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May Day 2013
Some local activists have recently been suffering intimidation tactics from law enforcement. This is not a new development, I am not surprised that the FBI is being used to silence political dissent. I am disgusted, but not surprised. These past few years I have learned much about the lengths "my" government will go to in order to squash the voices of the people it purports to represent. I have always questioned authority of the state, but recently I feel like I went down a rabbit hole. "My" government is off it's hinges, and out of control.
"FBI agents in Seattle and Olympia have reportedly been showing up at people's houses, favorite jogging locations (a park), schools (Seattle University), workplaces, and at least one nonprofit (which serves street-involved youth), asking: "Do you want to talk about May Day?"
They're also asking about people's co-workers, roommates, romantic situations, and general social-mapping questions.
The agents are asking about May Day 2012, but it's difficult to believe that their timing, when May Day 2013 is just around the corner, is pure coincidence. We're all aware of the crap the FBI and US Attorneys have been willing to drag activists through and their fondness for "we know where you live, we know where you work, we know who you know" leverage—even when it's convincing people to commit crimes they'd never normally engage in."
~Stranger Slog:
"Do you want to talk about May Day?"
May Day Is Around the Corner, and the FBI Wants Us to Know They're Watching posted by BRENDAN KILEY
It's always a good idea to consider where the courage of dissent may take you. I am grateful for individuals with the ability and make the decision to stand up for the rights of quiet and vulnerable voices.
PSA has some reasonable advice:
"What should we do on a day like today? Foremost, do not panic. Take deep breaths, go for a walk (it is a beautiful sunny day in Washington), do whatever you need to do to stay focused and calm."
"… Make a plan. What would you do if you were subpoenaed? Would you resist by appearing and refusing to testify? Are you prepared to go to prison?"
Telling- or YELLING- the truth about the dishonesty and corruption within our governing body is a dangerous task. Individuals responsible for the suffering of the under-caste will try to find any way possible to discredit those who are brave enough to do so. People who seek power over others are scared to death of those who seek equality for everyone. There has never been nor will there ever be enough money, power or control for those who believe it is their right to wield it, and their defenses are supported by a well trained force and an embarrassingly disproportionate military budget.
So it's with an increasingly heavy heart that I report that they are at it AGAIN. It wasn't enough to subject the innocent to solitary confinement indefinite detention in order to intimidate our community of courageous truth seekers, so now the frightened moneymakers have sent an army of brutes door to door, charged with intimidating our young.
High school and college are difficult times. We discover that the world is not what was indoctrinated within us by our public education. There are vast discrepancies between the stories we have been taught about our "honorable" country and the reality of it's history. Students learn about the dark side of what has been sold to us as "democracy". It's no wonder that our youth are a target. Threatening our community by scaring college students into inaction towards the betterment of society is the act of a nation fearful of it's citizens.
When so much of our governing body's actions are at the expense of it's citizenry and towards the benefit of it's own wealthy caste, amenable to the suffering of the majority of it's own "voting" body- it's no wonder they are fearful. Even as their hands are caught in the coffers, we are told it is for the good of the people that the bankers plunder our collective savings in an attempt to hold on to the ponzi scheme that is that is fiat "capitalism".
These words we are expected to accept – – "democracy", "free market", "capitalism" have all been bastardized, used to manufacture the consent of society and create consumers for profit and the further empowerment of money makers. I will likely never understand the cause for the infinite appetite of power and money. I almost hope I never do. I have heard theories- such as the exclusivity of breeding or side effect of caste resulting in sociopathy or the loss of empathy which is borne of all mammals (sounds legit), but I hope I never really discover the truth because I suspect it would break my heart.
This May Day, be careful, beware, be brave, stand firm, KNOW YOUR RIGHTS, believe in your cause, seek and speak the truth. Do not let fear tactics prevent you from doing what is morally just.
There will be protests, marches, and actions across the city on May 1st, and we need people to film the police at these events!
Here are SOME of the events planned for that day, and we need as many cameras as possible at all of them!
-10AM Westlake
Salish CIRCA May Day
-1PM 611 20th Ave. S. Seattle WA 98144
(St. Mary's Church)
El Comite Immigration March
-6PM Seattle Central Community College
Anti-Capitilism March
FILM THE MAY DAY POLICE (Seattle May Day event list)
"Spring has sprung! This is a call for everyone who wants to celebrate May 1st by honoring the history and struggle of May Day. We will converge together in solidarity with our comrades facing repression from last year's May 1st demonstrations and also to continue to stand against the oppression of our everyday lives in all forms, from the borders to the prisons and from bosses to the police. May Day is a day of tradition, a day to remember all our comrades that can't be here with us and to remind each other that our struggle is global!"
We know the difference between right and wrong, and this is wrong:
Dorli Rainey, 84-Year-Old Occupy Seattle Protester, Pepper Sprayed In The Face (PHOTO)
Occupy Seattle protester claims police caused her miscarriage
Elderly woman, Priest pepper-sprayed during Occupy protest
Grand Jury Refusers: Five Months and Counting, Plus Solitary Since December
Police pepper spray Occupy Seattle protesters, telegraph UK
ACLU of Washington State KNOW YOUR RIGHTS:
printer friendly version:
You have the right to remain silent. If you wish to exercise that right, say so out loud.
You have the right to refuse to consent to a search of yourself, your car or your home.
If you are not under arrest or detained, you have the right to calmly leave.
You have the right to a lawyer if you are arrested. Ask for one immediately.
Regardless of your immigration or citizenship status, you have constitutional rights.
Do stay calm and be polite.
Do not interfere with or obstruct the police.
Do not lie or give false documents.
Do prepare yourself and your family in case you are arrested.
Do remember the details of the encounter.
Do file a written complaint or call your local ACLU if you feel your rights have been violated
Stay calm. Don't run. Don't argue, resist or obstruct the police, even if you are innocent or police are violating your rights. Keep your hands where police can see them.
Ask if you are free to leave. If the officer says yes, calmly and silently walk away. If the officer says you are not under arrest, but you are not free to go, then you are being detained. Being detained is not the same as being arrested, though an arrest could follow. If you are under arrest, you have a right to know why.
You have the right to remain silent. If you wish to remain silent, tell the officer out loud. You have a right to refuse to answer questions. You should politely assert this right.
You do not have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings, but police may "pat down" your clothing if they suspect a weapon. You should not physically resist, but you have the right to refuse consent for any further search. If you do consent, it can affect you later in court.
Stop the car in a safe place as quickly as possible. Turn off the car, turn on the internal light, open the window part way and place your hands on the wheel.
You don't have to answer a police officer's questions, but you must show your driver's license and registration when stopped in a car. In most other situations, Washington law does not make it a crime to refuse to identify yourself to a police officer.
If an officer or immigration agent asks to look inside your car, you can refuse to consent to the search. But if police believe your car contains evidence of a crime, your car can be searched without your consent.
Both drivers and passengers have the right to remain silent. If you are a passenger, you can ask if you are free to leave. If the officer says yes, sit silently or calmly leave. Even if the officer says no, you have the right to remain silent.
You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents or any other officials. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, whether you are a U.S. citizen, or how you entered the country.
If you are not a U.S. citizen and an immigration agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them if you have them with you. If you are over 18, carry your immigration documents with you at all times. If you do not have immigration papers, say you want to remain silent.
Do not lie about your citizenship status or provide fake documents.
RESIDENTS OF WASHINGTON should be aware that, because the state does not require proof of legal residence for issuance of a driver's license, the license may not satisfy Arizona criteria for identification under the new Arizona racial profiling law. If traveling to Arizona, you may want to take a passport with you, if you have one.
If the police or immigration agents come to your home, you do not have to let them in unless they have certain kinds of warrants.
Ask the officer to slip the warrant under the door or hold it up to the window so you can inspect it. A search warrant allows police to enter the address listed on the warrant, but officers can only search the areas and for the items listed. An arrest warrant allows police to enter the home of the person listed on the warrant if they believe the person is inside. A warrant of removal/deportation (ICE warrant) does not allow officers to enter a home without consent.
Even if officers have a warrant, you have the right to remain silent. If you choose to speak to the officers, step outside and close the door.
If an FBI agent comes to your home or workplace, you do not have to answer any questions. Tell the agent you want to speak to a lawyer first.
If you are asked to meet with FBI agents for an interview, you have the right to say you do not want to be interviewed. If you agree to an interview, have a lawyer present. You do not have to answer any questions you feel uncomfortable answering, and can say that you will only answer questions on a specific topic.
Do not resist arrest, even if you believe the arrest is unfair.
Say you wish to remain silent and ask for a lawyer immediately. Don't give any explanations or excuses. If you can't pay for a lawyer, you have the right to a free one. Don't say anything, sign anything or make any decisions without a lawyer.
You have the right to make a local phone call. The police cannot listen if you call a lawyer.
Prepare yourself and your family in case you are arrested. Memorize the phone numbers of your family and your lawyer. Make emergency plans if you have children or take medication.
Special considerations for non-citizens:
Ask your lawyer about the effect of a criminal conviction or plea on your immigration status.
Don't discuss your immigration status with anyone but your lawyer.
While you are in jail, an immigration agent may visit you. Do not answer questions or sign anything before talking to a lawyer.
Read all papers fully. If you do not understand or cannot read the papers, tell the officer you need an interpreter.
You have the right to a lawyer, but the government does not have to provide one for you. If you do not have a lawyer, ask for a list of free or low-cost legal services.
You have the right to contact your consulate or have an officer inform the consulate of your arrest.
Tell the ICE agent you wish to remain silent. Do not discuss your immigration status with anyone but your lawyer.
Do not sign anything, such as a voluntary departure or stipulated removal, without talking to a lawyer. If you sign, you may be giving up your opportunity to try to stay in the U.S.
Remember your immigration number ("A" number) and give it to your family. It will help family members locate you.
Keep a copy of your immigration documents with someone you trust.
Remember: police misconduct cannot be challenged on the street. Don't physically resist officers or threaten to file a complaint.
Write down everything you remember, including officers' badge and patrol car numbers, which agency the officers were from, and any other details. Get contact information for witnesses. If you are injured, take photographs of your injuries (but seek medical attention first).
File a written complaint with the agency's internal affairs division or le a complaint civilian complaint board. In most cases, you can fi anonymously if you wish.
Call your local ACLU or visit www.aclu.org/profiling.
Occupy the T.P.P. Stop the Corporate Coup!
