Tune in Thursdays 4 to 5pm (PST), at 89.5FM in the northeast San Pablo Bay Area, or online at [is.gd/kJ1EUt].
Hosted by Dr.G., Minister of Information of the Northbay MDS.
Be a Community Journalist with our Community Journalist's Notebook [link].
Send news & info to [NorthbayMDS@) gmail.com]!
Northbay Uprising News scripts [link].
Archived webpages at (archive.org) and at (archive.is) are available even if the original is taken down. News links are provided for educational purposes only, and do not constitute an endorsement of political tendencies, or, of foreign governments. Circumvent "Error 451" [archive.is/WOZXx] by using the proxy server at [webproxy.to] or, by using Tor Browser [is.gd/r18EVD].
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ACTION CALENDER
A list of gatherings, workshops, and educational events in the greater Bay Area region
[indybay.org/calendar] [occupyoakland.org/calendar]Memorial for Brother John Hess
July 23
Saturday: Luncheon at 11:30 a.m., Memorial at 1 p.m.
ILWU Local 6 Hall, 99 Hegenberger Rd. Oakland, CA
For more information, please contact Brother Joe Berry: joeberry@igc.org.
Here is what Joe had to say about Brother John:
"Many on this list knew him as one of the main leaders of the lecturers in the CSU system, and especially at SFSU where he taguht for years since 1978, and finally as a CFA staff rep assigned to help build the lecturers’ council he had once led as Chair. He was also a major figure nationally in the contingent faculty movement. He was a founder and leader of Trade Unionists in Solidarity with El Salvador, TUSES (a CISPES chapter focused on union solidarity) in the 1980’s.
"He was a noted film teacher and scholar and one of the founding editors of the radical film journal “Jumpcut". He was married to Gail Sullivan, who pre-deceased him by 2 years, and who was herself a noted Bay Area labor figure, being a leader of Teamsters for a Democratic Union and the first woman to be elected as an IBT business agent in CA."
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Laborfest: Defend Public Education-Conference
Saturday, July 30, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Richmond High School - 1250 23rd St. Richmond, CA (Room TBA)
Defend Public Education, Charters: Connecting the Dots and Privatization - Conference
This conference will look at th history of the charter movement, how it has taken over the regulation of our education system, and how it is re-segregating education in California and nationally.
Public education in California is facing destruction in every direction. Supporters of charters and privatization over the last 30 years have seized control of the California Board of Education and also the Commission on Teacher Credentials (CTC). The deregulation of education rules in California allows a massive expansion of privately run charter schools in shopping malls and highly toxic industrial sites, even when local communities and school boards oppose their establishment.
Sponsored by: Fairmede Hilltop Neighborhood Council, United Public Workers For Action, Voices Against Privatizing Public Education, Defend Public Education
See also: [laborfest.net/2016/2016schedule.htm]
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Petaluma Progressive Festival
Sunday, July 31, noon-5:00 PM
Free event! For more information visit: [progressivefestival.org] [facebook.com/petalumaprogressives]
Walnut Park 201 4th St., Petaluma
The Petaluma Progressives is a local grassroots political and educational action group, and producer of the Annual Progressive Festival in Petaluma, CA.
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Peace At Home, Peace Abroad
A Just & Sustainable Future for the World's Children
Veterans For Peace Annual Convention
at Clark Kerr campus of University of California Berkeley, CA
Aug 11-15, 2016
[facebook.com/events/515549201948082]
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Dr. Helen Caldicott on Nuclear Weapons: Can they be Abolished?
Saturday, August 12, 2:00 PM
San Francisco Public Library, Koret Auditorium, 100 Larkin St, San Francisco
"Nuclear Weapons: Can They Be Abolished?" will be the theme of a free, public lecture by the famed activist Dr. Helen Caldicott It will include a Q&A session.
The event is jointly sponsored by the SF Public Library (BST Dept.) and the new Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament -- made up of various peace groups organized by the SF-based War and Law League. For more information and a flier that can be circulated, see http://warandlaw.org.
Dr. Caldicott is an Australian physician, better known as the world's foremost antinuclear activist and the author of ten books, some of which may be available at the event. She has spent the last 45 years educating the public on nuclear perils. Her organizing of physicians in many lands culminated, in 1985, in a Nobel Peace Prize to International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
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Remembering the Kellogg Briand Pact
Aug 27
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International Day of Peace
Sep 21
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First SOAW bi-national convergence
Oct 7-10
at the U.S./Mexico border in Nogales, Arizona
[is.gd/CbG7kX]
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Armistice Day in your city
Nov 11
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ACTION HEADLINES!
Stories are reviewed and provided by Northbay MDS Committees and Affiliates
BAY AREA SOLIDARITY
Updates on campaigns for Peace, Justice, & Freedom across the greater Bay Area, Norcal, and Socal
* Photo (2016-07-09, in Fresno, CA) [archive.is/cDmQC]:
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* "Vallejo host to several rallies against racial violence" (2016-07-12, timesheraldonline.com) [archive.is/RNhxC] [begin excerpt]: COMMUNITY SPEAKS OUT IN MONDAY’S RALLY -
About 200 residents showed up on the steps of City Hall on Monday to once again express frustration with recent events.
Many carried signs stating that “Black Lives Matter,” and condemning Vallejo police over a series of officer-involved shootings in the city.
Called Standing in Solidarity Against Senseless Killings, co-organizer, Vernon Williams III said it’s going to take “everyone to come together and take a stand on killings,” regarding the recent violence which has gripped the nation.
Also speaking with Mayor Osby Davis, who called for everyone to find a solution, and not “paint people with broad brushes.”
“One African-American male in Dallas, does not define all black people,” Davis said. “One police officer in Ferguson, does not define all police officers.
“Everybody’s life matters,” he added.
During the rally, several community members shouted in anger toward the various speakers. The angry citizens demanded that more be done to stop police violence against African-American males.
Toward the end of Monday’s rally, community members were asked to link arms in a sign of solidarity against violence. [end excerpt]
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* "Protest against Oakland Police Department corruption" (2016-07-09, Black Film Guild, youtube.com/channel/UCVVFqwCDe3IeiA7mrAXPInQ) [youtube.com/watch?v=405r6tH2d_w] This is a short documentation of the protest in Oakland California.
* (2016-07-08, Carl Patrick): So much beauty on the streets and freeways of Oakland tonight. 2,000+ people taking care of each other with food, water, blankets, solidarity from motorists and truck drivers stuck in traffic for hours, tons of young people who maybe this is their first protest holding down the lines in front of an army of cops with actual rifles, the faces of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling projected on the wall of a building, fireworks, trumpets and drums, running into old friends, riding our bikes up and down the 880, seeing the facade of OPD headquarters smashed and spray painted.
OPD, I won't even waste my breath on discussing your bullshit. We are too beautiful and too powerful. Tonight was a living example of our potential.
And to the white folks in my life and my community who say things like "Not all cops are bad," and "it's not ok to block freeways and destroy property," etc., man I just don't know what to say to you anymore. If you can't see what is going on with the Bay Area police departments, and what has been happening to black people in this country, and what just happened with Philando Castile being shot in front of his own kid while he was literally obeying the orders of an officer, and how NOT ONE cop has spoken out against the murder, the brutalization, the sexual assaults perpetrated by their co-workers, and how they brutalize the people when they take to the streets, and if you see this and don't feel a deep sense of rage, heartbreak, that there is something deeply fundamentally wrong and that you're somewhat obligated to do whatever is necessary to change the situation, I really do question your humanity and your integrity and it's gonna be real hard to maintain a relationship with you. However, if you're just not sure about things, if you're confused, if you wanna know more, PLEASE reach out to me. We can talk about it, we can read things together, we can go to protests together so you can see for yourself what things are like. But if you go on defending this wretched situation and making justifications for it, in total ignorance, or telling people to "calm down and be peaceful," ....you've chosen the side of death, and I/we are under no obligation to be nice to you about it.
* "Protest underway in Oakland against recent police shootings, 880 blocked" (2016-07-07, kron4.com) [archive.is/4hIPm]
* (2016-07-08, facebook.com/KRON4) [archive.is/0pL67]: 880 BLOCKED: Traffic on 880 is at a complete standstill due to police protests in Oakland. This is near the Broadway exit.
* (2016-07-08, Anita Wills) [archive.is/rCiV7]: I was on BART last night and there was about 12 young girls there, who looked like High Schoolers. When I got on BART they got up and gave me their seat. Then they sat not too far from me and I saw a sign #BlackLivesMatter. They were singing and chanting all of the way from Fruitvale to San Leandro BART. I gave them a smile and checked out the faces of passengers headed to Castro Valley and Pleasanton. They did not have looks of disgust just wonderment. I think because the girls were black, Latino, and Asian. They all were cute and singing in unison! When I got off in San Leandro they got off as well and went up the street singing. I wanted to run and sing with them, but this is their time to shine. So proud of my little sisters!
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* "Sacramento's Young, Diverse, Community Continues Peaceful Demonstrations" (2016-07-011, publicityagents.org) [archive.is/aqcDF] [begin excerpt]: While demonstrations sweep across the country in the wake of two shooting deaths of Black males by police officers in different states, the residents in the city of Sacramento, California, put their their protesting efforts on display as well. They are doing it in a peaceful manner, too.
At the busy intersection at Franklin Boulevard and Florin Road, up to 70 people, mostly young individuals, gathered there to voice their opinions of injustice and racism that allegedly was behind the homicides of Philando Castile in St. Paul, Minnesota and Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The demonstration was led by supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement in solidarity with protests around the nation from New York, Chicago, Baton Rouge, to St. Paul, Los Angeles, and Oakland. The Sacramento protest was a reflection of the city’s diverse population and awareness of the issue among the young.
The Answer Coalition and the Party For Socialism and Liberation (PSL) collaborated to host this round of demonstrations in South Sacramento. The demonstrators were armed with signs, chants, and loud public-address systems. A few of the demonstrators addressed why the officers involved in shootings of the two men were put on paid administrative leave.
“We’re out here standing with our sisters and brothers struggling against police terror,” said Jamier Sale, one of the demonstrators and well-known social activist from Sacramento. “We saw these two men killed and it looks like these policemen got a vacation, again. How many times we are going to see vacations handed out before we do something about it.” [end excerpt]
* (2016-07-07, by Maile Hampton):
We will get nowhere without unity. Now is the time we need to be organizing and uniting to put an end to all of this violence in our communities and in our country being carried out by the state. We must realize it is the system that caused this murder. This system that lets killer cops off with no jail time nor charges every single time they murder an innocent person. Every time a victim is killed and demonized and blamed for their own death in the bourgeois media. It is the system and the way it perpetuates racism and violence that causes this murder. We must look at the root issue and take it down. We must realize police have one job truly, and that is to protect and serve the state and the state's interest which aren't the people's needs. We have to realize it is up to us to defend ourselves and our communities. The only way things will change is through organizing, by fighting in the streets and demanding an entirely new system with entirely new motives, goals, and policies. I encourage everyone to get involved and organize. #JusticeForAltonSterling #BlackLivesMatter #OrganizeOrganizeOrganize
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Rest In Power Alan Blueford, assassinated by OPD [www.facebook.com/groups/justice4AlanBlueford]
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* (2016-07-06, facebook.com/BlackLivesMatter) [archive.is/TPmY9]:
Our comrade Jasmine Abdullah is not out of danger yet, and she still needs our support. While Jasmine has currently been released on time served for her felony lynching charge, she still has to attend and pay for anger management classes and now has a felony charge on her record. In addition to that, Jasmine was released on bail for 2 other misdemeanor charges, has nearly $10,000 in legal costs and court fees, and her lawyers are planning to appeal the felony charges. All of this has a major impact on Jasmine's life, and we need community to help right now.
Please donate here to support Jasmine and BLM Pasadena: [crowdrise.com/blacklivesmatterpasadena]
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* "KMUD news on Justice for Raymond Eacret, Free Sheila Eacret NOW"
Please listen to this 5 minute recording: http://tinyurl.com/hmrxtso
It comes from our protest Wed, July 6th, in front of the Humboldt County Jail/Courthouse. Please post, share, etc. Thank you, Ama Tierney, for good reporting. Here's Ama's 5 minute soundcloud recording if you want to post it on Facebook, etc.
Here's an important article, from POOR Magazine, to learn about the murder in the Humboldt Jail of young Yurok man Raymond Eacret, Sheila's son. http://www.poormagazine.org/node/5425
NOW SHEILA IS IN THIS SAME JAIL, BEING ABUSED!
FREE SHEILA!
#freesheilaeacret #justice4raymond #questionthenarrative #nomoreincustodydeaths #copwatch #nativelivesmatter
~Verbena [707.442.7465] [vervain@)riseup.net]
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* Justice 4 Nate Wilks, killed by OPD on 8-12-15
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/496262393866702/permalink/622068411286099/]:
So next month on the 12 will make a year since Nate been gone and I really didn't want to do no candle light,balloon release r nothing I rather celebrate his birthday but because HIS LIFE MATTERED AND I SAID I WAS GONE HOLD IT DOWN EVEN IF I DID IT BY MYSELF I MEANT IT!! So August 12th @5:30 on Martin Luther King n 27th(where he was murdered like a animal) I'll be releasing balloons and lighting candles along with remembering him as a HUMAN BEING AND THE BLACK KING THAT HE WAS N STILL IS!!! I would like for all to attend and wear red as his blood still streams through Oakland streets from the hands of OPD!! #blacklivesmatter #justicefornatewilks #justiceforall #kaileisdaddy
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* "Protest follows determination that police shooting justified" (2016-07-12, AP Newswire, via chron.com) [is.gd/J9TNN3], photo caption: Protesters rally outside police headquarters and Los Angeles City Hall on Tuesday, July 12, 2016. The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled Tuesday that the fatal shooting of an African-American woman last year, Redel Jones, did not violate the Los Angeles Police Department's deadly force police.
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* "Hug-a-Cop Wednesday", a response (2016-07-12) [archive.is/0LaiT]: May we please hug #blacklivesmatter #brownlivesmatter and because class plays a role as well #workingclasslivesmatter as well? Let me know if you can help organize something with me or if I can support you in organizing something like a rally and or vigil or sidewalk march. Hugs are important and necessary in this world. However, while we hug a cop a black person dies with zero hugs, and the witnesses are jailed, and peaceful protestors arrested with cops carrying military grade weapons. Blacklivesmatter organizers and supporters tried to help the cops that got shot in Dallas. In the spirit of all hugs mattering let's hug police reform and accountability in our country. [end excerpt]
Alongside "Prayers for Police" events across the USA [archive.is/swi2g]
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* "San Jose, this time... We Area Standing Together (Where do you stand?)", a response (2016-07-13) [archive.is/QEWPX]: There is so much to say and critique about this. To put it as briefly as possible.
This event is a collaborative effort though, everyone has their own agenda for being there, little of it is good. I bring up DeBug because that's who I saw this first from, but also they're supposed to be the token "grassroots radical org" that lends legitimacy to the entire endeavor. But there are bad actors all up in this of every type and origin. DeBug wants to be the resident "Reconciliation" (notice I didn't say Truth &) Committee and mediator for San Jose. And it, and its leader enjoys being recognized for this fact. But its reflective a very specific, narrow and defeatist politics. Though they themselves would call it pragmatic, even a practical recognition of what is "Accomplishable". Its defeatist. I have serious problems with their deductive reasoning. It veils this inclination behind it being a facilitating and unifying organization that gets people to talk, and talk, and talk, and did I mention talk? And it also get people to sleep. Having said that I'm going to be there, observing, if they have public commentary, or open mic, I doubt I'll be let near it. I'll rubberneck like the rest to see exactly how spin will play itself out to anesthetize mass dissent.If you are expecting ANYTHING radical from forum, I can tell you precisely what that "might" look like, at best, and I emphasize might, its just as likely that even this doesn't happen at all which is that local victim's families might be set up in the audience to attend, and highlighted in the front of the "audience" and maybe, just maybe, those victims might surprisingly be allowed to speak, as if this is some ingenious ambush or by telling their story the appeal to morality and conscious will some how magically make power act differently. Why might this happen? Because they've done it all before. But also folks won't want to mess this up, for a very specific reason, this is the single biggest forum they've even been part of/organized/invited to, and they won't jeopardize their access to the establishment or the paycheck and media attention that comes with it, with the presence of unfiltered and uncontrolled dissent. For the Police themselves, they're practiced and trained for this, they know occasionally being present at such forums in which people can vent works magic for delaying actual disruption or revolt. Because the magic of "freedom of speech" or more accurately the freedom to bitch, allows for fury to be expressed in non-disruptive ways and dissipate, if they only wait. Its a game of endurance, not a genuine scrum for change or power. Every Police Chief and every Mayor does this, because it works. They feign listening only to go back to work the next day, do nothing, not having changed their minds at all.
I actually wrote something far more lengthy about this, and point by point, person by person, org by org, dismantled and dissected this. But I'll just put it as succinctly as possible - this is a who is who of the establishment mainstream moderates who to a person/institution over the last 20-30 years have acted AGAINST the communities that they claim to represent. Ironically the only sincere and least deluded of the bunch are the two CEOs of Tech Giants, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg. Everyone else be them orgs or individuals have a long record of willingly or unwillingly being used as a token or window dressing.
And also, holding a Press Conference to say what? "We're ready to quell all frustrations and collaborate so you don't get too hyphy. Just come on in!"?
Nonetheless pay particular attention to the invited guests those being viewed as "stake holders" (which they aren't, you actually have to have something to offer and something to lose to be a stakeholder, and this is the establishment talking to the establishment. So what are they losing, themselves?) and the endorsers, a whose who of status quo pacification agents, and I actually really like some of them, but they're being used as dupes anyhow, and having their kind natures played and preyed upon, by the unscrupulous and evil.
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BAY AREA SOLIDARITY: Updates on campaigns across the Nation!
* "People’s March descends on downtown Pittsburgh to protest inequality & hate" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/RYx0d]
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* "Road blocks and peace signs: Black Lives Matter protests across America" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/3wDF1]
* (2016-07-09, facebook.com/bob.nilsson.7) [archive.is/OEFzs]: I threw together a few clips from the Black Lives Matter protest in Rochester NY on 7/8/16. I'm working on an edit which will include more of the days events, but I thought it was important to get this out...
Watch [is.gd/FaIL9Y].
* "A Single Photo That Captures Race and Policing in America" (2016-07-11, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/PVl3C]. She went to Baton Rouge because she wanted to look her 5 yr. old son in the eyes and tell him she fought for his freedom and rights.
* (2016-07-10, by Matt Florence) [archive.is/8vA38]: This photograph was taken by Jonathan Bachman of Reuters. It shows USA military soldiers (which some Americans call "police") arresting unarmed demonstrators at an anti-police brutality demonstration. Capitalism is a failed system which look good on paper but in reality it fails because of human nature.
