Occupy's Pledge to FIGHT BACK

The 1% wreck our economy, kill our jobs, seize our homes, assault our rights, destroy the environment, and sentence us to lives of debt and war.  SIGN THE OCCUPY PLEDGE!

For years, we have petitioned our governments for change without redress and have fought tirelessly to elect politicians who only betray us. In a world where the 1% have usurped democracy and politicians refuse to serve the people, the people have but one choice—to fight back!

The relentless class war against the 99% must end.

We’ve been deceived our whole lives into believing the only way to create change is by voting, but now we’re learning there’s another way. A revolution for real democracy is underway, and it falls on each and every one of us to fight together for our common future. 

We will cast the vote of resistance. We will take direct action to shut this broken system down and build a better world that works in the interest of all people, everywhere.

Will you help us wage resistance? (Check off all that apply)

Go to the page to see the options, do something, just anything, a little thing, it all helps. 

We can win, think of the numbers involved.  We are strong, look what we endure, how we live, how we cope.  Those fat cats wouldn't last two minutes living the lives we do, lets show them how strong we are, fight back!!!

Occupy's Pledge to FIGHT BACK
We Didn’t Start the Class War

Sign the Occupy Pledge.  I just did.

More From Occupy National Gathering

So far #natgat has generated 1,500 tweets w/3.4M impressions, reaching an audience of 1.1M followers within the past 24 hours #ows #occupyNG

The above from OccupyWallSt on twitter.

#Joinus Sun, 7/1 @ Ethical Society of Philadelphia phillyethics.org @1:45 to hear abt the team at occupywallst.org #natgat

#2ndBank Park. More units on the way. #NatGat

Photo from National Gathering twitter page

Deescalation meditation continues as #NPS confiscate tents. #NatGat

Calmed down, talking about sleeping arrangements. On sidewalk as truth to power? #solidaritywithhomeless #natgat

The police have apparently said we can stay in the park on condition of no tents, no sleeping. #NatGat

#natgat trending worldwide

#NatGat will leave the park and it seems most will opt to sleep on the sidewalks outside corporations

There's something Orwellian about a government that arrests its citizens right in front of symbols of liberty. #NatGat

The latest photo above from Occupy Congress

Debtors assembly sunday @ noon in #WashingtonSquarePark - #StrikeDebt #YouAreNotALoan #WontPay #TheInvisibleArmy #AllintheRed 

National Occupy Guitarmy 99 Mile March, July 5-11 2012

A call for support from Occupiers, Friends, and Musicians from Philadelphia to New York City

The Occupy Guitarmy is spearheading #99MileMarch from Philadelphia to New York City from July 5 to July 11, 2012 in honor of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday (July 14, 2012) and in celebration of the National Gathering of Occupy movement.

We call on Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York musicians, social justice activists, union members, and occupy supporters to help support our action.

We actively seek: daily, overnight, and long haul marchers, daily location event organizers, street medics, guitar techs, kitchen staff, live-streamers, caravan vehicles, oral historians, and general volunteers.

We ask that marchers, volunteers, and on-site supporters of our action visit our website (www.99milemarch.org) to engage with us in advance. Please contact us if you plan to march with us!

Occupy National Gathering Schedule

View a complete list of speakers, workshops, and trainings here: LEARN & CREATEOccupy National Gathering Schedule

SATURDAY, JUNE 30TH

All activities will be on Independence Mall (5th and Market) and surrounding parks unless otherwise noted.
 9am – Set-up – Independence Mall and surrounding location
 11am – 3pm – Occupy Caravans arrive
 11am – 1:30pm – Speakers
 1:45pm – 3pm – Open Space, Workshops, and Speaker Follow-up Sessions
 3pm – NatGat Welcome – Main Stage
 3:30pm – “Know Your Rights” training – Main Stage
 4pm – “Summer Training” – Community/Solidarity/Skill-Building Exercises
 6pm – March
 7:30pm – Dinner served*
 8pm – 9pm – OccuArts – On-stage Performances (if you’d like to perform, contact Jacob at wjacobr@gmail.com)
 9pm – Festivities: Panic Hour Comedy Show

*All meals will be “first come, first served”, but we’ll do our best to get everyone fed. Please bring food to share if you can.

