BP Oil Spill Ticker; President Obama Appoints Independent Commission

BP has considered or tried dispersants, skimmers, booms, a containment dome, a smaller "top hat," a "hot tap," a giant pipe to siphon off the oil and a "junk shot." Still oil continues gushing from the Deepwater Horizon site. Meanwhile, nobody knows how much. Estimates from the government, outside experts and oil companies differ. PBS has published this tracker.






The President announces that the independent commission he created for the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling will be chaired by former Florida Governor and Senator Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator Bill Reilly. He promises accountability not just for BP, but for those in government who bore responsibility.






This is a terrible environmental disaster that will be in our minds for decades to come. How do you see this playing out over the coming weeks and months?

Wordless Wednesday: Rima Fakih is Miss USA 2010 and 'Stripper 101' Pole-Dancing Champion

Tune In Tuesday: Eels

Villagers who have followed this blog for awhile know that I'm a science fiction fan. As such, I've been watching the first season of a SyFy television series called, 'Stargate Universe'. The episode last week ended with a song that I had to look up. The song is Agony by a group simply known as Eels. I invite you to listen to the song and share your own thoughts if you have time or inclination.





Womanist Musings created a weekly meme today called Tune In Tuesday. She noted that our blogs often deal with serious issues and it might be nice to lighten the atmosphere every once in awhile. Music has the ability to trigger happy memories and much of our lives are marked by song. To that end each Tuesday this blog intends to offer a song and tell you about what it triggers for me and in return you are welcome to share any memories that you have associated with it.

Taser Lawsuit: Yuceff Young II (Brooklyn, OH)

Perhaps it is time to admit that the taser guns are simply not as safe as advertised by Taser International. The police have gotten much to comfortable relying on this weapon ... to the point that it is used to subdue minor suspects such as Yuseff Young II.

The police killed Young by using their taser guns. Young was a danger to no one. His actions did not warrant such force.

As such, this blog is glad to see that Young's family has filed a lawsuit against Linndale and Brooklyn police. They are seeking an unspecified amount of damages maintaining that Young would not have died if he had not been Tasered by a Linndale police officer and chased by police from Linndale and Brooklyn. [SOURCE]

Police stopped the car of the 21-year-old man because his car appeared to be unsafe, Linndale police said at the time. Police said Young's front bumper was hanging off and the windshield was shattered.

The police officer smelled alcohol and ordered Young to get out of the car. He did not. That is when the police officer decided to draw his taser gun and pump 50,000 volts of electricity into a young unarmed man who was sitting behind the wheel of his car. Young began to flee the scene once he was shot on by the police officer.

Young's car went a short distance and crashed into a utility pole.

"We believe the actions of the police were reckless," said Terry Gilbert, attorney for the family. "He was a good kid, a college student, and he was drunk. We don't know why, or if, his car was banged up. But we know he was not giving the officer a hard time. But he was Tasered while sitting behind the wheel, which is very dangerous."

Personally, I think that a suspect's flight should not be the sole justification for using a Taser. Perhaps this lawsuit will help get that point across to local law enforcement agencies around the nation so that they can modify their policies. At the rate of a taser-death every week, perhaps we can all agree that the Taser may not be as safe as originally billed.

Taser Autopsy: Jaesun Ingles (Midlothian, IL)

Three unidentified Midlothian police officers chased down 31-year old Jaesun Ingles and killed him with one or more taser blasts on March 10. The police tried to cover-up the use of the taser in their police report. The Cook County medical examiner continues the cover-up by failing to mention anything about the officers' use of a taser and its contribution to Ingles' death.

The Cook County medical examiner's office has ruled the March 10 death of Ingles was an accident, the result of choking on a plastic bag he was trying to swallow as he struggled with Midlothian police. [SOURCE]

Neither the police nor the medical examiner comment on the use of the Taser in their report of the incident. Ingles' family for weeks has tried to get information about his death, to no avail.

"It's like they're trying to hide something. They think if they wait long enough, people will just let it go and move on," Ingles' cousin, Leon Jones, of Joliet. "We just want to know what happened."

Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, of the medical examiner's office, conducted Ingles' autopsy and ruled the death an accident. Her report states Ingles died from "aspiration of plastic bag during arrest."

The autopsy report makes no mention of any drugs found in Ingles' system at the time of his death.

Police had said the Taser use was left off the official police report because the investigation was being turned over to the Illinois State Police's public integrity unit, which would provide a more detailed report upon completion of its investigation.

The cover-up is always worse than the crime. I suspect that we haven't heard the last on this case. The small town mentality of the police and the medical examiner won't survive the glare of public scrutiny.

Jaesun Ingles should not have had marijuana on his person ... however the penalty for having marijuana or for resisting arrest should never be DEATH. The police used their tasers to kill this man. That should be unacceptable in our nation.

Taser Death: Sukeba "Sassy" Jackson-Olawunmi (Atlanta, GA)

DeKalb County police electrocuted a second person within 5 days using their taser guns. This time the taser-killing was done to a woman. 39-year old Sukeba Olawunmi was pumped with 50,000 volts of electricity twice after she crashed a stolen car, refused to comply with police commands and became combative.

Police were called into the situation after Olawunmi was accused of attempting to carjack several people. The woman, who was 5-foot-3 and 350 pounds, became unresponsive shortly after the second jolt of taser juice.

We don't have much more information on this taser-killing right now. Please let us know if you learn anything new.

Rep. Maxine Waters Issues Lakeesha Alert for Mitrice Richardson

Mitrice Richardson has been missing for over a year. The mainstream media doesn't appear to care. The Amber Alert system isn't working for this nubian sister ... so it is good to see that a Lakeesha Alert is being sent by U.S. Rep Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles). Rep. Waters asked the Department of Justice to investigate the disappearance of Mitrice, who was released in September from the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station. [SOURCE]

Mitrice Richardson was arrested at Geoffrey's, a Malibu restaurant, for not paying an $89 dinner bill. Deputies who took the Cal State Fullerton graduate into custody described her as "coherent and rational," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca told the Board of Supervisors in a letter.

Waters asked the Justice Department in a May 5 letter to investigate alleged civil rights violations by the deputies.

"I believe that Mitrice's civil rights were violated when she was arrested and then let go in the middle of the night without money, a phone or transportation," Waters said.

Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the department, said that the deputies followed policy.

"We believe that everything was done right," he said, adding that Baca "obviously believes that nobody's civil rights have been violated."

Waters previously had asked the FBI to investigate the disappearance, but she said she was told by the agency that it does not probe adult missing persons.

Mitrice's 25th birthday was April 30th. Let's hope that she is found sooner rather than later. I encourage other bloggers to share the Lakeesha Alert for Mitrice Richardson with their blog readers!

Taser Autopsy: Joe Spruill (Goldsboro, NC)

It amazes me that people shot by taser guns never seem to have the taser gun listed as their 'cause of death'. Joe Spruill was talking with a neighbor early on the morning of January 27. Wayne County Sheriff Deputies Martin McAlduff and Zachary Kinlaw rolled into the neighborhood and asked Spruill to go home (two doors down).

Something happened during the walk.

Police say that Spruill became combative and started throwing things from his pockets at them, so they told him they were putting him under arrest for disorderly conduct.

Something happened during the arrest.

McAlduff and Kinlaw pumped this family man with 50,000 volts of electricity from their taser gun. Joe Spruill died.

One would think that the taser had something to do with his death. But, that is not what the medical examiner is saying. The medical examiner claims that Spruill died of a cocaine overdose. A torn plastic bag was found in his esophagus, and tests showed a lethal amount of cocaine in his system. [SOURCE]

The two officers are back on the job. Joe Spruill is dead. The 'powers-that-be' are comfortable that life is good. Me? I think that a man shouldn't be killed in his front yard for resisting arrest. Spruill should have been given medical attention ... not a lethal dose of taser juice.

What say u?

