‘If Gandhi Were Alive, He Would Be at Every Protest Today’

ANANYA SINGH | 30 JANUARY, 2020

“I think if he (Gandhi) was alive, he would be at every protest site,” Tushar Gandhi, journalist and great-grandson of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi told The Citizen on the eve of January 30, Gandhi’s 72nd death anniversary.

With the citizens of the country up in arms against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the National Register of Citizens and the alleged first step to implementing both of these, the National Population Register, Tushar Gandhi remembers the iconic leader of the Indian Independence movement, reflecting on what Gandhi would have done were he alive today to witness the nationwide protests.

Gandhi would have actively participated in the ongoing protests, according to Tushar Gandhi. “But if he was alive, I am also confident that we wouldn’t have reached this state… He would have been working to prevent this much much earlier,” he added.

Holding true to his ideals of non-violence, Gandhi “would have endorsed the non violent protests that are happening”, Tushar Gandhi stated. “He would have endorsed the individual statements of displeasure being voiced. He would have created public opinion against the situation and he would also have kept a door open for negotiation,” he told the Citizen. In fact, Gandhi and his ideals remain alive today, having been invoked at protest meetings across the country.

Citizens have taken to the streets to express their opposition to the CAA and NRC. Sloganeering and chanting are widespread, but so are poetry sessions, music, speeches, singing and artwork. Whether it is a 24X7 sit-in protest at Shaheen Bagh or a march in Malegaon, women have come out across the nation to express their dissent and lead the movement along with the youth.

If Gandhi were here today, would he have led the anti-CAA protests himself? Tushar Gandhi believes otherwise, stating that his great-grandfather would have given the responsibility of the protests to the citizens of India instead. “He would have been the iconic leader or the inspiration behind the protests but he would have made the ordinary citizens responsible for protecting the nation as he had done in his Non-Cooperation Movement and in the Quit India Movement,” he told The Citizen.

January 30 is designated as Shahadat Diwas or Martyr’s Day. Today, in remembrance of Gandhi, massive protests have been organised across the country. From Rajghat to Shanthi Van, a “human chain across Delhi” will be built, scheduled to begin at 3:30 pm with the singing of the national anthem taking place at 5:17 pm—the exact time Gandhi was martyred on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Godse.

Speaking about the significance of the protest, Tushar Gandhi stated, “I don't even care if it’s a mammoth protest or not. Even a few human beings coming together, few concerned citizens coming together and standing up in defiance counts.”

“Maybe it won't be noticed as an event but it will have an impact over all,” he said. “So I think that is the way the protests should develop. I support the idea, I feel that everything possible and everything that an individual is capable of doing from within their comfort zones also is of importance,” Tushar Gandhi added.

Organised by Jan Ekta Jan Adhikar Andolan (JEJAA), with 109 social organisations under its ambit, the human chain will cover Hanuman Mandir, Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Delhi Gate, as per the JEJAA statement released on January 28.

Delhi is not the only city where a human chain will be built. A group of eminent citizens, including Rajmohan Gandhi, Mahadev Vidrohi, Medha Patkar, H.S. Doreswamy, Harsh Mander among others—under the banner ‘We the People of India’—have issued a call for a nation-wide human chain today. The call was endorsed by the Working Group of the All-India Coordination for National Action Against Citizenship Amendment.

The All-India human chains will begin forming from the afternoon and will end at 5:17 pm. The group has also urged lamps or candles to be lit outside every home to commemorate Gandhi’s martyrdom. “The programs will collectively be called Bharat Jodo and the value that will be upheld is “Fraternity” (from the Preamble of the Constitution of India)” reads their press release.

Following a human chain in Jaipur, programs that celebrate “multicultural interfaith music” has been organised at Central Park. Bangalore too, will witness the formation of a “harmony chain” from Town Hall to Mahatma Gandhi Statue after “paying homage to the Mahatma”.

A human chain is scheduled to be formed at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park, Hyderabad at 4 pm. Lawyers in Chennai will venture out on a “Peace and Unity Padayatra” around the Madras High Court this morning, resolving to defend the Indian Constitution.

“Safeguarding the Constitution Rally”, a candle light march organised by Dwarka Collective will also be taken out at 6 pm today from Sector-12, Dwarka “to resist every assault on the constitution including the CAA, NPR and NRC.” A long march is scheduled to take place from Jamia Millia Islamia University to Rajghat. Humari Urdu Mohabbat (HUM) is also organising an evening of “Gandhi in Poetry and Recitation” at Jawahar Bhawan, New Delhi.

Cities and small towns across India will observe a day of marches and cultural programmes in ‘Baapu’s’ memory. “It is very essential in times like this when we feel bereft of iconic leaders, we need to restore the memory of our icons and get inspired by them,” Tushar Gandhi told The Citizen, reflecting upon the protests organised. It becomes even more essential today, “when the idea of India that our founders had envisaged is under such grave threat.”

