News aggregator
Capitalist Kills 25 Workers
This week, 25 miners lost their lives in a mine explosion at the Performance Coal Co. in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The explosion was the worst mining disaster in over two decades, if you don't count the 10,000 who have died from black lung in the past decade.
Deconstructing Dinner: "Final Attempt to Save Prison Farms (The Future of Prison Farms III)", Segment 1
Japan: 23-yr dispute over Japan Rail's refusal to hire union workers to be settled
Photos Raise Questions About Shooting of Cuffed Muslim Leader
April 7, 2010—
A fiery Muslim leader who was shot dead during an attempt to arrest him in Dearborn, Mich., was found to have been riddled with 21 shots including one in the back. He also had a broken jaw, broken teeth and his hands were cuffed behind his back, according to an autopsy report.
An autopsy photo obtained by ABC News shows Imam Ameen Abdullah Luqman lying face down on the ground with his hands clearly cuffed behind him.
Additional photos obtained by ABC News also show deep lacerations on Luqman's face that his family believes may have been caused by a police dog.
Federal authorities claim that Luqman, 53, was killed last October in a Dearborn trailer after failing to surrender to police. The day before the raid, federal authorities filed a criminal complaint that alleged conspiracy to commit federal crimes including theft from interstate shipments, mail fraud to obtain proceeds from arson, illegal sale and possession of firearms and tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers. These allegation were made through the use of confidential informants, the documents state.
Click here to see an autopsy photo of Luqman's face. Beware of the graphic nature of the photograph showing deep lacerations which his family believes may have been caused by a police dog.
An FBI officer on the scene of Luqman's death reported that a police dog was sent in when Luqman refused to show officers his hands, and that Luqman shot and killed the dog. However, a press release after the incident from the U.S. Attorney's office in Detroit does not say Luqman killed the dog. It simply states a canine was "killed in the exchange." The shot allegedly fired by Luqman prompted police to take the gunfire as a threat and they returned fire, according to FBI reports.
Luqman's family says there's no proof he was carrying a gun that day, and the family has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to get the necropsy report for the dead police dog to determine whether the dog was killed by a police bullet. The request has been declined.
Luqman's son, Omar Regan, asks "How did he shoot the dog if his jaw was broken and there were lacerations on his face?"
Slain Muslim Leader's Fiery Rhetoric
A spokesman for the FBI in Detroit declined to discuss the Luqman case because of ongoing investigations into what happened that day in October 2009. There is an internal FBI investigations into the shooting, as well an investigation by the Dearborn Police Department. In addition, U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., asked Attorney General Eric Holder earlier this year for a separate review of the FBI's use of confidential informants.
Luqman, according to an FBI affidavit, once said in a 2004 sermon, "Do not carry a pistol if you're going to give it up to police. You give them a bullet rather than surrendering your weapons."
Luqman and his associates are described as armed and dangerous in the affidavit and complaint filed by federal authorities before the arrest. FBI Special Agent in Charge Andrew Arena said after the shooting that he was comfortable with his agents' actions. "They did what they had to do to protect themselves," he said.
Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations in Detroit, asked, "How could he be so sure?"
Walid said that despite Luqman's rhetoric, he was not dangerous. The Imam struggled to pay rent and heat at his mosque in Dearborn, and was evicted from a previous mosque for not paying rent. Walid says the police actions at the Detroit warehouse that day amounted to excessive force, borne out by the condition of Luqman's body when the medical examiner arrived.
The medical examiner's report says the body was cold when he arrived and rigor mortis had set in, so it was impossible to establish time of death. The police dog named "Freddy," a Belgian Malinois, was airlifted to get medical attention, while Luqman's body was eventually taken by ambulance to the hospital, according to his son. Freddy was later honored with a memorial service.
It remains unclear how Luqman's jaw came to be broken and his face so badly lacerated or when he was handcuffed.
After viewing all the autopsy photos with the Wayne County Medical Examiner, Lena Masri, an attorney for CAIR Michigan, said she believes Luqman's body may have been moved from the original location where he was killed before the medical examiner arrived.
