Amy Goodman

Albert Woodfox, 43 years in Solitary,”Buddy Caldwell and Burl Cain made this case personal”

Posted on by CatAprilWatters

Albert Woodfox was released last Friday after spending 43 years in Solitary Confinement in a 6 x 9 ft cell for 23 hrs a day in Angola prison in Louisiana, longer than anyone in the history of the United States. Albert Woodfox was one of 3 black me arrested in the 60’s for being involved wit the Black Panther party. He went straight to his mothers grave because he wasn’t allowed out when she died. He also visited his sisters grave who died while he was behind bars.

Albert was serving a 5 year sentence for armed robbery when he and another inmate, Herman Wallace, were accused of stabbing a Corrections Officer in 1972 extending his sentence. Albert and Herman always maintained their innocence and said they were targeted for organizing a chapter of the Black Panther party in the prison, protesting against horrific prison conditions. Along with a 3rd man, Robert King, were known as the Angola 3. Amnesty International and other groups campaigned to free the 3 men. Woodfox was the last of the 3 men to be freed. Robert King was freed in 2001 when his conviction of murdering an inmate was overturned. Herman Wallace was freed in 2013, a few days before dying of cancer but, the state refused to free Woodfox until last Friday.

Woodfox’ first conviction was overturned and the state of Louisiana retried him successfully in 1998. A federal Judge ruled in 2014 that Woodfox should be freed on the grounds of racial discrimination in his retrial. Then, Attorney General, Buddy Caldwell planned to try Albert Woodfox again. U.S. middle court judge, James Brady, ordered Albert’s release based on 5 facts; Albert’s age and poor health, the unavailability to provide witnesses, “This court lacks the confidence of the state to provide a fair 3rd trial, The prejudice done onto Mr Woodfox by spending 40 years in Solitary Confinement, and finally, the very fact that Mr. Woodfox has already been tried twice and would otherwise face a third trial for a crime that occurred over 40 years ago.” The 5th circuit then approved continued detention for Albert.

Amy Goodman asks Albert Woodfox how it feels to be “Free”. That would mean that all of us out here are free and nothing could be further from the truth. Albert Woodfox might not be it literal prison but, he is still in the prison in his mind and in this larger prison called society.

Albert Woodfox was able to read in is cell which enabled him to maintain his focus and not be broken by being in solitary and stay in touch with the outside world. He read history books and books on Malcolm X, Dr King, & James Baldwin. Albert was allowed 2 visitors a month but, his family was unable to come too much due to distance.

A key witness in the “murder” of the Corrections Officer said he witnessed the murder but, who’s credibility was questionable. At first the witness said he wasn’t anywhere around and knew nothing about the murder. A couple of night later he was dragged out of bed in the middle of the night and interrogated under bright lights and told by the guards on night duty if he helped them crack the case they would get the “witness” his freedom. The “witness”, Hezakiah Brown, then said the killers were Wallace and Woodfox.  Hilton Butler, a former Warden, is heard on tape saying that “you could words in Hezakiah Brown’s mouth.

Albert Woodfox stated that at that time he and Herman Wallace were very active in the prison organizing resistance around the corruption in the prison such as brutal beatings, and killings. It’s ironic that those organizing against brutal beatings and killings, even of the guard, are the ones blamed for killing the guard and put into CCR. Even the wife of the guard said she did not believe Woodfox and Wallace killed her husband. She said “It’s time the state stop acting like there’s any evidence that Albert Woodfox killed Brent. After years of looking at the evidence and soul searching and praying I realized I could not believe what I was told to believe by a state that did not take care of Brent while he was working at Angola and did not take care of me when he was killed”, Teenie Rodgers.

Long time Angola Warden Burl Cain said he would keep Woodfox in lockdown regardless of his crimes since, “I know he’s still trying to practice Black Pantherism”.

Albert Woodfox, “BURL CAIN AND BUDDY CALDWELL MADE THIS CASE PERSONAL. SO PERSONAL TO THE POINT WHERE THEY TOTALLY DISREGARD CONSTITUTION, STATUTORY LAW, DUE PROCESS, LACK OF EVIDENCE. THEY JUST DECIDED I WAS GUILTY, HERMAN WAS GUILTY AND KEEP US IN JAIL UNTIL WE BOTH DIED. Unfortunately, they almost succeeded. As tragic as it was to lose Herman, he died a Free man”.

