Historically, successful movements for social change walk on two legs: construction and protest. The former builds the alternative world. The latter tries to make room for it by pulling down the old structures holding the new world back. Most movements start (and many finish) hopping on one leg. Finding the other leg — and then getting both to walk together — requires a sustained and concerted effort. However, as evidenced by the Civil Rights, Anti-apartheid and Indian Independence movements, there is no other way to travel the road of transformation.

The steady rise of food activism over the last 20 years (organic farming, community and urban gardens, Community Supported Agriculture, Farm to School, Food Policy Councils, Slow Food, etc.) and the more recent explosion of Occupy movements across the U.S. are textbook examples of construction and protest. While both are expressions of profound dissatisfaction with the ravages of unbridled monopoly capitalism — specifically regarding the food and financial systems — from the perspective of transformation they are in many ways, separately “hopping on one leg.”

http://tinyurl.com/6r2oygm

Occupy Cape Cod Targets Foreclosure Auction

Vacation destination Cape Cod may seem like a bizarre place for an Occupy protest, but that didn’t stop demonstrators from rallying in the area known for beaches and lobster.

A group of protesters gathered outside a foreclosed home that was being auctioned off earlier this week to demonstrate against foreclosures that they argue were the result of the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Cape Cod Times. But despite the protest, the auctioneers still found a buyer; a bank bought the house for slightly more than $200,000.

http://tinyurl.com/7sjgncp

Infiltration to Disrupt, Divide and Misdirect Is Widespread in Occupy

These scattered reports seem to be the tip of the iceberg. As a result of experiencing extreme divisive tactics and character assassination on Freedom Plaza, we began to hear from Occupiers across the country about similar incidents in their encampments. We decided to survey people about infiltration.

Recently we toured occupations on the West Coast, where we spoke to many participants and have attended General Assemblies at Occupy Wall Street and Philadelphia. We heard stories in Arizona of someone with website administrative privileges deleting the live stream archive that included video that was to be used in defense of some who were arrested. In Lancaster, Pa., someone took control of the email list, making it an announce-only list, and when the police threatened to close the camp, that person put out a statement that the Lancaster Occupiers had decided to go without any conflict. In fact, no such decision had been made and 30 Occupiers had planned to risk arrest when the police tried to remove them. The false email resulted in no resistance.

http://tinyurl.com/78akdtb

Who’s Really Violent? Tips for Controlling the Narrative

Occupy Wall Street is similar to many movements in contending that its opponent-for Occupy, the 1 percent-is maintaining a system whose structural, systematic violence far exceeds any violence exhibited by the movement itself. For example, movements will say that class oppression or sexism or racism hurt people in the daily course of life, pointing to statistics like each percentage point of unemployment resulting in increased suicide, homicide and domestic abuse. However, especially when the movement is still young and only beginning to get its message out, the powers that be in politics and the media will often succeed in dismissing such charges and in blaming every appearance of violence on the campaigners. Reversing this narrative in the public perception is one of a growing movement’s most important challenges.

http://tinyurl.com/87av77s

Occupy Eugene holds concert fundraiser to pay for vandalism damages related to Occupy Oakland solidarity rally

We are also creating a fund with 10% of the profits to go to pay for the damages, done by vandalism, at the anti police brutality demonstration in Portland recently. The concerts theme is about local sustainable economics, so we want to show our support for small businesses and non-violent citizen action.

http://tinyurl.com/82xan8f

Occupy Targets ALEC: February 29

Occupy groups around the country will hold direct actions against  corporations that support ALEC on February 29th.

The protests will be the beginning of Occupy’s re-emergence, they say, after smaller actions during the winter and facing police _disruption of encampments.

Who’s ALEC? It stands for the American Legislative Exchange Council and it’s one of the most effective tools used by corporations to control state and federal laws.

http://tinyurl.com/6u6mfqp

Occupy and Castlewood Workers to join up for “perhaps the biggest and most vibrant march Pleasanton has ever seen”

Organizers hope for a big turnout Feb. 25 for the latest protest in a two-year saga to demand a better contract. Food service workers at Castlewood Country Club were put on lockout on Feb. 25, 2010 when they refused the terms of a contract with the club. The contract stipulated that workers pay $849 per month for health care, a change from the free health care the contract had previously provided.
Lockouts, when employers refuse to let employees come back to work until they agree to contract terms, are a rare but powerful tool used against unions.

Since the lockout began, the club has hired non-union replacement workers and most of the union workers have taken other jobs. But, in order to end the lockout legally, the company must resolve the contract issues.

http://tinyurl.com/7d5g6jx

Police intervene to prevent establishment of new occupation in fight to prevent school closings (KS)

Some Wichitans say they’re taking a stand against USD 259 and staging a sit-in to protest proposed school closings.

Close to a dozen protesters spent more than six hours outside of Northeast Magnet, 17th and Chautauqua, Friday. They say they’re upset about plans to shut down the Northeast Magnet building.

By Friday afternoon, members of Occupy Wichita and the local NAACP brought in tents with the intention of staying awhile.

http://tinyurl.com/82gf6qp

Kansas GOP: Poor Are Too Rich

A Kansas House tax committee passed a bill in which anyone making less than $25,000 a year – roughly half a million of the state’s 2.9 million residents – will pay an average of $72 more in taxes, while those making more than $250,000 – about 21,000 people – will see a $1,500 cut, according to Kansas Department of Revenue estimates cited by the Kansas City Star.

The hike would come from the elimination of tax credits typically benefiting the poor.

I can’t help but see this as a continuation of the conservative meme that its the poor who don’t pay their “fair share.” Last fall, as the Occupy movement gained steam, it became common for conservatives to complain about the 47 percent of Americans who “don’t pay taxes.” Presidential candidates like Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry complained about it in speeches and debate performances, while conservative activists (Redstate’s Erick Erickson comes to mind) touted it in response to the Occupy movement.

Of course, the claim was misleading to the extreme; all Americans pay something to the government-sales taxes, payroll taxes, and various state taxes-but only some make enough money to owe federal income taxes.

http://tinyurl.com/7wja2l7

With Credit Union Spin, Occupy Slates Los Angeles Rally Saturday

The Occupy movement is apparently broadening its interest in credit unions with a rally planned Saturday  in Irvine, Calif.  amidst talk of founding  a national federation of credit unions under the “People Before Profits” banner.

OccupyFirst, identified as a nonprofit firm “born out of the alternative banking workgroups in the Occupy movement” is sponsoring the rally in the City of Irvine council chambers, according to a city spokesman. Irvine is a Los Angeles suburb.

On a Facebook page, OccupyFirst said its goal is to recruit citizens “interested in taking control of money from the banks to join us in person and online.”  The mission would be to support the federation of CUs to be formed.

http://tinyurl.com/86xve7x

Detroit Parents, Community Members Protest School Closing

Parents, teachers, children and community members protested the scheduled closing of two Southwest Detroit schools Friday and attempted to deliver a letter outlining their concerns to Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Roy Roberts.

Roberts recently announced DPS would close nine schools and convert four others into charters. Detroit’s Maybury Elementary and Southwestern High School are on the list slated for closure.

But Southwest Detroit residents aren’t ready to let the schools go. More than 80 percent of Maybury’s students are Latino, and the school offers a bilingual education program that neighborhood parents say is essential.

http://tinyurl.com/7kjoueg

Keystone XL opponents to host Saturday protest [SD]

Opponents of the Keystone XL Pipeline will gather at noon Saturday in downtown Rapid City to protest the plan to transport Canadian crude oil in a pipeline across South Dakota to refineries in southern states.

The gathering at Main Street Square will include members of Occupy Rapid City, Dakota Rural Action and the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center.

http://tinyurl.com/7e92ent

Occupy Dallas members, school district employees protest against longer work day without compensation

Dallas school district employees are protesting a longer work-day.  The school board voted last month to extend a minimum work-day by 45 minutes, with no extra pay.  Employees wish the trustees had communicated with them before making the decision.  They also say the extension is not instructional time.