Kinder Morgan secures all land needed for pipeline, despite protests from Central Texans

SO CALLED CONSERVATIVE SCOTUS JUSTICE; TONY SCALIA APPROVED THE STATIST RULE OF EXPROPRIATION AKA EMINENT DOMAIN WHICH RESULTS IN THIS: 

Kinder Morgan secures all land needed for pipeline, despite protests from Central Texans

By Christian Flores Friday, January 31st 2020

In just a matter of weeks, Kinder Morgan may soon break ground on construction in Central Texas for a massive natural gas pipeline, after months of back-and-forth with landowners that continue today.

Earlier this week, the energy infrastructure company announced they have secured 100 percent of the right of way for the Permian Highway Pipeline Project, which is a 42-inch, 430-mile pipeline extending from West Texas to the Gulf Coast. They can now begin construction in Central Texas once they get the necessary federal permits.

"To have that piece in a manner that is fair, that takes into account hundreds and hundreds of issues and concerns raised by landowners has led us to adjust the pipeline route almost 200 times," said Kinder Morgan Vice President Allen Fore. "These projects are absolutely critical, not only for the economic benefit for the state of Texas, but for the energy security of the United States. We're confident we followed the regulations."

This development comes amid months-long protest from Hill Country neighbors who own land the pipeline will go through.


Kay Pence says she moved to Fredericksburg for the peace and solitude the countryside has to offer. However, she knows that may soon become a thing of the past when construction begins.

"The quiet we enjoy at night will be gone," Pence said.

Last week, Pence joined a lawsuit with other Hill Country landowners, claiming the pipeline will be carrying natural gas that's not only from Texas, requiring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to regulate the pipeline, not the Railroad Commission of Texas.

This week, Hays County commissioners voted to join a lawsuit set to be filed against Kinder Morgan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in order to try and stop construction, claiming the pipeline will go through environmentally sensitive areas and put endangered species at risk.

Pence says these are attempts to at least slow down the start of construction.

"I give it a 50-50 shot that they won't have issues with their permitting, or I know there's several lawsuits pending, that that may hopefully have a judge place an injunction, and stop any building until it's finally decided in the courts once and for all that will decide whether or not they have the right to put the pipe through here," Pence said.

A court has already dismissed a lawsuit aimed at Kinder Morgan by the City of Kyle.

Fore says they have done everything by the book.

"We've always been confident not only in our legal position, but for the overall public purpose of this project," Fore said.

Pence says she feels she and other landowners never had a chance to decline Kinder Morgan's offers to place the pipeline through their property because of a lack of protections from eminent domain laws.

During the 2019 legislative session, lawmakers did not pass laws that sided with landowners, and throughout the process, Pence and other landowners have fought the assertion that the pipeline is considered a public benefit, which is protected under eminent domain.

Currently, Hill Country neighbors are still in the process of having condemnation hearings, which allows a court to hand down land values after hearing from both sides. More than 70 percent of Hill Country residents have taken this route.

Pence had her hearing after asking Kinder Morgan for $1.8 million to build through her land. The company provided two offers close to $100,000, before a final offer of $45,000. The court awarded Pence just more than $1.2 million.

Kinder Morgan has deposited the $1.2 million in the court registry, allowing them to begin construction. However, Pence is not withdrawing that money yet.

"If I leave it in the registry of the court, I am making a statement that I don't believe they have the right to take my land in the first place."

Pence says now, all she can do is wait for the court process to carry out.

"There is no process. We have no voice. We need a voice in this process," Pence said. "They're taking our land, so myself and the rest of the landowners in Gillespie County are frustrated. We haven't given up the fight. We'll continue the fight until the first shovel goes into the ground, and we'll probably continue to fight during that also."

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Florida pastor and Trump spiritual advisor prays for 'all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now'

NOT SO PRO LIFE NOW, EH

Posted By Colin Wolf on Mon, Jan 27, 2020 

Screenshot via Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons/TwitterWhile Florida Republicans are on their way to further limit women’s healthcare, a Central Florida pastor who also serves as the Trump administration’s spiritual advisor is arguing that it’s somehow fine for God to terminate a pregnancy as long as it’s “satanic.”

Apopka preacher Paula White, the Special Adviser to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative also known as Trump’s “God Whisperer,” gave a sermon on Jan. 25, and an absolute batshit insane clip of the event was posted to Twitter last weekend.

In the video, the televangelist can be seen shouting, “We command all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now!” and urging “anything that has been conceived in satanic wombs, that it will miscarry and not be able to carry forth any plans of destruction,” not to mention how she comes against the “marine kingdom” and the “animal kingdom,” whatever that means.


