Mizzou journalist threatened with arrest for attending public meeting of black student activists - just months after professor threw him out of protest

Mizzou journalist threatened with arrest for attending public meeting of black student activists - just months after professor threw him out of campus protest
http://dollars-vedioonline.blogspot.com/2016/02/mizzou-journalist-threatened-with.html

Mark Schierbecker filmed himself attending black student activist meeting
Forum was taking place at University of Missouri on it public campus
Leader of the forum asks Schierbecker to leave, but he politely refuses
Confrontation then ensues in which the students threaten to call police and file a 'racial bias incident report' against Schierbecker
Schierbecker is also told refusal to leave is an example of 'white privilege'
Journalist was also confronted by an assistant professor at student demonstration last year who asked for 'muscle' to remove him


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A journalist who was kicked out of a student protest at Missouri University last year after a professor asked for 'muscle' to remove him has been thrown out of another public meeting.
Mark Schierbecker, a student videographer for The College Fix, was attending a meeting of the Concerned Student 1950, a black activist group, on Wednesday when he was asked to leave.
When he refused, members of the group threatened to call police and campus security to file a 'racial bias report', before telling him: 'This is, like, once again white people being privileged.'

Footage of the incident, shot by Schierbecker, shows the meeting in the AP Chapel on Mizzou's campus, which was advertised over Twitter as a forum 'for black students and students of color'
As film of the incident begins, several white members of the press can be seen sat along the pews.
Before the meeting gets underway, a woman - who appears to be the leader of the meeting - asks: 'If there are any reporters in here, can you please exit? That was my nice warning.'
A member of the local press then stands up and questions why reporters are being asked to leave, to which the woman responds: 'Just because I asked you to. We just want to discuss some things.'


The man can then be seen handing over his business card before exiting, while two other female journalists also left, according to The College Fix.
However, Schierbecker refused to leave, starting a tense confrontation with the group, during which several of them also took out their phones and began recording.
Schierbecker can be heard saying: 'This is considered a limited public forum. It’s open to the public, and especially to students of the university.

'I am here on assignment for a story and it is my personal preference not to leave.'
The footage then cuts momentarily before coming back to show the leader of the meeting standing next to Schierbecker.
She tells him: 'This is, like, once again white people being privileged and refusing to leave our spaces.'
The woman then asks Schierbecker to lower his camera, which he agrees to, although footage is still being recorded.
As several students try to explain themselves to Schierbecker, the leader of the group again speaks up telling them: 'You don’t give him any explanation because, like, that’s not necessary.'
She then suggests phoning the police in order to file a 'racial bias incident report', adding that 'I just don't have the time or the patience.'
When Schierbecker asks if she is referring to him, she responds: 'I'm not talking to you.'

After a short altercation, Schierbecker tells the group that he is recording 'for my own safety', saying that he wants to keep a record for police.
That statement appears to anger some of the group who raise their voices at him, though other members do ask them to quieten down.
After a brief and heated exchange with the group, Schierbecker again repeats that he will put the camera away, provided the police are not called.
However, before authorities arrive the group decide to move their meeting to a more private location, at which point they get up and leave.
According to Schierbecker, police and campus security never arrived to speak with him, and he received no follow-up call.

This is the second time Schierbecker has got into trouble with demonstrators on campus after he tried to film a tent city set up as part of protests that ousted college president Tim Wolfe last year.
On that occasion Schierbecker was confronted by then-assistant communications professor Melissa Click, who told protesters: 'Who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here.'
She has since been suspended and charged with assault over the incident, which Schierbecker also caught on film, and which has been viewed millions of times online.

Lawmakers might tighten law on rallies to prevent ‘abuse of rights’

