Occupy Everywhere - Sept 17th - Day of Rage Against Wall Street and what it stands for!

[Peter Lemkin]

http://www.earthcam.com/usa/texas/dallas/dealeyplaza/

The propaganda text under the image is priceless!!!!! [No, make that worthless!!!!!!!!!]
That is Big Brother speaking "Do not think for yourself, I will think for you!"

That is not a 'web cam', but a 'web cam sham!'

I can only hope OWS-Dallas* soon starts an occupation of the Plaza and the phony building/floor/window from which LHO did NOT fire - along with the fallacious 'museum' that purports to represent historical anything. Its a psyop, stupid! -from 11/22/63 until this very day and ramping up for the 50th - the biggest attempted propaganda [and actual, if secret] coup [now, along with 9-11-01]. *I suggest that you email ows-Dallas, as I just did asking them to plan to occupy Dealey Plaza and the faux 6th floor museleum - along with those researchers going to Dallas and the many ordinary citizens who come to the Plaza on the 22nd! - put a link for them to this post and/or any others you care to - put it in your own passionate words! DO IT! BE THERE! Pass the word to others who will be there! [Remember, physical presence is best, but technology now allows one to 'be there' via internet.]

[those of us who can connect the dots from Dallas {and related} to our current corporate-run internal police state - external permanent war state Empire; complete with economic serfdom, increasing inequity/theft of wealth and ongoing economic/social/political/ethical collapse, are now needed to inform others at all of the Occupy locations - and at the Dallas Occupy before and on 11/22!]

Dealey Plaza traffic was not even shut down when they murdered JFK...this year, I say SHUT IT DOWN all day - Who's Plaza! OUR Plaza! Who's President did they murder in a well-planned conspiracy and ongoing cover-up? OUR most popular President!

If not us, who? - if not now, when?!!!

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will." ― Frederick Douglass

"…If you stand up straight, people can't ride your back" - MLK

There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all! - Mario Savio


"I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived--yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace. What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time." - JFK [American Univ. Speech - the one that put one of the final nails in his coffin]

We are not stupid!
We are not fooled!
We do not forget!
We do not forgive those who have lied to and manipulated the People!
We are mad as hell!

Now, WE rise up peacefully to reclaim OUR stolen county, polity, money, rights, liberties, Constitution et al.

We will also reclaim its true, if often ugly and intentionally hidden history!

We will determine OUR own future, values and directions, from here on out!

We, the 99%, who the Oligarchy have long considered their 'serfs' are rising up in rebellion now! You will have 1% say after and we will have 99% - together we will form a whole, as equals and proportionally. One person, one vote; not one dollar, one vote. Corporations are not people, have not the rights of persons, but are accountable for their actions - we will see to that. The only valid wars are those of defense. Offensive wars, Imperial wars, covert wars, and covert operations are anathema to our beliefs and values.

To the 1%: your evil game is soon to be OVER! [Le jeux sont fait!] Some of you need to prepare yourselves for Justice long delayed; and all too long denied to US!

Expect us!!!!!!

V E R Y Soon!

[Peter Lemkin]

