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Sunday, February 25, 2024

 
FEBRUARY 25, 2024
SUNDAY 
PROGRESSIVE OPINION AND NEWS   

I AM INCLUDING THIS PAINFUL STORY BECAUSE OF WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT THE TYPES OF "FAITH" THAT ARE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE AMONG US IN AMERICA, AS WE TRY TO GUARANTEE INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM. WE NEED TO FEAR A SOCIETY IN WHICH RELIGION RULES GOVERNMENT AND EVEN LOGIC, NOT BECAUSE RELIGION IS NECESSARILY DELETERIOUS TO THOUGHT, BUT BECAUSE IT IS NOT ENOUGH. 

THIS COUPLE, TWO WOMEN RAISING A NUMBER OF CHILDREN, WERE FOLLOWING A RELIGION IN WHICH "DEMONS" HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM THEIR KIDS BY TORTURE. THE BELIEF HERE SEEMS TO BE THAT THE MORE DEEPLY TWISTED AND DESTRUCTIVE A RELIGION IS, AND THE LESS INTELLIGENT, IN THE SENSE OF ACTUALLY USING OUR COMMON SENSE OR EXERCISING PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, THE MORE POWERFUL AND THEREFORE "HOLY" THE PRACTICE MUST BE. WHATEVER GOD THESE PEOPLE ARE WORSHIPPING, IT IS CERTAINLY NOT MINE. 

AS FOR BEING "LED TO BELIEVE" THIS, THAT OR THE OTHER THING, EVEN THOSE WHO ARE NOT VERY INTELLIGENT ARE HELD RESPONSIBIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS, AND "BELIEFS" LEAD TO ACTIONS. I THINK WE ALL NEED TO EXAMINE OURSELVES IN THIS WAY. WHAT DOES MY "FAITH" ENCOURAGE OR EVEN MANDATE? WE ARE NOT REQUIRED TO KEEP AN INVOLVEMENT WITH ANY GROUP, SO IF OURS IS OBVIOUSLY WRONG IT IS OUR DUTY TO LEAVE IT. 

AND YET, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT NO INDIVIDUAL SHOULD BE DEPRIVED OF THEIR RIGHT TO PRACTICE THEIR PERSONAL FAITH, HOWEVER FAR FROM WHAT CAN BE INTERPRETED AS "GOOD" THEIR VIEWS ARE, WE MUST ALLOW THIS KIND OF THING TO GO ON AMONG US UNTIL SOMETHING HORRIBLE HAPPENS. SURELY SOMEONE HAD NOTICED A PROBLEM WITH THE CHILDREN BEFORE NOW. THE BOY HAD WOUNDS. DID THEY NOT GO TO A SCHOOL, FOR TEACHERS TO SEE THEIR CONDITION, OR SEE A MEDICAL DOCTOR? MAYBE NOT. GOOD NEIGHBORS MIND THEIR OWN BUSINESS. THE SOCIETY FAILED HERE, AND PRISON SENTENCES WILL NOT MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE.  

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ruby-franke-jodi-hildebrandt-sentenced-child-abuse-youtube-eight-passengers/

U.S.
Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt sentenced to up to 30 years in prison in child abuse case
By Kerry Breen 
Updated on: February 20, 2024 / 3:17 PM EST / CBS News

Parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt, who pleaded guilty to child abuse charges that stemmed from one of Franke's children escaping Hildebrandt's house in August to beg a neighbor for help, have been sentenced to prison. Each could serve as much as 30 years, the prosecutor said after the hearing, the most severe penalty available under Utah law. 

Franke has been sentenced to four consecutive prison terms, CBS News affiliate KUTV reported Tuesday, which could range from one to 15 years each. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole will determine prison time, KUTV reported. Franke has 30 days to appeal the decision. 

Hildebrandt received the same sentence of four consecutive prison terms, KUTV reported, which could again range from one to 15 years each. Like Franke, Hildebrandt's prison time will be determined by the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. 

Franke, who gave parenting advice on her now-defunct "8 Passengers" YouTube channel, and Hildebrandt, who operated a counseling business called ConneXions Classroom, were each initially charged with six counts of aggravated child abuse, a second-degree felony. Each count carried a potential penalty of one to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. 

While reading the sentencing recommendation, state prosecutor Eric Clarke compared the environment Franke's children faced to a "concentration camp-like setting," and said that Franke "committed horrible acts of child abuse." While addressing Hildebrandt's charges, Clarke called her a "significant threat" to the community. 

