tagged w/ Political Prisoners
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Sept 15 2009
"The United States Department of Justice has once again made a mockery of its lofty and pretentious title.
After releasing an original and continuing disciple of death cult leader Charles Manson who attempted to shoot President Gerald Ford, an admitted Croatian terrorist, and another attempted assassin of President Ford under the mandatory 30-year parole law, the U.S. Parole Commission deemed that my release would “promote disrespect for the law.”
If only the federal government would have respected its own laws, not to mention the treaties that are, under the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the land, I would never have been convicted nor forced to spend more than half my life in captivity. Not to mention the fact that every law in this country was created without the consent of Native peoples and is applied unequally at our expense. If nothing else, my experience should raise serious questions about the FBI's supposed jurisdiction in Indian Country.
The parole commission's phrase was lifted from soon-to-be former U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley, who apparently hopes to ride with the FBI cavalry into the office of North Dakota governor. In this Wrigley is following in the footsteps of William Janklow, who built his political career on his reputation as an Indian fighter, moving on up from tribal attorney (and alleged rapist of a Native minor) to state attorney general, South Dakota governor, and U.S. Congressman. Some might recall that Janklow claimed responsibility for dissuading President Clinton from pardoning me before he was convicted of manslaughter. Janklow's historical predecessor, George Armstrong Custer, similarly hoped that a glorious massacre of the Sioux would propel him to the White House, and we all know what happened to him.
Unlike the barbarians that bay for my blood in the corridors of power, however, Native people are true humanitarians who pray for our enemies. Yet we must be realistic enough to organize for our own freedom and equality as nations. We constitute 5% of the population of North Dakota and 10% of South Dakota and we could utilize that influence to promote our own power on the reservations, where our focus should be. If we organized as a voting bloc, we could defeat the entire premise of the competition between the Dakotas as to which is the most racist. In the 1970s we were forced to take up arms to affirm our right to survival and self-defense, but today the war is one of ideas. We must now stand up to armed oppression and colonization with our bodies and our minds. International law is on our side.
Given the complexion of the three recent federal parolees, it might seem that my greatest crime was being Indian. But the truth is that my gravest offense is my innocence. In Iran, political prisoners are occasionally released if they confess to the ridiculous charges on which they are dragged into court, in order to discredit and intimidate them and other like-minded citizens. The FBI and its mouthpieces have suggested the same, as did the parole commission in 1993, when it ruled that my refusal to confess was grounds for denial of parole"......
"In America, there can by definition be no political prisoners, only those duly judged guilty in a court of law. It is deemed too controversial to even publicly contemplate that the federal government might fabricate and suppress evidence to defeat those deemed political enemies. But it is a demonstrable fact at every stage of my case.
I am Barack Obama's political prisoner now, and I hope and pray that he will adhere to the ideals that impelled him to run for president. But as Obama himself would acknowledge, if we are expecting him to solve our problems, we missed the point of his campaign. Only by organizing in our own communities and pressuring our supposed leaders can we bring about the changes that we all so desperately need"...Leonard Peltier
Full Letter can be read @
http://blogs.myspace.com/freepeltierSept 15 2009
"The United States Department of Justice has once again made a mockery... more
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The Bush Administration holdovers on the U.S. Parole Commission today adopted the position of the FBI that anyone who may be implicated in the killings of its agents should never be paroled and should be left to die in prison. Despite judicial determinations that the unrepentant FBI fabricated evidence and presented perjured testimony in Leonard Peltier’s prosecution; despite a jury’s acquittal on grounds of self-defense of two co-defendants who were found to have engaged in the same conduct of which Mr. Peltier was convicted; despite Mr. Peltier’s exemplary record during his incarceration for more than 33 years and his clearly demonstrated eligibility for parole; despite letters and petitions calling for his release submitted by millions of people in this country and around the world including one of the judges who ruled on his earlier appeals; and despite his advanced age and deteriorating health, the Parole Commission today informed Mr. Peltier that his “r elease on parole would depreciate the seriousness of your offenses and would promote disrespect for the law,” and set a reconsideration hearing in July 2024.The Bush Administration holdovers on the U.S. Parole Commission today adopted the... more
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Myanmar's military government is to free some political prisoners under an amnesty and allow them to participate in next year's elections, the country's ambassador to the UN has said.
