Congress Votes to Deal With the Racism of Federal Cocaine Laws

Villagers may recall that we shared information about efforts to reduce (if not eliminate) the racist federal laws regarding punishment for cocaine use.

The House voted to "reduce the disparity in the sentencing of people caught with crack cocaine versus powder cocaine," altering a sentencing standard that has long been considered racist by critics. The new law will reduce sentencing disparities from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1.

I wonder why they didn't go all the way to a 1-to-1 ratio?   Shouldn't the penalty be absolutely the same for abuse of crack vs. powder cocaine?   What say u?

The New Daughter (2010)

"A direct to video horror flick starring Kevin Costner... and it could have been worse."


THE NEW DAUGHTER
Sub-Genre- Supernatural/Creature

Cast Members of Note- Kevin Cosnter, Ivana Baquero, Samantha Mathis, Eric Palladino, Noah Taylor and James Gammon.

What's it About?-
I don't know why I though he was dead, but Kevin Costner is still alive, and he has a new daughter! He has a son too, but who cares about him. The movie isn't called The New Son now is it?

After the death of his wife, Waterworld moves to the country with his two kids, to "start over" and to "leave the past behind." They also aim to "move on with their lives", "make a new beginning", and "forget mommy never existed." I guess there's something about trees and well water that makes people do all of those things in the quiet, kinfolk-filled country. Odd how it never seems to work out as planned in these movies though,

Aah, country life!

Unfortunately for them, their new house is situated on a piece of land that also harbors a creepy looking mound that talks to Bull Durham's daughter, and makes her act odd and stare into space a lot. Indian burial grounds can never just be serene or peaceful, can they? Instead, the "ancient spirits" are always pissed off or they place some crazy curse on anyone foolish enough to come too close... that's so racial!

That looks way to creepy to live in.

As Robin Hood notices his "new" daughter setting creepier and creepier, he must race against time to learn a lot about Indian spirits and save his family from some mongoloid looking mutant-things. Can he save his daughter from certain death? Will they pay for trespassing on the lands of the dead with their very lives? Will anyone ever get the bad taste of Waterworld out of their mouth? I won't spoil what comes next here, but I will say forget about Waterworld. If you want to feel true pain, try sitting through The Postman. Makes me shiver just to think about that movie.

"You talkin' bad bout mah movies?" Yes Kevin. We are.

The Good- I had almost forgotten that Kevin Costner had a career until I saw the poster for this movie. True, he was in Mr. Brooks and The Guardian recently, which were both good flicks in their own right, but I never thought I'd see the day when he'd be a guy that went Direct to DVD. And surprisingly for the most part, this movie was pretty good.

Despite being slow in parts, using a tired premise, and the fact that Kevin Costner played maybe the worst dad in the history of horror flicks, The New Daughter was fairly dark and eerie, had some decent bloody moments towards the end, and didn't totally piss me off. That may not sound like much of a compliment, but trust me, it is. If it was engaging enough for me not to want to fall asleep of hit fast-forward, then it definitely has some merit to it.

This thing looks like it has a vagina dentata in the mouth.

The Bad- Is it me, or did Kevin Costner play the dumbest father in the history of parenthood in this movie? You move your family to a new, isolated house in the country and odd things begin to happen, but you do nothing? Something is clearly wrong with your daughter, but do nothing. Someone/something is clearly watching your home, but no biggie. Someone/something has clearly entered your home without your knowledge, but you just frown about it. Family pet found slaughtered? Look around at the trees and think "This doesn't seem normal." The babysitter is kidnapped? It happens. Her murdered body is found half eaten? Wow, that's a little odd. A stalking, home invading, murdering something or other is out there and messing with you, but you don't take the kids and hightail it out of there, you just wonder what's happening and do nothing? Best of all, he leaves his really young son alone in the house, to go find his daughter mind you, when he pretty much knows he isn't coming back alive... Epic Parenting Fail, Kevin Costner.

The Downright Horrendous- Why bury the shotgun? Can't you just keep it in the closet, unloaded, and know where the shells are in case of an emergency... an emergency like mutant monsters attacking your house and trying to eat your kids?