Both women addressed the court before their sentencings, with Hildebrandt saying that she would "submit to what the state feels is an appropriate amount of time served." Franke admitted that she and Hildebrandt had "inflicted the injuries" on her children. She said that she had been "led to believe that this world is an evil place" and that Hildebrandt had never been her "business responsibility," but that she had paid the other woman to be her mentor. Franke also thanked public safety officials who rescued her children, calling them "angels," according to KUTV. 

"My charges are just," Franke said. "They offer safety to my family, accountability to the public." 

What did Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt do? 

In December, Franke pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse and admitted that she tortured her children, including the now 12-year-old boy who escaped Hildebrandt's home. In the plea agreement, which contained graphic details of abuse, Franke said her son was often kept bound, and that her nine-year-old daughter was made to do manual labor outside in the hot sun with no water or shoes. Both children were often told they were possessed and that their punishments were necessary to help them. 

The boy told officials that Hildebrandt had tied him up and used home remedies to treat wounds caused by the restraints, according to court documents reviewed by KUTV. 

As part of her plea deal, Franke agreed to serve a prison term and agreed that her sentences would run consecutively. She also agreed to testify against Hildebrandt. 

Hildebrandt also pleaded guilty, just days after Franke, to four counts of child abuse. Her plea agreement stated that she either tortured the children or was aware of the abuse. The agreement also stated that Hildebrandt "either physically forced or coerced" Franke's daughter to "jump into a cactus multiple times." 

The crimes were motivated by their religious faith, said Washington County Attorney Eric Clarke in a statement. 

"This is a case about religious extremism. The defendants appear to have fully believed that the abuse they inflicted was necessary to teach the children how to properly repent for imagined 'sins' and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies," Clarke said. "Hildebrandt regularly stated that God communicated directly with her and gave her directions. Franke accepted Hildebrandt as her leader and followed her instructions and guidance." 

Where is Ruby Franke's family now? 

Even before the criminal charges, Franke was criticized on YouTube for her harsh punishments towards her children, including once banning one of her children from his bedroom for seven months because he pranked his younger brother. The YouTube channel, which began in 2015, ended after seven years. 

Franke's husband, Kevin Franke, has filed for divorce. In early September, a lawyer for Kevin Franke told CBS News that he was representing his client's interests in keeping his children together and in his care and that he could not comment on Ruby Franke's arrest.

 Kevin Franke appeared in court Friday alongside Franke's two eldest children. While speaking from the stand, Franke apologized to her former husband. "You are the love of my life," she said, according to KUTV. "The ending of our marriage is a tragedy."

 Franke's parents and brother both filed statements with the court ahead of her sentencing Tuesday, blaming Hildebrandt's influence for her actions. Franke's brother Beau Griffiths said that he had also been enrolled in Hildebrandt's ConneXions program.

 "At the continued encouragement of Ms. Hildebrandt, Ruby systematically pushed those around her away, first myself, and then our sisters, parents, and close friends, and then her husband, and finally her own children," Griffiths said in part. "Ruby has clearly been brainwashed. She has been taken advantage of by Ms. Hildebrandt."

 Franke's sisters, Julie Griffiths Deru and Bonnie Hoellein, YouTubers themselves, shared videos detailing Franke's separation from the family and stating that they were not aware of her actions.

 Franke's parents, Chad and Jennifer Griffiths, said in their statement to the court that for three years they only had "brief communications" with their daughter, where she "accused us of either things that never happen or she grossly exaggerated the events that did."

 "She was delusional," they said, according to KUTV. "She was so deeply brainwashed we could not recognize her."

 

FOR THOSE WHO FEEL A NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE LITTLE BITS OF STORIES THAT FLOAT AROUND DAILY, THIS PLOY BY REPUBLICANS WAS JUST ONE MORE ATTEMPT TO SMEAR BIDEN. THAT SEEMS TO BE ALL THEY CAN COME UP WITH TO CLEAR THEMSELVES OF SOME PAINFULLY OBVIOUS LEGAL ASSOCIATIONS WITH TRUMP'S ACTIONS, INCLUDING RUSSIAN MEDDLING IN OUR AFFAIRS, BY DIRECTING THE NEGATIVE ATTENTION TO SOMEONE ELSE. HERE ARE SOME OF THE DETAILS. 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/21/politics/fbi-informant-biden-impeachment-what-matters       

What Matters
A step-by-step guide to how one debunked story fueled Republicans’ Biden impeachment effort
Marshall Cohen
Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf and Marshall Cohen, CNN
Updated 9:17 AM EST, Thu February 22, 2024 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Hunter Biden and his lawyer Abbe Lowell, right, depart a House Oversight Committee meeting on Capitol Hill on January 10 in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images 

A version of this story appeared in CNN’s What Matters newsletter. To get it in your inbox, sign up for free here. 

