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REPORTS: Chechnya Opens Concentration Camp to Detain and Torture Gay Men

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Over 100 gay men have been reportedly kidnapped, detained, tortured, and some murdered in concentration-like facilities in Chechnya.

Russian news agencies are reporting that gay men are being kidnapped and transported to a concentration-like secret prison complex in Argun, a town in the Chechen Republic, located in Russia. According to Pink News, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta alleges that high profile Chechen officials, including the Speaker of the Parliament, have even visited the site. Ramzan Kadyrov (photo, with President Vladimir Putin), is the Head of the Chechen Republic.

The news of the round-ups comes on the heels of other reports of extreme violence and the detention of gay men. According to the Novaya Gazeta, over 100 gay men so far have been detained because of “their nontraditional sexual orientation, or suspicion of such.” The newspaper also reported three connected murders.

The Russian LGBT Network issued a strongly-worded (yet fear-filled) statement in response to the reports of kidnapping and detentions. Based on their own intelligence, they recommend gay men leave the region immediately. 

The Russian LGBT Networks is highly disturbed and concerned about the information on the kidnapping and killing of people in Chechnya because of their sexual orientation. We are also outraged by the reaction of the officials of the Chechen Republic, who in fact justify the killings.  No national and/or religious traditions and norms can justify kidnapping or killing of a human being. Any references to “traditions” to justify kidnappings and killings are amoral and criminal.

The Russian LGBT Network makes every effort to contact the victims and to provide the emergency support. Taking into account the recent statements of the Chechnya officials, we believe that the only thing that can work out is the evacuation. We cooperate closely we the human rights defenders both in Russia and abroad, and ready to evacuate.

The advocacy agency Human Rights Watch said in a prepared statement that while they are confident in their intelligence, they cannot share too many details of the atrocities being committed for fear of putting more gay men in danger. “It is difficult to overstate just how vulnerable LGBT people are in Chechnya, where homophobia is intense and rampant. LGBT people are in danger not only of persecution by the authorities but also of falling victim to ‘honour killings’ by their own relatives for tarnishing family honor.”

Svetlana Zakharova, from the Russian LGBT Network, described the horrific conditions of the camps to the MailOnline, based on first-hand accounts: “Those who have escaped said they are detained in the same room and people are kept altogether, around 30 or 40. They are tortured with electric currents and heavily beaten, sometimes to death.”

Chechen officials, through spokesman Alvi Karimov, have largely brushed off the horrifying events, claiming they couldn’t possibly have happened because there simply aren’t any gay people in Chechnya. “You cannot arrest or repress people who just don’t exist in the republic. If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return.”

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‘Let That Sink in’: Suspending Habeas Corpus Is on the Table Says Stephen Miller

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May 9, 2025

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White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller says the White House is “actively” examining suspending habeas corpus, a constitutional protection that supports the right to due process. Critics, including legal experts, reacted strongly, with some noting that this right has only been suspended in the United States four times.

“Well, the Constitution is clear, and that, of course, is the supreme law of the land—that the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion,” Miller, the architect of Trump’s child and family separation policy during his first term, told reporters on Friday.

“So I would say that’s an option we’re actively looking at,” Miller declared, before attacking the judicial branch.

“Look, a lot of it depends on whether the courts do the right thing or not.”

READ MORE: ‘Bystander’ Trump Keeps Saying ‘I Don’t Know’ — Critics Ask ‘Who’s in Charge?’

Habeas corpus is a cornerstone of Western democracies, with roots tracing back to the Magna Carta of 1215, which first established the principle that no person could be imprisoned arbitrarily by the king.

Miller, who has no law degree and is not an attorney, went on to give reporters his understanding of constitutional law.

“So,” Miller concluded, “it’s not just the courts aren’t just at war with the executive branch, the courts are at war with these radical judges, with the legislative branch as well, too,” he opined.

“So all of that will inform the choice of the president ultimately makes, yes.”

Critics blasted the extreme suggestion that President Donald Trump has the authority to suspend habeas corpus—Congress does—and that he would attempt to do so when there is no invasion or rebellion, prerequisites mandated by the Constitution.

