Oakland

Melbourne

Bloomberg “I have my own private army in the NYPD which is the seventh biggest army in the world.”  Olbermann segment.

Occupy Greece 

Riot Dog

Now famous Pepper Spray at UC Davis

A montage

Occupy Oakland’s media site http://hellaoccupyoakland.org/

Occupy Oakland’s information site  http://occupyoakland.org/

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.

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!

Links regarding NDAA:

A piece by Mother Jones   http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/12/white-house-caves-veto-threat

Montanans launch recall of senators who approved NDAA  http://salem-news.com/articles/december252011/ndaa-recall.php

Democracy Now!  http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/19/obama_prepares_to_authorize_indefinite_detention

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.

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?

Occupy Dame Street Oct. 15, We are the 99%

Tours of Occupy Dame Street at the Central Bank

The Crazy Ones?

Kitchen chores

Occupy Dame Street Mic checks bank

Matthew sings Live

Folks old and young

Somethings Happening here….

Some mainstream media?

and the Irish Times

rte

Occupying the Dept of Agriculture on budget day

Fingals channel on the tubes of you   http://www.youtube.com/user/TheFingals

Dame Street Livestreams  at  http://www.livestream.com/occupydamestreet

Occupy Dame Street  site  http://www.occupydamestreet.org/

Check Occupy Oakland’s livestream for coverage on Dec. 12.    http://www.livestream.com/occupyoakland

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.

http://www.ustream.tv/theother99

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

http://www.oakfosho.com/

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.

http://www.livestream.com/occupydamestreetIn

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

You can even jump from livestream to livestream with chats at  http://occupystream.com/

Travel across the states and europe without enduring TSA.

For information on Europe’s livestreams:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WY3Y4kGnrUV6cEdpqs46R_gOQynCmiwEExBwnrJvKI0/edit?pli=1#

http://www.livestream.com/guide/search?search_tag=occupy%20together

Ustream  http://www.ustream.tv/

Livestream   http://www.livestream.com/

~ click the image above for more information and images~

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.

What the heck does that mean?

In part, it means this:

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.

We are all connected.