November 10th, 2011
The following is a message from Occupy Portland's Press Team:
PORTLAND, ORE. The following is a response from Occupy Portland's communications volunteers to a statement from Mayor Sam Adams, enunciated at a press conference at 10 a.m. and released from his office immediately afterward.
At noon, Thursday November 10, members of the Occupy Portland community gathered to discuss recent events and to plan the most effective actions to take next. Occupy Portland has not completed these plans. Our strategy at this moment is what Occupy strategy has always been: to consult each other, to hear each other, and to work together nonviolently to move forward into this world we aim to improve. The Occupy Movement has made visible what has long been hidden from public view. The Movement will continue to do that.
The city's evidence of increased crime around the Occupy site has only verified what is already clearinterpersonal conflicts, substance abuse, and disorderly conduct arrests have increased. What the City of Portland has failed to prove, however, is that the protesters of Occupy Portland are direct threats to public safety and economic activity. The Occupy Portland General Assembly and an academic survey administered by a local sociology professor have demonstrated the occupiers overwhelmingly disapprove of their peaceful and non-violent First Amendment expressions being used as a cover for unlawful actions.
The city has been acutely aware of the occupiers' deliberate and sophisticated efforts to address problems surrounding Occupy Portland. Local media institutions have been repeatedly informed of this, as well, but many published reports have omitted such information. The physical occupation of public lands has been a cornerstone of Occupy Portland's free assembly and has served logistical necessity. The occupation will continue to exist and operate in a variety of formats. Planning for advancements of Occupy Portland have long been underway, but specific announcements will only come when appropriate.
Some of us are glad to share some common ground with the Mayor. Sam Adams said, "It is my sincere hope that the movement, with its focus on widespread economic inequity, will flourish in its next phasea phase where we can focus all of our energies on economic and social justice, not on port-a-potties and tents." Ours is a social and political movement involving consensus and respect for disparate voices. We need to consult with each other before we can talk about "phases" or evolving.
Detractors of the Occupy movement have used historical precedence of time, place, and manner restrictions on First Amendment expressions as justification to inhibit the efforts of the 99 percent. Occupy Portland argues that a peaceful assembly on public land is the most appropriate place and manner for First Amendment expressions. We challenge the city to facilitate public dialogues for the purpose of ensuring public space remains available for public forums. For now, we are listening to each other in every feasible way. When a consensus is reached, another statement will be forthcoming.
Occupy Portland calls on all of our friends to assist as possible. Remember that your own personal safety comes first. Tens of thousands have given from their hearts, minds, and pockets, and done so without condition. Please continue to stand in solidarity as a beautiful, talented, and diverse 99 percent that demand equity and justice. We welcome your presence, words, trades, professions, and actions. Do not back down from the power structures that aim to divide and silence us. Many have worked hard in public service, and we shall continue to better the worldfor all.

Comments:

Anonymous on November 11th, 2011 at 12:06 am
The Mayor is announcing that he will evict the occupation using force this Saturday. Let the Mayor know that he doesn't get to decide what happens here the 99% do!
Sam Adams has announced that he will be sending in the police to forcefully evict Occupy Portland. The violence being threatened against the occupation is the same violence used to evict people from their homes, the same violence used to drive out the poor and working class through the process of gentrification, the same violence that is used daily by the city and police to protect the interests of the 1% at the expense of the 99%. Despite his feigned concern for the safety of the occupiers, he is in reality responding to pressure brought by Standard Insurance, the Portland Business Alliance, and other members of the 1% who oppose the occupation in principle. The Mayor has repeatedly worked to undermine the occupation and distract it from growing into a powerful social movement this is just another in a long line of manufactured crisis created by the mayor to disrupt the occupation and discredit it. The fear mongering that has been occurring over the past week has been intentional, to alienate the occupation from it's supporters.
This Saturday, we need everyone who supports the right of the occupiers to exist, who opposes police violence, everyone who thinks that this moment in time is too important to give up on we need all of you at the occupation on Saturday night. They hope to control us through fear through fear of violence, fear of arrest. We must say that we will not be afraid anymore. That we will not be bullied into submission. For everyone who supports freedom and self-determination, this is your moment to act in defense of those values. All out to the occupation this Saturday! These moments don't happen often, this may be our last opportunity to come together as a people and challenge the powers that be we can't let it go without a fight.
Long live the Portland Commune!
Bill Michtom on November 10th, 2011 at 11:20 pm


