Mood: sharp
Now Playing: RELAX
Topic: SMILE SMILE SMILE
Zebra 3 Report by Joe Anybody
Saturday, 6 March 2010
Relax Listen Think
Mood: sharp Now Playing: RELAX Topic: SMILE SMILE SMILE
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 4:44 PM PST
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 (original date of posting)PEACE CAMP DEMANDS THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA MEET WITH A PEACE COUNCILFebruary 23, 2010 Dear President Obama, A contingent of Peace Groups and Activists will be setting up a Peace Camp across the street from your house on the lawn of the Washington Monument called, Camp OUT NOW. After over one year of your presidency, it's become crystal clear to even many of those who supported you, that your foreign policy is as much of a disaster as was George Bush's. On Sunday, 33 civilians were killed in a bombing raid on a caravan in Afghanistan, and no matter how many times you or your generals say, "Sorry," innocent civilians will always be killed in these insane wars of profit and occupation. Since, by your regime's own admission, civilian slaughter "can't be avoided," these wars must come to an immediate end. It's also quite tragic that your war in Afghanistan has victimized more of our troops than when Bush was president, and more of our returning vets are committing suicide with most of their needs still going unmet. For all intents and purposes, Mr. Obama, you have had a blank-check from the U.S. anti-war movement since you were elected. Certainly being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize gave these wars some international legitimacy, but those days of your free pass to carry out and magnify the Bush regime's crimes against humanity are over. Even though there have been those of us in the anti-war movement who never dropped the ball, or passed it to the Democratic Party, many of the ones who supported you are also starting to awaken to the harsh reality that you are only keeping your campaign promises and they don't like that. Mr. Obama, your anti-war base is an awakening giant that you will have to deal with in this election year. People are fleeing your party with the same regularity that they fled the other party when Bush was president. This waking giant is also realizing that with a Democratic majority everywhere, your failure in proceeding with a progressive agenda is abysmal. Every time you are "contemplating" sending more troops to Afghanistan, you have countless meetings with what you have called your "War Council." The very name implies a foregone conclusion that you will send more troops and that other, more rational, more humane, and more peaceful solutions are never even considered. In 2005, I asked for a meeting with President Bush that was never granted, and as you know, Camp Casey in Crawford became the spark that lit a prairie fire of anti-war sentiment that swept you and your cohorts in the Democratic Party back into power and now we are coming to collect the spoils of that victory--which is not more war--but more Peace. You Democrats owe much to your anti-war base--and we will not be quiet nor be ignored as we were in the previous administration. It's time for you to pay the Peace-piper, Mr. Obama. Our demands are profound, yet simple for you to perform: troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (where three soldiers were just killed); no more drone bombings anywhere; close the permanent bases and torture prisons; and bring the mercenary soldiers home, too. We will not be closing up Camp, or the movement, until positive progress in the direction of Peace is noted. The first week of Camp (March 13-20), we are asking for a meeting with you to discuss setting up a Peace Council that you will regularly meet with that will have a seat at the table when decisions that will kill, maim, displace, or harm our troops or civilians in any way are being discussed. We also demand that this Peace Council be comprised of grassroots members of the Peace Movement and not rubber-stamp status quo worshippers, or other "Peace" Prize laureates like Henry Kissinger, who already, reportedly, has your ear. If you do not meet with representatives from Camp OUT NOW, we will be a thorn in the side of the War Machine, and we will not go away without a struggle. If you do meet with us and agree to a Peace Council, we will pack up our tents, but we will still be a thorn in the side of the War Machine until Peace is finally achieved--the only difference is that we won't be camped across the street from your home. During your campaign, you often quoted Roosevelt as saying that if the voters wanted him to do the right thing, they would have to "make him." Well, Mr. Obama, we are the bosses of you--not your corporate masters--and we will be in DC to "make you" do the right thing. I can be reached at anytime through my email: Cindy@PeaceoftheAction.org In struggle until there is finally Peace, Cindy Sheehan Mother of Spc. Casey Sheehan who was murdered on 04 April, 2004, by the U.S. War Machine. For more coverage of this event will be on my website "Joe Anybody goes to DC"
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 11:58 AM PST
Updated: Saturday, 6 March 2010 12:39 PM PST
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
No Pay - No Play - Portland Indy Media is off line for a short while ?
