Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy Boston website. Today including the latest from the struggle in Oakland. Occupy Boston started at 6:00 PM, September 30, 2011. I will post important updates as they appear on that site.
********
We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
********
#TomemonosBoston
Somos la Sociedad conformando el 99%-Dewey Square, Cercerde South Station
#Tomemonos Boston se reuniarin en el Dewey Square en Downtown Boston a discutir cambios que la ciudadania puede hacer en el gobierno que afecte un cambio social positivo.
******
Markin comment October 25, 2011
And as always-everybody, young or old, needs to stand by this slogan - An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy Oakland The Frontline Of The Class-War Zone!
Showing posts with label Defend Occupy Wall Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Defend Occupy Wall Street. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–Stand In Solidarity With The Occupy Oakland (CA)Protesters-Drop All The Charges!-Hands Off Occupy Oakland!
Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy Boston website. Today including the latest from the struggle in Oakland. Occupy Boston started at 6:00 PM, September 30, 2011. I will post important updates as they appear on that site.
********
We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
********
#TomemonosBoston
Somos la Sociedad conformando el 99%
Dewey Square, Cercerde South Station
#Tomemonos Boston se reuniarin en el Dewey Square en Downtown Boston a discutir cambios que la ciudadania puede hacer en el gobierno que afecte un cambio social positivo.
******
Markin ocomment October 25, 2011
And as always-everybody, young or old, needs to stand by this slogan - An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy Oakland !
********
We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
********
#TomemonosBoston
Somos la Sociedad conformando el 99%
Dewey Square, Cercerde South Station
#Tomemonos Boston se reuniarin en el Dewey Square en Downtown Boston a discutir cambios que la ciudadania puede hacer en el gobierno que afecte un cambio social positivo.
******
Markin ocomment October 25, 2011
And as always-everybody, young or old, needs to stand by this slogan - An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy Oakland !
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Via "Boston IndyMedia"- Next Steps for the Occupy Movement by workers action
Next Steps for the Occupy Movement by workers action
(No verified email address) 17 Oct 2011
As the Occupy Movement gains strength nationally and internationally, questions of “what next” are popping up. Although there are no easy answers or ready-to-order recipes for moving forward, there are general ideas that can help unite the Occupy Movements with the broader community of the 99% — which is the most urgent need at the moment. Why the urgency? Writer Chris Hedges explains:
“The state and corporate forces are determined to crush this . . . They are terrified this will spread. They have their long phalanxes of police on motorcycles, their rows of white paddy wagons, their foot soldiers hunting for you on the streets with pepper spray and orange plastic nets . . .”
The only reason that surviving occupied spots have been spared is because of the broader sympathy of the 99% combined with the direct participation of large sections of working people at marches and demonstrations. The corporate elite fear a strong, united movement like vampires fear sunlight.
Therefore, city governments are slow-playing the Occupy Movement where it is especially strong — New York and Portland, Oregon, etc. — and are attacking quickly in cities where momentum hasn’t caught fire —, Denver, Boston, etc. The massive demonstrations in New York and Portland have protected the occupied spaces thus far, as the mayor, police,and media attempt to chip away at public opinion by exploiting disunity in the movement or focusing on individuals promoting violence, drug use, etc.
To combat this dynamic, the Occupy Movement people needs to unite around common messages that they can effectively broadcast to those 99% not yet on the streets; or to maintain the sympathy of those who’ve already attended large marches and demonstrations. And although sections of the Occupy Movement
scoff at demands, they are crucially necessary. Demands unite people in action, and distinguish them from their opponents; demands give an aim and purpose to a movement and act as a communications and recruiting tool to the wider public. There is nothing to win if no demands are articulated.
One reason that the wealthy are strong is because they are united around demands that raise profits for the corporations they own: slashing wages and benefits, destroying unions, lowering corporate tax rates, destroying social programs, privatization, ending Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, etc.
As the world rises up against economic injustice, Truthout brings you the latest news and analysis, free of corporate influence. Help support this work with a tax-deductible donation today.
To consolidate the ranks of the Occupy Movement we need similar demands that can inspire the 99%. These are the type of demands that will spur people into action — demands that will get working class people off their couches and into the streets! The immediate task of the movement is to broadcast demands that will agitate the majority of the 99% into action.
On a national level these demands are obvious: Tax the Rich to create a federal public jobs program, fully fund Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and other social programs, fully fund public education, single payer health care, end the wars. These are demands that can unite the Occupy Movement and working people nationally while preventing Democrats and Republicans from taking it over. Poll after poll has recorded that an overwhelming majority of the U.S. population strongly supports these demands, and many unions, including the national AFL-CIO have gone on record supporting them.
On a city and state level these demands can be translated to local issues; cities and states are facing budget deficits that are resulting in cuts to education, social services and resulting in more unemployment. Local Occupy Movements can demand that the local top1% pay more to make up for these, while also demanding that cities and states create jobs with this money.
Corporations are united in their purpose of profit chasing and social service slashing; so too must we be united in saving social services and taxing corporate profits, on a local and national level.
