Category: Mischief Managed

Occupy Fear and Loathing / Update ~ Santa Rosa

by Gabrielle Price

MIC CHECK!!!

We have not reached bat country yet – but have had the most amazing chance encounters while having the truck worked on here in Santa Rosa, California.

On December 17th, my intern and I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Mr. Michael C. Ruppert at his home before heading back to Santa Rosa for truck repairs.  Footage is being edited as I type this and a teaser video is coming your way.

Last night, while waiting to hear back about the truck – we visited a local coffee shop owned by a family in the area.  We came across a local publication called the Sonoma County Peace Press, with the words “Why Occupy?” on the cover, Published by the Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County.  After chatting with the coffee shop owners we found out the offices for the Peace & Justice center were within walking distance.

Arran walked down to ask if they would be interested in doing an interview with us and they were having a meeting.  We went down about half an hour later and sat in on a personal introduction session – where everyone shared some personal history about what brought them to the occupy movement.  It was very a very enlightening and emotional experience.

It was announced that the General Assembly was about to begin at the Santa Rosa City Hall grounds.  Several from this group left to attend and we walked toward City Hall a few blocks away to attend and take photos.

Much of the discussion focused on fundraising, with one of the ladies in the group sporting a handmade knit hat with the initials OSR [Occupy Santa Rosa] which is available for sale.

A spokesperson with the group that I had met at the Peace & Justice center, gave me the floor to announce our intent with the occupy Fear and Loathing media tour and to explain our predicament with the truck and the need for a safe place for the night.  The other spokesperson, Jackie, a former police officer, offered her home up for us to stay.

Jackie was scheduled to attend a meeting/discussion at a place called the Share Exchange, where there was a well known author who had been invited to talk about transition.  It was standing room only, however, so we grabbed some food nearby until we heard back that we could come in.  It was packed.

We had missed most of the discussion but found that many people in the room were highly in tune with the occupy movement and the transition movement.  The owner of the store explained how every product in the exchange was from local artisans, crafters and photographers only.  The tagline for the store is “…incubating the local community.”  It’s intent is to create local jobs, support local entrepreneurs and hosting events in a cowork space to encourage collaboration, resource sharing and to act as a regional model.

Jackie introduced us to several other people there and an announcement was made that a couple attending needed a place to stay with their young daughter.  Jackie immediately volunteered her home again as she made a connection with the little girl who was happily chatting up everyone in the store.

The evening ended with a caravan of us following Jackie to her home, nestled behind a green market in Healdsburg.  We shared a late meal and loads of interesting conversation with the folks who stayed with us.  One, a local builder and the couple; a Romanian storyteller and his wife and daughter.  We talked about everything from permaculture to mythology, to peak water and disaster capitalism.

Never before have I met such gracious, loving and intelligent people in one place, at one time, on one journey, with one collective mindset.

We all work for Gaia.  We all see what’s coming.  We are all working to prepare the ground for which we hope to see our children and grandchildren walk upon.  People realize that it will look much different than it does now or how it has looked in the past.  This is a frightening realization to many who have not begun to ask important questions, who have been asleep and have placed blind faith in a system that does not care for them or their future; let alone the future of this planet.

Every person involved in this movement should be looking within to ask if they are walking the path of their soul purpose, if their actions continue to keep the status quo in power.  Because make no mistake ~ a movement of the people is inherently a movement rooted in spirit.  This movement is bubbling up like a geyser and its spirit cannot be broken.

I’ll be sharing more details about this trip in the documentary film we’re making.  Please make a donation or purchase anything on this site so we may continue this work for the 99%.  For YOU.

Stay tuned for film teasers and more updates!
SOLIDARITY
Namaste ~ Gabrielle

New TV Report: INSIDE OCCUPY WALL ST

Guest post by Danny Schechter 
[via OwsNews Service]

I am Danny Schechter, known as the News Dissector.  I am a blogger (NewsDissector.com), Filmmaker (PlundertheCrimeofOurTime.com) and fellow troublemaker.

