One day after Sandra Bland’s death, 18-year-old Kindra Chapman was found dead in jail

Source: rawstory

Just one day after Sandra Bland was found dead in her jail cell in Texas, another young black woman, Kindra Chapman, was found in eerily similar circumstances in a jail cell in Alabama.

The 18-year-old was arrested July 14 on accusations she stole a cell phone, according to AL.com. She was booked just before 6:30 p.m. and found unresponsive in her cell at 7:50 p.m. Like Bland, authorities have blamed Chapman’s death on suicide by hanging. Like Bland, Chapman’s family said the teen had a full and happy life and do not believe she committed suicide. Like Bland, Black Lives Matter activists have joined her family in demanding answers.
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In an email to AL.com, Chapman’s mother, Kathy Brady, said she believes police killed her daughter, and that she wasn’t notified of Chapman’s death until 9 p.m.

Other family members who spoke with reporters said Chapman wouldn’t have killed herself.

“I want answers, like where was she for 45 minutes,” her cousin Otis Chapman asked local station WBRC. “There’s surveillance all around… She would not harm herself at all… In my heart, she wouldn’t do nothing like that.”

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/one-day-after-sandra-blands-death-18-year-old-kindra-chapman-was-found-dead-in-jail/#.VbFQs6aOts8.facebook

G.O.P. Unveils Immigration Plan: “We Must Make America Somewhere No One Wants to Live”

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell unveiled his party’s long-awaited plan on immigration on Wednesday, telling reporters, “We must make America somewhere no one wants to live.”

Appearing with House Speaker John Boehner, McConnell said that, in contrast to President Obama’s “Band-Aid fixes,” the Republican plan would address “the root cause of immigration, which is that the United States is, for the most part, habitable.”

“For years, immigrants have looked to America as a place where their standard of living was bound to improve,” McConnell said. “We’re going to change that.”

Boehner said that the Republicans’ plan would reduce or eliminate “immigration magnets,” such as the social safety net, public education, clean air, and drinkable water.

MORE SATIRE HERE: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/republicans-unveil-immigration-plan

Rolling Stone Names President Obama ‘One of the Most Successful Presidents in American History’

President Obama graces the cover of the latest issue of Rolling Stone.

In the mag, Nobel Prize- winning economist Paul Krugman wrote an amazing piece in defense of President Obama’s presidency.

Mainstream media is often quick to point out President Obama’s perceived failures during his tenure, so it’s refreshing to see a publication highlight his many accomplishments — especially because President Obama’s approval rating is currently the lowest it’s ever been (according to CNBC).

Krugman declares President Obama as one of the “one of the most consequential and, yes, successful presidents in American history” and acknowledges the harsh and often unfair criticism he endures.

Obama faces trash talk left, right and center – literally – and doesn’t deserve it. Despite bitter opposition, despite having come close to self-inflicted disaster, Obama has emerged as one of the most consequential and, yes, successful presidents in American history. His health reform is imperfect but still a huge step forward – and it’s working better than anyone expected. Financial reform fell far short of what should have happened, but it’s much more effective than you’d think. Economic management has been half-crippled by Republican obstruction, but has nonetheless been much better than in other advanced countries. And environmental policy is starting to look like it could be a major legacy.

I’ll go through those achievements shortly. First, however, let’s take a moment to talk about the current wave of Obama-bashing. All Obama-bashing can be divided into three types. One, a constant of his time in office, is the onslaught from the right, which has never stopped portraying him as an Islamic atheist Marxist Kenyan. Nothing has changed on that front, and nothing will.

http://www.lovebscott.com/news/rolling-stone-names-president-obama-one-of-the-most-successful-presidents-in-american-history

Civilian guarding military recruitment center accidentally fired his gun while showing it off

Christopher A. Reed, 28, of Lancaster, was charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits, and was issued a summons to appear in Fairfield County Municipal Court on Tuesday, according to the police incident report.

Reed told the officer who responded that he was standing, holding his AR-15 rifle in front of the military recruiting station to guard the personnel inside when someone approached him and asked if he could take a look at the weapon. Reed agreed to show him, and while he was trying to clear the ammunition from the weapon, he accidentally fired into the asphalt pavement.

The only damage was a hole in the pavement. The rifle was taken from Reed pending his appearance in court, the incident report says.

It's no wonder military brass are telling recruiters to treat these guys as security threats:

MORE HERE: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/23/1405092/-Civilian-guarding-military-recruitment-center-accidentally-fired-his-gun-while-showing-it-off?detail=facebook

WATCH: NYPD officers beat young black man who had his hands up over allegedly-stolen pizza

grocery store surveillance video shows a young black man holding his hands up in surrender before two New York police officers start pounding him in the head over the suspected theft of a $3 slice of pizza.

Thomas Jennings, 24, can be seen in the surveillance camera video leaning on the counter at a grocery store in Brooklyn on July 7, when NYPD officer Lenny Lutchman approaches from behind and immediately starts shoving him in the chest and grabbing his wrist. Jenning appears surprised and raises both hands in surrender.
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Suddenly, Lutchman’s partner Pearce Martinez runs in and without breaking his stride or saying anything, rains down a full-force right hand punch to Jennings’ head. He continues to pummel him and Lutchman joins in, hitting Jennings with his baton. During the beating, Jennings remains curled over the counter and doesn’t fight back.

