Maryland Spying Uncovered: Some Links

Spying Uncovered. Documents show state police monitored peace and anti-death penalty groups: Undercover Maryland State Police officers repeatedly spied on peace activists and anti-death penalty groups in recent years and entered the names of some in a law-enforcement database of people thought to be terrorists or drug traffickers, newly released documents show. (Baltimore Sun) July 18, 2008

'COINTELPRO Comes to My Town: My First-Hand Experience With Government Spies' by Dave Zirin (Yahoo! News) July 20, 2008

AUDIO/VIDEO: Maryland State Police Spied on Peace, Anti-Death Penalty Groups: The American Civil Liberties Union released documents Thursday showing that undercover officers from the Maryland State Police spied on peace groups and anti-death penalty protesters for over a year in 2005 and 2006. The police summaries and intelligence logs reveal that covert agents infiltrated groups like the antiwar Baltimore Pledge of Resistance, the Baltimore Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and the Committee to Save Vernon Evans, a death row prisoner. DN! speaks with antiwar activist Max Obuszewski and with journalist Dave Zirin. Both were the target of surveillance. (Democracy Now!) July 21, 2008

ACLU of Maryland Lawsuit Uncovers Maryland State Police Spying Against Peace and Anti-Death Penalty Groups (ACLU.org) July 17, 2008

[People who want to express their outrage can contact the office of the current Governor Martin O'Malley. We should demand a full investigation of the MSP, public release of all documents obtained through this illegal activity, and a specific commitment that the
anti-death penalty and anti-war movement will not be targeted. Call the office of the governor at 1-800-811-8336, or submit a comment online at http://www.governor.maryland.gov/mail/]

July 16, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

History Made in Chicago: With the nomination of Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente the Green Party is now free to become the real radical alternative party that it should be. (Organizing Notes) July 12, 2008

From Politics of Hope to Politics as Usual: The heady days of Obamamania have given way to one big Obummer."We're beginning to understand why Barack Obama keeps protesting so vigorously against the prospect of 'George Bush's third term,'" a recent Wall Street Journal editorial said. "Maybe he's worried that someone will notice that he's the candidate who's running for it." (Socialist Worker) July 9, 2008

'This Is Like Apartheid': ANC Veterans Visit West Bank: Veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle said recently that the restrictions endured by Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories was in some respects worse than that imposed on the black majority under white rule in South Africa. (The Independent UK) July 11, 2008

US Organized Labor Gets Its First Openly Gay National Union President: New York based United Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten has been elected to succeed Edward McElroy as President of the American Federation of Teachers. The election makes Weingarten the first openly gay labor leader to be president of a national labor union. (Workers Independent News) July 16, 2008

Animal Advocate Detained, Searched, Questioned at Canadian Border about Activism (Green is the New Red) July 15, 2008

AUDIO: Mumia Abu-Jamal on One Empire, Unchanged: Increasingly, the US Presidential election looks like a political contest between the same old thing and the same thing with a new face. McCain and Obama have sworn their allegiance to a husky nationalism that imposes political and military hegemony over much of the world. (Prison Radio) July 9, 2008

July 11, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney has named Rosa Clemente as her Vice Presidential running mate.

‘Progressives for Obama’ Fool Themselves: Barack Obama's rush to disavow the "tag" of the "Left" should surprise no one. For straight language and unambiguously progressive politics, support Cynthia McKinney, who is expected to win the Green Party presidential nomination, this week in Chicago. (Black Agenda Report) July 9, 2008

Yeah, They Did It: Bowing to President Bush's demands, the Senate approved and sent the White House a bill Wednesday to overhaul bitterly disputed rules on secret government spying and shield telecommunications companies from lawsuits complaining they helped the U.S. spy on Americans. Let it be noted clearly that Barack Obama, who previously pledged to join in a filibuster of any bill that contained telcom immunity, not only didn't join any filibuster attempt, not only voted for the damn bill, he voted in favor of cloture. (Lotus - Surviving a Dark Time) July 10, 2008

'Longest Walk' Reaches Washington: Thirty years ago, 40,000 Native Americans and their supporters participated in an historic cross-country march called the Longest Walk. Commemorating that event, two groups of walkers set out from Alcatraz Island last February. Today the marchers are due to end their journey at the White House and later present a 30-page manifesto to a Democratic Congressman, Rep. John Conyers, who advocates on a wide range of minority issues. (Sky News) July 11, 2008

