Jan 03

The 10 Worst Civil Liberties Violations of 2014

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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

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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

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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!!!

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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

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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

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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

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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 […]
Dec 07

MY FIRST REVIEW SORT OF….

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Hello everybody, As one of my favorite comedians used to say, can we talk? Well today, I want to talk about reviews. Everybody meaning, all the book marketing experts, tell authors to get reviews. The experts say you can figure out approximately how popular an author is by the number of reviews they have. That translates into a large number of reviews equals a large number of readers, which of course equals a large number of books sold. I agree with a bit of reluctance about everything said thus far. When I say reluctance, perhaps I should explain. I have to admit when I buy food; office furniture; beauty and cleaning products; shoes; clothes; belts; electronics; videos; cars; DVDs; floral arrangements and most other things, I read reviews religiously before I make a purchase. I will research a product to death before I buy it. I go on different site to check out what other users/buyers say about the product. I’m one of those buyers that take months to do research before I’ll spend a dime on a product. I use Google Search to do my research until I’m satisfied I’ve found the best deal for my money. After all […]
Dec 07

More Than 3,000 New Voters Have Registered In Ferguson Since Mike Brown’s Death

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Portside Date: October 3, 2014 Author: Carimah Townes Date of Source: Friday, October 3, 2014 Think Progress Voter registration jumped 30 percent in Ferguson, Missouri between August 9 — the day unarmed teenager Michael Brown was fatally shot by Officer Darren Warren — and September 30. As protests and clashes with police continue, the town’s residents want to see more race representation in their local government in the near future. Approximately 3,300 citizens in the town of 21,000 registered to vote after Brown’s death, totaling two-thirds of new voters in St. Louis County. Currently, 5 of 6 Ferguson council members are white, but roughly 70 percent of the city’s population is black. And Ferguson’s mayor is white Republican James Knowles. Recent voter registration is due, in large part, to community efforts to boost civic engagement. Organizations like the NAACP and League of Women Voters, in addition to sororities and fraternities, are actively involved in registering the city’s residents. Other community members are handing out registration cards for voters to mail them in. But some are not pleased with the surge of registered voters. In August, Matt Wills, the executive director of Missouri’s Republican Party, denounced protesters’ voter registration efforts, saying, […]
Dec 07

INTRODUCTION TO FERGUSON & ERIC GARDNER ARTICLES

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As Eric Gardner’s demonstrators and Ferguson protestors take over New York City at night, I decided to look at some of the articles that date back to the early days after Michael Brown’s killing at the hands of police. Other articles speak to the recent grand jury decision in Eric Gardner’s death, not to indict anyone. I will be posting one or two articles a day. I found them interesting and insightful. I hope you do too. BL Wilson
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