samhexum

Sri Lanka's government faced increasing pressure Friday to answer for alleged human rights violations following a recent war crimes lawsuit and allegations from over 50 men who said they were raped, branded or tortured as recently as this year. The men's anguished descriptions of their abuses come nearly a decade after Sri Lanka's civil war ended and days ahead of a review of the Indian Ocean nation by the U.N.'s top human rights body. Doctors, psychologists, lawmakers and rights groups have appealed to the United Nations to investigate new allegations published by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The AP reviewed 32 medical and psychological evaluations and interviewed 20 men who said they were accused of trying to revive a rebel group on the losing side of Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war. Although combat ended in 2009, they say the torture and abuse occurred from early 2016 to as recently as July this year. "Someone has to do something about this," said Dr. Frank Arnold, one of several doctors who wrote to U.N. Human Rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein and called for an independent investigation into the Sri Lankan torture allegations. "As forensic experts, we have collectively seen many hundreds of Sri Lankans who have fled their country following torture over the years," the physicians' letter said. "We continue to receive a worrying number of cases from Sri Lanka despite the change of government." One of the men in the AP investigation said he was held for 21 days in a small room where he was raped 12 times, burned with cigarettes, beaten with iron rods and hung upside-down. Another man described being abducted from home by five men, driven to a prison, and taken to a "torture room" pocked with blood splatters on the wall. Most of the men say they their captors identified themselves as members of the Criminal Investigations Department, a police unit that investigates serious crimes. Some, however, said it appeared their interrogators were soldiers. Rep. Eliot Engel, top-ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said policymakers in Washington cannot ignore these alleged crimes. "These allegations are horrifying, and must be fully and transparently investigated. The seriousness of these reports should also make the United States wary of advancing our military relationship with Sri Lanka until a full accounting has occurred," he said Friday. Sri Lanka's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to repeated calls or an email Friday seeking comment. U.N. human rights office spokesman Rupert Colville said "we are currently looking into these alarming allegations to work out the best way for them to be further investigated." The AP's investigation into the recent Sri Lankan torture allegations came months after another investigation in which the AP found that 134 U.N. peacekeepers from Sri Lanka were implicated in a child sex ring in Haiti between 2004 and 2007. Despite evidence of child rape, no Sri Lankan peacekeeper was ever prosecuted. In August, rights groups in South America filed lawsuits against Gen. Jagath Jayasuriya, a Sri Lankan ambassador in the region. He is accused of overseeing military units that attacked hospitals and killed, disappeared and tortured thousands of people at the end of the country's civil war. Upon the ambassador's return to Sri Lanka, President Maithripala Sirisena vowed that neither Jayasuriya nor any other "war hero" would face prosecution — a pledge that rights groups said illustrates continued impunity in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, which has denied the allegations of torture and war crimes, goes before the U.N.'s Human Rights Council in Geneva next week as part of a regular examination known as the Universal Periodic Review. All 193 U.N. member states usually undergo such reviews about every 4-1/2 years, but Wednesday's review may hold added significance. The UPR process generally focuses on institutional, long-term efforts by countries — not specific issues like the recent testimonies of sexual abuse and torture in Sri Lanka. The new allegations, however, suggest that Sri Lanka still has not stopped using torture — a practice it was highly criticized for during and after the war against the Tamil Tigers rebel group. Documents used for the review will include accounts of disappearances, calls to bring rights abusers to justice, investigations into war crimes, and reports of torture and arbitrary arrest in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's delegation will be headed by Harsha de Silva, a deputy minister. Yasmin Sooka, director of the South Africa-based Foundation for Human Rights, said she hopes the review will spur member states to ask Sri Lanka tough questions. She also urged the U.N. to establish an independent body to investigate the allegations — much like it did in Guatemala. "There is no real framework for witness security in Sri Lanka," said Sooka. "As it stands now, the very people who are accused of such violations would essentially be in charge of investigating themselves. An independent investigative unit needs to be established." Many ethnic minority Tamils contend the government continues to target them as part of a larger plan to destroy their culture. Tamils speak a different language and are largely Hindu, unlike the country's largely Buddhist Sinhalese majority. More than 100,000 people were estimated to have died in the war, including at least up to 40,000 civilians in its final months, according to U.N. estimates. Sri Lankan authorities have denied targeting civilians and dispute the death toll. Justice C.V. Wigneswaran, chief minister for Sri Lanka's Northern Province and a former Supreme Court judge, sent a letter to the AP on Friday confirming similar rights abuses he has heard from Tamils in his northern constituency. He said he has previously urged the U.N. rights chief to demand an independent investigation. "Unfortunately, this was overlooked ... if the international mechanism was in place it would have acted as a deterrent to these military sadists," he told the AP on Friday. The London-based Freedom from Torture group also urged Zeid to independently investigate the claims. "Our evidence is consistent with the recent press reports and suggests that torture remains deeply ingrained in the military, police and intelligence sectors in peacetime Sri Lanka," the group said in a letter. Some advocates said even more pressure was needed. "There's mounting evidence that Sri Lanka cannot keep ignoring but while the pressure is there, they are essentially still getting away with it," said Canadian lawmaker Gary Anandasangaree, who has urged the Canadian government to do more ahead of a peacekeeping conference in Canada next week. A Sri Lankan teen known as Witness #267 showed scars and marks on his chest during an interview in London. The 19-year old said that he was raped and burned more than 60 times with cigarettes during his detention earlier in the year in Sri Lanka. Trembling when asked questions, he says, “I can’t. I’m not anywhere near through this.”

