Pepper Spray

As OWS continues, the use of pepper spray on unarmed peaceful protestors is slowly gaining more scrutiny. See after the jump for some horror stories on the use of pepper spray.

Clarification: OWS is being used to refer to all of the US Occupy protests. Jennifer Fox, referred to after the jump, was pepper sprayed at Occupy Seattle.

The best thing ever done by mankind

Being Australian, I don't know much about American television news and current affairs other than Fox News is filled with liars and lunatics, and that Jon Stewart ridicules it as comedy and Stephen Colbert parodies it as comedy. So I've heard of Keith Olbermann, but don't know much else about him other than this is the most awesome thing I have ever seen.

Robert Doyle, if our media had covered Occupy Melbourne the way Olbermann tore Bloomberg a new one over Occupy Wall Street you'd be on the dole queue by now, unable to lift your head in government again. Australian media, you need Olbermann's cojones, for it is obvious you have no huevos yourself.

To Media: Stop being lazy

NYPD deploy a sonic weapon to attack protestors.

Okay, so I live in Australia. Every day online, I read amazing accounts of Occupy in the United States. As a newsworthy item, it is incredible, it is a major catalyst of change in the current status quo of western democracy.

Except if you watch the TV news.

So what's it all about?

The Occupy movement isn't really grabbing headlines. It makes the news only when the police bust up a protest and the coverage is uniformly in favour of the police or government authorising the bust-up of the protest. Despite this, online, Occupy is big news. Alternative news feeds are going crazy over it. Solidarity sites and groups are springing up everywhere, spreading every bit of news they can.

So here's a random cross-section of attitudes and stuff that's happening, after the jump.

Lying Oakland PD and the lie-filled lying lies they tell

Alternet ran this on the latest showdown between the Imperial Stormtroopers Oakland PD and the protestors at Occupy Oakland. So, someone filming the protest and tweeting about it is a dangerous anarchist? Wow, it's so good and professional then that the Oakland PD held her in a cell before asking her to strip-search and shimmy her tits in front of leering male inmates then.

I'd hate to think the police were corrupt in this matter after all.

Some other Occupy updates from Alternet can be found here.

Right about now, It'd be nice if the media suddenly noticed.

Reporter: 'Hey, all that stuff that we say is terrible when it happens in Egypt or Syria is happening in first world democracies! Boy, maybe we'd better say something about it!'

Editor: 'Like what?'

Reporter: 'Gee I don't know. I haven't done journalism for so long, I usually just read off press releases.'

Editor: 'Yeah, me too.'

Corporate Personhood nearing its end?

For Australians, and other folk outside the US, a while back there was a Supreme Court ruling, saying that corporations had a 'personhood' that enabled them to access Constitutional rights (the 'Citizens United' ruling). The upshot of this was the big business could plow millions into the campaigns of their pet politicians, didn't have to declare it, could basically fund whatever propaganda they wanted, no holds barred. To stop them would threaten their first amendment rights to free speech. Needless to say this was a bad idea, and it has been subsequently revealed that two of the SC judges got a nice cushy bribe-junket off the US's top two notorious oligarchs - the Koch brothers. Read about the slow death of corporate personhood here and here.

Occupy-a-palooza

Well, a nice whirlwind of Occupy related bits and pieces this morning.
• Oakland PD stymie investigation into brutality claims here.
• An Occupy Berkley protest runs into a sudden flash of violence from police here (video).
• Wall Street crooks Citigroup pwnd in court here.
• ABC Radio's John Faine interviews Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle on the bust-up of Occupy Melbourne (thanks to T for this link) here (audio). They start in on the topic at the 5 mins 50 secs mark btw. If you're from overseas and want to hear what Melbourne's most pompous oompa-loompa sounds like to match his potato-like visage, please listen.

UPDATE: Doyle receptionist mistakes 'ballot' for 'bullet' - Doyle has 77 year old man arrested. Here.

Oakland PD injure another vet

Oakland PD have brutalised another US vet, as seen in this piece from Alternet. Oakland PD are way out of line. You couldn't get away with this crap in a war zone.

