reuters:

A besieged gunman suspected of shooting dead seven people in the name of al Qaeda boasted to police on Wednesday he had brought France to its knees and said his only regret was not having been able to carry out his plans for more killings.

In an unfolding drama that has riveted France, about 300 police, some in body armor, cordoned off a five-storey building in a suburb of Toulouse where the 24-year-old Muslim shooter, identified as Mohamed Merah, is holed up.

Authorities said the gunman, a French citizen of Algerian origin, had been to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he claimed to have received training from al Qaeda.

Read more: Besieged gunman boasted he brought France to its knees

(via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)

cognitivedissonance:

thepeoplesrecord:

More reports of police brutality at #M17 in NYC:

• Cecily McMillan tackled by NYPD, possibly has some broken ribs & had a seizure while handcuffed with officers standing by not offering assistance or an ambulance. She is currently at the hospital & reportedly not allowed to see friends or family or call a lawyer.
• Shawn Carrie arrested tonight & tweeted - “Police broke my left thumb and possibly my jaw. My right ear is bleeding and theres a bootprint on my face.” 
• NYPD bash protester named Jose head against a glass door window, cracking the glass. Video here. 
• More stories will be updated as they are released.

Horrifying.

(via truth-has-a-liberal-bias)

graymare:

Illegal Israeli Settler’s raze & confiscate Palestinian land under protection of Israeli Army while more and more Palestinians are homeless, their lives destroyed. 

(via bohemianarthouse)

Occupy The Hood is an autonomous national grassroots movement comprised of activists, organizers and community members working with like-minded individuals and organizations across the US. Occupy The Hood stands in solidarity with any progressive organization or movement who desires and works towards the liberation, benefit and improvement of the quality of life of disenfranchised People of Color.

From Occupation to Liberation, De-Colonize, Empower The Hood.

People of Color, and in particular Black, Brown and Native/Indigenous People, have been disproportionately affected by the issues that the Occupy Movement has recently raised. Unemployment rates double nationwide, disproportionate incarceration rates, wealth gap, subprime mortgages/foreclosures.

Occupy The Hood will work to address many critical issues affecting our communities:

un/under employment, poverty, mass incarceration, political prisoners, school to prison pipeline, police brutality, racial profiling, violence/murders/illegal guns, housing/foreclosures/homelessness/gentrification, health care disparities, educational disparities, food deserts, community development, reparations, economic development, entrepreneurship, gender-specific programs, youth programs, environmental justice, civic engagement, discrimination/racism

Occupy The Hood is officially active in the following Cities:
NYC (NY), Detroit (MI), Pittsburgh (PA), Seattle (WA), Philadelphia (PA), Atlanta (GA), Boston (MA), Tacoma (WA), Dallas (TX), Nola (LA), Cincinnati (OH), Portland (OR), St. Louis (MO), Cleveland (OH), Washington (DC), Richmond (VA), Los Angeles (CA) and growing

WE ARE THE MOST AFFECTED of the 99%

It has been said that:
“Black People are on the bottom of every list that is good, and on the top of every list that is bad.”

“When White America has a cold, Black America has pneumonia.”

Black Unemployment
Almost double the national average and in many cities/states is triple and quadruple. Unemployment rates nationally for specific groups such as Black Men and Black Teenagers are even more glaring.  USA Unemployment = 9.1%  Black Unemployment = 16.2 % Black males = 17.5%  Black teens almost 41%

Black and Latino Incarceration Rates
Black man = 1 in 3 (32%) Latino man = 1 in 6 (17%) White man has = 1 in 17 (5.9%).  It costs $35-50,000 annually (varies state/federal) to incarcerate someone.

Black/Latino Wealth Gap
The wealth gaps between whites and minorities have grown to their widest levels in a quarter-century. The recession and uneven recovery have erased decades of minority gains, leaving whites on average with 20 times the net worth of blacks and 18 times that of Hispanics, according to an analysis of new Census data.

