Militarization

Ebola: US Sends Troops, Cuba Sends Doctors

September 17, 2014 Dave Lindorff, www.thiscantbehappening.ne Educate! Cuba, Ebola, Healthcare, Militarization, Wars and Militarism

How’s this for a juxtaposition on how nations respond to a global health catastrophe. Check out these two headlines from yesterday’s news: Cuba to Send Doctors to Ebola Areas [1] US to Deploy 3000 Troops as Ebola Crisis Worsens [2] Reading these stories, which ran in, respectively, the BBC and Reuters, one learns that the Cuban government, which runs a small financially hobbled island nation of 11 million people, with a national budget of $50 billion, Gross Domestic Product of 121 billion and per capita GDP of just over $10,000, is dispatching 165 medical personnel to Africa to regions where there are ebola outbreaks, while the US, the world’s wealthiest nation, with a population of close to 320 million, a national budget of $3.77 trillion, GDP of $17 trillion, and per capita GDP of over $53,000, is sending troops -- $3000 of them-- to “fight” the ebola epidemic.

Reporter Kicked Out Of SWAT Show For ‘Unauthorized Photos’

September 8, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Educate! Media, Militarization, Militarized police

Shane Bauer, a reporter in Mother Jones' San Francisco bureau, covering criminal justice, social justice, and human rights, was reporting on the Urban Shield police event in Oakland, including taking photographs. Bauer is a well-known journalist who spent two years imprisoned in Iran co-authoring A Sliver of Light about the event. Bauer's photographs documented the extreme militarization of policing as well as the way police SWAT team members think. In a tweet on Sunday he reported that his press credentials were taken away for taking 'unauthorized photos.' Bauer was also thrown out of an American Correctional Association meeting earlier this year because they did not like his tweeting of the event. He published a collection of his tweets from the SWAT team convention on Storify. Below are some highlights of some of the photographs he took at Urban Shield. The SWAT Convention was widely protested and the mayor of Oakland announced they would not be coming back next year. A full report on Bauer's visit at the Urban Shield Convention will be published by Mother Jones. Here's what they don't want people to see:

Protest the Air Force Association ‘Arms Bazaar’

September 7, 2014 Art Laffin, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Militarization, Wars and Militarism

Please join with the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, with peacemakers from Pax Christi Metro D.C.- Baltimore and other groups to protest the annual Air Force Association(AFA) "Arms Bazaar." Please come and bring a friend. And please spread the word and post this wherever you can. The U.S. power structure, backed by weapons contractors participating in the AFA Arms Bazaar, is engaged in direct military intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan, continues its military support for the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, threatens Russia over its involvement in the Ukraine, proceeds with its military "pivot" in the Asia-Pacific to contain and threaten China, and wages unrelenting killer drone attacks in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. The Pentagon is also increasingly militarizing its police forces at home. We urgently need, more than ever, to nonviolently resist all war and violence--from Iraq, Afghanistan and Gaza to Ferguson, NYC and D.C., and witness for peace and justice.

Victory! ‘Urban Shield’ Finished In Oakland

September 7, 2014 Anna Lekas Miller, www.wagingnonviolence.org Resist! Militarization, Militarized police, Police abuse

On Friday, around 300 protesters blocked Broadway between 9th and 11th streets in downtown Oakland, protesting the second day of the eighth annual Urban Shield convention. The event could not have occurred at a more timely moment. Only a few weeks after images of SWAT teams in riot gear pointing military-grade assault rifles towards peaceful protesters and arresting dozens in the streets brought the hyper-militarization of the police to national attention, the Urban Shield convention is taking place in downtown Oakland, bringing together law enforcement forces from around the world for a two-day trade show followed by a series of trainings taking place throughout the Bay Area. Late Friday, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan announced in a press conference that the convention will not be returning to Oakland next year. Despite the victory, many activists recognize that resisting events like Urban Shield, and other manners of police militarization will be a long battle.

Grassroots Resistance As Police Militarization Expo Descends On Oakland

September 6, 2014 Sarah Lazare, www.commondreams.org Resist! Israel, Militarization, Oakland, Police, Protest

Sustained resistance in Ferguson, Missouri — in the face of riot police, and military service members, and war-grade weapons and vehicles — has forced the issue of police racism and militarization into the national and global spotlight. As the summer closes on a note of outrage, forces driving police militarization — including defense contractors, law enforcement agencies, and SWAT teams from around the world — are converging in Oakland, California on September 4th through 8th for the 9th annual "Urban Shield" exercise and weapons technology expo that is bankrolled by arms manufacturers and the Department of Homeland Security. They are being met with protests from grassroots organizations and local residents who say Urban Shield is not welcome in their city — or anywhere. "People all over the world are watching the militarization of U.S. law enforcement and making the connections between militarization on the global level and local policing," Lara Kiswani of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center told Common Dreams. "This is an opportunity for us here in Oakland to demonstrate how we stand against militarization."

