Community Stands With OWS To Condemn NYPD Violence
Yesterday, members of the New York City Council decried the NYPD’s behavior during the March 17th re-eviction of Liberty Square. Today, Occupy Wall Street protesters joined with members of other American communities routinely targeted by police, and called for the resignation of NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly for authorizing brutality and extreme abuse of police power.
“Hardly a day goes by without another story of NYPD abuse hitting the news and undermining the ability of the community to trust the police department,” said New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman, in a statement on Monday. “We know the NYPD is watching us, but who is watching the NYPD? New York City is in desperate need of an Inspector General to bring strong, meaningful NYPD oversight, as well as a strong ban on religious and racial profiling. It’s time for the City Council to quickly act and pass these important reforms.”
Calling for Police Commissioner’s Resignation, Occupy Wall Street Teams Up With Victims of NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk
Occupy Wall Street protesters have issued a joint call with members of New York City’s black, Latino and Muslim communities for New York City’s police commissioner to resign.
http://tinyurl.com/7r45wdz
99% v 1%: the data behind the Occupy movement
(video)
http://tinyurl.com/73uoqgx
The JOBS Act is so Criminogenic that it Guarantees Full-Time Jobs for Criminologists
The “Jumpstart Our Business Startups” Act, the comically forced effort to create a catchy acronym, is the most cynical bill to emerge from a cynical Congress and Administration. It is an exemplar of why Congressional approval ratings are well below those of used car dealers. The JOBS Act is something only a financial scavenger could love. It will create a fraud-friendly and fraud-enhancing environment. It will add to the unprecedented level of financial fraud by our most elite CEOS that has devastated the U.S. and European economies and cost over 20 million people their jobs.
Financial fraud is a prime jobs killer.
What is the JOBS Act aka the ‘boiler room legalization act’?
Under the guise of creating jobs, the House bill would make it easier for companies to raise money from the public without fulfilling some – or in certain cases virtually all – of the obligations designed to protect investors in public companies. However, there is no requirement or guarantee that companies would use any of the money to hire a single person.
http://tinyurl.com/6tgcsc3
JOBS Act hits a snag
It looks like Reid will not allow the JOBS Act to go forward without the Ex-Im [Export-Import] Bank reauthorization. And considering what an awful mess the JOBS Act actually is, that’s good news.
Inequality Undermines Democracy
Inequality isn’t quite the top priority of voters: only 17 percent of Americans think it is extremely important for the government to try to reduce income and wealth inequality, according to a Gallup survey last November. That is about half the share that said reigniting economic growth was crucial.
But a slightly different question indicates views have changed: 29 percent said it was extremely important for the government to increase equality of opportunity. More significant, 41 percent said that there was not much opportunity in America, up from 17 percent in 1998.
Why Occupy Needs Days of Action
Members of our movement, emboldened by #M17, have been living, sleeping and organizing in Union Square for the last two days, an occupation that continues as I write. It is safe to say that spring is here and that, once again, we have a day of action to thank for this resurgence.
The ‘Spring Offensive’ and the one-trick pony
Why the continuing focus on a return to the parks? The problem seems obvious. When a movement becomes focused on itself, when it seems to have only one tactic, it loses contact with the people it is fighting with and for.
Building community is critical but so is building alliances and encouraging organization as a means for fighting back.
http://tinyurl.com/7ym8vgl
The Occupiers: A Liberal and a Radical Struggle for the Soul of a Movement
Zucker is planning smaller efforts around Washington, too, and acknowledged that regaining the momentum Occupy Wall Street had in October will be crucial to its future. “It’ll be hard to bring that sort of spontaneous, grassroots energy back to the movement,” he said. “It’s going to take energy and organizing and intention.”
Murphy has a different plan. In April, he’s heading out to Oakland; protesters there know how to have a good time and aren’t afraid of a little confrontation. But despite his frustrations, he thinks Occupy Wall Street is perfect right now — not too organized, not too destructive. “It’s above ground, it’s legal, it’s nonviolent. It’s the ideal front organization for a revolutionary movement,” he said. “You can filter in money to this place, you can get volunteers, you can start vetting people to make sure they’re not cops, all in a very above-ground manner.”
