On the Red Lake sovereign nation land located in what is today known as northern Minnesota, an occupation has started at a location above the Enbridge-owned pipeline built without permission of the Red Lake Nation in 1949 (hashtag #RLblockade). Already a helicopter from Enbridge briefly landed next to the site (video), near the town of Leonard.
It is expected if the occupation proceeds for three days, the flow of oil – which may include controversial tar sands bitumen extracted from Alberta, Canada – will have to be shut down. The 72-hour countdown has started around roughly 3PM Thursday.
Supporters have been invited onto the site by tribal members to support the blockade, and currently volunteer media from the new UneditedMedia collective, TC Indymedia & [informally] OccupyMN are on site. Internet access appears stable enough for @uneditedcamera to periodically livestream as the camp takes shape for the long haul, also aided by mild weather. Also @samRichards10 and Robert DesJarlait (@r_desjarlait) are providing updates. Desjarlait tweeted “This isn’t a blockade, as some have reported. There is nothing to block. It is a non-confrontational protest.” However, it does have potential consequences akin to that created by a blockade. Read the rest of this entry →
Each year there are in Washington about ten big demonstrations.
In the last thirty years eight demonstrations attracted even more than 500,000 participants. (Wikipedia)
1969-11-15 Against the War in Vietnam
1971-04-24 Against the War in Vietnam
1987-10-11 For lesbian and gay rights
1989 April March for Women’s lives
1993-04-25 For lesbian and gay rights
1995-10-16 Million Man March
2000-11-02 CallDC for God’s move in this nation
2004-04-25 March for Women’s lives
The result of these demonstrations was disappointing. They hardly influenced politicians and the pressure on the 1% was minimal. Demonstrations and other mass actions have a propagandistic effect but it is not a real force politicians have to take into account. Mass actions also divide the 99% because they hinder the normal life of many citizens as is obvious with a strike in the public transport. – A Diversity of Tactics must be used to have success.
In mass actions as demonstrations, petitions, strikes, even referendums and other electoral events many people protest at the same time against decisions. But successes are not encouraging.
By Staff | Fight Back News – original article here
Rachel Lang of the National Lawyers Guild speaking at City Hall protest (Fight Back! News/Staff)
Minneapolis, MN – More than 50 people rallied inside City Hall here, July 24 to demand all charges be dropped against members and supporters of Occupy Homes who were arrested defending the Cruz family home. In recent weeks, city prosecutors added the charge of third degree riot – a gross misdemeanor which carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a $3000 fine – to the original trespassing charge. The 14 were arrested May 30 in a peaceful protest at the Cruz family home.
Speaking in City Hall, Rachel Lang of the National Lawyers Guild announced the start of a campaign to press city officials to drop the charges. Other speakers included hip-hop artist Brother Ali, Michael Friedman of the Legal Rights Center and Dave Bicking, formerly of the Minneapolis Civilian Police Review Authority.
The decision of city officials to escalate the charges against anti-foreclosure protesters is an attempt to attempt to intimidate activists. The protests organized by Occupy Homes have garnered international media coverage and has been successful in saving the homes of those hit by foreclosures.
Other demands put forward at the protest were that, “All police, including Chief Dolan, who used violence against peaceful protesters be formally disciplined,” and that “no more public resources be used to help banks evict our neighbors.”
‘Our Lives, Our Rights’ campaign asserts the right to refuse to fight
In response to the catastrophic, immoral war in Afghanistan and the ceaseless epidemic of military suicides, active-duty U.S. troops along with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have launched a nation-wide campaign to educate and assist service members in their right to refuse to fight. Click here for news coverage of the campaign.
The founders of the campaign are war resisters and active-duty service members who are currently refusing to participate in the war any longer.
This campaign is called “Our Lives, Our Rights.” Its purpose is to reach-out to service members throughout the entire U.S. military in everyway we can—passing out flyers on bases, sending care packages, building an online and media presence, creating organizing teams in military units, and more—to spread the message that the officers and politicians do not care about our lives, and that we have rights as service members. Above all, we hold that the most fundamental right we have is to refuse to deploy to the absurd, immoral war in Afghanistan.
As the politicians lie and stumble over themselves to explain why we must endlessly occupy Afghanistan, and while the generals refuse to address the criminal negligence for troops with PTSD, countless lives are literally being thrown away. It’s a critical time for service members to know about their rights and how to exercise them.
