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‘Disobedience 2014’: Mass Protest To End Austerity In Spain

March 31, 2014 Staff, www.rt.com , , ,
Thousands gathered in the center of Barcelona in an event the organizers dubbed “Disobedience 2014”in protest of government austerity measures. The protesters marched under a large banner saying:“Disobedience 2014. They can’t control us if we disobey. Let’s stop [Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon’s] laws!” The demonstration turned violent when the police moved in to try and stop protesters from reaching Barcelona’s Cataluna Square. Activists tussled with police, while others smashed the windows of banks and financial institutions and set fire to bins. The idea behind the demonstration is to protest austerity and cuts through “acts of mass civil disobedience,” one of the organizers told Spanish newspaper La Nacion. “Through disobedience we will rebel against a system that is dragging us into an abyss and replace it with one that respects people,” said Luis Lopez who was holding a flag representing a Spanish anarchist group.

Sentences Upheld For Ohio Bridge Bomb Plotters

March 30, 2014 Andrew Welsh-Huggins, www.AP.org , ,
An informant who secretly recorded conversations helped FBI agents foil a bomb plot where an undercover agent supplied the would-be bridge-bombers with fake plastic explosives, authorities have said. A federal appeals court Friday upheld the sentences of four men in the case, including the addition of extra time because of the terrorism factor. The court also said Akron federal judge David Dowd correctly added time to the sentence of defendant Douglas Wright as the group's leader. The ruling by a panel of three judges unanimously upheld the 11 ½-year sentence for Wright, of Indianapolis; the more than 9-year sentence of Brandon Baxter, of suburban Cleveland; and the 8-year sentence of Connor Stevens, of Berea. The panel ruled 2-1 to uphold the 6-year sentence of Anthony Hayne, of Cleveland.

Militarized Police: SWAT Teams Used 50,000 Times Annually in US

March 24, 2014 Staff www.economist.com , ,
Peter Kraska, a professor at Eastern Kentucky University’s School of Justice Studies, estimates that SWAT teams were deployed about 3,000 times in 1980 but are now used around 50,000 times a year. Some cities use them for routine patrols in high-crime areas. Baltimore and Dallas have used them to break up poker games. In 2010 New Haven, Connecticut sent a SWAT team to a bar suspected of serving under-age drinkers. That same year heavily-armed police raided barber shops around Orlando, Florida; they said they were hunting for guns and drugs but ended up arresting 34 people for “barbering without a licence”. Maricopa County, Arizona sent a SWAT team into the living room of Jesus Llovera, who was suspected of organising cockfights. Police rolled a tank into Mr Llovera’s yard and killed more than 100 of his birds, as well as his dog. According to Mr Kraska, most SWAT deployments are not in response to violent, life-threatening crimes, but to serve drug-related warrants in private homes.

McMillan Trial: Judge Denies Request For Officer’s Disciplinary Record

March 21, 2014 Anna Merlan, www.villagevoice.com , ,
In two weeks, the last trial of an Occupy Wall Street activist will begin, when 25-year-old Cecily McMillan faces charges that she assaulted a police officer, Grantley Bovell, on March 17, 2012, during a 6-month anniversary demonstration at Zuccotti Park. In a decision issued yesterday, State Supreme Court Judge Ronald A. Zweibel decided that the information contained in Bovell's internal disciplinary file isn't relevant to the case and that the defense can't see any part of it. But McMillan's lawyer argues that this officer has assaulted and falsely arrested people before, and that the file can help them prove it. Stolar, McMillan's attorney, calls the judge's decision "disappointing." "Internal affairs investigated him and lawsuits were filed," he says of Bovell. "That's sufficient allegations that tell me something is going on, and that he did get some internal discipline on some of them. The judge basically says that unless you can make a showing that there's something in the file that shows your client is innocent, you can't have the file."

