In 2017, climate activists Roger Hallam and David Durant painted the words "divest from oil and gas" on a wall at King’s College London in chalk paint; they were facing £7,000 in fines and up to 18 months in prison, and did not qualify for a legal aid lawyer. Read the rest
As of 2020, Harriet Tubman -- revolutionary anti-racist hero -- was supposed to replace Andrew Jackson (authoritarian, genocidal stain on the American project) on the $20 bill, with Jackson moving to the other side of the bill as a sop to racist idiots. Read the rest
No Film School has great tips for those who want to document a protest. Meerkat Media has covered a lot of public protests, and the most effective coverage requires more than just pointing a camera or phone at the action. Read the rest
An update from our happy mutant comrade John Brennan, who removed his clothes at the Portland Airport durning a TSA screening.
Read the restPortland, OR-July 3, 2012--Judge David Rees issued a ruling on Friday, June 29th, 2012 that John Brennan, the man who stood up against the TSA, is not entitled to a jury trial for the charges of indecent exposure. However, Judge Rees did grant that the appropriate burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt.
Mr. Brennan was arrested with the charge of disorderly conduct, which is a misdemeanor. The DA is prosecuting the case as a violation. A violation is a lesser charge, as opposed to a misdemeanor, which is a crime. The original charges entitled Mr. Brennan to three benefits of the law that he is not normally entitled to under a violation: The right to a court-appointed attorney, the right to a jury trial, and the right to be held to the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Mr. Brennan through his attorney, Michael Rose of Creighton & Rose, asked the court to allow the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt and a jury trial to be retained for his trial. Judge Rees split the request for Mr. Brennan's Motion to Determine Trial Procedure.
John Brennan's indecent exposure trial is set for July 18 at Multnomah County Courthouse.
Mitch Green, a US Army vet and economics PhD candidate, has written an open letter to members of the US armed forces, who, he believes, will soon be called upon to put down the Occupy movement in America:
Those that take this oath seriously are faced with a terrible conflict. You must battle internally between the affirmation that you will place your body between the social contract embedded in the Constitution and those that seek its destruction, while maintaining your loyalty to the government you serve and the orders issued by its officers. Sadly, society has placed a twin tax upon you by asking that you sacrifice both your body and your morality. This tax has been levied solely upon you overseas, and soon they’ll come to collect domestically. Your government in its expression of corporate interests relies upon your tenacity to endure, and your relentless willingness to sacrifice. And so you do.
Now, more than ever we need your sacrifice. But, I’m asking you to soldier in a different way. If called upon to deny the people of their first amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievance, disregard the order. Abstain from service. Or if you are so bold, join us. Make no mistake: The consequences for such decisions are severe. You will be prosecuted under the full extent of the law. But sacrifice is your watch word.
