uPolitic.org

And the fate of the world is decided…“President...

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:22:17 -0400

And the fate of the world is decided…

“President Barack Obama hosts a working dinner during the G8 Summit at Camp David. Seated clockwise from the President are: Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of Japan, Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and President François Hollande of France.”

Mitt Romney has been called a “flip-flopper” in the...

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:34:00 -0400

Mitt Romney has been called a “flip-flopper” in the past. A term that I’ve never really understood. Facts change. New information comes in. People, even politicians, should be able to update their positions accordingly, so long as it is with good reason.

But when it comes to a big issue like abortion, and the facts are pretty much set, that’s when people should stick to their guns. Romney… Well… Doesn’t…

Video by Evan Gray

Wired reports on prisons in America. That are for...

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:55:00 -0400

A 12-year-old in his cell.

School in Prison

A 16 year-old boy receives a meal.

The "Time out room"

Wired reports on prisons in America. That are for children.

“On any given night in the U.S., there are approximately 60,500 youth confined in juvenile correctional facilities or other residential programs. Photographer Richard Ross has spent the past five years criss-crossing the country photographing the architecture, cells, classrooms and inhabitants of these detention sites.

The resulting photo-survey, Juvenile-In-Justice, documents 350 facilities in over 30 states. It’s more than a peek into unseen worlds — it is a call to action and care.

The U.S. locks up children at more than six times the rate of all other developed nations. The over 60,000 average daily juvenile lockups, a figure estimated by the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF), are also disproportionately young people of color. With an average cost of $80,000 per year to lock up a child, the U.S. spends more than $5 billion annually on youth detention.

Read much more by clicking HERE.

Tip: Click the photos above to viewer larger, higher quality versions.

Good News of The Day: Rick Santorum ends his campaign for the...

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:23:00 -0400

Good News of The Day: Rick Santorum ends his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.

For those of you not paying attention to anything; that leaves Mitt Romney, the man Fox News deemed “unfit to be president” (Yes, really), as the clear candidate in the 2012 race against President Obama.

This is going to get interesting…

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Blackwater In Iraq

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:59:00 -0400

The US government sponsored private army originally known as “Blackwater”, has had quite a few issues regarding their conduct in Iraq. From the videos below, it’s easy to see why.

Fair warning: the following videos contain images of soldiers shooting randomly at Iraqi civilians, and a man being run over by a Blackwater armored vehicle.

In the past week, the voices calling for the arrest of the...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:21:00 -0400

Students Begin to Gather

Demonstrators Stand Together

In the past week, the voices calling for the arrest of the killer of Trayvonn Martin, George Zimmerman, have grown louder and louder. Tonight, the movement came to my college, American University, in the form of “Hoodies and Hijabs”. In solidarity with Trayvonn Martin and Shaima Al Awadhi, several dozen students donned hoodies and hijabs to take a photograph to raise awareness that hate crimes still occur, even in our supposedly “post-racial” society.

(Click the above photos to view a larger versions)

More info on Trayvonn Martin can be found HERE.

More info on Shaima Al Awadhi can be found HERE.

Photos and Writing by Evan Gray.

Recently, photographer Aaron Huey traveled to Yemen. While...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:40:00 -0500

Recently, photographer Aaron Huey traveled to Yemen. While there, he had the chance to photograph and chat with some young Yemeni women who wear the traditional Islamic niqab or burka. The interviews paint a clear portrait of vibrant and intelligent young women who’ve been restricted by their nation’s societal norms.

Here’s one of the Q&A’s with a young woman named Sa’adia. She’s 20 years old, single, and a student studying English and computer science.

Hidden talent:

Arabic dancing (contemporary)

Three things I am looking for in a man:

1. Honest

2. Handsome

3. Tall

Favorite passage from the Koran:

“God is one. He does not give birth and was not born, he is alone and confident in himself and doesn’t need the help of any person.”

Why I wear the niqab:

“I took to wearing it by choice. I only began eight months ago. I did it to become invisible. Society and our traditions say this is good.”

