Black Lives Matter-Ugliness of Racism.

[spaminator]

Black man claims trucking company fired him because he wouldn't cut dreadlocks
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Heather Hollingsworth
Published Sep 30, 2024 • 1 minute read

A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.
A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.
A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn’t cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.


Drew Harvey, 26, of Crete, Illinois, accused Des Moines-based TMC Transportation of racism in the lawsuit filed last week in state court against the company and two of its employees. The company didn’t immediately respond Monday to phone and email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Similar issues have arisen in places like Texas, where a Black high school student was suspended because of his dreadlocks. And in Kansas, the American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns over a grade school forcing an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut off his hair after he grew it out for cultural reasons.

In Iowa, Harvey was hired as a flatbed truck driver in June. But one day after beginning orientation, his instructor told him to report to human resources, where he was told his hair was creating a “safety issue” and that he needed to cut his deadlocks or be fired, the lawsuit said.


According to the lawsuit, Harvey said his hair was “important to his culture and spirituality” and he offered to address the concerns by trimming his hair, styling it differently, wearing it in a hair wrap or purchasing a different hard hat.

But the lawsuit said the company told him the proposals weren’t acceptable. Fired, he was sent home on a bus in tears, the lawsuit said.

The suit said the policy was inconsistently enforced and a violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Harvey said that during his short time with the company, he observed several non-Black male and female workers who had long hair. The suit said he was even more upset when he learned online that TMC previously fired another Black man for the same reason.

Harvey is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional distress.

Black man claims trucking company fired him because he wouldn't cut dreadlocks

A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Judge denies order sought by Black student punished over hair
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Juan A. Lozano
Published Oct 04, 2024 • 2 minute read
A federal judge on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 denied a request by Darryl George, a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume.
A federal judge on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 denied a request by Darryl George, a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume.
HOUSTON — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume.


Darryl George had sought to reenroll at his Houston-area high school in the Barbers Hill school district after leaving at the start of his senior year in August because district officials were set to continue punishing him for not cutting his hair. George had spent nearly all of his junior year serving in-school suspension over his hairstyle.

The district has argued that George’s long hair, which he wears to school in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its policy because if let down, it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes.

George, 19, had asked U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown in Galveston to issue a temporary restraining order that would have prevented district officials from further punishing him if he returned and while a federal lawsuit he filed proceeds.


But in a ruling issued late Friday afternoon, Brown denied George’s request, saying the student and his lawyers had waited too long to ask for the order.

George’s request had come after Brown in August dismissed most of the claims the student and his mother had filed in their federal lawsuit alleging school district officials committed racial and gender discrimination when they punished him.

The judge only let the gender discrimination claim stand.

In his ruling, Brown said he also denied George’s request for a temporary restraining order because the school district was more likely to prevail in the lawsuit’s remaining claim.

Brown’s ruling was coincidentally issued on George’s birthday. He turned 19 years old on Friday.


Allie Booker, an attorney for George, and a spokesperson for the Barbers Hill school district did not immediately return a call or email seeking comment.

George’s lawyer had said the student left Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and transferred to another high school in a different Houston area district after suffering a nervous breakdown over the thought of facing another year of punishment.

In court documents filed this week, attorneys for the school district said George didn’t have legal standing to request the restraining order because he is no longer a student in the district.

The district has defended its dress code, which says its policies for students are meant to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards and teach respect for authority.”

George’s federal lawsuit also alleged that his punishment violates the CROWN Act, a recent state law prohibiting race-based discrimination of hair. The CROWN Act, which was being discussed before the dispute over George’s hair and which took effect in September 2023, bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, locs, twists or Bantu knots.

In February, a state judge ruled in a lawsuit filed by the school district that its punishment does not violate the CROWN Act.

Judge denies order sought by Black student punished over hair

A federal judge on Friday denied a request by a Black high school student in Texas.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Bath and Body Works apologizes for candle packaging that some said evoked Ku Klux Klan
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Oct 14, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 1 minute read

Bath and Body Works is apologizing for selling a candle with packaging that some people said looked like Ku Klux Klan hoods.

The 3-wick candle was called “Snowed In” and briefly appeared on the company’s website for purchase. It was quickly pulled off of the website once the issue was brought to Bath and Body Works attention.

The image on the packaging was supposed to convey a snowflake cut out of paper. The outer edges of the snowflake are white and cone shaped, with two holes cut out near the centre.



“I have never seen a snowflake that looks like that,” one Instagram user commented.

“This wasn’t an accident,” said another.

But others felt differently.

“It’s just a poorly executed design – that shouldn’t have been approved,” one Instagram user countered.

“This is a paper snowflake. I would not have looked at that and thought it was a racist candle,” said another.

A Bath and Body Works spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the mistake was unintentional, and that the company is committed to fixing it.

“We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and are evaluating our process going forward,” the spokesperson said.