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* "Protesters in standoff with police on Atlanta highway" (2016-07-09, rt.com) [archive.is/tGBFU]
* (2016-07-08) [archive.is/P6GnI]: #atlanta #standup
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* " 'Black Lives Matter' march forces I-40 bridge to close for hours" (2016-07-11, fox13memphis.com) [archive.is/lAKGW]
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* (2016-07-13) [archive.is/CyRfK]: Not saying don't support St. Jude. But if anyone questions their fundraising methods, the middle class of Memphis loses their collective shit.Y'all support St. Jude because people are dying, and those deaths are unacceptable. Can we be consistent now please?
#BlackLivesMatter
#ShutItDown
#NoJusticeNoPeace
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* (2016-07-09, by Charles Gannon) [archive.is/yUV0Y]: At a March for the unarmed black man Who died here in Ft. Pierce
Oh, btw. The protest was literally made up of 10 to 15 people, and guess what, we was escorted by two police cars and had a helicopter flying above. Crazy, isn't it?
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* "Peaceful Protest Is Being Held for my brother Angelo Brown @ Belleville IL" (2016-07-12, facebook.com) [archive.is/jNCo9]
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TOWARDS REVOLUTIONARY SOLUTIONS
* "Is Nonviolent Revolution A Possibility?" (2014-11-24, theantimedia.org) [archive.is/hP6rE]
The college kids aren't advocating voting.
"Prior to the mass uprisings of 1905, Lenin saw no value in individual terrorism. Writing in What Is To Be Done in 1902, he ridiculed those who had called for "excitative terror" and "agrarian terror" by using the peasant expression that they were "spitting into the well." Later, however, in A Militant Agreement for Uprising, he supported a very different form of terrorism which was linked to the mass uprising of 1905: "The terrorist struggle of the old type was the riskiest form of revolutionary struggle, and those who engaged in it had the reputation of being resolute, self-sacrificing people.... Now, however, when demonstrations develop into acts of open resistance to the government, ... the old terrorism ceases to be an exceptionally daring method of struggle.... Heroism has now come out into the open; the true heroes of our time are now the revolutionaries who lead the popular masses, which are rising against their oppressors...."
* "What Happens After Cops Start Getting Shot?" (2016-07-09, theantimedia.org) [archive.is/vmQT6]* "Peaceful protest seeking police reforms" (2016-07-08, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin) [archive.is/rjzRL]:
When Black and poor people are murdered by cops, peaceful protest "seeking police reforms" is useless, just protest falling on the deaf ears of those in authority. We need to go beyond seeking civil rights and begging the government for justice that they clearly will not give, to anti-fascist protest and community armed self-defense. We need to question the very role of police as an occupying army in our communities, paramilitary policing with dangerous weapons of war, the need for police at all, and to expose the crimes of the government to protect police murders, but also including the level of poverty and oppression that these cops protect, which lead to crimes of survival. We need to put the government itself on trial, and expose especially just how many *hundreds of thousands of people American police have killed over the last 30-40 years since the rise of paramilitary police forces, the war on drugs. and the destruction of the Black Panther Party, the major dissident group of the 1960's-early 1970's that raised this issue and fought against it.
* MLK, Letter from a Birmingham Jail: [begin excerpt]: I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. [end excerpt]
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The topic of the following articles are explained in a manner tailored for their target audience: Capitalists. The technology described is being utilized to add security to the global security regime governing the world market, and to cut costs associated with manufacturing expense, without the expense, perhaps, of the bottom-line for private interests whose profits must be met. They own the manufacturing technique, the questions remain, can the private bureaucrats convert to unlimited ends, beyond the will to return perpetual profit at an interest in economic dictatorship for cartels. The sad opinion is the current war against state government services for civilian populations, that these services must be cut under an austerity program and private beauracracies installed towards these services now offered for a profit (as shown by the "Obamacare" services provided by private HMOs under a profit for the stockholders).At what point can the private stronghold over technology be broken, with abundance for all in harmony with the world ecological system?
* "Fully automated luxury communism; Supporters believe fully automated luxury communism is an opportunity to realise a post-work society, where machines do the heavy lifting and employment as we know it is a thing of the past" (2015-03-18, theguardian.com) [archive.is/1AqO0]
* "Britain Doesn't Need More Austerity, It Needs Luxury Communism" (2015-06-12, vice.com) [archive.is/RDyxO]
* "Are We Headed For 'Automated Luxury Communism'?" (2016-06-30, by Bernard Marr, for forbes.com) [archive.is/GUdmw]
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CHICANO POWER! LUCHA PARA LA NUEVA AZTLAN!
* "Galería de la Raza Denied Long-Term Lease For San Francisco Space" (2016-07-08, kqed.org) [archive.is/w0X3v]. Comment by Jesus Barraza: So sad to read this, the Galeria is such an important space for Raza in the Bay Area and to see it treated in this manner by property owners is heart breaking. All I know is that now as artists our duty is to stand alongside them and help them fight for the of our institution.
* Photo caption: Noe Montoya in "Viva la Causa." The troupe helped organize Central Valley's grape pickers into the United Farm Workers union.
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SOLIDARITY WITH THE NEW AFRICAN NATION!Black Power! Revive the Community! Defend the Nation!
National News [blackagendareport.com] [atlantablackstar.com] [sfbayview.com]
* "Why Black Lives Matter: 6 high-profile killings enraging America" (2016-07-07, rt.com) [archive.is/saIFJ]* "Protests breakout in response to #PhilandoCastile and #AltonSterling" (2016-07-07, rt.com) [archive.is/fVJ8F]
In MN: Black Lives Matter Mpls (via paypal to blacklivesmattermpls2016@gmail.com), Black Liberation Project (via paypal at thesystemisguilty@gmail.com), Minneapolis NAACP, or Neighborhoods Organizing for Change are all doing badass work locally. for family of Philando Castile: here https://www.gofundme.com/2d55v9g and here https://www.gofundme.com/2d5wd5g
* "Aren’t more white people than black people killed by police? Yes, but no" (2016-07-11, washingtonpost.com) [archive.is/RYMYD]. Of all of the unarmed men shot and killed by police in 2015, 40 percent of them were black, even though black men make up just 6 percent of the nation’s population.---
* "Giuliani: Black kids killed by black kids in 99% of cases" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/Azx5k]
* "Rudy Giuliani Says Black Parents Need To Teach Their Children To Respect Police; Victim-blaming at its finest" (2016-07-10, huffingtonpost.com) [archive.is/Ld3mt]
* "Giuliani's daughter arrested on shoplifting charge" (2010-08-05, edition.cnn.com) [archive.is/NjnnR]
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* "The coming race war" (2016-07-13, facebook.com/redmenace68) [archive.is/KDQ5V]:
* "It’s time to admit police have a history of connections with the KKK" (2015-12-16, fusion.net) [archive.is/uEUlr]
* "Stormfront Website Posters Have Murdered Almost 100 People, Watchdog Group Says" (2014-04-17, abcnews.go.com) [archive.is/rTKWL]
* "BLACK PANTHER PARTY HEAD: ‘AMERICA HAS DECLARED WAR ON US,’ WE WILL KILL AND DIE FOR BLACK NATION" (truthandaction.org) [archive.is/OQOCx]: Hashim Nzinga, leader of The New Black Panther Party, stated on the New Black Panther Party’s “Black Power Radio,” what amounts to a war cry.
He claims America’s Founding Fathers would applaud a declaration of war against the ‘rich and powerful’ in order to fend off the ‘genocide’ of the ‘black nation’.Nzinga claimed that America has “declared war on us,” which he says is proven by the presence of “military police in the black neighborhood,” which protects the rich.
* "New Black Panther Party will carry arms ahead of RNC next week - report" (2016-06-12, rt.com) [archive.is/AcXAL], photo caption: Demonstrators, wearing the insignia of the New Black Panthers Party, protest the shooting death of Alton Sterling near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S. July 9, 2016
* Photo (2016-07-10) [archive.is/jvqFy]:
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* "Last Moments" by artist Autumn Rain [archive.is/0aozU]: Incredible picture dedicated to all the lives that have been & will be stolen by police.
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* "200+ people turn up at #PhilandoCastile killing spot, Minnesota governor reportedly evacuated" (2016-07-07, rt.com) [archive.is/JJIAN]
* " ‘He only did what police asked him to do’: Girlfriend’s emotional statement on Castile shooting" (2016-07-07, rt.com) [archive.is/e45RN]
* (2016-07-07) [archive.is/jLTDZ]: Why hasn't the NRA released a statement supporting his Second Amendment rights? Gee, I wonder.
#JusticeForPhilandroCastile
* "Black man whose shooting death by police was streamed live by his girlfriend had been pulled over AT LEAST 31 times and hit with 63 traffic charges; Philando Castile's dying moments were livestreamed on Facebook by his girlfriend, causing outrage ; The black 32-year-old's death led to protests in St Paul, Minnesota, and was decried by the state's governor; Daily Mail Online can disclose the astonishing scale of traffic stops which Castile had been subject to; Public records say that he had 31 encounters which resulted in charges, and had 63 separate charges; He was found guilty of 43, and would have paid thousands of dollars in fines; Relative says it is evidence that police were targeting him for DWB - slang for driving while black" (2016-07-08, dailymail.co.uk) [archive.is/xbPct]. The article says he was pulled over for minor traffic infractions and because he was black. He was pulled over for DWB and they were racking in thousands of dollars ever year from citing him. The article said they have been pulling him over since he was 17 years old!
---
* (Art by Jose Marquez) [archive.is/FLqPH]:
On Tuesday, a 37-year-old black man, Alton Sterling, was murdered by two white police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling, who regularly sells CD's outside of a convenience store, was shot multiple times as both officers held him down. We stand in solidarity with the protests happening across Louisiana for justice.
#blacklivesmatter #altonsterling
Photo caption: People protest the death of Alton Sterling near the headquarters of the Baton Rouge Police Department in Louisiana, July 10, 2016.
* "US Police Arrest Man Who Filmed Them Executing Alton Sterling; Chris LeDay said he was arrested less than 24 hours after sharing the video as retaliation" (2016-07-10, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/vGQwB]
---
* (2016-07-09) [archive.is/qQnZX]: My 19 year old Cousin Michael Moore was murdered June 13 by a off duty white officer after a traffic stop. But no national coverage here. Please help my family get justice for Michael. His life mattered to us.
---
* "A Black Man Was Just Found Hanging from a Tree in Atlanta" (2016-07-07, usuncut.com) [archive.is/MVa5q]
* "BLACK MAN FOUND IN PIEDMONT PARK HANGING FROM A TREE, KKK SPOTTED A NIGHT BEFORE" (2016-07-07, atlnightspots.com) [archive.is/Wfpsz]
* "38-Year-Old Man Found Hanged in Tree in Ohio, Authorities Call It a Suicide" (2016-05-24, atlantablackstar.com) [archive.is/YCDrt]
* (2016-07-08) [archive.is/FDu8x]: Sooooo we still not going to mention this black man hanging in a park in New Orleans on July 5th! ((Not to be confused with Piedmonts hanging)) Who have info? Photos [archive.is/iSB5f] [archive.is/UhWGA] [archive.is/xMBjj].
* "Man found dead, hanging from tree off Lake Shore Drive: 'Nobody seemed to notice' " (2015-11-16, chicagotribune.com) [archive.is/COIJN]
* "African-American man found hanging from tree in Mississippi, FBI investigating" (2015-03-19, nola.com) [archive.is/dmzXq]
* (2016-07-13, facebook.com/jabari.shaw.7): A Man was found dead hanging in the park and they are telling us ( at this town hall meeting ) How to act when encountering the police. What a way to deflect. And I am sitting right behind Reverend Jessie Jackson lol while they clapping to the good police. This $#!+ crazy
---
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* [archive.is/9eIFl]: STILL NO JUSTICE FOR VICTOR WHITE! STILL SCREAMIN IT! #FTP
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* "DISPATCH AUDIO FROM CASTILE KILLING REVEALS COP PULLED THEM OVER FOR HIS ‘WIDE SET NOSE’ " (2016-07-09, winningdemocrats.com) [archive.is/bu6Gr]
---
* "Despite Worldwide Outcry, US Police Kill Another Black Man; Alva Braziel is the most recent victim of police terror in the U.S. as he was shot 10 times by Houston police" (2016-07-10, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/O4cRN]
* "Alva Braziel being Shot 10 times (VIDEO)" (2016-07-10) [youtube.com/watch?v=I3iTQrPFWLs]: Surveillance footage of Alva Braziel shooting has surfaced online #AlvaBraziel #houston
---
Marchers in Dallas protest against police shootings of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota [Dallas Police Department/Reuters]
* "Black Lives Matter Was Gaining Ground. Then a Sniper Opened Fire" (2016-07-09, nytimes.com) [archive.is/L1SsQ]
* "Dallas shooter White Nationalist? Name, photo released? No - He wasn't Black Lives Matter member either" (2016-07-08, by Paula Mooney, inquisitr.com) [archive.is/KmGV3]* "Dallas Shooters Are Reportedly ‘WHITE NATIONALISTS’ . . . Trying To Start A ‘RACE WAR’ In America!!!" (2016-07-07, mtonews.com) [archive.is/UrzHd]
* "1 Dallas officer dead, up to 6 officers wounded in shooting during demonstrations in Dallas" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/64gzS]
* "2 snipers shoot 11 officers, killing 4, during demonstrations in Dallas" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/DYukO]
* "5 Dallas Officers Killed, Multiple Wounded by Sniper Fire During Black Lives Matter Protest" (2016-07-07, people.com) [archive.is/xVqgW]
* "Veteran and newlywed among officers killed in Dallas" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/DvLD8]
* "Vigils held nationwide for 5 Dallas officers fatally shot" (2016-07-09, rt.com) [archive.is/UmA5X]
* "Snoop Dogg Holds Press Conference With L.A. Mayor, Police Chief After Dallas Shooting" (2016-07-08, dailycaller.com) [archive.is/ZHsED]
* "Five officers killed in downtown Dallas ambush" (2016-07-08, wfaa.com) [archive.is/9r58T] [begin excerpt]: The sniper who police say opened fire on a peaceful justice rally through downtown Dallas, targeting police officers and killing five, has been identified. [end excerpt], revised version [archive.is/YDF42].
* "Slain Dallas suspect said he acted alone, wanted to kill white cops - police chief" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/lU0fY]
* (2016-07-08, facebook.com/shaunking) [archive.is/WwTIB]: The Dallas Shooter has been identified as Micah Johnson. The Dallas PD admits they deliberately blew him up with a bomb attached to a robot so we'll never quite understand much more. [comment]: The stories switched. Last night he was negotiating and it was reported that he shot and killed himself...today, they are reporting that they killed him with a bomb... This story has so many holes.
* "Dallas police shooting: Five officers killed, seven wounded by gunmen" (2016-07-08, bbc.com) [archive.is/P3F6i] [begin excerpt]: Three people are in custody and one man who was in a stand-off with police shot himself dead, US media said. [...]
Two snipers had fired from "elevated positions", shooting some officers in the back.
"We believe that these suspects were positioning themselves in a way to triangulate on these officers from two different perches... and planned to injure and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could," Chief Brown said.
Officers later surrounded a car park near El Centro College, as an armed man fired off rounds with a rifle.
Chief Brown said the suspect had told negotiators that "the end is coming" and that he was going to attack more officers and had "bombs all over the place".
US media say the man is now dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the stand-off is over, although the police have yet to confirm this. [end excerpt]
* "Dallas killings: Police shot dead by snipers at protest; At least five officers shot dead as protest over police killings of black men drew to close, police say" (2016-07-08, aljazeera.com) [archive.is/nOaar] [begin excerpt] The Dallas Morning News said that a suspect police had exchanged gunfire with in central Dallas at a car park was dead. CBS DFW, a local media outlet, said that the suspect killed himself.
Earlier, as he addressed the media, Dallas police chief David O Brown said the suspect "has told our negotiators that the end is coming and he's going to hurt and kill more of us, meaning law enforcement, and that there are bombs all over the place in this garage and downtown, so we are being very careful with our tactics."
Three other people were in custody, he said, including a woman.
"We still don't have a complete comfort level that we have all the suspects," Brown said. [...]
Gunfire broke out late on Thursday during an otherwise peaceful protest over two recent police killings of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. The sound of gunfire sent marchers running and police scrambling for cover.
Reports said hundreds attended the protests.
Brown said two gunmen shot at police officers from "elevated positions", hitting at least 11 of them. At least three of the wounded were in a critical condition, he said. [...]
Carlos Harris, who lives downtown, told the newspaper that the gunmen "were strategic. It was tap tap pause. Tap tap pause."
Video footage from the scene showed protesters marching along a street in the city centre, about half a mile from City Hall, when the shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover. [end excerpt]
* "Sniper Fire In Dallas, Killing 5 Police Officers, Injuring 6 (Update 12)" (2016--07-07, crooksandliars.com) [archive.is/NbWTM] [begin excerpt]:
Update 12: Unconfirmed reports that the final suspect has shot himself.
Since it's unlikely that the identities of the suspects will be revealed before morning, I expect this to be the final update to this post. We'll have more news starting at 5am Pacific Daylight Time. [end excerpt]
* "The Dallas Shootings: What We Know Five officers were killed by snipers after gunfire erupted during protests Thursday night" (2016-07-09, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/0HmEs] [begin excerpt]:
8:44 a.m.
Police Chief David Brown, at a news conference this morning, said the suspect who was cornered in a garage was blown up by a bomb robot dispatched by police. He did not kill himself as had been reported, Brown said.
“He was upset about Black Lives Matter,” Brown said of the suspect. “He was upset about” the shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota. He said “he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers.”
Brown said the suspect said he wasn’t affiliated with any group and was acting alone. “The suspects said other things that are part oft his investigation,” he said. [end excerpt]
* "Robot bomb kills a Dallas suspect" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/HjN8v] [begin excerpt]: Chief David Brown told the press and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings confirmed that the police killed the suspect, who was holed up in a Dallas parking garage, using explosives to “blast him out.”
Earlier, local media reported the suspect had died from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
During a press conference, Chief Brown also shared the motives behind the suspect’s actions, which he quoted to the press.
“The suspect said he was upset about the Black Lives Matter. He said he was upset about the recent shootings. The suspect said he was upset at white people. The suspect said he wanted to kill white people, especially white officers,” Brown said.
He added that the suspect himself said he was not affiliated with any political or terror groups and had acted alone.
A fifth suspect may also be dead, CBS reported on Twitter [archive.is/YZIyR], stressing this information has not been officially confirmed.
Three other suspects are all in custody.
The violence started on Thursday night during a peaceful protest in Dallas over the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, and Philando Castile in St. Paul, MN. At least four attackers, holed up in a downtown garage, used sniper rifles against police officers.
The incident then spread to the streets, where major corporations, restaurants and courthouses have premises. Police believe the attack was coordinated.
