They already tried the nice way. Facebook met Trump and changed the rules to let him lie without restriction. People said hey please no and Facebook was like no we're doing this. So you have to play by the rules as they exist. It's not fair of one side is honest when Republicans lie all the time without resemblance to the truth.
Two things struck me when I watched the video. First, he never identifies himself as a police officer. Second, the gunshot is the period in his sentence. It's literally: "Show me your hands[BANG]". She never even had the chance to comply.
Lawyer S. Lee Merritt is being proactive against the character assassination that's sure to come:
"Before law enforcement goes about their pattern of villainizing this beautiful peaceful woman, turning her into a suspect, a silhouette, or threat, let me tell you about 28 y/o #AtatianaJefferson 'Tay'," Merritt said in a Facebook post.
Merritt said Jefferson was a pre-med graduate of Xavier University who worked in pharmaceutical sales. And she was very close to her family, he said.
Of course, the police have already started laying the groundwork for blaming the victim. They've stated that a gun was found in the house.
Reports show that the police parked down the street with no lights or sirens (it was a non-emergency welfare check). They then decided to go around the back of the house with flashlights without identifying themselves as police.
I wouldn’t blame her if she was holding a gun looking out the window. If I see people going through my backyard, I would be ready to roll, too.
Turns out she was playing video games with her 8yr old nephew as she often did until past 2am. So sad.
I just had a brush with the surreal. A dude I haven't talked to for years that used to be a full-on liberal just had an argument with me about how Trump is the greatest thing since sliced bread. I had about an hour argument with him about what order the planets are in by distance (he thought Mars was closer to the sun than Earth and Venus), how the earth's orbit doesn't vary by 500% between winter and summer (he thought we were 5x closer to the sun in summer), how a 3% variance in orbital rotation still is pretty much circular if you look at it downwards from the orbital plane, and how a tower will collapse straight down because there's more weight on lower floors than upper floors (911 conspiracy theory b.s.). If I had a PhD in physics I don't think I could have convinced this guy. Now I have a headache...
Two things struck me when I watched the video. First, he never identifies himself as a police officer. Second, the gunshot is the period in his sentence. It's literally: "Show me your hands[BANG]". She never even had the chance to comply.
Lawyer S. Lee Merritt is being proactive against the character assassination that's sure to come:
"Before law enforcement goes about their pattern of villainizing this beautiful peaceful woman, turning her into a suspect, a silhouette, or threat, let me tell you about 28 y/o #AtatianaJefferson 'Tay'," Merritt said in a Facebook post.
Merritt said Jefferson was a pre-med graduate of Xavier University who worked in pharmaceutical sales. And she was very close to her family, he said.
Of course, the police have already started laying the groundwork for blaming the victim. They've stated that a gun was found in the house.
A gun in the house in Texas. Shocker. I thought Texans were against the 2ne amendment, sarcastic eyeroll.
The 2nd Amendment doesn't apply to black people. We all know this. Texas is one of the most open-carry, own as many guns as you damn well please states in the union. It is only when cops shoot African-Americans that all of a sudden gun ownership comes into question. Apparently the neighbor called the cops because "the door was ajar". Really?? And again, set aside the killing which is horrible enough as it is. What is absolutely unconscionable is that EVERY TIME this happens, the cops go into character assassination mode on the person they just killed. This time it was an aunt staying up late to play video games with her nephew. If you are calling the cops in regards to your black neighbor, even if you think it is for their protection, you are putting their lives at risk. Same goes for a mentally ill family member. The paranoid incompetents we are handing out badges to are not serving and protecting anyone but themselves at this point, and if they had a SHRED of decency as a "brotherhood" they would own up to their mistakes instead of attempting to criminalize every innocent person they kill with bullshit innuendo. It's always something. She had a gun in the house (likely totally legal, and immaterial in every way to what happened). They smoked pot the night of the killing (because we all know that once a black person smokes it, apparently a joint becomes like PCP, even though I have never in my life seen someone who is stoned become MORE aggressive about anything). They once served detention in high school. They will find ANYTHING they can to justify what they do. African-Americans are not even safe from getting killed by cops chilling in their OWN HOMES at night. It's complete lunacy. This should never happen.