Speaking at the UN Security Council in New York on Monday, Than Swe did not say how many political prisoners would be released or when, or whether opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be among those freed.
But he did say that Myanmar's ruling military would also agree to UN demands that they hold talks with the opposition and allow credible elections next year.
"At the request of the Secretary-General [Ban Ki-moon], the Myanmar government is processing to grant amnesty to prisoners on humanitarian ground and with a view to enabling them to participate in the 2010 general elections," Than Swe said.
Myanmar's government will "implement all appropriate recommendations that [the] secretary-general had proposed. So, no Security Council action is warranted".
The announcement of the prisoner release is apparently an attempt by Myanmar's government to avoid further UN sanctions amid mounting international frustration at the political stalemate in Myanmar.
According to human rights groups more than 2,000 political prisoners are being held in Myanmar's jails or under house arrest.
Briefing
Monday's Security Council meeting was called to hear a briefing from the UN secretary-general on the outcome of his recent two-day visit to the country.
During the trip, Ban met Myanmar's military chief, Senior General Than Shwe, on two occasions but failed to obtain permission to meet Aung San Suu Kyi who is on trial inside Yangon's Insein prison on charges of violating her house arrest.
After his visit Ban had expressed disappointment that the military government had provided no guarantees that they would release Aung San Suu Kyi, or that it would follow UN recommendations for democratising a nation that has been under military rule since 1962.
But the UN chief told the 15-nation council's members that he went because virtually no other world leader could gain the ruling generals' attention.
During his visit Ban was told he would not be allowed to meet Aung San Suu Kyi as it would interfere with the judicial process of her trial.
On Friday the final defence witness in the closed-doors trial gave testimony, arguing that the opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate was innocent because the charges were based on a constitution abolished two decades ago.
Aung San Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest by harbouring an uninvited American man who swam secretly to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
No date has been given for a verdict, but she faces up to five years in jail if found guilty.
The trial has drawn international condemnation, while opposition supporters have said the charges have been trumped up by the military to keep Aung San Suu Kyi out of next year's elections.
Suu Kyi has been in detention for nearly 14 of the last 20 years, mostly at her Yangon residence.Myanmar's military government is to free some political prisoners under an amnesty and... more
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Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney returned home today after 6 days being held by the government of Israel while attempting with 21 colleagues to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza on the vessel, the Spirit of Humanity.
“Don’t sign Miss Cynthia don’t sign!” So chanted a boisterous group of Palestinian teens and pre-teens in Beirut’s Shatila Refugee Camp demonstrating support for the Freegaza Humanity boat abductees on the 4th of July.
The students understood that those illegally arrested while in International waters had been offered a “get out of Jail Free” pass if they confessed in writing to violating Israel’s territorial waters.
The Spirit of Humanity boat, trying to bring emergency humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, was the topic of a lively discussion during a Sabra Shatila Foundation summer school civics lesson on “International law and the Question of Palestine”. The students were interested in the plight of some of their relatives and countryman in Palestine and the continuing siege of Gaza. Some had just finished their Baccalaureate exams and were wondering how they could continue their education given the severe impediments the government of Lebanon places on Palestinian civil rights, and their post exam relief seemed to energize them for the discussion.
A couple of the students had met Cynthia during her recent visits to Lebanon. When they learned that as a Congresswoman, she had introduced articles of impeachment against Bush, was a consistent anti-war voter during her twelve years in Congress, and that no member in Congress had achieved a more consistent, principled, voting record of issues of civil and human rights, including Palestinian rights, they really connected with the subject of the Freegaza aid boat, the Spirit of Humanity and her travails. “Those supporters of Palestine should not accept a false confession and should stay in Jail if necessary. They are patriots” was a commonly expressed sentiment.
