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Tuesday, 20 May 2014

Tommy Yancy: Veteran Beaten To Death By Cops As He Pleaded For Ambulance - Pulled Over For Routine Traffic Stop,

Tommy Yancy: Veteran Beaten To Death By Cops As He Pleaded For Ambulance - Pulled Over For Routine Traffic Stop

Tommy Yancy, 32, father of two, was savagely beaten to death by five law enforcement officers during a routine traffic stop near the city of Imperial last Sunday, on Mother's Day. Yancy, a veteran who suffered from PTSD, served in Afghanistan and Iraq in the 259th Field Service Unit following the 9/11 attacks.

Yancy was stopped on his way to the store after a highway patrol officer spotted a missing front license plate on his vehicle. He was subsequently pulled from his car and attacked by a police K-9 unit, hit by a taser, and attacked by five officers until he succumbed to the beating and died. A witnessed, who filmed the incident, can be heard screaming on the recording: "How long before you guys call an ambulance? Call an ambulance!" According to the source of the video, who asked not to be named, his family has not been permitted to see his body, nor have they been given a cause of death.

A close friend of Yancy described him as "shy, and a comedian" and told me, he was an "excellent dad, who kept in contact with his army buddies every week." He also enjoyed basketball and loved hip-hop music. His sister-in-law, Jaqueline Hernandez, described him to me as "a very loving guy, loved his kids to death... they were his everything. Very funny down to earth guy, and loved by all".

Officers claim Yancy swung at an officer and attacked the K-9, however, near the end of the video, posted to YouTube on May 12 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoqvX...), police are seen attempting to revive Yancy while a witness states, "All of this for one guy who wasn't even resisting arrest,". The officer is said to have received no serious injuries.

Deputies with the Imperial County sheriff's department were involved in another shooting last month, which took place on April 18. A teenager, Adrian Parra, was killed by multiple gunshot wounds. An honor roll student from Coachella Valley High School, Parra was described by loved ones as "a good person with great goals in mind." The Sheriff's department has refused to reveal whether or not the shooting was captured by one of their patrol car's dashboard cameras. Two officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, but have since returned to their duties.

Do we have another Albuquerque on our hands, or is this just a systematic wide spread problem that is under reported in most instances? Hint- its the latter.

Its time to demand the demilitarization of police and for them to be held accountable for their actions. We have become complacent and conditioned to accept brutality as normal mode of operation. "They are just doing their jobs", "They need to get home to their families", "Its dangerous!", yet a report put out by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund highlights that 2013 has had the "Lowest Level of Law Enforcement Fatalities in Six Decades

So why is police violence escalating?

We read stories about a teenager with down syndrome being beaten in front of a crowd, a man who called the police to report his sons suicide being brutalized by the same police he turned to for help, and watch the video of Kelly Thomas being horrifically murdered while pleading for his life... But what do we do? We hit share, maybe retweet, shake our heads at the sad state of affairs and move on with our days. We are allowing this.

Friday, 16 May 2014

Transcript of President Obama Speaks at 9/11 Museum Dedication

10:12 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Cuomo, honored guests, families of the fallen.

In those awful moments after the South Tower was hit, some of the injured huddled in the wreckage of the 78th floor. The fires were spreading. The air was filled with smoke. It was dark, and they could barely see. It seemed as if there was no way out.

And then there came a voice -- clear, calm, saying he had found the stairs. A young man in his 20s, strong, emerged from the smoke, and over his nose and his mouth he wore a red handkerchief.

He called for fire extinguishers to fight back the flames. He tended to the wounded. He led those survivors down the stairs to safety, and carried a woman on his shoulders down 17 flights. Then he went back. Back up all those flights. Then back down again, bringing more wounded to safety. Until that moment when the tower fell.

They didn’t know his name. They didn’t know where he came from. But they knew their lives had been saved by the man in the red bandana.

Again, Mayor Bloomberg; distinguished guests; Mayor de Blasio; Governors Christie and Cuomo; to the families and survivors of that day; to all those who responded with such courage -- on behalf of Michelle and myself and the American people, it is an honor for us to join in your memories. To remember and to reflect. But above all, to reaffirm the true spirit of 9/11 -- love, compassion, sacrifice -- and to enshrine it forever in the heart of our nation.

