Military Resistance:

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5.12.13

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Military Resistance 11E7

What A Surprise:
Obama Plans For Afghan War To Go On And On And On And On:
U.S. Government Wants 9 U.S. Military Bases In Afghanistan After 2014:

The Bases Are Bagram Air Field Near Kabul, Kandahar Air Field And Bases In Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar-ESharif, Gardez, Helmand Province, Shindand And Heart
Those Are Among The Largest Bases Now Housing U.S. And Other Foreign Military Forces
May 9, 2013 By David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times [Excerpts] KABUL, Afghanistan The United States has requested the use of nine large military bases in Afghanistan after international forces complete their combat mission here at the end of next year, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday. [So, since the combat mission will be completed at the end of next year, which of three following will apply, according to this drooling idiocy?: A) The U.S. military bases will be defended from Taliban attack by non-combat combat forces. B) The bases will be defended from Taliban attack by combat non-combat forces. C) The bases will not be defended from Taliban attack at all. U.S. military personnel will be issued suicide pills to be taken in the event of attack. Death before dishonor. T] In the first public disclosure of the number of bases under discussion in security talks between the U.S. and Afghanistan, Karzai indicated that he would agree to the U.S. request. But he said Washington must provide unspecified security and economic guarantees in return. If these conditions are met, we are ready to sign the contract with the United States, Karzai said in a speech at Kabul University, referring to the bilateral security arrangement now under negotiation. He added: Our conditions are to bring security in Afghanistan, strengthen Afghanistans security forces, provide concrete economic support and to have a strong and positive government. Since Nov. 15, American and Afghan negotiators have been hammering out post-2014 security arrangements. The U.S. request for nine bases was included in the most recent U.S. draft proposal, presented last month, Aimal Faizy, Karzais spokesman, said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Karzai said the bases are Bagram Air Field near Kabul, Kandahar Air Field and bases in Kabul, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif, Gardez, Helmand Province, Shindand and Herat. Those are among the largest bases now housing U.S. and other foreign military forces.

DO YOU HAVE A FRIEND OR RELATIVE IN THE MILITARY?

Forward Military Resistance along, or send us the email address if you wish and well send it regularly with your best wishes. Whether in Afghanistan or at a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend, too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to injustices, inside the armed services and at home. Send email requests to address up top or write to: Military Resistance, Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657.

AFGHANISTAN WAR REPORTS

Fallen Soldier Was A Green Beret In JBLMs 1st Special Forces Group
May 4, 2013 by ADAM ASHTON; Staff writer; Tacoma News, Inc.

A Joint Base Lewis-McChord Green Beret who followed his father into the Armys Special Forces died Thursday at a military hospital in Germany from wounds he sustained in Afghanistan last week. Staff Sgt. Michael H. Simpson, 30, leaves behind a widow, Krista, and sons Michael, 3, and Gabriel, 1. His wife and other loved ones were with him at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center before he died, she said. He was hurt by an explosion on April 27. Im so proud of him through everything, Krista Simpson said Friday. The man that he was when I met him, the man he grew to be, the father he was, and the person he made me. He is the third Lewis-McChord soldier to die in combat this year and the second from the 4th Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group, reflecting how the fight has shifted to special operations teams as Stryker infantry brigades have returned to the base south of Tacoma. Krista Simpson described her husband as a badass who lived out his dream to join the Special Forces. Hed show a softer side at home and embraced fatherhood as intensely as he pursued his military career. His father, Michael W. Simpson, is a retired Special Forces lieutenant colonel who now works as the city manager of Olmos Park, Texas. The elder Simpson has sent messages to residents about his journey to Germany to meet his son over the past week. Were warriors. We know things happen, he once told The San Antonio ExpressNews. The younger Simpson joined the Army in 2003 as an infantryman. He deployed to Iraq in 2007 with the Germany-based 2nd Cavalry Regiment. He completed his qualifications to join Army Special Forces in July 2011 and later joined the 1st Special Forces Group at Lewis-McChord. He was assigned to its newest unit, the 4th Battalion. Kristas stepfather recently attended the Boston Marathon and was shook up by the bombings. Staff Sgt. Simpson sent him a message: I wish there was something I could have done better in my job to keep this evil from happening, the soldier wrote. He wanted to try, even though he understood that a government could not always stop harm from falling on innocents. He believed that, Krista said. He believed God has a plan. Theres a reason for everything.

