Saturday, August 23, 2014

BAUAW NEWSLETTER: SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2014

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Bay Area United Against War Newsletter

Table of Contents:

A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
B. ARTICLES IN FULL
C. SPECIAL APPEALS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
D. VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO. ART, POETRY, ETC.


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A. EVENTS AND ACTIONS

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Women Organized To Resist and Defend

San Francisco, CA
Speak-out
Tuesday Aug. 26, 6 p.m.
24th and Mission Streets
Info: sf@defendwomensrights.org or 415-375-9502

Take Action for Women’s Equality Day
Say NO to the Status Quo—Full Equality for All Women!
Full Reproductive Rights Now!
Free Marissa Alexander!
Equal Pay for Equal Work!
End Violence Against Women!


http://www.defendwomensrights.org/

Aug. 26 marks Women’s Equality Day—a celebration of the hard-fought struggle for women’s suffrage that was won in 1918. Today, almost 100 years later, women have made many gains in the struggle for equality. Almost 100 years later, the struggle for full equality continues.

There is much that has not been won. In 2014, women are still paid less than men for equal work; Latina women are paid 55 percent of what men earn, Black women 67 percent and white women 78 percent. Worldwide, 35 percent of women experience sexual violence. Society then sweeps sexual violence under the rug—shaming victims and protecting attackers.

Marissa Alexander’s case—among many others—highlights the contradictions of a society that punishes victims of abuse when they defend themselves. Marissa Alexander is a 33-year-old African American woman, mother, and survivor of domestic violence. Under mandatory minimum sentencing laws, Marissa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defending herself against an abuser in the same state that let George Zimmerman walk free. Though the original sentence was thrown out by the judge, Marissa is still being prosecuted and State Prosecutor Angela Corey has announced she intends to seek a 60-year sentence. All charges against Marissa should be dropped! We must stand with Marissa, demand her freedom, and fight to end all forms of violence against women!

Recently, reactionary politicians and groups have targeted our reproductive rights—trying to overturn Roe v Wade through federal and state legislation that denies women the right to abortion, denies us access to birth control and criminalizes certain behaviors for pregnant women. There is an ongoing offensive to defund Planned Parenthood and other centers that provide not only reproductive health care, but also critical preventative health services. The latest attack has come in the form of the Supreme Court’s decision that Hobby Lobby’s owners’ religious convictions were more important than the reproductive health care of the women who work there.

Women’s bodies belong to no one but themselves. We should have the right to control our own bodies, and determine how and when we get pregnant and give birth. Access to abortion and birth control are part and parcel of reproductive health care—and shouldn’t be isolated from health care in general. Likewise, women look forward to the day when we are safe to walk down the street, and when our bodies are not objectified and commodified. We are struggling for a day when we are not paid less just because of our gender or more likely to live in poverty because of it.

That day is entirely possible. But is only possible if we organize and mobilize to challenge the status quo that perpetuates and institutionalizes inequality. Join WORD in building the struggle for full equality.

On Women’s Equality Day, WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) will be holding speak-outs, forums and other actions to celebrate the gains demanding “Say no to the status quo—full equality for all women!” Join us in cities across the country between Saturday, August 23 and Friday, August 29, 2014. Attend an event in your city or organize one.


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Special event to kick off CISPES’ 15th National Convention

Migration: Causes and Responses

Perspectives from the US and El Salvador
Friday, August 29th at 6:30 pm
Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. San Francisco (between Valencia and Guerrero, 16th St. BART)
This space is wheelchair accessible; Spanish-English interpretation provided
Suggested donation: $10-$30

Stay for refreshments, live music, DJs and dancing!
While the mainstream news is finally talking about the poverty and insecurity that are separating families in México and Central America and forcing so many to leave their homes, there is little analysis of the role that U.S. policy plays in creating those conditions. Even less is being said about what left and progressive governments are doing, for example in El Salvador and Nicaragua, to reduce poverty and inequality, which often involves standing up to transnational corporations and the enormous power they wield through trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA.
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) is thrilled to welcome Claudia Escobar, one of the women in leadership of the Salvadoran Union Front, which formed in 2005 as the Salvadoran working class’ “instrument of struggle.” She is the president of her union, which represents workers at the Ministry of Labor, and has a unique perspective on both labor and women’s struggles under the new FMLN government.
She will be joined by Angela Sanbrano, president of the National Alliance of Latino and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), and by David Bacon, who has written extensively on the root causes of migration, especially when it comes to US economic and foreign policy.
We will also take the opportunity to celebrate many generations of the Central American solidarity movement being under one roof so please stay for refreshments, live music, and dancing!
Feel free to check out the Facebook invitation here and please to spread the word among other solidarity-minded friends and allies.  
Please contact Karl Kramer at 415-509-9712 or bayarea@cispes.org with any questions. Hope to see you there!
 
CISPES le invita a un evento especial para abrir su Convención Nacional 15o
 
Migración: Causas y Respuestas
Perspectivas desde los EEUU y El Salvador
 
Viernes el 29 de Agosto a las 6:30 pm
Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. San Francisco (entre Valencia and Guerrero, 16th St. BART)

El espacio es accesible por sillas de rueda; habrá interpretación entre inglés y español
Donación de $10-$30 sugerida
¡También habrá comida y bebida, música en vivo, DJ, y baile!
 
El tema de la pobreza y la inseguridad cómo una causa fundamental de la separación de millones de familias Mexicanas y Centroamericanas ha surgido por los medios de comunicación pero no hay una análisis muy profunda del rol de las políticas de los EEUU en crear estas mismas condiciones. Aún menos se oiga de las iniciativas de gobiernos progresistas y de izquierda para disminuir la pobreza y la desigualdad, por ejemplo en El Salvador y Nicaragua, las cuales frecuentemente causan reacción de las empresas transnacionales que hoy en día manejan un poder muy fuerte a través de los Tratados de Libre Comercio.
El Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de El Salvador (CISPES) tiene el honor de dar la bienvenida a  Claudia Escobar, una lideresa del Frente Sindical Salvadoreño, lo cual se aglutinó en 2005 como el “instrumento de lucha del clase trabajador.” Como presidenta de su sindicato, lo cual representa las y los trabajadores al Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social, ofrecerá una perspectiva única sobre la lucha de ambos las mujeres y los sindicatos bajo el nuevo gobierno del FMLN.  
Daremos la bienvenida también a Angela Sanbrano, presidenta de la Alianza Nacional de Comunidades Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (NALACC) y David Bacon, un autor que ha escrito extensivamente en el tema de las causas fundamentales de la migración, especialmente en relación con la política económica de los EE.UU.
 
También vamos a celebrar la unificación de varias generaciones del movimiento en solidaridad con Centroamérica - İ vengar para bailar y disfrutar un convivio muy genial con música en vivo, comida y bebidas!  
Favor de compartir esta invitación y también el anuncio por Facebook con sus amig@s y aliad@s solidari@s.
Favor de comunicarse con Karl Kramer a 415-503-0789 o bayarea@cispes.org con cualquier pregunta. İLe esperamos el Viernes 29 de Agosto!
--
Allan Fisher
afisher800@gmail.com
415-954-2763
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PEOPLE'S CLIMATE RALLY

Planning meeting Everyone welcome!
Join us on Tues., August 26, 7 pm, Niebyl-Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, to plan the…

 
in solidarity with the historic September 21 NYC event called by 350.org and
hundreds of local and national environmental, trade union and social justice
organizations across the country.

All Out for Sun., Sept. 21

2 pm – 5 pm

Oakland's Lake Merritt Park Amphitheater


Amphitheater is the new grassy area at the end of Lake Merritt near 12th
Street, across from the Henry J. Kaiser Center, a few blocks from Lake Merritt BART
Station.

The historic NYC protest on Sunday, September 21 is 2 days before the UN
Climate Summit of world leaders. Tragically, more inaction or inadequate
action can be expected.   We want to show the world that the climate crisis
can no longer be ignored, that the planet earth is burning, that massive &
unprecedented measures must be taken now to assure humanity’s future.

The People’s Climate March is shaping up to be one of the largest climate
justice mobilizations in history, with organizers of the march setting a goal of getting a half million people to demonstrate in NYC.

For additional information:  http://peoplesclimatemarch.org


While people all over the country are mobilizing for New York, many of us will
gather in support in Oakland.

Let's make the  West Coast Solidarity action a great success!

• For a world with an economy that works for people and the planet

• For a world safe from the ravages of climate change

• For a world with good jobs, clean air and water, peace and justice and
healthy communities

Bay Area September 21 Coalition: Co-sponsors (Very initial list! Add your
organization now!): 350 Bay Area; Sunflower Alliance; System Change Not
Climate Change; KPFA; Peninsula Peace and Justice Center; Social Justice
Committee/Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists; Our Place in the
World; Adam Hochschild, author/founder Mother Jones magazine; Green Party of
Alameda County; United National Antiwar Coalition; Democratic Socialists East
Bay; Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party; No. Calif. Committees of
Correspondence for Democracy and  Socialism; Socialist Action; Mobilization to
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; Oakland Socialist Group; Bay Area Solidarity; Dr. Jack
Rasmus, Host, Alternative Visions Radio Show/Progressive Radio Network;
International Socialist Organization; San Francisco Bay View newspaper; One
Hundred Thousand Poets for Change; CodePink Bay Area; Multifaith Voices for
Peace & Justice; Food & Water Watch; Cesar Chavez Holiday Parade and Festival;
San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Bay Area IWW; 350 Santa Cruz; SF Sierra
Club; Peace Action of San Mateo County; Solar Justice; Sonoma County Peace and
Justice Center; Project Censored

Send your endorsement to: endorse@BayAreaSept21.org

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Please forward and post widely

Protest Now! No To Police Censorship of Mumia, and Teachers! 


Reinstate the Urban Dreams Website!


Action Still Needed! Please send messages to the School Board!


- Scroll down for School Board addresses -


Here’s what happened: Under pressure from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)—operating through a friendly publicity agent called Fox News—the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) earlier this year shut down an entire website composed of teacher-drafted curriculum material called Urban Dreams.  Why?  Because this site included course guidelines on the censorship of innocent political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal!  The course material compared the censorship of Mumia’s extensive radio commentaries and writings, with that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s later writings, which focused on class exploitation and his opposition to the US’ imperialist War against Vietnam. Both were effectively silenced by the big media, including in Mumia’s case, by National Public Radio (NPR).

Mumia Is Innocent! But He’s Still a Top Target of FOP

Abu-Jamal has long been a top-row target for the FOP, which tried to get him legally killed for decades.  Mumia was framed by the Philadelphia police and falsely convicted of murdering a Philadelphia policeman in 1982, with the extensive collaboration of lying prosecutors, corrupt courts, the US Justice Department, and key political figures.

Mumia’s death sentence was dropped only when a federal appeals court judge set it aside because of blatantly illegal jury instructions by the original highly racist trial judge.  (The same federal judge upheld every bogus detail of Mumia’s conviction.)  The local Philadelphia prosecutor and politicians chickened out of trying to get Mumia’s original death sentence reinstated due to the fact that all their evidence of his guilt had long been exposed as totally fraudulent! 

FOP: Can’t Kill Him? Silence Him!

The FOP had to swallow the fact that the local mucky-mucks had dropped the ball on executing Mumia, but they were rewarded with a substitute sentence of life without the possibility of parole, imposed by a local court acting in secret.  Mumia is now serving this new and equally unjust sentence of “slow death.”

This gets us back to the FOP’s main point here, which is to silence Mumia. They can’t stop Mumia from writing and recording his world-renownd commentaries (which are available at Prison Radio, www.prisonradio.org). But they look for any opportunity to smear and discredit Mumia, and keep him out of the public eye; and these snakes have found a morsel on the Urban Dreams web site to go after!

Urban Dreams Was Well Used by Teachers

Urban Dreams was initially set up under a grant from the federal Dept. of Education in 1999-2004 and contains teacher-written material on a wide variety of issues.  It is (was) used extensively in California and beyond. The OUSD’s knee-jerk reaction to shut the whole site down because of a complaint from police, broadcast on the all-powerful Fox News network, shows the rapid decline of the US into police-state status.  Why should we let a bunch of lying, vicious cops, whose only real job is to protect the wealthy and powerful from all of us, get away with this?

Fresh from defeating Obama’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department because he served for a period as Mumia’s attorney, the FOP is attacking a school lesson plan that asks students to think outside the box of system propaganda. But the grave-diggers of capitalist oppression are stirring.

Labor Says No To Police Persecution of Mumia!

In 1999, the Oakland teachers union, Oakland Education Association (OEA), held an unauthorized teach-in on Mumia and the death penalty.  Later the same year, longshore workers in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) shut down all West-Coast ports to Free Mumia.  Other teacher actions happened around the country and internationally.  And now the Alameda County Labor Council, acting on a resolution submitted by an OEA member, has denounced the FOP-inspired shutdown of Urban Dreams, and called for the site’s complete restoration (ie no deletions).

Labor Says No To Censorship of Mumia, and Teachers!

We are asking union members particularly, and everyone else as well, if you abhor police-sponsored censorship of school curricula, and want to see justice and freedom for the wrongfully convicted such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, send your message of protest now to the Oakland School Board, at the three addresses below.

Union members: take the resolution below to your local union or labor council, and get it passed!

 Whatever you do, send a copy of your protest letter or resolution, or a report of your actions, to Oakland Teachers for Mumia, at communard2@juno.com.

Here is the Alameda County Labor Council resolution:

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Labor Speaks: Urban Dreams Censorship Resolution

Alameda County Labor Council

Whereas Mumia Abu-Jamal, an award winning journalist, defender of the rights of the working class, people of color, and oppressed people has been imprisoned since 1982 without parole for a crime he didn’t commit after his death sentence was finally overturned;

Whereas the Oakland Unified School District’s censorship of the Urban Dreams website was in reaction to a Fox News and Fraternal Order of Police attack on a lesson plan asking students to consider a parallel between censorship of Martin Luther King’s radical ideas and censorship of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and;

Whereas it is dangerous and unacceptable to allow the police to determine the curriculum of a major school district like Oakland, or any school district;

Whereas removal of the Urban Dreams OUSD website denies educators and student access to invaluable curriculum resources by Oakland teachers with social justice themes promoting critical thinking, and;

Whereas in 1999, the Oakland Education Association led the teach-in on Mumia Abu-Jamal and the death penalty which helped deepen the debate in the U.S. on the death penalty itself, and greatly intensified the spotlight on the widespread issue of wrongful conviction and demanded justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and;

Whereas OEA and Alameda Contra Costa County Service Center of CTA cited the Mumia teach-in and the censored unit on Martin Luther King Jr. in its Human Rights WHO AWARD for 2013;

Be it resolved that the Alameda Labor Council condemns OUSD’s censorship of the Urban Dreams website and demands that it immediately restore access to all materials on the website, reaffirms its demand for justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and issues a press release to seek the widest possible support from defenders of free speech and those who seek justice for Mumia.

- Submitted by Keith Brown, OEA

- Passed, Alameda County Labor Council, 14 July 2014
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Now It’s your turn!
Join with Ed Asner, and with the Alameda County Labor Council, in protesting the
Oakland School Board’s censorship of the Urban Dreams web site!
    • Ask your local union, labor council or other organization to endorse the resolution by the Alameda County Labor Council.
    • Demand the School Board reinstate the Urban Dreams website without any deletions!
    • Send your union resolutions or letters of protest to the following; 
        1. Oakland Board of Education: boe@ousd.k12.ca.us 
        2. Board President Davd Kakishiba: David.Kakishiba@ousd.k12.ca.us 
        3. Superintendent Antwan Wilson: Antwan.Wilson@ousd.k12.ca.us

Important: Send a copy of your resolution or email to:
Bob Mandel/Teachers for Mumia at: communard2@juno.com.
Thank you for your support!

-This message is from the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal,
and Oakland Teachers for Mumia.
communard2@juno.com.

