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We should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive & well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate, bier or wein in hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WHOO-HOO, WHAT A RIDE!!!!!!"
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Showing posts with label police brutality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police brutality. Show all posts
THESE videos show why so many people do not trust the police and are thankful when someone is filming police actions because they know that is protecting them from harm. IT must also be noted the vast majority of police officers are nothing like the police documented in these videos, it is unfortunate too many police and police departments defend police like these because of the "blue line". Years after my own interactions with rogue cops I still have a hard time trusting a police officer is going to do the right thing.....
My wonderful colleague Noah Lanard is currently making his way back from Trump Tower in Manhattan, where, according to him, a mix of MAGA diehards and possible performance artists gathered in anticipation of Donald Trump's potential indictment over his alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
We'll have Noah's lowdown on the protests soon. But while we wait, I want to bring your attention to another MAGA-universe character, who as it happens, owns a penthouse nearby Trump Tower on the Upper East Side. From my colleague Dan Friedman, our in-house Guo Wengui expert, on last week's mysterious fire.
Hours after the arrest last week of fugitive Chinese mogul Guo Wengui at his Upper East Side penthouse apartment in the tony Sherry-Netherland Hotel, a two-alarm fire broke out there. New York authorities are investigating what caused the blaze, which news reportssaid began while Guo was in custody and FBI agents were searching his residence. The New York Postreported that investigators are looking into whether the fire was sparked “remotely.”
Investigators have yet to share any conclusions about the cause of the fire in Guo’s apartment. But there is some crazy context to consider. In 2017, a Chinese court found that four defendants, including Guo’s brother, had, four years earlier, destroyed accounting documents, receipts, and other records at a Beijing property Guo then owned—by fire, at Guo’s behest.
Let's consider this for a moment: A MAGA mogul, an associate of former Trump aide Steve Bannon, was arrested. Suddenly a large fire breaks out at his residence where officials had been investigating. This mogul, as Dan reports, also has a history of telling his supporters to engage in a "flame revolution." Yeah, this might be the most bonkers twist in a timeline already teeming with them. They include charges of running a billion-dollar scheme to defraud followers, the seizure of over $634 million from bank accounts controlled by Guo, and accusations of stolen funds to purchase a luxury yacht where Bannon himself was arrested.
As the United States emerges from its yearlong slumber, I've found the awakening to be bittersweet. Things are going back to normal—but they'll never really be the same.
New York City's subways will start running 24/7 again on May 17, and the tri-state area, once an early coronavirus epicenter, will let many businesses fully reopen by the end of the month. But even as vaccination rates climb, COVID will likely never completely go away. The vestiges of the pandemic, from seasonal mask-wearing to occasional outbreaks, will linger. The people and places we lost aren't coming back. And the virus continues to surge in countries with less vaccine supply than the United States—notably India, which reported 3,417 COVID deaths on Monday, a likely undercount.
But that doesn't mean that those of us who are fully vaccinated can't enjoy our newfound freedoms. My greatest post-vax pleasure? Sitting down at a bar for a burger and a beer.
The press, where it’s free, is a central nervous system. It sends and receives signals, zaps and regulates information until the pathways are pinched by the malignant forces of misinformation or bad actors, or both.
But there’s good news on World Press Freedom Day, now in its third decade. This year’s theme is “information as a public good,” underscoring what the chief of UNESCO, which founded the day, calls “the indisputable importance of verified and reliable information” secured by journalists accountable to you. Mark the day three ways:
1. Join Nelufar Hedayat’s #DearWorldLive conversation about solutions to the jailing and repression of journalists around the world and the deepening divide between powerful politicians and reporters investigating them. Her guests are Syrian journalist Kholoud Helmi, who co-founded the nonprofit newspaper Enab Baladi, and Maria Salazar Ferro, the Committee to Protect Journalists’ emergencies director.
2. See the strides made by 250,000 petitioners seeking the release of jailed journalists, and thousands more supporting Free Turkey Media, a campaign launched four years ago by Amnesty International and other human rights groups.
3. Forward this Recharge to one person you know. Ask if they’ll sign up for the Mother Jones Daily newsletter if they haven’t. Whether it’s ours or another independent newsroom’s, keep the nervous system, and availability of information, protected.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
- Isaiah 42:4 (NIV)
Voice of the day
There is not some separation between Jesus and justice; to be Christian is to be concerned with what’s going on in the world.
- Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II
Prayer of the day
Righteous God, may our faith always motivate and inform our pursuit of justice.
HERE is a lady who knows injustice and has worked in her community to for justice and peace with her amazing, powerful speaking and singing voices. This from NPR and Sojourners, be sure to listen to the story from NPR (click on the title below)....
Singer Danielle Ponder knows that empathy is a powerful tool in songwriting. "I think in music, you're telling a story," she tells NPR's Weekend Edition, "and a good songwriter is telling a story in a way where the audience empathizes or can see themselves in that person's shoes."
It's really not that different, the Rochester, N.Y.-based musician says, from being a defense attorney. She should know; outside of her music career, Ponder also spent five years as a public defender.
Ponder entered her song "Poor Man's Pain" into this year's Tiny Desk Contest. Though she didn't win — that honor went to Brooklyn singer and songwriter Linda Diaz — her moving song and powerful voice impressed our panel of judges. (Her entry was even featured in an episode of our Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf series.)
*SEE MORE ON "POOR MAN'S PAIN" AT THE END OF THIS POST
Ponder says both her music and her career as a public defender have been, in part, inspired by her brother's experience with the criminal justice system. "My brother spent 20 years of his life in prison for a robbery," she says, "and that is something that has motivated me to do the work that I do, to write the songs that I write."
Ponder says she was thinking about her brother's experience when she wrote "Poor Man's Pain," as well as another story. "The one case that really broke my heart, to be frank," she says, "was the case of Willie Simmons, who stole $9 in 1982 and [is serving] a life sentence. He has exhausted all of his appeals and has pled and begged to be set free and has been denied that opportunity. His case really inspired me to write this song."
Though Ponder submitted the Tiny Desk Contest video in March, the song's relevance hasn't waned for her — especially with the recently renewed conversation about the death of Daniel Prude, a Black man from Ponder's home city who died after being injured during an arrest last March.
"I wrote ["Poor Man's Pain"] before all of this happened," she says. "But I guess with the track record of this country, I should have known that it would find its relevance again. It was Willie Simmons' story in March, and then it was George Floyd's story in May, and now it's Daniel Prude's story in September. So these songs, I think, are timeless, because we have not found a way to end the pain and suffering of Black people in this country."
Listen to the full aired story in the audio player above.
This FREE online event is for abuse survivors and advocates. The conference, October 1st-30th inside the Courage 365 Facebook group, includes daily motivational video messages and reflection questions; weekly keynotes by Johnathon Schaech, Lyvonne Proverbs, Jimmy Hinton, Sarah Ann Masse, Ashley Easter, Eboney Weathers; weekly empowerment challenges; epic prizes; and more!
The United States Postal Service is vital so folks are able to get their prescription medications, businesses don’t suffer, and everyone who needs to is able to reliably vote by mail. Click to take action!
*Thankful to everyone who made this video happen : )
Recorded Live at Wicked Squid Studios
Filmed by Krit Upra
Avis Reese: Keyboard
Ashley Ickes: Drums
John Viviani: Guitar/Producer
This song was inspired by Willie Simmons, who was sentenced to life in prison for stealing $9 in 1982, the people I've represented as a public defender and my brother who was sentenced to 20 years to life.
Sign the Petition to end Alabama Habitual Offender Law here: https://action.aclu.org/petition/al-r...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellepon...
Join my Patreon here for music and video : https://www.patreon.com/danielleponde...
Lyrics By Danielle Ponder:
Did the crime paid more than time, time and time, and time again
Land of laws for the darker man
Freedom comes too slow for me
I could give up if my soul wasn't with me
I could give up if the blood wasn't in me
I'm pressing on one day I'll see the sun
Yeah I'm calling out to the heart of the land
Whose going to listen to a poor man's pain
I am reaching out, reaching out again to anyone with the will to understand
Lonely nights and longer days
count them down but they never fade
Hard to remember who I used to be
I hold tight to what's left of me
Cold is the place where nobody sees me
Cold is the place where the world doesn't needs me
Wont be long I' m coming home ooo
Freedom wont you call out their names
Im a man just like you, i bleed the blood that you do
Freedom wont you call out my name.
Freedom wont you call out my name