SUNDAY, JULY 1ST

10am – Welcome & NatGat Announcements – Main Stage
 10am – 12pm – Topical/thematic meet-ups (find a group discussion – or start your own)
 11am – 1:30pm – Speakers & Daily NatGat Announcements – Main stage
 (Announcements will be at Noon)
 11:30am – 2pm – Peoples’ History Walking Tour of Old City Philadelphia – meet at the Chief Tamenend statue, Market Street @ Front (1st) Street
 2pm – 5pm – “Occupy My Soul” art project workshop w/ Elise Kraemer *Off-site, Location TBA
 1:45pm – 2:45pm – Open Space / Workshops / Speaker Follow Up Sessions A (Schedule TBA)
 3pm – 4pm – Open Space / Workshops / Speaker Follow Up Sessions B (Schedule TBA)
 3pm – 4:30pm – Open Mic – On the Soapbox
 3pm – 5:30pm – Trainings
 4:15pm – 5:15pm – Open Space / Workshops / Speaker Follow Up Sessions C (Schedule TBA)
 6pm – 7:30pm – Dinner
 6pm – 7pm – OccuArts – On-stage Performances (if you’d like to perform, contact Jacob at wjacobr@gmail.com)
 7pm – FemGA – Main Stage
 8:30pm – Visioning discussions
 10pm – Festivities

Occupy National Gathering

From Occupy National Gathering

Occupy National Gathering in Philadelphia, PA June 30 - July 4th, 2012! Endorsed by GA's 

 

We've started a welcome mic check at 5th and Market. Introductions and lots of cheer!

The anti-corporate personhood march is about to begin.

The march is underway. "Money is not speech!" #NatGat

We have taken the park behind the Second Bank of America - our new home for 5 days! #NatGat

Armed #NPS officers arrive immediately. Land of the Free! #NatGat

Occupy the Roads

Picture from OccupyWallSt

Occupy Philly 2.0 - "Occupy Vacant Lots"

Wonderful idea!  A must watch! Share it please.

More Olympic Shame

Olympic gains: Firms avoid £600m tax bill as Games venues treated like 'offshore havens'

“Corporate partners” like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa have a temporary exemption from corporation tax as “non-resident” companies

 

Olympic sponsors will avoid paying up to £600million in tax as venues will be treated like offshore havens during the Games, a report claims.

Under new Revenue and Customs rules ushered in as part of Team GB’s winning bid, “corporate partners” like Coca-Cola, McDonald’s and Visa have a temporary exemption from corporation tax as “non-resident” companies.

Although the multinationals have offices in the UK, their separate Olympic operations avoid paying tax from March 30 to November 8.

The new rules also mean foreign employees working for the firms do not have to pay income tax in the UK.

Campaigning group Ethical Consumer, which carried out the report, estimates the Government will lose out on £600million.

Author Tim Hunt said: “The real winners in the London Olympics are those companies who stand to make millions out of the greatest sporting event in the world.”

National Occupy gathering set for July 4 in Philly

National Occupy gathering set for July 4 in Philly

 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Get ready for Occupy Fourth of July in the cradle of liberty.

Occupy groups from across the country are headed to Philadelphia for a national gathering on Independence Mall, seeking to unify their far-flung movement against economic inequality a half-year after police evicted protesters from encampments in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York and other cities. 

The event, which starts Saturday and runs through July 4, is expected to bring about 1,500 protesters for marches, speakers and camping during the city's annual Independence Day festivities.

Young indignant and ready to invent the future -- Official trailer

First trailer from the series from Nasser Bakhti called
Young Indignant and ready to invent the future
(Jeunes indignés et prêts à inventer le futur )

Documentary- A Silent Forest. The Growing Threat, Genetically Engineered Trees- Full Movie

Two Americas: Corporate Profits All Time High, Wages All Time Low

We already know that America has the highest level of inequality in the developed world and that the recent crisis wiped out 40% of wealth for most Americans, hurting everyone but the rich. But here are some new records in inequality within the system itself, from Business Insider:

1) Corporate profit margins just hit an all-time high. Companies are making more per dollar of sales than they ever have before. (And some people are still saying that companies are suffering from "too much regulation" and "too many taxes." Maybe little companies are, but big ones certainly aren't).

2) Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low. This is both cause and effect. One reason companies are so profitable is that they're paying employees less than they ever have as a share of GDP. And that, in turn, is one reason the economy is so weak: Those "wages" are other companies' revenue.

Affordable Dental Care Unavailable To One-Third Of Americans: Report

One in three Americans can't afford to see the dentist.

Watch Why Trinity Can’t Go to the Dentist on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

The next generation of Americans already is suffering. Nearly 5 million American children, or one in 16, did not get regular dental checkups in 2008 because their families could not afford it, according to an Institute of Medicine report released last year.

Going without dental care can ruin lives. Louis Morris, 33, of Philadelphia, found out on Saturday while seeing a dentist for the first time in 15 years at a volunteer clinic that his gum infection had worn away at his jawbone, could spread to other parts of his body and wipe out all of his teeth, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Morris already had lost several of his teeth.

Forgoing dental care sometimes is fatal. Kyle Willis, a 24-year-old father from Cincinnati, died from a tooth infection last year because he could not afford antibiotics or to get the tooth pulled out, according to ABC News. He was unemployed and had no health insurance. The infection spread, caused his brain to swell and then killed him.

