Friday, 30 March 2012
Spanish general strike - in pictures
Spanish general strike - in pictures
Spanish workers staged a 24-hour general strike to protest against the governments labour reforms. Spain has one of the highest levels of unemployment in the eurozone, with the number of jobless reaching 5 million in January
Drop DOW Chemical as partners for the London 2012 Olympic Games #Bhopal
In 1984, an industrial plant in Bhopal, Central India, leaked 27 tons of deadly gas.
Thousands in the local area were killed and over half a million were exposed, making it one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes. 27 years later, toxic water and soil contamination means the situation remains a humanitarian and environmental tragedy affecting thousands.
The multi-billion dollar company now responsible for the site in Bhopal is neglecting their duty to clean up the area, continuing to place thousands of lives at risk.
Thousands in the local area were killed and over half a million were exposed, making it one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes. 27 years later, toxic water and soil contamination means the situation remains a humanitarian and environmental tragedy affecting thousands.
The multi-billion dollar company now responsible for the site in Bhopal is neglecting their duty to clean up the area, continuing to place thousands of lives at risk.
That company is Dow Chemical -- a major sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics; an event that supposedly prides itself on its ethical and environmental policies.
White Plains PD Shoot, Kill Elderly Vet who Accidentally Set off MedicAlert.
As the Trayvon Martin case draws national attention, we look at another fatal shooting of an unarmed African-American male that has received far less scrutiny. Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68 year-old African-American Marine veteran, was fatally shot in November by White Plains, NY, police who responded to a false alarm from his medical alert pendant.
The officers hurled racial slurs at Chamberlain, broke down his door, tasered him, and then shot him dead. We’re joined by Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., and two of his attorneys. One of the attorneys, Mayo Bartlett, questions the police response to the shooting, comparing it to the official story that emerged after George Zimmerman shot the unarmed African-American teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida last month.
“It’s very similar to Mr. Zimmerman suggesting that he had a bloody nose, and now you look at the video and that doesn’t appear to be the case,” says Bartlett. “That really makes you question what we’re being told sometimes by government with respect to these types of matters.”
Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. struggles through tears to recount his father’s final moments, including the way police officers mocked his father’s past as a Marine. “For them to look at my father that way, (with) no regard for his life, every morning I think about it,” he says.
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Monsanto's Dark History
Over Monsanto's 110-year history (1901-2011), Monsanto Co (MON.N), the world's largest seed company, has evolved from primarily an industrial chemical concern into a pure agricultural products company.
MON profited $2 billion dollars in 2009, but their record profits fell to only $1 billion in 2010 after activists exposed Monsanto for doing terribly evil acts like suing good farmers and feeding uranium to pregnant women. Below is a timeline of Monsanto's dark history.
On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto - A documentary that you won’t see on American television. The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years. Support This Film and Spread the Word Get the World According to Monsanto DVD Purchase Online at Amazon
Today, over 80% of the worldwide area devoted to GMO crops carries at least one genetic trait for (Monsanto's Roundup) herbicide tolerance. Herbicides account for about one-third of the global pesticide market. Monsanto's glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready) seeds have reigned supreme on the biotech scene for over a decade - creating a near-monopoly for Monsanto's Roundup herbicide - which is now off patent. Roundup is the world's biggest selling pesticide and it has helped make Monsanto the world's 5th largest agrochemical company.
MON profited $2 billion dollars in 2009, but their record profits fell to only $1 billion in 2010 after activists exposed Monsanto for doing terribly evil acts like suing good farmers and feeding uranium to pregnant women. Below is a timeline of Monsanto's dark history.
On March 11 a new documentary was aired on French television (ARTE – French-German cultural tv channel) by French journalist and film maker Marie-Monique Robin, The World According to Monsanto - A documentary that you won’t see on American television. The gigantic biotech corporation Monsanto is threatening to destroy the agricultural biodiversity which has served mankind for thousands of years. Support This Film and Spread the Word Get the World According to Monsanto DVD Purchase Online at Amazon
Today, over 80% of the worldwide area devoted to GMO crops carries at least one genetic trait for (Monsanto's Roundup) herbicide tolerance. Herbicides account for about one-third of the global pesticide market. Monsanto's glyphosate-resistant (Roundup Ready) seeds have reigned supreme on the biotech scene for over a decade - creating a near-monopoly for Monsanto's Roundup herbicide - which is now off patent. Roundup is the world's biggest selling pesticide and it has helped make Monsanto the world's 5th largest agrochemical company.
Killer Jeans still being made
A new report, Deadly Denim, released today by the Clean Clothes Campaign, found that large factories exporting jeans overseas continue to use sandblasting.
Sandblasting is a technique to give the “worn-out-look” to jeans. Many brands sourcing denim from Bangladesh have declared that they no longer use sandblasting to fade their products. The ban had been adopted by scores of brands in the last year after the process was proved to cause fatal lung diseases, including silicosis. However our new report reveals that regardless of whether a brand has ‘banned’ sandblasting or not, sandblasting - both manual and mechanical – is still commonly used.
Sandblasting is a technique to give the “worn-out-look” to jeans. Many brands sourcing denim from Bangladesh have declared that they no longer use sandblasting to fade their products. The ban had been adopted by scores of brands in the last year after the process was proved to cause fatal lung diseases, including silicosis. However our new report reveals that regardless of whether a brand has ‘banned’ sandblasting or not, sandblasting - both manual and mechanical – is still commonly used.
Spain's indignados inspire Occupy
Spain was hit with a massive General Strike today that shut down shopping centers, roads and transportation hubs.
