This Chinese-American Cop Is an Obvious Scapegoat - Welcome to NY City, City of Injustice

{{{Officer Peter Liang hears an incredible verdict}}}

Peter Liang was a new police officer for the people of New York City. He had dreamed of being of service and was proud to serve. He may now go to jail for purely political reasons. 

As a new cop (police officer), Liang was assigned to a very dangerous task (activity). There are numerous housing projects throughout New York City. These are tall and ugly buildings where poor people, primarily of color, live for free or for a very low fee. Some people live in 'the projects' their whole lives and politicians make no attempt to help them move out to better things or places. 

These projects are among the most dangerous places in New York City. It is a disgrace that no serious effort has ever been made to eliminate them. So Bloomberg, you want to be president? What the hell did you do to get rid of the projects and help the poor in them move to better places? NOTHING. You did not do a damn thing. You are responsible for the death that occurred in one of them recently, not Peter Liang.

It was Peter Liang and his partner Shaun Landau's job to walk up a stairwell of one of New York City's most dangerous housing projects in Brooklyn. This housing project was so neglected by the city that there were NO LIGHTS in the stairwell. Furthermore, two cops who had this same type of job were shot and KILLED by residents of this type of housing project recently. The city throws cops into incredibly dangerous situations and blames them when things go wrong.

Liang and his partner were new cops and should NOT have been given such a dangerous assignment. They were rightfully scared. As they were moving through this dangerous stairwell they heard a sudden sound. Liang's gun went off and his bullet hit a wall before ricocheting and hitting a guy coming down the stairs.

The prosecutor (the lawyer for the state of New York), said Liang deliberately shot this man. By accidentally shooting at a wall? What? You went to law school to say something this crazy? That was a blatant lie. The prosecutor lied in court. The jury should have laughed at this type of ridiculous argument - instead they found Liang guilty of manslaughter. Manslaughter is when you kill a person because you are not careful. Then throw de Blasio in jail and the police commissioner because they put this inexperienced cop in harms' way! How careful was the city to put Liang in a situation he couldn't handle yet?

If you put anyone in that situation who is not an experienced cop, you are going to get the same results. It was NOT  Liang's fault that this man died. It is a tragedy that the man died, but the heart of the tragedy lies in the fact that 1) we have these dangerous housing projects that nobody is trying to get rid of and 2) the most inexperienced cops are sent there. The city of New York and the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations are responsible for this man's death.

Peter Liang is a scapegoat. It disgusts me that a jury found him guilty.

Here is an article about this situation:

http://nypost.com/2016/02/12/liang-verdict-will-have-chilling-effect-on-policing-union-head/

Vocabulary:

a scapegoat - an innocent person who gets blamed for a serious problem. There have been cases where black men in the USA have been killed by cops and the cops were not held accountable. Liang was found guilty to make up for this situation.

a cop - a police officer

a verdict - a decision of guilt or innocence

chilling - frightening

union head - the head of the police union...a union is an organization that represents a group of workers

blasted - strongly criticized

to hinder - to make something more difficult

bloodshed - when violence occurs causing people to bleed

Patrolman's Benevolent Association - the organization that represents police in NY City

vertical patrols - when police go up and down stairwells in housing projects trying to prevent crimes

fatally shot - shot to death

to brag - to be proud of something and to speak about it proudly

closure - an end of something

A guy got his arm torn off in a botched robbery attempt

botched - if a plan is botched, it does not work out well. In fact, a botched plan is a plan that goes very badly.

There is a lot of pressure on poor teenagers in New York City to wear 'cool' clothing. Air Jordan sneakers (athletic shoes) are considered cool shoes. If you are a teen and do not wear cool clothing to school, other students will mock you (make fun out of you - criticize you).

Therefore, some teenagers are so desperate for expensive clothing and athletic shoes, which they cannot afford, that they try to steal these things.

This is a horrible story in which a 17 year old African American student answered an advertisement on a website to buy a pair of  Air Jordan sneakers for $199.00 (one-hundred ninety-nine dollars). The man selling the shoes agreed to drive to the student's neighborhood to sell him the shoes. However,when the student got into the man's car, he pulled out a gun and stole the shoes. 

