Violence

Protect Bystanders Who Record Police

July 28, 2014 Debra Goodman, www.nydailynews.com Resist! NYPD, Police, Violence

Let no one forget: If not for the fact that a bystander with a camera phone captured Eric Garner’s confrontation with cops — and that the video then found its way to the Daily News — Garner’s death might have ended up like most all of the other approximately 1,000 complaints of chokeholds filed at the Civilian Complaint Review Board over the last five years: unsubstantiated allegations of police abuse. Instead, the officer who placed Garner in an apparent chokehold had his gun taken away and was placed on modified duty; another police officer was placed on desk duty, and four paramedics and EMTs were placed on modified duty. Moreover, the CCRB is revisiting those 1,000 “unsubstantiated” chokehold complaints, and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton has pledged to overhaul police training. It all happened because we could see, with our own eyes, a deeply disturbing, violent encounter between cops and an unarmed man. Yet, amazingly, the constitutional right of the bystander who recorded Garner’s death to have done so is not acknowledged in New York. In fact, the NYPD routinely arrests and threatens to arrest people who are filming them but not interfering with police activity. They did it to me. This unconstitutional practice needs to stop. That’s why, last week, I filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to confirm and enshrine this right to film or record the police.

Horrifying Details Continue To Emerge Of Massacre In Khuza’a

July 25, 2014 Philip Weiss and Adam Horowitz, www.mondoweiss.net Educate! Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Violence, Wars and Militarism

Yesterday we published a brief account of an apparent massacre in the Palestinian village Khuza’a, a village east of Khan Younis and close to the Israeli border in Gaza. That had been sent to Felice Gelman over Facebook and today, Yamen Radwan sent Gelman another brief message: “#Massacre_Khuza’a: stilling going on until now executions of civilians and wounded by Israeli forces in the streets of Khuza’a.” News reports of what happened, or is happening, in Khuza’a remain vague. Above, from Al Jazeera, is the only video news report we’ve been able to find. National Public Radio’s Emily Harris just now reported a telephone conversation with a woman who escaped the village after two days in a basement and who said that snipers were shooting people in the streets. The Gaza NGO Palestinian Centre for Human Rights included these details from Khuza’a in an daily report it issued today covering events from yesterday: At approximately 12:30, Israel forces that had moved into Khuza’a village, east of Khan Yunis, fired bullets and artillery shells at hundreds of Palestinian civilians who attempted to leave the village as there were reports about a one-hour coordination to evacuate casualties. Israeli forces fired also at ambulances and prevented them from entering the village.

Cecily McMillan On Brutality And Humiliation On Rikers Island

July 25, 2014 Cecily McMillan, www.nytimes.com Educate! Cecily McMillan, Prison, Rikers, Violence

I RECENTLY served 58 days of a three-month sentence on Rikers Island. I was convicted in May of assaulting a New York City police officer as the police cleared Zuccotti Park of Occupy Wall Street protesters in 2012. (I am appealing my conviction.) I got a firsthand experience that I did not seek of what it is like to live behind bars. Rikers is a city jail; it holds some 11,000 inmates who are awaiting trial or sentencing, or who have been convicted and sentenced to a year or less of time. During my incarceration, two correction officers were arrested on charges of smuggling contraband, including drugs, to inmates. The week after I was released, two more correction officers and a captain were arrested on charges of having beaten a handcuffed prisoner into unconsciousness in 2012. Last week, The New York Times reported on the “culture of brutality” on Rikers. The city is now investigating more than 100 reported violent assaults on inmates. None of this would surprise the inmates of the Rose M. Singer Center, the women’s barrack on the island, who routinely experience or witness brutality of all kinds. On one day in May, I was waiting outside the jail pharmacy for my daily A.D.H.D. prescription. A male officer began harassing me, and when I made the mistake of looking at his badge to get his number, he slammed his body into mine and shouted a sexual slur at me.

Denial Of 1st Amendment Rights Won’t Halt Nonviolent Resistance

July 24, 2014 Hendrick Voss, www.soaw.org Resist! School of the Americas, Torture, Violence, Wars and Militarism

Thousands of human rights activists have gathered every November for the demonstration since the first anniversary of the 1989 SOA graduate-led massacre of 16-year-old Celina Ramos, her mother Elba Ramos and six Jesuit priests at the University of Central America in El Salvador. The November Vigil commemorates those who have been killed by SOA/WHINSEC graduates, and calls for the closure of the institute, which perpetuates coups, torture, extrajudicial killings, and human rights abuses in the face of social and political problems. The SOA/WHINSEC made headlines in 1996 when the Pentagon released SOA training manuals that advocated torture, extortion and execution. Among its graduates are at least 11 dictators as well as leaders of infamous Central American death squads. Currently, SOA graduates are linked to the Honduran military coup and the repression campaign against social movements there, among other humanitarian crises.

