Baltimore Will No Longer Prosecute Drug Possession, Prostitution

BY RICK MORAN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/03/28/baltimore-will-no-longer-prosecute-drug-possession-prostitution-and-other-low-level-crimes-n1435502;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby declared the “war on drug users” is over and her office will no longer prosecute low-level crimes like drug possession and prostitution.

The program has been in place for the last year and was designed to reduce the population in city jails during the pandemic. Yesterday, Mosby made the policy permanent.

“Today, America’s war on drug users is over in the city of Baltimore. We leave behind the era of tough-on-crime prosecution and zero tolerance policing and no longer default to the status quo to criminalize mostly people of color for addiction, said Mosby in an official press release.

Mosby said her office will no longer prosecute drug and drug paraphernalia possession, prostitution, trespassing, minor traffic offense, open container violations, and urinating and defecating in public.

CNN:

Her decision was supported by Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison. But Republican state Sen. Robert Cassilly told CNN affiliate WBFF that while he supports prosecutorial judgment, Mosby’s decision is closer to making the law rather than enforcing it.

“Prosecutors take an oath to uphold the constitution in the state of Maryland and the constitution says the general assembly sets the policy, not the prosecutors,” Cassilly told the station. “I respect the whole prosecutorial discretion. That’s not prosecutorial discretion, that’s an exercise in legislating. That’s what the legislature is supposed to do.”

Baltimore, already a very unpleasant place to live, is about to get worse. When mayors don’t care about the “quality of life” issues like public urination and prostitution, they invite behaviors that make the city unlivable.

Mosby said the state’s attorney’s office is also working with the Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore Crisis Response Inc. (BCRI), a crisis center dealing with mental health and substance abuse issue, to offer services instead of arresting individuals committing these lesser offenses.

“Rather than arrest and prosecution, BCRI will connect individuals with services in areas such as mental health, housing, and substance use,” according to the press release.

Decriminalizing certain behaviors and activities will only encourage those same activities. Just ask San Francisco residents what happened when the city stopped prosecuting people for public urination and defecation.

“This is not compassion for the homeless. It’s condemning people to the consequences of squalor,” wrote the editor of the police blog Law Officer.

I am a Southern Californian, but relocated to Texas upon retirement from law enforcement. I have family members who live in the Bay Area, so we’d frequently visit San Francisco. However, a few years ago I said I’d had enough after the overly aggressive panhandlers spoiled a sightseeing day at Fisherman’s Wharf. Yet the coup de grace for me was entering a public restroom near the BART station and witnessing a vagrant—high on heroin—taking a crap in the sink—when public stalls were available.

“I’m done with this city,” I declared when I returned to my waiting family.

As police forces shrink and crime grows, this policy will probably be forced on all major cities. It’s what the radicals want. And Baltimore will suffer the consequences.

Turkey accused of ‘dismantling human rights protections’ on an ‘unprecedented’ scale

IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY BOYCOTTED TURKISH FIREARMS, YOU MUST DO SO NOW!

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/03/turkey-accused-of-dismantling-human-rights-protections-on-an-unprecedented-scale;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

In a forceful rebuke, Human Rights Watch has accused rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey of “dismantling human rights protections” on an “unprecedented scale.” Historically (and currently), the more Islamized a country gets, the more it tends to violate human rights. That’s because it adheres to the Sharia on issues such as the death penalty for apostates and homosexuals, the inferiority and of women and the requirement that she not venture out in public unless everything except her face and hands (and in some regions everything except for her eyes) is covered, the expansion of the domains of an Islamic caliphate via jihad (1,400 years of it), the persecution and subjugation of religious minorities who are deemed to be inferior, etc. The evidence is global and historic, contrary to Islamic supremacist deceit and despite denial by Leftists — and worse than denial: the Washington Post actually hailed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as an “austere religious scholar.”

The rebuke by Human Rights Watch “followed Turkey’s chief prosecutor announcing plans to shut down the opposition pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for acting ‘against the indivisible integrity of the state with its country and nation,’ which came amid a series of arrests of party members in cities nationwide.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also withdrew Turkey last week “from the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence.”