Thousands of U.S. service members today qualify to become Conscientious Objectors, whether or not they have deployed before, entitling them to be exempt from deployment and a discharge with full benefits. Others who are compelled to go AWOL also have legal rights and options. Those with psychological trauma, diagnosed or not, have the right to demand adequate treatment and exemption from deployment. But these rights are unknown to most—so we want to make sure all service members know with this campaign.
Those who resist the war or advocate for their interests can face harassment, intimidation and denial of rights by their chain of command, or need help properly exercising their rights. This campaign will provide a community of support from other service members and veterans, expose mistreatment by the chain of command, and assist service members in the process.
We believe this campaign has the potential to save the lives of scores of U.S. service members and present a real challenge to the generals and politicians who are orchestrating the destruction of so many lives at home and abroad. To maximize the potential of the campaign, we need your help.
Here’s how you can help the ‘Our Lives, Our Rights’ campaign reach thousands of U.S. service members all over the world:
Hasan Jamali / AP Riot police fire tear gas toward Bahraini anti-government protesters throwing petrol bombs during clashes after a march to recognize protesters who have lost their vision after being shot in the eye with bird shot, rubber bullets or tear gas canisters during past clashes Thursday, June 7, 2012, in Sitra, Bahrain
(MANAMA, Bahrain) — Riot police in Bahrain fired tear gas and stun grenades Friday as tens of thousands of protesters staged the biggest anti-government demonstrations in weeks in the divided Gulf nation.
Opposition groups called for major rallies after a prominent rights activist, Nabeel Rajab, was placed back in detention earlier this week on fresh charges linked to his social media posts.
Bahrain has experienced near daily protests for 16 months caused by an uprising by the kingdom’s Shiite majority seeking greater political rights from the Western-backed Sunni monarchy. At least 50 people have died in the unrest since February 2011.
There were no immediate reports of injuries from Friday’s street battles, which left piles of burning trash and clouds of stinging tear gas in the western outskirts of the capital, Manama.
Bahrain’s rulers have crucial support from neighboring Saudi Arabia, but are under pressure from their U.S. allies to reopen dialogue with Shiite opposition factions. A new government initiative for talks is expected to be announced next week. But main Shiite groups have already signaled that negotiations are futile unless the ruling dynasty agrees to give up its near total control of government affairs in the strategic island, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Earlier Friday, a defense lawyer said a court hearing is planned next week for an 11-year-old boy detained for allegedly taking part in the anti-government protests.
The lawyer, Mohsen al-Alawi, said the sixth-grade student is scheduled to appear in court on Monday on charges of joining an illegal gathering and other claims related to the ongoing unrest.
Al-Alawi said the boy, Ali Hasan, was arrested last month and took his school exams behind bars. He is among the youngest suspects detained in Bahrain’s crackdowns.
On April 26th 2012, the US House of representatives voted on HR 3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) [1]. The entire Massachusetts congressional delegation voted against CISPA, but it still passed the house by a vote of 248 – 168 [2]. In the coming weeks, CISPA (or similar cybersecurity legislation) will likely come up for a vote in the Senate, so it is imperative that we contact our Senators and ask them to vote against this overreaching surveillance bill. Here’s why: CISPA would legalize an oppressive degree of domestic surveillance with no accountability or democratic oversight.
(1) CISPA relies on an oppressive degree of surveillance.
CISPA invites private industry to a government-sponsored fishing expedition. Sections (b)(1)(A)(i) and (b)(1)(B)(i), allow “cyber security providers” and “self-protected entities” to “…use cyber security systems to identify and obtain cyber threat information”. This means that any business can eavesdrop, collect the contents of your communications, analyze who you’re talking with and what you’re saying, and turn that information over to the government, without a warrant — as long as they claim they are doing it in the spirit of cyber security. Currently, laws such as the Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act prevent companies from monitoring your private communications [4]. Would you feel comfortable if the post office opened all of your letters, photocopied them, and shared that information with the government? Of course not! But that is exactly what CISPA would do with your electronic communications.
Amendment IV – Bill of Rights
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Read the rest of this entry →
Neil Clark, a contributor to Britain’s Guardian newspaper, says Western states are using the recent tragedy in Houla as a pretext for a possible intervention – as they did in 1999 in Yugoslavia and in 2011 in Libya.
