Willie Brown says the Tech Industry is 'just another extension of [the operating system of white supremacy] Wall Street, white-male-dominated businesses'

From [HERE] San Francisco's increasing number of evictions have made national news this week. On Monday, the New York Times ran a piece on the "backlash by the Bay" that got lots of attention, and now former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown has taken up the issue in a recent column for the San Francsico Chronicle. At issue are the tax breaks -- which could cost $55 million -- that city leaders offered Twitter to move into downtown. Here's Brown:

There's a war brewing in the streets of San Francisco, and a lot of people could get caught up in it if the tech world doesn't start changing its self-centered culture.

Every day in every way, from rising rents to rising prices at restaurants to its private buses, the tech world is becoming an object of scorn. It's only a matter of time before the techies' youthful lustre fades, and they're seen as just another extension of Wall Street.

And when that happens, tenant advocates, community activists, labor unions and Occupy types are going to start asking why we're giving away the city to all these white-male-dominated businesses that don't even hire locals.

Negro removal of Asians and Latinos Underway. Colorlines, has covered the evictions of the Lee and Yañez families from their longtime homes in the city's Chinatown and Mission District. At the heart of many of these evictions is what's known as the Ellis Act, a local law that's been used to push longtime tenants out of rent controlled apartments. California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is pushing for legislation that could revise the law and make it harder for landlords to evict people from their homes, according to CBS Local News in San Francisco.

Africans organize for self-government internationally; convene at Congress in Florida

Uhuru News

What: 6^th Congress of the African People’s Socialist Party USA
When: December 7-11, 2013
Where: Gulfport and St. Petersburg, Florida
Contact: Sandra Forrest, 727-698-3092

At the center of a global resurgence of black nationalism and interest in African identity, the African People’s Socialist Party (APSP) will hold its Sixth Congress December 7-11, 2013 at its international headquarters in St Petersburg, Florida.

With organizations, members, and supporters on the ground on four continents the APSP, which leads the Uhuru (Freedom) Movement, claims to be the fastest growing African Liberation organization in the world today.

“Not since the movement of Marcus Garvey nearly a hundred years ago have so many African people in so many geographical locations come together for the united aim expressed by the Garvey movement for ‘Africa for Africans, those at home and those abroad’.”

Led by Chairman Omali Yeshitela (formerly known as Joseph Waller) under the banner of “One Africa! One Nation! One Party!” Congress attendees from across the U.S. and the globe will elect officers as well as discuss and vote on plans and strategies for addressing the myriad of pressing issues facing African people everywhere.

Featured speakers at the Congress include Black Agenda Report senior editor Glen Ford; “Free Lynne Stewart” campaigner and husband of the imprisoned lawyer, Ralph Poynter; and African Socialist International Secretary General Luwezi Kinshasa.

The program will also include presentations from allied national liberation groups including the Mexican organization Union del Barrio and representatives of the Roma people and the Venezuelans.

Participants will travel from Sweden, Britain, Sierra Leone, Kenya, the Bahamas, and Canada as well as from cities and towns across the U.S. As Chairman Omali Yeshitela wrote of African people in his political report to the Congress, “We are not a race but a nation of people scattered across the globe.”

Chairman Yeshitela’s report, currently available for free download at Uhurunews.com, examines the root cause of poverty and oppression experienced by African people wherever they are located and offers a comprehensive strategy for changing these conditions through economic and political self-determination.

The political report, currently being read and studied by hundreds of people in many parts of the world, is a considered a guideline for the current period of world crisis and struggle against the legacy of 500 years of enslavement, colonialism and oppression that plagues the African world.

The Sixth Congress of the African People’s Socialist Party will take place December 7-11, 2013 in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is open to the public and will include workshops on “The Crisis of Imperialism”, “Building a Liberated African Economy”, Organizing African Students”, “The Question of The Nation”, and “Building Independent African Media”.

For more information, visit asiuhuru.org or call 727-821-6620.

NYPD must face excessive force allegations against Occupy in court

UPI

A federal judge ruled New York police must face claims in court they used excessive force against two Occupy Wall Street protesters in 2011.

Heather Carpenter and her fiance, Julio Jose Jimenez-Artunduaga, sued New York Police Department Chief Joseph Esposito, Chief of Patrol James Hall and three sergeants for use of excessive force, the Courthouse News Service reported.

