2010.09.27: Protest Against FBI Attack on Union and Other Activists

From:  Letwin, Michael
Sent: Monday, September 27, 2010 9:35 AM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Protest Against FBI Attack on Union and Other Activists

In the wake of 9/11, ALAA condemned the government’s “assault on precious civil liberties and democratic rights.” In Defense of Civil Liberties (February 21, 2002), https://alaa2325.wordpress.com/2002/02/21/in-defense-of-civil-liberties/

Our resolution specifically deplored attempts to suppress antiwar dissent through false accusations of “terrorism,” and through “FBI spying on domestic religious and political organizations.” Such measures, it pointed out, “mirrors other shameful periods of racial, ethnic and/or political hysteria in American history,” including McCarthyism in the 1950s and the FBI’s COINTELPRO campaign against Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists in the 1960s.

Last week, the FBI launched just such an attack by raiding the homes of antiwar and Palestine rights activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and elsewhere. Among the targets is Joe Iosbaker, a staff member at University of Illinois at Chicago and a steward for Service Employees International Union Local 73. (SEIU is 1199’s parent union.) As in the past, the clear purpose of these raids is to punish, intimidate and silence domestic opponents of U.S. war policies.

Opposition to this attack will include an NYC protest from 4:30-6:00 on Tuesday at FBI headquarters, 26 Federal Plaza.

Further information is listed below:

FBI Raids: Protests in 27 cities this week called by solidarity activists
The anti-war activists targeted by FBI agents with search warrants Friday said they did nothing wrong, voicing resolve at a West Side rally today to continue opposing U.S. policy in the Middle East and South America.
http://www.iacenter.org/actions/fbi-raids092610/

Labor Beat: Chicago Press Conference Protests FBI Raids
On Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010 a press conference was held to protest the FBI raids the day before on Chicago-area anti-war activists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-ugQusghXw

Activists call FBI raids massive “fishing expedition”
The definition of terrorist organization is deeply political. For example, organizations that have planned and executed attacks on Cuba are not included on the U.S. government’s list. And during apartheid in South Africa, the now-ruling African National Congress was deemed a terrorist organization by the Reagan-Bush administrations.
http://www.examiner.com/independent-in-chicago/activists-call-fbi-raids-massive-fishing-expedition

Chicagoans Investigated for Terrorism
A Logan Square couple investigated for alleged ties to terrorist organizations, says they are victims of government intimidation. But they are not afraid
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/joe-iosbaker-stephanie-weiner-investigated-20100925

Inspector General Criticism Doesn’t Faze FBI Raids on Midwestern Anti-war Activists
The war on dissent, rather than terrorism, continued full steam with FBI SWAT teams breaking down doors at 7 am Friday (Sept 24) morning and raiding the homes of several anti-war leaders and activists in Minneapolis, Chicago and possibly a couple other Midwest cities.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/coleen-rowley/inspector-general-critici_b_738932.html

2010.09.24: FYI: 18 women claim Brooklyn cop Charles Derosalia illegally strip-searched them

From:  Letwin, Michael
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 4:43 PM
To: CRIMINAL BKLYN ATTYS ALL
Subject: FYI: 18 women claim Brooklyn cop Charles Derosalia illegally strip-searched them

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/24/2010-09-24_eighteen_women_claim_brooklyn_cop_charles_derosalia_illegally_stripsearched_them.html

18 women claim Brooklyn cop Charles Derosalia illegally strip-searched them

BY Joe Jackson and John Marzulli

DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Friday, September 24th 2010, 4:00 AM

An NYPD narcotics detective is facing dismissal over allegations he improperly strip-searched 18 women – but he’s calling them all lying druggies.

Two of the women have filed federal suits against Detective Charles Derosalia, including Claudia Bova, who says he forced her to pull her pants down so he could photograph a below-the-navel tattoo with a cell phone camera.

The married Derosalia is facing departmental trial. Bova and three other women have testified so far. If Derosalia is found guilty of the charges, he’ll likely be fired.

