Excellent stuff as always from Inked!
Really impressed with the look and feel of this playmat! Did not expect it to be such high quality given the price I paid but really happy I got this. Looking forward to using it soon!
Inked Playmats has become my sole provider of choice for all of my mats. They are of the utmost quality, they're incredibly durable, machine washable (I've tested it - works great), and with love and care I'm sure they'll last years and years. Other than the mat quality, I love the cache of awesome designs they have readily available as well as the quick and easy option to customize your own playmat with an image of your own. I always recommend Inked Playmats for both those who are new to playmats and those who have been using them for years.


MoPet lets you easily find the owner of a lost pet.
Its operation is very simple: it is a pendant that is annealed to the collar of the pet. The rigid material is waterproof and resistant to the attacks of the pet itself, as well as inclement weather. When a lost pet is found, and it has a MoPet Pendant, you just need to enter mopet.co.uk and place the identification number on the device to get information of the animal and its owner, so you can make a phone call and inform the owner.
One of the greatest advantages of MoPet system is that it has an NFC chip. If you have a phone with NFC, you just have to approach the terminal to the pendant to see the pet information directly displayed. No need to enter any code, not even open the browser. We also have a QR code to identify the pet, in case of not having a smartphone with NFC technology.


Bakell App Now Available for iPhone & Android!
Bakell Mobile App Now Available for iPhone & Android!
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Stay up to date with new product launches, sales, recipes and how to's!


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Iraq Report, Messi & Pistorius Sentenced, Castles By Couch
blog Iraq Sources WHILE YOU SLEPT Countries
SPOTLIGHT: UK IRAQ WAR REPORT BASHES BLAIR
After seven long years, the Chilcot report on Britain's role in the Iraq war was released this morning. As anticipated, the report, which was initially supposed to be concluded in 2011, is very critical of former Prime Minister Tony Blair and of how he led Britain into the war.
The team led by Sir John Chilcot, a longtime British civil servant, concluded that the UK "chose to join the invasion of Iraq before the peaceful options for disarmament had been exhausted," and not as a "last resort." Speaking about the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, Chilcot said that the conditions in the lead up to the March 2003 invasion "were presented with a certainty that was not justified," and added that the policy on Iraq was made "on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments."
But the report on Blair's role begs the Bush question: Why was the U.S. administration so intent on pursuing this particular war at that particular moment? The harshest critics talk about oil money and a president struggling with the shadow of his father's past. Some note that Sept. 11 attacks were still fresh in the American and Western consciousness. Others say Iraqi opposition figures played Washington for fools. Chilcot's conclusions, in any case, are worth further study.
The report contains 2.6 million words. That's three times more than the Holy Bible.
Sir John Chilcot said he hoped his report would make it impossible "in future to engage in a military or indeed a diplomatic endeavour on such a scale and of such gravity without really careful challenge analysis and assessment and collective political judgment being applied to it."
Some of the families of the 179 British soldiers killed want to see Tony Blair in court. "Because the consequences for the people they send is that some of them die doing the job they were told to do," a father told The Independent.
Writing in the Daily Mail before the report's publication, conservative commentator Peter Oborne warned that "if Chilcot fails to nail Blair's lies, it's final proof our democracy is broken."
The Daily Telegraph's chief foreign correspondent David Blair (not related to Tony) argues in a comprehensive piece that neither the former prime minister, nor indeed the West, are the only ones to be blamed for what happened in Iraq.
Follow the latest updates live on The Daily Telegraph's blog.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR TODAY
Eid al-Fitr celebrations begin as the end of Ramadan arrives.
First Euro 2016 semifinal, Portugal vs. Wales.
International Kissing Day.
SYRIAN ARMY ANNOUNCES 72-HOUR CEASEFIRE
The Syrian army has unilaterally declared a three-day nationwide ceasefire starting today, to coincide with celebrations to mark the end of Ramadan. The announcement came hours after terror organization ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing against Kurds in northeastern Syria today that killed 16 people and wounded 40 more, according to AFP.
SEVERAL ATTACKS FOILED IN FRANCE, REPORT CLAIMS
Security forces in France have foiled more than 10 terrorist attacks over the past year, an intelligence report seen by journalists at Le Figaro reveals. Some of these planned attacks intended to target French officials, shopping malls and even a nuclear power plant. Four women, including three minors, were arrested in March for planning to attack a concert hall, cafés and a mall in Paris. Yesterday, a parliamentary investigation concluded that France needed a U.S.-inspired counter-terrorism agency.
— ON THIS DAY
Today's 57-second shot of History is worth at least one U.S. dollar and 50 Cent … Check it out here!
TRUMP ATTACKS CLINTON AFTER FBI RECOMMENDATION
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of "bribing" Attorney General Loretta Lynch with the promise to retain her job under her administration in exchange for not pursuing charges for Clinton's use of a private email server while Secretary of State, ABC reports. FBI Director James Comey yesterday said that Clinton had been "extremely careless" but recommended that no charges be filed against the Democratic nominee.
The Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will kick off in just 30 days. But even though the city is mostly ready for the big day, Folha de S. Paulo reports that many promises have been abandoned along the way, especially concerning the cleanup of the Guanabara bay. Close to $2 billion were spent on infrastructures, about 50% more than initially planned.
France's satirical weekly Le Canard enchaîné is celebrating its century-long existence. Read more about this unique newspaper's story here on Le Blog.
PISTORIUS SENTENCED FOR MURDER
Former South African Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius was sentenced to 6 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. The prescribed minimum sentence for murder is 15 years, but High Court judge Thokozile Masipa, who had already sentenced him to 5 years for "culpable homicide," said that "public opinion may be loud and persistent, but it can play no role in the decision of this court." More from the Mail & Guardian.
— WORLDCRUNCH-TO-GO
Peace between Bogota and leftist FARC guerrillas could signal a new path well beyond the borders of Colombia. Still, as Chile's former president Ricardo Lagos writes in Buenos Aires daily Clarin, a post-Brexit Europe may be hard to reach. "A new diplomacy is emerging in our region, with myriad potential benefits. Look at Panama, which recently inaugurated its expanded canal. Just 30 years ago it was difficult to predict if or when it would control and administer the waterway. Now, the completion of an immense engineering project has made the little republic a crucial passage for global shipping. But globalization imposes its will not just on physical projects but also on the essence of human interaction and cooperation. Bridges must be built to ensure globalization has clear, commonly accepted rules to ensure everyone benefits from new technologies and shortened distances."
Read the full article, Colombian Peace, Some Good News On The Globalization Front.
MESSI SENTENCED FOR TAX FRAUD
Soccer star Lionel Messi, who plays for the Spanish club of FC Barcelona, and his father have been sentenced to 21 months in jail for defrauding the country of more than 4 million euros in taxes, La Vanguardia reports. Under Spanish law, people sentenced to fewer than two years don't actually have to serve time.
MY GRAND-PERE'S WORLD
Dated in Palmyra — Syria, 1996
— MORE STORIES, EXCLUSIVELY IN ENGLISH BY WORLDCRUNCH
Digital Totalitarianism: How Big Data Is Killing Free Will — Süddeutsche Zeitung
In Brazil, Following Facebook Into A Freemason Lodge — Folha de S. Paulo
Grapes Of War: Sneaking Fine Wine Across The Syrian Border — Le Monde
COUCH VISITING
Thanks to Google Street View, you can now visit some of France's most stunning castles on the Loire river without leaving the comfort of your couch.
WHILE YOU SLEPT
While You Slept is Worldcrunch's daily morning mix of our best stories and breaking news. SUBSCRIBE TO WHILE YOU SLEPT NOW [SIGN ME UP]
Climate To Costa Concordia: How Humans Are Wired For Denial

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Informant America
A blog about the shadowy world of law enforcement informants with particular focus on the story of Michigan prison inmate "White Boy Rick" Richard Wershe, Jr. His amazing story compels us to look at many aspects of this underworld of the criminal underworld.
About Comments
One of the first big cases of the Detroit Federal Drug Task Force of the 1980s was the prosecution of the Johnny Curry drug gang. They took the unheard-of step of secretly enlisting the help of a 14-year old kid to spy on the drug crew. When the feds made their case, they dumped the kid—Richard J. Wershe, Jr.—and left him to fend for himself. He was about to get a lesson in the politics of drug crime and big city law enforcement.
By late winter/early spring of 1986 the relationship between Richard Wershe, Jr.—a paid teen confidential informant—and members of the Detroit Federal Narcotics Task Force was almost as cloudy and chilly as the weather outside. Like so many things in the White Boy Rick saga, memories and opinions don't match about the reason for the waning interaction between the narcs and their kid informant.
Richard Wershe, Jr. had been recruited by FBI agents at age 14 to inform on the Johnny Curry drug organization. The agents enlisted his help because he was known and trusted by the Curry brothers; Johnny, Leo and Rudell.
Rick Wershe had grown up in a "changing neighborhood." That's a code term used by politicians, social workers and do-gooders of various kinds to say blacks had moved in to a white neighborhood.
Rick adapted to his surroundings. The kid picked up black slang and he sounded black when he spoke. This was the early 80s, before hip-hop and rap. If Rick Wershe were a teen today his white peers might call him a wigger—a pejorative, insulting term for a white person who has adopted the inner city black lingo, cultural values and lifestyle.
