by Ryan Devereaux

The police officer wanted him to dance. "Do the chicken noodle soup for me," he said. The officer claimed it was the only way he'd let John Hector go.

It was supposed to be a joke, but Hector didn't find it funny. After all, he and his friend were handcuffed in full view of the public. The pair were driving to get some food when they were pulled over by the police, who then forced them to sit on the kerb with their hands bound. They were never arrested, let alone charged with a crime. That's because they hadn't committed one. They were simply caught in an NYPD stop-and-frisk operation.

RT: Cornel West arrested at 'Stop and Frisk' protest in New York

BET.com: Activists Seek to End NYPD’s Stop and Frisk Program

CBS NYC: Protesters Rally In Harlem Against NYPD’s Stop And Frisk Strategy

The Atlantic Wire: Cornel West Arrested at 'Stop And Frisk' Protests

Gothamist: Cornel West, Other Occupy Wall Street Protesters Arrested By NYPD

In cities all over the world and across the U.S., thousands of protesters gathered yesterday inspired by Occupy Wall St - hundreds were arrested in various cities around the U.S. More reports to come!

Photos are being posted here.

New York City

The day started with an anti-war march through Manhattan ending at Zuccotti Park / Liberty Plaza (which still hasn't been shut down). An estimated 15,000 people shut down Times Square, chanting, "We are unstoppable - another world is possible!" Thousands more gathered in Washington Sq. Park and marches and rallies popped up across the city. World Can't Wait organizer on the scene reported "people are high on struggle like I haven't seen in decades." 

See World Can't Wait on Facebook for the latest, including videos, links to news coverage, and more photos from the occupation of DC and protests in Chicago, LA, and San Francisco.

San Francisco
San Francisco Bay Guardian: Protesters blast Wall Street and war; support OccupySF

San Francisco: Protesting Ten Years of U.S. War in Afghanistan (video)

Los Angeles
At Los Angeles Anti-War Protest, Anti-War Religious leaders get arrested (KTLA Video)

Washington, DC

Anti-War, Anti-Wall St. Protest Hits DC (The Progressive)

Debra Sweet at Freedom Plaza, Occupy Washington (thepeoplesvoice.org video)

Wall Street Protest Spreads to DC (AP Raw Video)

Photos of the drone protest October 7

March against drone warfare in DC: Protesters disrupt business at General Atomics (October 7 video)

Antiwar activists storm General Atomics, maker of Predator drones (LiveLeak video)

Pepper spray used on demonstrators at Air and Space Museum (CNN October 8)

Pepper-Sprayed for Peace (warisacrime.org)

DC Occupation takes Freedom Plaza Drone Protest to National Air and Space Museum, with a Pepper Spray Coda (Irregular Times)

Reporter and Occupy Wash DC Protesters Pepper Sprayed at National Air and Space Museum, But Protest Shuts it Down (OpEdNews)

Chicago
Anti-war protesters demonstrate downtown (ABC News)

Protesters rally in downtown Chicago (Chicago Tribune)

Fremont, CA
Afghan Community Marks War Anniversary in Fremont, CA (ABC News video)

by Amina Waheed

Carrying signs that read, “Execute Justice not People,” and hoisting a large peace sign embellished with yellow, pink, and white flowers, about 40 people gathered Friday at Frank Ogawa Plaza in downtown Oakland to protest the execution of Troy Davis in Georgia.

Davis, who was put to death Thursday night after more than a decade of controversy over his case, was convicted of the murder of an off duty police officer, Mark MacPhail, on August 19^th, 1989 in Savannah, Georgia.  He was sentenced to death two years later.   Objections over the case’s resolution emerged as seven out of the nine eyewitnesses recanted their testimonies, and Davis’ impending execution gained national and international attention from organizations such as Amnesty International, and the NAACP. World leaders, including Desmond Tutu, urged the court to review his case, and it was reported that “Pope Benedict XVI’s US envoy sent a letter pleading for his life.” Former US President Jimmy Carter, called the decision “unjust and outdated” and urged Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Parole to review Davis’ conviction. Global protests commenced in the streets and online, where Twitter users exchanged messages under the hash tag “Too much doubt.” The board ultimately denied Davis clemency and he was put to death by lethal injection at 11:08 pm on Thursday.

Silicon Valley, California. On Sunday Sept. 25, an emergency protest called by Code Pink Women for Peace, World Can't Wait, and the ANSWER Coalition was at the gate of Moffett Field when Obama landed for a campaign fundraising trip here.

Obama's motorcade took him right past our signs and shouts and banners, and the "Guantanamo prisoner" in jumpsuit, hood and chains. An activist from San Jose arrived with a pile of bold antiwar picket signs that covered the fence the motorcade drove right by. Some of the protesters climbed up on a large plywood fake submarine displayed at the Moffett Gate with our banners and bullhorn.

We shouted at the Commander-in-Chief as he drove past: "War Crimes are War Crimes No Matter Who Does Them!" "Ten Years of U.S. War Crimes in Afghanistan!" "Torture Is A War Crime!" “Drone Attacks – War Crimes!” "Got Security? Stop Drone Attacks!" "The War In Afghanistan Is Still Wrong!” "Obama, Obama, There's blood on your hands -- From Iraq and Libya to Afghanistan!"