A group of MPs are seeking to introduce additional punishment for repeated violation of the law on rallies, saying there is a need to protect citizens from ‘professional’ protesters. The amendments are being prepared by three State Duma deputies representing the conservative majority party United Russia and the center-left Fair Russia caucus. The lawmakers have presented statistics showing the majority of trouble makers at rallies are repeated violators. According to Interior Ministry data, of 36 people who were detained for illegal protest in the Moscow city center on February 6 this year, 21 had been previously been found guilty of administrative offense. Two of these people had each violated the law on rallies 16 times. A similar situation occurred on February 24 - of the 49 detained for illegal protest, three had a record of over 10 convictions for the same offense. “There is such a term as abuse of right and we face this phenomenon at mass events,” one of the bill’s sponsors told the mass circulation daily Izvestia. “Multiple violations of the law over a short period of time demonstrates that the offender is not afraid of the current punishment. This is why we decided to tighten the responsibility for repeated violations of mass events rules,” the MP added. The suggested amendments provide that those who violate the law on rallies more than twice during a period of six months must face criminal justice instead of administrative one. The suggested punishment ranges from fines of between 600,000 and 1 million rubles ($16600 - $27700) or up to five years behind bars. The punishment for organisers of mass events who refuse to comply with law enforcers’ lawful demands is increased to 30 days of administrative arrest. The MPs suggest introducing separate articles to the administrative code for disrupting transport and social infrastructure and for blocking public access to these facilities. Violating public order in areas adjacent to dangerous industrial and transport sites, courts and prisons and residences of leading officials could also become an offence punishable with up to 20 days of administrative arrest. The draft also aims to bring rally rules in line with modern realities – it forbids bringing poisonous, flammable and explosive objects to rallies (as well as means of making such objects) – an obvious lesson from the recent tire fires and firecracker attacks in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The planned amendments also demand that reporters who cover mass events wear distinctly visible marks of their profession. According to the authors, this is caused by frequent incidents in which reporters provoked the police to detain them and only after detention presented their press cards. The initiative caused mixed reaction in parliament. The heads of the Communist Party of Russia Gennady Zyuganov and the leader of the Fair Russia party Sergey Mironov called the suggested measures excessive, and said that tightening the punishment was not good for dialogue between the authorities and opposition. The head of the Lower House committee for security, MP Irina Yarovaya (United Russia), said that the suggested procedures and measures were absolutely lawful and transparent and that the sanctions provided by the bill were “more than humane”. A member of the State Duma Committee for Civil and Criminal Law, MP Raphael Mardanshin (United Russia) commented that tougher punishment for repeated violators existed in other spheres of the law and it was only just to apply this rule to troublemakers and radicals who disrupt peaceful protests.

Venezuela protest death toll reaches 39 amid govt calls for dialogue (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

The death toll of the violent protests that have shaken Venezuela for the last month and a half has reached 39. To avoid “civil war”, the country’s Foreign Minister Elias Jaua has called for dialogue with the opposition. Clashes erupted once again in the Venezuelan capital on Monday night, as hooded activists erected barricades on the streets of Caracas, causing massive disruption. Protesters smashed shop windows and set fire to cars before the riot police arrived and dispersed them using tear gas and water cannons. Elsewhere in the west of Venezuela violence was reported in the cities of Maracaibo and San Cristobal, killing two people and bringing the total death toll in Venezuela to 39. One protester was electrocuted in San Cristobal while trying to reinforce a barricade, and another died in Maracaibo when a homemade explosive device detonated in his hands before he could throw it at police. Anti-government activists clash with riot police during a protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) Anti-government activists clash with riot police during a protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) Protests have been held throughout Venezuela for the past month and a half, with the population frustrated over inflation, mass power cuts and a lack of basic goods. The Venezuelan government claims that the largely peaceful protest movement has been hijacked by extremist, right-wing, political elements backed by the US, whose aim is to ouster President Nicolas Maduro. On Monday, the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua called for dialogue with the opposition to avoid the threat of civil war. He told the private channel, Globovision, that there was an element of the opposition loyal to the United States that is pushing for an armed conflict. A National Guard member shoots during anti-government protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) A National Guard member shoots during anti-government protest, in Caracas on March 31, 2014. (AFP Photo / Juan Barreto) “The president has said: ‘let’s negotiate without conditions, without preconceived agendas to stop this irrational violence that has killed almost 40 men and women,’” said Jaua, adding the Venezuelan government is waiting for a gesture of goodwill from the opposition. The US has denied any involvement in the mass protests in Venezuela and has accused Maduro’s government of using Washington as a scapegoat. Last week US Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson said that the US had not ruled out the possibility of imposing sanctions on the Latin American country. She said financial penalties could become an “important tool” in pressuring Maduro into negotiations with the opposition. A water cannon of the national police burns after being hit with Molotov cocktails thrown by anti-government protesters during riots in Chacao district in Caracas March 31, 2014. (Reuters / Christian Veron)A water cannon of the national police burns after being hit with Molotov cocktails thrown by anti-government protesters during riots in Chacao district in Caracas March 31, 2014. (Reuters / Christian Veron) In response, the Venezuelan government accused Washington of meddling in Venezuelan affairs and “ignoring the democratic process.” Venezuela’s Latin American neighbors have also rallied in support of Maduro’s government. Uruguayan President Jose Mujica told the press on Monday that the US should respect Venezuela and let it find its own way out of the current crisis. "The first thing that Venezuela and all of Latin America needs is to be respected,” said Mujica. “When the whole world urges the US to rescind its embargo policy on Cuba, voices in Washington threaten sanctions on Venezuela. Have they learnt nothing from history?”