Thus, it's not surprising that Rick Wershe was accepted as a "kid from the hood" by the likes of the Curry brothers.
Wershe's role as a white informant for the FBI against a black, politically-connected drug gang is central to his continued imprisonment long after the Currys and various Detroit drug gangsters have been tried, convicted, sentenced and paroled.
It is reasonable to suspect FBI agents and Detroit cops from the federal task force refused to help him when he was facing a major state/local drug case because to do so the image-conscious federal agency would have had to admit they literally lured a juvenile in to a life of crime to help them make a big case. When their teen informant got in trouble, their response was to let him twist in the wind rather than stand up and say 'he was helping us.' It would be years before they tried to help Rick Wershe get out of prison.
They had their big case. What happened to the impressionable and vulnerable teen they had led in to the criminal underworld after that was his problem. They had new cases to crack.
Guys on the task force will tell you Rick Wershe provided some key help early-on in the Curry investigation but his usefulness diminished once the feds got court-authorized wiretaps and began recording Johnny Curry's phone calls.
Today Rick Wershe believes someone "high-up" got wind of the use of a teenager as an undercover informant, and ordered a stop to it in 1986.
Either way, Rick Wershe was suddenly an undercover used-to-be.
Young Rick Wershe had dropped out of school to live his role as a secret federal informant. When his handlers quit talking to him, Rick Wershe didn't know what to do. His dysfunctional family wasn't in a position to help him try to become a normal teen. He decided to continue in the only life he had known in his teen years. He decided to get in the illegal drug trade.
Not only was Wershe flirting with becoming a drug dealer, he was stepping in to the political minefield of FBI pursuit of big city police corruption. The Detroit teenager had no idea what he was getting in to.
Black politicians have long accused the mostly-white FBI of targeting blacks who rise to positions of power—in politics and in crime, which are often intertwined.
In this case the white-controlled FBI was targeting a black drug gang with a leader—Johnny Curry—who was married to the niece of Coleman Young—Detroit's then-mayor who was one of the most politically powerful blacks in America in that era. In the minds of more than a few Detroit blacks, the Curry investigation was part of a relentless FBI campaign to get Coleman Young, one way or another. In this case, it was through his niece's drug-dealing husband.
What's more, the FBI was using a white kid to help them bring down the Currys and perhaps get closer to nailing Coleman Young. No one should be surprised by Rick Wershe's long-standing belief that politically powerful blacks in Detroit have exerted pressure on the Michigan Parole Board to punish him—for life—for helping the detested FBI.
The Parole Board knows full well that Rick Wershe had helped law enforcement bring down some big criminals. It's in the official record of Wershe's ill-fated 2003 parole hearing. The fact the Parole Board has released numerous inmates who did far worse than Rick Wershe ever did—admitted professional killers, for example—lends credence to the idea that Richard J. Wershe, Jr. is a political prisoner.
The Michigan Parole board has some explaining to do but they won't. No one holds them accountable. They do what they please with no oversight, no responsibility to do justice.
If, for example, and this is a purely theoretical example of course, a member of the Michigan Parole Board harangues the other members with outright lies about a certain inmate and argues that inmate must never be released, there is no mechanism in the law or administrative procedures to challenge such a vendetta-monger. The Michigan Parole Board is under no obligation to check facts and make decisions based on the truth. The case of Richard J. Wershe, Jr. is a tragic example of that.
Posted by Vince Wade at 12:01 AM No comments:
An Innocent Man, an FBI Agent and a Toothbrush
A young Detroit boy is killed when someone shoots up his uncle's house where he was watching television. The uncle tells the police a drug gang had threatened him that same morning. The police ignore the lead and focus, instead, on prosecuting an innocent man. The Detroit FBI knew the man was innocent. One of their paid confidential informants told them what really happened. An FBI agent nearly went to jail protecting the identity of the informant: Richard Wershe, Jr., also known as White Boy Rick.
The summer of 1985 was frustrating for FBI Special Agent Herman Groman. He knew who had killed a 13-year old Detroit boy named Damion Lucas. He was the innocent victim of a bullet in an automatic weapons fusillade by members of a drug gang angry at the boy's uncle over money he owed them. The shooters riddled the front of the uncle's house with bullets. One of them struck the 13-year old in the chest, killing him. He had been watching television at his uncle's house when the gunfire erupted.
The killers were members of the Johnny Curry drug crew—a politically connected criminal enterprise on Detroit's eastside. Johnny Curry was married to the niece of Detroit's powerful mayor, Coleman Young. After the fatal shooting Curry was angry that his guys would do something so stupid—and he said so in a telephone conversation that was recorded by the FBI in a court-authorized wiretap. The FBI was leading a federal task force investigation of the Curry group.
The FBI knew the Curry gang was responsible for the murder, yet they had to watch helplessly as the Detroit Police persisted in pursuing an innocent man for the killing. FBI agent Groman and his fellow agents had to be careful how they handled what they knew about the Damion Lucas murder. If the wiretap information was mishandled it could blow the investigation.
The wiretap wasn't the only source of information the FBI had about the killing of the little boy. They had a paid Confidential Informant (CI) who told them he was present for a meeting of the Curry gang where they discussed how to handle themselves if Detroit Police homicide detectives questioned them about the Damion Lucas murder. That informant was Richard J. Wershe, Jr.—White Boy Rick.
Groman, now retired, says since several Detroit police officers were working as part of the drug task force, it was decided they would discreetly pass the word through channels that the Curry gang was responsible for the fatal shooting.
The cops on the federal task force passed the info along but nothing happened. The Detroit Homicide Section never questioned the Curry gang about the Damion Lucas murder.
They focused instead on an innocent man. LaKeas Davis had had a noisy argument with the dead boy's uncle a few days before the fatal shooting. But the uncle, Leon Lucas, told the police he and Davis had patched up their dispute.
Furthermore, Leon Lucas told investigators two of the Curry gang had called him the morning of the shooting and warned him his house would be shot up because he owed the gang money. Yet, the police avoided interrogating Johnny Curry or any of his associates.
What's more, the morning after the shooting, FBI automated telephone surveillance equipment recorded calls from Johnny Curry's phone to two unlisted numbers for Detroit police officers. One call was to a sergeant on the mayor's security detail and a second, longer call was to the private police headquarters line of Homicide Inspector Gil Hill.
Groman and his fellow agents put it all together and concluded someone inside the Detroit Police Department may be involved in obstruction of justice—a federal felony—in the handling of the Damion Lucas murder investigation. They focused on Gil Hill who was the boss of the Homicide Section.
The investigative possibilities were intriguing but none of this helped LaKeas Davis who had been charged with murdering Damion Lucas. The police insisted on prosecuting Davis even though they had strong leads indicating the Curry group was responsible.
"I firmly believed he didn't do it," Groman recalls. The FBI agent reached out to Elliott Margolis, the defense attorney for Davis. Groman gave Margolis what is known in court as exculpatory information. That means information that exonerates the defendant; information indicating Davis didn't kill Damion Lucas.
"I'm all about justice," Groman says. "An innocent man was being convicted of something he didn't do. I wanted to make sure this was rectified."
Margolis did what he had to do. He told the judge presiding over the Davis murder trial about the information from the FBI. Margolis wanted the case dismissed. The prosecution was having none of it. It didn't take long for Groman to get a subpoena as a witness in the LaKeas Davis murder trial.
Groman's tip to the defense attorney focused on the FBI's informant information. Groman treaded lightly regarding the wiretap. The existence of the active tap on Johnny Curry's phone had to be protected. The focus on the exculpatory information was centered on revelations from an FBI confidential informant. Therefore the defense demanded that Groman reveal the informant's identity in court so he or she could be called as a witness. After all, LaKeas Davis was on trial for murder.
"It was kind of a tightrope I had to walk and, of course, I didn't want to give up the identity of the informant," Groman said.
It's true the FBI works to keep the identities of its Confidential Informants confidential. But there was another factor in this case. The Confidential Informant in the Curry investigation - a paid Confidential Informant - was a juvenile. Rick Wershe Jr. was a teenager.
Even though Ken Walton, the retired former Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Detroit FBI says there were no Bureau rules or regs about the use of juvenile informants at that time, Rick Wershe notes pointedly and with some bitterness the agents knew it wasn't right to use a kid to infiltrate a drug gang. That's why, Wershe argues today, they covered his work by putting it in his Dad's FBI informant file, since they had the same names differentiated only by Sr. and Jr., and that's why they had him use his Dad's code name - Gem - to receive periodic payments for his work on the Curry gang. In Rick Wershe's view there was, and to this day still is, some serious ass-covering going on at the Detroit FBI.
When Groman appeared in court the judge directed him to answer the questions about who the informant was. Groman refused to answer. The judge threatened to send him to jail for contempt of court. A showdown was brewing.
Groman was going to need his own lawyer to navigate this sticky scenario. The local U.S. attorney's office assigned an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) to represent Groman and the FBI in the local murder trial.
The morning Groman was due back in court he and a fellow agent stopped at the federal courthouse to pick up the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to represent Groman and the FBI in the local court case.
When the attorney got in the FBI car Groman tried to sound cheery and optimistic. "I said, 'Well, how ya doing? Are you all set? Are you ready to defend me vigorously?'"
Groman remembers the federal attorney's reply.
