279 Arrested At Montreal Protest Before Protest Even Begins

Via CBC Montreal

Protesters Speak Out Against Police Tactics And Bylaw P-6

Montreal police said at least 279 protesters were arrested on Friday evening during a demonstration against police tactics.

Police declared the protest illegal as a crowd assembled at Place Émilie-Gamelin near the Berri-UQÀM metro station late in the afternoon.

Officers quickly surrounded the demonstrators who began to march around the square shortly after 6 p.m.

CBC's Alex Leduc said several journalists from other media outlets seemed to be caught up in the crowd as officers carried out kettling manoeuvres.

Montreal police said three people were arrested for assault.

The demonstrators were speaking out against municipal bylaw P-6, which allows police to declare protests illegal if organizers fail to provide authorities with an itinerary.

The bylaw also makes it illegal for people to cover their faces while taking part in protests.

Police ushered the people who were arrested onto city buses, where most of them were processed and eventually released.

No injuries were reported.

http://youtu.be/kv1oohZz0D4

What?! Enviro Activist Re-Imprisoned for Writing a Blog Post

Via Alternet

Photo Credit: SupportDaniel.org
This article was published in partnership with GlobalPossibilities.org.


Federal officials sent environmental activist Daniel McGowan back to prison Thursday, just months after his release to a halfway house in December. McGowan’s wife, Jenny Synan says officials re-jailed her husband for writing a Huffington Post blog piece critical of a controversial prison program designed to restrict inmates’ communication to the outside world.

“Synan told HuffPost that she asked a BOP official why her husband had been re-imprisoned after his release to a halfway house in December,” report HuffPost’s Matt Sledge and Ryan Grimm, “She said the official told her that the HuffPost article violated a term of his release that restricted him from interacting with the media.”

In 2001, McGowan was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to arson in connection with the animal rights group, Earth Liberation Front. Whilst serving his time, prison officials designated him to a division restricting his outside contact called a “Communication Management Unit.” McGowan sought to find out why he was quartered off, eventually obtaining memos explaining his CMU designation. It turns out prison officials frowned upon his continued in-prison activism and demonstrated “support for anarchist and radical environmental terrorist groups." In a blog post for The Huffington Post, he criticizes the program for segregating prisoners based on their beliefs:

It became quickly obvious to me that many CMU prisoners were there because of their religion or in retaliation for their speech. By my count, around two-thirds of the men are Muslim, many of whom have been caught up in the so-called "war on terror," others who just spoke out for their rights or allegedly took leadership positions in the Muslim community at other facilities. Some, like me, were prisoners who have political views and perspectives that are not shared by the Department of Justice.

Three days after McGowan wrote the preceding paragraph, he was rearrested. "He just posted his thing a few days ago about all this stuff -- about his political beliefs and speech -- and they do something to him because of his post about this. It's crazy," Syan said.

Assuming McGowan was rejailed for his blog post the question of whether the BOP acted legally might rest on whether writing for the Huffington Post constitutes as speaking to the media. In a statement to HuffPost, Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Chris Burke said, “inmates cannot do interviews without permission. So if there's some sort of a phone interview or a sit-in interview, those have to be pre-approved."

But HuffPost executive editor Stuart Whatley says a media interview and blog contribution represents a false equivalency.

"The HuffPost blog is a platform for contributors to share opinion, commentary and their thoughts on any topic of their choosing," Whatley said. "As our guidelines explicitly state, 'you can write about anything you want. Huffington Post does not select or approve your topics.'"

Latest 'Occupy' Movement Targets Goldman Sachs

Via Forbes

From the people that brought you Occupy Wall Street, comes a new chapter in American financial follies. This one targets Goldman Sachs in particular.

The Vancouver-based magazine Adbusters put out an email alert to their followers on Thursday announcing the start of what they defined as a “game” to shut down Goldman offices worldwide. “Points will be awarded for speed, spectacle, courage, and innovation,” the Adbusters email said.