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B. ARTICLES IN FULL


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1) Arizona Loose With Its Rules in Executions, Records Show
August 17. 2014
By FERNANDA SANTOS and JOHN SCHWARTZ
AUG. 17, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/arizona-loose-with-its-rules-in-executions-records-show.html?ref=us




2) Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In National Guard
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinder
Autust 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news



3) National Guard Troops Fail to Quell Unrest in Ferguson
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinde
August19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?ref=us



4) Family of Michael Brown Says Autopsy Confirmed Witness Account
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/family-of-michael-brown-says-autopsy-confirmed-witness-account.html?ref=us



5) Not Just Ferguson: National Guard Has a Long History With Civil Unrest
By Alan Flippen
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/upshot/not-just-ferguson-national-guard-has-a-long-history-with-civil-unrest.html?ref=us&abt=0002&abg=0 



6) Wrongfully Convicted Man Reaches $10 Million Settlement With New York City
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/jabbar-collins-wrongfully-convicted-man-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-new-york-city.html?ref=nyregion




7) As Tension Eases on Ferguson’s Streets, Focus Turns to Investigation
By ALAN BLINDER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONCampbell Robertson
AUG. 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region&region=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&_r=0#




8) Shooting Accounts Differ as Holder Schedules Visit to Ferguson
By FRANCES ROBLES Francis Robles and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMichael S. Schmidt
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/shooting-accounts-differ-as-holder-schedules-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=b-lede-package-region&region=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package





9) Israeli Strike in Gaza Hits Family of Hamas Military Commander
By Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news





10) In Russia, Scenes From Ferguson Are Played as Nothing Shocking: It’s America
By David M. Herszenhorn
August 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/world/europe/in-russia-scenes-from-ferguson-are-played-as-nothing-shocking-its-america.html?ref=us





11) Macy's to Pay $650,000 to Resolve 'Shop-And-Frisk' Probe
By Reuters
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/20/business/20reuters-macys-bias.html?src=busln
By REUTERSAUG. 20, 2014, 11:14 A.M. E.D.T.

 


12) My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.
By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.610687



 

13) Tear Gas, Stun Grenades, Sound Cannons: Companies Profiting From Police Crackdowns Like Ferguson
By Alex Kane

August 21, 2014
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/tear-gas-stun-grenades-sound-cannons-companies-profiting-police-crackdowns?akid=12153.229473.yT6Y7r&rd=1&src=newsletter1016414&t=2&paging=off&current_page=1#bookmark
Sales of all those military grade weapons are making some people rich.  






14) Message from Troy Davis’s family to Michael Brown’s family and the people of Ferguson
TO THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL BROWN AND THE PEOPLE OF FERGUSON, FROM THE FAMILY OF TROY DAVIS
August 21, 2014
http://donkeysaddle.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/message-from-troy-daviss-family-to-michael-browns-family-and-the-people-of-ferguson/




15) Fatal Confrontation Heightens Tensions in Staten Island Police Precinct
 
 





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1) Arizona Loose With Its Rules in Executions, Records Show
By FERNANDA SANTOS and JOHN SCHWARTZ
AUG. 17, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/arizona-loose-with-its-rules-in-executions-records-show.html?ref=us

PHOENIX — In an execution in 2010 in Arizona, the presiding doctor was supposed to connect the intravenous line to the convict’s arm — a procedure written into the state’s lethal injection protocol and considered by many doctors as the easiest and best way to attach a line. Instead he chose to use a vein in an upper thigh, near the groin.

“It’s my preference,” the doctor said later in a deposition, testifying anonymously because of his role as a five-time executioner. For his work, he received $5,000 to $6,000 per day — in cash — with two days for practice before each execution.

That improvisation is not unusual for Arizona, where corrections officials and medical staff members routinely deviate from the state’s written rules for conducting executions, state records and court filings show. Sometimes they improvise even while a convict is strapped to a table in the execution chamber and waiting for the drugs coursing through his veins to take effect.In 2012, when Arizona was scheduled to execute two convicted murderers, its Corrections Department discovered at the last minute that the expiration dates for the drugs it was planning to use had passed, so it decided to switch drug methods. Last month, Arizona again deviated from its execution protocol, and things did not go as planned: The convicted murderer Joseph R. Wood III took nearly two hours to die, during which he received 13 more doses of lethal drugs than the two doses set out by the state’s rules.

While it is unclear whether the constant changes have led to cruel and unusual punishment, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became so disturbed in 2012 about the expired drugs that it chastised the state, saying Arizona “has insisted on amending its execution protocol on an ad hoc basis.” While the court permitted the two executions to proceed and they went off without a hitch, the Ninth Circuit nonetheless observed that Arizona had a “rolling protocol that forces us to engage with serious constitutional questions and complicated factual issues in the waning hours before executions.”

Douglas A. Berman, an expert on criminal sentencing at Ohio State University, said corrections officials tended to have a cavalier attitude that might now be backfiring on them. As Mr. Berman archly put it, “What’s the big deal, as long as the guy ends up dead and I’m not literally torturing the guy along the way?” Prison officials and execution teams, he said, “don’t see any adjustment that they are making as likely to cause unnecessary suffering or pain.”

There are, however, signs that suggest otherwise. Mr. Wood, 55, gasped — seemingly for air — more than 600 times before he died on July 23; his execution is now the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the state. In January in Oklahoma, Michael Lee Wilson, 38, said, “I feel my whole body burning” right after the drugs used in his execution — a mix meant to paralyze him, render him unconscious and stop his heart — began flowing through his veins. He died moments later.

Courts are starting to show frustration with the constant changes in the protocols themselves, some of which have been prompted by the increasing difficulty in obtaining execution drugs. On Aug. 8, a federal judge extended a moratorium on lethal injections in Ohio over concerns with a protocol change that the state had made this year.

Legal cases in Arizona, which has been a particular target of death penalty opponents, offer an unusual window on execution protocols and actual practices. There have been 37 executions in Arizona since 1992, of which 14 were overseen by the current director of the Corrections Department, Charles L. Ryan.

Mr. Ryan, who has no medical training, has said in depositions that the state’s protocol gave him virtually unlimited discretion to deviate from the written guidelines, essentially making him the ultimate arbiter in executions. He personally authorized the repeated doses of drugs given to Mr. Wood, who had murdered his estranged girlfriend and her father. Five of the 15 doses of lethal drugs were administered to Mr. Wood while his lawyers pleaded to a federal judge to stop the execution, which by then had dragged on for well over an hour.

“There’s the protocol that’s in place and there’s what happens, and those aren’t necessarily the same thing,” said Dale A. Baich, an assistant federal public defender who represented Mr. Wood. “What we’ve learned from this execution is that the Department of Corrections was making it up as it went along.”

Mr. Ryan has affirmed that the length of Mr. Wood’s execution — one hour and 57 minutes — and the amount of drugs Mr. Wood received comply with state law, which calls for the administration of “an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death.” He declined a request for an interview; a spokesman, Doug Nick, said this was because of the continuing search for an independent team to assess Mr. Wood’s execution.

Logs detailing the sequence of events in the execution of Mr. Wood, as well as hundreds of pages of filings and depositions linked to five other executions in Arizona, describe a process whose rules are open to interpretation. And the rules are frequently amended, as the Ninth Circuit noted in its 2012 decision. Mr. Baich of the federal public defender’s office said that as a result of the court’s concerns, the Corrections Department had begun allowing witnesses to see through closed-circuit monitors the intravenous lines being placed on convicts during executions.

In other cases that deviated from state protocol, criminal records for members of execution teams went unchecked and a lack of qualifications was ignored, according to a 2011 filing by the federal public defender’s office. In four executions, a Corrections Department employee got to lead the medical team in charge of setting intravenous lines even though the employee could not recall inserting an IV line since the time he trained as an emergency medical technician for the military years earlier.

In the 2011 execution of Donald Beaty, convicted of killing a 13-year-old newspaper carrier in Tempe, Mr. Ryan, the corrections director, asked the medical team about replacing one of the three drugs with another. The medical team leader did so, concluding that the drugs were “essentially equivalent” based on information he read in their packages and on the Internet, according to a filing in a federal lawsuit brought by another death row inmate.

In a 2010 execution, according to the anonymous deposition by the doctor who led the medical team, Mr. Ryan asked that the extra supplies of the drugs be injected into the inmate’s body. “The director preferred that all the chemicals be given, if possible,” the doctor said. He advised against doing so, because if the patient’s heart had stopped, “the vein might rupture, and then they would just go inside the abdominal cavity,” the doctor testified. But Mr. Ryan “indicated he wanted us to try.” When injecting the drugs proved problematic, the doctor recalled, “I looked at him and I said, ‘I don’t think that this is a good idea.’ And he said, ‘O.K., that’s fine, stop.’ ”

Mr. Berman of Ohio State University said Arizona was not the only state whose loose adherence to lethal injection protocols had led to problems in the courts. After a series of problematic executions in Ohio, Judge Gregory L. Frost of United States District Court stayed the execution of a killer, Kenneth Smith, writing that the state had not stuck to its own policies in carrying out executions and was “haphazard” in its application of the process.

Judge Frost went on, “Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramification and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions.”

Dr. Jay Chapman, who devised the first lethal injection protocol in Oklahoma in 1977, has questioned the problems with executions in the years since. “It seems to me that it would not be that difficult to find people that are competent to carry out the tasks,” he said by telephone.

Fernanda Santos reported from Phoenix, and John Schwartz from New York.





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2) Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In National Guard
By MONICA DAVEY, JOHN ELIGON and ALAN BLINDER
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?_r=0

FERGUSON, Mo. — Missouri National Guard troops entered this battered city on Monday even as an overnight curfew was lifted, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the violence that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.

In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.

Early Monday, after a new spate of violence, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later he said he was lifting the curfew and said the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.At the same time, more details emerged from autopsies performed on Mr. Brown. One showed that he had been shot at least six times; another found evidence of marijuana in his system.

In Washington, President Obama said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will go to Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with F.B.I. agents conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting. He seemed less than enthusiastic about the decision to call in the National Guard.

Mr. Obama said he had told the governor in a phone call on Monday that the Guard should be “used in a limited and appropriate way.”

He said he would be closely monitoring the deployment.

“I’ll be watching over the next several days to assess whether in fact it’s helping rather than hindering progress in Ferguson,” said Mr. Obama, who emphasized that the State of Missouri, not the White House, had called in the Guard.

He again tried to strike a balance between the right of protest and approaches to security.

“While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions,” Mr. Obama said.

As darkness set in, along West Florissant Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares and a center of the weeklong protests, demonstrators were required to keep moving. There were several skirmishes. After more of than hour of peaceful protests, some in the crowd began to throw bottles at police, who brought out armored vehicles and tactical units. But many peacekeepers in the crowd formed a human chain and got the agitators to back down.

At another point, as protesters gathered near a convenience store, some of them threw objects; police responded with stun grenades and tear gas.

A few blocks away, at the police command post, National Guard members in Army fatigues, some with military police patches on their uniforms, stood ready.

Residents seemed puzzled and frustrated by the continually changing approaches, suggesting that the moving set of rules only worsened longstanding tensions over policing and race in the town of 21,000.

“It almost seems like they can’t decide what to do, and like law enforcement is fighting over who’s got the power,” said Antione Watson, 37, who stood near a middle-of-the-street memorial of candles and flowers for Mr. Brown, the 18-year-old killed on a winding block here.

“First they do this, then there’s that, and now who can even tell what their plan is?” Mr. Watson said. “They can try all of this, but I don’t see an end to this until there are charges against the cop.”

The latest turn in law enforcement tactics — the removal of a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew imposed Saturday and the arrival of members of the Guard — followed one of the tensest nights so far. Police officers reported gunfire and firebombs from some among a large group, and responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets.

By Monday, the police seemed intent on taking control of the situation long before evening and the expected arrival of protesters, some of them inclined to provoke clashes. The authorities banned stationary protests, even during the day, ordering demonstrators to continue walking, particularly in an area along West Florissant, not far from where the shooting occurred. One of those told to move along was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.

Six members of the Highway Patrol, plastic flex-ties within easy reach, stood guard at a barbecue restaurant that has been a hub of the turmoil. Just north of the restaurant, about 30 officers surrounded a convenience store that was heavily damaged early in the unrest. Several people were arrested during the day, including a photographer for Getty Images, Scott Olson, who was led away in plastic handcuffs in the early evening.

Explaining his decision to call in the National Guard, Mr. Nixon recounted details of the tumult on Sunday night, and described the events as “very difficult and dangerous as a result of a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”

Yet Mr. Nixon also emphasized that the Guard’s role would be limited to providing protection for a police command center here, which the authorities say came under attack. Gregory Mason, a brigadier general of the Guard, described the arriving troops as “well trained and well seasoned.”

“With these additional resources in place,” said Mr. Nixon, a Democrat in his second term, “the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence, and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard.”

While Mr. Obama and other leaders called for healing and more than 40 F.B.I. agents fanned out around this city to interview residents about the shooting, emotions remained raw, and the divide over all that had happened seemed only to be growing amid multiple investigations and competing demonstrations.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that Americans were deeply divided along racial lines in their reaction to Mr. Brown’s killing. The report showed that 80 percent of blacks thought the case raised “important issues about race that need to be discussed,” while only 37 percent of whites thought it did.

Blacks surveyed were also less confident in the investigations into the shooting, with 76 percent reporting little to no confidence in the investigation, compared with 33 percent of whites.

Supporters of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who fired the fatal shots, gathered outside a radio station over the weekend in St. Louis.

Mr. Brown is now the subject of three autopsies. The first was conducted by St. Louis County, the results of which were delivered to the county prosecutor’s office on Monday. That autopsy report showed evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system, according to someone briefed on the report who was not authorized to discuss it publicly before it was released.

Another, on Monday, was done by a military doctor as part of the Justice Department’s investigation.

On Sunday, at the request of Mr. Brown’s family, the body was examined by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.

The findings showed that he was shot at least six times in the front of his body and that he did not appear to have been shot from very close range because no powder burns were found on his body. But that determination could change if burns were found on his clothing, which was not available for examination.

In a news conference on Monday, family members and Dr. Baden said that the autopsy he had performed confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed.

Daryl Parks, a lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested he was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. The autopsy did not show what Mr. Brown was doing when the bullet struck his head.

“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” Mr. Parks said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”

Piaget Crenshaw, who told reporters that she had witnessed Mr. Brown’s death from her nearby apartment, seemed unsurprised by the eruptions of anger, which have left schools closed and some businesses looted. “This community had underlying problems way before this happened,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “And now the tension is finally broken.”

For businesses here, the days and long nights have been costly and frightening. At Dellena Jones’s hair salon, demonstrators had tossed concrete slabs into the business as Ms. Jones’s two children prepared for what they had expected to be a first day back to school.

“I had a full week that went down to really nothing,” she said of her business, which has sat mostly empty. “They’re too scared to come.” As she spoke, a man walked by and shouted, “You need a gun in there, lady!”

In his news conference, Mr. Obama said that most of the protesters had been peaceful. “As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment,” Mr. Obama said.

Reporting was contributed by Frances Robles and Tanzina Vega from Ferguson, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.



 

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3) National Guard Troops Fail to Quell Unrest in Ferguson
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinde
August19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?ref=us

FERGUSON, Mo. — Violence erupted here once more overnight, even as Missouri National Guard troops arrived, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the chaos that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.

In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a Missouri State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.

Early Monday, after a new spate of unrest, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later, he said that he was lifting the curfew and that the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.

Although the tactics changed, the nighttime scene did not.Late Monday night, peaceful protests devolved into sporadic violence, including gunshots, by what the authorities said was a small number of people, and demonstrators were met with tear gas and orders to leave. Two men were shot in the crowd, officials said in an early-morning news conference, and 31 people — some from New York and California — were arrested. Fires were reported in two places. The police were shot at, the authorities said, but did not fire their weapons.

FERGUSON, Mo. — Violence erupted here once more overnight, even as Missouri National Guard troops arrived, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the chaos that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.

In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a Missouri State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.

Early Monday, after a new spate of unrest, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later, he said that he was lifting the curfew and that the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.

Although the tactics changed, the nighttime scene did not.Late Monday night, peaceful protests devolved into sporadic violence, including gunshots, by what the authorities said was a small number of people, and demonstrators were met with tear gas and orders to leave. Two men were shot in the crowd, officials said in an early-morning news conference, and 31 people — some from New York and California — were arrested. Fires were reported in two places. The police were shot at, the authorities said, but did not fire their weapons.

Mr. Obama said he had told Mr. Nixon in a phone call on Monday that the Guard should be “used in a limited and appropriate way.”

He added that he would be closely monitoring the deployment.“I’ll be watching over the next several days to assess whether in fact it’s helping rather than hindering progress in Ferguson,” said Mr. Obama, who emphasized that Missouri, not the White House, had called in the Guard.

He again tried to strike a balance between the right to protest and approaches to security.

“While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions,” Mr. Obama said.

As darkness set in along West Florissant Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares and a center of the weeklong protests, demonstrators were required to keep moving.

After more than an hour of peaceful protests, some in the crowd began to throw bottles at the police, who brought out armored vehicles and tactical units. But many peacekeepers in the crowd formed a human chain and got the agitators to back down.

