Today, Frederick, MD is hosting the Occupy G8 People's Summit. Tomorrow, all in the region are invited to Counter G8 Communityu Bloc Party! For background and more resources, see here.
The G8 Summit's coming to town and the planet's eight most powerful leaders are going to be here in our backyard to wine and dine, talk policy, and pat themselves on the backs for the great job they've done running the global economy (into the ground). You weren't invited to that party, but you're invited to this one!
Residents and radicals alike; come hang out for a fun filled day in the park and celebrate the alternatives to global capitalism, centralized power and our absurd political culture in the U.S. All are welcome! (no politicians, no police)
Don't know what the G8 is or why people protest it? Come on down and grab some Grade-A premium, hand-selected literature, or just talk to people!
Don't like the idea of a handful of sweaty rich dudes with suits and caviar dictating your quality of life and that of people all over the planet? Declare your independence, if just for a day, and maybe it'll catch on.
Forget what the G8 says, we've got community! The Counter-G8 Community Bloc Party is part of a full weekend of G8 Summit resistance events in Frederick. Be sure to check out http://www.occupyg8-2012.org for information including the Friday line-up featuring the Occupy G8 People's Summit, rallies, marches, punk shows and more.
Saturday May 19th // Frederick, MD // Baker Park (Bandshell side) // N. Bentz St. & W. 2nd St. // 11AM-9PM // All ages
feat. Silent Old Mountains and Coxey Brown
The BLOC PARTY's gonna be great because:
Good music (live and otherwise)
Free food! (vegan and otherwise)
Guest speakers
Interactive art
Fun and games
Drum circle
Informational/educational/radical literature
Open mic
Face painting for kids (and kids at heart)
New friends! (people you haven't had the chance to like yet)
Optional workshops
Homebrewing, Know Yer Rights, 'Neoliberalism and the G8', 'Unschooling', Car Maitenance and a bunch more! Why keep knowledge and skills to ourselves? We can share these things with each other without sharing what's in our wallets.
A Really Really Free Market
Your money's no good here! Bring clothes, CDs, tools, books, bikes, sports equippment and anything else you don't have a use for to share; somebody will use it! Sick of working to get more money to buy more stuff? Come to the Bloc Party and get your stuff directly.
"Worker's Gripes" session
There's a big difference between labor and work, and it's been said that Americans love democracy everywhere but the workplace. Whether its the boss or the boredom that gets to you most, we all have gripes about work, so let's all hang out talk about it!
"The Gripes Board"
You don't realize how many gripes we have with our current state of affairs until you actually write them all out and collect them from everyone on what is literally a gigantic board. That's the Gripes Board.
KnowDrones
There will be a large scale model authentically crafted drone replica provided by an east coast anti-drone advocacy group who will be speaking during the day. For those who don't know, these are the unmanned planes that are currently in use by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. They've recently been authorized for use in domestic airspace by the public and private sector for a variety of purposes. It's scary stuff, but don't miss hearing about it from the experts.
Direct Democracy Overview/Session
This ain't your parents' democracy, that's for sure. Ever wonder why those weird protesty kids keep wiggling their fingers all the time when they're talking? Would you believe they got the idea from the Quakers? Well, kind of, but let's figure out the details together. Come take part in a quick direct democracy/consensus decision-making overview and training, and then let's figure out a problem together and decide what we want to do about it using what we learned. (All are welcome, Frederick residents strongly encouraged)
To better empower travelers and Chicagoans new to Occupy Chicago, we are releasing the Occupy Chicago NATO/G8 Guide.
This guide:
-Provides travelers with information they need when coming into Chicago, such as how to find housing and food resources
-Provides protestors details on their legal rights, a bank of information on all the actions of Occupy Chicago's Ten Days of Action, points of contact useful to protestors, and more.
-Presents information to make it easier for new-comers to beginning working with Occupy Chicago.
-Explains often esoteric details on Occupy Chicago infrastructure, gives information on how to get involved in Occupy Chicago, and explains the History of Occupy Chicago and The Chicago Principles.
Educate, Empower, Occupy!
If you wish to print and distribute this information, please print it out in booklet format, which you can do by printing from Adobe Reader, double sided page. Under the “page scaling option” select “Booklet Printing”. This will print this information out in form that looks like a small book.
Posted 1 day ago on May 17, 2012, 2:08 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Occupy Wall Street reignited a movement for economic justice. Now WOW — Women Occupying Wall Street — aims to do the same for feminism. They’re bringing together a broad range of New York City feminists—and unapologetically using the word—to launch a new, inclusive activism for gender justice and against the War on Women.
