Protest Reports
Greetings from Occupy DC! Jan & I are here for the first day of the occupation of Washington in Freedom Plaza along with about 500+ others & more coming every minute. The mood is high & it is interesting to see the mix of people, ages, etc. ComFest commitment to consensus serves us well here--though these people are kinder to one another--lol.
People are here from as far away as Hawaii. A big group fro Occupy LA. There are people here from Occupy Cincinnati (kicking off next week) & Cleveland (already in progress). Where the hell is Cbus? The most progressive city in Ohio (arguably) is rep'd by me & Jan only--so far that we know of. WISH YOU WERE HERE!
Music today evoked Phil Ochs in more ways than one: first of all some of the songs are "typical" smart, acerbic, sarcastic Ochs style songs--("The last veteran of the Lincoln[brigade] has died...") & in some cases they just sang Phil's songs. A guy here is writing a book about Ochs & took Jan's email, looking for people who knew him when (at OSU)...
People are here from as far away as Hawaii. A big group fro Occupy LA. There are people here from Occupy Cincinnati (kicking off next week) & Cleveland (already in progress). Where the hell is Cbus? The most progressive city in Ohio (arguably) is rep'd by me & Jan only--so far that we know of. WISH YOU WERE HERE!
Music today evoked Phil Ochs in more ways than one: first of all some of the songs are "typical" smart, acerbic, sarcastic Ochs style songs--("The last veteran of the Lincoln[brigade] has died...") & in some cases they just sang Phil's songs. A guy here is writing a book about Ochs & took Jan's email, looking for people who knew him when (at OSU)...
Posted on September 30, 2011 by NYCGA. This document was accepted by the NYC General Assembly on september 29, 2011
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
Last night Madrid's city centre offered a glimpse of what Western democracies have become, as thousands of unarmed nonviolent civilians with their hands up in the air shouting "these are our weapons" and "this is a dictatorship" were beaten by police commandos in full riot gear. This event was the culmination of a month of intense mobilizations across the country by the popular movement known as the 'Indignados'. People, whom despite being ignored by the government have made their voices heard, as banking cartels, European bureaucrats, rating agencies and the country's elites continue in their frantic push to sell-off Spain's remaining public wealth, and persist in the implementation of drastic cuts to the welfare state.
On Friday the 27th of May, five days after an overwhelming victory by centre-right political parties in the local and regional elections across Spain, the country woke up to the bitter reality of how nonviolent movements calling for economic democracy, political justice and peace are going to be dealt with by the country’s police forces in this new era of right-wing political dominance.
Just twenty-four hours after Spain’s largest telecom company, Telefonica, announced a new round of layoffs affecting 8500 people, 25% of the work force, and as the G8 is meeting in Deauville, France, to discuss amongst other things the discontent sweeping across Europe, the Catalan police force – the Mossos d’Esquadra – following orders from the Town Hall’s new Catalan Nationalist Party (CiU) government, surrounded the nonviolent citizens camped at the Plaza Cataluña in Barcelona’s city centre. Armed with full riot gear, batons and machine-guns with rubber bullets, the police kettled in the protestors, making it impossible for them to leave or others to enter.
Just twenty-four hours after Spain’s largest telecom company, Telefonica, announced a new round of layoffs affecting 8500 people, 25% of the work force, and as the G8 is meeting in Deauville, France, to discuss amongst other things the discontent sweeping across Europe, the Catalan police force – the Mossos d’Esquadra – following orders from the Town Hall’s new Catalan Nationalist Party (CiU) government, surrounded the nonviolent citizens camped at the Plaza Cataluña in Barcelona’s city centre. Armed with full riot gear, batons and machine-guns with rubber bullets, the police kettled in the protestors, making it impossible for them to leave or others to enter.
The House of Representatives in the Ohio state legislature passed Kasich's state budget on Thursday, May 5. A rally for Good Jobs and Strong Communities protested the budget.
A contingent of demonstrators started marching to the Statehouse from OSU campus at 15th and High Street.
A contingent of demonstrators started marching to the Statehouse from OSU campus at 15th and High Street.