I am a former producer for CNN and ABC News and even did a stint at CNBC. But these networks are not open to independent perspectives, even from former employees and award-winning professional producers.  I had to go to Iran’s Press TV to find interest to make a short documentary about HOW Occupied Wall Street operates on the ground at Zuccotti Park.

Here’s my program that has already been on TV all over the world — but not in my own country.  What does that say about our media?  Most mainstream media, alas, serves the 1%, not the American people.

From Press TV : Occupy Wall Street had just celebrated its 30th day in the park. On Saturday, it inspired solidarity actions in 1000 cities and that is considered as an incredible achievement.

We have heard a lot about what they stand for but not how they organized to make this happen.  This occupation runs like a village with lots of participation from a diverse group of articulate people.

“Behind the scenes of occupy Wall Street is an organization that is pretty invisible. It is decentralized,  it’s bottom up and it’s organized into working committees,” editor of the Mediachannel.org, Danny Schechter says.

In this edition of the show we will take you behind the scenes of Occupy Wall Street to show you how it all works.

Guest post : Occupy Portland

Arran Edmonstone of the Love Police Cascadia and The Refreshment Center speaks with the 99% helping in the liberation of Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon.

 

 

America’s Wake Up Call / Oh say…can YOU see?

Take into consideration, Hillary’s words regarding free speech and freedom of assembly during the uprising in the Middle East.  That same week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a major address calling for internet freedom around the world.  As Clinton condemned the Egyptian and Iranian governments for arresting and beating protesters, former U.S. Army and CIA officer Ray McGovern was violently ejected from the audience and arrested after he stood up and turned his back in a silent protest of America’s foreign policy.


More at Democracy Now!

BBC Does It Again: “In The Absence Of A Credible Plan We Will Have A Global Financial Meltdown In Two To Three Weeks” / IMF Advisor

[Guest post from Zerohedge’s Tyler Durden.  This is a site that has continually kept a finger on the pulse of the market – as savvy as they are, they see how it now behaves like a wild animal and to that end, realize what is normal/abnormal and also unprecedented.  Their traffic has grown exponentially over the course of the last few months and when this post was listed as top story today – the link would not post a preview, nor would the link properly function (in fact, it jumped to Obama’s jobs speech post, incredulously).  In the spirit of sharing much needed information – I present it here, unedited. ~ G]
A week after the BBC exploded Alessio Rastani to the stage, it has just done it all over again.  In an interview with IMF advisor Robert Shapiro, the bailout expert has pretty much said what, once again, is on everyone’s mind: “If they can not address [the financial crisis] in a credible way I believe within perhaps 2 to 3 weeks we will have a meltdown in sovereign debt which will produce a meltdown across the European banking system.  We are not just talking about a relatively small Belgian bank, we are talking about the largest banks in the world, the largest banks in Germany, the largest banks in France, that will spread to the United Kingdom, it will spread everywhere because the global financial system is so interconnected.  All those banks are counterparties to every significant bank in the United States, and in Britain, and in Japan, and around the world.  This would be a crisis that would be in my view more serrious than the crisis in 2008…. What we don’t know the state of credit default swaps held by banks against sovereign debt and against European banks, nor do we know the state of CDS held by British banks, nor are we certain of how certain the exposure of British banks is to the Ireland sovereign debt problems.”
But no, Morgan Stanley does, or so they swear an unlimited number of times each day.  And they say not to worry about anything because, you see, it is not like they have any upside in telling anyone the truth.  Which is why for everyone hung up on the latest rumor of a plan about a plan about a plan spread by a newspaper whose very viability is tied in with that of the banks that pay for its advertising revenue, we have one thing to ask: “show us the actual plan please.”  Because it is easy to say “recapitalize” this, and “bad bank” that.  In practice, it is next to impossible.  So yes, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy this brief relief rally driven by the fact that China is offline for the week and that the persistent source of overnight selling on Chinese “hard/crash landing” concerns has been gone simply due to an extended national holiday.  Well, that holiday is coming to an end.
By the way, Reuters, Shapiro is not a Yes Man – we’ll spare you the ruminations.