Will the 1%'s security thugs (aka "local law
enforcement") put the screws to protesters and photojournalists in Chicago this weekend

post from DownWithTyranny! on 18 May 2012 09:00:29 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

Flags fly in Chicago for this weekend's NATO summit.

?Since Occupy Wall Street began last September, more than 75 journalists have been arrested. My colleague Josh Stearns has chronicled these arrests since the movement's earliest days. Stearns expects to see an uptick in arrests as thousands of protesters and reporters converge on Chicago.?
-- Timothy Karr, in ?The Police, the iPhone
and Your Right to Record,? on HuffPost
by Ken

This afternoon Reuters' Ann Saphir and Mary Winiewski reported from Chicago that, despite the gathered presence of "thousands of security personnel," "the mood was mostly festive . . . with groups of nurses dancing and singing."

An estimated 2,500 people, including hundreds of nurses, protested peacefully in a downtown Chicago plaza under the watchful eye of police Friday, chanting mostly about economic issues that have little to do with the summit of the NATO military alliance starting this weekend.

The rally, which Chicago police estimated at about 2,500, was the largest so far in a week of daily protests before representatives from 60 countries arrive for the two-day summit to discuss the war in Afghanistan.

Some 150 blue-uniformed Chicago police officers ringed the square, named after Chicago's legendary former Mayor Richard J. Daley, who presided over bloody clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War protesters at the 1968 Democratic convention.

The nurses mentioned by the Reuters reporters, who are "holding a convention at a nearby hotel, paid for a dozen buses carrying hundreds more protesters from around the country."

The nurses called for what they term a "Robin Hood" tax on financial institutions' transactions to offset government funding cuts that have affected healthcare, education and social services. Many sported green hats and masks.

"The solution is a tiny, tiny tax," said Deborah Burger, president of the nurses' group, who complained that healthcare patients are skimping on care because of the cost.

"What we want to say is our priorities are upside down and we need to make sure we focus on our communities," she said.

A banner reading, "Nurses campaign to heal the world, An economy for the 99 percent, Tax Wall Street, National Nurses United," was displayed in the plaza.

Perhaps the most tangible legacy of the Occupy Wall Street movement is the regrouping of the security apparatus of the 1%, which has learned how easily and effectively it can mobilize law-enforcement personnel at all levels to serve as their private paramilitary force. They've learned to expect no serious opposition among law-enforcement officials or the civilian authorities who command them, like NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who put the NYPD at the corporate elites' disposal.
The most luscious part is that we the people get to pay for the forcible repression of those folks trying to stick up for our interests. Just today DNAinfo.com's Julie Shapiro reports ("NYC Spent $30 Million Policing Occupy Wall Street, Officials Say") that "the total [police] overtime cost has ballooned over the past two months from $17 million in March to nearly double that on Thursday," according to the testimony of Police Commissioner Ray Kelly at a City Council budget hearing yesterday.

The Occupy Wall Street protests -- along with Hurricane Irene, which cost the NYPD $7 million in overtime pay -- have busted the NYPD's overtime budget, pushing it up to $604 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, Kelly said.

That's $53 million more in police overtime than the city paid the previous year, he said.

The new "public-private security partnership" should be on display this weekend in Chicago. And our colleague Tim Karr, who keeps tabs on media-openness issues as campaign director for Free Press and SavetheInternet.com, is calling particular attention to the security apparatus's pretty much unopposed crackdown on the "new breed of journalists and onlookers" who use modern technology like micro-photography to cover protests. For example --

[Photojournalist Carlos Miller] has been arrested three times. His "crime?" Photographing the police. Most recently, in January, Miller was filming the eviction of Occupy Wall Street activists from a park in downtown Miami.

In twist that's become too familiar to many, the journalist became the story as police focused their crackdown on the scrum of reporters there to cover the eviction. Miller came face to face with Officer Nancy Perez [a ?public information officer?!], who confiscated his camera and placed him under arrest.

"The ubiquity of camera-ready smartphones," Tim Karr reports, "has spawned legions of 'live-streamers' who can be found at every large-scale protest streaming a close-up account of almost every arrest. It's a new form of journalism that's open to anyone with a mobile phone and the resolve to get between police and protesters."

In the chaos of these events, many live-streamers have been snared in mass arrests. Others are deliberately targeted by officers who aren't accustomed to the radical transparency of the smartphone era.

