Help the Strike Debt’s #RollingJubilee go viral. Help forgive millions of dollars of debt from countless people drowning in their circumstances.
Find out more here.
capricious yet constant, like the sea.
welcome to this collection of my and others' ideas to improve the world.
occupy everywhere but find me in Chicago
explore my brain:
November152012
July222012
Anaheim police murder sparks protest as officers respond with more brutality
July 22, 2012A police shooting that left a man dead led to a near riot Saturday as angry witnesses threw bottles at officers who responded with tear gas and beanbag rounds.
Protesters stormed the police department shouting, “No justice, no peace!” and “Cops, pigs, murderers” as officers stood by.
The man was shot around 4 p.m. in front of an apartment complex on the 600 block of North Anna Drive following a foot chase, Anaheim Sgt. Bob Dunn said. He died three hours later at a hospital.
The Orange County Register cited family members and neighbors who said the man shot was Manuel Diaz. Dunn said he could not confirm the man’s name early Sunday.
His niece, 16-year-old Daisy Gonzalez, said her uncle likely ran away from officers when they approached him because of his past experience with law enforcement. “He (doesn’t) like cops. He never liked them because all they do is harass and arrest anyone,” Gonzalez said.
Residents, protesting what they say is an increased police violence against them in the community, started the near riot after the shooting on nearby La Palma.
Crystal Ventura, a 17-year-old who witnessed the shooting, told the Register the man had his back to the officer. She said the man was shot in the buttocks area. The man then went down on his knees, and she said he was struck by another bullet in the head. Another officer handcuffed the man who by then was on the ground and not moving, Ventura said.
“They searched his pockets, and there was a hole in his head, and I saw blood on his face,” she said.
Dunn said he could not comment on these allegations because the shooting is under investigation.
Jay Jackson, reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, said Saturday night’s scene was chaotic.
The residents blocked off a street and set fire to at least one dumpster.
Earlier in the day, police in riot gear, fired rubber bullets into the crowd. Several protesters lifted their shirts to show large red welts on their torsos and backs.
One man said, “They just started shooting.”Residents told Jackson that police overreacted and created the disturbance.
Police also set a K-9 officer on one woman and a bystander they said were agitating the situation.
Said Susan Lopez, “I had my baby with me. My baby! The dog scratched me and then grabbed me.” She added, “They shot at me while I was holding a baby!” Another woman yelled, “They just shot at us, they shot at a little kid, too.”
According to police, two patrol officers observed three male suspects in an alley.
Police said the suspects tried to flee on foot when a chase ensued.
The shooting reportedly occurred after one of the officers encountered one of the suspects in a courtyard.
No officers were injured.
The other two suspects are at-large.
Dunn said, “What exactly led to the shooting, we don’t know. We’re still investigating. But a shooting did occur. And the male was taken to a hospital.”
Authorities said the circumstances regarding the shooting were under investigation by members of the gangs unit and Orange County District Attorney’s office.
Four people told Jackson that police offered to buy their cell phone video.
11PM
TRIGGER WARNING: violence, police brutality
Anaheim police open fire (non-lethal bullets) on a group of mostly women and children who had gathered following an officer-involved shooting (resulting in the death of a local man) in the neighborhood. A police canine was also released on the primarily Latino crowd and attacked a woman and her baby. Police offered to buy videos off of those who had recorded the brutality on their cameras and phones.
June72012
from Occupy Homes in Minnesota RT, REblog, share, help.
(Phone) Call to Action! From OccupyChi to MN with love & solidarity
from Occupy Homes in Minnesota RT, REblog, share, help.
(Source: occupychi.org)
April302012
LIVE from Occupied Chicago City Hall:
Watch it unfold on Livestream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/markidemery
Follow @Plussone on Twitter for livetweets. Follow @STOPChicago @occupychicago for updates and search #SaveOurClinics #WoodlawnClinic #MentalHealthMovement
Call Mayor 1% Rahm Emanuel 312 744 3300 and tell him to Save Our Clinics
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Mental Health Movement Occupies Mayor’s Office
by Mental Health Movement on Monday, April 30, 2012 at 12:38pm ·
** BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: Patients, healthcare providers, and advocates from the Mental Health Movement have occupied the lobby outside of the Mayor’s Office. One demonstrator has been arrested so far. They say they are prepared to stay for days to draw attention to the crisis clinic closings have precipitated, and to demand a stay of execution for the clinics from Mayor Emanuel, Governor Quinn, and President Obama. **
Mon 4/30: Mental Health Movement Demonstrate at Obama Campaign HQ, State of IL Building, and Mayor’s Office to Demand All Chicago Mental Health Clinics Remain Open Speakers at 5:15pm Mayor’s Office press conference to include Dr. Quentin Young National Director of Physicians for a National Health Program former doctor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and therapists from all City mental health clinics
10:15am-Busses depart from Woodlawn Clinic 6337 S. Woodlawn or from 2339 N. Milwaukee
11am- Rally at Obama Campaign HQ 130 E. Randolph
12pm- Rally outside State of IL Building (Randolph between Clark and LaSalle)
5:15pm- Press conference on 5th floor of City Hall 121 N. LaSalle
CHICAGO 4/30 — On Monday April 30th, at 11am, the Mental Health Movement will visit Obama Campaign Headquarters to deliver what is now a global call to President Obama demanding a stay of execution for Chicago’s mental health clinics. Six of Chicago’s 12 public mental health clinics are currently being dismantled and are scheduled to be closed this month.