“We command all satanic pregnancies to miscarry right now” — Special Adviser to the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative Paula White pic.twitter.com/gtdZyGfkxy
— Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons (@GuthrieGF) January 25, 2020
White has since stated that the clip is being taken out of context, and that she wasn’t actually praying for literal miscarriages of satanic pregnancies, but for metaphorical miscarriages of satanic pregnancies. Thank you, Lord.

Keep in mind that White, who leads a congregation of 10,000 at her megachurch New Destiny Christian Center, is prone to saying things that often leave moderate Christians scratching their heads. Besides pushing fringe Christian teachings like “the prosperity gospel,” which holds that God prefers rich people who donate to the church, White has also said radically stupid things like “To say no to President Trump would be saying no to God,” and “demonic” forces were coming after Trump to stop him from achieving Supreme Court picks.

Obviously, this hasn’t stopped her from amassing a small fortune through various now-bankrupt ministries over the years.


Screenshot via Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons/Twitter

THIS WOMAN IS POSSESSED BY THE SPIRITS SHE CONDEMNS AND EVOKES, SHE IS NOT A CHRISTIAN SHE IS A CHARLATAN, A SPIRIT RAPPER, A NECROMANCER, HER JESUS IS DEAD AND WANTING, IT IS THE VAMPIRE JESUS SHE IS A BLACK MAGICIAN, A MEMBER NOT OF THE LEFT HAND PATH NOR THE RIGHT HAND PATH, SHE IS IN THE ABYSS ROARING OUT ITS DEMONS INTO THIS WORLD JUST WATCH HER DO HER POSSESSION DANCE OF EVOCATION, LIKE ALL PENTECOSTALS ( AN AMERICAN CULT) SHE SPEAKS IN TONGUES, AND ALLOWS THE SPIRITS TO POSSESS HER CLAIMING THEY SPEAK FOR GOD, SHE NEVER DOES MENTION HER GOD'S NAME......

Third Women's March at Orlando City Hall hustles to 'box out' bigotry

Posted By Solomon Gustavo on Mon, Jan 20, 2020

Photo by Alex DixonArms extended, Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan stood in front of the masses gathered for the Women's March Orlando 2020 on the steps of City Hall, spreading out fabric designed to look like butterfly wings.

"Excuse me, I was busy boxing out foolishness," said the city's first openly gay commissioner, referring to a group of counter-demonstrators waving signs condemning abortion and getting in heated back-and-forths with Women's March participants. A group of people, including Sheehan, formed a circle around the aggressive anti-abortionists, spreading their arms to unfurl their fabric butterfly wings and locking hands.

Most of the third Orlando iteration of the march organized by the Orange County Chapter of the National Organization for Women followed this theme of seeking out, circling and eradicating hatred in its many forms. It was the latest protest on behalf of women and femmes after the inaugural Women’s March on the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration.


Photo by Alex DixonIntersectionality was clearly the priority for the event's speakers, who dove into passionate diatribes against the scourge of epidemic levels of violence against Black trans women, or the needs of those surviving natural disasters in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, or the moral imperative to uncage children and enact humanely welcoming immigration, as often as they discussed consent and reproductive rights.

"Hold the door," said Nicolette Springer to the crowd, and asked that everyone take a moment at the beginning of every day to ponder how they use their privilege. A group from Hope Community Center, an Orlando organization providing immigration advice, made their way to the lip of the plaza in front of City Hall. Springer asked them to come to the front.


Photo by Alex DixonCynthia Harris, a Black woman running to represent Florida House District 46 covering neighborhoods including Parramore and Pine Hills, spoke at the event. She emphasized that the Women's Suffrage moment secured voting rights for women with the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1919 – but that Black women couldn't vote until the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965.

"We have to do a hostile takeover," said Harris to Orlando Weekly, describing how Black women can make their voices heard.

Many speakers, some white, bailed from the Women's March in Los Angeles in solidarity with the local Black Lives Matter chapter who voiced concern that the mainly white women organizers were boxing out Black voices. Harris said that was not the case with the march in Orlando. She said when she went to Florida NOW organizers about speaking, they made sure that her voice was heard.


Photo by Alex DixonThe majority of the people in attendance were white. But there was plenty of diversity.

"You see white faces, Black faces, brown faces. You see queer people, you see cisgender, straight people, you see people all across the spectrum," said gun reform and LGBTQIA rights activist and Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf, the lone man who spoke at the event.

As many speakers emphasized the notion that a better, more just nation for all begins with helping the most disadvantaged, the two other points of priority for speakers and those in attendance were women's bodily autonomy and electing a replacement for Trump. There were Planned Parenthood representatives and staffers from various campaigns offering to register people to vote.

Among the speakers were state Rep. Amy Mercado and Rep. Anna Eskamani, the first Iranian American to be elected to the Florida House; House District 43 candidate Tamika Lyles, who if elected, would be the first woman and first Black woman to hold that seat; and Florida Senate District 5 candidate Melina Barratt, the first openly transgender woman to run for state senate.