"'Well,' she said, 'I was thinking about that when I was getting ready and so I brought you a present.'" She pulled out a new toothbrush and handed it to Groman. "'I think you might need this,'" she said. The implication was that Groman was going to jail.
When they got to court the judge again ordered Groman to answer the questions about the informant's identity and any other exculpatory evidence the FBI had about LaKeas Davis.
Groman again refused to answer but before he was sent to jail it was agreed there would be a confidential—in camera—hearing in the judge's chambers. Away from the public courtroom Groman explained to the judge and the attorneys the information the FBI had and the fact their informant had been present for a Curry gang meeting on how to handle the murder investigation. He also revealed the wiretap and the need to keep it secret for the sake of the drug investigation which was being presented to a federal grand jury.
It was agreed that prosecutors in the LaKeas Davis case would be allowed to question the FBI's informant—by telephone from the FBI Detroit office where, ironically, they could be sure the phones weren't tapped. The prosecutors would not be told the informant's identity.
Rick Wershe doesn't remember a lot about what happened next. He recalls being driven one day to FBI headquarters in downtown Detroit and taken to an office where he was put on a telephone and told to answers questions about what he knew about the Damion Lucas case. The local case prosecutors were on the other end of the line, in another office at the Detroit FBI's offices. Wershe's identity was not revealed. At that time Wershe's normal manner of speech made it sound like he was a young black man even though he was white.
The charges against LaKeas Davis were dismissed. An innocent man had spent several months in jail fighting for his life while someone in authority in the Detroit Police Department kept the investigation away from the real killers. The Damion Lucas murder never came back to court. The police and prosecutors never pursued the tips that the Curry gang was responsible for the murder.
"That case stuck in my craw because I knew we had something going on here and it involved corruption within the police department," Groman says.
As the Curry drug investigation neared the point of a federal grand jury indictment Groman was reassigned from the Detroit FBI drug squad to the public corruption squad.
The unsolved Damion Lucas murder was always in the back of his mind and several years later it was the catalyst for one of the biggest public corruption cases the Detroit FBI ever had. It was a case that hinged on the work of a Confidential Informant. That informant was Rick Wershe. More, a lot more, about that case will be explored in a future blog post.
White Boy Rick Wasn't The Only One Talking
One reason Richard J. Wershe, Jr., better known publicly as White Boy Rick, remains in prison doing a life term for drugs, seems to be a belief among some in Detroit's criminal justice system that Wershe was the FBI's only source of information in the highly controversial killing of a young boy by a Detroit drug gang with political connections.
It's not true. Johnny Curry, the gang leader, was himself a source of information for the FBI about the murder of Damion Lucas, both at the time of the murder through things he said on a tapped telephone after the killing, and later in prison when he was interviewed by agents.
Another source was Kevin Colbert, a member of the Curry drug gang.
Readers of this blog know it has been slogging through the details of the rise and fall of Richard Wershe, Jr.—AKA—White Boy Rick, mostly in chronological order. Recent posts have focused on the 1985 murder of 13-year old Damion Lucas, an accidental drug-gang killing that plays a critical role in the shameful insistence of some on keeping Wershe in prison when others who did far worse have been paroled.
This post continues the focus on the Damion Lucas killing but jumps forward in time a bit to explore what a member of the Johnny Curry drug gang told the FBI about the death of the young boy.
Kevin Colbert—known on the street as "Weasel"—was among those indicted by a federal grand jury for his role in the Curry Brothers drug organization on Detroit's east side. Johnny Curry and two of his brothers ran a dope dealing operation that had political connections. Curry was engaged to and then married Cathy Volsan, the attractive niece of the late Coleman Young, Detroit's powerful mayor in that era.
Kevin Colbert was among those indicted in the federal case against the Curry drug gang.
The case never went to trial. Johnny Curry and his gang pleaded guilty in exchange for shorter prison sentences. Such deals are known in federal courts as a "Rule 11." As part of the plea deal, the defendants admit their guilt and submit to a debriefing by the FBI in which they detailed their knowledge of various elements of the criminal enterprise. These debriefings often lead to new investigations.
FBI agent Gregg Schwarz, now retired, debriefed Kevin Colbert. FBI investigative reports are known by their bureaucratic form number—302. The 302 detailing Kevin Colbert's debriefing includes his version of the Damion Lucas murder. This blog quotes extensively from FBI 302s and other historic investigative file reports. One reason for that is much of the Rick Wershe story is old history and memories fade. The reports in the files were written at the time the events happened.
Schwarz, who believes Rick Wershe should have been paroled long ago, thinks the Kevin Colbert Rule 11 debriefing is significant because it shows White Boy Rick wasn't the only one who gave information to the FBI about the Damion Lucas murder.
The Damion Lucas case has never been solved. FBI agents believe the investigation was deliberately thwarted to protect Johnny Curry, and by extension, Cathy Volsan, the mayor's niece. That is called obstruction of justice and it is a felony.
The focus from the beginning has been on then-Inspector Gil Hill, the head of the Detroit Homicide section at the time. Hill was politically powerful, with connections far beyond his rank. For one thing, he was a local celebrity thanks to his role as Eddie Murphy's tough-talking cop boss in the hit movie Beverly Hills Cop.
Detroit is a town starved for celebrities, so when it gets one, the people cling to the star in their midst tenaciously and go to great lengths to defend him or her. If someone criticizes their local hero, many people take it personally. That translates in to political power.
When the Damion Lucas murder happened, Gil Hill was a Detroit celebrity with political ambition. He retired from police work and ran for the Detroit City Council. He won. Eventually he became council president. He made an unsuccessful bid for mayor, too. Through it all, the FBI investigation of his possible obstruction of justice in the Damion case dogged Hill like a shadow, even after the statute of limitations for prosecuting him passed.
Hill is retired now and reportedly in declining health. Some say he partly blames Rick Wershe for losing the mayoral election due to Wershe's role in informing the FBI about the Curry gang involvement in the Damion Lucas murder.
Still others speculate and theorize—and it's important to use those terms—that law enforcement/prosecution friends of Hill have a to-this-day vendetta against Richard Wershe Jr. as a result of the FBI obstruction of justice investigation, which never resulted in an indictment or charges. Hill is a black Detroit celebrity and some believe the mostly-white FBI was just trying to discredit another black hero.
Back to Kevin Colbert. FBI Special Agent Gregg Schwarz questioned Colbert in November, 1987 regarding the Damion Lucas killing. Schwarz recently told me he regarded Colbert as a hanger-on in the Curry organization. In the FBI 302 of the Colbert Rule 11 debriefing, the former Curry gang member said the dead boy's uncle, Leon Lucas and a relative named Robert Walton defrauded the Curry gang regarding prepaid lodging and entertainment charges related to the group attending a Las Vegas prize fight between Detroit boxer Tommy Hearns and Marvin Hagler in mid-April, 1985. Hagler won. Quoting the 1987 FBI 302:
"COLBERT stated it was common knowledge that both JOHNNIE and LEO (Curry), as well as WYMAN JENKINS, were extremely upset with LUCAS and WALTON. After their return to the Detroit metropolitan area, LEO CURRY told WYMAN JENKINS to assign SIDNEY GOODWIN, also known as WACK, WALTER OWENS, also known as WALDO, and KEVIN COLBERT, also known as WEASEL, to go to the home(s) of ROBERT WALTON and LEON LUCAS with appropriate weapons and shoot the houses in an attempt to display their displeasure with the actions of both WALTON and LUCAS. COLBERT continued by stating it was WYMAN JENKINS and LEO CURRY who provided MAC-10s and MAC-11s, as well as other weapons for the completion of this incident."
Colbert admits he was the driver of the car that took the shooters to their destinations.
On the night of April 29, 1985, a car in the driveway of Robert Walton and the front of the home owned by Leon Lucas were riddled with bullets from automatic weapons. One of the bullets fired in to the Lucas house killed Damion Lucas, who was watching TV with his younger brother.
Interestingly, Colbert attributes the shooting of the Lucas home to Sidney Goodwin and Walter Owens. The FBI investigation focused on Wyman Jenkins as one of the prime shooters and an FBI wiretap of a Johnny Curry telephone call captured Curry talking about Jenkins as a prime suspect.
Retired agent Schwarz says in criminal investigations it's common for different sources to say different things. "They tell you what they think you want to hear," is the way Schwarz puts it.
To look at it another way, a criminal spilling his guts to fulfill a federal Rule 11 plea agreement may tell you the truth, but it may not be all of the truth. It may be slanted truth with emphasis here and de-emphasis there or an omission entirely.
Colbert told Schwarz after the Curry gang realized Damion Lucas had been killed in the shooting spree they held a meeting at Johnny Curry's house on Whitehill Street in Detroit. Quoting from the FBI 302 report again:
"COLBERT stated the consensus of opinion was that all involved would have absolutely no comment regarding the shooting incident and that silence should be the best policy."
It never came to that. FBI telephone pen registers, which preceded actual court-authorized listening via wiretap, showed a call the morning after the Damion Lucas killing from Johnny Curry's house to the unlisted home phone of Detroit Police Sgt. James Harris, a member of the mayor's security detail who had responsibility for looking after the mayor's family, including Cathy Volsan.
The call from Curry's house to Harris' house was immediately followed by a much longer call from the Curry phone to an unlisted private phone at Detroit Police Headquarters which was in the office of Homicide Inspector Gil Hill.
