americans organizing to take the u.s. back from monsanto

Become One of the Millions Against Monsanto!

Sign Organic Consumers Association’s Truth-in-Labeling Petition

h3>Why Do We March? From the March Against Monsanto website:

Research studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects.
In the United States, the FDA, the agency tasked with ensuring food safety for the population, is steered by ex-Monsanto executives, and we feel that’s a questionable conflict of interests and explains the lack of government-led research on the long-term effects of GM products.
Recently, the U.S. Congress and president collectively passed the nicknamed “Monsanto Protection Act” that, among other things, bans courts from halting the sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified seeds.
For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism. Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world’s food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup.
Monsanto’s GM seeds are harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they have contributed to Colony Collapse Disorder among the world’s bee population.

- From the March Against Monsanto website: Why Do We March?

Research studies have shown that Monsanto’s genetically-modified foods can lead to serious health conditions such as the development of cancer tumors, infertility and birth defects.
In the United States, the FDA, the agency tasked with ensuring food safety for the population, is steered by ex-Monsanto executives, and we feel that’s a questionable conflict of interests and explains the lack of government-led research on the long-term effects of GM products.
Recently, the U.S. Congress and president collectively passed the nicknamed “Monsanto Protection Act” that, among other things, bans courts from halting the sale of Monsanto’s genetically-modified seeds.
For too long, Monsanto has been the benefactor of corporate subsidies and political favoritism. Organic and small farmers suffer losses while Monsanto continues to forge its monopoly over the world’s food supply, including exclusive patenting rights over seeds and genetic makeup.
Monsanto’s GM seeds are harmful to the environment; for example, scientists have indicated they have contributed to Colony Collapse Disorder among the world’s bee population.

What are solutions we advocate?

Voting with your dollar by buying organic and boycotting Monsanto-owned companies that use GMOs in their products.
Labeling of GMOs so that consumers can make those informed decisions easier.
Repealing relevant provisions of the US’s “Monsanto Protection Act.”
Calling for further scientific research on the health effects of GMOs.
Holding Monsanto executives and Monsanto-supporting politicians accountable through direct communication, grassroots journalism, social media, etc.
Continuing to inform the public about Monsanto’s secrets.
Taking to the streets to show the world and Monsanto that we won’t take these injustices quietly.

We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That’s why we March Against Monsanto.

What are solutions we advocate?

Voting with your dollar by buying organic and boycotting Monsanto-owned companies that use GMOs in their products.
Labeling of GMOs so that consumers can make those informed decisions easier.
Repealing relevant provisions of the US’s “Monsanto Protection Act.”
Calling for further scientific research on the health effects of GMOs.
Holding Monsanto executives and Monsanto-supporting politicians accountable through direct communication, grassroots journalism, social media, etc.
Continuing to inform the public about Monsanto’s secrets.
Taking to the streets to show the world and Monsanto that we won’t take these injustices quietly.

We will not stand for cronyism. We will not stand for poison. That’s why we March Against Monsanto.

More Actions

• Printable Truth-in-labeling Petition (PDF)
• Boycott the Brands that Blocked Your Right to Know!
• Ask your State Legislators to Label GMOs
• Members of Congress Taking Monsanto’s Money
• Host a Film Screening of Bitter Seeds
• Tell NPA to Stop Labeling GMOs “Natural”
• Stop Agent Orange GMOs!
• Ban Monsanto’s Birth Defect and Cancer-Causing Roundup!
• Stop GMO Apples!
• Help Us Take on Monsanto
• Stop Frankenfish!
• Stop Genetically Engineered Wheat!
• Tell Obama’s FDA to Label Genetically Engineered Foods
• Tell Kellogg’s: Stop Using Genetically Engineered Sugar!
• Download the Boycott Kelloggs / Monsanto GE Sugar Leaflet (PDF)
• Tell American Public Media to Stop Letting Monsanto Leverage Its Reputation!

from organic consumers, Millions Against Monsanto Actions

GMO Food Fight: the Rematch

On November 6, in the wake of one of the most expensive and scurrilous smear campaigns in history, six million voters scared the hell out of Monsanto and Big Food Inc. by coming within a razor’s edge of passing the first statewide mandatory labeling law for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Prop 37, a citizens’ ballot initiative that would have required the mandatory labeling of billions of dollars of genetically engineered (GE) foods and put an end to the routine industry practice of fraudulently marketing GE-tainted foods as “natural” or “all natural”, lost by a narrow margin of 48.6% to 51.4%. Opponents couldn’t claim anything close to a landslide, even though they outspent the pro-labeling campaign almost six to one.

from organic consumer’s home page

Bitter Seeds explores the future of how we grow things, weighing in on the worldwide debate over the changes created by industrial agriculture. Companies like the U.S.-based Monsanto claim that their genetically modified (GM) seeds offer the most effective solution to feeding the world’s growing population, but on the ground, many small-scale farmers are losing their land. Nowhere is the situation more desperate than in India, where an epidemic of farmer suicides has claimed over a quarter million lives. Every 30 minutes one farmer in India, deep in debt and unable to provide for his family, commits suicide.

Monsanto Protection Act May Soon Be Repealed Thanks to Activism

The so-called Monsanto Protection Act signed into law earlier this year caused such an outrage that people around the world are planning to protest the biotech company later this month. Now a United States Senator is expected to try and repeal that law after mounting pressure.

The notorious ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ rider stuffed into the non-related Senate spending bill may soon be repealed thanks to the massive amounts of activism and outrage that have now amounted into a legislative charge towards action. Action that has turned into legislation progress through Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, who has announced an amendment that would remove Section 735 (the Monsanto Protection Act as its known) from the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013 Senate spending bill.

The rider, which almost managed to slip incognito and pass by the alarm system of the alternative media, grants GMO juggernaut Monsanto full immunity from federal courts in the event that one of its genetically modified creations is found to be causing damage to health or the environment. Essentially, it grants Monsanto power over the United States federal government. Thankfully, I was able to get on the subject through news tips and covered the Monsanto Protection Act all the way up until the bill containing it was signed into law by Obama.

Thanks to this activism, it looks like the Monsanto Protection Act may soon be repealed after this new bill hits Washington. This time, we will have plenty of time to let the Senators know that they are voting against the public if they choose to side with Monsanto. And with such a specific agenda for this bill, I see it doing well in the Senate.

from natural society

afghan legislature refuses to pass law against islamic trafficking of girls, women

Stop using women as an excuse to continue the war in Afghanistan

according to religious leaders in afghanistan, it is a man’s – any man’s – right to treat women like commodities to be swapped around until someone decides they are no longer needed and kills them. so glad i’ve never lived in an islamic nation. what an evil religion!

Measures would have banned violence against women, child marriages

Conservative religious lawmakers in Afghanistan blocked legislation on Saturday aimed at strengthening provisions for women’s freedoms, arguing that parts of it violate Islamic principles and encourage disobedience.

The law would have banned force marriages and the tradition of ‘baad’ which exchanges girls and women to settle disputes. (Anja Niedringhaus/Associated Press)

The Law on Elimination of Violence Against Women has been in effect since 2009, but only by presidential decree. It is being brought before parliament now because lawmaker Fawzia Kofi, a women’s rights activist, wants to cement it with a parliamentary vote to prevent its potential reversal by any future president who might be tempted to repeal it to satisfy hard-line religious parties.

The law criminalizes, among other things, child marriage and forced marriage, and bans “baad,” the traditional practice of exchanging girls and women to settle disputes. It makes domestic violence a crime punishable by up to three years in prison and specifies that rape victims should not face criminal charges for fornication or adultery.

Kofi, who plans to run for president in next year’s elections, said she was disappointed because among those who oppose upgrading the law from presidential decree to legislation passed by parliament are women.

Afghanistan’s parliament has more than 60 female lawmakers, mostly due to constitutional provisions reserving certain seats for women.

Khalil Ahmad Shaheedzada, a conservative lawmaker for Herat province, said the legislation was withdrawn shortly after being introduced in parliament because of an uproar by religious parties who said parts of the law are un-Islamic.

“Whatever is against Islamic law, we don’t even need to speak about it,” Shaheedzada said.

