Police State Much? Ignore this...

[Lumi]

Police State Much?
<!-- | http://madjacksports.com/forum/#comments_controls
-->Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan?s Soapbox
June 12, 2011

?Totalitarianism is patriotism institutionalized.?
Steve Allen

?Patriotic? Americans are still berating me for ?demeaning? my son?s ?sacrifice.? A typical message goes something like this:

?Your son died to give you the right to spew your filth against this country. If it wasn?t for the military and people like your son, you wouldn?t have the freedom to protest.?

Oh, really? If I have the ?freedom to protest? then why have I been arrested so many times and why did I have a four-month restraining order from protesting near the White House last year that would have landed my buns in jail for six-months if I violated it? Why are activists still being arrested for solely exercising what used to be our fundamental rights?

In fact, attorney, Bill Quigley has documented that more than 2600 activists have been arrested since Obama was sworn in 2009.

The Constitutional Lawyer turned POTUS is committing atrocities against peace, justice and human rights at a pace that Bush and Cheney only dreamed possible. If Obama can?t have one of us arrested or executed on his orders, then he will gladly diagnose our principled questioning as a mental disorder. Obama even told Steve Pelley of 60 Minutes that if any American dare question his obvious lies around the re-death of Osama bin Laden, then he/she should have ?their heads examined.?

I find it extremely interesting that the fundamental values of peace, truth, and justice have been turned into a mental disorder by the POTUS who, as I have pointed out before, has committed innumerable atrocities against these values. However, what I am finding increasingly alarming is the USA?s rapid descent into a police state.

On June 7th, my sister and I were driving from Sacramento to Los Angeles on I-5?this is a trip that both she and I have made dozens of times since my family moved near Sacramento in 1993. We almost immediately noticed the elevated presence of cop ?copters hovering over the interstate and over nearby communities.

Neither of us had ever witnessed so many military convoys and such a police presence in any of the previous times we made the trip. We speculated what it could be all about and I even had to come to a complete stop on I-105 when it looked like a Los Angeles Sheriff?s ?copter was about to land on the roof of my car. Hmm, there is definitely a shift happening, but it?s often hard to pin things down.

Well, the very next day, I learned about two events that shocked even me?I thought the Empire couldn?t shock me, but I was wrong.

The very day that my sister and I were traveling the length of our gorgeous state, a Stockton, California man was having his door broken down by what he thought was a S.W.A.T. Goon Squad.

According to Kenneth Wright, a single father of three young children ages, 3, 7 and 11; he heard some commotion outside his Stockton home, so he looked out his upstairs window and saw 15 cops that looked like members of S.W.A.T. Before he could get downstairs to the door, they had battered it down and entered his home. Wright spent the next six hours handcuffed in the back of a cop car with his three frightened children.

Is Kenneth Wright the alleged murderer of thousands of brown people in the Middle East and North Africa? Has this scoundrel cheated millions of people out of their retirement/life savings? Did Mr. Wright authorize the use of torture, or even invade one country illegally?

No, of course not. It turns out that the cops who broke down Mr. Wright?s door brutalizing him and traumatizing his children weren?t local or state law enforcement, but an Education Goon Squad that had been granted some kind of vicious police state authority because Mr. Wright?s ex-wife allegedly committed ?fraud? on her student loans. How many of us have student loans that are in danger of being defaulted on because we can?t find a job? The primary question is, though, why do most of us have to commit ourselves to years of debt to get a University education which should be free in the most wealthiest country in the world?

The scandal of the rising cost and increasing inaccessibility of higher education can be directly related to the oppression and exploitation of the people that handle Obama like the Marionette that he is.

If the above story doesn?t terrify you, then what about this one:

In the wee hours of Memorial Day, cops in Miami were involved in a high-speed chase that ended with the injuries of four innocent bystanders and the shooting execution of the SUSPECT. Witnesses to the crimes of the P.D. videotaped the entire incident and were then, themselves subjected to police brutality as the Miami cops held guns to their heads and smashed their cell phones. Luckily, one of the victims had the presence of mind to secure the sim card of his phone in his mouth.

