Jan 15

I AM CHARLIE?

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read, Other, What the experts say, Worth a look 0 comments
January 8, 2015 Too bad these young men couldn’t be taken alive and interviewed I want to know why they were killed and did they actually do what the media and police says they did. Nobody seems to want to examine the racism and the prejudice against Muslims. I keep hearing the BS on from white media who are acting like they don’t understand this. These guys probably aren’t terrorists any more than MLK or Malcolm were. They are young men of color who don’t feel a part of society…duh…sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The USA manages to send its racism around the world without even trying hard, doesn’t it? Did I mention what happened in Paris and what’s happening here BLACK LIVES MATTER and the willingness the police unions to stage a Blue Flu action, could be teachable moments about white privilege and Black lives don’t matter attitudes? I’m not creative enough to design something but I sure can see the links. Can you?
Jan 15

NYC POLICE KILLINGS AND THE HAYMARKET MASSACRE

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read, Worth a look 0 comments
January 5, 2015, Dear Bill Fletcher, I read your article I agree with most of it. I do think that the young man who killed the 2 cops had a good reason to be in New York on that day. I believe that he wanted to eliminate everybody in his life that day including his family in Brooklyn who refused to let him into their family home. I’m betting that he hung out in the city wasting time at the mall, hoping if he returned to the family home he could get in and kill them too then himself. When his people wouldn’t provide access (I believe for a second time or third time that day) he grew enraged. He killed the next thing besides his family that represented authority… the two police officers sitting in their car. I just don’t believe he came to town with the intention to murder the two cops. I believe they represented a substitute for authority (that is his family) to his very sick mind. It saddens me that Pat Lynch and his fellow officers have used these murders to their benefit. It’s almost as if they were waiting for something like this to […]
Jan 09

The thing about white privilege

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read, Worth a look 0 comments
On December 19, 2014, I read this article about white privilege. For those of you who don’t know what white privilege is, you should read the article entitled, “The thing about white privilege,” on LinkedIn at http://linkd.in/1v996HQ. However, just in case you don’t want to read the article right now, here’s a definition. In brief, white privilege is what rules our country today. It’s what allows a young white person living in New York City not to understand what stop and frisk is because he or she will never experience being stopped by a police officer and searched (that is fondled) looking for drugs simply because he or she is white. It’s what allows a young white person to shop in an exclusive or brand name store and not worry about salespeople following them around because they might steal something even though they have more than enough money to pay for anything they want. It’s what allows an applicant with a white sounding to get a call back for the job over all other applicants with Black or Hispanic sounding names when everybody has the same qualifications. It’s allows a white couple to receive a lower mortgage rate or refinance […]
Jan 03

The 10 Worst Civil Liberties Violations of 2014

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read, Other 0 comments
Portside Date: December 30, 2014 Author: Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern Date of Source: Monday, December 29, 2014 Slate The world may not actually be falling apart [1]—but it feels like America is. From police brutality and botched executions to voter suppression and election corruption, 2014 was a terrible year for civil liberties in the United States. Protests were quelled by military-grade weapons in scenes worthy of a banana republic, and the divide between the rich and the poor in the freedom and justice they are afforded is Dickensian in its scope. While the country has evolved on marriage equality, it often appears to be backtracking on just about every other advance we have made, from the racial and gender progress of the 1960s to the most basic principles of the criminal justice system. Below, we’ve listed the top 10 civil liberties nightmares of 2014 in no particular order. Here’s hoping this list is harder to put together next year. Read the entire article here. Source URL: https://portside.org/2014-12-30/10-worst-civil-liberties-violations-2014
Jan 03

Grassroots Message Against Police Violence—and All Violence—Stands Firm

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read, Other 0 comments
Portside Date: December 29, 2014 Author: Heidi Boghosian Date of Source: Friday, December 26, 2014 Common Dreams Just minutes after unfurling a 50-foot banner on the side of the A.J. Muste Building in Manhattan (also dubbed the “Peace Pentagon” for the nonviolent social change organizations it houses) a friend called to tell me that two police officers had been shot, execution style, in Brooklyn. I was composing a Tweet about the banner but deleted it mid-phrase. The banner reads: “NYC to Ferguson: End Police Violence,” and it was sponsored by the Campaign to Bring Mumia Home. Read the entire article here: Source URL: https://portside.org/2014-12-30/grassroots-message-against-police-violence%E2%80%94and-all-violence%E2%80%94stands-firm
Jan 03

Stop Kidding Yourself: The Police Were Created to Control Working Class and Poor People

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read 0 comments
Portside Date: December 30, 2014 Author: Sam Mitrani Date of Source: Monday, December 29, 2014 LAWCHA, Labor and Working Class History Association Before the nineteenth century, there were no police forces that we would recognize as such anywhere in the world. In the Northern United States, there was a system of elected constables and sheriffs, much more responsible to the population in a very direct way than the police are today. In the South, the closest thing to a police force was the slave patrols. Then, as Northern cities grew and filled with mostly immigrant wage workers who were physically and socially separated from the ruling class, the wealthy elite who ran the various municipal governments hired hundreds and then thousands of armed men to impose order on the new working class neighborhoods. Here is the link for the entire article Source URL: https://portside.org/2014-12-30/stop-kidding-yourself-police-were-created-control-working-class-and-poor-people
Dec 29

HOLIDAY GRAB BAG SPECIALS!!!

