Saturday, February 28, 2015

WHERE IS DEBBIE RUBIN MCSWEENEY (PRUD'HOMME?) IS SHE SAFE?


DOES ANYONE KNOW THE WHEREABOUTS OF 
MY SISTER DEBBIE RUBIN MCSWEENEY? 

She might also be using the name Prud'homme. No one has seen or heard from her since 2007. 

The Montreal Police have consistently refused to investigate. 

We just want to know that she is alive and safe. 

Don't tell me where she is because, if I know I will be blamed for some wrong-doing. If I don't know where she is, there is no way I could be blamed for anything her keepers might dream up this time. I just want to be sure that she alive and well. 

Her last known address was in Pierrefonds in 1993.

You can contact me on Facebook or leave a comment here. 

If you find out something is wrong, please contact the Montreal Police as well. I am so worried about her all the time and I feel so helpless because the police have always refused to investigate and we have nowhere to turn.

Phyllis Carter

Friday, February 27, 2015

THE SCHINDLER OF IRAN - HOW ONE INGENIOUS PERSON SAVED HUNDREDS OF LIVES


A dispatch from the annals of forgotten righteous gentiles:

Abdol Hossein-Sardari, the Iranian Consul in Nazi-occupied France, saved hundreds of Iranian Jews from certain death with a heroic ingenuity worthy of his nickname, "Schindler of Iran."

Sardari hosted banquets, winning the trust of certain Nazi officials who disagreed with Hitler's racist policies. Then, he did something extraordinary: He invented a religion.

The Mosaique religion, of which Sardari claimed Iranian Jews were members, was described as unrelated to Judaism: "Some of the sixteen million Iranians…are converts to the Mosaique faith…they are descendants of the Aryan Indo-European race, with no relationship to the European Jewish race."

Using Nazi bureaucracy against them, Sardari reclassified 100 Iranian Jewish families and secured their deportation. Even later, after Iran declared war on Germany in 1942, Sardari used hundreds of blank passports to save more Jews.

Unfortunately, history wasn't kind to Sardari. Back in Iran, he was prosecuted for disobeying authority, saw his pension and property taken from him, and ultimately died in poverty in London in 1981.

Did he regret his actions? After being contacted by Yad Vashem in 1978, Sardari wrote, "I had the pleasure of being the Iranian Consul … as such it was my duty to save all Iranians, including Iranian Jews."

How the "Schindler of Iran" Saved Hundreds of Persian Jews
By Zachary Solomon


THE TRUTH ABOUT TRUTH



Here are some of the things I have learned about truth:
 
You can deny it, suppress it, distort it, try to discredit it, try to shame or intimidate or silence the one who tells it. 

You can hide it under a pile of lies and deceptions. 

You can find associates who will help you smother it or heap dirt or ridicule on it. 

You can shove it under a bushel basket and sit on it. 

But the truth about truth is that it is always true. And it will shine through.


Phyllis Carter

YACOUBA STOPPED THE SAHARA DESERT - THEY CALLED HIM CRAZY.