Spain’s General Strike could not have come at a more significant moment from the perspective of the global people’s movement. As ROAR magazine points out, Spain’s General Strike was initially called for by the anarcho-syndicalist CNT union but it was ultimately a success because the call was taken up and powered by the youthful militancy of the indignados whose encampments across Spain in May, 2011 inspired #OCCUPYWALLSTREET.
It was the tactical breakthrough of seizing a public square and holding horizontal, consensus-based assemblies that launched Occupy. And now, as the Occupy movement prepares for its own much anticipated General Strike on May 1, the indignados are again showing us the way.
Spain’s spectacular, large-scale and successful General Strike will have a profound influence on our own tactical thinking as our Spring offensive gathers momentum.
Now that the indignados are preparing for a spring of discontent, culminating into a global day of action on May 12, a powerful sign is being given to those in power: as their system crumbles, our movement grows ever stronger.”
Spain’s General Strike could not have come at a more significant moment from the perspective of the global people’s movement. As ROAR magazine points out, Spain’s General Strike was initially called for by the anarcho-syndicalist CNT union but it was ultimately a success because the call was taken up and powered by the youthful militancy of the indignados whose encampments across Spain in May, 2011 inspired #OCCUPYWALLSTREET.
It was the tactical breakthrough of seizing a public square and holding horizontal, consensus-based assemblies that launched Occupy. And now, as the Occupy movement prepares for its own much anticipated General Strike on May 1, the indignados are again showing us the way.
Spain’s spectacular, large-scale and successful General Strike will have a profound influence on our own tactical thinking as our Spring offensive gathers momentum.
Now that the indignados are preparing for a spring of discontent, culminating into a global day of action on May 12, a powerful sign is being given to those in power: as their system crumbles, our movement grows ever stronger.”
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
Photos: Indonesian fuel hike protests turn violent on March 27, 2012
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – Police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of rock-throwing Indonesians protesting plans to push up fuel prices by more than 30 percent. Several people were injured and rushed to hospitals.
Rallies were held under tight security in big cities all over the country Tuesday as parliament debated the hike.
Rallies were held under tight security in big cities all over the country Tuesday as parliament debated the hike.
Feeding The Homeless BANNED In Major Cities All Over America
Sadly, feeding the homeless has been banned in major cities all over America.
Other cities that have not banned it outright have put so many requirements on those that want to feed the homeless (acquiring expensive permits, taking food preparation courses, etc.) that feeding the homeless has become "out of reach" for most average people. Some cities are doing these things because they are concerned about the "health risks" of the food being distributed by ordinary "do-gooders". Other cities are passing these laws because they do not want homeless people congregating in city centers where they know that they will be fed. But at a time when poverty and government dependence are soaring to unprecedented levels, is it really a good idea to ban people from helping those that are hurting?
The following are some of the major U.S. cities that have attempted to ban feeding the homeless....
Other cities that have not banned it outright have put so many requirements on those that want to feed the homeless (acquiring expensive permits, taking food preparation courses, etc.) that feeding the homeless has become "out of reach" for most average people. Some cities are doing these things because they are concerned about the "health risks" of the food being distributed by ordinary "do-gooders". Other cities are passing these laws because they do not want homeless people congregating in city centers where they know that they will be fed. But at a time when poverty and government dependence are soaring to unprecedented levels, is it really a good idea to ban people from helping those that are hurting?
The following are some of the major U.S. cities that have attempted to ban feeding the homeless....
Angry Birds Against ATOS
Angry Birds Against ATOS and Government Attacks on the Vulnerable.
People tell their stories about their lives and how ATOS have made life worse for vulnerable people. Follow them on tumblr or twitter.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Police arrest 14 in two New York Occupy protests
Fourteen protesters were arrested on Saturday in separate Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, one that involved an hours-long march through Manhattan streets and a second at the United Nations, authorities said.
Several hundred protesters zig-zagged from Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan where the anti-Wall Street Occupy movement was born last year to Union Square Park in what was billed as a demonstration against police brutality.
Protesters carried banners that said "end police brutality" and signs that questioned such as "Angry Pacifist", "Shame on NYPD", and "They never stop & frisk old white guys like me."
Several hundred protesters zig-zagged from Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan where the anti-Wall Street Occupy movement was born last year to Union Square Park in what was billed as a demonstration against police brutality.
Protesters carried banners that said "end police brutality" and signs that questioned such as "Angry Pacifist", "Shame on NYPD", and "They never stop & frisk old white guys like me."
Give Apple workers a voice in their future
Most likely the FLA will report that labour rights violations are still taking place. And no doubt Apple and Foxconn will subsequently promise once more that they will clean up their act. The real question is whether anything will actually change.
First and foremost, Apple should give workers a voice in their future. If Apple is genuinely concerned about improving the labour rights of workers that manufacture its products, it must ensure that they can negotiate with their employer to bring lasting change to the way that work is performed and compensated.
Apple’s supplier refused to pay for Serap’s emergency care. When she returned to work she was determined to make sure this tragedy never happened again, but when she tried to join a union to improve safety at Trexta she was fired without any valid reason.
Unfortunately, Serap isn’t alone. Apple’s supplier has made its workers’ lives a living hell by forcing employees to work 30 hours straight without notice, discriminating against women who don’t first ask for permission to get pregnant, and threatening workers when they raise safety concerns. To date, Trexta has fired thirty-two employees for organizing a union at the Çerkezköy facility.
Monday, 26 March 2012
#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines
This week in Occupy, the arrival of Spring brought everyone back into the streets, thousands rallied for Trayvon Martin, Union Square was #occupied and Occupy UC Davis permanently closed a bank branch.
#After Liberty Square was raided and barricaded on the Occupy Movement’s six-month anniversary – a move which proved illegal - demonstrators gathered in Union Square Park and stayed there, opening up another major New York occupation.
