Media reports on hate symbols spray-painted on a drive in a Madison neighborhood in Tennessee.
WSMV – Tennessee: ‘KKK,’ Swastika Spray-Painted On Driveway — Police Increase Patrols In Madison Neighborhood
— WSMV media images
— WSMV reports: “Symbols of hate found in a Madison neighborhood is spreading fear and increasing police patrols.”
— “Someone spray-painted ‘KKK’ and a swastika on a Madison driveway in the middle of the night. The black woman who lives there noticed the markings early Wednesday morning as she got in her car to go to work and called police.”
The Tennessean — Hate symbols painted on driveway — The Tennessean reports: “Carla Gordon always felt welcome in her Madison neighborhood. That is, until Wednesday morning, when she walked outside to find ‘KKK’ and a Nazi swastika painted on her driveway.”
— “‘Honestly, it’s really, really scary,’ said Gordon, 49, who is black and works for the Tennessee Department of Labor. ‘I remember telling people that in all of my 49 years I’ve never experienced outright racism, let alone hate. This is my first experience with that.'”
— “Metro police are investigating two possible hate crimes in the neighborhood, one at Gordon’s house and more graffiti at a Hispanic neighbor’s home two houses down, which had identical messages painted on a car.”
The Tennessean: "Carla Gordon woke up at her home Wednesday morning to a Nazi swastika and 'KKK' painted on her driveway in Madison" (Photo: JOHN PARTIPILO / THE TENNESSEAN)
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Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) urges those who hate to unburden the hate from their hearts.
In Warwick, Rhode Island, the Temple Am David synagogue was vandalized by hate mongers putting graffiti including a backwards swastika and racial slurs on the synagogue. A member of Temple Am David, Paula Oliveri, told news media that the synagogue works with the community and with Holocaust survivors. The police are reviewing surveillance footage from the synagogue’s cameras.
If you have information regarding those responsible, you are urged to contact the Warwick Police Department: Phone Number: (401) 468-4200, Crime Stoppers Tip Line: 732-8477(732-TIPS).
The Associated Press reports that “Police Chief Stephen McCartney says if the vandalism is determined to be a hate crime, the perpetrator could face stiffer penalties. State Jewish leaders say the vandalism may have been sparked by the Israeli commando raid on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip that left nine people dead.”
NBC 10 News asked Temple Am David Cantor Richard Perlman if the attacks may be linked to Gaza, and he told the NBC 10 News “I certainly hope that his has nothing at all to do with that. However, one would be silly to believe that that may not be a possibility. What’s going on in the Gaza is a terrible thing.”
(Note: From our experience in covering Nazi hate crime, it would appear that most committed Nazis involved in hate crimes usually know how to draw the Nazi swastika correctly, rather than “backwards,” suggesting that perhaps the vandal was someone other than a Nazi.)
Warwick police are investigating the spray-painting of a swastika and part of a racial slur on the exterior of Temple Am David in Warwick, Rhode Island. Notably, the swastika is "backwards" from a Nazi swastika. (Photo: The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson)
Hamas has raided and closed groups designed to support charity efforts for women and children in Gaza, according to the Jerusalem Post: and according to the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights.
— “Gaza Internal Security Break into Offices of Five NGOs; Confiscate Belongings:Al Mezan Condemns the Assaults, Calls for Respecting the Law”
— “Five non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were raided and some of their belongings were confiscated by persons who presented themselves as members of the Gaza internal security apparatus. When they broke into the NGOs offices, these persons did not provide their names. They did not have any documents from courts or any other authorized bodies that would enable them to lawfully search the NGOs offices. Al Mezan condemns these assaults against NGOs and views them with much concern. Al Mezan calls on the Gaza Government to initiate an investigation into these acts, ensure full respect of the law, and protect the right of NGOs to work freely.”