And Might I add,, This is EXACTLY how this ENTIRE country is run! People in “power”, from “Parents” to “Presidents”, Corporations and bankers (but corporations and banks are not in power to protect and raise the people), doing what ever they want irregardless of laws, truth, justice and facts.

I am so compelled to write after hearing stories like this because it’s the same situation I felt and experienced growing up in my house as a child. I’m not going to stop writing about my upbringing because I had no voice for so long, was silenced exactly like Albert Woodfox, Robert King and Herman Wallace not because of any facts, truth or evidence but, because of people abusing their power and making situations personal.

My story is very similar except it happened with people who are supposed to be family. I naturally protested in my house about the unacceptable conditions of domestic violence, stress and abuse I was forced to live with as a child. I’ve written about it on a previous blogs and have to write about it over and over to plead my own case of feeling guilty since I’m 8 years old for standing up for myself and needing those in “power” to do their jobs and at least make an attempt to create a decent, healthy environment I could grow in.

The same thing that happened to Wallace and Woodfox happened to me. It was personal. Who ever has power, as incompetent and they are, can just decide to make someone guilty and imprison them. The “family” is the easiest place this is done. “Parents” or a “parent” as in my case because my father was out of the house by the time I was 6, who are not emotionally mature, which most are not, can easily respond from a place of Personal and be triggered by a child’s healthy resistance and determination to assert their separateness.

I’ve read and studied many books on emotional and relationship health over the decades for this exact reason. It doesn’t matter who someone is or what their role in life is, if they’re emotionally immature and developmentally arrested they will abuse their power and do to innocent people what warden, Burl Cain and attorney general, Buddy Caldwell did to the Angola 3. The same thing my mother did to me. The very people depended upon to protect our rights, stand for truth and justice are doing the exact OPPOSITE and VIOLATING them instead!

I felt psychologically imprisoned my entire life not just from having my rights violated in my house by my “parent” but, when I stood up to that abusive parent I was guilted again by neighbors and other “adults” around me who all made excuses and let off the very person who is supposed to be there for me to rely on. So many people are programmed to let those in “power” off, even when they’re clearly wrong and abusive. People are completely Unconscious. This is what must be addressed. It’s the actions and the behaviors that need to be paid attention to, not what position a person holds. I call it, looking at the ingredients instead of the packaging. Look beneath the surface to who the person is, not what’s on the outside, like you would if you were on a date with someone.

Just as in the case of 28 year old Akai Gurley here in Brooklyn, NY, killed by NYPD Peter Liang last Nov when Peter Liang mistakenly fired his gun which ricocheted off a stairwell wall hitting Gurley in the chest killing him. Asians started rallying around Asian Peter Liang calling to get the conviction dropped saying it was accidental. The Aunt of Akai Gurley points out the same fact that I tried pointing out decades ago when people said the same thing about my mother, “oh, her abuse was unintentional, She didn’t mean to cause harm”, or “she couldn’t raise you good because nobody taught her”. All these “excuses” are Betrayals and NOT things ADULTS should be telling a child. Adults these days are total LOSERS and COWARDS and pretty soon it will be revealed because Nature does not tolerate excuses. People are Clearly Advocating then, being allowed to pass down their incompetence. They, literally, were telling me right to my face, just like in the case of Woodfox and Wallace, that people in “power” can do what ever they want and get away with it. The “adults”, instead of stepping up to the bar and being the smart, role model people children need and deserve, instead, guilt a child into submission and brainwash them into accepting garbage and abuse. THIS IS THE WORLD WE ARE LIVING IN.

In Akai Gurley’s case, his Aunt, Hertencia Petersen addressed the Asians rallying to let off Peter Liang telling them that if it was such a mistake killing her nephew then why didn’t Peter Liang do anything to help Akai Gurley? Why didn’t Peter Liang call for help instead of worrying about his job and calling his Union rep instead? Why didn’t Peter Liang administer CPR on Akai Gurley himself as he is trained instead of an untrained downstairs neighbor doing it?

The VERY SAME point I was left on my own to make as a CHILD to the “adults” I was surrounded by when they through all the Lame reasons not ONE adult could be there for you. If my mother was so unintentional, then why didn’t she apologies, why didn’t she do anything to make up for the harm she clearly caused? Why didn’t she admit responsibility as she was, instead of trying to save herself and pawn the responsibility onto me, the total innocent one? Why didn’t she ever do anything to change her behavior and try to do better? Instead, she just kept right on doing the same behavior for the rest of her life.

