justice - Forum/Discussions - TheBlackList Pub2024-03-29T05:53:55Zhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/feed/tag/justiceJuanita Young speaks on Revolution Books | Makes $1,000 Challengehttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/juanita-young-speaks-on-revolution-books-makes-1-000-challenge2024-02-09T16:26:02.000Z2024-02-09T16:26:02.000ZSteve Yiphttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/SteveYip<div><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><em><strong>Juanita Young speaks on Revolution Books</strong></em></span></p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12377905467,RESIZE_584x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-full" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12377905467,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="298" height="384" alt="12377905467?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a></span><span style="font-size:18pt;">“I’m Juanita Young, mother of Malcolm Ferguson who was murdered by a NY cop in March of 2000. This devastated me, but I fought through the pain and sorrow and became active fighting for justice for my son and for all the other people who have been murdered by the police. This is how I met the Revolution more than 20 years ago and how I found Revolution Books. The Revcoms were always out there standing with the people who were fighting against injustice, not just around police killing people, but also for abortion rights, in support of people in Palestine, everything. And they always told me and everybody else that we needed a revolution to get rid of the system that causes all these horrors. And Revolution Books is a place where people get together to talk about the things the system is doing to people here and around the world, why these things happen again and again and what we need to do to stop all this once and for all. I’ve been part of revolutionary celebrations there and been on panels at events there.</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:18pt;">“As we go into 2024, this revolution is needed more than ever. That means we have to make sure that Revolution Books survives and thrives. That’s why I am donating $1,000 to Revolution Books. I challenge everybody who wants to see police murder ended, everybody who wants to see all the shit this system does to people ended once and for all, to join me in donating to Revolution Books.”</span></p><p> </p><p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><em><a href="https://conta.cc/42uHZi4" target="_blank">THANK YOU from all of us at Revolution Books NYC</a></em></strong></span></p></div>Reparations Road to the White Househttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/reparations-road-to-the-white-house-12016-08-17T02:07:33.000Z2016-08-17T02:07:33.000ZBrotha Lukatahttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/BrothaLukata<div>Greeting Everyone,We have great news! A new Facebook page to promote community involvement in the Reparations Road to the White House action was recently created. Check out the countdown tab on the left of the page to see how many days we have until the Reparations Road to the White House Rally and March to deliver HR 1011 to President Obama on November 5th!In addition to that, there is a sign-up link on the top of the page for those who have not completed the RRWH survey. If you have already completed the survey, you should have received an invitation earlier today asking you to join a group along with a group number and description.Group 1=Delivering the Resolution to the PresidentGroup 2=Developing the 50-State StrategyGroup 3=Engaging the Presidential CandidatesGroup 4=FundraisingGroup 5=Increase National Awareness of the Reparations Road to the White HouseGroup 6=Mobilizing the Masses for the November 5th Rally and MarchIf you haven’t completed the survey but still want to contribute to the discussion, please reply back to this email so we can add you to a group ASAP. We would like for everyone to use these groups as much as possible to introduce yourselves {if you want}, share knowledge, and bounce ideas off of one another. Along with these groups, N’COBRA and other organizations will host meetings, group emails, chats, social media posts and other forms of communication to keep the general public updated on our efforts.Please mark this event on your calendarNext Friday, August 19th, there will be a meeting @the Black Star ProjectLocated at 3509 S King Dr #2B, Chicago, IL 60653 at 6:30pmPlease enter through the back of the building where the parking lot is located, and take the elevator up to the Second Floor.Thank you allLet’s get to work!Like and follow the Facebook Page Reparations Road to the White House<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Reparations-Road-to-the-White-House-307498772936262/">https://www.facebook.com/Reparations-Road-to-the-White-House-307498772936262/</a>Encourage individuals in your community to sign up and join a committee at this link<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lyUUXtQhc_wvnn-AOFJ1uhBGmQMS8QpoGglF_Q8GNAc/edit?usp=drive_web">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lyUUXtQhc_wvnn-AOFJ1uhBGmQMS8QpoGglF_Q8GNAc/edit?usp=drive_web</a>--N'COBRA Chicago Chapter<a href="http://www.ncobra.net">www.ncobra.net</a> <a href="http://www.ncobra.org">www.ncobra.org</a> (archives)Join NCOBRA Now! Annual membership -$25.00<a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XPCCDWCHD4VV8">https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XPCCDWCHD4VV8</a>Or make a donation to our Reparation Enforcer Campaign<a href="https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/312Gt4/ab/7568U8">https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/312Gt4/ab/7568U8</a></div>Reparations Road to the White Househttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/reparations-road-to-the-white-house2016-08-17T02:07:15.000Z2016-08-17T02:07:15.000ZBrotha Lukatahttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/BrothaLukata<div>Greeting Everyone,We have great news! A new Facebook page to promote community involvement in the Reparations Road to the White House action was recently created. Check out the countdown tab on the left of the page to see how many days we have until the Reparations Road to the White House Rally and March to deliver HR 1011 to President Obama on November 5th!In addition to that, there is a sign-up link on the top of the page for those who have not completed the RRWH survey. If you have already completed the survey, you should have received an invitation earlier today asking you to join a group along with a group number and description.Group 1=Delivering the Resolution to the PresidentGroup 2=Developing the 50-State StrategyGroup 3=Engaging the Presidential CandidatesGroup 4=FundraisingGroup 5=Increase National Awareness of the Reparations Road to the White HouseGroup 6=Mobilizing the Masses for the November 5th Rally and MarchIf you haven’t completed the survey but still want to contribute to the discussion, please reply back to this email so we can add you to a group ASAP. We would like for everyone to use these groups as much as possible to introduce yourselves {if you want}, share knowledge, and bounce ideas off of one another. Along with these groups, N’COBRA and other organizations will host meetings, group emails, chats, social media posts and other forms of communication to keep the general public updated on our efforts.Please mark this event on your calendarNext Friday, August 19th, there will be a meeting @the Black Star ProjectLocated at 3509 S King Dr #2B, Chicago, IL 60653 at 6:30pmPlease enter through the back of the building where the parking lot is located, and take the elevator up to the Second Floor.Thank you allLet’s get to work!Like and follow the Facebook Page Reparations Road to the White House<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Reparations-Road-to-the-White-House-307498772936262/">https://www.facebook.com/Reparations-Road-to-the-White-House-307498772936262/</a>Encourage individuals in your community to sign up and join a committee at this link<a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lyUUXtQhc_wvnn-AOFJ1uhBGmQMS8QpoGglF_Q8GNAc/edit?usp=drive_web">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1lyUUXtQhc_wvnn-AOFJ1uhBGmQMS8QpoGglF_Q8GNAc/edit?usp=drive_web</a>--N'COBRA Chicago Chapter<a href="http://www.ncobra.net">www.ncobra.net</a> <a href="http://www.ncobra.org">www.ncobra.org</a> (archives)Join NCOBRA Now! Annual membership -$25.00<a href="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XPCCDWCHD4VV8">https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XPCCDWCHD4VV8</a>Or make a donation to our Reparation Enforcer Campaign<a href="https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/312Gt4/ab/7568U8">https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/312Gt4/ab/7568U8</a></div>Shannon Nyamodi's Mother: "Dunn, NC Police Beat Me"https://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/shannon-nyamodi-s-mother-dunn-nc-police-beat-me2014-03-17T11:43:12.000Z2014-03-17T11:43:12.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><div style="color:#222222;font-family:'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;"><br />The weeping mother whose two children were sold into slavery separate from her on the Academy Award-winning movie "12 Years a Slave" was told by the mistress of the plantation where she was conveyed, "Hush; don't carry on so. You'll forget about those children in no time."</div><div style="color:#222222;font-family:'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;"></div><div style="color:#222222;font-family:'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;"><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-glD5Tw__VPY/UyUAS7cZRiI/AAAAAAAAO_Q/pRqrVCMiCNk/s1600/Elizabeth+Crudup+Announcement.jpg" style="color:#1b8be0;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;text-decoration:none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-glD5Tw__VPY/UyUAS7cZRiI/AAAAAAAAO_Q/pRqrVCMiCNk/s1600/Elizabeth+Crudup+Announcement.jpg" height="327" style="border:1px solid #dddddd;color:#222222;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;height:auto;line-height:1.7;padding:6px;" width="400" /></a></div><div style="color:#222222;font-family:'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:inherit;line-height:1.7;margin-bottom:.825em;"><br style="font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;" /><br />Katherine Crudup, mother of Shannon Nyamodi, 19, was allegedly beaten and arrested by a Dunn, North Carolina police officer on March 14, 2014, while two other police officers look. She and a friend were parking at a Holiday Inn parking lot for a meeting when Katherine Crudup heard someone knock on her car window. She said that upon looking out of the window, she could see the uniform but not the officer's face. She partially rolled down her window and asked why the officer was beating on her window. He responded by ordering her out of the car. She asked what she had done. He responded by again ordering her out of the car with the added threat that he would remove her from the car if she did not exit on her own.<br /><br style="font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;" /><br />After that, the story gets too horrific for me to describe. If she is able, Katherine Crudup will relay her ordeal on the "Human Rights for Prisoners March" Sunday, March 16, at 3pm EST, guest call-in no: (347) 857-3293, on "Human Rights Demand" Blogtalkradio channel.<br /><a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/humanrightsdemand/2014/03/16/human-rights-for-prisoners-march" style="color:#1b8be0;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;text-decoration:none;">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/humanrightsdemand/2014/03/16/human-rights-for-prisoners-march</a><br /><br style="font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;" /><br />Katherine's teenage son, Shannon Nyamodi, was arrested at age 18, not long after his high school graduation, for the shooting of a Caucasian woman who he actually helped. The People's Champion reports that Rhonda McClean was shot in the face at point blank range and robbed of nearly $65,000.00 on August 16, 2013. Shannon was visiting a friend in a house on the cul-de-sac. The gunshot victim stumbled to the house where Shannon was visiting and collapsed on the porch. Shannon helped Rhonda into the house where his friend and other persons lived, and 911 was called. Shannon waved the police and other emergency responders to the house. When questioned, the woman said her daughter was responsible for her injury. Later the same day, Shannon and his family were surprised when he, the good Samaritan in this story, was arrested for the crime.</div><div style="color:#222222;font-family:'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;"></div><div style="color:#222222;font-family:'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;"><br /><span style="background-color:#FFFFFF;">Rhonda McLean reportedly said during Shannon's hearing that he was not the person who shot her and that he actually helped her. Rhonda's teenage daughter, who allegedly hired someone to kill and rob Rhonda, is reportedly already in custody serving a two-year sentence. Rhonda has apparently moved out of town and has now reportedly changed her story to implicate Shannon. Crudup does not know if Rhonda was also beaten and intimidated.</span><br /><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Shannon Nyamodi was an electrical apprentice with a clean criminal background who planned to enter military service. He has been indefinitely detained without trial since his arrest. Elizabeth Crudup continuously seeks help for Shannon - help that is not forthcoming from Maitri (MIke) Klinkosum, the defense attorney who Shannon's family retained with "enough money to purchase a house," according to Crudup. She said that Klinkosum seems to work with the prosecutor to force Shannon into a plea deal on the false charges rather than filing a motion for a reduced bond ($500k) and enforcing Shannon's right for a speedy trial.</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Shannon has been arrested without trial for 1.5 years, in solitary confinement torture for most of his incarceration. Crudup learned that Attorney Kilkosum recently applied for a continuance in her son's case. When Shannon, and later his aunt, tried to fire Klinkosum, the attorney allegedly threatened them by saying, "If I am fired from Shannon's case, I will work with the prosecutor against him to see that he gets at least 30 years." Naturally, Crudup feels that it was wrong for Shannon's defense attorney to threaten her family and delay Shannon's trial while he suffers in solitary confinement, and she has been vocal about that on numerous radio shows.</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Crudup said that as the police officer repeatedly body-slammed her against the police car, he said, "So you think you're a lawyer, huh?"</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />It seems more urgent than ever for Shannon's prosecutor to either acknowledge the lack of evidence to take the case against Shannon to trial or try Shannon on the charges (with a different defense attorney). Shannon Nyamodi must not be tortured into making a false confession, and his mother must not be brutalized and intimidated to stop her advocacy for Shannon's Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights.</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Google "Shannon Nyamodi North Carolina" for more information. This high profile court case that smacks of Old South racism is being ignored by mainstream media, but news about it is going forward on the Internet and would already be viral if censorship were not applied to stories exposing injustice to African Americans and people who lack wealth. We trust that persons exposed to this information will help Katherine Crudup's beating and arrest to become more widely known. Since 2014 is an election year, one might hope that local and national officials will intervene before the Shannon Nyamodi case gets more tragic than it already is.</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Paragraph 1 repeated:<br /><span style="font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;">The weeping mother whose two children were sold into slavery separate from her on the Academy Award-winning movie "12 Years a Slave" was told by the mistress of the plantation where she was conveyed, "Hush; don't carry on so. You'll forget about those children in no time."</span></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Mary Neal, director</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Human Rights for Prisoners March</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br /><a href="http://humanrightsforprisonersmarch.blogspot.com/" style="color:#1b8be0;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;text-decoration:none;">http://HumanRightsforPrisonersMarch.blogspot.com</a></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br />Website: Wrongful Death of Larry Neal</div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br /><a href="http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com/" style="color:#1b8be0;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;text-decoration:none;">http://WrongfulDeathofLarryNeal.com</a></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7IIN95BnaTw/UyUTP888-KI/AAAAAAAAO_g/j_q1L0zCrxI/s1600/FreeShannonNyamodi.jpg" style="color:#1b8be0;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;line-height:1.7;text-decoration:none;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7IIN95BnaTw/UyUTP888-KI/AAAAAAAAO_g/j_q1L0zCrxI/s1600/FreeShannonNyamodi.jpg" height="140" style="border:1px solid #dddddd;color:#222222;font-style:inherit;font-weight:inherit;height:auto;line-height:1.7;padding:6px;" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"></div><div style="background-color:#FFFFFF;"><br /><a href="http://freespeakblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/shannon-nyamodis-mother-dunn-nc-police.html">http://freespeakblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/shannon-nyamodis-mother-dunn-nc-police.html</a></div></div></div>Signs of a broken systemhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/signs-of-a-broken-system2013-02-20T16:40:59.000Z2013-02-20T16:40:59.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><div class="introduction"><br /><span class="sw-author">Kay Sweeney</span> <br />explains what a scandal in Boston involving falsified drug evidence says<br /> about the corruption of the criminal justice system overall.</div><div class="dateline"><br />February 20, 2013</div><div class="body"><br /><span class="sw image inline-right" style="width:242px;"><span class="image-242"><img alt="Annie Dookhan being arrested at her home" class="image-242" src="http://socialistworker.