasted more than three years after Wang, who had traveled to Iran to conduct academic research, instead was arrested and convicted as a spy.

He is now in Germany, where he will undergo a medical examination before returning to the U.S., the official said.

Wangs wife, Hua Qu of Princeton, had fought for years for her husbands release. They have a son, Shaofan, who has lived more than half his life without his father.

Our family is complete once again," Qu said on Saturday. "Our son Shaofan and I have waited three long years for this day and its hard to express in words how excited we are to be reunited with Xiyue. We are thankful to everyone who helped make this happen.

Trump in an earlier statement thanked the Swiss government for helping to achieve Wangs release.

The highest priority of the United States is the safety and well-being of its citizens, Trump said. Freeing Americans held captive is of vital importance to my administration, and we will continue to work hard to bring home all our citizens wrongfully held captive overseas.

Later, he tweeted: Thank you to Iran on a very fair negotiation. See, we can make a deal together!

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also thanked the Swiss.

The Trump administration worked very aggressively to get him out," said Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., who spoke with Qu on Saturday after her husbands release. It didnt just fall out of the sky. It was negotiated.

Smith, a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, earlier had delivered a note from Qu to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to give to Trump.

Wang was studying the Qajar dynasty, rulers from 1785-1925, and learning Farsi in order to access archival material. Though he had traveled to Iran with the governments permission, he was arrested in 2016 and then convicted of espionage and sentenced to 10 years in Evin Prison, where the regime holds political prisoners.

For more than three years Iranian authorities have let him languish and kept his family, including his wife and young son, in anguish over his well-being and eventual return, said U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Qu on Saturday spoke with Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Smith earlier delivered a letter from Qu to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to give to Trump.

This has been a horrific ordeal, Smith said.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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How the U.S. was able to win Princeton University students freedom from Iran - NJ.com

Charlottes bad names, Matthew McConaughey, and Metro standing – Black And Red United

Posted on December 12, 2019 by Danzig

Hello and welcome to Thursday! There is a new episode of Filibuster waiting for you in your favorite podcast platform, so why not give that a listen as you commute into work or as you start your day? Personally I am glad that there wasnt much snow yesterday, and hopefully we can stave off the roadway madness that a snow entails for at least a few more weeks. To the links!

These....are a bunch of pretty bad names. Monarchs is already used in American soccer, albeit at the D2 level, Gliders is right now, Charlotte Town is hilariously England, and Charlotte Athletic is only mildly better. Given those, I guess give me Charlotte Crown? Although I bet they just go with Charlotte FC.

Always good to see Michael Bradley staying in MLS, even if his stupid team beat D.C. United in the playoffs this year in a very stupid game.

Austin FCs Matthew McConaughey: Soccer in America can take over baseball, hockey | MLSsoccer.com

At least in club valuation, soccer has already caught up to and is passing the NHL.

Ottawa Fury FC Announce Relocation, Sale of Franchise Rights to The Miami FC

It always sucks to see a team close up shop and get moved, especially since the Fury had stuck it out for so long.

New DC tourism ad causes stir by saying its OK to stand on left side of Metro escalators | FOX 5 DC

No, no it isnt.

Thats all I have today, whats up with yall?

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Charlottes bad names, Matthew McConaughey, and Metro standing - Black And Red United

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