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Take Action for Women’s Equality Day
Say NO to the Status Quo—Full Equality for All Women!
Full Reproductive Rights Now!
Free Marissa Alexander!
Equal Pay for Equal Work!
End Violence Against Women!
Aug. 26 marks Women’s Equality Day—a celebration of the hard-fought struggle for women’s suffrage that was won in 1918. Today, almost 100 years later, women have made many gains in the struggle for equality. Almost 100 years later, the struggle for full equality continues.
There is much that has not been won. In 2014, women are still paid less than men for equal work; Latina women are paid 55 percent of what men earn, Black women 67 percent and white women 78 percent. Worldwide, 35 percent of women experience sexual violence. Society then sweeps sexual violence under the rug—shaming victims and protecting attackers.
Marissa Alexander’s case—among many others—highlights the contradictions of a society that punishes victims of abuse when they defend themselves. Marissa Alexander is a 33-year-old African American woman, mother, and survivor of domestic violence. Under mandatory minimum sentencing laws, Marissa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defending herself against an abuser in the same state that let George Zimmerman walk free. Though the original sentence was thrown out by the judge, Marissa is still being prosecuted and State Prosecutor Angela Corey has announced she intends to seek a 60-year sentence. All charges against Marissa should be dropped! We must stand with Marissa, demand her freedom, and fight to end all forms of violence against women!
Recently, reactionary politicians and groups have targeted our reproductive rights—trying to overturn Roe v Wade through federal and state legislation that denies women the right to abortion, denies us access to birth control and criminalizes certain behaviors for pregnant women. There is an ongoing offensive to defund Planned Parenthood and other centers that provide not only reproductive health care, but also critical preventative health services. The latest attack has come in the form of the Supreme Court’s decision that Hobby Lobby’s owners’ religious convictions were more important than the reproductive health care of the women who work there.
Women’s bodies belong to no one but themselves. We should have the right to control our own bodies, and determine how and when we get pregnant and give birth. Access to abortion and birth control are part and parcel of reproductive health care—and shouldn’t be isolated from health care in general. Likewise, women look forward to the day when we are safe to walk down the street, and when our bodies are not objectified and commodified. We are struggling for a day when we are not paid less just because of our gender or more likely to live in poverty because of it.
That day is entirely possible. But is only possible if we organize and mobilize to challenge the status quo that perpetuates and institutionalizes inequality. Join WORD in building the struggle for full equality.
On Women’s Equality Day, WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) will be holding speak-outs, forums and other actions to celebrate the gains demanding “Say no to the status quo—full equality for all women!” Join us in cities across the country between Saturday, August 23 and Friday, August 29, 2014. Attend an event in your city or organize one.
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Migration: Causes and Responses
Perspectives from the US and El Salvador
El espacio es accesible por sillas de rueda; habrá interpretación entre inglés y español
--
Allan Fisher
afisher800@gmail.com
415-954-2763
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B. ARTICLES IN FULL
15) Fatal Confrontation Heightens Tensions in Staten Island Police Precinct
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1) Arizona Loose With Its Rules in Executions, Records Show
By FERNANDA SANTOS and JOHN SCHWARTZ
AUG. 17, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/arizona-loose-with-its-rules-in-executions-records-show.html?ref=us
PHOENIX — In an execution in 2010 in Arizona, the presiding doctor was supposed to connect the intravenous line to the convict’s arm — a procedure written into the state’s lethal injection protocol and considered by many doctors as the easiest and best way to attach a line. Instead he chose to use a vein in an upper thigh, near the groin.
“It’s my preference,” the doctor said later in a deposition, testifying anonymously because of his role as a five-time executioner. For his work, he received $5,000 to $6,000 per day — in cash — with two days for practice before each execution.
That improvisation is not unusual for Arizona, where corrections officials and medical staff members routinely deviate from the state’s written rules for conducting executions, state records and court filings show. Sometimes they improvise even while a convict is strapped to a table in the execution chamber and waiting for the drugs coursing through his veins to take effect.In 2012, when Arizona was scheduled to execute two convicted murderers, its Corrections Department discovered at the last minute that the expiration dates for the drugs it was planning to use had passed, so it decided to switch drug methods. Last month, Arizona again deviated from its execution protocol, and things did not go as planned: The convicted murderer Joseph R. Wood III took nearly two hours to die, during which he received 13 more doses of lethal drugs than the two doses set out by the state’s rules.
While it is unclear whether the constant changes have led to cruel and unusual punishment, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became so disturbed in 2012 about the expired drugs that it chastised the state, saying Arizona “has insisted on amending its execution protocol on an ad hoc basis.” While the court permitted the two executions to proceed and they went off without a hitch, the Ninth Circuit nonetheless observed that Arizona had a “rolling protocol that forces us to engage with serious constitutional questions and complicated factual issues in the waning hours before executions.”
Douglas A. Berman, an expert on criminal sentencing at Ohio State University, said corrections officials tended to have a cavalier attitude that might now be backfiring on them. As Mr. Berman archly put it, “What’s the big deal, as long as the guy ends up dead and I’m not literally torturing the guy along the way?” Prison officials and execution teams, he said, “don’t see any adjustment that they are making as likely to cause unnecessary suffering or pain.”
There are, however, signs that suggest otherwise. Mr. Wood, 55, gasped — seemingly for air — more than 600 times before he died on July 23; his execution is now the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the state. In January in Oklahoma, Michael Lee Wilson, 38, said, “I feel my whole body burning” right after the drugs used in his execution — a mix meant to paralyze him, render him unconscious and stop his heart — began flowing through his veins. He died moments later.
Courts are starting to show frustration with the constant changes in the protocols themselves, some of which have been prompted by the increasing difficulty in obtaining execution drugs. On Aug. 8, a federal judge extended a moratorium on lethal injections in Ohio over concerns with a protocol change that the state had made this year.
Legal cases in Arizona, which has been a particular target of death penalty opponents, offer an unusual window on execution protocols and actual practices. There have been 37 executions in Arizona since 1992, of which 14 were overseen by the current director of the Corrections Department, Charles L. Ryan.
Mr. Ryan, who has no medical training, has said in depositions that the state’s protocol gave him virtually unlimited discretion to deviate from the written guidelines, essentially making him the ultimate arbiter in executions. He personally authorized the repeated doses of drugs given to Mr. Wood, who had murdered his estranged girlfriend and her father. Five of the 15 doses of lethal drugs were administered to Mr. Wood while his lawyers pleaded to a federal judge to stop the execution, which by then had dragged on for well over an hour.
“There’s the protocol that’s in place and there’s what happens, and those aren’t necessarily the same thing,” said Dale A. Baich, an assistant federal public defender who represented Mr. Wood. “What we’ve learned from this execution is that the Department of Corrections was making it up as it went along.”
Mr. Ryan has affirmed that the length of Mr. Wood’s execution — one hour and 57 minutes — and the amount of drugs Mr. Wood received comply with state law, which calls for the administration of “an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death.” He declined a request for an interview; a spokesman, Doug Nick, said this was because of the continuing search for an independent team to assess Mr. Wood’s execution.
Logs detailing the sequence of events in the execution of Mr. Wood, as well as hundreds of pages of filings and depositions linked to five other executions in Arizona, describe a process whose rules are open to interpretation. And the rules are frequently amended, as the Ninth Circuit noted in its 2012 decision. Mr. Baich of the federal public defender’s office said that as a result of the court’s concerns, the Corrections Department had begun allowing witnesses to see through closed-circuit monitors the intravenous lines being placed on convicts during executions.
In other cases that deviated from state protocol, criminal records for members of execution teams went unchecked and a lack of qualifications was ignored, according to a 2011 filing by the federal public defender’s office. In four executions, a Corrections Department employee got to lead the medical team in charge of setting intravenous lines even though the employee could not recall inserting an IV line since the time he trained as an emergency medical technician for the military years earlier.
In the 2011 execution of Donald Beaty, convicted of killing a 13-year-old newspaper carrier in Tempe, Mr. Ryan, the corrections director, asked the medical team about replacing one of the three drugs with another. The medical team leader did so, concluding that the drugs were “essentially equivalent” based on information he read in their packages and on the Internet, according to a filing in a federal lawsuit brought by another death row inmate.
In a 2010 execution, according to the anonymous deposition by the doctor who led the medical team, Mr. Ryan asked that the extra supplies of the drugs be injected into the inmate’s body. “The director preferred that all the chemicals be given, if possible,” the doctor said. He advised against doing so, because if the patient’s heart had stopped, “the vein might rupture, and then they would just go inside the abdominal cavity,” the doctor testified. But Mr. Ryan “indicated he wanted us to try.” When injecting the drugs proved problematic, the doctor recalled, “I looked at him and I said, ‘I don’t think that this is a good idea.’ And he said, ‘O.K., that’s fine, stop.’ ”
Mr. Berman of Ohio State University said Arizona was not the only state whose loose adherence to lethal injection protocols had led to problems in the courts. After a series of problematic executions in Ohio, Judge Gregory L. Frost of United States District Court stayed the execution of a killer, Kenneth Smith, writing that the state had not stuck to its own policies in carrying out executions and was “haphazard” in its application of the process.
Judge Frost went on, “Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramification and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions.”
Dr. Jay Chapman, who devised the first lethal injection protocol in Oklahoma in 1977, has questioned the problems with executions in the years since. “It seems to me that it would not be that difficult to find people that are competent to carry out the tasks,” he said by telephone.
Fernanda Santos reported from Phoenix, and John Schwartz from New York.
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2) Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In National Guard
By MONICA DAVEY, JOHN ELIGON and ALAN BLINDER
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?_r=0
FERGUSON, Mo. — Missouri National Guard troops entered this battered city on Monday even as an overnight curfew was lifted, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the violence that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.
In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.
Early Monday, after a new spate of violence, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later he said he was lifting the curfew and said the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.At the same time, more details emerged from autopsies performed on Mr. Brown. One showed that he had been shot at least six times; another found evidence of marijuana in his system.
In Washington, President Obama said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will go to Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with F.B.I. agents conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting. He seemed less than enthusiastic about the decision to call in the National Guard.
Mr. Obama said he had told the governor in a phone call on Monday that the Guard should be “used in a limited and appropriate way.”
He said he would be closely monitoring the deployment.
“I’ll be watching over the next several days to assess whether in fact it’s helping rather than hindering progress in Ferguson,” said Mr. Obama, who emphasized that the State of Missouri, not the White House, had called in the Guard.
He again tried to strike a balance between the right of protest and approaches to security.
“While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions,” Mr. Obama said.
As darkness set in, along West Florissant Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares and a center of the weeklong protests, demonstrators were required to keep moving. There were several skirmishes. After more of than hour of peaceful protests, some in the crowd began to throw bottles at police, who brought out armored vehicles and tactical units. But many peacekeepers in the crowd formed a human chain and got the agitators to back down.
At another point, as protesters gathered near a convenience store, some of them threw objects; police responded with stun grenades and tear gas.
A few blocks away, at the police command post, National Guard members in Army fatigues, some with military police patches on their uniforms, stood ready.
Residents seemed puzzled and frustrated by the continually changing approaches, suggesting that the moving set of rules only worsened longstanding tensions over policing and race in the town of 21,000.
“It almost seems like they can’t decide what to do, and like law enforcement is fighting over who’s got the power,” said Antione Watson, 37, who stood near a middle-of-the-street memorial of candles and flowers for Mr. Brown, the 18-year-old killed on a winding block here.
“First they do this, then there’s that, and now who can even tell what their plan is?” Mr. Watson said. “They can try all of this, but I don’t see an end to this until there are charges against the cop.”
The latest turn in law enforcement tactics — the removal of a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew imposed Saturday and the arrival of members of the Guard — followed one of the tensest nights so far. Police officers reported gunfire and firebombs from some among a large group, and responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets.
By Monday, the police seemed intent on taking control of the situation long before evening and the expected arrival of protesters, some of them inclined to provoke clashes. The authorities banned stationary protests, even during the day, ordering demonstrators to continue walking, particularly in an area along West Florissant, not far from where the shooting occurred. One of those told to move along was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
Six members of the Highway Patrol, plastic flex-ties within easy reach, stood guard at a barbecue restaurant that has been a hub of the turmoil. Just north of the restaurant, about 30 officers surrounded a convenience store that was heavily damaged early in the unrest. Several people were arrested during the day, including a photographer for Getty Images, Scott Olson, who was led away in plastic handcuffs in the early evening.
Explaining his decision to call in the National Guard, Mr. Nixon recounted details of the tumult on Sunday night, and described the events as “very difficult and dangerous as a result of a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”
Yet Mr. Nixon also emphasized that the Guard’s role would be limited to providing protection for a police command center here, which the authorities say came under attack. Gregory Mason, a brigadier general of the Guard, described the arriving troops as “well trained and well seasoned.”
“With these additional resources in place,” said Mr. Nixon, a Democrat in his second term, “the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence, and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard.”
While Mr. Obama and other leaders called for healing and more than 40 F.B.I. agents fanned out around this city to interview residents about the shooting, emotions remained raw, and the divide over all that had happened seemed only to be growing amid multiple investigations and competing demonstrations.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that Americans were deeply divided along racial lines in their reaction to Mr. Brown’s killing. The report showed that 80 percent of blacks thought the case raised “important issues about race that need to be discussed,” while only 37 percent of whites thought it did.
Blacks surveyed were also less confident in the investigations into the shooting, with 76 percent reporting little to no confidence in the investigation, compared with 33 percent of whites.
Supporters of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who fired the fatal shots, gathered outside a radio station over the weekend in St. Louis.
Mr. Brown is now the subject of three autopsies. The first was conducted by St. Louis County, the results of which were delivered to the county prosecutor’s office on Monday. That autopsy report showed evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system, according to someone briefed on the report who was not authorized to discuss it publicly before it was released.
Another, on Monday, was done by a military doctor as part of the Justice Department’s investigation.
On Sunday, at the request of Mr. Brown’s family, the body was examined by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.
The findings showed that he was shot at least six times in the front of his body and that he did not appear to have been shot from very close range because no powder burns were found on his body. But that determination could change if burns were found on his clothing, which was not available for examination.
In a news conference on Monday, family members and Dr. Baden said that the autopsy he had performed confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed.
Daryl Parks, a lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested he was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. The autopsy did not show what Mr. Brown was doing when the bullet struck his head.
“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” Mr. Parks said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”
Piaget Crenshaw, who told reporters that she had witnessed Mr. Brown’s death from her nearby apartment, seemed unsurprised by the eruptions of anger, which have left schools closed and some businesses looted. “This community had underlying problems way before this happened,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “And now the tension is finally broken.”
For businesses here, the days and long nights have been costly and frightening. At Dellena Jones’s hair salon, demonstrators had tossed concrete slabs into the business as Ms. Jones’s two children prepared for what they had expected to be a first day back to school.
“I had a full week that went down to really nothing,” she said of her business, which has sat mostly empty. “They’re too scared to come.” As she spoke, a man walked by and shouted, “You need a gun in there, lady!”
In his news conference, Mr. Obama said that most of the protesters had been peaceful. “As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment,” Mr. Obama said.
Reporting was contributed by Frances Robles and Tanzina Vega from Ferguson, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.
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3) National Guard Troops Fail to Quell Unrest in Ferguson
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinde
August19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?ref=us
FERGUSON, Mo. — Violence erupted here once more overnight, even as Missouri National Guard troops arrived, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the chaos that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.
In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a Missouri State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.
Early Monday, after a new spate of unrest, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later, he said that he was lifting the curfew and that the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.
Although the tactics changed, the nighttime scene did not.Late Monday night, peaceful protests devolved into sporadic violence, including gunshots, by what the authorities said was a small number of people, and demonstrators were met with tear gas and orders to leave. Two men were shot in the crowd, officials said in an early-morning news conference, and 31 people — some from New York and California — were arrested. Fires were reported in two places. The police were shot at, the authorities said, but did not fire their weapons.
FERGUSON, Mo. — Violence erupted here once more overnight, even as Missouri National Guard troops arrived, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the chaos that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.
In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a Missouri State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.
Early Monday, after a new spate of unrest, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later, he said that he was lifting the curfew and that the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.
Although the tactics changed, the nighttime scene did not.Late Monday night, peaceful protests devolved into sporadic violence, including gunshots, by what the authorities said was a small number of people, and demonstrators were met with tear gas and orders to leave. Two men were shot in the crowd, officials said in an early-morning news conference, and 31 people — some from New York and California — were arrested. Fires were reported in two places. The police were shot at, the authorities said, but did not fire their weapons.
Mr. Obama said he had told Mr. Nixon in a phone call on Monday that the Guard should be “used in a limited and appropriate way.”
He added that he would be closely monitoring the deployment.“I’ll be watching over the next several days to assess whether in fact it’s helping rather than hindering progress in Ferguson,” said Mr. Obama, who emphasized that Missouri, not the White House, had called in the Guard.
He again tried to strike a balance between the right to protest and approaches to security.
“While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions,” Mr. Obama said.
As darkness set in along West Florissant Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares and a center of the weeklong protests, demonstrators were required to keep moving.
After more than an hour of peaceful protests, some in the crowd began to throw bottles at the police, who brought out armored vehicles and tactical units. But many peacekeepers in the crowd formed a human chain and got the agitators to back down.
At another point, as protesters gathered near a convenience store, some of them threw objects; the police responded with tear gas.
And near midnight, the police began announcing over loudspeakers that people needed to leave the area or risk arrest after what the police said were repeated gunshots and a deteriorating situation.
A few blocks away, at the police command post, National Guard members in Army fatigues, some with military police patches on their uniforms, stood ready but never entered the area where protesters were marching. State and local law enforcement authorities oversaw operations there.
Residents seemed puzzled and frustrated by the continually changing approaches, suggesting that the moving set of rules only worsened longstanding tensions over policing and race in this town of 21,000.
“It almost seems like they can’t decide what to do, and like law enforcement is fighting over who’s got the power,” said Antione Watson, 37, who stood near a middle-of-the-street memorial of candles and flowers for Mr. Brown, the 18-year-old killed on a winding block here.“First they do this, then there’s that, and now who can even tell what their plan is?” Mr. Watson said. “They can try all of this, but I don’t see an end to this until there are charges against the cop.”
The latest turn in law enforcement tactics — the removal of a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew imposed Saturday and the arrival of members of the Guard — followed a chaotic Sunday night. Police officers reported gunfire and firebombs from some people among a large group, and they responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets.
By Monday, the police seemed intent on taking control of the situation long before evening and the expected arrival of protesters, some of them inclined to provoke clashes. The authorities banned stationary protests, even during the day, ordering demonstrators to continue walking — particularly in an area along West Florissant, not far from where the shooting occurred. One of those told to move along was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
Six members of the Highway Patrol, plastic flex-ties within easy reach, stood guard at a barbecue restaurant that has been a hub of the turmoil. Just north of the restaurant, about 30 officers surrounded a convenience store that was heavily damaged early in the unrest. Several people were arrested during the day, including a photographer for Getty Images, Scott Olson, who was led away in plastic handcuffs in the early evening.
Explaining his decision to call in the National Guard, Mr. Nixon recounted details of the unrest on Sunday night and described the events as “very difficult and dangerous as a result of a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”
Yet Mr. Nixon also emphasized that the Guard’s role would be limited to providing protection for the police command center, which the authorities say was attacked. Gregory Mason, a brigadier general of the Guard, described the arriving troops as “well trained and well seasoned.”
“With these additional resources in place,” said Mr. Nixon, a Democrat in his second term, “the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard.”While Mr. Obama and other leaders called for healing and more than 40 F.B.I. agents fanned out around the city to interview residents about the shooting, emotions remained raw, and the divide over all that had happened seemed only to be growing amid multiple investigations and competing demonstrations.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that Americans were deeply divided along racial lines in their reaction to Mr. Brown’s killing. It showed that 80 percent of blacks thought the case raised “important issues about race that need to be discussed,” while only 37 percent of whites thought it did.
Blacks surveyed were also less confident in the investigations into the shooting, with 76 percent reporting little to no confidence, compared with 33 percent of whites.
Supporters of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who fired the fatal shots, gathered outside a radio station in St. Louis over the weekend.
Mr. Brown is now the subject of three autopsies. The first was conducted by St. Louis County, and the results were delivered to the county prosecutor’s office on Monday. That report showed evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system, according to a person briefed on the report who was not authorized to discuss it publicly before it was released.
Another autopsy, on Monday, was done by a military doctor as part of the Justice Department’s investigation.
On Sunday, at the request of Mr. Brown’s family, the body was examined by Dr. Michael M. Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.
Dr. Baden’s autopsy showed that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times in the front of his body and that he did not appear to have been shot from very close range, because no powder burns were found on his body. But that determination could change if burns are found on his clothing, which was not available for examination.
In a news conference on Monday, family members and Dr. Baden said that the autopsy confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed.
Daryl Parks, a lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested he was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. The autopsy did not show what Mr. Brown was doing when the bullet struck his head.
“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” Mr. Parks said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”
Piaget Crenshaw, a resident who told reporters that she had witnessed Mr. Brown’s death from her nearby apartment, seemed unsurprised by the eruptions of anger, which have left schools closed and some businesses looted. “This community had underlying problems way before this happened,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “And now the tension is finally broken.”
For businesses here, the days and long nights have been costly and frightening. At Dellena Jones’s hair salon, demonstrators tossed concrete slabs into the business as Ms. Jones’s two children prepared for what they had expected to be a first day back to school.
“I had a full week that went down to really nothing,” she said of her business, which has been mostly empty. “They’re too scared to come.” As she spoke, a man walked by and shouted, “You need a gun in there, lady!”
In his news conference, Mr. Obama said that most protesters had been peaceful. “As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment,” he said.
Frances Robles and Tanzina Vega contributed reporting from Ferguson, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.
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4) Family of Michael Brown Says Autopsy Confirmed Witness Account
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/family-of-michael-brown-says-autopsy-confirmed-witness-account.html?ref=us
Lawyers for the family of Michael Brown said Monday that the preliminary results of an independent autopsy answered basic questions that had gone unanswered since the fatal confrontation between Mr. Brown, 18, and a police officer on Aug. 9.
The lawyers spoke at a news conference on Monday inside the Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church that was attended by the family and the forensic scientists who conducted the autopsy that had been requested by the family. Benjamin L. Crump, the lead lawyer for the family, said the autopsy also confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed by an officer in Ferguson, Mo.
“It verifies that the witness accounts were true, that he was shot multiple times,” Mr. Crump said. “And it’s going to be one of those things that we have to get all the witness statements out and look at all the autopsies and all the evidence to put this picture together.”“But his family knows that the witnesses, what they were telling them about him being shot multiple times in broad daylight, was accurate,” he said.
Daryl Parks, another lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested his head was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. What the autopsy did not show was what Mr. Brown was doing at the moment he was struck in the head.
“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” he said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”
The autopsy report released on Sunday said that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times, all from the front and at a distance, including two shots that struck him in the head. The report’s author, Dr. Michael M. Baden, said all the gunshots were survivable except for the one that hit Mr. Brown at the top of the head and entered his brain.
Dr. Baden said it was unusual that the authorities in St. Louis had not released most of the information “on Day 1” after the county medical examiner completed her autopsy, especially considering the heightened interest in the case, which involved an unarmed black teenager being killed by a white police officer.
“My impression is that like in most medical examiners’ offices, when an autopsy is completed, the medical examiner can release it, most of it at least, pending the prosecutor’s wishes,” he said. Getting the information out quickly “calms community and family concerns of a cover-up of not being told the truth.”
The report left some questions unanswered, including whether there had been a struggle between the teenager and the police officer. Dr. Baden said he needed to examine the clothes Mr. Brown was wearing and to gain access to a medical examination of the officer conducted shortly after the shooting.
Another outstanding question was whether Mr. Brown was struck as he ran away from the police officer. Prof. Shawn L. Parcells, a pathologist assistant based in Kansas who assisted Dr. Baden, said that one of the wounds on Mr. Brown’s arm could have been caused by a bullet fired from in front or behind.
Mr. Baden said Mr. Brown did not suffer pain after he was struck in the head.
The autopsy is one of three to be conducted on Mr. Brown. The St. Louis County medical examiner’s report was released shortly after the news conference. (Toxicology tests were still pending.) The Department of Justice was expected to conduct its own autopsy in the coming days.
Mr. Crump said the family members requested an independent autopsy because they had been unsure that the federal government would get involved and did not want to rely on information from law enforcement agencies in St. Louis, “the same individuals they feel are responsible for executing their son in broad daylight.”
He said that after Mr. Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, received the autopsy, she had asked, “What else do we need to give them to arrest the killer of my child?”
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5) Not Just Ferguson: National Guard Has a Long History With Civil Unrest
By Alan Flippen
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/upshot/not-just-ferguson-national-guard-has-a-long-history-with-civil-unrest.html?ref=us&abt=0002&abg=0
Use of the National Guard to quell civil disturbances, especially race-related ones as in Ferguson, Mo., has a long history in the United States. It even technically predates the National Guard itself.
The National Guard, in its modern form, dates from 1903, when Congress passed a law to regulate state militias and coordinate them with the regular Army, in the wake of the Spanish-American War and the ensuing Philippine insurrection.
But the militias themselves have existed almost since the beginning of European settlement, and the term “National Guard” appears to have been in popular use for them since before the Civil War; a New York Times article from 1855 mentions the “National Guard” as one of the military units suppressing a riot by German residents of Chicago who were objecting to a law banning taverns from opening on Sundays and increasing fees for liquor licenses.
The New York City Draft Riots of 1863 were among the largest civil disturbances to be quelled by militia units in the 19th century, although the New York State militia had been deployed against the Confederacy when the violence broke out and didn’t arrive until it was nearly over. (For the first few days, New Yorkers were largely on their own, as evidenced in this Times account of people attacking “the clothing store of Messrs. BROOKS BROTHERS.”)
While The Times’s archive is not a comprehensive source of information about the National Guard’s involvement in such episodes, it does show that confrontations fueled by labor unrest preoccupied the Guard in the last decades of the 19th century; coal miners and railroad workers were among those whose efforts to organize and strike led governors to call out their Guard units. But state militias were also called out to quell racial disturbances in, among other places, Wilmington, N.C., in 1898 and Springfield, Ill., in 1908.National Guard troops also played a role in the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and early 1960s. Gov. Orval Faubus of Arkansas called out the National Guard to bar black students from Little Rock Central High School in 1957 (later withdrawing them under pressure from President Eisenhower), but National Guard troops under federal control enforced desegregation of the University of Mississippi in 1962 and the University of Alabama in 1963, and protected marchers in Selma, Ala., in 1965.
Later that decade, the Guard would revert to its traditional role of suppressing unrest: in the Watts section of Los Angeles in 1965, in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio, in 1966, Detroit and Newark, N.J., in 1967 and nearly everywhere in the country after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. A search of The Times archive for the terms “Negroes” (as African-Americans were referred to then) and “National Guard” for the six most tumultuous years of that era (1965 through 1970) turns up 655 articles, most having to do either with racial disturbances or with desegregation of the National Guard itself.
Indeed, if there’s any comfort to be taken in the recent events in Ferguson, it is how rare such unrest has become in recent years. The Times’s archive in the most recent six years contains only 30 articles with the terms “National Guard” and “African-Americans” or “blacks,” and none of them refer to actual, current racially motivated confrontations except for those in Ferguson.
The Upshot provides news, analysis and graphics about politics, policy and everyday life. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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6) Wrongfully Convicted Man Reaches $10 Million Settlement With New York City
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/jabbar-collins-wrongfully-convicted-man-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-new-york-city.html?ref=nyregion
After three years of litigation, Jabbar Collins, a man who spent 15 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, has reached a $10 million settlement with New York City.
Mr. Collins had been convicted of the 1994 killing of an Orthodox rabbi. He was released from prison in 2010, when a federal judge vacated his conviction and criticized the district attorney’s office for its handling of Mr. Collins’s trial.
The settlement is notable because it exposed questionable policies under the former Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes. Along the way, Mr. Collins’s lawyer, Joel B. Rudin, deposed Mr. Hynes and his top assistants, providing a rare look at how a powerful district attorney ran his office.Among the things Mr. Rudin accused the office of, after depositions of top aides, were detaining reluctant witnesses in hotel rooms until they agreed to testify, and advising his lawyers not to take notes when prosecution witnesses gave inconsistent statements, so as to avoid potentially exculpatory evidence. The city’s lawyers have challenged these claims.
The settlement is also notable for its size: Mr. Collins will receive about $667,000 per year served, a little less than the five men exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, who settled with the city earlier this summer for about $1 million for each year in prison.
The case was scheduled to go to trial in October.
Mr. Collins, 42, began fighting his conviction while at Green Haven State Prison, tracking down witnesses who had testified against him and filing Freedom of Information Law requests. After Mr. Rudin joined the case, a 2010 hearing was held in Federal District Court in Brooklyn over Mr. Collins’s attempt to vacate his conviction. One witness who testified then said he had been threatened by a top prosecutor. At that hearing, the district attorney’s office agreed to vacate the murder conviction and not to retry Mr. Collins.
The wrongful-conviction settlement is one of several the city has settled this year, including a $6.4 million settlement for David Ranta, a man who spent 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. The city is facing several more such lawsuits as erroneous convictions from the crime-ridden 1980s and 1990s continue to be vacated.
In July, Mr. Collins settled with the state under the unjust conviction act for $3 million.
Mr. Collins said in a statement that his goals were to “expose the illegal practices of District Attorney Hynes and to help drive him from office,” to “obtain personal vindication and to demonstrate my innocence,” and to receive compensation to balance the years in prison and the harm done to him and his family.
Mr. Rudin said, “Ironically, the revelations in Jabbar Collins’ groundbreaking lawsuit of pervasive misconduct in Brooklyn led to more cases being overturned, but had the effect of making settlement of his lawsuit harder.”
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7) As Tension Eases on Ferguson’s Streets, Focus Turns to Investigation
By ALAN BLINDER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONCampbell Robertson
AUG. 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&_r=0#
FERGUSON, Mo. — Even as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Wednesday, law enforcement officials and local leaders said they were hopeful that they had turned a corner in calming the restive community of Ferguson after 12 days of protests and unrest.
Capt. Ronald S. Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that there were only sporadic problems during overnight protests on Tuesday, and he believed they had reached “a turning point.”
“Tonight, we saw a different dynamic,” said Captain Johnson, whose agency is overseeing security here. “Protest crowds were a bit smaller, and they were out early. We had to respond to fewer incidents than the night before. There were no Molotov cocktails tonight. There were no shootings.” Police did make 47 arrests overnight.As the tension on the street seemed to ease, the focus turned to the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer on Aug. 9.
A grand jury has been convened and was scheduled to meet Wednesday to begin hearing evidence, said Edward Magee, a spokesman for Robert P. McCulloch, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County.
Protesters gathered outside Mr. McCulloch’s office on Wednesday, calling for him to step aside. They argued that he could not be impartial because his father, a police officer, was shot and killed by a black man while on duty when Mr. McCulloch was a child.
