Romancing the killer: Why women marry death row inmates

Ted Bundy, infamous serial killer

Beverly is 38, divorced and a mother of two school-aged children, who married a death row inmates.  Like Beverly there are many women who are fascinated by men who kill, but what makes such women choose a killer for romance?



Eleven years ago The Guardian wrote an article about such women as Beverly, posing the question why women are drawn to men in prison. The article documents the backgrounds and behaviors of some of these women, offering initially the fact that prison romances span the social strata and are not confined to poor, emotionally needy women desperate for a mate. Instead they determined that women come from all social sectors. The newspaper offers the examples of Jimmy Boyle, a hard-core prison inmate who married a psychiatrist he met in prison. Carlos the Jackal became engaged to his lawyer the year before the article was written. The article went on to observe that most of the women who fall in love, and become engaged or married to prison inmates, meet their mates on anti-death-penalty campaign Internet sites.



Beverly, who has asked for anonymity for this article, said she had been part of a group that had fought against the death penalty in another state, following her divorce. She had become involved through a group of friends, and her advocacy work led her to meet Milt Russel, (not his real name) a convicted killer of three women, one of whom had been a long-time girlfriend. Beverly said she was captivated by Milt's letters, after she had initiated a correspondence through a penpal group. She liked his writing and said she was an amateur handwriting analyst who could tell he was an emotional person but someone with talent, creativity and passion. When she finally met him, through a visit, she said she was particularly impressed with his healthy, good looks, his musical abilities and his strong denial of killing anyone.



How does Beverly fare with friends when she tells them about her romancing a killer? Most of them would not understand, Beverly says. In fact, she is guarded about telling anyone, except a few “best” friends she says are in the prison reform movement themselves and therefore more understanding. Her children simply know she goes somewhere to visit a friend in jail, as they too are aware of her passion for the protest about capital punishment and prison reform. Still Beverly says she wishes she had met Milt in some other way and that she has to be some careful about who she tells about her romance with a man who is in prison.



Most of the women, the Guardian tells us, declare they would not have willingly chosen romance with a killer but that it just happened as a result of the pen pal experience. The man offers friendship, and that friendship then becomes something more. For Beverly her experience has been difficult at times, because she is unable to share the fine details of her romance with her friends; but she is adamant that this is “the real thing.”



A decade after Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his wife, Lacy, and his unborn child, Connor, he still receives pictures and letters from women, although these have diminished over the years. A reporter named Nancy Mullane interviewed Peterson recently as background for a book about women who are drawn to romancing killers. In an interview with Matt Lauer, Mullane said she had been visiting prisoners since 2007 to obtain information about their lives following a murder conviction and their tenure in prison.

Mullane learned that Peterson spends about five hours daily of his death row experience in a prisoner-friendly tier where he can go outside and exercise. A jury had convicted Peterson of killing his wife sometime between the night of December 23, 2002 and the following day. Peterson claimed he had gone fishing, however the jury, after reviewing the details presented at trial, found him guilty of killing his wife, Lacy, then pregnant with Connor, whose body was found separately during the search for both the mother and child. Because of the case notoriety, and the news stories about Peterson's female fan letters, much of what he does these days remains per prison officials “privileged information.”

One of the most famous serial killers, Ted Bundy, had his share of female fans, even when he was on death row.  Despite the violent nature of his crimes, women were said to be both afraid and yet charmed at the same time by Bundy.  One of them, Carol Boone, married Bundy and had a child by him after he had been accused of killing the two college women for which he was convicted and sent to death row.   He was said to have more female fans during his tenure on death row that at any other time in his life.



While journalists have covered stories about women who marry killers, for the most part it remains a puzzle to many about why women are attracted to men who murder, including those who are serial rapists as well. The New Statesman examined the visiting room on death row in one of Florida's prisons, finding women there visiting loved ones on death row. Some of these women met the men and married the men after the men were tried, convicted, sentenced and had spent time in prison.