Occupy the T.P.P. Stop the Corporate Coup!
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is called a trade agreement. In reality it is the stealth delivery mechanism for a long-dreamed of template for implementing a binding system of global governance. This NAFTA on steroids is being negotiated behind closed doors by the U.S. and ten Pacific Rim Countries, with a 'docking agreement' to add even more nations.
TPP is being planned with the advice and participation of 600 U.S. corporate lobbyists, but they refuse to tell the public what is in the text. They refuse to tell Congress what is in the text. They are negotiating in secret to hide the content. The TPP will redefine 'trade' in ways that make corporations unaccountable to the people and nations we live in.
The TPP is poised to become the largest 'free trade' agreement in the world. The Obama administration will try to 'fast track' it through Congress to prevent any amendments to terms of the agreement. Why?
Powerful corporate interests want to use the TPP to:
-Offshore good-paying jobs to low wage nations, undercutting working conditions globally and increasing unemployment.
-Create new tools for attacking environmental laws, labor laws, consumer safety standards, or any other laws that limit profit.
-Expand the deregulation of banks, hedge funds, and insurance companies.
-Further concentrate global food supplies, displacing family farmers and subjecting consumers to wild price fluctuations.
-Establish longer drug patents that will restrict access to affordable generic medications.
-Restrict our right to free speech and threaten Internet freedom by turning service providers into copyright cops.
-Establish a parallel court system allowing multinational corporations to bypass U.S. courts and sue countries before tribunals whose judges are unaccountable international trade lawyers. TPP countries will have little to no right to appeal.
State of the Movement: Lessons Learned From One Year of Occupy Wall Street
Here are some of the lessons I've learned as an activist since the birth of the Occupy Wall Street movement on Sept 17, 2011.
Personal Empowerment = Social Empowerment
As we learn to accept and allow folks to use their own individual voices, the group is empowered. With OWS we are learning how to bring the best out of people rather than just condemn or judge them for their personal style, spiritual beliefs or political views. Welcoming new people to the movement should be a major focus of our activities if we want to succeed. The 99% is just waiting for someone to come along and say, "Join our side – we are all getting screwed by Wall Street and the multinational corporations!"
Last year we marched in the streets, set up occupy camps, and were arrested by unsympathetic corporate controlled police and political officials. Having been empowered personally by our connection to the movement and it's values, we can now begin to build that world we have all been dreaming about.
This year people are at stage two of the process. In 2011 we focused on confronting the power structure with our demonstrations. We were an infant throwing a tantrum – crying and hoping to evoke sympathy from our parental authorities.
But on the one year anniversary of the movement it is perhaps time for us to stop asking the question, "Why won't the political, religious and economic elite reform the systems that oppress us?"
The answer to that question is obvious. The economic power structure is not interested in supporting any governmental, religious or financial reforms, let alone a global social revolution. Changing the system would be detrimental to their own self-interests, and butting our heads up against a brick wall becomes tedious after a while.
Instead, I beleive that we are now empowered and compelled to build this new world ourselves – DIY!
We are no longer waiting for any of our so-called "leaders" to do the work for us. Our infantile stage has now passed and it's time for us to mature as a movement, to put the past behind us – the political repression, and the negative corporate media propaganda.
Bottom line: it doesn't matter what CNN or NPR say about Occupy Wall Street! Most of the US media doesn't understand the altruistic, loving spirit of this movement, anyway. These values are foreign to them. They are only interested in asking, "Where's the money?" "Where are your political candidates?"
So, in their eyes the movement has been a failure, but the real transformation has been on a personal level with everyone involved in OWS. Our collective eyes have been opened because we have been educating one another. And our apathy is gone because we now feel empowered to affect the changes we want within our own communities – our households, our neighborhoods and our cities.
In reality, the Occupy Wall Street movement has now turned a corner. A paradigmn shift has taken place over the last 12 months which has brought us to this moment where occupy activists across the nation and around the world are finally becoming aware of one another and are acknowledging their solidarity. Students across the country have been marching in solidarity with the students of Montreal. Orgainzers from the Idignados movement in Spain have been talking with occupy groups in the US. Hordur Torfason has addressed American occupiers on how Iceland managed to create its peaceful revolution. US activists have corresponded with Anna Hazare about the social justice movement in India. Wherever one looks on the planet, you will find people activley involved in the transformation of their society.
If this pro-democracy/anti-corruption movement is to succeed in the US, it will have to join forces with and become a full partner in the global movement for peace and freedom. We must listen and learn from our sisters and brothers throughout the world who are working to overcome corporate/state oppression. The movement can be easily stamped out in individual nations, but no one can stop something that is happening all over the planet in unison!
Many of the US activists have found roles within their own local occupy groups and in their local communities. Hundreds of Occupy working groups have been taking on a number of local and regional issues including the Keystone pipeline, Citizens United, GMO's, anti-labor union legislation, student debt, attacks on the rights of immigrants, police brutality, homelessness, unfair tax policies, etc. Wherever the need arises for support of the poor and middle class, occupiers seem to be there. www.interoccupy.org
In Seattle folks are showing the way. Despite the usual infighting and burn-out isssues, the Occupy Seattle working groups have survived and some are actually flourishing. Operation "Mic Check" has conducted numerous money drops and organized flash mobs. The Student Noise Brigade marches every week. Activists in Seattle are organizing to open a free university and library as a response to student debt.
To combat hunger and poverty, groups in Seattle are providing free food disribution programs. And now some occupiers are talking about forming a local worker controlled coffee co-op to counter the mainstream culture of corporate greed.
With the urging and support of occupiers, the Seattle City Council and Washington State State Representative Bob Hasagawa are calling for the establishment of a publicly owned state bank as a way to bypass the rampant corruption and financial speculation taking place on Wall Street.
So, the lesson of the occupy movement has been, "Don't wait for national leaders to create these new sustainable and equitable systems – build them yourself!"
Wall Street banksters are not going to reform themselves, no matter how many protests we stage, and regardless of how many activists are arrested. Since the infamous Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, money has become the only focus of national political campaigns. Any talk of abolishing the electoral college or of adopting publicly financed elections is ignored by both Washington, DC and the corporate media.
But even if our elected representatives refuse to listen to us, the hard work still must be done. At some point in this process, any objections or harassment from political officials will seem irrelevant because these new systems will be established at the local level without their assistance. The harsh austerity measures currently being forced on this country gives politicians a free license to cut all public funding for projects which promote the health, education and safety of our communities.
Apathy and a sense of powerlessness have been two of the typical symptoms of a consumerist society. People have come to believe that nothing important ever happens unless major corporations, the media, politicians or celebrities are invovled. The Occupy movement has proven that kind of midset is totally false and it's counterproductive to personal and social development.
If your state refuses to set up a publicly owned bank, you can create a whole new underground economy through bartering and networking at the local level or within your own small community. Transfer your money from Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase to a small local bank or credit union.
If the local government is allowing people to go hungry – feed them! If they are uneducated teach them valuable skills.
The change has to start somewhere! It's very obvious that our political leaders are unwilling to challenge the corrupt economic and electoral systems that have brought them to power. Our elected representatives are not going to take care of the people because they're far too busy bailing out their corrupt friends on Wall Street!
WIth the limited resources available among the occupy groups, great things have been accomplished already and much more can be done to turn the tide of corporate greed and effect change in our own commuities. Our most valuable resourse is, of course, people. The knowledge and skills that these individuals possess will be the necessary tools we need to transform our society.
As we continue to bust the myths about our powerlessness, we must also understand the "power of non-importance". What I am referring to here is the fact that because the movement has been largely dismissed by our political leadership as ineffective and unimportant, we have actually gained more freedom to organize. It is better for that us that the "powers that be" ignore us rather than see us as a direct threat to their system. In this way, we are able establish our new set of values and co-operative social arrangements in obscurity – below the radar, so to speak.
Without the media's magnifying lense observing our behavior, it may be easier to work on the many of the group projects that occupiers have created. If you take away the negative corporate media scruntiny, you will most likely have a less insecure and less objectified movement. We are, after all, not really just "occupiers" anymore – we are individual human beings with real lives, authentic aspirations and important issues to tackle.
The media says, "You have no goals!"
I say, "Tell that to the activists who are trying to stop the homeforeclosures and end fracking!"
They say, "You have no organization!"
My response: "Explain that to the thousands of people who have been participating and organizing together at regional and national occupy conferences and forums in Gainesville, Des Moines, Olympia, St. Louis, Philadelphia, New York City, etc."
The corporate media myths are a lie. We are now entering a new era of confidence and action. You may not see mass demonstrations and encampents at the parks, but if you look closely underneath the curtain of censorship, you willl find a highly effective and relevant social justice movement that is slowly transofrming American and global society. We are probably in a situation much like the abolitionists after the Missouri Compromise, or the Dred Scott decision. Our campaign for economic and social justice has been ignored and vilified by the media, but eventually our goals will be met. We are the future…
The uprising against Wall Street in New York City inspired an entire nation of activists to protest political and financial corruption.
It's becoming quite obvious to me lately that the rumors about the death of the occupy movement have been greatly exaggerated…
this article appeared in the Huffington Post and can be found here:
Mark Taylor-Canfield
Mark Taylor-Canfield is an independent journalist, activist and musician (and many other things…) from Seattle, WA
Find useful links to events and pages surrounding the one year aniversary of OWS.
Occupy Seattle Information Booth
Most days between now and #OS17, noon to 6:00pm
Westlake Park, 400 Pine
The Westlake Info Booth is gearing up for Occupy BirthdayWe will be @ Westlake everyday now. Stop and say Hi.
Bring us your ideas! (written format for distribution. thx!)
Global Banks and the 1% get extra special attention.
BACK TO THE ROOTS Closing Bell March
Today at 4:00pm at Henry M. Jackson Federal Building
Every Day between noe and $S17
WHEN:every weekday till S17, starting Tuesday September 4th, 4-6pm (rush hour)
WHERE: Federal Building, 2nd & Marion.4-6pm (rush hour)
HOW: Make it when you can. Bring signs.Suits with or without Nooses optional.C U in the crosswalks.
WHY: By joining the nationwide Occupy movement, we want to focus elected officials and the public on the majority's desire to take our government and country back from the big-money interests that currently hold undue sway over decisions affecting us all. We are coming together in large numbers to affect this change.
