enlarge Back in June we brought you reports of Justice David Prosser allegedly putting his hands around a female colleague’s neck during a heated argument over the court’s ruling with regard to Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law. Now the official reports have been released after authorities made the decision not to bring charges against Justice Prosser. The report paints a picture of a dysfunctional and hostile workplace with bright partisan lines drawn between the so-called liberal justices and the so-called conservative justices. It is also clear there’s a pattern of verbal warfare and abuse which centers around Justice Prosser. The report is quite long, which means this post will also be quite long. Since the pages are all scanned, I’ve typed out relevant clips of different people’s statements. The entire collection is here . As I read the reports, these appear to be the areas where both sides agree: There was pressure to release the opinion. The dissent was delayed to respond to Prosser’s concurring opinion. There was a heated argument over when the opinion should be released. Justice Bradley did come around her desk and stand in front of Justice Prosser while gesturing with her hands. He claims it was in a fist. She says she was pointing to the door. Justice Bradley did ask Justice Prosser to leave her office. Justice Prosser did put his hands on her neck. Beyond those facts, the story changes depending on whether you’re a conservative justice or a liberal justice. But there are some interesting moments in the documents, nevertheless. Here’s one, from Justice Bradley’s account of the incident and next day’s follow-up with Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs: Justice Bradley said after she finished reading what she had written, Justice Gableman said to Chief Tubbs “you don’t have all the facts.” Justice Bradley remembered saying at the meeting that “this is about a co-worker putting his hands around another co-worker’s neck in a choke hold in anger.” Justice Roggensack said something about not condoning what Prosser did, but “Ann you do realize you goad him.” Justice Bradley felt that her goal of having Chief Tubbs at the meeting was to insure safety in the workplace. Justice Bradley did not feel that the point was getting across the way it was intended. That goading remark was straight out of left field. They’re lawyers , for heaven’s sake. Lawyers are known to be argumentative and sharp. The unspoken implication in Roggensack’s remarks is that somehow Justice Bradley had it coming to her. From the interview with Chief Justice Abrahamson, this little tidbit: The Chief Justice said Justice Bradley tried to confirm her goal of having this meeting be focused on this incident and safety in the workplace. Chief Justice said Justice Prosser admitted he had been “frustrated the night of the incident” and that he was “goaded into acting the way he acted.” There’s that word again. Goaded. To the question of whether his hands were, in fact, around her neck, there is this, from the interview with Human Resources Director Margaret Brady: Justice Roggensack said that everybody was committed to having a harassment free work environment. Justice Roggensack continued saying, “You, Ann, went berserk. He wasn’t putting pressure on your neck.” It should be noted that there was never any allegation of him putting pressure on her neck from Justice Bradley or any witness. The specific claim was only that he had his hands on her neck in a fashion that could suggest danger if pressure had been applied, something that Roggensack’s remark confirms. A snapshot of dysfunction On page 29 of the report, a small snapshot of the dysfunction within the group. Margaret’s notes continued saying that Justice Prosser said two members of the court have made the job unpleasant and “a deliberate scheme of intended abuse.” Justice Prosser continued by saying, “I did not move towards her, I did not squeeze her neck and I will testify to that in court.” Chief Tubbs told Justice Prosser that his perception is important. Justice Bradley said, “The issue is a chokehold and hands around my neck in anger.” Justice Ziegler then started talking about what was best for the institution, and the need for all of the Justices to dig deep in how best to serve the court. She also said maybe they need a study committee. Justice Bradley interrupted and said she was talking about someone who put their hands around her neck. Justice Ziegler continued saying she was talking about the bigger issues. Justice Roggensack said, “If you are requesting that Justice Prosser get counseling, you both need help.” Justice Bradley responded by saying, “Stop enabling him.” Chief Tubbs said it was clear that from the meeting, they were not getting anywhere on the issue. Chief Tubbs said he wanted a commitment that there would be no threats or violence in the workplace, and that it would not be tolerated. Justice Gableman said, “Not all of the facts are out and no judgment should be made.” Justice Ziegler made a comment that maybe Margaret can come up with some ideas and have thoughtful advice. Justice Roggensack said, “You have our commitment for workplace safety.” Justice Ziegler then said, “Safety is fundamental.” The Chief Justice said there would be denial until the group accepts what happened. Justice Ziegler said, “I said that.” Justice Roggensack said, “It is clearly unacceptable.” Chief Tubbs again said that he needed the commitment from the court that there would be safety in the workplace. Justice Prosser made a comment that the Chief Justice and Justice Bradley never feel they are part of the problem. Margaret said at this point she began trailing off her notes and the meeting was coming to a closure without any resolution whatsoever. On the “fist raised” allegation Margaret explained that she wanted us to know that in her opinion, it was not uncommon for Justice Bradley to talk with her hands or make a fist when she is talking to someone. Margaret described Justice Bradley as being a very animated person when she is talking. Margaret described some of the other Justices and her interactions with them, they appeared to be very reserved, but Justice Bradley is far from reserved and referred to her as effusive. Margaret said if you were to ask someone in her office to imitate Justice Bradley, it would be very uncommon if they did not put their fist in the air and talk. Margaret said she has seen Justice Bradley do this before and it’s a very nonthreatening gesture and further described it as being an “extension of her expression.” By the way, Justice Bradley is 5’3″ tall and weighs 131 lbs, according to her statement. According to his statement, Justice Prosser is 5’9″ tall and weighs 165 lbs. On the “fierce urgency of June 13th” From Justice Prosser’s statement: The Chief Justice told the court no order would go out of the court until everyone finished writing any opinions on this decision, which Justice Prosser believed to be a reasonalbe request. Justice Prosser said they all agreed that they would spend the weekend writing any opinions and responding to the draft order. Justice Prosser said he did write an opinion on that weekend and said he was at a disadvantage because he did not have a law clerk to assist him over the weekend, because [redacted]. Justice Prosser said there was an “absolutely clear understanding” that the decision by the court would go out by Monday, June 13, 2010. Justice Prosser said, completely separate from this, the speaker of the assembly, Jeff Fitzgerald, put the court in an awkward position by saying they needed to have a decision by June 14, 2011; otherwise they would have to vote all over again. Justice Prosser said he was getting pressure from three people (Justices Ziegler, Roggensack and Gableman) who wanted him to join them and release the order “irrespective” [of] what the Chief Justice said. Justice Prosser said essentially they wanted to march over to the clerks office and order the clerk to issue the order. Justice Prosser said earlier in our interview that he feels like he is the “self appointed spokesperson for this group”. What ensues is basically a pissing contest about who sandbagged who, and who was dragging their feet on getting a notice issued via the Court’s information officer. If you sort through all the details, it appears that Justice Prosser was of the impression that there was intentional foot-dragging on the part of the minority to get their dissenting opinions done before the June 14th re-vote. That much is evident by Justice Prosser’s remark in his statement that he has “seen these tactics before.” Justice Prosser’s version of the story Justice Prosser said the Chief Justice rarely raises her voice, but she told him that she was absolutely not going to release any notice. Justice Prosser said he was looking at the Chief Justice as he was saying he lost confidence in her leadership. Justice Prosser said immediately after he made this comment to the Chief Justice that Justice Bradley “charged me”. Justice Prosser also described it as, “she exploded out of that room.” Justice Prosser said prior to charging him, he said he believes that she was approximately two feet from the threshold of the doorway, inside of her office…Justice Prosser said he did not believe he moved an inch, he knew he never moved towards her, but he does not recall if he moved back at all. Justice Prosser said he could not initially exit because of the credenza behind him. And here is how his hands came to be on her neck: Justice Prosser said as he was telling the Chief Justice that he has lost confidence in her leadership his forearms were parallel to the ground with his hands and fingers extended out. Justice Prosser said he talks with his hands generally. Justice Prosser said again that Justice Bradley had “charged at me, it’s as simple as that” and she came out of her office towards him. Justice Prosser said he has heard some stories that she walked towards him and he said, “No, she charged at me”. When she got near him, he said her right fist was in his face. Justice Prosser said as he was approached by Justice Bradley he believes that his hands came up slightly as he leaned backward. “It’s as simple as that.” Justice Prosser then said, “Did my hands touch her neck, yes. I admit that. Did I try to touch her neck, no, absolutely not, it was a total reflex.” There’s more in there about how he never saw her left hand (pointing at the door, according to her), that her face was approximately one foot from his, that her right hand was in a fist six inches from his face, and that she never told him to get out of her office. And then, as they probe further, there’s this: Justice Prosser could not remember when she raised her fist because it happened so fast. He said, “I remember the finish line, not how we got there”. And this: Justice Prosser again said everything happened within a “split second” and he felt he did not have any time to think about any other options. Justice Prosser said, “it’s simply a reflexive reaction to suddenly being assaulted.” He also felt absolutely justified in his actions. Who’s goading who? Rachel Graham, Justice Bradley’s