After listening to speakers, participants marched to Lake Eola and took a lap, delivering chants and waving signs for gawking and cheering passersby.

"Women's rights are being trampled," said Debbie Deland, 64, who came from the MetroWest neighborhood of Orlando.

"Everybody's rights are being trampled," said 58-year-old Ocoee resident Karen Riveland, piggybacking off her fellow marcher as they made their way around the lake. Chants of "Hey-hey, ho-ho, Donald Trump has got to go," rang in the background. "I think we can build our nation back up if we help the people on the lowest rungs."

High school activist Abby Fussell, 18, began heading up the issue of decriminalizing sex work after beginning a project on the matter at Tavares High School. Disappointed with how little she saw reports directly engage with them, Fussell reached out to speak with sex workers herself. She says the most common theme "is that decriminalization is the most important thing to end violence against sex workers and to end rape culture."

"This is why we need change," said Elaine Danzig, 59, sitting next to her marriage companion of 42 years, Bobbie Yvonne Danzig, 62. "We have 19 grandchildren and I want there to be a better future for them."


Photo by Alex DixonStay on top of Orlando news and views.

RELATED The best signs and most passionate protesters at Sunday’s Orlando Women’s March

Bloggytown

Rally outside of Orlando City Hall says 'no more endless wars'

TRUMP'S NEW HOME STATE PROTESTS HIS WAR AND SANCTIONS ON IRAN

Posted By Lillian Hernández Caraballo on Fri, Jan 10, 2020

Photo by Maya JamesAmid uncertainty and anxiety over Iranian-American conflicts, public officials and locals stood in solidarity outside Orlando City Hall on Thursday evening, protesting against further violence or war.

"There is no evidence that war leads to democracy," Rep. Anna Eskamani of District 47 said. "We've seen this in many countries, like in Iraq."

The group of demonstrators cited the ineffectiveness of war and the dire importance for diplomacy as reasons to stand against further escalations.

"It serves no purpose to perpetuate constant war and violence in that region," said Grayson Lanza, a local activist who organized the event in under 24 hours. "We want diplomacy. Diplomacy works, and with Iran we have evidence of that.

Many also stated it was important to show resistance against the inconsistent and volatile leadership that has led to rising xenophobia.

"We have to be out here because we have to show that, while our president may be responsible for these actions, he does not represent all of us," said Diego Molina, an activist and member of the College Democrats at University of Central Florida. "As the general community, as people, as Americans, it's shocking and abhorrent that we have to be here doing this."

During a phone interview, attorney Katerina Kurbatova, Esq., of the law firm Smith and Kurbatova, said their Iranian clients with immigration cases have had their immigration interviews cancelled, after waiting long periods of time – some of them years – and with no end in sight, as rescheduling has been discontinued for now.

"Iranian cases have been waiting 1.5 to 2 years in an 'administrative processing' stage," Kurbatova said. "Some finally had their interviews, some were waiting to be scheduled. Now all cancelled and nothing definite for rescheduling."

Kurbatova is of Russian descent and her partner Smith is of Iranian descent. They handle a lot of immigrant cases and have first-hand seen the results that fear-mongering has had in these communities.

"It's affecting regular people in ways it shouldn't be," Kurbatova said. "They're just people who have nothing to do with politics."


Photo by Maya JamesThe speakers and attendees at the protest focused strongly around the ongoing travel ban affecting Iranians and on the recent issue at the U.S.-Canada border, where around 200 Iranian-Americans were detained for hours, harassed and questioned, before being allowed passage back to their homes in America.

"Iranian-American communities are being unfairly targeted," Lanza said. "It's terrifying the fact that this can just happen at any moment. They're just as American as anyone else; they are just as human as anyone else.

Congressman Darren Soto, representing Florida U.S. District 9, said he could not be at the event, but sent district director Sheyla Asencios, who spoke for Soto.

"I will proudly vote for peace," Asencios read aloud in behalf of Soto. "One thing is clear: war with Iran is not the answer. We don't need another endless war in the Middle East. We don't need another generation of Americans dying halfway around the world in a conflict that does not directly threaten the homeland." (Ed. – Quote corrected to "homeland" from earlier "whole land.")

Lanza said the event is but the Orlando part of a nationwide movement. He said over 300 other events like it are going on concurrently around the U.S.

"This is just the City Beautiful standing in support of peace," said Ida Eskamani, an Iranian-American grassroots organizer. "We do not want another endless war."

Rep. Anna Eskamani said she is proud American who will forever fight for peace in the U.S. and the world abroad. Eskamani is Florida's first elected Iranian-American to any public office. She and her sister Ida Eskamani have been helping their family in Iran cope with their fears and anxieties of war.

She also said that the President's rhetoric is unpredictable and that his tweet about targeting cultural sites for military attacks, a war crime, was used in Iran as propaganda to inspire fervor for anti-American sentiments.


