Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
Shot in NYC, Oakland, and Cincinnati, this 12 minute short explores the state of the Occupy Wall Street protests now that local governments have removed permanent encampments, and asks what the future will be for this still-young nationwide movement.
Produced and edited by Chase Whiteside (interviews), Erick Stoll (camera), and Liz Cambron.
On Sept. 17, a couple hundred protesters demonstrating against the excesses of corporate execs and the pervasive influence of high finance in U.S. politics set up camp in Lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park and refused to leave.
It was an unlikely occupation, one without leaders, agendas or even a clear sense of goals, but it soon was echoed in myriad cities across the U.S. and the world.
To some, Occupy Wall Street is the left-wing iteration of the Tea Party, directing their rage not at big government but at the big banks that gutted the world economy and took billions in bailouts from the U.S. government while awarding themselves hefty bonuses.
Read more at Time.com
Instead of the “big box” major chain stores, spend you money at smaller, local stores and support your own community.
We hear a lot about how “this” or “that” affects the small business owner. Republicans especially love to talk about helping the small business owner. This time, they are right. Time to put our wallets where our mouth is and do so. If you plan to spend today – go to a local small business and keep your dollars in the community.
The Associated Press has a story where it estimates the costs of police securing for the various ongoing protest occupations across the country. The AP roughly estimates that these occupations over two months in eighteen major cities cost taxpayers $13 million. Right-wing media outlets are already using this number to claim that the protests are too costly to maintain.
However, context is neccessary to put this number into perspective.
• The 2004 Republican National Committee protests, which lasted for a single week and took place in a single location, cost $50 million to secure.
• A small tea party rally in November 2010 that attracted only a few dozen people cost $14,000, paid for by official congressional money.
• The recession caused by Wall Street’s misdeeds destroyed $50 trillion of wealth globally by 2009, $20 trillion of that wealth in the United States alone.
Additionally, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan cost $13 million every 40 minutes this year, and the multibillionaire magnate Koch Brothers increase their wealth by $13 million every eleven hours.
None of this invalidates a discussion about the costs of securing the protests, but it does put it in context.
Additionally, if the Associated Press wants to probe the costs of the demonstrations, it might also ask why police are using such expensive and heavy-handed tactics against demonstrators.
Two police officers involved in a pepper-spraying incident at the University of California-Davis have been placed on leave, and over the weekend, the university’s faculty association called for the chancellor’s resignation.
But Chancellor Linda Katehi told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday that she’s staying put. “I really feel confident at this point the university needs me,” she told GMA (video here). “There are so many critical issues to be addressed and we really need to start the healing process and move forward.”
On Friday, a police officer was captured on video casually pepper spraying a group of sitting protesters. The incident occurred after “Occupy” protesters were asked to take down their tents from the university’s lawn.
Via press release:
President Yudof responds to campus protest issues
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Date: 2011-11-20
Contact: UC Office of the President
Phone: (510) 987-9157
University of California President Mark G. Yudof today (Nov. 20) announced the actions he is taking in response to recent campus protest issues:
I am appalled by images of University of California students being doused with pepper spray and jabbed with police batons on our campuses.
I intend to do everything in my power as president of this university to protect the rights of our students, faculty and staff to engage in non-violent protest.
Chancellors at the UC Davis and UC Berkeley campuses already have initiated reviews of incidents that occurred on their campuses. I applaud this rapid response and eagerly await the results.
The University of California, however, is a single university with 10 campuses, and the incidents in recent days cry out for a systemwide response.
Therefore I will be taking immediate steps to set that response in motion.
I intend to convene all 10 chancellors, either in person or by telephone, to engage in a full and unfettered discussion about how to ensure proportional law enforcement response to non-violent protest.
To that end, I will be asking the chancellors to forward to me at once all relevant protocols and policies already in place on their individual campuses, as well as those that apply to the engagement of non-campus police agencies through mutual aid agreements.
Further, I already have taken steps to assemble experts and stakeholders to conduct a thorough, far-reaching and urgent assessment of campus police procedures involving use of force, including post-incident review processes.
My intention is not to micromanage our campus police forces. The sworn officers who serve on our campuses are professionals dedicated to the protection of the UC community.
Nor do I wish to micromanage the chancellors. They are the leaders of our campuses and they have my full trust and confidence.
Nonetheless, the recent incidents make clear the time has come to take strong action to recommit to the ideal of peaceful protest.
As I have said before, free speech is part of the DNA of this university, and non-violent protest has long been central to our history. It is a value we must protect with vigilance. I implore students who wish to demonstrate to do so in a peaceful and lawful fashion. I expect campus authorities to honor that right.
Says the wealthy man…
UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi thinks this is the appropriate response to a peaceful sit-in.
UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said officers used force out of concern for their own safety after they were surrounded by students.
Take a look at the first ten seconds of the video. The police officer who pepper sprayed the kids didn’t spray the crowd standing around him. He calmly steps over the sitting students – who clearly pose no threat – and sprays the sitting students.
Do those kids look like they were a “threat”? More at AmericaBlog.
(via joemygod)