Indigenous communities in Bolivia and Brazil have declared an emergency in response to the construction of the Madera River Hydroelectric Complex, which Brasilia is pursuing even as independent research efforts try to measure the impacts of what will be one of South America's largest energy projects. (Inter Press Service) July 10, 2008

"Health Care for America Now": Which Side Are They On? (MR Zine) July 10, 2008

July 2, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

International Statement of Solidarity With the Zapatistas: As members of diverse collectives and organizations in different corners of the World, we wish to express our outrage and complete repudiation of the renewed military invasion of Zapatista communities on June 4th 2008. (Indymedia UK) June 18, 2008

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders leads with proposal for 10 million solar rooftops, While Bush Admin puts brakes on solar projects (Buzzflash) July 1, 2008

What the Census Didn't Count: Water Rights and Privatization in El Salvador (Upside Down World) June 18, 2008

Mexicans Protest Canadian Mining Company: Residents and activists from the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosí travelled to Toronto to tell the shareholders of a Canadian mining company that their investments are at risk because the billion-dollar Cerro San Pedro gold and silver mine is illegal and environmentally unsafe. (Inter Press Service) June 28, 2008

Protest Zone Far Cry From Pepsi Center, ACLU Says: New suit claims delegates won't hear activities: The designated protest zone at the Democratic National Convention will be more than two football fields away from the Pepsi Center - a revelation that drew new legal challenges Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union. (Rocky Mountain News) July 1, 2008

Who Cares What Bill Clinton Says? Even liberals, who have historically been too trusting, should have gotten the message by now. Bill Clinton never was a liberal, and he’s no friend to liberals. (Another Socialist Blog) June 29, 2008

June 25, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Telecoms Flex Their Muscles: FISA “Compromise” Locks-in Spying: You knew it would eventually come to this: a huge victory for the Bush regime and a gigantic swindle by Democratic party sell-outs posing as an “opposition.” Thursday, House and Senate leaders in a bipartisan Washington love-fest, stooped to new lows of dissimulation as they reached agreement on a bill that gives the nation’s spy agencies and their outsourced “partners” in the telecommunications industry carte blanche to illegally spy on Americans. (Dissident Voice) June 23, 2008

A Critique From the Left of Jonah Goldberg's Ludicrous book Liberal Fascism (Socialist Humanism With A Human Face) June 18, 2008

2008 Green Party National Convention in Chicago (July 10-13) will be a public forum for discussion of impeachment and other major issues on which Democrats and Republicans have failed in their responsibility to voters. (GP.org) June 24, 2008

James Hansen's Timely Warning on Climate Change: On June 23, 1988, the threat of climate change finally captured the media's attention when James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, warned a U.S. Senate committee that the planet was already warming as a result of human activity. Monday, 20 years to the day after his appearance before the Senate committee, Hansen was back on Capitol Hill with a more immediate warning. (Toronto Star) June 25, 2008

Is Your City Going to Be Bottled Water-Free? A new resolution from leading U.S. mayors shows that more cities may be ditching the bottled stuff in favor of tap. (Alternet) June 24, 2008

Taking on the Purple Machine: SEIU President Andy Stern and his staff prevailed at the convention, but pro-reform members succeeded in advancing a debate inside the country's largest union. (Socialist Worker) June 17, 2008

University of California Workers Avert Walkout to Continue Contract Talks (MR Zine) June 24, 2008

Germany's Die Linke: ‘We have the wind of history in our sails’: After a year of stellar successes, almost 600 delegates from Germany’s new left-wing party, Die Linke, came together for the party’s first ever congress, held in the east German city of Cottbus on May 25 and 26. (Links) May 30, 3008

May 26, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Her Voice, Our Voices: Roslyn Zinn R.I.P. (Rebel Frequencies) May 22, 2008

Utah Phillips R.I.P. Some Thoughts From David Rovics (Songwriter's Notebook) May 25, 2008

Billions Wasted on UN Climate Programme: Energy Firms Routinely Abusing Carbon Offset Fund, US Studies Claim (The Guardian) May 26, 2008

