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American performer: Israeli security made me dance
JERUSALEM – A performer with the famed Alvin Ailey dance troupe on Tuesday said he was twice forced to perform steps for Israeli airport security officers to prove his identity before he was permitted to enter the country.
Abdur-Rahim Jackson, an eight-year veteran of the dance ensemble, said he was singled out by Israel's renowned airport security because he has a Muslim name. He called the experience embarrassing and said at one point, one of the officers even suggested he change his name.
"To be greeted like this because of my name, it took me back a little bit," said Jackson, who is black.
Israel is the first stop on a six-nation tour celebrating the New York-based dance company's 50th anniversary. Earlier this year, Congress passed a resolution calling the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater a "vital American cultural ambassador to the world."
Jackson said he was pulled aside from other members of the troupe when they arrived at Israel's international airport on Sunday night. He said he was taken to a holding room, where he was asked about the origins of his name. When he explained he was part of the dance group, he was asked to perform.
"I stood up. I asked what type of dance?" he explained. "He said, "Just do anything.' I just moved around."
Minutes later, he said a female officer put him through a similar interrogation and asked him to dance again.
"The only time I'm really expected to dance is when I'm performing," he said.
Jackson said he received his name because his father was a convert to Islam. Jackson said he was not raised a Muslim, does not consider himself religious and is engaged to a Jewish woman in the troupe who has relatives in Israel.
Jackson said he did not plan to press the matter further, saying the numerous apologies he has received from American dignitaries and his Israeli hosts is "enough for me." The Israel Ports Authority said it had no comment because it did not receive a formal complaint.
The incident was reported in Israel's largest newspaper and on an Israeli television news and interview program. "The security guards should be sent home or (the airport) will become a mental asylum," said Motti Kirshenbaum, a veteran commentator and host of the Channel 10 TV program.
Israel is constantly on the alert for attack because of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and extremist Islamic rejection of the Jewish state's existence. Security is strict at all entry points and inside the country.
Israel is famous for the effectiveness of its airport security. But a key element in its security checks is ethnic profiling. The practice has been criticized by Israeli human rights campaigners as racist because it singles out Arabs for tougher treatment.
Such profiling is illegal in the United States, but Jackson said that the only place he has had the similarly humiliating experience of being forced to dance in the past was at a U.S. airport when he returned from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. He did not say when or where that took place.
Jackson said that since the Israeli airport incident, the reception in Israel has been "amazing."
"We're only here to bring positive light to our lives and the people here," he said, calling the group's multicultural appeal "an amazing bind you can't touch, you can only experience." JERUSALEM – A performer with the famed Alvin Ailey dance troupe on Tuesday said he was twice forced to perform steps for Israeli airpo... more -
DENVER COPWATCH PODCAST ( SECRET POLICE @ THE DNC )
Denver CopWatch is a grassroots organization working for increased police accountability and against police brutality in Denver, Colorado. We observe police actively and advocate for peoples' rights. Contact us at (303) 380-4329, or by sending a message here on Myspace.
Denver CopWatch was in the streets throughout the Democratic National Convention and we are expecting a great deal of footage and documentation of police activity, especially the brutality that occurred on Monday evening. If you have video footage, photos and witness contact info/statements, or any documentation at all you can send it to Denver CopWatch to be used for legal action/defense by e-mailing it to denvercopwatch07@yahoo.com, or you can call (303) 380-4329 and leave you name and phone number or a way we can contact you and someone will get back with you A.S.A.P. to collect the documentation you have to offer - either we'll give you an address to which you can mail it, or we can arrange to pick it up at your convenience - or you can mail it to the following address:
Denver CopWatch
P.O. Box 9944
Denver, CO 80209 Denver CopWatch is a grassroots organization working for increased police accountability and against police brutality in Denver, Color... more -
JACOBS LADDER Int w DEMOCRACY NOW about POLICE MISCONDUCT @ The DNC
August 26, 2008
2008 Democratic National Convention
As the Democrats celebrated inside the Pepsi Center on opening day of the convention, outside on the streets police pepper-sprayed protesters and rounded up dozens of them in mass arrests. The incident began near the Civic Center Park around 7:00 p.m., where a few hundred protesters had gathered to march. The police arrived in full riot gear, surrounded the protesters, blocking them in before firing pepper spray into the crowd. Protesters fled across the park, where they were met by dozens of police officers who boxed them in. Many of the marchers sat down in the street. Nearly a hundred people were arrested.