“Habeas corpus has been suspended only 4 times,” wrote The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake. 1) Civil War 2) When Congress authorized it to combat Ku Klux Klan vigilantism during Reconstruction 3) In the Philippines during a 1905 insurrection 4) In Hawaii after Pearl Harbor.”

“The President lacks the power to suspend habeas corpus under Article II. That power is exclusive to Congress under Article I,” explained civil rights attorney Patrick Jaicomo.

READ MORE: ‘Barely Literate’: Education Secretary’s ‘Deranged’ Letter Gets Major Red Ink Corrections

“Too bad he never went to law school and doesn’t understand the law,” remarked Professor of Law Joyce Vance, the well-known MSNBC legal analyst and former U.S. Attorney.

“Suspending habeas corpus,” noted The Atlantic’s James Surowiecki, “would suspend the right for everyone, not just for undocumented people. So what Stephen Miller is saying here is that Trump is thinking about asserting the right to throw Americans in prison while giving them no opportunity to use the courts to get out.”

“The U.S. Constitution guarantees due process to everyone within the United States, not just citizens. They’re inventing a fake ‘invasion’ to call for an emergency and give themselves more power,” added political strategist Max Flugrath, Communications Director at Fair Fight Action.

“Don’t even think about it,” remarked U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA).

The well-known attorney George Conway, saying it “can’t be overstated,” called Miller “deeply, deeply disturbed.”

“Suspending habeas corpus. Let that sink in,” commented The Lincoln Project.

Former Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison described Miller’s threatening remarks as “dictatorial b——.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Total Injustice’: Pope Leo XIV Likely to Weigh in on Trump-Era Policies, Brother Hints

 

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‘Scopes Just Went Black Again’: Air Traffic Controller Urges Pilot to Press for Fix

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May 9, 2025

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New chilling audio of an apparently concerned and frustrated air traffic controller urging a pilot to get his company to apply pressure to fix the FAA’s technical issues was just released.

Over the past two weeks, air traffic controllers covering Newark Liberty International Airport have had to endure two separate system-wide outages that caused their radar scopes to go black and caused them to lose some communication with pilots, with the latest one occurring early Friday morning.

“FedEx 1989,” the unnamed air traffic controller can be heard saying (audio below), “our scopes just went black again.”

“If you care about this, contact your airline and try to get some pressure for them to fix this stuff,” the controller told the pilot.

READ MORE: ‘Bystander’ Trump Keeps Saying ‘I Don’t Know’ — Critics Ask ‘Who’s in Charge?’

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday told reporters it was a “glitch in the system” that “was caused by the same telecoms and software issues that were raised last week.”

Insisting there was “no operational impact,” she said the “DOT and the FAA are working to address this technical issue tonight to prevent further outage.”

Leavitt did not specify what caused the glitch or how it could be fixed now.

On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it would take months to fix the problem.

“It’s going to take a little time. I hope by the summer we’re going to be fully functioning,” Secretary Duffy said, CBS News reported.

MSNBC vice president Jesse Rodriguez called it a “Pretty extraordinary plea from an air traffic controller.”

READ MORE: ‘Total Injustice’: Pope Leo XIV Likely to Weigh in on Trump-Era Policies, Brother Hints

ABC News added that in “another transmission, a controller told an arriving private jet that the airport just had a brief radar outage and to stay at or above 3,000 feet in case the controllers couldn’t get in touch during the aircraft’s descent.”

The FAA in a statement on Friday said that there was a “telecommunications outage that impacted communications and radar display at Philadelphia TRACON Area C, which guides aircraft in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport airspace. The outage occurred around 3:55 a.m. on Friday, May 9, and lasted approximately 90 seconds.”

CNN’s Pete Muntean posted the audio. Listen below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Barely Literate’: Education Secretary’s ‘Deranged’ Letter Gets Major Red Ink Corrections

 

Image via Reuters 

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‘Bystander’ Trump Keeps Saying ‘I Don’t Know’ — Critics Ask ‘Who’s in Charge?’

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May 9, 2025

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President Donald Trump’s grasp of what’s happening on his watch is being debated, as the 78-year-old increasingly responds, “I don’t know” when asked basic questions.