Discredited Strategy: Increasing allegations of corruption and profiteering are raising serious questions about the UN-run carbon trading mechanism aimed at cutting pollution and rewarding clean technologies (The Guardian) May 21, 2008

South Africa is All of Us: The situation is the culmination of policies that have made the rich richer, and the poor poorer. But "the ruling elite is not South Africa. There are many within South Africa who are in solidarity with those under attack, and are opposed to the conditions that feed xenophobia." (Pambazuka) May 22, 2008

Moles Wanted: In preparation for the Republican National Convention, the FBI is soliciting informants to keep tabs on local protest groups (Minneapolis/St. Paul City Pages) May 21, 2008

ILO: Workers In Israeli-Occupied Gaza And West Bank Suffering (Workers Independent News) May 26, 2008

Unionists Granted Bail in Zimbabwe (Green Left Weekly) May 23, 2008

May 16, 2008 - News, Views, and Info

US Naval Fleet To Be Positioned Off the Coast of South America (Upside Down World) May 13, 2008

John Cusack’s War: The Actor Battles to Un-Embed Hollywood With His New Film, ‘War, Inc.’ (Common Dreams) May 16, 2008

The Horrors of ICE: Dangerous Forced Psychotropic Drugging, Frightening Lack of Medical Care (American Leftist) May 14, 2008

California Supreme Court Strikes Down Same Sex Marriage Ban (365Gay.com) May 15, 2008

China's All-Seeing Eye: With the help of U.S. defense contractors, China is building the prototype for a high-tech police state. It is ready for export. (Rolling Stone) May 29, 2008

Species are dying out at a rate not seen since the demise of the dinosaurs, according to a report published today – and human behaviour is to blame. (The Independent UK) May 16, 2008

May 10, 2008 - Some News, Views, and Info

Indigenous Speak Out Against Carbon Markets (Inter Press Service) May 4, 2008

Two More Gruesome Weeks Under Colombia's Alvaro Uribe (Latin America News Review) May 7, 2008

The Wages of Left Capitulation to the Democratic Party 1 (Counterpunch) April 26/27, 2008

McCain, Clinton, Obama and the Wages of Left Capitulation to the Democratic Party 2 (Counterpunch) May 9, 2008

Polarizing Bolivia: Santa Cruz Votes on Autonomy (Upside Down World) May 8, 2008

Expanded Undercover Investigation Shows Mistreatment of Downer Cows Is Commonplace at Livestock Auctions (Humane Society of the United States) May 7, 2008

Mumia Abu-Jamal Asks: Who's uncle is really crazy? Uncle Jeremiah or Uncle Sam? (Prison Radio) May 1, 2008

Rockefeller Family Fables (Dissident Voice) May 8, 2008

Burger With a Side of Spies: How Burger King Hired a Sketchy Private Security Firm to Spy on Non-Violent Activists (New York Times) May 7, 2008

Cops, Deaths, and Tasers

By LarryE, Lotus - Surviving A Dark Time, May 4, 2008

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The bottom line fact is that, as I have said more than a dozen times, tasers are dangerous weapons designed to inflict disabling pain and which all too often prove deadly - and which have, exactly as I predicted, become a weapon of domination, one intended to induce meek submission, no longer (as they supposedly were intended to be) an alternative to lethal force but an alternative even to no force. And the risks associated with their use will continue to increase as more police forces obtain them precisely because cops are falsely trained that they are "safe." As a result, and as experience has shown, police simply cannot be trusted to use tasers in the way their proponents insist is their purpose, as a last resort. They should be banned.

Read all of 'Cops, Deaths, and Tasers'. . .

Green Scare State Terrorism

By Stephen Lendman, SteveLendmanBlog, April 28, 2008

In May 2005, FBI Deputy Assistant Director for Counterterrorism John Lewis told a Senate panel that ecoterrorism is "one of today's most serious domestic terrorism threats." Then the FBI's James Jarboe estimated that two organizations (the Earth Liberation Front - ELF and Animal Liberation Front - ALF) committed over 600 criminal acts since 1996, causing over $43 million in damage. For his part, Lewis said both groups committed more than 1100 such acts since 1976, "conservatively" resulting in around $110 million in damages.
What's going on, and is there anything to these charges? Coming from FBI sources makes them highly suspect, especially when there are two types of documented cases:
-- people guilty of non-violent offenses called "terrorism" and given excessively harsh sentences; and most disturbing
-- innocent people targeted, accused, convicted and sentenced to hard time for environmental activism or supporting animal rights; and that's on top of hundreds of other political persecutions and many thousands of innocent people (or petty criminals) in US prisons.