The probe was launched after Bova complained about the incident, which took place in a bathroom at the Brooklyn district attorney’s office in June 2007.

She had been arrested in a Coney Island drug sweep and later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and got drug treatment.

Investigators from the Internal Affairs Bureau tracked down dozens of women who had been arrested in similar sweeps by Derosalia’s team at Brooklyn South Narcotics, and 17 others said they had been strip searched by him.

NYPD regulations prohibit male cops from performing strip searches of female prisoners.

Bova’s lawyer Nicole Bellina said she was shocked to learn the number of victims.

“[Derosalia] assumed he was never going to be called out on his behavior,” said Bellina, who has filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court.

None of the women accuse Derosalia of touching them – or himself – during the prohibited searches.

Another woman who testified, Quantalis Legrand, claims Derosalia watched her change out of pajamas into street clothes, exposing her breasts and panties to him in the bedroom of her Avenue X apartment.

She claims in her suit that Derosalia ordered her to lift her shirt and pull down her pants at the 61st Precinct stationhouse so he could check for contraband.

Outside his Long Island home yesterday, Derosalia said the women are liars.

“Of course I’m denying it,” he said. “Unfortunately, people can sue you all the time.”

Derosalia, 31, said his wife and family are standing behind him.

“They know how . . . stuff gets blown up,” he said.

Defense lawyer James Moschella called the women “admitted drug addicts” and “opportunists,” adding that Derosalia will take the stand in his own defense in November when the departmental trial resumes.

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/24/2010-09-24_eighteen_women_claim_brooklyn_cop_charles_derosalia_illegally_stripsearched_them.html#ixzz10Tvjdf2M

 

2010.09.24: Upcoming Anti-Bigotry Events

From:  Letwin, Michael
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2010 12:25 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Upcoming Anti-Bigotry Events

Sunday, September 26, 11-1: Rally/Protest to Support Sheepshead Bay Proposed Mosque
Join a diverse group of New Yorkers for a rally/protest to support the proposed Mosque/Community Center on Voorhies Avenue and the local Muslim community. Stand with us as we say NO to anti-Muslim bigotry in Brooklyn and in all of New York.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=115268671865113&ref=mf

Thursday, September 30, 7 p.m.: Resisting Islamophobia; Anti-Muslim Politics in the U.S. and Abroad
A forum and discussion featuring Nada Khader, Adam Horowitz, and Louis Cristillo.
http://www.stopislamophobia.org/?page_id=272

2010.09.23: FYI: Tenants slapped with trespassing tickets by NYPD, but they were just going inside their own home

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2010 12:33 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: FYI: Tenants slapped with trespassing tickets by NYPD, but they were just going inside their own home

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/23/2010-09-23_ticket_tenants_for_trespassing_on_own_homes.html

Tenants slapped with trespassing tickets by NYPD, but they were just going inside their own home BY Rocco Parascandola DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF

Thursday, September 23rd 2010, 4:00 AM

Brothers Lindsey (left) and Michael Riddick were hit with trespassing.

A Brooklyn man standing in front of his apartment was hit with a trespassing ticket, even after cops watched him use his key to get inside.

Lindsey Riddick, still fuming over the bizarre Aug. 18 incident, said he showed police his identification. And when he opened the door to the Flatbush home, his girlfriend and two daughters greeted him and then ran outside the apartment.

“I told the officer, ‘I live here and I have the key,'” recalled Riddick, 36, whose brother, Michael Riddick, also got a summons for trespassing. “You’re giving me a summons? Come on, man. You got to be kidding me.”

The brothers’ claims have been added to a class action federal suit initially filed in May that accuses city cops of doling out illegal summonses to meet quotas.

“This is another example of police trespassing on people’s constitutional rights just to fill a quota,” said the brothers’ lawyer, Jon Norinsberg. “There’s something terribly wrong with how the NYPD operates and it has to be fixed.”

Police officials didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment about the Brooklyn incident or the suit. Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne denied the NYPD has quotas, calling the suggestion “absurd.”

“Fortunately, most police officers do their jobs well, and in no case is anyone demanding police officers take action on nonexistent conditions,” Browne said.