At another point, as protesters gathered near a convenience store, some of them threw objects; the police responded with tear gas.

And near midnight, the police began announcing over loudspeakers that people needed to leave the area or risk arrest after what the police said were repeated gunshots and a deteriorating situation.

A few blocks away, at the police command post, National Guard members in Army fatigues, some with military police patches on their uniforms, stood ready but never entered the area where protesters were marching. State and local law enforcement authorities oversaw operations there.

Residents seemed puzzled and frustrated by the continually changing approaches, suggesting that the moving set of rules only worsened longstanding tensions over policing and race in this town of 21,000.

“It almost seems like they can’t decide what to do, and like law enforcement is fighting over who’s got the power,” said Antione Watson, 37, who stood near a middle-of-the-street memorial of candles and flowers for Mr. Brown, the 18-year-old killed on a winding block here.“First they do this, then there’s that, and now who can even tell what their plan is?” Mr. Watson said. “They can try all of this, but I don’t see an end to this until there are charges against the cop.”

The latest turn in law enforcement tactics — the removal of a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew imposed Saturday and the arrival of members of the Guard — followed a chaotic Sunday night. Police officers reported gunfire and firebombs from some people among a large group, and they responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets.

By Monday, the police seemed intent on taking control of the situation long before evening and the expected arrival of protesters, some of them inclined to provoke clashes. The authorities banned stationary protests, even during the day, ordering demonstrators to continue walking — particularly in an area along West Florissant, not far from where the shooting occurred. One of those told to move along was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.

Six members of the Highway Patrol, plastic flex-ties within easy reach, stood guard at a barbecue restaurant that has been a hub of the turmoil. Just north of the restaurant, about 30 officers surrounded a convenience store that was heavily damaged early in the unrest. Several people were arrested during the day, including a photographer for Getty Images, Scott Olson, who was led away in plastic handcuffs in the early evening.

Explaining his decision to call in the National Guard, Mr. Nixon recounted details of the unrest on Sunday night and described the events as “very difficult and dangerous as a result of a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”

Yet Mr. Nixon also emphasized that the Guard’s role would be limited to providing protection for the police command center, which the authorities say was attacked. Gregory Mason, a brigadier general of the Guard, described the arriving troops as “well trained and well seasoned.”

“With these additional resources in place,” said Mr. Nixon, a Democrat in his second term, “the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard.”While Mr. Obama and other leaders called for healing and more than 40 F.B.I. agents fanned out around the city to interview residents about the shooting, emotions remained raw, and the divide over all that had happened seemed only to be growing amid multiple investigations and competing demonstrations.

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that Americans were deeply divided along racial lines in their reaction to Mr. Brown’s killing. It showed that 80 percent of blacks thought the case raised “important issues about race that need to be discussed,” while only 37 percent of whites thought it did.

Blacks surveyed were also less confident in the investigations into the shooting, with 76 percent reporting little to no confidence, compared with 33 percent of whites.

Supporters of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who fired the fatal shots, gathered outside a radio station in St. Louis over the weekend.

Mr. Brown is now the subject of three autopsies. The first was conducted by St. Louis County, and the results were delivered to the county prosecutor’s office on Monday. That report showed evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system, according to a person briefed on the report who was not authorized to discuss it publicly before it was released.

Another autopsy, on Monday, was done by a military doctor as part of the Justice Department’s investigation.

On Sunday, at the request of Mr. Brown’s family, the body was examined by Dr. Michael M. Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.

Dr. Baden’s autopsy showed that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times in the front of his body and that he did not appear to have been shot from very close range, because no powder burns were found on his body. But that determination could change if burns are found on his clothing, which was not available for examination.

In a news conference on Monday, family members and Dr. Baden said that the autopsy confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed.

Daryl Parks, a lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested he was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. The autopsy did not show what Mr. Brown was doing when the bullet struck his head.

“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” Mr. Parks said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”

Piaget Crenshaw, a resident who told reporters that she had witnessed Mr. Brown’s death from her nearby apartment, seemed unsurprised by the eruptions of anger, which have left schools closed and some businesses looted. “This community had underlying problems way before this happened,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “And now the tension is finally broken.”

For businesses here, the days and long nights have been costly and frightening. At Dellena Jones’s hair salon, demonstrators tossed concrete slabs into the business as Ms. Jones’s two children prepared for what they had expected to be a first day back to school.

“I had a full week that went down to really nothing,” she said of her business, which has been mostly empty. “They’re too scared to come.” As she spoke, a man walked by and shouted, “You need a gun in there, lady!”

In his news conference, Mr. Obama said that most protesters had been peaceful. “As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment,” he said.

Frances Robles and Tanzina Vega contributed reporting from Ferguson, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.






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4) Family of Michael Brown Says Autopsy Confirmed Witness Account
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/family-of-michael-brown-says-autopsy-confirmed-witness-account.html?ref=us

Lawyers for the family of Michael Brown said Monday that the preliminary results of an independent autopsy answered basic questions that had gone unanswered since the fatal confrontation between Mr. Brown, 18, and a police officer on Aug. 9.

The lawyers spoke at a news conference on Monday inside the Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church that was attended by the family and the forensic scientists who conducted the autopsy that had been requested by the family. Benjamin L. Crump, the lead lawyer for the family, said the autopsy also confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed by an officer in Ferguson, Mo.

“It verifies that the witness accounts were true, that he was shot multiple times,” Mr. Crump said. “And it’s going to be one of those things that we have to get all the witness statements out and look at all the autopsies and all the evidence to put this picture together.”“But his family knows that the witnesses, what they were telling them about him being shot multiple times in broad daylight, was accurate,” he said.

Daryl Parks, another lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested his head was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. What the autopsy did not show was what Mr. Brown was doing at the moment he was struck in the head.

“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” he said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”

The autopsy report released on Sunday said that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times, all from the front and at a distance, including two shots that struck him in the head. The report’s author, Dr. Michael M. Baden, said all the gunshots were survivable except for the one that hit Mr. Brown at the top of the head and entered his brain.

Dr. Baden said it was unusual that the authorities in St. Louis had not released most of the information “on Day 1” after the county medical examiner completed her autopsy, especially considering the heightened interest in the case, which involved an unarmed black teenager being killed by a white police officer.

“My impression is that like in most medical examiners’ offices, when an autopsy is completed, the medical examiner can release it, most of it at least, pending the prosecutor’s wishes,” he said. Getting the information out quickly “calms community and family concerns of a cover-up of not being told the truth.”

The report left some questions unanswered, including whether there had been a struggle between the teenager and the police officer. Dr. Baden said he needed to examine the clothes Mr. Brown was wearing and to gain access to a medical examination of the officer conducted shortly after the shooting.

Another outstanding question was whether Mr. Brown was struck as he ran away from the police officer. Prof. Shawn L. Parcells, a pathologist assistant based in Kansas who assisted Dr. Baden, said that one of the wounds on Mr. Brown’s arm could have been caused by a bullet fired from in front or behind.

Mr. Baden said Mr. Brown did not suffer pain after he was struck in the head.

The autopsy is one of three to be conducted on Mr. Brown. The St. Louis County medical examiner’s report was released shortly after the news conference. (Toxicology tests were still pending.) The Department of Justice was expected to conduct its own autopsy in the coming days.

Mr. Crump said the family members requested an independent autopsy because they had been unsure that the federal government would get involved and did not want to rely on information from law enforcement agencies in St. Louis, “the same individuals they feel are responsible for executing their son in broad daylight.”

He said that after Mr. Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, received the autopsy, she had asked, “What else do we need to give them to arrest the killer of my child?”

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5) Not Just Ferguson: National Guard Has a Long History With Civil Unrest
By Alan Flippen
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/upshot/not-just-ferguson-national-guard-has-a-long-history-with-civil-unrest.html?ref=us&abt=0002&abg=0 

Use of the National Guard to quell civil disturbances, especially race-related ones as in Ferguson, Mo., has a long history in the United States. It even technically predates the National Guard itself.

The National Guard, in its modern form, dates from 1903, when Congress passed a law to regulate state militias and coordinate them with the regular Army, in the wake of the Spanish-American War and the ensuing Philippine insurrection.

But the militias themselves have existed almost since the beginning of European settlement, and the term “National Guard” appears to have been in popular use for them since before the Civil War; a New York Times article from 1855 mentions the “National Guard” as one of the military units suppressing a riot by German residents of Chicago who were objecting to a law banning taverns from opening on Sundays and increasing fees for liquor licenses.

The New York City Draft Riots of 1863 were among the largest civil disturbances to be quelled by militia units in the 19th century, although the New York State militia had been deployed against the Confederacy when the violence broke out and didn’t arrive until it was nearly over. (For the first few days, New Yorkers were largely on their own, as evidenced in this Times account of people attacking “the clothing store of Messrs. BROOKS BROTHERS.”)

While The Times’s archive is not a comprehensive source of information about the National Guard’s involvement in such episodes, it does show that confrontations fueled by labor unrest preoccupied the Guard in the last decades of the 19th century; coal miners and railroad workers were among those whose efforts to organize and strike led governors to call out their Guard units. But state militias were also called out to quell racial disturbances in, among other places, Wilmington, N.C., in 1898 and Springfield, Ill., in 1908.National Guard troops also played a role in the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and early 1960s. Gov. Orval Faubus of Arkansas called out the National Guard to bar black students from Little Rock Central High School in 1957 (later withdrawing them under pressure from President Eisenhower), but National Guard troops under federal control enforced desegregation of the University of Mississippi in 1962 and the University of Alabama in 1963, and protected marchers in Selma, Ala., in 1965.

Later that decade, the Guard would revert to its traditional role of suppressing unrest: in the Watts section of Los Angeles in 1965, in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio, in 1966, Detroit and Newark, N.J., in 1967 and nearly everywhere in the country after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. A search of The Times archive for the terms “Negroes” (as African-Americans were referred to then) and “National Guard” for the six most tumultuous years of that era (1965 through 1970) turns up 655 articles, most having to do either with racial disturbances or with desegregation of the National Guard itself.

Indeed, if there’s any comfort to be taken in the recent events in Ferguson, it is how rare such unrest has become in recent years. The Times’s archive in the most recent six years contains only 30 articles with the terms “National Guard” and “African-Americans” or “blacks,” and none of them refer to actual, current racially motivated confrontations except for those in Ferguson.

The Upshot provides news, analysis and graphics about politics, policy and everyday life. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.




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6) Wrongfully Convicted Man Reaches $10 Million Settlement With New York City
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/jabbar-collins-wrongfully-convicted-man-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-new-york-city.html?ref=nyregion

After three years of litigation, Jabbar Collins, a man who spent 15 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, has reached a $10 million settlement with New York City.

Mr. Collins had been convicted of the 1994 killing of an Orthodox rabbi. He was released from prison in 2010, when a federal judge vacated his conviction and criticized the district attorney’s office for its handling of Mr. Collins’s trial.

The settlement is notable because it exposed questionable policies under the former Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes. Along the way, Mr. Collins’s lawyer, Joel B. Rudin, deposed Mr. Hynes and his top assistants, providing a rare look at how a powerful district attorney ran his office.Among the things Mr. Rudin accused the office of, after depositions of top aides, were detaining reluctant witnesses in hotel rooms until they agreed to testify, and advising his lawyers not to take notes when prosecution witnesses gave inconsistent statements, so as to avoid potentially exculpatory evidence. The city’s lawyers have challenged these claims.

The settlement is also notable for its size: Mr. Collins will receive about $667,000 per year served, a little less than the five men exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, who settled with the city earlier this summer for about $1 million for each year in prison.

The case was scheduled to go to trial in October.

Mr. Collins, 42, began fighting his conviction while at Green Haven State Prison, tracking down witnesses who had testified against him and filing Freedom of Information Law requests. After Mr. Rudin joined the case, a 2010 hearing was held in Federal District Court in Brooklyn over Mr. Collins’s attempt to vacate his conviction. One witness who testified then said he had been threatened by a top prosecutor. At that hearing, the district attorney’s office agreed to vacate the murder conviction and not to retry Mr. Collins.

The wrongful-conviction settlement is one of several the city has settled this year, including a $6.4 million settlement for David Ranta, a man who spent 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. The city is facing several more such lawsuits as erroneous convictions from the crime-ridden 1980s and 1990s continue to be vacated.

In July, Mr. Collins settled with the state under the unjust conviction act for $3 million.

Mr. Collins said in a statement that his goals were to “expose the illegal practices of District Attorney Hynes and to help drive him from office,” to “obtain personal vindication and to demonstrate my innocence,” and to receive compensation to balance the years in prison and the harm done to him and his family.

Mr. Rudin said, “Ironically, the revelations in Jabbar Collins’ groundbreaking lawsuit of pervasive misconduct in Brooklyn led to more cases being overturned, but had the effect of making settlement of his lawsuit harder.”


 
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7) As Tension Eases on Ferguson’s Streets, Focus Turns to Investigation
By ALAN BLINDER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONCampbell Robertson
AUG. 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region&region=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&_r=0#

FERGUSON, Mo. — Even as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Wednesday, law enforcement officials and local leaders said they were hopeful that they had turned a corner in calming the restive community of Ferguson after 12 days of protests and unrest.

Capt. Ronald S. Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that there were only sporadic problems during overnight protests on Tuesday, and he believed they had reached “a turning point.”

“Tonight, we saw a different dynamic,” said Captain Johnson, whose agency is overseeing security here. “Protest crowds were a bit smaller, and they were out early. We had to respond to fewer incidents than the night before. There were no Molotov cocktails tonight. There were no shootings.” Police did make 47 arrests overnight.As the tension on the street seemed to ease, the focus turned to the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer on Aug. 9.

A grand jury has been convened and was scheduled to meet Wednesday to begin hearing evidence, said Edward Magee, a spokesman for Robert P. McCulloch, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County.

Protesters gathered outside Mr. McCulloch’s office on Wednesday, calling for him to step aside. They argued that he could not be impartial because his father, a police officer, was shot and killed by a black man while on duty when Mr. McCulloch was a child.

Mr. McCulloch, speaking to a local radio station, said he has only one interest: conducting a fair and thorough investigation. But he acknowledged that Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri has the power to appoint a new prosecutor.

“Anyone who wants me off the case needs to call up the governor and express their opinion to him,” Mr. McCulloch told KTRS radio.

By failing to act, Mr. McCulloch said, the governor “undermines everything except the cover he has pulled over his head.” He told him to “man up” and make a decision so that the case will not be further delayed.

Mr. Magee cautioned that it could take weeks for the grand jury to consider all of the evidence. He said that Officer Darren Wilson, who shot Mr. Brown, had been interviewed by police investigators and would be given the opportunity to testify. The Justice Department has started a separate inquiry.

More than 40 F.B.I. agents have been dispatched to Ferguson, and Mr. Holder said they are not only investigating the shooting but also looking for any broad patterns of civil rights violations.

In an open letter to the people of Ferguson, Mr. Holder said he understood the desire of residents for an “independent” inquiry.

“This is my pledge to the people of Ferguson: Our investigation into this matter will be full, it will be fair, and it will be independent,” Mr. Holder wrote in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “And beyond the investigation itself, we will work with the police, civil rights leaders, and members of the public to ensure that this tragedy can give rise to new understanding — and robust action — aimed at bridging persistent gaps between law enforcement officials and the communities we serve.”

The frustrations in the community have been fueled in part by the slow pace with which the authorities have released information.

In a sign of just how deep the distrust runs, there were three separate autopsies performed on Mr. Brown’s body: one by the county medical examiner, one by a private pathologist hired by the family, and one by federal authorities.

In addition to the many lingering questions about the shooting, the local authorities have also come under criticism for how they have handled the protests.

Norm Stamper, the former Seattle police chief who was in charge during the protests that rocked that city in 1999, said that the wrong tone was set from the first day in Ferguson.

“The basic perspective that I have over this whole thing, dating back to the shooting incident itself, what we had were largely peaceful vigils and protests that were met with police tactics that were highly aggressive and militaristic,” he said. “That response ignited what we have seen all week.”

He reserved his harshest criticism for the use of tear gas by the police — a mistake he said he made in Seattle and one he regrets to this day.

Since the first day of protests in Ferguson, the authorities shifted their response almost daily, adding to the sense that the situation was out of control.

On one day, protesters were told to gather in one place. Another day, they were told to keep moving. Then a curfew was imposed. The next night, there was no curfew. The local police were in control; then another unit took over. The National Guard was finally brought in to try to temper the unrest, but its role was not exactly clear.