“We don’t feel like this is acceptable because there are many times that our teachers are the ones that sponsor afterschool programs. They do clubs, they do activites and we think this is going to be detrimental to the students,” said Rena Honea, Alliance-AFT President.

http://tinyurl.com/74nl4cr

Mic check during Middle East lecture at University of New Mexico devolves into scuffle, occupiers file police report

Chaos broke out during a lecture at the University of New Mexico, and it is was all caught on video Thursday. When (Un)Occupy Albuquerque protesters shouted down [ie, mic checked] a speaker in an UNM lecture hall other members of the audience went after the protesters.

The video posted on the Internet showed the noisy scene that looked more like the start of a bar brawl than an educational lecture.

http://tinyurl.com/79bynpm

Occupy Nigeria: ‘We must have our say’

In the wake of the recent protests that raged the country, a new group, Occupy Nigeria, emerged as a fresh voice airing a myriad of pent-up grievances against the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Dubbing its name from Occupy Wall Street of America and Occupy London of the United Kingdom, Occupy Nigeria began courtesy of the social network, Twitter.

With the simple hashtag – OccupyNigeria – Nigerians across the country and world were spurred to action and thus the new protest movement was formed. Independent of all civil society groups, the movement consists of all Nigerians the world over irrespective of tribe, religion, age, class and gender.

http://tinyurl.com/89o9vmr

Rally for Tarek Mehanna: Sat Feb 25

2-4pm Boston Common

“Unless we each decolonize our minds, and together decolonize this movement, unless we dismantle the deeply-ingrained systems of oppression that we inherited with colonialism, we risk merely creating a new version of an unjust society,” said Martin Dagoberto, a member of the working group.  The Decolonize to Liberate Working Group has been hosting weekly discussion meetings since it formed and introduced one of the first proposals passed by the Occupy Boston General Assembly, the “Statement of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples.”

Working group member Laurie Leyshon emphasized that the Community Gathering will not only provide a movement-building experience, but also present “a renewed call to action for the benefit of all people and all Life.”  The gathering coincides with “#F27 Occupy the Food Supply and attendees will also have an opportunity to join in on this international day of action.  Added Leyshon, “The privatization, control and manipulation of our food supply is the ultimate form of conquest.  What Monsanto and the like are doing is a continuation of a long history of colonialism – the commodification of life.”

To learn more about the meaning of “decolonization,” people are encouraged to listen to a recent radio broadcast produced by Decolonize to Liberate working group member Ukumbwa Sauti:  “Ancestral Continuum – Decolonization.  The working group has also assembled a collection of articles and materials at decolonizeboston.org.

If you are a dedicated catalyst at Occupy Boston, a supporter, or just curious or completely new to the movement, we invite you to please join us for a unique community learning experience.  This will be a great opportunity to connect, share food, words, and build.  If you would like to take advantage of free child care during the event, please email decolonizeboston@gmail.com.

Occupy Boston’s Community Gatherings are held every Monday evening and are free and open to the public. The Gatherings are designed to build and strengthen the Occupy Boston community through ongoing dialogues, presentations, workshops, and facilitated conversations, in order to build a resilient, widespread and inclusive social movement.

It’s time to show the general public that we, the 99%, will not accept these proposals and that we demand to find a more sensible way of addressing the MBTA’s financial situation. Join us on Saturday at noon!

I will continue to pursue my request for Federal and State grand juries to be impaneled to hold the CEO’s of these banks liable for the crimes that have been committed under their watch. The only thing missing in this illegal scheme that MERS and the big banks came up with was a gun and a mask. I will continue to expose this fraud and work everyday to make sure that the taxpayers are fully reimbursed for the over $44 million dollars in lost recording fees in my district alone by institutions who still believe fees are “for thee but not for me.” A message needs to be sent to these banks that they may think that you are too big to fail but they are not too big to go to jail.

http://tinyurl.com/6olhfnz

Harvard: The Dilemma of the Radical – On-Campus Activism in the Age of Occupy

Even within activist organizations like the EAC, convincing students to get out and protest isn’t easy. “A lot of people show up to meetings and not to events. Others go to one or two rallies but don’t sustainably involve themselves,” he explains.
12:03 p.m. Stepping out of the Park Street station, Chaudhary joins about 25 people who are gathered for the rally. Most are well out of college, but there are a few other students from Brandeis and Tufts as well.

http://tinyurl.com/6r9kwhd

What if Occupy Created a Movement so Big it Couldn’t Control it?

Essentially, something can only be considered an “official” statement or action by Occupy Wall Street if it gains approval by the group’s general assembly in New York. It’s a cumbersome process, and most Occupy-related actions don’t go through it — but they’re done in “good faith” with the guidelines the group ratified in its Statement of Autonomy, so there’s usually no problem. Lately, though, more such Occupy-branded actions that diverge from the group’s ethos have been popping up. Remember the Occupy Super PAC last week and quickly drew the ire of the movement? Or the Occupy candidates, who’ve emerged despite the fact that the group has specifically pledged not to endorse parties or candidates? Or that delegation from Zuccotti Park that nearly (gasp) met with Congress before thinking better of it?

http://tinyurl.com/7na6v87

The Food Movement Speaks With One Voice: Occupy Our Food Supply

On February 27, an unprecedented alliance of more than 60 Occupy groups and 30 environmental, food and corporate accountability organizations have joined together for Occupy our Food Supply, a global day of action resisting the corporate control of food systems.

The call to Occupy our Food Supply, facilitated by Rainforest Action Network, is being echoed by prominent thought leaders, authors, farmers and activists including the Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, Food Inc.’s Robert Kenner, music legend Willie Nelson, actor Woody Harrelson, and authors Michael Pollan, Raj Patel, Anna Lappe, Gary Paul Nabhan, and Marion Nestle, among others. The central theme uniting this diverse coalition is a shared sense of urgency to resist the corporate consolidation of food systems and create socially and environmentally just local solutions.
. . .

From Brazil, Hungary, Ireland, and Argentina to dozens of states in the US, thousands of people will be participating in the February 27 global day of action.  Participants will be reclaiming unused bank-owned lots to create community gardens; hosting seed exchanges in front of stock exchanges; labeling products on grocery store shelves that have genetically engineered ingredients; building community alliances to support locally owned grocery stores and resist Walmart megastores; and protesting food giants Monsanto and Cargill.

http://tinyurl.com/6r96d2t

‘The grotesque insult of austerity’ in service of extravagant militarism

No mail on Saturday, maybe, but small-town police get armored personnel carriers?

Let’s take a moment — in the context of these bitter times, and President Obama’s recent austerity budget proposal — to celebrate the questions the residents of Keene, N.H., are asking their city council about the kind of world we’re creating.

First of all, the grotesque insult of “austerity” in the shadow of limitless military spending is destroying our national sanity. And the proposed cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, mental health services, environmental cleanup, National Parks programs and even, yeah, Saturday mail delivery are miniscule compared to the unmet social needs we haven’t yet begun to address in this country, in education, renewable energy and so much more. But we’re spending with reckless abandon to arm ourselves and our allies and provoke our enemies, and sometimes arm them as well, creating the sort of world no one (almost no one) wants: a world of endless war.

http://tinyurl.com/6vvujy6

Efficiency of the market: Patients say FDA lets Big Pharma create artificial drug shortages

Two dozen people suffering from life-threatening Fabry disease say the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services give drug manufacturers carte blanche to create drug shortages that deny them the medicine that keeps them alive.

Twenty-five people, 13 of them John or Jane Does, sued the agencies in Federal Court on constitutional claims. They also sued the National Institutes of Health, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and top officials in the federal agencies.

Most of the plaintiffs say they are being denied interstate access to Fabrazyme, a drug that treats Fabry disease, due to a shortage created by Genzyme, the drug’s manufacturer, but not a party to the case.

http://tinyurl.com/7y9uqro

Million-dollar foreclosures rise as rich walk away

Five years after the housing bubble burst, America’s wealthiest families are now losing their homes to foreclosure at a faster rate than the rest of the country — and many of them are doing so voluntarily.