Ask yourself: ?How terrified would I be if I just witnessed cops brutally shooting a man to death, then holding a gun to my head??

Incidentally, the Miami PD has also recently been involved in arresting activists from the organization Food Not Bombs for having the audacity to feed the area?s homeless.

The Robber Class obviously doesn?t want hungry people fed, sick people healed, uneducated people schooled, homeless people housed, or poor people prosperous. Their agenda is total domination of the world?s resources and complete income inequality in our own country.

The next time you fly and either have to subject your body to unacceptable levels of radiation in one of the Pervo-Scanners or get molested by TSA?think to yourself: ?This is how it starts?my nation is being turned into a police state with nary a whimper.?

At least I loudly protest these violations when I fly and I educate everyone within earshot (including the TSA) that Michael Chertoff (former director of the NSA under Bush) profits from the full-body X-ray machines in airports. The last time I was being illegally molested by a TSA agent because I refused to go through one of the Pervo-Scanners, she said: ?Am I hurting you?? And I answered: ?Yes, you are beating the crap out of my 4th Amendment.?

The above stories illustrate that we no longer even have the pretense to the rights to privacy or against illegal search and seizure. Even if the state grants warrants, or passes laws that our privates are now fair game for government perversity, oftentimes these laws directly contravene the Constitution.

However, with the recent reauthorization of the USA PATRIOT ACT, the Constitution has again been rendered ?null and void.?

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The obvious solution to what ails our nation is to end the wars and invest part of the money in education?forgive student loans and provide free/low cost university education to everyone in this country. Ending the wars will not only have a positive effect on our economy, but we won?t be creating enemies faster than we can kill them, so all of this jack-booted police state thuggery would not be necessary.

With the profit motive being so tempting to the Robber Class, it seems like one of the only recourses left to us now is to film everything that happens around us and hide the sim cards of our phones in one of our body?s crevices?we can at least be witnesses to and document Obama?s rush to total totalitarianism.

 

[Lumi]

CNN: Police shooting caught on tape

CNN: Police shooting caught on tape

CNN: Police shooting caught on tape
http://youtu.be/kNbofJ8hfB4

 

[Lumi]

Attack Cindy Sheehan, Attack Lumi !

Attack Cindy Sheehan, Attack Lumi !

The usual attacks against Cindy and myself will follow from both sides of the paradigm, just because of what we both represent. The thing is, the attackers are blinded by shiny objects.

So fire away, attack, I am used to the games.

:0008

 

[Lumi]

State of the Police State: We Have A Natural Right To Watch and Record Cops

State of the Police State: We Have A Natural Right To Watch and Record Cops

State of the Police State: We Have A Natural Right To Watch and Record Cops

Constitutional scholar Judge Andrew Napolitano tackles one of the most pressing issues of our time ? should an individual be able to watch and record law enforcement policing actions on public property, as well as on his or her own property?

Cameras now appear on just about every major intersection in the country, at sporting events, malls, train stations and airports, and just about any other public place a person would visit. Local, state and Federal governments have unprecedented access to peek into the lives of every single American. It makes one wonder, then, why a Constitutionally protected American is regularly coming under fire from police and prosecutors for doing the exact same thing the government says is necessary to protect our safety and our freedom. All of these cameras are purported to be here to keep us safe.

We argue that the very same holds true for the citizenry?s ability to self-protect against harm or harmful intent from individuals public and private.

There are over 300 million cell phone subscriptions in the United States, and a majority of those mobile devices have digital cameras built in. The power is in our hands, and its obvious by the protests coming from the government sector that this is the single most important weapon and tool that the public has to ensure individual and domestic tranquility through prevention of criminal activity, be it initiated by a private individual or someone who is performing their duties under the banner of of the law.

If a reporter were to write a story about a particular incident describing how law enforcement brutally beat a suspect and ran it on the front page of a major newspaper, there may be protests from government officials, but there would more than likely be no criminal prosecution. A written record, it seems, is a perfectly acceptable medium. If the same incident is recorded via a digital device like a camera or microphone, especially by an average person on the street and published on Youtube, many states and localalities would be prepared to prosecute. In fact, many already have, and there are numerous accounts of individuals facing excessive jail time for just this ?crime? ? one person as much as 75 years.