Continue reading 'Green Scare State Terrorism'. . .

New “Green Scare” Legislation Pending in California

By Will Potter, Green is the New Red, April 14, 2008

California has been a hotbed of both legal and illegal activity in the name of animal rights lately.
The largest beef recall in history began here, after an undercover investigation by an animal welfare group. Meanwhile, California universities have been the site of a protracted battle between animal experimenters and underground activists using threats and property destruction. And last week, the secretary of state announced that a proposal to eliminate some of the cruelest confinements in animal agriculture will go before voters in November.
These are disparate tactics, yet they all threaten animal businesses.
Enter Gene Mullin, a member of the California State Assembly and a Democrat, who has introduced AB 2296, the Animal Enterprise Protection Act, to stifle the First Amendment rights of animal advocates. The law would prohibit the posting of publicly available information on activist websites, restrict access to public meetings, and require heavy-handed penalties for non-violent civil disobedience.
All in the name of fighting “terrorism.”

Continue reading 'New “Green Scare” Legislation Pending in California'. . .

Terrorism! Terrorism! They're Everywhere!: Lotus on the Green Scare

By LarryE, Lotus - Surviving a Dark Time, April 5, 2008

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You don’t see the connection? How about that the definition of “terrorism” has been changed and expanded dramatically so that things there were previously property crimes are now tossed into the “Terrorism! Terrorism! Be afraid! They’re everywhere!” pot? As the article noted, “terrorism” used to require “violence perpetrated against non-combatants.” Now all that’s required is for a crime to be “calculated to influence ... government.” By that definition, during Vietnam anyone who burned a draft card was a terrorist.
Or how about the fact that “intentionally damag[ing] or cause[ing] the loss of any real or personal property used by an animal enterprise” is now defined in federal law as “terrorism?” Or the fact that three states now say that, in the words of the article, “any act of destruction aimed at protecting animal rights or punishing ecological despoilers” is terrorism?

Read all of 'Terrorism! Terrorism! They're Everywhere!: Lotus on the Green Scare'. . .

Stop Plan Mexico!

This was posted on youtube by Friends of Brad Will:

Millions Without a Voice

By Amy Goodman, Truthdig, Feb 6, 2008

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Felony disenfranchisement is the practice by state governments of barring people convicted of a felony from voting, even after they have served their time. In Virginia and Kentucky, people convicted of any felony can never vote again (this would include “Scooter” Libby, even though he never went to jail, unless he is pardoned). Eight other states have permanent felony disenfranchisement laws, with some conditions that allow people to rejoin the voter rolls: Alabama, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, Tennessee and Wyoming.
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About 5.3 million U.S. citizens are ineligible to vote due to felony disenfranchisement; 2 million of them are African-American. Of these, 1.4 million are African-American men, which translates into an incredible 13 percent of that population, a rate seven times higher than in the overall population. Forty-eight states have some version of felony disenfranchisement on the books. All bar voting from prison, then go on to bar participation while on parole or probation. Two states, Maine and Vermont, allow prisoners to vote from behind the walls, as does Canada and a number of other countries.
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The youth vote is particularly important, as young people have less invested in the status quo and can look with fresh eyes at long-standing injustices that disenfranchise so many. In this context, one of The Sentencing Project’s predictions bears repeating here: “Given current rates of incarceration, 3 in 10 of the next generation of black men can expect to be disenfranchised at some point in their lifetime. In states that disenfranchise ex-offenders, as many as 40 percent of black men may permanently lose their right to vote.”

Read all of 'Millions Without a Voice'. . .

