Ferguson Protesters Aim for Bigger Movement Against Police Brutality

WSJ

Civil Suit Claims Black Man was Targeted and Killed after Unnecessary Deadly Car Chase by Saratoga Springs Cops

Times Union

The mother of Darryl Mount Jr., the 22-year-old African-American man who died from injuries suffered during a police chase in 2013, is suing city police, alleging her son's race may have played a part in the events that led to his death.

Patty Jackson, the administrator of her son's estate, argued in court papers filed Nov. 24 that police chased her son "without just cause" and used excessive force on Aug. 31, 2013.

"The decedent's ethnicity may have contributed to the actions of the police officers," the suit stated. Mount was black.

Mayor Joanne Yepsen could not be immediately reached for comment.

According to police, on the morning of the incident, Mount, who lived in Malta, fell 20 feet from scaffolding in an alley along Broadway. Police said he was attempting to run away from officers who said they saw him push a woman into a wall at about 3 a.m. on Caroline Street in the Spa City's bar district.

Social media posts quickly accused police of assaulting Mount. His family has continually alleged Mount's injuries were because of the officers' reckless pursuit of him. And they called for an independent investigation of the incident. The city's internal inquiry cleared officers of any wrongdoing.

Mount, who was bedridden for months with serious head and facial injuries, died from his injuries May 13. The suit said he was in a coma.

"The injuries sustained by (Mount) were the direct result of excessive force by the police officers who were acting as employees of the defendant and within the course of their employment," stated the lawsuit. "The actions of the police officers were reckless, abusive and constituted an excessive use of force and were an assault on the person of the decedent."

It said Mount's suffering includes medical expenses, pain and physical and emotional trauma resulting in his death.

In September, the family's attorney, Robert Katzman, blasted the death certificate that said Mount "fell from scaffold while evading police."

The lawyer said: "It is beyond belief. The police don't even have proof he fell from scaffolding. How can you put that on a death certificate when you don't know that?"

At a news conference in August, public safety officials released a statement saying: "Despite unsubstantiated claims that have been made publicly that police officers assaulted Mr. Mount ... no witness (has) ever come forward to report that they saw any officer engaged in any form of abuse or misconduct during the night of August 31, 2103."

Police have released photos of video stills and video from surveillance cameras that captured part of the deadly incident, in addition to redacted copies of case reports, witness statements and radio transmissions.

7 Ferguson protesters arrested at Macy's Thanksgiving parade

The Hill

A handful of individuals protesting the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo. were arrested on Thursday after allegedly attempting to disrupt the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, according to local news reports.

New York’s WPIX-TV reports that the New York Police Department confirmed that seven people were arrested as they broke from the designated march route for protesters upset with the recent grand jury decision not to charge police officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown.

Shortly after midnight on Thursday, The New York Post reported plans of demonstrators to foment unrest at the popular Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

Activists took to the twitterverse on Wednesday with the hashtag #stoptheparade to rally protesters to the popular parade, which started at 9:00 a.m.

Over the course of Thanksgiving morning, #stoptheparade trended on the social media platform Twitter, with user reports that police arrested and dispersed demonstrators al

Rep. Marcia Fudge “This decision seems to underscore an unwritten rule that Black lives hold no value; that you may kill Black men in this country without consequences or repercussions,”

From [HERE] Members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Monday called the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson a “slap in the face” for those seeking justice for the death of Michael Brown.

“The Ferguson grand jury’s decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown is a miscarriage of justice,” CBC Chair Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said in a statement released after the decision was announced late Monday evening in Missouri. “It is a slap in the face to Americans nationwide who continue to hope and believe that justice will prevail.”

“This decision seems to underscore an unwritten rule that Black lives hold no value; that you may kill Black men in this country without consequences or repercussions,” Fudge’s statement continued. “This is a frightening narrative for every parent and guardian of Black and brown children, and another setback for race relations in America.”