"[They were] working together with rifles, triangulating at elevated positions in different points in the downtown area where the march ended up going," Dallas Police Chief David Brown told a news conference. [end excerpt]
* "Five Dallas police officers were killed by a lone attacker, authorities say" (2016-07-08, washingtonpost.com) [archive.is/5hVhf]
* " 'Loner' Dallas gunman had bomb materials and kept journal of combat tactics" (2016-07-08, latimes.com) [archive.is/SSeik], original headline "Dallas gunman killed by bomb robot, 'wanted to kill officers,' officials say" [archive.is/2yU8U]
* "Bomb making materials, rifles, ammunition found at Dallas shooter's home - police" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/0jP5L]
* "Afghan war veteran guns down five Dallas police" (2016-07-09, wsws.org) [archive.is/gpbmK]
* "DALLAS GUNMAN MICAH X. JOHNSON: Anti-Cop, Pro-Black Panther" (2016-07-08, tmz.com) [archive.is/NZWq5], who already has many admirers [archive.is/piyHT].
* "Dallas shooter planned 'devastating' attack using explosives – police" (2016-07-10, rt.com) [archive.is/dH3EN]
It wasn't any group to took part in the shootings, but here we see how everybody is wrapped into this idea that all African Liberation ideas are evil. African-Americans took part in the killing of 45 million Chinese... or something. BTW, Mao did not kill that many millions, the evidence cited by the article below is from a now dis-credited researcher who made sh*t up, no kidding.)
* "Dallas Shooter Was Member of Huey P. Newton Gun Club" (2016-07-09, thenewamerican.com) [archive.is/lFmGv] [begin excerpt]: While the Huey P. Newton Gun Club outwardly projects black or “Afro-American” nationalism, the organization encourages its members to read the writings of Huey P. Newton, who was not just a Black nationalist but a radical Maoist communist. Maoism is a form of Marxism-Leninism, as interpreted and espoused by Mao Tse-tung, the brutal dictator and founder of the People’s Republic of China (Communist China). During the four years of Mao’s “Great Leap Forward” radical communization imitative of China, at least 45 million people were killed through executions, beatings, and mass starvation, according to Hong Kong-based historian Frank Dikötter. To put this number into perspective, the worldwide death toll for World War II was 55 million. [...]
To be clear, we have no evidence, and are not suggesting, that the leadership of the club may have had prior knowledge of or condoned Johnson's murder rampage (which they have not condemned as of this writing). But that is not the issue under discussion here. Rather, it is the violent communist ideology that motivated Johnson to kill the “pigs" (white police officers).
Awareness of the communist background of the radical group to which Johnson belonged is vital to understanding the recent wave of coordinated violence against local law enforcement. It is this communist ideology that spawned the recent demonstrations of Black Lives Matter, the nationwide protests from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA (aka RevCom), and now the murder of multiple police officers by a former member of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club. [end excerpt]
* "Black Power Political Organization claims Dallas shooting on Facebook, vows more attacks" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/Rhhtq] [begin excerpt]: In one of the most peculiar postings, the group boasts it has planted spies in the CIA, FBI, police and among US soldiers who “work for them“ and “give them information.”
In June, the group wrote several posts about “black people being tired of government oppression.”
The violence started on Thursday night during a peaceful protest in Dallas over the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, LA, and Philando Castile in St. Paul, MN. At least four attackers, holed up in a downtown garage, used sniper rifles against police officers.
The incident then spread to the streets, where major corporations, restaurants and courthouses have premises. Police believe the attack was coordinated.
Three snipers were arrested and the forth was killed in a standoff with police. A total of 14 people were shot, two of them civilians, the rest were police officers. [end excerpt]
* (retrieved 2016-07-08, facebook.com/blackpowerpoliticalorganization) [archive.is/s8auB]
* "Man wrongly ID’d as Dallas shooting person of interest says cops lied to him during interrogation" (2016-07-08, rawstory.com) [archive.is/HahHj] [begin excerpt]: Whether you know it or not, police are allowed to lie to you during interrogation.
Mark Hughes, a protester in Dallas who was wrongly identified by police as a person of interest in last night’s horrific shooting, has learned that the hard way.
After being released by police after willingly turning himself in, Hughes told local news station KTVT that police blatantly lied to him during their interrogation by telling him that they had direct evidence that linked him to the fatal shootings of five police officers in Dallas Thursday night.
“I just got out of an interrogation room for about 30 minutes, where police officers were lying, saying they had video of me shooting a gun, which is a lie, saying that they had witnesses saying I had shot a gun, which is a lie,” Hughes said. “At the end of the day… the system was trying to get me.” [end excerpt]
* (2016-07-07, Ras Ceylon) [archive.is/dAJr1]: Wow we out here in Dallas, Texas where 11 police officers were allegedly shot after a protest...then a car passed by and yelled "white power" to a group of us and drove off as we were walking to the store...keeping our heads up, eyes open & fist clinched!!
* " ‘I didn’t see anybody else get shot, just cops’: Witness videos capture Dallas terror" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/3hzQ7]
* (2016-07-08, facebook chatter) [archive.is/uz2Ht]: At least one civilian got shot, and eyewitnesses describe that the shooter was shooting at protesters as well as cops. So the shooter in Dallas is aiming at protesters and cops, or possibly someone who hates the protesters and lost it and started open fire on the cops when they shot at him.
Latest report said his 0lam was to arbitrarily kill white people, cops especially. (840 Am eastern from CNN )
* "Brother of man wrongly questioned by police over Dallas shooting receives death threats" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/sCbb7]
* "Dallas Police Officers Are Leaving In Mass" (2016-05-26, lawofficer.com) [archive.is/BP6ge]
* "Was One Of The Slain Dallas Police Officers A White Nationalist?" (2016-07-10) [archive.is/x8qyx], comments [archive.is/oD8pr]
* "Slain Dallas Cop Might’ve Been A White Supremacist: Still A Hero?" (2016-07-12, huffingtonpost.com) [archive.is/jUWBV]. Collage of fascist iconography from Ahren's page at Facebook.com [archive.is/bv9j0], further examples [archive.is/ZjTih] [archive.is/EFKbC]
Russell Sherman: In 2014, Dallas Police Officers John Rogers and Andrew Hutchins shot a mentally ill black man to death. The officers approached, saw he was carrying a screwdriver, and drew on him, shouting for him to drop it. Within six seconds, they opened fire, putting six bullets in him. The officers had been called by the man's mother, requesting help taking her mentally ill son to the hospital. They put him in the ground instead. No charges were ever brought against the officers.
In 2015, Dallas Police Officer Brad Miller fatally shot an unarmed 19-year-old black teenager he suspected of burglary. No case was made, and no charges were ever brought against him.
In 2015, Dallas Police Officer Eric Casebolt was caught on film assaulting and beating a black teenage girl after being called one afternoon about a noise complaint from a birthday party. Do you need to ask if charges were ever brought against him? He still works in law enforcement, by the way.
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* "Global Protests Haven’t Stopped US Police from Killing Black People; 3 more Black men have been killed by police in the days before and shortly after the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile" (2016-07-12, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/90dT1]
* "Not just Dallas: Attacks in three states target cops for two days in row" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/cw29J]
* "Police Officer Shot During a Traffic Stop Near Ferguson; The officer’s condition is unknown, but a suspect is in custody. No details of the incident have been released" (2016-07-08, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/4QIpg] [begin excerpt]: The incident comes hours after at least one sniper killed five Dallas police officers and wounded another seven at the site of a Black Lives Matter protest following the killing of two Black men by police. [end excerpt]
* "Police officers shot & wounded in Missouri, Georgia the morning after Dallas attack" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/QMA8T]
* "Tennessee highway gunman was 'troubled' by police shootings – authorities" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/7VceY]
* "Man fires 17 shots into Indianapolis officer’s patrol car and home, screams he hates police" (2016-07-12, wgntv.com) [archive.is/LyHES]
* (2016-07-07) [archive.is/Met04]: Happening now in San Francisco, armed or possible sniper loose. Entire Market Street shut down....
* (2016-07-07) [archive.is/bDTeg]: Community -- I am not at all convinced the guy in the standoff with SFPD yesterday (on July 6) is really alive. It's possible - but given that witnesses watched him laying motionless on the ground for hours before we saw him being taken away motionless on a gurney -- does not at all give one that impression. The whole crowd thought he was dead.
YES I know what the mayor and cops said to the news afterward.
But -- what is his name? Why do we still not know if this is such a point of pride for SFPD? What were the extent of his injuries? Where is he now? Who are his family?
* "4 arrested in Baton Rouge burglary, plot to use stolen guns to kill cops" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/pCHpm]
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* "After Dallas Shootings, Police Arrest People for Criticizing Cops on Facebook and Twitter" (2016-07-12, theintercept.com) [archive.is/MdOm3] [begin excerpt]: “After Dallas, threats may seem more threatening to police officers around the country,” said Daniel Medwed, professor of law at Northeastern University. “We might be seeing more arrests right now because the police will interpret that they have probable cause to make the arrest,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean in the end that this will result in convictions,” he added.Schneier urged that law enforcement use caution.“This is complicated,” he said. “We don’t know how to do this — we’re doing it pretty badly and we should to it better.”
But he said it was a sign of the times. These days, almost all communications are recorded in some capacity. “This new world where things aren’t forgotten is going to be different,” Schneier said. “And you’re seeing one manifestation of it in casual comments that are resulting in arrest.” [end excerpt]
* "Detroit police arrest four for threats against cops" (2016-07-11, detroitnews.com) [archive.is/fQZPQ]
* "Detroit man arrested for threatening social media post about police" (2016-07-09, fox2detroit.com) [archive.is/g2676]
* "Evergreen Park woman accused of threatening to shoot cops in Facebook post" (2016-07-08, chicagotribune.com) [archive.is/hbAVJ], (2016-07-09, wgntv.com) [archive.is/6sfKr]
* "Norwalk man posts threats to police on social media, calls Dallas shooter ‘a hero’ " (2016-07-10, fox61.com) [archive.is/V1DDv] [begin excerpt]: A man was arrested over the weekend for social media comments that advocated violence against police officers.
The Norwalk Police Department received a tip Friday that an individual was posting threatening and shocking comments on Facebook in the wake of the Dallas police officer murders. [end excerpt]
* "Man arrested for allegedly posting threat to police building on social media" (2016-06-21, nj.com) [archive.is/APUSb]
* "Bossier City Man Arrested for Threatening Police Officer" (2016-07-09, 710keel.com) [archive.is/dhUud]
* (2016-07-06) [archive.is/Qznkz]: @paintingsbypeda
I posted my painting the "American Freedom Fighter" [archive.is/cGyeX] in a couple groups and some ass hole reported it to the Facebook police and it was removed... just a painting, not even a real image as of yet... hundreds of people shared it and thousands of people viewed and liked it... but it's ok to post a video of a black man being murdered by a police officer on camera for the whole world to see over and over again. R.I.P #altonsterling #DontrelleHamilton #EricGarner #JohnCrawford #MicheaBrown #EzelleFord #DonteParker #TanishaAnderson #AkaiGurley #TamirRice #RumainBrisbon #JerameRied #TonyRobinson #PhillipWhite #EricHarris #WalterScott #FreddieGray #trayvonMartin #SandraBland #PhilandoCastile
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* "Black Lives Matter reacts to Dallas shootings" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/mwsoG]
* "The Black Lives Matter Network advocates for Dignity, Justice, and Respect" (2016-07-08, facebook.com/BlackLivesMatter) [archive.is/7cZ1U]: In the last few days, this country witnessed the recorded murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police, the latest victims in this country’s failed policing system. As we have done for decades, we marched and protested to highlight the urgent need to transform policing in America, to call for justice, transparency and accountability, and to demand that Black Lives Matter.
In Dallas, many gathered to do the same, joining in a day of action with friends, family, and co-workers. Their efforts were cut short when a lone gunman targeted and attacked 11 police officers, killing five. This is a tragedy–both for those who have been impacted by yesterday’s attack and for our democracy. There are some who would use these events to stifle a movement for change and quicken the demise of a vibrant discourse on the human rights of Black Americans. We should reject all of this.
Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it. Yesterday’s attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible. We continue our efforts to bring about a better world for all of us.
* "FBI Greenlights Crackdown on Black Lives Matter Protesters; The FBI is using the actions of a lone gunman as a pretext to attack the Black Lives Matter movement" (2016-07-12, alternet.org) [archive.is/7HiMD], comments [archive.is/ZdKN2]
* "DC cop ‘threatened’ to shoot Michelle Obama" (2012-07-13, nypost.com) [archive.is/I3s3t]
The security regime is attempting to outlaw the entire idea of Community Liberation and Defense:
* "NYPD union head says Dallas massacre shows hand of Black Liberation Army, calls Obama and de Blasio untrustworthy" (2016-07-08, nydailynews.com) [archive.is/kQmVr]
* "Public Enemy's Professor Griff says 'white police officer' accused him of 'training cop killers' after he was pictured with Dallas shooter before his rampage; Griff was linked to Johnson in police investigation into Dallas shootings; Was also pictured meeting gunman at a talk he gave several months ago; But he has denied having any serious links with Johnson or the violence; Says 'white police officer' called and accused him of 'training cop killers' ; DailyMail.com could not verify Griff's claims and the rapper admitted the caller could have been someone impersonating a cop" (2016-07-10, dailymail.co.uk) [archive.is/nTRBe]
* (2016-07-07, facebook.com/shaunking) [archive.is/b8bTg]: This is a former United States Congressman threatening the President and all of us who are a part of the Black Lives Matter Movement.- Read more of Joe Walsh's "New Voice of Freedom" tweets against human rights for Black America! [archive.is/97Qs8].
* "Former Rep. Joe Walsh Blames Obama, Black Lives Matter for Dallas Shootings; In a now deleted tweet, Walsh told Black Lives Matter and Obama 'real America is coming for you' " (2016-07-08, time.com) [archive.is/1idAU]
* "Fmr. Congressman Joe Walsh Deletes Tweet in Which He Threatened Obama With ‘War’ " (2016-07-08, mediaite.com) [archive.is/YaeyP]
* "Black Milwaukee sheriff takes on Black Lives Matter movement" (2016-02-27, Reuters Newswire) [archive.is/MWBMn]
* "EPPD Chief talks little about Dallas events, blames Black Lives Matter group for shooting" (2016-07-09, kfoxtv.com) [archive.is/w0Gm9] [begin excerpt]:
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen goes on record, blaming the events in Dallas on the Black Lives Matter movement.
He made the remarks after a news conference at the El Paso County Courthouse Friday afternoon.
Chief Allen said the Black Lives Matter movement is a radical hate group.
He added the group is directly to blame for the killing of five officers in Dallas. [...]
Chief Allen was also asked about an upcoming vigil in El Paso planned by local members of the Black Lives Matter movement.
"Black Lives Matter, as far as I'm concerned, is a radical hate group and for that purpose alone I think the leaders of this country need to look a little bit harder at that group. The consequences of what we saw in Dallas is due to their efforts," Allen said. [end excerpt]
* "Petition for White House to declare Black Lives Matter a terrorist group has 100,000+ signatures" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/8m4QH]
* "Formally recognize Black Lives Matter as a terrorist organization" (posted 2016-07-06, petitions.whitehouse.gov) [archive.is/TQpCI]: terrorism is defined as "the use of violence and intimidation in pursuit of political aims". This definition is the same definition used to declare ISIS and other groups, as terrorist organizations. Black Lives Matter has earned this title due to its actions in Ferguson, Baltimore, and even at a Bernie Sanders rally, as well as all over the United States and Canada. It is time for the pentagon to be consistent in its actions - and just as they rightfully declared ISIS a terror group, they must declare Black Lives Matter a terror group - on the grounds of principle, integrity, morality, and safety.
* Comments against "Black Lives Matter" (2016-07-06, facebook.com/BlackLivesMatter) [archive.is/TPmY9]:
* "Oath Keepers group calls for armed struggle against ‘Marxists’ in bonkers reaction to Dallas shootings" (2016-07-08, rawstory.com) [archive.is/jU0nH]
* "Snipers Kill Five Officers, Wound Six, During Dallas Black Lives Matter Protest" (2016-07-08, oathkeepers.org) [archive.is/OgT2l]
* "KKK Flyers Appear On Upper Haight Doorsteps" (2016-07-12, hoodline.com) [archive.is/a8hds]
Black Lives Matter, Black Panthers are telling followers to kill White people and Police Officers in the name of justice for the killing of negro's by policemen in the line of duty. These negro's were not innocent, they were thugs breaking the law, and standing up against police.
Join the Ku Klux Klan
• The only organization standing up for whites
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THE KKK WANTS YOU
* (2016-07-08, Charles Gannon) [archive.is/QU8N1]:
My bro got a gun pulled on him Yesterday up in Portland at a Black Lives Matter protest by a "moderate fascist"
Remember, the fascists can't attack you if you already have a gun in your hands.
Arm the oppressed, to the wall with the rest.
* "Five wounded after gunman opens fire at vigil for Baltimore shooting victim" (2016-07-11, nydailynews.com) [archive.is/3Dxvk]: Five people were shot at a candle-lit vigil for a Baltimore shooting victim, according to police.
Up to 30 vigil-goers were gathered for Jermaine Scofield, 24, who was shot dead early Sunday in Charm City, when the gunfire erupted.
Baltimore Police said that four women and a man were wounded, though none had life-threatening injuries.
A gunman approached on foot and opened fire, according to police.
The vigil was being held in the spot where Scofield, one of three Baltimore men killed early Sunday morning, was gunned down.
"I just want to bury my son," Scofield's mother Doreen had earlier told the Baltimore Sun, saying that she forgave those who shot her child and did not want any retaliation for the killing.
* " White Journalist Pulls Gun on Protesters, Plays Victim Card Until Judge Uncovers His Racist Past" (2016-07-12, atlantablackstar.com) [archive.is/cIRqF], video still [archive.is/PuHX5], close-up [archive.is/4oHb9]
* (2016-07-10, @BlackLivesMpls) [archive.is/Hbhe5].
Beware of the confusion between a genuine outlet for a committee, versus an online-only source for opinions of ideology "representing" hundreds of thousands, as shown in the following example, where the original posting by BlackLivesMpls is criticized by a popular facebook.com page titled "Anarcho Communism", supposedly representing hundreds of networks across the world and their practical ideology, referring to #BLM Organizers as "these are liberals. they have absolutely no class understanding of these protests and they put people at risk, with their shit".
Thankfully someone responded, stating "I have a dissenting opinion: There are some individualist, nihilist "anarchists" who use BLM marches as opportunities for adventurist window-breaking, when the overall tone of the march has not called for it. We have to respect collectively set guidelines, and not just cavort around as if we were a one-person riot."
* "Leninism, anarchism and petty individualism" (2014-07-29, liberationnews.org) [archive.is/rM5Vs] [begin excerpt]: Practicing petty individualism can be characterized in the following ways:
– Taking over the front of a march, usurping an action’s message and tactics while claiming to reject “authority.”
