“We criticize dictators for quelling dissent and silencing protestors with tactics like curfews, we’ll certainly speak out when it’s happening in our own backyard. The people of Ferguson have the right to protest peacefully the lack of accountability for Michael Brown’s shooting.”
- Amnesty International USA’s executive director, Steven W. Hawkins
By Michael Krieger: I’m sure most of you have heard by now of Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s decision to deploy the National Guard to the unrest in Ferguson, but what you may not have heard is that human rights organization Amnesty International is also on the ground. In fact, it has been there for several days now and is quite disturbed by what is happening.WASHINGTON — Amnesty International has taken “unprecedented” action to deal with the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, by sending resources the human rights group has never before deployed inside the United States.Just last week, I wrote a piece on why I thought Ferguson would ultimately be seen as a significant event in American history and its importance only seems to increase as the days pass. While many Americans are becoming outraged at the scenes of police militarization and third-world like tactics, I guess it shouldn’t come as any surprise. After all, it was just a matter of time before the power structure turned its aggressive and violent foreign policy inward on its own citizenry.
The organization has been on the ground in Ferguson since Thursday. It sent a 13-person human rights delegation to the city in the wake of the Aug. 9 police shooting death of Michael Brown.
Jasmine Heiss, a senior campaigner with Amnesty and part of the team in Ferguson, said the use of the “cross-functional team” — which she said included community trainers, researchers, and human rights observers — was “unprecedented” within the U.S. for the group.
On Saturday, after Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and put a curfew in place in Ferguson, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, Steven W. Hawkins, issued a scathing statement.
“We criticize dictators for quelling dissent and silencing protestors with tactics like curfews, we’ll certainly speak out when it’s happening in our own backyard,” he said. “The people of Ferguson have the right to protest peacefully the lack of accountability for Michael Brown’s shooting.”
Hoping for peace and justice.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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About Michael Krieger
My name is Michael Krieger and I am a recovering Wall Street employee.
For those that don’t already know my background, I graduated from Duke University in 2000 with a double major in Economics and Spanish. I took a job at Lehman Brothers upon graduation and worked with the Oil analyst in the Equity Research Department. In 2005, I joined Sanford Bernstein where I served as the Commodities Analyst on the trading floor. About halfway through my time there I started to branch out and write opinions on bigger picture “macro” topics that no one else at the firm was covering. These opinion pieces were extremely popular throughout the global investment community and I traveled around providing advice to some of the largest mutual funds, pension funds and hedge funds in the world.
I loved my job but as time passed I started to educate myself about how the monetary and financial system functions and what I discovered disgusted me. I no longer felt satisfied working within the industry and I resigned in January 2010. At that point I started a family investment office and continued to write macro pieces on economic, social and geopolitical topics. My writings have continued to gain a larger and larger audience as time has passed and I believe that now is the time to create my own space on the web.
I don’t know where this blog will take me but I am excited for the journey. My number one goal is to help as many people as possible protect themselves from the financial and social calamity that is coming to this planet as a consequence of the actions of the Central Planners and those that play ball with them as a means to enrich themselves at the expense of the species. I am dedicated to restoring Liberty to the United States of America.
Please come join me in the Liberty Blitzkrieg.
Mike
LINKS: Website libertyblitz
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Amnesty Criticizes ‘Dictators’ For Silencing Protesters In Ferguson
Amnesty International has taken the “unprecedented” step of sending a team to the US to observe the escalating unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, and criticizing “dictators for quelling dissent” through forceful measures.
It marks the first time Amnesty International, a London-based non-governmental organization that focuses on human rights, has deployed a team to the US.
Amnesty USA’s executive director Steven W. Hawkins issued a scathing statement on Saturday after Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and put a curfew in place in Ferguson following angry protests over the death of 18-year-old Brown.
“We criticize dictators for quelling dissent and silencing protestors with tactics like curfews, we’ll certainly speak out when it’s happening in our own backyard,” he said. “The people of Ferguson have the right to protest peacefully the lack of accountability for Michael Brown’s shooting.”
In an interview Sunday afternoon, Jasmine Heiss, a senior campaigner with Amnesty and part of the team in Ferguson, said because of limits police placed on Amnesty’s access, “It was very difficult to see anything once the curfew went into effect last night.”
On Thursday, Amnesty said a “prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigation” into Brown’s death must be launched without delay.
The rights group also said an investigation into the “use of heavy-handed tactics to disperse a wave of protests” in the wake of the shooting must be swiftly launched.
“What is now urgently needed are thorough investigations, not further inflammation, of the incredibly tense situation in the aftermath of Michael Brown being shot dead,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
“Any police officer suspected of having committed unlawful acts must be held to account through effective investigation and, where warranted, prosecution,” Rosas said.
“Using excessive force to quell protests is unacceptable. Police in Ferguson must conform to the US Constitution and international standards on the use of force and firearms. Residents must be allowed to peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression and journalists must not be prevented from carrying out their work,” she added.
Amnesty International USA wrote to the Ferguson Police Department on August 13 to express its deep concern over the shooting incident and the subsequent use of tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters.
On Sunday, after the Amnesty team examined the situation in Ferguson, Amnesty International USA released three recommendations going forward:
• A prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigation into the shooting of Brown must take place. Brown’s family must be kept informed throughout the investigation. Under international law, police officers suspected of having committed unlawful acts must be held to account through effective investigation, and where warranted, prosecuted.
• All police departments involved in policing the ongoing protests in Ferguson in response to Brown’s death must act in accordance with international human rights standards. Any human rights abuses in connection with the policing of protests must be independently and impartially investigated, and those responsible held accountable.
• A thorough review of all trainings, policies, and procedures with regards to the use of force and the policing of protests should be undertaken.
President Barack Obama returned to the White House from his Martha's Vineyard vacation late Sunday night and is scheduled to have meetings at the White House on Monday and Tuesday, including sessions devoted to airstrikes in Iraq and the unrest in Ferguson.
Attorney General Eric Holder will brief Obama on possible actions the federal government can take to quell the mounting unrest.
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