An email I sent to Sam Adams:
I am very disappointed that you have decided to criminalize the Occupy movement. As I have noted previously, the city has been doing the right thing by working cooperatively with Occupy Portland. Bringing up the crimes that have been committedones that are highly unlikely to have been perpetrated by the protestersas though there is any real connection between the crimes and the Occupation, is creating a case that the facts don't support.
Examine crime rates around the city and you will have to admit that what is happening at the Occupation blocks are not a function of the Occupation, but of societal reality. Over the five weeks that the protest has been there, the city has seen fit to maintain a huge police presence that has only recently become at all justified. The Occupiers created a space where long-term homeless could find food and shelter with greater safety that anywhere else in the city.
I also read that you have been getting pressure from business associations. Over the years, so many in the business community have been more concerned about how things look than how safe people are or whether they are getting food, shelter and medical care. These are things that the Occupationand its supportershas provided where the city hasunderstandablystruggled.
Just as New York's Mayor Bloomberg has been more interested in protecting the financial industry that has destroyed the US economy than upholding the rule of law and the social safety net that his supporters have crippled, it looks like Portland is starting to give in to the rich.
The first indication that the city would retreat from its support of the First Amendment was the arrests of the people that went to Jamison Park. That they were removed because the Pearl is "a residential neighborhood," showed that the law would be invoked to ensure the comfort of the few over the well-being of the many. Now we have your promise to evict people from downtown for using their rights to petition for redress of grievances rather than working on solving the growing inequities that the all-too comfortable have wrought.
I urge you to seriously reconsider this ill-advised decision.
Thank you.

[Peter Lemkin]

-- Occupy movements across the country are honoring our veterans today. OWS is holding a concert, while other numerous movements are marching.


-- Sad news is coming out of Occupy Burlington. A 35 year old military veteran committed suicide inside a tent there yesterday. Distraught protesters were moved from the camp while an investigation continued, and emotions ran high. Occupiers are saying that the veteran was not receiving adequate mental health care, which is supposed to be provided for veterans.


-- Occupy Oakland has sad news as well. A man was shot and killed outside of a restaurant that Occupiers frequent. Although the shooting was not connected to the camp, medics from Occupy Oakland were the first on scene. Tensions are running high.


-- Occupy Delaware won a temporary court order preventing police from stopping them from using the plaza. Police were apparently citing "Patriot Act" concerns to stop Occupiers from using sleeping bags.


-- Occupy Richmond has an interesting offer on the table. A newspaper editor who lives next door to the mayor has offered his land as an Occupy spot. He said if they can't camp on the mayor's lawn, they can use his instead. He has apparently offered to provide food and water.


-- Occupy Rochester has signed an agreement with the city, allowing 24/7 occupation. While there were several arrests in the past, the mayor cites the protesters peaceful behavior in drawing up the agreement.


-- Occupy Youngstown is defying eviction notices, and have at least 13 people ready to be arrested if they must.


-- Occupy Atlanta has some odd news circulating. According to Fox News, and several blogging news sites, Atlanta Occupiers have tested positive for drug-resistant tuberculosis. Occupy Atlanta and the Atlanta Journal Constitution are disputing these claims.


-- Occupy Portland is attempting to respond to their eviction notice. Some protesters want to stay, while others are suggesting a move to a different park.


-- Walmart employees are teaming up with Occupy Wall Street protesters to protest the opening of Alice Walker's multi-million dollar museum in Arkansas.


-- Occupy Detroit's permit is set to expire Monday night. The camp is remaining calm while they hope for an extension.


-- Occupy Fresno has dealt with five straight nights of arrests. Police have vowed to continue to make arrests every night, and demonstrators have vowed to remain.


-- Occupy Harvard has 23 tents up, and the university has raised security. Access to Harvard Yard has been closed off, and will remain so to non-students.


-- Occupy Cal protesters have voted for a general strike on Tuesday.


-- A judge in Cincinnati is questioning the police over protesters' arrests. He says breaking park board made rules may not qualify as a misdemeanor, as the city charter does not acknowledge the rules.


-- The Governor of Tennessee will ask the DA to drop all trespassing charges against protesters, according to the Tennessean.


-- Michele Bachmann got a little flustered when her speech was interrupted yesterday in South Carolina. Occupy Charleston used mic check to give their own speech, and while Bachmann walked away, her supporters began to heckle and yell at the protesters.

