0Shares

Miriam Carey is the latest victim. She deserved to live, not die. More on her below.

Incidents occur daily across America. Blacks and Latinos are most vulnerable. Police shoot innocent suspects for any reason or none all.

Rarely are officers or their superiors held accountable. On average, US police kill one or two people daily. Most often, incidents go unnoticed.

Violence in America is systemic. Previous articles discussed it. America glorifies wars. It does so in the name of peace.

It has by far the highest homicide rate among all developed nations. It’s obsessed with owning guns.

Violent films are some of the most popular. So are similar video games. Peace, stability and security are convenient illusions. Imperial wars and domestic violence crowd them out.

Communities, neighborhoods, schools, work places, commercial areas and city streets are affected. Driving while black is dangerous.

A 1999 ACLU report discussed it. Titled “Driving While Black: Racial Profiling On Our Nation’s Highways,” it said:

It’s longstanding practice in America. In 1967, dozens of witnesses told Kerner Commission members that “stopping of Negroes on foot or in cars without obvious basis” was a key reason for riots the previous summer in cities across America.

The Fourth Amendment assures “(t)he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

The Eight Amendment prohibits “cruel and unusual punishments.”

What’s crueler than state-sponsored cold-blooded murder.

The Fifth Amendment prohibits “depriv(ing) (anyone) of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

The 14th Amendment forbids states from “depriv(ing) any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” It affirms “equal protection of the laws.”

Police across America spurn constitutional and US statute laws. They do so with impunity. According to ACLU:

Continue reading “Stephen Lendman: Police in the USA – License to Kill [with Impunity]”

2013/10/072013/10/07

Event: 10-12 Oct 13 Rotterdam Hivos Open for Change

#Events

0Shares

Triggers for change

10-13 October, Rotterdam NL

Open for Change is about new approaches to tackle the deep dividing lines in our societies. You can navigate your journey through the event along four programmatic lines:

Triggers for change
Tough dilemmas
Trial and error
Test the tools

At the Open for Change event, we bring together change makers from around the world to share their stories, experiences and tools. Together, we will uncover unusual perspectives and reflect on what has worked – and what hasn’t – to mobilize people to play part in the change they want to see.

Social change towards justice and prosperity cannot do without openness. Yet openness and democratic institutions are no guarantee in themselves for equality and social cohesion. Issues of identity, societal norms and the question of whose voice counts characterize deep polarizations in our societies, whether in the South or the North. While openness in itself would be of great benefit to those suffering from social taboos, such as in the sphere of sexuality, dividing lines continue to exist and need to be addressed differently.

Innovative approaches are not only necessary, they do exist, too. Together, we will uncover triggers for change, discuss the tough dilemmas we face and share what we’ve experienced through ‘trial and error’ – from different local perspectives.

At Open for Change, Hivos brings in partners and experiences from the Pluralism Knowledge Programme: an innovative collaboration between researchers and activists in India, Indonesia, Uganda, South Africa and the Netherlands, addressing issues of discrimination, polarization and unequal rights.

Every participant is warmly invited to share their own ideas on how to contribute to Open for Change. Please contact us and share your idea.

Learn more.

2013/10/07

Berto Jongman: Food Security — Rotten Intelligence, Worse Ethics

01 Agriculture, 05 Energy, 11 Society, 12 Water, Collective Intelligence, Earth Intelligence

0Shares

Uncertainty on figures hampering food security efforts

Mark Kinver

BBC News, 4 October 2013

More than 600 scientists gathered in the Netherlands for a global food security conference, described as the first of its kind.

Organisers said science could help end uncertainty surrounding efforts to meet the food needs of future generations.

They added that, until now, there were many policy debates on food security but there was no scientific forum for researchers to share knowledge.

The next food security conference will be held in the US in 2015.

“A really key message from the conference for us is that we have got lots of estimates about needs of population growth etc, but at the moment we are so uncertain of the exact numbers – the uncertainty is really very high,” said conference co-chairman Ken Giller, professor of plant production systems at Wageningen University.

