Week ending April 21 2023

From The Guardian:
Black Kansas City teen shot after going to wrong address to pick up siblings

“Ralph Yarl, 16, […] was shot […] twice on Thursday night, first through the front door of the house and a second time when he lay wounded on the ground.”
simply because he was at the wrong house.

“At a press conference on last Sunday, Stacey Graves, white chief of the Kansas City police department, defended the release of the then unnamed homeowner, citing Missouri law that states a person can be held only 24 hours before being formally charged or released.

But she said her department was working quickly to prepare evidence for the Clay county prosecutor as its felony investigation continued.
“We recognise the frustration this can cause,” Graves said. “I want everyone to know that I am listening, and I understand the concern we are receiving from the community.”

From ABC Australia:
Wed 19 Apr 2023
US police charge Andrew Lester over shooting of black teen Ralph Yarl

“Bond for Lester was set at $US200,000 ($296,000), which he posted within a few hours of turning himself in to authorities, the Clay County Sheriff’s office said.”

“I can tell you there was a racial component to the case,” Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said, without elaborating during a news conference to announce the charges.

Prosecutors have not filed hate crime charges, which – carry lesser penalties in Missouri than the two counts Mr Lester faces, Mr Thompson added.

Mr Lester fired two shots through a glass door with a .32-caliber revolver, the prosecutor said.

Ralph, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, Mr Thompson said, adding it did not appear any words were exchanged in the encounter.

But Ralph told police in an interview at the hospital where he was treated that the man told him, “Don’t come around here,” local media reported, citing court documents.”

From WASHINGTON POST:
What we know about who shot Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis and Payton Washington

The 84-year-old military veteran and former airline mechanic has faced backlash in the days since the incident. Among those critics is his grandson, Klint Ludwig, who told the Kansas City Star that he was “appalled” and “disgusted” over the shooting.

Lester pleaded not guilty on Wednesday and has been released on bond. As part of Lester’s bond, he must surrender his concealed-carry permit and passport, and cannot leave the state of Missouri without permission from his bond supervisor. The next court appearance is scheduled for June 1.

1. Lee Merritt, one of the Yarl family’s attorneys, posted a photo on Twitter of him and the teen, who is now recovering at home. Merritt told reporters that while Yarl, who plays bass clarinet at Staley High School, will be unable to play at an upcoming competition, he has an invitation to perform at the White House.

A GoFundMe campaign for Yarl surpassed $3.3 million in funds raised by midday Thursday.

Go Fund Me link provided.

“How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle,” Merritt tweeted.

The story is also about Payton Washington and Kaylin Gillis.
This story is about the damage at america’s core.

From ABC USA:
Gov. DeSantis signs controversial death penalty legislation

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that will allow juries to impose the death sentence even if all 12 jurors do not agree.

He is also likely to approve a second bill passed by the lawmakers on Tuesday that would make sexual battery of a child under age 12 a death penalty offense.

The governor, who is rumored to be considering a presidential run, has publicly pushed for both bills — legislation that opponents say violates the U.S. Constitution and could lead to wrongful executions.”

From CNN:
Headline:
DeSantis signs bill eliminating unanimous jury decisions for death sentences

“Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday that will no longer require juries agree unanimously to recommend death sentences, reducing the number of jurors need to recommend a death sentence to the lowest threshold of any state with capital punishment.

SB (senate Bill) 450 reduces the number of jurors needed to recommend a death sentence from 12 to 8.”

Going back to the ABC story:

“a capital defense lawyer, told ABC News the newly signed legislation would discount Black and brown jurors’ voices and make Florida an “extreme” state with the lowest threshold to sentence offenders to death.

“If you steal a pack of gum in Florida, you are entitled to a unanimous jury determination of your guilt. And so, to have anything less to take someone’s life, is just a straight violation of the Constitution,” DeLiberato said.”

From the CNN story:

“The bill was prompted by a jury’s decision last year to not hand the death penalty to Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz. A jury recommended Cruz receive a life sentence without the possibility of parole instead for the February 2018 shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Of the 12 jurors in Cruz’s trial, three voted against the death penalty.”

back to ABC story:

“the other bill, which would make child rape a crime punishable by death, would also violate the constitution. The Supreme Court took up the issue in 2008 and ruled that it would violate the 8th Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.”

“We all can agree that child rape is probably the most horrific crime we can think of. But the issue here is it has already been decided that it’s unconstitutional” to invoke the death penalty in those cases,” DeLiberato, who is also the executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said.

Death Penalty Information Center:
United States Supreme Court Decisions: 2007 – 2008 Term

“The U.S. Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional a Louisiana statute that allowed the death penalty for the rape of a child where the victim did not die. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Court held that all such laws, where the crime against an individual involved no murder were not in keeping with the national consensus restricting the death penalty to the worst offenses.

