Since the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement the police have emerged in a certain negative light around the world. From Athens to New York City to Melbourne and beyond Police have faced off with protestors in ways that have nothing to do with the images commonly seen on American crime drama television shows. Some have a penchant for pepper spray, others for smashing people into the ground, and some for teargas. It’s been ugly in Oakland, Boston, New York, Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, London, Liverpool and other cities around the world. If you haven’t seen the police in action then blame your mainstream television stations and newspapers. Much can be found on youtube and on the sites of the occupy camps. Oakland now has a weekly Saturday night protest against police brutality. Get the feeling something has gone a bit wrong somewhere along the line? When did the police become the private army of the mayor of New York City–or any city? Who do the police now protect and serve? Here are just a few examples of police action what were originally seen live via livestreams online—yes, livestreams not via your television screens.
Oakland
Melbourne
Bloomberg “I have my own private army in the NYPD which is the seventh biggest army in the world.” Olbermann segment.
By now you’ve probably heard something about the action by John Huppenthal, the superintendent of Public Instruction in Arizona to shut down the Mexican American Studies Program in the Tucson School District. If not, there’s plenty of coverage online for getting up to speed fast, including a ‘debate’ on Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/2012/1/18/debating_tucson_school_districts_book_ban between Huppenthal and Richard Martinez, the lawyer for students and teachers who wish to retain the Mexican Studies Program. You’ll probably want to supplement this coverage but it is good for seeing and hearing John Huppenthal speak for himself ‘live.’ Make sure whatever you toss at his mug on your computer monitor is easily cleaned off the screen and keyboard. Dry spit balls might be a good choice. O damn, my bias is showing, isn’t it? Well, I’m not a supposedly neutral reporter so who gives a spit.
Let’s kickoff with a quote by John Huppenthal (source: Democracy Now! link):
“If all you’re teaching these students is one viewpoint, one dimension, we can readily see that it’s not an accurate history, it’s not an education at all. It’s not teaching these kids to think critically,” Huppenthal says, “but instead it’s an indoctrination.”
Well, excuse me, but is this not precisely what has been done in American schools across the country with every corporate produced history textbook imposed upon every teacher and student in America ever since the school textbook industry got its biased fingers into the realm of education? Now the Mexican American Studies Program in Tucson challenges that corporate textbook industry indoctrination and guess what, the oppressors act with more oppression to impose their perspective again. Is that not what this action in Tucson amounts to? It it not more oppression? It this not totalitarianism in action? John Huppenthal wants his brand of indoctrination in full force in Tucson–and he’s not alone. Apparently he’d got buds who write laws to suit his ends. Yeah, a new law is what Huppenthal is using to get rid of the Mexican American Studies Program that has been running for 13 years. Isn’t that nifty? Don’t like something so write a ‘law’ against it. What a way to USE the system, Mr Huppenthanl. Oh and Huppenthal also employed blackmail to get the school district to comply–do what The Huppenthal demands or lose millions. Wow, what incredible lessons the Mexican American students are learning with every move The Huppenthal makes. Seriously, this is priceless instruction in how oppressors operate. Who needs a textbook when there’s The Huppenthal making headlines around the world with his assault on the Mexican America Studies Program? As for instruction in Oppression–well, when books are removed from school courses and school libraries because they’re deemed ‘illegal’ what more could you ask for regarding direct instruction in how the oppressors attempt to control information? Guess where I’m going with this next? Yeah, forbidden fruits are the sweetest are they not?
Chicano! The History of the Mexican Civil Right Movement by Arturo Rosales
Critical Race Theory by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic
500 Hundred Years of Chicano History in Pictures by Elizabeth Martinez
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos by Dr. Rodolfo Acuna
Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years ed by Bill Bigelow
Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Read these books and discover what John Huppenthanl fears, besides Karl Marx. I was a tad baffled by The Tempest at first, but then it came to me–exile, dissent, oppression etc. Yeah, can’t have that play giving anyone IDEAS now can we? O Will, what sensitive fingers you had on the pulse of the people . . .. If real freedom of the mind is important then we need to find ways to support the students and teachers of the Tucson School District and their Mexican American Studies Program. One way would be to donate the funds that they’d be penalized by NOT suspending the program. Hence taking the ‘teeth’ out of The Huppenthal’s blackmail. Alas I do not have millions to make such a gift. Nor, I suspect does anyone reading this spit ball counter-attack. What we can do is READ the books being denied the students of the Tucson School District and thereby educate ourselves about their history. By doing so we stand in solidarity against The Huppenthals everywhere. Today its Mexican Americans. Yesterday the Japanese were sent to interment camps in the USA. In 1492 Columbus began the rape of the New World. The perspective of the oppressed is not pleasant to step into–but it’s part of the reality of America and should not be denied.