POLITICIANS REFUSE TO HALT THE BLOODSHED THE TROOPS HAVE THE POWER TO STOP THE WAR

Arrests And Torture Of Peaceful Protesters By Security Forces In Kabul

Mistreated In Custody For Up To Three Days, Including By Being Severely Beaten With Punches, Kicks, And Rifle Butts While Being Interrogated About The Protest Organizers
May 7, 2013 Human Rights Watch [Excerpts] Kabul) Afghan authorities should investigate the arrests and torture of peaceful protesters by security forces in Kabul, Human Rights Watch said today. The abuses appear intended to silence public dissent against the government. On May 2, 2013, hundreds of people participated in a demonstration in Kabuls Cinema Pamir neighborhood organized by the Solidarity Party of Afghanistan to protest the governments failure to prosecute abusive warlords, including those now in official positions. State security forces cut short the protest and arrested at least nine people. Six of them described to Human Rights Watch being mistreated in custody for up to three days, including by being severely beaten with punches, kicks, and rifle butts while being interrogated about the protest organizers. The arrest and brutal beating of peaceful protesters seems aimed at sending a message to all Afghans not to publicly criticize the government, said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The six people interviewed by Human Rights Watch said that much of their mistreatment occurred while they were being transported following arrest or in custody while handcuffed to a wall.

Human Rights Watch observed physical injuries consistent with the detainees accounts, including bruises and swelling. Two were seriously injured, including one whose knee was struck with a rifle butt, and will require surgery. Several detainees reported confiscation of their personal property. All were released without being charged with any criminal offense. Security forces encouraged residents and local business people to leave the area and refused access to several hundred protesters. A journalist told Human Rights Watch that security forces prevented her from covering the protest and conducting interviews. The Solidarity Party of Afghanistan, a legally registered political party since 2004, has previously faced government harassment, Human Rights Watch said. The party has not fielded political candidates, but has been outspoken on controversial issues, including organizing protests against the US and NATO presence in Afghanistan, the execution of Afghans in Iran, and civilian casualties caused by international forces. It has also spoken out against Taliban abuses and in support of womens rights. Protesters carried signs with photos of those they accuse of human rights abuses with faces crossed out in red paint. A statement issued by the party mentioned a number of sitting officials by name.

IF YOU DONT LIKE THE RESISTANCE END THE OCCUPATION

SOMALIA WAR REPORTS

A Fierce Fighting Between Alshabab Militia And The Raskamboni Brigade

10 May 2013 By Maalik_eng, Shabelle Media Network A fierce fighting between Alshabab [insurgents] militia and the Raskamboni brigade occurred last night at the surrounding of Kismayu airport and the Kismayu University. This happened when members of Alshabab started a hit and run fighting at the airport. The airport which acts as an army base for the Kenyan troops who are part of the Amisom troops based in Somalia faces frequent attacks from the Alshabab militia.

Other reports from Kisamyu have confirmed that heavy artilleries were fired at the University of Kismayu which hosts a delegation which is spearheading the formation of an administration for the region. The fighting which lasted for hours has caused severe damages and both death and injury casualties has been reported however the two sides have not released statements about last nights engagement. The port city of Kismayu administrated by the Raskamboni militia and federal government troops aided by the Kenyan troops has not yet settled and faces frequent attack from Alshabab militia.

MILITARY NEWS

[Thanks to Phil G. & SSG N (retd) who sent this in. SSG N (retd) writes: Something wrong with this picture. The purpose of the military is to kill people and destroy things. This is universal, there is no differentiation between who gets destroyed. Everyone is harmed More likely to be raped in theater than killed by fire. Violence is not good for men or women.]

Catholic Soldier Harassed And Tormented By Ignorant Filth

Because She Has A Muslim Name

Then Scum In Command Tried To Force Her To Quit Army:
Its Horrible To Feel Like People Are Against You When You Are Supposed To Be On The Same Team

[Thanks to Mark Shapiro, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] May 8, 2013 By MICHAEL BIESECKER, Associated Press [Excerpts] Sgt. 1st Class Naida Hosan is not a Muslim shes a Catholic. But her name sounded Islamic to fellow U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and they would taunt her, calling her Sgt. Hussein and asking what God she prayed to. So before deploying to Afghanistan last year for her second war tour, she legally changed her name to Naida Christian Nova. This did not solve her problems. Instead, matters escalated. Nova complained to her superiors about constant anti-Muslim slurs and jokes.

