Unity. Rival street gangs, including the Bloods and Crips, put their differences aside to “take out” Baltimore cops. Breathtaking.
This might be the most laughable moment of the entire Baltimore event. Police officials announced Monday they had received a “credible threat” that rival members of the murderous Bloods, Crips and Black Guerrilla Family street gangs “have entered into a partnership to take out law enforcement officers.” This shows the insanity of the MSM by not reminding you that more black youth have been killed along with innocent bystanders and collateral victims and not-so-friendly fire by gang violence than all the cop violence put together and combined. But it’s a great photo-op and some 20 year-old line producer probably thinks it’s cool. Or, better yet, a news director, hired on the cheap, sees only the image quotient and ,misses all together the message and reality.
How Western media would cover Baltimore if it happened elsewhere. Karen Attiah notes inter alia the following in this brilliant observation.
International analysts predict the seeds of a so-called “American Spring,” fomented by technology. “It’s amazing what social media is doing for the cause of justice in America,” said a political rights analyst based in Geneva. “The black youth of America are showing what 21st-century civil rights activism looks like, using technology, social media and a decentralized organizing strategy to hold authorities accountable and agitate for change. These kids represent what modern-day freedom fighting looks like. The revolution will be tweeted, Periscope-d and Snapchatted.”
###
A statement from the United Nations said, “We condemn the militarization and police brutality that we have seen in recent months in America, and we strongly urge American state security forces to launch a full investigation into the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore. There is no excuse for excessive police violence.” The U.N. called on the United States to make a concerted effort to make databases of police violence public to improve transparency and cut down on corruption in the justice system.
But please don’t mention Barry. The professional left has consistently protected their patron saint Barry and would never suggest for a moment that failed economic policies and the ravages of genocidal austerity and the cancer called free trade have been responsible for gutting Baltimore. That would take time an effort and research. Such as the following.
Consider the following “sequestration” cuts to Maryland’s social services in FY 2013 alone, as reported by then-Senator Tom Harkin:
- Head Start (preschool): 233 teaching jobs cut, 1,117 fewer children served
- Child Care and Development Block Grant: 1,164 fewer families received childcare subsidies
- Maternal and Child Health Block Grant: 54,877 fewer women, children and families served
- LIHEAP: $4m in funding cuts to heating and cooling assistance
- Family Violence Prevention: 1,252 domestic violence victims not served, 3,475 local crisis calls not answered
- Substance Abuse Prevention: 3,560 fewer admissions to substance abuse treatment programs
- Senior Nutrition: $1m in cuts to funding
- Special Education grants: 185 jobs lost federal funding
- English language acquisition grants: 3,906 fewer children served
- State grants for career & technical education: 7,184 fewer students receive education and skills
- Department of Labor Employment Service: 20,309 fewer jobseekers served
In addition to Federal cuts, Maryland thug-in-chief Larry Hogan came to power promising more budget-balancing in the form of savage cuts to education and social programs serving the poor black residents of Baltimore. Hogan unveiled his austerity budget in January, which hits Medicaid reimbursements, K-12 education and state worker compensation hard.
Prosecutor Plans Homicide Charges Against Police in Freddie Gray Case
BALTIMORE — The state’s attorney of Baltimore, in a unexpected announcement, said Friday that she had probable cause to file homicide, manslaughter and misconduct charges against the police officers in the death of Freddie Gray, who died after sustaining a spinal cord injury while in police custody.
In a news conference, the state’s attorney, Marilyn J. Mosby, described repeated mistreatment of Mr. Gray. She said that time and again police mistreated Mr. Gray, arresting him with no grounds, violating police procedure by putting him in cuffs and leg cuffs in the van without seat belting him and then repeatedly failing to get him medical attention. She said that when he was removed from the wagon, “Mr. Gray was no longer breathing at all.”
The death, Ms. Mosby said, is believed to be the result of a fatal injury to Mr. Gray while he was riding in the van without a seat belt. As she announced the charges, there was cheering from people in the crowd.
All six officers were charged, one with second-degree murder. Ms. Mosby said warrants had been issued for the officers’ arrests; she did not know if anyone was in custody.
“We have probable cause to file criminal charges,” Ms. Mosby said. As Ms. Mosby spoke outside the War Memorial here, dozens of police officers dressed in riot gear stood nearby.
From the start the police mistreated him according to her account. She said that the knife Mr. Gray was carrying was not a cause for arrest. “The knife was not a switchbladed and it is lawful.” She said officers “failed to establish probable cause for an arrest.”
The announcement came a day after the Police Department completed its initial investigation into Mr. Gray’s death and also handed its findings to Ms Mosby’s office.