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Bay Area United Against War Newsletter
Table of Contents:
A. ARTICLES IN FULL
B. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
C. SPECIAL APPEALS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
D. VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO. ART, POETRY, ETC.
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A. ARTICLES IN FULL (Unless otherwise noted)
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1) Drowned in a Stream of Prescriptions [an excerpt from the nine-page article ...bw]
By ALAN SCHWARZ
VIRGINIA BEACH — Every morning on her way to work, Kathy Fee holds her breath as she drives past the squat brick building that houses Dominion Psychiatric Associates.
It was there that her son, Richard, visited a doctor and received prescriptions for Adderall, an amphetamine-based medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It was in the parking lot that she insisted to Richard that he did not have A.D.H.D., not as a child and not now as a 24-year-old college graduate, and that he was getting dangerously addicted to the medication. It was inside the building that her husband, Rick, implored Richard’s doctor to stop prescribing him Adderall, warning, “You’re going to kill him.”
It was where, after becoming violently delusional and spending a week in a psychiatric hospital in 2011, Richard met with his doctor and received prescriptions for 90 more days of Adderall. He hanged himself in his bedroom closet two weeks after they expired.
The story of Richard Fee, an athletic, personable college class president and aspiring medical student, highlights widespread failings in the system through which five million Americans take medication for A.D.H.D., doctors and other experts said.
Medications like Adderall can markedly improve the lives of children and others with the disorder. But the tunnel-like focus the medicines provide has led growing numbers of teenagers and young adults to fake symptoms to obtain steady prescriptions for highly addictive medications that carry serious psychological dangers. These efforts are facilitated by a segment of doctors who skip established diagnostic procedures, renew prescriptions reflexively and spend too little time with patients to accurately monitor side effects.
Richard Fee’s experience included it all. Conversations with friends and family members and a review of detailed medical records depict an intelligent and articulate young man lying to doctor after doctor, physicians issuing hasty diagnoses, and psychiatrists continuing to prescribe medication — even increasing dosages — despite evidence of his growing addiction and psychiatric breakdown.
Very few people who misuse stimulants devolve into psychotic or suicidal addicts. But even one of Richard’s own physicians, Dr. Charles Parker, characterized his case as a virtual textbook for ways that A.D.H.D. practices can fail patients, particularly young adults. “We have a significant travesty being done in this country with how the diagnosis is being made and the meds are being administered,” said Dr. Parker, a psychiatrist in Virginia Beach. “I think it’s an abnegation of trust. The public needs to say this is totally unacceptable and walk out.”
Young adults are by far the fastest-growing segment of people taking A.D.H.D medications. Nearly 14 million monthly prescriptions for the condition were written for Americans ages 20 to 39 in 2011, two and a half times the 5.6 million just four years before, according to the data company I.M.S. Health. While this rise is generally attributed to the maturing of adolescents who have A.D.H.D. into young adults — combined with a greater recognition of adult A.D.H.D. in general — many experts caution that savvy college graduates, freed of parental oversight, can legally and easily obtain stimulant prescriptions from obliging doctors.
“Any step along the way, someone could have helped him — they were just handing out drugs,” said Richard’s father. Emphasizing that he had no intention of bringing legal action against any of the doctors involved, Mr. Fee said: “People have to know that kids are out there getting these drugs and getting addicted to them. And doctors are helping them do it.”
“...when he was in elementary school he fidgeted, daydreamed and got A’s. he has been an A-B student until mid college when he became scattered and he wandered while reading He never had to study. Presently without medication, his mind thinks most of the time, he procrastinated, he multitasks not finishing in a timely manner.”
[Due to the length of this article--it's nine pages long--I am cutting it here. You can read the entire article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/us/concerns-about-adhd-practices-and-amphetamine-addiction.html?hp ...bw]
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2) In Hard Economy for All Ages, Older Isn’t Better ... It’s Brutal
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents’ couches. People in their 30s and 40s can’t afford to buy homes or have children. Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings.
In the current listless economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department’s latest jobs snapshot and other recent data reports present a strong case for crowning baby boomers as the greatest victims of the recession and its grim aftermath.
These Americans in their 50s and early 60s — those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security — have lost the most earnings power of any age group, with their household incomes 10 percent below what they made when the recovery began three years ago, according to Sentier Research, a data analysis company.
Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time: just before they needed to cash out. They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young-adult children, earning them the inauspicious nickname “Generation Squeeze.”
New research suggests that they may die sooner, because their health, income security and mental well-being were battered by recession at a crucial time in their lives. A recent study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their jobs in the few years before becoming eligible for Social Security lost up to three years from their life expectancy, largely because they no longer had access to affordable health care.
“If I break my wrist, I lose my house,” said Susan Zimmerman, 62, a freelance writer in Cleveland, of the distress that a medical emergency would wreak upon her finances and her quality of life. None of the three part-time jobs she has cobbled together pay benefits, and she says she is counting the days until she becomes eligible for Medicare.
In the meantime, Ms. Zimmerman has fashioned her own regimen of home remedies — including eating blue cheese instead of taking penicillin and consuming plenty of orange juice, red wine, coffee and whatever else the latest longevity studies recommend — to maintain her health, which she must do if she wants to continue paying the bills.
“I will probably be working until I’m 100,” she said.
As common as that sentiment is, the job market has been especially unkind to older workers.
Unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are far lower than those for young people, who are recently out of school, with fewer skills and a shorter work history. But once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding another one. Over the last year, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released on Friday.
The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, like manufacturing. Compared with the rest of the population, older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be less mobile than renters, who can move to new job markets.
Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices. They may also be less inclined, at least initially, to take jobs that pay far less than their old positions.
Displaced boomers also believe they are victims of age discrimination, because employers can easily find a young, energetic worker who will accept lower pay and who can potentially stick around for decades rather than a few years.
“When you’re older, they just see gray hair and they write you off,” said Arynita Armstrong, 60, of Willis, Tex. She has been looking for work for five years since losing her job at a mortgage company. “They’re afraid to hire you, because they think you’re a health risk. You know, you might make their premiums go up. They think it’ll cost more money to invest in training you than it’s worth it because you might retire in five years.
“Not that they say any of this to your face,” she added.
When older workers do find re-employment, the compensation is usually not up to the level of their previous jobs, according to data from the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
In a survey by the center of older workers who were laid off during the recession, just one in six had found another job, and half of that group had accepted pay cuts. Fourteen percent of the re-employed said the pay in their new job was less than half what they earned in their previous job.
“I just say to myself: ‘Why me? What have I done to deserve this?’ ” said John Agati, 56, of Norwalk, Conn., whose last full-time job, as a merchandise buyer and product developer, ended four years ago when his employer went out of business.
That position paid $90,000, and his résumé lists stints at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks. Since being laid off, though, he has worked a series of part-time, low-wage, temporary positions, including selling shoes at Lord & Taylor and making sales calls for a limo company.
The last few years have taken a toll not only on his family’s finances, but also on his feelings of self-worth.
“You just get sad,” Mr. Agati said. “I see people getting up in the morning, going out to their careers and going home. I just wish I was doing that. Some people don’t like their jobs, or they have problems with their jobs, but at least they’re working. I just wish I was in their shoes.”
He said he cannot afford to go back to school, as many younger people without jobs have done. Even if he could afford it, economists say it is unclear whether older workers like him benefit much from more education.
“It just doesn’t make sense to offer retraining for people 55 and older,” said Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin. “Discrimination by age, long-term unemployment, the fact that they’re now at the end of the hiring queue, the lack of time horizon just does not make it sensible to invest in them.”
Many displaced older workers are taking this message to heart and leaving the labor force entirely.
The share of older people applying for Social Security early spiked during the recession as people sought whatever income they could find. The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 — as Ms. Zimmerman did, to help make her mortgage payments — will receive 30 percent less in each month’s check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those born after 1942).
Those not yet eligible for Social Security are increasingly applying for another, comparable kind of income support that often goes to people who expect never to work again: disability benefits. More than one in eight people in their late 50s is now on some form of federal disability insurance program, according to Mark Duggan, chairman of the department of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
The very oldest Americans, of course, were battered by some of the same ill winds that tormented those now nearing retirement, but at least the most senior were cushioned by a more readily available social safety net. More important, in a statistical twist, they may have actually benefited from the financial crisis in the most fundamental way: prolonged lives.
Death rates for people over 65 have historically fallen during recessions, according to a November 2011 study by economists at the University of California, Davis. Why? The researchers argue that weak job markets push more workers into accepting relatively undesirable work at nursing homes, leading to better care for residents.
In the current listless economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured. But the Labor Department’s latest jobs snapshot and other recent data reports present a strong case for crowning baby boomers as the greatest victims of the recession and its grim aftermath.
These Americans in their 50s and early 60s — those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security — have lost the most earnings power of any age group, with their household incomes 10 percent below what they made when the recovery began three years ago, according to Sentier Research, a data analysis company.
Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time: just before they needed to cash out. They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young-adult children, earning them the inauspicious nickname “Generation Squeeze.”
New research suggests that they may die sooner, because their health, income security and mental well-being were battered by recession at a crucial time in their lives. A recent study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their jobs in the few years before becoming eligible for Social Security lost up to three years from their life expectancy, largely because they no longer had access to affordable health care.
“If I break my wrist, I lose my house,” said Susan Zimmerman, 62, a freelance writer in Cleveland, of the distress that a medical emergency would wreak upon her finances and her quality of life. None of the three part-time jobs she has cobbled together pay benefits, and she says she is counting the days until she becomes eligible for Medicare.
In the meantime, Ms. Zimmerman has fashioned her own regimen of home remedies — including eating blue cheese instead of taking penicillin and consuming plenty of orange juice, red wine, coffee and whatever else the latest longevity studies recommend — to maintain her health, which she must do if she wants to continue paying the bills.
“I will probably be working until I’m 100,” she said.
As common as that sentiment is, the job market has been especially unkind to older workers.
Unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are far lower than those for young people, who are recently out of school, with fewer skills and a shorter work history. But once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding another one. Over the last year, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released on Friday.
The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, like manufacturing. Compared with the rest of the population, older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be less mobile than renters, who can move to new job markets.
Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices. They may also be less inclined, at least initially, to take jobs that pay far less than their old positions.
Displaced boomers also believe they are victims of age discrimination, because employers can easily find a young, energetic worker who will accept lower pay and who can potentially stick around for decades rather than a few years.
“When you’re older, they just see gray hair and they write you off,” said Arynita Armstrong, 60, of Willis, Tex. She has been looking for work for five years since losing her job at a mortgage company. “They’re afraid to hire you, because they think you’re a health risk. You know, you might make their premiums go up. They think it’ll cost more money to invest in training you than it’s worth it because you might retire in five years.
“Not that they say any of this to your face,” she added.
When older workers do find re-employment, the compensation is usually not up to the level of their previous jobs, according to data from the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University.
In a survey by the center of older workers who were laid off during the recession, just one in six had found another job, and half of that group had accepted pay cuts. Fourteen percent of the re-employed said the pay in their new job was less than half what they earned in their previous job.
“I just say to myself: ‘Why me? What have I done to deserve this?’ ” said John Agati, 56, of Norwalk, Conn., whose last full-time job, as a merchandise buyer and product developer, ended four years ago when his employer went out of business.
That position paid $90,000, and his résumé lists stints at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks. Since being laid off, though, he has worked a series of part-time, low-wage, temporary positions, including selling shoes at Lord & Taylor and making sales calls for a limo company.
The last few years have taken a toll not only on his family’s finances, but also on his feelings of self-worth.
“You just get sad,” Mr. Agati said. “I see people getting up in the morning, going out to their careers and going home. I just wish I was doing that. Some people don’t like their jobs, or they have problems with their jobs, but at least they’re working. I just wish I was in their shoes.”
He said he cannot afford to go back to school, as many younger people without jobs have done. Even if he could afford it, economists say it is unclear whether older workers like him benefit much from more education.
“It just doesn’t make sense to offer retraining for people 55 and older,” said Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor at the University of Texas in Austin. “Discrimination by age, long-term unemployment, the fact that they’re now at the end of the hiring queue, the lack of time horizon just does not make it sensible to invest in them.”
Many displaced older workers are taking this message to heart and leaving the labor force entirely.
The share of older people applying for Social Security early spiked during the recession as people sought whatever income they could find. The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 — as Ms. Zimmerman did, to help make her mortgage payments — will receive 30 percent less in each month’s check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those born after 1942).
Those not yet eligible for Social Security are increasingly applying for another, comparable kind of income support that often goes to people who expect never to work again: disability benefits. More than one in eight people in their late 50s is now on some form of federal disability insurance program, according to Mark Duggan, chairman of the department of business economics and public policy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
The very oldest Americans, of course, were battered by some of the same ill winds that tormented those now nearing retirement, but at least the most senior were cushioned by a more readily available social safety net. More important, in a statistical twist, they may have actually benefited from the financial crisis in the most fundamental way: prolonged lives.
Death rates for people over 65 have historically fallen during recessions, according to a November 2011 study by economists at the University of California, Davis. Why? The researchers argue that weak job markets push more workers into accepting relatively undesirable work at nursing homes, leading to better care for residents.
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3) Rise in Oil Tax Forces Greeks to Face Cold as Ancients Did
By SUZANNE DALEY
ATHENS — Even in the leafy northern stretches of this city, home to luxury apartment buildings, mansions with swimming pools and tennis clubs, the smell of wood smoke lingers everywhere at night.
In her fourth-floor apartment here, Valy Pantelemidou, 37, a speech therapist, is, like many other Greeks, trying to save money on heating oil by using her fireplace to stay warm.
Unemployment is at a record high of 26.8 percent in Greece, and many people have had their salaries and pensions cut, but those are not the main reasons so few residents here can afford heating oil. In the fall, the Greek government raised the taxes on heating oil by 450 percent.
Overnight, the price of heating a small apartment for the winter shot up to about $1,900 from $1,300. “At the beginning of autumn, it was the biggest topic with all my friends: How are we going to heat our places?” said Ms. Pantelemidou, who has had to lower her fees to keep clients. “Now, when I am out walking the dog, I see people with bags picking up sticks. In this neighborhood, really.”
In raising the taxes, government officials hoped not just to increase revenue but also to equalize taxes on heating oil and diesel, to cut down on the illegal practice of selling cheaper heating oil as diesel fuel. But the effort, which many Greeks dismiss as a cruel stupidity, appears to have backfired in more than one way.
For one thing, the government seems to be losing money on the measure. Many Greeks, like Ms. Pantelemidou, are simply not buying any heating oil this year. Sales in the last quarter of 2012 plunged 70 percent from a year earlier, according to official figures.
So while the government has collected more than $63 million in new tax revenue, it appears to have lost far more — about $190 million, according to an association of Greek oil suppliers — in revenue from sales taxes on the oil.
Meanwhile, many Greeks are suffering from the cold. In one recent survey by Epaminondas Panas, who leads the statistics department at the Athens University of Economics and Business, nearly 80 percent of respondents in northern Greece said they could not afford to heat their homes properly.
The return to wood burning is also taking a toll on the environment. Illegal logging in national parks is on the rise, and there are reports of late-night thefts of trees and limbs from city parks in Athens, including the disappearance of the olive tree planted where Plato is said to have gone to study in the shade.
At the same time, the smoke from the burning of wood — and often just about anything else that will catch fire — has caused spikes in air pollution that worry health officials. On some nights, the smog is clearly visible above Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, and in Athens, where particulate matter has been measured at three times the normal levels.
“Places that in 2008 wouldn’t even think about using their fireplaces for heating, now they are obliged to do so,” said Stefanos Sabatakakis, a health supervisor with the Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He said the rise in pollution could cause eye irritation and headaches in the short term and far more serious problems in the long term. The air is particularly bad for asthma sufferers.
The agency has asked that anyone who is lighting living-room fires just for the aesthetics give them up. It has also uploaded information on its Web site about what not to burn — anything that is painted or lacquered, for instance. But in these times, Mr. Sabatakakis acknowledged, people are not that picky.
Government officials say it is too early to judge the new tax. The winter is not yet over. It has not been particularly cold, they say, and many people may have stocked up on fuel oil last season. In the north of Greece, temperatures often dip to freezing at night, while in Athens they are more likely to stay in the low 40s.
“This is a very complex environment,” said Harry Theoharis, the secretary general of the Ministry of Finance, adding that many factors were affecting people’s behavior. “It is not easy to isolate and say: ‘O.K., this tax, this is the effect it had.’ ”
He said there were no clear indications yet that the tax had discouraged illicit sales of heating oil as diesel, though he had detected a slight change in buying patterns that might indicate some change.
It is impossible not to notice the stacks of wood for sale all over Athens this year. Not far from Ms. Pantelemidou’s place is a wood lot run by Valantis Topalis, 44, who used to own an interior design company. He started selling wood last year, eager to have a business that was not reliant on people paying their bills.
Last year, he made some money. But this year, he said, everybody is selling wood — some of it stolen from national parks — and business is not so good. Even in this wealthy area, a lot of the customers come in for only 20 euros, or $27, worth of wood on colder days.
“The worst part is not the lack of money,” Mr. Topalis said of his life today. “The worst part today is the mood that people are in.”
Those who can afford to, like Ms. Pantelemidou, are using a combination of their fireplaces and electric heaters, unsure what this will do to their electric bills. But that is likely to bring some unpleasant surprises, as the government recently announced an increase in the cost of electricity that, depending on consumption, could be as much as 20 percent.
Still, oil suppliers are glum about their prospects. Elias Bekkas, who provides oil to 65 buildings around the city, said that many of his clients had not ordered any oil, and that some who had could not pay the bill. Last winter, he said, his company sold a little more than a million gallons. This season, it has sold only about 65,000 gallons, and he doubted the total would get to 225,000.
Tenant meetings to decide whether to buy oil, he said, have gotten ugly. A year ago, two buildings covered the costs for people who could not pay. But this year there is only bickering.
“There is anger, bitterness between neighbors who can afford oil and those that cannot,” Mr. Bekkas said. “That is what Greece is like now.”
Hes said he had detected a third class of people as well this winter. “There are those who are just making a political statement,” he said. “They are just angry about the taxes.”
Ms. Pantelemidou, like many others in newer buildings, has a fireplace that was designed largely for decorative purposes. It hardly heats her living room, let alone the rest of her apartment. She has pulled a chair close to it so she can stay warm.
In a working-class area of town, Aggeliki and Christos Makris are also making do without heating oil. They bought their three-bedroom apartment in 2009, when they had a combined income of $63,400 for a family of five.
Since then, the salary of Mrs. Makris, 45, who works as a cleaner for the government has been cut to about $1,100 a month from $1,750 a month. Mr. Makris, 42, who runs heavy machinery at a mining company, lost all of his overtime. They are behind on their taxes and, after mortgage payments, living on less than $340 a week. To cut down on the electric bill, Mrs. Makris has even reduced the ironing she does.
Paying for heating oil was out of the question. This year, Mr. Makris went north to his village to cut firewood himself. He said no one in his building wanted to buy heating oil. “The super did not even bother to ask,” said Mr. Makris. “We are all in debt.”
The Makrises said they were at least lucky that they had made a good choice in upgrading the fireplace when they bought the apartment. It burns efficiently and warms much of their living space.
Mr. Makris said it was far worse for the pensioners he saw, who really need central heating and do not have the strength, the energy or the money to get good firewood. Instead, they pick up scraps of wood left on the street, whether it is painted or not.
“There is an old man I see at the market, and every week there is less and less in his grocery bag,” he said. “I cannot blame him, no matter what garbage he burns.”
Dimitris Bounias and Nikolia Apostolou contributed reporting.
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4) Schoolgirl Shot by the Taliban Is Progressing
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON (AP) — A Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot in the head by the Taliban is in stable condition after undergoing two successful operations to reconstruct her skull and restore her hearing, the British hospital treating her said Sunday.
Doctors tending to the girl, Malala Yousufzai, who was attacked for advocating education for girls in Pakistan, said they were “very pleased” with her progress after five hours of skull reconstruction and ear surgery on Saturday at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
“She is awake and talking to staff and members of her family,” the hospital said in a statement, adding that she would continue to recover in the hospital until she is well enough to be discharged.
Before the operations, her doctors said they had seen minimum signs of brain damage.
Malala, 15, drew international attention when she was shot and critically wounded by Taliban militants on Oct. 9 in northwestern Pakistan. The Islamist group said they singled her out because she had been promoting girls’ education and “Western thinking” and had criticized the militant group’s behavior when it took over the Swat Valley where she lived.
