Occupy

Finding Power in Occupy

November 28, 2013 Kirin Kanakkanatt, www.inthesetimes.com Resist! Occupy, Student Activism, Youth

'There is a general unrest in my generation. We are the most diverse and the most underrepresented; we are the most educated and the most unemployed. Our values are not reflected in the systems that govern our lives.' I came to Occupy Ohio University as an environmentalist. I played my part, I answered questions about fracking and mountain top removal. I even spoke on greening urban space. I came angry and hungry. Occupy was about rethinking the spaces we inhabit. These spaces are beyond parks and lawns and state capitols. These spaces are in leadership in history books, in racial profiles, in standardized tests, in pre-existing conditions, in credit scores and loan distributions. Occupy was about shifting the conversation to make people understand that we are many and they are few. They have leveraged the resources they had at hand to gain control. It is up to us to do the same. Occupy was not about hope. It was about power.

Inspector Who Pepper-Sprayed Protesters Is Ordered to Appear Before Panel

November 28, 2013 Joseph Goldstein, www.nytimes.com Resist! Occupy, Police abuse

The police commander whose pepper spraying of several women sparked sharp criticism of theNew York Police Department’s response to the Occupy Wall Street protests has been ordered to appear before investigators and account for his actions, a state judge has ruled. The effect of the ruling is to reopen the disciplinary case against Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna more than two years after the pepper-spraying episode. The matter had appeared closed after the district attorney’s office in Manhattan decided against criminal charges and the Police Department concluded its internal inquiry by docking Inspector Bologna 10 vacation days. But in a decision issued Friday, Justice Joan B. Lobis of State Supreme Court ordered that Inspector Bologna submit to an interview by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, an independent city agency that investigates police misconduct. Inspector Bologna appeared before the review board in August but declined to answer any questions. Police officers are typically required to submit to interviews by the civilian complaint board. But Inspector Bologna’s position was that an 18-month time limit for initiating disciplinary proceedings against civil servants had already passed. Justice Lobis rejected that argument . . .

Noam Chomsky: America Is a Terrified Country

November 27, 2013 Catherine Komp, www.alternet.org Strategize! Democracy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy, Worker Rights and Jobs

The Occupy tactic was a remarkably successful tactic. If I’d been asked a month before Zuccotti Park whether to do this, I would have said, you’re crazy. But it worked extremely well. It just lighted a fire all over the place. People were just waiting for something to light the spark. And it was extremely successful, but it’s a tactic, and tactics are not strategies. A tactic has a half-life; it has diminishing returns. And in particular, a tactic like this is going to arouse antagonism, because people don’t want their lives disrupted and so on. It will be easy to fan it the way you do with public workers. So it’s a tactic that had to be revised. Frankly, when the police broke the occupations up, it was harsh and brutal and didn’t have to be done like that. But in some ways, it wasn’t a bad thing, because it turned people to what they have to do next. And what they have to do next is bring it to the general population. Take up the topics that really bother people. Be there when you’re needed like Sandy. Be there for the foreclosures. Focus on debt. Focus on a financial transaction tax, which ought to be instituted. Nobody else is bringing it up. That’s what the Occupy movement ought to be doing, and not just as a national movement, but as an international movement. It’s actually striking that there are Occupy offshoots all over the world.

Chomsky: Business Elites Are Waging a Brutal Class War

November 24, 2013 Noam Chomsky , www.zuccottiparkpress.com Educate! Environment, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy, Worker Rights and Jobs

There’s always a class war going on. The United States, to an unusual extent, is a business-run society, more so than others. The business classes are very class-conscious—they’re constantly fighting a bitter class war to improve their power and diminish opposition. Occasionally this is recognized. We don’t use the term “working class” here because it’s a taboo term. You’re supposed to say “middle class,” because it helps diminish the understanding that there’s a class war going on. It’s true that there was a one-sided class war, and that’s because the other side hadn’t chosen to participate, so the union leadership had for years pursued a policy of making a compact with the corporations, in which their workers, say the autoworkers—would get certain benefits like fairly decent wages, health benefits and so on. But it wouldn’t engage the general class structure. In fact, that’s one of the reasons why Canada has a national health program and the United States doesn’t. The same unions on the other side of the border were calling for health care for everybody. Here they were calling for health care for themselves and they got it. Of course, it’s a compact with corporations that the corporations can break anytime they want, and by the 1970s they were planning to break it and we’ve seen what has happened since. This is just one part of a long and continuing class war against working people and the poor.