As a result, the only two people sentenced to death for this crime in the modern capital punishment era no longer face execution. Both were sentenced under the Louisiana statute that was found unconstitutional. No one is on death row for any offense not involving murder.”

back to ABC:

Florida has the highest death row population of any state that is actively carrying out executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Since 1976, 101 Floridians on death row have been executed. Thirty have been exonerated in that time — more than any other state, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Many of those inmates were convicted by non-unanimous juries.”

From B and T:
“Go Woke, Go Broke!” Bud Light’s Parent Co. Loses $6 Billion in Six Days Following Trans Backlash

“Bud Light’s decision to team with trans activist and comic Dylan Mulvaney appears to be getting worse by the day with news the brewer’s parent company, […] has lost $A6 billion in market capitalisation in just six days as customers continue a boycott of the brand.”

Anheuser-Busch was founded by German Americans in 1852, and is currently owned by a Belgian-Brazillian partner ship company that seems to own everything to do with global beer and brewing.  I mean, they own Corona.

Bud Light is America’s biggest selling beer, with 14 per cent of the overall beer market.”
…what I am saying to you is that they KNOW what they’re doing.

“Earlier this month, Bud Light entered into a partnership with Mulvaney, 27, who is currently on hormones to transition to a woman. The promotion included a $15,000 prize and a personalised beer can with Mulvaney’s face and a message on the top reading “Cheers to 365 Days of Being a Woman”, to commemorate a year since she began her gender transition.

From SKY NEWS:
Lia Thomas and Dylan Mulvaney ‘making a mockery of the trans issue’: Piers Morgan says…

“The reality is the people that are suffering I think are the unknown trans people, who I think are being exposed to a constant mockery through these kinds of things, by the likes of Lia Thomas crushing people in the pool, by Dylan Mulvaney making a mockery of the way women wear sports bras and do gym work and so on.

“All of that is unhelpful to regular trans people just trying to get by and wanting to have a bit of fairness and equality.

“The moment you try to get a new unfairness and inequality for any group of people at the expense of another group, you lose it.”

PLEASE DON’T LISTEN TO PIERS MORGAN. HE IS NOT FOR ANYONE’S RIGHTS EXCEPT HIS OWN AND THAT OF HIS ‘COMMUNITY’, WHICH ARE PEOPLE LIKE HIM.

From Al Jazeera:
Papua rebels ambush Indonesian troops looking for kidnapped pilot

Armed separatists say they attacked soldiers as army was searching for a captured New Zealand pilot.

HEADLINE:
Why Indonesia fails to address the West Papua conflict

The country’s government has focused on containing, rather than resolving, a crisis with roots in a dubious referendum.

From ABC Australia:
El Niño in 2023 becoming more likely, which would result in dry, warm weather across eastern Australia

From Hindustan Times:
Diljit Dosanjh rocks Coachella with Punjabi songs, fans call it a ‘proud, historic moment’.

From Fashionista:
A CLASSIC CHANEL HANDBAG WILL NOW COST YOU $10,000

It’s the ultimate investment handbag, but the brand’s price increases are rapidly accelerating.

Other than higher costs, what more could be pushing Chanel’s handbag prices higher? There’s the demand and limited supply. But part of it could also be about wanting to maintain a position of exclusivity within the luxury market. 

“Brand positioning also plays a role in these accelerated price increases,” Jessa Henderson, senior curator at Fashionphile, says. “In order for a luxury brand to retain exclusivity, they need to have high price positioning. Chanel has brand loyalty and the pricing power to do so.”

From Women’s Wear daily Business:
Protesters Enter LVMH Headquarters in Paris

“As thousands of people took to the streets of Paris on the 12th day of demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms, protesters forced their way into the headquarters of luxury giant LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.

Demonstrators pushed their way into the building at 22 Avenue Montaigne […]

[…] protesters, many wearing CGT [General Confederation of Labour]union vests, [were seen] bashing down the glass doors of the building while holding red flares and waving flags. [for about 10 minutes]

The pension reform bill would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 years old. The increase in retirement age is meant to reflect a difference in life expectancy for various generations. […], in the 80s… the average life expectancy was 74. Now […] 82.”

This is the same elitist thinking that proclaimed red wine healthy for everyone. That everyone who eats cheese and cream and butter every day with abandon and glee won’t suffer. Eat without guilt! Eat the best of things and then you are what you eat.
Yes, this is true, only if you aren’t stressed about anything else and can afford to have a healthy, balanced lifestyle that counteracts and moderates the bad.
Healthcare is a luxury now.

“The protests comes just a day after the Louis Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy parent company reported revenues rose 17 percent to 21.04 billion euros for the first quarter of 2023 despite “a geopolitical and economic environment which remains uncertain.

“Chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault is considered the richest man in the world, passing Tesla and Twitter owner Elon Musk, with an estimated net worth of $211 billion. He has added $53 billion to his net worth over the last year, with soaring sales at his luxury brands.”

And finally this because LIFE is a luxury there most of all:
From MOODY PRIVATE CLIENT.

This is not a headline, it’s a gift.

IS NOW THE RIGHT TIME TO RENOUNCE YOUR US CITIZENSHIP?