Protest

Thousands Of Protesters Filing In For NATO Summit

September 1, 2014 teleSUR, www.telesurtv.net Resist! NATO, Protest, Stop the War, Wales

With just 5 days before the NATO summit in Wales kicks off, security is tightening and counter-NATO protesters are making their presence felt. In anticipation of a NATO summit in the Welsh city of Newport, activists have began to arrive, setting up a protest camp. It is expected that tens of thousands of people will join the camp in the days leading up to the summit, starting on Thursday. Newport is starting to resemble a fortress as the preparations are made with 3 meter high fences, barricades and roads blocked. Nine and half thousand police officers will also be in the city to protect the summit. According to a statement posted by the Stop the War Coalition website, the United States will at the two-day summit pressure Western powers “to increase their already huge military budgets at a time when poverty and inequality are soaring.” “None of the cuts would be necessary if the sums Britain spends on its military and armaments were invested in social need instead of the war machine,” said the coalition in a statement.

Bahraini Activist Begins Hunger Strike At Airport

September 1, 2014 Nada Akl, www.globalvoicesonline.org Resist! Bahrain, Democracy, Human Rights, Protest

Maryam Al-Khawaja, a Bahraini citizen and the Co-Director of the Gulf Center For Human Rights, was denied entry to her country today [August 30, 2014]. According to the organisation, she was planning to visit her father, prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is in prison and on his sixth day of a hunger strike. Her father was jailed during the harsh government crackdown which followed pro-democracy protests which swept Bahrain, starting on February 14, 2011. He is sentenced to life imprisonment. This is his second hunger strike. His first lasted for 110 days and ended after he was force-fed by authorities. After the authorities detained Maryam Al-Khawaja on unknown charges and confiscated her Danish passport (she holds both Danish and Bahraini citizenships), she announced on Twitter that she would go on hunger strike: I'm being detained in airport. Telling me I don't have Bahraini citizenship. I'm asking for proof. — Maryam Alkhawaja (@MARYAMALKHAWAJA) August 29, 2014

People Call For Demilitarization Of Springfield, Mass

August 30, 2014 Dan Warner, www.masslive.com Resist! Demilitarization, Police, Protest, Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — “Disarm the police! No justice, no peace!” protestors shouted at passing cars Thursday evening on the corner of State Street and Walnut Street. Cars, buses and even a police cruiser honked in support of the 75 protestors, who held signs showing solidarity with Ferguson, Missouri, protestors outside of the Arise for Social Justice offices. The protest focused on police militarization, misconduct and racial profiling issues. Protestors read poetry, gave speeches and led songs with a microphone hooked up to a loudspeaker on the corner. One organizer said that at a similar rally, a man came up to him and said police misconduct issues might be important in Ferguson, but don’t exist in Springfield. “If you or someone you know has been the victim of police violence or misconduct in the last year, raise your hand,” he called into the microphone. At least two dozen hands went up in the crowd.

#BlackLives Matter Bringing Hundreds To Ferguson

August 30, 2014 NewsOne Staff , www.newsone.com Resist! #BlackLivesMatter, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Ferguson, Protest

On August 28th, the “Black Lives Matters Ride” (BLM Ride) a national advocacy effort of #BlackLivesMatter, will bring concerned citizens from across the country to St. Louis, Missouri, as part of a national call to end state violence against Black people. The BLM Ride, organized in the spirit of the early 1960s interstate Freedom Rides to end racial segregation, is a call to action organized by advocates based in several states in close collaboration with the Organization for Black Struggle (OBS) and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE), the two lead organizations working with the Ferguson community in response to the shooting death of 18-year old Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. “The BLM Ride will bring together concerned citizens under which Black people can unite to end state sanctioned violence both in Ferguson, but also across the United States of America. In addition, it aims to end the widespread assault on Black life that pervades every stage of law enforcement interactions; be it in custody or in our communities,” notes Darnell L. Moore, ride co-organizer. On the issue of anti-Black state sanctioned violence, co-organizer Patrisse Cullors, states, “While Black people make up a mere 13% of the US population we make up more than a third of those killed in officer involved shootings across the country. We know that anti-Black racism in the form of vigilante violence is most often informed by law enforcement violence.”

Two Police Involved In Ferguson Abuse Removed From Force

August 30, 2014 Joel Currier, www.stltoday.com Resist! Ferguson, Police, Police the Police, Protest

Two police officers are no longer working at their departments due to their actions during the protests in Ferguson. A Glendale police officer suspended last Friday after commenting on Facebook that he thought Ferguson protesters should be "put down like rabid dogs," has been fired, officials say. Meanwhile, a St. Ann police lieutenant resigned Thursday after he pointed an assault rifle at protesters and cursed at them, officials said. Lt. Ray Albers had worked for the department for 20 years. Glendale Officer Matthew Pappert, suspended with pay last week, was fired Thursday after an internal investigation wrapped up Wednesday, said Glendale City Administrator Jaysen Christensen. Pappert's comments also included postings that said Ferguson protesters were "a burden on society and a blight on the community." Another posting said, "Where is a Muslim with a backpack when you need them?"

