OCCUPY WALL STREET

[nowandthen]

https://www.facebook.com/index.php?l...50510640029018

5 Tips for White Allies* in the Occupy Movement
by W Mae Singerman on Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 12:10pm

Pay attention to who is talking in working groups: Speak less. Take on a role of supporting the development of people of color (POC) leadership in your group. Use progressive stack: a tool that encourages those who are traditionally marginalized to speak more often. Regularly discuss how to make the group more accessible for POC and how to get the group more involved in struggles that affect POC. Research and propose anti-oppression training for the group.

Listen from love: If a person of color tells you that they’ve experienced racism, listen to them. A negative experience that doesn’t seem like a big deal to you could be a very big deal for someone who feels marginalized at Occupy. It may be the last straw before they decide not to come back. Focus on listening and supporting the person; ask if there is any way you can help.

Share information and resources: Don’t assume that everyone knows the terms, acronyms and history of the Occupy Movement. Likewise, do not assume that anyone doesn't know. If you start a conversation with anyone who is new, make an effort to answer questions, spell out acronyms and lead them to information sources. People, especially those who feel marginalized, will be relieved that someone cares about plugging them in.

Make it clear when there is a risk of arrest: If there is a risk of arrest, let people know. The legal system is much harder on POC; mistakes can even mean deportation for undocumented immigrants. When promoting an event, be open about if arrest is a potential. If you hear people pressuring anyone to risk arrest, let everyone know that there are many valuable roles people choose to play. Arrest does not have to be one of them.

Support POC created events: Attend these events! At events organized by POC, focus on listening. Don’t jump in the spotlight. Be alert for white people who might be rude or aggressive at the event. If possible, ask them to stop their behavior and give them more information about the purpose of the event. Have this conversation away from the event, so they don’t disrupt it any further.

*Allies are people who recognize the unearned privilege they receive from society’s patterns of injustice and take responsibility for changing these patterns. Allies include men who work to end sexism, white people who work to end racism, heterosexual people who work to end heterosexism, able-bodied people who work to end ableism, and so on.

[tazz]

i think this link says a thousand words about the ppl of Oakland. i really like it.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/occupy...cleanup/nFT4s/

[Cin]

37 Giant Corporations Paid 0 in Taxes Last Year -- Who Are the Cheats?

Most Americans can rightfully complain, ‘I pay more federal income taxes than General Electric, Boeing, DuPont, Wells Fargo, Verizon, etc., etc., all put together.’

November 3, 2011 |

In 2010, Verizon reported an annual profit of nearly $12 billion. The statutory federal corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, so theoretically, Verizon should have owed the IRS around $4.2 billlion. Instead, according to figures compiled by the Center for Tax Justice, the company actually boasted a negative tax liability of $703 million. Verizon ended up making even more money after it calculated its taxes.

Verizon is hardly alone, and isn’t even close to being the worst offender. Perhaps most famously, General Electric raked in $10.5 billion in profit in 2010, yet ended up reporting $4.7 billion worth of negative taxes. The worst offender in 2010, as measured by its overall negative tax rate, was Pepco, the electricity utility that serves Washington, D.C. Pepco reported profits of $882 million in 2010, and negative taxes of $508 million — a negative tax rate of 57.6 percent.

Altogether, according to “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers 2008-10,” a blockbuster new report put together by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that will have you reaching for your hypertension medicine before you finish reading the third page, 37 of the United States’ biggest corporations paid zero taxes in 2010. The list is a blue-chip roll-call.

As the authors acidly note, “Most Americans can rightfully complain, ‘I pay more federal income taxes than General Electric, Boeing, DuPont, Wells Fargo, Verizon, etc., etc., all put together.’ That’s an unacceptable situation.”

The “high taxation” lie

Reading through this report, you will find yourself seized by an irresistible desire to hurl yourself headlong into the nearest OccupyYourLocalCity protest. In an era of crushing government deficits and mass unemployment, corporate America is not only skating blissfully free of its civic responsibilities, but continues to complain that it is paying too much in taxes. Even worse: Congressional Republicans and many Democrats agree! Listening to our politicians talk, you would imagine that corporate America’s neck is permanently under the tax man’s steel-tipped boot. When, in fact, the exact opposite is the truth.