In the documentary film, " The Man Who Stopped the Desert ," a farmer named Yacouba Sawadogo struggles to maintain his livelihood in the increasingly harsh land of northern Burkina Faso. Part of Africa's semi-arid Sahel region, (southern part of the Sahara desert) Burkina Faso has suffered from desertification as over-farming, overgrazing, and overpopulation resulted in heavy soil erosion and drying. Desertification has affected many countries in the Sahel, including Senegal, Mali, Niger, and Chad.
Yacouba Sawadogo has worked for more than 30 years to reverse desertification in the Sahel. (Photo credit: 1080 Film)
In 1980, Yacouba decided to fight the desert's spread by reviving an ancient farming technique calledzai, which led to forest growth and increased soil quality. Zai is a very simple and low-cost method, involving using a shovel or axe to break up the ground and dig small holes, which are then filled with compost and planted with seeds of trees, millet, or sorghum. The holes or pits catch water during the rainy season and, when filled with compost, retain moisture and nutrients through the dry season. *
Yacouba's story attracted international attention when Mark Dodd of 1080 Filmscreated the documentary in 2010, and the African farmer has since told his story around the world, including at an October 2012 United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) meeting in South Korea. 1080 Films recently released a short follow-up film about Yacouba's life since the original film, called "What Yacouba Did Next…," describing what Yacouba has done since the film's release and giving an idea of the respect he has received from the international community.
In the follow-up film, UNCCD Executive Secretary Luc Gnacadja discusses the powerful impact of Yacouba's simple methods. According to Gnacadja, "Almost out of nothing he has generated the change we need…. If we could disseminate and scale up his example, then certainly we can do a lot in advancing the fight against desertification."
One direct benefit of the documentary has been the donations Yacouba has received in support of his reforestation efforts. As a result, he has been able to fund a new training program, where he travels to other villages teaching the zai technique. Yacouba hopes to spread this knowledge across the region, and has already visited 13 villages. He also hosts workshops at his own farm, teaching visitors and "bringing people together in a spirit of friendship." "I want the training program to be the starting point for many fruitful exchanges across the region," says Yacouba.
Yacouba's reforestation work not only helps farmers restore the local biodiversity by improving the soil, but it helps them prepare for an uncertain future. Chris Reijof the World Resources Institute and an author of the Worldwatch Institute's State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet believes in Yacouba's work and frequently visits the farm. Reij understands the long-term importance of Yacouba's work, stating, "what Yacouba has done can also be done by many other farmers across the Sahel. The big challenge is, that in the next 5 to 10 years, we will have to try to motivate millions of farmers to invest in trees because it will help them to improve their food security, and at the same time it will also help them adapt to climate change."
Since the film, however, life has not been easy for Yacouba. A recent urban expansion project annexed the forest he spent years growing, and homes are already being built on his land without any compensation except small parcels of land for Yacouba's family. He is currently attempting to raise US$20,000 to purchase the forest back.
Despite these setbacks, Yacouba knows the importance of his work and has doubled his cultivation efforts, expanding into the degraded lands next to the forest. Restoring soil and improving the future of the Sahel will not be easy, but Yacouba's work provides one model for communities across Africa to adopt in fighting desertification and preparing for future climate uncertainties.
By Devon Ericksen
* Note: Yacouba filled the holes with foliage and dung which attracted termites. The termites dug tunnels and reinforced them. When the rains came, the water settled in the tunnels below the ground and nourished the soil. And the plants grew and the birds came and an oasis filled with tall trees and wild life replaced the desert sands.
Phyllis Carter

I WAS CONDEMNED IN ABSENTIA IN A MONTREAL COURT - JUDGES AS GODS - WINK-WINK


I watch the news from all parts of the world and one thing is clear - There are judges who make themselves gods and, because of public apathy and the unwillingness of most people to get involved, terrible things can happen in a court of law. Courts are about handshakes and winks, not about justice. Lawyers always win - one way or another. Victims usually lose.

So often the corruption continues for years but, now and again, we see a report that a judge has been found guilty of serious wrong-doing. But I can't recall ever seeing a judge going to prison for crimes against victims who have come before him seeking help - justice. If you know of any, please let us know. We yearn to hear about any case where victims get justice.

THE DAWN MCSWEENEY CRIME CASE: 

A Montreal Police officer helped the thief, Dawn McSweeney, rob me. Later, the thief and her accomplices stripped my family of everything... even each other.

To try to discredit and intimidate me and silence my reports, the criminals in this case, Dawn McSweeney's "partner in crime" - as she calls her associates on her own blog - Kenneth Gregoire Prud'homme, a stranger - a man I never met or spoke to - applied for and was granted a court order accusing me of being insane and dangerous. In Prud'homme's application for the court order, he even told the court what I dream about. Huh? (Detailed reports at my blogs)

A judge who never saw me and never spoke to me condemned me - in absentia - in four minutes - with no evidence and no witnesses. I didn't even know I had been accused and tried in Quebec Court until the Montreal Police knocked on my door and took me away. The cover-up continues to this day.