Democracy Now! arrived on the scene moments afterwards and spoke with some of the eyewitnesses. JACOB: My name is Jacob, and I work with Berkeley CopWatch. We go out, we watch the police when they're interacting with people. So, obviously, we're here at the DNC to ensure that police are not utilizing tactics that are against law. And what took place about an hour ago is, we had a big group of protesters start marching, and what happened is they cordoned off the block on both sides, and without any warning or nothing, they initiated arrests. Now, the rest of the people that should have had an opportunity to leave were asked to go up the street and then were also enclosed. So, basically, what the police did is they just did a mass arrest with the intention of keeping people in jail for the next two days, so they won't be out tomorrow, they won't be out the day after, to protest. STEPHEN NASH: I'm Steve Nash with Denver CopWatch. We're a police accountability group that observes the police, and tonight we watched protesters block the street about a block from here. It's about fifty protesters in the street. The police came at them in riot gear from both sides and hemmed them in. Then they refused to let anybody out, including people who were just on the sidewalk in the group, who were not actually trying to block the street. I saw one older legal observer who begged for the police to let him out, and they refused. They pushed him back into the crowd. Then they donned their gas masks and began pushing the media and legal observers and the public a block away in each direction and in a very aggressive manner. JACOB: 99 percent of the officers tonight that are operating have no identification, which is against the law. An officer has to be identified by a badge or a nameplate. JOHN TARLETON: People were generally very calm. There were several legal observers there from the National Lawyers Guild who gave everybody their legal number, because we were—what was, you know, unclear at that moment was whether the police were going to do a mass arrest. RON KOVIC: I was inside of the Sheraton Hotel watching the convention. I had just heard Ted Kennedy's inspiring speech, and someone whispered in my ear that there's a riot outside. I immediately left. I left the hotel with a friend, and we came outside. We came outside to see what was happening. I came outside because of my concern for you, because of my concern for the young people who are demonstrating.
AMY GOODMAN: And that last voice was by Ron Kovic, the paralyzed Vietnam veteran, antiwar activist, who arrived on the scene soon after the protesters were arrested. Special thanks to Democracy Now! producer Hany Massoud for that report.
Eileen Clancy is with I-Witness Video. We just have a few seconds for Eileen to comment on what has happened. The behavior of the police that you've come to watch as you've watched in conventions past, Eileen?
EILEEN CLANCY: One thing, I have never seen more police officers with fewer identification marks on them as I saw last night. It's a big problem. They have spanking new uniforms. Yet somehow the nameplates didn't manage to remain attached. August 26, 2008 2008 Democratic National Convention ... more -
FBI, DOJ Push to Legislate Racial Profiling
New rules on FBI investigations of national security cases should be delayed, top Senate Judiciary Committee members said Monday, raising concerns that ethnic or racial groups could be targeted despite no evidence of wrongdoing.
In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, the senators called for congressional hearings on the rules before they are finalized. They suggested delaying the rules — known as the attorney general guidelines — until FBI Director Robert Mueller appears before the panel Sept. 17.
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the panel's top Republican, called the guidelines a "laudatory effort to ensure that front-line agents are given clear rules to follow in pursuit of their investigations."
"Nevertheless, efforts to harmonize the rules governing criminal and national security matters also raise potential civil liberties concerns, given the broader latitude currently given to investigators to consider race and ethnicity in national security matters," Leahy and Specter wrote.