At age 11, Malala began to write a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC about life under the Taliban in the Swat Valley. After Pakistan’s military ousted the militants in 2009, she began speaking out about the need for girls to receive an education. She appeared frequently in news media reports and was given one of the country’s highest civilian honors for her bravery.
Her story has captured global attention for the struggle for women’s rights in Pakistan, and she made the short list for Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2012.
Malala was airlifted to Britain from Pakistan in October to receive specialized medical care and protection against further Taliban attacks. She is expected to remain in Britain for some time; her father was given a diplomatic post based in Birmingham.
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5) Lawyers Say Surveillance of Muslims Flouts Accord
By JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN
February 3, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/nyregion/police-department-flouts-surveillance-guidelines-lawyers-say.html?ref=nyregion
Civil rights lawyers will ask a federal judge on Monday to appoint an independent monitor to review the New York Police Department’s
counterterrorism efforts. The lawyers say the police’s tactics have
placed Muslim communities under surveillance in violation of
longstanding federal court guidelines.
In papers to be filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the lawyers claim that in searching for potential terrorists, the department’s Intelligence Division has infiltrated Muslim institutions, including mosques, student associations and cafes, and retained records of what police officers and informers overheard in such locations.
The surveillance has mostly focused on innocent Muslims, the lawyers claim.
“The N.Y.P.D. is continuing a massive, all-encompassing dragnet for intelligence concerning anything connected with Muslim activity through intrusive infiltration and record-keeping about all aspects of life, politics and worship,” the court filing states. “The N.Y.P.D. operates on a theory that conservative Muslim beliefs and participation in Muslim organizations are themselves bases for investigation.”
The legal motion sets the stage for a new battle in a long-running lawsuit that resulted in the Handschu agreement, named for a plaintiff, Barbara Handschu, in a 1971 lawsuit over harassment of political groups by the police’s so-called Red Squad. Over the years, the lawsuit has led to a complex and shifting set of regulations governing police investigations that intersect with political or religious activity.
Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the federal judge overseeing the regulation, Charles S. Haight Jr., relaxed a set of 1985 guidelines to give the police more latitude to seek out terrorist threats. No longer would the police have to notify an oversight panel when investigating a political group for criminal activity, as previously required.
And for the purposes of detecting terrorist activities, the police were authorized to visit places and attend events on the same terms as members of the public, although they were not allowed to retain information unless relevant “to potential unlawful or terrorist activity,” according to the relaxed rules.
But with Monday’s legal filing, the lawyers are seeking to convince Judge Haight that the police have ignored the regulations still in place.
“The N.Y.P.D. has deceived this court and counsel, as well as the public, concerning the character and scope of its activities in violation of the guidelines,” the legal filing, signed by one of the lawyers, Paul G. Chevigny, states.
The legal motion cites a series of investigative news reports by The Associated Press and an online police columnist, Leonard Levitt, that examined the activities of a small unit within the Intelligence Division that was at one point named the Demographics Unit and later renamed the Zone Assessment Unit.
The unit dispatched plainclothes officers to Muslim institutions and places of business.
City police officials have defended the department’s efforts and insisted that they were not in violation of the Handschu guidelines or any civil rights laws. They disagreed with any characterization that their efforts amounted to spying or surveillance.
Last year, in a speech defending the Intelligence Division, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, said undercover investigations “begin with leads, and we go where the leads take us.”
In an affidavit filed in a separate state case in January, the deputy commissioner in charge of the Intelligence Division, David Cohen, said: “It is the unbending policy of the N.Y.P.D. that information-gathering by its Intelligence Division conforms to the protections accorded by the Constitution, and the requirements imposed by law or N.Y.P.D.’s patrol guide.”
He said the plainclothes officers had several goals in mind, including gaining a better understanding of ethnic neighborhoods to “identify locations where an individual radicalized to violence — coming from overseas or homegrown — might go to blend in.”
The lawyers who are filing the motion on Monday were given access to more than 1,200 pages of investigative reports that detail visits by Zone Assessment Unit officers to stores, cafes and other businesses.
The reports, the lawyers claim, include descriptions of conversations “mostly of a religious-political character,” as well as the ethnicity and professions of other patrons and the presence of hookahs and prayer areas.
In papers to be filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the lawyers claim that in searching for potential terrorists, the department’s Intelligence Division has infiltrated Muslim institutions, including mosques, student associations and cafes, and retained records of what police officers and informers overheard in such locations.
The surveillance has mostly focused on innocent Muslims, the lawyers claim.
“The N.Y.P.D. is continuing a massive, all-encompassing dragnet for intelligence concerning anything connected with Muslim activity through intrusive infiltration and record-keeping about all aspects of life, politics and worship,” the court filing states. “The N.Y.P.D. operates on a theory that conservative Muslim beliefs and participation in Muslim organizations are themselves bases for investigation.”
The legal motion sets the stage for a new battle in a long-running lawsuit that resulted in the Handschu agreement, named for a plaintiff, Barbara Handschu, in a 1971 lawsuit over harassment of political groups by the police’s so-called Red Squad. Over the years, the lawsuit has led to a complex and shifting set of regulations governing police investigations that intersect with political or religious activity.
Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the federal judge overseeing the regulation, Charles S. Haight Jr., relaxed a set of 1985 guidelines to give the police more latitude to seek out terrorist threats. No longer would the police have to notify an oversight panel when investigating a political group for criminal activity, as previously required.
And for the purposes of detecting terrorist activities, the police were authorized to visit places and attend events on the same terms as members of the public, although they were not allowed to retain information unless relevant “to potential unlawful or terrorist activity,” according to the relaxed rules.
But with Monday’s legal filing, the lawyers are seeking to convince Judge Haight that the police have ignored the regulations still in place.
“The N.Y.P.D. has deceived this court and counsel, as well as the public, concerning the character and scope of its activities in violation of the guidelines,” the legal filing, signed by one of the lawyers, Paul G. Chevigny, states.
The legal motion cites a series of investigative news reports by The Associated Press and an online police columnist, Leonard Levitt, that examined the activities of a small unit within the Intelligence Division that was at one point named the Demographics Unit and later renamed the Zone Assessment Unit.
The unit dispatched plainclothes officers to Muslim institutions and places of business.
City police officials have defended the department’s efforts and insisted that they were not in violation of the Handschu guidelines or any civil rights laws. They disagreed with any characterization that their efforts amounted to spying or surveillance.
Last year, in a speech defending the Intelligence Division, the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, said undercover investigations “begin with leads, and we go where the leads take us.”
In an affidavit filed in a separate state case in January, the deputy commissioner in charge of the Intelligence Division, David Cohen, said: “It is the unbending policy of the N.Y.P.D. that information-gathering by its Intelligence Division conforms to the protections accorded by the Constitution, and the requirements imposed by law or N.Y.P.D.’s patrol guide.”
He said the plainclothes officers had several goals in mind, including gaining a better understanding of ethnic neighborhoods to “identify locations where an individual radicalized to violence — coming from overseas or homegrown — might go to blend in.”
The lawyers who are filing the motion on Monday were given access to more than 1,200 pages of investigative reports that detail visits by Zone Assessment Unit officers to stores, cafes and other businesses.
The reports, the lawyers claim, include descriptions of conversations “mostly of a religious-political character,” as well as the ethnicity and professions of other patrons and the presence of hookahs and prayer areas.
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6) Memo Cites Legal Basis for Killing U.S. Citizens in Al Qaeda
By CHARLIE SAVAGE and SCOTT SHANE
WASHINGTON — Obama administration lawyers have asserted that it would be lawful to kill a United States citizen if “an informed, high-level official” of the government decided that the target was a ranking figure in Al Qaeda who posed “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” and if his capture was not feasible, according to a 16-page document made public on Monday.
The unsigned and undated Justice Department “white paper,” obtained by NBC News, is the most detailed analysis yet to come into public view regarding the Obama legal team’s views about the lawfulness of killing, without a trial, an American citizen who executive branch officials decide is an operational leader of Al Qaeda or one of its allies.
The paper is not the classified memorandum in which the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel signed off on the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was born in New Mexico and who died in an American drone strike in Yemen in September 2011. But its legal analysis — citing a national right to self-defense as well as the laws of war — closely tracks the rationale in that document, as described to The New York Times in October 2011 by people who had read it.
The memo appears to be a briefing paper that was derived from the real legal memorandum in late 2011 and provided to some members of Congress. It does not discuss any specific target and emphasizes that it does not go into the specific thresholds of evidence that are deemed sufficient.
It adopts an elastic definition of an “imminent” threat, saying it is not necessary for a specific attack to be in process when a target is found if the target is generally engaged in terrorist activities aimed at the United States. And it asserts that courts should not play a role in reviewing or restraining such decisions.
The white paper states that “judicial enforcement of such orders would require the court to supervise inherently predictive judgments by the president and his national security advisers as to when and how to use force against a member of an enemy force against which Congress has authorized the use of force.”
It also fills in many blanks in a series of speeches by members of the Obama legal team about the use of force in targeted killings, including remarks by Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. at Northwestern’s law school in March. He asserted that the Constitution’s guarantee of “due process” before the government takes a life does not necessarily mean “judicial process” in national security situations, but offered little specific legal analysis.
Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, called the paper “a profoundly disturbing document,” and said: “It’s hard to believe that it was produced in a democracy built on a system of checks and balances. It summarizes in cold legal terms a stunning overreach of executive authority — the claimed power to declare Americans a threat and kill them far from a recognized battlefield and without any judicial involvement.”
The release of the white paper comes as President Obama’s counterterrorism adviser and nominee as C.I.A. director, John O. Brennan, awaits a confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Pressure has been growing on the administration to make the secret legal documents public, or at least to provide the Intelligence Committees with more of them.
On Tuesday, eight Democratic and three Republican senators, including some Intelligence Committee members, wrote to Mr. Obama asking for the legal opinions authorizing the killing of Americans. The letter followed one sent by Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, a member of the Intelligence Committee who has long sought access to the legal opinions.
The senators wrote that they needed the legal opinions to judge “whether the president’s power to deliberately kill American citizens is subject to appropriate limitations and safeguards.”
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7) Feeding a Disease With Fake Drugs
By ROGER BATE
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/opinion/feeding-a-disease-with-fake-drugs.html?hp
WASHINGTON
MORE than eight million people get sick with tuberculosis every year, according to the World Health Organization. In 2011, 1.4 million died from it, making it the world’s deadliest infectious disease after AIDS. Thanks to billions of dollars spent on diagnosis and treatment over the past decade, deaths and infections are slowly declining. Yet a disturbing phenomenon has emerged that could not only reverse any gains we’ve made, but also encourage the spread of a newly resistant form of the disease.
In the largest study of its kind, to be published today in the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, colleagues and I have found that fake and poorly made antibiotics are being widely used to treat tuberculosis. These substandard drugs are almost certainly making the disease more resistant to drugs, posing a grave health threat to communities around the world.
Our research team collected samples of two commonly used medicines, isoniazid and rifampicin, from neighborhood pharmacies and markets in 17 countries where tuberculosis is pervasive across Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. Nearly one of every 10 pills we collected failed to meet basic quality standards. In African countries, one in six pills was substandard.
Failing pills typically had too little of the active ingredient — the molecule that destroys tuberculosis bacteria. Most of these drugs came from legitimate manufacturers; they were either poorly made or corroded in transit. The rest appeared genuine, but after researchers tested them and more closely analyzed the packaging, they turned out to be fakes — produced and distributed through criminal enterprises. A pack of fake pills might sell for a dollar on the streets of India, but estimates of the global market for fake drugs range into the tens of billions of dollars.
The World Health Organization recommends that tuberculosis patients receive supervised treatment and quality medicines provided by public health departments. But traveling to the clinics where this treatment is dispensed can be very expensive, especially for poorer patients. Private markets for tuberculosis drugs — where we procured our samples — are often easier to access. For patients in Zambia, for example, treatment through the national tuberculosis program is three times more expensive than self-administering treatment with drugs purchased at local markets. In addition, counterfeiters in emerging markets can infiltrate the legitimate supply chain by submitting falsified paperwork and lying about where the drugs originated. When this happens, most pharmacists have no idea that the products they sell won’t work.
Some patients will die outright when shoddy medicines fail to cure them. Others will take drugs with too little active ingredient, killing some of their infection’s bacteria but leaving the strongest to multiply. These patients could go on to spread a drug-resistant form of the disease, which is deadlier and vastly more expensive to control.
Back in the 1990s, New York City spent more than $1 billion on an epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Today, curing a single case of it in the United States can cost more than $200,000. The financial and public health risks for Americans are so great that the Department of Homeland Security has called the most lethal known form of the disease, an extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis called XDR-TB, an “emerging threat to the homeland.” Virtually unknown 10 years ago, XDR-TB has now been identified in at least 77 countries — including the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a drug called Sirturo, designed to target drug-resistant forms of the disease. While this provides a welcome new hope, we fear it will not be enough. Tuberculosis will not be brought under control until we reduce patients’ exposure to substandard medicines.
This is not a problem for just the developing world. While stronger manufacturing practices, more effective regulatory agencies and more alert customs officials help protect the supply here, the United States is not impervious to bad drugs. Last fall, a generic version of Lipitor produced in India was recalled after it was found to contain particles of glass. Since the United States is currently facing a shortage of tuberculosis medicines, it will look to sources outside the country. It must ensure that these drugs are of sufficient quality.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is best positioned to lead the fight against substandard and fraudulent tuberculosis drugs. The agency works with public health organizations around the world to stop health threats before they reach our shores. And it is run by Dr. Tom Frieden, who led New York City’s successful campaign against drug-resistant tuberculosis in the ’90s. The C.D.C. should work with the State Department’s new Office of Global Health Diplomacy and the World Bank to help foreign governments, law enforcement agencies and pharmaceutical companies strengthen drug supply chains and prevent companies from making substandard products.
They should follow the lead of the President’s Malaria Initiative, which tests every batch of drugs it provides to patients in poor countries, and encourage authorities to do the same for tuberculosis drugs. Drug regulators should also confirm that available medicines are really registered where they say they are (we found that unregistered medicines were more likely to be substandard). Finally, they must prosecute and imprison makers of lethal fake drugs.
As long as substandard tuberculosis drugs are permitted in the marketplace, people will continue to die in pursuit of a cure. And without a coordinated response, growing resistance will eventually render even the highest quality drugs obsolete.
Roger Bate, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, is the author of “Phake: The Deadly World of Falsified and Substandard Medicines.”
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8) 4,500 Tons of Evidence of Strike in Seville
By RAPHAEL MINDER
SEVILLE, Spain — Along one of the windy streets of Seville’s historic Santa Cruz neighborhood, Alfonso José Carnerero Ávila, a hotel employee, was enjoying a drink with colleagues and friends on the doorstep of a wine cellar on a recent day, trying hard to ignore the overflowing pile of trash nearby.
The plastic garbage bags were stacked chest high. Some were torn open. Many had been there for more than a week. “This is really becoming disgusting,” Mr. Carnerero Ávila said. “We’re already in an unemployment crisis and most of us here still have work thanks to the tourists, so the last thing we can afford is to scare visitors away.”
Seville is in the midst of a strike by garbage collectors that is entering its second week and is threatening to turn into a health crisis. In recent days, the strike has been accompanied by a growing sense of menace, as more than 100 garbage containers have been set on fire during the night. So far, the authorities have attributed the fires to random acts of vandalism.
The labor dispute started last month after the 1,600 employees of Lipasam, the municipal street cleaning company, rejected a plan to reduce their wages by 5 percent while increasing their working hours, conditions that city officials are demanding to comply with the Spanish government’s demand that local authorities balance their books.
About 4,500 tons of garbage have accumulated here since the strike started, clogging some of the narrow streets of Seville, the capital of Andalusia. Over the past three months, similar strikes by garbage collectors also occurred in Jérez de la Frontera and Granada, two of Andalusia’s other large tourist cities.
“It’s clear that striking can have a much larger impact when it concerns something as visible to citizens as garbage,” said Ángel Gallego Morales, the president of the economic and social council of Andalusia, the regional body that oversees relations among the government, companies and unions. “We can only hope that this will soon end, even if there is no sign of any willingness to compromise right now.”
More recently, the garbage problem has even taken on a criminal dimension, as containers have been set on fire. The fires have occurred mostly in the city’s southern districts, far from the historic downtown.
Antonio Bazo, the president of the workers’ committee of Lipasam, condemned the fires as criminal acts of delinquency and denied that employees of his company were responsible for any of them. “We’re not burning containers because what we want is exactly the opposite, which is that the rubbish be seen in the streets,” Mr. Bazo told the Europa Press news agency.
Under Spain’s labor legislation, Lipasam has to guarantee that 30 percent of the normal quantity of garbage is collected even during a strike, particularly around hygiene-sensitive areas like hospitals and slaughterhouses. City officials have also ensured that garbage does not pile up around Seville’s cathedral, the city’s main tourist draw.
However, garbage containers are already overflowing in some of the other popular parts of the city, including around the Alameda Square.
Spain welcomed 57.9 million foreign tourists last year, 3 percent more than in 2011 and close to the record 58.7 million visitors in 2007, before the financial crisis and the bursting of Spain’s construction bubble. Tourism has been one of the few sectors of Spain’s economy to emerge relatively unscathed from the crisis.
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9) Postal Service to End Delivery of Letters on Saturdays
By RON NIXON
WASHINGTON — The Postal Service is expected to announce on Wednesday morning that it will stop delivering letters and other mail on Saturdays, but continue to handle packages, a move the financially struggling agency said would save about $2 billion annually as it looks for ways to cut cost.
The agency has long sought Congressional approval to end mail delivery on Saturdays. But Congress, which continues to work on legislation to reform the agency, has resisted. It is unclear how the agency will be able to end the six-day delivery of mail without Congressional approval.
News of the move was first reported by CBS News.
The announcement, which is expected at a Wednesday morning news conference, comes as the agency continues to lose money, mainly due to a 2006 law which requires it to pay about $5.5 billion a year into a future retiree health benefit fund. Last year, for the first time, the agency defaulted on two payments after it had reached its borrowing limit from the Treasury Department. The Postal Service also continues to see a decline in mail volume as more people shift to electronic forms of communication like e-mail and online bill paying services. Packaging is one of the few areas where the agency is seeing growth.
While many business and postal unions have generally opposed ending Saturday delivery, most Americans support the move.
A New York Times/CBS News poll last year found that about 7 in 10 Americans say they would favor the change as a way to help the post office deal with billions of dollars in debt. The Postal Service continues to suffer losses of $36 million a day and is headed for projected losses of about $21 billion a year by 2016. Last year, the Postal Service had a net loss of $15.6 billion.
The American Postal Workers Union, which represents about 220,000 workers and retirees, said the plan to end six-day delivery will add to the agency’s financial problems.
“The A.P.W.U. condemns the Postal Service’s decision to eliminate Saturday mail delivery, which will only deepen the agency’s congressionally manufactured financial crisis,” said Cliff Guffey, president of the union.
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10) To Kill an American
New York Times Editorial
February 5, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/opinion/to-kill-an-american.html?hp
On one level, there were not too many surprises in the newly disclosed “white paper” offering a legal reasoning behind the claim that President Obama has the power to order the killing of American citizens who are believed to be part of Al Qaeda. We knew Mr. Obama and his lawyers believed he has that power under the Constitution and federal law. We also knew that he utterly rejects the idea that Congress or the courts have any right to review such a decision in advance, or even after the fact.
Still, it was disturbing to see the twisted logic of the administration’s lawyers laid out in black and white. It had the air of a legal justification written after the fact for a policy decision that had already been made, and it brought back unwelcome memories of memos written for President George W. Bush to justify illegal wiretapping, indefinite detention, kidnapping, abuse and torture.
The document, obtained and made public by NBC News, was written by the Justice Department and coyly describes another, classified document (which has been described in The Times) that actually provided the legal justification for ordering the killing of American citizens.
That document still has not been provided to Congress, despite repeated demands from lawmakers. The white paper was sent to Capitol Hill seven months after the military carried out President Obama’s orders to kill Anwar al-Awlaki, an American who moved to Yemen and became an advocate of jihad against the United States.
