occupy oakland shows the way! ports, banks targeted nationally! MAY DAY!

OCCUPY Wall Street protesters have taken to New York’s streets as part of a May Day “general strike” across the US.

Small groups of protesters held simultaneous demonstrations outside a string of Manhattan corporate institutions including the Time-Life building and McGraw Hill publishers in the Rockefeller Centre neighbourhood.

Others were targeting Bank of America and HSBC branches, as well as Disney and The New York Times. “Prosecute the fraud” and “Jobs now,” read two protest placards.

i dunno...money bunny looks a little naughty to me...

Protests appeared to be peaceful there were only five arrests during early events. This was in stark contrast to previous Occupy marches that have typically ended in scuffles with the police and mass arrests.

However, the disruption and potential for conflict was expected to heat up later today when activists planned to stage a march through lower Manhattan to the Wall Street area.

Activists say they are protesting against corporate greed and the plight of ordinary people in an anemic economy and housing market.

“Hey, hey, BOA, who did you foreclose today?” protesters chanted at a Bank of America office building.

“The movement started in part because of frustrations over the bailouts and how the government handled the economic collapse of 2009,” said protester John Dennehy, 29.

“The feeling within Occupy Wall Street is that people that created the collapse, namely bankers, were helped out, and the people affected by it like homeowners who got foreclosed upon… weren’t helped.”

Similar protests were announced across dozens of US localities and in countries ranging from Spain to Australia.

“While American corporate media has focused on yet another stale election between Wall Street-financed candidates, Occupy has been organising something extraordinary: the first truly nationwide General Strike in US history,” the OWS movement said on its website occupywallst.org.

Occupy hits streets for strike

OCCUPY OAKLAND DISPLAYS DIVERSITY OF TACTICS

From sporadic bank shutdowns to the blockade of Child Protection Services headquarters and a possible reoccupation of Frank Ogawa Plaza, the day’s “unsanctioned” events could cause additional tension between Occupy Oakland and the City.

According to the action’s website, the Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition has requested that the 6 a.m. “Occupy the Golden Gate Bridge” action be cancelled. As a result, Occupy Oakland organizer, Lauren Smith, said the first autonomous action of the morning will be the rally and blockade of CPS at 8:30 a.m. The action will be coordinated from the “Anti-Patriarchy” strike station at ^First and Broadway. Smith said the blockade was a response to the organization’s “use of race, class and homophobia to police mothers and children.”

Two other May Day strike stations will be established throughout the city including an “anti-capitalist” station at Snow Park and an “anti-gentrification” strike station at 22nd and Telegraph. Smith said the primary role of the stations is to support random, autonomous actions throughout the day. They will be used as rally points where protesters can arrive, present their idea and invite marchers to join them.

The strategy, she said, came from the Nov. 2 port shutdown where activists “would leave on a march in downtown Oakland, go close down a few banks and then swing back to Oscar Grant Plaza, only to find another march leaving.”

“The visual image that I would give for it is like popcorn going off all around from 30^th down to Jack London Square,” Smith said.

Occupy Oakland plans to also use Frank Ogawa Plaza as a rally point throughout the day and will be the site for a noon gathering that will lead into a 1 p.m. action called “No borders, No Stay Away Orders.” The protest is being coordinated by the OO Anti-Repression Committee.

Smith said the march is “in response to police repression … that will draw a connection between stay away orders for Occupy Oakland and gang injunctions.”

Ogawa Plaza also will be the site for evening activities. At 6 p.m. the Dignity and Resistance march, planned by a coalition of Occupy Oakland and immigrant rights groups, will arrive at the plaza to converge with autonomous action protesters.

Smith said she expects this to be a “peak time” where May Day marchers will be encouraged to learn about Occupy Oakland. She said it will allow people who may not have otherwise been a part of Occupy Oakland, to “choose to join this radical movement.”

A breakdown of ‘unsanctioned’ Occupied Oakland actions

PORTS, BANKS TARGETED FOR SHUTDOWN

Organizers want May Day to demonstrate Occupy’s alliances with other movements, some occupy affinity groups are planning more confrontational protests. One anonymous New York-based group, for instance, has vowed to blockade a bridge or tunnel leading into Manhattan.

In California, the International Longshoremen’s Union will shut down the Port of Oakland and some 4,500 members of the California Nurses Association are expected to skip work. Occupy Oakland scuttled a plan for what might have been the most controversial May Day action, a shutdown of the Golden Gate Bridge, after a coalition of striking bridge worker unions backed out. Still, California protesters plan to unveil a squat in San Francisco, hold three simultaneous marches in Oakland, and gum up traffic in Los Angeles with a Critical Mass-style protest on bicycles. Smaller Occupy groups, of course, are also planning protests in cities from Anchorage to Tucson, and any one of them could become a flashpoint.