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/242/images/g12c000000000000000115865f0f637765ca226564e8feae60ed826a0e8.jpg" title="Annie Dookhan being arrested at her home" height="341" width="242" /></span><span class="caption">Annie Dookhan being arrested at her home</span></span><br /><br />IN THE aftermath of the discovery that a Boston chemist falsified <br />evidence in drug cases, the state public health commissioner has <br />resigned and thousands of cases are being re-opened. As many as 34,000 <br />people charged with drug crimes in Massachusetts may be affected.<br /><br />Last September, 34-year-old Annie Dookhan stood in front of a judge <br />on charges of falsifying drug evidence, including adding cocaine to a <br />drug sample that previously did not include cocaine and increasing the <br />weight of a drug sample.<br /><br />The now-closed Hinton State Laboratory Institute in Boston processed <br />samples from people searched and arrested throughout Eastern <br />Massachusetts. Dookhan worked as a chemist at the lab since 2003, and <br />for many years had been the lab superstar due to her ability to test <br />more than 500 drug samples per month. By comparison, other chemists <br />managed only 50 to 150 per month.<br /><br />It turns out that her high productivity was due to the fact that she <br />was only actually testing a fraction of her assignments. She confessed <br />to state police that she would collect as many as 25 drug samples which <br />looked similar, and then test only a few of them. If a few showed signs <br />of cocaine or heroin, she labeled them all as having tested positive for<br /> these substances.<br /><br />When other chemists double-checked her work and found discrepancies, <br />she mixed up the samples, for instance, adding cocaine so one would test<br /> positive. Over her nine years in the lab, she was responsible for <br />testing more than 60,000 drug samples. Thousands more tests may have <br />been corrupted--Dookhan admitted to forging the initials of other <br />chemists and skipping required quality checks on drug-testing machines.<br /><br />The local media has portrayed the scandal as the result of one "rogue<br /> chemist" in an otherwise fine system of law enforcement. But there's <br />more to the story. A Massachusetts public defender with years of <br />experience defending clients--many of them charged with possessing drugs<br /> tested in Dookhan's lab--helped explain the details behind the scandal.<br /> The defender asked to remain anonymous for employment reaons.<br /><br />There are several scenarios under which people were falsely charged <br />with drug crimes during this scandal. Many of the accused did possess <br />drugs, but in smaller quantities than what they were charged with, or <br />different drugs altogether. The result was they got unfairly harsh <br />sentences. Some of those charged didn't have drugs at all, but were <br />arrested after police mistook medications or harmless substances, such <br />as foot powder, for drugs.<br /><br />Due to the sample-mixing that occurred in the lab, it's impossible to<br /> know how many people are innocent of the crimes for which they were <br />convicted, even if they pled guilty.<br /><br />The vast majority of people charged with drug crimes never go to <br />trial. If a sample found on their person tests positive for cocaine, <br />heroin, marijuana or another controlled substance, defendants are <br />advised to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence.<br /><br />The consequences of having a drug conviction can be devastating. In <br />addition to jail time and probation requirements, convicted drug <br />offenders can have their driver's license suspended, be evicted from <br />public housing, and lose financial aid in colleges or universities. <br />Immigrants may also be deported or permanently lose the ability to apply<br /> for citizenship.<br /><br />- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<br /><br />GIVEN THAT the justice system is supposed to be based on "innocent <br />until proven guilty," and proving guilt is impossible after the scandal <br />in Massachusetts revealed, it would make sense to throw out all the <br />convictions connected to this lab. Unfortunately, Massachusetts is doing<br /> the opposite--instead, its overwhelming the legal system by reopening <br />and re-examining thousands of cases.<br /><br />More than 250 people imprisoned for drug crimes have been released, <br />but only after they paid $200 to $500 bail each, and on the condition <br />that they wear GPS-equipped ankle bracelets and adhere to a 10 p.m. <br />curfew and other restrictions.<br /><br />Public defendants in Massachusetts are overwhelmed, as they are <br />supposed to go through a list of tens of thousands more people who <br />aren't currently in jail, but who were convicted of drug crimes in <br />Eastern Massachusetts within the past nine years. As cases are being <br />reopened, courts are holding special sessions, calling retired judges <br />back into service to deal with the overload.<br /><br />It will take years for the legal system to sort through these cases. <br />For some, justice is impossible--for instance, some immigrants have <br />already been deported for drug crimes they may have not committed.<br /><br />There were many factors that led to this crisis. For years, lab <br />supervisors turned a blind eye when concerns about Dookhan's <br />hyper-productivity were raised--or that she didn't have the master's <br />degree in chemistry that she claimed to have. More disturbing was the <br />fact that prosecutors cheered Dookhan on when she gave them the results <br />they wanted.<br /><br />In theory, crime labs are supposed to be independent, and official <br />policy bars direct contact between chemists and prosecutors. These <br />policies weren't enforced. E-mails between Dookhan and prosecutors were <br />brought into the public eye by the <i>Boston Globe</i>. It became clear <br />that Dookhan felt she was part of the prosecution team and told one <br />assistant district attorney that her goal was to get drug dealers off <br />the streets. She even came up with fake job titles for herself, such as <br />"special agent of operations" and an "on-call terrorism supervisor."<br /><br />But Dookham isn't the only one at fault. Prosecutors e-mailed her to <br />ask directly about specific cases, and praised her when samples tested <br />positive or were of high weights.<br /><br />For instance, prosecutor George Papachristos e-mailed Dookhan to say <br />he needed a particular sample of marijuana to weight over 50 pounds so <br />he could charge those arrested with drug trafficking. "Any help would be<br /> greatly appreciated!" he added at the end of his e-mail. When Dookhan <br />found that the sample weight 80 pounds, Papachristos thanked her and <br />wrote, "Glad we are on the same team."<br /><br />Another prosecutor, Allison Callahan, promised to take Dookhan out to<br /> a fancy bar after she found one drug sample was a high quantity of <br />marijuana.<br /><br />- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -<br /><br />WHILE A state investigation is being conducted into the drug lab <br />scandal, it doesn't go far enough. According to the public defender <br />interviewed:<br /><blockquote><br />One big problem is that the attorney general's office is in charge of <br />this investigation, and when people who are imprisoned based on this <br />evidence start suing the state, the attorney general's office is going <br />to be defending the state from these lawsuits. So they are in the <br />position in which they want to minimize the damage as much as they can. <br />They want to make this about a rogue chemist--they want to make this <br />about one bad apple. They don't want to acknowledge the incredible lack <br />of oversight.</blockquote><br />This may be the largest scandal involving the legal system in <br />Massachusetts in decades. But it is only one of many in the drug war. <br />Only a few months after Dookhan was arrested, a chemist in a drug lab in<br /> Amherst, Mass. was charged with tampering evidence by removing drug <br />samples for her own personal use.<br /><br />In the war on drugs, there is pressure to find as many people as <br />possible as guilty of drug crimes. And in Boston, as in other cities, <br />the vast majority of people searched and arrested are people of color.<br /><br />The role of racism in this scandal must not be underestimated. If <br />34,000 mostly white people in Boston were convicted based on faulty <br />evidence, surely we would see more outrage from city officials, but <br />because most victims are poor, Black and Latino, they are treated as <br />guilty, regardless of the corruption behind their convictions.<br /><br />In Massachusetts, there is a simple solution--recognize that the drug<br /> war has failed, dismiss the convictions, and redirect the funds <br />allocated to process these tens of thousands of cases instead to <br />programs which help people suffering with substance abuse to recover and<br /> reintegrate into the community.<br /><br /><a href="http://socialistworker.org/2013/02/20/signs-of-a-broken-system">http://socialistworker.org/2013/02/20/signs-of-a-broken-system</a></div></div>FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) pursuant to the PChttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/fbi-documents-just-obtained-by-the-partnership-for-civil-justice2012-12-23T17:34:21.000Z2012-12-23T17:34:21.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><p><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66465"><br /><a href="http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/155/d04272da617f4ff9ada23d1339bcaf64/l.jpg"><img width="325" border="0" src="http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/155/d04272da617f4ff9ada23d1339bcaf64/l.jpg" alt="l.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /></font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;"><br /></font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;">FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) pursuant to the PCJF’s Freedom of Information Act demands reveal that from its inception, the FBI treated the Occupy movement as a potential criminal and terrorist threat even though the agency acknowledges in documents that organizers explicitly called for peaceful protest and did “not condone the use of violence” at occupy protests.</font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;">The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conducting surveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country. </font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;">“This production, which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a window into the nationwide scope of the FBI’s surveillance, monitoring, and reporting on peaceful protestors organizing with the Occupy movement,” stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF). “These documents show that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are treating protests against the corporate and banking structure of America as potential criminal and terrorist activity. These documents also show these federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”</font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;">“The documents are heavily redacted, and it is clear from the production that the FBI is withholding far more material. We are filing an appeal challenging this response and demanding full disclosure to the public of the records of this operation,” stated Heather Benno, staff attorney with the PCJF.</font></p><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">As early as August 19, 2011, the FBI in New York was meeting with the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the Occupy Wall Street protests that wouldn’t start for another month. By September, prior to the start of the OWS, the FBI was notifying businesses that they might be the focus of an OWS protest.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The FBI’s Indianapolis division released a “Potential Criminal Activity Alert” on September 15, 2011, even though they acknowledged that no specific protest date had been scheduled in Indiana. The documents show that the Indianapolis division of the FBI was coordinating with “All Indiana State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies,” as well as the “Indiana Intelligence Fusion Center,” the FBI “Directorate of Intelligence” and other national FBI coordinating mechanisms.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">Documents show the spying abuses of the FBI’s “Campus Liaison Program” in which the FBI in Albany and the Syracuse Joint Terrorism Task Force disseminated information to “sixteen (16) different campus police officials,” and then “six (6) additional campus police officials.” Campus officials were in contact with the FBI for information on OWS. A representative of the State University of New York at Oswego contacted the FBI for information on the OWS protests and reported to the FBI on the SUNY-Oswego Occupy encampment made up of students and professors.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">Documents released show coordination between the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and corporate America. They include a report by the Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC), described by the federal government as “a strategic partnership between the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector,” discussing the OWS protests at the West Coast ports to “raise awareness concerning this type of criminal activity.” The DSAC report shows the nature of secret collaboration between American intelligence agencies and their corporate clients - the document contains a “handling notice” that the information is “meant for use primarily within the corporate security community. Such messages shall not be released in either written or oral form to the media, the general public or other personnel…” (The DSAC document was also obtained by the Northern California ACLU which has sought local FBI surveillance files.)</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) reported to the DSAC on the relationship between OWS and organized labor for the port actions. The NCIS describes itself as “an elite worldwide federal law enforcement organization” whose “mission is to investigate and defeat criminal, terrorist, and foreign intelligence threats to the United States Navy and Marine Corps ashore, afloat and in cyberspace.” The NCIS also assists with the transport of Guantanamo prisoners.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">DSAC issued several tips to its corporate clients on “civil unrest” which it defines as ranging from “small, organized rallies to large-scale demonstrations and rioting.” It advised to dress conservatively, avoid political discussions and “avoid all large gatherings related to civil issues. Even seemingly peaceful rallies can spur violent activity or be met with resistance by security forces. Bystanders may be arrested or harmed by security forces using water cannons, tear gas or other measures to control crowds.”</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The FBI in Anchorage reported from a Joint Terrorism Task Force meeting of November 3, 2011, about Occupy activities in Anchorage.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">A port Facility Security Officer in Anchorage coordinated with the FBI to attend the meeting of protestors and gain intelligence on the planning of the port actions. He was advised to request the presence of an Anchorage Police Department official to also attend the event. The FBI Special Agent told the undercover private operative that he would notify the Joint Terrorism Task Force and that he would provide a point of contact at the Anchorage Police Department.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Jacksonville, Florida FBI prepared a Domestic Terrorism briefing on the “spread of the Occupy Wall Street Movement” in October 2011. The intelligence meeting discussed Occupy venues identifying “Daytona, Gainesville and Ocala Resident Agency territories as portions …where some of the highest unemployment rates in Florida continue to exist.”</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Tampa, Florida FBI “Domestic Terrorism” liaison participated with the Tampa Police Department’s monthly intelligence meeting in which Occupy Lakeland, Occupy Polk County and Occupy St. Petersburg were discussed. They reported on an individual “leading the Occupy Tampa” and plans for travel to Gainesville for a protest planning meeting, as well as on Veterans for Peace plans to protest at MacDill Air Force Base.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Federal Reserve in Richmond appears to have had personnel surveilling OWS planning. They were in contact with the FBI in Richmond to “pass on information regarding the movement known as occupy Wall Street.” There were repeated communications “to pass on updates of the events and decisions made during the small rallies and the following information received from the Capital Police Intelligence Unit through JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force).”</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Virginia FBI was collecting intelligence on the OWS movement for dissemination to the Virginia Fusion Center and other Intelligence divisions.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Milwaukee division of the FBI was coordinating with the Ashwaubenon Public Safety division in Green Bay Wisconsin regarding Occupy.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Memphis FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force met to discuss “domestic terrorism” threats, including, “Aryan Nations, Occupy Wall Street, and Anonymous.”</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;">The Birmingham, AL division of the FBI sent communications to HAZMAT teams regarding the Occupy Wall Street movement.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66459">The Jackson, Mississippi division of the FBI attended a meeting of the Bank Security Group in Biloxi, MS with multiple private banks and the Biloxi Police Department, in which they discussed an announced protest for “National Bad Bank Sit-In-Day” on December 7, 2011.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66458">The Denver, CO FBI and its Bank Fraud Working Group met and were briefed on Occupy Wall Street in November 2011. Members of the Working Group include private financial institutions and local area law enforcement.</div><div style="margin-top:1em;margin-bottom:1em;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66456">Jackson, MS Joint Terrorism Task Force issued a “Counterterrorism Preparedness” alert. This heavily redacted document includes the description, “To document…the Occupy Wall Street Movement.”