Category: Media and Culture,

4 Chicago police officers fired over statements they made after another officer fatally shot Laquan McDonald

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

Four Chicago police officers were fired Thursday over false or misleading statements made after the 2014 killing of Laquan McDonald by another officer.

…Dash-cam footage of the shooting released a year later showed McDonald walking away from the officers when Van Dyke opened fire and continued to shoot at the teen, even when he was already on the ground. Van Dyke at his trial testified that he feared for his life.

…The board said that Viramontes told a detective that he saw McDonald continue to move and try and get up off the ground, with the knife still in his hand, after he was shot, and that video evidence showed that was false.

…Franko, who was the first on-scene supervisor in the October 2014 shooting, approved reports that “contained several demonstrable and known falsehoods,” including that Van Dyke was injured by the 17-year-old, who had been carrying a knife, the police board wrote in the decision.

The other three officers, all of whom were on the scene, gave statements about the shooting, and the board found that “each of the three officers failed in their duty — either by outright lying or by shading the truth.”

…None of the four officers fired by the police board were charged criminally, however they were stripped of police powers and assigned to desk duty as their case proceeded, the Associated Press reported.

…The U.S. Department of Justice in early January 2017 released a report that said among other things, Chicago police officers had skewed probes and had a “code of silence” to favor and protect officers.

4 Chicago police officers fired over statements they made after another officer fatally shot Laquan McDonald

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Democrat rips DHS head over child separation policy

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Domestic Affairs,, Modern Parenting,, Race,, The Americas,Leave a comment

The hearing reached its emotional crescendo as the committee’s chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., delivered a furious indictment of the Trump administration, accusing it of an “empathy deficit.” As the two began to argue over whether Homeland Security has adequately kept track of parents and children in a unified database (it has not, according to multiple reports), McAleenan’s explanations seemed to only anger Cummings further. “These are human beings,” he said at one point. “Human beings, just trying to live a better life.”

Growing increasingly outraged, Cummings spoke of “a child sitting in their own feces,” referencing some of the more dire reports from the border. “Come on, man,” Cummings said, his voice quavering. “What’s that about? None of us would have our children in that position.”

Democrat rips DHS head over child separation policy – AOL News

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EPA on chlorpyrifos: Pesticide will remain in use

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Modern Parenting,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Scientists say studies have shown that chlorpyrifos damages the brains of fetuses and children. The pesticide has been used nationally on dozens of food crops, but California – the nation’s largest agricultural state – and a handful of other states have recently moved to ban it.

EPA on chlorpyrifos: Pesticide will remain in uses

The Cheeto wants your starving child get brain-damage from toxins in their environment

Immigration officers at O’Hare detain 3 children who are U.S. citizens: Congresswoman calls it ‘kidnapping of children by our government’

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

Three children who are U.S. citizens were held by border protection officers for several hours at O’Hare International Airport Thursday after arriving from Mexico with a relative, prompting a U.S. congresswoman, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Mexican Consulate in Chicago to intervene and immigration activists to protest.

…The children were eventually released to their mother after an official from the Mexican Consulate helped negotiate an agreement that the girls’ mother could retrieve them without fear that she would be taken into custody herself. …She said she has applied for legal status but was afraid she would be detained if she went to the airport because she believes officials want to arrest the majority of immigrants who lack legal standing.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, who happened to arrive at O’Hare from Washington Thursday afternoon, learned of the situation and made her way to the Customs and Border Protection office to try to help resolve the conflict. 

“I feel that it’s a kind of kidnapping of children by our government, and I’m really fed up with what we are doing,” Schakowsky said.

Schakowsky said the children had traveled with an adult who had a valid visa, though that could not be independently confirmed. The adult was being sent back Thursday to Mexico, she said.

“I’m going to try to go in and see why our government is acting this way to three minors that have every right to travel,” Schakowsky said before entering the Customs and Border Protection office. “Three citizens of the United States of America. What is going on here? This is completely out of control.”

Immigration officers at O’Hare detain 3 children who are U.S. citizens: Congresswoman calls it ‘kidnapping of children by our government’ – Chicago Tribune

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Justice Democrats helped get Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez elected, what’s next for them?

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

It’s not lost on her colleagues, however, that the group that helped vault her into place—and who have two founders leading her office—is the sworn enemy of the establishment she needs to work with.