The First Feminist General Assembly is Thursday, May 17 at 6:30 in Washington Square Park.
Yes, it’s a meeting—but not just any meeting. The invitation list ranges from SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Justice Center to the Sex Workers Outreach Project, from the Granny Peace Brigade to Hollaback, a group of 20-somethings using cell phone cameras to broadcast the faces of street harassers. The conversation will be personal as well as political.
It’s as if the Suffragists were getting together with the Sixties reproductive rights activists. And feminist drummers. And men (OWS’s Men’s Circle) doing the childcare.
Gender justice is crucial to economic justice, say the organizers. No society is truly democratic without sexual and gender-identity freedom. The Recession and government cutbacks are hurting women and kids most. And all over the world economic and social progress depend on individuals’ control over their own reproductive lives and on freedom from gendered violence. Feminism opposes domination, by anyone of anyone.
We are experiencing the deepest crisis of capitalism since the great depression of the 30s – and the European governments continue to pour oil on the fires! From the very beginning, some governments have prevented a solidarity-based solution to the crisis in Europe and are significantly responsible for its exacerbation. This refers particularly to the German government, which, in August 2008, blocked a substantial economic stimulus package for Europe. Hardly had the recession reached its lowest point in Germany in 2009, when the German government preached the necessity for hard austerity policies. The “debt brake” was anchored in the constitution: politics disempowered itself, shaped by neo-liberal ideology. The austerity measures taken in various EU states affected above all wage-earners, pensioners, the unemployed and the self-employed, while the wealthy, the banks and the corporations were spared. In spring 2010 the German government blocked aid for Greece, causing a steep rise in the yields of Greek government bonds and thus an increase in national debt and making a solution of the crisis more difficult and expensive. The loan agreements with Greece and other countries in crisis and their ridiculous austerity demands only made the crisis worse. For example, the reduction in the Greek minimum wage does not contribute to an increase in “competitiveness”, as the country’s current account deficit is as much due to the mercantilistic policies of the core eurozone countries, as to the role of deregulated finance. Instead, the reduction of the minimum wage has destroyed the internal market further. This example makes clear that the current crisis politics redistributes wealth from wage-earners to those who possess the capital, regardless of the macro-economic and societal consequences. Greek salaries have already dropped by 20-30%, hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs, over 10,000 schools are closed, hospitals are running out of medication, children are starving. Similar developments are also looming in Portugal and in other European countries.
Neo-liberal politics, whose failure has become obvious in this crisis, is being radicalised once more. The aim of the “fiscal pact”, for example, which was agreed by the heads of state and heads of government of 24 EU states on 2nd March 2012, is to make neo-liberal austerity policies legally binding for all time. A “debt brake” in line with the German model should be anchored across the whole of Europe. National budget deficits should, in future, be capped at 0.5% of GDP. This plan overlooks the fact that already in the 1990s the “Stability and Growth Pact” agreed by the European Economic and Currency Union, which had allowed a budget deficit of 3% of GDP, could not withstand the reality of a capitalist society dogged by crises. The 3% deficit was frequently exceeded. The “Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union”, as the Fiscal Pact is officially called, is more than the result of unrealistic plotting by neo-liberal economists and politicians. Further waves of privatisation, destruction of jobs, restriction of public services, social degradation, and wage reduction, are pre-programmed across the whole of Europe; and all to protect the profits of a small group of rich capitalists. The destructive policies which have been pushed ahead mainly by the German and French governments have been accepted and put into practice by nearly all EU governments, because in every state there is a dominant wealthy clique who profits from the increasing pressure on the wage-earning population.
The European crisis policies lead to an increased undermining and devaluing of democracy. Not least through international pressure were the governments in Greece and Italy removed from office and replaced by a government of “technocrats” in order to calm “the markets”. These governments make far-reaching decisions without having the legitimacy of being elected. A proposed referendum on the austerity measures in Greece was quickly quashed after pressure from the ruling powers. Elections become meaningless when the large parties represent more or less the same policies, as recently in Portugal and Spain. Responsibilities are moved from the national level to the EU-level without an adequate democratic control of the activities of the EU institutions such as the European Commissions, the European Central Bank, or the European Court of Justice. We note with great concern the increased nationalist, racist and fascist movements in various European countries.
And yet the prevailing policies are not without an alternative. A significant alternative, however, is only possible when the roots of the crisis are correctly identified. National debt crises form only one aspect of the current European crisis, in which the tensions of European integration (unequal development, common financial policies without common policies on wages, taxation and industry) collide with a structural over-accumulation of capital. There is too much capital, measured by the possibilities which remain to exploit work and the environment.
