Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Hundreds of concerned citizens took to the streets of the Financial District Tuesday to protest "tax-dodging" corporations.
A Massive group of protesters took to the streets of Boston’s Financial District late yesterday afternoon to demand major corporations and the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans pay their fare share of federal and state income taxes. Organized primarily by the MassUniting Coalition and the Right to the City Alliance, the extremely lively and vocal tax day protest was aimed at the Commonwealth’s “most egregious tax-dodgers,” according to a press release announcing the rally and subsequent march, which snaked its way through the heart of the Financial District, and caused police to shut down both Summer and Franklin Streets for periods of time. Assembling at Dewey Square, quickly becoming the spiritual home of Boston activism, at around 5:30 …
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Photojournalist and UMass Boston junior Paul Weiskel snapped the controversial photos at a weekend Tea Party rally.
After photos depicting a Boston police officer with his hand on the neck of a bandana wearing protester made the rounds on the internet yesterday, the protester in the photo is contemplating legal action against the Boston police, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The protester, who gave the Globe the name “Allie” but did not wish to be identified by gender, said the officer in question was not choking, but pushing him. “He pushed me,” Allie told the Globe in a telephone interview Monday. “I turned to him and said don’t push me. … Then he got angry. He grabbed me by the neck and then pushed me by the neck. He didn’t choke me.” Boston police said they are investigating the photo, which was taken by 22-year-old Paul Weiskel, a …
Monday, April 16, 2012
The photos, snapped by a UMass Boston junior, depict a Boston police officer with his hand on the neck of a man protesting the inclusion of anti-gay speakers at a Tea Party Tax Day Rally over the weekend.
A controversial photo showing a Boston police officer with his hand on the neck of a protester, taken at Sunday’s Massachusetts Tea Party Coalition "Tax Day Rally" on Boston Common, has sparked outrage and caused some to again question the tactics employed by police at events such as this. Photographer Paul Weiskel, a junior at UMass Boston, snapped the controversial photographs while on the scene to document the Tea Party rally, and he says it is his belief police acted inappropriately during the action. While he was photographing a counter-protest, which he says was largely LGBT activists protesting the “homophobic,” anti-gay speakers included in the event by the Tea Party, he turned around to see a uniformed Boston Police officer with …
Are police too rough with protesters?
Police are back in the news for how they interact with protesters and the public during permitted protest events. During Sunday's counter-protest to a permitted Tea Party rally, police were photographed arresting people on the Boston Common and one picture in particular, of an officer with his hands around the neck of a person who didn't appear to be resisting, has caused outrage. The photo, taken by Paul Weiskel, a history student at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has made its rounds on the Internet and prompted criticism of the police department. But police spokeswoman Elaine Driscoll said that officers responded appropriately. She told the Boston Globe, "The aggressive nature of these individuals required officers to call for …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Protesters with Occupy Boston gathered outside of the State House, Wednesday, before taking their message inside. Here's a peek at what that looked like.
And a community meeting on proposed improvements to Ringgold Park.
Today is Thursday, April 5. Here are five things you should know. 1) Blue skies. Today looks to be sunny and breezy, with highs expected to be around 55 degrees and winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour, according to Weather Underground. Temperatures should bottom out near 37 degrees during the evening, with a 5 to 10 mile per hour wind. 2) Done deal. The MBTA Board voted to approve a 23 percent fare hike and cut back services yesterday in a 4-1 vote. The changes will take effect on July 1. The measures come in response to a projected budget deficit of $161 million in the next fiscal year. Meanwhile, outside the state house, several groups—including an “Occupy” contingent—protested the latest MBTA plan. 3) Not here. The Boston City Council …
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Group holds People's Assembly inside State House.
The sound of “No” echoed through the halls of the State House Wednesday as more than 100 protestors affiliated with Occupy Boston gathered at the base of the Grand Staircase to protest the MBTA’s budget plan. The group, which began its rally outside on Beacon Street, declared public transportation a civil right and said that protests at recent MBTA hearings had gone unheard. “[So,] we are creating our own hearing, and we’re having it inside the State House,” said Katie Gradowski. She and Noah McKenna led the rally from the front steps, joined by a giant-sized puppet of “Charlie” bearing a “99%” button. McKenna noted that the day’s Boston rally was part of a national day of action, and he and Gradowski declared that the MBTA was balancing …
Thursday, February 9, 2012
After being hacked last Friday, BPDNews.com came back online at about 2 a.m. this morning.
With rapper KRS-One’s now all-too-familiar “Sound of Da Police” music video intermittently popping up, Boston Police officers satirically discuss the “emotional trauma” they felt after the police department’s website, BPDNews.com, was hacked last Friday, in a light-hearted, video comeback of sorts at the hacking group “Anonymous.” “Normally, I sleep pretty well, but since the site went down, I haven’t slept a wink,” one officer says with a straight face in the YouTube video that was posted on the department’s Facebook page at 11 p.m. Wednesday. Another officer claims to have heard news of the hacking at – where else – Dunkin’ Donuts. A serious-voiced narrator also chimes in: “In the days after the hacking, fans of the page struggled to …
42.33451
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1 Schroeder Plz # End, Roxbury Crossing, MA
/articles/boston-police-respond-to-hackers-with-satirical-youtube-video
/locations/6344867
Friday, February 3, 2012
The online group "Anonymous" claimed responsibility for hijacking the site BPDnews.com, which provides information about the police and crimes.
The online protest group "Anonymous" is claiming responsibility for hacking the website of the Boston Police Department. BPDnews.com provides information about the police and news about crimes in Boston neighborhoods. The hackers say in a message on the hacked site "ANONYMOUS HACKS POLICE WEBSITE IN RETALIATION FOR POLICE BRUTALITY AT OWS." The hackers put a video of KRS-One's "Sound of Da Police" on the BPDnews.com homepage. The song compares police officers to plantation overseers during slavery. Here is a link to the Google cache of the site as it looked during the attack. (Hat tip to Universal Hub's Twitter feed for that live link.) In a statement, police say their engineers are working to turn back the cyber attack: The Boston Police …
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Boston Police Department - District D4
650 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA
/articles/boston-police-website-hacked-in-retaliation-for-alleged-brutality
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/locations/6311242
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
In the wake of the Occupy Boston movement and the MBTA's announcement of service cuts and fare increases, "Occupy The T" has emerged to add to the discussion. Do you agree with their assessment of things?
Recently the group "Occupy The T" held its first meeting, and, according to an article in The Boston Occupier, activists, organizers, and community members there painted a picture of the options the MBTA has to eliminate its debt different from the two scenarios the MBTA has presented. At the meeting, "Attendees stressed the importance of rejecting the state’s claim that there is no alternative to the two proposed regimes of cuts and fare hikes," writer Doug Greene said. He added, "Instead of deciding between the MBTA’s two proposed plans, 'Occupy the T' hopes to expose the role of for-profit financial institutions in creating and perpetuating the MBTA’s budget crisis. Several present argued that the banks should cancel the T’s debt …
Andrew Jeromski
12:45 pm on Wednesday, April 18, 2012
One quick note: I've just uploaded video of the march leaving from Dewey Square and City Councilor Felix G. Arroyo addressing the crowd beforehand. more ›