Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Waking Up To Reality: The System Is Not Legitimate

December 28, 2013 Ray Pensador, www.dailykos.com Resist! Corruption, Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly

It seems to me that the vast majority of them cling to the notion that the system is still legitimate. In other words, my impression is that they think that when they take to the streets in protest, that somehow people in power are either paying attention or care about their grievances... I perceive a certain innocence, even naïveté about the true nature of the system. I'm left thinking, "Is everybody here on the same page when it comes to the understanding that we are dealing with true malevolence, with outright tyranny, with heartless individuals who would as soon cause the suffering of millions of people without blinking an eye?" And the reason I think all that is because in my view what's needed at this point, when it comes to social justice activism, is a certain type of militancy. I'm not talking about violence of any kind, of course. I'm talking about focus, about discipline, about being able to engage in direct action and resistance on an ongoing/sustained basis.

Support Movement Analysis: Real Democracy Requires Independent Media

December 28, 2013 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Media, Occupy, Revolution

We often use the Popular Resistance website to raise money for organizations, campaigns, artists and art collectives and others who are working in the resistance movement. In the article below we are urging support for ROAR Magazine. One of the critical fronts of struggle for developing a mass movement that can challenge the current power structure is media. Independent media, citizens media and social networks are keys to challenging the corporate mass media. Understanding our movement and constantly evaluating where we are going and how we get there are essential. ROAR is consistently strong in its analysis of the resistance movement around the world. They have excellent writers who put forward analysis you do not read anywhere else. We urge you to support their fundraising campaign on indiegogo.

Trial Begins For Drone War Crimes Resisters Near Syracuse, NY

December 28, 2013 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Drones, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Wars and Militarism

On October 25, 2012, the sixteen served a War Crimes Indictment to Hancock Air Base, home of the 174th Attack Wing of the NY Air National Guard, and were arrested. The base is located on the backside of Syracuse Airport. Base personnel fly MQ9 Reaper drones in Afghanistan, train operators and maintain MQ9 Reaper drones for domestic use. In violation of international law, these drones kill and terrorize Afghan civilians. The defendants are apart of Upstate NY Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars. Their intention was to uphold the US Constitution and international law, including the UN Charter, ratified by the United States. Defendant Andrea Levine says, “My grandfather survived the Holocaust and lost his entire family. He later testified against a Nazi in a war crimes trial that followed the Nuremberg Trials. If more people had resisted the Holocaust while it was happening, would my family have been protected? My family history moves me to call a halt to the killing and be a part of this movement. How can we all resist militarism and systemic racism? We've got a lot of work to do both at home and abroad.”

The 8 Stages Of Successful Social-Political Movements

December 26, 2013 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Strategize! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Occupy

Long-time political activist and social change agent Bill Moyer, who developed the Movement Action Plan Model of how successful progressive movements evolve makes his last public presentation in this video six weeks before he died at the age of 69. Moyer worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on poverty campaigns, and also worked to stop the Vietnam War and nuclear energy, worked with the American Indian Movement, as well as on housing and disarmament, among other causes over his 40 year career in social movements. In this last public presentation he summarized the insights of a lifetime of experience about how social movements grow and succeed, as well as his vision of a new culture emerging through the cracks of a declining empire. Moyer’s work is heartening for social justice activists because it shows how movements grow, recede and change their functions at different stages and that this is a natural process. By knowing the stage of development we can better define the work that is needed to achieve success; and predict how the power structure and public will react to our actions.

Egypt Court Jails Activists Who Organized Anti-Mubarak Protests For 3 years

December 22, 2013 Tom Perry, www.Reuters.com Resist! Egypt, Freedom of Speech and Assembly

Three leading Egyptian activists were sentenced to three years in prison each on Sunday in a case brought over their role in recent protests, escalating a crackdown on dissent by the army-backed government. Ahmed Maher, Ahmed Douma and Mohamed Adel are symbols of the protest movement that ignited the historic 2011 uprising against President Hosni Mubarak. Each one was also fined 50,000 Egyptian pounds ($7,200) by the court. As the verdict was read, the courtroom erupted in chants of: "Down, down with military rule! We are in a state, not in a military camp!" The case stems from protests called in defiance of a law passed by the army-backed government in November that severely restricts the right to assembly. Activists say the army-backed authorities, already pressing a fierce crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood movement of former President Mohamed Mursi, have in recent weeks started to target members of the secular activist movement. The case against the activists relates to a protest that erupted outside the court where Maher turned himself into the authorities on Nov. 30, heeding a warrant for his arrest on accusations he organised a previous protest without permission.

