Occupy the Food System: Construction or Protest?
Historically, successful movements for social change walk on two legs: construction and protest. The former builds the alternative world. The latter tries to make room for it by pulling down the old structures holding the new world back. Most movements start (and many finish) hopping on one leg. Finding the other leg — and then getting both to walk together — requires a sustained and concerted effort. However, as evidenced by the Civil Rights, Anti-apartheid and Indian Independence movements, there is no other way to travel the road of transformation.
The steady rise of food activism over the last 20 years (organic farming, community and urban gardens, Community Supported Agriculture, Farm to School, Food Policy Councils, Slow Food, etc.) and the more recent explosion of Occupy movements across the U.S. are textbook examples of construction and protest. While both are expressions of profound dissatisfaction with the ravages of unbridled monopoly capitalism — specifically regarding the food and financial systems — from the perspective of transformation they are in many ways, separately “hopping on one leg.”
http://tinyurl.com/6r2oygm
Occupy Cape Cod Targets Foreclosure Auction
Vacation destination Cape Cod may seem like a bizarre place for an Occupy protest, but that didn’t stop demonstrators from rallying in the area known for beaches and lobster.
A group of protesters gathered outside a foreclosed home that was being auctioned off earlier this week to demonstrate against foreclosures that they argue were the result of the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Cape Cod Times. But despite the protest, the auctioneers still found a buyer; a bank bought the house for slightly more than $200,000.
Infiltration to Disrupt, Divide and Misdirect Is Widespread in Occupy
These scattered reports seem to be the tip of the iceberg. As a result of experiencing extreme divisive tactics and character assassination on Freedom Plaza, we began to hear from Occupiers across the country about similar incidents in their encampments. We decided to survey people about infiltration.
Recently we toured occupations on the West Coast, where we spoke to many participants and have attended General Assemblies at Occupy Wall Street and Philadelphia. We heard stories in Arizona of someone with website administrative privileges deleting the live stream archive that included video that was to be used in defense of some who were arrested. In Lancaster, Pa., someone took control of the email list, making it an announce-only list, and when the police threatened to close the camp, that person put out a statement that the Lancaster Occupiers had decided to go without any conflict. In fact, no such decision had been made and 30 Occupiers had planned to risk arrest when the police tried to remove them. The false email resulted in no resistance.
http://tinyurl.com/78akdtb
Who’s Really Violent? Tips for Controlling the Narrative
Occupy Wall Street is similar to many movements in contending that its opponent-for Occupy, the 1 percent-is maintaining a system whose structural, systematic violence far exceeds any violence exhibited by the movement itself. For example, movements will say that class oppression or sexism or racism hurt people in the daily course of life, pointing to statistics like each percentage point of unemployment resulting in increased suicide, homicide and domestic abuse. However, especially when the movement is still young and only beginning to get its message out, the powers that be in politics and the media will often succeed in dismissing such charges and in blaming every appearance of violence on the campaigners. Reversing this narrative in the public perception is one of a growing movement’s most important challenges.
http://tinyurl.com/87av77s
Occupy Eugene holds concert fundraiser to pay for vandalism damages related to Occupy Oakland solidarity rally
We are also creating a fund with 10% of the profits to go to pay for the damages, done by vandalism, at the anti police brutality demonstration in Portland recently. The concerts theme is about local sustainable economics, so we want to show our support for small businesses and non-violent citizen action.
http://tinyurl.com/82xan8f
Occupy Targets ALEC: February 29
Occupy groups around the country will hold direct actions against corporations that support ALEC on February 29th.
The protests will be the beginning of Occupy’s re-emergence, they say, after smaller actions during the winter and facing police _disruption of encampments.
Who’s ALEC? It stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council and it’s one of the most effective tools used by corporations to control state and federal laws.
Occupy and Castlewood Workers to join up for “perhaps the biggest and most vibrant march Pleasanton has ever seen”
Organizers hope for a big turnout Feb. 25 for the latest protest in a two-year saga to demand a better contract. Food service workers at Castlewood Country Club were put on lockout on Feb. 25, 2010 when they refused the terms of a contract with the club. The contract stipulated that workers pay $849 per month for health care, a change from the free health care the contract had previously provided.
Lockouts, when employers refuse to let employees come back to work until they agree to contract terms, are a rare but powerful tool used against unions.
Since the lockout began, the club has hired non-union replacement workers and most of the union workers have taken other jobs. But, in order to end the lockout legally, the company must resolve the contract issues.
http://tinyurl.com/7d5g6jx
Police intervene to prevent establishment of new occupation in fight to prevent school closings (KS)
Some Wichitans say they’re taking a stand against USD 259 and staging a sit-in to protest proposed school closings.