The Cut on Instagram: "Oopsie! Looks like everyone's favorite nostalgic mall fragrance store is taking some heat for their latest holiday-themed candle. Read more about the controversy at the link in bio. Photo: Bath & Body Works"

2,029 likes, 140 comments - thecut on October 13, 2024: "Oopsie! Looks like everyone's favorite nostalgic mall fragrance store is taking some heat for their latest holiday-themed candle. Read more about the controversy at the link in bio. Photo: Bath & Body Works".

instagram.com

Bath and Body Works apologizes for candle packaging that some said evoked Ku Klux Klan

Bath and Body Works is apologizing for selling a candle with packaging that some people said looked like Ku Klux Klan hoods.

torontosun.com

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I saw a snowflake. But I can see the other interpretation.

 

[spaminator]

Phoenix cops punched and shocked deaf Black man, body camera footage shows
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Oct 16, 2024 • 1 minute read

Tyron Scott McAlpin
This image from Phoenix Police Department body camera footage from Aug. 19, 2024, shows Tyron Scott McAlpin, a Black man who is deaf, being punched and shocked with a Taser. Photo by Phoenix Police Department /Associated Press
PHOENIX — Phoenix officers repeatedly punched and shocked a deaf Black man with a Taser nearly two months ago when they responded to a call that the man had committed an assault at a convenience store, according to body camera footage.


The man, Tyron Scott McAlpin, 34, has been charged with felony resisting arrest and aggravated assault stemming from the Aug. 19 encounter with the officers. McAlpin’s arrest was first reported late last week by ABC15 Arizona. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police say Officer Benjamin Harris suffered a hand injury when hitting McAlpin, while McAlpin bit the hand of Officer Kyle Sue during the struggle, which was recorded on the officers’ body cameras. Neither officers’ race was revealed in police reports.

At a court hearing, Harris testified that everything could have been avoided if McAlpin just indicated he was deaf, ABC15 reported.

The Phoenix Police Department didn’t immediately respond to a request through the department’s message system seeking comment from The Associated Press for comment Tuesday.


The man who called the police, who is white, told them that that McAlpin, who was walking nearby, punched him in the face.

An officer caught up with McAlpin in a nearby parking lot and immediately put his hands on him after stepping out of his patrol vehicle, and the struggle began.

McAlpin was arrested on suspicion of assaulting the man who called the police but hasn’t been charged with assaulting him.

The agency told ABC15 that the encounter is under investigation and was assigned to its internal affairs unit.

The Phoenix Police Department has been accused by the U.S. Justice Department of discriminating against Black, Hispanic and Native American people, unlawfully detaining homeless people and use excessive force, including unjustified deadly force.

The city has said it is committed to reforms in its police department but has resisted efforts to enter a consent decree with the Justice Department.

Phoenix cops punched and shocked deaf Black man, body camera footage shows

Phoenix cops repeatedly punched and shocked deaf Black man with a Taser when they responded to a call that the man had committed an assault

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Shocking video shows ex-Georgetown basketball player's fatal shooting after slashing cop
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Published Oct 16, 2024 • Last updated 3 days ago • 2 minute read

Screenshot of Sydney Wilson wielding knife after slashing at cop, as cop points gun at her.
Screenshot of Sydney Wilson wielding knife after slashing at cop, as cop points gun at her. Photo by Fairfax County Police Department /YouTube
The Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team was slammed on social media for a post it shared mourning the loss of a former player after police bodycam footage was released.


The team remembered Sydney Wilson in a post on Sept. 20 after she was fatally shot in an incident with police.

Footage from the deadly incident was released Tuesday by the Fairfax County Police Department.

The video shows Wilson, 33, attacking crisis intervention officer Peter Liu during a wellness check after her doctor raised concerns about the woman’s mental health.

Wilson is first seen opening the door, then slamming it shut.

She then suddenly opens the door again and immediately slashes Liu with a knife.

The officer quickly retreats down the hallway, draws his firearm and repeatedly orders Wilson to “back up” as she chases him with the knife, the video showed.

Wilson is seen stabbing Liu in the face, prompting him to open fire, cops said, as the knife-wielding woman can be seen collapsing in the background.



Footage from two officers who responded moments after the deadly incident shows Liu’s face covered in blood from where Wilson had slashed him in the forehead.

One of the officers attempted to resuscitate Wilson but was unsuccessful.

“Our police officer acted valiantly. He certainly exhibited some grace under pressure,” Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said in a Monday press conference.

The team’s original tribute post to Wilson was flagged by X, adding the context that “Sydney Wilson attempted to stab a police officer, who then shot her in self-defense.”

The Hoyas team has since been under fire by users who reshared footage of Wilson stabbing Liu, while others were surprised the post honouring the attempted cop killer had not been taken down.


“Any loss of life is something that we all mourn,” Davis said.

“The person whose life was lost in this particular case is no different; she has a family and friends and loved ones who love her very much, who care about her and undoubtedly are grieving and upset and we acknowledge that and we pray and our thoughts are with this particular family.”

The video of the shooting emerged just months after Wilson revealed in a post on LinkedIn earlier this year that she had become certified in “adult mental health first aid.”

“As a people manager, mentor, teammate, friend, big cousin, daughter … the list goes on, it’s important to be able to help/identify challenges in myself and others,” she wrote in the post. “I think this is the greatest act of love.”



Wilson attended Georgetown University on a basketball scholarship and played for the Hoyas from 2009 to 2012.

She averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game for the Hoyas in her junior season, and led the team with 24 blocks.

Wilson became a motivational speaker to young female players after graduating, according to her online obituary.

“Sydney’s legacy of friendship, empathy and love will live on in the hearts of everyone who ever met her.”

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1845928885847789571

Sydney Elizabeth Wilson - View Obituary & Service Information

Share Memories and Support the Family.

wallacefuneraldirectorsinc.com

Shocking video shows ex-Georgetown basketball player's fatal shooting after slashing cop

The Georgetown Hoyas women’s basketball team was slammed for mourning the loss of an ex- after body-cam footage was released.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

High-ranking Toronto cop appeals demotion in cheating scandal
Supt. Stacy Clarke believes she was 'villainized' and her punishment was 'excessive'

Author of the article:Spiro Papuckoski
Published Oct 19, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

Toronto Police officer Stacy Clarke was demoted from superintendent to inspector for a 2021 promotions cheating scandal on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
Toronto Police officer Stacy Clarke was demoted from superintendent to inspector for a 2021 promotions cheating scandal on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024.
The first Black female Toronto Police superintendent is appealing her demotion in a cheating scandal, calling the ruling “excessive, harsh, unwarranted and disproportionate.”


Last year, Supt. Stacy Clarke was found guilty at a police disciplinary hearing of three counts of discreditable conduct, three counts of breach of confidence, and one count of insubordination after admitting she helped six Black officers cheat on promotion exams three years ago.

The prosecution had asked for a two-rank drop, 12 months as a staff sergeant followed by 12 months at the inspector rank. The defence sought a 12- to 18-month demotion to inspector followed by a reinstatement to the rank of superintendent.

In late August, hearing officer Robin D. McElary-Downer, a retired deputy chief for South Simcoe Police, ruled Clarke be demoted to inspector for 24 months and be eligible to reapply for promotion to the rank of inspector at the end of the two-year period.


“I believe Superintendent Clarke possesses outstanding leadership qualities,” McElary-Downer wrote in her ruling. “I found her demeanour quite personable when she testified. [However], I find there is sufficient and tangible evidence in front of me to find her actions amply illustrated an abuse of position, and an abuse of power.”



However, in an appeal filed by her lawyer late last month, Clarke argues the penalty was considerably harsher compared to other rulings for similar conduct that she alleges is “rampant” within the Toronto Police Service.


“The hearing officer failed to give sufficient weight to the appellant’s testimony on the culture within the Toronto Police Service, the frequency of similar misconduct, and its impact on her actions,” the appeal states.

“Instead, the hearing officer villainized the appellant for conduct that was rampant within the organization. In so doing, the hearing officer failed to properly weigh the important mitigating factor that, in part, explained the offending conduct.”

Clarke, a 26-year veteran of the service, admitted she discreetly gave questions and answers to six officers she was mentoring who applied to become sergeants within 10 months of her promotion to superintendent, and claimed she was fed up with anti-Black racism within the service that held back qualified candidates from being promoted.


While deciding the penalty for Clarke’s actions, McElary-Downer credited the officer for recognizing her misconduct, accepting responsibility and apologizing, and that she didn’t cheat for her own gain.

However, the gravity of her misconduct was “far reaching,” McElary-Downer said in her ruling.

“Six very junior ranking officers now have stained employment records. Over a nine-day period, she undermined the integrity of the promotional process in a cheating scheme. She violated the trust of her colleagues. And she caused significant reputational damage to the Service. Her misconduct was not commensurate of a police officer, let alone a high-ranking officer, such as Superintendent Clarke.”

For now, the appeal allows Clarke to maintain her role as superintendent.

http://tps.ca/media/tribunal/2024/4-2022-stacy_clarke.pdf

High-ranking Toronto cop appeals demotion in cheating scandal

The first Black female Toronto Police superintendent is appealing her demotion in a cheating scandal.

torontosun.com

 

[Dixie Cup]

Black man claims trucking company fired him because he wouldn't cut dreadlocks
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Heather Hollingsworth
Published Sep 30, 2024 • 1 minute read

A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.
A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.
A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn’t cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination.


Drew Harvey, 26, of Crete, Illinois, accused Des Moines-based TMC Transportation of racism in the lawsuit filed last week in state court against the company and two of its employees. The company didn’t immediately respond Monday to phone and email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Similar issues have arisen in places like Texas, where a Black high school student was suspended because of his dreadlocks. And in Kansas, the American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns over a grade school forcing an 8-year-old Native American boy to cut off his hair after he grew it out for cultural reasons.

In Iowa, Harvey was hired as a flatbed truck driver in June. But one day after beginning orientation, his instructor told him to report to human resources, where he was told his hair was creating a “safety issue” and that he needed to cut his deadlocks or be fired, the lawsuit said.


According to the lawsuit, Harvey said his hair was “important to his culture and spirituality” and he offered to address the concerns by trimming his hair, styling it differently, wearing it in a hair wrap or purchasing a different hard hat.

But the lawsuit said the company told him the proposals weren’t acceptable. Fired, he was sent home on a bus in tears, the lawsuit said.