After months of deliberation, St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch announced that a grand jury had reached a decision not to indict Wilson on criminal charges. Wilson shot and killed the unarmed teenager Aug. 9 in a confrontation on the streets of Ferguson.

(Also on POLITICO: Ferguson: Obama urges 'care and restraint')

The American Civil Liberties Union issued a statement on Monday night saying that it will “continue to fight for racial justice.”

“We must end the prevailing policing paradigm where police departments are more like occupying forces, imposing their will to control communities,” the statement read.

Once the decision not to indict was announced, Ferguson again became engulfed in unrest. The Associated Press reports dozens of businesses were set ablaze and authorities said they heard hundreds of gunshots. Dozens of people were arrested.

Rep. John Lewis, known for his role in the civil rights movement, took to Twitter shortly after McCulloch finished his statement.

“I know this [is] hard. I know this is difficult. Do not succumb to the temptations of violence. There is a more powerful way,” the Georgia Democrat tweeted.

Another of his tweets read, “Only love can overcome hate. Only nonviolence can overcome violence.”

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) also likened the events in Ferguson to the civil rights movement, urging protesters in a statement to march peacefully “just as we did” during the ’50s and ’60s.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) was quick to put out a statement and said he is “disappointed” in the decision, but that he is looking to the Department of Justice to continue to investigate the case.

“While I understand the emotions that have brought protestors into the streets, our goal now should be preventing cases like this one from ever happening again by encouraging dialogue with the police forces sworn to protect our communities and transforming the practices and culture that led to the shooting,” Cummings said in a statement.

Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) echoed Cummings’ disappointment, tweeting she is also “disappointed in the lack of #Justice4MikeBrown. We must demand change & work to end racial & structural bias in a peaceful manner.”

Prominent political figures in Missouri also weighed in.

Gov. Jay Nixon said: “I urge all those voicing their opinions regarding the grand jury’s decision to do so peacefully. I also urge everyone to continue working to make positive changes that will yield long-term social, economic and spiritual benefits for all our communities.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said in a statement that she expects people to be disappointed, but that she hopes the DOJ will “continue working together for solutions to systematic issues highlighted by this tragedy.”

Over a series of 11 tweets sent after the decision was announced, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) told protesters, “We hear you.”

“We have not merely witnessed the effects of a warped sense of law & order, enforced with unbridled & unpredictable power. We wear the scars,” one tweet read.

#RuptlyLive - Protests spread to NYC streets following riots in Ferguson

Businesses to receive incentive for hiring undocumented immigrants, report says

CLG

Businesses reportedly will have a $3,000-per-employee incentive to hire illegal immigrants over native-born workers under President Obama's sweeping action on illegal immigration. Because of a kink in ObamaCare, businesses will not face a penalty for not providing illegal immigrants health care, The Washington Times reports. Illegal immigrants are ineligible for public benefits such as buying insurance on ObamaCare’s health exchanges. Congressional aides condemned the loophole saying it puts illegal immigrants ahead of Americans in the job hunt.

Enough Already Pharrell is Just Vaginal - He accuses Michael Brown of 'bully-ish' behavior, says unarmed teen was 'asking for trouble'

DaiyMail

Protesters target Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Dailymail

Demonstrators in New York who have been protesting the grand jury decision in Ferguson this week are plotting a revolt against the Thanksgiving Day Parade to 'make people stop and listen' and 'make history'.

The hashtag #StopTheParade set social media on fire on Wednesday night, after thousands took over the streets of Manhattan and Brooklyn on Tuesday after police officer Darren Wilson escaped charges over the shooting death of Michael Brown.

The New York Post is reporting that those protests - in which 10 of an estimated 3,000 were arrested - have inspired a bigger plan to use the spotlight surrounding the parade to push what they say is injustice.

A notice posted to Facebook read: 'We do not accept state violence or genocide as cause for celebration. When the masses gather for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, we will gather to remind the public that BLACK LIVES MATTER.