– Verbal and physical hostility towards anyone who facilitates or directs an action.
– Anti-social anonymity where no name or contact is given. These same masked individuals ironically claim to not “trust” those who show their faces to the public they organize with.
– Accusing march organizers and facilitators of being “pigs,” a completely degenerated view of state oppression.
– Complete lack of self-awareness or self-criticism resulting in no consideration of privilege, difference, and accessibility.
– Antagonizing cops and other state forces, the consequences of which these “radicals” are not prepared to deal with, resulting in organizers and facilitators having to deal with the bruises, beatings and arrests.
I want to distinguish the collective nature of anarchist/autonomous traditions and communist/socialist/centralized traditions from the self-centered nature of those who practice petty individualism. Young people are taking to the streets. Their militant energy, which seeks to end capitalist oppression immediately, revitalizes the movement. We all seek to incorporate them into our traditions in order to carry out our own methods for revolution. Street actions, direct and civil disobedience actions, forums, gatherings, marches and rallies are all tactics, in which we want to involve this new layer of fighters.
However, there are those who inexcusably reject, dismiss and even disrespect our collective traditions by looking to self-indulge in the power of people in motion. Petty individualism is not a political approach compatible with the collective efforts behind anarchist/autonomous or more centralized groupings. [end excerpt]
---
* "DC Police: Officers Fatally Shoot Man Who Raised BB Gun Near Catholic University" (2016-06-28, nbcwashington.com) [archive.is/r5qgr] [begin excerpt]: Officers ordered him to drop the gun, but he refused and raised it, police said. The officers opened fire and shot Evans multiple times.
Neighbor Madeline Pautler said she heard the commotion.
"I heard 'Drop the gun! Drop the gun!' and then a little bit of murmuring and maybe a few shouts from the cops, and then, a few seconds later, six gunshots," she said.
Evans was rushed in critical condition to a hospital, where he died. Police then found the weapon he held was a BB gun.
He was in his 60s and lived alone, said Marcus Gant, the manager of his apartment building.
"He was a good guy. He didn't bother anybody," Gant said. "I never would have thought he would do anything like this."
Friends said Evans suffered from depression after his wife died. [end excerpt]
---
* "Latinos Ready to Face Hurdles in Fight Against Police Killings" (2016-07-13, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/ZZsdt]* (2016-07-10) [archive.is/SUv74]: At the stop police terrorism rally and vigil
* "Cops walk off WNBA game over Black Lives Matter jerseys" (2016-07-12, thegrio.com) [archive.is/Si3Zm]
---
* "GANG LEADER ORDERS BABY’S MURDER, HIGHLIGHTING GEORGIA GANG PROBLEM" (2016-05-23, newsweek.com) [archive.is/DcoBL] [begin excerpt]: Law enforcement in DeKalb County says they aim to stamp out the national gangs but are still working to understand the organization and financial structure of the groups. “They get money with the robberies and burglaries that some of the young guys do, but what actually happens to all of the money, that’s something I would love to graduate to one day learning,” Swain tells Newsweek, adding that none of the gang members he knows have lavish lifestyles. (The federal Gangster Disciples indictment describes the head of the Georgia branch of the gang ordering Memphis members to hand over a greater percentage of their drug sales, implying that members must pass money up the gang hierarchy, a rough form of franchising.)
“We’re going after the leadership. We’re going after OGs, original gangsters, people who are orchestrating things,” James tells Newsweek. “If you want to kill a snake, you have to cut the head off the snake.” [end excerpt]
---
* "Police Gone Overboard: Militarized Cops Arrest 200 Non-Violent Protesters in Baton Rouge; It's time to retrain the cops and take away their military goodies" (2016-07-13, alternet.org) [archive.is/yxLnZ]
* "Baton Rouge Protester On Arrest: 'I Didn't Know If I Was Going To Survive' " (2016-07-13, npr.org) [archive.is/Pw4Dr], photo caption: Akeem Muhammad stands with a group of protesters in Baton Rouge, La., on Sunday. The 24-year-old student was one of more than 120 people who were arrested during the protest.
* (2016-07-13, Gloria La Riva, PSL):
---
* "Black leader Jabari Shaw targeted" (2015-03-30, workers.org) [archive.is/ppdyM]
A NEW DAY
[col. writ. 7/10/16] ©'16 Mumia Abu-Jamal
The events of last week continue to reverberate throughout national consciousness.
The unprovoked killings by cops in the streets of America' s Midwest, and the subsequent killings of cops in Texas, show us that a new stage has been reached in America' s longest internal war, and that no one knows how it will end.
The problem of police violence, of course, isn't new.
When Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led anti-segregation protests in Selma, Alabama in the 1960s, cops didn't 'assist protestors; they beat them, savagely, for violating the unjust laws of white supremacy. They beat men and women, indiscriminately, to protect white privilege. The Edmund-Pettus bridge became slick with Black blood.
Today, they kill with utter impunity; Black men, women and children: like Mike Brown, Rekiah Boyd, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, etc.--and nothing happens. Secret Grand Juries, and not-so-secret judges repeatedly rule, 'justifiable homicide' , and killer cops get promotions.
'Good job'--and nothing.
Today, media, politicians and police call Micah Xavier Johnson, a madman; "deranged" ;, according to one prominent politician.
But if he is mad, what made him so?
Was he mad when he went to kill Afghanistanis on behalf of the Empire? Perhaps they trained him far too well.
Oppression maddens people. It drives them mad. It turns calm brains into mad minds consumed by anger, rage and resentments.
The media, ministers and politicians will call him names, but he is beyond your curses now.
His life was a curse already, to be born a nigger in America. That's curse enough.
In1951, the great poet, Langston Hughes (1902:1967), in his poem, "Harlem" , wrote:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over --
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
--©'16maj
---
* "Better To Die On Your Feet" (2016-07-13, teespring.com) [archive.is/yXQoW]
---
* "New Black Panther Party Moving Into 5 Southern States To Form A NEW COUNTRY" (thefederalistpapers.org) [archive.is/UmX5v]: A leader of the New Black Panther Party has announced plans for his organization to establish a new country effectively occupying and taking over five southern states.
Babu Omowale, the “national minister of defense” for the organization, said they plan to establish “our own government in a nation within a nation.” He made the announcement in an interview Sunday night on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” Breitbart is reporting.
The five states Omowale said belong to the “Black Nation” are Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama and Georgia.
"We just need to start migrating back to those states and taking control of the economics in those states. If black people move in, most definitely white people will move out. So it’s not a hard process for us to have our own country within a country," he said in the interview.
When Klein asked what the group’s “endgame” is, Omowale said:
"The end game is land ownership. The endgame is our own government in a nation within a nation. Okay. So we claim the states of Louisiana, we claim the states of Mississippi, we claim the states of South Carolina, we claim the states of Alabama, and we claim the states of Georgia.
We just need to start migrating back to those states and taking control of the economics in those states. If black people move in, most definitely white people will move out. So it’s not a hard process for us to have our own country within a country."
The New Black Panther Party plans to work with other Black, militant, separatist groups like the Huey P. Newton Gun Club who are working to develop a “regimented Black Army.”
Until they can separate and form their own nation, they have some short-term goals, Omowale said:
"There is no way that we can totally separate ourselves in the United States of America and we are aware of that. We know that we are owed land, we are owed monies, we are owed restitutions and we are owed reparations. That’s going to be a continuing process. What we are saying right now is we want to control the economics in our community. We want to control the black dollars. The money that goes in, the money that goes out.
"We want to control the politics in our community. If a politician is not bringing anything to the table for the betterment of that community, we are not going to vote for these particular people. And we most definitely want to control the education. What our people are learning in what we call the public fool system, not school system, where they are teaching and misrepresenting the true history of the black man here in the United States."
---
* "80 percent of police force resigns after Missouri town elects first African-American mayor" (2015-04-19, rawstory.com) [archive.is/4MfHY]
* "Parma residents react to loss of police officers" (2015-04-15, wsmv.com) [archive.is/mSrMI]
===*===*===
WORKER'S POWER!
information collected by the Worker's Defense Committee [is.gd/VOkmLr]
* "The Next Step for Organized Labor? People in Prison" (2016-07-11, talkpoverty.org) [archive.is/xBpGk]
===*===*===
information collected by the Committee to
DEFEND THOSE WITHOUT HOMES!
* "$2 billion to go to housing mentally ill homeless people" (2016-07-01, sfchronicle.com) [archive.is/60gsy]---
* "No room for the homeless mentally ill The crisis in housing and mental health" (2016-07-07, 48hills.org) [archive.is/ImpFy]
---
* "Homeless Man Left in Coma After Encounter with Anaheim Police Dies" (2016-07-10, ocweekly.com) [archive.is/APess]. Homeless Chicano Vincent Valenzuela, beaten into coma by Anaheim PD on July 2nd died this morning, five years to the day that Kelly Thomas passed away after being beaten comatose by Fullerton PD.
===*===*===
COMMUNITY FASCISM WATCH
Community Fascism in Vallejo, the "City of God":
* "The real Orcem question" (2016-07-04, by JD Miller, letter to the editor, timesheraldonline.com) [archive.is/7cm5P]
---
Community Fascism in Napa Valley:
* "Napa supervisors tentatively approve Syar quarry expansion" (2016-07-12, napavalleyregister.com) [archive.is/vc3sx].
- Xulio Soriano writes: The more you learn about power here the less surprised you become at this BillDodd industrial complex that includes Alfredo Pedroza as well and potentially other aspiring future politicians. They already had made up their minds to pass this...Don't follow the power. Build da power! Now comes the lawsuits and other litigation. Sometimes that can help curve the power of local politics. Let's hope environmental science wins... With that said Latino elected officials still can be influenced by the Latino Vote so housing and farmworker rights still have some representation.
- Boudicca Todi writes: Napa & Solano Counties --- the New CANCER Alley! Just what we don't need is more cement shit quarried out of our hills... to be trucked or transported by rail through my neighborhood, then to be processed at a proposed cement plant on the Vallejo waterfront... then shipped from a private industrial terminal on diesel ships all lined up in the Napa River. What the hell is wrong with the Supervisors who approved this? Oh yeah. They are rich and don't live here.
* Syar Family Vineyards (syar.com/syarFamilyVineyards.html) [archive.is/Gv5jr] [begin excerpt]: Syar Family Vineyards, a division of Syar Industries, Inc., is one of Sonoma County’s leading suppliers of quality grapes for premium wines with over 360 acres under cultivation in three Sonoma County appellations nestled along the Russian River. [end excerpt]
===*===*===
Documenting human-rights abuse by domestic security agencies
NORTHBAY COPWATCH
[NorthbayCopwatch.blogspot.com] [copblock.org] [wecopwatch.org] [filmingcops.com]
* " ‘Headless system’: US military trains global network of foreign soldiers & police" (2016-07-14, rt.com) [archive.is/iubXX]. Since 9/11, the US Department of Defense has spent $122 billion in training foreign soldiers and police programs in 471 locations in 120 countries on “every continent but Antarctica."
So if police tactics suppressing citizens’ protests worldwide are starting to look familiar, you may be onto something.
---
* "When it comes to police shootings, the US doesn't look like a developed nation" (2016-07-12, pri.org) [archive.is/s0Vda]
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* " ’Every societal failure, we put off on cops to solve…That’s too much to ask’ ‒ Dallas police chief" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/Rx0RY]
---
* "Police Unions Claim Cops Have The Right To Take Steroids So ‘They’ll Have the Upper Hand’ " (2016-01-06, countercurrentnews.com) [archive.is/QsOsR]
---
* "New NC law prevents public from viewing police bodycam footage" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/aUIU7]---
* "Vallejo's Record on Officer-Involved Homicides" (2016-03-21, vallejohomicidewatch.weebly.com) [archive.is/1hHjZ]
* "Questions Surround Surge in Vallejo Police Shootings" (2014-05-20, kqed.org) [archive.is/gbGx3] [begin excerpt]: In 2012, the rate of fatal officer-involved shootings in Vallejo — which had about 118,000 residents — was about 38 times the national rate. The deaths have resulted in calls from Vallejo residents for the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Vallejo officers’ use of force, just as it has done with the Albuquerque Police Department. A recent Justice Department report found that Albuquerque police, who have shot and killed 25 people since 2010, have engaged in a “pattern or practice of excessive force that violates the Constitution and federal law.”
Zimring said 2012 doesn’t appear to be just a statistical anomaly. Vallejo police shot and killed three people in 2013 and another one last month.
“This is not merely lightning striking in 2012 — lightning keeps on striking in Vallejo,” Zimring said. “Use of lethal force, whether justified or not in individual cases, is systemically problematic in Vallejo in a way that compels a heck of a lot more attention than it’s been getting.” [end excerpt]
---
* "Robot killer use defended by Dallas police: ‘No other option but detonate where suspect was’ " (2016-07-10, rt.com) [archive.is/AGnm9]
* "The Dallas police used a ‘bomb robot’ to kill a shooting suspect. That’s a really big deal" (2016-07-08, fusion.net) [archive.is/E9vvR]
* "Using a Bomb Robot to Kill a Suspect Is an Unprecedented Shift in Policing" (2016-07-08, motherboard.vice.com) [archive.is/TZXNJ]
* (2016-07-10, Les Mixon) [archive.is/Lo6Gc]:
#PAYATTENTION #AWAKEN
Since when it is okay to kill someone without due process? If you overlook that core fact just "once" then they WILL do it again. I have seen so much about the topic all up and down my timeline for 2 full days, but nothing on the topic of "Innocent Until Proven Guilty".
There was no hostage situation, thus no need for deadly force. He was to be apprehended and given due process. It was a Judge and Jury's decision on his guilt, not the officers on the scene.
Sixth Amendment:
The amendment as proposed by Congress in 1789 reads as follows:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
They got away with this right in front of everyone's faces, yet this is not what WE AS A UNDIVIDED WHOLE are speaking on.
#WealreadylosttheBattle #FighttheWar
---
* "Chief Dyer: Fresno police used social media to track protest march" (2016-07-11, fresnobee.com) [archive.is/DKXua]: Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer says the department used social media to help determine where protest marchers were going Saturday, July 9, 2016. The demonstration against police violence started in Fresno and ended in Clovis.
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* (2016-07-13, David Ross, member of UNAC): Look very carefully at the police uniforms here and everywhere. Completely black, often with balaclavas covering the face except for the eyes which sometimes are in turn masked with sunglasses. Often as not there is, illegally, no shield or other identifying number or nametag by which to identify who hurt you. Black boots, black guns, black vest, black straps, black equipment. This "darkness without name" is designed deliberately to intimidate the hell out of you and embolden them..
They are not there “to protect and serve.” They are "the force." They will hurt you, they may kill you.” I have a name for this carefully designed style: Nazi Storm Trooper Darth Vader Chic. When you see it, know it for what it is. Know your country for what it is. Know how far you are willing to go up against this to change things. And remember John F. Kennedy: “Those who make a peaceful revolution impossible make a violent one inevitable.”
* "Victims Must Unite With Their Oppressors" (2016-07-13, rall.com) [archive.is/QT7ei]: A spate of shootings of innocent black men by white police was followed by a mass shooting of 12 policemen in Dallas. Afterwards, Very Reasonable People assured us that it was up to “both sides” – blacks and the police who oppress, abuse and kill them – to put their differences aside and compromise to achieve peace. Actually, it’s always up to the oppressors to stop oppressing.
---
* "The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People, Not ‘Serve and Protect’ " (2015-01-06, inthesetimes.com) [archive.is/l4RgQ]---
* "Blood On Their Hands: The Racist History of Modern Police Unions" (2015-01-14, inthesetimes.com) [archive.is/oDJXb]
* "No Place for Cops in Our Unions Last week, Local 2865 of the United Auto Workers passed a resolution calling on the AFL-CIO to end its affiliation with the International Union of Police Associations. This call offers a way in which workers can take up the fight against police brutality at their jobs, and put pressure on their unions to sign on to this demand" (2015-08-07, leftvoice.org) [archive.is/UjUwO]
---
* "Police have killed at least 2,009 people since Ferguson" (2016-07-08, vox.com) [archive.is/rm6p6]
* "People Shot Dead by Police in 2016" database (washingtonpost.com)
- (retrieved 2016-05-12) [archive.is/2Yadu]: 352
- (retrieved 2016-07-08) [archive.is/SONfA]: 509
Within two months, over 150 people were extra-judicially executed for any motive.
* "People Shot Dead by Police in 2015" database (washingtonpost.com)- (retrieved 2015-10-24) [archive.is/srMvp]: 800
- (retrieved 2016, information collected through 2015-12-31) [archive.is/KZcoj]: 990
Within two months, 190 people were extra-judicially executed for any motive.
---
* "LAPD found no bias in all 1,356 complaints filed against officers" (2015-12-15, latimes.com) [archive.is/xgDKE]
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* "4 Latinos Killed by US Cops This Week—And Media Ignored It; While international media floods to cover the killing of white people and cops, the deaths of Latinos often go unnoticed" (2016-07-08, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/cU6nc]
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* "An ‘unarmed’ white teen was shot dead by police. His family asks: Where is the outrage?" (2015-08-07, washingtonpost.com) [archive.is/HEgUc]
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* "At a funeral, a family's grief doubles over" (2016-07-06, douglas-budget.com) [archive.is/Hh8yR]
[begin excerpt]: U.S. marshals shot and killed a Colorado man outside his father’s funeral last Thursday, rocking the community and leaving friends and family stunned as their place of mourning that warm afternoon was transformed into a scene of fresh torment.Outside of Douglas’ St. James Catholic Church, dozens watched as Jasen Scott Ramirez, 44, took his final breaths in the parking lot. He was later pronounced dead at Memorial Hospital of Converse County.
As others went to the basement of the church for a reception, friends and family say that a distraught Ramirez left the funeral and was headed to his car when he was approached by undercover law enforcement and shot.
It was around 3 p.m. when the shooting occurred, officials say.
Friends and family say that Ramirez was unarmed. For unknown reasons, they say he was shot multiple times by law enforcement wearing plain clothes as Ramirez was getting into a red sedan.
The U.S. Marshal Service released a brief statement on Friday.
In it, the federal agency confirmed that they were involved in the shooting and noted that Ramirez was wanted for a drug charge. They didn’t say whether Ramirez was armed, nor the reason he was shot, citing an active investigation. But they noted that the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation would lead the probe into the shooting. DCI spokesman Frosty Williams said that the agency would release its findings to the Converse County Attorney’s Office once the investigation was complete, but he was unsure of a timeline. [end excerpt]
---
---
* "40 Years Ago, a Dallas Cop Shot a Handcuffed 12-Year-Old in the Head. Hispanic Leaders Haven't Forgotten" (2013-11-22, dallasobserver.com) [archive.is/oljrD]
---
* "Daniel Shaver, unarmed man killed by Arizona police officer, cried and begged for life before shooting" (2016-03-30, nydailynews.com) [archive.is/j4HjD]:
An unarmed man who was shot and killed by an Arizona police officer in January cried, complied with police orders and begged for his life before the fatal firing, according to a newly released police report.
Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford has been charged with second-degree murder for the death of Daniel Shaver, a 26-year-old Texas man. Authorities have declined to release Brailsford’s body cam footage from the deadly encounter.
But a report released Tuesday includes extensive description of the footage, detailing Shaver’s desperate final moments before Brailsford fired five shots at him with an AR-15 rifle.
Police confronted Shaver January 8 after responding to reports of a man pointing a rifle out the fifth-floor window of a La Quinta hotel.
The night of his death, Shaver had invited a man and woman at the hotel to his room for drinks, according to the report.
After some shots of rum, the man asked Shaver about a case that appeared to hold a musical instrument. Shaver opened it to reveal a pellet gun and dead sparrow inside. Shaver told them he was on a business trip with Wal-Mart and “his job is to kill all of the birds that get inside the buildings,” according to the report.
Shaver then briefly pointed the pellet gun out the window.
When police found Shaver, they warned him that he “may not survive” if he did anything that could be considered a threat, the report says.
Brailsford’s body cam shows Shaver appeared to making small jerking motions while he had his hands behind his back, according to the report.
An officer yelled at him, “If you do that again, we are shooting you. Do you understand?”
“No, please don’t shoot me,” Shaver said.
The footage shows Shaver complying with all other orders, including a demand to crawl toward the officers, as he is “audibly heard sobbing.”
At one point, Shaver’s hand appeared to move toward his waist. An officer was heard yelling, “Don’t,” before Brailsford fired.
Shaver was not armed. His hand motion appeared to be him “attempting to pull his shorts up as they were falling off,” the report says.
Previous reports have indicated Shaver may have been drunk at the time of the shooting — despite telling officers he was not — and possibly did not understand police orders. Shaver’s autopsy report has not been released.
Brailsford was charged with second-degree murder and fired from the department. The new report reveals Brailsford had etched on his rifle: “You’re F---ed.”
Shaver’s widow and the mother of his two girls, Laney Sweet, posted a YouTube video Tuesday saying prosecutors are considering a plea deal for the ex-cop. The Maricopa County Attorney has not commented on the case.
Photo caption: (Left) Daniel Shaver with his wife Laney Sweet. / (Right) Mesa Police Officer Philip Brailsford has been charged with second-degree murder for allegedly shooting an unarmed Texas man.
---
* "Rikers prison gets $1.2mn military weapons upgrade, incl. Tasers, Kel-Tec shotguns" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/llZj6]
---
* "Two cops forced to step down amid allegations they're KKK members five years after officer from the same Florida force was pictured in a pointy hood and robe; Fruitland Park Deputy Chief David Borst, 49, has resigned, while Officer George Hunnewell was dismissed on Friday; Allegations surfaced in a confidential FBI report; Isn't a criminal offense to be in the KKK, but local police chief Terry Isaacs had to consider how the allegations might affect the officers' credibility; He said that while he had no proof the men were Klan members, 'I've read the report, and it's convincing' ; Another Fruitland officer had had to resign in 2009 after pictures surfaced of him in uniform with a pointy Klan hood and robe" (2014-07-13, dailymail.co.uk) [archive.is/U8x9N]
---
* (2016-07-08, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin) [archive.is/XU2Ow]:
I think back to 1983, in Memphis, Tennessee, when cops created an armed siege of 7 young Black men, after a cop came to an address and claimed a young man had taken a white woman's purse. The father attempted to ask the officers questions, but was brushed aside, and the cop tried to put a gun in his face. The gun was taken away, and the cop was allegedly held hostage, according to the police. They claimed that this was a "violent cult", who had a "cache of weapons". Actually, the only gun was that by the cop himself. When the cops finally raided the house, they killed their cop colleague by "accident", and then lined up seven black men, made them lie on the floor and shot them in the back of the head one-by-one, stacking them up like bales of hay. All this was later covered up, and the FBI investigation "exonerated" the cops. This was a mass murder called the "Shannon Street massacre" by the people, but the cops claim it was just a massacre of the single white cop. This was the largest mass murder by police at the time of any city. Over 200 people have been killed by the Memphis police since that time, but that incident opened the door for them to do it and cover it all up.
---
* "Fresno PD: The Most Dangerous Police Force in America?" (2016-04-03, fresnoalliance.com) [archive.is/E5BhZ], about the photo: Rev. Dr. Floyd D. Harris and his congregation at New Life Church have confronted the endemic human rights abuses executed by Fresno PD, despite harassment by both on-duty and off-duty members of Fresno PD!
===*===*===
NORTHBAY COPWATCH: Domestic Security Agencies and private-sector partners
* "NSA classifies Linux Journal readers, Tor and Tails Linux users as 'extremists' " (2014-07-04, techspot.com) [archive.is/EDpRd]
---
* [archive.is/Du1sD]:
#Iamtheirbiggestfear #KNOWLEDGE
We as American's have no rights to safety at the moment. Please remember this before you start screaming out "I Have Rights".
We under and "ACT" of Government. The Patriot Act was not removed it was revised to become the Freedom Act.
"The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of the Patriot Act, which had expired the day before".
Note:
"However, opponents to the bill cite that the USA Freedom Act does allow the bulk collection of Americans' metadata by phone companies, which is then accessible by the NSA; it also does not address other laws which have purportedly challenged Americans' Fourth Amendment rights."
Fourth Amendment:
"Under the Fourth Amendment, search and seizure (including arrest) should be limited in scope according to specific information supplied to the issuing court, usually by a law enforcement officer who has sworn by it. Fourth Amendment case law deals with three central questions: what government activities constitute "search" and "seizure"; what constitutes probable cause for these actions".
So without your Fourth Amendment Rights you can be detained, searched, seized (not just your property, but you as a person), and arrested (seizure).
YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS AS AN AMERICAN!
#YouHaveNORights
[update]: And right now facebook is asking me to "hide this post" and if you click hashtag #Knowledge" it doesn't appear. They don't like educated men of color.
---
* (2016-07-12, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin):
So Zuckerboy and co. are harassing me about stuff that myself and other comrades have been saying in relation to the police shooting in Dallas. I am opposed to the police as an institution, and believe more and more, we will have to use armed self-defense at the police itself. I do not know about any "copyright infringement" and it could be anything. They won't tell you. This all solidifies in my mind why we need to create a radical social network without such corporate control or political repression. But, it has to be easy to us and lively. Nothing worse than a turgid, boring site. Facebook is being run like the Ministry of Information & Censorship in a totalitarian state.
* "Israel's New 'Facebook Bill' Hopes to Force Social Media Giant to Delete Posts; According to new bill, court will be able to order the platform to remove content that deals with terror or poses real danger to the security of the state" (2016-07-06, haaretz.com) [archive.is/5TgQw]
* "Amid Anti-BDS Pressure, Facebook Israel Appoints Long-Time Netanyahu Advisor To Policy Post; The move comes amid calls for Israel’s legislature, the Knesset, to criminalize criticism of Israel on Facebook" (2016-06-22, mintpressnews.com) [archive.is/s8x98]
* "Post, Share, Arrest: Israel Targeting Palestinian Protesters on Facebook" (2016-07-07, theintercept.com) [archive.is/xZ5J9]
* "Facebook sued for alleged facilitation of Hamas attacks on Israeli-Americans" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/jayQq]
* "Mark Zuckerberg's Dentist Dad May Be Worth ~ $60,000,000" (2012-02-05, businessinsider.com) [archive.is/xdklb]
* "Facebook's First 20 Employees: Where Are They Now?" (2012-07, businessinsider.com) [archive.is/lSeW] [begin excerpt]: Steve Chen left Facebook after a few short months to start YouTube.
Steve Chen left Facebook after a few short months to start YouTube.
Twettey.com
Employed by Facebook from: For a few months in 2005
Position at Facebook: Senior Software Engineer
Current Company/Position: Cofounder of YouTube
Source: LinkedIn
[end excerpt]
* "Ex-Googlers Are Officially Running The Tech Universe" (2012-07-16, businessinsider.com) [is.gd/axXrQM] [begin excerpt]: Yahoo has a new CEO: Marissa Mayer.
She was the 20th employee at Google, where she spent a long time working on its products.
She's the most recent of a long line of ex-Googlers to take over huge positions at tech companies in Silicon Valley.
Googlers are already placed at high positions in Facebook, Twitter, and spent time at companies like Square. [end excerpt]
---
* "Dumb thief meets GPS-tagged smart loot" (2016-07-04, sfchronicle.com) [archive.is/0FsR6] [begin excerpt]: A local thief must have figured he’d made a clean getaway last month. He broke into a house in Noe Valley in the middle of the night and began collecting loot. He grabbed three bicycles and a laptop, then apparently found car keys. He jumped into a 2015 Ford Explorer and roared out of the garage.
And ran smack into the future.
What he didn’t know was that he’d ripped off the work/live space of a company called Noa Technologies, which markets GPS tracking devices. Almost everything the suspect took was outfitted with a tracker. On the scale of bad ideas, this was right up there with attempting a strong-arm robbery of a martial arts academy. [end excerpt]
===*===*===
NORTHBAY COPWATCH: Five-Eyes, and other transnational partners
* "EU okays ‘renewed’ data transfer deal, lets US firms move Europeans’ private info overseas" (2016-07-09, rt.com) [archive.is/O9h2u]
===*===*===
from the Committee to
FREE 'EM ALL!
[PoliticalPrisonersUSA.blogspot.com]
End the Drug War! Stop Jim Crow! Close the Torture Chambers! [solitarywatch.com] [facebook.com/incarceratedworkers] [supportprisonerresistance.noblogs.org] [denverabc.wordpress.com] [prisonlegalnews.org] [prisonbooks.info] [nycabc.wordpress.com] [powmedicaljustice.com] [sacprisonersupport.wordpress.com]. Become a Human Rights Pen Pal! [link].
* "How Prison Phone Calls became a Tax on the Poor" (2016-03-30, ibtimes.com) [archive.is/seJQT]
---
* "Lessons from Cuba’s Incarceration Model" (2016-03-21, guernicamag.com) [is.gd/lqOOLs] [begin excerpt]: In one of our meetings in Havana, we asked if they shackle women during childbirth, and they looked at us like we were accusing them of some kind of barbarism. We explained with embarrassment that we were only asking if they engaged in the same practice that we have here. [end excerpt]
===*===*===
articles recommended by the
SAN PABLO BAY ECOLOGICAL PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION
Campaigns, info, and more [SanPabloBayEPA.blogspot.com]. Science [discardstudies.com]. [blog.savesfbay.org]
* "Century-Old Redwood Trees OK’d For Lumber Harvest, Despite Objections" (2016-07-05, sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com) [archive.is/U1F4j]
---
* "Ocean Acidification Affects Predator-Prey Response; Acidic Waters Dull Snails’ Ability to Escape from Predatory Sea Stars" (2016-06-28, ucdavis.edu) [archive.is/NJ64I]
* "Ocean acidification tips predator-prey balance" (2016-07-04, sfchronicle.com) [archive.is/HTc7L] [begin excerpt]: The lowly sea snail, a slow-moving denizen of tide pools up and down the California coast, could be in big trouble as greenhouse gases change the world’s climate and increase the acidity of the oceans.
The snails are the favorite prey of the voracious purple sea stars. In any natural tide pool, they will quickly flee from their predator to a nearby dry rock, because the starfish rarely leave the water.
Now a young biologist at the Bodega Marine Laboratory in Bodega Bay has discovered that the increasing pace of ocean acidification can deeply alter the relationship between prey and predator — to the sea snail’s disadvantage.
Her experiments may well foreshadow major changes in the life of the open oceans everywhere. [end excerpt]
---
* "Is your fleece killing marine life? Warning over jumpers that release thousands of toxic fibres every time they're washed; Around 2,000 fibres are typically released every time garments are washed; Microbeads, used in cosmetics have long caused concern for scientists; But new studies have discovered presence of tiny polyester fibres in water; Plastics eaten by smaller creatures and are passed on up the food chain" (2016-07-03, dailymail.co.uk) [archive.is/uLOQJ]
===*===*===
SAN PABLO BAY EPA: Health and the Human Ecology
Monopolists enforce a regime that does not recognize the natural right to health and life. Info [detoxproject.org].
* "A Mass Murderer Lurks in the Valley" (2016-07-05, fresnoalliance.com) [archive.is/66YM5] [begin excerpt]: In June of 2016, the United Nations Environmental Director, Ibrahim Thiaw, gave a speech detailing the effects of air pollution on the world’s population. He said, “If air pollution were a human then it would be the deadliest mass murderer in history as it claims 7 million lives every year.” He went on to say, “In 2012, outdoor air pollution alone caused more than 500,000 premature deaths … [and] it cost $1.6 trillion to treat the health problems caused by [this] air pollution.” He also mentioned that environmental crime, such as illegal logging and illegal disposal of toxic wastes, is costing the world over $250 billion per year.
What about here in the San Joaquin Valley? How many people are dying prematurely because of our air pollution which averages the worst in the nation? What is it costing us? And, do we have environmental crime here in the San Joaquin Valley?
The last question is easy. There is plenty of environmental crime here in the valley negatively affecting air, land, soil, and other natural resources. Illegal burning of agricultural waste is common. Burning trash is still a regular sight at some rural residences and businesses. Illegal fireplace burning on no-burn days happens with immunity because it is impossible to detect with the convoluted air district rules allowing cleaner but still dirty wood stoves to burn on no-burn days. There are often cases of illegal dumping in the valley as well. It was only a few years ago that a Long Beach area refinery dumped several hundred thousand tons of hazardous ash on Kern County land owned by the City of Oxnard. It took citizen reporting to expose this dump and force an expensive clean up. There is also the recent case of an oil company which was caught dumping fracking waste into an unlined sump [an agricultural pit used to store biodegradable run-off] in the middle of prime farmland.
Perhaps some of the biggest crimes have been the illegal wastewater disposal practices of oil companies. Dozens of oil waste sumps have been ordered closed this year by the Regional Water Board which claims they have just recently been given the staff to look for these illegal disposal sites. Wastewater injection wells have also been found to have permits which were approved illegally by both the state and EPA. In these cases, the wastewater is being injected into usable ground water.
There are also dirty diesel trucks which continue to operate without required pollution controls all over the valley. And, there are the pesticide sprays which continue to drift illegally into homes and school yards despite buffer zone rules which residents have fought hard to implement.
A lot of the problem is a lack of enforcement. For example, the biggest companies, technically, don’t have to break the law to illegally pollute our air. All they need to do is fill out a waiver or variance request to shut down their pollution controls for weeks or even months at a time while they do some fixing of something or other. Our local air district rubber stamps these requests every month and every time. The air district also commits a probable criminal action against the public directly when they allow businesses to use 35-year-old emission reduction credits to mitigate new sources of pollution. EPA turns their back on these types of crimes. [end excerpt]
---
* "EPA: Don't Increase the Amount of Radiation Allowed in Drinking Water!" petition [is.gd/HvGBLy]:
Right now, if a disaster were to strike — like a fracking truck spilling radioactive wastewater near your water, or even a nuclear disaster like Fukushima — the Safe Drinking Water Act sets clear limits to protect your health and safety from radiation. But the EPA is considering increasing that limit for anywhere from one year to four years after an emergency .
People should get clean drinking water in an emergency and should not be forced to drink water with a vastly higher concentration of radioactivity than considered acceptable under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
---
* "Air District Claims Success While Air Quality Worsens" (2016-05-29, fresnoalliance.com) [archive.is/kYi0s] [begin excerpt]: The American Lung Association (ALA) has once again confirmed, in their annual report, that San Joaquin Valley residents are breathing the worst air in the nation and subsequently suffering the worst health effects from pollution. Fine particulate levels (PM 2.5), our most deadly form of pollution, have actually gotten worse in recent years according to the ALA and monitoring data.
At the same time, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District recently declared attainment of one of the oldest and least health protecting mandates called the one-hour ozone standard.Although ozone levels have improved slowly the past decade or two with the slow turnover of our vehicle fleets to cleaner burning engines, it is questionable whether this old standard has actually been attained.
The problem is in Arvin at the southern end of the valley. A monitor there was removed in 2010 which had consistently measured the worst ozone readings in the valley for approximately 20 years. With its removal the air in the region suddenly improved dramatically, surprise, surprise! This has led to the air district now claiming compliance with the standard. Both the state Air Resources Board and the federal Environmental Protection Agency pointed out earlier that they could not certify attainment of any ozone standard unless that monitor was back in place. But, after several years of the air district crying foul, these agencies gave in this year and approved the claim of victory. That approval eases the pressure on the air district to make stricter rules decreasing local air pollution sources. [end excerpt]
---
* "US ‘didn’t really study’ impact of toxic chemicals when allowing offshore fracking - activist to RT" (2016-07-07, rt.com) [archive.is/jGWMy]
---
* "No Longer Conspiracy: CIA Admits Plans Of Aerosol Spraying For Geoengineering; The extent at which Brennan talked about stratospheric aerosol injection shows that he and the CIA have likely been considering this for some time" (2016-07-06, by Matt Agorist) [archive.is/RJrLv]
* "The CIA asked me about controlling the climate – this is why we should worry; Geoengineering has many risks, and we don’t yet know the CIA’s intentions. But given the lack of political will on climate change, we have to look at it" (2015-02-17, theguardian.com) [archive.is/coFfy]
---
* "Ibuprofen & other common drugs, supplements may cause, exacerbate heart failure – study" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/ptCpt]
===*===*===
articles recommended by the
NO NUKES! campaign
[StopNuclearDeath.blogspot.com] [nuclear-news.net] [nukeresister.org] [nukefree.org]
* "Victims of four nuclear wars" [is.gd/OCv6m1]: A short animation with horrifying images of sick and deformed children, facts on use of DU, increases in disease in the theatres of war where it has been used. If you think using DU isn't a crime against humanity watch this.
* NukeNet Anti-Nuclear Network (nukenet@)energyjustice.net) [energyjustice.net/nukenet]
- Depleted Uranium Lists and Links [energyjustice.net/nuclear/du], illustration caption: This map was published by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer shortly before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq
Including an archive of information about the use of "depeleted" uranium weapons during war by the USA against the people of the socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia!