8,000 nationalists rally in Moscow as Russia marks National Unity Day (PHOTOS)

Thousands of Russian nationalists have rallied in Russia’s capital for National Unity Day, annually celebrated on November 4. The march was peaceful, though some 30 people were detained “for minor violations.”
Local police estimated some 8,000 people were in Moscow for the annual Russian March, which was this year held for the fifth time.
Many of them were wearing black balaclavas, waving black, yellow, and white nationalist flags, and chanting, "Russians Unite!" Organizers initially expected up to 15,000 to attend the march.  
Demonstrators dislayed banners of a nationalist nature, calling for migrants to return to their home countries. Some of the banners read: “Russia for Russians” or “Today mosque – tomorrow jihad”.

Participants of the "Russian March-2013" in Moscow on November 4, 2013. (RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)

Moscow authorities authorized two marches - one [the Russian March] in Pererva Street in Moscow’s south-east and another in the northwest of the city.
Moscow police said that the protests were peaceful and those arrested were detained for minor violations, including wearing masks, shouting out Nazi slogans and using banned symbols.  
Previous such marches were marked by violent attacks against migrants.

Law enforcement officers detain a participant of the "Russian March-2013" in Moscow on November 4, 2013. (RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)

Rather small nationalist marches took place in a number of cities throughout Russia including St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk.
In the city of Volgograd, central Russia, 60 people have reportedly been arrested after they tried to continue the Russian March after the allowed time.  Minor arrests have been made in St. Petersburg, where roughly 2,000 attended the event. 

Participants of the "Russian March-2013" in Volgograd on November 4, 2013. (RIA Novosti / Kirill Braga)

The Russian March coincides with a National Unity Day holiday President Vladimir Putin introduced in 2005 to commemorate the expulsion of Poles from Moscow in 1612.
Last year some 6,000 people attended the Russian March in Moscow.
National Unity Day is celebrated on November, 4 across Russia. This holiday is marked with sport events, demonstrations and public gatherings.  
Russia's President Vladimir Putin laid flowers at the monument commemorating the Day of Unity and 401 years since a popular force led by Kozma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky liberated Moscow from Polish invaders.

A participant of the "Tzar's Russian March", devoted to the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov, in Moscow on November 4, 2013. (RIA Novosti / Alexander Vilf)

Law enforcement officers detain a participant of the "Russian March-2013" in Saint Petersburg on November 4, 2013. (RIA Novosti / Anatoly Medved)

Participants of the "Russian March-2013" in Moscow on November 4, 2013. (RIA Novosti / Iliya Pitalev)

Washington’s answers don’t justify NSA spying – EU delegation

General Keith Alexander, commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency (NSA) (Reuters/Yuri Gripas)

 

 