It was probably the same fire that killed Elizabeth Keene's mother. You know how networks like to cross-promote their shows!

I watched all the episodes last season, but never really got into the show. Kevin & Toby were so incredibly annoying the first half of the season (Kevin with his stupidity and shallowness, Toby because his constant earnest goodness made my teeth hurt), I was praying for Toby to die after his heart attack and for that AT&T spokechick to hit Kevin over the head with a phone (an old-fashioned heavy rotary model). They got less nauseating as the season went on. I never started watching this season, and now it seem like too daunting a task to catch up... maybe I'll do it next month when everything will be in reruns. Then again, due to the shocking Toby scandal, maybe I'll have to boycott the show on moral and ethical grounds.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbfewm4wlM1rxygpd.gif http://i.giphy.com/9Q249Qsl5cfLi.gif

Too bad there don't seem to be many 24-hour stores left, correct?

My favorite supermarket is down the road from all of my doctors' offices. Since I seem to have an appointment every week, I just shop afterwards. It's an efficient system... you should try it.

Too expensive

A fraternity pledge who fell asleep at the wheel and killed another student claimed in a new lawsuit that he was forced to stay awake for three days straight in a hazing stunt ahead of the deadly crash. University of Louisiana at Lafayette student Michael Gallagher Jr. sued the Kappa Sigma fraternity and the university officials Friday, following in the footsteps of 23-year-old Rustam Nizamutdinov’s mother, who filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the fraternity and some of its members in September. Nizamutdinov was on his way home to his apartment on Nov. 6, 2016 when he was fatally struck by a vehicle driven by Gallagher, which drifted onto the sidewalk where he was walking. Gallagher’s lawsuit claims he was badly sleep-deprived when he was forced to be a designated driver for drunken Kappa members during the university’s homecoming weekend. Following the accident, Gallagher immediately phoned his parents. When they arrived on the scene, they found him shocked and unable to remember what happened. According to the toxicology reports, Gallagher was not impaired at the time of the crash, KATC reported. The suit additionally claims university officials should have known about the “persistent pattern of hazing” by the Kappa Sigma members long before the deadly accident.