Is natural law going to simply be suspended because a “parent” calls in sick indefinitely? Is a child magically going to not have needs that must be met just because a “parent” is incompetent and emotionally unfit? People think if they have excuses natural law is going to just be suspended and let them off the hook. Nature will function no matter what and people will need what they need and deserve what they deserve irregardless of whether or not someone in power likes it or not.

All people deserve to be healthy and free. All people deserve to grow to be their unique selves and share their unique talents and gifts with the world. For anyone to assert themselves and their spirit, especially in conditions of abuse and brutality, is called NORMAL and HEALTHY. For a warden or a “parent” to want to crush a person simply for being healthy and asserting their rights, self worth and practice Black Pantherism because they feel threatened and get off on using their power to violate people’s rights is the most egregious abuse of power there is. These people in power are there to UPHOLD LAWS, UPHOLD JUSTICE, PROTECT PEOPLE’S RIGHTS, NOT VIOLATE THEM. How this Attorney General got away with it is also due to the fact that people in the “justice” system bow to people in power worse than the Angola 3 did. Why doesn’t someone in the Justice system in Louisiana step up and say something about the abuse of power that’s going on to get the warden and AG held accountable?

When are people going to function according to nature and health instead of what’s on the surface? This judge completely disregarded LAW, DUE PROCESS, the CONSTITUTION and made a case personal! That’s OUTRAGEOUS! And those responsible for keeping Albert Woodfox in Solitary for 43 years need to be arrested and placed in Solitary themselves!

 

The Poisoning of a city and it wasn’t done by international Terrorists

Posted on by CatAprilWatters

An UNELECTED emergency “manager” appointed by Gov. Snyder switched the water supply from the Detroit system they had been using for half of a century to the toxic Flint river to try to save $5 million. Right after the switch the residents of Flint started complaining about the foul odor and discolored water that, also, caused a variety of health issues. Initially, the water was infested with bacteria until the city added chlorine which created trihalomethanes or TTHM’s, a cancerous chemical by-product. Legionaires disease, born from the contaminated water, spread to the Flint residents that killed 10 people and left many others ill. The corrosive water was damaging Flint’s aging pipes creating lead contamination most prominently in the children.

Gov. Snyder and other “officials” ignored then covered up the complaints from the residents, for a year and a half, who started fighting back with protesting, citizen journalism, a new elected mayor and a resident lead testing project.

“In 2011 Gov Snyder signed into law the emergency manager law”, said Claire McClinton of the Flint Democracy Defense league who’s been challenging “emergency managers” for years. Under the guise of being fiscally responsible, EM’s were sent into city’s and school districts they deemed in fiscal crisis who were majority African American. They were privatizing services and selling off the assets. The garbage collection was privatized and the parks were sold off. “There’s a coordinated, aggressive effort to privatize our water system which is how we came to this poison water catastrophe”. The people were told that the Detroit water was too expensive and they were going to “cheaper water”. Claire McClinton said it was the GM plant that contaminated the Flint river dumping all their toxins in it, which was the “cheaper water” for the interim. “We don’t just have a water problem, we got a Democracy problem. We got a dictatorship problem”. Flint was the first city to elect an African American mayor. “We’re not the type of people that’s used to being walked on”.

Another resident who needed clean water for her grandson said, she paid a bill of $109 to stop a water shut off.

I do not understand this at all. She was going to have the poison water shut off and she paid $109 to keep it from being turned off. That makes no sense. Don’t pay it! Why would you pay to keep poison water running in your house? I did an interview last night with Sherry Peel Jackson, former IRS agent, CPA and certified fraud examiner on her book, Stick it to the IRS. She did time in jail standing up to the IRS and now teaches others about the fraudulence of the IRS. She said people give all their power over to the IRS and they end up getting screwed, losing their businesses and even their lives from break downs and suicide. She teaches people to own their power and stop giving it away to institutions that take total advantage of the naietivity of people. This is what happens when people give up their fitness and their connection to nature and their gut in exchange for a fake, nam-made system. I’ve tried telling this to people for decades. Now more people are seeing that it’s true. That the system in this country is a total fraud.

