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
#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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Markin comment October 30, 2011
I swear the footage from Denver of peaceful marchers being trampled by the Cossacks (oops, police) reminds me of scenes from-January 9, 1905 in Russia. If you are not familiar with that date and those events, see Wikipedia.
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
Monday, October 31, 2011
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-Day Thirty-Two - An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!-This Is Our John Brown Moment –Strike The Blow!
From The "Occupy Oakland" Website- All Out In Oakland To Block The Port Of Oakland-Close All The West Coast Ports In Solidarity With Oakland And The Longview, Washington Longshoremen-Shut Down The Gulf And East Coast Ports In Solidarity!
Click on the headline to link to Occupy Oaklandand information on a march to close down the Port Of Oakland on November 2, 2011.
Markin comment:
All Out On November 2, 2011 In Oakland To Block The Port Of Oakland-Close All The West Coast Ports In Solidarity With Oakland And The Longview, Washington Longshoremen-Shut Down The Gulf And East Coast Ports In Solidarity
Markin comment:
All Out On November 2, 2011 In Oakland To Block The Port Of Oakland-Close All The West Coast Ports In Solidarity With Oakland And The Longview, Washington Longshoremen-Shut Down The Gulf And East Coast Ports In Solidarity
Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By-In Honor Of The Frontline Fighters Arrested Defending Occupy Denver, October 29, 2011- Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up
Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of Bob Marley performing his classic song of struggle, Get Up, Stand Up.
Markin comment:
In this series, presented under the headline Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here.
*****
Markin comment October 30, 2011:
All honor to those arrested defending Occupy Denver Ya, they got up, they stood up. Defend The Occupy Denver Site! Defend The Occupation! Defend The Occupiers! Drop All Charges Against Those Who Defended Occupy Denver Now!
******
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. We had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick us off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
******
Bob Marley Get Up, Stand Up Lyrics
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Preacher man, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
'Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. come on!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Most people think,
Great god will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. jah!
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+marley/get+up+stand+up_20021743.html ]
Get up, stand up! (jah, jah! )
Stand up for your rights! (oh-hoo! )
Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )
Don't give up the fight! (life is your right! )
Get up, stand up! (so we can't give up the fight! )
Stand up for your rights! (lord, lord! )
Get up, stand up! (keep on struggling on! )
Don't give up the fight! (yeah! )
We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty god is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (what you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (yeah, yeah, yeah! )
So you better:
Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up! )
Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights! )
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! (don't give it up, don't give it up! )
Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )
Stand up for your rights! (get up, stand up! )
Get up, stand up! (... )
Don't give up the fight! (get up, stand up! )
Get up, stand up! (... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! /fadeout/
Markin comment:
In this series, presented under the headline Songs To While Away The Class Struggle By, I will post some songs that I think will help us get through the “dog days” of the struggle for our communist future. I do not vouch for the political thrust of the songs; for the most part they are done by pacifists, social democrats, hell, even just plain old ordinary democrats. And, occasionally, a communist, although hard communist musicians have historically been scarce on the ground. Thus, here we have a regular "popular front" on the music scene. While this would not be acceptable for our political prospects, it will suffice for our purposes here.
*****
Markin comment October 30, 2011:
All honor to those arrested defending Occupy Denver Ya, they got up, they stood up. Defend The Occupy Denver Site! Defend The Occupation! Defend The Occupiers! Drop All Charges Against Those Who Defended Occupy Denver Now!
******
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. We had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick us off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
******
Bob Marley Get Up, Stand Up Lyrics
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Preacher man, don't tell me,
Heaven is under the earth.
I know you don't know
What life is really worth.
It's not all that glitters is gold;
'Alf the story has never been told:
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. come on!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up: stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up: don't give up the fight!
Most people think,
Great god will come from the skies,
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high.
But if you know what life is worth,
You will look for yours on earth:
And now you see the light,
You stand up for your rights. jah!
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+marley/get+up+stand+up_20021743.html ]
Get up, stand up! (jah, jah! )
Stand up for your rights! (oh-hoo! )
Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )
Don't give up the fight! (life is your right! )
Get up, stand up! (so we can't give up the fight! )
Stand up for your rights! (lord, lord! )
Get up, stand up! (keep on struggling on! )
Don't give up the fight! (yeah! )
We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game -
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, lord.
We know when we understand:
Almighty god is a living man.
You can fool some people sometimes,
But you can't fool all the people all the time.
So now we see the light (what you gonna do?),
We gonna stand up for our rights! (yeah, yeah, yeah! )
So you better:
Get up, stand up! (in the morning! git it up! )
Stand up for your rights! (stand up for our rights! )
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! (don't give it up, don't give it up! )
Get up, stand up! (get up, stand up! )
Stand up for your rights! (get up, stand up! )
Get up, stand up! (... )
Don't give up the fight! (get up, stand up! )
Get up, stand up! (... )
Stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up!
Don't give up the fight! /fadeout/
Out In The Be-Bop 1940s Night-I’ll Get By As Long As I Have You-For Prescott And Delores Breslin
Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of the Inkspots performing I'll Get By to give a little flavor to this sketch.
CD Review
Sentimental Journey, Pop Vocal Classics, Volume 2: 1947-1950, Rhino Records, 1993
Scene: Brought to mind by the sepia-toned family album-style photograph that graces the cover of this CD and by the song Far Away Places.
“Prescott James Breslin get your dirty hands off that wall this minute, yelled Delores Breslin (nee LeClerc), Mother Breslin to some, including the yelled at Prescott, honey, to Prescott Breslin, Senior, Father Breslin to the junior one being yelled at just this minute. Just as Mother Breslin, hell, let’s call her Delores, was getting ready for cascade rant number two aimed in Prescott, Junior’s direction wafting through the air, the radio WJDA air, came the melodious voice of Bing Crosby singing in that sweet, nuanced voice of his, Far Away Places. Their song. Their forever memory song.
Delores flashed back to the night in 1943 over at the Stardust Ballroom on East Grand in Old Orchard Beach that she, then a typist for the State Insurance Company right here in Olde Saco (and making good money for a single, no high maintenance girl), and Marine PFC Prescott Breslin, stationed after serious service in the Pacific wars (Guadalcanal, etc.) at the Portsmouth Naval Base, met while they were playing that song on the jukebox between sets. Sets being performed by the Be-Bop Sextet, a hot, well, be-bop band that was making a national tour to boost civilian morale while the boys were off fighting. They hit it off right away, made Far Away Places their song, and prepared for a future, a joint future, once the war was over, and they could get their dream, shared dream, little white house, with or without picket fence, maybe a dog, and definitely kids, a few although they never specified a number. The perfect dream to chase the old Great Depression no dough blues and World War II fighting dust away, far away. And to be to breath a decent breathe, a not from hunger breathe.
Just then Delores snapped back into the reality, the two by four reality, of their made due, temporary veterans’ housing set up by the Olde Saco Housing Authority (at the request of and funded by the War Department) to house the housing-hungry returning vets and give them a leg up. Add on the further reality that Prescott’s job at the Macadam’s Textile Mill was none too sure now that rumors were circulating around town that the mill-owners were thinking of relocating to North Carolina. And the biggest reality of all: well, Prescott, Junior, Kendrick, and most recently still in the cradle Joshua. And three is enough, more than enough thank you. But as that terrific tenor of Dick Haymes singing Little White Lies was making its way into her air space she fell back to thinking about that now old dream of the little white house, with or without picket fence, a dog and a few (exactly three, thank you) that was coming just around next corner. And just as she was winding up to blast young Prescott, his dirty hands, and that wall, maybe a little less furiously than she intended before, her thoughts returned to her Prince Charming, Starlight Ballroom 1943, and their song. Their forever memory song. Yes, she would get by.
CD Review
Sentimental Journey, Pop Vocal Classics, Volume 2: 1947-1950, Rhino Records, 1993
Scene: Brought to mind by the sepia-toned family album-style photograph that graces the cover of this CD and by the song Far Away Places.