Mr. McCulloch, speaking to a local radio station, said he has only one interest: conducting a fair and thorough investigation. But he acknowledged that Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri has the power to appoint a new prosecutor.
“Anyone who wants me off the case needs to call up the governor and express their opinion to him,” Mr. McCulloch told KTRS radio.
By failing to act, Mr. McCulloch said, the governor “undermines everything except the cover he has pulled over his head.” He told him to “man up” and make a decision so that the case will not be further delayed.
Mr. Magee cautioned that it could take weeks for the grand jury to consider all of the evidence. He said that Officer Darren Wilson, who shot Mr. Brown, had been interviewed by police investigators and would be given the opportunity to testify. The Justice Department has started a separate inquiry.
More than 40 F.B.I. agents have been dispatched to Ferguson, and Mr. Holder said they are not only investigating the shooting but also looking for any broad patterns of civil rights violations.
In an open letter to the people of Ferguson, Mr. Holder said he understood the desire of residents for an “independent” inquiry.
“This is my pledge to the people of Ferguson: Our investigation into this matter will be full, it will be fair, and it will be independent,” Mr. Holder wrote in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “And beyond the investigation itself, we will work with the police, civil rights leaders, and members of the public to ensure that this tragedy can give rise to new understanding — and robust action — aimed at bridging persistent gaps between law enforcement officials and the communities we serve.”
The frustrations in the community have been fueled in part by the slow pace with which the authorities have released information.
In a sign of just how deep the distrust runs, there were three separate autopsies performed on Mr. Brown’s body: one by the county medical examiner, one by a private pathologist hired by the family, and one by federal authorities.
In addition to the many lingering questions about the shooting, the local authorities have also come under criticism for how they have handled the protests.
Norm Stamper, the former Seattle police chief who was in charge during the protests that rocked that city in 1999, said that the wrong tone was set from the first day in Ferguson.
“The basic perspective that I have over this whole thing, dating back to the shooting incident itself, what we had were largely peaceful vigils and protests that were met with police tactics that were highly aggressive and militaristic,” he said. “That response ignited what we have seen all week.”
He reserved his harshest criticism for the use of tear gas by the police — a mistake he said he made in Seattle and one he regrets to this day.
Since the first day of protests in Ferguson, the authorities shifted their response almost daily, adding to the sense that the situation was out of control.
On one day, protesters were told to gather in one place. Another day, they were told to keep moving. Then a curfew was imposed. The next night, there was no curfew. The local police were in control; then another unit took over. The National Guard was finally brought in to try to temper the unrest, but its role was not exactly clear.
“You get governors and police chiefs and everyone gnashing their teeth,” Mr. Stamper said. “Even the protesters are commenting on that: what are they doing?”
On Tuesday night, however, it seemed that some of that energy had gone from the streets. And the police also seemed more restrained, refraining from using tear gas.
The evening began in a familiar fashion: Demonstrators marched along the street and chanted “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and other slogans that have become common here since Mr. Brown’s death.
The authorities made at least 47 arrests after demonstrators tossed bottles toward police officers, some of whom used pepper spray to subdue some protesters. In some instances, teams of officers abruptly entered the crowd, detained a single person whom they had apparently focused on, and returned to West Florissant Avenue, where many of the recent confrontations have occurred.
Although law enforcement officers in riot gear eyed the protesters while a police helicopter occasionally circled the city, there were no signs of trouble for long stretches of the evening.
When a demonstration ended shortly before midnight, many of the demonstrators prayed.
“Now that’s what I call a good protest,” Jonathan Smith, 45, said. “Ending in a prayer, no gas in the air.”
A local lawyer, Jerryl T. Christmas, urged demonstrators to leave the street and join a protest planned for Wednesday morning.
But tensions soon resurfaced, as people whom Captain Johnson labeled “the agitators, the criminals” tossed urine and bottles toward the authorities. Those actions, Captain Johnson said, were part of what prompted the police to restrict movement on West Florissant Avenue and to make arrests.
One person, Captain Johnson said, was from Austin, Tex., and was arrested on Tuesday night for the third time since the unrest began.
The fleeting clash, though, was far less fierce than previous encounters between the police and demonstrators, and it followed a night of extraordinary violence in Ferguson, a city of about 21,000 people northwest of St. Louis. The police fired tear gas to control the crowd on Monday and made dozens of arrests, and two people were wounded by gunfire.
While the authorities were hopeful that the worst of the street violence had passed, they were also aware that similar lulls had failed to hold in the past. Last Thursday night, officials here were encouraged when a break in the violence led to such a relaxed scene along West Florissant Avenue that one woman compared it to a parade.
But the next night, the police and a band of protesters engaged in a four-hour standoff after demonstrators barricaded part of the road. By Saturday afternoon, Governor Nixon had ordered a curfew for the city, which ran from midnight to 5 a.m., and declared a state of emergency.
Yet more violence followed, including a chaotic episode on Sunday when the police said demonstrators had tried to overrun their command post at a Ferguson shopping center. Mr. Nixon quickly ordered the Missouri National Guard to Ferguson, and soldiers on Tuesday night again manned checkpoints at entrances to the command post.
Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting.
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8) Shooting Accounts Differ as Holder Schedules Visit to Ferguson
By FRANCES ROBLES Francis Robles and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMichael S. Schmidt
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/shooting-accounts-differ-as-holder-schedules-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package
FERGUSON, Mo. — As a county grand jury prepared to hear evidence on Wednesday in the shooting death of a black teenager by a white police officer that touched off 10 days of unrest here, witnesses have given investigators sharply conflicting accounts of the killing.
Some of the accounts seem to agree on how the fatal altercation initially unfolded: with a struggle between the officer, Darren Wilson, and the teenager, Michael Brown. Officer Wilson was inside his patrol car at the time, while Mr. Brown, who was unarmed, was leaning in through an open window.
Many witnesses also agreed on what happened next: Officer Wilson’s firearm went off inside the car, Mr. Brown ran away, the officer got out of his car and began firing toward Mr. Brown, and then Mr. Brown stopped, turned around and faced the officer.But on the crucial moments that followed, the accounts differ sharply, officials say. Some witnesses say that Mr. Brown, 18, moved toward Officer Wilson, possibly in a threatening manner, when the officer shot him dead. But others say that Mr. Brown was not moving and may even have had his hands up when he was killed.
The accounts of what witnesses have told local and federal law enforcement authorities come from some of those witnesses themselves, law enforcement authorities and others in Ferguson. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a continuing investigation.
The new details on the witness accounts emerged as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was scheduled to visit Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with F.B.I. agents who have been conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting.
Mr. Holder and top Justice Department officials were weighing whether to open a broader civil rights investigation to look at Ferguson’s police practices at large, according to law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks. The issue came up after news reports revealed a 2009 case in which a man said that four police officers beat him, then charged him with damaging government property — by getting blood on their uniforms.
Under Mr. Holder, the Justice Department has opened nearly two dozen such investigations into police departments, more than twice as many as were opened in the previous five years, according to department data.
Also on Tuesday, federal authorities learned the results of an autopsy performed on Mr. Brown by military coroners that showed that he had been shot six times, though they declined to release further details until their investigation was finished. An autopsy conducted on behalf of Mr. Brown’s family also found that he had been shot at least six times — including once in the face and once in the top of his head — with all bullets striking him in the front. The county has also done its own autopsy, which found evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system.
The Brown family has scheduled a funeral for Monday.Clashes between the police and protesters have become a nightly ritual, although the scene on Tuesday was initially calm. The authorities took their positions before sunset, and Missouri National Guard soldiers staffed checkpoints at the shopping center that is now a police command post. Demonstrators marched without incident while officers watched. The quiet nature of the protests raised hopes that they had entered a calmer phase, but more confrontations were reported overnight, with 47 people arrested.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Gov. Jay Nixon expressed sympathy for the Brown family and praised residents for “standing against armed and violent instigators.” But he also said that “a vigorous prosecution must now be pursued.”
“The democratically elected St. Louis County prosecutor and the attorney general of the United States each have a job to do,” Mr. Nixon said. “Their obligation to achieve justice in the shooting death of Michael Brown must be carried out thoroughly, promptly and correctly, and I call upon them to meet those expectations.”
The fatal confrontation began on Aug. 9 shortly after the police received reports that two men had robbed a convenience store in Ferguson. Officer Wilson, who was not responding to the robbery, had stopped to speak with Mr. Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson. The Ferguson police chief, Thomas Jackson, said that it was around the time that Officer Wilson started talking to the two that he realized they fit the description of the suspects in the convenience store robbery.
A lawyer for Mr. Johnson said that his client was interviewed by the F.B.I. and the St. Louis County police last week for nearly four hours. In that interview, Mr. Johnson admitted that he and Mr. Brown had stolen cigarillos from the store, said the lawyer, Freeman R. Bosley Jr.
Mr. Bosley said that the officer told the two to get off the street, adding that Mr. Johnson told the officer that he lived nearby. They got into a bit of a verbal dispute with the officer about whether walking in the street constituted a crime, Mr. Bosley said.
Contrary to what several witnesses have told law enforcement officials, Mr. Bosley said that the officer then reached out of the window with his left hand and grabbed Mr. Brown by the throat.
He said Mr. Brown pushed him off, and the officer then grabbed Mr. Brown’s shirt.
“My client sees the officer pull a gun and hears him say, ‘I’ll shoot you’ — then ‘pow!’ there was a shot,” Mr. Bosley said, referring to the one that apparently went off in the car. “He did not describe a scuffle. It was more of a scuffle for him to get away.”
Asked if Mr. Brown had punched the officer, Mr. Bosley said that Mr. Johnson “did not observe that.”
However, law enforcement officials say witnesses and forensic analysis have shown that Officer Wilson did sustain an injury during the struggle in the car.
As Officer Wilson got out of his car, the men were running away. The officer fired his weapon but did not hit anyone, according to law enforcement officials.
Mr. Johnson took cover near a parked car as he saw the officer confronting Mr. Brown, Mr. Bosley said.
A man who lives nearby, Michael T. Brady, said in an interview that he saw the initial altercation in the patrol car, although he struggled to see exactly what was happening.
“It was something strange,” said Mr. Brady, 32, a janitor. “Something was not right. It was some kind of altercation. I can’t say whether he was punching the officer or whatever. But something was going on in that window, and it didn’t look right.”
Mr. Brady said he had been interviewed by county investigators, but not the F.B.I.Mr. Brady said he could see Mr. Johnson at the front passenger side of the car when he and Mr. Brown suddenly started running. Mr. Brady did not hear a gunshot or know what caused them to run. But he said he did see a police officer get out of the patrol car and start walking briskly while firing on Mr. Brown as he fled.
What happened next could be what the case turns on. Several witnesses have told investigators that Mr. Brown stopped and turned around with his arms up.
According to his account to the Ferguson police, Officer Wilson said that Mr. Brown had lowered his arms and moved toward him, law enforcement officials said. Fearing that the teenager was going to attack him, the officer decided to use deadly force. Some witnesses have backed up that account. Others, however — including Mr. Johnson — have said that Mr. Brown did not move toward the officer before the final shots were fired.
A lawyer for the police union, Greg Kloeppel, did not return calls for comment.
The F.B.I., Mr. Bosley said, pressed Mr. Johnson to say how high Mr. Brown’s hands were. Mr. Johnson said that his hands were not that high, and that one was lower than the other, because he appeared to be “favoring it,” the lawyer said.
James McKnight, who also said he saw the shooting, said that Mr. Brown’s hands were up right after he turned around to face the officer.
“I saw him stumble toward the officer, but not rush at him,” Mr. McKnight said in a brief interview. “The officer was about six or seven feet away from him.”
Also Tuesday, a few miles from Ferguson, St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers shot and killed a 23-year-old black man. The shooting threatened to further inflame a community still reeling from Mr. Brown’s death.
Sam Dotson, the chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police, said two officers encountered a man at the Six Stars Market in northwest St. Louis behaving “erratically” and brandishing a knife. The officers repeatedly warned, “Stop, drop the knife,” but he refused, Chief Dotson said.
The man approached the officers, knife raised, and was shot after he came within three or four feet, the chief said.
In a sign of how tense the situation remains, Chief Dotson went out into a crowd at the scene of the shooting to tell it what the police understood had occurred. “I think it’s important that people understand what happened,” he said. He said witnesses, including a local alderman, had confirmed the account of the officers. “I want this message to be out as truthfully and quickly as possible,” the chief said.
But not all in the crowd were willing to listen. A small group of protesters, most of them black, gathered at the scene chanting, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”
“Even if this is a legitimate shooting, they are going to capitalize on this and try to use it for their martial law agenda,” said Christopher Hobbs, 21, who had joined dozens of other residents at the scene.
Frances Robles reported from Ferguson, and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington. Reporting was contributed by Matt Apuzzo from Washington, Marc Santora from New York, and Alan Blinder and John Eligon from Ferguson.
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9) Israeli Strike in Gaza Hits Family of Hamas Military Commander
By Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes killed a wife and baby son of the top military commander of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates the Gaza Strip, hours after rocket fire from Gaza broke a temporary cease-fire Tuesday and halted talks aimed at ending the six-week conflict collapsed in Cairo. The fate of the commander, Mohammed Deif, the target of several previous Israeli assassination attempts, remained unclear, though Palestinian officials and witnesses said his was not one of three bodies pulled Wednesday from the rubble of the bombed Gaza City home.
Mr. Deif, who is considered to be the designer of Hamas’s signature Qassam rockets and the leader of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, is a shadowy figure who was severely injured in a 2003 Israeli strike. After Mr. Deif claimed in a recorded message last month that Hamas was “winning the war,” a senior Israeli minister vowed to hunt him down.“For years, Mohammed Deif has been hiding in the tunnels underneath Gaza, and that is where he will remain because he’s a dead man,” Yair Lapid, Israel’s finance minister and a member of its so-called security cabinet, said on July 30. Later, Mr. Lapid declared, “To Deif and his gang, I want to say clearly: Just as the United States did not rest until it found Bin Laden and eliminated him, we will find you and bring you to justice.”
Israel has not killed many well-known Hamas military leaders during the air-and-ground assault on Gaza that began on July 8; most of the more than 2,000 Palestinians killed have been civilians, according to rights groups. A more limited operation in November 2012 started with the assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari, who was Mr. Deif’s deputy but actually ran the day-to-day operations of the Qassam Brigades because of Mr. Deif’s injuries.
The Israeli military would not confirm whether it had targeted Mr. Deif or his family, or if there had been a change in strategy since the violence resumed.
Witnesses in Gaza said that F-16 warplanes had dropped five bombs at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on a three-story building owned by Rabah al-Dalo, a government employee whose wife and two teenage sons were among those killed. “It was like an earthquake, earthquake,” said a neighbor, Abu Fayez al-Shorafa. “Everybody went out to check what happened.”
Mr. Shorafa said he had no idea whether Mr. Deif had been living in the home, a part of which other neighbors said had been rented out for more than a year. It is common practice for senior militants in Hamas to move from apartment to apartment, often rented in others’ names, to avoid detection by Israeli intelligence services.
Mustafa Asfoura said his daughter Widad, 28, had married Mr. Deif, who has other wives, about four years ago, and that they had four children. The youngest, 8-month-old Ali, was killed alongside his mother on Tuesday and the other children were injured. Mr. Asfoura, 55, said he did not know where his daughter was living, that he had last seen her 10 days ago and that he had long expected her to die in such a way because she was married to “the No. 1 wanted man in Israel.”
“She agreed to marry Deif, that was her choice, I can’t stand against her decision,” said the father, a thin man who runs a modest shoe-manufacturing workshop. He said that Widad also had three children from a previous marriage to a Hamas militant, who was killed in 2007.
“If Israel wants to kill a fighter, why would it kill women and children beside him?” Mr. Asfoura asked. “Let them kill him alone.”
Though it is not clear if Mr. Deif was in the house at the time of the attack, Yaakov Peri, an Israeli minister and former head of the internal security service, said the strike “demonstrates intelligence capabilities.”
“It shows that even though much has been said in the past about our inability to reach the heads of Hamas, our intelligence is indeed capable,” Mr. Peri said in a radio interview. “I think that it is an important indicator of the fact that no military wing head or anyone who is a target for assassination is immune.”
The Israeli strikes came after Gaza-based militants resumed rocket fire around 4 p.m. Tuesday after a nine-day break, prompting Israel to withdraw its delegation from Cairo, where talks toward a more durable truce had deadlocked. The bloody, monthlong battle has taken the lives of 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians, one a foreign farmworker.
By Wednesday afternoon, the Israeli military had counted nearly 150 rockets fired from Gaza since the collapse of the cease-fire; 94 hit Israel and 24 were intercepted. Most of the rockets were aimed at southern Israel, though a few reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where one fell in open ground around midnight, according to the Israeli military. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israel Police, said one had hit an empty house near the southern city of Ashkelon, causing damage but no injuries.
Israel conducted scores of airstrikes across Gaza overnight and into Wednesday, killing at least 19 Palestinians and wounding 120 by 3 p.m., according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Seven people, including a pregnant woman, died in an early-morning attack on the al-Louh family home in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, health officials said; a 3-year-old was killed by a missile fired by a drone in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City; and another drone strike killed two men in their car in the north.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, declined to provide specifics about the strikes other than to say they were aimed at “Hamas terrorist infrastructure.”
“The mission is ongoing,” Colonel Lerner said. “It never ended. There was a break while the negotiations were ongoing.” Asked about the goals of the new round of strikes, he answered, “To restore safety and security to the state of Israel.”
Israel returned to a war footing on Wednesday, with large gatherings banned and some beaches, parks and camps in the south closed. Residents were warned to stay close to bomb shelters, and Mr. Rosenfeld said the police had stepped up patrols in the Tel Aviv area.
Mr. Deif, who is believed to be about 50 years old, has topped Israel’s most-wanted list since at least 1996. He took over the Qassam Brigades in 2002 after its previous commander was killed by an Israeli bomb.
That same year, reports of Mr. Deif’s death in an Israeli strike were debunked. He is thought to have survived five separate Israeli attempts on his life, but is believed to have lost an eye and suffered a spinal injury.
Hamas put out a public call for people to attend the funeral of Mr. Deif’s wife and baby, and hundreds joined the procession in the Jabaliya refugee camp. Drones hovered overhead, Israeli airstrikes could be heard in the distance, and the white smoke and whooshes of two rockets headed into Israel from Gaza caused children to quickly drop their heads.
Mr. Asfoura emerged from his one-story home carrying the tiny body of his grandson, Ali, wrapped in a white shroud and with a white bandage on his head. Neighbors and relatives followed him to Al Kholafa mosque, while men carried Widad’s body on a red stretcher. “I was waiting for a cease-fire so I could see Widad more often,” wailed her mother, Um Ibrahim Asfoura, 55.
Egypt has been trying to broker a cease-fire since the first week of the conflict. Those efforts intensified in recent days but apparently failed to make real progress. Hamas, and a broader Palestinian delegation including the moderate, secular Fatah Party of the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, had demanded the reopening of all border crossings, the removal of Israeli restrictions on trade, the building of a Gaza seaport and the revival of a defunct airport in the coastal territory.
Israel had called for a demilitarization of Gaza under international supervision.
People briefed on the talks have said that negotiators agreed last week to set these broader goals aside for a month and to focus an initial agreement on the reconstruction of Gaza, where thousands of homes, businesses and other properties have been destroyed. But that initial agreement never came.
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, seized on the collapse of the Cairo talks to reiterate his call for a more aggressive assault to topple Hamas from Gaza.
“I hope that now it is clear to everyone that the policy of ‘quiet will be answered with quiet’ means that Hamas is the initiator, and that it is the one that decides when, where and how much it fires on the residents of Israel, whereas we make do with only a response that, even if it is powerful, is still just a response,” Mr. Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page. “When we’re talking seriously about the security of the residents of Israel, we need to understand that there isn’t any option other than a resolute Israeli initiative that spells one thing – bringing about Hamas’s surrender.”
But Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, blamed Israel for the breakdown, saying that country’s negotiators withdrew from the talks before rockets were fired Tuesday “and did not answer to Hamas’s notes and offers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel “had been given the choice between war and lull — he selected war,” Mr. Barhoum said in an interview at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. “Netanyahu’s government must get prepared for a battle that will be difficult and hard on the Israelis. Netanyahu and his government have only one choice: stopping the aggression, lifting the blockade, allowing the rebuilding of Gaza and accepting the demands of the resistance.”
Jodi Rudoren reported from Jerusalem, and Fares Akram from Gaza.
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10) In Russia, Scenes From Ferguson Are Played as Nothing Shocking: It’s America
By David M. Herszenhorn
August 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/world/europe/in-russia-scenes-from-ferguson-are-played-as-nothing-shocking-its-america.html?ref=us
MOSCOW — At least once an hour, sometimes more frequently, images of battalions of riot police officers in helmets clashing with demonstrators fill the screen of Rossiya 24, one of Russia’s major government-controlled television channels, and newscasters speaking in grave tones inveigh against the injustice and violence by the authorities.
The images are not from Kiev, Ukraine, or from here in Moscow, where such scenes have been more than familiar in recent years. They are from Ferguson, Mo., where the shooting death of Michael Brown and the crackdown by the authorities against protesters have provided the latest opportunity for Russia to portray its detractors in America as hypocrites.
“Cases of racism are still not rare in the nation of exemplary democracy,” an anchor on Rossiya 24 said on Tuesday, as Ferguson again grabbed a prominent place in the evening news cycle.In Russia’s more tabloid-style news outlets, close coverage of the events in Missouri, including such details as the rap star Nelly’s appearing in support of the demonstrators, has overshadowed the other big story in recent days: that of a high school music teacher under pressure to resign after she inadvertently posted a naked selfie on VKontakte, the Russian social media site.
The Russian government itself weighed in on Tuesday. In a long statement, Konstantin Dolgov, the Foreign Ministry’s special representative for human rights, baldly accused the United States of hypocrisy, and said Washington would do better to focus on its own problems rather than intervening in other countries “under the false pretext of defending democracy and human rights.”
“While urging other countries to guarantee the freedom of speech and not to suppress antigovernment protests, the United States authorities at home are not too soft with those actively expressing discontent over persistent inequalities, actual discrimination and the situation of ‘second class’ citizens,” Mr. Dolgov said.
He added, “American human rights activists are sounding the alarm.”
Over the years, Washington has persistently condemned the Kremlin’s suppression of political dissent. The United States was sharply critical, for example, when scuffles between the police and huge crowds denouncing President Vladimir V. Putin in 2012 led to dozens of arrests. Criminal trials in some of those cases are still in the news here.
That has given Russia ample motive to gloat whenever accusations arise of heavy-handedness by American law enforcement in the face of public protests.
More recently, of course, the United States — to the Kremlin’s great dismay — sided strongly in favor of street protesters in Kiev, who this year succeeded in ousting Ukraine’s president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. An assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, had visited with the demonstrators in Independence Square and handed out cookies. Several United States officials, including Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, also visited Kiev to show solidarity and even addressed the crowd from the stage.
The focus on the Ferguson situation is hardly a surprise.
Russia paid similarly close attention, for instance, when demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested in New York in 2011, and government-controlled news media outlets have often rebroadcast video of those arrests to make the same point as their coverage of Ferguson: The freedom of assembly enshrined in the Bill of Rights is not as absolute as promoters of American democracy might suggest.
It is not only harsh treatment of protesters that draws Russia’s disapproving eye. Gun crimes, such as school shootings, which are relatively rare in Russia, also get heavy publicity when they occur in the United States.
The police response in Missouri — and Russia’s official smirking — has caused deep consternation among critics of the Kremlin here. They see it as being exploited to excuse Russia’s much more pervasive and deep-rooted restrictions on civil liberties, as well as its often arbitrary — and Kremlin-dominated — law enforcement and judicial systems.
Maria Baronova, who was arrested at one of the white-ribbon protests against Mr. Putin, posted a photo on Twitter on Tuesday of heavily armed St. Louis County police officers in helmets. Ms. Baronova had faced near-certain conviction on charges of inciting a riot, and she avoided a lengthy prison term only because she qualified for an amnesty program ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
“Dear American gvrnmnt,” she wrote alongside the photograph on Twitter. “You can’t imagine how those who fight for freedom in Russia hate you these days. Putin saw this.”
One headline over an opinion feature in the newspaper MK this week asked, “Could Ferguson become a second Donetsk?” The reference was to the rebel-controlled city in eastern Ukraine, which was been ravaged by separatist violence. In the article, an expert contributor helpfully reassured that civil war was not imminent in the United States.
Coverage of the protests in Ferguson on LifeNews, a site close to the Russian authorities, included a picture of the police arresting Hedy Epstein, who the site noted is a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor. It also reported the arrest of Scott Olson, a photographer for Getty Images, “who tried to take pictures of the policemen.” The site added, “He was soon released.”
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11) Macy's to Pay $650,000 to Resolve 'Shop-And-Frisk' Probe
By Reuters
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/20/business/20reuters-macys-bias.html?src=busln
NEW YORK — Macy's Inc has agreed to pay $650,000 to New York's attorney general and install a monitor to resolve allegations that its security personnel targeted minority shoppers.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office investigated several complaints from customers of the company's flagship store in midtown Manhattan, also said Macy's would adopt new anti-profiling policies, improve training and designate a compliance expert to report to the attorney general's office for the next three years.
The deal comes a week after Schneiderman's office reached a $525,000 agreement with Barneys New York [DBWLDB.UL] to resolve similar "shop-and-frisk" allegations from minority customers.
"It is absolutely unacceptable - and it's illegal - for anyone in New York to be treated like a criminal simply because of the color of their skin," Schneiderman said in a statement.
In a statement, Macy's said it has also reached settlements in principle with various shoppers who filed state and federal lawsuits alleging discrimination.
Those complaints included a lawsuit filed by actor Rob Brown of HBO's "Treme" claiming he was detained and handcuffed at the store after purchasing a $1,300 gold watch.
"Our company's policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling and any occurrence of such behavior will not be tolerated in our organization," the company said.
The attorney general's office opened its investigation 18 months ago. Among other findings, the office said a review of data provided by Macy's showed the store detained minorities at significantly higher rates than white shoppers.
Macy's had previously operated under a consent decree reached in 2005 with the attorney general's office to resolve allegations that its security practices, including its handcuffing policies, violated anti-discrimination laws. That agreement ended in 2008.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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12) My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.
By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.610687
The past weeks have witnessed unprecedented action by members of civil society across the world against the injustice of Israel’s disproportionately brutal response to the firing of missiles from Palestine.
If you add together all the people who gathered over the past weekend to demand justice in Israel and Palestine – in Cape Town, Washington, D.C., New York, New Delhi, London, Dublin and Sydney, and all the other cities – this was arguably the largest active outcry by citizens around a single cause ever in the history of the world.
A quarter of a century ago, I participated in some well-attended demonstrations against apartheid. I never imagined we’d see demonstrations of that size again, but last Saturday’s turnout in Cape Town was as big if not bigger. Participants included young and old, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, blacks, whites, reds and greens ... as one would expect from a vibrant, tolerant, multicultural nation.
I asked the crowd to chant with me: “We are opposed to the injustice of the illegal occupation of Palestine. We are opposed to the indiscriminate killing in Gaza. We are opposed to the indignity meted out to Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks. We are opposed to violence perpetrated by all parties. But we are not opposed to Jews.”
Earlier in the week, I called for the suspension of Israel from the International Union of Architects, which was meeting in South Africa.
I appealed to Israeli sisters and brothers present at the conference to actively disassociate themselves and their profession from the design and construction of infrastructure related to perpetuating injustice, including the separation barrier, the security terminals and checkpoints, and the settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.
“I implore you to take this message home: Please turn the tide against violence and hatred by joining the nonviolent movement for justice for all people of the region,” I said.
Over the past few weeks, more than 1.6 million people across the world have signed onto this movement by joining an Avaaz campaign calling on corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation and/or implicated in the abuse and repression of Palestinians to pull out. The campaign specifically targets Dutch pension fund ABP; Barclays Bank; security systems supplier G4S; French transport company Veolia; computer company Hewlett-Packard; and bulldozer supplier Caterpillar.
Last month, 17 EU governments urged their citizens to avoid doing business in or investing in illegal Israeli settlements.
We have also recently witnessed the withdrawal by Dutch pension fund PGGM of tens of millions of euros from Israeli banks; the divestment from G4S by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the U.S. Presbyterian Church divested an estimated $21 million from HP, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar.
It is a movement that is gathering pace.
Violence begets violence and hatred, that only begets more violence and hatred.
We South Africans know about violence and hatred. We understand the pain of being the polecat of the world; when it seems nobody understands or is even willing to listen to our perspective. It is where we come from.
We also know the benefits that dialogue between our leaders eventually brought us; when organizations labeled “terrorist” were unbanned and their leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were released from imprisonment, banishment and exile.
We know that when our leaders began to speak to each other, the rationale for the violence that had wracked our society dissipated and disappeared. Acts of terrorism perpetrated after the talks began – such as attacks on a church and a pub – were almost universally condemned, and the party held responsible snubbed at the ballot box.
The exhilaration that followed our voting together for the first time was not the preserve of black South Africans alone. The real triumph of our peaceful settlement was that all felt included. And later, when we unveiled a constitution so tolerant, compassionate and inclusive that it would make God proud, we all felt liberated.
Of course, it helped that we had a cadre of extraordinary leaders.
But what ultimately forced these leaders together around the negotiating table was the cocktail of persuasive, nonviolent tools that had been developed to isolate South Africa, economically, academically, culturally and psychologically.
At a certain point – the tipping point – the then-government realized that the cost of attempting to preserve apartheid outweighed the benefits.
The withdrawal of trade with South Africa by multinational corporations with a conscience in the 1980s was ultimately one of the key levers that brought the apartheid state – bloodlessly – to its knees. Those corporations understood that by contributing to South Africa’s economy, they were contributing to the retention of an unjust status quo.
Those who continue to do business with Israel, who contribute to a sense of “normalcy” in Israeli society, are doing the people of Israel and Palestine a disservice. They are contributing to the perpetuation of a profoundly unjust status quo.
Those who contribute to Israel’s temporary isolation are saying that Israelis and Palestinians are equally entitled to dignity and peace.
Ultimately, events in Gaza over the past month or so are going to test who believes in the worth of human beings.
It is becoming more and more clear that politicians and diplomats are failing to come up with answers, and that responsibility for brokering a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land rests with civil society and the people of Israel and Palestine themselves.
Besides the recent devastation of Gaza, decent human beings everywhere – including many in Israel – are profoundly disturbed by the daily violations of human dignity and freedom of movement Palestinians are subjected to at checkpoints and roadblocks. And Israel’s policies of illegal occupation and the construction of buffer-zone settlements on occupied land compound the difficulty of achieving an agreementsettlement in the future that is acceptable for all.
The State of Israel is behaving as if there is no tomorrow. Its people will not live the peaceful and secure lives they crave – and are entitled to – as long as their leaders perpetuate conditions that sustain the conflict.
I have condemned those in Palestine responsible for firing missiles and rockets at Israel. They are fanning the flames of hatred. I am opposed to all manifestations of violence.