clerk, wrote up a statement on June 14th about the events of the previous day. Tucked into it are some extra tidbits: Rachel then heard Justice Bradley say something to the effect that she is not going to put up with his (Justice Prosser’s) tantrums, and that he should stop at that time. Rachel said Justice Ziegler then asked about the press release again, and there was then more discussion about the press release…She also made the comment that Justice Prosser would probably want to respond to the opinion. Rachel recalls the Chief Justice telling Justice Prosser, “How can you guarantee that the order will be ready to go?” Rachel recalls Justice Prosser saying something to the effect of “I expect you to call me a fascist pig, but I will not revise my opinion.” Rachel’s statement also gets pretty specific about the fact that the four conservative justices wanted that opinion out that day, and if they couldn’t get that, they wanted a press release stating it would be out the following day. There was definitely urgency on their part to put this opinion out before the legislature had to vote on it again. Corroboration or Collaboration? Even in the case of the conservative justices, the best they can say is that “both of them were angry” at the time. There’s no dispute that he put his hands on her neck from either side. Everyone agrees he did. The only dispute is whether she “goaded him” into it, and whether she “walked into them.” Justice Roggensack believes Justice Bradley leaked the story in 2010 about Justice Prosser calling the Chief Justice Abrahamson a bitch. She elaborated by saying that Abrahamson “needled” Prosser into a reaction. Roggensack also amended her initial statement that Bradley walked toward Prosser to say that she “moved very quickly” toward him. Historical context The one member of the panel not present at the time was Justice Crooks. However, he filled in the history of bad blood between the justices and Justice Prosser’s behavior for us. Justice Crooks said he has noted Justice Prosser “loses his cool repeatedly.” Justice Crooks has witnessed Justice Prosser get red and pound on tables with his fists, and get louder and louder in tone during meetings, conferences and sometimes even during public meetings. Justice Crooks said there are times that nothing happens that trigger Justice Prosser losing his cool. Justice Crooks said he estimated Justice Prosser “explodes and storms out of aroom” approximately three to four times a year. Justice Crooks said on February 22, 2010, he and Justice Bradley met with John Voelker, Director of State Courts, and Margaret Brady, asking that something be done about Justice Prosser because they felt there was an escalation in violence. This meeting was a result of a February 10, 2010 closed meeting with the Justices, during which, Justice Prosser made the comment to the Chief Justice, “You are a terrible chief. If you do not withdraw you are going to be destroyed.” The Chief Justice had responded by saying, “Are you threatening me?” and Justice Prosser said, “Yes…you are a bitch.” and added, “There will be a war against you and it will not be a ground war.” Justice Crooks and Bradley had concerns for the Chief Justice after this, and therefore went to speak with Voelker and Brady. Justice Crooks said both his law clerk and assistants had told him they were working in “a hostile work environment.” Workplace Bullies One of the striking features of Justice Bradley’s statements are her emotional state. She clearly was shaken, fearful, tearful, and frustrated. Not one of her statements is given without tears and emotions. Justice Prosser, on the other hand, is more or less calm, has a zillion relevant and irrelevant facts at his fingertips, and clearly views himself as a victim. Here is the definition of a workplace bully from WorkplaceBullying.org : Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms: Verbal abuse Offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating Work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done Workplace Bullying… Is driven by perpetrators’ need to control the targeted individual(s). Is initiated by bullies who choose their targets, timing, location, and methods. Escalates to involve others who side with the bully , either voluntarily through coercion. Undermines legitimate business interests when bullies’ personal agendas take precedence over work itself. Is akin to domestic violence at work , where the abuser is on the payroll. I also found this instructive: Euphemisms intended to trivialize bullying and its impact on bullied people: Incivility, Disrespect, Difficult People, Personality Conflict, Negative Conduct, Ill Treatment Not calling bullying “bullying,” in order to avoid offending the sensibilities of those who made the bullying possible, is a disservice to bullied individuals whose jobs, careers, and health have been threatened as the result. Tom Engelhardt said it wisely when he said, “Words denied mean analyses not offered, things not grasped, surprise not registered, strangeness not taken in, all of which means that terrible mistakes are repeated, wounding ways of acting in the world never seriously reconsidered. The words’ absence chains you to the present, to what’s accepted and acceptable.” Sadly, it appears that this toxic workplace will continue to exist for ten more years, since Justice Prosser just won re-election in April. Did he intend to intimidate, do harm, or put his hands on her neck? I’ll leave that to you to decide.
Continue reading …enlarge Back in June we brought you reports of Justice David Prosser allegedly putting his hands around a female colleague’s neck during a heated argument over the court’s ruling with regard to Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law. Now the official reports have been released after authorities made the decision not to bring charges against Justice Prosser. The report paints a picture of a dysfunctional and hostile workplace with bright partisan lines drawn between the so-called liberal justices and the so-called conservative justices. It is also clear there’s a pattern of verbal warfare and abuse which centers around Justice Prosser. The report is quite long, which means this post will also be quite long. Since the pages are all scanned, I’ve typed out relevant clips of different people’s statements. The entire collection is here . As I read the reports, these appear to be the areas where both sides agree: There was pressure to release the opinion. The dissent was delayed to respond to Prosser’s concurring opinion. There was a heated argument over when the opinion should be released. Justice Bradley did come around her desk and stand in front of Justice Prosser while gesturing with her hands. He claims it was in a fist. She says she was pointing to the door. Justice Bradley did ask Justice Prosser to leave her office. Justice Prosser did put his hands on her neck. Beyond those facts, the story changes depending on whether you’re a conservative justice or a liberal justice. But there are some interesting moments in the documents, nevertheless. Here’s one, from Justice Bradley’s account of the incident and next day’s follow-up with Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs: Justice Bradley said after she finished reading what she had written, Justice Gableman said to Chief Tubbs “you don’t have all the facts.” Justice Bradley remembered saying at the meeting that “this is about a co-worker putting his hands around another co-worker’s neck in a choke hold in anger.” Justice Roggensack said something about not condoning what Prosser did, but “Ann you do realize you goad him.” Justice Bradley felt that her goal of having Chief Tubbs at the meeting was to insure safety in the workplace. Justice Bradley did not feel that the point was getting across the way it was intended. That goading remark was straight out of left field. They’re lawyers , for heaven’s sake. Lawyers are known to be argumentative and sharp. The unspoken implication in Roggensack’s remarks is that somehow Justice Bradley had it coming to her. From the interview with Chief Justice Abrahamson, this little tidbit: The Chief Justice said Justice Bradley tried to confirm her goal of having this meeting be focused on this incident and safety in the workplace. Chief Justice said Justice Prosser admitted he had been “frustrated the night of the incident” and that he was “goaded into acting the way he acted.” There’s that word again. Goaded. To the question of whether his hands were, in fact, around her neck, there is this, from the interview with Human Resources Director Margaret Brady: Justice Roggensack said that everybody was committed to having a harassment free work environment. Justice Roggensack continued saying, “You, Ann, went berserk. He wasn’t putting pressure on your neck.” It should be noted that there was never any allegation of him putting pressure on her neck from Justice Bradley or any witness. The specific claim was only that he had his hands on her neck in a fashion that could suggest danger if pressure had been applied, something that Roggensack’s remark confirms. A snapshot of dysfunction On page 29 of the report, a small snapshot of the dysfunction within the group. Margaret’s notes continued saying that Justice Prosser said two members of the court have made the job unpleasant and “a deliberate scheme of intended abuse.” Justice Prosser continued by saying, “I did not move towards her, I did not squeeze her neck and I will testify to that in court.” Chief Tubbs told Justice Prosser that his perception is important. Justice Bradley said, “The issue is a chokehold and hands around my neck in anger.” Justice Ziegler then started talking about what was best for the institution, and the need for all of the Justices to dig deep in how best to serve the court. She also said maybe they need a study committee. Justice Bradley interrupted and said she was talking about someone who put their hands around her neck. Justice Ziegler continued saying she was talking about the bigger issues. Justice Roggensack said, “If you are requesting that Justice Prosser get counseling, you both need help.” Justice Bradley responded by saying, “Stop enabling him.” Chief Tubbs said it was clear that from the meeting, they were not getting anywhere on the issue. Chief Tubbs said he wanted a commitment that there would be no threats or violence in the workplace, and that it would not be tolerated. Justice Gableman said, “Not all of the facts are out and no judgment should be made.” Justice Ziegler made a comment that maybe Margaret can come up with some ideas and have thoughtful advice. Justice Roggensack said, “You have our commitment for workplace safety.” Justice Ziegler then said, “Safety is fundamental.” The Chief Justice said there would be denial until the group accepts what happened. Justice Ziegler said, “I said that.” Justice Roggensack said, “It is clearly unacceptable.” Chief Tubbs again said that he needed the commitment from the court that there would be safety in the workplace. Justice Prosser made a comment that the Chief Justice and Justice Bradley never feel they are part of the problem. Margaret said at this point