Austerity In Europe Brings Calls For Decentralized Protests

November 23, 2013 Staff, www.dw.de Resist! Austerity, Finance and the Economy, Germany, Occupy

"We're planning decentralized days of protest across Europe," said Roland Süss of Germany's anti-globalization pressure group,Attac, in addition to the main demonstration at the ECB. As a preventative measure, the Frankfurt police have proposed to meet with the organizers and their associated groups and start a dialogue. They want to avoid scenes like those in the spring, when there were violent clashes between police and demonstrators. In addition to Attac, various leftist groups and unemployment groups from several European countries are also part of the Blockupy movement. The more people fear for the future, the more they join the protests in Spain, Greece, Portugal or France - to Blockupy's benefit. But the core of the protest alliance is still found in economically strong Germany, partly because the ECB is based in Frankfurt, according to Oliver Nachtwey, of the economic sociology department at the University of Trier. In addition, he said, economically strong Germany has backed strict austerity policies

Music Video: Occupy – Still Free (Take a Chance on Me)

November 23, 2013 Scope Studios, www.indiegogo.com Educate! Arts, Occupy

Here's a fun music video to the tune of the 1978 song "Take a Chance on Me" by the Swedish pop group ABBA. The song is played with video of Occupy events around the world. The video was made in 2012 but it reminds us of the widespread support there is for our a movement that faces up to the social and economic injustices of our times. The video was made by Scope Studios, a small, independent multimedia studio, which describes itself as having "a strong creative vision aimed at promoting the notions of social consciousness, collaboration, anarcho-socialism, and alternative communities and street cultures." Occupy. Still Here. Still Free. #M17 marks six months of American occupation and raising of social consciousness. Tents are a medium of expression, nodes for social services. We have so much yet to communicate, so much yet to give. When you're ready, we'll still be here; we'll still be free. 99%, take a chance.

Unity Of Movements Is A Critical Step To Transformation

November 23, 2013 Bill Moyers and Company, www.billmoyers.com Educate! Democracy, Finance and the Economy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy

Henry Giroux "We know that there are people working in local communities all over the United States around particular kinds of issues, whether it be gay rights, whether it be the environment, whether it be, you know the Occupy movement, helping people with Hurricane Sandy. We have a lot of fragmented movements. And I think we probably have a lot more than we realize, because the press gives them no visibility, as you know. So, we don't really have a sense of the degree to which these-- how pronounced these really are. I think the real issue here is, you know, what would it mean to begin to do at least two things? To say the very least, one is to develop cultural apparatuses that can offer a new vocabulary for people, where questions of freedom and justice and the problems that we're facing can be analyzed in ways that reach mass audiences in accessible language. We have to build a formative culture. We have to do that. Secondly, we've got to overcome the fractured nature of these movements."

Occupy Madison Builds ‘Tiny Home’ For Homeless

November 20, 2013 Sam Sacks, , www.rt.com Create! Housing, Occupy

A group in Madison, Wisc. is taking an innovative approach to helping the homeless. Occupy Madison, an offshoot of the Occupy Movement, has built its first "tiny home" as part of their initiative called, "OM Build." They hope the house will become part of a cooperative village of eco-friendly homes. The tiny home is less than 100 square feet, and is built largely with recycled materials. RT's Sam Sacks talks with Occupy Madison organizer Luca Clemente about how OMB Build helps the homeless in more ways than just providing them shelter. News about Occupy Madison’s "OM Build" Tiny Homes initiative is spreading like wildfire, generating excitement and attracting donors of time and money, says project organizer Bruce Wallbaum. After news of homeless people beginning work on the first 98-square-foot house broke in early July, the initiative got its share of attention from local media. But a WMTV-15 story more than a month later — featuring video of the tiny house, nearly complete — sent coverage viral, Wallbaum recalls.

