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Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Prisoner In Van Said Freddie Gray Was ‘Banging Against The Walls' During Ride
A prisoner sharing a police transport van with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray “banging against the walls” of the vehicle and believed that he “was intentionally trying to injure himself,” according to a police document obtained by The Washington Post.
New York Protesters Rally In Solidarity With Balitmore's Freddie Gray
NEW YORK -- A New York police officer was hurt and at least a dozen people were arrested Wednesday as hundreds of protestors gathered in support of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old Baltimore black man who was fatally injured in police custody this month.
Demonstrators flooded open spaces around Union Square, chanting and holding signs protesting Gray's death from spinal injuries. His funeral was Monday, the day mostly peaceful protests in Baltimore turned into mayhem, with 20 police officers hurt, more than 200 arrested and buildings and cars set ablaze. The NYPD officer's injuries appeared minor. The Associated Press reported that police detained at least a dozen people.
Wednesday's New York rally was organized by Millions March NYC, the group that rallied tens of thousands of New Yorkers to march on NYPD Headquarters in December to protest the police killings of unarmed blacks.
"While much attention has been given to the protests and rallies in Baltimore over the last few days, less time has been spent talking about the egregious cause of this community’s justified anger," Millions March said in a statement. "Their protests join a national movement for black life in the face of police murders across the country."
A helicopter hovered overhead as the crowd grew, chanting, "Black lives matter!" An NYPD speaker system drowned out the noise of protestors as an automated voice threatened those blocking the streets with arrest.
"There needs to be more accountability from police and more options for lower income individuals rather than just being trapped in a system where you can't get anywhere," Tyler Bell, 19, a black student at St. John's University, told The Huffington Post at the rally.
Bell expressed cynicism at the idea that Baltimore cops will be held accountable for Gray's death.
"You hear the same thing over and over and you lose hope in seeing justice," Bell said. "Justice for Freddie Gray? I don't think we'll see it, but maybe. If one day we could not have another Freddie Gray, ultimately that's the best form of justice he can see."
Jenny Heinz, 70, a psychotherapist, said it's important that people fight police oppression.
"People are being killed by a system that is structurally racist," Heinz told HuffPost. "We're talking about human lives. I don't know how year after year of people being frisked, arrested and killed -- when lives are being narrowed, and narrowed and narrowed -- it's possible to not let loose."
Below are pictures of New Yorkers standing with protesters in Baltimore and around the nation:
Demonstrators flooded open spaces around Union Square, chanting and holding signs protesting Gray's death from spinal injuries. His funeral was Monday, the day mostly peaceful protests in Baltimore turned into mayhem, with 20 police officers hurt, more than 200 arrested and buildings and cars set ablaze. The NYPD officer's injuries appeared minor. The Associated Press reported that police detained at least a dozen people.
Wednesday's New York rally was organized by Millions March NYC, the group that rallied tens of thousands of New Yorkers to march on NYPD Headquarters in December to protest the police killings of unarmed blacks.
"While much attention has been given to the protests and rallies in Baltimore over the last few days, less time has been spent talking about the egregious cause of this community’s justified anger," Millions March said in a statement. "Their protests join a national movement for black life in the face of police murders across the country."
A helicopter hovered overhead as the crowd grew, chanting, "Black lives matter!" An NYPD speaker system drowned out the noise of protestors as an automated voice threatened those blocking the streets with arrest.
"There needs to be more accountability from police and more options for lower income individuals rather than just being trapped in a system where you can't get anywhere," Tyler Bell, 19, a black student at St. John's University, told The Huffington Post at the rally.
Bell expressed cynicism at the idea that Baltimore cops will be held accountable for Gray's death.
"You hear the same thing over and over and you lose hope in seeing justice," Bell said. "Justice for Freddie Gray? I don't think we'll see it, but maybe. If one day we could not have another Freddie Gray, ultimately that's the best form of justice he can see."
Jenny Heinz, 70, a psychotherapist, said it's important that people fight police oppression.
"People are being killed by a system that is structurally racist," Heinz told HuffPost. "We're talking about human lives. I don't know how year after year of people being frisked, arrested and killed -- when lives are being narrowed, and narrowed and narrowed -- it's possible to not let loose."
Below are pictures of New Yorkers standing with protesters in Baltimore and around the nation:
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
3 Things You Shouldn't Put In Your Ads
Advertising is tricky business. The right words could bring lots of money into your business. The wrong words could hurt your business' reputation and bottom line. Budweiser is learning that the hard way. As part of its "Up for...
Nepal not prepared for intensity of earthquake, geologist says
A man passes a damaged statue of Lord Buddha in Bhaktapur, Nepal, a day after an earthquake struck central Nepal on April 25. Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
It’s no mystery that Nepal — precariously perched atop two shifting geologic plates — is vulnerable to earthquakes. For the past decade, Nepal has been working on preparing for the next big one. It established a Department of Disaster Management and started using sturdier building codes for new construction.
But between its political and economic troubles, the impoverished nation just couldn’t get all of its disaster preparation and response systems in place in time for Saturday’s massive quake, said one geologist who had been working with the Nepalese government on its readiness.The death toll from Saturday’s massive earthquake is now more than 5,000, with more fatalities expected in remote villages that haven’t reported in yet.
Shrines and a monastery at the Swayambhunath Stupa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, collapsed after Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal. Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters
The Nepalese “were not prepared for such a strong earthquake. They just simply had not had time to get all of the things they’d done operationalized,” said geologist Allen Clark, a senior fellow at the East-West Center in Hawaii.
And such a major earthquake required a coordinated international response that could launch on-the-ground quickly, but in Nepal the logistics are very difficult, said Clark. Nepal’s one international airport and smaller airports can’t handle the influx of supplies, nor distribute them efficiently over damaged and landslide-blocked roads.