The list of companies that paid zero taxes is only the beginning of the travesties documented by the report. The authors looked at the tax filings from 2008-2010 of 280 of the nation’s biggest, most successful corporations. These companies reported $1.4 trillion worth of profit during a period when most Americans were struggling to stay afloat. The authors discovered that the average effective tax rate — what the companies really paid after government subsidies, tax breaks and various tax dodges were taken into account — was only 18.5 percent, less than half the statutory rate. Fully a quarter of the 280 companies paid under 10 percent.

Remember that fact, the next time someone tries to tell you that American corporations pay the highest income taxes in the free world. The only number that counts is the “effective tax rate.” One of the interesting tidbits provided by the authors is that in many cases, the tax rate on foreign income for many of these companies is actually higher than the effective U.S. rate.

The most distressing part of the tale is the big picture: The overall trend line is pointed in exactly the wrong direction. If you break out just the years 2009-2010, the effective tax rate was 17.3 percent. “In 2008, 22 companies paid no federal income tax, and got $3.3 billion in tax rebates. In 2010, 37 companies paid no income tax, and got $7.8 billion in rebates.” When measured as a percentage of total GDP, over the last three fiscal years, “total corporate income tax payments fell to only 1.16 percent of the GDP … a new sustained record low since World War II.

Corporate taxes paid for more than a quarter of federal outlays in the 1950s and a fifth in the 1960s. They began to decline during the Nixon administration, yet even by the second half of the 1990s, corporate taxes still covered 11 percent of the cost of federal programs. But in fiscal 2010, corporate taxes paid for a mere 6 percent of the federal government’s expenses.

How have these companies managed to cut their tax liabilities so far? The answer includes a mixture of targeted tax breaks that impact specific industries or companies, accounting games that corporations play with stock options, and sweeping adjustments to tax law such as changes in the rules in how companies can write off the value of depreciating equipment. The accounting rules for so-called accelerated depreciation are now so accommodating that companies can write off 75 percent of the cost of new equipment immediately.

A look at the list of the 10 corporations receiving the biggest tax-subsidy breaks from the U.S. government will defeat the ameliorating effects of anymedication: Wells Fargo, AT&T, Verizon Communications, General Electric, International Business Machines, Exxon Mobil, Boeing, PNC Financial Services Group, Goldman Sachs Group, and Procter & Gamble. “56 percent of tax subsidies,” write the authors, “went to four industries: financial, utilities, telecom, oil/gas/pipeline.”

The companies that pay

However, not all companies are tax dodgers. Of the 280 companies analyzed by the authors, about 25 percent of the total paid close to the statutory rate, a little over 30 percent. But there’s no rhyme or reason to who pays or who doesn’t.

DuPont and Monsanto both produce chemicals. But over the 2008-10 period, Monsanto paid 22 percent of its profits in U.S. corporate income taxes, while DuPont actually paid a negative tax rate of –3.4 percent. Department store chain Macy’s paid a three-year rate of 12.1 percent, while competing chain Nordstrom’s paid 37.1 percent. In computer technology, Hewlett-Packard paid 3.7 of its three-year U.S. profits in federal income taxes, while Texas Instruments paid 33.5 percent. FedEx paid 0.9 percent over three years, while its competitor United Parcel Service paid 24.1 percent.

The authors conclude on a wistful note, with a list of what Washington could do to bring sense and reason to corporate taxation, while providing the government with desperately needed revenue. But as the authors themselves readily acknowledge, their recommendations exist in an alternate universe from the one that we actually happen to live in.

Unfortunately, corporate tax legislation now being promoted by many in Congress seems stuck on the idea that as a group, corporations are now either paying the perfect amount in federal income taxes or are paying too much. Many members of the tax writing committees in Congress seem intent on making changes that would actually make it easier (and more lucrative) for companies to shift taxable profits, and potentially jobs, overseas. Meanwhile, GOP candidates for president are all promoting huge cuts in the corporate tax or, in several cases, even elimination of the corporate income tax entirely.