Occupy Seattle One Year Anniversary Photo Exhibit-Alex Garland
9/17/12, noon- 3pm
Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets 1814 Summit Avenue
Occupy One Year Exhibit Photo Show- by photographer Alex Garland has been extended. The show is availible for viewing during PSKS open hours: Monday, W and Friday noon-3 PM located at-1814 Summit Avenue (Denny and Summit) for public viewing. The center will be closed to the public on Friday September 21st.
Over 300 photos displayed in a unique format, highlighting Occupy Seattle andthe different groups, actions, and protests inspired by common grievances.This is an opportunity to view yourself, your friends, neighbors, or completestrangers, standing up, addressing the issues facing our country, and makingthemselves heard.
All call to washington state occupies! #OS17
September 17 at 12:00am until September 18 at 12:00am
westlake park, 400 pine
On the one year anniversary of occupy wall street, let's show new york city that The Upper Left is still where it's at!
Please join the working group and share ideas for Seattle's #s17 birthday party!
Free U is organizing Facilitate Open Space Workshops
Alex Garland's 1 Year Anniversary of Occupy Seattle photo exhibit @ PSKS, 1814 Summit Avenue
Occupy Sanctuary will be there with chaplains staffing it 10-7.
GMOP may be having an information booth set up for S-17.
Occupy Info sponsers….. BACK TO THE ROOTS Closing Bell RallyFederal Building, 2nd & Marion.4-7pm (rush hour)
#S17 #OWS Year 1: Silent Flash March 6:00pm
There will be cake, 6:00pm
The Health Care Working Group may also having an information table/tent on S17 at Westlake.
#OS17 working group
event page:
Occupy Chaplains Recruiting
Occupy Chaplains is recruiting for more members.
We are seeking lay people, ordained ministers, seekers and peacemakers of any faith or spiritual inclination who feel a calling to support the transformation of American society into a more just and humane place for all. We see the Occupy phenomenon as a deeply spiritual movement. Its call for economic and political justice reflects the wisdom of many our world's religions. While the more visible Occupy encampments are gone, there are a variety of groups protesting student debt, opposing home foreclosures, advocating for a state bank, developing neighborhood gardening, among other things.
Presently our active membership draws from these traditions: Christian, Buddhist, Baha'i, Quakers, Sufi, earth-based spirituality, and native spirituality. We offer peaceful presence, a sanctuary tent at rallies, marching in solidarity, friendship, conversation, prayer and meditation. We also reach out to religious congregations and spiritual circles to facilitate heartfelt and faith-centered discussion on the Occupy movement and the issues it brings up.
There are many levels of involvement possible. Some of these opportunities include:
- Serving as a liaison between Occupy Chaplains and your own community and neighborhood
- Attending a weekly meeting of Occupy Chaplains
- Joining us at an Occupy action
- Offering meditation and pastoral care in the Sanctuary Tent
- Offering meditation before the weekly Occupy General Assemblies.
You can request to be on our email list (one to three emails per week) by sending an email to: occupy-chaplains+subscribe@
We currently meet every Monday at 10:00 AM to noon at the Interfaith Community Church located at 1763 NW 62nd St., Seattle 98107. We are hosting an orientation meeting for those who wish to become more involved on October 13th from 10:00 AM to noon at the Interfaith Community Church. please RSVP to: firstname.lastname@example.com. If you would like to discuss how you might become involved, message us or email firstname.lastname@example.com. FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/270063419777611/
We currently meet every Monday at 10:00 AM to noon at the Interfaith Community Church located at 1763 NW 62nd St., Seattle 98107.
We are hosting an orientation meeting for those who wish to become more involved on October 13th from 10:00 AM to noon at the Interfaith Community Church.
please RSVP to: email@example.com.
If you would like to discuss how you might become involved, message us or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
FB event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/270063419777611/
Grand Juries, Raids and Witchhunts – The Attack On Dissent
Val Carlson and Neil Fox, two prominent civil liberties attorneys discuss escalating surveillance and harassment of political activists by the FBI and police. They will also examine the history of grand jury resistance by radicals here in Seattle and across the country, as well as strategies to defend the free speech rights of protesters, be they striking unionists, anarchists, Occupiers or immigrant rights advocates. Bring your questions and ideas to the discussion.
VAL CARLSON is a veteran civil rights attorney who first spoke out against grand jury abuse in 1976 when the FBI targeted Seattle feminists, socialists and anarchists. She has represented numerous radicals in court, and was a defendant and attorney in a successful First Amendment battle by the Freedom Socialist Party. She has managed pro bono legal services for low income people, and has campaigned against police brutality and immigration raids. To view a previous presentation by Val on Stop Police Brutality in Our Community
Doors open at 6:30pm, door donation $3.00, snack plates available for $7.00. Work exchanges and sliding scale available for students, strikers and the unemployed.
For more information: 206-722-2453, firstname.lastname@example.com,
The Department of Ecology Seeks Your Input on Local Clean-up Plans
Olympia City Hall
The Department of Ecology is seeking comments
OLYMPIA – The Department of Ecology is seeking comments on a proposed plan to clean up the former downtown Safeway site, now the site of Olympia City Hall, at 601 4th Avenue East in Olympia.
Ecology is accepting comments on these documents through Oct. 5, 2012. The documents may be viewed at:
*Olympia Timberland Library, 313 8th Avenue S.E., Olympia, WA 98501
*Department of Ecology Southwest Regional Office, 300 Desmond Drive S.E., Lacey
*On Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Website
Here's how you can submit comments:
Comments and questions may be directed to site manager Guy Barrett, Washington Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47775, Olympia, WA 98504-7775. Contact Barrett by phone at (360) 407–7115 or e-mail at email@example.com.
Fidalgo Bay's western shore in Anacortes.
The Department of Ecology is seeking comments
OLYMPIA – Continued cleanup of environmental contamination is planned in 2013 at the old Custom Plywood mill site on Fidalgo Bay's western shore in Anacortes.
Comments will be accepted through Oct. 1, 2012, on the draft cleanup action plan and engineering reports,
In 2013, Ecology plans to:
*Remove old creosote dock pilings and other in-water concrete and metal structures.
*Dig up and dredge about 10 acres of sediment contaminated with dioxins and wood waste.
*Dispose of contaminated sediment off-site.
*Improve the near-shore habitat by reshaping an existing spit and jetty.
*Connect Fidalgo Bay with the wetland area that was created in 2011.
Here are locations where you can view copies of the draft documents:
*Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th St. Call 360-293-1910 for information.
*Ecology headquarters, 300 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey. Contact Carol Dorn for an appointment at firstname.lastname@example.com or 360-407-7224.
*Ecology's Custom Plywood site webpage.
Here's how you can submit comments:
*Mail them to Hun Seak Park, site manager, Washington Department of Ecology, Toxics Cleanup Program, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.
*E-mail them to firstname.lastname@example.com.
The Department of Ecology is seeking comments
OLYMPIA – The public is invited to comment on proposed changes to how the Washington Department of Ecology charges fees for certain kinds of air quality work.
Ecology will accept comments on these and other proposed changes through Oct. 2, 2012. You can review the proposed changes, along with related documents, on Ecology's air quality rulemaking website.
Here's how you can submit comments:
* Attend a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Sept. 25 in the auditorium at Ecology's headquarters at 300 Desmond Drive SE in Lacey.
*Call in to the public hearing. Dial 360-407-3780, then enter PIN 980708#.
*Mail them to Elena Guilfoil, Washington Department of Ecology, Air Quality Program, P.O. Box47600, Olympia, WA 98504-7600.
*Email them to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Charges Dropped Against May Day Protestor Maria Jannett Morales
After reviewing YouTube video of the May Day riot, King County prosecutors dismissed all charges against a protestor accused of punching a bike cop.
Maria Jannett Morales, 30, was charged with assault in the fourth degree, a felony, for an incident that occurred near the intersection of First Avenue and Pike Street a few minutes before 6 p.m. on May 1, just as the day's rioting was starting to simmer down.
SPD's version of events was called into question by amateur video from the scene uploaded to YouTube. The footage seems to show Morales walking past Fry, obeying orders. Then, after a brief verbal exchange, Fry grabs Morales by the shoulders and hair and pulls her down.
Maria Jannett Morales: May Day Protestor Charged With Assaulting Cop Proven Innocent By YouTube Video, Attorney Says
One May Day protester charged with assaulting a police officer has already been exonerated after video footage contradicting SPD's version of events surfaced. Now the attorney for a second claims the cops have once again been caught on camera embellishing the facts.
SPD detective J.D. Mudd's probable cause statement reads: "Morales got right up to Officer Fry and said, 'Okay bitch,' then punched Officer Fry in the chest with a closed fist. Officer Fry grabbed Morales with the intent of placing her under arrest." Morales is also accused of kicking another cop in the leg as she struggled to get free of Fry.
In the video, Shouting makes it difficult to decipher the entire dialogue, but Fry can be heard barking orders to "Move back!" with Morales responding, "We are moving back!" Morales shuffles to her right, and Fry grabs her by the shoulders and hair, pulling her down on top of the police bikes. The videographer is then forced to move down the street, away from the action.
see the video and read the article here:
Joshua Alex Garland Case Shows Why Dash-Cam Videos Should Be Public
King County Prosecutor's office dismissed charges against a photographer who had been arrested at the May Day protests. Prosecutors had charged 28-year-old Joshua Alex Garland, on assignment that day for Real Change, with assault for allegedly grabbing an officer's hand, twisting his arm and trying to pull him into the crowd. But lo and behold, videos posted to YouTube suggest it didn't happen that way at all.
As it appears from the video, Garland was pulled by an officer, not the other way around. Garland is the one carrying a camera and wearing sunglasses and a bandanna. His attorney, Andy Robertson, says he had already been pepper sprayed once that day.
Robertson credits prosecutors office for being "extremely professional" in their willingness to look at the videos with her and then drop the charges, without dragging Garland through a trial. But things would have turned out differently had there been no video.
Consent: Slutwalk Seattle
In the 19th century, state laws around the country defined rape as the carnal knowledge of a woman when achieved by force by a man other than her husband. According to a principle known as coverture, a husband had authority over his wife's person and property. Therefore, women could not withhold sex from their husbands. Similarly, enslaved women could not refuse sex with their masters or testify against them in court. After emancipation, the presumption that African American women had no say over what happened to their bodies persisted. For generations afterward, many men had impunity in raping black women.