Mood: irritated Now Playing: PIMC website is down YIKES!!!! Topic: MEDIA Portland Indy Medai website has not been showing up all morning on 3.2.10 This is killing me I was told we needed to pay the bill ...(and we did pay, so I was informed) ....Now we all have to wait for the site to come back> WOW! just like that!!! Poof! No Indy Media Here is a screenshot that is what is now showing All morning it was just a pure white page with no text, now it looks like the screenshot picture below taken at 11:30 AM on 3.2.10
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 11:34 AM PST
Updated: Tuesday, 2 March 2010 11:40 AM PST
Thursday, 25 February 2010
Police cover up - report on the shooting of civilians during Katrina in 2005
Mood: don't ask Now Playing: Former New Orleans Detective Pleads Guilty in Katrina Shooting Cover-up Topic: FAILURE by the GOVERNMENT Published on Thursday, February 25, 2010 by Pro Publica Former New Orleans Detective Pleads Guilty in Katrina Shooting Cover-upFormer New Orleans Police Department Lt. Michael Lohman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to obstruct justice, in connection with one of a string of violent encounters between police and civilians in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Police shot at least 10 people during the week after the storm made landfall. (We have been investigating the shootings, along with our partners the New Orleans Times-Picayune and PBS "Frontline.") Lohman's guilty plea stems from the so-called Danziger Bridge incident of Sept. 4, 2005. Responding to an emergency call that day, New Orleans police officers shot six citizens-killing two-on and around the span.
The Times-Picayune has been covering the Danziger Bridge shootings from the start and it has the latest. Lohman helped orchestrate the police's investigation of the shooting, a probe portrayed in the bill of information as an attempted cover-up. The former lieutenant was involved in planting a handgun at the scene, drafted phony police reports, and lied to federal agents, according the court document. (The New York Times has good details on the alleged cover-up. And we at ProPublica have posted the bill of information in our easy-to-read document viewer.) Lohman's plea is the clearest indicator yet that the federal government-which for more than a year now has been investigating the New Orleans Police Department's actions in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina-is mounting a two-pronged probe: federal prosecutors and the FBI are scrutinizing incidents in which police shot civilians in the chaotic days after the storm, as well as the alleged efforts of other officers to cover-up those shootings. Defense attorneys familiar with the widening federal probe say the Justice Department is looking at the death of Henry Glover as a possible cover-up, as well. Glover was shot on Sept. 2. 2005-possibly by NOPD officer David Warren-and died, according to three witnesses, at a makeshift police compound in the Algiers section of New Orleans. His charred remains were later discovered in an incinerated car dumped on a Mississippi River levee. Federal agents began examining Glover's death after ProPublica, in conjunction with The Nation magazine, reported on the case in late 2008. In recent weeks, the Justice Department has begun looking at three other post-Katrina incidents-the shootings of Danny Brumfield, Matthew McDonald and Keenon McCann, all of whom were shot by NOPD officers in the week after the hurricane made landfall. Brumfield and McDonald died; McCann was injured but survived to file a lawsuit against the police department. He was shot to death by an unknown assailant in 2008 while the suit was pending. The NOPD, like most police departments, conducts an investigation every time an officer opens fire on a citizen-the goal is to make sure the shooting was proper and justified. As a general rule, officers are allowed to use deadly force only when confronted by a person posing a physical threat, either to the officer or another civilian. However, a joint effort by reporters with ProPublica, the New Orleans Times-Picayune and PBS "Frontline" found that NOPD investigators did little to determine whether officers acted appropriately when they shot Brumfield, McDonald and McCann. NOPD detectives collected little physical evidence, spoke to few civilian witnesses, and conducted brief interviews-ranging from seven to 12 minutes-with the officers involved in the shootings.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 2:33 PM PST
Get The Lobbiest Out - California's new beta ballot experiment
Mood: incredulous Now Playing: A test of a fair election in California, with lobbiest out of the way Topic: BIG MONEY PLAYERS
THIS WEEK IN THE BLOGOSPHERE A Neat Little Ballot Experiment in California There's an interesting initiative on the California ballot this June. It's called the California Fair Elections Act, and it's an attempt to get voters to approve public funding of statewide campaigns.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PST
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Peace - War - ...how about some cooperation for Peace by everyone
Mood: a-ok Now Playing: Can the Right and Left Work Together to Oppose War and Empire? Topic: WAR Can the Right and Left Work Together to Oppose War and Empire?