Create Strike Debt In Your Community, Broaden The Revolt

November 19, 2013 Staff, www.strikedebt.org Resist! Finance and the Economy, Housing, Occupy, Student Activism

One of the great evolutions of the Occupy Movement is Strike Debt and the "You are not a loan" movement. Strike Debt Urges You To Take Action Fighting debt and our exploitative economic system will require both individual and collective action. Here are some immediate steps you can take to shift the balance of power, apply pressure to creditors, and help the debt movement keep rolling. They urge you to consider: (1) Fight back against debt buyers, (2) Hold a debt assembly, (3) Save houses and whole communities using Eminent Domain, and (4) Work together against student debt. More will be coming. Check this page often. We’ll be updating it regularly with new projects.

London Occupies Luxury Home Protesting Outrageous Rents

November 19, 2013 Jessica Elgot, www.huffingtonpost.co.uk Resist! Housing, Occupy

Activists have held a "housewarming" party, as they occupied a luxurious flat in a housing development in east London, in protest at outrageous rents in the capital. Drinking champagne and eating Waitrose canapes, the 15 campaigners from the group "Let Down", claim they are all private renters hit by sky-high rents, rising around 7% a year. The occupied flat was one built by property developers Genesis, which receives funding through a government subsidy. Rents at the ‘Stratford Halo’ development start from £1,700pcm for a two bedroom flat. Based on figures published by Shelter, these rents would only be affordable to families with an income of £76,000 or more. “Private renting is expensive and gives people no security – the last thing we need is more of it," said Emma Bradshaw, one of the activists from the Let Down campaign. "Rather than supporting developers to build expensive private rented housing that is only affordable to the very wealthiest, the government should bring in measures to keep rents under control and invest in good quality genuinely affordable social housing that gives ordinary people the security they need.”

A Call For A Crowdsourced Worldwide Wave Of Action ~ #www

November 16, 2013 Resist! Corporatism, Democracy, Environment, Finance and the Economy, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Human Rights, Occupy, Police abuse, Surveillance, Whistleblowers

Let's pick a three-month span, perhaps throughout this coming spring, and unite our collective actions into an unprecedented Worldwide Wave that cannot be ignored by anyone. Let's crowdsource a relentless global wave of action that protests the corrupt, while also rallying around and celebrating effective alternatives and solutions to the vast problems we are confronted by. Imagine thousands of nonviolent guerrilla armies swarming corrupt targets and rallying for viable solutions for a sustained three-month cycle. If we begin preparing now, a massive spring offensive can lead to a summer of transformation. Staying true to the vital nature of the movement, you lead, in your own way. Pick whatever issues concern you most and run with them, knowing that likeminded people throughout the world will also be fighting in solidarity, in whatever way they can, at the same time you are. This time the police state will not be able to crush us. We will not have stationary targets. We will be everywhere, fluid and evasive. The movement will be an unstoppable crowdsourced, decentralized and autonomous revolutionary force. We will engage in a diversity of nonviolent tactics, from large-scale mobilizations to small daily acts. Most of you already know the actions and tactics that are needed. Our ability to take part in civil disobedience is multiplied by our ability to easily record the actions on video and spread them throughout the Internet. By flooding social media with these inspiring videos, we will create a positive feedback loop that translates into more action on the ground. Radical change is urgently needed, so let's make transforming the world the cool thing to do. Let's create a culture of transformation. Let's blaze a contagious nonviolent wave of action through mass consciousness, signaling the end of the old world, ushering in a new paradigm. Now is the time.