The suit said the policy was inconsistently enforced and a violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Harvey said that during his short time with the company, he observed several non-Black male and female workers who had long hair. The suit said he was even more upset when he learned online that TMC previously fired another Black man for the same reason.

Harvey is seeking unspecified damages for lost wages and emotional distress.

Black man claims trucking company fired him because he wouldn't cut dreadlocks

A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks.

torontosun.com

WTH? It's only hair. WTH is wrong with people?

 

[spaminator]

Robot vacuums spewed racial slurs, obscenities after being hacked: Report
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Oct 20, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

Foul-mouthed hackers allegedly gained access to robot vacuums in multiple cities across the United States over a few days earlier this year, according to ABC News in Australia.
Clean floors, dirty mouths.


Foul-mouthed hackers allegedly gained access to robot vacuums in many cities across the United States over several days earlier this year, according to Australia’s ABC News, spewing obscenities at owners through the speakers and taking control of the devices’ cameras.

The report said the incidents happened in late May.

The outlet reported all were Chinese-made Ecovacs Deebot X2s, which ABC News was able to hack into earlier to expose security flaws.

Daniel Swenson, a lawyer in Minnesota, told ABC News that he was watching TV when the device started to malfunction and found out through the Ecovacs app that someone had gained access to the live camera feed and was able to control the vacuum remotely.

“It sounded like a broken-up radio signal or something,” Swenson said, according to ABC News. “You could hear snippets of maybe a voice.”



Swenson said he reset the password and rebooted the robot before joining his wife and 13-year-old son on the couch. He said the robot almost immediately started moving again.

That’s when the obscenities started, including the F-word and anti-Black racial slurs, within earshot of his son.

“I got the impression it was a kid, maybe a teenager (speaking),” Swenson told ABC News, adding he turned off the robot after that. “Maybe they were just jumping from device to device, messing with families.”

Swenson told ABC News he was even more concerned about them having access to the camera as they kept the robot on the same floor as their master bathroom.

“Our youngest kids take showers in there,” he said. “I just thought of it catching my kids or even me, you know, not dressed.”



ABC News reported other alleged incidents, including a Deebot spewing obscenities and chasing a dog at a Los Angeles home on the same day the Swensons’ vacuum was hacked. A Deebot in El Paso, Texas, also started shouting racial slurs five days later, the outlet reported.

All of this happened six months after security researchers tried to warn Ecovacs of “significant security flaws” in its robot vacuums and app, according to ABC News, including Bluetooth accessibility issues.

Swenson told ABC News that the company blamed the incident on an “unauthorized person” accessing his Ecovacs account and password after a “credential stuffing” cyberattack. He said he was told that the person’s IP address was banned from gaining further access, ABC News reported.

Ecovacs told ABC News it found “no evidence” that accounts were hacked through a systems breach.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1842051577156403558

Hackers take control of robot vacuums in multiple US cities and abuse owners

Ecovacs robot vacuums in multiple US cities were hacked in the space of a few days, with the attacker physically controlling them and yelling obscenities through their onboard speakers.

abc.net.au

Robot vacuums spewed racial slurs, obscenities after being hacked: Report

Foul-mouthed hackers allegedly gained access to robot vacuums in multiple cities across the United States over a few days earlier this year.

torontosun.com

 

[nallapati]

Robot vacuums spewed racial slurs, obscenities after being hacked: Report
Author of the articleostmedia News
Published Oct 20, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 2 minute read

Foul-mouthed hackers allegedly gained access to robot vacuums in multiple cities across the United States over a few days earlier this year, according to ABC News in Australia.
Clean floors, dirty mouths.


Foul-mouthed hackers allegedly gained access to robot vacuums in many cities across the United States over several days earlier this year, according to Australia’s ABC News, spewing obscenities at owners through the speakers and taking control of the devices’ cameras.

The report said the incidents happened in late May.

The outlet reported all were Chinese-made Ecovacs Deebot X2s, which ABC News was able to hack into earlier to expose security flaws.

Daniel Swenson, a lawyer in Minnesota, told ABC News that he was watching TV when the device started to malfunction and found out through the Ecovacs app that someone had gained access to the live camera feed and was able to control the vacuum remotely.

“It sounded like a broken-up radio signal or something,” Swenson said, according to ABC News. “You could hear snippets of maybe a voice.”



Swenson said he reset the password and rebooted the robot before joining his wife and 13-year-old son on the couch. He said the robot almost immediately started moving again.

That’s when the obscenities started, including the F-word and anti-Black racial slurs, within earshot of his son.

“I got the impression it was a kid, maybe a teenager (speaking),” Swenson told ABC News, adding he turned off the robot after that. “Maybe they were just jumping from device to device, messing with families.”

Swenson told ABC News he was even more concerned about them having access to the camera as they kept the robot on the same floor as their master bathroom.

“Our youngest kids take showers in there,” he said. “I just thought of it catching my kids or even me, you know, not dressed.”



ABC News reported other alleged incidents, including a Deebot spewing obscenities and chasing a dog at a Los Angeles home on the same day the Swensons’ vacuum was hacked. A Deebot in El Paso, Texas, also started shouting racial slurs five days later, the outlet reported.

