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Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Moral Monday Movement—13 Weeks and 1,000 Arrests

August 13, 2013 Tanya Glover, www.occupy.comL , , , , , ,
"North Carolina was one of the first states in America to raise its voice against the immoral behavior of their state legislature[...]Each Moral Monday mobilized around a single issue. One week was for labor issues, another for women’s rights, another for voting rights, and so on. The beautiful thing was that no matter what the theme, people came out in droves. This is the meaning of intersectionality -- just because an issue may not affect us on a personal level, we’re still willing to speak up and fight for the fairness and freedom of others."

War On Journalism–FBI Targets Journalist Connected To Wikileaks

August 13, 2013 James Ball, www.theguardian.com , , ,
The investigation into WikiLeaks has prompted little concern among mainstream US journalists. This might be because WikiLeaks doesn't produce the same style of journalism, or because reporters can reassure themselves, rightly or wrongly, that the investigation centers on trying to uncover any inappropriate dealings with sources, or involvement in hacking. Such reassurances are false. What happens to WikiLeaks today happens to New York Times reporters tomorrow.

Solidarity Sing Along Still Singing Truth To Power Despite Arrests

August 13, 2013 Joe, www.occupyriverwest.com , ,
Hey, remember in fourth grade social studies, when you learned about our Constitutionally protected right to petition the government for redress of grievances, only if you paid for a permit and assumed all liabilities for the action. Wait! I don’t remember that second part. That’s because it only exists in Scott Walker’s Wisconsin, where close to 200 singers have been arrested for singing without a permit because of his illegal Capitol rules

Give Us Our Flag!

August 12, 2013 AbZimet, www.commondreams.org
Insult to Injury: Police at the Wisconsin capitol are not just continuing to arrest protesters, Solidarity Singers and residents - including at least one legislator - for simply watching democracy in action; they are arresting veterans, including Veterans for Peace attending their annual convention in Madison. There can be no more potent symbol of what's wrong here than the image of a phalanx of beefy cops descending on a balding, conscience-ridden veteran of our country's ill-begotten wars, duly exercising the rights for which he at least thought he was fighting - of them coming after him, seizing his flag, yanking his hands into handcuffs behind him, and unceremoniously hauling him away.

Manning Conviction Under Espionage Act Is Blatant Threat to Civil Liberties

August 5, 2013 Ed Pilkington , , , ,
Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project, a former Department of Justice whistleblower herself, said the consequences of Manning being found guilty of six counts under the Espionage Act should not be underestimated. She compared it to the failed attempt by the U.S. government to prosecute Daniel Ellsberg, source of the 1970s Pentagon Papers on the Vietnam war. "This is Obama's first conviction against a non-spy under the act," she said. "He has now managed to do what Nixon couldn't."

US Double Standards On Free Expression

August 5, 2013 Daya Gamage, www.asiantribune.com , , ,
The story of protests in Weliweriya, Wall Street, Bahrain and the different responses of the United States to each one of them. The US reacts differently to dissent in its own company, allied countries and other countries. The September 2011 Wall Street March ( New York financial district) was a massive gathering to oppose and denounce the manner in which 'corporate America' is making the lives of the middle class and the working people miserable. This was a wide expression of peoples strength to show their displeasure toward the indifference of big corporations. But to the amazement of the free world the freedom of expression was suppressed on the soil of the land that professes civic rights to the wider world.

Stamp Money Out Of Politics

August 3, 2013 Staff, http://www.stampstampede.org/ , , ,
Stamp Money Out of Politics is a campaign to amend the U.S. Constitution to end the rule of money. From protests, to ballot initiatives, to support in congress, the movement to amend the constitution is gathering momentum rapidly. They note that We're over 25% of the way to an amendment, with 16 states having voted for an amendment and 150 Members of Congress already supporting it. Their tactic of the Stampede is for tens of thousands of Americans to legally stamp messages on U.S. currency to Get Money Out of Politics. As more and more stamped money spreads, so will the movement to amend the Constitution. Every dollar you stamp will reach 875 people, if you stamp 5 dollars a day for a year, that's over a million. Together, we can create a stampede that Congress can't ignore.

Popular Resistance Newsletter: A Smarter, Stronger Movement

August 1, 2013 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org , , , , ,
As one would expect, the opponents of change have developed strategies to undermine social movements. Steve Horn reports, based on leaked documents from the private security firm StratFor, that their strategy is to divide activists into four groups: Radicals, Idealists, Realists and Opportunists. Opportunists are in the movement for themselves and can be pulled away for their own self-interest. Realists can be convinced that transformative change is not possible and settle for what is possible. Idealists can be convinced they have the facts wrong and pulled to the Realist camp. And finally, Radicals who see a corrupt system as corrupt that requires transformation. They work to isolate and discredit this last group. Using false charges to assassinate their character is a common tactic. They divide and weaken movements to protect the status quo.