The Gory- Surprisingly, there is a little bit of fun violence towards the end of the movie, most notably a rather messy throat bleed-out scene. This is not a flick for gore hounds though.

"Tell me what's wrong, or I can't help you!"

The Naked- Ivana Baquero takes a shower and has scene which is technically topless, but since she's only 16, it didn't do much for us. So I guess the answer is no on the nudity and sex.

Do not turn around until you're 18. Thank you.

What did we learn?- Kevin Costner is still kinda cool. Also, don't mess with Indian corpse mounds, as you will be haunted soon thereafter, and possibly be killed. Not by the mound itself, but by some spirits that live inside.. oh, you know what I mean.

The Master Says- C- (6.0/10) If you can shut your brain off and ignore some sloppy writing, and dismiss the fact that no one in this movie made a good decision, it's actually kinda fun. Mostly. Filled with a pretty awesome cast right down to the bit players, The New Daughter is worth watching, especially if you have a free rental coming from Netflix or something. If not, maybe wait until it hits cable or something.

Final Thoughts-
Don't you give me that face, Kevin Costner. C- is all you get!

Blog Safari #41

Our creative rhino-guide is ready to take you on a blog safari expedition to enjoy the flow from talented bloggers out in the afrosphere. I encourage all interested villagers to click on the links below to enjoy these suggested blog posts!

Let us know if you come across any remarkable posts that should be shared in our next Blog Safari!

Succes 2010: Terry Gilliam, singurul Monty Python american




Terrence Vance Gilliam este un regizor și membru al grupului britanic Monty Python. Este singurul membru al grupului născut în afara Marii Britanii in Minnesota, Statele Unite.

Dupa destramarea grupului Monty Python, Gilliam a devenit scenograf și regizor de film. Filmele sale au o importantă componentă fantastico-ironică, abordând probleme de identitate, integrare socială, libertate, integritate mentală. Caracterele reale sunt acompaniate de personaje simbolice si mitologice, un loc aparte având piticii, cavalerii apocaliptici, toate plasate într-un mediu baroc, inconfundabil din punct de vedere stilistic.

Printre succesele sale se numară Brazil (1985), o adaptare dupa 1984, romanul lui George Orwell, Regele pescar (1991), unul dintre cele mai frumoase basme ale New York City și ale Central Park-ului, 12 maimute (1995), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, o poveste halucinogenă si Frații Grimm (2005). Actorii săi favoriți sunt, pe lânga foștii colegi din Monty Python, Jeff Bridges, Jonathan Pryce, Johnny Depp, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Jeter, Simon Jones, Charles McKeown, Derrick O'Connor, Jack Purvis, Peter Vaughan and Robin Williams.

Wordless Wednesday: Hopscotch


Succes 2010: Klaus Tschütscher, prim-ministrul Liechtensteinului

Am I Not Human? Child Slavery in United Kingdom

I imagine that going to Hell is something that all of us want to avoid ... and we can't imagine any reason that a child should have to go to Hell. In the United Kingdom it appears that they don't mind if a child goes to Hell more than once.

Here is the situation as told on Change.org website:

The United Kingdom is losing children. A recent study found that 55% of child trafficking victims in the U.K. who are identified and rescued eventually go missing. Those children are going to Hell twice in a very short lifetime.

The U.K. is suffering from a guardianship crisis when it comes to trafficked children, namely, that trafficked kids have no guardian and the government isn't providing a good one. One government-run home which lost 77 kids in three years turned out to be a front for a trafficking ring. And Afghan children trafficked to the U.K. have been leaking out of the country faster than BP oil into the Gulf of Mexico. But an issue which before seemed to maybe be a failure of just a handful of agencies now looks to be a system-wide breakdown.

The Home Office's Centre for Exploitation and Online Protection reviewed several local authorities who serve trafficked children and found that over half the kids who are brought in slip through some rather gaping cracks. There are a number of reasons child trafficking victims get lost: they are re-trafficked by the agency or someone else, they run away out of fear of the trafficker, they are deported, or they run back to the trafficker, especially in cases where the trafficker was a boyfriend first.