In private, administration officials say Mr. Awlaki was a commander of an Al Qaeda affiliate and actively involved in planning attacks on the United States. Publicly, it has refused even to acknowledge that Mr. Obama ordered Mr. Awlaki killed or back up its claim that he was an active terrorist. The White House has vigorously fought holding any court hearing over the killing of Mr. Awlaki or his 16-year-old son, who was killed in a subsequent attack.
The American Civil Liberties Union is suing to have the operational memo on those killings released, arguing that an American citizen has constitutional rights that a judge must make sure are being respected. We agree.
According to the white paper, the Constitution and the Congressional authorization for the use of force after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, gave Mr. Obama the right to kill any American citizen that an “informed, high-level official” decides is a “senior operational leader of Al Qaeda or an associated force” and presents an “imminent threat of violent attack.”
It never tries to define what an “informed, high-level official” might be, and the authors of the memo seem to have redefined the word “imminent” in a way that diverges sharply from its customary meaning. It talks about “due process” and the need to balance a person’s life “against the United States’ interest in forestalling the threat of violence and death to other Americans.”
But it takes the position that the only “oversight” needed for such a decision resides within the executive branch, and there is no need to explain the judgment to Congress, the courts or the public — or, indeed, to even acknowledge that the killing took place.
The paper argues that judges and Congress don’t have the right to rule on or interfere with decisions made in the heat of combat. Some officials also draw a parallel to police officers who use violence to protect the innocent. Even in wartime, there are many ways to review commanders’ and soldiers’ decisions, and while courts-martial are internal to the military, their verdicts are subject to appeal to a civilian judge. When a police officer so much as discharges his weapon, it triggers a great deal of review, based on rules that are known to everyone.
The white paper “is a confusing blend of self-defense and law of war concepts and doesn’t clearly explain whether there is a different standard for killing a senior Al Qaeda leader depending on whether he is a citizen,” said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies. “Its due process analysis is especially weak.”
The memo could and should have been released months ago. The administration could and should have provided a select number of lawmakers with the specifics on the killing of Mr. Awlaki and his son. The president could and should have acknowledged that decision and explained it.
Going forward, he should submit decisions like this one to review by Congress and the courts. If necessary, Congress could create a special court to handle this sort of sensitive discussion, like the one it created to review wiretapping. This dispute goes to the fundamental nature of our democracy, to the relationship among the branches of government and to their responsibility to the public.
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11) Drone Strikes Under Scrutiny
New York Times Editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/07/opinion/drone-strikes-under-scrutiny.html?hp
In more than a decade at war since Sept. 11, 2001, the United States has relied increasingly on drones to kill people away from the battlefield. It has faced few constraints. Now an overdue push for greater accountability and transparency is gathering steam, propelled by growing unease that America’s drones hit targets in countries with whom it is not formally at war, that there are no publicly understood rules for picking targets, and that the strikes may kill innocent civilians and harm, not help, American interests.
Stanley McChrystal, the retired general, has warned that drone strikes are so resented abroad that their overuse could jeopardize America’s broader objectives. The secretary of state, John Kerry, spoke at his confirmation hearing of the need to make sure that “American foreign policy is not defined by drones and deployments alone.”
Drones have obvious advantages. The unmanned vehicles, whose controllers may be hundreds of miles away at a remote base, can hover silently over a target for hours, transmitting images and sound, and then strike quickly if needed. The administration says the use of drones has taken many enemy combatants off the battlefield and reduced civilian casualties.
But skeptics abound. John Brennan, the counterterrorism adviser most responsible for the program, faces a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday as President Obama’s nominee as C.I.A. director. He should be questioned closely about the strikes: their purpose, legal justification and relationship to broader American foreign policy aims.
For years, Mr. Obama has stretched executive power to claim that the 2001 Congressional authorization to use military force against Al Qaeda gives him the unilateral authority to order people, including American citizens, killed away from any battlefield without judicial oversight or public accountability. He took a step in the right direction on Wednesday when he directed the Justice Department to give Congressional committees its classified legal advice on targeting Americans.
Officials say they only target belligerents covered by the 2001 legislation, but the public has no way of knowing under what criteria these targets are chosen. Nor does it know, absent publicly stated rules, how the 2001 law would be interpreted by future presidents. The confirmation hearing provides an opportunity for Mr. Brennan to explain his view on whether there is any check on presidential decision-making, especially when American citizens are targeted, and whether targeted killings are creating more militants than they are eliminating.
The White House has said it is still developing rules for when to kill terrorists. The United States has conducted more than 400 total strikes in at least three countries — Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia — killing more than 3,000 people in its war on Al Qaeda, according to a report by Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. The majority killed were part of a C.I.A. covert program begun in 2004 and aimed at militants in Pakistan. At a minimum, United States rules should specify that no one can be killed unless actively planning or participating in terror, or helping lead the Taliban in Pakistan or Al Qaeda. Killing should be authorized only when it can be demonstrated that capture is impossible. Standards for preventing the killing of innocents who might be nearby should be detailed and thorough.
An investigator for the United Nations Human Rights Council said last month that he would study the “exponential rise” in drone strikes in counterterrorism operations. More than 50 nations have or are trying to get the technology. The United States will set the standard for them all.
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12) Court Urged to Reverse a Ruling on Terror
By COLIN MOYNIHAN
The Obama administration on Wednesday urged a federal appeals court to overturn a sweeping ruling by a district judge that blocked the government from enforcing a statute related to the indefinite detention without trial of terrorism suspects.
Appearing before a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in Manhattan, Robert M. Loeb, a Justice Department lawyer, said a lawsuit challenging the statute should be dismissed because those who brought it — including a former reporter for The New York Times, Christopher Hedges, who interacts with terrorist groups for his reporting, and several supporters of the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks — had no real-world risk of being detained.
“The plaintiffs’ claims all fail at the outset,” Mr. Loeb said, asserting that the plaintiffs had failed to show an “objectively reasonable fear of being placed in long-term detention.”
But lawyers for the plaintiffs, Carl J. Mayer and Bruce Afran, insisted that their clients had legal standing to challenge the statute — a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 — because it interfered with their right to free speech by creating a basis to fear that they might be placed in military detention on the basis of their activities.
The provision authorizes the detention of people who are part of or “substantially supported” Al Qaeda or “associated forces.” When Congress enacted it, lawmakers said the statute merely reaffirmed, and did not expand, the existing detention powers granted a decade earlier in the authorization to use military force against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
But lawmakers did not specify whether Americans could be detained without trial and were vague about what kind of conduct was off limits. In September, Judge Katherine B. Forrest of Federal District Court ruled that Congress had expanded the government’s detention powers, saying the 2001 version did not cover mere supporters. A portion of her ruling suggested that the government could be held in contempt if it detained anyone under that theory.
The Obama administration appealed, arguing that her ruling was wrong and put a cloud over its existing detention authority for prisoners picked up in the Afghanistan war zone.
On Wednesday, Judge Raymond J. Lohier, an appellate court judge, pressed Mr. Loeb about whether there had been any authority before the 2011 statute that allowed the government to detain people based upon “substantial support” of a terrorist group.
“To my knowledge it has never been applied that way,” Mr. Loeb replied.
Another judge on the panel, Lewis Kaplan, questioned whether there could be any guarantee that the current policy limits on powers would always be in place.
“The executive branch has been known occasionally to change its mind, isn’t that true?” he asked.
David Rivkin, a lawyer representing three lawmakers, including Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, argued that the statute should be upheld because Congress, presidents of both parties and other judges had agreed that the government has, and should have, indefinite detention powers in the war against Al Qaeda.
“The political branches are speaking in unison,” Mr. Rivkin said.
Charlie Savage contributed reporting from Washington.
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13) Higher Payroll Tax Pinches Those With Least to Spare
"...with pressure building in Washington to reduce the deficit and politicians fighting bitterly over whether to raise taxes on the very rich, the question of how the increase in Social Security taxes would affect the poorest workers did not seem to garner much debate on either side of the aisle....'I wouldn’t expect it to have much of an effect on BMW consumption,” said Richard H. Thaler, a professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. “The people who will notice it the most are the ones making the least.'”
By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/business/restored-payroll-tax-pinches-those-with-the-smallest-checks.html?ref=business
Jack Andrews and his wife no longer enjoy what they call date night, their once-a-month outing to the movies and a steak dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse in Augusta, Ga. In Harlem, Eddie Phillips’s life insurance payment will have to wait a few more weeks. And Jessica Price is buying cheaper food near her home in Orlando, Fla., even though she worries it may not be as healthy.
Like millions of other Americans, they are feeling the bite from the sharp increase in payroll taxes that took effect at the beginning of January. There are growing signs that the broader economy is suffering, too.
Chain-store sales have weakened over the course of the month. And two surveys released last week suggested that consumer confidence was eroding, especially among lower-income Americans.
While these data points are preliminary — more detailed statistics on retail sales and other trends will not be available until later this month — at street level, the pain from the expiration of a two-percentage-point break in Social Security taxes in 2011 and 2012 is plain to see.
“You got to stretch what you got,” said Mr. Phillips, 51, a front-desk clerk and maintenance man for a nonprofit housing group who earned $22,000 last year. “That little $20 or $30 affects you, especially if you’re just making enough money to stay above water.” So he has taken to juggling bills, skipping a payment on one this month and another next month.
“I’m playing catch-up each month,” he said. “You go to the supermarket and you can’t spend what you used to.”
Jack Andrews has it slightly better than Mr. Phillips. He earns a bit more than $40,000 a year manufacturing ceramics in a local factory, but because his wife, Cindy, is disabled, he is the sole breadwinner. Something had to give now that he is earning about $800 less a year, or $66 a month, and it was the couple’s monthly night out.
“It’s just gotten out of reach,” Mr. Andrews said.
The tax break, which was pushed by the White House to stimulate spending in 2011 and extended in 2012, was always supposed to be temporary. But with pressure building in Washington to reduce the deficit and politicians fighting bitterly over whether to raise taxes on the very rich, the question of how the increase in Social Security taxes would affect the poorest workers did not seem to garner much debate on either side of the aisle.
“I don’t see any reason to consider supporting its extension,” said Timothy F. Geithner, the Treasury secretary, in testimony last year. Even Nancy Pelosi, a reliable liberal who leads the Democratic minority in the House of Representatives, was for letting it expire.
The higher rate applies to all earned income up to $113,700. For a household earning $100,000 a year, the two-percentage-point increase means an additional $2,000 a year in payroll deductions. Economists estimate that the payroll tax increase will reduce disposable income by about $120 billion and shave half a percentage point from economic growth in the first quarter — a significant blow given that the economy is expected to expand only 1 to 2 percent in the first half of 2013.
“If you wanted to design a policy to squeeze the spending of lower- and middle-income households, raising the payroll tax is the way to do it,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomic Advisors. “It’s very regressive.”
Retailing analysts and economists say high-end earners will largely be spared.
“I wouldn’t expect it to have much of an effect on BMW consumption,” said Richard H. Thaler, a professor of behavioral science and economics at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. “The people who will notice it the most are the ones making the least.”
In Medford, Ore., Darchelle Skipwith had to scrap her monthly budget and start over when the law changed.
She is buying less meat; driving less often to see her sister, who lives 12 miles away in Eagle Point; and putting less away in savings. In August, Ms. Skipwith, 42, hopes to get a raise of 50 cents an hour at her job stacking shelves at Walmart, which should help make up the difference.
For now, she has no choice but to change her daily routine.
“I added it up — it’s about $75 a month,” Ms. Skipwith said. “That’s not a lot for some people, but mine is the only paycheck. I don’t have extra money coming in.”
Of course, taxes are going up on wealthier Americans, too, with a rise in marginal rates on income above $400,000 for individuals and higher taxes on capital gains and dividends. But millions of individual decisions by poorer Americans in Medford, Augusta, Harlem and elsewhere are quickly adding up.
Monthly data for chain-store sales in January will not be released until later this week, but the weekly data already available for last month showed a steady deterioration in shopping activity.
“There is something going on,” said Chris G. Christopher Jr., senior principal economist at IHS Global Insight. “The payroll tax seems to be cutting into things.”
That pattern was apparent in a Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment released on Friday, according to Richard T. Curtin, who directs surveys of consumers at the university.
When asked how their financial situation had changed in January, 32 percent of people with incomes below $75,000 said their pay had dropped, compared with 13 percent who said it had increased. By contrast, 38 percent of people earning more than $75,000 said their wages had gone up last month, and 23 percent said they had gone down.
“We rarely see such divergent trends,” Dr. Curtin said. “Mostly it was the payroll tax hurting the lower incomes, while higher-income folks had a boost from things like dividends.”
In fact, as companies paid out dividends to shareholders early to avoid the higher tax rate for 2013, personal dividend income increased at a seasonally adjusted monthly rate of 34.3 percent in December, compared with a 4.5 percent rise in November.
But that did little to help Jessica Price, who holds down two jobs in Orlando. Most weekends she works at a clothing store in a shopping center near the Universal Studios theme park, within sight of the roller coasters, and she spends weekdays collecting tolls on a local expressway.
Ms. Price, 20, whose annual income is $15,000 to $16,000, prefers shopping at Whole Foods, the upscale supermarket chain, which is healthier but more expensive. But since the payroll tax went up, she has been going more often to Publix and Walmart.
“The food that has a lot of fat and food coloring is cheaper,” she said. “It’s a lot more expensive to eat healthier. But now I’m actually looking at the price tag on things rather than grabbing them.”
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14) Uncensored Manifesto from Retired LAPD Officer Christopher Dorner
From: Christopher Jordan Dorner /7648
To: America
Subj: Last resort
Regarding CF# 07-004281
http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/uncensored-manifesto-from-retired-lapd-officer-christopher-dorner/
Christopher Dorner w/ Chief William Bratton
Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name. The department has not changed since the Rampart and Rodney King days. It has gotten worse. The consent decree should never have been lifted. The only thing that has evolved from the consent decree is those officers involved in the Rampart scandal and Rodney King incidents have since promoted to supervisor, commanders, and command staff, and executive positions.
The question is, what would you do to clear your name?
Name;
A word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to.
Name Synonyms;
reputation, title, appellation, denomination, repute.
A name is more than just a noun, verb, or adjective. It’s your
life, your legacy, your journey, sacrifices, and everything you’ve
worked hard for every day of your life as and adolescent, young adult and adult. Don’t let anybody tarnish it when you know you’ve live up to your own set of ethics and personal ethos.
In 8/07 I reported an officer (Ofcr. Teresa Evans/now a Sergeant), for kicking a suspect (excessive force) during a Use of Force while I was assigned as a patrol officer at LAPD’s Harbor Division. While cuffing the suspect, (Christopher Gettler), Evans kicked the suspect twice in the chest and once in the face. The kick to the face left a visible injury on the left cheek below the eye. Unfortunately after reporting it to supervisors and investigated by PSB (internal affairs investigator Det. Villanueva/Gallegos), nothing was done. I had broken their supposed “Blue Line”.
Unfortunately, It’s not JUST US, it’s JUSTICE!!! In fact, 10 months later on 6/25/08, after already successfully completing probation, acquiring a basic Post Certificate, and Intermediate Post Certificate, I was relieved of duty by the LAPD while assigned to patrol at Southwest division. It is clear as day that the department retaliated toward me for reporting Evans for kicking Mr. Christopher Gettler. The department stated that I had lied and made up the report that Evans had kicked the suspect.
I later went to a Board of Rights (department hearing for decision of continued employment) from 10/08 to 1/09. During this BOR hearing a video was played for the BOR panel where Christopher Gettler stated that he was indeed kicked by Officer Evans (video sent to multiple news agencies). In addition to Christopher Gettler stating he was kicked, his father Richard Gettler, also stated that his son had stated he was kicked by an officer when he was arrested after being released from custody. This was all presented for the department at the BOR hearing. They still found me guilty and terminated me.
What they didn’t mention was that the BOR panel made up of Capt. Phil Tingirides, Capt. Justin Eisenberg, and City Attorney Martella had a signigicant problem from the time the board was assembled. Capt. Phil Tingirides was a personal friend of Teresa Evans from when he was her supervisor at Harbor station. That is a clear conflict of interest and I made my argument for his removal early and was denied. The advocate for the LAPD BOR was Sgt. Anderson. Anderson also had a conflict of interest as she was Evans friend and former partner from Harbor division where they both worked patrol together. I made my argument for her removal when I discovered her relation to Evans and it was denied.
During the BOR, the department attempted to label me unsuccessfully as a bully. They stated that I had bullied a recruit, Abraham Schefres, in the academy when in reality and unfounded disposition from the official 1.28 formal complaint investigation found that I was the one who stood up for Abraham Schefres when other recruits sang nazi hitler youth songs about burning Jewish ghettos in WWII Germany where his father was a survivor of a concentration camp. How fucking dare you attempt to label me with such a nasty vile word. I ask that all earnest journalist investigating this story ask Ofcr. Abraham Schefres about the incident when Ofcr. Burdios began singing a nazi youth song about burning jewish ghettos.
The internal affairs investigation in the academy involving Schefres was spurned by a complaint that I had initiated toward two fellow recruit/offifcers. While on a assigned patrol footbeat in Hollywood Division, Officers Hermilio Buridios IV and Marlon Magana (both current LAPD officers) decided that they would voice their personal feelings about the black community. While traveling back to the station in a 12 passenger van I heard Magana refer to another individual as a nigger. I wasn’t sure if I heard correctly as there were many conversations in the van that was compiled of at least 8 officers and he was sitting in the very rear and me in the very front.
Even with the multiple conversations and ambient noise I heard Officer Magana call an indivdual a nigger again. Now that I had confirmed it, I told Magana not to use that word again. I explained that it was a well known offensive word that should not be used by anyone. He replied, “I’ll say it when I want”. Officer Burdios, a friend of his, also stated that he would say nigger when he wanted. At that point I jumped over my front passenger seat and two other officers where I placed my hands around Burdios’ neck and squeezed. I stated to Burdios, “Don’t fucking say that”. At that point there was pushing and shoving and we were separated by several other officers. What I should have done, was put a Winchester Ranger SXT 9mm 147 grain bullet in his skull and Officer Magana’s skull.
The Situation would have been resolved effective, immediately. The sad thing about this incident was that when Detective Ty from internal affairs investigated this incident only (1) officer (unknown) in the van other than myself had statements constistent with what actually happened. The other six officers (John Carey, Gary Parker, Jacob Waks, Abraham Schefres and names I have forgotten) all stated they heard nothing and saw nothing. Shame on every one of you. Shame on Detective Ty (same ethnicity as Burdios) for creating a separate 1.28 formal complaint against me (Schefres complaint) in retaliation for initiating the complaint against Burdios and Magana. Don’t retaliate against honest officers for breaking your so called blue line.
I hope your son Ryan Ty, who I knew, is a better officer than you, Detective Ty.The saddest part of this ordeal was that Officer Burdios and Magana were only given 22 day suspensions and are still LAPD officers to this day. That day, the LAPD stated that it is acceptable for fellow officers to call black officers niggers to their face and you will receive a slap on the wrist. Even sadder is that during that 22 day suspension Buridios and Magana received is that the LAPPL (Los Angeles Police Protective League) paid the officers their salaries while they were suspended. When I took a two day suspension for an accidental discharge, I took my suspension and never applied for a league salary. Its called integrity.
Journalist, I want you to investigate every location I resided
in growing up. Find any incidents where I was ever accused of being a
bully. You won’t, because it doesn’t exist. It’s not in my DNA. Never
was. I was the only black kid in each of my elementary school classes
from first grade to seventh grade in junior high and any instances where
I was disciplined for fighting was in response to fellow students
provoking common childhood schoolyard fights, or calling me a nigger or
other derogatory racial names. I grew up in neighborhoods where blacks
make up less than 1%. My first recollection of racism was in the first
grade at Norwalk Christian elementary school in Norwalk, CA. A fellow
student, Jim Armstrong if I can recall, called me a nigger on the
playground. My response was swift and non-lethal. I struck him fast and
hard with a punch an kick. He cried and reported it to a teacher. The
teacher reported it to the principal. The principal swatted Jim for
using a derogatory word toward me. He then for some unknown reason
swatted me for striking Jim in response to him calling me a nigger. He
stated as good Christians we are to turn the other cheek as Jesus did.
Problem is, I’m not a fucking Christian and that old book, made of
fiction and limited non-fiction, called the bible, never once stated
Jesus was called a nigger. How dare you swat me for standing up for my
rights for demanding that I be treated as a equal human being. That day I
made a life decision that i will not tolerate racial derogatory terms
spoken to me. Unfortunately I was swatted multiple times for the same
exact reason up until junior high. Terminating me for telling the truth
of a caucasian officer kicking a mentally ill man is disgusting. Don’t
ever call me a fucking bully. I want all journalist to utilize every
source you have that specializes in collections for your reports. With
the discovery and evidence available you will see the truth.