“It’s going to be a very difficult situation to get people and supplies and capacity into the outer areas around Kathmandu,” he said. “That’s going to take unfortunately probably several weeks, not a couple days.”
Saturday’s 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit midway between the capital Kathmandu and the city of Pokhara was the worst to rattle Nepal since 1934, when an 8.2-magnitude quake killed more than 17,000 people.
Kathmandu is built on a large ancient lake along the front of the Himalayas, so it is primarily on sediment — not rock, said Clark. The sediment allowed the transmission of ground waves which added to the destruction.
A map shows the vulnerability of households in Nepal following the April 25, 2015, earthquake. The data model uses a range of variables related to population density, housing construction materials and household dependence on gas and piped water. These are combined with earthquake-specific data to create a Severity Impact Estimate Index. Map by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
For the last 10 years, Nepal had been working with the United Nations and other international groups on disaster management and preparedness. The government put an overall disaster plan in place, including reinforcing and constructing stronger buildings, and training people to monitor the construction. Clark helped set up the disaster management system and evaluated areas at risk.
“They did as well as they could under the circumstances. We have almost a decade of constant turmoil in the country, during which the disaster management system was set up and put in place,” said Clark.
It’s too early to tell if the management system worked, he said, but preliminary reports show the more modern portions of Kathmandu, including new industry- and tourist-related buildings, did not receive as much damage as the older parts, indicating Nepal’s efforts to make buildings safer seemed to be working.
“The activities that had been going on by the U.N. and other organizations were successful, they simply didn’t have enough time to revamp the system adequately,” said Clark.
Many structures built in the 1700s and 1800s — including UNESCO World Heritage Sites — were damaged or completely destroyed.
Nepalese rescuers and onlookers gather at the collapsed Dharahara Tower in Kathmandu on April 25, following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. Photo by Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images
For example, the landmark Dharahara Tower, built in 1832 for Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari, collapsed in Saturday’s quake with a reported 180 bodies inside.
“It’s going to be a very significant blow to the historical legacy of the city,” Clark said.
Rebuilding will cost an estimated $10 billion, about half of Nepal’s $20 billion economy, according to Nepal’s finance chief.
But, despite the probability of more earthquakes to come, there’s no question the city will rebuild, since it’s the capital and there aren’t other options for available flat, stable space, said Clark.
“It’s going to be rebuilt and hopefully it will be rebuilt to even better standards this time,” he said. “You might think of it like Los Angeles, where there has been and going to be another major earthquake someday and yet we build right back on it all the time.”
The post Nepal not prepared for intensity of earthquake, geologist says appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Exxon vs. Apple: Who Is No. 1 for Dividends?
Exxon Mobil (XOM) increased its dividend by 6% on Wednesday to 73 cents a quarter up from 69 cents. That implies a $12.2 billion payout to investors, says Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst for S&P Dow Jones Indices. That would be just ahead of Apples (AAPL) $12 billion payout and would make Exxon the [...]
5 ways you can help Baltimore
People stand outside the burned community center and apartments across the street from the Southern Baptist Church in Baltimore on Tuesday, a day after riots across the city. Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
The violent riots that broke out in Baltimore following the funeral of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, who is suspected of having been a victim of police brutality, ended with fires, looting and destruction that affected many of the city’s homes and businesses.
RELATED LINKS
1. Finance education
The Baltimore Community Foundation, which invests in education, and race equity and inclusion, has established a Fund for Rebuilding Baltimore and is working with the community to determine how best to apply the donations. 100 percent of donations will go to rebuilding efforts.
Click here to donate.
2. Volunteer
If you live in the area and can volunteer your time, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods has created a Google doc listing places around the city that could use a few extra hands, whether it be for cleanup, delivering supplies or organizing peaceful walks around the city.
Click here to help.
In what will be a first for Major League Baseball, the Baltimore Orioles will host the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday in a stadium closed to fans as Baltimore copes with some of the worst U.S. urban rioting in years. Photo by Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
3. Give to Camden Yard employees
Bill Baer, a Philadelphia sports writer, created a fund for employees of Baltimore’s baseball stadium who will be missing out on up to a week’s worth of pay, after two games were canceled, one was closed to the public and three have been relocated.
Click here to donate.
4. Help rebuild a senior center
A fund has been set up to rebuild a $16 million community center that was burned to the ground on Monday. The center was expected to house 60 low-income senior citizens and was pioneered by the Southern Baptist Church in Baltimore.
Click here to donate and specify that the donation should go to the Mary Harvin Transformation Center.
5. Invest in Baltimore’s youth
Founded in 2012, The Inner City Harbor Project is staffed and run by youth leaders from Baltimore who help train police officers on ways to better communicate and engage with young people. The program also mediates conflicts between teenagers and sends 25 “teenage ambassadors” to the Inner Harbor on the weekends and after school during the summer to promote positive behavior.
“What I see in the Inner Harbor and what was being expressed is the feeling of being discriminated, excluded from mainstream society and retaliating in the only way they know how,” Celia Neustadt, the executive director of Inner City Harbor Poject, who founded it in the summer of 2012, told NewsHour.
“These kids don’t have anything to lose. They are not engaged academically; they are not engaged in traditional social structures,” she said. “They have created their own independent structures to support the things they care about, but they don’t have anything to lose in our current mainstream society because we haven’t created space for them,” she said.
Neustadt believes the teenagers need to be a part of finding a solution to the youth violence in Baltimore. “Without the teens on the inside, we have no hope for knowing it, understanding it, or working to resolve it,” she said.
Click here to donate.
The post 5 ways you can help Baltimore appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
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