G_j
G_j's JournalOccupy protestors kicked out of CPAC
February 10, 2012
Occupy protestors kicked out of CPAC
By Leigh Ann Caldwell
WASHINGTON -- During Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's much-anticipated speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), "Occupy" protestors conducted a silent protest that erupted into a chanting match between protestors and conservative conference attendees.
In an overflow room next door to the main ballroom broadcasting Romney's speech, about two dozen protestors stood in front of the monitors attempting to block the view, according to two conference attendees in the room.
Two college students from New Jersey, Matt Bowe and Kevin Spiley, gave Hotsheet the play-by-play.
"They weren't tall enough to block the screen, but it was still annoying," Spiley said.
The crowd started to yell at the protestors, who covered their mouths with tape and wore shirts that read, "If money is speech, poverty is silence." Bowe said people started to shout the protestors down by saying, "'You smell, get a job' -- you know, the usual stuff."
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This Weekend: #OccupyCPAC in DC, Occupy Town Squares in NYC, Resist Repression in SF
http://occupywallst.org/article/weekend-occupycpac-dc-occupy-town-squares-nyc-resi/This Weekend: #OccupyCPAC in DC, Occupy Town Squares in NYC, Resist Repression in SF
Posted 2 hours ago on Feb. 10, 2012, 10:24 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Today (Feb. 10th, 2012) in Washington, DC: Occupy CPAC!
12noon and 5pm at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
2600 Woodley Rd. at Connecticut Ave. N.W - metro: Woodley Park
All this weekend, the right-wing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is happening in Washington, DC. The event - deemed the "summit of the 1%" - features a range of powerful conservative groups and politicians like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Scott Walker, and more. The one thing they share in common: Their pockets are lined with corporate money and all of their agendas disproportionately benefit the 1% at the direct expense of the rest of us.
Labor groups like the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Labor Council and local progressive organizations like the Washington Peace Center are organizing a variety of actions today. The AFL-CIO has promised "giant puppets, inflatables, chants, songs and of course tents to Occupy CPAC." Occupy DC and supporters plan to be out in full force, as well - demonstrating their commitment to the struggle for economic justice following their recent removal from their homes at McPherson Square. Follow #OccupyCPAC on Twitter.
City of Chicago Settles Class Action Suit Over 2003 Iraq War Protest Arrests
http://chicagoist.com/2012/02/09/city_settles_class_action_suit_over.phpCity Settles Class Action Suit Over 2003 Iraq War Protest Arrests
Attorneys for the City of Chicago told federal judges they reached a settlement in the class action lawsuit brought by more than 800 people arrested after protesters took Lake Shore Drive in a 2003 march against the Iraq War. The Chicago Tribune reports those arrested, charged and detained will potentially receive up to $15,000 and people arrested but not charged would receive $8,750. People held on the street for over 90 minutes will receive $500. In total, the lawsuit will cost the city $6.2 million, not including legal fees.
Towards the end of the march, when the majority of demonstrators exited Lake Shore Drive after a long standoff with police, some 800 people were kettled at Chicago and Michigan Avenues. Most of the arrested just wanted to head home, and some arrestees weren’t even part of the protest, but instead were passersby and onlookers. Federal appellate Justice Richard Posner ruled last year the arrests were unjustified and noted that all of the charges were later dismissed in court.
The National Lawyers Guild, in conjunction with the People’s Law Office, worked on the case for nine years. The People’s Law Office said in a statement:
“Based on our collective experience litigating police misconduct cases for decades, we feel very positive about this settlement and about the amount of compensation for each sub-class member. We also believe that such a significant settlement will send an unequivocal message to the City of Chicago and its Police Department that they must respect your right to demonstrate.”
The settlement isn’t only a victory for the participants in the class action suit, it also affects future demonstrations. According to the People’s Law Office, the court opinion holds that the City cannot arrest peaceful demonstrators without warning, solely because they do not have a permit, and will apply to future demonstrations.