Lawmaker Shaheedzada also claimed that the law might encourage disobedience among girls and women, saying it reflected Western values not applicable in Afghanistan.

“Even now in Afghanistan, women are running from their husbands. Girls are running from home,” Shaheedzada said. “Such laws give them these ideas.”

For five years, the regime banned women from working and going to school, or even leaving home without a male relative. In public, all women were forced wear a head-to-toe burqa, which covers even the face with a mesh panel. Violators were publicly flogged or executed.

‘We cannot have an Islamic country with basically Western laws.’—Afghan President Hamid Karzai

from the canadian broadcast corporation, Afghan legislators block law protecting women

unescorted afghan women hustle through a cemetery, hoping to avoid the taliban or religious police who might kill them for being outdoors without a male owner.

The law withdrawn Saturday was passed by presidential decree in 2009 but never gained parliamentary approval. (Rahmat Gul/Associated Press)

every time the plight of women in afghanistan becomes an international issue, i like to take advantage of the situation to call attention to the revolutionary association of the women of afghanistan – a an organization of brave, determined women who risk their lives to provide healthcare, employment opportunities, and education for women and girls. they are regularly killed by taliban and religious militias.

the story of mena, one of their founders, is inspiring and horrible. just remember as you read about her that our tax dollars went to hunt her down, capture, torture and kill her. her nemesis – throughout her life – was an afghan warlord who the u.s. government gave billions of dollars to, over the course of his career as a woman-hating, murdering thug.

RAWA is the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy and women’s rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977.

Martyred Meena

founding leader of RAWA

Her active social work and effective advocacy against the views of the fundamentalists and the puppet regime of the Soviet Union provoked the wrath of the Russians and the fundamentalist forces alike and she was assassinated by agents of KHAD (Afghanistan branch of KGB) and their fundamentalist accomplices in Quetta, Pakistan, on February 4,1987.

Meena gave 12 years of her short but brilliant life to struggle for her homeland and her people. She had a strong belief that despite the darkness of illiteracy, ignorance of fundamentalism, and corruption and decadence of sell outs imposed on our women under the name of freedom and equality, finally that half of population will be awaken and cross the path towards freedom, democracy and women’s rights. The enemy was rightly shivering with fear by the love and respect that Meena was creating within the hearts of our people. They knew that within the fire of her fights all the enemies of freedom, democracy and women would be turned to ashes.

Meena (1956-1987)
RAWA’s martyred founder

RAWA’s firsdt public action was a march by schoolgirls who were going to confront the authorities by “speaking poetry to them.” the girls stood in a public place and read their poetry, and were shot by security forces.

they’ve been fighting against the oppression of women in afghanistan ever since.

here’s what they have to deal with:

150 girls poisoned by toxic gas in Afghanistan

Takhar man accused of killing infant fourth daughter

Afghanistan’s Corruption, and America’s Too

International Intervention in Afghanistan Has Led to Heroin Resurgence

Over 150 Afghan school girls in hospital after suspected poisoning in Kabul

Child soldiers in Afghanistan will make your heart hurt

Afghan women escape marriage through suicide

Five women found dead over the past three weeks in Afghan province

Most Women at Kabul Prison Accused of Moral Crimes

NATO airstrike kills 18, including 10 children in Afghanistan

Trading of Women Rife in East Afghanistan, Report Claims

In Afghan Child Abuse Cases, Victims Go to Jail

The plight of Afghanistan’s opium brides

Afghan warlord Hekmatyar send out curse to democracy in Afghanistan

HRW: Hundreds of Afghan children killed in US attacks

17 Die from Cold in Afghan Refugee Camps

A 15-year old Girl raped in Directorship Department of Women’s Affairs

133 children die a day in Afghanistan

Around 100 school girls poisoned in northern Afghanistan

More than 120 Afghan girls poisoned in second anti-school attack

600 students poisoned in Khost

spaniards swarm banks, 100′s shut down!

the translation below is a bit dodgy, but you get the idea…see the original article en espanol, from kaos en la red, [Estuvimos allí] (VIDEOS) Bankia tocada!! Las acciones de #toqueabankia paralizan decenas de sucursales en todo el estado español

May 9th. A day of action against the nationalized bankrupt BANKIA in Spain went VIRAL with hundreds of branches closed, occupied, attacked, etc.

Thousands of staff are now being fired.

Swindled customers of all ages  appeared to demand their savings back

[We were there]Bankia hit! Shares of # toqueabankia paralyzed, dozens of branches hit throughout the Spanish state
by Kaos. The abuses of the banking mafia.. Thurs, May 9.

Video here, and more photos, too!


We were there to provide cover for the actions proposed by social groups. Dozens of branches closed “breakdowns” “by technical problems” throughout the country. The actions ranged from being “cansinxs clients”, people dressed up, parties, songs …

All this served to HIT Bankia. The relevance of these actions has been so overwhelming that the capitalist media have had to

spend (little or not so little) room to inform about them. From the early morning hours  different groups or individuals who would participate in the # toqueabankia branches approached their offices.

Many found that these were already closed due to “breakdowns” “for technical or operational problems” as an excuse for them if they occur. This led to greater focus on those branches that remained open.

There were also police officers, security guards and even customers trapped inside Bankia branches. (See videos)

Some pickets allowed free entry, other semi restricted, others were directly prevented. The consultations varied, imagination multiplied.

Extensive fake consultations began, closing accounts, urgent needs to know of their advantageous pension plans or their wonderful parts housing loans. But yeah, not to mention the new offer of Bankia ..no commission but one of the conditions is that the person buys 1000 shares of Bankia (really!!)

Overall, its been a wonderful day, because many branches that had not yet closed, by about 12 hours had begun to do.

Very good coverage of Tomalatele (suysulucha) see video at the bottom.

Very good the comrades actions of Salamanca (derailing hose from there do not move!)

Many goals met, again we won: it has been completely successful action in which we have seen the glut of people but above all our ability and creativity organzación to disturb the system.

We must take to the streets, because it is the only way to stop them and regain hope.

- reposted from the free, 100′s of Banks attacked, blocked, closed, picketed…

assata shakur makes fbi’s most wanted list, after a lifetime’s exile in cuba

FILE – This is an undated file photo provided by the New Jersey State Police showing Assata Shakur – the former Joanne Chesimard – who was put on a U.S. government terrorist watch list on May 2, 2005. Shakur, 57, was convicted in 1973 of killing New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster as he lay on the ground. She escaped from prison in 1979 and fled to Cuba. The FBI is scheduled to make an announcement Thursday, May 2, 2013 regarding Joanne Chesimard, who killed a New Jersey state trooper on this date 40 years ago. (AP Photo/New Jersey State Police, File)

one of the great sheroes of the uprising against the fascist pig nixon white house has made the fbi’s most wanted list, 33 years after being forced to live in exile.

if we had more activists like her, the government wouldn’t be able to get away with their bullshit austerity scams and terror plots.

EXPECT an update on this story tonight, as assata is one of the strongest revolutionaries on the planet. not for her actions as much as her heart. she’s wonderful.

Today, Joanne Chesimard — better known as Assata Shakur — became the first woman to make the FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists. In 1977, an all-white jury convicted Chesinard of killing a New Jersey state trooper, and she was given a life sentence. A former member of the Black Liberation Army, she escaped from prison in 1979 with the help of fellow activists, including her brother Mutulu Shakur, the rapper Tupac’s stepfather. Chesimard inspired Common’s “Song for Assata,” which in turn inspired conservatives to protest Common’s visit to the White House.

Chesimard’s supporters believe that she, like other former members of the Black Panthers Party, was the victim of FBI misconduct through Cointelpro. In the early seventies, she was linked to a string of bank robberies and police killings that prompted a multistate manhunt. Those charges were later dismissed, acquitted, or mistried, but she was wanted for questioning when she, Sundiata Acoli, and Zayd Malik Shakur were pulled over on the New Jersey turnpike for a broken tail light — a confrontation that ended in the shootout that left Trooper Werner Foerster and Zayd Malik Shakur dead.

Chesimard fled to Cuba, where she received political asylum due to racial persecution and — despite periodic political maneuvering to have her extradited — lived openly, giving interviews and publishing her autobiography. She went back underground in 2005, when she was reclassified as a domestic terrorist and the reward for her capture rose to $1 million. Today, the fortieth anniversary of the killing, the F.B.I. and the state of New Jersey doubled it, contributing another $1 million dollars.