EU diplomats who traveled to Washington over the NSA’s spy program have been left with their questions unanswered. The US insisted all the intelligence gathered in Europe was related to warzones in the Middle East and would continue.
The European Union’s delegation of politicians trusted with getting answers from Washington over the National Security Agency’s (NSA) espionage programs in the EU left with more questions than they arrived with.
The heated condemnation of the reports the US eavesdropped on millions of calls as well as the communication of EU leaders was dampened by spy Director Gen. Keith Alexander.
“It is much more important for this country that we defend this nation and take the beatings than it is to give up a program that would result in us being attacked,” Alexander told House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Wednesday.
Furthermore, he said that the reports in European media alleging the NSA recorded millions of personal phone calls were “completely false.”
Addressing allegations of EU complicity in the spying he said that some data had been provided “to NSA by foreign partners,” but it is “not information that we collected on European citizens.”
“It represents information that we and our NATO allies have collected in defense of our countries and in support of military operations," said Alexander.
Following the meeting members of the delegation told RT’s Gayane Chichikyan that espionage on such a scale could not be justified by the American fight against terrorism.
Spanish MEP Salvador Sedo said that Alexander gave some statistics and an explanation neither of which “clarify the situation.”
“This is not justifiable,” said Sedo, adding that the tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone was not included in Alexander’s explanation. A group of German officials are also in Washington this week to address allegations of the NSA eavesdropping on the Chancellor phone.
RT’s correspondent, Gayane Chichikyan, described the EU delegation’s visit as purely “symbolic.”
“They came to Washington, expressed reserved indignation and then agreed to cooperate further. This is something that we’ve seen before,” said Chichikyan.
The EU delegation left Washington on Wednesday and it remains to be seen what action will be taken in relation to the talks with US officials. European leaders have threatened to suspend the multi-billion ‘Safe Harbor’ trade pact as a measure against US spying. The deal allows American companies to collect data on clients, something that the EU believes is being undermined by the NSA.

‘A weapon against geopolitical competition’

Geopolitical analyst, Eric Draitser, dismissed the EU delegation’s visit to Washington as “political posturing.” He described the word “collaboration” as not strong enough for the intelligence cooperation between the EU and the US.
“They have been an intimate part of the US intelligence apparatus,” stressed Draitser to RT. “If you exist within the US sphere of influence then you are part of this espionage.”
Accepting NSA Director Keith Alexander’s explanation, Draitser said the assertion the US gathered information for military purposes was technically “valid,” but Washington’s ultimate goal was to use the intelligence as a “weapon of dominance and coercion.”
“Yes, it’s true these things are for military purposes and intelligence gathering. That’s absolutely true. But, in the end the goal… it’s for the purposes of wielding this information as a weapon against political competition and geopolitical rivals,” he concluded.  

Mass riots follow police ‘murder’ of teenager in Sao Paulo

People ride bikes by a car on fire in a highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- by police of a 17-year-old boy (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

 

 

Enraged protesters torched vehicles and ransacked shops in, Sao Paulo, following the killing of a 17-year-old at the hands of a policeman. Police took around 90 people into custody and have promised an inquiry into the death of the teenager.
Inhabitants of the Jacana district of Sao Paulo took to the streets on Monday evening to protest the death of 17-year-old student, Douglas Rodrigues, shot dead by a policeman on Sunday night.
Activists blocked the Fernao Dias highway in the early evening and set fire to vehicles. According to reports by the Military Police at least five buses, three trucks and a car were torched by protesters in the surrounding area. One man was also injured, reportedly taking a bullet to the chest when military police intervened to quell the unrest.

Riot sence of burnt trucks at highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- of a 17-year-old boy by the police (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

Police say the man was caught in the crossfire when officers tried to prevent rioters from sacking local shops. He is now receiving surgery at Sao Luiz Gonzaga hospital.
As a result of the unrest, police say they made around 90 arrests for vandalism, destruction of property and looting.
The protests intensified following the burial of Douglas Rodrigues, as citizens demanded justice for his killing at the hands of police officer, Luciano Pinheiro, 31.

View of a car on fire in a highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- of a 17-year-old boy by the police (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

‘Murder’

The victim’s family has accused officer Pinheiro of murdering Rodrigues as he walked past a bar on Bacurizinho Street in the North of Sao Paulo with his 12-year-old brother. Police had been called to the bar after reports of a disturbance of the peace in the area.

Officer Pinheiro claims that the shot that was fired as he exited his vehicle by the bar was ‘accidental.’ Pinheiro is now being held in custody potentially facing a trial for manslaughter, while the Military Police investigate the incident.

“Upon exiting the vehicle, for reasons that have yet to be discerned, a shot was fired by accident that hit a 17-year-old adolescent in the chest,” said a police statement released following the incident.

