Fresh Loaf

UPDATE: According to an Atlanta Progressive News correction, Eagle patrons were not arrested after all, though they were ordered to lie on the ground and were handcuffed.

Ten police cars pulled up to the Atlanta Eagle on Ponce de Leon Avenue at approximately 11:30 p.m. Thursday night and stormed the bar, arresting multiple bar staff and male dancers and patrons, according to a report by Atlanta Progressive News.

An APN reporter was present at the raid:

One police officer stated, as he and others left the parking lot, “This is gonna keep happening if we keep getting complaints from the community.” The officer did not specify what complaints he was referring to.

This writer arrived minutes after the raid had begun. A line of cop cars blocked the parking lot so that no one in the parking lot could leave. …

According to one patron, APD handcuffed all Eagle staff members and dancers, patrons in a leather shop, and anyone who was wearing only underwear; Thursday is advertised as underwear night.

(more…)

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Metro Atlantans on Saturday will protest the recent Iranian election and its aftermath.

The event, which has been endorsed by Amnesty International and the American Friends Service Committee, begins at 5 p.m. outside the CNN Center at the intersection of Centennial Park Drive and Marietta Street

From a press release about the event:

“The demonstrations in Iran over the presidential elections have shown the potential for a fully democratic Iran,” said Peter Tadeo, a law student at Georgia State University. “Not only Iranians around the world, but many Westerners as well, have seen the blatant corruption in the so-called elections. I believe citizens of Atlanta should add their voices to the massive dissent in Iran to increase the pressure on the Iranian government.”

“The line has been clearly drawn,” added Ali Parman. “The current regime has murdered its own people because they disagreed with the government. A government which silences its own people with deadly force is no longer a democracy; it is now a dictatorship.”

Organizers of the rally say they are not supporting any candidate or political party in the Iranian election. “This is not for Ahmadi, not for Mousavi. It is for freedom,” said Ladan Mohkami, an Atlanta medical school graduate. “Freedom to vote, freedom of press – a true democracy.”

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Chioke Perry lies in the street at Marietta Street and Centennial Olympic Park Drive as part of a “die in” today to mark the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. Perry was one of about 100 people who marched from Woodruff Park to the CNN building led by Iraq war veterans to protest the war in Iraq. The march ended with the throwing of shoes at a Bush effigy while the crowd chanted “this is for the widows and orphans of those killed in Iraq.” The same words of those uttered by the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at Bush during the ex-president’s last visit to Iraq. “The war is illegal,” said Iraq war veteran Jason Hurd, who was one of the vets leading the march. “It is not a war, it’s an occupation.”

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Hundreds of people stood in the pouring rain outside the Capitol this afternoon to protest the Obama administration’s stimulus package. The “Atlanta Tea Party” was one of many Tea Party events that took place across the nation today. The idea originated from CNBC analyst Rick Santelli’s on-air rants last week for a new “tea party” to protest the stimulus plan from the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange while backed by howls and whistles from traders on the floor.  A You Tube clip of the rave has received more then 800,000 views. At the Atlanta event this afternoon people clumped together under an array of umbrellas, many getting soaked to the bone during the rainstorm. The 40-minute demonstration included speeches by a few members of the Georgia Legislature. The crowd whooped and roared as people from the microphone railed about the “socialists running the country,” called for extensive tax cuts, read the Declaration of Independence and defended the sanctity of the Constitution. The event ended with demonstrators dumping tea bags into a bucket. I guess the revolution starts now?

More photos of the “Atlanta Tea Party” here

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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President-elect Barack Obama is scheduled to be sworn in at noon, a little less than two hours from now. If the Supreme Court is going to declare that he’s not actually a U.S. citizen, it’d better get a move on.

But seriously, I was just thinking this morning about how weird this all must be for one of those people unable to appreciate what’s happening today. You’d think the mere fact that we’ll soon be rid of George Bush and Dick Cheney would be exciting to anyone.