Wordless Wednesday: Jazz Singer Lena Horne

Tune In Tuesday: The Foreign Exchange

I'm opening my mind and ears to some folks that I hadn't heard before. One of my colleagues suggested that I take a moment to listen to The Foreign Exchange.

Here are two songs from them:




I'm enjoying the flow from this group ... and I love that there ain't any booty-shakin' or other misogyny nonsense in these lyrics or videos. Were you already aware of The Foreign Exchange before this blog post?

---

Womanist Musings created a weekly meme today called Tune In Tuesday. She noted that our blogs often deal with serious issues and it might be nice to lighten the atmosphere every once in awhile. Music has the ability to trigger happy memories and much of our lives are marked by song. To that end each Tuesday this blog intends to offer a song and tell you about what it triggers for me and in return you are welcome to share any memories that you have associated with it.

Taser Autopsy: Daniel Joseph Barga (Cornelius, OR)

The 'powers-that-be' in Oregon would have us believe that being zapped with 50,000 volts of electricity from multiple taser shots had nothing to do with the death of 24-year old Daniel Joseph Barga on April 10.

Instead, the state Medical Examiner's office says that the young man died from "excited delirium" due to the toxic effects of psilocybin, or hallucinogenic mushrooms.

Dr. Karen Gunson, state medical examiner, said generally people experiencing excited delirium constantly demonstrate purposeless violent activity; have incoherent speech; don't respond to stimuli, such as pain, in a normal way; experience hallucinations; and die from a misbeat of their heart. [SOURCE]

Gunson said Barga would not have died if he hadn't used the mushrooms. [NOTE: Personally, I think that Barga wouldn't have died if the police didn't overreact and shoot him up with taser guns over and over and over again ... but, that's just me!]

Excited delirium cases are generally seen in people who are schizophrenic, experience manic phases or who have used cocaine, methamphetamine or mushrooms, Gunson said. People who are experiencing excited delirium become stimulated, Gunson said, and often become extremely warm with increased sweating.

Gunson said excited delirium can be part of a restraint death, such as when officers restrain suspects on the ground to handcuff them. But, Gunson said, there was no evidence of a restraint death in Barga's case. Gunson said the medical examiner's office carefully reviews what witnesses, police and medics say to determine whether a person died from restraint because there often isn't evidence on the body.

Barga died after being taken into custody following a disturbance in the backyard of a upper-income home in Cornelius. Cornelius police officer Mark Jansen found Barga in the backyard covered with blood and refusing to cooperate, police said. Jansen used a Taser, which delivers a 50,000-volt shock, in an effort to subdue Barga, police said. Barga died while in Jansen's custody.

We still await final word from the county prosecutor about whether or not criminal charges will be filed agains the police officers involved in this case.

Taser Autopsy: Hatchel Pate Adams III (Hampton VA)

36-year old Hatchel Pate Adams III was killed by taser-happy police in Hampton, Virginia last year. The state medical examiner blames his death on everything accept the 50,000 volts of electricity that were shot into his body by an unidentified police officer.

About 11 p.m. on Dec. 10, police went to Adams' home to serve an emergency custody order to determine if Adams was a threat to himself or others.

He refused to open the door, but a family member came to the scene and let police in. After Adams swung a samurai-style sword at the officers and the officers used the Taser. Police used the Taser a second time and Adams stopped breathing.

Assistant chief medical exampiner Wendy Gunther completed the autopsy on Mr. Adams. The cause of death is listed as: "Excited delirium in addition to mental illness in addition to methamphetamine use in addition to obesity in addition to subdual by police."




"...subdual by police... ?" 
Where do they get these terms?

Anyhow, Adams' death was the first involving a Taser since Hampton police began using them in 2003. Police spokeswoman Paula Scheck said the four officers placed on administrative leave after the incident are back to work.

She said the incident didn't violate any department policies and was ruled justified. "They were defending themselves from someone wielding a samurai sword at them," she said.