Photo by Maya James"My family [in Iran] is super anxious, 

super nervous," said Rep. Anna Eskamani. "Nobody wants war."

The protest had a final total of over 100 attendees and lasted about three hours. Some of the folks participating looked committed, others angry and indignant, many looked happy to have their voices heard, as cars passing by honked their horns in support.

"Together united we can accomplish anything," Lanza said. "And to all of you who came today, take pride in that because you're standing on the right side of history."

RELATED All the best signs from Orlando's 'No War with Iran' protest

1/50

Amid uncertainty and anxiety over Iranian-American conflicts, public officials and locals stood in solidarity outside Orlando City Hall on Thursday evening, protesting against further violence or war. The group of demonstrators cited the ineffectiveness of war and the dire importance for diplomacy as reasons to stand against further escalations. Many also stated it was important to show resistance against the inconsistent and volatile leadership that has led to rising xenophobia.

The speakers and attendees at the protest focused strongly around the ongoing travel ban affecting Iranians and on the recent issue at the U.S.-Canada border, where around 200 Iranian-Americans were detained for hours, harassed and questioned, before being allowed passage back to their homes in America. The protest had a final total of over 100 attendees and lasted about three hours. Some of the folks participating looked committed, others angry and indignant, many looked happy to have their voices heard, as cars passing by honked their horns in support.

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Bloggytown

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won't talk about texts with donor indicted for foreign influence of U.S. elections

THE GOP IS NOT A POLITICAL PARTY IT IS A CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE 

Posted By Solomon Gustavo on Tue, Jan 14, 2020


Texts have surfaced between Gov. Ron DeSantis and a right-wing donor indicted for helping Rudy Giuliani siphon foreign cash into American elections from Ukraine.

The texts between the second-year governor and Lev Parnas were turned over, reports The Wall Street Journal, as evidence in Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial.
Today, when DeSantis was asked to address the texts during a media gaggle at the capital, he said he had nothing more to add and ignored follow-up questions, according to Politico reporter Matt Dixon on Twitter.

This is not the first time DeSantis has attempted to shrug off a connection to Parnas and Igor Fruman, another pro-Trump donor charged in October by U.S. prosecutors with helping Giuliani funnel money from an unnamed Ukrainian politician into U.S. elections, both of whom have donated to DeSantis' political committee.

When the donor duo, who were arrested the same night, were facing federal heat last October, DeSantis claimed to have no relationship with Fruman and Parnas even though they donated tens of thousands of dollars to his cause. Shortly after, feeling some of the heat himself emanating off his two donors, DeSantis agreed to turn the donation over to the federal government.

There's a lot here DeSantis is asking us to ignore between him and two guys the feds have arrested for tampering with elections.click to tweetBack in June 2018, while DeSantis was still campaigning for governor, Parnas and Fruman donated $50,000 to DeSantis' political committee Global Energy Partners. Also, before the indictment, Parnas was on the host committee of fundraisers for DeSantis in June, July and October 2018. In November 2018, Parnas and Giuliani went to two DeSantis rallies, one in Daytona Beach and one in Boca Raton. On election night, Parnas and Fruman were spotted at DeSantis' party. Parnas was pictured hugging DeSantis. Orlando Weekly photographer Joey Roulette even shot video of Parnas with Ron and Casey DeSantis.

Still, DeSantis took another opportunity in October to say there is little to read into all of these sightings with Giuliani's accused Ukraine associates, spinning the accumulation of hangouts as Fruman and Parnas being random guys who happen to frequent conservative political events. All the while, more reports came out showing DeSantis and Parnas sharing an embrace and photos suggesting the two have traveled together by private plane.

There's a lot here DeSantis is asking us to ignore between him and two guys the feds have arrested for tampering with elections. The Florida Democratic Party surely isn't buying it; they've made a records request for all the correspondence between DeSantis, Parnas, Fruman and Giuliani while DeSantis has been in office.

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UPDATED #METOO ON BROADWAY
We Stand With Alexandra Waterbury’: Inside a Protest of West Side Story on Broadway
By Lila Shapiro@lilapearl

Alexandra Waterbury (left) led the protest against Amar Ramasar, who stars as Bernardo in West Side Story on Broadway. Here, she poses with her friend, Shilpa Yarlagadda. Photo: Lila Shapiro

On a cold Friday night, a small crowd was gathered outside a neon marquee for the new production of West Side Story on Broadway. But they weren’t there to see the show. They held up signs: “Sexual predators shouldn’t get leading roles on Broadway,” read one; “Is Me Too just for Hollywood?” asked another. A third bore a photograph of a ballerina glancing over her shoulder: “We Stand with Alexandra Waterbury.” Nearby was the ballerina herself, wearing a black leather jacket and white sneakers, blonde hair spilling over a chunky black and white scarf; she held up an awkwardly large piece of poster board: “Still not your farm animal,” it read.

