Sunday, April 26, 2015

The police culture in the USA is counter culture to freedom.

No one in opposition to the deaths of these black men are stupid about the importance of police to a democracy. However, when the same police that are suppose to maintain the peace in our towns and cities begin to kill unarmed people, there is a profound breech in their role in society.

The killing of unarmed citizens has to stop. For as completely heinous those words sound in regard to the USA, there is no end to it.

The USA is suppose to be a society that prides itself on civility and law. We are way out of line to our own purposes.

The police dynamics in Ferguson, Missouri leading to the death of Michael Brown, Jr. speaks to a police culture obsessed with guns and killing. Guns are suppose to be used for defense of an officer, not a method to capture a suspect or escalate tensions between citizens and police. Do I have to remind that Michale Brown, Jr. and his friend were jay walking when Wilson escalated the circumstances by placing his vehicle in the path of people unarmed. Wilson was unprofessional, sloppy while disregarding his proper place as a police officer. He was not judge and jury.

Mr. Wilson was a part of that police culture that places violence before law enforcement. The county prosecutor corrupted the process of law by providing a grand jury to exonerate Mr. Wilson. Submitting a police killing to a grand jury was as corrupt as the judges that sit on the bench in Ferguson. Don't try to say there was no judicial corruption, they ran the scheme the city council laid out. Judges are suppose to have a conscience. It was completely lacking in Ferguson by every person in power in that city.

There is a lot wrong in the power structure of the USA reaching all the way into the US Congress and people, like Bob Corker. Corker wants to legislate with nothing more governing legal outcomes than human behavior. The Founding Fathers, there were no mothers, wanted to avoid human nature and set themselves to align with reason and not emotion in the USA Constitution. That seems an inconvenience for Senator Corker.

The Congress is no longer a place where the USA solves it's problems, so much as makes more problems while selling influence to campaign funders. It is not the America I grew up in. It is not the American President George Washington fought for. It is an American sold lock, stock and barrel to those with the highest bid for service.

Following Trayvon Martin's death, people of conscience started to realize something was amiss.

Democracy Now started to follow the stories unfolding. One after another after another. The programming has complied a page of those now dead by police when unarmed. It is place to begin to understand how conscience is waking up to the violence caused by police. 

Democracy Now! (click here) has documented scandals of police brutality across the country. Scroll through the stories below to see our coverage of the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and protests calling for the arrest of the officer who shot him. In New York City we reported on the death of Eric Garner after police placed him in a chokehold as he repeatedly told them, "I can’t breathe!" The encounter was recorded by an onlooker using his smartphone. We have also documented the killing of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., a 68-year-old Marine veteran shot by police inside his own home after he mistakenly set off his LifeAid medical alert pendant. In 2011-2012 we covered the police crackdown on the Occupy movement, and spoke to Scott Olsen, who survived two tours in Iraq but nearly died when he was hit with a police projectile at an Occupy Oakland protest. We also interview loved ones of police victims, and feature conversations with advocates like Michelle Alexander, author of the best-selling book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.

Felony Running

This has to be one of the most hideous laws on the books. Even though there is no crime committed, a person can be arrested and jailed for running from police.

It is an egregious law. It needs to be removed from a jailable crime and from a felony status. 

When Is Running From The Cops A Felony? (click here)

- BY, Texas

Answer:

There are two basic ways you can be charged with a felony for running from the police. One is you have been previously convicted of running from the cops on foot. A second way is if you flee in a motor vehicle.

Both kinds of evading are state jail felonies and carry a punishment of six months to two years in the state jail. It is not a defense that you had not committed a crime. Another way to turn running from a cop into a felony is if the officer gets hurt while chasing you.

For example, you kick the cop while climbing a fence then you’ve just committed the offense of assault on a peace officer. These cases are usually easy for the prosecutor to prove because cops tend to show up for court and most juries have little reason that a cop might lie or shade the truth.
As with lying to a cop, most of the time the evading charge is worse than the charge (I.e. trying to avoid being arrested for traffic warrants) the person was trying to avoid.

If running is going to cause death don't do it.
"Police Brutality: An Anthology" 

It isn't new. It is on Google Books actually. (click here) 
It is a collection of essays. It can be found free on Google Books.

It can be found on "Google Play" (click here)

It contains contemporary history of a culture that disregards the rights of citizens. It isn't the current problem, but, it proves the inability for the USA to contain violence against the citizen.

