I got a tip from Chuck yesterday morning about possible shenanigans going down at high noon at the Murdoch Center. I road over with my camera and met Brother Levy in the parking lot. “The man never sleeps!” he said as a police officer cruised by slowly. Coral Evans invited The Noise in for this meeting.

Here is the basic scoop from what I understand: On Friday, there was a fundraiser for Food Not Bombs in association with Copwatch and a bunch of other organizations not mentioned on the flier. Ms. Evans allegedly told FNBs that they didn’t want their name associated with Copwatch, but by then the fliers were already out. Last year, after that boy was shot dead by police officers on the east side (can anyone send me that article? I can’t find it), there were town meetings to address public outcry and apparently at one of them, Joel Olson (NAU political science) made a speech that praised groups like CopWatch for allowing citizens to stand up and, in a sense, police the police. Well this really cheesed off the police department who were trying to repair their battered, yet well-deserved, reputation. Though Olson is not a part of CopWatch, Evans said he branded an image of the organization as anti-police and “far left.”

Because the Murdoch Center has police officers on their board and the Community’s Weed & Seed* program meets and operates out of the Murdoch Center, they don’t want to have anything to do with CopWatch. At the same time, it is a community space that should have no political allegiances.

So, instead, FNB’s was kicked out for several peripheral issues relating to non-compliance of the community space contract. At the event on Friday, they didn’t site proper insurance information and they were also told not to take out the toys in the space. You see, the Murdoch Center is also a pre-school, but at the event on Friday, there were kids there and they wanted to play with the toys.

I have to say, when I hosted MARSfest there last year, I didn’t have to fill out nearly as many forms, but they could have changed their policy.

Anyway, here is what Indy Media had to say. The Hopi-Observer was also there.

Flags​taff,​AZ — As Food Not Bombs​ (​FNB)​ volun​teers​ prepa​red to serve​ their​ weekl​y free meal to hungr​y commu​nity membe​rs,​ City Counc​il membe​r and Murdo​ch Commu​nity Cente​r Direc​tor Coral​ Evans​ confr​onted​ the group​ and denie​d them acces​s.​

Murdo​ch Commu​nity Cente​r Board​ Membe​r and Scott​sdale​ resid​ent,​ David​ Soto,​ drove​ up to Flags​taff this morni​ng to also addre​ss FNB.

After​ more than two month​s witho​ut issue​,​ Evans​ and Soto sudde​nly claim​ed that FNB was in “​nonco​mplia​nce”​ of Murdo​ch Cente​r rules​,​ howev​er,​ durin​g quest​ionin​g it was revea​led that a benef​it conce​rt held on Frida​y,​ Janua​ry 30th for FNB and anoth​er commu​nity organ​izati​on,​ Flags​taff Copwa​tch,​ was the main issue​.​

Evans​ initi​ally claim​ed that Copwa​tch was “too far left”​ and not in line with the goals​ of the Murdo​ch Commu​nity Cente​r and their​ law enfor​cemen​t agenc​y affil​iates​.​ Evans​ was also upset​ that the colla​borat​ive relat​ionsh​ip betwe​en the commu​nity cente​r and law enfor​cemen​t was under​mined​ by the affil​iatio​n with Copwa​tch.​

In this forme​rly segre​gated​ space​,​ the actio​ns of the Murdo​ch Commu​nity Cente​r repre​senta​tives​,​ who were prese​nt on Sunda​y,​ are exclu​ding the use of the facil​ity for commu​nity based​,​ peace​ful group​s such as Food Not Bombs​.​

This demon​strat​es that some Murdo​ch Cente​r repre​senta​tives​ can enfor​ce preju​dicia​l conse​quenc​es again​st any group​ for their​ polit​ical assoc​iatio​ns.​ FNB and Copwa​tch had used the Murdo​ck commu​nity Cente​r speci​fical​ly becau​se they wante​d the benef​it to be acces​sible​ to all ages and drug and alcoh​ol free.​

There will be a meeting to address all these issues. I believe it is Thursday, but I’ll get back to you on that. I believe this meeting will decide on future FNB’s events at Murdoch.