Scott Olsen - two time hero

A nice piece on Scott Olsen, the US Marine injured by Oakland police during Occupy Oakland.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/02/us-usa-wallstreet-olsen-idUSTRE7A17TB20111102

Occupy updates - US and worldwide

Every day brings a new torrent of news on the US Occupy movement. If you aren't following it, you should be - it's likely to radically shake up the US as we know it. At the most, it could even be the start of a worldwide revolution towards transparent democracy and the end of corporate oligarchy.

So here are some links to check out;
Occupy Harlem gets going here
Occupy Oakland launches the city's first general strike in 65 years here and here
Braving the tear gas at Occupy Oakland here

Elswehere in the world, Vancouver have been told they cannot legally shift the OV camp. St Paul's Cathedral have decided to work with OL protestors and in fact have started recommending some of their suggestions to the British Parliament, and Occupy Brisbane got busted up and moved on in true Doyle-ian fashion.

News from the global Occupation

Once they heard the news, Death Eaters, Dark Lords of the Sith, Nazis, Satanic Bikers, Imperial Stormtroopers, Banditos, Orcs of Mordor and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants all volunteered to join Oakland PD. "Beats looking for a pair of f#%king droids." one Stormtrooper was heard to comment.

Once the travesty of Oakland happened, the Occupy movement entered a new phase. The movement and the global protests aren't going away. No, now police and government are prepared to do to their own civilians what they would not condone a soldier doing to an enemy in a combat zone.

For those who haven't been following, a partner protest to OWS had sprung up in Oakland, California. Protestors had been fired at with rubber bullets and tear gas by police in full riot armour. Many lay injured and sprawled on Oakland's streets. Enter Scott Olsen who braved the fire to retrieve injured protestors - protestors that the police were only too happy to leave bleeding on the street I might add.

Scott Olsen was struck in the head by a 40mm gas canister aimed at his head. He's doing well now, but for a while things looked grim. Did I mention that Scott Olsen wasn't some 'bongo playing hippie'? No, he was a US Marine. A U-fucking-S god-damned Marine. Well congratulations 'oh you boards and syndicates of the earth' to quote William Burroughs, you've now got the US Armed Services hacked off at you.

Some Occupy links for the perusal of all, and a helpful infographic after the jump.

https://apvonlineblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/dangerously-set-aside/
http://newmatilda.com/2011/11/02/save-capitalism-greed
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/11/01/wolf-the-people-versus-the-police/?hpt=hp_t2
http://www.businessinsider.com/marine-with-crowd-control-training-points-out-oakland-used-methods-prohibited-in-war-zones-2011-10
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/01/oakland-police-criticise-citys-mayor?INTCMP=SRCH
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/01/occupy-oakland-police-scott-olsen?INTCMP=SRCH

Anatomy of a lie - how to Photoshop support when you don't have any.

(Thanks to G for sending me this link)

The 53% 'movement' has been recognised for a little while now as not much more than a right-wing publicity stunt, trying to counter the much broader 99%/Occupy movement which has gone global.

Still, who are the folk who claim to be one of the 53%? Hint: Some of them are fictitious.

Check out this link from the ever-awesome Oh Internet: http://blog.ohinternet.com/9476/we-are-53-photoshopped/

How many more supporters of the 53% exist only as pixels?

Random Occupy Wall Street/Worldwide image storm

Wanna see some pics? Many serious ones, a few humorous.

OWS comes to town

Hey officer Friendly, where's ya damned badge?

A standard tactic, used in many Melbourne protests. Some officers choose to remove their name tags. If they are photographed or taped bashing in some unarmed protestor's head, the Vic Police can later say that they cannot identify the officer and thus take punitive action. Often they say it is ripped off during the protest. Does this look like the officer is in the middle of a wild free-for-all?

The OWS solidarity protest in Melbourne has been lingering for just shy of a week (since last Saturday to be precise). Today Lord Mayor Robert Doyle (Liberal Party) and Premier Ted Baillieu (Liberal Party) sent the police in to bust up the protest. As per usual, mounted police have also been used to shove protestors out of the way. Why else would you have a police officer on horseback in the middle of a group of protestors? Police have long used the bulk and size of the horse to shove civilians around.