And that, ultimately, is the most enraging fact about the new report from the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. It won’t make a darn bit of difference.

[Cin]

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) appealed to the “Occupy Wall Street” movement to respond to state legislatures that have passed voting restrictions.

According to a recent report by the Brennan Center for Justice, changes to voting laws could suppress up to five million votes during the 2012 elections, particularly among young, minority and low-income voters, as well as those with disabilities.

“I hope and pray that the Occupy movement takes this voter suppression effort up as an issue of theirs,” he said.

“I’m not trying to invade on their prerogative, but I think it would be a very good idea as they fight for a greater level of justice in America, to think about how this voter suppression movement is trying to curtail their rights.”

This following is my opinion and not to be confused with the opinion of Rep Ellison.

I'm not one for changing the constitution but not having a clear statement in the constitution about a universal right to vote is a glaring problem. I think an amendment that gives all citizens the right to vote is necessary.

I also believe that elected officials, rather than concerning themselves with who individual citizens chose to partner with in their personal lives thereby defining marriage as only being between one man and one woman, I think they should focus on an amendment that will define citizenship as being between one human being and one government.

Citizenship should be a relationship that can only exist between a singular breathing individual sentient being and his or her government. Maybe a defense of human citizenship act.

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

37 Giant Corporations Paid 0 in Taxes Last Year -- Who Are the Cheats?

Most Americans can rightfully complain, ‘I pay more federal income taxes than General Electric, Boeing, DuPont, Wells Fargo, Verizon, etc., etc., all put together.’

November 3, 2011 |

In 2010, Verizon reported an annual profit of nearly $12 billion. The statutory federal corporate income tax rate is 35 percent, so theoretically, Verizon should have owed the IRS around $4.2 billlion. Instead, according to figures compiled by the Center for Tax Justice, the company actually boasted a negative tax liability of $703 million. Verizon ended up making even more money after it calculated its taxes.

Verizon is hardly alone, and isn’t even close to being the worst offender. Perhaps most famously, General Electric raked in $10.5 billion in profit in 2010, yet ended up reporting $4.7 billion worth of negative taxes. The worst offender in 2010, as measured by its overall negative tax rate, was Pepco, the electricity utility that serves Washington, D.C. Pepco reported profits of $882 million in 2010, and negative taxes of $508 million — a negative tax rate of 57.6 percent.

Altogether, according to “Corporate Taxpayers & Corporate Tax Dodgers 2008-10,” a blockbuster new report put together by the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy that will have you reaching for your hypertension medicine before you finish reading the third page, 37 of the United States’ biggest corporations paid zero taxes in 2010. The list is a blue-chip roll-call.

As the authors acidly note, “Most Americans can rightfully complain, ‘I pay more federal income taxes than General Electric, Boeing, DuPont, Wells Fargo, Verizon, etc., etc., all put together.’ That’s an unacceptable situation.”

The “high taxation” lie

Reading through this report, you will find yourself seized by an irresistible desire to hurl yourself headlong into the nearest OccupyYourLocalCity protest. In an era of crushing government deficits and mass unemployment, corporate America is not only skating blissfully free of its civic responsibilities, but continues to complain that it is paying too much in taxes. Even worse: Congressional Republicans and many Democrats agree! Listening to our politicians talk, you would imagine that corporate America’s neck is permanently under the tax man’s steel-tipped boot. When, in fact, the exact opposite is the truth.

The list of companies that paid zero taxes is only the beginning of the travesties documented by the report. The authors looked at the tax filings from 2008-2010 of 280 of the nation’s biggest, most successful corporations. These companies reported $1.4 trillion worth of profit during a period when most Americans were struggling to stay afloat. The authors discovered that the average effective tax rate — what the companies really paid after government subsidies, tax breaks and various tax dodges were taken into account — was only 18.5 percent, less than half the statutory rate. Fully a quarter of the 280 companies paid under 10 percent.

