What did Anti-Muslim War on Terror Surveillance Bring the NYPD? Nothing.

January 20th, 2013 | Posted by Jim Cook in Homeland Insecurity | Religion - (1 Comments)

For years, the New York City Police Department has engaged in massive spying on American Muslims in New York City, in New York State and in other states as well. The surveillance program, designed and partially run by the CIA, spent large amounts of money and time prying into the private lives of people who had done nothing wrong. Muslim Americans being spied upon had committed no crimes and were not suspected of committing any crime; they were only spied upon because of their religion.

And what did this all bring the NYPD? Did New York City authorities catch any terrorists?

No.

The massive evidenceless internal spying operation in America resulted in no convictions in terrorism cases.
NYPD spying led to no arrests in terrorism cases.
Not a single lead was generated.

The New York City Police Department didn’t freely admit this, either. It took a lawsuit to force the deposition in which the NYPD admitted it its spying program had generated absolutely nothing of use.

Coda: This isn’t just an issue for New York City. Despite the fact that NYPD surveillance of innocent Americans didn’t generate a single lead, Obama administration official John Brennan has declared the program to be of vital importance. Now John Brennan has been nominated by Barack Obama to head the CIA, the intelligence agency that set up the NYPD surveillance scheme in the first place.

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New York Times Covers the Squelching of Protest in Moscow, ignores it in Times Square

June 13th, 2012 | Posted by Jim Cook in Activism | Liberty | Media - (4 Comments)

On May 15 2012, 15,000 to 20,000 protesters converged on Times Square — named for the New York Times because its offices are there. But even though its reporters could not have failed to notice it, the New York Times refused to cover the protest. There was no news coverage of the protest on the front page of its website. There was no coverage of the protest by the New York Times at all.

On June 12, 2012, tens of thousands protested in Moscow. The New York Times wrote a prominent article and an editorial too.

But wait, you say: in Moscow Vladimir Putin intimidated his opponents by staging police raids on activists’ homes.

But in New York City police have been visiting the homes of law-abiding protesters to demand details of them on the eve of protests:

In the raids on the eve of May Day, the police used such pretexts as a five-year-old warrant for an open-container-of-alcohol violation to arrest the individual involved, but only after examining leaflets in his apartment.
Zachary Dempster reported that six cops broke down the door of his apartment in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn at 6:15 a.m. on April 30, brandishing a warrant for the arrest of his roommate on a six-year-old open container violation. They then proceeded to question Dempster on his plans for May Day. “They asked what I was doing tomorrow, and it I knew of any activities, any events.” The roommate was also questioned.

But wait, the New York Times says, Putin’s party is using its legislative authority to push through bills that criminalize protest:

Last week, Mr. Putin’s party, United Russia, muscled through Parliament a law that imposes a $9,000 fine — about what the average Russian earns a year — on people who take part in unsanctioned demonstrations or demonstrations that result in damage to people or property.

But in response to the Occupy protests the U.S. Congress “muscled through a law” in March that also criminalizes protest, also with a fine and a year in prison to boot.

The New York Times took space to report the arrest of five activists by Putin’s government. Before the count was stopped last month, Occupy Arrests had documented and sourced 7,280 arrests.

The New York Times should cover the Moscow protests. It should also cover the protests outside its own doors.

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Five Things With Which I Am Not Cool (March 10 2012)

March 10th, 2012 | Posted by Jim Cook in Barack Obama | Democrats | Homeland Insecurity | Politics - (4 Comments)

President Barack Obama gave the green light to child soldiers in Chad, the Congo, and Yemen.

The Lorax markets Mazda SUVs: a thing that everyone, everyone, everyone needs?

When officials conducted a Photo Op to show off their new drones flying over American skies, the people in charge lost control of their robot and it smashed into a SWAT team.

The New York City Police Department is secretly spying on kids who’ve done nothing but be Muslim.

The Democratic-Controlled Senate Judiciary Committee continues to sit on 5 nominations to the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which has been empty since Barack Obama took office as President.

Are you cool with that?

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What is the NYPD’s One Demand in Zuccotti Park?

November 15th, 2011 | Posted by Jim Cook in Activism - (4 Comments)

A post from Occupy Wall Street:

NYPD Occupying Liberty Square; Demands Unclear
Posted 2 hours ago on Nov. 15, 2011, 6:51 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

New York, NY — The NYPD have been occupying Liberty Square since 1:00am Tuesday morning, with the brand new occupation now set to enter its second day in just a few short hours. But will anyone listen to them when their message is so incoherent?