- The Legacy of Depleted Uranium [archive.is/FItlW]
- Laka Report: Depleted Uranium - A Post-War Disaster For Environment And Health [archive.is/sLklD]
- Belgrade Faculty of Law - DU Web Archive [archive.is/NCyzv]
- Low Level Radiation Campaign's DU Page [archive.is/0zHzO] and their DU Summary page [archive.is/EcP0a]
- Depleted Uranium in Yugoslavia, intro [archive.is/mk60K], table of contents [archive.is/Dkqgc]
- The Centre for Peace in the Balkans - DU Page [archive.is/Z8uHP]
* "Cancer in Sarajevo after the NATO shelling" statistics table (2001-05, llrc.org) [archive.is/vPqTF]
* "Depleted Uranium: Pentagon Poison" [archive.is/huK3x], a collection of facts concerning "depleted" uranium weapons, including -
- The brain is a 'target organ' for dissolved uranium.
- Depleted Uranium and the Medical Mismanagement of Gulf War Veterans
- Soaring birth deformities and child cancer rates in Iraq
* "Is the Israeli military using depleted-uranium weapons against the Palestinians?" (2000-11-27, Depleted Uranium Education Project of the International Action Center) [archive.is/9LCcp]* "Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens Requires Action; Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens Requiring Immediate Action By President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and Prime Minister Olmert" (2006-07-24, by Dr. Doug Rokke, PhD., former Director, U.S. Army Depleted Uranium project)[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0607/S00452.htm]:
The delivery of at least 100 GBU 28 bunker busters bombs containing depleted uranium warheads by the United States to Israel for use against targets in Lebanon will result in additional radioactive and chemical toxic contamination with consequent adverse health and environmental effects throughout the middle east.
Today, U.S., British, and now Israeli military personnel are using illegal uranium munitions- America's and England's own "dirty bombs" while U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense, and British Ministry of Defence officials deny that there are any adverse health and environmental effects as a consequence of the manufacture, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions to avoid liability for the willful and illegal dispersal of a radioactive toxic material - depleted uranium.
The use of uranium weapons is absolutely unacceptable, and a crime against humanity. Consequently the citizens of the world and all governments must force cessation of uranium weapons use. I must demand that Israel now provide medical care to all DU casualties in Lebanon and clean up all DU contamination.
U.S. and British officials have arrogantly refused to comply with their own regulations, orders, and directives that require United States Department of Defense officials to provide prompt and effective medical care to "all" exposed individuals. Reference: Medical Management of Unusual Depleted Uranium Casualties, DOD, Pentagon, 10/14/93, Medical Management of Army personnel Exposed to Depleted Uranium (DU) Headquarters, U.S. Army Medical Command 29 April 2004, and section 2-5 of U.S. Army Regulation 700-48. Israeli officials must not do so now.
They also refuse to clean up dispersed radioactive Contamination as required by Army Regulation- AR 700-48: "Management of Equipment Contaminated With Depleted Uranium or Radioactive Commodities" (Headquarters, Department Of The Army, Washington, D.C., September 2002) and U.S. Army Technical Bulletin- TB 9-1300-278: "Guidelines For Safe Response To Handling, Storage, And Transportation Accidents Involving Army Tank Munitions Or Armor Which Contain Depleted Uranium" (Headquarters, Department Of The Army, Washington, D.C., JULY 1996). Specifically section 2-4 of United States Army Regulation-AR 700-48 dated September 16, 2002 requires that:
(1) "Military personnel "identify, segregate, isolate, secure, and label all RCE" (radiologically contaminated equipment).
(2) "Procedures to minimize the spread of radioactivity will be implemented as soon as possible."
(3) "Radioactive material and waste will not be locally disposed of through burial, submersion, incineration, destruction in place, or abandonment" and
(4) "All equipment, to include captured or combat RCE, will be surveyed, packaged, retrograded, decontaminated and released IAW Technical Bulletin 9-1300-278, DA PAM 700-48" (Note: Maximum exposure limits are specified in Appendix F).
The previous and current use of uranium weapons, the release of radioactive components in destroyed U.S. and foreign military equipment, and releases of industrial, medical, research facility radioactive materials have resulted in unacceptable exposures. Therefore, decontamination must be completed as required by U.S. Army Regulation 700-48 and should include releases of all radioactive materials resulting from military operations.
The extent of adverse health and environmental effects of uranium weapons contamination is not limited to combat zones but includes facilities and sites where uranium weapons were manufactured or tested including Vieques; Puerto Rico; Colonie, New York; Concord, MA; Jefferson Proving Grounds, Indiana; and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Therefore medical care must be provided by the United States Department of Defense officials to all individuals affected by the manufacturing, testing, and/or use of uranium munitions. Thorough environmental remediation also must be completed without further delay.
I am amazed that fifteen years after was I asked to clean up the initial DU mess from Gulf War 1 and over ten years since I finished the depleted uranium project that United States Department of Defense officials and others still attempt to justify uranium munitions use while ignoring mandatory requirements. I am dismayed that Department of Defense and Department of Energy officials and representatives continue personal attacks aimed to silence or discredit those of us who are demanding that medical care be provided to all DU casualties and that environmental remediation is completed in compliance with U.S. Army Regulation 700-48.
But beyond the ignored mandatory actions the willful dispersal of tons of solid radioactive and chemically toxic waste in the form of uranium munitions is illegal (http://www.traprockpeace.org/karen_parker_du_illegality.pdf) and just does not even pass the common sense test and according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, DHS, is a dirty bomb. DHS issued "dirty bomb" response guidelines, (http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html ), on January 3, 2006 for incidents within the United States but ignore DOD use of uranium weapons and existing DOD regulations.
These guidelines specifically state that: "Characteristics of RDD and IND Incidents: A radiological incident is defined as an event or series of events, deliberate or accidental, leading to the release, or potential release, into the environment of radioactive material in sufficient quantity to warrant consideration of protective actions. Use of an RDD or IND is an act of terror that produces a radiological incident." Thus the use of uranium munitions is "an act or terror" as defined by DHS. Finally continued compliance with the infamous March 1991 Los Alamos Memorandum that was issued to ensure continued use of uranium munitions can not be justified.
In conclusion: the President of the United States- George W. Bush, the Prime Minister of Great Britain-Tony Blair, and the Prime Minister of Israel Olmert must acknowledge and accept responsibility for willful use of illegal uranium munitions- their own "dirty bombs"- resulting in adverse health and environmental effects.
President Bush, Prime Minister Blair, and Prime Minister Olmert should order:
1. medical care for all casualties,
2. thorough environmental remediation,
3. immediate cessation of retaliation against all of us who demand compliance with medical care and environmental remediation requirements,
4. and stop the already illegal the use (UN finding) of depleted uranium munitions.
References- these references are copies the actual regulations and orders and other pertinent official documents:
- [http://www.traprockpeace.org/twomemos.html]
- [http://www.traprockpeace.org/rokke_du_3_ques.html]
- [http://www.traprockpeace.org/du_dtic_wakayama_Aug2002.html]
- [http://www.traprockpeace.org/karen_parker_du_illegality.pdf]
- [http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/fr-cont.html]
- [http://cryptome.org/dhs010306.txt]
* "IAEA: Seoul's Nuclear Sins in Past" (by Paul Kerr, armscontrol.org) [archive.is/SkoZg]
* "Depleted uranium once used in weapons" (2004-10-21, koreajoongangdaily.joins.com) [archive.is/L4qU6]: Representative Cho Seung-soo of the Democratic Labor Party and the environmental group Green Korea United said yesterday that the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute had produced anti-tank shells in the 1980s made from depleted uranium, alloyed with titanium.
They claimed that the Ministry of Science and Technology had hidden the fact.
In response, the ministry said, “We applied for an inspection waiver for development of uranium armaments and received permission in 1987.” The ministry said that it has discussed the production with the United States from an early stage.
The ministry said the shells were destroyed in 1989 with U.S. Embassy officials present when they no longer had commercial value. Depleted uranium is a dense, non-fissile metal.
===*===*===
articles recommended by the
SAN PABLO BAY SOVEREIGNTY Think-tank
[SovereignSanPabloBay.blogspot.com] [permaculture.org]
* "It’s time for geothermal" (2016-07-04, by Michael J. Haworth) [archive.is/pellY]: PG&E’s Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant will cease supplying electricity to California sometime in 2025.
The plant rests on the edge of the Pacific Ocean north of Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County. Construction began in 1968 and the plant was operational in 1973. At that time only one earthquake fault, the Hosgri Fault, located several miles offshore, was thought to present a potential problem. In 1927 it produced a 7.1 magnitude quake, so it is capable of producing a temblor similar to the one in 1906 that destroyed much of San Francisco. During the construction process, for whatever ridiculous, cost-saving reason, only one set of blueprints was used. The blueprints were supposed to be reversed for the second reactor, but they were not. Consequently, structural supports that were added to the first reactor for seismic strengthening were added to the wrong places in the second reactor. This information came to light sometime after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s 1978 approval of the plant’s safety. For reasons currently unknown, the NRC decided not to revisit this ruling.
The facility’s beginning of the end likely came last year when Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was found to have falsified inspection documents regarding the seismic safety of the plant. With an upsurge of seismic activity over the past decade increasing the possibility of a nuclear accident, the last thing California — or the world, for that matter — needs is an event similar to Fukushima. The 9 percent of Diablo Canyon provided electricity will have to come from renewables by the time the plant closes. PG&E confirms this will be doable, although it’s difficult to believe much that PG&E has to say considering its track record with the California public. The $333 million judgment for the people of Hinkley in 1996 and the current potential $1.4 billion settlement for the people of San Bruno, and several in-between, tell a sorry public relations tale. Public power suppliers like newly formed CleanPowerSF, which, ironically, PG&E tried time and again to scuttle, will be relied upon to take up much of the slack.
Nuclear power has obvious benefits, but the primary drawback was, and still is, what to do with the nuclear waste. Until that problem is solved, nuclear power should be shelved while wind, solar, wave technology and geothermal, such as the proposed site in Oregon’s Deschutes County, are relied upon to fill the nuclear-free void. Geothermal power is a currently untapped source of practically unlimited potential. The Oregon site is near Newberry Volcano and is under lease to Seattle-based geothermal firm AltaRock Energy Inc. It is one of several nationwide research sites under consideration, but because it is the only location on the side of an active volcano, it has the best chance of being the one selected by the U.S. Department of Energy. Geothermal energy has advantages over wind, solar and wave technology in that it is consistently active 24/7. Researchers claim that “tapping into up to 2 percent of the geothermal energy potential in the west could power the nation many times over.”
Geothermal is exciting, clean technology that should’ve been examined long ago. Here’s hoping for a successful, and accelerated, finding.
---
* "Yes wee can! Pee-powered phone charger provides 3hrs call time" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/hGGXK]
===*===*===
NORTHBAY ENTHEOGENIC FREEDOM
[NorthbayEntheogen.blogspot.com]
* "The Strange Connection Between Smoking Weed and Alzheimer's It's definitely not what you'd think" (2016-07-11, esquire.com) [archive.is/bGTvG]. Jeremy C. writes: I'm always stunned by the degree to which research that doesn't fit the desired narrative is buried. I first saw this in a paper from the late 90's that had discovered the correlation in an unrelated dataset (effectiveness on tumors.) In 2006 a group of researchers saw the data study and decided to do the full research. They identified the same linkage as this article, and even mapped out the pathways and chemistry. But obviously, a treatment for Alzheimer's is not enough to break the drug cartel's power. (PHrMA, I mean.)
They hate this study, because it's not CBD that's the active compound. The THC, the same element that gets you high, is the effective component against Alzheimer's. Marijuana's well-known short term memory loss is from the THC temporarily occupying the receptors that the Alzheimer's needs to occupy permanently to become Alzheimer's.
Here's that 2006 study: [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2562334/]
---
* "Monsanto, Bayer, and the Push for Corporate Cannabis" (2016-07-08, counterpunch.org) [archive.is/glEqy]
===*===*===
UNITED STATES FASCISM WATCH
Documenting the process of fascism and for whom it benefits. [UnitedStatesFascism.blogspot.com] [exposefacts.org]
* "U.S. Banking Is a Clone of Society: One-Tenth of One Percent Have the Bulk of the Wealth" (2016-07-13, wallstreetonparade.com) [archive.is/hmMWz]
* " 'Too Big To Jail' — US Refuses To Charge HSBC Because It Could Hurt The Financial System" (2016-07-12, Claire Bernish) [archive.is/Tv3uf]
---
* "U.N. Official 'Accidentally' Crushes Own Throat Right Before Testifying Against Hillary Clinton" (2016-07-02, zerohedge.com) [archive.is/1mPSB]
---
* "US cited for police violence, racism in scathing UN review on human rights US’ second review before UN Human Rights Council dominated by criticism over police violence against black men" (2015-05-11, america.aljazeera.com) [archive.is/JIctY]
* "117 Countries Slam American Police Brutality at UN Human Rights Council" (2015-06-05, countercurrentnews.com) [archive.is/QgTCu]
---
===*===*===
USA FASCISM: "Libertarianism & Constitutionalism" to benefit private bureaucracies
===*===*===
USA FASCISM: Dominionism & the "Prosperity Gospel"
* "Life-Size Noah's Ark To Open Amid A Flood Of Skepticism" (2016-05-05, npr.org) [archive.is/Ixvo5]
* "Inside look at the Ark Encounter" (2016-07-03, wsmv.com) [archive.is/i0xMp]
* "State awards $18 million tax break to Noah’s Ark theme park; Project can claim a sales tax rebate used by tourism sites; Gov. Bevin appointed several new members to the agency that approved the tax break; Backers won a federal lawsuit allowing it to get incentives despite hiring only Christians" (2016-04-26, kentucky.com) [archive.is/JSTt8]
* "What Ken Ham Isn’t Telling You About Ark Encounter Funding" (2015-11-11, patheos.com) [archive.is/59sVf]
* "Giant Noah’s Ark Attraction In Kentucky Features Caged Dinosaurs It’s like the ‘Flintstones,’ except on a big boat" (2016-07-06, huffingtonpost.com) [archive.is/deIH1] [begin excerpt]:
Ham, a “young Earth” creationist, explained in a 2000 blog post exactly how massive dinosaurs could fit on the ship: “Although there are about 668 names of dinosaurs, there are perhaps only 55 different ‘kinds’ of dinosaurs. Furthermore, not all dinosaurs were huge like the brachiosaurus, and even those dinosaurs on the Ark were probably ‘teenagers’ or young adults [archive.is/3qC7b].”
Ham said the ark had 8,000 “animal genera” or about 16,000 in total, including some that are now extinct, like those dinosaurs.
“Without getting into all the math, the 16,000-plus animals would have occupied much less than half the space in the Ark (even allowing them some moving-around space),” he wrote.
Along with dinosaurs, NPR reported that there were other eyebrow-raising “animals” on display, including unicorns [archive.is/Ixvo5]. [end excerpt]
photos showing The Ark Encounter exhibits:
(These giant roosters need a few more feathers to be authentic!)
* "As the Ark rises in Williamstown, fabrication and design work being completed in Hebron" (2016-01-04, nkytribune.com) [archive.is/DbQy7], photo caption: Answers in Genesis co-founder Mike Zovath with some of the animal displays at the Ark Encounter Design Center in Hebron
* (2016-07-09, facebook.com/fathernathan) [archive.is/wv7h2]: I guess this particular ark isn't designed to save anyone. (Note: There are around 7100 people without homes receiving services from the State of Kentucky, and homes can be bought at $60,000 or less in that region.)
* "Jim Bakker's Christian amusement park is now a post-apocalyptic ghost town" (2012-02-05, io9.gizmodo.com) [archive.is/GKGfl]
===*===*===
USA FASCISM: Military State
The entire array of Armed Forces programs receives nearly $1 trillion, yet those who volunteer to serve in active combat or in foreign operations receive nothing to care for their future after duty.
* "20 veterans committed suicide every day in 2014 – study" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/GDu1O]
---
* "Lockheed Martin gets $559 million for Lot 10 F-35s" (2016-07-08, UPI Newswire) [archive.is/zpPz6]
* "Bell Boeing gets $73 million Osprey contract" (2016-07-08, UPI Newswire) [archive.is/XHLUp]
* "Lockheed gets $500M Canadian C130-J support contract" (2016-07-08, UPI Newswire) [archive.is/TeoNh]
===*===*===
USA FASCISM: Two Party Dictatorship
* "Emerging Republican Platform Goes Far to the Right" (2016-07-12, nytimes.com) [archive.is/p3Sxw]
* "The Republican Party Has Released Their Platform For The 2016 Convention, And It Is INSANE" (2016-07-13, occupydemocrats.com) [archive.is/n3Uo4]
---
* "Clinton vetting ex-NATO military chief Stavridis for vice-president – report" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/a3cIK]. Of all the challenges America faces … the most dangerous is the resurgence of Russia under President Putin.’– Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Admiral James Stavridis
* "HILLARY BREAKS THE LAW AGAIN – USES PRESIDENTIAL SEAL IN CAMPAIGN EVENT" (2016-07-07, downtrend.com) [archive.is/YIcWR]
* "Hillary Clinton’s Outsourcing of Top Secret Government Documents: The Untold Story" (2016-07-12, wallstreetonparade.com) [archive.is/TrmXc]
* "Suspicious? DNC Staffer In Charge Of “Voter Expansion Data” Murdered In D.C." (2016-07-12, by Melissa Dykes) [archive.is/ruFY9]
---
* "Trump and his buddies dumped 24 million gallons of sewage a day in the Hudson River: report" (2016-07-13, rawstory.com) [archive.is/woQWL]
* "A BRIEF HISTORY OF DONALD TRUMP AND BILL CLINTON’S FRIENDSHIP" (2016-05-27, newsweek.com) [archive.is/i2gxz]
* "Chelsea and Ivanka put their friendship on ice; The prospect of an epic November collision between their parents has complicated their relationship" (2016-03-10, politico.com) [archive.is/kVzO8]
---
* "The truth (so far) behind the 2016 campaign" (2016-06-29, politifact.com) [archive.is/a7qmN] [begin excerpt]: Of the 650 claims we’ve fact-checked, it’s almost equally split among claims that rate True, Mostly True and Half True, and claims rating Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire. [...]
4. Whose pants are on fire?
Trump has more statements rated Pants on Fire, 30, than the 21 other candidates for president we’ve fact-checked this cycle combined.
Second on the list? Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, with four Pants on Fire claims. Bernie Sanders has yet to receive a Pants on Fire rating in the 2016 election. [...]
Trump on the Truth-O-Meter -
- 60.13% Percentage of Donald Trump claims that have been rated False or Pants on Fire.
- 2.53% Percentage of Donald Trump claims rated True since he started his campaign.
Pie-chart showing the results for all evaluated statements by the major party candidates:
[end excerpt]
* "For the third time, Donald Trump, U.S. is not 'highest taxed nation in the world' " (2016-05-08, politifact.com) [archive.is/Hk3Ju]
---
* "DNC Election Fraud Whistleblower Found Murdered" (2016-07-13, anonews.co) [archive.is/jveSE]
* "Ballots With Sanders Votes Covered with White-Out Filmed by Election Monitors in San Diego" (2016-07-06, soapboxie.com) [is.gd/NXqsI9]
---
* " 'Bernie is a sellout': Sanders supporters blast him for endorsing Hillary Clinton" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/Zc4oj]
* "Here’s The Letter Bernie Just Sent To The Leaders Of ‘The Revolution’ Who Refuse To Come To Their Senses" (2016-07-12, gopocalypse.org) [archive.is/xbGTd]
You know something is wrong when Donald Trump is right..