</div><p><font size="undefined" style="margin:1em 0px;padding:0px 0px 0px 40px;color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66457"></font><a style="text-decoration:underline;color:#2862c5;" href="http://www2.justiceonline.org/site/R?i=2U9wI3AcGadym-brDHXXaQ" target="_blank" title="FBI files"><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;">You can read the FBI - OWS documents here where we have uploaded them in searchable format for public viewing.</font></a><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66455">The PCJF filed Freedom of Information Act demands with multiple federal law enforcement agencies in the fall of 2011 as the Occupy crackdown began. The FBI initially attempted to limit its search to only one limited record keeping index. Recognizing this as a common tactic used by the FBI to conduct an inadequate search, the PCJF pressed forward demanding searches be performed of the FBI headquarters as well as FBI field offices nationwide. </font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;margin:1em 0em;" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1356093719393_66454">The PCJF will continue to push for public disclosure of the government’s spy files and will release documents as they are obtained.</font><font size="undefined" style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;font-size:16px;">-- </font><font style="color:#454545;font-family:'Courier New', courier, monaco, monospace, sans-serif;" size="4"><a style="text-decoration:underline;color:#2862c5;" href="http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/jerichocointelpro" target="_blank">SIGN THE JERICHO COINTELPRO PETITION!</a><br /><br />Free All Political Prisoners!<br /><a style="text-decoration:underline;color:#2862c5;" href="http://www.jerichony.org/" target="_blank">www.jerichony.org</a></font></p></div>Elusive Justice & Davontae Sanford by Prison Reform Movementhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/elusive-justice-davontae-sanford-by-prison-reform-movement2012-05-11T01:44:06.000Z2012-05-11T01:44:06.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><p><object width="210" height="105" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="never" ></param><param name="allowNetworking" value="internal" ></param><param name="wmode" value="opaque" ></param><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" ></param><param name="flashvars" value="file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fprison-reform-movement%2F2012%2F04%2F28%2Felusive-justice-davontae-sanford%2fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" ></param><embed wmode="opaque" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogtalkradio.com%2Fprison-reform-movement%2F2012%2F04%2F28%2Felusive-justice-davontae-sanford%2fplaylist.xml&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" allowscriptaccess="never" allownetworking="internal"></embed> </object> </p><div style="font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:220px;">Listen to <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com">internet radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/prison-reform-movement">Prison Reform Movement</a> on Blog Talk Radio</div><p> <br />A Hitman, Vincent Smothers has confessed to all the murders and is willing to now testify in court....but Judge Sullivan is NOT allowing this happen. Davontae is INNOCENT.</p><p>Join myself, UK Advocate Darcy Delaproser, Taminko Sanford and Valerie Benson ( sister of Leon Benson) as we discuss Justice, false confessions, and human rights</p></div>DAVONTAE SANFORD – BRING HIM HOME!https://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/davontae-sanford-bring-him-home2012-05-11T01:41:00.000Z2012-05-11T01:41:00.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><p><img src="http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/528632_382215888487395_100000969601799_1011641_1287037732_a.jpg" alt="528632_382215888487395_100000969601799_1011641_1287037732_a.jpg" /><br /> <br /> A nation that prides itself as having the best justice system in the <br /> world should tolerate no room for corruption, lies and misconduct that <br /> sends an innocent child to prison for a crime he did not commit. Not <br /> even for a day, much less 37-90 years in prison.<br /> <br /> <br /> And if we remain silent in the face of that injustice, we are <br /> committing a greater crime than the oppressors by not standing up, hold <br /> our heads high, and fight for his life. For the life we save today may <br /> very well be our sons’ and daughters’ tomorrow. And in the end we are <br /> defending not only his rights, but rights of each and every one of us to<br /> due process and equality under the law.<br /> <br /> <br /> Indeed, one of the most fundamental principles under our Constitution<br /> says that no man, woman, or child should be deprived of life, liberty <br /> or property without due process of law. The inalienable right to liberty<br /> draws from that principle of due process – a principle the new founded <br /> nation saw fit to include in our Constitution as a covenant to the <br /> people that our government would never commit the sins of the British <br /> Crown in denying its citizens their inalienable right to liberty.<br /> <br /> <br /> We stand here today to remind this prosecutor and her minions next <br /> door at 1300 Beaubien who stole Davontae Sanford’s liberty without due <br /> process of law that those guarantees are not written in our federal <br /> Constitution for mere window dressing! A child who was stolen from his <br /> mother’s embrace and given to the state as a slave in violation of due <br /> process of law is an act of wickedness, treachery and deceit by the <br /> highest levels of government on this corner!<br /> <br /> <br /> Today, ladies and gentlemen, we come on the authority of a power <br /> higher than any judge of this court, soldiers we are with truth as our <br /> weapon and courage as our armor to stand before this court and tell the <br /> world what the Wayne County Prosecutor and Detroit Police have lied and <br /> denied about for five years now. And in that endeavor, we will not <br /> cower, we will not whisper and we will not be afraid. For truth is our <br /> guiding post.<br /> <br /> <br /> Here today we stand at the Crossroads of Justice and Righteousness, <br /> for we are guided by an almighty hand to stand here and condemn the <br /> Wayne County Prosecutor and the Detroit Police for their enormous <br /> crimes!<br /> <br /> <br /> Due process and liberty are inalienable rights to us all. Those are <br /> sacred principles written in our Constitution and sung from the hearts <br /> of souls like Dr. King, Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick <br /> Douglass, and far away heroes like Nelson Mandela, Ghandi and Che <br /> Guevara. It is a universal language understood by all mankind. Liberty –<br /> more valuable than gold. As Patrick Henry, one of the nation’s founding<br /> fathers once remarked, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”<br /> <br /> <br /> And it is on the shoulders of giants like these heroes that we draw <br /> the courage today to condemn the shameful misdeeds of the Wayne County <br /> Prosecutor and Detroit Police in stealing liberty and depriving due <br /> process of law from 14 year old Davontae Sanford. Shame on you all!<br /> <br /> <br /> When government begins to assault our freedom, we must fight to <br /> defend it, lest the nation descends into the abyss of tyranny. For sure,<br /> they who are corrupt have committed a tremendous dishonor to the <br /> people, are the greatest threat to our freedoms, and have declared war <br /> on liberty. Indeed, when government descends into tyranny and deprives <br /> people of their right to due process and a fair trial, freedom is on the<br /> throes of extinction.<br /> <br /> <br /> Nearly five years ago, on September 17, 2007, Davontae Sanford, a <br /> fourteen year old mentally disabled boy who could only read on a second <br /> grade level, and blind in one eye, left his home in his pajamas shortly <br /> after 1 a.m. to investigate police activity at a home on Runyon Street <br /> not far from his home. Curiously, as most children would do, Davontae <br /> walked up to the scene and asked one of the officers what was going on. <br /> One of the officers told him, “You know what’s going on,” and took him <br /> into custody.<br /> <br /> <br /> Ever since that day, that fateful day, Davontae has suffered a <br /> tremendous injustice, ladies and gentlemen. After hours of <br /> interrogations that began at 4 a.m. and again at 9:30 p.m. that <br /> following day, and after two police-prepared statements were put in <br /> front of this 14 year old kid and told this is what he did, Davontae was<br /> instructed to adopt the police officer’s typewritten confessions that <br /> sent him to prison for 37-90 years – a virtual life sentence for a kid <br /> who was only 14 years old. Tragically, he did not realize what they had <br /> just done to him in that interrogation room.<br /> <br /> <br /> In the first statement prepared at 4 a.m. by police, Davontae’s role <br /> in the killing was not clear at all. He does not even place himself at <br /> the scene of the crime. They knew they had a problem getting a <br /> conviction with that statement because it was seriously lacking any <br /> evidence of admissions of guilt to anything. So they were not satisfied,<br /> ladies and gentlemen.<br /> <br /> <br /> Seventeen hours later, at 9:30 p.m., they picked him up again, and <br /> prepared another statement in which they told Davontae he actually <br /> helped commit the murders and had him sign a confession to it all. <br /> Davontae, who suffered from a reading comprehension disability, never <br /> read either statement. It was read to him in a leading manner and he was<br /> told to agree to its accuracy.<br /> <br /> <br /> Now, never mind that the interrogations were done in violation of <br /> Michigan law that required a parent or attorney present for a child <br /> under the age of 16 to ensure the proceedings were done without <br /> violating his right to remain silent or to seek the assistance of <br /> counsel. But we know from having watched the video of the interrogation <br /> and having read the two statements prepared by Detroit Police, Davontae <br /> did not confess to anything. Information from the crime scene was fed to<br /> him by the interrogating officer who then leadingly asked Davontae if <br /> the statements were true. Davontae, willing to please his interrogator, <br /> answered affirmatively. And this they call a confession? Don’t insult us<br /> with that nonsense!<br /> <br /> <br /> In the interval between 4 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. interrogations, Detroit <br /> Police, realizing they had a mentally disabled kid, employed a buddy <br /> system whereby they took him to the Coney Island, let him play on the <br /> computers in their office, won his trust and deceived him into believing<br /> he would be a big man if he confessed to the murders on Runyon Street. <br /> Davontae answered affirmatively to their questions to please his <br /> interrogators, believing they would let him go home. You can’t blame a <br /> child under those circumstances! Instead, look at the officers’ conduct!<br /> <br /> <br /> But Detroit Police got sloppy. Oh yes, they got very sloppy. They <br /> induced Davontae to identify four accomplices in his statements but <br /> against whom the prosecutor never filed charges the moment those <br /> accomplices’ alibi defenses stood up. If the accomplice portion of <br /> Davontae’s confession was not true, would that not cause you to question<br /> the reliability of his entire statement? Of course, his version of <br /> events were not reliable!<br /> <br /> <br /> In addition, ladies and gentlemen, ballistics evidence at the crime <br /> scene seriously undermined the statements in which the officers induced <br /> Davontae to say he used a Mini-14 to help kill the victims. It is <br /> undisputed, however, that Mini-14 casings were not found at the scene. <br /> It is also undisputed that police never found the Mini-14 they say in <br /> Davontae’s statement that he used. Nor for that matter did the <br /> prosecution ever argue that Davontae threw the gun away. He did not <br /> throw the gun away, ladies and gentlemen, because he never possessed <br /> that firearm, he was never at the Runyon Street house, he did not commit<br /> those murders, and they know it!<br /> <br /> <br /> They got sloppy, oh yes, no doubt. The injustices go on, ladies and <br /> gentlemen. Then, there was the confession and testimony by another <br /> defendant, a total stranger to Davontae, who confessed to the crimes <br /> with greater detail and for whom all the forensics evidence corroborated<br /> his version of the murders – well known freelance self-professed hit <br /> man Vincent Smothers. The AK-47 weapon Smothers admitted to using <br /> matched the ballistics evidence found at the Runyon Street killings and <br /> at the scene of another murder he committed. In addition, Smothers <br /> identified an accomplice in the Runyon Street killings who used a 45 <br /> pistol, which when found, also clearly matched some of the casings and <br /> bullets at the crime scene. Again, the forensics evidence in this case <br /> clearly corroborated Smothers’ rendition of events that day in which he <br /> confessed to committing the murders.<br /> <br /> <br /> It does not stop there, ladies and gentlemen. Here’s some more truth <br /> medicine that the prosecutor and Detroit Police have kept from the <br /> public. In his various statements admitting to the Runyon Street <br /> killings, Smothers also provided evidence that a .40 caliber pistol <br /> taken from that home was used in yet another contract killing he carried<br /> out on an officer’s wife at a CVS store in Detroit. Davontae, in his <br /> statement, never mentioned anything about a 40 caliber pistol. That <br /> makes sense, don’t you think when Detroit Police at the time they <br /> prepared his statement did not know about the 40 caliber pistol until <br /> Smothers confessed to the crime a year later! Who do they think we are <br /> to believe this nonsense!<br /> <br /> <br /> But the sloppiness does not stop there, ladies and gentlemen. Let me <br /> know when I am really hitting the nerve cell at 1300 Beaubien! Smothers <br /> in his confession described in detail the amount of drugs and money <br /> taken from the Runyon Street killings, a fact conspicuously missing from<br /> Davontae’s so-called confession.<br /> <br /> <br /> Oh, I’m not done yet! Allah take my hand as I speak the truth! In <br /> Smother’s unadulterated confession, he also identified a six year old <br /> boy who was in a back bedroom with a female victim who survived the <br /> killings. In the statement Detroit Police prepared for Davontae, <br /> however, there is no mention of this six year old kid. Good police work,<br /> or sloppy interrogation? You tell me. Sloppy, and they were slipping.<br /> <br /> <br /> I’m not done yet. Even more interesting is the fact that in neither <br /> of their respective confessions does Davontae or Smothers identify the <br /> other as aiding each other in the murders. In fact, Smothers, a <br /> methodical, professional hitman, admitted he never previously knew <br /> Davontae or employed him to help carry out these murders. It makes <br /> sense, don’t you think? Why would Smother’s, a professional hit man who <br /> identified his accomplice as someone other than Davontae, need a 14 year<br /> old mentally disabled kid who is blind in one eye help him commit the <br /> murders? Also, why would Smothers take the risk in allowing such an <br /> amateur killer escape his grasp and allow him to go home rather than <br /> keep him under his watch to be sure he would not tell his mother or the <br /> police about his role in the murders?<br /> <br /> <br /> Let me know, Kym Worthy, when you want me to stop! She wants to play <br /> Lady Macbeth, treacherous as she is, in now silencing Smothers! She and <br /> Judge Sullivan of this Court, who recently denied Davontae’s motion to <br /> withdraw his ill-advised guilty plea to these murders based on <br /> newly-discovered evidence of Smothers’ confession. Smothers, ladies and <br /> gentlemen, after several legal maneuvers with the prosecutor’s office in<br /> attempting to get immunity in exchange for testifying on the witness in<br /> Davontae’s favor, recently indicated to the Associated Press that he is<br /> now willing to take the stand without a grant of immunity, feeling <br /> atoned for his crimes after learning that Davontae was wrongfully <br /> convicted of them based on police and prosecutorial misconduct in <br /> extracting a bogus confession from him and inducing him to plea to the <br /> murders!<br /> <br /> <br /> Just recently in a 29 page opinion and order, Judge Sullivan of this <br /> Court compounded the wrongs committed in this case by abusing his <br /> discretion in refusing to allow Smothers a third chance to finally get <br /> on that witness stand and tell truth. In his ruling, he said – <br /> incredibly – that despite newly-discovered evidence of Smothers’ role in<br /> the murders, Davontae has not met his burden of establishing actual <br /> innocence. Judge Sullivan ruled that there is no basis to conclude that <br /> Davontae’s confession was false. He further ruled that Smothers’ <br /> confession, standing alone, is insufficient to warrant granting <br /> Davontae’s motion to withdraw his ill-advised guilty pleas. Really? <br /> Perhaps Judge Sullivan was asleep when all the facts and evidence about <br /> Smothers’ role was played for the world to hear and which we repeat <br /> today! No, he was not asleep! He knows better than to believe that <br /> fanciful make believe law he issued! He further corrupted this case that<br /> started at the crime scene on September 17, 2007 and ended right on his<br /> desk with his 29 page ruling that distorted the facts, contained <br /> critical gaps with respect to problems with Davontae’s confession, and <br /> ignored other key evidence pointing to Smothers’ guilt in the killings. <br /> For instance, Judge Sullivan talks about a crime scene sketch Davontae <br /> drew pinpointing the victims’ locations in the house. I have that sketch<br /> and it was not drawn by Davontae; it was drawn by the officer who <br /> interrogated him and as with his confession, he had Davontae sign it.<br /> <br /> <br /> Judge Sullivan:<br /> <br /> <br /> How dare you deliberately misrepresent the evidence, while ignoring all the other evidence of this child’s innocence!<br /> <br /> <br /> How dare you ignore the fact that Smothers provided detailed <br /> evidence, ranging from the amount of drugs and money taken from the home<br /> to the forensics evidence corroborating his version of the types of <br /> weapons that were used in the murders!<br /> <br /> <br /> How dare you ignore the fact that one of the murder weapons used in this case was indeed found at Smother’s accomplice’s home!