Unfortunately, I will not be alive to see my name cleared. That’s what
this is about, my name. A man is nothing without his name. Below is a
list of locations where I resided from childhood to adulthood.
Cerritos, CA.
Pico Rivera, CA.
La Palma, CA.
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Cedar City, UT.
Pensacola, FL.
Enid, OK.
Yorba Linda, CA.
Las Vegas, NV.
During the BOR an officer named, Sgt. Hernandez, from Los
Angeles Port Police testified on behalf of the LAPD. Hernandez stated
for the BOR that he arrived at the location of the UOF shortly before I
cuffed the suspect. He also stated that he assisted in cuffing the
suspect and that’s old the BOR he told me to fix my tie. All of those
statements were LIES!!! Hernandez, you arrived at the UOF location up to
30 seconds after I had cuffed Mr. Gettler. All you did was help me lift
the suspect to his feet as it was difficult for me to do by myself
because of his heavy weight. You did not tell me to fix my tie as the
BOR members and everyone else in the room know you lied because the
photographic evidence from the UOF scene where Gettler’s injuries were
photographed clearly shows me wearing a class B uniform on that day. A
class B uniform is a short sleeved uniform blouse. A short sleeved
uniform blouse for the LAPD does not have a tie included. This is not
Super Troopers uniform, you jackass. Why did you feel the need to
embellish and lie about your involvement in the UOF? Are you ashamed
that you could not get hired on by any other department other than port
police? Do you have delusions of grandeur? What you did was perjury,
exactly what Evans did when she stated she did not kick Christopher
Gettler.
What they failed to mention in the BOR was Teresa Evans own use
of force history during her career on the LAPD. She has admitted that
she has a lengthy use of force record and has been flagged several times
by risk management. She has a very well known nickname, Chupacabra,
which she was very proud to flaunt around the division. She found it
very funny and entertaining to draw blood from suspects and arrestees.
At one point she even intentionally ripped the flesh off the arm of a
woman we had arrested for battery (sprayed her neighbor with a garden
water hose). Knowing the woman had thin elastic skin, she performed and
Indian burn to the woman’s arm after cuffing her. That woman was in her
mid-70′s, a mother and grandmother, and was angry at her tenants who
failed to pay rent on time. Something I can completely understand and I
am sure many have wanted to do toward tenants who do not pay their rent.
Teresa Evans was also demoted from a senior lead officer rank/position
for performance issues. During my two months of working patrol with
Teresa Evans, I found her as a woman who was very angry that she had
been pulled from patrol for a short time because of a domestic violence
report made by Long Beach Police Department because of an incident
involving her active LAPD officer boyfriend, Dominick Fuentes, and
herself. Dominick Fuentes is the same officer investigated for witness
tampering. She also was visibly angry on a daily basis that she was
going to have to file for bankruptcy because her ex-husband, a former
LAPD officer and not Dominick Fuentes, who had left the department,
state, and was nowhere to be found had left her with a tax bill and debt
that she was unable to pay because of a lack of financial means. Evans,
you are a POS and you lied right to the BOR panel when Randy Quan asked
you if you kicked Christopher Gettler. You destroyed my life and name
because of your actions. Time is up. The time is now to confess to Chief
Beck.
I ask that all journalist investigating this story submit
request for FOIA with the LAPD to gain access to the BOR transcripts
which occurred from 10/08 to 2/09. There, you will see that a video was
played for the BOR members of Mr. Christopher Gettler who suffers from
Schizophrenia and Dementia stating that he was kicked by a female
officer. That video evidence supports my claim that Evans kicked him
twice in the upper body and once in the face. I would like all
journalist to also request copies of all reports that I had written
while employed by LAPD. Whether in the academy, or during my 3 years as a
police officer. There are DR#’s attached to each report (investigative
report) that I have ever written so they all exist. A FOIA request will
most likely be needed to access these at Parker center or at the
Personnel/Records. Judge my writin/grammar skills for yourself. The
department attempted to paint me as an officer who could not write
reports. Even though Sgt. Joel Sydanmaa a training officer who trained
me stated for the BOR panel that there was nothing wrong with my report
writing and that I was better than all rookie/probationer officers he
has ever trained. Officer David Drew stated the same but refused to
testify as he did not want to “get involved” with the BOR’s. Contact
Sgt. Donald Deming ,(now a Captain at Lompoc PD), Sgt. Thaddeus Faulk,
and Sgt. Ed Clark. All will state that my report writing was impeccable.
I will tell you this, I always type my reports because I have messy
handwriting/penmanship. I never had a single kickback/redlined report at
Southwest division and Sgt. Faulk and Sgt. Clark can testify to that. I
never received an UNSATISFACTORY on any day or week. The same can be
said within the U.S. Naval Reserves. All commanders will state that my
report writing was always clear, concise, and impeccable. Even search my
AAR (after action reports),chits, Memorandum’s, IIR’s (Intelligence
Information Reports) which were written in the Navy. All were pristine.
I had worked patrol at LAPD’s Harbor Division from 2/06 until
7/06 when I was involuntarily recalled back to active duty (US Navy) for
a 12 month mobilization/deployment to Centcom in support of OIF/OEF. I
returned back to LAPD’s Harbor division on 7/07 and immediately returned
to patrol. I worked at Harbor division until 11/07 where I then
transferred to Southwest Division. I worked At Southwest division until
6/25/08 when I was relieved of duty.
I have exhausted all available means at obtaining my name back. I
have attempted all legal court efforts within appeals at the Superior
Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The LAPD
has suppressed the truth and it has now lead to deadly consequences.
The LAPD’s actions have cost me my law enforcement career that began on
2/7/05 and ended on 1/2/09. They cost me my Naval career which started
on 4/02 and ends on 2/13. I had a TS/SCI clearance(Top Secret Sensitive
Compartmentalized Information clearance) up until shortly after my
termination with LAPD. This is the highest clearance a service member
can attain other than a Yankee White TS/SCI which is only granted for
those working with and around the President/Vice President of the United
States. I lost my position as a Commanding Officer of a Naval Security
Forces reserve unit at NAS Fallon because of the LAPD. I’ve lost a
relationship with my mother and sister because of the LAPD. I’ve lost a
relationship with close friends because of the LAPD. In essence, I’ve
lost everything because the LAPD took my name and new I was INNOCENT!!!
Capt Phil Tingirides, Justin Eisenberg, Martella, Randy Quan, and Sgt.
Anderson all new I was innocent but decided to terminate me so they
could continue Ofcr. Teresa Evans career. I know about the meeting
between all of you where Evans attorney, Rico, confessed that she kicked
Christopher Gettler (excessive force). Your day has come.
I’m not an aspiring rapper, I’m not a gang member, I’m not a
dope dealer, I don’t have multiple babies momma’s. I am an American by
choice, I am a son, I am a brother, I am a military service member, I am
a man who has lost complete faith in the system, when the system
betrayed, slandered, and libeled me. I lived a good life and though not a
religious man I always stuck to my own personal code of ethics, ethos
and always stuck to my shoreline and true North. I didn’t need the US
Navy to instill Honor, Courage, and Commitment in me but I thank them
for re-enforcing it. It’s in my DNA.
Luckily I don’t have to live everyday like most of you.
Concerned if the misconduct you were apart of is going to be discovered.
Looking over your shoulder, scurrying at every phone call from internal
affairs or from the Captains office wondering if that is the day PSB
comes after you for the suspects you struck when they were cuffed
months/years ago or that $500 you pocketed from the narcotics dealer, or
when the other guys on your watch beat a transient nearly to death and
you never reported the UOF to the supervisor. No, I don’t have that
concern, I stood up for what was right but unfortunately have dealt with
the reprocussions of doing the right thing and now losing my name and
everything I ever stood for. You fuckers knew Evans was guilty of
kicking (excessive force) Gettler and you did nothing but get rid of
what you saw as the problem, the whistleblower. Gettler himself stated
on video tape ( provided for the BOR and in transcripts) he was kicked
and even his father stated that his son said he was kicked by Evans when
he was released from custody. The video was played for the entire BOR
to hear. Tingirides, Eisenberg, and Martella all heard it. You’re going
to see what a whistleblower can do when you take everything from him
especially his NAME!!!
Look what you did to Sgt. Gavin (now lieutenant) when he exposed
the truth of your lying, racism, and PSB cover-ups to frame and convict
an innocent man. You can not police yourselves and the consent decree
was unsuccessful. Sgt. Gavin, I met you on the range several times as a
recruit and as an officer. You’re a good man and I saw it in your eyes
an actions.
Self Preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear
death as I died long ago on 1/2/09. I was told by my mother that
sometimes bad things happen to good people. I refuse to accept that.
From 2/05 to 1/09 I saw some of the most vile things humans can
inflict on others as a police officer in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it
wasn’t in the streets of LA. It was in the confounds of LAPD police
stations and shops (cruisers). The enemy combatants in LA are not the
citizens and suspects, it’s the police officers.
People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. How
ironic that you utilize a fixed glass structure as your command HQ. You
use as a luminous building to symbolize that you are transparent, have
nothing to hide, or suppress when in essence, concealing, omitting, and
obscuring is your forte.
Chief Beck, this is when you need to have that come to Jesus
talk with Sgt. Teresa Evans and everyone else who was involved in the
conspiracy to have me terminated for doing the right thing. you also
need to speak with her attorney, Rico, and his conversation with the BOR
members and her confession of guilt in kicking Mr. Gettler. I’ll be
waiting for a PUBLIC response at a press conference. When the truth
comes out, the killing stops.
Why didn’t you charge me with filing a false police report when I
came forward stating that Evans kicked Mr. Christopher Gettler? You
file criminal charges against every other officer who is accused and
terminated for filing a false police report. You didn’t because you knew
I was innocent and a criminal court would find me innocent and expose
your department for suppressing the truth and retaliation, that’s why.
The attacks will stop when the department states the truth about
my innocence, PUBLICLY!!! I will not accept any type of currency/goods
in exchange for the attacks to stop, nor do i want it. I want my name
back, period. There is no negotiation. I am not the state department who
states they do not negotiate with terrorist, because anybody with a
Secret or TS/SCI has seen IIR’s on SIPR and knows that the US state
department always negotiates by using CF countries or independent
sovereign/neutral country to mediate and compromising.
This department has not changed from the Daryl Gates and Mark
Fuhrman days. Those officers are still employed and have all promoted to
Command staff and supervisory positions. I will correct this error. Are
you aware that an officer (a rookie/probationer at the time) seen on
the Rodney King videotape striking Mr. King multiple times with a baton
on 3/3/91 is still employed by the LAPD and is now a Captain on the
police department? Captain Rolando Solano is now the commanding officer
of a LAPD police station (West LA division). As a commanding officer, he
is now responsible for over 200 officers. Do you trust him to enforce
department policy and investigate use of force investigations on
arrestees by his officers? Are you aware Evans has since promoted to
Sergeant after kicking Mr. Gettler in the face. Oh, you Violated a
citizens civil rights? We will promote you. Same as LAPD did with the
the officers from Metro involved in the May Day melee at MacArthur Park.
They promoted them to Sergeant (a supervisor role).
No one is saying you can’t be prejudiced or a bigot. We are all
human and hold prejudices. If you state that you don’t have prejudices,
your lying! But, when you act on it and victimize innocent citizens and
fellow innocen officers, than that is a concern.
For you officers who do the job in the name of JUSTICE, those of
you who lost honest officers to this event, look at the name of those
on the BOR and the investigating officers from PSB and Evans and ask
them, how come you couldn’t tell the truth? Why did you terminate an
honest officer and cover for a dishonest officer who victimized a
mentally ill citizen.
Sometimes humans feel a need to prove they are the dominant race
of a species and they inadvertently take kindness for weakness from
another individual. You chose wrong.
Terminating officers because they expose a culture of lying,
racism (from the academy), and excessive use of force will immediately
change. PSB can not police their own and that has been proven. The blue
line will forever be severed and a cultural change will be implanted.
You have awoken a sleeping giant.
I am here to change and make policy. The culture of LAPD versus
the community and honest/good officers needs to and will change. I am
here to correct and calibrate your morale compasses to true north.
Those Caucasian officers who join South Bureau divisions
(77th,SW,SE, an Harbor) with the sole intent to victimize minorities who
are uneducated, and unaware of criminal law, civil law, and civil
rights. You prefer the South bureau because a use of force/deadly force
is likely and the individual you use UOF on will likely not report it.
You are a high value target.
Those Black officers in supervisory ranks and pay grades who
stay in south bureau (even though you live in the valley or OC) for the
sole intent of getting retribution toward subordinate caucasians
officers for the pain and hostile work environment their elders
inflicted on you as probationers (P-1′s) and novice P-2′s. You are a
high value target. You perpetuated the cycle of racism in the department
as well. You breed a new generation of bigoted caucasian officer when
you belittle them and treat them unfairly.
Those Hispanic officers who victimize their own ethnicity
because they are new immigrants to this country and are unaware of their
civil rights. You call them wetbacks to their face and demean them in
front of fellow officers of different ethnicities so that you will
receive some sort of acceptance from your colleagues. I’m not impressed.
Most likely, your parents or grandparents were immigrants at one time,
but you have forgotten that. You are a high value target.
Those lesbian officers in supervising positions who go to work,
day in day out, with the sole intent of attempting to prove your
misandrist authority (not feminism) to degrade male officers. You are a
high value target.
Those Asian officers who stand by and observe everything I
previously mentioned other officers participate in on a daily basis but
you say nothing, stand for nothing and protect nothing. Why? Because of
your usual saying, ” I……don’t like conflict”. You are a high value
target as well.
Those of you who “go along to get along” have no backbone and
destroy the foundation of courage. You are the enablers of those who are
guilty of misconduct. You are just as guilty as those who break the
code of ethics and oath you swore.
Citizens/non-combatants, do not render medical aid to downed
officers/enemy combatants. They would not do the same for you. They will
let you bleed out just so they can brag to other officers that they had
a 187 caper the other day and can’t wait to accrue the overtime in
future court subpoenas. As they always say, “that’s the paramedics
job…not mine”. Let the balance of loss of life take place. Sometimes a
reset needs to occur.
It is endless the amount of times per week officers arrest an
individual, label him a suspect-arrestee-defendant and then before
arraignment or trial realize that he is innocent based on evidence. You
know what they say when they realize an innocent man just had his life
turned upside down?. “I guess he should have stayed at home that day he
was discovered walking down the street and matching the suspects
description. Oh well, he appeared to be a dirtbag anyways”. Meanwhile
the falsely accused is left to pick up his life, get a new, family,
friends, and sense of self worth.
Don’t honor these fallen officers/dirtbags. When your family
members die, they just see you as extra overtime at a crime scene and at
a perimeter. Why would you value their lives when they clearly don’t
value yours or your family members lives? I’ve heard many officers who
state they see dead victims as ATV’s, Waverunners, RV’s and new clothes
for their kids. Why would you shed a tear for them when they in return
crack a smile for your loss because of the impending extra money they
will receive in their next paycheck for sitting at your loved ones crime
scene of 6 hours because of the overtime they will accrue. They take
photos of your loved ones recently deceased bodies with their cellphones
and play a game of who has the most graphic dead body of the night with
officers from other divisions. This isn’t just the 20 something year
old officers, this is the 50 year old officers with significant time on
the job as well who participate.
You allow an officer, Thaniya Sungruenyos, to attempt to hack
into my credit union account and still remain on the job even when Det.
Zolezzi shows the evidence that the IP address (provided by LAPFCU) that
attempted to hack into my account and change my username and password
leads directly to her residence. You even allow this visibly disgusting
looking officer to stay on the job when she perjures (lies) in court
(Clark County Family Court) to the judge’s face and denies hacking into
my personal credit union online account when I attempted to get my
restraint order extended. Det. Zolezzi provided the evidence and you
still do nothing.
How do you know when a police officer is lying??? When he begins his sentence with, “based on my experience and training”.
No one grows up and wants to be a cop killer. It was against
everything I’ve ever was. As a young police explorer I found my calling
in life. But, As a young police officer I found that the violent
suspects on the street are not the only people you have to watch. It is
the officer who was hired on to the department (pre-2000) before
polygraphs were standard for all new hires and an substantial vetting in
a backround investigation.
To those children of the officers who are eradicated, your
parent was not the individual you thought they were. As you get
older,you will see the evidence that your parent was a tyrant who loss
their ethos and instead followed the path of moral corruptness. They
conspired to hide and suppress the truth of misconduct on others
behalf’s. Your parent will have a name and plaque on the fallen officers
memorial in D.C. But, In all honesty, your parents name will be a
reminder to other officers to maintain the oath they swore and to stay
along the shoreline that has guided them from childhood to that of a
local, state, or federal law enforcement officer.
Bratton, Beck, Hayes, Tingirides, Eisenberg, Martella, Quan,
Evans, Hernandez, Villanueva/Gallegos, and Anderson. Your lack of ethics
and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over.
Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you
and your family. There will be an element of surprise where you work,
live, eat, and sleep. I will utilize ISR at your home, workplace, and
all locations in between. I will utilize OSINT to discover your
residences, spouses workplaces, and children’s schools. IMINT to
coordinate and plan attacks on your fixed locations. Its amazing whats
on NIPR. HUMINT will be utilized to collect personal schedules of
targets. I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I’m
terminating yours. Quan, Anderson, Evans, and BOR members Look your
wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them
the truth as to why your children are dead.
Never allow a LAPPL union attorney to be a retired LAPD
Captain,(Quan). He doesn’t work for you, your interest, or your name. He
works for the department, period. His job is to protect the department
from civil lawsuits being filed and their best interest which is the
almighty dollar. His loyalty is to the department, not his client. Even
when he knowingly knows your innocent and the BOR also knows your
innocent after Christopher Gettler stated on videotape that he was
kicked and Evans attorney confessed to the BOR off the record that she
kicked Gettler.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the
blood of patriots and tyrants-TJ. This quote is not directed toward the
US government which I fully support 100%. This is toward the LAPD who
can not monitor itself. The consent decree should not have been lifted,
ever.
I know your TTP’s, (techniques, tactics, and procedures). Any
threat assessments you you generate will be useless. This is simple, I
know your TTP’s and PPR’s. I will mitigate any of your attempts at
preservation. ORM is my friend. I will mitigate all risks, threats and
hazards. I assure you that Incident Command Posts will be target rich
environments. KMA-367 license plate frames are great target indicators and make target selection even easier.
I will conduct DA operations to destroy, exploit and seize
designated targets. If unsuccessful or unable to meet objectives in
these initial small scale offensive actions, I will reassess my BDA and
re-attack until objectives are met. I have nothing to lose. My personal
casualty means nothing. Just alike AAF’s, ACM’s, and AIF’s, you can not
prevail against an enemy combatant who has no fear of death. An enemy
who embraces death is a lose, lose situation for their enemy combatants.
Hopefully you analyst have done your homework. You are aware
that I have always been the top shot, highest score, an expert in rifle
qualifications in every unit I’ve been in. I will utilize every bit of
small arms training, demolition, ordnance, and survival training I’ve
been given.
Do you know why we are unsuccessful in asymmetrical and
guerrilla warfare in CENTCOM theatre of operations? I’ll tell you. It’s
not the inefficiency of our combatant commanders, planning, readiness or
training of troops. Much like the Vietnam war, ACM, AAF, foreign
fighters, Jihadist, and JAM have nothing to lose. They embrace death as
it is a way of life. I simply don’t fear it. I am the walking exigent
circumstance you created.
The Violence of action will be HIGH. I am the reason TAC alert
was established. I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to
those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty. ISR is my strength and
your weakness. You will now live the life of the prey. Your RD’s and
homes away from work will be my AO and battle space. I will utilize
every tool within INT collections that I learned from NMITC in Dam Neck.
You have misjudged a sleeping giant. There is no conventional threat
assessment for me. JAM, New Ba’ath party, 1920 rev BGE, ACM, AAF, AQAP,
AQIM and AQIZ have nothing on me. Do not deploy airships or gunships.
SA-7 Manpads will be waiting. As you know I also own Barrett .50′s so
your APC are defunct and futile.
You better have all your officers radio/phone muster (code 1) on or off duty every hour, on the hour.