Even white women had difficulty making the case that they had been raped. Evidence of physical injuries to prove resistance and corroborative testimony that a woman had cried out would improve her believability in court. But all-male juries and members of the judiciary often assumed that once a woman had consented to sex, any subsequent sexual activity was consensual. An unwanted sexual encounter could usually be classified as rape only if the woman was white and chaste, the perpetrator was black, and the act was violent.
Advocates for women's rights and racial justice started questioning these views in the mid-19th century, and their efforts helped reshape the meaning of rape in three important ways. First, legal remedies such as laws on criminal seduction and statutory rape made it easier to prosecute coercive but nonviolent sexual relations with acquaintances. African American activists insisted that black women could be victims of rape and that white men should be held accountable for assault. And feminists renamed a range of non-consensual acts, particularly with acquaintances and husbands, as rape.
In the late 20th century, second-wave feminism generated an anti-rape movement that identified sexual assault as an abuse of power that has been central to women's oppression. Feminists rejected the notion that only a violent stranger could rape a woman. In addition to coining the term "date rape" to describe unwanted sex with an acquaintance, they targeted sexual abuse within the family. Because of their efforts, in the 1980s states began to outlaw marital rape. Other reforms included revising rape statutes' requirements of corroboration and of the use of "utmost force" to prove resistance.
Feminists also exposed the extent of child sexual abuse within the home, schools and religious institutions. Rethinking rape as a form of power contributed to the recognition that boys and men could be victims and that rape is not solely a heterosexual crime. Only in 2011, however, did the FBI revise its definition of rape — for the first time since 1927. In Uniform Crime Reports, the FBI now includes any form of forced sexual penetration of a man or a woman as well as "non-forcible rape."
In recent years, as at every turn in our history, critics have chafed at the more expansive definitions of rape. As in the past, some may fear a loss of sexual privileges. Some skeptics have cast doubt on the extent and the damage of acquaintance rape. Others have tried to limit the meaning of rape to advance broader political agendas.
an active, non-coercive, continual agreement to engage in sexual activity. Consent is not silence, agreeing to sex after being pressured into it, or getting a "yes" from someone while their judgment is impaired by substance use – the only thing that counts as consent is an enthusiastic "yes." Consent can be revoked at any time, by anybody, for any reason. Only human adults can give consent.
SlutWalk Seattle has compiled a manifesto of political and legal recommendations to guide citizens and their elected officials in fighting rape culture.
Reduce DNA evidence backlogs
An evidence backlog exists at a crime lab when the lab receives more requests to analyze evidence than it can process. Even though crime lab capacity has increased dramatically over the past few years, backlogs continue to exist because the growth in the number of requests to analyze evidence exceeds crime lab capacity.
Eliminate untested sexual assault kits
Sexual assault kits (SAKs), often colloquially referred to as "rape kits," sit untested in hospitals, clinics, rape crisis centers and police evidence storage all across the country. The reasons for this include lack of funding, inadequate evidence-tracking systems used by law enforcement, and a failure to prioritize funding for cases of sexual assault.
The Washington State Legislature should require all hospitals, clinics, rape crisis centers and police stations to audit the extent of their untested SAKs, and make the results of such audits public.
Ensure every victim receives treatment from a certified medical forensic examiner
Sexual assault is unique as a crime because evidence often isn't collected by a law enforcement officer. Instead, evidence is generally collected by the nurse or other health care professional who initially treats the victim after the assault. It is critical that such individuals are adequately trained to collect forensic evidence; without such training, the evidence collected is of a lower quality and more rapists walk free.
Ensure every victim receives a high-quality, compassionate response from law enforcement
Sadly, many law enforcement officers and detectives who work crimes of sexual assault aren't adequately trained to handle such crimes. This reality was clearly demonstrated by the results from a recent study funded by the Department of Justice on the Los Angeles police and sheriff's departments' response to crimes of sexual assault.
The Washington State Legislature can take the following steps to prevent such occurrences among law enforcement in our state:
~~Commission the WSIPP to research the extent of such problems in state and local law enforcement and recommend areas for improvement.
~~Mandate that all law enforcement officers, detectives, and district attorneys who work crimes of sexual violence must undergo the sexual assault investigation and prosecution training outlined in RCW 43.101.270.
~~Direct the appropriate state agency to periodically issue a list of "best practices" recommendations to local law enforcement units regarding sexual assault, incorporating the latest research on effective criminal justice system response.
~~Direct the appropriate state agency to issue binding guidelines to law enforcement detailing how to fairly treat members of minority and other disenfranchised communities,and require all law enforcement officers, regardless of their unit, to undergo cultural sensitivity training to prevent unfair treatment.
~~Mandate that all law enforcement departments in the state develop a manual specific to investigating sex crimes that codifies the policies and expectations of detectives working such crimes.
~~Pass a law that requires the district attorney handling a sexual assault case to provide detailed reasons to the victim when a charge is rejected.
Policy Positions of SlutWalk Seattle
Please Join event: No more victim-blaming. No more slut-shaming. SlutWalk Seattle is part of an international protest movement fighting rape culture. The date of SlutWalk Seattle 2012 has changed to September 9th, 2012, from 12 to 4. Visit slutwalkseattle.com for more info.
A statement from Leah-Lynn Plante on her refusal to testify before the grand jury
August 28, 2012
My name is Leah-Lynn Plante, and I am one of the people who has been subpoenaed to a secret grand jury, meeting in Seattle on August 30. [update: meeting pushed back, see below]
This will be the second time I have appeared before the grand jury, and the second time I have refused to testify. The first time was on August 2. I appeared, as ordered, and I identified myself. Then the US Attorney asked if I would be willing to answer her questions. I said, No, and was issued another subpoena, this time for the 30th.
A month later, my answer is still the same. No, I will not answer their questions. I believe that these hearings are politically motivated. The government wants to use them to collect information that it can use in a campaign of repression. I refuse to have any part of it.
It is likely that the government will put me in jail for that refusal.
I hate the very idea of prison. But I know, if I am sent there, I will not be alone. I can only speak for myself, but I have every faith that the others subpoenaed to these hearings will likewise refuse. And I know that hundreds of people have called the US Attorney demanding that they end this tribunal. Hundreds of organizations, representing thousands of people, signed onto a statement expressing solidarity with those of us under attack and demanding an end to this sort of repression.
I know that those people will continue to support me, and the others subpoenaed, and the targets of the investigation. That spirit of solidarity is exactly what the state fears. It is the source of our strength, yours and mine. And that strength shows itself in every act of resistance.
Solidarity is What the State Fears
Because We Must
Because We Must is founded on the idea that all forms of oppression and, in turn, the struggles against them, are intimately connected. The subjugation of the earth, it's non-human animal inhabitants, and the people that are not members of the wealthy white male elite are not unrelated phenomena.
*UPDATE: Leah's date has been pushed back. It is no longer tomorrow (8/30). The event has been pushed back to September 13th…Details coming soon.
"I just got a call from my lawyer telling me not to come to the Grand Jury tomorrow. The date is being pushed back again. He will let me know the new date when he knows for sure and I will let you all know.
I do not know if the other people also had their dates changed yet. Stay tuned."
Seattle Grand Jury is About Intimidation, and Social Mapping of Anarchist Movement
by WILL POTTER
"Sometimes, law enforcement believes this knocking-down-the-door, boot-on-the-throat intimidation is part of a crime-prevention strategy," he said. But a more pernicious goal may be social mapping. The anarchist books and cans of spray paint can be sexy items to wave around a courtroom, he said, but "address books, cell phones, hard drives—that's the real gold."
During the raid at her home, Plante said, some of the agents were initially hyperaggressive, but seemed "confused" by finding nothing more sinister than five sleepy young people. "It seemed like what they expected was some armed stronghold," she said. "But it's just a normal house, with normal stuff in the pantry, lots of cute animals, and everyone here was docile and polite."
"That's a really important point," Potter said when I mentioned that detail. "There's a huge disconnect between what the FBI and local police are being told and trained for, and what the reality is. There are presentations about ominous, nihilistic, black-clad, bomb-throwing, turn-of-the-century caricatures—the reality is that many anarchists are just organizing gathering spaces, free libraries, free neighborhood kitchens."
see full story:
Political Convictions?
Federal Prosecutors in Seattle Are Dragging Activists into Grand Juries, Citing Their Social Circles and Anarchist Reading Materials
by BRENDAN KILEY
Refusal to testify at a federal grand jury, especially on political grounds, can result in jail time for contempt of court. (Video journalist Josh Wolf, for example, served seven and a half months in 2006 and 2007 for refusing to cooperate with a grand jury and turn over his footage of a protest in San Francisco.)
In a follow-up interview with The Stranger, Plante said she wasn't even in Seattle on May 1 and is neither a witness to nor a perpetrator of any related crimes. She is, however, a self-declared anarchist and thinks the FBI singled her out because of her political beliefs and social affiliations.
Plante had been summoned to Seattle by a federal subpoena, delivered to her in the early hours of July 25, when the FBI raided her home—one of several raids in Seattle, Olympia, and Portland in the past couple of months. FBI agents, she said, smashed through her front door with a battering ram with assault rifles drawn, "looking paramilitary." According to a copy of the warrant, agents were looking for black clothing, paint, sticks, flags, computers and cell phones, and "anti-government or anarchist literature."
"When I see a search warrant that targets political literature, I get nervous," said attorney Neil Fox, president of the Seattle chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. (The Seattle chapter released a statement urging the FBI and the US Attorney to end the raids and drop the grand jury subpoenas.) Raids like those can have a chilling effect on free speech, he said, and a long-term "negative effect on the country—you want to have robust discussions about political issues without fear." He also has concerns about the scope of the warrants: "'Anti- government literature' is so broad," he said. "What does that include? Does that include the writings of Karl Marx? Will that subject me to having my door kicked in and being dragged in front of a grand jury?"
Grand juries, Fox explained, were originally conceived as a protection for citizens against overzealous prosecutors and are enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. A petite jury—the more familiar kind, from 6 to 12 people—determines innocence or guilt during a trial. A grand jury is larger, from 16 to 23 people, meets with a prosecutor but no defense attorneys, and determines whether there's enough evidence to indict someone for a federal crime.
Nowadays, Fox said, grand juries are often used by prosecutors and investigators who have run out of leads. But grand juries are secret, so it's difficult to know what the prosecutor is really doing. And the effects of raids and subpoenas like the ones in Seattle and Portland may be more about putting on the dramatic public spectacle of dragging people through the mud than investigating a crime.