This disgusting state of affairs is the same in Great Britain.

The 99 Mile March: July 5 - 12 from Philly to NYC

In honor of Woody Guthrie’s 100th birthday, the Occupy Guitarmy leading a song and protestful #99MileMarch. 

Following the conclusion of the Occupy National Gathering in Philadelphia, PA on July 5th, musicians and activists from across the country will embark on a 99 mile journey of song and solidarity from Philadelphia (July 5) to New York City (July 11).

Along the seven day journey, the Occupy Guitarmy will make stops within local communities to teach songs, discuss issues facing local residents, and perform with local musicians. 

The goal will be to ignite a spark of creativity and passion among all present to use music as a tool for both community building and civic engagement.

Bradley Manning Hearing Ends

After the hearing this week, which is the military equivalent of a grand jury, a decision will be made about whether to conduct a full court-martial. That process is likely to take several weeks. 

 Legal experts agreed it was almost certain that the 24-year-old soldier would be tried on at least some of the 22 charges against him, which range from aiding the enemy to adding unauthorized software to a classified computer.

 If he is court-martialed on the more serious charges, Private Manning could be executed, though prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty.

Private Manning could also be sentenced to life in prison, but Mr. Coombs suggested that a more appropriate punishment would not exceed 30 years in prison, pointing out that such a sentence would put his client in jail longer than he has been alive.

Daniel Ellsberg, the whistle-blower responsible for this country’s last big leak of government secrets, the Pentagon Papers, has thrown himself into the center of these debates as an outspoken supporter of Private Manning’s. He was thrown out of the courtroom at one point this week for attempting to speak to the soldier during a recess.

 “It’s not that whistle-blowers believe there is no need for some things to be kept secret,” Mr. Ellsberg said. “It’s that they believe some things are wrongfully kept secret.”

Broken Britain

From tuition fees to workfare to benefit cuts to young parents, to careers stitched up by free internships and temporary contracts, a clear ideological and electoral decision has been made. 

These young people don't vote, they don't pay much tax, and they are superfluous to a Tory win.

It is older people who vote. Thus the freezing, half-starved pensioner is always wheeled out – not the comfortably-off guy playing golf in Marbella – to be pitted against feckless, hooded youth – as though we have to choose between them.

We don't.

The reality is that under-25s are pitted against their own parents. If you have a house, you better keep it so they have somewhere to live. If you have a job, stick at it, bite your lip, because they might find employment tough.

 Cast your ideas globally at twentysomethings with few prospects and high expectations.

Whatever erupts may be contained. Anyway these kids only want trainers and TVs.

But how do we also write off the graduates without any work? Or the hospital nurses who cannot afford to live in the cities where they work? Or the mothers who cannot afford childcare, so are living off the state? 

Olympics Shame

David Cameron heckled by London 2012 volunteer

Olympics volunteer interrupts prime minister's speech to tell him he should be 'ashamed of himself'

Prime minister David Cameron was told he should be "ashamed of himself" by a heckling London 2012 volunteer during a speech to mark the fact there is a month to go until the opening ceremony.

During a visit to the uniform distribution centre in east London where 200 so-called Games Makers were collecting their outfits, a protester shouted: "Shame on you, David Cameron – you are crippling the poor in London. Shame on you."

When he tried to continue, he was drowned out by other volunteers in attendance and ushered out of the room.

The 70,000 Games Makers, who will work for nothing in a range of roles from car park attendants to trackside bag carriers, are seen as crucial to the success of the London Olympics. The centre has so far handed out 40,000 uniforms to volunteers, staff and contractors. It expects to process between 2,000 and 2,500 people a day.

People are dying in this country cut off from disability benefits that they are rightfully entitled to, and we spend billions on this farce.  Where has the money come from?  Why was it not deemed more useful to spend it on job creation or helping those unfortunate enough not to be well enough to work?

Occupy Our Homes: Fighting Back. Winning.

Global Campaign To Ban Aspartame

Hopefully, together we can get these poisons banned. 

Aspartame aka Aspartame Acid Methanol = "Bathtub Gin"

Methanol is the base chemical used to make paint remover, carburetor cleaner, motor vehicle fuel, Sterno, Formaldehyde and other chemical nasties.

During Roaring 20s there was a bootleg alcohol drink known as "Bathtub Gin". Bathtub Gin was made from Wood Alcohol and it hospitalized many people with just one drink.

"Bathtub Gin" caused people to;go blind and some people died.

Methanol is made from "Wood Alcohol". The chemical family tree goes on and people continue to suffer.

