Song of the Day: "Jordan Miles"

Here's the full video for "Jordan Miles" by Jasiri X (directed by Paradise Gray) that we mentioned last week.


Call Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala, Jr. at 412-350-4400 and demand he file charges against the three police officers -- Richard Ewing, Michael Saldutte and David Sisak -- who brutally beat Jordan Miles.

For more info go to http://justiceforjordanmiles.com
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Jasiri X's "Jordan Miles" Premieres Today

There will be a premiere of Jasiri X's "Jordan Miles" today:

WHAT: One Hood Media presents: "Jordan Miles" World Video Premiere and Forum on Police Brutality
WHEN: 7:00pm, Thursday June 30th
WHERE: Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh - Homewood Branch, 7101 Hamilton Ave, Pittsburgh PA 15208 (map)

Here's a snippet of the new video:



Pittsburgh rapper Jasiri X is probably best know for "What if the Tea Party was Black?"

Poplawski gets death penalty and you get fries with that

No matter how you feel about the death penalty in general or the sentence in this case in particular, can we all agree that this sign on the door of a South Side bar is fucked up?
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March for Justice for Jordan Miles: Today at 1:00pm

Time: Saturday, June 25 · 1:00pm - 3:00pm
Location: Freedom Corner (Center and Crawford) Across from old Civic Arena

March for Justice for Jordan Miles
June 25 at 1:00pm
Gather at Freedom Corner (Crawford and Centre)

*Please forward widely*

Join the Alliance for Police Accountability to demand:
Prosecute Richard Ewing, David Sisak, and Michael Saldutte!
Release the Office of Municipal Investigations report to the public!
Fire the three officers!

On January 12, 2010, Jordan Miles was attacked by three undercover police officers while he was walking to his grandmother’s house in Homewood. The officers punched and kicked Jordan, and even ripped the dreadlocks off of his head. Jordan was not committing any crime; he was targeted simply for being a young Black man in Homewood.

The Department of Justice announced on May 4th that it would not press federal charges against the officers guilty of this racist act of brutality: Richard Ewing, David Sisak and Michael Saldutte. The same day, Police Chief Nate Harper announced that they would be reinstated and put back on the streets. However, the struggle for justice for Jordan Miles is by no means over.

Regardless of the Department of Justice’s decision, District Attorney Stephen Zappala still has the power to prosecute Ewing, Sisak and Saldutte, and has not yet announced what he intends to do. Hugely successful demonstrations were held every week in May, but the people of Pittsburgh need to continue to mobilize and keep up the pressure on city officials. The DA could make a decision at any time, so this is an especially critical moment in the struggle for justice. Join the Alliance for Police Accountability and its allies for a march from Freedom Corner to the Allegheny County Courthouse.

For more information: bsfish27@aol.com or 412-628-5849

In addition to marching, call DA Zappala at 412-350-4400 and demand that he file criminal charges against the police who brutalized Jordan Miles

Facebook RSVP: Here
http://justiceforjordanmiles.com/

Jordan Miles Rally Today

(Click to enlarge)
Today, the third in a series of rallies will be held to seek justice in the Jordan Miles case. The first was at Police Headquarters and called for the three police officers to be fired. The second was at the Office of Municipal Investigations and asked for the release of OMI's internal report on the beating to be released to the public. Today's rally calls for the prosecution of officers Richard Ewing, David Sisak, and Michael Saldutte.

Justice for Jordan Miles
Today, Sat, May 28, 1pm
Allegheny County Courthouse
436 Grant Street, Pittsburgh PA
There's more at justiceforjordanmiles.com

In case you missed it, Pittsburgh City Paper interviewed Miles in a cover story last week and Miles also spoke out in public for the first time at last week's rally:

Photos from Pittsburgh's "We Are One" March & Rally

The union thugs were out in full force:


As were the class warriors:


500 strong according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (P-G video here):


(3-photo montage)
They were all out in Pittsburgh today as part of the nationwide "We Are One" action. In Pittsburgh, there was a rally at EQT Plaza and then a march and rally to Governor Tom Corbett's Pittsburgh headquarters for another rally.


