UK police tasered blind stroke victim

A 61-year-old, blind, two-time stroke victim in northern England, was tasered and then handcuffed by police, who mistook his white stick for a samurai sword.

Colin Farmer, a retired architect, has suffered two strokes, the most recent requiring two months in hospital in March. He has limited vision and uses a white stick to make his way along. He was walking down a street in Chorley, Lancashire on Friday evening when he was accosted by the police.

Farmer told reporters, “I heard this male voice shouting and bawling at me from behind and I became frightened because I thought I was about to be mugged.” ... read more.

Madrid protests: Indignados intend to return to the plaza today

After thousands protested in the Plaza de Neptune in Madrid on Tuesday, around 100 meters from the Congress building, police became violent and eventually cleared the square.

The indignados were calling for new elections and carrying banners with the slogan "No", referring to the austerity measures being taken by the Spanish government.

Protesters are saying that a government chosen by the people that, once it reaches power, does not keep it's promises, has no legitimacy. They say that winning an election does not give the government the right to act as it wants, betraying the voters who have elected it. They demand new elections and a new government.... read more and watch video.

Protesters removed from front of Ecuadorian Embassy in London

Protesters and supporters of Julian Assange are being removed, or told to leave, from the street in front of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Concern is that the police may be planning to raid the embassy.

Supporters of Julian Assange, including Occupy London members, are being told to remove their belongings, otherwise they will be confiscated by the police. All barricades in front of the embassy have also been removed and supporters have been told to leave.... read more.

Palestinian man tasered repeatedly in front of family (video)

Tel Aviv police were responding to a call about a fight occurring in a Tel Aviv water park. A man criticized the police for their handling of the situation, and got tasered five times.

Tel Aviv police were called to the Meymadion Water Park on Tuesday to control a fight that had broken out.

Talal Siad was with his five children in the park, celebrating the Id al-Fitr holiday, when the incident occurred. Siad was not involved in the fight, but intervened and accused police officers of using unnecessary force to restrain one of the adolescents involved the the brawl... read more and watch video.

Palestinian man tasered repeatedly in front of family (video)

Tel Aviv police were responding to a call about a fight occurring in a Tel Aviv water park. A man criticized the police for their handling of the situation, and got tasered five times.

Tel Aviv police were called to the Meymadion Water Park on Tuesday to control a fight that had broken out.... read more and watch video.

Occupy Oakland to rally in support of South African miners

On Friday, August 24, Occupy Oakland will assemble in Oscar Grant Plaza in downtown Oakland, CA, to show their support for and solidarity with South African miners over the recent shooting incident.

Digital Journal reported recently on the police shooting of protesting Marikana mine workers in South Africa, which resulted in the deaths of 45 people and the injury of an additional 78.

Miners were striking for a decent living wage on August 16, 2012 at a platinum mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa... read more.

Raid on Ecuador embassy would be akin to 'act of war' (video)

British police have surrounded the Ecuadorian embassy in London and breached the building. Should they enter the embassy to arrest Julian Assange, this would be a sovereign attack on Ecuador and could be construed as an "Act of War".

Digital Journal reported yesterday on the threat by the U.K. to storm the Ecuadorian embassy in London, if Ecuador does not surrender Assange for extradition to Sweden to face charges on alleged sexual crimes... read more and watch video.

UK threatens to storm Ecuadorian embassy over Assange

As the decision over Julian Assange's asylum looms near, the U.K. is threatening to raid the Ecuadorian Embassy unless Assange is handed over for extradition to Sweden.

Reports from Ecuador on Wednesday state that the British government had threatened to raid its embassy in London if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is not handed over.

After a meeting with President Rafael Correa, Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño told reporters, "Today we've received a threat by the United Kingdom, a clear and written threat that they could storm our embassy in London if Ecuador refuses to hand in Julian Assange." ... read more.

Woman suing Florida police over a strip search

In July 2011, Leila Tarantino was pulled over and detained by police for around two hours for allegedly disobeying a stop sign in Beverly Hills, FL. A police officer then performed a strip search and forcibly removed a tampon.

Attorneys for Tarantino have now filed a civil action suit against the government of Citrus County, Florida, Sheriff Jeffrey Dawsey, and six unnamed police officers for an irregular traffic stop that they believe involved excessive use of force.

One of the main reasons for the claim is that an officer “forcibly” removed Tarantino's tampon during a strip search... read more.

Three Al-Qaeda terror suspects captured by Spanish police

Spain's Ministry of Interior announced today that three al-Qaeda suspects were arrested by Spanish police on Wednesday. The suspects had enough explosives to blow up a bus and were planning an attack in Spain, or other countries in Europe.

Interior Minister Jorge Fernández Díaz noted that sufficient quantities of explosives to blow up a bus had been found in their Cádiz house, and that the material could have been especially dangerous if combined with shrapnel.... read more.

Filming police is your constitutional right (video)

Washington, DC police officials have issued a statement that according to the First Amendment, citizens have the right to video the actions of police officers.

There have been much controversy about citizens filming the actions of police. The latest example is the massive protests in Anaheim, where residents filmed police officers abusing people, shooting bean bags and pepper balls, and releasing a canine on innocent people nearby.

In that incident, witnesses told the media that the police officers had actually offered to buy the video footage from those residents... read more and watch interview.

Millions of people protest in 80 Spanish cities (video)

On July 19, millions took to the streets in 80 major cities throughout Spain. Union workers, 15m members, the general public and many others let their voices be heard.