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Occupy Arrestees Win Their Right to Full Trials—Even Though They May Not Need It
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-28213-occupy_arrestees_win.htmlFebruary 9th, 2012 By HANNAH HOFFMAN
Occupy Arrestees Win Their Right to Full Trials—Even Though They May Not Need It
The estimated 160 people arrested during Occupy Portland protests in the past five months have won the right to jury trials—a legal victory that advocates say will force prosecutors to mount a case in every arrest.
Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Albrecht ruled Wednesday that for certain misdemeanors charges—class A and B—defendants have the right to a trial, even though prosecutors have reduced many charges to violations.
Bear Wilner-Nugent, a member of the National Lawyers Guild, who's representing Occupier Keller Henry, tells WW that many people arrested in the protests want a trial because they believe they have a constitutional right to a full airing of the charges against them.
He says that he believes the DA's office has been trying to avoid trials when it reduced many charges to violations, the legal equivalent of a traffic ticket. Violations result in a fine and no probation or jail time.
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Does the fed. gov. have something to hide from the Supreme Court about its "alien return policy"?
From the NLG: Does the federal government have something to hide from the Supreme Court about its "alien return policy"? The Guild's National Immigration Project thinks so, and a district judge agrees.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/02/08/43723.htm
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Solicitor General May Have Misled on Immigration
MANHATTAN (CN) - The U.S. Office of the Solicitor General may have misled the Supreme Court about resources the government provides wrongly deported immigrants who win their appeals, a federal judge ruled, ordering the disclosure of redacted emails.
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff opened his blistering 20-page order with a quotation he attributed to late 19th century political commentator Peter Finley Dunne.
"'Trust everybody, but cut the cards,' as the old saying goes," the order states. "When the Solicitor General of the United States makes a representation to the Supreme Court, trustworthiness is presumed. Here, however, plaintiffs seek to determine whether one such representation was accurate or whether, as it seems, the Government's lawyers were engaged in a bit of a shuffle."
In 2009, the Office of the Solicitor General told the high court in a brief that by "policy and practice, the government accords aliens who were removed pending judicial review but then prevailed before the courts effective relief by, inter alia, facilitating the aliens' return to the United States by parole under § U.S.C. 1182(d) (5) if necessary, and according them the status they had at the time of removal."
The Supreme Court relied on that assurance, made without citation, to hold that deportation did not qualify as "irreparable harm" in the case of Nken v. Holder.
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Senator adds “Every Sperm is Sacred” amendment onto Oklahoma personhood bill
http://feministing.com/2012/02/09/senator-adds-every-sperm-is-sacred-amendment-onto-oklahoma-personhood-bill/Senator adds “Every Sperm is Sacred” amendment onto Oklahoma personhood bill
By Vanessa | Published: February 9, 2012
Amazing. After Oklahoma conservatives introduced a “personhood” bill to the state Senate on Monday, Sen. Constance Johnson decided to follow in Virginia Senator Janet Howell’s footsteps and attach an amendment in protest, which would add this language to the bill:
However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.
Jezebel adds that another pro-choice senator added an amendment:
Another pro-choice legislator, Democrat Jim Wilson, attempted to add an amendment to the bill that would require the father of the child to be financially responsible for the woman’s health care, housing, transportation, and nourishment while she was pregnant.
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A Day in Jail for a Photojournalist
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-nelson/a-day-in-jail-for-a-photo_b_1261311.htmlA Day in Jail for a Photojournalist
by Jerry Nelson
Posted: 02/ 8/2012 12:27 pm
Saturday afternoon I'm standing in McPherson Square taking photos of the cops in full riot gear as they prepare to evict OccupyDC. Despite a verbal promise from the National Park Police that only tents containing bedding material would be removed, almost every tent was targeted for the dumpster.
There was so much activity going on, it was difficult to find something to focus on. Cops in full riot gear, waste handlers in yellow "hazmat" suits, protestors shouting, mounted police roaming through the park -- just action everywhere I looked.