By Kevin Zeese There has to be a better way to stop wars and reduce military spending. Polls show U.S. voters at worst divided on current wars and more often show majority opposition to them. Yet, when Congress “debates” war the widespread view of Americans is muffled, not usually heard. For the last decade, with President Bush in office the peace movement has been politically left and Democratic leaning. The right wing has been kept off the stage as a result the anti-war movement does not reflect the breadth of American opposition to war. For too long the peace movement has been like a bird with only a left wing. It can barely fly and when it does it seems to go in circles. Perhaps a bird with two wings will fly better? This past weekend Voters for Peace sponsored a meeting of 40 people from across the political spectrum who oppose war and Empire. The people attending see the U.S. military as too big and too expensive and recognize spending $1 million to keep a soldier in Afghanistan for one year is a symptom of mistaken militarism that weakens U.S. economic and national security. The purpose of the meeting was to see if we could work together. Could we put aside our differences on other issues and focus on reducing American militarism and in the long run ending reliance on war? The conversation began with discussions of the history of anti-war advocacy in the United States and what we can learn from it. One point repeatedly made by people on the left and right was that historically there have been conservatives who opposed war and empire. Today those voices are heard in a whisper, if at all. Before the Spanish American War, World War I and World War II, strong opposition to foreign intervention not only came from progressives but also from traditional conservatives rooted in the recommendation of George Washington’s farewell address – ‘avoid foreign entanglements.’ How can we re-awaken that common sense conservatism and forge a broad based anti-war movement? What would a broad based anti-war movement look like? Some of the conservatives in the room warned against this 21st Century movement looking like the anti-Vietnam war protests of the 60s. Many on the left and right acknowledged that the mass weekend protests against Iraq were large in size but ineffective in result. While there is a role for such protests, they are not sufficient for the task at hand. Some conservatives warned against describing the United States as imperialist – that would get up the hackles of many Americans. But, they were comfortable describing the United States as an Empire. Personally, I found that of interest. Americans never hear discussed in the media whether or not our country is an Empire. And, if we were to have such a discussion the critical questions would be is Empire good for us, for our national security, for our economy, for our democracy? Having those questions debated would be a breakthrough in political dialogue. It is hard to deny the American Empire. The U.S. has more than 2,500,000 DoD personnel deployed across the planet and 761 military bases on foreign soil not counting more than 100 in Iraq and more than 400 American and NATO bases in Afghanistan. U.S. troops are now stationed in 148 countries and 11 territories according to DoD’s “Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and Country.” America has spawned a military network larger than the Roman Empire, which at its height had 37 major military bases, and the British Empire which had 36. More bases are planned; billions spent building bases in far off lands while large swaths of American cities degrade into impoverished zones and the infrastructure of the nation crumbles. When the Cold War ended, rather than reducing troops in Germany, Japan, Korea, Italy, the Philippines, and so many other nations; ending the NATO alliance which was designed to combat the now non-existent Soviet Union; and shrinking the weapons and war budget, the U.S. decided to seek to become the sole superpower on Earth. U.S. military spending is now as much as the whole world combined. The U.S. Navy exceeds in firepower the next 13 navies combined. When all the budgets are accounted for – the Pentagon, the wars, the 16 intelligence agencies, the super-sized embassies – total Empire spending is more than $1 trillion annually. And, the Empire has deep roots. General Smedley Butler, the most decorated Marine in history joined the Marines in 1898 and served 34 years in China, Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, Mexico and other nations as part of the early American Empire. When Butler retired and thought about his career he described himself as a “racketeer” for U.S. business interests around the world and said “war is a