Remember that fact, the next time someone tries to tell you that American corporations pay the highest income taxes in the free world. The only number that counts is the “effective tax rate.” One of the interesting tidbits provided by the authors is that in many cases, the tax rate on foreign income for many of these companies is actually higher than the effective U.S. rate.

The most distressing part of the tale is the big picture: The overall trend line is pointed in exactly the wrong direction. If you break out just the years 2009-2010, the effective tax rate was 17.3 percent. “In 2008, 22 companies paid no federal income tax, and got $3.3 billion in tax rebates. In 2010, 37 companies paid no income tax, and got $7.8 billion in rebates.” When measured as a percentage of total GDP, over the last three fiscal years, “total corporate income tax payments fell to only 1.16 percent of the GDP … a new sustained record low since World War II.

Corporate taxes paid for more than a quarter of federal outlays in the 1950s and a fifth in the 1960s. They began to decline during the Nixon administration, yet even by the second half of the 1990s, corporate taxes still covered 11 percent of the cost of federal programs. But in fiscal 2010, corporate taxes paid for a mere 6 percent of the federal government’s expenses.

How have these companies managed to cut their tax liabilities so far? The answer includes a mixture of targeted tax breaks that impact specific industries or companies, accounting games that corporations play with stock options, and sweeping adjustments to tax law such as changes in the rules in how companies can write off the value of depreciating equipment. The accounting rules for so-called accelerated depreciation are now so accommodating that companies can write off 75 percent of the cost of new equipment immediately.

A look at the list of the 10 corporations receiving the biggest tax-subsidy breaks from the U.S. government will defeat the ameliorating effects of anymedication: Wells Fargo, AT&T, Verizon Communications, General Electric, International Business Machines, Exxon Mobil, Boeing, PNC Financial Services Group, Goldman Sachs Group, and Procter & Gamble. “56 percent of tax subsidies,” write the authors, “went to four industries: financial, utilities, telecom, oil/gas/pipeline.”

The companies that pay

However, not all companies are tax dodgers. Of the 280 companies analyzed by the authors, about 25 percent of the total paid close to the statutory rate, a little over 30 percent. But there’s no rhyme or reason to who pays or who doesn’t.

DuPont and Monsanto both produce chemicals. But over the 2008-10 period, Monsanto paid 22 percent of its profits in U.S. corporate income taxes, while DuPont actually paid a negative tax rate of –3.4 percent. Department store chain Macy’s paid a three-year rate of 12.1 percent, while competing chain Nordstrom’s paid 37.1 percent. In computer technology, Hewlett-Packard paid 3.7 of its three-year U.S. profits in federal income taxes, while Texas Instruments paid 33.5 percent. FedEx paid 0.9 percent over three years, while its competitor United Parcel Service paid 24.1 percent.

The authors conclude on a wistful note, with a list of what Washington could do to bring sense and reason to corporate taxation, while providing the government with desperately needed revenue. But as the authors themselves readily acknowledge, their recommendations exist in an alternate universe from the one that we actually happen to live in.

Unfortunately, corporate tax legislation now being promoted by many in Congress seems stuck on the idea that as a group, corporations are now either paying the perfect amount in federal income taxes or are paying too much. Many members of the tax writing committees in Congress seem intent on making changes that would actually make it easier (and more lucrative) for companies to shift taxable profits, and potentially jobs, overseas. Meanwhile, GOP candidates for president are all promoting huge cuts in the corporate tax or, in several cases, even elimination of the corporate income tax entirely.

And that, ultimately, is the most enraging fact about the new report from the Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. It won’t make a darn bit of difference.

i'm not sure how other companies get around it but i know that GE has a financial arm to it's business which deals with lending money in some aspect or financing in some way. which is why they paid no taxes, turned a profit, AND was the recipient of bailout money even AFTER showing a record profit. it's absolutely absurd. but this is just one example. on the face FedEx and UPS might seem exactly alike. but for some reason one pays higher taxes. it's possible that FedEx has some other aspect to their business or is structured differently. it's easy to believe that some companies know the magic handshake to get a free pass, but that's just not the reality. getting a free pass while turning a profit is still wrong, but they are getting around it somehow. meanwhile, the ones that are in manufacturing don't manufacture anything here anymore either. so they have the jobs, the cash, AND getting comped. what do we have? empty homes, joblessness, no places for the homeless to pee, and mountains of debt at dizzying interest rates while US companies pay nothing into a system that they are draining and the bipartisanship points fingers at each other all day before going home to their comfy mansions. it's all wrong.