Marlene Jennings, Member of Parliament, Canada and Quebec Deputy Police Ethics Commissioner, stated at two public meetings in Montreal, "Mrs. Carter's rights were violated three times."  But the authorities all say, "This case is not in my jurisdiction." and "The judge did nothing wrong."

I am offering a $5,000. reward.

I am concerned about justice around the world. 

Detailed reports, naming names at -

PHYLLIS CARTER'S JOURNAL -

and 

THE DAWN MCSWEENEY CRIME CASE - MONTREAL , QUEBEC

 Now with more than 185,000 readers from Canada to China. Yes, China. Somehow someone reads my reports in China.

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

NOBODY KNOWS YOU WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT


A friend wrote that when her mother was gravely ill in hospital no one came to visit her. I was reminded that admirers were all over my husband, Cliff Carter, with adoration and respect when he was playing the supper clubs and lounges and TV shows. But when he died, apart from close friends and a few family members, only the maitre d' from The Astor Lounge, Nick, showed up for his memorial service. 

A little earlier, an old friend, Wally Aspell, seriously ill with cancer himself, had gone out to buy Cliff a special tie at Brisson and Brisson on Sherbrooke Street. Wally was so ill at the time, that even though it was summer, he had to bundle up to walk over to that exclusive men's shop. Wally was so sick he could hardly eat. He was living on Campell's soup. Wally admired, respected and loved Cliff. They were both in hospitals at the same time and could not visit each other. Wally died shortly afterward. That is a loving friend. I will never forget him. Cliff never wore that tie. I still have it in the original box and I treasure it in memory of the friendship of Wally and Cliff.

My father, George Rubin, helped many Liberal Party politicians get elected - Raymond Baraket, Bill Tetley, Jean Pierre Goyer, Warren Allmand, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Russell Copeman, Marlene Jennings.  When my father died after months in hospital and in the Griffith Residence, not one of them came to his memorial service. I visited my father almost every day while he was in hospital and at the Griffith  Not one of those politicians visited him in the hospital or at the residence. Only one Liberal member showed up at the memorial service at the Griffith, a Mr. Baker who had known him for years.

My mother told me when I was very young, "Cake eaters are not friends. They only come for the parties and the fun. Don't expect them to come when you are alone and you need a friend."

"MY COUNTRY RIGHT OR WRONG" - IS WRONG - JUSTICE FOR ALL IS THE WAY TO PEACE



"MY COUNTRY RIGHT OR WRONG" - IS WRONG. THE ONLY HOPE WE CAN HAVE FOR PEACE IS NOT BLIND EXTREMISM - BUT JUSTICE FOR EVERYONE. That means that even the weakest among us is protected and treated fairly and given everything that belongs to him or her. It also means that those who deliberately harm innocent people are punished according to their crimes, no matter what flag they fly. I posted this message at The Suburban newspaper's page on Facebook and my post was deleted. A couple of writers scorned me for daring to speak the truth. I have "unfriended" the editor. May he go in peace, without my respect.

Facebook
February 26, 2015

AMERICAN CONGRESSMAN HARASSED ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT


No One is Safe from Islamist Extremists

A video released by the Temple Institute shows Republican Congressman Dennis Ross (FL-15) taking part in a tour of Judaism's holiest site along with Temple Institute guide Yitzchak Reuven.

The video clearly shows groups of fully covered female Muslim agitators following and harassing the Congressman and his group with calls of: "Allahu Akbar" and "Leave!" as well as statements proclaiming the "superiority" of Islam.

Jewish visitors are regularly subjected to similar harassment and abuse, which has on occasion escalated into threats and even acts of violence by Muslim extremists.