View of a car on fire in a highway in Sao Paulo, on October 28, 2013, following disturbances triggered by the accidental fatal shooting --on the eve-- of a 17-year-old boy by the police (AFP Photo / Miguel Schincariol)

Reports of police brutality have been widespread in Brazil recently following a wave of mass protests across the country. The latest demonstrations saw thousands of teachers march through the streets of Rio de Janeiro, calling for a salary raise. The peaceful march descended into violence when anarchist group, the Black Bloc, joined the protest, prompting police to open fire with tear gas.

"The police came in firing tear gas, hitting us with clubs. A young Black Bloc stepped right in between me and the police. If it weren't for them, the police would have destroyed us," 47-year-old Andrea Coelho told AP.
 

Crashing the ban: Saudi Arabian women buckle up for social change

A woman drives a car in Saudi Arabia (Reuters/Faisal Al Nasser)

 

 

Riyadh is gearing up for a different sort of “road rage” Saturday as women get behind the wheel to challenge a de-facto ban on female car drivers. Women are defying authoritarian cyber-dissident laws that forbid online support for protests.
As this Arab monarchy of some 30 million people slowly opens the window of opportunity for its women, Saudi females now seem more inclined to run the red light, so to speak, on other restrictions, including unwritten rules that ban them from driving.

This has prompted some women to participate in a motorized protest on Saturday to challenge the ruling of Muslim clerics, those behind-the-scene wielders of hefty influence over the kingdom’s monarchy who argue that women driving cars is a violation of Sharia law.

Although not quite on the same level as the hand wringing that greeted the arrival of the anti-pregnancy “pill” in the West back in the 1970s, clerics warn that "licentiousness and lewdness" will spread if women acquire the freedom to drive.

A top cleric sparked huge controversy last month when he said that medical studies proved that driving a car damages a woman's ovaries.

Demonstrations are illegal in Saudi Arabia, where the al-Saud family has held a firm grip on power since 1932. The country’s first significant protest in favor of women drivers was held in 1995. Some 50 women who took to their cars in that campaign were imprisoned for 24 hours and had their passports confiscated. Others lost their jobs.

In June 2011, dozens of women drove in several cities to protest the arrest of a woman after she posted a video of herself driving. Two months later, a woman found guilty of driving received a sentence of 10 lashes. However, the sentence was overturned in April 2012.

On Tuesday, 200 Muslim clerics and preachers assembled at the Saudi Royal Court, which is the chief executive office of the king, to protest against the campaign in support of women driving, according to Saudi news website www.sabq.org.

"If those behind the conspiracy of women driving approach the house from the back, the sheikhs (will arrive) through the front doors," said Sheikh Nasser bin Salman al-Omar, secretary-general of the League of Muslim Scholars, the website reported.  
Police checkpoints are visible in some parts of Riyadh, witnesses told Reuters, and there appeared to be more traffic patrols than usual on the streets of the capital.
Meanwhile, activists have already posted a video of a woman - identified as May Al Sawyan - driving a car in Riyadh, AP reported. She is seen wearing sunglasses and her hair is covered by the headscarf traditionally worn by Saudi women. 

Online supporters beware

This year, organizers of the protest, in an effort to attract more participants to their cause, are taking to the internet to popularize the event. Popular social media sites, including Twitter and Facebook, have been used to bring more women on board the campaign.

Activists say they have received over 16,000 signatures on an online petition in favor of the change.

These developments have not escaped the notice of the authorities.

Friday's issue of the Arab newspaper Al-Hayat quoted Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman Turki al-Faisal as saying “cyber-dissident laws” could be enforced against anyone supporting the campaign.

In Saudi Arabia, where public beheadings are still employed for murder and other serious crimes, anybody found guilty of signaling their support of the demonstration could be slapped with five-year prison sentences and hefty fines, Marwan al-Ruwqi, a Saudi consultant on cyber laws, was quoted as saying.

At the same time, however, opponents of the campaign are also taking advantage of social media to attack women activists.

The London-based rights group Amnesty International said the main website of the campaign, oct26driving.org, was hacked early Friday and replaced with the message: "End the leadership of Saudi women."

Curb on driving and freedom

The irony of Saudi Arabia’s implicit ban on female drivers is that the women who are fighting for their right to curse and swear in traffic jams have already received international driving licenses abroad – but only after gaining permission to hop on a commercial jet from a male “guardian.”