CNN — The basic gist of the story is this: A shadowy ex-FBI informant with ties to Russia has been arrested and charged with giving false information to the FBI, but not before the alleged lies were used by Republicans to publicly accuse President Joe Biden of bribery. 

When you look at the facts now, it seems ridiculous and incredible – a single, unverified FBI interview blows up into public allegations against the president of the United States and fuels plans for his impeachment. 

But it has taken months of incremental developments to arrive at this point, and there are many unanswered questions in the developing saga of Alexander Smirnov, the accused peddler of misinformation. Smirnov has been charged with lying to the FBI and creating false records, but he has not yet entered a plea. His lawyers say he’s “presumed innocent” and will rigorously fight the charges. 

Here’s what we actually do know at this point: 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Alexander Smirnov, middle, leaves court in Las Vegas on February 20. CNN 

Who is Alexander Smirnov?

 Smirnov is a 43-year-old dual American-Israeli citizen who moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas two years ago. A “confidential human source” for the FBI, he provided an FBI agent, his “handler,” information that had been used in multiple investigations dating back to 2010, according to a federal indictment.

Very little is known publicly about Smirnov. CNN has not obtained a photograph of him, for instance, and he shielded himself by covering his face when leaving court Tuesday, although he does appear to have quite a bit of money. Prosecutors, in asking unsuccessfully for Smirnov to be kept behind bars while he awaits trial, said he has access to more than $6 million in bank accounts and claims to have contacts with multiple foreign agencies. Plus, they said he was planning a monthslong trip out of the US when he was arrested. 

A judge rejected those arguments. Smirnov was released from custody Tuesday but is required to wear a GPS monitoring device and had to surrender his two passports, among other conditions. 

What did he tell the FBI about the Bidens? 

There were, according to the indictment, multiple stories. 

First, in 2017, Smirnov told the FBI he had been in contact with executives at Burisma, the Ukrainian oil and natural gas company that paid Joe Biden’s son Hunter to be on its board, including while his father was vice president and oversaw US policy toward Ukraine. 

Smirnov told his handler that Burisma was interested in buying a US-based oil company. Hunter Biden was briefly mentioned, but no allegation about either Biden was made by Smirnov. The handler documented all of this in what the FBI calls an FD-1023.

 Years later, when Joe Biden was running for president, Smirnov added a bribery allegation.

 In May 2020, Smirnov texted his handler multiple times about the presidential election, showing a bias against Biden, according to prosecutors. He did not make any specific allegations, but alluded to a bribe he said he would try to prove occurred.

 How did the story change?

 By June 2020, there was an investigation led by the now-former, Donald Trump-appointed US attorney in Pittsburgh, Scott Brady, into any allegations involving the Bidens and Ukraine, including dubious claims being pushed by then-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. Smirnov’s handler, at Brady’s request, reached out to Smirnov to follow up on his innocuous mention of Hunter Biden years before.

 According to the indictment, in a phone conversation in June 2020, after Joe Biden had secured the Democratic presidential nomination, Smirnov described for the first time meetings and phone calls he claimed occurred in 2015 and/or 2016 in which, he alleged, Burisma executives discussed paying $5 million bribes each to both Bidens for protection through Joe Biden’s position as vice president.

 Smirnov said the alleged bribe was intended to help shut down a supposed Ukrainian criminal probe into Burisma, prosecutors said. As vice president, Joe Biden, along with multiple Western officials, had encouraged Ukraine to oust then-Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin. There’s no evidence Shokin was actively investigating Burisma at the time. Biden and US allies wanted Shokin fired for being too soft on corruption – his ouster in 2016 actually would’ve increased, not decreased, potential scrutiny of Burisma.

 Smirnov’s new, explosive but questionable allegations resulted in a second FD-1023.

 Did the FBI ever follow up?

 Efforts to confirm the allegations continued over the next few months, and Brady’s FBI partners in Pittsburgh concluded in August 2020 that the matter should be closed. Senior FBI and Justice Department officials in Washington, DC, concurred.

 The information was ultimately passed on to the Trump-appointed US attorney for Delaware, David Weiss, who was overseeing investigations related to Hunter Biden. Brady told Congress last year that he had believed there was a “sufficient indicia of credibility” into aspects of the 1023 – enough to pass it along to Weiss and to brief Weiss about the document.