 In short Wood Alcohol = Methanol = Aspartame = self embalming Methanol is the base chemical used to manufacture the most caustic and harmful of products such as:

 PAINT REMOVER CARBURETOR CLEANER WINDSHIELD WASHING FLUID DE-ICING FLUIDS VEHICULAR FUELS EMBALMING FLUIDS - extremely tacky, takes an extremely long time to purge residues from a body, it is designed to preserve all animal forms for Eternity.

The Missing Billions - UK Uncut

UK Uncut’s New Film, “The Missing Billions,” About Savage Austerity Cuts and Corporate Tax Avoidance

I hope you have 25 minutes to spare to watch a new film by UK Uncut, entitled, “The Missing Billions,” which I’ve posted below. Since emerging in October 2010, the UK Uncut campaigners have protested against tax avoidance in the UK and have worked to raise awareness about cuts to public services.  

This is an important documentary, and a perfect follow-up to my article yesterday, RIP Karen Sherlock, Another Victim of the Tories’ Brutal, Heartless Disability Reforms, in which I not only mourned the death of disability campaigner Karen Sherlock, who was herself severely disabled, but also reiterated my sustained attack on the government’s cruelty and incompetence, with particular reference to the government’s assault on education, on the NHS, and on the unemployed and disabled.

As is explained in the film, £850 billion was used to bail out the banks, even though, according to some estimates, $11 trillion is hidden in offshore accounts — enough to tackle deficits without the savage and self-defeating austerity measures that are steadily destroying the fabric of life in the UK.

Action Alert: Deutsche Bank supports rainforest logging

The Deutsche Bank is looking for investors for further deforestation. Instead of species-rich rainforest more palm oil monocultures are planned in Indonesia and Africa

“The Deutsche Bank is helping FELDA to take away our land and to cut down the rainforest”, says Mazlan Aliman. The courageous farmer is the spokesman of the Malaysian opposition. His cooperative disapproves of palm oil giant FELDA’s stock market flotation that is planned for 28 June 2012. The money pouring in is going to be used for the large-scale clearance of rainforest.

The Malaysian company FELDA Global Ventures Holding wants to collect three billion dollars for new palm oil plantation on the stock market. One of Germany’s largest banks, the Deutsche Bank, is helping to search for investors. FELDA is the world’s largest palm oil trader, the third largest owner of palm oil plantations and a leading sugar producer.

Deutsche Bank is calling its approach ecologically and socially harmless. Mazlan Aliman and his fellow protesters take a different point of view: In their opinion FELDA’s stock market flotation infringes their rights and amounts to a forced conversion.

Please ask the Deutsche Bank to dissociate itself from FELDA and to refrain from any more land grabbing or logging.

Click here to sign on to the call to get Deutsche Bank out of the rainforest

Tipping Point Democracy

Tipping point: when a seemingly insignificant shift in one variable causes a structural, irrevocable transformation in the system. 

Whether it’s the onset of a hurricane, a stock exchange crash, a star implosion, an influenza epidemic, or a nasty temper tantrum, the dynamics of the tipping point remain the same: shit hits the fan before you knew there was a fan.

In politics the tipping point has an especially dramatic implication: a seemingly insignificant change in one legislation can lead to a drastic change in the system of governance.

Jump cut to America in 2012, where 21% of children live in poverty while military spending outstrips the rest of the world’s, corporations control the electoral system, and Eisenhower’s nightmare about a military industrial takeover is in full gear. It’s a land in dire need of watchdogs.

Unfortunately, watchdogs are not politically inclined and therefore they cannot and will not change the system from the inside. It’s not in their DNA. To be a successful politician you have to be a lapdog to the masses. Watchdogs and lapdogs don’t mix.

Codex Alimentarius

Codex Alimentarius

More and more people are  becoming concerned about the shady, secretive organization that is Codex Alimentarius - the thinly-veiled propaganda arm of the international pharmaceutical industry that does everything it can to promote industry objectives whilst limiting individual options to maintain health (which would diminish mermbers profits).

Codex alimentarius is one of the major bodies behind the effort to limit access to nutritional products and information. Its motivation is not rocket science and neither is the source of its funding - money that somehow expected to return a profit to its members . . . Most of the information available regarding codex alimentarius refers to its role in the USA, but it is not a US-specific body.

Far from it, Codex has wiggled its dirty little tentacles into just about every national or international body concerned with public health. Posing as a benefactor, it then uses its significant financial and political clout to do its masters bidding.

As you can read in the excellent article below, there is much to be concerned about when considering codex alimentarius - ignore it at your peril.

Codex Alimentarius - The Sinister Truth Behind Operation Cure-All
(From an original article by Ruth James)

What's really behind Operation Cure-All? Is it just the FDA and FTC taking their power too far? Or is there a deeper, more sinister purpose to this campaign? Who are Codex Alimentarius?