she began trailing off her notes and the meeting was coming to a closure without any resolution whatsoever. On the “fist raised” allegation Margaret explained that she wanted us to know that in her opinion, it was not uncommon for Justice Bradley to talk with her hands or make a fist when she is talking to someone. Margaret described Justice Bradley as being a very animated person when she is talking. Margaret described some of the other Justices and her interactions with them, they appeared to be very reserved, but Justice Bradley is far from reserved and referred to her as effusive. Margaret said if you were to ask someone in her office to imitate Justice Bradley, it would be very uncommon if they did not put their fist in the air and talk. Margaret said she has seen Justice Bradley do this before and it’s a very nonthreatening gesture and further described it as being an “extension of her expression.” By the way, Justice Bradley is 5’3″ tall and weighs 131 lbs, according to her statement. According to his statement, Justice Prosser is 5’9″ tall and weighs 165 lbs. On the “fierce urgency of June 13th” From Justice Prosser’s statement: The Chief Justice told the court no order would go out of the court until everyone finished writing any opinions on this decision, which Justice Prosser believed to be a reasonalbe request. Justice Prosser said they all agreed that they would spend the weekend writing any opinions and responding to the draft order. Justice Prosser said he did write an opinion on that weekend and said he was at a disadvantage because he did not have a law clerk to assist him over the weekend, because [redacted]. Justice Prosser said there was an “absolutely clear understanding” that the decision by the court would go out by Monday, June 13, 2010. Justice Prosser said, completely separate from this, the speaker of the assembly, Jeff Fitzgerald, put the court in an awkward position by saying they needed to have a decision by June 14, 2011; otherwise they would have to vote all over again. Justice Prosser said he was getting pressure from three people (Justices Ziegler, Roggensack and Gableman) who wanted him to join them and release the order “irrespective” [of] what the Chief Justice said. Justice Prosser said essentially they wanted to march over to the clerks office and order the clerk to issue the order. Justice Prosser said earlier in our interview that he feels like he is the “self appointed spokesperson for this group”. What ensues is basically a pissing contest about who sandbagged who, and who was dragging their feet on getting a notice issued via the Court’s information officer. If you sort through all the details, it appears that Justice Prosser was of the impression that there was intentional foot-dragging on the part of the minority to get their dissenting opinions done before the June 14th re-vote. That much is evident by Justice Prosser’s remark in his statement that he has “seen these tactics before.” Justice Prosser’s version of the story Justice Prosser said the Chief Justice rarely raises her voice, but she told him that she was absolutely not going to release any notice. Justice Prosser said he was looking at the Chief Justice as he was saying he lost confidence in her leadership. Justice Prosser said immediately after he made this comment to the Chief Justice that Justice Bradley “charged me”. Justice Prosser also described it as, “she exploded out of that room.” Justice Prosser said prior to charging him, he said he believes that she was approximately two feet from the threshold of the doorway, inside of her office…Justice Prosser said he did not believe he moved an inch, he knew he never moved towards her, but he does not recall if he moved back at all. Justice Prosser said he could not initially exit because of the credenza behind him. And here is how his hands came to be on her neck: Justice Prosser said as he was telling the Chief Justice that he has lost confidence in her leadership his forearms were parallel to the ground with his hands and fingers extended out. Justice Prosser said he talks with his hands generally. Justice Prosser said again that Justice Bradley had “charged at me, it’s as simple as that” and she came out of her office towards him. Justice Prosser said he has heard some stories that she walked towards him and he said, “No, she charged at me”. When she got near him, he said her right fist was in his face. Justice Prosser said as he was approached by Justice Bradley he believes that his hands came up slightly as he leaned backward. “It’s as simple as that.” Justice Prosser then said, “Did my hands touch her neck, yes. I admit that. Did I try to touch her neck, no, absolutely not, it was a total reflex.” There’s more in there about how he never saw her left hand (pointing at the door, according to her), that her face was approximately one foot from his, that her right hand was in a fist six inches from his face, and that she never told him to get out of her office. And then, as they probe further, there’s this: Justice Prosser could not remember when she raised her fist because it happened so fast. He said, “I remember the finish line, not how we got there”. And this: Justice Prosser again said everything happened within a “split second” and he felt he did not have any time to think about any other options. Justice Prosser said, “it’s simply a reflexive reaction to suddenly being assaulted.” He also felt absolutely justified in his actions. Who’s goading who? Rachel Graham, Justice Bradley’s clerk, wrote up a statement on June 14th about the events of the previous day. Tucked into it are some extra tidbits: Rachel then heard Justice Bradley say something to the effect that she is not going to put up with his (Justice Prosser’s) tantrums, and that he should stop at that time. Rachel said Justice Ziegler then asked about the press release again, and there was then more discussion about the press release…She also made the comment that Justice Prosser would probably want to respond to the opinion. Rachel recalls the Chief Justice telling Justice Prosser, “How can you guarantee that the order will be ready to go?” Rachel recalls Justice Prosser saying something to the effect of “I expect you to call me a fascist pig, but I will not revise my opinion.” Rachel’s statement also gets pretty specific about the fact that the four conservative justices wanted that opinion out that day, and if they couldn’t get that, they wanted a press release stating it would be out the following day. There was definitely urgency on their part to put this opinion out before the legislature had to vote on it again. Corroboration or Collaboration? Even in the case of the conservative justices, the best they can say is that “both of them were angry” at the time. There’s no dispute that he put his hands on her neck from either side. Everyone agrees he did. The only dispute is whether she “goaded him” into it, and whether she “walked into them.” Justice Roggensack believes Justice Bradley leaked the story in 2010 about Justice Prosser calling the Chief Justice Abrahamson a bitch. She elaborated by saying that Abrahamson “needled” Prosser into a reaction. Roggensack also amended her initial statement that Bradley walked toward Prosser to say that she “moved very quickly” toward him. Historical context The one member of the panel not present at the time was Justice Crooks. However, he filled in the history of bad blood between the justices and Justice Prosser’s behavior for us. Justice Crooks said he has noted Justice Prosser “loses his cool repeatedly.” Justice Crooks has witnessed Justice Prosser get red and pound on tables with his fists, and get louder and louder in tone during meetings, conferences and sometimes even during public meetings. Justice Crooks said there are times that nothing happens that trigger Justice Prosser losing his cool. Justice Crooks said he estimated Justice Prosser “explodes and storms out of aroom” approximately three to four times a year. Justice Crooks said on February 22, 2010, he and Justice Bradley met with John Voelker, Director of State Courts, and Margaret Brady, asking that something be done about Justice Prosser because they felt there was an escalation in violence. This meeting was a result of a February 10, 2010 closed meeting with the Justices, during which, Justice Prosser made the comment to the Chief Justice, “You are a terrible chief. If you do not withdraw you are going to be destroyed.” The Chief Justice had responded by saying, “Are you threatening me?” and Justice Prosser said, “Yes…you are a bitch.” and added, “There will be a war against you and it will not be a ground war.” Justice Crooks and Bradley had concerns for the Chief Justice after this, and therefore went to speak with Voelker and Brady. Justice Crooks said both his law clerk and assistants had told him they were working in “a hostile work environment.” Workplace Bullies One of the striking features of Justice Bradley’s statements are her emotional state. She clearly was shaken, fearful, tearful, and frustrated. Not one of her statements is given without tears and emotions. Justice Prosser, on the other hand, is more or less calm, has a zillion relevant and irrelevant facts at his fingertips, and clearly views himself as a victim. Here is the definition of a workplace bully from WorkplaceBullying.org : Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more persons (the targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes one or more of the following forms: Verbal abuse Offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal) which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating Work interference — sabotage — which prevents work from getting done Workplace Bullying… Is driven by perpetrators’ need to control the targeted individual(s). Is initiated by bullies who choose their targets, timing, location, and methods. Escalates to involve others who side with the bully , either voluntarily through coercion. Undermines legitimate business interests when bullies’ personal agendas take precedence over work itself. Is akin to domestic violence at work , where the abuser is on the payroll. I also found this instructive: Euphemisms intended to trivialize bullying and its impact on bullied people: Incivility, Disrespect, Difficult People, Personality Conflict, Negative Conduct, Ill Treatment Not calling bullying “bullying,” in order to avoid offending the sensibilities of those who made the bullying possible, is a disservice to bullied individuals whose jobs, careers, and health have been threatened as the result. Tom Engelhardt said it wisely when he said, “Words denied mean analyses not offered, things not grasped, surprise not registered, strangeness not taken in, all of which means that terrible mistakes are repeated, wounding ways of acting in the world never seriously reconsidered. The words’ absence chains you to the present, to what’s accepted and acceptable.” Sadly, it appears that this toxic workplace will continue to exist for ten more years, since Justice Prosser just won re-election in April. Did he intend to intimidate, do harm, or put his hands on her neck? I’ll leave that to you to decide.