They added: "The important aims of the guidelines, and their potential implications for civil liberties, require a meaningful dialogue between Congress and DOJ."
DOJ stands for the Department of Justice, which oversees the FBI.
The rules are expected to be finalized later this week or early next week. Justice spokesman Peter Carr said Monday that the department is reviewing the letter. New rules on FBI investigations of national security cases should be delayed, top Senate Judiciary Committee members said Monday, rais... more -
NAACP to protest police action
The Stamford NAACP plans to hold a peaceful protest against city police and monitor the department's conduct for at least a year after two black women accused officers of racial profiling and harassment during a traffic stop earlier this month on the West Side.
The protest is scheduled for 3 p.m. Aug. 31 outside the police station, 805 Bedford St.
The NAACP will monitor police through its Web site, www.stamfordnaacp.org., where residents can report police misconduct.
NAACP President Jack Bryant said he has received four complaints about the way police treat black youths since he took control of the Stamford chapter in January. He witnessed this month's incident and said it was disturbing.
"I was in disbelief that this could happen," he said.
A police spokesman said the department was investigating the incident, as it does with all complaints.
"We have worked very hard to build good relationships and open dialogue with the many communities that make up Stamford, including the black community," Lt. Sean Cooney said in a statement. "We welcome any opportunity to discuss ways to improve those relationships."
Bryant said he called Chief Brent Larrabee. Larrabee didn't call back but had a captain and a lieutenant speak to him.
In an e-mail Monday, Bryant informed Mayor Dannel Malloy and Public Safety Director William Callion of the planned protest.
"I feel this plan of action is necessary as the need to begin policing our police department," **continues, click link to read** The Stamford NAACP plans to hold a peaceful protest against city police and monitor the department's conduct for at least a year ... more -
COPWATCH - UN OEIL SUR LA POLICE 1.2 (jacobs ladder contributed to this)
Ils suivent les policiers des nuits entières dans les rues, les filment et prennent des notes. Leur mouvement est né à Berkeley, en Californie. Ce sont les copwatchers : cop comme flic, watchers comme surveillants. Certains veulent tout simplement faire valoir leur droit de citoyens, d’autres ont subi des violences policières. Leur combat : filmer la police pour l’empêcher d’être au dessus des lois. En 1991, aux Etats-Unis, l’affaire Rodney King - la bastonnade d’un automobiliste noir filmée par hasard par un amateur - avait mis le doigt sur la gravité des bavures. Depuis 1994, une loi autorise la police fédérale (FBI) à enquêter en cas de soupçon de brutalité policière. Mais les condamnations de policiers violents restent rarissimes. C’est pourquoi le mouvement Copwatch est né. Aujourd’hui, il en existe une soixantaine sur tout le territoire. Sabrina Van Tassel a rencontré ces militants infatigables, qui traquent chaque nuit les brigades de police : à Berkeley, Andrea Pritchett, l’une des fondatrices du mouvement et Jacob Crawford, un cameraman professionnel, deux "vétérans" du copwatching, des militants pour les droits civiques ; à San José, un groupe très actif, composé uniquement de jeunes victimes de bavures policières (à leur tête, Norren Salinas, dont le père est mort l’an dernier, électrocuté par la décharge d’un taser, cette arme de neutralisation électrique) ; à Riddley, un bourg à forte population latino, c’est un ancien flic d’origine mexicaine qui dénonce les brutalités policières. Bernabe Santillan a vécu le système de l’intérieur et le condamne. Lui aussi s’est muni d’une caméra pour observer le travail de ses anciens collègues. Il ne leur laisse aucun répit. Mais aujourd’hui, il est seul contre tous. Ils suivent les policiers des nuits entières dans les rues, les filment et prennent des notes. Leur mouvement est né à Berkeley, en Ca... more
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COPWATCH - UN OEIL SUR LA POLICE 1.1 (jacobs ladder contributed to this)