*The goals of Weed & Seed, by the way, are to essentially “weed out” the undesirable aspects of a community – crime, gangs, immigrants…etc. and “sew the seeds” of a positive community. On of these seeds is to foster a community that polices itself. This is precisely what CopWatch does. The police might not like to be policed, but CopWatch has created strength and fostered unity in neighborhoods and cities where it operates.

Five former security guards from Blackwater Worldwide have been indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter, attempt to commit manslaughter and weapons violations, Justice Department officials announced Monday.

The 35-count indictment charges each of the former guards with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter and one count of using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.

If convicted, the defendants would face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each manslaughter count, seven years in prison for each count of attempted manslaughter and a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence for the firearms charge.

These guys killed 17 unarmed Iraqi civilians with machine guns and granade launchers. Lets hope these government sanctioned militia men get what’s coming to them. More importantly, Blackwater and KBR execs should also be in jail. It’s one thing to charge the criminals and another to go after the companies that made their crimes possible.

There are too many cops in this town and anyone who has spent any time in the city knows that racial profiling is rampent.

Thursday, November 13th 2008 at 7pm
Killip Elementary School Gymnasium
2300 East 6th Avenue

The forum will provide a supportive environment for community
dialogue about racial profiling in law enforcement with the goal of
raising awareness about the unique and serious harm that racial
profiling has on individuals, families and diverse communities.

Individuals who have had experiences with the police and the criminal
justice system are encouraged to come forward and tell their stories
first-hand community stakeholders are invited to listen and provide
input. Together, we can take the first steps towards developing an
effective response.

This event is hosted by AZ’s ACLU, together with: democracy for america-flagstaff, nau women & gender studies program, southside community association, sunnyside neighborhood assocaiation, coalitiion for the repeal of arizona’s anti-immigrant laws, the department of politics & international affairs at nau, nau commission on ethnic diversity
northern arizona interfaith council, friends of flagstaff’s future, equality arizona, save the peaks coalition, and the taala hooghan infoshop

Glass Bead Collective, Twin Cities Indymedia, and other independent media activists have released a new film, ‘Terrorizing Dissent’, an exposé of events at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Featuring first-person accounts and footage from more than forty cameras on the streets, ‘Terrorizing Dissent’ focuses on the story of dissent suppressed. People charged with “conspiracy to riot in furtherance of terrorism” speak out against the government’s campaign to manipulate media coverage and label civil disobedience and community organizing as terrorism.

‘Terrorizing Dissent’ shows the results of the $50 million dollars the Department of Homeland Security gave to local authorities for security — a large chunk of which went to weaponize the police — and the $10 million insurance policy contract between the RNC Host Committee and the City of St. Paul, which shattered Minnesota’s civil compact between protesters and police.

It’s about 35 minutes long – lots of footage you’ve probably seen elsewhere, compiled in a way that has purpose.

This is a gross sign of the times. During the last Republican National Convention, protestors weren’t allowed near the building. This year, those protesting the Democratic National Conventions were relegated to a cage. This year’s RNC removes any ambiguity that we live in a police state. 300 people were arrested on the first day, including journalists.

We are now living in an age where journalists, members of the press, those trying to protect our freedom of information, freedom of the press, are being unlawfully and illegally detained. The message is clear: if your perspective contradicts that of the corporate owned media, if you attempt to provide any objective truth from the ground of these conventions, you will be arrested.

Rule one: Democratic countries don’t illegally arrest members of the press; only totalitarian regimes do this in an attempt to control the flow of information. This is what a police state looks like. It’s looking more and more like this State.

Seriously, what is going on with this country?

ST. PAUL–Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.

All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar’s violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, “I’m Press! Press!,” resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman’s arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.

On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org

Now, those who disagree with the government will likely not protest for fear of being arrested. If one is arrested, it impacts their ability to get a job or receive loans for education. If you’re charged with a felon, you can’t even vote. All this seems pretty ideal for the maintenance of a police state. Citizens need to start reacting to this stuff. It’s getting disgusting.