Continue reading …Shocker: Anti-Gay GOP State Senator Caught With His Pics on Gay Hook Up Site
August 27, 2011 No Comment
Original Video – More videos at TinyPic Puerto Rican State Senator Roberto Arango is, of course, a Republican, which means he has to be anti-gay . Arango is so anti-gay and so disgusted by the acts of gays that he has to put his photographs up on gay site for gay dudes. How Republican of him. Gawker keeps on saying he’s a Puerto Rican Anthony Weiner. No. Weiner is a Democrat – meaning he was sending his pics to adult females. My Spanish is pretty awful. However in the video above, Arango says he can neither confirm nor deny that the pictures are of him because he’s been documenting his weight loss and posting them on Facebook. He says he can’t remember but wishes he could. Then he suggests that maybe the photos are of the Governor (who’s in his party) or other political opponents. He basically flame throws (intentional pun) anyone he can think of instead of coming clean about his extra curricular activities. He does what Weiner did and thinks he’s charming enough that if he just engages the media he can talk his way out of this. Como se dice “checking into rehab soon?” Here’s the kicker: if these pictures were just of full frontal that happened to appear on a gay site – he could possibly survive politically. Sure. Documenting weight loss. It could happen. But that wasn’t ALL the pictures that (ahem) ended up on the gay app . After the break, NSFW even though it’s blurred. enlarge Credit: Gawker Gawker : Arango, a member of the Puerto Rican Senate, vice-chaired George W. Bush’s 2004 Puerto Rico campaign. Yep. There’s the end to his political career.
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• Send all your thoughts to rob.smyth@guardian.co.uk • Press F5 to refresh this page or use our auto-refresher • Click here for all the latest league tables and stats • All the latest from across Europe on our live scoreboard 3pm David Wallace has been stretchered off; it looks like a knee problem and first impressions are that he will probably be out of the World Cup. O’Gara has made it Ireland 6-10 England, while a try from Jeff Lima has put Wigan 10-0 ahead of Leeds at Wembley. 2.58pm My eyes hurt. The scores haven’t changed in the two rugby matches. It’s Ireland 3-10 England and Leeds 0-4 Wigan. But David Wallace looks in a worrying amount of pain after a tackle from Tuilagi. 2.54pm “Perhaps players can wear scented gold hotpants and a salary cap,” says Ian Copestake. 2.51pm Ronan O’Gara scored the Ireland penalty, but Jonny Wilkinson has since made it Ireland 3-10 England . 2.50pm “One change to save football?” says Gary Naylor. “Listen to Michel Platini. Anyone who unites so many in English football against him must be doing something right.” 2.48pm Ireland have scored a penalty in Dublin, which means it’s Ireland 3-7 England . It’s also Leeds 0-4 Wigan in the Challenge Cup final. I’d love to give you more detail, but I’m trying to watch eight different screens at the same time and I’m only just sure what my own name is, never mind anything else. 2.46pm Will Jefferson slog-sweeps Gary Keedy into the crowd, and Leicestershire have beaten Lancashire. They will play in tonight’s final, which we’ll be OBOing, and Paul Nixon – who will retire after today – runs onto the field to celebrate. Great stuff. 2.46pm Will Jefferson has belted the first two balls of the Super Over for four, and Leicestershire are on the brink of the final. They are 9-0 after three balls, needing 14 to win. 2.44pm There’s a Super Over in the Twenty20 semi-final between Lancashire and Leicestershire. Lancashire have made 13 in theirs, and now Gary Keedy is going to bowl. 2.42pm Manu Tuilagi swerves decisively through the Ireland defence to score an early try for England in Dublin, and Jonny Wilkinson extends that lead with an expert conversion. Ireland 0-7 England . Swansea v Sunderland team news Swansea: Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Caulker, Rangel, Britton, Sinclair, Dyer, Routledge, Graham, Agustien. Subs: Moreira, Tate, Dobbie, Lita, Moore, Allen, Gower. Sunderland: Mignolet, Bardsley, Brown, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Cattermole, Larsson, Gardner, Colback, Gyan, Sessegnon. Subs: Westwood, Wickham, Richardson, Vaughan, Ji, Bramble, Elmohamady. Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire) Chelsea v Norwich team news Chelsea: Hilario, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Ramires, Mikel, Lampard, Drogba, Torres, Malouda. Subs: Turnbull, Mata, Lukaku, Ferreira, McEachran, Alex, Anelka. Norwich: Ruddy, Barnett, De Laet, Whitbread, Naughton, Hoolahan, Bradley Johnson, Crofts, Tierney, Holt, Chris Martin. Subs: Rudd, Russell Martin, Morison, Jackson, Pilkington, Fox, Bennett. Referee Mike Jones (Cheshire) 2.24pm Wigan have beaten QPR 2-0, an excellent win for them that in their battle to stay up on the final day. Blackburn v Everton team news Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Emerton, Nzonzi, Dunn, Pedersen, Hoilett, Roberts. Subs: Bunn, Formica, Petrovic, Rochina, Goodwillie, Hanley, Lowe. Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Osman, Heitinga, Arteta, Barkley, Fellaini, Anichebe. Subs: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Beckford, Cahill, Vellios, Baxter. Referee Lee Mason (Lancashire) 2.18pm On a serious note – because sometimes the laughter has to stop – football is in a right state. It’s a disgrace. But it might not be too late to save it. So if you could suggest one idea to save football, what would it be? It can be anything you like: an unseeded knockout in the European Cup, all players to wear scented gold hotpants, a salary cap, whatever. 2.14pm Some Challenge Cup final team news from the wires. Leeds gambled on the fitness of Kallum Watkins as they sought to end their losing sequence in Challenge Cup finals in today’s clash with Wigan at a sun-kissed Wembley. The 20-year-old centre had been a major doubt after twisting his knee against Harlequins a week ago but was named in the Rhinos’ starting line-up. Leeds, runners-up four times since lifting the Cup at the old Wembley in 1999, left out Lee Smith and Ali Lauitiiti from their 19-man squad while Wigan opted for Liam Farrell on the bench ahead of Gareth Hock. The Warriors, who won the Cup in Edinburgh in 2002, are back at Wembley for the first time since their shock defeat by Sheffield Eagles in 1998 and were once more hot favourites after going into the game on the back of an 11-match winning run. 2.13pm The teams for Zimbabwe v Kenya in the World Cup warm-up in Dublin. Ireland Murphy, Bowe, Earls, D’Arcy, Trimble, O’Gara, Reddan, Healy, Flannery, Ross, O’Callaghan, O’Connell, Ferris, D. Wallace, Heaslip. Replacements: Best, Court, Ryan, Leamy, Murray, Sexton, McFadden. England Foden, Ashton, Tuilagi, Tindall, Cueto, Wilkinson, Wigglesworth, Sheridan, Thompson, Cole, Lawes, Croft, Fourie, Haskell, Hartley. Replacements: Stevens, Shaw, Palmer, Simpson, Flood, Armitage. Referee Nigel Owens (Wales) 1.58pm It has finished Aston Villa 0-0 Wolves , so Wolves go back to the top of the Premier League for whatever that’s worth (clue: the square root of eff all). Meanwhile, Franco Di Santo has just made it Wigan 2-0 QPR . I had no idea that game was even going on until Iain Dowie starting shouting in my lughole. Pulitzer please! 1.54pm According to our French snout, Tresor, the South Korean captain and striker Park Chu-Young is about to join Arsenal from Monaco. 1.46pm Some rugby union team news cut and pasted lovelessly from the news wires: England number eight Nick Easter failed a fitness test on his tight calf shortly before today’s World Cup warm-up clash with Ireland. Easter was replaced in the starting line-up by Hendre Fourie, who is not a member of Martin Johnson’s 30-man squad for the New Zealand tournament, with James Haskell switching to No8 to accommodate the Sale openside. England fielded a new-look centre partnership of Alesana Tuilagi and Mike Tindall at Aviva Stadium, with Jonny Wilkinson featuring at fly-half. Brian O’Driscoll was missing for Ireland after sustaining a ‘stinger’ injury to his shoulder, while flanker Sean O’Brien sat out the match because of a knee problem. Preamble Hello. For the second successive Saturday we have only three 3pm kick offs in the Premier League. It’s an indefensible disgrace, which should but won’t shame those whose unashamed avarice has caused this situation. As names go, ‘the beautiful game’ is now about as apt as Tim Lovejoy, the Champions League and Louise Mensch. The plus side of such an anorexic Premier League fixture list is that is allows me to demonstrate my knowledge of rugby union and rugby league; the down side is that I have no knowledge of rugby union and rugby league. But I will at least attempt to update you on the two 1430 kick-offs: Ireland v England (rugby league World Cup warm-up) and Wigan v Leeds (rugby union Challenge Cup final). The three Premier League games are: Blackburn v Everton Chelsea v Norwich Swansea v Sunderland Absurd as it is to report so early in the season, four of those six sides will be the recipient of pelters from fans and media if they lose today. The exceptions are the newly promoted sides, Swansea and Norwich. It’s not fair, not remotely but that’s the game these days. Premier League Championship League One League Two Rugby league Rugby union Rob Smyth guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Video of the protests from the capitol in Madison, Wisconsin The mainstream media may no longer be paying much attention to the ongoing protests of Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin, but that hasn’t stopped activists from continuing to fight against the governor’s misguided policies. 