#On March 21, members of Occupy Oakland set up a “secret solidarity camp” in Mosswood Park – which they renamed Huey P. Newton Park after the co-founder of the Black Panthers – formed in solidarity with the police raid that followed Occupy Wall Street’s six-month anniversary celebrations.
#After Liberty Square was raided and barricaded on the Occupy Movement’s six-month anniversary – a move which proved illegal - demonstrators gathered in Union Square Park and stayed there, opening up another major New York occupation.
#On March 21, members of Occupy Oakland set up a “secret solidarity camp” in Mosswood Park – which they renamed Huey P. Newton Park after the co-founder of the Black Panthers – formed in solidarity with the police raid that followed Occupy Wall Street’s six-month anniversary celebrations.
Fault Lines: History of an occupation
Fault Lines tells the definitive history of Occupy Wall Street from its early days through the movement's rapid spread up to the brutal crackdown by state authorities
Stop Secret Lobbying
Stop Secret Lobbying
A ban on secret lobbying would help weed out this kind of sleaze where you can pay for dinner with the Prime Minister.
New rules could force politicians to reveal who they’re meeting and what they talked about. That's why 38 Degrees members have been campaigning to bring in these rules for ages.
After the MP expenses scandal, public pressure pushed all the parties to make big promises about tackling lobbying. But now it’s time to write the new laws, Cameron is has come up with weak rules that won’t solve the problem.
A ban on secret lobbying would help weed out this kind of sleaze where you can pay for dinner with the Prime Minister.
New rules could force politicians to reveal who they’re meeting and what they talked about. That's why 38 Degrees members have been campaigning to bring in these rules for ages.
After the MP expenses scandal, public pressure pushed all the parties to make big promises about tackling lobbying. But now it’s time to write the new laws, Cameron is has come up with weak rules that won’t solve the problem.
If we speak up together now, we can push him to go much further and bring in a real ban not a token gesture. Sign the petition now.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Massive student tuition march paralyzes Montreal
March stretched more than 50 city blocks at its peak
Tens of thousands of Quebec students descended on downtown Montreal Thursday afternoon for the latest in a series of escalating protests against proposed tuition hikes.
"If the government doesn't announce a retreat on the [tuition] hike today the next step will involve actions that disrupt the economy," the C.L.A.S.S.E. student group posted on its Twitter page.
The demonstration came two days after the provincial budget and a blunt refusal by Premier Jean Charest's government to back down on the hikes.
Students have been staging almost daily protests for the last several weeks and blocked a major commuter bridge on Tuesday.
Police have also ramped up tactics and have used chemical sprays against the demonstrators.
The annual $325 hike in tuition proposed by the government would result in an overall increase of $1,625 for Quebec students.
Students argue that increases will limit access to education in the province and have vowed to continue demonstrations until the hikes are abandoned.
Tens of thousands of Quebec students descended on downtown Montreal Thursday afternoon for the latest in a series of escalating protests against proposed tuition hikes.
"If the government doesn't announce a retreat on the [tuition] hike today the next step will involve actions that disrupt the economy," the C.L.A.S.S.E. student group posted on its Twitter page.
The demonstration came two days after the provincial budget and a blunt refusal by Premier Jean Charest's government to back down on the hikes.
Students have been staging almost daily protests for the last several weeks and blocked a major commuter bridge on Tuesday.
Police have also ramped up tactics and have used chemical sprays against the demonstrators.
The annual $325 hike in tuition proposed by the government would result in an overall increase of $1,625 for Quebec students.
Students argue that increases will limit access to education in the province and have vowed to continue demonstrations until the hikes are abandoned.
Friday, 23 March 2012
The Future of Food
There is a food revolution happening in America today. People are seeking out farmers' markets, organic produce and good restaurants.
At the same time, our food supply is increasingly controlled by multi-national corporations. Over the past 10 years, with the advent of genetic engineering and the massive expansion of pesticide companies, like Monsanto, into the seed business, the very nature of our food system has radically changed with potentially disastrous effects on our food security.
Patenting of life is now permitted, no labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMO's) in food is required, research is conducted on these issues by universities beholden to the "agri-corps" who fund them, and the major regulatory agencies are run by former execs from these very companies.
All the while, the average citizens remain blissfully unaware that they are eating GMO food and supporting the aggressive "corporatization' of their food sources.
In fascinating and accessible terms, 'The Future of Food' illuminates the major issues ultimately affecting us all -- some surreal, some futuristic, many frightening.
Yet, 'The Future of Food' is a hopeful film, featuring insightful and moving interviews with farmers, agriculture and business experts and policymakers. It sees a future in which an informed consumer can join the revolution by demanding natural, healthy food sources that insure environmental integrity.
Occupy Wall Street meets the million hoodie march
On March 21st in New York City, a large, raucous march from Union Square set out to confront police harassment and the murder of black youth at the hands of cops and racist thugs.
Max Schwarz points to the possibility that this could be an opening where the activism of Occupied Wall Street combines with the militancy and anger of the city's working class black community.
Max Schwarz points to the possibility that this could be an opening where the activism of Occupied Wall Street combines with the militancy and anger of the city's working class black community.
Quebec Student Protest Against Tuition Increases March 22nd, 2012 #19
Videos captured on March 22nd, 2012 in Montreal Quebec. Between 200,000 and 300,000 students participated in the march making it the largest in Quebec History.
Canada, America, United Kingdom: Why? Are they trying to dumb us down ever more by pricing the majority out of further education??
Student Protest Montreal 22 March 2012
Students marching in Downtown Montreal against the cost of tuition fees
Uploaded by winterjet on 22 Mar 2012
View from my balcony on Sherbrooke street of the student protest. On the far left of Sherbrooke they'd turned down St-Denis, and on the far right you can't even see the very end.