“Prescott James Breslin get your dirty hands off that wall this minute, yelled Delores Breslin (nee LeClerc), Mother Breslin to some, including the yelled at Prescott, honey, to Prescott Breslin, Senior, Father Breslin to the junior one being yelled at just this minute. Just as Mother Breslin, hell, let’s call her Delores, was getting ready for cascade rant number two aimed in Prescott, Junior’s direction wafting through the air, the radio WJDA air, came the melodious voice of Bing Crosby singing in that sweet, nuanced voice of his, Far Away Places. Their song. Their forever memory song.
Delores flashed back to the night in 1943 over at the Stardust Ballroom on East Grand in Old Orchard Beach that she, then a typist for the State Insurance Company right here in Olde Saco (and making good money for a single, no high maintenance girl), and Marine PFC Prescott Breslin, stationed after serious service in the Pacific wars (Guadalcanal, etc.) at the Portsmouth Naval Base, met while they were playing that song on the jukebox between sets. Sets being performed by the Be-Bop Sextet, a hot, well, be-bop band that was making a national tour to boost civilian morale while the boys were off fighting. They hit it off right away, made Far Away Places their song, and prepared for a future, a joint future, once the war was over, and they could get their dream, shared dream, little white house, with or without picket fence, maybe a dog, and definitely kids, a few although they never specified a number. The perfect dream to chase the old Great Depression no dough blues and World War II fighting dust away, far away. And to be to breath a decent breathe, a not from hunger breathe.
Just then Delores snapped back into the reality, the two by four reality, of their made due, temporary veterans’ housing set up by the Olde Saco Housing Authority (at the request of and funded by the War Department) to house the housing-hungry returning vets and give them a leg up. Add on the further reality that Prescott’s job at the Macadam’s Textile Mill was none too sure now that rumors were circulating around town that the mill-owners were thinking of relocating to North Carolina. And the biggest reality of all: well, Prescott, Junior, Kendrick, and most recently still in the cradle Joshua. And three is enough, more than enough thank you. But as that terrific tenor of Dick Haymes singing Little White Lies was making its way into her air space she fell back to thinking about that now old dream of the little white house, with or without picket fence, a dog and a few (exactly three, thank you) that was coming just around next corner. And just as she was winding up to blast young Prescott, his dirty hands, and that wall, maybe a little less furiously than she intended before, her thoughts returned to her Prince Charming, Starlight Ballroom 1943, and their song. Their forever memory song. Yes, she would get by.
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-Day Thirty-Two-An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!-This Is Our John Brown Moment–Strike The Blow!
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
#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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Markin comment October 30, 2011
I swear the footage from Denver of peaceful marchers being trampled by the Cossacks (oops, police) reminds me of scenes from-January 9, 1905 in Russia. If you are not familiar with that date and those events, see Wikipedia.
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
********
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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Markin comment October 30, 2011
I swear the footage from Denver of peaceful marchers being trampled by the Cossacks (oops, police) reminds me of scenes from-January 9, 1905 in Russia. If you are not familiar with that date and those events, see Wikipedia.
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
From The Occupy Oakland General Assembly- GENERAL STRIKE & MASS DAY OF ACTION – NOVEMBER 2
by Bruce Paul
GENERAL STRIKE & MASS DAY OF ACTION – NOVEMBER 2
October 28, 2011 in general strike
Liberate Oakland, Shut Down the 1%
GENERAL STRIKE & MASS DAY OF ACTION
Wednesday November 2, 2011
Below is the proposal passed by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly on Wednesday October 26, 2011 in reclaimed Oscar Grant Plaza. 1607 people voted. 1484 voted in favor of the resolution, 77 abstained and 46 voted against it, passing the proposal at 96.9%. The General Assembly operates on a modified consensus process that passes proposals with 90% in favor and with abstaining votes removed from the final count.
PROPOSAL:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%.
We propose a city wide general strike and we propose we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.
All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
While we are calling for a general strike, we are also calling for much more. People who organize out of their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, affinity groups, workplaces and families are encouraged to self organize in a way that allows them to participate in shutting down the city in whatever manner they are comfortable with and capable of.
The whole world is watching Oakland. Let’s show them what is possible.
The Strike Coordinating Council will begin meeting everyday at 5pm in Oscar Grant Plaza before the daily General Assembly at 7pm. All strike participants are invited. Stay tuned for much more information and see you next Wednesday.
GENERAL STRIKE & MASS DAY OF ACTION – NOVEMBER 2
October 28, 2011 in general strike
Liberate Oakland, Shut Down the 1%
GENERAL STRIKE & MASS DAY OF ACTION
Wednesday November 2, 2011
Below is the proposal passed by the Occupy Oakland General Assembly on Wednesday October 26, 2011 in reclaimed Oscar Grant Plaza. 1607 people voted. 1484 voted in favor of the resolution, 77 abstained and 46 voted against it, passing the proposal at 96.9%. The General Assembly operates on a modified consensus process that passes proposals with 90% in favor and with abstaining votes removed from the final count.
PROPOSAL:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%.
We propose a city wide general strike and we propose we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.
All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
While we are calling for a general strike, we are also calling for much more. People who organize out of their neighborhoods, schools, community organizations, affinity groups, workplaces and families are encouraged to self organize in a way that allows them to participate in shutting down the city in whatever manner they are comfortable with and capable of.
The whole world is watching Oakland. Let’s show them what is possible.
The Strike Coordinating Council will begin meeting everyday at 5pm in Oscar Grant Plaza before the daily General Assembly at 7pm. All strike participants are invited. Stay tuned for much more information and see you next Wednesday.
From The "Occupy Oakland" Website- All Out In Oakland To Block The Port Of Oakland-Close All The West Coast Ports In Solidarity With Oakland And The Longview, Washington Longshoremen-Shut Down The Gulf And East Coast Ports In Solidarity!
Click on the headline to link to Occupy Oaklandand information on a march to close down the Port Of Oakland on Novmember 2, 2011.
Markin comment:
All Out On November 2, 2011 In Oakland To Block The Port Of Oakland-Close All The West Coast Ports In Solidarity With Oakland And The Longview, Washington Longshoremen-Shut Down The Gulf And East Coast Ports In Solidarity
Markin comment:
All Out On November 2, 2011 In Oakland To Block The Port Of Oakland-Close All The West Coast Ports In Solidarity With Oakland And The Longview, Washington Longshoremen-Shut Down The Gulf And East Coast Ports In Solidarity
From The "Occupy Oakland" Website- Flyers and Posters For The November 2, 2011 General Strike
Click on the headline to link to the Occupy Oakland website for download of posters and flyers for the general strike on November 2, 2011.
POSTER TEXT:
English:
Liberate Oakland
Shut Down the 1%
General Strike & Mass Day of Action
called for by Occupy Oakland
Wednesday November 2, 2011
Everyone to the Streets!
No Work! No School!
Converge on Downtown Oakland
to help shut down the city
mass gatherings at 14th & Broadway:
9:00am • 12 noon • 5:00pm
All banks and corporations must close down for the day or we will march on them
• Solidarity with the worldwide Occupy Movement
• End Police Attacks on Our Communities
• Defend Oakland Schools & Libraries
• Against an economic system built on inequality & corporate power that perpetuates racism, sexism & the destruction of the environment
occupyoakland.org/strike
Español:
A liberar Oakland
A Cerrar al 1%
Huelga General y DÃa de Acciones Masivas
convocado por Occupy Oakland
Mie, 2 noviembre 2011
¡Todo el mundo a la calle!
¡Ni trabajo, ni escuela!
Punto de reunión en Downtown Oakland
para ayudar a paralizar la ciudad
Reuniones masivas en la 14 con Broadway
9:00am • 12 del medio dÃa • 5:00pm
Todos los bancos y las empresas deben cerrar todo el dÃa o los bloquearemos
• Solidaridad con el movimiento internacional Occupy
• No más ataques de la policÃa en nuestras comunidades
• Defendamos las escuelas y bibliotecas de Oakland
• Contra un sistema polÃtico basado en la desigualdad y el poder corporativo que perpetua el racismo, sexismo y la destrucción del medio ambiente.
occupyoakland.org/strike
POSTER TEXT:
English:
Liberate Oakland
Shut Down the 1%
General Strike & Mass Day of Action
called for by Occupy Oakland
Wednesday November 2, 2011
Everyone to the Streets!
No Work! No School!