I keep thinking to myself that the family member who opened up the door for the four unidentified police officers is feeling terrible ... I can't imagine that he thought that his fam (Hatchel Pate Adams) was going to be killed that day.

36 years on earth ... and killed by taser-happy police. Something simply isn't right!

GOP Wingnuts Applaud a Guy for Calling President Obama a 'Domestic Enemy'

Eric Cantor (R-VA) gave a speech earlier this week to a group at the Heritage Foundation. He got the audience so foamed at the mouth that one unidentified attendee stood up at the event to ask Cantor why Obama should not be considered a “domestic enemy”:

QUESTION: My question is – and this is something I personally don’t understand – if it’s a naïve question then I apologize: in light of what Obama has done to leave us vulnerable, to cut defense spending, to make us vulnerable to outside enemies, and to slight our allies, how (pause) – what would he have to do differently to be defined as a domestic enemy? (applause and laughter)


CANTOR: Listen, let me respond very forthright to that: you know, no one thinks the President is a domestic enemy. (boos)

I wanted to give Cantor credit for his clear answer ... however, I noticed that Cantor smiled before responding to the question. And I suspect that the content from Cantor's speech gave the courage to this person to ask the question in the first place.

What kind of country are we living in that our nation's leader can be called a 'domestic enemy' by our own citizens?

Three's Company Game Plan Ain't Working for Dwyane Wade, Siohvaughn Wade and Gabrielle Union

Some folks are wondering where will NBA star Dwyane Wade be playing next year as he tests the free agent market. Movie star Gabrielle Union and Wade's wife, Siohvaughn, are going to be watching closely as well.

Villagers may recall that we noted that Wade and his wife were getting a divorce almost three years ago. Now his wife is suing his woman-on-the-side (Gabrielle Union), claiming the star’s conduct around their young children has inflicted emotional distress.

Siohvaughn Wade and the boys are seeking more than $50,000 from Union at a trial.

Siohvaughn claims the actress “engaged in sexual foreplay with Dwyane Wade” in front of Wade’s 8-year-old and 2-year-old sons while on an unsupervised visitation to the basketball star’s Miami home, according to a suit filed this week in Cook County Circuit Court.

The suit also claims Wade’s oldest son was allowed to play unsupervised in or around the Miami home’s pool at night. Wade and Union ignored the boy, whose “screams and cries” eventually got the attention of Wade’s mother, Jolinda Wade, who took the boy inside, according to the suit.

The 8-year-old later told court-appointed child representative Lester Barelay what happened and asked him “to put his father in jail...” so he would not have to return to the home, which he calls “the house where the woman kissing daddy lives,” the suit said.

The suit also claims the younger child nearly drowned while in his father’s care and Union drove the boys to the park with his oldest son in the front seat.

On one visitation, Wade allegedly orchestrated a meeting between Union and the boys, where he introduced the actress as his “girlfriend” and said “that is why your mom and I are going to divorce,” according to the suit.

Dwyane and Siohvaughn Wade have been “sweethearts” since they were 15 years old and currently are still married but are involved in a divorce proceeding.

The boy’s mother claims the sexual foreplay in front of the boys and the orchestrated meeting to introduce the children to their future stepmother caused emotional distress. The older child has sought medical treatment for stress and anxiety, has developed nervous habits, experiences headaches, and is generally anxious to the point of “significant” hair loss causing bald spots, according to the suit. The boy is currently seeking court-mandated mental evaluations at the University of Chicago, the suit said.

Taser Death: Daniel Joseph Barga (Cornelius, OR)

Our blog missed this taser-related killing when it first occurred last month. We now have 72 people dead as a result of being shot by taser guns in America over the past 16 months. That is an average of a death per week. Despite the taser-incident at the Philadelphia Phillies baseball field the other day ... this ain't no joking matter. People are dying!

Daniel Joseph Barga died on April 10, after being taken into custody by Oregon police officers from Cornelius and nearby Forest Grove. [SOURCE]

Cornelius Officer Mark Jansen, a 14-year law enforcement veteran and Taser instructor with the department, Forest Grove Police Sgt. Dean Foster, a 25-year law enforcement veteran, and Officer Scott King, a nine-year law enforcement veteran, were suspended from duty while the investigation into the death of Barga took place.

