InterOccupy: Statement on NATO Protests
Posted 12 years ago on May 23, 2012, 9:31 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt
via InterOccupy.org
The protests in Chicago show that Occupy is a network committed to social change through direct action. Arguably,the policies of NATO benefit Americans the most, so to march against NATO in America is a very strong statement against war and how it perpetuates uneven capitalist development. At NATO, the rich and powerful decide which countries will be unified, which they will ignore or refuse aid, and those they will invade. NATO is both a military alliance and an instigator of severe repression as its policies ensure the reign of the global north over countries who adopt other economic systems. This history of NATO shows that it began as an arrangement to suppress communism, but it now endures to secure the profits of multinational corporations.
As for this weekend, perhaps mirroring the military strategy of NATO, the protests were over-policed and extremely violent. Police beat and sprayed non-violent protesters with impunity. Those who were live streaming events were pulled over by police, detained, and harassed. Others had their homes invaded and have been accused of terrorism. Several participants in the Occupy movement who traveled to Chicago reported being followed by unmarked police vans as they moved about the city. In another instance, travelers who intended to camp in a backyard were met with police condemning the back porch and requiring them to move along. When real police oppression is happening, it becomes difficult to focus on the policies of NATO as the target of protest activities. But, those from the Occupy movement went to Chicago to support the Nurse’s Union’s call for a Robin Hood Tax, to support veterans’ calls to end all wars, and to raise awareness that NATO is the army of the 1%.
Moving forward, the more the Occupy movement converges at these large-scale protests, the more fundamentally influential we will become on setting the national political agenda. Practice makes perfect as the saying goes. People that resist together form dense ties and begin to trust each other’s judgement. These are the moments where movements crystallize and become strongly aligned in vision and goals. Those who met in Chicago will have ample opportunities to rally again as plans are in the works to protest the DNC and RNC as well as the November elections. In addition, an open and transparent national gathering in Philly is happening on July 4th.
Thank you to the front-line activists. Please articulate demands the rest of us can get behind, such as dismantling America's global military empire and strengthening the UN, etc.
"Arguably,the policies of NATO benefit Americans the most...."
Sorta. We get to sell cigarettes and drugs everywhere. We get bankrupted and put into massive debt along the way. We get to buy all kinds of consumer crap, too, but that doesn't have anything to do with NATO.
FOLLOW THE MONEY.
America could maybe, just maybe spend $200-million a year on the military and dominate the Western Hemisphere and scare shit out of everybody else.
Everything beyond that leads to ruin. Odds on.
A country needs to know its limitations.
Well said. And, geesh, now we can't camp in our backyards, WTF?
Chicago preemptive arrests of 3 entrapped nato occupiers.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/14831-nato-3-case-challenges-constitutionality-of-state-terrorism-statutes
I am very Proud to Live in America, I am very proud of Occupy, we do have the back bone to Protest Global Violence.
End War Forever!
War Must Be Outlawed once and for all!
US War Criminals, like the Nazis, must stand trial for their War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity.
The Iraq War and the illegal Invasion of Panama:
A list of War Criminals from the War Crimes Tribunal in Kuala Lumpur, November 2011, the tribunal purportedly exercised universal jurisdiction to try in absentia former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, convicting both for crimes against peace because of what the tribunal concluded was the unlawful invasion of Iraq.[7][8] In May 2012 after hearing testimony for a week from victims of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the tribunal unanimously convicted in absentia former President Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former Deputy Assistant Attorneys General John Yoo and Jay Bybee, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and former counselors David Addington and William Haynes II of conspiracy to commit war crimes, specifically torture.[9] The tribunal referred their findings to the chief prosecutor at the International Court of Justice in the Hague. Resource: News for kuala lumpur war crimes tribunal Bush War Crime Conviction Exposes Failure of "International Law" Center for Research on Globalization - A historic ruling handed down by the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal found former-US President George W. Bush and his associates guilty ...
George HW Bush must be charged and convicted for War Crimes in the illegal Invasion of Panama in 1989. That invasion killed 4,000 civilians. GHW Bush quest to silence Noriega, the then President of Panama. At the time Noriega was informing the World Press of GHW Bush involvement with Drug Cartels when he was the Head of the CIA and the laundering of Cartel money through Panama's banks starting in the 1980's. After Noriega was brought out of Panama, the Nation of Panama continued to launder Drug Cartel funds. Take a look at the City of Panama's skyline, and talk to bankers in Panama. Everyone we have spoken to say the same thing, "the invasion of Panama by GHW Bush was illegal and killed 4,000 civilian".