The suit alleges one of the sergeants gratuitously grabbed Carpenter's breast and another punched and kicked Jimenez-Artunduaga.

"Although these allegations are disputed, they raise issues of fact which may only be resolved by a jury," U.S. District Judge Denise Cote said.

White Homeowners in LA Want to Ban Feeding Homeless People in Public

BlackListedNews

Facing an uproar from homeowners, two members of the Los Angeles City Council have called for the city to follow the lead of dozens of other communities and ban the feeding of homeless people in public spaces.

They began showing up at dusk last week, wandering the streets, slumped in wheelchairs and sitting on sidewalks, paper plates perched on their knees. By 6:30 p.m., more than 100 homeless people had lined up at a barren corner in Hollywood, drawn by free meals handed out from the back of a truck every night by volunteers.

But these days, 27 years after the Greater West Hollywood Food Coalition began feeding people in a county that has one of the worst homeless problems in the nation, the charity is under fire, a flashpoint in the national debate over the homeless and the programs that serve them.

Detroit: The Conspirators Behind the Largest Municipal Bankruptcy Proceeding in US History

BlackListedNews

Two weeks of testimony in the Detroit bankruptcy case have exposed the premeditated character of the July 18 decision by Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr to initiate the largest municipal bankruptcy proceeding in US history. The bankruptcy, which is being backed by the Obama administration, was not necessitated by financial imperatives; instead it was a political decision—long in preparation—which was aimed at setting a precedent for the ripping up of the wages, pensions and benefits of city workers, and selling off of public assets like the masterpieces of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Lest We Forget: The Genocidal Roots of Thanksgiving

BlackListedNews

After Dallas Police Caught Lying About Shooting Of Mentally Ill Man, Police Chief Changes Policy To Let Cops View Evidence Against Them Before Making Statement

BlackListedNews

Last month, a Dallas police officer claimed a mentally ill man lunged at him with a knife, to which he shot the man in response. Despite the cop's tale, video of the incident surfaced and showed the mentally ill man did nothing of the sort. Instead, he was just sitting in place and the cop shot him from a safe distance. In response to the controversy, the Dallas police chief has decided to change their policies to allow police to take 72 hours to view all evidence against them before making a statement.

From the Dallas Mourning News:

Any Dallas officer involved in a police shooting — whether the officer fired a weapon or witnessed the gunfire — will now have the right to remain silent for 72 hours under a new department policy.

And even before they give a statement about the shooting, the officers can watch any available video before they give a statement.

Previously an officer who witnessed a shooting typically would have been required to give a statement to police investigators within hours of the event. And the officer who fired, while not required to speak right away, typically did so. The new policy now requires the firing officer to wait at least three days before giving a complete statement to investigators.

Chief David Brown quietly made major policy change less than a month after surveillance video went public in October that showed an officer shooting a mentally ill man for no apparent reason — contrary to a witnessing officer’s account that led to a felony charge against the victim.

“It is my belief that this decision will improve the investigation of our most critical incidents,” Brown said in an emailed statement.

An attorney for the shooting victim, who survived, said the policy will give officers involved in unjustified shootings time to make excuses.

[...]Don Tittle, one of Bennett’s attorneys, called the policy change “maddening.” Give police officers enough time, evidence and lawyers, and all their statements will sound alike and justify a shooting, he said.

Plus, he said, any other witness to a crime is asked to talk to officers at the scene, he said.

“If the goal is to seek the truth in an incident, then why would a witness to a police shooting be treated differently than a witness to any other incident?” he said. “No other witness is told, here, you have three days to get back to us. And, by the way, here is a copy of all the video of the incident so you can get your story straight.”

Shopping malls are encouraging shoppers to use social media to spy on citizens

BlackListed News

Strategies often employed by law enforcement agencies to prevent attacks — like metal detectors, armed guards and bag screenings — may discourage consumers from heading to the mall, during a period when malls are losing shoppers (nearly a 7 percent drop from last year at this time, according to ShopperTrak), largely to online retailers.

fear of a non-white country: Bill O'Reilly Doesn't Understand Why Obama Can't Fulfill Conservatives' Closed-Border Fantasy

Media Matters for America 

Fox News host Bill O'Reilly typified conservative media's absurd arguments on border enforcement, claiming that President Obama is not committed to addressing the issue because he can't stop immigrants from coming into the United States illegally in the first place. O'Reilly also dismissed the Senate immigration bill's border surge provisions, arguing that "money doesn't stop drug smuggling or people smuggling."