In ongoing protests countrywide, the largest demonstration since the global event on October 15, 2011, happened last night and over a million people hit the streets.

People involved in the protests included miners, firefighters, judges, public employees, the unemployed and even the army.

The largest workers' unions, UGT and CCOO, were there along with many other professional organizations, representing the miners, medical employees, firemen, public transport workers, teachers of all levels of education, feminist and pro-gay collectives, 15m sympathizers and from old and new political groups... read more and watch videos.

Op-Ed: March against cuts, abuse of power & police repression (video)

The people of Málaga, Spain made themselves heard last night, as they marched in support of the coal miners, against the recent cuts, and against police abuse of power and repression.

Digital Journal recently reported on the coal miners from Northern Spain, who marched to Madrid to protest the budget cuts to the mining sector, which will effectively take away 38,000 jobs in the industry.

While the coal miners were demonstrating peacefully in Madrid, the government announced its latest austerity measures, including increases in VAT, which will push prices up generally throughout the country. The people simply cannot afford this. With 25% of Spaniards out of work, the new measures also reduce unemployment benefits. 50% of young Spaniards, most of whom have never been able to find a job, will get nothing.... read more and watch video of the event.

Op-Ed: Is the Spanish PP government losing its legitimacy? (Video)

As Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy goes back on one campaign promise after another, is his government losing credibility with the people of Spain?

As protests continue in Madrid and spread to the rest Spain, combining the demonstration by the coal miners, with general protests over the latest austerity measures, people are starting to question the legitimacy of the newly elected Spanish Government.

It all started yesterday, with the coal miners reaching Madrid after walking for 3 weeks from northern Spain. They wanted to protest against the austerity cuts to the mining industry, which will cost them around 38,000 jobs.... read more and watch video interview.

Israeli Border Control officer caught on video kicking child

Caught on camera, an Israeli Border Police officer kicks a Palestinian child in the southern West Bank. Police have launched a probe into the incident.

The incident was filmed by a volunteer from B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, on June 29 in Hebron, in the southern part of the West Bank.

The video footage shows a 9-year-old Palestinian boy walking down the road, when a uniformed officer runs up to him and grabs his arm, causing the child to fall on the ground... read more and watch video.

Julian Assange rejects police request to hand himself in

The U.K. police has issued an order for Julian Assange to appear at a police station on Friday, to begin the extradition process. Assange has rejected it.  In an interview with the BBC, he explains why.

The WikiLeaks whistleblower, Assange, is currently liable for arrest by the U.K. police should he leave the Ecuadorian embassy, on the grounds that he has violated his bail conditions. He is wanted in Sweden on allegations of rape and sexual assault, which Assange denies, and says that the charges are "depthless and politically-motivated."

He has been in the Ecuadorian Embassy since last Tuesday, appealing for political asylum from the Ecuadorian government.... read more and view video.

Protesting miners use home-made bazookas against Spanish Police

200 miners were protesting austerity cuts yesterday in the northern Spanish village of Ciñera near León. Police used rubber bullets, protesters retaliated with their own home-made weapons.

There have been ongoing protests in several mining towns and villages in Spain, over the Spanish Government's plans to slash subsidies to the coal sector by over 60%. This would reduce subsidies from 301 million euro last year, to only 111 million this year.

According to union officials, these austerity measures could jeopardize the jobs of about 8,000 coal miners and up to 30,000 other people indirectly employed in the mining sector... read more.

Questions arise as to police involvement in alleged NATO terror

Now the NATO Summit is over and done, some people are asking questions about a string of alleged terrorist plots foiled by Chicago law enforcement.

Before the NATO Summit began, around 11 men were arrested in 3 separate incidents. Now that the Summit is over, many of the alleged terrorists have been released with no charges made against them and virtually no explanation from investigators in the cases.

Among those still in jail, all have been linked to 2 alleged police informants, "Mo", a male, and "Gloves", a female. These informants are believed to have worked undercover with the police to infiltrate the Chicago activism community.... read full article.

Chicago anti-NATO protest — veterans throw away medals (video)

Watching the Chicago anti-NATO protest live was a very moving experience. Part of the protest included veterans throwing their medals away, including Scott Olsen.

The video above is a clip from the protest, taken on livestream by Tim Pool of timcast, who was also the journalist whose video footage cleared Alexander Arbuckle in his recent trial. Arbuckle had been accused of disorderly conduct in the Occupy Wall Street protest early on New Years' Day.

There are varying reports of the number of people involved in the full NATO protest, with numbers from 10,000 to 50,000 to 75,000 being quoted on Facebook in the overall protest. No way at present to know the true number but I doubt the numbers were quite that large.

In the video you can see a section of the protest where veterans first introduce themselves to the crowd, then throw their medals away, many apologizing to the people of Iraq and Afghanistan for what they have done. They denounce the "war on terror" as a false flag war... read full article and watch video.

Video: Occupy Minnesota protesters given drugs by police?

The publication of a video on YouTube stating that Occupy protesters in Minnesota have been given drugs by police officers, has caused authorities to open a criminal investigation.

So far at least one Minnesota state trooper has been put on paid leave, as law enforcement officials investigate allegations that police officers visited Occupy Wall Street encampments in Minnesota and gave free drugs to protesters.

The video was made by independent journalists and filmmakers in the state. They interviewed members of the local Occupy movement who say they have been offered drugs by police officers.

Apparently protesters who opt in to the program are given the drugs for free and the police, in turn, monitor the effects of the drugs. Some protesters say they've been rewarded for offering to snitch on the movement... read full article and view video.