Thursday, 22 March 2012
Hundreds join UK Uncut’s Downing Street Dole Queue to tell George Osborne that ‘Austerity Isn’t Working’
Nearly 400 UK Uncut protestors gathered to form a ‘dole queue‘ outside Downing St today to highlight soaring unemployment under the government’s austerity programme.
Unemployed people from across London came together with members of the anti-austerity direct action group UK Uncut to recreate the Tories’ iconic 1979 election poster featuring a queue of jobseekers snaking into the distance. 400 people joined the queue, which snaked up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square.
After the queue finished, UK Uncut protestors made their way to the outdoor broadcast area on College Gardens where their chanting of ‘Tax the rich, not the poor’ forced the BBC to abandon an interview with Lib Dem president Tim Farron.
Unemployed people from across London came together with members of the anti-austerity direct action group UK Uncut to recreate the Tories’ iconic 1979 election poster featuring a queue of jobseekers snaking into the distance. 400 people joined the queue, which snaked up Whitehall towards Trafalgar Square.
After the queue finished, UK Uncut protestors made their way to the outdoor broadcast area on College Gardens where their chanting of ‘Tax the rich, not the poor’ forced the BBC to abandon an interview with Lib Dem president Tim Farron.
Tommy Hilfiger caves on factory labor conditions ahead of ABC report
Before ABC even aired its report on Tommy Hilfiger's continuing operations at a Bangladeshi factory where 29 workers died in a fire last year after being trapped without fire escapes or sprinklers, Hilfiger has struck a deal.
Meanwhile Bangladesh has positioned itself as a cheaper alternative to China for companies' manufacturing needs, in large part by maintaining the lowest garment worker wages in the world. As the New York Times reported, all it takes is a bump in worker wages for apparel companies to take their business elsewhere — like Vietnam.
Budget 2012: A polluters’ charter that puts fossil fuels in the tank of the British economy
Before the election George Osborne said, “Instead of the Treasury blocking green reform, I want a Conservative Treasury to lead the development of the low carbon economy and finance a green recovery.”
He added, “If I become Chancellor, the Treasury will become a green ally, not a foe.”
But today’s budget from George Osborne was the worst for the environment in recent memory.
He added, “If I become Chancellor, the Treasury will become a green ally, not a foe.”
But today’s budget from George Osborne was the worst for the environment in recent memory.
NHS privatisation: Compilation of financial and vested interests.
This list represents the dire state of our democracy.
The financial and vested interests of our MPs and Lords in private healthcare. Why are these people allowed to be in charge of our NHS, to vote on a bill that they clearly have something to gain from. Who cares that they have put it in the register of interests. This doesn’t excuse their interests, it merely highlights clearly why they should have no part in voting for the privatisation of the NHS. It is privatisation, despite the media’s continued use of the word ‘reforms’. The question must be asked. Are they public servants or corporate servants?
The list is long, and could surely be longer, I make no apology for that, tragically that is the reality of our politics today; and although the majority of vested interest lies with the Conservatives, as you might expect, it is however a cross party issue.
The financial and vested interests of our MPs and Lords in private healthcare. Why are these people allowed to be in charge of our NHS, to vote on a bill that they clearly have something to gain from. Who cares that they have put it in the register of interests. This doesn’t excuse their interests, it merely highlights clearly why they should have no part in voting for the privatisation of the NHS. It is privatisation, despite the media’s continued use of the word ‘reforms’. The question must be asked. Are they public servants or corporate servants?
The list is long, and could surely be longer, I make no apology for that, tragically that is the reality of our politics today; and although the majority of vested interest lies with the Conservatives, as you might expect, it is however a cross party issue.
Weekly Marches on Wall Street Each Friday! 2PM LIBERTY SQUARE
Start training for May Day and join the spring resistance! Weekly marches every Friday; meet at 2 PM in Liberty Square!
Start training for May Day and join the spring resistance! Weekly marches every Friday; meet at 2 PM in Liberty Square!
The Unwinnable War on Dissent
The police use violence to preserve economic inequality, but this will backfire. Every time they attack us, we grow. With every bloodied Occupier and evicted peaceful protest, the number of people who are disgusted with the status quo rises.
The war on dissent is inherently unwinnable. Through sustained nonviolent resistance in the face of escalating repression, their legitimacy wanes and our power grows.
The whole world is watching. Spring is coming. We are getting ready.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
This Day In WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks has been financially blockaded without process for 472 days.
Julian Assange has been under house arrest without charge for 468 days.
A Day FOR the 99 Percent! by Monty Reed Kroopkin
The Occupy movement is rolling out a new tactic. It is building on several months of successes and aims to take it ‘up a notch’.
May 1st — May Day — is the World Labor Day honoring the workers killed in Chicago in 1886, striking for the eight hour day. It is also the day each year that working class solidarity is reaffirmed and our demands for a better world renewed. Occupy is organizing for it, everywhere, as the next major step.
Solidarity Forever!
If you are involved in your Local Union, contact your fellow laborers about organizing May Day events or participating in them.
If you are not in a union but involved in your local Occupy, see how your Occupy is joining in local annual May Day festivities.
If you are involved in neither but want to get involved in a Local, I recommend you contact the Industrial Workers of the World at http://www.iww.org/.
May 1st — May Day — is the World Labor Day honoring the workers killed in Chicago in 1886, striking for the eight hour day. It is also the day each year that working class solidarity is reaffirmed and our demands for a better world renewed. Occupy is organizing for it, everywhere, as the next major step.
Solidarity Forever!
If you are involved in your Local Union, contact your fellow laborers about organizing May Day events or participating in them.
