Fuck Yeah, Protesters

[journolist]

Ferguson, Missouri Weekend Update

National Guard deployed to Ferguson, police say violence escalating, protesters claims they were peaceful (USA Today)

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon early Monday ordered the National Guard into Ferguson hours after police said escalating violence led to shootings, arrests and “pre-planned” acts of aggression by protesters. Nixon made the announcement following another night of clashes between police and protesters in the suburb of St. Louis. Sunday night and early Monday morning, protesters shot at police, threw Molotov cocktails at officers, looted local businesses and carried out a “coordinated attempt” to block roads and overrun the police’s command center. The National Guard will “help restore peace and order and to protect the citizens of Ferguson,” the governor’s office said.

Autopsy Shows Michael Brown Was Struck at Least 6 Times (New York Times)

Michael Brown, the unarmed black teenager who was killed by a police officer, sparking protests around the nation, was shot at least six times, including twice in the head, a preliminary private autopsy performed on Sunday found.

Obama Administration Plans Autopsy of Michael Brown in Effort to Keep Peace (New York Times)

Senior White House aides have made repeated, urgent phone calls to Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri, to state police officials and to civil rights leaders in recent days as President Obama’s administration becomes more deeply involved in trying to maintain peace in Ferguson and to ensure an independent investigation of the fatal shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager by a white police officer.

Midnight curfew imposed for second night in Ferguson (Al Jazeera)

Authorities have imposed a midnight curfew for the second night in a row in Ferguson, Missouri where an unarmed black teen was shot and killed by a white police officer last week. Soon after the announcement, police fired smoke canisters at protesters. Authorities fired tear gas and tactical vehicles advanced along West Florissant Avenue, the site of ongoing protests as well as violence and looting since the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown on Aug. 9.

Police turn to tear gas at Ferguson protests; curfew remains in place (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Police fired tear gas on protesters in Ferguson shortly after 9 p.m., causing some to flee for safety. The gas was fired at the southern end of the protest area, near Solway Avenue. Police told demonstrators “Get off the street now.” Protesters began marching south on West Florissant Avenue toward Lucas and Hunt Road. About 10 to 15 minutes into the march, something happened and police began firing tear gas. On Twitter, the St. Louis County Police reported that someone had thrown Molotov cocktails at police sometime about 9 p.m. County officials added that shots had been fired near Solway and West Florissant. Officials at the Missouri Highway Patrol could not be immediately reached for comment.

Violence engulfs Ferguson with gunfire and tear gas (MSNBC)

Armed youths were seen roaming the center of town, firing hand guns in the air while another group attempted to throw a Molotov cocktail toward heavily armed police late Sunday amid an explosion of violence in this St. Louis suburb that has seen days of unrest since a police officer killed a black teenager on Aug. 9.

Police Officer Threatens To Shoot Reporter Live-Streaming Protests In Ferguson (ThinkProgress)

Capturing the dramatic events for the world was Mustafa Hussein, a student who works at a local all-volunteer music station, Argus Radio. The station is using video equipment it purchased to live-stream concerts to broadcast the protests in Ferguson. Tonight, as tens of thousands of people around the world watched, Hussein was threatened by an officer wielding a weapon. “Get the fuck out of here! You get that light off or you’re getting shot with this!,” the man shouts.

Amnesty International Takes “Unprecedented” U.S. Action In Ferguson (Buzz Feed)

Amnesty International has taken “unprecedented” action to deal with the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, by sending resources the human rights group has never deployed inside the United States. The organization has been on the ground in Ferguson since Thursday, sending a 13-person human rights delegation to the city in the wake of the Aug. 9 police shooting death of Michael Brown.

Group Rallies In Support Of Darren Wilson, Police Officer Who Shot Michael Brown (Huffington Post)

"If everyone just stopped with the racism thing, it’d all just go away and everything would go to court and come out with the way the law is supposed to do it. Rioting and everything in the streets doesn’t get anything done."

Missouri Governor: Police Released Video Of Robbery To Attack Michael Brown’s Character (ThinkProgress)

Controversy continues to rage over the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the hands of a police officer, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon said on Sunday that he disagreed “deeply” with the release of a video allegedly depicting Brown robbing a convenience store, and was not informed of the tape before it was unveiled by Ferguson police.