Over 36,000 homes valued at $1 million or more were foreclosed on — or at least served with a notice of default — in 2011, according to data compiled by RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures. While that’s less than 2% of all foreclosures nationwide, it represents a much bigger share of foreclosure activity than in previous years.
. . .

But with a recovery in the housing market still years away, foreclosure has turned out to be a worthwhile option after all. Saddled with bloated mortgages after a long run up in property values, many high-end homeowners have chosen to pursue a “strategic default.” Even though they can afford the monthly mortgage payments, they still decide to walk away from their home because they owe more on the property than it is worth.

http://tinyurl.com/77j934b

Auto Workers Union Wants To Provide Resources and Training to Occupy Protestors

The United Auto Workers Union reportedly wants to help train 100-thousand people to support the Occupy Wall Street movement.

The “Daily Caller” website obtained documents from the UAW Internet server outlining plans for a group called “99 Percent Spring.”  The documents include talking points, social media plans and press releases.

The UAW would not comment directly on the report, but a spokesman told the “Detroit News” the information was mistakenly posted on the UAW website.

http://tinyurl.com/7r697bp

Revealing moment: NPR/Fox News flak loses her composure over reporter challenging White House’s hypocritical support for journalists abroad

(video)

Mara Liasson is the woman behind Jake Tapper’s left shoulder making faces.

http://tinyurl.com/7gx4b2k

Link to transcript here: http://tinyurl.com/7td3bn6

Abortion fight was never just about abortion – activists shifting now to a massive attack on access to birth control

The opponents of birth control coverage are playing a long game. As they ransack family planning funding and prop up religious organizations, they are transforming the way information – and misinformation – about abortion and birth control is passed on to the public. Their efforts are enabled by narratives about religious persecution, demanding, in effect, to create a religious alternative to public health policy based in medicine and science. The Constitution doesn’t require or even envision that. Democrats and their pro-choice allies need to stake out their own long game.

http://tinyurl.com/7ssho3h

New Hampshire: Birth control law repeal added to bill

A Republican lawmaker in New Hampshire has proposed repealing the state’s requirement to provide insurance coverage for birth control by attaching the measure to a bill aimed to repeal “obsolete and outdated” laws.

State Rep. Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) has proposed the amendment to end the contraception law to a piece of routine legislation clearing older laws off the books, the Concord Monitor reports. Manuse’s amendment, first proposed Tuesday as the routine legislation was being heard by a legislative committee, would exclude both religious organizations, along with private companies that have religious objections, from the requirement to provide birth control.

http://tinyurl.com/73xksgz

United Citizens vs. Citizens United – Two years after the infamous ruling, support builds for a constitutional amendment

The Citizens United ruling is notorious. Its immediate effect was to nullify key portions of the bipartisan campaign reform law known as “McCain-Feingold,” which regulated spending by outside special interest groups trying to influence elections. The Court held that such spending by corporations – whether for-profit or nonprofit – constitutes political “speech” that cannot be restrained under the First Amendment. So, Congress cannot limit spending in elections, such as to support or denounce candidates, even though corporations cannot give money directly to a candidate. As for the long-term impact… well, that’s where we leave simplicity behind.

One example of popular resistance to the Citizens United ruling comes from Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). They have proposed the same constitutional amendment in their respective houses – Deutch’s “Outlawing Corporate Cash Undermining the Public Interest in Our Elections and Democracy” amendment, introduced in November; and Sanders’ “Saving American Democracy” amendment, introduced in December – both of them brief, identical and deceptively simple.

http://tinyurl.com/7gp78q3

Activists gear up for statewide Occupy meeting [NC]

The clusters of tents that dotted North Carolina cities in the fall and winter of the Occupy movement have largely disappeared, but the activists who pitched them are planning a statewide gathering to show their staying power.

Organizers are calling it the first Statewide General Assembly. Activists from 15 or so cities and towns will gather from Friday ubtntil Sunday to meet face to face, swap tips, make plans and stage a rally on Saturday outside the State Capitol.

http://tinyurl.com/7jrf5h2

Anger Against MN Welfare Reduction Bill Erupts In “Mic Check”

The “occupy wall street” style of amplifying the public’s voice was used to disrupt and express displeasure over Minnesota legislation opponents say is an attack on the poor.

The Minnesota House Health and Human Services Reform Committee met on February 22, 2012, to review and pass three bills restricting welfare.

Representative Daudt’s bill, HF2080, received the most complaints. This bill reduced life-time coverage from a maximum of 60 months to 36 months. It required applicant paid for background checks for drug convictions, reduced exit level from 115% of poverty to 100% of poverty and reduced sanctions from 7 to 3 offenses.

http://tinyurl.com/7mja7de

After Pressure from Occupy Bernal, Wells Fargo execs fly across country to meet with Bernal Heights man

People facing eviction and foreclosure often report hardly being given the time of day by banks and lenders. But yesterday, three top Wells Fargo executives flew to San Francisco to meet with Alberto Del Rio, a Bernal Heights resident facing foreclosure.

Del Rio’s parents purchased their home in 1973. The home was refinanced multiple times, he says “for a better life” for his family. The most recent refinance, in 2007, was a result of lenders convincing Del Rio’s mother that refinancing would be an easy to pay for some of her retirement.

The loan she got was a pick-a-pay loan, one of the most notoriously predatory loans that banks offered in the years leading up to the 2008 crash.

http://tinyurl.com/6tzp77x

Occupy D.C. to Take Fight Directly to Freddie Mac

Perhaps getting their camping gear cleared out of McPherson Square was exactly the push Occupy D.C. needed. Last week demonstrators picketed outside the Walmart site on Georgia Avenue NW (with mixed results), and next week, the group plans to return to the Occupy Wall Street movement’s roots of outrage over the nation’s enduring foreclosure crisis.

In adopting the Occupy Our Homes tactic, protesters say they will gather next Monday outside the Penn Quarter offices of Freddie Mac, the federally backed mortgage giant, on behalf of a Bowie, Md. resident whose house has been foreclosed upon.

Occupiers are taking up the case of Bertina Jones, whom according to their press release was foreclosed upon in September 2010. Jones, who bought the house in March 1997 with a loan from Bank of America, first fell behind on her mortgage payments in September 2008 after losing her job when economy collapsed. Jones applied for but did not receive assistance from the Home Affordable Modification Program, which Occupy D.C. chalks up to clerical error and “inattention” on the part of Bank of America, which sold the mortgage on Jones’ house to Freddie Mac in September 2010.

http://tinyurl.com/7fb4heo

Occupy Denver Hears Native Concerns

With spring’s approach, Occupy Denver is renewing its plans to affront the corporate state and economic inequity after being driven by police in November from a downtown park where members were camped.

As part of its effort to build support the Occupy movement is reaching out to Indigenous groups that feel they have been marginalized by Occupy, said some Native attendees of an Indigenous Resistance meeting February 21. They reiterated the oft-repeated reminder that North America has been occupied since at least 1492.

“You don’t feel like you really belong there (at an Occupy general assembly),” said Robert Chanate, Kiowa, director of the nonprofit Indigenous Training Resource Center and a columnist for Indian Country Today Media Network. “With Occupy, it didn’t really seem like it was a place for us.”

Citing local resistance to the XL Pipeline, Chanate said, “We can reach out to people like us, or we’ll continue what we’re doing. We have other support groups out there.”

http://tinyurl.com/7a6hq2o

Marchers will ‘Occupy’ Tri-Valley [CA]

Occupy Oakland is headed to Pleasanton to mark the second anniversary of the lockout of workers from Castlewood Country Club. Marchers will start at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the corner of Main Street and Bernal Avenue and walk to the club on Castlewood Drive.

The Occupy Oakland website says protesters “are planning on bringing tents and occupying an unclaimed area adjacent to the country club in protest of the inhumane treatment of the workers who have been locked out in a clear attempt to break their union.”

The group is also planning to stage a “mock counter protest” by the country club they label as the 1 percent._

http://tinyurl.com/7j3w4xr

Sinn Féin: State assets sale ‘bad deal’ for citizens

Opposition parties are hitting out at the Government’s proposals on the sale of some state assets.