The terrorist attacks on Boston — like the shootings in Newtown and Aurora — are a reminder of the glaring gender imbalance among mass killers. (As if the logical conclusions of women attaining equality would be their equal participation in murder, as opposed to, say, less oppression in general.) But in this particular instance of bad glass-ceiling-breaking, Chesimard seems like something of a token appointment. – from new york magazine

see also:

First woman added to FBI’s list of most wanted terrorists [New York Post]

happy mayday! anarchists continue to stand strong in defiance of government persecution

anarchists imprisoned for thoughtcrimes released by u.s. government

this is from a different report; (note that this report never mentions the fact that neither one was in seattle the day of the incident, seeing as how they lived in olympia)

Katie Olejnik, 23, and Matt Duran, 24, talked to KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter James Schugel for the first time since getting out of Seatac Federal Detention Center.

Anarchists vandalized downtown Seattle businesses and a courthouse last May. They used sticks and bats to damage several buildings and a courthouse and to vandalize vehicles.

When Olejnik and Duran wouldn’t share information about the riots, the government sent them to prison. They stayed there for more than three months.

“They were like, ‘Do you know this person?’” Oljenik said, “and they would say a name, and I wasn’t going to answer. Then they started asking me about people’s political beliefs, and I couldn’t answer that in good conscience.”

“I believe in a lot of different ways of organizing, and that may be one thing somebody does,” Duran said. “But I can’t control what they do.”

A judge released the two from prison two weeks ago, on the grounds that confinement made them more resolute and was pointless.

Schugel asked Olejnik and Duran if the rioters did the right thing.

“I can’t control anyone else’s actions,” Olejnik said. “This is going to sound really horrible, but I don’t really care what happened on May Day. I don’t have a strong opinion either way.” – from kiroTV, Anarchists who refused to testify speak out for first time

FBI Harassment of Anarchists in Pacific Northwest Continues

They’ve visited a number of houses and The Evergreen State College looking for various people. Sometimes they’ve named names; other times they’ve just made their presence known and gone away. We have no firm indication that they are attempting to serve subpoenas.

What should we do on a day like today?

Foremost, do not panic. Take deep breaths, go for a walk (it is a beautiful sunny day in Washington), do whatever you need to do to stay focused and calm.

If your house is visited, do not open the door. Ask the feds who they are looking for, and tell them that you have nothing to say to them. Let people know that you have been visited. If they say someone’s name, make sure you notify that person.

Make a plan. What would you do if you were subpoenaed? Would you resist by appearing and refusing to testify? Are you prepared to go to prison?

If you are not prepared to go to prison, BE HONEST ABOUT IT.

A lesson to be learned from a prior debacle is this: those who feel unable to endure a possibly lengthy stay in prison, including segregation or solitary confinement, should find other options.

If you feel weak, then do what you must to feel strong. Forget any pressure to appear in any venue: you owe nothing to the media, you owe nothing to “the cause.” What you do, you should do for yourself and those you love. Reach into yourself, find a rock on which you can plant yourself. Get help from those close to you. Find your strength. As important as strength, is flexibility. Find that, as well. Bend when you need to, so that you do not break. – from sayNothing.info

Brooklyn Anarchist Refusing to Play Along With the System

Brooklyn’s 24-year-old Gerald Koch is not charged in the 2008 bombing of a Times Square military recruitment center, which injured no one, but he’s still at the center of the case. Prosecutors believe Koch may have heard something about who did it in a bar back in 2008 or 2009, and have subpoenaed him to testify in front of a grand jury for the second time. He claims to have “no recollection of any such incident,” and so, like last time, he’s refusing to testify, calling the situation “a ‘fishing expedition’ to gain information concerning my personal beliefs and political associations.” – from new york magazine

For free copies of this poster which folds into a broadside about grand jury defiance and solidarity email your address to defiantposter (at) hushmail.com

and what’s the deal with anarchists and mayday?

On May 1, 1886 tens of thousands of workers across the country went on a three day general strike in support of the 8 hour work day. On May 3rd workers in Chicago attempted to confront strikebreakers that were entering a plant where workers had been locked out since February and supported the call for a eight hour work day. The strikebreakers had the protection of hundreds of police and when the striking workers surged forward to meet them at the gates of the factory the police opened fire killing 2-6 workers. The next day May 4th, in response, anarchists called for a rally at Haymarket Square in Chicago. When police ordered the rally to disperse and marched forward in formation a bomb was thrown toward the police: a riot ensued; untold numbers of workers were killed and injured by police bullets. The bomb as well as gunshots from mostly friendly fire killed eight cops. Eight anarchists were later imprisoned in retribution and known as the Haymarket martyrs. Each was tried for murder, the incident and trial led to indignation around the world as the prosecution conceded that none of the eight threw the bomb. The eight were not on trial for throwing bombs, but for being radical labor agitators and anarchists. Two had their sentences commuted to life in prison, one received fifteen years, four were eventually executed, and one cheated the hangman by taking his own life in prison. The anarchist idea did not die in Chicago in 1887. Today it still inspires the struggle against global capitalism and the state. – from puget sound anarchists, Mayday: History, Hype, and Dignified Revolt

“…the Chicago Idea, opposed all top-down con­trol of the economy and the workplace, believing working men and women had the necessary skills to run productive businesses without re­sorting to exploitation. Both Parsons and Spies believed that the rise of in­dustrial capitalism produced “wage slaves,” who weren’t much different from African-American slaves, working long, exhausting hours for star­vation pay with no method of redress. According to these anti-authoritarians, free people don’t rent themselves to a boss who controls them for much of the day; rather, they work voluntarily and cooperative­ly to benefit themselves and their co-workers.

Yet, both men also opposed state socialism, or the belief that a central, controlling authority was necessary to produce a more just society. They were left libertarians who believed, much like many Americans today, that the government that governs least, governs best. Instead, they fought for an idea expressed by the Lowell Mill Girls in the 1840′s: “Those who work in the mills ought to own them. - from anarchy and chaos, Haymarket and the Chicago Idea Resonate 125 Years Later

anarchists aren’t the only ones under attack;

FBI, local police conducting massive sweep in Oakland

A massive law enforcement sweep was underway in Oakland Wednesday, with nine people having reportedly been detained an hour after it was first reported.

FBI agents, local police SWAT and the California Highway Patrol were targeting multiple locations.

Several streets were closed down in West Oakland during the sweeps. Portions of Seventh and Eighth streets were shut down in the area for at least 90 minutes and while helicopters circled overhead.

The police barricades were reportedly lifted just before 10:20 p.m.

It appeared to be an extensive operation with many officers involved.

There were agents carrying out actions in numerous parts of the city Wednesday night.

As of 9 p.m., KTVU learned that nine people had been detained.

An hour later, a separate sweep involving San Leandro Police reportedly resulted in a standoff near the intersection of E. 22 Street and 14th Avenue.

Oakland Police and other agencies involved told KTVU that the participating departments were not at liberty to discuss what the action concerned.

However, those agencies would be able to release details when the sweep was over.

Follow this story for more updates. – from ktvu news

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GOVERNMENT – THEY PLAY DIRTY

Man Dies in Police Raid on Wrong House

see full story, including video, from blacklisted news

A 61-year-old man was shot to death by police while his wife was handcuffed in another room during a drug raid on the wrong house.

Police admitted their mistake, saying faulty information from a drug informant contributed to the death of John Adams Wednesday night. They intended to raid the home next door.

Farmed and Dangerous – CFIA Destroys a Shepherd’s Life and Her Rare Sheep

Heather Callaghan

Canada’s Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has targeted rare heritage sheep at Wholearth Farmstudio owned by Montana Jones for years now. Shropshire sheep are among the rarest – and CFIA could aid in their extinction with their recent eradication efforts over unfounded fears of a sickness called scrapie. – from Activist Post

Cops Raid Home of Idaho Marijuana Activists; Seize Children

The home of Idaho marijuana activists Lindsey and Josh Rinehart was raided on Tuesday by Boise Police and Child Protective Services while Lindsey, Josh and their friend Sarah Caldwell, a fellow marijuana activist, were on a small trip to the mountains.