Hello everyone to whom I’ve been AWOL for so long. Just have been pre-occupied with streams of Occupy online and other things offline. Hope everyone is well and is surviving whatever winter is throwing your way weatherwise. It’s COLD here but nothing to complain about. Looking forward to visiting many blogcasas very soon. Something that came up in a recent occupy livestream chat was the lack of comprehension of word ‘play’ on the part of many Americans. Apparently our educational system offers NO appreciation of the finer points of the English language and hence our sense of humor is stunted by our lack of appreciation for clever turns of phrases. Some of you poets will probably beg to differ on this account. But–believe me it is a valid a concern time and time again in many occupy chats where random segments of the global population consort daily. Some humor simply does not come across well in text. Others fail to comprehend multiple meanings of words. And there are many forms of self-expression from individual communities that take time and patience to decipher. This goes beyond the texting genre. Though that also comes into play in the chat stream in various incarnations. Best thing to do when at a loss is to ask for definitions–some are obvious, some bewildering and others very enlightening and useful. It’s an ongoing exercise in communication on a global level. So–when I use the word “wicked” to herald the new year –I have a variety of meanings and associations with “wicked” that vary from slang to formal dictionary traditional meanings–very cool and wonderful to downright evil. While hoping 2012 is indeed a wonderful and exciting new year for everyone in all the possible positive ways this is tempered with the awareness of the president signing the National Defence Authorization Act on New Years Eve when many people were paying NO attention to this potentially evil little legislative ‘delight’. So–while every ‘new’ year brims with creative positive potential it also brims with all sorts of new negative hatchings as well. And so it goes…..
For the moment–Chocolate truffles for everyone! But don’t you dare fall asleep under the table this new year or there may be hell to pay……. Mic Check!
Doing an internet search of NDAA ought to bring you up to speed fairly quickly. You might want to have your favorite libations or comfort foods handy while discovering what’s happened.
A continuing complaint about the Occupy Movement is lack of focus and vague demands. Apparently some folks are hearing impaired and have serious trouble reading. Maybe that’s due to the lackluster education system in America? Or is it selective hearing and intellectual denial? Indeed none of this fits well into 30 second mainstream news coverage soundbites. Probably because the issues are too big and complex and hence mainstream news mentality FAILS dramatically with anything requiring their attention beyond 5 minutes viewing span. It’s clear many people still think this movement is a ‘joke’ that will vanish with winter snows and freezing temperatures. Well, even if the symbolic tents do disappear via snow or police action–the people involved have not and they will not be invisible nor silent — even if corporate controlled mainstream media continues their puppet plays.
While much protest music has come from the past, for example, John Lennon’s “Imagine”, there are new songs being written too.
Recorded LIVE at Occupy Dame Street, Dublin, Ireland December 10, 2011 “Foreign Lands” by Matthew. Thanks to Liam of The Fingals channel, for the video.
To protest the recent Budget Cuts on the backs of the people who did not create the continually swelling economic disaster The Spectacle of Defiance and Hope filled Dame Street with scarlet in many forms–including spoken word.
Spectacle march and proclamation
Temper Mental Miss Elayneous held nothing back on December 3, 2011.
Confused? Maybe Curly can help clear up a concept or two.
If that doesn’t work maybe Peadar O hlci ‘s song “Occupy Public Spaces” will do the trick.
Recently a “pigeon” delivered a letter of Solidarity to Occupy Dame Street from Occupy Philly. So it seems fitting to connect this post about Occupy Dame Street with a tip of the tubes to Occupy Philly with their fierce Foreclosure of Wells Fargo on November 18, 2011. If this action had aired LIVE on any television station in Philly as it did on Livestream—how could anyone who suffered foreclosure in Philly not have joined Occupy Philly at Wells Fargo?
Oh yeah, they stayed! And look who WAS watching:
That’s not an American accent, is it? O my, Occupy unites the world?
All day, every day Occupy Dame Street kettles the Central Bank in Dublin, Ireland. The camp receives postal mail at Occupy Dame Street, Central Bank, Dame Street, Dublin 2, Ireland. The garda help keep the drunks out of the occupy camp. Sweeny’s Pub provides laptop charging. Other businesses donate food, including a steady stream of CAKE. Yes, you read that right, CAKE. In case you thought occupy only occupies in America here is an introduction to an occupy in Ireland. The Emerald Isle also has economic and environmental woes. Yes the Irish march and protest too. Though you might not believe that if you trust your television news.
Yes, folks this is for real. Port Shutdown is coming all along the entire West Coast of the USA. The mainstream media may decline to cover it. The city mayors may try to prevent it. No talking heads will announce it on your local news stations. But Occupy Oakland’s action in Solidarity with the Longshoremen has been agreed upon from Anchorage to LA and beyond. This major mic check direct action fully intends to fly.
If you’re wondering what the ongoing “occupy” movement is doing and have noticed that mainstream media news isn’t clearing up any confusion but adding to it instead, don’t despair. There is a cure–it’s the news coming direct and live from the streets of America, London, Greece, Ireland, Canada and around the world. This is not objective, nice or neatly packaged media footage that has been edited to fit a television time slot. It’s real-time with real people dealing with real issues. There are no professional talking heads in this new news media. But there is often plenty of talk to be had–good, bad and ugly all swirling together in a stew of information unlike anything on your television. The people who bring this news online are not suited or hairbrushed fashion plates. Personal imagery is not their priority. Catching the action and information as it comes down the pipe is their goal. No one is paid. These are volunteer journalists from the grassroots. It’s not all 24/7. It’s not pretty. It’s not spin. It’s just what’s happening folks. Often it’s downright messy. Sometimes the police get violent.
