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Fire Walk With Me
Fire Walk With Me's Journal
Fire Walk With Me's Journal
June 22, 2012
In recent months, several penny-pinched municipalities have taken a stab at eradicating homelessness by making indigence illegal. Cities from Berkeley to Philadelphia to St. Louis have moved to criminalize "acts of living" like sitting, lying down, or asking for change on the corner. In the face of this nationwide crackdown on transients, Rhode Island has decided to take the high road. Its Assembly just passed the country's first Homeless Bill of Rights, which Governor Lincoln Chafee is expected to sign into law early next week, declaring an equal right to jobs, housing, services, and public space for all inhabitants, whether they have a home or not.
A recent report by the US Interagency Council on Homelessness blasted the national wave of out-of-sight-out-of-mind laws affecting many of the country's roughly 643,000 street folk: "Criminalization policies further marginalize men and women who are experiencing homelessness, fuel inflammatory attitudes, and may even unduly restrict constitutionally protected liberties."
Rhode Island's Homeless Bill of Rights
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/06/rhode-island-homeless-bill-rightsIn recent months, several penny-pinched municipalities have taken a stab at eradicating homelessness by making indigence illegal. Cities from Berkeley to Philadelphia to St. Louis have moved to criminalize "acts of living" like sitting, lying down, or asking for change on the corner. In the face of this nationwide crackdown on transients, Rhode Island has decided to take the high road. Its Assembly just passed the country's first Homeless Bill of Rights, which Governor Lincoln Chafee is expected to sign into law early next week, declaring an equal right to jobs, housing, services, and public space for all inhabitants, whether they have a home or not.
A recent report by the US Interagency Council on Homelessness blasted the national wave of out-of-sight-out-of-mind laws affecting many of the country's roughly 643,000 street folk: "Criminalization policies further marginalize men and women who are experiencing homelessness, fuel inflammatory attitudes, and may even unduly restrict constitutionally protected liberties."
June 22, 2012
Revealed: 64 Drone Bases on American Soil
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/64-drone-bases-on-us-soil/
We like to think of the drone war as something far away, fought in the deserts of Yemen or the mountains of Afghanistan. But we now know it’s closer than we thought. There are 64 drone bases on American soil. That includes 12 locations housing Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be armed.
Public Intelligence, a non-profit that advocates for free access to information, released a map of military UAV activities in the United States on Tuesday. Assembled from military sources — especially this little-known June 2011 Air Force presentation (.pdf) – it is arguably the most comprehensive map so far of the spread of the Pentagon’s unmanned fleet. What exact missions are performed at those locations, however, is not clear. Some bases might be used as remote cockpits to control the robotic aircraft overseas, some for drone pilot training. Others may also serve as imagery analysis depots.
The medium-size Shadow is used in 22 bases, the smaller Raven in 20 and the miniature Wasp in 11. California and Texas lead the pack, with 10 and six sites, respectively, and there are also 22 planned locations for future bases. ”It is very likely that there are more domestic drone activities not included in the map, but it is designed to provide an approximate overview of the widespread nature of Department of Defense activities throughout the US,” Michael Haynes from Public Intelligence tells Danger Room.
Six drone test sites are up for grabs and states are eager to get the money that comes with them
States fight for drone biz
Six UAV test sites are up for grabs -- and state governments are eager to get their hands on them
More than a dozen state governments across the country are scrambling to get into the drone business with the expectation that unmanned aviation will create new jobs in the near future.
This summer, they will begin competing for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to run one of six unmanned aviation test sites around the country. Mandated by Congress earlier this year, the test sites are intended to demonstrate that unmanned vehicles can be integrated safely and quickly into U.S. airspace.
The domestic drone market is still small. In 2012, the civil unmanned aviation vehicle (UAV) market will account for only 1.4 percent of the $7 billion-plus drone industry, according to a recent industry survey. This year 98.6 percent of all UAV spending will pay for military applications. But the burst of interest in funding the establishment of the UAV test sites indicates many businesses and elected officials expect that to change soon.
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/30/states_fight_for_drone_biz/
RT News: State of California cashing in as Drones become lucrative business
Someone's getting incredibly rich selling arms...within the US. Follow @drones on Twitter.
Revealed: 64 Drone Bases on American Soil
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/06/64-drone-bases-on-us-soil/
We like to think of the drone war as something far away, fought in the deserts of Yemen or the mountains of Afghanistan. But we now know it’s closer than we thought. There are 64 drone bases on American soil. That includes 12 locations housing Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be armed.