If you are not in a union but involved in your local Occupy, see how your Occupy is joining in local annual May Day festivities.
If you are involved in neither but want to get involved in a Local, I recommend you contact the Industrial Workers of the World at http://www.iww.org/.
Occupy Union Square: NYC, Join Us In Protest!
Occupy Union Square NYC. Join Us In Protest!
After the brutal attack on the attempted re-occupation of Liberty Square by NYPD on the 6-month anniversary of #OWS, a number of Occupiers have relocated their base of occupation to Union Square in midtown Manhattan, a point of convergence for several #OWS protests over the past 6 months.
According to reports on the ground, several dozen people slept in the park after the illegal and violent raid on Liberty Square. Over 70 people remain, now on Day 3. Although tents and tables are still banned, Occupiers have brought blankets and sleeping gear. Many are calling it ¨The New Occupation.¨
In addition to holding General Assemblies, Union Square Occupiers are providing vital jail support for those arrested on #M17 as they are released from NYPD custody. So far, the NYPD has made no attempt to remove Occupiers or prevent them from sleeping in the park.
Our ability to occupy the commons in order to voice dissent is a vital political right. We do not need a permit to exist in public space. We call on all those who would stand for equality, justice, and liberation - and against the banks, corporations, wealthy elites, and corrupt politicians who have stolen our democracy and ruined our economy - to join us now.
After the brutal attack on the attempted re-occupation of Liberty Square by NYPD on the 6-month anniversary of #OWS, a number of Occupiers have relocated their base of occupation to Union Square in midtown Manhattan, a point of convergence for several #OWS protests over the past 6 months.
According to reports on the ground, several dozen people slept in the park after the illegal and violent raid on Liberty Square. Over 70 people remain, now on Day 3. Although tents and tables are still banned, Occupiers have brought blankets and sleeping gear. Many are calling it ¨The New Occupation.¨
In addition to holding General Assemblies, Union Square Occupiers are providing vital jail support for those arrested on #M17 as they are released from NYPD custody. So far, the NYPD has made no attempt to remove Occupiers or prevent them from sleeping in the park.
Quebec: Almost 200,000 students striking against university tuition fee hikes
The students are demanding that the provincial Liberal government of Jean Charest withdraw its plan to raise university tuition fees by 75 percent over the next five years.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Scores Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park
Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested on Saturday night as police officers swept Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan and closed it.
Dozens of demonstrators sat down and locked arms as officers moved in about 11:30 p.m. The protesters chanted “we are not afraid” as the police began pulling people from the crowd, one by one, and leading them out of the park in handcuffs.
The operation occurred after hundreds of people had gathered in the financial district to observe the founding of Occupy Wall Street six months ago. Earlier, protesters had embarked upon a winding march, after which police officers made initial arrests of about a dozen people near the park.
By 11:30 p.m., as police officers massed on Broadway, a commander announced that the park was closed. Those inside shouted back that the park was obliged through an agreement with the city to remain open. The commander then announced that anyone who remained inside would be arrested and charged with trespassing.
After clearing the park, police officers and private security guards began placing a ring of metal barricades on the park’s perimeter, as those who had been arrested were placed inside a city bus.
Dozens of demonstrators sat down and locked arms as officers moved in about 11:30 p.m. The protesters chanted “we are not afraid” as the police began pulling people from the crowd, one by one, and leading them out of the park in handcuffs.
The operation occurred after hundreds of people had gathered in the financial district to observe the founding of Occupy Wall Street six months ago. Earlier, protesters had embarked upon a winding march, after which police officers made initial arrests of about a dozen people near the park.
By 11:30 p.m., as police officers massed on Broadway, a commander announced that the park was closed. Those inside shouted back that the park was obliged through an agreement with the city to remain open. The commander then announced that anyone who remained inside would be arrested and charged with trespassing.
After clearing the park, police officers and private security guards began placing a ring of metal barricades on the park’s perimeter, as those who had been arrested were placed inside a city bus.
Bank of America: Too Crooked to Fail
This bank is like the world's worst-behaved teenager, taking your car and running over kittens and fire hydrants on the way to Vegas for the weekend, maxing out your credit cards in the three days you spend at your aunt's funeral.
They're out of control, yet they'll never do time or go out of business, because the government remains creepily committed to their survival, like overindulgent parents who refuse to believe their 40-year-old live-at-home son could possibly be responsible for those dead hookers in the backyard.
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Fashion Victims
You might think sandblasted jeans are trendy. Too bad they're also making workers sick. —Allison Joyce
These workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sandblast jeans to produce fashionable creases and fades. But sand contains silica, which can cause a disabling lung disease called silicosis when inhaled.
Many major brands—including, most recently, Versace—say they've cracked down on using silica. But some, like Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, and Roberto Cavalli, have "remained totally indifferent" to requests to eliminate sandblasted clothes, according to the Italian spokeswoman of the anti-silica Clean Clothes Campaign.
These workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, sandblast jeans to produce fashionable creases and fades. But sand contains silica, which can cause a disabling lung disease called silicosis when inhaled.
Many major brands—including, most recently, Versace—say they've cracked down on using silica. But some, like Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, and Roberto Cavalli, have "remained totally indifferent" to requests to eliminate sandblasted clothes, according to the Italian spokeswoman of the anti-silica Clean Clothes Campaign.
On top of that, policing the supply chain is a tall order. This facility's owner claimed some of his jeans were headed for Gap, H&M, and Walmart; meanwhile, Levi's and H&M have since declared a global ban on silica use at their facilities.
March 21st - Budget Day
In it, he will set out a continuation of the cuts that have decimated Britain's public services and put up to 6.3m people out of work.