Ils suivent les policiers des nuits entières dans les rues, les filment et prennent des notes. Leur mouvement est né à Berkeley, en Californie. Ce sont les copwatchers : cop comme flic, watchers comme surveillants. Certains veulent tout simplement faire valoir leur droit de citoyens, d’autres ont subi des violences policières. Leur combat : filmer la police pour l’empêcher d’être au dessus des lois. En 1991, aux Etats-Unis, l’affaire Rodney King - la bastonnade d’un automobiliste noir filmée par hasard par un amateur - avait mis le doigt sur la gravité des bavures. Depuis 1994, une loi autorise la police fédérale (FBI) à enquêter en cas de soupçon de brutalité policière. Mais les condamnations de policiers violents restent rarissimes. C’est pourquoi le mouvement Copwatch est né. Aujourd’hui, il en existe une soixantaine sur tout le territoire. Sabrina Van Tassel a rencontré ces militants infatigables, qui traquent chaque nuit les brigades de police : à Berkeley, Andrea Pritchett, l’une des fondatrices du mouvement et Jacob Crawford, un cameraman professionnel, deux "vétérans" du copwatching, des militants pour les droits civiques ; à San José, un groupe très actif, composé uniquement de jeunes victimes de bavures policières (à leur tête, Norren Salinas, dont le père est mort l’an dernier, électrocuté par la décharge d’un taser, cette arme de neutralisation électrique) ; à Riddley, un bourg à forte population latino, c’est un ancien flic d’origine mexicaine qui dénonce les brutalités policières. Bernabe Santillan a vécu le système de l’intérieur et le condamne. Lui aussi s’est muni d’une caméra pour observer le travail de ses anciens collègues. Il ne leur laisse aucun répit. Mais aujourd’hui, il est seul contre tous. Ils suivent les policiers des nuits entières dans les rues, les filment et prennent des notes. Leur mouvement est né à Berkeley, en Ca... more
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WHEN POLICE RIOT (Cincinnati Police Assault on Cincinnati Copwatch Block Party)
On July 26th 2003 Jacob Crawford a volunteer with Berkeley Copwatch was arrested in Cincinnati Oh for videotaping the police crash Cincinnati Copwatch's first annual block party. Crawford was initially charged with felony obstruction. The video footage you are about to see was used as evidence to prove Crawford's innocence On July 26th 2003 Jacob Crawford a volunteer with Berkeley Copwatch was arrested in Cincinnati Oh for videotaping the police crash Cin... more
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US Supreme Court approves of racial profiling
"In the case of Virginia v. Moore, the high court saw no violation of David Lee Moore’s Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, even though his arrest was the result of a series of Keystone Cop-like miscues and an outright violation of Virginia law.
Here’s how it played out: On Feb. 20, 2003, police officers received a radio call that a man known as “Chubs” was operating an automobile on a suspended license. Apparently, one of the officers knew that David Lee Moore went by the nickname of “Chubs.” The officers pulled over Moore’s vehicle and determined that his license had indeed been suspended. Under Virginia law, driving with a suspended license is not an arrestable offense, and the officers were obliged to issue him a citation for a future court appearance rather than take him into custody. Disregarding this clear legal mandate, however, the officers arrested Moore.
They took him to his hotel room where they searched him and found crack cocaine and $516 in cash....
But the most important fact in this case — which was ignored by the Virginia courts, the Supreme Court and the few media accounts of this litigation — is that David Lee Moore is African-American. (Portsmouth, Va., is a city of slightly more than 100,000 people, more than 50 percent of whom are black.)" "In the case of Virginia v. Moore, the high court saw no violation of David Lee Moore’s Fourth Amendment protection against unrea... more -
Highest Ranking Black Cop, Racially Profiled by the NYPD
So how do you prove that a city's police department is corrupt and committing racial profiling?