It is time to End All Wars.
It is absolutely time to convict US War Criminals. It is time to put an end to the Bush Crime Family operations, and to charge and convict them for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
yep US only pays 41% of the total world military budget
World Military budget in Billions (percent total) by Nation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
Global Arms Sales By Supplier Nations
39% United States
18% Russia
8% France
7% United Kingdom
5% Germany
3% China
3% Italy
11% Other European
5% Others
http://www.globalissues.org/article/74/the-arms-trade-is-big-business#GlobalArmsSalesBySupplierNations
TOP 10 Arms Produces
Notes: An S denotes a subsidiary company. A dash (–) indicates that the company did not rank among the SIPRI Top 100 for 2009
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2012/mar/02/arms-sales-top-100-producers
Thank You for this, this truly tells the real story of the Real American Society of Chaos, created by the George Bush Crime Family and their WarMonger Cronies as listed.
Through needless and illegal wars and invasions and arm sales to create further conflicts. What is the Catch 22 in all of this, it is the Bush Crime Family, which includes the Bank HSBC, known as the largest Money Laundering Bank for Drug Cartels and Terrorists in the World, an estimated one trillion dollars a year is laundered for Drug Cartels alone from Panama to Afghanistan Heron.
Created Chaos, Globally: insuring weapons manufacturers continued profits. Occupy must end Wars forever and Occupiers must read "World Banking World Fraud" by insider John Cruz.
Our Society of Chaos, deliberate chaos must come to an end. Obama must put on trial US War Criminals and US Bank Criminals once and for all. IS he a phony?
Please add this:
Besides the US Military (DOD) Budget of $711 billion annually. They also get a Black Ops Budget (for secret projects) of $70 billion annually. And The War Costs are not included in the DOD budget which is another $80 billion annually, just for Afghanistan. What the Federal Reserve prints and sends to the US Military bases is another issue altogether. This fact could total another $300 billion annually. The DOD's budget and their spending gets US 99% where?
Seriously, The Vietnam War was a lie, and so admitted the former Secretary of Defense. The DOD failed to protect the City of New York, Our Nation and all those on all of the Planes. Yet there were voice warnings and two US Embassy Buildings in Africa were blown up and the USS Cole was sunk, yet we were invaded and they, mostly Saudis destroyed the World Trade Complex in Our own Country, then the fact all of Bush & Cheney and Collin Powell WMDs were lies, the War was illegal and DOD went along with it all. Now they are wasting billions on un-needed weapons, the Afghan War continues and yet they have finally admitted it is a failure. Another failure with billions down a hole, thousands of people killed, only to win what? > A larger Heron Supply for Drug Cartels! >and< profits for the George Bush Crime Family & their manufacturing Cronies....A Global Society of Chaos....
Our enemies are from within!
War Must Be Declared Illegal!
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The constant state of wars we are in bothers the shit out of me.
the have to be against rocket shields. there is no communism east anymore. they are even closer to the USA as Europe in a way. if they build rocket shield they even have to build this around germany . An even around the people there which they honoured for the good relation to russia around Westerhagen or so. they need none prostituted "goose" instead of the rocket shield a currency "goose" not a prostituted "goose" prostituted by weapon dealers of "stephen king" which are weapon dealers "plumper and heatings" which do not listen to currency gooses, may around him they need a rocket shield.
it seems or me if the us army ever came into a land they can't leave this anymore. they have always the problem in his own country because the once who want to go against the US always tell the president "who he is" thru this we have the wars in other countrys and they have to help afterwards even there. it is even like with the UNO not Barack make the wars no the UNo by helping to tell the president "who he is" by making wars.
It's nice to have big crowds showing an atmosphere of solidarity. But just what was accomplished other then "converges"? Now that you have their attention what is next step post-protesting move?
Protesting is OK but it has to go beyond that. Just protesting doesn't do it.
well that is for each of us to decide,. got any good ideas? share them with others and organize more actions., it will take all kinds of people push from the direction they are most comfortable, knowledgeable,. angry,. together we make changes to the system that claims to speak for us, or we replace it wholesale.