Leon Lucas and Robert Walton both told homicide investigators they believed the Curry drug gang was responsible for the fatal drive-by shooting.
After the call from Curry's house to Hill's office, no one in the Curry organization was ever questioned by the Detroit Police regarding the Damion Lucas murder.
The investigation focused, instead, on an innocent man who was charged with the Damion Lucas murder. Charges against that man, LeKeas Davis, were eventually dropped after a dramatic intervention by the FBI. Herman Groman, an FBI agent on the Curry case, told Davis' defense attorney that the Bureau had informant information that it was the Curry gang, not LaKeas Davis, who killed Damion Lucas. But Groman was determined not to reveal his source. He almost went to jail as a result of protecting the informant's identity.
The informant was Richard Wershe, Jr., White Boy Rick.
White Boy Rick - He Knew Less Than People Think
Richard Wershe, Jr. was an important FBI Confidential Informant in the investigation of a major Detroit drug organization, but it's easy to overstate his role. His "White Boy Rick" reputation had more to do with his age at the time—14—and his race—the only white guy in a black drug crew—than his exploits in the drug underworld. To this day many people believe he knew far more than he did. Here's what Rick knew and didn't know about an important murder investigation.
Untold numbers of numbers of people around the world are aware Detroit, Michigan was once known as the Motor City for the countless automobiles built there, but in the post-1967 riot years it became known as the Murder City. Year after year, starting in the 1970s, Detroit had more violent deaths than Belfast, Ireland, Beirut, Lebanon or most of the world's other danger zones of that era.
Of the hundreds of murders in Detroit over the years, one stands out as having significant impact on city politics. It is the April 29, 1985 drive-by shooting murder of 13-year old Damion Lucas. It can be argued that the Damion Lucas murder is a key reason Richard J. Wershe, Jr. remains in prison serving a life prison term, even though he had nothing to do with it and, in fact, tried to help the FBI get justice for the dead boy. Some in Detroit's criminal "justice" system apparently believe this was the start of Wershe's long-running informant role on police corruption. And some, apparently, have done all they can to keep Wershe behind bars as punishment for telling on crooked cops.
It must be noted that Rick Wershe tried to help by passing along to an FBI agent what he heard in a meeting of the Curry drug gang shortly after the boy was killed by mistake by members of the organization. But Wershe didn't know any more than what he overheard in a conversation. At the time Wershe was a secret paid informant for the FBI regarding the Curry organization. He had been recruited by the FBI because he had good access to Johnny Curry, the leader of the group.
As Wershe told me recently in a phone call from prison, he wasn't in a position to ask questions about the Damion Lucas murder. That would have been a red flag to the whole group.
The truth is, Rick Wershe's knowledge of the Damion Lucas homicide was important but minimal, at best. Many people in the Detroit criminal justice system think he knows more than he does, and that has been a significant problem for him in his efforts to get a parole. Some apparently fear he knows a lot he hasn't told. Wershe himself will be the first to tell you people think he knows more about Detroit drug dealing and police corruption than he actually knows.
The FBI had more than a tip from Rick Wershe about the Damion Lucas homicide. They had a wiretap conversation of Johnny Curry telling a friend that Wyman Jenkins, one of his top lieutenants, caused a lot of trouble by shooting up the home where the little boy was watching television with his younger brother. A bullet from an automatic weapon tore through the wall and killed Damion Lucas: "S**t. He got ta weather hisself outta this one, 'cause they went and did a dumbass move by killing that little boy. Man, that's a little boy, s**t."
The evidence shows the Detroit Police went to great lengths to avoid prosecuting anyone in the Curry organization. The apparent reason is the Curry gang was politically connected.
The police spent considerable time trying to build a false case against an innocent man just to keep the spotlight away from the Curry Brothers drug organization.
The trail of the thwarted investigation of the Damion Lucas homicide led the FBI to Inspector Gilbert Hill, then head of the Detroit Police Homicide section. Just prior to the start of the wiretap on Johnny Curry's phone the FBI had been mechanically recording a log of all calls to and from Curry's phone, showing the date, time and length of each call. The data was captured by a device known as a pen register.
The morning after Damion Lucas was murdered, the pen register log showed a brief call from Johnny Curry's home phone to the unlisted home phone of Detroit Police Sgt. James Harris, a member of then-Mayor Coleman Young's security detail. Harris was responsible for looking out for the mayor's relatives and that included Cathy Volsan, the mayor's favorite niece, who was the fiancé of Johnny Curry.
The Curry call to Harris was followed by a much longer phone call to a private, unlisted telephone at Detroit Police Headquarters. The phone was on the desk of Homicide Inspector Gil Hill.
What did Curry and Hill talk about? As luck would have it, the FBI didn't get court authorization to begin a full wiretap until a few days later.
But Rick Wershe recalls riding around with Johnny Curry a few days after the murder when Johnny received a call on his car phone—an unusual luxury accessory in 1985. Wershe told me he could clearly hear both sides of the conversation. The caller, Wershe says, was Detroit Police Inspector Gil Hill. Wershe says he remembers hearing Hill tell Curry not to worry, because "I've got you covered," or words to that effect.
This and other facts and recollections in previous posts on Informant America might create the impression that Richard Wershe, Jr. was a key player in the Curry drug organization. That's not true. He was a key hanger-on.
For whatever reason, Johnny Curry liked having this teenaged white kid who was street-savvy and who spoke fluent ghetto Swahili hanging around. Curry would take him to nightclubs favored by Detroit's black gangsters, where Rick was an obvious oddity—a fish out of water. But Wershe wasn't an actual insider. Johnny Curry was much too cautious for that.
What made Wershe unique in the Curry investigation was his age. He began his role as an FBI confidential informant at age 14 simply because he knew and was trusted by the Currys.
Retired FBI agent Herman Groman, who was one of the investigators who worked with Wershe during the Curry investigation, says Wershe provided key information at certain points, such as the tip about the Damion Lucas murder, but in reality most of the federal case against the Curry organization was gleaned from court-authorized wiretaps.
It is worth noting that Richard Wershe, Jr. was never cited in the Curry Brothers federal grand jury indictment and he wasn't named as a witness. His role as an FBI informant didn't surface until several years later.
Wershe wasn't the only one who told the FBI what happened the night Damion Lucas was murdered. Kevin Colbert, also known as "Weasel", a member of the Curry gang and one of those indicted, told the story of the Damion Lucas murder to FBI special agent Gregg Schwarz several years later. In other words, Richard Wershe, Jr. isn't the only source about the case. Colbert's story will be detailed in the next blog post.
Vince Wade
My name is Vince Wade. I am an independent/freelance investigative reporter, writer, narrator, multimedia producer and director. I live near the beach in a city outside Los Angeles. I started in radio news but I spent most of my career at network-affiliated TV stations in Detroit, Michigan where I covered crime, the courts, public corruption and various scandals. I've won over 20 awards including three Emmys, 1st Place for TV News documentary at the New York International Film Festival, plus wire service reporting awards and others. I work on topics and projects that interest me and stories that need to be told.


text:
Q: How can I increase the value in the text field with JButton? I have a school project and I want to do an online shopping cart with Java. It has a frame, 4 different types of clothing with JLabels, one text field that displays 0 in the starting for each of them and two JButtons that have plus and minus icons for each text fields. I want to increase the number which is in the text field with plus button and decrease it with minus button. Also it needs to count how many clothes I want to buy, for calculating the money.
pa = JButton which has a plus sign and need to increase the number of Pants.
pt = JTextField which shows us the number of pants.
pa.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
    @Override
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent) {
        pt.setText(String.valueOf(Integer.valueOf(pt.getText() + 1)));
    }
});

Output:
Pants: 0    (Press + button once)    Pants: 1    (Press + button once)    Pants: 11
My expectation:
Pants: 0    (Press + button once)    Pants: 1    (Press + button once)    Pants: 2
Also, decreasing similarly with - button, but I can't.
Also, I tried this one but it didn't work:
int counter = 0;
pa.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
    @Override
    public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionEvent) {
        counter++;
        pt.setText(String.valueOf(counter));
    }
});

Error: java: local variables referenced from an inner class must be final or effectively final

A: Your first approach is not far off. There is just a little error in line pt.setText(String.valueOf(Integer.valueOf(pt.getText() + 1)));: the +1 should not be inside Integer.value(...) but right after it.
Your current code gets the text, appends the character 1 to the text, and parses the modified text as number. But you need to get the text, parse the text as number, and then add 1 to the parsed number.
It might help to do each step in a separate line and assign each intermediate result to a local variable instead of doing everything in one statement.
Still, the idea from the second approach is the better one. Change your int counter from a local variable to a field of your class and it will work.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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OSAMI-Commons is an ITEA2 project which targets open-source common foundations for a dynamic service-oriented platform which is able to personalize itself in large diversity of co-operating software-intensive systems (SISs). Internet has resulted in a disruptive transition for software-intensive systems. OSAMI Commons has developed a universal platform enabling reuse of software components across vertical application domains. The project has been trialled and exploited for applications in energy-sustainable homes, telematics-based city services, smart homes, ambient-assisted living, software development tools, and edutainment.
SRDC has taken role in the Turkish Pilot of the project for eHealth vertical domain. We have exploited the OSAMI-Commons tools and the platform to develop a personal health record system, namely eSağlıkKaydım, and demonstrate the reusability of software components in healthcare.