And as long as we're on the subject of shootings, this video shown at a Pro-Trump PAC conference attended by Don Jr. and Sarah Huckabee Sanders is absolutely bonkers, as it depicts Trump literally slaughtering representatives of media organizations and elected representatives in a shooting rampage in a church to the tune of the part of "Freebird" that plays at the climax of "The Devil's Rejects". When he runs out of ammo, he starts stabbing them in the head with a knife and plants an axe in the forehead of CNN at the climax. I'm not even going to post it. I'm telling you people, if he gets removed whether by impeachment or the vote, he will be able to just say a few words on TV and basically activate sleeper cells of people just itching to kill. I encourage everyone to read up on stochastic terrorism.
Been reading Hannah Arendt's "The Origins of Totalitarianism", published in 1951. There are many quotes relevant to present political conditions and populism, but for the previous post here's one:
"What proved so attractive was that terrorism had become a kind of philosophy through which to express frustration, resentment, and blind hatred, a kind of political expressionism which used bombs to express oneself, which watched delightedly the publicity given to resounding deeds and was absolutely willing to pay the price of life for having succeded in forcing the recognition of one's existence on the normal strata of society. It was still the same spirit and the same game which made Goebbels, long before the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany, announce with obvious delight that the Nazis, in case of defeat, would know how to slam the door behind them and not to be forgotten for centuries."
.
me when I watched the video. First, he never identifies himself as a police officer. Second, the
And as long as we're on the subject of shootings, this video shown at a Pro-Trump PAC conference attended by Don Jr. and Sarah Huckabee Sanders is absolutely bonkers, as it depicts Trump literally slaughtering representatives of media organizations and elected representatives in a shooting rampage in a church to the tune of the part of "Freebird" that plays at the climax of "The Devil's Rejects". When he runs out of ammo, he starts stabbing them in the head with a knife and plants an axe in the forehead of CNN at the climax. I'm not even going to post it. I'm telling you people, if he gets removed whether by impeachment or the vote, he will be able to just say a few words on TV and basically activate sleeper cells of people just itching to kill. I encourage everyone to read up on stochastic terrorism.
Well if he stays or goes he will make things worse. It seems his only mission is to inspire hatred and division and violence.
After a long drawn-out process, 9 of the leaders in Catalonia have been jailed for between 9 and 13 years. The punishment is essentially for sedition, i.e. encouraging other people to rebel against the Spanish government. The Spanish approach to this issue seems odd in comparison to other Western European countries, where there's generally a high degree of freedom of speech - albeit not as great as that in the US.
The situation in Scotland is very similar to Catalonia in terms of the support for independence. I'm glad that, while many people strongly oppose Scotland becoming independent, no-one in the UK is seriously suggesting that Scottish leaders should be regarded as criminals for wishing to break away.
What's taken place isn't a surprise. What has been to some degree is that it all started happening almost instantaneously after Trump's decision, which makes it impossible to separate them.
It's worth mentioning that the Turks have already stated that they'll be settling Arab refugees in the Kurdish lands. So, classic "ethnic cleansing" operation. And I'm sure that they'll get all pissy 100 years from now every time someone refers to it as "The Kurdish Genocide".
