NO, YOU'RE NOT.

Over the years, and especially during the course of various jobs I've had, I've met several people who've had the mistaken idea that becoming a cop would be a good idea. Of course, all of these misguided people thought that they were going to be the one to "make a difference". Wrong. If you don't become one of the total assholes, you will at least be quiet when shit goes wrong, and even defend immoral actions. You will be disillusioned, just like the soldiers who went to Iraq expecting to be welcomed as heroes, but instead were told to get the fuck out of the country because all you leave is damage and theft in your wake. It has often been said that most cops are good, but it's the few bad ones that give them all a bad name. Then why the fuck do the "good" ones keep their mouths shut about brutality and injustice? And why aren't they trying to stop horrible shit when they see it right in front of them? Fuck 'em. All of that, and they are sworn to uphold a system with their lives that is unjust, exploitative, and twisted. And if you get into the police force, then we can no longer be friends, no matter who you are. It is just that simple. Good day, assholes.

Grand Jury Leaks: Michael Brown’s Murderer Walks Free? No Way!

October 27, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

It has now been over TWO MONTHS since Michael Brown was shot down in cold blood by Ferguson, Missouri, cop Darren Wilson. This killer cop not only is still walking free, but the system is blatantly moving to whitewash Michael’s murder—and to try and get people ready to swallow this outrage on top of an outrage and do nothing.

That cannot happen. The truth remains the truth.

The evidence is that Darren Wilson executed Michael Brown in broad daylight, in front of witnesses. Cell phones captured the scene with photos, video, audio—recording key evidence of what happened. Mike was unarmed, he was already wounded and had run away from the cop, then turned around with his hands up in the universal signal of surrender when the cop shot him multiple times, killing him in cold blood. Once AGAIN, to send a message that a Black man’s life isn’t worth anything to the powers-that-be in AmeriKKKa.

Instead of indicting and arresting the murderer of Michael Brown, the system has been covering up what happened. They convened a grand jury, supposedly to decide if there’s a basis to indict Darren Wilson. That was bullshit right there—there was MORE than enough evidence, the day of the murder, to charge Wilson! Can you imagine what would have happened if the roles were reversed? Do you think Michael Brown would be walking the streets, while a grand jury was called to weigh evidence?!

Grand jury deliberations are secret, so nobody is supposed to know what is going on. But in this case, very selective and utterly unreliable “leaks” are being spread by people inside the IN-justice system about what is going on. The Washington Post, for instance, ran a headline: “Evidence supports officer’s account of shooting in Ferguson,” based on completely unsupportable, unverifiable “leaks.” These same ruling class media will demonize and convict a Black person based on just about anything, or nothing.

These grand jury leaks are a calculated move “to start getting some of the facts out there to kind of let people down slowly” (that’s a quote from Tim Fitch, St. Louis County’s former police chief).

Fuck that. The people in Ferguson have made clear since the day Mike Brown was gunned down—and thousands of others around the country and the world have made clear by standing with the people in Ferguson—that the system must not be allowed to GET AWAY WITH COLD-BLOODED MURDER OF YET ANOTHER BLACK YOUTH.

Indict, Convict, Send the Killer Cop to Jail! The Whole System Is Guilty as Hell!

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JIHAD JOE

Truth can sometimes come to you from unlikely sources. Even though I'm not fond of this writer's style, and perhaps his ideological bent,  and definitely not the people he is writing about, there are some things that ring true. This is the book I'm reading right now...


There is a quote from an amerikan convert to Islam, about how your perspective should be more of a global rather than a strictly local one...
" The only difference between a "political" event and a "personal" event is the difference in scale and geographic proximity to the event. Thus I never understood why if my neighbor or relative is raped, God forbid, it's considered a "personal" event, but if many women are raped in Bosnia or Indonesia in the course of a war, it's a "political" event, and therefore I should somehow not be as concerned. Only someone lacking in humanity would make a distinction between two equivalent events that differ only in location."   
   Incredible. I could never have put it better myself. You don't have to be an academic or political theorist to understand this. This is the merging of the personal and the political. This is the outlook and stand that we should all try to adopt. And to hit it home...

AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY

Every year, the October 22nd Coalition Against Police Brutality has demonstartions and rallies against the shit cops do. But this year, with the shit going down in Ferguson and New York, things seem that much more intense, and they should be. The pigs are not held accountable under this system. It's all gotta go...

October 22 Breaking News

Updated, with new photos, October 23, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

October 22, National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and Criminalization of a Generation

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Over 500 people rallied and marched in NYC, including relatives of those murdered by police; here marchers reach Times Square—defying police threats and denial of permit. Photo: Twitter/@BAEverywhere

CONSEQUENCES

There are always consequences to anything  you might decide to do. Action/reaction, whatever you want to call it, it will happen. So when the kkkanadian government decides to send warplanes to support "our allies the united states", you know that shit will not go unnoticed. kkkanadian troops are towel boys and cheerleaders for the amerikkkan troops, so when they go overseas to fight a real or imagined enemy, or even one that they helped to build up in the first place, like ISIS, you make the same enemies the yanks have made, which means the majority of the earth's population. I'm not saying that what happened today in ottawa was good or bad, but it's what happens. It is just the logical chain of events. Are the kkkanadian planes going to kill civilians in Syria? Undoubtedly. Some will get mad at what's written here. It doesn't matter. Yelling whilst hiding behind your tattered rag of a flag doesn't mean a fucking thing. Actions and consequences, motherfucker. It's just the way it goes, eh.

The Ottawa Shootings and “Canada’s War on Terror”? Media Points to “Homegrown Terror Threat”

By Julie Lévesque

Global Research, October 23, 2014

Region: Canada

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An attack perpetrated by armed men took place early morning on October 22 on Parliament Hill in the immediate aftermath of a historic divisive vote in the House of Commons concerning Canada’s participation in the US led crusade directed against the Islamic State.  The vote pertained to the “deployment of Canadian warplanes  and special forces on a combat mission to Iraq.” It was passed with the Conservative government’s slim majority.

According to reports, one soldier was killed as well as one gunman on the morning of October 22nd, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, a Canadian born in 1982.

One report says one suspect was armed with a “double barrel hunting rifle”. A journalist on the scene when the incident occurred said she did not see the shooter but was told he was “wearing a black and white scarf with Arabic patterns”. Others who saw him said he had long hair and was masked.

After the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) press conference this afternoon, it was still not clear whether other suspects were still on the loose or even how many there were. Journalists were given practically the same answer for every question: “it is too early to comment at this stage”.

The goal of the press conference was clearly not to give information, but rather to repeat to Canadians that they must be “vigilant” and report any “suspicious activity”. Many fear the recent events will dramatically increase racial profiling and islamophobia.

This attack in Ottawa comes two days after a man hit two soldiers with his car killing one in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The suspect, a 25 year old named Martin Couture-Rouleau, was later killed by the police after being chased. The domestic terror threat level went from low to medium on Tuesday.

According to testimonies Rouleau had converted to Islam in the past year and was known by the authorities who had confiscated his passport.

Image right: Picture of Martin Rouleau that illustrates the National Post article “‘He seemed like a typical and fairly boring convert’: Inside Martin Rouleau’s rapid descent to extremism“

We are being told that he wanted to join in the Islamic State and “wanted to become a terrorist”. The Ottawa Sun goes as far as saying that “family and law enforcement try to find out why he followed ISIS kill commands.” Some reports say he called 911 to say he was doing it “in the name of Allah.”

Although no link has been officially made between the two events, some officials have indicated they could be related. After the first incident, in which a man we don’t know much about acted alone, the media was quick to jump to conclusion: Islamic terrorism.

These two tragedies targeting Canadian soldiers occur as Canada is joining the United States in the illegal military intervention in Iraq. Soldiers were told not to wear their uniforms outside of military bases for their own safety. One Lieutenant said today the killings signal “the end of Canadian naivety” with regards to the “terrorist threat”.

Fear campaign or “very real threat”?

In the days leading up to Canada’s involvement in Iraq, Canadian authorities have clearly increased their fear campaign.