One of these women cited by the New Statesman is Rosalie Bolin who married her husband Oscar in 1996, wearing a wedding dress while sitting in her apartment and offering vows over the telephone with a man on death row who had been convicted of raping and killing women. Rosalie, a crusader against the death penalty and mitigation specialist for those on death row, had met Oscar in the course of her advocacy missions. She became convinced he was innocent of the killings, although admits he had raped women, refusing to discuss it. Instead she focuses on what she claims are the signs of his innocence, such as the look in his eyes and his demeanor. She has convinced herself that her marriage, and advocacy of Oscar, were right and that she loves the man, whom she left her attorney husband to marry. The New Statesman points out that despite all the protestations of Rosalie about her relationship with Oscar, those same feelings are not shared by her children, who, during the interviews, spoke of the embarrassment their mother's situation has caused them.



Why do women fall in love with men in prison? References point to the fact that many of these women are white, professional and believe they have rescued someone whose difficult lives had led them to committing the most heinous crimes. In their efforts to protect and advocate, they confuse their emotions with love, protesting that like socialites whose husbands are often absent, they continue to maintain the bond because it is the right thing to do in those rescue efforts.



Women who love men who rape and kill can look just like any other woman, dress and speak well, and live in affluence or in poverty, according to a prison guard in Hawaii who years ago spoke about the many letters the Makiki rapist received in prison from women.   The Makiki rapist was convicted of raping and killing women in the central area of Oahu, not far from the University.   What these women share, is a driven desire to reform while advocating for justice, often not just dedicating their own lives to the cause but the lives of their loved ones, their children and families, as well.  They see themselves as humanitarians initially, using this as a foundation for their initial involvement.   While it confounds and confuses others, these women like Beverly are able to divorce themselves from the public revulsion that is directed towards those who rape and kill in exchange for their singular purpose, to make better those whose lives are so damaged they seem hopeless to everyone else.

Internet lynching grows in power and influence

A Westboro Baptist Church demonstration

The Internet has been one of the great ways of uniting people and events, allowing instant communication around the globe. Doctors can watch each other perform operations and even be guided by one another in the process. Businesses can sell goods. Consumers can buy almost anything. All of this and far more has been brought by the Internet, but even as it has been a force for good, it has allowed the baser influences of the world's cultures to thrive, recruit and influence and become virtually Internet lynch mobs.



The South Poverty Law Center documents the story of Hal Turner. He is described as a neo-Nazi who has used websites to harass, threat and intimidate and developed a following. He is said to have slandered those he considered enemies whom he suggested be killed. In 2007 he gave the names, addresses and phone numbers of the six African American teens in Jeena, Louisiana who were at the time facing punishment involving a fight at a high school. The fight followed an incident where white students had labeled a tree in the schoolyard as whites only and a place for lynching. Turner's website called for “Lynch the Jena 6!" He also wrote that Mexicans should be shot and killed as soon as they cross the border.



When judges in Brooklyn and Chicago were perceived to have upheld local handgun bans, Turner responded by posting photographs of the judges along with identifying information that included addresses and phone numbers and was said to have intimated they be killed. He was arrested, tried, found guilty for making illegal threats, and lost in the Circuit Court of Appeals in July of 2013.



Turner is one among many who has used the Internet to attract attention to topics that are controversial and negative. Others use it specifically to build a following and to recruit members to carry out certain objectives. In the United States, according to the SPLC, right wing militia groups have grown dramatically as a result of the Internet, while “aboveground” groups have diminished in numbers because of the violence people have found in them. But the underground has flourished.



There are also those in the Christian right who have offered terrorist conspiracies and hate speech. One of these is the Christian Identity Religion, with leadership like Robert McCurry, an identity minister. He was reported to have told a crowd of 500 people who came to hear him in a large conference in Missouri that “war rages in America. The enemy is not coming. The enemy is here,” then added later, “God has ordained that his people be a warring people---Lord of Hosts means Lord of a mass of people organized for war.”The Internet had allowed the growth of the Identity Religion so that it continues to flourish.