In response, on March 20, thousands of women protested in cities across Turkey, declaring that the women’s movement in Turkey will continue the struggle and demand government action to combat the entrenched problem of domestic violence and femicide

HRW is accusing Erdogan of “weaponizing” the Council of Europe treaty, which is popularly known as the Istanbul Convention, to “appeal to his religiously conservative base.” But even more than accountability to his base, Erdogan remains true to his own convictions as an Islamic supremacist despot with visions of a revived Ottoman Empire.

“Turkey: Erdoğan’s Onslaught on Rights and Democracy,” Human Rights Watch, March 24, 2021:

(Istanbul) – The government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is dismantling human rights protections and democratic norms in Turkey on a scale unprecedented in the 18 years he has been in office, said Human Rights Watch today. The government took further dangerous measures over the past week to undermine the rule of law and target perceived critics and political opponents.

On March 19, 2021, the president issued a decree suddenly withdrawing Turkey from the Council of Europe’s Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, known as the Istanbul Convention, a groundbreaking treaty strongly supported by the women’s rights movement in Turkey. The move came two days after the chief prosecutor of Turkey’s top court of appeal announced that he was opening a case to close down the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), only hours after the Erdoğan-controlled parliament improperly expelled an HDP deputy.

“President Erdoğan is targeting any institution or part of society that stands in the way of his wide-ranging effort to reshape Turkey’s society,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “The latest developments against parliamentary opposition, the Kurds, and women are all about ensuring the president’s hold on power in violation of human rights and democratic safeguards.”

President Erdoğan’s dramatic move to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention with an overnight presidential decree is part of efforts to shore up support from religious conservative circles outside his party and shows his readiness to use the convention as a pretext to promote a highly divisive and homophobic political discourse. That discourse disingenuously claims women’s rights undermine so-called family values and promotes a hateful and discriminatory view of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

The president’s communications chief on March 21 issued a written statement defending the decision to withdraw Turkey from the treaty, saying that it was “hijacked by a group of people attempting to normalize homosexuality – which is incompatible with Turkey’s social and family values.” The claim stems from the convention’s language prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Women’s groups across Turkey have been staunch supporters of the convention as it legally obligates governments to take effective steps to prevent violence against women, protect survivors, and punish abusers.

Given the hundreds of murders of women by partners and former partners in Turkey each year, Erdoğan’s move to withdraw from and weaponize the treaty for political ends and to ignore the treaty’s desperately needed protections for women is shocking, Human Rights Watch said.

“The decision to withdraw is a profoundly backward step in the struggle to protect women’s rights in Turkey and a major blow for all women across the political spectrum,” Roth said.

In response, on March 20, thousands of women protested in cities across Turkey, declaring that the women’s movement in Turkey will continue the struggle and demand government action to combat the entrenched problem of domestic violence and femicide….

PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY leaders in touch with US, EU, and Israel to ‘find a solution’ to pay jihad terrorists’ salaries

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/03/pa-leaders-in-touch-with-us-eu-and-israel-to-find-a-solution-to-pay-jihad-terrorists-salaries;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Paying jihad terrorists to stab and blow up Israelis is top priority for the PA, and they’re brazen about it. So here’s how they intend to continue funding their jihad: “In order to continue paying terror salaries to the 7,500 terrorists already released from prison, the PA has decided to create thousands of new civil service positions, thus camouflaging the payments to the terrorists as if they were payments to government employees. As part of this program, the PA has even recruited the released terrorists into the PA security apparatus.”

This is the PA’s new obscene manipulation to avoid “being caught up in Israel’s anti-terror legislation.” The Palestinian Authority is adept at playing Western Leftists for fools while sucking in billions of dollars in global aid and using a portion of the funds to wage jihad against the state of Israel.

“PMW initiative creates havoc for the PA Pay-for-Slay policy,” by Maurice Hirsch, Palestinian Media Watch, March 17, 2021:

According to the Director of the Palestinian Authority-funded PLO Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, Qadri Abu Bakr, the PA leadership is working closely with the US administration, the EU, and Israeli authorities to ensure that the PA will be able to pay the monthly salaries it pays to terrorist prisoners and released terrorists, via the banks in April. Abu Bakr added that dozens of employees in the commission are working – “even on vacation days” – to guarantee a solution is found to give the terrorists their rewards.