Doug Honig, communications director at ACLU of Washington, echoed Fox's concerns: "If it's not carefully conducted, it can end up becoming a fishing expedition looking into people's political views and political associations.
see full story:
Rally at the Courthouse Support Grand Jury Resistors
700 Stewart St Seattle, WA
9/13/12 12:00pm
August 2nd was the first hearing of the Seattle grand jury that has been formed to investigate Northwest anarchists. Leah-Lynn Plante read a statement that detailed her non-cooperation and then proceeded to go inside the court house to refuse to answer their questions.
The remaining recipients of subpoenas either elected not to show up to the grand jury, had August 30 or another date on their subpoena, or have not been officially served; however now all the dates have been pushed back to the 13th of Septe
Please come out on Thursday September 13th to express your solidarity with the resistors and show your stance against the State's witch hunt.
BRING: Banners, fliers, NOISE makers, signs, and anything else to make this rally energetic and supportive.
Please check saynothing.info or nopoliticalrepression.wordpress.com for updates.
FB event page:
The People's Library- Community Building at its Best
The Occupy movement flourishes again in Seattle with the opening of "The Peoples Library," in the Central District. Due to city-wide budget cuts, the City of Seattle has closed all branches of Seattle Public Libraries, beginning August 27th – September 3rd.
In response, a "People's Library" has sprouted. Situated on the steps of the gorgeous- but- closed Douglass-Truth Library at 23rd & Yesler, a group of individuals who share some common ground with the Occupy movement, have gathered together to pick up the slack while the City cannot.
Providing a space for education and community building, and at no cost, this people-built library provides the following:
- A selection over 1000 donated books
- 4 internet workstations with free wi-fi
- A kids station with coloring and games
- Lunch Well stocked with shelves, tables, and milk-crates full of books, residents of the Central District are noticing what has sprouted… and are participating.
Neighbors bring donations of books and food; a mother and her 7 year old, walked away each with an armful of books.
"This is fantastic! It's so healthy and nourishing for the community," says Karen, a local resident and mother of two.
Families stop by, children play with puzzles, adults browse and share stories.
The People's Library aims to stay open from 10am-8pm every day until Sept. 4th, at which time Seattle Public Libraries including Douglas-Truth will re-open for business.
The library has no check-out system, no limit on number of books you can take.
Only a promise to either return what you have taken when you can, or pass it on to someone else.
At a time when our communities are facing huge losses of public resources due to budget cuts, the People's Library and its creators serve as an inspiration that we as people can still engage and educate, despite increasing austerity and dependence on the almighty Dollar.
For more info on the People's Library, please check out the following contacts:
Twitter: @duetobudgetcuts email email@example.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/357274784349722/360527184024482/?notif_t=event_mall_comment
By Aliana Bazara, 99% Media
You Were Right When You Waved That "No Blood for Oil" Sign. Iraq Was About Oil.
It was never exactly rocket science. You didn't have to be Einstein to figure it out. In early 2003, the Bush administration was visibly preparing to invade Iraq, a nation with a nasty ruler who himself hadn't hesitated to invade another country, Iran, in the early 1980s for no purpose except self-aggrandizement. (And the Reagan administration had backed him in that disastrous war because then, as now, Washington loathed the Iranians.)
There was never the slightest evidence of the involvement of Saddam Hussein's regime in the 9/11 attacks or in support of al-Qaeda; and despite the Bush administration's drumbeat of supposed information about Saddam's nuclear program (which was said, somehow, to threaten to put mushroom clouds over American cities), the evidence was always, at best, beyond thin and at worst, a potage of lies, concoctions, and wishful thinking. The program, of course, proved nonexistent, but too late to matter.
And the millions of protestors who took to the streets of the great cities (and small towns) of the planet in unprecedented numbers to oppose the coming invasion, waving signs like "No Blood for Oil!" "How did USA's oil get under Iraq's sand?" and "Don't trade lives for oil!" grasped perfectly well just what they had in mind — and more prescient still, they knew it would be a disaster. If only they had been listened to. Instead, they were generally dismissed in the mainstream media for their hopeless naïveté.
They were right. It was about oil (though not oil alone, given the over-determined nature of all events on this planet of ours), while so many of the sophisticated types as well as the geopolitical visionaries of the Bush administration proved dismally wrong, completely mistaken in their assessment of our world of energy and how it might be controlled. Now, more than eight years later, no one here even wants to think about Iraq and the multi-trillion-dollar war we fought there. Mission accomplished? You be the judge. Recent headlines indicate that the new Iraq is actually helping Iran evade the Obama administration's oil sanctions. Think of it as the grim geopolitical version of slapstick comedy.
You Were Right When You Waved That "No Blood for Oil" Sign. Iraq Was About Oil
by Tom Engelhardt
And it gets worse…
"Tony Hayward, who resigned as chief executive of BP amid the fallout from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill last year, is set to become the head of another oil company.
Vallares, the investment vehicle Mr. Hayward co-founded with the financier Nathaniel P. Rothschild this year, agreed on Wednesday to buy Genel Energy International, an oil producer in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in a $2.1 billion deal."
Ex-BP Chief's Firm to Buy Iraqi Oil Company in $2.1 Billion Deal
No Blood for Oil
by Clay Claiborne
The People's Library
All branches of the Seattle Public Library will be closed Monday, Aug 27 through Sunday, Sept 2. In response, let's have our own library to provide reading materials, kid's activities, and internet access during the closure. Everyone is invited to contribute!
The People's Library – A Real Public , Public Library
All branches of the Seattle Public Library will be closed Monday, Aug 27 through Sunday, Sept 2. In response, let's have our own library to provide reading materials, kid's activities, and internet access during the closure. Everyone is invited to contribute!
DONATE books, magazines, any reading material. We especially need books for children and young adults.
COME to the Library on Monday, Aug 27!
Douglass-Truth Library, 2300 E Yesler Way
BROWSE our collection.
LEAD arts and crafts activities or games with the kids.
BRING your neighbors.
This Library will be a community space, not controlled by any individuals or organization and welcome to all people and points of view.
on Twitter @duetobudgetcuts
email email@example.com
BOOK DONATION LOCATIONS (check back as we add more):
-Bring them to the People's Library Monday morning.
-Cafe Racer in U District, 5828 Roosevelt Way NE
-PSKS on Capitol Hill, Monday 12-9, Wed 12-3, Fri 12-3 (Peace for the Streets by Kids for the Streets, 1814 Summit
Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122)
-Mockingbird Books in Greenlake. 7220 Woodlawn Ave
-Third Place Books in Ravenna, 6504 Ave NE
-Twice Sold Tales on Capitol Hill. Open everyday at 11am, close late (1 or 2 am)
The People's Library is open from 10am-8pm every day through the end of September 2nd, after which we have been told our usual public library access will be graciously returned to us from those on high. Until then though, you can find the People's Library on the steps of the Douglass Truth Library (2300 E Yestler Way). Show up to get your wifi access on, bring and/or take some books or zines to share, music, arts and crafts, enjoy community with folks, and finally, contribute to the Open Space with whatever you want!
Keep an eye on http://duetobudgetcuts.wordpress.com/ for further details/updates regarding the People's Library.
Open Space will be taking place for the duration of the People's Library. It is very simple. There will be a whiteboard (or possible just cardboard bulletin spaces) where folks can write down a time and specific location around the library where they will be hosting a workshop on a specific topic or other activity.
People's Library fills in for Seattle Public Libraries during closure:
Seattle libraries are closed all week because of budget cuts, but a makeshift library in the Central District is still open to the public.
Activists started what they're calling the People's Library to protest the closure of city libraries. Located at 23rd and Yesler, the People's Library is offering Internet access and a variety of books.
"Literacy is important, and when you have austerity measures that threaten the ability for people to come together and use computers and to get books, it's really not good for the community," said People's Library organizer Charles Conatzer.
The new library might not have the same selection as the city's libraries, but this week it happens to be the only game in town. To help offset budget cuts, the city won't reopen its libraries until after Labor Day.
That move isn't sitting well with many library patrons.
Organizers say the People's Library will stay open through September.
SEATTLE'S LIBRARY CLOSES DOWN: The People's Library opens for business
The thing about those book people, not to be confused withbookies which is a different kettle of fish altogether is that you just can't keep them down.
Burn their books and they'll just go out and print some more. They are a feisty lot by and large and not to be underestimated.
Seattle libraries are closed all this week due to budget cuts, but local activists have filled the vacuum for the entire week with what they call "The People's Library."
It's located on the plaza at 23rd & Yesler outside of the Douglass-Truth Library in the Central District.
In a news release Emily Ravenscraft a spokeswoman for the group said, "The open air library has everything a library should have: books, computers, and even arts and crafts activities for the children."
The library opened to the public Monday morning at 10am at which time all the books were in place and the computers were turned on and connected to the Internet.
Sky Valley Chronicle:
Capitol Hill library closure: construction, People's Library and the last time (for now)
One of Seattle's more pitiful traditions is about to hopefully come to an end. It's time for our annual week of library closures around the city. The budget-minded sleight of hand has helped keep services and hours as robust as possible around Seattle through recent lean times while giving the library system's administrators a little summertime cost relief.
CHS Capitol Hill Seattle Blog:
Leak Brings Safety of Hanford Nuclear Site Into Question
Leak Brings Safety of Hanford Nuclear Site Into Question
By Kim Murphy
"As part of the biggest, costliest environmental cleanup in the nation's history-disposing of 53 million gallons of radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state-one thing was supposed to be sure: Toxic waste stored in sturdy, double-wall steel tanks wasn't going anywhere. That reassurance has been thrown into question with the discovery of a three-foot-long mound of radioactive material between the inner and outer steel walls of one of the supposedly safe tanks."
Hanford Double-Shell Tank Leaks Nuclear Waste
"The public interest group Hanford Challenge Friday released disclosed a memo from U.S. Department of Energy inspectors to the Washington State Department of Ecology detailing the leak.
Dated August 14, the memo acknowledges a highly-radioactive chemical waste leak that was detected in early August from Tank AY-102 on the floor of the "annulus," the space between the two walls of the double-shell tank.
The dry radioactive waste was found in two locations, according to the memo, one of them in a "mound approximately 2 ft. x 3 ft. x 8 inches."
Environment News Service
Washington State: Possible radioactive leak at Hanford tank farm
""There's been this presumption that the double-shell tanks at least are sound and won't fail, and they'll be there for us," said Tom Carpenter of the advocacy group Hanford Challenge. Several days ago the group obtained a memo from the cleanup site detailing discovery of the mysterious substance.