Nikki Haley Loses Another Costly “Occupy Columbia” Ruling

December 17, 2013 Staff, www.fitsnews.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy

Two years later, S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley’s attorneys continue to waste taxpayer money defending her against the allegation that she unfairly targeted protesters affiliated with the Occupy Columbia movement. And they continue losing … This week, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia affirmed a lower court ruling which concluded that Haley violated the First Amendment rights of the Occupy protesters. In other word the governor is 0-for-2 in using your money to argue that she had a right to suppress the free speech of an organization she disagreed with (imagine that). “The Occupy Columbia protesters have stated a viable claim that (Haley and other state officials) violated their First Amendment rights to assemble and protest peacefully on the grounds of the South Carolina State House in the absence of a valid time, place, or manner regulation,” the Fourth District court found. “There were no existing time, place, and manner restrictions on the protesters’ First Amendment activities on the State House grounds. Therefore, Appellants violated these rights by removing the protesters from the grounds.” Cut and dried, right? Right … unless of course you’re a “Tea Party” governor looking for something to distract impressionable voters from your real record.

This Is What Happens When You Outlaw Peaceful Protest

December 16, 2013 Jerome Roos, www.roarmag.org Resist! Egypt, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Spain

In many of the countries that experienced dramatic social mobilizations from 2011 onward, terrified elites are now drawing up laws banning the type of street demonstrations that kick-started the Age of the Protester, desperately trying to institutionalize their Thermidorian counter-revolution now that the movements appear to be on the retreat. But everywhere these type of anti-protest legislations are being passed, the attempted closure is only drawing people back into the streets. And so we find ourselves at a historical crossroads: now that the ruling elite can no longer command the voluntary consent of the ruled, they will increasingly resort to the use of force in order to retain their position of privilege. This leaves the movements in a frightening predicament. If the state’s inner bestiality is taking over from its limited human capacity to dialogue and reason, can we really keep fighting it through the same means? Does it really make sense to reproach a rabid and murderous beast with the cunning reason of man? What is the point in peaceful protest if the state simply outlaws it and arrests us for disagreeing in public? What future is there for us if we are to be mercilessly jailed or bankrupted, our lives destroyed, simply for calling on our fellow human beings to peacefully speak out against injustice? What direction is the state driving us into? And can the movements be held responsible for what comes next?

Free Reverend Billy

December 8, 2013 Staff, www.occupywallstreet.org Resist! Climate Change, Finance and the Economy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Video

The following were the words spoken by Reverend Billy (in the video above) that might have gotten him up to a year in jail time, if we do not act. We are in the midst of a mass extinction at this time. I ask you to think of your own children. I am the father of a three year old and I’m worried about the kind of world that my daughter will inherit. Please protect life, protect the earth. Take your money out of J.P. Morgan Chase or work inside the bank to change the values system of this bank. It is the largest bank in the United States by assets, but it is also the top bank in the world for financing industrial projects which poison the atmosphere with co2 emissions. Who caused Hurricane Sandy? Chase bank did, if anybody did. Rise up against the corporations that are poisoning the atmosphere. It’s up to you and to me, only we can do it.

Did Man Protest Too Close For Military’s Comfort?

December 7, 2013 Michael Doyle, www.mcclatchydc.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Wars and Militarism

A seasoned California peace protester faced Supreme Court resistance Wednesday, in a case that’s as much about real estate as it is about free speech. Conservative justices repeatedly hammered the attorney for John Dennis Apel, the trimly bearded protester who’s made a career of demonstrating at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California coast. Justices, who often defer to the military, didn’t seem to buy Apel’s argument that the First Amendment protected his right to protest on a portion of base property for which Vandenberg officials have a granted the state an easement. “I’ve got an easement on the back of my property for the utility company, (but) they can’t hold a picnic there,” noted Justice Anthony Kennedy, a frequent swing vote. “They can’t do that.”

Police Threaten Children Singing Outside House Republican Leaders’ Offices With Arrest

December 6, 2013 Ester Yu-Hsu Lee, www.thinkprogress.org Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Immigration

When activists filed into Cantor’s office, a Congressional aide called on police officers to remove more than a dozen youths who sang as a way to bring about immigration reform. In the video as children sang, “We want reform, we want it now,” an officer showed up to tell them to stop singing or to risk arrest if they did not leave the office. OFFICER 1: Is anyone planning on getting arrested today or is this all peaceful demonstration? We have to ask you to leave … I appreciate what you’re doing. The congressman can’t meet you right now, so please set it up through email. Please don’t sing again. We have to ask you to leave. Do you guys want to stay in and be subject to arrest or go out? … Do you want to leave now or be subject to arrest if you stay in this room? … Everyone that stays in this room may be arrested. A child activist broke down crying as the activists filed out of the room.

