Tuesday, December 16, 2014

BAUAW NEWSLETTER: TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014

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Bay Area United Against War Newsletter

Table of Contents:

A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS

B. ARTICLES IN FULL




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A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS



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Cops vs Free Speech
How police are threatening Mumia, convicts, teachers, and all of us with censorship as well as bullets!



• The New “gag” law in Pennsylvania that seeks to silence prisoners. This law, cobbled together in days following Mumia’s recorded presentation to a commencement ceremony at Goddard College, was explicitly designed to “shut him up.” The targets of this blatantly unconstitutional law, however, include all prisoners convicted of violent crimes!

• A Law Suit has been filed to stop the “gag” law from being implemented!  Support for this effort is critical. Donations will go toward the fight against the “gag” law.

• The  suppression of the “Urban Dreams” web site by the Oakland School Board. This teacher-created site of voluntary curriculum ideas included one comparing the suppression of Mumia’s commentaries with censorship of Martin Luther King’s later writings. While the Superintendent of Schools has now promised to restore the site, we must remain vigilant!

• Both of these measures—the “gag” law in Pennsylvania, and the suppression of the Urban Dreams website—were taken at the behest of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)!  The FOP is a highly politicized organization which seeks to silence social critics such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, and dictate the curricula in schools! The FOP and Democrat/Republican politicians will continue their attempts at intimidation and suppression, unless we act!

• Ferguson shows that black and Latino youth particularly are threatened by militarized and politicized police who shoot first and ask questions later, and frame their targets for crimes they didn’t commit. Chief targets have included Native American Activists like Leonard Peltier, militant working-class activists, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Black Panthers and Martin Luther King. Mumia is currently a top target to silence.  But anyone and everyone can be on their enemies list, and in their cross-hairs!  Fight back now!

Donate Now
to fight the “gag” law!
go to:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/protect-freedom-of-speech-keep-mumia-on-the-air

The Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal
PO Box 16222  •  Oakland CA  •  510.763.2347
www.laboractionmumia.org

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Support Prison Radio

$35 is the yearly membership.

$50 will get you a beautiful tote bag (you can special order a yoga mat bag, just call us).

$100 will get the DVD "Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary"

$300 will bring one essay to the airwaves.

$1000 (or $88.83 per month) will make you a member of our Prison Radio Freedom Circle. Take a moment and Support Prison Radio

Luchando por la justicia y la libertad,

Noelle Hanrahan, Director, Prison Radio

PRISON RADIO

P.O. Box 411074 San Francisco, CA 94141

www.prisonradio.org
info@prisonradio.org 415-706-5222

Pennsylvania legislators are trying to stop prisoners from speaking about their ideas and experiences. Last week, PA Representative Mike Vereb introduced a bill (HB2533) called the “Revictimization Relief Act,” which would allow victims, District Attorneys, and the Attorney General to sue people who have been convicted of “personal injury” crimes for speaking out publicly if it causes the victim of the crime “mental anguish.”

The bill was written in response to political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal’s commencement speech at Goddard College, and is a clear attempt to silence Mumia and other prisoners and formerly incarcerated people. We believe that this legislation is not actually an attempt to help victims, but a cynical move by legislators to stop people in prison from speaking out against an unjust system.

While to us this seems like a clear violation of the first amendment, unfortunately the PA General Assembly doesn’t appear to agree, and they have fast-tracked the bill for approval and amended another bill (SB508) to include the same language. The legislation could be voted on as early as Wednesday.

If this bill passes, it will be a huge blow to the movement against mass incarceration. People inside prisons play a leading role in these struggles, and their perspectives, analysis, and strategies are essential to our work. Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people who write books, contribute to newspapers, or even write for our Voices from the Inside section would run the risk of legal consequences just for sharing their ideas.

That’s why we are asking you to take action TUESDAY OCTOBER 14 by calling Pennsylvania lawmakers to tell them that prisoners should not be denied the right to speak.

Please call your legislators and demand that they vote NO on HB2533 and SB508. You can look up contact information at http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/.

We are also asking folks to call the following Senate leaders and ask them to stop the bill from moving forward:

Senate Majority Whip Pat Browne  (717) 787-1349

Senate Minority Whip Anthony Williams  (717) 787-5970

Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi  (717) 787-4712

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (717) 787-7683

Not sure what to say on the phone? Click here for a sample call script.

Want to write a letter to your legislators, or looking for more talking points? Click here for more info!

- See more at: http://decarceratepa.info/freespeech#sthash.TtdN3AkI.dpuf


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COURAGE TO RESIST
http://couragetoresist.org/

New Action- write letters to DoD officials requesting clemency for Chelsea!

