Oakland Solidarity:

Busy weekend in Oakland, but you'd never know it if you were watching the mainstream newscasts. The absence of coverage this time has to be viewed as something of a blackout. If literally hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the streets across America isn't news, then an explanation as to why is in order.

Of course, that explanation won't be coming any time soon, so we are left to ponder the reason. Since the inception of OWS on September 17, 2011 there has been spotty, sometimes slanted, reporting of the movement. We have occasionally pointed out the lack of journalistic integrity found in some of these reports, but a blackout has not been part of the criticism.

The reason is that we know that the mainstream media is more concerned with the personal affairs of Demi Moore and Kim Kardashian. They are more comfortable reporting on Dancing With the Stars and the next blockbuster flick than anything resembling social consciousness. They have lulled the population into an almost hypnotic state of bliss.

The social upheaval that took place last year, the Arab Spring, rioting in Europe, and then OWS protests in America are not a coincidental series of events. Polling data shows that the OWS movement is not merely a bunch of radicals harboring animosity towards capitalism. There is solid evidence to support the contention that Wall Street CEO's have systematically drained the resources of all Americans at every level including their governmental coffers.

At least six Attorneys General have found enough data to pursue criminal charges against the perpetrators of the 2008 financial meltdown for which we will be paying for many years, probably decades. These are not radical ideas. They are not misguided. But due to the lack of coverage, the lack of education and the conspicuous efforts by corporate-owned news organizations to suppress the message, protesters have become more engaged and active. They have organized, marched and used their limited resources to spread the message despite the blackout of events like the dramatic Oakland demonstrations this weekend.

Granted, not all of the actions have been models of order and cohesion. There are many disparate groups and interests involved in these protests and demonstrations. Millions have participated. Shit happens. But as long as the mainstream media ignores the message, responsible citizens will step forward to inform, educate and protest that which they know to be true. That America has been scammed over decades by corrupt executives and officials that are perfectly content to the let the middle class disappear into the depths of poverty like 46 million other Americans.

It's not a secret any more. The vast majority of Americans are dissatisfied with their leadership and are looking for solutions that have not been forthcoming from traditional sources. To their credit, some like Mr. Schneiderman in New York and Ms. Harris in California, have answered the call for action, a plea to restore order in the financial services sector and for relief from their shoddy, sometimes illegal business practices. This is not difficult to fathom, the message clear. So where is the coverage?

The videos below are the natural result of a media blackout of these issues. The citizen journalists that have taken it upon themselves to report should be awarded medals for their work. Let's start with Margot Paez and her report on the Occupy Oakland Solidarity March which took place yesterday, beginning in MacArthur Park:

Insightoutnews.org

http://youtu.be/D2V6s7ssh8o

Occupy Oakland raw video: KGO aerial

http://youtu.be/8GUv0VapK-U

Occupy Oakland clips:

http://youtu.be/sFaviIoy4rg

Oakland video aerial:

http://youtu.be/KA93vVpsgM4

Occupy Oakland tear gas fired: Note that despite the media blackout, the views of this video is approaching 300,000 views:

http://youtu.be/bytMNoKNeRA

More evictions, hardships:

Occupy Nashville:

http://youtu.be/PonQ8Yy5Ar8

Washington (CNN) --“The National Park Service plans to crack down Monday on what it calls 'sleeping activity' at two longstanding camps established by Occupy DC demonstrators in the nation's capital.”

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/30/us/dc-occupy/?hpt=hp_t3

Anonymous pastebin: Doxing begins

Press Release/Dox: http://pastebin.com/csU8PR5G

Dox on Oakland Mayor: http://pastebin.com/sfQG6ack

Dox on officer for beating a woman who is pregnant and has leukemia: http://pastebin.com/B9q02Wub

The alternative media continues to gain strength, the result of citizen journalists trying to compensate for the negligence of their paid counterparts. But therein lies the reason for the blackout of news on the subject of socio-economic injustice. They are getting paid, and as we all know, those that are on the payroll become stooges for their masters.

There is no longer any doubt that those of us in the alternative media which includes citizens journalists featured here, are being punished by those with a vested interest in suppressing the OWS message. Some have endured hours on a bus without restroom facilities. Some have been beaten or tear-gassed. Some have had their property, especially their communications gear, stolen or vandalized. Some have been attacked by proxies of police. And all have been subjected to forms of harassment that are becoming less-subtle and more contrived by those interests daily.

But the message remains. The protests remain valid and well-founded, reasonable grievances by any standard of measurement. So as we watch the response by police and those that don't care to be confronted with the evidence of their crimes, the exposure of their flawed business models, and the violations of the rights of others, we will also note that they are afraid of their own conduct and practices becoming widely known. The are fearful that if the general population understands what they have done, how they have corrupted the institutions that govern America, they will be toppled or imprisoned.

To those that live with this sort of fear, tough shit. We haven't even begun to spread the message. This is only a rehearsal. Expect us in the spring.

Grumpy