Lindsey and Josh’s two children were taken into “protective custody,” and because Sarah’s two children were also at the residence with the babysitter, they were taken as well.

see a video report of this story, Medical marijuana activists’ children taken from home, charges possible

A custody hearing for the children is pending, and possible criminal charges relating to marijuana might arise in the future, according to Serra Frank, director of Moms For Marijuana International. – from toke signals

time is short…do you see what i see?

message from anonymous:

I see a cry for reckoning, and unification. Brothers and sisters time is short we must show how much we are on the same page. no matter color or differences, all should respect the lands that created them and keep true to themselves and being the children of our world make a better future for the next generation. We are anonymous, We do not forgive, We do not forget, EXPECT US!!!

WikiLeaks wins case against Visa

Iceland’s Supreme Court has ruled that Valitor (formerly Visa Iceland) must pay WikiLeaks $204,900 per month or $2,494,604 per year in fines if it continues to blockade the whistle-blowing site.

The court upheld the decision that Valitor had unlawfully terminated its contract with WikiLeaks’ donation processor, DataCell. The Icelandic Supreme Court is the highest court in Iceland. There is no route of appeal for Valitor.

“Today’s decision marked the most important victory to date against the unlawful and arbitrary economic blockade erected by US companies against WikiLeaks,” the organization’s press release stated. – from russia today, WikiLeaks wins case against Visa contractor ordered to pay ‘$204k per month if blockade not lifted’

to help fund open-source journalism, see:

Free Expression Advocates and Journalists Launch Campaign to Support The National Security Archive, The UpTake, MuckRock, and WikiLeaks

The Foundation is designed to crowd-fund a variety of journalism institutions—both start-ups and established organizations—who are dedicated to aggressive, uncompromising journalism in the vein of Watergate and the Pentagon Papers. The organization’s Board of Directors is comprised of journalists and free expression advocates, including John Perry Barlow, Daniel Ellsberg, Xeni Jardin, Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Josh Stearns, and John Cusack.

Freedom of the Press Foundation

WikiLeaks said Wednesday it has secured a victory in Iceland’s Supreme Court against the financial blockade imposed by Visa and MasterCard on donations for the secret-spilling site.

bradley manning is one of many sources who have enabled anyone with internet access to discover what our governments have been doing in secret for the past few decades.

Visa and MasterCard were among half a dozen major U.S. financial firms to pull the plug on WikiLeaks following its decision to begin publishing about 250,000 U.S. State Department cables in late 2010.

WikiLeaks has claimed that the financial blockade led to a 95 percent fall in revenue.

It said Wednesday that Iceland’s Supreme Court had upheld a district court’s decision that MasterCard’s local partner, Valitor, had illegally terminated its contract with WikiLeaks’ payment processer, DataCell.

The court warned Valitor it would be fined 800,000 Icelandic krona ($6,824) per day if the gateway to WikiLeaks donations is not reopened within 15 days, WikiLeaks said. It added that the court’s decision will bolster similar legal actions it is taking elsewhere, such as in Denmark against a Danish subcontractor for Visa.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange — who remains holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he is seeking asylum — called the decision a victory for free speech.

“We thank the Icelandic people for showing that they will not be bullied by powerful Washington-backed financial services companies like Visa,” he said in a statement. “And we send out a warning to the other companies involved in this blockade: you’re next.” - from huffington post – WikiLeaks Claims Victory In Iceland Court Case

click on image to see it full sized

ex-PM Thatcher invades hell, British people celebrate! Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is DEAD!

Number 1: The Judy Garland version of the Wizard of Oz song hit the top spot in just three days following an online campaign

Radio 1 may not play Ding Dong The Witch is Dead if it makes the Top 40 in Sunday’s Official Chart Show countdown.

The song – currently at number 10 in the midweek charts following a Facebook campaign by Thatcher critics – is on course for the coveted number one spot.

It rocketed into the charts after Baroness Thatcher died from a stroke on Monday morning.

Margaret Thatcher rides on board a tank during an official visit to British forces at Fallingbosetel, West Germany in September 1986, as she destroyed the UK’s industrial heritage and created a lasting legacy of unemployment, the awful Bitch. Photograph: Joel Fink/AP

However, Radio 1 listeners may not get to hear the song as bosses have yet to decide whether or not to play it on air.

Senior production staff will meet on Sunday morning before the chart show to discuss its content and make a decision on whether or not to play the song.

When asked if the station would play the track, a BBC spokesperson said: “The Official Chart Show on Sunday is a historical and factual account of what the British public has been buying and we will make a decision about playing it when the final chart positions are clear.”

It’s understood that if the decision is taken not to play the song it would have nothing to do with worries over offending people and instead would be due to “production reasons”.

The song, which features in the 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz and is sung by Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, has sold more than 10,600 copies.

It is roughly 5,000 copies away from a Top 3 spot.

It currently sits at number two in the iTunes download chart and is already number one on Amazon.

If the song was to make number one in the Official Chart Show it’s understood that it may not even make Radio 1′s playlist.

- from the mirror

anti-Thatcher Street parties: joy as tyrant dies

400 BARRICADE STREET AT THATCHER PARTY IN BRISTOL

Chelsea Road in Easton barricaded all evening as 400 dance on Thatcher’s grave while in Lichfield the town is treated to magnificent firework display………….more to come…………but don’t miss out on Saturday 6pm Trafalgar Square…..the biggest rent-a-mob in history.

‘When former Spice Girl Geri Halliwell wrote a positive tribute to the ‘First Lady of girl power’ on Twitter she received so much abuse she felt the need to delete it. She later tweeted to her 203,000 followers: ‘I’m sorry if I offended u. X’

Police make arrests at Thatcher death street parties in Bristol and Brixton
The Guardian ‎- 10 hours ago
Officers injured during public disorder as hundreds turn out across cities in Britain to celebrate former prime minister’s death.

Margaret Thatcher ‘unabashedly racist’ – Australia FM

Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr has described comments made by Baroness Thatcher as “unabashedly racist”.

In a conversation with her “in her retirement”, Mr Carr said the former UK prime minister had warned Australia against Asian immigration.

She said “if we allowed too much of it we’d see the natives of the land, the European settlers, overtaken by migrants”, he said.

Thatcher death parties are not just mindless morbidity – they can be a community coming together

The Independent‎ – 3 hours ago

Margaret Thatcher critics plan celebrations before funeral

The Guardian Blogs (blog)‎ – 7 hours ago

reposted from the free

local currencies in spain create successful micro-economies

translation  by The Free.

From free paper ’20 Minutes’  and reprinted in ‘Rojo y Negro’ of the CGT union.

At least 1,200 Catalans manage themselves with their own ”money”, education and health , they do not use the euro but  ecos, a “free money” that can be exchanged for hours of work or products..

They have organized a network of health care, education and access to housing, based on trust among  members.
They are expanding to the rest of the peninsula. in France and Italy similar experiences have been initiated.
They have a currency of its own, a self-managed health care system, an educational network and housing office. They are self-managed cooperatives and self-organization, groups of people living outside the system,  and make decisions in open assemblies based on trust organization. In Catalonia, there are already 1,200 citizens who have chosen this way of life and the implementation of these communities is spreading. The crisis and the 15M indignados movement has given it wings.

In Sardenya street of Barcelona, ​​near the Sagrada Familia, was established the Cooperative Integral Catalana (CIC). In a building of three floors and a roof with a brand new urban garden, they coordinate and carries out activities like education, health and housing, workshops and courses for all ages.

Opening of the first ‘CAPS’

Just opened the first CAPS, which  is not a clinic, but a Self-Managed Primary Health Center. There you can find “health facilitators’ persons accompanying patients to seek solutions to medical problems following the Holomedicina.  “If we break a leg go to the emergency room,” explains Xavier Borràs, one of the first members of the Cooperative.

In one of the spacious and modern rooms of the building,  is a day care place for children aged zero to three years. Parents of the district have organized to care for and educate their children. In addition to the 30 euros it costs to register jn the Cooperative (refundable if you leave) you will not have to pay more money. you can pay for goods or services by working hours or in ecos, their own currency.