On October 9, 2014, “Canada’s top intelligence and police officials warned the ‘homegrown terror threat’ is real as authorities disclosed the Mounties are working on 63 active terrorism probes targeting 90 individuals.

“RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson told the public safety committee the 90 individuals currently the subject of national security investigations by the Mounties and partner agencies are “related to the travelling group, both people who intend to go or people who have returned and have been referred to us by (CSIS). It’s nothing that I think Canadians need to be alarmed about. I think we’re managing through our collective efforts a response that is . . . appropriate to the nature of these suspected offences.”

Canadian Security Intelligence Service CSIS director Michel Coulombe said “The threat is real. Like Commissioner Paulson said earlier, we don’t want to sound alarmist; we’re telling people that they should go about their daily life but we have to be vigilant.”

We don’t know if Rouleau was one of the individuals under investigation, but we can assume he was, since his passport was confiscated for fear he would join a terrorist group abroad.

The public safety minister Stephen Blaney, warned that same day:

Recently our Conservative government announced the listing of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant […] in all its forms and identities as a terrorist organisation making it clear that joining or attempting to join this despicable group is a terrorist offence.

If, as the media report, Rouleau was known by the police and his passport was confiscated because he “wanted to join ISIS” and “wanted to be a terrorist”, Rouleau should have been accused of a terrorist offence. Why was he not?

As for the attack in Ottawa, “RCMP National Division commanding officer and Assistant Commissioner Gilles Michaud said the attack caught authorities by ‘surprise.’” It’s a rather surprising surprise, since we were told only two weeks ago by both the RCMP and CSIS that the “homegrown terror threat” was “very real”.

How could that attack in Ottawa be a surprise to the Canadian authorities? We were also told in June: “Iran’s ‘anti-Canada rhetoric’ has officials on guard for possible Ottawa area terror attacks”. This article by the National Post cited an intelligence document which explicitly states:

The National Capital Region has long been considered an attractive target for terrorists and extremists of all stripes…

“The presence of numerous high-profile federal institutions, foreign embassies, military facilities, tourist attractions, and special events make the NCR a rich environment for possible plots by a variety of differently-motivated terrorists,” the report says.

[I]ntelligence officials believe Canada’s top terrorist threat comes from Sunni Islamist extremists — essentially followers of al-Qaeda’s ideology of violent intolerance.

In Ottawa, such an attack would most likely be carried out by a “lone actor” or small group, the report said. The three scenarios outlined in the documents involve an “active shooter,” “bladed weapon attacks” and improvised bombs.

“Simple, straight forward, small-scale attacks, using available weapons and minimal preparation against undefended targets are a realistic match with the actual capabilities of most extremists,” it says.

Global Research will follow this issue closely as more details emerge.

TOMORROW

There are many people in this society who do not see police brutality, and in fact deny that it even exists. But if I may paraphrase Chairman Bob Avakian, "Just because it's not happening to you, doesn't mean that it's not fucking happening!"

Carl Dix:

"All Out for October 22... It's up to us to stop these horrors"

October 18, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Revolution/Revcom.us: The October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation is coming up in a few days, this coming Wednesday. It feels like it's going to be—and has to be—more powerful and impactful than ever. What do people need to understand and do leading up to the day?

Carl Dix: What we need to get is where we are and what's happening as we approach this 19th annual October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. The thing is, this is a time when there is growing resistance to the horrors of police murder, mass incarceration, the torture in prisons, and treating youth as criminals all across the country. Ferguson October—October 10-13—concentrated this. It brought together people from all across the county who are seeing these horrors and want to stand up and say No More! to police murder and all these outrages, and to stop them.

At the same time these horrors are intensifying. On October 8, as people were taking part in the Month of Resistance to Mass Incarceration, Police Terror, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation and preparing to go forward to October 22, police in St. Louis gunned down another Black youth, Vonderitt Myers. Again, this is no isolated incident. Police murders are happening all over the country on more than a daily basis. And then there's the torture in prisons across the country that's being exposed—from Rikers Island in New York City, to guards in Florida brutalizing and killing prisoners, to the ongoing torture of solitary confinement and denial of medical care that's going on in California. And there's the ongoing, everyday criminalization and vilification of the youth in order to justify these horrors.