Favorite music:

Hip-hop, Usher, Westlife, Backstreet Boys, Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias

What do Westerners need to know about the Islamic world that they don’t understand?

“The West knows nothing about Arabs. They are very ignorant about Islam. They think Islam is only terrorism. Islam stands for love and peace and humanity.”

Freedoms I wish I had:

“I am forbidden to talk about them.”

You can see more photos and interviews by clicking HERE.

Occupy DC Marches on the Department of Education

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 20:06:28 -0500

Last week, in conjunction with the National Day of Student Action, approximately 150 students associated with Occupy DC from American University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, MICA and the University of Maryland marched on the Department of Education. The march was organized around education reform, for which the students, presented a list of grievances and demands regarding education. The main focus of the demands was that education is a right and must be accessible to all. The student’s document stated:

“We the students hold these truths to be self-evident: that education is a fundamental right; that education is intrinsically valuable; that all persons must have equal access to high-quality education; that education is a core component of a healthy society; that students, parents, and faculty must have authority over the direction of the education system; that education must be a democratic space; and that education as a system is currently broken in that it does not meet these criteria.”

First, the students marched on Sallie Mae. The protestors told their personal stories of being crushed by debt. One student said that he was already $50,000 in debt, saying that it was due to the government believing that his family would be capable of paying out of pocket.

After their stop at Sallie Mae, the energetic crowd took back to the street and headed to the Department of Education. They arrived at the DoE chanting, “No cuts! No fees! Education should be free!” The students then read their declaration of demands and grievances.After the mic checks, a representative of the Secretary of Education, Tim Tuton, responded to the protestor’s concerns. He said that the Secretary would respond to their demands by March 9th.

Unlike much of the Occupy movement, the students’ demands were not without policy suggestions. They suggested that the government democratize education, improve students’ access to higher education and citizenship, de-privatize the student loan industry, remove corporate influence from schools, and improve funding. The students demands can be read more in depth by clicking HERE.

Article by Ben S. Johnson

Photographs by Sophia Miyoshi

Editing and Additional Writing by Evan Gray

These are the cell phone photos of a sniper loyal to the Syrian...

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:44:00 -0500

These are the cell phone photos of a sniper loyal to the Syrian government. They were recovered by the rebel forces after the sniper’s capture. A unique perspective of one man against the revolution…

(Click the photos to view larger, higher quality versions in slide show mode)

Images originally found HERE.

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer Flees Speech after "Mic Check"

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:24:00 -0500

Earlier today, controversial Arizona Governor Jan Brewer spoke at American University in Washington DC. A group of students interrupted her speech. In turn, she fled the campus.

Tom O’Connor, one of the protesters, and a member of Occupy AU (an affiliate of Occupy DC), and an organizer for the Community Action and Social Justice Coalition stated, “We chased Jan Brewer off campus…if she comes back, we’ll do it again. And that goes for any racist, fascist, anti-gay figure that tries to spread hate and exploitation to our university.”

Here’s a timeline of what happened, via The Eagle:

6:14: Brewer did a Q&A. She stated that the questions “can’t be hard.” American University College Republicans, who put on the event, later stated that all of the the questions were pre-approved.

6:15: Occupy AU “Mic Checks” Brewer.

6:16: Students holding signs reading “detained”, shouting “The people united will never be defeated” in Spanish and English.

Gov. Brewer leaves the room after only 15 minutes of speaking.

6:17: Brewer leaves the campus.

Below is a video of the Mic Check:

This mic check is a vast improvement from another recently staged by Occupy AU, at a Sarah Palin event. In this case, the Governor was the one being escorted away, not the students.

Article by Evan Gray

Greenpeace Activists Hang Anti-Shell Banner Across London's National Gallery

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:08:00 -0500

A team of eight expert Greenpeace activists and riggers managed to get onto the roof of the National Gallery off Trafalgar Square in the early evening of 21st Feb 2012 and spent the next two hours rigging a large banner across the famous colonnaded front elevation of the building, which bore the slogan “It’s no oil painting. #SaveTheArctic”, referring to Royal Dutch Shell’s exploration for oil in the pristine Arctic environment which, campaigners say, will inevitably destroy or seriously degrade it, killing wildlife and causing large-scale pollution which will have global consequences for this and future generations.

