On Saturday 22 October at 1pm in London, the general assembly is geared up to receive a swell of visitors, as many who work are inspired by the camp and plan to come and visit and see what it’s all about. It will be an important test for the assembly facilitators, to hold the camp together as more voices enter the equation…Posted by Jamie Kelsey-Fry |
Saturday will mark a week since OccupyLondon claimed its space at the feet of St Paul’s Cathedral. It has been a difficult but utterly uplifting experience for all.
IMF predicts collapse of Capitalism!
People are gravitating to the camp constantly, drawn by what is really still an idea taking shape, but an idea that is already inspiring.
The camp is determined and committed to channelling peoples voices through general assembly and consensus. The aims of the London assembly and others around the world are cut from the same cloth. We all want to challenge the fundamental assumptions that underlie the world’s political and financial systems, which are failing us at all levels.
It’s an easy criticism to make that the assembly ‘offers no solutions’. Of course not, not yet. But the process of building a movement that asks the right questions, and considers that another world is possible, has begun. The systems of general assembly and consensus can be painstaking but they do mean that all those people involved have their voices heard.
The camp came up with their first statement in 48 hours. It’s now only six days in. I would suggest that if this process of forming a concrete vision of a fairer, safer more just world is anything as erudite as the way the London camp has organised itself, then we are in for something of great value. Perhaps an idea whose time has come.
If you plan to visit, I have no doubt that you will find the camp to be, at the very least, a source of hope. At best, you may find yourself deciding that you belong here, and the next thing you know, you’ll be collecting a sleeping bag and joining a working group. See you soon.
When the fascist government finally fell apart in Spain there was a ‘transition’ and an amnesty law. After 40 years in power the ‘rabid right’ and the Church owned most property and wealth and to this day they hold power behind the scenes, controlling the police, army and judiciary.( really, they control the High Court).
Half a million died in the fascist takeover, and they executed over 100,000 more afterwards. All Spain is littered with mass graves and associations of relatives pay to have them dug up and analyzed. You can’t get any official help, even the invented crimes for the mass summary executions are still legally valid.
The amnesty law still stands-. There is no closure. No justice. The Spanish State, monarchy and religion are founded on gigantic mass butchery, life sentences and the worst tortures imaginable. No wonder they’re not popular!
The criminals and their heirs are still managing their fortunes and living in luxury. The Church owns half the country and pays no tax. Britain, France and the USA of course helped set up the regime. They always armed, aided and shared profits from the Fascist reign of terror for 40 years.
Now another well known but buried fascist crime has gone public, due to a documentary by the BBC, boosting their ratings and income.
Over 300,000 babies were taken from their parents, often by nuns who controlled the hospitals, and sold, right up till the 1970s.
”The practice of removing children from parents deemed “undesirable” and placing them with “approved” families, began in the 1930s under the dictator General Francisco Franco.
At that time, the motivation may have been ideological. But years later, it seemed to change – babies began to be taken from parents considered morally – or economically – deficient. It became a money-spinner, too.
The scandal is closely linked to the Catholic Church, which under Franco assumed a prominent role in Spain’s social services including hospitals, schools and children’s homes.
Nuns and priests compiled waiting lists of would-be adoptive parents, while doctors were said to have lied to mothers about the fate of their children.
The name of one doctor, Dr Eduardo Vela, has come up in a number of victim investigations. Dr Vela is confronted with the allegations in the documentary.
In 1981, Civil Registry sources indicate that 70% of births at Dr Vela’s San Ramon clinic in Madrid were registered as “mother unknown.”read lots more on BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15335899
25-N 2011: Que no nos cuenten cuentos. El patriarcado mata
25th Nov.: Don’t tell us Fairy Tales. Patrarchy kills.
Un año más, la cifra de mujeres asesinadas por la violencia machista ha sido espeluznante: 67 mujeres y 14 personas relacionadas con ellas: hijxs, hermanxs, amigxs…Seguramente, cuando estés leyendo esto, haya alguna mujer más muerta.
