June 18, 2020

Mail-in voting caused huge spike in school budget voting.

[link:https://www.syracuse.com/news/2020/06/mail-in-voting-caused-huge-spike-in-school-budget-voting-see-how-much-each-cny-districts-went-up.html|]

What happens when people don’t have to go to the polls to cast votes but can mail in the ballots?

A lot more people vote.

That’s what happened this week with the school budget votes in Central New York.

The number of people voting rose from nearly 100% to as much as 453%, according to a syracuse.com | The Post-Standard analysis of voting in 2019 compared to 2020.

On average, the number of people voting rose 263%.

Similar high turnout was reported across the state.

June 16, 2020

Report: Troy (NY) police find militia manual after arrest of armed men at Black Lives Matter rally

[link:https://www.newyorkupstate.com/capital-region/2020/06/report-troy-police-find-militia-manual-after-arrest-of-armed-men-at-black-lives-matter-rally.html|]

After arresting two men accused of carrying loaded firearms during a Black Lives Matter protest, Troy police discovered “a tactical manual tying the group to the New England Minutemen militia group.”

According to the Times Union, Rensselaer County District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly’s office said the manual was found when police searched one of the vehicles after confronting a group of eight armed men.

Nathaniel Shepard, 34, of Averill Park, was charged Tuesday with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, 16 counts of criminal possession of a weapon in third degree, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.

Shepard’s arrest follows Noah Latham’s case last week. Latham, 21, a soldier based at Fort Drum, who was with the group has been accused of allegedly carrying a “ghost gun,” an untraceable firearm assembled from parts sold on the internet with no serial number.

Latham was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, second degree, a Class C violent felony. He was returned to Fort Drum and confined to the base, according to reports.

The Black Lives rally took place in Troy on June 7. Officials said the armed men dressed in military style body armor and wore bullet proof vests. Some of the men carried loaded firearms and two-way radios and some also carried batons.

According to WWNYTV, the men were detained near a parking garage not far from Troy’s police department, during the Black Lives Matter rally which began at the city park and made its way downtown to the police station and city hall.

A search of vehicles recovered a stash of loaded firearms and ammunition, a gas mask, fireworks and a tactical manual tying the group to the New England Minutemen militia group.

Troy police is still conducting an investigation in this incident.

June 11, 2020

Syracuse Head Football Coach, Dino Babers, releases BLM statement...

[link:https://twitter.com/CoachBabersCuse/status/1270724596048658435|]

Dino Babers is black, his wife, Susan (whom he married 32 years ago), is white, and together they have 4 daughters. When it comes to coaching, he's first and foremost an educator (master's degree in education administration and supervision from Arizona State) and takes it very seriously that he's a leader of young men.

A couple of his post-game locker room speeches that'll have you on your feet:

[link:

|] vs Virginia Tech

[link:|] vs Florida State

And one of my favorite video compilations after the huge, upset win over #2 Clemson:

[link:|]

The 1st black Heisman Trophy winner, Ernie Davis, played for Syracuse. Dino loves history and knows the importance of this legacy.

I Dino Babers!

June 8, 2020

He inexplicably said he went to the bunker two [and a] half times...

and Michael Cohen said he speaks in code to his base. Just putting this out there as he's going all Nazi and his birthday is coming up.

[link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Half_Times_in_Hell|]

Two Halves in Hell (Hungarian: Két félidő a pokolban), also known as The Last Goal, is a 1962 Hungarian war drama film directed and co-written by Zoltán Fábri.[1] The film is based on a 1942 football match between German soldiers and their Ukrainian prisoners of war during World War II, known as the Death Match, though in the film, the prisoners of war are Hungarian.

The film won a critics' award at Boston Cinema Festival 1962.[2]

Two Halves in Hell was remade as the 1981 American-British film Escape to Victory, this time with the prisoners of war representing a diverse group of countries. In addition, the 1974 film The Longest Yard, about an American football game between prisoners and their wardens, has been compared to Two Halves in Hell; The Longest Yard has been remade three times.


Plot
It is the spring of 1944. Nazi officers want to organize a football match for Hitler's birthday, in which Germans would play against Hungarian labour servicemen of war. They call for the famous Hungarian footballer, Ónódi, and order him to organize a team. Ónódi accepts, but in turn demands extra food, a ball with which he and his team can train before the match, and asks that they be allowed to concentrate on training before the match and not work. The Germans accept all the demands, but recommend Ónódi not include any Jews in his team. However, Ónódi can't organize the team only from his company, because only 8 out of 98 Hungarian labour servicemen can play football. Therefore, Ónódi recruits players from the other company. One of the players is Steiner, who is a Jew and can't play football. He lied to Ónódi because he was afraid to die. During training the footballers subdue the Hungarian corporal guarding them and try to escape. They are soon recaptured and told they will now probably face the death penalty. However, the Hungarian officer orders the Hungarian team to still play the match. At the beginning of the match Ónódi and his team are discouraged, as the Germans easily score three goals. The Hungarians succeed in scoring one goal and the first half ends 3-1 in favour of Germany. At the interval the Hungarian commander tells the Hungarian players that they might not be executed if they lose the match. The Hungarians refuse to believe this. At the beginning of the second half they score three goals. As a result, during the match, they are executed by the Germans.