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.”

Target Of Block The Boat Imports Ammunition Into US

August 29, 2014 Darwin BondGraham, www.truth-out.org Resist! California, Gaza, Israel, Protest

Israeli-owned shipping company Zim, the target of recent port blockades organized by Palestinian solidarity activists in California, is importing millions of rounds of small arms ammunition into the United States each year. Pro-Palestinian activists in California stopped Israeli-owned cargo ships from unloading olives, wines and ceramics at busy marine terminals in Oakland and Los Angeles last week. Import records show, however, that Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., the Israeli company that was the target of last week's "port blockades," is also delivering millions of rounds of Israeli-manufactured small arms ammunition to the United States each year. Zim also delivers weapons systems components for the Israeli and Greek governments to contractors in the United States for repairs and upgrades. Activists in Oakland picketed the city's busy port for five days starting August 16, preventing longshore workers from unloading the Zim Piraeus, one of 89 ships in the Zim fleet. The Zim Haifa was scheduled to dock in Long Beach on Saturday, August 23, but protesters there said they delayed its unloading, too. In Washington, protesters rallied at the Port of Tacoma where another Zim ship was scheduled to arrive on August 25. Bills of lading for the vessels that docked in Oakland and Long Beach show mostly agricultural goods and building materials were carried in the ships' containers.

145 Arrested In #FightForFamilies Immigration Protest

August 29, 2014 Aaron Sankin, www.dailydot.com Resist! Civil Disobedience, Immigration, Protest, White House

Police arrested dozens of people at a protest in the front of the White House Thursday for engaging in an act of large-scale civil disobedience. The demonstration, which was dubbed Fight for Families, denounced the deportations of undocumented immigrants that separate children, who are often born in the United States, from their undocumented parents. A protest organizer pegged the number of people arrested at somewhere between 200 and 300; however, U.S. Park Police said in a statement that 145 protesters were arrested. The demonstrators were taken into custody for sitting down on the sidewalk in front of the White House and refusing move when ordered to do so by police. Calling the protest an act of ‟civil disobedience,” the arrests were intentional on the part of the demonstrators. “The folks who sitting there today were willing to get arrested and spend the day in jail to say that the immigration system splitting up families is wrong,” said Chita Tanjabi, a vice president at the National Organization for Women, who participated in the protest, but was not arrested.

Missouri Police Sued For $40 Million Over Actions In Ferguson

August 29, 2014 Carey Gillam, www.reuters.com Resist! Ferguson, Peace, Police, Protest

A group of people caught up in unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after a white officer killed a black teenager, sued local officials on Thursday, alleging civil rights violations through arrests and police assaults with rubber bullets and tear gas. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, says law enforcement met a broad public outcry over the Aug. 9 killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown with "militaristic displays of force and weaponry," (and) engaged U.S. citizens "as if they were war combatants." The lawsuit seeks a total of $40 million on behalf of six plaintiffs, including a 17-year-old boy who was with his mother in a fast-food restaurant when they were arrested. Each of the plaintiffs was caught up in interactions with police over a period from Aug. 11 to 13, the suit allege. Named as defendants are the city of Ferguson, St. Louis County, Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson, St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Delmar, Ferguson police officer Justin Cosmo, and other unnamed police officers from Ferguson and St. Louis County. Neither the city, county nor police departments had any immediate comment on the lawsuit.

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.

The Time For Burning Coal Has Passed

August 28, 2014 Claudia Ciobanu and Silvia Giannelli, www.ipsnews.net Resist! Coal, Europe, Fossil Fuels, Protest, Sustainability

“People have gathered here to tell their politicians that the way in which we used energy and our environment in the 19th and 20th centuries is now over,” says Radek Gawlik, one of Poland’s most experienced environmental activists. “The time for burning coal has passed and the sooner we understand this, the better it is for us.” Gawlik was one of over 7,500 people who joined an 8-kilometre-long human chain at the weekend linking the German village of Kerkwitz with the Polish village of Grabice to oppose plans to expand lignite mining on both sides of the German-Polish border. “It's high time to plan the coal phase-out now and show the people in the region a future beyond the inevitable end of dirty fossil fuels" – Anike Peters, Greenpeace Germany They were inhabitants of local villages whose houses would be destroyed if the plans go ahead, activists from Poland and Germany, and even visitors from other countries who wanted to lend a hand to the anti-coal cause. The human chain – which was organised by Greenpeace and other European environmental NGOs – passed through the Niesse river which marks the border between the two countries, and included people of all ages, from young children to local elders who brought along folding chairs. At least 6,000 people in the German part of Lusatia region and another 3,000 across the border in south-western Poland stand to be relocated if the expansion plans in the two areas go ahead.