…Khanna was the only sitting member of Congress to endorse Ocasio-Cortez. But today he said the party needs for all of its component parts to keep their eyes on the real prize. “Our primary focus has to be stop Donald Trump, to defeat the Republicans, particularly in the Senate. That is the single most effective thing we can do to advance progressive politics,” Khanna said. “I have been encouraging our party to save our fire for Republicans rather than on intraparty disputes.”

…Despite the group’s success attracting support for the Green New Deal, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denied calls for a select committee on the idea. And 45 co-sponsors is a long way from the 218 needed to actually pass something.

…“If [Ocasio-Cortez] can wave her hand and endanger the reelection prospects of even pretty liberal members, then that is one thing. …Does she have that kind of power? If you take a shot and miss, you are very much likely going to be worse off than even if you didn’t take a shot at all.”

…Buck, the Colorado donor, says he is thrilled with Ocasio-Cortez—“She is fabulous”—but wary of what Justice Democrats want to do next. “It is little tricky. People without experience can shake things up, but I worry that they will be sitting ducks for the Republicans.”

…POLITICO also reported that Ocasio-Cortez and allies were eyeing a primary challenge to Hakeem Jeffries, a young Brooklyn lawmaker who angered progressives in part for taking Joe Crowley’s position in the leadership over the more liberal Barbara Lee in California. 

…Jeffries’ camp noted, pointedly, that the story didn’t include an on-the-record denial from Ocasio-Cortez herself. They also told me she hadn’t reached out to Jeffries herself to deny it. Jeffries himself was quoted citing the lyrics of Notorious B.I.G: “Spread love, it’s the Brooklyn way.”

“That quote was sending a message,” said one Jeffries supporter in New York. “I am from Brooklyn. Don’t fuck with me.”

…Strother, the Texas operative, said people from outside Cuellar’s South Texas district—a place where guns and gas drilling are a way of life and an economic driver—don’t understand the absolutism. How, he asked, could a party that prides itself on being welcoming now try to kick apostates out of the tent?

…”We have everything under the sun in our party. We say you can worship what you want, you can love what you want and you can be what you want. Then how is it that we are going to tell people you can’t think what you want?”

‘There Is Going to Be a War Within the Party. We Are Going to Lean Into It.’ – POLITICO Magazine

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Ocasio-Cortez top aide emerges as lightning rod amid Democratic feud

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

“Who is in charge in that office? Is she unable to fire him for his racist comments?”

…A senior Democratic aide said it was “unheard of” for a chief of staff — or any Hill staffer — to repeatedly and publicly launch broadsides against lawmakers in their own party without any consequences.

…On Friday, Democratic leaders tapped the caucus’s official Twitter account to attack Chakrabarti for a weeks-old tweet targeting freshman Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.), a gay Native American mixed martial arts fighter, for her support of the Senate border bill. Ocasio-Cortez and Justice Democrats had backed Davids’s challenger, Brent Welder, in last year’s Democratic primary.

house dems clapback
image via https://www.huffpost.com/entry/house-democrats-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-saikat-chakrabarti_n_5d29dd8be4b02a5a5d5b68b0

“Who is this guy and why is he explicitly singling out a Native American woman of color? ” read the message under the House Democrats account, which is managed by the office of Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

…“Not a single House Democrat resembles a racist segregationist from the Jim Crow South. Not one. We confronted an incendiary charge that required a measured response,” [Jeffries’s chief spokesman, Michael] Hardaway said on Monday.

…Hardaway declined to discuss internal deliberations with his boss about how the tweet came about. But it appeared to be sanctioned by the top Democratic leadership: The tweet was retweeted by Drew Hammill, who oversees communications and messaging for Pelosi.

…Hammill told reporters he retweeted the caucus tweet “in my personal capacity as a gay man who was bullied and beaten in high school.”

Ocasio-Cortez top aide emerges as lightning rod amid Democratic feud | TheHill

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EPA expands use of pesticide that can be toxic to bees – CNNPolitics

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The insecticide, called sulfoxaflor, will be allowed for use on some crops for the first time and in areas that were prohibited under the Obama administration. An EPA report this week notes that some forms of the pesticide can be “very highly toxic” to bees.