According to a recent opinion poll regarding this research, 44% of British adults think they way the government is dealing with child trafficking victims is unacceptable. Really? Only 44%? That means over half of British citizens aren't concerned that their government is losing most of the children it rescues from slavery. Can that many people really be ok with the idea of a children's shelter acting as a front for a child trafficking ring? Or the government deporting children who have been enslaved in the U.K. back to war zones? I have to believe the poll response is based on denial that child trafficking exists rather than callous indifference to the suffering of hundreds or even thousands of children.

The U.K. needs to get their act together, and you can tell them to start by stopping the deportation of trafficked children back to Afghanistan. You can also sign the petition created by ECPAT UK and the Body Shop to ask the government to create stronger guardianship guidelines and more comprehensive services for trafficked children.

Lest we feel superior here in America -- please note that we have our share of human trafficking of children in the United States.

Human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world and it is thought that 1.2 million children and young people are trafficked every year for sexual exploitation and cheap labour.

What are you thoughts on this human rights issue?

Good News Tuesday: Postal Service Honors Negro Baseball League

I purchased a set of stamps from my local post office last week that paid homage to the Negro Baseball League.

The Negro Leagues, established in 1920, contributed in its own way to the struggle for equality by allowing Black men, barred from major league baseball, to display their athletic prowess on the field. The players, with their trademark uniforms and regular exhibitions of exciting play, garnered a sizable multi-racial fan following as they traveled to rural and urban areas throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.

Gregory D. Baker, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, told the Associated Press, "Make no mistake about it. All these athletes were trailblazers on and off the field. Through their unsung civic endeavors, the (Negro) Leagues and their players raised awareness and started a conversation about the standards of social justice in our country for all people regardless of race or gender." [SOURCE]
Players such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and "Cool Papa" Bell were just a few of the standout performers in the Negro Leagues' heyday. Attendance and interest waned for the Negro Leagues after the majors were integrated, and young sluggers like Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks and Willie Mays opted to sign major league contracts. The Leagues remaining teams folded in the early '60s, leaving a legacy that still inspires many people.

Both stamps, designed by NAACP Image Award recipient, Kadir Nelson, were put through a grueling process before they were approved by the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee's 14 members, one of which is Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., and selected by the Postmaster General.

One stamp depicts a "bang-bang play" at home plate in which a runner slides in and is called "safe" by the umpire whose arms are emphatically outstretched. The other stamp has an image of Andrew "Rube" Foster superimposed over a background that features a ballpark.

Foster, a former player, manager and businessman, is regarded by many as the "father" of the Negro Leagues as he and a group of other Black entrepreneurs joined to form the Negro National League, which spawned the formation of rival leagues.

Roy Betts, a USPS spokesman, said that public write-in submissions are typically how stamps are decided each year. He added, from there, they are then sent to the committee, where they are evaluated and measured by set criteria.

"There was a groundswell of support from many different people for the Negro Leagues to be honored," said Betts. "For years, fans, the museum and politicians have asked for the stamps and now they're available. If your local post office runs out, you can ask them to re-order more."
I encourage all villagers to support this set of Afrocentric stamps. Buy a pack of these stamps next time you go to the post office!

Taser Autopsy: Death of 17-Year Old William Owens Ruled a 'Homicide'

A 17-year old African American child died after being electrocuted mulitple times by the taser gun of an unidentified white Homewood (AL) police officer. The Jefferson County Coroner's Office ruled that the taser was part of the reason that the young man died.

Chief Deputy Coroner Pat Curry classified the cause of death as "sequelae of confrontation of Taser use." The manner of death is classified as a homicide. [SOURCE]

The pre-existing condition, combined with the stress of the events including the 50,000 volts of electricity from the taser gun, all worked together to end in his death. Absent one link in the chain events, whether that be the struggle with police, the taser gun or the heart condition, Owens may or may not have died, Curry said

"The totality of the circumstance killed him," Curry said.
Owens died June 14. He was struck by a Homewood police officer's Taser after lawmen caught him and three of his cousins, including a 12-year-old, allegedly breaking into cars at Herzing University just before 1 a.m. Police said Owens was struck with the taser after the teen repeatedly resisted arrest. [NOTE: I'm fairly certain that there is no death penalty for 'repeatedly resisting arrest'.]

The case is under investigation by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Homewood Police and the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.