There is absolutely no logical argument that can be put forth for why a private individual cannot make a record ? written, digital video and audio, or otherwise ? of a public official acting in an official capacity on public land. Judge Napolitano makes a strong case for why this is a natural right ? one we?re born with ? that cannot be outlawed, except by a police state who views their electorate as slaves or animals rather than human beings:

The issue is not if the police have the right to shoot ? a jury will decide that. The issue is, do we have the right to watch and record the police when they shoot?

The answer is, of course we do.
Demanding accountability and defending your rights against the police specifically, and the government generally, are difficult and dangerous tasks?it would be very risky to stand up to the government when it is wrong, especially so with the police.
?
?It?s dangerous to be right when the government is wrong? nowhere is this more obvious then when the police are caught breaking the law. From Maryland to Illinois the government cracks down, not on police who violate your Constitutional rights, but on those who film the police who violate your Constitutional rights.

That?s wrong. No matter what the state or local law may say, your Constitutional rights to film the police in the course of their duties or when they are present on private property where the owner permits you to film trumps any law to the contrary.

That?s so because your right to watch the government and record what you see is a natural right that is protected by the Constitution, and it cannot be taken away by the government.
​

A note pad, microphone or camera is a tool to catalog, archive and record events. Humans have done it throughout history. By allowing government the ability to take away this most basic of rights is to take away our very nature as humans.

It?s as simple as that.

Watch the Judge Lay It Out In Terms Even a Government Myrmidon Can Understand:



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[Lumi]

DHS Disputes Claims it Stopped Producing Intel Reports on Rightwing Extremists

DHS Disputes Claims it Stopped Producing Intel Reports on Rightwing Extremists

DHS Disputes Claims it Stopped Producing Intel Reports on Rightwing Extremists

:142smilie :mj07: :142smilie :mj07: :142smilie :mj07:



<!-- | http://madjacksports.com/forum/#comments_controls
-->Anthony Kimery
HSToday.us
June 12, 2011

In a recent emailed fundraising plea by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a generally respected group that monitors and often advises law enforcement on rightwing extremist activity, the group claimed that the Department of Homeland Security?s (DHS) controversial 2009 report on rightwing extremism that was disavowed by top DHS officials following the furor it created after it was leaked, was done so only ?after conservative groups and politicians complained it maligned the political right,? and that DHS also ?virtually dismantled its unit responsible for investigating homegrown extremists.?

SPLC further quoted the former senior analyst primarily responsible for the report as claiming in an upcoming interview to be published in SPLC?s magazine, Intelligence Report, which focuses on rightwing extremists, that ?DHS has not released a single report of its own ? dealing with non-Islamic domestic extremism? since then ? a claim that also was reported by the Washington Post on June 7.

Read more

 

[Lumi]

Deaths, arrests, public statements

Deaths, arrests, public statements

Deaths, arrests, public statements



WTKR reports on the reactions of two parents of soldiers deployed in Iraq to the news of Monday's deaths (5 US soldiers killed in Baghdad):

Hearing about the recent rocket attacks in Baghdad shook up their family and many others who thought the situation in Iraq was getting better.
One of the soldiers from the brigade affected originally from Hampton Roads posted this on WTKR's Facebook page.
"My unit just lost another 5 soldiers, and over 15 soldiers are wounded. This is all from one incident. We have 3 months until we come home and we have lost 8 soldiers so far."
Hearing her story reinforces for the Abe's that their boys are still headed into a warzone.

Were "over 15" injured in the attack? I have no idea. DoD still hasn't released the names of the five who died. There were reports that at least five more were injured in the attack. The Pentagon and the White House have been very lucky that reporters aren't really interested in Iraq. Otherwise, it would be pointed out that on Monday an attack took place and on Wednesday there is still no information. Ignoring DoD, the Union-Leader turns up some information, discovering the name of one of the fallen:

On Tuesday, the Air Force listed PFC. Michael B. Cook Jr. as one of several soldiers whose bodies was to arrive at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
Michael B. Cook lived in Salem and was stationed in Iraq, according to the March obituary of his grandfather, Benjamin Cook. His wife, Samantha, is in Ft. Riley, Kansas; they have two children, Hailee and Michael B. Cook III.



