Small White Town Welcomes Former Black Panther Bobby Seale

If it seems weird that this tiny coastal town hosted the founder of the Black Panther Party on Thursday night, then you don't know Yachats. Yes, the 2000 census only listed a single African-American resident in this town of 600 people. But Bobby Seale says his message was always intended for all of humanity, not just the members of his own race. Judging by the 200-plus crowd, the people here seem to understand that. Which says as much about Yachats as it does about Seale's fading notoriety. "You're where?" Seale asked Verin Lewis, a Yachats resident who invited the former Panther to speak. But it wasn't long afterward that Seale himself was smelling salt air, wearing his trademark black beret turned to the side. The Yachats Commons audience greeted 67-year-old Seale with a standing ovation, even a few raised black-power style fists before his speech about the Panther movement and what it means for modern-day activism. [more ]

Thomas Frank: Bush, the working class hero

The poorest county in America isn't in Appalachia or the Deep South. It is on the Great Plains, a region of straggling ranches and dying farm towns, and in the election of 2000, George W Bush, carried it by a majority of greater than 80 per cent. This puzzled me when I first read about it, as it puzzles many of the people I know. For us, the Democrats are the party of the workers, the poor, the weak and the victimised. Understanding this, we think, is basic; it is part of the ABCs of adulthood. When I told a friend about that impoverished High Plains county so enamoured of President Bush, she was perplexed. 'How can anyone who has ever worked for someone else vote Republican?' she asked. How could so many people get it so wrong? The question is apt; it is, in many ways, the pre-eminent question of our times. People getting their fundamental interests wrong is what American political life is all about. This derangement has put the Republicans in charge of all three branches of government; it has elected presidents, senators, governors; it shifts the Democrats to the right and then impeaches Bill Clinton just for fun. Americans who earn over $300,000 a year owe a great deal to this derangement. They should raise a glass to those indigent High Plains Republicans as they contemplate their good fortune. It is thanks to such self-denying votes that they are no longer burdened by the estate tax, or by troublesome labour unions, or by meddling banking regulators. Thanks to the allegiance of these sons and daughters of toil, they have escaped what their affluent forebears used to call 'confiscatory' income tax levels and can buy two Rolexes this year instead of one.

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Court to Unseal Documents in Racist Omaha DNA Dragnet Sweep of Black Men

From May to June Omaha Police went to the homes of at least 36 to 40 Black men, between the ages of 20 and 40, and asked for DNA samples via mouth swabs. Police said the DNA tests were needed to aid in the investigation of four rapes over the last two years. The perpetrator was described in over broad terms as "black, 25 to 40 years old, 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-9 inches tall, stocky with a large stomach and weighing 175 to 250 pounds. This ?dragnet sweep? of Black men enraged the African American community. Some of the men, such as defense attorney Bill Gallup's client, who asked to remain anonymous, involuntarily provided DNA. Gallup?s client said he gave a DNA sample even after he'd been exonerated of the rapes because police handcuffed him and forced him to. Apparently most of the men targeted for the DNA worked at the Omaha Public Power Company. Yesterday the company said it was threatened by police to provide the men?s names. The Omaha Police subpoenaed OPPD asking for the: "Names, addresses, and pictures of all African American OPPD employees between the age of 18 and 40". OPPD attorney Steve Bruckner claimed OPPD challenged the subpoena for two months, saying law enforcement had no right to employee records. He said the Omaha police threatened to get a search warrant. The Omaha Police served a search warrant on the Company identifying 84 male employees. This search warrant was under seal, unavailable to the public until yesterday. A judge said Thursday that the order and affidavits that led to the order Omaha police used to collect DNA samples should be unsealed.

