Former Nato chief Javier Solana denied US visa waiver – BBC News

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Middle East,Leave a comment

The visa rules date from the Obama administration, and are unconnected to President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban, which targets Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries.

The system prohibits Estas for any citizen of 38 countries who visited Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen after 1 March 2011.

They must instead apply for a visa, which involves a face-to-face interview at a US embassy or consulate.

…The former Nato chief blamed “an algorithm” for the denied application, and said he needed entry to the US because he teaches at various universities.

British-Iranian BBC journalist Rana Rahimpour was denied entry to the US in January 2016, despite her dual nationality

Former Nato chief Javier Solana denied US visa waiver – BBC News

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McDonald’s and Starbucks have been caught in a crackdown on plastics in India.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Modern Parenting,, Southern Central Asia,Leave a comment

The restaurant chains were among dozens of companies hit with fines in Maharashtra state — India’s second-largest with a population of more than 100 million — at the weekend, a government official said.

The ban on single-use plastic items including shopping bags, food containers and cutlery, was announced in late March but went into force on Saturday.

…[The Indian] government has pledged to eliminate single-use plastic in India by 2022, joining a global campaign that has been given added urgency by research showing there will be more plastic by weight than fish in the oceans by 2050.

At least 25 of India’s 29 states have full or partial bans on single-use plastics, but they’re often not strictly enforced.

Maharashtra is cracking down immediately, forcing companies to change their ways.

…Hardcastle Restaurants, the franchisee which runs McDonald’s (MCD) outlets in Maharashtra, said it has begun using wooden cutlery, paper cups and straws made of corn starch.

But the chain was fined because it has not yet found similar alternatives for delivery items such as plastic lids for drinks, a spokesperson for McDonald’s India told CNNMoney. McDonald’s has joined restaurant associations in the region in asking for exemptions from the ban for delivery and takeaway orders, the spokesperson added.

…So far the government of Maharashtra has only exempted plastic containers used to package medicines, milk and solid waste, as well as plastic items for export.

…Neemit Punamiya, secretary of the Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India, estimates that India’s plastic industry could lose over $2.2 billion and 300,000 jobs as a result of the ban, local media reported. 

McDonald’s and Starbucks hit by plastic ban in India’s Maharashtra state

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FDA Approves Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical Drug : Shots – Health News

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Drugs & Drink,, Modern Parenting,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a marijuana-derived drug for the treatment of two rare and serious forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, that begin in childhood but can persist in adulthood.

The drug is made from purified cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound found in the cannabis plant. The drug will be marketed under the brand name Epidiolex.

CBD has medicinal effects, but it does not cause the mind-altering high that comes from THC, the primary psychoactive component of marijuana.

The FDA says this is the first drug approved in the U.S. that contains a purified substance derived from marijuana. The agency has previously approved drugs made from synthetic versions of THC and other marijuana constituents.

…Several researchers are studying the potential of CBD to treat psychiatric conditions. For instance, a clinical trial is underway to test whether CBD can be an effective treatment for people with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder. Another clinical trial will determine whether CBD could help prevent relapse in opioid abusers.

The approval of Epidiolex may help open the door to more CBD research, as it helps to lift one regulatory hurdle. Until now, the Drug Enforcement Administration has classified CBD as a Schedule 1 substance. Like other drugs in this category, which include heroin and LSD, these drugs are considered to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.

But now, with the approval of a CBD drug, the DEA will change this, according to Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of regulatory programs at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research,

“The DEA will need to make a different scheduling decision for CBD…because it now has an accepted medical use,” he said during a conference call with reporters.

He said the reclassification is underway now.

FDA Approves Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical Drug : Shots – Health News : NPR

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Reason’s Jared Kushner’s Middle East Peace Plan Will Probably Backfire

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Middle East,Leave a comment

The assumptions on which he appears to be basing his plan—whatever its precise contents turn out to be—are so flawed that it is fair to wonder if his aim is really to start serious negotiations, or simply to please …Trump’s base by gearing up to blame the Palestinian side for the failure to come.