Recent reports have revealed how radical Muslim groups, including the Hamas- and Muslim Brotherhood-linked Islamic Movement, are paying groups of Muslim women specifically to stand at the site and harass Jewish visitors and stage provocations in an attempt to further restrict and even prevent Jewish visits.

HOW RADIOACTIVE IS THAT FISH DISH? NHK WORLD NEWS REVEALS TEPCO LIED AGAIN


NHK (Japan) WORLD NEWS reported today that TEPCO, the Fukushima Nuclear plant owners have lied to the world again. 

A new leak of highly radioactive water was found in April, 2014, but TEPCO has just reported today, February 25, 2015. 

Tons of radioactive water has been pouring into the Pacific ocean EVERY DAY. And the world, I remind you, is round.

See the NHK report at -

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/features/201502251616.html

Monday, February 23, 2015

CHINA - BUY A BABY - $8,000. to $12,000 - BOYS FETCH HIGH PRICE

Police rescued 37 babies and a 3-year-old girl after busting a child trafficking ring in eastern China's Shandong province, reported the state-run China Central Television.
The newborn babies, many suffering from HIV/AIDS and malnutrition, were sold for between 50,000 yuan to 80,000 yuan ($8,000 to $12,912 dollars). The boys fetched higher prices than girls, according to the online video report published on Tuesday.
Babies were often transported in large handbags and suitcases to prospective buyers. And they were allegedly fed instant noodles and leftover vegetables, according to Chinese state media.
Authorities have arrested 103 people, suspected of trafficking or purchasing the infants.
Police spotted a suspicious group of pregnant women being ushered into an abandoned factory in the city of Jining, last July, where they found baby diapers and other evidence of it being used as an "underground delivery room."
    "We noticed there has been some new developments in the methods for child trafficking related crimes," Chen Shiqu, director of the Ministry of Public Security's Anti-trafficking Office told CCTV.
    "For example, some criminal gangs would send pregnant women who are about to give birth via public transport to another city. The babies are then sold after the women give birth," says Chen.
    Squalid conditions
    An investigator who was on the case said they detained seven suspects and found one baby nearly smothered under blankets in the run-down factory with squalid living conditions.
    "At that time, the baby's face was already turning purple, if we didn't search through those blankets, that baby may have already died," said Liu Yang, a police investigator.
    In a two-month sting operation following the raid, police discovered that the babies were often transported from the factory in bags to a hospital for infectious diseases in a nearby suburb where they were kept, awaiting buyers.
    "Out of the 37 babies we rescued, almost none of them were healthy. All had varying levels of some sickness. They let the babies eat instant noodles," said Hou Jun, a local police officer.
    One of the buyers, Liu Zhiyou said an agent told him it was an illegitimate child from a student.
    Some of the babies have remained with their adoptive parents, while others are in orphanages. The 3-year-old was reunited with her mother, according to Chinese media.
    According to Chinese law, child traffickers can be imprisoned up to 10 years for selling more than three children or sentenced to death in more serious cases.
    Major concern
    Child trafficking has become a major concern in China, as traffickers seek to profit off a growing demand for healthy babies from potential adoptive parents both in China and beyond.
    In March last year, Chinese officials uncovered four child-trafficking rings and arrested more than a thousand people for using websites and instant messaging groups to sell babies.
    A Chinese obstetrician was also convicted for selling babies after telling their parents they were sick in early 2014.
    CNN

    A TASTE OF HOW EVIL HAS TOUCHED ONE HUMAN SOUL - EUROPE 2015


    I rounded the corner and started examining the London townhouses, knowing the one I sought would be devoid of markers announcing any Jewish presence. Finally spotting the synagogue, I went to climb the stairs when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw two men in dark coats cross the street and call to me. I knew who they were and what they wanted.