District Attorney Brandon Falls said he wanted to withhold comment until completion of the investigation.

The Homewood Police Department released this statement:
"The findings from the coroner's office are consistent with any death where the actions of one person cause the death of another. This ruling is consistent whether the actions of the remaining person(s) are direct or indirect. This finding does not reflect any misconduct on the part of Homewood officers responding to the scene. Officers on the scene acted reasonably and quickly to the circumstances surrounding this incident."
The next step in this process is to see what the District Attorney does. Not all homicides lead to criminal prosecution. Will the unidentifed police officer be charged with a crime? Or will this young man's life end without any legal recourse against the person that electrocuted him without a trial?

Heartless (2010)


"Beware of spoilers, as we have to comment on this movie's ending... because it kinda sucked."


HEARTLESS
Sub-Genre- Supernatural

Cast Members of Note- Jim Sturgess and the ever gorgeous, Clemence Poesy.

What's it About?- Heartless is about a socially inept geek who cant get laid because he has a heart shaped mole on his face that freaks people out, especially the ladies. He lives with his mum, his best friend is a camera, and he sees demons roaming the streets at night causing all sorts of mayhem. Who doesn't, right?

I see this every night.

One evening, after getting a mysterious call from Satan's 8 year old concubine, heart-face boy heads over to some skeevy tenement and quite literally ends up making a deal with the Devil; in exchange for having his face made all pretty, he will kill a random person or two at ole' Lucifer's whim. To seal the deal properly, Satan sets him on fire.

Satan kinda looks Russian to me. Maybe Albanian.

Once he's sexy and facial deformity free, heart-face boy starts banging Fleur DeLacour on the reg, which is really the point of the whole movie. That and Satan making him his bitch and forcing him to de-heart random, innocent people on command. So Heartless... see? Because he takes people hearts out... and his heart shaped face-thing gets removed which has always been his biggest dream. Dual meanings make things deep.

Chicks dig beauty marks, don't they?

Does Fleur really love him or is she just a dirty whore? Is heart-face boy smart enough to outsmart the Devil and survive the constant badgering by his pesky chav minions? How many people from Harry Potter are actually in this movie? All I will say is this; I hate, hate, hate endings like this. A lot.

Yep, she's a whore.

The Good- What an odd little movie. At first I thought it was about demons, then a guy who might not be, but just has to be the Devil comes into the picture, and then it becomes more of a Faustian serial killer thing... but at its heart it's really a story about losing a parent, finding love, and being alright with how you look? Odd indeed.

Heartless, ironically, has a lot of heart. It's a great premise, it's well made and the actors do their jobs wonderfully, it's dark, a bit creepy in parts, bloody in others, and it has a lead character that you can't help but feel for... so then why am I underwhelmed by it all?

Heartless also had a Clive Barker-ish vibe going on, and I liked that.

Clemence Poesy has a face worth mentioning in The Good section.

The Bad- ***ENDING SPOILERS, BEWARE!*** Yet another movie that draws me in, keeps me intrigued and entertained, made me care about the characters, then at the end yells "just kidding!", kicks me in the nuts, and runs away laughing. Endings that negate most or all of what you just sat through really frustrate me. It was all in his head? Again? Shutter Island anyone? The Village? Not Haute Tension though. I like the dupe in that one.

The Downright Horrendous- What is it with Chavs? White, British kids with their hats cocked sideways, pretending to be rappers, roaming around in gangs, doing nothing but hurting good innocent folk? With movies like Eden Lake and Heartless showing us why, they seem to be more of a problem than I had ever realized. It should be legal to put Chavs in a sack, and drown them just like it is with kittens. I'm pretty sure that's legal. If not, forget I said anything.

The Gory- There are definitely some bloody and nasty moments in this movie, most of which involve hearts being cut out of chests.

Oh, he's so screwed.

The Naked- Not really. We get a tiny bit of skin, but it should have been far more considering Clemence Poesy isn't afraid to bare it all. Sigh.

What did we learn?- Do not ever trust Satan. Also, Clemence Posey needs to be in more horror flicks.