FAQ time:
A. They threatened to completely shut him out of the convention if he didn't.
Q. Couldn't he have said screw them and go and fight at the convention anyway?
A. No. Hillary has more delegates, Superdelegates, and supporters on the DNC rules committee. They would have voted down every one of our platforms, denied Bernie the opportunity to speak, and basically shut him out of the entire process. All the leverage he has gained up to this point would be gone.
Q. So wait, Bernie DIDN'T quit today?
A. No. He had to say she won the primary, he endorses her and will help the party defeat Trump, yadda yadda but he DID NOT concede. There is a very big and important difference. Had he conceded, all of his delegates would go to Hillary and he would no longer be an option for nominee.
Q. So Bernie can actually still win??
A. YES. And if he wasn't still TRYING to win, he would have conceded. The ONLY option he had to get to the convention with his delegates behind him and have a chance to still win was to do what he did today. He is not a traitor. He didn't sell us out. He did the only possible thing he could have done to keep fighting for the nomination.
Q. So how can Bernie still win if he's losing the delegate count and he just said he will help Hillary win the election?
A. By far the most important thing to the DNC, even more important than making sure Hillary beats Bernie, is making sure the Democratic nominee beats the Republicans in November. They scrutinize every poll, every opinion of the public, every event to judge whether a candidate is strong enough to win in November. There are A LOT of things going on right now that show how weak of a general election candidate Hillary Clinton is:
-66% of the country sees her as untrustworthy
-60% thinks she should have been indicted for the email scandal
-A lot of Bernie supporters won't vote for her
-Congress has requested the Department of Justice investigate her for lying under oath about the email scandal
-There's a possibility more emails will be leaked by wikileaks or hackers further proving her guilt
-Many believe the FBI is secretly investigating the Clinton Foundation
-Her "wins" during the primary have been tainted with accusations of fraud, suppression, lawsuits, and investigations
And then there's Bernie. An honest candidate people trust and whose approval rating and trustworthy rating crushes Clinton's. This is the argument Bernie will make at the convention. With all his 1,900 delegates inside arguing this case and 100,000 supporters outside arguing this case, we hope the DNC realizes he's the only choice. He CAN win the convention, but he has to get there first. That's why he endorsed her today.
Q. So it's still important that all of his delegates go to the convention and we all still March on it like we planned?
A. It's more important now than it ever was before.
Q. What if the DNC still refuses to nominate him at the convention? Can he still run third party now that he endorsed her?
A. Yes. In fact, running third party has never been an option until AFTER the convention. We need to stick with Bernie and see this through to the convention. He's led us this far. Do not abandon him now.
Q. What if he loses at the convention and doesn't run third party, but instead endorses Hillary 100% and asks us to vote for her?
A. Then our revolution continues without him and we continue to fight against Hillary Clinton and the DNC all the way up to November and beyond by voting for someone like Jill Stein or writing Bernie in. But the time for that is NOT here yet.
Q. So what did Bernie accomplish with this move?
A. Backed into a corner, facing the entire political pressure of the Democratic Party and the DNC, robbed of a right to claim he should be winning if not for a rigged process, and faced with the threat of being shut out of the convention completely Bernie:
1. Managed to stay in the race and secure a prime speaking slot at a contested convention which he can turn into a floor fight
2. Kept all of his delegates to use as leverage in that floor fight
3. Got tens of thousands of people to "Like" and "follow" Green Party candidate Jill Stein on social media
4. Amplified the #NeverHilliary screams of his supporters for all the media and Superdelegates to see 12 days before the convention.
Anyone trashing Bernie today needs to wake up and respect the masterful chess move he just made.
---
---
* Support Jill Stein's People-Powered Campaign [jillstein.nationbuilder.com/twitter_donations]
* "Donations to Jill Stein Explode Nearly 1000% Since Sanders’ Endorsement of Clinton" (2016-07-13, usuncut.com) [archive.is/qVhnK]
* "Green Party candidate bashes Sanders's endorsement of Clinton" (2016-07-12, thehill.com) [archive.is/hjcwJ]
Jill Stein is getting the "Berner" treatment, with memes similar to what was recently given to Bernie Sanders, as "Berners" begin to ditch the Democrat Party and join with the Green Party: [archive.is/r1wOh] [archive.is/eacAU]
===*===*===
USA FASCISM: State Media Watch
Documenting propaganda issued by the monopolist media and members of the state security regime that uphold the economic dictatorship, imperialist wars, and the "New Jim Crow" regime [mediamatters.org]
* "NBC to delay showing Olympics opening ceremony in US to 'edit' content" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/Jkyh0] [begin excerpt]: NBC were heavily criticized for their coverage of opening ceremony of the 2014 Sochi Olympics after editing an anti-discrimination statement from International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach.
The network altered Bach's speech to remove several paragraphs that commended Russia for hosting the Olympics, as well as promoting a message of fair play and harmony.
Bach emphasized the possibility of competitors “living together under one roof in harmony, with tolerance and without any form of discrimination for whatever reason,” but this was not broadcast and fans were not pleased.
NBC also edited the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony to remove an emotional tribute to the 52 victims of the July 7, 2005, terrorist attacks in London.
[end excerpt]
===*===*===
USA FASCISM: Artificial Poverty and Starvation
[talkpoverty.org]
* "UN sounds alarm over ‘structural and institutional racism’ in US" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/0drzg]
* "US local, state govts spend 3 times more on jails than on education – officials" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/wlCmU]
---
* "Gig work isn’t changing job landscape, SF economist finds" (2016-07-05, sfgate.com) [archive.is/YhpMm]
* "Robots will ‘liberate’ 25% of business service workers by 2035, claims Deloitte" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/cnZBx]
---
* "Half of all US food produce is thrown away, new research suggests; The demand for ‘perfect’ fruit and veg means much is discarded, damaging the climate and leaving people hungry" (2016-07-13, theguardian.com) [archive.is/hcIML]
---
* "The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans; Nearly half of Americans would have trouble finding $400 to pay for an emergency. I’m one of them" (2016-05, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/G5oyM]
* "America’s Financial Impotence" (2016-07, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/bqBgj]
* "Not All Money Troubles Are Created Equal; In the United States of America even though all groups can suffer from financial insecurity, blacks and Hispanics have it much worse" (2016-04-21, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/OqUhM]
* "The Circles of American Financial Hell; There’s no escaping the pressure that U.S. inequality exerts on parents to make sure their kids succeed" (2016-05-05, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/RD2xv]
* "The Costs of Financial Isolation; When people don’t talk about their money troubles, their troubles get worse" (2016-04-19, theatlantic.com) [archive.is/a4lfL]
* "Your Stories of Financial Struggle" series (theatlantic.com) [is.gd/jLLuQI]
---
===*===*===
WORLD FASCISM WATCH
Documenting the global economic dictatorship
* "Neoliberalism is a species of fascism" (2016-07-11, by Manuela Cadelli, President of the Magistrates’ Union of Belgium, posted at defenddemocracy.press) [archive.is/5KITg] [begin excerpt]: Liberalism was a doctrine derived from the philosophy of Enlightenment, at once political and economic, which aimed at imposing on the state the necessary distance for ensuring respect for liberties and the coming of democratic emancipation. It was the motor for the arrival, and the continuing progress, of Western democracies.Neoliberalism is a form of economism in our day that strikes at every moment at every sector of our community. It is a form of extremism.
Fascism may be defined as the subordination of every part of the State to a totalitarian and nihilistic ideology.
I argue that neoliberalism is a species of fascism because the economy has brought under subjection not only the government of democratic countries but also every aspect of our thought.1
The state is now at the disposal of the economy and of finance, which treat it as a subordinate and lord over it to an extent that puts the common good in jeopardy.
The austerity that is demanded by the financial milieu has become a supreme value, replacing politics. Saving money precludes pursuing any other public objective. It is reaching the point where claims are being made that the principle of budgetary orthodoxy should be included in state constitutions. A mockery is being made of the notion of public service.
The nihilism that results from this makes possible the dismissal of universalism and the most evident humanistic values: solidarity, fraternity, integration and respect for all and for differences.
There is no place any more even for classical economic theory: work was formerly an element in demand, and to that extent there was respect for workers; international finance has made of it a mere adjustment variable.
Every totalitarianism starts as distortion of language, as in the novel by George Orwell. Neoliberalism has its Newspeak and strategies of communication that enable it to deform reality. In this spirit, every budgetary cut is represented as an instance of modernization of the sectors concerned. If some of the most deprived are no longer reimbursed for medical expenses and so stop visiting the dentist, this is modernization of social security in action! [end excerpt]
---
* "TPP Reduces Human Trafficking and Child Labor to Misdemeanors" (2015-06-01, huffingtonpost.com) [archive.is/eQfNT]
---
* "HSBC reportedly got top govt help to hamper money laundering probe- reports" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/I2Zuu]
---
* "The Term 'Third World' is Now Offensive to SJWs" [https://youtu.be/fOWBH5glkJk]
===*===*===
WORLD FASCISM WATCH: #OPDeathEaters
A study of the personal ideologies and social practices of those who benefit from the global capitalist regime. [WorldFascists.blogspot.com]
* "VIP child sex abuse: 14 new corruption inquiries leveled against London police" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/m6avZ]
---
* "The Bush Rape Story" (2002-12-20, counterpunch.org) [archive.is/64rMw]
* "The Strange Death of the Woman Who Filed a Rape Lawsuit Against Bush" (by Jackson Thoreau) [archive.is/SzT8D]
* "A Woman Accuses Bush of Rape, Later Dies of Apparent Suicide" (2006-03-13, dailykos.com) [archive.is/OJKr1]
===*===*===
information collected by the
SOLANO PEACE, JUSTICE, AND FREEDOM COALITION
[SolanoPeaceJustice.blogspot.com], for justice, dignity and human rights in accordance with the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (.pdf) [is.gd/TftqGs], and an end to the USA's endless wars, in harmony with Principle 1 & 6 of International Law [archive.is/tmncz], the 5 protocols of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) [archive.is/LhUTj], and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [archive.is/U1Ota].
* "Welcome the Golden Rule anti-nuclear peace boat to Seattle!" (2016-07-09, Veterans for Peace - Seattle Chapter 92, facebook.com/vfp92) [archive.is/aAK2r]: After singing some tunes at the Veterans for Peace Golden Rule welcome meeting this evening, some of the Seattle Peace Chorus Action Ensemble members dropped by the Ivar's Salmon House dock to check out the boat. She's a beauty! And of course, we had to serenade her with "Somos el Barco".
Feel free to make an online donation. Keep the Golden Rule sailing for a nuclear-free world!
[www.vfpgoldenruleproject.org]
Views of the boat:
- (2016-07-07, VFP-Seattle Chapter 92) Welcome the Golden Rule anti-nuclear peace boat to Seattle!
---
* "Hacked Emails Reveal NATO General Plotting Against Obama on Russia Policy" (2016-07-01, theintercept.com) [archive.is/CIqG0]
* "Review: NATO general pens fantasy novel of war with Russia" (2016-07-11, by Paul Robinson) [archive.is/GZ7lV]
* " ‘No to militarism!’ Anti-war activists mirror NATO meeting in Warsaw with own summit" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/P1HMs], photo caption: Masked protesters hold banners and flags as they gather for anti-NATO demonstrations in central Krakow, Poland.
* "US Mayors Blast Obama, NATO: War Games on Russia’s Border Endanger Humanity; The leaders of America’s towns and cities issued a resolution warning the Obama administration and NATO that continued anti-Russian provocations place humanity at greater risk of nuclear annihilation" (2016-07-02, sputniknews.com) [archive.is/zPI6h]
* (2016-07-09, facebook.com/phil.wilayto) [archive.is/N2NJg]: The No to NATO march in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday, July 9. I attended the march and two anti-NATO conferences, representing the United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), and will be posting a report soon. Spoiler Alert: NATO is bringing the New Cold War to a whole new and much more dangerous level. We'd best pay attention.
Photos and caption:
- [archive.is/vRi1V]: The march against NATO held July 9 in Warsaw, Poland, during the NATO Summit.
- [archive.is/yZh30]: Phil Wilayto, representing UNAC, speaking at the final march rally, held within sight of the NATO Summit.
- [archive.is/MQChn]: Former U.S. diplomat and now prominent antiwar activist Ann Wright speaking in front of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw.
- [archive.is/B7g55]: Armed with loaves of bread, Food Not Bombs members assemble before the anti-NATO march July 9 in Warsaw, Poland. During the march, a cop motioned to one of the members, most of whom are members of a local anarchist organization, to come over and talk with him. It was not likely to be a friendly chat. The anarchist slipped further into his contingent, and I moved in between the cop and the contingent, blocking the cop's way in. Earlier, when the cops had tried to stop the anarchists from getting to the march, it was my Polish independent communist friends who rushed to support them. Red-Black Unity!
* "Poland, Warsaw: WFTU present in the anti-NATO meeting" (2016-07-10, wftucentral.org) [archive.is/JFtAM]
* Photo (2016-07-09): NATO protest at Grand Park in Los Angeles.
* "Debunking of 'Russia's Myths About NATO' is Nothing but Hot Air; NATO has attempted to debunk what it called “Russia’s top myths about NATO” regarding its policy towards Moscow; however Russian experts analyzing the alliance’s arguments have came to conclusion that it is nothing but demagogy, which aims to delude and win over its audience" (2016-06-18, sputniknews.com) [archive.is/3Hgeq]
---
* "Iraq war 'was illegal,' Blair's former deputy acknowledges" (2016-07-10, rt.com) [archive.is/gJkml]
* "Chilcot: Intelligence reports confirm Iraq war created ISIS" (2016-07-07, rt.com) [archive.is/c6uaW]
* "Claims That Iraq Had Weapons Were Based on Nicolas Cage Movie; Suspicions of Iraqi chemical weapons were based on an inaccurate and purely fictional depiction in the 1996 movie, 'The Rock' " (2016-07-07, telesurtv.net) [archive.is/PJp9p]
* "UK govt gambled with troops’ mental health over Iraq & Afghanistan – Chilcot" (2016-07-08, rt.com) [archive.is/PqfDK]
* "Military leaders gagged over Chilcot’s Iraq War condemnations" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/fkpk6]
* "Chilcot Inquiry: the Evidence of the Collapse of the American Empire; IT SHOULD BE RECALLED THAT THE UNITED KINGDOM VOLUNTARILY BECAME A SATELLITE OF THE UNITED STATES, HANDING TO THE AMERICANS THE ROLE OF THE SEA POWER. SO NOTHING WILL PREVENT IT FROM LEAVING THE US WHEN IT DEEMS IT NECESSARY" (2016-07-11, gpolit.com) [archive.is/Gvt7b]
* "Chilcot: UK refusing to help clean up Iraq after raining down radioactive shells" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/nZKwN]
* "SAS chief in Iraq angry at UK running ‘Latin American-style death squads’ " (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/rKXaG]
* "Greenspan admits Iraq was about oil, as deaths put at 1.2m" (2007-09-16, theguardian.com) [archive.is/Pcevf]
* "Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq" (2011-04-19, independent.co.uk) [archive.is/K8Pm0]
* "No, really, George W. Bush lied about WMDs" (2016-07-09, vox.com) [archive.is/YaCUl]
* "The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons" (2014-10-14, nytimes.com) [archive.is/gLihm] [begin excerpt]: Two technicians assigned to dispose of munitions stepped into the hole. Lake water seeped in. One of them, Specialist Andrew T. Goldman, noticed a pungent odor, something, he said, he had never smelled before.
He lifted a shell. Oily paste oozed from a crack. “That doesn’t look like pond water,” said his team leader, Staff Sgt. Eric J. Duling.
The specialist swabbed the shell with chemical detection paper. It turned red — indicating sulfur mustard, the chemical warfare agent designed to burn a victim’s airway, skin and eyes.
All three men recall an awkward pause. Then Sergeant Duling gave an order: “Get the hell out.”
Five years after President George W. Bush sent troops into Iraq, these soldiers had entered an expansive but largely secret chapter of America’s long and bitter involvement in Iraq.
From 2004 to 2011, American and American-trained Iraqi troops repeatedly encountered, and on at least six occasions were wounded by, chemical weapons remaining from years earlier in Saddam Hussein’s rule.
In all, American troops secretly reported finding roughly 5,000 chemical warheads, shells or aviation bombs [archive.is/fSGJw], according to interviews with dozens of participants, Iraqi and American officials, and heavily redacted intelligence documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act [is.gd/kg5U9O].
The United States had gone to war declaring it must destroy an active weapons of mass destruction program. Instead, American troops gradually found and ultimately suffered from the remnants of long-abandoned programs, built in close collaboration with the West.
The New York Times found 17 American service members and seven Iraqi police officers who were exposed to nerve or mustard agents after 2003. American officials said that the actual tally of exposed troops was slightly higher, but that the government’s official count was classified. [end excerpt]
* "GOOD NEWS: IRAQ BUILDS MONUMENT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH. BAD NEWS: IT’S A SHOE" (2009-02-01, graneyandthepig.wordpress.com) [archive.is/lgt34]
* "Shoe monument for man who threw footwear at Bush" (2009-06-30, Reuters Newswire) [archive.is/IeNMq]
* "Monument to Bush shoe-throwing shines at Iraqi orphanage; Fiberglass, copper sculpture of shoe thrown at former President Bush unveiled; Orphans help artist build the $5,000 sculpture displayed at the orphanage; Director: Monument is a gift to next generation to remember heroic action; Orphans who helped build shoe "were the victims of Bush's war," director says" (2009-01-29, edition.cnn.com) [archive.is/rydBk]
* "Shoe-throwing monument removed from Iraqi orphanage; Provincial governor says government facilities can't be used for politics; Huge sculpture of shoe thrown at former President Bush was at orphanage; Orphans helped artist build the $5,000 sculpture" (2009-01-30, edition.cnn.com) [archive.is/2smbj]
* "Bush shoe sculpture 'taken down' " (2009-01-30, news.bbc.co.uk) [archive.is/nE4jV]
* "The Shoe R.I.P." (2009-02-01, crooksandliars.com) [archive.is/WYxJL], photo caption: Children unwrap the sculpture of a shoe created as a monument to the shoes thrown by an Iraqi journalist at former U.S. President George W. Bush, in Tikrit, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009.
---
Yes, it is true...
* "Fidel Castro says Mossad behind Islamic State" (2014-09-02, timesofisrael.com) [archive.is/cFBtO]
* "Former Cuba Leader Fidel Castro Says 'Israel and US Fathered Isis' " (2014-09-03, ibtimes.co.uk) [archive.is/W2RY5]
And here is the declassified truth!