For yet another year the figures for women murdered by sexist violence have been horrific. 67 women and 14 related to them: daughters, sisters, girlfriends..Surely just as you’re reading this there’s another woman being killed.Ninguna persona esta a salvo cuando tiene lugar este tipo de agresión. A pesar de que la violencia que mata es escandalosa, consideramos que hay otros tipos de violencia más sutiles y, a veces, completamente invisibles a los ojos de la sociedad, que siguen perpetuando el sistema patriarcal y que impiden nuestra evolución como mujeres libres.…Secretaría de la Mujer CGT
Nobody is safe when this type of violence takes place. Even though violence that kills is a scandal, there are other types of violence more subtle and sometimes invisible to the eyes of society, which continues to perpetuate the patriarchal system and which blocks our evolution as free women.
This is not an official statement from the #OWS 99% Movement. As a decentralized leaderless movement, in our opinion, there is no one group, organization, website or individual who can speak for the movement as a whole.
We, a working group of people currently occupying Liberty Park and many other locations throughout the US, are growing increasingly concerned about divide and conquer attempts being made to co-opt the movement. In the following message, we are issuing our first proposed statement. If you agree with the statement, please post it to your website and/or spread it throughout your social networks, both online and offline at occupations throughout the country. If you would like to read this statement at your local GA meetings and vote or edit it, feel free. If you disagree with the statement, please air your disagreements – this is what democracy looks like.
We appreciate, respect and encourage endorsements from individuals and organizations. We invite them. However, just because an individual or organization endorses our movement, does not mean that they in any way have a leadership role in deciding the future direction of this movement. We will not be co-opted by hierarchical organizations. No matter how wonderful their cause may be…….
…We the People, We the 99%, are not the pawns of either wing of the two-party oligarchy.
We emphatically reject the attempted leadership of any political party, organization or individual. If there are elected officials or organizations who endorse our movement, we welcome them….
However, they must do so knowing this: Your voice will be just as loud as any other voice. We are led by no one. You cannot co-opt We The People.
Several thousand anti-Wall Street protesters marched through downtown Manhattan on Friday night to protest against incidents of police brutality at a previous demonstration.
The group was part of the Occupy Wall Street movement which has camped for almost two weeks in a New York square to protest against the finance industry, among other grievances.
The group had attempted a march last weekend which ended in scores of arrests. Numerous incidents of police roughing up protesters were caught on film including one senior officer spraying mace at several female demonstrators being kept behind a police barrier.
Video of that attack went viral on the internet prompted mainstream media – which had mostly ignored the protests – to give them sympathetic attention. Computer hackers also released the name and address of the officer caught on film. Since then the occupation has garnered many new supporters and global press attention.
It has attracted celebrity visits from liberal figures such as filmmaker Michael Moore and actor Susan Sarandon. On Friday an apparently false rumour that the band Radiohead were to play an impromptu gig at the square caused a temporary Twitter storm.
But Friday night’s march was aimed at highlighting the police violence at the previous protest. A long line of placard-carrying demonstrators wound the short distance from Zuccotti Park where the protesters are camped near Wall Street to Police Plaza, where the New York Police Department has its headquarters.
The march was led by a group of elderly grandmothers wearing yellows bibs emblazoned with the words: “Grannies for peace”. That seemed to symbolise the protest’s good-natured mood which appeared to be matched by the police’s willingness to give the group the freedom to demonstrate.
Michele Moore, a former bank worker from Georgia, said she had been on the previous week’s march that had ended in violence. “The videos of those events were completely accurate,” she said. But she added that Friday’s protest had felt completely different. “Everything I saw today was peaceful and positive. It was delightful,” Moore said.
The protest was filled with the usual mix of Occupy Wall Street supporters. But there was also a smattering of people wearing T-shirts with trade union logos as well as ordinary working New Yorkers
Published September 2, 2011 Benefit talks & shows , Events Closed On October 27th, activist and singer/songwriter David Rovics will be performing in Detroit to raise much needed support funds for political prisoner Marie Mason. If you are in the Detroit area, check out this great event and bring as many of your friends with you!
If you are not near Detroit, you can look into organizing a benefit show with David through his website at http://davidrovics.com/organizeShow.php. David is a long time friend and supporter of Marie, talking about her case regularly on tour as well as writing the song, Marie for her. Learn more about David Rovics and his upcoming “No Fracking Way” Tour at www.davidrovics.com.
