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Today's protest regarding the killing of Charles Hill by Bart police

"NO JUSTICE / NO PEACE / FUCK THE BART POLICE"

The following recounts my limited experience with today's Bart Protest. I knew something unusual was going on when I headed into the Montgomery BART Station upon leaving work, but I had no idea what was specifically happening. On the platform there were huge crowds in both directions waiting for the trains. When my train (inward-bound) came after a few minutes, the announcer said that there would be no stopping at Civic Center station because of a "civil disturbance." We went to Powell station, the station before CC, and a bunch of activists were screaming and yelling (see above) and getting in the way of the doors so the trains wouldn't leave. Some people were handing out fliers. The people on the train generally seemed to disapprove of the action: "This is the wrong way to get your point across" ... "Why do you have to make me late?" ... Etc. Anyways, sure enough we sped though CC station but we could see dozens of riot police through the windows as we went past. Apparently the protest moved from place to place as protesters rode the trains and walked from station to station. I read a flyer that I borrowed from another rider on the way home, so it was only then that I found out what the protest was about.

***

I have to say, I'm quite disappointed in some people's reaction to this event. The vapid and shallow posts on Twitter made by Bart commuters express outrage at being delayed for a matter of minutes by the action, and some even wish violence on the protesters (how quickly the liberal Bay Area residents turn on social justice when the struggle comes to their subway!). As someone who tries to get people to care about others needlessly, unjustly and inhumanely suffering and dying, I know how difficult it is to bring these issues to public attention in an effective manner. It is when these demonstrations happen that those who would denigrate the tactics should ask themselves: which is more important -- five minutes of my time stuck on Bart, or taking a step towards ending the systematic brutalization of members of our community by the Bart police?

(Update: I can not but help at this point think of the famous and false slogan of apologia for Mussolini: he "made the trains run on time." But suppose the mantra to be true; might the present-day Bay Area commuter be facing a similar -- though surely different in scale in the extreme -- trade off between individual rights and unperturbed operation of the status quo?)

In my eyes, the protest was an absolute success -- I had not even heard of the alleged murder of Charles Hill before today, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Shutting down the city's transportation, even for a brief moment, definitely got the message across.

***

When reading mainstream press coverage of this event, keep in mind that:

• Certain positions (such as the claim of Bart police that Hill was attacking with a knife) are taken by reporters as unquestioned fact, despite eyewitness reports that contradict their claims
• The protesters' position gets very little, if any, mention (despite it being the entire reason for the event happening) compared to statements of the government and police
• Various multicultural buttons of the liberal readership are pushed to cast the protesters in a bad light
• There have been several similar shootings by Bart police in the past
• Bart has been known to try and cover up misconduct by its employees... and the footage that they have of this incident has still not been released

***

What follows is the statement and demands from the activists, from the protest Facebook page, which I entirely agree with:

Last Sunday night, BART Police attacked and essentially executed a 45 year old man named Charles Hill. Someone called the BART Police, and reported that Charles was drunk and 'wobbling' around the platform with an open container of alcohol. 2 Officers responded and within 60 seconds of getting out of the train and onto the platform, these cops managed to shoot him 3 times in the chest.

The BART police chief is claiming he is 'comfortable' with this behavior. There is video that they are refusing to release. There are witnesses that contradict the police story (the lies they are using to try to cover this up). History does repeat itself, until we get angry enough to do something about it.

Join us to THIS MONDAY. ON THE CIVIC CENTER PLATFORM (yes, in the BART!). We will participate in a collective act of civil disobedience to demand:

1. The BART police department should be closed down, and the responsibilities of the BART police transferred elsewhere

2. Release the video of the shooting: The witnesses who have come forward all dispute the BART police version of events. BART and SFPD have a video which shows the interaction. We want this released NOW.

3. We demand an independent, PUBLIC investigation of this killing. If eye-witness accounts of the shooting are found to be true, both officers should be fired and charged to the fullest extent of the law.