13 protesters were arrested Thursday for refusing to leave the capitol after they sat in the capitol and refused to leave for more than hour after the building’s scheduled closing time. The sit-in came after a protesters led by AFSCME and other unions marched from the Library Mall in Madison to the capitol on the first day state workers got their pay cuts from Walker’s controversial budget, that went into effect Thursday. Many protesters who marched on the capitol wore black as a sign of mourning. Those arrested — including twelve adults and one minor — are being charged with unlawful assembly, resisting arrest or obstructing justice, depending on their actions.
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• Send your match day musings to scott.murray@guardian.co.uk • Press F5 to refresh this page or use our auto-refresher • Click here for the latest stats and tables • If you are bored and want to watch TV, click here 63 min: Henry is booked for a pull back on Petrov. “Is that Ringo Starr on the bottom right of the photo of Kevin Doyle?” wonders Rob Preece. “Singing A Yellow and Gold Submarine?” Nah, he’s not holding up the Vs and banging on about peace and loving each other (not that there’s anything wrong with that). And he’s in a good mood. It’s not Ringo. 61 min: N’Zogbia powers down the inside-left channel and, upon reaching the byline, hits a low ball into the six-yard area. Hennessey, who is earning his pay, as much as Premier League footballers ever can, gets down well to throw a blanket over a very dangerous fire. “Stephen Ward may be looking decent at left back for Wolves,” opines Daragh Robinson. “But the real question is whether he can displace the immovable object that is Kevin Kilbane from the ROI side? 66 competitive games in a row and counting!” 59 min: This is such an improvement from Villa. First Agbonlahor twists and turns by the penalty spot, but can’t get a shot away. Then Hunt heads a powerful Dunne header off the line. And finally Hennessey tips a majestic Herd header over the bar. Wolves hold on, but they’re beginning to rock as Villa apply pressure. 57 min: Another Villa corner, the 585th of the half. But not for the first time in the match, Petrov’s delivery is poor, allowing Wolves to break upfield down the left. Doyle looks to have skinned Warnock in order to race clear into the area, but the referee gives the full back a generous benefit of the doubt as the full back falls to the floor. “A missive from pedant’s corner here,” begins Nick Turnbull, promisingly, “but weren’t Liverpool top before Bolton – Man City last Sunday by virtue of having played the lunchtime Saturday match? Or are we talking top at the start of the ‘gameweek’. With each email I hate modern football more and more.” That’s the spirit. Only nine months to go until the next summer of sport! 55 min: This is a much improved performance from the Villa. Wolves can’t string two passes together at the moment. They’ll need to settle this down soon, because the home side’s tails are up. Petrov wins a corner down the right; he’s seeing a lot of the ball. Nothing comes of it. 52 min: A free kick for Villa, 30 yards out, just right of centre. N’Zogbia hits a lame effort straight at Hennessey, who swallows it like a tot of fine cognac. 50 min: A ski-slope run by Agbonlahor down the left. He cuts into the area and sends a low shot towards the far corner. It’s a great effort, and going in, but Hennessey gets down well to palm it out. Wolves hack it clear before Heskey or N’Zogbia can tap it in. The crowd are suddenly up for this. 49 min: Herd, who hasn’t been put off by clattering into the post earlier on at all, gets his head to a right-side Petrov corner. He can only steer the ball wide right and handsomely high, though. Wolves have hardly touched the thing since the restart. “Any chance we’ll see playmaker and former footballer Stephen Ireland?” asks Chris Murray. “I find his decline intriguing. One wonders whether he is McLeish’s sort of player. In his day he might have livened up this drab encounter, and shown us his pants.” 47 min: N’Zogbia robs Ward down the right and so nearly manages to break free into the area, but the full-back fights back well to deny the Villa man. A few seconds later, Herd bustles down the same wing and sends a cross over that only just evades Heskey. This is a sprightly start by Villa: McLeish, a disciple of Alex Ferguson, may well have turned the hairdryer on. And we’re off again! Wolves have gone 43 games without a goalless draw, according to Sky. You know what’s coming up, then. And to further take the shine off this encounter, here’s Nick Einhorn: “This is only the second top-of-the-table showdown of the season. The first was last weekend, when Bolton and Manchester City, tied for 1st, played each other.” Half-time optimism: “Looks like you’re making the best of a poor match,” writes Rick Short, very kindly. We aim to please. “I want to add to the comments on new season optimism ending after August. As a Sunderland supporter, I had no optimism when I learned that ‘Clattermole’ remains our captain. But he is consistent, we’ll give him that. Brainless, but consistently so. My hope is for our poor early season form to continue therefore bringing the promise of ‘the fat Geordie bastard’ being sacked. Far better to relocate our mid-season slump to the start of the season if it brings such a result? To get back on topic with Villa (almost), Martin O’Neill please prepare to take over at Sunderland!” HALF TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers. That was… that was… that was a half of football. The teams walk off to a very muted reception. 45 min +2: From the edge of the area Dunne, that Nándor Hidegkuti in the making, scoops a clever pass down the inside-right channel over the Wolves back line to set Heskey free. The striker tries to get a shot on goal from a tight angle, but his effort is crowded out for a corner. Which is wasted. 45 min: O’Hara is booked for a cynical trip on Petrov as the Villa man looks to burst purposefully into space down the middle. 43 min: Villa seeing a lot of the ball, but doing nothing with it. “As someone who has never felt the need to invoke a right to brag, I hate the term ‘bragging rights’, but if this match isn’t about bragging rights, what is it about?” riddles Gary Naylor, the Gyles Brandreth de nos jours . “The battle for the prestigious tenth spot come the end of the season?” 40 min: A corner for Villa down the left. Petrov swings it in to the edge of the six-yard box where, at the near post, Herd flicks a header wide left and high. Not a great effort, but a brave one, seeing he took one hell of a clatter earlier on. 38 min: At last, an extended period of pointless midfield passing. Wolves will be perfectly happy with this. The Villa crowd appear less so. They’re not agitated, just quiet. 34 min: A brilliant run by Petrov down the inside-left channel, set free by a delicious ball from Warnock on the wing. Petrov reaches the byline, but with Heskey and N’Zogbia screaming for it in the middle, sends his low centre too close to Hennessey, who claims bravely at the shoes of Heskey. “Can one take a good hard look at one’s rubbish life, and despondency at the crushing feeling of predictability in top-flight football, over a cuppa from home if one hasn’t gone to t’match?” asks Alex Simpson. “I have this feeling that early-season optimism shouldn’t last beyond August.” Dear me, you sound in a bad way. It’s not a cup of gin you’re cradling, is it? 31 min: Wolves push Villa back down the right, the ball finding O’Hara in the centre, who flashes a header wide left. It’s not terrible, this match, but it’s all a bit… I dunno… it’s all a bit nearly . 28 min: “Why on earth are there two games kicking off before 3pm today?” asks Nick Turnbull. “I don’t think Wigan or QPR were in Europe this week. That still wouldn’t make sense, actually. The radio commentary just announced: ‘HESKEY! Just wide…’ At least some thing’s don’t change.” Here’s some more classic Heskey: Delph and Petrov slip a couple of passes together to create space in front of the area for the big striker, but with time to shoot, he accidentally toe pokes the ball forward and loses possession. The sort of action that should be soundtracked by a muted trumpet. 