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is closing in on a controversial milestone: the deportation of 2 million undocumented immigrants, which is equal to President George W. Bush's 2-term total.

Discussing President Obama's November 25 immigration speech, O'Reilly speculated about the chances of passing immigration legislation, saying: "The problem here is that nobody believes President Obama will secure the border. They believe he'll give the pathway to citizenship but nobody believes he's gonna stop more people from coming in to follow the same pathway."

When contributor Juan Williams noted that the Senate-passed immigration bill includes substantial funding for border enforcement measures, O'Reilly replied:

O'REILLY: Money doesn't stop drug smuggling or people smuggling. You've got to have the will to do it and that will has to be imparted and you've got to put commanders down there, people who are really, really committed to stopping the chaos on the Southern border, and nobody, Juan, nobody believes the president of the United States is committed to do that.

O'Reilly went on to repeat Fox News' talking point that Obama's speech was an attempt to "deflect" from the problems with the Affordable Care Act's rollout. Guest Mary Katharine Ham agreed, saying that "the timing is interesting." She went on to promote the discredited conservative myth that Obama could have passed comprehensive immigration reform early in his first term if he had "made it a first priority" when "he had 60 senators." She continued: "But he put it off because he liked using it as a cudgel before the 2012 elections."

O'Reilly's point that Obama isn't serious about border enforcement because he's unable to prevent immigrants from crossing into the U.S. illegally or from overstaying their visas is absurd. There are a host of reasons that prompt illegal crossings, which can range from economic to family reunification.

Rush Limbaugh Lashes Out At The Pope Over Critique Of Inequality

MediaMatters

From the November 27 edition of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: I mentioned, last night -- I was doing show prep last night -- usual routine. And I ran across this -- I don't actually know what it's called -- the latest papal offering, statement from Pope Francis. Now, up until this -- I'm not Catholic. Up until this, I have to tell you, I was admiring the man. I thought he was going a little overboard on the "common man" touch, and I thought there might have been a little bit of PR involved there. But nevertheless, I was willing to cut him some slack. I mean, if he wants to portray himself as still from the streets of where he came from and is not anything special, not aristocratic, if he wants to eschew the physical trappings of the Vatican -- OK, cool, fine.

But this that I came across last night -- I mean, it totally befuddled me. If it weren't for capitalism, I don't know where the Catholic Church would be. Now, as I mentioned before, I'm not Catholic. I admire it profoundly, and I've been tempted a number of times to delve deeper into it. But the pope here has now gone beyond Catholicism here, and this is pure political. Now, I want to share with you some of this stuff.

"Pope Francis attacked unfettered capitalism as 'a new tyranny.' He beseeched global leaders to fight poverty and growing inequality, in a document on Tuesday setting out a platform for his papacy and calling for a renewal of the Catholic Church. In it, Pope Francis went further than previous comments criticizing the global economic system, attacking the 'idolatry of money.' "

I've gotta be very caref-- I have been numerous times to the Vatican. It wouldn't exist without tons of money. But, regardless, what this is -- somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him. This is just pure Marxism coming out of the mouth of the pope. There's no such -- "unfettered capitalism"? That doesn't exist anywhere.

President Obama Visits Immigration Advocates Fasting For Reform

Thinkprogress

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Fast For Families on the national mall on Friday, a group of faith, civil rights leaders, and immigrants gathered to pressure the House of Representatives to take up immigration reform.

“Since Nov. 12, immigration activists comprising Fast For Families have abstained from all food except water and are calling for the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives to take up action on comprehensive immigration reform,” a White House official said. Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez, Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz and Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett have also visited Fast For Families in recent weeks.”

Over 4,000 people nationwide have already fasted in solidarity with Fast for Families.

House Republicans claim they don’t have time to consider immigration reform this year, but insist that the issue is not “dead.” House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told CBS’ Face The Nation that members will consider reform on a piece-by-piece basis but did not provide any timeline for action. Earlier this month, Obama said he would accept piecemeal reforms to the immigration system.