The Master Says- B (8.0/10) ***ENDING SPOILERS, BEWARE*** Heartless is a great little movie in most ways, hindered only by the all too common (at least to me) and crappy "It was all in his head" type of ending. Had they played it straight and just let it be what it seemed to be throughout the whole thing, I think it would have felt more "right." Aside from the fact that most of the movie didn't actually happen the way we thought it did, it's definitely worth checking out.

Final Thoughts-
Good lord just look at her. Look!

Sunday Inspiration: The Million Man Poem (Maya Angelou)

I'm still having good memories from my participation in the Million Man MarchOne of the MMM highlights was a poem read by Maya Angelou. It went something like this:



Million Man March Poem - By Maya Angelou
The night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

Under a dead blue sky on a distant beach,
I was dragged by my braids just beyond your reach.
Your hands were tied, your mouth was bound,
You couldn't even call out my name.
You were helpless and so was I,
But unfortunately throughout history
You've worn a badge of shame.

I say, the night has been long,
The wound has been deep,
The pit has been dark
And the walls have been steep.

But today, voices of old spirit sound
Speak to us in words profound,
Across the years, across the centuries,
Across the oceans, and across the seas.
They say, draw near to one another,
Save your race.
You have been paid for in a distant place,
The old ones remind us that slavery's chains
Have paid for our freedom again and again.

The night has been long,
The pit has been deep,
The night has been dark,
And the walls have been steep.

The hells we have lived through and live through still,
Have sharpened our senses and toughened our will.
The night has been long.
This morning I look through your anguish
Right down to your soul.
I know that with each other we can make ourselves whole.
I look through the posture and past your disguise,
And see your love for family in your big brown eyes.

I say, clap hands and let's come together in this meeting ground,
I say, clap hands and let's deal with each other with love,
I say, clap hands and let us get from the low road of indifference,
Clap hands, let us come together and reveal our hearts,
Let us come together and revise our spirits,
Let us come together and cleanse our souls,
Clap hands, let's leave the preening
And stop impostering our own history.
Clap hands, call the spirits back from the ledge,
Clap hands, let us invite joy into our conversation,
Courtesy into our bedrooms,
Gentleness into our kitchen,
Care into our nursery.

The ancestors remind us, despite the history of pain
We are a going-on people who will rise again.

And still we rise.


What is your favorite memory of Maya Angelou? or the Million Man March?

Taser Autopsy: Death of Anastasio Hernandez is 'Unclear'

I have to admit that I often think that doctors aren't much more different than witch doctors. Both professions seem to guess without any real answers. San Diego medical examiner Glenn Wagner did the autopsy on 42-year old Anastasio Hernandez ... a man tasered-to-death by unidentified US Border Patrol agents.

He says that he still can't tell what caused the death of Hernandez.

Wagner's autopsy report characterizes Hernandez' methamphetamine blood level of 0.16 milligrams per liter as acute but lists it as only one of several potential causes. He says it's also unclear how much blame to assign to the taser gun, Hernandez' agitated state and the position in which he was restrained by law enforcement officers.

It appears that we will have to wait for the legal system to determine who is responsible for the death of the 42-year-old father of five U.S.-born children came to the U.S. when he was 14.

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Taser Death * Edward Stevenson (Leavenworth KS)

The police continue to practice a violent and deadly practice of pre-judicial electrocution. The person killed this time was 46-year old Edward Stevenson. He was tasered-to-death on July 18.

Leavenworth Police Chief Pat Kitchens gave the following account to a reporter from the Kansas City Star:

Officers were called after Stevenson reportedly came into a local bar and claimed he had been shot. When police arrived, Stevenson was lying in the street. An ambulance was called, and police put Stevenson in the back of a patrol car while they waited.


Stevenson, whom Kitchens described as combative and aggressive, began to kick and butt his head inside the vehicle. Officers removed him and tried to get him under control. He was shocked by unidentified police officers at least three times with taser guns.


An ambulance arrived and took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  There is no evidence of any gunshot wounds on Stevenson ... despite the earlier reports.


There was no need for this man to be electrocuted with taser guns. There was no need for this man to die. He was in police custody in the back of a patrol car. He was contained with no weapon (they wouldn't put him in the back of the car without frisking him for weapons or drugs). He was not a danger to anyone ... and medical folks were coming in an ambulance.

