Showing posts with label police state. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police state. Show all posts

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Who Bombed Judi Bari? Documentary


Who Bombed Judi Bari? Documentary Trailer - YouTube

Who Bombed Judi Bari? is a suspenseful story about people who risked their lives to save the California redwoods and took on the FBI for trampling their freedom of speech. It shines a light on an amazing protest movement that succeeded against all odds - with creativity, music, and humor. In 1990, a bomb blew up in the car of two of the most prominent Earth First! redwood activists: Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. They were accused of bombing themselves, but twelve years later won their landmark lawsuit against the FBI, proving that officers falsified evidence and intentionally tried to frame them. To date, the real bomber has never even been searched for and remains at-large. Directed/Edited by Mary Liz Thomson, Produced by Darryl Cherney, Executive Producer Elyse Katz, Co-Executive Producer Sheila Laffey, Co-Executive Producers Bill & Laurie Benenson

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Japanese American internment - 70 years ago | haiku



rounded up


"Tagged for evacuation, Salinas, California," May 1942 | Russell Lee
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons


February 20, 2012 marked the 70th anniversary of #EO9066, the executive order signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt that authorized the deportation and eventual detainment of Japanese Americans from the west coast during World War II. Here is a great rundown of some of the essential facts related to internment, a particularly dark spot on our nation’s history and one glossed over by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Of the 120,000 Japanese-Americans imprisoned, 2/3 were American citizens making the number of Japanese-Americans interned without cause greater then the population of Wichita, Kansas. Americans with as little as 1/8 Japanese ancestry were interned, including orphan infants and Americans of Taiwanese and Korean descent.



70 Years Ago Japanese-American Removal and Internments Began | Care2 Causes


Poetry in History

...In an era of liberal personhood, when most — but certainly not all, recent legislation in Arizona being a case in point — citizens of the United States enjoy relative protection under the law, how are we to respond to the egregious moment in 1942 when crowds of Japanese immigrants and their American-born children were herded onto fairgrounds, relegated to horse stalls and racetracks, and “relocated” to barbed-wire compounds and hastily constructed prison barracks throughout the nation? And all this, in response to sentiment like that expressed by columnist Henry McLemore: “I am for the immediate removal of every Japanese on the West Coast to a point deep in the interior. I don’t mean a nice part of the interior either. Herd ‘em up, pack ‘em off and give ‘em the inside room in the badlands… Personally, I hate the Japanese. And that goes for all of them.”



Autumn foliage
California has now become
a far country


Yajin Nakao



Frosty night
listening to rumbling train
we have come a long way


Senbinshi Takaoka


The Delta Ginsha [a free-verse poetry club] was founded in 1918 by Neiji Qzawa… Its members met monthly and submitted their haiku to the master of the month, who was usually the host or hostess for the evening. They submitted for consideration as many poems as they desired. The poems were then read and discussed and a vote was taken to determine the best haiku… It was an evening anticipated by the members—grape growers, onion farmers, teachers, housewives, bankers, pharmacists, and others—who had assembled for an enlightening cultural and social event.


Poetry in History: Japanese American Internment | Lantern Review Blog


Executive Order 9066


Japanese-American internment was the relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of approximately 110,000 Japanese Americans and Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast of the United States to camps called "War Relocation Camps," in the wake of Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.[1][2] The internment of Japanese Americans was applied unequally throughout the United States. Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast of the United States were all interned, while in Hawaii, where more than 150,000 Japanese Americans composed over one-third of the territory's population, 1,200[3] to 1,800 Japanese Americans were interned.[4] Of those interned, 62% were American citizens.[5][6]

President Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the internment with Executive Order 9066, issued February 19, 1942, which allowed local military commanders to designate "military areas" as "exclusion zones," from which "any or all persons may be excluded." This power was used to declare that all people of Japanese ancestry were excluded from the entire Pacific coast, including all of California and much of Oregon, Washington and Arizona, except for those in internment camps.[7] In 1944, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the exclusion orders,[8] while noting that the provisions that singled out people of Japanese ancestry were a separate issue outside the scope of the proceedings.[9] The United States Census Bureau assisted the internment efforts by providing confidential neighborhood information on Japanese Americans. The Bureau's role was denied for decades, but was finally proven in 2007.[10][11]
In 1988, Congress passed and President Ronald Reagan signed legislation which apologized for the internment on behalf of the U.S. government. The legislation said that government actions were based on "race prejudice, war hysteria, and a failure of political leadership".[12] The U.S. government eventually disbursed more than $1.6 billion in reparations to Japanese Americans who had been interned and their heirs.[13]


Japanese American internment - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia




The Amache Japanese Internment Camp at Granada, Colorado


Sunday, November 20, 2011

Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS



A man who identified himself as Brendan Watts was beaten to the ground by police officers in Zuccotti Park. According to reports he was injured and suffered a fractured skull after being hit with a baton to the head as police clashed with protesters. Brendan Watts; photo: Occupy Wall St. on Facebook
. Video below
"I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protestors. The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights and the United States will stand up for them everywhere."
-Barack Obama,
28 January, 2011




Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS
by Beth Buczynski
November 19, 2011

Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS | Care2 Causes

November 17th marked the two-month anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street movement. To demonstrate resilience and solidarity in the face of coordinated crack-downs, Occupiers around the world organized a massive day of action.


