Other Occupy Archives - Occupy Toronto

American Autumn: an Occudoc

American Autumn: an Occudoc Shot on the front lines and meeting spaces of the Occupy movement in NYC, Boston, and Washington, DC from the earliest days through the end of January 2012 American Autumn: an Occudoc is an inside looking out view of the occupy movement. With interviews and insight from key organizers, thinkers and activists including Medea Benjamin, David Degraw, Dr. Margaret Flowers, Lee Camp, Naomi Klein, Nathan Schneider, Ashley Sanders, Vlad Teichberg, Sgt. Shamar Thomas, Dr. Cornel West, Kevin Zeese and many more, writer/ director Dennis Trainor Jr weaves commentary and a fearless style that often puts the viewer right between police and protesters. vimeo.com/44539639...

Chris Hedges with Kevin Zeese: mass movement key to disobedience tactic’s success

Occupy Toronto 05 July 2012 by Michael Holloway Truthdig: ”Occupy Will Be Back” 18 June 2012 by Chris Hedges Chris Hedges interviews Kevin Zeese, “..one of the original organizers of the Occupy encampment in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C. …”. Zeese says, “..breaking the enforcement structure, which almost always comes through nonviolent civil disobedience, increases your chances of success by 60 percent. …” These last three paragraphs of the article caught my eye especially, “Our job is to build pockets of resistance so that when the flash point arrives, people will have a place to go,” Zeese said. “Our job is to stand for transformation, shifting power from concentrated wealth to the people. As long as we keep annunciating and fighting for this, whether we are talking about health care, finance, empire, housing, we will succeed. “We will only accomplish this by becoming a mass movement,” he said. “It will not work if we become a fringe movement. Mass movements have to be diverse. If you build a movement around one ethnic group, or one class group, it is easier for the power structure and the police to figure out what we will do next. With diversity you get creativity of tactics. And creativity of tactics is critical to our success. With diversity you bring to the movement different histories, different ideas, different identities, different experiences and different forms of nonviolent tactics. “The object is to shift people from the power structure to our side, whether it is media, business, youth, labor or police,” he went on. “We must break the enforcement structure. In the book ‘Why Civil Resistance Works,’ a review of resistance efforts over the last 100 years, breaking the enforcement structure, which almost always comes through nonviolent civil disobedience, increases your chances of success by 60 percent. We need to divide the police. This is critical. And only a mass movement that is nonviolent and diverse, that draws on all segments of society, has any hope of achieving this. If we can build that, we can win.” Read the whole article, “Occupy Will Be Back” at Truthdig – http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/occupy_will_be_back_20120618// By Kevin Zeese, at Global Research.ca – http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=listByAuthor&authorFirst=Kevin&authorName=Zeese mh...

Another Occupy Is Possible — and Necessary

By Chris Maisano of Democratic Socialists of America and the Jacobin editorial board At the height of Occupy Wall Street’s efflorescence, when the enragés who took up residence in Zuccotti Park succeeded in raising the battle standard of the 99% for the entire world to see, I sat down for an interview with Frances Fox Piven to help make sense of what was unfolding before us. Although I thought I knew more than my fair share about the theory and practice of social movements in the U.S., as a child of the End of History, I had never really been part of one. I was born in the early 1980s, during the dreadful dawn of “Morning in America,” so aside from my days as an undergraduate global trade summit-hopper I learned almost everything I know about this stuff from books. The occupation of Zuccotti Park went on for days, days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. It looked as if an honest-to-goodness social movement was breaking out in this country for the first time in my life. To be sure, I was elated. But to my surprise, that elation was often overcome by a sense of foreboding. I looked at all of the silliness that accompanied the encampments and feared that the movement (I still hesitate to use that phrase) would self-destruct before it made even a small dent in the power of the 1%. As is her wont, Piven was effusive in her praise for the protests. But she also reminded me and anyone who read the interview that when it comes to assessing the strength and development of social movements, it’s best to not get caught up in the exigencies of the moment and to take the long view instead. All the great movements in history, she reminded us, do not progress in a linear fashion, ever onward and upward until the final battle has been won. They grow and develop unevenly, moving by fits and starts, hitting peaks and valleys along the way. They may produce moments of collective euphoria, as in those first few weeks in Zuccotti Park, but they also inevitably bring with them periods of discouragement and demobilization. Full article at: http://www.thenorthstar.info/?p=935...