Sinn Féin has accused Fine Gael and Labour of “flogging off the State’s wealth for a quick buck”. Party president Gerry Adams said he believes the move will result in job losses and increased prices for consumers.

“Instead of flogging off the State’s wealth for a quick buck, the Government should make commercial state companies part and parcel of the solution” he said in the Dáil.

Deputy Adams said it was a “myth” to say that privatisation and deregulation bring competitiveness and efficiencies in State bodies.

http://tinyurl.com/87rkyxt

Scotland: Austerity ‘threatens any recovery’

Finance Secretary John Swinney has reiterated his calls for control of corporation tax and a rethink of the UK Government’s austerity agenda, amid economic “threats” from abroad.

Mr Swinney called on the Scottish Parliament to acknowledge that the UK Government`s “pursuit of austerity” is “threatening the UK recovery” and support the Scottish Government’s “distinctive approach” to accelerating recovery.

However, Labour finance spokesman Ken Macintosh claimed the SNP has merely introduced “populist” policies with “no evidence whatsoever” that they promote growth.

Mr Swinney said: “John Cridland, the director general of the CBI, said on Good Morning Scotland yesterday that the best way to get growth going is to invest in infrastructure. Investment in infrastructure is three times more likely to get a growth result than cuts in taxes.”

http://tinyurl.com/6ogjnpb

High levels of inequality jeopardize Canada’s ability to succeed

What do the Occupy Movement and Canadian software giant OpenText have in common? Most people, including the campers and coders themselves, would probably say very little. But, while the message coming out of Robson Square and St. James Park last fall was about economic justice, it is highly relevant to economic growth as well.
Canada’s high levels of inequality and poverty don’t just erode social cohesion, but also jeopardize our ability to succeed in the knowledge-based economy.
Last week, the Drummond report correctly observed that, in the 21st century, “education and innovation will be the key for Ontarians to be prosperous.” But it is important to recognize that “education and innovation” aren’t just the product of classrooms and laboratories; they are nurtured through favourable social conditions that are incompatible with elevated levels of inequality and poverty.

http://tinyurl.com/6mjr2a6

China’s ‘occupy’ toilet protests spread

A Chinese student is hoping to become a heroine for women around the world by launching an occupy movement of her own – in the men’s toilets.

Fed up with long queues for ladies’, Li Tingting made headlines when she and 20 women marched into a men’s public toilet in the southern city of Guangzhou carrying colorful placards calling for equal waiting times for both sexes.

Now, she plans to take her protest to the capital Beijing, where China’s leaders will gather next month for the annual meeting of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament.

http://tinyurl.com/7kpzsrv

AIDS activists, students, and community groups “OCCUPIED” the offices of pharma giant Novartis today in three US cities on the eve of the Swiss pharmaceutical company’s annual shareholders meeting in Switzerland.  The effort was part of a global day of action drawing attention to the company’s lawsuit against cancer patients and the government of India, aiming to reinterpret India’s patent standards to block access to life-saving generic medicines.

In 2006, Novartis sued the Indian government after its request for a patent on its blockbuster cancer drug Gleevec was denied. The Novartis version of the drug costs roughly ten times the cost of the high-quality generics on the market and the company is trying to stop production of those versions.

Since Novartis initiated action against the Indian government, protests have been held around the world. On Wednesday, demonstrators in New York, Washington, and Boston stood in solidarity with actions in India, Switzerland, and other regions. “We’re here to try to ensure that India remains the pharmacy of the developing world,” said Katrina Ciraldo, Boston University medical student and member of Occupy Boston’s Health Justice group.

http://tinyurl.com/82tbaze

After a long winter of discontent, can Occupy Boston bloom again this spring?

As the weather warms, though, the question looms: will there will be an Occupy Spring? Will the movement once again reign in the national headlines – not just as a sideshow tailing presidential candidates, but in cities like Boston, where much of the fall was dominated by Occupy actions and the response to the sudden surge in activism?

All signs point to “yes.” In addition to vague plans to establish another camp in April – a surefire way to attract news cameras – daily Occupy Boston strategy meetings remain staffed by significant numbers of dedicated operatives. Saturday-night general assemblies draw roughly 80 attendees. The crowds are smaller than those that rallied on Dewey Square at the height of Occupy intensity, but a core group of direct-action-minded folks are regularly joining more established forces like City Life and the T Riders Union in protesting everything from MBTA service cuts to foreclosures and, this past weekend, prisoner abuse. College occupations are also picking up some slack; earlier this month, a New England student summit at Harvard attracted delegates from more than a dozen schools (as well as Occupy godfather Noam Chomsky).

http://tinyurl.com/7hcc6mg

Chris Faraone Q&A: Living with the 99 percent

When the Occupy movement was raging last fall, Chris Faraone was there. In Boston. In Seattle. In New York. [Chris Faraone] the 32-year-old Boston Phoenix writer and Jamaica Plain resident spent more time at the encampment here than any journalist, not to mention his visits to Occupy movements around the country, from Miami to New York to Seattle to Oakland. This month he releases his self-published book, “99 Nights With the 99 Percent,” and on Feb. 27 he’ll speak at Brookline Booksmith at 7 p.m.

http://tinyurl.com/6r3w9c3

Education gap between wealthy and poor widens

During the 1950s and 1960s, race was seen as the largest factor in determining educational success among youth. Today, much less variance is seen between youth of different races. Instead, educational endeavors have been linked more closely to family income.

Education has the potential to be an equalizer in society, an outlet in which all students are presented with opportunities to improve their futures. As the achievement gap widens between those from affluent families and those from origins of poverty, the aspect of the equalizer diminishes.

In the United States, students from high-income families score up to 40 percent higher on standardized tests than students from low-income families. Similarly, students from affluent families are 50 percent more likely to finish college than those from low-income households.

http://tinyurl.com/8yz74rr

Security firm describes ‘how companies can use social media to predict potential threats’ during upcoming national Occupy corporate protests on Feb. 29th

The Occupy movement took hold last year, sweeping up grassroots organizers, courting unions and blue-collar workers, and sparking protests outside of corporate offices. Cold weather and disappearing camps have slowed the movement to a crawl, but a massive demonstration is planned to try and reignite the embers that may have survived through the winter. “Shut Down the Corporations” on February 29 will target ExxonMobil, Bank of America, BP, Monsanto, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart locations nationwide, according to the Occupy Web sites.

Twitter and Facebook have been some of Occupy’s primary mediums for organizing since its inception, so for companies looking to predict the impact of Shut Down the Corporations on their own operations, information valuable to investigations sits hidden in plain sight on the Internet.

Data pulled from open sources, like forums and social media profiles, can go a long way to protecting a company’s personnel and assets, according to a librarian turned investigator Cynthia Hetherington. The Occupy Web sites provide general information for people interested in assembling, but tuning in to social networks can provide more detailed logistical information, Hetherington says.

http://tinyurl.com/7ng8s82

As live streaming expands, challenges intensify

Outside of the danger of war zones, live streamers face a wide spectrum of challenges unique to the medium. The panoptic coverage exposes them to the ire of illicit-minded citizens; lack of official credentials leaves them susceptible to the whim of authorities; and operating on shoestring budgets means the loss of even a single piece of equipment can silence the broadcast.