At 12pm the same day, the group will rally at the State of Illinois building to ask Governor Quinn to pardon the City Clinics and stop Medicaid cuts, and at 5:15pm dozens of City therapists will be joined by notable doctors including Dr. Quentin Young at a press conference at City Hall outside the Office of the Mayor to denounce the disastrous repercussions of clinic closings and health care cuts. Patients and advocates will join them to share their stories, bringing the life-and-death struggle to save Chicago’s clinics to the Mayor’s doorstep, and demanding he serve the people of Chicago by providing vital public health services to his neediest constituents.
The Mental Health Movement’s demands are to keep all 12 Chicago public mental health clinics open, fully funded, and fully staffed, and to keep Chicago’s seven primary care neighborhood clinics open and public. Patients, healthcare workers and advocates say cuts planned by Mayor Rahm Emanuel are undermining President Obama’s goals of expanding access to healthcare.
“There will be no African-American males left to provide care and therapy to that particular population after the layoffs and clinic closures. That will leave the African-American male population disconnected. It’s a difficult time already coming to therapy because of the stigma. We welcome them in, make them feel comfortable, that they did the right thing, talk about their problems and provide medication if they need it. There are a lot of uninsured people who come to the clinic and this is their last resort, but there will be nobody there to connect with them that knows their cultural background. I know the people I see, I know what they’re going through, I know this transition is already a disaster and that people need the safety net that is the City of Chicago public mental health centers,” says Steven Dyson, LCPC, a speaker at today’s press conference and a therapist at the Woodlawn Clinic who has spent 26 years with City of Chicago Mental Health Clinics.
On April 12th, 23 people - mostly patients of Chicago’s mental health clinics - were arrested barricading themselves into one of six mental health clinics that Mayor Emanuel aims to close by April 30th, 2012. Protesters have gathered 24-hours-a-day since then to call attention to the tragic consequences of closing mental health clinics. To date, 35 demonstrators have been arrested in the fight to save Chicago’s mental health clinics.
To donate to the Mental Health Movement, visit: www.tinyurl.com/mhmdonate
Mental Health Movement: www.facebook.com/SaveOurClinics || #SaveOurClinics STOP Chicago: www.stopchicago.org || @StopChicago
### ###
April122012
Chicago! Call to Action!
“The Woodlawn Mental Health Center is one of six centers that Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to close this month, disrupting and limiting access to vital services. Operated by the Chicago Department of Public Health, Woodlawn MHC has helped thousands of community residents when …they were most in need.
At a time when need for mental health services is growing, closing Woodlawn and the other five mental health clinics will leave too many people with no where to turn for help.
Join us as we honor Woodlawn Mental Health Center’s 30 years of service and remind our leaders of the devastating impacts closing this center will have on our community.
Please join us before it’s too late to help the most vulnerable in our communities!
More information: www.stopchicago.org -
At a time when need for mental health services is growing, closing Woodlawn and the other five mental health clinics will leave too many people with no where to turn for help.
Join us as we honor Woodlawn Mental Health Center’s 30 years of service and remind our leaders of the devastating impacts closing this center will have on our community.
Please join us before it’s too late to help the most vulnerable in our communities!
More information: www.stopchicago.org -
Twitter: @StopChicago –
MentalHealthMovement@gmail.com
MentalHealthMovement@gmail.com
March202012
Occupy Everywhere: (Phone) Call for Action
Call Arthur C of Chicago Realty Partners at 312 575 0100
Tell him you stand with Pat Hill of 3811 S Wabash in Chicago and support her offer to buy her home back.