Among Occupy’s main targets will be the five largest banks, which control a greater share of the economy today than they did on the eve of the financial crisis. With dozens of bank occupations likely to happen, May Day illustrates how the movement has become better organized. But so have the banks. In New York and Chicago, they’ve pooled resources to gather intelligence on protesters. One security consultant likened the cooperation to elks circling against a pack of wolves.

from DEMOCRATICUNDERGROUND.COM

• Occupy Oakland: “We shut down the port!” demonstrators say (Ongoing analysis)
• Words from the Streets: ‘OO’ protestors share why they are there
• BREAKING: Scattered Crowds Continue to Cause Havoc near 14th and Broadway
• Police may be kettling protesters on 14th and Broadway, Fruitvale march moving destination 

Occupy Protesters Set Up Barricade To Shutdown Port Of Seattle

FBI heroically locks up ridiculous anarchists on May Day

Happy May Day, fellow travelers! If you’re not currently disrupting capitalism and/or having your wrists zip-tied for exercising your right to freely assemble, you probably read about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s latest, not-at-all suspiciously timed terror sting. The Bureau, in an inspired bit of early-20th century nostalgia, has railroaded a bunch of dangerous anarchists. (Or “dangerous” “anarchists.”) America will not waver in the face of the Galleanist threat!

Five young men from Cleveland are now in jail, accused of plotting to “blow up a bridge in the Cleveland area,” according to the FBI’s triumphant press release/criminal complaint. As is always the case with FBI terror stings, the “sting” part involved the bureau’s informant/agent provocateur mostly inventing the plot the accused have now been arrested for. In this case, the five planned to detonate smoke bombs as a distraction as they “topple[d] financial institution signs atop high rise buildings in downtown Cleveland.” But the informant (as usual, a sketchy unnamed character with a checkered past) strongly pushed the group to seriously consider different, more extreme plots. At the end, some or all of them were going to plant C-4 on the Route 82 Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge over the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

So what was initially a political action aimed at financial institutions somehow morphed into a supposed attempt to destroy or damage a piece of publicly owned infrastructure in a national park. Anarchists sure do hate bridges, and parks, I guess. (No parliament of men has the authority to designate which spaces are “national parks”! The whole world is the worker’s national park!)

The FBI’s affadavit suggests that there was never actually a serious “plot.” The gang tossed around the idea of “taking out” a bridge in order to stop people from getting to work, but they also thought maybe they could use their (pretend) C4 on a Klan rally, or a neo-Nazi organization, or an oil well, or the Federal Reserve Bank. They eventually decided to maybe sink a ship. All of their many plans were super serious and well-thought out. (“To prevent capture, he suggested getting tacks that they could throw out of the back of a car if they get in a chase.”) Eventually they settled on the bridge thing, sort of, and bought fake IEDs from the guy they already suspected was a cop.

In other words, these are a bunch of dumbasses even by the standards of amateur “black bloc” dumbasses. Do you know how I know these morons weren’t serious? They planned to download the Anarchist Cookbook and follow its notoriously awful instructions. Every experienced anarchist knows that the Feds have a mole in your group house, but these guys were mainly concerned with having someone’s “hacker friend” explain to them how bitcoins work. Without the FBI’s intervention the most damage these idiots would’ve ever caused is a broken Starbucks window. So thank god they’re off the streets, and congrats to the FBI for getting this tale of dangerous, bomb-planting anarchists onto the news broadcasts on the day of Occupy’s big May Day action.

via FBI heroically locks up ridiculous anarchists on May Day – FBI – Salon.com.

we are the 99 percent!

all across the u.s.a., the 99 percent came out in force to attack the communists and anarchists in the occupy movement

occupy wall street has been a movement which came out of the middle class – people who desired to make their internet “clicktivism” have meaning in the outdoor world. almost immediately after its formation, the occupy movement silenced the voices of people who have been waging this fight before ows came along – against the runaway power of corporations, the police state that enforces corporate will on the hapless population, and against the banks that profit off of misplaced values and people’s suffering.

the concept of the 99 percent is simplistic, and unrealistic as a point of unity. it can only be taken seriously by people with little or no background in activist politics, or opportunists who see it as a means to further their own goals.

this post will attempt to point out the uselessness of the concept of the 99 percent., and of mass movements composed mostly of people who have been apathetic tools most of their lives., and really can imagine nothing else.

those of you who have been doing the hard work of liberating your lives from the control of the rich and powerful – keep doing what you’re doing, because ya’ll are doing it right. but get away from the occupy movement. it’s poison to any possible change, and the overwhelming majority of them will rat you out in a second to save their own worthless skins, or just to display their loyalty to institutions of power and domination.

occupy san francisco denounces property damage done to 99 percenters.