The idea a word such as 'unexplained' is attached to a person in police custody is criminal.


Mr. Gray was in police custody. There is a chain of custody along the way. What seems to be the problem? Everyone in remanding Mr. Gray to custody is involved in the death.

When police cause heinous death they are handled with kit gloves, but, when a minority runs from the police they are brutalized. I don't think so.

I am assuming the police involved with Mr. Gray are ALL on suspension by now. I would think they are at risk in any violent events during demonstrations. 

Mr. Gray was already in police custody. He should have been safe and not in danger. The poor handling of a person causing his death was evident all along Mr. Gray's route of custody. There is no unexplained anything. This is the police acting in very negligent and chaotic manner. There is no professionalism at all. Not one police officer stopped to call an ambulance. Not one. A police officer doesn't have to be an MD, but, they do have to conduct a level of concern for the prisoner.

The idea suspects and  prisoners are less than human seems to be a common thread in all these cases. It is culture problem. It is also a matter of training. For God sakes, police are directly involved with the public, there is no understanding about false arrests and innocent people? If a person is found to be physically injured in any police activity that is a problem, not simply a matter of fact.

April 26, 2015
By Shannon Stapleton

(Reuters) - Baltimore's mayor and police(click here) on Sunday again blamed outside agitators for violence and vandalism that flared during a mostly peaceful protest over last week's death of a young black man who sustained an unexplained spinal injury while under arrest.

A day after thousands of demonstrators marched through the city demanding justice in the investigation into the April 19 death of Freddie Gray, 25, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake condemned the lawlessness that erupted on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, scores of protesters splintered off from the main rally to hurl bottles, metal barricades and various objects at police and their patrol cars, and to vandalize storefronts and other properties downtown, authorities said.
There were 35 arrests, and six officers suffered minor injuries, according to police and the mayor.

There are several ways of diagnosing spinal injuries.

The ASIA Scale (click here). It is the most frequently measure referred to by clinicians. 

There are others that can be more understandable to the lay person.

There are many other functional scales besides the ASIA scale, (click here) but it is the most frequently used. Neurologists find the NLOI (the Neurological level of injury) scale helpful; it is a simply administered test of motor function and range of motion. The Function Independence Measure (FIM) evaluates function in mobility, locomotion, self-care, continence, communication, and social cognition on a 7-point scale.

The Quadriplegic Index of Function (QIF) detects small, clinically significant changes in people with tetraplegia. Other scales include the Modified Barthel Index, the Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM), the Capabilities of Upper Extremity Instrument (CUE), the Walking Index for SCI (WISCI), and the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM).

The knowledge in understanding the way neurological deficits manifest may be of interest as the truth begins to clear in the case of Mr. Gray.

Mr. Gray had his spinal nerve severed. It wasn't just broken bones. The spinal cord range from 13 mm (12 in) thick in the cervical and lumbar regions to 6.4 mm (14 in) thick in the thoracic area.

The spinal cord isn't a large organ in width. So, if a person is handled with no regard to his or her neck a broken bone can result in a larger trauma to the central nervous system. 

This is more than a broken neck, it is life threatening injuries.


President Obama has to consider a special task force to deal with the deaths of unarmed black men.

This is the e-page for the DOJ's News Releases. (click here)

The DOJ being passed to the new AG has lead an incredible number of investigations. If there is any reason AG Holder was unpopulat with Republicans, it was because his cabinet seat was never cold to the idea government at any level was above reproach.

It appears as though AG Holder was as intent on ending government corruption as well as criminal activities in the USA. Add to that the tragedies the USA experienced in places like Sandy Hook and then realize how intent he was on ending crime and violence.

Understanding how active AG Holder was in protecting innocent people from all directions, government or otherwise, it is completely understandable he was not really popular with those that wanted to shut him up.

If President Obama would please ask our new AG if she needs help with minority tragedies and the many ongoing deaths followed by investigation, it would free her up to carry out a very ambitious agenda of the departing AG.

Baltimore is definiately all about being heard after the heinous death of Freddie Gray.

April 19, 2015
By Jon Swaine

Family of man who suffered a broken neck after his arrest demand that the inquiry into his death be taken away from the city police.

...Relatives of Freddie Gray )click here) told the Guardian on Sunday they want the US Department of Justice and FBI to take control of the investigation into how Gray’s neck was broken, apparently after he was detained by officers and loaded into a Baltimore police van....