Elvis Presley met Priscilla Beaulieu when she was just 14 years old. He was 10 yearsolder, and already a rock 'n' roll superstar. The two married in 1967 after a nearly eight-year courtship. I think it's safe to assume Elvis would've voted for Roy Moore.

Little did you know that he had a photo of YOU that HE used to jack off to!

With its glass floor-to-ceiling windows and grand spiral staircase, you’d be forgiven for assuming this building is a modern art gallery or a museum. But, in fact, it’s not a swanky gallery. It’s not even an Apple Store. It’s a McDonald’s. Finished in 2015, the glass-fronted McDonald’s can be found in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. Designed by Mei Architects, the classy fast food joint is decked out with leather seats and marble tables and is as swanky on the inside as it is from the outside. The spiral staircase leads up to a dining room on the restaurant’s second floor, while the huge windows give the whole place a light, airy vibe. As the architects behind the design say, “a perforated golden facade” presents the building to the street outside, making those classic Golden Arches look a little less golden in comparison. The food may be the same as every other McDonald’s but the spacious interior means you can enjoy your Big Mac in comfort. And if you want to eat your fast food al fresco, you can always make use of the stylish outdoor furniture, in keeping with Rotterdam’s outdoorsy town planning. But Holland’s premiere McDonald’s wasn’t always so impressive. In fact, it may have been one of the world’s least swanky McDonald’s, in a building described by residents as the “ugliest building in Rotterdam.” It’s fair to say that the old McDonald’s was as bad as they come, set in a 1960s building which used to be a cigar shop. But rather than tear the old building down, architects were given free reign to cook up a fast food joint fit for a king. Speaking about their new-look restaurant, the designers behind the radical overhaul said: “As McDonald’s is open day and night, 24/7, its appearance after dark is important.” “By day the building is inviting to shoppers, while in the evening it glows to attract the nightlife crowd.” I was more impressed by the McDonald's I ate at in Moscow in 1991: Europe's largest McDonald's restaurant is situated on Pushkin Square in Moscow. The size of the premises is 2,500 square meters. On the day of its opening, Jan. 31, 1990, the restaurant set a new record for daily visitors, serving 30,000 customers. There was a line halfway around the block, but (fortunately) our guides knew how to cut the line & get in without waiting. http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/1427477/mcdonalds-moscow.jpg

WOW! I know the battle for ratings is fierce, and the networks are desperate for anything that will give them an edge, but what CBS is doing with MOM next week to try to win the 9PM Thursday ratings battle is just… I don’t know what! To have Christy sleep with Jack McFarland’s son!?!?!? And don’t forget, Elliot’s mother is Bonnie’s former carpet muncher. This is all a little TOO incestuous! Even for a Chuck Lorre show.

Tight shirt for the reveal tonight. Yum! Ashley walked around in shorts and a skimpy top at times during the first two episodes. If they want higher ratings, he oughta try the same wardrobe choices.

Love his children Dudley & Demi. Also alleged to be equine-like in part of his anatomy, as is half-brother David. (I guess they both took after the same half.)

The famous poster that hung on my wall: http://www.voyagersguidebook.com/photos/undefined/jonerikhexumtTree-fixed.jpg A friend of mine works as a camera man for CNN. They interviewed my late hubby before COVER UP started. He tried to reach me to tell me about it, but this was before cell phones & texting/email, so I had to settle for a bootleg unedited copy of the interview footage. I still have it on a VHS tape somewhere, in lousy condition.

If you put Willem Dafoe, Liam Neeson and James Woods in a room together, there wouldn't be room for anyone else. --Dana Delany

Did Grant Goodeve replace him in your fantasies? His role in the CHIPS film should've been Frank "Paunch" Pauncharello

Jon-Erik whatshisname

Higgins has kicked the bucket & bought the farm where's he's pushing up daisies: A spokeswoman for the family of actor John Hillerman says the co-star of TV’s “Magnum, P.I.” has died. Hillerman was 84. Spokeswoman Lori De Waal said Hillerman died Thursday at his home in Houston. She said the cause of death has yet to be determined. Hillerman played stuffy Jonathan Higgins to Tom Selleck’s free-wheeling private detective Thomas Magnum in the hit 1980s series set in Hawaii. Hillerman also was known for his 1970s roles as arrogant radio show detective Simon Brimmer on the “Ellery Queen” series, and as a difficult boss on “One Day at a Time.” Hillerman appeared in a number of other series, including “Valerie,” ″The Love Boat” and “The Betty White Show.” His film credits include “The Last Picture Show” and “High Plains Drifter.