Petitions seek body cameras for Ferguson police (KSDK)

he fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown by a police officer has led to the creation of online petitions for officers to wear body cameras. Petitions on Change.org and White House website have called for a law that would require police to wear body cameras. At the time of the shooting, Ferguson police had no cameras near the incident.

Mike Brown’s Family Asked To See Robbery Footage Before Police Released It To Media, But Were Ignored (ThinkProgress)

One of the Brown family’s attorneys told ABC that the family was not shown a surveillance tape of their son allegedly committing a robbery before it was released to the media, nor were they given a chance to positively identify their son in the video.

ACLU, NAACP Condemn Missouri Governor’s Curfew In Ferguson (Buzz Feed)

Three of the nation’s most prominent civil rights and civil liberties legal groups on Sunday called for the end of the curfew in Ferguson, Mo. The statement from the ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was released after one night of the curfew imposed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon. The groups also criticize the Ferguson Police Department for “hiding the incident report of the shooting of Michael Brown.”

Twitter Co-Founder Marches With Protesters In Ferguson (ThinkProgres)

As Twitter has become the primary source of information about the current unrest in Ferguson — the hashtag #ferguson has been trending for a week, and outrage over racial profiling and police violence went viral under hashtags like #IfTheyGunnedMeDown and #HandsUpDontShoot — one of the people who founded the social media website is joining the ongoing protests over 18-year-old Mike Brown’s shooting.

‘Hands Up, Don’t Shoot’: A National Moment of Silence for Mike Brown (In These Times)

Less than a week after the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police, supporters across the country took to the streets on Thursday night to hold a national moment of silence and protest against state-funded violence.

Congress Will Review The Transfer Of Military Weapons To Police Forces After Ferguson (ThinkProgress)

In the aftermath of clashes between heavily armed police forces and protesters in Ferguson, MO, the Senate will review the nearly twenty-five year old law that promotes the transfer of surplus military goods to police forces, the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee said on Friday.

What Matters in Ferguson (The Nation)

Michael Brown was shot and killed by an officer of the Ferguson, Missouri, police department. This is what matters. The name of the officer has been released (it’s Darren Wilson, who has been on the force for six years), alongside allegations that Brown was involved in a robbery. This does not matter. It doesn’t matter because people accused of robbery should not be shot. It doesn’t matter because people who put their hands up in surrender should not be shot. It doesn’t matter because a body should not lie in the streets for hours after being shot by a police officer. Michael Brown was shot and killed by an officer of the Ferguson, Missouri, police department. Everything else is irrelevant.

How Ferguson Has Exposed a Civil Rights Generational Divide (The Root)

When asked who is the leader of the ongoing protests since the killing of Michael Brown—protests that have triggered Missouri’s governor to declare a state of emergency and curfew—one young man from St. Louis answered, “Do we have a leader? No,” and he went on to suggest that the martyred Brown, himself, offered the best example of leadership for Ferguson’s angry and alienated young people.

Violence in Ferguson didn’t have to happen (Kansas City Star)

When the full story of the Ferguson riot is written, these experts suggested, the heftiest criticism will fall not just on the police use of riot gear, gas bombs, rubber bullets and body armor that further inflamed a volatile public. It will focus equally on how officials, in light of racial tension and changing demographics, had utterly failed years ago to engender the crucial trust that is needed between police and its citizens to prevent such eruptive violence. For Ferguson to heal, they said, it is exactly such trust that will be needed — a process that could take years. 

Behind Ferguson’s Unrest: Failed Federal Policy and the Black-White Housing Gap (New America Media)

On the surface, the unrest in Ferguson, Mo., was about local police using deadly force on an unarmed young man. But on a deeper level, it reflected the increasing poverty and economic decline that affects ethnic communities all over America. Despite rosy reports in the media about the end of the national foreclosure crisis and the recession that followed, all is not well in our inner cities and suburbs with largely minority populations, like Ferguson. The foreclosure crisis was hard on many Americans, but it was a disaster for communities of color, including the citizens of Ferguson.

What I Did After Police Killed My Son (Politico)

In April of this year we passed a law that made Wisconsin the first state in the nation to mandate at legislative level that police-related deaths be reviewed by an outside agency. Ten days after it went into effect in May, local police shot a man sleeping on a park bench 15 times. It’s one of the first incidents to be investigated under the new law.

