This comes, of course, in response to activist pressure. On Aug. 17, a lively grassroots “public hearing” on the proposed regulations was held at St. Marks Church in the East Village, where at least three City Council members spoke out… Read moreNYC: another victory in Critical Mass struggle
One year after the hysteria that followed the London bombings, we are treated to yet another terrorist scare emanating from the UK, with the alleged plot to blow up airliners mid-flight by mixing combustible liquids, supposedly discovered in the nick… Read more2nd Circuit upholds subway searches
Another turn of the screw. The NYPD unveils draconian new regulations in the ongoing crackdown on the Critical Mass bicyclists. The elitist New York Timess refuses to put this fine July 21 column by Clyde Haberman online for free, but… Read moreNYC: new regs in Critical Mass crackdown
“¡Farouk Vive! ¡La Lucha Sigue!” Vigil Commemorating the Life of Farouk Abdel-Muhti New York-based Palestinian activist Farouk Abdel-Muhti died suddenly of a heart attack on July 21, 2004, three weeks before his 57th birthday and 100 days after he was… Read moreNew York activists remember Farouk Abdel-Muhti
Remember how the firefighters, cops and rescue workers who answered the call of duty at New York’s Ground Zero were exploited shamelessly for war propaganda—as if saving lives in New York was somehow the same as taking lives in Iraq?… Read moreNYC: no 9-11 liability
Yet again. All it takes is reading the New York Times to get pretty damn paranoid these days. From May 16: Defendant Says Police Informer Pushed Him Into Bomb Plot A Pakistani immigrant accused of plotting to blow up the… Read moreNYC: police informant behind terror plot?
C’mon already. 9-11 was almost five years ago. When are people gonna knock it off already? From Newsday, May 13: LI Sikh angered by terror suspicion Indian immigrant Jaspal Arora, a religious Sikh, wears a turban everywhere he goes, including… Read moreLong Island: fear of turbans
From Newsday, April 26: Nine New York City firefighters sued the city and its fire pension fund yesterday saying they were denied disability pensions even after the department told them their breathing disorders sustained at Ground Zero had left them… Read moreNYC: firefighters sue over WTC illness
New Yorkers are supposed to be celebrating this break in the long impasse which has stalled reconstruction at Ground Zero. And indeed Larry Silverstein’s megalomania and greed have been an appalling spectacle. But, as we have repeatedly emphasized, rebuilding a… Read moreNYC: construction begins on “Freedom Tower”
Somebody please wake us when this madness is over. From the New York Times, April 15: Jazz Lover Fiddling With Bass Causes Bomb Scare on East Side The easy listening habits of Grantley Richards met with a large police response… Read moreFear of music, pt. II
Once again this year, joyous rituals traditionally held at the celebration of Phagwah, the Hindu Festival of Colors, in the Queens neighborhood of Richmond Hill were proscribed by official paranoia over anthrax attack. From Newsday, March 2: Anthrax fears have forced organizers… Read moreNYC: anthrax paranoia dims Hindu Festival of Colors
From the Village Voice Power Plays blog, Feb. 25: Critical Mass: NYPD Carries Smaller Stick This Week by Sarah Ferguson The NYPD switched up its game at Friday’s Critical Mass ride. Instead of making mass arrests for protest charges like… Read moreNYC: de-escalation in Critical Mass struggle?