…More Palestinians now oppose a two-state solution than support one, and a majority—57 percent—say that such a solution is no longer practical because of Israeli settlement expansion, which now extends deep into the West Bank. Over 35 percent of Palestinians now support a one-state solution—in other words, a single country with an Arab majority and equal rights for all—a solution increasingly appealing to Palestinians under the age of 30.

…But while it is already clear that Trump is a terrible dealmaker who has yet to conclude any significant international agreement (the unilateral concessions to North Korea in exchange for a vague pledge to “work towards” denuclearization do not qualify), Middle East peace may be the issue on which he is least well-placed to succeed. While all U.S. administrations have always been closer to Israel than to the Palestinians, they all at least tried to play the role of honest broker in the name of finding some workable compromise, and were seen as necessary partners in the eyes of Palestinians.

But Trump has abandoned even the veneer of objectivity. Just last month, he unilaterally gave Israel one of its most coveted prizes in negotiations, recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, without getting anything in return. To make it worse, he then celebrated the unilateral move of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem—a move opposed by 128 countries at the United Nations—with a big ceremony organized just one day before Palestinians observe the nakba, the catastrophe of their expulsion in 1948. The embassy ceremony was attended by dozens of Republican-only members of Congress and included speeches by evangelical pastors known primarily for bigoted remarks against Mormons, Jews, and Muslims, suggesting the whole thing was more about domestic politics than Middle East peace.

While dozens of Palestinians in Gaza were killed in clashes with the Israeli Defense Forces, the Trump administration chose neither to express sympathy for the Palestinians killed nor to join international calls for Israeli restraint. Trump has, on the other hand, cut financial assistance for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) out of pique that the Palestinians have not given him the requisite “appreciation or respect,” as if humanitarian aid, even when it serves U.S. national interests, should be awarded in return for flattery. His administration has offered unconstrained support for settlements, with an ambassador who has fought against use of the word “occupation” and refers to “Judea and Samaria,” as favored by Israeli settlers, instead of traditional U.S. references to the West Bank.

…There is no doubt Kushner heard positive words from Arab friends in private meetings on his just-finished four-day trip to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Qatar, before going to Israel. But he should not hold his breath waiting for those leaders to publicly embrace positions on peace that the Palestinians—and the vast majority of their populations—reject. 

…Putting aside that the Trump administration has not even made or been able to attract major investments in U.S. infrastructure, which makes one wonder about the West Bank and Gaza, this emphasis on economic issues has been tried unsuccessfully many times before. …The key issues remain borders and sovereignty; security; settlements and occupation; refugees; and Jerusalem. 

…With Netanyahu and his wife the subject of several serious corruption inquiries, the prime minister likely sees his only hope as to keeping that hardline cabinet together to stave off or delay potential indictments. It is far from clear that the Israeli people themselves are prepared to make the major compromises required for peace, including the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of settlers from the West Bank. But it is quite clear that the current Israeli government is not ready to do so. 

…Another reason to proceed would be to blame the Palestinians, rather than the difficult context and Trump’s mistakes, for failure to make “the ultimate deal.” If past is prologue, we can expect the Israeli side to say “yes, but” (while meaning “no way”) and that the Palestinians will fall into the trap of rejecting a U.S. plan or not engaging at all. This would please parts of Trump’s base and may get the administration off the hook for trying, but it would only further divide the Israelis and Palestinians, while exacerbating partisan divides on Israel in the United States as well.

…The lopsided UN vote against Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem shows that it is the United States, and not the Palestinians, who are isolated. In fact, the cancellation of a recent soccer match between Israel and Argentina in part because Netanyahu’s government insisted on the political symbolism of holding it in Jerusalem may signal an acceleration in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.