Two years ago, when Waterbury was 19, she woke up in her boyfriend’s apartment, checked her email on his computer, and accidentally discovered a series of photographs of naked girls and their private parts. They included ones of herself, as well as a short video of her having sex. Her boyfriend at the time, Chase Finlay, was then a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet; they’d met when she was a student at the School of American Ballet, the company’s affiliate academy. Finlay had been sharing the photographs — which Waterbury says were taken without her consent or knowledge — on group chats with friends, including other members of the company. “I bet we could tie some of them up and abuse them like farm animals,” a young donor wrote in response to one of the photos, according to a lawsuit Waterbury filed back in 2018. Amar Ramasar, a friend of Finlay’s and a star dancer at the company, shared a shot of another ballerina, bare-chested, along with a photograph of her vagina. A few months later, in the midst of an investigation into the incident, Finlay voluntarily resigned from the company. Ramasar was fired, along with another principal dancer in the group chat. Both dancers were reinstated to the company after the dancer’s union challenged the firing and brought in an arbitrator who ultimately ruled that the company had gone too far in disciplining the two men. As part of their rehabilitation, they were assigned mandatory counseling.

Today, Ramasar is starring in West Side Story as Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks*, and he’s the reason Waterbury and about two dozen others — an eclectic group including ballerinas, aspiring actors, and a 75-year-old retired history professor — were protesting the show. As Waterbury sees it, he has yet to be held fully accountable for his actions.

“It’s bullshit,” said Waterbury, hoisting up her sign.

Not everyone shares her perspective. On Friday, Ramasar’s girlfriend, whose nude photos he shared two years ago, put out a statement saying he has been unfairly targeted. Alexa Maxwell, a New York City Ballet corps dancer, has been dating Ramasar for five years. In an interview with the New York Times, Maxwell called his text messages a “misstep in judgment.” She said he had apologized to her multiple times, and that she had already forgiven him. When asked about Maxwell’s statement, Waterbury said it didn’t change her view of the situation. “Whether or not she says it’s okay now, what he did was illegal. The things that Chase did to me, Amar did to her,” she said. “She’s going to deal with it in whatever way she needs to deal with it, and that’s obviously trying to avoid the truth of the situation.”

Waterbury and her fellow protesters see Ramasar as part of a larger system of abuse in the often brutal world of ballet. “It’d be hard to find a dancer in New York City, male or female, who hasn’t experienced some sort of sexual misconduct in their career,” said Waterbury’s best friend, Emmy, a fellow ballet dancer and her classmate at Columbia University.

The same year that Waterbury discovered the photographs, the director of the New York City Ballet abruptly retired in the midst of an investigation into his abusive behavior, which had been public knowledge for decades. To pick one of many well-documented instances, back in the ’80s, Peter Martins spent a night in jail after beating his wife, a ballerina at the company nearly 20 years his junior, whom he’d first met as a 16-year-old student at the School of American Ballet. “The issue is that there’s no checks in place for administration and management to rectify situations,” Emmy said. “And that’s partly because what is valued in ballet is artistic innovation as opposed to professional integrity. There’s this glorification of the struggle of the pain you put yourself through.” She gestured at her sign: “Talent cannot justify abuse.”

A line started to form outside the theater as the protesters chanted, “Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Amar has got to go!”

Some of the ticket-holders took photographs; others willingly accepted the informational postcards the protesters handed out. Waterbury offered one to a man in long camel overcoat. He raised his hand in dismissal and resumed studying his iPhone.

“I feel like my sign is pretty off-putting,” she said, shrugging. An older woman in a fur coat was more receptive. “He should not be in this show,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m embarrassed I bought tickets.”

“It’s okay,” Waterbury offered. “Just boo him.”

“That was so disgusting. He got away with it?” she asked. “No punishment, no anything?”

“He had to go to therapy.”

“How did they allow that?”

“That’s why we’re here,” Waterbury said.

“Screw Bernardo,” the woman said emphatically as she walked inside.

Waterbury and the two other women organizing the protest — a young dancer named Megan Rabin from Boston and a local high-school student named Paige — said they hoped Ramasar would be held accountable. “I am pursuing a career in theater, so obviously Broadway is a big dream of mine,” said Paige. “But the idea of going into a career where someone who’s done something like this is not only tolerated but accepted …” She took a breath. “There’s nothing else that I want to be doing, but I don’t want to be doing it while powerful men continually decide to completely demean women by supporting people like this.”


L-R: Ballerinas, aspiring actors, local high school students, and others showed up to support Waterbury.

This is the second protest they’ve held during the show’s previews; several others are scheduled over the next few weeks leading up to the opening on February 20. “I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be an actor who has to work with him,” said Rabin. Although no one in the cast has officially spoken out about Ramasar, after walking by the protesters last week, a cast member anonymously reached out to the theater blog, On Stage, with a note. “I’m writing this to you on my way home from the theatre and my hands are shaking. Is it from the cold or my nerves writing this? I can’t tell,” the person wrote. “What I do know is that I support anyone and everyone protesting Amar’s casting. I’m not speaking for anyone else in the cast but it’s been an issue for me from the moment he showed up to rehearsals.”