Social media facilitates communication among groups of individuals in a crisis. It also helps to organize groups all over the world. In fact in Egypt during the Arab Spring, social media allowed protesters to communicate and organize. The same has been true during other demonstrations or uprisings around the world. During times of disasters, social media has allowed victims to contact sources of assistance and for service organizations and community groups to extend outreach efforts to those in need.



But social media also abounds with hate speech. Some hate groups develop, grow and multiply in places like Facebook, Twitter and Google. Although these sites prohibit hate speech and threats, it is not uncommon to see inflammatory speech on comment threads and threats made as well. Right wing groups have grown by more than 66% during the period from 2000 to 2010, so they number in excess of 1000 in the United States.



Dr. Andre Oboler has dedicated great effort to combating online hate. He has fought against online hate against groups of minorities in Australia and established The Online Hate Prevention Institute. He says this about hate speech in social media: “Mainstream social media platforms facilitate hate speech when they don't stop it. Social media networks have a very powerful communication platform and if they allow it to be used for evil effectively, then that puts the public at risk. When it's out there in the public sphere it puts more people at risk to accepting the hate, and also deciding that the hate is just a normal part of the discussion. This leads them to being people who just stand there, accept it and don't say anything, and that sort of harmful behaviour becomes normalized.”



All sorts of media platforms on the Internet are used to spread the message of hate, according to The Leadership Conference. Anti-Semitic rhetoric and racist comments are made in the comment section of online media sites. It is there that readers themselves become radicalized, foster attention to hate, and promote following a violent form of response to those events and individuals who are the targets of hate. This includes not just those groups who argue about handguns, Second Amendment rights, and immigration, the popular topics that arouse hate speech. It also includes radical animal rights individuals and groups who use hate-filled rhetoric to rail against government groups, private organizations and individuals concerning their treatment of animals. The comment sections of online sites allow readers to vent their views in such harsh ways, that some newspapers have had to close down the comments sections.



Video-sharing sites like YouTube are also platforms for hate groups and individuals to offer their ideas and to recruit members.  This way members actually see and hear the information and thereby find some sort of intimacy and connection with those whose ideas seem attractive but who may not overtly reveal the violent nature of their messages.



Oboler's remarks about the development of hate groups on the Web offer us a summary of the risks of the Internet, as a power for good or evil. Just like the mobs of yesteryear, people gather in large groups and are led by opinions that may be wrong and hurtful. The problem becomes, as it has before, that some people join the harsh and negative style, even the hate itself, as others simply ignore it and say nothing. Both, as Oboler reminds us, will make acceptance of the hate behavior as normal and in that fashion will facilitate its growth.

Incest involves perceived rewards over-riding risks

Caracci'spainting of Jupiter and Junon, incest of the Gods

Darlene went to school on Monday, and no one knew the secret she had kept for years. Now in high school at a time when other girls plan parties, giggle in groups about a new boyfriend, and share stories about adolescent yearnings, Darlene is left out of those innocent times. That's because her uncle had long ago taken away her girlhood dreams and left her only with fears that her future could never be anything but tragic. That's the pain of incest, but it's only part of the story that is seldom talked or written about that impacts the lives of many children and youth with negative effects that can be lifelong.



In antiquity it was considered natural, and encouraged, for a brother and sister to marry, in order to maintain the bloodline and the pureness of it. Ancient Egyptian royalty considered it important to marry siblings in order to keep the status of the family entrenched. The pattern of parent-child and sibling unions, however, was reserved primarily for royalty, as most cultures now and throughout history considered sexual relations with a close blood relative to be taboo. And even in those Western cultures where royalty did not practice sibling marriage, it was not uncommon for members of royalty to have married cousins, including first cousins.