"This changes everything. It is alarming that there is now solid evidence that Hanford double-shell has leaked," Carpenter said in a separate statement on the discovery."
Possible Radioactive Tank Leak At Hanford Being Investigated
Some are concerned with the longer-term implications. Here's why: There are a total of 177 waste tanks, some of them are single shelled and some have double-shells. The government has been moving waste out of the known worst of those single-shelled tanks for awhile and into the double-shelled tanks.
Tom Carpenter heads the Seattle-based watchdog Hanford Challenge. He says what if this possible leak shows that the double-shell tanks are more venerable than we thought?
"Then we're going to have to look for something else to do," he says. "Because frankly we're out of room in the double-shelled tanks. There is not a whole lot of room left to move waste around."
Another question: If this tank is proven to be leaking — can the tanks last the nearly five decades it's going to take to stabilize this radioactive waste in glass?
by ANNA KING, NPR
Listen to the story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=159959785&ft=3&f=159959785
Hanford's storage tank overview:
Routine periodic visual monitoring (via camera) of the AY-102 annulus found material that was never before seen. Photo courtesy of Dept. of Energy
Five environmental groups say the state Department of Ecology didn't consider water quality standards when when it approved plans to rebuild Enloe Dam near Oroville, WA. Water quality is one of many considerations in a proposal by the Okanogan County, WA PUD to rebuild the Enloe Dam to generate electricity.
The PUD has been working for seven years toward restarting operations at the dam. The dam was built in 1920 but stopped producing power in 1959 when it became cheaper to buy from the Bonneville Power Administration.
The environmental groups claim that if the dam is rebuilt, it will nearly dry up the Similkameen (sim-IL'-ka-MEEN') River. The Wenatchee World reports the five groups have filed an appeal with the state Pollution Control Hearings Board.
Representatives from Okanogan County PUD made a presentation at the Oroville Chamber of Commerce on the utilities efforts to license Enloe Dam to once again generate hydroelectric power. The dam and powerhouse, which are about 3.5 miles up the Similkameen River from Oroville, have not generated power since the mid-1950s. The PUD has been trying to license the dam with a new modern powerhouse and generators, this time located on the opposite bank of the river.
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The Okanogan Public Utility District obtained a new license for power generation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 1983, but the license was withdrawn in 1986 because the dam's impact on anadromous fish had not been addressed. A second license for a 4.1 megawatt plant was granted in 1996, but was again rescinded on the same grounds in 2000. Yet another application was submitted in August 2008, seeking to build a new powerplant to generate 9 megawatts, fed by a new intake channel
********** ********** **********
"Okanogan PUD ratepayers are going to take a big hit for this expensive and unprofitable project," said Jere Gillespie of CBEP. "We are calling on the Okanogan PUD to replace its out-of-date 2008 analysis and provide ratepayers with a realistic evaluation of Enloe Dam economics. We think such an update will show that the dam project is not a wise investment for ratepayers and should be dropped."
You can download the economic analysis here: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Document/view/documentid/981/
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photo credit:
Foster Fanning
Congrats to Shanti and boo for this ridiculous charge having been dismissed
Shanti Wyatt's Case regarding Occupy Sukkot. October 13 2011 is Dismissed as of August 16th 2012. Some words from Shanti's lawyer – "The prosecutor emailed me yesterday informing me that she is dismissing."
The following is a description from the Occupy Sukkot (facebook) Event:
By Emma Epstein, Andy Barr and Robert Beiser:
The eight-day festival of Sukkot reminds us of the abundance we have, and how very fragile that abundance is. The sukkah that we build, reminiscent of the fragile huts built in the days the Israelites spent wandering through the desert, represents shelter in a time of crisis, "the halfway point between slavery and liberation." We are again at a halfway point. The movement has begun – will it take hold?
This space will not only serve as a metaphor for the shelter of the Israelites. It will be a space to challenge economic injustice, racism, oppression, displacement, and exploitation that so many in our country and world face.
Occupy Seattle in Pictures: Police Arrest 10, Then Stand Down, But Forbid Sleep
last night the protesters defiantly erected a tent in celebration of the Jewish holiday Sukkot. A number of people sat inside the tent peacefully, determined not to be intimidated by police orders banning any structures (other than the permitted medical tent) in the park. Others formed a human chain around it.
When we arrived at Westlake, the demonstration was in full swing. A lively and entirely peaceful crowd was chanting in the middle of the park, next to the newly erected tent.
Signs proclaimed the demands and messages of the protesters
Suddenly, the police moved in to take down the Sukkot tent and to arrest the people in it, as well as those blocking the way to it
Seeing the number of police on the scene, I asked one of the officers: "Who is keeping the rest of the city safe?" He said, angrily, "Other cops!"
please see wonderful photo essay from Zoltan here:
Daily Kos
photo credit
Joshua Trujillo
Discussion GA at 7:00 PM at Westlake every Wednesday evening.
Events listed here are NOT necessarily sponsored or endorsed by Occupy Seattle or approved by the General Assembly. Many events are put on by work groups, outside organizations or individuals in solidarity to our movement.
Times are subject to change. Please click on individual events for more details. Check back regularly for the most up to date information.
Send an email to email@example.com In the subject line put "Calendar item"
WHAT: In the body of the email put a name for the event, as well as a short description.
WHEN: the date, time (start and end), recurring events will be scheduled for 8 repeats.
WHERE: place for the event
Indicate if it's an event sponsored by Occupy Seattle as a whole (something that would need to have been brought up in GA), a Working Group event, an independently organized Direct Action or an Event sponsored and organized by an outside allied group.
Solar Power on the Rise
The Secret to Solar Power
Two factors have hurt the industry's growth. The first is abstract and well ingrained in the American psyche: the negative association of "green" technologies with inefficiency and idealistic, hippie-fueled impracticality. The second is concrete and recent: the sleek, vacant headquarters of Solyndra, the infamous federally subsidized solar-panel manufacturer that went bankrupt in 2011.
The advantages of such a system are obvious. Not only would Americans pay less for energy, but with solar they would also provide power back to the grid at peak hours, when utilities are the most taxed — and when they turn to their most expensive and dirtiest "peak" power plants, which are standing by for just such occasions. We would also avoid some blackouts, because fewer houses would be reliant on the grid, and transmission failures wouldn't cascade in the same way. By some estimates, 500 megawatts of rooftop solar — roughly the total amount of solar that California installed just last year, equivalent to about 80,000 residential systems — would have prevented the blackout of 2003 and saved the U.S. economy several billion dollars.
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Solar Leasing: Key Market Driver As Government Incentives Dry Up
New residential financing mechanisms and third party ownership models will be the key drivers through 2015, says Pike.
They expect the distributed solar market to grow from $66 billion in 2010 to more than $154 billion annually by 2015, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18%, raising world capacity from 9.5 gigawatts (GW) to more than 15 GW.
Between 2006-2010, total global capacity of many renewable energy technologies – including solar PV, wind power, concentrated solar power (CSP), solar water heating, and biofuels – grew at rates ranging from around 15% to nearly 50% a year. Solar PV, the dominant form of renewable distributed energy generation, increased the fastest of all renewable technologies during this period.
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Community Solar Gardens, A First for New Mexico
Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, the city of Taos and the Clean Energy Collective of Carbondale, Colorado have entered into a 1.2 megawatt agreement to launch New Mexico's first community solar gardens.
Under this model, members can buy solar panels located in community arrays, on the roofs of schools and parking lots.
The Clean Energy Collective builds and maintains the solar gardens, and the local utility agrees to buy electricity from them. Members receive the same tax credits and electricity discounts as they would if the panels were installed on their own roofs. The panels have warrantees for 50 years.
This makes it possible for people to use solar even if they are renters or have properties that can't accommodate solar, and makes solar accessible to people of more income levels.
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Small Solar is 40% of US Project Pipeline
Favorable incentives and financing models continue to fuel interest in small solar projects, with installations at schools, municipal buildings, hospitals and retail stores now accounting for 40% of the US pipeline, reports NPD Solarbuzz.
More than 1,300 projects underway are between 50 kilowatts (kW) and 500 kW in capacity with a cumulative PV generation of about 200 MW, they say in the US Deal Tracker report.
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View and download the Major Solar Projects List on Slideshare
From: OS Main Facebook
First and foremost we need your participation!
We Are Raising Funds to Pay For one year's rent on a server for Occupy Seattle and the dozen occupations we currently serve and to allow us to increase that number. Our servers are currently paid for and donated on a month to month basis.
We can always use help with technical services and content creation. You can reach our services group through firstname.lastname@example.com
We need office space, warehouse space, and space to set up camp or communal living quarters.
Needs we still have:
– medical (contact firstname.lastname@example.com)
Please either review our Working Group page and contact the group/person with whom you can co-ordinate sharing your support, add an "event" to our calendar or just come down!
1) Please show your support for our folks in court! (check out the main page soon for more dates and details)
2) We currently have no base camp. The best thing you can do is to donate your time. Bring your ideas, willing hands, and an open mind and heart. Check our Calendar for a current schedule of General Assemblies, Work Group meetings and other events.
GLITUR announces DRAG OUT CAPITALISM!!!
Contact: Ian Finkenbinder 216.236.4680
Email: email@example.com
GLITUR and Waid's Restaurant Hosting
An Anti-Capitalist Drag Show
5/19/2012– The Grand Legion of Incendiary and Tenacious Unicorn Revolutionaries is happy to announce that we and the fabulous Bearded Lady J hosting a radical queer dance party this Friday, June 22nd, at Waid's Restaurant in Seattle. This event, far from your run-of-the-mill celebration during the Pride season, will feature alternative queer voices and local talent such as Honey Bucket and Sashay Supernova in a drag show and dance party designed to bring revolution back to queer liberation.
On the 22nd, instead of attending for-profit club events costing more than $20 to enter, GLITUR invites you to join us in coming together to strike back against popular assimilationist models of mainstream gay rights. We know that our work does not begin and end with the attainment of a gay marriage bill in WA. State or with a begrudging presidential endorsement of it that seems more like a political strategy than real progress. And as long as ADAP is being cut, CeCe is behind bars for defending herself and anyone has to experience homophobia, transphobia, trans-misogyny, sexism or racism from the state or this capitalist society we will resist.
It will be 21+ with ID, and $5 to get in. All proceeds will go to Lifelong Aids Alliance, because Pride is about coming together and giving back, not turning a profit.