Close to a dozen protesters spent more than six hours outside of Northeast Magnet, 17th and Chautauqua, Friday. They say they’re upset about plans to shut down the Northeast Magnet building.
By Friday afternoon, members of Occupy Wichita and the local NAACP brought in tents with the intention of staying awhile.
http://tinyurl.com/82gf6qp
Kansas GOP: Poor Are Too Rich
A Kansas House tax committee passed a bill in which anyone making less than $25,000 a year – roughly half a million of the state’s 2.9 million residents – will pay an average of $72 more in taxes, while those making more than $250,000 – about 21,000 people – will see a $1,500 cut, according to Kansas Department of Revenue estimates cited by the Kansas City Star.
The hike would come from the elimination of tax credits typically benefiting the poor.
I can’t help but see this as a continuation of the conservative meme that its the poor who don’t pay their “fair share.” Last fall, as the Occupy movement gained steam, it became common for conservatives to complain about the 47 percent of Americans who “don’t pay taxes.” Presidential candidates like Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry complained about it in speeches and debate performances, while conservative activists (Redstate’s Erick Erickson comes to mind) touted it in response to the Occupy movement.
Of course, the claim was misleading to the extreme; all Americans pay something to the government-sales taxes, payroll taxes, and various state taxes-but only some make enough money to owe federal income taxes.
With Credit Union Spin, Occupy Slates Los Angeles Rally Saturday
The Occupy movement is apparently broadening its interest in credit unions with a rally planned Saturday in Irvine, Calif. amidst talk of founding a national federation of credit unions under the “People Before Profits” banner.
OccupyFirst, identified as a nonprofit firm “born out of the alternative banking workgroups in the Occupy movement” is sponsoring the rally in the City of Irvine council chambers, according to a city spokesman. Irvine is a Los Angeles suburb.
On a Facebook page, OccupyFirst said its goal is to recruit citizens “interested in taking control of money from the banks to join us in person and online.” The mission would be to support the federation of CUs to be formed.
http://tinyurl.com/86xve7x
Detroit Parents, Community Members Protest School Closing
Parents, teachers, children and community members protested the scheduled closing of two Southwest Detroit schools Friday and attempted to deliver a letter outlining their concerns to Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts.
Roberts recently announced DPS would close nine schools and convert four others into charters. Detroit’s Maybury Elementary and Southwestern High School are on the list slated for closure.
But Southwest Detroit residents aren’t ready to let the schools go. More than 80 percent of Maybury’s students are Latino, and the school offers a bilingual education program that neighborhood parents say is essential.
Keystone XL opponents to host Saturday protest [SD]
Opponents of the Keystone XL Pipeline will gather at noon Saturday in downtown Rapid City to protest the plan to transport Canadian crude oil in a pipeline across South Dakota to refineries in southern states.
The gathering at Main Street Square will include members of Occupy Rapid City, Dakota Rural Action and the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center.
Occupy Dallas members, school district employees protest against longer work day without compensation
Dallas school district employees are protesting a longer work-day. The school board voted last month to extend a minimum work-day by 45 minutes, with no extra pay. Employees wish the trustees had communicated with them before making the decision. They also say the extension is not instructional time.
“We don’t feel like this is acceptable because there are many times that our teachers are the ones that sponsor afterschool programs. They do clubs, they do activites and we think this is going to be detrimental to the students,” said Rena Honea, Alliance-AFT President.
http://tinyurl.com/74nl4cr
Mic check during Middle East lecture at University of New Mexico devolves into scuffle, occupiers file police report
Chaos broke out during a lecture at the University of New Mexico, and it is was all caught on video Thursday. When (Un)Occupy Albuquerque protesters shouted down [ie, mic checked] a speaker in an UNM lecture hall other members of the audience went after the protesters.
The video posted on the Internet showed the noisy scene that looked more like the start of a bar brawl than an educational lecture.
http://tinyurl.com/79bynpm
Occupy Nigeria: ‘We must have our say’
In the wake of the recent protests that raged the country, a new group, Occupy Nigeria, emerged as a fresh voice airing a myriad of pent-up grievances against the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Dubbing its name from Occupy Wall Street of America and Occupy London of the United Kingdom, Occupy Nigeria began courtesy of the social network, Twitter.
With the simple hashtag – OccupyNigeria – Nigerians across the country and world were spurred to action and thus the new protest movement was formed. Independent of all civil society groups, the movement consists of all Nigerians the world over irrespective of tribe, religion, age, class and gender.
http://tinyurl.com/89o9vmr
One Response to “The OB Media Rundown for 2/25/12”
on February 25th, 2012 at 4:24 am #
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