Public Intelligence, a non-profit that advocates for free access to information, released a map of military UAV activities in the United States on Tuesday. Assembled from military sources — especially this little-known June 2011 Air Force presentation (.pdf) – it is arguably the most comprehensive map so far of the spread of the Pentagon’s unmanned fleet. What exact missions are performed at those locations, however, is not clear. Some bases might be used as remote cockpits to control the robotic aircraft overseas, some for drone pilot training. Others may also serve as imagery analysis depots.
The medium-size Shadow is used in 22 bases, the smaller Raven in 20 and the miniature Wasp in 11. California and Texas lead the pack, with 10 and six sites, respectively, and there are also 22 planned locations for future bases. ”It is very likely that there are more domestic drone activities not included in the map, but it is designed to provide an approximate overview of the widespread nature of Department of Defense activities throughout the US,” Michael Haynes from Public Intelligence tells Danger Room.
Six drone test sites are up for grabs and states are eager to get the money that comes with them
States fight for drone biz
Six UAV test sites are up for grabs -- and state governments are eager to get their hands on them
More than a dozen state governments across the country are scrambling to get into the drone business with the expectation that unmanned aviation will create new jobs in the near future.
This summer, they will begin competing for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to run one of six unmanned aviation test sites around the country. Mandated by Congress earlier this year, the test sites are intended to demonstrate that unmanned vehicles can be integrated safely and quickly into U.S. airspace.
The domestic drone market is still small. In 2012, the civil unmanned aviation vehicle (UAV) market will account for only 1.4 percent of the $7 billion-plus drone industry, according to a recent industry survey. This year 98.6 percent of all UAV spending will pay for military applications. But the burst of interest in funding the establishment of the UAV test sites indicates many businesses and elected officials expect that to change soon.
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/30/states_fight_for_drone_biz/
June 19, 2012
Occupy Protesters' Rights Must Be Protected, U.N. Says; U.S. Says Nothing
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/occupy-protesters-rights-united-nations-letter_n_1606735.html?fb_action_ids=378350388891639%2C4222060756286%2C4222046555931&fb_action_types=news.reads&fb_sour
June 19, 2012
Silent march speaks volumes against Stop and Frisk:
June 19, 2012
[Episcopal News Service] A retired Episcopal bishop and a priest from the Episcopal Diocese of New York were among seven people convicted June 18 on charges of trespassing on property owned by Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, during a Dec. 17 Occupy Wall Street demonstration and sentenced to four days of community service.
George Packard, former Episcopal bishop suffragan for armed services and federal ministries, and Earl Kooperkamp, rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Harlem, had faced up to 90 days in prison on the most serious charge, Packard’s lawyer, Gideon Oliver, had previously told ENS.
An eighth defendant, Mark Adams, was convicted of trespassing and additional charges of attempted criminal mischief and attempted possession of burglar’s tools, reportedly for trying to use bolt-cutters to slice through the fence surrounding the property. He was sentenced to 45 days in prison on Rikers Island and taken from court in handcuffs, Oliver said in a telephone interview after the trial.
-------
One day before the action and these arrests:
Desmond Tutu urges Trinity Church to allow Occupy protester camp
South African archbishop enters row over Wall Street church's refusal to allow a winter encampment on its property
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/desmond-tutu-occupy-movement-trinity-church
Bishop, priest convicted of trespassing in Occupy demonstration
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/06/18/bishop-priest-convicted-of-trespassing-in-occupy-demonstration[Episcopal News Service] A retired Episcopal bishop and a priest from the Episcopal Diocese of New York were among seven people convicted June 18 on charges of trespassing on property owned by Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, during a Dec. 17 Occupy Wall Street demonstration and sentenced to four days of community service.
George Packard, former Episcopal bishop suffragan for armed services and federal ministries, and Earl Kooperkamp, rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Harlem, had faced up to 90 days in prison on the most serious charge, Packard’s lawyer, Gideon Oliver, had previously told ENS.
An eighth defendant, Mark Adams, was convicted of trespassing and additional charges of attempted criminal mischief and attempted possession of burglar’s tools, reportedly for trying to use bolt-cutters to slice through the fence surrounding the property. He was sentenced to 45 days in prison on Rikers Island and taken from court in handcuffs, Oliver said in a telephone interview after the trial.