Why did the unidentified police officers pull their taser guns and shoot this guy? HE WAS NO DANGER TO THE OFFICERS OR ANYONE ELSE. Even if you think that he was a danger to himself ... pumping him full of electricity through multiple taser gun shots wasn't appropriate.

Next step? Let's see what the autopsy results tell us. However, I can't see how the unidentified police officers get out of this taser-killing without some criminal repercussions.

What say u?

The BDPA Insider - July 23, 2010

Blog Talk Radio Live! July 28th at the National BDPA Conference

Mark your calendars!

BlogTalkRadio co-hosts Jacqueline Lawson (Cozzas) and Milt Haynes (National BDPA) will bring you BlogTalk Radio Live on Wednesday, July 28th at 12:30 pm EST, during the 32nd Annual National BDPA Conference.

African Americans sometimes underestimate the impact of technology on shaping the course of history. The show’s segments will include short interviews of senior BDPA officials to discuss their vision and dream for the organization. Internet Radio brings an added technology feature to the conference. It is a format that allows for real-time dialogue over the phone and in chat rooms anyone can access on the Internet. These Internet Radio interviews will provide multiple perspectives that are sure to appeal to anyone interested in the future of African Americans in IT.

Everything you ever wanted to know about an African American technology organization, but were afraid to ask!

The program agenda for the Internet radio show:
  1. Historical BDPA – Advancing careers for 35 years
  2. Transforming While Performing ... As We Take BDPA To The Next Level
  3. What is BDPA? A Corporate Sponsor’s Perspective
  4. National BDPA Conference Preview – How To Get What You Need In 4 Days!
  5. BDPA Social Networks – Promoting innovation, professional growth and technical development
  6. BDPA Education and Technology Foundation - Philanthropy and Scholarships
  7. Identifying Partners For Teaming Agreements
  8. Young Techpreneurs - BDPA Creating Young Black Millionaires
The call-in number for the Internet radio show is 347.989-1228. I encourage all villagers to mark this show on your calendar. It is your opportunity to interact with a number of BDPA leaders and figure out how this organization may impact on you and your local community.

Click here for Blog Talk Radio chat room and call in details.


BDPA Announces New $100 One-Day Conference Pass

BDPA created a new One-Day Pass that is now available for $100. This pass is ONLY valid any 1 day of the 32nd annual BDPA Technology Conference and does not include the Awards Gala. However, it does provide you with access to world-class workshops and plenary sessions for the day that you choose.

Click here for the full article.


Philly Meet-up of Blogging While Brown supporters at the National BDPA Conference.

Want to meet some of your friends on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, and LinkedIn in person? Then this is the tweet-up for you! Mix, mingle, meet, and get a preview of all the goings on at the National BDPA Technology Conference. Refreshments will be served at the Opening Ceremony Reception.






When:
Wednesday, July 28th
7:00 p.m.

Where:
Opening Ceremony
Philadelphia Marriott Downtown
1201 Market Street
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107

Click here to RSVP for the Blogging While Brown Philly Meet-Up.

Hosted by:
@blacksgonegeek, @BDPA and @BDPA_Conference

Contact:
Milt Haynes, Outside Director
National BDPA Social Networking Team
milt@blacksgonegeek.org
Milt on Twitter
Milt on Facebook
Milt on LinkedIn Network


Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of Brotherly Love by registering for the 32nd Annual National BDPA Conference, July 28 – 31, 2010 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia, PA.

Hotel Rooms Are Now Going Fast: Please Book Now!!!
Reserve your room today by contacting the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown at 1-800-266-9432 and ask for the BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates) rate or register online.
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Contact our Social Networking Team - socialnetworking@bdpa.org

PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.

Arizona Police Officer: 'This is a Racist Law' [VIDEO]

Brave New Foundation's Cuéntame, has made major headlines this week for its video interview with Arizona Police Officer Paul Dobson speaking out about evil Arizona anti-immigration bill, SB1070. Officer Dobson is now under investigation for exercising his first amendment right to speak freely about the real effects of the law:

I know people will not call the police in case of a real emergency. This law is purely racist and solely focused on Latinos. In my opinion, SB 1070 violates equal protection under the law.” Paul Dobson, Patrol Officer, Arizona
Here is the video interview:




Are you in favor of the Arizona law? What would you like to see done about immigration reform in America?