She says they responded with a series of reprisals intended to drive her out of the Army, leading her to consider suicide. My complaints fell on deaf ears every time, said Nova, 41, a member of the Armys 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, N.C. Any time I would say something about it I was treated like I didnt know what I was talking about or that Im an idiot or that I was a Muslim sympathizer. It was just a very lonely feeling. Determined to remain in the service for at least eight years, until she is eligible for retirement, Nova recently re-enlisted. But she agreed to tell her story to The Associated Press because I dont want this to happen to anyone else if I can help it. Its a horrible to feel like people are against you when you are supposed to be on the same team. Fort Bragg spokeswoman Sheri L. Crowe said the Army would not comment on the case, and referred questions to the U.S. Department of Justice. But her account is supported by an affidavit filed by an old friend, Sharon Deborah Sheetz, who said that Nova had confided in her about the harassment she had suffered, telling Sheetz that she was so unhappy that she no longer wanted to live. A Farsi linguist who works in military intelligence, Novas multicultural background exemplifies the kind of soldier Army recruiters prize U.S. citizens with ethnic ties to a part of the world many Americans cant find on a map. Novas father, Roy Hosein, was born into a Muslim family on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, where his parents had emigrated from India. He converted to Christianity after meeting Novas mother, a Catholic from the Philippines, and became a U.S. citizen shortly after his daughter was born in New York. He changed the spelling of his family name to Hosan in the hope his children would avoid discrimination. He Americanized it, his daughter explained. He got Hosan from Hosanna. He kept hearing it in church. She reported for basic training two months after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Before 9-11, my last name never raised an eyebrow, she said. But after 9-11, I felt compelled to tell people I am a Christian and felt I had to prove I was loyal to the United States. Her first deployment was to Iraq in 2005. She said other soldiers, including her supervisors, mocked her family name and made crude jokes. I was called Sgt. Hussein, as in Saddam Hussein, she said. Even when I would correct them on the pronunciation of my name, I was still called Sgt. Hussein. I was asked what God I pray to. And there were a lot of references to hajjis, used as a derogatory term.

Hajiis, in fact, are Muslims who have made the pilgrimage to the Saudi Arabian birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. But Nova said she regularly heard U.S. troops use the word as racist slang for enemy, terrorist or suicide bomber. My uncle is a hajji, because he made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 2005, Nova said. I would stand up for what I thought was right and say, Not all terrorists are Muslims and not all Muslims are terrorists. That just opened the door for more harassment. Mikey Weinstein, a former U.S. Air Force officer who founded Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said Novas experience is not uncommon. Military personnel who are Muslim or perceived to be of Middle Eastern descent are often targets for discrimination, he said. When a Muslim soldier, sailor or airman stands up for themselves, they are the subject of vicious reprisal and retribution, said Weinstein, who is Jewish. What (Sgt. Nova) has gone through is horrible, but it is typical. In 2007, while serving in Harrogate, England, Nova said co-worker told her and others a racist joke about Muslims. When she objected, Nova said, a supervisor warned her to stop making trouble. Instead, she filed a formal complaint with the Armys Equal Opportunity Branch, the program charged with ensuring the military provides an environment free of unlawful discrimination and offensive behavior. Within days, Nova said she was removed from her job and ordered to take a command directed mental health evaluation. In writing, the referral said my values were not in line with mission, she said. They considered me a Muslim sympathizer, that I was too loyal to Muslims. Rather than address her complaint, Nova said, the Army transferred her to the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg. Though she hoped to make a fresh start with her new unit, word of her complaint followed her to North Carolina. That treatment worsened after a November 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood in Texas. Maj. Nidal Hasan, a Muslim, is charged with killing 13 people. His name sounded a lot like hers. Nova changed her name shortly before deploying to Afghanistan last year. She arrived just after worn copies of the Quran were found to have been burned with trash from a U.S.-run prison outside the capital of Kabul, a widely reported incident that triggered violent protests. The Army responded by initiating a new training program on the proper handling and disposal of Islamic materials.