Do not attempt to shadow or conduct any type of ISR on me. I
have the inventory listing of all UC vehicles at Piper Tech and the home
addresses of any INT analyst at JRIC and detachment locations. My POA
is always POI and always true. This will be a war of attrition and a
Pyrrhic and Camdean Victory for myself. You may have the resources and
manpower but you are reactive and predictable in your op plans and
TTP’s. I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable,
unconventional, and unforgiving. Do not waste your time with briefs and
tabletops.
Whatever pre-planned responses you have established for a
scenario like me, shelve it. Whatever contingency plan you have, shelve
it. Whatever tertiary plan you’ve created, shelve it. I am a walking
exigent circumstance with no OFF or reset button. JRIC, DOJ, LASD, FBI
and other local LE can’t assist and should not involve themselves in a
matter that does not concern them. For all other agencies, do not
involve yourself in this capture or recovery of me. Look at the big
picture of the situation. They (LAPD) created the situation. I will harm
no outside agency unless it is a deadly force/IDOL situation. With
today’s budgeting and fiscal mess, you guys can not afford lose several
officers to IOD or KIA/EOW. Plus, other officers should not have to take
on the additional duties and responsibilities of dead officers. Think
about their families, outside agencies, Chiefs/Directors.
Outside agencies and individual officers on patrol. If you
recognize my vehicle, and confirm it is my vehicle thru a dmv/want
warrant check. It behoves you to respond to dispatch that your query was
for information purposes only. If you proceed with a traffic stop or
attempt to notify other officers of my location or for backup you will
not live to see the medal of valor you were hoping to receive for your
actions. Think before you attempt to intervene. You will not survive.
Your family will receive that medal of valor posthumously. It will
gather dust on the fireplace mantel for years. Then one day, it will go
in a shoe box with other memories. Your mother will lose a son or
daughter. Your significant other will be left alone, but they will find
someone else to fill your void in the future and make them just as
happy. Your children, if you have them, will call someone else mommy or
daddy. Don’t be selfish. Your vest is only a level II or IIIA, think
about it.
No amount of IMINT, MASINT, and ELINT assist you in capturing
me. I am off the grid. You better use your feet, tongue and every
available DOD/ NON-DOD HUMINT agency, contractor to find me. I know your
route to and from home, and your division. I know your significant
others routine, your children’s best friends and recess. I know Your
Sancha’s gym hours and routine. I assure you that the casualty rate will
be high. Because of that, no one will remember your name. You will
merely be a DR# and “that guy” who was KIA/EOW or long term IOD/light
duty in the kit room. This is exactly why “station 500″ was created.
Unfortunately, orphanages will be making a comeback in the 21st century.
If you had a well regulated AWB, this would not happen. The time
is now to reinstitute a ban that will save lives. Why does any
sportsman need a 30 round magazine for hunting? Why does anyone need a
suppressor? Why does anyone need a AR15 rifle? This is the same small
arms weapons system utilized in eradicating Al Qaeda, Taliban, and every
enemy combatant since the Vietnam war. Don’t give me that crap that its
not a select fire or full auto rifle like the DoD uses. That’s bullshit
because troops who carry the M-4/M-16 weapon system for combat ops
outside the wire rarely utilize the select fire function when in contact
with enemy combatants. The use of select fire probably isn’t even 1% in
combat. So in essence, the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle is the same as the
M-4/M-16. These do not need to be purchased as easily as walking to
your local Walmart
or striking the enter key on your keyboard to “add to cart”. All the
firearms utilized in my activities are registered to me and were legally
purchased at gun stores and private party transfers. All concealable
weapons (pistols) were also legally register in my name at police
stations or FFL’s. Unfortunately, are you aware that I obtained class
III weapons (suppressors) without a background check thru NICS or DROS
completely LEGALLY several times? I was able to use a trust account that
I created on quicken will maker and a $10 notary charge at a mailbox
etc. to obtain them legally. Granted, I am not a felon, nor have a DV
misdemeanor conviction or active TRO against me on a NCIC file. I can
buy any firearm I want, but should I be able to purchase these class III
weapons (SBR’s, and suppressors) without a background check and just a
$10 notary signature on a quicken will maker program? The answer is NO.
I’m not even a resident of the state i purchased them in. Lock n Load
just wanted money so they allow you to purchase class III weapons with
just a notarized trust, military ID. Shame on you, Lock n Load. NFA and
ATF need new laws and policies that do not allow loopholes such as this.
In the end, I hope that you will realize that the small arms I utilize
should not be accessed with the ease that I obtained them. Who in there
right mind needs a fucking silencer!!! who needs a freaking SBR AR15? No
one. No more Virginia Tech, Columbine HS, Wisconsin temple, Aurora
theatre, Portland malls, Tucson rally, Newtown Sandy Hook. Whether by
executive order or thru a bi-partisan congress an assault weapons ban
needs to be re-instituted. Period!!!
Mia Farrow said it best. “Gun control is no longer debatable, it’s not a conversation, its a moral mandate.”
Sen. Feinstein, you are doing the right thing in leading the
re-institution of a national AWB. Never again should any public official
state that their prayers and thoughts are with the family. That has
become cliche’ and meaningless. Its time for action. Let this be your
legacy that you bestow to America. Do not be swayed by obstacles,
antagaonist, and naysayers. Remember the innocent children at Austin,
Kent, Stockton, Fullerton, San Diego, Iowa City, Jonesboro, Columbine,
Nickel Mines, Blacksburg, Springfield, Red Lake, Chardon, Aurora, and
Newtown. Make sure this never happens again!!!
In my cache you will find several small arms. In the cache,
Bushmaster firearms, Remington precision rifles, and AAC Suppressors
(silencers). All of these small arms are manufactured by
Cerberus/Freedom Group. The same company responsible for the Portland
mall shooting, Webster , NY, and Sandy Hook massacre.
You disrespect the office of the POTUS/Presidency and Commander
in Chief. You call him Kenyan, mongroid, halfrican, muslim, and FBHO
when in essence you are to address him as simply, President. The same as
you did to President George W. Bush and all those in the highest
ranking position of our land before him. Just as I always have. You
question his birth certificate, his educational and professional
accomplishments, and his judeo-christian beliefs. You make disparaging
remarks about his dead parents. You never questioned the fact that his
former opponent, the honorable Senator John McCain, was not born in the
CONUS or that Bush had a C average in his undergrad. Electoral
Candidates children (Romney) state they want to punch the president in
the face during debates with no formal repercussions. No one even
questioned the fact that the son just made a criminal threat toward the
President. You call his wife a Wookie. Off the record, I love your new
bangs, Mrs. Obama. A woman whose professional and educational
accomplishments are second to none when compared to recent First wives.
You call his supporters, whether black, brown, yellow, or white,
leeches, FSA, welfare recipients, and ni$&er lovers. You say this
openly without any discretion. Before you start with your argument that
you believe I would vote for Obama because he has the same skin color as
me, fuck you. I didn’t vote in this last election as my choice of
candidate, John Huntsman, didn’t win the primary candidacy for his
party. Mr. President, I haven’t agreed with all of your decisions but of
course I haven’t agreed with all of your predecessors decisions. I
think you’ve done a hell of a job with what you have been dealt and how
you have managed it. I shed a tear the night you were initially elected
President in 2008. I never thought that day would occur. A black man
elected president in the U.S. in my lifetime. I cracked a smiled when
you were re-elected in 2012 because I really didn’t think you were going
to pull that one off. Romney, stop being a sore loser. You could’ve
exited graciously and still contributed significantly to public service,
not now. Mr. President, get back to work. Many want to see you fail as
they have stated so many times previously. Unfortunately, if you fail,
the U.S. fails but your opponents do not concern themselves about the
big picture. Do not forget your commitment to transparency in your
administration. Sometimes I believe your administration forgets that.
America, you will realize today and tomorrow that this world is made up
of all human beings who have the same general needs and wants in life
for themselves, their kin, community, and state. That is the freedom to
LIVE and LOVE. They may eat different foods, enjoy different music, have
different dialects, or speak a second language, but in essence are no
different from you and I. This is America. We are not a perfect
sovereign country as we have our own flaws but we are the closest that
will ever exist.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time an authoritative figure has lied on me.
Mr. Freid, assistant principal, Cypress HS. Remember when you
lied to my mother and the police officer in your office about stating
that you never stated to me in a private conversation that you know the
theft suspect (Miranda) stole my watch. Let me refresh your memory. A
physical education teachers assistant, a student, stole the list of
combination codes to peoples lockers, from the P.E. teacher. That
student then opened many of those lockers and stole students personal
property. My watch was taken in that multi theft an I reported it to
you. A week later you discovered that the theft suspect was Paul
Miranda, a student. You stated to me in private that you know for a fact
he stole my property. When I attempted to retrieve my property from the
suspect. Campus security was called and you lied and stated that you
never stated to me that you “know he stole my watch”. You sat there and
lied to their faces right in front of me. You said it with such a
deliberate, stern face. I never forgot that and was not surprised when
13 years later I was lied on again in the BOR by Teresa Evans. maybe you
can confess to your family at the very least in the private of your own
home. After that, contact my mother and apologize for lying to her in
1996.
If possible, I want my brain preserved for science/research to
study the effects of severe depression on an individual’s brain. Since
6/26/08 when I was relieved of duty and 1/2/09 when I was terminated I
have been afflicted with severe depression. I’ve had two CT scans during
my lifetime that are in my medical record at Kaiser Permanente. Both
are from concussions resulting from playing football. The first one was
in high school, 10/96. The second was in college and occurred in 10/99.
Both were conducted at Kaiser Permanente hospitals in LA/Orange county.
These two CT scans should give a good baseline for my brain activity
before severe depression began in late 2008.
Sure, many of you “law enforcement experts and specialist” will
state, “in all my years this is the worst……..”, Stop!!! That’s not
important. Ask yourselves what would cause somebody to take these
drastic measures like I did. That’s what is important.
To my friends listed below, I wish we could have grown old
together and spent more time together. When you reminisce of our
friendship and experiences, think of that and that only. Do not dwell on
my recent actions the last few days. This was a necessary evil that had
to be executed in order for me to obtain my NAME back. The only thing
that changes policy and garners attention is death.
Luis Sanchez, greatest friend, Marine officer, aviator, and an
even better father and husband. I Couldn’t have had a better big brother
than you. Your spoken wisdom was always retained by me, you old salty
Mustang. You sternly told me that no matter what I accomplish I will
always be a ni#%er in many individuals eyes. At the time, I did not
comprehend your words. I do now. I never forgot the quote you state
below. I love you bro.
I never saw a wild thing feel sorry for itself. A small bird
will drop frozen dead from a bough without ever feeling sorry for
itself. –D.H. Lawrence
Jason Valadao, greatest friend, Naval officer, aviator, Great
Father, husband, doctor, and even better human being. I always strived
to live my life parallel to your similar values and personal
disciplines. Danika is lucky to have found a man like yourself, and you
are fortunate to have married an irrefutable imperfect woman. Always
focus on your IMMEDIATE family as they are the ones who have loved you
unconditionally and always been their to support you in difficult times.
I always lived my life as WWJD (what would Jason do). Danika, take care
of this guy. Jason, I’m sorry I missed your wedding and you had to find
another best man. I’m sorry my predicament with the department stopped
me from watching you and Danika get married and arguing with you about
issues that were insignificant when I was really angry at the LAPD for
what they did to me. I’m deeply sorry and I love you guys.
James Usera, great friend, attorney, father, husband, and the
most cynical/blatant/politically incorrect friend a man can have. Best
quality about you in college and now is that you never sugar coated the
truth. I will miss our political discussions that always turned
argumentative. Thanks for introducing me to outdoor sports like fishing,
hunting, mudding, and also respect for the land and resources. Us city
boys don’t get out much like you Alaskans. You even introduced me to
PBR. A beer, that when you’re a poor college student is completely
acceptable to get buzzed off of. I’m sorry I’ll never get to go on that
moose and bear hunt with you. I love you bro.
Kinta Smith, greatest friend, accountant, entrepreneur, and even
better Human being. You are probably the most well balanced person I’ve
ever met and the most driven for success. In college, and after
graduation, I was inspired by your personal drive. Never settle. When
you make your first million, promise me you won’t forget to enjoy it a
bit. I know your first reaction will be to invest it somewhere else.
Spend a little, just a little. I love you bro.
Jason Young, great friend, entrepeneur, husband and father. You
showed me the importance of fatherhood and friendship. Love you bro.
Suzie Clark Cunningham, Kassandra Harrell, Melinda Yates, Cal
Jackson, Ryan Smith, The Rebelledos, The Banks, Ben Bines, J. Work, Bill
O’neill, Jeremy Fletcher, and Rob Harriston.
You guys were all important and very special to me. Don’t be
angry with me. I missed some of your weddings and unfortunately, some of
your funerals. This was a necessary evil.
Some say it is my fault that I was terminated. Yes, DDX, I
remember you stating this to me in an angry fit. You said that I should
have kept my mouth shut about another officer’s misconduct. Maybe you
were right. But I’m not built like others, it’s not in my DNA and my
history has always shown that. When you view the video of the suspect
stating he was kicked by Evans, maybe you will see that I was a decent
person after all. I told the truth. It still hurt that you abandoned me
in my time of need. I hope you’re happy, that’s all I ever wanted for
you.
Sgt. Leonard Perez, you meant well but you should have known
with your time on the job that the department would attempt to protect
someone like Evans because of her time on the job, personal friendships,
and ethicity. I’m not angry with you, but you should have known as an
IA investigator.
Sgt Maggie Faust LPPD, Ofcr John Thomas LPPD (ret), and Chief
Eric Nunez LPPD, your guidance and mentoring as a young police explorer
was second to none and invaluable as a young man, police officer, and
naval officer. Sgt Faust, you forewarned me long ago about joining LAPD
as they were “different” and operated differently from other modern law
enforcement agencies. I now know it was your humbleness and respect for
all who wear the badge and protect their communities that you didn’t
just express what you wanted to say, that they lack values and basic
ethics as law enforcement officers. Chief Nunez, your fucking awesome.
Thanks for the long talks over the years when I was an explorer, college
student, Naval officer, and Police officer. Your are a great leader and
carry your heart on your sleeve. Your son will be a great Air Force
officer with the upringing you provided. John, what can I say? Your just
an awesome person and my first exposure to what law enforcement was
really about was on our ride alongs. Your realistic approach and
empathetic approach to treating all people as humans first is something I
carried with me daily. Thank you, every one of you.
Dr. Funahashi, thank you for the superb surgery you performed on
my knee on 7/98 in Irvine, CA. I never had the opportunity to thank you
for allowing me to live a life free of knee joint pain. Thank you.
CM1 Bissett (Ret.), I learned more from you about leadership
than most of my own commanders. You lived by a strict ethos of get it
done, and get it done right. I wanted to attend your retirement, I
really did. But because of my predicament I was unable to. Hope you and
Ritchie are still together. I’ve always held you in high regard.
Sgt Maj. Kenneth “Rock” Rocquemore USMC, Thank you for the
intense instruction and mentorship and time spent forging me into a
never quit officer. You were challenging as a DI. You made sure the
vicious and intense personality I possess was discovered. On a lighter
note….Don’t feel humbled you never broke me. I made it a personal goal
to never give up years before. The Corp is lucky to have you at the
front. Your leadership is essential and needed for all marines,
especially staff NCO’s and mentorship and advisement to company grade
officers. You are the epitome of a US marine and never forget that.
I thank my friends for the awesome shared experiences. I thank
the unnamed women I dated over my lifetime for the great and sometimes
not so great sex.
It’s kind of sad I won’t be around to view and enjoy The
Hangover III. What an awesome trilogy. Todd Phillips, don’t make anymore
Hangovers after the third, takes away the originality of its
foundation. World War Z looks good and The Walking Dead season 3 (second half) looked intriguing. Damn, gonna miss shark week.
Mr. Vice President, do your due diligence when formulating a
concise and permanent national AWB plan. Future generations of Americans
depend on your plan and advisement to the president. I’ve always been a
fan of yours and consider you one of the few genuine and charismatic
politicians. Damn, sounds like an oxymoron calling you an honest
politician. It’s the truth.
Hillary Clinton. You’ll make one hell of a president in 2016.
Much like your husband, Bill, you will be one of the greatest. Look at
Castro in San Antonio as a running mate or possible secretary of state.
He’s (good people) and I have faith and confidence in him. Look after
Bill. He was always my favorite President. Chelsea grew up to be one
hell of an attractive woman. No disrespect to her husband.
Gov. Chris Christie. What can I say? You’re the only person I
would like to see in the White House in 2016 other than Hillary. You’re
America’s no shit taking uncle. Do one thing for your wife, kids, and
supporters. Start walking at night and eat a little less, not a lot
less, just a little. We want to see you around for a long time. Your
leadership is greatly needed.
Wayne LaPierre, President of the NRA, you’re a vile and inhumane
piece of shit. You never even showed 30 seconds of empathy for the
children, teachers, and families of Sandy Hook. You deflected any type
of blame/responsibility and directed it toward the influence of movies
and the media. You are a failure of a human being. May all of your
immediate and distant family die horrific deaths in front of you.
Chris Matthews, Joe Scarborough, Pat Harvey, Brian Williams,
Soledad Obrien, Wolf Blitzer, Meredith Viera, Tavis Smiley, and Anderson
Cooper, keep up the great work and follow Cronkite’s lead. I hold many
of you in the same regard as Tom Brokaw and the late Peter Jennings.
Cooper, stop nagging and berating your guest, they’re your (guest). Mr.
Scarborough, we met at McGuire’s pub in P-cola in 2002 when I was
stationed there. It was an honor conversing with you about politics,
family, and life.
Willie Geist, you’re a talented and charismatic journalist. Stop
with all the talk show shenanigans and get back to your core of
reporting. Your future is brighter than most.
Revoke the citizenship of Fareed Zakaria and deport him. I’ve
never heard a positive word about America or its interest from his
mouth, ever. On the same day, give Piers Morgan an indefinite resident
alien and Visa card. Mr. Morgan, the problem that many American gun
owners have with you and your continuous discussion of gun control is
that you are not an American citizen and have an accent that is distinct
and clarifies that you are a foreigner. I want you to know that I agree
with you 100% on enacting stricter firearm laws but you must understand
that your critics will always have in the back of their mind that you
are native to a country that we won our sovereignty from while using
firearms as a last resort in defense and you come from a country that
has no legal private ownership of firearms. That is disheartening to
American gun owners and rightfully so.
The honorable President George H.W. Bush, they never give you
enough credit for your successful Presidency. You were always one of my
favorite Presidents (2nd favorite). I hope your health improves greatly.
You are the epitome of an American and service to country.
General Petraeus, you made a mistake that the majority of men
make once, twice, or unfortunately many times in a lifetime. You are
human. You thought with your penis. It’s okay.I personally believe you
should have never resigned and told your critics to shove it. You only
answer to two people regarding the affair, your wife and children,
period. I hope you return to government service to your country as it is
visibly in your DNA.
General Colin Powell, your book “My American Journey” solidified
my decision to join the military after college. I had always intended
to serve, but your book and journey motivated me. You are an inspiration
to all Americans and influenced me greatly.
To all SEA’s (senior enlisted advisers), you are just as
important if not a greater viability to large and small commands. It’s
time you take a more active role in leading your enlisted and advising
officers. These are not your twilight years or time to relax. You can
either strengthen the tip of the spear, or make it brittle. You decide.
Pat Harvey, I’ve always thought you carried yourself
professionally and personally the way a strong black woman should. Your
articulation and speech is second to none. You are the epitome of a
journalist/anchor. You are America.
Ellen Degeneres, continue your excellent contribution to
entertaining America and bringing the human factor to entertainment. You
changed the perception of your gay community and how we as Americans
view the LGBT community. I congratulate you on your success and opening
my eyes as a young adult,
and my generation to the fact that you are know different from us other
than who you choose to love. Oh, and you Prop 8 supporters, why the
fuck do you care who your neighbor marries. Hypocritical pieces of shit.
Westboro Baptist Church, may you all burn slowly in a fire, not from smoke inhalation, but from the flames and only the flames.
Tebow, I really wanted to see you take charge of an offense
again and the game. You are not a good QB by todays standards, but you
are a great football player who knows how to lead a team and WIN. You
will be “Tebowing” when you reach your next team. I have faith in you.