And yet, “PersecutedPatriot76″ is planning to protest the Obama inauguration today in Atlanta. Here’s his Craig’s List notice:

attention ron paul supporters, libertarians, market anarchists, agorists, minimists, porcs, free staters, bob barr lovers, and PEOPLE WHO CELEBRATE THE VALUE OF THEIR INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY OVER GOVERNMENT:
there will be a PEACEFUL anti-obama demonstration in downtown atlanta on the date of the inauguration.
native georgians, and other descendants of the colonials (white and black), have allowed the federal government to pervert many of the basic ideas our not-too-distant forefathers died to ensure for us. it is time we say “NO MORE”.
banners and protesters needed! come one come all!!!

Although I haven’t contacted PP76, I gather from his wording that he doesn’t oppose Obama himself, but rather the federal government and the presidency in general. From the fact that PP76 doesn’t announce the time and place of his protest — and from his web handle — I’m also guessing he’s aware that he’s advocating a fairly unpopular cause.

I just have one question: What’s an “agorist?”

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When I arrived to photograph Diana Crumb, a person who was involved in a 24-hour blindfolded dance in response to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, I wasn’t too sure what to expect. I shot for about half an hour and once I put my camera down and start packing up, found myself just sitting — watching and reflecting. It was a truly beautiful, continuous, fluid motion and made quite an impact on me.

(Photo and text by Matthew Miller)

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On Monday night in downtown Atlanta, nearly 75 people gathered outside the U.S. Court of Appeals building to hold a candlelight vigil for death row inmate Troy Davis.

An 11th Circuit Court of Appeals three-judge panel met today to decide whether to hear his latest appeal. On three occasions, Davis received a last-minute stay of execution based on appeals that have raised the possibility of his innocence.

Davis was convicted and sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of off-duty Savannah police officer Mark Allen MacPhail. Since Davis’ original trial, seven of nine witnesses whose testimony helped convict him have recanted.

In today’s hearing, both the defense and the state presented 30 minutes of oral arguments. According to Laura Moye of Amnesty International, the court’s ruling — which is expected in the coming weeks — could lead to a hearing during which the witnesses who recanted would be allowed to testify. However, if the court rules in favor of the state, Davis likely will get his fourth execution date.

The Rev. Tim McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church, closed the vigil Monday night by leading the crowd in the song "This Little Light of Mine."

More photos from the vigil at our Sideshow blog.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Hundreds of people rallied outside the Capitol Thursday evening in a final attempt to convince the state Pardon and Parole Board that Troy Davis shouldn’t be executed. Davis has been on death row since 1989 for the murder of a Savannah police officer. Although there was no physical evidence linking Davis to the murder and seven of the nine witnesses who originally identified him as the killer have recanted their testimony the state has given a Sept. 23 date for Davis’ execution. His last hope is the parole board, which meets today to hear testimony about the case. The two-hour rally included speeches by Davis’ sister, state Sen. Vincent Fort and two of 129 death row inmates who have been exonerated nationwide in the last 35 years. Davis also spoke to the crowd through a cell phone call from the prison where he is held. The board is expected to make a ruling on the case sometime in the next week.

See more photos from yesterday’s Troy Davis rally at the Capitol here.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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AJC.com reports DeKalb County police arrested protesters on the public sidewalk and street outside the Scientology building in Dunwoody. The story also indicates that police ticketed drivers who honked their horns in support of the protesters. Video of a protester being arrested, and a testimonial by a man who was ticketed, are on YouTube. Police say they only ticketed people who cruised by the site repeatedly. The man in the YouTube video says he lives next to the Scientology building and only drove by once.

(Tip of the e-hat to Atlmalcontent for blogging about the AJC story.)

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BURMA PROTEST IN DECATUR: Pictured on the sign is Aung San Suu Kyi, the imprisoned leader of Burma’s democracy movement.

I accidentally joined a street protest in downtown Decatur on Saturday morning. I say “accidentally” because when I approached the protest to photograph it, a lovely Burmese schoolgirl greeted me with a smile and handed me a protest poster. I couldn’t resist. And really, I didn’t want to. The protest was intended to draw American public attention to the Burmese military dictatorship’s crackdown on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators in Burma. The protest was organized by the girl’s parents, who fled Burma after a similar military crackdown in 1988.

One Burmese man in the protest who barely spoke English told me he’s only been in the U.S. for four weeks. “Did you flee because you protested against the military?” I asked.

“No. Army come my village. Make fire. We leave.”

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