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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Occupy Wall Street Webpage--DONATE NOW!

DONATE TO OCCUPY WALL STREET


THIS IS AMERICA'S ONLY CHANCE TO SPREAD THE 
THE DISAPPROVAL BY THE 99% OF THE 1%!

THIS IS THE BLACK SWAN EVENT THAT COULD CHANGE
THE FACE OF EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE 2012 ELECTION, AND BEYOND.

THIS AMERICAN AUTUMN REVOLUTION
WILL SPREAD TO OTHER MAJOR CITIES IN THE U.S.
LINKING THIS MOVEMENT---OCCUPY TOGETHER.

IT IS TIME TO TAKE THIS NATION BACK FROM THE WALL STREET THIEVES,
CROOKS, LIARS, AND MANIPULATORS!! WHO HAVE BOUGHT OUR
POLITICAL SYSTEM, POLITICIANS, AND PRESIDENTS
OVER THE LAST 30 YEARS.

THEY HAVE SHIPPED OUR JOBS OVERSEAS TO THE LOWEST BIDDERS
IN ORDER TO GAIN THE MOST FOR THE LEAST
IN ORDER TO SELL IT BACK TO THOSE
WHO THEY LAID OFF.

THEN THEY WENT TO THE FEDERAL RESERVE AND TREASURY
WITH THEIR HANDS OUT FOR MORE OF THE PUBLIC'S CASH
SO THEY COULD HOARD IT AS THEIR OWN, OR INVEST
OUTSIDE THE COUNTRY AND REAP MASSIVE 
BENEFITS FROM THOSE ENTERPRISES
WITHOUT GIVING BACK 
TO THOSE WHO
HAVE 
LOST
OUT!

INSTEAD, THEY HAVE CLAIMED THAT THEIR TAXES ARE TOO HIGH,
EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN THE LOWEST IN DECADES
WHEN CONSIDERING ALL THE TAX LOOPHOLES (GOVERNMENT WELFARE),
AND BENEFITS PROVIDED THEM THROUGH THE TAX LAWS.

THEY HAVE REWARDED THEMSELVES USING TAXPAYER DOLLARS. THEY HAVE
REWARDED THEMSELVES THROUGH THE "WAR STIMULUS APPROPRIATIONS" DOLLARS.

THEY HAVE REWARDED THEMSELVES THROUGH THE POLITICAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR REVOLVING DOOR PROCESS MAKING POLICY ON BEHALF OF THE ELITE, AND THEN ONCE DONE AS A POLITICAL HACK, RETURN BACK TO THEIR PRIVATE SECTOR ELITE BENEFACTORS AS A WELL PAID CORPORATE GOON! 

THIS IS CALLED A PLUTOCRACY!!

THIS MOVEMENT TO END THIS THEFT IS NOW!
JOIN IT IF NOT IN BODY AND SOUL, THEN IN
FINANCIAL AND MORAL SUPPORT.

(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)

Support For the Occupy Wall Street Supporters


Casey O'Neill, 30, of Oakland, Calif. unpacks boxes sent to the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zucotti Park Friday.
Kevin Hagen for News
Casey O'Neill, 30, of Oakland, Calif. unpacks boxes sent to the Occupy Wall Street movement in Zucotti Park Friday.
Twice a day, the Occupy Wall Street movement gets mail - so much the protesters had to designate an official "mailman."
Well-wishers and kindred spirits from across the country have been sending cardboard boxes bearing food, medical supplies, clothes and blankets to the masses who have camped out near Ground Zero since Sept. 14.
"I want to thank you for the many sacrifices you are making to better this nation," read a note that Janet Bauer of Elk Grove Village, Ill., wrote to accompany her care package. She also threw in $30 in cash. "I'm a 51-year-old permanently disabled person who is unable to join you - but know my heart and hopes are with you."
What started as a loosely organized sit-in to protest the practices of Wall Street has grown into something much larger and harder to define - an ever-changing, ultra-democratic clamor for social change.
The protesters have built a mini-tent city in Zuccotti Park, at the corner of Broadway and Liberty St., but the mail they get shows the movement's spirit knows no physical boundary.
Some of the mailings may have been inspired by the events of last Saturday, when the movement got an international media splash after NYPD cops arrested more than 80 people, and a high-ranking member of New York's Finest pepper-sprayed a bunch of women.
The encampment now feeds and shelters hundreds of people each day and has a kitchen, a library, zones for first aid and sleeping - not to mention a committee to put out the trash.
They have survived entirely on donations for more than two weeks, its leaders say. When a request for a specific item is posted online, the group's supporters nationwide are quick to respond.
"It's amazing. It just feels so wonderful to know that people are supporting us," said Casey O'Neill, 34, the protester who was tapped to be mailman. "What people send is useful, but knowing they support us enough to send this stuff is even better."
O'Neill makes two trips daily from the park to the nearby Fulton St. Post Office, where Occupy Wall Street opened a Post Office box.
The first of those trips Friday brought him back to the base laden with 19 boxes - a delivery from UPS. O'Neill expected the afternoon's haul to be even bigger, with shipments coming in from FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service.
Inside the morning's mail was anything an urban, politically inspired camper could want - socks, peanuts, dried fruit, several portable and solar battery-chargers, even a cordless electric kettle. Other packages held whistles, baby powder and a few coffee urns.
"Sent with love, encouragement, positive vibes and hope," read one note from St. Louis.