This is a “free money” that is not prined in physical form and serves tforany trade you want to do within the network or even third parties who provide services, such as an ophthalmologist or farmers. The CIC uses the Community Exchange System (CES), an online software to manage the currency.

The eco is “free money” that has adopted by Cooperatives, Eco-Networks, Cores and Projects of Local Self Management and Initiatives of   Collectivised Autonomous. You can buy 100% organic products, or pay the dentist, part of social rent or day care of the children. Each eho is equivalent to a free market euro approximately. An active member of the Cooperative explained that he can live with about 150 basic-ecos a month .

The term “basic” means that they have to be ‘spent’ in that month, not accumulated as capital..

With this he can cover food and voluntary contribution to the joint public health system .

They also have a housing office, which advises those who are in danger of eviction. They are informed of the gaps in the system and how they can benefit from them. It is encouraging social renting and “house caretaking”, a formula which is to recover the Catalan figure “masover”, a person or family who lives and operates a  country house owned by another.

“All this is not going against the system, but leaving the system,” explains Borràs. After years of protesting NO NO, “now is the time for YES’, and continues to clarify this history of the CIC, which was born with a hundred members and has increased already 12 fold.

The organization is being helped by activist Enric Duran, the Robin Hood of the Banks, whoi is now on the run for taking out 400,000 euros in loans anfd giving  it to socvial revolutionary groups..( see links below)

This system is spreading throughout Catalonia and the Iberian peninsula and even in Italy and France groups have been looking to replicate it.

Related articles

• NO bosses borders banks: Integral Revolution Manifesto
• Integral CoOps,15M and Occupy.. an embryo for Post Capitalism?

• ‘Robin Hood’ outlaw still Free, attacks Banks, promotes Integral Revolution (thefreeonline.wordpress.com)
• Anarchist Robin Hood on Trial in Barcelona (thefreeonline.wordpress.com)
• Robin Hood: anarchist on the Run.. update (thefreeonline.wordpress.com)
• Barcelona #15M Newsletter 41: direct action/Enric Duran/media activism (thefreeonline.wordpress.com)

- reposted from the free online

Complementary (Local) Currency Software

Complementary (Local) Currency Software

There has been a resurgence of interest in complementary currencies. With the Eurozone’s austerity shutting down national economies in Greece, Italy, and Spain, local currencies are emerging as a tool fot communities to keep going and sustain themselves during periods of extreme economic deprivation. There has been coverage, for example, of an alternative currency scheme in Volos, Greece. The corporate media represents the currency as a “barter” system which it is not. It is a community credit system of a form popular in many places around the world. Setting up an alternate currency can be a very time-consuming and complicated process. The book-keeping is tedious and the volunteers with the passion to set up such a system rarely have either the expertise or the discipline to do it “right.” The Dutch non-profit STRO has built an Open Source Software package called CYCLOS to change all that.

- from GEO

scumbag greek government hires Blackwater mercenaries to kill it’s own citizens

Blackwater is notorious. A private mercenary army, it first came to public attention in 2003 two years after it was founded after the US government contracted it to provide military support for the war in Iraq. Innumerable scandals followed. And now the Greek Government has enlisted its services for domestic duties.

The first time Blackwater came to public attention was with the killing of four of its contractors in Fallujah. The outpouring of rage at the atrocities the company was wreaking on the town which led to the killing made it apparent that substantial elements of the Iraq War had been subcontracted to a private company.  The contract that Blackwater held in Iraq was worth over $1bn, and the intervention became dogged by scandal with dozens of murders by Blackwater employees hushed up, including the murder of 17 civilians in Nisour Square in Bagdad.   It later emerged that senior managers of the company authorised secret payments of about $1m into Iraq intending to bribe officials to allow Blackwater to remain in Iraq despite Baghdad’s position that the company would be banned and the killers prosecuted when those and other murders came to light.

(Reuters) – A makeshift time-bomb lightly injured two security staff at a large shopping center near Athens on Sunday, in escalating political violence in the crisis-hit country.
The blast followed gun and bomb attacks on political figures and journalists in recent weeks, some claimed by anti-establishment leftists angry about Greece’s financial woes.

When its contract for Iraq was not renewed in 2009, it moved to Afghanistan, on a contract worth $200 million, yet still the scandals continued. In May 2009, four drunken off-duty operatives killed a civilian when they opened fire on a car; and in January 2010, two operatives were arrested by the FBI on murder charges for a further two civilian deaths. Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg.

see more, from 2nd council house of virgo, Blackwater: First Iraq, then Afghanistan…now Greece.

Blackwater in Greece: Fears of Coup as Mercenaries Hired for Guarding Govt, Overseeing Police

Blackwater mercenaries are currently overseeing the police in Greece as rumours of a coup abound. We understand the situation is extremely tense and that the mercenaries are there mainly to protect the Government and parliament should trouble break out either in the form of a revolution or counter-revolution. Already, a destabilisation plot involving the far-right and police has been uncovered. More below… Over the last 12 months or more Greece has seen wave after wave of mass demonstrations, riots, battles between police and protesters, armed attacks on Government premises, attacks by fascists (i.e. Golden Dawn ) on migrants, as well as, of course, the complete collapse of the economy. The Government has been beset by scandals (e.g. secret bank accounts in Switzerland) and journalists have been arrested. Most people now exist day by day via co-operatives; workers are taking over the factories .

Mercenaries protecting Government under siege

The Greek Government signed a contract with Academi (the new name for Blackwater) in November last year, though this was a secret agreement and you will not find details about it on the Academi website ). News of the contract leaked out end of January when the Greek ambassador to Canada, Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, let slip about it in an interview, which was then published in a blog (see highlighted sentence in red). The contract with Academi was confirmed a few days later via the Greek military news site Defencenet. Blackwater/Academi are infamous as the company that ran mercenary operations during the last Iraq War and were engaged in unnecessary fire fights in urban areas, taking civilian lives. They currently have a forward ops base in Afghanistan. We understand their principal role in Greece is two-fold. One is to oversee police operations. They have been contracted to do this because the Government are aware that the police have been comprehensively infiltrated by members of the fascist Golden Dawn and so cannot trust the police to stay loyal. Their other role is to act as a neutral force to provide full protection to the Government against assault from any quarter. In effect, the Greek Government is under siege.

Coup possibility

Recently the Government secured an agreement from the army that under no circumstances would they resort to a coup (as happened in 1967, leading to the junta of 1967-1974 ). Whether this agreement will be honoured remains to be seen. As Greece is now part of the European Community a coup will be unlikely, but in the event of heightened tension martial law could be declared with curfews etc.

Warning of revolution/counter-revolution

According to Ambassador Chrysanthopoulos in his interview, “At a certain moment, quite soon, there will be an explosion of social unrest. It will be very unpleasant.” He then referred to fifteen armed incidents in the previous ten days, including the firebombing of the offices of the governing parties and the homes of pro-government journalists, the machine-gunning of the headquarters of the prime minister’s conservative New Democracy party, and a bomb explosion at a shopping mall belonging to the country’s second wealthiest citizen. Chrysanthopoulos predicts the trouble will begin when new tax bills arrive (soon)…

from 21stCENTURYWIRE,  Blackwater in Greece: Fears of Coup as Mercenaries Hired for Guarding Govt, Overseeing Police

The arson attack on the Skouries mining site and its aftermath

An arson attack took place on the worksite of mining company Hellas Gold in the Skouries forest in north-eastern Halkidiki in the night from 16 to 17 February 2013. An initial report, posted by the pro-mining blog “Citizen of the Aristotelis Municipality”, stated that 50 to 70 individuals wearing full-face hoods and armed with shotguns and petrol bombs entered the site shortly after midnight and set equipments and vehicles on fire. The report further claimed that the assailants immobilized the two security guards who were on the site and held them hostage after dousing them with petrol and threatening to set them on fire. The value of the shares of the majority owner of Hellas Gold, Canadian company Eldorado Gold, dropped by 6% in the Toronto stock exchange following news of the attack. The Skouries forest is at the centre of a hot dispute between the mining company, Hellas Gold, which is owned at 95% by Canadian mining giant Eldorado Gold and at 5% by Greek public works company Hellaktor, and local communities.