Succes 2010: Lars Løkke Rasmussen, prim-ministrul Danemarcei

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Denver Citizens Demand Justice for Taser-Killing of Marvin Booker

I encourage Denver-based villagers to head over to the New Denver Jail to join the West Denver Copwatch, Aurora Copwatch and other concerned community member on Thursday July, 22nd at 6:00pm, for a rally and vigil to demand justice for the brutal pre-judicial electrocution of Marvin Booker.

The rally organizers are demanding:
  1. Justice for the brutal murder of Marvin Booker
  2. Transparency regarding the brutal murder of Marvin Booker
  3. Release of any and all relevant information regarding the brutal murder of Marvin Booker
  4. Release of any video surveillance regarding the brutal murder of Marvin Booker
  5. Punishment for the brutal murderers of Marvin Booker to the fullest extent of the law
If you have questions or wish to discuss further you should contact the West Denver Copwatch folks by email (westdenvercopwatch@riseup.net) or phone (720.878-3658).

Tell President Obama to Reinstate Shirley Sherrod

This blog joins with ColorOfChange in demanding that the Obama Administration reinstate Shirley Sherrod.

The Obama administration just caved in to the right-wing smear machine, firing a Black USDA official after she was smeared by far-right blogger Andrew Breitbart and his friends at Fox News Channel.

On Monday, Andrew Breitbart (a blogger who works closely with FOX News and has a long history of launching deceptive, racially charged smear campaigns) posted a deceptively edited video of USDA employee Shirley Sherrod speaking at an NAACP function. The video shows Sherrod telling a story about how she once was asked for help from a White farmer, and how she didn't "give him the full force of what I could do" to help him, because of his race.

Breitbart touted the video as evidence that the NAACP and the Obama administration tolerated racial discrimination against White people, saying that it showed Sherrod's "federal duties are managed through the prism of race and class distinctions." Breitbart's doctored video and false storyline moved quickly to FOX News, where on-air personalities called for Sherrod's firing.

The truth is that Sherrod was telling a 24-year old story about her work for a non-profit organization whose mission was to help Black farmers. Discrimination against Black farmers was rampant, and she described how she was first reluctant when approached by a White farmer named Roger Spooner for help (Sherrod also says that her father was killed by a White farmer 45 years ago). But after seeing that no one wanted to help Spooner, she worked to save his farm, and eventually became good friends with his family.

Yesterday, Roger Spooner said that Sherrod saved their farm and kept them out of bankruptcy. He told CNN, "I don't know what brought up the racist mess. They just want to stir up some trouble, it sounds to me in my opinion."

The NAACP was snookered.   They joined the attack on Shirley Sherrod based on the the edited video.  They should have simply watched the full speech before they rushed to judgement.   The full video is shown below:





It took less than 24 hours for the lies to be debunked. But by that time, it was too late — Sherrod was forced to quit.

Once the truth became known, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement saying that whether or not the smear campaign against Sherrod was based in lies, it was necessary to fire her because the "controversy" would make it hard for her to do her job.

The Obama administration is essentially saying that they will always back down in the face of dishonest, race-baiting smear campaigns launched by right-wing propagandists. They've ended the career of someone who did nothing wrong, and by handing a victory to the people who launched this deception, the administration is encouraging them to launch even more smears. All to avoid "controversy." It's pathetic, it's shameful, and it has to stop.

It's not the first time this has happened. Several members of the Obama administration have lost their jobs or been demoted, and nominees to cabinet positions have either stepped down or withdrawn their nominations after becoming the target of smear campaigns launched by FOX News and Breitbart.

It's bad enough that we have to fight the constant smear campaigns and appeals to racial paranoia from FOX and the right-wing media. But it's completely shameful and outrageous for the Obama administration to throw innocent public servants under the bus just to avoid having to fight back against the lies.

Please join us in calling on the White House to immediately give Shirley Sherrod her job back, and to stop bowing to the will of right-wing propaganda artists.