Manning Verdict Risks Freedom of the Press if the People Do Not Act

August 1, 2013 Kevin B. Zeese, , PopularResistance.org ,
The revelations made in Manning's leaked documents show the importance of press freedom, ironically the verdict threatens press freedom. Manning's courage shows all of us we must act with courage to challenge US militarism and fight for our disappearing freedoms. Manning’s convictions for espionage are the first time a whistleblower has been convicted under the Espionage Act. This 1917 law passed during the propaganda effort to support World War I was designed to criminalize spying against the United States. For a whistleblower to be turned into a spy is a great risk to the First Amendment. Julian Assange described the verdict as “calling journalism ’espionage’” Reporters Without Borders sees the verdict as a threat to investigative journalists and their sources. The Center for Constitutional Rights writes in reaction to the verdict: “What is the future of journalism in this country? What is the future of the First Amendment?”

Rules for Recording Cops and other Authority Figures

July 31, 2013 Carlos Miller, www.photographyisnotacrime.com , ,
The First Amendment guarantees us all Freedom of the Press, meaning we have as much as right to to report on and disseminate the news as professional journalists, even if we’ve never set foot in a newsroom. In fact, it’s absolutely crucial that we step up to fill the void left by the mainstream media. And we can begin doing that by recording police when they interact with the public, including our very own interactions such as traffic stops. The goal is to not just record possible instances of police abuse, but to remind these officers that we are well aware of our rights to record them in public where they have no expectation of privacy (as they do to us). Here are ten rules that will help citizen journalists film police and others in positions of authority.

Video: Madison Protesters Continue To Fight For Freedom To Assemble

July 31, 2013 Steve Bray, www.PopularResistance.org ,
Madison Solidarity Sing-A-Long, 30 arrested keep singing while arrested. Every weekday since March 11, 2011 people come together in the Wisconsin State Capital to fight for our democracy through joyful song. From babies to grannies, on crutches and in failing health, after 3 days of arrests last week and through 30 arrests today, we sang. We sang at the same moment in time when Bradley Manning was wrongly declared guilty by those who's crimes he exposed.

Center for Constitution Rights On Manning Verdict

July 31, 2013 Staff, ccrjustice.org ,
The Espionage Act itself is a discredited relic of the WWI era, created as a tool to suppress political dissent and antiwar activism, and it is outrageous that the government chose to invoke it in the first place against Manning. Government employees who blow the whistle on war crimes, other abuses and government incompetence should be protected under the First Amendment. We now live in a country where someone who exposes war crimes can be sentenced to life even if not found guilty of aiding the enemy, while those responsible for the war crimes remain free. If the government equates being a whistleblower with espionage or aiding the enemy, what is the future of journalism in this country? What is the future of the First Amendment?

Pro-Choice 14 Year Old: Stop Calling Me A Whore

July 30, 2013 Tuesday Cain, www.xojane.com ,
I'm a 14-year-old girl who has lived in Austin, Texas, my whole life. I like art, music and talking on the phone with my friends. When I grow up, I'd like to become a science teacher. I also believe in the right to choose and the separation of church and state. Or to put it another way -- to put it the way I wrote it when I was protesting at the Capitol last week: "Jesus isn't a dick so keep him out of my vagina." Yes, that's my sign. I came up with it last week when my friend and I were trying to think of ideas for what would get people's attention to protest the scary restrictions that are happening in my state trying to take away a woman's right to safe and accessible abortions. It worked.

North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Florida Rumble with Citizen Protest

July 30, 2013 Harriet Rowan and Alex Oberley, www.prwatch.org , , , , ,
Three State Capitols around the country are echoing with the songs and chants of people who feel scorned by their state government. In Wisconsin, protesters who participate in a daily sing-along are facing a crack down from the Capitol Police, with over 50 people arrested in three days. In Florida a group called the Dream Defenders has been occupying the State Capitol for 13 days, demanding that Governor Rick Scott call a special session to address the repeal of Florida’s "Stand Your Ground" law and to address racial profiling. And in North Carolina, civil rights and religious organizations are organizing weekly protests at the Capitol, dubbed “Moral Mondays,” to express their opposition to an avalanche of retrograde policies that are radically reshaping the state.

Here’s How The Corporations Defeat Political Movements

July 29, 2013 Steve Horn, www.mintpressnews.com ,
Here's the strategy the status quo uses to defeat us: Divide activists into four groups: Radicals, Idealists, Realists and Opportunists. The Opportunists are in it for themselves and can be pulled away for their own self-interest. The Realists can be convinced that transformative change is not possible and we must settle for what is possible. Idealists can be convinced they have the facts wrong and pulled to the Realist camp. Radicals, who see the system as corrupt and needing transformation, need to be isolated and discredited, using false charges to assassinate their character is a common tactic.
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