Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Exposing The FBI

December 18, 2014 Lawrence S. Wittner, www.newpol.org Educate! FBI, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Privacy, Surveillance

The Burglary tells the story of how, on March 8, 1971, in the midst of the Vietnam War, eight peace activists broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania, in an effort to discover whether the FBI was working, illegally, to suppress American dissent. Spiriting away all the records in the FBI office, these daring men and women soon learned that this federal crime-fighting bureau was, indeed, engaging in a broad range of unlawful activities. They photocopied some of the most revealing documents and mailed them, in the name of the Citizens’ Commission to Investigate the FBI, to members of congress and the press. After receipt of these materials, Betty Medsger, a journalist at the Washington Post, wrote an article published in that newspaper that sparked a public outcry.

NYPD Seeks Mass Arrests Of Protesters Without Warning

December 18, 2014 Staff, www.justiceonline.org Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse

The De Blasio administration is asking the federal Circuit Court for the authority to engage in the mass arrest of protesters when they take to the streets peacefully, just as they have been doing recently against police brutality. This request for the legal authority to engage in wholesale mass sweeps of demonstrators would allow the police to do so without any notice or warning to them that they are even allegedly in violation of any law. In the Occupy Wall Street case at issue the NYPD trapped and mass arrested 700 people after police commanders led and escorted them onto the Brooklyn Bridge. "This is the most significant and most defining legal case on protesters' rights in the last 40 years, since the mass arrests of May Day 1970," said Carl Messineo, PCJF Legal Director. "Mayor De Blasio seeks the authority to arrest today's protesters in the same manner Mayor Bloomberg falsely arrested Occupy Wall Street protesters by the hundreds."

Photo Essay: First Day Of A Week Of Outrage

December 14, 2014 Michael Nigro, www.truth-out.org Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse, Racism

Less than a week ago, this Unarmed Civilian (me), became a One-Armed-Unarmed-Civilian. Nothing broken, thankfully, just a torn up shoulder. December 8, 2014, (Day 1 of the Week of Outrage) was the first night back on the street for me after being injured. Below is the story of that first night, written from the ER in Brooklyn, NY. Thousands took to the streets of NYC on December 3, 2014, the night after a grand jury voted not to file any charges against NYPD officer David Pantaleo - the cop who took the life of Eric Garner by putting him in an illegal chokehold. Like the Michael Brown protests and the Flood Wall Street action last September, these marches, metaphorically, have the properties of quicksilver: flow where there's an opening, fissure when blocked and then pool together again elsewhere. At 7pm December 8, I found myself with hundreds of protestors flooding 47th and 6th Ave., where non-violent acts of civil disobedience turned tense when - and only when - the police themselves became aggressive.

Why Young Protesters Bum-Rushed The Mic

December 14, 2014 Kirsten West Savali, www.theroot.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Police abuse, Racism

Billed as a rally against rampant police violence, Saturday’s Justice for All March in Washington D.C., organized by several civil rights organizations, including Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and the National Urban League, faced heavy criticism in the days leading up to it. The primary concern among critics is what appears to be the purposeful distancing of Saturday's march from the revolutionary movement that began in August after the state-sanctioned shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown by former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, while simultaneously benefiting from its momentum. Johnetta Elzie, 25, an activist on the ground in Ferguson and St. Louis who has emerged as a leading voice in the movement, stormed the stage with other young organizers after NAN officials reportedly denied them access. When I caught up with Elzie via phone after the march she said that they came to participate in a protest, not be denied access to a “VIP section.” “When we first got there, two people from NAN told us that we needed a VIP pass or a press pass to sit on the ledge,” said Elzie in disbelief, the frustration still resonating in her voice. “If it is a protest, why do you need to have a VIP pass?”

Newsletter: Respect Our Human Rights Or We’ll ‘Shut It Down’

December 13, 2014 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Bankers, Climate Justice, Corruption, Education, FCC, Finance and Economy, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, GMOs, Healthcare, Human Rights, Internet Freedom, Monsanto, Net Neutrality, Police abuse, Racism, Torture, TPP, Undercover police, Worker Rights and Jobs

This week we marked the 66th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was signed by the United States at its inception but has never been ratified. Perhaps because we live in a country that does not protect our human rights, many people in the United States lack an understanding that they exist. In the work for justice, important tasks are to learn about our rights, recognize that they are being violated and to stand up with the demand that these rights are honored. Throughout history it has been organized people-power that has won rights. We cannot expect to gain them any other way. We’ll highlight many areas where people are fighting for rights.

