Occupy Movement
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The Pentagon Is Offering Free Military Hardware To Every Police Department In The US
The U.S. military has some of the most advanced killing equipment in the world that allows it to invade almost wherever it likes at will. We produce so much military equipment that inventories of military robots, M-16 assault rifles, helicopters, armored vehicles, and grenade launchers eventually start to pile up and it turns out a lot of these weapons are going straight to American police forces to be used against US citizens. Benjamin Carlson at The Daily reports on a little known endeavor called the " 1033 Program " that gave more than $500 million of military gear to U.S. police forces in 2011 alone. 1033 was passed by Congress in 1997 to help law-enforcement fight terrorism and drugs, but despite a 40-year low in violent crime, police are snapping up hardware like never before. While this year's staggering take topped the charts, next year's orders are up 400 percent over the same period.
Anonymous strikes back after feds shut piracy hub Megaupload
The "hacktivist" group Anonymous is taking credit for jamming several government and industry websites. Anonymous chides FBI Federal agents arrest leaders of popular hub for illegal downloads Hours later, Justice Department's website knocked offline "Hacktivist" collective Anonymous says it targeted websites (CNN) -- "Hacktivist" collective Anonymous on Thursday took credit for taking down U.S. Department of Justice, FBI and entertainment company websites, following arrests in one of the federal government's largest anti-piracy crackdowns. Federal agents earlier in the day arrested the leaders of Megaupload.com and shut down the popular hub for illegal media downloads. Hours later, some of Megaupload's fans turned the table on the feds.
After imprisoning Private First Class Bradley Manning for eighteen months, the U.S. Army last week finally began the preliminary stage of his court-martial proceeding, and that initial process ended on Thursday. Manning faces over 30 charges; the most serious — “aiding the enemy” — carries a death sentence (though prosecutors are requesting “only” life in prison for the 24-year-old soldier). The technical purpose of this week’s hearing was to determine if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a full court-martial proceeding; the finding (that there is such evidence) is a virtual inevitability.
The intellectual cowardice of Bradley Manning's critics - Glenn Greenwald
On Dec. 8, I began a hunger strike with three other members of Occupy D.C. at McPherson Square — Adrian Parsons, Kelly Mears and Joe Gray. This commitment is necessary to expedite congressional action toward democracy for the District. Ours is an act of protest in response to a clear violation of our rights as Americans. We follow the examples of Alice Paul, Mohandas Gandhi, Anna Hazare and others in refusing food and consuming only water and vitamins in an indefinite hunger strike. We are calling for three reforms.
Our hunger strike for democracy in D.C.
28 November 2011 Last updated at 16:21 ET By Chloe Hadjimatheou BBC News Chief Stamper has become a critic of US police tactics and culture Police across the US have been criticised for their actions in clashes with Occupy Wall Street protesters. The man who led the police response to the Battle in Seattle protests at the 1999 WTO meeting blames the post-9/11 militarisation of American policing.
Ex-Seattle chief: 'Occupy' police use 'failed' tactics
Occupy Portland Outsmarts Police, Creating Blueprint for Other Occupations
Photo by Paul by Lester Macgurdy The Portland Occupation stumbled upon a tactical innovation regarding occupying public spaces.
OAKLAND -- Monday's protest that shut down much of the Port of Oakland will be the last of its kind if several City Council members get their wish. The council's four-member Rules and Legislation Committee voted unanimously Thursday to press ahead with an urgent resolution directing city leaders "to use whatever lawful tools we have" to prevent future shutdowns or disruptions of port operations. "I think it's embarrassing for the city, for the mayor, for the port and for the council to keep saying that we're not going to let this happen, but then it happens anyway," said Councilman Ignacio De La Fuente, who co-sponsored the resolution with Councilwoman Libby Schaaf. The resolution, which will go before the entire council for approval Tuesday, alarmed Occupy organizers, who said the directives risked renewed confrontations between police and protesters.
Oakland seeks to stop port protests
We are an open, participatory, democratic, horizontal, peaceful, and non-violent movement. We are not a leaderless movement, we are a movement of leaders. As a non-violent movement, we have agreed to refrain from violence against any person, from carrying weapons, and from destruction of property. We reject violence, including property destruction, because we recognize that it undermines popular support and discourages the broadest possible participation among the 99%. We believe non-violence promotes unity, strength of message, and an environment in which every one's voice might be heard.
Proposal to Amend the OLA Statement of Nonviolence
I just signed the following petition addressed to: Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense. ---------------- Grant UN Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez Access to Bradley Manning Secretary Penetta: PFC.
Human Rights Petition: Secretary of Defense: Grant UN Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez Access to Bradley Manning
Rome parcel bomb injures Equitalia tax official
9 December 2011 Last updated at 14:09 ET Equitalia has become widely unpopular among Italians, correspondents say A parcel bomb has exploded at a tax collection office in the Italian capital Rome, injuring the director. Officials at the Equitalia agency said the blast shattered a glass desktop, causing hand and eye injuries to director Marco Cuccagna.
In 2009, Barack Obama's presidency promised to be among the most transparent ever. His tech-friendly administration made public information more accessible (and more useful) with efforts like Data.gov, which collates and publishes important government datasets, and Recovery.gov, which reveals the inner workings of the economic stimulus bill that was the first major point on Obama’s agenda. The Obama team leveraged YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to better communicate with the public; other elected officials of both parties followed suit. (None of this is to say the administration has been perfectly transparent. Among other things, it releases White House visitors logs, but aides reportedly hold sensitive meetings at coffee shops to avoid scrutiny.)
Why Lobbying Transparency Is More Important Than Open Government - News
Posted at 09:37 AM ET, 12/02/2011 Dec 02, 2011 02:37 PM EST TheWashingtonPost In the two weeks since the New York Police Department cleared New York’s Zuccotti Park of its camping protesters, the Occupy Wall Street movement has increasingly turned its attention to Washington.
Occupy Congress on Jan. 17: ‘Largest Occupy protest ever’ - BlogPost
There is nothing more sacred to the maintenance of democracy than a free press. Access to comprehensive, accurate and quality information is essential to the manifestation of Socratic citizenship - the society characterized by a civically engaged, well-informed and socially invested populace. Thus, to the degree that access to quality information is willfully or unintentionally obstructed, democracy itself is degraded. It is ironic that in the era of 24-hour cable news networks and "reality" programming, the news-to-fluff ratio and overall veracity of information has declined precipitously. Take the fact Americans now spend on average about 50 hours a week using various forms of media, while at the same time cultural literacy levels hover just above the gutter.