The students understood that in refusing to sign the Israeli government prepared “acknowledgement/confession” the Freegaza group acted consistent with International Law. They learned that territorial waters, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a belt of coastal waters extending at most twelve nautical miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, although foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it. They learned from media reports that in any case the Humanity was in International waters and that consequently Israel had no right to molest it.
The class adjourned sharing a general consensus that the Spirit of Humanity, enjoyed and will continue to enjoy on every subsequent humanitarian voyage, these freedoms as well as other internationally lawful uses of the sea within contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones, and on the high seas. Needless to report, were it possible for them, the whole class would like to be on the next Freegaza boat.Former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney returned home today after 6 days being held by... more
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Leonard Peltier's first full parole hearing was held in 1993, at which time his case was continued for a 15-year reconsideration. Mr. Peltier has recently applied for and been granted a parole hearing. The hearing is scheduled for July 28, 2009. All supporters are encouraged to step up their efforts in support of parole for Leonard Peltier.
Below is our suggested letter for you to send. It is critical that everyone write - no matter where you are in the world. Please invite others you know to write letters as well.
Thank you. Your voice has never been more important for Leonard than now. He needs you - your heart, your writing...
Pray or whatever your practice with the Creator is - for Leonard and freedom....the time has come, for our action, and his freedom.
The Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
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United States Parole Commission
5550 Friendship Blvd., Ste. 420
Chevy Chase, MD 20815-7286
(Insert Date)
Re: LEONARD PELTIER #89637-132
Dear Commissioners,
I am writing in behalf of support for Parole for Leonard Peltier. While I am aware of the seriousness of the conviction, I am also aware that people have the ability to go forward out of the past and give to the larger society. I believe that is the case with Leonard Peltier.
I ask you to consider the humanitarian work he has done during his 33 years of incarceration. More than most people can ever do who are not locked up.
I ask you to consider his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for the 6th straight year. There are those who make light of this, but who else among us have had that honor.
He consistently donates his art work for charities such as battered women's shelters, halfway houses, alcohol and drug treatment programs, and Native American scholarship funds.
Mr. Peltier has won several awards including the North Star Frederick Douglas Award; Federation of Labor (Ontario, Canada) Humanist of the Year Award; Human Rights Commission of Spain International Human Rights Prize; and 2004 Silver Arrow Award for Lifetime Achievement.
He has expressed sadness for the tragedy that occurred that day at Oglala and pain for the families of the two agents and the Indian man that died that day.
Thirty-three years is a long time. I ask you to look with empathy upon a 64 year-old man who, over the 33 years, has done so much good while in prison, and I think has the ability to do even more good for the community if he were to be allowed parole.
While I know of the misconduct by government officials in his case, I will not bring details up because I am certain that you are aware of the misconduct, and will consider that as you have the discretion to rule above or below the guidelines. I would hope that you will exercise that discretion in favor of Leonard Peltier. It seems to me it would be a gross miscarriage of justice if he were left to die in prison.
Please grant parole.
Respectfully,
Your NameLeonard Peltier's first full parole hearing was held in 1993, at which time his case... more
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While Attny Fine is still in jail for fighting the corruption in the family court system, yet another person who helps the victims of this corrupt system is jailed......
Claiming civil rights violations, British citizen and father Amir Sanjari hasn't eaten for two weeks. Sanjari, who sits in the Sacramento County jail, was picked up for a warrant out of Indiana. He was arrested at a bus station where he and his adult daughter were about to say "Good bye" after their first visit in years.
Both were hoping their reunion would be permanent, but neither had the financial means. Once a successful nuclear physicist, Sanjari hasn't been able to return to the UK to continue his carreer or get a job in the US. Instead, he's been helping other parents who are faced with civil rights violations in family court.