 

The DOJ enters the picture in Oklahoma.

When I left to be with family for a few days to celebrate the life of my Uncle Jack I recall a report stating Mr. Harris' criminal record was released and reveled drug offenses. 

The community reply to that was there is no death sentence for dealing drugs. That's fine, but, that wasn't my first reaction. My first reaction was that the DOJ was attempting to cool the situation down. Up to that point there were very valid questions as to why a sting operation for a single gun and was that actually a crime in Oklahoma? By releasing the criminal record of Mr. Harris, it was made more obvious there was some substance to idea of capturing Mr. Harris.

That release of information was still nonspecific as to whether drug violations were current issues with the police regarding Mr. Harris. Actually, it raises more questions than it answers. Why such an elaborate sting operation if there was a current summons for his arrest? If there was no current summons for drug charges, why the sting operation at all.

By this article of April 25th there are far more problems to confront with the Tulsa Oklahoma police department. 

I haven't seen much about the African American community in Tulsa and their reaction to Mr. Harris' death. However, it is easy for me to make the observation of oppression within southern communities whereby if minorities speak out it will lead to punitive policing of those that spoke out. I believe strongly minority communities are targets of oppression as well as the "Poor White Trash." 

North Carolina is another example of deep government corruption while seeking to jail those that protest. So, if Mr. Harris has to stand alone, then outside vigilance has to be part of the understanding of communities that practice such oppression and special treatment for wealthy benefactors country wide.

Tulsa knows it has been caught in a corruption scandal and abuse of authority which is why they are being as transparent as possible along with the DOJ investigation. They don't want to go to jail. Wouldn't that be interesting, huh? I am sure they would meet some friends.

April 25, 2015
By Selensa Hall

..."New information (click here) has been submitted to this office regarding actions in the Sheriff's Office that are worthy of further investigation beyond the scope of the manslaughter case," a statement from Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler's office said Friday, according to NBC News.

"I am highly concerned about recent allegations that have surfaced and I have been in contact with independent law enforcement agencies regarding further investigation into these matters," Kunzweiler said in the statement.

A 2009 Tulsa County Sheriff's Department report obtained by NBC News found that Bates wasn't required to follow some protocols of the department....

Nepotism at Interpol of Homeland Security.

 
Office of the Inspector General (OIG) today released a report examining allegations of improper hiring practices by senior officials in the InternationalCriminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Washington, a Department of Justice (DOJ) component co-managed by the Department of Homeland Security. The OIGr eport describes the efforts of Warren Lewis, the organization’s Executive Officer, to obtain positions for his son and for three persons associated with members of his family, as well as the efforts of Lewis and other INTERPOL Washington managers to obtain internships for people they knew....

This is only one case. There are many others.

February 25, 2015

FRESNO, Calif.—Ramon Cano, (click here) 28,a former correctional officer at the Taft Federal Correctional Facility was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Anthony W. Ishii  yesterday to 30 months in prison for conspiracy to provide and possess contraband in prison in violation of 18 U.S.C.§§ 371 and 201(b)(1), United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced...

Cleaning up the criminal justice system is daunting. There is corruption in many ways within the prisons and jails. There is a culture of crime conducted both in the facilities and over flows into the community. For long term inmates, the outside becomes a source of power to which value is added to the prison environment. 

There is no excuse for this. Where is everyone when these transactions are occurring by visitors and guards alike?  

When such dynamics occur there is strong incentive to corrupt inmates with lesser sentences. This leads to hearings by the prison officials which can and do extend the jail/prison time of inmates. Our prison system is hardening inmates and for private prisons there is every incentive to increase the crime element in every inmate jailed.
It's Sunday Night

This is not porn.

Song writer - Smokey Robinson

There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone
All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone
My pen won't pour a lyric line when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
Can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
Can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

All my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
Can't add my name into the fight while I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it, I guess I'll have to do it
Guess I'll have to do it while I'm here

There is an implied fiduciary relationship between tour organizations and climbers.

I don't care if the tour organizations disavow any danger or responsibility for danger, there are certain implied understanding between them and their clients. If the tour organizations are not providing all the information a novice climber needs to determine their potential for danger, the tour organizations are responsible for their deaths.