Michelle and I just had the opportunity to join with others on a visit with some of the survivors and families -- men and women who inspire us all. And we had a chance to visit some of the exhibits. And I think all who come here will find it to be a profound and moving experience.

I want to express our deep gratitude to everybody who was involved in this great undertaking -- for bringing us to this day, for giving us this sacred place of healing and of hope.

Here, at this memorial, this museum, we come together. We stand in the footprints of two mighty towers, graced by the rush of eternal waters. We look into the faces of nearly 3,000 innocent souls -- men and women and children of every race, every creed, and every corner of the world. We can touch their names and hear their voices and glimpse the small items that speak to the beauty of their lives. A wedding ring. A dusty helmet. A shining badge.

Here we tell their story, so that generations yet unborn will never forget. Of coworkers who led others to safety. Passengers who stormed a cockpit. Our men and women in uniform who rushed into an inferno. Our first responders who charged up those stairs. A generation of servicemembers -- our 9/11 Generation -- who have served with honor in more than a decade of war. A nation that stands tall and united and unafraid -- because no act of terror can match the strength or the character of our country. Like the great wall and bedrock that embrace us today, nothing can ever break us; nothing can change who we are as Americans.

On that September morning, Alison Crowther lost her son Welles. Months later, she was reading the newspaper -- an article about those final minutes in the towers. Survivors recounted how a young man wearing a red handkerchief had led them to safety. And in that moment, Alison knew. Ever since he was a boy, her son had always carried a red handkerchief. Her son Welles was the man in the red bandana.

Welles was just 24 years old, with a broad smile and a bright future. He worked in the South Tower, on the 104th floor. He had a big laugh, a joy of life, and dreams of seeing the world. He worked in finance, but he had also been a volunteer firefighter. And after the planes hit, he put on that bandana and spent his final moments saving others.

Three years ago this month, after our SEALs made sure that justice was done, I came to Ground Zero. And among the families here that day was Alison Crowther. And she told me about Welles and his fearless spirit, and she showed me a handkerchief like the one he wore that morning.

And today, as we saw on our tour, one of his red handkerchiefs is on display in this museum. And from this day forward, all those who come here will have a chance to know the sacrifice of a young man who -- like so many -- gave his life so others might live.

Those we lost live on in us. In the families who love them still. In the friends who remember them always. And in a nation that will honor them, now and forever.

And today it is my honor to introduce two women forever bound by that day, united in their determination to keep alive the true spirit of 9/11 -- Welles Crowther’s mother Alison, and one of those he saved, Ling Young. (Applause.)

END
10:21 A.M. EDT

Close Transcript

Monday, 7 April 2014

Wall Street Rats and The Mystery behind Bankers Suicide

#WallStreet Rats and The Mystery behind Bankers #Suicide

Wall Street traders: like rats in a granary

Has the problem been fixed?

"Wall Street now is better than it was but the majority of what was wrong has not been fixed. I agree with Michael Lewis that the Volcker Rule needs to have a lot more teeth. Take the rapid trading by the computer geniuses with their algorithms: those people have all the social utility of a bunch of rats admitted to a granary. I never would have allowed the rats to get in the granary.

"I don't want the brilliant young men of America dawdling away their lives in someone else's granary. It's not my idea of the right way to run the Republic. If you let me write the laws it wouldn't happen. I wouldn't allow the system to be that way at all. I wouldn't allow people to make money out of short term trading. I might have Tobin taxes. If we changed the incentives, a lot of this regrettable behavior would go away.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevedenning/2012/05/08/berkshire-hathaway-wall-street-rats-in-a-granary/

BANKING ISN’T A WONDERFUL LIFE NOW AS SUICIDES SWEEP FINANCIAL DISTRICT

From The New York Post:

In the last two months, there has been a rash of suicides and mysterious deaths sweeping the world of high finance.

JPMorgan has been hardest hit, with three untimely deaths in just the last few weeks, and last week Autumn Radtke (left), a 28-year-old CEO of First Meta, a small cyber-currency exchange, jumped to her death in Singapore.

Historically, suicide rates rise during times of financial stress and economic downturns. Now, though stocks are at or near all-time highs, for many Wall Street bankers these are times of setbacks and stress.

Today’s bankers are not a settled, comfortable bunch anymore. A day doesn’t go by where you don’t hear about more bank layoffs and branch closings.

