2012 The Awakening Revolution OWS offers a multi-dimensional perspective on reality, dedicated to the spirit of unity, love and a focus on maintaining peace as we witness the renaissance of a global revolution for human sovereignty.
We DO NOT CONSENT to a system of total domination and control by Technocrats & Oligarch's who intend to re-purpose human's into transhumanism, digitalize cash, eliminate private property and implement a global lockdown of society.
“This teach-in is the first of three teach-ins that we hope to hold in the coming months here in law school about various aspects legal and policy issue raised by the Occupy Wall Street Movement.”
Kendall Thomas, Nash Professor of Law and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Culture, Columbia University moderates the first of three teach-ins. Alicia White, an occupier says: “I ended up going to Occupy Wall Street because of a video. Like a lot of people, I saw a video that was posted online of some people who were marching in the street and looking very inspired.”
This is a very disturbing scene and a BLATANT violation of our first amendment right to free speech, it was particualrly upsetting for me because I really identified with the girl who was victim to this brutal assualt. She was at the mall Christmas shopping, she was moved to join the group and shortly thereafter was assaulted for doing a good thing. We need people wake up before it's too late...
Merry fucking Christmas. Greedy war mongering bastards!
CodePink Austin, along with allies from Veteran's for Peace and Women in Black staged a Don't Buy War "freeze" at Barton Creek Mall on Saturday, December 3rd. The strategically chosen mall location was between the Santa photo station and the Gamestop store, which prominently advertises the 'Modern Warfare 3' video game.
The goals were to raise awareness about the continuing wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, to educate shoppers about the costs (both human and economic) of the wars, and to dissuade parents from purchasing war toys. The creative action was well received by shoppers, and several veterans approached the group to thank us. All was peaceful until mall security and APD arrived, and an APD officer brutally attacked a young woman who had joined the group spontaneously. She was seriously beaten and ended up with three cracked ribs and bruises all over her body!
More from one of the bravest men in America working for the Occupy movement on the streets of NY City while representing the 99%, retired police officer Lt Ray Lewis. Who's keenly aware of the tyranny bearing down on America from a militarized police force and the suppression and censorship of the media.
Police in Los Angeles have cleared one of the last and longest-standing 'Occupy' camps in the U.S, making 300 arrests in the process. These latest arrests bring the total across the whole 'Occupy' movement to almost 5,000, but now police are starting to defect to the other side. Our correspondent Marina Portnaya has been finding out why some people have been choosing to make history instead of making arrests.
Editors note: Very important interview detailing the disintegration of a peaceful Egyptian revolution into a bloody confrontation. This is a slippery road the Occupy movement could easily go down, we're witnessing the same kind of police brutality that appears to be a tool authorities are using to escalate the violence here in America. Intimidating reporters, censorship and media repression aren't isolated to foreign countries, journalists in New York city have been arrested, beaten and had film confiscated while covering Occupy protest events. There's a striking difference in coverage of Occupy Wall St from the mass media and alternative news outlets, with mass media it's one big race towards the bottom of the barrel. It's absolutely shameful how the lack of honest, real information will ultimately be the downfall of America if people don't wake up soon. What's unfolding in Egypt is horrifying, we're fast approaching an Orwellian end game scenario where turning the clock back will be next to impossible.... To help people awaken story's like this must be heard by the masses so people understand the truth about what's happening over there, because it's a matter of time before it comes to the US. Mona Eltaway's courage and composure in the aftermath of such physical and psychological trauma, terror and brutality is absolutely incredible.