racket.” But, this massive Empire is not discussed. It is the elephant in the living room of American foreign policy. And, the entrenched military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about in 1961 is now so powerful that cutting the military budget is off the table in Washington, DC – despite cost over-runs of hundreds of billions in weapons contracts, the GAO consistently describing the Pentagon as un-auditable and budgets filled with waste, fraud and abuse. The war budget grows and grows despite a fragile if not collapsing economy at home. After a long day of discussion it became evident that people from across the political spectrum, despite differences on other issues, could in fact work together to challenge American militarism. Some in the room who had been working on these issues for forty years thought such a coalition was decades past due. Some of the students in attendance had their eyes opened to the history of traditional conservative anti-war efforts as in their lifetimes it had not been heard from. In discussing this publicly, so far I have only heard from one person on “the left” who opposes it. He was a co-founder of Progressives for Obama and he lumps everyone on the conservative side into what he calls “racist populism.” Such broad stroke descriptions of people are prima facie evidence of prejudice and certainly not consistent with people I have met from across the spectrum. But, his opposition shows the challenge on “the left” – too many are unwilling to stop their support for the Democrats and Obama. The challenge on the right is also difficult. The Neocons have taken over almost all significant conservative organizations. How can we attract traditional conservatives to anti-war advocacy? The day after the conference, the surprise land slide victory of the anti-war conservative, Ron Paul, at the CPAC convention gave hope that there were more right wing peaceniks than we may have imagined. While our task is urgent – something which the 1000th death of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan and the weekend’s killing of two dozen more civilians in an aerial attack brings home – our job is immense. Undoing a century old Empire that is larger than any that ever existed, is no easy task, but for citizen patriots it is an essential one for the survival of the nation and the benefit of the world. To join our efforts sign the Voters Pledge at www.VotersForPeace.US and get involved. Kevin Zeese is executive director of Voters for Peace.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 6:01 PM PST
Rocks, protesting, black block , and police provocateurs
Mood: irritated Now Playing: I'm A Better Anarchist Than You - Email from David Rovics Topic: PROTEST! I'm A Better Anarchist Than You
I love the scent of tear gas (if I'm just on the outskirts of the cloud), it's My neighbor says it's because I'm an Aries, but whatever it is, if I find myself in the midst of such a situation, the memories are all fond ones of the rush and the togetherness of the moment. It's a warm, fuzzy feeling, really. By European standards the event the media was focusing on sounds like it was a pathetic little riot, a few smashed windows and overturned newspaper boxes, but it managed to attract the lion's share of Canadian and even international media coverage, as usual – it's sensational, but more than that it serves the purposes of corporate media outlets who, for political reasons, want to make most protesters look bad and don't want people going out to rock the boat in the first place. In recent decades lots of people in lots of places have embraced all kinds of militant and often effective tactics – strikes, bus boycotts, sit-ins, It takes a pretty desperate situation (say, Cuba in 1959) for movements like that to garner popular support, and there's not a I have no doubt that the first rock thrown is thrown by an undercover cop at least half the time in most situations. I also have no doubt that most of the young people participating in Black Bloc and advocating for “diversity of
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 9:47 AM PST
Tuesday, 23 February 2010
Dont 'spray me bro"
Mood: loud Now Playing: Joe Anybody sues the police Topic: CIVIL RIGHTS Tuesday, February 23, 2010News / Cops Videographer Sues Police Over Pepper SprayPosted by Matt Davis on Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 12:09 PM
Local videographer Joe Anybody has filed suit against the police today over being pepper sprayed during March 2008 protests over the U.S.Invasion of Iraq. Anybody, whose real name is Mike Tabor, has a history of being harassed by police, as he videotapes police actions and protests. The bureau even made policy changes following a prior incident.
