Black activist structures

One day in February 2014, a dusty and dented pick-up truck approached an Isis checkpoint outside the Syrian border town of Tell Abyad, carrying two men dressed in the simple djellaba robes and loose keffiyehs worn by local farmers. The fighter on duty checked their identity cards and cast an eye over the fertiliser bags and scraps of wood piled in the back of the vehicle. The driver and his passenger said they were in the area to visit relatives, and the fighter waved them through. The two men drove across the Turkish border, having cleared the last – and potentially most lethal – obstacle on a long clandestine journey. Hidden under the sacks of fertiliser in the back of the truck was a batch of documents salvaged from the battlefields of Syria’s bloody conflict, and smuggled across the country at enormous risk. Amid the thousands of pages of military orders and government reports that had just come across the border was vital evidence of war crimes, which could one … [Read more...] about Syria’s truth smugglers

Hayward Jones stands before his students and writes two words on the chalkboard: self development."This is what we do," he tells the roomful of men. "Build, grow, mature, change, improve — transition. Yes, we're moving from one mindset to another. We're here for change."Jones, 46, is a mentor and pastor who has touched hundreds of lives through his work. He's also planning to die behind bars — one of almost 5,000 people serving life without parole in Louisiana, which imposes such sentences at the highest rate in the nation. His students are fellow prisoners at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in St. Gabriel. "How many of y'all have anger problems? Woman problems? Substance abuse problems?" he asks the class, receiving several sheepish smiles as the men raise their hands in response. Jones smiles back. "Keep it real now. Until we recognize those things, we cannot fix them."He's presenting a firm belief in redemption — a belief that "nobody wants to be known for … [Read more...] about Louisiana’s life without parole sentencing the nation’s highest — and some say that should change

Chick-fil-A faced intense backlash over the company’s announcement on Monday morning that it was deciding to cave to left-wing outrage mobs by abandoning its support for mainstream Christian organizations like the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. “As Chick-fil-A expands globally and into more liberal parts of the U.S., the chicken chain plans to change which charities it donates to after years of bad press and protests from the LGBT community,” Bisnow reported Monday. “Beginning next year, Chick-fil-A will move away from its current philanthropic structure, Bisnow has learned. After donating to more than 300 charitable organizations this year, the Atlanta-based fast-food chain will instead focus on three initiatives with one accompanying charity each: education, homelessness and hunger.” Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Tim Tassopoulos added, “There’s no question we know that, as we go into new … [Read more...] about BACKLASH: Chick-Fil-A Faces Heat For Caving To Leftists, Cutting Ties With Christian Orgs