Mexico: One Year Anniversary Of President Marked With Protests

December 4, 2013 Staff, www.revolution-news.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government, Human Rights, Police abuse

This 1st day of December 2013 celebrated the one year anniversary of President Enrique Peña Nieto and one of the reasons that many unhappy citizens with this victory, as well as many of us don’t support the energy and economic reforms again took to the streets to demonstrate peacefully. However through different twitter accounts we can see that it was not so peaceful. The people said that the arrests were arbitrary and were even undercover cops and that while some leaked members were damaging public property the police of the city stopped only girls.

Quest For Peace Drives Longtime Activist Kenneth Mayers

December 4, 2013 Robert Nott, www.santafenewmexican.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Palestine, Wars and Militarism

A quest for peace has driven Mayers — who was born in New York City 76 years ago — since he resigned his commission as an officer in the U.S. Marines late in 1966. He then attended the University of California at Berkeley to earn a doctorate in philosophy. He and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Santa Fe 14 years ago; she died of cancer eight years ago. A Santa Fe friend of Mayers asked him why he always looks so happy when he goes to jail. “Because I’m in the best of company,” he explained. Santa Fe author Michael McGarrity, one of several people who nominated Mayers, said he has known him for 10 years. “He’s a remarkable man in many ways; a quiet guy,” McGarrity said. “He has that kind of leadership style that isn’t flashy — it’s just steady and organized and persistent. He’s a good man; a good man all around. He goes 100 miles an hour.”

Fracking Executive Confirms: Homeland Security Thinks Fracktivists Are Terrorists

December 2, 2013 Texas Sharon, www.texassharon.com Educate! Corporatism, Fracking, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Government

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) currently uses the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB), a consolidated database maintained by the Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Terrorist Screening Center (TSC) of identifying information about those known or reasonably suspected of being involved in terrorist activity in order to facilitate DHS mission-related functions, such as counterterrorism, law enforcement, border security, and inspection activities. It’s shocking to think that young families, pregnant women and retirees who don’t want to live next to a heavy industrial plant that will decrease their property value, diminish their quality of life and emit hazardous air pollutants that compromise their health would be considered terrorists. But what is more shocking is that Grawe has inside information about who is on the DHS watch list!

An Open Letter To The 3.5%

December 2, 2013 Dennis Trainor, Jr., www.acronymtv.wordpress.com Resist! Corporatism, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy

We are in a historic moment where a new cultural, political, ecological reality must emerge and replace the dominant paradigm. The planet itself, to say nothing of the overwhelming majority of human beings, can no longer live with the killer that is global corporate capitalism in our midst. Research of hundreds of resistance movements shows that no resistance movement in the last 100 years has failed when 3.5 percent of the population participate. How close are we to that tipping point? We may be closer than you think. So, you are cordially invited, challenged even- to become part of the 3.5 percent by committing to an action or actions starting April 4, 2014 against the corporate controlled State and it’s paradigm that preys on the resources and spirits of people. Your actions, and the actions of others, will become a ripple that crisscross with other ripples, each coming from their own centers of daring. These ripples can build a current that can wipe out the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.

Video: Amber Lyon On Peace, Love and Pepper Spray

December 2, 2013 AbMartin, amberlyonlive.com Educate! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Media, Occupy, Police abuse, Video

Abby Martin Interviews Amber Lyon on the US protest movement, the security state and corporate media; and her next project the healing of psychedelic drugs. Amber Lyon is a three-time Emmy Award- winning author, journalist, filmmaker, and photographer obsessed with hackers, human and animal rights, and revolutions. She is the founder of the investigative news site Muckraker.com. Lyon has a passion for exposing human rights violations against protesters during revolutions. For her documentary, ‘iRevolution’, Lyon examines social media’s critical role in galvanizing the revolutions and exposing human rights abuse in Egypt, Tunisia, and Bahrain. ‘iRevolution’ won a 2012 New York Festivals International Television and Film Gold World Medal Award and Lyon was nominated as a Livingston Award Finalist for the documentary. Lyon continues to investigate ongoing cases of excessive use of police force against journalists and protesters in the United States. Lyon was crushed underneath a crowd in Chicago, directly shot at with less lethal weapons in Anaheim, and forced to inhale pepper spray more times than she can count, all while using submersion journalism to photo-document protesters in the U.S. for an upcoming photo book set to be distributed in major retailers nationwide in the fall of 2013.

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