Tabor's new suit involves the pepper-spraying of people on the sidewalk during a protest in front of the Wells Fargo Tower on March 19, 2008, the 5th anniversary of the U.S. Invasion of Iraq. From his attorney, Aaron Vahola: Michael Tabor, aka “Joe Anybody”, a freelance videographer, was videotaping the protest from the sidewalk. While there was some confrontation with the police elsewhere in the protest, there was no resistance to the police in his area. Lt. Mike Lee was walking through the crowd, and had his back turned to some protesters without incident. We'll have video of the alleged incident around 5pm today. In the meantime it is against police bureau policy to comment on open lawsuits.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 2:16 PM PST
Monday, 22 February 2010
Hidden spy-like gadgets - Cameras and listening devices
Mood: caffeinated Now Playing: spy cameras and the hidden camera equipment Topic: TECHNOLOGY The Spies Have It: Sneaky Gadgets You Should Know AboutFebruary 18, 2010 5:54 PM (Thursday) Author: andrew Did you know there are hundreds of spy-like gadgets that can record you at any given moment, without your knowledge? You don’t have to be in a James Bond film to get spied on. Spy gadgets could be hiding in your workplace, your car, or even your front yard.
Video from the U-Spy Store We have to say if this stuff wasn’t so strange it might be funny. Actually, the U-Spy store has some novel and even useful products for hiding your valuables. There You Have It… Okay, now that you know how easy it can be for someone to record you without your knowledge it’s time to get back to the wholesome side of gadgets and gizmos. We don't think we'll be returning to this topic anytime soon, but you have to admit, it makes you wonder about this stuff and how it’s being used.
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PST
ByBee & his sick Torture Laws "has got to go!"
Mood: lyrical Now Playing: News From the Underground: Jay Bybee must resign! Topic: TORTURE News From the Underground: Jay Bybee must resign! From: Mark Crispin Miller (copied from Facebook to post here on the Zebra 3 report) Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:56:51 -0500 To: <newsfromunderground@googlegroups.com> Subject: [MCM] Jay Bybee must resign! Watchdog Group Calls On Lawyers Practicing In The Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals To Reject Judge Jay Bybee Newly Released Department of Justice Report Further Discredits the Former Bush Administration Torture Lawyer Washington, DC: On Friday, Department of Justice Associate Deputy Attorney General David Margolis found that Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jay Bybee exercised "poor judgment" when preparing legal memos advocating torture of detainees in US custody. Mr. Margolis also released a report from the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, which found that Mr. Bybee engaged in "unprofessional conduct." That 300-page OPR report is a blistering indictment against Mr. Bybee, accusing him of ethical transgressions such as intentionally ignoring established case law--including that from the Supreme Court--that directly contradicted his position. The Disbar Torture Lawyers campaign, www.disbartorturelawyers.com, consisting of scores of government accountability groups representing over a million members, last year filed a disciplinary complaint against Jay Bybee with the Washington, DC Bar seeking his disbarment. Today, the campaign supplemented that complaint with the DOJ and OPR reports. The campaign now calls on Jay Bybee to resign. "Judge Bybee can no longer pretend to be fair, impartial, or to exercise good judgment," said attorney and campaign spokesperson Kevin Zeese. "He has been found to possess all the qualities that people do not want in a judge - bias, poor judgment, predetermination, failure to follow established law, and professional misconduct. Add that to his intentional withholding of information from the Senate during his confirmation hearings and it is clear that he cannot effectively serve as a judge, nor even as an attorney. He should resign or be impeached. Until Bybee resigns or is removed from the bench, we call on all lawyers of the Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals to file motions to disqualify Judge Bybee, should be assigned to their cases, on the basis of these official findings of poor judgment and professional misconduct. No plaintiff or defendant should be subjected to the authority of a judge who has been so thoroughly discredited. We call on every plaintiff and defendant whose case is assigned to Judge Bybee to demand that their lawyer file a motion to disqualify him, and if the lawyer refuses, to take action against the lawyer for failing to protect their interests and the integrity of the judicial process." Lawyers can find the DOJ and OPR documents as well as dozens of other documents related to Judge Bybee and other torture lawyers on the DisbarTortureLawyers.com site. The campaign has filed disciplinary complaints against 15 Bush Administration lawyers who advocated torture of US detainees. Source: DisbarTortureLawyers.com
Posted by Joe Anybody
at 12:01 AM PST
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