Tim Pool has seen the live-streaming phenomenon grow exponentially since he first started streaming Occupy Wall Street protests using a live-linked Galaxy S2 phone. "Most of the people are live-streaming because they think the mainstream media isn't telling the story that needs to be told," he says.

The audience for Pool's smartphone stream peaked above 30,000 simultaneous viewers during last year's Occupy evictions, making Pool's raw and unedited reporting a model hundreds of other live-streamers have followed.

Pool plans to organize a global collective of live-streamers to create an alternative news network that gets the story live on the streets before the traditional news vans arrive. "There are not enough streamers for breaking 24-hour global news coverage," he says, "but we're getting pretty close."

As the new breed of journalists find themselves increasingly subject to harassment by law enforcers ("Police departments," Tim notes,"like having a degree of flexibility in interpreting the law as it gives their officers loose rein to arrest anyone they deem a nuisance, even when they know their case will collapse before the courts"), the Justice Department and the courts are beginning to push back, but not much relief has found its way to photojournalists on the ground. Tim Karr again:

"When I have been confronted by officers the implicit threat is that if I continued to videotape, they would take away my liberty," says advocacy journalist Bill Huston. Police have harassed Huston as he's attempted to record public events related to the fracking controversy in Pennsylvania and New York.

"Even though this is constitutionally protected behavior, the police will intimidate you and demand that you follow their orders," he said. "Even though we may get a legal remedy in the courts we are still prevented from videotaping on the scene. Our rights are still violated. This is not how the system is supposed to work."

So far, at least, "most of the lower courts have found a rock-solid First Amendment argument for taking photos and video of law enforcement officers in public." The issue is surely bound for the Supreme Court, but who knows what will bring?
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Popular Culture (Music) 20120518: Yet More
Moodies

post from Docudharma - Front Page on 18 May 2012 09:00:10 PM. © Docudharma - Front Page

Last week we discussed On the Threshold of a Dream, and this week the next album by The Moody Blues, To our Children's Children's Children.The band were the same lineup as from their second record, and after being released on 19691121 charted at #2 in[...]

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Alabama Gov. Bentley Caves, Signs Bill Doubling
Down On Anti-Immigrant Policies

post from ThinkProgress on 18 May 2012 09:00:04 PM. © ThinkProgress

On Wednesday, the Alabama legislature passed a bill preserving most of the harshest provisions of that state’s anti-immigrant law, including the provision that unconstitutionally drove many Latino students from attending schools. Yesterday, Gov. Robert Bentley (R-AL) objected to this bill, noting in particular that the schools provision should be removed or substantially changed. Today, he caved, signing the bill into law.

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s-bill-doubling-down-on-anti-immigrant-policies/

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Bring on the Beautiful Trouble

post from Firedoglake on 18 May 2012 08:17:32 PM. © Firedoglake

Here is a guide to activism that focuses on the serious moral case for fundamental change and on making it fun as hell. Here is a sophisticated tool for shaping strategies that are both uncompromising and welcoming of newcomers.[...]

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Stupid Right-Wing Tweets: Ralph Reed Edition

post from Crooks and Liars on 18 May 2012 08:00:38 PM. © Crooks and Liars

enlarge

Stop laughing long enough to note: the article Reed links to doesn't mention abstinence and the study the article references actually says:

The percentage of sexually experienced teenaged females ever using periodic abstinence, or the calendar rhythm method, appeared to increase from 11% in 2002 to 15% in 2006?2010, but this observed difference was not statistically significant.

Not to mention that study after study after study has proven that Saving It For Jesus classes don't work.

Oh, and the states in which Saving It For Jesus classes are taught have the highest rates of teen pregnancy.

Go away, Ralph. Surely there's some Native Americans somewhere that need ripping off.

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JPMorgan losses expand to $3 billion

post from US Politics | AMERICAblog News on 18 May 2012 08:00:28 PM. © US Politics | AMERICAblog News

Sometimes the market really does work. JPMorgan had been taking such large positions in the market that others had to know where they were. Once there's blood in the water, you can count on other sharks stepping in and joining the feeding frenzy.How's that risk genius team doing at JPMorgan now and why is Dimon still CEO?The trading losses suffered by JPMorgan Chase have surged in recent...

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The Chronicles of Mitt: May 18, 2012

post from Daily Kos on 18 May 2012 08:00:04 PM. © Daily Kos

pen on paper: 'Dear diary' Hello, human diary. It is I again, Mitt Romney, your better.