[Peter Lemkin]

If you follow this LINK, it will download you a pdf file to a new report by David Korten and many others entitled: How To Liberate America From Wall Street Rule - A Report from the New Economy Working Group. It is very interesting, as all Korten is involved with is. He is a radical economist who I simply love...clear and intelligent thinker and analyst. He was one of the few who predicted what has happened with the financial sector. Now he and many, many others have written this 40 page outline for how to get rid of that system and what to replace it with!.....OWS has adopted him and a few others as their economic thinktank. I must say, OWS, a leaderless movement has really mostly made the right moves. Teaming up with the likes of Korten is but one of them. Download and read!.....N.B. with a little looking around, many of Korten's books are available as ebooks online for free or almost for free.

"Financial systems are important servants of the economy, but poor masters."
Martin Wolf, Financial Times chief economics comm entator, April 20, 2010

"Of all the many ways of organizing banking, the worst is the one we have today."
Mervyn King, Governor, Bank of England, October 25, 2010

"I don't think this is just a financial panic; I believe that it represents the failure of a whole
model of banking, of an overgrown financial sector that did more harm than good."
Paul Krugman, "The Market Mystique," New York Times, March 26, 2009

Phantom wealth is anything that has exchange value, but no intrinsic value. Money
that exists only as a number on a computer hard drive is the prime example. It manifests
in financial assets that appear or disappear as if by magic as a result of accounting entries,
debt pyramids, and the inflation of asset bubbles unrelated to the creation of anything
of real value or utility. The high-tech-stock and housing bubbles created phantom
wealth in massive amounts.
Wall Street is highly proficient at creating phantom wealth. Indeed, it takes pride in its ability
to inflate financial assets without bearing the burden of producing anything of real value.

Real wealth has intrinsic value, as contrasted to mere exchange value. Life, not money,
is the measure of real-wealth value. Examples include land, labor, knowledge, and physical
infrastructure. The most valuable forms of real wealth are beyond price and are unavailable
for market purchase. These include healthy, happy children, loving families, caring communities,
and a beautiful, healthy, natural environment.

[Peter Lemkin]

Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not
lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by
the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, formerly divided by the color of our skin, gender, sexual orientation,
religion, or lack thereof, political party and cultural background, we acknowledge
the reality: that there is only one race, the human race, and our survival requires the
cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption
of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their
brethren; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but
corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that
no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We
come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest
over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably
assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the
original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give CEO's
exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace.
They have poisoned the food supply, and undermined the farming system through
monopolization.
They have continuously sought to end the rights of workers to negotiate their pay and
make complaints about the safety of their workplace.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education,
which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut
workers' healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the
culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of
contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of
profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have
produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives in order
to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty book keeping, and inactive
ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the
media.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government
contracts.
They have participated in a directly racist action by accepting the contract from the State
of Georgia to murder Troy Davis.
To the people of the world,
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge
you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to
address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we
offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us and make your voices heard!

[Peter Lemkin]

An amazing day. I found it hard to tear myself away from the computer livestream of Occupy Portland. They had been given a deadline of midnight by the Mayor and Police Chief. They put out a general call for all supporters in Portland and in surrounding states to join them hold their occupation. MANY answered their call and the camp grew from afternoon until midnight from a few hundred to about 10.000 - maybe more. The Police tried to threaten and scare the people to move - but they would NOT be moved. They even moved in an LRAD and pointed it at the crowd....but after some tension, the Police had to back down and leave. The encampment is now ongoing and celebrating, with little Police presence. The Mayor and Police Chief have much egg on their faces! More on this soon. :dancingman:

[Keith Millea]

Short Video Portland

[Albert Doyle]

We need to expand this and drive those greasy WMD weasels out of government and do justice for the democracy they held in contempt. Time to dismantle that gestapo "Homeland Security" police state the same way.


Time to expand the American "Free Speech Zone".

[Peter Lemkin]

As I write horrible things happening in Portland!