Stand UP! Fight back! I was shamed and guilted as a young person and a teen for standing up to and calling out abusive and neglectful “parents by neighbors and relatives. THEY WERE WRONG and I was the one doing the right thing. Every “adult” around me was training me to bow and live with little dignity. I was literally beaten into walking around this planet with such little self worth. Real family should be raising their child and teaching them to defend themselves, stand up for themselves. Its the most basic thing to teach a child. Instead< i was learning the exact opposite, to feel bad for standing up for myself and not bowing to who, I knew in my gut, were not real family.

People are totally brainwashed to bow and they learn it IN the “Home” by “parents” who are followers. I was smart enough at an early age to speak truth to power and I was backed by no one. People do not know their rights and they were passing down the same mentality to me and I was aware enough at an early age and felt it. Had people supported me and come together we would not be living in this kind of world. This is why we’re where we are today. I had doing the right thing beaten right our of me by ignorant people. Taking the way nature and health work and rewiring it so I would be easier to control. It ended up blowing up right in my mother’s face. How can people not recognize the right thing when it’s right in front of them? Talk about a health crisis.

“I respect him because he’s the Gov. of Michigan”, said Kawanne Armstrong of Flint, the woman who came to ask for help getting water for her grandson. People deserve respect when they give respect. People do not deserve respect automatically because they’re in a “power” position. Gov. Snyder is Not treating the residents of Flint with even minimal respect and doesn’t deserve it in return. Period.

Due to growing up in such a broken, chaotic environment standing up to abuse of power instinctually kicked in early in my life. It was healthy and natural to stand up to corruption even at “home”. The body is never wrong. The body and it’s signals are what we should be aligning with, not destroying.

I have to speak out because what I’ve tried to wake people up to decades ago that no one wanted to listen to and take seriously, is now, a much larger problem and getting worse. From living in a completely incompetent “family” with “parents” who were incapable of, or had no plans to do their job and take responsibility and were more than happy to pass down their irresponsibility onto those who deserved it the least, their own children. It’s totally CRIMINAL what happens and what is happening to children in their own “families” and there’s no where for the to turn and No one to be an advocate for them. The more parenting gets eroded and diluted over time, like is the trend since everything is about $, just like the environment, soil erosion and animal slaughter, living things that are speaking up but, are just not speaking up in English. Nature speaks a more clear language that cannot be denied, But, Sociopaths find a way.

 