Get out of that circus they call the Jets and away from the reality TV
star, Rex Ryan, and Mark Rapist Sanchez.
Christopher Walz, you impressed me in Inglorious Basterds. After
viewing Django Unchained, I was sold. I have come to the conclusion
that you are well on your way to becoming one of the greats if not
already and show glimpses of Daniel Day Lewis and Morgan Freeman-esque
type qualities of greatness. Trust me when I say that you will be one of
the greatest ever.
Jennifer Beals, Serena Williams, Grae Drake, Lisa Nicole-Carson,
Diana Taurasi, N’bushe Wright, Brenda Villa, Kate Winslet, Ashley
Graham, Erika Christensen, Gabrielle Union, Isabella Soprano, Zain
Verjee, Tamron Hall, Gina Carano, America Ferrara, Giana Michaels, Nene, Natalie Portman, Queen Latifah, Michelle Rodriguez, Anjelah Johnson, Kelly Clarkson,
Nora Jones, Laura Prepon, Margaret Cho, and Rutina Wesley, you are THE
MOST beautiful women on this planet, period. Never settle,
professionally or personally.
Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” is the greatest piece of music ever, period. Hanz Zimmer, William Bell, Eric Clapton, BB King, Bob Marley, Sam Cooke, Metallica, Rob Zombie, Nora Jones, Marvin Gaye, Jay-Z, and the King (Louis Armstrong) are musical prodigies.
Jeffrey Toobin and David Gergen, you are political geniuses and
modern scholars. Hopefully Toobin is nominated for the Supreme Court and
implements some damn common sense and reasoning instead of partisan
bickering. But in true Toobin fashion, we all know he would not accept
the nomination.
,
John and Ken from KFI, never mute your facts and personal
opinions. You are one of the few media personalities who speak the
truth, even when the truth is not popular. I will miss listening to your
discussions.
Bill Handel, your effin awesome. For years I enjoyed your show.
Anthony Bourdain, you’re a modern renaissance man who epitomizes the saying “too cool for school”.
Larry David, Kevin Hart, the late Patrice Oneal, Lisa
Lampanelli, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Louis CK, Dave Chapelle, Jon
Stewart, Wanda Sykes, Dennis Miller, and Jeff Ross are pure geniuses.
I’m a big fan of all of your work. As a child my mom caught me watching
Def Jam comedy at midnight when I should have been asleep. Instead of
scolding me, the next night she let me stay up late and watch George Carlin, Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor comedy specials with her for hours. My sides were sore for days.
Larry David, I agree. 72-82 degrees is way to hot in a residence. 68 , degrees is perfect.
Cyclist, I have no problem sharing the road with you. But, at
least go the fucking speed limit posted or get off the road!!! That is a
feasible request. Livestrong you fraudulent assholes.
Cardinal Mahoney, you are in essence a predator yourself as you
enabled your subordinates to molest multiple children in the church over
many decades. May you die a long and slow painful death.
If you continuously followed me while I was walking at
dusk/night I would confront you as well. Too bad Trayvon didn’t smash
your skull completely open, Zim. While Trayvon’s body erodes to bones 6
feet under, Zimmerman has put on no less than 40 pounds while out on
bail. Zimmerman was arrested for battery on a Peace officer and avoided
jail/prison because he completed a diversion program. Thats a history of
being an asshole. Zimmerman couldn’t get hired by a LE agency because
of poor credit/and a history of violence/restraining orders with women.
So what does he do? Designate himself, neighborhood watch captain and
make complaints to his city council about the horrible work ethic and
laziness of the officers patrolling his neighborhood. Good one Zim. How
classy that your father attempts to use his veterans status “disabled
veteran” during your bail hearing but doesn’t state what his disability
percentage is. Prior service personnel know it can be 5% disability to
100%. You and your attorneys always avoid mentioning your fathers
occupation as a magistrate/judge because I’m sure he’s utilized his
position to get you out of way more jams then the public has discovered
and that your family is not indigent. Oh, tell your wife to stop
perjuring herself in court.
KCCO
Anonymous, you are hated, vilified, and considered an enemy to
the state. I personally view you as a culture and a necessity that
brings truth to a cloaked world. Forge ahead!
Charlie Sheen, you’re effin awesome.
My opinion on women in combat MOS’, Designators, Rates, and
AFSC’s. I wish all of you who attempt to pursue combat occupational
roles the greatest success in completing, graduating, and qualifying in
their respective schools/courses. Many want to see you fail. Remember,
everyone of you is a pioneer. There was a time when they didn’t allow
blacks to fight the good fight. This is your civil rights. Don’t quit!!!
It’s time to allow gay service member’s spouses to utilize the
same benefits that all heterosexual dependents are eligible for.
Medical, Dental, Tricare, Deers, SGLI, BX, Commissary, Milstar, MWR,
etc. Flag officers, lets be honest. You can’t really give a valid
argument to as why gays shouldn’t be eligible as every month a new state
enacts laws that allow same sex marriage.
LGBT community and supporters, the same way you have the right
to voice your opinion on acceptance of gay marriage, Chick Fil-A has a
right to voice their beliefs as well. That’s what makes America so
great. Freedom of expression. Don’t be assholes and boycott/degrade
their business and customers who patronize the locations. They make some
damn good chicken! Vandalizing (graffiti) their locations does not help
any cause.
Mr. Bill Cosby, you are a reasonable and talented man who has
spoken the truth of the cultural anomalies within the black communities
that need to change now. The black communities’ resentment toward you is
because they don’t like hearing the truth or having their clear and
evident dirty laundry aired to the nation. The problem is, the country
is not blind nor dumb. They believe we are animals. Do not mute your
unvarnished truthful speech or moral compass. Blacks must strive for
more in life than bling, hoes, and cars. The current culture is an
epidemic that leaves them with no discernible future. They’re
suffocating and don’t even know it. MLK Jr. Would be mortified at what
he worked so hard for in our acceptance as equal beings and how
unfortunately we stopped progressing and began digressing. Chicago’s
youth violence is a prime example of how our black communities values
have declined. We can not address this nation’s intolerant issues until
we address our own communities morality issues first. Accountability. We
need to hold ou”
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B. EVENTS AND ACTIONS
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"Support Academic Freedom at CUNY"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-academic-freedom-at-cuny/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend
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Help Save 30,000 Trees in Sutro Forest
SF Forest
Dear Supporter,
We're writing to you to draw your attention to a plan to destroy a huge number of trees in San Francisco. It could start as early as this Fall.
Once again, trees in San Francisco are under siege. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) wants to cut down 30,000 trees on Mount Sutro, land that the university designated as an open space reserve more than 35 years ago. Mount Sutro Forest has approximately 45,000 trees in the 61 acres belonging to UCSF.
This dense forest, with an estimated 740 trees per acre, is functionally a cloud forest. All summer long, it gets its moisture from the fog, and the dense greenery holds it in. It’s a lush beautiful forest, providing habitat for birds and animals, and a wonderful sense of seclusion from urban sounds and sights. UCSF has published a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) on a project to remove over 90% of the trees on three-quarters of the area. Only 15 acres – on the steep western edge of the forest – will remain as they are. Tree-felling could start as early as Fall 2013.
Surprisingly, UCSF argues that the forest suffers from "overcompetition" and that removing 90% of the trees will enable the remaining ones to thrive. But an arborist brought in by neighbors gave a contrary view, finding no evidence of ill health and confirming, "As is typical in [cloud] forests, trees are crowded. Branching is high. Understory is deep. Leaves drip. Some trees are mature and mighty with crowns beyond view. Others are rangy, young and low enough to meet eye-levels." Destroying 90% of the trees will destroy the forest. The trees, which sequester tons of carbon, will no longer do so. The project will be extremely costly, and require the use of pesticides like Roundup and Garlon.
More details are available on the SFForest website, at
http://sfforest.net/2013/02/04/ucsf-plans-to-fell-30000-trees-in-mount-sutro-forest/
FIVE WAYS TO HELP
1) Write to the Board of Regents to ask why a public medical institution is engaging in such a controversial, expensive, and environmentally destructive act. Address: Office of the Secretary and Chief of Staff to the Regents, 1111 Franklin St., 12th Floor, Oakland, CA 94607; Fax: (510) 987-9224.
Their email address is: regentsoffice@ucop.edu
2) Submit a written public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report by 5 PM, March 19, 2013 to UCSF Environmental Coordinator Diane Wong at EIR@planning.ucsf.edu or mail to UCSF Campus Planning, Box 0286, San Francisco, CA 94143-0286. Include your full name and address.
3) Sign the petition to save the forest. Available here: http://signon.org/sign/save-30000-trees-in-sutro?mailing_id=8806&source=s.icn.em.cr&%3Br_by=6957696&r_by=5524152
4) Attend and speak at a UCSF hearing about the project: Monday, February 25, 2013, 7 pm, Millberry Union Conference Center, 500 Parnassus Ave, Golden Gate Room
5) Subscribe to the website SaveSutro.com for ongoing information and analysis
Help save the Mount Sutro Forest!
Thank you for your ongoing support!
San Francisco Forest Alliance
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Come out and support the Legacy:
LaPena, 3105 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley
Special collections of unseen photos of the Black Panther Party's social programs (survival programs pending revolution) and a few photos from the BPP's International office in Africa.
Curated by: Billy X Jennings
January 3 - February 28, 2013 ART OPENING: January 18, 6-9 p.m.
for more information: www.itsabouttimebpp.com or call 916-455-0908
Call the Oscar Grant Committee at 510-239-3570 and visit us at www.oscargrantcommittee.weebly.com.
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Thurs. Feb. 7, 5pm
Rally and March - Stop Racist Police Brutality!
No to Police Violence in the Mission!
Gather 24th St. and Mission; March to 17th and Valencia St., SF
(At 24th St. BART, MUNI #14, 49)
On Jan. 24 at 24th and Mission Sts., the Mission community witnessed the brutal beating of an 18-year-old African American CCSF student, Kevin Clark, by SFPD officers.
The incident was videotaped by passersby. (Watch the video.) It is extremely hard to watch, but we ask that you witness it, share with your contacts and help us get the word out for this emergency protest rally.
The gentrification of the Mission District is pushing out the working-class communities of color, and the police are increasing their harassment and brutality against the people. Join us for a rally at 24th & Mission where we will march through the community and have a press conference in front of the 17th and Valencia St. police station to say:
“We will not tolerate violence on our youth and community!”
JOIN COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ORGANIZATIONS STANDING UP AGAINST RACIST POLICE VIOLENCE!
If you or your organization would like to endorse, please call the ANSWER Coalition at 415-821-6545 or respond to this email.
Donate to support the ongoing work of the ANSWER Coalition.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.AnswerCoalition.org
http://www.AnswerSF.org
Answer@AnswerSF.org
2969 Mission St.
415-821-6545
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Bradley Manning gathering in SF to mark 1000 days in prison without trial
Saturday
February 23, 2013
1:00pm
Bradley Manning Plaza
(formerly Justin Herman Plaza)
Between Embarcadero BART Station and the SF Ferry Building
San Francisco, California
Speakers, Visuals, Performers, Art, Action
Join us as we mark 1000 days of wrongful confinement and demand justice for Bradley Manning!
For anyone interested in preforming, speaking or for further details and questions, please contact michael@couragetoresist.org
BRADLEY MANNING, a 25-year-old, openly gay, US army intelligence analyst is facing life in prison and has been held in pre-trial confinement for nearly 1,000 days without court martial. He endured torture and solitary confinement for the first 10 months of his incarceration. He is accused of sharing with the Wiki-leaks whistle-blowing website: the "Collateral Murder" video of the killing of civilians by a US helicopter in Iraq, the Guantanamo Files, the Afghan War Logs & revealing US diplomatic cables. In short, he's been charged with blowing the whistle on war crimes & telling us the truth about US foreign policy.
For daily updates on Bradley, please visit bradleymanning.org
Bradley Manning Support Network:
http://www.bradleymanning.org/
Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave. #41
Oakland, CA 94610
510-488-3559
couragetoresist.org
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TEARS OF GAZA
“Perhaps the ultimate anti-war film. A compelling film about war.”
–Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter
Winner: Human Rights Award – Al Jazeera International Documentary Festival
Disturbing, powerful and emotionally devastating, Tears of Gaza is less a conventional documentary than a shocking record: of the 2008-2009 3-week bombing of Gaza by the Israeli military (backed by the U.S., using US-made weapons). Photographed by several Palestinian cameramen both during and after the offensive, this powerful film by Norwegian director Vibeke Løkkeberg focuses on the impact of the attacks on the civilian population. Similar events certainly occurred in Dresden, Tokyo, Baghdad and Sarajevo, but of course Gaza isn’t those places. Tears of Gaza demands that we examine the costs of war on a civilian populace. (Excerpted mostly from Steve Gravestock, 2011 Toronto International Film Festival)
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!
Following the film will be a panel discussion and update, hosted by Palestinian refugee and MECA Associate Director Ziad Abbas.
Thursday, February 28, 7pm
Berkeley City College Auditorium
2050 Center Street, Berkeley
(near downtown Berkelely Bart)
$10, BCC students $5 -- Benefit for MECA's work with children in Gaza, www.mecaforpeace.org, 510-548-0542, meca@mecaforpeace.org
Cosponsored by Arab Film Festival, Arab Resource & Organizing Center, U.S. Palestinian Community Network, Bay Area Women in Black, Jewish Voice for Peace, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, San Francisco Women in Black.
http://www.mecaforpeace.org/?utm_source=MECA+Master+List&utm_campaign=2a6d855798-Event_Mailing_1_18_13&utm_medium=email
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Women Organized to Resist and Defend
March 8 - 9, 2013:
Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere!
The Status Quo Must Go!
Join or organize a protest in your area
and join the Women's Spring
Rise up! We hold the power to bring an end to sexual violence. Every single gain, every single right we as women have today is the result of struggle. We have to fight back. The status quo must go!
In the United States, 1.3 million women are raped every year. One in every four women experience severe violence at the hands of a current or former partner. Thirty-seven percent of reported rape cases are prosecuted and only 18 percent end in a conviction. Women face intimidation in the workplace. Women in the U.S. military face a record number of sexual assaults. Our sisters in U.S. prisons face horrendous threats and have nowhere to turn. Young women in high schools and on college campuses are regularly forced to contend with intimidation, assault and rape.
This has to end!
From the streets of India to Steubenville, Ohio, mass protests have been organized against sexual violence against women. In both cases, the horrific crimes that were then ignored or covered up have sparked an outcry, a rallying cry against a culture and a society that protects victimizers and alienates victims.
In India, these protests have galvanized a mass movement. We can do the same.
Sexual violence against women isn't “normal.” It's not human nature. Oppression against women—the violence, the objectification, the impoverishment and inequality that women experience—isn't just the way it is. It is a function of patriarchy and of institutionalized sexism, of the sexual objectification of women for corporate profit and of a society that tolerates—and often condones—sexual intimidation and violence.
The time is now to rise up and stop sexual violence against women. Last year, the Occupy movements took on the 1%—the wealth owners—and defended the rights of the 99%—the wealth-makers. The year before, a series of revolutionary movements in the Arab World took on oppressive governments in Egypt and Tunisia in the Arab Spring. We need a Women's Spring all over the world.
Friday, March 8 is International Women’s Day. On that Friday and Saturday (March 9) women and their allies in the struggle against violence and for justice will take to the streets all over the world.
There will be demonstrations and protests throughout the United States on March 8th and 9th to say: Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere – The Status Quo Must Go!
Join a demonstration on March 8th and 9th where you are. If no action has been announced in your area, get together with your friends and organize one. Every one of us can take action and make a difference in building this new movement against violence and in support of women’s rights.
Initial Calendar of Actions
Sacramento, CA
Friday, March 8
March & Rally to Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere!
Assemble at Southside Park (2115 6th St), 4 pm
Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, March 9
March & Rally to Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere!
Assemble at Hollywood/Vine, 1pm
San Francisco, CA
Saturday, March 9
March & Rally to Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere!
Assemble at UN Plaza, 12 noon
New York City, NY
Saturday, March 9
March & Rally to Stop Violence Against Women Everywhere!
Assemble at Washington Sq Park, 1 pm
Chicago, IL
International Women's Day Forum
Date & time TBA
Rise up! Get involved:WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) is a new grassroots, feminist organization that is dedicated to building the struggle for women’s rights and equality for all. Learn more at DefendWomensRights.org.
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Occupy DOE 2.0: The March for Public Education
- Organizer: United Opt Out National
- Venue: U.S. Department of Education
- Address: 400 Maryland Ave, SW, , Washington, DC, DC, 20202, United States
- http://saveourschoolsmarch.org/event/occupy-doe-2-0-the-march-for-public-education/
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UNAC ENDORSES NEW ANTI-DRONE NETWORK AND APRIL DAYS OF ACTION
Thirty
representatives from many groups involved in anti-drone actions, met in
New York on December 15, 2012 and established a coordinating body to be
known as the Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare (NSDSW).The group endorsed this draft statement of purpose:
“Horrified by the facts of the era of drone warfare and surveillance technology, we declare our commitment to establishing an ongoing network of groups and organizations. The Network to Stop Drone Surveillance and Warfare seeks to initiate and coordinate events and actions that will raise a united and spirited voice for justice and peace, and to stop weaponized drones and related technology applications. These activities are aimed at highlighting the illegality, immorality, and unconstitutional nature of using drones to spy on and/or kill human beings.”
Anti-drone website: Droneswatch.org. For more information and resources, and to join the Network, contact Nick Mottern - nickmottern@earthlink.net.
The group supported the following actions:
April Days of Action – In response to call for anti-drone action focused on drone manufacturing on April 4-7 by San Diego group, coordinated days of action were proposed. Groups are encouraged to select one or more of the days to organize drone-related activities. National coordinators are listed below.
April 4-7 – Drone Manufacturing. Actions around the country directed at drone manufacturing facilities in region and calling for an end to manufacturing weaponized and surveillance drones. Coordinator: Joe Scarry – jtscarry@yahoo.com.
April 16-18 – Drone Research/Training. Actions/teach-ins, etc. at colleges & universities that do drone research or pilot training. Demand an end to research and training related to drone warfare. Coordinator: Marge Van Cleef – mvc@igc.org.
April 27-28 – Drone Bases. Organize protests at bases in region. Hancock Reaper drone base protest organizers calling for large demonstrations there. Coordinator: Dave Soumis – davidso1@charter.net.
C. Drone Warfare War Crimes Tribunal – Explore holding tribunal in September, possibly with victims testifying.
D. Forums/workshops on impact of US intervention/drone attacks in other countries. Organize tours of U.S.-based speakers or people from countries under attack who can analyze and report on internal politics and social movements in countries like Pakistan & Afghanistan and other countries under attack.
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C. SPECIAL APPEALS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
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Please forward widely
Lynne Stewart Emergency Alert!
Dear Friends,
Below you will find today's critical communication from longtime Lynne Stewart supporter, Betty Davis. The information concerns Lynne's health and her legal status.
As you will read below Lynne's breast cancer has returned. Lynne was successfully treated, we had hoped, two years ago and given a clean bill of health, as much as such diagnoses can be counted on. But a single spot was found on one lung a few months ago. Now another has appeared on the other lung and others in her upper back, all associated with her original breast cancer.
Her husband Ralph Poynter told me today that Lynne's condition was still very treatable and that a cure was not at all to be ruled out and especially so if prison officials allowed her the expert treatment afforded her previously in a prominent New York City hospital. Lynne's request to be moved to that facility was denied. She is to be treated in a prison related facility, but fortunately under the direction of and using the protocols of her doctor/daughter, who is expected to be with Lynne at any moment.
We are still hopeful for a positive outcome, even under the most difficult conditions.
Meanwhile, Lynne's appeal preparations for a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court are now in progress, with Lynne having assembled a first rate team of attorneys including members of the Center for Constitutional Rights and the National Lawyers Guild.
Lynne campaigned for Mumia's freedom for the several years that she was free on bail and traveling the country in her own defense. She was present at Mumia's court hearing in Philadelphia and appeared on Democracy Now!, with Mumia phoning in in her defense.
I urge you to carefully read the material below and lend a hand. The stakes are high. We will continue to demand the finest medical treatment for Lynne and, of course, continue to campaign for her freedom and immediate release.
