Occupy Boston protesters evicted from Statehouse steps in anticipation of Brazilian president’s visit

The Massachusetts State Police have asked approximately 40 Occupy protesters who were camped outside the State House to move on Monday night.

State Police asked the protesters to move at the behest of the US Secret Service and in the interest of tightened security for Tuesday’s visit of the Brazilian president to the State House.

http://tinyurl.com/6roqlrn

On the Occupation which has taken up the Massachusettes State House steps

Cue the Occupation, with these already debt saddled and marginalized groups being, yet again, targeted and raked over the coals by those granted authority to do so, so that, once again, some of the largest and most ruthless banks in the world can collect, it begins to makes sense that the sleeping bags and pillows have come out, and this time, there are demands; namely, “No Hikes, No Cuts, No Layoffs!” as the rallying call, but further, and just as serious, “A fully -funded, sustainable, and affordable transportation plan that works for the entire 99% of Massachusetts.”

This is Massachusetts,… and as Grace Ross of the Green rainbow Party informed onlookers and activists on Saturday at a teach in at “Camp Charlie”, the name of the Occupy Encampment on the State House steps, we are the third riches state in the country, it isn’t that the money isn’t there, it is that we aren’t willing to go and get it from those who have it.

http://tinyurl.com/7um99qj

Occupy foreclosure stories in the media

In foreclosures, Occupy groups see a unifying cause

Interviews with Occupy activists in 11 states show groups from coast to coast have taken up foreclosure fights through rallies, home occupations and court appearances.

Matt Browner Hamlin of occupyourhomes.org, a national group focused on this cause, counts “more than 100 Occupy groups” that have taken direct action or formed foreclosure working groups.

http://tinyurl.com/82rumje

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 4/10/12” »

Higher MBTA fares, less service lie ahead

Starting July 1, riders who have been taking weekend trips on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s Greenbush and Kingston/Plymouth rail lines will have to find new ways to travel.

Wait times for the Red Line trolley from Dorchester’s Ashmont Station to Milton and Mattapan will be considerably longer on Sunday and much of Saturday. On weekends, the ferry from Quincy to Boston won’t leave the dock.

And on almost all modes of public transportation in Greater Boston, rides will be significantly more expensive. (Boston Globe)

http://tinyurl.com/7h7r7g9

Use RICO statute to compel resignation of corrupt Supreme Court justices

While the use of the RICO act to prosecute corrupt judges, who take money for decisions, is not unprecedented, this would be the first time a judge as powerful as a Supreme Justice were targeted. In 2011, Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella was convicted of racketeering for the infamous “Kids for Cash” scam, in which he took money from prisons for sentencing children to jail time.

The first criteria to proving a RICO case against an individual is showing that they have committed at least two of thirty-five federal crimes in a period of no longer than ten years. Among the federal laws that compose RICO cases, there are several which could potentially be applied to corrupt members of the Supreme Court: honest service fraud, tax non-compliance, and obstruction of justice.

http://tinyurl.com/7hgmx9j

Is Cultural Liberalism Getting in the Way of Economic Equality – ‘Same-sex marriage and a woman’s right to choose do not cost the wealthy anything’

As White House aides and Congressional leaders flood the media with dueling leaks about just how far President Obama was willing to go last summer to meet the budget-cutting demands of House Speaker John A. Boehner, many liberals have reacted with shock and horror at how much of their historic achievement the president appears to have been ready to bargain away. If a Democratic president could consider cutting America’s shredded safety net further when unemployment remained stiffly high and the country was undergoing an explosion of inequality, was the “liberal moment” of American politics finally over?

Yet Maryland recently became the eighth state to join the same-sex marriage club (which includes the District of Columbia). Rush Limbaugh was force-fed a triple helping of crow for his failed attempt at “slut shaming,” after opening up the gender gap again. Women, young people, college graduates and mixed-race Americans, surveys indicate, are spurning conservative arguments about contraception, same-sex marriage and sexual freedom.

