Pittsburgh police relations meeting ends with white officer arresting black teacher

“Officer Gromek handcuffed Henderson and an associate, freelance photographer Rossano Stewart, and forced them to sit on the ground. By that time, others attending the Community Empowerment Association meeting had come outside to witness the confrontation. Gromek then decided that the growing number of people posed a danger to his safety and called for backup. ‘It was threatening to us, 15 police cars, four dogs, hands on the mace, hands on the guns,’ Community Empowerment Association CEO Rashad Byrdsong told KDKA. ‘We were the ones in fear of our life, not them.'” Continue reading

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Texas Troopers forcibly arrest 72-year-old woman during Wendy Davis filibuster

“A 72-year-old woman who appeared to be doing nothing more than observing Texas Senate proceedings following state Sen. Wendy Davis’ (D) filibuster of an abortion bill was forcibly arrested and charged with assaulting an officer early Wednesday morning. Video captured by 23-year-old Austin resident Elizabeth Willmann shows two troopers surrounding Martha Northington as she sits in the gallery. One of the officers approaches from behind and yanks Northington’s arm to bring her to her feet. Arrest records published online showed that Northington was charged with ‘assault by contact’ and resisting arrest. Bond was set at $4,000.” Continue reading

Continue Reading Texas Troopers forcibly arrest 72-year-old woman during Wendy Davis filibuster

Woman jailed for late-night water purchase after anti-sexual assault rally

“A University of Virginia student was arrested on multiple felony charges and spent 24 hours in jail after she tried to flee a grocery store parking lot when agents attempted to arrest her for buying a case of La Croix water. According to the Charlottesville Daily Progress, 20-year-old Elizabeth Daly and her two roommates panicked when plainclothes Alcoholic Beverage Control officers surrounded their vehicle, flashing badges and weapons because the officers believed the women had purchased beer during dry hours. Daly was profusely apologetic when she realized that she wasn’t about to be abducted or killed. All charges against Daly were dropped.” Continue reading

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To those who say ‘trust the government’: Remember J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI?

“Hundreds of these sorts of companies have come about in the last few years, operating in close partnerships with the state, yet existing beyond the view of Congress, the media and ‘public eyes’. Even in the unlikely instance when their activities come to light, potentially illegal behavior goes unpunished; even calls by congressmen to investigate the sordid Themis conspiracy were ignored by the Department of Justice. This, then, is the environment in which public officials and Beltway insiders like Friedman are asking us to trust the intelligence community and its private partner firms with increasing power over information.” Continue reading

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Airport security boss fired after mass email photo of his genitals

“Gerard Robson was quickly suspended from his job as a project manager at FJC Security, an airport security contractor, after the June 21 mishap, which ocurred while he was trying to document a minor car accident involving a security vehicle. Instead, a picture reportedly showing his genitals, went out to supervisors at both his company and the Port Authority, as well as subordinates. Though Robson immediately sent an apology via email and moved to delete the embarassing photo from computers at his office, FJC barred him from entering the airport and suspended him before terminating him.” Continue reading

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Activist found not guilty of vandalism for writing with chalk outside Bank of America

“An anti-bank activist who faced more than a decade behind bars for using chalk to voice his protests against Bank of America was found not guilty of vandalism on Monday. A jury found Jeff Olson, 40, not guilty on all charges, according to NBC San Diego. Olson was charged with 13 counts of vandalism by San Diego City Attorney Jan Goldsmith for writing statements such as ‘No thanks, big banks’ and ‘Shame on Bank of America’ in front of Bank of America branches last year. Mayor Bob Filner had described the prosecution of Olson as a waste of resources and ‘a stupid case.'” Continue reading

Continue Reading Activist found not guilty of vandalism for writing with chalk outside Bank of America

CoinLab: new brands will be built around Bitcoin technology

“One thing humans don’t know how to do is shut down peer to peer networks. We don’t have the technology. Generally it’s the case governments are understanding, but if you start crushing all the good [Bitcoin businesses] you’ll push this underground. I see a world in which governments can set the price.You could stop good exchanges, but it would be hard to stop secret ones. It’s so fast and so easy to use, the right thing to do is to build a good ecosystem. There may be a country that doesn’t want to deal with it, but citizens will keep using it.” Continue reading

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Chinese spacecraft completes space-docking mission

“The successful manoeuvre was China’s first ever such test, the report said, and it marks a step towards China’s goal of building a permanent manned space station by 2020. China first sent a human into space only in 2003 and its capabilities still lag behind the US and Russia. But its programme is highly ambitious and includes plans to land a man on the moon. Beijing sees its multi-billion-dollar space programme as a symbol of its rising global stature, growing technical expertise, and the Communist Party’s success in turning around the fortunes of the once poverty-stricken nation.” Continue reading

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