As the boy started walking away, the man then decided to run the boy over with his car, tearing the boy's right arm off of him. The boy then, unbelievably, climbed out from under the car, missing an arm, and started running away. He even got onto a bus and demanded that the driver help him escape.

Folks, this is what's called a "New York Story" - this kind of thing only happens in New York City.

So the boy will be arrested for trying to rob the shoe seller and the shoe seller will be arrested for attempted murder because he ran over the boy with his car. Do you think this is fair? 

Here is an article about this horrible situation:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3445009/Carjacker-17-critical-condition-having-ARM-ripped-trying-rob-man-met-Craigslist.html

Vocabulary from the article:

excruciating - extremely painful

robbery - when someone illegally takes something from another person

a scam - a plan to steal something or make money illegally

accused of - if a person is accused of something, it is claimed that the person did something illegal

a revolver - a gun

headlong - right at, directly at

He managed to flee - he was able to run away

He is charged with attempted murder - to be charged with a crime means that a person has been arrested for a specific crime. So if a person is arrested for murder, after the paper work is done, the police will say, "He has been charged with murder..." He will have to go to trial for murder.

armed robbery - robbery with a gun or other weapon

squirming out - crawling out slowly, like a worm

bystanders - people standing around

to stun - to shock

"I saw the gun on the floor. The arm was in the floor..." - should be: on the floor

instant karma: karma basically means you get rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad behavior. Instant karma would be an immediate reward or punishment.  John Lennon wrote a song called Instant Karma:

All Hamburger Meat Has Poop in It

Hmmmm, does that hamburger look good to you?  Does poop look good to you? Yes, it looks as if every sample of hamburger meat tested last year had some poop in it (poop is otherwise known as 'crap' or 'shit' in America - it is waste material...the stuff that drops out of your butt and into your toilet bowl).

How did poop get into all hamburger meat? I don't know, nobody is saying. But since I read this article back in April of 2015, I have not had one hamburger. Cows love me now. And I probably won't get cancer as quickly either.

Yes, I would advise you to please stop eating poop...I mean hamburgers.

The article:
http://nypost.com/2015/08/24/your-ground-beef-is-probably-contaminated-by-poop/

Vocabulary from the article:

to be contaminated by - this means that something you think is pure really has something else in it that you don't want to have in it

Labor Day barbecues - Labor Day is in May - it is a holiday celebrating work. Many people barbecue in their backyards on a grill on this day.

fecal - poop-like

urinary tract - the little biological tube that allows the pee to leave your system and go into the toilet

antibiotics - medicine to kill germs

a sustainable environment - an environment which is not being destroyed, an environment which can survive on its own

to confine animals - to keep them in small areas

to slaughter - to kill animals for food

to crank out - to produce quickly with little regulation or monitoring

superbugs - germs that can't be killed (bacteria or viruses)

160 degrees F = 71.1 C

to be on guard - to be super careful, to watch something or some situation closely

Reparations for black folks in the USA?

{{{A photo of a black child picking cotton - after the Civil War black people who had been slaves were not given many opportunities for success.}}} 

After the US Civil War, black people could no longer be used as slaves. However, they had few opportunities. Many of them continued working on the farms where they had worked as slaves. They were now paid, but they were paid very little.

Some historians believe that African Americans in the USA still suffer from unequal economic, social and educational situations because they were not helped after the Civil War.

Therefore, many African Americans, these days, are asking for 'reparations'. Reparations payments are usually paid by losing countries to winning countries after wars are over. In this case, however, African Americans believe that an injustice was done to their ancestors and that they should now receive money from the US government for all the years their ancestors worked as slaves. Many Americans feel this money would finally help African Americans to get on the road to true freedom and equality in the USA.

Here is an article about a UN group and about how horrible conditions are for black folks in the USA. The Christian Science Monitor magazine might force you to take a brief survey to read the whole article. Sorry about that. I took the survey quickly - it was two questions.