For more information, see and sign petition at http://nesri.org/take-action/chicago-anti-eviction-campaign-sign-petition-save-pat-hills-home
February112012
Chicago Principles
Chicago Principles
• Our solidarity will be based on respect for a political diversity within the struggle for social, economic and environmental justice. As individuals and groups, we may choose to engage in a diversity of tactics and plans of action but are committed to treating each other with respect and working towards a common goal of peace and justice.
• As we plan our actions and tactics, we will take care to maintain appropriate separations of time and space between divergent tactics.
• We oppose any state repression of dissent, including surveillance, infiltration, disruption, limiting our action to “free speech zones,” and violence, or attempts to divide our movement through the conscious creation of divisions regarding tactics, organization, strategies, and alliances.
• Any debates or criticisms will stay internal to the movement, avoiding any public or media denunciations of fellow activists and events.
Adopted by Occupy Chicago tonight! <3
(Source: chicagomassaction.org)
January302012
The Infectious Escalation of Occupy Oakland
An unofficial count of 400 Occupy Oakland demonstrators were arrested Saturday, January 28, after being fired upon, beaten, kettled, and trapped by Oakland riot police. The Occupy Oakland social movement is rooted in the lower-income, ethnically diverse Bay area city and has been a previous site of violent police repression. Oakland has been a nexus of social unrest long before the Occupation catalyzed it as an outlet for frustration. Oakland boasts closing public schools, an annual median family income at $56,000 in 2008, and in 2010, it was listed as the fifth most dangerous in the US with a history of police brutality. With all of these simmering tensions, Occupy Oakland’s actions should not come as a surprise to anyone, least of all elected officials like Mayor Quan and Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan.
The Occupy movement is a global social demonstration aimed at overturning the interconnectivity of money/economic/political entitlement. In 2011, acting under orders from Mayor Jean Quan, Oakland cops destroyed two Occupy encampments on public land. The immediate aftermath of their and other cities police forces’ wanton destruction of the camps created dialogue about the definition of public space, the role of elected officials and the need for the Occupy movement.
Occupy Oakland furthered the debate by their attempt to re-purpose the 6-year abandoned and shuttered Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center. The convention center has no current plans for use and Occupiers intended to repurpose it as a community center, intending to offer housing, medical and convergence facilities. The simple fact that Occupy Oakland decided to enact this bold move is an indication that the public’s needs are not being met by their elected officials.
According to an eyewitness account from an arrested Mother Jones reporter, during an all-day festival, thousands of Occupy Oakland supporters demonstrated against the broken system, but did not take the abandoned convention center. Still, hundreds of police officers dressed in riot gear arrived to face down over a thousand Oakland men, women, and children as they walked the streets and sidewalks carrying signs, chanting and singing. According to the Huffington Post, there was a volley of tear gas and bottles between the police and protesters on the streets. According to various YouTube citizen video footage, the cops shot tear gas and flash bang grenades into lines of protesters, including a group of shield-carrying people protecting a medic as the masked individual provided medical assistance to a fallen man. Protesters retaliated by throwing bottles, furniture and rocks. Last year, brave men and women waded into the tear gas to rescue Scott Olsen after he was shot in the head by a tear gas canister. They were dispersed when an officer shot a canister of tear gas directly into their group.
While no one should ever attack police officers, the violence enacted against police was a reaction to violence demonstrated to them. Not even in a directly proportional sense, 
the police launched high velocity flash bangs, smoke bombs, and bean bag projectiles while a few demonstrators tossed hand-sized objects while fleeing the public street.
In Oakland, a city so rife with economic and repressive tensions, Mayor Quan and Police Chief Howard seem intent on ignoring the needs of the public and grinding them under the department-approved 5.11 ATAC boot heel. In the mainstream media, Occupy Oakland participants have been typified as the aggressive instigators when, according to citizen journalists, they were only reacting to the upswing in violent action.
Furthermore, later that Saturday, Oakland police further increased the violence when after ordering the hundreds of women and men to disperse, kept them kettled in a small area and arrested them for a range of violations, including failure to disperse. Among the arrested included journalists. The elected officials of Oakland are choosing to burn taxpayer dollars restricting freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. Instead of throwing blame like tear gas canisters or rocks, city officials should consider the upside of allowing a community organization to repurpose an abandoned structure for the betterment of their city.
Locally, in Oakland, the police and state escalated the power struggle by attending a peaceful public demonstration dressed in riot gear. Nationally, the federal government has shown up with its finest billy clubs as First Amendment-curtailing laws like NDAA are signed in to existence, regardless of public outcry.