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read, Other 0 comments
Wanna a great grab bag gift for the holidays? Buy a book. Hey wait a minute! Why buy one book when you can buy three books for under $10!!! This is not a misprint. Buy all THREE amazon books for UNDER $10. SAFE HAVEN is an uplifting story of domestic abuse. It is only $2.99 http://amzn.to/1EKAOyW OLD MAN PETERSON is a police procedural about a murderous family. It is only $2.99 http://amzn.to/1uqEIMy I’M YOUR BABY TONIGHT is romantic comedy about find that special woman. It is only $0.99 http://amzn.to/11rqmQR
Dec 25

MY CHRISTMAS WISH

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read 0 comments
Murders broaden discussion of race-relations to include senseless murders of officers By Miriam Raftery December 23, 2014 (San Diego)–Police departments across the nation have reportedly been put on alert following the cold-blooded murder of two New York Police officers. The gunman, who was black, posted Instragram messages indicating he planned to kill officers as revenge for the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Gardner, two black men who were killed by white police officers under controversial circumstances. Here is the link rest of the article. http://eastcountymagazine.org/sd-police-react-killings-nypd-officers I posted this on LinkedIn Black Authors Network after reading an article about San Diego’s police officer association’s reaction to murders of two NYC police officers. I’ve already seen pages and page of Blue Lives Matter or Police Lives Matter too. My response to that is this. When an officer puts on the police uniform, he or she knows the dangers she may face that. He or she took the job knowing being an officer might cause him or her to draw a gun or have a gun or other weapon drawn against them. Black officer, white officers or brown officer, it doesn’t matter. That’s what they get paid to do. When a young […]
Dec 11

Thousands of New Yorkers Call for Justice for Eric Garner, Rally in Staten Island

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read 0 comments
Oprah has her master’s class. This is my refresher class. It’s another look back in living history. This is pre-Gardner grand jury information that I’d love to hear your opinion. Send me a comment, Tweet or like me on Facebook or LinkedIn. Twitter: http://bit.ly/11fAPxR Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1zvTAcl Linked-in: http://linkd.in/1ui0iRu Thanks for reading BL Wilson Thousands of New Yorkers Call for Justice for Eric Garner, Rally in Staten Island Portside Date: August 25, 2014 Author: Rebecca S. Myles Date of Source: Monday, August 25, 2014 Latin Post Polly Henry, nurse with Keisha Wallace both from Long Island and members of 1199 SEIU at March for Justice for Eric Garner, Staten Island, NY August 23, 2014 Several thousand people came by car, ferry or traveled in justice caravans for the rally and march on Saturday in Staten Island, New York to call for justice for Eric Garner. Garner, a father of six, died July 17 when police tried to arrest him after accusing him of selling untaxed cigarettes and placed him in a chokehold. A cell phone video of the incident showed Garner telling the officers, “I can’t breathe.” The city medical examiner this month cited the chokehold and compression of his chest […]
Dec 11

The Second Tragedy of the Michael Brown Shooting

by B.L. in Most popular, Must read 0 comments
Consider this a part of a refresher post. I just thought you should read what people were saying about Michael Brown’s murder back in August when it first happened. The grand jury option wasn’t a thought in anybody’s mind yet. The country was still trying to figure out what happened on August 9th. Remember how Officer Wilson went in hiding; his boss the sheriff was busy concocting tales and releasing Brown’s rap sheet. Meanwhile, Governor Nixon was trying to find his own butt. Read it and form your own opinion. Send me a comment or Tweet or like me on Facebook or LinkedIn. Twitter: http://bit.ly/11fAPxR Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1zvTAcl Linked-in: http://linkd.in/1ui0iRu Thanks for reading BL Wilson The Second Tragedy of the Michael Brown Shooting Portside Date: August 15, 2014 Author: Lauren Carasik Date of Source: Thursday, August 14, 2014 Al Jazeera America The shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on Aug. 9 prompted an outpouring of community anger that has inflamed long-simmering racial tensions in that town. Residents of Ferguson gathered for a vigil near Brown’s body, as it lay sprawled in the street where he was killed, left uncovered for hours. The peaceful protests grew, eliciting a strong police […]
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