 The reason I feel it necessary to write about the abusive/dysfunctional ‘family’ system is because that is the source of how and where people learned to be sheople. With all the corruption from the Powers That Be and the Flint water crisis that was an Inside Job and everything else that’s happening in the world, not enough people are taking a close enough look at the source of where they learned to be the way they are in life. Be someone perpetrator, abuser of power, or the one being abused, it important to look at your own part in the ‘relationship’. Just like in a marriage gone bad, if both parties involved don’t look at how they contributed to the failed relationship, it just ends up continuing. The problem comes from the fact that it’s usually the one being short changed that complains and wants to see changes. Many times it could be both parties who are equal contributors whether they’re the perp or the aggressor. It\’s usually the aggressor that refuses to look at how they contribute to the problems. One person, the aggressor usually, is the person who conveniently has a blind spot and doesn’t want to look at and take responsibility for their contribution to the problems.
 This is what we are living in LARGE SCALE‎.
 I did my best decades ago when I was young to get people to see how they were perpetuating their own demise. When and where I was ‘growing up’ it was right in your face that the family system is falling apart, there is no community, there is no one there for the youngest and most vulnerable. The very people who need the most protection, the very people who should be the reason for stepping up and making a better world end up being those who are used to dump all the garbage and emotional excuses onto and get away with it.
 These problems with the water crisis in Flint is literally the Macro of the Micro. Amy Goodman asked Melissa Mayer of Water We Fighting For,‎ a Flint resident who’s 3 boys, she says, are now anemic and have other health problems from the lead contaminated water. Melissa said they were A students and now suffer brain ‘fog’, bone pains and compromised immune systems. Melissa, herself, has a host of illnesses including diverticulosis, seizures and liver problems. “The by products in the water are all neurotoxins, copper, lead, aluminum, tin chromium, things that our bodies can’t handle”.
 This is the exact same issue I tried raising on my own as a child to the “adults” around me that were supposed to be protecting me! I was being subjected to stress and emotional torture that a child is not equipt to handle and had my health permanently compromised from it. Who is going to admit that what is being handed down to future generations is betrayal when the ones who should be protecting are the ones doing the betraying like Gov Snyder? To this day we don’t hear anything about the abuse of children in the home. I wonder why that is?
 Speaking about Governor Snyder, Melissa Mays said “he needs to removed from office. he just doesn’t show any real concern”, she said. “He hasn’t put any real effort into actually making up for the failures of his agencies”. It’s like hearing my words come out of someone else’s mouth. The words I tried so many times as a CHILD to express to the “adults” around me who just couldn’t be bothered because then, they would have had to actually DO something. Imagine being a child and having to deal with a crisis like the people in Flint are dealing with? Imagine being a child and those who are in the position of power showing no concern for the people they’re entrusted to protect? If it’s like this for adults dealing with abuse of power, imagine what it’s like for a child with their own “parents” and neighbors?
 Melissa is bringing forth the very same concerns I, myself, was forced to bring up as a young child to the very people making me sick. The ‘family’. You were born because it was against the Catholic Church to have an abortion, and you’re treated like it was your own fault you were conceived and exist. I was treated like I was some unwanted visitor who was criminalized for being healthy and needing ‘parents’ to do their job and protect my health and help me to grow. Doesn’t this sound like Debt? Doesn’t this sound like the signs and symptoms of “Social Climate Shift?” The passing down of the debt and pollution to the very people who should be inheriting a healthy planet, love and respect?
 Amy Goodman then brought up being from NYC where 911 attack on the World Trade Center attack took place and the Pentagon in DC, then said, “the Government said after that the biggest fear is that an international terrorist would poison the water supply of a major city. Well, AN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST DIDN’T DO THIS and a major city’s water supply has been poisoned. The Michigan Government, the Governor, Rick Snyder is involved in this”.
Melissa Mays’ reply was to say that in times of war under the Geneve Convention, a country cannot contaminate a cities water supply. “We’re not in war but, guess what, it seems like it because a whole city’s water supply was poisoned by our state government and allowed to continue. They knew in October of 2014, when GM said they couldn’t use the water anymore, that it was corroding the car parts. If it’s not ok for car parts, how is it ok for citizens?”
 More people are finding out what an abused child feels like in their own home. More often, it’s an Inside job.
 When you have to stand up and fight for yourself AGAINST the VERY people who should be protecting and supporting you and instead, Fault you for pointing out to them that they are the ones making you ill, that should be seen as a very serious environmental concern but, of course, it isn’t. ‎
‎I’m am simply looking at math and facts. I was living in utter TERROR as a child and throughout my entire young, and even older, life. I pulled my eyelashes out from the 2nd through the 5th grade and other self mutilation not to mention emotional self mutilation. The problem only gets worse when there is no one to turn to who is a Real adult and would actually admit that you’re being harmed by the very people entrusted to care for you the most. I tried telling neighbors and others who can clearly See what was happening. But, you’re surrounded by low- bar, ignorant people that have no idea that they should be responding and stepping up to the plate. Neighbors and everyone around minimize it all because most people are in on the dumbing down of children who are going to be the ‘future’ so they will be easy to control by the Powers that Be. Those around me were threatened by me and the built in instincts and health that automatically gets brought out when something healthy is subjected to something unhealthy.
 Instead of the unhealthy admitting that they’re the unhealthy and irresponsible and moving towards healthy, they make the healthy, innocent child the Bad guy and criminalize them for being too healthy. They make nature wrong instead of using nature as the guideline to move towards fitness which is a normal activity when people learn to walk or ride a bike.  ‎
 Nature is being desecrated in more ways than people realize. Their moral health is being eroded by fake, GMO $ like the pipes in Flint by the lead contamination.
 I got on this path before I realized how bad things trully were. I had no idea when I started teaching myself about mental/emotional health that I would end up feeling like a criminal. ‎It’s extremely clear that $ is at the expense of community and healthy relationships. Not just Globally but, in people’s homes and marriages.
 The world is going, at a rapid pace, in the opposite direction I’ve been going in all my life. Growing up in domestic violence, divorce and abuse forced my body, naturally, to move towards healing, relationship skills, conscious communication and the desire to cultivate healthy relationships that can only give us the nutrition we need by following nature. Skipping over any of nature’s process will simply bring us GMO relationships and poor nutrition. Who doesn’t want to be healthy? Really Sick people. Really mentally sick ‎people who have the entire Globe rigged. Not necessarily in their favor because, in reality they’re sick addicts who are destroying themselves too. Those who’ve rigged the system want to keep people confused as to what’s real, healthy and truly satisfying in this world. Because they’re addicted to fake wealth they want everyone to be.

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