But Nova said she discovered that her unit trashed and burned documents collected through intelligence gathering that contained what could be considered sacred writings. Nova conferred with an on-base military chaplain, and suggested designating a special box for Islamic materials so they could be disposed of in a more appropriate manner. When I brought this up, I was told Sgt. Nova, you cant bring your religion to work ..., she recalled. I changed my name, but that didnt change other peoples ignorance. After just two months in Afghanistan, she said her commanders removed her from her job and ordered her back to Fort Bragg. With the help of a Fayetteville lawyer, Mark Waple, she filed a formal complaint with the Armys Inspector General in October seeking a voluntary discharge due to being subjected to adverse treatment and negative, prejudicial remarks ... concerning the Muslim faith. Nova said she grew so depressed that she considered suicide. She checked herself into an on-base hospital for treatment, staying for about a week before returning to duty. After learning of her IG complaint and hospitalization, Novas commanders at Fort Bragg responded by filing paperwork to involuntarily end her military career and bar her from reenlistment for ineffective leadership. Novas Army performance review from a few months earlier, a copy of which she provided to AP, shows her as meeting expectations in all categories, with her senior commander rating her potential for promotion and increased responsibility as superior. The forced discharge could have imperiled Novas ability to get a civilian job, denied her Veterans Affairs medical care and educational benefits. After exhausting her administrative options for fighting her case, Waple helped Nova file a complaint in federal court alleging discriminatory treatment and asking a judge to prevent her discharge. Rather than fight the case in court, the Army retreated. Shortly before a key hearing before the judge, Waple says he got a call from Army lawyers informing him that the disciplinary action against Nova was completely off the table. She, in turn, agreed to drop the lawsuit. Nova re-enlisted in the Army on April 8. She recently married, and is preparing to ship out next month to attend a senior leadership course and then report to a new assignment in Germany. I want to put all this behind me. I want to move on to my next duty assignment ..., said Nova. My beliefs arent any different from what the Army states as its beliefs and values. I would like to be treated fairly.

ANNIVERSARIES

Resistance Action May 13, 1968: Heroic Anniversary The French General Strike Begins

We Are The Power Carl Bunin Peace History May 7-13 Workers joined Paris students protest, launching a general strike calling for the fall of the government and protesting police brutality. The protest by French students included occupation of The Sorbonne; by the end of the month over 10,000,000 had been involved in school and workplace occupations.

TROOPS INVITED:
Comments, arguments, articles, and letters from service men and women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Write to Box 126, 2576 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10025-5657 or email contact@militaryproject.org: Name, I.D., withheld unless you request publication. Same address to unsubscribe.

OCCUPATION PALESTINE

Zionist Genocide Rolls On:

We Cant Access Any Water Sources Anymore, Complains Abu Saqr
The Israelis Have Drilled Wells On Our Land And Pump Water To The Settlements, Yet We Are Forbidden From Consuming Any Of It

The Army Has Increasingly Resorted To Confiscating Water Tanker And The Tractors Used To Bring Them To The Community, Charging Exorbitant Fines That Villagers Cannot Pay, Forcing Them To Leave And Resettle In Palestinian Cities
Palestinian Lands And Fields Are Being Swallowed Up And Turned Into JewishOnly Communities Or High-Tech Agricultural Lands, Growing WaterDemanding Crops For Export With Palestinian Water
Genocide: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide
Raphael Lemkin, in his work Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (1944), coined the term genocide by combining Greek genos (; race, people) and Latin cdere (to kill). Lemkin defined genocide as follows: Generally speaking, genocide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such groups.

********************************************************************** May 6 By: Layan Masri and Loor Awwad for Al-Monitor Palestine Pulse The dirt roads leading to the Palestinian community of Al Hadidiya can be recognized from the tire tracks from cars and tractors in the winter mud. Al Hadidiya is located in the northern Jordan Valley, a small village with a population of less than 200. Most of them are children, women and elderly, as most of the younger people have moved out in search of jobs or to pursue higher education. Palestinians residing there live in tents surrounded by arid mountains and rocky fields. Most of the year, the hills that dot the area are yellowish, dry and dusty. Like all other Palestinian villages in the Jordan Valley, Al Hadidiya struggles to supply itself with water. Instead of taps and sinks, yellow, rusty water tankers are omnipresent, scattered amid the tents and sheep pens. A few acres of fields surround the area, stretching wherever the land is flat enough yet the earth remains dry and the fields barren most of the year. With the cost of tanked-in water four to five times more expensive than tap water, the residents of Al Hadidiya have barely enough water to sustain themselves, so theres no question of using it for agriculture. Only during the rainy season in winter are crops sowed and harvested not cash crops, but rather wheat and barley to serve as fodder for the sheep and goats. Standing in the empty fields, Abu Saqr, one of the elders of Al Hadidiya, points toward a greener area a few hundred meters away, saying, Here is one of the settlements. On the adjacent hill, the monochrome landscape gives way to an oasis of colors: a small island of lush vegetation, red roofs and white walls. Their community is full of trees; they get all the water they need, explains Abu Saqr. This small paradise, however, is closed off by electric fences, barbed wire, security cameras and patrols, and accessible only to Jewish settlers. Traffic signs point toward the small settlement, Roi; Al Hadidiya is not indicated on any sign. Established first as a military outpost in 1976, the settlement was converted for civilian use two years later. Today, the 153 Jewish settlers living there work in greenhouses and neatly tended fields, growing herbs, grapes and flowers earmarked for the export market, and practice fish farming. An Israeli well, protected by fences, supplies the settlement with large quantities of water pumped from a natural spring.