The Occupy Movement has more than room for an umbrella of demands from diverse sections of working class people, but now we must focus on what unites the vast majority, since the corporations have focused on dividing us for decades. The more diverse demands of the working class can find a safe place for expression and growth only within a mass, united movement.
There can be no doubt that the Occupy Movement will either continue to grow into a massive social movement or shrink until the corporate-elite are able to snuff it out. In order for the movement to grow, it must truly attract the broader 99%, not merely the most progressive 10%. Focusing on broad but specific demands that all working people will fight for will attract organized labor, the elderly, students, minorities, i.e., the whole working class.
A working class mass movement has not existed in the United States since the 1930s and 40s when it resulted in spectacular progressive change in America, even if it was cut short before European-style social programs were achieved. Nevertheless, the achievements of the mass movements of past generations are under attack — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and a living wage, etc. Only a real working class movement can save these programs and expand them.
If the Occupy Movement fails, the far right will be emboldened. They are trembling at the potential power of the movement and have lost all momentum themselves. If we lose the initiative, they will immediately seize it to press their agenda further and faster. Only by expanding the movement can we extinguish the power of the corporate elite. We have history on our side; let’s not squander it.
The Occupy Movement represents a turning point in history. But in order to achieve its potential, it must reach out to the 99% and draw the majority into its ranks. Then it will have the power to change the agenda of this country, redraw the political map, and create a government that will operate in the interests of the vast majority, not the 1%. Once this change begins to unfold, there are no limits to what it could accomplish.
(No verified email address) 17 Oct 2011
As the Occupy Movement gains strength nationally and internationally, questions of “what next” are popping up. Although there are no easy answers or ready-to-order recipes for moving forward, there are general ideas that can help unite the Occupy Movements with the broader community of the 99% — which is the most urgent need at the moment. Why the urgency? Writer Chris Hedges explains:
“The state and corporate forces are determined to crush this . . . They are terrified this will spread. They have their long phalanxes of police on motorcycles, their rows of white paddy wagons, their foot soldiers hunting for you on the streets with pepper spray and orange plastic nets . . .”
The only reason that surviving occupied spots have been spared is because of the broader sympathy of the 99% combined with the direct participation of large sections of working people at marches and demonstrations. The corporate elite fear a strong, united movement like vampires fear sunlight.
Therefore, city governments are slow-playing the Occupy Movement where it is especially strong — New York and Portland, Oregon, etc. — and are attacking quickly in cities where momentum hasn’t caught fire —, Denver, Boston, etc. The massive demonstrations in New York and Portland have protected the occupied spaces thus far, as the mayor, police,and media attempt to chip away at public opinion by exploiting disunity in the movement or focusing on individuals promoting violence, drug use, etc.
To combat this dynamic, the Occupy Movement people needs to unite around common messages that they can effectively broadcast to those 99% not yet on the streets; or to maintain the sympathy of those who’ve already attended large marches and demonstrations. And although sections of the Occupy Movement
scoff at demands, they are crucially necessary. Demands unite people in action, and distinguish them from their opponents; demands give an aim and purpose to a movement and act as a communications and recruiting tool to the wider public. There is nothing to win if no demands are articulated.
One reason that the wealthy are strong is because they are united around demands that raise profits for the corporations they own: slashing wages and benefits, destroying unions, lowering corporate tax rates, destroying social programs, privatization, ending Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, etc.
As the world rises up against economic injustice, Truthout brings you the latest news and analysis, free of corporate influence. Help support this work with a tax-deductible donation today.
To consolidate the ranks of the Occupy Movement we need similar demands that can inspire the 99%. These are the type of demands that will spur people into action — demands that will get working class people off their couches and into the streets! The immediate task of the movement is to broadcast demands that will agitate the majority of the 99% into action.
On a national level these demands are obvious: Tax the Rich to create a federal public jobs program, fully fund Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security and other social programs, fully fund public education, single payer health care, end the wars. These are demands that can unite the Occupy Movement and working people nationally while preventing Democrats and Republicans from taking it over. Poll after poll has recorded that an overwhelming majority of the U.S. population strongly supports these demands, and many unions, including the national AFL-CIO have gone on record supporting them.
On a city and state level these demands can be translated to local issues; cities and states are facing budget deficits that are resulting in cuts to education, social services and resulting in more unemployment. Local Occupy Movements can demand that the local top1% pay more to make up for these, while also demanding that cities and states create jobs with this money.
Corporations are united in their purpose of profit chasing and social service slashing; so too must we be united in saving social services and taxing corporate profits, on a local and national level.
The Occupy Movement has more than room for an umbrella of demands from diverse sections of working class people, but now we must focus on what unites the vast majority, since the corporations have focused on dividing us for decades. The more diverse demands of the working class can find a safe place for expression and growth only within a mass, united movement.
There can be no doubt that the Occupy Movement will either continue to grow into a massive social movement or shrink until the corporate-elite are able to snuff it out. In order for the movement to grow, it must truly attract the broader 99%, not merely the most progressive 10%. Focusing on broad but specific demands that all working people will fight for will attract organized labor, the elderly, students, minorities, i.e., the whole working class.