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WANTED: GUILTY OR INNOCENT

The federal government financed the tragic fiasco in Tulia, Texas, and it continues to fund regional antidrug operations that in many cases are incompetent, corrupt and racist. Poor Black or Latino communities are the most frequent targets. Over the past several years extraordinary numbers of innocent people have been swept up, publicly humiliated and imprisoned. On November 2, 2000, police officers barged into a restaurant in Hearne, Texas, where Regina Kelly was working as a waitress to save money for college. With shocked customers, coworkers and Kelly's employer looking on, the police handcuffed the young woman and took her away. She was charged with felony drug distribution and held in jail for a month. Kelly had never been in trouble with the law, and she had never been involved with drugs. The arrest was bogus, part of a federally funded operation run by the South Central Texas Narcotics Task Force, which turned out to be as outrageous a scam as the one in Tulia. (There are dozens of these task forces in Texas.) The charges against Kelly were dropped in 2001, but the arrest has made it difficult for her to find work and thwarted her plans to go to college. More than two dozen innocent people, all of them Black, were seized in the Hearne scam. A particularly cruel arrest was that of Clifford Runoalds, who was stopped and handcuffed by the police as he arrived at a church for the funeral of his 18-month-old daughter. Surrounded by grieving relatives and friends, the distraught father begged to be allowed to stay for the service and the burial of his child. His pleas were ignored. Runoalds was hauled away on the spot. When the scam was uncovered several weeks after his arrest, the charges against him were dropped.

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Bush Campaign Strategy- Lie about Everything

Begin video clip: MATTHEWS: Do you think you belong in that category of candidates who more or less are unhappy with this war? The way it?s been fought? Along with General Clark, along with Howard Dean, and not necessarily in companionship politically on the issue of the war with people like Lieberman, Edwards and Gephardt? Are you one of the anti-war candidates? KERRY: I am. Yes. In the sense that I don?t believe the president took us to war as he should have, yes. Absolutely. Do I think this president violated his promises to America? Yes, I do, Chris. Was there a way to hold Saddam Hussein accountable? You bet there was, and we should have done it right. End video clip. MATTHEWS: Let me go to Matt. Do you believe that your candidate, the president of the United States, accurately reflected in his comment that John Kerry called himself ? declared himself ? the anti-war candidate is an accurate representative of that dialogue between myself and John Kerry? MATTHEW DOWD, SENIOR STRATEGIST, BUSH-CHENEY ?04: Yes. Obviously. The impression John Kerry was trying to leave when he was up against Howard Dean in the primary was he was the anti-war candidate after he voted for the resolution. That?s obviously what he was trying to do. He was trying to leave the impression that he either was the anti-war candidate or was becoming the anti-war candidate.

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Bush's War in Iraq is Not Worth Dying For

More U.S. Solidier Deaths in Iraq in 2004 than there were in 2003
It happened this week almost without notice: The number of Americans killed in Iraq during 2004 now exceeds the number killed in 2003. More remarkably, the 488 killed thus far this year died in just 239 days (2.04 daily average), while the 482 killed last year died during fully 287 days (1.68 daily average), which means that not only has 2004 been bloodier than 2003 in absolute terms, but in relative terms as well. Is this progress? Is this stability and safety? Now, here's the question I really want to ask: How long will it take the media to report this indisputable fact?[more ] via the Daily Kos.com

• Bush 'acknowledges' Iraq mistakes [more ]
•  966 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq [more ]
• More than 600 have died Since Bush declared major operations were over [more

Just Deserters?

"This is a criminal war, and I'm not going to be part of it," says Hinzman, 24, a rail-thin native of South Dakota with close-cropped hair and a purposeful expression on his angular face. "My wife and I wrestled with what to do -- go the martyr route and go to prison, or leave the country. Prison could have meant a long sentence, and I've already spent enough time away from my family." So the Hinzmans now live in a basement apartment in central Toronto, surviving off their savings and waiting for the Canadian government to decide what to do with them. It may be premature at this point to call Iraq America's new Vietnam, but it's also getting harder to ignore the symptoms of that ill-fated conflict that are presenting themselves anew. One of the least noticed is the growing numbers of GIs who are either refusing to fight or who are having increasing doubts about doing so. Some are acting out of principle, others perhaps out of fear, many undoubtedly out of a combination of both. But they seem to agree with Hinzman on one thing: The war the Bush administration started in Iraq is not worth dying for. [more ]

Denver DA Fails to Charge Police Officer who Shot Unarmed Latino Man.