Egyptian-American journalist, Mona Eltahawy, was detained for 12 hours by Egypt’s security forces last Wednesday near Cairo’s Tahrir Square, during which time she was brutally beaten and sexually assaulted. She has just returned from Cairo and joins us in our studio. “So many people in Tahrir Square came up to me and would kiss my forehead, they would give me a hug and they would say, ’We’re not going to let them get away.’ They would say, ’We’re going to snatch Egypt back from them.’ I’ve come back with so many messages of love and support from Tahrir. I feel like Tahrir’s spirit is going to help my arms heal even quicker. This is for Egypt. People have lost eyes. People have been killed, people have lost loved ones,” says Eltahawy. “What happened to me is minuscule compared to that. I have a voice in the media — they don’t. So I want to use that voice to get across to the world that our revolution continues.” Today Egypt held its first round of parliamentary elections to elect a new, post-Mubarak government in the wake of fierce clashes between protesters and police that lasted for nine days and left at least 42 people dead and more than 3,000 wounded across the country.
“Countdown” guest host David Shuster and Jonathan Turley, constitutional law expert and professor at George Washington University – and a Countdown contributor – analyze Mayor Bloomberg’s claim that the NYPD are keeping the press from the story “so journalists can be safe.” Turley notes, “The problem is that we’re not getting any responsible public officials who are coming forward saying, ‘This is wrong,’” and as a result abuses against protesters often go without penalty: “They can really get away with this.”
Read and download the complete transcript for the November 22, 2011 edition of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann.”
Retired Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis sits down with “Countdown” guest host David Shuster to explain his reasons for supporting the Occupy movement and tell about his arrest. In Part 1, Lewis reflects on the sense of suffering that drew him to participate, reacts to the conduct of the police officer who pepper-sprayed Occupiers on the UC Davis campus and criticizes the conduct of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Lewis talks about the series of strategic meetings among officials that led to the destruction of Zuccotti Park, saying, “Everybody was involved, and every angle was covered, and at the end of it, he put his stamp on it. He is responsible.”
Retired Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis sits down with “Countdown” guest host David Shuster to explain his reasons for supporting the Occupy movement and tell about his arrest. In Part 2, Lewis relates how he kept a low profile among protesters in Zuccotti Park, questions the conduct of white-shirt police officers in terms of how they engaged with the protesters rather than supervising from a distance and reflects on how his act of civil disobedience led to his own arrest: “The moment that I was walking across that intersection was the proudest moment of my life.”
The first photo is absolutely heartbreaking, not only for someone's child who has just been brutality beaten for peacefully exercising his civil right to freedom of speech; but because it represents the hidden face of shock, fear, anguish and betrayal so many of us feel as we watch fellow Americans who are all innocent of any crime get their heads bashed in by cops protecting the financial interests of the wealthiest American's. This was a very disturbing piece to produce...quite upsetting to say the least. The story about the kid in the first photo was covered yesterday where you can find video of that particular police brutality incident somewhere below following this post, along with most of the others which have also been covered.
If you haven't seen the Keith Olberman interview with Dorli Rainey the 84 yr old woman who was pepper sprayed, she is absolutely inspiring! Be sure to check it out...
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
Posted on November 18, 2011, Printed on November 19, 2011
http://www.alternet.org/story/153134/caught_on_camera%3A_10_shockingly_violent_police_assaults_on_occupy_protesters
Occupations across the country have born the brunt of some violent police tactics, and in a world where everyone has a camera-phone, a lot of their brutish behavior has been caught in photographs and on video.
Police work is difficult and dangerous, and the majority of officers on the street behave like pros. When it comes to controlling crowds of angry protesters, they're often put into tense situations and ordered to do things they may not want to do by commanders who are far removed from the scene. I've witnessed a lot of restraint from cops, which of course doesn't make the news.
But being human, cops are also prone to fear and rage like everyone else. A minority of cops, like a minority of protesters, lose their cool in tense situations. The difference is that they aren't amateurs – they're well trained and have guidelines that they're required to follow. When a cop loses his or her cool, it can be terrifying. And when a protester exercising his or her right to assemble and speak is a victim of excessive force, it also violates the United States Constitution.
Unlike protesters, cops are also armed, and it's difficult to hold them accountable for their actions when they don't behave professionally. Most civilian review boards are toothless and ineffectual. But, as Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union told AlterNet last month, “public video recording has dramatically changed the landscape of police accountability, no question about it. It's a lot harder for police to sweep allegations of abuse under the rug when it's on video and on YouTube.”