November 24, 2014 by the Chelsea Manning Support Network
mchugh_md
Secretary of the Army John McHugh
President Obama has delegated review of Chelsea Manning’s clemency appeal to individuals within the Department of Defense.
Please write them to express your support for heroic WikiLeaks’ whistle-blower former US Army intelligence analyst PFC Chelsea Manning’s release from military prison.
It is important that each of these authorities realize the wide support that Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning enjoys worldwide. They need to be reminded that millions understand that Manning is a political prisoner, imprisoned for following her conscience. While it is highly unlikely that any of these individuals would independently move to release Manning, a reduction in Manning’s outrageous 35-year prison sentence is a possibility at this stage.
Take action TODAY – Write letters supporting Chelsea’s clemency petition to the following DoD authorities:
Secretary of the Army John McHugh
101 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-0101
The Judge Advocate General
2200 Army Pentagon
Washington, DC 20310-2200
Army Clemency and Parole Board
251 18th St, Suite 385
Arlington, VA 22202-3532
Directorate of Inmate Administration
Attn: Boards Branch
U.S. Disciplinary Barracks
1301 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2304
Suggestions for letters send to DoD officials:
  • The letter should focus on your support for Chelsea Manning, and especially why you believe justice will be served if Chelsea Manning’s sentence is reduced.  The letter should NOT be anti-military as this will be unlikely to help
  • A suggested message: “Chelsea Manning has been punished enough for violating military regulations in the course of being true to her conscience.  I urge you to use your authorityto reduce Pvt. Manning’s sentence to time served.”  Beyond that general message, feel free to personalize the details as to why you believe Chelsea deserves clemency.
  • Consider composing your letter on personalized letterhead -you can create this yourself (here are templates and some tips for doing that).
  • A comment on this post will NOT be seen by DoD authorities–please send your letters to the addresses above
This clemency petition is separate from Chelsea Manning’s upcoming appeal before the US Army Court of Criminal Appeals next year, where Manning’s new attorney Nancy Hollander will have an opportunity to highlight the prosecution’s—and the trial judge’s—misconduct during last year’s trial at Ft. Meade, Maryland.
Help us continue to cover 100% of Chelsea’s legal fees at this critical stage!
> > > Please donate today! < < <




Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave. #41
 Oakland, CA 94610
510-488-3559
couragetoresist.org

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Update on the legal fight to #FreeRasmeaNow
Rasmea Defense Committee 


Out of jail!
Rasmea is with her family and returning home to Chicago.

Members of the Rasmea Defense Committee from Chicago and Detroit / Dearborn just welcomed Rasmea back from 5 weeks in a Port Huron, Michigan, jail. She arrived at the U.S. Marshal's office in Detroit for processing at approximately noon today, Dec. 11, and was greeted shortly thereafter by friends and family, who are bringing her home to Chicago now.

She looks strong, and is upbeat and excited to see more of her friends, family, and supporters soon. The defense committee wants to again thank everyone for their phone calls, letters, rallies, protests, and all the other activism that helped us get Rasmea released. She sends her love and appreciation to all, and graciously asks us to be ready for the next stage--winning the appeal and exonerating her fully.

Rasmea will be meeting with her attorneys in the next few days, and they will begin establishing strategies for the sentencing on March 10th and the appeal, respectively. We will reach out to everyone soon, and call on defense committees and supporters across the country to gear up for another intense #Justice4Rasmea campaign.

But for now, let's celebrate knowing that Rasmea will be back home safe, and ready to get back to her work with the Arab American Action Network (AAAN) and its Arab Women's Committee.

We will be welcoming her home publicly for the first time next Wednesday, December 17th, at the AAAN's event showcasing the Wishah popular dance troupe directly from Ramallah in Palestine. Join us to celebrate her, and Palestinian culture and resilience, by purchasing your tickets here!

Stay updated at uspcn.org and stopfbi.net.

Rasmea Defense Committee


Keep updated at uspcn.org and stopfbi.net.


Rasmea Defense Committee

www.uspcn.org
www.stopfbi.net


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Copyright © 2014 Committee to Stop FBI Repression, All rights reserved.
Thanks for your ongoing interest in the fight against FBI repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists!
Our mailing address is:
Committee to Stop FBI Repression
PO Box 14183
Minneapolis, MN 55414




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RH Reality Check
RHRealityCheck.org

Two weeks ago, Cleveland police killed Tanisha Anderson in front of her family's home when they'd been called by her family to help her, after she panicked as they were taking her to a local hospital for a psychological evaluation. Her 16-year-old daughter was watching from a window [1] as an officer used a takedown move on her mother, forcing Anderson face down on the icy pavement and then pressing his knee into her back until she stopped moving.

The police told concerned family members that Tanisha Anderson was sleeping and left her there on the ground. When the ambulance finally arrived 20 minutes later, she was dead. Once again, an African American family was reminded that no level of government in the United States is set up to protect and serve the well-being of their loved ones, no matter where they choose to live.