The 2nd Amendment doesn't apply to black people. We all know this. Texas is one of the most open-carry, own as many guns as you damn well please states in the union. It is only when cops shoot African-Americans that all of a sudden gun ownership comes into question. Apparently the neighbor called the cops because "the door was ajar". Really?? And again, set aside the killing which is horrible enough as it is. What is absolutely unconscionable is that EVERY TIME this happens, the cops go into character assassination mode on the person they just killed. This time it was an aunt staying up late to play video games with her nephew. If you are calling the cops in regards to your black neighbor, even if you think it is for their protection, you are putting their lives at risk. Same goes for a mentally ill family member. The paranoid incompetents we are handing out badges to are not serving and protecting anyone but themselves at this point, and if they had a SHRED of decency as a "brotherhood" they would own up to their mistakes instead of attempting to criminalize every innocent person they kill with bullshit innuendo. It's always something. She had a gun in the house (likely totally legal, and immaterial in every way to what happened). They smoked pot the night of the killing (because we all know that once a black person smokes it, apparently a joint becomes like PCP, even though I have never in my life seen someone who is stoned become MORE aggressive about anything). They once served detention in high school. They will find ANYTHING they can to justify what they do. African-Americans are not even safe from getting killed by cops chilling in their OWN HOMES at night. It's complete lunacy. This should never happen.
To be fair, the neighbor seems to have been acquainted with Jefferson, at least to the extent of knowing that her mother was very ill. So, I believe that his intent for calling FWPD to have them do a welfare check was based out of concern, rather than malice. He's also black. In a normal world, that shouldn't come into play; but, given some of the highly publicized incidents of white people calling the police on black neighbors, it sadly becomes a fact that needs to be mentioned.
Anyway, the cop, Aaron Dean, gave a terse, one sentence resignation before he was about the be fired, and has now (rightfully) been arrested for murder. Hopefully he's found guilty and receives a sentence long enough* to deter others of his ilk from acting as impulsively as he did.
* Certainly longer than the 10 years that Amber Guyger received for shooting Botham Jean in HIS home.
I saw a comment from the neighbor in a news article (I forget where). He seemed pretty devastated and concluded that "if I had never called the cops, she would still be alive".
Not sure what to add to that, except how messed up all this is.
One more thing about the environment. Some weeks ago, Amazon fires generated a lot of international repercussion. Now, Venezuela dumped oil in the ocean and nobody cares.
It is far worse in any aspect. Note that Northeast is the poorest region. Some cities depends upon "tourism/ecotourism", others upon fishing and it can make large towns go bankrupt. This not mentioning the environmental impact that can destroy entire species in a continental country and affect neighbor countries too... But yes, since they can't blame Bolsonaro and use Bolivian forest fire photos to criticize him, nobody cares.
Why do you think nobody cares? The story has had a fair amount of coverage, e.g. this piece in the Guardian.
It's also a question of scale. The oil spill is estimated to be 500 barrels, which is about 0.025% of the capacity of a single supertanker (2 million barrels). For comparison the Exxon Valdez spill was 260,000 barrels. That's not to say that the recent spill is not a problem - I agree with you that it is in both economic and environmental terms. However, I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect it to get the same media coverage as the deforestation of something like 8,000 square km of the Brazilian Amazon during 2019.
It's perhaps also worth mentioning that quite a bit of the recent media coverage of the situation in the Amazon has been the result of Bolsonaro arguing so strongly that what is done there is no one's business except Brazil's and ignoring the potential impact on climate change. The reality is that major impacts on the environment can't be limited to a single country - the impact of an oil spill elsewhere on Brazil could be seen as an illustration of that.
Agree with Grond0. I have seen it reported on in the Guardian, CNN, Washington Post, BBC and other media. If you think it is not as prominent as the fires (especially in television and radio), you need to consider what else is going: the situation with Turkey, the Trump impeachment investigations and Brexit being in a hot phase again. All those topics would (unfortunately) always draw more attention than an environmental disaster - but it is being covered.
Two other points:
Given the (relatively small) size of the spill I don't think it is worse than the fires in term of environmental impact. In fact, I am rather certain that the deforestation was worse in terms of lasting impact.
Venezuela being responsible is still only a suspicion. I know that there have been reports of analysis pointing in that direction, but the analysis has not yet been released and was done by Petrobas, who is also a natural suspect in any oil spill happening near Brazil. Obviously they have the expertise to run such an analysis, but I would want to see it confirmed by an independent party. Bolsanaro himself has not named any country ye.