[Toughy]

I'm seeing this a lot. Today I heard someone say, "I don't think some of these people know what they are protesting." He said, "I don't know what they are protesting." I think it becomes confusing when people are arrested and police have to take action against unpeaceful protests and violence. That is a sad situation when some want to resort to violence to get their own ideas across and it may not even have to do with the "american dream" or jobs, healthcare, taxes, etc..

Very interesting what is playing out in Oakland and Denver. I look forward to seeing what develops with those two cities over the next couple weeks. I would hate to see this OWS movement turn into something of domestic terrorist attacks somewhere. I hope.. I can't reiterate it enough, I HOPE it doesn't come to that. I hate to be cynical but I also can see the daily violence and the bigger picture. I also do see some changes, for the OWS movement too though, in a positive way.

My comments are about Occupy Oakland because I am most familiar with them. I bolded the things I want to address.

Frankly they are very clear about what they stand for and why they are protesting....it's economic injustice. Anyone who does not understand what economic injustice means should get their head out of the their ass.

No one in Occupy Oakland is in favor of violence. All the Occupy people across the country are organized around non-violent priniciples. It does no one any good to use the term 'protestors' when talking about the anarchist assholes (and other assholes) who intentionally reeked havoc in downtown Oakland. They wanted tear gas and riot geared police to come after them. It is how they operate. It has nothing to do with Occupy Oakland or any other Occupy group. Opportunists always appear with any populist movement.

I don't understand AT ALL how anyone can equate the Occupy movements with domestic terrorrism. Violence is not part of the Occupy movement.

I will make one comment about breaking windows............I really don't give a shit if big bank windows get broken or if big banks are shut down for a day or an hour. What does piss me off is small business getting windows broken and taggers spray painting all over downtown. I'm not to upset about dumpsters on fire in the middle of the street. I have helped set a few of those in my time....but we set the fires and then drummed and danced in circles around the fires..... It was done to draw attention to HIV/AIDS.

ALL populist social movements in the US have had violence show up. It is the hardest thing to understand and/or control in these movements. Fringe folks hellbent on chaos and anarchy always get the press. Violence breeds fear and make the corporate media very happy. They can show the violence and mayhem with the caption of 'protestors get violent' and guess what? People believe that the Occupy folks are violent in spite of having at least 7,000 people peacefully gather and march in the streets and shut down the Port of Oakland.

[Toughy]

a couple or three things are going on in Oakland now....

First......(and I think he is a big fat liar) The Oakland Chamber of Commerce is saying Oakland has lost many many jobs because of Occupy Oakland. He (spokesman) says 3....yes count them 3.....business folks have decided to take their business and jobs elsewhere. He has not named the business folks who have decided to not bring their business and jobs to Oakland.

Second....Much is being made of the economic impact of shutting down the 5th largest port in the US. Money lost, middle/working class folks not getting paid....blah blah blah.

I know I can be damn stupid sometimes however I cannot figure HOW the Oakland port or the longshoreman are losing money. All those goods stopped during the shutdown WILL be dropped off and/or picked up. The longshoreman might just get some overtime to catch up with the backlog from a max 18 hour shutdown of the Port. I can see some impact on truckers because time really is money for them. So.....can somebody explain how shutting down the Port has caused an economic impact?

Small business around City Center (where the Occupy Oakland folks have set up camp) are saying they are losing business. I know for damn sure that ALL the food establishments and newstands and little markets open on Strike Day did HUGE business........7,000 people hungry and buying food. Maybe half of them brought their on food or enjoyed the free food Occupy Oakland offered. Somehow I think that is more business than normal for a week day.