Protesters March On West Side After Fatal Police-Involved Shooting

August 28, 2014 Jeremy Gorner, www.chicagotribune.com Resist! Chicago, Police, Protest, Violence

About 500 people marched on the West Side this evening to protest a police-involved shooting that claimed the life of an 18-year-old man on Sunday. Roshad McIntosh, 18, was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital after being shot by police at about 6:30 p.m. on the 2800 block of West Polk Street in the Lawndale neighborhood, officials said. Tonight, a crowd of people marched to the Harrison District headquarters, 3151 W. Harrison St. and then ended their journey through the neighborhood in a vacant lot right next to the two-story apartment building where McIntosh was shot. Police said he was armed. Organizers rallied the crowd from one of the back porches with chants through loudspeakers like "WHO ARE WE! WE'RE CHICAGO!" Tio Hardiman, the former head of the anti-violence group CeaseFire Illinois, was one of the speakers.

People In Los Angeles Demand Information On In-Custody Deaths

August 27, 2014 Bethania Palma Markus, www.truth-out.org Resist! LA, Police, Protest, Violence

Community activists continue to push the Los Angeles Police Department for transparency after two unarmed men died within days of each other as a result of violent stops by LAPD officers. But to date, no information has been given. Ezell Ford, 25, and Omar Abrego, 37, died on August 11 and August 2, respectively. Police placed a "security hold" on the autopsy reports of both men on August 15, meaning neither report will be released to the public until the hold is lifted. As of now, the LAPD has not released the names of the officers involved. The deaths happened within blocks of each other, and community outrage coincided with civil unrest in Ferguson, Missouri after police there shot unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown to death on August 9. Anger in Los Angeles has taken the form of peaceful marches and rallies seeking legal action against the officers involved. Keyanna Celina and community members rally in front of LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey's office on Thursday, August 21, demanding criminal charges for LAPD officers that killed unarmed Ezell Ford and Omar Abrego. (Photo: Bethania Palma Markus)Keyanna Celina and community members rally in front of LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey's office on Thursday, August 21, demanding criminal charges for LAPD officers that killed unarmed Ezell Ford and Omar Abrego. (Photo: Bethania Palma Markus)"It's an outrage and a disgrace; they're abusing their power," said Keyanna Celina from the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police. "There's nothing democratic about a family being denied the autopsy report and the officers' names."

Americans Protesting The Use Of Drones By Police

August 27, 2014 Pete Demetriou and Mike Hellgren, www.cbslocal.com Resist! Drones, Police, Protest

Community activists Thursday held a rally at City Hall against the recent acquisition of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – or drones – by the Los Angeles Police Department. According to the LAPD, these small aircrafts can only stay in the air for about 20 minutes and would have limited use in certain circumstances, such as hostage situations. KNX 1070’s Pete Demetriou reports about a dozen protesters with the Drone-Free LAPD/No Drones, LA! campaign staged a demonstration across from LAPD Headquarters downtown. The group first called for limits on the use of drone technology by the LAPD in an Aug. 20 letter (PDF) addressed to Mayor Eric Garcetti. “We believe the acquisition of drones signify a giant step forward in the militarization of local law enforcement that is normalizing continued surveillance and violations of human rights of our communities,” said coalition spokesman Hamid Kahn. The letter addressed to Garcetti referred to potential “mission creep” in using drone surveillance technology in partnership with programs such as the Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) program, which the group claims “has resulted in the openings of thousands of secret files on people engaging in perfectly innocent behavior.”

Block The Boat Campaign Continues In Washington State

August 27, 2014 Jill Mangaliman and Katrina Pestaño, www.seattleglobalist.com Resist! Boat, Israel, Palestine, Protest

At 6:30 a.m. bright and early on Saturday morning we joined hundreds in solidarity with Palestine in a community picket to stop the Zim Chicago ship from unloading its cargo at the Port of Tacoma. This action came in the wake of a recent victory, when 2,500 Oakland activists blocked another Zim ship for four days with help from the ILWU longshore men. “This is actually a call that came from Palestine Civil Society to boycott Israeli companies that are funding the Israeli occupation and war crimes in Gaza and Palestine,” said Amin Odeh from Voices for Palestine. Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. is the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel, and 10th largest in the world with total revenue of $3.7 billion in 2013. Friday night the Zim boat was delayed from coming to port in Tacoma, costing the company approximately $500,000. Blocking the boat puts a dent in the profits being sent to power Israel. After three weeks of heavy shelling and bombing in Gaza by Israeli forces, people around the world can no longer stay quiet and complacent. More than 5000 homes were destroyed, and the death toll has reached over 2,000 Palestinians, including 450 children killed and almost 10,000 wounded. UNICEF estimates that 373,000 Palestinian children have had direct traumatic experiences from the attack and will require psycho-social support.

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