The royalty of Egypt and of Spain, and other cultures, knew the downside of marrying close relatives but chose to ignore it. Charles I of Spain is a known example of the negative impact of marrying first cousins, as the Hapsburgs habitually had done. He had so many health problems that he had difficulty eating and could not walk until he was eight nor talk until he was four. He was also impotent and of unusually small stature.



Yet despite genetic problems that occurred for hundreds of years as a result of incest, royal families continued the practice for generations in virtually every culture. And the practice of marrying first cousins remains common in a number of countries such as India and Pakistan.



Why did the royals continue to practice incest when the genetic factors began to show disabilities in the offspring, a consequence of this practice? There were risks to marrying close relatives, however there were rewards as well. Some of these rewards are of the type still held dear by cultures that continue the practice of incestuous marriage.



Royalty has tremendous power, and in the minds of many they were like the gods. If the gods married each other, than it was reasonable that the royals would as well. They were apart from others because of their unique station. Incest was also a way of preserving assets in the family and maintaining the family status as well. So the rewards were of the nature to cause incest to be considered right and normal for the royals.



In countries like Pakistan and others where close relatives continue to marry one another, people often know the risks but are willing to assume them to maintain the need to protect assets and family integrity.



There are also subcultures among religious groups and special communities where incest is encouraged. The practice can continue for years, and the results of the abuse create lasting difficulties for generations of a family. These difficulties can be both psychological and physical and are either ignored or dealt with by closeting away the problem people or using them as victims sexually and forcing them to perform the menial tasks other family members don't want to perform.



A startling case in Australia shows the long-term nature of the problem of incest within a family. In fact people were astounded that the incest had been practiced for so long and so extensively in an inte-rgenerational family and that few knew or intervened to help the victims.



Inter-generational incest and child abuse that has dominated the lives of 40 members of one family for decades was uncovered in late 2013 as authorities finally acted on warnings that the children in the family were at risk. 11 children in this New South Wales community of around 2000 people have parents related to each other. And each of these children had suffered years of abuse from brothers, sisters, cousins, fathers, an uncle and a grandfather that took place over four generations.

Authorities had initially learned of the family in 2010 surrounding school attendance. By 2012 the family had been notified of the need to improve conditions for the children. Then in 2013 the children were removed, when the incest was discovered that involved 11 children that were products of sexual liaisons among closely related family members, including an uncle and grandfather. The children had been living in filthy conditions and were involved in sexual experimentation with one another.

Child sexual abuse occurs in all cultures and countries around the world. In most cases the perpetrator is a male, whether the victim is male or female. 30% of the children who have been sexually abused were victims of close family members such as brothers, fathers, uncles and first cousins. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that about 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before reaching age 18.

The negative effects from the trauma of sexual abuse can be both physical and psychological. Long-term consequences include vulnerability to sexual acting out, depression, poor self esteem, chronic pain, disassociative behavior, criminality in adulthood and suicide.

When sexual relations occur between an adult and a child, most state laws and of many countries consider this to be child abuse. When it involves a close adult relative and a child it is incest and violates both the laws and taboos in most cultures. It causes pain and suffering, and too often the abuse incurs the kind of hurt that impacts entire families and communities and most of all the children, despite the perceived rewards of the perpetrators.

Children of the jailed suffer a lifetime of sorrows

New Hampshire State Prison for Women

With the millions of people in jails, what happens to their children? The question poses multiple ones, in fact, as children without parenting can have problems. Then there are those who are children themselves and are in prison. Both sets of children end up suffering for many years, and perhaps a lifetime, from the stigma of or time in jail or being without a parent.

What researchers have found is those children who have or have had a parent in prison go through the same experiences of bereavement as occurs when a parent dies. This includes a deterioration in both physical and mental health, problems with money, school difficulties, problems with housing and care arrangements, susceptibility to victimization and the risk of future offending. In fact the children of those who have been in prison are more likely than other children to also become prisoners.

