Occupy World St.: From NYC to Everywhere - Activist Post
All over the globe people are rising up and demanding their rights in a worldwide rally of discontent as protests inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement spread around the world on Saturday.
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Saturday, October 15, 2011
Support builds for Occupy Chicago protest
Support builds for Occupy Chicago protest - World Socialist
The Occupy Chicago protest has been taking place on the corner of Jackson and Van Buran St., across the street from both the Federal Reserve and the Chicago Board of Trade, with a police presence outside both buildings and wooden barricades now lining the former.
On Thursday, the east side of Jackson was lined with protesters playing plastic drums and other instruments while chanting slogans such as “We are the 99%” and “banks got bailed out, we got sold out.” Protesters regularly received honks of support from passing motorists, including Chicago transit workers, truckers and taxis. Protesters have also set up tents for shelter and the free distribution of food, water, rain ponchos, and other supplies to participants.
Despite falling temperatures and a constant downpour of rain, the protest Thursday swelled from around 40 people in the late afternoon to twice that by early evening. Some students were seen crouched under umbrellas in the pouring rain, displaying signs and posters while multi-tasking their educational demands, completing work for their college assignments.
The grievances voices by protesters, indicated on protest signs and in discussions, include opposition to the conditions of vast social inequality, the increasing levels of child poverty, home foreclosures, and the bank bailouts.
Charles, a middle-aged African-American man, explained why he was participating in the protest. “I have two degrees and am unable to find a job,” he said. “All the rich are concerned about is finding new ways to make money instead of finding ways to help ordinary people make money to survive ... we can’t even obtain proper housing.” He added, “All the young people coming out of school with no jobs and all that debt. It is all set up as failure for us. There is no hope for us.”
Since the Chicago detachment of the Occupy movement began on September 23, the Chicago protest has gone from being composed largely of college students and youth to attracting broader sections of the population. Steve, 53, who is homeless, explained how he was laid off several years ago from a job at Chicago’s Navy Pier and has since become homeless and resorts to selling Chicago Sun Times newspapers on Jackson and Wabash in order to survive.
He described how he was attracted to the protests and the social dynamic between participants. “Everyone shares food and meals together,” he said. “In turn I try to help out picking up trash, keeping the protest area clean. I do what I can to help.”
“We live together. We eat together. Being homeless has been tough. I’d rather be in the company of other people ... we’re all in the same situation.”
While largely unseen at Thursday’s protest, there has been no shortage of attempts to co-opt the Occupy Chicago protests back into the orbit of the political establishment and the Democratic Party. On Friday, October 7, the protest’s General Assembly was graced with the presence of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who addressed the assembly meeting via microphone, encouraging the promotion of racial and identity politics and Democratic Party politics.
Related: Occupy Wall Street protester speaks out
The Occupy Chicago protest has been taking place on the corner of Jackson and Van Buran St., across the street from both the Federal Reserve and the Chicago Board of Trade, with a police presence outside both buildings and wooden barricades now lining the former.
On Thursday, the east side of Jackson was lined with protesters playing plastic drums and other instruments while chanting slogans such as “We are the 99%” and “banks got bailed out, we got sold out.” Protesters regularly received honks of support from passing motorists, including Chicago transit workers, truckers and taxis. Protesters have also set up tents for shelter and the free distribution of food, water, rain ponchos, and other supplies to participants.
Despite falling temperatures and a constant downpour of rain, the protest Thursday swelled from around 40 people in the late afternoon to twice that by early evening. Some students were seen crouched under umbrellas in the pouring rain, displaying signs and posters while multi-tasking their educational demands, completing work for their college assignments.
The grievances voices by protesters, indicated on protest signs and in discussions, include opposition to the conditions of vast social inequality, the increasing levels of child poverty, home foreclosures, and the bank bailouts.
Charles, a middle-aged African-American man, explained why he was participating in the protest. “I have two degrees and am unable to find a job,” he said. “All the rich are concerned about is finding new ways to make money instead of finding ways to help ordinary people make money to survive ... we can’t even obtain proper housing.” He added, “All the young people coming out of school with no jobs and all that debt. It is all set up as failure for us. There is no hope for us.”
Since the Chicago detachment of the Occupy movement began on September 23, the Chicago protest has gone from being composed largely of college students and youth to attracting broader sections of the population. Steve, 53, who is homeless, explained how he was laid off several years ago from a job at Chicago’s Navy Pier and has since become homeless and resorts to selling Chicago Sun Times newspapers on Jackson and Wabash in order to survive.
He described how he was attracted to the protests and the social dynamic between participants. “Everyone shares food and meals together,” he said. “In turn I try to help out picking up trash, keeping the protest area clean. I do what I can to help.”
“We live together. We eat together. Being homeless has been tough. I’d rather be in the company of other people ... we’re all in the same situation.”
While largely unseen at Thursday’s protest, there has been no shortage of attempts to co-opt the Occupy Chicago protests back into the orbit of the political establishment and the Democratic Party. On Friday, October 7, the protest’s General Assembly was graced with the presence of Rev. Jesse Jackson, who addressed the assembly meeting via microphone, encouraging the promotion of racial and identity politics and Democratic Party politics.
Related: Occupy Wall Street protester speaks out
Video: Humanitarian War in Libya : There is no evidence !
Video: Humanitarian War in Libya : There is no evidence ! by Julien Teil
This document makes it possible to understand how international law and justice works, but mostly how its basic principles can be bypassed. The resolutions passed against Lybia are based on various allegations : notably on the statement claiming that Gaddafi had lead jet attacks on his own people and engaged in a violent repression against uprising, killing more than 6000 civilians. These allegations were spread before they could have been verified. Eventhough it was on the basis of this claim that the Lybian Jamahiriya governement was suspended from the United Nations Human Rights Council, before being referred to the United Nations Security Council.
One of the main sources for the claim that Gaddafi was killing his own people is the Libyan League for Human Rights, an organisation linked to the International Federation of Human Rights (the FIDH). On the 21st of February 2011, the General-Secretary of the LLHR, Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir, initiated a petition in collaboration with the organisation UN Watch and the National Endowment for Democracy. This petition was signed by more than 70 NGOs. Then a few days later, on the 25th of February, Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir went to U.N. Human Rights Council in order to expose the allegations concerning the crimes of Gaddafi's government. In July 2011 we went to Geneva to interview Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir.
Related: Trojan Horse: The National Endowment for Democracy, an excerpt from William Blum's book "Rogue State"
This document makes it possible to understand how international law and justice works, but mostly how its basic principles can be bypassed. The resolutions passed against Lybia are based on various allegations : notably on the statement claiming that Gaddafi had lead jet attacks on his own people and engaged in a violent repression against uprising, killing more than 6000 civilians. These allegations were spread before they could have been verified. Eventhough it was on the basis of this claim that the Lybian Jamahiriya governement was suspended from the United Nations Human Rights Council, before being referred to the United Nations Security Council.
One of the main sources for the claim that Gaddafi was killing his own people is the Libyan League for Human Rights, an organisation linked to the International Federation of Human Rights (the FIDH). On the 21st of February 2011, the General-Secretary of the LLHR, Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir, initiated a petition in collaboration with the organisation UN Watch and the National Endowment for Democracy. This petition was signed by more than 70 NGOs. Then a few days later, on the 25th of February, Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir went to U.N. Human Rights Council in order to expose the allegations concerning the crimes of Gaddafi's government. In July 2011 we went to Geneva to interview Dr. Sliman Bouchuiguir.
Related: Trojan Horse: The National Endowment for Democracy, an excerpt from William Blum's book "Rogue State"
Wall Street protests go global; riots in Rome
Rome - Demonstrators rallied Saturday across the world to accuse bankers and politicians of wrecking economies, but only in Rome did the global "day of rage" erupt into violence.
Galvanized by the Occupy Wall Street movement, the protests began in New Zealand, rippled east to Europe and were expected to return to their starting point in New York. Demonstrations touched most European capitals and other cities.
They coincided with the Group of 20 meeting in Paris, where finance ministers and central bankers from the major economies were holding crisis talks.
While most rallies were small and barely held up traffic, the Rome event drew tens of thousands of people and snaked through the city center for kilometers (miles).
Some protesters in masks and helmets set fire to cars, smashed the windows of stores and banks and trashed offices of the defense ministry. Police fired water cannon at demonstrators who were hurling rocks, bottles and fireworks.
Smoke bombs set off by the protesters cast a pall over a sea of red flags and banners bearing slogans attacking economic policies the protesters say are hurting the poor most. The violence sent many demonstrators running into hotels for safety.