George will tell us that 'there is no alternative' to his slash-and-burn economics; that austerity is the only route to recovery. But even George can't have failed to notice one thing - austerity isn't working.
This Budget Day, don’t let George get away with it. Whether you’re unemployed or fortunate enough to still be in a job, join UK Uncut’s Austerity Isn’t Working Queue outside Downing St at 11am on Wednesday 21st March.
Student day of action: protests over government's higher education plans - Wednesday 14 March
Thousands of students boycott lectures and attend rallies to protest against growing cost of higher education
Today's events are the culmination of a week-long "Come Clean" campaign by the NUS. The union says that unlike for the NHS reforms, the government is not giving the public the opportunity to scrutinise major reforms to higher education. These reforms include the near-trebling of tuition fees to up to £9,000 this autumn and the opening-up to the private sector of degree-awarding powers.
While a white paper setting out the coalition's changes for higher education has been published, plans to publish a bill were quietly dropped or delayed in January.
Liam Burns, president of the NUS, says this "removed the opportunity for the kind of scrutiny that has been afforded to changes in the NHS".
Today's events are the culmination of a week-long "Come Clean" campaign by the NUS. The union says that unlike for the NHS reforms, the government is not giving the public the opportunity to scrutinise major reforms to higher education. These reforms include the near-trebling of tuition fees to up to £9,000 this autumn and the opening-up to the private sector of degree-awarding powers.
While a white paper setting out the coalition's changes for higher education has been published, plans to publish a bill were quietly dropped or delayed in January.
Liam Burns, president of the NUS, says this "removed the opportunity for the kind of scrutiny that has been afforded to changes in the NHS".
Black Libyans fear for their lives
But since Gaddafi's government was ousted from power, entire communities of black Libyans have disappeared without a clear reason, leaving virtual ghost towns behind.
Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from one such town, Tawergha, where remaining members of the community fear for their lives.
Joseph Kony 2012: growing outrage in Uganda over film
KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
The 30-minute video, Kony2012, was produced by three American videographers campaigning for greater efforts to capture Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).
“What that video says is totally wrong, and it can cause us more problems than help us,” said Dr Beatrice Mpora, director of Kairos, a community health organisation in Gulu, a town that was once the centre of the rebels’ activities.
“There has not been a single soul from the LRA here since 2006. Now we have peace, people are back in their homes, they are planting their fields, they are starting their businesses. That is what people should help us with.”
Joseph Kony, a former church altarboy, has spread terror through eastern and central Africa for almost three decades, as he has pursued an aimless war that has killed thousands of people and at one point forced hundreds of thousands from their homes.
Gallery: Inside the Syria revolt
Despite a clampdown on journalists, some pictures from Syria are getting out. They show bombed buildings, dead bodies, graves and a suffering people. Below are some recent photographs. We’ll update with new information regularly, from the National Post
Despite a clampdown on journalists, some pictures from Syria are getting out. They show bombed buildings, dead bodies, graves and a suffering people. Below are some recent photographs. We’ll update with new information regularly.
Despite a clampdown on journalists, some pictures from Syria are getting out. They show bombed buildings, dead bodies, graves and a suffering people. Below are some recent photographs. We’ll update with new information regularly.
My journey into Syria’s nightmare
In Libya, miles divided the warring parties. In Syria, enemies are yards apart. The war is being fought from house to house. Not knowing the local terrain, we were completely dependent on our rebel guides to keep us alive.
As we began to make arrangements to fly home, we received an e-mail; the man who had lent us his home for five days in that rebel village had been killed in Idlib, by shabbiha, it said.
Conditions for our work had been so tough in Syria, that it had been hard to capture many of the striking, bold images that make for the most arresting photography. This man had risked his life so that we could make at least a simple record of the fear that Syrians, whichever side they are on, are living with every day.
Goldman Sachs workers on executive's exit: 'We can't, we're not… no comment'
The company's employees had little to say about Greg Smith's scathing resignation column – but it's still the talk of Wall Street
Again and again, employees shut down. One man stared at his shoes and shook his head. Another, when asked how he felt about the article, held up his hand and walked away, saying "not interested".
Not far from Goldman's headquarters, the Occupy Wall Street movement camped out for three months in protest against the kind of destructive ethos described by Smith.
For many Occupiers, Goldman typifies exactly what the movement seeks to address; the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of an elite few, maintained through indefensible means.
"The fact that he wrote this certainly fundamentally corroborates everything we've been saying."
Again and again, employees shut down. One man stared at his shoes and shook his head. Another, when asked how he felt about the article, held up his hand and walked away, saying "not interested".
Not far from Goldman's headquarters, the Occupy Wall Street movement camped out for three months in protest against the kind of destructive ethos described by Smith.
For many Occupiers, Goldman typifies exactly what the movement seeks to address; the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of an elite few, maintained through indefensible means.
"The fact that he wrote this certainly fundamentally corroborates everything we've been saying."
Welcome to Occucards.com
Educational outreach cards for the Occupy Movement
Hello. We are a collective of Occupy activists who came together to produce educational outreach literature for the movement. On this site you can download free, hi-res versions of our info cards to print yourself, or you can purchase glossy, card-stock versions from us. Our prices are below what we pay to produce the cards, and thus we rely on donations to keep going. Unlike Wall Street, our finances are open and transparent.
We make NO PROFIT from the sale of our cards.
Hello. We are a collective of Occupy activists who came together to produce educational outreach literature for the movement. On this site you can download free, hi-res versions of our info cards to print yourself, or you can purchase glossy, card-stock versions from us. Our prices are below what we pay to produce the cards, and thus we rely on donations to keep going. Unlike Wall Street, our finances are open and transparent.
We make NO PROFIT from the sale of our cards.