FAQ On Failed Ceasefire Between Israel And Hamas

July 16, 2014 IMEU, www.imeu.org Educate! Hamas, Israel, Palestine, Violence, Wars and Militarism

Q - Why do you think Hamas didn't accept the terms of the ceasefire? RK - "Hamas has insisted that there be a lasting resolution of the basic problem of Israel's siege of Gaza, as was promised as part of the 2012 cease-fire, but never implemented in spite of Israel's recognition that Hamas scrupulously maintained the cease-fire until quite recently. The Egyptian proposal makes lifting of the siege conditional on Israel's approval, which means never." MR - "Hamas, and with it other Palestinian organizations such as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, have indicated that they were not consulted on the Egyptian cease-fire proposal, and that it has not been formally presented to them but rather released to the media after its terms were agreed with Israel.

Foreigners Serve As Human Shields In Gaza Hospital

July 16, 2014 Palestine Solidarity, www.palsolidarity.org Resist! Israel, Palestine, Violence, Wars and Militarism

Israel’s army fired four ‘warning’ missiles at the roof of El-Wafa rehabilitation hospital in Gaza City, Gaza. International volunteers now staying in the hospital in solidarity, have said they, “can hear missiles falling close by”. “The civilian population of Gaza is being bombed. We will stay with them in solidarity until the international community and our governments take action to stop Israel’s crimes against humanity.” States Swedish International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist, Fred Ekblad. The volunteers are citizens of USA, Spain, Sweden, Venezuela, France, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The first barrage of missiles hit the fourth floor of the hospital at 2:00AM. At approximately 17:00 a fifth missile hit the fourth floor of the hospital. “Windows and doors were blown out, broken glass everywhere, damage to the stairs, there’s a big hole at the impact area and the wall is burnt,“ reports Joe Catron, ISM activist, from the U.S. At around 20:00 Basman Alashi, executive director of the hospital, received an unidentified call from a person with a, “heavy Israeli accent”, asking if there were any injuries, whether there was any one in the top floor, and whether they were planning to evacuate the hospital.

Treat Immigrant Children As Refugees?

July 15, 2014 Anna Lekas Miller, www.wagingnonviolence.org Organize! Children, Immigrant Rights, Refugees, Violence, War On Drugs, Wars and Militarism

Last week, the news broke that another wave of unaccompanied migrant children crossed the border, which brings the number of unaccompanied minors that have attempted to escape into the United States since October to more than 52,000. Most of them are fleeing escalated gang violence in Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Unlike many migrants from Central America and Mexico, coming to the United States to escape economic hardship, this new wave of migrants is escaping brutal drug-related violence plaguing the region. For this reason, both immigrant justice activists and the United Nations High Commission on Refugees are calling upon the U.S. government —which has already allocated $116 million to process the deportations and pay the transportation of the most recent wave of children — to treat these migrants as refugees, allowing them to seek temporary or permanent asylum in the United States. Political instability and corruption in Central America allows drug trafficking gangs fighting for control of key smuggling routes to grow unchecked. The resulting violence has been called an undeclared war, with murder rates in Honduras being the highest in the world.

Men March To End Violence In Baltimore

July 13, 2014 Brew Editors, www.baltimorebrew.com Organize! Police abuse, Violence

Last night’s second annual 300 Men March to End Violence, from one end of North Avenue to the other, attracted about 250 marchers at any one time, but was not without a contingent of politicians and police brass. Marchers of all ages walked from Hilton Parkway in West Baltimore to the Baltimore Cemetery in East Baltimore and back, a total of about 10 miles. The organizers hope that a show of solidarity will encourage young people to put their guns down. Or in the words of Second District Councilman Brandon M. Scott: “Men, remember the true work begins today. Every one of us must continue to be seen and heard in our communities. Every able-bodied man in Baltimore must be positively engaged in their community and, most importantly, in the lives of our young people. If a male is not meeting that standard, then they are not a man in the true sense of the word.”

Sign Open Letter To End Israeli Occupation

July 12, 2014 Cecilie Surasky, www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org Educate! History, Israel, Palestine, Petitions, Violence

The last several days have been devastating. The weeks leading up to it have been horrifying. Since the beginning of the Israel’s Operation Protective Edge on July 8, 2014 upwards of 80 Palestinians have been killed and approximately 500 wounded by Israeli missiles and 2 Israelis have been wounded from rockets fired from Gaza. We have watched with sadness and anger as the deaths of children have mounted, racist mobs have rampaged, the fears of people throughout both Israel and Palestine have reached unbearable levels, and the collective punishment of the Palestinian people has intensified. In just the last few days, scores of Palestinians--with no place to hide--have been killed, while the entire population of Gaza experiences the terror of widespread bombing. Israelis have had to endure the fear of never knowing when or where the next rocket will fall.

American Calls For Global Intifada In Support Of Gaza

July 12, 2014 Eileen Fleming with Mohammad Asad, www.thearabdailynews.com Resist! Israel, Palestine, Protest, Violence

Gaza – Friday, July 11, Day 4 of the attack Where shall I start? How shall I start? Shall I start with the numbers which keep increasing and changing? 90 killed, mainly civilians. 600 injured. 140 demolished homes. Or should I start by mentioning all the different areas of the Gaza Strip that have been constantly hit, day and night. Nonstop. If it is only about numbers, then let me tell you all about thousands of Palestinian children who are terrified night after night, day after day by the sounds of the Israeli shelling. The children have deep feelings of insecurity when it is dark. And no shelters. The Israeli army has restarted their punitive home demolition policy, illegal under international law. Yesterday a six-story building where my relatives live in Khan Younis was hit and levelled to the ground. 106 relatives were made homeless.