$4.5 Million Settlement In Scott Olsen’s Lawsuit Against Oakland Police

March 21, 2014 Staff, www.wecopwatch.org ,
Mr. Olsen had only been at the demonstration for a matter of minutes before OPD commanders gave the order to use munitions on the assembled crowd. He was shot 18 seconds later. Lederman explained, “The commanders knew the teargas and flashbangs would cause people to panic and run, yet they elected to shoot SIM into the densely packed crowd and it is only a matter of luck that more people weren’t injured as severely as Scott Olsen or killed. If the police had done sufficient planning for the demonstration and followed their own Crowd Control Policy, the use of weapons could have entirely been avoided. After all, no other Bay Area city responded to Occupy with SIM or teargas and no other city has incurred the enormous costs that the people of Oakland have as a result.” “The cost is not only money,” added Olsen. “If people can’t speak out without fear of being shot we don’t really have democracy.”

Montreal : Reflections From Inside A Police Kettle

March 20, 2014 Stefan Christoff, www.mediacoop.ca
After spending hours in a Montréal police kettle on late winter afternoon, your heartbeat is quick and your mind is racing, full of reflections on the inherent institutional violence of the police. Taking the streets today for the annual protest against police brutality was an obvious and necessary choice. Over recent months Montréal has seen a growing wave of police killings that target the most vulnerable in society. Transmitting the tragedy involved in these police killings, for the ones lost, their loved ones and community is impossible to convey with one protest, or in these simple words. Until today there is no justice for all those killed by Montréal police, no serious legal process or public accounting on this horrifying wave of police killings in our city.

Judge: FBI Explain Withholding Records Of Occupy Houston Assassination Plot

March 19, 2014 Carol Christian, www.chron.com ,
A federal judge has ordered the FBI to explain why it withheld some information requested by a graduate student for his research on a plot to assassinate Occupy Houston protest leaders. Shapiro said in his complaint that the existence of an assassination plot against Occupy Houston's leaders became known through the FBI's earlier release of information in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. "According to one of the released records, ... [REDACTED] planned to gather intelligence against the leaders of the protest groups and obtain photographs, then formulate a plan to kill the leadership via suppressed sniper rifles...," Shapiro stated in his complaint. Shapiro requested additional information from the FBI in January 2013. "There is presently a vigorous and extraordinarily important debate in the United States about the authority of the government to conduct extrajudicial killings on American soil," the complaint stated.

Police Attack Student Protesters in San Fransisco

March 19, 2014 Tyler Kingkade, www.huffingtonpost.com , , ,
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges said that unless CCSF shows remarkable improvement, the commission will proceed with revoking its accreditation in July 2014, effectively shutting down the school. Demonstrators claim that Agrella does not have their best interests in mind, in light of a tabled proposal that would've raised administrators' pay by 19 percent. Agrella said there are no plans to hand out raises, while three vice chancellors are getting 10 to 13 percent more than their approved salaries, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, faculty have seen their salaries cut in recent years. Campus and city police on Thursday blocked the entrance to Conlan Hall, where the protesters had planned to stage a sit-in. In the clash that followed, two protesters were arrested, including one who was pepper sprayed.

Account from Inside Parliament as Anti-Protest Bill Passes in Australia

March 17, 2014 Nicola Paris, www.counteract.org.au , ,
So this evening I paid a visit to the Victorian State Parliament with a group of around 30 other people. A diverse mix of folk – amongst them unionists, lawyers, environmentalists, people who could get their house bulldozed for the East West tunnel, people who care about peace, refugees and transparency and democracy. We were there to watch the Summary Offences and Amendments Sentencing Bill (Anti Protest Bill) get passed. A law which will allow police unprecedented discretionary powers to ‘move on’ peaceful protesters, and others they might suspect of a fairly broad range of things, from public places.

Death of Teen in Turkey Awakens Dormant Gezi Spirit

March 14, 2014 Binnaz Saktanber, roarmag.org , , ,
After the police cracked down on the Gezi protests, people retreated to neighborhood forums. Folks gathered in their local parks all over the country to discuss the future of Occupy Gezi. Some forums had thousands of participants, some just a dozen. The consensus seemed to be that it was time for a new phase for the movement, which began to concentrate on solidifying the momentum that had been created by the protests; preserving the “Gezi Spirit,” as protesters called it — and even strategizing how to make the AKP (Justice and Development Party) lose the upcoming local elections of March 30. Yet neither the forums nor the social media were devoid of dissidence. Some in the Gezi crowd, most not just emotionally exhausted but physically injured as well, insisted that the street protests had to continue. Others argued that going out on the streets was way too dangerous and had no productive value at that juncture in time.