Police were called to a house at about 3 a.m. April 10, after a report of a disturbance in the backyard. The homeowner told Jansen that a partially clothed man had confronted him, and was behaving erratically and threatening violence.

Jansen found Barga in the backyard covered with blood and refusing to cooperate. Jansen used a Taser, which delivers a 50,000-volt shock, in an effort to subdue Barga, police said.

Barga reportedly resisted as Jansen tried to wrestle him to the ground, according to police. Barga then bolted and ran, not following Jansen's commands to stop, police said.

Foster and King were called to assist and joined the chase after Barga, police said. The officers continued attempts to stop Barga, using Tasers and pepper spray, but he resisted, police said. He then stopped breathing while being taken into custody.

Medics transported Barga to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Human life doesn't mean much in Washington County, Oregon. The County District Attorney, Bob Hermann, doesn't feel that there was any criminal conduct on the officers' part. Hermann and his investigators determined that there was no reason for the officers to remain on suspension, especially because they are from small agencies with a high need for officers. Cornelius has 13 sworn officers; and Forest Grove has 17 sworn officers.

"I can't wait to get an officer back," said Cornelius Police Chief Paul Rubenstein. "There's no indication of wrongdoing on any of the officers' sides. We want to know why someone died just like everyone else."

Police say they believe Barga was under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms at the time of his death, but the results from the toxicology test still may not be available for weeks, authorities said.

Tasers are killing Americans all over the nation ... and all we do is laugh. Very sad...

Sam 'Joe the Plumber' Wurzelbacher Extends His 15 Minutes of Fame in Toledo OH

The ebb and flow of Republican politics. John McCain may be out of politics this year ... while the man he made famous, Samuel "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher, is now an active member of Republican politics in Toledo OH. Wurzelbacher will be one of nearly 400 committee members who oversee the Republican Party in northwest Ohio's Lucas County. The group elects the county chairman and sets the party agenda.

Of course the man we call 'plumber' who isn't a plumber is now a weak 'politician'. The group he'll serve on meets only a few times a year to elect the county chairman and sets the party agenda. Wurzelbacher won the seat by a 38-24 vote.

He continues to milk his 15 minutes of fame. Villagers may not know ... but, Wurzelbacher wrote a book, speaks at conservative 'tea parties' and spent a few weeks as a war correspondent in the Gaza Strip.







Wurzelbacher is the kind of redneck white guy that conservatives and tea party loyalist love. This is the clown who once said,

"Illegal immigration? Put a fence up and start shooting."

I pity the fools in Toledo who elected this guy to be their leader!

Racist Politicians Target People of Indian Descent in Ohio and Arkansas

Have you ever seen that 'whack-a-mole' game in arcades?   Your kid puts 50 cents in the machine and he gets a hammer.  There are a bunch of moles who pop out of holes ... and your kid scores points for whacking the mole on his head and driving him back into the hole. The racist mole-like efforts of our politicians showed itself this week.

First, I voted yesterday in the Democratic primary for Ohio's 2nd District. The seat is currently held by Jean Schmidt (R-OH). One of the Democratic hopefuls challenging for the job is David Krikorian. Krikorian showed his racism with disparaging remarks he’s made recently about his chief primary opponent, Surya Yalamanchili.

Krikorian has appeared at campaign events to ridicule Yalamanchili, an American of Indian descent, by dramatically pronouncing his name to emphasize its foreign nature.

“Now do you really think that a guy with a name like that has a chance of ever being elected?” Krikorian allegedly said to members of Veterans of Foreign Wars in Clermont County.

The comments — which Krikorian denies - drew a quick response from Jean Schmidt and local Democratic leaders, who shot off a letter to Krikorian calling his behavior “deeply disturbing.”