Russia warns that the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution condemning the Syrian leadership for last week’s Houla massacre risks derailing the peace plan. Moscow called it premature because the investigation is ongoing, and said the resolution is putting pressure on the Security Council, where Russia is resisting foreign military action. Read the rest of this entry →
As a preface to this post, we would like to point out that this man clearly says that “this is a war”, a civil war that the governments, corporations and banks that run them, and the media they control have declared on their own people. In the United States, the right to bear arms does not make any distinction as to if that right to bear arms applies to the only effective weapon left available to the people of the world [computers and information tech.]. As it stands in the current world we live in, we are sure that most people can recognize that your right to own a handgun or other firearm is null and void if you recognize that the armies of the world now use drones and satellites to target and kill people from afar, before you would ever have a chance…. like the constitution clearly allows, to stand your ground and fight for a revolution.
Whether you love them or hate them, you’ve without a doubt heard of the hacktivist collective Anonymous. Government officials have claimed that the next major terrorist attack will be carried out over cyberspace, and the feds have all but called Anonymous the next al-Qaeda. Recently an alleged member of the group made claims that Anonymous is perhaps the most powerful organizations in the world. That person, a hacktivist using the handle Commander X, joins us to explain his allegations and discuss the future of Anonymous.
More than 400,000 filled the streets of Montreal this week as a protest over a 75 percent increase in tuition has grown into a full-blown political crisis. After three months of sustained protests and class boycotts that have come to be known around the world as the “Maple Spring,” the dispute exploded when the Quebec government passed an emergency law known as Bill 78, which suspends the current academic term, requires demonstrators to inform police of any protest route involving 50 or more people, and threatens student associations with fines of up to $125,000 if they disobey. The strike has received growing international attention as the standoff grows, striking a chord with young people across the globe amid growing discontent over austerity measures, bleak economies and crushing student debt. We’re joined by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for CLASSE, the main coalition of student unions involved in the student strikes in Quebec, and Anna Kruzynski, assistant professor at the School of Community and Public Affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. She has been involved in the student strike as a member of the group, Professors Against the Hike.
Guests:
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the spokesperson for CLASSE, the main coalition of student unions involved in the student strikes in Quebec, Canada.
Anna Kruzynski, assistant professor at the School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University in Montreal. She’s been involved in the student strike as a member of Professors Against the Hike.
At the Chicago NATO Summit, after the rally off Cermak and Michigan, May 20th 2012. Police surrounded protesters and box off one group from the rest of the rally. Without any dispersal order, the police leading with batons and violence, started pressing thousands of protesters through a narrow exit. Towards the end of the video a independant journalist is attacked after filming police violence, his camera broken in the incident.
Stories From A Street Medic Involved In NATO Protests In Chicago, May 2012
all day i’ve wanted to be left alone, yet needed to be around others.
i don’t remember how i ended up at the front of the lines.
the first anti-capitalist march i went on was proof enough that my instinct is to cut away, dart through the crowd, and get to the front as swiftly as possible to deescalate the situation as quickly as possible.
or at least be there to provide any services within the skill-set of an energy mosh-medic.
so i guess i arrived there on auto-pilot.
be aware, i did not panic through all of this.
when they (cpd) first started shoving us back, i felt confused and in danger.
my perception snapped into slow motion.
(though there remain some gaps in my memory of it all)
what i noticed in those first split seconds was the commanding officer stepping forward. walking down the line. assaulting every other protester in passing.
prepping the army. leading by example. Read the rest of this entry →
There are still dozens of people held in jail in Chicago after the NATO protests. In addition, the police bloodied upwards of 90 people on Sunday, according to the National Lawyers Guild’s Sarah Gelsamino.
For all the great work that the National Lawyers Guild does, raising bail is not something that they can legally do for their clients. That is up to individuals and organizations not legally representing the imprisoned.
An ad hoc group of CANG8 activists has announced a fundraiser at:
Carey’s Lounge, 2251 W. Devon Avenue,
Sunday night beginning at 8 PM
Suggested donation: $10 – no one turned away for inability to pay
All funds raised will go directly to those whom the Guild is able to identify as people who, as friends and family members, are trying to raise bail funds for their loved ones.
I know that most of you chose the life in uniform because you love your country; because you believed in what that uniform stood for; because you wanted to serve and protect… but I also know that deep down inside you sense that something has gone terribly wrong.
You’ve watched with the rest of us as elected officials have incrementally legislated our constitutional rights away, you’ve watched as the state surveillance apparatus has expanded like a cancer through the heart of the nation, and you’ve watched as the corruption has become more and more blatant. I can understand why you haven’t wanted to acknowledge the implications of what you are witnessing. To face the reality of what is happening would mean admitting that you’ve been betrayed, and it would mean coming to terms with the fact that you… are working… for criminals.