According to Sanjari, and documented on his website the warrant stems from his divorce case, which is rife with injustice and corruption. Bob Norton, a MA advocate for reform of divorce courts said, "I know Amir. He ran this up the appeals court but it seems the judge is very politically connected and influenced decisions by making contact with appeals court and other gov’t agencies. Sanjari has learned enough 'real' law to be dangerous, expecting that the courts would honor this law."
Sanjari's website tells a story of one injustice after another, and how he has tried to fight back. As an example: he was once ordered to pay a thousand dollars a month in child support, even though at the time he and his wife shared equal custody and had similar incomes. Another: Sanjari took his daughters on a pre-arranged and agreed upon vacation to the UK. He didn't return with them, but had plans to follow shortly. When the terrorist attacks on 9/11delayed his return, their mother fraudulantly claimed abandonment and filed for sole custody of the two girls.While Attny Fine is still in jail for fighting the corruption in the family court... more
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The defendants still face other felony charges, and the county attorney denied that politics played a role in her decision.
*more at link*The defendants still face other felony charges, and the county attorney denied that... more
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Chinese authorities have put a Beijing-based writer under house arrest and prevented another from returning home to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year holiday with his family, amid continuing investigations into a document calling for sweeping political reform.
"The police came to see me again," Beijing-based Liu Di, a member of writers' group Independent Chinese PEN and a signatory to Charter 08, which sparked a wave of interrogations and detentions after its publication online in December.
Charter 08, signed by more than 300 prominent scholars, writers, and rights activists around the country, called for concerned Chinese citizens to rally to bring about change, citing an increasing loss of control by the ruling Communist Party and heightened hostility between the authorities and ordinary people.Chinese authorities have put a Beijing-based writer under house arrest and prevented... more
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The families of political prisoners across China say they have been refused permission to visit their loved ones in jail over the traditional Lunar New Year holiday period.
Political prisoners across China are being denied family visits over the traditional Lunar New Year holiday period, their relatives and close friends said.
The daughter of Wuhan dissident Qin Yongmin, who is serving a 12-year jail term for subversion, said she had been hoping to visit her father for the first time in 11 years, but when she arrived at Wuhan Prison she was refused permission to visit.
"All the inmates convicted of criminal offences had visits from people. They were eating dumplings together with their family. Only he wasn't allowed," Li said.
"I think this is a form of revenge on the part of the prison authorities because Qin's case has drawn a lot of attention from the outside world. Now, they aren't going to take good care of him, and they may even make life more difficult for him."The families of political prisoners across China say they have been refused permission... more
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The sister of imprisoned American Indian Activist Leonard Peltier says her brother was savagely assaulted in federal prison
This is an email forwarded to the Turtle Island Project from Gina Boltz, editor of NativeVillage.org
Leonard Peltier Assaulted by Fellow Inmates at Canaan Federal Penitentiary
From: lynnelakota
Dear LP Supporters,
I am so OUTRAGED! My brother Leonard was severely beaten upon his arrival at the Canaan Federal Penitentiary.
When he went into population after his transfer, some inmates assaulted him.
The severity of his injuries is that he suffered numerous blows to his head and body, receiving a large bump on his head, possibly a concussion, and numerous bruises. Also, one of his fingers is swollen and discolored and he has pain in his chest and rib cage.
There was blood everywhere from his injuries.
We feel that prison authorities at the prompting of the FBI orchestrated this attack and thus, we are greatly concerned about his safety.
It may be that the attackers, whom Leonard did not even know, were offered reduced sentences for carrying out this heinous assault.
Since Leonard is up for parole soon, this could be conspiracy to discredit a model prisoner.
He was placed in solitary confinement and only given one meal, this is generally done when you won't name your attackers; incidentally being only given one meal seriously jeopardizes his health because of his diabetes.
Prison officials refuse to release any info to the family, but they need to hear from his supporters to protect his safety, as does President Obama. His attorneys are trying to get calls into him now.
This attack on LP comes on the heels of the FBI's recent letter, prompting this attack by FBI supporters as an attempt to discredit LP as a model prisoner.