“What are their demands?” asked social historian Patrick Bruner. “They have not articulated any platform. How do they expect to be taken seriously?”

Critics of the new occupation allege that meddling billionaire Michael Bloomberg is behind the movement. Others question the new occupiers’ militant posture, concerned about the potential effects on the neighborhood.

“I suppose they have a right to express themselves,” said local resident Han Shan. “But I’d prefer it if instead they occupied the space with the power of their arguments.”

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How to Help Re-Stock the Occupy Wall Street Library

November 15th, 2011 | Posted by Jim Cook in Activism | Media - (0 Comments)

The Occupy Wall Street Library is Dead.
Long Live the Occupy Wall Street Library.

Help the library re-stock after the NYPD literally trashed their 5,000+ book collection early this morning.

Send your books to
The UPS Store
Re: Occupy Wall Street
Attn: The People’s Library
118A Fulton St. #205
New York, NY 10038

I just sent off my copy of the Statistical Abstract of the United States. What do you think they could use?

To learn more, check out the website of the OWS Library.

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Bloomberg and NYPD shut down Free Press to shut down Assembly and Dissent in New York City

November 15th, 2011 | Posted by Jim Cook in Activism | Homeland Insecurity | Liberty | Media - (6 Comments)

Photo of park now after being bulldozed by New York City Police Department early in the morning on November 15Journalist Ryan Devereaux of the radio news show Democracy Now! has been reporting on the forcible clearing and trashing of the occupation of Zuccotti Park early this morning in New York City. According to Devereaux, the NYPD not only has been denying Americans their right to assembly and protest, they’ve been quashing the freedoms of the press as well. Via Twitter (link|link|link|link):

2:29 AM Police are now pushing the press off the block. They just took the press pass off a NBC news anchor.

2:32 AM The NYPD just threatened to take our press passes if we don’t move off the block. They are forcing us to move where we can’t see shit.

2:36 AM The NYPD are now setting up a “pen” for the press as far from the remaining protesters as they can place us.

3:19 AM Police parked two NYPD busses in front of press cage, engines running, blocking shots of square. Yelling at media trying to work.

The NYPD didn’t act on its own. It followed orders from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who took action to erase dissent in New York City after fretting about “editorials lampooning him as gutless.” Say what you will, but it surely takes guts to violate three clauses of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in one night.

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Michael Bloomberg Destroys a Library to Shut Down Dissent in New York City

November 15th, 2011 | Posted by Jim Cook in Activism | Homeland Insecurity | Liberty | State and Local - (2 Comments)

Occupy Wall Street Library, Destroyed on Orders of Michael BloombergThe Occupy Wall Street Library is gone. No, not just gone. Destroyed by the NYPD on orders of Michael Bloomberg:

2:44 a.m. NYPD destroys OWS Library. 5,000 donated books in dumpster.

More:

NYPD destroying american cultural history, they’re destroying the documents, the books, the artwork of an event in our nation’s history … Right now, the NYPD are throwing over 5,000 books from our library into a dumpster. Will they burn them? … Call 311 or 212-639-9675 now and ask why Mayor Bloomberg is throwing the 5,554 books from our library into a dumpster.

Image source: People’s Library

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NYPD: so Long as Protests are Neither On or Off the Sidewalk, They’re Legal

November 6th, 2011 | Posted by Jim Cook in Activism | Liberty | State and Local - (1 Comments)

NYPD: If you’re engaging in free speech and assembly to petition for redress of grievance (see Constitution), if you’re not hurting people or property, and if you’re ON the sidewalk, we’ll arrest you. (with a special pepper spray bonus).

NYPD: If you’re engaging in free speech and assembly to petition for redress of grievance (see Constitution), if you’re not hurting people or property, and if you’re OFF the sidewalk, we’ll arrest you.

NYPD: If you’re engaging in free speech and assembly to petition for redress of grievance (see Constitution), if you’re not hurting people or property, and if you’re ON the sidewalk, we’ll arrest you (even if nobody else is even trying to use that sidewalk).

New York City’s new free speech zone: that space between the sidewalk and not the sidewalk.

I detect a whiff of Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.

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