Occupy Somerville protests potential MBTA cuts and fair hikes
With Occupy evicted from Dewey Square in December, [Jay] Jubilee now spends much of his time riding MBTA trains and buses, spreading the word about the possible effects of the T’s financial problems and encouraging riders to attend a Feb. 28 MBTA hearing at Somerville High School. The new mission is very different from his old one, but he says the same political philosophy drives him.
“It’s very much in the spirit of Occupy,” he said, “which is to say defending public services against austerity cutbacks and, more generally, trying to find ways to unite and defend the interests of the 99 percent.”
http://tinyurl.com/7l2o7o7
Boston Phoenix writer responds to Breitbart hit piece that used extensive excerpts from her article to attack Occupy
The first person I am calling out is a lady who calls herself Liberty Chick. Last week she penned a piece directly in response to my January 31 piece for the Phoenix regarding Occupy Boston’s attempts to create safer spaces for women, LGBTQ folks, and victims of sexual violence in general. Hiding behind her pen name, LibChiqq wrote the piece for Andrew Breitbart’s website “Big Government.”
LibChiqq basically cut and pasted my whole piece into their super right-wing content farm and then tried to re-contextualize my writing to point out the ways in which Occupy is at fault for being a breeding ground for rapists and misogynists. She then uses my words as a means to discredit the movement as a whole.
http://tinyurl.com/775rp5g
Judge says Breitbart must face defamation lawsuit
Former U.S Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod’s lawsuit against right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart survived a motion to dismiss, clearing the way for her to pursue the high-profile defamation suit she filed against him and a colleague last year.
Sherrod sued Breitbart, Larry O’Connor and a third, unidentified individual in 2011 for allegedly editing down her 43-minute speech at the March 2010 NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet into a 2 minute 36-second clip meant to mislead the public into believing that Sherrod gave preferential treatment to black farmers in doling out federal funds.
The short video, in which Sherrod spoke of her own feelings about helping a poor white farmer, went viral and within days had her pulling her car over at the behest of the White House to “email her resignation from her blackberry,” claimed Sherrod in her federal complaint.
http://tinyurl.com/7vmldq4
Hundreds march for free speech at Bridgewater State University
[BSU Occupy, along with the Social Justice League, Pride Center Ambassadors, Student Diversity Council and AWARE were some of the student groups that helped organize the rally.]
Hundreds of students, faculty and community members rallied on the Bridgewater State campus Tuesday morning in support of free speech, after a student said she was physically assaulted over a pro-gay marriage editorial in the student newspaper.
Destinie Mogg-Barkalow, 20, who writes for the student newspaper The Comment, told police she was attacked in a campus parking lot by a man and a woman on Thursday night. The pair asked Mogg-Barkalow if she was the author of a recent pro-gay marriage editorial. When she said yes, the woman struck her in the face, causing a bruise, according to police. The attackers have not been officially identified as students but a campus spokesman said they were around Mogg-Barkalow’s age.
http://tinyurl.com/6s4k9qv
Democratic incumbent tries to get Occupy candidate disqualified from primary race
Nate Kleinman, the Occupy Philadelphia protester who is running for Congress against Representative Allyson Schwartz, will have to head to court to defend his right to stay on the ballot.
Last Tuesday, Kleinman’s campaign submitted more than 1,500 signatures to the election board, meeting the 1,000-signature requirement for entry in the race. But Schwartz’s office is contesting those signatures, and with them Kleinman’s right to run for Congress.
. . .
Kleinman calls in to add the following: “This is what conventional politicians do. [Schwartz] doesn’t think that she can beat me on the issues, so she’s trying to beat me with a frivilous challenge in court. I have every reason to believe that I am in the right on this. My name will be on the ballot on April 24, and if it’s not I will win in a write in. The people deserve to have their voices heard.”