There are definitely things that need more attention. But I really dislike this idea that we only get news that "sell", as if we're all into some kind of misery voyeurism or always looking for new ways to bash political figures we dislike. The situation with Turkey in Syria is big news because of the immense human suffering and the huge shift in a war that has dominated the 2010s - all in a very short time and because of the decisions of very few people.
There are definitely things that need more attention. But I really dislike this idea that we only get news that "sell", as if we're all into some kind of misery voyeurism or always looking for new ways to bash political figures we dislike. The situation with Turkey in Syria is big news because of the immense human suffering and the huge shift in a war that has dominated the 2010s - all in a very short time and because of the decisions of very few people.
The only reason this is top news is because it's Trump. There are way more people being killed in other wars in the world but what sells is Trump. There are more humans dying/died in Yemen but that's not advertiser friendly. We all choose to believe what we like, unfortunately.
I mean, of course Trump's part in it shapes how and how much it is talked about. But it isn't the only reason. This is a very sudden and dangerous turn in a war that has been going on for almost a decade. It isn't all about Trump.
The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie.
Trump has been filling the government with swamp.
He's appointed one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama appointed over eight years in half the time.
Trump has made the government a cesspool of corruption. He has thieves writing economic policy, polluters writing environmental policy, racists writing immigration policy, conspiracy theory idiots in charge of education, and his personal goon in charge of the justice department.
The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie.
Trump has been filling the government with swamp.
He's appointed one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama appointed over eight years in half the time.
Trump has made the government a cesspool of corruption. He has thieves writing economic policy, polluters writing environmental policy, racists writing immigration policy, conspiracy theory idiots in charge of education, and his personal goon in charge of the justice department.
The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie.
Trump has been filling the government with swamp.
He's appointed one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama appointed over eight years in half the time.
Trump has made the government a cesspool of corruption. He has thieves writing economic policy, polluters writing environmental policy, racists writing immigration policy, conspiracy theory idiots in charge of education, and his personal goon in charge of the justice department.
Pretty sure the billionaires are paying more in taxes than I am. Or likely even 10,000 me's...
There are definitely things that need more attention. But I really dislike this idea that we only get news that "sell", as if we're all into some kind of misery voyeurism or always looking for new ways to bash political figures we dislike. The situation with Turkey in Syria is big news because of the immense human suffering and the huge shift in a war that has dominated the 2010s - all in a very short time and because of the decisions of very few people.
The only reason this is top news is because it's Trump. There are way more people being killed in other wars in the world but what sells is Trump. There are more humans dying/died in Yemen but that's not advertiser friendly. We all choose to believe what we like, unfortunately.
Congress (led by liberal Democrats) has voted twice to cut off the arms funding that is fueling the Saudis in Yemen. The Trump Administration has flat-out ignored this. Nevermind the fact that we just sent thousands of troops there and Trump's answer as to why was basically "they pay well". Yeah, they're paying for stuff alright. Whole floors at Trump properties and hotels. Trump has turned the US military into his own private mercenary business. Every single move he makes on the international stage has to be viewed through his bottomless conflicts of interest.
The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie.
Trump has been filling the government with swamp.
He's appointed one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama appointed over eight years in half the time.
Trump has made the government a cesspool of corruption. He has thieves writing economic policy, polluters writing environmental policy, racists writing immigration policy, conspiracy theory idiots in charge of education, and his personal goon in charge of the justice department.
Pretty sure the billionaires are paying more in taxes than I am. Or likely even 10,000 me's...
I'm pretty sure you pay a larger fraction of your wealth than they do.
The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie.
Trump has been filling the government with swamp.
He's appointed one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama appointed over eight years in half the time.
Trump has made the government a cesspool of corruption. He has thieves writing economic policy, polluters writing environmental policy, racists writing immigration policy, conspiracy theory idiots in charge of education, and his personal goon in charge of the justice department.