Live streaming is revolutionizing how news is gathered and consumed. The 2011 Arab Spring uprisings were initially covered by citizen journalists using social media and online video-sharing websites, providing a never-before-seen level of coverage. As mobile technology improves, this model of rapid-fire journalism is getting even faster as professional reporters and citizen journalists alike take to live streaming events as they happen.

http://tinyurl.com/76v9bxs

Occupy Un-Occupies Its Own Strike Campaign

The next major action planned by Occupy Wall Street is a nationwide general strike set for May 1, and to promote it they’ve started producing a lot of great-looking works of propaganda that largely downplays the involvement of Occupy itself. The videos, posters, and paintings promoting the strike that actually mention Occupy tend to place it in the background rather than as the central component. Organizers say they’re aiming a much larger audience than the folks who camped or protested in city squares last fall. “A general strike really needs to be general,” organizer Joe Sharkey said. “May Day is a traditional day for workers movements and revolution, so I think that’s the main emphasis. It’s to broaden the appeal and not just attach it to Occupy. People have preconceived notions of what occupy is or isn’t.”

http://tinyurl.com/7cz2zt6

On the Brink: Fiscal Austerity Threatens a Global Recession

(video)

http://tinyurl.com/869ezlg

Fox News declares The Lorax is indoctrinating children into supporting Occupy Wall Street

(video)

Fox News doesn’t get a lot of mention on this site, as we typically talk movies, not politics. But Lou Dobbs drew our attention when he spoke out a supposed conspiracy between President Obama and Hollywood to brainwash children with cartoon characters. On his show, Dobbs declared that two new movies, The Secret World of Arrietty and The Lorax were created by Hollywood to “indoctrinate” children into supporting environmental causes and Occupy Wall Street…or something. His logic is pretty mind boggling, but can be viewed in below in this clip:
. . .

For his final stroke, Dobbs turns to his guests for their thoughts. One flat-out denies this is a threat, and says parents should monitor what their kids see and determine for themselves if it suits their own ideology. A second insists that parents need a break from all this liberal media brainwashing! And his third guest suggests that conservative parents subvert The Lorax’s green message by buying a bunch of snacks and paper products and then trash the theater with the materialistic mess to prevent kids from becoming “Occu-toddlers.” That’s right, make those movie theater workers feel your disdain for environmental awareness! That’ll show Hollywood!

http://tinyurl.com/7jlj7yz

Price Shock: Watch Cost of Gas Jump 10 Cents During ABC’s ‘World News’ Broadcast

The swiftness at which those gas prices continue to climb was crystal clear Wednesday night during the broadcast of ABC News’ “World News with Diane Sawyer.”

As ABC News’ Cecilia Vega introduced her piece on high gas prices, the sign at the downtown Los Angeles gas station behind her showed the price of regular gas at $4.99 a gallon.   However when the piece concluded nearly two minutes later the price of regular gas had jumped 10 cents to $5.09 a gallon.

http://tinyurl.com/86j3n4t

Occupy the Department of Education: Just What Education Activists Were Looking for

On behalf of the people of New York City, the Panel for Educational Police (PEP) assembled on the evening of February 9. On behalf of the people of New York City, it deliberated the closure of 23 city schools. And on behalf of the people of New York City, it ignored the thousands of parents, students, teachers and taxpayers who had come to protest and axed the schools anyway.  Democracy in action.

Apart from the balcony, the Brooklyn Technical High School auditorium (which seats 3,100) was packed when I arrived. The security detail roaming the aisles dutifully dispensed their pro forma pleas that those in the aisle find a seat, but they knew their task was Sisyphean: no one had a seat. Virtually everyone was standing, chanting, holding signs, condemning the proceedings by way of the people’s mike and roundly booing each of the panel’s suits for silence.

These were the only indication the panel gave those in attendance that they even knew a protest was in progress. For the most part, they proceeded through the minutiae of the event, droning on over the amplification system, charging inexorably toward what everyone knew was a foregone conclusion. That this whole hearing was proceeding patently without the consent of the governed seemed more or less irrelevant to the panel, which never bothered to identify the counter-constituency, New Yorkers against the closing down of the schools. Amid the unrelenting din, one panelist, called on to testify, replied, “I’m sorry, I can’t hear anything,” to which the exasperated chairman responded, “Welcome to the club!”

http://tinyurl.com/8329btu

UC Davis students sue over pepper-spray incident

The lawsuit claims the university violated the demonstrators’ constitutional rights and seeks campus policies to prevent similar responses to non-violent protests, as well as unspecified damages.

http://tinyurl.com/72f9ly5

More MN homeowners pledge to stay and fight foreclosure

Since last fall, Occupy Minnesota activists have defended the houses of two Minneapolis homeowners facing foreclosure – Monique White in North Minneapolis and ex-Marine Bobby Hull in South Minneapolis. In doing so, they’ve helped galvanize a growing Occupy Homes movement nationwide.

Now Minnesota homeowners are beginning to pledge en masse to resist bank foreclosures and stay in their homes. At a rally at Hull’s house on Friday night, five new homeowners pledged to fight the system and, if necessary, resist eviction with the help of local Occupy activists. They included Vietnam veteran John Vinje and his wife Lucinda Adams-Vinje who live in Bloomington, Minn., Frank from Coon Rapids, Ruby Brown in North Minneapolis, and Colleen Espinosa, whose son Nick is a well-known Occupy activist.

http://tinyurl.com/7vpjzea

Why Did Occupy Redwood City Occupy Safeway?

High-fives greeted the protesters as Safeway was called out for its unsavory corporate behavior. While Safeway employs union workers in their stores, the company has been building big-box, “lifestyle” stores without union labor and without prevailing wages here on the Peninsula.

Safeway also has been giving massive bonuses to their executives for minimizing the labor costs of each of these big-box projects in San Mateo County. This means low bids and the hiring of out-of-area workers who do not have medical or pension benefits and who are the least trained in personal and public safety. This means exclusion from jobs for the 14,000 unionized, apprenticed, and trained local workers who are out of work due to the recession.

In contrast, the three “lifestyle” stores Safeway erected in San Francisco were built using local union contractors. Without a similar commitment from Safeway to local wages and local hiring in San Mateo County, the thirty percent of local carpenters, painters, electricians and other workers who are still out of a job will remain out of a job. This leads to the loss of medical benefits, more foreclosures, and more cuts to working families and local governments.

http://tinyurl.com/7uzbvde

Occupy offshoot plans assembly in Phila. near July 4

A breakaway group from the Occupy Wall Street movement is organizing a national assembly in Philadelphia around the Fourth of July to draft a petition for “redress of grievances.” The assembly would not be an Occupy-style event, Michael S. Pollok, a New York lawyer and organizer, said Wednesday.

The group would meet in a “state of the art” facility near Independence Hall as opposed to occupying a public space, he said. Also, the delegates who attend must be elected, a major shift from how Occupy Wall Street or Philadelphia operated.
. . .

A sampling of 21 grievances listed on the group’s website, www.the99declaration.org, include the end to the war in Afghanistan, an overturning of the Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” ruling on campaign contributions, the implementation of universal health care, an emphasis on debt reduction, and banking and securities reform.

http://tinyurl.com/78e68a7

“Come join us as we repent from the sins of greed, corruption, and apathy,” said Occupy Boston member Joshua Eaton. “Come join us as we wait for the world where every chain is loosed and every yoke is broken. Come join us as we Occupy Lent.”

The group plans to recite prayers of repentance, sing hymns, and read passages from scripture that relate to economic justice. Their event announcement quotes Isaiah 58, verse 6: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

WHO: Members of Occupy Boston and the Protest Chaplains

WHAT:  A gathering each Friday in Lent—the season of repentance—to publicly ask forgiveness for our society’s economic sins and for our complicity with them

WHEN: Friday, February 24 at 8:00 AM and every Friday in Lent (through April 6)

WHERE: First National Bank Building at 100 Federal Street in Boston’s Financial District. Once the Federal Street Church, it was an incubator for liberal religion and the site where Massachusetts ratified the US Constitution. Now, as home to Bank of America,  it stands as a temple to unfettered financial capital.

For more information, please visit:  http://www.facebook.com/events/324346397617221/.

With Occupy evicted from Dewey Square in December, [Jay] Jubilee now spends much of his time riding MBTA trains and buses, spreading the word about the possible effects of the T’s financial problems and encouraging riders to attend a Feb. 28 MBTA hearing at Somerville High School. The new mission is very different from his old one, but he says the same political philosophy drives him.