— “According to affidavits given to Al Mezan by persons employed by the NGOs, between 10am and 12am on Monday 31 May 2010, the Gaza Government’s internal security apparatus broke into four NGOs offices in the town of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The NGOs are: Sharik Youth Institution, Bonat Al-Mustaqbal (Future Builders) Society, the South Society for Women’s Health, and the Women and Children Society. The raiders searched the offices and made a list of the equipment and other belongings in the NGOs. Later, between 6pm and 8pm on the same day, a group of persons, who also identified themselves as from the internal security apparatus, went to the offices of the same NGOs and called the directors by telephone. They confiscated most of the equipment and belongings, including computers, faxes, cameras, part of the documents, reports as well as the keys to their doors. The security members informed the directors that their organizations were closed. They did not provide any reasons behind this decision.”
— “At approximately 3pm on Monday 31 May 2010, eight members of the Gaza internal security apparatus appeared at Sharik Youth Institution office in Gaza City. They searched the office and confiscated 18 laptops, two desktops, three digital cameras and three USB memory sticks. They also took some papers and lists of names. One of the Sharik staff members made a list of the confiscated equipment. He asked the security members to sign the list One of them signed; however, without writing his name on it.”
— “In a separate incident, at approximately, 8am on Tuesday 1 June 2010, a group of persons who identified themselves as from the internal security apparatus broke into and Palestinian Mini Parliament and the National Reconciliation Committee. They confiscated the keys to their doors and ordered them closed.”
— “Al Mezan views these assaults on NGOs and the way they were carried out without any respect to the law with great concern….Al Mezan asserts that attacks on NGOs violate constitutional rights under Article 26 of the amended Palestinian Basic Law. Article 26 of this law provides for Palestinians right to participate in public life, particularly by forming syndicates, unions, institutions, clubs and popular institutions.”
Hamas Security (Photo: AP)Sharik Youth Institution Sea Camp (Photo: Sharik Youth Institution)Sharik Youth Institution on International Women's Day (Photo: Sharik Youth Institution)
Freedom House has announced its list of the “worst of the worst” human right violators in a report issued on June 3, 2010, which include three nations that are members of the U.N. Human Rights Council Saudi Arabia, Libya, Communist China, and Cuba). The Freedom House list includes 9 Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) nations (Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Guinea, and Syria), 5 Communist nations (North Korea, Communist China, Cuba, Laos, and the territory of Tibet under Communist Chinese jurisidiction), Burmese/Myanmar, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Belarus.
Leaders of Some of "Worst" Nations for Human Rights: OIC's Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir, Communist China's CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao, Burma/Myamar's Senior General Than Shwe
“Nine countries and one territory are judged to have the worst human rights conditions, receiving the lowest possible score of 7 (based on a 1 to 7 scale, with 1 representing the most free and 7 representing the least free) on both political rights and civil liberties: Burma, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tibet.”
“An additional 8 countries and 2 territories score only slightly better, with a score of 7 in political rights and a score of 6 in the civil liberties category: Belarus, Chad, China, Cuba, Guinea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, and Syria.”
“The event included a release of the results by Freedom House director of advocacy, Paula Schriefer and remarks by Mr. Mamadi Kaba, President of RADDHO-Guinea, a leading Guinean human rights organization. Mr. Kaba is part of a delegation from Africa, sponsored by Freedom House, which is attending the Human Rights Council session to lobby for greater human rights in Africa. Of the 20 countries identified in the report, 6 are from Sub-Saharan Africa, including Guinea.”
“‘While it is shameful that three of the ‘Worst of the Worst’ regimes now actually sit on the Council (China, Cuba and Saudi Arabia) and a fourth (Libya) was just elected, we nonetheless call on the member states of the Council to fulfill their mandate and take actions to address the systemic abuses in these countries,’ continued Schriefer.”
“Since the Council was first established in 2006 to replace the widely discredited UN Commission on Human Rights, only a handful of ‘Worst of the Worst’ states — Burma, Guinea, Somalia, Sudan and North Korea — have been the focus of resolutions or special sessions by the UN body.”