Super PACs Growing More Powerful Than The Campaigns They Support
An unmistakable dynamic is playing out in the money game among Republican presidential candidates: New “super” political action committees are growing more powerful than the campaigns they support.
For two of the GOP front-runners, their supportive super PACs raised more money and have more cash left in the bank than the candidates’ own campaigns. Helping their efforts are major financial gifts from wealthy business executives, whose contributions can be essential to the groups’ continued operations.
http://tinyurl.com/7yqczaz
Occupy is back? Movement gets a TV show, issues concrete demands, begins new protests
As the first signs of spring appear, Occupy Wall Street seems to be alive and kicking once again. Or at least starting to get there. Here’s a short of what’s been “occupied,” in the last two weeks alone.
Join Occupy College Teach-Ins
On more than 120 college and university campuses around the nation, Occupy College activists will hold teach-ins tomorrow and Thursday focusing on vital education issues such as solutions to soaring student debt, reducing the cost of education, improving the quality of education and more. The teach-ins are in preparation the March 1 National Day of Action for Education.
You can follow the teach-ins on Twitter with the hashtag @occupycolleges.
Does Occupy Wall Street Have a Future in Politics?
Over the past few months, Occupy protesters have taken on AT&T’s corporate layoffs in Atlanta, school privatization in Chicago and prison policies in California. It appears that as protests will continue in different parts of the country, and Occupy organizers have been planning large demonstrations at both the Republican and Democratic conventions this summer. So for Occupy Wall Street, it appears that the action will continue to take place in the streets – and we’re unlikely to see any high-profile political wrangling in the near future.
Occupy Reno group breaks from national trends
Despite its resemblance to the national movement with general assemblies and physical campout locations, Occupy Reno differs in its belief in the legislative process – something noticeably absent from its large-scale counterpart.
And, while the Occupy movement is focused primarily on maintaining a presence, the Reno chapter is distancing itself from the spotlight and attempting to create change from within the system.
Take the resolution that the group brought before the Reno City Council on Jan. 25 for example. Rather than occupying outside of the hall or in a high-traffic area such as New York City’s occupation in Zuccotti Park, Occupy Reno members drafted a proposal that would limit the amount of money corporations can provide to political campaigns in Nevada. The group amassed more than 1,100 signatures for the proposal.
http://tinyurl.com/7bewarn
Occupy Activists From Across US And Abroad Converge in Olympia
Over President’s Day weekend, Olympia, Washington became the first city in the nation to host a major national occupy movement conference. Activists from all across the country gathered to participate in three days of organizing activities, including dozens of workshops, training sessions and meetings. The Occupy Solidarity Social Forum was sponsored by the Alliance For Global Justice and Occupy Olympia.
Over 300 people attended the event, and organizers are calling it a great success. Due to the large number of activists on board an Amtrak train coming in from California, folks along the route renamed it the “Occupy Express.” The train was met by a boisterous welcoming party of conference organizers when it arrived at the station in East Olympia.
Student Debt to Fund NYU’s $6 Billion Expansion Plan
The NYU administration plans to expand the physical footprint of the university by 40% ($6 billion) over the next two decades. The Occupy Student Debt Campaign, GSOC-UAW, and NYU4OWS will stage a rally to call attention to the injustice of NYU’s apparent business plan: enroll ever more heavily indebted students to pay for the new buildings. The cost of this redevelopment is estimated at $6 billion-3 times the current endowment of NYU-and yet the administration has not been transparent about its fiscal plans.
http://tinyurl.com/7w92gl5
Over 1,000 at Oregon Capitol protest cuts, school privatization
More than a thousand public employee unionists, educators, parents, environmentalists, and Occupy activists rallied in chilling rain for a “Strong Schools, Strong Oregon” day of mass action Feb. 20 at the state Capitol here.
The action was called to build support for funding public education and social services, threatened by proposed cuts, and to oppose measures being considered by the governor and legislature to privatize key elements of public education. The proposed cuts seek to close Oregon’s projected $340 million shortfall in projected tax revenue.
