Category: Media and Culture,

‘I don’t forgive this woman’: Black boy wrongly accused of grabbing white woman

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Race,Leave a comment

With tears streaming down his cheeks, a 9-year-old black child spoke out at a community meeting in New York about being wrongly accused of grabbing a white woman’s backside in a corner store — an incident disproved by security-camera footage.

Footage from inside the store showed the boy’s book bag grazing Klein’s butt. His hands, which didn’t touch her, were in plain sight on the video.

…Jeremiah and his sister, dressed in school uniforms and carrying shopping bags, could be seen and heard crying and calling for their mother as she and other customers and residents tried to address Klein’s accusations.

…”I don’t forgive this woman, and she needs help,” he said.

‘I don’t forgive this woman’: Black boy wrongly accused of grabbing white woman | abc7ny.com

Good for you, young man. You shouldn’t and she definitely does.

The Lessons of ‘Golfcart Gail’

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Race,Leave a comment

Of course, we as white people should be more conscious of our privilege and biases, but for a more immediate fix, I’ll say this — right now, if you are a white woman who sees someone black doing something, anything, think long and hard before you call the police. “Golfcart Gail” is taken, but there are a lot of alliterative nicknames still out there.

The Lessons of ‘Golfcart Gail’

yup

Russian woman charged with alleged ‘information warfare’ against US midterms

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

According to prosecutors, 44-year-old Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova of St. Petersburg, Russia, served as the chief accountant of a $35 million effort to conduct “information warfare” against the United States and elsewhere using social media and other online sites.

Operating under an umbrella organization called “Project Lakhta,” Khusyaynova and her alleged conspirators used fake identities online to pretend to be “ordinary American political activists,” prosecutors said.

Their postings did not exclusively reflect one ideological viewpoint, and the operatives were directed to create “political intensity through supporting radical groups” and to “aggravate the conflict between minorities and the rest of the population,” the Justice Department said.

Project Lakhta is allegedly funded by Russian oligarch and associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, and two companies he controls. Those companies have been indicted in a separate case by special counsel Robert Mueller for allegedly taking part in the massive Russian campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

Russian woman charged with alleged ‘information warfare’ against US midterms – ABC News

hmmmm

Golfcart Gail calls cops on black dad at his kid’s soccer game

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Race,Leave a comment

‘Golfcart Gail’ calls cops on black dad at his kid’s soccer game

The Deputy was out of line for saying it was OK to waste tax payer resources with racist nuisance calls. It may be legal but it shouldn’t be.

BTW, here she is:
https://twitter.com/uterati_rampage/status/1053088845229711360 

Georgia Election 2018: Seniors ordered off bus for black voters

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Local Interest,, Race,Leave a comment

After the seniors got off the bus, they were initially told they could ride in a county van provided by the senior center to go vote, Brown said. But then the seniors had to get off the van because the senior center’s leaders decided it was close to lunchtime, and the seniors could vote another day.

…“The seniors were so resolved. They said: ‘We’re going to vote. Nobody’s going to stop us,’ ” Brown said. “It wasn’t the first time someone has denied them or tried to prevent them from voting.”

Georgia Election 2018: Seniors ordered off bus for black voters

Jeezus Kerreyst!

French Plastic Use: Key facts and figures

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Europe,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The production of plastic packaging has been increasing since the summer of 2013, with growth of 2.4% in 2016, and an acceleration in the first half of 2017: + 3.5%. By comparison, output of manufacturing industries across all sectors stagnated in 2016 (+ 0.3%) and grew by 1.7% year on year in the first half of 2017.

…Packaging is the main plastics user sector with nearly 45.1% consumed in France and 39.9% in Europe (source PlasticsEurope 2017).

Key facts and figures – Elipso

hmmmm

We Depend on Plastic. Now We’re Drowning in It.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Roughly 40 percent of the now more than 448 million tons of plastic produced every year is disposable, much of it used as packaging intended to be discarded within minutes after purchase. Production has grown at such a breakneck pace that virtually half the plastic ever manufactured has been made in the past 15 years. [emphasis: mine] Last year the Coca-Cola Company, perhaps the world’s largest producer of plastic bottles, acknowledged for the first time just how many it makes: 128 billion a year. Nestlé, PepsiCo, and others also churn out torrents of bottles.

…The waste that clogs Manila’s beaches and waterways…. Much of it consists of sachets—tear-off packets that once held a single serving of shampoo, toothpaste, coffee, condiments, or other products. They are sold by the millions to poor people like Siena and his family, who can’t afford to buy more than one serving at a time. Sachets blow around Manila like leaves falling from trees. They’re not recyclable, so no waste picker will retrieve them. Crispian Lao, a member of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, says, “This segment of packaging is growing, and it has become a real challenge for solid waste management.”

…When Greenpeace cleaned the Freedom Island beach, it posted a tally of the brand names of the sachets its volunteers had collected. Nestlé ranked first, Unilever second. Litterbugs aren’t the only ones at fault, says Greenpeace’s Abigail Aguilar: “We believe that the ones producing and promoting the use of single-use plastics have a major role in the whole problem.”

…Johnson & Johnson is switching from plastic back to paper [emphasis: mine] stems on its cotton swabs.

We Depend on Plastic. Now We’re Drowning in It.

Repeat after me: Straws aren’t the problem.  The increase in single use plastic products and plastic packaging is.

Hillary Clinton: Bill Clinton didn’t abuse his power because Monica Lewinsky ‘was an adult’

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Domestic Affairs,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Hillary Clinton: Bill Clinton didn’t abuse his power because Monica Lewinsky ‘was an adult’

The assertion shouldn’t be stunning to anyone. It’s true. Anything else infantilizes adult women and assumes they cannot make their own decisions or be held responsible for their own actions. Any woman who doesn’t think other adult women are empowered to make their own decision does a disservice to #metoo.

