Needham MA’s TripAdvisor Criticized For Palestine Listings by AIUK

photo of man surfing on ocean waves
Photo by Larry Snickers on Pexels.com

In case you missed it, Amnesty International UK penned an open letter to TripAdvisor employees. TripAdvisor’s headquarters are located in Needham, MA (right here in Norfolk County).

AIUK’s concern is that by advertising tourist activities in the Occupied Palestine Territories, it is helping the economy there and normalizing the settlements. Here is a link to sign an e-petition, but watch this space for more actions!

Contact Heather either through this site or via email with any questions, comments, concerns, etc.

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Worth a Read: “Smart Ass Cripple: FDA Needs to Stop the Electric Shocking of People”

The FDA may be shut down at present, but Smart Ass Cripple is over at The Progressive:

In its statement sent to The Progressive, the center says “only” forty-seven of its 275 residents are subjected to this treatment, and that is it necessary to control dangerous behaviors “such as head banging, eye gouging, tearing their own flesh, biting off body parts, pulling out their own adult teeth, punching their fists through glass windows, jumping out of windows, and violently attacking family members, teachers, staff and others.”

Though the center has proudly defended its use of these zappers, I find no discussion of this form of treatment on its website. The center’s promotional video on the website make it seem like an oasis where the secret to their miraculous treatment success is positive reinforcement. A clip on the website of a video where a resident’s family praises the center makes a vague reference to a controversy and quickly and dismisses it.

 

“Write for Rights'” Mẹ Nấm AKA Mother Mushroom Freed

Nguyen_Ngoc_Nhu_Quynh_IWOCAlthough Norfolk County Amnesty International was unable to participate in this year’s Write for Rights, there is good news about one of the cases.  Vietnamese blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, also known as Mẹ Nấm (Mother Mushroom) was freed in October and is presently living in exile in the United States.

Our peers in Old Greenwich, CT noted Mẹ Nấm’s case was removed from the Write for Rights’ docket “possibly due to the threat of the letter-writing campaign, Helen Rasmussen said.  ‘They get thousands of letters…It’s an international campaign. They come from all over.'”

Mother Mushroom’s move to Houston, TX comes following a prison sentence for documenting human rights abuses in Vietnam.

Photo credit:  U.S. Department of State – https://www.state.gov/s/gwi/iwoc/2017/bio/index.htm

Judge Rotenberg Center: In the Guardian

And now in the Guardian…..

Norfolk County Amnesty International

The Judge Rotenberg Center has been in the news again this week.  The New England Center for Investigative Reporting did a piece discussing both the current abuse trial at one of its group homes (disturbing content warning) and the ongoing issues with the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center.

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