Of special ire to the activists was the National Gallery’s hosting of a Shell-sponsored event which, they believe, is disingenuously giving the oil giant an entirely undeserved veneer of respectability, especially in light of serial-polluter Shell’s environmental crimes in Turkey, Barbados and Nigeria (just to name a few).

Watched by many police officers, ambulance crews and very annoyed National Gallery staff and officials - all of them powerless to intervene - the unfolding event drew a large curious crowd below as the Greenpeace campaigners hung their rope rigging across the front of the building, prompting the police to initially cordon off most of the upper terrace. Later on the cordon was greatly reduced when it finally dawned on the police that Greenpeace’s publicity stunt wasn’t going to make the entire National Gallery fall over!

The activists were joined later on by special guest, Paula Bear, who shambled along on the Upper Terrace accompanied by a large crowd of people who, despite understanding that the bear wasn’t real, couldn’t resist stroking and patting it (just like you would a real polar bear, about five seconds before you had your face ripped off).

There were no arrests made after the banner was hung, which is probably the result of a deal which I reckon the National Gallery made with Greenpeace, who were obviously the most qualified people to take down the banner later on in the evening.

Photos and Article by Pete Riches

Edited by Evan Gray

The Power of Photographs: World Press Photo Finalists

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:03:00 -0500

If you’ve been watching the news lately, you’ve probably seen this year’s World Press Photo winner. The BBC has an article the story behind it. You can read that by clicking HERE.

In this year’s contest, there were over 100,000 submissions. Below are a few amazing submissions. They are, quite simply, stunning.

Rebel fighters in Libya.

“Afghan Shia Muslims cry among the dead and injured after explosions during a religious ceremony in the centre of Kabul.”

“Aftermath of the tsunami, Japan.”

“Canadian Forces soldier Cpl. Ben Vandandaigue plays the drums on Forward Operating Base Sperwan Ghar in Afghanistan.”

“Maria, a drug addict and sex worker, in between clients in a room she rents in Kryvyi Rig, Ukraine. Maria injects drugs on a daily basis and sees many men every week but claims she remains HIV negative. She says she need the money to support herself, her drug habit and her nine-year-old daughter.”

“A sergeant shows boys at the Kommandokorps camp in South Africa how to use a gun. The camp is organized by self-proclaimed ‘Kolonel’ Jooste, a South African white man who fought in the old apartheid army. He wants to put the white youth up against Nelson Mandela’s culturally mixed ‘rainbow nation’.”

“Jamila, 40, was injured by a small rocket and is now disabled and in need for treatment. Two years after the Israeli operation ‘Cast Lead’, the Gaza Strip still lives in a limbo, worsened by the closure of the borders and the subsequent economic crisis along with the complete isolation of the population.”

More finalists can be found on the World Press Photo website.

Photos From Gitmo: A US Marine's Flickr Profile

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 15:38:00 -0500

Recently, I stumbled upon USMARINE0311’s Flickr photostream. In 2003, he was stationed at the military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These are his photos. They offer a truly unique perspective and insight into life on the base during that time.

“In my room, Holding my gun.”

“Fenceline, on the Leeward side of the base. The right side of the fenceline, is ours, freedom reigns here, the left side is communist Cuba, the biggest prison in the world.”

“Salt flats, in the cuban side of the fence. There are land mines still buried there.”

“Two gutted deer in an ice box. There’s a guy in Guantanamo Bay, that his only job is to kill these and other animals, he gave it to us, but we didn’t have time to cook them, so we in turn gave it to the filipino workers living behind our barracks.”