An alternative strategy for attacking the crisis needs to include the following elements:
No ratification of the Fiscal Pact
The Fiscal Pact means further loss of democracy, commits nations to neo-liberal policies, and increases the crisis.
Cancellation of national debts
A public debt audit must clarify how the debts were incurred and who is in possession of the government bonds. One person’s debts are another person’s wealth. The savings and pension entitlements of the broad mass of the population must be secured, while the interest and repayment entitlements of the wealthy, the banks, the hedge funds and the corporations must be cancelled.
Nationalisation of the banks
Banks which have been saved by public funds must be nationalised. Banks which are “too big to fail” must be divided up.
Radical redistribution of income and wealth
We need a tax on financial transactions, an increase in taxation on capital returns, a re-introduction of wealth tax and a much stronger progression in income tax, in order to achieve a lasting financing of state spending and increase in benefits, and to enable social and environmentally necessary investments, as well as to combat world poverty.
Overcoming of mass unemployment
Mass unemployment, low wages and wage reduction are important reasons for decreasing wage rates and the creation of surplus capital which inflates the financial sector. There must be an end to the manipulation of unemployment statistics. Mass unemployment can only be overcome by a radical reduction in working hours.
Democratising democracy
Democracy must be strengthened at all levels, especially at the European level, and must also include the economic sector. It cannot be possible that democracy comes to a stop at the gates of the factories and the banks, and that a small group has the means of production at its disposal, when human survival depends on it.
The “Arab Spring”, the movement of the “indignant ones” in Spain, the numerous strikes and demonstrations in Greece and the worldwide “Occupy” movement which started in the USA, are all a source of encouragement. It is high time to strengthen the protests and to take them to the place where the European crisis policies are apparently decided. This is why we are announcing the world-wide decentralised protest demonstrations on 12th May as well as the European protest demonstrations which will take place in Frankfurt am Main on 17th-19th May 2012.
1pm: via @OccupyChicago: Attend tonight's #NATO Action Spokes Council Meeting to get updated on all ACTIONS planned this week! 630PM at 615 W Wellington Ave #OChi
12:30pm ET: On livestream now: Immigrants rights march. Occupy El Barrio is marching to the ICE building:
We denounce the unjust and inhumane decisions that immigration judges are making towards the lives of our immigrant communities.
They have failed to follow prosecutorial discretion and consequently are destroying thousands of families every single day.
Denunciamos las injustas e inhumanas que los jueces de inmigración hacen en contra de nuestras familias inmigrantes.
Posted 3 days ago on May 15, 2012, 6 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
On Tuesday May 15th, Governor Corbett is coming to Prince Theater in Philadelphia to address the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. During his time as Governor, Corbett has made massive cuts to education, medical assistance, and social services while he is spending $685 million on new prison construction. His recent budget alone proposes $264 million in cuts to higher education, $319 million in cuts to general assistance, and a funding change that cuts another $21.6 million from Philly's public schools. More recently the School Reform Commission, an entity created by Harrisburg when the state took control over Philadelphia's School District in 2001, has put forward a plan to close 64 public schools.
Governor Corbett has made his priorities very clear: Corporate tax breaks, mass incarceration and environmental devastation.
Join Decarcerate PA, the Teacher Action Group, the Coalition Advocating for Public Schools, ACT UP, Occupy Philadelphia, Fight for Philly, and many others as we demand a different set of priorities for Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania needs quality public schools, stable housing, jobs and job training programs, health care and food access, drug and alcohol treatment programs, community-based reentry services, and non-punitive programs that address the root causes of violence in our communities. Instead of building more prisons we need policy changes that reduce the prison population and reinvest resources in our schools and communities.
Join us to demand that PA build communities, not prisons!
Tuesday, May 15th, 4-7 pm
Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut Street
Posted 3 days ago on May 15, 2012, 4:52 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
October 15, 2011: The movement goes global.
Today is the one year anniversary of the 15-M movement in Spain, which continues to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people and inspire the world. The following text is an excerpt from 15-M: What Is The Plan? orginally published on TakeTheSquare.net in March. It is republished in part to give our readers a better understanding of the 15-M movement, who we are, what our goals and tactics are, and what we are fighting for.