How could a country that prides itself in its freedom of speech, freedom of choice, and freedom of information be facing such severe restrictions in health freedom and dietary supplements? Haven't the people made their will known? Didn't our government pass the Dietary Supplement Health & Education Act of 1994 to insure our right to health supplements?

Indeed, our government did. But the FDA and FTC have found ways to get around that. The laws put in place to protect us are being ignored. And what's worse is that those laws are about to be superseded, if the powers that be have their way.

OPERATION CURE ALL IS JUST ONE MEANS TO AN END
 
You see, Operation Cure-All is just a tactic, a vehicle, in a much bigger overall plan. It is a result of "Codex Alimentarius" (meaning food code) -- a set of regulations that aim to outlaw any health information in connection with vitamins and limit free access to natural therapies on a worldwide scale.

WHAT'S BEHIND CODEX ALMENTARIUS?

Behind the Codex Alimentarius Commission is the United Nations and the World Health Organization working in conjunction with the multinational pharmaceutical cartel and international banks. Its initial efforts in the US with the FDA were defeated, so it found another ally in the FTC. Now Codex, with the FTC and the pharmaceutical cartel behind it, it threatens to become a trade issue, using the campaign of Operation Cure-All to advance its goals.

Codex began simply enough when the U.N. authorized the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization to develop a universal food code. Their purpose was to 'harmonize' regulations for dietary supplements worldwide and set international safety standards for the purposes of increased trade. Pharmaceutical interests stepped in and began exerting their influence.

Instead of focusing on food safety, Codex is using its power to promote worldwide restrictions on vitamins and food supplements, severely limiting their availability and dosages.

Big Pharma’s War on Health

We have given the largest business on Earth – the pharmaceutical industry – full control over our health. Since decades ago, Big Pharma funds virtually all research into disease and cure and controls academics and healthcare professionals.

In China, people used to pay their family doctors a modest monthly fee, but when they got ill, they stopped until the doctor helped them get better. Such a system tries to keep people healthy out of self-interest.

Enter capitalism.

Since the early 1930’s, the Rockefeller family privatized the US healthcare industry, and similar takeovers occured in other Western countries. The result was a cartel controlling:

All medical textbooks,
All scientific research into the causes of disease,
All scientific research into the creation of medicines,
All published information about medical issues in popular and professional literature,
All national and international laws governing medicine and medicines,
All production, pricing and distribution of all medicines and soon, with Codex Alimentarius, even vitamins and minerals.

Their profits are enormous because their pricing strategy has nothing to do with the cost of developing medicines – it simply reflects what the market will bear, and all costs incurred in securing a patent monopoly on the drug’s derivatives are passed on to the market.

They deliberately do not delve into the real causes of disease, because that would lead to the slaughter of the goose with the golden eggs: The need for eternal symptom relief.

Anish Kapoor's house in London occupied by protesters

Bread and Circuses group to hold arts event in house owned by artist who designed ArcelorMittal Orbit tower for Olympics

In the first of what could be a summer of regular protests connected to the Olympics, a group connected to the Occupy movement has taken over an empty Georgian house owned by the Olympic park sculptor Anish Kapoor for a one-day arts event.

The group, calling itself Bread and Circuses, a reference to its argument that the Olympics are a means of distracting people from pressing economic and social issues, said it had "liberated" the part-derelict five-storey house on Lincoln Inn's Fields, one of central London's most picturesque and expensive garden squares.

The group says the house has been left empty since the artist – whose ArcelorMittal Orbit tower, a 115-metre tall sculpture and observation platform, dominates the skyline of the Olympic Park in east London – bought it in 2009. Kapoor is listed as director of a company called 1-2 Lincoln's Inn Fields Ltd, the address of the property, which was formed in 2009.

1-2 Lincoln’s Inn Fields squat or occupation – Bread and Circuses

Many of you will have noticed activity at the long-empty 1-2 Lincoln’s Inn Fields.  On Thursday evening the building sprouted banners and began to prepare for an event described as ‘Bread and Circuses’ at 1600 on Friday 22 June.

As I was experimenting with the QR code on their front door this evening (it’s a very modern squat although the code doesn’t work) I bumped into one of the participants and he gave an interview which you can play below or click this link.

Bread and Circuses

This has already happened but worth a mention and any addition new information will get posted.

Spectacle in the time of austerity

Weapons of Mass Distraction

We face a hostile corporate assault on public spaces, art and communities. A large space in central London has been liberated for a one-day event: talks, debates, art, screenings, music and celebration.

Join us!

Grand spectacles are being used by the government and corporations to take our minds off austerity measures, the global economic crisis and the commodification of everything, even art.

This event will take place on Friday June 22nd in a beautiful space that has been left to ruin since 2009. Its owner is one of the wealthiest artists in the world and designer of London’s favourite mega-structure, the meccano on crack ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower.