Peaceful Rallies
In contrast, small and peaceful rallies got the ball rolling across the Asia-Pacific region Saturday. In Auckland, New Zealand's biggest city, 3,000 people chanted and banged drums, denouncing corporate greed.
About 200 gathered in the capital Wellington and 50 in a park in the earthquake-hit southern city of Christchurch.
In Sydney, about 2,000 people, including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists, protested outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia.
Hundreds marched in Tokyo, including anti-nuclear protesters. In Manila a few dozen marched on the U.S. embassy waving banners reading: "Down with U.S. imperialism" and "Philippines not for sale."
More than 100 people gathered at the Taipei stock exchange, chanting "we are Taiwan's 99 percent," and saying economic growth had only benefited companies while middle-class salaries barely covered soaring housing, education and health care costs.
They found support from a top businessman, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) Chairman Morris Chang.
"I've been against the gap between rich and poor," Chang said in the northern city of Hsinchu. "The wealth of the top one percent has increased very fast in the past 20 or 30 years. 'Occupy Wall Street' is a reaction to that."
In Paris protests coincided with the G20 finance chiefs' meeting there. In the working class neighborhood of Belleville, drummers, trumpeters and a tuba revved up a crowd of a few hundred that began to march to the city hall.
"This is potentially the start of a strong movement," said Olivier Milleron, a doctor whose group of trumpeters played the classic American folk song "This land is your land."
Waitress Tiodhilde Fernagu, 26, took a day off work to attend. "For the first time in France there is a uniquely citizens' movement" outside party politics, she said.
"The Indignant Ones"
The Rome protesters, who called themselves "the indignant ones," included unemployed, students and pensioners.
"I am here to show support for those don't have enough money to make it to the next paycheque while the ECB (European Central Bank) keeps feeding the banks and killing workers and families," said Danila Cucunia, a 43-year-old teacher from northern Italy.
"At the global level, we can't carry on any more with public debt that wasn't created by us but by thieving governments, corrupt banks and speculators who don't give a damn about us," said Nicla Crippa, 49.
"They caused this international crisis and are still profiting from it. They should pay for it."
In imitation of the occupation of Zuccotti Park near Wall Street in Manhattan, protesters have been camped out across the street from the headquarters of the Bank of Italy for days.
The worldwide protests were a response in part to calls by the New York demonstrators for more people to join them. Their example has prompted calls for similar occupations in dozens of U.S. cities from Saturday. [nN1E79D02O]
In Madrid, seven marches were planned to merge in Cibeles square at 1600 GMT and then head to the central Puerta de Sol.
In Germany, where sympathy for southern Europe's debt troubles is not widespread, thousands gathered in Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig and outside the ECB in Frankfurt, called by the Real Democracy Now movement.
Demonstrators gathered peacefully in Paradeplatz, the main square in the Swiss financial center of Zurich.
In London, several hundred people assembled outside London's St Paul's Cathedral for a protest dubbed "Occupy the London Stock Exchange." Several hundred people protested in Vienna, Sweden and Helsinki.
Greek protesters called an anti-austerity rally for Saturday in Athens' Syntagma Square.
"What is happening (debt-driven financial meltdown) in Greece now is the nightmare awaiting other countries in the future. Solidarity is the people's weapon," the Real Democracy group said.
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Breaking: It’s Time To Say It: Regime Change, Here – Now!
It’s Time To Say It: Regime Change, Here – Now! by Gordon Duff
I spent an hour today talking with veterans activist Robert Rosebrock out in Los Angeles. For years, he has been fighting corruption on behalf of homeless veterans. During that time, we have discovered massive financial fraud at the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA police have told me they have been ordered to lie in court, arrest the innocent, be themselves criminals.
We went to the FBI, the police, congress, General Shinseki, even the president. We took witness statements, we have filed two lawsuits and even when courts find our government has committed crimes, the criminals are allowed to continue, to abuse to steal. There is no justice in America, there are no legal courts, no real police.
I have seen evidence here, I have seen evidence of American complicity in war crimes, election fraud, I have seen one criminal conspiracy after another gain power until I am absolutely convinced that criminals now rule America and make up our government.
“Occupy Wall Street” has proven quite clearly to all who care to note that our police are no longer ours, are no longer police at all. They are little better than the senators and congressmen, the mayors and assemblymen, the judges, the filth we have let rule our lives.
I had one friend, a retired police detective, move to Venezuela because he spoke out against the CIA running drugs. He was poisoned there.
If we have to tear this country in half to save it, so be it.
It is time for regime change, the one we voted for, the one we fought for. Those hitting the streets know the enemy, no doubt about it anymore. The enemy is here and America is the battleground. The war Americans fear, class war, civil war, has been going on for years.
We just didn’t know.
We awaken as slaves if we awaken at all.
We Voted To Get America Back, Nothing Happened – Not Good Enough
I spent an hour today talking with veterans activist Robert Rosebrock out in Los Angeles. For years, he has been fighting corruption on behalf of homeless veterans. During that time, we have discovered massive financial fraud at the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA police have told me they have been ordered to lie in court, arrest the innocent, be themselves criminals.
We went to the FBI, the police, congress, General Shinseki, even the president. We took witness statements, we have filed two lawsuits and even when courts find our government has committed crimes, the criminals are allowed to continue, to abuse to steal. There is no justice in America, there are no legal courts, no real police.
I have seen evidence here, I have seen evidence of American complicity in war crimes, election fraud, I have seen one criminal conspiracy after another gain power until I am absolutely convinced that criminals now rule America and make up our government.
“Occupy Wall Street” has proven quite clearly to all who care to note that our police are no longer ours, are no longer police at all. They are little better than the senators and congressmen, the mayors and assemblymen, the judges, the filth we have let rule our lives.
I had one friend, a retired police detective, move to Venezuela because he spoke out against the CIA running drugs. He was poisoned there.
If we have to tear this country in half to save it, so be it.
It is time for regime change, the one we voted for, the one we fought for. Those hitting the streets know the enemy, no doubt about it anymore. The enemy is here and America is the battleground. The war Americans fear, class war, civil war, has been going on for years.
We just didn’t know.
We awaken as slaves if we awaken at all.
| Comment: I agree with Mr. Duff 100%. The battle is NOW, as for myself, I have lost everything I own, and am selling what little belongings I have now to pay corporations and banks who have no place in this country. There are so many evils now it would be better if we at least fought the hard battle now then let the criminals proceed. Obviously, the system is broken and requires dismantling. When the evil Bush bailed out the banks, they saw that their livelihoods were at risk as they had cleaned out the breath of America through several years of relentless hegemony, and as we see, their dependence of these crimes is what sustains them, so removing the Federal Reserve should be unchallenged, and immediate. Yes, Wall Street will crumble, but Wall Street needs to go away forever, it does not belong here. What belongs here is a sustainable life for those 99% that live here. So, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve, and Congress including the executive offices must GO AWAY, and elections must be revised BEFORE the hegemony has the opportunity to put in place more party politicians, or this battle will become a bloodbath. The next election must be held by the Occupy Movement or there will be no election. Ron Paul can be President if the Movement elects him, otherwise it will be more of the same. |
Friday, October 14, 2011
NYPD Cop Punches Protester at Occupy Wall Street, 10/14/11
NYPD Cop Punches Protester at Occupy Wall Street, 10/14/11 - ReasonTV
Journalist and Reason contributor Michael Tracey is covering New York's Occupy Wall Street as it's happening. Above is footage he shot as the protesters marched through the street of Manhattan and had various stand-offs with the New York Police Department. Tracey himself reports being punched in the shoulder while filming.
In the above video, around the 1.40 mark, a white-shirted NYPD officer decks a protester in a green shirt (how the incident started is unclear). Reason.tv's Meredith Bragg edited the video above from about 20 minutes of footage.
Follow Tracey at http://twitter.com/mtracey
And read his October 7 story, "Occupy Wall Street: Beyond the Caricatures," at http://reason.com/archives/2011/10/07/occupy-wall-street-beyond-the
His website is http://mctracey.com
Reason's coverage of the Occupy movement can be found at
http://reason.com/topics/occupy-wall-street
Journalist and Reason contributor Michael Tracey is covering New York's Occupy Wall Street as it's happening. Above is footage he shot as the protesters marched through the street of Manhattan and had various stand-offs with the New York Police Department. Tracey himself reports being punched in the shoulder while filming.