As the line grew longer, many ticket-holders walked by the protesters without making eye contact; those who stopped to talk seemed to mostly agree that Ramasar’s behavior was bad, though none that I observed chose to throw out their ticket and walk away. A man in a striped scarf studied Waterbury’s sign then paused to speak with her. “Tell me the quick story,” he commanded.

“He sent and received naked photos of people without them knowing or consenting,” she said.

“Obviously that’s no good,” the man said.

“Google Peter Martins,” Waterbury advised. “They all learned from him.”

“So, he’s encouraging proteges to behave like himself,” said the man. “That’s sick and bad. I hate that. Okay.” He accepted a postcard and walked into the theater. Waterbury set down her sign and rubbed her hands together, shivering in the cold. She’d been nervous heading over, but now she was feeling better. “I spent all day at school not doing my homework, which is what I really needed to be doing,” she said. “But that wasn’t so bad. I’m feeling pretty good.”

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‘West Side Story’ Actor’s Girlfriend Disavows Me Too-Style Protests As Picketing Continues Outside Broadway Theater

February 1, 2020 By Greg Evans

Associate Editor/Broadway Critic@GregEvans5

 

'West Side Story' curtain call, first Broadway preview Julieta Cervantes

A group of protesters outside Broadway’s West Side Story Friday night continued to call for the dismissal of a cast member who in 2018 shared a sexually explicit photo of his girlfriend when both were members of New York City Ballet. The protest was carried out even after the woman depicted in the photo disavowed the calls for his firing and said the actor – her boyfriend of five years – was being unfairly targeted.

Amar Ramasar, who plays Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks gang in West Side Story, was one of three men fired in 2018 from New York City Ballet after dancer Alexandra Waterbury accused them of sharing sexually explicit photos of her and another female dancer without the women’s consent. Ramasar was later reinstated following a union arbitration and continues to be a member of the ballet company.

The initial allegations were made in a lawsuit filed by Waterbury in which she accused her former boyfriend, dancer Chase Finlay, of sending sexually explicit photos of her to Ramasar and another male dancer. Ramasar, according to the suit, then sent a photo of his girlfriend, also a dancer, to Finlay. (The lawsuit, seeking damages, is ongoing.)

Yesterday, Ramasar’s girlfriend depicted in the photo came forward to condemn the West Side Story protests, which have largely involved a social media campaign, an online petition and some picketing outside the theater. In a statement released to news organizations before last night’s protest – the second in recent weeks – Ramasar’s girlfriend Alexa Maxwell said, “I am not a victim in this and no longer wish for my truth to be misrepresented. It is not my mission to diminish the feelings of Alexandra’s but I want to bring to light some facts that have been misrepresented across multiple platforms.” 

Amar RamasarShutterstock

Maxwell’s statement – posted on her Instagram account (see it below) – goes on to say that the “only photograph that was shared by Amar was of me, his girlfriend of nearly five years. I knew about the photos of me when they were taken, and while sharing it privately with a close friend was a misstep in judgment, Amar immediately told me when he sent them to Chase and his sincerest regrets have led us to today, where we reside together and are building a loving and happy relationship. The incident was a personal matter between me and Amar, and I am okay with what happened.”

“With a demonstration planned for this evening in front of the Broadway Theater to protest Amar’s role in the current production of West Side Story, I want to share my story so that the public is clear,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell, in her statement, pointedly disputes various claims made against Ramasar: “On social media, Alexandra and other people out there have recklessly tossed around phrases like ‘rapist,’ ‘sexual predator,’ and ‘pedophile’ when referring to Amar. Amar never raped anyone — and Alexandra in her lawsuit does not allege that he did. Amar is not a sexual predator — and Alexandra in her lawsuit does not allege that he is. And Amar is no pedophile — and Alexandra in her lawsuit does not allege anything like that. And while Alexandra in her lawsuit makes allegations about group texts in which men spoke of women in horrible terms, Amar was not a participant in those group texts, and Alexandra does not allege that he was.”

Following last night’s protest, Waterbury, who supports but did not initiate or organize the campaign, posted Instagram photos of the action, writing, “Cannot believe 40+ people showed up tonight to protest Amar’s casting in @westsidestorybway We handed out 400+ flyers to audience members. I’m excited to continue raising awareness about these abuses and fighting for justice. It’s time to hold people accountable for their actions. Talent is not an excuse or a justification for sexual assault or misogynistic slander. Thank you to everyone who came out tonight and to those who organized everything. The support received is overwhelming and humbling. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Despite the online campaign and protests outside the Broadway Theatre, West Side Story, directed by Ivo van Hove and produced by Scott Rudin, has been selling out and posting weekly grosses well in excess of $1M.