The Mayor and the City Council have an obligation to small business in downtown Oakland. That obligation is to start a big campaign to come to downtown Oakland and buy from small local business. The Occupy Oakland folks are not dangerous....they will not beat you or rob you or hurt you in anyway. If you walk around Oscar Grant Plaza (the name activists picked and it's fitting as far as I am concerned) folks will offer you carrots or bread or some other kind of food. They will engage you in conversation about economic injustice. They WILL NOT accost you or threaten you in any way.

So..........smart person........tell me how shutting down the Oakland Port for less than 18 hours creates a negative economic impact for the Port and Oakland.

[Cin]

I came across this article by Noami Wolfe that I really liked. She wrote about something I have been talking about to anybody who would listen. I believe strongly that we have a unique opportunity at this time to attempt as one world to reach a philosophical unity and begin to create true change, global change as we move together toward liberty and freedom for all.

Here is some of her words and a link to the article for anyone who might be interested. I'm sure it's not everyone's cuppa, but...

We May Be Witnessing the First Large Global Conflict Where People Are Aligned by Consciousness and Not Nation State or Religion

They're fighting a "corporatocracy" that has bought governments, created armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems.

Suddenly, the United States looks like the rest of the furious, protesting, not-completely-free world. Indeed, most commentators have not fully grasped that a world war is occurring. But it is unlike any previous war in human history: for the first time, people around the world are not identifying and organising themselves along national or religious lines, but rather in terms of a global consciousness and demands for a peaceful life, a sustainable future, economic justice and basic democracy. Their enemy is a global "corporatocracy" that has purchased governments and legislatures, created its own armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems.

http://www.alternet.org/vision/15293...e_or_religion/

[Cin]

Originally Posted by Toughy

a couple or three things are going on in Oakland now....

First......(and I think he is a big fat liar) The Oakland Chamber of Commerce is saying Oakland has lost many many jobs because of Occupy Oakland. He (spokesman) says 3....yes count them 3.....business folks have decided to take their business and jobs elsewhere. He has not named the business folks who have decided to not bring their business and jobs to Oakland.

Second....Much is being made of the economic impact of shutting down the 5th largest port in the US. Money lost, middle/working class folks not getting paid....blah blah blah.

I know I can be damn stupid sometimes however I cannot figure HOW the Oakland port or the longshoreman are losing money. All those goods stopped during the shutdown WILL be dropped off and/or picked up. The longshoreman might just get some overtime to catch up with the backlog from a max 18 hour shutdown of the Port. I can see some impact on truckers because time really is money for them. So.....can somebody explain how shutting down the Port has caused an economic impact?

Small business around City Center (where the Occupy Oakland folks have set up camp) are saying they are losing business. I know for damn sure that ALL the food establishments and newstands and little markets open on Strike Day did HUGE business........7,000 people hungry and buying food. Maybe half of them brought their on food or enjoyed the free food Occupy Oakland offered. Somehow I think that is more business than normal for a week day.

The Mayor and the City Council have an obligation to small business in downtown Oakland. That obligation is to start a big campaign to come to downtown Oakland and buy from small local business. The Occupy Oakland folks are not dangerous....they will not beat you or rob you or hurt you in anyway. If you walk around Oscar Grant Plaza (the name activists picked and it's fitting as far as I am concerned) folks will offer you carrots or bread or some other kind of food. They will engage you in conversation about economic injustice. They WILL NOT accost you or threaten you in any way.

So..........smart person........tell me how shutting down the Oakland Port for less than 18 hours creates a negative economic impact for the Port and Oakland.

I think the powers that be are struggling to find ways to disrupt the movement. Anything negative even if it is falsehood attached by a tiny thread of reality will do.

I read an article that talked about a method being used against Occupy Tucson that includes handing out citations that carry fines up to $1000 and 6 months in jail. They hand these citations out to every person in Armory Park after 10:30 every single night. Occupy Tucson activists refer to these tactics as financial and legal attrition to kill the movement.

The potential for criminal misdemeanor charges which would effect anyone who needs to pass a criminal background check for employment presents a real hardship not to mention not many can afford a $1000 a night fine. The growing concern is that this is stifling participation.