But we must be very clear that the people of Palestine have every right to struggle for their dignity and freedom. It is a struggle that has the support of many around the world.
No human-made problems are intractable when humans put their heads together with the earnest desire to overcome them. No peace is impossible when people are determined to achieve it.
Peace requires the people of Israel and Palestine to recognize the human being in themselves and each other; to understand their interdependence.
Missiles, bombs and crude invective are not part of the solution. There is no military solution.
The solution is more likely to come from that nonviolent toolbox we developed in South Africa in the 1980s, to persuade the government of the necessity of altering its policies.
The reason these tools – boycott, sanctions and divestment – ultimately proved effective was because they had a critical mass of support, both inside and outside the country. The kind of support we have witnessed across the world in recent weeks, in respect of Palestine.
My plea to the people of Israel is to see beyond the moment, to see beyond the anger at feeling perpetually under siege, to see a world in which Israel and Palestine can coexist – a world in which mutual dignity and respect reign.
It requires a mind-set shift. A mind-set shift that recognizes that attempting to perpetuate the current status quo is to damn future generations to violence and insecurity. A mind-set shift that stops regarding legitimate criticism of a state’s policies as an attack on Judaism. A mind-set shift that begins at home and ripples out across communities and nations and regions – to the Diaspora scattered across the world we share. The only world we share.
People united in pursuit of a righteous cause are unstoppable. God does not interfere in the affairs of people, hoping we will grow and learn through resolving our difficulties and differences ourselves. But God is not asleep. The Jewish scriptures tell us that God is biased on the side of the weak, the dispossessed, the widow, the orphan, the alien who set slaves free on an exodus to a Promised Land. It was the prophet Amos who said we should let righteousness flow like a river.
Goodness prevails in the end. The pursuit of freedom for the people of Palestine from humiliation and persecution by the policies of Israel is a righteous cause. It is a cause that the people of Israel should support.
Nelson Mandela famously said that South Africans would not feel free until Palestinians were free.
He might have added that the liberation of Palestine will liberate Israel, too.
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13) Tear Gas, Stun Grenades, Sound Cannons: Companies Profiting From Police Crackdowns Like Ferguson
By Alex Kane
August 21, 2014
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/tear-gas-stun-grenades-sound-cannons-companies-profiting-police-crackdowns?akid=12153.229473.yT6Y7r&rd=1&src=newsletter1016414&t=2&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
Sales of all those military grade weapons are making some people rich.
The tear-gas, rubber bullets and smoke bombs fired in Ferguson, Missouri have fed outrage over police militarization in the U.S. In response to the shocking images, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill said, “We need to de-militarize this situation.” Journalists reporting live on the demonstrations sparked by the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown expressed befuddlement as to why the police needed high-caliber weapons better suited for war zones than protests in an American city.
But one group of people is decidedly happy about the militarized response in Ferguson: those who work in the weapons industry. The array of police forces--the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the St. Louis county and city police and local Ferguson officers--that descended on the largely black Missouri city have used the products these corporations are selling in abundance. Tear gas, rubber bullets, smoke bombs, stun grenades, armored personnel carriers, sound cannons and high-caliber rifles have all been deployed to quell the unrest, though they have contributed to anger over police tactics.
The police response is the perfect showcase for the companies that manufacture military equipment for law enforcement use. They can point to the police tactics to sell their products to other law enforcement agencies preparing for demonstrations. And in Missouri, the police’s massive use of armaments like tear gas mean that their stock is becoming depleted and they will need to re-up their purchases. These companies will profit from the tension in Ferguson, and could fuel even greater militarization of the police, a trend that began with the war on drugs and has accelerated in recent years with the advent of the war on terror.
The companies getting mileage out of the unrest in Ferguson are vast. The LRAD Corporation manufactures the long-range acoustic devices that have emitted piercing noises at protesters in Missouri. These sound devices can cause headaches and other types of pain. The police in Ferguson are also using the Bearcat armored truck manufactured by Lenco. That vehicle, costing $360,000, was paid for with Department of Homeland Security grant money, according to the New York Times. Since 2003, over $9 million in grants from Homeland Security have flowed to police in St. Louis, according to the Times. Overall, since the September 11 terror attacks, $34 billion in such grants have been given to law enforcement agencies across the country, showing it is the federal government fueling police militarization.
The Ferguson police department has received two armored Humvees, a generator and a trailer from the U.S. military, according to the Associated Press. Police departments around the nation have received the military’s surplus equipment, which has brought weapons used in Afghanistan and Iraq to local towns and cities. Congress first passed a law authorizing the funneling of surplus military equipmentto domestic law enforcement in 1990. It’s now known as the 1033 program, referring to the section of the program in the Pentagon budget.
The Justice Department has also gotten in on the action. Justice Department grants have paid for tear gas and rubber bullets, though it’s not clear if police in Ferguson used those grants to buy their own tear gas.
Whoever paid for it, the companies that make tear-gas are sure to benefit from the Ferguson demonstrations. Two corporations’ tear-gas products have been fired on demonstrators in recent days: Combined Tactical Systems (CTS) and Defense Technology. CTS, headquartered in Pennsylvania, is well-known for being a leading supplier of tear gas around the world, including to the governments of Israel, Egypt and Bahrain, which buy the weapons with the generous amounts of U.S. military aid given to them. Defense Technology, also based in Pennsylvania, has likewise profited from tear gas sold to Israel, Egypt and Bahrain, in addition to Yemen, Turkey and Tunisia.
Yet another company that will profit from the tensions in Missouri is Taser International. In the days since the shooting of Michael Brown, the company’s stock has risen 28 percent, CNN reported.According to the news outlet, the key reason its stock has risen is because of expectations that the images of police brutality and excess will lead to body cameras—a product Taser International makes—being outfitted on cops there.
Many of the corporations’ products that are being turned on protesters in Ferguson will be put on display next month—in Missouri. From September 17-19, a Military Police Expo will take place in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. “The Expo will provide opportunity for vendors to showcase their products and services to Military Police Soldiers, senior leaders and key decision makers...In addition, civilian law enforcement and Chiefs of Police will also be invited to attend,” the event’s website explains. Vendors participating include Combined Tactical Systems, Taser International, LRAD, L-3 Warrior Systems and many others.
The purpose of the convention is to “get these businesses in front of some of these government entities,” Chalette Davis, an exhibit hall manager for eventPower, which is planning the expo, told AlterNet.
It’s unclear how many of the civilian law enforcement agencies firing militarized weapons in Ferguson will be on hand. But at least one, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, will be there as a vendor. In addition to that role, it’s likely the patrol will be checking out the weaponry on display. “A lot of business is done that way,” said Davis.
Meanwhile, organizers committed to ending police militarization plan to continue their fight against the trend. In early September, Oakland will play host to Urban Shield, a Department of Homeland Security-funded annual event. Urban Shield features a trade show that armaments companies participate in, as well as law enforcement training exercises to practice halting terrorism.
But a coalition of groups, including the War Resisters League, are gearing up to greet the event with a week of protest and education against Urban Shield. It’s the type of activism bound to get worldwide attention given the Ferguson protests and the debate the police response has sparked over militarization.
“People across the U.S. are waking up to police militarization," Ali Issa, an organizer with the War Resisters League, said in a statement. “The growing cross-community movement against it means that days are numbered for programs like Department of Defense's 1033 and Department of Homeland Security's Urban Shield." Alex Kane is AlterNet's New York-based World editor, and an assistant editor for Mondoweiss. Follow him on Twitter
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14) Message from Troy Davis’s family to Michael Brown’s family and the people of Ferguson
TO THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL BROWN AND THE PEOPLE OF FERGUSON, FROM THE FAMILY OF TROY DAVIS
August 21, 2014
http://donkeysaddle.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/message-from-troy-daviss-family-to-michael-browns-family-and-the-people-of-ferguson/
We are writing to express our heartfelt condolences on the brutal killing of your loved one, Michael Brown. My family knows, all too well, the pain of losing a loved one at the hands of state violence. Our family extends our love and our support to you, and wish there were something more we could do to lessen the pain of your loss.
We are also writing to express our solidarity with all those in Ferguson who are standing for justice for Mike Brown, who are demanding accountability, and who are organizing against the racism and dehumanization that is at the root of Michael’s killing and so many other examples of state violence and racist violence against black men and boys in our communities.
Our voices are added to yours, that there be no more families plunged into grief, as your family is mourning, as my family grieves still, like the still-grieving families of Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, and Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
We must continue to stand up and speak out until there is justice for Mike Brown and so many others.
We must continue to stand up and speak out until all young men and women in this country are seen for who they are–human beings deserving to be treated with respect, with dignity, and with equality.
In solidarity, and with sorrow,
Kimberly Davis, sister of Troy Anthony Davis (innocent death row prisoner executed by the state of Georgia on September 21, 2011)
on behalf of the Davis family
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15) Fatal Confrontation Heightens Tensions in Staten Island Police Precinct
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Key Factor in Police Shootings: ‘Reasonable Fear’
Each time police officers draw their weapons, they step out of everyday law enforcement and into a rigidly defined world where written rules, hours of training and Supreme Court decisions dictate not merely when a gun can be fired, but where it is aimed, how many rounds should be squeezed off and when the shooting should stop.
The Ferguson, Mo., police officer who fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager two weeks ago, setting off protest and riots, was bound by 12 pages of police department regulations, known as General Order 410.00, that govern officers’ use of force. Whether he followed them will play a central role in deliberations by a St. Louis County grand jury over whether the officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged with a crime in the shooting.But as sweeping as restrictions on the use of weapons may be, deciding whether an officer acted correctly in firing at a suspect is not cut and dried. A host of outside factors, from the officer’s perception of a threat to the suspect’s behavior and even his size, can emerge as mitigating or damning.
The police, the courts and experts say some leeway is necessary in situations where officers under crushing stress must make split-second decisions with life-or-death consequences. A large majority of officers never use their weapons. A handful of officers may be rogue killers, researchers say, but laboratory simulations of armed confrontations show that many more officers — much like ordinary civilians — can make honest mistakes in the pressure cooker of an armed encounter.
“It’s a difficult job for coppers out there,” Timothy Maher, a former officer and a professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said in an interview. “In the heat of the moment, things are happening so quickly. If they were role-playing, they could say, ‘Time out.’ But in real life, it’s, ‘Wow — in my training, this guy stopped, but here, he didn’t.’ ”
Some citizens who read witnesses’ accounts of police shootings or view cellphone videos of them see the shootings as brutal and unjustified, which underscores a frequent gap between public perceptions and official views.
The rules dictate when an officer may move from mild coercion, such as issuing an order or grabbing a suspect’s arm, to stronger or even deadly action. In general, officers are allowed to respond with greater force after a suspect does so, and the type of response — from a gentle push to a tight grip, a baton strike to a stun gun shock to a bullet — rises as the threat grows.
Every step, however, is overshadowed by a single imperative: If an officer believes he or someone else is in imminent danger of grievous injury or death, he is allowed to shoot first, and ask questions later. The same is true, the courts have ruled, in cases where a suspect believed to have killed or gravely injured someone is fleeing and can only be halted with deadly force.
“It’s a very simple analysis, a threat analysis,” said Geoffrey P. Alpert, a University of South Carolina professor and expert on high-risk police activities. “If a police officer has an objectively reasonable fear of an imminent threat to his life or serious bodily harm, he or she is justified in using deadly force. And not just his life, but any life.”
“Objectively reasonable” is a standard set by the Supreme Court in 1989 when it said that a police officer’s use of excessive force must be seen in the context of what reasonable officers would do in the same situation, given the danger and stress of police work.
Much remains in dispute about Officer Wilson’s fatal shooting of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old whom he stopped as Mr. Brown was walking home about noon on Aug. 9. But the question of whether Officer Wilson’s actions were objectively reasonable will likely be at the crux of that debate.
Lawrence Kobilinsky, chairman of the department of science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said if the evidence shows a close-up shooting and a struggle, it will go better for Officer Wilson.
Ferguson police officials have said Mr. Brown and a friend were walking in the street when Officer Wilson stopped them. In an ensuing struggle, they said, Officer Wilson was hit in the face and Mr. Brown tried to take his gun, which discharged. Later, Officer Wilson shot Mr. Brown six times as the two men faced each other.
Mr. Brown’s friend, Dorian Johnson, has said that Officer Wilson grabbed Mr. Brown by the throat and said “I’m gonna shoot you” as he tried to drag him into the squad car. He and Mr. Brown fled after the gun discharged, Mr. Johnson said, and Officer Wilson, in pursuit, shot Mr. Brown as he stood with his hands up in surrender. David Klinger, also a former police officer and a professor and criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has interviewed in depth about 300 officers who fired weapons in confrontations with suspects. A blow to the head by itself would not justify a shooting, he said, but other factors also could be at work.
“Sometimes you make a straight-up mistake,” Mr. Klinger said. “ ‘He punched me, so I shot him.’ Punching and shooting don’t go together unless you’re much bigger than me or you have martial arts training.”
“Let the physical evidence tell us what happened,” said Pat Diaz, a former South Florida homicide detective who investigated more than 100 police shootings and now works as a court-certified expert witness. “How badly injured was the police officer? Was he dazed? Was Michael Brown on drugs? Let’s see what’s really going on here.”
“He may have been pulling the trigger out of pure adrenaline, because he was in fear,” Mr. Diaz said. “If the cop has no injuries, then it’s clear-cut and hard to say he should have been shot. It’s all going to be told by the physical evidence.”
Similarly, said Mr. Kobilinsky of John Jay, “If a felon is fleeing and is known to be unarmed and poses no danger of bodily harm to either a police officer or civilians in the area, then the officer will no doubt have legal issues if he uses deadly force to subdue that person.”
At Washington State University in Spokane, researchers have run hundreds of simulated confrontations with suspects, using 60 filmed situations based on real life and performed by trained actors. Police officers participating in the simulations are wired to monitor body and brain functions.
The results show that as the simulations become more complex — adding bystanders, dimming lights, turning up background noise — officers are more likely to make mistakes in judgment, said Bryan Vila, a professor of criminal justice and former police officer who oversees the research.
“People have to make a decision before there’s enough time to study everything about the situation and what all the possible consequences could be,” he said. “Even if a cop does everything right in a very fast-paced, low-information situation where the risks are very high, the potential consequences of a mistake are very high.”
Michael Wines reported from New York, and Frances Robles from Ferguson, Mo.
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18) A March for a Safer City
The Protest Over Eric Garner’s Death Is About So Much More
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Bay
Area United Against War Newsletter
Table
of Contents:
A.
EVENTS AND ACTIONS
B. ARTICLES IN FULL
B. ARTICLES IN FULL
C.
SPECIAL APPEALS AND ONGOING CAMPAIGNS
D.
VIDEO, FILM, AUDIO. ART, POETRY, ETC.
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A.
EVENTS AND ACTIONS
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Women Organized To Resist and Defend
San Francisco, CA
Speak-out
Tuesday Aug. 26, 6 p.m.
24th and Mission Streets
Info: sf@defendwomensrights.org or 415-375-9502
Speak-out
Tuesday Aug. 26, 6 p.m.
24th and Mission Streets
Info: sf@defendwomensrights.org or 415-375-9502
Take Action for Women’s Equality Day
Say NO to the Status Quo—Full Equality for All Women!
Full Reproductive Rights Now!
Free Marissa Alexander!
Equal Pay for Equal Work!
End Violence Against Women!
http://www.defendwomensrights.org/
Aug. 26 marks Women’s Equality Day—a celebration of the hard-fought struggle for women’s suffrage that was won in 1918. Today, almost 100 years later, women have made many gains in the struggle for equality. Almost 100 years later, the struggle for full equality continues.
There is much that has not been won. In 2014, women are still paid less than men for equal work; Latina women are paid 55 percent of what men earn, Black women 67 percent and white women 78 percent. Worldwide, 35 percent of women experience sexual violence. Society then sweeps sexual violence under the rug—shaming victims and protecting attackers.
Marissa Alexander’s case—among many others—highlights the contradictions of a society that punishes victims of abuse when they defend themselves. Marissa Alexander is a 33-year-old African American woman, mother, and survivor of domestic violence. Under mandatory minimum sentencing laws, Marissa was sentenced to 20 years in prison for defending herself against an abuser in the same state that let George Zimmerman walk free. Though the original sentence was thrown out by the judge, Marissa is still being prosecuted and State Prosecutor Angela Corey has announced she intends to seek a 60-year sentence. All charges against Marissa should be dropped! We must stand with Marissa, demand her freedom, and fight to end all forms of violence against women!
Recently, reactionary politicians and groups have targeted our reproductive rights—trying to overturn Roe v Wade through federal and state legislation that denies women the right to abortion, denies us access to birth control and criminalizes certain behaviors for pregnant women. There is an ongoing offensive to defund Planned Parenthood and other centers that provide not only reproductive health care, but also critical preventative health services. The latest attack has come in the form of the Supreme Court’s decision that Hobby Lobby’s owners’ religious convictions were more important than the reproductive health care of the women who work there.
Women’s bodies belong to no one but themselves. We should have the right to control our own bodies, and determine how and when we get pregnant and give birth. Access to abortion and birth control are part and parcel of reproductive health care—and shouldn’t be isolated from health care in general. Likewise, women look forward to the day when we are safe to walk down the street, and when our bodies are not objectified and commodified. We are struggling for a day when we are not paid less just because of our gender or more likely to live in poverty because of it.
That day is entirely possible. But is only possible if we organize and mobilize to challenge the status quo that perpetuates and institutionalizes inequality. Join WORD in building the struggle for full equality.
On Women’s Equality Day, WORD (Women Organized to Resist and Defend) will be holding speak-outs, forums and other actions to celebrate the gains demanding “Say no to the status quo—full equality for all women!” Join us in cities across the country between Saturday, August 23 and Friday, August 29, 2014. Attend an event in your city or organize one.
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Special event to kick
off CISPES’ 15th National Convention
Migration: Causes and Responses
Perspectives from the US and El Salvador
Friday, August 29th at 6:30 pm
Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. San Francisco (between Valencia and Guerrero, 16th St. BART)
This space is wheelchair accessible; Spanish-English interpretation provided
This space is wheelchair accessible; Spanish-English interpretation provided
Suggested donation: $10-$30
Stay for refreshments, live music, DJs and dancing!
Stay for refreshments, live music, DJs and dancing!
While the mainstream news is finally talking about the poverty and insecurity
that are separating families in México and Central America and forcing
so many to leave their homes, there is little analysis of the role that U.S. policy plays in creating those conditions. Even less is being said about what left and progressive governments are doing, for
example in El Salvador and Nicaragua, to reduce poverty and inequality,
which often involves standing up to transnational corporations and the
enormous power they wield through trade agreements like NAFTA and CAFTA.
The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES) is thrilled to welcome Claudia Escobar,
one of the women in leadership of the Salvadoran Union Front, which
formed in 2005 as the Salvadoran working class’ “instrument of
struggle.” She is the president of her union, which represents workers
at the Ministry of Labor, and has a unique perspective on both labor and
women’s struggles under the new FMLN government.
She will be joined by Angela Sanbrano, president of the National Alliance of Latino and Caribbean Communities (NALACC), and by David Bacon, who has written extensively on the root causes of migration, especially when it comes to US economic and foreign policy.
We will also take the opportunity to celebrate
many generations of the Central American solidarity movement being
under one roof so please stay for refreshments, live music, and dancing!
Feel free to check out the Facebook invitation here and please to spread the word among other solidarity-minded friends and allies.
Please contact Karl Kramer at 415-509-9712 or bayarea@cispes.org with any questions. Hope to see you there!
CISPES le invita
a un evento especial para abrir su Convención Nacional 15o
Migración: Causas y Respuestas
Perspectivas desde los EEUU y El Salvador
Viernes el 29 de Agosto a las 6:30 pm
Women’s Building, 3543 18th St. San Francisco (entre Valencia and Guerrero, 16th St. BART)
El espacio es accesible por sillas de rueda; habrá interpretación entre inglés y español
Donación de $10-$30 sugerida
¡También habrá comida y bebida, música en vivo, DJ, y baile!
¡También habrá comida y bebida, música en vivo, DJ, y baile!
El tema de la pobreza y la inseguridad cómo
una causa fundamental de la separación de millones de familias Mexicanas
y Centroamericanas ha surgido por los medios de comunicación pero no
hay una análisis muy profunda del rol de las políticas de los EEUU
en crear estas mismas condiciones. Aún menos se oiga de las iniciativas
de gobiernos progresistas y de izquierda para disminuir la pobreza y la
desigualdad, por ejemplo en El Salvador y Nicaragua, las cuales
frecuentemente causan reacción de las empresas transnacionales que hoy
en día manejan un poder muy fuerte a través de los Tratados de
Libre Comercio.
El Comité en Solidaridad con el Pueblo de El Salvador (CISPES) tiene el honor de dar la bienvenida a Claudia Escobar,
una lideresa del Frente Sindical Salvadoreño, lo cual se aglutinó en
2005 como el “instrumento de lucha del clase trabajador.” Como
presidenta de su sindicato, lo cual representa las y los trabajadores al
Ministerio de Trabajo y Previsión Social, ofrecerá una perspectiva
única sobre la lucha de ambos las mujeres y los sindicatos bajo el nuevo
gobierno del FMLN.
Daremos la
bienvenida también a Angela Sanbrano, presidenta de la Alianza Nacional de Comunidades Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (NALACC) y David Bacon,
un autor que ha escrito extensivamente en el tema de las causas
fundamentales de la migración, especialmente en relación con la política
económica de los EE.UU.
También vamos a celebrar
la unificación de varias generaciones del movimiento en solidaridad con
Centroamérica - İ vengar para bailar y disfrutar un convivio muy genial
con música en vivo, comida y bebidas!
Favor de compartir esta invitación y también el anuncio por Facebook con sus amig@s y aliad@s solidari@s.
Favor de comunicarse con Karl Kramer a 415-503-0789 o bayarea@cispes.org con cualquier pregunta. İLe esperamos el Viernes 29 de Agosto!
Allan Fisher
afisher800@gmail.com
415-954-2763
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PEOPLE'S CLIMATE RALLY
Planning meeting Everyone welcome!
Join us on Tues., August 26, 7 pm, Niebyl-Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, to plan the…
in solidarity with the historic September 21 NYC event called by 350.org and
hundreds of local and national environmental, trade union and social justice
organizations across the country.
All Out for Sun., Sept. 21
2 pm – 5 pm
Oakland's Lake Merritt Park Amphitheater
Amphitheater is the new grassy area at the end of Lake Merritt near 12th
Street, across from the Henry J. Kaiser Center, a few blocks from Lake Merritt BART
Station.
The historic NYC protest on Sunday, September 21 is 2 days before the UN
Climate Summit of world leaders. Tragically, more inaction or inadequate
action can be expected. We want to show the world that the climate crisis
can no longer be ignored, that the planet earth is burning, that massive &
unprecedented measures must be taken now to assure humanity’s future.
The People’s Climate March is shaping up to be one of the largest climate
justice mobilizations in history, with organizers of the march setting a goal of getting a half million people to demonstrate in NYC.
For additional information: http://peoplesclimatemarch.org
While people all over the country are mobilizing for New York, many of us will
gather in support in Oakland.
Let's make the West Coast Solidarity action a great success!
• For a world with an economy that works for people and the planet
• For a world safe from the ravages of climate change
• For a world with good jobs, clean air and water, peace and justice and
healthy communities
Bay Area September 21 Coalition: Co-sponsors (Very initial list! Add your
organization now!): 350 Bay Area; Sunflower Alliance; System Change Not
Climate Change; KPFA; Peninsula Peace and Justice Center; Social Justice
Committee/Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists; Our Place in the
World; Adam Hochschild, author/founder Mother Jones magazine; Green Party of
Alameda County; United National Antiwar Coalition; Democratic Socialists East
Bay; Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party; No. Calif. Committees of
Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism; Socialist Action; Mobilization to
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; Oakland Socialist Group; Bay Area Solidarity; Dr. Jack
Rasmus, Host, Alternative Visions Radio Show/Progressive Radio Network;
International Socialist Organization; San Francisco Bay View newspaper; One
Hundred Thousand Poets for Change; CodePink Bay Area; Multifaith Voices for
Peace & Justice; Food & Water Watch; Cesar Chavez Holiday Parade and Festival;
San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Bay Area IWW; 350 Santa Cruz; SF Sierra
Club; Peace Action of San Mateo County; Solar Justice; Sonoma County Peace and
Justice Center; Project Censored
Send your endorsement to: endorse@BayAreaSept21.org
Planning meeting Everyone welcome!
Join us on Tues., August 26, 7 pm, Niebyl-Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, to plan the…
in solidarity with the historic September 21 NYC event called by 350.org and
hundreds of local and national environmental, trade union and social justice
organizations across the country.
All Out for Sun., Sept. 21
2 pm – 5 pm
Oakland's Lake Merritt Park Amphitheater
Amphitheater is the new grassy area at the end of Lake Merritt near 12th
Street, across from the Henry J. Kaiser Center, a few blocks from Lake Merritt BART
Station.
The historic NYC protest on Sunday, September 21 is 2 days before the UN
Climate Summit of world leaders. Tragically, more inaction or inadequate
action can be expected. We want to show the world that the climate crisis
can no longer be ignored, that the planet earth is burning, that massive &
unprecedented measures must be taken now to assure humanity’s future.
The People’s Climate March is shaping up to be one of the largest climate
justice mobilizations in history, with organizers of the march setting a goal of getting a half million people to demonstrate in NYC.
For additional information: http://peoplesclimatemarch.org
While people all over the country are mobilizing for New York, many of us will
gather in support in Oakland.
Let's make the West Coast Solidarity action a great success!
• For a world with an economy that works for people and the planet
• For a world safe from the ravages of climate change
• For a world with good jobs, clean air and water, peace and justice and
healthy communities
Bay Area September 21 Coalition: Co-sponsors (Very initial list! Add your
organization now!): 350 Bay Area; Sunflower Alliance; System Change Not
Climate Change; KPFA; Peninsula Peace and Justice Center; Social Justice
Committee/Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists; Our Place in the
World; Adam Hochschild, author/founder Mother Jones magazine; Green Party of
Alameda County; United National Antiwar Coalition; Democratic Socialists East
Bay; Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party; No. Calif. Committees of
Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism; Socialist Action; Mobilization to
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; Oakland Socialist Group; Bay Area Solidarity; Dr. Jack
Rasmus, Host, Alternative Visions Radio Show/Progressive Radio Network;
International Socialist Organization; San Francisco Bay View newspaper; One
Hundred Thousand Poets for Change; CodePink Bay Area; Multifaith Voices for
Peace & Justice; Food & Water Watch; Cesar Chavez Holiday Parade and Festival;
San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Bay Area IWW; 350 Santa Cruz; SF Sierra
Club; Peace Action of San Mateo County; Solar Justice; Sonoma County Peace and
Justice Center; Project Censored
Send your endorsement to: endorse@BayAreaSept21.org
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Please forward and post widely
Protest Now! No To Police Censorship of Mumia, and Teachers!
Reinstate the Urban Dreams Website!
Action Still Needed! Please send messages to the School Board!
- Scroll down for School Board addresses -
Here’s what happened: Under pressure from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)—operating through a friendly publicity agent called Fox News—the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) earlier this year shut down an entire website composed of teacher-drafted curriculum material called Urban Dreams. Why? Because this site included course guidelines on the censorship of innocent political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal! The course material compared the censorship of Mumia’s extensive radio commentaries and writings, with that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s later writings, which focused on class exploitation and his opposition to the US’ imperialist War against Vietnam. Both were effectively silenced by the big media, including in Mumia’s case, by National Public Radio (NPR).
Mumia Is Innocent! But He’s Still a Top Target of FOP
Abu-Jamal has long been a top-row target for the FOP, which tried to get him legally killed for decades. Mumia was framed by the Philadelphia police and falsely convicted of murdering a Philadelphia policeman in 1982, with the extensive collaboration of lying prosecutors, corrupt courts, the US Justice Department, and key political figures.
Mumia’s death sentence was dropped only when a federal appeals court judge set it aside because of blatantly illegal jury instructions by the original highly racist trial judge. (The same federal judge upheld every bogus detail of Mumia’s conviction.) The local Philadelphia prosecutor and politicians chickened out of trying to get Mumia’s original death sentence reinstated due to the fact that all their evidence of his guilt had long been exposed as totally fraudulent!
FOP: Can’t Kill Him? Silence Him!
The FOP had to swallow the fact that the local mucky-mucks had dropped the ball on executing Mumia, but they were rewarded with a substitute sentence of life without the possibility of parole, imposed by a local court acting in secret. Mumia is now serving this new and equally unjust sentence of “slow death.”
This gets us back to the FOP’s main point here, which is to silence Mumia. They can’t stop Mumia from writing and recording his world-renownd commentaries (which are available at Prison Radio, www.prisonradio.org). But they look for any opportunity to smear and discredit Mumia, and keep him out of the public eye; and these snakes have found a morsel on the Urban Dreams web site to go after!
Urban Dreams Was Well Used by Teachers
Urban Dreams was initially set up under a grant from the federal Dept. of Education in 1999-2004 and contains teacher-written material on a wide variety of issues. It is (was) used extensively in California and beyond. The OUSD’s knee-jerk reaction to shut the whole site down because of a complaint from police, broadcast on the all-powerful Fox News network, shows the rapid decline of the US into police-state status. Why should we let a bunch of lying, vicious cops, whose only real job is to protect the wealthy and powerful from all of us, get away with this?
Fresh from defeating Obama’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department because he served for a period as Mumia’s attorney, the FOP is attacking a school lesson plan that asks students to think outside the box of system propaganda. But the grave-diggers of capitalist oppression are stirring.
Labor Says No To Police Persecution of Mumia!
In 1999, the Oakland teachers union, Oakland Education Association (OEA), held an unauthorized teach-in on Mumia and the death penalty. Later the same year, longshore workers in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) shut down all West-Coast ports to Free Mumia. Other teacher actions happened around the country and internationally. And now the Alameda County Labor Council, acting on a resolution submitted by an OEA member, has denounced the FOP-inspired shutdown of Urban Dreams, and called for the site’s complete restoration (ie no deletions).
Labor Says No To Censorship of Mumia, and Teachers!
We are asking union members particularly, and everyone else as well, if you abhor police-sponsored censorship of school curricula, and want to see justice and freedom for the wrongfully convicted such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, send your message of protest now to the Oakland School Board, at the three addresses below.
Union members: take the resolution below to your local union or labor council, and get it passed!
Whatever you do, send a copy of your protest letter or resolution, or a report of your actions, to Oakland Teachers for Mumia, at communard2@juno.com.