Public figures show that on average, each settler from Roi consumes 431 liters of water per day not including the quantities of water used for agriculture and fish farming. In Al Hadidiya, the average amount of water available stands at 22 liters per person per day a figure similar to communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. We cant access any water sources anymore, complains Abu Saqr. The Israelis have drilled wells on our land and pump water to the settlements, yet we are forbidden from consuming any of it. Here is the pipe that brings them water it goes through our land, he adds, pointing out a large, high-pressure pipe. Not only are the residents of Al Hadidiya prohibited from accessing local water sources, they also cant build a network to obtain running water from elsewhere. To do so, the community would need to obtain a permit from the Israeli Civil Administration, since it is located in Area C, an area that covers 60% of the West Bank and where Israel retains both security and civil control. Unable to obtain a permit, the people of Al Hadidiya have resorted to collecting droplets of water that spill from the Israeli pipes. As in most of the Jordan Valley, the village is surrounded by closed military areas as well as army bases and military checkpoints. For years, the residents of Al Hadidiya have suffered from harassment, demolitions, displacement, beatings and intimidation at the hands of Israeli soldiers. Today, all the structures in the community mostly tents and sheep pens have standing demolition orders, and can be torn down by the army at any given time. The army has increasingly resorted to confiscating water tanker and the tractors used to bring them to the community, charging exorbitant fines that villagers cannot pay, forcing them to leave and resettle in Palestinian cities. Herders are routinely arrested by Israeli soldiers, their flocks straying off while their herder is detained for several hours without charge before being released, sometimes after suffering beatings. Since 1997, the community has shrunk from over 40 families to fewer than eight, mostly due to demolitions of homes or tents. The case of Al Hadidiya is not unique or isolated. Throughout the Jordan Valley and the West Bank, Palestinian communities are constantly subjected to many different forms of pressure to leave their lands, while Israeli settlements expand.

Palestinian lands and fields are being swallowed up and turned into Jewish-only communities or high-tech agricultural lands, growing water-demanding crops for export with Palestinian water extracted from the West Bank. [To check out what life is like under a murderous military occupation commanded by foreign terrorists, go to: www.rafahtoday.org The occupied nation is Palestine. The foreign terrorists call themselves Israeli.]

DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK

The Occupying Enemy Army In Bakersfield, California:

Police Beat Man To Death As He Begged For His Life, Detained Witnesses, Seized Videos

Witnesses, Including Melissa Quair, Were Harassed And Told That They Must Surrender Their Cell Phones As Evidence
Their Houses Were Even Searched As A Crime Scene In Order To Confiscate The Video Evidence
May 9, 2013 www.pa2a.org BAKERSFIELD, CA -- Kern County deputies beat an intoxicated man to death in the street Tuesday night, then detained and intimidated witnesses, confiscated video evidence, and arrested another man who spoke out. David Silva was beaten with batons, left in a pool of blood until an ambulance finally arrived after he was already dead. A female 9-1-1 caller named Selena told the dispatcher, Theres a man laying on the floor, and your police officers beat the (expletive) out of him and killed him. She said that she witnessed the victim do nothing wrong to cause 8 officers to bludgeon him to death. These cops had no reason to do this to this man. A 19-year-old male witness, Ruben Ceballos, was awakened around midnight by screams and loud banging noises outside his home. He said he ran to the left side of his house to find out who was causing the ruckus. When I got outside I saw two officers beating a man with batons and they were hitting his head so every time they would swing, I could hear the blows to his head. He said that Silva was on the ground screaming for help, but officers continued to beat him. After several minutes, Silva stopped screaming and was no longer responsive, according to Ceballos. Another witness, Jason Land, said that he witnessed the beating of David Silva. They jumped out, reached for their bats, and beat that man until they killed him, he said, right in front of my face. Land spoke up about what he saw and was arrested as retaliation. The witness was on probation and says police responded to his eyewitness report by claiming he was high on PCP and arrested him without any proof.