The Article:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2016/0131/UN-group-recommends-reparatory-justice-for-African-Americans

Vocabulary from the article:

reparatory justice - justice meant to fix or repair a wrong situation

disparities - differences that constitute inequality

preliminary - the first draft

the legacy of slavery - the history which continues to affect black people

subordination - forcing people to become inferior in status

reconciliation - making up, fixing problems so that nobody feels resentment or hurt any more

due diligence - conscientiousness, a sense of doing the right thing

disproportionate imprisonment - black people are thrown in jail at much higher rates than white folks

a massacre - when many innocent people are killed at one time

persistent - in this case: continuing

structural discrimination - discrimination is applied racism and if it is structural, it is built into the system

de facto barriers - 'in fact' barriers...they are not supposed to be there, but they are, in fact, there

wealth - amount of money and property

commemoration - remembering

profound - in this case: serious

manifestations - how something shows or reveals itself

xenophobia - hating people who are different or who come from different countries

reignited - started again...to ignite a fire is to start a fire

internment camps - places people are held temporarily until a time comes when it is felt safe to release them. Japanese Americans were forced to live in such camps during World War 2 because the US government did not trust them.

sins - wrongs done, usually to God, but a sin can be a wrong committed against another person.

maturation - growth, development

India wants to buy weapons from Russia while 3,000 Indian children die, per day, of starvation (not enough food)

There is a moral crisis in India that the world is ignoring. As you can see by this article below, 3,000 children do not get enough to eat and are dying due to a lack of food (starvation). That means 1 million Indian children each year are dying of hunger. That is like 10 Hiroshima atomic bomb explosions in India per year.

This is a silent but real tragedy that has to be stopped.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/02/16/10424930-indias-hunger-shame-3000-children-die-every-day-despite-economic-growth?lite

Frankly, I think it is time for the civilized world to demand that India take care of its children before it buys weapons. Seriously, India needs these missiles to protect whom? Its starving children?

Maybe India should just surrender to its enemies and allow foreign countries to take over so these countries can feed the 1 million children who will otherwise starve. I am surprised that Vladimir Putin has not considered secretly invading India since he is such a great humanitarian (that's called sarcasm) and he is really good at invading countries - Ukraine and Syria for example.

By the way, an Indian citizen told me that I do not have the right to criticize India because there is poverty in the USA as well. It is, however, absurd to equate poverty in the USA with poverty in India.

Children are not dying of starvation in the USA. 3,000 die each day in India. Many of our poor people in the USA live in free housing, with free food and free medical care. They have access to free public schools to the age of 18 (and inexpensive public universities afterwards) and they have access to vote for politicians who will help them. There is a way out of poverty in the USA and many take that road each year. It is true, however, that there is still much work to be done.

Here is an article on the purchase of weapons by India. 

http://thediplomat.com/2015/12/india-cleared-purchase-of-russian-s-400-missile-defense-system/

Vocabulary from the article:

India cleared purchase - it should be: India has cleared the purchase of.....(news sources often abbreviate headlines). So the government has "Ok'd" the purchase of these missiles from Russia. The government is ready to buy the missiles.

acquisition - obtaining, getting

a council - an official group

the procurement - the obtaining, the getting

charged with - given the responsibility to do something

lukewarm - not eager but not completely not eager; if water is lukewarm it is not hot and not cold,just a little warm. India agreed to buy 154 airplanes from Russia and never did so, therefore Russia does not seem to want to sell these missiles to India.

ballistic and cruise missiles - these are different types of missiles: ballistic missiles are guided by the laws of ballistics (gravity) and cruise missiles are guided by some type of computer system.

simultaneously - at the same time 

allegedly - supposedly

purportedly - supposedly

inducted - ready to go

to deploy - to set up or to put something in place somewhere

to bolster - to strengthen

An anti-overdose drug will now be available 'over-the-counter' in NY

It seems that many people have been dying due to overdoses of the illegal drug heroin in NY City.

(an 'overdose' is when you take too much of something that can kill you - heroin is an illegal and highly addictive narcotic drug) 

(if a drug is available 'over-the-counter', this means that you do not need a doctor's permission to buy the drug...US pharmacies often have lots of over-the-counter drugs on display that a person can buy, but a doctor's prescription (note) can only be filled by a licensed pharmacist behind a counter)

There is a drug which can be taken if a person feels he/she is dying from an overdose of heroin, and this drug can save the person's life. This drug is called naloxone. 