A working class mass movement has not existed in the United States since the 1930s and 40s when it resulted in spectacular progressive change in America, even if it was cut short before European-style social programs were achieved. Nevertheless, the achievements of the mass movements of past generations are under attack — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and a living wage, etc. Only a real working class movement can save these programs and expand them.
If the Occupy Movement fails, the far right will be emboldened. They are trembling at the potential power of the movement and have lost all momentum themselves. If we lose the initiative, they will immediately seize it to press their agenda further and faster. Only by expanding the movement can we extinguish the power of the corporate elite. We have history on our side; let’s not squander it.
The Occupy Movement represents a turning point in history. But in order to achieve its potential, it must reach out to the 99% and draw the majority into its ranks. Then it will have the power to change the agenda of this country, redraw the political map, and create a government that will operate in the interests of the vast majority, not the 1%. Once this change begins to unfold, there are no limits to what it could accomplish.
Via "Boston IndyMedia"-Once Again On #Occupy Wall Street- A Dssenting View-OWS Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now!
OWS Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now!
by Lloyd Hart
(
No verified email address) 17 Oct 2011
Modified: 03:25:38 PM
OWS Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now! http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-must-engage-non-violent-civil-disobedi/
OWS
Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now!
By Lloyd Hart
If OWS does not up the stakes to Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking every week day during the working hours the 1% will simply turn their backs and go about their business of reducing America to a zero benefit, minimum wage economy where the cost of living is kept artificially high by a completely corrupt commodities exchange on Wall St.
It can be seen that OWS has been gathering support to build the confidence to take the next natural step to actually challenge the system to share the nation's wealth more democratically but what will that next step be? Will it be organizing more marches that do nothing other than provide group therapy for the nation's economic victims or will it be a real challenge that the oligarch's truly have to deal with?
To date OWS has been nothing but a cheer leader but now must become a player much like the workers movements of the teens, twenties and thirties of the 20th. century that literally fought to the death to get union locals organized, to create the living wage and the middle class that a lot of the OWS activists were brought into life on.
The only thing OWS has to fear is the fear I see emanating from OWS. The only way you can actually make a difference in this country is to shut down the means of production until the bosses come to the table and engage in meaningful negotiations to restructure the economy to distribute it's profits more democratically. Barack Obama has proven this, that elections in America do nothing but maintain oligarch power. So the actual force of change must come from working people in the streets all across America.
With close 50 million living below the poverty line and close 50 million resorting to food banks, OWS should not wait to long to make this decision as OWS will be swept aside by a much larger, much angrier workers movement that will have no patience for OWS's learning curve.
OWS Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now!
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-must-engage-non-violent-civil-disobedi/
All my love and support is yours. Lloyd J Hart 508-687-9153
Guidelines For Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking.
Never plan where and at what time you will do an action. Create groups of ten to twenty or more activists and have each group elect a coordinator who will pick a time and location for an action and only announce the action moments before it occurs. While waiting for the coordinator to declare an action the group can choose a flash mob approach and receive a text of the time and location allowing the group to disperse locally before the action or the group can just picket on the side walk with the coordinator before the action is called. This approach prevents undercover police from knowing exactly where and when the action will take place. Once the action begins it will also take time for the police to arrive and get organized for the arrests allowing for the greatest impact on the traffic. The more time your are sitting on the pavement the more the traffic will be snarled.
Do not lock arms or go limp when the police begin the arrests. When police reach down to make the physical arrest give them your arms and let them help you up and walk with them to the paddy wagon. This approach allows less injuries to occur to the activists and the police. It is also important that the coordinator does not participate in the action so that he or she can let the police commander on the scene of the action know how the activists are physically prepared to be arrested. This will put the police at ease knowing they will not have risk injury in the arrests.
When doing an action do not step out into speeding traffic. Wait for a lull in the flow of traffic in the street and then walkout remaining in a standing position until the most immediate cars are halted by your action. Once the traffic has clearly stopped because of your blockage then and only the will the coordinator give the ok to sit down. Safety is of the utmost importance in all these type of actions.
Only activists that know and understand that they may be brought up on actual charges and may have to spend some time in jail should take part in these actions. Always give your name to the police so the legal team that will represent you can find you in the system after the arrest
When doing these actions always keep a smile on your face and good cheer in your heart so the police can see your not angry at them. Your traffic blocking is the general symbol of our collective anger but that does not have to translate to anger between you and the police.
by Lloyd Hart
(
No verified email address) 17 Oct 2011
Modified: 03:25:38 PM
OWS Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now! http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-must-engage-non-violent-civil-disobedi/
OWS
Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now!
By Lloyd Hart
If OWS does not up the stakes to Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking every week day during the working hours the 1% will simply turn their backs and go about their business of reducing America to a zero benefit, minimum wage economy where the cost of living is kept artificially high by a completely corrupt commodities exchange on Wall St.
It can be seen that OWS has been gathering support to build the confidence to take the next natural step to actually challenge the system to share the nation's wealth more democratically but what will that next step be? Will it be organizing more marches that do nothing other than provide group therapy for the nation's economic victims or will it be a real challenge that the oligarch's truly have to deal with?