There have also been many children who were sentenced themselves to die in prison. The Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that it is unconstitutional to execute a child. On the other hand, children were still sentenced to live out their lives in prison until that too was declared unconstitutional in 2009. Nevertheless there remain many juveniles in prison, whose lives become a revolving prison door. Among those who were imprisoned as children, a high percentage return to prison during adulthood. In addition, those who have been in prison have reduced incomes during their lifetimes and other social problems as well, including more frequent physical and mental health problems. 

Those who face prison terms face the loss of contact with their children. So the losses for the child are also part of a parent's loss, reflecting the fact that with the great numbers of people in American prisons, the future of those there will likely be passed to future generations, making prison reform even more difficult if that becomes true and prison populations continue to rise.

Janani Luwum: the Anglican martyr remembered as Ugandan human rights abuses continue

Archbishop Janani Luwum

This day in history, 37 years ago, Janani Luwum, then the Angelican archbishop of Uganda was killed with two other men in an automobile accident, according to the reports of the government at the time.  The country's religious and political strife have continued to make Uganda the place that peace forgot.

Luwum is viewed as a martyr by Church of England, as a statue was unveiled of him in 1998 where it stands above the west entrance to the Abbey.

 When Luwum became Archbishop the country was dominated by powerful African leaders, the worst of whom was Idi Amin, who unleashed a reign of terror that lasted more than decade.  Luwum protested against the acts of violence that were in great number.  As a consequence he and other Church leaders were ordered to Kampala, then to leave, and after the order was given, Luwum is quoted as having said to Bishop Festo Kivengere, a colleage in the Church, "They are going to kill me. I am not afraid.".   History records that he was murdered.  But two years later Idi Amin lost power during an invasion of forces in 1979 and fled the country in order to avoid facing the wrath of his countrymen and the justice deserved from the terrible atrocities that had occurred during his tenure as President.

Rebellion and conflict have continued to be problems in Uganda, as the country continues to find itself before the judgment of the world.  Now it is the anti-gay bill proposed by the Ugandan government that is arousing world attention.  This new bill is aimed at gays, proposing a law that would put homosexuals in prison, if convicted of having sex with members of the same sex.  Furthermore those who did not report gay people would themselves face punishment.  It would also make it a crime to even talk about homosexuality.  Ugandan law already bans gay sex between members of the same sex.

On a day to remember the martyr to the cause of freedom for the people of Uganda, Luwum's sacrifice remains a symbol of the ongoing strife and humanitarian issues that plague a country where domestic peace seems always remote

Aid link

PCP considered most dangerous drug because of associations with violence

PCP compound

Many of us have heard the term PCP, but not many people know exactly what it is and the risks it brings to the welfare of communities.  In Southern California, which is considered a major center for the production and distribution of the drug, Federal law enforcement is cracking down on dealers, as we learn more about the harmful nature of PCP.

“PCP producers and suppliers deal a toxic poison that destroys minds and contaminates our neighborhoods,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “Today’s operation breaks the grip that these drug makers and dealers have held on the neighborhoods of Watts and South Los Angeles by targeting the highest levels of PCP traffickers and those responsible for manufacture and distribution of this deadly drug.”

Prosecutors have confiscated 100 gallons of the illegal drug and the chemicals used in its manufacture.  A gallon of chemicals can actually produce thousands of gallons of the drug itself.  Furthermore 76,800 doses of PCP can be made from those additional thousands of gallons from just the 100 that were taken.  40 defendants have been indicted in the recent seizures of drug supplies, and laboratories used to manufacture PCP have been closed down as well.  Guns have also been found among the items confiscated and along with the drug materials are part of the indictments.

Phencyclidine (PCP) was initially used by medical doctors in the 1950's as an intravenous anesthetic.  The side effects, however, were of such concern that medicine discontinued its use in the 1960's.  It subsequently continued in its present form as a street drug.  It is said to cause side effects of hallucinations, delirium, and mania.

Experts tell people not to be fooled, since PCP may be described as a white powdery substance, however it contains contaminants that can often change its color and consistency, so that it can be light or dark and brownish in color, and ranging from gummy to light and flaky.  It is also sold in tablet form.