'We will meet on the steps of the Public Library bright and early to plan exact flash mob location and make our signs. Please bring cardboard/posterboard small enough to hide on your person and markers.' 

Ferguson Grand Jury Has Reached Decision in Michael Brown Case: Announcement Expected Monday Evening

WSJ

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s office said he would hold a news conference this evening ahead of an expected announcement of a grand jury’s decision on whether to indict white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown. [expect white supremacy] 

Want More Racial Stupidity and Provocation from Ferguson? Officer Darren Wilson gets married to fellow Ferguson cop as White Grand jury Continues Fake Deliberations

NY Daily News

The 28-year-old white officer, expected to resign from the suburban St. Louis police department in light of the August shooting of the unarmed Black teen, married fellow Ferguson police Officer Barbara Spradling on Oct. 24. Wilson, who has been in hiding since the shooting, also has met with at least five TV anchors about a tell-all interview.

He said “I do” while protests raged.

Amid an uncertain (funny!) future and an impending grand jury decision, Ferguson, Mo., police Officer Darren Wilson married his girlfriend, fellow Ferguson cop Barbara Spradling, last month.

The 28-year-old, awaiting news on whether he will stand trial for fatally shooting unarmed black teen Michael Brown in August, tied the knot Oct. 24 with 37-year-old colleague Spradling, a 10-year veteran of the suburban St. Louis police force.

The couple, who share a home in nearby Crestwood, Mo., applied for a license last month in Clayton and were married in Oakland, Mo., by a municipal judge.

One of the witnesses to the union was Greg Kloeppel, one of Wilson’s attorneys.

In Utah, the Police Are Killing More Than Almost Anyone Else

Mic.com

While all eyes may be on Ferguson, Missouri, right now, police killings have become a hot-button issue in another, unexpected state: Utah.

The issue of police brutality and excessive force in Utah gained attention earlier this year following the shooting death of 22-year-old Darrien Hunt, a black man who was killed by police officers while wielding a costume sword. Prosecutors have since found Hunt's shooting justified, but the deadly trend in Utah remains hugely worrying.

According to analysis by the Salt Lake Tribune, use of force by police is now the second most common type of killing committed by Utahns, second only to intimate partner violence. According to the Tribune, since 2010, 45 people have been killed by law enforcement officials, accounting for 15% of all homicides during this period.

"In the past five years, more Utahns have been killed by police than by gang members," wrote the Tribune's Erin Alberty. "Or drug dealers. Or from child abuse."

The issue is greater than just Ferguson. While Hunt's death hasn't received as nearly as much mainstream media attention as Michael Brown's, there are many concerning things surrounding the circumstances of his death as well. For instance, there are conflicting reports regarding how much of a threat Hunt posed with his sword. Protesters have also pointed out that an officer on the scene was wearing a body camera at the time, but didn't have it turned on during this encounter.

There's also the fact that not much has resulted from the outrage over these deaths. According to the Tribune, prosecutors have found only one unjustified police shooting in Utah during this five-year period, and a judge threw out the associated criminal charges last month.

ACLU: President's Immigration Actions will Result in more militarization in Southwest border communities, without increasing accountability measures for Customs and Border Protection, the nation’s largest and most dangerous police force

ACLU

Tonight, President Obama will announce a package of executive actions that could temporarily shield more than 4 million undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Below are preliminary thoughts from ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero:

“The ACLU supports the President for taking necessary action to restore some fairness to our broken immigration system, and to place limits on the devastating deportation machine that has torn apart countless families for too long. Now, millions of people, who have lived under the daily threat of deportation for years, can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

However, President Obama’s executive actions are not a complete solution to the problems plaguing this system. We are extremely concerned about the rights of all six million immigrants excluded from deportation relief, including those who are long-standing neighbors in our communities. Today’s executive actions will also result in more militarization in Southwest border communities, without increasing accountability measures for Customs and Border Protection, the nation’s largest and most dangerous police force. We’re disappointed because at the height of CBP’s crisis of abuses, the White House is requesting more border-security resources, more boots on the throats of border residents.