Denver DA Fails to Charge Police Officer who Shot Unarmed Latino Man. Grand Jury will Decide

• Frank Lobato had a Soda Can in his hand, NOT A GUN. Police shoot and kill

Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter tossed a police shooting investigation to a grand jury Thursday for the first time in his 12-year tenure. Ritter will present the case against officer Ranjan Ford Jr., 34, in the July 12 shooting death of 63-year-old Frank Lobato to the grand jury on Wednesday. Lobato's death was the latest in a series of controversial police shootings that triggered sweeping reforms in the police use-of-force policy and the department's civilian oversight. Ritter has never charged an officer involved in a shooting with a crime. Only two other such cases have been forwarded to the grand jury in the past 27 years. Both cases resulted in criminal charges against the officers. Both officers were later found not guilty. Ritter wouldn't discuss the details of the shooting nor would he say what led him to seek another opinion. The decision came as no comfort to Lobato's family members in California, who heard the news after one of them was contacted by Denver attorney Kenneth Padilla moments after Ritter's announcement. "This is a clear case where criminal charges should be brought," Padilla said. "I did not hear any good reason to use a grand jury. . . . There is no reason why the district attorney should not step to the plate." Leroy Lemos, a Lobato family spokesman and community activist, said "We're in the same place as we were yesterday," Lemos said. "The family wants to know what it takes to get justice in Denver." [more ]

• Latino Man had a Soda Can in his hand, NOT A GUN. Police shoot and kill. [more]
• Shootings by Denver Police Prompt Outcry: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH [more]

Lawyer for family of African man killed by Police says Witnesses Dispute Officer

 A lawyer representing the family of a Cameroonian immigrant shot in Silver Spring by a police officer on Aug. 12 said Thursday that witnesses have come forward to dispute the version of events provided by the police. The lawyer, Gregory Lattimer of Washington, D.C., refused to detail what the witnesses have described. Police spokesmen have said their witnesses corroborate the officer's story: that Peter Ayompeuh Njang threatened Officer Candice Marchone, a six-year veteran, with a boxcutter, that she fired on him point blank only after he refused her orders to drop the knife. Latimer spoke with reporters after high-ranking officials from the county and the police department met with at least six family members and a representative from the Cameroon embassy in Rockville. David Weaver, a spokesman for County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D), said it was unusual for the county to hold such a meeting before the conclusion of an official investigation. The shooting, outside the Villa Nova apartments in Silver Spring, has sparked three protests. [more ] and [more ]

Birmingham DA says Police Shooting in standoff was justified

Four Birmingham police officers were justified in shooting and killing a mentally ill man who shot at them and held them at bay for more than two hours, authorities ruled. Jefferson County District Attorney David Barber issued his findings to Birmingham police officials Thursday. Police then met with the relatives of 58-year-old Benjamin "Bennie" Griggs. Family members, who have lashed out at police and called the Aug. 6 shooting "overkill," appeared dejected when they filed from Police Chief Annetta Nunn's office. They declined comment. [more ]

U.S. deports man accused of terror ties

A man accused of attending a terrorist training camp was deported Thursday to Pakistan. Sajjad Nasser, 29, was deported under a section of the Patriot Act that expands the legal definitions of terrorist organizations and acts, said Corina Almeida, chief counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "I think this case sends a very loud message to the terrorists and those that seek to do us harm," she said. Nasser's attorney, David Lane, called the allegation that his client helped terrorists "a big, fat lie." "He is a sacrificial lamb," his lawyer said. "It's ludicrous. It's racist." Nasser was arrested in March 2003 on charges of conspiring to harbor an illegal resident. In a deal with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of possessing a fake ID and was sentenced to the 17 months already served. Nasser's brother used Nasser's immigration identification card to make a fake ID so the brother could get a job at a grocery store, Lane said. Nasser was never charged with a terrorism crime. Under his plea deal, Nasser agreed not to appeal and may never return to the United States. Nasser's wife, Farida Mommandi, and 9-month-old son, both U.S. citizens, live in Denver. [more ]