Jared Kushner’s Middle East Peace Plan Could Backfire – The Atlantic

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De Blasio: Feds have ‘no game plan’ for reuniting 300 immigrant kids in NYC with parents

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Because the federal department of Health and Human Services has refused to provide information about how many children have been brought to New York, the city has resorted to reaching out to each provider with a contract with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. In the city, that’s Cayuga Centers, Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Guardian Services. Across the three, there are about 300 children here as a result of the policy, de Blasio said.

Most are at Cayuga — where a worker laid out the challenges involved with reaching their parents last week.

“She said some kids are old enough that they know the names of their relatives and they know the phone numbers. She said some kids have a scrap of paper in their pocket with a phone number for their mother or their grandmother, where they can reach them. She said younger kids a lot of time don’t have that, or they had the scrap of paper and they lost it,” de Blasio said.

…That the federal government has refused to provide information about the children to the city and the state is unprecedented, de Blasio said.

“People should see this as a very dangerous precedent where even senators and congress members can’t go into the centers in Texas and the federal government is refusing to give us a straight answer about how many kids are involved,” de Blasio said.

De Blasio: Feds have ‘no game plan’ for reuniting 300 immigrant kids in NYC with parents – NY Daily News

Aghhhhhhhhhhhh

Cockatoo identified in 13th Century European book

On By peanutgallerynhIn Europe,, Media and Culture,, Pacific Basin,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

“The fact that a cockatoo reached Sicily during the 13th Century shows that merchants plying their trade to the north of Australia were part of a flourishing network that reached west to the Middle East and beyond,” said co-author Dr Heather Dalton, from the University of Melbourne.

…Dr Dalton said she believed that the cockatoo was taken from its original habitat to Sicily via Cairo in a journey lasting several years.

Cockatoo identified in 13th Century European book – BBC News

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Jared Kushner’s immigrant grandmother complained of America’s ‘closed doors’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Race,Leave a comment

Jared Kushner’s paternal grandparents, Holocaust survivors Joseph and Rae Kushner, came to the United States in 1949 as impoverished Eastern European refugees.

…In a 1982 interview given to a Holocaust research center, Jared’s grandmother talks about how wrong she felt it was for the United States to let people like her and her husband languish in those camps for years awaiting permission to enter the country.

…”This was our honeymoon. In Italy, we sat in a displaced persons camp. It was like being in the ghetto again. . . . Nobody wanted to take us in. So for three and a half years, we waited until we finally got a visa to come to the United States.”

Later on, she says: “For the Jews, the doors were closed. We never understood that. Even President [Franklin] Roosevelt kept the doors closed. Why?”

The answer, of course, can be found by looking at some less-than-inspiring U.S. history. The Immigration Act of 1924 set stringent limits on the number of people the country would admit from Poland (where Joseph and Rae Kushner were from) and other Eastern European countries.

Roosevelt didn’t seek to make exceptions to those rules — perhaps because, in addition to the immigration quotas, there was a nasty outfit called the America First Committee. Its prominent members included the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and its supporters included Father Charles Coughlin, the anti-Semite who gained huge popularity as “the Radio Priest from Royal Oak, Michigan.”

The committee tried to keep the United States out of World War II and blamed American Jews for supposedly pushing Roosevelt to have our country enter the hostilities. 

Jared Kushner’s immigrant grandmother complained of America’s ‘closed doors’ | NJ.com

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Migrants reportedly told they could reunite with children if they agree to deportation.

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Detained migrants who have been split up from their children are reportedly being told they will be able to get their kids back if they agree to be deported. The Texas Tribune cites a 24-year-old Honduran man who is being detained in Texas and claims to have abandoned his asylum case out of “desperation” to see his six-year-old daughter. Two immigration attorneys also confirmed that they had heard about similar offers to other detained migrants.

…. In a fact sheet released Saturday night, the Department of Homeland Security says parents can request whether they want their children to be deported with them. In the past many have chosen to be deported without their children.

Even with a process supposedly in place, the Department of Homeland Security statement doesn’t detail how long it will take to reunite the 2,053 children currently in the government’s custody with their families.