Photos: 1 (Source); 2 (Source); 3 (Source); 4 (Source); 5 (Source): 6 (Source); 7 (Source); 8 (Source)

[thesoftghetto]

Protesters upset about the smearing of Mike Brown converged at CNN headquarters.

[entwistlefan101-deactivated2012]

[aljazeera-blog]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

aljazeera:

In Pictures: Egypt’s second revolution | Egyptians are continuing to stage protests calling for change in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

[thearabspringrevolutions]

Benghazi Demonstration 06/07/2011

[fuckyeahprotesters]

thelibyanrevolution:

The free and liberated city of Benghazi went out to protest to show their pride in their country and to rub it in Gadaffi’s face that they can get out and proudly showcase their happiness without fear.

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE PICTURES

[washingtonpoststyle-blog]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

washingtonpoststyle:

Anti-government demonstrators display their hands — which read “Youth of the Freedom” — as they demand the resignation of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Taiz Tuesday.

Photo by Anees Mahyoub (AP)

[fuckyeahprotesters]

Saturdays in Syria are usually the scene of mass funerals for those who were killed by security forces in gunfights during Friday protests. 

In the video above, hundreds flock to the streets in Qaboun in a funeral procession for one of the dead. 

"We are the people of Damascus. We are the martyrs," they chant. 

[...]

"We take death, but never humiliation!" crowds of anti-regime protesters roared in Job Jandali near the Syrian city of Homs during a demonstration Friday evening, according to the amateur footage posted above. 

Despite the brutal crackdown that engulfed Syria on Friday and left dozens dead, protesters proved relentless in their call for democracy and freedom as demonstrations swelled in towns and cities across the country. 

Night demonstrations have been a signature maneuver of the months-long Syrian uprising. In the evenings Syrians from all walks of life gather and march through the streets as part of their cat-and-mouse game with the security apparatus. 

According to Wissam Tarif, activist and director of human rights organization INSAN, seven different night demonstrations swept across the northern province of Idleb, which includes the embattled town of Jisr Shughur on Friday. 

"The crackdowns are getting bad in Idleb, especially in the area of Al Karkouz. Communication has been cut from the town and a wave of arrests have been reported," Tarif said. 

According to witnesses, helicopters, tank-mounted machine guns and heavy artillery were used against the northern city, leaving many houses on fire.

In an effort to maintain the protest momentum, hundreds of residents also assembled by night in the northern city of Hama, scene of the infamous 1982 massacre ordered by Hafez al Assad to subdue the Muslim Brotherhood, which left thousands of Syrians dead. They declared their willingness to sacrifice their own lives to bring down the regime.

The centers of the large cities of Aleppo and Damascus have been relatively quiet. But even there, street demonstrations on Friday afternoon continued into the night in at least two Aleppo neighborhoods. 

In Damascus, where assaults on peaceful protesters by security forces in the Midan and Qaboun district on Friday resulted in at least two deaths, demonstrators roamed the streets in after-hours marches. 

"Bashar, you butcher, we don't want your reforms!" protestors chanted. 

According to witnesses, security forces dispersed the protests with live ammunition and tear gas. Many were injured, witnesses said. 

"The regime thinks they can take us down with him. Especially us, residents of the capital," one activist in Damascus said on condition of anonymity for fear of punishment.

-LA Times

[fuckyeahprotesters]

Hikmat was one of the few remaining residents in Jisr al-Shughour when the Syrian army rolled in, firing wildly and at will. "They didn't care what they were shooting at," said the 39-year-old, who was hit in the foot as soldiers finally delivered on a week-long threat to wreak havoc in the town that dared rage against the regime.

Jisr al-Shughour has now been sealed off by some 15,000 troops – backed by tanks and helicopters – who are operating with impunity.

Hours after being wounded, Hikmat fled for the Turkish border. "There was a good man with a motorcycle who gave me a ride," he said. "We had to travel at night because the roads were still not safe." He said he passed "many, many" people from the town of more than 40,000 who had fled to the rolling hills between Jisr al-Shughour and the safety of the Turkish border. "They are too scared to move. They are terrified."

