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?
From the Village Voice’s Power Plays blog, Feb. 15: Judge: City Can’t Stop Critical Mass Ride by Sarah Ferguson A judge today threw another monkey wrench in New York City’s effort to stop the Critical Mass bike rides. In a… Read moreNYC: legal victory in Critical Mass struggle
A jazz musician and a bookstore owner? OK, could be. But this smells to us like another sleazy FBI fishing expedition in which the only “al-Qaeda” connection was the undercover federal agent. These guys may have wanted to collaborate with… Read more(Dubious) terror case opens in NYC
From our correspondent Sarah Ferguson: The irony couldn’t be more clear. New York City police and their union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, are suing the NYPD for spying on them at rallies and demonstrations held during their contract dispute with… Read moreCops sue cops for… spying on cops
From the public health watchdog website Newsinferno, Jan. 16: Many Believe Toxic Ground Zero Site Responsible for Growing Number of Deaths among Cleanup Workers Last week we reported on the death of James Zadroga, a 34-year-old homicide detective who was… Read moreNYC: 5,000 in suit over WTC illness
Glorify ’em as heroes and martyrs for war propaganda—then screw ’em. It’s the American way. From NY1, Jan. 17: Supreme Court Rules 9/11 Families Cannot Sue Over Faulty Radios Families of New York City firefighters won’t be allowed to sue… Read moreSupreme Court shafts 9-11 widows
From Newsday, Jan. 10: The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the city on Tuesday, challenging restrictions on people’s right to photograph public places after an award-winning filmmaker from India was blocked from videotaping near the MetLife building. In its… Read moreNYC: Indian film-maker sues over detainment
From Newsday, Jan. 11: A criminal court judge in Manhattan has held that the city’s main weapon in its campaign against the Critical Mass bicycle ride is unconstitutional. Deciding the case of eight cyclists arrested in January 2005, Judge Gerald… Read moreNYC: court rules for Critical Mass
It seems the NYPD has ben busy infiltrating bicycle rides in the name of the War on Terrorism for the past year and change. From the Dec. 22 New York Times—fortunately the front page: Undercover New York City police officers… Read moreNYC: police infiltrate Critical Mass
Another turn of the screw. Shame on Judge Richard Berman. From the New York Daily News, Dec. 2: Judge: Searches of bags in subway is constitutional Random police searches of riders’ bags to deter terrorism in the nation’s largest subway… Read moreNYC: judge upholds subway searches
By the way, a week later we’re still trying to figure out what this was all about, and we note with trepidation that there have been no follow-up stories. WW4 Report‘s chief blogger became aware of the smell at around… Read moreSweet smell of biological warfare?
