Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Landmark Peace Vigil Outside White House Removed, Then Returned

September 12, 2013 Caitlin Gibson, www.washingtonpost.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Wars and Militarism

"On Thursday morning, Washington residents passing through Lafayette Square noticed a startling absence — the landmark white plastic shelter, framed by large wooden anti-nuclear signs, was no longer stationed across the street from the White House. Also missing was Concepcion Picciotto, the legendary protester who has served as the vigil’s longest-running caretaker.The resulting outcry was immediate. Residents ofPeace House, a home in Northwest Washington where Picciotto and the other activists who tend the vigil reside, spread the word among supporters and contacted local social service organizations for help."

Will Williams: Four Decades Of Fighting For Your Rights

September 11, 2013 Betty Banks, themadisontimes.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Peace, Wars and Militarism

Williams maintains that people speaking out and raising their voices draws attention to these issues. He is a consistent voice and protester at rallies for peace and justice. His main message is that we need to be aware and fight for all of our rights. He reminds us that during the Civil Rights Movement of the ‘60s, military veterans rallied behind Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and were central to this movement. Williams encourages families and others to educate youth about the true history of these United States and cites Howard Zinn’s book, “The People’s History” as one of his favorites and one everyone should read. He is a great role model for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and encourages them to find alternatives to violence and bullying. Will has been married to Dorothy “Dot” Williams for 46 years and credits her for being key in his survival while in Viet Nam and upon his return. He has devoted his life to promoting peace, justice, and the building of a better community.

A Journalist-Agitator Facing Prison Over A Link

September 10, 2013 David Carr, www.nytimes.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Media, Surveillance

In December 2011, approximately five million e-mails from Stratfor Global Intelligence, an intelligence contractor, were hacked by Anonymous and posted on WikiLeaks. The files contained revelations about close and perhaps inappropriate ties between government security agencies and private contractors. In a chat room for Project PM, Mr. Brown posted a link to it. Among the millions of Stratfor files were data containing credit cards and security codes, part of the vast trove of internal company documents. The credit card data was of no interest or use to Mr. Brown, but it was of great interest to the government. In December 2012 he was charged with 12 counts related to identity theft. Over all he faces 17 charges — including three related to the purported threat of the F.B.I. officer and two obstruction of justice counts — that carry a possible sentence of 105 years, and he awaits trial in a jail in Mansfield, Tex.

Mexican Teachers’ Massive Strikes Crescendo To A Showdown

September 10, 2013 Dan La Botz, www.labornotes.org Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Latin America, Worker Rights and Jobs

Teachers—whose unprecedented strikes and massive, militant protests by the tens of thousands have shaken Mexico over the past week—may be headed for a violent confrontation with the government as they call for a general strike tomorrow[...]Teachers have occupied public buildings, blocked the Mexico City international airport for several hours, and seized highway toll booths. For several days 30,000 have sat in at Mexico City’s main square or zócalo. They have also threatened to take over banks and businesses. All of these are the traditional tactics of the militant teachers, but never unleashed on such a scale and simultaneously—and never finding such a response from teachers as well as from other workers and the public on a national scale.

Protests Around The World Against War In Syria

September 7, 2013 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Syria, Wars and Militarism

Protests were held across the globe on Saturday to demonstrate against a US-led strike on Syria, as world leaders ask Washington to wait for the results of a UN report before taking military action. Demonstrators chanted, "They say more war; we say no war" and carried signs reading that war on Syria would be "Built on a Lie."

How Government And Industry Betrayed The Internet–And The People

September 7, 2013 Bruce Schneier, www.theguardian.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, NSA, Surveillance

By subverting the internet at every level to make it a vast, multi-layered and robust surveillance platform, the NSA has undermined a fundamental social contract. The companies that build and manage our internet infrastructure, the companies that create and sell us our hardware and software, or the companies that host our data: we can no longer trust them to be ethical internet stewards. This is not the internet the world needs, or the internet its creators envisioned. We need to take it back.

An Unconstitutional Gag Order Threatens to Further Silence Barrett Brown

September 6, 2013 Dustin Slaughter, www.occupy.com Educate! Barret Brown, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Whistleblowers

"Legal proceedings surrounding the politically-charged, precedent-setting prosecution of investigative journalist Barrett L. Brown have taken another disconcerting turn as the government has requested a gag order to be placed on both Brown and his defense team."

Taking Direct Action To Make Dr. King’s Dream A Reality

August 28, 2013 Keith McHenry, http://www.foodnotbombs.net/ Organize! Food and Agriculture, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse, Wars and Militarism

Another travesty was the speech of Attorney General Holder who used the FBI to frame, arrest and brutally drive the Occupy Movement off America’s streets while he and Obama are bending over backwards to protect corporate power. How many bankers have been jailed compared to those of us participating in peaceful occupations? We are watching our civil liberties disappear as each day exposes another elaborate domestic surveillance operation. The type of COINTELPRO techniques used by the FBI and other agencies to disrupt and ultimately murder Martin Luther King.Jr because of his dream continue to be implemented by Holder’s FBI.