Those who have crossed the frontier are shedding increasing light on three days of bloodshed that have changed the face of the Syrian revolt. Until now there have been few voices able to speak out about what was left behind in Jisr al-Shughour or the events leading up to last weekend's carnage.

The Syrian information ministry said that the bloodbath had been caused by armed gangs, which attacked the military and killed 120. Interviews conducted in recent days, however, have painted a very different picture. They tell of a crackdown far more brutal than any other seen since the first uprising three months ago, although protests have been met with ever-increasing force by President Bashar al-Assad.

Last Sunday, Samir, 27, had just returned from a funeral for a local man, Bassil Musri, who was killed the day before by security forces. "We were gathered in a large garden at the centre of town," he said. "I was the first one shot. They had taken positions in every government building surrounding us."

Samir's body was riddled with bullets, which have taken a terrible toll. He is bleeding internally and is racked with infection. He may not survive the coming days. "The gunfire was from everywhere," he said, lying in a hospital bed in Antakya in Turkey. "So many people fell. It was a massacre."

Samir said trouble had been brewing for days. Strangers in town had been gathering information on demonstrators – especially those the regime had flagged as agents provocateurs. "We had been campaigning for freedom, for our rights, just like everyone else. They say we had weapons. Believe me, if we had I would have been the first to use one."

In the same hospital, Abu Tahar, 29, an ambulance driver from Jisr al-Shughour, was being treated for gunshot wounds to his back. He had arrived at the garden last Sunday to help the wounded. "Bullets were raining from everywhere," he said. "It was chaos." He said that up to 10,000 people had gathered in the garden, one of the few large public places in town, to protest at the killing of Musri.

"They just kept shooting and shooting," he said. "Earlier in the week we had been told not to go to pick up the wounded. They wanted them to die there. Anyone who tried was shot, his body falling on top of the other victim. That is what happened to me. The next thing I knew I woke up here."

He said he had spoken by telephone to family members in the town who confirmed that in the hours after the shooting in the garden large numbers of security forces had abandoned their posts – and had been shot at by soldiers loyal to the regime. He said some 14 soldiers had returned to their homes earlier in the week after refusing to carry out orders, a rarity in Syria, which had led officials to send in spies to monitor citizens and extra forces to deal harshly with any further dissent.

Samir said he had been among a group that had captured two men who had been acting as government informants. "One of them had a beard – and none of the Syrian army has beards. He didn't speak a word of Arabic." Samir's account matches those of six other Jisr al-Shughour citizens who last week all spoke of foreigners – perhaps Iranians – who were standing alongside Syrian soldiers during the clashes. Britain has accused Iran of sending members of its Revolutionary Guards corps to help Damascus monitor the protests, but until last week said it had not seen evidence of troops on the ground.

The presence of Iranian troops would raise the stakes in a revolution that is steadily drawing in neighbouring states. Turkey said it is now dealing with 4,300 refugees and expecting many more. Lebanon, too, is facing an influx of people fleeing eastern Syria. Israel is also bracing for more attempts to infiltrate the Golan Heights, which it seized in 1967. Israel and the US insist that Damascus is trying to create a series of deadly diversions along the Golan in a bid to divert attention from its own woes.

Abu Tahar said the violence a week ago rekindled family memories that his father had long ago buried – two massacres ordered by Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez, in the early 1980s, one of which also targeted Jisr al-Shughour. "My father always said forget about it, never speak about this." Abu Tahar added: "He said we could not get involved in politics because it would kill us all. We know the nature of our regime. Every day for the past month I knew they were coming for us. They have done what we feared they would do. The difference is that the world now knows. They will kill us all if they can. There are many people still in the mountains too scared to move. This is a crisis and they need help."

[fuckyeahprotesters]

Video of Syrian protesters in Hama City chanting "Horreya" (Freedom).

[fuckyeahprotesters]

centerforinvestigativereporting:

Thousands of Iranians took to the streets in 2009 as part of the Green Movement to protest a disputed presidential election. The government crackdown that followed included some women being imprisoned, tortured and raped. This report, which the Center for Investigative Reporting co-produced with PBS NewsHour, shares some of their stories. 