Retreat by Pro-Democrat Fake Antiwar Lobbies is Setting Back the Antiwar Movement

GP.org, January 24, 2008

Green Party leaders called on Americans who oppose the Iraq War to rebuff an agreement among pro-Democratic 'antiwar' lobbies to scale back pressure to end the war.
"MoveOn.org, Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, and other groups have decided that passing legislation in Congress that does nothing to end the war makes their favorite Democratic candidates look better than demanding action to end the war quickly," said Jason Wallace, Green candidate for the US House in Illinois' 11th District and active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War . "The big myth of the 2008 election is that Democrats are the antiwar candidates. In reality, a vote for a Democrat is a vote for a longer occupation in Iraq and possibly a war with Iran."
According to Politico , several mainstream antiwar groups in a recent K Street meeting have decided on a tactical retreat in the face of Congress's failure to reverse the Bush war agenda.
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Greens also noted that the Democratic Party leadership, including most presidential candidates, have rejected calls for impeachment despite evidence that the Bush Administration's fraudulent justifications for invading Iraq, war crimes, authorization of torture and warrantless surveillance of US citizens, broken treaties, and other abuses of power and violations of the US Constitution.

Read all of 'Retreat by Pro-Democrat Fake Antiwar Lobbies is Setting Back the Antiwar Movement'. . .

Repress U

By Michael Gould-Wartofsky, The Nation, January 10, 2008

Free-speech zones. Taser guns. Hidden cameras. Data mining. A new security curriculum. Private security contractors. Welcome to the homeland security campus.
From Harvard to UCLA, the ivory tower is fast becoming the latest watchtower in Fortress America.

Continue reading 'Repress U'. . .

Neil Fox on The Green Scare

from the youtube description:

Criminal Defense Lawyer Neil Fox speaking on The Green Scare before the Seattle Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild at the University of Washington Law School November 29, 2007.

Interview with Cynthia McKinney on Why She is Running for President and More

San Francisco Bay Area Indy Media, January 8, 2007

Note: The following interview with former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is reprinted from issue No. 268 of the ILC International Newsletter (Jan. 8, 2008), published weekly in multiple languages in Paris. The interview was conducted for the ILC International Newsletter by Alan Benjamin on Jan. 5.
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Question: Sister McKinney, as someone who is running for president of the United States on behalf of the Power to the People electoral coalition, how do you view the recent Iowa caucus?
Cynthia McKinney: I just received a three-page letter from a woman in Tennessee -- a veteran who did three tours of duty in Vietnam. She wrote to say how dissatisfied she is with the level of political discourse in our presidential election, with none of the Democratic or Republican candidates addressing the real issues that she and her family are facing in terms of health care, job offshoring, declining public education, stagnation of wages, and more.
She is looking for real answers and is not getting any from politicians and a media more interested in hype and hot-button issues (such as the "war on terror" or the "war on drugs") than in promoting any serious discussion of policy, much less offering any serious political alternatives.

Read all of 'Interview with Cynthia McKinney on Why She is Running for President and More'. . .

Saudis Confirm Detention of Blogger

By Katherine Zoepf, New York Times, January 2, 2008

An outspoken Saudi blogger is being held for “purposes of interrogation,” the Saudi Interior Ministry confirmed Tuesday.
Gen. Mansour al-Turki, an Interior Ministry spokesman reached by telephone, said the blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, was “being questioned about specific violations of nonsecurity laws.” Mr. Farhan’s blog, which discusses social issues, had become one of the most widely read in Saudi Arabia.
Mr. Farhan, 32, of Jidda, was arrested Dec. 10 at his office, local news sources reported. Two weeks before his arrest, he wrote a letter to friends warning them that it was imminent.
“I was told that there is an official order from a high-ranking official in the Ministry of the Interior to investigate me,” read the letter, which is now posted in English and Arabic on Mr. Farhan’s blog.
Since his arrest, friends have continued to post entries on his Web log (www.alfarhan.org) on his behalf under a banner that reads “Free Fouad” and features his picture.

Continue reading 'Saudis Confirm Detention of Blogger'. . .

N.J. Lawmakers Vote to Ban Death Penalty

By Tom Hester Jr., National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, December 13, 2007

The New Jersey Assembly approved legislation Thursday to abolish the state's death penalty, making Gov. Jon S. Corzine's signature the only step left before the state becomes the first in four decades to ban executions.
Assembly members voted 44-36 to replace the death sentence with life in prison without parole. The state Senate approved the bill Monday.
Corzine, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill within a week.

Continue reading 'N.J. Lawmakers Vote to Ban Death Penalty '. . .