The view from Inside the Crowd at EQT:




The march to Corbett's Pittsburgh office:


At Corbett's office:


The overflow crowd across the street:


Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The Downtown event seeking support for a number of causes was timed to mark the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Mr. King was killed in Memphis while he was supporting a sanitation workers strike there. The issues energizing the demonstrators on Tuesday included an extraction tax on Marcellus Shale drilling, restoration of cuts to Port Authority transit service and opposition to education spending reductions included in Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed state budget.

Unfortunately, today is not only the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., it also marks the two-year anniversary of the assassination of three Pittsburgh Police Officers by an anti-Semite, Glenn Beck-loving white supremacist who believed that Obama was coming for his guns. A memorial service and statue unveiling was held today for Officers Paul Sciullo II, Stephen Mayhle and Eric Kelly in Pittsburgh. .

Can you help complete the Fallen Heroes Memorial?

Via Councilman Bill Peduto yesterday:

People Asked to Help Complete Memorial Needed 200 in 2 weeks

PITTSBURGH – April 4th will mark the two year anniversary of the tragic and untimely death of three of Pittsburgh’s finest. Last year on April 4th, the community came together to announce the plans for a permanent memorial to be built at St. Joseph’s church on Liberty Avenue. This April 4th, on the two year anniversary, plans are in place to unveil this important tribute.

In order to complete the last of the fundraising, Councilman William Peduto and the Fallen Heroes Memorial Committee will announce today the launch of a new memorial patron campaign. In the next two weeks, 200 people will have the opportunity to become patrons of the memorial by donating $100. Patrons will receive a commemorative certificate and window decal to represent their important role in finishing this memorial.

The press conference will take place at 1:30 PM today at St. Joseph’s Church - 4712 Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield (Intersection of Liberty and Pearl).

For those not able to attend, please note that someone can become a patron by:

1) Mailing a contribution to

Permanent Memorial for Fallen Heroes
c/o Bloomfield Development Corporation
366 Gross St.
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15224

2)online: http://www.bloomfieldnow.com/

3)By phone at 412-681-8800

Pittsburgh Police Transparency Public Hearing

Head on over to The Pittsburgh Comet for lots of video.
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Sleepless in Pittsburgh

Is it against the law to take a nap in your car in a Giant Eagle parking lot? Apparently it is -- or it will at least get you hassled by a Pittsburgh Police officer.

My sister Sue took me shopping at the South Side Giant Eagle on Sunday morning. She waited in her car while I was shopping. Being a working mom with two kindergarten-and-under-age kids, she put the seat back and took a nap while waiting (so, no, not slumped over the steering wheel in possible distress).

She woke up to a Pittsburgh Policeman knocking on her window asking if anything was wrong. She told the office that she was just napping and the officer told her that she couldn't sleep there. She did explain that she was waiting for a patron in the store and he repeated that she couldn't sleep there.

Anyone know if there's actually a law against this? Was the officer merely enforcing some Giant Eagle policy or was this some vagrancy thing?

What would that law/policy look like? Could someone take a nap in a car while someone else was in the car awake? Are there age restrictions? I mean, would they, say, wake a sleeping toddler?

I could see how the store might not want people taking up spaces meant for patrons to take a snooze, but I really don't see that being a problem in this lot. And, her car was basically empty so it didn't look like she was living out of it.

I just thought the whole thing was weird and my sister was sufficiently shook up to get out of the car and go into the store to buy things that she didn't need.

Weird.
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Completely Absurd

I'm guessing we all remember the Jordan Miles case, right? He's the CAPA honors student who was brutally beaten by three Pittsburgh police officers nearly a year ago. The officers were placed on paid administrative leave and are still on paid administrative leave with overtime.

The Pittsburgh City Paper estimates, "by year's end the officers will collectively have earned $233,882 while on paid leave."

Over a quarter of a million dollars...SAY WHAT?

Read it and weep here.
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