Under Saudi law, every adult female is required to have a male relative as her guardian, who is legally entitled to make a number of decisions on behalf of the woman, including permission to travel, study and work.

Meanwhile, any step forward that women in Saudi Arabia are acquiring – which includes the right to vote and participate in municipal elections in 2015 – seems to move back two steps by the refusal to let women drive a car.

As Saudi-born writer and journalist Wajeha Al-Huwaider, one of the Arab world's best-known feminists, explained: "In a world of technology, rapid globalization and continuous international challenges, improving the lot of Saudi women and mobilizing them is no longer a matter of choice and luxury. It is a necessity.”

Saudi officials must improve its efforts to remove the “fear from the hearts of the women” so they can participate in the building of society, she added.

The cost of the ban on female drivers is also cited as a reason for the campaign, as families are forced to rely on chauffeurs to accomplish the simplest errands.

However, there have been some notable advances for Saudi women under King Abdullah. In addition to winning the right to vote, as well as participate in municipal elections, 30 women have been granted seats in the 150-member Shura Consultative Council.

Saudi Arabia remains the only country in the world that forbids women from driving, and judging by recent events, that ruling may be in place for some time: a proposal by three of the new women delegates in the council to open discussion on the driving ban was rejected outright by the council’s male majority. 

Brazil riot police teargas bus fare-rise protesters amid mass clashes (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

A demonstration demanding free public transportation ended with a riot at a bus station in Brazil’s Sao Paulo. At least six people have been arrested as riot police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
The violence culminated a protest march Friday, which lasted for some three hours. Part of a crowd of hundreds of demonstrator broke off and attacked a bus terminal in Sao Paulo’s center, police said.
The rioters set on fire a bust and destroyed cash and ticket machines. Police says many of the masked vandals at the station were members of the so-called Black Bloc anarchist group.
Riot police used tear gas and batons against the protesters. A police colonel was hit on the head by a rock amid the clashes, Brazilian media reported.

A masked demonstrator throws a stone against a bus after a demonstration against rising public transport costs and demanding better public services in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 2013. (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)

The confrontation continued elsewhere in the city, when some people fled from the bus station and erected barricades.
A hike in bus fares triggered massive protest demonstrations in Brazil in June, when millions of people took to the streets to voice their anger at corruption, poor public services and government spending on projects like hosting the 2014 World Cup football tournament.
Friday’s march in Sao Paulo comes on the same day that President Dilma Rousseff announced a $2.4 billion plan to improve public transportation in the city.

People protest against rising public transport costs and demanding better public services in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 2013. (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)

An autobus burns after a demonstration against rising public transport costs and demanding better public services in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 2013. (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)

Masked demonstrators vandalize bank ATM machines following a demonstration against rising public transport costs and demanding better public services in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 2013. (AFP Photo/Nelson Almeida)

Police militarization expo Urban Shield descends on Oakland

AFP Photo / Kimihiro Hoshino

 