<br /> <br /> <br /> How dare you ignore the fact that Smother’s also correctly stated <br /> that a six year old kid was in the back bedroom of that home the night <br /> of the murders!<br /> <br /> <br /> How dare you ignore the fact that the AK-47 used in that crime was <br /> the same weapon Smothers used in a different contract killing!<br /> <br /> <br /> How dare you ignore the fact that the .40 caliber weapon Smothers <br /> used to kill a police officer’s wife was taken from the Runyon Street <br /> killings!<br /> <br /> <br /> You, Judge Sullivan, are not worthy of garnishing your robe for <br /> further corrupting this case and condemning this child to a life <br /> sentence by willingly sweeping all this evidence under the rug! What are<br /> you hiding! You are hiding the truth! You and the prosecutor are hiding<br /> the truth that the officers who extracted Davontae’s confession did so <br /> under highly coercive tactics in which trickery, deceit and mischief <br /> were employed. Indeed, this judge, the police and the prosecutor’s <br /> office are in lockstep in denying justice, betraying our trust and <br /> committing a great crime.<br /> <br /> <br /> What are they afraid of in allowing Smothers to testify, who has <br /> nothing to gain but everything to lose by getting on that witness stand <br /> and telling the truth? What are they hiding? Their own wrongdoing!! <br /> That’s what! From the moment Smothers’ confessed, they realized they had<br /> a huge problem on their hands in that Davontae’s ill-advised plea to <br /> the charges came full circle. So what do they do? They make him their <br /> sacrificial lamb to their corruption, lies and deceit!! It is <br /> treacherous, ladies and gentlemen and one I will never forget!<br /> <br /> <br /> It is unconscionable, yes, downright outrageous what you did, Judge <br /> Sullivan, in ignoring the truth, ignoring the facts and denying this <br /> child justice! This 29 page decision by the Court is not the law! This <br /> is garbage in violation of the truth! An injustice further perpetrated <br /> by a judge who is now complicit in the corruption of condemning this <br /> young child to prison for crimes he did not commit! That child’s blood <br /> is now on the hands of this court!<br /> <br /> <br /> There is absolutely no physical evidence that connects Davontae to <br /> these murders! Nor was there ever any connection between Davontae and <br /> Smothers. Only after Smothers confessed to the crimes a year later did <br /> the prosecutor alter its theory that he and Davontae helped each other. <br /> But what they don’t tell you is that when Davontae entered a factual <br /> basis for his plea prior to Smothers confession, he never identified <br /> Smothers as his accomplice in court. I challenge the prosecutor to prove<br /> me wrong! She won’t because she cannot!! Clear the smoke bombs, ladies <br /> and gentlemen, and see the truth!<br /> <br /> <br /> Why, Ms. Worthy, do you continue to deny this child justice? What <br /> victory do you get in the war on crime by continuing to refuse to <br /> confess error and set this child free? Kym Worthy knows she can stop the<br /> appeals process right now by filing a Confession of Error with the <br /> Court of Appeals. This is why we are here today. The power in his her <br /> hands to do justice; do the right thing.<br /> <br /> What victory is there for the family members of those four murdered <br /> victims in knowing a child was wrongfully convicted of those murders <br /> while Smothers and his accomplice, who walks free in the streets of <br /> Detroit today to carry out more murders, remain uncharged! There is no <br /> victory in sending an innocent child to prison.<br /> <br /> <br /> Hear us, Ms. Worthy, and obey! Obey the principles of due process, a <br /> fair trial and the laws of humanity! Obey, indeed, the word of God, <br /> Pharaoh of this Court, and set this child free! You are committing a <br /> greater crime in continuing to condemn him to prison, rob him of life, <br /> liberty and the pursuit of happiness. He will never be able to get a <br /> high school diploma, raise a family and live life to his fullest all <br /> because her sin is pride. She, who lectures us about justice is no <br /> Guardian of Justice, let me tell you! She who denigrates the principles <br /> of justice just as she does violence to the presumption of innocence! <br /> With this shame; with this crime against a child, you – you have denied <br /> justice; killed our faith in the system, and betrayed our trust. Shame <br /> on you!<br /> <br /> <br /> Kym Worthy would do well to heed the admonishment of Freedom Fighter <br /> Frederick Douglass when he said, “No man can put a chain about the ankle<br /> of his fellow man without at least finding the other end fastened about<br /> his own neck.” Your crime in condemning this innocent child is <br /> enormous; and here again you leave a trail of tears. Come down from <br /> these steps, look his mother in the eye and dare you tell her that <br /> Smothers got it all wrong!<br /> <br /> <br /> The police, the prosecutor and the judge in this case offer the world<br /> a drink from the well of deception. We, however, offer you a drink from<br /> the Fountain of Truth! They build barriers to the truth, dropping smoke<br /> bombs, lying and denying along the way,<br /> <br /> <br /> We refuse to settle with any notion that our son’s life is that cheap<br /> that we must move on and let him rot with the prosecutor salivates with<br /> the blood of innocence in her mouth! She who professes to be the <br /> guardian of justice has violated it!<br /> <br /> <br /> Where is there justice, where is there equity in condemning a young <br /> boy to a virtual life sentence and rob him of all hope, all dreams of <br /> getting his diploma, going to college, growing in this society, living a<br /> full life and raising a family?<br /> <br /> <br /> Where is justice and equity in knowing they wrongfully convicted this<br /> child only to aggravate that travesty by playing ignorance about it all<br /> today! But we will not be silent in the face of this corruption! We <br /> will not tremble before the evildoers! We will never let this prosecutor<br /> and the police who railroaded this fine young man to a life sentence <br /> forget their enormous crime! Indeed, we will forever keep him indelibly <br /> on their minds until he comes home!<br /> <br /> <br /> I want to assure you, Taminko, that until justice is done, we will <br /> not tire, we will not falter and we will not surrender! And in saying <br /> so, I am inspired by the words of comrade Fidel Castro of Cuba, who <br /> inspired a nation for more than 50 years to stare down the oppressors <br /> who imposed a criminal embargo against that nation: Siguimos hasta la <br /> victoria! Onward to victory! You are not alone in your suffering. We <br /> suffer with you and stand by you until this wrong is corrected. Until <br /> Davontae comes home!<br /> <br /> <br /> Until that is done, Taminko, we will fight on. Because Davonte is my <br /> son, my brother, my child as well! We will get victory and renew the <br /> spirit of justice under the law. For I am moved by the words of a former<br /> slave:<br /> <br /> <br /> All my life I have been called a slave;<br /> <br /> They tells me I belongs to my master.<br /> <br /> That may be true about my body.<br /> <br /> But my soul remembers a time when I was free.<br /> <br /> So when I get a chance . . . I WILL RUN!<br /> <br /> <br /> Transcript of Speech by Roberto Guzman, Legal Assistant of the <br /> People’s Task Force to Free The Wrongfully Convicted, given on the steps<br /> of the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice on April 23, 2012.<br /> <span class="fsm fwn fcg">By <a href="http://www.facebook.com/free.davontae.sanford">Davontae Sanford</a></span></p></div>Alkebu-Lan NOMMO presents THE COLOUR OF JUSTICE - Fri 27/01/12https://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/alkebu-lan-nommo-presents-the-colour-of-justice-fri-27-01-122012-01-16T04:52:14.000Z2012-01-16T04:52:14.000ZSendMeYourNewshttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews<div><div id="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_19_132658653158040" style="text-align:left;">Alkebu-Lan <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1326688659_0">NOMMO</span></div>
<div style="text-align:left;">presents</div>
<div style="text-align:left;"></div>
<div style="text-align:left;"><span> THE COLOUR OF JUSTICE </span></div>
<div style="text-align:center;"><span><br /></span></div>
<div><img src="http://a1.ec-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/130/3e0d97a8420d40fb8e60d3df3e178e64/l.jpg" alt="NOMMO 27/01/12 - The Colour of Justice. Message by Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka" /><span> ]</span></div>
<div><div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471257"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471257">Message by</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471257"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471257"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><span><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471257">BRO. LDR. MBANDAKA</span></span></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><span>Spiritual Leader, Alkebu-Lan Revivalist Movement</span></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471257"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471267"><span><span><span>In the wake of the recent convictions of Gary Dobson and David Norris for the 1993 brutal, racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, some have said that it is proof that British Justice works, even if slowly. Yet responding to the verdicts Stephen's mother Doreen said that it was not a cause for celebration because it should have happened 18 years ago and it won't bring her son back. The Lawrence case has impacted on so many areas of UK life for almost 20 years yet a recent poll suggests that most in the Afrikan community believe nothing has changed. </span><span>Bro. Ldr. Mbandaka</span> <span>will review the case and its lessons as a basis for advancing a radical strategy for the protection and devlopment of the Afrikan community, including initiatives like the <span>N</span><span>ational Afrikan People's Parliament</span>. </span></span><br /></span> <br /></span></b> <span>Has justice really been s</span><span>erved?</span><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471271"><span> | </span><span><span>Are the convictions a cause for celebration</span><span>?</span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471273"><br /></span></b> <b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471275"><span>What do the convictions say about race in Britain today</span><span>?</span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471275"><span><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471275"><span><span>Has anything changed since the murder in 1993</span><span>?</span></span></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471277"><br /><br /></span></b> <b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640171" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471279"><span>Will there be a white backlash</span><span>?</span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471279"><span><br /></span></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471279"><span><span>What is <span>OUR</span> plan and programme?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471283"><br /><br /></span> <span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471285">COME & HAVE YOUR SAY!!!</span></div>
<div id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864044" class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864050" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471289"></span></b> </div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864052" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471293">Fri 27th January 2012</span></b><font face="Calibri"><b> </b></font></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471299">Time:</span></b></div>
<div id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864097" class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471303">7:00pm - 10:00</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b> </b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471315">VENUE:</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><b> </b></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><b>@ Mama Afrika Kulcha Shap</b></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><b>282 High Road Leyton</b></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640233">E10 5PW</span></b></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b> </b></div>
<div id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640218" class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><font><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640211">Entry:</span></b><b> </b><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640216">£3, Under 21s FREE</span></b></font><b> </b></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><b> </b></font></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_132668867544499" class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font id="yui_3_2_0_1_132668867544496" face="Calibri"><b id="yui_3_2_0_1_132668867544493">Nearest Tube: Leyton (Central Line) 3 mins walk - Buses 69, 158, 97, 58, w15</b><b> </b></font></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span><font face="Calibri">Info: 020 8539 2154 / 07908 814 152 / </font><a target="_blank" href="http://uk.mc250.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=arm6227%40yahoo.co.uk"><span><font face="Calibri">arm6227@yahoo.co.uk</font></span></a></span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><font face="Calibri"><b> </b></font></div>
<div id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864076" class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864080" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471369"><font color="#000000">"</font></span></b><span><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864064" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471371"><font id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_132144398864078">NOMMO</font><span> </span></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471375">can be thought, </span></b><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640106" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471377"><font>NOMMO</font></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471381"><span> </span><span>can be played on an instrument, </span></span></b><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640116" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471385"><font>NOMMO</font><span> </span></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471389">can be sung. It is prayer. It is curse. It is incantation! </span></b><span><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640126" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471391"><font>NOMMO</font></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471395"> </span></b></span><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471397">is a praise song.</span></b><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640136" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471399"><span> </span><font>NOMMO</font></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471403"><span> </span><span>is our use of the spiritually activating principle.</span></span></b><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640146" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471407"><span> </span><font>NOMMO</font></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471411"> </span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471413">is will and intent. </span></b><b><span id="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826yui_3_2_0_18_1321443988640156" class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471415"><font>NOMMO</font></span></b><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471419"> is</span></b></span></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471419"><span> consciousness.</span>"</span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471419"> </span></b></div>
<div class="yiv1031595556ecxyiv427096826MsoNormal" align="center"><b><i><span class="yiv1031595556yui_3_2_0_16_1322163225471421">- Marimba Ani, Let The Circle Be Unbroken</span></i></b></div>