The Case Against Bill Bratton

March 12, 2014 Josmar Trujillo, www.blackagendareport.com , ,
If Bill de Blasio is really a progressive, why did he bring back the architect of Stop-and-Frisk as his police commissioner? When it comes to aggressive policing gospel Bratton is the “pastor of the flock.” Bratton seems the least qualified to make the changes that are “desperately needed to relieve communities of color living in what many see as a racialized police state.”

Thousands Take to Streets in Turkey After Police Kill Teenager

March 12, 2014 Constanze Letsch, The Guardian ,
Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Turkey in protest and mourning after 15 year old Berkin Elvan died after weeks in a coma. The teenager was shot in the head with a police tear gas canister during protests in Istanbul. The teenager's death raises the number of deaths from last summer's protests to seven, at least four directly resulting from police violence. Turkish police have been accused of using excessive force against the protesters in Istanbul's Gezi Park and in demonstrations that spread all over the country.

Protesters March Over ‘Accidental’ Taser Death of Miami Beach Teen

March 11, 2014 David Quinones, www.reuters.com , ,
The death of Hernandez-Llach, and several other incidents, have placed Miami Beach police under intense public scrutiny, triggering protests calling for a change in the way officers use the stun guns known as Tasers. Four days ago, embattled Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez announced he would resign next month. The death of Hernandez-Llach has also reignited a debate about whether the electrical shock the Taser delivers can sometimes trigger cardiac arrest when fired at the chest area. "The fact that he was shot in the chest is something we are analyzing," said Jose J. Rodriguez, a lawyer for Hernandez-Llach's family. "We're working with the assumption for now that the Taser caused his death."
kent state

Kent State Truth Tribunal Seeks US Govt Accountability for Killing of 4 Unarmed Students

March 10, 2014 Staff, www.sparrowmedia.net , , ,
The Kent State Truth Tribunal (KSTT) is seeking US government accountability for the killing of four unarmed students and the injury of nine others by US military personnel on May 4, 1970 at a Kent State University anti-Vietnam war rally. The Kent State killings gained national attention in 1970 leading to mass protests and student strikes across the United States. Witnesses and historians have asserted a pronounced role by the FBI before and during the shootings, and command responsibility that pointed to Ohio governor James Rhodes’ collusion. In response to the surge of activism following Kent State, on May 5, 1970 President Nixon said: “This should remind us all once again that when dissent turns to violence it invites tragedy. It is my hope that this tragic and unfortunate incident will strengthen the determination of all the nation’s campuses, administrators, faculty and students alike to stand firmly for the right which exists in this country of peaceful dissent and just as strong against the resort to violence as a means of such expression.”

Coming Home to Roost: American Militarism, War Culture, and Police Brutality

March 9, 2014 Colin Jenkins www.hamptoninstitution.org ,
Essentially, the hate that Malcolm X spoke of, historically reserved for "defenseless black people," is now developing into indiscriminate rage - targeting poor and working-class people of all colors throughout the US. Through this ongoing process, it is becoming apparent that even white privilege, in itself, is beginning to lose its immunity from this unaccountable wrath. The 2011 beating of a homeless schizophrenic man, Kelly Thomas, in a transit parking lot in Fullerton, California confirmed this wrath. The incident was, unbeknown to officers, recorded by security cameras on the night of July 5, 2011, and later viewed by millions of Americans as the officers' trial was closely followed. Thomas was unarmed and posed no threat at the time of the beating. "The surveillance camera footage shows Thomas being beaten, clubbed and stunned with a Taser by police." [73]Thomas suffered a coma and died five days later in a hospital bed.
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