Maybe when the highest ranking black member of that very police department, is stopped, and confronted for no other reason but being black, and in a SUV. (oh the cops said they saw a gun... likely answer...I'm still wonder just how thats possible before you approach a vehicle...but no need for details) Needless to say the officer who made this fatal error in judgement, immediately lost his badge and gun. Swift punishment huh?
Does it happen that way when the black guy isn't a high ranking official in the NYPD? I'll let you answer that.
Checkout both articles....
Peace,
Raheim
http://www.startribune.com/nation/18830729.html So how do you prove that a city's police department is corrupt and committing racial profiling? ... more -
Right To Observe / Badge # ( These Streets Are Watching )
"These Streets are Watching" is a 50 minute video that takes a fresh look at police accountability through the eyes of three communities; Denver, Cincinnati and Berkeley. Independent filmmaker, Jacob Crawford, weaves three cities responses to police brutality into a single tale of community empowerment and direct action. Within an amazing collection of footage that portrays police conduct and misconduct, the film conveys basic legal concepts that can provide practical help to groups and individuals seeking a clearer understanding of their rights when dealing with police. The film is divided into sections that explain our basic rights, tactics for documenting police activity and ideas for further action and organizing. "These Streets are Watching" is a 50 minute video that takes a fresh look at police accountability through the eyes of three... more
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PBS airs "Unnatural Causes: is inequality making us sick?"
PBS has just begun airing a documentary exploring the idea of inequality in America and how it affects our overall health. It focuses on the fact that racial tension increases stress levels in the body, in turn contributing to the decline of one's health. PBS has just begun airing a documentary exploring the idea of inequality in America and how it affects our overall health. It focuses ... more
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Talking About Race
Is it possible to discuss serious issues like race in a political forum?
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Post 9/11 racial profiling and prison abuse... 2 videos from Center for Constituti...
GO TO THE PAGE, THERE ARE TWO (2) VIDEOS!!!!!!_______________
Last week, the Center for Constitutional Rights went to court to fight the Bush administration's post-9/11 racial profiling and round-ups of hundreds of immigrant Muslim, Arab, and South Asian men in the New York area.
Click here to watch a video of CCR attorney Rachel Meeropol and lead plaintiff Ibrahim Turkmen talking about the case.
We argued the appeal in our case,
Turkmen v. Ashcroft, which is an important legal challenge to the government's abuse of power in fighting the so-called "war on terror."
In actions reminiscent of the internment of thousands of Japanese Americans after the attack on Pearl Harbor, in the months after 9/11 our government rounded up and detained hundreds of Muslim, Arab, and South Asian immigrants to determine whether they had any ties to terrorism.
Held on the pretext of minor immigration violations, these men were kept in super-maximum security confinement and abused for months as their deportation was delayed so that the FBI could investigate them.
Often the men were picked up on evidence no more specific than a phone call to the authorities in which someone said, "my neighbor is an Arab and keeps strange hours."
Click here to read more about the abuse they suffered while detained and other details of the case.
The men weren't detained because there was evidence connecting them to terrorism—they were swept up and detained because of their race, religion, and ethnicity. Because they were Arab and Muslim men of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, they were presumed guilty of terrorism until proven innocent.
In 2002, we filed Turkmen v. Ashcroft, a class action suit on behalf of the men held in New York and New Jersey, against the United States and 31 government officials and employees, including then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller, and former INS Commissioner James Ziglar.
A lower court judge ruled in our favor on many of the charges, including keeping the high-level officials on the hook for what happened, so last Thursday's arguments were a cross appeal by both sides.
More than five years after the case was filed, and long after all the men have been deported to their home countries, CCR continues to demand accountability for the racial profiling and indiscriminate detentions that followed in the wake of 9/11.
We await a ruling from the panel of judges and hope that it will bring our clients one step closer to justice. Please go here to watch a video and learn more about this important case.