Until recently only a doctor could provide the medicine directly or a person needed a prescription (a notice that a person could legally buy the medicine from a pharmacy).

Because so many people have been dying, heroin users may now buy the drug naloxone and keep it with them while they are using heroin, in case they lose the ability to breathe (naloxone apparently helps a person breathe again after an overdose, thus saving the person's life).

What do you think about this? Some folks say that by making naloxone easy to get we are encouraging people to use heroin. They argue that if it is safer to take heroin, more young people will now take heroin. Yet, it's true that there has been an increase in the number of young people who are dying from heroin overdoses. Should we allow some young people die in order not to encourage others to try heroin?

An article about this:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/anti-overdose-medication-nyc-pharmacies-article-1.2458390

Vocabulary from the article:

anti - this means to be against something; pro means to be for something

opiates - these are drugs that come from the poppy plant; they are, basically, pain-killers

a pharmacy - a place to buy medication, either over-the-counter or through a doctor's prescription

De Blasio - the mayor (leader) of New York City

sobering - information is sobering if it shocks you; the opposite of sober is drunk

new stats - new statistics,new numbers about something

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Please consider buying my ESL book. :)  It is available as an e-book and I kept the price down to make sure that anyone who wants it can afford it. It is only $3.50 :) I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.amazon.com/York-Sucks-Youll-Wanna-Anyway-ebook/dp/B004TSPAQS

A more accurate look at Asians in the USA - no "Asian Advantage"

The New York Times isn't the quality newspaper it used to be in its glory days (the days in the far past when it was truly great). It did not adjust well to the development of the internet and has lost many of its best journalists. Many of the pieces I read in the Times (when I bother to read it) are not especially well-written or thought-provoking. Some articles are really bad.

Recently someone who writes for the NY Times stupidly asserted that "Asians" as a group had an 'advantage' over other races in the USA and he provided various statistics to 'prove' this. Asian folks, themselves, have responded by saying he is merely promoting a harmful stereotype about Asians.

A stereotype is an image or belief about a certain group of people based on a few examples. As other Asians have pointed out, there are many Asian people who are suffering in the USA. Certain Asian groups in the USA are doing well, but this does not mean that a racist stereotype should be created. But that's what the NY Times did. 

The Economist also did this by calling Asians 'the model minority group' - meaning the perfect group of people in the USA who do not represent the 'dominant' group...but everyone knows the Economist is a piece of garbage conservative magazine.  (A conservative person or magazine does not like to see things change and supports businesses over people. George Bush was a conservative in the USA.)

This article below is just wonderful - so intelligently written. It points out that there were two basic 'waves' recently of Asian immigration to the USA. In the first wave highly educated Asians were allowed into the country and in the second wave people escaping from war were let in. Yet, when some people look at 'Asians in the USA' they only look at the first wave of immigrants and ignore the second wave. Then they look at the first wave and say, "Look at how well they are doing! There must be something in Asian culture to make Asians so successful. maybe it is Confucianism!" This is, basically, racist and encourages non-Asians to look at Asians the wrong way. What a great article! Thank you CNN.

An article about this (this is a GREAT article):

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/14/news/economy/asian-americans-disadvantage/index.html?fb101415asiandisadvantage700story

Vocabulary to help you understand the story:

to be ignored - if something is being ignored, attention is not being paid to it

troubling - if something is troubling it makes you feel concerned, worried

the numbers are compelling - the statistics make it seem as if what they are saying is true. If something is compelling it holds your attention and seems to be true.

when you dig a little bit - when you investigate a little further

diverse - wide, not uniform, not the same, a variety

he penned a response - he wrote a response

perpetuates - continues

garment workers - people who make clothing under terrible conditions

disproportionally stars - there are more 'stars' among Asians than other groups

to air their discontent - to express their anger and how upset they were

to elide it - basically he used the wrong word here. He should have used 'avoid' - to elide is to not pronounce a sound that is supposed to be pronounced in a word. God the NY Times sucks.

trauma - if you experience trauma you have had a terrible experience and still feel the psychological effects of it

war-torn countries -  countries where there is war occurring

tenet - assumption or belief

to fuel something - to keep it going

devastating - shocking, psychologically harmful