All of this happened six months after security researchers tried to warn Ecovacs of “significant security flaws” in its robot vacuums and app, according to ABC News, including Bluetooth accessibility issues.

Swenson told ABC News that the company blamed the incident on an “unauthorized person” accessing his Ecovacs account and password after a “credential stuffing” cyberattack. He said he was told that the person’s IP address was banned from gaining further access, ABC News reported.

Ecovacs told ABC News it found “no evidence” that accounts were hacked through a systems breach.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1842051577156403558

Hackers take control of robot vacuums in multiple US cities and abuse owners

Ecovacs robot vacuums in multiple US cities were hacked in the space of a few days, with the attacker physically controlling them and yelling obscenities through their onboard speakers.

abc.net.au

Robot vacuums spewed racial slurs, obscenities after being hacked: Report

Foul-mouthed hackers allegedly gained access to robot vacuums in multiple cities across the United States over a few days earlier this year.

torontosun.com

Wow, this is wild! It has become clear that our robot vacuums are capable of acting up little devils. One cannot even imagine that hackers deliberately decided to seize control of a vacuum, just to utter some obscenities. Oh I can only image how disquieting that must have been to the families, not to mention to the ones with children. I think it really brought out the essence of security even for the gadgets in our households. Well it looks like we will need to monitor our vacuums from now on!

 

[petros]

My human vacuum cleaner/dishwasher yells obscenities daily. 33 years worth.

 

[Twin_Moose]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1848534194357735710

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1848922746744672418

 

[spaminator]

Montreal man detained in Sudan gets day in court with lawsuit against Ottawa
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jim Bronskill
Published Oct 21, 2024 • 3 minute read

OTTAWA — Fifteen years after filing a lawsuit against the Canadian government over his detention in Sudan, Abousfian Abdelrazik is getting his day in court.


An eight-week civil trial, slated to begin in Federal Court today, will revisit events that unfolded two decades ago against a backdrop of heightened vigilance against the threat of extremism.

Abdelrazik is suing for $27 million over his ordeal abroad, claiming Ottawa arranged for his arbitrary imprisonment, encouraged his detention by Sudanese authorities and actively obstructed his repatriation to Canada for several years.

The suit, filed in 2009 and amended in 2017, also names Lawrence Cannon, the Conservative foreign affairs minister from 2008 to 2011.

Abdelrazik, 62, denies involvement in terrorism.

He attained refugee status in 1990 after arriving in Canada, became a Canadian citizen five years later and now lives in Montreal.


He was arrested during a 2003 visit to Sudan to see his ailing mother.

In custody, Abdelrazik was interrogated by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service about suspected extremist links. He says he was tortured by Sudanese intelligence officials during two periods of detention.

He returned to Canada in 2009 after the Federal Court ruled Ottawa breached his constitutional rights by refusing to give him an emergency passport.

Federal lawyers reject suggestions the Crown breached any duty of care owed to Abdelrazik or that any such breach contributed to his alleged false imprisonment, torture and abuse.

The civil trial had been set to begin in 2018, but was adjourned pending a review of emails, memos and other documentation related to the case under the Canada Evidence Act.


“It is shameful that this case took 15 years to get to trial as the Canadian government tried everything to delay and derail it,” said Paul Champ, a lawyer for Abdelrazik.

Among the high-profile witnesses expected to testify are Cannon; Maxime Bernier, who preceded him as foreign minister; former national security adviser Margaret Bloodworth; recently departed CSIS director David Vigneault; and former senator Mobina Jaffer.

The Crown recently lost a bid to have several current and former security officials testify behind closed doors in the lawsuit.

Federal Court Justice Patrick Gleeson rejected a motion from government lawyers to exclude the public and media from the courtroom during the officials’ testimony to prevent inadvertent disclosure of sensitive secrets.


Champ argues the evidentiary record overwhelmingly points to CSIS working with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to arrange for Abdelrazik’s arrest by the Sudanese authorities.

In its amended statement of defence, the government says CSIS had reasonable grounds to surmise Abdelrazik “constituted a threat to the security of Canada by virtue of suspected links to international terrorism.”

However, it denies Canada shared information with Sudan about Abdelrazik before his detention.

One of the documents disclosed in the case, a secret July 2006 memo to Kevin Lynch, clerk of the Privy Council at the time, says that given the past interest American authorities have displayed in Abdelrazik’s whereabouts, “we will need to demonstrate to the U.S. that we take all aspects of this security case seriously.”

Champ said the case is a horrible example of how intelligence agencies can destroy a person’s life and violate their freedoms, all in the shadows and with impunity.

“Mr Abdelrazik’s case should be important to every Canadian because we need the courts to forcefully condemn the government when it violates the rights and freedoms of a citizen based on suspicions alone.”