Now in previews, the reimagined musical opens Feb. 20, almost certainly with Ramasar, who most recently appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed production of Carousel. Rudin told The New York Times that the production stands by the actor/dancer, “an exemplary company member” whose past behavior did not involve West Side Story. “He has more than earned our trust,” Rudin told The Times.

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Bloggytown

Golf cart protests intensify in the Villages, as one anti-Trump Florida man receives threat

Posted By Solomon Gustavo on Fri, Jan 31, 2020

Photo via Whoisjohngalt/Wikimedia Commons

"Be very careful if the well being of your family is of importance."

That's the threat Ed McGinty of the Villages said he received in the form of a hand-written note left on his door. McGinty, who was a counter-protester at a recent pro-Trump Villages golf cart parade, evidently has a reputation that precedes him. And, he says, that led to the note.

According to Villages-News.com, who refers to McGinty as a "well-known anti-Trump protester," this threat is part of the reason he hit the streets using – what else? – his golf cart, decked out with signs calling Trump all kinds of things: "Hitler And Trump Exactly Same DNA," "Trump Bigot and Racist," "Trump Is A Sexual Predator," "Trump Filthy Pig," and "Trump Compulsive Liar."


On the afternoon of Jan. 28, McGinty said people either stopped by for a rare moment of solidarity (the Villages being overwhelmingly Republican) or sped by in cars with middle fingers locked and ready. He said Sumter County sheriff’s deputies stopped by because so many people called them to complain. McGinty said the deputies told him they couldn't do anything about his protesting and noted he can't impede traffic.


Photo via Ebyabe/Wikimedia Commons

The show-stopper was a cameo by Villager Marsha Hill – honestly, its like self-parody at this point – whippin' a golf cart like skrt. She told McGinty that his signs were "blasphemy" and that he should be locked up. She also said she was going to send footage of the signs to the Trump campaign.

Hill said she was driving by and needed to step to this man. The Sumter deputies were there, too, and heard Hill's complaints. She told deputies that McGinty called her a "pig." Again, the deputies said they couldn't do anything about his protest.

You might see McGinty around. He said he likes to drive his FTD cart ("fuck Donald Trump," cuh) an hour or so every day in his Village of Hadley, to let his very Republican neighbors know. And if you didn't know, now you know, neighbor.

Stephen King quits Facebook, 'not comfortable' with false information in political ads

I HAD NO CHOICE THEY KICKED ME OUT SUMMARILY WITH NO NOTICE NOR CHANCE OF APPEAL SO THANKS FOR THE SOLIDARITY 

by WGME Staff Saturday, February 1st 2020

FILE - This May 22, 2018 file photo shows Stephen King

 at the 2018 PEN Literary Gala in New York.

 (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

BANGOR, Maine (WGME) -- If you're looking to keep up with Maine author Stephen King on Facebook, don't bother. He isn't there anymore.

Friday night, King tweeted he is quitting Facebook. A search for his page on Facebook Saturday morning came up empty.

According to his tweet, King said he is "not comfortable with the flood of false information that's allowed in its political advertising."

He also expressed doubts over Facebook's ability to protect users' privacy.

Concerns have been raised as to how accurate political advertisements are on Facebook and the company's apparent unwillingness to address those concerns.

Protesters in Coos County rejoice against Jordan Cove LNG pipeline decision

COOS COUNTY, Ore. - Last week the Jordan Cove LNG Project withdrew their application for the removal-fill permit originally filed with the Oregon Department of State Lands back in 2017.

Now, anti-LNG groups are celebrating what would have been the day the Department of State Lands was set to make a decision.

Rogue Climate, Coos Bay Surfrider, Citizens for Renewables and passioned community members gathered at the boardwalk, chanted anti-LNG slogans and took their peaceful rally to the Jordan Cove office in downtown Coos Bay."Community members here and the rest of southern Oregon have been calling, writing letters, showing up to meetings and it shows us, when the company withdraws, that our voices are being heard," said Ashley Audyck, a Coos Bay Field Operator.

There were no counter-protests in sight.

In a press release sent to us, the spokesperson for Jordan Cove explains they withdrew after DSL Director Vickie Walker notified the Project their request for a two-month extension was denied.

Jordan Cove had notified Director Walker that we are not able to meet DSL's requirements by the January 31 decision date due to additional, recently required information by other state agencies. These recent requirements from other agencies are impossible to finalize prior to DSL's January 31, 2020 decision date. DSL asserted they now require those filings to complete their removal-fill application, so an extension was necessary to comply with these new information requests, but was not granted.

“We're very encouraged, more than we have ever been because we feel like the state has our back,” said Larry and Sylvia Mangan, two concerned landowners.

The Mangan's own property on two alternative LNG pipeline routes.