</div></div>Justice for Habib 'Paps' Ullah Press release - young disabled Pakistani man tasered & assaulted by police on New Year's Evehttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/justice-for-habib-paps-ullah-press-release-young-disabled2012-01-07T16:56:17.000Z2012-01-07T16:56:17.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><h3 class="post-title entry-title"></h3><div class="post-header"><div class="post-header-line-1"></div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1191245157120080336"><div class="separator"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oOvktma3NpQ/TwZJHaseFoI/AAAAAAAAB3U/vZhNXQwUfd0/s1600/justice+1.jpg"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oOvktma3NpQ/TwZJHaseFoI/AAAAAAAAB3U/vZhNXQwUfd0/s320/justice+1.jpg" width="320" alt="justice+1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X0N93LB3vc4/TwZJNEQ6bgI/AAAAAAAAB3c/fEyyO9wlMSU/s1600/justice+2.jpg"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X0N93LB3vc4/TwZJNEQ6bgI/AAAAAAAAB3c/fEyyO9wlMSU/s320/justice+2.jpg" width="320" alt="justice+2.jpg" /></a></div><span><br /></span><br /><span>By Saqib Deshmukh in Justice for Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah</span><br /><span>PRESS RELEASE – for immediate release 5.1.12</span><br /><span><br /></span><br /><span>Shocket Aslam was stopped by the police after leaving a petrol station on the M6 without paying for £20 worth of petrol. During this, despite being disabled and being in a wheelchair he was attacked by a number of officers with batons/koshes and tasered and was subsequently denied medical treatment when he was held at a police station to Stafford. He had gone to Manchester from High Wycombe with a friend to pick up a car.</span><br /><span><br /></span><br /><span>On the 31st of December 2011 Shocket Aslam was driving on the M6 motorway in Staffordshire when 3-5 police vehicles together with a helicopter apprehended him after he had left a petrol station without paying. As soon as he saw the police coming he stopped his vehicle on the hard shoulder and as officers approached aggressively and asked him to put his hands up and get out of the car he confirmed that he was disabled. Two officers had tasers aimed at him in the driver side and on the passenger side as well, and a police officer on his side smashed the window and repeatedly hit with him a kosh. He protested and again tried to explain that he was disabled and it was hard for him to get it out but he was then tasered from behind in the shoulder and dragged out of the car by 5/6 officers. Two of these were trying to pull his arms around his back and his face was held on the floor. One officer saw the wheelchair and stated this to the other officers but they continued to hoist him out and dragged him along the ground and threw head first into a police car. When Shocket asked for help and water he was sworn at violently by the officers and wished happy New Year by them! He was shaking and shivering at this time and couldn’t speak properly after being tasered. He asked to be taken to hospital and for some water but was again refused and was even threatened with a taser again. He was taken to Watling Police station in Stafford and was held overnight in an interview room (not a cell) and no medical treatment was given and his requests for his medication for his condition which was in the car were ignored. His requests for a cushion to support himself as he suffers from bedsores was also ignored. He was bleeding from a cut in his forehead and his nose yet he was only given a tissue to stop this. He was still shivering and in shock and asked for a blanket but was only given a jumper to wear. He was interviewed by the police at 2pm approximately the next day and despite being charged with driving a vehicle without the owner’s consent (he had come back from Manchester in two vehicles – with the friend driving the new one and Shocket driving his) the police did not contact his friend to verify the situation. He was subsequently released at 3pm on the 1st of January 2012.</span><br /><span><br /></span><br /><span>The Justice for Habib ‘Paps’ Ullah campaign together with Shocket and his family would like to know the following:</span><br /><span><br /></span><br /><span>Why excessive force was used and why was he tasered when he stopped his vehicle, co-operated and offered no resistance?</span><br /><span>Why his disability (he is a wheelchair user and has no use of his legs at all) was not taken account in how the police handled him?</span><br /><span>Why medical treatment was withheld (especially after use of a taser) and no help given to him immediately after he sustained his injuries at the hands of the police and overnight in the custody of Staffordshire Police?</span></div></div>Free Romaine “Chip” Fitzgerald » 40 Years is Enough!https://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/free-romaine-chip-fitzgerald-40-years-is-enough2012-01-03T15:46:04.000Z2012-01-03T15:46:04.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v74iZuT8n40/TwHnm643_cI/AAAAAAAAB2M/0u7AcVIfecs/s1600/x-chip.jpg" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v74iZuT8n40/TwHnm643_cI/AAAAAAAAB2M/0u7AcVIfecs/s1600/x-chip.jpg" alt="x-chip.jpg" /></a></div><p><span style="font-size:large;">Please send Chip a letter or card .His 94 year old mother passed away last week, it was his dream to see her before she died. His current address is:</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">Romaine Fitzgerald</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">B-27527</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">Kern Valley State Prison</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">P.O. Box 5101</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">A-1-105</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">Delano, California 93216</span></p></div>PLEDGE 2012 FOR JUSTICEhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/pledge-2012-for-justice2012-01-03T15:35:10.000Z2012-01-03T15:35:10.000ZDarcy Delaproserhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/DarcyDelaproser<div><div class="separator" style="clear:both;text-align:center;"><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IsR_5myr4M8/TwIhgOl3IPI/AAAAAAAAB2w/8Ds-o_pzAt8/s1600/395756_330369716987709_240974005927281_1113198_1790224112_n.jpg" style="margin-left:1em;margin-right:1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IsR_5myr4M8/TwIhgOl3IPI/AAAAAAAAB2w/8Ds-o_pzAt8/s320/395756_330369716987709_240974005927281_1113198_1790224112_n.jpg" width="307" alt="395756_330369716987709_240974005927281_1113198_1790224112_n.jpg" /></a></div><p><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">i pledge to repost and support all the families who are and who will be suffering in 2012 as a result of Deaths in police custody, prison, mental health & immigration detention.</span> <br /><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">I pledge not only to support via my keyboard but I pledge to support on the ground by attending one or more Marches, meetings, and events in 2012 and informing my friends family who do not use internet social sites and most importantly sign the new No’ 10 petition when it launches in January 2012.</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody report published in 2011 states: in total, there were 5,998 deaths recorded for the 11 years from 2000 to 2010. This is an average of 545 deaths per year. Despite the fact there have been 11 unlawful killing verdicts since 1990 there has never been a successful prosecution.</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;">Help all the families and campaigns for justice across the UK increase the pressure on our government for real change to our unjust corrupt and racist jurisdictional system</span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:large;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/BirminghamStrong4Justice">http://www.facebook.com/BirminghamStrong4Justice</a></span></p></div>Major Newark church co-hosts Saturday's day 138 of People’s Organization for Progress’ Daily People’s Campaign for Jobs, Peace, Education and Justice.https://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/major-newark-church-co-hosts-saturday-s-day-138-of-people-s2011-11-10T14:05:55.000Z2011-11-10T14:05:55.000ZSendMeYourNewshttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews<div><p> </p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><i><b>MAJOR NEWARK CHURCH COHOSTS SATURDAY’S</b></i></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><i><b>DAILY PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN RALLY!</b></i></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>On Saturday, November 12</b></font></font><sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>th</b></font></font></sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">, the NJ chapter of the National Action Network and Metropolitan Baptist Church will co-host what will be</font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><i><b>day 138</b></i></font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">of the People’s Organization for Progress’ Daily People’s Campaign for Jobs, Peace, Education and Justice.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">Metropolitan Baptist Church is one of the largest churches in Newark, under the leadership of Pastor David Jefferson Sr., who is also chairman of the NJ chapter of the National Action Network.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">“We are pleased and honored to have Metro Baptist family with us,” said Lawrence Hamm, the conceptual architect for the Daily Peoples Campaign, excitedly.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">“We hope their participation will inspire other churches to get involved,” he finished.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">The rally will take place at Broad and Market Streets, downtown Newark from 12 noon-2pm.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">The Daily People’s Campaign was launched on</font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>June 27</b></font></font><sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>th</b></font></font></sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">to dramatize the impact of draconian public policies on ordinary people. POP vows to host this daily action</font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><i><b>everyday</b></i></font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">for</font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><i><b>381 days</b></i></font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">in honor of the epic Montgomery Bus Boycott that propelled a young Martin Luther King Jr. onto national consciousness! A ‘national jobs program’ is at the top of the list of the core issues driving the Campaign.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">Monday through Friday, the Daily People’s Campaign takes place from 4:30-6pm at the Lincoln Monument, Springfield Av. and West Market St. On Saturdays, the Daily Campaign takes place on Broad and Market Streets, downtown Newark from 12 noon to 2pm. On Sundays, the Daily Campaign returns to the Lincoln Monument from 2-3pm…</font></font></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>Looking Ahead…</b></font></font></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>On Tuesday, December 6</b></font></font><sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>th</b></font></font></sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><b>,</b></font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">on what will be</font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4"><i><b>day 163</b></i></font></font> <font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">of the Daily People’s Campaign, many of these organizations will come together for a march, rally and teach-in to observe the 56</font></font><sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">th</font></font></sup><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">anniversary of the launching of the epic Montgomery Bus Boycott, the inspirational model for the Daily People’s Campaign.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">Details are still developing for this enormous gathering.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">The People’s Organization for Progress meets every Thursday at Abyssinian Baptist Church, 224 West Kinney Street, Newark at 6:30pm.</font></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#000000"><font face="Times New Roman, serif"><font size="4">For more information, please call 973 801 0001…</font></font></font></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, serif"><font size="4"><b>THE PEOPLES ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS</b></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, serif"><font size="4"><b>PO BOX 22505</b></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, serif"><font size="4"><b>NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 07101-2505</b></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, serif"><font size="4"><b><a href="http://www.njpop.org">www.njpop.org</a>; email info@njpop.org</b></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, serif"><font size="4"><b>973 801 0001</b></font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"><font color="#000000"><font face="Verdana, serif"><font size="4">Contact:Lawrence Hamm</font></font></font></p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p></div>POP spotlights the 46th day of its 381 day Campaign for Jobs, Peace, Justice and Equalityhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/peoples-organization-for-progress-spotlights-the-46-day-of-its2011-08-08T14:51:41.000Z2011-08-08T14:51:41.000ZSendMeYourNewshttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/SendMeYourNews<div><p>On <b>Thursday, August 11<sup>th</sup>,</b> the Peoples Organization for Progress (POP) will host a press conference to spotlight its ‘Daily People’s Campaign’ for ‘Jobs, Peace, Justice and Equality!’</p>
<p>It will take place at 12 noon at the Lincoln Memorial, located at the Springfield Avenue and West Market Street intersection, Newark.</p>
<p>The press conference will take place on ‘the Campaign’s 46<sup>th</sup> consecutive day!</p>
<p>The Campaign was launched on June 27<sup>th</sup> to dramatize the impact of draconian public policies on ordinary people. POP vows to host this daily action <b><i>everyday</i></b> for <b><i>381 days</i></b> in honor of the epic Montgomery Bus Boycott that propelled a young Martin Luther King Jr. onto national consciousness!</p>
<p>Among the issues the Campaign is addressing are a need for a national jobs program, a call to end military actions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, a call to stand against police brutality, a call to preserve workers rights and collective bargaining, a call for a moratorium on foreclosures, a call for national health care and for affordable higher education, and more.</p>
<p>The press conference will spotlight the issues driving the action and will call for the endorsement, support and participation from other organizations, institutions and leaders.</p>
<p>The Peoples Daily Campaign emerges in the aftermath of POP mobilizing nearly a thousand people from labor unions, social justice organizations, churches and other activists this past April 4<sup>th</sup> to mark the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King!</p>
<p>“It’s time to grow this campaign and change the political climate in this city and in this area,” insisted Lawrence Hamm, POP’s longtime chairman.</p>
<p>“If these policies are making poverty and pain and suffering grow, then the resistance to those policies must also grow,” he finished.</p>
<p>Among those slated to participate in the press conference are Theodora Lacey, one of the original members of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Cliff Arrington and Nat Williams who both attended the March On Washington, Jerry Harris of the NJ Black Issues Convention and James Harris, state president of the NAACP.</p>
<p>The daily actions take place Monday through Friday at 4:30p.m. at West Market Street and Springfield Avenue, near the Lincoln Monument. Saturdays at Broad and Market at 12 noon and Sundays back at the West Market Street and Springfield Avenue location at 2pm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>For more information, please call 973 801 0001</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p align="center"><b>THE PEOPLES ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRESS</b></p>
<p align="center"><b>PO BOX 22505</b></p>
<p align="center"><b>NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 07101-2505</b></p>
<p align="center"><b><a href="http://www.njpop.org" target="_blank">www.njpop.org</a></b></p>
<p align="center"><b>973 801 0001</b></p>
<p align="center">Contact:Lawrence Hamm</p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p align="center"> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p></div>DC People's Petition for Racial Justicehttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/dc-peoples-petition-for-racial2011-01-16T18:05:31.000Z2011-01-16T18:05:31.000ZMalcolmXavierhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/MalcolmXavier<div><p>The Institute for Tsunamic Justice is sponsoring a petition to the DC City Council demanding hearings into police misconduct that is also coupled with routine malicious prosecution by the U.S. Attorney and outrageous abuses by many of the judges of the DC "Superior" court.</p><p> </p><p>Although crime across the country, including here in DC, has been on a constant decline for over a decade, the DC police have been operating under the cry of "All hands on deck," which is a distress call for immediate and drastic action to defend or save a ship. Now, being that this call was made by the first white chief of police that the city has had in over 36-years or more, this metaphor is a bit troubling in a town with an unwanted and constantly dwindling black majority due to intense racial gentrification. (white folk shipping in + black folk being shipped out = "slavery!!!").</p><p> </p><p>So, we have the return of more white officers to the DC police force from the surrounding redneck states, riding around policing black residents, resulting in more illegal stops, searches, and seizures (of the person). Now, we are not saying that every black person is innocent, that is not the point, the issue is that routinely the police are acting arbitrarily and not within the law. For example, it is not uncommon for police to approach young black men without any cause demanding identification, searching their pockets, running checks on them. This is illegal and has nothing to do with ferreting out crime.</p><p> </p><p>In many instances the police will tell a person that they are "banned" from a certain neighborhood, when there is no law authorizing them to do so. Then, when they see that person again in the neighborhood they "arrest" them, now I place quotations around the word "arrest," because that is not really what the officer has done since an "arrest" is an action based on lawful authority and probable cause. What these police are doing is "seizing" no different from a "slave catcher" would go out looking for black people to seize for the slave trade. The person is then charged in a nebulous way with trespassing, that is, police will track the language of the trespass law, but charge the person with something else. I kid you not. This aspect of the criminal process is called "coon hunting." ( a violation of Terry v. Ohio, etc)</p><p> </p><p>Once the police have captured a coon they take the game to the prosecutor, which in the case of DC is the U.S. Attorneys office, for skinning - "nigger skinnin." In most instance they are assisted by a court appointed pretender to hold the coon down and still while the skinnin takes place. The court appointed pretender tells the coon things to convince them to "cooperate," to be submissive and unquestioning, to be docile and convinced that their only hope is to throw themselves at the mercy of the state of oppression and pray that it just doesn't stick it in too deep. (a violation of Powell v. Alabama; Strickland v. Washington, etc).</p><p> </p><p>The coon is then taken before a judge who drapes them over the coals of the system, where they are slow roasted under the basting of illegal "court orders" to return, report weekly to submit urine and report to a handler - even though the judge has not found "probable cause." A judicial determination of "probable cause" at the very outset of every criminal action is a Fourth Amendment due procedural right, judges are mandated to perform the determination and submit their findings in writing on the record before they can assume any "authority" over the person. However. coons are not "persons." so this is routinely not done by judges.( a violation of Gerstein v. Pugh, Miranda v. Arizona, etc.}</p><p> </p><p>Once the coon is placed on the rack the prosecutor, court appointed pretender, and judge then begin turning the coon, stringing out the matter as long as it takes to crisp the coon and make him crack with a guilty plea. The judge places the coon on a form of summary punishment under the guise of "pretrial release" with conditions such as drug testing (even in cases not involving any drugs) and reporting to a handler or overseer. A "dirty urine" or failing to report to the overseer can mean being locked up, but keep in mind that no one has yet even certified that in fact there is a legitimate case or "probable cause." The roasting can last months on end, in some cases more than a year, and this is on some minor misdemeanor charge.