On April 7th, I joined 4000 other pro-choice activists for the 2011 Stand Up for Women’s Health rally in Washington, D.C. Organized by Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-choice America and a myriad of partners, the importance of the rally is likely quite clear to Free Press readers. The existence of a strategic legislative assault against the reproductive rights of female-bodied Americans can hardly be denied, as we in Ohio watch with apprehension as local Republicans debate our civil liberties in the guise of protecting human life. We watch as Republicans parade the “testimony†of fetuses before an elected body while the women carrying those fetuses remain silent on the stand. We watch, and many of us have decided to act. 200 pro-choice activists from across the state of Ohio filled three buses chartered by Planned Parenthood and drove through the night to reach Capitol Hill in time to lobby for reproductive rights and participate in the day’s main event, a rally on the Capitol lawn.
Several events over the past week proved that all elements of the central Ohio community are joining together to advocate against SB5. On Monday, the King Arts Complex hosted a Jobs with Justice event to address the attacks on public workers and to commemorate the date Dr. King was assassinated. Tuesday April 5 found another Statehouse rally to call attention to the un-family friendly legislation by the Republican legislatore. On April 9 at the Ohio Statehouse, people representing a variety of labor unions and public workplaces gathered by the thousands to call for a referendum against SB5.
Here are some photos of SB5 protestors at Kasich's house on Tuesday, March 15.
Last Tuesday, 3/8, was touted as Gov. Kasich’s State of the State address, compete was huge speakers outside the statehouse to broadcast his speech to a huge expected crowd.
This day, however, belonged to the workers!
The walls of the statehouse literally shook, as thousands of workers, in hard hats & gear, marched to the capital grounds following a delegation of bagpipes and drums. They were there protesting the attempt by Gov. Kasich and Republicans to take bargaining rights aways from public workers in Ohio. Chants of “Kill the Bill,” & “We Are What Democracy Looks Like,” swept the crowd. Union flags and banners, many dating from the founding of the locals, spotted the entire march.
Diana Jackson, who formerly worked for the soon to be privatized Ohio Development Commission, said that she had “no idea how strong we are, together.”
“I just cannot believe that the people of Ohio will sit ultimately let this happen. We’ve worked too long and too hard to develop decent living standards for our people. This guy just wants to give it all away to billionaires!”
This day, however, belonged to the workers!
The walls of the statehouse literally shook, as thousands of workers, in hard hats & gear, marched to the capital grounds following a delegation of bagpipes and drums. They were there protesting the attempt by Gov. Kasich and Republicans to take bargaining rights aways from public workers in Ohio. Chants of “Kill the Bill,” & “We Are What Democracy Looks Like,” swept the crowd. Union flags and banners, many dating from the founding of the locals, spotted the entire march.
Diana Jackson, who formerly worked for the soon to be privatized Ohio Development Commission, said that she had “no idea how strong we are, together.”
“I just cannot believe that the people of Ohio will sit ultimately let this happen. We’ve worked too long and too hard to develop decent living standards for our people. This guy just wants to give it all away to billionaires!”
A BURGESS BULLETIN- 2/23/11
With polls showing 61% of Americans supporting public employees’ right to bargain collectively, the Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up Wednesday morning at the Local 413 Teamsters Hall to help the crowd of union members and community leaders shout and chant their agreement, and their opposition to Republican attempts to take away those rights. It was vintage Jackson —excellent insights into the workings of our economic and political systems, punctuated with slogans, some brilliant, all irresistible:
I know you’re tired, “One day more! One day more!”
“ Egypt learned from us…They were disciplined and peaceful.”
“Collective bargaining, not collective begging! Collective bargaining, not collective begging!”
“It’s not just about bargaining. It’s not just about Democrats. It’s about democracy!”
On the “misadventures” in Iraq and Afghanistan : “We love the soldiers, but not the veterans.”
“Keep hope alive! Keep hope alive! Keep hope alive!”
With polls showing 61% of Americans supporting public employees’ right to bargain collectively, the Rev. Jesse Jackson showed up Wednesday morning at the Local 413 Teamsters Hall to help the crowd of union members and community leaders shout and chant their agreement, and their opposition to Republican attempts to take away those rights. It was vintage Jackson —excellent insights into the workings of our economic and political systems, punctuated with slogans, some brilliant, all irresistible:
I know you’re tired, “One day more! One day more!”
“ Egypt learned from us…They were disciplined and peaceful.”
“Collective bargaining, not collective begging! Collective bargaining, not collective begging!”
“It’s not just about bargaining. It’s not just about Democrats. It’s about democracy!”
On the “misadventures” in Iraq and Afghanistan : “We love the soldiers, but not the veterans.”
“Keep hope alive! Keep hope alive! Keep hope alive!”