I don’t envy your position. I know your job depends on you following orders. I know you have families to support and bills to pay, and I know that if you stand up you could loose everything… but what you need to understand is that continuing to submit to unconstitutional, and immoral orders will not protect you from what is coming. Read the rest of this entry →
Thousands of marchers gathered in Chicago today to continue a week of criticism directed at the arms industry, NATO, and the austerity measures carried out against social service providers on the local level.
The first of three marches on Saturday focused attention on the closures of half of the city of Chicago’s neighborhood mental health clinics as 2-3 thousand people congregated in front of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home at 4228 N. Hermitage.
Around 3:30pm, Saturday, approximately 1,000 marchers gathered at Daley Plaza to protest the raid of a Bridgeport home and terrorism charges levied against three anti-NATO activists — a group dubbed the NATO 3, inspiring a currently trending campaign on twitter with the keyword #NATO3.
A third march, the Anti-Capitalist march, had been called to meet at the statue commemorating the international labor movement in Haymarket Square at Randolph and Desplaines on the Near West Side.
Several hundred people from the #NATO3 group marched to the South Loop, and in attempting to meet the “Anti-Capitalist” march at Haymarket were divided and redirected by the Chicago Police Department into several smaller groups. By the time the disparate marches converged near Randolph and Desplaines around 6:30pm, the police department had repeatedly stopped the marchers at intersections as the different groups attempted to reach each other, walking through the closed-off downtown streets in 90 degree heat.
One march headed west on Harrison Street over the south branch of the Chicago River, a second became kettled at State and Congress, while the third mustered at 175 N. Desplaines, and proceeded south towards the others. After converging near Madison and Jefferson, the larger gathering moved north, then east, to turn south onto State Street, when double lines of police on foot and bicycles again met, stopped, and kettled the crowd of approximately 1,500, arresting several, while using batons to beat several more. The crowd worked its way south on State Street, and as it neared Taylor, it was again hemmed in, and in response to some provocation (likely the rapid brandishing of metal batons by officers) the noise level in the crowd increased. Around ten people in the assembly were beaten.
PRESS RELEASE
Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild
National Lawyers Guild Refutes Molotov Cocktail Claim Against Protesters, Calls for Their Immediate Release
National Lawyers Guild Condemns Preemptive Police Raids & Unlawful Searches on the Streets
Early morning house raid in Bridgeport and harassment of activists indicates intolerance of free speech rights
NOTE: Press conference to be held TODAY (5-17-12) at 5:30pm at 3340 W. Fillmore Street, the Chicago Police Department’s Organized Crime Division
Chicago, IL — The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns a preemptive police raid that took place at approximately 11:30pm Wednesday in the Bridgeport neighborhood, and instances of harassment on the street, in which Chicago police are unlawfully detaining, searching, and questioning NATO protesters. The Bridgeport raid was apparently conducted by the Organized Crime Division of the Chicago Police Department and resulted in as many as 8 arrests.
(today confirmed that 11 were arrested in this illegal and un-warranted raid, this morning the 18th we received news that 4 have been released without charges after being detained for over 24 hours.) Read the rest of this entry →
CPD’s plan to detain & search reporters, confiscate equipment, & book if arrested.
Beginning with the foreboding words, “NOT INTENDED FOR GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. FOR MEDIA GUIDANCE ONLY” CPD has begun prepping mainstream press for this weekend’s actions. While the entire PDF can be seen here (generally distributed, nonetheless): http://www.inba.net/userfiles/file/CPDgroundrules_051612.pdf, some important “Ground Rules” are clearly intended for independent journalists. Such as:
”…media access generally will be the same as public access. Credentials will, however, allow media personnel access to media-only areas. No “cutting” in and out of police lines will be permitted, or “going up against their backs.” Those who follow protesters onto private property to document their actions are also will be subject to arrest if laws are broken.”
”Any member of the media who is arrested will have to go through the same booking process as anyone else. Release of equipment depends on what part the equipment played in the events that led to the arrest.”
”…the Chicago Police Department does not intend to “break ground” in terms of enforcing the Illinois eavesdropping law. In short, police will not interfere if we videotape or record audio of police activities, including arrests.”
”Reporters who carry backpacks should be prepared to show their content to police. You may be asked to fire up and demonstrate any equipment that does not look familiar to officers.”
”It is the intent of Chicago Police to provide close access, with direct vision and contact with those entering and leaving events/marches/rallies. But police emphasized that those who choose to walk amid the protesters are “on your own.”
