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Aren't you tired of being a SHEEP following the Judas' Goat to slaughter?
David Petraeus betrayed his oath of office, disgraced his uniform in a tawdry sex scandal.
David Petraeus is a DISGRACE!
Great article below!
David Petraeus. (photo: Reuters)
Glenn
Greenwald | The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are
Acknowledged
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Greenwald writes: "The reason for the unusually intense, largely critical coverage of drone killings yesterday is obvious: the victims of this strike were Western and non-Muslim, and therefore were seen as actually human."
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Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept
Greenwald writes: "The reason for the unusually intense, largely critical coverage of drone killings yesterday is obvious: the victims of this strike were Western and non-Muslim, and therefore were seen as actually human."
READ MORE
Two men hold flag at protest for death of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore Police Department. (photo: JM Giordano/Guardian)
Baltimore Police Commissioner Admits to Mistakes in Freddie Gray's Handling, Won't Resign
25 April 15
altimore's police commissioner says he is not stepping down as a top police official admitted that Freddie Gray should have gotten medical attention the moment of his arrest – not after placed in a police van.
Commissioner Anthony Batts, speaking at a press conference Friday, admitted that his officers made mistakes during Gray's April 12th arrest which resulted in a fatal spine injury but he defiantly brushed off calls for him to resign.
“That’s not going to happen. I'm focused on my job. I'm focused on this investigation,” he said.
Batts' vow came as a top officer spearheading their investigation said that Gray should have been given medical treatment the moment he was handcuffed.
"That's quite frankly where Freddie Gray should have received medical attention and he did not," Deputy Commissioner Kevin Davis said.
Batts added that despite Gray’s pleas for medical help, officers "failed to get him medical attention in a timely manner multiple times.”
Gray was also not buckled up inside of the van, he said, violating his department’s rules.
"No excuses for that, period," Batts said.
Instead the 25-year-old was placed in leg irons and driven to a police station. The 30-minute ride included three stops during which a second prisoner was added to the back.
It was only after their arrival that an ambulance was called when Gray was found struggling to breathe and unable to speak. He died a week later.
Davis said they're now looking into "each and every stop along the way."
"How long it took, the distance, the travel route," he said. "We need to know from A to Z what exactly occurred on each and every stop."
As of Friday Davis said five of six of their officers have given statements on the incident while the sixth continues to invoke their right not to speak.
Batts said they're particularly interesting in learning how Gray was seated inside of the vehicle and how he appeared before his arrival.
He said he's added more than 30 investigators to their task force and on Friday will submit their findings to the state attorney's office.
He called that "not the conclusion of our investigation" but "step two."
"We will continue to follow the evidence wherever it goes."
Earlier in the day the city's mayor also publicly spoke out saying what happened to Gray while in police custody was “absolutely unacceptable and I want answers.”
“A mother has to bury her child and she doesn't even know how or why this tragedy occurred only that this tragedy occurred while her child was in our custody, in police custody and this is not acceptable,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said at a press conference.
The mayor specified concern over police policies and procedures in Gray's transportation not being followed as well as the 25-year-old not immediately provided medical assistance when he requested it.
Rawlings-Blake’s stern words come less than a week after Gray's death, with his family’s attorney describing his spinal cord as nearly severing after placed in a police van for unclear reasons.
The mayor stressed her trust that an investigation into what happened will be “comprehensive, thorough and fair,” and that if necessary “we will hold the appropriate parties responsible.”
In the meantime she asked protesters to continue to exercise their rights, but in a peaceful manner.
Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan echoed that plea in his own statement on Twitter Friday which chiefly praised protesters for their civilized behavior.
“To date, the nature of these demonstrations have been a testament to Baltimore's strong character and our common commitment to peace and justice. It is my hope that events planned for this weekend continue to reflect positively on the community," he stated in part.
Hogan’s request follows more than 200 protesters descending on Baltimore’s City Hall and marching through rush hour traffic downtown Thursday afternoon, chanting and demonstrating against police brutality until about 10 p.m.
Some protesters antagonized the officers and state troopers on the scene, shouting insults and hurling objects, but no violence was reported.
“We’re not calling for revenge,” the Rev. Jamal Bryant of Baltimore’s Empowerment Temple, one of several speakers outside City Hall, told the crowd.
“We’re calling for justice.”
Two protesters were arrested, the department said on its Twitter page.
“We are listening to the concerns of the community while protecting their constitutional rights to protest and be heard,” the department tweeted hours into the protests.
On Thursday, a lawyer for the Baltimore police officers union said officers did not buckle Gray during the drive to the station, a potentially fatal oversight specifically prohibited by new guidelines approved by the department days before the 25-year-old’s death.
Lt. Brian Rice, the police supervisor suspended for Gray’s death, was accused in 2013 of stalking and threatening to kill a man as part of a “a pattern of intimidation and violence” that resulted in a temporary restraining order, according to an investigation published by the Guardian on Thursday.
And the man who filmed Gray’s arrest told the Baltimore Sun Thursday police had the man's body twisted like “origami” and “a pretzel” while apprehending him.
Gray suffered a massive spinal cord injury in custody and died a week later in a hospital. His cause of death remains unknown and the Justice Department announced Tuesday it is opening a federal investigation into the arrest.
Petraeus Gets
Wrist Slap for Sharing CIA Intel as Other Leakers Face Harsh
Sentences
Liz Fields, VICE
Fields writes: "What kind of retaliation would you expect to receive from the US government if you handed over state secrets to the media or public?"
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Liz Fields, VICE
Fields writes: "What kind of retaliation would you expect to receive from the US government if you handed over state secrets to the media or public?"
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DOJ Report
Slams West Texas Prison, Scene of Riots
Al Jazeera America
Excerpt: "A prison in West Texas that holds mostly immigrant inmates and has been the scene of multiple riots was understaffed and failed to address persistent security problems, a federal report released Thursday said."
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Al Jazeera America
Excerpt: "A prison in West Texas that holds mostly immigrant inmates and has been the scene of multiple riots was understaffed and failed to address persistent security problems, a federal report released Thursday said."
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Facing Threat
in Congress, Pentagon Races to Resettle Guantanamo Inmates
Missy Ryan and Adam Goldman, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "Facing a potential showdown with Congress, the Pentagon is racing to move dozens of detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in coming months before lawmakers can block future transfers and derail President Obama's plan to shutter the U.S. military prison."
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Missy Ryan and Adam Goldman, The Washington Post
Excerpt: "Facing a potential showdown with Congress, the Pentagon is racing to move dozens of detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in coming months before lawmakers can block future transfers and derail President Obama's plan to shutter the U.S. military prison."
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People Across
Europe Protest Inhumane Immigration Policy
teleSUR
Excerpt: "After nearly 900 people drowned in the Mediterranean on Sunday trying to reach Europe from Libya, European leaders have finally decided that the looming migration crisis should be taken seriously."
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teleSUR
Excerpt: "After nearly 900 people drowned in the Mediterranean on Sunday trying to reach Europe from Libya, European leaders have finally decided that the looming migration crisis should be taken seriously."
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Killer Whales
Forced to Steal Fishermen's Catch Due to Overfishing
Jason G. Goldman, Guardian UK
Goldman writes: "Over the past 50 years, even as whaling itself has been banned in most of the world, overfishing has impacted killer whale populations."
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Jason G. Goldman, Guardian UK
Goldman writes: "Over the past 50 years, even as whaling itself has been banned in most of the world, overfishing has impacted killer whale populations."
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