Happy anniversary
The six month anniversary of the OWS movement came and went, and for some reason the cops in New York felt compelled to get involved despite the fact they weren't invited. On this occasion what appeared to be a rather tranquil gathering that included the usual speakers and meetings was crashed by cops that surrounded the gathering, then closed in around them. What law was being broken when the cops arrived to start pushing and shoving people that expressed no animosity towards anyone until they were physically assaulted by cops?
Of course, we know that when the cops don't like you, it must mean you are doing something illegal. If not, they'll think of something.
Update
"Police said 73 people were detained. It was unclear how many were still in custody Sunday afternoon.
"Some demonstrators had locked arms and sat down in the middle of Zuccotti Park near Wall Street after police announced on a bullhorn at around 11:30 p.m. Saturday that the park was closed. Officers then entered the park, forcing out most of the crowd and surrounding a small group that stayed behind. Police formed a human ring around the park to keep protesters out."
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2109359,00.html?xid=gonewsedit
LA Story: Same response
Here in Los Angeles it was much the same. A peaceful rally commemorating the six month anniversary of OWS that appeared to be as non-confrontational as any you'll see. And then the cops showed up.
At that point the more aggressive ones appeared to provoke a hostile response, although this is murky territory. A mini-ruckus ensued with a reported four arrests. The cops were obviously the aggressors in this instance, batons drawn after pushing their way past bystanders. Backups swooped in and the situation quickly deteriorated. The arrests had nothing to do with whatever caused the police response which remains unknown.
OccupyFreedomLA, as usual, recorded the event and you'll see cops arrive at the 49:00 mark of the following video. She reports. You decide.
Bottles and rocks: Antithetical to the movement
“'A lot of people would agree that this movement is in crisis,' he said. 'We’ve had these discussions about so-called diversity of tactics, which I think makes a lot of people very uncomfortable.' True. Just hearing those words put the room on edge.”
“That phrase, 'diversity of tactics,' can have a hair-raising effect in activist circles. It emerged during the anti-globalization movement as a sort of détente between those using tactics like marches and street blockades and those wanting to do more aggressive things like breaking windows and fighting back against police. But it’s not always a happy compromise; when a day of thousands peacefully marching is punctuated by a broken window, guess what makes the evening news.”
“The logic of nonviolent action is to heighten the contrast between the decorum of the protesters and the violence of the state, to force a dilemma upon those in power by winning public support and causing defections. But ruckus protests won’t play well in Peoria. Fox News could get away with calling what happened in Oakland on January 28 a 'riot,' presumably inclining the couch potatoes at home to side with the cops.”
http://www.thenation.com/article/166820/paint-other-cheek
Foreclosure action: Liberate the homes
It has been pointed out that a lot of the procedures and tactics used by unethical banking executives are in fact illegal. So it seems illogical to rely on “enforcing the law” to remove families that have been victimized by criminal conduct of those that buy their way out of criminal indictments.
When prosecutors, some of them state AG's that have the authority to pursue these cases, do not prosecute those that are responsible for many of these foreclosures, they also set the stage for these actions. Why are they inclined to pursue petty offenses against occupiers and victims of illegal foreclosures while ignoring the cause, those that have engaged in criminal conduct on a regular basis, by their own admission and in agreements they make with their alleged regulators?
The answer is pretty obvious, and a very good way of explaining the substance of the Occupation Movement in principle. Neighborhoods that have been decimated by these processes for lack of legal recourse in many cases because state AG's signed away their legal rights, have evidently been paying attention to groups like Occupy Fights Foreclosures. A small group decided to “liberate” a home on behalf of a mother and her children:
“Smith and her children are squatters, or as Liberate the South Side, the community group that placed her in the vacant home calls them, 'tenants without a lease.'”
Spies will be spies
If the NDAA, detention without cause, SOPA, GPS tracking, H.R. 347, and the other legislation that is popping up almost daily isn't creepy enough, we are reminded that Big Brother is always thinking of new ways to invade the privacy of American citizens without cause. Now they don't even consider whether it's legal or constitutional, only whether they can get away with it.
“Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home - the rise of 'connected' gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people 'bug' their own homes, says CIA director David Petraeus.
“The CIA claims it will be able to 'read' these devices via the internet - and perhaps even via radio waves from outside the home.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2115871/The-CIA-wants-spy-TV-Agency-director-says-net-connected-gadgets-transform-surveillance.html
Alex Weinschenker
We have featured the blog posted by Jeremy Nation for some time to honor the memory of Alex Weinschenker. This video provides a little more insight for those who never met him.
Pic from http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dirty-cops-Doing-dirty-jobs/124103977601831
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