In her White House press pool report, Carol Lee wrote about our demonstration: Some people were outside along the route from the airport to the highway, waving and snapping photos. There were also some anti-war protesters who held signs like, "Stop the wars," "The war in Afghanistan is still wrong," "Endless War" and "Afghanistan 10 years of war crimes."

Despite lack of mainstream press coverage, the action WAS covered by major Chinese language media (KTSF-TV, and key newspapers Sing Tao, World Journal, and Ming Pao). So, even if you can’t speak Chinese, get a sense of the protest as told to this audience from this KTSF news clip (Channel 26)

Sing Tao's coverage:

Photos from Sing Tao:

奧巴馬來籌款 示威者難接近

( 本報記者王碩舸莫菲特基地報道 )
總統奧巴馬為明年競選連任前來美西地區吸金，昨日到訪灣區，今日會在南灣舉行社區大會。昨日下午接近6點，總統乘坐的空軍一號專機從西雅圖抵達山景城的莫 菲特基地（Moffett Field），南灣官員及一批民眾前往迎接。此前，反戰人士則在基地外抗議總統奧巴馬未有兌現競選承諾去結束長達10年的阿富汗戰爭。
反戰人士在莫菲特基地附近的國家太空總署（NASA)門外抗議，但人數不多。來自World can't wait、Codepink等反戰團體的幾位人士在現場高舉標語，指奧巴馬沒有兌現其競選承諾，敦促他趕快從長達10年的阿富汗戰爭中撤軍，不要再誤導年 輕士兵、謀殺美國青年。抗議者不滿警員以「聯邦財產不允許抗議」為理由，讓示威者移步較偏僻處的停車場。
總統一行下機時，聖荷西市長喬克力（Chuck Reed）、山景城市長Jac Siegel及太空總署Ames中心主任Pete Worden還有大約70名民眾在機場迎接。奧巴馬花了幾分鐘與前來歡迎他的民眾和官員握手、簽名，之後就乘車前往籌款會場地。
據知，他昨晚先到Symantec總裁John Tompson在林邊市（Woodside）舉行的籌款會，之後又到Facebook營運長Sheryl Sandberg為他在Atherton舉行的籌款會。
今日上午，奧巴馬將在山景城參加LinkedIn組織的社區論壇，討論創造就業、振興經濟方案。為此，LinkedIn特設網上討論區，屆時若想通過網絡直擊會議，可登陸LinkedIn.com或者到WhiteHouse.gov/live參與。
............(更多新聞，請閱 <<星島日報>>)

Coverage from PressTV

The recent execution of Troy Davis, a black man convicted of murdering a white policeman, is reminiscent of the "terrible history" of "slavery and lynching of the black people," says Debra Sweet, director of World Can't Wait.

She says African-Americans and Latinos are disproportionately subject to death penalty and incarceration in the United States.

"If you look at the 2.3 million people incarcerated, mass incarceration of black and Latino people in this country, the death penalty has always been disproportionately carried out on black men," Debra Sweet told Press TV's U.S. Desk on Sunday.

The 42-year-old Davis was put to death by lethal injection on Wednesday in the state of Georgia. Davis maintained his innocence till the very end of his life. Seven of the nine witnesses at his trial recanted their original testimony. The witnesses have presented sworn affidavits stating that the police pressured or coerced them into testifying against Davis. However Georgia rejected his appeal for a retrial.

"Whenever a policeman dies in this country somebody usually dies and it's very often a black person whether that person was connected or not," Sweet noted.

"And in this case, of course we know that Troy Anthony Davis was innocent," she said.

She concluded, "It was unconscionable for the government to kill him and yet they did. It's just an outrage."

Coverage from PressTV

U.S. police have “brutally” arrested around a hundred people during a peaceful demonstration on Wall Street in New York City, according to Debra Sweet, Director of ‘World Can't Wait.’

She was speaking about an "Occupy Wall Street" event which is an ongoing peaceful demonstration that began on Sept 17th in New York City. The demonstrators are calling for changes in American social and economic policies.

Sweet told Press TV's U.S. desk on Sunday that “many of our comrades are in jail from a brutal arrest yesterday. Mostly young people were marching and it was a Saturday and the police arrested upwards of a hundred of the marchers brutally. They pushed them into nets and they used pepper spray and mace on people who merely were marching down the street.”

Sweet said that they were being arrested and “having a difficult time finding public space to convey our message against the war, against the great disparity of wealth in this country, against the huge numbers of people that are incarcerated. United States alone, which is only 5% of the world’s population, has 25% of the people in prison, in the whole globe. This is becoming a police state and like friends all over the world, we very much know that it's up to us to stop the crimes of our government.”

Protesters made a statement against torturing prisoners gather in front of the Union League Club, where former Vice President Dick Cheney was appearing with his daughter on Sept. 19, 2011. Coverage by the Chicago Tribune:

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The World Can't Wait flier, "U.S. Wars on the Middle East: Wrong Because They Cost So Much? Or are they Just Wrong, Immoral, Unjust, and against Humanity's interests?" written by Debra Sweet, was included as an article in this edition of this independent publication.

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