    Questions and answers.
    "Where are you going?"
    "To synagogue."
    "Where are you from?"
    I paused, because I'm never really sure of that answer any more. "New York. I work for New York University, I'm visiting."
    "Where do you go to synagogue?"
    Again, I faltered. There were too many answers to that question. "Well, I'm originally from Seattle and there I went to Shevet Achim."
    "Who is your rabbi?"
    In Seattle? New York? "Well, it's complicated, but Rabbi Yehuda Sarna."
    "Ok, and do you keep Shabbat?"
    "Yes"
    "Do you have ID?" Trick question.
    "No, but I emailed my passport copy to the shul on Thursday."
    "OK, and is there anything in your pockets?"
    Just my hands, I showed them. Convinced, they radioed inside and the doors opened.
    Question and answers.
    I was late, arriving only in time for kiddush. I stayed for minchah to make up the difference.
    Leaving in a light drizzle, I began to cry. The streets of London aren't like those of New York City, where crying in public is par for the course, almost a right of passage. I clasped one hand over my mouth and the other to my gut, pulling my sorrow back inward.
    I tried to name my sorrow as I walked to lunch. I have had to prove my Judaism before, and in ways far more painful. But never had I done so in order to simply enter a shul. Never had shibboleth been needed in order for me to pray in community. The questions were like those asked by El Al security before a flight to Israel.
    It was both the act of proving my identity and the dark reality of why I was being asked to do so that had me fighting the urge to sink into the pavement on that gray Saturday. I cried for the security I'd left behind as an American Jew, and for those who could not fathom it.
    Two Shabbatot later, another shooting, another dead Jew in a synagogue in Europe. Both soldiers and armed volunteers adorn our houses of worship. Who stands outside of yours?

    On Monday night I sat in the pews of the Great Synagogue of Florence for a memorial service for Dan Uzan, the synagogue guard killed in Copenhagen. The cadence of Italian fell lightly on my ears, the words reverberating in the dome of the ceiling, their echoes adding gravitas. Lost, I began reading the Hebrew inscriptions on the illuminated walls. Above the ark, where I am often comforted to see the words "Da lifne mi atah omed"—"know before whom you stand," instead was written "Barukh kavod Hashem mimkomo." "Blessed is the honor of God in His place." I read those words over and over, hardly noticing as I stood for Kaddish and answered amen. I kept re-reading.

    And then I thought of ‪#‎IGoToSynagogue‬, the hashtag created by the European Union of Jewish Students after the Copenhagen shooting to show solidarity and express the right of Jews to gather and worship in community and in peace.

    I thought of how Judaism lives and breathes in community. A quorum of 10 to pray; witnesses for life cycle events; Shabbat dinners kosher food. We are not meant to live our Judaism alone, and to attack our holy places is to attack the core of what it means to be a Jew. Theologian Keith Ward explains that there are transcendent dimensions of the human experience that make a claim on our lives, and our creative response is what reveals our values and how we make sense of the world. In our Jewish communities, we build space to invite those moments of transcendence, and we move into the world to live our religious traditions, our creative response to humanity.

    Baruch kavod Hashem mimkomo.

    I have not yet cried for Copenhagen, but I will soon. I will travel there on Monday to show solidarity with the community, to stand and pray with them in quorum.

    I will answer questions, I will tell my Jewish story, I will struggle out loud. Not in a posture of fear or defense, rather in one of proclamation. A performative act that claims space in the world and says, quite simply, "I am a Jew."

    Chelsea Garbell is the Global Program Coordinator for the NYU Global Center for Jewish Life, which creates opportunities for Jewish students studying abroad to engage with local communities.

    I rounded the corner and started examining the London townhouses, knowing the one I sought would be devoid of markers announcing any Jewish presence. Finally spotting the synagogue, I went to climb the...
    TABLETMAG.COM

    COMPUTER HACKERS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE USERS - BEWARE OF "MICROSOFT" TECHS


    Aggressive, persistent Windows tech support scammers continue to stalk consumers




    'No signs of slowing down,' says Microsoft of bogus phone calls; Computerworld sees a spike in reports from readers



    ·         Microsoft

    Scammers posing as Microsoft support technicians continue to work the phones in search of victims, the company said last week, and have, in fact, grown bolder in their tactics.