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Vihaan: A Ray of Hope in the Lives of PLHIV in India
Posted on May 3, 2014 by Alliance India
People living with HIV are at the heart of Vihaan programme. (Photo by Prashant Panjiar for India HIV/AIDS Alliance)
"We are thankful to the government for providing free ART treatment. Without their support, we might not be alive today," says Preeti with gratitude in her eyes. In her mid-thirties, Preeti is a mother of two from a backward district in Bihar. She contracted HIV at the young age of 18.
"I had no idea what to do and who to approach back then. HIV and AIDS were taboo. Now we have ART, and what we need along with treatment is care and support. Medication without proper support is of no use. I want to be an earning member of my family. My children are growing, so are their needs and still no one wants to offer jobs to people living with HIV," she says.
Care and support are essential to effective ART programmes. PLHIV need support to access and adhere to treatment, to strengthen the capacity of families to manage HIV infection, to maximize the value of referrals and linkages to social protection schemes and services, to address instances of stigma and discrimination, and to reinforce positive prevention strategies.
To address these needs, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, working closely with the Department of AIDS Control (DAC) and with funding from the Global Fund, has initiated the Vihaan programme to scale-up care and support services for PLHIV in India. Meaning 'dawn's first light' in Sanskrit, Vihaan complements the national treatment programme and has been designed in line with the National AIDS Control Programme IV (NACP IV) which promises "…universal access to comprehensive, equitable, stigma-free, quality care, support and treatment services to all PLHIV using an integrated approach." Vihaan is the largest care & support programme ever launched.
PLHIV are at the heart of Vihaan. The programme ensures a robust, holistic care & support system for PLHIV – including high-risk groups, women and children – in 31 states and territories of India. The programme is establishing 350 Care & Support Centres (CSCs) as part of the national effort to improve treatment outcomes and to respond more effectively to the needs of people living with HIV. CSCs provide a range of care & support services and timely linkages to other government schemes to improve treatment adherence, overall social protection, and quality of life of PLHIV.
Vihaan relies on a range of civil society organisations and partnership with government to ensure the success of the programme. PLHIV organisations are key partners at every level. Nearly three-quarters of Vihaan's implementing partners are PLHIV networks at state and district levels. Of the nearly 2,000 people engaged in the programme, roughly sixty percent are from the PLHIV community. Within the first three years, the programme expects to reach more than 1.2 million PLHIV.
Fatima, another woman living with HIV in Bihar, expresses her growing confidence, "Being positive myself, I realise how important care and support are in the lives of PLHIV. I am excited to be part of Vihaan and to make a difference in the lives of so many."
Note: Names of community members mentioned in this blog have been changed to protect their identities.
The author of this blog, Rosenara Huidrom, is Associate Director: Care & Support at India HIV/AIDS Alliance in New Delhi.
With support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, , Vihaan is establishing 350 Care & Support Centres (CSCs) across India that will help expand access to services, increase treatment adherence, reduce stigma and discrimination, and improve the quality of life of PLHIV. CSCs will support PLHIV, including those from underserved and marginalized populations who have had difficulty in accessing treatment including women, children and high-risk groups in 31 states and territories.
Posted in Global Fund, HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, Vihaan	| 1 Reply
Towards the Right Side of History
As a gay rights activist, I am overjoyed by the recent Supreme Court ruling which gives legal protection to the transgender community. Ever since we heard the news, there has been an outpouring of celebration, joy and relief. The news has made the entire LGBT community in India smile, which is not something we did much of following the Section 377 ruling of the Supreme Court in December last year which recriminalized homosexuality.
So why is this ruling important? To begin with, it's a significant step forward for our transgender friends who have been discriminated against for a long time. In their victory, we feel happy, proud and hopeful. It's as much their success as it is success for the wider LGBT movement in India, of which the transgender community has been a vital and integral part. It's true that transgenders in India, like elsewhere, are a more visible part of the community, so a decision that affirms their identity is a shot in the arm for LGBT activists and community alike.
The decision has also made me more confident that India is ready for a broader dialogue around gender identity and sexual orientation. It's taken many years of struggle to get here, and I'm not sure how many more years it will take for our community to be treated as equals. Section 377 is again the most immediate hurdle which we face. Tagged with criminality, equality remains a luxury for LGBT Indians.
I want my country to support my desire to live openly as a gay man. My government should not undermine healthy and productive relationships in my life. Basic freedoms that most Indians take for granted are out of reach for the LGBT community because 377 remains the law of the land.
After this burst of celebration, I am left wondering how much longer I will have to wait to feel 'legal'. Next week, the Supreme Court will hear the curative petition against Section 377. Like many LGBT Indians, I will be waiting anxiously to learn which side of history the court will stand.
Shaleen Rakesh is a gay rights activist and was instrumental in filing the Section 377 petition on behalf of Naz Foundation (India) Trust in 2001. Shaleen manages the '207 against 377' campaign at India HIV/AIDS Alliance, where he also serves as Director: Technical Support. The campaign brings together the 207 organizations implementing the Pehchan programme on a common platform to undertake advocacy at national, state and district levels to protest against the 11th December 2013 Supreme Court judgment upholding constitutional validity of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code thereby recriminalizing same-sex sexual behaviour.
Posted in Homophobia, Human rights, IPC 377, LGBT, Transgender	| 2 Replies
Beyond Punishment: A Conversation about the Government of India's Support for Drug Users
Rajesh Nandan Srivastava (right) in conversation with Francis Joseph in Vienna, Austria. (Photo: India HIV/AIDS Alliance)
Rajesh Nandan Srivastava, India's Director of Narcotics Control, was in Vienna last month to attend the High-Level Segment of the 57th Session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). Francis Joseph, Alliance India's Programme Officer for Harm Reduction & HIV, caught up with him there to discuss issues facing people who use drugs in India. Edited excerpts of the interview follow.
Francis: There are estimated to be two million people dependent on various drugs in India, but only 400 drug treatment centres? Is that adequate?
Rajesh: In addition to the 400 centres run by civil society organisations with support from Union Ministry of Social Justice, there are also 120 de-addiction centres being run in various government hospitals with support from Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. It is the responsibility of these two ministries to establish such centres. Civil society should advocate with these ministries and ask for more drug treatment centres at district hospitals and more trained doctors. As far as our department is concerned, we are already supporting the National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre (NDDTC), and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi is training 500 doctors on issues concerning drug use in the country.
Francis: Section 64A of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act allows people arrested for using drugs to be exempted from prosecution if they volunteer for treatment, yet we still see many unlawful detentions.
Rajesh: The problem is lack of awareness among both people who use drugs (PWUD) and policemen about this provision (Section 64A). Civil society organisations need to sensitise both PWUD and police personnel on this provision at national, state and district-level.
Francis: An important step to ensure proper implementation of section 64A is getting accurate numbers on how many people are imprisoned in India for drug use. Some NGOs have tried to get data, but what they receive from government is highly disaggregated, unclear and incomplete?
Rajesh: It is necessary to have data on the types of drug offences for which people are imprisoned, and the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the coordinating agency on drug matters under the Ministry of Home Affairs, should be able to provide this informations. NGOs can even approach National Crime Records Bureau and request such data. If gathering accurate data on the number of PWUD in prisons requires additional money, a proposal to fund the same could be made under National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse (under section 7A of the NDPS Act).
.India HIV/AIDS Alliance (Alliance India) is a diverse partnership that brings together committed organisations and communities to support sustained responses to HIV in India. Complementing the Indian national programme, Alliance India works through capacity building, knowledge sharing, technical support and advocacy. Through our network of partners, Alliance India supports the delivery of effective, innovative, community-based HIV programmes to key populations affected by the epidemic.
Posted in Community Action on Harm Reduction, HIV/AIDS	| Leave a reply
Marking a decade of free antiretroviral treatment (ART) in India
Posted on April 7, 2014 by Alliance India
More than 300 stakeholders from government, affected communities, media, international agencies, and civil society came together today to mark the completion of 10 years of free antiretroviral treatment (ART) in India. The event – Treatment@10 – was organised by the National Coalition of People Living with HIV in India (NCPI+), in collaboration with the Department of AIDS Control, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, PHFI, UNAIDS, USAID and UNDP, to celebrate the ten-year journey that has transformed the lives of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their families.
The first HIV case in India was detected in 1986. An estimated 2.1 million Indians are now living with the virus. The first effective ART regimens were announced in 1996. Even as the medicines became available in India, they remained unaffordable to most people who needed them. People sold their property and assets to buy the drugs, but few could afford life-long treatment. Mona Balani a woman living with HIV recalls, "Back in 2002, we were either thrown out or denied treatment at government and private hospitals, and we got no support from our families."
On 1 April 2004, in response to years of advocacy by PLHIV leaders like Ashok Pillai and Rajeshwari, the Government of India began a free ART programme at eight centres in six high-prevalence states that has now grown to a network of 1,251 ART and Link ART centres across India. Today, free ART is accessed by over 768,000 PLHIV at these centres.
Kanjibhai B Gadhia, a farmer from Amreli district of Gujarat who has been on ART for the past 10 years says, "ARV is my partner for life and I can never give it up." His story resonates with the almost eight lakh PLHIV on treatment in India. This 10-year milestone has been made possible by the joint efforts of India's committed PLHIV community, the Department of AIDS Control, bilateral & multilateral donors, and many civil society stakeholders at every level.