“The Palestinian leadership is holding contacts at the highest levels with the American administration, with the Europeans, and with the Israeli authorities in order to find a solution that will allow the renewal of paying the salaries of the prisoners in the occupation’s prison and the released prisoners… We hope that the payment of the salaries via the banks will be renewed in April [2021]… A team of 64 employees in the commission and in other institutions is working even on vacation days to arrange this matter, which is sacred from our perspective… The commission is insisting that the prisoners’ salaries be paid via the banks and not in any other way.”

[alquds.com, website of the paper Al-Quds, March 11, 2021]

The PA’s crisis in paying salaries all started on April 20, 2020, when Palestinian Media Watch wrote to the banks operating in the PA and warned them that new Israeli anti-terror legislation was about to come into effect and that if they continued allowing to the PA to pay salaries to the terrorist prisoners and released prisoners through their institutions they would potentially face both criminal and civil liability.

The new law that PMW referred to came into full force on Dec. 30, 2020.

Instead of abolishing its terror reward policy, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh reiterated the PA commitment to paying the salaries of the terrorist prisoners. When asked on Al-Araby TV whether the PA has “abandoned the prisoners, and what are the alternative solutions for them?” Shtayyeh pledged that the PA’ will continue to reward terrorists:

“You know and all the people watching your show know for certain that we are fully committed. We have not abandoned the prisoners, and we will not abandon the prisoners. The prisoners’ cause is a sacred cause. They have rights, and we must protect this… On the other hand, Israel and the US imposed sanctions on us due to our commitment to the prisoners. In any case we will protect the sanctity of this cause… But the most important thing is that there are financial rights for the prisoners. We will remain committed to them in every way.”

[Facebook page of PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, Jan. 22, 2021]

This statement reflected the efforts of the PA to try to invent ways to circumvent the new Israeli anti-terror funding law.

The PA has come up with a creative solution to solve part of the problem. In order to continue paying terror salaries to the 7,500 terrorists already released from prison, the PA has decided to create thousands of new civil service positions, thus camouflaging the payments to the terrorists as if they were payments to government employees. As part of this program, the PA has even recruited the released terrorists into the PA security apparatus. Significantly, the PA sees no inconsistency enlisting released terrorists, including members of internationally designated terror organizations such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine into the PA security mechanisms charged with fighting terror.

The program to recruit and enlist the released terrorists into the PA apparatus was first announced in October 2020. Since then, there have been intermittent reports updating the implementation. Thus recently, Abu Bakr commented that based on the Presidential Decree issued by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, the process of integrating the released terrorists is well underway:….

China takes initiative in Middle East peace negotiations amid void left by Trump’s departure

BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.jihadwatch.org/2021/03/china-takes-initiative-in-middle-east-peace-negotiations-amid-void-left-by-trumps-departure;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Biden has already made a catastrophic mess of foreign affairs. The lack of mainstream media coverage and analysis about it doesn’t mean that America’s enemies are not observing. While woke blokes remain with their heads firmly in the sand, avowed enemies such as Iran are emboldened. And now China has entered the Middle East fray: the worst possible player to fill the void left by the Trump Administration.

In August 2020,  a “25-year comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Iran and China” was reportedly formed, but now China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has visited Saudi Arabia and is expressing “support for the Saudi initiative to resolve the conflict in Yemen.”

Wang Yi also discussed the Palestinian and Israeli issue and called for a two-state solution, stressing that his country would send invitations to Palestinian and Israeli personalities for a dialogue in China.

A weak Biden administration has left a gaping hole in negotiating stability in the Middle East. To Iran, Biden is a laughing stock. To Saudi Arabia, Biden is a provocation, going so far as to remove the terrorist designation from the Houthi jihadis (who are Iranian proxies) in Yemen. In a few short months, Biden has managed to stymie the historic progress made by Trump. As was well stated by the American Spectator, right from the start Biden began “unraveling Middle East peace.” Now the Middle East is headed along a path to war, with malign powers including China lining up to exploit the situation.

“Chinese FM reveals initiative to protect MidEast: Al Arabiya”, Arab News, March 24, 2021:

DUBAI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday unveiled a five-point initiative for security and stability in the Middle East to Al Arabiya.

