Daily 30: Thu 12.04.2014

Again?! 3mo
NYPD Cop Not Charged by Grand Jury

2 NYPD Cop Not Charged by Grand Jury Complex

A Staten Island grand jury has elected not to charge an NYPD officer for his role in Eric Garner's death. The 43-year-old died in July after officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold. The encounter, which was caught on camera, incited outrage after going viral.
International Spotlight 3mo
Broke Her

8 Broke Her Yuna

Music video by Yuna performing Broke Her.
3mo
Chris Rock on Cosby & Ferguson

10 Chris Rock on Cosby & Ferguson Complex

Fresh off a much-discussed Saturday Night Live appearance and with his new movie Top Five due out in theaters on December 12, Chris Rock sat down with New York Magazine’s Frank Rich ostensibly to discuss the movie. However, the pair discussed a huge array of topics, and as he so often does Rock had some thought-provoking opinions on topics ranging from President Obama to standup comedy to Woody Allen.
Tragic News 3mo
STRANGLER COP WALKS

16 STRANGLER COP WALKS Huffington Post

A grand jury in Staten Island voted Wednesday not to indict New York City police officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died after being placed in a chokehold. Garner, 43, died July 17 while he was being arrested for selling untaxed cigarettes. In a video of the arrest, which has since gone viral, Garner screams “I can’t breathe!” multiple times until his body goes limp. A medical examiner later said that he died of a chokehold, a move that is banned by the NYPD, and ruled his death a homicide. Garner's attorney said Wednesday that the "family is very upset and disappointed that these officers are not getting indicted for any criminal conduct." Pantaleo said in a statement Wednesday that he regretted Garner's death. “I became a police officer to help people and to protect those who can’t protect themselves," Pantaleo said. "It is never my intention to harm anyone and I feel very bad about the death of Mr. Garner. My family and I include him and his family in our prayers and I hope that they will accept my personal condolences for their loss.” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called Garner's death "a terrible tragedy that no family should have to endure," and said he would continue to work to decrease the use of excessive force among officers. "This is a subject that is never far from my family’s minds – or our hearts," he said. "And Eric Garner’s death put a spotlight on police-community relations and civil rights – some of most critical issues our nation faces today." The decision in the Garner case comes just over a week after a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri, declined to indict officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. A series of protests erupted nationwide immediately following the decision in Ferguson, and New York officials braced for similar protests on Wednesday. Heightened police presence is expected throughout Staten Island and across the city to help quell demonstrations as they unfold. De Blasio cleared his schedule once the decision was announced, and he is expected to go to Staten Island to meet with officials and activists. The mayor acknowledged in his statement that many would be upset with the outcome, and encouraged protesters not to resort to violence. "New York City owns a proud and powerful tradition of expressing ourselves through non-violent protest," he said. "We trust that those unhappy with today’s grand jury decision will make their views known in the same peaceful, constructive way. We all agree that demonstrations and free speech are valuable contributions to debate, and that violence and disorder are not only wrong – but hurt the critically important goals we are trying to achieve together." Civil rights leader Al Sharpton told The New York Times Wednesday that he had spoken with the Garner family and they were not surprised by the announcement. He also said that before the grand jury had reached its decision, he had met with federal prosecutors to ask them to take over the case. “People thought we were being extreme,’” Sharpton said. “But now, I think you can see, we have no confidence in the state grand juries, whether in Ferguson or in New York, because there is an intrinsic relationship between state prosecutors and the police; they depend on the police for their evidence, they run for office and depend on the unions for endorsements.” State Assemblyman Karim Camara, chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, ridiculed the non-indictment as an "outrage," but urged peaceful protest from New York residents. "District Attorney Donovan's failure to win an indictment against the police officer responsible for Eric Garner’s death is an outrage," Camara said in a statement. "However, it’s important that we first remember that Mr. Garner’s life was lost and even an indictment would not have brought him back. Our thoughts and prayers should be with his family today." The New York Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, called for wholesale reform of the NYPD. “The failure of the Staten Island Grand Jury to file an indictment in the killing of Eric Garner leaves New Yorkers with an inescapable question: How will the NYPD hold the officers involved accountable for his death? And what will Commissioner Bratton do to ensure that this is the last tragedy of its kind?," said NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman. "Unless the Police Department aggressively deals with its culture of impunity and trains officers that they must simultaneously protect both safety and individual rights, officers will continue to believe that they can act without consequence.” NYPD guidelines banned chokeholds in 1993, but many people have lodged complaints against the police department since then for continuing to use them. There were more than 1,000 complaints regarding the NYPD's use of chokeholds between 2009 to 2013, according to the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board. "Here we are, 20 years after the NYPD placed an absolute ban on chokeholds, and we still see that they are widely used and sometimes to used to deadly effect," City Council Member Rory Lancman told The Huffington Post in July. "Clearly, we need to do more to deter use of chokeholds and hold people accountable when they are used." Garner's family members plans to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the city seeking $75 million in damages. As the video of Garner's death went viral, the man who filmed it was indicted on an unrelated weapons charge. Critics claim that police were retaliating against the man for capturing the incident on video.
3mo
BREATHLESS

