Video of the march

I thought they were going to march straight to the GAP and storm it as vengeance for the police violence here on Mayday and later arrests. Instead, the march wound it’s way east and south, passing through areas where National Police Week festivities were taking place. Nothing was stormed, I don’t think the intel needed to locate specific targets had been gathered. The whole thing was organized very quickly.

One of the speakers during the march was one of 4 people out of 9 victims of the original Chicago NATO raids who was released. The Chicago pigs stormed the house she was staying at, and at one point cocked a pistol and put it to her head. That will not be forgotten by anyone, but may not be remembered the way the gunman wanted it remembered.

The main message of the protest was that holding activists without trial for a year, and putting activists into extreme incarceration in Communications Management Unit prisons, the things they have done to the NATO 5, have crossed a bright red line. Treating protesters at terrorists is going to have ugly consequences if it continues. It has before, it surely will again. If protest is outlawed, only outlaws can protest.

The NATO 5 case has occurred almost concurrently with the Seattle Grand Jury witch-hunt that generated multiple grand jury resistors in jail for months (2 months in solidary), at least one underground, another abroad, no useful snitches-and at least 72 retaliatory strikes all over Turtle Island against upscale businesses, pro-gentrification groups, and even police stations and courthouses.

The police here seemed to have realized they too crossed a line in the sand with their assaults on protesters on Mayday at the GAP and elsewhere, and they were on their best behavior. Not once did I see a cop make threats or attempt to pick a fight, in sharp contrast to their behavior on Mayday beginning at the very start of that march. Several key cops that made trouble on Mayday were not seen on the street, if they were there they stayed in their cars. I think they had some explaining to do when they got back to their station after Mayday.

Video of the May 15th protest

Midnight of the 15th of May is the deadline for retailers to sign the factory safety agreement that could have prevented this collapse, had it been in effect at that time. As of 6PM on May 15th, Children’s Place has not signed that agreement. Protesters were on hand to demand they do so, and were able to deliver a letter to the store manager. Unfortunately the response was a poorply-writtenm pre-printed form letter in reply. This did list a phone number, which everyone with a cell phone promptly called!

Just over 1,100 bodies were recovered from Rana Plaza by the time the Bangladeshi military gave up on recovery efforts.

Cops knew about the protest in advance, and formed a defense line in front of the door. This probably turned away many more customers than the picket line did, given how many people cross picket lines these days. The picket turned away more, so I suspect sure the Children’s Place lost money as a result of this protest.

Speaking of cops, the cops who usually show up at every protest were absent, perhaps in recognition of MPD’s role in starting the fighting at the GAP protest on Mayday. Speaking of the GAP, there was another protest there about the same collapsed factory building on Saturday, the 11th of May without problems.

Video: Video Highlights of the rally

Video: Rev Hagler’s speech

The bill would require retailers whose corporate parents make at least $ billion a year and whose stores have at least 75,000 square feet of space to pay a wage of at least $11.75 an hour. They would also be required to offer cerrtain benefits as well.

At least two of the speakers at this rally indicated they had also participanted in the Poor People’s March from Baltimore to DC that ended on the 12th of May.

Video: Scenes from Day 1, late afternoon
Video: Poor People’s March Day 2 video highlights
Video: An Oakland mother speaks out at the closing rally on the murder of her son by police

Just south of Baltimore, about 8PM 5-11-2013

5-11, Day 1
The first day of the 41 mile march was marked by two incidents. A Burger King in Baltimore refused to allow marchers who had already bought food to use the toilets, causing the entire march to get up and walk out.

In mid-afternoon, the march diverted off of Route 1 to protest poverty wages at a Wal-Mart on the outskirts of Baltimore. Police diverted the motorcade and were aggressive towards the marchers. Somehow a serious confrontation was averted, and this ended in the Wal-Mart protesters dancing in victory.

The first of a series of thunderstorms rolled in at about 6PM, forcing the marchers into a Subway to wait it out and rest. By the time the storm was over, it was 7:45PM, and the march was only 15 miles into a 30 mile Day 1 planned distance to College Park. As a result, the majority of the marchers had to pile into the suppport caravan and drive directly to College Park, where welcomers expected them.