25 min: Finally, some action! Agbonlahor skins Stearman down the left and zips a low cross towards the six-yard box. On the corner, just to the left of goal, Heskey slides in and whips a hard, low effort inches wide of the post. Half the crowd thought that was in, and no wonder. Fine, incisive football. 24 min: There really isn’t much going on. It’s kind of strange, because most of the game is being played out at the ends of the pitch, there’s not too much faffing around in the middle, but passes aren’t sticking. And when teams win free kicks in dangerous positions, or corners, they waste them. Pah. 20 min: Doyle swings a deep cross from the left to Hunt, who doesn’t catch his close-range header flush at the far post. Given is able to parry, and turn the ball away from danger. 17 min: A strong run from Agbonlahor down the left wins Villa a corner. The ball doesn’t get as far as The Mixer; instead Wolves stream upfield through Stearman and O’Hara. Eventually the ball’s swung over towards Doyle, but it’s too high for the striker. That looked dangerous for a second, but no. Nothing’s coming off for either team at the moment. 14 min: A terrible moment as Herd, looking to get his head on a ball whipped into the near post from the Villa right, whacks his face on the woodwork. Ouch. He’s down for a couple of minutes getting treatment. 11 min: Villa win a free kick 30-plus yards out. N’Zogbia goes for goal, but only manages to clank the ball straight at the wall. That was absurdly ambitious. “If, say, a friend of mine was still drunk from last night,” writes Jon Comlay, one of Jon Comlay’s best pals, “would he still have to take a good look at his life? I don’t think he’s in the mood for introspection so early on a bank holiday weekend.” 8 min: Petrov picks up the ball in the middle of the Wolves half, turns and hits a low shot just wide left of goal from 25 yards. Not a great effort, not a terrible one either. And something is better than nothing from the home side, who have otherwise started very slowly. 6 min: Delph is booked for a late clack on the ankle of Jarvis. The free kick, out on the right, is swung in by Hunt and tipped over the bar by Given. The resulting corner comes to naught, but this is a really confident and expressive start by Wolves. If there was anything on McLeish’s pad, it was probably a game of hangman, or a picture of a cock and balls. 5 min: A couple of corners down the right for Wolves, Doyle and Hunt again causing all manner of trouble. 4 min: Wolves are beginning to settle, the more impressive of the two so far. Doyle is causing an awful lot of bother down the right, while Hunt is seeing a fair bit of the ball in the middle. And we’re off! Within seconds of kick off, McCarthy makes a triple substitution and changes his formation. Oh alright no he doesn’t. The two teams take turns in failing to keep hold of the ball. It’s a scrappy start. The atmosphere: As you’d expect for a West Midlands derby, it’s blistering. I do hope nobody’s stopped off at the pub on the way here. On the touchline, the managers Alex McLeish and Mick McCarthy share a laugh. I can’t be sure, but did McLeish deliberately flash McCarthy a quick glimpse of his tactics pad? Surely not. No, he can’t have. But what a gambit that would be, the steady drip, drip, drip of disinformation… Kick off: A take-a-good-look-at-where-your-life-is-heading-if-you’ve-managed-to-get-drunk 12.05pm. Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire) Wolverhampton Wanderers name an unchanged side for the third successive league game: Hennessey, Stearman, Berra, Johnson, Ward, Jarvis, Henry, O’Hara, Hunt, Fletcher, Doyle. Subs: De Vries, Elokobi, Kightly, Vokes, Hammill, Milijas, Foley. Luke Young, who held talks with QPR yesterday after the two clubs agreed a fee, is ruled out with a knee problem; Chris Herd is in his stead: Given, Herd, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, N’Zogbia, Petrov, Delph, Agbonlahor, Heskey, Bent. Subs: Guzan, Ireland, Albrighton, Delfouneso, Makoun, Clark, Bannan. Anyway, this game, fourth against third, promises to be a cracker. Both teams have started the season pretty well, exceeding expectations – Villa fans, staring in disbelief at the appointment of Blues boss Alex McLeish, having had none – and both will be hoping for something from this match. Wolves have a 100% record to maintain, and having won here 1-0 last season, will fancy their chances of doing so. Especially as they always score at the Villa, with at least one goal in all but one of their last eight league visits. But Villa are becoming hard to beat here at Villa Park: that Wolves defeat, back in March, was their only loss in their last ten Premier League games here. Welcome to the first top-of-the-table showdown of the season. Well, if you insist on publishing the league tables so early… Premier League 2011-12 Aston Villa Wolverhampton Wanderers Premier League Scott Murray guardian.co.uk
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Met police spokesman says London residents are concerned over deaths of three men after police used Taser or pepper spray The recent spate of deaths following incidents involving police has stoked tensions among London communities ahead of the Notting Hill carnival, a senior Scotland Yard officer has admitted. Commander Steve Rodhouse revealed that residents in the capital had raised concerns with the Met over policing strategy after the deaths of three men following contact with officers during the past 12 days. Bodybuilder Dale Burns, 27, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, amateur rugby league player Jacob Michael, 25, from Widnes, Cheshire, and Philip Hulmes, 53, a delivery driver from near Bolton all died following incidents in which police used either Taser weapons or pepper spray. Rodhouse, Metropolitan police spokesman for the carnival, said: “It is quite clear from talking to our communities that despite the fact that these deaths have actually been out of the capital and in the north, these deaths still resonate in our communities and we are aware of that when we are looking to test the tensions that exist within the capital. “We try and take that into account to understand what is causing concern across the capital and the country.” Some Met officers have expressed disquiet over what they describe as a growing anti-police sentiment ahead of the Notting Hill Carnival, which begins on Sunday, and which will feature a record number of officers to counter potential trouble following the London riots earlier this month. The carnival, expected to draw crowds of more than 1 million, represents Scotland Yard’s biggest public order test since the widespread disorder and coincides with high anxiety levels among many London communities. In particular, details relating to the death of Michael who was pepper-sprayed after being arrested by up to eleven police officers have prompted concern. Witnesses have described Michael being kicked and hit with police batons and officers sitting on him in the street near his home on Monday after being pepper-sprayed. The 25-year-old was taken to a police station where he became unwell and was rushed to hospital by ambulance. He was pronounced dead two hours later. On Friday Rodhouse admitted that the death of Michael had been raised by concerned London residents during meetings with community organisers. He said: “We spend an awful lot of time speaking to community members who can assist us with what is of concern and that incident has come up. We’re very aware that incidents that take place in the rest of the country can still cause tension, uncertainty, in communities across London and elsewhere. So yes we are aware of that.” The day after Michael’s death, Hulmes died after he was shot with a Taser during an incident at his home, although a postmortem concluded he died from self-inflicted stab wounds. Burns died on 16 August after officers reportedly shot him three times with a 50,000 volt Taser following reports of a disturbance at his Barrow-in-Furness flat. Rodhouse, though, said that there were “no special arrangements” for the use of Taser during the carnival other than it remained an option as normal. Met officers are also aware that another death following police contact, this time the shooting of Mark Duggan by a Met Co19 firearms officer, remains a simmering source of tension. The death of Duggan, 29, in Tottenham Hale, north London, was pivotal to triggering the UK riots. His funeral is scheduled for 9 September. Rodhouse added that a petrol bomb attack on a marked police car patrolling Edmonton, north London on the day after Hulmes died was being looked at in the context of its timing before carnival. Officers monitoring social networking sites ahead of the carnival say that online chatter is “similar” to previous years and are hoping that contingency measures such as the earlier than normal finishing time of the carnival would help minimise disorder. Rodhouse added: “Historically and almost inevitably there is a degree of disorder every year at the Notting Hill carnival, what we see after dark particularly, is low level disorder.” Knife arches, stop and search and the use of “spotters” to identify troublemakers will all be in use during the carnival, Europe’s largest street party. London Metropolitan police Notting Hill carnival Festivals Tasers Police Mark Townsend Shiv Malik guardian.co.uk