Oakland Organizes To Stop Urban Shield

September 2, 2014 Alyssa Figueroa, www.alternet.org Organize! Militarization, Oakland, Organizing, Police

Heavily armed officers, weapons drawn, move across a bridge draped with a banner reading “No war for oil” and “We are the 99%." One corner of the banner sports the A anarchist symbol. Shortly after, they capture their targets: protesters. This scene may be all too familiar to protesters. But it’s actually a staged police training put on by Urban Shield, a SWAT team training program and weapons expo that has taken place in the Bay Area for the past seven years. This year, as last, Urban Shield’s weapon show takes place in the Oakland Marriot Convention Center in downtown Oakland, CA, September 4-8. In a city that has a tense relationship with police, hosting a conference that is ultimately an effort to militarize policing and hawk weaponry doesn't sit well with community members, who are organizing to stop Urban Shield from coming to town. “They try to put Urban Shield under this umbrella of public safety because there’s also collaboration with fire departments and emergency medical response teams,” said Kamau Walton, a War Resisters League organizer. “But the tools and the tactics they are utilizing, that they gain from the vendor show are being used against community members on a regular basis. And these are not emergency situations, these are peaceful protests, like the ones we’ve seen in Ferguson.”

Protest In Albuquerque Over Killer Cop Competition

August 29, 2014 David Correia, www.wordpress.com Resist! Albuquerque, Militarization, Police, Protest, Violence

A group of anti-police violence activists and family members of victims of police violence gathered at City Hall yesterday to demand Mayor Berry cancel the “Killer Cop” competition scheduled for next month. The Albuquerque Police Pistol Combat Tournament is designed to test efficiency in the lethal techniques that police use. Protesters claim that it celebrates militarized policing and the use of lethal force, and are demanding that the competition be shut down. A letter to the mayor signed by family members of victims condemns his insensitivity to the human cost of police violence. Family members emerge from City Hall after trying to deliver the letter to the Mayor. After the press conference, family members went to the 11th floor of City Hall hoping to tell the Mayor why he should cancel the police shooting tournament. They found the offices closed, the doors locked and police guarding the foyer outside the elevator. Once again, Mayor Richard Berry refused to meet with grieving families of victims of his police department. Sylvia Fuente’s son Len was killed by APD. “This militarization of police must stop,” she said. “My son didn’t have to die. And the Mayor says he’s met with family members of victims. He’s lying. He hasn’t met with me. I haven’t met a family member he’s met with.”

Advocates Demand New Police Standards At U.S. Department of Justice

August 29, 2014 John Zangas, www.dcmediagroup.us Resist! militarism, Militarization, Police abuse, police brutality, police murder

Dozens of groups rallied outside the U.S. Department of Justice Wednesday afternoon to deliver a list of demands to Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General. They cited specific changes needed to change police departments which they claim are targeting and profiling minorities. Their demands come in the wake of the Ferguson, Missouri police shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed youth. They asked for an appointment of a special prosecutor, an immediate civil rights investigation, and prosecution of Darren Wilson, the police officer responsible for the shooting. Organizers are mobilizing on the heels of a building crescendo of national interest in changing police force posture. They sense a climax in consciousness towards achieving justice and equal rights applied by police forces in communities across the country. They want to seize the opportunity to implement their ideas while the enthusiasm is there to do it.

City Council Orders Police ‘Get Rid Of Military Vehicle’

August 29, 2014 Justin King, www.theantimedia.org Resist! Militarization, Police, Protest

Davis County, CA Council members could set a trend after they listened to the public and ordered the police to find a way of getting rid of the department’s newly acquired Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle. Image credit: wikipedia.org The City Council held an open meeting to listen to public concerns about the MRAP and then adopted a resolution demanding the Police deliver a plan to get rid of the offending vehicle. One man was quotes as saying: “I would like to say I do not suggest you take this vehicle and send it out of Davis, I demand it.” The few in favor of keeping the MRAP did their best to come up with legitimate uses for the vehicle. One of the suggested uses: “Since you can’t give it back it should be repurposed, you can put a water cannon on it.” The reader should allow that statement to sink in. The best legitimate use offered was to outfit the vehicle with the same equipment used to deny equal rights during the 1960s. The cannons were used for the same reason in South Africa in the 1980s. Water cannons are typically used in totalitarian countries to disperse the huddled masses who are clamoring for freedom in some form of nonviolent protest. This is the best use of the vehicle.

Copwatch Cameras Being Shared In Ferguson

August 29, 2014 GoFundMe, www.gofundme.com Create! Camera, Ferguson, Militarization, Police, Transparency

WeCopwatch has been on the ground in Ferguson for the last week Copwatching and connecting with residents in the Cantfield neighborhood. (the location where Mike Brown was murdered). The space is autonomous, and has been stepping up as a community to be able to host the large volumes of people who come to pay their respects, and to also have a safe space for those who are grieving. There is a general consensus that more cameras are needed and with daily police attacks, it makes sense to to get them into people's hands as soon as possible. We're in the process of getting a bulk camera order together so that residents in each building in Cantfield Neighborhood have cameras. Protesting will eventually slow down, but this is the type of mutual aide that is lasting and extremely effective.