17 BREATHLESS Huffington Post

NEW YORK -- New York City residents took to the streets on Wednesday after a grand jury said it would not bring charges in the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died in July after a police officer placed him in a chokehold. Garner, 43, was being arrested for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on July 17 when New York City Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo placed him in an illegal chokehold. The medical examiner ruled Garner's death a homicide, but the grand jury said Wednesday it would not indict Pantaleo. Demonstrators gathered across the city, from the Staten Island neighborhood where Garner died to high-traffic areas in midtown Manhattan. They assembled in Times Square, Union Square and Lincoln Center. They marched down Broadway and blocked traffic on the West Side Highway. Police scrambled to keep the crowd from disrupting the Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. Nearly three dozen demonstrators were reportedly arrested, though the protests remained largely non-violent. Late in the afternoon, a group of people appeared at Grand Central Station to stage a “die-in.” Protesters stretched out on the terminal floor to represent victims of police brutality. Police, who have been preparing for days for the protests, stood by. The protesters then marched toward Times Square, where they met up with a crowd that had already formed there. They moved through the streets, blocking traffic on Madison Avenue and heading north. Near Times Square, protesters chanted "I can't breathe" and "Garner and Brown, shut it down," cheering as drivers in bumper-to-bumper traffic honked in unison. times square Jayson Williams, 32, of Staten Island, was among the protesters who gathered at Rockefeller Center. He said he joined the protest because he was moved after hearing Garner's family speak. "[Garner's family] wants peace, they'll get peaceful protest," he said. "But the NYPD should want peace too. And our justice system should want justice. If an unarmed man is killed, the person who killed him should go to trial." Harlem resident Brianna Miller, 26, who also joined the protest near Rockefeller Center, said demonstrators would "stay out here until the justice system wakes up." "This is about racism and the way we're treated, but it's also about equal treatment for authorities who are supposed to protect us," Miller said. Police set up barricades to block the demonstrators from disrupting the tree-lighting ceremony at Rockefeller Center. An NYPD public information officer could not immediately confirm reports of arrests in the area. Starting at about 8 p.m., a crowd of about 300 demonstrators marched from Times Square to 125th Street in Harlem, chanting, “No justice, no peace! Fuck the police!” As they passed through the Upper West Side, dozens of residents came to their windows to watch. Tyra Morrissett, 39, marched around Times Square carrying a sign that insisted her life is worth more than 75 cents, a reference to the tax Garner was allegedly avoiding by selling loose cigarettes. “Today I realized, America has no regard for my life,” Morrissett said, as tears rolled down her cheek. “And that really hurts my feelings. I’m so heartbroken right now, I can’t describe what it meant for us to not get an [indictment].” Morrissett recalled that in Mobile, Ala., where she grew up, black and white people kept in their own “lanes.” But she expected something different in New York City. “I was under the impression that when I stepped off the plane at JFK, that I could be equal,” she said, “and today that’s not true.” Several reporters noted around 8:30 p.m. that a separate group of protesters had moved onto the West Side Highway and obstructed traffic there. Police officers in riot gear reportedly appeared on the West Side Highway shortly afterward. At 10 p.m., hundreds of protesters took over the main terminal of Grand Central Station. The group chanted, “What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!” Diners sipped champagne in one of the terminal’s restaurants, and one of them appeared to flip off the protesters. A crowd of protesters attempted to march into the Lincoln Tunnel at 10:30, but were blocked by police. Traffic in the tunnel was obstructed for about a half hour. A car was found torched outside the 77th Precinct in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, around the same time. An NYPD spokesman said it was unclear whether the incident was connected to the protests. The car was not an official police vehicle, the spokesman said, adding that no arrests have been made in connection with the incident, and an investigation into it is ongoing. Meanwhile, in the Tompkinsville section of Staten Island, a crowd gathered shortly after the grand jury decision was announced at the spot where Garner was killed. Kevin Buford, a Staten Island resident, said he knew Garner before he died. Buford called him a nice, decent man who "would help you out if he could." "[But] even if he was an axe murderer, what happened to him shouldn't have happened by so-called New York's finest," Buford said. Buford wore a shirt that read “I am Sean Bell," in reference to a black man who was killed by NYPD officers on the morning of his wedding in 2006. “I am Amadou Diallo. I am Ramarley Graham. I am Michael Brown,” Buford said, naming other black men who have been killed by police. “I am every black man that has been lynched."
8mo
Nkiru