Montreal man detained in Sudan gets day in court with lawsuit against Ottawa

Fifteen years after filing a lawsuit against the Canadian government, Abousfian Abdelrazik is getting his day in court.

torontosun.com

 

[Jinentonix]

Judge denies order sought by Black student punished over hair
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Juan A. Lozano
Published Oct 04, 2024 • 2 minute read
A federal judge on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 denied a request by Darryl George, a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume.
A federal judge on Friday, Oct. 4, 2024 denied a request by Darryl George, a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume.
HOUSTON — A federal judge on Friday denied a request by a Black high school student in Texas for a court order that the student’s lawyers say would have allowed him to return to his high school without fear of having his previous punishment over his hairstyle resume.


Darryl George had sought to reenroll at his Houston-area high school in the Barbers Hill school district after leaving at the start of his senior year in August because district officials were set to continue punishing him for not cutting his hair. George had spent nearly all of his junior year serving in-school suspension over his hairstyle.

The district has argued that George’s long hair, which he wears to school in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its policy because if let down, it would fall below his shirt collar, eyebrows or earlobes.

George, 19, had asked U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown in Galveston to issue a temporary restraining order that would have prevented district officials from further punishing him if he returned and while a federal lawsuit he filed proceeds.


But in a ruling issued late Friday afternoon, Brown denied George’s request, saying the student and his lawyers had waited too long to ask for the order.

George’s request had come after Brown in August dismissed most of the claims the student and his mother had filed in their federal lawsuit alleging school district officials committed racial and gender discrimination when they punished him.

The judge only let the gender discrimination claim stand.

In his ruling, Brown said he also denied George’s request for a temporary restraining order because the school district was more likely to prevail in the lawsuit’s remaining claim.

Brown’s ruling was coincidentally issued on George’s birthday. He turned 19 years old on Friday.


Allie Booker, an attorney for George, and a spokesperson for the Barbers Hill school district did not immediately return a call or email seeking comment.

George’s lawyer had said the student left Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu and transferred to another high school in a different Houston area district after suffering a nervous breakdown over the thought of facing another year of punishment.

In court documents filed this week, attorneys for the school district said George didn’t have legal standing to request the restraining order because he is no longer a student in the district.

The district has defended its dress code, which says its policies for students are meant to “teach grooming and hygiene, instill discipline, prevent disruption, avoid safety hazards and teach respect for authority.”

George’s federal lawsuit also alleged that his punishment violates the CROWN Act, a recent state law prohibiting race-based discrimination of hair. The CROWN Act, which was being discussed before the dispute over George’s hair and which took effect in September 2023, bars employers and schools from penalizing people because of hair texture or protective hairstyles including Afros, braids, locs, twists or Bantu knots.

In February, a state judge ruled in a lawsuit filed by the school district that its punishment does not violate the CROWN Act.

Judge denies order sought by Black student punished over hair

A federal judge on Friday denied a request by a Black high school student in Texas.

torontosun.com

Locs are actually ancient Hindu in origin. At least as far as the first known description of them goes. In fact, locs have been worn by all sorts of cultures over the millenia. To state or suggest they are only a part of Black culture is historically inaccurate.
However, as far as I'm concerned George used a loophole and it pissed the school off. If his hair is above his collar, eyebrows and earlobes then the "what if" rationale is sketchy at best. As long as he doesn't let it down then he's in abidance of their rules. The only way they'd have an argument is if the rules said haircut, and not just 'hair'.
Not just that but unless it's a private school, and even there I'm kind'a iffy, I don't think schools have ANY right to tell ANY student their hair length is somehow "problematic" and they have to get it cut.

 

[spaminator]

OnlyFans star's legal eagles introduce pig carcass video in wild bail gambit in boyfriend's death

Author of the article:Brad Hunter
Published Oct 21, 2024 • Last updated 2 days ago • 2 minute read

She didn’t mean it.


Honest.

And to prove their point, sexxx-rated OnlyFans star Courtney Clenney’s legal team presented a shocking video of knives being hurled at a pig carcass to illustrate that she didn’t intend to take her boyfriend off the board.

“It shows the court that our client is in fact credible, her self-defence is credible, and the actions she took that night are necessary to save her own life,” lawyer Frank Prieto claimed.


Clenney — whose nom du porn is Courtney Tailor — has been charged with second-degree murder in the April 3, 2022, stabbing death of her boyfriend, Christian “Toby” Obumseli, 27, at their Miami condo.

The couple’s relationship was volatile and frequently punctuated with violence, largely coming from the hands of Clenney. The 28-year-old confessed she fired the knife at Obumseli but didn’t intend to kill him.


On Friday, her legal team attempted to prove the tempestuous temptress could have thrown the knife at her boyfriend and fatally injured him without meaning to. Clenney’s lawyers showed the video of a knife expert firing the blades at pig carcasses, claiming pig flesh is similar to a human’s.

But prosecutors said not so fast and underscored flaws in the argument.

Media reports said the video showed the knives being thrown from six feet away. According to Clenney, she threw the knife from 10 feet. In addition, the knife expert is taller and larger than Clenney.


His throws had a greater force — and accuracy.

In addition, her legal team introduced pathologist Dr. John Marraccini to explain the similarities between humans and pigs. Pig skin and tissue operate similarly to a human’s, he testified.


The pathologist also did a star turn in the video, explaining the wounds on the pigs. The wounds, he said, were similar to Obumseli’s.