Obama Bundler Tom Wheeler Helps His Former Industry

November 11, 2014 Peter Olsen-Phillips, www.sunlightfoundation.com Educate! FCC, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Internet, Net Neutrality

When Tom Wheeler was appointed the 31st Commissioner of the FCC, some media policy watchdogs were skepticalthat the former telecommunications executive and Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association lobbyist would be willing to "stand up to industry giants and protect the public interest," when faced with important rule making decisions on net neutrality, media mergers and broadband competition. Now, with news that the agency plans to allow Internet service providers to charge higher rates for Internet "fast lanes," it appears that at least some of those fears have been vindicated. Deemed the "Bo Jackson" of the communications world by President Obama, Wheeler had played nearly every position in the telecom industry by the time he was nominated to Chair the agency. In addition to presiding over the CTIA and, before that, the National Cable Television Association, Wheeler was a managing director at a venture capital firm and a co-founder of SmartBrief according to his agency bio.

The Mystery Of Ray McGovern’s Arrest

November 10, 2014 Ray McGovern, www.consortiumnews.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Wars and Militarism

Why, I asked myself, would the New York City police arrest me and put me in The Tombs overnight, simply because a security officer at the 92nd Street Y told them I was “not welcome” and should be denied entry to a talk by retired General David Petraeus? In my hand was a ticket for which I had reluctantly shelled out $50. I had hoped to hear the photogenic but inept Petraeus explain why the Iraqi troops, which he claimed to have trained so well, had fled northern Iraq leaving their weapons behind at the first whiff of Islamic State militants earlier this year. I even harbored some slight hope that the advertised Q & A might afford hoi polloi like me the chance to ask him a real question. Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern However rare the opportunity to ask real questions has become, it can happen. Witness my extended (four-minute) questioningof then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Atlanta on May 4, 2006.

Will The FCC Ruin The Internet?

November 8, 2014 Barbara van Schewick, www.cnn.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Internet, Net Neutrality

In the last few months, millions of people contacted the White House, Congress and federal agencies to demand action on one of those issues -- protecting a free and open Internet. Their message was overwhelmingly clear: Americans don't want fast and slow lanes online. They want the government to preserve the Internet as a place where everybody -- startups, small businesses, nonprofits, activists, and independent artists -- has an equal chance of reaching people. Yet it appears their voices have fallen on deaf ears. The Federal Communications Commission, tasked with creating new rules to protect the Internet, appears to be favoring a proposal that will allow fast lanes after all. As the New York Times reports, the proposal would permit Internet service providers (ISPs) like Comcast and Verizon to charge Internet applications, content or services access fees for faster service, as long as those fees are "just and reasonable."

White House Protested Over Threats To Net Neutrality

November 8, 2014 Nancy Scola, www.washingtonpost.com Resist! Freedom of Press, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Internet, Net Neutrality

Acting as emcee for the night's events was Evan Greer, an organizer with the online advocacy group Fight for the Future. "These are the devices that we use to connect to free speech," Greer said, pointing to the phones and laptops being held aloft, many open to ProtestSign.org. "It is your power to connect. It is power to speak out. With that tiny device in your hand, you can reach millions of people, and it doesn't cost a cent -- other than what you pay monthly." Said Ammori, the D.C. lawyer, noting his insular childhood in Michigan: "Life before the Internet was just ads and shopping malls and bad TV. To me, it's just really personal: I just love the Internet." That just might be the one thing everyone engaged in this debate can agree on.

The FCC’s Open Internet Vote Gets More Political

November 6, 2014 Adi Robertson, www.theverge.com Resist! FCC, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Internet, Net Neutrality

To anyone familiar with internet discourse, it’s clear what’s going on: a protest in favor of net neutrality, a contentious issue that’s supposed to be voted on by the FCC later this year. The "fast lane" refers to companies that could pay ISPs for faster service in a world without meaningful rules; the "slow lane" is everyone else. But the signs aren’t just telling people to save the internet. In the fast lane, they’re a mix of celebrity gossip ("Extra nonsense: Jay-Z, Beyonce, Solange") and sensationalized headlines. In the slow lane, there’s news about Israeli bombings and the shooting of black teenagers Michael Brown and Vonderrick Myers by St. Louis police. A fast lane sign says "riots grip city," its slow-lane equivalent says "community rises up against police brutality."