Wednesday, 14 March 2012
Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs By Greg Smith
I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.
Greg Smith is resigning today as a Goldman Sachs executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
It makes me ill how callously people talk about ripping their clients off. Over the last 12 months I have seen five different managing directors refer to their own clients as “muppets,” sometimes over internal e-mail.
I hope this can be a wake-up call to the board of directors. Make the client the focal point of your business again. Without clients you will not make money. In fact, you will not exist. Weed out the morally bankrupt people, no matter how much money they make for the firm.
And get the culture right again, so people want to work here for the right reasons. People who care only about making money will not sustain this firm — or the trust of its clients — for very much longer.
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Is Kony 2012 a propaganda campaign?
Kony 2012 has gone viral. The documentary film that has literally spread all over the Internet and has received millions of views in a matter of days has many people talking. According to Invisible Children, the group that produced the film, the flick aims to make Joseph Kony famous in hopes of having him brought to justice. Kony is accused of kidnapping thousands of children and making them sex slaves and children soldiers. But are all sides of the story being told or is this just publicity stunt to get the US in Uganda? Keith Harmon Snow, a war correspondent, joins us for more.
Vigil for Bradley Manning at The US Embassy
Join us at the US Embassy on Friday 16/03/2012 at 1700hrs for a vigil in support of Manning.
For more info call Ben on 07866559312
Thursday, 8 March 2012
STOP TAR SANDS
There are three different sites I've linked here, to explain tar sands, what you can do to help stop it and to show support.
The tar sands of Northern Alberta, Canada – also called oil sands – are one of the largest remaining deposits of oil in the world ... From Green Peace
The tar sands of Northern Alberta, Canada – also called oil sands – are one of the largest remaining deposits of oil in the world ... From Green Peace
Developing the tar sands has created the biggest industrial development project, the biggest capital investment project, and the biggest energy project in the world. It has also created a literal hell on earth.
Areas of wilderness the size of small countries are chewed up and replaced by a landscape of toxic lakes, open pit mines, refineries, and pipe lines. The tar sands are what unrestrained fossil fuel use and unchecked greenhouse gas emissions look like. They are pushing us towards runaway climate change.
People & Planet are launching ‘Tar Sands-Free’, a campaign to get UK universities, schools and colleges to cut ties with companies that are supporting this disastrous industry, and you can get involved!
Does your school, university or college bank with RBS (or subsidiary, NatWest)?
Do they receive sponsorship money from BP or Shell?
Do they invest students’ money in any of the above companies?
If so, it’s up to you and your fellow students to get them to go ‘Tar Sands-Free’!
There are so many reasons to reject the pipeline. The only reason to accept it are the millions of dollars big oil is piping to politicians to push it through.
Some of the reasons to reject the pipeline:
- tar sands oil is the dirtiest on earth, producing triple the carbon emissions of conventional oil. Many say it would be "game over" for climate change if Canada's tar sands expands, which is the whole point of the pipeline
- Alberta's tar sands are in Canada's boreal forest, one of the largest, pristine rainforests on earth. The forest is stripped to produce tar sands oil, raping its biodiversity and leading to massive extinctions. Caribou are so stressed that Canada's now considering killing their wolves to protect them.
- oil that flows through the pipeline down the entire spine of the US, will NOT supply the US, so it won't get us off foreign oil. It will flow to the Gulf and will be exported from there. The US is just a passageway.
- the US won't see a cent of money from the oil or taxes because the Gulf refineries are in a Foreign Trade Zone. In fact, most experts see oil prices rising from the pipeline.
- the tar sands pipeline in Canada leaked 30 times in the first year it was built - expect that in the US.
- TransCanada is using eminent domain to force the pipeline on private land against the wishes of landowners.
Call to Action May Day 2012
Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with the calls for a day without the 99%, a General Strike, and more!
On May Day, wherever you are:
NO WORK
NO SCHOOL
NO HOUSEWORK
NO SHOPPING
TAKE THE STREETS!
On May Day, wherever you are:
NO WORK
NO SCHOOL
NO HOUSEWORK
NO SHOPPING
TAKE THE STREETS!
Native Americans disrupt Keystone XL Pipeline construction
Dozens of Native Americans made a human blockade to keep trucks transporting materials for the Keystone XL Pipeline from entering their land this week. The peaceful protest ended with at least five arrests.
As many as 75 members of a Native American tribe in the state of South Dakota attempted to create a man-made road block on Monday in hopes of halting two tractor trailers that were en route to Canada. According to reports, two trucks hauling materials to be used on the Keystone XL Pipeline attempted to cross into the Pine Ridge Reservation, prompting natives opposed to the oil project to gather en masse and effort a blockade.
Members of the Oglala Lakota tribe are against plans for the pipeline, saying construction could compromise their water supply in two locations, potentially damaging the Earth and poisoning their people for the sake of profit.
“America is built on stolen land and was built with stolen hands. XL Pipeline equipment, anything that has to do with the destruction of Unci Maka (Mother Earth), we don’t want any part of it. They need to stay out of our territory,” Lakota activist Olowan Martinez tells Raw Story.
As many as 75 members of a Native American tribe in the state of South Dakota attempted to create a man-made road block on Monday in hopes of halting two tractor trailers that were en route to Canada. According to reports, two trucks hauling materials to be used on the Keystone XL Pipeline attempted to cross into the Pine Ridge Reservation, prompting natives opposed to the oil project to gather en masse and effort a blockade.
Members of the Oglala Lakota tribe are against plans for the pipeline, saying construction could compromise their water supply in two locations, potentially damaging the Earth and poisoning their people for the sake of profit.