The movement is also distracted from their original goals by these daily citations. Instead of concentrating on economic inequality and corporate financing of politicians they have to focus on defending first amendment protected activities. This tactic is financially bleeding the movement and overwhelming the handful of attorneys volunteering their time who are swamped by the sheer volume of citations.

Occupy Tucson has been unable to sway city council members to change the citation policy. Members of the legal group are in the process of filing a lawsuit against the city.

All in all this seems to be pretty effective. And it has the added advantage of not attracting attention with all that tear gassing and non lethal weapon shootings.

[ruffryder]

People are occupying the banks. Is anyone occupying Verizon or AT&T businesses? Are we as Americans willing to get rid of our cell phones? hmmm...

[greeneyedgrrl]

Originally Posted by ruffryder

People are occupying the banks. Is anyone occupying Verizon or AT&T businesses? Are we as Americans willing to get rid of our cell phones? hmmm...

i think you have a point... and i think that cell phones and other mobile devices have been critical to the movement. using technology (mobile devices in particular) has allowed for the rapid dissemination of information and organization, which has helped the movement grow exponentially in a short period of time. i think tho it is worth looking at the dependence of the movement on the very companies we are rebelling against. it would be fantastic to find a way to use the technology without paying into the companies that are helping to cause the international economic crisis and social inequity.

[SoNotHer]

Just beautiful, and I agree. I love that the why and how of this movement.

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

I came across this article by Noami Wolfe that I really liked. She wrote about something I have been talking about to anybody who would listen. I believe strongly that we have a unique opportunity at this time to attempt as one world to reach a philosophical unity and begin to create true change, global change as we move together toward liberty and freedom for all.

Here is some of her words and a link to the article for anyone who might be interested. I'm sure it's not everyone's cuppa, but...

We May Be Witnessing the First Large Global Conflict Where People Are Aligned by Consciousness and Not Nation State or Religion

They're fighting a "corporatocracy" that has bought governments, created armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems.

Suddenly, the United States looks like the rest of the furious, protesting, not-completely-free world. Indeed, most commentators have not fully grasped that a world war is occurring. But it is unlike any previous war in human history: for the first time, people around the world are not identifying and organising themselves along national or religious lines, but rather in terms of a global consciousness and demands for a peaceful life, a sustainable future, economic justice and basic democracy. Their enemy is a global "corporatocracy" that has purchased governments and legislatures, created its own armed enforcers, engaged in systemic economic fraud, and plundered treasuries and ecosystems.

http://www.alternet.org/vision/15293...e_or_religion/

[SugarFemme]

http://www.occupylasvegas.org/


Mission Statement-Final Version
Submitted by ginagrrl on October 13, 2011 - 6:58am Tags:mission statement

Mission Statement: Occupy Las Vegas


The first questions that come out of anyone's mouth whenever a new political movement arises are, “Who are they?” and “What do they want?”
They are good questions that should be answered.
WHO are we?
We are the 99% of Americans who have not benefited from the various financial bailouts, tax breaks, and other subsidies that the dominant 1% of the population have gained over the past several years.
We are students, veterans, homemakers, workers, the unemployed, those on Social Security benefits, those whose savings and investments were either wiped out or greatly diminished by the economic fluctuations starting in 2007.
We are those who have had our homes foreclosed upon, those whose homes are about to be foreclosed, those whose homes are now worth a fraction of what we paid for them, and those who have never owned a home and don’t expect to ever be able to.
We are the newly poor who wonder how everything for which we worked hard vanished so quickly and how we and our families are going to survive.
We are the long-time poor, who have never had much of a chance, let alone a voice, to make our own way in our current social and economic system.
We come from all backgrounds, races, and religions.
We are concerned about and more than a bit scared by the directions in which we see our lives, and the lives of our families, friends, neighbors going, the directions in which we see our nation and the whole planet going, and we are angry with those who have taken us in those directions.
We are part of a much larger global and national movement that wants real changes in how the world is run.
In short, we're you, and you are one of us.
WHAT do we want?
We want an end to corporate money's influence in politics, whether through campaign donations, PACs, or other groups. Money is not speech.
We want truly effective campaign finance reform, so that corporations and other interests have no overwhelming advantage over the rest of us in any part of American politics.
We want far greater legal accountability for public officials and corporate executives, and we demand that, if found guilty of committing crimes while in office, they are made to pay for those crimes in full, like anyone else.
We want our justice system to treat everyone equally regardless of origins or social class, at all levels and at every stage, from investigations to trials and sentencing.
We want an end to the continual attacks on our social safety net and on the rights of workers to organize themselves and, if need be, to strike to get better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
We want secure and sustainable investments and improvements in our social infrastructure, like schools and libraries, and to create an America where everyone may actually live in a decent and dignified manner, an America where everyone's rights count and are respected by all.
This is who we are and what we want. We ask for no more and shall take no less.
We are the 99% and we will not be silenced.