* "Newly-Declassified U.S. Government Documents: The West Supported the Creation of ISIS" (2015-05-24, washingtonsblog.com) [archive.is/pbVrg], read the complete de-classified document (.pdf) [is.gd/UAzom8]
US imperialist support for Gulf State petrodollar monarchies, like Saudi Arabia, is directly related to the spread of Salafi Jihadism around the world.
* "Western leaders support terror groups in Syria, get extremism at home – Assad" (2016-07-10, rt.com) [archive.is/sB2SR]
* "Now the truth emerges: how the US fuelled the rise of Isis in Syria and Iraq; The sectarian terror group won’t be defeated by the western states that incubated it in the first place" (2015-06-03, theguardian.com) [archive.is/TZxSR]
* "Secret Pentagon Report Reveals US "Created" ISIS As A "Tool" To Overthrow Syria's President Assad" (2015-05-24, zerohedge.com) [archive.is/Ailk8]
---
* "The Pentagon gets a new ‘Psyops’ contractor" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/TjXwX]
---
* "US on track to approve $40bn in foreign arms sales – Pentagon" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/0h54m]
* "Arms firms profiting from refugee crisis bought ‘access’ to Scottish politicians" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/dSsGt]
---
* "Seoul court says expulsion of pro-N. Korea American was legitimate" (2016-07-07, yna.co.kr) [archive.is/TRmmP]:
A local court ruled Thursday the government's decision to expel a Korean-American woman for making pro-North Korean remarks during her on-stage talk shows here was legitimate.
The Seoul Administrative Court dismissed the suit filed by Shin Eun-mi against the chief of a local immigration office, seeking nullification of the expulsion order.
The 55-year-old dodged indictment last year after being accused of making comments sympathetic to the North Korean regime at talk shows she hosted in Seoul and other provincial cities in 2014.
The Ministry of Justice, instead, expelled Shin and barred her from entering South Korea for five years.
"Shin's words and behavior could have threatened national interests or public security," the court said. "Shin's personal interests that have been hurt by the expulsion order do not seem to be more significant than the public interest at stake here."
Still, the court said Shin did not violate the National Security Law as she did not directly praise or propagandize the North's ideology.
Shin's South Korean co-host Hwang Sun received a six-month jail term, suspended for two years, for similar charges.
Hwang was acquitted of violating the security law by holding the talk shows but was found guilty of violating the law by praising the North at another lecture held in 2010.
Photo caption: Korean-American Shin Eun-mi walks toward the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul on Dec. 5, 2014, to ask for a meeting with President Park Geun-hye. She was expelled from South Korea in 2015 for sympathizing with the North.
===*===*===
Weapons for a New World Order
* "On the path toward molecular robots; Scientists at Japan’s Hokkaido University have developed light-powered molecular motors that repetitively bend and unbend, bringing us closer to molecular robots" (2016-07-06, oia.hokudai.ac.jp) [archive.is/gDVnC]
---
* "Russia to kill drones, missiles with 10km-range super-high frequency cannon" (2015-06-15, rt.com) [archive.is/uXm5p]: Russia’s Rostec Corporation is to unveil a super-high frequency weapon capable of taking down all kinds of drones, missiles and other high precision weapons. The presentation will be made at the Army-2015 military expo.
The Mosow Radio Engineering Institute has developed a super-high frequency (SHF) ‘cannon’. It’s designed to knock out aircraft, drones, guided missiles and any airborne high precision weapons using electronics.
The cannon creates an air-exclusion zone within a reported radius of over 10 kilometers around the defended object or installation, though the system’s exact characteristics are classified.
“This mobile microwave irradiation complex performs off-frequency rejection of electronics aboard low-altitude aerial targets and warheads of high precision weapons,” a source in Rostec Corporation told TASS, adding this system puts close range air defenses on a whole new level.
“In terms of performance capabilities, the complex has no competitors in the world,” the source said. All the equipment is mounted on a tracked Buk missile air defense transportation platform.
“When installed on a special platform, an SHF ‘cannon’ provides all-around defense,” the source said, adding the complex is also planned to be used to test domestic-made military radio-electronic systems for resistance against high-power microwave radiation.
The SHF ‘cannon’ will be unveiled in the classified area of Army-2015 expo, an international military forum that will take place at the ‘Patriot’ military amusement park outside Moscow between June 16 and 19.
In April this year, the US Navy released a video detailing its LOCUST technology – a new tool allowing multiple drones to coordinate and swarm the enemy. Reportedly, it’s designed to protect large US vessels. However, when armed with warheads they turn into offensive weapons.
An attack of a squadron of drones on a defended installation makes the task of taking them out really troublesome and resource-consuming for existing air defense systems.
The out-of-band 360-degree radiation suppression by an SHF ‘cannon’ looks like a universal solution for maintaining secure air defense against swarming drone attacks.
* Russia Develops 'Microwave Gun' Able to Deactivate Drones, Warheads; Russia has developed super-high-frequency gun capable of deactivating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and the warheads of precision weapons at an impact range of ten kilometers which ensures 360 degrees of perimeter defense" (2015-06-15, sputniknews.com) [archive.is/JRxnu]
* "Russia’s new microwave cannon can knock out electronics of aircraft, drones; Russia has announced the development of a “microwave cannon” capable of disabling drones and the warheads on precision weapons" (2016-06-16, presstv.com) [archive.is/GOj8P], photo caption Russia’s new microwave cannon made by Rostec’s United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation will be mounted on the chassis of the Buk anti-aircraft missile system (seen in the photo).
Russia’s government-owned United Instrument Manufacturing Corporation (UIMC), part of Rostec Corporation, announced that the super-high-frequency (SHF) gun will be unveiled during a private demonstration at the Russian Defense Ministry’s Army-2015 expo, which is scheduled to run from Tuesday to Friday.The weapon creates a 360-degree air exclusion zone of about 10 kilometers around itself and will knock out the precision electronics of any aircraft, drones, and guided missiles in its radius.
“This mobile microwave irradiation complex performs off-frequency rejection of electronics aboard low-altitude aerial targets and warheads of high precision weapons,” the TASS news agency quoted a Rostec Corporation representative as saying on Monday.
The cannon’s design permits it to be mounted on the chassis of the Buk anti-aircraft missile system, the source noted.
“In terms of performance capabilities, the complex has no competitors in the world… When installed on a special platform, an SHF ‘cannon’ provides all-around defense,” he added.
The cannon’s specifications are yet to be disclosed, but according to the source it is also “planned to be used to test the national radio-electronic systems of military equipment for resistance to high-power microwave radiation."
---
* "Russia’s first 3D-printed surveillance drone on display" (2016-07-11, rt.com) [archive.is/8JWJu]
* "Russian 6th-gen drone fighter jets to fly in swarms, enter near space" (2016-07-12, rt.com) [archive.is/cHYac]: Planned to be unveiled by 2025, Russia’s sixth-generation fighter jets will be rounding on the enemy in “swarms” largely consisting of unmanned aircraft flying at hypersonic speed. Developers say such groups would be able to interact and transit through space.
“The main principle of this aircraft’s way of deployment is a so-called swarm, a collective solving of any task. There will be one or two piloted aircrafts in the group, the others will be unmanned vehicles,” said Vladimir Mikheev, an advisor to the deputy head of the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern [KRET], Russia’s largest radio electronics manufacture, in an interview to TASS on Monday. [...]
The unmanned aircraft is supposed to by far supersede the technical potential of 5th generation fighter jets. Apart from developing a supersonic speed of about 4-5 Mach, it will be able to enter near space and reenter the atmosphere in a designated spot, hundreds of kilometers away from the place of the original entry.
Such accuracy and mobility enable instant support to other “drone swarms” in case of emergency, even if the air groups are positioned thousand kilometers apart from each other.
“A pilot is performing tasks with his air group, while another [group] is a thousand of kilometers away. Let’s say, one ‘swarm’ has suffered losses. Then the second group can share aircrafts with the first one,” Mikheev said. [...]
“There is nothing more expensive than a human’s life and any drone will be always cheaper than a piloted aircraft,” he stressed, adding that they intend to cut expensive by manufacturing “pure drones” without costly life-supporting and piloting systems. [end excerpt]
* "Russia creates aircraft engine for 6th-generation space planes" (2016-07-13, rt.com) [archive.is/Z08s6]
---
* SOME QUORA ANSWERS by David Pearce (2015, 2016) [archive.is/oFpDz] [begin excerpt]:
Is Elon Musk a transhumanist?
If humans are to become transhumans, then we will need to rewrite our genetic source code. However, like many people, Elon Musk is ambivalent. On the one hand, Musk doesn't want to endorse human genome-editing because he doesn't know how to avoid what he calls "the Hitler problem". On the other hand, when considering how to overcome the biology of ageing, Musk is on record as saying that "...in order to fundamentally solve a lot of these issues, we are going to have to reprogram our DNA. That's the only way to do it."
And of course he's right.
Source: http://uk.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-doesnt-want-to-get-into-genetic-engineering-because-he-doesnt-know-how-to-avoid-the-hitler-problem-2015-6
Should abolitionism (bioethics) be applied to non-humans?
Suffering doesn't matter less if experienced by members of another ethnic group. Nor does suffering of equivalent intensity matter less if the victims belong to a different species. Brain-scaling suggests that the intensity of experience undergone by, say, a sperm whale may surpass humans. The intensity of experience undergone by humans and other primates is presumably greater than the experience of mice.
However, such comparisons are invidious. Human mastery of our genetic source code, the accelerating revolution in computing and artificial intelligence, and CRISPR genome-editing technologies promise a major evolutionary transition in the development of life on Earth. Whether the biology of involuntary suffering persists indefinitely in the living world will depend on the policy-decisions of the cognitively dominant species on the planet, Homo sapiens.
For an overview of the abolitionist project, see:
http://www.abolitionist.com
Pitfalls? Undoubtedly immense.
[...]
Is genetic engineering (CRISPR, gene drives, etc.) advanced enough to kill or save billions of people?
Millions of gamers across the world enjoy playing Plague Inc: Evolved (PC) [archive.is/YvO2T]. The object of the game is to eradicate the human species by evolving pathogens via a complex set of variables to simulate the severity and spread of the plague. Tomorrow's CRISPR-based "gene drives" (cf. Gene Drive FAQ - Sculpting Evolution [archive.is/y9c8Q]) have the capacity to kill billions of sentient beings or make the world a radically better place.
First the scary stuff. "Weaponised" gene drives may democratise weapons of mass destruction. (cf. http://qz.com/554337/this-could-be-the-next-weapon-of-mass-destruction/
"This could be the next weapon of mass destruction")
Newspaper stories like "New ISIS weapon: 'Supercharged' killer mosquitoes" are sensationalist and (to the best of my knowledge) still unduly alarmist; but the threat of bioterrorism is real. (cf. http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/457586/New-ISIS-weapon-killer-Mosquitoes
"Why FBI and the Pentagon are afraid of gene drives")
Using cheap molecular tools and laboratory equipment readily available on eBay, an ecologically literate garage biohacker could take out entire ecosystems by targeting one or more “keystone” species. (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keystone_species)
In principle, even a single gene-drive-engineered organism released in the wild - whether accidentally or deliberately - could crash an entire ecosystem. The novel capacity of synthetic biology to let you "upload" genetic code to your PC, then edit and manipulate the code, and next download the code into revised living organisms heralds the era of computer-designed sentient beings - and computer-designed weaponised organisms that "hijack" evolution and transcend the old constraints of Mendelian inheritance. Using weaponised gene drives, tomorrow's bioterrorists could suppress pollinators in order to destroy a country's agricultural production; modify the host range, transmissibility and virulence of pathogens; make vaccines ineffective and confer resistance to antibiotics, antifungals and antiviral agents; and modify currently innocuous insects to transmit diseases such as malaria, dengue, filariasis - and worse. Depending on their level of sophistication, biohackers - or rogue state actors - could sabotage biosurveillance efforts, circumvent existing diagnostic and detection tools; and defeat potential "reversal drives" designed to overwrite changes introduced by their primary drives.
Worryingly, the deliberate release of gene-drive-engineered organisms into the wild is also potentially anonymous. Effective deterrence, international regulation and enforcement mechanisms, and democratic accountability are all woefully lacking.
If all goes well, CRISPR/Cas9-based gene drives will imminently be used to wipe out the scourge of insect-borne disease. Malaria has killed an estimated half the humans who ever lived (cf. http://www.nature.com/news/2002/021003/full/news021001-6.html
"Portrait of a serial killer")
; the disease still kills or sickens millions of human and nonhuman animals each year. However, mosquitoes and other insect vectors can just as readily be weaponised to deliver lethal bacterial toxins to entire human populations. Mercifully, Unit 731 (cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cherry_Blossoms_at_Night
"Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night")
didn’t have access to CRISPR-based gene drives because if they did, the outcome of WW2 might have been very different. By levelling the playing-field for weapons of mass destruction, weaponised gene drives are likely dramatically to shift the balance of international power. Simultaneous release of multiple independently-targeted gene drives makes biodefense extremely difficult. IMO some of the nastier non-obvious possibilities shouldn’t be speculated on even in outline; but the optimal level of self-censorship is unclear. Does the study of global catastrophic and existential risk increase or diminish its likelihood? How do bio-laboratories and academic research institutes protect themselves - and us - against "deep entryism"? Evidently, CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene drives can't distinguish between Christians, Jews and Muslims; but CRISPR-based gene-drive-engineered organisms could be used as so-called "ethnic bioweapons". Genotype-specific bioweapons can either be finely targeted
(cf. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/11/hacking-the-presidents-dna/309147
"Hacking the President’s DNA")
or appallingly indiscriminate. We may hope that tomorrow’s genetic jihadis will worry about "collateral damage". Unfortunately, some religious fundamentalists think more like Arnaud Amalric than secular bioethicists.
[Arnaud Amalric was a Cistercian abbot who played a prominent role in the Albigensian Crusade. When asked by a Crusader how to distinguish the Cathars from the Catholics, Amalric supposedly responded, "Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius." Loosely: "Kill them all. God will know His own."
(cf. Massacre at Béziers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_at_B%C3%A9ziers)]
Religious extremists won’t be the only groups tempted to modify the biosphere with rogue drives. Blackmailers, extortionists, and organised crime are already taking an interest in synthetic biology. However, highly motivated idealists and ideologues are at least as worrying as amoral criminals. For example, sooner or later animal rights extremists may decide to tweak e.g. the Lone Star tick
(cf. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/08/10/this-bugs-bite-could-turn-you-into-a-vegetarian
"This bug’s bite could turn you into a vegetarian") with a clever gene drive. The way that humans treat nonhumans is indeed monstrous; but such an initiative is not going to help win the battle for hearts and minds.
[The concept of using bioweapons to promote dietary modification isn’t entirely new. "Operation Vegetarian" (cf. Operation Vegetarian [archive.is/67PDK]) isn’t the name of a clandestine animal rights plot to turn humans into obligate herbivores, but rather a plan hatched by British Intelligence in WW2 to drop cattle-cakes laced with anthrax spores on Germany. Grazing cattle would then eat the cakes and infect meat-eating German consumers - although not Hitler, who was a vegetarian.]
And then there are Deep Greens who publicly or privately agree with Professor Erik Pianka, who reportedly favours elimination of 90 percent of Earth's human population by airborne Ebola or its equivalent.
(cf. http://www.naturalnews.com/052796_Ebola_population_control_genocide.html
"Group of scientists gave standing ovation for plan to kill 90 percent of human population with airborne Ebola")
The idea of using gene drives to cull an ecologically damaging invasive species opens up possibilities its originators may not have intended. In addition, some Deep Greens have a depth of ecological knowledge of keystone species needed to bring about a planetary cataclysm that is still (probably) lacking in Islamic fanatics.
Again, depending on the sophistication and motivations of the actors in question, a "Doomsday device" could theoretically be engineered either to eradicate or interfere with the metabolism of keystone species of phytoplankton in the oceans. Phytoplankton contribute between 50 to 85 of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere. For evolutionary reasons, status quo bias is endemic in human society; but it's far from universally shared. (cf. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/646592-better-never-to-have-been-the-harm-of-coming-into-existence
("Better Never to Have Been Quotes")
In a lighter vein...
Used responsibly and under United Nations auspices, CRISPR-based gene drives will eradicate vector-borne infectious diseases ranging from Zika to malaria. Most ambitiously, gene drives could be used to help create a happy biosphere. (cf. gene-drives.com: "Genetically Designing A Happy Biosphere" [archive.is/FAPG4]) Synthetic biology allows intelligent moral agents to "reprogram" Nature. Life on Earth can potentially be wonderful - and perhaps even sublime. “May all that hath life be delivered from suffering” said Gautama Buddha; and this outcome will shortly be technically feasible - one way or another. [...]
How should gene drives be regulated in the U.S. and beyond?
Eliezer Yudkowsky once remarked, “Every eighteen months, the minimum IQ necessary to destroy the world drops by one point.” Witty but hyperbole, or so I’ve always assumed; but the nasty stuff that could in theory be done with multiple “weaponized” gene drives is quite scary. In my view, a total blanket ban on their use except under strict WHO auspices is desirable.
The problem with drafting detailed regulatory safeguards, e.g. mandatory prior preparation of “reversal” and “immunizing” drives and so forth, is that writing too many specifics into legislation simply alerts the bad guys/disturbed idealists to where the worst conceivable dangers lie. The real worry isn’t biosafety but bioterrorism. I tried mentally “war-gaming” some of the nastier scenarios prudently omitted from my reply to "Is genetic engineering advanced enough to kill or save billions of people?"- weighing possible counter-measures, counter-countermeasures and so on. Even with Orwellian levels of state surveillance, a sufficiently resourceful and determined team of smart postdocs could (probably) prevail against all possible biodefense efforts.
Right now, anything done by, e.g. a disturbed loner with messianic delusions would probably be a damp squib. Five or ten years from now? I don’t know. If THE GAME OF LIFE were a software title, there’s a fairly high likelihood that the extinctionists would win - or at least cause global catastrophic harm. [end excerpt]
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/gene-drives-and-crispr-could-revolutionize-ecosystem-management/
===*===*===
USA Homeland's resident nations:
Nations exist alongside the Federal [archive.is/VXoPR], and State governance [archive.is/Cz2uF]. Demographic maps: 2000 [archive.is/nXHXz], 2010 [archive.is/nKbSA], religion [archive.is/XArBS]. The New Afrikan nation, and the nation of Nueva Aztlan, each have their own separate sections on this news page.
Sovereign nations of the "Indian Country", and of traditional lodges.
Map [archive.is/s4FYb]; News [indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com] [bsnorrell.blogspot.com]* "Native Lives Matter: Police Killing Native Americans at Astounding Rate" (2015-07-16, nonprofitquarterly.org) [archive.is/5KM2T]
===*===*===
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