To date OWS has been nothing but a cheer leader but now must become a player much like the workers movements of the teens, twenties and thirties of the 20th. century that literally fought to the death to get union locals organized, to create the living wage and the middle class that a lot of the OWS activists were brought into life on.
The only thing OWS has to fear is the fear I see emanating from OWS. The only way you can actually make a difference in this country is to shut down the means of production until the bosses come to the table and engage in meaningful negotiations to restructure the economy to distribute it's profits more democratically. Barack Obama has proven this, that elections in America do nothing but maintain oligarch power. So the actual force of change must come from working people in the streets all across America.
With close 50 million living below the poverty line and close 50 million resorting to food banks, OWS should not wait to long to make this decision as OWS will be swept aside by a much larger, much angrier workers movement that will have no patience for OWS's learning curve.
OWS Must Engage In Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking Now!
http://occupywallst.org/forum/ows-must-engage-non-violent-civil-disobedi/
All my love and support is yours. Lloyd J Hart 508-687-9153
Guidelines For Non-violent Civil Disobedient Traffic Blocking.
Never plan where and at what time you will do an action. Create groups of ten to twenty or more activists and have each group elect a coordinator who will pick a time and location for an action and only announce the action moments before it occurs. While waiting for the coordinator to declare an action the group can choose a flash mob approach and receive a text of the time and location allowing the group to disperse locally before the action or the group can just picket on the side walk with the coordinator before the action is called. This approach prevents undercover police from knowing exactly where and when the action will take place. Once the action begins it will also take time for the police to arrive and get organized for the arrests allowing for the greatest impact on the traffic. The more time your are sitting on the pavement the more the traffic will be snarled.
Do not lock arms or go limp when the police begin the arrests. When police reach down to make the physical arrest give them your arms and let them help you up and walk with them to the paddy wagon. This approach allows less injuries to occur to the activists and the police. It is also important that the coordinator does not participate in the action so that he or she can let the police commander on the scene of the action know how the activists are physically prepared to be arrested. This will put the police at ease knowing they will not have risk injury in the arrests.
When doing an action do not step out into speeding traffic. Wait for a lull in the flow of traffic in the street and then walkout remaining in a standing position until the most immediate cars are halted by your action. Once the traffic has clearly stopped because of your blockage then and only the will the coordinator give the ok to sit down. Safety is of the utmost importance in all these type of actions.
Only activists that know and understand that they may be brought up on actual charges and may have to spend some time in jail should take part in these actions. Always give your name to the police so the legal team that will represent you can find you in the system after the arrest
When doing these actions always keep a smile on your face and good cheer in your heart so the police can see your not angry at them. Your traffic blocking is the general symbol of our collective anger but that does not have to translate to anger between you and the police.
On The Occupy Movement- The Future of the #Occupy Movement: Solidarity and Escalation By Marc Enger- An Article From "Dissent" Magazine
Click on the headline to link to a Boston IndyMedia entry posted as The Future of the #Occupy Movement: Solidarity and Escalation
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Twenty-One Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Sites And The Occupiers!– A Report And Statement From The "Occupy New Hampshire" Site After The Police Raid
Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy New Hampshire website. Occupy Boston started at 6:00 PM, September 30, 2011. I will post important updates as they appear on that site.
Markin comment:
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!
Markin comment:
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!
Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Twenty-One Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Sites And The Occupiers!–Hands Off Occupy New Hampshire (Manchester)-Stand In Solidarity!
Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy Boston website. Occupy Boston started at 6:00 PM, September 30, 2011. I will post important updates as they appear on that site.
Markin comment:
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–Hands Off Occupy New Hampshire (Manchester)-Stand In Solidarity! Go To Manchester If You Can!
Markin comment:
An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–Hands Off Occupy New Hampshire (Manchester)-Stand In Solidarity! Go To Manchester If You Can!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Twenty Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers! –We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy Boston website. Occupy Boston started at 6:00 PM, September 30, 2011. I will post important updates as they appear on that site.
********
We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
********
#TomemonosBoston
Somos la Sociedad conformando el
99%
Dewey Square
Cercerde South Station
ASAMBLEA GENERALTODOS LOS DIAS
6:00PM
vvww.occupyboston.com
Tomemonos Boston se reuniarin en el Dewey Square en Downtown Boston a discutir cambios que la ciudadania puede hacer en el gobierno que afecte un cambio social positivo.
******
Markin comment October 1, 2011:
There is a lot of naiveté expressed about the nature of capitalism, capitalists, and the way to win in the class struggle by various participants in this occupation. Many also have attempted to make a virtue out of that naiveté, particularly around the issues of effective democratic organization and relationships with the police (they are not our friends, no way, when the deal goes down). However, their spirit is refreshing, they are acting out of good subjective anti-capitalist motives and, most importantly, even those of us who call themselves "reds" (communists), including this writer, started out from liberal premises as naive, if not more so, than those encountered at the occupation site. We can all learn something but in the meantime we must defend the "occupation" and the occupiers. More later as the occupation continues.
