May 25, 2012
South Africa Re-labels all Imports from the West Bank as "Made in Occupied Palestine"

Fucking awesome…

brosephstalin:

The international effort to boycott products made in Israeli settlements got a boost recently from a formidable quarter. South Africa announced it would label imports from the West Bank not “Made in Israel” but perhaps “Made in Occupied Palestine.”  It seems a small thing. The new regulation stops well short of calling for a boycott on Ahava beauty products and other exports manufactured or grown by Israeli companies on Palestinian land occupied by the Israeli military since 1967.

But the labeling regulation makes such a boycott more feasible, which is one reason Israel is making a big deal of it.  Another reason, of course, is that on the question of moral heft, South Africa ranks as a heavyweight. From the 1960s to the end of the 80s, an international boycott and disinvestment campaign against the Pretoria regime was one of the factors that led to abandoning the apartheid system that long let the white minority rule the black majority.

“It hurts, yes,” says Itzhak Galnoor, a political scientist at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. “It does send a message to the Israeli people and the Israeli government that the stalemate between Israel and the Palestinians is not acceptable. And I think that countries have the right to send the message.”

Galnoor is among the minority of Israelis who have long boycotted settlement products – making a point at the supermarket of not purchasing goods produced by Israeli companies on the Palestinian territory.  Mostly that’s fruits and vegetables – Israeli plantation agriculture has turned the occupied Jordan River Valley into one big truck farm – but also fine wines and other temptations.  To avoid “normalizing” the occupation, some Israelis also refuse to drive on Hwy. 443, a freeway cut into the West Bank for the convenience of Israelis commuting to Jerusalem from the coastal plain. (This can be a real sacrifice: The 443 is the only alternative to the steeper, almost alpine and frequently backed up Hwy 1, which except for a short span on “no-man’s land” lies entirely within Israel’s 1948 sovereign borders). The settlement product boycott is also being debated among American Jews at the urging of author Peter Beinart whose book The Crisis of Zionism  argues that the occupation is endangering Israeli democracy.

(Read More)

(via arielnietzsche)

8:22pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyM8Rcb1
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Filed under: Palestine Occupation Apartheid Israel Holy Land Muslim World Africa South Solidarity Anti Imperialism Fascism Middle East 
May 9, 2012
U.S. Marine: "If Tarek Mehanna is a 'terrorist conspirator', then so am I".

socialismartnature:

On 12 April, Tarek Mehanna was found guilty of conspiracy and of giving material support for terrorism and was sentenced to 17 years in prison. The prosecution accused Mehanna of translating statements for al-Qaida and of disseminating pro-jihadist material on the internet. Mehanna maintains that he does not support the world view of al-Qaida, though he is unapologetic for supporting the rights of Muslims to defend themselves against their oppressors – in this case, US and British soldiers.

However, if Tarek Mehanna is guilty, so am I. I, too, support the right of Muslims to defend themselves against US troops, even if that means they have to kill them, and I try to give the Iraqi resistance a voice through my website. I have done everything that Tarek Mehanna has done, and there are only two possibilities as to why I am not sitting in a cell with him: first, the FBI is incompetent and hasn’t been able to smoke me out; second, the US judicial system would never dream of violating my freedom of speech because I am white and I am a veteran of the occupation of Iraq.

 … I’m not afraid to profess my support for Tarek Mehanna, or to advocate for his ideas, because I know the law does not apply equally to all in America. My whiteness and my status as a veteran will protect me. But Tarek was brown and he never made the mistake of enlisting in the Marine Corps, as I did. So he will spend the next 17 years in a prison cell.

(via socialuprooting)

6:02pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyLBIkIF
(Notes: 113)
  
Filed under: Justice United States of AMerica Freedom Restriction Police State Dissent Crushing Fascism Communism Socialism 
May 5, 2012
Fresno police drowned a man by tasering and hogtying him, then sticking a garden hose onto (his) face and mouth when he pleaded for water. He was murdered in front of his children.

beatyourselfup:

FRESNO, Calif. (CN) - Fresno police drowned a man by Tasering and hogtying him, then sticking a garden hose “onto (his) face and mouth” when he pleaded for water, the man’s two children claim in Federal Court.

The two minor children, I.R. and H.R., claim that in the summer of 2011 Fresno police restrained their father, Raul Rosas, at a friend’s house while responding to a domestic disturbance call.

The children say their father was not armed and “had not committed a crime.”

After an altercation with a John Doe officer, police pepper-sprayed Rosas and then Tasered him a “countless number of times,” the complaint states.
The children claim their father was Tasered “for eight to ten more minutes,” then he was “hogtied with his ankles tied to his handcuffs behind his back.”
The complaint continues: “Decedent was then slammed onto a table in the residence’s backyard face down. An officer was observed with his knee on decedent’s back while decedent was hogtied, handcuffed, and face down.