A smaller contingent continued on foot-and 13 of them made it all the way to College Park, arriving at about 5:30AM. It rained and thunderstormed most of the night. They got about two hours sleep before setting out for Hyattsville, where the rest of the march was preparing to set out on the 10 mile leg to Freedom Plaza.

The whole march back together again,morning of May 12, heading towards DC

The Poor Peoples Campaign’s march from Baltimore to DC reached Freedom Plaza at 3:13PM, only 13 minutes off their 3PM scheduled time of arrival, after what for the 13 marchers who went the whole way on foot was a brutal 9 and a half hour night march, and a much easier 4 hour mid-day march with the now much larger group.

One of the speakers at the closing rally was a woman from all the way out in Oakland whose sun was shot by Oakland cops after running from an incident that did not involve him in any way. According to her, his last works were “why did you shoot me?” She is demanding that the cop who murdered her son be sent to prison, saying a 25 year sentence would be about right.

She warned Obama to do something about killer cops in Oakland, and the Oakland Mayor to do the same, or they would both lose their jobs the way the Oakland police chief and his deputy police chief both did.

This was the first sit-in I’ve ever seen where young children (not teens) risked arrest alongside their parents to ensure their own futures. It is these very children the coal bosxses told to drink the foul sludge coming from their wells-or move away from the mountains forever.

After nearly two hours, Mary Stoner, who is assistant administrator for water at EPA come outside, met with protesters, and accepted samples of the water as well as the letter protesters had brought. She refused to sign anything, but accepted the delivery. Now let’s hope EPA does their job and cuts off the source of the poison contaminating Appalachia residents’ drinking water. That cannot be done without either banning mountaintop removal mining outright or making it totally unprofitable, which would have the same result.

There was one ugly side note: less than a day before the rally, an announcement appeard on Stromfront inviting white racists to participate, claiming solidarity with the people of Appalachia. I didn’t see any of them, but there were a lot of T-shirts proclaiming the wearers to be anti-racist and supporting a ban on mountaintop removal. These were a necessary response to the effort by racist groups to exploit the ugly mess the coal barons have made in Appalachia.

1 min short video

Many are now undergoing 24 hour solidarity fasts in public places, but one of the Code Pink activists had a sign announcing Day 6 of her hunger strike in solidarity with the Gitmo hunger strikers.

Conditions at Guantanimo Bay are deteriorating fast. On the 23ed of April, US troops attacked the detainees en masse, forcing them back to individual cells from communal living. This was a failed attempt to break the will of the hunger strikers. It failed, and the hunger strike has now grown to well over half the detainees.

Video Highlights note: start to finish clips on file in encrypted storage

Familes of those entrapped by the US are taking a page from the familes of the disappeared in Argentina, where family members of those taken by the former military regime have been instrumental in demanding justice

Much of the day’s emphasis was on the horrors wrought by the deliberate use of a strategy of “pre-emptive prosecution” where the FBI seeks to put people in jail just in case they later decide to do something. This is clearly the objective when undercover provocateurs are used in an effort to get people to agree to carry out acts they otherwise would not. Don’t EVER think this is only for Muslims like the Fort Dix 5. The Cleveland anarchist/bridge case and the people antrapped by Anna are examples of the use of the same strategy against anarchists, animal and Earth liberation activists.

Others were imprisoned on outright false charges for running charities like the Holy Land Foundation that provided food to hungry people, and some seemingly just for being Muslim. This truly is a witch-hunt, with Muslims as the “heretics of the day” for not one but two crusading American presidents.

Really GOOD video of fighting at GAP store, by “VisionPlanetMedia” on Youtube

DC Direct Action News video:Fighting erupts at the GAP after undercover cop drops GUN, not as good but another angle on same events

Nazis spark 3ed round of police attacks, fighting by White House

Early in the march, one or two cops in their cars acted like they were trying to start something with the marchers. One undercover in a gray sweashirt and dark shades was identified near the front of the march as it began. I have a photo, but have NOT published as I am not sure I got the same guy. It is on file under secure encryption. I do not know if this is the same guy that dropped his gun and holster together while trying to tackle someone at the GAP.