Photos Raise Questions About Muslim Leader's Death
Luqman preached overthrowing the U.S. government and establishing Islamic law, but he was not charged with terrorism. Federal authorities used informants inside Luqman's mosque to gather evidence that he and his associates were dealing in stolen goods, and illegally possessed firearms, among other charges.
Eleven associates of Luqman were subsequently charged with some or all of the following crimes: conspiracy to commit federal crimes, being a felon in possession of firearms, possession of firearm with an altered serial number, tampering with vehicle identification numbers and aiding and abetting. When charged in court, all of the defendants refused to respond to a request to enter a plea, so the court entered a plea of not-guilty on their behalf.
Solitary Watch Watches National Geographic’s Experiment in Solitary Confinement
As we wrote earlier, it’s hard to say whether the National Geographic Channel’s treatment of solitary confinement will do more harm than good. In addition to an upcoming episode of “Explorer” on the subject, the NG Channel is hosting an ”experiment” that promises to provide a “live window into the solitary experience,” in which three subjects spend a week in faux lockdown cells (unless they want to leave earlier), with cameras streaming live video to the public and the “prisoners” providing updates on Twitter.
The potential good comes from the evidence of psychological damage that will probably surface even in the fresh-faced young volunteers who spend a mere week in the pristine “cells.” (And to its credit, the NG Channel’s site makes an effort to put their experience in broader context.) The potential harm comes from the audience thinking what they watch on the live video stream bears any resemblance to the actual experience of prisoners in solitary confinement–which is far worse, in ways too numerous to count. After observing the NG experiment for a week, viewers could easily conclude that solitary confinement is extremely unpleasant, but falls short of constituting cruel and unusual punishment–and is far from the torture some critics say it is. If so, they would be basing their conclusions on faulty evidence.
First of all, hardly anyone spends just a week in solitary. Used for “disciplinary” purposes, spells in solitary can last anywhere from several weeks to several years. Many of the inmates who end up in solitary are mentally ill; others (including many children) are there for their own “protection,” but nonetheless endure the same cruel conditions. In addition, some 25,000 American prisoners live in long-term or permanent lockdown, which often stretches to decades: Herman Wallace and Albert Woodfox, of the Angola 3, have spent most of the past 37 years in solitary; Tommy Silverstein has spent an uninterrupted 27 years in solitary under a “no human contact” order; Syed Fahad Hashmi, who is accused of offering material support (in the form of clothing) to terrorists, has spent nearly three years in ultra-isolation under “Special Administrative Measures,” though he has yet to be convicted of a crime.
Second, a glance at the faux cells where the three National Geographic volunteers are living, though cramped, look cleaner, homier, and less dehumanizing than most solitary confinement cells. The furnishings–bed, shelves, chair, lamp–are recognizably from IKEA, whereas in many supermax cells everything is made of poured concrete, with the exception of stainless steel sink and toilet. Compare the rooms where NG volunteers James, Laura, and Rich are living to Laura Sullivan’s photos from Pelican Bay, which accompanied her excellent 2006 NPR series on solitary confinement in the United States, or to drawing by prisoners Herman Wallace and Tommy Silverstein–all of them appearing at the end of this post.
More significantly, there are realities that cannot be captured visually (or on Twitter)–some of which are described in a comment on our previous post by Alan, who also has first-hand knowledge of life in the hole:
Without experiencing the most disturbing elements of solitary confinement, notably:
1) Being surrounded by other mentally ill inmates howling and banging on doors and walls, resulting in sleep deprivation.
2) Viewing or rather listening to the brutality of prison guards reacting to these outbursts.
3) The uncertainty of when, or if, you will ever be released and the hopelessness that this feeling of loss of control over your own destiny instills.
the true horror of the solitary experience is lost.
Finally, of course, there’s the profound fact that the NG “prisoners” are volunteers who can decide to leave at any time. They are in their “cells” by choice, presumably because they think the “experiment” serves a larger purpose. In this sense, they are truly in control of their own destinies.
In addition, the volunteers can communicate with the outside world; they can Tweet at will, and they know hundreds of people will be watching them. While that communication is one-way (they are not receiving any messages), their experience is being witnessed, thought about, and talked about. This alone sets them apart from the tens of thousands of prisoners who, on any given day, languish in solitary confinement in the United States–because for the most part, nobody notice them at all.
