We are watching Facebook unravel in real time. I hope. Read the rest

Internal emails show that the Berkeley, California Police Department (BPD) talked of building a “counter-narrative” on social media against anti-fascist protesters as BPD tweeted out their names and mugshots, then boasted of retweets and “engagement” metrics when mugshots went viral. This amounts to cops doxxing protesters and high-fiving each other over it. That's creepy, and seems like an obvious abuse of power, if not also an abuse of the law. Read the rest

A topless woman with "women's lives matter" written across her chest jumped over a barrier and ran towards Bill Cosby, who was on his way to the Montgomery County courthouse this morning. The protester, who was with around six other protesters, was handcuffed and taken away by police.

Cosby, who has been accused by over 50 women for sexual assault (and has denied everything), is in court today for a retrial, charged with "three counts of aggravated indecent assault," according to the Huffington Post.

He’s accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, a former women’s basketball coach at Temple University, in 2004. In June, a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on the charges and the judge declared a mistrial.

Crazy scene as naked protester is taken down by police as #Cosby arrives at court in Norristown. pic.twitter.com/mduaASyjG3

— Steve Lindsay CBS (@SteveLindsayCBS) April 9, 2018

UPDATE: The protestor has been identified as 39-year-old Nicolle Rochelle, an actress who appeared on several episodes of The Cosby Show as a child actress. About her protest today, she says "The main goal was to make Cosby uncomfortable because that is exactly what he has been doing for decades to women and to show him that the body can be aggressive and empowered."

According to AP:

Rochelle, an actress, said she didn’t have any bad experiences with Cosby when she was on the show, nor did she intend to physically hurt him. She is a member of the European feminist group Femen, which is known for staging topless protests around the world.

A short film by Paul Sullivan that chillingly breaks down the creepy tactics New York City police used to intimidate and harass protesters, and arrest them for expressing their first amendment rights in public space. In these examples, it seems they used "the momentum of arrests" to deter the spirit of the crowd--not because the individuals shown here actually posed a threat to the public, or had harmed anyone or done anything bad.

[via Sparrow Media, HT: Glen E. Friedman]

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