In other words, economic liberalism is on life-support, while cultural liberalism thrives. The obvious question is why. The simple answer is that cultural liberalism comes cheap. Supporting same-sex marriage or a woman’s right to choose does not cost the wealthy anything or restrict their ability to become wealthier. But there is more to it than that.

http://tinyurl.com/dxq77hk

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 4/9/12” »

#TakeTheSpring – Today in Chicago, Minneapolis, Philly and Beyond

Occupations across the country are taking action today; here are a few exciting events to follow!
. . .

In New York City, an active Occupy community is continuing to grow in spite of constant police harassment, arrests, and nightly evictions at Occupy Union Square in midtown. Meanwhile, in the financial district, Occupy Wall Street celebrated another #SpringTraining action yesterday in preparation for a massive show of solidarity on May Day, May 1st. At the conclusion of last night´s action, Occupiers read aloud a court case citing their legal right to sleep on the sidewalk. Occupiers in Washington, DC and other cities continue nightly camp-outs in front of branches of Bank of America and other ¨too big to fail¨ institutions in protest of their policies which leave millions of homes empty and millions of people without homes. Meanwhile, Occupy Boston continues to hold Camp Charlie on the State House Steps in defense of public transportation.

Also today, more Occupiers are once again standing with communities and survivors of racist and police violence to march in solidarity with Trayvon Martin, Rekia Boyd, Shaima Alawadi and all others in the latest wave of Million Hoodie and Million Hijab marches. In DC, the march will begin at Malcom X/Meridian Hill Park. (Follow live!) In Oakland, Occupiers will leave after the weekly barbecue. (Infoshop News)

http://tinyurl.com/73qz2nb

Occupy Boston currently occupying the State House

Following Wednesday’s National Day of Action for Public Transit that saw Occupiers and unions take part in coordinated actions across dozens of cities, Occupiers in Boston flooded the state capitol and have now set up an encampment outside in protest of fare hikes and service cuts to mass transit. Occupy Boston says they will occupy the area for 10 days, or until the state government agrees to revise the budget for transit.

Ryan Cahill, member of Occupy Boston media team, in an exclusive interview with Press TV’s U.S. desk on Saturday said, “We are currently occupying the State House … _in downtown Boston on the common, to basically protest the hikes in fares and cutbacks in service that we are currently experiencing in Boston for public transportation.” (Press TV)

http://tinyurl.com/7tmojg5

Occupy Boston continues protests against fare hikes

A member of Occupy Boston says a couple of hundred Occupy activists have been camping right in front of State House in Boston to protest against hikes in fares and also cuts in buses and trains.

“We are targeting the current situation going on with the MBTA [The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]. There is a lot of hikes in the fare and also cuts. So a lot of buses and train services is [are] going to be cut … making it really impossible for a lot of people to get around the city,” said Acacia Brewer, a member of Occupy Boston Media Team, in an exclusive interview with Press TV’s U.S. Desk on Saturday. (Press TV)

http://tinyurl.com/bwm97er

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 4/8/12” »

MBTA Fare Hikes and Service Cuts Draw Transit Activists to Protest at State House

Yesterday, over 200 activists with Occupy Boston, Occupy the MBTA, the T Riders Union, the Amalgamated Transit Union, and other mass transit advocates, held an afternoon rally inside the MA State House and an evening demonstration and teach-in outside the building, on the State House steps along Beacon Street.

Advocates called on the state legislature to find a lasting solution to the MBTA’s financial woes. The agency is burdened with hundreds of millions in debt, in part due to a legislative restructuring of bills left over from the Big Dig Project.