“Decedent stated that he couldn’t breathe and that he needed water; an officer ran water from a hose onto decedent’s face and mouth to the point of making it more difficult for decedent to breathe. Decedent tried to move his mouth away from the water and gasp for air. A witness yelled ‘He can’t breathe, you’re drowning him,’ but the officer continued running water over decedent’s face.

“After turning the water off, the Doe Officer(s) continued to press his knee against decedent’s back and continued to put pressure on it. Witnesses repeatedly asked officers to let decedent get up because he couldn’t breathe, but their cries for help were ignored.
“By now there were in excess of 15 deputies and officers on the scene.

“After some time passed, decedent had clear spit bubbles coming out of his mouth.

“Witnesses yelled at officers that decedent was not breathing and pointed to the clear spit bubbles but again were ignored. Doe officer claimed decedent was ‘faking it.’”

“Officers, after much pleading from witnesses, checked decedent’s pulse and discovered he had stopped breathing after not feeling anything when they touched decedent’s neck.

“Decedent had his handcuffs taken off and was untied and placed on his back on the ground. After some time had passed, an officer started doing chest compressions but none of the officers administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to the decedent. Ultimately a witness at the scene administered CPR to decedent.

“Some time later, an ambulance arrived and took over trying to revive decedent.”

Rosas’ children are represented by Brian Claypool of Pasadena.

They seek punitive damages for wrongful death, unreasonable search and seizure, due process violations, supervisory liability, negligence, battery, and violation of the Bane Act.

(via amodernmanifesto)

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(Notes: 953)
  
Filed under: Police Brutality Murder United States of America Capitalism Imperialism Fascism 
May 1, 2012
N.Y.C., JPMorgan Sued by Council Members in Occupy Lawsuit

Four New York City Council members sued the city over the handling of Occupy Wall Streetprotesters, claiming the police used excessive force and should be subject to an outside monitor.

The Police Department made false arrests and violated free- speech rights of protesters and journalists last year, according to a complaint filed today in Manhattan federal court by the council members and 11 others. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Brookfield Office Properties and Mayor Michael Bloomberg are among the defendants.

12:31am  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyKfpMI5
Filed under: OWS Occupy Wall Street Socialism Communism Fascism Police State Brutality NYPD NYC New York City JP Morgan Chase Bloomberg 
April 22, 2012
Unnamed Congressman Has Tim DeChristopher Moved into Solitary Confinement | The Dissenter

This is the kind of crap the West German government pulled with the RAF.  And it didn’t work so well.  Lessons from history, people? 


theamericanbear:

This is truly shameful:

Environmental activist Tim DeChristopher, who was given a two-year sentence in prison for making fake bids in a Utah public land auction that was later found to be corrupt, has reportedly been moved to solitary confinement after a member of Congress contacted the Bureau of Prisons.

Peaceful Uprising, a climate change activism group which DeChristopher co-founded, states in a press release posted on March 27:

On the evening of Friday March 9th, Tim DeChristopher was summarily removed from the minimum security camp where he has been held since September 2011, and moved into the FCI Herlong’s Special Housing Unit (SHU). Tim was informed by  Lieutenant Weirich that he was being moved to the SHU because an unidentified congressman had called from Washington DC, complaining of an email that Tim had sent to a friend. Tim was inquiring about the reported business practices of one of his legal fund contributors, threatening to return the money if their values no longer aligned with his own.  According to Prison officials, Tim will continue to be held in isolated confinement pending an investigation.There is no definite timeline for inmates being held in the SHU — often times they await months for the conclusion of an investigation.

In the SHU, Tim’s movement and communications are severely restricted. In the past two weeks, he has been allowed out of his 8 X 10 cell (which he shares with one other inmate) four times, each time for less than an hour. The SHU could have been designed by Franz Kafka. Tim is allowed one book in his cell, and four in his property locker.  His writing means are restricted to a thin ink cartridge which makes correspondence extremely difficult.  He can still receive mail from the outside, but has no other form of communication other than 15 minutes of phone calls per month. [emphasis not added]

First off, this congress person who ordered DeChristopher into solitary confinement is a coward and should be unmasked. DeChristopher is powerless in prison. He is already being punished.

If the description is correct, it seems like a congressman is trying to intimidate DeChristopher for wanting to return money. To amplify the punishment because of an email is cruel. That the punishment is to place DeChristopher into solitary confinement is even more inhumane. In fact, it is what a fascist country would do to a political prisoner.

[…]

The identity of the member of Congress who is doing this to DeChristopher is still unknown. Peaceful Uprising hopes “investigative journalism and public pressure” will lead to the member’s identity becoming known.