The Arab Spring was sparked by the first protests that occurred in Tunisia on 18 December 2010 following Mohamed Bouazizi‘s self-immolation in protest of police corruption and ill treatment. With the success of the protests in Tunisia, a wave of unrest sparked by the Tunisian “Burning Man” struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Yemen, then spread to other Arab countries. Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on 14 January following the Tunisian revolution protests. In Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak resigned on 11 February 2011 after 18 days of massive protests, ending his 30-year presidency.
A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world has been “ash-shab yurid isqat an-nizam” (“the people want to bring down the regime”) and they did it in Tunisia and Egypt with a sustained campaign of “non-stop protest” involving strikes, demonstrations, marches, occupations…
Posted 3 days ago on May 15, 2012, 1:47 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Blockupy Frankfurt, a coalition of social movements including Occupy, trade unionists, and the ATTAC network organizing for the #GlobalSpring in solidarity with the 15-M movement, plans to occupy downtown Frankfurt and shut down the headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB). Beginning tomorrow, people from across Germany and the rest of Europe will take the squares and parks across Frankfurt and create new spaces for discussion and organizing. On Friday, May 18th, they will nonviolently swarm entrances to banks and disrupt traffic. In the evening, events including music concerts, assemblies, vigils, rallies, workshops, readings, exhibitions, and a youth-organized ¨rave against the troika¨ are scheduled. The Days of Resistance conclude Saturday, May 19th with a mass demonstration.
Last week, the government banned Blockupy and all related events in Frankfurt (protesters pledged to demonstrate anyway). The incident caused an uproar among those who saw it as a blatant attack on social and political rights of people to gather and demonstrate peacefully. The Blockupy Alliance won a partial victory in court, which lifted the ban on the Blockupy demonstration on Saturday and some other (but not all) scheduled events. The court also upheld the city's decision to evict the Occupy camp during the Days of Resistance. In response, the Blockupy Alliance has called on all who are able to gather and defend their freedom of assembly.
Frankfurt is widely considered the financial capital of the European Union. It is the headquarters of the Troika -- the EU, the ECB, and the International Monetary Fund. Germany itself is a leading power behind the authoritarian ¨crisis management¨ of the EU and a key architect of the technocratic austerity regimes currently producing mass poverty and disfranchisement in countries such as Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Italy. Across Europe, people are rising up against the self-appointed technocrats to demand economic policies which place human needs before corporate profits. Even in countries like France and the Netherlands, which so far have escaped the worst effects of the banker-manufactured financial crisis, pro-austerity governments have fallen. And in Germany itself, the center-right party of Angela Merkel -- the German Chancellor notorious for pushing austerity and demanding unconditional subjection of the rest of Europe to the financial markets -- lost massively in local elections last Sunday. Austerity is dying -- time to drive a dagger through its heart! Blockupy Frankfurt!
Posted 4 days ago on May 14, 2012, 10:58 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
Occupy The Farm has held an encampment on prime urban agricultural land that is slated for re-development by the owners the property, University of California-Berkeley. For over three weeks, community activists have weeded, planted, hauled, and tended to land. After repeated harassment by police, the UC regents filed a civil lawsuit last Wednesday accusing 13 activists of trespassing. Afterward, they built a fence around the land, known as the Gill Tract.
Occupy The Farm declined an invitation from the university to discuss what to do with the land. Instead, they built a ladder to scale the fence and promised to continue tending to the vegetables, fruit trees, and other plants on 2 acres of the land.
They noted that community members, local residents, activists, and university faculty and students had worked toward a compromise with the university for 15 years. Despite widespread support for their cause, the university has always betrayed them. Community members have tried for years -- including six previous months of deliberation -- to encourage the university to use the land for urban agriculture, and it was never even considered until people took direct action and started planting it themselves.
Now, they have been evicted by riot police and bulldozers and are calling for support. Via OccupyTheFarm.org:
Albany, CA - Well over 100 UCPD and Alameda County Sherriffs officers, armed with less-than-lethal impact-force projectiles, 36" batons, and pepper-ball guns, arrested nine people at the Gill Tract Farm near 7 AM on Monday morning. Of the nine that were arrested, two were watering plants on the agricultural land and seven were watching the police from San Pablo Avenue.
The Gill Tract Farmers Collective has called for a reconvergence at the Albany Community Center, 1249 Marin Ave., at 5 PM tomorrow.
Occupy Wall Street is a leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.
This #ows movement empowers real people to create real change from the bottom up. We want to see a general assembly in every backyard, on every street corner because we don't need Wall Street and we don't need politicians to build a better society.
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the only solution is WorldRevolution
Click here for a list of actions, meetings, assemblies in New York.
