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Syndicate
moved...
Rabble article by Gail Davidson, from Lawyers Against The War:
Occupy Vancouver the safest place for abandoned people
Removal of the tents from the public square on the north side of VAG would deny the Occupy Vancouver people their Charter-protected right to publicly protest and to engage in public education and debate on the quickening erosion of the most basic freedoms. It would also expose the vulnerable residents of Occupy Vancouver to greater harm.
I thought I would bring this forward to the next thread. Gail is right of course. The only protection for the Occupy sites is for far more people than have been there to date to arrive as reinforcements. There is no right to protest in Canada. There is merely a right to protest until told to stop by a court. They make the laws to chain us well.
one small thing ...
So I signed a petition to City of Vancouver, which says:
"The supporters of Occupy Vancouver need to make their voices known. The City is preparing an injunction on the grounds of health and safety. We all know this is a political issue. We're calling on the city to support democracy in action.
Occupy Vancouver is part of a growing worldwide movement to brings governments back to the people. We oppose systemic inequality, militarization, environmental destruction, and the erosion of civil liberties and human rights. We seek economic security, genuine equality, and the protection of the environment for all. We can not be at the Vancouver Art Gallery but we believe in this movement. We are also voters. We call on the city to:
1. Stop bowing to political pressure to remove the camp and acknowledge that a political protest is protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
2. Acknowledge that the City is playing politics with health and safety and the VFD is being used to pursue the political goal of rem oving the camp before the election.
3. Recognize that encampments are integral to Occupy Vancouver and the movement as a whole. Talk of splitting the two is a disingenuous way to split the issue. The protest is the encampment is the movement.
4. Acknowledge that Vancouver, like many other cities, has numerous citizens who are disenfranchised and addicted to drugs.
5. Acknowledge that people overdose and die on the streets of Vancouver every day.
6. Follow the lead of Irvine, California and Los Angeles, California and endorse the occupation."
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
http://signon.org/sign/i-support-occupy-vancouver-1?source=s.fwd&r_by=1530134[/quote]
Coalition of so-called progressive electors issues mealy-mouthed statement of support for Occupy Vancouver
They support the "goals and message" of the Occupy movement, but nowhere do they support the legal and moral right of the occupiers to remain undisturbed by the City and the cops.
They want city officials to "work carefully" to ensure the health and safety of the Occupy Vancouver demonstrators - which of course is what the city officials are saying is their true objective in ousting the demonstrators! COPE is saying, in effect, "be careful not to hurt anyone as you break up their protest".
And by expressing support for "taking this movement beyond the Vancouver Art Gallery" COPE is in effect telling the demonstrators to pack up and go home.
COPE supports Mayor Robertson's bid for re-election, so they don't want to say anything against his assault on the Occupy movement and its rights to protest.
..yesterday i arrive at the occupy from the howe and granville near 6pm. i see a firetruck parked near a vehicle entrance to the art gallery/occupy. i head over to it to see what's going on. there's firemen and other people standing around talking but not to each other. there is no sense of emergency. this must be a new fixture. i decide to go see what's on the hornby st. side. i first see 2 policemen standing and talking. i see another firetruck parked across the street. in font of it were 2 smaller fire dept trucks. i look away for a moment and look back. the policemen are gone. were did they go i wonder and look down the block. the cops are now talking to fire dept people outside a fire command vehicle (a specialized motor home). wow i'm thinking big time bucks being spent = big time crisis to get rid of the occupiers.
..i'm in time for open mike another hour to assembly. there are about 30 maybe 40 people standing around, there's a woman at the mike who has a mission. she's telling the occupation that they are waisting there time and that they are stupid. there are 2 young girls cheering her on and videoing her. next up is a 1st nations woman who sang a couple songs. then came a guy who was a member of the bcgeu and worked for the gov. he spoke of his low wage and the length of time since his last increase. He said he was a born again christian and that he was not like sarah palin. and that all born agains should come and support the occupy. a poem was read, a nurse spoke out a warning saying that there was a black heron going on that is leading to people dying. and more until it was time for assembly.