Witnesses also say that the victims body was left to bleed out in the street for a prolonged period without any medical attention, wasting crucial minutes before the ambulance arrived. By that point, it was too late and CPR attempts were futile. Other witnesses, including Melissa Quair, were harassed and told that they must surrender their cell phones as evidence. Their houses were even searched as a crime scene in order to confiscate the video evidence. The victims brother, Christopher Silva, says his brother was murdered and wants justice. He is demanding that his brothers body be released so that he can see the result of the beating. He wants the confiscated videos to be released. My brother spent the last eight minutes of his life pleading, begging for his life. The true evidence is in those phone witnesses that apparently the sheriff deputies already took. But I know the truth will come out and my brothers voice will be heard.

MORE:

Less Than 24 Hours After Speaking To Eyewitness News About What He Witnessed Tuesday Night, Jason Land Found Himself In Jail
Now, He Says Hes Fearing For His Life
May 9, 2013 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) Less than 24 hours after speaking to Eyewitness News about what he witnessed Tuesday night, Jason Land found himself in jail. Now, he says hes fearing for his life. They jumped out, reached for their bats, and beat that man until they killed him, he said, right in front of my face. ************************************************************** May 9, 2013 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) Still more questions have been raised about the death of a suspect in Kern County Sheriffs Office custody.

A witness to the incident asked why he was arrested hours after talking to a reporter, and a family questioned the way their cellphone video of the incident was seized. ************************************************************** May 9, 2013 BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) Two days after a 33-year-old man died while in the custody of Kern County deputies, the questions and accusations are mounting. David Silva died just after midnight Wednesday, minutes after a confrontation with deputies. Law officers reportedly tried to take Silva into custody for public intoxication, and Silva allegedly fought and resisted arrest. The sheriffs office has admitted to using baton strikes to gain control of the situation. Friday morning, the coroners office released its first post-autopsy comment, which left much unanswered: After completing an autopsy, the cause of death is pending toxicology and microscopic studies. Silvas family is now reacting, telling the public about the man they knew, and accusing the deputies of murdering their loved one. Witnesses are also accusing deputies of beating Silva to death without just cause. They also claim the sheriffs office has targeted them for speaking out about what they saw that night.

MORE:

When I Arrived To The Home Of One Of The Witnesses That Had Video Footage, She Was With Her Family Sitting Down On The Couch, Surrounded By Three Deputies
May 09 2013 BY LAURA LIERA AND JASON KOTOWSKI Bakersfield Californian staff writers [Excerpts] Blood stains are still visible on the sidewalk at the corner of Flower Street and Palm Drive, where a Bakersfield man struggled with as many as nine officers and later died this week. David Sal Silva, 33 and the father of four young children, died early Wednesday morning after deputies say he fought with them and CHP officers whod responded to a report of a possibly intoxicated man outside Kern Medical Center.

Some witnesses apparently took cellphone video of the incident but deputies moved quickly to seize the phones. The Sheriffs Office, after releasing a statement Wednesday and naming its officers Thursday, declined all further comment. People who say they witnessed the incident as well as Silvas family members described a scene in which deputies essentially were beating a helpless man to death. They were indignant that cellphone video had been taken away by deputies. At about midnight, Ruben Ceballos, 19, was awakened by screams and loud banging noises outside his home. He said he ran to the left side of his house to find out who was causing the ruckus. When I got outside I saw two officers beating a man with batons and they were hitting his head so every time they would swing, I could hear the blows to his head, Ceballos said. Silva was on the ground screaming for help, but officers continued to beat him, Ceballos said. After several minutes, Ceballos said, Silva stopped screaming and was no longer responsive. His body was just lying on the street and before the ambulance arrived one of the officers performed CPR on him and another one used a flashlight on his eyes but Im sure he was already dead, Ceballos said. Other relatives demanded to know more. David Silvas mother, Merri Silva, 54, said, If I dont do anything about my sons death then it will just be pushed to the side and I dont want this to happen to another person. The office did identify the officers involved in the arrest as Sgt. Douglas Sword and deputies Ryan Greer, Tanner Miller, Jeffrey Kelly, Luis Almanza, Brian Brock and David Stephens. The CHP hasnt released the names of its officers at the scene. On Thursday afternoon, Christopher Silva said the family had not yet been able to see his brothers body, but had learned about different witnesses who had taken video footage of the incident. The true evidence is in those phones witnesses have that apparently the sheriff deputies already took, Silva said. But I know the truth will come out and my brothers voice will be heard.