His culture will probably allow him to beat her for disrespecting him and violating his privacy.

Your tax dollars at work!

An escort in Washington state says she shot her client twice in the head — because he was lousy at oral sex, according to reports. Marissa Wallen, 21, then allegedly stole her john’s wallet and gun, left him for dead and went on a $12,000 spending spree in Skagit County, according to the Herald of Everett, Wash. The 36-year-old North Everett man’s employer grew concerned when he didn’t log in for his stay-at-home job on the morning of Oct. 24. When police were sent to check on him, he was found alive — slumped against a wall with dried blood on his head. Two shell casings nearby did not match the caliber of his missing handgun, officials said. He was unable to speak, so police communicated with him using hand signals, according to the news outlet. He indicated he knew his attacker but could not provide a name. Security footage from the apartment revealed that Wallen had visited five times in October. She was last seen entering at 8:45 p.m. Oct. 21, and then fleeing at 10 p.m. clutching what appeared to be credit cards, officials said. Store security cameras showed Wallen using the cards, according to authorities, who tracked her down at a home in Mount Vernon, Wash., on Tuesday. When confronted with evidence, Wallen kept changing her story before finally admitting she shot the man twice in the back of the head, “because he was performing (a sex act) wrong,” according to her statement. Wallen, who has an 11-month-old child, was ordered held on pending charges of first-degree assault, first-degree robbery and first-degree identity theft. “I was stunned on Tuesday when the first detective came to our door,” next-door neighbor Mark Barnum told KIRO-TV. “He said, ‘Your neighbor was shot twice in the head.’” He said he “heard what sounded like two or three taps coming from the wall. It was notable because we don’t usually hear anything.” He said he initially thought the noise could have been from a hammer. “It’s just kind of shocking to think perhaps that was maybe — maybe those were the shots. Maybe it was [the victim]. And I feel really badly that I was unable to help,” Barnum said. Other neighbors said the victim works in high tech. “He keeps to himself a lot, he’s got his computer stuff up there. He handles a lot of websites, IT security,” Erik Buxton told KIRO. According to documents, the man “had been hiring female escorts and frequenting a strip club in Seattle, where he was bragging about how much money he earned and belongings he had at his house.” Buxton said the victim “liked to kind of flash his money a little bit. It’s what’s going to happen — you’re going to attract negative people along the way.” On Wednesday, a judge said Wallen had outstanding warrants for her arrest and set her bail at $1 million. Her public defender, Pooja Vaddadi, said medical problems have prevented her from appearing in court several times, according to the Herald. Another suspect, Jenner Matthews, was arrested in the case, KIRO reported. The probable-cause document said Wallen made payments to him through Facebook using the victim’s accounts.

When I started reading, I was sure the story was going to end with the ex in handcuffs for starting a fire to get back at you for some perceived wrongdoing on your part.

You mean this? https://www.companyofmen.org/threads/he-would-rather-have-a-dead-son-than-a-gay-son.130339/

Roger Federer is a skirt-chaser. Not the kind you’re thinking. The 36-year-old tennis legend turned heads on Tuesday when he played a tennis match at a Glasgow, Scotland, charity event sporting a polo shirt and a kilt. Federer crowdsourced the fashion statement at the beginning of the match. The Swiss athlete announced, courtside, that he’d put on a kilt if one was found. Naturally, his unique attire drew lots of attention on social media.