While reflecting on progress, the Treatment@10 conference also deliberated on the urgent need to define a clear roadmap to ensure further necessary scale-up of treatment, care & support services for PLHIV in India based on the model of partnership that has defined India's ambitious and innovative model.
Manoj Pardesi, General Secretary, NCPI+, reminded participants, "While the past decade has seen commendable strides in accessibility to AIDS treatment in India, there is still a long way to go. Many people living with the virus are yet to be enrolled in HIV care. PLHIV need routine and uninterrupted access to CD4 testing to ensure timely initiation of ART and regular monitoring. There is an urgent need to scale up viral load testing, enhance accessibility to second- and third-line treatment regimens, and increase availability of pediatric formulations. We're committed working with the Department of AIDS Control and other stakeholders to put 10 lakhs PLHIV on treatment by the end of 2015."
Sonal Mehta, Director of Programmes, India HIV/AIDS Alliance, added, "Discrimination and stigma continue to be a daily part of the lives of too many PLHIV. India's treatment programme is an example to the world of what can be achieved through committed collaboration. We have learned much in the past decade, and we need to continue to build on this strong foundation. Free ART, coupled with the care & support services provided through the growing network of Vihaan centres, will ensure the vitality and good health of India's PLHIV community and their families for years to come."
With support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Vihaan is establishing 350 Care & Support Centres across India that will help expand access to services, increase treatment adherence, reduce stigma and discrimination, and improve the quality of life of PLHIV. The centres will support PLHIV, including those from underserved and marginalized populations who have had difficulty in accessing treatment including women, children and high-risk groups in 31 states and territories.
National Coalition of People Living with HIV in India (NCPI+) is a national representative body of, for and by PLHIV. NCPI+ aims to increase active, transparent and constructive participation of PLHIV and health activists to strengthen care, support and treatment across the country and improve the quality of life of individuals and families affected by HIV. NCPI+ serves to represent the needs of PLHIV networks and organisations for key population and works with activists to join together to speak with a clear voice, strengthen advocacy, and improve the health and quality of life of PLHIV in India.
Posted in anti-retroviral treatment (ART), HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, Vihaan	| Leave a reply
"No doubt, ART is my friend indeed…" A Community Profile to Mark 10 Years of Free ART in India
Naomi at the NNP+ offices in Nagaland (Photo: India HIV/AIDS Alliance)
A member of India's PLHIV community reflects on ten years of access to free antiretroviral treatment.
For Naomi Semy, life almost came to a standstill when she tested positive. "As I saw the test report, everything went blank. I just thought, 'I am dead.'"
For many days, she did not talk to anyone and didn't step out of her home. One day gathering courage, she decided to meet a doctor. Luckily for her, the doctor was supportive. He counselled her on how treatment could help her live a long and healthy life with HIV.
She promptly decided to begin antiretroviral treatment (ART). "I was buying medicines from a private clinic, and it was very expensive. The cost made things difficult, but I managed somehow."
Then. in 2004, the government opened an ART centre in Kohima, Nagaland, that offered no-cost services. "There was no looking back since then. What more could I have asked for than to live healthy with HIV."
Naomi today leads the Network of Naga People Living with HIV and AIDS (NNP+). The network has 4,000 registered members and is reaching out to 10,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in the state.
Having successfully managed HIV for 10 years now, Naomi is now a role model for other PLHIV. "How long we live is not important but how well we live is. This has guided me to live a fulfilling life despite being HIV positive. No doubt, ARV is my friend indeed."
Posted in anti-retroviral treatment (ART), Global Fund, HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, Vihaan	| Leave a reply
"ART is my partner for life…" A Community Profile to Mark 10 Years of Free ART in India
Kanjibhai and his wife in their home in Gujarat (Photo: India HIV/AIDS Alliance)
Kanjibhai B Gadhia is a content man. A well-settled farmer from Amreli district of Gujarat, he tested positive 11 years ago.
"I fell seriously ill then. My condition was deteriorating day by day, and my family had lost all hope. No doctor was ready to treat me," he recounts.
Then a private doctor came forward as a lifesaver. He not only treated him but also advised him on the importance of treatment adherence.
"He cautioned me about possible side-effects of the drugs so that I was mentally prepared for them and would not discontinue the medicines."
As free anti-retroviral treatment (ART) was not available then, Kanjibhai got his medicines from the same doctor.
"In the beginning, I had bouts of severe nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, and stomach cramps. But I did not give up, and slowly the side-effects vanished," he says. "But what was more harder to manage was the cost of medicines. My wife had also tested positive, and after buying the medicines, we had hardly anything left."
Thankfully, the government's initiative to provide free ART at government hospitals came to Kanjibhai's rescue.
"A representative from the district-level network of people living with HIV (PLHIV) told me about the scheme. In no time, my wife and I had registered. Since that day, we have not missed even a single dose. It is due to this regular ART regime that I am living a healthy and content life. ART is my partner for life, and I will never give it up."
"I didn't choose HIV. HIV chose me…" An Activist's Reflection on 10 Years of Free ART in India
Manoj Pardesi at the "We Can End AIDS" March during the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, in July 2012.
Pre ART: 1986 to 31st March 2004
"You have AIDS," a counselor said to me in 1997. I don't remember the exact date, but suddenly everything went blank. The counselor had spoken to me for more than 20 minutes, but I just remembered his one sentence: "You have AIDS." Only one thing came to my mind: everything is finished. I cursed God. Why did He choose me? Why only me?
My first question was, "How long I will live?" He started calculating and replied, "You have another two years." I was relieved. I was thinking that I would die in two months. I asked my next question, "Is there any treatment?" The counselor told me, "Don't even think about medication. It costs Rs. 60,000/- per month."
Where would I get the money? After much thinking, I made a plan. I took a life insurance policy for Rs. 5,00,000/- and decided to commit suicide. At least my family will get some money after my death. Twice I attempted suicide, but luckily or unluckily, I survived.
Then came a turning point in my life. I chanced upon the famous Hindi movie "Anand." Rajesh Khanna's words in the movie completely changed my whole perception and attitude towards life: "What's the difference between 70 years and six months? What about the millions of moments I will live in the next six months? Life should be large not long." ("Kya farak hai 70 salon aur 6 mahine mai? Aane wale 6 mahino mai jo lakho pal mai jine wala hun uska kya hoga? Zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahi.")
I began my search for accurate, scientific information on AIDS and ended up at National AIDS Research Institute (NARI). I got answers to my questions, sometimes silly ones. I still remember the smile on the doctor's face and his occasional chuckle.
In August 1999, I started working with networks for people living with HIV (PLHIV). This gave vision and purpose to my life. To this day, I remain thankful for the support of my peers, doctors and friends on positive living, which has kept me strong even before anti-retroviral treatment (ART) was available and affordable for me. I decided to work on HIV. I wanted to make a difference, but I also wanted to make sure that none of my family or friends get infected.
As time passed, there were many sad moments. I lost close friends who could not afford ART. Each death created fear and weakened my confidence. Yet, somehow I gathered courage to advocate for the rights of PLHIV and for ART. We started raising our voices on every platform and at every forum we could find.
Post ART: 1st April 2004 onwards
On World AIDS Day, 1st December 2003, the government announced free ART. The programme would start from 1st April 2004. Though I was not yet on treatment, it gave all PLHIV so much hope. Now we will could imagine a future in which we would not die of AIDS.
Take the case of my close friend Prashant. His CD4 had dipped down to a single digit in 2003, but he is still with us, healthy and content. His two sons have started collage. Last year he gave me sweets saying that his younger son got 74% marks in 12th standard at school, and both of them were going to take admission in college. Tears came rolling down, and we just hugged each other. There was no need for any words. There were only feelings to understand. The hug was for a healthy and productive life, which was possible because of free ART.
There are many such success stories that might not be published in any report. Free ART is not just medication we swallow twice a day. These pills are hope and confidence to live productively in good health. ART and PPTCT interventions have brought happiness and wellbeing to the lives of millions.
In January 2014, we were remembering this journey, when one of our friends gave the idea of celebrating ten years of free ART. "What a wonderful thought!" I said to myself. Suddenly the amazing journey of past ten years came to life again. This small, informal discussion took shape into a big occasion in April 2014 – Treatment@10 – to convey the gratitude of the PLHIV community. These ten years would not have been possible without the hard work, commitment and passion of so many people, organizations, and partners. Together we have made our county's care, support and treatment program a model for the rest of the world.
India's ART program will continue to grow stronger. The commitment to expand care & support services is transformative. The new Vihaan Care & Support Centres are testament to how closely government, civil society and the PLHIV community can work together to expand access to services, increase treatment adherence, reduce stigma and discrimination, and improve the quality of life of PLHIV and their families.
My own journey of 21 years still surprises me. What a fantastic, wonderful and meaningful journey it has been. Now I thank God. I am proud to be HIV positive and proud of my country, my government, and my community for bringing us so far in ten years. I didn't choose HIV. HIV chose me to be a mediator, an activist, and an agent of positive change.
The author of this blog, Manoj Pardeshi, is General Secretary, National Coalition of People Living with HIV in India (NCPI+). Living with HIV for more than two decades, Manoj has been at the forefront of raising public awareness about HIV, fighting discrimination against PLHIV, and advocating for increased action to by government and other stakeholders to expand access to treatment, care, and support services across India.