People of Color Poverty Rates
Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average. In 2010, 27.4 percent of Blacks and 26.6 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 12.1 percent of Asians. Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are Black or Hispanic. In 2010, 31.6 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 15.8 percent of households headed by single men and 6.2 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.

Native-born vs. foreign-born residents
In 2010, 19.9 percent of foreign-born residents lived in poverty, compared to 14.4 percent of residents born in the United States. Foreign-born, non-citizens had an even higher incidence of poverty, at a rate of 26.7 percent.

OCCUPY THE HOOD!

(via zorascreation)

occupyallstreets:

anticapitalist:

Mass pro-democracy protest rocks Bahrain

Tens of thousands of Bahrainis demonstrated on Friday to demand democratic reforms, stepping up pressure on the U.S.-allied government with the biggest protest yet in a year of unrest.

Bahrain’s monarchy would have been long overthrown if the U.S. wasn’t aiding the Al Khalifa family with weapons.

The Ides of March is only days away. I wonder how Arab Spring protesters will react, especially in Syria.

jtunderground:

I was in Springfield, Mo a small mid-western city on January 20th and I attended the Occupy The Courts protest downtown in front of the Federal Courthouse and was able to get some decent shots. The protest was put on by folks associated with the Move To Amend movement and there were quite a few Occupiers in attendance. It was quite a cold day but a decent turnout of around 30 or 40 people. There was no problems with police and all in all people seemed to consider the day a success.

(via enlighteningnews)

solitaryforager:

Hundreds demonstrate for women’s rights at Virginia Capitol, 31 arrested

Thirty-one women’s rights demonstrators were arrested Saturday in a state Capitol protest that drew hundreds of people and a police response including officers in riot gear.

The rally was the latest held in opposition to contentious General Assembly bills that have drawn attention far beyond the state, including a measure that would require women to undergo a transabdominal ultrasound before having an abortion.

Some protesters, wearing red armbands and holding signs that included “Gov. McDonnell get out of my vagina,” urged the governor to reject the legislation, which is headed to his desk.

Capt. Raymond J. Goodloe of the Division of Capitol Police said 17 women and 14 men were arrested, though representatives of groups involved with the event said they believed more were taken into custody. Goodloe did not have a breakdown on charges, but said those arrested were likely accused of either trespassing or unlawful assembly, both misdemeanors.

The arrests took place after some protesters, who had marched along nearby streets before entering Capitol Square, refused to leave the south steps of the Capitol. They were, in some cases, carried away by police and taken to a bus parked nearby while other officers held protesters at bay with shields.

(via glitchthemachine)

uncoolness:

pachydactylus:

tarteauxfraises:

asherdashery:

Feb 29, 2012: Lawmakers in Russia just passed a draconian censorship law that would impose stiff fines for anything construed as “the promotion of homosexuality” in Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second largest city. Reading, writing, speaking or reporting on anything related to gay, lesbian bi or trans (LGBT) people would become a criminal act. This ban on “promotion” would also target Pride parades, literature, theater, or NGOs that openly serve LGBT people.

They’re trying to get 100,000 views on this video in two weeks, so can I get some reblogs up in here?

SIGNAL BOOST

^

Can someone tell me the name of the piece playing in the background?

(via glitchthemachine)

thepoliticalnotebook:

Anthony Shadid, Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign correspondent for the New York Times, has died of an asthma attack while on assignment in Syria. Shadid was an incredible journalistic talent. 

The Times executive editor Jill Abramson has said in a statement:

Anthony died as he lived — determined to bear witness to the transformation sweeping the Middle East and to testify to the suffering of people caught between government oppression and opposition forces.

Photo: Shadid in Cairo last February. Ed Ou/NYT.

EDIT: Here is a collection of all of Shadid’s work for the New York Times, which was always exemplary and a model for everyone in the business.

(via occupyallstreets)

anonarts:

via @AnonCircle

(via occupyallstreets)