…For now, the Port Isabel detention center in Texas has been set up as “the primary family reunification and removal center,” the statement said. For many, reunification likely won’t be simple to coordinate considering dozens were “being funneled from Texas shelters to foster homes across the country, including in South Carolina and Michigan,” according to the Houston Chronicle. It is also unclear how reunification would happen for migrants claiming asylum protections.

Migrants reportedly told they could reunite with children if they agree to deportation.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

NOAA’s Research Just Shifted from Climate Change to “Empowering the Economy” and “National Security” –

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

One of the country’s major federal science agencies seems to have been forced to abandon climate change research as a key organizational focus, the New York Times revealed this week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization is responsible for managing the National Weather Service and using its network of satellites to forecast the effects of climate change. Rather than concentrate on resiliency efforts, NOAA is now charged with prioritizing “a safe, secure and growing economy.”

…The presentation also included a new emphasis: “To protect lives and property, empower the economy, and support homeland and national security.”

NOAA, whose mandate includes forecasting for hurricanes and cyclical storms like El Niño, had remained relatively immune so far from the influence of climate change skeptics within the Trump administration. Just last month, NOAA researchers recorded the highest-ever levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, a historic result that an agency scientist called “a whole lot of bad news.”

….Previous government interventions into NOAA affairs suggest the White House would be unlikely not to intervene with an agency under its watch that continues to publicly discuss the potentially devastating effects of climate change.

NOAA’s Research Just Shifted from Climate Change to “Empowering the Economy” and “National Security” – Mother Jones

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Here’s how hard it is to trace a migrant kid who has been separated from his mom

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

An unknown number of parents have already been deported without their children. Wherever they are living or being held, it can be difficult for parents and families to connect with a caseworker on the federal hotline set up to reunify families. Parents will have to work with consulates and family members back home to produce identification documents that can prove they are the parents of a child.

…El Paso County Commissioner Vince Perez, whose precinct includes Tornillo, the so-called tent city where more than 300 children are being held, has been sharply critical of the use of the jail to hold immigrant detainees. “Depriving refugees of their children as a matter of policy is vile and we should not condone or facilitate this practice,” Perez said.

Taylor Levy, legal coordinator for Annunciation House, said staff would try as hard as they could to help the parents find their children.

“We know that’s going to be the first question that all these parents are going to have,” Levy said. “They’re all really worried about their children.”

Here’s how hard it is to trace a migrant kid who has been separated from his mom

sigh…

How Comey intervened to kill WikiLeaks’ immunity deal

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Privacy,Leave a comment

“Subject to adequate and binding protections, including but not limited to an acceptable immunity and safe passage agreement, Mr. Assange welcomes the opportunity to discuss with the U.S. government risk mitigation approaches relating to CIA documents in WikiLeaks’ possession or control, such as the redaction of agency personnel in hostile jurisdictions and foreign espionage risks to WikiLeaks staff,” Waldman wrote Laufman on March 28, 2017.

Not included in the written proffer was an additional offer from Assange: He was willing to discuss technical evidence ruling out certain parties in the controversial leak of Democratic Party emails to WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. The U.S. government believes those emails were hacked by Russia; Assange insists they did not come from Moscow.

“Mr. Assange offered to provide technical evidence and discussion regarding who did not engage in the DNC releases,” Waldman told me. “Finally, he offered his technical expertise to the U.S. government to help address what he perceived as clear flaws in security systems that led to the loss of the U.S. cyber weapons program.”

…Waldman couldn’t believe a U.S. senator and the FBI chief were sending a different signal, so he went back to Laufman, who assured him the negotiations were still on. “What Laufman said to me after he heard I was told to ‘stand down’ by Warner and Comey was, ‘That’s bullshit. You are not standing down and neither am I,’” Waldman recalled.

…Multiple sources tell me the FBI’s counterintelligence team was aware and engaged in the Justice Department’s strategy but could not explain what motivated Comey to send a different message around the negotiations through Warner. A lawyer for Comey did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

…Soon, the rare opportunity to engage Assange in a dialogue over redactions, a more responsible way to release information, and how the infamous DNC hacks occurred was lost — likely forever.