SWAT teams, military contractors and law enforcement from the world over are gathering this weekend in Oakland, CA for the annual event Urban Shield, a training and weapons expo made possible by the Department of Homeland Security and arms manufacturers.
Urban Shield, coordinated by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, exists under the guise of fighting terrorism and “disaster preparedness” in heavily-populated areas. The event is partly a trade show for a myriad militarized tactical gear and weapons, but there are also training exercises and war-game competitions that teams from California to Guam to Qatar will take part in this weekend. The exercises include protest suppression techniques and SWAT-team-raid simulations.
Past participants in the simulations include the counter-terrorism Israeli Border Police Unit Yamam, which allegedly conducts extra-judicial assassinations of Palestinians, journalist Max Blumenthal has reported. In addition, Bahrain police units, which have devastated its country’s ongoing peaceful protests against the monarch in recent years, have participated in Urban Shield events.
The event is ultimately overseen by a California-based private firm Cytel Inc. and is hosted by the Bay Area Urban Security Initiative (UASI), a law enforcement coalition representing Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and ten Bay Area Counties.
According to East Bay Express, UASI receives its funding from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which has given the Bay Area's police forces millions of dollars since 2009 to fund the annual event and other projects.
In 2012, DHS gave half a billion dollars to police departments in 31 metro regions across the US to "address the unique planning, organization, equipment, training, and exercise needs of high-threat, high-density urban areas," according to the DHS website.
For this year’s event, the Alameda Sheriff’s received $7.5 million in federal funding, according to the War Resisters League.
"What Urban Shield represents to us is the epitome of state repression that has been impacting communities of color and immigrant communities for decades," Lara Kiswani, of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, told Common Dreams. "Different strategies of surveillance against Arabs and Muslims and brown and black people are being used as tactics against our people back home. This is the militarization of the police."
As US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have waned, major weapons manufacturers have turned to militarizing police units for a new source of revenue. Major names that have provided the US and others with arms - Lockheed Martin, ATK and Colt, among a few - are helping sponsor this year’s Urban Shield.
ATK (Alliant Techsystems) is the Pentagon’s largest supplier of munitions, including depleted uranium munitions.
Colt makes firearms for the military and law enforcement, advertising their wares as such: “From the jungles of Vietnam to the burning sands of the Middle East, Colt weapons have been combat tested under the most extreme conditions by the U.S. armed forces.”
Lockheed, arguably the most powerful military contractor in the world, did $47 billion in business in 2012, much of which came from the US government, including funding for the massively-priced F-35 program.
With US-favored contractors present and the amount the US has offered to pay for the conference, as journalist Rania Khalek pointed out, “that means the federal government is essentially financing a major marketing opportunity for companies invested in police militarization and criminal justice privatization.”
Other participants include drone makers, crowd-control experts, DNA-gathering device makers, tear-gas exporters and armored-vehicle manufacturers.
"The United States exports repression globally," said Kiswani. "The way the occupations in the Arab world repress people, and Israel represses the people of Palestine, these are the same strategies used against communities of color and poor people at home."
The event will draw committed protests that aim to point out the connections between police militarization and the dangers to the communities they patrol.
"We see events like Urban Shield as one of the main engines of militarization of the police and everyday life," Ali Issa of the War Resisters League told Common Dreams.
A coalition of 20 anti-police brutality groups around the Bay area have united for the Facing Urban Shield Action Network to organize protests against the gathering.
"The Bay Area has a long legacy of organizing against police violence," Kiswani said. "We are making those links and trying to raise awareness in our own communities and across communities. We must be prepared to protect our communities in the face of these repression strategies."
Organizers will also offer statements from pro-democracy activists in Bahrain, Palestine, Canada and Turkey.
"My unarmed son was shot with military weapons by the police," protester Dionne Smith-Downes told Common Dreams, saying her son died from his wounds. "I feel that military weapons should not be used in a community."
 

Communists seek jail terms for those who call for Russia’s breakup

Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, attends the plenary meeting of the party's Central Committee in the town of Moskovsky. (RIA Novosti/Evgeny Biyatov)

 

 

The leader of Russian Communists has said that calls for breakup of the Russian Federation are inspired by the ‘Imperial West’ and should be punished by a jail term.
“We, our MPs, must submit a suggestion that even verbal calls for dividing the single and indivisible Russia are punished by prison sentence,” Gennady Zyuganov told the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) plenum that took place over the weekend in suburban Moscow.
Zyuganov also told his colleagues that the new stage of Russia’s colonization has already started and the attempts to cause strife between Russia’s numerous peoples and ethnic groups were a part of the major plan.
“The imperial West continues its Cold War against us. Its strategists consider the fact that Russia is a multi-ethnic state. In order to weaken the country they use both the nationalism of bourgeoisie in national regions and the Russian nationalism that is capable of undermining the strength of the nation-forming ethnos. Both threats can destroy the country’s integrity. This is what the world capital is after when they support the growth of nationalist separatism in Russia,” Zyuganov noted.
“The methodology of instigating interethnic wars had been tested long before the so-called Arab Spring. The provocateurs’ methods are working for the western expansion to this time,” he added.
Zyuganov said that the now famous anti-corruption blogger-turned-opposition politician Aleksey Navalny was a typical example of how nationalist rhetoric is used by pro-Western liberals.
“Although they pretend that cannot stand each other the liberals and Russian nationalists were standing side to side during the Bolotnaya and Sakharova rallies,” Zyuganov said referring to the most numerous opposition marches of recent years.
“Navalny is a direct offspring of their union. The Yale University graduate, the advocate of democracy and Human Rights is willingly digging into the nationalist field,” the head of the Russian Communists added. It should be noted that Navalny only spent six months at Yale in 2010 on the Yale World Fellowship program.
Speaking of Russian nationalism, Zyuganov directed the audience’s attention to the fact that many regional programs were sponsored and supported from abroad and this could only raise questions.
“The legitimization of separatism is often being held under the slogans of reviving some exceptional regional identity. In Rostov-on-Don they have already had a conference on the problems of forming the Southern Russian identity. The United States sponsored this event and reporters from Ukraine and Poland discussed different ways of splitting Russians’ national identity. There are groups in Siberia that directly state that as a colony this region has the right for self-determination,” Zyuganov reported.
He then suggested the traditional Communist remedy against nationalist moods – the development of class conscience and switching from ethnic conflicts to class struggle.
“In order to find its fatherland the proletariat must win the political poser and emerge as a national class. To achieve this, the idea of destroying the capitalist property and freeing the labor force must become a common idea of the nation,” Zyuganov concluded.  