Hey all you rebels, jammers and meme warriors out there Let’s play a game. Goldman Sachs, the most powerful and unrepentant of the financial fraudsters, has three offices in Canada and four in the United Kingdom; eight in China; two separate locations in Madrid and nineteen scattered across the United States. #GOLDMAN is an indefinite real-time, live-action game to have some fun while shutting down each of these locations. Points will be awarded for speed, spectacle, courage, and innovation. We take everything we learned from Cairo, Madrid and Zuccotti ... combine it with the lessons of Quebec, Pussy Riot and Idle No More ... and turn #GOLDMAN into a global moment of truth for justice. Is there a Goldman Sachs in your town? Send your stories, action photos & videos to kono@adbusters.org. And kick #GOLDMAN into facebook, twitter, and tumblr feeds. for the wild, Culture Jammers HQ

The target: three Goldman offices in Canada and four in the United Kingdom; 8 in China; two in Madrid and 19 scattered across the United States.

The Occupy Wall Street movement began in 2011. Its creator, Kalle Lasn, told Forbes in an interview in October that he was inspired by Arab Spring protesters to do something similar in the U.S.

The Young Turks - Goldman Sachs Insider Interview

http://youtu.be/e4ZhddlxS3Y

OWS Aniversary 2012 Newspaper

This is from the OWS newspaper circulating around Foley Square on the 16th & 17th.

MSNBC Incorrectly Reports No Permits Were Requested To Protest Obama’s Inauguration

During MSNBC’s day-long marathon coverage of President Obama’s second inauguration, in which exciting details such as the first lady’s bangs and outfits were discussed, host Rachel Maddow at one point remarked that no protest permits had been requested.

The statement was significant for a couple reasons. One, it created the impression that President Obama was re-elected with unified glee. Why, no one even bothered to request a permit to protest! Because Obama is perfect! No one could even think of a reason to raise any grievances!

Second, the statement simply isn’t true. Five groups secured permits to protest. In fact, here’s a NBC affiliate interviewing a spokeswoman about those very permits:

“They have to apply for a permit and give us what time they are going to be here, what they’re going to do and about how many people they have, but as I said, we accommodate them,” National Park Service spokeswoman Carol Johnson said. “It’s their right to be here.”

http://youtu.be/lncpy8S7igs

RT - Family Of Internet Activist Blaming Over-reaching Justice System For Death

http://youtu.be/Fgm59gpAa5k

Aaron Swartz Computer Activist, Reddit Co-Owner Commits Suicide

Computer activist Aaron H. Swartz committed suicide in New York City yesterday, Jan. 11, according to his uncle, Michael Wolf, in a comment to The Tech. Swartz was 26.


“The tragic and heartbreaking information you received is, regrettably, true,” confirmed Swartz’ attorney, Elliot R. Peters of Kecker and Van Nest, in an email to The Tech.


Swartz was indicted in July 2011 by a federal grand jury for allegedly downloading millions of documents from JSTOR through the MIT network — using a laptop hidden in a basement network closet in MIT’s Building 16 — with the intent to distribute them. Swartz subsequently moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he then worked for Avaaz Foundation, a nonprofit “global web movement to bring people-powered politics to decision-making everywhere.” Swartz appeared in court on Sept. 24, 2012 and pleaded not guilty.

Full Article on tech.mit.edu

Malala Yousufzai 15yo Schoolgirl & Activist From Pakistan Shot In Head By Taliban Leaves Hospital

It seems the girls in Pakistan are just hardcore like that I guess, but all joking aside it really is a shame that a girl, 14 at the time of the incident was shot in the head because she had the audacity of promoting the education of women in Pakistan. USA Today writes:

LONDON – Malala Yousufzai, the schoolgirl and women's rights activist from Pakistan who was shot in the head by the Taliban and subsequently flown to the United Kingdom for treatment, has been discharged from Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the hospital said Friday.


Yousufzai was discharged on Thursday, but will be re-admitted in late January or early February for reconstructive surgery to her skull, the hospital said.


"Malala is a strong young woman and has worked hard with the people caring for her to make excellent progress in her recovery," said Dave Rosser, medical director of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. "Following discussions with Malala and her medical team, we decided that she would benefit from being at home with her parents and two brothers."

Full Article With Video