Turning to Iraq where Al Rafidayn is reporting that 34 people were arrested yesterday in Baghdad on charges of terrorism ("including 22 girls and a child"). The charges include trading in human organs and drugs. Al Sabaah adds that Iraqi officials are stating that the 'terrorist gang' is comprised of "the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq" -- apparently including the 18-year-old women who were hired to watch over the young children. New Sabah reports that Iraq's Sunni vice president, Tareq al-Hashemi, has been in Jordan attempting to negotiate the release of 15 Iraqis imprisoned in Jordan. Al Sabaah focuses on charges that Nouri al-Maliki, thug and puppet of the occupation, is attempting to disrupt the state enterprises.

In other news, Al Sabaah speaks to undisclosed sources supposedly in the know about the ongoing negotiations between the US government and Iraq about extending the US military presence beyond 2011. It addresses some remarks White House Press Secretary Jay Carney made. He made those on Monday, I was present for that. Carney's remarks are either distorted by one of Al Sabaah's sources in New York or Al Sabaah misunderstood what they were being told. Carney did not say that the White House had listened to a request. (After that sentence, it moves into Carney stating that the US would abide by the SOFA.) Carney was being pressed by one reporter (I don't know who, I was in the back and the reporter didn't identify himself nor did Jay call him by name) about whether or not there was a request and Carney indicated there hadn't been. In fact, let's go to the White House transcript which is correct except with regards to stammers and "uh"s:


Q On Iraq. What?s the status of discussions with Iraq on possibly keeping U.S. forces there beyond the end of the year?

MR. CARNEY: I have nothing new for you on that. First of all, I?d like to say that we obviously are aware of the fact that we lost U.S. servicemen today, and we express condolences to their families once notifications have been made. And it?s a stark reminder that those who serve in Iraq do so in a way that continues to place them at risk, despite the enormous progress that has been made there.

And then on your question, I have nothing new to announce. The process, as you know, is simply that we are abiding by the status of forces agreement that will have us withdrawing the remainder of our troops by the end of this year. I and others have said that we will entertain requests by the Iraqi government if -- that we will entertain, in terms of discuss, possible requests for some sort of new status of forces agreement that would be obviously quite different from the one we have now.

But as of now, we fully intend to fulfill our obligation under that SOFA and withdraw all our remaining forces. As you know, since the President has come into office, we?ve withdrawn 100,000 U.S. troops from Iraq, and, again, according to the SOFA, we will draw down to zero by the end of the year.

Q Admiral Mullen said in April that without an agreement within weeks, soon, we would have to start making irreversible decisions, he said. Presumably that means start bringing some troops home.

MR. CARNEY: Well, we have been bringing troops home consistently, and I think, obviously, there are 52 weeks in a year. And we are moving along according to the existing agreements we have, but obviously we have different means of discussing with the Iraqi government whatever ideas they may have about any other kind of agreement we might reach. But for now, we will keep the commitments that we?ve made.

Q And there have been no talks on a new SOFA since the -- since Admiral Mullen --

MR. CARNEY: Well, I mean -- I have nothing to announce on that. I have no specific negotiations that are underway. Obviously we are in consultation with the Iraqi government on a regular basis through our ambassador, through our military commander there, and through others, but no talks in that sense.

Again, Al Sabaah's source is clearly telling the newspaper about an OPEN press briefing. There was nothing secretive about Carney's remarks (they weren't reported in this country but US outlets don't really care about Iraq). Carney never said that a request was made.

They then cite an issued statement by the US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey. I haven't seen that statement but, as it reads in the paper, it is consistent with remarks by Jeffrey and the State Dept. Meaning if the SOFA is not extended or replaced with something similar, Plan B for the administration (which would start October 1st -- that's not in the article but did get touched on in Monday's Commission on Wartime Contracting hearing) would be to shove a number of US soldiers under the umbrella of the State Dept and keep them in Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement.

The following community sites -- plus Watching America and Antiwar.com -- have updated last night and this morning: