Ⓐnarcho Queer
NYC Anarchist Noise Demo Reportback Friday’s noise demo outside of MCC for Jerry was a huge success! Despite the hurricane-like conditions, 75 people gathered outside the prison to make noise for Jerry. We unfurled a great support banner and screamed over the roar of the torrential downpour to make sure that Jerry could hear us, and as the noise demo started, we saw a black silhouette in one of the windows raise a fist in strength and solidarity. He confirmed on Saturday by way of a brief phone call that he could see and hear us, and that the figure in the window was him, and that he had never felt anything so powerful before. He asked that we thank everyone that joined us outside MCC and to let you all know how much he misses and loves you all. Not only did Jerry see us, but his fellow inmates in his wing did as well, and were really into the noise demo. Join us on Friday, June 28 at 8 PM for our second noise demo for Jerry, and for all prisoners at MCC.
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NYC Anarchist Noise Demo Reportback

Friday’s noise demo outside of MCC for Jerry was a huge success! Despite the hurricane-like conditions, 75 people gathered outside the prison to make noise for Jerry. We unfurled a great support banner and screamed over the roar of the torrential downpour to make sure that Jerry could hear us, and as the noise demo started, we saw a black silhouette in one of the windows raise a fist in strength and solidarity.

He confirmed on Saturday by way of a brief phone call that he could see and hear us, and that the figure in the window was him, and that he had never felt anything so powerful before. He asked that we thank everyone that joined us outside MCC and to let you all know how much he misses and loves you all. Not only did Jerry see us, but his fellow inmates in his wing did as well, and were really into the noise demo.

Join us on Friday, June 28 at 8 PM for our second noise demo for Jerry, and for all prisoners at MCC.

Source: anarcho-queer

NYPD Officers Violently Beats Gay Man, Pepper Sprays Him While In Handcuffs A handful of cops are in hot water after allegedly beating up a 26-year-old gay man outside the 79th Precinct station house, ostensibly for urinating in public. According to a statement from the New York City Anti-Violence Project, the man, identified as Josh Williams, was attacked by police in Bed-Stuy around 4 a.m. on June 2, with the accusing officer allegedly shoving him against a police car and several others “throwing him to the ground and pepper spraying him while he was in handcuffs.” A shaky video taken by one of the victim’s friends captures lots of shouting and swearing, though the circumstances leading up to the melee are unclear. A cop aggressively grabs Williams toward the beginning of the video, at one point shouting at the others, “You want to go with him, you stupid fuck?” The cameraman retreats around the corner and, upon returning, reveals a crush of at least four officers surrounding Williams, who at this point is on the ground. “Why is he standing in the parking lot of a police department?” one cop shouted. “Because the police officer right here called him over!” the camera man said. “That’s why he was standing here.” As Williams is dragged to the car, the cameraman requested the cop’s badge number, and was not acknowledged. Williams was ultimately charged with urinating in public and resisting arrest, said Sharon Stapel, AVP’s executive director. The NYPD has not responded to a request for comment. According to a statement from AVP, the two other witnesses—Williams’ roommates, also openly gay—were later arrested as well. Watch the full video. Williams, a waiter in Williamsburg, “suffered a laceration on his face that required four stitches, bruised ribs, a black eye and a scrape on his torso,” the Village Voice reports. The officers are reportedly under investigation by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau—both of Williams’s roommates, Ben Collins and Tony Maenza, allege that one officer used anti-gay slurs during the arrest. From the Voice report: Maenza was watching the incident from the sidewalk and videotaping with his phone. “Josh is on the ground, he’s surrounded by officers, he’s been maced, and they pick him up and take him into the precinct,” he says. “At that point, one of the officers called us ‘faggots.’” Collins recalled that the officer called them, “fucking faggots.”… Collins says he was slammed against a parked van and handcuffed. “I asked repeatedly what we were being charged with, and I wasn’t able to get an answer. I believe they arrested us because when the last officer who called us faggots, Tony told him that we had the incident on video, and I’m sure he relayed that information inside and they then decided to follow us outside and arrest us.”
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NYPD Officers Violently Beats Gay Man, Pepper Sprays Him While In Handcuffs

A handful of cops are in hot water after allegedly beating up a 26-year-old gay man outside the 79th Precinct station house, ostensibly for urinating in public. According to a statement from the New York City Anti-Violence Project, the man, identified as Josh Williams, was attacked by police in Bed-Stuy around 4 a.m. on June 2, with the accusing officer allegedly shoving him against a police car and several others “throwing him to the ground and pepper spraying him while he was in handcuffs.”

A shaky video taken by one of the victim’s friends captures lots of shouting and swearing, though the circumstances leading up to the melee are unclear. A cop aggressively grabs Williams toward the beginning of the video, at one point shouting at the others, “You want to go with him, you stupid fuck?” The cameraman retreats around the corner and, upon returning, reveals a crush of at least four officers surrounding Williams, who at this point is on the ground.

“Why is he standing in the parking lot of a police department?” one cop shouted. “Because the police officer right here called him over!” the camera man said. “That’s why he was standing here.”

As Williams is dragged to the car, the cameraman requested the cop’s badge number, and was not acknowledged. Williams was ultimately charged with urinating in public and resisting arrest, said Sharon Stapel, AVP’s executive director.

The NYPD has not responded to a request for comment. According to a statement from AVP, the two other witnesses—Williams’ roommates, also openly gay—were later arrested as well. Watch the full video.

Williams, a waiter in Williamsburg, “suffered a laceration on his face that required four stitches, bruised ribs, a black eye and a scrape on his torso,” the Village Voice reports. The officers are reportedly under investigation by the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau—both of Williams’s roommates, Ben Collins and Tony Maenza, allege that one officer used anti-gay slurs during the arrest. From the Voice report:

Maenza was watching the incident from the sidewalk and videotaping with his phone. “Josh is on the ground, he’s surrounded by officers, he’s been maced, and they pick him up and take him into the precinct,” he says. “At that point, one of the officers called us ‘faggots.’”

Collins recalled that the officer called them, “fucking faggots.”… Collins says he was slammed against a parked van and handcuffed. “I asked repeatedly what we were being charged with, and I wasn’t able to get an answer. I believe they arrested us because when the last officer who called us faggots, Tony told him that we had the incident on video, and I’m sure he relayed that information inside and they then decided to follow us outside and arrest us.”

Source: anarcho-queer

NY Senate Passes Bill That Makes “Annoying” Police A Felony The New York State Senate passed a controversial bill on Wednesday that aims to classify ‘aggravated harassment of a police officer’ as a crime, but will it give the authorities the green light for strong-arm tactics if passed? Sponsored by Senator Joe Griffo, Bill S.2402 would make it a felony to “harass, annoy, or threaten a police officer while on duty.”   “Our system of laws is established to protect the foundations of our society,” Senator Griffo said. “Police officers who risk their lives every day in our cities and on our highways deserve every possible protection, and those who treat them with disrespect, harass them and create situations that can lead to injuries deserve to pay a price for their actions.” Griffo said that New York police require extra safeguards because “too many people in our society have lost the respect they need to have for a police officer…. We need to make it very clear that when a police officer is performing his duty, every citizen needs to comply and that refusal to comply carries a penalty.” The bill, which will now move to the State Assembly, would make it a crime for a person to make any type of physical action aimed at intimidating a police officer. Harassment of a police officer would be recognized as a Class E Felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.
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NY Senate Passes Bill That Makes “Annoying” Police A Felony

The New York State Senate passed a controversial bill on Wednesday that aims to classify ‘aggravated harassment of a police officer’ as a crime, but will it give the authorities the green light for strong-arm tactics if passed?

Sponsored by Senator Joe Griffo, Bill S.2402 would make it a felony to “harass, annoy, or threaten a police officer while on duty.”  

“Our system of laws is established to protect the foundations of our society,” Senator Griffo said. “Police officers who risk their lives every day in our cities and on our highways deserve every possible protection, and those who treat them with disrespect, harass them and create situations that can lead to injuries deserve to pay a price for their actions.”

Griffo said that New York police require extra safeguards because “too many people in our society have lost the respect they need to have for a police officer…. We need to make it very clear that when a police officer is performing his duty, every citizen needs to comply and that refusal to comply carries a penalty.”

The bill, which will now move to the State Assembly, would make it a crime for a person to make any type of physical action aimed at intimidating a police officer. Harassment of a police officer would be recognized as a Class E Felony, punishable by up to four years in prison.

Source: anarcho-queer

Classified Documents Show CIA Has No Clue Who It's Killing In Targeted Drone Strikes

socialismartnature:

Richard Engel and Robert Windrem of NBC News published a horrifying report today revealing that the CIA doesn’t always know the identities of the people it’s executing in drone strikes. Their findings are based on a review of 14 months worth of classified documents that describe 114 drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan beginning in September 2010.

About one of every four of those killed by drones in Pakistan between Sept. 3, 2010, and Oct. 30, 2011, were classified as “other militants,” the documents detail. The “other militants” label was used when the CIA could not determine the affiliation of those killed, prompting questions about how the agency could conclude they were a threat to U.S. national security.

This is similar to the Obama administration’s strategy for keeping the civilian death toll low by labeling any military age male killed in a drone strike a “militant”.

(via mochente)

Source: raniakhalek.com

eisforellie: anarcho-queer: ridethe-spiral: alittlelateforalot: ihaveabsolutelynoidea: godofman: Because homeless people can’t afford property tax or house payments. I’m sorry but I really would rather a house be empty than just given away. It does need to be paid for by someone. Are you fucking seriousI wanna see you be homeless and then tell me that empty houses should stay empty BOOOOOOOOO, fuck that guy. When you were putting your head up your ass to type that did it occur to you that empty houses don’t generate any fucking revenue either? Property taxes and home payments ain’t getting made if the house is empty. fuck you so hard dude Do we not take in to account that many of these homes are potential income makers for the owners? I’m sure these statistics are based off of homes for rent also, that if given to a homeless person to use, lose the potential income gained from either renting it or leaving it vacant. Because a homeless person cannot afford that bills or property taxes to begin with, the owner is losing income. Giving these homes away would result in an overall decrease of income for more people than it benefits, in plain terms. I’m not looking at this from any other viewpoint than economical though. I’m not saying that homeless people don’t deserve homes, just that they don’t deserve homes paid for by other people. In other words: Wealth > Homelessness Who gives a fuck about the owners? They’re the one’s contributing the most to homelessness by hoarding property for the purpose of profit. We could literally abolish homelessness if it wasn’t for them and the capitalist system that values private property over human lives. I dont think some of you realize that the income loss isn’t for one person. The company who built the house loses profits yes but so the employees who drew up the plans, the contractors, the builders, the suppliers, distributors, etcIt isn’t as simple as wealth > homelessness people rely on houses selling to make a living to support themselves and their families. When a house doesn’t sell it affects DOZENS of families and people, not just one sole owner The job of the “company who built the house” and contractors must be done  before the ‘certificate of occupancy’ can even be obtained. Only after then can the process of finding tenants begin. How how exactly does is the contractor’s (who more than likely signed a contract detailing that they must be paid by the owner when they complete their job) income affected by a lack of tenancy? I think you’re just pulling shit out of your ass.
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eisforellie:

anarcho-queer:

ridethe-spiral:

alittlelateforalot:

ihaveabsolutelynoidea:

godofman:

Because homeless people can’t afford property tax or house payments. I’m sorry but I really would rather a house be empty than just given away. It does need to be paid for by someone.

Are you fucking serious
I wanna see you be homeless and then tell me that empty houses should stay empty

BOOOOOOOOO, fuck that guy. When you were putting your head up your ass to type that did it occur to you that empty houses don’t generate any fucking revenue either? Property taxes and home payments ain’t getting made if the house is empty. fuck you so hard dude

Do we not take in to account that many of these homes are potential income makers for the owners? I’m sure these statistics are based off of homes for rent also, that if given to a homeless person to use, lose the potential income gained from either renting it or leaving it vacant. Because a homeless person cannot afford that bills or property taxes to begin with, the owner is losing income. Giving these homes away would result in an overall decrease of income for more people than it benefits, in plain terms. I’m not looking at this from any other viewpoint than economical though. I’m not saying that homeless people don’t deserve homes, just that they don’t deserve homes paid for by other people.

In other words: Wealth > Homelessness

Who gives a fuck about the owners? They’re the one’s contributing the most to homelessness by hoarding property for the purpose of profit. We could literally abolish homelessness if it wasn’t for them and the capitalist system that values private property over human lives.