Urban Warfare Training In Twin Cities

August 29, 2014 Matt Rigel, www.globalresearch.ca Educate! Militarization, Minneapolis, Wars and Militarism

On the evening of Monday, August 18, the US Army commenced unannounced military exercises in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. MH-60 variant Black Hawk helicopters buzzed through the downtown and residential areas of the two Midwestern cities. The ominous exercises, which took place over three days, were led by the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security in close collaboration with the local police. They were carried out without public warning, despite the fact that they included late-night low flyovers of residential districts by thunderous war equipment. Hundreds of stunned residents placed emergency phone calls in the hours after exercises began as several black helicopters weaved in between skyscrapers of both cities and swept through areas at low altitudes and high speeds. It was only after the widespread response that the police and military acknowledged what was taking place. (Video of part of the exercises can be found here.) “We understand the concern and confusion these activities may have created for the public,” said St. Paul Police Department spokesman Howie Padilla as he defended the exercises.

Would The US Military Fire On American Citizens?

August 28, 2014 Justin King, www.theantimedia.org Educate! Militarization, Wars and Militarism

In light of the recent Ferguson unrest, the debate over police militarization has reached an all time high, but the discussion brings the reader face to face with another and more frightening question: would US troops really open fire on the public? Image credit: The U.S. Army The best place to begin a prediction of the future is in the past. Historical examples are often discounted for various reasons. A mention of Nazi Germany is immediately discounted because “those people were just evil.” Situations in Eastern Europe are discounted because of the communist or totalitarian regimes that existed there in the past. Bringing up the times militaries in the Far East, Africa, or Latin America opened fire on their citizens triggers the unconscious racist part of some brains that says “well those countries aren’t white.” Instances from US history are dismissed because they were “isolated incidents” or the patriotism gene kicks in and somehow “the citizens deserved it.” This belief that some group or another “had it coming” is critical in the discussion because the order to fire on citizens has never been historically given without a wave of propaganda first occurring that convinces people those gunned down were the enemy.

Rally At DOJ For Mike Brown & Against Police Brutality

August 26, 2014 Staff, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! Militarization, Militarized police, police brutality

On Wednesday, August 27 at 4pm, activists will rally outside the Justice Department to call on the Attorney General to help secure justice for Michael Brown and the people of Ferguson, Missouri, as well as an overhaul of US law enforcement tactics in order to stop police brutality and the militarization of our police forces. The rally speakers will feature the following legal experts and community organizers: Institute of the Black World President Ron Daniels, No FEAR Coalition leader Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, No FEAR Coalition Director of Communications Kevin Berends, Nathan Sheard of CODEPINK, Matthew Fog of Bigots With Badges, Veterans For Peace National President Patrick McCann, Reverend George Gilbert, Attorney Nkechi Taifa, and Ayanna Gregory. After the rally, the group will march to Busboys and Poets on 5th & K St NW to attend “Ferguson and Beyond – The Way Forward,” a town hall meeting on police killings of black men which begins at 6:30 PM.

Thousands March In Staten Island Against Police Brutality

August 24, 2014 Matthew Weinstein, www.bicyclist.smugmug.com Resist! Criminal Justice and Prisons, Militarization, Police abuse, police brutality, police murder, Racism

Thousands marched in Staten Island On August 23rd. They were protesting police brutality and abuse. They were demanding justice for the victims of that abuse. Eric Garner was placed in an illegal choke hold by a NYPD office several weeks ago. His crime? Selling illegal cigarettes. Despite his protestations and his repeated plea of "I can't breathe," despite the fact that he was already subdued, despite the fact that he was surround by cops, the officer continued to choke Mr. Garner. The result? Eric Garner died on the sidewalk, a victim, like so many others, of out-of-control police brutality. These police crimes are then followed by a disturbing lack of transparency and a failure of the justice system to indict, try and convict. Victims are invariably people of color. The time has come for civilian control of the police forces and an end to the militarization of police departments around the country.

An Action More Towns Should Take: No To Militarized Police

August 23, 2014 Nick Henderson, www.woodstockx.com Resist! Law, Militarization, Police

In the wake of aggressive police action against protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, and the trend of police departments obtaining military equipment from the Pentagon, Woodstock lawmakers passed a resolution seeking to assure residents that it won’t happen in this town. “The Woodstock Town Board declares it has never accepted, nor will accept or procure military arms and/or heavy armor for its police department now or in the future,” the resolution, proposed by Councilman Jay Wenk reads. The resolution also states “The Woodstock Police are trained to act in a rational, nonmilitary, non-abusive manner” and “The Woodstock Town Board wants to assure its citizens that the town does not possess military equipment of the type known to be an issue in other jurisdictions.” Councilwoman Cathy Magarelli thanked Wenk for the resolution and said she was shocked to read that Ferguson, a small city of about 20,000, has about $4 million worth of military-type equipment. “It’s ridiculous to have that much armor for such a small town,” Magarelli said. The resolution passed by a vote of 4-0. Councilman Bill McKenna was absent.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

assetto corsa mods

Daily movement news and resources