Apparently “public art”, it costs £15 to visit. This is a publicly funded piece of PR for a corporation guilty of various crimes, just like the Olympics. It is an example of how corporate power invades every aspect of our lives from sports to arts.

Boris Johnson said of the tower “Of course some people will say we are nuts – in the depths of a recession – to be building Britain’s biggest ever piece of public art.”

Yes Boris, we think you are nuts.

Follow GamesMonitor Debunking Olympic Myths HERE

The Olympics project is large and complex. It is not easy to quickly grasp the nature of its probable impacts on the Lower Lea Valley and London. World Class Games in East London is followed by a collection of four useful papers which together give a relatively short description of some of the significant impacts.

And the Bread and Circuses site HERE

Occupy Information Resource

A superb resource for all things Occupy. Key Occupations, Upcoming Events, Allies, Organising Tools, Documents, Media, Foreclosures, all listed on one easy to use page.  

Top page!

Carnival of Dirt Video

The Carnival of Dirt took place in London on 15/06/2012, uniting more than 30 activist groups from London and around the world who came together to highlight the illicit deeds of mining and extraction companies.

Police Clash with protesters at #MicCheckWallStreet march on 6/20/2012

Video of a pots and pans ("casseroles") march on 6/20/2012 in Seattle organized by #MicCheckWallStreet protesting student debt and rising interest rates. Residents bang pots in solidarity. Police arrest someone. People yell at the cops arresting the person.

White House refuses to reveal ties with Monsanto

Despite requests made under the Freedom of Information Act for correspondence out of the White House, the Obama administration is refusing to comply with calls to disclose discussions with Monsanto-linked lobbyists.

 Volunteer reapers ("Faucheurs volontaires"), beekeepers and anti-GMO activists put a placard in front of the Regional Direction of Agriculture on February 21, 2012 in Toulouse (AFP Photo / Remy Gabalda)

Three-hundred thousands organic farmers across America are currently trying to take Monsanto to court to keep the corporation from continuing its war on independent growers.

As a case is composed, the PEER group suspects that the White House’s refusal to comply with the FOIA request could be because Monsanto has some powerful friends on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Particularly, PEER is trying to pry correspondence that came into the inbox of a White House policy analyst from a lobbyist with the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), which represents Monsanto and other manufacturers of genetically-engineered seeds.

The White House says that disclosing the full details of the email could give competing companies an advantage as lobbying secrets are unearthed for the world, but PEER thinks the truth is much worse than that.

"We suspect the reason an industry lobbyist so cavalierly shared strategy is that the White House is part of that strategy," PEER staff counsel Kathryn Douglass tells the Truthout website. "The White House's legal posture is as credible as claiming Coca Cola's secret formula was 'inadvertently' left in a duffel bag at the bus station."

Senate rejects bid to label genetically modified food

The Senate on Thursday rejected an amendment to the farm bill that would have given states the power to require labels on genetically modified food. 

“This is the very first time a bill on labeling genetically engineered food has been brought before the Senate,” said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), who introduced the proposal. “It was opposed by virtually every major food corporation in the country. While we wish we could have gotten more votes, this is a good step forward and something we are going to continue to work on. The people of Vermont and the people of America have a right to know what’s in the food that they eat.”

This is just one story from Occupy Homes on facebook.  Please join and support.

UPDATE: 15 total arrests today at the Cruz home! The Cruz family has decided they are not leaving Pittsburgh, and will return to PNC Bank's headquarters tomorrow to demand a real good faith negotiation with someone who has the power to fix the bank's error, not the low level PR execs who met with the family today who had no intention of working with them. We will be jamming PNC's phones from 10-5pm at the NOC office (3318 e lake st.) in solidarity with their incredible courage and tenacity. WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED!

STOP MONSANTO

From Growing Organic, Eating Organic 

Direct Action Highlight: Summer Disobedience School

Summer Disobedience School kicked off in NYC on May 26 and classes will be in session until Graduation Day—also known as Black Monday—September 17, the anniversary of the Liberty Square occupation.

Summer Disobedience School (SDS) is part training, part team building, and part skill share. It’s aim: to empower individuals to spearhead successful actions. Not to mention weekly infiltrations, interruptions, slowdowns, and blockades to remind to Wall Street we’re still hot at their heels.

Occupy and Locals Protest Leyton Marsh being bulldozed to build Basketball Court for Olympics

A group from Occupy helps locals at Leyton Marsh - East London - to stop the building of a basketball court for the Olympics on their green land.

Occupy Elder Abuse!

Figures for Massachusetts below but add those to figures from all over the world, mostly in what we laughingly call 'the civilised world'.

Each day in Massachusetts, there are 54 reports of suspected elder abuse (20,000 per year), according figures reported in 2011 by Mass Home Care, an elder services advocacy group. In Boston alone, there were over 7,000 cases of suspected elder abuse reported from 2008 to 2012, according to Ethos, who is responsible for Protective Services for the city of Boston.