(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)

From the Washington Post-Occupy Wall Street


Posted at 09:13 AM ET, 10/02/2011

‘Occupy Wall Street,’ save the world?


A protester wears a dollar bill over his mouth at the start of a march by demonstrators opposed to corporate profits on Wall Street on September 30, 2011 New York City. Over one thousand activists affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement marched to protest police brutality while clogging traffic in Lower Manhattan. (Mario Tama - GETTY IMAGES)
Why, I want to know, are so many of us persons of conscience and faith so quiet?
Last Sunday, I took a web trip tooccupywallst.org, where I was greeted with the news that “the resistance continues at Liberty Square, with free pizza ;)”
Yes, that does sound young. And inexperienced. And gratuitously counter-culture. But to me, at least, it sounds like the beginnings of just what’s needed in our country.
Reporter Gina Bellafante described Occupy Wall Street in The New York Times as “a noble but fractured and airy movement of rightly frustrated young people…; a diffuse and leaderless convocation of activists against greed, corporate influence, gross social inequality and other nasty byproducts of wayward capitalism not easily extinguishable by street theater…” (Italics mine.)
The italics are mine.
When I read her phrase “not easily extinguishable by street theater…,” I wanted to remind Ms. Bellafante that that’s what they (you know, them, the Establishment) once said about the Vietnam War. As a veteran of that protest movement, I’m here to say that when all else appears to be in thrall to the all-mighty dollar, street theater can actually be a pretty effective extinguisher of wars and other “nasty byproducts of wayward capitalism.”
"Zain", a Wall Street protester from upstate New York, holds up a sign on September 30, 2011 in New York City. "I came down because of the state of the economy, society and the system. The rich stomp on the poor, I feel we are at a tipping point," said Zain. (Spencer Platt - GETTY IMAGES)
Ms. Bellafante goes on to point out that the “group was clamoring for nothing in particular to happen right away - not the implementation of the Buffett ruleor the increased regulation of the financial industry…” Occupy Wall Street, as a movement, she wants us to understand, operates in rather an “intellectual vacuum.”
Well, so what? Protestors aren’t supposed to be wonks; they are supposed to be the morality of wonks. I wasn’t an expert on America’s Southeast Asia policy in 1966, but I still knew in my gut - through my conscience, my connection with God - that it was wrong.
Then as now, those in power in America were more interested in maintaining that power than in the welfare of humanity.
Then as (so far) not now, we acted on our consciences. We didn’t mind being thought foolish, being vilified even; we knew we didn’t understand all the intricacies of foreign policy, but we also knew our government was acting in ways that were reprehensible and that someone had to call them on it publically. We asked ourselves, if not us hippy-dippy, anti-war peaceniks, then who?
We were not very dignified, but we did speak clearly enough to get our point across.
Once again, America is off the rails. The Tea Party shouts, politicians shout; we persons of faith and conscience turn away and stand mute. We let our confusion, our innate good manners, our fatigue keep strong hold of our tongues.
To me, it’s very simple. If we persons of faith and conscience don’t stand up against the greed, corruption and dysfunction that is currently driving America, then who will? If we’re not charged with being this country’s collective conscience, then who is?
Street theater, anyone?
Martha’s note: This essay is a feature of Faith Unboxed, an ongoing, civil, respectful conversation about faith I invite you to participate by sharing your own ideas and experiences (either here or on the website), rather than by denigrating the ideas and experiences of others.
By Martha Woodroof  |  09:13 AM ET, 10/02/2011 

Union president: We and ‘Occupy Wall Street’ are ‘singing the same song’

By Muriel Kane  Saturday, October 1, 2011     Link here.


Transport Workers Union president John Samuelson appeared Friday on Current TV’s Countdownand explained to guest host David Shuster that his union is making common cause with the Occupy Wall Street protesters because they are “singing the same song and fighting the same battle that our union has fought for the last eighteen months.”
“Working families in New York State are definitely getting shafted while the wealthiest folks in New York State are getting a tax break,” Samuelson continued. “If you make a million dollars a years, you’re bringing home an extra $408 a week under the eliminated millionaires’ tax. We have a lot of folks in New York City that aren’t even making $408 a week to take care of their families.”
Samuelson indicated that there were only a few hundred of his members participating in the protest on Friday but that “they do feel a sense of solidarity.” He expects the number to grow now that the executive board has endorsed it and sees the unions as being able to make a particular contribution through their ability to articulate a message about the growing disparity of wealth in the United States.