Despite swearing—for the second time now—an oath to the U.S. Constitution, the President of the United States when asked if he is obligated to “uphold the Constitution” told NBC News’ Kristen Welker, “I don’t know.”

Trump, as The New York Times pointed out, offered the same answer when asked if everyone in the U.S. should be afforded due process rights—which are mandated by the Constitution.

READ MORE: ‘Total Injustice’: Pope Leo XIV Likely to Weigh in on Trump-Era Policies, Brother Hints

“I don’t know,” the President replied, twice. “I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.”

VoteVets, a progressive political action committee (PAC), served up a scathing rebuke.

“He’s taken the oath twice—but now he’s not sure if due process matters. That’s not a gaffe. That’s a warning. Believe him. He’s telling you what he may burn down next,” the group posted on social media.

The nonpartisan advocacy group Patriotic Millionaires, which works to have wealthy Americans pay a larger portion in taxes and says “tax the rich” on its website, pointed to the President’s “I don’t know” response to upholding the Constitution.

“That is something that an authoritarian-dictator-wannabe would say, and we should absolutely take him at his word when he says this,” they wrote.

When Welker asked if he would run for a third term, Trump said he would not but admitted “I don’t know” if the Constitution prohibits it, but it’s “something you’re not allowed to do,” he said.

Back in April, Trump told reporters, “Many, many people come from the Congo. I don’t know what that is, but they came from the Congo.”

On Wednesday, in an Oval Office press gaggle, reporters asked, “Mr. President, is your administration sending migrants to Libya?”

“I don’t know,” Trump replied. “You’ll have to ask Homeland Security.”

Also on Wednesday, a reporter told Trump, “Your Treasury Secretary just told lawmakers that a tariff exemption for certain baby items like car seats is under consideration. Will you exempt some products that families rely on?”

“I don’t know,” was the President’s response, adding he will “think about it.”

READ MORE: ‘Barely Literate’: Education Secretary’s ‘Deranged’ Letter Gets Major Red Ink Corrections

Trump was also asked about U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announcing he opposed Trump’s pick to be U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

“I didn’t know that,” the President told reporters.

Back in October, after his infamous “they’re eating the dogs” attack on immigrants, Trump went on Fox News and was told, “You said ‘they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats.’ That turned out not to be true.”

“I don’t know if it’s true or not,” the President quickly replied.

“You don’t know? It’s been debunked,’ the Fox News host declared.

“What about the goose, the geese? What about the geese? What happened there?” he was asked.

“I have no idea,” was the President’s reply.

The Atlantic’s James Surowiecki, author of The Wisdom of Crowds, back in March noted, “Trump also didn’t know that his administration had invoked the Alien Enemies Act to deport Tren de Aragua members, even though he had supposedly signed the executive order invoking it. ‘I don’t know when it was signed, because I didn’t sign it,’ he said.”

And when SignalGate hit, Trump told reporters, “I don’t know anything about it. I’m not a big fan of The Atlantic. To me it’s a magazine that’s going out of business. But I know nothing about it. You’re saying that they had what?”

Trump’s “I don’t know” remarks have become so frequent some have started to question why.

“Is somebody keeping a tracker of President ‘I don’t know’ Trump’s I don’t knows?” asked former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Juliette Kayyem. “It’s getting ridiculous. From Supreme Court decisions, to Libya prisons, to nominees, he has one answer. It’s not acceptable. He either isn’t in charge, is lying or has no capacity. I don’t know.”

It appears CNN has, at least in part, been keeping track.

On Thursday, Trump announced his new, highly-controversial Surgeon General nominee. Asked why he picked her, Trump replied, “Because Bobby thought she was fantastic,” but, “I don’t know her.”

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen commented, “Yet another piece of evidence that Trump is a bystander to the actions of his administration.”

CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner remarked, “The president says he doesn’t know the new Surgeon General but he appointed her because ‘Bobby thought she was terrific’. Who’s in charge here?”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Maoist’ ‘Soviet’ ‘Communist’: As Trumpism 2.0 Takes Shape, Experts Endeavor to Define It

 

Image via Reuters

 

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