Anyone who has been in the prison system knows well that if you refuse to name your attackers or file charges against them, then you lose your status as a victim and/or given points against your possible parole and labeled as a perpetrator.
It is not uncommon, in fact is quite common for the government to use Indian against Indian and they still operate under the old adage "it takes an Indian to catch an Indian".
In 1978, they made an attempt to assassinate him through another Indian man who was also at Marion prison with LP. But Standing Deer chose to reveal the plot to him instead of taking his life in exchange FOR A CHANCE AT FREEDOM.
When Standing Deer was released in 2001, he joined the former Leonard Peltier Defense Committee as a board member. He also began to speak on Leonard's behalf until his murder six years ago today.
Prior to his murder, Standing Deer confided with close friends and associates that the same man who visited him in Marion to assassinate Peltier, had came to Houston, TX and told him that he had better stay away from Peltier and anything to do with him.
We are aware that currently, the FBI is actively seeking support for continued imprisonment of Leonard Peltier.
So please be aware, and keep Leonard in your prayers. The FBI is apparently afraid of the impact we are having.
If they will set him up to blemish his record just before a parole hearing, what will they do when it looks like his freedom will become a reality? We need to make sure that nothing happens to him again!
Please write the President, send it priority or registered mail. Email to Change.gov or email President Obama. Call your congressional representatives & write letters (not email) to them.
Do what you can to get the word out to insure that LP is receiving adequate medical attention for his injuries.
I am asking you, supporters of Leonard and advocates of justice at this time to help. I don't know what else to do. Please Help!
Thank you
Betty Peltier-Solano
Executive Coordinator
Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_PeltierThe sister of imprisoned American Indian Activist Leonard Peltier says her brother was... more
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Free Leonard Peltier
A Native American political prisoner who has been incarcerated for the last thirty three years on the false charge of shooting two FBI agents has been severely beaten subsequent to a transfer to Canaan Federal Prison in Pennsylvania. Peltier, an activist against racism and for Native American rights, has been continuously treated in an unjust manner by the United States government. This new attack on Mr. Peltier was apparently planned by prison officials and allowed to be implemented by other prisoners.
http://www.leonardpeltier.net/takeaction.htm
Help to Free Him!Free Leonard Peltier
A Native American political prisoner who has been incarcerated... more
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"An American student and women's rights activist has been arrested in Iran while visiting her family and conducting research into the Iranian women's movement.
Esha Momeni, a masters student at California State University, was seized last week while driving in Tehran, according to Amnesty International.
She was initially arrested for a traffic offence on October 15, but then her computer and other materials were confiscated, and she was taken to Evin prison, which is notorious for holding political prisoners.
Her family was told by an Iranian court on Monday that her case was still being investigated and no details would be released until after the inquiry was completed.
Iranian judicial officials have not commented on the case, and no other details were immediately available in Iran.
Momeni is a member of the Iranian women's rights group Change for Equality.
The university has called for her to be released.
"Anyone who values knowledge and the role of academic inquiry in shedding light on the human condition should be concerned," said the university's president, Jolene Koester.
The US state department said it was aware of reports of Momeni's arrest and was seeking more information.
Friends of Momeni have launched a website and Facebook group calling for her release.
Melissa Wall, Momeni's thesis adviser, said the student was aware of the risks of her work.
"We talked about the dangers. But in the end, it was her decision to go. She was interested in communicating to Americans a broader image of Iranian women."
Amnesty said dozens of other activists and supporters have been arrested in Iran in connection with their work on the Change for Equality campaign, launched by Iranian women activists in September 2006.
The campaign is seeking to collect a million signatures in support of changing laws that deny women in Iran equal rights.
Momeni was born in Los Angeles. Her father moved to the city in 1977 to pursue a civil engineering degree but later returned to Iran with his family."
"An American student and women's rights activist has been arrested in Iran while... more
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The United States on Thursday marked the 13th anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest by renewing its call for Myanmar's military rulers to swiftly release the pro-democracy leader.