5 (Of Many) People Keeping The Occupy Movement Alive

November 16, 2013 Kathleen Ann Bradley, www.yesmagazine.org/a> Resist! Finance and the Economy, Health Care, Housing, Occupy, Religion

Two years ago today, when Occupy Wall Street was evicted from Zuccotti Park, many wondered what was next for the movement. Two years later, we profile five projects that got their starts in the encampments and are still making change today. It was a cold night in late January 2012. The New York subway doors opened and a tall, dark-haired, 30-ish young man dressed entirely in black—leather jacket, jeans, and boots—stepped into the car. Hanging from his backpack were an orange plastic bullhorn and a small drum; tied on top was a thin sleeping mat. He was one of the small army of Occupy Wall Streeters who had been driven from the park on November 15—two years ago today. He and some friends had been camping out in a vacant house to prevent the bank from foreclosing on it, he told us, but the winter weather had forced them to leave. After protesters like him were evicted, no one knew where the movement was going and what it was going to do next. Two years later, though, the answers to those questions are beginning to become clear. One way to get a handle on what became of the Occupy movement is to track the continuing work of its participants, five of whom we've profiled here. All of them were active in Occupy encampments . . .

Bill Moyers Journal: Fighting the Good Fight

November 15, 2013 Staff, www.billmoyers.com Strategize! Democracy, Education, Finance and the Economy, Fukushima, Health Care, Housing, Nuclear Energy, Occupy

“When people ask me ‘what kind of medicine are you practicing?’ I usually say, ‘I’m practicing political medicine because it’s the mother of all illnesses,’” Stein tells Bill. Flowers adds: “Once you start speaking truth to power and standing up for the right things, it’s very empowering.” Stein and Flowers serve as the president and secretary of health, respectively, for the Green Shadow Cabinet, an organization offering alternative policies to the “dysfunctional government in Washington, DC.” This week, Bill talks with them about their personal journeys fighting for policy change — including arrests for acts of civil disobedience — and the pressing challenges they’re focusing on, such as the fallout from the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.

The Smartest People in Seattle Politics

November 14, 2013 Dominic Holden, Cienna Madrid, Anna Minard, Ansel Herz, Jen Graves and Paul Constant, www.thestranger.com Create! Education, Food and Agriculture, Housing, Occupy, Police abuse, Women's Rights

Having political smarts isn’t about brokering power. True political geniuses are bringing policy to the table and suturing it to the flesh and bones of our city. They’re working, usually behind the curtain, to change conversations about what’s possible. Seattle is wealthy. It’s educated. And the voters are liberal. We’ve got everything it takes to become a national model for building mass transit, closing achievement gaps in schools, innovating environmental policy, and treating everyone equitably. But way too often, the same cast of self-satisfied schmucks hogs the limelight while settling for a career of unmemorable civic housekeeping. For instance, the Seattle City Council lacks a vision for a citywide light-rail system while instead making noisy fanfare over largely inconsequential tweaks to the city budget.

Occupy Phila. Protesters Sue City Hall For Eviction & Arrests

November 14, 2013 Joseph A. Slobdzian, www.philly.com Resist! Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Occupy

Twenty-six Occupy Philadelphia protesters sued the city in federal court Wednesday, contending that their arrests two years ago after police and city workers dismantled their encampment in front of City Hall violated their First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, maintains that the arrests of the 26 in the predawn hours of Nov. 30, 2011, were without probable cause. That was proved, the suit contends, by the acquittals of all 26 in April 2012 on charges of failure to disperse, obstructing the highway, and criminal conspiracy. The suit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages as well as injunctive relief involving the city's handling of the Occupy demonstrators. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, Deputy Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel, Capt. William V. Fisher, six specific police officers, and up to 25 unidentified officers who were on the scene at the time of the arrests. Their attorney Paul J. Krasner called the 26 protesters "American heroes who effectively fought economic inequality for the 99 percent and whose thanks from their government was this bogus arrest." Hetznecker said the arrests struck at the "very heart of our democracy."

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