In the above video, around the 1.40 mark, a white-shirted NYPD officer decks a protester in a green shirt (how the incident started is unclear). Reason.tv's Meredith Bragg edited the video above from about 20 minutes of footage.
Follow Tracey at http://twitter.com/mtracey
And read his October 7 story, "Occupy Wall Street: Beyond the Caricatures," at http://reason.com/archives/2011/10/07/occupy-wall-street-beyond-the
His website is http://mctracey.com
Reason's coverage of the Occupy movement can be found at
http://reason.com/topics/occupy-wall-street
Move on Tries to Take Over Occupy Wall Street Protests
Move on Tries to Take Over Occupy Wall Street Protests - Washington Blog
Move On Tries to Co-Opt the Protests
David DeGraw – one of the primary Wall Street protest organizers – just sent me the following email:
This mirrors what one of the original organizers of the “Occupy Trenton” protest told me: MoveOn attempted to set the agenda and pretend it was their event.
As I noted last week:
Move On Tries to Co-Opt the Protests
David DeGraw – one of the primary Wall Street protest organizers – just sent me the following email:Top MoveOn leaders / executives are all over national television speaking for the movement. fully appreciate the help and support of MoveOn, but the MSM is clearly using them as the spokespeople for OWS. This is an blatant attempt to fracture the 99% into a Democratic Party organization. The leadership of MoveON are Democratic Party operatives. they are divide and conquer pawns. For years they ignored Wall Street protests to keep complete focus on the Republicans, in favor of Goldman’s Obama and Wall Street’s Democratic leadership.DeGraw – who is wholly non-partisan [like the writers at Washington's Blog] – tells me that about half of the protesters are liberals, but the other half are libertarians (and see this.)
If anyone at Move On or Daily Kos would like to have a public debate about these comments, we invite it.
Please help us stop this divide and conquer attempt.
This mirrors what one of the original organizers of the “Occupy Trenton” protest told me: MoveOn attempted to set the agenda and pretend it was their event.
As I noted last week:
Everyone’s trying to cash in on the courage and conviction of the Wall Street protesters.
People are trying to associate Occupy Wall Street with their pet projects, in the same way that advertisers try to associate the goodwill of the Super Bowl, NBA playoffs, World Series or Olympics with their product.
But I hear from OWS organizers that the protesters come from totally diverse political affiliations. Many protesters support Ron Paul, many like Obama, others are for other parties or candidates or don’t vote at all.
The protesters themselves are having none of it, tweeting today:And as I pointed out Tuesday:
We don’t want to be the democratic tea party or liberal tea party. We want to be our own movement separate of any political affiliation.Update: Another tweet from the protesters:
We don’t represent liberal interests nor are we the liberal tea party. We represent the interest of the 99%
The two main challenges [facing the protesters are]: (1) An attempt by both the Democratic and Republican parties to co-opt it (see this, this and this); and (2) agents provocateur (see this, this and this) [and here].
Friday, October 14: Political War Knews - Ponerology In-depth
Friday, October 14: Political War Knews - Ponerology In-depth
The obviousness of what those who understand this mad sickness is in the urgency for our Occupy Movement against these evils.
Government says PressTV and RussiaToday are the enemy
Source: Press TV taken off air in UK: war for freedom of speech now on
Ponerology 101: The Psychopath's Mask of Sanity
- Breaking: new evidence shows Hillary a mastermind behind Gunwalker
- US drone strike kills 78 in Somalia
- US drone strike kills four in Pakistan
- Obama Adminstration Concocts Terror Plot
- Afghanistan: Ten Bloody Years
The obviousness of what those who understand this mad sickness is in the urgency for our Occupy Movement against these evils.
Government says PressTV and RussiaToday are the enemy
Source: Press TV taken off air in UK: war for freedom of speech now on
Ponerology 101: The Psychopath's Mask of Sanity
Occupation USA feels the heat
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| A Occupy Portland demonstrator is arrested onThursday, Oct. 13, 2011, in Portland, Ore. (Credit: AP/Rick Bowmer) |
Across the country 40 more arrests at demonstration sites
Is the Occupy Wall Street movement touching a nerve?
For whatever reason, elected officials and police departments nationwide seem to be losing their tolerance for the burgeoning anti-corporate movement. From New York to Des Moines to Seattle, demonstrators find themselves being denied permission to gather and facing arrest. While New York authorities backed off plans to conduct a sweep of Zuccotti Park, seemingly uncoordinated police actions in five other cities have resulted in at least 40 arrests in the past 30 hours.
In Denver, Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said on Thursday morning that the protesters had to pack up and leave on Thursday night. When they didn’t, police removed an encampment near the state Capitol at 3 in the morning and arrested 23 people.
In Portland, Ore., police arrested eight demonstrators for blockading Southwest Main Street, one of the city’s major traffic corridors. On Wednesday night, Occupy Portland demonstrators voted to allow buses, bikes and emergency vehicles to pass through while blocking regular traffic. That wasn’t good enough for police, who removed the demonstrators this morning. The Portland police said they had no plans to remove two other occupation sites in the city.
In Seattle, the previously lenient police began enforcing a ban on overnight camping. At least four people have been arrested.
Four people were also arrested in Austin, Texas, after they refused to make way for powerwashing crews sent to clean the plaza in front of City Hall where nearly 50 people, most of the University of Texas students, had gathered. The students said they feared the cleaning of the plaza was a pretext for ending the occupation.
In San Diego, police told demonstrators they had to move away from an occupation site near City Hall by midnight tonight or face arrest. One person has been arrested there.
In Des Moines, Iowa, demonstrators at the state Capitol have overstayed the three-day permit that officials say is usually extended to overnight campers, raising the prospect of more arrests tonight.
In Seattle, the previously lenient police began enforcing a ban on overnight camping. At least four people have been arrested.
Four people were also arrested in Austin, Texas, after they refused to make way for powerwashing crews sent to clean the plaza in front of City Hall where nearly 50 people, most of the University of Texas students, had gathered. The students said they feared the cleaning of the plaza was a pretext for ending the occupation.
In San Diego, police told demonstrators they had to move away from an occupation site near City Hall by midnight tonight or face arrest. One person has been arrested there.
In Des Moines, Iowa, demonstrators at the state Capitol have overstayed the three-day permit that officials say is usually extended to overnight campers, raising the prospect of more arrests tonight.
The Nonsensical Alleged Iranian Plot and the End of All Reason
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| The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps |
In order to believe the latest flight of fancy promulgated by Washington, one must suspend any and all logic, reason and plain old common sense. Let's not forget that one must also ignore any knowledge of Iranian strategy, the operations of the Quds Force and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in general.
Even the U.S. government seems to realize these allegations are wildly unrealistic, including State Department Victoria Nuland who said, "When you look at these details, it seems like something out of a movie".
No, Nuland, it seems like something out of a bad movie written by writers who know little to nothing about Iran or terrorism in general, for that matter.
The alleged plot, which included not only the assassination of a Saudi diplomat but also the trafficking of massive amounts of opium, was quickly blamed on the somewhat mythical Quds Force, part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
A Corpus Christi, Texas-based naturalized American citizen with an Iranian passport, Mansour Arbabsiar, along with an alleged member of the Quds Force based in Iran, Gholam Shakuri, were implicated in the criminal complaint filed by U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday.
The operation was allegedly "directed by factions of the Iranian government" and Obama has claimed that "people within the government were aware of a murder-for-hire plot."
However, many experts who one would think would be in support of the government's highly questionable narrative are already punching holes in Washington's latest fable.
For instance, an Iran analyst at the infamous Rand Corporation in Arlington, Virginia, Alireza Nader, said that this alleged plot does not fit with Iran's modus operandi.
Nader has coauthored studies on the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and told The Christian Science Monitor that, "This [plot] doesn't seem to serve Iran's interests in any conceivable way [...] Assassinating the Saudi ambassador would increase international pressure against Iran, could be considered an act of war ... by Saudi Arabia, it could really destabilize the government in Iran; and this is a political system that is interested in its own survival."
Nader says that Iran has been attempting to avoid more sanctions while building up diplomatic relations with non-Western nations and moving forward with its nuclear program.
Clearly, this alleged plot would not fall into this pattern and would only serve to rally more sanctions against them while weakening relations and hindering their nuclear program.
Nader points this out by saying that an attack such as the one supposedly planned by Arbabsiar with help from the Iranian government "would put all of Iran's objectives and strategies at risk."