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, the police and prosecutors, with the cooperation of the court appointed pretender, may also be destroying or excluding exculpatory evidence ( a violation of Brady v. Maryland, etc.) The court acting without "probable cause" has subjected the coon to the invasion of their privacy (can't get any more private that a person's urine), and placed severe restrictions on their liberty by having them to not only report to an overseer, but to "keep coming back" to court as if they are in AA or NA. Failure to do so will result in pigs being "authorized" to seize or even shoot you as a "fugitive" or "runaway" slave on sight.</p><p> </p><p>All of this is done because black folk in Amerikkka, including here in DC, remain under the rule set out in the cases of Dred Scott v. John Sanford and Homer Plessy v. John Ferguson, where in the Dred Scott case their "Supreme" court made it clear that in America it was never intended for black or Native people to have a single right that the white settler state or any white settler was bound to respect. And that court placed a proviso that "whether emancipated or not," the black and Native people would "remain subject to the authority" of the white settler state and white settler people. This was merely re-affirmed in the Plessy case upholding the creation and establishment of the system of apartheid, which was copied by the subsequent white settler states of Rhodesia, the Union of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel.</p><p> </p><p>That being said, we call on all readers to go to http://<a href="http://www.itj-pdn.yolasite.com" target="_blank">www.itj-pdn.yolasite.com</a> and sign the people's petition, especially if you are a subject("resident") of colonial DC. And even if you are not, check out the other calls for action posted from around the country. Now for the benefit of those who would argue that petitioning is not action, or that it is about begging the system to give us justice, that would be true if that is all that this was about, but it is not.</p><p> </p><p>First, it is not a "goal," it is merely a tactic and a strategy, it is meant to solidify our collective understanding of the problem in its broadest context (historical and systemic).</p><p> </p><p>Second, it is about generating discussion, education, and mobilization because regardless as to what the system does, we intend to take this and run with it at community forums.</p><p> </p><p>Third, it provides a basis for political mobilization at a local level, allowing for our community to empower itself by realizing its power during elections, by holding tribunals, conducting its own investigations, and operating its own understanding of reality.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p></div>A Shared Note To: Shamako Noble About The Injustices Done To Joel Benard Perryhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/a-shared-note-to-shamako-noble2010-02-28T23:37:53.000Z2010-02-28T23:37:53.000ZMin. W.D. Pattersonhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/MinWDPatterson<div><div class="note_header"><div class="note_title_share clearfix"><div class="note_title"><span>A Shared Compliment Note To: Shamako Noble About The Injustices Done To JoelBenard Perry</span></div></div><br /></div><div class="note_content text_align_ltr direction_ltr clearfix"><div>Dear Shamako Noble:<br /> <br />My wife Heather showed me your "Open Letter to the Seattle Times andLevi Pulkkien: Joel Bernard Perry is not a Gang Member." The motherSandra Kellar is a good friend of both my wife and myself. <br /><br />I spoke at his sentencing hearing and promised the immediate release ofJoel as a result of my soon to be published research findings. TheHonorable Judge Robert whom I am no stranger to was bound by stiffsentencing guidelines handed down and written in to law without thepresence nor competent representation of the Black Communities inAmerica. However, this did not culminate as planned due to the fact thatI was unaware that Joel Benard Perry had waived his right to an appeal.In my experience these cases have to go through at minimum three (3)appeals before such harsh sentencing can be granted an override. Sandrasays after the hearing that Joel was tricked and coerced into waivinghis right to appeal. This is not uncommon but it would have helped me inhis case to have known prior hand.<br /><br />It's quite obvious that the laws are written void of our Black culturalrepresentation which my studies have revealed to account for a lot ofthe problems we have as a people. Especially the disparities insentencing and the disproportionate incarceration ratios for Blackmales. I am working national with a group of devout Black Intellectualsand dedicated brothas to change this. We could use your help.Understanding these systems and how they work against us that are inplace in stealth mode until it's to late is the key to make adifference. This is no coincidence but rather by design.<br /><br />I see you've launched the only viable remaining campaign to gain thefreedom and justice for Joel Benard Perry. Only public outcry andmerited behavior inside the prison can lessen his maximum sentence nowonce its handed down by the court. I commend you and your boldbrave-hearted efforts<br /><br /><span>Please consider being my guest-host on the Radio Show soon?<a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/minw">www.blogtalkradio.com/minw</a></span>dpatterson <br />email rehab_counsel@hotmail.com with questions and concerns.<br /><br />I would like a three episode minimum if possible and preferably<br />in succession. Thanks in advance and God Bless!<br /><br />Peace,<br /><br />Min. W.D. Patterson<br />253-214-5438<br />===<br /><br />Wardell D. Patterson, [UW SR. CLASS 2001 GIFT COUNCIL]<br />"As a young man, my fondest dream was to become a geographer..."<br />-Albert Einstein<br /><br />===included message below<br /><br />Open Letter to the Seattle PI Re: Joel Bernard Perry<br />Share<br />Fri at 12:56pm<br />Open Letter to the Seattle Times and Levi Pulkkien: Joel Bernard Perryis not a Gang Member.<br /><br />To:<br /><br /><br /><br />Seattle Times<br /><br />Levi Pulkkinen<br /><br />Jenny A. Durkan<br /><br />I am supporter of Joel Bernard Perry and his mother, and I was presentthe day of the sentencing.<br /><br />While I appreciate the effort, Levi Pulkkinen’s article, “Seattle gangmember sentenced on drug charges” is incomplete at best, irresponsiblejournalism at its worst. The article presented information that isn’ttrue, left out crucial parts to the story, and dehumanizes all partiesinvolved. It also put lives in danger apparently without checking thefacts. The article came across as pr statement for the AttorneyGeneral’s office instead of either a representation of the truth or astory about human beings. Then I read the press release put out by theUS Attorney’s office and started to speculate that it was. You can take alook at the release here and decide for yourself. (<a href="http://www.justice.gov/usao/waw/press/2010/feb/perry.html" target="_blank">"90a9a13be65d1c5a70efadcd9b247feb", event)''><span>http://www.justice.gov/usa</span><span>o/waw/press/2010/feb/perry</span>.html</a>).<br /> <br />First things first: Joel Bernard Perry is not a member of Duece-8. JoelBernard Perry is not a gang member period. Judge Robart would not allowLombardi (the prosecuting attorney) to even mention his association togangs in the courtroom because it could not be substantiated and it hadnothing to do with the case. Because he is not a gang member, andbecause your article simply re-iterates the accusations of the USAttorney’s office a new problem emerges. Now Bernard and his family havesafety concerns that did not exist before this printing and it becauseof this article. How did this publication come to the conclusion that hewas a gang member? What evidence does it possess?<br /><br />On top of this, if the reporter was present at the trial he would havenoticed that the courtroom was packed with family, friends and membersof the community there to support Perry and his mother who was also inattendance. People spoke on his behalf, and more were prepared to do so.The judge declared that such attendance in support of a defendant israre. This was something Judge Robart might have taken into account whenPerry received six months less than what the prosecution was askingfor. Not to mention that Mr. Perry’s speech was simply incredible. Thequote chosen does a great disservice in its brevity and negligence forwhat was a very important and salient message. We are working onpublishing it now.<br /><br />The sum total presentation of the story seems to be something to theeffect of, ‘another gang member notch on the belt.’ This grosslymisrepresents the reality of the situation. People make mistakes. JoelBernard Perry isn’t a gang member or a murderer. He’s a young man, afather, a son and a brilliant writer and speaker who made some mistakesnone of which include being a member of a gang. What is clear was thathe is part of a community that cares for his well being, his safety andhis humanity. While just locking everyone up may seem like a greatapproach for some, for many all it leaves is a hole in the home and theheart.<br /><br />Every day in America, a case of mistaken identity or just plain oldstereotyping and racism can end up costing the life or freedom of aninnocent person. This article has proven why we need independent press.Without independent press we may never know the whole or the real story.With it, you end up with tales like Ramon Vasquez of San Jose, falselyimprisoned and detained, falsely accused of murder and gangbanging. Youcan read his story here. <a href="http://siliconvalleydebug.com/story/THEYEAR2010/020110/story/ramonstory.html" target="_blank">"90a9a13be65d1c5a70efadcd9b247feb", event)''><span>http://siliconvalleydebug.</span><span>com/story/THEYEAR2010/0201</span>10/story/ramonstory.html</a> . The San Jose Mercury News recently profiled Ramon’s innocence (<a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14466674?nclick_check=1" target="_blank">"90a9a13be65d1c5a70efadcd9b247feb", event)''><span>http://www.mercurynews.com</span><span>/top-stories/ci_14466674?n</span>click_check=1</a>) documenting a rare situation. The justice system having to admit that it was mistaken.<br /><br />If the US Attorney’s office (Lombardi) cannot prove that he is a gangmember in court, and neither Mr. Pulkkinen nor anyone else can back theassertion that was made in the article, then you must retract it andapologize. This is an unjustified trial in the court of public opinion.The US Attorney’s office and the SPD’s goal is reducing violence I’msure, but this kind of dishonesty and poor reporting does more toaggravate the situation than resolve it. We understand that it’simportant that the US Attorney look like they are doing their job, butit shouldn’t come at the cost of someone else’s safety.<br />Anyone else viewing this article if you have been unjustly stereotypedor classified by law enforcement, or know someone who has, please writeor call the Seattle PI and the US Attorney’s office and demand aretraction. They can’t continue to call us whatever they want and thinkit’s ok. It’s not.<br /><br /><br /><br />Regards,<br /><br /><br /><br />Shamako Noble<br />===end<br />A Shared Compliment Note To: Shamako Noble About The Injustices Done ToJoel Benard Perry</div></div><p class="attachment"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828792403,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank">Patty Murray Breakfast VP Biden 038.jpg</a></p><p class="attachment"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828792422,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank">Patty Murray Breakfast VP Biden 044.jpg</a></p><p class="attachment"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}3828792432,original{{/staticFileLink}}" target="_blank">Patty Murray Breakfast VP Biden 037.jpg</a></p></div>Black Folk and the Excuse for Obama Syndromehttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/black-folk-and-the-excuse-for2010-01-12T02:20:40.000Z2010-01-12T02:20:40.000ZMalcolmXavierhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/MalcolmXavier<div>This is a response to an email sent out by Robert P. Watson, Ph.D. Coordinator of American Studies at Lynn University on behalf of a group called “UNITE US,” which is supposedly an organization of black owned businesses. Dr. Watson’s email was titled “Hidden Secrets About Barack Obama and more” and starts out complaining that the media is “failing to report on (Obama’s) accomplishments.” Dr. Watson then goes on to list what he claims are 90 "accomplishments" of the Obama regime.What I have done is to quote them here verbatim and followed each with my own responses, for as a person person of Afrikan descent in Amerikkka, I am sick of black folk running around praising this top House Knee-grow and not being critical because “he is black.” Now, I consider this tendancy on our part to really be "reverse racism," all of a sudden slavery and the plantation are cool because a house knee-grow is at the Helm while massa recovers from sickness. Obama was selected for the very purpose of saving "da big house," which was set on fire when Amerikkka made its move on the world under Baby Doc Bush. Amerikkka needed a not simply a new face, but an entirely different look for the world, which is overwhelmingly a world of color. Amerikkkka's "War on Terrorism" has clearly been nothing more than White Manifest Destiny (WMD) on steroids, with the labeling of people as "terrorist" and "terror suspects" being no different from when they labeled the Native people "Murderous Red Savages on Our frontier," as they spoke from the shores of this continent,A black man as president is not what our ancestors desired, "civil rights" is not what was taken and has been kept from us, our ancestors did not escape the plantation out of some desire to "integrate" with our oppressor. I hear black folk talking about "we have a black president," when in fact it is Amerikkka that has a black as president, the only thing black folk in Amerikkka have is more empty hope for change. Dr. Watson sets forth a prime example of how we perpetuate our own enslavement, our own backwardness in addressing issues that concern us and the world, he gives what he contends are 90 "accomplishments" of the Obama regime, 90% of which are not "accomplishments" at all, but more slick talk from a smooth operator. Not a single one of the so-called "90 accomplishments" has anything with improving the lives of black folk, impoverished folk, working folk, or any other folk in America or around the world except for rich and powerful folk.At best, Obama is just another knee-grow first in a white system, knee-grow firsts are not accomplishments for the whole, they do serve the purpose of blunting charges of institutional racism, so they help the system to perpetuate lies and myths of justice and equality. And when you try to point this out to many black folk in this country, our first response is to make excuses, saying that we all know that Obama can't come out speak on our behalf or address our concerns because the white folk won't let him...so then I ask, what good is he to us and why in the hell are we giving up so much to support him? I would pose this question to Dr. Watson, but I am not sure that he really isn't Dick Chaney or Clarence Thomass trying to pretend like they are black to deepen the chains of stupidity sunk into our heads. We are a people up shit creek with Obama buttons pinned to our heads thinking that they are paddles, while Amerikkka continues to shoot holes in what was already a ragged raft at best.Here is my response to Dr. Watson and all other knee-grows like him, my responses are in bold in order to make sure the reader can easily distinguish the two:“1. Ordered all federal agencies to undertake a study and make recommendations for ways to cut spending” – <b>while bailing out the big banks, auto companies, and continuing huge expenditures on the military.</b>“2. Ordered a review of all federal operations to identify and cut wasteful spending and practices” – <b>so that he could engage in the same as set out in response to the first claim</b>“3. Instituted enforcement for equal pay for women” – <b>enforcement by who? Remember “civil rights”?</b>“4. Beginning the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq” – <b>so he can send them to Afghanistan.</b>“5. Families of fallen soldiers have expenses covered to be on hand when the body arrives at Dover AFB” – <b>more wasteful spending since there should not be any troops fighting and dying, and he is sending thousands more.</b>“6. Ended media blackout on war casualties; reporting full information” – <b>very doubtful, as affirmed by the following claim:</b>“7. Ended media blackout on covering the return of fallen soldiers to Dover AFB; the media is now permitted to do so pending adherence to respectful rules and approval of fallen soldier's family” – <b>as if the reporting in the past was not.</b>“8. The White House and federal government are respecting the Freedom of Information Act” – <b>really, in what respect?</b>“9. Instructed all federal agencies to promote openness and transparency as much as possible” – <b>sounds like “with all deliberate speed” of Brown v. Brd of Ed, that really has meant “take your time, there is no rush.”</b>“10. Limits on lobbyist's access to the White House” – <b>but not to his administration and while allowing them to gorge themselves on Capital Hill even more so than before.</b>“11. Limits on White House aides working for lobbyists after their tenure in the administration” – <b>which explains way there are more lobbyist in Washington now than ever before.</b>“12. Ended the previous stop-loss policy that kept soldiers in Iraq/Afghanistan longer than their enlistment date” – <b>while pledging to send 45,000 more.</b>“13. Phasing out the expensive F-22 war plane and other outdated weapons systems, which weren't even used or needed in Iraq/Afghanistan” – <b>which is why he phased them out and now spends the money on predator drones.</b>“14. Removed restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research” – <b>Okay, the opposition to the research was never scientifically grounded, nor widespread any way, a straw man issue</b>.“15. Federal support for stem-cell and new biomedical research” – <b>same as above</b>.“16. New federal funding for science and research labs” – <b>coming from where?</b>“17. States are permitted to enact federal fuel efficiency standards above federal standards” – s<b>omething that California began doing during the Bush regime</b>.