 Years later, in August 2023, Weiss was elevated by Attorney General Merrick Garland to become a special counsel for his multifaceted investigation into Hunter Biden.

 That happened shortly after a plea deal between Weiss and Hunter Biden fell apart, and as Republicans pushed unproven conspiracy theories related to the 2020 FD-1023. Smirnov was officially interviewed again by the FBI in September about his Biden-related bribery allegations. He repeated the general allegations from his 2020 phone conversation, but with multiple inconsistencies, according to the indictment.

 PHOTOGRAPH -- Attorney David Weiss speaks during a press conference on May 3, 2018, at his district office in Wilmington, Delaware. Suchat Pederson/The News Journal/AP/File

 During that formal interview, prosecutors now say, Smirnov also added details he said he learned from Russian intelligence officials, including that Hunter Biden stayed at a particular hotel in Ukraine and there are tapes of him there.

 Why do prosecutors say Smirnov’s new story is false?

 For starters, Smirnov alleges the bribes were discussed at meetings with Burisma officials in 2015 or 2016, but according to the indictment there is no evidence he even met with Burisma executives until 2017, after Joe Biden was no longer vice president.

 Plus, people said by Smirnov to be at pertinent meetings with Burisma officials outside of Ukraine did not leave the country between 2011 and 2017, according to the indictment.

 “The evidence at trial will show Smirnov’s story to the FBI was a fabrication, an amalgam of otherwise unremarkable business meetings and contacts that had actually occurred but at a later date than he claimed,” according to the indictment.

 Similarly, the indictment alleges that phone conversations in which Smirnov says Burisma executives discussed payments to Biden never happened. And the tidbits that Smirnov said he got from Russian intelligence officials about Hunter Biden being recorded at a Kyiv hotel? The indictment argues Hunter Biden has never traveled to Ukraine.

 If the FBI didn’t believe Smirnov, how did his allegations make it to Congress and the public? 

Republicans on Capitol Hill have made investigating both Bidens a top priority dating back to the Trump-Ukraine impeachment in 2019. Last year, they pushed for months for the document with Smirnov’s allegations to be released even though the FBI considered it to have been debunked.

 House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer had threatened to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress if the document was not released to lawmakers. Ultimately, Wray allowed members of Congress to privately view the document, but not keep it.

 After the document was obtained by lawmakers from someone who sought protection under a law to protect whistleblowers, Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, released it to the public and argued it could be evidence of a cover-up. It’s not publicly known who gave the document to Grassley.

 PHOTOGRAPH -- With a poster of a New York Post front page story about Hunter Biden's emails on display, Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer announces a recess because of a power outage during a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 8, 2023 in Washington, DC. With a poster of a New York Post front page story about Hunter Biden's emails on display, Rep. James Comer announces a recess during a House hearing on February 8, 2023. Alex Wong/Getty Images North

 How did Smirnov’s allegations affect the Biden impeachment effort?

 Comer has embraced the unverified bribery allegation since, he said, it tracked with his broader investigation into the Biden family’s overseas business dealings.

 Republicans tried to place the bribery allegations within the larger universe of Hunter Biden’s business career, in which he admittedly traded on his father’s name and made millions of dollars from companies in China and elsewhere. Despite pursuing criminal charges against Hunter Biden for his gun ownership and tax evasions, prosecutors have not alleged wrongdoing with regard to Burisma.

 After releasing the FD-1023, Republicans argued it could be evidence of a cover-up.

 “While the FBI sought to obfuscate and redact, the American people can now read this document for themselves, without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats, thanks to brave and heroic whistleblowers,” Grassley proudly proclaimed in July.

 The unverified allegations became an article of faith in GOP efforts to undercut Biden’s credibility.

 “Every day this bribery scandal becomes more credible,” Comer said on Fox News last July, seizing on Smirnov’s allegations.

 Have Republicans pulled back any of their allegations?

 Grassley’s decision to publicly release the unverified allegations that Weiss, a Republican-appointed US attorney, now says were lies has not aged well. Grassley has made no official comment on the recent developments.

 Comer recently told Spectrum News that the impeachment effort against Biden may not ultimately occur.

 But Republicans argue in talking points obtained by CNN that they have evidence beyond the FD-1023 that shows Biden was involved in the business dealings of his son and other family members.

 In a statement after the Smirnov indictment was unsealed, Comer said, “the impeachment inquiry is not reliant on the FBI’s FD-1023. It is based on a large record of evidence, including bank records and witness testimony, revealing that Joe Biden knew of and participated in his family’s business dealings.”