..there are around 100 people and it begins with some exercises, breathing and the kind that shakes your body around. then reports from committees:
health and safety (under discussion)
buddy system when using. if you don't have one come to the info tent and you will be provided one.
tent checks
provide a space for users to use. none judgemental. no one has ever died using at incite.
infrastructure and finances
in answer to how will we ever survive the winter. reports on big tents housing little tents will make things warmer and dryer. more of the total occupy area is being covered in everyday. creating dry spaces to eat, talk and enjoy yourself.
we have succeed in getting a bank account under the name occupy vancouver. it was tricky but van city credit union created a first. we have over $5000 in that account and another $2000 coming in from pay pal
..there was more reports but these caught my attention the most.
..the assembly then dealt with a motion to adopt a letter that would go out to the media and the internet re the death of ashlie gough. the 2 people who blocked spoke then another person who was ashlie's friend. what came trough was the family did not want the death to be used for political purposes and that ashlie was not a part of the movement. the motion was withdrawn.
..a native woman in a scooter came forward to ask for a moment of silence and to speak about the death of ashlie and others. she spoke about an event that occurred today. a collaboration of indigenous people and occupy vancouver. it called for unity in opposing the enbridge pipeline and mining. and how the native community came out in numbers she hadn't seen in a long while.
..and much much more. occupy vancouver is alive and well!
edit
deleted
Man, the municipal debate tonight between Gregor Robertson and Suzanne Anton was a shitshow.
The Occupy protesters, over the course of the evening, kept drowning out the debate to the point that sometimes even the audience members asking questions couldn't finish their sentences. Reverend Gary Paterson (Tim Stevenson's husband) played a very effective and sympathetic dialogue role with the protestors in getting them to have more respect for the space (the debate was in a United Church), but at a certain point in the evening his patience was incredibly tested. When some of the shouters even suggested they'd riot if they couldn't get all their questions answered (and the debate had already run overtime), he actually went so far as to sing until the protestors would quiet down. A number of people who walked into that room quite sympathetic to the Occupy movement walked out hanging their heads in shame.
The traditional institutions of the state, churches included, are obviously unacquainted with having their voices drowned out and silenced. We usually find the reverse, in that such limitations are ordinarily imposed upon the everyday experience of the many who have come to invest some of their hope into this movement. It's the various manifestations of power who typically dispense silence and drowning.
Occupy Vancouver: Government by InjunctionHowever, in my humble opinion, using the civil court processes of injunction orders coupled with the prospect of contempt of court sanctions to control public behaviour is a wrongful abdication of responsibility.
The United Church is hardly a "traditional institution of the state"...
The majority of the audience - dare I say nearly 99% - was there to listen to rational debate, not a vigilante mob. The protestors did not win any friends last night, that's for sure. For a movement that proclaims to represent the masses, this was not a step in the right direction.
Also the problem with the "people's mic" in a cavernous church is, a few dozen screaming voices in approximate unison does not comprehensible speech make. Most of the room was unable to make out any meaning from the noise and offers to take questions from the same group were met with only more screaming. The overall effect was to drown out one discourse without actually adding any discernible contribution.
I'm thinking it wasn't the protestors who made a farce of the mayor election, in which both leading opposing candidates first made a wedge issue out of the occupation and then duly agreed with each other to evict them. All this cynically based on the overdose death of a young woman in a neighbourhood in which more than 60 such deaths happen each year. Then the 25% or so of eligible voters who actually vote in civic elections wring their hands about hearing the "debate" on homelessness. Pope could write no better satire.
I had wondered what would be the means by which the Occupy movement will eventually have to end or move away from its current form. I'm now pretty sure it's going to consist of a growing split between people who give precedence to the ideas and people who give precedence to the physical setup of tents. The former has the potential to bring more public opinion onside and perhaps even lead to substantial change. The latter is going to bleed away support until none is left.
I'm thinking it wasn't the protestors who made a farce of the mayor election, in which both leading opposing candidates first made a wedge issue out of the occupation and then duly agreed with each other to evict them. All this cynically based on the overdose death of a young woman in a neighbourhood in which more than 60 such deaths happen each year. Then the 25% or so of eligible voters who actually vote in civic elections wring their hands about hearing the "debate" on homelessness. Pope could write no better satire.
I know it's bad form to quote entire posts when one has little to add, but this one merits an exception. Nothing to add.