Michael Riddick, 33, an exterminator, made an audio recording of part of the August confrontation. An officer told the brothers they had to go inside the home.

“You don’t own the street,” said the one of the cops, identified by the brothers and a source as rookie Officer Marvin Esson. “You don’t live in the street.”

The Riddick brothers both have drug convictions, but said they were minding their business when approached by police that night.

The class action suit has 22 plaintiffs alleging bogus summonses across the city. In 19 of the cases, the summonses were dismissed. The cases against the Riddick brothers are pending. The disposition in one case wasn’t clear late yesterday.

Norinsberg, who represents the brothers, was also retained by Officer Adrian Schoolcraft. Assigned to the 81st Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Schoolcraft filed a $50 million suit accusing the NYPD of forcing him into a mental institution after he claimed supervisors were fudging crime stats. The class action suit references Schoolcraft and Officer Adhyl Polanco, who made similar accusations against the supervisors in the 41st Precinct in the Bronx.

Deputy Inspector Donald McHugh, the commanding officer of the 41st Precinct, was transferred last week. Sources said he was transferred over Polanco’s accusations.

rparascandola@nydailynews.com

2010.09.22: Tonight: Gaza Flotilla: Fact, Fiction & the Law

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 1:04 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Tonight: Gaza Flotilla: Fact, Fiction & the Law

FLOTILLA: FACT, FICTION & THE LAW

Wednesday, September 22 at 6pm

250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn NY 11201

Subotnick Center, 10th Floor

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, recently announced the formation of a panel to look into the deadly Israeli raid of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. On board were 663 people from 37 countries. Nine activists were shot and killed, with dozens injured during the raid. America’s top military commanders believe that Israel’s actions are putting our interests in the region in danger. Vice President Biden recently told Netenyahu, “What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.”

Please join us September 22 as our esteemed panel discusses the incident and the humanitarian crisis that prompted the mission. Dinner will be served.

Speakers:

GLENN GREENWALD is a Constitutional lawyer and Salon columnist. He has appeared on a variety of television and radio programs, including C-Span’s “Washington Journal,” Air America’s “Majority Report” and Public Radio International’s “To the Point.”

RASHID KHALIDI is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He was an advisor to the Palestinian delegation during the Madrid peace conference in 1991. Dr. Khalidi has also been a guest on numerous radio and TV shows.

FATIMA MOHAMMADI, a lawyer and activist, was aboard the Mavi Marmara when the Israeli commando attack occurred and will give her eyewitness account of what happened.

Sponsored by: Network of Arab-American Professionals of NY (NAAP-NY), Muslim Law Students Association at Brooklyn Law School, Islamic Law Students Association at New York University, National Lawyers Guild- BLS chapter, Adalah-NY, Brooklyn For Peace

2010.09.22: Tonight: Gaza Flotilla: Fact, Fiction & the Law

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 2010 1:04 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Tonight: Gaza Flotilla: Fact, Fiction & the Law

FLOTILLA: FACT, FICTION & THE LAW

Wednesday, September 22 at 6pm

250 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn NY 11201

Subotnick Center, 10th Floor

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, recently announced the formation of a panel to look into the deadly Israeli raid of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. On board were 663 people from 37 countries. Nine activists were shot and killed, with dozens injured during the raid. America’s top military commanders believe that Israel’s actions are putting our interests in the region in danger. Vice President Biden recently told Netenyahu, “What you’re doing here undermines the security of our troops who are fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. That endangers us and it endangers regional peace.”

Please join us September 22 as our esteemed panel discusses the incident and the humanitarian crisis that prompted the mission. Dinner will be served.

Speakers:

GLENN GREENWALD is a Constitutional lawyer and Salon columnist. He has appeared on a variety of television and radio programs, including C-Span’s “Washington Journal,” Air America’s “Majority Report” and Public Radio International’s “To the Point.”

RASHID KHALIDI is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University. He was an advisor to the Palestinian delegation during the Madrid peace conference in 1991. Dr. Khalidi has also been a guest on numerous radio and TV shows.