"As of October 24, Aung San Suu Kyi has spent a total of 13 years under house arrest," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in a statement.
"Over the many years, Aung San Suu Kyi has endured unlawful detention, she has remained a steady beacon of hope and inspiration to those seeking a peaceful, democratic Burma," he said.
"We again call upon the Burmese regime to immediately and unconditionally release her and the more than 2,000 political prisoners it holds."
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, 63, has been confined to her home for 13 of the past 19 years. Her National League for Democracy swept elections in 1990, but was never allowed by the military to take power.
Recalling that Friday is also the anniversary of the coming into force of the United Nations charter in 1945, Wood reiterated US support for UN efforts to obtain the release of political prisoners in Myanmar and encourage its shift to democracy.
"Releasing Aung San Suu Kyi would be a first step toward Burma's reintegration into the world community," he said.
"We further join the United Nations and the rest of the international community in calling upon the regime to engage credibly in an inclusive, time-bound dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic and ethnic minority leaders to bring about a genuine democratic transition."
Myanmar -- whose former name Burma is still used by the United States and other Western nations -- has been ruled by successive military juntas since 1962, 14 years after its independence from British colonial rule.The United States on Thursday marked the 13th anniversary of Aung San Suu Kyi's house... more
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![New Black Panther Party vs NYPD at 9am [NYC] - video](http://i2.crtcdn.net/images/asset/893/428/57/0XTjZKvN_60x45.jpg)
(You're not gonna hear about this on the news, but you know that ain't nothing new... what the proverb say... "Until lions have historians, hunters will always be heroes.")
I was marching with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) prior to The New Black Panther Party's (NBPP) participation this past Sunday at the African Parade in Harlem. Everything was going beautifully; it was well-organized, and alive with festivities rich in Pan African culture.
All the sudden, a brutal attack on several NBPP members was carried out by the NYPD.
Now, let me make this clear about the NYPD's purpose at the parade: Participants in the parade were in the middle of the street and the police are required to stay on the sidelines to keep audience out of the street, not run in the middle of the street and start beating people who are part of the parade.
Apparently, they had a different agenda as we were nearing the end of our march. An NYPD officer was literally stomping on a NBPP member's head while other members were trying to save him but ended up catching the similar fate while the NYPD simultaneously began knocking cameras down, forming a circular blockade around the beatings, doubling the latter block up again to prevent clear composed shots of the incident for witnesses to this atrocity.
Juxtaposed to this scene, a group of kids started dancing, shouting "Black Power", obviously not fully understanding that these human beings are unjustifiably receiving capital punishment for representing the continuing effort for Black empowerment at this parade. It dawned on me at that moment, that this brutal treatment is not abnormal for them (and I'm sure for many others) rather a joke to be danced around. It wasn't fully their fault; I can go on all day about the factors that lead to this mentality and I'm sure you can too but watching them carry on made me feel helpless, angry and determined to keep pushing at the same time...we are in a lot of trouble and incidents like this definitely calls for a mass movement to uproot. There were 20,000 people at the parade, marching peacefully, not effectively prepared to protect ourselves legally and physically from the NYPD's lashing out. With their guns ready, Billy clubs and combat boots, the NYPD threw some of the NBPP members in the police van. 20,000! I cannot stress enough the need to organize as a continuing process!
After the police took off with the publically victimized NBPP members, the remaining NBPP members along with the MXGM headed straight for the nearest precinct to see about the members' welfare (and in case you're wondering, the parade continued, while the police were all over the place looking for more "work" and yes, they brought out the dogs too; it was chaotic but apparently not "abnormal" for others, as more chaos ensued).
The NBPP lined in front of the precinct as we waited on the side. Yes, 20,000 people were there but only a handful of us and the remaining NBPP were concerned about this issue enough to walk away from the festivities and silently post in front of the 32nd precinct.
Alarmingly, we encountered two passersby who wanted to put their two cents(less) in saying," Ya'll wilding out yo, what? This ain't no Malcolm X movie, ya'll lining up like this is the movie or somethin', ain't no cameras out here son, ya'll wilding out."