…Last week, the Trump administration announced that it will suspend data collection for its annual Honey Bee Colonies report. The move, which robs researchers and the honeybee industry of a critical tool for understanding honeybee population declines, comes as the Department of Agriculture is also curtailing other research programs.

In 2014, the Obama administration launched a program to address honeybee population losses, directing federal agencies to work toward preserving bee pollinator populations. The Trump administration has gone the other way, reversing an Obama-era rule meant to protect bees from a chemical family that can cause colonies to collapse.

EPA expands use of pesticide that can be toxic to bees – CNNPolitics

The cheeto does not want your children to have food to eat.

Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost posted in offensive “I’m 10-15” Facebook group.

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

Carla Provost, the chief of the United States Border Patrol, was one of a number of Border Patrol personnel to participate in a Facebook group in which members joked about migrant deaths and made other offensive comments about immigrants and asylum-seekers.

..Soon after ProPublica’s story published, Provost denounced the offensive posts and pledged to hold the participating agents responsible. “These posts are completely inappropriate and contrary to the honor and integrity I see—and expect—from our agents day in and day out,” she said in a statement. “Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.” 

….Only one post from Provost has come to light so far, from November 2018, and it doesn’t appear offensive on its own. (A group member commented about Provost’s ascent to the top of the agency, and she chimed in to the resulting conversation to clarify the timeline.) But it indicates she was aware the group existed and participated without apparent concern months before she condemned it to the press.

…Politico then reported that officials with Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, had known of the group and the offensive posts for up to three years before news of its existence broke. ….Officials told Politico that they did not know if any of the group’s members are actually being punished. A Department of Homeland Security official also said that CBP’s public affairs office had monitored the group “as a source of intelligence” to see “what people are talking about,” but CBP’s press office disputed that. CBP did not, however, deny that Provost and other senior Border Patrol agents had participated in the group.

…The group has declined in size—from 9,500 to 4,000—since the reporting made it known. A second group, “The Real CBP Nation,” was reported by CNN last week and appears to also involve CBP employees and similarly offensive content.

Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost posted in offensive “I’m 10-15” Facebook group.

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Indigenous Ethnologist: Gladys Tantaquidgeon

On By peanutgallerynhIn Media and Culture,, Schools,, The Americas,Leave a comment

It was during his fieldwork with the Mohegans in Connecticut that Speck met …Gladys Tantaquidgeon CCT’29, who was being groomed as the tribe’s next medicine woman and the keeper of its customs and culture. She was also to become the first Native American student in the Penn anthropology department.

…With her father and brother, she cofounded the Tantaquidgeon Museum to house many of the gifts she received during her fieldwork, including a Penobscot birchbark canoe, donated by Speck. Founded on her belief that “you can’t hate someone you know a lot about,” it is the oldest Native American-owned museum in the United States. It also was a critical piece in proving the Mohegan tribe’s continuity when, in 1978, Congress created a federal recognition process for designating sovereignty.

…Bruchac calls Tantaquidgeon a “groundbreaking ethnologist” and “an Indigenous visionary who blended anthropological research with traditional training and community activism to preserve Mohegan cultural patrimony.”

Indigenous Ethnologist – The Pennsylvania Gazette

very cool

There’s An Environmental Disaster Unfolding In The Gulf of Mexico

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Gulf Coast Region,, Military,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

First came Hurricane Katrina, the 2005 monster storm that devastated [the] small fishing community in Plaquemines Parish before roaring up the Gulf Coast, killing more than 1,800 people and destroying $125 billion in property. Five years later, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded 40 miles offshore, spewing nearly 200 million gallons of crude. The fisheries have not fully recovered more than nine years later.

But this year may be worse. A historic slow-moving flood of polluted Mississippi River water loaded with chemicals, pesticides and human waste from 31 states and two Canadian provinces is draining straight into the marshes and bayous of the Gulf of Mexico — the nurseries of Arnesen’s fishing grounds — upsetting the delicate balance of salinity and destroying the fragile ecosystem in the process. 

…The torrent of river water pushing into Gulf estuaries is decimating crab, oyster and shrimp populations. The brown shrimp catch this spring in Louisiana and Mississippi is already down by an estimated 80%, and oysters are completely wiped out in some of the most productive fishing grounds in the country, according to state and industry officials.