Pretty sure the billionaires are paying more in taxes than I am. Or likely even 10,000 me's...
I'm pretty sure you pay a larger fraction of your wealth than they do.
Ok. What's that got to do with it? @smeagolheart said they pay less taxes than I do. No, they don't.
Comments
'No forgiveness for this one': Outrage builds over police shooting of Fort Worth woman in her home
Two things struck me when I watched the video. First, he never identifies himself as a police officer. Second, the gunshot is the period in his sentence. It's literally: "Show me your hands[BANG]". She never even had the chance to comply.
Lawyer S. Lee Merritt is being proactive against the character assassination that's sure to come:
Of course, the police have already started laying the groundwork for blaming the victim. They've stated that a gun was found in the house.
I wouldn’t blame her if she was holding a gun looking out the window. If I see people going through my backyard, I would be ready to roll, too.
Turns out she was playing video games with her 8yr old nephew as she often did until past 2am. So sad.
The 2nd Amendment doesn't apply to black people. We all know this. Texas is one of the most open-carry, own as many guns as you damn well please states in the union. It is only when cops shoot African-Americans that all of a sudden gun ownership comes into question. Apparently the neighbor called the cops because "the door was ajar". Really?? And again, set aside the killing which is horrible enough as it is. What is absolutely unconscionable is that EVERY TIME this happens, the cops go into character assassination mode on the person they just killed. This time it was an aunt staying up late to play video games with her nephew. If you are calling the cops in regards to your black neighbor, even if you think it is for their protection, you are putting their lives at risk. Same goes for a mentally ill family member. The paranoid incompetents we are handing out badges to are not serving and protecting anyone but themselves at this point, and if they had a SHRED of decency as a "brotherhood" they would own up to their mistakes instead of attempting to criminalize every innocent person they kill with bullshit innuendo. It's always something. She had a gun in the house (likely totally legal, and immaterial in every way to what happened). They smoked pot the night of the killing (because we all know that once a black person smokes it, apparently a joint becomes like PCP, even though I have never in my life seen someone who is stoned become MORE aggressive about anything). They once served detention in high school. They will find ANYTHING they can to justify what they do. African-Americans are not even safe from getting killed by cops chilling in their OWN HOMES at night. It's complete lunacy. This should never happen.
And as long as we're on the subject of shootings, this video shown at a Pro-Trump PAC conference attended by Don Jr. and Sarah Huckabee Sanders is absolutely bonkers, as it depicts Trump literally slaughtering representatives of media organizations and elected representatives in a shooting rampage in a church to the tune of the part of "Freebird" that plays at the climax of "The Devil's Rejects". When he runs out of ammo, he starts stabbing them in the head with a knife and plants an axe in the forehead of CNN at the climax. I'm not even going to post it. I'm telling you people, if he gets removed whether by impeachment or the vote, he will be able to just say a few words on TV and basically activate sleeper cells of people just itching to kill. I encourage everyone to read up on stochastic terrorism.
"What proved so attractive was that terrorism had become a kind of philosophy through which to express frustration, resentment, and blind hatred, a kind of political expressionism which used bombs to express oneself, which watched delightedly the publicity given to resounding deeds and was absolutely willing to pay the price of life for having succeded in forcing the recognition of one's existence on the normal strata of society. It was still the same spirit and the same game which made Goebbels, long before the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany, announce with obvious delight that the Nazis, in case of defeat, would know how to slam the door behind them and not to be forgotten for centuries."
Well if he stays or goes he will make things worse. It seems his only mission is to inspire hatred and division and violence.
The situation in Scotland is very similar to Catalonia in terms of the support for independence. I'm glad that, while many people strongly oppose Scotland becoming independent, no-one in the UK is seriously suggesting that Scottish leaders should be regarded as criminals for wishing to break away.
A great week if you're a jihadist or an authoritarian leader.
Doesn't sound like a great week for anybody if you ask me...