“America is built on stolen land and was built with stolen hands. XL Pipeline equipment, anything that has to do with the destruction of Unci Maka (Mother Earth), we don’t want any part of it. They need to stay out of our territory,” Lakota activist Olowan Martinez tells Raw Story.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
#KONY 2012
KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.
Join TRI or Donate to Invisible Children: http://bit.ly/yp5Ffv
Purchase KONY 2012 products: http://invisiblechildrenstore.myshopify.com/
Sign the Pledge: http://www.causes.com/causes/227-invisible-children
Joseph Kony’s tactics were—and remain—brutal. He often forced children to kill their parents or siblings with machetes or blunt tools. He abducted girls to be sex slaves for his officers. He brainwashed and indoctrinated the children with his lies and manipulated them with his claim of spiritual powers.
At the height of the conflict in Uganda, children “night commuted.” That is, every evening they would walk miles from their homes to the city centers. There, hundreds of children would sleep in school houses, churches, or bus depots to avoid abduction by the LRA.
Kony and the LRA abducted more than 30,000 children in northern Uganda.
Rush Limbough - C**T of the year!
Obama’s controversial birth control mandate that totally excluded women from testifying on the absurd grounds that the issue is solely one of religious freedom, not women’s health.
Later that week, the woman who had been scheduled to testify—Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke—was finally given her chance to speak in a panel organized by Democrats.
In her testimony, Fluke spoke of the pain of watching a friend be forced to have an ovary removed due to ovarian cysts, a fate that insurer-provided birth control might have prevented.
Now, fast-forward to Wednesday, when conservative radio host and provocateur Rush Limbaugh called Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute”*—despicable, but not surprising. But what he did next really seems to have crossed a line. On Thursday, Limbaugh laughed off the outrage at his previous remarks with an ejaculation of boy’s club crassness.
The Pentagon Is Offering Free Military Hardware To Every Police Department In The US
The U.S. military has some of the most advanced killing equipment in the world that allows it to invade almost wherever it likes at will.
We produce so much military equipment that inventories of military robots, M-16 assault rifles, helicopters, armored vehicles, and grenade launchers eventually start to pile up and it turns out a lot of these weapons are going straight to American police forces to be used against US citizens.
Benjamin Carlson at The Daily reports on a little known endeavor called the "1033 Program" that gave more than $500 million of military gear to U.S. police forces in 2011 alone.
We produce so much military equipment that inventories of military robots, M-16 assault rifles, helicopters, armored vehicles, and grenade launchers eventually start to pile up and it turns out a lot of these weapons are going straight to American police forces to be used against US citizens.
Benjamin Carlson at The Daily reports on a little known endeavor called the "1033 Program" that gave more than $500 million of military gear to U.S. police forces in 2011 alone.
Tuesday, 6 March 2012
Save our NHS rally: 7 March
Profit will come before patient care.
These reforms are being pushed through at a time when the government is asking the NHS to make unprecedented cuts. Despite Government assertions to the contrary, deep concerns about the Bill are held by practitioners and patients from across the health service. They are also shared by many of the coalitions own supporters, including a number of MPs and Peers, who have criticised what Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary is trying to push through.
Now we are asking anyone who cares about our NHS to join us in a Save our NHS rally in Westminster Central Hall, opposite the Houses of Parliament at 18:00 on 7 March.
The rally has been organised by the All Together for the NHS Campaign and brings together a range of unions, professional bodies, patients and members of the public who are opposed to the Bill.
OWS + Brigades make debut in the streets
On February 29th, 70 actions were held across the country to mark the “Shut Down the Corporations” day of action—or #F29.
Organizers hoped the day would help reinvigorate the Occupy movement’s national profile, recapture the public’s imagination and media’ attention. And they had a secret weapon: the + Brigades.
Organizers hoped the day would help reinvigorate the Occupy movement’s national profile, recapture the public’s imagination and media’ attention. And they had a secret weapon: the + Brigades.
Japan Airlines' CEO pays himself less than the pilots, takes the bus to work
When Japan Airlines hit hard times in 2009 and began to lay off its staff, JAL CEO Haruka Nishimatsu cut his own pay to less than that of his pilots and eliminated all his perks. He now rides public transit to the office and eats in the employee cafeteria, standing in line with his colleagues.
G8 Moved Out of Chicago
In a move that makes a mockery of American democracy—but also points to the growing clout of the Occupy movement—the White House has moved the site of the upcoming G-8 economic summit from Chicago to the presidential retreat at Camp David in Maryland.
It’s an unusually late location change for such a large international summit. The White House gave no immediate reason for the shift, saying only in a statement that Obama is inviting his fellow G-8 leaders to Camp David to “facilitate a free-flowing discussion.”
The G-8 meeting will be held May 18-19. The White House says Obama still plans to host the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21.
The White House announced last summer that Obama would hold both summits in his hometown of Chicago.
See you in Maryland in May?
Security fears? Chicago G8 Summit canceled, relocated to Camp David From RT
Amid concerns over thousands of protestors descending on Chicago, Illinois for the G-8 Summit this spring, the event have been moved to the presidential compound at Camp David, Maryland, around an hour outside of Washington.
It’s an unusually late location change for such a large international summit. The White House gave no immediate reason for the shift, saying only in a statement that Obama is inviting his fellow G-8 leaders to Camp David to “facilitate a free-flowing discussion.”
The G-8 meeting will be held May 18-19. The White House says Obama still plans to host the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20-21.
The White House announced last summer that Obama would hold both summits in his hometown of Chicago.
See you in Maryland in May?
Security fears? Chicago G8 Summit canceled, relocated to Camp David From RT
Amid concerns over thousands of protestors descending on Chicago, Illinois for the G-8 Summit this spring, the event have been moved to the presidential compound at Camp David, Maryland, around an hour outside of Washington.
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