“You get governors and police chiefs and everyone gnashing their teeth,” Mr. Stamper said. “Even the protesters are commenting on that: what are they doing?”

On Tuesday night, however, it seemed that some of that energy had gone from the streets. And the police also seemed more restrained, refraining from using tear gas.

The evening began in a familiar fashion: Demonstrators marched along the street and chanted “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and other slogans that have become common here since Mr. Brown’s death.

The authorities made at least 47 arrests after demonstrators tossed bottles toward police officers, some of whom used pepper spray to subdue some protesters. In some instances, teams of officers abruptly entered the crowd, detained a single person whom they had apparently focused on, and returned to West Florissant Avenue, where many of the recent confrontations have occurred.

Although law enforcement officers in riot gear eyed the protesters while a police helicopter occasionally circled the city, there were no signs of trouble for long stretches of the evening.

When a demonstration ended shortly before midnight, many of the demonstrators prayed.

“Now that’s what I call a good protest,” Jonathan Smith, 45, said. “Ending in a prayer, no gas in the air.”

A local lawyer, Jerryl T. Christmas, urged demonstrators to leave the street and join a protest planned for Wednesday morning.

But tensions soon resurfaced, as people whom Captain Johnson labeled “the agitators, the criminals” tossed urine and bottles toward the authorities. Those actions, Captain Johnson said, were part of what prompted the police to restrict movement on West Florissant Avenue and to make arrests.

One person, Captain Johnson said, was from Austin, Tex., and was arrested on Tuesday night for the third time since the unrest began.

The fleeting clash, though, was far less fierce than previous encounters between the police and demonstrators, and it followed a night of extraordinary violence in Ferguson, a city of about 21,000 people northwest of St. Louis. The police fired tear gas to control the crowd on Monday and made dozens of arrests, and two people were wounded by gunfire.

While the authorities were hopeful that the worst of the street violence had passed, they were also aware that similar lulls had failed to hold in the past. Last Thursday night, officials here were encouraged when a break in the violence led to such a relaxed scene along West Florissant Avenue that one woman compared it to a parade.

But the next night, the police and a band of protesters engaged in a four-hour standoff after demonstrators barricaded part of the road. By Saturday afternoon, Governor Nixon had ordered a curfew for the city, which ran from midnight to 5 a.m., and declared a state of emergency.

Yet more violence followed, including a chaotic episode on Sunday when the police said demonstrators had tried to overrun their command post at a Ferguson shopping center. Mr. Nixon quickly ordered the Missouri National Guard to Ferguson, and soldiers on Tuesday night again manned checkpoints at entrances to the command post.

Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting.




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8) Shooting Accounts Differ as Holder Schedules Visit to Ferguson
By FRANCES ROBLES Francis Robles and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMichael S. Schmidt
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/shooting-accounts-differ-as-holder-schedules-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=b-lede-package-region&region=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package 

FERGUSON, Mo. — As a county grand jury prepared to hear evidence on Wednesday in the shooting death of a black teenager by a white police officer that touched off 10 days of unrest here, witnesses have given investigators sharply conflicting accounts of the killing.

Some of the accounts seem to agree on how the fatal altercation initially unfolded: with a struggle between the officer, Darren Wilson, and the teenager, Michael Brown. Officer Wilson was inside his patrol car at the time, while Mr. Brown, who was unarmed, was leaning in through an open window.

Many witnesses also agreed on what happened next: Officer Wilson’s firearm went off inside the car, Mr. Brown ran away, the officer got out of his car and began firing toward Mr. Brown, and then Mr. Brown stopped, turned around and faced the officer.But on the crucial moments that followed, the accounts differ sharply, officials say. Some witnesses say that Mr. Brown, 18, moved toward Officer Wilson, possibly in a threatening manner, when the officer shot him dead. But others say that Mr. Brown was not moving and may even have had his hands up when he was killed.

The accounts of what witnesses have told local and federal law enforcement authorities come from some of those witnesses themselves, law enforcement authorities and others in Ferguson. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a continuing investigation.

The new details on the witness accounts emerged as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was scheduled to visit Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with F.B.I. agents who have been conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting.

Mr. Holder and top Justice Department officials were weighing whether to open a broader civil rights investigation to look at Ferguson’s police practices at large, according to law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks. The issue came up after news reports revealed a 2009 case in which a man said that four police officers beat him, then charged him with damaging government property — by getting blood on their uniforms.

Under Mr. Holder, the Justice Department has opened nearly two dozen such investigations into police departments, more than twice as many as were opened in the previous five years, according to department data.

Also on Tuesday, federal authorities learned the results of an autopsy performed on Mr. Brown by military coroners that showed that he had been shot six times, though they declined to release further details until their investigation was finished. An autopsy conducted on behalf of Mr. Brown’s family also found that he had been shot at least six times — including once in the face and once in the top of his head — with all bullets striking him in the front. The county has also done its own autopsy, which found evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system.

The Brown family has scheduled a funeral for Monday.Clashes between the police and protesters have become a nightly ritual, although the scene on Tuesday was initially calm. The authorities took their positions before sunset, and Missouri National Guard soldiers staffed checkpoints at the shopping center that is now a police command post. Demonstrators marched without incident while officers watched. The quiet nature of the protests raised hopes that they had entered a calmer phase, but more confrontations were reported overnight, with 47 people arrested.

In a statement on Tuesday night, Gov. Jay Nixon expressed sympathy for the Brown family and praised residents for “standing against armed and violent instigators.” But he also said that “a vigorous prosecution must now be pursued.”

“The democratically elected St. Louis County prosecutor and the attorney general of the United States each have a job to do,” Mr. Nixon said. “Their obligation to achieve justice in the shooting death of Michael Brown must be carried out thoroughly, promptly and correctly, and I call upon them to meet those expectations.”

The fatal confrontation began on Aug. 9 shortly after the police received reports that two men had robbed a convenience store in Ferguson. Officer Wilson, who was not responding to the robbery, had stopped to speak with Mr. Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson. The Ferguson police chief, Thomas Jackson, said that it was around the time that Officer Wilson started talking to the two that he realized they fit the description of the suspects in the convenience store robbery.

A lawyer for Mr. Johnson said that his client was interviewed by the F.B.I. and the St. Louis County police last week for nearly four hours. In that interview, Mr. Johnson admitted that he and Mr. Brown had stolen cigarillos from the store, said the lawyer, Freeman R. Bosley Jr.

Mr. Bosley said that the officer told the two to get off the street, adding that Mr. Johnson told the officer that he lived nearby. They got into a bit of a verbal dispute with the officer about whether walking in the street constituted a crime, Mr. Bosley said.

Contrary to what several witnesses have told law enforcement officials, Mr. Bosley said that the officer then reached out of the window with his left hand and grabbed Mr. Brown by the throat.

He said Mr. Brown pushed him off, and the officer then grabbed Mr. Brown’s shirt.

“My client sees the officer pull a gun and hears him say, ‘I’ll shoot you’ — then ‘pow!’ there was a shot,” Mr. Bosley said, referring to the one that apparently went off in the car. “He did not describe a scuffle. It was more of a scuffle for him to get away.”

Asked if Mr. Brown had punched the officer, Mr. Bosley said that Mr. Johnson “did not observe that.”

However, law enforcement officials say witnesses and forensic analysis have shown that Officer Wilson did sustain an injury during the struggle in the car.

As Officer Wilson got out of his car, the men were running away. The officer fired his weapon but did not hit anyone, according to law enforcement officials.

Mr. Johnson took cover near a parked car as he saw the officer confronting Mr. Brown, Mr. Bosley said.

A man who lives nearby, Michael T. Brady, said in an interview that he saw the initial altercation in the patrol car, although he struggled to see exactly what was happening.

“It was something strange,” said Mr. Brady, 32, a janitor. “Something was not right. It was some kind of altercation. I can’t say whether he was punching the officer or whatever. But something was going on in that window, and it didn’t look right.”

Mr. Brady said he had been interviewed by county investigators, but not the F.B.I.Mr. Brady said he could see Mr. Johnson at the front passenger side of the car when he and Mr. Brown suddenly started running. Mr. Brady did not hear a gunshot or know what caused them to run. But he said he did see a police officer get out of the patrol car and start walking briskly while firing on Mr. Brown as he fled.

What happened next could be what the case turns on. Several witnesses have told investigators that Mr. Brown stopped and turned around with his arms up.

According to his account to the Ferguson police, Officer Wilson said that Mr. Brown had lowered his arms and moved toward him, law enforcement officials said. Fearing that the teenager was going to attack him, the officer decided to use deadly force. Some witnesses have backed up that account. Others, however — including Mr. Johnson — have said that Mr. Brown did not move toward the officer before the final shots were fired.

A lawyer for the police union, Greg Kloeppel, did not return calls for comment.

The F.B.I., Mr. Bosley said, pressed Mr. Johnson to say how high Mr. Brown’s hands were. Mr. Johnson said that his hands were not that high, and that one was lower than the other, because he appeared to be “favoring it,” the lawyer said.

James McKnight, who also said he saw the shooting, said that Mr. Brown’s hands were up right after he turned around to face the officer.

“I saw him stumble toward the officer, but not rush at him,” Mr. McKnight said in a brief interview. “The officer was about six or seven feet away from him.”

Also Tuesday, a few miles from Ferguson, St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers shot and killed a 23-year-old black man. The shooting threatened to further inflame a community still reeling from Mr. Brown’s death.

Sam Dotson, the chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police, said two officers encountered a man at the Six Stars Market in northwest St. Louis behaving “erratically” and brandishing a knife. The officers repeatedly warned, “Stop, drop the knife,” but he refused, Chief Dotson said.

The man approached the officers, knife raised, and was shot after he came within three or four feet, the chief said.

In a sign of how tense the situation remains, Chief Dotson went out into a crowd at the scene of the shooting to tell it what the police understood had occurred. “I think it’s important that people understand what happened,” he said. He said witnesses, including a local alderman, had confirmed the account of the officers. “I want this message to be out as truthfully and quickly as possible,” the chief said.

But not all in the crowd were willing to listen. A small group of protesters, most of them black, gathered at the scene chanting, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”

“Even if this is a legitimate shooting, they are going to capitalize on this and try to use it for their martial law agenda,” said Christopher Hobbs, 21, who had joined dozens of other residents at the scene.

Frances Robles reported from Ferguson, and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington. Reporting was contributed by Matt Apuzzo from Washington, Marc Santora from New York, and Alan Blinder and John Eligon from Ferguson.



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9) Israeli Strike in Gaza Hits Family of Hamas Military Commander
By Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes killed a wife and baby son of the top military commander of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates the Gaza Strip, hours after rocket fire from Gaza broke a temporary cease-fire Tuesday and halted talks aimed at ending the six-week conflict collapsed in Cairo. The fate of the commander, Mohammed Deif, the target of several previous Israeli assassination attempts, remained unclear, though Palestinian officials and witnesses said his was not one of three bodies pulled Wednesday from the rubble of the bombed Gaza City home.

Mr. Deif, who is considered to be the designer of Hamas’s signature Qassam rockets and the leader of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, is a shadowy figure who was severely injured in a 2003 Israeli strike. After Mr. Deif claimed in a recorded message last month that Hamas was “winning the war,” a senior Israeli minister vowed to hunt him down.“For years, Mohammed Deif has been hiding in the tunnels underneath Gaza, and that is where he will remain because he’s a dead man,” Yair Lapid, Israel’s finance minister and a member of its so-called security cabinet, said on July 30. Later, Mr. Lapid declared, “To Deif and his gang, I want to say clearly: Just as the United States did not rest until it found Bin Laden and eliminated him, we will find you and bring you to justice.”

Israel has not killed many well-known Hamas military leaders during the air-and-ground assault on Gaza that began on July 8; most of the more than 2,000 Palestinians killed have been civilians, according to rights groups. A more limited operation in November 2012 started with the assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari, who was Mr. Deif’s deputy but actually ran the day-to-day operations of the Qassam Brigades because of Mr. Deif’s injuries.

The Israeli military would not confirm whether it had targeted Mr. Deif or his family, or if there had been a change in strategy since the violence resumed.

Witnesses in Gaza said that F-16 warplanes had dropped five bombs at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on a three-story building owned by Rabah al-Dalo, a government employee whose wife and two teenage sons were among those killed. “It was like an earthquake, earthquake,” said a neighbor, Abu Fayez al-Shorafa. “Everybody went out to check what happened.”

Mr. Shorafa said he had no idea whether Mr. Deif had been living in the home, a part of which other neighbors said had been rented out for more than a year. It is common practice for senior militants in Hamas to move from apartment to apartment, often rented in others’ names, to avoid detection by Israeli intelligence services.

Mustafa Asfoura said his daughter Widad, 28, had married Mr. Deif, who has other wives, about four years ago, and that they had four children. The youngest, 8-month-old Ali, was killed alongside his mother on Tuesday and the other children were injured. Mr. Asfoura, 55, said he did not know where his daughter was living, that he had last seen her 10 days ago and that he had long expected her to die in such a way because she was married to “the No. 1 wanted man in Israel.”

“She agreed to marry Deif, that was her choice, I can’t stand against her decision,” said the father, a thin man who runs a modest shoe-manufacturing workshop. He said that Widad also had three children from a previous marriage to a Hamas militant, who was killed in 2007.

“If Israel wants to kill a fighter, why would it kill women and children beside him?” Mr. Asfoura asked. “Let them kill him alone.”

Though it is not clear if Mr. Deif was in the house at the time of the attack, Yaakov Peri, an Israeli minister and former head of the internal security service, said the strike “demonstrates intelligence capabilities.”

“It shows that even though much has been said in the past about our inability to reach the heads of Hamas, our intelligence is indeed capable,” Mr. Peri said in a radio interview. “I think that it is an important indicator of the fact that no military wing head or anyone who is a target for assassination is immune.”

The Israeli strikes came after Gaza-based militants resumed rocket fire around 4 p.m. Tuesday after a nine-day break, prompting Israel to withdraw its delegation from Cairo, where talks toward a more durable truce had deadlocked. The bloody, monthlong battle has taken the lives of 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians, one a foreign farmworker.

By Wednesday afternoon, the Israeli military had counted nearly 150 rockets fired from Gaza since the collapse of the cease-fire; 94 hit Israel and 24 were intercepted. Most of the rockets were aimed at southern Israel, though a few reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where one fell in open ground around midnight, according to the Israeli military. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israel Police, said one had hit an empty house near the southern city of Ashkelon, causing damage but no injuries.

Israel conducted scores of airstrikes across Gaza overnight and into Wednesday, killing at least 19 Palestinians and wounding 120 by 3 p.m., according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Seven people, including a pregnant woman, died in an early-morning attack on the al-Louh family home in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, health officials said; a 3-year-old was killed by a missile fired by a drone in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City; and another drone strike killed two men in their car in the north.

Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, declined to provide specifics about the strikes other than to say they were aimed at “Hamas terrorist infrastructure.”

“The mission is ongoing,” Colonel Lerner said. “It never ended. There was a break while the negotiations were ongoing.” Asked about the goals of the new round of strikes, he answered, “To restore safety and security to the state of Israel.”

Israel returned to a war footing on Wednesday, with large gatherings banned and some beaches, parks and camps in the south closed. Residents were warned to stay close to bomb shelters, and Mr. Rosenfeld said the police had stepped up patrols in the Tel Aviv area.

Mr. Deif, who is believed to be about 50 years old, has topped Israel’s most-wanted list since at least 1996. He took over the Qassam Brigades in 2002 after its previous commander was killed by an Israeli bomb.

That same year, reports of Mr. Deif’s death in an Israeli strike were debunked. He is thought to have survived five separate Israeli attempts on his life, but is believed to have lost an eye and suffered a spinal injury.

Hamas put out a public call for people to attend the funeral of Mr. Deif’s wife and baby, and hundreds joined the procession in the Jabaliya refugee camp. Drones hovered overhead, Israeli airstrikes could be heard in the distance, and the white smoke and whooshes of two rockets headed into Israel from Gaza caused children to quickly drop their heads.

Mr. Asfoura emerged from his one-story home carrying the tiny body of his grandson, Ali, wrapped in a white shroud and with a white bandage on his head. Neighbors and relatives followed him to Al Kholafa mosque, while men carried Widad’s body on a red stretcher. “I was waiting for a cease-fire so I could see Widad more often,” wailed her mother, Um Ibrahim Asfoura, 55.