Escalation is occurring. The state and status quo are utilizing their momentum to further increase the acceptable allowances of violence. When Occupations move to take back their rights, we are beaten, gassed, pepper sprayed, concussed, kettled, and arrested. As one of the many signs I’ve held at my Occupy Chicago rallies reads, “They only call it class warfare when we fight back,” that statement is truth. We need to keep fighting the escalation of violence. Every local occupation needs more ideas, more voices, more bodies dedicated to building a better world where public needs are met and police are not ordered to fire on their brothers and sisters.
January242012
“You lit yourself on fire on December 17, 2010, exactly nine months before Occupy Wall Street began. Your death two weeks later would be the beginning of so much. You lit yourself on fire because you were voiceless, powerless, and evidently without hope. And yet you must have had one small hope left: that your death would have an impact; that you, who had so few powers, even the power to make a decent living or protect your modest possessions or be treated fairly and decently by the police, had the power to protest.”
In light of the 1-year anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, read Rebecca Solnit’s letter to Mohammed Bouazizi. (via motherjones)
January162012
Monday, January 16
10am-3pm-Occupy Our Homes Launches City-Wide Effort To Reach Out To Homeowners Facing Foreclosure For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Location for Meeting points/Training Sessions:
WEST SIDE: 10:00 a.m: 2655 N. Melvina Avenue (a home under foreclosure).
SOUTH SIDE: 10:00 a.m: Sankofa Fight Back Center For Human Rights, 1401 E. 75th Street.
NORTH SIDE: 11:00 a.m: Rogers Park Community House, 7463 N. Ridge Blvd. A coalition of Chicago community groups begin a city-wide canvassing effort targeting homeowners facing foreclosure and the neighborhoods affected.
3:00-4:30pm
Occupy the Dream Action
Location: Jackson/LaSalle in front of the Federal Reserve
Join the Metropolitan Chicago area African-American Faith Community and Trinity UCC to protest fraudulent foreclosures and astronomical student debt. Bus transportation provided at Trinity UCC, 400 W. 95th St (boarding at 1:30pm, departing at 2pm)
4:30pm
Liberate the Southside: Re-occupation of a vacant home
Location: TBA at 3pm Rally.
Following the action at Jackson and LaSalle, we will go directly into the communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis and reclaim a boarded up home to give it to a family in need.
December152011
Hold Obama Accountable for Police State Measures
CALL TO ACTION! During the 7pm General Assembly on Wednesday Occupy Chicago passed the below proposal condemning the NDAA, which passed our bought congress earlier this week. Obama has said he will NOT veto this bill. He needs to hear from the PEOPLE before they are all locked up!
“Occupy Chicago strongly condemns the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.
(Source: occupychi.org)
December112011
Mon 12/12: West Coast Port Shutdown Victory Party!
In solidarity with the West Coast Port Shutdown, Occupy Chicago will march on Goldman Sachs, 440 S. LaSalle St., on Monday, December 12, 2011. Meet up at Jackson & LaSalle between 4pm and 4:30pm. At 4:30pm we will march to Goldman Sachs. Bring an instrument, wear your finest warm clothes, and celebrate at the Occupy Victory Dance Party in front of Goldman Sachs. A celebration of the shutdown that will inevitably cost them millions. Let’s take the fight directly to the 1%.
Show support and solidarity for the hard work and coordination our fellow Occupations are accomplishing. Remember when the elite drank their cocktails laughing at Occupiers from balconies in New York, and from the Art Institute on 10/10/11? Now, it’s our tur n~
We are calling on supporters to dress fancy and engage in political theater resembling an exaggeration of an elite cocktail party. We will be wearing monocles, tophats, (get creative!), and toasting sparkling juice in champagne flutes (or paper cups) while passing out literature laying out grievances against Goldman Sachs. All of this while dancing and carrying on a ruckus in celebration of the financial losses incurred by Goldman Sachs as a result of The West Coast Occupations’ Port Shutdown.
Show support and solidarity for the hard work and coordination our fellow Occupations are accomplishing. Remember when the elite drank their cocktails laughing at Occupiers from balconies in New York, and from the Art Institute on 10/10/11? Now, it’s our tur n~
We are calling on supporters to dress fancy and engage in political theater resembling an exaggeration of an elite cocktail party. We will be wearing monocles, tophats, (get creative!), and toasting sparkling juice in champagne flutes (or paper cups) while passing out literature laying out grievances against Goldman Sachs. All of this while dancing and carrying on a ruckus in celebration of the financial losses incurred by Goldman Sachs as a result of The West Coast Occupations’ Port Shutdown.
(Source: occupychi.org)
← Older entries
Page 1 of 2