Converge on Downtown Oakland
to help shut down the city
mass gatherings at 14th & Broadway:
9:00am • 12 noon • 5:00pm
All banks and corporations must close down for the day or we will march on them
• Solidarity with the worldwide Occupy Movement
• End Police Attacks on Our Communities
• Defend Oakland Schools & Libraries
• Against an economic system built on inequality & corporate power that perpetuates racism, sexism & the destruction of the environment
occupyoakland.org/strike
Español:
A liberar Oakland
A Cerrar al 1%
Huelga General y DÃa de Acciones Masivas
convocado por Occupy Oakland
Mie, 2 noviembre 2011
¡Todo el mundo a la calle!
¡Ni trabajo, ni escuela!
Punto de reunión en Downtown Oakland
para ayudar a paralizar la ciudad
Reuniones masivas en la 14 con Broadway
9:00am • 12 del medio dÃa • 5:00pm
Todos los bancos y las empresas deben cerrar todo el dÃa o los bloquearemos
• Solidaridad con el movimiento internacional Occupy
• No más ataques de la policÃa en nuestras comunidades
• Defendamos las escuelas y bibliotecas de Oakland
• Contra un sistema polÃtico basado en la desigualdad y el poder corporativo que perpetua el racismo, sexismo y la destrucción del medio ambiente.
occupyoakland.org/strike
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 Denver-Drop All The Charges Against The Protesters-Hands Off Occupy Denver!
Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy Denver website. Today including the latest from the struggle in Denver. 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 30, 2011
I swear the footage from Denver of peaceful marchers being trampled by the Cossacks (oops, police) reminds me of scenes from-January 9, 1905 in Russia. If you are not familiar with that date and those events, see Wikipedia.
********
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 Denver!
********
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 30, 2011
I swear the footage from Denver of peaceful marchers being trampled by the Cossacks (oops, police) reminds me of scenes from-January 9, 1905 in Russia. If you are not familiar with that date and those events, see Wikipedia.
********
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 Denver!
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 Providence Protesters-Hands Off Occupy Providence!
Click on the headline to link to updates from the Occupy Providence website. Today including the latest from the struggle in Providence. 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 Providence!
********
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 Providence!
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-Day Thirty-One Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!-This Is Our John Brown Moment!
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
#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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
********
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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
Out In The 1950s Be-Bop Night- Josh Breslin Comes Of Age- Kind Of
Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of Elvis Presley performing I Forgot To Remember To Forget.
CD Review
The Heart Of Rock ‘n’ Roll: 1953-1955, various artists, Time-Life Music, 1997
Scene: Brought to mind by the black and white family album-style photograph that graces the cover of this CD. On this one we are treated to a photograph of a well-groomed boy and girl, teenagers of course, who else would listen to rock and roll in the be-bop 1950s night. Every parent, every square parent, and they were legion, who had any sense at all was banning, confiscating, burning, or otherwise destroying every record, 45 RPM or long-playing, that came through the front door with junior and missy. Reason? Said rock ‘n’ roll led to communistic thoughts, youth tribal hanging together (to the exclusion, no, to the denials of the existence of, parents), bad teeth, acne, brain-death, or most dreaded the “s” word, s-x.
But let’s leave the world of parents and concentrate on the couple in the photo, Josh Breslin, and his date, his first date, his first date ever, Julie Dubois, who are just now shuffling the records looking to see if Earth Angel by the Penquins is in the stack to chase away the awkwardness both are feeling on this first date. It turns out that both are crazy about that platter so they are reaching way back in their respective minds' recesses to come up with every arcane fact they know about the song, the group, how it was produced, anything to get through that next few moment until the next dance started.
Now Josh always thought he was cool, at least cool when he was dealing with his boy gang boys. But this girl thing was a lot harder than it looked, once he had exhausted every possible fact about Earth Angel and then had to reach way back in the mind’s recesses again when he tried to do the same for The Clover’s version of Blue Velvet. No sale, Julie didn’t like that one; she smirked, not dreamy enough. Then ditto when, Julie, seriously trying to hold up her end went on and on about Elvis’ Blue Moon cover. No sale, no way, no dice said Josh to himself and then to Julie since they had vowed, like some mystical rite of passage passed down from eternal teenager-ness, be candid with each other. Finally, Julie’s shuffling through the platters produced The Turban’s When You Dance and things got better. Yes, this was one tough night, on tough first date, first date ever night.
Maybe the whole thing was ill-fated from the beginning. Josh’s friend, maybe best friend, at Olde Saco Junior High, Rene Leblanc, was having his fourteenth birthday party, a party that his mother, as mothers will, insisted on being a big deal. Big deal being Rene inviting boys and girls, nice boys and girls, dressed in suits, or a least jackets and ties (boys), and party dresses (girls) and matched-up (one boy, one girl). Mrs. Leblanc was clueless that such square get-ups and social arrangements in the be-bop teen night would “cramp” every rocking boy and girl that Rene (or Josh) knew. But the hardest part was that Josh, truth, had never had a boy-girl date and so therefore had no girl to bring to Rene’s party. And that is where Julie, Rene’s cousin from over in Ocean City, came in. She, as it turned out, had never had a girl-boy date. And since when Mrs. Leblanc picked Josh up on party night and then went over to Ocean City for Julie, introduced then, and there was no love at first sight clang, Josh figured that this was to be one long, long night.
So the couple, the nervous couple, nervous now because the end of the stack was being reached when mercifully Marvin and Johnny’s Cherry Pie came up, both declared thumbs, both let out a simultaneous spontaneous laugh. And the reason for that spontaneous laugh, as they were both eager to explain in order to have no hurt feelings, was that Josh had asked Julie if she was having a good time and she said, well, yes just before they hit Cherry Pie pay-dirt. Just then Rene came over and shouted over the song being played on the record player, TheMoonglow’s Sincerely, “Why don’t you two dance instead of just standing there looking goofy?” And they both laughed again, as they hit the dance floor, this time with no explanations necessary.
CD Review
The Heart Of Rock ‘n’ Roll: 1953-1955, various artists, Time-Life Music, 1997
Scene: Brought to mind by the black and white family album-style photograph that graces the cover of this CD. On this one we are treated to a photograph of a well-groomed boy and girl, teenagers of course, who else would listen to rock and roll in the be-bop 1950s night. Every parent, every square parent, and they were legion, who had any sense at all was banning, confiscating, burning, or otherwise destroying every record, 45 RPM or long-playing, that came through the front door with junior and missy. Reason? Said rock ‘n’ roll led to communistic thoughts, youth tribal hanging together (to the exclusion, no, to the denials of the existence of, parents), bad teeth, acne, brain-death, or most dreaded the “s” word, s-x.
But let’s leave the world of parents and concentrate on the couple in the photo, Josh Breslin, and his date, his first date, his first date ever, Julie Dubois, who are just now shuffling the records looking to see if Earth Angel by the Penquins is in the stack to chase away the awkwardness both are feeling on this first date. It turns out that both are crazy about that platter so they are reaching way back in their respective minds' recesses to come up with every arcane fact they know about the song, the group, how it was produced, anything to get through that next few moment until the next dance started.
Now Josh always thought he was cool, at least cool when he was dealing with his boy gang boys. But this girl thing was a lot harder than it looked, once he had exhausted every possible fact about Earth Angel and then had to reach way back in the mind’s recesses again when he tried to do the same for The Clover’s version of Blue Velvet. No sale, Julie didn’t like that one; she smirked, not dreamy enough. Then ditto when, Julie, seriously trying to hold up her end went on and on about Elvis’ Blue Moon cover. No sale, no way, no dice said Josh to himself and then to Julie since they had vowed, like some mystical rite of passage passed down from eternal teenager-ness, be candid with each other. Finally, Julie’s shuffling through the platters produced The Turban’s When You Dance and things got better. Yes, this was one tough night, on tough first date, first date ever night.