Here is the Alameda County Labor Council resolution:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Labor Speaks: Urban Dreams Censorship Resolution
Alameda County Labor Council
Whereas Mumia Abu-Jamal, an award winning journalist, defender of the rights of the working class, people of color, and oppressed people has been imprisoned since 1982 without parole for a crime he didn’t commit after his death sentence was finally overturned;
Whereas the Oakland Unified School District’s censorship of the Urban Dreams website was in reaction to a Fox News and Fraternal Order of Police attack on a lesson plan asking students to consider a parallel between censorship of Martin Luther King’s radical ideas and censorship of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and;
Whereas it is dangerous and unacceptable to allow the police to determine the curriculum of a major school district like Oakland, or any school district;
Whereas removal of the Urban Dreams OUSD website denies educators and student access to invaluable curriculum resources by Oakland teachers with social justice themes promoting critical thinking, and;
Whereas in 1999, the Oakland Education Association led the teach-in on Mumia Abu-Jamal and the death penalty which helped deepen the debate in the U.S. on the death penalty itself, and greatly intensified the spotlight on the widespread issue of wrongful conviction and demanded justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and;
Whereas OEA and Alameda Contra Costa County Service Center of CTA cited the Mumia teach-in and the censored unit on Martin Luther King Jr. in its Human Rights WHO AWARD for 2013;
Be it resolved that the Alameda Labor Council condemns OUSD’s censorship of the Urban Dreams website and demands that it immediately restore access to all materials on the website, reaffirms its demand for justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and issues a press release to seek the widest possible support from defenders of free speech and those who seek justice for Mumia.
- Submitted by Keith Brown, OEA
- Passed, Alameda County Labor Council, 14 July 2014
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now It’s your turn!
Join with Ed Asner, and with the Alameda County Labor Council, in protesting the
Oakland School Board’s censorship of the Urban Dreams web site!
• Ask your local union, labor council or other organization to endorse the resolution by the Alameda County Labor Council.
• Demand the School Board reinstate the Urban Dreams website without any deletions!
• Send your union resolutions or letters of protest to the following;
1. Oakland Board of Education: boe@ousd.k12.ca.us
2. Board President Davd Kakishiba: David.Kakishiba@ousd.k12.ca.us
3. Superintendent Antwan Wilson: Antwan.Wilson@ousd.k12.ca.us
Important: Send a copy of your resolution or email to:
Bob Mandel/Teachers for Mumia at: communard2@juno.com.
Thank you for your support!
-This message is from the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal,
and Oakland Teachers for Mumia.
communard2@juno.com.
Please forward and post widely
Protest Now! No To Police Censorship of Mumia, and Teachers!
Reinstate the Urban Dreams Website!
Action Still Needed! Please send messages to the School Board!
- Scroll down for School Board addresses -
Here’s what happened: Under pressure from the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)—operating through a friendly publicity agent called Fox News—the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) earlier this year shut down an entire website composed of teacher-drafted curriculum material called Urban Dreams. Why? Because this site included course guidelines on the censorship of innocent political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal! The course material compared the censorship of Mumia’s extensive radio commentaries and writings, with that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s later writings, which focused on class exploitation and his opposition to the US’ imperialist War against Vietnam. Both were effectively silenced by the big media, including in Mumia’s case, by National Public Radio (NPR).
Mumia Is Innocent! But He’s Still a Top Target of FOP
Abu-Jamal has long been a top-row target for the FOP, which tried to get him legally killed for decades. Mumia was framed by the Philadelphia police and falsely convicted of murdering a Philadelphia policeman in 1982, with the extensive collaboration of lying prosecutors, corrupt courts, the US Justice Department, and key political figures.
Mumia’s death sentence was dropped only when a federal appeals court judge set it aside because of blatantly illegal jury instructions by the original highly racist trial judge. (The same federal judge upheld every bogus detail of Mumia’s conviction.) The local Philadelphia prosecutor and politicians chickened out of trying to get Mumia’s original death sentence reinstated due to the fact that all their evidence of his guilt had long been exposed as totally fraudulent!
FOP: Can’t Kill Him? Silence Him!
The FOP had to swallow the fact that the local mucky-mucks had dropped the ball on executing Mumia, but they were rewarded with a substitute sentence of life without the possibility of parole, imposed by a local court acting in secret. Mumia is now serving this new and equally unjust sentence of “slow death.”
This gets us back to the FOP’s main point here, which is to silence Mumia. They can’t stop Mumia from writing and recording his world-renownd commentaries (which are available at Prison Radio, www.prisonradio.org). But they look for any opportunity to smear and discredit Mumia, and keep him out of the public eye; and these snakes have found a morsel on the Urban Dreams web site to go after!
Urban Dreams Was Well Used by Teachers
Urban Dreams was initially set up under a grant from the federal Dept. of Education in 1999-2004 and contains teacher-written material on a wide variety of issues. It is (was) used extensively in California and beyond. The OUSD’s knee-jerk reaction to shut the whole site down because of a complaint from police, broadcast on the all-powerful Fox News network, shows the rapid decline of the US into police-state status. Why should we let a bunch of lying, vicious cops, whose only real job is to protect the wealthy and powerful from all of us, get away with this?
Fresh from defeating Obama’s nominee to head the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department because he served for a period as Mumia’s attorney, the FOP is attacking a school lesson plan that asks students to think outside the box of system propaganda. But the grave-diggers of capitalist oppression are stirring.
Labor Says No To Police Persecution of Mumia!
In 1999, the Oakland teachers union, Oakland Education Association (OEA), held an unauthorized teach-in on Mumia and the death penalty. Later the same year, longshore workers in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) shut down all West-Coast ports to Free Mumia. Other teacher actions happened around the country and internationally. And now the Alameda County Labor Council, acting on a resolution submitted by an OEA member, has denounced the FOP-inspired shutdown of Urban Dreams, and called for the site’s complete restoration (ie no deletions).
Labor Says No To Censorship of Mumia, and Teachers!
We are asking union members particularly, and everyone else as well, if you abhor police-sponsored censorship of school curricula, and want to see justice and freedom for the wrongfully convicted such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, send your message of protest now to the Oakland School Board, at the three addresses below.
Union members: take the resolution below to your local union or labor council, and get it passed!
Whatever you do, send a copy of your protest letter or resolution, or a report of your actions, to Oakland Teachers for Mumia, at communard2@juno.com.
Here is the Alameda County Labor Council resolution:
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Labor Speaks: Urban Dreams Censorship Resolution
Alameda County Labor Council
Whereas Mumia Abu-Jamal, an award winning journalist, defender of the rights of the working class, people of color, and oppressed people has been imprisoned since 1982 without parole for a crime he didn’t commit after his death sentence was finally overturned;
Whereas the Oakland Unified School District’s censorship of the Urban Dreams website was in reaction to a Fox News and Fraternal Order of Police attack on a lesson plan asking students to consider a parallel between censorship of Martin Luther King’s radical ideas and censorship of Mumia Abu-Jamal, and;
Whereas it is dangerous and unacceptable to allow the police to determine the curriculum of a major school district like Oakland, or any school district;
Whereas removal of the Urban Dreams OUSD website denies educators and student access to invaluable curriculum resources by Oakland teachers with social justice themes promoting critical thinking, and;
Whereas in 1999, the Oakland Education Association led the teach-in on Mumia Abu-Jamal and the death penalty which helped deepen the debate in the U.S. on the death penalty itself, and greatly intensified the spotlight on the widespread issue of wrongful conviction and demanded justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and;
Whereas OEA and Alameda Contra Costa County Service Center of CTA cited the Mumia teach-in and the censored unit on Martin Luther King Jr. in its Human Rights WHO AWARD for 2013;
Be it resolved that the Alameda Labor Council condemns OUSD’s censorship of the Urban Dreams website and demands that it immediately restore access to all materials on the website, reaffirms its demand for justice for Mumia Abu-Jamal, and issues a press release to seek the widest possible support from defenders of free speech and those who seek justice for Mumia.
- Submitted by Keith Brown, OEA
- Passed, Alameda County Labor Council, 14 July 2014
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Now It’s your turn!
Join with Ed Asner, and with the Alameda County Labor Council, in protesting the
Oakland School Board’s censorship of the Urban Dreams web site!
• Ask your local union, labor council or other organization to endorse the resolution by the Alameda County Labor Council.
• Demand the School Board reinstate the Urban Dreams website without any deletions!
• Send your union resolutions or letters of protest to the following;
1. Oakland Board of Education: boe@ousd.k12.ca.us
2. Board President Davd Kakishiba: David.Kakishiba@ousd.k12.ca.us
3. Superintendent Antwan Wilson: Antwan.Wilson@ousd.k12.ca.us
Important: Send a copy of your resolution or email to:
Bob Mandel/Teachers for Mumia at: communard2@juno.com.
Thank you for your support!
-This message is from the Labor Action Committee To Free Mumia Abu-Jamal,
and Oakland Teachers for Mumia.
communard2@juno.com.
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B. ARTICLES IN FULL
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1) Arizona Loose With Its Rules in Executions, Records Show
August 17. 2014
By FERNANDA SANTOS and JOHN SCHWARTZ
AUG. 17, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/arizona-loose-with-its-rules-in-executions-records-show.html?ref=us
2) Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In National Guard
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinder
Autust 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
3) National Guard Troops Fail to Quell Unrest in Ferguson
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinde
August19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?ref=us
4) Family of Michael Brown Says Autopsy Confirmed Witness Account
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/family-of-michael-brown-says-autopsy-confirmed-witness-account.html?ref=us
5) Not Just Ferguson: National Guard Has a Long History With Civil Unrest
By Alan Flippen
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/upshot/not-just-ferguson-national-guard-has-a-long-history-with-civil-unrest.html?ref=us&abt=0002&abg=0
6) Wrongfully Convicted Man Reaches $10 Million Settlement With New York City
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/jabbar-collins-wrongfully-convicted-man-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-new-york-city.html?ref=nyregion
7) As Tension Eases on Ferguson’s Streets, Focus Turns to Investigation
By ALAN BLINDER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONCampbell Robertson
AUG. 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&_r=0#
8) Shooting Accounts Differ as Holder Schedules Visit to Ferguson
By FRANCES ROBLES Francis Robles and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMichael S. Schmidt
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/shooting-accounts-differ-as-holder-schedules-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package
9) Israeli Strike in Gaza Hits Family of Hamas Military Commander
By Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
10) In Russia, Scenes From Ferguson Are Played as Nothing Shocking: It’s America
By David M. Herszenhorn
August 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/world/europe/in-russia-scenes-from-ferguson-are-played-as-nothing-shocking-its-america.html?ref=us
11) Macy's to Pay $650,000 to Resolve 'Shop-And-Frisk' Probe
By Reuters
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/20/business/20reuters-macys-bias.html?src=busln
By REUTERSAUG. 20, 2014, 11:14 A.M. E.D.T.
12) My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.
By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.610687
13) Tear Gas, Stun Grenades, Sound Cannons: Companies Profiting From Police Crackdowns Like Ferguson
By Alex Kane
August 21, 2014
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/tear-gas-stun-grenades-sound-cannons-companies-profiting-police-crackdowns?akid=12153.229473.yT6Y7r&rd=1&src=newsletter1016414&t=2&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
Sales of all those military grade weapons are making some people rich.
14) Message from Troy Davis’s family to Michael Brown’s family and the people of Ferguson
TO THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL BROWN AND THE PEOPLE OF FERGUSON, FROM THE FAMILY OF TROY DAVIS
August 21, 2014
http://donkeysaddle.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/message-from-troy-daviss-family-to-michael-browns-family-and-the-people-of-ferguson/
1) Arizona Loose With Its Rules in Executions, Records Show
August 17. 2014
By FERNANDA SANTOS and JOHN SCHWARTZ
AUG. 17, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/arizona-loose-with-its-rules-in-executions-records-show.html?ref=us
2) Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In National Guard
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinder
Autust 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
3) National Guard Troops Fail to Quell Unrest in Ferguson
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinde
August19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?ref=us
4) Family of Michael Brown Says Autopsy Confirmed Witness Account
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/family-of-michael-brown-says-autopsy-confirmed-witness-account.html?ref=us
5) Not Just Ferguson: National Guard Has a Long History With Civil Unrest
By Alan Flippen
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/upshot/not-just-ferguson-national-guard-has-a-long-history-with-civil-unrest.html?ref=us&abt=0002&abg=0
6) Wrongfully Convicted Man Reaches $10 Million Settlement With New York City
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/jabbar-collins-wrongfully-convicted-man-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-new-york-city.html?ref=nyregion
7) As Tension Eases on Ferguson’s Streets, Focus Turns to Investigation
By ALAN BLINDER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONCampbell Robertson
AUG. 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&_r=0#
8) Shooting Accounts Differ as Holder Schedules Visit to Ferguson
By FRANCES ROBLES Francis Robles and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMichael S. Schmidt
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/shooting-accounts-differ-as-holder-schedules-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package
9) Israeli Strike in Gaza Hits Family of Hamas Military Commander
By Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
10) In Russia, Scenes From Ferguson Are Played as Nothing Shocking: It’s America
By David M. Herszenhorn
August 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/world/europe/in-russia-scenes-from-ferguson-are-played-as-nothing-shocking-its-america.html?ref=us
11) Macy's to Pay $650,000 to Resolve 'Shop-And-Frisk' Probe
By Reuters
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/20/business/20reuters-macys-bias.html?src=busln
By REUTERSAUG. 20, 2014, 11:14 A.M. E.D.T.
12) My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.
By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014
http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.610687
13) Tear Gas, Stun Grenades, Sound Cannons: Companies Profiting From Police Crackdowns Like Ferguson
By Alex Kane
August 21, 2014
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/tear-gas-stun-grenades-sound-cannons-companies-profiting-police-crackdowns?akid=12153.229473.yT6Y7r&rd=1&src=newsletter1016414&t=2&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
Sales of all those military grade weapons are making some people rich.
14) Message from Troy Davis’s family to Michael Brown’s family and the people of Ferguson
TO THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL BROWN AND THE PEOPLE OF FERGUSON, FROM THE FAMILY OF TROY DAVIS
August 21, 2014
http://donkeysaddle.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/message-from-troy-daviss-family-to-michael-browns-family-and-the-people-of-ferguson/
15) Fatal Confrontation Heightens Tensions in Staten Island Police Precinct
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1) Arizona Loose With Its Rules in Executions, Records Show
By FERNANDA SANTOS and JOHN SCHWARTZ
AUG. 17, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/18/us/arizona-loose-with-its-rules-in-executions-records-show.html?ref=us
PHOENIX — In an execution in 2010 in Arizona, the presiding doctor was supposed to connect the intravenous line to the convict’s arm — a procedure written into the state’s lethal injection protocol and considered by many doctors as the easiest and best way to attach a line. Instead he chose to use a vein in an upper thigh, near the groin.
“It’s my preference,” the doctor said later in a deposition, testifying anonymously because of his role as a five-time executioner. For his work, he received $5,000 to $6,000 per day — in cash — with two days for practice before each execution.
That improvisation is not unusual for Arizona, where corrections officials and medical staff members routinely deviate from the state’s written rules for conducting executions, state records and court filings show. Sometimes they improvise even while a convict is strapped to a table in the execution chamber and waiting for the drugs coursing through his veins to take effect.In 2012, when Arizona was scheduled to execute two convicted murderers, its Corrections Department discovered at the last minute that the expiration dates for the drugs it was planning to use had passed, so it decided to switch drug methods. Last month, Arizona again deviated from its execution protocol, and things did not go as planned: The convicted murderer Joseph R. Wood III took nearly two hours to die, during which he received 13 more doses of lethal drugs than the two doses set out by the state’s rules.
While it is unclear whether the constant changes have led to cruel and unusual punishment, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit became so disturbed in 2012 about the expired drugs that it chastised the state, saying Arizona “has insisted on amending its execution protocol on an ad hoc basis.” While the court permitted the two executions to proceed and they went off without a hitch, the Ninth Circuit nonetheless observed that Arizona had a “rolling protocol that forces us to engage with serious constitutional questions and complicated factual issues in the waning hours before executions.”
Douglas A. Berman, an expert on criminal sentencing at Ohio State University, said corrections officials tended to have a cavalier attitude that might now be backfiring on them. As Mr. Berman archly put it, “What’s the big deal, as long as the guy ends up dead and I’m not literally torturing the guy along the way?” Prison officials and execution teams, he said, “don’t see any adjustment that they are making as likely to cause unnecessary suffering or pain.”
There are, however, signs that suggest otherwise. Mr. Wood, 55, gasped — seemingly for air — more than 600 times before he died on July 23; his execution is now the subject of an independent investigation commissioned by the state. In January in Oklahoma, Michael Lee Wilson, 38, said, “I feel my whole body burning” right after the drugs used in his execution — a mix meant to paralyze him, render him unconscious and stop his heart — began flowing through his veins. He died moments later.
Courts are starting to show frustration with the constant changes in the protocols themselves, some of which have been prompted by the increasing difficulty in obtaining execution drugs. On Aug. 8, a federal judge extended a moratorium on lethal injections in Ohio over concerns with a protocol change that the state had made this year.
Legal cases in Arizona, which has been a particular target of death penalty opponents, offer an unusual window on execution protocols and actual practices. There have been 37 executions in Arizona since 1992, of which 14 were overseen by the current director of the Corrections Department, Charles L. Ryan.
Mr. Ryan, who has no medical training, has said in depositions that the state’s protocol gave him virtually unlimited discretion to deviate from the written guidelines, essentially making him the ultimate arbiter in executions. He personally authorized the repeated doses of drugs given to Mr. Wood, who had murdered his estranged girlfriend and her father. Five of the 15 doses of lethal drugs were administered to Mr. Wood while his lawyers pleaded to a federal judge to stop the execution, which by then had dragged on for well over an hour.
“There’s the protocol that’s in place and there’s what happens, and those aren’t necessarily the same thing,” said Dale A. Baich, an assistant federal public defender who represented Mr. Wood. “What we’ve learned from this execution is that the Department of Corrections was making it up as it went along.”
Mr. Ryan has affirmed that the length of Mr. Wood’s execution — one hour and 57 minutes — and the amount of drugs Mr. Wood received comply with state law, which calls for the administration of “an intravenous injection of a substance or substances in a lethal quantity sufficient to cause death.” He declined a request for an interview; a spokesman, Doug Nick, said this was because of the continuing search for an independent team to assess Mr. Wood’s execution.
Logs detailing the sequence of events in the execution of Mr. Wood, as well as hundreds of pages of filings and depositions linked to five other executions in Arizona, describe a process whose rules are open to interpretation. And the rules are frequently amended, as the Ninth Circuit noted in its 2012 decision. Mr. Baich of the federal public defender’s office said that as a result of the court’s concerns, the Corrections Department had begun allowing witnesses to see through closed-circuit monitors the intravenous lines being placed on convicts during executions.
In other cases that deviated from state protocol, criminal records for members of execution teams went unchecked and a lack of qualifications was ignored, according to a 2011 filing by the federal public defender’s office. In four executions, a Corrections Department employee got to lead the medical team in charge of setting intravenous lines even though the employee could not recall inserting an IV line since the time he trained as an emergency medical technician for the military years earlier.
In the 2011 execution of Donald Beaty, convicted of killing a 13-year-old newspaper carrier in Tempe, Mr. Ryan, the corrections director, asked the medical team about replacing one of the three drugs with another. The medical team leader did so, concluding that the drugs were “essentially equivalent” based on information he read in their packages and on the Internet, according to a filing in a federal lawsuit brought by another death row inmate.
In a 2010 execution, according to the anonymous deposition by the doctor who led the medical team, Mr. Ryan asked that the extra supplies of the drugs be injected into the inmate’s body. “The director preferred that all the chemicals be given, if possible,” the doctor said. He advised against doing so, because if the patient’s heart had stopped, “the vein might rupture, and then they would just go inside the abdominal cavity,” the doctor testified. But Mr. Ryan “indicated he wanted us to try.” When injecting the drugs proved problematic, the doctor recalled, “I looked at him and I said, ‘I don’t think that this is a good idea.’ And he said, ‘O.K., that’s fine, stop.’ ”
Mr. Berman of Ohio State University said Arizona was not the only state whose loose adherence to lethal injection protocols had led to problems in the courts. After a series of problematic executions in Ohio, Judge Gregory L. Frost of United States District Court stayed the execution of a killer, Kenneth Smith, writing that the state had not stuck to its own policies in carrying out executions and was “haphazard” in its application of the process.
Judge Frost went on, “Ohio pays lip service to standards it then often ignores without valid reasons, sometimes with no physical ramification and sometimes with what have been described as messy if not botched executions.”
Dr. Jay Chapman, who devised the first lethal injection protocol in Oklahoma in 1977, has questioned the problems with executions in the years since. “It seems to me that it would not be that difficult to find people that are competent to carry out the tasks,” he said by telephone.
Fernanda Santos reported from Phoenix, and John Schwartz from New York.
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2) Missouri Tries Another Idea: Call In National Guard
By MONICA DAVEY, JOHN ELIGON and ALAN BLINDER
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?_r=0
FERGUSON, Mo. — Missouri National Guard troops entered this battered city on Monday even as an overnight curfew was lifted, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the violence that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.
In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.
Early Monday, after a new spate of violence, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later he said he was lifting the curfew and said the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.At the same time, more details emerged from autopsies performed on Mr. Brown. One showed that he had been shot at least six times; another found evidence of marijuana in his system.
In Washington, President Obama said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. will go to Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with F.B.I. agents conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting. He seemed less than enthusiastic about the decision to call in the National Guard.
Mr. Obama said he had told the governor in a phone call on Monday that the Guard should be “used in a limited and appropriate way.”
He said he would be closely monitoring the deployment.
“I’ll be watching over the next several days to assess whether in fact it’s helping rather than hindering progress in Ferguson,” said Mr. Obama, who emphasized that the State of Missouri, not the White House, had called in the Guard.
He again tried to strike a balance between the right of protest and approaches to security.
“While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions,” Mr. Obama said.
As darkness set in, along West Florissant Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares and a center of the weeklong protests, demonstrators were required to keep moving. There were several skirmishes. After more of than hour of peaceful protests, some in the crowd began to throw bottles at police, who brought out armored vehicles and tactical units. But many peacekeepers in the crowd formed a human chain and got the agitators to back down.
At another point, as protesters gathered near a convenience store, some of them threw objects; police responded with stun grenades and tear gas.
A few blocks away, at the police command post, National Guard members in Army fatigues, some with military police patches on their uniforms, stood ready.
Residents seemed puzzled and frustrated by the continually changing approaches, suggesting that the moving set of rules only worsened longstanding tensions over policing and race in the town of 21,000.
“It almost seems like they can’t decide what to do, and like law enforcement is fighting over who’s got the power,” said Antione Watson, 37, who stood near a middle-of-the-street memorial of candles and flowers for Mr. Brown, the 18-year-old killed on a winding block here.
“First they do this, then there’s that, and now who can even tell what their plan is?” Mr. Watson said. “They can try all of this, but I don’t see an end to this until there are charges against the cop.”
The latest turn in law enforcement tactics — the removal of a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew imposed Saturday and the arrival of members of the Guard — followed one of the tensest nights so far. Police officers reported gunfire and firebombs from some among a large group, and responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets.
By Monday, the police seemed intent on taking control of the situation long before evening and the expected arrival of protesters, some of them inclined to provoke clashes. The authorities banned stationary protests, even during the day, ordering demonstrators to continue walking, particularly in an area along West Florissant, not far from where the shooting occurred. One of those told to move along was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
Six members of the Highway Patrol, plastic flex-ties within easy reach, stood guard at a barbecue restaurant that has been a hub of the turmoil. Just north of the restaurant, about 30 officers surrounded a convenience store that was heavily damaged early in the unrest. Several people were arrested during the day, including a photographer for Getty Images, Scott Olson, who was led away in plastic handcuffs in the early evening.
Explaining his decision to call in the National Guard, Mr. Nixon recounted details of the tumult on Sunday night, and described the events as “very difficult and dangerous as a result of a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”
Yet Mr. Nixon also emphasized that the Guard’s role would be limited to providing protection for a police command center here, which the authorities say came under attack. Gregory Mason, a brigadier general of the Guard, described the arriving troops as “well trained and well seasoned.”
“With these additional resources in place,” said Mr. Nixon, a Democrat in his second term, “the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence, and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard.”
While Mr. Obama and other leaders called for healing and more than 40 F.B.I. agents fanned out around this city to interview residents about the shooting, emotions remained raw, and the divide over all that had happened seemed only to be growing amid multiple investigations and competing demonstrations.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that Americans were deeply divided along racial lines in their reaction to Mr. Brown’s killing. The report showed that 80 percent of blacks thought the case raised “important issues about race that need to be discussed,” while only 37 percent of whites thought it did.
Blacks surveyed were also less confident in the investigations into the shooting, with 76 percent reporting little to no confidence in the investigation, compared with 33 percent of whites.
Supporters of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who fired the fatal shots, gathered outside a radio station over the weekend in St. Louis.
Mr. Brown is now the subject of three autopsies. The first was conducted by St. Louis County, the results of which were delivered to the county prosecutor’s office on Monday. That autopsy report showed evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system, according to someone briefed on the report who was not authorized to discuss it publicly before it was released.
Another, on Monday, was done by a military doctor as part of the Justice Department’s investigation.
On Sunday, at the request of Mr. Brown’s family, the body was examined by Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.
The findings showed that he was shot at least six times in the front of his body and that he did not appear to have been shot from very close range because no powder burns were found on his body. But that determination could change if burns were found on his clothing, which was not available for examination.
In a news conference on Monday, family members and Dr. Baden said that the autopsy he had performed confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed.
Daryl Parks, a lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested he was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. The autopsy did not show what Mr. Brown was doing when the bullet struck his head.
“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” Mr. Parks said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”
Piaget Crenshaw, who told reporters that she had witnessed Mr. Brown’s death from her nearby apartment, seemed unsurprised by the eruptions of anger, which have left schools closed and some businesses looted. “This community had underlying problems way before this happened,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “And now the tension is finally broken.”
For businesses here, the days and long nights have been costly and frightening. At Dellena Jones’s hair salon, demonstrators had tossed concrete slabs into the business as Ms. Jones’s two children prepared for what they had expected to be a first day back to school.
“I had a full week that went down to really nothing,” she said of her business, which has sat mostly empty. “They’re too scared to come.” As she spoke, a man walked by and shouted, “You need a gun in there, lady!”
In his news conference, Mr. Obama said that most of the protesters had been peaceful. “As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment,” Mr. Obama said.
Reporting was contributed by Frances Robles and Tanzina Vega from Ferguson, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.
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3) National Guard Troops Fail to Quell Unrest in Ferguson
By Minica Davey, John Eligon and Alan Blinde
August19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?ref=us
FERGUSON, Mo. — Violence erupted here once more overnight, even as Missouri National Guard troops arrived, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the chaos that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.
In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a Missouri State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.
Early Monday, after a new spate of unrest, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later, he said that he was lifting the curfew and that the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.
Although the tactics changed, the nighttime scene did not.Late Monday night, peaceful protests devolved into sporadic violence, including gunshots, by what the authorities said was a small number of people, and demonstrators were met with tear gas and orders to leave. Two men were shot in the crowd, officials said in an early-morning news conference, and 31 people — some from New York and California — were arrested. Fires were reported in two places. The police were shot at, the authorities said, but did not fire their weapons.
FERGUSON, Mo. — Violence erupted here once more overnight, even as Missouri National Guard troops arrived, the latest in a series of quickly shifting attempts to quell the chaos that has upended this St. Louis suburb for more than a week.
In the days since an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot to death by a white police officer here on Aug. 9, an array of state and local law enforcement authorities have swerved from one approach to another: taking to the streets in military-style vehicles and riot gear; then turning over power to a Missouri State Highway Patrol official who permitted the protests and marched along; then calling for a curfew.
Early Monday, after a new spate of unrest, Gov. Jay Nixon said he was bringing in the National Guard. Hours later, he said that he was lifting the curfew and that the Guard would have only a limited role, protecting the police command post.
Although the tactics changed, the nighttime scene did not.Late Monday night, peaceful protests devolved into sporadic violence, including gunshots, by what the authorities said was a small number of people, and demonstrators were met with tear gas and orders to leave. Two men were shot in the crowd, officials said in an early-morning news conference, and 31 people — some from New York and California — were arrested. Fires were reported in two places. The police were shot at, the authorities said, but did not fire their weapons.
Mr. Obama said he had told Mr. Nixon in a phone call on Monday that the Guard should be “used in a limited and appropriate way.”
He added that he would be closely monitoring the deployment.“I’ll be watching over the next several days to assess whether in fact it’s helping rather than hindering progress in Ferguson,” said Mr. Obama, who emphasized that Missouri, not the White House, had called in the Guard.
He again tried to strike a balance between the right to protest and approaches to security.
“While I understand the passions and the anger that arise over the death of Michael Brown, giving in to that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions,” Mr. Obama said.
As darkness set in along West Florissant Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares and a center of the weeklong protests, demonstrators were required to keep moving.
After more than an hour of peaceful protests, some in the crowd began to throw bottles at the police, who brought out armored vehicles and tactical units. But many peacekeepers in the crowd formed a human chain and got the agitators to back down.
At another point, as protesters gathered near a convenience store, some of them threw objects; the police responded with tear gas.
And near midnight, the police began announcing over loudspeakers that people needed to leave the area or risk arrest after what the police said were repeated gunshots and a deteriorating situation.
A few blocks away, at the police command post, National Guard members in Army fatigues, some with military police patches on their uniforms, stood ready but never entered the area where protesters were marching. State and local law enforcement authorities oversaw operations there.
Residents seemed puzzled and frustrated by the continually changing approaches, suggesting that the moving set of rules only worsened longstanding tensions over policing and race in this town of 21,000.
“It almost seems like they can’t decide what to do, and like law enforcement is fighting over who’s got the power,” said Antione Watson, 37, who stood near a middle-of-the-street memorial of candles and flowers for Mr. Brown, the 18-year-old killed on a winding block here.“First they do this, then there’s that, and now who can even tell what their plan is?” Mr. Watson said. “They can try all of this, but I don’t see an end to this until there are charges against the cop.”
The latest turn in law enforcement tactics — the removal of a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew imposed Saturday and the arrival of members of the Guard — followed a chaotic Sunday night. Police officers reported gunfire and firebombs from some people among a large group, and they responded with tear gas, smoke canisters and rubber bullets.
By Monday, the police seemed intent on taking control of the situation long before evening and the expected arrival of protesters, some of them inclined to provoke clashes. The authorities banned stationary protests, even during the day, ordering demonstrators to continue walking — particularly in an area along West Florissant, not far from where the shooting occurred. One of those told to move along was the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
Six members of the Highway Patrol, plastic flex-ties within easy reach, stood guard at a barbecue restaurant that has been a hub of the turmoil. Just north of the restaurant, about 30 officers surrounded a convenience store that was heavily damaged early in the unrest. Several people were arrested during the day, including a photographer for Getty Images, Scott Olson, who was led away in plastic handcuffs in the early evening.
Explaining his decision to call in the National Guard, Mr. Nixon recounted details of the unrest on Sunday night and described the events as “very difficult and dangerous as a result of a violent criminal element intent upon terrorizing the community.”