Will Tea Party trump Occupy in North Country? [NY]
The last twelve months, it’s felt like the conservative Tea Party movement had faded a bit in the North Country, with far more energy being generated by progressive Occupy Wall Street folks.
But as election season approaches, and as we gear up for what looks to be a ferocious NY-23 battle, there are signs that the Tea Party plans to play a big role.
. . .
The question for the Occupiers, meanwhile, is whether they’ll play a significant role in this race at all. A lot of progressives from the North Country took part in demonstrations and rallies over the last year. But will they be a significant factor at the ballot box?
http://tinyurl.com/83snzgs
Occupy Winston-Salem plans protest of Wells Fargo, Reynolds
Occupy Winston-Salem is planning protests Feb. 29 in front of the Wells Fargo building and the Reynolds American headquarters as part of a National Day of Protest.
At Reynolds, the group intends to protest job cuts at the company and its connection to the American Legislative Exchange Council. Reynolds Vice President David Powers is the treasurer for ALEC’s private enterprise board.
ALEC is “a nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism and individual liberty,” according to the ALEC website.
Frequently Asked Questions: Wells Fargo Divestment Campaign
Recently, Occupy Bozeman called on people to get their money out of big banks, particularly Wells Fargo. People who have learned about the campaign have been asking questions. I have compiled many of those questions and provided some answers below.
Occupy Syracuse: Protesters contend Verizon fails to pay a fair share of taxes
Community grassroots organizations, religious leaders and local residents gathered at the downtown Syracuse Verizon building Tuesday to complain the company is not paying its fair share of taxes.
http://tinyurl.com/7kurrqj
Occupy Holy Week, Occupy Passover: Dancing in the Worldwide Earthquake
Plans are under way in New York City for an action to “Occupy Holy Week, Occupy Passover.” People of faith could undertake actions like it all across the country.
We are sharing a sketch of plans to observe Palm Sunday and a pre-Passover Freedom Seder with the intention of both naming the 1% — the Pharaohs & Caesars of today: illegitimate and unaccountable power-holders — and empowering the 99% to face them and begin the healing of our society by transformative, spiritually rooted action.
For this particular effort in NYC, there will be a special emphasis on oppressive debt: foreclosed homes, under-water homes, families mired in mortgages they cannot afford because of lost jobs, etc; student debt piled up to pay for tuition but stuck on people who now cannot get jobs to pay back the loans; debt we owe the plundered and polluted Earth.
Protest drags down Europe’s SOPA
“I will not take part in this masquerade,” wrote the European Union’s special rapporteur for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, as he tendered his resignation last month. Since then, opposition to the international pact on so-called intellectual property has swelled. The popular fervor that thwarted the Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States has gone global.
Thousands marched in the streets of Europe last weekend, with protests reported in Budapest, Paris, Prague, Vilnius, Transylvania and beyond. Bulgaria has pulled out of the process of signing ACTA, as the agreement is known. Latvia has called for greater consultation. Poland has suspended its involvement. And Germany is holding off, as are the Czech and Slovak governments. Hollywood had expected a neat and tidy ending to the years-long negotiation of a new global copyright regime. What it has gotten is something as complex as a Fellini film.
Portugal Plays By Austerity Rules, But Economy Slumps
The eurozone crisis has focused attention on debt-burdened Greece spiraling into decline. Meanwhile, Portugal is seen as the international creditors’ poster-child for obediently slashing spending and welfare benefits.
Nevertheless, the Portuguese national debt continues to grow, and the country is mired in recession and soaring unemployment.
But after months of deep budget cuts and tax hikes, Portuguese are beginning to react. A protest rally was organized by the largest trade union on Feb. 11, and the slogans echoed its leftist ideology. Analysts were surprised by the huge turnout, the biggest in 30 years. People of all ages and professions vented their anger and impatience.