 Even though Republicans are maintaining that the charges against Smirnov have no impact on their work, they removed a reference to the informant from a letter sent to an unrelated witness requesting an interview, copies of the letters obtained by CNN show.

 Republicans are also asking the FBI why they ever relied on the now-discredited informant in the first place. Comer says the FBI told him last year that Smirnov was “credible and trusted” and had been “paid six figures” for his information.

 The Oversight Committee website still, as of this writing, includes mention of the debunked form FD-1023.

 Where did the Smirnov information originate?

 The origin of the debunked bribery story is unclear. But it’s notable that Smirnov says he has ties to Russian officials and even admits they gave him information about Hunter Biden – information that the Justice Department says is false.

 Given how Smirnov’s story has changed over time, according to the indictment, it’s hard to know exactly what to believe.

 There is, however, a confirmed track record of Russians spreading disinformation about the Bidens in Ukraine. It’s the same storyline that then-President Trump seized on when he dispatched Giuliani to build a case against Joe Biden before the 2020 election.

 The anti-Biden messages Smirnov allegedly sent to his handler in 2020 included references to a former Ukrainian lawmaker, Andriy Derkach, who worked with Giuliani in 2020. Derkach and his allies were labeled later that year by the US government as agents of the Russian government and sanctioned for trying to meddle in the 2020 election to hurt Joe Biden’s chances.

 The disinformation continues.

 “(Smirnov) is actively peddling new lies that could impact U.S. elections after meeting with Russian intelligence officials in November,” prosecutors said in court documents.

 What role does Weiss play in all of this?

 After Hunter Biden’s plea deal collapsed last summer, Weiss was given the title of special counsel to give him independence from the Department of Justice, which is run by Biden appointees. He is the person currently prosecuting Hunter Biden in Delaware for illegally owning a gun while he was addicted to drugs and in California for tax evasion. Hunter Biden has pleaded not guilty in both cases.

 Weiss is now also using his special counsel powers to prosecute Smirnov for lying to the FBI and making up the bribery story about the Bidens.

 Ironically, Republicans cheered on his prosecution against Hunter Biden, but it’s now the Democrats who are trumpeting his case against Smirnov.

 This story has been updated with additional information.

 Up next

 Fact check: How House Republicans put now-debunked Biden bribery claim at the center of impeachment push

9 minute read 

How a trusted FBI source became the center of a Washington scandal

7 minute read

 Fox News hyped the bogus FBI informant claims against Biden. Now it’s refusing to walk them back

4 minute read

 

END OF FEBRUARY 25, SUNDAY  

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Friday, November 3, 2023

 

IT MATTERS

COMMENTARY BY LUCY MANESS WARNER

NOVEMBER 3, 2023

 

 

HATE OPERATES LIKE AN ADDICTIVE DRUG. IT TEMPORARILY MAKES US FEEL POWERFUL AND IMPORTANT, AND WHEN WE GET TOGETHER WITH OTHER HATERS WE KNOW THAT (FINALLY) WE BELONG. WE ARE ACCEPTED AND A PART OF SOMETHING GREATER THAN OURSELVES, SECURE, TRIUMPHANT. IN OUR GROUP OF HATERS WE ARE ALLOWED TO EXERCISE CRUELTY WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED FOR IT. THE WORSE WE BEHAVE, THE MORE LIKELY WE ARE TO BECOME A HERO TO SOME OTHER HATE-GROUP ACOLYTE.

 

THESE DAYS, WOULD-BE KILLERS GO ON THEIR FAVORITE INTERNET HATE SITES AND COMPARE NOTES, READING THE INSANE RANTS AND GLOATING OF OTHERS, GAINING THE COURAGE TO DO SOMETHING THEMSELVES. A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF THOSE WILL BE INSPIRED TO TAKE THEIR AR-15 TO TOWN, WHEN THEIR BOSS FIRES THEM OR THEIR WIFE WALKS OUT, AND PUNISH SOMEONE WHOSE SKIN IS THE WRONG COLOR OR WHO PRAYS THE WRONG PRAYER FOR THE WAY THEY ARE FEELING. THAT IS HOW HATE WORKS. WE ALLOW IT INTO OUR MINDS AS A BOOST TO OUR EGO AND IT TAKES ROOT, EMERGING WHENEVER WE FEEL INSECURE. WITH DRUGS WE ARE USING A CHEMICAL, BUT WITH HATE IT IS A THOUGHT THAT MAKES US FEEL BETTER AGAIN. PERHAPS ONE DAY PSYCHOLOGISTS WILL LOCATE A PLEASURE CENTER IN THE BRAIN THAT IS ACTIVATED BY OUR ANGER. 