Leading dissident political analyst and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of linguistics Noam Chomsky voiced his support for planned protests at the 18-21 May NATO summit in Chicago. Chomsky notes how–according to US and NATO propaganda and the logic of the Cold War–NATO should have disbanded with the Warsaw Pact in 1991. It’s continued existence and indeed, extension east to former Warsaw Pact countries, shows that NATO became an “international intervention force under U.S. command” with an “official commitment” to “defend the global energy system.” Prof. Chomsky winds up by noting that “a protest against NATO is in fact a protest against a vast military machine which of course has no counterpart anywhere and the prospect of endless war and destruction.” Finally, he encourages protestors to link up with the Free Bradley Manning Contingent in support of Manning, who allegedly leaked classified materials to Wikileaks in an action unparalleled since Daniel Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers.
For a full calendar of actions please visit the NATO Protest website.
Build up to WW3 – Philippines & U.S. stage War Games in face of CHINA warning
U.S. and Philippine commandos waded ashore on Wednesday in a mock assault to retake a small island in energy-rich waters disputed with China, part of a drill involving thousands of troops Beijing had said would raise the risk of armed conflict. Read the rest of this entry →
Occupy’s May Day General Strike was a surprising and bold success for the visceral side of the movement. While most of Occupy put its energy into building coalitions with “legacy progressive groups”, labor unions and immigrant rights organizations, these efforts did not yield the anticipated results. In New York, for example, despite amassing a coalition of over a hundred organizations and rallying a crowd of more than 30,000, occupiers were thwarted in their attempts to shut down banks or re-occupy Wall Street. And some Zuccottis have complained that union representatives actively blocked an attempt to lead the crowd toward direct action at the end of the night. Meanwhile in Seattle, Oakland, San Francisco, New Orleans and elsewhere, anarchists using Black Bloc tactics stole the show.
On websites and forums, anarchists are rejoicing the spectacular showing of Black Bloc. “American anarchists haven’t experienced this much positive public attention since the euphoria and aftermath of N30 in Seattle,” writes one commentator. For many, the Black Bloc represents a tactical innovation that suggests the future of Occupy. “Occupy is dead, long live the Black Bloc,” writes another. An anarchist in New Orleans described how the status quo was unprepared for their tactics: “the Anti-Capitalism march caught the police off-guard and has the media dumb-founded. A full 24-hours later the Times Picayune has said nothing about the Anti-Capitalist March, only making mention of the permitted march that happened earlier in the day.”
In Oakland, the Black Bloc, which made up a large portion of the May Day General Strike, displayed a coordinated tactical philosophy – including the de-arresting of comrades, throwing eggs filled with paint, using homemade smoke-creating incendiaries to confuse police, and the rejection of media – that suggests prior planning, ongoing innovation and increasing sophistication. And Black Bloc tactics are just one aspect of the overall rejuvenation of anarchism that is happening right now including the increase of infoshops (there are two near Occupy Oakland: The Holdout and The Longhaul); the creation of bottom-up solidarity networks to replace top-down unions; providing free food on the model of Food Not Bombs; offering a compelling DIY aesthetic.
Anarchist occupiers are energized and their visceral tactics are attracting members. Now, the power of the Black Bloc is growing within Occupy and pushing the movement in unexpected directions.
Round 7 goes to the Black Bloc – now let’s see what we can do for the rest of May! adbusters.org
New York (CNN) — In the spirit of spring rebirth, the Occupy movement is ramping up activities as warm weather blankets the country. But while the season is typified by a reawakening of life outdoors, demonstrators are using sleep to get their points across. They call it “sleepful protest.”
The sleeping bags started appearing on the corner of Wall and Broad streets across from the New York Stock Exchange on April 9. A civil rights attorney sympathetic to the Occupy movement provided the legal justification for the move in the form of a court ruling from 2000. A federal district court judge said people can sleep on sidewalks as a form of political expression as long as they take up no more than half of the sidewalk and don’t block any doors.
Occupy organizers declared a month ago that the movement would be planning a comeback in the spring and summer. Some city and state governments, armed with new ordinances aimed at the Occupy movements, are ready to prevent demonstrators from re-establishing encampments. Read the rest of this entry →
if you thought hacktivists only messed with the FBI on Fridays, think again.
On Wednesday the Federal Bureau of Investigation admitted they are fighting a losing battle in cyberspace.
Shawn Henry, the FBI executive assistant director said fighting on the future “battleground” has been harder than initially thought.