Many of these actions were met with marked violence by law enforcement. At UC Davis, a police officer flippantly pepper-sprayed seated college students at point-blank range while a wall of onlookers documented the heartless act.


Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis- YouTube. Crowd chants police out of the quad with "Shame On You" and "You Can Go"

Update: The cop who used the pepper spray, reported to be Lt. John Pike, earns $110,000 a year–almost twice that of an experienced assistant professor at UC Davis. Pike’s cell phone number is (530) 752-3989 (confirmed). His email is japikeiii@ucdavis.edu. Tell him what you think of his violence against these kids and the interests that he serves.

A similar scene played out at Occupy Portland, which was completely destroyed by the Portland Police Department last week. On November 17th, 21 Occupy Portland protesters were arrested occupying Chase Bank and Wells Fargo. These actions followed the arrest of twenty-five union members on the Steel Bridge protesting the lack of infrastructure spending and job creation, which was led by We Are Oregon and organized labor.

see Occupy Portland Under Attack: Police Evict Protesters | Care2 Causes

Over twelve instances of pepper spray at point blank range targeting people on the sidewalk, reported Occupy Portland in a statement. Two people were stepped on and pushed down by police horses. At least six people were beaten with batons by the police. Seven people were injured from impacts with police bicycles. One individual suffered an injured back after being forcefully grabbed by a mounted office. One elderly person was taken to the hospital with leg or hip injuries.

“On multiple occasions the police pointlessly endangered demonstrators and ensarled traffic, including a mounted charge of peaceful protesters on a sidewalk, forcing them onto the MAX tracks on SW Yamhill,” said David Osborn.


In New York City, the nexus of the Occupy Wall Street movement, over 30,000 people took to the streets (see above) to protest political and economic injustice, and to show support for the recently evicted Zuccotti Park occupation. Over 100 were arrested at the action, including journalists.

A man who identified himself as Brendan Watts was beaten to the ground by police officers in Zuccotti Park. According to reports he was injured and suffered a fractured skull after being hit with a baton to the head as police clashed with protesters.

see Blood on Wall Street: Violent OWS arrests (GRAPHIC PHOTOS, VIDEO) — RT and videos below
At first, OWS protesters were chanting "Put away the riot gear. I don't see no riot here" and '"This is a nonviolent protest". But when police went on with tough arrests – it was "Shame" and "This is what a police state looks like" chants all the way.

At 3pm, thousands of students, workers, and other supporters gathered in Union Square chanting “Shut the city down!” and using the People’s Mic to share stories of how banks and corporate greed have impacted the 99%. Simultaneously, Occupiers took to multiple subway stations in all five boroughs. The day of action culminated when the student strike, labor unions, and various OWS groups took over a number of streets in Lower Manhattan on their way to Foley Square before marching across the Brooklyn Bridge.


Shocking Images Show Escalating Violence Against OWS | Care2 Causes




Brendan Watts videos (New York)


OWS NYPD Bloody Faced & Crying Protester Ugly Arrest - Brendan Watts - YouTube


Man BLOODIED by NYPD at OccupyWallStreet



photos


Portland


A woman is blasted with pepper spray during Occupy protests in Portland Thursday. (Randy L. Rasmussen, The Oregonian)

"The dramatic photo of a young woman getting a blast of pepper spray on her face during a mostly peaceful Occupy protest in Portland is destined to become an enduring image of the national movement."

Portland pepper spray incident generates iconic Occupy photo - KDVR


Seattle


Seattle activist Dorli Rainey, 84, reacts after being hit with pepper spray during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at Westlake Park. Protesters gathered in the intersection of 5th Avenue and Pine Street after marching from their camp at Seattle Central Community College in support of Occupy Wall Street. Many refused to move from the intersection after being ordered by police. Police then began spraying pepper spray into the gathered crowd hitting dozens of people. A pregnant woman was taken from the melee in an ambulance after being struck with spray. Photo: JOSHUA TRUJILLO / SEATTLEPI.COM


Seattle Police officers deploy pepper spray into a crowd during an Occupy Seattle protest on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 at Westlake Park. Photo by Joshua Trujillo, seattlepi.com


PHOTOS: Elderly woman, pregnant woman hit with pepper spray at Occupy Seattle | Seattle's Big Blog - seattlepi.com


New York

Try arresting that!