“It’s very much in the spirit of Occupy,” he said, “which is to say defending public services against austerity cutbacks and, more generally, trying to find ways to unite and defend the interests of the 99 percent.”

http://tinyurl.com/7l2o7o7

Boston Phoenix writer responds to Breitbart hit piece that used extensive excerpts from her article to attack Occupy

The first person I am calling out is a lady who calls herself Liberty Chick. Last week she penned a piece directly in response to my January 31 piece for the Phoenix regarding Occupy Boston’s attempts to create safer spaces for women, LGBTQ folks, and victims of sexual violence in general. Hiding behind her pen name, LibChiqq wrote the piece for Andrew Breitbart’s website “Big Government.”

LibChiqq basically cut and pasted my whole piece into their super right-wing content farm and then tried to re-contextualize my writing to point out the ways in which Occupy is at fault for being a breeding ground for rapists and misogynists. She then uses my words as a means to discredit the movement as a whole.

http://tinyurl.com/775rp5g

Judge says Breitbart must face defamation lawsuit

Former U.S Department of Agriculture official Shirley Sherrod’s lawsuit against right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart survived a motion to dismiss, clearing the way for her to pursue the high-profile defamation suit she filed against him and a colleague last year.

Sherrod sued Breitbart, Larry O’Connor and a third, unidentified individual in 2011 for allegedly editing down her 43-minute speech at the March 2010 NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet into a 2 minute 36-second clip meant to mislead the public into believing that Sherrod gave preferential treatment to black farmers in doling out federal funds.

The short video, in which Sherrod spoke of her own feelings about helping a poor white farmer, went viral and within days had her pulling her car over at the behest of the White House to “email her resignation from her blackberry,” claimed Sherrod in her federal complaint.

http://tinyurl.com/7vmldq4

Hundreds march for free speech at Bridgewater State University

[BSU Occupy, along with the Social Justice League, Pride Center Ambassadors, Student Diversity Council and AWARE were some of the student groups that helped organize the rally.]

Hundreds of students, faculty and community members rallied on the Bridgewater State campus Tuesday morning in support of free speech, after a student said she was physically assaulted over a pro-gay marriage editorial in the student newspaper.

Destinie Mogg-Barkalow, 20, who writes for the student newspaper The Comment, told police she was attacked in a campus parking lot by a man and a woman on Thursday night. The pair asked Mogg-Barkalow if she was the author of a recent pro-gay marriage editorial. When she said yes, the woman struck her in the face, causing a bruise, according to police. The attackers have not been officially identified as students but a campus spokesman said they were around Mogg-Barkalow’s age.

http://tinyurl.com/6s4k9qv

Democratic incumbent tries to get Occupy candidate disqualified from primary race

Nate Kleinman, the Occupy Philadelphia protester who is running for Congress against Representative Allyson Schwartz, will have to head to court to defend his right to stay on the ballot.

Last Tuesday, Kleinman’s campaign submitted more than 1,500 signatures to the election board, meeting the 1,000-signature requirement for entry in the race. But Schwartz’s office is contesting those signatures, and with them Kleinman’s right to run for Congress.
. . .

Kleinman calls in to add the following: “This is what conventional politicians do. [Schwartz] doesn’t think that she can beat me on the issues, so she’s trying to beat me with a frivilous challenge in court. I have every reason to believe that I am in the right on this. My name will be on the ballot on April 24, and if it’s not I will win in a write in. The people deserve to have their voices heard.”

http://tinyurl.com/75m74hu

Super PACs Growing More Powerful Than The Campaigns They Support

An unmistakable dynamic is playing out in the money game among Republican presidential candidates: New “super” political action committees are growing more powerful than the campaigns they support.

For two of the GOP front-runners, their supportive super PACs raised more money and have more cash left in the bank than the candidates’ own campaigns. Helping their efforts are major financial gifts from wealthy business executives, whose contributions can be essential to the groups’ continued operations.

http://tinyurl.com/7yqczaz

Occupy is back? Movement gets a TV show, issues concrete demands, begins new protests

As the first signs of spring appear, Occupy Wall Street seems to be alive and kicking once again. Or at least starting to get there. Here’s a short of what’s been “occupied,” in the last two weeks alone.

http://tinyurl.com/75qymn8

Join Occupy College Teach-Ins

On more than 120 college and university campuses around the nation, Occupy College activists will hold teach-ins tomorrow and Thursday focusing on vital education issues such as solutions to soaring student debt, reducing the cost of education, improving the quality of education and more. The teach-ins are in preparation the March 1 National Day of Action for Education.

You can follow the teach-ins on Twitter with the hashtag @occupycolleges.

http://tinyurl.com/83o6urq

Does Occupy Wall Street Have a Future in Politics?

Over the past few months, Occupy protesters have taken on AT&T’s corporate layoffs in Atlanta, school privatization in Chicago and prison policies in California. It appears that as protests will continue in different parts of the country, and Occupy organizers have been planning large demonstrations at both the Republican and Democratic conventions this summer. So for Occupy Wall Street, it appears that the action will continue to take place in the streets – and we’re unlikely to see any high-profile political wrangling in the near future.

http://tinyurl.com/7tu9yoo

Occupy Reno group breaks from national trends

Despite its resemblance to the national movement with general assemblies and physical campout locations, Occupy Reno differs in its belief in the legislative process – something noticeably absent from its large-scale counterpart.

And, while the Occupy movement is focused primarily on maintaining a presence, the Reno chapter is distancing itself from the spotlight and attempting to create change from within the system.

Take the resolution that the group brought before the Reno City Council on Jan. 25 for example. Rather than occupying outside of the hall or in a high-traffic area such as New York City’s occupation in Zuccotti Park, Occupy Reno members drafted a proposal that would limit the amount of money corporations can provide to political campaigns in Nevada. The group amassed more than 1,100 signatures for the proposal.

http://tinyurl.com/7bewarn

Occupy Activists From Across US And Abroad Converge in Olympia

Over President’s Day weekend, Olympia, Washington became the first city in the nation to host a major national occupy movement conference. Activists from all across the country gathered to participate in three days of organizing activities, including dozens of workshops, training sessions and meetings. The Occupy Solidarity Social Forum was sponsored by the Alliance For Global Justice and Occupy Olympia.

Over 300 people attended the event, and organizers are calling it a great success. Due to the large number of activists on board an Amtrak train coming in from California, folks along the route renamed it the “Occupy Express.” The train was met by a boisterous welcoming party of conference organizers when it arrived at the station in East Olympia.

http://tinyurl.com/8ytl7j7

Student Debt to Fund NYU’s $6 Billion Expansion Plan

The NYU administration plans to expand the physical footprint of the university by 40% ($6 billion) over the next two decades. The Occupy Student Debt Campaign, GSOC-UAW, and NYU4OWS will stage a rally to call attention to the injustice of NYU’s apparent business plan: enroll ever more heavily indebted students to pay for the new buildings. The cost of this redevelopment is estimated at $6 billion-3 times the current endowment of NYU-and yet the administration has not been transparent about its fiscal plans.

http://tinyurl.com/7w92gl5

Over 1,000 at Oregon Capitol protest cuts, school privatization

More than a thousand public employee unionists, educators, parents, environmentalists, and Occupy activists rallied in chilling rain for a “Strong Schools, Strong Oregon” day of mass action Feb. 20 at the state Capitol here.

The action was called to build support for funding public education and social services, threatened by proposed cuts, and to oppose measures being considered by the governor and legislature to privatize key elements of public education. The proposed cuts seek to close Oregon’s projected $340 million shortfall in projected tax revenue.

http://tinyurl.com/6mcylq4

Will Tea Party trump Occupy in North Country? [NY]

The last twelve months, it’s felt like the conservative Tea Party movement had faded a bit in the North Country, with far more energy being generated by progressive Occupy Wall Street folks.

But as election season approaches, and as we gear up for what looks to be a ferocious NY-23 battle, there are signs that the Tea Party plans to play a big role.
. . .

The question for the Occupiers, meanwhile, is whether they’ll play a significant role in this race at all.  A lot of progressives from the North Country took part in demonstrations and rallies over the last year.  But will they be a significant factor at the ballot box?

http://tinyurl.com/83snzgs

Occupy Winston-Salem plans protest of Wells Fargo, Reynolds

Occupy Winston-Salem is planning protests Feb. 29 in front of the Wells Fargo    building and the Reynolds American headquarters as part of a National Day of Protest.

