Ferguson
Protests planned to demand justice for Michael Brown and
punishment for killer cop
In expectation of
the Grand Jury exonerating Darren Wilson in the murder of Michael Brown, day
of/day after demonstrations have been planned in Ferguson and in cities around
the country. Law enforcement has the same expectation of an unjust verdict and
is preparing for civil unrest. The Democratic governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon,
has basically declared martial law in anticipation of actions that have not even
happened. Adding fuel to the flame, the FBI warns police that protests will
likely involve threats and attacks against police and property and to prepare to
respond in kind.
Just as the U.S.
government cannot resolve international disputes without waging wars on the
oppressed people of the earth, the wars at home are waged by a militarized
police force against people of color and working people without any validation
of their rights or concessions to their complaints. The goal abroad and
domestically is also the same – to crush resistance and to maintain domination
of the military/industrial/financial capitalist system.
UNAC urges all
activists to come out in a massive show of solidarity with those who suffer most
by police brutality. To find out what is planned in your area, go to the
website of the Ferguson National Response Network at fergusonresponse.tumblr.com. Click here to see the UNAC
statement on Ferguson.
Rasmeah Odeh found guilty – Campaign to
free her continues
In a travesty of
justice, Palestinian-American leader Rasmea Odeh, was found guilty of “Unlawful
Procurement of Naturalization” and faces up to 10 years of imprisonment, being
stripped of her U.S. citizenship, and deportation. She was denied bail and sits
in a prison with inadequate facilities and needed medical care until her
sentencing scheduled for March 10, 2015. Appeals have been filed to move her
close to home and to demand a retrial to drop the charges against her.
The charge was
based on a false confession and lengthy imprisonment extracted by lengthy
torture and sexual assault by the notorious Israeli military system in 1969.
The biased judge allowed the Israeli conviction for which she served 10 years of
incarceration to be entered in evidence for the prosecution while denying
testimony about her experience of brutal torture and subsequent
chronic-PTSD.
It is evident that
the real reason she is under attack is because she is an uncompromising
Palestinian activist and advocate. Her work as the associate director of
Chicago’s Arab-American Network that assists Arab and Muslim immigrants and her
organizing efforts for Palestinian liberation and self-determination and an end
to U.S. funding for Israeli occupation is what has made her a target.
For more about the
trial, the case, and the ongoing campaign to free Rasmea, go to the Committee to
Stop FBI Repression website at www.stopfbi.net.
Framed-up young Muslim prisoner Ziyad
Yaghi, jailed under harsh conditions
Ziyad Yaghi is one of many Muslim men entrapped by the FBI since 9/11 and charged and convicted for offering support to terrorism with no valid evidence of wrongdoing. While serving an outrageous 31-year sentence, he has been confined to a Special Housing Unit (SHU) in a U.S. Penitentiary separated from the general population under harsh conditions for over a year. Placement in the SHU involves solitary confinement and extremely limited visits and communication with the outside, including with family and legal representatives. There is no explanation given for his isolation. His defense committee and others ask for letters to the prison warden and to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons asking for him to be moved and to Ziyad to show that people support him and he is not forgotten. For more information and to view a sample letter, you can go to the website of the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms civilfreedoms.org and to freeziyadyaghi.blogspot.com.
Victory in the Shockoe Bottom Stadium Struggle UNAC has been a supporter of the struggle organized by the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality to stop the building of a stadium at Shockoe Bottom, once the center of a massive U.S. domestic slave trade. The Richmond, VA City Council voted on November 10, 2014 to not allow the buildng of the stadium. The Defenders and others wanted to keep this important piece of land so people will never forget this dark period of history. Click here for a full statement from the Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality.
click here to donate to UNAC
Click here for the Facebook UNAC
group.
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This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager
Monday, November 24, 2014
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