How Comey intervened to kill WikiLeaks’ immunity deal | TheHill

More Comey interference in things related to the outcome of the 2016 election. Huh.

White House reasserts zero tolerance policy as Border Patrol suspends it

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“We’re not prosecuting those parents,” McAleenan said. He cited as the reason President Donald Trump’s executive order last week requiring parents to be detained with their children, after an earlier policy of separating parents and children prompted a national uproar.

McAleenan said the suspension was temporary, but he didn’t say when prosecutions would resume.

Several DHS officials have said privately that the president’s order made it impossible to continue zero tolerance, but McAleenan was the first to say so publicly.

…But the Justice Department can’t prosecute parents who cross the southern border with children if Border Patrol doesn’t refer them for prosecution.

Border Patrol’s suspension of those referrals reinstates what Trump has publicly criticized as a “catch and release“ policy for migrant families.

Trump’s executive order barring the separation of parents and children rendered the zero-tolerance policy unenforceable almost immediately because there wasn’t sufficient detention space to house the thousands of family members who arrive at the border each month.

…The decision to suspend zero tolerance may ease a growing housing crunch for unaccompanied minors.

Under the policy, adults were referred for federal prosecution under illegal entry and re-entry statutes. Children traveling with them were then placed in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

The separated children flooded the shelter system, which held nearly 12,000 children last week.

To create additional shelter capacity, the administration opened a “tent city” earlier this month near a port of entry in Tornillo, Texas.

But the contract for that facility will end July 13, an HHS spokesperson told a local ABC affiliate. The federal government has not made a decision on whether to extend the contract, according to an ACF spokesman.

White House reasserts zero tolerance policy as Border Patrol suspends it – POLITICO

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Donald Trump Calls for Deporting Immigrants Without Judges | Time

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Race,Leave a comment

The Supreme Court has long held that even non-citizens have the right to due process, the constitutional rule that every person should get a fair hearing in court before facing any punishment.

…In fact, the Supreme Court has ruled on the very issue Trump was describing. In a 1953 case, Kwong Hai Chew v. Colding, the Supreme Court found in an 8-1 decision that a permanent resident of the United States could not be deported without a hearing under the constitutional right to due process.

“Although Congress may prescribe conditions for his expulsion and deportation, not even Congress may expel him without allowing him a fair opportunity to be heard,” the court wrote.

…Trump has also complained about proposals to add more federal immigration judges. A bill from a group of Senate Republicans including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio would add another 225, while a proposal from Republican Sen. Ted Cruz would add 375, but in both cases the total number of judges would still be in the hundreds, not, as Trump has said, in the thousands.

Donald Trump Calls for Deporting Immigrants Without Judges | Time

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Illegal Immigrant Families: Prosecution Suspended at Border

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,Leave a comment

U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Kevin McAleenan has temporarily stopped referring for prosecution adults who attempt to cross the border illegally with children, he told reporters Monday.

…McAleenan’s admission comes as Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in Reno, Nev. that federal prosecution of adults who cross the border illegally would continue despite Trump’s executive order. Those prosecutions cannot occur without referrals from CBP agents.

Trump’s executive order, which prohibits the separation of children from parents awaiting prosecution for crossing the border illegally, reportedly sparked widespread confusion among Department of Homeland Security officials about how exactly to enforce it. The officials were not told about the order in advance and were unsure how to proceed with criminal prosecutions without separating families because of a 1997 consent decree which established that minors cannot be held in federal custody for longer than 20 days. In addition to the legal obstacle preventing prolonged detention of children, there are not enough shelters equipped to house families, exacerbating confusion about how exactly to comply with the order.

Illegal Immigrant Families: Prosecution Suspended at Border | National Review

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Commander of Texas tent city blasts “dumb, stupid” zero tolerance immigration policy

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

The commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said on Monday the agency has stopped referring immigrant parents for criminal prosecution until federal agencies can agree on a plan to keep parents and children together. More than 500 children have been reunited with their families since the president ordered agencies to stop separating them, but more than 2,300 remain separated.