    With enhanced mobility and work flexibility comes increased security risk. Explore the security

    And in the last few weeks,  Computerworld has seen a spike in the volume of reports from readers who have been targeted by fake support schemes.

    ·         

    "What's really alarming is that this type of scam shows no signs of slowing down," said Kirsten Kliphouse, the Microsoft executive who heads the company's customer service and support group, in a May 2  blog. "Increasingly, we hear via our front-line support team, and even from friends and family, that these scammers are getting bolder, targeting not only individuals but also businesses."

    The scams rely on a combination of aggressive sales tactics, lies and half-truths. Cold callers pose as computer support technicians, most often claiming to be from Microsoft, and try to trick victims into believing that their computer is infected, usually by having them look at a Windows log that typically shows scores of harmless or low-level errors. At that point, the sale pitch starts, with the caller trying to convince the consumer or business worker to download software or let the "technician" remotely access the PC.

    The fraudsters charge for their worthless "help" or sell subscriptions to useless services, and sometimes install malware on PCs while they have the machines under their control.

    These scams became increasing common in 2010, picked up enough steam in 2011 that Microsoft warned Windows users to be on guard, and in October 2012 prompted the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to  file charges against six operators. Then-FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said during a news conference announcing the lawsuits that the fraudsters took "scareware to a whole other level of virtual mayhem."

    In 2013, the FTC settled with three of the alleged scammers -- in one instance, imposing a $964,000 judgment, in another just $14,000 -- but its investigations, accusations and penalties have done little to stem the tide of calls.

    Computerworld has received a steady stream of emails from readers of past news stories about the scams, but the volume of those messages jumped significantly last month. Many knew better than to let the caller into their PC, but simply wanted to tell someone about their experience in the hope of warning others of the danger.

    "Got a call last night from India -- I could tell it was a large call center," wrote Kristen H. last month in an email. "I knew immediately that it was a scam but talked to the guy anyway who assured me I had something drastically wrong with my PC. Anyway, when I called him a scammer, he got mad and hung up on me -- I tried to call the number back, but got a message saying the number had been disconnected."
    Others also smelled the rat, but were unsure about what to do.

    "I received a call yesterday from ... a person claiming to be from Windows technical support," wrote Gwen C. in April. "I would not allow them to go into my computer and told them not to call back. I felt the need to tell someone, perhaps they can be traced. To whom should I report this incident?"

    The FTC does offer a way to  report telephone-based scams, including computer support fraud, on its website. While the FTC does not pursue individual cases, it said it uses these reports to "help us and our law enforcement partners detect patterns of fraud and abuse."

    Some readers related their brushes with scammers even as they wondered whether the call had been on the level.·         ...
    ·          
    "He said that I had serious malware and viruses on my PC," wrote Barbara-Anne P. in an email today. "And that I needed to log in while we were talking and he would fix it for me. The call was marked 'unknown caller' [so] I asked him for the number and called back. When I did, someone picked up and mumbled a company name, but it didn't seem convincing. Could you tell me if this is a scam or is it legitimate?"

    In her blog post, Microsoft's Kliphouse linked to a page on the company's website that described some of the characteristics of tech support scams, and more importantly, offered up excellent advice, including the catch-all "hang up."
    But according to some readers, scammers have become so persistent that even that recommendation isn't fool-proof.

    "We have received at least three calls a day for the last few months from phone numbers that appear as 'anonymous' on our caller ID," related Jodi E. last Friday. "I can't believe the level of harassment and the belligerence of these individuals. Knowing it was a bunch of crap, we question them and try to gain more information, asked to be removed from call lists, even went so far to tell them we don't own Windows computers!"

    The FTC did not respond to a request for comment on the continued problem of technical support scams.

    Gregg Keizer  covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news forComputerworld . Follow Gregg on Twitter at  @gkeizer, on Google+ or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed . 
    His email address isgkeizer@computerworld.com.