Taser Autopsy: Death of Efrain Carrion is Ruled 'Excited Delirium'

The autopsy of 35-year old Efrain Carrion is complete. Villagers may recall that this is the man police say was acrobatic enough to get loose from five officers (Sgt. James Prokop, K-9 Handler Doug Clark and officers William Hertler, Chris Lundberg and Elias Martz), a K-9 police dog and two handcuffs that held his arms behind his back. Yep ... this man was the 'Houdini' of Middletown CT. The police felt a need to electrocute him multiple times with their taser guns in his own backyard.

Anyhow, the medical examiner indicates that the cause of death is “excited delirium”.

The term isn't one recognized by the American Medical Association and has become controversial because excited delirium is most often listed as a cause of death in cases where someone died after being electrocuted with a taser gun.

The co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, state Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, says he can't recall another case in Connecticut where excited delirium has been listed as the cause of death.
"Whether that's a diagnosis or a cause of death, I don't know," says Lawlor. "I'm not a doctor, but I have not heard of this as a cause of death before [in Connecticut]."
Some activists claim the term is being used to cover up cases where police have used excessive force, particularly when an incident involved the use of a Taser.

The Middletown Police Chief is hiding behind the finding by the medical examiner.

“Tasers are very safe if used properly. They are designed to minimize any injury to individuals and injury to police officers. It eliminates the need to use a nightstick or police dogs that can bite and harm someone. Absolutely nothing at the time indicates any wrong-doing done by the officers,” acting Middletown Police Chief Patrick McMahon said. “I think the medical examiner’s findings speak for themselves.”
Of course, there is another point of view from a witness at the scene of this prejudicial electrocution. Eunice Barrientos told reporters she called police to calm down her brother, Efrain Carrion who was acting irrational, but she never expected them to taser him to death.

They just tasered him and tasered him and let the dog chew him up,” the Middletown woman said.
She said after the officers were finished tasering her brother, they kicked him down the stairs as they were taking him out of the apartment.






My understanding is that the family will file a 'wrongful death' lawsuit against the city and the police officers. The Connecticut State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad is currently still under investigation.

Villagers ... what are your thoughts about this taser-related killing?

True Blood just keeps getting better...

Only 5 episodes in, and season 3 of True Blood is already better than the whole of season 2, and at least just as good as the first. Tara is still Tara, Sookie is still a tad annoying, and Jason will always be a moron, but damn it if everything else isn't blazing ahead full bore towards the abyss of awesomeness. With no brakes.

Randomly, let's discuss the finer points:

-The wolves are awesome, and the first glimpses inside their culture opens the door for all sorts of possibilities. the Nazi super-wolf/vamp thing is intriguing.
-Alcide is pretty cool. Sookie's gonna bang him.
-Eric is awesome, still, and thankfully he's getting a lot more to do this season. His back story is great. Oh, and Sookie's gonna bang him. Man is she looking good.

You dirty, dirty girl.

-I'm actually liking Sam and his story arc for a change. Sookie is not going to bang him. Poor Sam.
-Sookie using her powers again was awesome. Being familiar with the books, I'm wondering how they are going to handle all of that. They seem to deviate from the book in a lot of areas, and with her powers, I hope they do the same... it's too spoiler-ish to say anymore than that though.

Ethereal facepalm!

-Lafayette is back in true form, which serves to make the show that much better. Considering he dies in the first book (or second, I can't remember), I think the best decision Alan Ball has made for the show is keeping him around. Oh, and Lafayette is going to bang Jesus.

"I don't know what Brokeblack Mountain is, but I'd love to go there."

-Sophie Anne and the Magister could be screwed.
-Pam better not bet screwed, she's really cool.

Leave her be, you Magister jerk!

And the non-finer points:
-Jason and the whole cop thing... come on.
-Tara being angry and confused is annoying... but it looks like this last episode she started to get her act together, and let's hope she changes for the better.
-Why can't they make the episodes 2 hours long? I mean, come on!

We can't wait for next week. I'm hoping we learn more about Eric an his viking-revenge plan, and I'm curious to see what happens to sookie now that people have seen her new ability.

Season 3 is an A+ so far guys, so keep it coming!

Coolness.
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