Maybe the whole thing was ill-fated from the beginning. Josh’s friend, maybe best friend, at Olde Saco Junior High, Rene Leblanc, was having his fourteenth birthday party, a party that his mother, as mothers will, insisted on being a big deal. Big deal being Rene inviting boys and girls, nice boys and girls, dressed in suits, or a least jackets and ties (boys), and party dresses (girls) and matched-up (one boy, one girl). Mrs. Leblanc was clueless that such square get-ups and social arrangements in the be-bop teen night would “cramp” every rocking boy and girl that Rene (or Josh) knew. But the hardest part was that Josh, truth, had never had a boy-girl date and so therefore had no girl to bring to Rene’s party. And that is where Julie, Rene’s cousin from over in Ocean City, came in. She, as it turned out, had never had a girl-boy date. And since when Mrs. Leblanc picked Josh up on party night and then went over to Ocean City for Julie, introduced then, and there was no love at first sight clang, Josh figured that this was to be one long, long night.
So the couple, the nervous couple, nervous now because the end of the stack was being reached when mercifully Marvin and Johnny’s Cherry Pie came up, both declared thumbs, both let out a simultaneous spontaneous laugh. And the reason for that spontaneous laugh, as they were both eager to explain in order to have no hurt feelings, was that Josh had asked Julie if she was having a good time and she said, well, yes just before they hit Cherry Pie pay-dirt. Just then Rene came over and shouted over the song being played on the record player, TheMoonglow’s Sincerely, “Why don’t you two dance instead of just standing there looking goofy?” And they both laughed again, as they hit the dance floor, this time with no explanations necessary.
The Latest From The “Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox” Blog
Click on the headline to link to Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox blog for the latest from her site.
Markin comment:
I find Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox rather a mishmash of eclectic politics and basic old time left-liberal/radical thinking. Not enough, not nearly enough, in our troubled times but enough to take the time to read about and get a sense of the pulse (if any) of that segment of the left to which she is appealing. One though should always remember, despite our political differences, her heroic action in going down to hell-hole Texas to confront one President George W. Bush when many others were resigned to accepting the lies of that administration or who “folded” their tents when the expected end to the Iraq War did not materialize. Hats off on that one, Cindy Sheehan.
Markin comment:
I find Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox rather a mishmash of eclectic politics and basic old time left-liberal/radical thinking. Not enough, not nearly enough, in our troubled times but enough to take the time to read about and get a sense of the pulse (if any) of that segment of the left to which she is appealing. One though should always remember, despite our political differences, her heroic action in going down to hell-hole Texas to confront one President George W. Bush when many others were resigned to accepting the lies of that administration or who “folded” their tents when the expected end to the Iraq War did not materialize. Hats off on that one, Cindy Sheehan.
The Latest From “The Rag Blog”
Click on the headline to link to The Rag Blog website.
Markin comment:
I find this The Rag Blog very useful to monitor for the latest in what is happening with past tense radical activists and activities. Anybody, with some kind of name, who is still around from the 1960s has found a home here. So the remembrances and recollections are helpful for today’s activists. Strangely the politics are almost non-existent, as least ones that would help today, except to kind of retroactively “bless” those old-time left politics that did nothing (well, almost nothing) but get us on the losing end of the class (and cultural) wars of the last forty plus years. Still this is a must read blog for today’s left militants.
Markin comment:
I find this The Rag Blog very useful to monitor for the latest in what is happening with past tense radical activists and activities. Anybody, with some kind of name, who is still around from the 1960s has found a home here. So the remembrances and recollections are helpful for today’s activists. Strangely the politics are almost non-existent, as least ones that would help today, except to kind of retroactively “bless” those old-time left politics that did nothing (well, almost nothing) but get us on the losing end of the class (and cultural) wars of the last forty plus years. Still this is a must read blog for today’s left militants.
From The Struggle Against Police Brutality Front- The Call for the 16th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation- October 22, 2011-Now More Than Ever
Markin comment on this leaflet:
Normally I get a billion leaflets sent to me, given to me on the street, or at various street and meeting place political events. I am placing this one on this site because the information provided is useful (1) to help combat illusions in the now risen Occupy movement about the role of the police in maintaining the capitalist state and,(2) trying to connect the recent spate of arrests around various occupation sites in Denver, Boston, Nashville, Oakland, Atlanta and elsewhere with the "normal" police occupation of the ghettos and barrios. Eyes open.
*****
The Call for the 16th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation - October 22, 2011
Across the U.S., Black, Latino, and poor neighborhoods are treated like occupied territory by increasingly militarized armies of law enforcement. People are criminalized and brutalized for their perceived status - socioeconomic, immigration, mental health, and/or racial, gender, or sexual identity. People living in our communities, especially youth, are routinely stopped, harassed, beaten, and even killed.
• In Chicago, the home of the first Black president, police have shot 44 people so far this year, mostly youth of
color, including 13-year-old Jimmell Cannon, who was shot eight times.
• NYPD continues to stop hundreds of thousands of youth of color every year for the most minimal suspicion, fewer
than 10% of which result in arrest, and far fewer in charges or conviction.
• Police nationwide continue to kill with very little consequence. Twelve Miami cops shot at 22-year-old Raymond Herisse 100 times, then threatened those who recorded the incident, destroying their cellphones. A Tucson SWAT team shot at 26-year-old Iraq War veteran Jose Guerena over 70 times, claiming that he fired at them and then leaving him to bleed to death in his home. Both their allegations of gunfire and drug-dealing were later revealed tobe false. In New York and New Jersey, at least 28 people have been killed by police since October 22 of last year,while at least 35 people have been killed by law enforcement in Washington State in the last 12 months. The killing of 22-year old Oscar Grant in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 resulted in a rare conviction for theofficer who shot him; however, he was freed after mere months in prison, while people protesting the outrageous
verdict were met with police violence and mass arrests. In the weeks following that cops release, SF cops killedCharles Hill, a 45-year-old homeless man, on a subway platform and 19-year old Kenneth Harding after hesupposedly failed to pay a $2 train fare, then left him dying on the pavement in front of dozens of outragedwitnesses.
• Police routinely abuse the mentally ill and disabled. Fullerton, CA cops beat to death homeless and mentally ill27-year-old Kelly Thomas, described by many in the community as a gentle, childlike soul. In Fresno, CA, 28-year-old Raul Rosas, Jr. died after being tasered by police. His girlfriend said "I didn't call the Fresno CountySheriff to kill him. I called because he needed help with his mental illness'.' Raul went into cardiac arrest and wasdenied access to three medical ambulances that showed up to assist.
Recently enacted anti-immigrant laws have given police in the states of Arizona, Georgia, and Alabama sweeping powers to stop people "suspected" of being undocumented on no other basis than appearance. The hostility and racism stoked by these policies have already culminated in violence, as seen in the killing of 15-year-old Sergio Adrin Hernandez Gereka by a border patrol agent and the beating death of 42-year-old Anastasio Hernandez Rojas at the hands of La Migra. More than one million have been deported under the Obama administration.
• Racially targeted mass incarceration exacerbates the criminalization and marginalization of Black people, playingthe same role as the Jim Crow laws that sprang from the Virginia slave codes of 1705. In 1954, 90,000 Blackpeople were incarcerated. Now, over 900,000 Black people are imprisoned, a tenfold increase, while the total U.S. Black population has merely doubled in the same period. The U.S. also has the highest incarceration rate worldwide, with 2.4 million people in prison.
• Law enforcement continues to harass and sexually assault people, most especially women and the transgendered.According to the website InjusticeEverywhere.com, sexual misconduct was the second most common complaint (following excessive force) against police in 2010, involving 618 cops.
• Young schoolchildren are increasingly labeled and treated as criminals by school security and local police. Eight-year-old Aidan Elliot was pepper sprayed and handcuffed by Colorado police, and ten-year-old Sofia Bauti'sta was removed from her elementary school, then taken to a NYPD precinct, handcuffed, and interrogated for hours,while police nationwide continue to use tasers on students as young as six.
Meanwhile, repression against those who take action against injustices continues to escalate. Over a dozen activists with Food Not Bombs have been arrested in Orlando for feeding the homeless in public parks. The killings of Oscar Grant, Kenneth Harding, Kelly Thomas, Raymond Herisse, and John T. Williams (hi Seattle) were all caught on video. Now, as if in retaliation against the subsequent public outrage, police in cities and towns nationwide have attacked and arrested people merely for recording their activity, while in Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts, video-recording the police is now explicitly illegal. Cops haven't stopped killing and brutalizing people they're just making it a crime to record them while they do. Repression against progressive and antiwar activism has intensified: simultaneous FBI raids on activists from numerous antiwar and international solidarity organizations in three U.S. cities took place on September 24, 2010. Twenty-three activists now face serious jail time for refusing to participate in the ensuing grand jury witch hunts that clearly intend to discourage an-d intimidate would-be dissenters.