Yet Mr. Nixon also emphasized that the Guard’s role would be limited to providing protection for the police command center, which the authorities say was attacked. Gregory Mason, a brigadier general of the Guard, described the arriving troops as “well trained and well seasoned.”
“With these additional resources in place,” said Mr. Nixon, a Democrat in his second term, “the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will continue to respond appropriately to incidents of lawlessness and violence and protect the civil rights of all peaceful citizens to make their voices heard.”While Mr. Obama and other leaders called for healing and more than 40 F.B.I. agents fanned out around the city to interview residents about the shooting, emotions remained raw, and the divide over all that had happened seemed only to be growing amid multiple investigations and competing demonstrations.
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press showed that Americans were deeply divided along racial lines in their reaction to Mr. Brown’s killing. It showed that 80 percent of blacks thought the case raised “important issues about race that need to be discussed,” while only 37 percent of whites thought it did.
Blacks surveyed were also less confident in the investigations into the shooting, with 76 percent reporting little to no confidence, compared with 33 percent of whites.
Supporters of Darren Wilson, the Ferguson police officer who fired the fatal shots, gathered outside a radio station in St. Louis over the weekend.
Mr. Brown is now the subject of three autopsies. The first was conducted by St. Louis County, and the results were delivered to the county prosecutor’s office on Monday. That report showed evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system, according to a person briefed on the report who was not authorized to discuss it publicly before it was released.
Another autopsy, on Monday, was done by a military doctor as part of the Justice Department’s investigation.
On Sunday, at the request of Mr. Brown’s family, the body was examined by Dr. Michael M. Baden, a former New York City medical examiner.
Dr. Baden’s autopsy showed that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times in the front of his body and that he did not appear to have been shot from very close range, because no powder burns were found on his body. But that determination could change if burns are found on his clothing, which was not available for examination.
In a news conference on Monday, family members and Dr. Baden said that the autopsy confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed.
Daryl Parks, a lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested he was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. The autopsy did not show what Mr. Brown was doing when the bullet struck his head.
“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” Mr. Parks said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”
Piaget Crenshaw, a resident who told reporters that she had witnessed Mr. Brown’s death from her nearby apartment, seemed unsurprised by the eruptions of anger, which have left schools closed and some businesses looted. “This community had underlying problems way before this happened,” Ms. Crenshaw said. “And now the tension is finally broken.”
For businesses here, the days and long nights have been costly and frightening. At Dellena Jones’s hair salon, demonstrators tossed concrete slabs into the business as Ms. Jones’s two children prepared for what they had expected to be a first day back to school.
“I had a full week that went down to really nothing,” she said of her business, which has been mostly empty. “They’re too scared to come.” As she spoke, a man walked by and shouted, “You need a gun in there, lady!”
In his news conference, Mr. Obama said that most protesters had been peaceful. “As Americans, we’ve got to use this moment to seek out our shared humanity that’s been laid bare by this moment,” he said.
Frances Robles and Tanzina Vega contributed reporting from Ferguson, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Matt Apuzzo from Washington.
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4) Family of Michael Brown Says Autopsy Confirmed Witness Account
By ASHLEY SOUTHALL
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/us/family-of-michael-brown-says-autopsy-confirmed-witness-account.html?ref=us
Lawyers for the family of Michael Brown said Monday that the preliminary results of an independent autopsy answered basic questions that had gone unanswered since the fatal confrontation between Mr. Brown, 18, and a police officer on Aug. 9.
The lawyers spoke at a news conference on Monday inside the Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church that was attended by the family and the forensic scientists who conducted the autopsy that had been requested by the family. Benjamin L. Crump, the lead lawyer for the family, said the autopsy also confirmed witness accounts that Mr. Brown was trying to surrender when he was killed by an officer in Ferguson, Mo.
“It verifies that the witness accounts were true, that he was shot multiple times,” Mr. Crump said. “And it’s going to be one of those things that we have to get all the witness statements out and look at all the autopsies and all the evidence to put this picture together.”“But his family knows that the witnesses, what they were telling them about him being shot multiple times in broad daylight, was accurate,” he said.
Daryl Parks, another lawyer for the family, said the autopsy proved that the officer should have been arrested. The bullet that killed Mr. Brown entered the top of his head and came out through the front at an angle that suggested his head was facing downward when he was killed, Mr. Parks said. What the autopsy did not show was what Mr. Brown was doing at the moment he was struck in the head.
“Why would he be shot in the very top of his head, a 6-foot-4 man?” he said. “It makes no sense. And so that’s what we have. That’s why we believe that those two things alone are ample for this officer to be arrested.”
The autopsy report released on Sunday said that Mr. Brown was shot at least six times, all from the front and at a distance, including two shots that struck him in the head. The report’s author, Dr. Michael M. Baden, said all the gunshots were survivable except for the one that hit Mr. Brown at the top of the head and entered his brain.
Dr. Baden said it was unusual that the authorities in St. Louis had not released most of the information “on Day 1” after the county medical examiner completed her autopsy, especially considering the heightened interest in the case, which involved an unarmed black teenager being killed by a white police officer.
“My impression is that like in most medical examiners’ offices, when an autopsy is completed, the medical examiner can release it, most of it at least, pending the prosecutor’s wishes,” he said. Getting the information out quickly “calms community and family concerns of a cover-up of not being told the truth.”
The report left some questions unanswered, including whether there had been a struggle between the teenager and the police officer. Dr. Baden said he needed to examine the clothes Mr. Brown was wearing and to gain access to a medical examination of the officer conducted shortly after the shooting.
Another outstanding question was whether Mr. Brown was struck as he ran away from the police officer. Prof. Shawn L. Parcells, a pathologist assistant based in Kansas who assisted Dr. Baden, said that one of the wounds on Mr. Brown’s arm could have been caused by a bullet fired from in front or behind.
Mr. Baden said Mr. Brown did not suffer pain after he was struck in the head.
The autopsy is one of three to be conducted on Mr. Brown. The St. Louis County medical examiner’s report was released shortly after the news conference. (Toxicology tests were still pending.) The Department of Justice was expected to conduct its own autopsy in the coming days.
Mr. Crump said the family members requested an independent autopsy because they had been unsure that the federal government would get involved and did not want to rely on information from law enforcement agencies in St. Louis, “the same individuals they feel are responsible for executing their son in broad daylight.”
He said that after Mr. Brown’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, received the autopsy, she had asked, “What else do we need to give them to arrest the killer of my child?”
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5) Not Just Ferguson: National Guard Has a Long History With Civil Unrest
By Alan Flippen
AUG. 18, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/upshot/not-just-ferguson-national-guard-has-a-long-history-with-civil-unrest.html?ref=us&abt=0002&abg=0
Use of the National Guard to quell civil disturbances, especially race-related ones as in Ferguson, Mo., has a long history in the United States. It even technically predates the National Guard itself.
The National Guard, in its modern form, dates from 1903, when Congress passed a law to regulate state militias and coordinate them with the regular Army, in the wake of the Spanish-American War and the ensuing Philippine insurrection.
But the militias themselves have existed almost since the beginning of European settlement, and the term “National Guard” appears to have been in popular use for them since before the Civil War; a New York Times article from 1855 mentions the “National Guard” as one of the military units suppressing a riot by German residents of Chicago who were objecting to a law banning taverns from opening on Sundays and increasing fees for liquor licenses.
The New York City Draft Riots of 1863 were among the largest civil disturbances to be quelled by militia units in the 19th century, although the New York State militia had been deployed against the Confederacy when the violence broke out and didn’t arrive until it was nearly over. (For the first few days, New Yorkers were largely on their own, as evidenced in this Times account of people attacking “the clothing store of Messrs. BROOKS BROTHERS.”)
While The Times’s archive is not a comprehensive source of information about the National Guard’s involvement in such episodes, it does show that confrontations fueled by labor unrest preoccupied the Guard in the last decades of the 19th century; coal miners and railroad workers were among those whose efforts to organize and strike led governors to call out their Guard units. But state militias were also called out to quell racial disturbances in, among other places, Wilmington, N.C., in 1898 and Springfield, Ill., in 1908.National Guard troops also played a role in the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and early 1960s. Gov. Orval Faubus of Arkansas called out the National Guard to bar black students from Little Rock Central High School in 1957 (later withdrawing them under pressure from President Eisenhower), but National Guard troops under federal control enforced desegregation of the University of Mississippi in 1962 and the University of Alabama in 1963, and protected marchers in Selma, Ala., in 1965.
Later that decade, the Guard would revert to its traditional role of suppressing unrest: in the Watts section of Los Angeles in 1965, in Cleveland and Dayton, Ohio, in 1966, Detroit and Newark, N.J., in 1967 and nearly everywhere in the country after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. A search of The Times archive for the terms “Negroes” (as African-Americans were referred to then) and “National Guard” for the six most tumultuous years of that era (1965 through 1970) turns up 655 articles, most having to do either with racial disturbances or with desegregation of the National Guard itself.
Indeed, if there’s any comfort to be taken in the recent events in Ferguson, it is how rare such unrest has become in recent years. The Times’s archive in the most recent six years contains only 30 articles with the terms “National Guard” and “African-Americans” or “blacks,” and none of them refer to actual, current racially motivated confrontations except for those in Ferguson.
The Upshot provides news, analysis and graphics about politics, policy and everyday life. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
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6) Wrongfully Convicted Man Reaches $10 Million Settlement With New York City
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/nyregion/jabbar-collins-wrongfully-convicted-man-reaches-10-million-settlement-with-new-york-city.html?ref=nyregion
After three years of litigation, Jabbar Collins, a man who spent 15 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, has reached a $10 million settlement with New York City.
Mr. Collins had been convicted of the 1994 killing of an Orthodox rabbi. He was released from prison in 2010, when a federal judge vacated his conviction and criticized the district attorney’s office for its handling of Mr. Collins’s trial.
The settlement is notable because it exposed questionable policies under the former Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes. Along the way, Mr. Collins’s lawyer, Joel B. Rudin, deposed Mr. Hynes and his top assistants, providing a rare look at how a powerful district attorney ran his office.Among the things Mr. Rudin accused the office of, after depositions of top aides, were detaining reluctant witnesses in hotel rooms until they agreed to testify, and advising his lawyers not to take notes when prosecution witnesses gave inconsistent statements, so as to avoid potentially exculpatory evidence. The city’s lawyers have challenged these claims.
The settlement is also notable for its size: Mr. Collins will receive about $667,000 per year served, a little less than the five men exonerated in the Central Park jogger case, who settled with the city earlier this summer for about $1 million for each year in prison.
The case was scheduled to go to trial in October.
Mr. Collins, 42, began fighting his conviction while at Green Haven State Prison, tracking down witnesses who had testified against him and filing Freedom of Information Law requests. After Mr. Rudin joined the case, a 2010 hearing was held in Federal District Court in Brooklyn over Mr. Collins’s attempt to vacate his conviction. One witness who testified then said he had been threatened by a top prosecutor. At that hearing, the district attorney’s office agreed to vacate the murder conviction and not to retry Mr. Collins.
The wrongful-conviction settlement is one of several the city has settled this year, including a $6.4 million settlement for David Ranta, a man who spent 23 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. The city is facing several more such lawsuits as erroneous convictions from the crime-ridden 1980s and 1990s continue to be vacated.
In July, Mr. Collins settled with the state under the unjust conviction act for $3 million.
Mr. Collins said in a statement that his goals were to “expose the illegal practices of District Attorney Hynes and to help drive him from office,” to “obtain personal vindication and to demonstrate my innocence,” and to receive compensation to balance the years in prison and the harm done to him and his family.
Mr. Rudin said, “Ironically, the revelations in Jabbar Collins’ groundbreaking lawsuit of pervasive misconduct in Brooklyn led to more cases being overturned, but had the effect of making settlement of his lawsuit harder.”
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7) As Tension Eases on Ferguson’s Streets, Focus Turns to Investigation
By ALAN BLINDER and CAMPBELL ROBERTSONCampbell Robertson
AUG. 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/us/ferguson-missouri-protests.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&_r=0#
FERGUSON, Mo. — Even as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was scheduled to arrive in St. Louis on Wednesday, law enforcement officials and local leaders said they were hopeful that they had turned a corner in calming the restive community of Ferguson after 12 days of protests and unrest.
Capt. Ronald S. Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that there were only sporadic problems during overnight protests on Tuesday, and he believed they had reached “a turning point.”
“Tonight, we saw a different dynamic,” said Captain Johnson, whose agency is overseeing security here. “Protest crowds were a bit smaller, and they were out early. We had to respond to fewer incidents than the night before. There were no Molotov cocktails tonight. There were no shootings.” Police did make 47 arrests overnight.As the tension on the street seemed to ease, the focus turned to the investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, by a white police officer on Aug. 9.
A grand jury has been convened and was scheduled to meet Wednesday to begin hearing evidence, said Edward Magee, a spokesman for Robert P. McCulloch, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County.
Protesters gathered outside Mr. McCulloch’s office on Wednesday, calling for him to step aside. They argued that he could not be impartial because his father, a police officer, was shot and killed by a black man while on duty when Mr. McCulloch was a child.
Mr. McCulloch, speaking to a local radio station, said he has only one interest: conducting a fair and thorough investigation. But he acknowledged that Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri has the power to appoint a new prosecutor.
“Anyone who wants me off the case needs to call up the governor and express their opinion to him,” Mr. McCulloch told KTRS radio.
By failing to act, Mr. McCulloch said, the governor “undermines everything except the cover he has pulled over his head.” He told him to “man up” and make a decision so that the case will not be further delayed.
Mr. Magee cautioned that it could take weeks for the grand jury to consider all of the evidence. He said that Officer Darren Wilson, who shot Mr. Brown, had been interviewed by police investigators and would be given the opportunity to testify. The Justice Department has started a separate inquiry.
More than 40 F.B.I. agents have been dispatched to Ferguson, and Mr. Holder said they are not only investigating the shooting but also looking for any broad patterns of civil rights violations.
In an open letter to the people of Ferguson, Mr. Holder said he understood the desire of residents for an “independent” inquiry.
“This is my pledge to the people of Ferguson: Our investigation into this matter will be full, it will be fair, and it will be independent,” Mr. Holder wrote in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “And beyond the investigation itself, we will work with the police, civil rights leaders, and members of the public to ensure that this tragedy can give rise to new understanding — and robust action — aimed at bridging persistent gaps between law enforcement officials and the communities we serve.”
The frustrations in the community have been fueled in part by the slow pace with which the authorities have released information.
In a sign of just how deep the distrust runs, there were three separate autopsies performed on Mr. Brown’s body: one by the county medical examiner, one by a private pathologist hired by the family, and one by federal authorities.
In addition to the many lingering questions about the shooting, the local authorities have also come under criticism for how they have handled the protests.
Norm Stamper, the former Seattle police chief who was in charge during the protests that rocked that city in 1999, said that the wrong tone was set from the first day in Ferguson.
“The basic perspective that I have over this whole thing, dating back to the shooting incident itself, what we had were largely peaceful vigils and protests that were met with police tactics that were highly aggressive and militaristic,” he said. “That response ignited what we have seen all week.”
He reserved his harshest criticism for the use of tear gas by the police — a mistake he said he made in Seattle and one he regrets to this day.
Since the first day of protests in Ferguson, the authorities shifted their response almost daily, adding to the sense that the situation was out of control.
On one day, protesters were told to gather in one place. Another day, they were told to keep moving. Then a curfew was imposed. The next night, there was no curfew. The local police were in control; then another unit took over. The National Guard was finally brought in to try to temper the unrest, but its role was not exactly clear.
“You get governors and police chiefs and everyone gnashing their teeth,” Mr. Stamper said. “Even the protesters are commenting on that: what are they doing?”
On Tuesday night, however, it seemed that some of that energy had gone from the streets. And the police also seemed more restrained, refraining from using tear gas.
The evening began in a familiar fashion: Demonstrators marched along the street and chanted “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” and other slogans that have become common here since Mr. Brown’s death.
The authorities made at least 47 arrests after demonstrators tossed bottles toward police officers, some of whom used pepper spray to subdue some protesters. In some instances, teams of officers abruptly entered the crowd, detained a single person whom they had apparently focused on, and returned to West Florissant Avenue, where many of the recent confrontations have occurred.
Although law enforcement officers in riot gear eyed the protesters while a police helicopter occasionally circled the city, there were no signs of trouble for long stretches of the evening.
When a demonstration ended shortly before midnight, many of the demonstrators prayed.
“Now that’s what I call a good protest,” Jonathan Smith, 45, said. “Ending in a prayer, no gas in the air.”
A local lawyer, Jerryl T. Christmas, urged demonstrators to leave the street and join a protest planned for Wednesday morning.
But tensions soon resurfaced, as people whom Captain Johnson labeled “the agitators, the criminals” tossed urine and bottles toward the authorities. Those actions, Captain Johnson said, were part of what prompted the police to restrict movement on West Florissant Avenue and to make arrests.
One person, Captain Johnson said, was from Austin, Tex., and was arrested on Tuesday night for the third time since the unrest began.
The fleeting clash, though, was far less fierce than previous encounters between the police and demonstrators, and it followed a night of extraordinary violence in Ferguson, a city of about 21,000 people northwest of St. Louis. The police fired tear gas to control the crowd on Monday and made dozens of arrests, and two people were wounded by gunfire.
While the authorities were hopeful that the worst of the street violence had passed, they were also aware that similar lulls had failed to hold in the past. Last Thursday night, officials here were encouraged when a break in the violence led to such a relaxed scene along West Florissant Avenue that one woman compared it to a parade.
But the next night, the police and a band of protesters engaged in a four-hour standoff after demonstrators barricaded part of the road. By Saturday afternoon, Governor Nixon had ordered a curfew for the city, which ran from midnight to 5 a.m., and declared a state of emergency.
Yet more violence followed, including a chaotic episode on Sunday when the police said demonstrators had tried to overrun their command post at a Ferguson shopping center. Mr. Nixon quickly ordered the Missouri National Guard to Ferguson, and soldiers on Tuesday night again manned checkpoints at entrances to the command post.
Joseph Goldstein contributed reporting.
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8) Shooting Accounts Differ as Holder Schedules Visit to Ferguson
By FRANCES ROBLES Francis Robles and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDTMichael S. Schmidt
AUG. 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/us/shooting-accounts-differ-as-holder-schedules-visit.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpHeadline&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package
FERGUSON, Mo. — As a county grand jury prepared to hear evidence on Wednesday in the shooting death of a black teenager by a white police officer that touched off 10 days of unrest here, witnesses have given investigators sharply conflicting accounts of the killing.
Some of the accounts seem to agree on how the fatal altercation initially unfolded: with a struggle between the officer, Darren Wilson, and the teenager, Michael Brown. Officer Wilson was inside his patrol car at the time, while Mr. Brown, who was unarmed, was leaning in through an open window.
Many witnesses also agreed on what happened next: Officer Wilson’s firearm went off inside the car, Mr. Brown ran away, the officer got out of his car and began firing toward Mr. Brown, and then Mr. Brown stopped, turned around and faced the officer.But on the crucial moments that followed, the accounts differ sharply, officials say. Some witnesses say that Mr. Brown, 18, moved toward Officer Wilson, possibly in a threatening manner, when the officer shot him dead. But others say that Mr. Brown was not moving and may even have had his hands up when he was killed.
The accounts of what witnesses have told local and federal law enforcement authorities come from some of those witnesses themselves, law enforcement authorities and others in Ferguson. Many spoke on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing a continuing investigation.
The new details on the witness accounts emerged as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was scheduled to visit Ferguson on Wednesday to meet with F.B.I. agents who have been conducting a civil rights investigation into the shooting.
Mr. Holder and top Justice Department officials were weighing whether to open a broader civil rights investigation to look at Ferguson’s police practices at large, according to law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks. The issue came up after news reports revealed a 2009 case in which a man said that four police officers beat him, then charged him with damaging government property — by getting blood on their uniforms.
Under Mr. Holder, the Justice Department has opened nearly two dozen such investigations into police departments, more than twice as many as were opened in the previous five years, according to department data.
Also on Tuesday, federal authorities learned the results of an autopsy performed on Mr. Brown by military coroners that showed that he had been shot six times, though they declined to release further details until their investigation was finished. An autopsy conducted on behalf of Mr. Brown’s family also found that he had been shot at least six times — including once in the face and once in the top of his head — with all bullets striking him in the front. The county has also done its own autopsy, which found evidence of marijuana in Mr. Brown’s system.
The Brown family has scheduled a funeral for Monday.Clashes between the police and protesters have become a nightly ritual, although the scene on Tuesday was initially calm. The authorities took their positions before sunset, and Missouri National Guard soldiers staffed checkpoints at the shopping center that is now a police command post. Demonstrators marched without incident while officers watched. The quiet nature of the protests raised hopes that they had entered a calmer phase, but more confrontations were reported overnight, with 47 people arrested.
In a statement on Tuesday night, Gov. Jay Nixon expressed sympathy for the Brown family and praised residents for “standing against armed and violent instigators.” But he also said that “a vigorous prosecution must now be pursued.”
“The democratically elected St. Louis County prosecutor and the attorney general of the United States each have a job to do,” Mr. Nixon said. “Their obligation to achieve justice in the shooting death of Michael Brown must be carried out thoroughly, promptly and correctly, and I call upon them to meet those expectations.”
The fatal confrontation began on Aug. 9 shortly after the police received reports that two men had robbed a convenience store in Ferguson. Officer Wilson, who was not responding to the robbery, had stopped to speak with Mr. Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson. The Ferguson police chief, Thomas Jackson, said that it was around the time that Officer Wilson started talking to the two that he realized they fit the description of the suspects in the convenience store robbery.
A lawyer for Mr. Johnson said that his client was interviewed by the F.B.I. and the St. Louis County police last week for nearly four hours. In that interview, Mr. Johnson admitted that he and Mr. Brown had stolen cigarillos from the store, said the lawyer, Freeman R. Bosley Jr.
Mr. Bosley said that the officer told the two to get off the street, adding that Mr. Johnson told the officer that he lived nearby. They got into a bit of a verbal dispute with the officer about whether walking in the street constituted a crime, Mr. Bosley said.
Contrary to what several witnesses have told law enforcement officials, Mr. Bosley said that the officer then reached out of the window with his left hand and grabbed Mr. Brown by the throat.
He said Mr. Brown pushed him off, and the officer then grabbed Mr. Brown’s shirt.
“My client sees the officer pull a gun and hears him say, ‘I’ll shoot you’ — then ‘pow!’ there was a shot,” Mr. Bosley said, referring to the one that apparently went off in the car. “He did not describe a scuffle. It was more of a scuffle for him to get away.”
Asked if Mr. Brown had punched the officer, Mr. Bosley said that Mr. Johnson “did not observe that.”
However, law enforcement officials say witnesses and forensic analysis have shown that Officer Wilson did sustain an injury during the struggle in the car.
As Officer Wilson got out of his car, the men were running away. The officer fired his weapon but did not hit anyone, according to law enforcement officials.
Mr. Johnson took cover near a parked car as he saw the officer confronting Mr. Brown, Mr. Bosley said.
A man who lives nearby, Michael T. Brady, said in an interview that he saw the initial altercation in the patrol car, although he struggled to see exactly what was happening.
“It was something strange,” said Mr. Brady, 32, a janitor. “Something was not right. It was some kind of altercation. I can’t say whether he was punching the officer or whatever. But something was going on in that window, and it didn’t look right.”
Mr. Brady said he had been interviewed by county investigators, but not the F.B.I.Mr. Brady said he could see Mr. Johnson at the front passenger side of the car when he and Mr. Brown suddenly started running. Mr. Brady did not hear a gunshot or know what caused them to run. But he said he did see a police officer get out of the patrol car and start walking briskly while firing on Mr. Brown as he fled.
What happened next could be what the case turns on. Several witnesses have told investigators that Mr. Brown stopped and turned around with his arms up.
According to his account to the Ferguson police, Officer Wilson said that Mr. Brown had lowered his arms and moved toward him, law enforcement officials said. Fearing that the teenager was going to attack him, the officer decided to use deadly force. Some witnesses have backed up that account. Others, however — including Mr. Johnson — have said that Mr. Brown did not move toward the officer before the final shots were fired.
A lawyer for the police union, Greg Kloeppel, did not return calls for comment.
The F.B.I., Mr. Bosley said, pressed Mr. Johnson to say how high Mr. Brown’s hands were. Mr. Johnson said that his hands were not that high, and that one was lower than the other, because he appeared to be “favoring it,” the lawyer said.
James McKnight, who also said he saw the shooting, said that Mr. Brown’s hands were up right after he turned around to face the officer.
“I saw him stumble toward the officer, but not rush at him,” Mr. McKnight said in a brief interview. “The officer was about six or seven feet away from him.”
Also Tuesday, a few miles from Ferguson, St. Louis Metropolitan Police officers shot and killed a 23-year-old black man. The shooting threatened to further inflame a community still reeling from Mr. Brown’s death.
Sam Dotson, the chief of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police, said two officers encountered a man at the Six Stars Market in northwest St. Louis behaving “erratically” and brandishing a knife. The officers repeatedly warned, “Stop, drop the knife,” but he refused, Chief Dotson said.
The man approached the officers, knife raised, and was shot after he came within three or four feet, the chief said.
In a sign of how tense the situation remains, Chief Dotson went out into a crowd at the scene of the shooting to tell it what the police understood had occurred. “I think it’s important that people understand what happened,” he said. He said witnesses, including a local alderman, had confirmed the account of the officers. “I want this message to be out as truthfully and quickly as possible,” the chief said.
But not all in the crowd were willing to listen. A small group of protesters, most of them black, gathered at the scene chanting, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!”
“Even if this is a legitimate shooting, they are going to capitalize on this and try to use it for their martial law agenda,” said Christopher Hobbs, 21, who had joined dozens of other residents at the scene.
Frances Robles reported from Ferguson, and Michael S. Schmidt from Washington. Reporting was contributed by Matt Apuzzo from Washington, Marc Santora from New York, and Alan Blinder and John Eligon from Ferguson.
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9) Israeli Strike in Gaza Hits Family of Hamas Military Commander
By Jodi Rudoren and Fares Akram
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-strip.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=HpSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes killed a wife and baby son of the top military commander of Hamas, the Islamist movement that dominates the Gaza Strip, hours after rocket fire from Gaza broke a temporary cease-fire Tuesday and halted talks aimed at ending the six-week conflict collapsed in Cairo. The fate of the commander, Mohammed Deif, the target of several previous Israeli assassination attempts, remained unclear, though Palestinian officials and witnesses said his was not one of three bodies pulled Wednesday from the rubble of the bombed Gaza City home.
Mr. Deif, who is considered to be the designer of Hamas’s signature Qassam rockets and the leader of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, is a shadowy figure who was severely injured in a 2003 Israeli strike. After Mr. Deif claimed in a recorded message last month that Hamas was “winning the war,” a senior Israeli minister vowed to hunt him down.“For years, Mohammed Deif has been hiding in the tunnels underneath Gaza, and that is where he will remain because he’s a dead man,” Yair Lapid, Israel’s finance minister and a member of its so-called security cabinet, said on July 30. Later, Mr. Lapid declared, “To Deif and his gang, I want to say clearly: Just as the United States did not rest until it found Bin Laden and eliminated him, we will find you and bring you to justice.”
Israel has not killed many well-known Hamas military leaders during the air-and-ground assault on Gaza that began on July 8; most of the more than 2,000 Palestinians killed have been civilians, according to rights groups. A more limited operation in November 2012 started with the assassination of Ahmed al-Jabari, who was Mr. Deif’s deputy but actually ran the day-to-day operations of the Qassam Brigades because of Mr. Deif’s injuries.
The Israeli military would not confirm whether it had targeted Mr. Deif or his family, or if there had been a change in strategy since the violence resumed.
Witnesses in Gaza said that F-16 warplanes had dropped five bombs at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on a three-story building owned by Rabah al-Dalo, a government employee whose wife and two teenage sons were among those killed. “It was like an earthquake, earthquake,” said a neighbor, Abu Fayez al-Shorafa. “Everybody went out to check what happened.”
Mr. Shorafa said he had no idea whether Mr. Deif had been living in the home, a part of which other neighbors said had been rented out for more than a year. It is common practice for senior militants in Hamas to move from apartment to apartment, often rented in others’ names, to avoid detection by Israeli intelligence services.
Mustafa Asfoura said his daughter Widad, 28, had married Mr. Deif, who has other wives, about four years ago, and that they had four children. The youngest, 8-month-old Ali, was killed alongside his mother on Tuesday and the other children were injured. Mr. Asfoura, 55, said he did not know where his daughter was living, that he had last seen her 10 days ago and that he had long expected her to die in such a way because she was married to “the No. 1 wanted man in Israel.”
“She agreed to marry Deif, that was her choice, I can’t stand against her decision,” said the father, a thin man who runs a modest shoe-manufacturing workshop. He said that Widad also had three children from a previous marriage to a Hamas militant, who was killed in 2007.
“If Israel wants to kill a fighter, why would it kill women and children beside him?” Mr. Asfoura asked. “Let them kill him alone.”
Though it is not clear if Mr. Deif was in the house at the time of the attack, Yaakov Peri, an Israeli minister and former head of the internal security service, said the strike “demonstrates intelligence capabilities.”
“It shows that even though much has been said in the past about our inability to reach the heads of Hamas, our intelligence is indeed capable,” Mr. Peri said in a radio interview. “I think that it is an important indicator of the fact that no military wing head or anyone who is a target for assassination is immune.”
The Israeli strikes came after Gaza-based militants resumed rocket fire around 4 p.m. Tuesday after a nine-day break, prompting Israel to withdraw its delegation from Cairo, where talks toward a more durable truce had deadlocked. The bloody, monthlong battle has taken the lives of 64 Israeli soldiers and three civilians, one a foreign farmworker.
By Wednesday afternoon, the Israeli military had counted nearly 150 rockets fired from Gaza since the collapse of the cease-fire; 94 hit Israel and 24 were intercepted. Most of the rockets were aimed at southern Israel, though a few reached Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where one fell in open ground around midnight, according to the Israeli military. Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israel Police, said one had hit an empty house near the southern city of Ashkelon, causing damage but no injuries.
Israel conducted scores of airstrikes across Gaza overnight and into Wednesday, killing at least 19 Palestinians and wounding 120 by 3 p.m., according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Seven people, including a pregnant woman, died in an early-morning attack on the al-Louh family home in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, health officials said; a 3-year-old was killed by a missile fired by a drone in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City; and another drone strike killed two men in their car in the north.
Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an Israeli military spokesman, declined to provide specifics about the strikes other than to say they were aimed at “Hamas terrorist infrastructure.”
“The mission is ongoing,” Colonel Lerner said. “It never ended. There was a break while the negotiations were ongoing.” Asked about the goals of the new round of strikes, he answered, “To restore safety and security to the state of Israel.”
Israel returned to a war footing on Wednesday, with large gatherings banned and some beaches, parks and camps in the south closed. Residents were warned to stay close to bomb shelters, and Mr. Rosenfeld said the police had stepped up patrols in the Tel Aviv area.