Below are some of the most stunning incidents of police officers going wild on Occupy protesters around the country. To be fair, we don't always know the context in which these violent actions occurred – what happened in the moments before the incident was captured on camera. At the same time, when you look at these images, keep in mind that the rule of thumb in use-of-force cases is that police are prohibited from applying more physical force than is necessary to accomplish a legitimate law enforcement task. When they exceed that measure, they're committing a crime.
1. Point-Blank
This now-iconic image was captured by The Oregonian in Portland on November 17.
Now consider what legitimate law enforcement goal could possibly require an officer to disperse a chemical weapon directly into the face of an unarmed female protester at point-blank range? Though we don't know precisely what chemical agent was in that spray, those with allergies to capsicum can go into anaphylactic shock when exposed to pepper-spray. There's a reason these weapons are characterized as “less-lethal,” and not “non-lethal.”
2. Your Children Are in the Fray
In this video, a group of college students are huddled on the ground in a defensive position at UC Davis on November 18. An officer, later identified as UC police Lt. John Pike, then casually douses them with a chemical agent. You’ll note that a number of bystanders who were simply watching what was going on are also exposed.
Assuming the police had legal grounds to make arrests, it seems apparent from the video that little or no force was necessary to achieve that goal. The students are obviously not a threat to the officers. It appears that the heavily armored riot police could have simply grabbed them and put them in flexi-cuffs had they chosen to do so. That means that this entire assault appears to be a perfect example of excessive force.
The most troubling part of the video, perhaps, is the way the officer identified as Lt. Pike flourishes the weapon, like a sommelier displaying a fine wine, before deploying it at the students.
Yet the video actually has an uplifting ending. The students displayed the immense power of nonviolence by remaining calm and then telling the heavily armed police that they will allow them to leave peacefully if they so desire. And the officers do just that, slinking away chastened, it seems, by the young protesters' resolve.
Via Twitter, Boing Boing’s Xeni Jardin reports that there were 10 arrests, and one female student was hospitalized for chemical burns.
...after a rousing, peaceful day of demonstrations culminated in the Port of Oakland being “occupied,” things once again became violent on the streets of Oakland. During that action, Kayvan Sabehgi, also a veteran of the Iraq war, ended up in intensive care with a ruptured spleen. Sabehgi told the Guardian that he was walking alone, away from the action when he ran into trouble.
What stands out in the video is that Sabehgi is merely walking backward as he talks to a group of riot police. He doesn't pose a threat, and no discernible law enforcement goal is served by attacking him – the police appear to be acting out of anger. But let's say, for the sake of argument, that they had a legitimate interest in getting him to move out of the street. After the first two baton strikes, that goal is achieved: he runs to the sidewalk. After that point, the subsequent blows appear to be unnecesary and excessive, and they sent him to the hospital with a severe injury.
4. Act of Anger
Here are two videos depicting the same scene from New York City on September 24. There are a couple of things that happen here that are worth noting.
In the first video, police appear to be dragging protesters who don't look like they pose a threat into the street and arresting them. At 4:35, a citizen demands that an officer furnish his badge number and gets no response. According to NYPD's own rules, “The New York City Police Department Patrol Guide, procedure 203-09 (Public Contact—General), states that officers must 'give name and shield number to anyone requesting them.' New York City’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings ('OATH') has issued a number of recent opinions that examine what this patrol guide procedure requires of officers. In essence, these cases have held that the patrol guide procedure imposes an 'affirmative obligation' to 'give name and shield number to anyone requesting them'; In other words, a demand for a name or badge number demands an 'affirmative response.'”
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The short video below shows the same arrest of the man holding a flag depicted toward the end of the previous one. It's clear that the officers target him out of anger; shirtless, he obviously doesn't possess a weapon or represent a threat. It appears that a “white shirt” is simply infuriated by him holding up the flag and shouting, “Is this what you're about?” After being taken down roughly, an officer holds down his neck with a knee, and then gets up and punches another protester.