I don't understand that at all. It seems to me that the antagonism to the tents is completely superficial--as if those now objecting are relieved that they have a publicly acceptable reason to abandon the protest, irrespective of the actual logic of the objection. The anxiety piqued by the possibility of change now dissolved, they can return to the warm embrace of ideology.
ETA. Cross-posted with Unionist. *blush*
If there is anything I learned last night, it's that Vancouver's mental health crisis is definitely more profound than I could have imagined.
It's impossible for me to "abandon the movement" when it was never mine to start with. I am simply incompatible with any movement where only the people who shout loudest get to make the decisions. Perhaps it is not surprising that I shy away from violently agitated people, as someone matching those same adjectives once stabbed me twice in the back slightly more than two years ago. I'm not keen to relive that experience, whether for real or as a trigger.
Warm embrace of ideology sounds much nicer to me.
The only protection for the Occupy sites is for far more people than have been there to date to arrive as reinforcements.
One major obstacle to a large show of solidarity for Occupy Vancouver is that the major unions in this city are all backing Vision Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson's reelection bid. They are unlikely to come out and show support for Occupy Vancouver at this juncture.
The official noon-time rally of last week's CUPE national convention, denouncing greed, corporatism, and income inequality, was specifically NOT held at Occupy Vancouver, but rather on the plaza outside the Vancouver Convention Centre. 500 CUPE members did then march up to Occupy Vancouver, but this action was NOT supported by the CUPE leadership.
[edit: I originally posted the erroneous claim that CUPE had not endorsed Occupy Vancouver. I heard this from a friend, who heard it from CUPE members. I have since heard from another friend who is herself a CUPE member that the union has endorsed Occupy Vancouver and has sent them a $5000.00 cheque. I apologize to any members of CUPE who were offended by my original claim.]
Yesterday I wrote an open letter to Gregor Robertson in response to his November 6th statement on Occupy. I encourage everyone who is concerned by the similarities between Anton and Robertson's pro-business, anti-justice platforms to consider doing the same.
I don't want to post the letter in its entirety here as it is a page long, but it can be viewed at www.ktrascal.com
I thought it was moreso an endorsement of the COPE/Vision allince, and the belief that Gregor Roberston is the lesser of 2 evils and that the left will have more sway under him than under the NPA, as opposed to outright endorsing Vision per se?
I don't want to post the letter in its entirety here as it is a page long, but it can be viewed at www.ktrascal.com
Outstanding, ktrascsal! Thanks for sharing.
I don't want to post the letter in its entirety here as it is a page long, but it can be viewed at www.ktrascal.com
Outstanding, ktrascsal! Thanks for sharing.
Didn't Vancouver vote out the NPA in 2008? From what has been happening according to this letter, it doesn't sound that way to me.
It's ashame, because this particular protest actually made demands, and, relative to populist sentiment, a good list of them, too:
http://www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20111104/bc_occupy_vancouver_demands_111104/20111104?hub=BritishColumbiaHome&utm_source=ctvbc.ca
A draft list of "demands" has emerged on the Occupy Vancouver website, with 60 items ranging from the closure of tax loopholes for the wealthy to the release of non-violent prisoners.
The authors of the list, which was posted Friday on the website's message board, are not named, but it is said to have been compiled over the course of several days by members of the Occupy general assembly.
Occupy Vancouver press liaison Sarah Beuhler told ctvbc.ca that the list is "definitely not official," and was formed by a group of about six individuals.
"Certain people found it very important that a list of demands be generated, though others disagreed," Beuhler said.
"I have personally heard a lot of discontentment with this particular list, in that it's not particularly well-crafted and it seemed to have some people's pet issues on it."
Beuhler confirmed that the list was written by members of the general assembly, but said that body includes anyone who chooses to protest at the site. She estimated between 200 and 300 people show up on a daily basis.
An official list of demands could be voted on in the future, Beuhler added, and would likely be boiled down to a few key issues that a majority of the general assembly could agree on.
The so-called "draft list" appears below in its entirety:
Rough Draft of Demands for Occupy Vancouver
In sum, we demand the creation of a just and sustainable society.
If we remove too many demands from the final version we risk having an unjust and unsustainable society. That is unacceptable .
Economic demands
1. We demand that the wealthiest 1% pay their fair share by the closing of tax loopholes such as dark pools of liquidity and employer-side payroll taxes. Progressive taxation principles must prevail, income from capital must be taxed at the same level as wage income.