“I don’t see how we ever come out of this without changes in technology or changes in behavior, because with the status quo, it’s an unsustainable model,” Henry told The Wall Street Journal.
“Unsustainable in that you never get ahead, never become secure; never have a reasonable expectation of privacy or security,” he added
Henry has gone on record saying he believes “the cyber threat is an existential one, meaning that a major cyber-attack could potentially wipe out whole companies,” said Henry on the FBI news website. Read the rest of this entry →
“Stripping Protestors In Pink Bras Crashed Bank Of America CEO Brian Moynihan’s Speech,” declared Business Insider on March 8, showing Moynihan’s stern photo with a pink bra playfully dangling in the air beside him.
It’s true, things did get a bit wild at Citi’s Financial Services conference at New York’s Waldorf Astoria when Brian Moynihan got on stage and began flipping through his tedious powerpoint.
While the hotel security was busy watching anti-bank protesters rallying outside, CODEPINK cofounder Jodie Evans, dressed in a hot pink bustier, burst into the conference room. “Bust up Bank of America before it busts up America”, she shouted, before being hauled out by security guards. “As I was saying,” continued a deadpan Moynihan to the laughter of the crowd, returning to the dreary slides that tried to put a rosy spin on this dinosaur of a company whose share price has plummeted while it continues to foreclose on families’ homes and faces tens of billions of dollars in damages from lawsuits over mortgage investments.
Little did Moynihan know that the excitement at what is normally a bankers’ snoozefest had just begun. CODEPINK codirector Rae Abileah and I were already seated in the front of the room. Wearing dark business suits, we did our best to blend into the crowd of stodgy white men in black business suits. Read the rest of this entry →
Forget the past (Saddam, Osama, Gaddafi) and the present (Assad, Ahmadinejad). A bet can be made over a bottle of Petrus 1989 (the problem is waiting the next six years to collect); for the foreseeable future, Washington’s top bogeyman — and also for its rogue North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners and assorted media shills — will be none other than back-to-the-future Russian President Vladimir Putin.
And make no mistake; Vlad the Putinator will relish it. He’s back exactly where he wants to be: as Russia’s commander-in-chief, in charge of the military, foreign policy and all national security matters.
Anglo-American elites still squirm at the mention of his now legendary Munich 2007 speech, when he blasted the then George W Bush administration for its obsessively unipolar imperial agenda “through a system which has nothing to do with democracy” and non-stop overstepping of its “national borders in almost all spheres.” Read the rest of this entry →
H.R. 347 could make the First Amendment illegal. No one is really covering this bill and the major media call it non-controversial. The innocent sounding bill titled The Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act of 2011 was passed Tuesday with only three dissenting votes, and passed unanimously in the Senate. This bill dubbed the Anti-Occupy law was passed without one single Democrat speaking up for the first Amenndment.
Once this Bill is signed into law some believe it will make it a felony to excercise your first Amendment rights of Free Speech. Several of those commenting opined that the nearly unanimous vote proves that despite all the posturing both parties stand shoulder to shoulder in their defense of the greed and entitlement of the 1% from the rest of us. When you couple this with the indefinite detention of Americans in the National Defense Authorization Act it is clear that Obama is part of a ruling corporate oligarchy and is surely no Progessive.
WASHINGTON — The White House abruptly announced Monday that it had scuttled plans to hold the upcoming G-8 economic summit in Chicago, and would instead host world leaders at the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland.
It was an unusually late location change for a large and highly scripted international summit and came with little explanation from the White House. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel – the former White House chief of staff who personally lobbied President Barack Obama to hold the summit in Chicago – was informed only hours before the official announcement.
White House national security spokesman Tommy Vietor simply said that Camp David, the rustic retreat in the mountains of Maryland, was a setting that would allow for more intimate discussions among the G-8 leaders. He said security and the possibility of protests were not factors in the decision, noting that Obama would still host the NATO summit in his hometown of Chicago from May 20-21.
Thousands have taken to the streets of Moscow for two major rallies – for and against the outcome of the presidential vote. People on Manege Square celebrated Putin’s victory while those on Pushkin Square protested the result. Read the rest of this entry →
A Mohawk traditionalist charged with digging up a capped toxic landfill near his Akwesasne Reservation home told a St. Lawrence County judge he did not recognize the court or New York state law.
Larry Thompson appeared in court wearing a traditional Mohawk headdress for his arraignment on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.
The 57 year old was accompanied by a number of supporters, including several wearing Mohawk headdresses.