While Martinez handcuffs Jennings, Lutchman continues striking him, even though Martinez is facing no challenge from Jennings, who appears to helpfully put his hand behind his back.

“I didn’t ever know it was coming,” Jennings told the New York Daily News.

MORE HERE: http://www.rawstory.com/2015/07/watch-nypd-officers-beat-young-black-man-who-had-his-hands-up-over-pizza-he-didnt-steal/

Nice White Dad Mysteriously Dies In Police Custody, We Can Talk Police Brutality Now?

Saturday evening, Troy and Kelli Goode of Memphis headed off to a Widespread Panic concert in nearby Southaven, Mississippi. What should have been a nice night off for two young parents ended with Troy, a 30-year-old chemical engineer, loving husband and devoted daddy of a 15-month-old, being hogtied by the Southaven police, and soon after dying in their custody. One of the family’s attorneys, Tim Edwards, explained the timeline of events to the Huffington Post:

The couple was driving away from the concert venue when Goode exited the vehicle near a local shopping center.


Read more at http://wonkette.com/591729/nice-white-dad-mysteriously-dies-in-police-custody-we-can-talk-police-brutality-now#46d4PLs4XrSpJ50m.99

Yuba spring-run salmon count indicates a record low

By: South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL)

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July 21, 2015 - As of July 7th, only 32 salmon have been detected at the fish counting station at Daguerre Point Dam on the Lower Yuba River. This is far below the average of 752 salmon detected by this time of year since monitoring of this type began in 2004. The fish count data is posted at the website for the Yuba Accord River Management Team, an interagency group charged with monitoring and evaluating conditions for fish in the lower Yuba River. No reports or explanatory information have been released along with the data.

SYRCL’s Fisheries Biologist, Gary Reedy, is representative for conservation groups on the River Management Team and says that the data clearly suggests very low numbers of returning adult spring-run salmon to the Yuba River this year. The official abundance estimate for Yuba River spring-run Chinook salmon, ranging from 372 to 3,592 since 2004, is calculated at the end of the calendar year, after statistical methods are used to differentiate the two salmon runs of the Yuba: spring-run Chinook and fall-run Chinook. While these two types of salmon historically segregated themselves, with the spring-run migrating into the upper watershed, they now share habitats in the lower Yuba River. Some spring-run have been found to remain in the plunge pool of Daguerre Point Dam until spawning season begins in September.

“No matter how many salmon might presently be holding below Daguerre Point Dam, we are looking at what will likely be less than 100 fish and less than the minimum abundance for a viable population”, says Reedy. ”This is concerning since Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon are officially listed under the Endangered Species Act as threatened with extinction, and the Yuba is considered one of the most important rivers for recovery. Chinook salmon runs may be relatively low this year across the region, as we shall soon see. Nevertheless, this count for the Yuba River represents a severe and disturbing decline.”


MORE: http://yubanet.com/regional/Yuba-spring-run-salmon-count-indicates-a-record-low.php#.Va7cGmdLpRk

CNN Tells us that Obama is No Reagan, Like it’s a Bad Thing

Source: PoliticsUSA

It is amazing the hold Ronald Reagan has over some Americans. John Blake, writing at CNN, claims that “This may be President Obama’s time, but it’s still Ronald Reagan’s era.”

Yes, Ronald Reagan, the guy Republicans most like to lie about, when they’re not lying about Obama. Who could ever forget, as Scott Walker has reminded us, how Reagan ended the Cold War by busting not the Bolsheviks, but unions? Or Sarah Palin sodomizing his legacy on his 100th birthday?

Blake ignores uncongenial facts and instead argues that,

Obama has helped negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, normalized relations with Cuba, and watched his approval ratings recently hit a two-year high after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Obamacare. But has he become a “transformational” president like Ronald Reagan?

Then, to illustrate his complete lack of bias,
See link for more:

Read more: http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07/21/cnn-tells-obama-reagan-bad.html

New marijuana industry wrestles with pesticides and safety

DENVER (AP) — Microscopic bugs and mildew can destroy a marijuana operation faster than any police raid. And because the crop has been illegal for so long, neither growers nor scientists have any reliable research to help fight the infestations.

As legal marijuana moves from basements and backwoods to warehouses and commercial fields, the mold and spider mites that once ruined only a few plants at a time can now quickly create a multimillion-dollar crisis for growers. Some are turning to industrial-strength chemicals, raising concerns about safety.

Pesticides and herbicides are regulated by the federal government, which still regards almost all marijuana as an illicit crop, so there's no roadmap to help pot farmers. Chemists and horticulturalists can't offer much assistance either. They sometimes disagree about how to combat the problem, largely because the plant is used in many different ways — smoked, eaten and sometimes rubbed on the skin.

"We have an industry that's been illegal for so many years that there's no research. There's no guidelines. There's nothing," said Frank Conrad, lab director for Colorado Green Lab, a pot-testing lab in Denver.


MORE HERE: http://news.yahoo.com/marijuana-industry-wrestles-pesticides-safety-140925355--finance.html

Thirty-Year-Old Father Dies After Being Hogtied By Mississippi Cops (VIDEO)