The march in the Mission Monday night was not an OccupySF event.

OccupySF does not endorse this kind of destruction of the 99%’s property.

The individuals involved in this destruction are not known to OccupySF, and we believe they are outside provocateurs sent in to tarnish the image of Occupy prior to the May Day actions.

May Day General Strike Violence Reported At #OSF

99 PERCENT TERRORIZED BY ANTHRAX SCARE, VANDALISM

Three Wells Fargo bank branches in New York City were closed today after receiving envelopes containing a suspicious white powder, Reuters reports.

New York City police said they are investigating six separate incidents of suspicious white powder around Manhattan.

Last week in San Francisco, several hundred demonstrators besieged the Financial District building where the bank held its annual shareholders meeting. Several protesters were arrested outside, and about a dozen stock-owning activists were removed after disrupting the meeting.

Anti-Wall Street protests are planned Tuesday on both coasts to mark May Day.

Suspicious powder shuts 3 Wells Fargo branches in NYC, reuters

the 99 percent confronts trouble-makers in denver:

Denver Police – part of the 99 percent – say they knew there was going to be a protest on Saturday and wanted to keep the event peaceful. Officers say the protesters wanted protest inside the capitol, which is illegal.

Of the seven arrested, police say two were arrested for assault.

“Unfortunately at one point, that group did try to occupy the capital, which is illegal. We made sure that they knew that, it was pretty clear that they were not allowed to do that, they tried to do it anyway,” Lt. Matt Murray with the Denver Police Department said. “We had to step in and push them off. Things escalated; we did have to call out city-wide for assistance.”

According to Gov. Hickenlooper’s office, protesters need a permit to protest on the steps of the capitol. Protesting inside is illegal.

Officers say the incident escalated after police tried to stop protesters from putting up tents in front of the capitol.

Communists Take all of NYC’s 5th Ave away from 99 percent (video feed):
Arrests Of Occupy Wall Street May Day General Strike Protestors  now reportedly underway after protestors take over all of 5th avenue following clashes with the police.

Communist Banners on High as OWS Takes Over all of NYC’s 5th Ave

SEE ALSO: 

99 percent of what?

cleveland may day events cancelled due to fbi-manufactured “bomb plot”

The Cleveland office of the FBI announced Tuesday the arrests of five people who allegedly tried to blow up a bridge in northeast Ohio.

The FBI displayed a photo of the Route 82 bridge in Brecksville, just east of Riverview Road and referred to it as the “Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge” during a 10 a.m. news conference, and confirmed that was the target. The bridge crosses the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and connects Brecksville to Sagamore Hills.

According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office, these five were arrested Monday evening and charged with conspiracy and attempted use of explosive material to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce:

- Douglas Wright, 26

- Brandon Baxter, 20

- Anthony Hayne, 35

- Connor Stevens, 20

- Joshua Stafford, 23

According to the FBI, the five thought they had purchased two improvised explosive devices with a C4 remote detonator. They suspects placed them at the base of the bridge Monday night. At 9:09 p.m., the FBI said the suspects tried to trigger the inert explosives with a remote access code and the bomb did not go off. The five were then arrested by agents who were monitoring the group via video.

The FBI said the bombs placed at the bridge were duds.

According to the FBI, Wright, Baxter and Hayne are self-proclaimed anarchists who formed into a small group and considered a series of evolving plots over several months.

The FBI said the public was never in danger from the explosive devices, as the transaction was handled by an undercover FBI employee.

“The safety of the citizens of the Northern District of Ohio is and continues to be our primary focus. The individuals charged in this plot were intent on using violence to press their ideological views,” said Stephen Anthony, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge.

According to a spokeswoman from the Ohio Department of Transportation, 13,610 vehicles travel over the Route 82 bridge each day.

The National Park Service estimates 2.161 million visitors to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park each year.

The FBI said the group has been plotting to target various landmarks in the region. One involved the use of smoke grenades on the Veterans Memorial Bridge to distract law enforcement in order for the co-conspirators to topple financial institution signs atop high-rise buildings in downtown Cleveland.