‪#OcupaDosPovos‬

80000 people marched against the destruction of the planet by Capitalism! AND IT"S NOT BEING TELEVISED

What is it?

What is the People’s Summit?

 The People’s Summit for Social and Environmental Justice during Rio+20  is an event organized by global civil society that will take place between the 15th and the 23rd of June at Flamengo, in Rio de Janeiro – alongside the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), Rio+20.

We want to transform Rio+20 in a moment of opportunity to address the serious problems that humanity is facing and demonstrate the political power of organized people. ”Come reinvent the world” is our call and our invitation for the participation of the organizations and social movements in Brazil and in the world.

Ultras Ahlawy chanting "Oh Council of Bastards". [English Subtitles] #Egypt

This video was filmed on April 2012 during activists' sit-in in front of the parliament, demanding justice for victims of the "Port Said massacre".

"Oh Council of Bastards", is a powerful song by Ultras Ahlawy against the Military rulers of Egypt. The Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) is responsible of several crimes committed against the civilian people of Egypt since the start of the January 25, revolution in 2011.

We do not forget SCAF crimes.
We do not forgive SCAF crimes.

SCAF should fear us, as we know our rights and are ready to die for it.

Our revolution is peaceful and we will continue our struggle no matter what is the cost. Freedom is not for free.

Wikileaks' Julian Assange seeks asylum in Ecuador embassy

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is seeking political asylum at Ecuador's London embassy.

The South American country says it is "studying and analysing the request".

Last week, the UK's Supreme Court dismissed Mr Assange's bid to reopen an appeal against extradition to Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

He fears that if he is sent to Sweden it may lead to him being sent to the US to face charges over Wikileaks for which he could face the death penalty.

Mr Assange denies any wrongdoing.

Demand the Future

America needs a youth movement. As our generation comes of age, our country is coming apart. 

Our opportunities are drying up and our democracy is increasingly controlled by a tiny few. At this moment, we have a choice: we can save our future or sit by as it's squandered by those in power.

From Wisconsin to Keystone XL, from Occupiers to Dreamers, we have already started to stand up.

Like our friends in Chile, Mexico and Canada before us, students across the US are fighting for change. This summer, we will converge in Columbus, Ohio to plan the next stage of the movement.

Now is the time for an American student movement.

Generations of young people before of us have led transformational movements that altered the course of American history.

The civil rights movement, free speech movement, women’s rights movement, and many other movements began before our time but left a lasting legacy. Many of these struggles continue today, but now it’s our turn to fight.

Direct Action Highlight: Occupy National Gathering

Direct Action Highlight: Occupy National Gathering

The Occupy National Gathering is a nationally coordinated event which will take place from June 30th to July 4th in Philadelphia. 

The Occupy movement will convene the Occupy National Gathering in the vicinity of Philadelphia’s Independence Mall for a week of direct actions, movement building and the creation of a vision for a democratic future.

The National Gathering will kick off with a massive march with Healthcare-Now! and will conclude on July 5th when attendees will join the Guitarmy for a 99 mile march from Philadelphia to Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.

Occupy Caravans reach Salt Lake City

Occupy movement is back in full force in Salt Lake City—for today, at least. 

 Come on guys, join the caravan!!

 
The Occupy Caravan is a group of three vehicles and about 35 people crossing the country to revitalize Occupy’s agenda, have made it to Salt Lake City and will be spending the evening at Liberty Park. Anyone interested in becoming part of the caravan or just wanting to catch up on the Occupy Movement is welcome to join the group for a cookout and discussion on the economic civil rights happening in America.

Why the U.S. Media Barely Covered Brutal Right-Wing Race Riots in Tel Aviv

Middle East analyst MJ Rosenberg discusses the Israel lobby, Iran and the xenophobic riots that shook Israeli society. 

Several weeks back, Israel was rocked by a night of right-wing race-riots targeting African refugees in Tel Aviv. The thuggery was frightening – refugees were attacked, African-owned businesses and stores were vandalized and a community was forced to hunker down behind closed doors in fear for their lives.

The story received very little coverage in the United States. Worse, some outlets that did report on the riots advanced the rioters' narrative that African refugees were responsible for a massive wave of street violence, despite the fact that crime statistics don't bear out the claim.

Recently, Middle East analyst MJ Rosenberg appeared on the AlterNet Radio Hour to discuss the Tel Aviv riots, the stand-off over Iran's nuclear program and how the Israel lobby helps narrow the discourse around Israel in the United States. Below is a lightly edited transcript of the discussion (you can listen to the whole interview here)

Asia Floor Wage

Most of the world's garments are made in Asia. Yet Asian workers are paid the least.