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• Fighting continues in areas of Tripoli • Harrowing accounts from abandoned hospital • Hunt for toppled dictator and his sons • UN general secretary urges stable transition • Rebels mass for assault on Sirte • Read how yesterday’s events unfolded 12.44pm: My colleage Gregory Callus flags up the discussion taking place in our comments section (below) about today’s Independent story on the reported settling of scores in Tripoli: TrueBrit1066 comments : There are too many stories of black people being killed by the anti Gadaffi brigade to be ignored. This appears to be ethnic cleansing. The NATO resolution called for the protection of all civilians (presumably including black ones) and the fact is that many black civilians are now being killed. Lagrange1945 comments : Everything the rebels do is presented in the media as freedom fighters against a nasty dictator. When innocent black people came to Libya to find a job are killed then they must be mercenaries and therefore to be killed. All those dead bodies on the streets of Libya are probabily been blamed on Gaddaffi loyalist. PaulLambert comments It isn’t genocide, but if, as seems likely from various credible reports, black people are being targeted purely because they’re black, then that may well amount to Persecution – which is a crime against humanity under the ICC statute. 12.41pm: Neal Mann (aka @fieldproducer ) of Sky News tweets from Libya: Deputy Commander of Rebel forces told @Kileysky they are considering going round Sirte & surrounding it to stop Gaddafi splitting Libya in 2 12.33pm: David Smith in Tripoli passes on an interesting email from a resident there, Mustafa Jelban: When talk started on the final fight in Tripoli, everyone had dark thoughts of a long and bloody fight that will see tens of thousands of innocent civilians killed and displaced. However what happened proved, thank god, otherwise. Talk of Tripoli uprising was first started with talk relating to the Opening of Mecca, people in Tripoli, all over Libya thought that the fall of Tripoli is similar to the opening of Mecca to Muslims in the holy month of Ramadan. The rebels had their way of connecting with each other, and opposition TV channels advertised for this day and said that Tripolitans should uprise on this day and revolt on Gaddafi. Of course this happened in coordination with some Gaddafi supporters in the regime that dealt with check-points all over Tripoli. The uprising started in those places that had already seen uprisings at the beginning of the revolution, such as Tajoura and Soug Aljuma, places that had been repressed, but they were working together with rebels in other Libyan cities to coordinate a move towards Tripoli. 12.07pm: Back at the NTC press conference in Tripoli, a spokesperson has been responding to questions about how state institiutions will be reformed. In particular, how will the rebels avoid difficulties such as those which emerged from the rapid ‘De-Ba’athification’ of Iraq, when much-needed civil servants and police were excluded from running the state? “We had a regime which controlled Libya for 40 years. Ninety-nine percent of the people worked with the regime because they had no choice. We are not going to use everybody who was committed [and were] killing people, or torturing people,” said a spokesman. “But other people are welcome. We have a plan. The Minister for the Interior is working on a plan for what we will be doing on these institutions,” he added. He added that the rebels are following Gaddafi and are “going to find him” but would continue to focus on their priorities in other areas as well. 12.01pm: Following claims yesterday by the Italian government that it has proof that Muammar Gaddafi planned to turn the tiny island of Lampedusa into an “inferno” by sending thousands of desperate African migrants there by boat, Maltese journalist Karl Stagno-Navarra tweets: #Italy #Lampedusa mayor says he will claim damages from #Gaddafi over exodus of thousands of migrants from #Libya to island 11.50am: The National Transitional Council (NTC) has been holding a press conference in Tripoli. Some of main point to emerge so far from it include : • From tomorrow diesel fuel is going to be arriving in the city. From it, power will be provided to ensure that water supplies can be re-established on a more stable basis. Petrol is being distributed today. • Oil workers are needed to return to ensure that the sector’s facilities are once again up and running. • Television and radio stations will be operating again. “Basic most basic services are the ones we are concentrating on right now, such as health,” said a spokesperson. 11.10am: Syrian security forces have been fanning out today in flashpoint cities across the country to crush protests against President Bashar Assad, whose regime is facing a 5-month-old uprising. The Associated Press reports: The security presence was largest in Damascus suburbs, the eastern city of Deir el-Zour and the coastal city of Latakia, according to the Local Coordination Committees, an activist group that helps organize the protests. Sporadic shooting also was reported. The military operations come a day after Syrian security forces killed at least two people as tens of thousands of anti-government protesters flooded the streets on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The conflict has descended into a bloody stalemate with both sides showing no sign of giving in. Human rights groups say Assad’s forces have killed more than 2,000 people since the uprising erupted in March, touched off by the wave of revolts sweeping the Arab world. Friday has become the main day for protests, despite the near-certainty that tanks and snipers will respond with deadly force. 11.07am: Rebels have claimed a suburb near Tripoli’s airport after overnight fighting and a field commander said the capital was free of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces, according to the Associated Press. Residents of Qasr bin Ghashir celebrated by firing guns and anti-aircraft weapons into the air and beating portraits of the toppled leader with their shoes. The scene in the impoverished rural area 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the capital was a sign of rebels’ optimism after days of fierce fighting sent Gadhafi underground. Residents of Tripoli also have celebrated and the capital appears largely under rebel control. Omar al-Ghuzayl, a 45-year-old rebel field commander, says his force has been able to push Gadhafi fighters “completely outside Tripoli.” Elsewhere, fuel is scarce in Libya’s capital after days of fighting that sent Muammar Gaddafi underground, but that didn’t stop residents from using gas to set fire to a giant portrait of the toppled leader earlier today The burning billboard near Gaddafi”s Bab al-Azizya compound, the heart of his regime seized by rebels on Tuesday, was just part of the celebrations. 11.06am: International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has said that the British government would be raising Yvonne Fletcher’s case with the Libyan National Transitional Council. “This is an investigation which is 27 years old now,” he told the BBC. “No-one has been brought for justice for this appalling crime on the streets of London.” 10.52am: Harrowing reports continue to emerge about what happened at the abandoned Abu Salim hospital in Tripoli – where dozens of decomposing bodies were piled up, including 21 bodies in one room – and at other locations in the city during recent days. National Public radio have posted online an interview with Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons about what was found at the hospital, where dozens of corpses of men and women were discovered. Doctors and nurses reportedly fled after clashes erupted nearby between rebel forces and pro-Gaddafi forces. The New York Times reports that 40 bodies were piled up in the hospital, adding: Most of the fighters were darker skinned than most Libyans, a sign, rebels there said, that they may have been recruited from sub-Saharan Africa. The rebels have frequently accused the Qaddafi government of using mercenaries but have not offered convincing proof. The halls of the hospital were a chaos of beds and unplugged machines, and its floors were painted with blood. A medical technician said that three doctors had been on duty during the fighting in recent days, and that they had been unable to cope. It was difficult to ascertain the fates of the dead men, who were lying on gurneys nested by maggots in a hospital room and the morgue. The relatives of one victim, Abdul Raouf Al Rashdi, a 33-year-old police officer, said he had been killed by a sniper several days earlier in the Hay Andalus neighborhood. 