At Reynolds, the group intends to protest job cuts at the company and its connection to the American Legislative Exchange Council. Reynolds Vice President David Powers is the treasurer for ALEC’s private enterprise board.

ALEC is “a nonpartisan membership association for conservative state lawmakers who shared a common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism and individual liberty,” according to the ALEC website.

http://tinyurl.com/6qyrvfz

Frequently Asked Questions: Wells Fargo Divestment Campaign

Recently, Occupy Bozeman called on people to get their money out of big banks, particularly Wells Fargo.  People who have learned about the campaign have been asking questions.  I have compiled many of those questions and provided some answers below.

http://tinyurl.com/7zyq67r

Occupy Syracuse: Protesters contend Verizon fails to pay a fair share of taxes

Community grassroots organizations, religious leaders and local residents gathered at the downtown Syracuse Verizon building Tuesday to complain the company is not paying its fair share of taxes.

http://tinyurl.com/7kurrqj

Occupy Holy Week, Occupy Passover: Dancing in the Worldwide Earthquake

Plans are under way in New York City for an action to “Occupy Holy Week, Occupy Passover.” People of faith could undertake actions like it all across the country.

We are sharing a sketch of plans to observe Palm Sunday and a pre-Passover Freedom Seder with the intention of both naming the 1% — the Pharaohs & Caesars of today: illegitimate and unaccountable power-holders — and empowering the 99% to face them and begin the healing of our society by transformative, spiritually rooted action.

For this particular effort in NYC, there will be a special emphasis on oppressive debt: foreclosed homes, under-water homes, families mired in mortgages they cannot afford because of lost jobs, etc; student debt piled up to pay for tuition but stuck on people who now cannot get jobs to pay back the loans; debt we owe the plundered and polluted Earth.

http://tinyurl.com/7elyw2f

Protest drags down Europe’s SOPA

“I will not take part in this masquerade,” wrote the European Union’s special rapporteur for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, as he tendered his resignation last month. Since then, opposition to the international pact on so-called intellectual property has swelled. The popular fervor that thwarted the Stop Online Piracy Act in the United States has gone global.
Thousands marched in the streets of Europe last weekend, with protests reported in Budapest, Paris, Prague, Vilnius, Transylvania and beyond. Bulgaria has pulled out of the process of signing ACTA, as the agreement is known. Latvia has called for greater consultation. Poland has suspended its involvement. And Germany is holding off, as are the Czech and Slovak governments.  Hollywood had expected a neat and tidy ending to the years-long negotiation of a new global copyright regime. What it has gotten is something as complex as a Fellini film.

http://tinyurl.com/7zz3a8s

Portugal Plays By Austerity Rules, But Economy Slumps

The eurozone crisis has focused attention on debt-burdened Greece spiraling into decline. Meanwhile, Portugal is seen as the international creditors’ poster-child for obediently slashing spending and welfare benefits.

Nevertheless, the Portuguese national debt continues to grow, and the country is mired in recession and soaring unemployment.

But after months of deep budget cuts and tax hikes, Portuguese are beginning to react. A protest rally was organized by the largest trade union on Feb. 11, and the slogans echoed its leftist ideology. Analysts were surprised by the huge turnout, the biggest in 30 years. People of all ages and professions vented their anger and impatience.

http://tinyurl.com/7sn4szg

Students and faculty at the University of Rhode Island have set up their own Occupy Wall Street protest group.

So far, the group has had two organizational meetings and plans to put up a tent on campus as a symbol of their efforts.

A teach-in is scheduled for later this month and there’s a rally planned for March.

http://tinyurl.com/7a8qa3s

700 gather outside San Quentin for Occupy protest

As many as 700 peaceful Occupy demonstrators gathered outside San Quentin State Prison this afternoon as part of a nationwide effort to call for prison reform.

Among the reforms protest organizers are calling for are elimination of solitary confinement, a ban on the death penalty and an end to California’s “three-strikes” law. The protest was one of about 15 taking place at prisons across the country today.

http://tinyurl.com/7scvb7s

Occupy movement stages day of protests at US prisons

Occupy demonstrators participated in a nationwide day of action to protest against the US prison system on Monday, with demonstrations carried out at over a dozen sites across the country, including prisons in California, Chicago, Denver and New York.

The call to protest was issued by activists with the Occupy Oakland movement and was co-ordinated to coincide with waves of prison hunger strikes that began at California’s Pelican Bay prison in July. Demonstrators denounced the use of restrictive isolation units as infringement upon fundamental human rights. The hunger strikes followed a US supreme court ruling in May which stated that overcrowding in the California prison system had led to “needless suffering and death.” The court ordered the state to reduce its overall prison population from 140,000 to 110,000, which still well-exceeds the state’s maximum prison capacity.

Sarah Shourd, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer – the American hikers who were held for over a year by Iranian authorities – took part in demonstrations outside San Quentin prison in Marin County, California. Addressing the crowd, Shourd described the psychological impact of solitary confinement, saying her 14 and a half months without human contact drove her to beat the walls of her cell until her knuckles bled. Shourd noted that Nelson Mandella described the two weeks he spent in solitary confinement as the most dehumanising experience he had ever been through.

http://tinyurl.com/6n4t4qw

Church pension fund divests from private prison corporations

Early this year, the United Methodist Church Board of Pension and Health Benefits voted to withdraw nearly $1 million in stocks from two private prison companies, the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

“Our board simply felt that it did not want to profit from the business of incarcerating others,” said Colette Nies, managing director of communications for the board.

“Our concern was not with how the companies manage or operate their business, but with the service that the companies offer,” Nies added. “We believe that profiting from incarceration is contrary to Church values.”

http://tinyurl.com/88rue6v

Occupy movement targets corporate interest group with ties to legislators

Co-ordinated protests are planned in some 60 cities later this month against a right wing group which activists say has an unfair hand in writing state legislation that favours corporate interests.

Working under the banner Shut Down the Corporations, activists plan to target corporate members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec) with nationwide protests on 29 February.

Organisers say Alec, a nonprofit free-market policy group whose membership includes some 2,000 state legislators, wields undue influence by drafting legislation beneficial to its corporate members, which in some cases is then used as a model for legislation in states across America.

http://tinyurl.com/7lwodbg

‘Occupying’ the suburbs [CO]

When you think about the Occupy movement, you might not picture a group of people sitting in a quiet suburban library, most of whom have mortgages, jobs and at least a few gray hairs.

But that’s exactly who the members of Occupy Littleton are – parents, even grandparents who remember joining hands to encircle Rocky Flats in 1983.

“Rather than just sitting here in the suburbs and feeling depressed, we’re trying to get people together,” said Claire Hanley during a meeting at Southglenn Library Feb. 20. “Let’s change the system. That’s very empowering.”

http://tinyurl.com/8aaphac

Attacks paid for by big business are ‘driving science into a dark era’

Most scientists, on achieving high office, keep their public remarks to the bland and reassuring. Last week Nina Fedoroff, the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), broke ranks in a spectacular manner.

She confessed that she was now “scared to death” by the anti-science movement that was spreading, uncontrolled, across the US and the rest of the western world.

“We are sliding back into a dark era,” she said. “And there seems little we can do about it. I am profoundly depressed at just how difficult it has become merely to get a realistic conversation started on issues such as climate change or genetically modified organisms.”

http://tinyurl.com/7ude8kw

The Secret, Corporate-Funded Plan To Teach Children That Climate Change Is A Hoax

Internal documents acquired by ThinkProgress Green reveal that the Heartland Institute, a right-wing think tank funded by the Koch brothers, Microsoft, and other top corporations, is planning to develop a “global warming curriculum” for elementary schoolchildren that presents climate science as “a major scientific controversy.” This effort, at a cost of $100,000 a year, will be developed by Dr. David E. Wojick, a coal-industry consultant.
. . .