"brooklyn bridge gettin it! covered end to end. Try arresting that!"

Occupy Wall St. on Facebook | Wall Photos

don't think

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

We Won't Fly


The Plan is Simple

1.If you absolutely, positively must fly, opt out of the scanners. Do it to protect your health and privacy.

2.If you can avoid flying, don’t fly. Hit the airlines in the pocketbook until the scanners and gropers are gone. Make the airlines work for us.

3.Raise holy hell. Register your disapproval of the scanners and gropers to your airline, your hotel and all government officials who claim to work for you. Educate your community.


For your Health

Backscatter X-ray uses ionizing radiation, a known cumulative health hazard, to produce images of passengers’ bodies. Children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those with defective DNA repair mechanisms are considered to be especially susceptible to the type of DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Also at high risk are those who have had, or currently have, skin cancer. Ionizing radiation’s effects are cumulative, meaning that each time you are exposed you are adding to your risk of developing cancer. Since the dosage of radiation from the backscatter X-ray machines is absorbed almost entirely by the skin and tissue directly under the skin, averaging the dose over the whole body gives an inaccurate picture of the actual harm. In their letter of concern, the UCSF faculty members noted that "the dose to the skin could be dangerously high". The eyes are particularly susceptible to the effects of radiation, and as one study found allowing the eyes to be exposed to radiation can lead to an increased incidence of cataracts.


For your Privacy

Aside from the health risks of these devices, the fact remains that they allow strip searches to be conducted on a wide-scale level. That they are automated and mechanical in no way changes the fact that when a government agent looks beneath your clothing you are being strip searched. These strip searches are being performed without any probable cause or reasonable suspicion, as primary screening. A recent article in the San Diego Entertainer on August 31, 2010 stated that "the scans are detailed enough to identify a person’s gender… to identify a passenger’s surgery scars, or to discern whether a woman is on her menstrual cycle or not." Although the TSA purports to be staffed by highly trained professionals who respect the privacy and dignity of travelers, TSA Screener Rolando Negrin was ridiculed by other TSA screeners for having a small penis after being imaged by an AIT device (AKA porno-scanner). (wewontfly.com)

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Big Brother Is Watching You




The Big Brother nightmare of George Orwell's 1984 has become a reality - in the shadow of the author's former London home.

It may have taken a little longer than he predicted, but Orwell's vision of a society where cameras and computers spy on every person's movements is now here.

According to the latest studies, Britain has a staggering 4.2 million CCTV cameras - one for every 14 people in the country - and 20 per cent of cameras globally. It has been calculated that each person is caught on camera an average of 300 times daily.

Use of spy cameras in modern-day Britain is now a chilling mirror image of Orwell's fictional world, created in the post-war Forties in a fourth-floor flat overlooking Canonbury Square in Islington, North London.

On the wall outside his former residence - flat number 27B - where Orwell lived until his death in 1950, an historical plaque commemorates the anti-authoritarian author. And within 200 yards of the flat, there are 32 CCTV cameras, scanning every move.

The message is reminiscent of a 1949 poster to mark the launch of Orwell's 1984: 'Big Brother is Watching You'.

The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) produced a report highlighting the astonishing numbers of CCTV cameras in the country and warned how such 'Big Brother tactics' could eventually put lives at risk.

The RAE report warned any security system was 'vulnerable to abuse, including bribery of staff and computer hackers gaining access to it'. One of the report's authors, Professor Nigel Gilbert, claimed the numbers of CCTV cameras now being used is so vast that further installations should be stopped until the need for them is proven.

One fear is a nationwide standard for CCTV cameras which would make it possible for all information gathered by individual cameras to be shared - and accessed by anyone with the means to do so.

The RAE report follows a warning by the Government's Information Commissioner Richard Thomas that excessive use of CCTV and other information-gathering was 'creating a climate of suspicion'.
(read more)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Stellar dialogue

Have you seen the stars tonight ..they remind me that we live on a lunar colony ..and not the oppressed state of some god forsaken planet. The colonies are not safe from tyranny either, I remind her .. the ones on Saturn were once free-states. I know, she says ..that’s why I like it here ..hydroponic gardens and you can practice revelry without persecution ..you know, I don’t even miss home that much. Where’s home ? In the Euripides. Oh yeah, I see what you mean ..I remember the witch hunts of November, 2023 .. are you ever afraid of something like that happening here ? All the time, she says. If it does ..I think I’ll stowaway on a starship to Europa ..I hear they’re much more civilized there ..it’s an incubator of free ideas ..and the mother of all creatures ..they live in the lapis lazuli realm, you know ..not just the temporary worlds of hungry ghosts and empire builders ..the waters of life have been flowing freely on Europa ..since the beginning ..and I think they will keep on flowing free thru eternity.

Sunday, October 4, 2009