Bring The Fight To The Banks
This is a NON VIOLENT action. We want to remind the people of Seattle that the banks still need to be fought. Gather at Westlake for a march on the banks. Chase, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America.
Bring The Fight To The Banks – a Non-violent and non-vandalistic direct action
Friday, July 20 at 9:00am at Westlake Center
30, 50 next 200? The Student Debt Noise Brigade Grows
The Student Debt Noise Brigade is getting a great response and growing. Below is a great video of the last march. Join in on the next.
If you still need a reason to come out:
Read about the lenght the lenders go to:
A few months after he buried his son, Francisco Reynoso began getting notices in the mail. Then the debt collectors came calling.
"They would say, 'We don't care what happened with your son, you have to pay us,'" recalled Reynoso, a gardener from Palmdale, Calif.
Reynoso's son, Freddy, had been the pride of his family and the first to go to college. In 2005, after Freddy was accepted to Boston's Berklee College of Music, his father co-signed on his hefty private student loans, making him fully liable should Freddy be unwilling or unable to repay them. It was no small decision for a man who made just over $21,000 in 2011, according to his tax returns.
"As a father, you'll do anything for your child," Reynoso, an American citizen originally from Mexico, said through a translator.
Now, he's suffering a Kafkaesque ordeal in which he's hounded to repay loans that funded an education his son will never get to use loans that he has little hope of ever paying off. While Reynoso's wife, Sylvia, is studying to be a beautician, his gardening is currently the sole source of income for the family, which includes his 18-year-old daughter Evelyn.
And the loans are maddeningly opaque. Despite the help of a lawyer, Reynoso has not been able to determine exactly how much he owes, or even what company holds his loans. Just as happened with home mortgages in the boom years before the 2008 financial crash, his son's student loans have been sold and resold, and at least one was likely bundled into a complex Wall Street security. But the trail of those transactions ends at a wall of corporate silence from companies that include two household names: banking giant UBS and Xerox, which owns the loan servicer handling the bulk of his loans. Left without answers is a bereaved father. Read more on the Huffiongton post this came from
Student Debt Noise Brigade
Video of a pots and pans ("casseroles") march on 6/13/2012 in Seattle by #MicCheckWallStreet (http://miccheckwallst.org) protesting student debt and rising interest rates. Police force them out of the road several times, but they persevere and complete their march against the rising costs of higher education.
Music: "Cherubs (No Vocals)" by Josh Woodward
FBI Harrassment in Seattle – Some Tips on Staying Strong
Note: this post originally appeared on PugetSoundAnarchists.org and can be read in full here:
Over the past few weeks the FBI has contacted and spoken with at least two individuals who have been involved in Occupy Seattle. In both instances, the agents have threatened to take these individuals away from their loved ones. From what is known, these individuals were contacted because of the events surrounding the May 1st General Strike.
It is unknown what specific allegations and accusations the FBI is leveling against these individuals, but the standard tactic of the FBI is to exaggerate the seriousness and consequences of an offense in order to scare someone into cooperating with them or becoming an informant. We would like to remind everyone involved in Occupy Seattle that under no circumstances should anyone talk to the FBI. Anything that is said to them, no matter how seemingly insignificant, can potentially put someone else at risk.
Some tips if you, or someone you know, has been targeted by the FBI:
1: Do not talk to the FBI if they approach you. Simply refuse to answer any questions pertaining to your or others' opinions or activities. Agents will typically use various manipulative tricks to get information out of you—threats, intimidation, claiming that they already know more than they actually do, claiming that another person has already spilled the beans, etc. Stay strong and keep silent—they do not care about you, they only want to use you to hurt others.
2: If you are contacted by the FBI, contact a lawyer as soon as possible. If you need help raising funds or finding a lawyer, seek help from friends.
3: If possible, make a public statement that explains what the FBI was asking. This is an important step, as it will prevent paranoia from spreading, something the FBI desires to happen within a social movement.
4: Remember that there are thousands of people on your side, ready to help and protect you to the best of our abilities. Anyone whose lives are negatively impacted by the FBI will be supported and no one will be forgotten. Reach out to your comrades and not the FBI.
For more information, please visit:
Occupy the Screen!
Mission Statement:
Occupy the Screen! is founded to further the mission of the Local Seattle Occupy Movement using cinema to educate, create meaningful dialogue and bring people together to transform the world.
Contact Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Second Casseroles Demonstration – Seattle
End Student Debt March – Started at SCCC and ended at a park very close to Seattle University.
Noise Brigade – Againist Student Debt
The student debt crisis is cripling lives and killing dreams.
Back when a High School diploma guaranteed a decent job, we created the free public education system. We believed that education was a right, not a privilege. A High School diploma isn't what it used to be. A college degree is now a requirement.
But, instead of making a college education free for all those who want it, we've fallen victim to the contradictory rhetoric that "education isn't free" and access to education is about "personal responsibility". To believe that, you must also believe that poverty is the responsibility of poor children. That their futures must limited based on their parents means.
The government voted to *double* the interest rate on all federal student loans effective July 1st. Meanwhile they are loaning out *trillions* of dollars at * 0% interest* to Wall Street banks. The same banks that *stole and then lost* trillions of dollars in fraud and abuse. The same banks who then used those 0% interest loans to give themselves hundreds of billions of dollars in bonuses and compensation.
A student loan should be about education. Not restricting access to the disadvantaged. Not for pushing people into poverty. And not for profits that benefit the very rich at the expense of the rest of us.
So yes, education isn't free. But a massive payout from economic fraud is. Partially because students are going to pick up the bill.
We think this is wrong.
- Stop interest rates for doubling July 1st.
- End student debt.
- Bring a pot.
- Make noise.
Student Debt Noise Brigade – Event Time and Place
Wednesday. 6/13. 7:00PM. SCCC. Invite your friends.
Print the poster!
- 8.5×11" PDF http://bit.ly/LBPIRk
- 11×17" PDF http://bit.ly/LNxN4I
- 24×36" PDF http://bit.ly/Km1aRX
Shell's Epic Private Party #Fail
Update 10:20am 6/8/12: We we're working with the Yes Men on this one. Check out the full story here.
Original Post
Last night Logan Price, a Seattle Occupier who's now living in New York, managed to infiltrate a private party thrown by Shell Oil at the Space Needle to celebrate the launch of its Arctic drilling program. He caught this amazing video.
He also has some photos on twitter.
Logan sent us this explanation:
"It all started with a malfunction…. of the event's centerpiece, a scale model of the Kulluk, one of the rigs heading up north, which was sitting in a basin of liquor (rum and coke?) next to an ice sculpture in the shape of an iceberg.
I guess the photo-op was meant to be a symbolic tapping of the Arctic. There was a ridiculous three-foot-high scale model of their Arctic drilling rig, the Kulluk, and the mini-rig had a tap to pump liquor for the guests.
"The guest of honor was an elderly Japanese man introduced as the original Chief Engineer of the Kulluk rig who used to work at Mitsui back in the '80s. But when the man went to turn on the 'rig,' the liquor went everywhere – and the first to be hit was another elderly guest, the widow of the man who'd actually designed the Kulluk back in the 1980s.
"The guy in charge kept asking the old engineer to fix it but he obviously had no idea how to turn it off. Shell's PR people got REALLY worked up, and the designer's widow started yelling. At this point the guy who was presenting the new ad campaign told me to turn off my camera and got pretty aggressive."
Logan (who grew up on Vashon Island) helped capture an equally wacky moment last year when Obama told him at a fundraiser that Bradley Manning "broke the law." That's expected to have an effect on the army private's case.
New Occupy Label – Occupation Records
Based in London, Occupation Records is a new Record Label in support of the Global Occupy Movement
Occupation Records is a benefit record label raising funds for, and spreading the messages of the Occupy and related movements through the release of benefit albums, alongside merchandise and live events. The label is an attempt to bring the ethos of Occupy into the music industry in a very practical way. It is run under the ethos of Occupy. All the profits from the album are distributed to the global Occupy movement and related and allied movements.
Decisions are made by consensus, all members are represented by a union, finances transparent and open, with distribution and manufacture being ethical and transparent. The label has also initiated community engagement projects such as most recently "School of Rockupy" were young people are joined with music artists to write, produce, record and distribute a track in one day getting their message out utilizing the processes of Occupy.
The next School of Rockupy will be taking place in June 2012 – details of the first edition with Kate Nash can be found at School of Rockupy
Members of the collective behind the label are also actively involved in Occupy London. Adam Jung, Artist and Industry Relations for Occupation Records, said: "Occupy has pushed the demand to address social and economic inequality to the fore by continually developing creative new ways to spread our message. Occupation Records and today's release of Folk the Banks utilizing a pay what you can afford format is offering another alternative."
Union 16 – Case Dismissed – 200 occupy warehouse
A Seattle judge has ruled 16 activists were not trespassing after they occupied a vacant Capitol Hill building in December. Some 200 activists occupied the Union Cultural Center at 10th and Union for about 10 hours before they were forced out in a pre-dawn SWAT raid by Seattle police.
Union 16 – Not Guilty – 200 occupy warehouse
A Seattle judge has ruled 16 activists were not trespassing after they occupied a vacant Capitol Hill building in December. Some 200 activists occupied the Union Cultural Center at 10th and Union for about 10 hours before they were forced out in a pre-dawn SWAT raid by Seattle police.
According to court records, Judge Judith Hightower ruled the building was abandoned, incapable of being trespassed. The building had been empty for more than a year and was scheduled for demolition two weeks after the activists moved in.
Hightower dismissed the trial May 24; it was slated to start this week. The 107-year-old building had since been demolished to make way for new mixed-use development.
Kimberly Mills, spokesperson for the City Attorney's office, tells CHS the judge denied the prosecutor's request to reconsider the ruling.
Braden Pence, who represented some of the UCC 16, says the ruling calls into question how and why Occupy crackdowns were carried out.
From: CHS
For some background on the
10th and Union Warehouse Marriage Celebration
We The People Power Festival
What do Creativity, Joy, Democracy and Love all have in common?
People Power!
Create and play at the Fremont Solstice Celebration at Gas Works on June 16! Join: We the People Power Festival
We the People Power is a celebration of creativity, sustainable living and grassroots democracy, with hands-on fun for everyone! Building on the excitement of the 24th Annual Solstice Parade, we invite you to dance and play, discover a personal passion, connect with others who share that passion, and get involved in making a positive difference in our community.