So if you are in NY this Friday and can free yourself briefly from your morning responsibilities, please come and "wild out" in concern for these young political prisoners at 100 Centre st, Part F, Manhatten/ 9 a.m. These are hard times not just for us as a people but for this country as a whole. This country is reaping what it has sown; we must persistently build, edify, (re)define and strengthen our support for one another en route for liberation on all fronts.
Peace.(You're not gonna hear about this on the news, but you know that ain't nothing new...... more
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August 28, 2008
An Open Letter to Barack Obama
Symbolism Alone Will Not Bring Change
By LEONARD PELTIER
I have watched with keen interest and renewed hope as your campaign has mobilized millions of Americans behind your message of changing a political system that serves a small economic elite at the expense of the peoples of the United States and the world. Your election as president of the United States, where slaves and Indians were long considered less than human under the law, will undoubtedly constitute a historic moment in race relations in the United States.
Yet symbolism alone will not bring about change. Our young people, black and Native alike, suffer from police brutality and racial profiling, underfunded schools, and discrimination in employment and housing. I sincerely hope your campaign will inspire some hope among our youth to struggle for a better future. I am, however, concerned that your recent statement on the Sean Bell verdict, in which the New York police officers who fired 50 shots at a young man on the eve of his wedding were acquitted of criminal charges, displays a rather myopic view of the law. Until the law is harnessed to protect the victims of state violence and racism, it will serve as an instrument of repression, just as the slave codes functioned to sustain and legitimize an inhuman institution.
As I can testify from experience, the legal institutions of this nation are far from racial and political neutrality. When judges align with the repressive actions and policies of the executive branch, injustice is rationalized and cloaked in judicial platitudes. As you may know, I have now served more than three decades of my life as a political prisoner of the federal government for a crime I did not commit. I have served more time than the maximum sentence under the guidelines under which I was sentenced, yet my parole is continually denied (on the rare occasions when I am afforded a hearing) because I refuse to falsely confess. Amnesty International, South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama of Tibet, my Guatemalan sister Rigoberta Menchu, and many of your friends and supporters have recognized me as a political prisoner and called for my immediate release. Millions of people around the world view me as a symbol of injustice against the indigenous peoples of this land, and I have no doubt that I will go down in history as one of a long line of victims of U.S. government repression, along with Sacco and Vanzetti, the Haymarket Square martyrs, Eugene Debs, Bill Haywood, and others targeted by for their political beliefs. But neither I nor my people can afford to wait for history to rectify the crimes of the past....
Continued in comments below.
August 28, 2008
An Open Letter to Barack Obama
Symbolism Alone Will Not Bring... more
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NEW YORK, September 3, 2008 – Andrew Berends, an established, award-winning American filmmaker and journalist from New York, was detained Sunday August 31st by the Nigerian military along with his translator, Samuel George. Andrew entered Nigeria legally in April 2008 to complete a documentary film.
Andrew was held in custody without food, sleep, or representation, and with limited water for the first 36 hours. He has been questioned by the army, the police, and the State Security Services in Port Harcourt. The State Security Services has confiscated his passport and personal property. Andrew has been returned to sleep in his rented room each night after the initial 36 hours, but then re-detained each morning. Andrew's translator, Samuel George, has not been released at night and has remained in custody since Sunday.
The US State Department is aware of the situation, and an attorney has been retained on Andrew's behalf. Reporters without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists have issued statements condemning Andrew's arrest. We, Andrew's friends, family, and colleagues, are deeply concerned that he has been held without cause and are calling for his safe treatment and immediate release.NEW YORK, September 3, 2008 – Andrew Berends, an established, award-winning American... more
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As I write this, the precise authority under which members of the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department participated in raids of houses and private buildings in St. Paul and Minneapolis this weekend is unclear to me. I have heard from a very harried friend at the National Lawyers Guild that the break-ins and arrests of RNC protestors took place under the auspices of the Secret Service and Justice Department apparently FBI members participated in the raids.