The minister, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, told the channel that China called for “mutual respect among the countries of the Middle East.”

Yi stressed the importance of supporting the efforts the regional states regarding the Syria and Yemen files.

The minister expressed China’s support for the Saudi initiative to resolve the conflict in Yemen, stressing that it reflects Riyadh’s resolve to address the Yemeni crisis. He also hoped to implement that initiative as soon as possible.

The Saudi peace initiative includes a nationwide ceasefire and the reopening of air and sea links with the territories held by the Houthi group in Yemen.

The Chinese minister also discussed the Palestinian and Israeli issue, and called for a two-state solution, stressing that his country would send invitations to Palestinian and Israeli personalities for a dialogue in China.

He also stressed that China called for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, adding, “the efforts of the countries of the region must be supported to ensure that they are free of nuclear weapons.”

During his visit to Saudi Arabia, the Chinese minister is expected to meet his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Nayef Al-Hajraf, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council…..

Transgender Female Complains TSA Scanners Set Off Alarms for the ‘Anomaly Between My Legs’

Misgendered: Montoya told the TSA officer she was trans and offered to be pat down, but she was asked if she wanted to go through the male scanner instead

BY RICK MORAN

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2021/03/27/transgender-female-complains-tsa-scanners-set-off-alarms-for-the-anomaly-between-my-legs-n1435379;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

A transgender female’s video rant about the “transphobic” Transportation Security Administration went viral after the individual complained that the airport scanning devices triggered an alarm for the “anomaly between my legs.”

It’s true. The imaging technology scans all passengers and looks for “anomalies” based on the sex of the passenger that the TSA screener is presented with. Is a machine “transphobic” for doing what it was designed to do?

I’ve heard the male penis described many different ways — some flattering, some not — but I’ve never heard it referred to as “an anomaly.”

But why is the TSA “transphobic”? The woman, a model and content creator named Rosalynne Montoya, is apparently unaware of the imaging technology used by the agency.

You will be screened by walk-through metal detectors or advanced imaging technology.

Advanced imaging technology uses automated target recognition software that eliminates passenger-specific images and instead auto-detects potential threats by indicating their location on a generic outline of a person. The generic outline is identical for all passengers.

AIT Screening Process: When you enter the imaging portal, the TSA officer presses a button designating a gender (male/female) based on how you present yourself. The machine has software that looks at the anatomy of men and women differently. The equipment conducts a scan and indicates areas on the body warranting further inspection if necessary. If there is an alarm, TSA officers are trained to clear the alarm, not the individual. Additional screening is conducted to determine whether a prohibited item is present.

Montoya could have requested a pat-down instead of a scan. The fact that she didn’t suggest that she wanted to make a point about how terribly unfair it is for a woman to have an “anomaly between her legs.”

“Can we talk about how horrible it is to travel while being transgender sometimes? I always have immense anxiety leading up to going through security. And this means that I totally recognize the privilege of having all of my documents correct. So, the gender marker on my license, for example, says female,” Montoya said in the video.

That means that the TSA employee pressed the correct button that set up the machine to scan a female, right? Not exactly.

“The scanners at TSA checkpoints are made with only two settings, forcing the TSA agents to make a split-second decision on whether to scan travelers as male or female,” Montoya added, according to Buzzfeed, adding, “Afterwards, I took a deep breath, grabbed my things and bought myself a cookie butter latte and a snack. I felt dysphoric and disrespected, but remembered how much worse this experience used to be. I FaceTimed my boyfriend, who listened to my story and calmed me down.”

The solution?

“I am not a second-class citizen,” Montoya told Buzzfeed. “I’m deserving of the same rights and the same respect as cisgender people. The TSA security machines should account for trans and non-binary people.”

“And the agents should understand that misgendering me and outing me as a trans person in public could be potentially dangerous,” Montoya continued. “Trans people are attacked at alarming rates when we are outed — especially Black trans women.”

TSA procedures are plainly and clearly written. She knew exactly what to expect walking into the scanning machine. I can’t see any reason for this rant except to draw attention to a political issue. Instead of the grievously injured passenger mistreated by the “transphobic” TSA, we have a political activist looking for attention.