“We talk about the current population being seven billion, moving to 9.2 billion in 2050 and the estimate is that we need to increase production 70% or more.

“But there are many different ways of addressing that. If we don't know what the problem is then we can't get started in addressing them.”

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Food Security — Rotten Intelligence, Worse Ethics”

2013/10/072013/10/07

Berto Jongman: CIA and Death of Hastings?

07 Other Atrocities

0Shares

The CIA to Provide New Details into Hastings Death

By Kimberly Dvorak

Above: Jeff Powers talks with contributing reporter Kimberly Dvorak, who discusses the latest information on the death of journalist Michael Hastings.

— Includes Short New Video

San Diego 6 continues to receive numerous inquiries regarding the status of its investigation into the death of National Security reporter Michael Hastings. Hastings died in a single car accident in Los Angeles on June 18, 2013. Videos of the crash scene depict several explosions that resulted in a huge fireball. The 911 call transcripts obtained by San Diego 6 also confirmed multiple explosions.

The Los Angeles Police Department determined early in the investigation process that no foul play was suspected in Hastings’ single car accident, yet nearly four months later the LAPD refuses to release its investigative report. Continue reading “Berto Jongman: CIA and Death of Hastings?”

2013/10/07

Berto Jongman: Postwar Model

Collective Intelligence, Cultural Intelligence, Peace Intelligence

0Shares

Postwar

Robert Chesney

University of Texas School of Law

September 27, 2013

Harvard National Security Journal (2014 Forthcoming)

Abstract:

Does it really matter, from a legal perspective, whether the U.S. government continues to maintain that it is in an armed conflict with al Qaeda? Critics of the status quo regarding the use of lethal force and military detention tend to assume that it matters a great deal, and that shifting to a postwar framework will result in significant practical change. Supporters of the status quo tend to share that assumption, and oppose abandoning the armed-conflict model for that reason. But both camps are mistaken about this common premise. For better or worse, shifting from the armed-conflict model to a postwar framework would have far less of a practical impact than both assume.

Continue reading “Berto Jongman: Postwar Model”

2013/10/07

Jon Rappoport: SHOCK – Deaths from Medical Drugs and Vitamins Far Exceed Deaths from Wars

07 Health, 07 Other Atrocities, 10 Transnational Crime, 11 Society, Commerce, Corruption, Government

0Shares

Shock: Comparing deaths from medical drugs, vitamins, and all US wars

People want to believe medical science gives us, at any given moment, the best of all possible worlds.

And of course, the best of all possible worlds must have its enemies: the quacks who sell unproven snake oil.

So let’s look at some facts.

As I’ve been documenting in my last several articles, the medical cartel has been engaged in massive criminal fraud, presenting their drugs as safe and effective across the board—when, in fact, these drugs have been killing and maiming huge numbers of people, like clockwork.

I’ve cited the review, “Is US Health Really the Best in the World?”, by Dr. Barbara Starfied (Journal of the American Medical Association, July 26, 2000), in which Starfield reveals the American medical system kills 225,000 people per year—106,000 as a direct result of pharmaceutical drugs.

Continue reading “Jon Rappoport: SHOCK – Deaths from Medical Drugs and Vitamins Far Exceed Deaths from Wars”

2013/10/07

David Swanson: Is USG Tripping on Drugs?

03 Economy, 11 Society, Cultural Intelligence

0Shares

Is the Federal Government a Drug-Induced Hallucination?

You laugh, but that could be a side-effect. Consider:

The Capitol Police just murdered an unarmed mother fleeing her car on foot, declared her child “unharmed,” and received the longest standing-ovation in Congress since Osama bin Laden's Muslim sea burial. Try holding your breath until Congress takes the standing ovation back, and you'll wish your were in the “Holy Land” having your house sprayed with “Skunk” artificial sewage by the Israeli military or in Old Town Alexandria tasting the air of the authentic raw sewage across the river until it's “treated” and spread on farms in the exurbs for the benefit of we the people.

Why? Because freedom.

Continue reading “David Swanson: Is USG Tripping on Drugs?”