These horrors are built into the fabric of U.S. society, and it's gonna take revolution to end them and all the other horrors this system enforces on people here and around the world, once and for all. And right now, there is a crying need for everybody who sees these horrors for what they are to throw in and bring about a major leap in the level of resistance to them, a leap there is very real potential to make. This is about changing the way millions of people look at, think about, and act—to the point they see these outrages as illegitimate, immoral, and intolerable—and that they're not going to tolerate them any longer! And that kind of transformation of thinking and acting is going to be part of preparing for and bringing closer the day when we can make revolution, defeat and dismantle the murderous, repressive forces of this system, and end these outrages.

Rising Resistance... But a Real Leap Needed

Revolution/Revcom.us: So things are changing, there's real potential, but the level of resistance that exists now still isn't what it needs to be?

Carl Dix: Yes, that's right. It's very good that people are fighting, that they're responding when police murder somebody. But it can't be left as individual, separate, city-by-city fights for justice every time someone is gunned down. Or leaving it at sympathy and support between these different battles. It has to become a nationwide movement that is bringing people together to stand up and say No More! to these horrors, a movement that's putting up a huge STOP sign right in the face of U.S. society. A movement that's letting all those who know this is happening and refuse to continue suffering, or refuse to stand by in silence, letting them know there's a movement they can be a part of.

This is a movement that would impact those who had been unaware of these outrages, a movement that would help open their eyes to them, and to the fact that tens of thousands are taking them on and forging a movement that those newly awakened to all that can join in.

What has to come through in action on October 22 is the spirit of No More! That police murder and brutality, repression, and the criminalization of a generation are illegitimate, immoral, and unacceptable, and that we're acting to stop them in the way the defiant youth in Ferguson poured into the streets demanding Justice for Michael Brown and withstood everything the authorities threw at them.

What has to come through on October 22 is the way youth in different parts of the country are beginning to take up the whistle and blowing whistles on cops who are brutalizing and harassing people. This has got to be the spirit of October 22 and the spirit that fights through the attempts to suppress resistance and divert it off into harmless channels—like the attempt of the authorities in New York City to deny the October 22 protest permits to march into Times Square.

Permit Battle in New York City

Revolution/Revcom.us: That sounds like a very important battle right now.

Carl Dix: It's very important. O22 in New York City is going to be a day of no business as usual—don't go to work, walk out of high school, be in Union Square at 1:00 pm to gather and march to Times Square, where, before the eyes of the world, we're going to declare:

No more to police murder!

No more to police terror!

No more to treating our youth as criminals!

And this will reverberate nationally and globally.

Right now the authorities are saying: '"Uh, uh. You can't come into Times Square. You can come close, but you can't come into Times Square."

This is saying, in essence: "We will choke Eric Garner to death. Our cops will gun down Ramarley Graham, Sean Bell, Malcolm Ferguson, Anthony Baez, Amadou Diallo. And many, many more people. We will brutalize you with impunity. And then we'll tell you whether you can protest, when you can protest, where you can protest, and how you can protest against us having done all that."

This message is unacceptable! And we have to throw it back in their faces.

Those exact terms are being taken up and spread broadly among everybody who's not only active around justice but concerned about justice. They're being called on to step into this battle and deluge the NYPD and City Hall with opposition to their stand on October 22, and to demand that the October 22 Coalition be granted a full permit to march to Times Square! And lawyers are being called on to take this into court.

Everybody needs to be part of rejecting the NYPD's outrageous and unacceptable message—"we can kill with impunity and then tell people—you can't speak out or resist." Tweet at or write to or call the NYPD and the mayor's office and demand the permit to march into Times Square be granted. And people need to be getting ready to take to the streets on this coming Wednesday, October 22, because we're going to win this permit fight, we're going to be in the streets that day and everybody needs to be there.