These vicious attacks are not going down without opposition. Whether standing up to police violence when it happens, as we saw in the video of Kenneth Harding's shooting, or organizing inspiring prison strikes in Georgia and California, people are uniting to fight back. Determined outcry from people nationwide against the shooting of unarmed men crossing the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina has finally brought convictions of the guilty cops and exposed the sort of extensive cover-ups that are routine with police shootings. More and more crimes against the people are being revealed, as we have seen with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Operation Fast and Furious, which intentionally provided weapons to Mexican drag cartels, and the overturning of over 4,000 convictions of youth in Pennsylvania after it was found that juvenile judge Mark Ciavarella received kickbacks from private for-profit detention centers. Once we have seen the man behind the curtain, how can we pretend he is not there? One thing we know from years of experience is that when this system has to answer to organized people, it can't easily get away with all the things it's used to doing. Resistance matters.
THE VIOLENCE OF THE COPS, THE COURTS, THE FBI, LA MIGRA, AND HOMELAND SECURITY IS INTENSIFYING. OUR RESISTANCE MUST INTENSIFY AS WELL! Every year, thousands of people nationwide express their outrages creativity;, and resistance in response to the crimes of this system. People speak out and perform, they march in the streets, and more. The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation embraces and encourages any and all such expressions of people's righteous outrage.
As said by the mother of Gil Barber, gunned down by a deputy in High Point, NC in 2001, "October 22nd is our day." ORGANIZE against these injustices! BREAK DOWN the barriers between communities that these crimes seek to strengthen-! MOBILIZE people of all communities in the most visible way - and on October 22, 2011, WEAR BLACK! FIGHT BACK!
JOIN US if there is already an October 22nd event in your area. CREATE one if you are in an area where there is currently no group organizing. For listings of activities in your area, check the website www.october22.org.To start building for an event in your area, email info@.october22 .org
TO ENDORSE THIS CALL, SIGN BELOW AND MAIL TO: October 22, P.O. Box 2627, New York, NY I0009, along with your tax-deductible donation to the national organizing effort. Suggested -donation $15.00 (paid to "IFCO/October 22")
Name:
Email:
Organization:
(note if for identification purposes only)
Signature:
You may also make this endorsement by sending an email to Info@october22.org
Normally I get a billion leaflets sent to me, given to me on the street, or at various street and meeting place political events. I am placing this one on this site because the information provided is useful (1) to help combat illusions in the now risen Occupy movement about the role of the police in maintaining the capitalist state and,(2) trying to connect the recent spate of arrests around various occupation sites in Denver, Boston, Nashville, Oakland, Atlanta and elsewhere with the "normal" police occupation of the ghettos and barrios. Eyes open.
*****
The Call for the 16th National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation - October 22, 2011
Across the U.S., Black, Latino, and poor neighborhoods are treated like occupied territory by increasingly militarized armies of law enforcement. People are criminalized and brutalized for their perceived status - socioeconomic, immigration, mental health, and/or racial, gender, or sexual identity. People living in our communities, especially youth, are routinely stopped, harassed, beaten, and even killed.
• In Chicago, the home of the first Black president, police have shot 44 people so far this year, mostly youth of
color, including 13-year-old Jimmell Cannon, who was shot eight times.
• NYPD continues to stop hundreds of thousands of youth of color every year for the most minimal suspicion, fewer
than 10% of which result in arrest, and far fewer in charges or conviction.
• Police nationwide continue to kill with very little consequence. Twelve Miami cops shot at 22-year-old Raymond Herisse 100 times, then threatened those who recorded the incident, destroying their cellphones. A Tucson SWAT team shot at 26-year-old Iraq War veteran Jose Guerena over 70 times, claiming that he fired at them and then leaving him to bleed to death in his home. Both their allegations of gunfire and drug-dealing were later revealed tobe false. In New York and New Jersey, at least 28 people have been killed by police since October 22 of last year,while at least 35 people have been killed by law enforcement in Washington State in the last 12 months. The killing of 22-year old Oscar Grant in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 resulted in a rare conviction for theofficer who shot him; however, he was freed after mere months in prison, while people protesting the outrageous
verdict were met with police violence and mass arrests. In the weeks following that cops release, SF cops killedCharles Hill, a 45-year-old homeless man, on a subway platform and 19-year old Kenneth Harding after hesupposedly failed to pay a $2 train fare, then left him dying on the pavement in front of dozens of outragedwitnesses.
• Police routinely abuse the mentally ill and disabled. Fullerton, CA cops beat to death homeless and mentally ill27-year-old Kelly Thomas, described by many in the community as a gentle, childlike soul. In Fresno, CA, 28-year-old Raul Rosas, Jr. died after being tasered by police. His girlfriend said "I didn't call the Fresno CountySheriff to kill him. I called because he needed help with his mental illness'.' Raul went into cardiac arrest and wasdenied access to three medical ambulances that showed up to assist.
Recently enacted anti-immigrant laws have given police in the states of Arizona, Georgia, and Alabama sweeping powers to stop people "suspected" of being undocumented on no other basis than appearance. The hostility and racism stoked by these policies have already culminated in violence, as seen in the killing of 15-year-old Sergio Adrin Hernandez Gereka by a border patrol agent and the beating death of 42-year-old Anastasio Hernandez Rojas at the hands of La Migra. More than one million have been deported under the Obama administration.
• Racially targeted mass incarceration exacerbates the criminalization and marginalization of Black people, playingthe same role as the Jim Crow laws that sprang from the Virginia slave codes of 1705. In 1954, 90,000 Blackpeople were incarcerated. Now, over 900,000 Black people are imprisoned, a tenfold increase, while the total U.S. Black population has merely doubled in the same period. The U.S. also has the highest incarceration rate worldwide, with 2.4 million people in prison.
• Law enforcement continues to harass and sexually assault people, most especially women and the transgendered.According to the website InjusticeEverywhere.com, sexual misconduct was the second most common complaint (following excessive force) against police in 2010, involving 618 cops.
• Young schoolchildren are increasingly labeled and treated as criminals by school security and local police. Eight-year-old Aidan Elliot was pepper sprayed and handcuffed by Colorado police, and ten-year-old Sofia Bauti'sta was removed from her elementary school, then taken to a NYPD precinct, handcuffed, and interrogated for hours,while police nationwide continue to use tasers on students as young as six.
Meanwhile, repression against those who take action against injustices continues to escalate. Over a dozen activists with Food Not Bombs have been arrested in Orlando for feeding the homeless in public parks. The killings of Oscar Grant, Kenneth Harding, Kelly Thomas, Raymond Herisse, and John T. Williams (hi Seattle) were all caught on video. Now, as if in retaliation against the subsequent public outrage, police in cities and towns nationwide have attacked and arrested people merely for recording their activity, while in Illinois, Maryland, and Massachusetts, video-recording the police is now explicitly illegal. Cops haven't stopped killing and brutalizing people they're just making it a crime to record them while they do. Repression against progressive and antiwar activism has intensified: simultaneous FBI raids on activists from numerous antiwar and international solidarity organizations in three U.S. cities took place on September 24, 2010. Twenty-three activists now face serious jail time for refusing to participate in the ensuing grand jury witch hunts that clearly intend to discourage an-d intimidate would-be dissenters.
These vicious attacks are not going down without opposition. Whether standing up to police violence when it happens, as we saw in the video of Kenneth Harding's shooting, or organizing inspiring prison strikes in Georgia and California, people are uniting to fight back. Determined outcry from people nationwide against the shooting of unarmed men crossing the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina has finally brought convictions of the guilty cops and exposed the sort of extensive cover-ups that are routine with police shootings. More and more crimes against the people are being revealed, as we have seen with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Operation Fast and Furious, which intentionally provided weapons to Mexican drag cartels, and the overturning of over 4,000 convictions of youth in Pennsylvania after it was found that juvenile judge Mark Ciavarella received kickbacks from private for-profit detention centers. Once we have seen the man behind the curtain, how can we pretend he is not there? One thing we know from years of experience is that when this system has to answer to organized people, it can't easily get away with all the things it's used to doing. Resistance matters.