Are you passionate about Art? Sustainability? Grassroots Democracy? Health? Wellness? Caring for the Earth? Do you want to work with others to celebrate and share that passion with the larger community? Come to our work parties to learn more, meet co-collaborators, have fun and get involved!
Help co-create an environment where people have an abundance of ways to learn and have fun with their friends, their families. Participants will meet new people and discover the joy and purposefulness of being part of a community that celebrates and serves the greater good.
Free University Seattle
The Summer Series has now begun to take shape! We now have an initial listing of courses and activities with times and places at our website. Keep an eye on the website for a much easier to follow calendar coming soon! We are still sorting through all of the results from our many survey participants. There is a lot of people interested in learning way more together than what is currently listed under the summer series, please be patient while we take the time to translate survey results into more summer courses.
If you want to participate in this process, please fill out the Doodle poll to express your time availability for helping out: http://www.doodle.com/4apsrzemnd9w5c6i We will also be undergoing much needed improvements to the website over the next few weeks, as we now have volunteers with much better web design knowledge to help out!
Occupy Me – Socail Group
Contact: email@example.com
This is a social group for Occupy participants and supporters. Our activities are based around Seattle, but all are welcome. We are honest, respectful, charming, LGBTQ friendly, and planning events all over the city.
• No politics or heavy debates here please. This group is for social connection and fun.
Occupy Non-Violence
Contact: email@example.com
>> Mission Statement <<
In solidarity with the global Occupy movement, we are committed to advocating and promoting the principles and practices of nonviolence in pursuit of a just and sustainable world. ~Consented to on Dec 4th, 2011
AFSC (American Friends Service Committee) downstairs &
The University Friends Meeting upstairs
814 NE 40th Street (corner of 40th & 8th Ave NE)
Give yourself extra time to get through the screwy one-way street maze.
Next full Mtg: April 1, 12:30-2:30, AFSC
Planning meeting for that meeting Thursday, March 29, 7PM, AFSC.
Facebook Conduct:
Keep posts peaceful and respectful.
Do not demonize, threaten or harass.
Inappropriate posts will be removed, as will the poster if they persist.
Facebook admins shall consult and consent, insofar as practical, before removing posts or members.
Occupy Office Space
Contact: Facebook
This is a group for the Occupy Office Space that opened March 10th. The space is 450 sq. ft divided into two offices and a front workroom. It's even got furniture!
There are three rules: 1) No camping 2) No illegal substances 3) No name calling/factional bs/attacking people because of their political identity. This is a place to communicate with other people related to Occupy, see how we can support each others' efforts, and, of course, do work!
Contacts: http://miccheckwallst.org/
We seek to reestablish the legitimacy of our constitutional rights, speech and political influence as the sole birthright of the people; reclaiming them from the hands of the privileged, the wealthy, and the inanimate. Guided by our principles, we create forums for a multitude of conversations, cultivating our various passions into progress through peaceful communication, outreach and action. To this end, we are a call to friendship.
We are peaceful. Everyone who participates is expected to respect and embody both our foundational principles and mission statement in their ideas, actions, and the treatment of others.
We don't vote. Your participation is your consensus, and every meeting, gathering, get-together, etc. regardless of size, is as valid and meaningful as any other.
Occupy Fun
Contact : Facebook
We at Occupy Fun hope to create a safe space for positive community building, between OFun and local businesses within the greater Seattle area. We are a "Non-working" group that exists outside of the Interwebs, and we use this page to promote outreach, social gatherings, and general Fun!
Please invite your friends to join, we are looking for organic member-driven involvement. We strive to be an all-inclusive group, all are welcome, but we have zero tolerance for hatred and bigotry. Please help us keep this space light hearted and treat others with respect.
Check your ideologies at the door. Spamming, flaming and/or trolling are a NO-NO (when isn't it?). Take heavy topics elsewhere. If you act like an Asshat, you'll leave us no choice but to treat you like an Asshat. You probably won't like how we treat Asshats!
Website Update
There has been quite a bit of work completed on the site recently. We would love your feedback. This is the best way to get it to us. Contact Us Form
Most of the work has been under the hood type of issues. Like updating the drupal core and 55 or so modules that were out of date, enabling the onsite update and installation of modules, setting up regular off site backups, and we also cleaned up the database reducing the size from 400+Mb to 50 Mb.
So far we have completed a few user improvements like removing the old hard-coded front page video and replacing it with an easily modifiable video embed feature, categorizing the Work Group page and providing selection by Type of Work Group, the ability to upload images directly from your computer into posts or to the server for use in posts or other content, and a few other minor improvements.
So try out the new features and lets us know if there are any potholes in the road.
End Citizens United – Money Drop
We're doing it again! But we need your help!
It's time we declared independence from Citizens United.
The United States Supreme Court decision in Citizens United established money as speech, reaffirmed that corporations are people, and paved the way for a head-long rush towards plutocracy.
We think this is wrong and we hope you agree. To protest this truly spectacular decision and raise awareness of the issue, we want to do something equally spectacular this July 4th.
To help us reach our goal of $5000 we've setup a WePay page for you to donate a few spare dollars and be a part of it making it happen. And Join Our Newsletter #MicCheckWallSt Newsletter
We intend to print "If money is speech, I should be free", on all the donated money before throwing off a building somewhere in Seattle on the 4th of July. Check out this video we put together after the very successful Valentine's Day money drop and see for yourself. And don't worry - all donations go directly towards being thrown off a building. Interested in organizing your own money drop? We'll be posting some downloadable templates and more information on our website soon. Stay tuned!
Money is the new tea.
As much installation art as protest, we believe it will be powerful and we hope you'll contribute to making it a reality.
What the heck is a Money Drop and why would I donate any money to it?
Make a statement. Take a stand. Be a part of history.
We intend to print "If money is speech, I should be free", on all the donated money before throwing off a building somewhere in Seattle on the 4th of July.
Check out this video we put together after the very successful Valentine's Day money drop and see for yourself. And don't worry - all donations go directly towards being thrown off a building.
Interested in organizing your own money drop? We'll be posting some downloadable templates and more information on our website soon. Stay tuned!
Monopolize Folklife Festival
The big banks have been playing monopoly with our money & our homes.
On Saturday, May 26th and Sunday, May 27th, 11:00am to 6:00pm, just in time for Memorial Day weekend, let's return the favor…
The plan: Monopolize Folklife Festival at Seattle Center all day by turning the sidewalk into a giant Monopoly board! Street Theater style, let's get the public involved in a roving Monopoly game. Have them name streets, roll the dice, or take a chance!
While drawing attention to big bank practices we want to also encourage their customers to foreclose on their accounts & take their money to a credit union or community bank. We'll have monopoly money and "foreclosure" notices on hand to give out with some helpful facts about big banks and more information about doing just that.
We will be meeting up on the lawn East of the Space Needle.
Let's dress up and play bank!
Like costumes?!?! Here are some ideas! Come dressed as:
● A foreclosed home
● A slum hotel
● Your favourite game piece
● Rich "Uncle" Pennybags
● A keystone cop
● Giant dice
● A community chest
● A chance card
● Anything else you can think of!
Don't like costumes? Just come as yourself! Show your support and help us shut them down.
We have fun!
Occupy National Gathering – Picking up momentum
Join the National Gathering
A significant number of Occupations around the country have passed resolutions supporting the National Gathering and it's momentum is gaining speed. Although there has not been a proposal submitted to the Occupy Seattle GA for an offical endosement; read on to learn more about this action.
Occupy movement supporters will gather in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 30th to July 4th, 2012,for the first Occupy National Gathering. This event is the culmination of months of organizing and consensus-building by countless activists from across the country. It has been endorsed by Occupy General Assemblies from Wall Street to Sacramento, and Austin to Kalamazoo, providing a clear example of the movement's disparate chapters collaborating on a massive scale.
Occupy Philadelphia and the National Gathering Working Group, which initially proposed the event, invite all people to gather on Independence Mall for five days of community and movement building culminating in a massive outdoor gathering on July 4th. The main goals of the event are to strengthen our internal bonds, join together in direct actions, and engage in a transparent democratic process reflecting the values of the movement.
Activities will include:
Four days of discussions, teach-ins, political theater, and community bonding.
Protests and direct actions with Occupiers from across the movement.
Collectively crafting a Vision for a Democratic Future on July 4th.
All people of good conscience who are fed up and ready to stand up for economic and social justice are invited to join us at Independence Mall. We will send the message that injustice of any kind is unacceptable. No government or corporation can ignore the will of the people any longer. We can build a better world together.
For more details:
Endorsements to-date:
- IndyOWS – Indianapolis, IN
- Occupy Albany – Albany, NY
- Occupy Asheville – Asheville, NC
- Occupy Astoria – New York, NY
- Occupy Austin – Austin, TX
- Occupy Baltimore – Baltimore, MD
- Occupy Baton Rouge – Baton Rouge, LA
- Occupy Birmingham – Birmingham, AL
- Occupy Bozeman – Bozeman, MT
- Occupy Buswick – Buswick, NY
- Occupy Charleston – Charleston, SC
- Occupy Chattanooga – Chattanooga, TN
- Occupy DC – Washington, DC
- Occupy Delaware – Wilmington, DE
- Occupy Elmira – Corning, NY
- Occupy Fort Collins – Fort Collins, CO
- Occupy Harrisburg – Harrisburg, PA
- Occupy Harrisonburg – Harrisonburg, VA
- Occupy Hartford – Hartford, CN
- Occupy Jacksonville – Jacksonville, FL
- Occupy Jersey City – Jersey City, NJ
- Occupy Kalamazoo – Kalamazoo, MI
- Occupy Kansas City – Kansas City, MO
- Occupy Lancaster – Lancaster, PA
- Occupy Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV
- Occupy Littleton – Littleton, CO
- Occupy Maine – Portland, ME
- Occupy Merced CA – Merced, CA
- Occupy New Orleans – New Orleans, LA
- Occupy Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA
- Occupy Pikes Peak – Pikes Peak, CO
- Occupy Queens – Queens, NY
- Occupy Sacramento – Sacramento, CA
- Occupy Salt Lake City – Salt Lake City, UT
- Occupy San Antonio – San Antonio, TX
- Occupy Springfield – Springfield, MO
- Occupy Staten Island – Staten Island, NY
- Occupy St. Pete
- Occupy Tulsa – Tulsa, OK
- Occupy Wall Street – New York, NY
- Occupy Worcester – Worcester, MA