19 Nkiru 37th State

Shot in a style reminiscent of the Hollywood urban legend genre, and scored by award-winning Hollywood music composer Austin Wintory, Nkiru is the director's fun perspective on an age-old African tale of love and sacrifice. Based on the African urban legend of Mami Wata, the short-film centers around a group of friends who disappear from a beach party under mysterious circumstances.
From The Classic Album! 5mo
Illmatic Live

20 Illmatic Live Nas

The 20th anniversary tour for Nas' classic Illmatic album
Heroin's Antidote 3mo
Combatting America's Opioid Crisis

23 Combatting America's Opioid Crisis Vice News

Abuse of prescription painkillers, heroin, and other opioids has spiked over the past decade in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 100 Americans die every day from drug overdoses. Overdoses now kill more people in the US each year than gunshot wounds or car accidents. The stigma that surrounds drug users has made finding a solution difficult. New England has been hit especially hard by fatal overdoses. In Massachusetts, deaths caused by heroin and other opioids have increased by more than 90 per cent since 2002. In response, the state started a pilot program in 2007 aimed at decreasing the number of fatal overdoses. The centerpiece of the program is a drug called Naloxone, known by its brand name Narcan. It's a nasal spray that can instantly stop an opioid overdose.
Looking For The Next Big Star 3mo
Deb Antney

24 Deb Antney Vlad TV

Debra Antney is known for introducing the world to some of Hip-Hop's biggest names, including Nicki Minaj, French Montana, Gucci Mane and of course her son, Waka Flocka Flame. She's now on the hunt for new talent, and spoke to VladTV about her new reality show where she travels from city to city bagging up new voices to introduce to the masses. Antney reveals that she traveled the country for talent and brought back two women and two men from each city who will compete to be her next big star. She also says there's guaranteed to be two winners, one male and one female.
3mo
Diddy Responds To Eric Garner Decision

26 Diddy Responds To Eric Garner Decision Huffington Post

In recent months, Sean “Diddy” Combs has been especially vocal about current events. The entertainment mogul took to his Instagram account in August to issue a message to President Barack Obama as tensions between protesters and police escalated in Ferguson, Missouri. And this Wednesday, Combs voiced his frustration over the recent non-indictments of police Officers Darren Wilson in Ferguson and Daniel Pantaleo in Staten Island, New York. Shortly after a grand jury announced Wednesday that Pantaleo would not be indicted for the death of Eric Garner in a prohibited police chokehold, Combs, 45, once again used his Instagram account to broadcast the following message to his 4.5 million followers: #WATCH .......I can't take it anymore! It's Enough, and enough is enough! Honestly my emotions are all over the place. We as artists, myself included, all have to step up and be better leaders in our communities. It's a hard burden to bear, but we have been chosen whether we like it or not. We need to do whatever we can in a POSITIVE way, to help unite people of all colors in this injustice! In order to be successful, it is very important that we have a well ORGANIZED, STRATEGIC plan. This is super important in order for us to make change!! REAL organization, REAL strategy and a TRUE commitment to not forget and move on like we usually do when the news stops reporting. This has to stop and we as a people are the only ones that can stop it. I truly do not have the right to preach, but I do have the right to speak. #EricGarner #MikeBrown #UNITE
#TBT Trailer! 3mo
A Soldier's Story

27 A Soldier's Story Columbia Pictures

A black Army investigator (Howard E. Rollins Jr.) travels to a remote military base in the heart of the Louisiana backwoods to look into the mysterious murder of a black sergeant toward the tail end of World War II. Once he arrives, the investigator discovers an Army regiment and an entire community that, despite the beginnings of integration, is still torn apart by race and segregation. He soon learns that on this base, trust is sparse and secrets are a currency all their own.
3mo
Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus

28 Da Sweet Blood Of Jesus 40 Acres & A Mule

Spike Lee's new stylized thriller DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS is a new kind of love story. Dr. Hess Green (Stephen Tyrone Williams) becomes cursed by a mysterious ancient Afrian artifact and is overwhelmed with a newfound thirst for blood. He however is not a vampire. Soon after his transformation he enters into a dangerous romance with Ganja Hightower (Zaraah Abrahams) that questions the very nature of love, addiction, sex, and status in our seemingly sophisticated society.
3mo
Vice

29 Vice Lionsgate

Julian Michaels (Bruce Willis) has designed the ultimate resort: VICE, where anything goes and the customers can play out their wildest fantasies with artificial inhabitants who look, think and feel like humans. When an artificial (Ambyr Childers) becomes self-aware and escapes, she finds herself caught in the crossfire between Julian's mercenaries and a cop (Thomas Jane) who is hell-bent on shutting down Vice, and stopping the violence once and for all.
3mo
Unfinished Business

30 Unfinished Business Regency

A hard-working small business owner (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.