Added benefits to this protesting business: Marching is pretty much the same as hiking, but with more signs + you can walk the dog.
Another four-legged protester. If corporations can claim citizenship, dogs can too! #JustSaying
Protesting is thirsty work though.
The LAPD continues to be lovely...#Shame the same can't be said for the NYPD. In New York today they arrested a group of Citi Bank customers -- for trying to close their accounts -- for realz! Later, 74 protesters were arrested in Times Square. Meanwhile in Denver, riot police broke things up again, and in Chicago they're trying to evict protesters.
In NYC police have also been detaining protesters for violating an obscure law dating back to 1845 which was intended to stop tenant farmers from covering their faces during a peasant uprising (well I guess #OWS really is one of those!). Meanwhile, in London, Julian Assange was asked to remove his mask by police there. Things are going to get really confusing come Halloween. #JustSaying
Fortunately, in LA, protesting is a family affair.
Lovely weather for it too!
Imagine what the world would be like if the rich and corporations paid their fair share.
To clarify: What part of shared sacrifice don't you get?
Contrary to what the 1% owned mainstream media would have you believe, we are not rebels without a cause.
The 99 percent are fighting for <3, =ity, & abundance 4 all. I think you should join us!
Because this junior 99 percenter would like a future worth looking forward to.
Dear 1%, Are you getting it yet?
So last weekend I went to DTLA for the start of OccupyLA (see pics), which was a truly enlightening experience. People taking to the streets to protest the complete shit storm we've been weathering for way too long has been so overdue, and there's almost a sense of relief now that the silent majority is silent no more, and is finally standing up to say enough is enough. As a result, the sense of shared purpose and community among the 99 percenters down there is almost overwhelming. I strongly encourage you to experience it by visiting an #OCUUPYWALLSTREET event in your area.
Went back down there yesterday afternoon; what a difference a week makes. The site is now a highly functioning tent city (see pics). More infrastructure has been put in place there by organizers in the past week, than our government has managed in three years...
There's a library:
An arts center:
A health service:
Lots of committees to join:
Abundant food for all:
A fresh and free organic juice station:
A zero-waste recycling station:
A sense of purpose:
And a whole lotta love:
Going to be heading back down there later on today.
You might want to too - around 4 PM perhaps *hint* *hint*
Also, this Sunday (Oct 9) #OccupyLA will #OccupySGRadio for a very special show, which will be broadcast on Indie1031.com and livestreamed via OWSLosAngeles from 10 PM til Midnight PST (full details here).
Did I mention it was Chuck Palahniuk's latest Damned.
Oooh, and I get to chat to him first thing on Monday.
Theater and bubbles (thanks Venice Mag) later, #OCCUPYLA tomorrow, a freaking killer lineup on SG Radio this Sunday -- and to top it off I just found out I got tix and a photo pass for Jane's Addiction on Monday.
Life is pretty good...considering.
Also the media are starting to wake up to #OCCUPYWALLSTREET #aboutfuckingtime.
Here Michael Moore makes his second trip to Liberty Plaza - this time with MSNBC cameras in tow.
Ps. According Sam Seder, who was talking on Countdown With Keith Olbermann, the reason NPR aren't showing up is:
- 1. There was no major disruptions.
- 2. They didn't think there was any specific demands.
- 3. And there was no one of import down there.
#WTF?
"I'm with the people in Madison, I'm with the people who are occupying Wall Street. That's what my music's about...When progressive, radical or even revolutionary changes happen, it's always come from below. When women got the right to vote, when lunch counters were desegregated, it was people you do not read about in history books who stood up in their place and time for what they believe in." - Tom Morello, of Rage Against The Machine on Real Time With Bill Maher, Friday, September 23, 2011
As a longtime fan of both Michael Moore and Tom Morello, this past Friday I was fortunate to be a part of the studio audience for Real Time With Bill Maher, which featured them both as guests. However, as an admirer of Bill Maher's also, I was disappointed that he didn't table a specific question with regards to the #OCUPPYWALLSTREET protesters, who had notably made it through their first week on the streets of New York City as the show aired. Fortunately, Tom Morello brought the topic up and gave those in Liberty Plaza some much needed moral support (see quote above).
Indeed support -- or even acknowledgement -- from the mainstream media, politicians and celebs has been slow to come - even from those who have previously publicly stated their outrage at the havoc Wall Street types have wrought. The silence has been deafening press-wise (though thankfully that's changing), and few politicians and famous folks have had the balls to come forward to stand metaphorically or literally shoulder to shoulder with those who are sacrificing their comfort and risking injury and arrest on a daily basis to fight for a better deal on behalf of us all. (Immortal Technique, Roseanne Barr, Chris Hedges, Susan Sarandon and Michael Moore are exceptions, and deserve huge props for their in-person visits downtown.)
As evidenced by the general tone of opinion from the mixed but surprisingly united panelists on Real Time (which also included Jane Harman and the independent-to-right-leaning John Avalon) - and some of my own interviews here on SG - in light of the outrages perpetrated by those in control of our financial systems and in the wake of the Citizens United ruling which only serves to grease the wheels of the runaway train, there's increasingly a sense of consensus that revolutionary change needs to occur if we are to halt and turnaround the rapidly accelerating decay of our democracy. Seemingly, more and more brilliant and respected minds are coming to the conclusion that the electoral and government systems that are supposed to support and serve our democracy are so far beyond broken that, as with civil rights and the vote for women, reform in favor of the underdog working and would-like-to-be working masses will only happen with action that falls outside of the voting system.