Yes I have shared my ideas but they fell on deaf ears. The OWS are so fragmented that they will never accomplish anything other then blocking traffic, yelling at police and getting arrested.
I made a comment on one post the the OWS should set up an orginization parallel to that of the Tea Party but all I received was continued bashing of the Tea Party. I did note though that the Tea Party has accomplishments early on buy that didn't matter.
There are too many "radical ideas" among the OWS and it's going to be very difficult to get everyone on the same page.
many Occupiers are working on many projects to bring about positive change in our world,. some of them involve occupations, and protests some do not. choose to involve yourself in what interests you,. but do make even a small attempt to stay more positive.
I agree, many people here for different reasons may not be able to do as much physically, but that should not preclude them from supporting their closest Occupy movements in some way. This forum as others have suggested would be a good place to start that collaboration that we will need.
It's not me being negative as much as the OWS. If you read all the dialogue regarding ideas that have been posted, you will soon understand that all answers that are posted are negative - with no solution.
There is continous criticism about the content of what was posted but never a solution as to how to solve the problem. There tons of ideas out there but they are meaningless. There is never any action to follow up with representatives or people in washington. Just the plain old bashing of the republicans, democrats, Obama or Romney.
That won't work and things will never change until direct action is taken with congressional representatives.
It's not me being negative as much as the OWS. If you read all the dialogue regarding ideas that have been posted, you will soon understand that all answers that are posted are negative - with no solution.
There is continous criticism with regard to what was posted but never a solution as to how to solve the problem. There tons of ideas out there but they are meaningless. There is never any action to follow up with representatives or people in washington. Just the plain old bashing of the republicans, democrats, Obama or Romney.
That won't work and things will never change until direct action is taken with congressional representatives.
I see a great many positive suggestions, I have not idea how you are missing them. It sounds like the only ideas you are looking for involve "representatives or people in washington", however many of us see not path forward using that old 'representative' system,. we are demanding an actual functioning participatory democracy, not more of the same,. . There is no "the OWS",. Occupy is a decentralized movement not a thing, the "the" is redundant and silly.
NATO is another one of many facets of our awesome government, which we have nebulously forsaken. We have a confused symptom and cause problem.
The symptom is NATO is now being used to make money for the 1% at the expense of the rest of us 99%. The cause is our neglect. Whether it was deliberate or unconscious, when we forsake the awesome powers built into our government (like NATO), someone else will snatch them up. Leave your wallet on the sidewalk and someone will take it.
The symptom is our government is now being used to redistribute wealth and power to would-be Kings in the 1%. The cause is our neglect. We have the lowest voter turn out and the greatest disparity of rich and poor. Many of us even disown our government, further ceding it, America and the American Flag to a rich bunch of swindlers who robbed us while we were asleep or distracted. We have to take it back, and we start by waking up America to the Great 1% Swindle and then Occupying the Election on November 6th!!!
Register and Vote! Register and Vote! "We the 1%" NOT What They Wrote!!
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Are you one of the Zombie Con Trolls who hates America and Free Speech who were having a little censorship party last night??? TROLL ALERT!!
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How many users here are trying to co-opt this protest in order to turn it into a political one?
Everything is political, especially a movement for the 99% against the tyranny of the 1%. Classwar is political, so is fighting back. Politics (our democracy) are the tools/weapons our forefathers left us to ward off tyranny by a rich few. Advocating the denial of politics, is advocating surrender!!!
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NATO is another one of many facets of our awesome government, which we have nebulously forsaken. We have a confused symptom and cause problem.
The symptom is NATO is now being used to make money for the 1% at the expense of the rest of us 99%. The cause is our neglect. Whether it was deliberate or unconscious, when we forsake the awesome powers built into our government (like NATO), someone else will snatch them up. Leave your wallet on the sidewalk and someone will take it.
The symptom is our government is now being used to redistribute wealth and power to would-be Kings in the 1%. The cause is our neglect. We have the lowest voter turn out and the greatest disparity of rich and poor. Many of us even disown our government, further ceding it, America and the American Flag to a rich bunch of swindlers who robbed us while we were asleep or distracted. We have to take it back, and we start by waking up America to the Great 1% Swindle and then Occupying the Election on November 6th!!!
Register and Vote! Register and Vote! "We the 1%" NOT What They Wrote!!