The company claims that a pharaonic plan for mining of gold and copper in the area will benefit the region through the creation of some 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, while local residents argue that not only the dubious terms under which mining rights were transferred to Hellas Gold mean that the Greek State will receive no financial benefits from the mining project, but also that activities planned by Hellas Gold will cause massive damage to the environment which will in turn lead to the loss of many more jobs in the existing sectors of the local economy (farming, animal husbandry, fisheries, beekeeping, food processing and tourism). The residents’ claims are supported by research conducted by various independent scientific institutions such as the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Technical Chamber of Macedonia. The fact that the company has the support of the government in the name of “securing foreign investments” has often resulted in extremely heavy-handed police tactics against protesting residents, for example during a demonstration on 21 October 2012. More radiobubble reporting on this issue is available on the tag Skouries (in English, French and Spanish) as well as here, here and here (in Greek) [see original post for live links].

there’s more, from radiobubble.gr

THE TERRORISM OF ‘LAW AND ORDER’

Basic and fundamental human rights are being abused in Greece in the name of ‘law and order’. Adopting a policy of zero tolerance to anything it deems as ‘lawlessness’, the Greek government believes that a society that has been brutalised and beaten by the economic crisis will accept its policies of repression. The ideology of the Neo-Nazi party, that has seen such a spectacular rise since the last elections, is being put into practice by a coalition government that has no ideology of its own.

These policies of repression and terrorism are being implemented by the Minister of Law and Order, Nikos Dendias whose first ‘achievement’ was the introduction of the so-called ‘koukoulonomos’ in 2009, a law that decrees that anyone who wears a hoodie can be arrested. This was the beginning of a series of attacks on civil liberties. Under this law hundreds of people have been arrested and prosecuted because some police officer or other has attested that these people were wearing a ‘hoodie’ or something resembling a ‘hoodie’ during the time of their arrest.

much more, from 99GetSmart

military judge rules that bradley manning was treated illegally, orders reduced sentence

By Andrew Khouri This post has been updated. See this link for details.

January 8, 2013, 4:17 p.m.

Pfc. Bradley Manning suffered illegal pretrial punishment while in a Marine Corps brig, a military judge ruled Tuesday as she reduced a potential sentence for the former Army intelligence analyst accused of leaking hordes of classified documents.

Bradley Manning. Military prosecutors are seeking to preclude any discussion of Manning’s motives from the trial itself Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Col. Denise Lind ruled that Manning, 25, if convicted, would have his prison sentence reduced by 112 days, the Associated Press reported.

The ruling came during a pretrial hearing at Ft. Meade, Md., outside Washington.

Manning’s attorney David E. Coombs had asked Lind to dismiss the charges against Manning, arguing that the private’s nine-month solitary confinement in a Marine brig in Quantico, Va., was illegal punishment.

Manning, facing 22 criminal charges, allegedly leaked hundreds of thousands of diplomatic cables and classified reports regarding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to the website WikiLeaks. He could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

Through his attorney, Manning has indicated he would be willing to plead guilty to a narrower set of charges in order to face fewer years behind bars.

from l.a. times: WikiLeaks case: Judge cuts possible sentence for Bradley Manning

WikiLeaker Bradley Manning Awarded 112-Day Prison Credit for Military’s Abuse

• By Kim Zetter

A military judge overseeing pretrial hearings in the Bradley Manning case refused to dismiss the charges against the former Army intelligence analyst Tuesday, according to reports, but ordered that the accused WikiLeaker will be granted a 112-day sentencing credit for mistreatment he received by Marine guards while imprisoned in 2009 and 2010.

In pretrial hearings held in November and December, Manning’s attorney, David E. Coombs, argued that the government subjected his client to unlawful pretrial punishment during his incarceration at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia, and asked the court to dismiss the charges against his client based on the treatment, or at a minimum give Manning extra credit for time served at Quantico.

Army Col. Denise Lind, the military judge in the case, chose the latter option, shaving 16 weeks off any sentence Manning eventually faces for allegedly leaking more than a million U.S. military and diplomatic documents to the secret-spilling site WikiLeaks. The government had argued that Manning is only entitled to have seven days cut from his ultimate sentence.

Manning, who turned 25 years old last month, faces 22 charges, the most serious accusing him of aiding the enemy. That’s based on the government’s theory that providing documents to WikiLeaks and having them published on the internet aided al-Qaida, which has access to the internet. The charge carries a possible life sentence or death penalty. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty, which leaves Manning facing a maximum possible life sentence — a judgement that would obviously make the 112-day credit moot.

Coombs reportedly countered this week that his client didn’t just dump documents to WikiLeaks, but carefully chose only the documents that wouldn’t harm the U.S. or aid the enemy.

from, wired

Bradley Manning ensured leaks would not harm US, lawyer insists

David Coombs tells military hearing that Manning had ‘no evil intent’ to help enemy and selected harmless material to publish

• Ed Pilkington in Fort Meade, Maryland 

Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of instigating the largest leak of state secrets in US history, consciously selected the information he passed to WikiLeaks to ensure that it would be of no harm to the US and would not aid any foreign enemy, his lawyer argued on Tuesday.

David Coombs, Manning’s civilian lawyer, revealed at a hearing at Fort Meade military base in Maryland what is likely to be a central pillar of the defence case at the soldier’s court martial. A full trial is scheduled to start on 6 March.

Coombs said that the defence would be calling as a witness Adrian Lamo, the hacker who alerted military authorities to Manning’s WikiLeaks activities, to give evidence about the web chat he had with Manning shortly before the soldier’s arrest in Iraq in March 2010. The content of the web chat, Coombs suggested, would be used by the defence to show that Manning selected information to leak that “could not be used to harm the US or advantage any foreign nation”.

The issue of Manning’s motive in allegedly leaking hundreds of thousands of US diplomatic cables and war logs from Afghanistan and Iraq to WikiLeaks goes to the heart of the case against the soldier, Coombs argued. The most serious charge against him, “aiding the enemy”, that carries a maximum sentence – in this case of life in military custody with no chance of parole – rests on the US government proving that Manning knew, or reasonably should have known, that the leak would be exploited by anti-US forces.

The prosecution has previously stated its case that by placing confidential documents on the internet, Manning in effect handed the intelligence to al-Qaida as the information was then freely available to anyone with a computer.

But Coombs insisted that the content of the Lamo web chats, backed up by evidence of other unnamed witnesses who would be called at trial, would show that Manning had no “evil intent” to help the enemy. Quite the contrary: he actively selected the material he passed on for its harmless impact on the US. He also believed that “information that is out in public can’t do any harm”, and thus having it “out there” would negate any of its potential for damaging national interests, Coombs said.

The disclosure of such an important line of defence – that goes to the core of Manning’s thinking as he embarked on the massive WikiLeaks trove of state secrets – came amid legal argument relating to a prosecution motion relating to the issue of motivation. The military prosecutors are seeking to preclude any discussion of Manning’s motives from the trial itself, arguing that they are irrelevant to determining whether or not he committed the offences for which he is charged.

from the guardian.co.uk,

big props for the bradley manning support network for spreading the word!;

Breaking: Military judge rules Bradley Manning illegally treated ~ Bradley Manning Support Network

 

 

Guardian person of the year: Bradley Manning

 being brave and standing up for what you think is right is not a competitive sport, but tell that to people running polls to recognize ONE person as THE “person of the year.”

The Guardian’s 2012 person of the year vote has concluded and the winner, after some rather fishy voting patterns that belied earlier reader comments on the poll, is Bradley Manning, the US whistleblower on trial for leaking state secrets.

US whistleblower Bradley Manning. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

It was very much a game of two halves. The overwhelming majority of early votes in the three-day poll went to Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban for defending girls’ right to education. Malala, who is still recovering from injuries sustained in October, had 70 percent of votes at the halfway stage with many readers predicting a foregone conclusion. “What that kid did really focussed the world on the evil that these men can do – and what evil all people can do when they feel inclined. But it also showed the courage to pull through and the will of others to not succumb to evil,” wrote jamieTWC1.