John Tello, a criminal law attorney, is representing two witnesses who took video footage and five other witnesses to the incident. He said his clients are still shaken by what they saw. When I arrived to the home of one of the witnesses that had video footage, she was with her family sitting down on the couch, surrounded by three deputies, Tello said. Tello said the witness was not allowed to go anywhere with her phone and was being quarantined inside her home. When Tello tried to talk to the witness in private and with the phone, one of the deputies stopped him and told him he couldnt take the phone anywhere because it was evidence to the investigation, the attorney said. This was not a crime scene where the evidence was going to be destroyed, Tello said. These were concerned citizens who were basically doing a civic duty of preserving the evidence, not destroying it as they (sheriff deputies) tried to make it seem. A search warrant wasnt presented to either of the witnesses until after Tello arrived, he said, adding that one phone was seized before the warrant was produced. Tello said the phone of the first witness was taken after the deputies told him he was either going to give up the phone the easy way or the hard way. They basically told him they were either going to keep him at this house all night until they could find a judge to sign a search warrant or he could just turn over his phone, he said. The witness gave up his phone two hours before he had to get to work and was told by deputies that he could collect his phone the next day after they had extracted the evidence they needed, Tello said. However, the witness never got his phone back, Tello said, and was told it could take years before he does because the investigation could take a long time. My main concern is that these witnesses are not harassed by deputies because this case can make others who see crimes happening not want to speak up because of the way law enforcement handles situations, Tello said. Silva left behind four children, ranging from ages 2 to 10 years old. As of Thursday afternoon, his mother said, they hadnt figured out how to tell the children their father is dead. Merri Silva remembers her son as a happy person who loved his kids. Were all hurt and its not something that I can comprehend and in part (its) because I feel that it still hasnt hit me that he is gone, the mother said.

Five Enemy Combatants Beat Woman For Filming Another Beating:

You Want To Film Something Bitch? Film This!
Officer Church Pulled Plaintiff Out Of Her Car By Her Hair And Beat Her
Officers Pilkerton, Ulmer, And Campbell Then Ran To Plaintiffs Car And Joined Officer Church In Beating Plaintiff
[Rather than cutting down the numbers of soldiers in the armed forces, those now viewed as surplus could be usefully deployed to sweep this cowardly filth in blue off our streets once and for all. Well see how brave they are when confronted by soldiers, rather than an unarmed woman with a camera and a kid in the car. T] [Thanks to Mark Shapiro, Military Resistance Organization, who sent this in.] May 10, 2013 By Ryan Abbott, Courthouse News BALTIMORE - Baltimore police beat up a woman and smashed her camera for filming them beating up a man, telling her: You want to film something bitch? Film this! the woman claims in court. Makia Smith sued the Baltimore Police Department, Police Commissioner Anthony Batts and police Officers Nathan Church, William Pilkerton, Jr., Nathan Ulmer and Kenneth Campbell in Federal Court. Smith claims she was stuck in stand-still rush hour traffic in northern Baltimore when she saw the defendant officers beating up and arresting a young man. She says pulled out her camera, stood on her cars door sill and filmed the beating. Officer Church saw plaintiff filming the beating and ran at her, the complaint states. He scared her and she sat back in her vehicle. As he ran at her, he yelled, You want to film something bitch? Film this!

Officer Church reached into plaintiffs car and grabbed her telephone-camera out of her hand, threw it to the ground and destroyed it by smashing it with his foot. Officer Church pulled plaintiff out of her car by her hair and beat her. Officers Pilkerton, Ulmer, and Campbell then ran to plaintiffs car and joined Officer Church in beating plaintiff and arrested her using excessive force. At all times described herein, plaintiffs two year old daughter witnessed her mothers beating and arrest by the Officers, as did others. Smith claims the cops taunted her and threatened to take her daughter away. She says they refused to call her mother to her toddler. The officers, despite the pleas of plaintiff, refused to call plaintiffs mother. Instead, the officers tormented plaintiff by telling her that her daughter would be taken from her and sent to Social Services. Seeing plaintiffs distressful reaction to these tormenting threats, they continued, the complaint states. Smith says claims she was arrested and taken to jail on bogus charges that she assaulted Church and resisted arrest. She claims Church failed to appear for her trial - twice, and prosecutors dropped the charges, but she had to hire a lawyer and spend more money recovering her impounded car. She claims Baltimore police have a history of illegally seizing and destroying recording devices. She seeks $1.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages for civil rights violations, conversion and infliction of emotional distress. She is represented by Christopher Lyon, with Astrachan Gunst Thomas. Police departments around the country have been accused of similar responses to citizens filming them abusing other people.