If this was a movie it would be the most nonsensical, plot-hole-ridden pieces of cinematic garbage to be released as of late.
Unfortunately, this is not a movie and instead of attempting to sell tickets, Washington is trying to sell the world on an escalation with respect to Iran.
Gary Sick, an expert on Iran at Columbia University and former principal White House aide during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and hostage crisis, also doubts the legitimacy of Washington's claims.
Sick writes, "This plot, if true, departs from all known Iranian policies and procedures," especially because "it is difficult to believe that they would rely on a non-Islamic criminal gang to carry out this most sensitive of all possible missions."
Sick also points out the naked carelessness of the operation, which makes little to no sense given Iran is "not noted for utter disregard of the most basic intelligence tradecraft."
Why would Iran's elite intelligence unit depend on "at least one amateur and a Mexican criminal drug gang that is known to be riddled with both Mexican and US intelligence agents"?
Attempting to reconcile all of the nonsensical aspects of this story gets more and more difficult as you look at all of the details.
In an analysis for the Tehran Bureau's website, Muhammad Sahimi points out some more aspects of the alleged plot which make little to no sense.
Currently, Iran is "deeply worried about the fate of its strategic partner in Syria ... tensions with Turkey are increasing ... and a fierce [domestic] power struggle is under way".
"[I]t is essentially impossible to believe that the IRI [Islamic Republic of Iran] would act in such a way as to open a major new front against itself", says Sahimi, yet the U.S. government seems to have missed the memo.
The Quds Force simply does not operate in ways which remotely resemble this alleged plot and many are not hesitating to point this out.
Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service writes, "The Iranian modus operandi is only to trust sensitive plots to their own employees, or to trusted proxies such as Hezbollah, Saudi Hezbollah, Hamas, the Sadr faction in Iraq, Iran-friendly extremist Muslims in Afghanistan and other pro-Iranian Muslim groups".
Katzman, who has also written a study on the IRGC in the 1990s, continues, "Are we to believe that this Texas car seller was a Qods [alternate spelling of Quds] sleeper agent for many years resident in the US? Ridiculous [...] They (the Iranian command system) never ever use such has-beens or loosely connected people for sensitive plots such as this."
Arbabsiar was characterized by a former business partner as "sort of a hustler" and "likable, albeit a bit lazy" by the Associated Press.
Would the enigmatic Quds Force, which was treated as a mythical cabal capable of sabotaging the entire American operation in Iraq, really use such an individual? If you believe that, I have a gorgeous beachfront property on the moon to sell you.
The same former business partner of Arbabsiar, David Tomscha, told the AP, "He's no mastermind [...] I can't imagine him thinking up a plan like that. I mean, he didn't seem all that political. He was more of a businessman."
While this could be construed as evidence supporting the conjecture that Arbabsiar was aided by the elite Quds Force and other Iranian government officials, it cannot outweigh all of the other holes and nonsensical aspects of this fable.
Despite the lack of evidence and the fervent denials coming from Iranian government officials who have called the allegations "hilarious and baseless", Obama is clearly implicating the entire Iranian regime in this alleged plot.
In a news conference Obama said, "We believe that even if at the highest levels there was not detailed operational knowledge, there has to be accountability with respect to anybody in the Iranian government engaging in this kind of activity."
Obama claims that world leaders will buy the U.S.'s latest fairy tale "without dispute once they absorb the details", although as I absorb the details it just further weakens Washington's claims.
Maybe if world leaders are wholly ignorant and unable to even do a moment's research into the Quds Force and Iranian strategy they will buy it.
However, if they have expert analysts and actually pay attention to detail, I can't see how any self-respecting government would jump on the bandwagon.
The damage control already being exerted by the U.S. government is considerable as it seems they realize that this piece of fiction is wildly unrealistic.
State Department spokeswoman Nuland admitted that the initial reaction from governments was one of marked skepticism but claimed that, "as you begin to give more detail on what we knew and when we knew it and how we knew it, it has credibility."
This must be more of the magical intelligence which never reaches the public, the same brand of intelligence that can explain how passports survive massive explosions and the collapse of buildings on September 11th, 2001, or how a teenager (who had a father that repeatedly warned the American government that he was being radicalized) got on to an airplane without a passport, carrying the exact same explosives used by another incompetent terrorist, Richard Reid.
It seems that Washington is increasingly reliant on classified intelligence and top secret "evidence" which we are just supposed to believe exists and is wholly conclusive.
Instead of ever presenting evidence or reconciling all of the holes in the story, Washington is likely going to attempt to drum up mindless international support in lieu of actually proving anything, as if we are supposed to believe it if government officials from other countries do.
This is already underway with the French Ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, telling reporters, "It's very credible and very convincing [...] Obviously, there were officials in Iran who were behind the plot, but I don't know to which level."
Again it is just declared to be "very credible and very convincing" even though it is neither credible nor remotely convincing to anyone who is able to conduct research and think logically.
Thankfully, the United Nations Security Council as a whole is not behind this farce.
Russian and Chinese officials have not been so quick to accept the story fed to them by Washington and according to a CBS Foreign Affairs Analyst, Pamela Falk, "Moscow made clear, since the complaint was filed, that it stands by Iran and will not impose a fifth round of sanctions".
However, sanctions are not the only concern, indeed Obama clearly said that military intervention is not out of the question by saying that no option was off the table.
Indeed, according to the October 6th edition of a French intelligence bulletin TTU, cited by Gulf News, "the US and Israel are planning an unprecedented joint land forces exercise next May with the goal of establishing a common 'intervention force' ready for action in the event of a major regional war."
Furthermore, last month I published an article detailing how Cheney claims that Israel has plans for a preemptive strike on Iran in the works.
This is buttressed by Israeli leaders calling for Western nations to present a credible military threat to Iran.
Is it pure coincidence that this plot surfaced, giving more impetus to those warmongers in Israel and their cronies in Washington? I doubt it.
If regional tensions couldn't get any worse, Iranian clerics have allegedly called for suicide bombings and attacks on Saudi interests around the world, along with the establishment of recruitment centers for which hundreds have supposedly already registered.
Additionally, Bahrain Views claims, "The proxy war between Iran and Saudi Arabia is just beginning - expect to see many more such conflicts in the Middle East which will expand onto the world stage."
But it does not end there, the U.S. government is now claiming that this was not an isolated plot but instead part of a chain of schemes beyond what CBS/AP call the "comically amateurish" plot which has already surfaced.
The chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein of California, said, "There may be a chain of these things" on Wednesday.
But it does not end there, the U.S. government is now claiming that this was not an isolated plot but instead part of a chain of schemes beyond what CBS/AP call the "comically amateurish" plot which has already surfaced.
The chairperson of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein of California, said, "There may be a chain of these things" on Wednesday.
Feinstein said that we must explore the possibility of other plots going on in other nations, which could possibly turn up more hilariously absurd allegations.
Next it could be a ring of Islamist leprechauns being directed by the Quds Force in Iran, in collusion with the IRA, who were planning to assassinate the Queen while trafficking Lucky Charms through Mexico.
Whatever the case, the United States has leveraged this alleged plot to increase sanctions against Iran and if more absurdist plots are uncovered, we can likely expect Washington to openly call for a military solution.
I just hope that the American public is no longer gullible enough to buy this line of nonsense and will actively fight the disinformation so we do not get dragged into yet another endless conflict based on falsified intelligence.
What do you think? Do you have any information or articles we should include in our next article analyzing this situation? If so, please contact us at admin@EndtheLie.com so we can publish the most complete and accurate analysis possible. We also value your feedback, comments, and opinions and if you have something important to say we might quote you in a future article so please do not hesitate to contact us.
FASCISM: Colorado State Patrol, Denver Police Clearing Occupy Denver Camp Site
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| Lincoln Park, across from the State Capitol building early Friday morning, October 14, 2011 even as the park was deemed closed by executive order. (THE DENVER POST | Karl Gehring) |
DENVER, Colorado - At least one person has been arrested as police in riot gear moved into the Occupy Denver camp early this morning to dismantle tents and remove debris.
Around 6:25 a.m., police marched lock-step through the camp, moving protesters into the street. "The whole world is watching," chanted some protesters.
A core group of about 25 people remained around a makeshift structure that served as the camp's kitchen, dubbed by protestors as the "thunderdome."
Police handcuffed at least one protester with plastic ties and led him away. All the while, police have been video taping the event.