[Dominique]

A little over 650,000 people have left banks and moved to Credit unions since banks first announced the new fee for useage of debit cards.

72,000 have pledged to move accounts today.

The banks can deny all they want, this figure came from the National Credit Union Association. It also will mean better membership benefits!

YES! We the people, For the people.

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

I think the powers that be are struggling to find ways to disrupt the movement. Anything negative even if it is falsehood attached by a tiny thread of reality will do.

I read an article that talked about a method being used against Occupy Tucson that includes handing out citations that carry fines up to $1000 and 6 months in jail. They hand these citations out to every person in Armory Park after 10:30 every single night. Occupy Tucson activists refer to these tactics as financial and legal attrition to kill the movement.

The potential for criminal misdemeanor charges which would effect anyone who needs to pass a criminal background check for employment presents a real hardship not to mention not many can afford a $1000 a night fine. The growing concern is that this is stifling participation.

The movement is also distracted from their original goals by these daily citations. Instead of concentrating on economic inequality and corporate financing of politicians they have to focus on defending first amendment protected activities. This tactic is financially bleeding the movement and overwhelming the handful of attorneys volunteering their time who are swamped by the sheer volume of citations.

Occupy Tucson has been unable to sway city council members to change the citation policy. Members of the legal group are in the process of filing a lawsuit against the city.

All in all this seems to be pretty effective. And it has the added advantage of not attracting attention with all that tear gassing and non lethal weapon shootings.

ugh....there needs to be fund raisers dangit. i detest hearing that the people are being silenced by the very people that were voted in. it's tyrannical.

[Cin]

Originally Posted by persiphone

ugh....there needs to be fund raisers dangit. i detest hearing that the people are being silenced by the very people that were voted in. it's tyrannical.

I know it's horrible. But diabolically effective and it happens quite under the radar. No war veterans getting shot and attracting media attention. I hope it doesn't catch on with other cities.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Yellow band

A little over 650,000 people have left banks and moved to Credit unions since banks first announced the new fee for useage of debit cards.

72,000 have pledged to move accounts today.

The banks can deny all they want, this figure came from the National Credit Union Association. It also will mean better membership benefits!

YES! We the people, For the people.

Hi, Yellow band.

I believe that today, Nov 5 is the National "leave your bank for a credit union day". I still need to do this. Now that my bank is no longer a local bank I want to make the switch.

I am a member of a credit union via my father's old employer and I have the option to join one through my employer. I will compare/contrast and then make the switch.

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by persiphone

ugh....there needs to be fund raisers dangit. i detest hearing that the people are being silenced by the very people that were voted in. it's tyrannical.

i have faith that the people will find a way. there is always a way. what ever happened to citizen's arrests? and there's always, of course, violence. i'm afraid the people are being pushed that way. we're reentering a dark time where lawmakers and politicians will start being targeted. i feel like we're on the verge of all hell breaking loose.

[SoNotHer]

BART police let the driver who ran down two protestors go:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...bay&id=8419953

[greeneyedgrrl]

does anyone know what happened there? i hadn't heard about this.

Originally Posted by SoNotHer

BART police let the driver who ran down two protestors go:

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...bay&id=8419953