Under Jamie Dimon’s leadership, JPMorgan has announced 17,000 job cuts through the end of this year, and that’s on top of all the cuts from the 2008-09 crisis.

If you’re a banker today, many who once looked up to you as a success now think you’re evil; maybe you’re even the type who caused the economy to crumble.

On top of that, you hear politicians from the president on down blaming “Wall Street and bankers” for the crisis, as if they were all the same, when in reality it was only five or six individuals very high up at places like Bear Stearns and Lehman Bros. who share responsibility.

Financially, many of today’s bankers, if not on unemployment, are making far less — as much as half or one-third less — than they did just four or five years ago. And that’s not easy for anyone, especially when you have a mortgage of your own, a family and a car or two.

For example, overall average compensation at JPMorgan was $122,653 in 2013. That amount is nothing to sneeze at, but it is still a lot less than the bankers were making before — often for a 60-to 80-hour work week.

When we lose a person like Autumn Radtke — who worked for Apple and directly for Richard Branson and became CEO of her own startup — from a 25-story apartment building because she can’t see the worth of living, the world loses.

And today many Wall Street bankers are in the midst of their own emotional and economic crises.

Thursday, 3 April 2014

THE FULL TEXT OF OBAMA’S STATEMENT ON FORT HOOD SHOOTINGS 2014

THE FULL TEXT OF OBAMA’S STATEMENT ON FORT HOOD

I just got off the phone with Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Sandy Winnefeld to get the latest report on the situation at Fort Hood.

Obviously, we’re following it closely. The situation is fluid right now, but my national security team is in close contact with not just the Defense Department, but the FBI. They are working with folks on the ground to determine exactly what happened, to make sure that everybody is secure. And I want to just assure all of us that we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

You know, any shooting is trouble. Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families. We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community. And we are going to do everything we can to make sure that the community of Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation but also any potential aftermath.

We’re heartbroken that something like this might have happened again. And I don’t want to comment on the facts until I know exactly what has happened. But for now, I would just hope that everybody across the country is keeping the families and the community of Fort Hood in our thoughts and in our prayers. The folks there have sacrificed so much on behalf of our freedom. Many of the people there have been through multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. They serve with valor, they serve with distinction, and when they’re at their home base, they need to feel safe.

We don’t yet know what happened tonight, but obviously that sense of safety has been broken once again. And we’re going to have to find out exactly what happened. The Pentagon will undoubtedly have further briefings for you as we get more details about what happened.

Thanks, everybody.

Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Homeless man shot to death by police while illegally camping

Police shoot to death homeless man for camping.Homeless man shot to death by police while illegally camping in the foothills of New Mexico.

APD releases HelmetCam footage of shooting

http://krqe.com/2014/03/21/video-apd-releases-helmetcam-footage-of-shooting/

James Boyd

ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Outrage has ignited over a helmet-cam video of officers fatally confronting a homeless man at his primitive campsite in the foothills. Video shows the man standing by his meager possessions, surrounded by rifle-toting officers who were citing him for illegally camping without government permission. Officers ultimately tossed a concussion grenade in his face, sicced an attack dog on him, and shot him to death with a flurry of gunfire.

James Boyd before his death. (Source: KRQE)

credit

Video courtesy of Albuquerque Police Department
http://www.cabq.gov/featured/news
http://krqe.com/

#Liberal majority seen #PQ slide in Quebec election #TheForumPoll™

Liberal majority seen PQ slide in Quebec election The Forum Poll™

PQ continues to slide in Quebec election
Liberal majority seen

credit photo www.montrealgazette.com

TORONTO MARCH 31st, 2014 – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 854 Quebec voters one week before the provincial election, 4‐in‐10 will vote Liberal (41%), compared to fewer than 3‐in‐10 who will vote Parti Quebecois (29%). One fifth will vote CAQ (19%), less than a tenth will vote QS (7%) and few will vote Green (2%), ON (1%) or for any other party (1%). These findings represent a continuation of the decline we have seen for the PQ (March 5 ‐ 38%, March 19 ‐ 32%, March 31 ‐ 29%), while the Liberals have plateaued (March 5 ‐ 40%, March 19 ‐ 45%, March 31 ‐ 41%). The CAQ has seen its share increase since we polled last (March 5 ‐ 12%, March 19 ‐ 13%, March 31 ‐ 19%).