“That’s inconsistent with common sense. It’s no way that you would throw a knife, that the knife is going to land so deep in a downward position,” lawyer Larry Handfield, representing the victim’s family, said, adding the video lacked any real evidence.


The judge has deferred her bail ruling until she reviews the evidence. Clenney is back in court on Nov. 15.

In April, cops released the shocking video of the moments immediately after Obumseli was stabbed. Clenney is soaked in blood and is hysterical as cops arrive.

“Baby baby get up, get up,” Clenney screamed as she holds a dying Obumseli in her arms. Their condo is awash in blood and the victim is groaning in agony.

She asked cops: “Is he dead? Is he dead?”


A detective asks her: “How many times did you stab him?”

Clenney responds: “I did not stab him once, I threw it from across the room. I’m covered in his blood because I tried to save him, I need him, he’s like my other half.”

She was arrested and charged months later.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

OnlyFans star's legal eagles introduce pig carcass video in wild bail gambit in boyfriend's death

Courtney Clenney's lawyers presented a video of knives being hurled at a pig carcass to show she didn't intend to kill her beau

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

British cop who fatally shot unarmed Black man acquitted of murder
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Published Oct 21, 2024 • 1 minute read

A London police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man two years ago was acquitted of murder Monday.
A London police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man two years ago was acquitted of murder Monday.
LONDON — A London police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man two years ago was acquitted of murder Monday.


Metropolitan Police marksman Martyn Blake, 40, was cleared by a London jury in the death of Chris Kaba, who led police on a chase in a car that had been involved in a shooting a day earlier.

Kaba, 24, was killed Sept. 5, 2022, after the vehicle was boxed in by two police cars on a narrow residential street in the Streatham Hill neighborhood.

Blake fired a single round through the windshield of the Audi because he thought fellow officers’ lives were in danger when Kaba began ramming the police cars in an attempt to break free.

A prosecutor said Blake had misjudged the risk to his colleagues.

Blake was suspended from duty following anger from Black communities.

British cop who fatally shot unarmed Black man acquitted of murder

A London police officer who fatally shot an unarmed Black man two years ago was acquitted of murder Monday.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

White Florida woman gets 25 years for shooting Black neighbour through door in lengthy dispute
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Curt Anderson
Published Nov 26, 2024 • 2 minute read

A white Florida woman who fatally shot a Black neighbour through her front door during an ongoing dispute over the neighbour’s boisterous children was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for her manslaughter conviction.


Susan Lorincz, 60, was convicted in August of killing Ajike “A.J.” Owens, 35, by firing a single shot from her .380-calibre handgun in June 2023. She had faced a maximum of 30 years behind bars. Circuit Judge Robert Hodges opted for a slightly lesser term amid evidence that Lorincz had been abused as a child and had mental health problems.

“The shooting was completely unnecessary in this case,” Hodges said during an afternoon hearing. “The shooting, I find, was based more in anger than in fear.”

The shooting was the culmination of a long-running argument between the two neighbours over Owens’ children playing in a grassy area near both of their houses in Ocala, about 130 kilometres northwest of Orlando.

Prosecutors said Owens had come to Lorincz’s home after her children complained that she had thrown roller skates and an umbrella at them, which Lorincz denied. Trial testimony showed Owens, a mother of four young children, was pounding on Lorincz’s door and yelling, leading Lorincz to claim self-defence in shooting her neighbour.


Lorincz told detectives in a videotaped interview that she feared for her life. She also said she had been harassed for most of the three years she had lived in the neighbourhood. Jurors who heard the trial evidence did not agree that the shooting was in self-defence.

In a statement to the judge, Lorincz apologized to Owens’ family but said she was “literally terrified” of Owens the night of the shooting.

“I so wish I could go back and change things so she was still here,” Lorincz said. “I never intended to kill anyone.”

Owens’ family pushed for the maximum prison sentence after Lorincz was convicted by an all-white jury. Owens’ mother, Pamela Dias, said in court Monday that she now is the sole caregiver of her daughter’s four children and that they are deeply traumatized by the killing.


“We’re hurting with a pain that will never, never go away,” Dias said. “There’s a hole in our heart that will never mend. Susan destroyed our family.”

Lorincz’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Amanda Sizemore, sought a more lenient sentence, an unspecified term below the 11.5 years in prison that is the lowest for her crime under state guidelines. Sizemore said in court documents that there were several reasons to justify a downward departure, including a mental disorder and claims that Owens was the aggressor and under “extreme duress” during the confrontation.

The judge said such a departure was not warranted, especially considering the impact of their mother’s violent death on her children.

“They’ll live their whole lives without their mother, which I think is a very significant harm inflicted by Ms. Lorincz,” Hodges said.

There were protests in the Black community in Ocala when prosecutors took weeks to charge Lorincz with manslaughter, a lesser count than second-degree murder, which carries a potential life prison sentence. Marion County, which includes Ocala, has a Black population of about 12%, according to census figures.

White Florida woman gets 25 years for shooting Black neighbour through door in lengthy dispute

A white Florida woman who fatally shot a Black neighbour through her front door during an ongoing dispute was sentenced to 25 years in jail.

torontosun.com

 

[Retired_Can_Soldier]

I remember this story. What an effed-up tragedy.