Lynne, a prominent civil rights attorney of 30 years, was the victim of a government-orchestrated 2005 frame-up trial that was riddled with violations of fundamental legal principles. She was convicted on five counts of conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism. This was based on the government's charge that her public issuance a press release on behalf of her client, the "blind sheik" Omar Abdel Rachman, an Egyptian cleric who was similarly framed up and imprisoned for life on "terrorism" charges, was illegal.
Ironically, Rachman's freedom is today being demanded by Egypt's new President Mohamed Morsi.
Lynne, 72, was originally convicted and sentenced to 28 months in prison, but this "light" sentence was contested by the reactionary U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and her sentence was outrageously increased to 10 years, by the compliant Federal District Court trial judge, John Koeltl.
I urge you to write to Lynne and convey your love and solidarity. She toured the Bay Area several times in previous years, always speaking to admiring and stunned audiences, who realized that Lynne's case was central to everyone's civil liberties. Lynne's conviction was a message to all attorneys that defense of the unpopular, defense of democratic rights and especially defense of Muslim victims of government persecution, was dangerous. Lynne's conviction and extended sentence served to massively chill the defense bar.
Lynne's freedom and life itself in large part depends on our solidarity.
Write Lynne at:
Lynne Stewart 53504-054
Federal Medical Center Carswell
P.O. Box 27137
Fort Worth, Texas 76127
Send your generous contribution payable to:
Lynne Stewart Organization
1070 Dean Street
Brooklyn, New York 11216
In solidarity,
Jeff Mackler, West Coast Coordinator
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
510-268-9429
jmackler@lmi.net
URGENT MESSAGE OF APPEAL FOR LYNNE STEWART- THE PEOPLE'S ATTORNEY
Greetings
It is urgent that you listen to the audio email below. It is the latest update from Ralph Poynter, Mya Shone & Ralph Schonmann about LYNNE STEWARTS fate in prison.
Lynne Stewart's breast cancer is spreading to her lungs and shoulders. She needs immediate treatment NOW. The prison authorities have known
this since September.
WE ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF LAUNCHING HER APPEAL TO THE SUPREME COURT. DEADLINE FEBRUARY 21, 2013.
All we are asking you to:
Listen to the audio below and update yourself on the facts. Check out the website as well.
Write a letter of support to Lynne Stewart- 53504 - 054, FEDERAL MEDICAL CNTR, CARSWELL, P.O. BOX 27137, FT. WORTH, TEXAS 76127. You don't have to write the prison authorities because THEY READ EVERYTHING WE SEND AND TELL HER SO.
Send this email out to all your listservs, especially to LAWYERS because we are asking ALL ATTORNEYS SUPPORT HER CERT , (A REQUEST FOR THE SUPREME COURT TO HEAR HER CASE.)
When it comes to the oppressed, there is no such thing as law or justice. THEREFORE, the movement determines the argument before the courts, not this myth of justice before the law. We need attorneys who understand this and understand that LYNNE STEWART was one of the very few attorneys who understood this. She never had her political prisoners surrender their right to self defense or self determination. In her trial when questioned she still defended this human right and her right to give her clients the best defense possible. When she was resentenced from 28 months to ten years, one of the reasons was that SHE "SHOWED NO REMORSE." SHE DOES NOT FEEL REMORSE FOR DEFENDING THE BILL OF RIGHTS, therefore, we should defend her and all POLITICAL PRISONERS.
BETTY DAVIS
NEW ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT
-----Original Message---
But, to listen to the report, go to:
128 kbps version (hi fi):
http://www.takebackwbai.org/lynnestewart/2013-01-16.LynneStewartReport-128.mp3
32 kbps version (lo fi):
http://www.takebackwbai.org/lynnestewart/2013-01-16.LynneStewartReport-32.mp3
Please listen from the links here in this email. Let me know what you think.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Abdel-Rahman
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PLEASE SIGN THIS STATEMENT, GET YOUR ORGANIZATION TO SIGN, AND FORWARD WIDELY!
TO SIGN ON, CONTACT Sundus Seif, brooklyncollegesjp@gmail.com
Statement of Support for Brooklyn College Students for Justice in Palestine:
We Condemn Attacks Against Advocates for BDS and Palestinian Rights!
We the undersigned deplore the efforts of politicians and others to bully student activists and faculty and to smear supporters of boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against Israel as anti-Semites.
In recent days, opponents of an event on BDS to be held on campus February 7th have attacked the organizers and scheduled speakers, internationally renowned philosopher Judith Butler and Palestinian human rights activist Omar Barghouti, as well as the political science department and university administration for co-sponsoring the event. This is just the latest in a series of incidents involving attempts to silence criticism of Israel at Brooklyn College.
Opponents of the February 7 event have made deeply offensive and inflammatory accusations against supporters of BDS, with State Assemblyman Alan Maisel going so far as to warn of “the potential for a second Holocaust here.” Other prominent critics include lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who has openly called for the United States and Israel to use torture, and State Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a follower of the late Meir Kahane, an Israeli-American rabbi whose racist Kach movement has been outlawed by the US and Israel as a terrorist organization for advocating the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel and the occupied territories and for carrying out violent terrorist attacks against Palestinians and others.
It is outrageous and perverse to conflate BDS proponents and our stance in support of equal rights and freedom for Palestinians with anti-Semitism and Nazism. Contrary to the claims of these detractors, the BDS movement is an inclusive, nonviolent, civil society-led campaign whose goal is to pressure Israel into respecting Palestinian human rights and abiding by international law, in the absence of action on the part of the US government and international community to do so. It is comprised of people of all faiths and backgrounds, including many Israeli and American Jews. Leaders of the BDS movement have always rejected and condemned any and all forms of racism and bigotry, including anti-Semitism. As SJP-BC’s mission statement says, we “reject any form of hatred or discrimination against any religious or ethnic group.”
As supporters of Palestinian rights and of academic freedom and free speech on campus, we commend Brooklyn College President Karen Gould for showing leadership and not succumbing to pressure from bullies like Dershowitz and Hikind, who seek to suppress criticism of Israel by smearing advocates of Palestinian freedom and equality as bigots.
For nearly 65 years, Palestinians have been dispossessed, colonized, and denied the most basic of human rights and freedoms by Israel. For more than 45 years, they have endured a brutal and illegal Israeli military occupation that becomes more entrenched each day. More than 11 million Palestinian refugees, the survivors and descendants of the approximately 750,000 Palestinians who were ethnically-cleansed during Israel’s creation in 1948, are prevented from exercising their internationally-recognized right of return to the land and homes they were expelled from simply because they are not Jewish, while those Palestinians who remained inside Israel after 1948, who make up about 20% of the population today, face widespread institutionalized discrimination and are treated as second- or third-class citizens. As the international community looks on and does nothing to hold Israel accountable for its actions, global civil society is taking the lead with BDS.
In light of the attacks, we pledge our continued support to SJP’s efforts to educate the public about Israel’s grave and systematic abuses of Palestinian human rights and the racist, apartheid regime Israel has instituted in the territories it controls between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
For more information, visit SJP Brooklyn College's website at www.brooklynsjp.com or email us at brooklyncollegesjp@gmail.com.
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Emergency Appeal—Hunger strike in second month—solidarity funds needed for fired Colombian GM workers
Many of you have heard and met Jorge Parra, president of the Association of Injured Workers and Ex-workers of GM Colomotores (Asotrecol). Asotrecol represents the workers who were fired after sustaining work-related injuries and illnesses at GM’s plant in Bogota, Colombia. They are still fighting for the right to return to jobs at GM that they can do, or receive compensation. The occupation outside the U.S. embassy in Bogota has been maintained for over 500 days. Jorge, who is here in Detroit, is in the second month of his third hunger strike to pressure GM to negotiate with Asotrecol. Thus far GM has not met with him. The situation is urgent.
When Jorge and his coworkers were fired it left them with no source of income; their injuries prevent them from getting other jobs. For this struggle to continue funds are critically needed—for Jorge’s living expenses here and for the families of the workers who are living in tents outside the embassy. Their children, one of whom has a life threatening case of cerebral palsy, are in urgent need of medical care.
We cannot let these courageous autoworkers or their families down.
To make a donation, please send a check to ”Wellspring UCC” with “Colombia relief” on the memo line. Their mailing address is: Wellspring UCC, Box 508, Centreville VA 20122. To make a donation online through paypal visit: www.wellspringucc.org (be sure to write “Colombia relief” on the message subject line).
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Petition to US White House and State Department: Condemn Israeli Aggression in Gaza
Please spread the word far and wide about this petition.
https://www.change.org/petitions/us-white-house-and-state-department-condemn-israeli-agression-in-gaza
Please invite all of your facebook friends to the "event" to sign the petition.
https://www.facebook.com/events/510061649012070/?context=create
If you are on twitter, sign the petition there as well and pass it around.
http://twitition.com/xpj6d/
In solidarity and peace,
BlackCommentator.com
African Americans for Justice in the Middle East and North Africa
Statement Regarding the Aggression Against Gaza
African Americans for Justice in the Middle East and North Africa (AAJMENA) strongly condemns Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The arguments offered by the Israeli government for its attack on Gaza are nakedly cynical in both form and content. That a truce had been negotiated, with the assistance of the Egyptian government, between Israel and Hamas only to be broken by the Israeli assassination of Hamas military commander Ahmad Jabari clearly indicates that the Netanyahu government is not interested in peace. Israel is responsible for the escalating violence and for this epic breach of human rights.
This crisis underscores a stunning power imbalance. Nuclear-armed Israel, by far the most powerful military force in the Middle East (and among the mightiest in the world), has unleashed its immense war making capacity on Gaza’s captive population, mobilizing warships and tanks and launching more than 1,000 F-16 airstrikes since the attack began. The use of such weapons on civilians is a flagrant violation of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act.
The aggression against Gaza must be understood as the latest act in the decades-long oppression of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli government. Blockaded Gaza has been plunged into misery by the Israeli-U.S. effort to thwart the democratic will of the Palestinian people as demonstrated in their 2006 legislative elections. When a coup was attempted against Hamas—and failed—the Israelis sealed Gaza, spinning events to make it appear that those not interested in peace were the Palestinians. As a result, Gaza is the largest open-air prison in the world, with 1.5 million people locked into a roughly 140-square-mile strip of land. This latest humanitarian crisis has caused the disproportionate death and suffering of Palestinians, but casualties on both sides will be the consequence of Israeli aggression.
Rather than taking a stand against Israeli’s onslaught and issuing an unambiguous demand for an end to the bloodshed, the Obama administration has condemned alleged Palestinian terrorism, repeating the dishonest line that this violent attack is merely in defense of Israel (a position reinforced by the one-sided coverage of the corporate news media). This represents a massive failure on the administration’s part. For all Obama’s denunciation of the Assad regime in Syria, it appears that his administration regards the outright slaughter of civilians in Palestine as acceptable. It is crucial that we recognize the extent of U.S. complicity in the bloodshed; our tax dollars ($8.5 million a day) enable Israeli militarism at a time when those funds are desperately needed to fill gaps in services and infrastructure back home.
As African Americans and people of African descent in the U.S. from academia, activism and various social movements, we cannot remain silent. We call upon all people of good will to:
1. Endorse this statement.
2. Communicate with the White House and the U.S. Department of State to request that President Obama demand that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and the IDF cease the bombardment of Gaza and withdraw their armed forces immediately. Insist that the U.S. condition aid to Israel on compliance with U.S. and international law.
3. Contact the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. and demand that Israel withdraw its forces and end the blockade.
4. Send your local media outlet a “letter to the editor” expressing outrage against the provocative and murderous acts of the Israeli government.
5. Join protests against Israeli aggression.
6. Support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (www.bdsmovement.net) and U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (www.usacbi.org), and back the efforts of labor unions and student groups to compel their employers and administrators to divest from companies that do business in Israel.
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An Appeal from Conscientious Objectors in Israel - Resistance to serving in the I.D.F. is growing among Israeli youth.
International Support is important in strengthening and broadening this spirit of defiance:
Conscientious objector Natan Blanc sentenced to prison for the first time for his refusal to join the Israeli Army.
CO Natan Blanc, 19 years old from, Haifa, arrived, Sunday, 19 November, to the Induction Base in Tal-hashomer, where he declared his refusal to serve in the Israeli Army. he was sentenced to 10 days of imprisonment for his refusal, he also received a suspended sentence of 10 days.
In his refusal declaration Blanc wrote:
"I began thinking about refusing to conscripted into the Israeli Army during the “Cast Lead” operation in 2008. The wave of aggressive militarism that swept the country then, the expressions of mutual hatred, and the vacuous talk about stamping out terror and creating a deterrent effect were the primary trigger for my refusal. Today, after four years full of terror, without a political process [towards peace negotiations], and without quiet in Gaza and Sderot, it is clear that the Netanyahu Government, like that of his predecessor Olmert, is not interested in finding a solution to the existing situation, but rather in preserving it. From their point of view, there is nothing wrong with our initiating a “Cast Lead 2″ operation every three or four years (and then 3, 4,5 and 6): we will talk of deterrence, we will kill some terrorist, we will lose some civilians on both sides, and we will prepare the ground for a new generation full of hatred on both sides. As representatives of the people, members of the cabinet have no duty to present their vision for the futures of the country, and they can continue with this bloody cycle, with no end in sight. But we, as citizens and human beings, have a moral duty to refuse to participate in this cynical game."
You can read the full declaration here.
His prison address is:
Natan Blanc
Military ID 7571369
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-4-9540580
Since the prison authorities often block mail from reaching imprisoned objectors, we also recommend you to send them your letters of support and encouragement via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org (hitting “reply all” to this message will send the message to the same address), and they will be printed out and delivered during visits.
Recommended Action
First of all, please circulate this message and the information contained in it as widely as possible, not only through e-mail, but also on websites, social networks, conventional media, by word of mouth, etc.
Other recommendations for action:
1. Sending Letters of Support
Please send Natan letters of support to the prison address above and via e-mail to: messages2prison@newprofile.org and Nathanbl@walla.com.
2. Letters to Authorities
It is recommended to send letters of protest on the objectors’ behalf, preferably by fax, to:
Mr. Ehud Barak,
Minister of Defence,
Ministry of Defence,
Hakirya,
Tel-Aviv 61909,
Israel.
E-mail: s...@mod.gov.il or pniot@mod.gov.il
Tel.: ++972-3-6975220
Fax: ++972-3-6962757
Copies of your letters can also be sent to the commander of the military prison at:
Commander of Military Prison No. 6,
Military Prison No. 6
Military Postal Code 01860, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-4-9540580
Another useful address for sending copies would be the Military Attorney General:
Denny Efroni,
Chief Military Attorney
Military postal code 9605, IDF
Israel
Fax: ++972-3-569-45-26
It would be especially useful to send your appeals to the Commander of the Induction Base in Tel-HaShomer. It is this officer that ultimately decides whether an objector is to be exempted from military service or sent to another round in prison, and it is the same officer who is ultimately in charge of the military Conscience Committee:
Gil Ben Shaul,
Commander of Induction Base,
Meitav, Tel-HaShomer
Military Postal Code 02718, IDF
Israel.
Fax: ++972-3-737-60-52
For those of you who live outside Israel, it would be very effective to send protests to your local Israeli embassy. You can find the address of your local embassy on the web.
Here is a generic sample letter, which you can use in sending appeals to authorities on the prisoners’ behalf. Feel free to modify this letter or write your own:
Dear Sir/Madam,
It has come to my attention that Natan Blanc (military ID 7571369), a conscientious objector to military service, has been imprisoned for the second time for his refusal to become part of the Israeli army, and is held in Military Prison no. 6 near Atlit.
The imprisonment of conscientious objectors such as Blanc is a violation of international law, of basic human rights and of plain morals.
I therefore call for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of Natan Blanc, without threat of further imprisonment in the future, and urge you and the system you are heading to respect the dignity and person of conscientious objectors, indeed of all persons, in the future.
Sincerely,
3. Letters to media in Israel and in other countries
Writing op-ed pieces and letters to editors of media in Israel and other countries could also be quite useful in indirectly but powerfully pressuring the military authorities to let go of the objectors and in bringing their plight and their cause to public attention.
Here are some contact details for the main media outlets in Israel:
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Contact the Obama campaign now to voice your support for Bradley!
The Obama campaign keeps track of how many calls and e-mails they get about each issue.
Contact President Obama's team now and tell them "Obama must uphold his promise to protect whistle-blowers and free Bradley Manning!"
Call: 312-698-3670
E-mail: http://barackobama.force.com/questions
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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.
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.
■ 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.
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.
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.
(888-654-3265)
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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Letter from Lynne Stewart
9/27/12 9:15 am
Once again the 2d Circuit has turned me down–this time the whole Court, en
banc. Not surprising, I was well aware that we were dealing with the Company
Store and could expect very little. Nonetheless as a favorite line from Edna
St Vincent Millay:
“Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
What the Quick mind beholds at every turn”
I never lose hope that my case will be resolved as being too obvious a
contradiction to justice for them to sustain !
Our next stop is the petition for Certiorari to the Supreme Court, asking them
to hear us. We will be trying to impress them with the significant
wrongfulness of the whole prosecution itself and of the errors at trial and
later at sentencing. Our due date is some time in late December and we are
hoping to have Amicus support, so if you are part of a group that supports
lawyers or civil rights etc. please suggest it as early as possible. Contact
Jill Shellow, my lawyer by email, for further explanations.
Looking forward to my 73 birthday on October 8, the one bright ray of light is
that my husband, Ralph Poynter, will be speaking at the National Lawyers Guild
convention held in Pasadena, California from the 10th to 14th of October.
Addressing the Plenary he will speak of my case and that of other political
prisoners locked away for decades by a vindictive government. I wish I could
attend and meet and greet and hug and laugh with my lawyer buddies of many
years and many conventions but I will have to be content with my usual micro-
management style from afar — Texas, that is !!!
Meanwhile, I continue to tough it out. I am feeling quite well after the
surgery, an infection and then a severe iron deficiency — my usual vim and
vigor are back and ready for the fight with the Supreme Court who thinks
corporations are people—what will they make of me, a real person ??!! (smile)
Join me. Bring me Home, where I can join in some of the epic battles now at
hand.
Posted in BEHIND BARS, FROM LYNNE | No Comments »
“Court Denies Lynne Stewart Re-hearing” by Jeff Mackler
September 26th, 2012
Dear Friends of Lynne Stewart,
On Monday, September 24, 2012 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
rejected Lynne’s appeal for a re-hearing before the entire court. Her original
conviction was upheld in 2009 by a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit.
The Second Circuit’s opinion was not unexpected. This was the same court that
earlier pressed Federal District Court John Koeltl to re-consider his original
28-month sentence and instead sentence Lynne to ten years.
Lynne, a leading civil rights attorney for 30 years, was convicted in 2005 on
frame-up charges of conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism. Her crime? She
issued a press release on behalf of her client, the “blind sheik” Omar Abdel
Rachman, a leading Egyptian Islamic cleric, was also a victim of the U.S. “war
on terror” when a government-instigated frame-up trial convicted him of
conspiracy to destroy New York buildings. Typical of “conspiracy” convictions,
no evidence of wrongdoing was presented at his trial.
Rachman, a leading critic of the Hosni Mubarack dictatorship in Egypt, and now
serving a life sentence in Rochester, Minnesota, was the subject of national
attention a few months ago when Egypt’s new president, Mohammad Morsi,
embarrassed the Obama administration by demanding his release.
Lynne’s attorneys explained on Monday that “The clock now starts running on
our Petition for Certiorari to the Supreme Court. We have 90 days to get it
filed (with the possibility of a 30-day extension).”
Lynne is presently imprisoned at FMC Carswell outside of Fort Worth, Texas.
She has successfully recovered from a difficult surgery that was spitefully
delayed by prison authorities. For the past 45 days Lynne was denied all
visitors, mail and other basic prison rights on the trumped-up accusation that she violated prison rules in assisting a fellow prisoner certify a legal document.
Her spirits are high and she is now going through a backlog of some 100-plus
letters from friends and supporters.
Here’s a brief summary/timeline of Lynne’s case.
- indicted on April 9, 2002;
- on February 10, 2005, convicted on all counts of conspiracy to aid and
abet terrorism;
- on October, 17, 2006, sentenced to 28 months;
- on November 17, 2009, a US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit three-
judge panel upheld the conviction, shamelessly accusing Lynne of “knowingly
and willfully making false statements,” re-directing her case to District
Court Judge John Koeltl for re-sentencing, instructing him to consider
enhancements for terrorism, perjury, and abuse of her position as a lawyer –
an outrageous mandate intimidating Koeltl to comply.