Some of the core protesters who refused to leave the "thunderdome," have been phsyically lifted by police in riot gear, moved out of the immediate area and then allowed to disperse on their own.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE:
Authorities in riot gear moved into the Occupy Denver camp near the Capitol early this morning to dismantle tents and remove debris, but despite warnings that people who remained in the park would be arrested, no arrests have been made.
Initially, a kind of calm standoff formed, with Colorado State Patrol officers and Denver police inching through the park and surrounding streets, usually in groups of a dozen or more, as protesters yelled at them, wave signs and at times stand or sit in the street surrounding police vehicles.
The protesters — who were told Thursday afternoon they had to leave the park by 11 p.m. — had hoped that if they held their ground until 5 a.m., when the park typically reopens, they would be able to resume their protest.
But the Colorado State Patrol announced this morning that the park has been closed indefinitely, by executive order.
Around 5 a.m., police also announced that the group had 30 minutes to remove makeshift structures they have built, including a kitchen and medical tent, which the protesters have dubbed the "thunderdome."
Many protesters began packing upon hearing the news, saying they were moving gear to "safehouses" so they could rebuild either at the same park or elsewhere.
Others, however, said they were determined to remain.
By 6 a.m., the "thunderdome" remained intact, along with dozens of protesters, and authorities warned protesters again to have the structure dismantled within 15 minutes.
Authorities have closed southbound Broadway between Colfax and 14th Avenue, as well as some lanes of eastbound Colfax near Broadway.
It's unclear whether the roads will be reopened as morning traffic picks up.
Denver police has surrounded the park. SUV's were parked nearby with police dogs inside.
The Occupy Denver movement has mirrored similar movements across the country that started with New York's Occupy Wall Street, which protesters say is a response to frustration over what they view as the country's inequitable financial system.
There have been no reports of Occupy camps being forcibly evicted in other cities, but more than 100 people were arrested this week when they tried to expand Occupy Boston. Also, the Occupy Wall Street group has been told to vacate by 7 a.m. today.
In Denver, the encampment at its height had about 70 tents, a kitchen with free food, library, school, worship tent, security detail and nurses station.
On Thursday, Gov. John Hickenlooper held a news conference, along with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, demanding the protesters disperse by 11 p.m. or face arrest for violating state laws that forbid camping on those grounds.
The protesters held a general assembly around 7 p.m., where they discussed options, including marching from the camp to another site, possibly downtown.
While some in the group chose to leave by or shortly after the 11 p.m. deadline, the majority stayed.
Speaking at a 9:30 p.m. news conference forced indoors by chants and a crowd that surged onto the Capitol steps, State Patrol Chief James Wolfinbarger said that troopers could take action including issuing citations or making arrests between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
"We want people to go home," Wolfinbarger told a small group of media, his voice sometimes drowned out by people outside pounding on the Capitol doors and yelling. "We want this to end well so people can come back tomorrow and continue."
He also expressed concern that the original Occupy Denver protest has been "hijacked" by people whose goal is civil disobedience.
"The concern is this group that is out there in large part is not representative of the group out there at the start," Wolfinbarger said.
Authorities didn't appear at the park until approximately 2:40 a.m., when a state patrol captain drove an SUV to the corner of Lincoln and 14th Avenue and announced via loudspeaker that the crowd had until 3:15 to disperse.
As he repeated the warning several times over the next 40 minutes, crowds formed around the SUV, yelling at police to let the peaceful gathering continue.
Around 3:15 a.m. rows of squad cars parked on Lincoln and Colfax, and officers began walking into the park. Others stood on Broadway. Dump trucks were brought in for tents and other trash that authorities picked up and threw away.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
15 October - United for #GlobalChange
15 October - United for Global Change
From America to Asia, from Africa to Europe, people are rising up to claim their rights and demand a true democracy. Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest.
The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end.
United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future. We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us.
On October 15th, we will meet on the streets to initiate the global change we want. We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organize until we make it happen.
It’s time for us to unite. It’s time for them to listen.
OCTOBER 15TH
UNITED FOR #GLOBALCHANGE
On October 15th people from all over the world will take to the streets and squares.From America to Asia, from Africa to Europe, people are rising up to claim their rights and demand a true democracy. Now it is time for all of us to join in a global non violent protest.
The ruling powers work for the benefit of just a few, ignoring the will of the vast majority and the human and environmental price we all have to pay. This intolerable situation must end.
United in one voice, we will let politicians, and the financial elites they serve, know it is up to us, the people, to decide our future. We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us.
On October 15th, we will meet on the streets to initiate the global change we want. We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organize until we make it happen.
It’s time for us to unite. It’s time for them to listen.
People of the world, rise up on October 15th!
Open Mike: Occupy Los Angeles - October 1, 2011
Open Mike: Occupy Los Angeles - October 1, 2011
Pajamamedia.com called this anti-semitic (no author), however, there is no reference other than the mention of the Rothchilds, which is indeed vague but not so far fetched. It truly would be better if these invasive notes were refined to elaborate more accurately what actually occurred pertaining to WWI and leading up to WWII that reveals the Zionist involvement so people see history as it is. But the point is made that not everyone sees history clearly or they intend to alter it, and to bring up these issues without clear understandings, in effect, revealing new information for a majority, they will be rejected not because of anti-semitic notions but because people have not been exposed to these atrocious monopolies, they will need to be educated on them before they could conceive of them. A more broad approach pertaining to stopping the war and the financial hegemony would inspire more contribution. The main point here is that it has nothing to do with anti-semitism.
Pajamamedia.com called this anti-semitic (no author), however, there is no reference other than the mention of the Rothchilds, which is indeed vague but not so far fetched. It truly would be better if these invasive notes were refined to elaborate more accurately what actually occurred pertaining to WWI and leading up to WWII that reveals the Zionist involvement so people see history as it is. But the point is made that not everyone sees history clearly or they intend to alter it, and to bring up these issues without clear understandings, in effect, revealing new information for a majority, they will be rejected not because of anti-semitic notions but because people have not been exposed to these atrocious monopolies, they will need to be educated on them before they could conceive of them. A more broad approach pertaining to stopping the war and the financial hegemony would inspire more contribution. The main point here is that it has nothing to do with anti-semitism.
Occupy Dallas Brings Lawsuit Over Portable Toilets
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| © huffingtonpost.com |
WASHINGTON -- Occupy Dallas protesters have been camping on a swath of downtown land since Oct. 7. The spot, known as Pioneer Park, has come to resemble a mini-city with tents, food service, a "fire watch team" and a fully stocked medical unit. The protesters also boast a library, a music tent, an arts area and, for a few hours a day, childcare services. They have almost everything a large group needs.
Everything except toilets.
Late at night, Occupy members have to walk as much as a half-mile to find the nearest public restroom that's open. Dallas activists thought the problem needed immediate redress. So they applied for a permit for the occupation, which, the thinking went, would allow them to set up portable toilets.
These quickly became very, very expensive toilets. Dallas city officials argued that the permit requires $1 million in commercial general liability insurance coverage. City spokesman Frank Librio released a statement saying the city would not back down from its demand: "The City had an agreement with Occupy Dallas to remain on the public property provided standard insurance coverage was obtained. The group did not meet the insurance requirements per the agreement. Therefore, the agreement is no longer applicable. The City will begin enforcing local laws (for example: park curfews and sleeping in public)." The mayor's office refused comment to HuffPost.
Michael Prestonise, a 26-year-old freelance web designer and protester, said that the argument still comes down to toilets. "This is all about sanitation and health and safety of our members," he said. "I think the more real threat is our people having to walk through the streets at 3, 4 a.m. just to find a public restroom."
Other occupation sites have faced similar scrutiny from civic minders. The activists at New York's Zuccotti Park are facing possible eviction over cleaning.
The fight over the Dallas permit has led to the threat of eviction, arrests, and a court case. On Wednesday, lawyers for Occupy Dallas filed a civil complaint and a motion for a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction in federal court in an effort to stave off eviction. The complaint states:
Plaintiffs' actions involve a matter of political, social, or other concern and are constitutionally protected under the First Amendment. Furthermore, plaintiffs' interest in their actions outweighs any interest of the City of Dallas in promoting the efficient operation and administration of government services.The lawyers argued in the complaint that the insurance requirement applies only to "special events" that could bring 5,000 or more participants. Occupy Dallas has about 130 people camping out. The complaint goes to say that organizers contacted the city's recommended insurance agent, who turned them away.
Occupy Dallas adds that the land on which protesters are camping is not city property. "There should be no permit," Cameron Gray, an Occupy lawyer, told HuffPost. "They should be able to exercise their First Amendment rights."