I dont think some of you realize that the income loss isn’t for one person. The company who built the house loses profits yes but so the employees who drew up the plans, the contractors, the builders, the suppliers, distributors, etc
It isn’t as simple as wealth > homelessness people rely on houses selling to make a living to support themselves and their families. When a house doesn’t sell it affects DOZENS of families and people, not just one sole owner

The job of the “company who built the house” and contractors must be done  before the ‘certificate of occupancy’ can even be obtained. Only after then can the process of finding tenants begin. How how exactly does is the contractor’s (who more than likely signed a contract detailing that they must be paid by the owner when they complete their job) income affected by a lack of tenancy? I think you’re just pulling shit out of your ass.

Source: anarcho-queer

ACLU Study: Marijuana Arrests Far More Likely For Blacks Than Whites Black people are arrested for possessing marijuana at a higher rate than white people, even though marijuana use by both races is about the same, the American Civil Liberties Union reports in a new study. The analysis of federal crime data, released Tuesday, found marijuana arrest rates for blacks were 3.73 times greater than those for whites nationally in 2010. In some counties, the arrest rate was 10 to 30 times greater for blacks. An overall increase in marijuana possession arrests from 2001 to 2010 is largely attributable to drastic increases in arrests of black people, the ACLU said. Ezekiel Edwards, lead author of the study, attributed the disparate arrest rates to racial profiling by police seeking to pad their arrest numbers with “low-level” arrests in “certain communities that they have kind of labeled as problematic.” Blacks were arrested at a rate of 537 per 100,000 people in 2001. In 2010, their arrest rate rose to 716 per 100,000. The 2001 number for white people was 191 per 100,000 and rose to 192 per 100,000 in 2010, the ACLU said. Despite the disparate rates, far more whites were arrested in 2010 for marijuana possession, 460,808, compared to blacks, 286,117. The unequal arrests rates are not confined to a single U.S. region or to urban areas with larger black populations, the ACLU said. That discrepancy is found throughout the country, regardless of the size of the black population of the location and at all income levels, the data shows. African Americans living in counties with the highest median household incomes, $85,000 to $115,000, are two to eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. In counties with median household incomes of $22,000 to $30,000, the arrest rate for blacks is 1.5 times to five the rate as for whites, the report said.
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ACLU Study: Marijuana Arrests Far More Likely For Blacks Than Whites

Black people are arrested for possessing marijuana at a higher rate than white people, even though marijuana use by both races is about the same, the American Civil Liberties Union reports in a new study.

The analysis of federal crime data, released Tuesday, found marijuana arrest rates for blacks were 3.73 times greater than those for whites nationally in 2010. In some counties, the arrest rate was 10 to 30 times greater for blacks.

An overall increase in marijuana possession arrests from 2001 to 2010 is largely attributable to drastic increases in arrests of black people, the ACLU said.

Ezekiel Edwards, lead author of the study, attributed the disparate arrest rates to racial profiling by police seeking to pad their arrest numbers with “low-level” arrests in “certain communities that they have kind of labeled as problematic.”

Blacks were arrested at a rate of 537 per 100,000 people in 2001. In 2010, their arrest rate rose to 716 per 100,000. The 2001 number for white people was 191 per 100,000 and rose to 192 per 100,000 in 2010, the ACLU said.

Despite the disparate rates, far more whites were arrested in 2010 for marijuana possession, 460,808, compared to blacks, 286,117.

The unequal arrests rates are not confined to a single U.S. region or to urban areas with larger black populations, the ACLU said. That discrepancy is found throughout the country, regardless of the size of the black population of the location and at all income levels, the data shows.

African Americans living in counties with the highest median household incomes, $85,000 to $115,000, are two to eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. In counties with median household incomes of $22,000 to $30,000, the arrest rate for blacks is 1.5 times to five the rate as for whites, the report said.