About Marie
Marie Mason of Cincinnati, Ohio is a long time environmental and social justice activist and loving mother of two. On March 10th, 2008 she was arrested by FBI, Homeland Security and local police on charges related to two Earth Liberation Front actions that occurred in Michigan, in 1999, and 2000.
Marie’s case is one of the latest developments in what many have dubbed the “Green Scare,” a recent wave of government repression aimed at disrupting and discrediting grassroots environmental activism and criminalizing dissent.
Please send cards and well wishes to the address below. Detailed mail guidelines can be found here.
Marie Mason #04672-061 FMC Carswell Federal Medical Center P.O. Box 27137
love and rage: life after the collapse of capitalism
Greetings to all, especially you FoFees (friend of the Free) hope you’re enjoying the book
Set in the Collapse of Capitalism our heroes escape their School and Family and fall in with the squatters, anarchists and gays, who are busy getting ready for the final confrontation and the Dawn of a co-op Money Free world.. It’s a thriller as well..
Just to say it is selling well..Not a surprise as it’s FREE (lol). It also makes a very economical present.
Abuse of power being consistent in our culture, where fear colludes with the bully, it is cheering to see victims organising and supporting each other . This will appeal to a great many young people. You give us moments of delight:… rolling her big eyes back to us girls … such scandal would zoom round and round the area – like a bee in a jar … Then her daffodil moment of glory: dancing and swirling, waving the flowers at the grey building … the golden snow. I’ve never heard of ‘testerical laughter’, but it kind of hits the mood of the moment.I really like your book and back it with pleasure. Pia (Course of Mirrors)
Wow; I can’t stop reading! I’ve just finished chapter 8, and I’m only stopping because it’s 1AM! It seems to remind me a little of ‘A Clockwork Orange’, combined with ‘A Child Called It’. I cannot wait to read on. I’m still not entirely sure about a lot of things (such as the political situation) but everything I’ve read so far has been wonderful. If I get the chance, I will buy this book.
Karen Eisenbrey I read three chapters and the glossary. I like your ideas for remaking society, especially the mix of practical, earnest things with more whimsical ideas of fashion etc. I especially like how in the first chapters, it’s not obvious that the story takes place in (I would guess) the near future in a shifting, alternative society. But there are little clues all over the place that things are falling apart and changing, present but not taking over the story. We start with Linda, a real, relatable character. You’ve nailed the voice here. She’s articulate and smart, but not at all formal; young, angry, scared, beaten down but ready to stand up. Good luck with The Free!…Karen Eisenbrey
Aaron Pattis wrote After three chapters, nothing will stop me from reading the rest of this book! Who couldn’t pull for a kid like this and wonder where she’s going to end up? There are some terms that I have difficulty with sometimes, like “lekky” and such, but soon enough figure it out. But I wouldn’t change that voice for this story because it adds to the richness realism in the characters. Great job and backed with pleasure..Aaron,”80 Grit”
Lmfrenchwrote Wow, what can I say? I love how you capture Linda’s voice. It wasn’t too long ago that I was a fifteen year old girl and…well…wow. I read some of this the other day and wasn’t too
Occupy The Planet. Abolish Debt. For a Co-Op world.
impressed, but I re-read it and trudged on to see what happened beyond the first page and I must say, I am very glad I did. I found myself giggling a bit and read on with a smile. It is a fun story. I am not normally a fan of 1st person POV but you seem to be able to still bring your characters to life. Very nice.
Great opening. Fast-paced and spirited way of writing. I like the talk about men drooling over Janice (lol); very typical. It’s real! and the “like a pack of randy dogs snifting after her”…This is what happens most of the time, in real life. Good job Mike. This work is so rich and moving, good humored. I can’t stop reading it.GOOD LUCK!! Emma Philips…The Dark Intruder
Well Mikey…a huge HUGE contemporary tale. Brutal and brave..comical and painful. Your style is enviably quirky. The language stripped yet so incredibly weighted. Congratulations, I wish you every success with THE FREE. . Dawn:ARK
the right questions, and considers that another world is possible, has begun. The systems of general assembly and consensus can be painstaking but they do mean that all those people involved have their voices heard.
The Free 