 

IN THE USA THE SITUATION IS COMPLEX. WE HAVE A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO SPEAK DESPICABLY TO AND ABOUT OTHERS, JUST BECAUSE WE HAPPEN TO FEEL ANGRY, IGNORED OR UNDERRATED THAT DAY. IT IS NOT A CRIME TO BE A BAD PERSON. WHEN THE RIGHT TO "FREE SPEECH" IS DEFINED MORE CLEARLY, I BELIEVE WE WILL HAVE A BETTER HANDLE ON CONTROLLING THE SITUATION THAT HATE SPEECH PLAYS TODAY. SPEAKING DAMAGING WORDS NEEDS TO BE A CRIME AND NOT JUST A TORT. A TORT IS A NEGLIGENT OR INTENTIONAL HARM DONE TO ANOTHER THAT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY PUNISHABLE BY PRISON. THE VICTIM HAS TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN ORDER TO GET RELIEF, WHICH WILL PROBABLY BE A MONETARY PAYMENT. LAWSUITS ARE EXPENSIVE, SO MOST PEOPLE WILL NOT SUE OVER AN ISSUE. THEY HAVE TO RESORT TO HIDING IN THEIR HOME TO ESCAPE THREATS, INSTEAD. THE GEORGIA ELECTION WORKERS WHO WERE ESSENTIALLY CURSED BY DONALD TRUMP ARE A CASE IN POINT. HIS WORDS WERE POWERFUL.

 

THE FOLLOWING BBC ARTICLE ENCOURAGES ME. FINALLY AUTHORITIES ARE BEGINNING TO TAKE SERIOUSLY THE NATURE OF THE SITUATION AND MAKE ARRESTS. THAT IS LONG OVERDUE, IN MY VIEW. THE DANGER TO EVERYTHING WE HAVE ACHIEVED IN AMERICA IS TOO GREAT FOR US TO DO OTHERWISE. THIS ACTION BY POLICE IS APPROPRIATE, AND I WANT TO SEE LEGAL CHANGES MADE THAT WOULD TAKE AWAY THE GRAY AREA ON WHAT SHOULD BE "ALLOWED SPEECH." THE SAYING THAT "WORDS CAN NEVER HURT ME" IS ABSOLUTELY FALSE, A LIE PROPAGATED BY BULLIES, AND HARMS DONE IN THAT WAY SHOULD HAVE CONSEQUENCES.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67280174  

Cornell student held over threats to Jewish classmates

Published 3 hours ago [NOVEMBER 1, 2023]

By Brandon Drenon

BBC News

 

Related Topics -- Israel-Gaza war

 

PHOTOGRAPH -- Cornell's campus featuring a building, IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

 

Police in New York have arrested a Cornell University student who is accused of posting violent threats to Jewish classmates over the weekend.

 

In a series of posts to a website called Greekrank, a user with the name "hamas" threatened to shoot Jewish students at the prestigious university.

 

Patrick Dai, 21, is in his third year at the university.

 

Police say he made threats to bring a gun to campus and rape Jewish women and "behead any Jewish babies".

 

Mr Dai has been charged by the FBI with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.

 

The crime is punishable by up to five years in prison. He is scheduled to appear in court in Syracuse on Wednesday.

 

Officials say he posted that he planned to attack a university building that housed a kosher cafeteria and is next to the Cornell Jewish Center.

 

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was "committed to combatting hate and bias wherever it rears its ugly head".

 

The Cornell Daily Sun, the college newspaper, first reported on a series of antisemitic comments left on the website Greekrank.

 

The platform, which is not affiliated with the university but is used by many of its students, covers fraternity and sorority life on several campuses.

 

One post from the commenter named "hamas" was titled "if i see another jew".

 

The post used slurs to refer to Jewish people and threatened violence, stalking and rape against Jewish men, women and babies.

 

The user threatened to bring a gun to campus to kill Jewish people.

 

In a statement, Cornell University said: "We remain shocked by and condemn these horrific, antisemitic threats and believe they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law."

 

The university said that police will maintain a heightened security presence on campus in the coming days.

 

Molly Goldstein, co-president of the Cornell Center for Jewish Living, told CNN: "Jewish students on campus right now are unbelievably terrified for their lives.

 

"I never would have expected this to happen on my university campus."

 

The threats against Cornell's Jewish community arrive amid reports of rising antisemitic incidents around the country.

 

Speaking to a congressional committee on Tuesday, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers that antisemitic abuse was reaching "historic levels" in the US.

