For the first time in four years, since his wife died of heart failure in their Allentown home, setting off a government investigation into whether he was a terrorist because of the bacteria he kept for his artwork, Steven J. Kurtz is finally free of federal charges.
Kurtz, 49, the University at Buffalo art professor and co-founder of the Critical Art Ensemble, saw a federal judge dismiss the government charges Monday as “insufficient on its face.”
U. S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara said the government could not support the charges of wire fraud and mail fraud for the way Kurtz obtained bacteria from a fellow academic at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Robert E. Ferrell.
The dismissed indictment came as no surprise to Kurtz’s lawyer, Paul J. Cambria, who has described the government’s prosecution as “an unbelievable overreaction.”
Source and full story
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Breaking: 20 arrested in South Dakota anti-hog farm protest
A week long battle against a proposed hog farm west of Wagner, South Dakota has intensified today, as state police, working outside of their jurisdiction arrested 20 Yankton Souix tribal members and allies as they blockaded a road leading to the construction site of the farm.
The week long protests culminating in the road blockade are aimed at shutting down the proposed farm that would produce nearly 70,000 piglets a year for the factory farm industry, Long View Farms, LLC. Multiple concerns have been raised about pollution and smell, factors that have plagued similar developments around the country. The proposed farm would be less than 5 miles from a tribal Headstart program and school for native children.
Last Tuesday, one person was injured as he was hit by a frontloader attempting to start construction on the project. A tribal court has ruled that construction should be halted, and no land belonging to the tribe (including the road where protesters were arrested this morning) can legally be used for the construction project.
That court decision was denied by Long View Farms and their attorneys, and seemingly by the state, as their actions this morning would indicate.
Hundreds have protested the farm proposal through various methods. The blockade this morning was the most militant of the protests thus far, preventing a truck carrying construction materials from entering the site.
Kansas Mutual Aid, a Kansas based anarchist collective is currently accepting funds for the legal defense of those arrested. At this time, the vast majority of the charges appear to be for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Comrades that are at this moment heading to South Dakota to help stand with the Yankton Souix have said an attorney has been secured, but a $5,000 retainer is needed.
Please send any donations to:
Kansas Mutual Aid
PO Box 442438
Lawrence, KS 66044
Or if in Lawrence, we will start accepting legal donations through the Solidarity Center, 1109 Massachusetts Street starting Wednesday April 23rd.
At this time, make checks payable to Kansas Mutual Aid.
We will ensure all funds sent here will be deposited into a fund being created by local indigenous organizers for legal defense of those arrested in South Dakota.
In love and solidarity!
Dave Strano
on behalf of Kansas Mutual Aid
Updates will be posted to staterepressionnews.blogspot.com as they become available.
The week long protests culminating in the road blockade are aimed at shutting down the proposed farm that would produce nearly 70,000 piglets a year for the factory farm industry, Long View Farms, LLC. Multiple concerns have been raised about pollution and smell, factors that have plagued similar developments around the country. The proposed farm would be less than 5 miles from a tribal Headstart program and school for native children.
Last Tuesday, one person was injured as he was hit by a frontloader attempting to start construction on the project. A tribal court has ruled that construction should be halted, and no land belonging to the tribe (including the road where protesters were arrested this morning) can legally be used for the construction project.
That court decision was denied by Long View Farms and their attorneys, and seemingly by the state, as their actions this morning would indicate.
Hundreds have protested the farm proposal through various methods. The blockade this morning was the most militant of the protests thus far, preventing a truck carrying construction materials from entering the site.
Kansas Mutual Aid, a Kansas based anarchist collective is currently accepting funds for the legal defense of those arrested. At this time, the vast majority of the charges appear to be for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Comrades that are at this moment heading to South Dakota to help stand with the Yankton Souix have said an attorney has been secured, but a $5,000 retainer is needed.
Please send any donations to:
Kansas Mutual Aid
PO Box 442438
Lawrence, KS 66044
Or if in Lawrence, we will start accepting legal donations through the Solidarity Center, 1109 Massachusetts Street starting Wednesday April 23rd.
At this time, make checks payable to Kansas Mutual Aid.
We will ensure all funds sent here will be deposited into a fund being created by local indigenous organizers for legal defense of those arrested in South Dakota.
In love and solidarity!
Dave Strano
on behalf of Kansas Mutual Aid
Updates will be posted to staterepressionnews.blogspot.com as they become available.
Breaking: MOVE women denied parole
Three female MOVE members who have been behind bars since the 1978 shootout that killed Philadelphia Police Officer James Ramp and injured seven others were denied parole this morning, according to a spokesman for the state Board of Probation and Parole.
Debbie Sims Africa, Janet Hollaway Africa and Jeanene Phillips Africa were just informed of the decision and the reasons for the rejection, spokesman Leo Dunn said.
Dunn said each was informed they had minimized or denied the "nature and circumstances" of the offense, "refused to accept responsibility" and lacked remorse.
He said the fourth reason for the rejections was the "negative recommendation" by the prosecutor.
Decisions are still pending for four other MOVE members eligible for parole consideration this month. Five of nine votes would be required for parole to be granted.
Source and full story
Debbie Sims Africa, Janet Hollaway Africa and Jeanene Phillips Africa were just informed of the decision and the reasons for the rejection, spokesman Leo Dunn said.
Dunn said each was informed they had minimized or denied the "nature and circumstances" of the offense, "refused to accept responsibility" and lacked remorse.
He said the fourth reason for the rejections was the "negative recommendation" by the prosecutor.
Decisions are still pending for four other MOVE members eligible for parole consideration this month. Five of nine votes would be required for parole to be granted.