Release of Enemy Combatant Hamdi 'Imminent,' U.S. Says

The Justice Department said yesterday that "enemy combatant" Yaser Esam Hamdi's release is imminent and asked a federal judge for an additional week to work out final details of a settlement with Hamdi's attorneys. Hamdi, who has been held incommunicado in Navy brigs for two years after being captured with Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan in 2001, probably will be sent to Saudi Arabia, prosecutors said in a filing in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. Hamdi is a U.S. citizen, but he spent most of his life in Saudi Arabia, where his family lives. U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar has yet to rule on the request for a seven-day stay of the proceedings against Hamdi, which would put off a federal court hearing scheduled for Monday. Doumar last week granted a separate request for a delay but ordered the government to produce Hamdi at Monday's hearing.  The Hamdi case has been a major test in the war on terrorism, with the Bush administration refusing to allow Hamdi to challenge his detention and holding him for much of the past two years without access to a lawyer. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that, as a U.S. citizen, Hamdi must have access to the U.S. legal system. [more ]

US admits translation errors at Guantanamo tribunals

US military authorities have acknowledged translation errors during special tribunals on the status of Guantanamo Bay war on terror detainees. Two Arabic television journalists watching Combatant Status Review Tribunals noticed what they called glaring mistakes in translations of statements made by a Saudi inmate. Mohammed Alami, a correspondent for Al Jazeera television network, said that when the detainee explained that he went to Afghanistan for training but wanted to go on to Chechnya "it came out as 'he went to Afghanistan for training but wanted to go on to join some kind of cult'." Nadia Charters of Al-Arabiya said she was "shocked" by the standards of the translation. When the Northern Alliance, a coalition of Afghan opposition groups was mentioned, it was translated as "the United States or the United States and its allies," she said. More serious, the journalists added, was when the Saudi was asked whether he had gone to Afghanistan for training before the September 11, 2001 attacks. According to Mr Alami and Ms Charters, he was asked if he had left Afghanistan after the attacks. "The questions have a completely different meaning and consequence for the detainee," Alami said.
[more ]

Israel seeks to deport UK journalist

An Israeli court has decided to deport a British freelance journalist who had come to work in the occupied Palestinian territories. Ewa Jasiewicz has been held in a detention centre since appealing a decision to deny her entry into the West Bank and Gaza over two weeks ago. Her lawyer said he will challenge the deportation order. Jasiewicz had come to the occupied territories to write a story on the Israeli Left for Britain's Red Pepper magazine.A Tel Aviv District Court had ruled last week that the British journalist "is not a threat to Israeli security" and should be released from detention, but the state attorney's office appealed the decision.Jasiewicz lost the appeal on Wednesday when the second judge felt that despite not posing a security risk, her "naïvete" and "ideological beliefs" could be taken advantage of. [more ]

Racist Canyon County Commissioner to fight illegal immigration

Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez says he's willing to work with a self-proclaimed racial separatist in the fight against illegal immigration. Virginia Abernethy chairs the advisory board for a group called "Protect Arizona Now." Vasquez also is a member. Abernethy says she's not a white supremacist, but believes that ethnic groups are more comfortable with their own kind. Vasquez drew attention this year when he billed the Mexican government, demanding payment of more than a million dollars for the incarceration of Mexican nationals in the Canyon jail. He also sought 570-thousand dollars for medical services provided by the county to illegal aliens. [more ]