 

"Our statistics would indicate that for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the American public, they account for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes," Mr Wray said of Jewish Americans, noting that the figure had probably risen since the Israel-Gaza conflict erupted on 7 October.

 

On Monday, the Biden administration announced that it was working to combat antisemitism and other hate speech on campuses by increasing communications with local, state and federal authorities.

 

Responding to a surge in hate crimes, Ms Hochul, who visited Cornell early this week, said $50m (£41m) will be made available for police to help prevent and solve such crimes, as well as $25m in security funding for at-risk community groups and cultural centres.

 

"Let me be clear: we cannot allow hate and intimidation to become normalised," Ms Hochul said on Tuesday.

 

The Israel-Gaza conflict has increased tensions among students on US campuses.

 

Related Topics

Israel-Gaza war

Universities

United States Capitol

Antisemitism

 

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*US college Israel-Gaza war protest stirs outrage

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Friday, October 21, 2022

 
PROGRESSIVES MEANING AND WORD ORIGIN FOR THE TERM SMARM
COMPILATION AND COMMENTARY
BY LUCY WARNER
OCTOBER 21, 2022
 
URBAN DICTIONARY HAS OUTDONE MERRIAM WEBSTER ON PROVIDING A GENUINE DEFINITION AND WORD DERIVATION FOR A SOMETIMES USED, BUT NEVER EXPLAINED TERM, "SMARM" OR SMARMY. WHILE IT CLEARLY IS A CONCEPT OF UNDESIRABLE MEANING, I HAVE LOOKED SMARM UP HALF A DOZEN TIMES AND NOT FOUND ANYTHING SPECIFIC OR EVEN VERY USEFUL. TODAY I HAD BETTER LUCK.
 
HERE IS WHAT MERRIAM WEBSTER SAID:  
 
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smarm  
smarm noun
\ ˈsmärm  \
Definition of smarm
: smarmy language or behavior
 
Examples of smarm in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
* Fletch is also now embodied by a wisecracking Jon Hamm — also miscast (Bob Odenkirk would make a great Fletch) — who leans more naturally into the one-liners than Chase while exuding his usual mix of smarm and charm.
— Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2022
* Scott Michael Foster plays him with all of the smarm but none of the charm of Nathaniel from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
— Sara Netzley, EW.com, 15 Oct. 2021
* Cirk is a college dropout who’s become fixated on killing John Gordo (Willem Dafoe, dripping menacing smarm), the major turned private contractor who trained his father, and who trained William, at Abu Ghraib.
— Alison Willmore, Vulture, 2 Sep. 2021
 
 
MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S THESAURUS DID GIVE MORE INFORMATION, BUT A LIST OF COMPARABLE WORDS IS STILL NOT A DEFINITION. THE SYNONYMS WERE:
 
Thesaurus
smarm noun
 
Synonyms & Antonyms of smarm
 
cajolement, cajolery, ingratiation, fawning, sycophancy, toadying, acclaim, applause, commendation, praise, adoration, idolatry, worship, caresses, compliments, congratulations, felicitations, greetings, regards, respects, allurements, blandishments, endearments, adulation, blarney, butter, flannel [British], flattery, incense, overpraise, soft soap, sweet talk, taffy
 
Antonyms & Near Antonyms for smarm
bad-mouthing, belittlement, depreciation, detraction, disparagement, put-down
 
 
BUT COLLINS, URBAN DICTIONARY AND WIKTIONARY ALL DID MORE RESEARCH THAN MY STANDBY M-W. BOTH CAME UP WITH HELPFUL COMMENTS, WHICH THOUGH THEY ARE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER, DO ACCORD IN MEANING.
 
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/smarm   
in British English
(smɑːm IPA Pronunciation Guide) British informal
 
VERB
1. (transitive; often foll by down)
to flatten (the hair, etc) with cream or grease
2. (when intr, foll by up to)
to ingratiate oneself (with)
 
NOUN
3.  obsequious flattery
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
 
Word origin
C19: of unknown origin
 
 
THE HAIR GREASE CONNECTION, WHICH MAY CONTAIN AN IMPLIED INSULT AGAINST INDIANS
 
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Smarm  
Smarm   
 
Smarm was the name given to a particularly heavy and cloying hair grease worn by Indian men in the nineteenth century. Thus a "smarmy" person is cloying, over-ingratiating, oleaginous ("oily"), close, and over-familiar.
.
"Who was that man who pretended to know you so well?"
 