Sincerely,
Vincent Warren
CCR Executive Director GO TO THE PAGE, THERE ARE TWO (2) VIDEOS!!!!!!_______________ ... more -
Yavapai County police tailgating on I-17 N. AZ
This took place a few miles north of 169 on I-17 in Arizona and went on for ten miles or more, we got off in Camp Verde. The victims being pursued, you guessed it black guys, young, well dressed, if it were my guess they were on their way to NAU. You hear about racial profiling. Is this what we're seeing? SORRY for the shake, I think it's pretty clear, he or she's not trying to pass
People with guns scare me, they should scare YOU TOO. This is wreck less with no regard for other humans. It’s very sad
PEACE This took place a few miles north of 169 on I-17 in Arizona and went on for ten miles or more, we got off in Camp Verde. The victims b... more -
Modern day slavery: legal lynching through law!
As a result of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, Congress established different mandatory penalties for cocaine and crack cocaine, with significantly higher punishments for crack cocaine offenses. There is a 5-year minimum prison penalty for a first-time trafficking offense involving 5 grams or more of crack cocaine or 500 grams or more of powder cocaine (see top chart above) and a 10-year mandatory minimum penalty for a first-time trafficking offense involving 50 grams or more of crack cocaine or 5,000 grams or more of powder cocaine.
One gram of pure powder cocaine will convert to approximately 0.89 grams of crack cocaine
Historically, the majority of crack cocaine OFFENDERS are black; powder cocaine OFFENDERS are now predominantly Hispanic. ***In spite of the fact that White and Hispanic Americans make up 66% of the people that USE crack????????*******
If this is not subliminal at it's best!
In 2006, African-Americans accounted for 82 percent of crack cocaine-related arrests, while white and Hispanic offenders accounted for 72 percent of powder cocaine-related arrests
Bottom Line:
1. Members of Congress might need some remedial math, especially on decimals? If 1 gram of powder cocaine = .89 grams of crack cocaine, why is the amount of crack cocaine for five years of jail time (5 grams) 100X less than for powder cocaine (500 grams)?
2. Nobel economist Milton Friedman once called the minimum wage "the most anti-black law on the books." For once I have to disagree with Milton, I think the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 is now the most anti-black law on the books. By far. As a result of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, Congress established different mandatory penalties for cocaine and crack cocaine, with... more -
New DNA Test Can ID Race, But It's Unpopular With Law Enforcement
A molecular biologist has figured out how to identify a person's race through examining their DNA, and the test has been used to identify and capture criminals. To me, that sounds like an excellent step in the right direction, ensuring that innocent people don't get locked up, and that the real criminals are identified and sentenced more quickly. But the company who carries out the test may not be around much longer because it's not very popular with police. Why??
"Part of the problem is cost - basic tests run more than $1,000. But the real issue? DNAWitness touches on race and racial profiling, a subject with such a tortured history that people can't countenance the existence of the technology, even if they don't understand how it works."
But is this really racial profiling? I would say not. To me, it's a better way of identifying the suspect they are looking for. If you have a witness who remembers the criminal as being male, but cannot recall their race, or is mistaken, why not be able to rely on a DNA test to know for sure? I'm really surprised that there is so much resistance to this technology by the very people we rely on to identify suspects and catch the guilty ones. A molecular biologist has figured out how to identify a person's race through examining their DNA, and the test has been used to ... more -
Racial Pill-filing
A new study shows Whites are more likely to be prescribed painkillers in the ER, whereas minorities are less likely to receive them.
Even for the severe pain of kidney stones, minorities were prescribed narcotics such as oxycodone and morphine less frequently than whites.
One expert said the apparent color bar may reveal some doctors' suspicions that minority patients could be drug abusers lying about pain to get narcotics. But the irony, she said, is that blacks are the least likely group to abuse prescription drugs. A new study shows Whites are more likely to be prescribed painkillers in the ER, whereas minorities are less likely to receive them. ... more -
Angry Black Man - how you doing?
Racial profiling, Metrocard price hikes, and taxes!
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Racial Profiling
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Racial Profiling