Police arrest Veterans for Peace at Occupy Boston protest

Police arrest Veterans for Peace at Occupy Boston protest


Early Tuesday morning, over 50 people are reported to be arrested at the Occupy Boston protest, one of the latest extensions of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests sweeping the nation.

New Yorkers protest budget cuts

New Yorkers protest budget cuts

Bloombergville activists sit in at 250 Broadway to resist the city council budget cuts against workers and communities of NYC.

Courtesy Peoples Video Network www.peoplesvideo.tv and workers.tv

Dance party protest at Jefferson Memorial

Dance party protest at Jefferson Memorial

Adam Kokesh, host of RT's Adam vs the Man, rallies hundreds of protestors at the Jefferson Memorial on Saturday, June 4. People gathered to dance to defy recent legislation which made doing such at the Memorial illegal.

Raw Video: Pakistanis Protest US Drone Attacks

Raw Video: Pakistanis Protest US Drone Attacks



Thousands of supporters of an Islamist party in Pakistan staged an anti-U.S. demonstration in Karachi on Saturday.

Afghans torch Obama's effigy to protest burning of Koran

Afghans torch Obama's effigy to protest burning of Koran

Afghans continue to protest burning of the Koran by American Pastor Terry Jones. The Taliban has called on people to rise up, blaming government forces for any violence. Many of the demonstrations have turned into deadly riots, with 20 already reported dead in the clashes. In southern Kandahar city on Sunday, hundreds took to the streets for the second day in a row, and hospital officials reported 20 people were hurt. On the same day, 20 were killed and dozens wounded in the city of Jalalabad.

On Big Travel Day, Pat-down Protest Is Put Down

On Big Travel Day, Pat-down Protest Is Put Down .



The lines of Thanksgiving travelers moved smoothly at airports around the country Wednesday despite an Internet campaign to get passengers to gum up the works on one of the busiest days of the year by refusing full-body scans. (Nov. 24)

UK Students Protest Tuition Fee Hikes Again

UK Students Protest Tuition Fee Hikes Again


Some demonstrators clashed with police in Britain, as students across the country took to the streets for a second day of protests against massive increases in tuition fees. Several injuries and arrests were reported. (Nov. 24)

Raw Video: British Students Protest Tuition Hike

Raw Video: British Students Protest Tuition Hike


British students on Wednesday staged another protest against a planned increase in university tuition fees and education budget cuts. Previous protests have turned violent. (Nov. 24)

Chinese Police Stop U.S. Boy's Peace Protest

Chinese Police Stop U.S. Boy's Peace Protest


A 13-year-old U.S boy, Jonathan Lee, who is campaigning for a peace park, was released from Chinese detention along with his mother, after staging a brief protest near Tiananmen Square in Beijing. (Nov. 22)

Arrested RT crew has been released on bail

Arrested RT crew has been released on bail


RT crew arrested last Saturday while covering peaceful protest in Fort Benning, Georgia has been released on bail after spending 32 hours in jail. Watch RT's Kaelyn Forde first interview after release.