…It’s not just fisheries that are suffering. Dolphins have been dying in huge numbers across the region — nearly 300 this year already, which is three times the number in a normal year, according to federal and state officials. Fishermen report finding dead dolphins floating in water near shore or beached in the marshes, covered in painful skin lesions that scientists have linked to freshwater exposure. One fisherman reported finding a mother dolphin pushing her dead baby along in the water.

…Dolphins are particularly vulnerable to incursions of river water, he said. “Every time they open the Bonnet Carre spillway, we see a spike in deaths.” 

“Dolphins are like the black box found on airplanes,” Solangi said. “They tell you what’s happening in the environment. When dolphins are doing well, the environment is doing well.”

…Officials say higher-than-normal dolphin strandings spiked in May, when there were 88 discovered along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coasts. That’s nearly eight times the average monthly number of dolphin mortalities during the BP spill from 2010 to 2014.

…Many fishermen who have worked in these areas for generations suspect something else is threatening their future: politics. As part of a plan to save Louisiana’s rapidly sinking coastline, state agencies want to pump in more sediment-heavy river water to help rebuild the disappearing land. Fishermen question the efficacy of freshwater diversions and worry about the dangers to fisheries and marine life posed by these projects. They question why NOAA would grant waivers to Louisiana last year to bypass the Marine Mammal Protection Act and allow the freshwater diversion construction to proceed.

…[Acy Cooper, a fourth-generation fisherman and president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association] blames the Army Corps for not adequately managing the river and controlling and dredging the river passes that empty into the Gulf, making the effects of freshwater worse. 

There’s An Environmental Disaster Unfolding In The Gulf of Mexico | HuffPost

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The Inconvenience of Being a Woman Veteran

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

The military doesn’t just urge women, it requires them—especially if they want to succeed—to view themselves on the same playing field as their male counterparts. They are also expected to behave and perform in traditionally masculine ways—demonstrating strength, displaying confidence in their abilities, expecting to be judged on their merits and performance, and taking on levels of authority and responsibility that few women get to experience. The uniform and grooming standards work to downplay their physical female characteristics. Additionally, the expectation—explicit or implicit—is that they also downplay other attributes that are traditionally considered feminine, such as open displays of emotion.

…Highlighting female characteristics is undesirable. As General Lori J. Robinson, the U.S. military’s first female combatant commander, put it: “I’m a general, a commander, an airman. And I happen to be a woman.”

…They might appear to be like other women, but they aren’t operating on the expectations traditionally applied to women. Behaving at odds with these traditional expectations is often a significant drawback in the ability of women veterans to fit-in in the workplace, in the dating world, in the female civilian community, in society in general. And directly challenging these expectations can often lead to conflict.

…They expect, for example, to be afforded the same respect as their male counterparts—veteran and civilian.

And yet, women are often denied recognition for their military accomplishments. In a 2016 Service Women’s Action Network survey, 74 percent of the respondents said that the general public did not recognize their service.

…Operating in male-dominated environments and doing traditionally male activities, up to and including combat, are so different from the experiences of civilian women that the two sides often cannot relate. Moreover, the behaviors—male behaviors—that women veterans learned were correct in the military are now at odds with the expectations civilians have for women. Instead of helping them fit in, these same behaviors now make them stand out, often in ways that make other people uncomfortable.

The Inconvenience of Being a Woman Veteran – The Atlantic

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Trump’s British ambassador takedown unnerves diplomats

On By peanutgallerynhIn Europe,, International Affairs,, Media and Culture,, Privacy,Leave a comment

The dust-up is just the latest to occur after the public airing of sensitive diplomatic cables — an era that kicked off a decade ago when WikiLeaks began publishing troves of America’s classified cables. And it illustrates the increasing challenges facing diplomats wishing to share blunt and unflattering assessments.

…“We have gotten to a point now where it would appear diplomats cannot report to their governments accurately in any way that is going to remain confidential, and that’s the essence of diplomacy,” said Roberta Jacobson, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico.

…Diplomats across the globe essentially lead two lives: a public one in which they are cautious about what they say, careful to avoid upsetting host countries; and a private one in which they are duty-bound to report honest, unvarnished analyses about their surroundings with the governments they represent.

…The leak, some observers suspect, may have been aimed at ensuring Darroch’s successor is pro-Brexit. 

Trump’s British ambassador takedown unnerves diplomats – POLITICO

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