In September 2014, police in Saratoga Springs, Utah, shot Hunt several times in the back and side after a 911 caller reported a black male with a samurai sword. Hunt was dressed as an anime character and holding a toy or blunt replica sword commonly used by cosplayers, but Utah is an open carry state, so Hunt could legally carry a real sword there.

Carlos Miller, over at Photography Is Not A Crime, offered more details on this incident, which apparently took place in Allentown, Pennsylvania: “A 61-year-old man happily singing a Beach Boys song in front of a crowded restaurant in Pennsylvania was violently body slammed by a cop before he was carted off to jail Friday.”

Colorado’s successful experiment in marijuana legalization is bringing in millions of dollars of revenue per month while simultaneously benefiting schools and contributing to a drop in crime rates. Colorado reached over $50 million dollars in recreational cannabis sales in June, breaking the state’s previous record.

Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks: “We got way too low a bar for the cops in the country when we look at something like that and say, ‘Thank God we didn’t kill him.’”

On Wednesday, August 12, #BlackLivesMatter activists interrupted Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush at a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada. This action comes as the movement seeks to distance itself from accusations of partisanship or financial support from the Democratic Party.

For three years, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been forced to take refuge at Ecuador’s embassy in London, fearing arrest and eventual extradition to the United States if he ever steps outside. Four teams of eight police are maintained at all times to ensure Assange does not escape, at a shocking cost to British taxpayers.

Twelve years have passed since an American activist was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer, 12 years which have been marked by a lengthy legal battle and repeated calls for an investigation into Rachel’s death by activists, her parents, and even the Bush and Obama administrations.

An Arizona prison bus accident sent 20 inmates & a driver to hospital, but transportation is often terrifying for prisoners, even at the best of times. Kit compares reports of today’s accident with his own research into the prison transport experience for Truthout.

Genocide is a word which may bring to mind images of large-scale ethnic cleansing and mass graves like those created by German Nazis or Bosnian Serbs. Some acts of genocide, however, are slower, more subtle, and a good deal more insidious, like the acts the United States continues to carry out against its black- and brown-skinned population.

It was the anniversary of the death of Mike Brown, the black teenager in Ferguson who was gunned down by Officer Darren Wilson. To mark the event, a concert of revolutionary musicians called “Ferguson Rocks” was held in St. Louis. The lineup included Tom Morello and the Freedom Fighter Orchestra,