Security Housing Unit, Pelican Bay State Prison, California. Photos by Laura Sullivan, NPR.
Hallway of "pod" in the SHU, Pelican Bay
Cell search, Pelican Bay
Exercise area, Pelican Bay
Herman Wallace's drawing of his cell at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola.
Tommy Silverstein's drawing of his cell at ADX federal supermax, Florence, Colorado
April 14th: Palestinian Political Prisoners, UCB Divestment
& In Support of the UC Berkeley Divestment from Israel Resolution, join us:
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
6:30 PM
UC Berkeley
Boalt Hall 105
Palestinian Political Prisoners in the Context of Colonial Occupation
& Resistance, Displacement and the Struggle Against Israeli Apartheid
Speakers:
Lena Meari: belongs to a Palestinian refugee family from Al-Birweh village which was
destroyed in 1948. Born and raised in Haifa and later worked and lived in Jerusalem
and Ramallah. Graduated and worked in the Institute of Women Studies at Birzeit
University. Currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Cultural Anthropology at
the University of California- Davis. Conducted her research on the interrogation
encounter between Palestinian political activists and the shabak.
Ziad Abbas: a Palestinian refugee from Dheisheh Refugee camp in the West Bank. He is
the cofounder of the Ibdaa Cultural Center in Dheisheh where he served as
Co-Director from 1994 to 2008. Ziad is also a journalist who has worked with
Palestinian and international media and has participated in the production of
several documentary films. He recently completed his Master of Arts in Social
Justice in Intercultural Relations from the School for International Training
Graduate Institute. Ziad is the Associate Director of the Middle East Children’s
Alliance in Berkeley.
Following the event we will be attending the UC Berkeley Senate meeting where they
will vote on the Divestment Resolution. We encourage all to attend and support the
efforts the Students for Justice in Palestine.
Sponsored By:
Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC), Al-Juzoor, Al-Awda SF, Bay Area Campaign
to End Israeli Apartheid, Free Palestine Alliance, Middle East Children’s Alliance,
Muslim Student Association – Berkeley, Palestine Youth Network (PYN), Students for
Justice in Palestine – Berkeley, Sunbula: Arab Feminists for Change, US Palestine
Community Network (USPCN), Voices of Middle East and North Africa-KPFA
For more info: www.freepalestinianprisoners.com
Entrevista a un ex-presidiario colombiano
“Ser o no ser, ¡he aquí la cuestión!; ¿Qué honra más el espíritu, sufrir las consecuencias de la injusticia fortuna o coger las armas contra la adversidad, combatirla y aniquilarla? Morir es dormir, no mas…” Shakespeare
The Dark Underbelly of Israel's Security State
By JONATHAN COOK - April 9-11, 2010
Next week 23-year-old Anat Kamm is due to stand trial for her life...for passing secret documents to an Israeli reporter...She is charged with spying...During her conscription, Kamm copied possibly hundreds of army documents that revealed systematic law-breaking by the Israeli high command operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, including orders to ignore court rulings.
Remembering Obama
By Paul Street - April 06, 2010
Obama has kept the “corporate-managed democracy’s” state-capitalist policy machine set on “cha-ching” for the rich, powerful, and parasitic Few. The first black president has of course acted in firm accord with...“the unelected dictatorship of money,” which exercises a deadly behind-the-scenes veto power over any who would seek “to change the foreign or domestic priorities of the imperial U.S. regime.”
Counter Strike
Stan By Your Man
Calloo, Calais
Colombia: Crude Boys
Schnews In Brief
Going Ballistic
And Finally
Imprisoning Palestinian Children
Israel treats children brutally, the same as adults.
Dissident Island Radio: Steal Something From Work Day, Election Meltdown, Hackers v. Scientology, Rastko on video activism in Serbia and Women in Black, Zapatista Solidarity in Northern UK, Mr Binge with cheesy Jungle, Segment 1
Democracy Now! 2010-04-09 Friday
- Headlines for April 09, 2010
- Once-Banned Muslim Scholar Tariq Ramadan On His First Visit to U.S. in Six Years, President Obama and Why Muslims Should Make Their Voices Heard
- World Bank Approves Multibillion Dollar Loan for Coal-Fired Power Plant in South Africa