“In this picture he’s still on Cuban soil, (Cuban asylum seeker) and we’re motioning to him to get to our side so we can protect him, once on our side, we have to protect them with our lives, but if the Cuban frontier brigade get to them on their side first, there’s nothing we can do. Sad!!”

“This picture was taken using my digital camera, and the giant binoculars we have on our observation posts.”

“This is the other Cuban National, fighting to stay afloat, the waves kept throwing him back to sea, and after a while he disappeared, and I thought he’d drown, but he reappeared like 20 mins later, on the rocks to our right. Picture taken using binoculars, and my digital camera. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2003”

“One of the two Cubans that came in an inner tube, by MOP 01. Here we’re taking him back to our HQ. to interrogate him, and that’s why he’s blindfolded, and hancuffed. We couldn’t let them see our bldgs, or where they were located. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2003”

“Ferry Landing, Windward, Christopher Columbus landed here in april, 30 1494.”

“This is what happens to terrorist trees, when they get in the way of our 7.62’s. We started a fire that day, seen at the bottom of the hill. Leeward side, Guantanamo bay, Cuba. 2003”

“M240G shoot. Leeward, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 2003”

“Bad picture of me and the boys getting wasted. Windward Barracks. Gtmo bay, Cuba. 2003”

“Myself, and the only female Marine on the island. Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Dec. 2002”

“Cpl John Stalvey here seen in the middle rear, would get killed in Iraq two years later, when the Humvee he was in, was blown up by an IED, (Improvised Explosive Device) he was serving with 3/6’s Scout/Snipers. Rest In Peace Brother.”

“Going back home, after 4 months on the island. I had a good time, some action, took part on two very important meetings with the cuban military, once on their soil, the next one on ours, (translator for my Marine captain) captured a couple of cuban assylum seekers, and saw a lot of crazy stuff.”

Occupying CPAC

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:19:00 -0500

The Huffington Post:

“WASHINGTON — A group of Occupy protesters interrupted Sarah Palin’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday, only to be drowned out quickly by the crowd chanting “USA! USA!”

“See, you just won. You see how easy that is?” Palin told the crowd after joining their chant.”

One youtube commenter retorted, “Yeah. By drowning out the only sane people in the room…”

Leo Zausen is one of those sane people. He’s a member of American University’s branch of Occupy DC, and led the “mic check” at CPAC. Yesterday, we chatted about Saturday’s event, and the Occupy movement as a whole.

uPolitic: The encampment at McPherson was shut down this week, along with Freedom Plaza. Do you feel that this hurt the Occupy movement, or that it pushed it into a new strategy, changing up Occupy’s plan of attack?

L.Z.: The question of whether the Occupy movement will continue, or if it will cease to exist isn’t the issue. The issue here is that Occupy has already accomplished many of its goals. It’s changed the national conversation, including a narrative of the marginalized, and has shifted ideologies in a way that not many movements have done in the past. Sure, the eviction that took place a couple Saturdays ago was terrible, but Occupy is already moving towards the community level, which was always where it needed to be in order to create actual change.

uPolitic: Did McPherson’s closing prompt Occupy’s actions at CPAC, or had the “mic check” been planned long before?

L.Z.: The former. Personally, after the week where there were two cases of police brutality (The unwarranted tazing of Ryan Lash and during the eviction of McPherson Square) I became radicalized in a sense that I never felt before. There was energy in the aftermath of these police actions that create such an conceptual opposition to this “police state” which definitely influenced the actions of Occupy AU as well as other DC university occupations that were in attendance for the eviction a two weeks ago.

uPolitic: What was the goal of the mic check? Many people may think the Occupy movement is “dead” now that most of the larger encampments have been shut down. Was this an attempt to remind people that Occupy is still alive?

L.Z.: Not necessarily, the idea of the “mic check” is nothing innovative (it’s an Occupy Wall Street tactic that works around legal implications of amplified sound). The goal was to educate the racist, classist, demagogues [the tea partiers] by reading the Occupy DC declaration. The Occupy movement is anything but dead, and ideas and values will continue on after our lifetimes; Occupy just put this message on the national level.

uPolitic: Why Sarah Palin? Why not another CPAC speaker?