THE VIOLENCE OF THE COPS, THE COURTS, THE FBI, LA MIGRA, AND HOMELAND SECURITY IS INTENSIFYING. OUR RESISTANCE MUST INTENSIFY AS WELL! Every year, thousands of people nationwide express their outrages creativity;, and resistance in response to the crimes of this system. People speak out and perform, they march in the streets, and more. The October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation embraces and encourages any and all such expressions of people's righteous outrage.
As said by the mother of Gil Barber, gunned down by a deputy in High Point, NC in 2001, "October 22nd is our day." ORGANIZE against these injustices! BREAK DOWN the barriers between communities that these crimes seek to strengthen-! MOBILIZE people of all communities in the most visible way - and on October 22, 2011, WEAR BLACK! FIGHT BACK!
JOIN US if there is already an October 22nd event in your area. CREATE one if you are in an area where there is currently no group organizing. For listings of activities in your area, check the website www.october22.org.To start building for an event in your area, email info@.october22 .org
TO ENDORSE THIS CALL, SIGN BELOW AND MAIL TO: October 22, P.O. Box 2627, New York, NY I0009, along with your tax-deductible donation to the national organizing effort. Suggested -donation $15.00 (paid to "IFCO/October 22")
Name:
Email:
Organization:
(note if for identification purposes only)
Signature:
You may also make this endorsement by sending an email to Info@october22.org
Saturday, October 29, 2011
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-Day Thirty-One Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!-This Is Our John Brown Moment!
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
#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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
********
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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Markin comment October 29, 2011:
As noted in the headline the Occupy movement cannot continue to take defeats like those imposed by the police raids and brutality in Oakland (and elsewhere). The general strike called for November 2, 2011 by Occupy Oakland is the start of our push-back. All Oakland labor, beginning with the powerful long-shore workers at the Port of Oakland, must shut down business as usual that day. All out students, workers, and oppressed peoples of Oakland. And the rest of us should shut down what we can in solidarity. This is our John Brown moment. They don’t come often to the downtrodden and oppressed as history shows- so we had better strike the blow now.
**********
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-Day Thirty Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
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
#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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
ANTI-IMPERIALISM, an injury to one is an injury to all, anti-capitalism, Bolsheviks, class struggle defense, Russian revolution, Defend Occupy Boston, anti-capitalism
********
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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, those who support, and/or defend the Occupy movement had better think about uniting forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have thus far stood on the sidelines. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now to defend against the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
ANTI-IMPERIALISM, an injury to one is an injury to all, anti-capitalism, Bolsheviks, class struggle defense, Russian revolution, Defend Occupy Boston, anti-capitalism
Friday, October 28, 2011
From #Occupied Boston (#TomemonosBoston)-Day Twenty-Nine Round-Up- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
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
#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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, the Occupy movement had better think about uniting its forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have stood on the sidelines thus far. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now for the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
********
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
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Oakland site.
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!
*****
Markin comment October 26, 2011:
Comment made in reaction to the police raid on the Occupy Atlanta site.
This having to send solidarity messages almost daily is getting too redundant, way too redundant. Forget this notion of each occupation site being a separate operation. The Occupy Movement had better unite to fight nationally (and internationally) or they (and you know who the "they" is) will pick it off one by one like they are doing now. It is the same struggle, same fight! An injury to one is an injury to all!
**********
Markin comment October 27, 2011:
The news from the Occupy movement the past few days has been grim, from the woods (okay, sort of woods) of New Hampshire to the hard-bitten cities of Oakland and Atlanta, Occupy sites have been raided by police (and other agencies) and torn down. Each such defeat for the Occupy movement only emboldens the local satraps of bourgeois order in other locales to emulate their fellow authorities. I say No mas, no more, nix. The Occupy movement has prided itself on its decentralized structure and for the first few weeks that held up fairly well. That time, however, is now passing.
The signs are clear that the bourgeoisie (the one-percent and their hangers-on) have decided that enough is enough. Enough of unsightly campsites, unruly crowds, and worst of all, those slogans being shouted in the streets about taking their dough away. The bourgeoisie will let many thing pass but not threats to their control of society and to their dough. So the Occupy movement needs to gear up, stop thinking that it is dealing with a rational enemy, and think more about the class-war lines that are being drawn by them (and you know who the “them” is) even as I write.
Movements like the Occupy movement, which has moved many people off dead-center, do not come around often enough to squander the valuable human resources that have accrued in our current fight for social justice. I will more write about this situation as events unfold but for now, as I made a point of in the headline to this entry, the Occupy movement had better think about uniting its forces, nationally and internationally, in a much more politically organized way than has been done thus far. Frankly I am getting tired of, almost daily, cutting and pasting my main slogans- An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers Everywhere! Hands Off Occupy -------! - and just changing the name of the city. It is the same struggle, same fight for all!
*********
Markin comment October 28, 2011:
The grim news out of Occupy Oakland over the past few days, where serious causalities have been taken, only emphasizes the pressing need for a unified, united, huge response not only by those who already adhere to the Occupy movement or already are committed to defending it, but to other elements in the labor, student, and general progressive movement who have stood on the sidelines thus far. The class-war lines are being drawn, drawn sharply, by the bourgeoisie (the one percent, its hangers-on, and its police and military forces) and the Occupy movement and others best prepare now for the “push back.” Thus, all efforts need to be made everywhere to stand in solidarity with the call by Occupy Oakland for a city-wide general strike (see below) there. An Injury To One Is An Injury To All!-Defend All The Occupation Sites And All The Occupiers!–No Mas- The Class-War Lines Are Being Drawn- There Is A Need To Unite And Fight, Nationally And Internationally, Or Get Picked Off One By On-All Out November 2, 2011 In Solidarity With Occupy Oakland’s General Strike!
************
Press Release: Resounding Silence, General Strike Over Marine Injured by Oakland Police
October 27th, 2011
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 27, 2011*
Contacts: OccupyBostonMedia@gmail.com
Twitter: @occupyBOS_media
MEDIA BLACKOUT ENTERS SECOND DAY AS IRAQ VETERAN SCOTT OLSEN REMAINS IN SERIOUS CONDITION, OCCUPY OAKLAND CALLS FOR GENERAL STRIKE NOVEMBER 2
Scott Olsen, 24—a former member of the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines and a veteran of two tours in Iraq—remains in serious condition at Highland Hospital in Oakland with a fractured skull and brain swelling. Riot police fired a projectile into Olsen’s face on Tuesday before throwing flash grenades at his fellow protesters while they attempted to move him to safety. Despite the severity of Olsen’s injuries, local and national media have largely ignored the story. As of Thursday morning, The Boston Herald and FOX 25 had no definite plans to cover the incident, nor had Oakland’s citizen review board opened an official inquiry.
Videos posted to YouTube depicting a member of the riot police throwing a flash grenade at protesters attempting to help the injured Olsen have stirred international outrage, but coverage remains minimal.
Last night, thousands marched to retake Oscar Grant Plaza for Occupy Oakland before calling for a general strike on November 2, saying:
We as fellow occupiers of Oscar Grant Plaza propose that on Wednesday, November 2, 2011, we liberate Oakland and shut down the 1%. We propose a city-wide general strike and we propose that we invite all students to walk out of school. Instead of workers going to work and students going to school, the people will converge on downtown Oakland to shut down the city.All banks and corporations should close down for the day or we will march on them.
********
Occupy Boston stands in solidarity with Scott Olsen and with Occupy Oakland as we continue our peaceful pursuit of international economic justice. We are the 99%, and we are no longer silent.
The Latest From “The International Marxist Tendency” Website
Click on to the headline to link to the latest from the International Marxist Tendency website.
Markin comment:
More often than not I disagree with the line of the IMT or its analysis(mainly I do not believe their political analysis leads to adequate programmatically-based conclusions, revolutionary conclusions in any case), nevertheless, they provide interesting material, especially from areas, “third world” areas, where it is hard to get any kind of information (for our purposes). Read the material from this site.
