Today at Concord District Court, I had attempted to audio and video record a hearing at the defendant’s request. I was given last minute notice, and ended up missing the brief hearing by the time I had arrived. When I entered the courthouse, I did not appreciate that security had disarmed me of my harmless accountability mechanism, the camera. They also took my tripod, and would give me back none of my equipment until a judge gave me permission to act as the press.
To protest the violation of my first amendment right, I exercised different first amendment rights outside. Utilizing my speech, I chalked out against the press restrictions practiced by the monopolist court officers. I was almost finished when the head of court security exited the building and asked me to stop chalking and leave. He implied that I was doing something illegal, but never spelled out exactly what. He even identified himself as a police officer. Due to some NH court’s crackdowns on press freedom, in the more restrictive venues it is rare to see a court security officer in action, especially outside of his normal domain inside the building.
An article by Michael E. Ross entitled The Epidemic of Police Brutality published at The Root yesterday. It comes alongside news from Tampa of police misconduct resulting in homicide. On December 23, Reason’s Hit and Run blog published the story of Nick Christie, who was tied to a chair and repeatedly pepper sprayed by Lee County, FL deputies (photo included in link). His death was likely caused by asphyxiation, though there could have been a number of factors at work as Nick Christie had a medical condition. According to a witness, who at the time was a corrections officer, “He had a spit mask on and was naked.” The witness testified that the restrained man had pleaded with officers to remove the spit mask because he could not breathe.
Even the most totalitarian regimes ultimately rest on granted authority. Misdeeds must be hidden or legitimacy erodes. Censorship, propaganda, purposeful omissions and blatant lies fuel the Statist Quo.
Enter the free flow of information.
Case in point, the How to Make a Wicking Bed Garden instructional sheet. Days after being created by @BrknSdwlkFrm (great work!) it was being distributed in NYC and translated into Arabic to be disseminated on the streets of Egypt.
Last week I blogged about camera bans and lack of accountability from those working inside Cheshire Co Superior. Included in that post was a video of several journalists who sought comment from a continually aggressive bailiff, B. Tebo, and others employed by the court. The media was present up to the last day of business before the holiday, and will again after the holiday.
The last day, December 23rd, Derrick and Ian were waiting for bailiffs and judges to come to work, in order to ask them a few questions. The weather was a bit harsh, compared to the past days, so the duo decided to stay in the car. That’s when Caleb came into work – he’s a sheriff – and threatened to tow the car for being parked in the judges spot. Even though no complaint had been filed, no judge was being kept from parking there or the fact that three other stalls were still open for judges. Either way, Derrick and Ian par took in a great copblock, check it out.
As the new year approaches, unprecedented global unrest continues to mount. With the New Hampshire primary two weeks away, the military presence in Iraq has officially come to an end, despite reports of approximately five thousand paramilitary contractors being employed to protect US government properties in Baghdad. The conflict is three months away from its ninth year anniversary, and ends shortly before the election process begins involving the president who campaigned on bringing the war to a conclusion.
In Russia, the largest protests since the fall of the Soviet Union are occurring against the decade-plus rule of Vladimir Putin. Putin ceded the presidency to Dimitry Medvedev in 2008, but has since held the number two position of Prime Minister.
Russian President Dimitry Medvedev with the late North Korean head of state Kim Jong Il.
The Chinese village of Wukan is in open revolt against the central government of the PRC since a village representative was murdered in police custody. Police and communist party officials were expelled from the town, prompting the central government to establish barricades preventing food from being brought into the area. Search engine results for Wukan are being heavily censored by the central government to prevent news of the uprising from spreading.
Today at Concord District Court, I had attempted to audio and video record a hearing at the defendant’s request. I was given last minute notice, and ended up missing the brief hearing by the time I had arrived. When I entered the courthouse, I did not appreciate that security had disarmed me of my harmless accountability mechanism, the camera. They also took my tripod, and would give me back none of my equipment until a judge gave me permission to act as the press.
Radio Free Keene News is a five minute newscast which is available as 