The legislature, which has until April 15th to approve the transit agency’s budget, has the power to bail out the T and potentially stop the proposed cuts in service and fare hikes. Governor Deval Patrick has proposed diverting money from an account containing funds collected during automobile inspections to the MBTA. But many advocates and legislators agree that would be a temporary fix only. (Open Media Boston)

http://tinyurl.com/8yhod7k

Greater Boston transit fares hiked by 23 percent

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) board of directors on Wednesday approved a fiscal year 2013 budget that includes a 23 percent average systemwide fare hike to buses, rapid transit, and other commuter services in Greater Boston and beyond. The proposal also cuts or reduces services on more than a dozen bus routes and eliminates weekend service on three commuter rail lines.
. . .

A crowd of about 200 people shouted down the MBTA board, chanting “Shame on you!” following a 4-1 vote to implement the changes. In addition to the fare hikes and service cuts, the new budget is contingent on $61 million in one-time revenues yet to be approved by the state legislature. This includes $51 million from a motor vehicle inspection trust fund, $5 million from a snow and ice removal surplus, and $5 million from a garage lease payment. (World Socialist Web Site)

http://tinyurl.com/826rs7c

Transit Troubles Provoke National Day of Protests

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority is a lot like other urban transit systems across the country. It’s underfunded, understaffed, and overworked as the Great Recession pushes more and more working people onto public transit. But the “T” was proposing fare hikes-from $1.70 to $2.40-and service cuts that are among the harshest in the country. And that ignited a firestorm on April 4, the national day of action for transit justice.

Marking the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s assassination, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) joined with community movements and Occupy in 15 cities to protest fare hikes and service cuts to public transit. Chicago, Denver, and Pittsburgh saw rallies, leafleting, and candlelight vigils.

In Boston, following a 24-hour vigil at the Statehouse led by young people and seniors, 150 people packed a meeting of the MBTA’s board and shouted “Shame on you!” as the directors voted to make riders pay more for less. (Labor Notes)

http://tinyurl.com/blzvoyg

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 4/7/12” »

Occupy Transit! Transit Workers & Occupy Movement Team Up

ATU national president Larry Hanley was inspired to ally ATU with the Occupy Movement when he learned of a proposal from Occupy Boston for a national day of protest around transit issues. Occupy Boston had issued this statement:

“In Boston and in cities around the country, our hard-won and necessary transportation systems are under attack. Their viability is being threatened by savage cuts and fare hikes in a calculated push toward privatization by corrupt and unresponsive politicians and their corporate benefactors.”

On April 4, the ATU led demonstrations in 15 American cities to draw attention to today’s transit crisis. (Salon.com)

http://tinyurl.com/834lzkg

Where There Are MBTA Cuts, There Are Occupiers: Group Staging 10-Day Camp Charlie Protest

Just after the MBTA Advisory Board voted 4-1 yesterday to support the ailing transit agency’s plan to raise fares 23 percent and cut $15 million in service, members of the Occupy Boston movement assembled in front of the state house and announced another Occupy rally of sorts.

Called Camp Charlie, the group vows to occupy the state house until April 14, when the advisory board meets again, or until the state legislature makes a move to help the embattled MBTA climb out of his perennial debt hole.

“We recognize the MBTA and MassDOT are essentially powerless and can’t fix the solution on their own,” occupier Brett West says. “But we are showing that the plan passed by the board yesterday isn’t acceptable.” (Bostinno)

http://tinyurl.com/cxfkjvp

Dispatch from Camp Charlie: Hello Mother, Hello Father, Reps and Hacks, They’ve Come To Bother

One of the points that was made over and over again by those protesting MBTA fare hikes (and Mass transit funding issues in general) yesterday was that this fight isn’t new. It’s been roaring for decades, and just seems to have grown extremely loud and and in-your-face over the past few months.

As of today, though, activists have extended their message into the future, stressing that the war’s not over. Grabbing the baton from young transit crusaders who camped out on the Statehouse stoop on Tuesday, Occupy Boston’s Occupy MBTA contingent has officially set up shop on Beacon Hill. (Boston Phoenix)

http://tinyurl.com/d8d78nz

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown 4/6/12” »