Today we celebrate with immigrant families around the country, but tomorrow, we join our fellow advocates, organizers and movement leaders to continue the fight for the six million immigrants left unprotected as well as for residents in Southwest border communities – citizen and immigrant alike.”

Part-time McJobs put millions in poverty or close to it

CNN

Seven million Americans are stuck in part-time jobs.

They are unable to get full-time work and the benefits and stability that come with it. It's a constant struggle for these families and a worrying sign for America's recovery.

Overall U.S. unemployment has fallen steeply in the past year (from 7.2% in October 2013 to 5.8% in October 2014), but too many people can only find part-time positions.

The number of people working part-time involuntarily is more than 50% higher than when the recession began.

There was a similar spike in part-time workers in prior recessions, but it dropped quickly. That's not happening this time around. In fact, some states have seen an increase during the recovery in people languishing in part-time jobs who want something more. [MORE]

Economists agree recovery helping everyone but blacks

DallasNews

Is this a recovering economy or not? That’s one of the great, persistent mysteries stumping modern economists and pundits. Especially for African-Americans, the answer seems to be no.

Each month might reveal a gradually dipping unemployment rate, suggesting that it’s all good. The rate dropped steadily from 9.2 percent in September 2011 to 5.9 percent this September. But for African-Americans, the jobless rate is stubbornly stuck at 11 percent — compared with 5.8 and 7.8 percent, respectively, for whites and Latinos.

I turned to several leading economists to help sort it out: NAACP Economic Director Dedrick Muhammad; John Williams of ShadowStats.com; Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institution; and Michael Madowitz of the Center for American Progress.

Here’s some of their conversation:

Dedrick Muhammad (@DedrickM): African-Americans have over twice the unemployment level of white Americans, and African-American unemployment, currently at 11 percent, is higher than the worst of the national unemployment rate during the Great Recession (10 percent). A 20 percent child poverty rate in the richest country in the world is an abomination, and a 30 percent poverty rate for Latino children and 38 percent for African-Americans are totally unacceptable.

Gary Burtless (@GBurtless): Long-term unemployment remains heartbreakingly high for a simple reason: The economic downturn between 2008 and late 2009 was exceptionally severe, and the rate of job creation since then has been slow in light of the massive job loss that occurred between early 2008 and late 2009.

John Williams (@ShadowStats): Yes, the government removes long-term unemployed who have given up looking for work, also known as “discouraged workers,” from the headline unemployment number. The effect is that the headline unemployment rate drops, while the broadest unemployment measure, including all of the long-term discouraged workers, has increased and remains close to a post-Great Depression high.

Michael Madowitz (@mikemadowitz): People seem to have short memories when it comes to the labor market. We know underemployment and broader measures of unemployment are at unhealthy levels. The real question isn’t whether people have given up because the labor market is bad — we know they have. The question is whether they are on the sidelines until things improve or whether they are off the grid for good — forced into early retirement, working in the underground cash economy or not working for other reasons.

Muhammad: Underemployment continues to be an issue largely ignored. This number also tends to run about twice the official unemployment rate, but it is not delineated by race. Were we to do so, and we assume the [black underemployment] was twice the black unemployment rate, which seems reasonable, it would be between 20 and 25 percent of black workers who are either unemployed or underemployed.

Williams: Long-term benefits are needed because the economy generally has not recovered, and job prospects remain bleak in the real world both now and in the near future. In theory, the government remains constrained by budget issues, but underemployment certainly should be a top priority. Fundamentally, action is needed to boost the economy and to create jobs, but there are few easy approaches to that at present. For example, areas such as trade policy and other elements driving domestic businesses and employment offshore need to be addressed in order to help bring back higher-paying production jobs into the U.S. That, however, runs counter to special interests pandered to on both sides of the political aisle.