-------
One day before the action and these arrests:
Desmond Tutu urges Trinity Church to allow Occupy protester camp
South African archbishop enters row over Wall Street church's refusal to allow a winter encampment on its property
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/16/desmond-tutu-occupy-movement-trinity-church
June 18, 2012
If You See Something, Film Something (Recording The Police is Dangerous, But Necessary)
Right-click on the video for plenty of similar links on the homepage.
June 18, 2012
"This episode of the show reports on the 'casserole' solidarity rallies across the US, Milwaukee protests with mounted police charge and arrests. OWS Week also covers the NATO-five rallies in Chicago and the SEC protests in New York, plus art and culture theatre group activities in support of Bradley Manning."
See about 20 minutes in for blatantly brutal repression of a Milwaukee anti-Walker march.
Chicago NATO-five protests, NY SEC protests and Casserole solidarity demos-OWS Week-06-13-2012
"This episode of the show reports on the 'casserole' solidarity rallies across the US, Milwaukee protests with mounted police charge and arrests. OWS Week also covers the NATO-five rallies in Chicago and the SEC protests in New York, plus art and culture theatre group activities in support of Bradley Manning."
See about 20 minutes in for blatantly brutal repression of a Milwaukee anti-Walker march.
June 16, 2012
"Gov. Cuomo came under intense criticism when news was leaked of a plan to begin fracking in economically depressed areas of New York.
June 16, 2012 |
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is coming under increased criticism as his administration’s plan to begin fracking in economically depressed areas of the state was leaked. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported on the reveal, which came from an anonymous senior official from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The plan is part of a demonstration project in which the DEC would issue permits for a limited number of wells in certain areas and then monitor the fracking to see if the process could be done safely. Critics are calling on the governor not to use the residents of these impoverished territories as 'guinea pigs.'"
Revealed: NY Governor Plans to Experiment with Fracking in Impoverished Areas
http://www.alternet.org/environment/155897/revealed:_ny_governor_plans_to_experiment_with_fracking_in_impoverished_areas"Gov. Cuomo came under intense criticism when news was leaked of a plan to begin fracking in economically depressed areas of New York.
June 16, 2012 |
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is coming under increased criticism as his administration’s plan to begin fracking in economically depressed areas of the state was leaked. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported on the reveal, which came from an anonymous senior official from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
The plan is part of a demonstration project in which the DEC would issue permits for a limited number of wells in certain areas and then monitor the fracking to see if the process could be done safely. Critics are calling on the governor not to use the residents of these impoverished territories as 'guinea pigs.'"
June 16, 2012
Bernie Sanders Goes After Monsanto:
June 16, 2012
"A report just released by the US Government Accountability Office explains how the Federal Reserve divvied up more than $4 trillion in low-interest loans after the fiscal crisis of 2008, and the news shouldn’t be all that surprising.
When the Federal Reserve looked towards bailing out some of the biggest banks in the country, more than one dozen of the financial institutions that benefited from the Fed’s Hail Mary were members of the central bank’s own board, reports the GAO. At least 18 current and former directors of the Fed’s regional branches saw to it that their own banks were awarded loans with often next-to-no interest by the country’s central bank during the height of the financial crisis that crippled the American economy and spurred rampant unemployment and home foreclosures for those unable to receive assistance.
Although the crisis continues to have an effect on Americans that were devastated by the recession, the banks that survived the near meltdown were largely able to do so because some of their CEOs sat on the same Federal Reserve board the decided on how to dish out trillions of dollars."
RT News: Fed members gave their own banks $4 trillion during bailout
https://rt.com/usa/news/fed-federal-reserve-report-938/"A report just released by the US Government Accountability Office explains how the Federal Reserve divvied up more than $4 trillion in low-interest loans after the fiscal crisis of 2008, and the news shouldn’t be all that surprising.
When the Federal Reserve looked towards bailing out some of the biggest banks in the country, more than one dozen of the financial institutions that benefited from the Fed’s Hail Mary were members of the central bank’s own board, reports the GAO. At least 18 current and former directors of the Fed’s regional branches saw to it that their own banks were awarded loans with often next-to-no interest by the country’s central bank during the height of the financial crisis that crippled the American economy and spurred rampant unemployment and home foreclosures for those unable to receive assistance.
Although the crisis continues to have an effect on Americans that were devastated by the recession, the banks that survived the near meltdown were largely able to do so because some of their CEOs sat on the same Federal Reserve board the decided on how to dish out trillions of dollars."
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