Mr. Deif, who is believed to be about 50 years old, has topped Israel’s most-wanted list since at least 1996. He took over the Qassam Brigades in 2002 after its previous commander was killed by an Israeli bomb.
That same year, reports of Mr. Deif’s death in an Israeli strike were debunked. He is thought to have survived five separate Israeli attempts on his life, but is believed to have lost an eye and suffered a spinal injury.
Hamas put out a public call for people to attend the funeral of Mr. Deif’s wife and baby, and hundreds joined the procession in the Jabaliya refugee camp. Drones hovered overhead, Israeli airstrikes could be heard in the distance, and the white smoke and whooshes of two rockets headed into Israel from Gaza caused children to quickly drop their heads.
Mr. Asfoura emerged from his one-story home carrying the tiny body of his grandson, Ali, wrapped in a white shroud and with a white bandage on his head. Neighbors and relatives followed him to Al Kholafa mosque, while men carried Widad’s body on a red stretcher. “I was waiting for a cease-fire so I could see Widad more often,” wailed her mother, Um Ibrahim Asfoura, 55.
Egypt has been trying to broker a cease-fire since the first week of the conflict. Those efforts intensified in recent days but apparently failed to make real progress. Hamas, and a broader Palestinian delegation including the moderate, secular Fatah Party of the Palestinian Authority’s president, Mahmoud Abbas, had demanded the reopening of all border crossings, the removal of Israeli restrictions on trade, the building of a Gaza seaport and the revival of a defunct airport in the coastal territory.
Israel had called for a demilitarization of Gaza under international supervision.
People briefed on the talks have said that negotiators agreed last week to set these broader goals aside for a month and to focus an initial agreement on the reconstruction of Gaza, where thousands of homes, businesses and other properties have been destroyed. But that initial agreement never came.
Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s foreign minister, seized on the collapse of the Cairo talks to reiterate his call for a more aggressive assault to topple Hamas from Gaza.
“I hope that now it is clear to everyone that the policy of ‘quiet will be answered with quiet’ means that Hamas is the initiator, and that it is the one that decides when, where and how much it fires on the residents of Israel, whereas we make do with only a response that, even if it is powerful, is still just a response,” Mr. Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page. “When we’re talking seriously about the security of the residents of Israel, we need to understand that there isn’t any option other than a resolute Israeli initiative that spells one thing – bringing about Hamas’s surrender.”
But Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, blamed Israel for the breakdown, saying that country’s negotiators withdrew from the talks before rockets were fired Tuesday “and did not answer to Hamas’s notes and offers.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel “had been given the choice between war and lull — he selected war,” Mr. Barhoum said in an interview at Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. “Netanyahu’s government must get prepared for a battle that will be difficult and hard on the Israelis. Netanyahu and his government have only one choice: stopping the aggression, lifting the blockade, allowing the rebuilding of Gaza and accepting the demands of the resistance.”
Jodi Rudoren reported from Jerusalem, and Fares Akram from Gaza.
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10) In Russia, Scenes From Ferguson Are Played as Nothing Shocking: It’s America
By David M. Herszenhorn
August 19, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/world/europe/in-russia-scenes-from-ferguson-are-played-as-nothing-shocking-its-america.html?ref=us
MOSCOW — At least once an hour, sometimes more frequently, images of battalions of riot police officers in helmets clashing with demonstrators fill the screen of Rossiya 24, one of Russia’s major government-controlled television channels, and newscasters speaking in grave tones inveigh against the injustice and violence by the authorities.
The images are not from Kiev, Ukraine, or from here in Moscow, where such scenes have been more than familiar in recent years. They are from Ferguson, Mo., where the shooting death of Michael Brown and the crackdown by the authorities against protesters have provided the latest opportunity for Russia to portray its detractors in America as hypocrites.
“Cases of racism are still not rare in the nation of exemplary democracy,” an anchor on Rossiya 24 said on Tuesday, as Ferguson again grabbed a prominent place in the evening news cycle.In Russia’s more tabloid-style news outlets, close coverage of the events in Missouri, including such details as the rap star Nelly’s appearing in support of the demonstrators, has overshadowed the other big story in recent days: that of a high school music teacher under pressure to resign after she inadvertently posted a naked selfie on VKontakte, the Russian social media site.
The Russian government itself weighed in on Tuesday. In a long statement, Konstantin Dolgov, the Foreign Ministry’s special representative for human rights, baldly accused the United States of hypocrisy, and said Washington would do better to focus on its own problems rather than intervening in other countries “under the false pretext of defending democracy and human rights.”
“While urging other countries to guarantee the freedom of speech and not to suppress antigovernment protests, the United States authorities at home are not too soft with those actively expressing discontent over persistent inequalities, actual discrimination and the situation of ‘second class’ citizens,” Mr. Dolgov said.
He added, “American human rights activists are sounding the alarm.”
Over the years, Washington has persistently condemned the Kremlin’s suppression of political dissent. The United States was sharply critical, for example, when scuffles between the police and huge crowds denouncing President Vladimir V. Putin in 2012 led to dozens of arrests. Criminal trials in some of those cases are still in the news here.
That has given Russia ample motive to gloat whenever accusations arise of heavy-handedness by American law enforcement in the face of public protests.
More recently, of course, the United States — to the Kremlin’s great dismay — sided strongly in favor of street protesters in Kiev, who this year succeeded in ousting Ukraine’s president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. An assistant secretary of state, Victoria Nuland, had visited with the demonstrators in Independence Square and handed out cookies. Several United States officials, including Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, also visited Kiev to show solidarity and even addressed the crowd from the stage.
The focus on the Ferguson situation is hardly a surprise.
Russia paid similarly close attention, for instance, when demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested in New York in 2011, and government-controlled news media outlets have often rebroadcast video of those arrests to make the same point as their coverage of Ferguson: The freedom of assembly enshrined in the Bill of Rights is not as absolute as promoters of American democracy might suggest.
It is not only harsh treatment of protesters that draws Russia’s disapproving eye. Gun crimes, such as school shootings, which are relatively rare in Russia, also get heavy publicity when they occur in the United States.
The police response in Missouri — and Russia’s official smirking — has caused deep consternation among critics of the Kremlin here. They see it as being exploited to excuse Russia’s much more pervasive and deep-rooted restrictions on civil liberties, as well as its often arbitrary — and Kremlin-dominated — law enforcement and judicial systems.
Maria Baronova, who was arrested at one of the white-ribbon protests against Mr. Putin, posted a photo on Twitter on Tuesday of heavily armed St. Louis County police officers in helmets. Ms. Baronova had faced near-certain conviction on charges of inciting a riot, and she avoided a lengthy prison term only because she qualified for an amnesty program ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
“Dear American gvrnmnt,” she wrote alongside the photograph on Twitter. “You can’t imagine how those who fight for freedom in Russia hate you these days. Putin saw this.”
One headline over an opinion feature in the newspaper MK this week asked, “Could Ferguson become a second Donetsk?” The reference was to the rebel-controlled city in eastern Ukraine, which was been ravaged by separatist violence. In the article, an expert contributor helpfully reassured that civil war was not imminent in the United States.
Coverage of the protests in Ferguson on LifeNews, a site close to the Russian authorities, included a picture of the police arresting Hedy Epstein, who the site noted is a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor. It also reported the arrest of Scott Olson, a photographer for Getty Images, “who tried to take pictures of the policemen.” The site added, “He was soon released.”
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11) Macy's to Pay $650,000 to Resolve 'Shop-And-Frisk' Probe
By Reuters
August 20, 2014
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2014/08/20/business/20reuters-macys-bias.html?src=busln
NEW YORK — Macy's Inc has agreed to pay $650,000 to New York's attorney general and install a monitor to resolve allegations that its security personnel targeted minority shoppers.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office investigated several complaints from customers of the company's flagship store in midtown Manhattan, also said Macy's would adopt new anti-profiling policies, improve training and designate a compliance expert to report to the attorney general's office for the next three years.
The deal comes a week after Schneiderman's office reached a $525,000 agreement with Barneys New York [DBWLDB.UL] to resolve similar "shop-and-frisk" allegations from minority customers.
"It is absolutely unacceptable - and it's illegal - for anyone in New York to be treated like a criminal simply because of the color of their skin," Schneiderman said in a statement.
In a statement, Macy's said it has also reached settlements in principle with various shoppers who filed state and federal lawsuits alleging discrimination.
Those complaints included a lawsuit filed by actor Rob Brown of HBO's "Treme" claiming he was detained and handcuffed at the store after purchasing a $1,300 gold watch.
"Our company's policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling and any occurrence of such behavior will not be tolerated in our organization," the company said.
The attorney general's office opened its investigation 18 months ago. Among other findings, the office said a review of data provided by Macy's showed the store detained minorities at significantly higher rates than white shoppers.
Macy's had previously operated under a consent decree reached in 2005 with the attorney general's office to resolve allegations that its security practices, including its handcuffing policies, violated anti-discrimination laws. That agreement ended in 2008.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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12) My plea to the people of Israel: Liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, in an exclusive article for Haaretz, calls for a global boycott of Israel and urges Israelis and Palestinians to look beyond their leaders for a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land.
By Desmond Tutu | Aug. 14, 2014http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/1.610687
The past weeks have witnessed unprecedented action by members of civil society across the world against the injustice of Israel’s disproportionately brutal response to the firing of missiles from Palestine.
If you add together all the people who gathered over the past weekend to demand justice in Israel and Palestine – in Cape Town, Washington, D.C., New York, New Delhi, London, Dublin and Sydney, and all the other cities – this was arguably the largest active outcry by citizens around a single cause ever in the history of the world.
A quarter of a century ago, I participated in some well-attended demonstrations against apartheid. I never imagined we’d see demonstrations of that size again, but last Saturday’s turnout in Cape Town was as big if not bigger. Participants included young and old, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists, blacks, whites, reds and greens ... as one would expect from a vibrant, tolerant, multicultural nation.
I asked the crowd to chant with me: “We are opposed to the injustice of the illegal occupation of Palestine. We are opposed to the indiscriminate killing in Gaza. We are opposed to the indignity meted out to Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks. We are opposed to violence perpetrated by all parties. But we are not opposed to Jews.”
Earlier in the week, I called for the suspension of Israel from the International Union of Architects, which was meeting in South Africa.
I appealed to Israeli sisters and brothers present at the conference to actively disassociate themselves and their profession from the design and construction of infrastructure related to perpetuating injustice, including the separation barrier, the security terminals and checkpoints, and the settlements built on occupied Palestinian land.
“I implore you to take this message home: Please turn the tide against violence and hatred by joining the nonviolent movement for justice for all people of the region,” I said.
Over the past few weeks, more than 1.6 million people across the world have signed onto this movement by joining an Avaaz campaign calling on corporations profiting from the Israeli occupation and/or implicated in the abuse and repression of Palestinians to pull out. The campaign specifically targets Dutch pension fund ABP; Barclays Bank; security systems supplier G4S; French transport company Veolia; computer company Hewlett-Packard; and bulldozer supplier Caterpillar.
Last month, 17 EU governments urged their citizens to avoid doing business in or investing in illegal Israeli settlements.
We have also recently witnessed the withdrawal by Dutch pension fund PGGM of tens of millions of euros from Israeli banks; the divestment from G4S by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; and the U.S. Presbyterian Church divested an estimated $21 million from HP, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar.
It is a movement that is gathering pace.
Violence begets violence and hatred, that only begets more violence and hatred.
We South Africans know about violence and hatred. We understand the pain of being the polecat of the world; when it seems nobody understands or is even willing to listen to our perspective. It is where we come from.
We also know the benefits that dialogue between our leaders eventually brought us; when organizations labeled “terrorist” were unbanned and their leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were released from imprisonment, banishment and exile.
We know that when our leaders began to speak to each other, the rationale for the violence that had wracked our society dissipated and disappeared. Acts of terrorism perpetrated after the talks began – such as attacks on a church and a pub – were almost universally condemned, and the party held responsible snubbed at the ballot box.
The exhilaration that followed our voting together for the first time was not the preserve of black South Africans alone. The real triumph of our peaceful settlement was that all felt included. And later, when we unveiled a constitution so tolerant, compassionate and inclusive that it would make God proud, we all felt liberated.
Of course, it helped that we had a cadre of extraordinary leaders.
But what ultimately forced these leaders together around the negotiating table was the cocktail of persuasive, nonviolent tools that had been developed to isolate South Africa, economically, academically, culturally and psychologically.
At a certain point – the tipping point – the then-government realized that the cost of attempting to preserve apartheid outweighed the benefits.
The withdrawal of trade with South Africa by multinational corporations with a conscience in the 1980s was ultimately one of the key levers that brought the apartheid state – bloodlessly – to its knees. Those corporations understood that by contributing to South Africa’s economy, they were contributing to the retention of an unjust status quo.
Those who continue to do business with Israel, who contribute to a sense of “normalcy” in Israeli society, are doing the people of Israel and Palestine a disservice. They are contributing to the perpetuation of a profoundly unjust status quo.
Those who contribute to Israel’s temporary isolation are saying that Israelis and Palestinians are equally entitled to dignity and peace.
Ultimately, events in Gaza over the past month or so are going to test who believes in the worth of human beings.
It is becoming more and more clear that politicians and diplomats are failing to come up with answers, and that responsibility for brokering a sustainable solution to the crisis in the Holy Land rests with civil society and the people of Israel and Palestine themselves.
Besides the recent devastation of Gaza, decent human beings everywhere – including many in Israel – are profoundly disturbed by the daily violations of human dignity and freedom of movement Palestinians are subjected to at checkpoints and roadblocks. And Israel’s policies of illegal occupation and the construction of buffer-zone settlements on occupied land compound the difficulty of achieving an agreementsettlement in the future that is acceptable for all.
The State of Israel is behaving as if there is no tomorrow. Its people will not live the peaceful and secure lives they crave – and are entitled to – as long as their leaders perpetuate conditions that sustain the conflict.
I have condemned those in Palestine responsible for firing missiles and rockets at Israel. They are fanning the flames of hatred. I am opposed to all manifestations of violence.
But we must be very clear that the people of Palestine have every right to struggle for their dignity and freedom. It is a struggle that has the support of many around the world.
No human-made problems are intractable when humans put their heads together with the earnest desire to overcome them. No peace is impossible when people are determined to achieve it.
Peace requires the people of Israel and Palestine to recognize the human being in themselves and each other; to understand their interdependence.
Missiles, bombs and crude invective are not part of the solution. There is no military solution.
The solution is more likely to come from that nonviolent toolbox we developed in South Africa in the 1980s, to persuade the government of the necessity of altering its policies.
The reason these tools – boycott, sanctions and divestment – ultimately proved effective was because they had a critical mass of support, both inside and outside the country. The kind of support we have witnessed across the world in recent weeks, in respect of Palestine.
My plea to the people of Israel is to see beyond the moment, to see beyond the anger at feeling perpetually under siege, to see a world in which Israel and Palestine can coexist – a world in which mutual dignity and respect reign.
It requires a mind-set shift. A mind-set shift that recognizes that attempting to perpetuate the current status quo is to damn future generations to violence and insecurity. A mind-set shift that stops regarding legitimate criticism of a state’s policies as an attack on Judaism. A mind-set shift that begins at home and ripples out across communities and nations and regions – to the Diaspora scattered across the world we share. The only world we share.
People united in pursuit of a righteous cause are unstoppable. God does not interfere in the affairs of people, hoping we will grow and learn through resolving our difficulties and differences ourselves. But God is not asleep. The Jewish scriptures tell us that God is biased on the side of the weak, the dispossessed, the widow, the orphan, the alien who set slaves free on an exodus to a Promised Land. It was the prophet Amos who said we should let righteousness flow like a river.
Goodness prevails in the end. The pursuit of freedom for the people of Palestine from humiliation and persecution by the policies of Israel is a righteous cause. It is a cause that the people of Israel should support.
Nelson Mandela famously said that South Africans would not feel free until Palestinians were free.
He might have added that the liberation of Palestine will liberate Israel, too.
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13) Tear Gas, Stun Grenades, Sound Cannons: Companies Profiting From Police Crackdowns Like Ferguson
By Alex Kane
August 21, 2014
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/tear-gas-stun-grenades-sound-cannons-companies-profiting-police-crackdowns?akid=12153.229473.yT6Y7r&rd=1&src=newsletter1016414&t=2&paging=off¤t_page=1#bookmark
Sales of all those military grade weapons are making some people rich.
The tear-gas, rubber bullets and smoke bombs fired in Ferguson, Missouri have fed outrage over police militarization in the U.S. In response to the shocking images, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill said, “We need to de-militarize this situation.” Journalists reporting live on the demonstrations sparked by the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown expressed befuddlement as to why the police needed high-caliber weapons better suited for war zones than protests in an American city.
But one group of people is decidedly happy about the militarized response in Ferguson: those who work in the weapons industry. The array of police forces--the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the St. Louis county and city police and local Ferguson officers--that descended on the largely black Missouri city have used the products these corporations are selling in abundance. Tear gas, rubber bullets, smoke bombs, stun grenades, armored personnel carriers, sound cannons and high-caliber rifles have all been deployed to quell the unrest, though they have contributed to anger over police tactics.
The police response is the perfect showcase for the companies that manufacture military equipment for law enforcement use. They can point to the police tactics to sell their products to other law enforcement agencies preparing for demonstrations. And in Missouri, the police’s massive use of armaments like tear gas mean that their stock is becoming depleted and they will need to re-up their purchases. These companies will profit from the tension in Ferguson, and could fuel even greater militarization of the police, a trend that began with the war on drugs and has accelerated in recent years with the advent of the war on terror.
The companies getting mileage out of the unrest in Ferguson are vast. The LRAD Corporation manufactures the long-range acoustic devices that have emitted piercing noises at protesters in Missouri. These sound devices can cause headaches and other types of pain. The police in Ferguson are also using the Bearcat armored truck manufactured by Lenco. That vehicle, costing $360,000, was paid for with Department of Homeland Security grant money, according to the New York Times. Since 2003, over $9 million in grants from Homeland Security have flowed to police in St. Louis, according to the Times. Overall, since the September 11 terror attacks, $34 billion in such grants have been given to law enforcement agencies across the country, showing it is the federal government fueling police militarization.
The Ferguson police department has received two armored Humvees, a generator and a trailer from the U.S. military, according to the Associated Press. Police departments around the nation have received the military’s surplus equipment, which has brought weapons used in Afghanistan and Iraq to local towns and cities. Congress first passed a law authorizing the funneling of surplus military equipmentto domestic law enforcement in 1990. It’s now known as the 1033 program, referring to the section of the program in the Pentagon budget.
The Justice Department has also gotten in on the action. Justice Department grants have paid for tear gas and rubber bullets, though it’s not clear if police in Ferguson used those grants to buy their own tear gas.
Whoever paid for it, the companies that make tear-gas are sure to benefit from the Ferguson demonstrations. Two corporations’ tear-gas products have been fired on demonstrators in recent days: Combined Tactical Systems (CTS) and Defense Technology. CTS, headquartered in Pennsylvania, is well-known for being a leading supplier of tear gas around the world, including to the governments of Israel, Egypt and Bahrain, which buy the weapons with the generous amounts of U.S. military aid given to them. Defense Technology, also based in Pennsylvania, has likewise profited from tear gas sold to Israel, Egypt and Bahrain, in addition to Yemen, Turkey and Tunisia.
Yet another company that will profit from the tensions in Missouri is Taser International. In the days since the shooting of Michael Brown, the company’s stock has risen 28 percent, CNN reported.According to the news outlet, the key reason its stock has risen is because of expectations that the images of police brutality and excess will lead to body cameras—a product Taser International makes—being outfitted on cops there.
Many of the corporations’ products that are being turned on protesters in Ferguson will be put on display next month—in Missouri. From September 17-19, a Military Police Expo will take place in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. “The Expo will provide opportunity for vendors to showcase their products and services to Military Police Soldiers, senior leaders and key decision makers...In addition, civilian law enforcement and Chiefs of Police will also be invited to attend,” the event’s website explains. Vendors participating include Combined Tactical Systems, Taser International, LRAD, L-3 Warrior Systems and many others.
The purpose of the convention is to “get these businesses in front of some of these government entities,” Chalette Davis, an exhibit hall manager for eventPower, which is planning the expo, told AlterNet.
It’s unclear how many of the civilian law enforcement agencies firing militarized weapons in Ferguson will be on hand. But at least one, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, will be there as a vendor. In addition to that role, it’s likely the patrol will be checking out the weaponry on display. “A lot of business is done that way,” said Davis.
Meanwhile, organizers committed to ending police militarization plan to continue their fight against the trend. In early September, Oakland will play host to Urban Shield, a Department of Homeland Security-funded annual event. Urban Shield features a trade show that armaments companies participate in, as well as law enforcement training exercises to practice halting terrorism.
But a coalition of groups, including the War Resisters League, are gearing up to greet the event with a week of protest and education against Urban Shield. It’s the type of activism bound to get worldwide attention given the Ferguson protests and the debate the police response has sparked over militarization.
“People across the U.S. are waking up to police militarization," Ali Issa, an organizer with the War Resisters League, said in a statement. “The growing cross-community movement against it means that days are numbered for programs like Department of Defense's 1033 and Department of Homeland Security's Urban Shield." Alex Kane is AlterNet's New York-based World editor, and an assistant editor for Mondoweiss. Follow him on Twitter
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14) Message from Troy Davis’s family to Michael Brown’s family and the people of Ferguson
TO THE FAMILY OF MICHAEL BROWN AND THE PEOPLE OF FERGUSON, FROM THE FAMILY OF TROY DAVIS
August 21, 2014
http://donkeysaddle.wordpress.com/2014/08/21/message-from-troy-daviss-family-to-michael-browns-family-and-the-people-of-ferguson/
We are writing to express our heartfelt condolences on the brutal killing of your loved one, Michael Brown. My family knows, all too well, the pain of losing a loved one at the hands of state violence. Our family extends our love and our support to you, and wish there were something more we could do to lessen the pain of your loss.
We are also writing to express our solidarity with all those in Ferguson who are standing for justice for Mike Brown, who are demanding accountability, and who are organizing against the racism and dehumanization that is at the root of Michael’s killing and so many other examples of state violence and racist violence against black men and boys in our communities.
Our voices are added to yours, that there be no more families plunged into grief, as your family is mourning, as my family grieves still, like the still-grieving families of Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, Sean Bell, Amadou Diallo, and Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
We must continue to stand up and speak out until there is justice for Mike Brown and so many others.
We must continue to stand up and speak out until all young men and women in this country are seen for who they are–human beings deserving to be treated with respect, with dignity, and with equality.
In solidarity, and with sorrow,
Kimberly Davis, sister of Troy Anthony Davis (innocent death row prisoner executed by the state of Georgia on September 21, 2011)
on behalf of the Davis family
Kimberly Davis, sister of Troy Davis: “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!”
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15) Fatal Confrontation Heightens Tensions in Staten Island Police Precinct
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Key Factor in Police Shootings: ‘Reasonable Fear’
Each time police officers draw their weapons, they step out of everyday law enforcement and into a rigidly defined world where written rules, hours of training and Supreme Court decisions dictate not merely when a gun can be fired, but where it is aimed, how many rounds should be squeezed off and when the shooting should stop.
The Ferguson, Mo., police officer who fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager two weeks ago, setting off protest and riots, was bound by 12 pages of police department regulations, known as General Order 410.00, that govern officers’ use of force. Whether he followed them will play a central role in deliberations by a St. Louis County grand jury over whether the officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged with a crime in the shooting.But as sweeping as restrictions on the use of weapons may be, deciding whether an officer acted correctly in firing at a suspect is not cut and dried. A host of outside factors, from the officer’s perception of a threat to the suspect’s behavior and even his size, can emerge as mitigating or damning.
The police, the courts and experts say some leeway is necessary in situations where officers under crushing stress must make split-second decisions with life-or-death consequences. A large majority of officers never use their weapons. A handful of officers may be rogue killers, researchers say, but laboratory simulations of armed confrontations show that many more officers — much like ordinary civilians — can make honest mistakes in the pressure cooker of an armed encounter.
“It’s a difficult job for coppers out there,” Timothy Maher, a former officer and a professor of criminology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said in an interview. “In the heat of the moment, things are happening so quickly. If they were role-playing, they could say, ‘Time out.’ But in real life, it’s, ‘Wow — in my training, this guy stopped, but here, he didn’t.’ ”
Some citizens who read witnesses’ accounts of police shootings or view cellphone videos of them see the shootings as brutal and unjustified, which underscores a frequent gap between public perceptions and official views.
The rules dictate when an officer may move from mild coercion, such as issuing an order or grabbing a suspect’s arm, to stronger or even deadly action. In general, officers are allowed to respond with greater force after a suspect does so, and the type of response — from a gentle push to a tight grip, a baton strike to a stun gun shock to a bullet — rises as the threat grows.
Every step, however, is overshadowed by a single imperative: If an officer believes he or someone else is in imminent danger of grievous injury or death, he is allowed to shoot first, and ask questions later. The same is true, the courts have ruled, in cases where a suspect believed to have killed or gravely injured someone is fleeing and can only be halted with deadly force.
“It’s a very simple analysis, a threat analysis,” said Geoffrey P. Alpert, a University of South Carolina professor and expert on high-risk police activities. “If a police officer has an objectively reasonable fear of an imminent threat to his life or serious bodily harm, he or she is justified in using deadly force. And not just his life, but any life.”
“Objectively reasonable” is a standard set by the Supreme Court in 1989 when it said that a police officer’s use of excessive force must be seen in the context of what reasonable officers would do in the same situation, given the danger and stress of police work.
Much remains in dispute about Officer Wilson’s fatal shooting of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old whom he stopped as Mr. Brown was walking home about noon on Aug. 9. But the question of whether Officer Wilson’s actions were objectively reasonable will likely be at the crux of that debate.
Lawrence Kobilinsky, chairman of the department of science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said if the evidence shows a close-up shooting and a struggle, it will go better for Officer Wilson.
Ferguson police officials have said Mr. Brown and a friend were walking in the street when Officer Wilson stopped them. In an ensuing struggle, they said, Officer Wilson was hit in the face and Mr. Brown tried to take his gun, which discharged. Later, Officer Wilson shot Mr. Brown six times as the two men faced each other.
Mr. Brown’s friend, Dorian Johnson, has said that Officer Wilson grabbed Mr. Brown by the throat and said “I’m gonna shoot you” as he tried to drag him into the squad car. He and Mr. Brown fled after the gun discharged, Mr. Johnson said, and Officer Wilson, in pursuit, shot Mr. Brown as he stood with his hands up in surrender. David Klinger, also a former police officer and a professor and criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, has interviewed in depth about 300 officers who fired weapons in confrontations with suspects. A blow to the head by itself would not justify a shooting, he said, but other factors also could be at work.
“Sometimes you make a straight-up mistake,” Mr. Klinger said. “ ‘He punched me, so I shot him.’ Punching and shooting don’t go together unless you’re much bigger than me or you have martial arts training.”
“Let the physical evidence tell us what happened,” said Pat Diaz, a former South Florida homicide detective who investigated more than 100 police shootings and now works as a court-certified expert witness. “How badly injured was the police officer? Was he dazed? Was Michael Brown on drugs? Let’s see what’s really going on here.”
“He may have been pulling the trigger out of pure adrenaline, because he was in fear,” Mr. Diaz said. “If the cop has no injuries, then it’s clear-cut and hard to say he should have been shot. It’s all going to be told by the physical evidence.”
Similarly, said Mr. Kobilinsky of John Jay, “If a felon is fleeing and is known to be unarmed and poses no danger of bodily harm to either a police officer or civilians in the area, then the officer will no doubt have legal issues if he uses deadly force to subdue that person.”
At Washington State University in Spokane, researchers have run hundreds of simulated confrontations with suspects, using 60 filmed situations based on real life and performed by trained actors. Police officers participating in the simulations are wired to monitor body and brain functions.
The results show that as the simulations become more complex — adding bystanders, dimming lights, turning up background noise — officers are more likely to make mistakes in judgment, said Bryan Vila, a professor of criminal justice and former police officer who oversees the research.
“People have to make a decision before there’s enough time to study everything about the situation and what all the possible consequences could be,” he said. “Even if a cop does everything right in a very fast-paced, low-information situation where the risks are very high, the potential consequences of a mistake are very high.”
Michael Wines reported from New York, and Frances Robles from Ferguson, Mo.
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LOS ANGELES — When Los Angeles police officers shot and killed Ezell Ford,
an unarmed 25-year-old black man last week, it took less than 24 hours
for Lita Herron to get a phone call from a ranking officer at a nearby
station.
“They wanted to check in and gauge our rage,” said Ms. Herron, a grandmother and organizer who has worked to prevent gang violence on the streets of South Los Angeles for years. “They wanted to ask us to quell rumors and hear what we need. We’ve all been through this before — even when we know things are wrong, we aren’t looking for things to explode.”
In Ferguson, Mo., however, angry protests stretched on for nearly two weeks after the police killing of Michael Brown in circumstances that were strikingly similar: an unarmed young black man shot by the police, who some witnesses say was not putting up a struggle. The killings occurred two days apart. The protests in Missouri were driven initially, in large part, by the police’s refusal to release the name of the officer involved or details of the Aug. 9 shooting. Here, the police are still holding back the autopsy report and the names of the officers involved, citing security concerns.
Yet the reaction in Los Angeles, where clashes between the police and residents have a long history, has so far been much calmer.
While there have been several protests since the Aug. 11 shooting of Mr. Ford, who was mentally ill, including an impromptu march that blocked traffic on city streets, the police have maintained a relatively low profile, relying primarily on a handful of bicycle-riding officers in polo shirts rather than the rifle-carrying officers in riot gear pictured in Ferguson. This week, Chief Charlie Beck and other top-ranking officials showed up for a community meeting at a local church, telling the angry crowd of several hundred that there were still more questions than answers about the shooting.
In the more than two decades since riots erupted after white police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney G. King, a black construction worker, relations between law enforcement and their communities here have changed drastically. In many South Los Angeles police precincts, officers routinely check in with organizers like Ms. Herron. Local church leaders have officers’ phone numbers committed to memory. When protests are planned, seasoned organizers let the police know — even when the police are the target of their outrage.
“We have an infrastructure here where there are outlets for people to vent frustration and move into action,” said Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the president of Community Coalition, which runs several programs for residents in South Los Angeles. “This has taken more than 20 years to build and sustain — there’s no question it would not have been this way a generation or two ago.”
Still, on the streets of South Los Angeles, a predominantly black and Latino neighborhood, a sense of distrust of the police remains. Mr. Harris-Dawson, who is black, often points out that he has had a gun pointed at him by an L.A.P.D. officer four times and has never carried a weapon. Black and Latino teenage boys rattle off instances where they were pulled over and questioned for what they say was no reason. Still, many local leaders are willing to give the department some leeway to continue the investigation into the Ford shooting before coming to a clear conclusion.
“The chief also does not make it the job of the department to exonerate the officer,” Mr. Harris-Dawson said. “They do take a minute to have some remorse for the fact that someone is dead.”
When Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a longtime civil rights leader here and a frequent critic of the department, demanded a meeting with top police officials last week, they quickly arranged to discuss the case. They listened to Mr. Hutchinson’s demands for a “fast track” investigation and a quick release of the officers’ names and the autopsy results. Earl Paysinger, an assistant police chief, declined to predict when such information would be available, saying detectives were still canvassing the area looking for witnesses.
Chief Paysinger said in an interview on Friday that the department was “well aware we can’t let it go on indefinitely.”
“We’ve seen this film before — this is ‘Groundhog Day’ for us,” Chief Paysinger said. “What the people are demanding is not unreasonable. We know that whatever we say first will become gospel, and we’d rather deal with some discontent now than putting out information we have to correct later.”
Mr. Paysinger, who has been with the department for nearly 40 years and oversees its day-to-day operations, said that the department had for years now tried to rely on what it called the “bank of trust” among community members. Just more than a year ago, the department was under a consent decree imposed by the Justice Department, after dozens of officers were accused of tampering with evidence and physically abusing and framing suspects.
“We’ve learned that community outreach can’t wait for the day when you’re in trouble and need help,” Chief Paysinger said. Now, he said, the network of community support is so wide, it is a matter of course for officers to call local leaders routinely. And the efforts have expanded along with the importance of social media: Each police station now assigns personnel to monitor websites, Facebook and Twitter almost round-the-clock, watching for everything from signs of gang activity to how people are reacting to political events.
In some sense, Mr. Ford’s death is remarkable for the publicity it has received here — several longtime activists said it would be easy to imagine the shooting getting little attention were it not for the outrage in Missouri.
Officers here have shot and killed 12 people so far this year, compared with 14 such deaths all of last year. In several protests after the Ford shooting, one organization held up a large banner listing the names of more than 300 people who have died during conflicts with law enforcement here in the last seven years.
“This happened just as it became clear that Ferguson was a billboard of what we did not want to do,” said Curren Price, a city councilman who represents South Los Angeles and organized the community meeting this week, which was attended by the police chief, as well as the head of the police oversight board. “We all knew this is another critical juncture for us.”
“There are a lot of deep wounds — L.A.P.D. was a pretty notorious organization not that long ago,” Mr. Price said. “Unfortunately, anytime something like this happens, it brings all that back to the surface. There’s still a long way to go before we can say things are good.”
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*“They wanted to check in and gauge our rage,” said Ms. Herron, a grandmother and organizer who has worked to prevent gang violence on the streets of South Los Angeles for years. “They wanted to ask us to quell rumors and hear what we need. We’ve all been through this before — even when we know things are wrong, we aren’t looking for things to explode.”
In Ferguson, Mo., however, angry protests stretched on for nearly two weeks after the police killing of Michael Brown in circumstances that were strikingly similar: an unarmed young black man shot by the police, who some witnesses say was not putting up a struggle. The killings occurred two days apart. The protests in Missouri were driven initially, in large part, by the police’s refusal to release the name of the officer involved or details of the Aug. 9 shooting. Here, the police are still holding back the autopsy report and the names of the officers involved, citing security concerns.
Yet the reaction in Los Angeles, where clashes between the police and residents have a long history, has so far been much calmer.
While there have been several protests since the Aug. 11 shooting of Mr. Ford, who was mentally ill, including an impromptu march that blocked traffic on city streets, the police have maintained a relatively low profile, relying primarily on a handful of bicycle-riding officers in polo shirts rather than the rifle-carrying officers in riot gear pictured in Ferguson. This week, Chief Charlie Beck and other top-ranking officials showed up for a community meeting at a local church, telling the angry crowd of several hundred that there were still more questions than answers about the shooting.
In the more than two decades since riots erupted after white police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney G. King, a black construction worker, relations between law enforcement and their communities here have changed drastically. In many South Los Angeles police precincts, officers routinely check in with organizers like Ms. Herron. Local church leaders have officers’ phone numbers committed to memory. When protests are planned, seasoned organizers let the police know — even when the police are the target of their outrage.
“We have an infrastructure here where there are outlets for people to vent frustration and move into action,” said Marqueece Harris-Dawson, the president of Community Coalition, which runs several programs for residents in South Los Angeles. “This has taken more than 20 years to build and sustain — there’s no question it would not have been this way a generation or two ago.”
Still, on the streets of South Los Angeles, a predominantly black and Latino neighborhood, a sense of distrust of the police remains. Mr. Harris-Dawson, who is black, often points out that he has had a gun pointed at him by an L.A.P.D. officer four times and has never carried a weapon. Black and Latino teenage boys rattle off instances where they were pulled over and questioned for what they say was no reason. Still, many local leaders are willing to give the department some leeway to continue the investigation into the Ford shooting before coming to a clear conclusion.
“The chief also does not make it the job of the department to exonerate the officer,” Mr. Harris-Dawson said. “They do take a minute to have some remorse for the fact that someone is dead.”
When Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a longtime civil rights leader here and a frequent critic of the department, demanded a meeting with top police officials last week, they quickly arranged to discuss the case. They listened to Mr. Hutchinson’s demands for a “fast track” investigation and a quick release of the officers’ names and the autopsy results. Earl Paysinger, an assistant police chief, declined to predict when such information would be available, saying detectives were still canvassing the area looking for witnesses.
Chief Paysinger said in an interview on Friday that the department was “well aware we can’t let it go on indefinitely.”
“We’ve seen this film before — this is ‘Groundhog Day’ for us,” Chief Paysinger said. “What the people are demanding is not unreasonable. We know that whatever we say first will become gospel, and we’d rather deal with some discontent now than putting out information we have to correct later.”
Mr. Paysinger, who has been with the department for nearly 40 years and oversees its day-to-day operations, said that the department had for years now tried to rely on what it called the “bank of trust” among community members. Just more than a year ago, the department was under a consent decree imposed by the Justice Department, after dozens of officers were accused of tampering with evidence and physically abusing and framing suspects.
“We’ve learned that community outreach can’t wait for the day when you’re in trouble and need help,” Chief Paysinger said. Now, he said, the network of community support is so wide, it is a matter of course for officers to call local leaders routinely. And the efforts have expanded along with the importance of social media: Each police station now assigns personnel to monitor websites, Facebook and Twitter almost round-the-clock, watching for everything from signs of gang activity to how people are reacting to political events.
In some sense, Mr. Ford’s death is remarkable for the publicity it has received here — several longtime activists said it would be easy to imagine the shooting getting little attention were it not for the outrage in Missouri.
Officers here have shot and killed 12 people so far this year, compared with 14 such deaths all of last year. In several protests after the Ford shooting, one organization held up a large banner listing the names of more than 300 people who have died during conflicts with law enforcement here in the last seven years.
“This happened just as it became clear that Ferguson was a billboard of what we did not want to do,” said Curren Price, a city councilman who represents South Los Angeles and organized the community meeting this week, which was attended by the police chief, as well as the head of the police oversight board. “We all knew this is another critical juncture for us.”
“There are a lot of deep wounds — L.A.P.D. was a pretty notorious organization not that long ago,” Mr. Price said. “Unfortunately, anytime something like this happens, it brings all that back to the surface. There’s still a long way to go before we can say things are good.”
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18) A March for a Safer City
The Protest Over Eric Garner’s Death Is About So Much More
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C.
SPECIAL APPEALS AND
ONGOING
CAMPAIGNS
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Free the Whistle-Blowers
An Appeal from Daniel Ellsberg
NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, a personal hero of mine, has recently filed to renew his asylum in Russia. Exiled thousands of miles from friends and family, he awaits his fate. He learned from the example of another top hero of mine, Chelsea Manning.
Manning helped inspire his revelations that if he released his vital
information while in this country he would have been held incommunicado
in isolation as Chelsea was for over ten months—in Snowden’s case
probably for the rest of his life. And facing comparable charges to
Chelsea’s, he would have no more chance than Chelsea to have a truly fair trial—being
prevented by the prosecution and judge (as I was, forty years ago) from
even raising arguments of public interest or lack of harm in connection
with his disclosures. Contrary to the hollow advice of Hillary Clinton
or John Kerry, if he were to return to America he would not be able to
“make his case” neither “in court,” nor “to the public” from a prison
cell.
I am immensely thankful to both these young whistle-blowers who have so bravely stood up against the powerful forces of the US government in order to reveal corruption, illegal spying and war crimes. They were both motivated by their commitments to democracy and justice. They both chose to reveal information directly to the public, at great cost to themselves, so that citizens and taxpayers could be fully informed of the facts. They also revealed the amazing potential of new technologies to increase public access to information and strengthen democracy. It saddens me that our current political leaders, rather than embracing this potential, have chosen to tighten their strangleholds on power and information, turning away from both progress and justice.
Shockingly, the Obama administration has prosecuted more whistle-blowers under the Espionage Act than every previous president combined. These heroes do not deserve to be thrown in prison or called a traitor for doing the right thing. Obama’s unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of the Espionage Act—as if it were a British-type Official Secrets Act, never intended by Congress and a violation of our First Amendment—and Manning’s 35-year prison sentence will have a chilling effect on future citizens’ willingness to uncover hidden injustices. The government has already brought comparable charges against Snowden.
The only remedy to this chilling precedent, designed to effect government whistle-blowers as a whole, is to overturn the Manning verdict. Given that Manning’s court martial produced the longest trial record in US military history, it will take a top legal team countless hours to prepare their defense. But as an Advisory Board member for the Chelsea Manning Support Network, I was inspired by the way citizens around the world stepped forward to help fund a strong defense during Manning’s trial. I remain hopeful that enough people will recognize the immense importance of these appeals and will contribute to help us finish the struggle we started. That struggle, of course, is for a just political system and freedom for our whistle-blowers.
Chelsea Manning has continued to demonstrate uncommon bravery and character, even from behind bars. With the New York Times Op-Ed she published last month, she has cemented her position as a compelling voice for government reform. Working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, Manning was privy to a special view of the inner-workings of our military’s propaganda systems. Despite her personal struggles, she felt compelled to share her knowledge of what was happening in Iraq with the Americans people. If the military hadn’t hidden the number of civilian casualties and incidences of torture detailed in the Iraq Logs she released, we would have known far sooner to expect the civil war that has gripped Iraq fully today. Her exposure of US knowledge of the corruption in Tunisia, by the dictator our government supported, was a critical catalyst of the non-violent uprising which toppled that dictator, in turn directly inspiring the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt and then the Occupy movement in the US
I personally am inspired by Chelsea Manning as I am by Edward Snowden, which is why I have spent countless hours advocating for both of them. I’m asking you to join me today in supporting what I believe to be one of the most important legal proceedings in our country’s history. We are fortunate to have a truly impressive legal team that has agreed to partner with us. Already, our new appeals attorney Nancy Hollander and her team have begun to research legal strategies, and are collaborating with Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the international news media to highlight the significance of this case.
Chelsea is only 26 now, younger than I was when I learned to recognize the injustices of the Vietnam War. She wishes to complete her education, as I did, and go into public service. Imagine what great things she could both learn and teach the world if she were free. Now imagine if our corrupt government officials are allowed to get their way, holding her behind bars until life has almost passed her by, and extraditing Snowden to suffer the same outcome. What a sad result that would be for our country and our humanity.
I have been waiting forty years for a legal process to at long last prove the unconstitutionality of the Espionage Act as applied to whistle-blowers (the Supreme Court has never yet addressed this issue). This appeals process can accomplish that, and it can reduce Chelsea’s sentence by decades. But unfortunately, without your help today it will not happen. We must raise $100,000 by September 1st, to ensure that Chelsea’s team have the resources to fully fight this stage of the appeals process.
Unless Manning’s conviction is overturned in appeals, Snowden and many other whistle-blowers, today and in the future, will face a similar fate. And with them will perish one of the most critical lifelines for our democracy. But you can join me in fighting back. I’m asking you to do it for Chelsea, to do it for Snowden, and to do it because it’s the right thing to do to preserve our democracy. We can only win this great struggle with your help. Please contribute to help us fund Chelsea’s legal appeals today.
It’s time we band together on the right side of history once again.
Free the Whistle-Blowers
An Appeal from Daniel Ellsberg
July 21, 2014 by Daniel Ellsberg
NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, a personal hero of mine, has recently filed to renew his asylum in Russia. Exiled thousands of miles from friends and family, he awaits his fate. He learned from the example of another top hero of mine, Chelsea Manning.
Manning helped inspire his revelations that if he released his vital
information while in this country he would have been held incommunicado
in isolation as Chelsea was for over ten months—in Snowden’s case
probably for the rest of his life. And facing comparable charges to
Chelsea’s, he would have no more chance than Chelsea to have a truly fair trial—being
prevented by the prosecution and judge (as I was, forty years ago) from
even raising arguments of public interest or lack of harm in connection
with his disclosures. Contrary to the hollow advice of Hillary Clinton
or John Kerry, if he were to return to America he would not be able to
“make his case” neither “in court,” nor “to the public” from a prison
cell.I am immensely thankful to both these young whistle-blowers who have so bravely stood up against the powerful forces of the US government in order to reveal corruption, illegal spying and war crimes. They were both motivated by their commitments to democracy and justice. They both chose to reveal information directly to the public, at great cost to themselves, so that citizens and taxpayers could be fully informed of the facts. They also revealed the amazing potential of new technologies to increase public access to information and strengthen democracy. It saddens me that our current political leaders, rather than embracing this potential, have chosen to tighten their strangleholds on power and information, turning away from both progress and justice.
Shockingly, the Obama administration has prosecuted more whistle-blowers under the Espionage Act than every previous president combined. These heroes do not deserve to be thrown in prison or called a traitor for doing the right thing. Obama’s unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of the Espionage Act—as if it were a British-type Official Secrets Act, never intended by Congress and a violation of our First Amendment—and Manning’s 35-year prison sentence will have a chilling effect on future citizens’ willingness to uncover hidden injustices. The government has already brought comparable charges against Snowden.
The only remedy to this chilling precedent, designed to effect government whistle-blowers as a whole, is to overturn the Manning verdict. Given that Manning’s court martial produced the longest trial record in US military history, it will take a top legal team countless hours to prepare their defense. But as an Advisory Board member for the Chelsea Manning Support Network, I was inspired by the way citizens around the world stepped forward to help fund a strong defense during Manning’s trial. I remain hopeful that enough people will recognize the immense importance of these appeals and will contribute to help us finish the struggle we started. That struggle, of course, is for a just political system and freedom for our whistle-blowers.
Chelsea Manning has continued to demonstrate uncommon bravery and character, even from behind bars. With the New York Times Op-Ed she published last month, she has cemented her position as a compelling voice for government reform. Working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, Manning was privy to a special view of the inner-workings of our military’s propaganda systems. Despite her personal struggles, she felt compelled to share her knowledge of what was happening in Iraq with the Americans people. If the military hadn’t hidden the number of civilian casualties and incidences of torture detailed in the Iraq Logs she released, we would have known far sooner to expect the civil war that has gripped Iraq fully today. Her exposure of US knowledge of the corruption in Tunisia, by the dictator our government supported, was a critical catalyst of the non-violent uprising which toppled that dictator, in turn directly inspiring the occupation of Tahrir Square in Egypt and then the Occupy movement in the US
I personally am inspired by Chelsea Manning as I am by Edward Snowden, which is why I have spent countless hours advocating for both of them. I’m asking you to join me today in supporting what I believe to be one of the most important legal proceedings in our country’s history. We are fortunate to have a truly impressive legal team that has agreed to partner with us. Already, our new appeals attorney Nancy Hollander and her team have begun to research legal strategies, and are collaborating with Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the international news media to highlight the significance of this case.
Chelsea is only 26 now, younger than I was when I learned to recognize the injustices of the Vietnam War. She wishes to complete her education, as I did, and go into public service. Imagine what great things she could both learn and teach the world if she were free. Now imagine if our corrupt government officials are allowed to get their way, holding her behind bars until life has almost passed her by, and extraditing Snowden to suffer the same outcome. What a sad result that would be for our country and our humanity.
I have been waiting forty years for a legal process to at long last prove the unconstitutionality of the Espionage Act as applied to whistle-blowers (the Supreme Court has never yet addressed this issue). This appeals process can accomplish that, and it can reduce Chelsea’s sentence by decades. But unfortunately, without your help today it will not happen. We must raise $100,000 by September 1st, to ensure that Chelsea’s team have the resources to fully fight this stage of the appeals process.
Unless Manning’s conviction is overturned in appeals, Snowden and many other whistle-blowers, today and in the future, will face a similar fate. And with them will perish one of the most critical lifelines for our democracy. But you can join me in fighting back. I’m asking you to do it for Chelsea, to do it for Snowden, and to do it because it’s the right thing to do to preserve our democracy. We can only win this great struggle with your help. Please contribute to help us fund Chelsea’s legal appeals today.
It’s time we band together on the right side of history once again.
Daniel Ellsberg
Please contribute to help us fund Chelsea’s legal appeals today!
Learn now how you can write a letter to be included in Chelsea Manning’s official application for clemency!
Please share this information to friends and community leaders, urging them to add their voice to this important effort before it's too late.
Please share this information to friends and community leaders, urging them to add their voice to this important effort before it's too late.
http://www.privatemanning.org/pardonpetition
Help
us continue to cover 100%
of Pvt. Manning's legal fees! Donate today.
of Pvt. Manning's legal fees! Donate today.
https://co.clickandpledge.com/sp/d1/default.aspx?wid=38591
COURAGE
TO RESIST
http://couragetoresist.org
484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610
510-488-3559
http://couragetoresist.org
484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610
510-488-3559
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Only an Innocent Man Would Voluntarily Return
to Prison to Fight Against his Life Sentence
and For Exoneration —
That Courageous Man is Lorenzo Johnson.
The PA Attorney General’s Office Agrees to Investigate New Facts and Witnesses —
Send Your Message Now to PA AG
Kathleen Kane: Dismiss the Charges!
Free Lorenzo Johnson!
On January 29, 2014 Lorenzo Johnson’s attorney, Michael Wiseman, met with representatives of PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane to discuss the new evidence of Lorenzo Johnson’s innocence contained in legal filings now pending in the Pennsylvania courts. This includes affidavits confirming Johnson’s presence in New York City at the time of the Harrisburg murder and the identity of the actual killers, as well as police and prosecutorial misconduct.
Attorney Wiseman said Kane’s office promised to investigate these new facts in order to assess whether they merit the relief that Lorenzo Johnson seeks in his PCRA petition.
Speaking to AP reporter Mary Claire Dale on February 11, 2014 Wiseman said, “We believe the witnesses we presented to them are credible, and give a coherent version of the events. I take them at their word, that they’re going to do a straightforward, honest review.” Kane spokesman Joe Peters confirmed the meeting to AP “but said the office won’t comment on the new evidence until the court filing,” (referring to the March 31, 2014 date for the AG’s response to Johnson’s October 2013 court filing).
It is the Office of the PA Attorney General that is responsible for the false prosecution of Lorenzo Johnson from trial through appeals. And just a few months ago, the Attorney General’s office opposed a federal petition based on this new evidence saying there was no prima facie claim for relief. This resulted in the denial of Lorenzo Johnson’s Motion to File a Second Writ of Habeas Corpus in the federal court.
On December 18, 2013 a press conference called by the Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson protested these actions of the PA Attorney General and delivered petitions demanding dismissal of the charges and immediate freedom for Lorenzo. Tazza, Lorenzo’s wife, declared, “1,000 signatures means we are not in this alone…I won't stop until he’s home. There is nothing and no one that can stop me from fighting for what’s right.”
This is Lorenzo Johnson’s second fight for his innocence and freedom. In January 2012, after 16 years of court battles to prove his innocence, a federal appeals court held his sentence was based on insufficient evidence – a judicial acquittal. Lorenzo was freed from prison. But after a petition filed by the PA Attorney General the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated Lorenzo Johnson’s conviction and he was re-incarcerated to continue serving a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit.
This innocent man drove himself back to prison in June 2012—after less than five months of freedom—leaving his new wife and family, construction job and advocacy on behalf of others wrongfully convicted. The reason Lorenzo Johnson voluntarily returned to prison? Because he is innocent and fighting for full vindication.
In the words of Lorenzo Johnson, “A second is too long to be in prison when you are Innocent, so eighteen years … is Intolerable.”
Add your voices and demand again: Dismiss the charges against Lorenzo Johnson. Free Lorenzo NOW!
SIGN LORENZO JOHNSON'S FREEDOM PETITION
CONTRIBUTE TO HELP TAZZA AND THE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS VISIT LORENZO AND STAY IN CONTACT!
Write: Lorenzo Johnson
DF 1036
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Rd.
Frackville, PA 17932
Email: Lorenzo Johnson through JPAY.com code:
Lorenzo Johnson DF 1036 PA DOC
www.FreeLorenzoJohnson.org
Only an Innocent Man Would Voluntarily Return
to Prison to Fight Against his Life Sentence
and For Exoneration —
That Courageous Man is Lorenzo Johnson.
The PA Attorney General’s Office Agrees to Investigate New Facts and Witnesses —
Send Your Message Now to PA AG
Kathleen Kane: Dismiss the Charges!
Free Lorenzo Johnson!
On January 29, 2014 Lorenzo Johnson’s attorney, Michael Wiseman, met with representatives of PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane to discuss the new evidence of Lorenzo Johnson’s innocence contained in legal filings now pending in the Pennsylvania courts. This includes affidavits confirming Johnson’s presence in New York City at the time of the Harrisburg murder and the identity of the actual killers, as well as police and prosecutorial misconduct.
Attorney Wiseman said Kane’s office promised to investigate these new facts in order to assess whether they merit the relief that Lorenzo Johnson seeks in his PCRA petition.
Speaking to AP reporter Mary Claire Dale on February 11, 2014 Wiseman said, “We believe the witnesses we presented to them are credible, and give a coherent version of the events. I take them at their word, that they’re going to do a straightforward, honest review.” Kane spokesman Joe Peters confirmed the meeting to AP “but said the office won’t comment on the new evidence until the court filing,” (referring to the March 31, 2014 date for the AG’s response to Johnson’s October 2013 court filing).
It is the Office of the PA Attorney General that is responsible for the false prosecution of Lorenzo Johnson from trial through appeals. And just a few months ago, the Attorney General’s office opposed a federal petition based on this new evidence saying there was no prima facie claim for relief. This resulted in the denial of Lorenzo Johnson’s Motion to File a Second Writ of Habeas Corpus in the federal court.
On December 18, 2013 a press conference called by the Campaign to Free Lorenzo Johnson protested these actions of the PA Attorney General and delivered petitions demanding dismissal of the charges and immediate freedom for Lorenzo. Tazza, Lorenzo’s wife, declared, “1,000 signatures means we are not in this alone…I won't stop until he’s home. There is nothing and no one that can stop me from fighting for what’s right.”
This is Lorenzo Johnson’s second fight for his innocence and freedom. In January 2012, after 16 years of court battles to prove his innocence, a federal appeals court held his sentence was based on insufficient evidence – a judicial acquittal. Lorenzo was freed from prison. But after a petition filed by the PA Attorney General the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated Lorenzo Johnson’s conviction and he was re-incarcerated to continue serving a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit.
This innocent man drove himself back to prison in June 2012—after less than five months of freedom—leaving his new wife and family, construction job and advocacy on behalf of others wrongfully convicted. The reason Lorenzo Johnson voluntarily returned to prison? Because he is innocent and fighting for full vindication.
In the words of Lorenzo Johnson, “A second is too long to be in prison when you are Innocent, so eighteen years … is Intolerable.”
Add your voices and demand again: Dismiss the charges against Lorenzo Johnson. Free Lorenzo NOW!
SIGN LORENZO JOHNSON'S FREEDOM PETITION
CONTRIBUTE TO HELP TAZZA AND THE OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS VISIT LORENZO AND STAY IN CONTACT!
Write: Lorenzo Johnson
DF 1036
SCI Mahanoy
301 Morea Rd.
Frackville, PA 17932
Email: Lorenzo Johnson through JPAY.com code:
Lorenzo Johnson DF 1036 PA DOC
www.FreeLorenzoJohnson.org
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
U.S.
Court of Appeals Rules Against Lorenzo Johnson’s
New Legal Challenge to His Frame-up Conviction!
Demand the PA Attorney General Dismiss the Charges!
Free Lorenzo Johnson, Now!
New Legal Challenge to His Frame-up Conviction!
Demand the PA Attorney General Dismiss the Charges!
Free Lorenzo Johnson, Now!
The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied Lorenzo Johnson’s motion to
file a Second Habeas Corpus Petition. The order contained the outrageous
declaration that Johnson hadn’t made a “prima facie case” that he had new
evidence of his innocence. This not only puts a legal obstacle in Johnson’s
path as his fight for freedom makes its way (again) through the state and
federal courts—but it undermines the newly filed Pennsylvania state appeal that
is pending in the Court of Common Pleas.
Stripped
of “legalese,” the court’s October 15, 2013 order says Johnson’s new
evidence was not brought into court soon enough—although it was the prosecution
and police who withheld evidence and coerced witnesses into lying or not coming
forward with the truth! This, despite over fifteen years and rounds of legal
battles to uncover the evidence of government misconduct. This is a set-back
for Lorenzo Johnson’s renewed fight for his freedom, but Johnson is even more
determined as his PA state court appeal continues.
Increased
public support and protest is needed. The fight for Lorenzo Johnson’s freedom
is not only a fight for this courageous man and family. The fight for Lorenzo
Johnson is also a fight for all the innocent others who have been framed and
are sitting in the slow death of prison. The PA Attorney General is directly
pursuing the charges against Lorenzo, despite the evidence of his innocence and
the corruption of the police. Free Lorenzo Johnson, Now!
—Rachel
Wolkenstein, Esq.
October 25, 2013
For
more on the federal court and PA state court legal filings.
Hear
Mumia’s latest commentary, “Cat Cries”
Go
to: www.FreeLorenzoJohnson.org for more information, to sign the petition, and
how to help.
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
SAVE
CCSF!
Posted
on August 25, 2013
Cartoon
by Anthonty Mata for CCSF Guardsman
DOE
CAMPAIGN
We
are working to ensure that the ACCJC’s authority is not renewed by the
Department of Education this December when they are up for their 5-year
renewal. Our campaign made it possible for over 50 Third Party Comments to be
sent to the DOE re: the ACCJC. Our next step in this campaign is to send a
delegation from CCSF to Washington, D.C. to give oral comments at the hearing
on December 12th. We expect to have an array of forces aligned on the other
side who have much more money and resources than we do.
So
please support this effort to get ACCJC authority revoked!
LEGAL
CAMPAIGN
Save
CCSF members have been meeting with Attorney Dan Siegel since last May to
explore legal avenues to fight the ACCJC. After much consideration, and
consultation with AFT 2121’s attorney as well as the SF City Attorney’s office,
Dan has come up with a legal strategy that is complimentary to what is already
being pursued. In fact, AFT 2121’s attorney is encouraging us to go forward.
The
total costs of pursuing this (depositions, etc.) will be substantially more
than $15,000. However, Dan is willing to do it for a fixed fee of $15,000. He
will not expect a retainer, i.e. payment in advance, but we should start
payments ASAP. If we win the ACCJC will have to pay our costs.
PLEASE
HELP BOTH OF THESE IMPORTANT EFFORTS!
Checks
can be made out to Save CCSF Coalition with “legal” in the memo line and sent
to:
Save
CCSF Coalition
2132
Prince St.
Berkeley, CA 94705
Or
you may donate online: http://www.gofundme.com/4841ns
http://www.saveccsf.org/
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
16 Years in Solitary Confinement Is Like a "Living Tomb"
American
Civil Liberties Union petition to end long-term solitary confinement:
California
Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard: We stand with the prisoners on hunger
strike. We urge you to comply with the US Commission on Safety and Abuse in
America’s Prisons 2006 recommendations regarding an end to long-term solitary
confinement.
In
California, hundreds of prisoners have been held in solitary for more than a
decade – some for infractions as trivial as reading Machiavelli's "The
Prince."
Gabriel
Reyes describes the pain of being isolated for at least 22 hours a day for the
last 16 years:
“Unless
you have lived it, you cannot imagine what it feels like to be by yourself,
between four cold walls, with little concept of time…. It is a living tomb …’ I
have not been allowed physical contact with any of my loved ones since 1995…I
feel helpless and hopeless. In short, I am being psychologically tortured.”
That’s
why over 30,000 prisoners in California began a hunger strike – the biggest the
state has ever seen. They’re refusing food to protest prisoners being held for
decades in solitary and to push for other changes to improve their basic
conditions.
California
Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard has tried to dismiss the strikers and
refuses to negotiate, but the media pressure is building through the strike. If
tens of thousands of us take action, we can help keep this issue in the
spotlight so that Secretary Beard can’t ignore the inhumane treatment of
prisoners.
Sign
the petition urging Corrections Secretary Beard to end the use of long-term
solitary confinement.
Solitary
is such an extreme form of punishment that a United Nations torture rapporteur
called for an international ban on the practice except in rare occasions.
Here’s why:
The
majority of the 80,000 people held in solitary in this country are severely
mentally ill or because of a minor infraction (it’s a myth that it’s only for
violent prisoners)
Even
for people with stable mental health, solitary causes severe psychological
reactions, often leading people to attempt suicide
It
jeopardizes public safety because prisoners held in solitary have a harder time
reintegrating into society.
And
to add insult to injury, the hunger strikers are now facing retaliation – their
lawyers are being restricted from visiting and the strikers are being punished.
But the media continues to write about the hunger strike and we can help keep
the pressure on Secretary Beard by signing this petition.
Sign
the petition urging Corrections Secretary Beard to end the use of long-term
solitary confinement.
Our
criminal justice system should keep communities safe and treat people fairly.
The use of solitary confinement undermines both of these goals – but little by
little, we can help put a stop to such cruelty.
Thank
you,
Anthony
for the ACLU Action team
P.S.
The hunger strikers have developed five core demands to address their basic
conditions, the main one being an end to long-term solitary confinement. They
are:
-End
group punishment – prisoners say that officials often punish groups to address
individual rule violations
-Abolish
the debriefing policy, which is often demanded in return for better food or
release from solitary
-End
long-term solitary confinement
-Provide
adequate and nutritious food
-Expand
or provide constructive programming and privileges for indefinite SHU inmates
Sources
“Solitary
- and anger - in California's prisons.” Los Angeles Times July 13, 2013
“Pelican
Bay Prison Hunger-Strikers' Stories: Gabriel Reyes.” TruthOut July 9, 2013
“Solitary
confinement should be banned in most cases, UN expert says.” UN News October
18, 2011
"Stop
Solitary - Two Pager" ACLU.org
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
What
you Didn't know about NYPD's Stop and Frisk program !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rfJHx0Gj6ys#at=990
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Egypt:
The Next President -- a little Egyptian boy speaks his remarkable mind!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeDm2PrNV1I
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Wealth
Inequality in America
[This
is a must see to believe video...bw]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QPKKQnijnsM
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Read
the transcription of hero Bradley Manning's 35-page statement explaining why he
leaked "state secrets" to WikiLeaks.