“Your comments on Surya’s name are are best insensitive and worse appear racist,” wrote Timothy M. Burke and David Lane, the Democratic chairmen in Hamilton and Clermont counties, respectively. “It is deeply disturbing to us that you would use his name, which is obviously derived from his ethnic heritage, against him in a denigrating manner, especially considering how strongly you value and celebrate your own heritage.”

Krikorian thought he was being subtle.  He thought that he could ridicule his opponent's name as a racist code for reminding voters that Yalamanchili is too dark-skinned to represent them in Congress.

You have to watch these closet-racists closely.  As soon as you whack one of them back in their hole ... another one pops up.   A second racist mole popped up in the Arkansas race for US Senate. In this case, we see a group called the Americans for Job Security running an ad against Bill Halter, who's challenging Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) in this month's Democratic primary.

Some shyt is so obvious that it can't be denied ... even when the racist moles try to do so. Is there any non-racist motive for a pro-business group to portray colorful Indian characters thanking Halter -- who served on a corporate board that voted to send some jobs to India?

You be the judge:


The racism in this ad was called to task by others on Daily Kos, Sepia Mutiny, Angry Asian Man, and Reappropriate.

The Electronic Village is proud to join their ranks! We'll whack-a-(racist) mole any day of the week and twice on Tuesdays!

Tune In Tuesday: Eric Roberson

I have only become aware of Eric Roberson in the past few weeks. I'm working behind the scenes to see if he'll perform at a benefit concert later this summer.

Check out these two tunes from the young brother.



I enjoy the mellow vibe from this brother. Had you heard of him before?



Womanist Musings created a weekly meme today called Tune In Tuesday. She noted that our blogs often deal with serious issues and it might be nice to lighten the atmosphere every once in awhile. Music has the ability to trigger happy memories and much of our lives are marked by song. To that end each Tuesday this blog intends to offer a song and tell you about what it triggers for me and in return you are welcome to share any memories that you have associated with it.

Good News Tuesday: Andrea Grimes is the Future Face of Technology

Soulclap to Noire Digerati for pointing us to Andrea Grimes ... the Future Face of Technology! Andrea is a Ph.D. candidate in Human-Centered Computing at the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech University. Her research lies within the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW).

A member of Associate Professor Beki Grinter's Work2Play Lab, Andrea's research involves studying aspects of human life to design technology that resonates with existing sociocultural landscapes. Much of her work has focused on designing technology to address diet-related health disparities in the African American population.

To this end, she studies how culture shapes health behaviors and attitudes, and how health technologies can account for this relationship. Her work has involved designing and evaluating a nutrition-oriented mobile game and community-based information sharing applications. Her other research includes examining the future of human-food interaction research in HCI and designing technologies to support family health.

Andrea earned her bachelor's in computer science from Northeastern University.

Some of Andrea's awards and honors include the following:

• Microsoft Research Graduate Fellowship, 2008-2010
• Yahoo! Key Technical Challenge Grant, 2008

This blog plans to share some good news about people of African descent each and every Tuesday. You can help ... let me know if you see a good news story that you think would inspire our Villagers!

Family Wants to Know Why Taser-Happy Arlington Police Electrocuted Unarmed Man to Death

The friends and family of Adil Jouamai say he needed medical attention ... not a taser shock. The 32 year old husband, father and embassy security guard died early Friday morning after being tasered by Arlington Police. [SOURCE]

Adil learned that his father had been hospitalized back home in Morocco. This news upset Adil ... so, his family took him to the hospital to get medication to lower his blood pressure and calm him down.

Just after midnight ... he became agitated again. The family says they called for an ambulance ... but police showed up and asked the family to leave the apartment.

On Friday ... police said they found Jouamai naked, and uncooperative. Officers had to taser him to get him under control. Moments later he stopped breathing and died.

The penalty for being naked and uncooperative should not be death. Especially if there are multiple officers with an unarmed and unclothed victim. This is the second person killed by taser-happy police in Arlington VA.





Jouamai's family is asking why it was necessary to taser him. He was naked, unarmed and they claim there were as many as ten police officers in the room with him.