North Africa (Maghreb) is blowing up

Tunisia

• 2010-2011 Tunisian Protests
• Al-Jazeera's Tunisia Protests coverage
  

Algeria

• Protests in Algeria
• Al-Jazeera's Algeria Protests coverage
  

Libya

• Early reports of unrest in Libya
  

Mauritania

• Mauritanian man sets himself on fire
  

Egypt

• Egyptian man sets himself on fire
• Protests in Egypt
• Three dead in Egypt protests
  

Yemen

• Self-immolation protest spreads to Yemen
• Anti-government rallies hit Yemen
  

Elsewhere

• Syria, Jordan and Algeria respond to protest threat
• Self-immolation "infection" spreads to Syria
• Thousands protest in Jordan
• Sudan police clash with protesters
  

Obama doesn't actually favor net neutrality

Yet another broken promise and giveaway to business lobbies.

Wikileaks Diplomatic Cables

Good resources

• The Guardian's daily summary of headlines
• wlcentral
• Cablegate site (and mirrors)
  
• Wikipedia page on the United States diplomatic cables leak (gives a good breakdown of leaks by region)
• Democracy Now's coverage
  

Interesting points

• All of the documents that have been published on Wikileaks so far have also been published by the NYT, etc. with the same redactions. There are around 250,000 cables total but less than 1% has been released.
  
• The documents were offered to the WSJ and CNN, but both refused them. The NYT got them from the Guardian, not Wikileaks.
• Julian Assange's personal philosophy is very pro-capitalist.
• Allegedly, a fake Lady Gaga recording was involved in the disclosure.
• The NYT, as expected, took the most jingoistic angle possible
• Other Wikileaks-like sites are planned for launch
• Assange's old blog is here
• The smear campaign directed at Assange is farcical
• A previous, similar leak in 1982 from the Tehran embassy has been all but forgotten
• Good discussion here on the legality of Wikileaks (synopsis: there is no clear illegality on the part of Wikileaks)
• Casualties: sacking of German minister's aide, former Croatian PM flees the country
• Companies refusing to do business with Wikileaks: Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Bank of America, PostFinance, Apple
• The government of Tunisia was overthrown partially because of Wikileaks
  

Significant revelations

• Obama and GOP worked together to kill torture probe
• US is using U2 spy planes flying from Cyprus to spy on Hezbollah
• The CIA directed a biometric-information gathering program conducted by US diplomats
• Pharmaceutical firm Pfizer conducted fatal experimental drug tests on children in Nigera without parental consent, and then tried to dig up dirt on the Nigerian attorney general in order to pressure him to drop a lawsuit against Pfizer
• Private security contractor DynCorp "Helped Pimp Little Boys to Stoned Afghan Cops"
• The ICRC told US diplomats of widespread torture by the Indian police in Kashmir
  

They're getting nervous

"WikiLeaks could be transformed from a handful of volunteers to a global movement of politicised geeks clamouring for revenge. Today’s WikiLeaks talks the language of transparency, but it could quickly develop a new code of explicit anti-Americanism, anti-imperialism and anti-globalisation.[...] An aggressive attempt to go after WikiLeaks – by blocking its web access, for instance, or by harassing its members – could install Mr Assange (or whoever succeeds him) at the helm of a powerful new global movement able to paralyse the work of governments and corporations around the world."

BP oil spill -- links and info

BP's oil spill is the largest oil spill in US history. A disaster was bound to happen given the exemptions the government gave BP from an environmental review and the fact that the MMS allowed BP to fill out its own inspection forms. About a year ago, internal documents show that BP was concerned about the safety of the rig. And so on.

BP's response has been (as expected) to put profits ahead of all other considerations. BP has prevented conscripted cleanup crews from wearing respirators since that would open the company to liability suits; some workers have summarily been hospitalized. BP attempted to have Louisiana fishermen sign promises not to sue the company immediately after the disaster. BP has been rather successful in suppressing information about the spill and they have underreported the amount of oil that is likely leaking. Additionally, the Coast Guard appears to have been tapped in service of the company. But nothing can beat the sheer novelty of BP busing in workers for Obama's visit to make the cleanup effort appear more substantial (and then busing the workers out after Obama and the press left).

As far as personal stories go, this is just heartbreaking. Rolling Stone also has a comprehensive article about the government's reaction to the spill. Apparently there is a Twitter feed mocking BP that some find funny.

Greenwald has some more coverage here.

Obama doesn't mind engorging the military industrial complex

The next way that the US defense industry is going to pillage public funds is via a Israeli missile-defense shield. I wonder how far the proposed $205 million would actually go in the region if it were used for actually helpful items like schools, hospitals, food (for the Palestinians, that is, who need them)...