But in the latter stages, following a series of tweets from the @Wikileaks twitter handle telling followers to vote Manning, thousands of voters flocked to his cause. Manning secured 70 percent of the vote, the vast majority of them coming after a series of @Wikileaks tweets. Project editor Mark Rice-Oxley said: “It was an interesting exercise that told us a lot about our readers, our heroes and the reasons that people vote.”

The Guardian Admits Bradley Manning is Person of the Year in Grotesque Sulking Fit

It seems The Guardian was shocked by this outcome, as evidenced by approximately 36 hours of silence, before a pathetic attempt at announcing Manning as the winner.

The article is only a small blurb in the middle of their homepage, which talks about “fishy voting patterns,” their favourite Malala, and making it sound like a few tweets from @WikiLeaks is what won it for Manning. It mentions nothing of Manning’s courage to do the right thing, revealing war crimes, or his treatment amounting to torture since being detained.

To The Guardian: It wasn’t just a tweet, it wasn’t just WikiLeaks supporters that made Bradley Manning your 2012 Person of the Year, it was the awakened masses that value free speech, truth, peace, government transparency and accountability.

from leaksource

Malala Yousafzai officially nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The teenage Woman’s Rights activist in Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban is officially being nominated for the next Nobel Peace Prize.

More than 150 French lawmakers have formally asked the Nobel Committee to award the next Nobel Peace Prize to the Pakistani campaigner for girls’ education Malala Yousafzai.

Malala Yousufzai

For five years now, Malala has been active as a blogger. In October, she was seriously injured in an assassination attack by the Pakistani Taliban.

Many people are calling for her to be the TIME Person of the Year after this year’s Nobel Peace Prize went to the European Union.

She truly has been an inspiration to many, including Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.

“I felt compelled to share Malala’s story with my children. It was difficult for them to comprehend a world where men would try to kill a child whose only “crime” was the desire that she and others like her be allowed to go to school,” Jolie wrote back in October.

Yousafzai may be among odd company vying for the TIME Person of the Year: Joe Biden, Bashir al-Assad (the Syrian dictator) or Chris Christie.

“Malala is proof that it only takes the voice of one brave person to inspire countless men, women, and children. In classrooms and at kitchen tables around the world, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters are praying for Malala’s swift recovery and committing themselves to carry her torch. As the Nobel Committee meets to determine the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, I imagine brave Malala will be given serious consideration.”

from the global dispatch – Malala Yousafzai officially nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

 

 

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi assumes broad, new powers – Egypt erupts into chaos

Amid chaos, healthy signs for democracy

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi had a problem with the country’s judges, who came to office under former dictator Hosni Mubarak and who he feared were going to shut down the assembly that is drafting a new constitution.

But when he asserted vast new powers to prevent that, he found that his solution created another, equally formidable problem: an eruption of opposition among Egyptians who said he was becoming “a new pharaoh.” By Monday evening, it appeared that Morsi was starting to hear them.

click on image to see a slideshow, from the Telegraph

The wave of protests that greeted his decree raised the worrisome possibility that Egyptian politics would grow more polarized and unpredictable, scaring off investors and impeding the economic revival the country so desperately needs. But it is largely for the better, not the worse. The people of Egypt have asserted that they didn’t topple a dictator only to tamely cede unbounded authority to a new ruler.

Last week, Morsi dismissed a public prosecutor he saw as an enemy and issued an edict making his decisions immune from judicial review. Instead of reassuring the public that he was safeguarding the transition to democracy, he sparked fears that he was doing exactly the opposite.

Egyptians poured into the streets to protest the edict, and mobs attacked his party’s offices in various cities. Opposition groups formed a National Salvation Front to resist his power grab, and the Egyptian Press Syndicate, which includes journalists at state-owned organs as well as independent media, demanded that Morsi reverse course.The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies said, “The balance and separation of powers in Egypt has thereby been utterly destroyed.”
from the chacago tribune, Morsi overreaches, Egypt roars

“We are back to square one, politically, socially,”

Forged out of the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood, the Morsi administration has defended his decree as an effort to speed up reforms that will complete Egypt’s democratic transformation.

Yet leftists, liberals, socialists and others say it has exposed the autocratic impulses of a man once jailed by Mubarak, while Islamist parties have rallied behind Morsi.

“There is no room for dialogue when a dictator imposes the most oppressive, abhorrent measures and then says ‘let us split the difference’,” prominent opposition leader ElBaradei said.

“I am waiting to see, I hope soon, a very strong statement of condemnation by the US, by Europe and by everybody who really cares about human dignity,” he said in an interview with Reuters and the Associated Press.

Activists opposed to the Morsi decree were camped out in central Cairo for a third consecutive day. State media reported that Morsi met for a second day with his advisers.

“I am really afraid that the two camps are paving the way for violence,” said Hassan Nafaa, a professor of political science at Cairo University. “Morsi has misjudged this, very much so. But forcing him again to relinquish what he has done will appear a defeat.”

Morsi’s decree drew warnings from Western countries to uphold democracy, a day after he had received glowing tributes from the United States and others for his work brokering a deal to end eight days of violence between Israel and Hamas.

from the jerusalem post, Egypt stocks plunge as anti-Morsi protests grow

Egypt’s president backs off plan to seize broad power

President Mohamed Morsi agreed Monday to scale back a sweeping decree he had issued last week that raised his edicts above any judicial review, according to a report by a television network allied with his party.

The agreement, reached with top judicial authorities, would leave most of Morsi’s actions subject to review by the courts but preserve a crucial power: protecting the constitutional council from being dissolved by the courts before it finishes its work.

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group that sponsored Morsi and his party, announced that it was canceling a major demonstration in support of the president that had been planned for Tuesday.

Cracks appeared in Morsi’s government Sunday over the decree after the justice minister, Ahmed Mekki, began arguing for a retreat, and at least three other senior advisers resigned over the measure

The move had also prompted widening street protests and cries from opponents that Morsi, who already governs without a legislature, was moving toward a new autocracy in Egypt, less than two years after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

With a threatened strike by the nation’s judges, a plunge in the country’s stock market, and more street protests looming, Morsi’s administration initially sent mixed messages Sunday over whether it was willing to consider a compromise.

A spokesman for the president’s party insisted that there would be no change in his edict, but a statement from the party indicated for the first time a willingness to give political opponents ‘‘guarantees against monopolizing the fateful decisions of the homeland in the absence of the Parliament.’’

Mekki, the influential leader of a judicial independent movement under Mubarak and one of Morsi’s closest aides, actively tried to broker a deal with top jurists to resolve the crisis.

The Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi’s opponents had each called for major demonstrations in Cairo on Tuesday. Late Monday, the Brotherhood called off its planned rally.

more, from the boston globe

see this video report, from the guardian, uk:

Egyptian protesters clash with police after Morsi decree –

video

15 States including Texas have filed a petition to peacefully secede from the United States – update: all 50 states

will barack obama follow the example of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, the last soviet emperor (party chairman, warlord, whatever) of the USSR, who facilitated the end of the cold war and the breakup of the soviet union? if you didn’t vote in the election, here’s an opportunity to tell the federal government what you think of them. if this thing gets discussed across the blogosphere, how will the homeland security apparatus respond?

this isn’t about states rights, or who won what election – this is a referendum on a federal government uninterested in what its citizens have to say about what they expect from their lives.

be sure to read this, too:

A Failed Formula for Worldwide War –

interesting times…

now that the petitions have passed the threshold for showing up on the active listings, i can verify that there are numerous petitions which read much like the example from texas. hey – why the hell not?

from the examiner:

As of Saturday November 10, 2012, 15 States have petitioned the Obama Administration for withdrawal from the United States of America in order to create its own government.

States following this action include: Louisiana, Texas, Montana, North Dakota, Indiana, Mississippi, Kentucky, North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey, Colorado, Oregon and New York. These States have requested that the Obama Administration grant a peaceful withdrawal from the United States.

These citizen generated petitions were filed just days after the 2012 Presidential election.

Louisiana was the first State to file a petition a day after the election by a Michael E. from Slidell, Louisiana. Texas was the next State to follow by a Micah H. from Arlington, Texas.

The government allows one month from the day the petition is submitted to obtain 25,000 signatures in order for the Obama administration to consider the request.