Source: anarcho-queer

thepeoplesrecord: Philadelphia adopting ‘doomsday’ school-slashing plan despite $400 million prison projectJune 6, 2013 Days after Philadelphia officials pushed the city one step closer to a so-called “doomsday” education plan that would see two dozen schools close, construction began on a $400-million prison said to be the second-most expensive state project ever. Pennsylvania’s School Reform Commission voted on June 1 to approve a $2.4 billion budget, ignoring hours of pleas from students, parents, educators and community members who warned the budget would cripple city schools.  The plan would close 23 public schools, roughly 10 per cent of the city’s total. Commissioners rejected a proposal that would have only closed four of the 27 schools that were on the block for closure.  Without the means to cover a $304 million debt, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, students can expect to go back to school in September without new books, paper, counselors, clubs, librarians, assistant principals or secretaries. All athletics, art and music programs would be eliminated and as many as 3,000 people could lose their jobs.  Only one of five state commissioners voted against the proposal, warning that Republican Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s administration had not looked hard enough elsewhere for proper funds.  That $304 million windfall is unlikely to be filled because the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed a tax break for corporations that will cost Pennsylvania residents an estimated $600 million to $800 million annually. Newly unemployed teachers might consider submitting their resumes to the Department of Corrections, though, with the news that the supposedly cash-strapped government is digging deep to spend $400 million for the construction of State Correctional Institutions Phoenix I and II.  The penitentiary, which is technically two facilities, will supplement at least two existing jails, the Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh and Fayette County Jail. Pittsburgh’s Western Penitentiary was built in 2003 with the original intention of replacing Fayette County Jail, but the prison has struggled with lawsuits claiming widespread physical and sexual abuse of prisoners.  Scheduled to be completed in 2015, the new prison’s cell blocks and classroom will be capable of housing almost 5,000 inmates. Officials said there will be buildings for female inmates, the mentally ill and a death row population.  Journalist Rhania Khalek noted that the racial disparities in the education system and prison complex, where 60 per cent of all people are of color, have created a literal “school-to-prison-pipeline.”  “In Philadelphia, black students comprise 81 per cent of those who will be impacted by the closings despite accounting for just 58 per cent of the overall student population,” she wrote. “In stark contrast, just 4 per cent of those affected are white kids who make up 14 per cent of Philly students. And though they make up 81 per cent of Philadelphia students, 93 per cent of kids affected by the closings are low-income.” SourcePhoto: Decarcerate PA marching through Harrisburg on the way to protest school closures at the Capitol.
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thepeoplesrecord:

Philadelphia adopting ‘doomsday’ school-slashing plan despite $400 million prison project
June 6, 2013

Days after Philadelphia officials pushed the city one step closer to a so-called “doomsday” education plan that would see two dozen schools close, construction began on a $400-million prison said to be the second-most expensive state project ever.

Pennsylvania’s School Reform Commission voted on June 1 to approve a $2.4 billion budget, ignoring hours of pleas from students, parents, educators and community members who warned the budget would cripple city schools. 

The plan would close 23 public schools, roughly 10 per cent of the city’s total. Commissioners rejected a proposal that would have only closed four of the 27 schools that were on the block for closure. 

Without the means to cover a $304 million debt, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, students can expect to go back to school in September without new books, paper, counselors, clubs, librarians, assistant principals or secretaries. All athletics, art and music programs would be eliminated and as many as 3,000 people could lose their jobs. 

Only one of five state commissioners voted against the proposal, warning that Republican Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s administration had not looked hard enough elsewhere for proper funds. 

That $304 million windfall is unlikely to be filled because the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed a tax break for corporations that will cost Pennsylvania residents an estimated $600 million to $800 million annually.

Newly unemployed teachers might consider submitting their resumes to the Department of Corrections, though, with the news that the supposedly cash-strapped government is digging deep to spend $400 million for the construction of State Correctional Institutions Phoenix I and II. 

The penitentiary, which is technically two facilities, will supplement at least two existing jails, the Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh and Fayette County Jail. Pittsburgh’s Western Penitentiary was built in 2003 with the original intention of replacing Fayette County Jail, but the prison has struggled with lawsuits claiming widespread physical and sexual abuse of prisoners. 

Scheduled to be completed in 2015, the new prison’s cell blocks and classroom will be capable of housing almost 5,000 inmates. Officials said there will be buildings for female inmates, the mentally ill and a death row population. 

Journalist Rhania Khalek noted that the racial disparities in the education system and prison complex, where 60 per cent of all people are of color, have created a literal “school-to-prison-pipeline.” 

“In Philadelphia, black students comprise 81 per cent of those who will be impacted by the closings despite accounting for just 58 per cent of the overall student population,” she wrote. “In stark contrast, just 4 per cent of those affected are white kids who make up 14 per cent of Philly students. And though they make up 81 per cent of Philadelphia students, 93 per cent of kids affected by the closings are low-income.”

Source
Photo: Decarcerate PA marching through Harrisburg on the way to protest school closures at the Capitol.

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