Obama doesn't actually like Miranda rights

Following the failed Times Square Bombing, Obama's administration didn't delay in considering to withdraw yet another civil liberty protection: Miranda rights.

Obama doesn't much mind oil spills

From Jonathan Turley's blog about Obama's involvement in the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico:

Yet, the criticism of Obama in the aftermath of this tragedy has been quite modest. One can only imagine the outcry if President Bush opened up the East Coast to drilling, said that rigs do not cause spills (here), disregarded warnings about such spills from his own agency (here), and waived an environmental impact study based on the industry’s assurance. On top of that, Obama has been the largest recipient of BP campaign money (here). No one expects the President to follow waivers of impact studies — that is Salazar’s job. However, once again, the muted criticism from liberals is striking.

Which way, Obama?

Obama has me confused about which way it is important to look:

Obama was asked in this interview: "Is your administration satisfied with the resolution of the past human rights abuses in Indonesia?" He replied:

We have to acknowledge that those past human rights abuses existed. We can't go forward without looking backwards . . . .

When asked last year about whether the United States should use similar tribunals to investigate its own human rights abuses, as well his view of other countries' efforts (such as Spain) to investigate those abuses, Obama said:

I'm a strong believer that it's important to look forward and not backwards, and to remind ourselves that we do have very real security threats out there.

Obama actually doesn't support women's rights

From Jonathan Turley:

After holding a large public ceremony for the signing of the health care bill, President Barack Obama is barring cameras when he signs the executive order needed to secure the votes for the narrow passage: a ban on federal funding of abortion.

Rep. Bart Stupak and his colleagues will attend the signing but no cameras are going to be allowed by the White House. The thirteen members are all pro-life Democrats and the White House has decided that the public should not witness the event.

By the way, Stupak was suddenly given an over $720,000 grant for airports in this district shortly before his vote, here. This has led some to question whether the pro-life order was the only condition of his support.

For the full story, click here.

Obama actually doesn't like FoIA Requests

From Slashdot:

"Agencies under the Obama administration cite security provisions to withhold information more often than they did under the Bush administration. For example, the 'deliberative process' exemption of the Freedom of Information Act was used 70,779 times in 2009, up from the 47,395 of 2008. Amusingly, the Associated Press has been waiting three months for the government to deliver records on its own Open Government Directive."

Warren Buffett on Class Warfare

Quoted in the New York Times:

Even though I agreed with him, I warned that whenever someone tried to raise the issue, he or she was accused of fomenting class warfare.

“There’s class warfare, all right,” Mr. Buffett said, “but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.”

Obama likes tort reform now, too

"Tort reform," a policy commonly offered by some as a panacea to the US health care crisis, is now being embraced by the Obama administration. But tort reform will do nothing to boost health care -- in fact, it will kill thousands of people every year, according to the Congressional Budget Office. What tort reform truly is, according to Jonathan Turley, is a way for doctors to have the government subsidize them by capping malpractice lawsuit damages.

These doctors are demanding huge subsidies and legal protections in exchange for resumption of health care. It is a game of chicken being played by doctors across the nation, with their patients’ health in the balance — and it is working.

Obama renews Patriot Act for Another Year

Thanks, Barry!

Obama doesn't want you to have privacy using a cellphone

The Obama administration is arguing in court that there is no expectation of privacy while using a cell phone. That is, the administration wants to track you without probable cause or a warrant. As usual, the EFF and the ACLU seem to be the only people that care...

Robot surveillance/law enforcement coming soon to the UK

According to Wired, the UK is planning to deploy a fleet of unmanned aircraft for surveillance. But the article also ominously notes that "Military drones quickly moved from reconnaissance to strike." Great.

Student detained at airport because of Arabic flash cards

A college student was detained by the TSA for hours at an airport because he was carrying Arabic flash cards. Thankfully, the ACLU has taken up his case and is suing the TSA and the FBI, amongst others.

The truth about torture is out in the UK... and Obama is angry

It seems that the disclosure will "complicate" intelligence sharing between the US and the UK. At least one of these countries sometimes places human rights over expediency.

New York Times Magazine terrorist fearmongering

Here is the cover of the 1/31/2010 issue of the New York Times Magazine... I don't think any comment is required.