Two [and a] Half Times in Hell

Hell = bunker

June 6, 2020

Reply to deleted post about Buffalo police officers...

Way to victim blame!

The 75-year-old man approached the commanding officer to show him something (looks like riot police helmet in left hand and cell phone in right). It's not clear if the man touched the officer at any point. However, it sure as heck is clear the two officers pushed him away. One officer hesitated and appears to want to render aid, but is stopped by the commanding officer who gets on his radio. PERIOD. No other cop stopped to render aid. They stopped because they waited for commanding officer to command them to go after another peaceful protester. OPEN YOUR EYES!

June 4, 2020

Ancestry.com President & CEO posts this message

Posted by Ancestry Team on June 3, 2020 in Website
To our global community,

Equality and racial justice are a shared responsibility. Ancestry stands in solidarity with the Black community and knows that Black Lives Matter. We recognize your pain and the feelings of fear and frustration over the injustices you face every day. Our hearts ache for the Floyd family, for their tragic loss, and for our communities as well.

As a company, we believe in the importance of diversity, unity and acceptance, as well as the fundamental truth that we are all more alike than not. Our purpose as a company, and the intent of our products, is to bring our shared diversity into the spotlight in order to promote understanding and equality.

When I see a horrifying video of George Floyd suffocating under a policeman’s leg, I am shaken to my core as a human being. As a mother and a sister, it’s an impossible sight. I fundamentally believe in the good in people. At the same time, I see these ongoing acts of violence and feel compelled to speak up and act. We all need to be an active part of creating a more equitable and open society. Change starts with acknowledging these issues, listening and learning more, and committing to take action.

At Ancestry, our products seek to democratize access to everyone’s family story and to bring people together. We are committed to enabling every story to be found and shared – including the difficult ones. It’s from understanding history and how we have overcome challenges and supported each other that we can become stronger, more empathetic, and more open. And history is complex and needs to be seen from multiple perspectives to be fully understood. While we have done a lot, we have a long, long way to go to make our product experience as inclusive as it can possibly be for everyone. It will take time, but we are committed.

An important part of improving our inclusivity is how we run our company and ensure a diverse set of perspectives is incorporated into everything we do. We have learned from our own missteps along the way and the feedback we have received has helped us take action. People are at the heart of all we do – and ensuring an inclusive workforce is an important foundation. We have been assessing all of our core human resource processes and working to ensure that Inclusion & Diversity best practices are woven into every step — from the way we hire, develop, promote, and pay our employees. We’ve also created an intercultural advisory council of experts internally and externally to review every new product, marketing campaign and program to ensure that what we do is as culturally sensitive as possible. It’s unearthing sometimes complex and difficult discussions – and it’s making us better.

We recognize that we’re nowhere close to done, but we will hold ourselves accountable and ask that our valued members do so as well. Actions speak louder than words when it comes to making real and lasting change.

It is in these difficult moments that we are touched at a deeply human level. There is so much pain right now – and we have to be open to talking about and supporting each other through it. To stand together, we must stand up for one another. To our colleagues, customers and everyone in the Black community — we see you. You matter, your lives matter, and you are valued at Ancestry.

Margo Georgiadis, President & CEO
Ancestry

[link:https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2020/06/03/a-note-from-ancestrys-ceo-2/|]

Of course, the offended right wingers are calling for Ancestry.com to cancel their memberships. Good thing they're being told by other members to do it themselves and "Bye Bye, Felicia."

June 3, 2020

Superintendent of local school district recommends online resource for community...

The following resource (a Wakelet page) can be found here (https://wakelet.com/wake/on3jU0MWR67DxCRRMLWyI) and has been created and includes articles, videos, stories, and more resources as provided by staff. This page will grow throughout time and may help discussions within homes and classrooms. This is only a new start to the light that we must continue to shine on our diversity and acceptance of each other.

While we seek healing, let us continue to shine a light in areas needed for reflection, growth, and change.

[link:https://wakelet.com/wake/on3jU0MWR67DxCRRMLWyI|]

June 1, 2020

Societies of Peace: Matriarchies Past, Present, and Future

is an outstanding representation of the intellectual exchanges at the First and Second World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies.

Throughout the ages patriarchal capitalism has co-opted human energy and knowledge, in order to control and dominate other human beings--and the natural world. But the worldview of matriarchy understands all forms of life as being interconnected with each other. Women should rise and reclaim matriarchy for the needs of our present reality, and for future prosperity.

Wahu Kaara, Executive Director of Kenya Debt Relief Network (KENDREN), Kenya

George Floyd cried out for his mother as he was being murdered by the direct result of toxic masculinity and dysfunctional patriarchy. NO MORE!