Negotiations with the city have stalled, Gray said. "We're in a holding pattern."
Both parties will be making their case before a judge on Friday.
Gray said that if Occupy Dallas loses in court, it won't make a difference to the protest plans. Activists have vowed to remain on site with or without toilets. All this fighting, though, may be unnecessary.
An insurance company has come forward with an offer to help, Gray explained. "It appears that we will be able to post that insurance if that becomes a condition of the court's ruling," he said.
Occupy Colleges: Student Supporters Of Occupy Wall Street Continue To Show Solidarity
Occupy Colleges: Student Supporters Of Occupy Wall Street Continue To Show Solidarity by Amanda M. Fairbanks
NEW YORK -- Thursday afternoon, in concert with the Occupy Wall Street movement, students from nearly 150 college campuses across the country will participate in their second protest in as many weeks.
As with the nationwide walkout held last Wednesday, the students will band together to make their voices heard -- with many expressing frustration over increasing amounts of student loan debt and the rising cost of tuition, in addition to a paucity of jobs for recent graduates.
“We’re planning to do these walkouts and shows of solidarity every two weeks until these issues are resolved,” said Natalia Abrams, 31, who helps to organize Occupy Colleges, a student-led grassroots group based in Los Angeles that helped facilitate both nationwide protests. “If Occupy Wall Street is indefinite, we’re indefinite as well. We plan to keep the solidarity protest going for as long as it takes.”
In many ways, today's protest marks a significant challenge for student backers of the Occupy Wall Street movement, not only in terms of coordination and organization, but also with respect to maintaining momentum.
“Participating in something that’s clearly ascendant is always something of a rush,” said Doug McAdam, a professor of sociology at Stanford University. While McAdam said it was inherently difficult to build on the momentum of a movement that's neither centralized nor coordinated, he cautioned against making too much of its diffuse nature.
“We like to talk about big, historic movements as if they were these spectacularly well-coordinated affairs. They almost never are,” said McAdam, who teaches a course on political movements. “Very broad, diverse efforts are generally more effective because you can speak to different constituencies. It becomes quite difficult to suppress a movement that doesn’t have one distinct leader or head.”
Occupy Colleges, which started as a Facebook page and Twitter handle less than two weeks ago, has quickly blossomed into a burgeoning movement bolstered by a groundswell of student-led support. As of Thursday morning, student organizers at 136 college campuses -- from Sarah Lawrence College to Boise State University to San Diego City College -- have pledged to participate in Thursday’s show of solidarity.
“Around the country, more and more high school students are foregoing a college education because their families can no longer afford it. So many more are graduating with inconceivable amounts of debt and stepping into the worse job market in decades,” reads a statement on Occupy Colleges’ website. “They take unpaid internships that go nowhere and soon can’t pay college loans. We represent students who share these fears and support Occupy Wall Street.”
Complete article..
NEW YORK -- Thursday afternoon, in concert with the Occupy Wall Street movement, students from nearly 150 college campuses across the country will participate in their second protest in as many weeks.
As with the nationwide walkout held last Wednesday, the students will band together to make their voices heard -- with many expressing frustration over increasing amounts of student loan debt and the rising cost of tuition, in addition to a paucity of jobs for recent graduates.
“We’re planning to do these walkouts and shows of solidarity every two weeks until these issues are resolved,” said Natalia Abrams, 31, who helps to organize Occupy Colleges, a student-led grassroots group based in Los Angeles that helped facilitate both nationwide protests. “If Occupy Wall Street is indefinite, we’re indefinite as well. We plan to keep the solidarity protest going for as long as it takes.”
In many ways, today's protest marks a significant challenge for student backers of the Occupy Wall Street movement, not only in terms of coordination and organization, but also with respect to maintaining momentum.
“Participating in something that’s clearly ascendant is always something of a rush,” said Doug McAdam, a professor of sociology at Stanford University. While McAdam said it was inherently difficult to build on the momentum of a movement that's neither centralized nor coordinated, he cautioned against making too much of its diffuse nature.
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“We like to talk about big, historic movements as if they were these spectacularly well-coordinated affairs. They almost never are,” said McAdam, who teaches a course on political movements. “Very broad, diverse efforts are generally more effective because you can speak to different constituencies. It becomes quite difficult to suppress a movement that doesn’t have one distinct leader or head.”
Occupy Colleges, which started as a Facebook page and Twitter handle less than two weeks ago, has quickly blossomed into a burgeoning movement bolstered by a groundswell of student-led support. As of Thursday morning, student organizers at 136 college campuses -- from Sarah Lawrence College to Boise State University to San Diego City College -- have pledged to participate in Thursday’s show of solidarity.
“Around the country, more and more high school students are foregoing a college education because their families can no longer afford it. So many more are graduating with inconceivable amounts of debt and stepping into the worse job market in decades,” reads a statement on Occupy Colleges’ website. “They take unpaid internships that go nowhere and soon can’t pay college loans. We represent students who share these fears and support Occupy Wall Street.”
Complete article..
Five Reasons the Right Is Terrified of Occupy Wall Street
Five Reasons the Right Is Terrified of Occupy Wall Street by Robert Creamer
The Occupy Wall Street Movement is so frightening to the Right because it may directly affect voter behavior in the upcoming election.
The Occupy Wall Street movement really frightens the Right Wing. It is not frightening to the Right because of Congressman Eric Cantor's feigned fear of "the mob" that is "occupying our cities." It is not frightening because anyone is really worried that Glenn Beck is correct when he predicts that the protesters will "come for you, drag you into the street, and kill you."
That's not why they are really frightened -- that's the Right trying to frighten everyday Americans.
There are five reasons why the Right is in fact frightened by the Occupy Wall Street movement. None of them have to do with physical violence -- they have to do with politics. They're not really worried about ending up like Marie Antoinette. But they are very worried that their electoral heads may roll.
- All elections are decided by two groups of people:
- Persuadable voters who always vote, but are undecided switch hitters. This group includes lots of political independents.
- Mobilizable voters who would vote for one Party or the other, but have to be motivated to vote.
The Occupy Wall Street Movement is so frightening to the Right because it may directly affect the behavior of those two groups of voters in the upcoming election.
1). The narrative. People in America are very unhappy with their economic circumstances. As a result the outcome of the 2012 election will hinge heavily on who gets the blame for the horrible economy -- and who the public believes, or hopes -- can lead them into better economic times.
Political narratives are the stories people use to understand the political world. Like all stories, they define a protagonist and antagonist. And political narratives generally ascribe to those central characters moral qualities -- right and wrong.
For several years, the Tea Party-driven narrative has been in the ascendance to explain America's economic woes. Its vision of the elites in government versus hard-working freedom-loving people has heavily defined the national political debate.
Of course at first glance it's an easy case for them to make. The President, who is the head of the over-powerful, "dysfunctional" government, is in charge. Things aren't going well -- so he, and the government he runs, must be at fault.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has helped force the alternative narrative into the media and public consciousness. The recklessness and greed of the big Wall Street banks, CEO's and top one percent -- those are the culprits who sunk the economy and who have siphoned off all of the economic growth from the middle class. They and their enablers in Congress -- largely Republicans -- are the problem. To address the underlying economic crisis facing everyday Americans we must rein in their power.
This narrative is very compelling and, of course, it is true. It's not that many voices haven't framed the debate in these terms for years. But by creating a must- cover story, the Occupy Wall Street movement has forced it onto the daily media agenda. That is great news for Progressives. The longer it continues, the better.
Right Wing pundits have disparaged the Occupy Wall Street movement for not having specific "policy proposals" -- but the Right knows better. The Occupy Wall Street movement is advocating something much more fundamental. It is demanding a change in the relations of power -- reining in the power of Wall Street, millionaires and billionaires - the CEO class as a whole. It is demanding that everyday Americans -- the 99% -- share in the increases in their productivity and have more real control of their futures -- both individually and as a society. Now that's something for the Right to worry about.
2). Inside-Outside. Especially in periods when people are unhappy, the political high ground is defined by who voters perceive to be elite insiders and who they perceive to be populist outsiders. Who among the political leaders and political forces are actually agents of change?
In 2008, Barak Obama won that battle hands down. The Tea Party Movement muddied the water. It portrayed themselves as "don't tread on me" populist outsiders doing battle with President Obama the elite, liberal insider.
Of course this ignores that the Tea Party was in many ways bought and paid for by huge corporate interests -- but in the public mind it was a very compelling image.