All garment workers in Asia need a wage increase. But often, when workers struggle to improve their wages and conditions in one country, companies relocate to another country, where wages and conditions are lower.

So workers are afraid to fight for better wages, because they might lose their jobs.

The Asia Floor Wage Campaign is a response to this problem. We propose a floor wage for garment workers in Asia .

Occupy's Pledge to FIGHT BACK

The 1% wreck our economy, kill our jobs, seize our homes, assault our rights, destroy the environment, and sentence us to lives of debt and war.

 For years, we have petitioned our governments for change without redress and have fought tirelessly to elect politicians who only betray us.

In a world where the 1% have usurped democracy and politicians refuse to serve the people, the people have but one choice—to fight back!

The relentless class war against the 99% must end. We’ve been deceived our whole lives into believing the only way to create change is by voting, but now we’re learning there’s another way.

A revolution for real democracy is underway, and it falls on each and every one of us to fight together for our common future. 

We will cast the vote of resistance. We will take direct action to shut this broken system down and build a better world that works in the interest of all people, everywhere.

Will you help us wage resistance? (Check off all that apply)

The Global Intelligence Files

On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. 

The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011.

 They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. 

The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.

Google Transparency Report

Like other technology and communications companies, Google regularly receives requests from government agencies and courts around the world to remove content from our services. 

In this report, we disclose the number of requests we receive from each government in six-month periods with certain limitations.

Governments ask companies to remove content for many different reasons. For example, some content removals are requested due to allegations of defamation, while others are due to allegations that the content violates local laws prohibiting hate speech or pornography.

Laws surrounding these issues vary by country, and the requests reflect the legal context of a given jurisdiction. We hope this tool will be helpful in discussions about the appropriate scope and authority of government requests.

These observations on content removal requests highlight some trends that we've seen in the data during each reporting period, and are by no means exhaustive.

Parents build tent city at Lakeview Elementary with help from Occupy Oakland protesters

School is out and parents who disagree with the Oakland Unified School District board’s decision to close five elementary schools—Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell and Sante Fe—at the end of this school year are protesting by building an encampment on the Lakeview campus, just off Grand Avenue.

The sit-in began on Friday, June 15—after the last day of school—with the demand that the district keep all neighborhood schools open. The parents participating in the encampment say that schools in the flatlands, which predominantly serve under-represented minority groups, are the only ones targeted for closure. The district currently plans to turn Lakeview into administrative offices.

Yep, shut down jobs for disabled, close schools for minority groups, there seems to be a pattern here.  And yet our governement bail out the banks!!

BAIL OUT THE PEOPLE YOU FOOLS, THE ONES WHO NEED IT.

Petition to: Stop the closure of Remploy Factories and the privatisation of Remploy Employment Services.

The government has not only ignored the 100,000 plus signature petition but has announced the closure 36 of the 54 remaining Remploy sites with compulsory redundancy for 1,752 people of which 1,518 of these are disabled by 17th August this year (2012). 

The government statement envisages the complete closure of the remaining factories in due course. Please continue to sign the petition with messages of support for the Remploy workers.

GMB is working hard to keep the factories open but need all the help you can give. With two million disabled workers already out of work why on earth do the government need to sack another 1,518. Surely they could concentrate on finding work for the 2 million.

Good idea Government!! Lets shut down factories where people are gainfully employed, relegating them to having to claim benefits you don't want them on or will tell them they're not entitled to. 

THE RICH CAUSE POVERTY

Stop the Belo Monte Monster Dam!

We've already delivered half a million signatures to Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, but we're just getting started. Help us stop the Belo Monte Dam by signing the petition here!

Carnival of Dirt

Carnival of Dirt 

A tale of two greedy mining companies listed on the London Stock Exchange: Glencore and Xstrata’s killing spree must stop.

Last year Occupy activists decided to occupy the UK office of the FTSE 100′s highest paid CEO: Mick Davis of Xstrata plc.

Why? Because Mick Davis and his dirty company are the 1% – that narrow corporate elite that are accruing vast riches from devastating communities around the planet. In 2010 Xstrata’s revenue was $30.5bn, more than the GDP of 75 countries. 

 Its headquarters are in the tax haven of Zug, Switzerland –like many multinational companies it minimises its contribution back to the public purse whilst vastly profiting in exploitation and human misery.

But these two companies are already inextricably linked even before their proposed merger – Glencore owns 34% of Xstrata2.

Occupy the London Stock Exchange’s Corporations Working Group didn’t have to dig deep to uncover sinister and illegal conduct. An open letter written to the President of the Phillipines and Xstrata-SMI President Peter Forrestal sets out the abuses inflicted on mining communities.

AntiG20

Mass ‪#AntiG20‬ demonstration, in Mexico City's central square. ‪#g20‬