As of 12:46 am, Sunday, signatures obtained by Louisiana, 7,358; Texas, 3,771; Florida, 636; Georgia, 475; Alabama, 834; North Carolina, 792; Kentucky, 467; Mississippi, 475; Indiana, 449; North Dakota, 162; Montana, 440; Colorado, 324; Oregon, 328; New Jersey, 301 and New York, 169. Many more States are expected to follow.

A petition is not searchable at WhiteHouse.gov until 150 signatures have been obtained. It is the originator’s responsibility to obtain these signatures.

The Texas petition can be reviewed and/or signed by clicking here.

text of the petition:

we petition the obama administration to:

Peacefully grant the State of Texas to withdraw from the United States of America and create its own NEW government.

The US continues to suffer economic difficulties stemming from the federal government’s neglect to reform domestic and foreign spending. The citizens of the US suffer from blatant abuses of their rights such as the NDAA, the TSA, etc. Given that the state of Texas maintains a balanced budget and is the 15th largest economy in the world, it is practically feasible for Texas to withdraw from the union, and to do so would protect it’s citizens’ standard of living and re-secure their rights and liberties in accordance with the original ideas and beliefs of our founding fathers which are no longer being reflected by the federal government.

Created: Nov 09, 2012

votes total 14,454 last checked.

anarchists, iww sue military over domestic spying in seattle court

remember, remember the fifth of november

On November 5th, a lawsuit filed in 2009 by antiwar activists against Army spy John Towery will go before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle, WA. Towery was outed as an informant after public records requests revealed he had infiltrated antiwar groups and spied on activists and anarchists. Panagacos v Towery is a landmark civil liberties case that comes at a time of increased political repression of Pacific Northwest anarchists. The lawsuit is against the Army, Navy, Air Force and countless law enforcement agencies.

John Towery was connected to a Force Protection Unit and Fusion Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) and was sent by his superiors to infiltrate the anti-war group Port Militarization Resistance (PMR), antiwar activists and anarchists in Olympia and Tacoma. PMR was an antiwar group that used direct action to disrupt and delay military shipments travelling to and from Iraq and Afghanistan through Northwest ports. John J Towery II was known by other activists as “John Jacob”. He was a PMR activist and anarchist that was later found to be from JBLM after public records requests revealed a surveillance program the US Military was conducting against antiwar activists. The Fusion Center Towery worked with is one of many in the US that have lumped Occupy activists, antiwar activists and anarchists in the same category as al Qaeda and terrorists as “enemies” of the US government.

Brendan Maslauskas Dunn, a PMR activist, anarchist, and current organizer with the Occupy Movement in New York, sent in the records requests on behalf of the IWW that ultimately revealed the identity of his personal friend and fellow anarchist “John Jacob”. Dunn noted that “The records the IWW requested and more recent records releases show that every branch of the military has been, and perhaps still is, involved in spying on antiwar activists and anarchists. This is part of a surveillance program that includes numerous law enforcement and federal agencies.”

NLG attorney representing the plaintiffs Larry Hildes said, “The Court is going to decide whether this violates the Constitution or not. This spying occurred under both the Bush and Obama administrations and there is no difference in the way it has been done.” Hildes, along with help from the NLG, ACLU and others, is determined to bring the case all the way to the Supreme Court if he must. “I think this spying is the logical extension of what has gone on throughout American history where the government has spied on the Left and created a climate poisonous to dissent,” said Hildes. Dunn said, “This spying reeks of COINTELPRO,” referencing the FBI program that targeted the antiwar movement, Black Panthers, American Indian Movement and New Left of the 1960s and 70s. The current surveillance program targeted the groups PMR, SDS, OMJP, IWW, IVAW, SA and gave specific attention to anarchists, especially at the former community space Pitchpipe Infoshop in Tacoma.

Hildes believes that the current grand jury investigation in Seattle targeting anarchists fits in the broader political repression that increasingly targets antiwar activists, anarchists, Occupy and the Left. Kteeo Olejnik, who is currently in prison for her political beliefs, was a PMR activist and was also spied on by Towery.

Come show support and solidarity for activists and anarchists spied on by the Army. It is crucial for supporters to pack the courtroom. Please come and show your support for all activists and anarchists targeted by the state.

When: November 5th, 8:45am (Court starts at 9:00am)
Where: Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse at 1010 Fifth Ave in Seattle, 7th Floor
You need ID to enter the building.

For background information:

 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/us/02army.html

 link to www.democracynow.org

 http://www.aclu-wa.org/public-documents

reposted from anarchy and chaos

that’s one down – British ExxonMobil Oil Chief ‘Assassinated’

why doesn’t this happen more often? if the courts won’t go after these ratbastards, the people shouldn’t sit back and do nothing.

that’s why i say: hey, man – nice shot!

upon further reflection, and having read a comment on portland indymedia about this, i reserve judgement about the motives behind this. i somehow don’t think this was due to his potential as a whistle-blower, and i just can’t think that this is not due to some sort of internal rift within the upper tier. possibly a likable clod who was just old and in the way. of…?

well, i wouldn’t be so sure that this was reprisal for the crimes against humanity and the corporate death penalty that would be far over due for thousands of corporate assassins. this guy probably knew something and there were those that were afraid that he would tell someone that they didn’t want to know. that would be far more believable in a highly professional killing like this. did you know that if you’re a democrat (if you’ll pardon the expression) you are 50% more likely to die in a plane crash.

http://www.wirelesswatchblog.org

Police hunt two men after oil chief ‘assassinated’ in Brussels street

Police are hunting for two men after a British executive working for the oil company ExxonMobil was shot dead in front of his wife in the street in an assassination-style killing.

from the daily telegraph -

By Steven Swinford, Duncan Gardham and Bruno Waterfield

11:32AM BST 26 Oct 2012

Nicholas Mockford, a British executive for the oil company ExxonMobil has been shot dead in front of his wife in an assassination-style killing in Brussels.

Belgian police have imposed a news blackout after Nicholas Mockford, 60, was shot as he left an Italian restaurant in Neder-over-Heembeek, a suburb of the capital.

The executive was shot three times, once as he lay on the ground, after leaving the Da Marcello restaurant in Rue de Beyseghem at around 10pm on Oct 14.

His wife, Mary, was left beaten and covered in blood. Mr Mockford died on the way to hospital.

Witnesses said they saw the couple walk across the street to their car, a silver Lexus 4×4, before shots were fired.

The attack was said to have happened very quickly and Mrs Mockford was left cradling her husband in the street, shouting for help. According to reports, two men were seen running away carrying a motorcycle helmet.

Initially police said they were not excluding any possibilities, including a carjacking, but Mr Mockford’s car was not stolen.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office said last night that there was a “judicial instruction” from Martine Quintin, the investigating judge, that meant they could give no “explanation” and no detail about the killing.

“This is usual in such a serious murder investigation,” a spokesman said.

Mr Mockford had worked for the company since the 1970s, and was the head of marketing for interim technologies for ExxonMobil Chemicals, Europe, promoting new types of greener fuel.

He was a keen sailor and was the skipper of an Exxon team who won first prize in a race in the Channel last year aboard their yacht Musette.

He was also interested in motor cycling. Mr Mockford had been married to his second wife, who is Belgian, for 15 years, and
had three grown-up children from his first marriage, all of whom live in Britain.

He was brought up in Leicestershire and had last lived in this country in Chichester, but had been abroad for some years, mostly in Belgium and Singapore.

One family member told The Daily Telegraph he believed Mr Mockford had been killed in a professional hit.

The relation, who asked not to be named, said: “We are all confused about what has happened. Nick was a genuinely lovely, clean-cut, mild mannered, family man.

“I don’t think he would put up a fight or argue with someone trying to steal his company car.

“He was shot so calmly and so quickly, it smacks horribly of a professional hit, but we can’t fathom why. He isn’t the type to cave in to blackmail and it just doesn’t compute.”

A spokesman for ExxonMobil said: “We are shocked by the tragic death of one of our employees on Sunday, October 14 in Brussels.

“Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues and we are supporting them as best we can at this very difficult time.”

The relation said Mrs Mockford was recovering from the ordeal and had not been badly hurt. “He was always very tight-lipped about what he did, even when sitting around with the family,” the relation added.

SEE ALSO: 10 Steps That Led To Exxon Mobil’s Global Domination