Extra-judicial Killing OK, But Camping in Parks Not OK?

Over the weekend police used riot gear, batons and horse charges to clear Occupy DC from their peaceful occupation of McPherson Square on K Street, where the lobbyists work who help Congress understand who they really represent.

How come there is always enough money for riot police, humvees, tear gas and the like -- but never enough for adequate housing, health care and education funding? I'm sick and tired of these priorities gobbling up my tax dollars!

Excellent collection of pics on Twitter here. Above we see the armored humvee your federal tax $$ support as part of the parks equipment budget. How many homeless people could take shelter from the weather in that vehicle?

In Oakland a week ago last Saturday police tear gassed, smoke bombed and trampled on the constitutional rights of a crowd trying to occupy a city-owned building that has sat vacant for the past several years. The occupiers' crime? They wanted to set up a community center inside Kaiser Auditorium.

Meanwhile, here's a chilling report on exactly how and how many civilians the U.S. has targeted with drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan aimed at first responders and mourners. How do you spell war crime? President Obama lied when he stated recently that these CIA ordered strikes are on a tight leash. The truth, according to the investigative report, is that "..since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children.”


In the same way that this state-sponsored violence recruits for the insurgency in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc., police brutality recruits supporters for the Occupy movement. I suppose if the 1% want war profits without end, this is not a bad strategy on their part: create the "enemies" that you must then fight.

People around the globe are rising up to take back their streets and their communities. By our non-cooperation with the 1% they shall know us.

You're sexy, you're cute, just take off your riot suit

@MMBKG Maxx tweet yesterday evening:

#oo #portshutdown I wish they all could see how beautiful they are right now pic.twitter.com/9w7rA14Y

Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom, but a woman's got to sleep sometime. Thus I went to bed last night and missed seeing around 8,000 people assemble to close down commerce at the port of Oakland. And San Diego, Portland OR, Longview WA, SF, LA/Long Beach -- I saw them all yesterday face off with riot police using song, dance, signage and cheers to get their point across: police violence will only bring increased numbers of us to the streets. Related chant at raided encampment on the San Francisco side of the bay: "Occupy will never die! Evict us? We multiply." 

Source: Houston Chronicle

 But my all time favorite chant of yesterday, offered up by what sounded like mostly women's voices as the buff riot police of the OPD marced by at the Port of Oakland yesterday: 

"You're sexy, you're cute, just take off your riot suit."

Ok, Lt. John Pike is probably not sexy or cute in the buff -- but he looked pretty good as a cut out, marching on Dec. 12 in Oakland.

@susie_c Susie Cagle tweet:

Best sign ever: Pike pepper spray cut-out. #portshutdown #d12 pic.twitter.com/B7xd4vhT

Why is all this important? Because the U.S. military profit machine has been killing innocent civilians and making more enemies with drone strikes in Pakistan, against our will, and with our tax dollars. Reporting  in WIRED by Spencer Ackerman featured a rare collection of photos of bloody "facts on the ground" as the military likes to call them.

Because the Senate passed the annual defense spending authorization bill with $662 billion slated for war profiteers and their minions next year, plus the authority to detain anyone anywhere indefinitely and without charges on battlefield Earth in the war on terror. As Jon Stewart put it, So this will continue until...terror surrenders? S

Because Bradley Manning is still in detention without a day in court after 17 months. His first appearance, for a pre-trial hearing, is slated for this week. His defense has asked to call witnesses including the Secretary of State and the POTUS, who infamously said on camera of Manning: "He broke the law." Some constitutional law professor he turned out to be. 

The Magna Carta established the legal concept that indefinite detention is WRONG in 1215. This historic document established, among other rights, that of habeus corpus i.e. not being locked up indefinitely, but having an appearance in court to hear what you are being charged with. Ok, it didn't apply to serfs, only to "freemen." Guess which one your governments considers you to be?