“There’s a sense of desparation,” he commented, “that the folks in government just don’t get.”
This video is from Current TV’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann September 30, 2011.





(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Arrested in New York

Saturday 1 October 2011
Police in New York City have corralled and arrested protesters attempting to march across the Brooklyn Bridge, according to media reports.
One woman claimed New York Police Department officers led protesters to the Brooklyn Bridge and then started to arrest them when they began to cross.
Moreover, according to a tweet sent by DemocracyNow's Ryan Deveraux, an unnamed source "claims to have overheard NYPD cop saying, 'This is easy overtime.'"
Earlier this week, the New York Police Department (NYPD) was accused of using excessive when a police officer was caught ontape using mace to subdue female protesters.
According to a report publilshed by The Guardian, the officer in question was identified by activists as deputy inspector Anthony Bologna, who "stands accused of false arrest and civil rights violations in a claim brought by a protester involved in the 2004 demonstrations at the Republican national convention."
Separately, in Boston Saturday 3,000 protesters marched toward Bank of America and 24 of them were arrested for trespassing, according to Raw Story.
The Occupy Wall Street protests against corporate corruption is now in its 15th day.
(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)

Five Ways Occupy Wall Street Has Succeeded

Saturday 1 October 2011
by: Mark Engler, YES! Magazine | Report 
#OccupyWallStreet protests are now well into their second week, and they are increasingly capturing the public spotlight. This is because, whatever limitations their occupation has, the protesters have done many things right.
I will admit that I was skeptical about the #OccupyWallStreet effort when it was getting started. My main concerns were the limited number of participants and the lack of coalition building.
One of the things that was most exciting about the protests in Madison—and the global justice protests of old such as Seattle and A16—was that they brought together a wide range of constituencies, suggesting what a broad, inclusive progressive movement might look like. You had student activists and unaffiliated anarchists, sure; but you also had major institutional constituencies including the labor movement, environmentalists, faith-based organizations, and community groups. The solidarity was powerful. And, in the context of a broader coalition, the militancy, creativity, and artistic contributions of the autonomist factions made up for their lack of an organized membership base.
With #OccupyWallStreet, the protest did not draw in any of the major institutional players on the left. Participants have come independently—mostly from anarchist and student activist circles—and turnout has been limited. Some of the higher estimates for the first day’s gathering suggest that a thousand people might have been there, and only a few hundred have been camping out.
That said, this relatively small group has been holding strong. As their message has gained traction—first in the alternative media, and then in mainstream news sources—they have drawn wider interest. On Tuesday night, Cornel West visited the occupied Zuccotti Park and spoke to an audience estimated at 2,000. Rallies planned for later in the week will likely attract larger crowds. People will come because the occupation is now a hot story.
#OccupyWallStreet has accomplished a great deal in the past week and a half, with virtually no resources. The following are some of the things the participants have done that allowed what might have been a negligible and insignificant protest to achieve a remarkable level of success:

1. They chose the right target.

The #OccupyWallStreet protesters have been often criticized for not having clear demands. They endured a particularly annoying cheap shot from New York Times writer Ginia Bellafante, who (quoting a stockbroker sympathetically) resurrected the old canard that no one who uses an Apple computer can possibly say anything critical about capitalism. Such charges are as predictable as the tides. Media commentators love to condescend to protesters, and they endlessly recycle criticism of protests being naïve and unfocused.
I am among those who believe that the occupation would have benefited from having clearer demands at the outset—and that these would have been helpful in shaping the endgame that is to come. But protesters have largely overcome the lack of a particularly well-defined messaging strategy by doing something very important: choosing the right target.
Few institutions in our society are more in need of condemnation than the big banks and stockbrokers based where the critics are now camped. “Why are people protesting Wall Street?” For anyone who has lived through the recent economic collapse and the ongoing crises of foreclosure and unemployment, this question almost answers itself.
The protest’s initial call to action repeatedly stressed the need to get Wall Street money out of politics, demanding “Democracy not Corporatocracy.” Since then, many protesters have been emphasizing the idea that “We Are the 99 Percent” being screwed by the country’s wealthiest 1 percent. At Salon, Glenn Greenwald writes:
Does anyone really not know what the basic message is of this protest: that Wall Street is oozing corruption and criminality and its unrestrained political power—in the form of crony capitalism and ownership of political institutions—is destroying financial security for everyone else?....
So, yes, the people willing to engage in protests like these at the start may lack (or reject the need for) media strategies, organizational hierarchies, and messaging theories.  But they’re among the very few people trying to channel widespread anger into activism rather than resignation, and thus deserve support and encouragement—and help—from anyone claiming to be sympathetic to their underlying message.
Notably, young protesters have been able to convey the idea that their generation, in particular, has been betrayed by our economy. This idea was picked up in remarkably hard-hitting commentary at MarketWatch.com, which reads like more like something you’d expect to find in the socialist press than on a business website:
[A]sk yourself how you might act if you were in school or fresh out of it or young and unemployed. What future has Wall Street, the heart and brain of our capitalist country, promised you? How does it feel to be the sons, daughters and grand kids of a “me” generation that’s run up the debt and run down the economy?
Unemployment is between 13% and 25% for people under 25. Student loans are defaulting at about 15% at a time when more young people have no alternative but to borrow to pay for school.
Meanwhile, Wall Street bonuses continue to be paid at close to all-time highs. Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), took home $13.2 million last year, including a $3.2 million raise.
Such a message resonates with many, and protesters did something important to attract them:

2. They made a great poster.

I write this partially in jest. There is a joke among labor organizers that if you are spending all your time obsessing over the quality of your posters or handouts, rather than going out to actually talk to people, you are in big trouble.
In this case, however, there’s some truth to the idea that posters matter. When you’re not mobilizing an established organizational membership, but rather trying to capture the imagination of unaffiliated activists, protest planning is more akin to promoting a concert than staging a workplace strike. And if you’re doing that kind of promotion, how cool your call to arms is makes a difference.
#OccupyWallStreet has benefited from a series of great posters and promotional materials. Foremost among them is a lovely depiction of a ballerina dancing on top of Wall Street’s famous bull statue, created by the veteran leftist image-makers at Adbusters. The text below the bull reads simply: “#OccupyWallStreet. September 17th. Bring tent.”
The poster hinted that the event would be exciting and creative and audacious. It suggested that culture jamming and dissident art would be part of the adventure. And it pointed to another thing the protesters did right:

3. They gave their action time to build.

Most protests take place for one afternoon and then are finished. Had #OccupyWallStreet done the same, it would already have been forgotten.
Instead, planners told participants to get ready to camp out. The event operated on the premise that challenging Wall Street would take a while, and that things would build with time. In fact, this is exactly what has happened. It took a few days for alternative press sources to catch on, but now the occupation is a leading story at outlets such as Democracy Now!.
The extended time frame for the protest has allowed for the drama of direct action to deepen, which is my next point about the protesters:

4. They created a good scenario for conflict.

By claiming space in Zuccotti Park (also known as Liberty Plaza), #OccupyWallStreet set up an action scenario that has effectively created suspense and generated interest over time.
Participants there have invoked Tahrir Square. On the one hand, the comparison is silly, but on the other hand, the fact that occupations of public space have taken on a new significance in the past year is another thing that made #OccupyWallStreet a good idea. If the authorities allow them to continue camping out in lower Manhattan, the protesters can claim victory for their experiment in “liberated space.” Of course, everyone expects that police will eventually swoop in and clear the park. But, contrary to what some people think, civil disobedients have long known that arrests do not work against the movement. Rather, they illustrate that participants are willing to make real sacrifices to speak out against Wall Street’s evils.
The fact that police have used undue force (in one now-famous incident, pepper spraying women who were already detained in a mesh police pen and clearly doing nothing to resist arrest) only reinforces this message.
When will the police finally come and clear out the occupation’s encampment? We don’t know. And the very question creates further suspense and allows the protest to continue gaining momentum.

5. They are using their momentum to escalate.

Lastly, but probably most importantly, the #OccupyWallStreet effort is using its success at garnering attention in the past week and a half to go even bigger. Their action is creating offshoots, with solidarity protests (#OccupyBoston, #OccupyLA) now gathering in many other cities. Protesters in Liberty Plaza are encouraging more participants to join them. And they are preparing more people to risk arrest or other police reprisal.
It might seem obvious that a protest movement would treat a successful event as an occasion to escalate. But, in fact, it is quite rare. More established organizations are almost invariably afraid to do so: afraid of legal repercussions, afraid of the resources it would require to sustain involvement, afraid of bad press or other negative outcomes. Such timidity is anathema to strategies of nonviolent direct action.
In this respect, the fact that #OccupyWallStreet has not relied on established progressive organizations ends up being a strength. Its independent participants are inspired by the increasing attention their critique of Wall Street is getting, and they are willing to make greater sacrifices now that their action has begun to capture the public imagination.
This can only be regarded as a positive development. For the more that people in this country are talking about why outraged citizens would set up camp in the capital of our nation’s financial sector, the better off we will be. #OccupyWallStreet protesters have gotten that much right.
(http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com)

Occupy Wall Street Protesters Get Pepper Sprayed