NCPI+ is a national representative body of, for and by PLHIV. NCPI+ aims to increase active, transparent and constructive participation of PLHIV and health activists to strengthen care, support and treatment across the country and improve the quality of life of individuals and families affected by HIV. NCPI+ serves to represent the needs of PLHIV networks and organisations for key population and works with activists to join together to speak with a clear voice, strengthen advocacy, and improve the health and quality of life of PLHIV in India.
Posted in anti-retroviral treatment (ART), HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, Vihaan	| 3 Replies
Early TB testing is vital for an effective AIDS response: Government and civil society come together to reinforce this pledge on World TB Day
Posted on March 24, 2014 by Alliance India
At the World TB Day press conference, representatives from the Department of AIDS Control, Central TB Division, civil society and affected communities discussed the need for early TB testing for PLHIV.
World TB Day is observed every year on March 24th. To mark this occasion, India HIV/AIDS Alliance today joined the Department of AIDS Control (DAC) and the Central TB Division (CTD) to create awareness about the importance of early detection and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) among people living with HIV (PLHIV) and strengthening HIV/TB collaborative activities at all levels.
In collaboration with DAC and with support from the Global Fund, Alliance India implements Vihaan, a care & support programme for PLHIV in 31 states and territories. The programme works with 17 regional and state level partner organisations and is establishing 350 Care & Support Centres across India that will help expand access to services, increase treatment adherence, reduce stigma and discrimination, and improve the quality of life of PLHIV.
Vihaan is actively working to ensure that its frontline workers are supporting a range of HIV/TB collaborative activities in coordination with the district level TB units. James Robertson, Executive Director of India HIV/AIDS Alliance commented, "Vihaan is committed to increasing awareness of TB among the PLHIV served by the programme and, through intensified testing, ensuring that co-infected clients are fully supported to complete the full course of treatment."
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major concern for PLHIV as their impaired immune systems make them particularly vulnerable to the disease. In spite of this, it remains difficult to persuade PLHIV to undergo testing for TB. The double stigma of TB and HIV often keeps PLHIV from visiting clinics to learn their TB status.
Manoj Pardesi, General Secretary of the National Coalition of PLHIV in India (NCPI+) said, "PLHIV are among the most vulnerable to falling ill with TB. We need to do more to diagnose PLHIV infected with TB and reach out to them with treatment."
The total number of PLHIV in India is currently estimated at 21 lakh, which is third highest in the world (Source: Annual Report 2012-13, Department of AIDS Control). India is also has the highest TB burden in the world with an estimated 2.2 million new TB cases occurring annually. TB is the most common Opportunistic Infection (OI) among PLHIV in India.
Dr. R.S. Gupta, Deputy Director General, CTD, said at the event, "Regular screening of all PLHIV for TB is utmost important for prevention of TB mortality in this group."
HIV and TB co-infection can be fatal. It is estimated that nearly 25% of AIDS deaths in India are TB-related. TB infection increases progression of HIV infection to AIDS and contributes to accelerated mortality. In 2007, it was estimated that 4.85% of TB cases in India are in patients who are also HIV-positive. Of more than 100,000 presumptive TB cases identified among PLHIV at ART Centres, more than 20% were found to have TB (Source: TB India 2011-Annual Status Report).
Dr. A.S. Rathore, Deputy Director General, Care, Support and Treatment at DAC observed, "It is important for PLHIV in India to get tested for tuberculosis. A lack of early testing increases morbidity and mortality in HIV/TB co-infected patients."
Mona Balani, a woman living with HIV, noted that, "In too many cases, detection of TB happens too late. Many PLHIV patients reach treatment facilities at a terminally-ill stage."
Early detection of HIV/TB co-infection and prompt provision of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) and Anti-TB Therapy (ATT) are key interventions to reduce mortality in this population. Increased joint action by government and civil society to initiate early detection of TB among PLHIV is an important step toward addressing the challenge of HIV/TB co-infection and improving the health and wellbeing of PLHIV in India.
Posted in Global Fund, HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, TB screening, World TB Day	| Leave a reply
World TB Day 2014: New poster campaign to increase awareness among PLHIV of TB co-infection (Hindi version)
March 24 is World TB Day. Tuberculosis (TB) is a major concern for people living with HIV (PLHIV) as their impaired immune systems make them particularly vulnerable to the disease. Providing the right care & support to PLHIV with TB co-infection remains a priority to reduce related morbidity and mortality.
With support from the Global Fund, our Vihaan programme is launching a national campaign on March 24, World TB Day 2014, to increase TB testing and treatment among vulnerable PLHIV. Under the campaign, Vihaan Care & Support Centres (CSCs) will launch posters and organise TB/HIV co-infection awareness activities for clients across the country. A look at the posters launched today:
Poster: Promoting early testing of TB among PLHIV
Poster: Encouraging adherence to TB treatment among PLHIV
Poster: Encouraging completion of DOTS for TB treatment among PLHIV
Posted in Global Fund, HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, TB screening, World TB Day	| 1 Reply
World TB Day 2014: New poster campaign to increase awareness among PLHIV of TB co-infection (English version)
Posted in Global Fund, HIV/AIDS, PLHIV, TB screening, Vihaan, World TB Day	| Leave a reply


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South Belfast News May 19, 2012
Impact of trauma can be addressed
By Gráinne Brinkley
A psychotherapist specialising in trans-generational trauma says more needs to be done to treat the disorder to help improve the collective mental health of post-conflict communities.
Bríd Keenan was speaking ahead of this week's 'Breaking the Silence: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Community' conferences in Belfast and Antrim where she will join other mental health and counselling experts to discuss mental wellbeing, resilience and suicide awareness in Troubles-torn areas such as Belfast and isolated rural communities.
Bríd, who has works as a referral therapist with the victims' group Relatives For Justice for the past 12 years, says that she will address two main areas when speaking at the conference.
"One area I will talk about will be how a traumatic experience affects the whole human being, in particular the physiology of anyone, and how that becomes a post-traumatic stress injury if there is no support given to help integrate that," she said.
"Post-traumatic stress injury becomes noticeable to people when their survival strategies are not working anymore, like they have a lot of inexplicable and distressing medical conditions.
"The second area I will talk about is what happens to children when they are born into an already traumatised environment. This is an important area to focus on as a lot of people, particularly decision makers, either do not accept that the impact of trans-generational trauma exists or, if they do, somehow everything will be alright in three or four generations after the conflict ends.
"However, there is ample international research to show that that is not the case. I want to talk about how we see the impact of trauma when it is not fully integrated, how it emerges at the level of a community where we see children trying to handle that environment and doing things to try to regulate the intensity of their experiences either through crime or risky behaviour."
Bríd said society's attitude to children suffering from trans-generational trauma can sometimes exacerbate the problem.
"Normally we either look at those children through the eyes of the youth justice system, like they are criminals, or we see them as an individual problem and not seen in the context of the entire community they come from," she said.
"As a community we have survived all of these years and our children cannot be born into an environment where somehow there is no traces of this survival – that's a nonsense."
Bríd agreed that there is connection between areas such as West and North Belfast, which were hardest hit by the Troubles, and the growing levels of suicide in those communities.
"I think it's obvious, certainly from a lot of the research that's been done and anyone who ignores the research is foolish," she said.
"Many people still treat trauma as a mental illness, as a pathological response or human failing, so they are told to "pull yourself together" or "get on with things"
"There's another aspect of what people call the 'epidemic of suicide' and that really is to pathologise something that really should not be pathologised. When trauma affects people it causes a huge surge of adrenaline in the physiology, which causes a whole number of physiological reactions to help your capacity to fight back or fly away – heart rate goes up, muscles harden, blood circulation quickens etc.
"When you can't do either – either you're too small, overwhelmed or incapacitated in some way – then the system freezes at the moment the traumatic experience occurs. People can live with that for 40 or 50 years, which is called a functional freeze, but inside there is a sense that they are caught between times. As a result of this they might have what they call inappropriate responses, like crying very sorely at something that does not require tears, flashbacks, or the symptoms associated with what we call anxiety.
"But there are also things that occur as well and the primary one of these, which has the big connection to suicide, is isolation. When someone becomes traumatised they immediately become isolated from everyone else as they think that they'll never be like anyone else ever again."
Bríd believes treating people with trans-generational trauma in groups rather than individually is the key to a aiding a better recovery.
"Many people still treat trauma as a mental illness, as a pathological response or human failing, so they are told to "pull yourself together" or "get on with things"," she said.
"But when you are actually frozen inside where are you going to move on to? How are you going to do it? We still cannot get people to think about traumatic responses as perfectly normal responses in abnormal circumstances, it is still being treated as a mental health problem, which it is not, and treated as such and on a individual basis which actually only adds to sense of isolation that person feels.
"What we need to do is treat people as groups so they do not feel isolated so connection is the primary focus of any work that you do with trauma. You have to think and try to imagine how marginalised a young person feels who is considering self-harm to the extent of suicide. It's not a coincidence that that level of marginalisation exists in a community coming out of conflict and trying to peace-build."
So what do the decisions makers have to do to address trans-generational trauma?
"They need to allocate resources towards dealing with it and we need to think about it differently," she said.