L.Z.: It’s Sarah Palin, the embodiment of the Conservative party. She is strongly against most of the main issues that we strive for. And realistically, most of the people at CPAC were uneducated right-wing bloggers that couldn’t differentiate fascism from democracy, so why target some no-names when you can target the final speaker at the biggest conservative rally of the year? It’s exciting.

uPolitic: Where do you see Occupy headed into the future?

L.Z.: As stated before, I see Occupy transitioning towards the community level. People leaving encampments and actually creating communities out of these values… It’s something that’s happening right now. Neighborhoods in New York which were heavily affected by the foreclosure crisis are now being “occupied” by homeless individuals that are cleaning up neighborhoods and increasing the overall worth of these communities. The attempts of Occupy Oakland should go down in history as something that potentially could have shaken the entire nation. Occupying buildings, creating a tangible revolution is something that will follow this mindset shift. Taking back what the people deserve from corrupt politicians and corporations. Demanding rights and freedoms that have become so marginalized. The next step is for concrete change, but for now, I’ll take any step towards progress.

Article and interview by Evan Gray

Occupy AU can be found HERE.

Apparently, the TSA has a blog, and every week they post images...

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:34:00 -0500

Apparently, the TSA has a blog, and every week they post images of the crazy stuff they found in people’s luggage.

This week: Cannonballs, a grenade launcher, a gurkha blade and more!

Check out the blog by clicking HERE.

Meanwhile, in Greece…

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:44:10 -0500

Meanwhile, in Greece…

After infiltrating the Sarah Palin Speech at CPAC (Conservative...

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:20:23 -0500

After infiltrating the Sarah Palin Speech at CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee) in Washington DC. Members of Occupy “Mic Checks” the statement they should have read - had they not been downed out by the audience and then escorted out by the authorities.

Flickr user thisisbossi went to Occupy DC on February 4th, 2012...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:16:00 -0500

Flickr user thisisbossi went to Occupy DC on February 4th, 2012 (the day of the eviction). He “accumulated a total of 1440 photos and 2 videos, amounting to 33.0 GB.” I went through them all, and picked out a few. I’m presenting them in a two-part series.

This is part two.

(Click the photos to view larger versions in slideshow mode.)

This account of Occupy DC’s Eviction is via Andrew...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 19:56:10 -0500

This account of Occupy DC’s Eviction is via Andrew Bossi’s blog:

“(Note for Readers: The following is intended to be written from as neutral a perspective as I can offer. While I do not affiliate with the Occupy movement I do support their right to assemble in protest, even if I may not necessarily share many of their ideals. I have some police background and similarly try to appreciate their situation, as well.)

The US Park Police arrived to enforce the No Camping regulation as they had been directed by a Congressional hearing to begin more stringent enforcement. After an initial check days earlier, their arrival today reportedly caught many protesters off-guard.

Police searched each tent for sleeping paraphernalia and well as equipment related to cooking (including opened food). If any such objects were found: the entire tent and all its contents were confiscated as evidence. “Clean” tents were left standing.

The searches commenced part-by-part in each of the segments of McPherson Square, with protesters scrambling about the open sections cleaning out things… though some proudly displayed their prohibited wares, including one tent with an admittedly comfortable bed inside.

As police closed a new section the protesters moved to an adjacent section. In general there had been little confrontation between either side, other than the occupiers calling out some pointed remarks & profanity being directed towards the police.

Most tents were pretty typical, but I recall one tent in particular… it had been constructed with a tarp over cardboard & plywood walls, with cardboard laid down upon pallets to form the flooring. Within those pallets, however, were dozens of rats… a sheltered home, warmed by bodies above, with plenty of food around: not exactly a surprise; but it sent both cleaning crews and nearby observers scattering as each darted about.

One other tent — one of the first ones to be cleaned out — included a gallon jug of urine and a vomit-soaked washcloth. I was fortunate enough to be downwind… oof.