The Right Wing has always had its own version of "class conflict." Its "ruling class" is defined as the elite, intellectuals, bureaucrats, entertainers and academics that are out to destroy traditional values and undermine the well-being of ordinary Americans.
The Occupy Wall Street movement, coupled with the movements in Wisconsin and Ohio earlier this year, present an entirely different -- and accurate -- picture of who is on the inside and who is not.
3). Momentum. Politics is very much about momentum. Human beings are herding creatures -- they travel in packs. People like to go with the flow. Whether in election campaigns, or legislative proposals, or social movements, or football games -- the team with the momentum is much more likely to win.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has put the progressive forces in society on the offense -- it has begun to build progressive momentum.
4). Movement. The Occupy Wall Street movement has managed to turn itself into a real "movement."
Movements don't involve your normal run-of-the-mill organizing. Normally organizers have to worry about turning out people -- or voters -- one person or one group at a time. Not so with movements.
Movements go viral. They involve spontaneous chain reactions. One person engages another person, who engages another and so on. Like nuclear chain reactions, movements reach critical mass and explode.
That's what makes them so potentially powerful -- and so dangerous to their opposition.
Often movements are sparked by unexpected precipitating events -- like the death of the fruit stand vendor in Tunisia that set off the Arab Spring. Sometimes they build around the determined effort of a few until that critical mass is reached.
In all cases movements explode because the tinder is dry and one unexpected spark can set off a wild fire.
Movements mobilize enormous resources -- individual effort, money, person power - by motivating people to take spontaneous action.
The Occupy Wall Street movement in New York has spread to scores of cities -- and the fire shows no sign of flaming out. It will fuel the engagement and remobilization of thousands of progressive activists and volunteers who had been demobilized and demoralized, but the sausage-making of the DC legislative process. That is a huge problem for the right that was counting on despondency and lethargy among progressives to allow them to consolidate their hold on political power in 2012.
5). Inspiration. More than anything else, in order to mount a counter-offensive against the Right wing next year, Progressives need to re-inspire our base. We need to re-inspire young people and all of the massive corps of volunteers who powered the victory in 2008.
Inspiration is critical to mobilization. It is also critical to persuasion. Swing voters want leaders who inspire them.
Inspiration is not about what people think -- it's about what they feel about themselves. When you're inspired you feel empowered. You feel that you are part of something bigger than yourself, and that you -- yourself -- can play a significant role in achieving that larger goal.
The Occupy Wall Street movement has begun to inspire people all over America. That's because people are inspired by example. They themselves are inspired if they see others standing up for themselves -- speaking truth to power -- standing up in the face of strong, entrenched opposition. People are inspired by heroic acts -- by commitment -- by people who say they are so committed that they will stay in a park next to Wall Street until they make change. That's what happened in Egypt and Tunisia. That's what happened in Wisconsin this spring.
The legacy of the Occupy Wall Street movement could very well be the re-inspiration of tens of thousands of Progressives -- and the engagement of young people that are so important to the future of the progressive movement in America.
Right-wingers will plant provocateurs in an attempt to stigmatize the Occupy Wall Street movement with violence -- to make it look frightening. But if the Movement continues with the kind of single-minded purpose and commitment that we have seen so far, the Occupy Wall Street movement may very well make history. It has already become an enormous progressive asset as America approaches the critical crossroad election that could determine whether the next American generation experiences the American Dream or simply reads about it in their history books.
TAMPA POLICE ATTEMPT TO DISPLACE OCCUPY TAMPA PROTESTERS
October 11, 2011: Tampa Police Attempt To Displace Occupy Tampa Protestors
TAMPA POLICE ATTEMPT TO DISPLACE OCCUPY TAMPA PROTESTERS
As many as six squad cars responding
Tampa, FL (October 11, 2011) – At approx. 8:50PM EST the Tampa Police Department has told the protesters that they may no longer sleep on the sidewalk. Their initial response to the occupation was to inform the protesters that they could sleep on the sidewalk, provided that they were not within 3′ of the curb and they left a 4′ walking path. This response is unusual and is being investigated by legal. As of 9:15 a representative from legal was on the ground interacting with the Tampa Police.
This is a strange turn of events for the Tampa Police, who have been very gracious hosts for Occupy Tampa up to this point. Occupy Tampa’s “Stop the Machine” rally was the largest activist gathering in the Southeast in over a decade. The TBGA is a group of citizens trying to exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble. Throughout the nation police departments are engaging in increasingly hostile tactics to intimidate, divide and disperse Occupations.
Occupy Tampa is calling on all occupations, around state and nation, to flood Downtown Tampa on October 15th and prepare to stay indefinitely. If you can arrive sooner, we would love to have you. Everyone is welcome to help us stay and present our case to Mayor Buckhorn that we are a peaceful assembly who will do anything to remain where we are in solidarity with national movements and in the hopes of achieving a greater purpose of returning our country to a nation Of the People, By the People.
Please refer to our website for a list of up-to-date needs, more information about the occupation and livestreams from Tampa.
All are welcome. None will be turned away. Non-violence is paramount, but We the People Will Not Be Moved.
This is our time Tampa. Stand strong, stand united. Stay camped.
Comment: Footage from Occupy Tampa "Stop the Machine," March October 6, 2011
TAMPA POLICE ATTEMPT TO DISPLACE OCCUPY TAMPA PROTESTERS
As many as six squad cars responding
Tampa, FL (October 11, 2011) – At approx. 8:50PM EST the Tampa Police Department has told the protesters that they may no longer sleep on the sidewalk. Their initial response to the occupation was to inform the protesters that they could sleep on the sidewalk, provided that they were not within 3′ of the curb and they left a 4′ walking path. This response is unusual and is being investigated by legal. As of 9:15 a representative from legal was on the ground interacting with the Tampa Police.
This is a strange turn of events for the Tampa Police, who have been very gracious hosts for Occupy Tampa up to this point. Occupy Tampa’s “Stop the Machine” rally was the largest activist gathering in the Southeast in over a decade. The TBGA is a group of citizens trying to exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble. Throughout the nation police departments are engaging in increasingly hostile tactics to intimidate, divide and disperse Occupations.
Occupy Tampa is calling on all occupations, around state and nation, to flood Downtown Tampa on October 15th and prepare to stay indefinitely. If you can arrive sooner, we would love to have you. Everyone is welcome to help us stay and present our case to Mayor Buckhorn that we are a peaceful assembly who will do anything to remain where we are in solidarity with national movements and in the hopes of achieving a greater purpose of returning our country to a nation Of the People, By the People.
Please refer to our website for a list of up-to-date needs, more information about the occupation and livestreams from Tampa.
All are welcome. None will be turned away. Non-violence is paramount, but We the People Will Not Be Moved.
This is our time Tampa. Stand strong, stand united. Stay camped.
Comment: Footage from Occupy Tampa "Stop the Machine," March October 6, 2011
Occupy Seattle -- Standoff at Westlake Park
Occupy Seattle -- Standoff at Westlake Park
Police arrested two people for having a tent. After 11:00 p.m., City Hall apparently ordered the police to stand-down.
Police arrested two people for having a tent. After 11:00 p.m., City Hall apparently ordered the police to stand-down.
R. Mark Sink: Effects of the Lotus Eaters
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The idea of servitude seems to become a method of defense or replacement for critical thinking, which is part of self-remembering and the determination of the true condition one lives in. Both Andrzej M. Lobaczeskwi and George I.Gurdjieff teach of the personality repressing the field of consciousness, and removing the objective language to live in a fantasy world in effect separating essence from the picture. To recognize what is not our own, self-remembering begins the technique of understanding the delusions of the duality of "I," or "egos."
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Would it be wise to even fathom that most of these front group notions truly consider the overwhelming circumstances that humanity faces? Not in the least it would seem, and this perpetuation of conditional slavery justifies the absence of empathy and compassion.
The presence of psychopathic personalities is a mental state well known to lack the ability to display emotions that show resolve with other living beings. The continuation of this state brings about a hysteroidal cycle that stifles progress with the overburden on progress itself and the emphasis on egoism and business in education.
A recent article describes some of the apparent traits associated with psychopathy where cause-and-effect descriptors are used in Tweeting language soon to be released in a psychological journal. Habitual mental laziness seems to pervade our society just as Aldous Huxley had warned in his Berkley speech in 1962.