"We need to think of it not as a problem but as survival strategies that have run their course. people are now trying to find other ways to live. If we are talking about peace-building then the survival strategies that were useful in keeping people alive and function in every day life in the past have, for many people, run their course. The state has to take seriously what needs to be put in place to support people in the next phase in this country, and structure a system where (conflict) can never happen again."
The Belfast conference of 'Breaking the Silence: Shoulder to Shoulder with the Community' will take place this Thursday in Conway Mill. Contact PIPS on 90287836.
Tags: Breaking the Silence: SHoulder to shoulder, Brid Keenan, psychotherapist
Home abuse figures rise as men come forward
John's musical walk proves a big hit and brings Lisburn to the fore


This polka dot dress has been in my closet for year and I tend to bring it out in early June. It is strapless so I like to wear a little short sweater with it so I feel a bit more covered. It was fun to use my son's wagon as a prop for this shoot.


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The Umansky Law Firm > Blog > Drug Offenses > Florida is Decriminalizing Weed City By City. Is Legalization Next?
Florida is Decriminalizing Weed City By City. Is Legalization Next?
According to the ACLU, more than half of all drug arrests in 2010 were for marijuana. There are many reasons to decriminalize weed, not least of which is reducing the number of people who get incarcerated for nonviolent offenses. The criminalization of marijuana causes many people to lose their jobs and benefits, and negatively impacts other aspects of their lives. It also costs states billions of dollars to enforce marijuana laws each year. Unfortunately, marijuana criminalization also comes with bias — while its use is relatively equal among different races, people who are black are almost 4 times more likely to get arrested than users who are white.
Marijuana is still banned at the federal level, and the government considers it a Schedule I substance. According to the DEA, that means it has no medical value and a high potential for being abused. With the information we have about marijuana today, it's obvious the DEA's description is outdated; however, state laws are slowly catching up to the science. Still, in Florida, adults may not use the drug without a prescription or medical marijuana card. It appears to be a pattern in which states that legalize medical marijuana eventually legalize recreational use as well.
After medicinal cannabis use was legalized in Florida, advocates began to push for the legalization of recreational use as well. Slowly, a patchwork of cities and counties in the Sunshine State began deciding that marijuana possession would no longer result in an arrest. In 2016, Orlando became one of the largest cities to pass an ordinance for the decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana, though the vote was close: the City Council voted 4-3 in favor of the measure.
If a police officer catches you with a small amount of marijuana in Orlando, you may be surprised to discover you'll face a fine instead of an arrest. That's also the case with a growing list of cities throughout Florida. Could the legalization of recreational marijuana be next?
What Penalties Could I Face in Orlando for Pot Possession?
Today, getting caught with a small amount of marijuana is like getting caught speeding or running a stop sign. In Orlando and many other cities, having weed is a civil infraction that leads to a fine. The fine is meant to serve as a warning, but it's also designed to avoid ruining the lives of people who otherwise have clean records and lead productive lives.
A fine for possessing up to 20 grams of marijuana in Orlando is $100. A second offense of having up to 20 grams of marijuana on you results in a $200 fine. Those who can't pay these fines can perform community service. However, having just 20 or more grams could prompt an arrest. The penalties for carrying 20 or more grams of marijuana — a felony drug charge — are severe.
What Other Florida Cities Issue Fines for Marijuana Possession?
Several cities and counties in Florida have taken similar measures regarding decriminalizing the possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana. Currently, the following cities and counties have agreed to issue citations rather than jail people for simple marijuana possession:
Is Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Coming to Florida?
Marijuana legalization efforts lost steam when Make It Legal Florida came up short on petition signatures for another ballot referendum and got canceled early. Their proposal would have allowed:
Adults 21 and older to have, use, purchase, and transport up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana and paraphernalia.
Medical marijuana treatment centers to sell marijuana and other accessories
Floridians will not be voting for medical marijuana in 2020; rather, the signatures that Make It Legal Florida gathered — 295,072 verified ones or 38% of the signatures needed to have made it onto the ballot — will be valid for 2 more years. They will be used for a 2022 ballot initiative campaign.
Contact an Orlando Marijuana Lawyer for Quality Criminal Defense
Although the City of Orlando has decriminalized marijuana, there's no guarantee that you'll receive a fine for possessing less than 20 grams of the substance. If you're arrested for simple possession of marijuana, you could face a misdemeanor charge. With an attorney dedicated to a strong drug defense on your side, negotiations can be made with the prosecution to have your charge dropped or reduced.
Contact the team of attorneys with The Umansky Law Firm for a free consultation regarding your drug charge. Call 407-228-3838 24/7. We have more than 100 years of combined experience defending individuals accused of crimes throughout Central Florida. We fight aggressively to grant second chances.


Google Sees All. Get Over It.
Between some well-intended privacy stories, some (very) sensational privacy stories and recent news from Google, I'm compelled to state what might be the obvious.
You need to be smart about what you say and do online. For example, when creating a company policy about social media usage, I suggest that if an employee can't say it in front of their Mom or in front of a competitor they probably shouldn't put it online.
As marketers, however, we should be taking full advantage of the fact that Google sees all. We should be syndicating content across as many platforms as our customer community frequents. If they look for us in these 2.0 hot spots we want them to find us.
Consider the search implications of this distributed approach to content. In the past we created walled gardens to aggregate all of our content in one place. By turning that content into spreadable media, the opportunities to impact search results increase exponentially. And if in turn all of this media has distribution capabilities like ShareThis the search impact increases even more.
Have you Googled yourself, your client or your company lately? A brand's search results are the first moment of truth online. Google now allows you to improve these results by creating a Google Profile.
It's imperative that we make sure that everyone understands the implications of Google's ability to catalog and cache seemingly all online activity. But we should also be deliberate in making sure Google finds our story in as many places as it makes sense. If we don't? Google might find someone else's version of our story instead.
The news media have been making a lot of historic comparisons when serving up various economic statistics. The journalists are simply trying to depict the level of economic turmoil around us. But, more often than not, their readers are already living it.
In fact I started working four-day weeks in January. So I launched a new site promoting my consulting practice. It's hard to believe I've had my vanity URL parked since March 11, 2000. But nine years later, I proudly launched kevindugan.com.
And the timing couldn't be better for my launch. As of April 1, I became a full-time, free agent. So my silence here has been due to my full frontal consulting efforts. I'm also exploring full-time opportunities.
The site was created in Ruby on Rails by the team at Ample. Josh, Rob, Bobby, Kevin and Adam do great work and I enjoyed working with them.
The site design is based around the concept of content distribution, something I've written about before. The definition of content has changed and, more importantly, how content can be shared and served up in new ways. Kevindugan.com serves up my content from a variety of online properties. I've aggregated these content streams into one site to "get credit" for all of it in one spot.
So I appreciate your patience as my reports might be a little spotty until I either settle comfortably into free agent nation or find another full-time gig. In the meantime, there's plenty more on the concept of slippery content to dig into. Henry Jenkins calls it "spreadable media." Check it out, stop by my shiny new site and watch this space for (so. very. much.) more.


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"You can't really go too wrong with natural casing franks and New England buns."
For me, and I would guess for many readers as well, the best part of traveling anywhere is checking out the local foods both at restaurants and grocery stores, and possibly bringing back a lifetime supply of them. Especially since writing this Hot Dog of the Week column, I don't go anywhere without scouring the local butcher shops, markets, and diners for unique hot dog brands and variations.
Recently in Vermont I grabbed some Mackenzie's franks and a couple bags of New England buns to freeze and take home. It would be almost criminal not to—in Pennsylvania these products are non-existent. Mackenzie's are actually made by Kayem who also make the dogs for Fenway Park as well as bright red Maine-style snappers.
Mackenzie's are natural casing, beef and pork, eight-to-a-pound franks. Though great on their own—I boiled mine for a few minutes and finished them in a stainless steel pan with some butter—but I couldn't resist committing some regional blasphemy and putting my own twist on the dogs, in the form of homemade chili and some pepper cabbage, an old school Philadelphia hot dog topping that I'm inexplicably obsessed with.
No cream cheese or bananas or anything on these dogs—but I'm sure pairing butter-toasted New England buns with Pennsylvania Dutch pepper hash will put somebody into a rage—and I threw some mayonnaise on a few of them too. Delicious.
People ask me all the time these days where I am on the traditional vs. trendy haute dog argument. My answer is yes to everything. I want to try them all.
Although the best "haute dog" purveyors are the ones that have done their homework and understand the background of sausage-making and hot dog history—much the same way the best high-end chefs are classically trained in French technique, no matter what cuisine they currently practice.
And while it's interesting to try all sorts of crazy hot dogs once or twice, sometimes I just want one that I know is going to be great every time. That's when I go back to the old-school place that's been around for 60 years, or maybe one of the few new-school spots that are really coming through on the promise of elevating hot dogs to a higher level.
My goal when experimenting at home is to start with incredible ingredients, take a few things from different regional variations and hopefully create something delicious. And you can't really go too wrong with natural casing franks and New England buns. The chili has some allspice, which gives it a little bit of a "Greek sauce" kick. Not browning the beef first goes against everything I ever learned in professional kitchens, but it's one of the secrets to a real hot dog sauce-style chili.
The pepper cabbage recipe is closer to something you would find in a jar at an Amish stand—more of a "pickled" cabbage than the pepper hash you might find at Philly hot dog joints, which tends to have carrots, more sugar, and more finely chopped cabbage.