March
1, 2013
Alternet
The
statement was read by Pfc. Bradley Manning at a providence inquiry for his
formal plea of guilty to one specification as charged and nine specifications
for lesser included offenses. He pled not guilty to 12 other specifications.
This rush transcript was taken by journalist Alexa O'Brien at Thursday's
pretrial hearing and first appeared on Salon.com.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/bradley-mannings-surprising-statement-court-details-why-he-made-his-historic?akid=10129.229473.UZvQfK&rd=1&src=newsletter802922&t=7
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
You
Have the Right to Remain Silent: NLG Guide to Law Enforcement Encounters
Posted
1 day ago on July 27, 2012, 10:28 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Occupy
Wall Street is a nonviolent movement for social and economic justice, but in
recent days disturbing reports have emerged of Occupy-affiliated activists
being targeted by US law enforcement, including agents from the FBI and
Department of Homeland Security. To help ensure Occupiers and allied activists
know their rights when encountering law enforcement, we are publishing in full
the National Lawyers Guild's booklet: You Have the Right to Remain Silent. The
NLG provides invaluable support to the Occupy movement and other activists –
please click here to support the NLG.
We
strongly encourage all Occupiers to read and share the information provided
below. We also recommend you enter the NLG's national hotline number
(888-654-3265) into your cellphone (if you have one) and keep a copy handy.
This information is not a substitute for legal advice. You should contact the
NLG or a criminal defense attorney immediately if you have been visited by the
FBI or other law enforcement officials. You should also alert your relatives,
friends, co-workers and others so that they will be prepared if they are
contacted as well.
You
Have the Right to Remain Silent: A Know Your Rights Guide for Law Enforcement
Encounters
What
Rights Do I Have?
Whether
or not you're a citizen, you have rights under the United States Constitution.
The Fifth Amendment gives every person the right to remain silent: not to
answer questions asked by a police officer or government agent. The Fourth
Amendment restricts the government's power to enter and search your home or
workplace, although there are many exceptions and new laws have expanded the
government's power to conduct surveillance. The First Amendment protects your
right to speak freely and to advocate for social change. However, if you are a
non-citizen, the Department of Homeland Security may target you based on your
political activities.
Standing
Up For Free Speech
The
government's crusade against politically-active individuals is intended to
disrupt and suppress the exercise of time-honored free speech activities, such
as boycotts, protests, grassroots organizing and solidarity work. Remember that
you have the right to stand up to the intimidation tactics of FBI agents and
other law enforcement officials who, with political motives, are targeting
organizing and free speech activities. Informed resistance to these tactics and
steadfast defense of your and others' rights can bring positive results. Each
person who takes a courageous stand makes future resistance to government oppression
easier for all. The National Lawyers Guild has a long tradition of standing up
to government repression. The organization itself was labeled a
"subversive" group during the McCarthy Era and was subject to FBI
surveillance and infiltration for many years. Guild attorneys have defended
FBI-targeted members of the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement,
and the Puerto Rican independence movement. The NLG exposed FBI surveillance,
infiltration and disruption tactics that were detailed during the 1975-76
COINTELPRO hearings. In 1989 the NLG prevailed in a lawsuit on behalf of
several activist organizations, including the Guild, that forced the FBI to
expose the extent to which it had been spying on activist movements. Under the
settlement, the FBI turned over roughly 400,000 pages of its files on the
Guild, which are now available at the Tamiment Library at New York University.
What
if FBI Agents or Police Contact Me?
What
if an agent or police officer comes to the door?
Do
not invite the agents or police into your home. Do not answer any questions.
Tell the agent that you do not wish to talk with him or her. You can state that
your lawyer will contact them on your behalf. You can do this by stepping
outside and pulling the door behind you so that the interior of your home or
office is not visible, getting their contact information or business cards and
then returning inside. They should cease questioning after this. If the agent
or officer gives a reason for contacting you, take notes and give the
information to your attorney. Anything you say, no matter how seemingly
harmless or insignificant, may be used against you or others in the future.
Lying to or misleading a federal agent is a crime. The more you speak, the more
opportunity for federal law enforcement to find something you said (even if not
intentionally) false and assert that you lied to a federal officer.
Do
I have to answer questions?
You
have the constitutional right to remain silent. It is not a crime to refuse to
answer questions. You do not have to talk to anyone, even if you have been
arrested or are in jail. You should affirmatively and unambiguously state that
you wish to remain silent and that you wish to consult an attorney. Once you
make the request to speak to a lawyer, do not say anything else. The Supreme
Court recently ruled that answering law enforcement questions may be taken as a
waiver of your right to remain silent, so it is important that you assert your
rights and maintain them. Only a judge can order you to answer questions. There
is one exception: some states have "stop and identify" statutes which
require you to provide identity information or your name if you have been
detained on reasonable suspicion that you may have committed a crime. A lawyer
in your state can advise you of the status of these requirements where you
reside.
Do
I have to give my name?
As
above, in some states you can be detained or arrested for merely refusing to
give your name. And in any state, police do not always follow the law, and
refusing to give your name may make them suspicious or more hostile and lead to
your arrest, even without just cause, so use your judgment. Giving a false name
could in some circumstances be a crime.
Do
I need a lawyer?
You
have the right to talk to a lawyer before you decide whether to answer
questions from law enforcement. It is a good idea to talk to a lawyer if you
are considering answering any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer
present during any interview. The lawyer's job is to protect your rights. Once
you tell the agent that you want to talk to a lawyer, he or she should stop
trying to question you and should make any further contact through your lawyer.
If you do not have a lawyer, you can still tell the officer you want to speak to
one before answering questions. Remember to get the name, agency and telephone
number of any investigator who visits you, and give that information to your
lawyer. The government does not have to provide you with a free lawyer unless
you are charged with a crime, but the NLG or another organization may be able
to help you find a lawyer for free or at a reduced rate.
If
I refuse to answer questions or say I want a lawyer, won't it seem like I have
something to hide?
Anything
you say to law enforcement can be used against you and others. You can never
tell how a seemingly harmless bit of information might be used or manipulated
to hurt you or someone else. That is why the right not to talk is a fundamental
right under the Constitution. Keep in mind that although law enforcement agents
are allowed to lie to you, lying to a government agent is a crime. Remaining
silent is not. The safest things to say are "I am going to remain
silent," "I want to speak to my lawyer," and "I do not consent
to a search." It is a common practice for law enforcement agents to try to
get you to waive your rights by telling you that if you have nothing to hide
you would talk or that talking would "just clear things up." The fact
is, if they are questioning you, they are looking to incriminate you or someone
you may know, or they are engaged in political intelligence gathering. You
should feel comfortable standing firm in protection and defense of your rights
and refusing to answer questions.
Can
agents search my home or office?
You
do not have to let police or agents into your home or office unless they have
and produce a valid search warrant. A search warrant is a written court order
that allows the police to conduct a specified search. Interfering with a
warrantless search probably will not stop it and you might get arrested. But
you should say "I do not consent to a search," and call a criminal
defense lawyer or the NLG. You should be aware that a roommate or guest can
legally consent to a search of your house if the police believe that person has
the authority to give consent, and your employer can consent to a search of
your workspace without your permission.
What
if agents have a search warrant?
If
you are present when agents come for the search, you can ask to see the
warrant. The warrant must specify in detail the places to be searched and the
people or things to be taken away. Tell the agents you do not consent to the
search so that they cannot go beyond what the warrant authorizes. Ask if you
are allowed to watch the search; if you are allowed to, you should. Take notes,
including names, badge numbers, what agency each officer is from, where they
searched and what they took. If others are present, have them act as witnesses
to watch carefully what is happening. If the agents ask you to give them
documents, your computer, or anything else, look to see if the item is listed
in the warrant. If it is not, do not consent to them taking it without talking
to a lawyer. You do not have to answer questions. Talk to a lawyer first.
(Note: If agents present an arrest warrant, they may only perform a cursory
visual search of the premises to see if the person named in the arrest warrant
is present.)
Do
I have to answer questions if I have been arrested?
No.
If you are arrested, you do not have to answer any questions. You should
affirmatively and unambiguously state that you wish to assert your right to
remain silent. Ask for a lawyer right away. Do not say anything else. Repeat to
every officer who tries to talk to or question you that you wish to remain
silent and that you wish to speak to a lawyer. You should always talk to a
lawyer before you decide to answer any questions.
What
if I speak to government agents anyway?
Even
if you have already answered some questions, you can refuse to answer other
questions until you have a lawyer. If you find yourself talking, stop. Assert
that you wish to remain silent and that you wish to speak to a lawyer.
What
if the police stop me on the street?
Ask
if you are free to go. If the answer is yes, consider just walking away. If the
police say you are not under arrest, but are not free to go, then you are being
detained. The police can pat down the outside of your clothing if they have
reason to suspect you might be armed and dangerous. If they search any more
than this, say clearly, "I do not consent to a search." They may keep
searching anyway. If this happens, do not resist because you can be charged
with assault or resisting arrest. You do not have to answer any questions. You
do not have to open bags or any closed container. Tell the officers you do not
consent to a search of your bags or other property.
What
if police or agents stop me in my car?
Keep
your hands where the police can see them. If you are driving a vehicle, you
must show your license, registration and, in some states, proof of insurance.
You do not have to consent to a search. But the police may have legal grounds
to search your car anyway. Clearly state that you do not consent. Officers may
separate passengers and drivers from each other to question them, but no one
has to answer any questions.
What
if I am treated badly by the police or the FBI?
Write
down the officer's badge number, name or other identifying information. You
have a right to ask the officer for this information. Try to find witnesses and
their names and phone numbers. If you are injured, seek medical attention and
take pictures of the injuries as soon as you can. Call a lawyer as soon as
possible.
What
if the police or FBI threaten me with a grand jury subpoena if I don't answer
their questions?
A
grand jury subpoena is a written order for you to go to court and testify about
information you may have. It is common for the FBI to threaten you with a
subpoena to get you to talk to them. If they are going to subpoena you, they
will do so anyway. You should not volunteer to speak just because you are
threatened with a subpoena. You should consult a lawyer.
What
if I receive a grand jury subpoena?
Grand
jury proceedings are not the same as testifying at an open court trial. You are
not allowed to have a lawyer present (although one may wait in the hallway and
you may ask to consult with him or her after each question) and you may be asked
to answer questions about your activities and associations. Because of the
witness's limited rights in this situation, the government has frequently used
grand jury subpoenas to gather information about activists and political
organizations. It is common for the FBI to threaten activists with a subpoena
in order to elicit information about their political views and activities and
those of their associates. There are legal grounds for stopping
("quashing") subpoenas, and receiving one does not necessarily mean
that you are suspected of a crime. If you do receive a subpoena, call the NLG
National Hotline at 888-NLG-ECOL (888-654-3265) or call a criminal defense
attorney immediately.
The
government regularly uses grand jury subpoena power to investigate and seek
evidence related to politically-active individuals and social movements. This
practice is aimed at prosecuting activists and, through intimidation and
disruption, discouraging continued activism.
Federal
grand jury subpoenas are served in person. If you receive one, it is critically
important that you retain the services of an attorney, preferably one who
understands your goals and, if applicable, understands the nature of your
political work, and has experience with these issues. Most lawyers are trained
to provide the best legal defense for their client, often at the expense of
others. Beware lawyers who summarily advise you to cooperate with grand juries,
testify against friends, or cut off contact with your friends and political
activists. Cooperation usually leads to others being subpoenaed and
investigated. You also run the risk of being charged with perjury, a felony,
should you omit any pertinent information or should there be inconsistencies in
your testimony.
Frequently
prosecutors will offer "use immunity," meaning that the prosecutor is
prohibited from using your testimony or any leads from it to bring charges
against you. If a subsequent prosecution is brought, the prosecutor bears the
burden of proving that all of its evidence was obtained independent of the
immunized testimony. You should be aware, however, that they will use anything
you say to manipulate associates into sharing more information about you by
suggesting that you have betrayed confidences.
In
front of a grand jury you can "take the Fifth" (exercise your right
to remain silent). However, the prosecutor may impose immunity on you, which
strips you of Fifth Amendment protection and subjects you to the possibility of
being cited for contempt and jailed if you refuse to answer further. In front
of a grand jury you have no Sixth Amendment right to counsel, although you can
consult with a lawyer outside the grand jury room after each question.
What
if I don't cooperate with the grand jury?
If
you receive a grand jury subpoena and elect to not cooperate, you may be held
in civil contempt. There is a chance that you may be jailed or imprisoned for
the length of the grand jury in an effort to coerce you to cooperate. Regular
grand juries sit for a basic term of 18 months, which can be extended up to a
total of 24 months. It is lawful to hold you in order to coerce your
cooperation, but unlawful to hold you as a means of punishment. In rare
instances you may face criminal contempt charges.
What
If I Am Not a Citizen and the DHS Contacts Me?
The
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is now part of the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) and has been renamed and reorganized into: 1. The
Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS); 2. The Bureau of Customs
and Border Protection (CBP); and 3. The Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE). All three bureaus will be referred to as DHS for the
purposes of this pamphlet.
?
Assert your rights. If you do not demand your rights or if you sign papers
waiving your rights, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may deport you
before you see a lawyer or an immigration judge. Never sign anything without
reading, understanding and knowing the consequences of signing it.
?
Talk to a lawyer. If possible, carry with you the name and telephone number of
an immigration lawyer who will take your calls. The immigration laws are hard
to understand and there have been many recent changes. DHS will not explain
your options to you. As soon as you encounter a DHS agent, call your attorney.
If you can't do it right away, keep trying. Always talk to an immigration
lawyer before leaving the U.S. Even some legal permanent residents can be
barred from returning.
Based
on today's laws, regulations and DHS guidelines, non-citizens usually have the
following rights, no matter what their immigration status. This information may
change, so it is important to contact a lawyer. The following rights apply to
non-citizens who are inside the U.S. Non-citizens at the border who are trying
to enter the U.S. do not have all the same rights.
Do
I have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering any DHS questions or
signing any DHS papers?
Yes.
You have the right to call a lawyer or your family if you are detained, and you
have the right to be visited by a lawyer in detention. You have the right to
have your attorney with you at any hearing before an immigration judge. You do
not have the right to a government-appointed attorney for immigration
proceedings, but if you have been arrested, immigration officials must show you
a list of free or low cost legal service providers.
Should
I carry my green card or other immigration papers with me?
If
you have documents authorizing you to stay in the U.S., you must carry them
with you. Presenting false or expired papers to DHS may lead to deportation or
criminal prosecution. An unexpired green card, I-94, Employment Authorization
Card, Border Crossing Card or other papers that prove you are in legal status
will satisfy this requirement. If you do not carry these papers with you, you
could be charged with a crime. Always keep a copy of your immigration papers
with a trusted family member or friend who can fax them to you, if need be.
Check with your immigration lawyer about your specific case.
Am
I required to talk to government officers about my immigration history?
If
you are undocumented, out of status, a legal permanent resident (green card
holder), or a citizen, you do not have to answer any questions about your
immigration history. (You may want to consider giving your name; see above for
more information about this.) If you are not in any of these categories, and
you are being questioned by a DHS or FBI agent, then you may create problems
with your immigration status if you refuse to provide information requested by
the agent. If you have a lawyer, you can tell the agent that your lawyer will
answer questions on your behalf. If answering questions could lead the agent to
information that connects you with criminal activity, you should consider
refusing to talk to the agent at all.
If
I am arrested for immigration violations, do I have the right to a hearing
before an immigration judge to defend myself against deportation charges?
Yes.
In most cases only an immigration judge can order you deported. But if you
waive your rights or take "voluntary departure," agreeing to leave
the country, you could be deported without a hearing. If you have criminal
convictions, were arrested at the border, came to the U.S. through the visa
waiver program or have been ordered deported in the past, you could be deported
without a hearing. Contact a lawyer immediately to see if there is any relief
for you.
Can
I call my consulate if I am arrested?
Yes.
Non-citizens arrested in the U.S. have the right to call their consulate or to
have the police tell the consulate of your arrest. The police must let your
consulate visit or speak with you if consular officials decide to do so. Your
consulate might help you find a lawyer or offer other help. You also have the
right to refuse help from your consulate.
What
happens if I give up my right to a hearing or leave the U.S. before the hearing
is over?
You
could lose your eligibility for certain immigration benefits, and you could be
barred from returning to the U.S. for a number of years. You should always talk
to an immigration lawyer before you decide to give up your right to a hearing.
What
should I do if I want to contact DHS?
Always
talk to a lawyer before contacting DHS, even on the phone. Many DHS officers
view "enforcement" as their primary job and will not explain all of
your options to you.
What
Are My Rights at Airports?
IMPORTANT
NOTE: It is illegal for law enforcement to perform any stops, searches,
detentions or removals based solely on your race, national origin, religion,
sex or ethnicity.
If
I am entering the U.S. with valid travel papers can a U.S. customs agent stop
and search me?
Yes.
Customs agents have the right to stop, detain and search every person and item.
Can
my bags or I be searched after going through metal detectors with no problem or
after security sees that my bags do not contain a weapon?
Yes.
Even if the initial screen of your bags reveals nothing suspicious, the
screeners have the authority to conduct a further search of you or your bags.
If
I am on an airplane, can an airline employee interrogate me or ask me to get
off the plane?
The
pilot of an airplane has the right to refuse to fly a passenger if he or she
believes the passenger is a threat to the safety of the flight. The pilot's decision
must be reasonable and based on observations of you, not stereotypes.
What
If I Am Under 18?
Do
I have to answer questions?
No.
Minors too have the right to remain silent. You cannot be arrested for refusing
to talk to the police, probation officers, or school officials, except in some
states you may have to give your name if you have been detained.
What
if I am detained?
If
you are detained at a community detention facility or Juvenile Hall, you
normally must be released to a parent or guardian. If charges are filed against
you, in most states you are entitled to counsel (just like an adult) at no
cost.
Do
I have the right to express political views at school?
Public
school students generally have a First Amendment right to politically organize
at school by passing out leaflets, holding meetings, etc., as long as those
activities are not disruptive and do not violate legitimate school rules. You
may not be singled out based on your politics, ethnicity or religion.
Can
my backpack or locker be searched?
School
officials can search students' backpacks and lockers without a warrant if they
reasonably suspect that you are involved in criminal activity or carrying drugs
or weapons. Do not consent to the police or school officials searching your property,
but do not physically resist or you may face criminal charges.
Disclaimer
This
booklet is not a substitute for legal advice. You should contact an attorney if
you have been visited by the FBI or other law enforcement officials. You should
also alert your relatives, friends, co-workers and others so that they will be
prepared if they are contacted as well.
NLG
National Hotline for Activists Contacted by the FBI
888-NLG-ECOL
(888-654-3265)
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
"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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
WITNESS
GAZA
http://www.witnessgaza.com/
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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]
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Prison vs School: The Tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogmtAQlp9HI
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Published on Jan 28, 2014
"Checkpoint" is based on the
oppression and discrimination Jasiri X witnessed firsthand during his
recent trip to Palestine and Israel "Checkpoint" is produced by Agent of
Change, and directed by Haute Muslim. Download "Checkpoint" at https://jasirix.bandcamp.com/track/ch....
Follow Jasiri X at https://twitter.com/jasiri_x
LYRICS
Journal of the hard times tales from the dark side
Evidence of the settlements on my hard drive
Man I swear my heart died at the end of that car ride
When I saw that checkpoint welcome to apartheid
Soldiers wear military green at the checkpoint
Automatic guns that's machine at the checkpoint
Tavors not m16s at the checkpoint
Fingers on the trigger you'll get leaned at the checkpoint
Little children grown adults or teens at the checkpoint
All ya papers better be clean at the checkpoint
You gotta but your finger on the screen at the checkpoint
And pray that red light turns green at the check point
If Martin Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint
He wake with loud screams from the scenes at the checkpoint
It's Malcolm X by any means at the check point
Imagine if you daily routine was the checkpoint
Separation walls that's surrounding the checkpoint
On top is barbwire like a crown on the checkpoint
Better have ya permits if your found at the checkpoint
Gunmen on the tower aiming down at the checkpoint
The idea is to keep you in fear of the checkpoint
You enter through the cage in the rear of the checkpoint
It feels like prison on a tier at the check point
I'd rather be anywhere but here at this checkpoint
Nelson Mandela wasn't blind to the check point
He stood for free Palestine not a check point
Support BDS don't give a dime to the checkpoint
This is international crime at the checkpoint
Arabs get treated like dogs at the checkpoint
Cause discrimination is the law at the checkpoint
Criminalized without a cause at the checkpoint
I'm just telling you what I saw at the checkpoint
Soldiers got bad attitudes at the checkpoint
Condescending and real rude at the checkpoint
Don't look em in they eyes when they move at the checkpoint
They might strip a man or woman nude at the checkpoint
Soldiers might blow you out of ya shoes at the checkpoint
Gas you up and then light the fuse at the checkpoint
Everyday you stand to be accused at the checkpoint
Each time your life you could lose at the checkpoint
If Martin Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint
He wake with loud screams from the scenes at the checkpoint
It's Malcolm X by any means at the check point
Imagine if you daily routine was the checkpoint
At the airport in Tel Aviv is a checkpoint
They pulled over our taxi at the checkpoint
Passport visa ID at the checkpoint
Soldiers going all through my things at the checkpoint
Said I was high risk security at the checkpoint
Because of the oppression I see at the checkpoint
Occupation in the 3rd degree at the checkpoint
All a nigga wanna do is leave fuck a checkpoint
Follow Jasiri X at https://twitter.com/jasiri_x
LYRICS
Journal of the hard times tales from the dark side
Evidence of the settlements on my hard drive
Man I swear my heart died at the end of that car ride
When I saw that checkpoint welcome to apartheid
Soldiers wear military green at the checkpoint
Automatic guns that's machine at the checkpoint
Tavors not m16s at the checkpoint
Fingers on the trigger you'll get leaned at the checkpoint
Little children grown adults or teens at the checkpoint
All ya papers better be clean at the checkpoint
You gotta but your finger on the screen at the checkpoint
And pray that red light turns green at the check point
If Martin Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint
He wake with loud screams from the scenes at the checkpoint
It's Malcolm X by any means at the check point
Imagine if you daily routine was the checkpoint
Separation walls that's surrounding the checkpoint
On top is barbwire like a crown on the checkpoint
Better have ya permits if your found at the checkpoint
Gunmen on the tower aiming down at the checkpoint
The idea is to keep you in fear of the checkpoint
You enter through the cage in the rear of the checkpoint
It feels like prison on a tier at the check point
I'd rather be anywhere but here at this checkpoint
Nelson Mandela wasn't blind to the check point
He stood for free Palestine not a check point
Support BDS don't give a dime to the checkpoint
This is international crime at the checkpoint
Arabs get treated like dogs at the checkpoint
Cause discrimination is the law at the checkpoint
Criminalized without a cause at the checkpoint
I'm just telling you what I saw at the checkpoint
Soldiers got bad attitudes at the checkpoint
Condescending and real rude at the checkpoint
Don't look em in they eyes when they move at the checkpoint
They might strip a man or woman nude at the checkpoint
Soldiers might blow you out of ya shoes at the checkpoint
Gas you up and then light the fuse at the checkpoint
Everyday you stand to be accused at the checkpoint
Each time your life you could lose at the checkpoint
If Martin Luther King had a dream of the checkpoint
He wake with loud screams from the scenes at the checkpoint
It's Malcolm X by any means at the check point
Imagine if you daily routine was the checkpoint
At the airport in Tel Aviv is a checkpoint
They pulled over our taxi at the checkpoint
Passport visa ID at the checkpoint
Soldiers going all through my things at the checkpoint
Said I was high risk security at the checkpoint
Because of the oppression I see at the checkpoint
Occupation in the 3rd degree at the checkpoint
All a nigga wanna do is leave fuck a checkpoint
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Exceptional
art from the streets of Oakland:
Oakland
Street Dancing
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
NYC
RESTAURANT WORKERS DANCE & SING FOR A WAGE HIKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_s8e1R6rG8&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
1000
year of war through the world
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiG8neU4_bs&feature=share
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Kids
being put on buses and transported from school to "alternate
locations" in
Terror
Drills
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFia_w8adWQ
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Private
prisons,
a
recession resistant investment opportunity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIGLDOxx9Vg
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Attack
Dogs used on a High School Walkout in MD, Four Students Charged With
"Thought
Crimes"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wafMaML17w
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Common
forms of misconduct by Law Enforcement Officials and Prosecutors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViSpM4K276w&feature=related
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Organizing
and Instigating: OCCUPY - Ronnie Goodman
http://arthazelwood.com/instigator/occupy/occupy-birth-video.html
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Rep
News 12: Yes We Kony
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68GbzIkYdc8
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
The
New Black by The Mavrix - Official Music Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4rLfja8488
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Japan
One Year Later
http://www.onlineschools.org/japan-one-year-later/
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
The
CIA's Heart Attack Gun
http://www.brasschecktv.com/videos/assassination-studies/the-cias-heart-attack-g\
un-.html
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
The
Invisible American Workforce
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/8/5/new_expos_tracks_alec_private_prison
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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.
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
The
Battle of Oakland
by
brandon jourdan plus
http://vimeo.com/36256273
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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.
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
FREE
BRADLEY MANNING
http://www.bradleymanning.org/news/national-call-in-for-bradley
I
received the following reply from the White House November 18, 2011 regarding
the
Bradley Manning petition I signed:
"Why
We Can't Comment on Bradley Manning
"Thank
you for signing the petition 'Free PFC Bradley Manning, the accused
WikiLeaks
whistleblower.' We appreciate your participation in the We the People
platform
on WhiteHouse.gov.
The
We the People Terms of Participation explain that 'the White House may
decline
to address certain procurement, law enforcement, adjudicatory, or
similar
matters properly within the jurisdiction of federal departments or
agencies,
federal courts, or state and local government.' The military justice
system
is charged with enforcing the Uniform Code of
Military
Justice. Accordingly, the White House declines to comment on the
specific
case raised in this petition...
That's
funny! I guess Obama didn't get this memo. Here's what Obama said about
Bradley:
BRADLEY
MANNING "BROKE THE LAW" SAYS OBAMA!
"He
broke the law!" says Obama about Bradley Manning who has yet to even be
charged,
let alone, gone to trial and found guilty. How horrendous is it for the
President
to declare someone guilty before going to trial or being charged with
a
crime! Justice in the U.S.A.!
Obama
on FREE BRADLEY MANNING protest... San Francisco, CA. April 21, 2011-
Presidential
remarks on interrupt/interaction/performance art happening at
fundraiser.
Logan Price queries Barack after org. FRESH JUICE PARTY political
action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfmtUpd4id0&feature=youtu.be
Release
Bradley Manning
Almost
Gone (The Ballad Of Bradley Manning)
Written
by Graham Nash and James Raymond (son of David Crosby)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAYG7yJpBbQ&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Julian
Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVGqE726OAo&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
School
police increasingly arresting American students?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl-efNBvjUU&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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/
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
We
Are The People Who Will Save Our Schools
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFAOJsBxAxY
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
HALLELUJAH
CORPORATIONS (revised edition).mov
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws0WSNRpy3g
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
ONE
OF THE GREATEST POSTS ON YOUTUBE SO FAR!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8C-qIgbP9o&feature=share&mid=552
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
UC
Davis Police Violence Adds Fuel to Fire
By
Scott Galindez, Reader Supported News
19
November 11
http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/275-42/8485-uc-davis-police-violence-add\
s-fuel-to-fire
UC
Davis Protestors Pepper Sprayed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AdDLhPwpp4&feature=player_embedded
Police
PEPPER SPRAY UC Davis STUDENT PROTESTERS!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuWEx6Cfn-I&feature=player_embedded
Police
pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmJmmnMkuEM&feature=player_embedded
*---------*
UC
Davis Chancellor Katehi walks to her car
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CZ0t9ez_EGI#!
Occupy
Seattle - 84 Year Old Woman Dorli Rainey Pepper Sprayed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTIyE_JlJzw&feature=related
*---------*
THE
BEST VIDEO ON "OCCUPY THE WORLD"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S880UldxB1o
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Shot
by police with rubber bullet at Occupy Oakland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0pX9LeE-g8&feature=player_embedded
*---------*
Copwatch@Occupy
Oakland: Beware of Police Infiltrators and Provocateurs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrvMzqopHH0
*---------*
Occupy
Oakland 11-2 Strike: Police Tear Gas, Black Bloc, War in the Streets
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tu_D8SFYck&feature=player_embedded
*----*
Quebec
police admitted that, in 2007, thugs carrying rocks to a peaceful protest
were
actually undercover Quebec police officers:
POLICE
STATE Criminal Cops EXPOSED As Agent Provocateurs @ SPP Protest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoiisMMCFT0&feature=player_embedded
*----*
Quebec
police admit going undercover at montebello protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAfzUOx53Rg&feature=player_embedded
G20:
Epic Undercover Police Fail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJ7aU-n1L8&feature=player_embedded
*----*
WHAT
HAPPENED IN OAKLAND TUESDAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 25:
Occupy
Oakland Protest
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlPs-REyl-0&feature=player_embedded
Cops
make mass arrests at occupy Oakland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R27kD2_7PwU&feature=player_embedded
Raw
Video: Protesters Clash With Oakland Police
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpO-lJr2BQY&feature=player_embedded
Occupy
Oakland - Flashbangs USED on protesters OPD LIES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqNOPZLw03Q&feature=player_embedded
KTVU
TV Video of Police violence
http://www.ktvu.com/video/29587714/index.html
Marine
Vet wounded, tear gas & flash-bang grenades thrown in downtown
Oakland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMUgPTCgwcQ&feature=player_embedded
Tear
Gas billowing through 14th & Broadway in Downtown Oakland
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU4Y0pwJtWE&feature=player_embedded
Arrests
at Occupy Atlanta -- This is what a police state looks like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStWz6jbeZA&feature=player_embedded
*---------*
Labor
Beat: Hey You Billionaire, Pay Your Fair Share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY8isD33f-I
*---------*
Voices
of Occupy Boston 2011 - Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle) Part I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA48gmfGB6U&feature=youtu.be
Voices
of Occupy Boston 2011 - Kwame Somburu (Paul Boutelle) Part II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjKZpOk7TyM&feature=related
*---------*
#Occupy
Wall Street In Washington Square: Mohammed Ezzeldin, former occupier of
Egypt's
Tahrir Square Speaks at Washington Square!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziodsFWEb5Y&feature=player_embedded
*---------*
#OccupyTheHood,
Occupy Wall Street
By
adele pham
http://vimeo.com/30146870
*---------*
Live
arrest at brooklyn bridge #occupywallstreet by We are Change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yULSI-31Pto&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
FREE
THE CUBAN FIVE!
http://www.thecuban5.org/wordpress/index.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmS4kHC_OlY&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
One
World One Revolution -- MUST SEE VIDEO -- Powerful and beautiful...bw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE3R1BQrYCw&feature=player_embedded
"When
injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty." Thomas Jefferson
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
Coal
Ash: One Valley's Tale
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E7h-DNvwx4&feature=player_embedded
*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*---------*
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