**********
Markin comment October 14, 2011:
Over the past two weeks of the Occupy Boston struggle most of my comments have centered on the need to defend the site and the movement. Especially so over the past few days when the struggle intensified with the police raid on the second site early Tuesday morning and the possibility that the city, under Czar Menino’s direction, was ready to close the whole encampment down. For the moment, and we should treat it as such, we are holding out under an “armed truce” declared by the mayor himself and so I have some time to reflect on the past period.
On the first full day of the occupation, October 1, 2011, I commented (see above) that while I was very happy to see the occupation, particularly the participation of young people who had been absent from many of the local actions of the past few years, there was an inordinate amount of goodwill toward the police and a fuzzy attitude toward capitalism. Tuesday morning’s police raid has quieted some of the naiveté about the police, although not all of it, and their role in enforcing the rule of the one per cent. The question of what to do about capitalism- tweak it by reform, or throw the bums out, still seems fuzzy. But we will learn, learn before long about that.
The most important development though for our side, and one that has occurred in the other Occupy movements throughout the country and world as well, is that the spark has been lit to reunite the labor movement and the left that had been broken, broken really since about the 1950s with the “red scare” of my parents’ generation. The struggles of the 1930s that created the modern organized labor movement, led mainly by socialist, communist, anarchist and other leftist workers, drew in many progressives and other allies. This time the spark came from the other direction, and labor has begun to see the Occupy movement as their ally. This new fact was demonstrated visible on several occasions over the past two weeks, most recently yesterday, October 13, 2011, when several hundred unionists and leftists marched together in support of the Verizon workers struggle for a decent contract. Many people are beginning to realize that black, white, brown or red, native born or immigrant, skilled or unskilled, we are all in the same boat. Capitalism has had its day and failed-move over and let us reorder society. This is our time-labor and the oppressed must rule!
Oh yes, and just to make sure that everybody knows we are not wide-eyed rubes and believe everything the city says just because we have a momentary truce-An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers! Czar Menino Hands Off Occupy Boston !
***********
Markin comment October 16, 2011:
On a day when we honor the heroic efforts of Captain John Brown and his heroic band of anti-slavery fighters in 1859 at Harpers Ferry it is worthwhile noting that that seemingly utopian event galvanized the broader anti-slavery forces in the North for the titanic struggle of the American Civil War. All Honor To Their Memory.
***********
Markin comment October 17, 2011:
As mentioned before in this space I am happy, very happy, that the Occupy Boston movement has occurred. As a long-time veteran of anti-war, anti-imperialist, anti-militarist, anti-capitalist actions I had been previously somewhat worried that we, the remaining remnants of the struggles that started in the 1960s, would have no one to pass the torch to. The Occupy movement has seen that we need not worry about that. I am, however, getting a bit worried about where this movement is going, if anyplace. I say this as one who has visited Occupy Boston almost daily since September 30th, participated in the defend of Occupy Boston in the early hours of Tuesday October 11th, and has been at virtually every rally, march, shout-out, and a good number of General Assemblies.
It has struck me hard over past few days since the early morning police raid that endless encampments and endless marches are not, in the end, the answer to the points on the social agenda that need immediate attention. I would assume that most sisters and brothers who support Occupy Boston know deep in their political gut that this is true. Moreover, using the exemplary example of the community formed at the Occupy Boston
as a model for what a future, more equitable, society would look like, while worthwhile, is not the kind of thing that will give us the power, the political power, to create lasting social change.
While many, just now, may recoil from the notion of power, of taking political power, because of some desire to be “nice” in the world that will just not do. The corporations, the banks, the mass media, the police, the military, Barack Obama, Deval Patrick, and the myriad other institutions and personalities that defend capitalist society every day in every way will permit many things. But give up the real power to reorder society for human needs. No way. More later. For now though-We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
********
We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
********
#TomemonosBoston
Somos la Sociedad conformando el
99%
Dewey Square
Cercerde South Station
ASAMBLEA GENERALTODOS LOS DIAS
6:00PM
vvww.occupyboston.com
Tomemonos Boston se reuniarin en el Dewey Square en Downtown Boston a discutir cambios que la ciudadania puede hacer en el gobierno que afecte un cambio social positivo.
******
Markin comment October 1, 2011:
There is a lot of naiveté expressed about the nature of capitalism, capitalists, and the way to win in the class struggle by various participants in this occupation. Many also have attempted to make a virtue out of that naiveté, particularly around the issues of effective democratic organization and relationships with the police (they are not our friends, no way, when the deal goes down). However, their spirit is refreshing, they are acting out of good subjective anti-capitalist motives and, most importantly, even those of us who call themselves "reds" (communists), including this writer, started out from liberal premises as naive, if not more so, than those encountered at the occupation site. We can all learn something but in the meantime we must defend the "occupation" and the occupiers. More later as the occupation continues.