But both of those incidents were admittedly in the minority, as even tents that were cleaned out didn’t appear to be any more dirty than what I’d accrue if spending a weekend in the mountains. And considering many of these had been in place for months: I don’t intend my “dirty jibes” as any insult; overall most of the encampment was well-kept, all things considered.

To the credit of police, there were quite a number of occasions where they returned property from across the barriers. There was a large painted plywood sign, a guitar, a briefcase, and some tentpoles- and that was only what I witnessed. From chatting with many of the officers most of this time: most were in good spirits and very pleasant to talk to. They also let in Occupy DC’s livestreamer as well as the closest thing I’d say they have to a leader, both granted seemingly unrestricted (or at least greatly flexible) access behind police lines.

The big standoff came when the Park Police moved to close the last section at the northwest of the park. This is home to the previously-closed food tent, medical tent, and — very dear to many occupiers — the library. I am not 100% sure how it all began nor would I trust any account from either side, but somehow tensions flared, people got thrown down, riot shields moved in, clubs out, and basically all those sort of fun things…

The only thing I could hear over the pandemonium was a young girl screaming at the top of her lungs. All other sounds faded into a constant din of background noise. My hearing is not the best, so with my eyes planted into my camera lens: I hadn’t taken heed of the police officers surrounding me. When I pulled my head back momentarily to look at the last photo I’d just taken, out of the corner of my eye I recognised the light blue of police helmets on all sides; and a split-second later the world took a dizzying tumble around me.

I had been standing on a bench, and moments later I was behind the bench… a police officer pushed me over the back of it; I’m not entirely sure in what direction I landed other than that my brain took a moment to collect itself and come to terms with my newfound respect for the force of gravity.

As I joined into the crowd being slowly pushed back: flare-ups grew all about as protesters and police clashed; the group in general being pushed ever-gradually backwards toward the exit, though for many it wasn’t entirely clear where the exit was: police and barricades seemed to be in all directions.

At the exit, some protesters made their final stand, including taking down a barrier that I just happened to be standing by. I’m pretty sure I let loose a rather loud profanity in the video I was shooting at the time, as the attaching part of the fence went straight into my leg. This gave me a rather nice hobble the rest of the evening. As the battle ensued about this barrier I took an unexpected club to the chest — yet again I suppose I hadn’t heard a police order directing me to move.

Things quieted down for awhile after that, and at one point I moved in closer to where several protesters were chatting with some police officers. The conversation seemed relatively cordial, but I must have missed something that was said which, I suspect, led to something being thrown, as in a split-second the relative calm erupted into shields moving on all sides of me and horses surrounding my position — police moved in on one of those protesters for reasons I had not been able to discern. [I’ve since gathered that this may have been the alleged ~~brick-throwing~~ soda bottle-throwing incident]

At once I had an officer on my left escorting me away from my position, pushing me rightward; and at the same time as an officer to my right was escorting someone the exact opposite direction — causing us both to collide… I quickly stated that I was being sent right and left simultaneously, and the officers quickly sent us both to the right… and thankfully the officer with me immediately listened when I was visibly jumping on one leg and announced “I’m slow”. He heeded this and slowed down his escort of me to the other side of the police line.

After that, things quieted down right up until I departed. Some time later the protesters organized into a general assembly, to which I eventually decided that things were unlikely to flare up again; so I took my leave and went home to begin tending to photos and video. All-in-all, an interesting night.”

Writing and Photo by Andrew Bossi

Edited by Evan Gray

Flickr user thisisbossi went to Occupy DC on February 4th, 2012...

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 14:12:00 -0500

"Police Rescue". Who are you rescuing?

Flickr user thisisbossi went to Occupy DC on February 4th, 2012 (the day of the eviction). He “accumulated a total of 1440 photos and 2 videos, amounting to 33.0 GB.” I went through them all, and picked out a few. I’m presenting them in a two-part series.

This is part one.

(Click the photos to view larger versions in slideshow mode.)