[songofablackbird]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

songofablackbird:

Dr Ali Kanaan, director of the Quneitra hospital, confirmed the television report of 14 dead – 12 Palestinians and two Syrians. He said 225 were wounded. The youngest victim was a 15-year-old Palestinian, Mohammed Issa, who lived in the Neira refugee camp in Aleppo.

“We were trying to cut the barbed wire when the Israeli soldiers began shooting directly at us,” Ghayath Awad, a 29-year-old Palestinian who was shot in the waist, told the AP at the hospital.

Mohammed Hasan, a 16-year old student, was wounded in both feet. “We want on this occasion to remind America and the whole world that we have a right to return to our country,” he said.

The recent protests are designed to draw attention to the plight of Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled from their homes during Israel’s war of independence in 1948. The original refugees, and their descendants, now number several million and they demand the right to return to the families’ former properties.

About half a million Palestinian refugees live across 13 camps in Syria, a country with a population of 23 million. Palestinians are allowed to work and study, but they do not have citizenship and cannot vote.

[suicideblonde]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

natashavc:

suicideblonde:

Page with ‘Stop Harper’ sign fired from Senate

A Senate page who was fired Friday for holding a “Stop Harper” sign during the government’s throne speech says she hopes to inspire more cases of “civil disobedience.”

Brigette Marcelle, a 21-year-old graduate from the University of Ottawa, said that she only recently decided to put her job on the line and stage the silent protest.

Though she was immediately fired from the sought-after position, Marcelle said she doesn’t regret upstaging the government on its coming out day in Ottawa.

“This is the only way we’re going to see real change,” Marcelle told CTV News Channel, as she conceded that Harper’s majority government will hold parliamentary sway for the next four years.

Marcelle managed to hold her sign up for about 20 seconds, and stood steps from Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She was quickly escorted out of the chamber and immediately fired.

Marcelle had served in the Senate as a page for nearly a year, but she decided to take action a few days ago because she said Harper doesn’t reflect the majority of Canadians.

“Harper’s agenda is disastrous for this country and for my generation,” Marcelle said.

She added that the government is “blowing billions of dollars” on fighter jets and corporate tax cuts, but ignoring important environmental issues like climate change.

But since Harper recently won a majority, Marcelle said that staging “creative” protests is the only way to fight back.

“I think that Harper’s agenda is so damaging that it called for something that is different,” she said. “I think we really need to take action.”

This is how it’s done in Canada, bitches.

Well, I think it’s good to protest ANYBODY who speaks from a THRONE! 

[aljazeera-blog]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

aljazeera:

Former Egyptian president and his two sons to go on trial on August 3 for graft and killing of protesters,

[taylorhowlett-blog]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

Torture of the child martyr ‘Rebel’, 13, shot, kneecapped and had genitals removed before being killed by Syria’s sadistic regime

Devotedly washed and sprinkled with rose petals, Hamza Ali al-Khateeb lies prepared for burial.

But the rituals of death cannot wipe away the horrific injuries that have mutilated his body almost beyond recognition.

Nor do they blot out that Hamza - riddled with bullets, kneecapped and with neck broken and penis hacked off - has the rounded cheeks and gentle face of a child.

At 13, he is one of the youngest known victims of Syria’s ruthless crackdown on protesters who have tried to overthrow the government of  President Bashar al-Assad.

The teenager’s family were told not to speak of his terrible fate. But in a pitiful act of defiance, they posted the footage of his corpse online.

The action led to his father being arrested last week. His whereabouts are unknown.

Posted on YouTube, the video is accompanied by a chilling commentary which details the worst of Hamza’s dreadful wounds.

[fuckyeahanarchopunk]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

evolutionofjulie:

evehc:

fuckyeahanarchopunk:

MEANWHILE IN SPAIN

ACAB

I’m speechless. 

[charquaouia-deactivated20120116]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

fuckyeahmiddleeast:

wardasahra:

Protesters dispersed by force in Morocco today, May 29.

Casablanca during 1981, anyone? Starting at the 1:40 mark, police hit a woman carrying a child on her back. Then later on, a man appears with blood dripping from his face.

This is gut-wrenching.

If you don’t like violence, don’t watch.

[aljazeera-blog]

[fuckyeahprotesters]

aljazeera:

Opposition signs Yemen transition deal, and President Saleh expected to sign on Sunday. But some are skeptical whether or not he’ll actually deliver?