So why aren't we seeing more prominent people coming out in support of #OCUPPYWALLSTREET? Personally, I think that many who share the protestors' agenda -- which contrary to what the Faux News media mafia is saying is pretty fucking clear from here* - would love to embrace what those encamped in Liberty Plaza are doing, but are terrified by the potential power of what's being unleashed on the streets. Already we're seeing the movement spread to other cities like Chicago (where, unlike NY, it should be noted the police are being surprisingly supportive and accommodating of those who are fighting for what, at the end of the day, should be the inalienable rights of all Americans - including those who earn a living in uniform). As with Egypt, this could well be the beginning of a new chapter for America. But change is a scary thing, and only the brave embrace it at first.
Also, it's easy for those in authority and the press (which by and large is owned and controlled by the ruling class the protesters are fighting), to dismiss organizers as criminal "hactivists" and those on the ground as trouble-seeking yobs. But neither is true.**
The real criminals are the ones that have cynically, clinically, and systematically robbed us of our jobs, our pensions, our homes, and our children's futures, and the real yobs are the ones wearing suits who have vandalized the very fabric of our society and our democracy. Conversely, the protesters online, in Liberty Plaza, and beyond should be celebrated as the American heroes they truly are -- for they are the ones attempting to rescue our country from the clutches of a greedy minority, and uphold the democratic process and principals of the Founding Fathers that made this nation great. The real injustice at this juncture would be if we the people were too scared or apathetic to participate.
"They are thieves. They are gangsters. They're kleptomaniacs. They have tried to take our democracy, and turn it into a kleptocracy - their kleptocracy. The 400 richest Americans own more wealth than 150 million combined. And they make think they're going to get away with this because they have so much more than everyone else, but they're afraid of one basic thing: There's only 400 of them and there's at least 150 million, 200 million, 250 million of us. Now what happens when 250 million are pitted against 400 people? You don't have to be into sport to understand the outcome of that game. All Americans have to do...is realize just how much more power we have than they have." - Michael Moore, Liberty Plaza, Monday September 26, 2011
* It's far clearer than any Republican "recovery" plan!
** Tellingly in Germany, which today is one of the world's most financially successful democracies, DDoS attacks aren't even considered illegal since the courts there view them as tantamount to a digital sit-in and protect them as the tool of expression that they mostly are. It should also be noted that the US recording industry allegedly outsourced DDoS attacks against file sharing sites, yet no one in government is suggesting we arrest the head of the RIAA - so we're clearly being selective about who we choose to call criminal and prosecute for such activities. And anyone who spent any time monitoring events via the Livestream feed, can attest to the lengths organizers have gone to to keep things peaceful - even in the face of extreme provocation.
I feel so honored that an amazing bunch of authors -- Mur Lafferty, Brandon Perkins, and most recently Steven-Elliot Altman -- have been sharing their visions of the future with us in our Fiction Friday sci-fi series on the SuicideGirlsBlog.
We're currently serializing Steven-Elliot Altman's The Killswitch Review, which is a futuristic murder mystery with killer sociopolitical commentary, and ranks among my all time fave books. This week's chapter singlehandedly changed my opinion about sex and sci-fi, being, without doubt, the sexiest in the genre I have ever read.
Check it out here. It hits my spot, and I hope it hits yours too.
And please show some support for Steven, by sharing it with your friends and posting a comment or three.
Now please excuse me while I track down one of those nerve impulse vaporware thingimijigs.....
NIcole
XOX
Ps. Let me know if it was as good for you as it was for me below.
In short: don't do it -- ever.
If you require something a little longer to convince you, here's my Top 10 reasons why you should never go on anything remotely date-like or date adjacent -- even accidentally.
- 1. Dating is something Americans do. It almost universally makes them miserable.
(I'm from the UK and subscribe to the Queen's English rules of engagement between the sexes, which generally involves more alcohol but less angst.) - 2. Dating is something kids do. Adults need to grow up.
- 3. A date is like Christmas, it can never quite live up to the hype.
- 4. The best times involve zero expectations. Dates generally have lots of them.
- 5. You can take yourself for dinner and a movie.
- 6. People are on their best behavior during dates -- making them pointless as an exercise in getting to know someone.
- 7. People are nervous and not themselves during dates -- making them pointless as an exercise in getting to know someone.
- 8. Dating is something people do while they're waiting for the right person to come along.
- 9. Going on dates will generally get you more dates -- not a relationship (see above).
- 10. When it's right, it's right, no date required. (But, tragically, the very fact you're on one may stop you from realizing it -- see points 1 thru 9.)
So, yeah, just say no kids.
So we're going to murder a likely innocent man – Troy Davis – in a few hours, despite these minor facts:
"Since his conviction, seven of the nine people who testified against him have recanted or changed their testimonies. No murder weapon was ever found, no DNA evidence or fingerprints tie Davis to the crime, and some witnesses have since said the murder was committed by another man -- a witness who testified against Davis."
Also, this happened...
#waytogonot #proudtobeanamerican?
So the weight of public opinion in the Netflix uprising reversed the great price hike...wonder if we can now do the same to reverse Troy Davis' death warrant, so we can stop the execution of a quite possibly innocent man in Georgia. I mean, I know the $6 extra per month demanded by Netflix was a REAL pisser, but go on people, show a little humanity and sign this.
*Update*
Just signed the petition to stop the execution of Troy Davis. In case you're interested, in the box which asks "Why are you signing?" I put this:
"I think the death penalty is an outmoded and barbaric form of punishment, which only serves to brutalize our society and diminish our humanity..."