Markin comment:
More often than not I disagree with the line of the IMT or its analysis(mainly I do not believe their political analysis leads to adequate programmatically-based conclusions, revolutionary conclusions in any case), nevertheless, they provide interesting material, especially from areas, “third world” areas, where it is hard to get any kind of information (for our purposes). Read the material from this site.
In The Be-Bop 1960s Night- When "Stewball" Stu Stewart ’57 Chevy Ruled The “Chicken” Roads
In The Be-Bop 1960s Night- When "Stewball" Stu Stewart ’57 Chevy Ruled The “Chicken” Roads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHG5-GxI_Es
Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of Chuck Berry performing his classic School Day to give a flavor of the times to this piece
CD Review
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Era: 1957, various artists, Time-Life Music, 1987
Scene: Brought to mind by the cover artwork that graces the front of the booklet that accompanies this CD. The artwork contains, in full James Dean-imitation pout, one good-looking, DA-quaffed, white muscle-shirted young man, an alienated young man, no question, leaning, leaning gently, very gently, arms folded, on the hood of his 1950’s classic automobile, clearly not his father’s car, but also clearly for our purposes let us call it his “baby.”
And that car, that extension of his young manhood, his young alienated manhood, is Friday night, Saturday night, or maybe a weekday night if it is summer, parked (priority parked, meaning nobody with some Nash Rambler, nobody with some foreign Volkswagen, no biker even , in short, nobody except somebody who is tougher, a lot tougher, than our alienated young man better breathe on the spot while he is within fifty miles of the place) directly in front of the local teenage (alienated or not) "hot spot." And in 1950s’ America, a teenage America with some disposal income (allowance, okay), that hot spot is likely to be, as here, the all-night Mel’s (or Joe’s, Adventure Car-Hop, whatever) drive-in restaurant opened to cater to the hot dog, hamburger, French fries, barbecued chicken cravings of exhausted youth. Youth exhausted after a hard night, well, let’s just call it a hard night and leave the rest to your knowing imagination, or their parents’ evil imaginations.
And in front of the restaurant, in front of that leaned-on “boss” automobile stands one teenage girl vision. One blondish, pony-tailed, midnight sun-glassed, must be a California great American West night teeny-bopper girl holding an ice cream soda after her night’s work. The work that we are leaving to fertile (or evil, as the case may be) imaginations. Although from the pout on Johnny’s (of course he has to be a Johnny, with that car) face maybe he “flunked out” but that is a story for somebody else to tell. Here’s mine.
********
Not everybody, not everybody by a long-shot, who had a “boss” ’57 cherry red Chevy was some kind of god’s gift to the earth; good-looking, good clothes, dough in his pocket, money for gas and extras, money for the inevitable end of the night stop at Jimmy John’s Drive-In restaurant for burgers and fries (and Coke, with ice, of course) before taking the date home after a hard night of tumbling and stumbling (mainly stumbling). At least that is what one Joshua Breslin, Josh, me, freshly minted fifteen- year old roadside philosopher thought as for the umpteenth time “Stewball” Stu left me by the side of Albemarle Road and rode off into the Olde Saco night with his latest “hot” honey, fifteen year old teen queen Sally Sullivan.
Ya, Stewball Stu was nothing but an old rum-dum, a nineteen year old rum-dum, except he had that “boss” girl-magnet ’57 cherry red Chevy (painted that color by Stu himself) and he had his pick of the litter in the Olde Saco, maybe all of Maine, night. By the way Stu’s official name, was Stuart Stewart, go figure, but don’t call him Stuart and definitely do not call him “Stewball” not if you want to live long enough not to have the word teen as part of your age. The Stewball thing was strictly for local boys, jealous local boys like me, who when around Stu always could detect a whiff of liquor, usually cheap jack Southern Comfort, on his breathe, day or night.
Figure this too. How does a guy who lives out on Tobacco Road in an old run-down trailer, half-trailer really, from about World War II that looked like something out of some old-time Hooverville scene, complete with scrawny dog, and tires and cannibalized car leavings every which way have girls, and nothing but good-looking girls from twelve to twenty (nothing older because as Stu says, anything older was a woman and he wants nothing to do with women, and their women’s needs, whatever they are)? And the rest of us get his leavings, or like tonight left on the side of Route One? And get this, they, the girls from twelve to twenty actually walk over to Tobacco Road from nice across the other side of the tracks homes like on Atlantic Avenue and Fifth Street, sometimes by themselves and sometime in packs just to smell the grease, booze, burnt rubber, and assorted other odd-ball smells that come for free at Stu’s so-called garage/trailer.
Let me tell you about Stu, Sally, and me tonight and this will definitely clue you in to the Stu-madness of the be-bop Olde Saco girl night. First of all, as usual, it is strictly Stu and me starting out. Usually, like today, I hang around his garage on Saturdays to get away from my own hell-house up the road and I am kind of Stu’s unofficial mascot. Now Stu had been working all day on his dual-exhaust carburetor or something, so his denims are greasy, his white tee-shirt (sic) is nothing but wet with perspiration and oil stains, he hasn’t taken a bath since Tuesday (he told me that himself with some sense of pride) and he was not planning to do so this night, and of course, drinking all day from his silver Southern Comfort flask he reeked of alcohol (but don’t tell him that if you read this and are from Olde Saco because, honestly, I want to live to have twenty–something as my age). About 7:00 PM he bellows out to me, cigarette hanging from his mouth, a Lucky, let’s go cruising.
Well, cruising means nothing but taking that be-bop ’57 cherry red Chevy out on East Grand and look. Look for girls, look for boys from the hicks with bad-ass cars who want to take a chance on beating Stu at the “chicken run” down at the flats on the far end of Sagamore Beach, look for something to take the edge off the hunger to be somebody number one. At least that last is what I figured after a few of these cruises with Stu. Tonight it looks like girls from the way he put some of that grease (no not car grease, hair-oil stuff) on his nappy hair. Yes, I am definitely looking forward to cruising tonight once I have that sign because, usually whatever girl Stu might not want, or maybe there are a couple of extras, or something I get first dibs. Ya, Stu is righteous like that.
So off we go, stopping at my house first so I can get a little cleaned up and put on a new shirt and tell my brother to tell our mother that I will be back later, maybe much later, if she ever gets home herself before I do. The cruising routine in Olde Saco means up and down Route One (okay, okay Main Street), checking out the lesser spots (Darby’s Pizza Palace, Hank’s Ice Cream joint, the Colonial Donut Shoppe where I hang during the week after school and which serves a lot more stuff than donuts and coffee, sandwiches and stuff, and so on). Nothing much this Saturday. So we head right away for the mecca, Jimmy John’s. As we hit Stu’s “saved” parking spot just in front I can see that several stray girls are eyeing the old car, eyeing it like tonight is the night, tonight is the night Stu, kind of, sort of, maybe notices them (and I, my heart starting to race a little in anticipation and glad that I stopped off at my house, got a clean shirt, and put some deodorant on and guzzled some mouthwash, am feeling tonight is the night too).
But tonight is not the night, no way. Not for me, not for those knees-trembling girls. Why? No sooner did we park than Sally Sullivan came strolling (okay I don’t know if she was strolling or doo-wopping but she was swaying in such a sexy way that I knew she meant business, that she was looking for something in the Olde Saco night and that she had “found” it) out to Stu’s Chevy and with no ifs, ands, or buts asked, asked Stu straight if he was doing anything this night. Let me explain before I tell you what Stu’s answer was that this Sally Sullivan is nothing but a sex kitten, maybe innocent-looking, but definitely has half the boys, hell maybe all the boys at Olde Saco High, including a lot of the guys on the football team drooling over her. I know, because I have had more than one sleepless night over her. See, she is in my English class and because Mr. Murphy let’s us sit where we want I usually sit with a good view of her. So Stu says, kind of off-handedly, like having the town teen fox come hinter on him was a daily occurrence, says kind of lewdly, “Well, baby I am if you want to go down Sagamore Rocks right now and look for dolphins?” See, Sagamore Rocks is nothing but the local lovers’ lane here and “looking for dolphins” is the way everybody, every teenage everybody in town says “going all the way,” having sex for the clueless. And Sally, as you can guess if you have been following my story said, “Yes” just like that. At that s why I was dumped, unceremoniously dumped, at my street while they roared off into the night. So like I said not every “boss” car owner is god’s gift to women, not by a long shot. Or maybe they are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHG5-GxI_Es
Click on the headline to link to a YouTube film clip of Chuck Berry performing his classic School Day to give a flavor of the times to this piece
CD Review
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Era: 1957, various artists, Time-Life Music, 1987
Scene: Brought to mind by the cover artwork that graces the front of the booklet that accompanies this CD. The artwork contains, in full James Dean-imitation pout, one good-looking, DA-quaffed, white muscle-shirted young man, an alienated young man, no question, leaning, leaning gently, very gently, arms folded, on the hood of his 1950’s classic automobile, clearly not his father’s car, but also clearly for our purposes let us call it his “baby.”