Egypt has been trying to broker a cease-fire since the first week of the conflict. Those efforts intensified in recent days but apparently failed to make real progress. Hamas, and a broader Palestinian delegation including the moderate, secular Fatah Party of the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, had demanded the reopening of all border crossings, the removal of Israeli restrictions on trade, the building of a Gaza seaport and the revival of a defunct airport in the coastal territory.

Israel had called for a demilitarization of Gaza under international supervision.

People briefed on the talks have said that negotiators agreed last week to set these broader goals aside for a month and to focus an initial agreement on the reconstruction of Gaza, where thousands of homes, businesses and other properties have been destroyed. But that initial agreement never came.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, seized on the collapse of the Cairo talks to reiterate his call for a more aggressive assault to topple Hamas from Gaza.

“I hope that now it is clear to everyone that the policy of ‘quiet will be answered with quiet’ means that Hamas is the initiator, and that it is the one that decides when, where and how much it fires on the residents of Israel, whereas we make do with only a response that, even if it is powerful, is still just a response,” Mr. Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page. “When we’re talking seriously about the security of the residents of Israel, we need to understand that there isn’t any option other than a resolute Israeli initiative that spells one thing – bringing about Hamas’s surrender.”

But Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, blamed Israel for the breakdown, saying that country’s negotiators withdrew from the talks before rockets were fired Tuesday “and did not answer to Hamas’s notes and offers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel “had been given the choice between war and lull — he selected war,” Mr. Barhoum said in an interview at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. “Netanyahu’s government must get prepared for a battle that will be difficult and hard on the Israelis. Netanyahu and his government have only one choice: stopping the aggression, lifting the blockade, allowing the rebuilding of Gaza and accepting the demands of the resistance.”

Jodi Rudoren reported from Jerusalem, and Fares Akram from Gaza.

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10) In Russia, Scenes From Ferguson Are Played as Nothing Shocking: It’s America
By David M. Herszenhorn
August 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/world/europe/in-russia-scenes-from-ferguson-are-played-as-nothing-shocking-its-america.html?ref=us

MOSCOW — At least once an hour, sometimes more frequently, images of battalions of riot police officers in helmets clashing with demonstrators fill the screen of Rossiya 24, one of Russia’s major government-controlled television channels, and newscasters speaking in grave tones inveigh against the injustice and violence by the authorities.

The images are not from Kiev, Ukraine, or from here in Moscow, where such scenes have been more than familiar in recent years. They are from Ferguson, Mo., where the shooting death of Michael Brown and the crackdown by the authorities against protesters have provided the latest opportunity for Russia to portray its detractors in America as hypocrites.

“Cases of racism are still not rare in the nation of exemplary democracy,” an anchor on Rossiya 24 said on Tuesday, as Ferguson again grabbed a prominent place in the evening news cycle.In Russia’s more tabloid-style news outlets, close coverage of the events in Missouri, including such details as the rap star Nelly’s appearing in support of the demonstrators, has overshadowed the other big story in recent days: that of a high school music teacher under pressure to resign after she inadvertently posted a naked selfie on VKontakte, the Russian social media site.

The Russian government itself weighed in on Tuesday. In a long statement, Konstantin Dolgov, the Foreign Ministry’s special representative for human rights, baldly accused the United States of hypocrisy, and said Washington would do better to focus on its own problems rather than intervening in other countries “under the false pretext of defending democracy and human rights.”

“While urging other countries to guarantee the freedom of speech and not to suppress antigovernment protests, the United States authorities at home are not too soft with those actively expressing discontent over persistent inequalities, actual discrimination and the situation of ‘second class’ citizens,” Mr. Dolgov said.

He added, “American human rights activists are sounding the alarm.”

Over the years, Washington has persistently condemned the Kremlin’s suppression of political dissent. The United States was sharply critical, for example, when scuffles between the police and huge crowds denouncing President Vladimir V. Putin in 2012 led to dozens of arrests. Criminal trials in some of those cases are still in the news here.

That has given Russia ample motive to gloat whenever accusations arise of heavy-handedness by American law enforcement in the face of public protests.

More recently, of course, the United States — to the Kremlin’s great dismay — sided strongly in favor of street protesters in Kiev, who this year succeeded in ousting Ukraine’s president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. An assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, had visited with the demonstrators in Independence Square and handed out cookies. Several United States officials, including Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, also visited Kiev to show solidarity and even addressed the crowd from the stage.

The focus on the Ferguson situation is hardly a surprise.

Russia paid similarly close attention, for instance, when demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested in New York in 2011, and government-controlled news media outlets have often rebroadcast video of those arrests to make the same point as their coverage of Ferguson: The freedom of assembly enshrined in the Bill of Rights is not as absolute as promoters of American democracy might suggest.

It is not only harsh treatment of protesters that draws Russia’s disapproving eye. Gun crimes, such as school shootings, which are relatively rare in Russia, also get heavy publicity when they occur in the United States.

The police response in Missouri — and Russia’s official smirking — has caused deep consternation among critics of the Kremlin here. They see it as being exploited to excuse Russia’s much more pervasive and deep-rooted restrictions on civil liberties, as well as its often arbitrary — and Kremlin-dominated — law enforcement and judicial systems.

Maria Baronova, who was arrested at one of the white-ribbon protests against Mr. Putin, posted a photo on Twitter on Tuesday of heavily armed St. Louis County police officers in helmets. Ms. Baronova had faced near-certain conviction on charges of inciting a riot, and she avoided a lengthy prison term only because she qualified for an amnesty program ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics.

“Dear American gvrnmnt,” she wrote alongside the photograph on Twitter. “You can’t imagine how those who fight for freedom in Russia hate you these days. Putin saw this.”

One headline over an opinion feature in the newspaper MK this week asked, “Could Ferguson become a second Donetsk?” The reference was to the rebel-controlled city in eastern Ukraine, which was been ravaged by separatist violence. In the article, an expert contributor helpfully reassured that civil war was not imminent in the United States.

Coverage of the protests in Ferguson on LifeNews, a site close to the Russian authorities, included a picture of the police arresting Hedy Epstein, who the site noted is a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor. It also reported the arrest of Scott Olson, a photographer for Getty Images, “who tried to take pictures of the policemen.” The site added, “He was soon released.”

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11) Macy's to Pay $650,000 to Resolve 'Shop-And-Frisk' Probe
By Reuters
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/20/business/20reuters-macys-bias.html?src=busln

NEW YORK — Macy's Inc has agreed to pay $650,000 to New York's attorney general and install a monitor to resolve allegations that its security personnel targeted minority shoppers.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office investigated several complaints from customers of the company's flagship store in midtown Manhattan, also said Macy's would adopt new anti-profiling policies, improve training and designate a compliance expert to report to the attorney general's office for the next three years.

The deal comes a week after Schneiderman's office reached a $525,000 agreement with Barneys New York [DBWLDB.UL] to resolve similar "shop-and-frisk" allegations from minority customers.

"It is absolutely unacceptable - and it's illegal - for anyone in New York to be treated like a criminal simply because of the color of their skin," Schneiderman said in a statement.

In a statement, Macy's said it has also reached settlements in principle with various shoppers who filed state and federal lawsuits alleging discrimination.

Those complaints included a lawsuit filed by actor Rob Brown of HBO's "Treme" claiming he was detained and handcuffed at the store after purchasing a $1,300 gold watch.

"Our company's policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling and any occurrence of such behavior will not be tolerated in our organization," the company said.

The attorney general's office opened its investigation 18 months ago. Among other findings, the office said a review of data provided by Macy's showed the store detained minorities at significantly higher rates than white shoppers.

Macy's had previously operated under a consent decree reached in 2005 with the attorney general's office to resolve allegations that its security practices, including its handcuffing policies, violated anti-discrimination laws. That agreement ended in 2008.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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12) My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.
By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.610687


The past weeks have witnessed unprecedented action by members of civil society across the world against the injustice of Israel’s disproportionately brutal response to the firing of missiles from Palestine.

If you add together all the people who gathered over the past weekend to demand justice in Israel and Palestine – in Cape Town, Washington, D.C., New York, New Delhi, London, Dublin and Sydney, and all the other cities – this was arguably the largest active outcry by citizens around a single cause ever in the history of the world.

A quarter of a century ago, I participated in some well-attended demonstrations against apartheid. I never imagined we’d see demonstrations of that size again, but last Saturday’s turnout in Cape Town was as big if not bigger. Participants included young and old, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, blacks, whites, reds and greens ... as one would expect from a vibrant, tolerant, multicultural nation.

I asked the crowd to chant with me: “We are opposed to the injustice of the illegal occupation of Palestine. We are opposed to the indiscriminate killing in Gaza. We are opposed to the indignity meted out to Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks. We are opposed to violence perpetrated by all parties. But we are not opposed to Jews.”

Earlier in the week, I called for the suspension of Israel from the International Union of Architects, which was meeting in South Africa.

I appealed to Israeli sisters and brothers present at the conference to actively disassociate themselves and their profession from the design and construction of infrastructure related to perpetuating injustice, including the separation barrier, the security terminals and checkpoints, and the settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.

“I implore you to take this message home: Please turn the tide against violence and hatred by joining the nonviolent movement for justice for all people of the region,” I said.

Over the past few weeks, more than 1.6 million people across the world have signed onto this movement by joining an Avaaz campaign calling on corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation and/or implicated in the abuse and repression of Palestinians to pull out. The campaign specifically targets Dutch pension fund ABP; Barclays Bank; security systems supplier G4S; French transport company Veolia; computer company Hewlett-Packard; and bulldozer supplier Caterpillar.

Last month, 17 EU governments urged their citizens to avoid doing business in or investing in illegal Israeli settlements.

We have also recently witnessed the withdrawal by Dutch pension fund PGGM of tens of millions of euros from Israeli banks; the divestment from G4S by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the U.S. Presbyterian Church divested an estimated $21 million from HP, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar.

It is a movement that is gathering pace.

Violence begets violence and hatred, that only begets more violence and hatred.

We South Africans know about violence and hatred. We understand the pain of being the polecat of the world; when it seems nobody understands or is even willing to listen to our perspective. It is where we come from.

We also know the benefits that dialogue between our leaders eventually brought us; when organizations labeled “terrorist” were unbanned and their leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were released from imprisonment, banishment and exile.

We know that when our leaders began to speak to each other, the rationale for the violence that had wracked our society dissipated and disappeared. Acts of terrorism perpetrated after the talks began – such as attacks on a church and a pub – were almost universally condemned, and the party held responsible snubbed at the ballot box.

The exhilaration that followed our voting together for the first time was not the preserve of black South Africans alone. The real triumph of our peaceful settlement was that all felt included. And later, when we unveiled a constitution so tolerant, compassionate and inclusive that it would make God proud, we all felt liberated.

Of course, it helped that we had a cadre of extraordinary leaders.

But what ultimately forced these leaders together around the negotiating table was the cocktail of persuasive, nonviolent tools that had been developed to isolate South Africa, economically, academically, culturally and psychologically.

At a certain point – the tipping point – the then-government realized that the cost of attempting to preserve apartheid outweighed the benefits.

The withdrawal of trade with South Africa by multinational corporations with a conscience in the 1980s was ultimately one of the key levers that brought the apartheid state – bloodlessly – to its knees. Those corporations understood that by contributing to South Africa’s economy, they were contributing to the retention of an unjust status quo.

Those who continue to do business with Israel, who contribute to a sense of “normalcy” in Israeli society, are doing the people of Israel and Palestine a disservice. They are contributing to the perpetuation of a profoundly unjust status quo.

Those who contribute to Israel’s temporary isolation are saying that Israelis and Palestinians are equally entitled to dignity and peace.

Ultimately, events in Gaza over the past month or so are going to test who believes in the worth of human beings.

It is becoming more and more clear that politicians and diplomats are failing to come up with answers, and that responsibility for brokering a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land rests with civil society and the people of Israel and Palestine themselves.

Besides the recent devastation of Gaza, decent human beings everywhere – including many in Israel – are profoundly disturbed by the daily violations of human dignity and freedom of movement Palestinians are subjected to at checkpoints and roadblocks. And Israel’s policies of illegal occupation and the construction of buffer-zone settlements on occupied land compound the difficulty of achieving an agreementsettlement in the future that is acceptable for all.

The State of Israel is behaving as if there is no tomorrow. Its people will not live the peaceful and secure lives they crave – and are entitled to – as long as their leaders perpetuate conditions that sustain the conflict.

I have condemned those in Palestine responsible for firing missiles and rockets at Israel. They are fanning the flames of hatred. I am opposed to all manifestations of violence.

But we must be very clear that the people of Palestine have every right to struggle for their dignity and freedom. It is a struggle that has the support of many around the world.

No human-made problems are intractable when humans put their heads together with the earnest desire to overcome them. No peace is impossible when people are determined to achieve it.

Peace requires the people of Israel and Palestine to recognize the human being in themselves and each other; to understand their interdependence.

Missiles, bombs and crude invective are not part of the solution. There is no military solution.

The solution is more likely to come from that nonviolent toolbox we developed in South Africa in the 1980s, to persuade the government of the necessity of altering its policies.

The reason these tools – boycott, sanctions and divestment – ultimately proved effective was because they had a critical mass of support, both inside and outside the country. The kind of support we have witnessed across the world in recent weeks, in respect of Palestine.

My plea to the people of Israel is to see beyond the moment, to see beyond the anger at feeling perpetually under siege, to see a world in which Israel and Palestine can coexist – a world in which mutual dignity and respect reign.

It requires a mind-set shift. A mind-set shift that recognizes that attempting to perpetuate the current status quo is to damn future generations to violence and insecurity. A mind-set shift that stops regarding legitimate criticism of a state’s policies as an attack on Judaism. A mind-set shift that begins at home and ripples out across communities and nations and regions – to the Diaspora scattered across the world we share. The only world we share.

People united in pursuit of a righteous cause are unstoppable. God does not interfere in the affairs of people, hoping we will grow and learn through resolving our difficulties and differences ourselves. But God is not asleep. The Jewish scriptures tell us that God is biased on the side of the weak, the dispossessed, the widow, the orphan, the alien who set slaves free on an exodus to a Promised Land. It was the prophet Amos who said we should let righteousness flow like a river.

Goodness prevails in the end. The pursuit of freedom for the people of Palestine from humiliation and persecution by the policies of Israel is a righteous cause. It is a cause that the people of Israel should support.

Nelson Mandela famously said that South Africans would not feel free until Palestinians were free.

He might have added that the liberation of Palestine will liberate Israel, too.

C. SPECIAL APPEALS AND
ONGOING CAMPAIGNS


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Free the Whistle-Blowers

An Appeal from Daniel Ellsberg

July 21, 2014 by Daniel Ellsberg

Time Magazine coversNSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, a personal hero of mine, has recently filed to renew his asylum in Russia.  Exiled thousands of miles from friends and family, he awaits his fate. He learned from the example of another top hero of mine, Chelsea Manning.  Manning helped inspire his revelations that if he released his vital information while in this country he would have been held incommunicado in isolation as Chelsea was for over ten months—in Snowden’s case probably for the rest of his life.  And facing comparable charges to Chelsea’s, he would have no more chance than Chelsea to have a truly fair trial—being prevented by the prosecution and judge (as I was, forty years ago) from even raising arguments of public interest or lack of harm in connection with his disclosures.  Contrary to the hollow advice of Hillary Clinton or John Kerry, if he were to return to America he would not be able to “make his case” neither “in court,” nor “to the public” from a prison cell.

 I am immensely thankful to both these young whistle-blowers who have so bravely stood up against the powerful forces of the US government in order to reveal corruption, illegal spying and war crimes.  They were both motivated by their commitments to democracy and justice.  They both chose to reveal information directly to the public, at great cost to themselves, so that citizens and taxpayers could be fully informed of the facts.  They also revealed the amazing potential of new technologies to increase public access to information and strengthen democracy.  It saddens me that our current political leaders, rather than embracing this potential, have chosen to tighten their strangleholds on power and information, turning away from both progress and justice.

 Shockingly, the Obama administration has prosecuted more whistle-blowers under the Espionage Act than every previous president combined. These heroes do not deserve to be thrown in prison or called a traitor for doing the right thing.  Obama’s unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of the Espionage Act—as if it were a British-type Official Secrets Act, never intended by Congress and a violation of our First Amendment—and Manning’s 35-year prison sentence will have a chilling effect on future citizens’ willingness to uncover hidden injustices.  The government has already brought comparable charges against Snowden.