“18. Increased infrastructure spending (roads, bridges, power plants) after years of neglect” – <b>which had to be done any way and was supposed to have been done in light of numerous bridge collapses</b><b>, New Orleans, and other instances.</b>“19. Funds for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools” – <b>again, from where?</b>“20. New funds for school construction” – <b>from where?</b>“21. The prison at Guantanamo Bay is being phased out” – <b>only to be moved to the states, those people will still be illegally held indefinitely and subjected to racist kangaroo justice just like the nearly 3 million people already imprisoned in and by America.</b>“22. US Auto industry rescue plan” – <b>which has proven a complete failure and the further draining of resources at the taxpayer’s expense for generations to come.</b>“23. Housing rescue plan” – <b>it sucks and is no real plan, just another empty publicity gestur</b>e.“24. $789 billion economic stimulus plan” – <b>for Wall Street and the ruling elite</b>.“25. The public can meet with federal housing insurers to refinance (the new plan can be completed in one day) a mortgage if they are having trouble paying” – <b>that remains to be seen with foreclosures still occurring in record numbers.</b>“26. US financial and banking rescue plan” – <b>as if the banks who were behind the “crisis” needed to be rescued, while their CEO are getting ready to pay themselves huge bonuses.</b>“27. The secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere are being closed” –<b>so, how would we know if they are still “secret”?</b>“28. Ended the previous policy; the US now has a no torture policy and is in compliance with the Geneva Convention standards” <b>– torture is a crime and the fact that the U.S. claimed to have a “policy” on it did not make it legal and again, since all of this is done in secret, how are we suppose to believe that they are no longer doing it when Obama continues with the indefinite detentions?</b>“29. Better body armor is now being provided to our troops” – <b>along with bigger guns, more bombs, and better bullets to kill people in “the War on Terror.”</b>“30. The missile defense program is being cut by $1.4 billion in 2010” – <b>only because not a single dime should have ever been spent on such stupidity, a missile defense against who?</b>“31. Restarted the nuclear nonproliferation talks and building back up the nuclear inspection” – <b>while continuing to arm Israel with nuclear weapons, but making an issue out of the fact that Iran has none and has a twinkle in its eye to develop the capacity in order to prevent the U.S. from invading it like North Korea did.</b>“32. Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic” – <b>from every other country except U.S. oil interests.</b>“33. Reengaged in the agreements/talks on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions” – <b>right, by pushing Carbon trading.</b>“34. Visited more countries and met with more world leaders than any president in his first six months in office” – <b>in order to let them see the new black mask on the same old racist and imperialist system.</b>“35. Successful release of US captain held by Somali pirates; authorized the SEALS to do their job” – <b>which was to kill those black teen-agers for kidnapping a white American.</b>“36. US Navy increasing patrols off Somali coast” – <b>in order to make sure that white nations remain firmly in control the business of piracy.</b>“37. Attractive tax write-offs for those who buy hybrid automobiles” <b>– again, something that benefits only those well off enough to buy one of those cars.</b>“38. Cash for clunkers program offers vouchers to trade in fuel inefficient, polluting old cars for new cars; stimulated auto sales” – <b>again, a program that benefitted very few people with money to buy new cars.</b>“39. Announced plans to purchase fuel efficient American-made fleet for the federal government” – <b>perhaps he should have gotten a fleet of inefficient cars.</b>“40. Expanded the SCHIP program to cover health care for 4 million more children” – <b>not in impoverished communities.</b>“41. Signed national service legislation; expanded national youth service program” – a political move and one intended to accomplish the same thing as the fascist in Germany did with their youth.“42. Instituted a new policy on Cuba, allowing Cuban families to return home to visit loved ones” – <b>while maintaining the embargo and spewing the same old hostile rhetoric of every administration before his.</b>“43. Ended the previous policy of not regulating and labeling carbon dioxide emissions” – <b>Okay, but we already knew what it was, putting a label on it does not necessarily help eliminate the problem.</b>“44. Expanding vaccination programs” – <b>so the government can better infect people with bacteria it is testing and place tracking implant chips under their skin, so everybody can be “chipped up” as one Rockefeller put it.</b>“45. Immediate and efficient response to the floods in North Dakota and other natural disasters” – <b>just don’t let it involve any large black populations, otherwise we will see a repeat of the continuing non-response like with New Orleans.</b>“46. Closed offshore tax safe havens” – <b>which the super rich did not need any more any way.</b>“47. Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals” – <b>but that depends on who is labeled as a “tax evader and criminal,” Obama has yet to admit that George Bush and Dick Chaney are tax evaders and criminals</b>.“48. Ended the previous policy of offering tax benefits to corporations who outsource American jobs” – <b>although such “offerings” will no longer be made, it does not mean that they no longer exist, for we do not see any jobs coming back and no slow down in corporations outsourcing jobs overseas.</b>“49. Ended the previous practice of protecting credit card companies; in place of it are new consumer protections from credit card industry's predatory practices” - <b>that remains to be seen since the credit card companies and the banks are really one in the same</b>.“50. Energy producing plants must begin preparing to produce 15% of their energy from renewable sources” – <b>again, a Jedi mind game since “renewable sources” is a matter of definition.</b>“51. Lower drug costs for seniors” – <b>which is why people are still having to go to Canada and Mexico to obtain affordable drugs.</b>“52. Ended the previous practice of forbidding Medicare from negotiating with drug manufacturers for cheaper drugs; the federal government is now realizing hundreds of millions in savings” – <b>really, so where are those hundreds of million of dollars going? To the banks, military, and into the pockets of politicians, CEOs, and lobbyists.</b>“53. Increasing pay and benefits for military personnel” – <b>for a better paid imperial mercenary force.</b>“54. Improved housing for military personnel” – <b>for a better housed imperial mercenary force.</b>“55. Initiating a new policy to promote federal hiring of military spouses” – <b>in order to co-opt the families of mercenaries into the imperial military force.</b>“56. Improved conditions at Walter Reed Military Hospital and other military hospitals” – <b>which actually began under Bush only after the shameful conditions were publicly exposed.</b>“57. Increasing student loans” – <b>Remains to be seen</b>.“58. Increasing opportunities in AmeriCorps program” – <b>more fascist Brown-shirt development.</b>“59. Sent envoys to Middle East and other parts of the world that had been neglected for years” – <b>but not to Gaza, Somalia, Yemen</b>. “…reengaging in multilateral and bilateral talks and diplomacy” - <b>with Israel, Hamid Karzi, and various “War Lords (or other Lords of War).</b>“60. Established a new cyber security office” – <b>to benefit who?</b>“61. Beginning the process of reforming and restructuring the military 20 years after the Cold War to a more modern fighting force; this includes new procurement policies, increasing size of military, new technology and cyber units and operations, etc” - <b>my point exactly.</b>“62. Ended previous policy of awarding no-bid defense contracts” – <b>but not reducing the need for the contracts and the military.</b>“63. Ordered a review of hurricane and natural disaster preparedness” – <b>Okay, but we will not know what that means until the levees break again.</b>“64. Established a National Performance Officer charged with saving the federal government money and making federal operations more efficient” – <b>this is a real Casper the Friendly Ghost statement.</b>“65. Students struggling to make college loan payments can have their loans refinanced” – <b>at higher rates by the bailed out banks, when it was the students who needed to be bailed out.</b>“66. Improving benefits for veterans” – <b>again, improving on the imperial mercenary force.</b>“67. Many more press conferences and town halls and much more media access than previous administration” - <b>because the Obama machination is good at playing the Jedi mind games.</b>“68. Instituted a new focus on mortgage fraud” – <b>hmmm, that is like closing the barn door after the horses are all gone.</b>“69. The FDA is now regulating tobacco” – <b>you mean drug dealing allowed by the government.</b>“70. Ended previous policy of cutting the FDA and circumventing FDA rules” – <b>to accomplish what?</b>“71. Ended previous practice of having White House aides rewrite scientific and environmental rules, regulations, and reports” – <b>and so?</b>“72. Authorized discussions with North Korea and private mission by Pres. Bill Clinton to secure the release of two Americans held in prisons” – <b>two Americans who admittedly violated the law, and what about the nearly 3 million people this country holds in prison, many of whom are there simply because they are not white and impoverished?</b>“73. Authorized discussions with Myanmar and mission by Sen. Jim Web to secure the release of an American held captive” – <b>by a military junta that employs terrorism against the people and holds thousands in prison. America did not concern itself with those details though since the junta is an ally in “the War on Terror.”</b>“74. Making more loans available to small businesses” – <b>not black ones.</b>“75. Established independent commission to make recommendations on slowing the costs of Medicare” – <b>How is this an “accomplishment’?</b>“76. Appointment of first Latina to the Supreme Court” – <b>it is called tokenism.</b>“77. Authorized construction/opening of additional health centers to care for veterans” – <b>again, benefits for being a mercenary.</b>“78. Limited salaries of senior White House aides; cut to $100,000” – <b>so?</b>“79. Renewed loan guarantees for Israel” – <b>of course, so it can continue expanding settlements and killing Palestinians.</b>“80. Changed the failing/status quo military command in Afghanistan” – <b>so it can better prop up a puppet and corrupt government.</b>“81. Deployed additional troops to Afghanistan” – <b>my point.</b>“82. New Afghan War policy that limits aerial bombing and prioritizes aid, development of infrastructure, diplomacy, and good government practices by Afghans” – <b>all crap.</b>“83. Announced the long-term development of a national energy grid with renewable sources and cleaner, efficient energy production.” - <b>yet, another empty promise and not an accomplishment.</b>“84. Returned money authorized for refurbishment of White House offices and private living quarters” – <b>not an “accomplishment,” he did not need the money with all of his rich friends.</b>“85. Paid for redecoration of White House living quarters out of his own pocket” – <b>another redundant claim, see number “84,” which is not an “accomplishment”.</b>“86. Held first Seder in White House” – <b>what the hell is that and how is it an accomplishment?</b>“87. Attempting to reform the nation's healthcare system which is the most expensive in the world yet leaves almost 50 million without health insurance and millions more under insured” - <b>no he isn’t.</b>“88. Has put the ball in play for comprehensive immigration reform” – <b>no he hasn’t.</b>“89. Has announced his intention to push for energy reform” – <b>and so did Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, and Nixon?</b>“90. Has announced his intention to push for education reform” – <b>more empty promises, which is why he placed his children in private school.</b>Not one of Dr. Watson’s claims amounts to, or even comes close to qualifying as an “accomplishment,” more less as anything benefiting black and impoverished people in this country. To me, this is the type of knee-grow selling out that has got black people in America up shit creek with Obama buttons pinned to their brains. And keep in mind, Dr. Watson supposedly has a Doctorate, proving that being educated does not necessarily equate with being intelligent. The only degree I have is one of caring, of not being afraid to stand up and speak truth to power and the ignorant. Black people need to get out of this stupor over Obama, realize that a black face on a white system does not amount to an “accomplishment” for black people, understand that this is still Mr. Bobo’s plantation and we are still slaves on it. And we must start exposing and roundly rejecting all of those blacks who serve and aspire to be porch monkeys, lawn jockeys, house knee-grows, and garden-variety niggas.</div>In U.S. v Cuba on Human Rights, Raul Speaks for Mehttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/in-us-v-cuba-on-human-rights2009-04-24T03:36:51.000Z2009-04-24T03:36:51.000ZMalcolmXavierhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/MalcolmXavier<div>In U.S. v. Cuba: Raul Will Be Speaking for Me, Not ObamaBy Kwasi Seitu05/09 - U.S. politicians, from Barrack Obama to Rep. Connie Mack (R-Fla.), are expressing so much concern for human rights in Cuba as a basis for ending the four-decade blockade, “demanding” that Cuba “free its political prisoners” and move toward greater democratization. I see this as just another way of the U.S. deflecting attention from its own horrendous human rights record, domestically and globally. Connie Mack, who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere and was with President Obama at the Summit of the Americas last week, stated afterward that “I wish the president would have taken the opportunity to speak about [human and political rights issues in Cuba] and remind those countries who want to forget about the brutality of the Castro regime.” Did anyone then ask him about “Guantanamo,” or how “enhanced interrogation techniques” is not torture by another name? Has anyone said anything about “kidnapping” or “indefinite illegal detention”? Did anyone ask Representative Mack if he had seen the movie “American Violet”? It does not appear from where I stand as a black person in America that it is in any position to be accusing others of human rights violations and of lacking democracy.Last week marked the release of the movie “American Violet,” which is truly about American systemic violence against black people under the “War on Drugs,” and just as with the “War on Terrorism,” the movie shows that it has been “anything goes.” Even before there was the “War on Drugs,” there was the “War on Crime” (I and II), which put the criminal justice system and the prison industrial complex on steroids, which swelled into the nation’s prison population from the thousands into the millions, with a disproportionate number of them being black. And as with the other “wars” America has waged, anything goes, with many people, particularly black men, being illegally and wrongfully imprisoned and even executed. There is barely a pause as the number of wrongfully incarcerated people continues to grow. What was done by this country following the 9/11 incident, it had long been doing domestically, including the “mistreatment of prisoners” no different from that experienced by “terror suspects” at Guantanamo Bay. The real issue being that they were seized and have been held without a single human right America is bound to respect, the same basis on which blacks were kidnapped to, and enslaved in America. This notion of reducing people to a status of having no rights America is bound to respect is the basis of policing and criminal prosecutions in America and yet, America has the nerve to charge Cuba with politically imprisoning people. I would like to see America admit that it has its own political prisoners, far more than Cuba could ever muster, but that is a non-issue in the United States of Denial.The story of “American Violet” is based on true events that occurred in Hearne, Texas. The movie raises critical issues such as “The War on Drugs” really being an extension of “The War on Crime,” and how it has amounted to a war on black and poor people. The movie shows how all of the millions diverted to “law enforcement” and the wide birth given it by the courts, has only resulted in strengthening the iron fist of racist and corrupt officials in oppressing the black population, particularly in the South. In the impoverished black projects of Hearne, Texas, 30 black folk were swept up and their lives criminally assaulted by local authorities under the guise of “law enforcement,” they were all charged with drug sells based on the uncorroborated word of one white informant. A few years ago we found the same identical thing going on in Tulia, Texas, then came Katrina, New Orleans and Jena, Louisiana. And as pointed out in the film, federal dollars go to the counties with the most convictions, which has pumped up local law enforcement, allowing for the employment of more local Klan members as police and jailers. Prosecutors and judges are commanding officers of the terroristic police occupation of impoverished black communities.In Tulia, 44 people were arrested in a drug task force raid on the black community, 39 of those people were black, all on the word of one white man, just like in Hearne and so many other communities. In 2001, months before the 9/11 incident, 45 black people were swept up in a similar drug task force raid in Gaffney, South Carolina. And as in Tulia, and in Hearne, those black people were held without a shred of evidence, all were charged with drug sells, the only evidence were pictures of the people walking down the street, standing on their porch, standing on the side walk, crossing the railroad tracks. I kid you not… those people were held without ever seeing a judge, under excessive bonds, without attorneys, with detectives, prosecutors, and jailers pressuring them to plead guilty. That raid took place in December 2000 and in June 2001, I was again kidnapped by the local officials responsible for the raid because I was calling attention to the situation and so, was in jail with those people. Out of the forty-five arrested more than six-months before, only one or two where able to make the bond or more appropriately “ransom” demanded. All of the rest were in overcrowded brand new maximum security mini-prison posing as a county jail, none of them had ever seen in judge, talked with an attorney, been accorded any form of due process and protection in all that time.I