PCP is considered a particular dangerous drug because it causes disassociation and sometimes violent behavior and is often seen tied to particularly heinous crimes.

Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots tight end accused of murder, was reported by Rolling Stone to be a regular user of PCP.

Google lawsuit losses and spamming show need for vigilance in blogging

Google sign

Carol Forsloff –  Should bloggers have insurance? They might consider it, although it’s expensive if a company offers coverage. That’s because people can sue Internet titans and bloggers as well. Some years ago Google lost a lawsuit that raises privacy concerns.  It also shows why Google is penalizing sites where there have been questionable practices.  And at times some of that spill over onto the innocent as well.





Bitten Bound, a media source covering celebrity material, reported on a case regarding Vogue model Liskula Cohen who became outraged at the remarks of an anonymous blogger. Cohen maintained she had been defamed by the blogger who posted photos of her, along with derogatory comments. The blog was entitled “Skanks in NYC.”





In rendering a decision against Google and requiring the Internet industry giant to reveal the blogger’s identity, Judge Madden who rendered the decision in the case declared, “The protection of the right to communicate anonymously must be balanced against the need to assure that those persons who choose to abuse the opportunities presented by this medium can be made to answer for such transgressions.”

The Seattle Post Intelligencer examined the “Skank Case” as it is now famously called, maintaining how privacy groups will likely be especially concerned about a precedent set by this case. The court had ordered Google to identify the blogger who had made what was alleged to be defamatory comments. The issue of defamation wasn’t ruled on, but the blogger’s service responsibility was examined instead.





Within a day or so after the announcement of the “Skank Case” decision about Google, according to New York’s Daily Intel, Liskula decided to forgive and forget that anonymous blogger whose identity she got as a result of the lawsuit. It turned out to be someone she knew quite well, 29-year-old Rosemary Port. Port apparently had been angry over something she believed Cohen told Port’s boyfriend. So Port retaliated with a blog entry.





After the Google verdict and Cohen’s filing of a $3 million lawsuit for “defamation in the form of libel and intentional emotional distress,” Cohen changed her mind and advised her attorney to drop the lawsuit against Port. Later in an interview with Post’s Andrea Peyster Cohen lit a cigarette, hiding it from the photographer lens, while exclaiming her “grandma wouldn’t like it” as Peyser wrote down the quote. Intel reports an angry outburst from Cohen about the cigarette issue, the newspaper maintains leaves people wondering what really happened in the case involving Cohen and Port. Despite the complexities of this case, however, there have been other cases that raise concerns about some of the same issues of privacy and freedom of speech issues.





Several years ago USA Today reported a Florida jury awarded a woman $11.3 million in a defamation lawsuit against a Louisiana woman. Carey Bock was found guilty of posting messages on the Internet accusing Sue Scheff of being a “crook,” a “con artist” and a “fraud.” Scheff declared she had pursued the lawsuit even though she knew Bock didn’t have any money because, “People are using the Internet to destroy people they don’t like, and you can’t do that.”





Another case was Stratton Oakmont vs. Prodigy (1995)where someone posted an accusation about Daniel Porush, the President of Stratton Oakmont, that Porush was “soon to be proven criminal” and that the company itself was a “cult of brokers who either lie for a living or get fired.” Porush, through his company, argued that the fact Prodigy had editorial control over content it could be classified as a publisher and thereafter had responsibility to filter material that was defamatory. The court awarded damages to Stratton Oakmont against Prodigy.





Shortly after that decision, the Huffington Post and others wrote about how Sarah Palin, through her attorney, threatened to serve papers on a blogger, accusing the blogger of defamation for posting material about Sarah Palin’s marriage and a possible divorce. A number of writers throughout the Internet world pounced on the blogger’s story and spread it, bringing consternation and concern to former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. This incident revealed that whether left or right of the political spectrum, even the politicians are considering lawsuits to stop what they consider verbal abuse over the Internet.