 The only remedy to this chilling precedent, designed to effect government whistle-blowers as a whole, is to overturn the Manning verdict. Given that Manning’s court martial produced the longest trial record in US military history, it will take a top legal team countless hours to prepare their defense.  But as an Advisory Board member for the Chelsea Manning Support Network, I was inspired by the way citizens around the world stepped forward to help fund a strong defense during Manning’s trial.  I remain hopeful that enough people will recognize the immense importance of these appeals and will contribute to help us finish the struggle we started. That struggle, of course, is for a just political system and freedom for our whistle-blowers.

Chelsea Manning has continued to demonstrate uncommon bravery and character, even from behind bars.  With the New York Times Op-Ed she published last month, she has cemented her position as a compelling voice for government reform.  Working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, Manning was privy to a special view of the inner-workings of our military’s propaganda systems.  Despite her personal struggles, she felt compelled to share her knowledge of what was happening in Iraq with the Americans people.  If the military hadn’t hidden the number of civilian casualties and incidences of torture detailed in the Iraq Logs she released, we would have known far sooner to expect the civil war that has gripped Iraq fully today.  Her exposure of US knowledge of the corruption in Tunisia, by the dictator our government supported, was a critical catalyst of the non-violent uprising which toppled that dictator, in turn directly inspiring the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt and then the Occupy movement in the US

 I personally am inspired by Chelsea Manning as I am by Edward Snowden, which is why I have spent countless hours advocating for both of them.  I’m asking you to join me today in supporting what I believe to be one of the most important legal proceedings in our country’s history. We are fortunate to have a truly impressive legal team that has agreed to partner with us.  Already, our new appeals attorney Nancy Hollander and her team have begun to research legal strategies, and are collaborating with Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the international news media to highlight the significance of this case.

 Chelsea is only 26 now, younger than I was when I learned to recognize the injustices of the Vietnam War.  She wishes to complete her education, as I did, and go into public service. Imagine what great things she could both learn and teach the world if she were free. Now imagine if our corrupt government officials are allowed to get their way, holding her behind bars until life has almost passed her by, and extraditing Snowden to suffer the same outcome.  What a sad result that would be for our country and our humanity.

 I have been waiting forty years for a legal process to at long last prove the unconstitutionality of the Espionage Act as applied to whistle-blowers (the Supreme Court has never yet addressed this issue).  This appeals process can accomplish that, and it can reduce Chelsea’s sentence by decades. But unfortunately, without your help today it will not happen. We must raise $100,000 by September 1st, to ensure that Chelsea’s team have the resources to fully fight this stage of the appeals process. 

Unless Manning’s conviction is overturned in appeals, Snowden and many other whistle-blowers, today and in the future, will face a similar fate. And with them will perish one of the most critical lifelines for our democracy.  But you can join me in fighting back.  I’m asking you to do it for Chelsea, to do it for Snowden, and to do it because it’s the right thing to do to preserve our democracy.  We can only win this great struggle with your help. Please contribute to help us fund Chelsea’s legal appeals today.

        It’s time we band together on the right side of history once again.

        Daniel Ellsberg

Please contribute to help us fund Chelsea’s legal appeals today!

Learn now how you can write a letter to be included in Chelsea Manning’s official application for clemency!
Please share this information to friends and community leaders, urging them to add their voice to this important effort before it's too late.
http://www.privatemanning.org/pardonpetition






Help us continue to cover 100%
of Pvt. Manning's legal fees!
Donate today.
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38591



COURAGE TO RESIST
http://couragetoresist.org
484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610
510-488-3559



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Only an Innocent Man Would Voluntarily Return
to Prison to Fight Against his Life Sentence
and For Exoneration —
That Courageous Man is Lorenzo Johnson.

The PA Attorney General’s Office Agrees to Investigate New Facts and Witnesses —
  Send Your Message Now to PA AG
Kathleen Kane: Dismiss the Charges!
Free Lorenzo Johnson!

On January 29, 2014 Lorenzo Johnson’s attorney, Michael Wiseman, met with representatives of PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane to discuss the new evidence of Lorenzo Johnson’s innocence contained in legal filings now pending in the Pennsylvania courts. This includes affidavits confirming Johnson’s presence in New York City at the time of the Harrisburg murder and the identity of the actual killers, as well as police and prosecutorial misconduct.

Attorney Wiseman said Kane’s office promised to investigate these new facts in order to assess whether they merit the relief that Lorenzo Johnson seeks in his PCRA petition.

Speaking to AP reporter Mary Claire Dale on February 11, 2014 Wiseman said, “We believe the witnesses we presented to them are credible, and give a coherent version of the events. I take them at their word, that they’re going to do a straightforward, honest review.”  Kane spokesman Joe Peters confirmed the meeting to AP “but said the office won’t comment on the new evidence until the court filing,” (referring to the March 31, 2014 date for the AG’s response to Johnson’s October 2013 court filing).

It is the Office of the PA Attorney General that is responsible for the false prosecution of Lorenzo Johnson from trial through appeals. And just a few months ago, the Attorney General’s office opposed a federal petition based on this new evidence saying there was no prima facie claim for relief. This resulted in the denial of Lorenzo Johnson’s Motion to File a Second Writ of Habeas Corpus in the federal court.

On December 18, 2013 a press conference called by the Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson protested these actions of the PA Attorney General and delivered petitions demanding dismissal of the charges and immediate freedom for Lorenzo. Tazza, Lorenzo’s wife, declared, “1,000 signatures means we are not in this alone…I won't stop until he’s home. There is nothing and no one that can stop me from fighting for what’s right.”

This is Lorenzo Johnson’s second fight for his innocence and freedom. In January 2012, after 16 years of court battles to prove his innocence, a federal appeals court held his sentence was based on insufficient evidence – a judicial acquittal. Lorenzo was freed from prison. But after a petition filed by the PA Attorney General the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated Lorenzo Johnson’s conviction and he was re-incarcerated to continue serving a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit.

This innocent man drove himself back to prison in June 2012—after less than five months of freedom—leaving his new wife and family, construction job and advocacy on behalf of others wrongfully convicted. The reason Lorenzo Johnson voluntarily returned to prison? Because he is innocent and fighting for full vindication.

In the words of Lorenzo Johnson, “A second is too long to be in prison when you are Innocent, so eighteen years … is Intolerable.”

Add your voices and demand again: Dismiss the charges against Lorenzo Johnson. Free Lorenzo NOW!

 SIGN LORENZO JOHNSON'S FREEDOM PETITION

CONTRIBUTE TO HELP TAZZA AND THE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS VISIT LORENZO AND STAY IN CONTACT!


Write: Lorenzo Johnson
            DF 1036
            SCI Mahanoy
            301 Morea Rd.
            Frackville, PA 17932

 Email: Lorenzo Johnson through JPAY.com code:
              Lorenzo Johnson DF 1036 PA DOC


 www.FreeLorenzoJohnson.org

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U.S. Court of Appeals Rules Against Lorenzo Johnson’s
New Legal Challenge to His Frame-up Conviction!
Demand the PA Attorney General Dismiss the Charges!
Free Lorenzo Johnson, Now!

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied Lorenzo Johnson’s motion to file a Second Habeas Corpus Petition. The order contained the outrageous declaration that Johnson hadn’t made a “prima facie case” that he had new evidence of his innocence. This not only puts a legal obstacle in Johnson’s path as his fight for freedom makes its way (again) through the state and federal courts—but it undermines the newly filed Pennsylvania state appeal that is pending in the Court of Common Pleas.

Stripped of  “legalese,” the court’s October 15, 2013 order says Johnson’s new evidence was not brought into court soon enough—although it was the prosecution and police who withheld evidence and coerced witnesses into lying or not coming forward with the truth! This, despite over fifteen years and rounds of legal battles to uncover the evidence of government misconduct. This is a set-back for Lorenzo Johnson’s renewed fight for his freedom, but Johnson is even more determined as his PA state court appeal continues.

Increased public support and protest is needed. The fight for Lorenzo Johnson’s freedom is not only a fight for this courageous man and family. The fight for Lorenzo Johnson is also a fight for all the innocent others who have been framed and are sitting in the slow death of prison. The PA Attorney General is directly pursuing the charges against Lorenzo, despite the evidence of his innocence and the corruption of the police. Free Lorenzo Johnson, Now!

—Rachel Wolkenstein, Esq.
   October 25, 2013

For more on the federal court and PA state court legal filings.
Hear Mumia’s latest commentary, “Cat Cries”
Go to: www.FreeLorenzoJohnson.org for more information, to sign the petition, and how to help.
 
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 SAVE CCSF!


Posted on August 25, 2013

Cartoon by Anthonty Mata for CCSF Guardsman

DOE CAMPAIGN
We are working to ensure that the ACCJC’s authority is not renewed by the Department of Education this December when they are up for their 5-year renewal. Our campaign made it possible for over 50 Third Party Comments to be sent to the DOE re: the ACCJC. Our next step in this campaign is to send a delegation from CCSF to Washington, D.C. to give oral comments at the hearing on December 12th. We expect to have an array of forces aligned on the other side who have much more money and resources than we do.
So please support this effort to get ACCJC authority revoked!

LEGAL CAMPAIGN
Save CCSF members have been meeting with Attorney Dan Siegel since last May to explore legal avenues to fight the ACCJC. After much consideration, and consultation with AFT 2121’s attorney as well as the SF City Attorney’s office, Dan has come up with a legal strategy that is complimentary to what is already being pursued. In fact, AFT 2121’s attorney is encouraging us to go forward.
The total costs of pursuing this (depositions, etc.) will be substantially more than $15,000. However, Dan is willing to do it for a fixed fee of $15,000. He will not expect a retainer, i.e. payment in advance, but we should start payments ASAP. If we win the ACCJC will have to pay our costs.

PLEASE HELP BOTH OF THESE IMPORTANT EFFORTS!
Checks can be made out to Save CCSF Coalition with “legal” in the memo line and sent to:
Save CCSF Coalition
2132 Prince St.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Or you may donate online:  http://www.gofundme.com/4841ns

http://www.saveccsf.org/
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16 Years in Solitary Confinement Is Like a "Living Tomb"

American Civil Liberties Union petition to end long-term solitary confinement:
California Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard: We stand with the prisoners on hunger strike. We urge you to comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons 2006 recommendations regarding an end to long-term solitary confinement.

In California, hundreds of prisoners have been held in solitary for more than a decade – some for infractions as trivial as reading Machiavelli's "The Prince."

Gabriel Reyes describes the pain of being isolated for at least 22 hours a day for the last 16 years:

“Unless you have lived it, you cannot imagine what it feels like to be by yourself, between four cold walls, with little concept of time…. It is a living tomb …’ I have not been allowed physical contact with any of my loved ones since 1995…I feel helpless and hopeless. In short, I am being psychologically tortured.”

That’s why over 30,000 prisoners in California began a hunger strike – the biggest the state has ever seen. They’re refusing food to protest prisoners being held for decades in solitary and to push for other changes to improve their basic conditions.

California Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard has tried to dismiss the strikers and refuses to negotiate, but the media pressure is building through the strike. If tens of thousands of us take action, we can help keep this issue in the spotlight so that Secretary Beard can’t ignore the inhumane treatment of prisoners.

Sign the petition urging Corrections Secretary Beard to end the use of long-term solitary confinement.

Solitary is such an extreme form of punishment that a United Nations torture rapporteur called for an international ban on the practice except in rare occasions. Here’s why:

The majority of the 80,000 people held in solitary in this country are severely mentally ill or because of a minor infraction (it’s a myth that it’s only for violent prisoners)
Even for people with stable mental health, solitary causes severe psychological reactions, often leading people to attempt suicide
It jeopardizes public safety because prisoners held in solitary have a harder time reintegrating into society.

And to add insult to injury, the hunger strikers are now facing retaliation – their lawyers are being restricted from visiting and the strikers are being punished. But the media continues to write about the hunger strike and we can help keep the pressure on Secretary Beard by signing this petition.

Sign the petition urging Corrections Secretary Beard to end the use of long-term solitary confinement.

Our criminal justice system should keep communities safe and treat people fairly. The use of solitary confinement undermines both of these goals – but little by little, we can help put a stop to such cruelty.

Thank you,
Anthony for the ACLU Action team
P.S. The hunger strikers have developed five core demands to address their basic conditions, the main one being an end to long-term solitary confinement. They are:

-End group punishment – prisoners say that officials often punish groups to address individual rule violations

-Abolish the debriefing policy, which is often demanded in return for better food or release from solitary

-End long-term solitary confinement

-Provide adequate and nutritious food

-Expand or provide constructive programming and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates

Sources
“Solitary - and anger - in California's prisons.” Los Angeles Times July 13, 2013
“Pelican Bay Prison Hunger-Strikers' Stories: Gabriel Reyes.” TruthOut July 9, 2013
“Solitary confinement should be banned in most cases, UN expert says.” UN News October 18, 2011
"Stop Solitary - Two Pager" ACLU.org




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What you Didn't know about NYPD's Stop and Frisk program !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rfJHx0Gj6ys#at=990

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Egypt: The Next President -- a little Egyptian boy speaks his remarkable mind!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeDm2PrNV1I

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Wealth Inequality in America

[This is a must see to believe video...bw]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QPKKQnijnsM

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Read the transcription of hero Bradley Manning's 35-page statement explaining why he leaked "state secrets" to WikiLeaks.

March 1, 2013

Alternet

The statement was read by Pfc. Bradley Manning at a providence inquiry for his formal plea of guilty to one specification as charged and nine specifications for lesser included offenses. He pled not guilty to 12 other specifications. This rush transcript was taken by journalist Alexa O'Brien at Thursday's pretrial hearing and first appeared on Salon.com.

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/bradley-mannings-surprising-statement-court-details-why-he-made-his-historic?akid=10129.229473.UZvQfK&rd=1&src=newsletter802922&t=7

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You Have the Right to Remain Silent: NLG Guide to Law Enforcement Encounters

Posted 1 day ago on July 27, 2012, 10:28 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

Occupy Wall Street is a nonviolent movement for social and economic justice, but in recent days disturbing reports have emerged of Occupy-affiliated activists being targeted by US law enforcement, including agents from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security. To help ensure Occupiers and allied activists know their rights when encountering law enforcement, we are publishing in full the National Lawyers Guild's booklet: You Have the Right to Remain Silent. The NLG provides invaluable support to the Occupy movement and other activists – please click here to support the NLG.

We strongly encourage all Occupiers to read and share the information provided below. We also recommend you enter the NLG's national hotline number (888-654-3265) into your cellphone (if you have one) and keep a copy handy. This information is not a substitute for legal advice. You should contact the NLG or a criminal defense attorney immediately if you have been visited by the FBI or other law enforcement officials. You should also alert your relatives, friends, co-workers and others so that they will be prepared if they are contacted as well.

You Have the Right to Remain Silent: A Know Your Rights Guide for Law Enforcement Encounters

What Rights Do I Have?

Whether or not you're a citizen, you have rights under the United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment gives every person the right to remain silent: not to answer questions asked by a police officer or government agent. The Fourth Amendment restricts the government's power to enter and search your home or workplace, although there are many exceptions and new laws have expanded the government's power to conduct surveillance. The First Amendment protects your right to speak freely and to advocate for social change. However, if you are a non-citizen, the Department of Homeland Security may target you based on your political activities.

Standing Up For Free Speech

The government's crusade against politically-active individuals is intended to disrupt and suppress the exercise of time-honored free speech activities, such as boycotts, protests, grassroots organizing and solidarity work. Remember that you have the right to stand up to the intimidation tactics of FBI agents and other law enforcement officials who, with political motives, are targeting organizing and free speech activities. Informed resistance to these tactics and steadfast defense of your and others' rights can bring positive results. Each person who takes a courageous stand makes future resistance to government oppression easier for all. The National Lawyers Guild has a long tradition of standing up to government repression. The organization itself was labeled a "subversive" group during the McCarthy Era and was subject to FBI surveillance and infiltration for many years. Guild attorneys have defended FBI-targeted members of the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, and the Puerto Rican independence movement. The NLG exposed FBI surveillance, infiltration and disruption tactics that were detailed during the 1975-76 COINTELPRO hearings. In 1989 the NLG prevailed in a lawsuit on behalf of several activist organizations, including the Guild, that forced the FBI to expose the extent to which it had been spying on activist movements. Under the settlement, the FBI turned over roughly 400,000 pages of its files on the Guild, which are now available at the Tamiment Library at New York University.

What if FBI Agents or Police Contact Me?

What if an agent or police officer comes to the door?