**********
Markin comment October 14, 2011:
Over the past two weeks of the Occupy Boston struggle most of my comments have centered on the need to defend the site and the movement. Especially so over the past few days when the struggle intensified with the police raid on the second site early Tuesday morning and the possibility that the city, under Czar Menino’s direction, was ready to close the whole encampment down. For the moment, and we should treat it as such, we are holding out under an “armed truce” declared by the mayor himself and so I have some time to reflect on the past period.
On the first full day of the occupation, October 1, 2011, I commented (see above) that while I was very happy to see the occupation, particularly the participation of young people who had been absent from many of the local actions of the past few years, there was an inordinate amount of goodwill toward the police and a fuzzy attitude toward capitalism. Tuesday morning’s police raid has quieted some of the naiveté about the police, although not all of it, and their role in enforcing the rule of the one per cent. The question of what to do about capitalism- tweak it by reform, or throw the bums out, still seems fuzzy. But we will learn, learn before long about that.
The most important development though for our side, and one that has occurred in the other Occupy movements throughout the country and world as well, is that the spark has been lit to reunite the labor movement and the left that had been broken, broken really since about the 1950s with the “red scare” of my parents’ generation. The struggles of the 1930s that created the modern organized labor movement, led mainly by socialist, communist, anarchist and other leftist workers, drew in many progressives and other allies. This time the spark came from the other direction, and labor has begun to see the Occupy movement as their ally. This new fact was demonstrated visible on several occasions over the past two weeks, most recently yesterday, October 13, 2011, when several hundred unionists and leftists marched together in support of the Verizon workers struggle for a decent contract. Many people are beginning to realize that black, white, brown or red, native born or immigrant, skilled or unskilled, we are all in the same boat. Capitalism has had its day and failed-move over and let us reorder society. This is our time-labor and the oppressed must rule!
Oh yes, and just to make sure that everybody knows we are not wide-eyed rubes and believe everything the city says just because we have a momentary truce-An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers! Czar Menino Hands Off Occupy Boston !
***********
Markin comment October 16, 2011:
On a day when we honor the heroic efforts of Captain John Brown and his heroic band of anti-slavery fighters in 1859 at Harpers Ferry it is worthwhile noting that that seemingly utopian event galvanized the broader anti-slavery forces in the North for the titanic struggle of the American Civil War. All Honor To Their Memory.
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Markin comment October 17, 2011:
As mentioned before in this space I am happy, very happy, that the Occupy Boston movement has occurred. As a long-time veteran of anti-war, anti-imperialist, anti-militarist, anti-capitalist actions I had been previously somewhat worried that we, the remaining remnants of the struggles that started in the 1960s, would have no one to pass the torch to. The Occupy movement has seen that we need not worry about that. I am, however, getting a bit worried about where this movement is going, if anyplace. I say this as one who has visited Occupy Boston almost daily since September 30th, participated in the defend of Occupy Boston in the early hours of Tuesday October 11th, and has been at virtually every rally, march, shout-out, and a good number of General Assemblies.
It has struck me hard over past few days since the early morning police raid that endless encampments and endless marches are not, in the end, the answer to the points on the social agenda that need immediate attention. I would assume that most sisters and brothers who support Occupy Boston know deep in their political gut that this is true. Moreover, using the exemplary example of the community formed at the Occupy Boston
as a model for what a future, more equitable, society would look like, while worthwhile, is not the kind of thing that will give us the power, the political power, to create lasting social change.
While many, just now, may recoil from the notion of power, of taking political power, because of some desire to be “nice” in the world that will just not do. The corporations, the banks, the mass media, the police, the military, Barack Obama, Deval Patrick, and the myriad other institutions and personalities that defend capitalist society every day in every way will permit many things. But give up the real power to reorder society for human needs. No way. More later. For now though-We Created The Wealth, Let's Take It Back! Labor And The Oppressed Must Rule!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Seventeen Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!–Stop the Machine Occupies Washington (October 6, 2011)
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Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Seventeen Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!–Occupy Boston Radio report #4 (October10-11, 2011)
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Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Seventeen Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!–Video/Photos-Verizon Workers Unite With Occupy Boston
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Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Seventeen Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!–Anti-War Protest Fills Boston's Streets-video/photos-October 15, 2011
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Greetings From Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-The Latest From "#Occupy Boston"-Day Seventeen Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!–175 Arrests at Occupy Chicago-Defend Occupy Chicago- Drop All The Charges Against Chicago Protesters
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Friday, October 14, 2011
From The AP- The Latest From The Occupy Wall Street Front-"Park cleanup postponed, heartening NYC protesters"- A Small Victory, But A Victory- The Struggle Continues
Markin comment:
The most important sentences in this report for our purposes are those that describe the fact that many supporters, including union members, were streaming to the Occupy Wall Street to defend the encampment. That is what held New York authorities off. A valuable lesson in solidarity. Meanwhile-Defend Occupy New York! An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!
******
Park cleanup postponed, heartening NYC protesters
By KAREN MATTHEWS and COLLEEN LONG, AP
NEW YORK — The official cleanup of a plaza in lower Manhattan where protesters have been camped out for a month was postponed early Friday, sending up cheers from demonstrators who had scrambled to scrub the park on their own out of fear the effort was merely a pretext to evict them.
Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said the owners of the private park, Brookfield Office Properties, had put off the cleaning. Supporters of the protesters, including union members, had started streaming into the plaza in the early morning darkness in a show of solidarity.
There was still skepticism even after the protesters, who call their demonstration Occupy Wall Street, were told they could stay on.
"I'll believe it when we're able to stay here," said protester Peter Hogness, 56, a union employee from Brooklyn. "One thing we have learned from this is that we need to rely on ourselves and not on promises from elected officials."
The "mother" protest in New York that began a month ago has spawned similar encampments in cities across the U.S. and world, and in places beyond New York it was clear that officials' patience was wearing thin.
Near the Colorado state Capitol in Denver, hundreds of protesters were told to clear out of a park or risk arrest, and dozens of police in riot gear moved in and declared the area closed. In Trenton, N.J., protesters were ordered to remove tents from their encampment near a war memorial.
Boisterous cheers floated up from the crowd in New York as the announcement of the cleaning postponement circulated, and a small group soon marched away with brooms, saying they were going to clean up Wall Street, a few blocks away.
There were reports of a handful of arrests. In one case, a police scooter hit a protester, who fell to the ground and screamed before kicking the scooter over to free his foot; he was then arrested.
Brookfield, a publicly traded real estate firm, had planned to power-wash the New York plaza section by section over 12 hours and allow the protesters back — but without much of the equipment they needed to sleep and camp there. The company called the conditions at the park unsanitary and unsafe.
The company's rules, which haven't been enforced, have been this all along: No tarps, no sleeping bags, no storing personal property on the ground. The park is privately owned but is required to be open to the public 24 hours per day.
The New York Police Department had said it would make arrests if Brookfield requested it and laws were broken. But the deputy mayor's statement indicated that "for the time being" Brookfield was withdrawing its request for police assistance in cleaning the park.
The company believes it can work out an arrangement with the protesters that "will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use," the statement said.
A confrontation between police and protesters, who had vowed to stay put through civil disobedience, had been feared. Many protesters had said the only way they would leave was by force, and organizers sent out a mass email Thursday asking supporters to "defend the occupation from eviction."
A few blocks south of the park Friday morning, about two dozen demonstrators screamed "Pigs!" and hurled obscenities at a dozen officers in riot gear, who showed no visible reaction. The officers then left the area, trailed by protesters with cameras.
A spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose girlfriend is a member of Brookfield's board of directors, had confirmed Thursday that Brookfield had requested the city's assistance in maintaining the park.
"We will continue to defend and guarantee their free speech rights, but those rights do not include the ability to infringe on the rights of others," Bloomberg spokesman Marc La Vorgna said, "which is why the rules governing the park will be enforced."
Protesters have had some run-ins with police, but mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge and an incident in which some protesters were pepper-sprayed seemed to energize their movement.
Even before the protesters learned they were allowed to stay Friday, they were busy cleaning.
After the announcement filtered through the crowd, some scrubbed the park's marble and pavement with brooms and soapy water and picked up trash as others unfurled tarps on the rain-dampened concrete and ate potluck breakfast off paper plates. One man practiced his yoga sun salutation despite the dark clouds.
Liane Nikitovich, 44, fitness instructor, said she was buoyed by the news but also concerned that it was a postponement — not a cancellation.
"It's really a victory for freedom of speech and for democracy," Nikitovich said. "This is one moment. It shows that our support is growing worldwide."
The protesters are pleased that the city and Brookfield "saw fit to allow the protest and dialogue to continue," said Doug Forand, a spokesman for 99 New York, a coalition of community groups that support the protest.
The demand that protesters clear out had set up a potential turning point in a movement that began Sept. 17 with a small group of activists and has swelled to include several thousand people at times, from many walks of life. Occupy Wall Street has inspired similar demonstrations across the country and become an issue in the Republican presidential primary race.
The protesters' demands are wide-ranging, but they are united in blaming Wall Street and corporate interests for the economic pain they say all but the wealthiest Americans have endured since the financial meltdown.
Attorneys from the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild — who are representing an Occupy Wall Street sanitation working group — wrote a letter to Brookfield saying the company's request to get police to help implement its cleanup plan threatened "fundamental constitutional rights."
The nationwide movement also includes groups called Occupy Boston, Occupy Cincinnati, Occupy Houston, Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Philadelphia, Occupy Providence and Occupy Salt Lake.
Several protests are planned this weekend across the U.S. and Canada, and European activists are also organizing.
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister, Tom McElroy, Cara Anna, Deepti Hajela, Cristian Salazar, Verena Dobnik, and Meghan Barr, and photographer Mary Altaffer in New York; and Thomas Peipert in Denver.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
The most important sentences in this report for our purposes are those that describe the fact that many supporters, including union members, were streaming to the Occupy Wall Street to defend the encampment. That is what held New York authorities off. A valuable lesson in solidarity. Meanwhile-Defend Occupy New York! An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend The Occupation Site And The Occupiers!