"It seems to me that the nature of the ultimate revolution with which we are now faced is precisely this: That we are in process of developing a whole series of techniques which will enable the controlling oligarchy who have always existed and presumably will always exist to get people to love their servitude."From Wikipedia, Alfred Tennyson published a poem in 1832 called "The Lotus-Eaters," who were Spanish mariners that ended up in an altered state and isolated from the outside world.
Originally, the story of The Lotus-Eaters comes from Homer's The Odyssey. Here are a few lines from the poem.
The mariners are put into an altered state when they eat the lotos. During this time, they are isolated from the world:
Branches they bore of that enchanted stem,
Laden with flower and fruit, whereof they gave
To each, but whoso did receive of them
And taste, to him the gushing of the wave
Far far away did seem to mourn and rave
On alien shores; and if his fellow spake,
His voice was thin, as voices from the grave;
And deep-asleep he seem’d, yet all awake,
And music in his ears his beating heart did make. (lines 28–36)
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Getting back to the state of rejection and delusion in America that is heavily influenced by foreign interests, our affairs seem much worse as not only are many Americans deep asleep, they are under attack at the very same time. This is the saddest part as many are just clearly not thinking critically about the world around them. All this diagnosis implies that we have a serious health issue in what is perceived as knowledge.
Henry A. Giroux writes about "Education and the Crisis of Public Values in a recent book and may offer definition in the matter.
"Since the early 1970s, the rich, corporate power brokers and right-wing cultural warriors realized that education was central to creating a viable populist movement that served their interests. Over the last 40 years, the financial elites and their wealthy accomplices have not only mobilized an educational anti-reform movement in the name of “reform” to dismantle public education and turn it over to hedge-fund managers and billionaires; they have also taken a lesson from the muckrakers, critical public intellectuals, left-wing journals, progressive newspapers and educational institutions of the mid-20th century and developed their own cultural apparatuses, talk shows, anti-public intellectuals, think tanks and grassroots organizations. As the left slid into organizing around mostly single-issue movements since the 1980s, the right moved in a different direction, mobilizing a range of educational forces and wider cultural apparatuses as a way of addressing broader ideas that appealed to a wider public and issues that resonated with their everyday lives. Tax reform, the role of government, the crisis of education, family values and the economy, to name a few issues, were wrenched out of their progressive legacy and inserted into a context defined by the values of the free market, an unbridled notion of freedom and individualism and a growing hatred for the social contract.Well, obviously this has already changed to some degree, but Henry's point is strong in the deliberate dismantling of critical thinking and the adoption of indolent behavior that abscesses any pain or even the acknowledgement that human affairs are outside their televised intrapsychic mind.
At the heart of this movement was a culture of cruelty and vulgarity that used education to produce a new form of political illiteracy in which there was no difference between opinions and arguments, reason and emotion and evidence and false statements. In this culture of illiteracy, science became a liability, thinking became an act of stupidity, anti-intellectualism became a virtue, social protections were described as a pathology and the social contract was dismissed as socialism. While social critic Michael Kazin does not mention the notions of education or public pedagogy in a recent New York Times article, he is right in stressing the centrality of education to the current right-wing-Christian-extremists takeover of almost every aspect of political and economic life in America - extending from the Supreme Court to the federal government to the dominant media-cultural educational apparatus. He writes:
“Like the left in the early 20th century, conservatives built an impressive set of institutions to develop and disseminate their ideas. Their think tanks, legal societies, lobbyists, talk radio and best selling manifestos have trained, educated and financed two generations of writers and organizers. Conservative Christian colleges both Protestant and Catholic, provide students with a more coherent worldview than do the more prestigious schools led by liberals. More recently, conservatives marshaled media outlets like Fox News and the editorial pages of The Wall Street Journal to their cause.”(1)
Education has become the political weapon of choice for conservatives, and they have had astounding success in using the mainstream and new media to drown out the voices of more progressive critics. The evidence is everywhere.
For instance, The New York Times is currently advertising its Watch Education Take Center Stage initiative and the keynote address is being given by the politically and morally discredited champion of neoliberal education, Lawrence Summers. Given his failed presidency at Harvard, his utterly shameful role in contributing to the financial crisis of 2008 and the failure of Obama’s economic policies and his crude instrumental view of education, why would The New York Times select him as an educational leader and beacon of hope for any kind of educational vision designed to address future generations? Other speakers include the likes of Chester Finn, whose views on public education are as politically reactionary as they are theoretically bogus. Another example can be found in the ongoing Education Nation series sponsored on a number of platforms by NBC. It’s endorsement of market-driven anti-public education policies are evident in its parading of the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates and their utterly anti-public, charter school, privatized and technocratic vision of education. Also included are the usual list of charter school, corporate funded anti-union, public school cheerleaders for defunding and privatizing American education. Of course, missing from these dog-and-pony shows are progressive public school reformers such as David Berliner, Stanley Aronowitz, Jonathan Kozol, Marian Wright Edelman, Donaldo Macedo, and others who have been fighting for real educational reform for the last few decades. Nor is there any mention of the many local struggling social movements fighting for public education and the ever-dissolving protections of social contract inherited from the legacy of the New Deal and the Great Society programs. Education at all levels is firmly in the hands of the rich, reactionary and the powerful. Is it any wonder given how invisible progressive forces are in this country that young people are not in the streets as they were in the sixties, refusing the future being offered to them by Wall Street and the moralizing Christian fundamentalists?"
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The effects of the lotus eaters who seem to love their servitude as Huxley had warned of long ago are literally destroying society, but it is not completely their fault, as they have been made that way by the system. It is our duty to wake people up to the truth, the last truly effective weapon we have, and one that heals faster than anything we have found.
As far as one can tell, Wikipedia does a great job of blurring the determinations of the oldest text, that is to say, the Odyssey may be older than the Bible and one wonders why and how these ancient stories came about, and what bearing was intended. It is easy to see the Jewish influence that is present today that has no bearing on the past as conclusively proven which is certainly forbidding any healthy examination of the past.
Here again, the rub prevails and for those of you who would like to examine just how the rub works, a quick gander at etymology quickly reveals the intention, and how the formation of recognition is determinate in its nature.
Indo-European Roots © American Heritage Dictionary: 3rd Edition (1996)
35. 5-chrism-christ-cream-grime-grisly-et-ghrēi- To rub [Pokorny ghrēi- 457, curiosity] Reanimation © R. Mark Sink [G - 18; 35 of 53; 712 - 7931; et:stem]
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Iranian Terror Plot: Fake, Fake, Fake
Iranian Terror Plot: Fake, Fake, Fake by Justin Raimondo
Not even good propaganda.
Fake, fake, fake – I’m talking about the latest anti-Iranian propaganda coming out of Washington, which claims the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were involved in a “plot” to take out the Saudi ambassador to the US and blow up both the Saudi and Israeli embassies. The narrative reads like a formulaic melodrama: two Iranians, one a naturalized US citizen, purportedly approached someone they thought was a member of a Mexican drug cartel – according to the indictment [.pdf], it was a “sophisticated” drug cartel, not the plebeian sort – and proposed paying him $1.5 million to murder Adel al Jubeir, the Kingdom’s ambassador in Washington – oh, and by the way, the Iranians supposedly said, “Are you guys any good with explosives?”
The key to understanding just how fake this story is can be found in the New York Times report, which informs us:
“For the entire operation, the government’s confidential sources were monitored and guided by federal law enforcement agents, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District, said in the news conference. ‘So no explosives were actually ever placed anywhere,’ he said, ‘and no one was actually in ever in any danger.’”
Translation: the whole thing is phony from beginning to end.
Read complete article..
Not even good propaganda.
Fake, fake, fake – I’m talking about the latest anti-Iranian propaganda coming out of Washington, which claims the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were involved in a “plot” to take out the Saudi ambassador to the US and blow up both the Saudi and Israeli embassies. The narrative reads like a formulaic melodrama: two Iranians, one a naturalized US citizen, purportedly approached someone they thought was a member of a Mexican drug cartel – according to the indictment [.pdf], it was a “sophisticated” drug cartel, not the plebeian sort – and proposed paying him $1.5 million to murder Adel al Jubeir, the Kingdom’s ambassador in Washington – oh, and by the way, the Iranians supposedly said, “Are you guys any good with explosives?”
The key to understanding just how fake this story is can be found in the New York Times report, which informs us:
“For the entire operation, the government’s confidential sources were monitored and guided by federal law enforcement agents, Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District, said in the news conference. ‘So no explosives were actually ever placed anywhere,’ he said, ‘and no one was actually in ever in any danger.’”
Translation: the whole thing is phony from beginning to end.
Read complete article..
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