Young Black Man Tackled, Immobilized and Jailed for Singing

August 27, 2013 Noise of Rain, www.dailykos.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse, Racism

The Solidarity Sing Along continues to grow in Madison. Walker's palace guards are obviously getting frustrated, as the press is breaking less and less in their favor. Generally speaking, folks don't think that people should get arrested, handcuffed, dragged down the hallway, processed and fined or jailed merely for singing historical protest songs. Instead of dialing their aggression back a little, the police went whole hog today, taking down two young African American singers, and dealing with one of them with a vehemence and force that can only be described as excessive.

Feinstein Wants To Limit Who Can Be A Journalist

August 25, 2013 Eric Boehm, www.watchdog.org Educate! Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Media

The most recent congressional threat to the free press in the United States comes from California Democrat U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. In a proposed amendment to a media shield law being considered by Congress, Feinstein writes that only paid journalists should be given protections from prosecution for what they say or write. The language in her proposal is raising concerns from First Amendment advocates because it seems to leave out bloggers and other nontraditional forms of journalism that have proliferated in recent years thanks to the Internet. “It rubs me the wrong way that the government thinks it should be in the business of determining who should be considered a journalist,” said Ken Bunting, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Seeing ‘New Jim Crow’ Placards Seized by Police & More From MOW

August 24, 2013 David Zirin, www.thenation.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Racism, Surveillance

The day was symbolized for me on multiple levels by seeing DC Park police seize 200 professionally printed placards from activists that were distributing them for free. The placards read, “Stop Mass Incarceration. Stop the new Jim Crow.” When those having their signs seized complained, they were threatened with fines or arrest. I heard one DC police officer say, “Hey, you can get them back at the end of the day. On second thought, given your attitude you cannot. “ I have never seen free placards confiscated at a national gathering by DC police. Then again, I’ve also never seen a demonstration so thickly monitored, with park police, the Department of Homeland Security and the military on every corner. Today, those “triplets of evil” King warned us about 1967 still strangle this country. If we are not talking about the New Jim Crow, Wall Street and militarism, then what are we doing?

How Black Unionists Organized the 1963 March for Jobs and Freedom

August 24, 2013 William P. Jones, www.labornotes.org Educate! Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Worker Rights and Jobs

In January 1963 A. Philip Randolph asked his old friend Bayard Rustin, who was working for the left-wing War Resisters League, to prepare a proposal that could win support from civil rights and labor leaders for a “mass descent” on the nation’s capital.... Rustin delivered a three-page memorandum outlining an ambitious campaign to draw attention to “the economic subordination of the Negro,” create “more jobs for all Americans,” and advance a “broad and fundamental program for economic justice.” Their plan centered on a massive lobbying campaign, in which 100,000 people would shut down Congress for one day while presenting legislators and the president with their legislative demands, followed the next day by a “mass protest rally.”

Bearing Witness To 11 Years Of Illegal War Of Aggression

August 24, 2013 Jill Dalton, www.recoveringarmybrat.wordpress.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Wars and Militarism

Where is the outrage as our rights are systematically stripped away as our country is hollowed out from the inside? Evil triumphs when good people do nothing. Americans have allowed, and are colluding with their own demise. We remain silent just like the German. We are obedient and compliant. We merely obey. We stand mute and docile as they radiate us at airports or pass the NDAA in the dead of night with never so much as a whimper from the brainwashed, non thinking, non questioning consumers who genuflect to the lies and misdeeds of this nation, and instead worship at the cult of illusion. What will it take for Americans to awaken from their slumber?

VIDEO: Acronym TV Weekly Resistance Report 005

August 23, 2013 Dennis Trainor, Jr., www.youtube.com Resistance Report Chelsea Manning, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, TPP, Video, Worker Rights and Jobs

Welcome to the Resistance Report, stories covered this week: Bradley Manning gets sentenced to 35 years, changes name to Chelsea Manning and pushes for a Presidential pardon. Also, we have new reports on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and The Wisconsin Solidarity Sing along and with regard to the 50th anniversary of the march on Washington we ask if it is a new call to resistance and rebuilding, or a pep rally for the Democratic Party?

Mapped: Every Protest On The Planet Since 1979

August 23, 2013 J. Dana Stuster, www.foreignpolicy.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Organizing

This is what data from a world in turmoil looks like. The Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT) tracks news reports and codes them for 58 fields, from where an incident took place to what sort of event it was (these maps look at protests, violence, and changes in military and police posture) to ethnic and religious affiliations, among other categories. The dataset has recorded nearly 250 million events since 1979, according to its website, and is updated daily. John Beieler, a doctoral candidate at Penn State, has adapted these data into striking maps, like the one above of every protest recorded in GDELT -- a breathtaking visual history lesson.

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