I was standing alone watching the activity when about five park police surrounded me and told me they wanted to speak with me. When I asked what this was about one of them took the cigarette from my mouth while another slipped the plasti-cuffs over my wrists and pulled them so tight I could feel the skin tear beneath them.
Surrounded by more cops in riot gear I was led to a white processing tent that had set up in the square earlier that morning. The cops emptied my pockets, removed my belt and shoelaces and went through my [camera] gear bag.
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Temperature Soars Mysteriously Inside Fukushima Nuclear Reactor
Published on Monday, February 6, 2012 by Common Dreams Temperature Soars Mysteriously Inside Fukushima Nuclear Reactor
Also: Japan's Nuclear Exclusion Zone Shows Few Signs of Life
- Common Dreams staff
The temperature of Reactor #2 at Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has soared overnight and remained mysteriously high Monday, despite more water being pumped through it.
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant reactor 2. On January 27th, the reactor's internal temperature was 113º F, Monday the temperature soared to 164º F. Japanese authorities require that the reactor temperature remain below 176º F.
Japan's NHK TV reports:
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the temperature in the No.2 reactor remains high despite the injection of additional water.
A thermometer at the bottom of the reactor showed 73.3 degrees Celsius on Monday morning. It was around 45 degrees on January 27th and 71.7 degrees at 4 PM on Sunday.
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Wall Street’s Secret Spy Center, Run for the 1% by NYPD
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/02/06/wall-streets-secret-spy-center-run-for-the-1-by-nypd/February 06, 2012
How 60 Minutes Blew the Story
Wall Street’s Secret Spy Center, Run for the 1% by NYPD
by PAM MARTENS
On September 25, 2011, just eight days after the Occupy Wall Street protests began in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, the much acclaimed CBS News program, 60 Minutes, aired a fawning look at the thousands of surveillance cameras affixed to buildings and lampposts throughout New York City. The cameras feed live images of people going about their everyday lives to a $150 million computer center equipped with artificial intelligence to integrate and analyze the daily habits of what are, for the most part, law-abiding Americans.
The thrust of the 60 Minutes program was the fine job of counter terrorism being done by the NYPD and its Commissioner, Raymond Kelly. It was a triumph in public relations for a police department about to go on an assault spree – pepper spraying and punching peaceful protestors; kicking, ramming and arresting journalists attempting to cover the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.
On air, the reporter, Scott Pelley, said the surveillance center was “housed in a secret location,” as one would expect of a real counter terrorism program — as opposed to a program to simply quash dissent. Mr. Pelley also said the program was run by the NYPD. As it turns out, neither of those assertions were accurate.
The New York Times, the worldwide news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), Wired Magazine, the New York City Council had all previously reported the location of the supposedly super secret counter terrorism center on their public web sites: 55 Broadway in the bowels of the financial district. What was a secret about the operation, and not reported by 60 Minutes to its viewers, despite being well aware of the facts, is that the center is jointly staffed and operated by the NYPD along with the largest Wall Street firms – the same firms under investigation in 50 states for mortgage and foreclosure fraud and widely credited with causing the Nation’s economic collapse. The Wall Street firms that were involuntarily bailed out by the 99% are now policing the 99%.
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13 Questions, A Social Justice Quiz
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/01/30/a-social-justice-quiz/13 Questions
A Social Justice Quiz
by BILL QUIGLEY and SAM SCHMITT
Question One. The combined pay of the 299 highest paid CEOs in the US is enough to support how many median salary jobs?
45,000? 83,000? 102,325?
Two. The median net worth of black households in the US is $2,200. What is the median net worth of white households in the US?
$4,400? $44,000? $97,000?
Three. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development issues a national survey every year listing fair market rents for every county in the US. HUD also suggests renters should pay no more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. In how many of the USA’s 3068 counties can someone who works full-time and earns the federal minimum wage pay 30% of their income and find a one-bedroom apartment at the fair market rental amount?
19? 368? 1974?
..more questions, & the answers...
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