CBS News met five migrant parents. …The group was released from detention on Sunday after criminal charges were dismissed — the most recent evidence of the U.S. CBP’s policy not to turn over people who cross illegally for prosecution. 

…During the tour, the commander in charge said the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy was “a dumb, stupid decision” and one that “should never have happened.”

“We are working as fast as we possibly can to reunify children with sponsors here in the U.S.,” said Mark Weber, with the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the facility.

Commander of Texas tent city blasts “dumb, stupid” zero tolerance immigration policy – CBS News

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A Crusader-Era High Altar Resurfaces in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Middle East,, Religion,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

“I think that this exquisite piece of art could be evidence for the papal artistic patronage in the church,” Re’em says. “It is proof that Crusader art was highly developed” and reflects the direct influence of Rome on the distant Jerusalem shrine. Most of the Crusader knights were French and German, and there are few contemporary reports detailing the 12th-century reconstruction of the church. The stone panel, he added, suggests that papal craftsmen may have been directly involved in the work.

…One European archaeologist, who requested anonymity because of religious sensitivities, explained that the altar’s disappearance reflects ancient tensions. Greek Orthodox clergy, he explained, are more interested in remains of the original Constantinian church than recovering those of the early 12th century, when the triumphant Crusaders for a brief time banished them as heretics from the complex they had long overseen.

One art historian, who likewise requested anonymity, is unconvinced by Re’em’s analysis, noting that some Byzantine craftsmen used similar designs that influenced Cosmati work in Rome. More research needs to be done to determine with precision the maker and precise placement of the stone. Since part of the panel is broken off, Re’em hopes to find the location of the remaining section. 

In the meantime, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Armenians, Copts, and Syrians jealously guard their respective territories within the Holy Sepulcher, with Ethopians relegated to the roof. Scuffles among clergy of the different sects is not uncommon, and occasional bloodshed is recorded. Two Muslim families hold the keys to the great Crusader doors to ensure everyone access.

A Crusader-Era High Altar Resurfaces in Jerusalem’s Holy Sepulcher | History | Smithsonian

Wild.

How The Loss Of U.S. Psychiatric Hospitals Contributes To A Mental Health Crisis

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

A severe shortage of inpatient care for people with mental illness is amounting to a public health crisis, as the number of individuals struggling with a range of psychiatric problems continues to rise.

…A study published in the journal Psychiatric Services estimates 3.4 percent of Americans — more than 8 million people — suffer from serious psychological problems.

The disappearance of long-term-care facilities and psychiatric beds has escalated over the past decade.

…A 2012 report by the Treatment Advocacy Center, a nonprofit organization that works to remove treatment barriers for people with mental illness, found the number of psychiatric beds decreased by 14 percent from 2005 to 2010. That year, there were 50,509 state psychiatric beds, meaning there were only 14 beds available per 100,000 people.

…”Many times individuals who really do require intensive psychiatric care find themselves homeless or more and more in prison,” Sisti says. “Much of our mental health care now for individuals with serious mental illness has been shifted to correctional facilities.”

…Many of the private mental health hospitals still in operation do not accept insurance and can cost upwards of $30,000 per month, Sisti says. For many low-income patients, Medicaid is the only path to mental health care, but a provision in the law prevents the federal government from paying for long-term care in an institution.

As a result, many people who experience a serious mental health crisis end up in the emergency room. According to data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, between 2001 and 2011, 6 percent of all emergency department patients had a psychiatric condition. Nearly 11 percent of those patients require transfer to another facility, but there are often no beds available.

…Most hospitals are unable to take care of people for more than 72 hours, Sisti explains, so patients are sent back out into the world without adequate access to treatment.

How The Loss Of U.S. Psychiatric Hospitals Led To A Mental Health Crisis : NPR

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