Police are trained not to respond to verbal insults – citizens have a constitutional right to say even very rude things to police officers.
5. Just Spraying Everyone
The media, by and large, accept the premise that police are justified attacking a large crowd of peaceful protesters with pepper spray or teargas if one or two become violent. It's an odd belief – imagine if the same tactics were applied to drunken fans at college football games.
“Crowds of protesters are heterogenous,” ACLU of Northern Califoria staff attorney Linda Lye told AlterNet recently. “They simply cannot deploy these weapons against a whole group of people because a few of them throw some objects.”
This is another image, courtesy of the AP, that's fast becoming iconic – it shows 84-year-old Dorli Rainey, a retired schoolteacher, being helped after receiving a blast of pepper-spray by Seattle police on October 15.
A woman who was three months pregnant was also reportedly sprayed that night, requiring hospitalization. This was reportedly a response to a single protester throwing an “unidentified liquid” at a police officer, who was unharmed. This picture shows that the police response was broad and indiscriminate, hitting not only those who may have been aggressive but also protesters like Rainey, who couldn't possibly represent a threat.
6. 'Police Escalated the Situation'
Here is a similar scenario out of Denver, courtesy of the local NBC affiliate. At around 1:30, the reporter says that, according to protesters, “police escalated the situation.” It's an important point. Overly aggressive police tactics are infuriating, and can turn otherwise peaceful protesters violent; it becomes a vicious cycle. Good crowd control should have de-escalating tension as its ultimate goal.
7. NYPD Officer Punches Retreating Activist in the Face
These videos show two angles of activist Felix Rivera-Pitre being punched in the face by a police officer later identified as Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona. Rivera-Pitre, and several witnesses at the scene, say he was trying to get away from the officer when he was assaulted in an unprovoked attack.
Note how the crowd is calm before the assault and then goes into a frenzy immediately afterward. Here, again, police violence appears to be counter-productive to the goal of maintaining order.
The NYPD claims that Rivera-Pitre tried to elbow Cardona, and issued a warrant for his arrest. Rivera-Pitre's lawyer, Ron Kuby, told the Village Voice, "We deny that. There's no video, there are no photographs of that. But, even so, Cardona was not making an arrest; he was beating somebody up. Sucker-punching someone in the jaw is not a means of making that arrest. He should be arrested for that, but the police don't want to."
8. The Video That Propelled a Movement
It's entirely possible that this video of Officer Anthony Bologna pepper-spraying several women in an NYPD “kettle” led to the Occupy movement's rapid expansion. Watch the clip and keep an eye on the bald police officer on the lower-right-side of the frame. He appears to be genuinely shocked by what he witnesses. His body language says, "what the hell was that about?"
9. Nonviolence met with Violence
This is a classic case of nonviolent resistance being met with police violence. In the video, courtesy of RT, the man on the ground is limp and non-threatening, with his arms locked with another protester, when an NYPD officer punches him repeatedly in the face. Several others are then manhandled by the cops for no obvious reason.
10. Firing on Medics
This video shows the moment when Iraq war veteran Scott Olsen was wounded by Oakland police officers on October 25. There are two things to keep in mind here. First, the Oakland police manual forbids police from deploying teargas or flash-bang grenades directly at a crowd of protesters, regardless of what's happening on the street. Second, after Olsen is wounded, a cop throws a flash-bang grenade directly and apparently purposefully at those trying to assist him. Even in wartime, it's a violation of international law to fire on unarmed medical personnel tending to the wounded.
Also note the climate. As I wrote recently, those who have developed an image of police actions from New York should understand that riot police in Oakland are highly militarized, clad in full black body armor and bristling with automatic weapons, teargas launchers, flash-bang grenades and tasers. When they move in, the atmosphere is reminiscent of a battlefield, replete with a series of jarring explosions.
Those aggressive tactics create a dangerous cycle, allowing the minority of protesters who seek confrontation with law enforcement to justify their provocations as acts of “self-defense.”