Right-wing ideologues, fueled by the fossil fuel industry, have been increasing their efforts to pollute science education in elementary schools. These attempts to hijack children’s education piggyback on the religious right’s war on biology education and the science of evolution. The National Center for Science Education, which has long led the defense of evolution education in elementary schools, has begun a new program to fight global warming denial in textbooks and classrooms.

http://tinyurl.com/6oxyyxs

Occupy Continues to Declare Victories

Recent raids on the Occupy movement’s major camps have led some mainstream media outlets to declare that all the camps are “gone,” a claim easily disproven by visiting any one of the dozens of cells still operating in smaller towns and cities all across the country.

Not only are many camps still in operation, but the offshoots of Occupy are not only surviving, but securing real, meaningful victories, which should interest media players who bemoaned that Occupy was too ideologically scattered and too flighty to fight for lasting policy changes.

Occupy oftentimes plays a supportive, inspirational role in ongoing protests. For example, parents and students occupied Brian Piccolo Specialty School on Chicago’s West Side for nearly twenty-four hours in opposition to a proposal that would result in the firings of Piccolo’s entire staff under the tutelage of a private operator, a dramatic gutting process the city refers to as a “turn-around.”

http://tinyurl.com/7dv79j6

Occupy the SEC: Moving From the Campsite to the Weeds of Regulatory Reform

The reaction in the media was generally positive, if not a little condescending. Felix Salmon of Reuters, in an article headlined “Occupy’s Amazing Volcker Rule Letter,” concluded with the proclamation, “This letter is many things, but inchoate it is not,” which, of course, implies one should expect a less-than-sophisticated document from Occupiers.

But why should such an intelligent, sober response to a serious issue come as such a shock? The Occupy Movement is arguably one of the most successful political forces of the last decade. It has undoubtedly changed the trajectory of the national discourse since September, and a movement like that doesn’t achieve such momentum without having some serious intellectual horsepower behind it.

What should have come as more of a surprise than the cogency of the response was the fact that Occupy the SEC is willing to petition it’s government through official channels – the very same channels that Occupy Wall Street alleges have been completely hijacked by corporate forces. There’s nothing explicitly contradictory to its parent’s published beliefs in Occupy the SEC’s chosen method of protest. Though Occupy Wall Street governs itself without hierarchy, it doesn’t promote anarchy or the overthrow of capitalism. But Occupy does imply that the official channels of protest and reform have been so corrupted that extraordinary action – like permanently taking over public spaces – is necessary.

http://tinyurl.com/6qsvrmg

Unions fight cuts with rally at Oregon Capitol

Hundreds of public employees asked the Oregon Legislature maintain funding for schools, prisons and workers who provide in-home care to seniors, using the Presidents Day holiday to rally at the state Capitol on Monday.

Public employee unions were joined by environmental groups, Occupy organizations and other activists in a demonstration that was more a general display of liberal discontent than a show of solidarity behind specific demands.

http://tinyurl.com/76hohba

Occuparty Solidifies Local PA Groups

Representatives from several area Occupy groups gathered at the Thomas Paine Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Collegeville, PA this past Saturday night for a pot-luck dinner billed as a Suburban Occuparty: Getting Together to Work Together.

“It’s a way for us to solidify our horizontal networking in advance of some bigger events being planned for spring and summer 2012″, says Leon Obler, an organizer with Occupy Norristown. “We had representatives from Occupation groups in: Phoenixville, Lansdale, Pottstown, Reading, Allentown, Easton, some even came in from Occupy Harrisburg to meet up and tell us what’s going on out there”, he adds.

The evening was highlighted by the attendance of Nathan Klineman, “the first Occupation candidate to run for congress” who is challenging Allyson Schwartz in the 13th district of PA. In his brief remarks, Klineman made it clear that he knew he had an uphill battle. Regardless, Klineman refuses any corporate donations. Instead, he raises awareness of his candidacy by traveling to various Occupy events in the area.

http://tinyurl.com/76qqjsc

Occupy Maine starts own TV show

Less than 10 days after being evicted, Occupy Maine is using its own television show to get its message out.

OccupyME TV, on its website, http://www.occupymetv.org/, features young and old supporters championing the movement.

In the latest episdode, the panelists show footage of the group’s final general assembly, where the group decides to heed the judge’s decision and leave the park.

“This was never about taking the park indefinitely. It was about drawing awareness to these issues” of wealth inequality, corporate greed and unfair rules that favor the rich, said one Occupy member, who says he is homeless.

http://tinyurl.com/7687sco

Occupy Fundraiser Nets $2000 for San Diego Patient who Lost Medi-Cal Funding

A fundraiser Saturday night at Balboa Park’s Centro Cultural de la Raza netted over $2000 to benefit Raul Carranza in his fight to restore Medi-Cal funding to pay for treatment related to muscular dystrophy, a disease that has left him in need of round-the-clock medical support.

The event was organized by Occupy San Diego’s Labor Solidarity Committee and featured musical performances and speeches from those involved in the Occupy movement as well as a silent auction with items donated by community members.

http://tinyurl.com/8ywheso

Philadelphia may require soup kitchen permits

In less than a month, Philadelphia kitchens that distribute food might be required to obtain permits to continue doing so.

On February 9, the Philadelphia Board of Health adopted a draft regulation that requires permits from places where food is prepared and given to three or more people. The board will vote on the measure after a 30-day public comment period.

While training and permits will both be free of charge, members of Food Not Bombs – an organization that serves vegetarian food to protest war and poverty – and the Occupy movement view the proposal as an attempt to drive away the homeless. In fact, only four of the nation’s 250 largest cities require these food permits, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless.

http://tinyurl.com/6nwbvab

Occupy Petaluma to Urge County to Conduct Audit of Foreclosed Properties

Councilwoman Tiffany Renee and members of Occupy Petaluma are meeting with Sonoma County Recorder-Assessor Tuesday to urge the office to conduct an audit of foreclosed residential properties which they hope will keep local families from losing their homes.

The group was inspired to hold a meeting with County Assessor Janice Atkinson after learning that San Francisco Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting had ordered an audit of mortgages of all foreclosed properties in his county.

That investigation, conducted by an outside firm, found that 80 percent of loan applications were missing owners’ signatures or showed that lenders had not contacted borrowers to discuss their options before issuing a notice of default, as required by law.

http://tinyurl.com/82lh8gk

Summer students get taste of Occupy movement at Maryland community college

Students in ninth through the 12th grade attending summer programs at a community college outside Washington, D.C., will get a taste of the Occupy operation in a new course that aims to get them interested in “the movement for justice.”

“Occupy MoCo!,” one of the newest courses at Montgomery College in Montgomery County, Md., is part of the Summer Youth program offered for 2012.

“Take advantage of this interactive opportunity to learn critical thinking skills that will help you in college and gain insight into becoming a global leader of the 21st century. Learn about the Occupy Wall Street movement and explore real-life human rights implications. Review social justice concepts and explore human rights issues related to current events. Young people hold the power to change their community, their schools, their future — are you ready to join the movement for justice?”

http://tinyurl.com/7vemtwl

French steel workers occupy ArcelorMittal plant

Workers at an idled ArcelorMittal steel plant in north-east France occupied the site on Monday, seeking to put their plight on the political map ahead of a presidential election where industrial decline is a central theme.

Some 200 workers invaded management offices at the factory in Florange, in the Moselle region close to Belgium and Germany, after ArcelorMittal announced last week it was prolonging the temporary shutdown of its two blast furnaces.

http://tinyurl.com/77yg2sv

Occupation of Crafar farm into second day [NZ]

A group of King Country Maori continue to occupy a site at a Crafar farm which they say was stolen in the 19th century.

Edward Moana-Emery of Ngati Rereahu says the farm was taken from his people in 1886 and a claim for the land had been lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal.

About 20 people had set up on Monday at the farm near Benneydale, 35km southeast of Te Kuiti, and Mr Moana-Emery said it was a peaceful occupation.

“We’re not going to go and tell the farm manager that he can’t milk his cows … we just want to occupy the most sacred spot for Rereahu.”

http://tinyurl.com/778pqkv