FATIMA MOHAMMADI, a lawyer and activist, was aboard the Mavi Marmara when the Israeli commando attack occurred and will give her eyewitness account of what happened.

Sponsored by: Network of Arab-American Professionals of NY (NAAP-NY), Muslim Law Students Association at Brooklyn Law School, Islamic Law Students Association at New York University, National Lawyers Guild- BLS chapter, Adalah-NY, Brooklyn For Peace

2010.09.20: Brooklyn cops attacked us at Labor Day BBQ, lawsuit claims

From: Letwin, Michael
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 1:45 PM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Brooklyn cops attacked us at Labor Day BBQ, lawsuit claims

Our colleague among the victims.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/20/2010-09-20_cops_attacked_us_at_bbq_suit_claims.html

Brooklyn cops attacked us at Labor Day BBQ, lawsuit claims BY John Marzulli DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, September 20th 2010, 4:00 AM

An end-of-summer Labor Day barbecue turned ugly when Brooklyn cops rushed in, hitting partygoers with batons and dousing them with pepper spray, witnesses told the Daily News.

Some revelers were knocked into a backyard pool during the Sept. 5 melee at an East Flatbush home, witnesses claim.

“The police were grabbing people and beating people who were trying to leave,” said Japel Filiaci, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society who attended the shindig.

“I was shocked. When I saw the helicopter overhead, I thought I was in the middle of a made-for-TV movie.

“There was nothing going on to justify this nonsense,” Filiaci said.

A group of 10 partygoers plans to file a $50 million lawsuit today against the city and the NYPD, claiming cops overreacted when they shut down the barbecue at Rodney and Kesha Terry’s home.

It’s an annual party, and many guests were civil servants who came with spouses and children.

One guest suffered a broken leg during the brawl and another had broken ribs, according to their lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein. Other plaintiffs were bandaged and had bruises that were still visible Wednesday, more than a week after the fight.

Six of the 10 suing the city were arrested in the fight, mainly on misdemeanor charges. Louis Mabry, whose ribs were broken, was charged with felony assault on a police officer.

An NYPD spokeswoman said the incident is under investigation.

“It is unacceptable for law-abiding citizens to be assaulted by police and then falsely arrested to cover up these assaults,” Rubenstein said.

Rubenstein said the partygoers were complying with orders to move double-parked cars and clear the sidewalk when an NYPD lieutenant told cops to move in around 2:30 a.m.

A guest who works as a court officer in the Bronx and was not arrested said the lieutenant announced, “‘The party’s f—— over.'”

“Then I seen a lot of people getting Maced – men, women and children,” said the man, who asked not to be named.

The cops pushed their way through the crowd of about 125, swinging batons and knocking several people into the inground swimming pool, Rubenstein said.

It was the second time cops were at the house that night. About 9:30 p.m., cops asked the owners to turn down the music, which they did, Rubenstein said.

“It wasn’t a party of young people with a ton of testosterone,” said Filiaci, who went to the party with her mother and daughter.

“I hear clients tell these stories daily describing these scenarios, but nothing could compare to being in the middle of one,” Filiaci said. “I was outraged.”

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/20/2010-09-20_cops_attacked_us_at_bbq_suit_claims.html#ixzz104agSRu7

 

2010.09.10: Still On: Tomorrow’s March Against Racism and Anti-Muslim Bigotry

From:  Letwin, Michael
Sent: Friday, September 10, 2010 10:22 AM
To: 1199 Members; ALAA MEMBERS
Subject: Still On: Tomorrow’s March Against Racism and Anti-Muslim Bigotry

[Legal observers are still needed for this event]

The Emergency March Against Racism and Anti-Muslim Bigotry Is On!

Join us on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 1 pm Park Place & Broadway – NY City Hall Park

for a March and Rally

SAY NO TO RACISM AND ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY!

SAY YES TO UNITY AND SOLIDARITY!

The Forces of Hate Are Still Planning to Rally Sept. 11!