And that car, that extension of his young manhood, his young alienated manhood, is Friday night, Saturday night, or maybe a weekday night if it is summer, parked (priority parked, meaning nobody with some Nash Rambler, nobody with some foreign Volkswagen, no biker even , in short, nobody except somebody who is tougher, a lot tougher, than our alienated young man better breathe on the spot while he is within fifty miles of the place) directly in front of the local teenage (alienated or not) "hot spot." And in 1950s’ America, a teenage America with some disposal income (allowance, okay), that hot spot is likely to be, as here, the all-night Mel’s (or Joe’s, Adventure Car-Hop, whatever) drive-in restaurant opened to cater to the hot dog, hamburger, French fries, barbecued chicken cravings of exhausted youth. Youth exhausted after a hard night, well, let’s just call it a hard night and leave the rest to your knowing imagination, or their parents’ evil imaginations.
And in front of the restaurant, in front of that leaned-on “boss” automobile stands one teenage girl vision. One blondish, pony-tailed, midnight sun-glassed, must be a California great American West night teeny-bopper girl holding an ice cream soda after her night’s work. The work that we are leaving to fertile (or evil, as the case may be) imaginations. Although from the pout on Johnny’s (of course he has to be a Johnny, with that car) face maybe he “flunked out” but that is a story for somebody else to tell. Here’s mine.
********
Not everybody, not everybody by a long-shot, who had a “boss” ’57 cherry red Chevy was some kind of god’s gift to the earth; good-looking, good clothes, dough in his pocket, money for gas and extras, money for the inevitable end of the night stop at Jimmy John’s Drive-In restaurant for burgers and fries (and Coke, with ice, of course) before taking the date home after a hard night of tumbling and stumbling (mainly stumbling). At least that is what one Joshua Breslin, Josh, me, freshly minted fifteen- year old roadside philosopher thought as for the umpteenth time “Stewball” Stu left me by the side of Albemarle Road and rode off into the Olde Saco night with his latest “hot” honey, fifteen year old teen queen Sally Sullivan.
Ya, Stewball Stu was nothing but an old rum-dum, a nineteen year old rum-dum, except he had that “boss” girl-magnet ’57 cherry red Chevy (painted that color by Stu himself) and he had his pick of the litter in the Olde Saco, maybe all of Maine, night. By the way Stu’s official name, was Stuart Stewart, go figure, but don’t call him Stuart and definitely do not call him “Stewball” not if you want to live long enough not to have the word teen as part of your age. The Stewball thing was strictly for local boys, jealous local boys like me, who when around Stu always could detect a whiff of liquor, usually cheap jack Southern Comfort, on his breathe, day or night.
Figure this too. How does a guy who lives out on Tobacco Road in an old run-down trailer, half-trailer really, from about World War II that looked like something out of some old-time Hooverville scene, complete with scrawny dog, and tires and cannibalized car leavings every which way have girls, and nothing but good-looking girls from twelve to twenty (nothing older because as Stu says, anything older was a woman and he wants nothing to do with women, and their women’s needs, whatever they are)? And the rest of us get his leavings, or like tonight left on the side of Route One? And get this, they, the girls from twelve to twenty actually walk over to Tobacco Road from nice across the other side of the tracks homes like on Atlantic Avenue and Fifth Street, sometimes by themselves and sometime in packs just to smell the grease, booze, burnt rubber, and assorted other odd-ball smells that come for free at Stu’s so-called garage/trailer.
Let me tell you about Stu, Sally, and me tonight and this will definitely clue you in to the Stu-madness of the be-bop Olde Saco girl night. First of all, as usual, it is strictly Stu and me starting out. Usually, like today, I hang around his garage on Saturdays to get away from my own hell-house up the road and I am kind of Stu’s unofficial mascot. Now Stu had been working all day on his dual-exhaust carburetor or something, so his denims are greasy, his white tee-shirt (sic) is nothing but wet with perspiration and oil stains, he hasn’t taken a bath since Tuesday (he told me that himself with some sense of pride) and he was not planning to do so this night, and of course, drinking all day from his silver Southern Comfort flask he reeked of alcohol (but don’t tell him that if you read this and are from Olde Saco because, honestly, I want to live to have twenty–something as my age). About 7:00 PM he bellows out to me, cigarette hanging from his mouth, a Lucky, let’s go cruising.
Well, cruising means nothing but taking that be-bop ’57 cherry red Chevy out on East Grand and look. Look for girls, look for boys from the hicks with bad-ass cars who want to take a chance on beating Stu at the “chicken run” down at the flats on the far end of Sagamore Beach, look for something to take the edge off the hunger to be somebody number one. At least that last is what I figured after a few of these cruises with Stu. Tonight it looks like girls from the way he put some of that grease (no not car grease, hair-oil stuff) on his nappy hair. Yes, I am definitely looking forward to cruising tonight once I have that sign because, usually whatever girl Stu might not want, or maybe there are a couple of extras, or something I get first dibs. Ya, Stu is righteous like that.
So off we go, stopping at my house first so I can get a little cleaned up and put on a new shirt and tell my brother to tell our mother that I will be back later, maybe much later, if she ever gets home herself before I do. The cruising routine in Olde Saco means up and down Route One (okay, okay Main Street), checking out the lesser spots (Darby’s Pizza Palace, Hank’s Ice Cream joint, the Colonial Donut Shoppe where I hang during the week after school and which serves a lot more stuff than donuts and coffee, sandwiches and stuff, and so on). Nothing much this Saturday. So we head right away for the mecca, Jimmy John’s. As we hit Stu’s “saved” parking spot just in front I can see that several stray girls are eyeing the old car, eyeing it like tonight is the night, tonight is the night Stu, kind of, sort of, maybe notices them (and I, my heart starting to race a little in anticipation and glad that I stopped off at my house, got a clean shirt, and put some deodorant on and guzzled some mouthwash, am feeling tonight is the night too).
But tonight is not the night, no way. Not for me, not for those knees-trembling girls. Why? No sooner did we park than Sally Sullivan came strolling (okay I don’t know if she was strolling or doo-wopping but she was swaying in such a sexy way that I knew she meant business, that she was looking for something in the Olde Saco night and that she had “found” it) out to Stu’s Chevy and with no ifs, ands, or buts asked, asked Stu straight if he was doing anything this night. Let me explain before I tell you what Stu’s answer was that this Sally Sullivan is nothing but a sex kitten, maybe innocent-looking, but definitely has half the boys, hell maybe all the boys at Olde Saco High, including a lot of the guys on the football team drooling over her. I know, because I have had more than one sleepless night over her. See, she is in my English class and because Mr. Murphy let’s us sit where we want I usually sit with a good view of her. So Stu says, kind of off-handedly, like having the town teen fox come hinter on him was a daily occurrence, says kind of lewdly, “Well, baby I am if you want to go down Sagamore Rocks right now and look for dolphins?” See, Sagamore Rocks is nothing but the local lovers’ lane here and “looking for dolphins” is the way everybody, every teenage everybody in town says “going all the way,” having sex for the clueless. And Sally, as you can guess if you have been following my story said, “Yes” just like that. At that s why I was dumped, unceremoniously dumped, at my street while they roared off into the night. So like I said not every “boss” car owner is god’s gift to women, not by a long shot. Or maybe they are.
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