AP Exclusive: Ferguson No-Fly Zone Aimed At Media

November 4, 2014 Jack Gillum and Joan Lowy, www.bigstory.ap.org Educate! Ferguson, Freedom of Press, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Media, Police the Police

The U.S. government agreed to a police request to restrict more than 37 square miles of airspace surrounding Ferguson, Missouri, for 12 days in August for safety, but audio recordings show that local authorities privately acknowledged the purpose was to keep away news helicopters during violent street protests. On Aug. 12, the morning after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed the first flight restriction, FAA air traffic managers struggled to redefine the flight ban to let commercial flights operate at nearby Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and police helicopters fly through the area — but ban others. "They finally admitted it really was to keep the media out," said one FAA manager about the St. Louis County Police in a series of recorded telephone conversations obtained by The Associated Press.

Ray McGovern Describes Brutal Arrest At Petraeus Event (VIDEO)

November 1, 2014 Russian Times, www.rt.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, NYPD, police brutality

Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst-turned-antiwar activist, shared details with RT on Friday about an incident the night before in New York City during which he was arrested for trying to enter a public event. McGovern, 75, says he had ticket to see former CIA director David Petraeus speak Thursday night at the 92nd Street Y, a “world-class cultural and community center,” according to its website, but wasarrested before he could get inside. “I was warned as soon as I got to the ticket-taker, ‘Ray, you’re not welcome here,’” he recalled to RT. An adamant critic of the wartime policies of the current White House administration and that of George W. Bush, McGovern has previously been arrested while demonstrating at public events. Speaking to RT this week, he said he intended on asking a question to Gen. Petraeus during an advertised question-and-answer session following Thursday’s event, but was forcefully removed by police before it was underway.

Hungary Internet Tax Cancelled After Mass Protests

November 1, 2014 BBC, www.bbc.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Hungary, Internet, Protests, Taxes

Hungary has decided to shelve a proposed tax on internet data traffic after mass protests against the plan. "This tax in its current form cannot be introduced," Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. Large-scale protests began on Sunday, when demonstrators hurled old computer parts at the headquarters of Mr Orban's ruling Fidesz party. The draft law - condemned by the EU - would levy a fee on each gigabyte of internet data transferred. The protesters objected to the financial burden but also feared the move would restrict free expression and access to information. The levy was set at 150 forints (£0.40; 0.50 euros; $0.60) per gigabyte of data traffic.

Facebook Scrubs Activist Reporter’s Timeline

October 31, 2014 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Educate! Facebook, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy Wall Street

Eight years ago when Patti Beers joined Facebook she had no idea it would become her central link to thousands of friends. A fan of MySpace, Beers looked for something more interactive and discovered Facebook social media was sweeping the internet. She found friends she hadn’t heard from in years and was able to connect her family in one place via Facebook. When the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) encampments sprung up in New York City and around the country during the Fall 2011, Facebook became a natural fit for discussing views of world change, sharing ideas and organizing events. Eventually Beers began reporting on OWS protests and live-streamed events using the service UStream and had announced such live events through Facebook.

Parliament Square Protest Law Is Too Restrictive

October 30, 2014 Various, www.theguardian.com Resist! Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Law, London, Occupy, police brutality

The appalling treatment of protesters occupying Parliament Square last week (Occupy protesters forced to hand over pizza boxes and tarpaulin, 24 October, theguardian.com) calls for an urgent review of current legislation governing protest there. For 10 days, until Sunday, Occupy Democracy campaigners hosted a daily programme of assemblies and workshops outside parliament to address what they say is “a huge democratic deficit” in Britain today. Using the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 (PRSRA), which bans any “structure designed for staying” along with any “amplified sound”, police responded by kettling protesters and confiscating a wide range of items including umbrellas and sleeping bags which protesters were using to keep dry and warm.

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