"Here's to the watchdogs, the whistleblowers, the nonviolent resisters. Those who fight for fairness and hustle to keep the planet honest. Theirs is not an easy stroll through the tulips."

As part of the one-year anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, New Zealand band Minuit have teamed up with New York photojournalist Nina Berman to produce "Stories For Boys: Occupy Edit," a people-inspired music video. These photos were taken at the height of the New York occupation, from mid-September to mid-November, as well as in Chicago for the NATO conference in May.

Berman, a veteran photographer and associate professor at Columbia University School of Journalism, is no stranger to being amidst chaotic situations with her camera, and her award winning images capture the expressions, purpose and character in people.

Minuit says that’s what drew them to her work and is also the essence of the Occupy movement.

“Here in New Zealand, Maori have a saying: ‘What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people, it is people.’ Nina’s photos over that ominous beat are spine-chilling.”

But for Minuit the video is not only about Occupy: “It’s for the watchdogs, the whistleblowers, the non-violent resisters who fight for fairplay and hustle to keep their communities honest. That is not an easy stroll through the tulips. Hug an activist today!”

Good morning and TGIF!

After the past weekend in Chicago at the NATO summit where nearly 100 protesters were arrested, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! speaks to National Lawyers Guild attorney Sarah Gelsomino who is representing on of the five activists charged with terror-related crimes. Two are accused of attempted possession of explosives or incendiary devices, and three more are accused of conspiracy to commit terrorism, material support for terrorism and possession of explosives.

While many have been impressed by what is viewed as restraint on the part of the Chicago police department as far as violence towards occupy protesters goes, the #NoNATO protests may well be unparalleled in the abuse of legal authority and flagrant disregard for constitutional rights by law enforcement.

Gelsomino says the so-called "NATO Three" were set up by government informants who planted the explosives. "Our clients who are facing the most serious charges of terrorism are actually in solitary confinement right now, we just learned," Gelsomino says. "A very top priority this week is to get them out of that extremely punitive and extremely dangerous condition that they’re in right now."

Rush Transcript:

AMY GOODMAN: We turn to the protesters detained during the NATO summit. According to the Chicago Police Department, nearly a hundred people were arrested over the course of the week. Five of them stand accused of terrorism-related offenses. Two men were arrested over the weekend for allegedly engaging in threatening behavior before the NATO summit. Sebastian Senakiewicz was charged with falsely making a terrorist threat, and Mark Neiweem was accused of attempted possession of explosives or incendiary devices.

Before the weekend began, three activists were arrested on terror charges for an alleged plot to attack President Obama’s campaign headquarters and other sites around Chicago during the NATO summit. Jared Chase, Brent Betterly and Brian Jacob Church are accused of conspiracy to commit terrorism, material support for terrorism and possession of explosives. Police say they recovered materials for making Molotov cocktails in a raid last week. But attorneys for the so-called "NATO Three" say they were set up by government informants who planted the explosives. Supporters also say police seized equipment that was used for brewing homemade beer.

Michael Deutsch, an attorney for the protesters with the National Lawyers Guild, accused Chicago police of entrapment.

MICHAEL DEUTSCH: Obviously, we don’t have access to all the information that the state has. But what we do know is, is that there were police—undercover police officers that ingratiated themselves with people who come from out of town. And from our information, these so-called incendiary devices and the plans to attack police stations, attack the mayor’s office, is all coming from the mind of the police informants and are not coming from our clients, who are nonviolent protesters. They are not anarchists. They don’t belong to a Black Bloc organization. They’re involved with nonviolent protest. And what we believe is, is that this is a way to stir up prejudice against the people who are exercising their First Amendment rights.

AMY GOODMAN: To discuss the implications of these charges, we’re going to Chicago to speak with Sarah Gelsomino, an attorney with the People’s Law Office and the National Lawyers Guild. She’s representing one of the protesters facing terror charges from the summit.

Welcome to Democracy Now!, Sarah.

SARAH GELSOMINO: Thank you, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: Talk about exactly what happened.

SARAH GELSOMINO: Well, last Wednesday night at around 11:30 at night, the Chicago police executed a midnight raid on a house in the Bridgeport area in the Near South Side in Chicago, and they entered three different—excuse me, four apartment buildings in that house. In one of those apartments, they arrested nine people. In the other three, they, without warrant or consent, detained the individuals who lived in those building—in those apartments, interrogated them about their political beliefs and about their knowledge of the people who lived in that apartment where they arrested the nine people and searched their apartments. They also entered that fourth apartment, again without showing a warrant and without any consent. And there is where they eventually arrested the nine people. They arrested two additional people down the street. Six of those people have since been released without charges. As you know, the NATO Three are facing very serious terrorism threats—or terrorism charges. And the other two are who we now believe to be police informants.

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[Note: Language may not be suitable for work.]