But under whatever authority and in the name of whatever statutes at this point, the cause for detentions in Minneapolis has been given as conspiracy to commit riot, as flimsy and ad hoc a rationale as the infinitely elastic Homeland Security Offense listed on a police report to justify the detention in Minneapolis of independent journalists earlier last week which resulted in the seizure of their equipment and personal belongings it should be obvious that concerns about this country turning into a police state, a corporation-friendly fascist nation like Singapore or the People's Republic of China, are greatly misplaced. There's no need to worry about this happening in the United States.
It already has.
It should also be clear that both the wish list of expanded powers to spy on, arrest, and detain suspects without charge that got dropped into the Patriot Act and the whole War on Terror have as their ultimate objective not to make life difficult for terrorists. No. Like the equally bogus War on Drugs, they are designed to make it easier for law enforcement personnel at every level as always the chief line-of-defense of the propertied classes to terrorize American citizens. Citizens who should perhaps henceforth more properly be referred to as American subjects.
The erosion of civil liberties and constitutionally guaranteed rights in this country an erosion that, it cannot be emphasized enough, did not begin with George W. Bush but has proceeded apace under a succession of Administrations, both Democratic and Republican makes all the eloquent calls we heard from Denver for unity and restoring the American Dream little more than hollow rhetoric. At the national level, both major parties are knee deep in creating and nurturing the military-industrial-congressional complex the genesis of the national security state that Eisenhower warned more than 50 years ago posed the gravest threat of all against democracy and the rule of law.
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What we see unfolding in Minneapolis now is courtesy of both parties in our Congress. Those who voted for the Patriot Act and its reauthorization along with the Military Commissions Act, and those who recently voted to allow more spying on American citizens and immunity to those doing it. After eight years of protesting this regime, trying to hold Democrats to a higher standard, and spending countless hours standing up to the murdering traitors that subverted our White House, I feel empty looking at all of this. I feel as if my country is no more. What Democrats will now come out and decry the constitutional abuses going on during this RNC convention? Kudos to the American ctiizens standing up for our freedoms. They are the reason the coward Bush won't show up at the convention, but is speaking via satellite. He is afraid to come close to the American people because he knows he is a criminal who should be arrested, tried, and convicted for crimes and misdemeanors against the constitution and crimes against humanity. So, Nancy Pelosi, how do you like what you and your party have enabled?
cont.As I write this, the precise authority under which members of the Ramsey County... more
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Denver officials weren't planning to reveal details about where activists would be detained in the event of mass arrests during the Democratic National Convention until after the event had started, but those plans were quickly dashed this week when CBS 4News reporter Rick Sallinger not only revealed that protesters would be locked up in a city-owned warehouse, but he also obtained clear video footage inside the facility, a building that includes barbed wire-topped cages and signs warning of stun-gun use.Denver officials weren't planning to reveal details about where activists would be... more
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asherp
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1 year ago
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Go to link to read news and most recent letter from American Indian Imprisoned Leader Leonard Peltier who reminds us,
"Our people have told them from the very beginning about the consequences of mistreatment of individuals and mistreatment of Mother Earth.
There are history books that quote our chief headmen and medicine people cautioning
them about there destruction of the earth and nature.
We know the first concentration camps America ever had held Indian prisoners.
The first biological warfare was used on our people with poisonous blankets.
The first atomic bomb dropped was dropped on Indian land in Nevada.
Today there are abandoned uranium quarries in
Navajo country that cause genetic defects on a lot of their people.
When you look into the past, America has used us Indians as their social experiment.
They tried to destroy us with boarding schools,
relocation, and even the first slavery practice was with American people."
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From TouchArt.net and OneEarthBlog.blogspot.com
Go to link to read news and most recent letter from American Indian Imprisoned Leader... more
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Activists mark the 19th anniversary of the bloody crackdown with renewed calls for prisoners' release.Activists mark the 19th anniversary of the bloody crackdown with renewed calls for... more
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