To be fair, the neighbor seems to have been acquainted with Jefferson, at least to the extent of knowing that her mother was very ill. So, I believe that his intent for calling FWPD to have them do a welfare check was based out of concern, rather than malice. He's also black. In a normal world, that shouldn't come into play; but, given some of the highly publicized incidents of white people calling the police on black neighbors, it sadly becomes a fact that needs to be mentioned.
Anyway, the cop, Aaron Dean, gave a terse, one sentence resignation before he was about the be fired, and has now (rightfully) been arrested for murder. Hopefully he's found guilty and receives a sentence long enough* to deter others of his ilk from acting as impulsively as he did.
* Certainly longer than the 10 years that Amber Guyger received for shooting Botham Jean in HIS home.
Not sure what to add to that, except how messed up all this is.
Petrobras Analysis Points to Venezuela as Potential Source of Oil on Brazil's Northeastern Coast
source : https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/internacional/en/scienceandhealth/2019/10/petrobras-analysis-points-to-venezuela-as-potential-source-of-oil-on-brazils-northeastern-coast.shtml
One more thing about the environment. Some weeks ago, Amazon fires generated a lot of international repercussion. Now, Venezuela dumped oil in the ocean and nobody cares.
It is far worse in any aspect. Note that Northeast is the poorest region. Some cities depends upon "tourism/ecotourism", others upon fishing and it can make large towns go bankrupt. This not mentioning the environmental impact that can destroy entire species in a continental country and affect neighbor countries too... But yes, since they can't blame Bolsonaro and use Bolivian forest fire photos to criticize him, nobody cares.
It's also a question of scale. The oil spill is estimated to be 500 barrels, which is about 0.025% of the capacity of a single supertanker (2 million barrels). For comparison the Exxon Valdez spill was 260,000 barrels. That's not to say that the recent spill is not a problem - I agree with you that it is in both economic and environmental terms. However, I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect it to get the same media coverage as the deforestation of something like 8,000 square km of the Brazilian Amazon during 2019.
It's perhaps also worth mentioning that quite a bit of the recent media coverage of the situation in the Amazon has been the result of Bolsonaro arguing so strongly that what is done there is no one's business except Brazil's and ignoring the potential impact on climate change. The reality is that major impacts on the environment can't be limited to a single country - the impact of an oil spill elsewhere on Brazil could be seen as an illustration of that.
Two other points:
The only reason this is on the backburner is because it doesn't sell. Trump/Turkey are advertiser friendly, oil spill not so much.
The only reason this is top news is because it's Trump. There are way more people being killed in other wars in the world but what sells is Trump. There are more humans dying/died in Yemen but that's not advertiser friendly. We all choose to believe what we like, unfortunately.
America's richest 400 families now pay a lower tax rate than the middle class.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/americas-richest-400-families-pay-a-lower-tax-rate-than-the-middle-class/
The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie. The Republican tax scam was a lie.
Trump has been filling the government with swamp.
He's appointed one lobbyist for every 14 political appointees, and four times more than Obama appointed over eight years in half the time.
Trump has made the government a cesspool of corruption. He has thieves writing economic policy, polluters writing environmental policy, racists writing immigration policy, conspiracy theory idiots in charge of education, and his personal goon in charge of the justice department.
Yup, all about Trump.
Pretty sure the billionaires are paying more in taxes than I am. Or likely even 10,000 me's...
Congress (led by liberal Democrats) has voted twice to cut off the arms funding that is fueling the Saudis in Yemen. The Trump Administration has flat-out ignored this. Nevermind the fact that we just sent thousands of troops there and Trump's answer as to why was basically "they pay well". Yeah, they're paying for stuff alright. Whole floors at Trump properties and hotels. Trump has turned the US military into his own private mercenary business. Every single move he makes on the international stage has to be viewed through his bottomless conflicts of interest.
I'm pretty sure you pay a larger fraction of your wealth than they do.
Ok. What's that got to do with it? @smeagolheart said they pay less taxes than I do. No, they don't.