An Open Letter to Our Comrades On May 20, 2012

An Open Letter to Our Comrades from 3 anonymous OWS Occupiers in Chicago: COMMUNIQUÉ #246 On the eve of the feast of the cabal of hypocrites, otherwise referred to as the 2012 NATO Summit, the people of Chicago have undergone a grave injustice at the hands of the violent police state. The Chicago Police’s actions today, May 19th, were a brutally violent attack on our bodies and on our rights. An absurdly large police force was deployed in order to intimidate and provoke a peaceable assembly, and resulted in unbridled, militaristic attacks on activists demonstrating against NATO, inflicting several serious injuries – including broken noses, bloodied eyes, and a particularly sickening incident in which a dedicated comrade was belligerently run down by a police van. We vociferously condemn these unacceptable and cowardly attacks, and know that the people are beginning to awaken from the falsified dream of liberty in a nation thats find itself in a newly authoritarian police state which crushes any dissent and defends the war machines of internatonal violence and global capitalism, instead of the human beings it feigns to represent. Yet we will not be so easily fooled by these tactics. The actions by the Chicago Police Department were carried out tonight with the calculated intent of provoking and generating fear within our collective into a reactionary state. This is a police tactic that is used to distract our focus and to spiral us into downwardness and negativity. We must resist these feelings, for we lose our autonomy in reacting to the script they have written for us, and without steadfast descipline in the face of the arm of state repression. We have to be serious and disciplined in order to not fall into this trap. It is EXACTLY what they want from us. We know that this is a panicked attempt to postemptively justify to the people the astronomical amount of our public resources that have been wasted on the exorbitant number of police on the streets, the unlawful and intrusive surveillance & unjustifiable home raids, and the Orwellian fear being propagated by the puppet corporate media. Our organization will not be provoked into a state of disorganized rage, for we are well aware that is exactly as they wish to manipulate us. It is no better, nay, it is worse to fall into their cheap and predictable trap than it is to subserviently subjugate ourselves to obeying the orders of authority. This national convergence represents an incredible and unique opportunity to bring together a diverse spectrum of activists in a unified front of resistance unlike any other seen in over a decade. Tomorrow, we enter the stage with a righteous fire in our hearts at the injustice done to us and our comrades on these streets just a day before. Yet we will not be overriden with heightened emotions that cloud our judgement. We recognize this attempt at coercion as yet another manifestation of systemic oppression, and remain autonomous individuals who will not be ordered around, explictly or implicitly. Instead, we channel our anger, our pain, our compassion, our despair, and our passion for a better world without this oppression into our messaging and our actions. Comrades. Let us take a deep, deep breath together. Let’s heal together, and then work together to make tactical decisions that are arrived at out of truly free and autonomous choice, not dictated by authority. Be safe, look out for one another, organize in small, accountable groups of affinity and trust, Stay calm, and remember why we traveled to Chicago – to stand in the face of a war machine that acts recklessly beyond transparency and accountability to the people it affects and claims to represent – and to say we want a world free of war and oppression. Solidarity forever. -Anonymous #OCCUPYWALLSTREET #NONATO #NATOSOLIDARITY #NATO3 source: http://occupywallst.org/article/open-letter-our-comrades/...

OccupyUSA, the 99% Spring, and the New Age of Direct Action

Collaboration or cooptation? Expansion or dilution? Mark Engler on what to make of the 99% Spring. by Mark Engler Over the past several weeks, a broad coalition of progressive organizations—including National People’s Action (NPA), ColorOfChange, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), MoveOn.org, the New Bottom Line, environmental groups like Greenpeace and 350.org, and major unions such as SEIU and the United Auto Workers—has undertaken a far-reaching effort to train tens of thousands of people in nonviolent direct action. They have called the campaign the 99% Spring. Starting this week, many of these same groups will be rallying their members and supporters to use newly honed skills to confront the shareholder meetings of corporations across the United States—charging executives with abusing workers, the environment, and communities in pursuit of profits for the 1 percent. They are calling the drive 99% Power. With prominent actions gearing up this week—starting with major protests at Wells Fargo meetings in San Francisco—the campaign may soon be coming to a city near you. The Genesis of the 99% Spring Although this month’s 99% Spring trainings have taken place in the shadow of the Occupy movement, the coalition building behind them actually predated the emergence of Occupy Wall Street. Last summer, a handful of organizers from groups such as Jobs with Justice, NPA, and NDWA had discussions in which they lamented the lack of direct action in recent years. As NPA Executive Director George Goehl explains, “We felt what was missing in terms of organizing and in terms of the broader fight was that there wasn’t enough energy pointed towards challenging corporate power: That’s not going to government and saying, ‘Reign these guys in,’ but actually going toe-to-toe with big corporations.” complete article: http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/occupy-the-99-percent-spring-and-the-new-age-of-direct-action...

The North Star

A collaborative blog by and for occupiers… Most of what is published by the left regarding Occupy is written from the standpoint of people who are not in the trenches and focuses on “what Occupy means” or “what Occupy must do.” The overwhelming majority of locally based Occupy sites are focused on actions, but there is little follow-up — how many people attended an action? What are the lessons we can learn from what happened? Can we do better? There is no national hub or one-stop shop for Occupy news, commentary, analysis, and conversation written by and for the people in the trenches. The North Star aims to fill these gaps through collaborative effort and collective input. Action and analysis have to go together if either are to have any impact. Check it out :: www.thenorthstar.info...

What’s NYC-GA up to this Month?

Occupy Toronto 19 March 2012 by Michael Holloway All month long in March the New York City General Assembly (NYC-GA) is doing actions as part of the 6 month anniversary of the occupation of Liberty Square on September 17, 2011. This one has a great story line… Occupiers set up living room in Bank of America lobby Via Youtube Channel – “OccupyTVNY” – http://www.youtube.com/user/OccupyTVNY/videos NYC General Assembly – Events: http://www.nycga.net/events/ OccupyToronto – Calendar: http://occupyto.org/calendar/ mh...

#M17 a Grand Success – #OWS Re-Occupies Liberty Plaza in New York

Occupy Toronto 18 March 2012 by Michael Holloway New Media videographer, Tim Pool – who’s coverage of Occupy Wall Street has been second to none – sums up yesterday’s 6 Month Anniversary, ‘Cultural Re-occupation of Liberty Plaza’ last night #OWS “# M17 March – 6 Month Anniversary” – http://www.nycga.net/events/event/m17-march/. Link to Tim Pool’s webcast at Ustream, 1:58am, March 18 2012 – http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/21185518 Good feeling around these events – reminds of last fall when we had an elan, a sense that we were making a difference. New York City General Assembly truly is the leader organization of this movement in North America. Their ‘Events Calendar’ is busy, busy, busy. If your in New York join the continuing month long anniversary, ’Cultural Re-occupation’ of Liberty Plaza. Tim Pool’s Ustream archive: http://www.ustream.tv/user/Timcast New York City General Assembly – Events: http://www.nycga.net/events/. Occupy Toronto Web: http://occupyto.org/ Occupy Toronto Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OccupyToronto Occupy Toronto Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/occupytoronto mh...

#OWS Cultural Occupation of Liberty Square (COOLS)

Occupy Toronto 18 March 2012 by Michael Holloway What’s the New York City General Assembly up to? #OWS #M17 – was part of an on-going, month long “Clutural Re-Occuopation of Liberty Square” in New York City. Below is a reprint of the call to action page at New York City General Assembly – “Cultural Occupation of Liberty Square (COOLS)” – posted February 28th 2012 – http://cools.nycga.net/2012/02/28/cultural-occupation-of-liberty-square-cools/ FEBRUARY 28, 2012 Cultural Occupation of Liberty Square (COOLS) The Show Must Go On! Act One set the stage with fantastic props and sets (tents, kitchen, The Library!) and set multiple stories in motion. It was extremely effective and drew a fantastic audience. Now it’s time for Act Two and we all know where the theater is. It’s Liberty Square! We can inspire the movement, build community and keep the call for power and income equity sounding by occupying using teach-ins, workshops, music, art, sign-making and the like. It’s time to raise the curtain on a re-energized Occupation. Let’s bring our commitment and creativity back to Liberty Square! The COOLS (aka – Curveball Team) proposes that work groups do their “best stuff” in the park noon-2 PM each day starting March 1st. Posted for your consideration. mh...

Occupied Vancouver Sun

The February 1st, 2012 issue is available. Subscribe to the newspaper....

#solidaritysunday #J29

Occupiers everywhere! TODAY IS SOLIDARITY SUNDAY! In response to brutal police repression in Oakland this evening (including tear-gas, “flash” grenades, projectiles, mass arrests, and a pregnant woman hit in the belly by a policeman’s baton) direct action working groups from at least Occupy Wall St, Occupy Boston, and Occupy Philly, have stayed up late to craft a massive coordinated response. Continue Reading »...