[Ed Jewett]

Protesters Have the Right to Protest … and to Resist Unlawful Arrest

Posted on November 13, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

Top Military Commander and Courts Support Right to Protest

In response to comments from those supporting the police crackdowns on peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional rights but violating local ordinances (see comments here), reader Purplemuse writes:

The Constitution supersedes local ordinances that are being used to OBSTRUCT 1st Amendment Rights. The camping ITSELF is in order to MAKE A STATEMENT a First Amendment Right. Protesters are not camping because it is fun to expose yourself to the elements and hardship and you want to roast wienies and marshmallows and drink beer while swapping ghost stories.
Would you listen to Colin Powell, retired four-star general in the United States Army, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (19871989), as Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (19891993) when he says, "It isn't enough just to scream at the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations. We need our political system to start reflecting this anger back into, How do we fix it? How do we get the economy going again?'" He also states that the Occupy Wall Street Protests are "As American as Apple Pie."
Does he go on to qualify his statement by saying, "as long as they obey local (misdemeanor) ordinances. No, he does not. He actually goes on to say that he "gets" it.
If a man, well above your rank, that you'd likely drop everything to stand up in a room to honor, "gets" that peaceful protests, by design (that's why they are referred to as civil disobedience') infringe on ordinances and make the public uncomfortable in order to be heard, are as American as Apple Pie; do you think you could set your fear of disobedience aside long enough to defend those protesters against physical harm for exercising those American as Apple Pie Rights? If you can't than I think you need to join the ranks of officers who simply "do as they are told" and jab petite women in the spleen with billy clubs (as in Berkeley) in order to incite a riot. (BTW: They did not succeed, Berkeley stood firm in determined peace).

(Watch Powell's statement here).
Of course, it's not just Powell. Veterans from every branch of the military and across 3 generations are coming out to support the "occupy" protests.
And in response to the Berkeley police saying that linking arms and resisting attempts to clear a space is an act of "violence", reader David writes:

It is every citizen's duty to resist false arrest
There is no such crime as "resisting arrest." This is a fictitious crime dreamed up by law enforcement to accuse a citizen of a crime when they refuse to surrender to the illegal demands of the police.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on numerous occasions that resisting a false arrest is not merely a citizen's right, but his duty! In fact, the Supreme Court has gone so far as to rule that if a law enforcement officer is killed as a result of actions stemming from a citizen's attempts to defend themselves against a false arrest, it is the fault of the officer, not the citizen.
Here's a short collection of relevant court rulings on false arrest and resisting arrest:
"When a person, being without fault, is in a place where he has a right to be, is violently assaulted, he may, without retreating, repel by force, and if, in the reasonable exercise of his right of self defense, his assailant is killed, he is justified." Runyan v. State, 57 Ind. 80; Miller v. State, 74 Ind. 1.
"These principles apply as well to an officer attempting to make an arrest, who abuses his authority and transcends the bounds thereof by the use of unnecessary force and violence, as they do to a private individual who unlawfully uses such force and violence." Jones v. State, 26 Tex. App. I; Beaverts v. State, 4 Tex. App. 1 75; Skidmore v. State, 43 Tex. 93, 903.
"An illegal arrest is an assault and battery. The person so attempted to be restrained of his liberty has the same right to use force in defending himself as he would in repelling any other assault and battery." (State v. Robinson, 145 ME. 77, 72 ATL. 260).
"Each person has the right to resist an unlawful arrest. In such a case, the person attempting the arrest stands in the position of a wrongdoer and may be resisted by the use of force, as in self- defense." (State v. Mobley, 240 N.C. 476, 83 S.E. 2d 100).
Do individuals have the right to come to the aid of another citizens being falsely arrested? You bet they do. As another court case ruled:
"One may come to the aid of another being unlawfully arrested, just as he may where one is being assaulted, molested, raped or kidnapped. Thus it is not an offense to liberate one from the unlawful custody of an officer, even though he may have submitted to such custody, without resistance." (Adams v. State, 121 Ga. 16, 48 S.E. 910).
And on the issue of actually killing an arresting officer in self defense:
"Citizens may resist unlawful arrest to the point of taking an arresting officer's life if necessary." Plummer v. State, 136 Ind. 306. This premise was upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case: John Bad Elk v. U.S., 177 U.S. 529.

I believe that violence discredits the entire protest movement. I therefore hope that the protesters remain peaceful, even when confronted with unlawful arrests. However, as David points out, the police have no right to make unlawful arrests in the first place.
Three comments there, too...