The Occupying Enemy Army In New York City:

I Cant Walk Into My House Or Buy Milk For My Daughter In The Next Development Without Being Stopped

And Frisked Or Without The Threat Of Arrest

Police Have Imposed The Equivalent Of Checkpoints In All New York City Housing Authority Developments, Using The Threat Of Trespass Charges Against Residents From Going Out
May 7, 2013 by Stanley Rosario, Socialist Worker [Excerpts] NEW YORK City public housing residents and community organizations have joined forces in support of the class-action lawsuit Floyd v. City of New York. The historic case, now being heard in a federal courtroom, challenges the constitutionality of the New York Police Departments stop-and-frisk program of racial profiling. Although New York City Housing Authority residents are only about 5 percent of the total population, they have been subjected to between 11 and 15 percent of all documented stops, according to Families United for Racial & Economic Equality (FUREE). Among those stopped and accused of trespassing, 94 percent were Black or Latino. Carmen Negron, a resident of Baruch Houses, described for FUREE the typical outcome of an encounter with police patrolling NYCHA complexes: Several months ago, I asked my 22-year-old son to go get our mail. I realized that it had taken him longer than usual to return and just as I was beginning to get dressed to go downstairs, there was a loud knock on my door. When I opened it, there was my son and two officers. The officer said he was loitering in the lobby and had no identification on him. I explained that he just went to the lobby to get the mail, and that he had the key to the mailbox, which could have verified that he is a resident here. They were belligerent and did not want to listen to me. They even ended up threatening me that if they would have decided to place a complaint against us, our tenancy could have been in jeopardy. The police presence in public housing areas and the hostility they exhibit leads NYCHA residents to compare what they experience to living under an occupation.

Police have imposed the equivalent of checkpoints in all NYCHA developments, using the threat of trespass charges against residents from going out. Arnaldo Arzu, a Bronx resident and member of Community Voice Heard, described the consequences: As a lifelong Black male resident of Mott Haven Houses, I cant walk into my house or buy milk for my daughter in the next development without being stopped and frisked or without the threat of arrest. I have filed over 30 complaints, and nothing ever happens, not even a notice that my complaint has been registered. We deserve to live with respect and dignity. The fact that stop-and-frisk has been put on trial is a victory for our side and testament to an emerging movement speaking out against police harassment and violence. Struggles at the grassroots are critical in putting pressure on the city to get rid of stopand-frisk--as well as putting resources into critical social investment such as public schools and housing.

CLASS WAR REPORTS

Strike Shuts Down Libyan Airlines:

Demands Included The Resignation Of The Chairman Of The Company

We Want The Criminals To Be Apprehended

Todays Libyan Airlines strike was unexpected, leaving stranded customers confused by a complete lack of information about cancelled flights (Photo: Tom Westcott, Libya Herald) 9 May 2013 By Tom Westcott, Libya Herald Passengers at Tripoli International Airport were today left angry and confused when unannounced industrial action crippled Libyan Airlines schedules, leaving many stranded after flights were cancelled. One traveller, who was booked on a flight to Istanbul, arrived at the airport this morning to find that his flight was absent from the departure boards. He told the Libya Herald that it was difficult to find staff to clarify or help. He was eventually told that flights had been cancelled due to strike action. The staff member, however, said: Maybe you should just hang around because a flight may take off later. The passenger said that this was very poor customer service and he was one of many forced to postpone or cancel travel plans. After a small protest was staged outside the airport, remaining Libyan Airlines staff went home early and many of the airlines flights from Tripoli International Airport were cancelled. A Libyan Airlines source told the Libya Herald that the unexpected strike was staged by flight deck crew and office staff.

He said that that the ticket sales staff were demanding that a recently-withdrawn bonus system relating to sales be reinstated. Other demands, he said, included the resignation of the chairman of the company and the relocation of the airlines headquarters to Benghazi. One rather obscure sign outside the airport, left by the strikers, read: We want the criminals to be apprehended. A total lack of information from either strikers or the airline itself means that it is not yet clear whether it was a one-day strike or if it is ongoing. An airport source told the Libya Herald: I think it was just for today, but I dont know for sure. Benghazi-based Libyan Airlines pilots staged strikes during March and April. They were demanding that managerial staff should step down from their posts and that the airlines headquarters should be relocated to Benghazi, where the company was established. It is understood that pilots did not take part in todays strike.

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