Chanting “50 shots equals murder!” a crowd of about 800 demonstrators marched through several Queens neighborhoods Friday evening denouncing the acquittal of three police officers implicated in the shooting death of Sean Bell.

The march began near the Queens Criminal Court building where Judge Arthur Cooperman issued his verdict Friday morning and wound its way to the site of the Kalua Cabaret where Bell, 23, was killed and two of his friends severely wounded in a barrage of police gunfire in the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2006. All three of the men were unarmed.

Before the march began, anti-police brutality activists and several family members of people slain by the NYPD spoke to the crowd which gathered in a grove of trees off to the side of the court building.

“Today coming over brought back all the pain of when they killed my son and my nephew,” said Margarita Rosario, who lost her son Anthony and nephew Hilton Vega in 1995 when they shot by a NYPD detective while lying face down on the floor. “I can’t imagine how the Bell family feels today—it’s like burying your son all over again.”

“I feel pain on top of pain,” said Nicholas Heyward Sr, whose 13-year-old son was killed by the NYPD in 1994. “I’ve been doing peaceful protests for 14 years and all they do is go on killing us back-to-back.”

“We have once again seen how the justice system is showing it has no respect for our communities,” said Juanita Young, whose son Malcolm Ferguson was killed by police in 2000.

by Hans Bennett, Abu-Jamal-News.com

WATCH VIDEO

Outraged by the March 27 denial of a new guilt-phase trial for Mumia, 500-1,000 people gathered at the Federal Courthouse, circled the Liberty Bell, and marched to City Hall, where speakers included Cynthia McKinney, Julia Wright, and Harold Wilson. VIEW the PHOTOS and VIDEO, featuring an exclusive interview with Veronica Jones about her new book (also watch video of March 31 press conference).

The Journalists for Mumia newspaper (see PDF) was released on April 19, and over 2,600 copies were passed out. Donations are needed.

Smithfield Foods has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Jobs with Justice, the Change To Win (CTW) labor federation, and the union organizing its employees in Tar Heel, NC, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). The suit was filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute designed to fight organized crime. The baseless suit comes in response to the growing national campaign to support workers’ rights at Smithfield.

In addition to the Smithfield lawsuit, the Wackenhut Corporation recently filed a federal RICO case against SEIU, and Bashas Inc, a grocery chain in Arizona, filed a state RICO case against UFCW. Last week, Cintas Corporation filed suit against UNITE HERE.

In each of these cases, the companies are asking the courts to rule that traditional First Amendment-protected activities such as handing out flyers, attending rallies and issuing press releases are evidence of “criminal conspiracy” under federal and state RICO laws.

The Smithfield case goes even further, asking the court to block organizers from petitioning city councils and churches to pass resolutions condemning the company’s notorious worker abuses at its Tar Heel plant. This legal tactic is a direct response to Jobs with Justices’ successful effort to petition City Councils and churches across the country to pass resolutions condemning Smithfield’s labor practices.

We believe these lawsuits were filed in an attempt to intimidate activists and chill legitimate debate. If successful, they could serve to attack anyone seeking to redress corporate abuses through legal free speech activities, whether environmental issues, animal rights, workers’ rights, or other issues.

The price of Chinese corruption: what is the next in China's politics, finance, society, stability, and international relations?

By Globalization Institute

Has China's ongoing reform altered the nation's political-economic landscape as far as government corruption is concerned? What is the next if this corruption goes deeper?

A compelling new report says that runaway corruption in China poses a lethal threat to the nation's economic development and "undermines the legitimacy of the ruling Chinese Communist Party."

Evidence from official audits, press articles and law enforcement data, the report says, indicates that "corruption in China is both pervasive and costly."

Bribery, kickbacks, theft and fraud, particularly by government officials, are said to be rampant.

Pei Minxin (裴敏欣) wrote the report issued last month by the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, based in Washington. Pei is a political scientist educated at the Shanghai International Studies University. He earned his PhD at Harvard and his work has been widely published in the US.

The report asserts that corruption in China "has spillover effects beyond its borders" that hurt US, Japanese and other foreign investors.

"Illicit behavior by local officials could expose Western firms to potentially vast environmental, human rights and financial liabilities," the report says.

Public statements by Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) and other senior Chinese officials suggest that China's leaders are well aware of the widespread problem but have been unwilling to curb it.

The report says: "The odds of an average corrupt official going to jail are at most 3 out of 100, making corruption a high-return, low-risk activity."

“These Streets are Watching” is a 50 minute video that takes a fresh look at police accountability through the eyes of three communities; Denver, Cincinnati and Berkeley. Independent filmmaker Jacob Crawford weaves three cities’ responses to police brutality into a single tale of community empowerment and direct action. With an amazing collection of footage that portrays police conduct and misconduct, the film conveys basic legal concepts that can provide practical help to groups and individuals seeking a clearer understanding of their rights when dealing with police. The film is divided into sections that explain our basic rights, tactics for documenting police activity and ideas for further action and organizing.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2298191316209203092 

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