Tanisha Anderson's family can't afford her funeral expenses, and as of now, they've only raised $1,501 of their $7,000 goal. Can you help them today?

http://www.gofundme.com/hbeun4?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=reality&utm_content=2+-+Tanisha+Andersons+family+cant+afford+her&utm_campaign=rhrc&source=rhrc

Natasha Chart,
Campaign Director, RHRealityCheck.org

[1] - "Daughter of mentally ill Cleveland woman who died in police custody hopes for change," by Brandon Blackwell, Cleveland.com, November 18, 2014

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/daughter_of_mentally_ill_cleve.html?&utm_medium=email&utm_source=reality&utm_content=3+-+Daughter+of+mentally+ill+Cleveland+woman&utm_campaign=rhrc&source=rhrc



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B. ARTICLES IN FULL




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1) Thousands March in Washington to Protest Police Violence


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2) Supreme Court Revisits Life Sentences for Juveniles

http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/13/supreme-court-revisits-life-sentences-for-juveniles/?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region

The life-without-parole sentences of thousands of juveniles convicted of murder nationwide may be up for reconsideration after the Supreme Court announced Friday that it would, at last, resolve a major uncertainty lingering in a landmark 2012 ruling.

In that decision, Miller v. Alabama, the court held that the Eighth Amendment bars mandatory sentences of life without parole for those who were under 18 at the time of their crime.


Since young people are “constitutionally different” from adults, Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the court, the law must treat them differently. She pointed specifically to the “hallmark features” of youth, including “immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences.”

A court may impose a sentence of life without parole, but only after considering the mitigating factors of youth and making an “individualized sentencing decision.” Going forward, Justice Kagan wrote, “we think appropriate occasions for sentencing juveniles to this harshest possible penalty will be uncommon.”

But going backward is the more immediate concern, because the Court did not address whether the ruling applied retroactively — a key ambiguity for the more than 2,000 juveniles sentenced to life without parole before Miller.

Since the Miller decision, state courts around the country have come to opposite conclusions on this question. Nine have held that it is retroactive, while four — Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Minnesota — have ruled that it isn’t. (Already this term, the U.S. Supreme Court has let stand rulings that Miller is retroactive by state supreme courts in Nebraska and Illinois.)

On Friday, the court announced that it would resolve the issue by agreeing to hear an appeal from George Toca. Mr. Toca, who has been imprisoned for 30 years, was 17 when he was arrested after his best friend was accidentally shot and killed during a 1984 robbery. He has maintained he is innocent, and has presented evidence that someone else was the shooter. After the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the Miller decision was not retroactive in that state, Mr. Toca petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court.

Given the unqualified language of the Miller opinion, it is hard to see how the court could prevent thousands of young prisoners from even a chance at release somewhere down the road — simply because they had the bad luck to be convicted before Miller was decided.

The legal arguments over retroactivity will be heard by the justices most likely in late March 2015 and resolved by the end of June.

But one claim that often comes up — that retroactivity will somehow lead to a flood of dangerous criminals stalking the streets — is nonsense. No one would be released automatically. Rather, if the court applies Miller retroactively, each inmate who petitions for resentencing will receive careful individualized consideration — just as he should have in the first place.

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3) Woman Tapes Police Arresting Someone and Ends Up Being Tasered and Called 'a Dumb B!†@h' on Video
Police allegedly tried to delete the video but the woman's phone had stored it in a cloud service.
By weinenkel
December 13, 2014  
http://www.alternet.org/woman-tapes-police-arresting-someone-and-ends-being-tasered-and-called-dumb-bh-video?akid=12575.229473.svHkb_&rd=1&src=newsletter1028645&t=18



Police allegedly tried to delete the video but the woman's phone had stored it in a cloud service.
As places like Illinois try to make it illegal to tape record police officers doing their "work", video of police "working" has emerged . Kianga Mwamba says she was heading home from family gathering when she stopped her car to film Baltimore police allegedly beating up a man they had in custody. According to the Baltimore Sun:
Mwamba, 36, flicked on the video recorder on her cell phone, telling officers she was allowed to record. But the situation quickly devolved into Mwamba's being hauled from her Toyota, tasered and charged with assaulting two police officers.
The police said Mwamba tried to run over officers with her car. Mwamba showed them the video.
Also according to the Baltimore Sun:
And when Mwamba was bailed out of jail that Monday morning, she said the video she made appeared to have been deleted from her phone. It was only when she checked another app that backed up her images and videos to the cloud that she found she still had a copy, she said.
Prosecutors dropped all the charges against Mwamba in September, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to move forward, and last week she filed a $7 million lawsuit against a number of officers she says were involved in her arrest and what she says was an attempt by police to destroy the footage.
The police department, having now "officially" seen the video had this to say:
The video does not capture enough information to draw definitive conclusions about what transpired before, during, and after the arrest," the department said. "What is clear is that the language used is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Also, Kianga Mwamba's dad? He's a veteran of the Maryland Capitol police.
 

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4) A Shooter, His Victim and Race
By


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5) More Files Are Released in Shooting in Ferguson


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6) Grisly Execution in Oklahoma Detailed in Court Brief


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7) I.R.S. Asset Seizure Case Is Dropped by Prosecutors


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8) 25,000 March in New York to Protest Police Violence


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9) Police Patrols in New York Public Housing Draw Scrutiny


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10) U.A.W. Pledges to Pursue Higher Wages Next Year


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