The first confrontation was touched off when cops arrested one person for unknown reasons when the march was on 14th st. The crowd swarmed back, and police were forced to abandon what appeared to be an attempt to arrest another person as protesters ringed them in. The cops did manage to escape with two prisoners according to the latest report, as the marchers didn’t stay put long enough to force the issue all the way to the end. Strangly, at one point I was told that ALL arrestees had been unarrested, but unfortunately that report was false.

After the 14th st confrontation, the march then continued, and it seemed the trouble was over. It was not. When marchers rushed into the GAP outlet on Connecticut Ave, the shit really hit the fan. Protesters were there because GAP labels were found in the infamous Tazareen factory fire in Bangladesh, where workers are fighting furiously to put an end to sweatshops and factory deaths. The GAP is a notorious seller of sweatshop goods. Until the uprisings trigged by the rash of factory fires and the recent factory collapse, multinationals were scrambling to switch from China to Bangladesh due to lower wages.

Now the big clothing retailers are cancelling orders from Bangladesh as huge protests there block shipping from harbors and strikes idle the sweatshops. Protesters in Bangladesh are demanding the execution of the owners of the factory that recently collapsed.

Police vigorously resisted protests at the GAP, and at one point appeared to try to seal several protesters inside. At least one person, maybe more, was arrested there. Suddenly, a person dressed as a protester tackled another protester-and a GUN and holster tumbled out of his clothing to the street. That person was an undercover cop, and their carelessness could have killed people.

With life and death potentially on the line, an incredibly furious street battle erupted instantly. I do not know if the cops managed to make any further arrests, but it was very clear they had to give some to get some, the fight appeared almost evenly matched or possibly a slight edge favoring the protesters.

I have not seen this kind of fighting over protesters entering a public building since IMF protesters stormed the Washington Circle Hotel back in Spring 2010, and even that was not as violent. Since then, protesters rushing the doors, occupying a lobby, then leaving after half an hour or so has been a common occurance in DC with little violence resulting-until now.

After an unknown but apparently low number of arrests, this battle burned itself out, and protesters again returned to the streets to finish the intended march. Only thing was, the “White Student Union” from Towson, including outright neo-Nazis, was also by the White House to counterprotest, sparking a third round of street fighting and intense wrestling over asphalt. At first it looked like the cops wanted to remove the Nazis from the area, but they quickly returned to their usual role of protecting the Nazis, the way they always do,

Despite more police attacks on Mayday marchers, and at least one more person assisted from the field by medics, the Nazis were slowly pushed farther back-and at least one Nazi flag ended up a trophy of war, with pieces of it tied to an activist’s bike.

There were 4 reported arrests at the Mayday parade. This could have been far worse, if the marchers had not supported their comrades fully.

I also saw at least two people helped away from the action by activist medics, and at least one person arrested was also injured.

Video:The Silent Heroes speak

Will Potter of “Green is the New Red” moderated the discussion and Jennifer Kaplan (Kteeo’s attorney) was also present.

Matt and Kteoo were sent to solitary as retaliation for their supporters protesting outside the jail, but this backfired: they became furious and wrote long statements to the judge vowing NEVER to give in and NEVER to snitch. These statements were sucessfully used in court to argue that their detention had become punitive rather than “cooercive,” this prohibiting any further confinement for “civil contempt” and bringing about their release.

Video of attempt to meet with Mars candy billionaire Forrest Mars jr.

Candy billionaire Forrest Mars Jr found out a few years ago that a Tongue River Railroad, a proposed coal export rail line in Montana would cross his ranch. At first he funded opposition, but then be bought the development rights and rerouted the line to miss his own land and change nothing else.

If Mr Mars and the rest of those with big investments in exporting US coal get their way, we will all have to live on Mars to escape the “return” on their investment in climate chaos!