That is Not the Face of New York City, and We Will Not
Let Them Own That Day! We Will Be There Too!

Join Us!

Are We Still Marching on September 11^th?   YES!

Thursday afternoon the top media story was racist Pastor Terry Jones in Gainesville, Florida announcing that he was cancelling his planned 9/11 Quran burning. This came after heavy pressure from the White House and Pentagon fearful of the response in the Muslim world. It is also a grassroots victory based on the mass mobilization against this ugly threat taken on in Gainesville, Florida by the local Students for a Democratic Society – SDS.

Jones claimed to have an agreement  from the organizers of the Park51 Islamic Community Center to move the center. This was soon exposed as a lie.

We can be certain that pressure will continue on the Islamic Community Center to move, both from openly racist media, politicians and Tea Party types, as well as from White House and Pentagon figures trying to defuse an explosive situation.

And we can also be certain that the media will continue to ask organizers of the Unity Against Racism Rally, “Why not postpone your rally in case this can all be worked out? Why are you still marching?”

We ask, in turn:

• Have the racists and anti-Muslim bigots called off their 9/11 hatefest? The opposition to this bigotry, and a call for unity, equal rights and solidarity with Muslims was always the motivation behind the Unity Rally on September 11.
• Have the racists agreed to stop their nationwide campaign of mosque desecration and vandalism, of shooting, physical attacks, and harassment of worshippers, of trying to ban construction of new mosques and community centers?
• Have the media and politicians agreed to stop their campaign of lies against Islam, claiming it is not deserving of the respect shown other religions?
• Have those saying the Park51 location is “insensitive” changed their view that Islam is a second-class religion which somehow besmirches “sacred ground”?
• Have the White House and Pentagon agreed to call off their murders of people in predominantly Muslim countries, via war, drone attacks and assassinations? Have they agreed to free those illegally detained, abused, and tortured in Guantanamo and elsewhere? Are they withdrawing their “security-secrets” rationale for denying Muslim victims of torture the right to sue to expose and seek redress for their ill-treatment? Is it stopping FBI infiltration of mosques and harassment and intimidation of worshippers? Is the Justice Department ending its campaign of “preemptive prosecutions” of Muslims?

Unfortunately, we must answer NO to all of the above questions. And, therefore, we say in the spirit of unity, equal rights and solidarity:

YES, WE ARE STILL MARCHING – UNITED, DETERMINED AND STRONG – ON SEPTEMBER 11^TH!  JOIN US!

For more information, please see : http://www.iacenter.org/­muslimsolidarity/

2010.09.09: RE: Info about counter-demo against anti-mosque demo called by tea party

From:  Letwin, Michael
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 2:47 PM
To: Fry, Julie; ALAA MEMBERS; 1199 Members
Subject: RE: Info about counter-demo against anti-mosque demo called by tea party

As part of this effort, a growing number of union members (including some at LAS) have signed a statement, “New York City Workers Stand with the Muslim, Arab, and South Asian Communities: Our Grief Is Not an Excuse for Racism, Islamophobia, Bigotry or War,” posted at: http://www.laborforpalestine.net/wp/2010/09/07/workers-stand-with-the-muslim-arab-and-south-asian-communities/

To sign on, please go to: http://www.laborforpalestine.net/wp/2010/09/07/workers-stand-with-the-muslim-arab-and-south-asian-communities/#form

_____________________________________________

From:  Fry, Julie

Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2010 12:32 PM

To: ALAA MEMBERS; 1199 Members

Subject: Info about counter-demo against anti-mosque demo called by tea party

This is a link to a flier about a counter-demonstration being called this Saturday, 9/11 against an anti-mosque demonstration called by tea party supporters and other generally bigoted groups.  I just would like to point out, in anticipation of some of the negative replies, that the groups calling this counter-demo aren’t calling it against the memory of 9/11 and aren’t protesting any of the memorial services.  It was the right-wing who called a demonstration on 9/11 and this is a demonstration against bigotry.

The organizers are also asking for legal observers, so if you can volunteer, please let me know.

http://www.iacenter.org/img/sept11082910.pdf