Princess Eugenie makes bold statement with wedding dress revealing scar

On By peanutgallerynhIn House of Windsor,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Eugenie hinted at the design of her dress in an interview broadcast on ITV earlier Friday, when she spoke about the importance of changing people’s conceptions of beauty.

“I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars and I think it’s really special to stand up for that,” she said.

Princess Eugenie makes bold statement with wedding dress revealing scars – CNN Style

Huh.

Retired firefighter found guilty for shooting at lost black teen on doorstep

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Media and Culture,, Race,Leave a comment

The ex-firefighter claimed he believed he was being robbed and the shotgun accidentally fired when he tripped. But police noted that home security footage of the incident — which was only shown to the jury this week — showed that Zeigler clearly aimed at Walker.

Retired firefighter found guilty for shooting at lost black teen on doorstep

hmmmm

The Real Story – Kathrine Switzer – Marathon Woman

On By peanutgallerynhIn Boston,, Chick Stuff,, Media and Culture,Leave a comment

Everyone was cursing, most loudly Arnie, the mild-mannered sweetheart, who proclaimed he was going to Kill That Jock Semple Who Should Know Better Being a Runner Himself! Tom really looked as if steam was coming out of his ears; he was still in full bombastic mode, and each curse of his was accompanied by another jab or a challenging look over his shoulder. John looked bewildered. I felt puke-ish, afraid that we’d seriously hurt this guy Jock Semple, and maybe we should stop and get it sorted out. But it was clear Jock was some kind of official—in fact, he turned out to be the race manager—and he was out of control. Now he’s hurt, we’re in trouble, and we’re going to get arrested. That was how scared I felt, as well as deeply humiliated, and for just a tiny moment, I wondered if I should step off the course. I did not want to mess up this prestigious race. But the thought was only a flicker. I knew if I quit, nobody would ever believe that women had the capability to run 26-plus miles. If I quit, everybody would say it was a publicity stunt. If I quit, it would set women’s sports back, way back, instead of forward. If I quit, I’d never run Boston. If I quit, Jock Semple and all those like him would win. My fear and humiliation turned to anger.

The Real Story – Kathrine Switzer – Marathon Woman

A true f’ing shero.

The Five-Year-Old Who Was Detained at the Border and Persuaded to Sign Away Her Rights

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Modern Parenting,, Race,Leave a comment

Helen’s mother, Jeny, had migrated to Texas four years earlier, and Noehmi planned to seek legal refuge there. 

…Noehmi said that the official told her, “Don’t make things too difficult,” and pulled Helen from her arms. “The girl will stay here,” he said, “and you’ll be deported.” Helen cried as he escorted her from the room and out of sight. 

…The next day, authorities—likely from the Office of Refugee Resettlement (O.R.R.)—called to say that they were holding Helen at a shelter near Houston; according to Noehmi, they wouldn’t say exactly where. 

…According to a long-standing legal precedent known as the Flores settlement, which established guidelines for keeping children in immigration detention, Helen had a right to a bond hearing before a judge; that hearing would have likely hastened her release from government custody and her return to her family. At the time of her apprehension, in fact, Helen checked a box on a line that read, “I do request an immigration judge,” asserting her legal right to have her custody reviewed. But, in early August, an unknown official handed Helen a legal document, a “Request for a Flores Bond Hearing,” which described a set of legal proceedings and rights that would have been difficult for Helen to comprehend. (“In a Flores bond hearing, an immigration judge reviews your case to determine whether you pose a danger to the community,” the document began.) On Helen’s form, which was filled out with assistance from officials, there is a checked box next to a line that says, “I withdraw my previous request for a Flores bond hearing.” Beneath that line, the five-year-old signed her name in wobbly letters.

The Five-Year-Old Who Was Detained at the Border and Persuaded to Sign Away Her Rights | The New Yorker

Jeezus….

Deported parents may lose kids to adoption, investigation finds

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Modern Parenting,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,Leave a comment

It had been 10 weeks since Ramos had last held her 2-year-old, Alexa. Ten weeks since she was arrested crossing the border into Texas and U.S. immigration authorities seized her daughter and told her she would never see the girl again.

What followed — one foster family’s initially successful attempt to win full custody of Alexa — reveals what could happen to some of the infants, children and teens taken from their families at the border under a Trump administration policy earlier this year. 

…An Associated Press investigation drawing on hundreds of court documents, immigration records and interviews in the U.S. and Central America identified holes in the system that allow state court judges to grant custody of migrant children to American families — without notifying their parents.

And today, with hundreds of those mothers and fathers deported thousands of miles away, the risk has grown exponentially.

…Three days after their separation, court records show, the U.S. government labeled Alexa an “unaccompanied minor,” which meant she entered the bureaucracy for migrant youth, typically teens, who arrive in the U.S. alone. The toddler was issued a notice to appear on “a date to be set, at a time to be set, to show why you should not be removed from the United States.”

…It took 28 minutes for a judge in a rural courthouse near Lake Michigan to grant Alexa’s foster parents, Sherri and Kory Barr, temporary guardianship. Alexa’s mother and the little girl’s immigration attorney were not even notified about the proceedings.

…In Missouri, an American couple managed to permanently adopt a baby whose Guatemalan mother had been picked up in an immigration raid. That seven-year legal battle terminating the mother’s parental rights ended in 2014. In Nebraska, another Guatemalan mother prevailed and got her kids back, but it took five years and over $1 million in donated legal work.

Deported parents may lose kids to adoption, investigation finds

Jeezus…