So if you watched that video of the police choking Eric Garner to death and it hit you like a punch in the gut....and if you heard about the murder of Michael Brown and it hit you like "oh no, not again," then we have to actually stand up and act to make it so that this no longer happens. All out for October 22—here in New York City and all over the country! That's a crucial part of doing that.

From Now till October 22—What Should People Do?

Demand NYPD grant permit to the Stop Mass Incarceration Network and the October 22 Coalition to march into Times Square on the October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.

Call, tweet and/or write the NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio and demand that the NYPD grant the permit to the Stop Mass Incarceration Network and the October 22 Coalition to march into Times Square on the October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.

Call (646) 610-5000, ask for the liaison to NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, and either speak in person or leave a voice mail with the above demand.

Tweet the following message to @NYCMayorsOffice and @NYPDnews and @CommissBratton:

Grant permit 2 StopMassIncarcerationNetwork 2 march into Times Sq #Oct22 Nat'l Day of Protest 2 Stop Police Brutality #o22

Go to Contact the Mayor and fill out email form with:

We demand that the NYPD grant the permit to the Stop Mass Incarceration Network and the October 22 Coalition to march into Times Square on the October 22 National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation.

Call and email Mayor Bill de Blasio's Press Office with the same demand:pressoffice@cityhall.nyc.gov, (212) 788-2958.

Revolution/Revcom.us: Between now and October 22, what should people be doing? How should they be organizing folks to turn out?

Carl Dix: There are several things. One—spread the word. Go tostopmassincarceration.net and revcom.us, and people will find materials they can download, reproduce, and spread, including links to articles, videos and audio recordings that speak to why people need to be out on October 22 and what difference it will make. So these need to be spread. They'll also find things like "Gather," the poem Alice Walker wrote to me and Cornel West, the video of Chuck D taking the Pledge of Resistance, and messages from relatives who have lost loved ones to police brutality. All these should be spread everywhere.

Second, people also need to contribute money. Freedom ain't free, and fighting for freedom ain't free. So far it's cost us several tens of thousands of dollars to go to hot spots like Ferguson, to print materials, and to buy and spread whistles for the "Blow the Whistle" campaign—among many other things. And we have to raise a lot more money. So people should go to the indiegogo crowd funding effort that the Stop Mass Incarceration Network has launched.

Third, get your friends, the people you go to school with, your neighbors, and everyone else you know—get your whistles, make your signs, pull your contingents together, and hit the streets on O22. If you're not sure if anything is happening in your area, go to the October 22 Points of Assembly page and find out where to hook up and join in. If nothing is happening where you are, then plan something and do it. And when you do it—take pictures, take video, write up your stories, and email them to thestopmassincarceration@gmail.com to revolution.reports@yahoo.com because we want everyone to see what's happening across the country, and that there are tens of thousands acting to stop these horrors.

What Will The Day After Look Like?

Revolution/Revcom.us: What do you think the world will look like on October 23, the day after October 22?

Carl Dix: What the world needs to look like on October 23 is that millions of people will have seen that there were tens of thousands of people who are committed to stopping the horrors of police terror, mass incarceration, and the criminalization and demonization of Black and Latino/a youth. They will have been impacted by the actions of the previous day, and they will be moved by having their eyes further opened to not only the horrors, but that there's a growing movement acting to stop it. That movement will have gotten more of a sense of itself—a movement that brings together those under the gun most directly, along with those who might not be directly facing this kind of direct and everyday brutality, but who find it intolerable. There will be a growing sense that we can work together to change the situation around these outrages. It's not going to be—"well, these abuses are just going to keep happening so all we can do is try and get a little justice." No, the tone is going to be that it's up to us to stop these horrors and that we really can stop them.

And the activities of October 22 will not only be a leap in resistance, but a leap to a growing, much bigger, and more unified movement that then serves as a springboard to go even further. That begins to bring into being the movement of millions that's needed to carry forward the fight to stop police murder and terror, to stop mass incarceration, to stop prison torture, and to stop the criminalization of millions of Black and Latino/a youth, and to put us in the strongest position to be able to get rid of the system that creates all these horrors, and to replace it with something much, much better.

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