Do not invite the agents or police into your home. Do not answer any questions. Tell the agent that you do not wish to talk with him or her. You can state that your lawyer will contact them on your behalf. You can do this by stepping outside and pulling the door behind you so that the interior of your home or office is not visible, getting their contact information or business cards and then returning inside. They should cease questioning after this. If the agent or officer gives a reason for contacting you, take notes and give the information to your attorney. Anything you say, no matter how seemingly harmless or insignificant, may be used against you or others in the future. Lying to or misleading a federal agent is a crime. The more you speak, the more opportunity for federal law enforcement to find something you said (even if not intentionally) false and assert that you lied to a federal officer.

Do I have to answer questions?

You have the constitutional right to remain silent. It is not a crime to refuse to answer questions. You do not have to talk to anyone, even if you have been arrested or are in jail. You should affirmatively and unambiguously state that you wish to remain silent and that you wish to consult an attorney. Once you make the request to speak to a lawyer, do not say anything else. The Supreme Court recently ruled that answering law enforcement questions may be taken as a waiver of your right to remain silent, so it is important that you assert your rights and maintain them. Only a judge can order you to answer questions. There is one exception: some states have "stop and identify" statutes which require you to provide identity information or your name if you have been detained on reasonable suspicion that you may have committed a crime. A lawyer in your state can advise you of the status of these requirements where you reside.

Do I have to give my name?

As above, in some states you can be detained or arrested for merely refusing to give your name. And in any state, police do not always follow the law, and refusing to give your name may make them suspicious or more hostile and lead to your arrest, even without just cause, so use your judgment. Giving a false name could in some circumstances be a crime.

Do I need a lawyer?

You have the right to talk to a lawyer before you decide whether to answer questions from law enforcement. It is a good idea to talk to a lawyer if you are considering answering any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer present during any interview. The lawyer's job is to protect your rights. Once you tell the agent that you want to talk to a lawyer, he or she should stop trying to question you and should make any further contact through your lawyer. If you do not have a lawyer, you can still tell the officer you want to speak to one before answering questions. Remember to get the name, agency and telephone number of any investigator who visits you, and give that information to your lawyer. The government does not have to provide you with a free lawyer unless you are charged with a crime, but the NLG or another organization may be able to help you find a lawyer for free or at a reduced rate.

If I refuse to answer questions or say I want a lawyer, won't it seem like I have something to hide?

Anything you say to law enforcement can be used against you and others. You can never tell how a seemingly harmless bit of information might be used or manipulated to hurt you or someone else. That is why the right not to talk is a fundamental right under the Constitution. Keep in mind that although law enforcement agents are allowed to lie to you, lying to a government agent is a crime. Remaining silent is not. The safest things to say are "I am going to remain silent," "I want to speak to my lawyer," and "I do not consent to a search." It is a common practice for law enforcement agents to try to get you to waive your rights by telling you that if you have nothing to hide you would talk or that talking would "just clear things up." The fact is, if they are questioning you, they are looking to incriminate you or someone you may know, or they are engaged in political intelligence gathering. You should feel comfortable standing firm in protection and defense of your rights and refusing to answer questions.

Can agents search my home or office?

You do not have to let police or agents into your home or office unless they have and produce a valid search warrant. A search warrant is a written court order that allows the police to conduct a specified search. Interfering with a warrantless search probably will not stop it and you might get arrested. But you should say "I do not consent to a search," and call a criminal defense lawyer or the NLG. You should be aware that a roommate or guest can legally consent to a search of your house if the police believe that person has the authority to give consent, and your employer can consent to a search of your workspace without your permission.

What if agents have a search warrant?

If you are present when agents come for the search, you can ask to see the warrant. The warrant must specify in detail the places to be searched and the people or things to be taken away. Tell the agents you do not consent to the search so that they cannot go beyond what the warrant authorizes. Ask if you are allowed to watch the search; if you are allowed to, you should. Take notes, including names, badge numbers, what agency each officer is from, where they searched and what they took. If others are present, have them act as witnesses to watch carefully what is happening. If the agents ask you to give them documents, your computer, or anything else, look to see if the item is listed in the warrant. If it is not, do not consent to them taking it without talking to a lawyer. You do not have to answer questions. Talk to a lawyer first. (Note: If agents present an arrest warrant, they may only perform a cursory visual search of the premises to see if the person named in the arrest warrant is present.)

Do I have to answer questions if I have been arrested?

No. If you are arrested, you do not have to answer any questions. You should affirmatively and unambiguously state that you wish to assert your right to remain silent. Ask for a lawyer right away. Do not say anything else. Repeat to every officer who tries to talk to or question you that you wish to remain silent and that you wish to speak to a lawyer. You should always talk to a lawyer before you decide to answer any questions.

What if I speak to government agents anyway?

Even if you have already answered some questions, you can refuse to answer other questions until you have a lawyer. If you find yourself talking, stop. Assert that you wish to remain silent and that you wish to speak to a lawyer.

What if the police stop me on the street?

Ask if you are free to go. If the answer is yes, consider just walking away. If the police say you are not under arrest, but are not free to go, then you are being detained. The police can pat down the outside of your clothing if they have reason to suspect you might be armed and dangerous. If they search any more than this, say clearly, "I do not consent to a search." They may keep searching anyway. If this happens, do not resist because you can be charged with assault or resisting arrest. You do not have to answer any questions. You do not have to open bags or any closed container. Tell the officers you do not consent to a search of your bags or other property.

What if police or agents stop me in my car?

Keep your hands where the police can see them. If you are driving a vehicle, you must show your license, registration and, in some states, proof of insurance. You do not have to consent to a search. But the police may have legal grounds to search your car anyway. Clearly state that you do not consent. Officers may separate passengers and drivers from each other to question them, but no one has to answer any questions.

What if I am treated badly by the police or the FBI?

Write down the officer's badge number, name or other identifying information. You have a right to ask the officer for this information. Try to find witnesses and their names and phone numbers. If you are injured, seek medical attention and take pictures of the injuries as soon as you can. Call a lawyer as soon as possible.

What if the police or FBI threaten me with a grand jury subpoena if I don't answer their questions?

A grand jury subpoena is a written order for you to go to court and testify about information you may have. It is common for the FBI to threaten you with a subpoena to get you to talk to them. If they are going to subpoena you, they will do so anyway. You should not volunteer to speak just because you are threatened with a subpoena. You should consult a lawyer.

What if I receive a grand jury subpoena?

Grand jury proceedings are not the same as testifying at an open court trial. You are not allowed to have a lawyer present (although one may wait in the hallway and you may ask to consult with him or her after each question) and you may be asked to answer questions about your activities and associations. Because of the witness's limited rights in this situation, the government has frequently used grand jury subpoenas to gather information about activists and political organizations. It is common for the FBI to threaten activists with a subpoena in order to elicit information about their political views and activities and those of their associates. There are legal grounds for stopping ("quashing") subpoenas, and receiving one does not necessarily mean that you are suspected of a crime. If you do receive a subpoena, call the NLG National Hotline at 888-NLG-ECOL (888-654-3265) or call a criminal defense attorney immediately.

The government regularly uses grand jury subpoena power to investigate and seek evidence related to politically-active individuals and social movements. This practice is aimed at prosecuting activists and, through intimidation and disruption, discouraging continued activism.

Federal grand jury subpoenas are served in person. If you receive one, it is critically important that you retain the services of an attorney, preferably one who understands your goals and, if applicable, understands the nature of your political work, and has experience with these issues. Most lawyers are trained to provide the best legal defense for their client, often at the expense of others. Beware lawyers who summarily advise you to cooperate with grand juries, testify against friends, or cut off contact with your friends and political activists. Cooperation usually leads to others being subpoenaed and investigated. You also run the risk of being charged with perjury, a felony, should you omit any pertinent information or should there be inconsistencies in your testimony.

Frequently prosecutors will offer "use immunity," meaning that the prosecutor is prohibited from using your testimony or any leads from it to bring charges against you. If a subsequent prosecution is brought, the prosecutor bears the burden of proving that all of its evidence was obtained independent of the immunized testimony. You should be aware, however, that they will use anything you say to manipulate associates into sharing more information about you by suggesting that you have betrayed confidences.

In front of a grand jury you can "take the Fifth" (exercise your right to remain silent). However, the prosecutor may impose immunity on you, which strips you of Fifth Amendment protection and subjects you to the possibility of being cited for contempt and jailed if you refuse to answer further. In front of a grand jury you have no Sixth Amendment right to counsel, although you can consult with a lawyer outside the grand jury room after each question.

What if I don't cooperate with the grand jury?

If you receive a grand jury subpoena and elect to not cooperate, you may be held in civil contempt. There is a chance that you may be jailed or imprisoned for the length of the grand jury in an effort to coerce you to cooperate. Regular grand juries sit for a basic term of 18 months, which can be extended up to a total of 24 months. It is lawful to hold you in order to coerce your cooperation, but unlawful to hold you as a means of punishment. In rare instances you may face criminal contempt charges.

What If I Am Not a Citizen and the DHS Contacts Me?

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is now part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and has been renamed and reorganized into: 1. The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS); 2. The Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP); and 3. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). All three bureaus will be referred to as DHS for the purposes of this pamphlet.

? Assert your rights. If you do not demand your rights or if you sign papers waiving your rights, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may deport you before you see a lawyer or an immigration judge. Never sign anything without reading, understanding and knowing the consequences of signing it.

? Talk to a lawyer. If possible, carry with you the name and telephone number of an immigration lawyer who will take your calls. The immigration laws are hard to understand and there have been many recent changes. DHS will not explain your options to you. As soon as you encounter a DHS agent, call your attorney. If you can't do it right away, keep trying. Always talk to an immigration lawyer before leaving the U.S. Even some legal permanent residents can be barred from returning.

Based on today's laws, regulations and DHS guidelines, non-citizens usually have the following rights, no matter what their immigration status. This information may change, so it is important to contact a lawyer. The following rights apply to non-citizens who are inside the U.S. Non-citizens at the border who are trying to enter the U.S. do not have all the same rights.

Do I have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering any DHS questions or signing any DHS papers?

Yes. You have the right to call a lawyer or your family if you are detained, and you have the right to be visited by a lawyer in detention. You have the right to have your attorney with you at any hearing before an immigration judge. You do not have the right to a government-appointed attorney for immigration proceedings, but if you have been arrested, immigration officials must show you a list of free or low cost legal service providers.

Should I carry my green card or other immigration papers with me?

If you have documents authorizing you to stay in the U.S., you must carry them with you. Presenting false or expired papers to DHS may lead to deportation or criminal prosecution. An unexpired green card, I-94, Employment Authorization Card, Border Crossing Card or other papers that prove you are in legal status will satisfy this requirement. If you do not carry these papers with you, you could be charged with a crime. Always keep a copy of your immigration papers with a trusted family member or friend who can fax them to you, if need be. Check with your immigration lawyer about your specific case.

Am I required to talk to government officers about my immigration history?

If you are undocumented, out of status, a legal permanent resident (green card holder), or a citizen, you do not have to answer any questions about your immigration history. (You may want to consider giving your name; see above for more information about this.) If you are not in any of these categories, and you are being questioned by a DHS or FBI agent, then you may create problems with your immigration status if you refuse to provide information requested by the agent. If you have a lawyer, you can tell the agent that your lawyer will answer questions on your behalf. If answering questions could lead the agent to information that connects you with criminal activity, you should consider refusing to talk to the agent at all.

If I am arrested for immigration violations, do I have the right to a hearing before an immigration judge to defend myself against deportation charges?

Yes. In most cases only an immigration judge can order you deported. But if you waive your rights or take "voluntary departure," agreeing to leave the country, you could be deported without a hearing. If you have criminal convictions, were arrested at the border, came to the U.S. through the visa waiver program or have been ordered deported in the past, you could be deported without a hearing. Contact a lawyer immediately to see if there is any relief for you.

Can I call my consulate if I am arrested?

Yes. Non-citizens arrested in the U.S. have the right to call their consulate or to have the police tell the consulate of your arrest. The police must let your consulate visit or speak with you if consular officials decide to do so. Your consulate might help you find a lawyer or offer other help. You also have the right to refuse help from your consulate.

What happens if I give up my right to a hearing or leave the U.S. before the hearing is over?

You could lose your eligibility for certain immigration benefits, and you could be barred from returning to the U.S. for a number of years. You should always talk to an immigration lawyer before you decide to give up your right to a hearing.

What should I do if I want to contact DHS?

Always talk to a lawyer before contacting DHS, even on the phone. Many DHS officers view "enforcement" as their primary job and will not explain all of your options to you.

What Are My Rights at Airports?

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is illegal for law enforcement to perform any stops, searches, detentions or removals based solely on your race, national origin, religion, sex or ethnicity.

If I am entering the U.S. with valid travel papers can a U.S. customs agent stop and search me?

Yes. Customs agents have the right to stop, detain and search every person and item.

Can my bags or I be searched after going through metal detectors with no problem or after security sees that my bags do not contain a weapon?

Yes. Even if the initial screen of your bags reveals nothing suspicious, the screeners have the authority to conduct a further search of you or your bags.

If I am on an airplane, can an airline employee interrogate me or ask me to get off the plane?

The pilot of an airplane has the right to refuse to fly a passenger if he or she believes the passenger is a threat to the safety of the flight. The pilot's decision must be reasonable and based on observations of you, not stereotypes.

What If I Am Under 18?

Do I have to answer questions?

No. Minors too have the right to remain silent. You cannot be arrested for refusing to talk to the police, probation officers, or school officials, except in some states you may have to give your name if you have been detained.

What if I am detained?

If you are detained at a community detention facility or Juvenile Hall, you normally must be released to a parent or guardian. If charges are filed against you, in most states you are entitled to counsel (just like an adult) at no cost.

Do I have the right to express political views at school?

Public school students generally have a First Amendment right to politically organize at school by passing out leaflets, holding meetings, etc., as long as those activities are not disruptive and do not violate legitimate school rules. You may not be singled out based on your politics, ethnicity or religion.

Can my backpack or locker be searched?

School officials can search students' backpacks and lockers without a warrant if they reasonably suspect that you are involved in criminal activity or carrying drugs or weapons. Do not consent to the police or school officials searching your property, but do not physically resist or you may face criminal charges.

Disclaimer

This booklet is not a substitute for legal advice. You should contact an attorney if you have been visited by the FBI or other law enforcement officials. You should also alert your relatives, friends, co-workers and others so that they will be prepared if they are contacted as well.

NLG National Hotline for Activists Contacted by the FBI

888-NLG-ECOL

(888-654-3265)

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Free Mumia NOW!

Prisonradio.org

Write to Mumia:

Mumia Abu-Jamal AM 8335

SCI Mahanoy

301 Morea Road

Frackville, PA 17932

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rachel Wolkenstein

August 21, 2011 (917) 689-4009

MUMIA ABU-JAMAL ILLEGALLY SENTENCED TO

LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT PAROLE!

FREE MUMIA NOW!

www.FreeMumia.com

http://blacktalkradionetwork.com/profiles/blogs/mumia-is-formally-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-w-out-hearing-he-s



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"A Child's View from Gaza: Palestinian Children's Art and the Fight Against

Censorship" book

https://www.mecaforpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=25

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WITNESS GAZA

http://www.witnessgaza.com/

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The Battle Is Still On To

FREE MUMIA ABU-JAMAL!

The Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal

PO Box 16222 • Oakland CA 94610

www.laboractionmumia.org

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KEVIN COOPER IS INNOCENT! FREE KEVIN COOPER!

Reasonable doubts about executing Kevin Cooper

Chronicle Editorial

Monday, December 13, 2010

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/12/13/EDG81GP0I7.DTL

Death penalty -- Kevin Cooper is Innocent! Help save his life from San Quentin's

death row!

http://www.savekevincooper.org/

http://www.savekevincooper.org/pages/essays_content.html?ID=255

URGENT ACTION APPEAL

- From Amnesty International USA

17 December 2010

Click here to take action online:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/index.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&\

b=2590179&template=x.ascx&action=15084

To learn about recent Urgent Action successes and updates, go to

http://www.amnestyusa.org/iar/success

For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):

http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa25910.pdf

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Short Video About Al-Awda's Work

The following link is to a short video which provides an overview of Al-Awda's

work since the founding of our organization in 2000. This video was first shown

on Saturday May 23, 2009 at the fundraising banquet of the 7th Annual Int'l

Al-Awda Convention in Anaheim California. It was produced from footage collected

over the past nine years.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTiAkbB5uC0&eurl

Support Al-Awda, a Great Organization and Cause!

Al-Awda, The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, depends on your financial

support to carry out its work.

To submit your tax-deductible donation to support our work, go to

http://www.al-awda.org/donate.html

and follow the simple instructions.

Thank you for your generosity!