So, OWS has come to town. Our two arch-conservatives - the Lord Mayor and our state Premier have laid down the law. The police have been sent in to bust heads. If the S11 (not to be confused with the 1 year later 9/11 tragedy) protests, or the Richmond High School protests even earlier than that are anything to go by, we will be seeing a lot of bloodied and battered kids and old people today.

Just not on the news.

To people who don't like to be 'inconvenienced' by protest - grow up. Justice and democracy is worth a lot more than your convenience. After all, that's why the cops are out there cracking skulls - so you can go shopping in peace. Lucky you. 


(Melbourne Greens MP Adam Bandt has issued a statement here)
Alan Kohler on the OWS protests broadly here
Current ABC coverage here

More Links;
John Faine (ABC radio) gives his views here
Youtube footage of protestors being dragged away here
Jeff Sparrow's views here

Some Twitter comments I've seen;
"I was punched in the stomach by a riot cop and dragged out of City Square with others. We're occupying the intersection now"
 "Strangled by the cops and ejected now they're riding into us."
"Protesters on floor screaming, "get off me" "help me". Riot scenes in full now. Bloody protesters spotted"
"When you send in riot police against unarmed citizens, it doesn't matter what their agenda is. I know which side I'm on."
"Good point on radio by East Melb Fertility Dr abt double standard on eviction of #occupymelb people but tolerence of picketers @ clinic"
"all the world is watching. Just what Australia needs: we're racist, polluting and undemocratic."
" Melbourne supports protest - as long as it's confined to the internet, and no-one's listening"

Financial Giants Put New York City Cops On Their Payroll » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

Just saw this. It's... shit, this is totally f#cked.

Financial Giants Put New York City Cops On Their Payroll » Counterpunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names

OWS linkstorm

Three interesting pieces on the motivation of the OWS movement.

Two comments from Josh Brown, a dude who hails from the finance sector, but is firmly in the camp of the 99% supporters, here and here. And seriously, if you think I get angry, you ain't seen nothin' yet.

And this off the HuffPo.

Get stuck in sunshine.

This is what law and order looks like in the US.

After penning people in and macing them without provocation, after trapping people on the Brooklyn Bridge and performing a mass arrest, after trapping people shutting down their bank accounts inside the bank and performing a mass arrest, after punching a woman in the face, after punching an HIV+ man in the face, after all this - can you tell me who the law in the US is supposed to protect?

Because it doesn't seem to protect its citizens, even those practicing their constitutional rights.

Update on the 53%

This piece, over at the Daily Kos caught my eye and is a very patient and reasoned counter to the duped and intentionally misleading goons of the 53% cadre. Read it here.

99%, 53%, 47%, 1% WTF?!?

Recently, in response to the 99% movement and the OWS protests, a right-wing pundit named Erick Erickson has launched his own counter-protest. His #firstworldproblems 'movement' is called 'We are the 53%' which is something to do with the amount of people who pay tax in the US. You know, not all taxes, like various state and federal taxes, just the important taxes that make Rush Limbaugh bloat with self importance (as well as a large number of cakes).

Erick Erickson has a gig on CNN, a publishing contract with a conservative publisher linked to his blog and a radio show. And he got where he is today by good, honest, god-damned hard work. And presumably also by having the sort of right-wing opinions that make him more amenable to being hired in American media.

I don't feel that, being Australian, I can truly understand the nuances of this rich, right-wing man's whining, nor the possible charlatanry that has led to many people being duped by this person, and joining his crusade of 'I'm okay, screw you.'

So to that end, here is a blank Erick Erickson meme. Please feel free to fill it in with whatever you think he's about. Some examples, furnished by volunteers, are after the jump.

Snippets

A few quick notes: RINJ about to make a major announcement, $16 trillion mystery dollars, Bloomberg and the Occupiers, and Slavery in Australia.