Are all cases pursued like this given a judgment for the plaintiff? A review of court cases by Stanford University online reveals some plaintiffs lose, and the cases themselves sometimes have underlying issues that may not be known by the public at the outset when the case is first filed.

On the other hand, the cases do present questions, and concerned experts say the cases might make a difference in the use of the Internet, since they underline the seriousness of posting defamatory material, even if it is done anonymously. The cases also reveal issues of consistency and the fact that responsibility and blame are yet a part of the controversy over what one can or cannot write about others.





And that slippery slope of blogging boomerangs as well on innocent sites, when bloggers use spamming techniques to develop backlinks, catching the innocent as well as the guilty.  All of this abuse adds up to the need for Google to be watchful, but even so in the world of the Internet, where good things are learned and yet bad things lurk, we are all in this together.

Civil rights violations occur in jails, not just in communities and nations

Inmates, Orleans Parish Prison

Carol Forsloff----The Department of Justice announced today the indictment of two officers who are accused of violating the civil rights of an inmate by physically assaulting that inmate, then covering up what they did by falsifying records.  The officers both worked in the Mens Jail in Los Angeles, California.

It is not just in the community that police have allegedly used unnecessary force or who have gone outside the boundaries of reasonable control and safety, as treatment of others inside jails is also of a concern when it comes to civil rights issues.

The indictment charges that charges Joey Aguiar, 26, and Mariano Ramirez, 38 of illegally using force against an inmate then falsifying records that led to the victim's false prosecution.

If found guilty, Aguiar and Ramirez face a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.  18 current and former Los Angeles Deputies have also been indicted on various civil rights offenses and corruption charges and are also being scheduled this year for trial.

As the world focuses on police corruption and human rights abuses in Iraq and in Africa, police departments in the United States, along with the jails, are also being investigated for crimes against others by denying them their civil rights and exceeding the reasonable force necessary to control and protect the community from harm.

Gay rights issues said to be ignored by governments, media in high profile athletics

Sochi Olympics 2014 stamp

Gay rights groups protested humanitarian issues were being overlooked in the embrace of the  Sochi Olympic games.  They see the media hype over the athletes, the accommodations and the terrorist threat taking precedence over concerns about the treatment of gays in Russia, something that was known before the games and seldom examined by the media during the course of the preparation for the games.

The announcement by the mainstream press at the Olympics and other sports events highlights worries that terrorists may use toothpaste as bombs to bring down planes.  Journalists announced their accommodations as poor, with leaking toilets, beds without proper bedding and open and broken windows in the face of winter's cold temperatures.  All of that is important news, but the lack of consistent reporting in favor of long interviews with athletes and their families, as are the program highlights of the Today Show, overlooks the importance of humanitarian values neglected in favor of "entertainment" news.

Russia announced several times, both by government officials including Putin and the official press, that the law of Russia bars homosexual behavior.   Openly gay Olympic medal recipient and diving champion,  Greg Lougani, told the Huffington Post that he believes it was a mistake for the world to accept Russia as a host for the Olympic games because of Russia's anti-gay legislation.

According to gay rights proponents and their supporters, Russia's law that bans pro-gay "propaganda" that could be accessible to minors is so restrictive that any public expression of support for gay rights is often met with a severe response.

In the meantime, gay rights groups are taking to the streets around the world to show their concern about the neglect of humanitarian ideals in relationship to treatment of gays.  They have been comparing the celebration of the games in Sochi as reminiscent of the atmosphere created by Adolph Hitler's condemnation of minorities prior to the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936 and have been calling for boycotts of corporate sponsors.