The parameters regarding climbing is weather, winds, ice conditions, snow conditions including type and condition of snow and oxygen content at summit. An inventory of equipment and readiness needs to be assembled before any climb. These are commercial organizations marketing services to people.

There should be no novice climbers on Everest without a significant resume to qualify their assent. Right now, there should be no climbers on Everest at all; at the very least after shocks occur as a reality.

Previous to the tour industry capitalizing on potential death, there were people acting on their own at their own risk to reach the summit. They did start out for the peak of Everest without knowing their chances.

Stay off the mountain ! These temperatures are at base camp. All melt waters still apply.

Snow forecast.com (click here)

At the above table gives of forecast.com, the weather forecast for Mount Everest at the specific elevation of 6564 m. Any prediction above that elevation is based on unknown calculations.

According to the forecast.com website base camp is at greater than 12,000 feet. There needs to be clarification by the website as to the accuracy of the temperatures involved. Transparency should exist to the equations used to determine higher elevation weather and temperatures on the mountain.
 
The temperatures from STAGNANT air masses is warming and melting the snow. There is no safe place in unstable snow and/or ice falls.

April 25, 2015
1100
Mostly Cloudy. 

The clouds will hold the warmer air against the ground. If the clouds are gone it may or may not become colder once the albedo returns.

Climbers have to pass through Base Camp where temperatures are maintained as above freezing. Even if 12,000 feet is base camp the dangers of melt water remains the same. 

If there are climbers above the melt water point they will have to pass through an unstable snow/ice. That also assumes there is no change in any snow/ice above Base Camp. That is not accurate. As the melt water occurs at lower elevations it provides for space to move snow down by pure gravity. That means there is danger along the entire route, potentially to the peak.

This record of temperatures and conditions at forecast.com has to be accurate as climbers rely on weather conditions to decide there best options. Currently, there are inaccuracies by their own admission in making the statement of "specific elevation of 6564 m. Our sophisticated weather models allow us to provide snow forecasts for the top, middle and bottom ski stations of Mount Everest." Links within the website rely on the same graph for information on weather. There is no snow report, only, weather. While that is necessary, it is not the only parameter required to determine stability of the snow and ice along the traverse of the mountain
 
To right is an albedo chart.

April 25, 2015
By Peter Holley 

A senior mountain guide (click here) said that at least 17 people were killed after an avalanche triggered by Nepal’s massive earthquake slammed into a section of the Mount Everest mountaineering base camp, and 61 others were injured. 

Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said early Sunday that 22 of the seriously injured were taken by helicopter to Pheriche village, the nearest medical facility. Bad weather and poor communications are hampering more helicopter sorties.

The avalanche began on Mount Kumori, a 22,966-foot mountain just a few miles from Everest, roared through the nearby Khumbu Icefall and slammed into base camp, sending hundreds of climbers running for their lives, according to the Associated Press....

April 26, 2015
2000 
Mostly Cloudy

Everest is melting.

29,029 feet in altitude maximum elevation - Temperatures measured are at 6564 meters.

8,848 meters maximum elevation - Temperatures measured at 2000 meters.

5.5 miles maximum elevation - Temperatures measured at 1.24 miles

The hot climate has reached to at least 1.24 miles above the surface of Earth. I find it interesting some of Earth's hottest air not only caused an avalanche, but, caused it after an earthquake. Melt water is most likely making it's way into cracks and crevasses that destabilizes the region with hydraulic pressure.

Kindly report any 'felt' quake. Thank you.

If you felt this earthquake, report your experience on the “USGS Did You Feel It?”website for this event.

Impact - Did You Feel It? - Tell Us! (click here)


Locations of Nepal and Mount Everest
Categories: Featured, Natural Hazards

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, 2015 at 06:11:26 UTC. Visit the USGS event page to learn more about this earthquake.
For an estimate of the earthquake’s impact, visit the USGS Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) website (click here).

There are guided tours providing very expensive services, but, little transparency to the snow or ice conditions, including melt waters. These costs have remained stable for at least two years. I don't believe they offer any travel insurance.

Mount Everest (click here) you're going to shell out a minimum of $30,000. Most western guiding companies charge around $65,000, and if you're going all-out on a private expedition with an imported chef and constant access to Instagram, your trip might run as high as $100,000.

Climbers at higher elevations will have some provisions for their return. If they can't find an alternate route more safe they will run out of food and water as well as oxygen if needing it to reach the summit.