******
Park cleanup postponed, heartening NYC protesters
By KAREN MATTHEWS and COLLEEN LONG, AP
NEW YORK — The official cleanup of a plaza in lower Manhattan where protesters have been camped out for a month was postponed early Friday, sending up cheers from demonstrators who had scrambled to scrub the park on their own out of fear the effort was merely a pretext to evict them.
Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said the owners of the private park, Brookfield Office Properties, had put off the cleaning. Supporters of the protesters, including union members, had started streaming into the plaza in the early morning darkness in a show of solidarity.
There was still skepticism even after the protesters, who call their demonstration Occupy Wall Street, were told they could stay on.
"I'll believe it when we're able to stay here," said protester Peter Hogness, 56, a union employee from Brooklyn. "One thing we have learned from this is that we need to rely on ourselves and not on promises from elected officials."
The "mother" protest in New York that began a month ago has spawned similar encampments in cities across the U.S. and world, and in places beyond New York it was clear that officials' patience was wearing thin.
Near the Colorado state Capitol in Denver, hundreds of protesters were told to clear out of a park or risk arrest, and dozens of police in riot gear moved in and declared the area closed. In Trenton, N.J., protesters were ordered to remove tents from their encampment near a war memorial.
Boisterous cheers floated up from the crowd in New York as the announcement of the cleaning postponement circulated, and a small group soon marched away with brooms, saying they were going to clean up Wall Street, a few blocks away.
There were reports of a handful of arrests. In one case, a police scooter hit a protester, who fell to the ground and screamed before kicking the scooter over to free his foot; he was then arrested.
Brookfield, a publicly traded real estate firm, had planned to power-wash the New York plaza section by section over 12 hours and allow the protesters back — but without much of the equipment they needed to sleep and camp there. The company called the conditions at the park unsanitary and unsafe.
The company's rules, which haven't been enforced, have been this all along: No tarps, no sleeping bags, no storing personal property on the ground. The park is privately owned but is required to be open to the public 24 hours per day.
The New York Police Department had said it would make arrests if Brookfield requested it and laws were broken. But the deputy mayor's statement indicated that "for the time being" Brookfield was withdrawing its request for police assistance in cleaning the park.
The company believes it can work out an arrangement with the protesters that "will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use," the statement said.
A confrontation between police and protesters, who had vowed to stay put through civil disobedience, had been feared. Many protesters had said the only way they would leave was by force, and organizers sent out a mass email Thursday asking supporters to "defend the occupation from eviction."
A few blocks south of the park Friday morning, about two dozen demonstrators screamed "Pigs!" and hurled obscenities at a dozen officers in riot gear, who showed no visible reaction. The officers then left the area, trailed by protesters with cameras.
A spokesman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose girlfriend is a member of Brookfield's board of directors, had confirmed Thursday that Brookfield had requested the city's assistance in maintaining the park.
"We will continue to defend and guarantee their free speech rights, but those rights do not include the ability to infringe on the rights of others," Bloomberg spokesman Marc La Vorgna said, "which is why the rules governing the park will be enforced."
Protesters have had some run-ins with police, but mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge and an incident in which some protesters were pepper-sprayed seemed to energize their movement.
Even before the protesters learned they were allowed to stay Friday, they were busy cleaning.
After the announcement filtered through the crowd, some scrubbed the park's marble and pavement with brooms and soapy water and picked up trash as others unfurled tarps on the rain-dampened concrete and ate potluck breakfast off paper plates. One man practiced his yoga sun salutation despite the dark clouds.
Liane Nikitovich, 44, fitness instructor, said she was buoyed by the news but also concerned that it was a postponement — not a cancellation.
"It's really a victory for freedom of speech and for democracy," Nikitovich said. "This is one moment. It shows that our support is growing worldwide."
The protesters are pleased that the city and Brookfield "saw fit to allow the protest and dialogue to continue," said Doug Forand, a spokesman for 99 New York, a coalition of community groups that support the protest.
The demand that protesters clear out had set up a potential turning point in a movement that began Sept. 17 with a small group of activists and has swelled to include several thousand people at times, from many walks of life. Occupy Wall Street has inspired similar demonstrations across the country and become an issue in the Republican presidential primary race.
The protesters' demands are wide-ranging, but they are united in blaming Wall Street and corporate interests for the economic pain they say all but the wealthiest Americans have endured since the financial meltdown.
Attorneys from the New York City chapter of the National Lawyers Guild — who are representing an Occupy Wall Street sanitation working group — wrote a letter to Brookfield saying the company's request to get police to help implement its cleanup plan threatened "fundamental constitutional rights."
The nationwide movement also includes groups called Occupy Boston, Occupy Cincinnati, Occupy Houston, Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Philadelphia, Occupy Providence and Occupy Salt Lake.
Several protests are planned this weekend across the U.S. and Canada, and European activists are also organizing.
___
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister, Tom McElroy, Cara Anna, Deepti Hajela, Cristian Salazar, Verena Dobnik, and Meghan Barr, and photographer Mary Altaffer in New York; and Thomas Peipert in Denver.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
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