Madowitz: All rates have dropped a lot, but we had a huge hole to dig out of, so we’re still well above what feels like a normal economy. The official rate has dropped the fastest, which you expect because there are so many ways to stop being counted in the official rate, and it’s within spitting distance of normal. But if you look at pretty much any other measure, you still see a labor market that is really struggling by historical standards.

Racist Suspect Musician Idan Raichel Pimps U.S. & helps Israeli government whitewash crimes against Palestinians

Electronic Intifada

Tolerance, “global fusion” and “cross-cultural” are all phrases Israeli singer Idan Raichel uses to describe his music on his website. Of Eastern European descent, the formerly dreadlocked artist who dons a head wrap and sometimes sings in Amharic presents himself as peace-loving and tolerant, seeking to build bridges through music.

Music industry insiders will attest to his effectiveness behind the scenes in encouraging artists like India.Arie and Alicia Keys to continue to play in Israel despite boycott calls.

Yet Raichel’s first appearance upon arriving for his latest US tour was a gala fundraiser for the Israeli military held in Los Angeles.

Israel’s “best ambassador”

Raichel has been called “maybe the best ambassador that Israel has” by the Israeli consul general for the Pacific Northwest. This is significant because in 2006, the Israeli government launched an initiative dubbed “Brand Israel,” intended to use marketing, particularly in the arts, to improve Israel’s image abroad.

In 2009, the deputy director general of cultural affairs in the Israeli foreign ministry declared, “We will send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibits. This way you show Israel’s prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war.” As part of this effort, Raichel traveled throughout the African continent in an Israeli government-initiated and produced tour in 2012 and 2013.

But the cultural boycott of Israel, part of the larger South Africa-style movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS), paired with Israel’s own actions, has had a significant impact on Israel’s image despite extensive branding efforts.

The Israeli government has formed task forces to tackle the boycott, and recently a powerful Hollywood organization, Creative Community For Peace (CCFP), was founded by industry executives with close ties to the right-wing anti-Palestinian group StandWithUs.

Notably, CCFP features Idan Raichel prominently on its homepage.

“I see an Israel I am happy with”

As an endorser of the group Thank Israeli Soldiers, Raichel has referred to the Israeli army as a “basic ingredient” in life — presumably in Israel. In 2008, Raichel stated in Hebrew, “We certainly see ourselves as ambassadors of Israel in the world, cultural ambassadors, hasbara ambassadors, also in regards to the political conflict.”

“Hasbara” is the Hebrew term for Israel’s state-directed propaganda efforts.

He also performed for the army before, during and after Israel’s latest assault on the Gaza Strip which killed more than  2,100 Palestinians, including some 500 children.

In January, Raichel embraced alleged Israeli torturer Doron Zahavi, nicknamed “Captain George,” in a statement posted on the photo-sharing social network Instagram, suggesting that Zahavi deserved “a medal of honor.” In June, Raichel identified himself as a cultural ambassador for Israel and went on to write, “When I look back over the past few years, I see an Israel I am happy with.” This statement comes at a time of increasing racism among Israeli Jews toward Palestinians, including those holding Israeli citizenship.  

Protested in New York

It is within this context that New Yorkers protested Raichel’s concert at New York City’s Symphony Space, following a protest of the artist earlier this month in Seattle.

Thousands of signatories endorsed a letter initiated by the group Adalah-NY criticizing the World Music Institute (WMI) for presenting Raichel’s show and urging the institute to cancel it. Among the signatories were the organization’s co-founder, Robert Browning, and honorary WMI board member and famed filmmaker Mira Nair, along with musical acts including Boukman Eksperyans, Simon Shaheen, DAM, Red Baraat’s Sonny Singh, Invincible and Shubha Mudgal. [MORE]