 

[spaminator]

Marine veteran Daniel Penny acquitted in NYC subway chokehold case
Author of the article:Associated Press
Associated Press
Jennifer Peltz
Published Dec 09, 2024 • Last updated 14 hours ago • 4 minute read

NEW YORK — A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday in a death that became a prism for differing views about public safety, valor and vigilantism.


A Manhattan jury cleared Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in Jordan Neely’s 2023 death. A more serious manslaughter charge was dismissed earlier in deliberations because the jury deadlocked on that count.

Both charges were felonies and carried the possibility of prison time.

Penny, who had shown little expression during the trial, briefly smiled as the verdict was read. Both applause and anger erupted in the courtroom, and Neely’s father and two supporters were told to leave after making various remarks — including vulgarities from one of the supporters. Another person also left, wailing with tears.

Penny’s lawyers said he was protecting himself and other subway passengers from a volatile, mentally ill man who was making alarming remarks and gestures.


The case amplified many American fault lines, among them race, politics, crime, urban life, mental illness and homelessness. Neely was Black. Penny is white.

There were sometimes dueling demonstrations outside the courthouse, and high-profile Republican politicians portrayed Penny as a hero while prominent Democrats attended Neely’s funeral.

Penny, 26, served four years in the Marines and went on to study architecture.

Neely, 30, was a sometime subway performer with a tragic life story: His mother was killed and stuffed in a suitcase when he was a teenager.

As a younger man, Neely did Michael Jackson tributes — complete with moonwalks — on the city’s streets and subways. But Neely also struggled with mental illness after losing his mother, whose boyfriend was convicted of murdering her.


Hospitalized for depression at age 14, Neely later was diagnosed with schizophrenia that at times made him hallucinate and become paranoid, according to medical records seen at the trial. Neely also used the synthetic cannabinoid K2 and realized it negatively affected his thinking and behavior, according to a 2019 hospital record. The drug was in his system when he died.

Neely told a doctor in 2017 that being homeless, living in poverty and having to “dig through the garbage” for food made him feel so worthless and hopeless that he sometimes thought of killing himself, hospital records show.

About six years later, he boarded a subway under Manhattan on May 1, 2023, hurled his jacket onto the floor, and declared that he was hungry and thirsty and didn’t care if he died or went to jail, witnesses said. Some told 911 operators that he tried to attack people or indicated he’d harm riders, and several testified that they were afraid.


Neely was unarmed, with nothing but a muffin in his pocket, and didn’t touch any passengers on the train. One rider said he made lunging movements that alarmed her enough that she shielded her 5-year-old from him.

Penny, who was on his way from a college class to the gym, came up behind Neely, grabbed his neck, took him to the floor and “put him out,” as he told police at the scene.

Passengers’ video showed that at one point during the roughly six-minute hold, Neely tapped an onlooker’s leg and gestured to him. At another juncture, Neely briefly got an arm free. But he went still nearly a minute before Penny released him.

“He’s dying,” an unseen bystander said in the background of one video. “Let him go!”

A witness who stepped in to hold down Neely’s arms testified that he told Penny to free the man, though Penny’s lawyers noted the witness’ story changed significantly over time.


Penny told detectives shortly after the encounter that Neely threatened to kill people and the chokehold was an attempt to “de-escalate” the situation until police could arrive. The veteran said he held on after the train stopped because he wasn’t sure the doors were open and Neely periodically squirmed.

“I wasn’t trying to injure him. I’m just trying to keep him from hurting anyone else. He’s threatening people. That’s what we learn in the Marine Corps,” Penny told the detectives, who had read him his rights.

However, a Marine Corps combat instructor — who trained Penny _ testified that the veteran misused a chokehold technique he’d been taught.

Prosecutors said Penny reacted far too forcefully to someone he perceived as a peril, not a person. Prosecutors also argue that any need to protect passengers quickly ebbed when the train doors opened at the next station, seconds after Penny took action.


Although Penny himself told police he’d used “a choke” or “a chokehold,” one of his lawyers, Steven Raiser, cast it as a Marine-taught chokehold “modified as a simple civilian restraint.” The defense lawyers contended that Penny didn’t consistently apply enough pressure to kill Neely, and they brought their own forensic pathologist to the stand to buttress their claim.

Contradicting a city medical examiner’s finding, the defense pathologist said Neely died not from the chokehold but from the combined effects of K2, schizophrenia, his struggle and restraint, and a blood condition that can lead to fatal complications during exertion.

Penny did not testify, but several of his relatives, friends and fellow Marines did — describing him as an upstanding, patriotic and empathetic man.

The manslaughter charge would have required proving a defendant recklessly caused another person’s death. Criminally negligent homicide involves engaging in serious “blameworthy conduct” while not perceiving such a risk.

While the criminal trial played out, Neely’s father filed a wrongful death suit against Penny.

Marine veteran Daniel Penny acquitted in NYC subway chokehold case

A Marine veteran who used a chokehold on an agitated subway rider was acquitted on Monday

torontosun.com

 

[petros]

Should have learned to swim.