The affidavit said the FBI learned two of the suspects in the bomb plot thought doing some kind of attack during the opening of the new casino would make a good statement.

The court document also details a conversation an FBI source allegedly had with Baxter and Wright on March 28, discussing bridge targets. They said blowing up a bridge would cause a lot of financial damage.

via FBI arrests five people who allegedly tried to blow up Brecksville bridge.

Demonization of Anarchism

In addition to a continuation of undercover informants and FBI-manufactured plots, this case also reflects on an-going focus on demonizing anarchists.

The government’s press release proclaims that the defendants are “self-proclaimed anarchists.” The affidavit notes that they attended anarchist protests and carried anarchist flags.

The affidavit also says that the defendants talked about anarchists “rioting and destroying each city” that holds May Day protests, and that it will be “off the hook.”

Demonizing anarchists has gone one for over a century, of course, but in recent years the rhetoric has dovetailed with “War on Terrorism” hysteria.

For example, in Scott Demuth’s case, the government argued that: “Defendant’s writings, literature, and conduct suggest that he is an anarchist and associated with the ALF movement. Therefore, he is a domestic terrorist.”

In another case, the government sought a high cash bond against environmentalist Hugh Farrell because “the defendant has been observed advocating literature and materials which advocate anarchy.”

It should come as no surprise, then, that the announcement of these arrests was carefully unveiled yesterday, so that the top news story this May Day would not be about how anarchists are preventing home foreclosures, starting community gardens, teaching collective organizing skills, and re-framing class consciousness, but about how they were part of an FBI-guided “terrorist plot.”

this report from  Green is the New Red

Tennessee legislature bans affection between humans

In Tennessee politicians continue to try and legislate morality, instead of making reality-based decisions to address social problems such as teen pregnancy and STDs, with depressing if predictable results: Tennessee ranks 8th worst in the nation for teenage pregnancy. In fact, states with abstinence-only policies ranked dead last.

via the Tennessean. Newsclip clipped from WSMV in Nashville on 4/27/12(viewable from link below).

Legislation banning teachers from promoting or condoning “gateway sexual activity” is headed to the governor’s desk after approval by the state House of Representatives on Friday.

The bill, which passed the full Senate earlier this month, would require all state sexual education classes to “exclusively and emphatically” promote abstinence while banning teachers from promoting any form of “gateway sexual activity.” The latter term, which has garnered national media attention and been lampooned by comedian Stephen Colbert, is not specifically defined in the bill.

The vote was 68-23, with all but one Republican for it.

gateway sexual activity is not defined, but examples from the debate include hand-holding and hugs.

much thanks to crooks and liars for this story

via Tennessee House Passes ‘Gateway Sexual Activity’ Bill | Video Cafe.

Mexican Journo covering drug trafficking murdered

Regina Martinez, a correspondent with Proceso magazine has been found apparently strangled to death. Her body was discovered inside the bathroom of her house in Xalapa, the capital of Veracruz, on Saturday, April 28.

Martinez had worked for numerous media houses, in a career spanning more than three decades. The senior journalist appeared to have been severely beaten up and strangled. It was on receiving an anonymous tip off about a dead body, that emergency services personnel found Martinez’s body around 6 p.m inside her house.

Javier Duarte, Veracruz Governor immediately ordered the setting up of a special commission to determine who killed the reporter. The Governor was quoted by La Jornada newspaper as telling Proceso Executives and the Martinez family in a statement that the commission would help in shedding light on the reprehensible act. Duarte also expressed his shock and outrage at the reporter’s murder and pledged all the effort and the work of justice so that the crime did not go unpunished.

Meanwhile, a statement released by the local government states that the commission will include reporter Jorge Carrasco, who is a colleague of Martinez working for Proceso magazine. A request will also be made to get support from the Attorney General’s Office, and State and National Human Rights Commissions.

Statistics with regard to media personnel in Mexico is indeed alarming. This Latin American nation is considered the world’s second most dangerous country for the media fraternity. Nearly 80 scribes have been found murdered and many more have disappeared since 2000. Last year itself nine journalists were found murdered in Mexico, informed the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), in a statement released in January.

Journalists like Martinez are considered a thorn in the thriving drug smuggling business, as the lady wrote often about sensitive issues like drug trafficking. Naturally, journalists like her have been increasingly targeted in recent years by the drug trafficking cartel and other organized crime gangs, particularly in northern Mexico, resulting in dangerous consequences.

via Mexican Journo covering drug trafficking murdered – Commission set-up.