First Nation Shines Spotlight On Violence Against Women

July 11, 2014 Johnathan Charlton, www.thestarphoenix.com Organize! Canada, First Nations, Violence, Women's Rights

A vicious attack against Marlene Bird in Prince Albert has spurred her home community, Montreal Lake Cree Nation, to keep the issue of violence against women in the public eye. When events like this happen, they're in the news for a while and then disappear, Chief Edward Henderson said. In August, the First Nation intends to start a fundraising campaign to establish an advocacy group, the Foundation for Aboriginal Women of Canada. Then, in November, it plans to co-host the first Canadian Indigenous Women Conference, which Henderson hopes will have a global reach in years to come. The idea behind the conference and the foundation is to be proactive, rather than reactive, Henderson said. "We're inviting people to come and join us and get it organized. We haven't worked out all the details yet; I know we've got some calls from other organizations that want to get involved, see how we can combine with all the other organizations (on the) nationwide issue of violence against First Nations women."

Ending Oppression To End Violence: Gaza In Context

July 11, 2014 AFSC, www.afsc.org Organize! History, Israel, Palestine, Violence

There are many calls made for de-escalation of violence by both Israelis and Palestinians. The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) joins our voice with those who say that violence and killing must end. Military escalation in Gaza, particularly a ground offensive, must also be avoided. However, calling for an end to current violence is not enough. To truly make a difference, we must all work to see the situation clearly, identify the root causes of the violence, and work to transform the systems that are perpetuating injustice and death. Collective punishment Following the June 11 kidnapping of three Israeli youth, Israel launched a campaign of collective punishment in the occupied Palestinian territory, a campaign where an entire population faced retaliation for the acts of individuals. In the West Bank, the Israeli military carried out raids in Palestinian cities and villages, detained at least 800 Palestinians without charge, destroyed homes, closed universities, restricted movement, and killed and injured a number of Palestinians. Israel also carried out bombing attacks against Gaza, while Palestinian factions fired periodic rockets into Israel.

Israel’s Attack On Gaza Kills At Least 8 Children

July 10, 2014 Jon Queally, www.mintpressnews.com Educate! Children, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Violence

At least eight children are among those who have been killed in the Gaza Strip over the last twenty-four hours, according to various reports, as the Israeli military continued to bombard the Palestinian enclave using naval ships, fighter jets, and aerial drones. According to a report from the Defense of Children International (DCI-Palestine), six children were killed when a building was leveled by a missile that may have been fired from an Israeli drone on Tuesday afternoon in the city of Khan Younis. According to the group: The five families that reside in the building evacuated immediately after an Israeli aerial drone fired a warning missile. A number of neighbors, however, gathered on the roof in an effort to prevent the bombing. Shortly after 3 p.m., an Israeli airstrike leveled the building, and killed seven people, including five children, on the spot and injured 28 others.

Reporting Saudi Arabia’s Hidden Uprising

June 17, 2014 Safa Alahmad, www.bbc.com Resist! Activism, Journalism, Protest, Saudi Arabia, Violence

Even inside Saudi Arabia, the protests in the coastal region of Qatif hardly ever make the news. It's nearly impossible for journalists to operate here. But I travelled in under the radar. I know the area well, as I was born and raised nearby. I visited the Eastern Province several times in the past two years without the knowledge of the Saudi authorities. I wanted to find out why activists from the country's Shia minority were risking their lives to demonstrate against the monarchy. How had frequent protests rumbled on without being silenced? The Eastern Province is home to most of Saudi Arabia's Shia Muslims. They make up less than 15% of the population, and many claim they suffer sectarian discrimination. The demonstrations in Saudi Arabia began in early 2011, when protesters demanded the release of nine men held for years without trial. They were emboldened by the Arab uprisings sweeping through the region. But in this conservative monarchy, dissent is rarely tolerated.

Coca Cola’s Evil Empire: Campaign To Stop Coke

June 16, 2014 Bernard Alvarez, www.thegic.org Resist! Coca Cola, Corporatism, Labor, police brutality, Strike, Unions, Violence

Dear Sisters & Brothers: Strong labor unions are critical to improve wages, working conditions and human rights for all workers and for democracies to flourish. For workers in Colombia and Guatemala, a strong union can also mean the difference between life and death. The Campaign to Stop Killer Coke originated to stop the gruesome cycle of violence against union leaders and organizers in Colombia in efforts to crush their union, SINALTRAINAL. Since then, violence, abuse and exploitation leveled against Coke workers and communities have been uncovered in other countries as well, notably China, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Mexico and Turkey. Colombia In Colombia, the importance of winning the struggle against Coke was best summed up by SINALTRAINAL Vice President Juan Carlos Galvis when he said: "If we lose this fight against Coke, First we will lose our union, Next we will lose our jobs, And then we will all lose our lives!"

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