The post President Obama Visits Immigration Advocates Fasting For Reform appeared first on ThinkProgress.

Obama Says He Doesn't Have the Power to Stop Deportations of Non-white People

HispanicNetworkNews

On Monday, President Obama in his address to a group said, that he doesn't have the power to stop deportations. But Obama has the power to implement deferred action for all undocumented immigrants facing deportation proceedings. 

His response comes after several people on stage and audience began to yell loudly for Obama to use his power to stop deportations. “You have the power to stop deportation for all of them (11.5M undocumented immigrants),” Ju Hong, 24, an undocumented South Korean graduated from San Francisco State standing directly behind where Obama was standing, shouted near the end of the president’s immigration speech at the Betty Ong Chinese Reacreational Center, who then began to lead chants of “Stop deportation now!”

“Actually, no, I don’t,... and that’s why we are here,” Obama responded (video).

White Party (Republicans) Must Practice Racism to Survive: Lawsuit Accuses Louisiana of Gerrymandering

AllGov

The state of Louisiana is being sued over a newly drawn congressional district that plaintiffs say was racially gerrymandered.

Residents of Congressional District 2 claim its configuration, which runs from New Orleans to Baton Rouge—a distance of about 80 miles, violates the U.S. constitution.

The lawsuit says the state packed African-Americans into District 2, “thereby diminishing their influence in surrounding districts.”

The litigation cites the June 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision (Shelby County v. Holder) that threw out portions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs claim that those who drew the district’s boundaries relied on a portion of the statute voided by the court.

“Louisiana can no longer seek refuge in Section 5 as an excuse to racially gerrymander Congressional District 2. Drawn with race as its predominant purpose, this district cannot pass constitutional muster,” the lawsuit states.

Iulia Filip of Courthouse News Service described the district’s shape as looking “something like a mutant salamander.”

“Congressional District 2’s tortured shape further contorts the districts around it,” the complaint states. “Congressional District 6 surrounds Congressional District 2 on three sides, appearing to shoot Congressional District 2 out of its cragged jaws like a crooked tongue.”

Miseducation of the Negro: School encouraged students to dance around teepees, dress up as Indians with headbands of multi-colored feathers and give each other “Indian names”

IndianCountry

The Oxendine family have long valued how Montessori schools educated their four children, especially with Montessori’s stated principles of inclusiveness and compassion.

They were, thus, thrilled when their youngest children Jada, 7, and Jase, 5, received scholarships in 2012 to the Maria Montessori School in San Diego due to their family’s Native American and military backgrounds. But now the Oxendines say an ongoing conflict over the school’s problematic, now cancelled Thanksgiving curriculum has led to the revoking of Jada’s scholarship, something school officials deny.

Red flags were raised in early November 2012 when they learned the school was planning Thanksgiving classroom activities encouraging students to dance around teepees, dress up as Indians with headbands of multi-colored feathers and give each other “Indian names.”

“Whenever we go back to [the Pine Ridge Reservation] where my wife is from, [the children] are surrounded by ceremonies and dances. They’re taught feathers are sacred and only for ceremony,” said James Oxendine, Lumbee, an information systems officer in the U.S. Navy. “And it was confusing for them to see the school doing it differently and perpetuating stereotypes in this way.”

Pictured: (England) White Man throws raw bacon at Asian shopworker in racist attack

Mirror Uk

This is the moment a man ran into a petrol station and threw raw bacon at a worker in what is being treated as a racist attack.

Police have released a CCTV still of the bizarre incident, which happened at Pemberton services near Wigan at about 4.30am on Monday..

The attendant, who is Asian, was working alone in the station when the door opened and the offender threw the slice of raw bacon.

He then ran out of the shop and up Ormskirk Road towards Orrell.

The offender is described as being white, about 5ft 8in tall, of a medium build and with short dark hair.

He was wearing a bright green and black chequered snood covering the lower part of his face and head, a black jacket with two white stripes down each arm and a white line under the arms, baggy light blue jeans and dark trainers with white laces and a white rim around the bottom.

Police Constable Roy Lunio said: "Because of the connotations attached to the meat and the fact it was deliberately thrown at a Asian man, we are treating this as a racially motivated crime.