The first live on-location Moment of Clarity comes to you from the NATO protests in Chicago.

[Get more at LeeCamp.net]

Tall Tale Productions filmed the action in Chicago between May 18 - May 21st, and put together this great five minute compilation set to music.

A couple headed to a NATO dinner banquet hurry to pass NoNATO protesters held back by Chicago police on May 20, 2012.

Police keep guard at Rahm Emanuel's house as NoNATO protesters gather outside on May 20, 2012.

A NoNATO protester receives medical attention to an injury after Chicago police brutally attack protesters on May 20, 2012.

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Chicago police on Saturday night were targeting livestreamers, journalists, photographers and broadcast journalists, according to reports from many Twitter feeds.

As I piece together some of those events, Luke Rudkowski just loaded this video into the system, and it gives a clear look at the moment the Chicago police stopped the car he was sharing with Tim Pool. Unfortunately, the police shut down Luke's livestream so he wasn't able to capture the entire episode. As noted in the Twitter feeds, the apartment where the livestreamers were staying was raided by police.

“Place where @TimCast & @LukeWeAreChange staying raided. Young woman there, terrified, called @NLGChicago #noNATO”

At this time, at least Tim Pool and Luke Rudkowski are out of handcuffs and detention, and you have to love their dedication, they've got their livestreams back up and running and they're safe.

What follows is Pool's livestream as it recorded the armed police detaining the pair. Note there are short intervals with just darkness and no sound. But first, a few important tweets from @Timcast that will update you on how he's doing:

Tim Pool ‏@Timcast

We were told by another streamer that police on scanner are awaiting us to announce out location. #NATO #noNATO #journaraid

Tim Pool ‏@Timcast

We are told the police scanners are tracking us... #NATO #noNATO

Tim Pool ‏@Timcast

Trying to find a safe place to sleep #NATO #noNATO

Tim Pool ‏@Timcast

Calming down, still paranoid after being cuffed at gunpoint. #nato #nonato Live at http://timcast.tv

Video streaming by Ustream

Next up, videos covering some of the more outrageous actions by the Chicago police last night against the NATO protesters.

Live video from your Android device on Ustream

Tim Pool is livestreaming now in the streets of Chicago, and you can follow Tim on Twitter @Timcast, and below is Luke Rudkowski's livestream, and you can follow Luke on Twitter @LukeWeAreChange.

Please don't forget, these dedicated journalists devote themselves to documenting the Occupy movement and depend on donations from strangers to keep their work going. If you're able to do so, click through on the livestream to the livestream site and visit the "donate" button for each of them.

Video streaming by Ustream

[Tony Dokoupil reports on the little-known rules the government can use to shut down phone networks.]

According to the Daily Beast on Wednesday, Chicago law enforcement officials could shut down cell phone networks as part of their "security" operation in Chicago during the NATO summit.

Reporter Tony Dokoupil writes "Much of the cat-and-mouse game will be technological, with people in the streets wielding smartphones to coordinate actions and publicize what's happening, while law enforcement mulls whether to take the power of those phones away—disrupting service in the name of public safety."

While the tactic is usually associated with digital dictators abroad—and the Obama administration has sharply criticized such interruptions, even proposing sanctions against countries that curb their peoples' wireless freedom—shutdowns are a creeping American phenomenon as well.

Often a perfectly legal one.

Not only do the FBI and Secret Service have standing authority to jam signals, but they along with state and local authorities can also push for the shutdown of cell towers, thanks to a little-known legacy of the Bush administration: "Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303," which lays out the nation's official "Emergency Wireless Protocols."

“It’s the nature of law enforcement to push the envelope… It’s act first and litigate second.”

We've certainly seen this "act first" move in play more often than not during Occupy Wall Street protests alone. Dokoupil also writes that "Rumors of cellphone jamming also swirled around the Occupy protests in New York earlier this month; five people told The Daily Beast that they struggled to send photos, tweets, and basic text messages." It wouldn't be shocking, if the rumors are true, after all we've witnessed at the NYC protests and rallies. Cell phone jamming as a possibility during the NATO summit shouldn't really be a question at this point. Expect it.

[Occupy Chicago demonstrates outside 190 N. State Street on May 17, 2012.]

National Lawyers Guild Condemns Preemptive Police Raids & Unlawful Searches on the Streets.

Via:

“The Chicago Police Department has basically disappeared as many as eight activists,” said Kris Hermes, a spokesman for the National Lawyers Guild, adding “There’s absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing.”

Hermes declined to release the names of those detained. He said the NLG had been speaking with police leaders throughout the day Thursday, and that they denied anyone was being held.

Witnesses who alleged they were detained at the scene before being released said police broke down doors in an apartment building near 32nd and Morgan Streets at 11 p.m., and searched the units while refusing to show the occupants a search warrant, said Sarah Gelsomino, an attorney with the lawyers guild.

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