- on November 19, 2009, Stewart jailed at MCC-NY, 150 Park Row, New York, NY;
andon July 15, 2010, Stewart re-sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for doing
her job honorably, ethically, and admirably with distinction for 30 years.
Disgracefully, Judge Koeltl explained it, saying: .”(C)omments by Stewart in
2006, including a statement in a television interview that she would do ‘it’
again and would not ‘do anything differently’ influenced (the)
decisionŠ.indicat(ing) the original sentence ‘was not sufficient’ to reflect
the goals of sentencing guidelines.”
Forgotten were Koeltl’s October 2006 comments, calling Lynne’s character
“extraordinary,” saying she was “a credit to her profession,” and that a long
imprisonment would be “an unreasonable result,” citing “the somewhat atypical
nature of her case (and) lack of evidence that any victim was harmed.”
He also considered her age (70), health (at times poor), distinguished career
representing society’s disadvantaged and unwanted, and the unlikelihood she’d
commit another “crime.” However, the Second Circuit Appeals Court intimidated
him to comply, his own career perhaps on the line otherwise.
Please write Lynne at:
Lynne Stewart
53504-054
FMC Carswell
P.O. Box 27137
Ft. Worth, Texas 76127
In solidarity,
Jeff Mackler, West Coast Coordinator
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
-->
Write to Lynne Stewart Defense Committee at:
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
1070 Dean Street
Brooklyn, New York 11216
For further information: 718-789-0558 or 917-853-9759
Visiting Lynne:
Visiting is very liberal but first she has to get people on her visiting list;
wait til she or the lawyers let you know. The visits are FRI, SAT, SUN AND MON for 4 hours and on
weekends 8 to 3. Bring clear plastic change purse with lots of change to buy from the
machines. Brief Kiss upon arrival and departure, no touching or holding during visit (!!) On visiting
forms it may be required that you knew me before I came to prison. Not a problem for most of
you.
Commissary Money:
Commissary Money is always welcome It is how Lynne pay for the phone and for
email.
Also for a lot that prison doesn't supply in terms of food and "sundries"
(pens!) (A very big list that includes Raisins, Salad Dressing, ankle sox, mozzarella (definitely
not from Antonys--more like a white cheddar, Sanitas Corn Chips but no Salsa, etc. To add money,
you do this by using Western Union and a credit card by phone or you can send a USPO money
order or Business or Govt Check. The negotiable instruments (PAPER!) need to be sent to
Federal
Bureau of Prisons, 53504-054, Lynne Stewart, PO Box 474701, Des Moines Iowa
50947-001
(Payable to Lynne Stewart, 53504-054) They hold the mo or checks for 15 days.
Western
Union costs $10 but is within 2 hours. If you mail, your return address must be
on the envelope. Unnecessarily complicated? Of course, it's the BOP !)
The address of her Defense Committee is:
Lynne Stewart Defense Committee
1070 Dean Street
Brooklyn, New York 11216
For further information:
718-789-0558 or 917-853-9759
Please make a generous contribution to her defense.
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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
On August 13, 2012, without any notice and in violation of his constitutional rights and state law, Mumia Abu-Jamal was formally sentenced by Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe to life imprisonment without parole. The impact of this illegal sentencing is to prevent a possible challenge to the slow death of life imprisonment. All sentences, including "mandatory" sentences, require a formal proceeding allowing the person to be sentenced the right to be heard and to challenge his sentence.
Mumia confirmed to his son Jamal and to attorney Rachel Wolkenstein during a visit with him on Sunday, August 19, 2012, that he had no prior knowledge of the re-sentencing. The record of this re-sentencing is contained in the official Court of Common Pleas Docket Sheet. In attempting to find out more details, Wolkenstein searched for the court file on August 20. But there is no file containing a record of this sentencing with the Criminal Division Court of Common Pleas Clerk. The information released so far by Elaine Rattliff, Deputy Clerk of Courts is that the sentencing followed a call from the Department of Corrections and further explanation awaits a call back from Court of Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe.
Notably Judge Dembe is same judge who refused in 2001 to consider a legal challenge to "hanging judge" Albert Sabo's self-confessed racism and bias against Mumia during his trial and post-conviction appeals from 1995-1998. Court reporter Terri Mauer-Carter heard Sabo declare before the start of the trial, "I'm going to help them fry the n-----."
For thirty years Mumia was kept in solitary confinement on death row under a death sentence that was illegally and unconstitutionally imposed. Federal district court Judge William Yohn ruled in December 2001 that Judge Albert Sabo incorrectly and unconstitutionally instructed the jury in deciding on life or death. Despite this decision, Mumia was kept on death row, in solitary confinement for the next ten years, while the prosecution pursued two appeals in the Federal Court of Appeals and two attempts at U.S. Supreme Court rulings to uphold the death sentence. All that time, Mumia sat in solitary confinement. According to Juan Mendez, the United Nations Special Rappatour on Torture, solitary confinement for longer than 15 days is a form of torture! Mumia should be freed from prison, now!
This latest legal outrage comes nine months after the state conceded defeat in obtaining its desired "legal lynching" of Mumia. On December 8, 2011, Philadelphia District Attorney, Seth Williams—with the support of Maureen Faulkner, the Fraternal Order of Police and former District Attorney, Philadelphia Mayor and PA governor, Edward Rendell—announced that they were no longer seeking a death sentence for Mumia. This was their recognition that it was neither legally possible nor politically advantageous to hold a new sentencing hearing.
Mumia's 1982 trial contained violations of every single element of due process and a fair trial. But it began with framing an innocent man. Mumia was framed for a crime he did not commit. His crime in the eyes of the state is that he was and continues to be "the voice of the voiceless," a former spokesman for the Black Panther Party and continuing supporter of the MOVE organization.
In his first phone call from general population on January 28, 2012, Mumia relayed the following message to his wife, Wadiya Jamal: "My dear friends, brothers and sisters – I want to thank you for your real hard work and support. I am no longer on death row, no longer in the hole, I'm in population. This is only Part One and I thank you for the work you've done. But the struggle is for freedom!"
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Police Attack Antiwar Protester
HANDS OFF NATE BUCKLEY!
http://vimeo.com/23300350#at=0
Police Brutality Against Anti War demonstrator Buffalo New York 2011
NFTA Police and anti terror task force assault anti war demonstration in Buffalo.Nate Buckley maced while in handcuffs. His new trial date is October 16, 2012.
For updates or to donate please go to:
Sign the petition:
Watch a video of the incident:
http://vimeo.com/23300350#at=0
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Sign the petition for the NATO 5!
Drop all charges against the NATO 5 and all anti-NATO protesters!
Protesters are still being held in Cook County Jail in Chicago. Release them all
now!
Sign the Petition Here:http://www.iacenter.org/dropchargesonnatodefendants
The charges against the NATO 5 and the others are false. All these prisoners
urgently need your solidarity. Please sign our petition. Share it with your
family, friends and coworkers. Signing the petition will generate a direct email
to:
Illinois State's Attorney Anita Alvarez
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart
Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy, and
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel,
and several other public officials, demanding all charges against the NATO5
be dropped.
Email addresses for the targets
mayor.emanuel@cityofchicago.org
garry.mccarthy@chicagopolice.org
statesattorney@cookcountyil.gov
sheriff.dart@cookcountyil.gov
Thanks for your ongoing interest in the fight against FBI repression of anti-war
and international solidarity activists!
Our mailing address is:
Committee to Stop FBI Repression
PO Box 14183
Minneapolis, MN 55414
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Tarek Mehanna - another victim of the U.S. War to Terrorize Everyone. He was
targeted because he would not spy on his Muslim community for the FBI. Under the
new NDAA indefinite military detention provision, Tarek is someone who likely
would never come to a trial, although an American citizen. His sentencing is on
April 12. There will be an appeal.
Another right we may kiss goodbye. We should not accept the verdict and continue
to fight for his release, just as we do for hero Bradley Manning, and all the
many others unjustly persecuted by our government until it is the war criminals
on trial, prosecuted by the people, and not the other way around.
Marilyn Levin
Official defense website: http://freetarek.com/
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HANDS OFF IRAN PETITION
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/hands-off-iran/?utm_medium=email&utm_sour\
ce=system&utm_campaign=Send%2Bto%2BFriend
(For a complete analysis of the prospects of war, click here)
http://nepajac.org/unaciran.htm
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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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Justice for Albert Woodfox and Herman Wallace: Decades of isolation in Louisiana
state prisons must end
Take Action -- Sign Petition Here:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/justice-for-albert-woodfox-and-herm\
an-wallace
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WITNESS GAZA
http://www.witnessgaza.com/
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Write to Bradley
http://bradleymanning.org/donate
View the new 90 second "I am Bradley Manning" video:
I am Bradley Manning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-P3OXML00s
Courage to Resist
484 Lake Park Ave. #41
Oakland, CA 94610
510-488-3559
couragetoresist.org
"A Fort Leavenworth mailing address has been released for Bradley Manning:
Bradley Manning 89289
830 Sabalu Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027
The receptionist at the military barracks confirmed that if someone sends
Bradley Manning a letter to that address, it will be delivered to him."
http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/update-42811
This is also a Facebook event
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=207100509321891#!/event.php?eid=2071005093\
21891
Courage to Resist needs your support
Please donate today:
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38590
"Soldiers sworn oath is to defend and support the Constitution. Bradley Manning
has been defending and supporting our Constitution." --Dan Ellsberg, Pentagon
Papers whistle-blower
Jeff Paterson
Project Director, Courage to Resist
First US military service member to refuse to fight in Iraq
Please donate today.
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38590
P.S. I'm asking that you consider a contribution of $50 or more, or possibly
becoming a sustainer at $15 a month. Of course, now is also a perfect time to
make a end of year tax-deductible donation. Thanks again for your support!
Please click here to forward this to a friend who might also be interested in
supporting GI resisters.
http://ymlp.com/forward.php?id=lS3tR&e=bonnieweinstein@yahoo.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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Call for EMERGENCY RESPONSE Action if Assange Indicted,
Dear Friends:
We write in haste, trying to reach as many of you as possible although the
holiday break has begun.......This plan for an urgent "The Day After"
demonstration is one we hope you and many, many more organizations will take up
as your own, and mobilize for. World Can't Wait asks you to do all you can to
spread it through list serves, Facebook, twitter, holiday gatherings.
Our proposal is very very simple, and you can use the following announcement to
mobilize - or write your own....
ANY DAY NOW . . . IN THE EVENT THAT THE U.S. INDICTS JULIAN ASSANGE HANDS OFF
WIKILEAKS! FREE JULIAN ASSANGE! FREE BRADLEY MANNING!
Join the HUMAN CHAIN AROUND THE FEDERAL BUILDING!
New Federal Building, 7th and Mission, San Francisco (nearest BART: Civic
Center)
4:00-6:00 PM on The Day FOLLOWING U.S. indictment of Assange
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/12/mannings-message-christmas-eve-i-gr/
Demonstrations defending Wikileaks and Assange, and Brad Manning, have already
been flowering around the world. Make it happen here too. Especially here . . .
To join into this action plan, or with questions, contact World Can't Wait or
whichever organization or listserve you received this message from.
World Can't Wait, SF Bay
415-864-5153
sf@worldcantwait.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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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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Danny Glover Greetings to the Labour Start Global Solidarity Conference
Danny Glover, the star of Lethal Weapon and other Hollywood blockbusters, delivered a message to the LabourStart conference which opened yesterday in Sydney, Australia.
I'd like to ask you to take a minute to watch the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nkZ6yi8xzY&feature=youtu.be
Then please sign up to the online campaign, here:
http://www.labourstart.org/nissan
Here's why:
Management at Nissan’s plant in Mississippi is running an aggressive and sophisticated anti-union campaign against its employees who are forming a union to achieve a voice in the workplace.
Nissan is denying these workers a fair, democratic election, and management has sent a clear message to the workforce that considering a union could cost them their job.
Supported by workers, students, community leaders and human rights activists around the world, the United Auto Workers (UAW) have launched a campaign on LabourStart calling on Nissan’s Chief Operating Officer, Toshiyuki Shiga, to intervene to make things right in Mississippi.
Speaking yesterday at the LabourStart conference now taking place in Sydney Jeffrey Moore, one of the Mississippi auto workers, said:
“Nissan workers are seeking union representation because they want fairness and a chance to be heard. They are seeking a voice on the job just like their colleagues in Japan and elsewhere.”
“At Canton Mississippi, Nissan management is making propaganda against the UAW and intimidating workers depriving them from a free choice. This is unacceptable and against freedom of association,” said Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of IndustriALL Global Union in support of the workers’ campaign.
“UAW has offered Nissan a positive, collaborative approach, but the US management is refusing partnership despite the fact that most of Nissan's operations in countries such as Mexico, Spain, UK, Russia, Japan, Australia, South Africa and Thailand are unionized and enjoy constructive labour and management relations,” said Raina.
Please spread the word -- let's make sure that Nissan is overwhelmed with messages of support for the workers in Canton, Mississippi. Please forward this message to your fellow union members, your friends and your family.
Thank you.
Eric Lee
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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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Labor Beat: SOJO - The Fight for Social Justice High School
["This is not an education plan, it's a business plan." quote from the video...bw]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkn1wmxCcE&feature=youtu.be
The fight for community democratic
control of Social Justice High School is an important battle waged
during the countdown to a possible strike of the Chicago Teachers Union
in early September, 2012. And on August 31, students and faculty
achieved a victory in forcing SOJO (as the High School is known) to hire
back two teachers who were earlier fired for opposing destructive
changes in the school's programs. All this took place in the midst of a
student sit-in, an intense mass meeting of the school community, and a
powerful student protest campaign that got the fired teachers
reinstated.
Here are scenes from that fight: The dramatic August 23 mass meeting, testimonies of student leaders (one who reads a poem she was earlier prohibited from reading by CPS toadies), a big Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign indoor rally featuring speeches by the two fired teachers Angela Sangha and Katie Hogan; the student protest march two days later; the reinstatement of the two fired faculty members.
Speaking/interviewed: Andrea Guzman (Little Village community activist); Professor David Stovall (Advisory Local School Council representative); Dennis Kosuth (Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign member); Angela Sangha (founding teacher, Social Justice High School); Katie Hogan (founding teacher, Social Justice High School); Professor Rico Gutstein (University of Illinois - Chicago).
Please make a Donation to Labor Beat (Committee for Labor Access) and help rank-and-file tv:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2F96...
Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat. For info: mail@laborbeat.org, www.laborbeat.org. 312-226-3330. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat".
On Chicago CAN TV Channel 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm; Fridays 4:30 pm. Labor Beat has regular cable slots in Chicago, Evanston, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; and Rochester, NY. For more detailed information, send us a request at mail@laborbeat.org.
Here are scenes from that fight: The dramatic August 23 mass meeting, testimonies of student leaders (one who reads a poem she was earlier prohibited from reading by CPS toadies), a big Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign indoor rally featuring speeches by the two fired teachers Angela Sangha and Katie Hogan; the student protest march two days later; the reinstatement of the two fired faculty members.
Speaking/interviewed: Andrea Guzman (Little Village community activist); Professor David Stovall (Advisory Local School Council representative); Dennis Kosuth (Chicago Teachers Solidarity Campaign member); Angela Sangha (founding teacher, Social Justice High School); Katie Hogan (founding teacher, Social Justice High School); Professor Rico Gutstein (University of Illinois - Chicago).
Please make a Donation to Labor Beat (Committee for Labor Access) and help rank-and-file tv:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=2F96...
Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer Labor Beat. For info: mail@laborbeat.org, www.laborbeat.org. 312-226-3330. For other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat".
On Chicago CAN TV Channel 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm; Fridays 4:30 pm. Labor Beat has regular cable slots in Chicago, Evanston, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia, PA; Princeton, NJ; and Rochester, NY. For more detailed information, send us a request at mail@laborbeat.org.
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all the sons
By Tommi Avicolli Mecca
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp2jvlAk8-w&list=PL835C332FF6CFF1F3&index=1&feature=plcp
Published on Aug 27, 2012 by avimecca
Men have been going off to war for
centuries. In the past couple centuries, they have been migrating to
other countries (especially the U.S.) for work. They have been
organizing, too, to fight oppression and stop the deaths of their sons
and brothers.
"And I don't know why it has to be this way again."
I wrote this song for the mothers, too, who lose their sons to war and murder by police officers. Maybe someday "it doesn't have to be this way again."
"And I don't know why it has to be this way again."
I wrote this song for the mothers, too, who lose their sons to war and murder by police officers. Maybe someday "it doesn't have to be this way again."
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Labor Beat: Chicago Teachers Stand Strong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOLj6B4cF2w&feature=youtu.be
On May 23, 2012, Chicago Teachers Union held a massive rally at the Auditorium
theater to inform their membership about the coming contract struggle they face.
In the climate of school closings, budget cuts, a terrible new proposed
contract, and teacher-bashing on the part of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and Chicago
schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizzard, CTU took to the streets to show their numbers
and appeal to the public, and within two weeks CTU was voting to authorize a
strike.
Meanwhile a few blocks away, Stand Up Chicago, Action Now, and many other
community organizations rallied against the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME,
the operator of the Chicago Board of Trade) and the $110 million tax break
they've been given by Illinois. CME is one of the most profitable companies in
the region, and yet now Illinois government is making broad cuts to social
programs needed by struggling families. These two marches converged at Jackson
and LaSalle in a unified demand for economic justice for Chicago's 99%.
Please make a Donation to Labor Beat (Committee for Labor Access) and help
rank-and-file tv:
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9789970
Produced by Labor Beat. Labor Beat is a CAN TV Community Partner. Labor Beat is
a non-profit 501(c)(3) member of IBEW 1220. Views are those of the producer
Labor Beat. For info: mail@laborbeat.org, www.laborbeat.org. 312-226-3330. For
other Labor Beat videos, visit YouTube and search "Labor Beat".
On Chicago CAN TV Channel 19, Thursdays 9:30 pm; Fridays 4:30 pm. Labor Beat has
regular cable slots in Chicago, Evanston, Rockford, Urbana, IL; Philadelphia,
PA; Princeton, NJ; and Rochester, NY.
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Guantanamo Bay Prisoners Were Tortured with Sesame Street
http://www.inquisitr.com/245285/guantanamo-bay-prisoners-were-tortured-with-sesa\
me-street/
Guantanamo Bay prisoners were reportedly tortured with the sounds of children's
Sesame Street songs, in an attempt to get them to talk.
Read more at
http://www.inquisitr.com/245285/guantanamo-bay-prisoners-were-tortured-with-sesa\
me-street/#HYqlyB1jssypzpFM.99
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15 yr old Teen girl in jail beating video speaks out on cop attacking her in
Police brutality case
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDzQ8Vay3Pg&feature=share
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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 & 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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Anti-War Demonstrators Storm Pentagon 1967/10/24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDiFkckszCw
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Liberal Hypocrisy on Obama Vs Bush - Poll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl_HGEXq_aM&feature=player_embedded
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Greek trade unionists and black bloc October 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHMLD_Vql0o&feature=player_embedded#!
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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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Defending The People's Mic
by Pham Binh of Occupy Wall Street
The North Star
January 20, 2012
http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=53
Grand Central Terminal Arrests - MIRROR
Two protesters mic check about the loss of freedom brought about by the passage
of the NDAA and both are promptly arrested and whisked out of public sight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7Tj7tEVx8A&feature=player_embedded
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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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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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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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Drop All Charges on the 'Occupy Wall Street' Arrestees!
Stop Police Attacks & Arrests! Support 'Occupy Wall Street'!
SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION AT:
http://bailoutpeople.org/dropchargesonoccupywallstarrestees.shtml
DROP ALL CHARGES ON THE OCCUPY WALL STREET ARRESTEES!
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Copwatch@Occupy Oakland: Beware of Police Infiltrators and Provocateurs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrvMzqopHH0
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Labor Beat: Hey You Billionaire, Pay Your Fair Share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY8isD33f-I
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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
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#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
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#OccupyTheHood, Occupy Wall Street
By adele pham
http://vimeo.com/30146870
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Live arrest at brooklyn bridge #occupywallstreet by We are Change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yULSI-31Pto&feature=player_embedded
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FREE THE CUBAN FIVE!
http://www.thecuban5.org/wordpress/index.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmS4kHC_OlY&feature=player_embedded
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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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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
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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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Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVGqE726OAo&feature=player_embedded
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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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