Today has not been a good day. I mentioned before that the previous Republican occupant of the White House had endorsed me; for some reason this led to me having to have a phone conversation with him today. I am still unclear why. He is a nice enough fellow, and I attempted to bond with him over our mutual love of elevators, and riding in elevators, and putting things into elevators. I believe he enjoyed my banter. (I also invited him to come view our many fine horses, but he was strangely quiet during that part of the conversation.)

I mentioned to an audience of commoners yesterday that if my wife and I were going to move to any place in America, I would move to their state. This was a brilliant move on my part, especially because I was able to correctly remember which state I was in at the time. Note to self: Do not repeat this trick too often, when reporter units are present.

Speaking of reporter units, Eric F. has instituted a new plan. The old plan was to block them from attending certain events or asking questions; they responded to this in a negative fashion. The new plan is for me to engage them in human banter. My understanding is that I need to appear likable, even though few of these reporters are in my peer group when it comes to wealth or the number of sports team owners they are acquainted with. I told several of them they were the wrong height; they appeared to take this as a joke, which further confuses me.

Nonetheless, I am determined to impress the American common class with my wit and banter capabilities. I have practiced ceaselessly, and believe I am improving rapidly.

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Cheers and Jeers: Rum and Coke FRIDAY!

C&J Banner

From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE?

Late Night Snark: Gay JP Morgan Commencement Frisking Edition

"Rush Limbaugh criticized President Obama's support of gay marriage, accusing the president of leading a 'war on traditional marriage.' Limbaugh wants it to mean something if he ever gets traditional-married for the fifth time."
---Seth Meyers
-
"This is the true measure of how far we've come as a nation. In, like, five years the prime talking point from Republicans about people who support gay marriage has gone from 'It will destroy society via turtle fucking' to 'Oh, of course you?re for it, you'll say anything popular to get re-elected.' That...is progress.
---Jon Stewart
-
"President Obama and Mitt Romney both gave commencement speeches over the last few days. Obama was like: 'You can be whatever you want to be.' Romney was like: 'I can be whatever you want me to be.'"
---Jimmy Fallon
-
"The average college graduate now leaves school $27,000 in debt. But the good news is that now it means they're more than qualified to work as financial advisers at JPMorgan."
---Jay Leno
-
"Mitt Romney once lost $2 billion. Then he found it in another pair of pants."
---David Letterman
-
"There is no greater ally in the fight against violence than the NYPD and their 'Stop and Frisk' program, which allows New York police to search anybody they find suspicious. Since this is New York, I believe they look for people who are acting strange, and then stop everybody else."
---Stephen Colbert

Five years ago:

"The elections are heating up. In a recent interview, John McCain said the last music he bought was The Beach Boys, while Mitt Romney said the last music he bought was Roy Orbison. Apparently, McCain and Romney are both running for president in 1964."
---Conan O'Brien

Bar's open. Your west coast-friendly edition of Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]

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NDAA Amendment to Eliminate Indefinite Detention
for US Citizens Fails in House

A bid to guarantee that no US citizen would be subject to indefinite detention by the government has failed in the House of Representatives. The bipartisan amendment, from Reps. Adam Smith (D-WA) and Justin Amash (R-MI), failed on a 182-237 vote. While[...]

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Roger Schlafly Clutches His Pearls and Gasps at
The Decline in White Births

enlarge It's Friday, folks, and a good laugh is in order after Bizarro Week from hell, don't you think? So sit back and laugh at Phyllis Schlafly's son Roger who is terribly upset about the fact that the (former) minority population is growing faster than the white population.

Via Right Wing Watch:

Roger Schlafly, son of Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly, today mourned on the Eagle Forum Blog a Census Bureau report showing that non-white births have now exceeded white births in the U.S. ?It is not a good thing,? Schlafly said, warning that ?immigrants do not share American values? and therefore ?will not be voting Republican when they start voting in large numbers.? He went on to claim that ?NY Times liberals seek to destroy the American family of the 1950s,? saying that immigrants ?do not share? American values like working hard and self-sufficiency, and instead ?will vote Democrat when the Democrats promise them more food stamps.?

To which I think aloud, "Perhaps we should lower the voting age to around 12?" Just kidding, but still, the idea that these not-white children will not be voting Republican when they start voting in large numbers just makes my heart sing.

Perhaps the funniest part of Roger's post is the update, where he wonders why on earth liberal blogs like Right Wing Watch and Daily Kos do not care for Ozzie and Harriet. Ahem, Roger. The pearls are screaming. Tend to them.