And, the Associated Press provides additional confirmation that DeChristopher was moved to solitary. They spoke to DeChristopher’s lawyer Pat Shea, who told AP “prison officials in California, where DeChristopher is held, told the jailed activist that a congressman complained about an email he sent to some of his supporters.” Because of the complaint, he is now being held in isolation.

Read the rest here.

More on the story from Common Dreams.

(via socialuprooting)

1:02pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyK6JBHG
(Notes: 30)
  
Filed under: United States of America Police State Fascism Communism Socialism 
April 16, 2012
Yeah.  I am sure they are investigating real hard…. occupyallstreets: Boston Police Investigating Officer’s For Choking A Gay Protester Boston Police is investigating its officers’ response to rowdy duel protests at the Boston Common on Sunday, Tax Day, after a photo surfaced showing “a city officer with his hand around a protester’s neck.” As Daily Kos’ Scott Wooledge reports, the Tea Party-organized event was co-sponsored by the vehemently anti-gay MassResistance and featured Scott Lively, “professional worldwide hunter of homosexuals and top proponent of ‘gay cure’” and a proponent of Uganda’s infamous ‘kill gays’ legislation. As counter-protesters — including Occupy Boston Queer and Trans Direct Action Working Group — expressed their opposition to Lively’s participation, one of the speakers said from the podium, broadcast across the loud speakers at the Commons, “We will not be silenced by faggots.” Read a first-hand account from the protester roughed up in the picture at Back2Stonewall. Source

Yeah.  I am sure they are investigating real hard….

occupyallstreets:

Boston Police Investigating Officer’s For Choking A Gay Protester

Boston Police is investigating its officers’ response to rowdy duel protests at the Boston Common on Sunday, Tax Day, after a photo surfaced showing “a city officer with his hand around a protester’s neck.” As Daily Kos’ Scott Wooledge reports, the Tea Party-organized event was co-sponsored by the vehemently anti-gay MassResistance and featured Scott Lively, “professional worldwide hunter of homosexuals and top proponent of ‘gay cure’” and a proponent of Uganda’s infamous ‘kill gays’ legislation.

As counter-protesters — including Occupy Boston Queer and Trans Direct Action Working Group — expressed their opposition to Lively’s participation, one of the speakers said from the podium, broadcast across the loud speakers at the Commons, “We will not be silenced by faggots.” Read a first-hand account from the protester roughed up in the picture at Back2Stonewall.

Source

11:28pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyJoj3Ko
(Notes: 108)
  
Filed under: LGBT rights freedoms oppression Police Boston State Fascism United States of America Homophobia gay rights 
April 14, 2012
THE best finished bit on OWS I have seen in the last year. Thanks Jazeera

FINALLY.  Thank you Qatari oil money.

Without question the most fair, professional piece yet.  And certainly useful for teaching, in a way that much footage has not yet been.

It’s 24 mins long.  Please take the time to watch.

At least it’s nice to see that I’m not the only person who can’t talk about the eviction without their voice cracking.

This is for sure the most important forward of the last 3 weeks from me.

6:00pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyJg5peo
(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: Occupy Everything Together Wall Street OWS Anti Capitalism Corruption Greed Imperialism Fascism Socialist Communist Socialism Communism Red Resistance Police State Brutality NYPD Oakland 
April 14, 2012
I strongly agree with the last comment on this threadsocialistictendencies:occupyallstreets: Documents Show NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Groups Nationwide Undercover NYPD officers attended meetings of liberal political organizations and kept intelligence files on activists who planned protests around the country, according to interviews and documents that show how police have used counterterrorism tactics to monitor even lawful activities. The infiltration echoes the tactics the NYPD used in the run-up to New York’s 2004 Republican National Convention, when police monitored church groups, anti-war organizations and environmental advocates nationwide. That effort was revealed by The New York Times in 2007 and in an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit over how the NYPD treated convention protesters. Police said the pre-convention spying was necessary to prepare for the huge, raucous crowds that were headed to the city. But documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the police department’s intelligence unit continued to keep close watch on political groups in 2008, long after the convention had passed. The document provides the latest example of how, in the name of “fighting terrorism,” law enforcement agencies around the country have scrutinized groups that legally oppose government policies. The FBI, for instance, has collected information on anti-war demonstrators. The Maryland state police infiltrated meetings of anti-death penalty groups. Missouri counterterrorism analysts suggested that support for Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, might indicate support for violent militias — an assertion for which state officials later apologized. And Texas officials urged authorities to monitor lobbying efforts by pro Muslim-groups. By contrast, at the height of the Occupy Wall Street protests and in related protests in other cities, officials at the U.S. Homeland Security Department repeatedly urged authorities not to produce intelligence reports based simply on protest activities. “Occupy Wall Street-type protesters mostly are engaged in constitutionally protected activity,” department officials wrote in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the website Gawker. “We maintain our longstanding position that DHS should not report on activities when the basis for reporting is political speech.” At the NYPD, the monitoring was carried out by the Intelligence Division, a squad that operates with nearly no outside oversight and is so secretive that police said even its organizational chart is too sensitive to publish. The division has been the subject of a series of Associated Press articles that illustrated how the NYPD monitored Muslim neighborhoods, catalogued people who prayed at mosques and eavesdropped on sermons. Read More Revolting pieces of bloody dog shit. IF YOU ARE STILL A COP YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THE GOOD ONES.