Here a few of those who stream news from the concrete streets. This is only a sampling of the folks out there using their phones, laptops and cameras who contribute to the new news evolving right now:
Tim Pool of “we are the other 99%” tirelessly follows the occupy action on the streets of New York City. Appreciative local NYC viewers bring him umbrellas, gloves, food and coffee while he is on a streaming mission with occupy wall street actions. Pool is cool-headed, gives good commentary, has a great eye for the scene and seems to have the endurance of a marathon runner.
On the west coast Spencer Mills aka OakFoSho has been covering the occupy action in Oakland. During his recent stream from LA he shared his decision to quit his job in order to try to cover as much of the west coast occupy movement action on the coast as possible. OakFoSho makes no apologies for his NON violent stance or bias. He seems to have a penchant for chatting up the police whenever possible. One might wish he’d keep a safer distance from the riot gears at times. He has brand spanking new site compliments of a friends web effort at
Oakland is also livestreamed at http://www.livestream.com/occupyoakland by the one and only Jahrastafari and/or legind. And OakFoSho’s ustream is also featured. Most Occupy locations have their own media livestream crews: Seattle, Toronto, NYC, Portland, Nashville, London, Auckland, Los Angeles et al. And each one has its very own flavor. This is real diversity in media.
On the morning of Oakland’s first raid in Oscar Grant Plaza the ONLY news coverage of any kind came from Punkboy streaming via his phone. His efforts got him into the press conference held that day where even the mainstream press tried to ask hard questions like “How is Oakland going to pay for all this police action?” The reply was less than adequate. Those of us who watched that morning thank Officer Bolton for finding Punkboy on the street outside city hall and getting him into the not open to the general public press conference.
In Dublin, Ireland currently one man, Irelandseyes, does marathon livestreams from Dame Street. From the Occupy camp that kettles the Central Bank come scenes of the street, marches, music, and endless talk of the Irish. So far the gardra and local businesses have been very good to Occupy Dame Street. Even the security garda in the 24/7 McDonalds, Moses, has been willing to greet the livestream chatters while Irelandseyes ”recharges.” Other Irish occupy camps are in the process of setting up livestreams and ustreams: Cork, Waterford, Galway, Tipperary.
Athens Greece there is the ever energetic voice of multilingual George and his cohorts of StopCarteltv-Gr. When the streets Athens were full of protestors and tear gas, the StopCarteltv crew was in the midst of it all, including the tear gas. They also covered the protest occupation of Greece’s Electric Company when the government told the company to start collecting a new surcharge tax. Their coverage is ongoing and ever evolving on issues. Also, George will get to English at some point in his commentary at http://www.livestream.com/stopcarteltvgr
What can I say? Olbermann is just so good at scoring direct hits that it’s downright spooky. Who is occupying whose mind here? Olbermann mine or me Olbermann’s? It doesn’t really matter because the bottom line is that we’re on target when it comes to The Billionaire Bloom of New York City and his handling of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Heck, even NPR said at one point that it wouldn’t cover OWS unless there was violence involved. Gee, that must have been Mayor Bloomberg’s cue card to show his secret support for the people pointing fingers at the folks who destroyed the economy. Nothing else makes sense, does it? Why else would The Bloom march out New York’s finest to deal with peaceful protestors every chance he gets? With every confrontational step he takes, The Bloom aids and abets the very folks certain big banks want to banish into the pits of debt slavery of all ilks. A huge round of applause is due The Bloom for preventing the occupiers from becoming complacent in Liberty Park and encouraging everyone into the streets. According to one NYPD estimate 32,000 people accepted the mayor’s latest invitation to stomp through the streets and across the Brooklyn Bridge. Kudus to The Bloom for revealing the very uncomfortable reality of the world in which we are living.
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Do you get the feeling something serious is going on here? Just for a moment let concpets of positive social evolution occupy your mind. Just one moment at a time is fine. Really, everyone moves at their own pace–even the one percent like The Bloom.
The following videos offer video information of the Tar Sands Action at the White House on November 6, the Ottawa action (video just recently posted on YouTube) and an older segment from Democracy Now! which offers an introduction to the issue and the ongoing Indigenous struggle. Approximately 12,000 people surrounded the White House three lines deep–and other buildings to express disapproval of the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline which President Obama can veto all by himself. If you saw live coverage of this protest on your television please post a comment stating which station, where, and when.
Much appreciation to the Livestreams of Occupy Oakland and Global for sharing the LIVE Tar Sands Actions video feed with their viewers as soon as they learned of the protest. Thanks to the Occupy DC KSt media team for expanding LIVE coverage of the protest by going mobile with their own equipment. The combined efforts brought the Tar Sands Action viewership to approximately 3,000 people online via the Livestream media.
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