Athletics remains the sport where people can show their physical prowess.  But politics remains one of the principal issues when the games are high profile.  It is then that human rights ideals may be overlooked in the din of nationalistic noises, with the media on the sidelines as spectators

Native American women at particular risk for human trafficking, rape,violence

Native American women

The Obama administration has put forth a plan with its purpose "to describe the steps that federal agencies will take to ensure that all victims of human traficking in the United States are identiied and have access to the services they need to recover. This includes steps to create a victim services

network that is comprehensive, trauma-informed, and responsive to the needs of all victims, "a recognition of the serious problems that have taken place, especially among immigrant women and women of indigenous or minority groups or children either male or female in these groups.

The announcement was put up on the Native American Affairs website on January 30.  It is recognition of the problems that have occurred with human trafficking and sexual violence that has taken place in some of the Native American communities.

An article in the Navaho Times in 2013 discusses the problem at some length and quotes Keahi Kimo Souza, Jemez Pueblo Behavioral Health Director, who spoke about the risks within Native American communities.

"There is activity in the Southwest. Reports are coming in from the Bureau of Indian Affairs," Souza was quoted as saying.  The article went on to say how Souza maintained that traffickers use tribal lands to avoid being found crossing state borders.

"These human traffickers will go miles off the Interstate to evade state police," Souza said.

Lisa Brunner, who is a program specialist of the Native American Indigenous Women's Resource Center testified about the seriousness of violence against Native American women.  Indigenous women are far more likely to be raped than women in other cultural groups.  1 in 3 will be raped and 6 out of 10 will be violently attacked.  Brunner reminds people that this has gone on for a long time, since the colonization of the Americas, and that human trafficking is widespread.

Spain's embrace of Sephardic Jews in contrast to rejection of gypsies

 Gypsies in France

Among the good news stories of 2013, still part of the news of 2014,  was an expansion of the announcement that had taken place in 2012, as Spain welcomed back the Sephardic Jews after 500 years.  That good news about Spain offered the potential to examine long-held prejudices and renew hope for caring for people who long ago either left voluntarily or were banished because of their beliefs.  That welcome, however, of the Sephardic Jews is in stark contrast to the gypsies, whose return to their countries of origin have been met with distrust, banishment or segregation.

A common definition of the word "Sephardic" has referenced people who were exiled from countries along North African, the Balkans, Italy, Syria and Palestine, many of whom fled to Holland, Brazil, New York, Mexico, and the the Caribbean. Sephardim of the Iberian Peninsula, which is now Portugal and Spain, which fused Hebrew and Spanish into its own language, one called Ladino.  Yet there is academic debate about this definition of "Sephardic Jew.

Some scholars see these people as principally coming from the Iberian Peninsula, while still others reference the Middle East or combine both areas along with North Africa.

On the other hand, a broader definition defines the people as "For Jews, what is most important as a distinguishing characteristic is not the specific culture acquired in any particular country of exile by any particular Jewish population but the broader issues of halakhah and mishpat (Jewish law), community organization, and cultural patterns from food to synagogue rituals. In these respects, the Sephardi world is one, from the Atlantic to the Indian Oceans, significantly influenced by its location within Islamic civilization."

This broader meaning gets at the history along with the modern definitions that outline culture as one of the principal characteristics of a specific group of people, in this case the Sephardic Jews, along with the broad areas of settlements.

Will these people be embraced by Spain?  What is particularly noteworthy is the fact that the popular ruling party in Spain is not only in favor of bringing these people back to Spain but  a bill submitted proposes to allow Sephardic Jews to become naturalized regardless of where they had resided before returning to Spain and not requiring they relinquish the citizenship they might already have.

This welcome mat is in direct contrast to those countries who look at patterns of differences, as with the gypsies, who also have been dismissed by their countries when they sought to settle in their countries of origin.  The pattern of rejection of the gypsies is a reflection of Europe's past, when the Church rejected them when they asked to become Christians, as they continue to be rejected by modern Christians.  For them the welcome mat is turned to the backside, in the mud and poverty in which many are forced to dwell.   Both the Sephardic Jews and the gypsies were victims of the holocaust.  But whereas the Jews receive a welcome and a sympathetic respect for their suffering, gypsies are among the most rejected groups in Spain.