10.44am: A convoy of six Mercedes cars have crossed from Libya into Algeria, Egypt’s state MENA news agency reported on Saturday, quoting a rebel source. According to Reuters, it was impossible to verify the report and it was not immediately clear who might have been in any convoy, but MENA quoted the source as speculating that senior Libyan officials or Muammar Gaddafi himself and his sons may have fled the country. “It is believed that these vehicles were carrying senior Libyan officials, and possibly Gaddafi and his sons,” MENA quoted the source as saying. 10.34am: David Smith, the Guardian’s Africa Correspondent, is in Tripoli after spending last night in the western mountains. He told me there was no sign of trouble on the road there, although he passed lots of rebel checkpoints, some with concrete barriers, often guarded by armed young men in t-shirts and shorts. “There are big piles of bin-liners and other rubbish along the streets, as well as revolutionary graffiti and cartoons of Gaddafi on the walls, including one depicting him as a dog,” added David “Likewise, one rebel who owned a dog could be heard shouting at it: ‘Muammar!’ ” 10.19am: Following the naming of a former Libyan diplomat as the alleged killer of a British policewoman 27 years ago, a British government minister said today it will pursue the case “in every way we can” to ensure that justice is done. Andrew Mitchell, the International Development Secretary was speaking to the BBC after a report in the Daily Telegraph said that a report has been drawn up for the Crown Prosecution Service which includes a witness account claiming junior diplomat Abdulmagid Salah Ameri was seen firing a gun that day. No one has ever been charged over the death of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, 25, (left) who died when Libyan officials opened fire on a demonstration outside the building in central London in 1984. The Telegraph said that painter and decorator David Robertson watched events unfold and quoted the CPS report as saying: “The man was holding the stock of the gun in his right hand, while his left hand was near the trigger area, as if he was about to fire. There were other men with him, with one to his left and at least two others standing behind him. “Mr Robertson made a comment to someone to his left about the gun and, as he did so, he heard the gun being fired from the direction of the bureau, a ‘rapid rat-a-tat-tat’ lasting for two or three seconds.” 10.06am: Medical support funded by the British Government will help thousands of patients injured during the conflict in Libya, as well as those with serious diseases, the International Committee of the Red Cross said today. Amid fears of an escalating humanitarian crisis, assistance will be provided by the ICRC with support from the Department for International Development, the Press Association reports Surgical teams and medicines will be laid on to help up to 5,000 wounded, as well as food and household essentials for almost 690,000. Steven Anderson, a spokesman for the ICRC, said: “Medical supplies are one of the main problems that will help people on the ground out there. 9.44am: Good morning and welcome to Middle East Live. In Libya, rebels have begun to transfer government to Tripoli while fighting and the hunt for Muammar Gaddafi and his family goes on. You can follow me on twitter at BenQuinn75 Here is a summary of the latest developments: • Rebel units have been massing for an attack on Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi’s birthplace after Nato warplanes conducted intensive bombing raids to weaken one of the last major redoubts controlled by the ousted regime. As the National Transitional Council (NTC) attempts to establish itself in Tripoli, its claims to have complete authority were undermined by skirmishes with Gaddafi loyalists and the failure to find the ousted Libyan leader or his sons. • The UN general secretary, Ban Ki-moon, has said that events in Libya had entered a “new and decisive phase” and said the emphasis must now be on ensuring there was a smooth transition of leadership. He said that African, Arab and European organizations agreed on the urgent need to end the fighting in Libya and restore order with help from international police if the new government requests security assistance. • The International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva has expressed concern about treatment of detainees on both sides. Dozens of decomposing bodies were piled up in and near an abandoned hospital next to the Gaddafi compound in Tripoli, revealing some of the war’s brutality. One hospital room had 21 bodies lying on gurneys. • In Britain, it has emerged that new light has been shed in the 27-year hunt for the killer of a policewoman who was shot dead at the Libyan embassy in London as a result of eyewitness reports. No one has ever been charged over the death of WPC Yvonne Fletcher, 25, who died when Libyan officials opened fire on a demonstration outside the building in central London in 1984. Middle East Muammar Gaddafi Saif al-Islam Gaddafi Military Libya Nato Syria Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
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Naturally, most liberal Democrats are stifling their disappointment with President Obama in order to preserve any electability he still holds. That's not true of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who absolutely denounced Barack Obama's America on Friday on radical (yet taxpayer-supported) Pacifica Radio. This is a little ironic, since Pacifica griped a bit to Jackson in 2008 that he was being sidelined by Obama to preserve his electability. The show “Democracy Now” offered a segment Friday on the new monument in Washington to Martin Luther King, which offered the opportunity for leftists to decry how King's dreams of the late Sixties for socialist revolution and an end to all American war-making were now being ignored: JUAN GONZALEZ, co-host: Well, Reverend Jackson, Cornel West had a piece in today's-an op-ed piece in today's New York Times
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• New York braced for chaos as hurricane Irene approaches • Subway and bus systems shutting down from noon today • Mayor orders first-ever evacuation in some NYC districts • Read our latest summary here • Read our latest story on Hurricane Irene • Follow me on Twitter @MatthewWells • Email me: matt.wells@guardian.co.uk 6.30am ET: Welcome to our live coverage of Hurricane Irene as it tracks up the eastern coast of the United States and heads for New York. We’ll be liveblogging until the power fails, and hopefully longer. I’m Matt Wells in New York and my colleagues around the city and in Washington DC will be contributing to our coverage. Here’s a summary of where we are now: • Hurricane Irene is about to hit North Carolina. Winds of around 90mph are already thrashing the shoreline. Irene has been downgraded to a category 1 hurricane, but there is still a significant risk of structural damage and flooding to the areas it hits. More than two million people along the east coast of the United States have been told to move inland. There are reports of structural damage in Beaufort and Tyrrell counties in North Carolina. Landfall of the first hurricane to hit the mainland since 2008 is expected in the next half-hour. • New York is braced for the worst as Irene threatens the city with its first hurricane in decades. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ordered the evacuation of low-lying areas and, for the first time ever, has shut the subway and bus systems from noon today. The storm is expected to make landfall on Long Island tomorrow. • President Barack Obama has returned to the White House in Washington, cutting short his holiday in Martha’s Vineyard one day early. He has urged residents in affected areas to heed evacuation notices and hurricane warnings, and has signed a state of emergency declaration for New York. “Don’t wait, don’t delay,” he said. • Amtrak has cancelled all train services in the northeastern corridor. More than 7,000 flights have been cancelled. Hurricane Irene United States Matt Wells guardian.co.uk
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