Chicago NATO protests hit with red tape
Mayor Emanuel and Chicago bureaucrats will no doubt build further barriers to hamper mass protest and prevent riotous scenes at all cost. But long-term anarchists and those radicalized by Occupy actions (and the harsh police responses to them) have again and again proved themselves willing to challenge authority and risk arrest and injury – attempts to enact a “Chicago Spring” evidently will not be killed by 1,000 (bureaucratic) paper cuts. As Occupy Chicago’s Twitter feed responded Tuesday to the news of the the parade permit rejection, “Think it will stop us? 😉
http://tinyurl.com/7nvtppu
A Note From the U.S. Bank Blockaders on UC Davis Campus
[Statement] The bank blockade was an autonomous action from individuals within Occupy Uc Davis. The blockade of the US Bank is part of a history of the student struggle against the privatization of public universities and international austerity. Days like November 18th may become infamous in the public eye, but the blockade of the US Bank was a real battle against the privatization agenda, and its closure is a victory. Every step away from capital in our education is a step toward freedom.
Our struggle is an international struggle, from Cairo to Greece, Oakland to Davis.
http://tinyurl.com/87a9rhs
Occupy Maine Speaks Out Against LePage Budget
The group says the governor’s budget proposal is an all out assault on the poor and middle class in Maine. “If he succeeds either in this budget or his next budget and we give him the keys to this state house and this legislature, the middle class and the poor have not seen what hell looks like yet,” said Occupy member Regis Tremblay.
http://tinyurl.com/76fzqfj
Report details full effect of American Legislative Exchange Council on Maine’s public policy
Maine’s Majority Education Fund released a report showing the extent to which the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has infiltrated Maine’s lawmaking process. The report tells the story of how Maine legislators and out-of-state corporations have colluded to put forth a host of big business-friendly policy initiatives, particularly since Republicans took control of state government in 2010.
http://tinyurl.com/7k8fw2m
Letter to the editor: Occupiers a voice for the ‘have-nots’
It seems to take a man of God – the Rev. John MacIver Gage, senior minister of United Church on the Green, – to explain what most mortals are missing about the Occupy movement.
Both nationally and locally, Occupy is about the “have-nots” and “left outs” of our country. The opposition to Occupy has managed to shut down most of its venues across the country. Yet occupiers remain on the New Haven Green, a symbol of the center of the city.
The purpose of the Occupy movement is to enlighten those of us not in power that our rights are being seriously compromised by many of those who are. I thank the occupiers for trying hard to convey this message.
http://tinyurl.com/8xox9s5
Protestors Protest News Corp. At Capitol [NY]
Protestors rallied in the Capitol today outside the corridor that houses the press corps to show their disapproval of the New York Post and its state editor, Fred Dicker, Gannett’s Aaron Scholder reports.
The group, which consisted of around 40 people from the Occupy Albany movement, chanted throughout Dicker’s morning radio show on Talk 1300 to show their dissatisfaction with what they say is a bias towards Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The protestors said they were there to also show their discontent towards the Post’s owner, News Corporation, which they said was not paying their share of taxes to the state.
http://tinyurl.com/7pk3a9w
Banners, more protests against Monsanto [MO]
Protesters who are part of a movement calling itself Occupy Monsanto hung banners throughout the region early Tuesday, a day after holding a march through downtown St. Louis and days after protests against the company were held in some 30 cities across the country.
Some of the signs read “FDA is Genetically Contaminated by Monsanto” and “Genetic Biohazard: Defend Yourself.”
By mid-day Tuesday, roughly half of the 13 banners, which were hung mostly on highway overpasses, had been removed by law enforcement, according to an Occupy Monsanto organizer.
Occupy GSU [Georgia State University] marches into Board of Regents meeting
As part of the walkout other protestors chanted, entered classrooms and dispersed hundreds of papers throughout the General Classroom Building on their way to the courtyard, where they rallied for their march on a scheduled University Board of Regents meeting. At the meeting, protestors spoke out against tuition hikes, the board’s ban on undocumented students at the state’s top universities and board member’s supposed ties to corporate interests.
http://tinyurl.com/7466bw8
One Response to “The OB Media Rundown for 3/21/12”
on March 21st, 2012 at 5:24 am #
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