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in her own words

The horrific Williams murders were about power not personal fetishes

Is it yet clear to anyone why it took three full agonizing days to read into the court record the facts that will put Russell Williams away for the rest of his life?

The Crown assures us that the courtroom and media circus was necessary to ensure that Williams doesn't get paroled after serving his mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years. Could this be a joke? It wouldn't have taken more than two hours of reading in a single morning to accomplish that end. We live in "law and order" times and in cases like Williams's, that isn't likely to change this century.

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Columnists

Racial injustice in America: The police killing of Kenneth Chamberlain

"My name is Kenneth Chamberlain. This is my sworn testimony. White Plains police are going to come in here and kill me."

And that's just what they did.

In the early hours of Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, U.S. Marine veteran Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. accidentally hit his LifeAid medical-alert pendant, presumably while sleeping. The 68-year-old retired corrections officer had a heart condition, but wasn't in need of help that dawn. Within two hours, the White Plains, N.Y., police department broke down his apartment door and shot him dead. Chamberlain was African-American. As with Trayvon Martin, the black teen recently killed in Florida, there are recordings of the events, recordings that include a racial slur directed at the victim.

rabble news

Trayvon Martin: Killing of an unarmed teenager sparks a movement for justice

Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed by George Zimmerman in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012.

The African American teenager was shot by Zimmerman, a man of multi-ethnic heritage, who was patrolling a gated community in Florida. Martin had been walking back from a 7-Eleven where he had bought a bag of Skittles and an iced tea.

Speaking on his cell phone to his girlfriend, he was spotted by Zimmerman who called Sandford police to report a "suspicious person" in the Twin Lakes neighbourhood where he was leading neighbourhood watch.

Martin was unarmed when he was shot by Zimmerman's semi-automatic. He can be heard begging for his life on the police dispatch recording of the incident.

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Columnists

Outrage over the killing of Trayvon Martin

Photo: david_shankbone/Flickr

On the rainy night of Sunday, Feb. 26, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walked to a convenience store in Sanford, Fla. On his way home, with his Skittles and iced tea, the African-American teenager was shot and killed. The gunman, George Zimmerman, didn't run. He claimed that he killed the young man in self-defence. The Sanford Police agreed and let him go. Since then, witnesses have come forward, 911 emergency calls have been released, and outrage over the killing has gone global.

Columnists

Nonprofit news organization releases video of killings in Iraq

A United States military video was released this week showing the indiscriminate targeting and killing of civilians in Baghdad. The nonprofit news organization WikiLeaks obtained the video and made it available on the Internet. The video was made July 12, 2007, by a U.S. military Apache helicopter gunship, and includes audio of military radio transmissions.

Reel Women

DVD Reviews: Precious and Menace II Society - tough lessons on being black and marginalized

April 5, 2010
| Unflinching journeys into life on the mean streets of Harlem and L.A.

9:17 minutes (6.42 MB)
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