Source and full story
Arizona: Bill would permit confiscation of books opposed to American values like capitalism
Arizona schools whose courses "denigrate American values and the teachings of Western civilization" could lose state funding under the terms of legislation approved Wednesday by a House panel.
SB1108 also would bar teaching practices that "overtly encourage dissent" from those values, including democracy, capitalism, pluralism and religious tolerance. Schools would have to surrender teaching materials to the state superintendent of public instruction, who could withhold state aid from districts that broke the law.
Another section of the bill would bar public schools, community colleges and universities from allowing organizations to operate on campus if it is "based in whole or in part on race-based criteria," a provision Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said is aimed at MEChA, the Moviemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a student group.
The 9-6 vote by the Appropriations Committee sends the measure to the full House.
Source and full story
SB1108 also would bar teaching practices that "overtly encourage dissent" from those values, including democracy, capitalism, pluralism and religious tolerance. Schools would have to surrender teaching materials to the state superintendent of public instruction, who could withhold state aid from districts that broke the law.
Another section of the bill would bar public schools, community colleges and universities from allowing organizations to operate on campus if it is "based in whole or in part on race-based criteria," a provision Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said is aimed at MEChA, the Moviemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, a student group.
The 9-6 vote by the Appropriations Committee sends the measure to the full House.
Source and full story
South Dakota: Hog farm battle continues, tribal members remove blockade
Members of the Yankton Sioux Tribe who had blocked the road to the construction site of a controversial large-scale hog farm near Wagner this morning dismantled their roadblock at the request of a tribal official.
A group of a couple dozen people had pulled vehicles onto the road about a half mile north of the site miles west of Wagner.
But tribal Vice Chairman John Stone later got the people to move off the road, telling them that if they didn’t, they risk being arrested.
Stone said the tribe can’t block the road until it gets documentation from the Bureau of Indian Affairs showing that it’s a tribal road, not a county road.
“We need time to get the documents,” he said.
Source and full story
A group of a couple dozen people had pulled vehicles onto the road about a half mile north of the site miles west of Wagner.
But tribal Vice Chairman John Stone later got the people to move off the road, telling them that if they didn’t, they risk being arrested.
Stone said the tribe can’t block the road until it gets documentation from the Bureau of Indian Affairs showing that it’s a tribal road, not a county road.
“We need time to get the documents,” he said.
Source and full story
South Carolina: Deportation prisons proposed
Under a new proposal, three regional prisons would hold all of South Carolina's illegal immigrants as they await deportation, officials said, easing the burden on local jails but raising the concerns of some advocates for the poor.
Several counties in North Carolina also have been considering similar prisons.
Under South Carolina's current system, illegal immigrants who commit crimes are held in county jails while they wait for the Department of Homeland Security to transfer them to Atlanta, the closest federal immigration court. Sheriffs of some S.C. counties already complain that their jails operate every day above their capacity, and removing inmates slated for deportation to a special holding facility could help.
Drafted by the S.C. Sheriffs' Association after discussions with the governor's office and federal immigration officials, the new plan divides the state into three broad regions, and places an approximately 400-bed jail in each region.
Source and full story
Several counties in North Carolina also have been considering similar prisons.
Under South Carolina's current system, illegal immigrants who commit crimes are held in county jails while they wait for the Department of Homeland Security to transfer them to Atlanta, the closest federal immigration court. Sheriffs of some S.C. counties already complain that their jails operate every day above their capacity, and removing inmates slated for deportation to a special holding facility could help.
Drafted by the S.C. Sheriffs' Association after discussions with the governor's office and federal immigration officials, the new plan divides the state into three broad regions, and places an approximately 400-bed jail in each region.
Source and full story
Anti-war GI resister jailed pending court-martial
25-year old PFC Jackson joined the Army in 2005, and aspired to join the Special Forces. While stationed in Korea, inspired by the writings of Vietnam and Iraq war objectors, Jackson began to rethink his involvement in the Army.
“I feel ashamed every day,” Jackson wrote in his recent conscientious objector (CO) application. “I feel ashamed for taking part in the killing of others, and for allowing my comrades to be killed themselves. By putting on a uniform, I am showing my support. … I can no longer be a part of the Armed Forces or any organization of a violent nature.”
After two and a half years of honorable service, Ryan says he could no longer ignore his conscience. “Once my beliefs started to evolve and change, I became a different person,” he explains. “It starts to take a hold of you, giving you hope that you can make a difference, that you can change what you are doing, and that it is not too late!”
After surrendering to the military at Fort Sill, he was ordered to return to his unit at Fort Gordon, Georgia—which he did without escort. Once he arrived at Fort Gordon, however, he was placed under arrest. Ryan has been held in the brig under pre-trial confinement for the last week.
Source and full story
“I feel ashamed every day,” Jackson wrote in his recent conscientious objector (CO) application. “I feel ashamed for taking part in the killing of others, and for allowing my comrades to be killed themselves. By putting on a uniform, I am showing my support. … I can no longer be a part of the Armed Forces or any organization of a violent nature.”
After two and a half years of honorable service, Ryan says he could no longer ignore his conscience. “Once my beliefs started to evolve and change, I became a different person,” he explains. “It starts to take a hold of you, giving you hope that you can make a difference, that you can change what you are doing, and that it is not too late!”
After surrendering to the military at Fort Sill, he was ordered to return to his unit at Fort Gordon, Georgia—which he did without escort. Once he arrived at Fort Gordon, however, he was placed under arrest. Ryan has been held in the brig under pre-trial confinement for the last week.
Source and full story
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