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D. VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO. ART, POETRY, ETC.:

[Some of these videos are embeded on the BAUAW website:

http://bauaw.blogspot.com/ or bauaw.org ...bw]

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Prison vs School: The Tour 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogmtAQlp9HI


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Checkpoint - Jasiri X 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq6Y6LSjulU

Published on Jan 28, 2014
"Checkpoint" is based on the oppression and discrimination Jasiri X witnessed firsthand during his recent trip to Palestine and Israel "Checkpoint" is produced by Agent of Change, and directed by Haute Muslim. Download "Checkpoint" at https://jasirix.bandcamp.com/track/ch....

Follow Jasiri X at https://twitter.com/jasiri_x

LYRICS
Journal of the hard times tales from the dark side
Evidence of the settlements on my hard drive
Man I swear my heart died at the end of that car ride
When I saw that checkpoint welcome to apartheid
Soldiers wear military green at the checkpoint
Automatic guns that's machine at the checkpoint
Tavors not m16s at the checkpoint
Fingers on the trigger you'll get leaned at the checkpoint
Little children grown adults or teens at the checkpoint
All ya papers better be clean at the checkpoint
You gotta but your finger on the screen at the checkpoint
And pray that red light turns green at the check point

If Martin Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint
He wake with loud screams from the scenes at the checkpoint
It's Malcolm X by any means at the check point
Imagine if you daily routine was the checkpoint

Separation walls that's surrounding the checkpoint
On top is barbwire like a crown on the checkpoint
Better have ya permits if your found at the checkpoint
Gunmen on the tower aiming down at the checkpoint
The idea is to keep you in fear of the checkpoint
You enter through the cage in the rear of the checkpoint
It feels like prison on a tier at the check point
I'd rather be anywhere but here at this checkpoint
Nelson Mandela wasn't blind to the check point
He stood for free Palestine not a check point
Support BDS don't give a dime to the checkpoint
This is international crime at the checkpoint
Arabs get treated like dogs at the checkpoint
Cause discrimination is the law at the checkpoint
Criminalized without a cause at the checkpoint
I'm just telling you what I saw at the checkpoint
Soldiers got bad attitudes at the checkpoint
Condescending and real rude at the checkpoint
Don't look em in they eyes when they move at the checkpoint
They might strip a man or woman nude at the checkpoint
Soldiers might blow you out of ya shoes at the checkpoint
Gas you up and then light the fuse at the checkpoint
Everyday you stand to be accused at the checkpoint
Each time your life you could lose at the checkpoint

If Martin Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint
He wake with loud screams from the scenes at the checkpoint
It's Malcolm X by any means at the check point
Imagine if you daily routine was the checkpoint

At the airport in Tel Aviv is a checkpoint
They pulled over our taxi at the checkpoint
Passport visa ID at the checkpoint
Soldiers going all through my things at the checkpoint
Said I was high risk security at the checkpoint
Because of the oppression I see at the checkpoint
Occupation in the 3rd degree at the checkpoint
All a nigga wanna do is leave fuck a checkpoint

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Exceptional art from the streets of Oakland:

Oakland Street Dancing



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NYC RESTAURANT WORKERS DANCE & SING FOR A WAGE HIKE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_s8e1R6rG8&feature=player_embedded

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On Gun Control, Martin Luther King, the Deacons of Defense and the history of Black Liberation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzYKisvBN1o&feature=player_embedded

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Fukushima Never Again

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU-Z4VLDGxU

"Fukushima, Never Again" tells the story of the Fukushima nuclear plant meltdowns in north east Japan in March of 2011 and exposes the cover-up by Tepco and the Japanese government.

This is the first film that interviews the Mothers Of Fukushima, nuclear power experts and trade unionists who are fighting for justice and the protection of the children and the people of Japan and the world. The residents and citizens were forced to buy their own geiger counters and radiation dosimeters in order to test their communities to find out if they were in danger.

The government said contaminated soil in children's school grounds was safe and then

when the people found out it was contaminated and removed the top soil, the government and TEPCO refused to remove it from the school grounds.

It also relays how the nuclear energy program for "peaceful atoms" was brought to Japan under the auspices of the US military occupation and also the criminal cover-up of the safety dangers of the plant by TEPCO and GE management which built the plant in Fukushima. It also interviews Kei Sugaoka, the GE nulcear plant inspector from the bay area who exposed cover-ups in the safety at the Fukushima plant and was retaliated against by GE. This documentary allows the voices of the people and workers to speak out about the reality of the disaster and what this means not only for the people of Japan but the people of the world as the US government and nuclear industry continue to push for more new plants and government subsidies. This film breaks

the information blockade story line of the corporate media in Japan, the US and around the world that Fukushima is over.

Production Of Labor Video Project

P.O. Box 720027

San Francisco, CA 94172

www.laborvideo.org

lvpsf@laborvideo.org

For information on obtaining the video go to:

www.fukushimaneveragain.com

(415)282-1908


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1000 year of war through the world

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiG8neU4_bs&feature=share

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Anatomy of a Massacre - Afganistan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6BnRc11aug&feature=player_embedded

Afghans accuse multiple soldiers of pre-meditated murder

To see more go to http://www.youtube.com/user/journeymanpictures

Follow us on Facebook (http://goo.gl/YRw42) or Twitter

(http://www.twitter.com/journeymanvod)

The recent massacre of 17 civilians by a rogue US soldier has been shrouded in

mystery. But through unprecedented access to those involved, this report

confronts the accusations that Bales didn't act alone.

"They came into my room and they killed my family". Stories like this are common

amongst the survivors in Aklozai and Najiban. As are the shocking accusations

that Sergeant Bales was not acting alone. Even President Karzai has announced

"one man can not do that". Chief investigator, General Karimi, is suspicious

that despite being fully armed, Bales freely left his base without raising

alarm. "How come he leaves at night and nobody is aware? Every time we have

weapon accountability and personal accountability." These are just a few of the

questions the American army and government are yet to answer. One thing however

is very clear, the massacre has unleashed a wave of grief and outrage which

means relations in Kandahar will be tense for years to come: "If I could lay my

hands on those infidels, I would rip them apart with my bare hands."

A Film By SBS

Distributed By Journeyman Pictures

April 2012

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Photo of George Zimmerman, in 2005 photo, left, and in a more recent photo.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/04/02/us/the-events-leading-to-the-sooti\

ng-of-trayvon-martin.html?hp

SPD Security Cams.wmv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WWDNbQUgm4&feature=player_embedded

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Kids being put on buses and transported from school to "alternate locations" in

Terror Drills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFia_w8adWQ

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Private prisons,

a recession resistant investment opportunity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIGLDOxx9Vg

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Attack Dogs used on a High School Walkout in MD, Four Students Charged With

"Thought Crimes"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wafMaML17w

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Common forms of misconduct by Law Enforcement Officials and Prosecutors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViSpM4K276w&feature=related

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Organizing and Instigating: OCCUPY - Ronnie Goodman

http://arthazelwood.com/instigator/occupy/occupy-birth-video.html

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Rep News 12: Yes We Kony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68GbzIkYdc8

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The New Black by The Mavrix - Official Music Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4rLfja8488

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Japan One Year Later

http://www.onlineschools.org/japan-one-year-later/

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The CIA's Heart Attack Gun

http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/assassination-studies/the-cias-heart-attack-g\

un-.html

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The Invisible American Workforce

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/8/5/new_expos_tracks_alec_private_prison

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Labor Beat: NATO vs The 1st Amendment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbQxnb4so3U

For more detailed information, send us a request at mail@laborbeat.org.


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The Battle of Oakland

by brandon jourdan plus

http://vimeo.com/36256273

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Officers Pulled Off Street After Tape of Beating Surfaces

By ANDY NEWMAN

February 1, 2012, 10:56 am

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/01/officers-pulled-off-street-after-ta\

pe-of-beating-surfaces/?ref=nyregion

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This is excellent! Michelle Alexander pulls no punches!

Michelle Alexander, Author of The New Jim Crow, speaks about the political

strategy

behind the War on Drugs and its connection to the mass incarceration of Black

and Brown people in the United States.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P75cbEdNo2U&feature=player_embedded

If you think Bill Clinton was "the first black President" you need to watch this

video and see how much damage his administration caused for the black community

as a result of his get tough attitude on crime that appealed to white swing

voters.

This speech took place at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem on January 12,

2012.

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FREE BRADLEY MANNING

http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/national-call-in-for-bradley

I received the following reply from the White House November 18, 2011 regarding

the Bradley Manning petition I signed:

"Why We Can't Comment on Bradley Manning

"Thank you for signing the petition 'Free PFC Bradley Manning, the accused

WikiLeaks whistleblower.' We appreciate your participation in the We the People

platform on WhiteHouse.gov.

The We the People Terms of Participation explain that 'the White House may

decline to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or

similar matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or

agencies, federal courts, or state and local government.' The military justice

system is charged with enforcing the Uniform Code of

Military Justice. Accordingly, the White House declines to comment on the

specific case raised in this petition...

That's funny! I guess Obama didn't get this memo. Here's what Obama said about

Bradley:

BRADLEY MANNING "BROKE THE LAW" SAYS OBAMA!

"He broke the law!" says Obama about Bradley Manning who has yet to even be

charged, let alone, gone to trial and found guilty. How horrendous is it for the

President to declare someone guilty before going to trial or being charged with

a crime! Justice in the U.S.A.!

Obama on FREE BRADLEY MANNING protest... San Francisco, CA. April 21, 2011-

Presidential remarks on interrupt/interaction/performance art happening at

fundraiser. Logan Price queries Barack after org. FRESH JUICE PARTY political

action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfmtUpd4id0&feature=youtu.be

Release Bradley Manning

Almost Gone (The Ballad Of Bradley Manning)

Written by Graham Nash and James Raymond (son of David Crosby)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAYG7yJpBbQ&feature=player_embedded

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Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVGqE726OAo&feature=player_embedded

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School police increasingly arresting American students?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl-efNBvjUU&feature=player_embedded

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FYI:

Nuclear Detonation Timeline "1945-1998"

The 2053 nuclear tests and explosions that took place between 1945 and 1998 are

plotted visually and audibly on a world map.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9lquok4Pdk&feature=share&mid=5408

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We Are the 99 Percent

We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to

choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are

suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay

and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1

percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent.

Brought to you by the people who occupy wall street. Why will YOU occupy?

OccupyWallSt.org

Occupytogether.org

wearethe99percentuk.tumblr.com

http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/

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We Are The People Who Will Save Our Schools

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFAOJsBxAxY

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In honor of the 75th Anniversary of the 44-Day Flint Michigan sit-down strike at

GM that began December 30, 1936:

According to Michael Moore, (Although he has done some good things, this clip

isn't one of them) in this clip from his film, "Capitalism a Love Story," it was

Roosevelt who saved the day!):

"After a bloody battle one evening, the Governor of Michigan, with the support

of the President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, sent in the National

Guard. But the guns and the soldiers weren't used on the workers; they were

pointed at the police and the hired goons warning them to leave these workers

alone. For Mr. Roosevelt believed that the men inside had a right to a redress

of their grievances." -Michael Moore's 'Capitalism: A Love Story'

- Flint Sit-Down Strike http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8x1_q9wg58

But those cannons were not aimed at the goons and cops! They were aimed straight

at the factory filled with strikers! Watch what REALLY happened and how the

strike was really won!

'With babies & banners' -- 75 years since the 44-day Flint sit-down strike

http://links.org.au/node/2681

--Inspiring

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HALLELUJAH CORPORATIONS (revised edition).mov

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0WSNRpy3g

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

ONE OF THE GREATEST POSTS ON YOUTUBE SO FAR!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8C-qIgbP9o&feature=share&mid=552

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ILWU Local 10 Longshore Workers Speak-Out At Oakland Port Shutdown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JUpBpZYwms

Uploaded by laborvideo on Dec 13, 2011

ILWU Local 10 longshore workers speak out during a blockade of the Port of

Oakland called for by Occupy Oakland. Anthony Levieges and Clarence Thomas rank

and file members of the union. The action took place on December 12, 2011 and

the interview took place at Pier 30 on the Oakland docks.

For more information on the ILWU Local 21 Longview EGT struggle go to

http://www.facebook.com/groups/256313837734192/

For further info on the action and the press conferernce go to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz3fE-Vhrw8&feature=youtu.be

Production of Labor Video Project www.laborvideo.org

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UC Davis Police Violence Adds Fuel to Fire

By Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News

19 November 11

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/275-42/8485-uc-davis-police-violence-add\

s-fuel-to-fire

UC Davis Protestors Pepper Sprayed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdDLhPwpp4&feature=player_embedded

Police PEPPER SPRAY UC Davis STUDENT PROTESTERS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuWEx6Cfn-I&feature=player_embedded

Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmJmmnMkuEM&feature=player_embedded

*---------*

UC Davis Chancellor Katehi walks to her car

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CZ0t9ez_EGI#!

Occupy Seattle - 84 Year Old Woman Dorli Rainey Pepper Sprayed

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTIyE_JlJzw&feature=related

*---------*

THE BEST VIDEO ON "OCCUPY THE WORLD"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S880UldxB1o

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Shot by police with rubber bullet at Occupy Oakland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pX9LeE-g8&feature=player_embedded

*---------*

Copwatch@Occupy Oakland: Beware of Police Infiltrators and Provocateurs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrvMzqopHH0

*---------*

Occupy Oakland 11-2 Strike: Police Tear Gas, Black Bloc, War in the Streets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tu_D8SFYck&feature=player_embedded

*----*

Quebec police admitted that, in 2007, thugs carrying rocks to a peaceful protest

were actually undercover Quebec police officers:

POLICE STATE Criminal Cops EXPOSED As Agent Provocateurs @ SPP Protest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoiisMMCFT0&feature=player_embedded

*----*

Quebec police admit going undercover at montebello protests

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&feature=player_embedded

G20: Epic Undercover Police Fail

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJ7aU-n1L8&feature=player_embedded

*----*

WHAT HAPPENED IN OAKLAND TUESDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 25:

Occupy Oakland Protest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlPs-REyl-0&feature=player_embedded

Cops make mass arrests at occupy Oakland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R27kD2_7PwU&feature=player_embedded

Raw Video: Protesters Clash With Oakland Police

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpO-lJr2BQY&feature=player_embedded

Occupy Oakland - Flashbangs USED on protesters OPD LIES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNOPZLw03Q&feature=player_embedded

KTVU TV Video of Police violence

http://www.ktvu.com/video/29587714/index.html

Marine Vet wounded, tear gas & flash-bang grenades thrown in downtown

Oakland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMUgPTCgwcQ&feature=player_embedded

Tear Gas billowing through 14th & Broadway in Downtown Oakland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU4Y0pwJtWE&feature=player_embedded

Arrests at Occupy Atlanta -- This is what a police state looks like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStWz6jbeZA&feature=player_embedded

*---------*

Labor Beat: Hey You Billionaire, Pay Your Fair Share

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY8isD33f-I

*---------*

Voices of Occupy Boston 2011 - Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle) Part I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA48gmfGB6U&feature=youtu.be

Voices of Occupy Boston 2011 - Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle) Part II

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjKZpOk7TyM&feature=related

*---------*

#Occupy Wall Street In Washington Square: Mohammed Ezzeldin, former occupier of

Egypt's Tahrir Square Speaks at Washington Square!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziodsFWEb5Y&feature=player_embedded

*---------*

#OccupyTheHood, Occupy Wall Street

By adele pham

http://vimeo.com/30146870

*---------*

Live arrest at brooklyn bridge #occupywallstreet by We are Change

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yULSI-31Pto&feature=player_embedded

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

FREE THE CUBAN FIVE!

http://www.thecuban5.org/wordpress/index.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmS4kHC_OlY&feature=player_embedded

*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*

One World One Revolution -- MUST SEE VIDEO -- Powerful and beautiful...bw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE3R1BQrYCw&feature=player_embedded

"When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty." Thomas Jefferson

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Japan: angry Fukushima citizens confront government (video)

Posted by Xeni Jardin on Monday, Jul 25th at 11:36am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVuGwc9dlhQ&feature=player_embedded


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Labor Beat: Labor Stands with Subpoenaed Activists Against FBI Raids and Grand

Jury Investigation of antiwar and social justice activists.

"If trouble is not at your door. It's on it's way, or it just left."

"Investigate the Billionaires...Full investigation into Wall Street..." Jesse

Sharkey, Vice

President, Chicago Teachers Union

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSNUSIGZCMQ

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Coal Ash: One Valley's Tale

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E7h-DNvwx4&feature=player_embedded

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