found an identical situation going on in Cook and Lowndes counties of Georgia, and in Gadsden County, Florida. I spent the entire decade of the 1980s combating this practice in Mississippi. In 2003, I reported to the Judiciary Committees of the House and the Senate that the FBI, the U.S. Attorneys in South Carolina and Georgia, as well as the federal judiciary there were acting in collusion with the practice of subjecting black communities and black people to a terrorist police state of peonage. My complaint to the Congress called on it to exercise its oversight responsibility over the conduct of those federal agencies and federal judges that clearly obstruct justice, refusing to investigate, prosecute, or allow habeas corpus relief from the illegal detention. To date, not a single member of either committee has even batted an eye, shown not an ounce of concern, not like they have shown toward U.S. Attorneys being used to prosecute democrats or learning that the FBI has been spying on them as well as average people. And since they are all concerned about human rights in Cuba and Iran, perhaps they could show some concern about the fact that this government is guilty of major human rights violation domestically, as well as internationally.Obama promised change, but he really never specified just what kind of “change” he had in mind for black folk, so it is no wonder that it looks like he meant that he would be back “with the change, if there is any left” by time he and “post-racial” America finishes with us. One would imagine that the black members of the House Judiciary Committee, especially its chair, Congressman John Conyers, to be sensitive to complaints of racial discrimination in the enforcement of law, particularly by federal agents and appointees. Not so. And being that John Lewis is from Georgia, just as James Clyburn is from South Carolina, you would expect that they too would be concerned, but not so. On the very day that John Lewis was making some headlines in launching his civil rights trial tour, accompanied by none other than the first black U.S. Attorney General, appointed by the first “Black President,” Lewis sent me a very brief letter informing me that he is not concerned about what is going on in Georgia, or perhaps he meant in Cook County. Lewis advised that if indeed black people are being illegally seized and held like prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, then they should get a lawyer. Seems like a few of us have “overcome” the need for justice, a few of us have arrived and really are not interested in justice.The United States is in no position to be “demanding” that Cuba cow tow to the almighty self-declared “Democracy” and release its “political prisoners,” as if it does not have any. There is Mumia Abu Jamal, Mutulu Shakur, Sundiata Acoli, the Move 9, Imam Jamil, Leonard Peltier, Hose Peddia, the Cuban Five, and the list goes on. I hope and expect the Raul Castro’s offer to have an open dialogue, including “human rights and political prisoners,” as if the embargo had nothing to do with them. Cuba, in order to be given any consideration of dialogue, is being called on to roll over, play dead, and then beg. Let me remind you that this is the same government that targets wars on black people under metaphors for continued social oppression, refuses to address and respond to a demand by black people for it to end its practices. Ironically, if the U.S. and Cuba do sit down and talk turkey, it will be Raul speaking on behalf of the oppressed in this country, not Obama, he will be speaking in defense of this racist state of human rights denial as he has indicated in the press. Unless President Barack Obama starts acting like shining star of “Hope and Change,” the only change we will see is no change, he must take a more honest and humble position if he is to make a real difference. But then, he is the president of a hypocrisy and not a democracy. For this reason, Raul will be speaking for me.</div>Laying Seige to Congress: No Sanctuary for Jim Crowhttps://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/2055350-Topic-146982008-10-24T07:18:05.000Z2008-10-24T07:18:05.000ZMalcolmXavierhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/MalcolmXavier<div>by Kwasi SeituToday I sent out a broadcast email urging recipients to visit <a href="http://www.pdn-itj.org">www.pdn-itj.org</a>, where they would gain a better understanding of what I meant when I asked them to “Help end coon hunting.” Within a few hours I received one email response which I found provided an opportunity for dialogue. I will not go into the complete content of the email, half of it reflected some deep confusion; it was the second half that I found more applicable to increasing public understanding. The writer reduced my complaint and demand to congress to “whining” and even worse, by implication, to begging. It did not upset me, for it is anything but begging. I found it interesting, this work is about obtaining justice by any means necessary, and this is necessary.Let me try to give a more succinct idea of what my demand on congress is about. If you go to the site, you will first learn that congress has had my complaint and ignored my demand for six-years and counting. Now, the complaint is not for “reparations,” nor for some show hearing like was done with Tulia and Jena. This is a demand for full blown public “oversight” hearings to investigate criminal collusion by FBI agents, U.S. Attorneys, and federal judges with racist oppression in the south. My complaint reports events that began in 2000, and practices that clearly violate domestic and international law, irrefutably exposing the connections and criminal nature of institutional racism. Hearings are being held on renditions, torture, indefinite detention, the “politization” of the DOJ, domestic spying, but none on “coon hunting.” All of these things occur with “coon hunting,” I provide solid proof of it, from the fruit to the root. Speaking of which, that is why I say that I have been hunting down “Jim Crow,” exposing all of his alleged hiding places, chasing and exposing him, from hide-out to hide-out. Now, he has been chased and found hold-up in congress, I suggest we besiege the place, end his miserable life right here.Of course, I do not in any way think that hearings and action by the government is the solution, the solution is mass action to bring about change, to bring about justice. It has been clearly shown here that black people in the south are being subjected to the systematic deprivation of human rights by the state and federal government. They have long suffered the terror of living under racist criminal enterprises posing as government; that is state sponsored terrorism! Our people are subject to just being stopped, seized, jailed, beaten, tortured, falsely imprisoned, indefinitely detained, wrongfully imprisoned, even killed, and none of it is ever treated as criminal. As for the right to petition the courts for redress, it is reduced to a joke by racist criminal judges who obstruct judicial process by doing whatever they please, but comply with the law. And they do it blatantly because they know that the system has their back, and I understood that, so if since they were going to shit, I just made sure to catch it all on paper for later use.So, here it is, I do not expect congress to respond to just me, I just throw it up there knowing that it would stick at least until I could get into position to grow the thing. You know, everything has its time, and now is a good time. It is a good time because the last eight-years have truly exposed the criminal hypocrisy of this country, domestically and internationally. This is about holding the system to account, but that requires that we mobilize around this, place congress under siege until they fork over the villain, the terrorist Jim Crow. So, get your torches, your pitch forks, clubs, whatever, and meet me on the mall so we can march on congress and place it under siege until they turn over the monster, otherwise we will turn every one of them out as being monsters too. I am not interested in the separate and unequal justice delayed is justice served nonsense we get. There are plenty of racist criminals still running around as the latest generation of overlords.You will also find on the sight news reports that the prosecutor, judge, and other local officials in the Alapaha Judicial District have been and are being subjected to criminal prosecutions by the U.S. Attorney Maxwell Wood in Georgia. It is no coincidence that this all began only after I began “whining” to congress, but it was not congress that was pushing the prosecutions. The prosecutions came as a result of my taking the matter to the highest levels of the DOJ, if with nothing other than letters, I make sure that no one can say that they did not know, and did not understand. The DOJ realized this when I then began to spread that information around, and this was right before the collapse of George Tenent and John Ashcroft, and I kept it up through Alberto Gonzales. They saw the hand writing on the wall, so they initiated deals to subject the local officials to sham criminal charges, none having anything to do with “coon hunting,” which by the way continues to go on, and that seems to be the objective. The officials would be forced to resign from office, they will all plead guilty, get a slap on the wrist for “corruption,” but they won’t have to answer for kidnap, torture, hostage holding, illegal detention, extortion, or any of the more serious criminal offenses they have committed.These prosecutions are hedge move, in event we make a break through the iron curtain of “democracy” American-style and succeed to forcing the hearings, the sham prosecutions would be used to deflate our charges and misdirect the issue. It won’t work, I knew they would come with the sham prosecutions; I did not care as long as it resulted in a disruption of the racist criminal enterprise. With that disruption comes the opportunity for the community to gather and organize itself without risking immediate repression. And with those offices being vacated, it is an opportunity to fill them with grassroots people, and right now many offices and positions are being vacated in the Alapaha district. However, that still is not good enough, because we are talking about putting “coon hunting” out of business, so we need to look into every purported “conviction” coming out of that district over the past 28-years. A lot of people have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned by those criminals, justice demands that be rectified immediately.So, this work has numerous components, local and regional objectives, as well as national and international objectives. It seeks prosecutions and restitution; it provides opportunities to mobilize and to organize, to build coalitions, to grow grassroots power. So, placing congress under siege to the demand for hearings is not a bad one at all, instead of marching on it when it is empty, we need to march on it when it is in session. Isn’t that what Democracy looks like? Oh, and lets keep in mind that the Democrats claim that they are not like the Republicans, they are for “civil liberties,” and they will have it all after November. That is because many of you put them first, it will then be our turn to make sure that they no longer leave us for last and never Email me with your ideas, let me know if you will join my siege of congress. Go to <a href="http://www.pdn-itj.org">www.pdn-itj.org</a> , my contact is there. Thank you.</div>It May Be 2008, But For Blacks in America, It Is Still 1857https://www.theblacklist.net/forum/topics/2055350-Topic-146032008-10-22T07:38:50.000Z2008-10-22T07:38:50.000ZMalcolmXavierhttps://www.theblacklist.net/members/MalcolmXavier<div>By K. Seitu 10/08Although America took down all of the outward signs of “Jim Crow,” it did not do away with racism within the institution of government, making it the sanctuary of racial oppression. At this very moment the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate are attempting to evade the need for hearings to investigate the practice of “coon hunting.” This is a practice instituted during the era of chattel-slavery when bands of armed white men would patrol the roads looking for blacks, making sure that none of them escaped slavery, including so-called “free blacks.” Just as then, it remains so now, this is the nature of policing in America, today it is known as “racial profiling.” And what few people understand is that it often goes far beyond mere inconvenience and harassment, it often escalates into assault, false arrest, illegal detention, torture, malicious prosecution, wrongful imprisonment and frequently, death. Racial profiling and the subsequent systemic participation of racist prosecutors and judges is a major contributing factor to America’s bulging prison population. Racism is an unspoken basis for the heavy reliance on repressive policing, prosecution, and prisons.Congress has given sanction to the Federal Bureau of Investigation refusing to investigate clear incidences “coon hunting,” illegal detention, and torture as a matter of practice in numerous districts in the south. In six-years of being notified and provided with documentation indicating that indeed the FBI was refusing to investigate the routine violation black people’s civil and human rights by sheriffs, prosecutors, and state court judges, Congress has done nothing. Congress was at the same time given notice and provided documentation showing that U.S. Attorneys in South Carolina and Georgia had acquiesced to the FBI refusing to conduct investigations of local sheriffs on the basis that they were their “friends,” even after the U.S. Attorneys had referred cases to the FBI for investigation. Congress was informed and provided with documentation showing that the U.S. Attorneys then refused to respond to the complaints of illegal detention, torture, and even interstate kidnapping. Congress was informed and provided with documentation showing efforts to cover up the misconduct and law-breaking of the FBI and U.S. Attorneys in South Carolina and Georgia went to the highest levels of the Department of Justice. Congress was notified and provided with documentation showing that a promised investigation of the FBI, U.S. States Attorneys, and numerous federal judges was obstructed and faked at the highest levels of the Department of Justice.In 2002, Congress was also notified and provided with documentation that federal judges and magistrates are engaging in the obstruction of judicial process, withholding it from habeas petitions filed by blacks against the illegal detentions. Congress was notified and provided with documentation showing that at the same time the Senate was confirming Terry Wooten as a federal judge in South Carolina, he was in fact engaged in a conspiracy to shield illegal detentions in Cherokee County, as well as a conspiracy to carry out an interstate kidnapping. Congress was also informed and provided with documentation showing that District Judge Patrick Duffy aided Wooten, that District Judge Hugh Lawson authorized the FBI and U.S. Attorney in Georgia to disregard the kidnapping, refusing to order them to perform their sworn law enforcement duties without regard to race. Congress was informed and provided with documentation showing that Magistrate Richard Hodge, with the support of Hugh Lawson, voided more than a dozen habeas corpus petitions concerning illegal detention by the sheriff of Cook County, Georgia. Congress was informed and provided with documentation showing that the voiding of judicial process, thus, the denial of the right of access to courts of law, was sanctioned up through the ranks of the federal judiciary, that considerations of fraternity and race trumped the law every time.In six-years of having been informed and provided with irrefutable documentation of all this, Congress has done absolutely nothing, no matter which party has been in control. “Jim Crow” ain’t, it is alive and holding office in congress. Some would say that it is extreme to say that the government is racist, corrupt, and unworkable even in the face of irrefutable evidence. No branch of the government, state or federal, has taken any action to ensure the rights of black, brown, and poor people. The Republicrats know the “equal right and justice for all’ is a damn lie, they tell it every day. It is the Republicrats that deny due protection of the law depending on who the criminal is and the color of the victim. Black, brown, and poor people are criminals, but can earn the title “hero” if they volunteer for “Indian Territory” and bring back some scalps. Congress has done nothing to address the practice of “coon hunting” in the south, and nothing about the fact federal employees and appointees are shown to be right in the thick of it as accomplices. This can only lead an informed mind to conclude that congress is as thoroughly racist, corrupt, and unworkable as the judicial and executive branches.Unfortunately, it seems that a number of the Congressional Black Caucus surrounded themselves with a bunch of professional gatekeepers, buck passers, and outright liars. It is amazing that after six-years, no one on the staff has made sure that they knew, for they say they are unaware. Congressman John Conyers (D), is the chair of the House Committee and on the Senate side, Senator Patrick Leahy (D) is the chair of the Senate Committee. Leahy is the biggest obstruction to hearins in the Senate. When Congress was initially informed about “coon hunting,” Senator Orrin Hatch (R) was the chair of the Senate committee, and Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R) was the chair of the House committee. At that time, I asked Congressman Conyers why no action had been taken on the information and he told me that it was because the committees and Congress, as well as the White House, were in control of the Republicans. He then went on to say that the only way anything would be done was for people to turn out in the next election to put Democrats in the majority. That did not sit well with me, for the issue is about racist crimes being committed on a grand scale by people draped in the office of government, it should not matter which party is in control, all that should matter is that congress has a responsibilty to hold those federal employees and appointees accountable, to be accountable instead of no account.Here in 2008, at the dawn of the real "firs black prezident," and not only are black people still not “citizens,” but are still held as a subjugated “subspecies” without a single right those holding the power and the government, at any level, are bound to respect. It is no accident that the u.s. supreme court never overturned and even repudiated its decision in the Dred Scott case, nor has any other branch of the government, black folk in America still have no rights America is bound to respect, not seriously. It may be 2008, but for black folk in America it is still 1857. (For more detail, go to: <a href="http://www.pdn-itj.org">www.pdn-itj.org</a>)</div>