I strongly agree with the last comment on this thread

socialistictendencies:occupyallstreets:

Documents Show NYPD Infiltrated Liberal Groups Nationwide

Undercover NYPD officers attended meetings of liberal political organizations and kept intelligence files on activists who planned protests around the country, according to interviews and documents that show how police have used counterterrorism tactics to monitor even lawful activities.

The infiltration echoes the tactics the NYPD used in the run-up to New York’s 2004 Republican National Convention, when police monitored church groups, anti-war organizations and environmental advocates nationwide. That effort was revealed by The New York Times in 2007 and in an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit over how the NYPD treated convention protesters.

Police said the pre-convention spying was necessary to prepare for the huge, raucous crowds that were headed to the city. But documents obtained by The Associated Press show that the police department’s intelligence unit continued to keep close watch on political groups in 2008, long after the convention had passed.

The document provides the latest example of how, in the name of “fighting terrorism,” law enforcement agencies around the country have scrutinized groups that legally oppose government policies. The FBI, for instance, has collected information on anti-war demonstrators. The Maryland state police infiltrated meetings of anti-death penalty groups. Missouri counterterrorism analysts suggested that support for Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, might indicate support for violent militias — an assertion for which state officials later apologized. And Texas officials urged authorities to monitor lobbying efforts by pro Muslim-groups.

By contrast, at the height of the Occupy Wall Street protests and in related protests in other cities, officials at the U.S. Homeland Security Department repeatedly urged authorities not to produce intelligence reports based simply on protest activities.

“Occupy Wall Street-type protesters mostly are engaged in constitutionally protected activity,” department officials wrote in documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the website Gawker. “We maintain our longstanding position that DHS should not report on activities when the basis for reporting is political speech.”

At the NYPD, the monitoring was carried out by the Intelligence Division, a squad that operates with nearly no outside oversight and is so secretive that police said even its organizational chart is too sensitive to publish. The division has been the subject of a series of Associated Press articles that illustrated how the NYPD monitored Muslim neighborhoods, catalogued people who prayed at mosques and eavesdropped on sermons.

Read More

Revolting pieces of bloody dog shit.

IF YOU ARE STILL A COP YOU ARE NOT ONE OF THE GOOD ONES.

(via socialuprooting)

1:01pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyJf66Xv
(Notes: 175)
  
Filed under: Cops ACAB United States Police State of America USA New York State City NYC NYPD Fascism Monitoring Capitalism Imperialism 
April 10, 2012
mamitah: thepeoplesrecord: Five freedom-killing tactics the police will use to crack down protests in 2012: 1. Expanding permit requirements.2. Charging protesters for municipal costs.3. Demonizing protesters in pre-event press conferences.4. Creating exclusion zones & segregating protesters.5. Mass arrests, punitive detention. Find out more here.  Photo from Occupy San Diego Look at these adults, look at these fathers, these chiefs; look how they find it convenient to deal with things, with people protesting for justice, equality, peace. With young people claiming back their world.

mamitah:

thepeoplesrecord:

Five freedom-killing tactics the police will use to crack down protests in 2012:

1. Expanding permit requirements.
2. Charging protesters for municipal costs.
3. Demonizing protesters in pre-event press conferences.
4. Creating exclusion zones & segregating protesters.
5. Mass arrests, punitive detention.

Find out more here. 

Photo from Occupy San Diego

Look at these adults, look at these fathers, these chiefs; look how they find it convenient to deal with things, with people protesting for justice, equality, peace. With young people claiming back their world.

(via fuckyeahmarxismleninism)

1:00pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyJQf8HY
(Notes: 60)
  
Filed under: Occupy Everything Together NYC Wall Street Police State Brutality New York City Capitalism Fascism Oligarchy Socialism Communism 
April 9, 2012

occupyallstreets:

He’s a hero indeed.

(Source: slinkyhead)

5:58pm  |   URL: http://tmblr.co/ZiWeSyJNtnuI
(Notes: 431)
  
Filed under: United States Capitalism Fascism Imperialism Communism Socialism of AMerica 
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