"Oh, Kenneth. Ignore him. He confuses charm with smarm."
by al-in-chgo March 25, 2010
 
 
FIRST PUBLICATION
 
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smarmy#:~:text=Etymology,published%20on%2014%20January%201899
Etymology
 
smarm +‎ -y[en 1] Apparently coined by "B.R.L., of Brighton" with sense "saying treacly things which do not sound genuine" in a competition for neologisms in The Academy (London) published on 14 January 1899.[en 2]
 
Adjective
smarmy (comparative smarmier, superlative smarmiest)
 
* Falsely earnest, smug, ingratiating, or pious.
a smarmy salesman with a big smile
* (rare, dated) unctuous, greasy, as hair from pomade
*Synonyms
(falsely earnest or smug): flattering, gushing, ingratiating, oily, smug
 
 
BUT TO DIG AN EVEN DEEPER HOLE, CAN WE CARRY THIS FURTHER BACK IN TIME? THIS LEADS TO THE OCCURRENCE OF THE WORD "SMARM" AS PART OF A "SUTRA" IN HINDU WISDOM LITERATURE, PERHAPS AS EARLY AS 500 BC. IN THIS CASE THE TERM, TRANSLATING TO "THREAD," APPEARS TO GO BACK TO LOOM WEAVING, AND HAS NO NEGATIVE CONNOTATION, NOR ANY RELATIONSHIP TO OIL. READ THIS EXCERPT.
 
https://www.exoticindiaart.com/book/details/ritual-sutras-history-of-indian-literature-volume-1-fasc-2-nbz817/  
A History of Indian Literature
By Jan Gonda
 
"…. 1. The literature
In the later Vedic period the scholarly literature developed a new prose style, generally known as sautra style. The term sutra, for want of something better often translated by "aphorism", denotes, generally speaking, a large and varied number of "manuals of instruction"! and "systematic surveys or resume" . . . . The result generally consisted of long successions of short phrases which in many cases impress a modern reader as a sort of classified index of the subjects dealt with rather than a manual. Although a good many of them are grammatically complete and logically impeccable individual smarms can hardly be disconnected from their context because they correlate to the sutras which precede . . . . The name smarm (literally "thread"), which is applicable to' both the whole work and its individual sentences or paragraphs, has been variously explained, but there can be no doubt that it is taken from the image of weaving and of woven material made out of threads. A thread stretched out lengthwise as a warp to be crossed by the woof may continue-then sutra becomes a name for the whole work-or it may be cut on both sides of the frame-then smarm denotes the single paragraphs."
 
 
THE THREAD OR DISCOURSE IN SUTRA STORIES  
 
https://tzuchi.us/blog/the-wisdom-in-sutra-stories   
 
The discourses of Shakyamuni Buddha – given starting from the time he attained enlightenment until his death – were initially passed down orally by his closest disciples and monastic followers. They were later recorded in manuscripts written in Pali and then in Sanskrit, both liturgical languages native to ancient India. As Buddhism spread, these texts were translated into Chinese and Tibetan, and eventually other languages as well. 
 
This canonical literature is referred to by the Sanskrit term sūtra (Pali: sutta), which can be translated as “discourse” yet also encompasses “string” or “thread” in its meaning. Buddhist sutras typically begin with the phrase “Thus I have heard” as they are generally considered to be buddhavacana, meaning “word of the Buddha” (Sanskrit; Pali), and  many are in the form of stories, within which core principles, rules, or aphorisms are woven in and “strung” together.
 
 
SUTRA DEFINITIONS
 
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/Sutras   
sutra (redirected from Sutras)
 
su·tra  (so͞o′trə)
n.
1. Hinduism Any of various aphoristic doctrinal summaries produced for memorization generally between 500 and 200 bc and later incorporated into Hindu literature.
2. also sut·ta (so͝ot′ə) Buddhism A scriptural narrative, especially a text traditionally regarded as a discourse of the Buddha.
[Sanskrit sūtram, thread, sutra; see syū- in Indo-European roots.]
FROM:
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
sutra (ˈsuːtrə)
n
1. (Hinduism) Hinduism Sanskrit sayings or collections of sayings on Vedic doctrine dating from about 200 ad onwards
2. (Hinduism) (modifier) Hinduism
a. of or relating to the last of the Vedic literary periods, from about 500 to 100 bc: the sutra period.
b. of or relating to the sutras or compilations of sutras of about 200 ad onwards
3. (Buddhism) Buddhism collections of dialogues and discourses of classic Mahayana Buddhism dating from the 2nd to the 6th centuries ad
[C19: from Sanskrit: list of rules]
FROM:
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
 
HERE ENDS THIS THREAD.