2. We demand that the banks be nationalized and limit interest payments to 1%. The Board of Directors of the Bank of Canada and top tier of management must now include at least 50% representatives for Labor/wage earners and the balance must contain a mix of academics, as well as business people. The mandate of the Bank of Canada must now include the pursuit of low unemployment in addition to low inflation. (An alternative demand to nationalization of the banks is: "We demand a cap on interest rates at 5% plus prime.")
3. We demand that crimes committed by banks and corporations be prosecuted more rigorously – a dedicated justice fund for white-collar crimes must be created. Canadian corporations must also be held accountable for crimes (such as bribery and pollution) committed abroad.
4. We demand that all income tax for those who make less than the living wage be eliminated.
5. We demand that a "ministry of whistle-blowing" be created with the power to protect any whistle blower – corporate or otherwise – from harm of any kind. We need to be able to safely call attention to injustice. Previous failed attempts to do this should be learned from.
6. We demand a higher minimum wage – one that equals a living wage. Those unable to work due to disability or infirmity should have a guaranteed income which will allow a dignified existence.
7. We demand that Canada pulls out of all free trade agreements - including repealing NAFTA - which are actually "investors rights" agreements and have little to do with trade. We demand an end to future attempts at "free trade" agreements and/or the North American Union. All monopolies – national or international – must be prohibited.
8. We demand that EI payments from people not eligible to receive from the program be eliminated.
9. We demand that supply management of agricultural products be ended.
10. We demand that the federal government keep out of private sector union negotiations.
11. We demand the prohibition of self-regulation by large-scale industries.
12. We demand that corporate person-hood is repealed.
Political demands
13. We demand the influence of lobbyists and influence peddlers be reduced by requiring all lobbyists and corporate representatives conduct all meetings with representatives out in the open, with records of what was said and what was spent easily accessible to the public.
14. We demand the electoral playing field be leveled by limiting each political party to equal small amounts of taxpayer money. We demand the elimination of campaign contributions entirely.
15. We demand the installation of a proportional representation system in all municipal, provincial and federal elections. We demand the adoption of Swiss-style direct democracy and Nunavut-style consensus-decision-making into all political processes.
16. We demand an immediate end to Canada's role in the war in Afghanistan. We demand Canada pulls out of NATO.
17. We demand the government makes sure the CBC is independent from influence by powerful groups by getting enough funding so it can go commercial free so it no longer must depend on big business for advertizing, and that it becomes immune from future budget cuts.
18. We demand the elimination of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001, which criminalizes activities similar to the ones conducted by the French Resistance in WW2 and Nelson Mandela's ANC in South Africa.
19. We demand Canada pulls out of the SPP – the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" – the military and economic harmonization between Canada and the United States. Canada must remain sovereign.
20. We demand the return of the long form census and an end to the practice of outsourcing census work to multinationals such as Lockheed Martin.
21. We demand that Statistics Canada and the Parliamentary Budget Office be made arms-length organizations outside the direct jurisdiction of partisans.
22. We demand that publicly funded science be made available to the public. No tax-payer-funded scientists should be gagged or censored in any way.
23. We demand that the science minister be replaced with an MP who recognizes the realities of evolution and global human-caused climate change.
24. We demand an end to all gag-orders on public servants.
25. We demand an independent investigation into 9/11 which will examine all evidence including that which would support a false-flag explanation.
26. We demand that "none of the above" be an option on all electoral ballots.
Societal demands
27. We demand - as Bertrand Russell suggested - there be two police forces – one to prove your guilt and another to prove your innocence. We demand lawyers be required to work in pairs so that a lack of resources won't be a factor in deciding a case. (Alternative: We demand increased funding for legal aid.)
28. We demand a majority of the defense budget be redistributed to health, education and housing.
29. We demand massage, dental and eye care be covered under the health care system.
30. We demand an end to gender and racial discrimination in the workplace. We demand pay equity and employment equity. We demand equal pay for different but equivalent work.
31. We demand the right of self-determination for all indigenous nations. We demand a speedy resolutions to all outstanding land claims acceptable to all parties concerned.
32. We demand the repeal of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. All synthetic drugs and hard drugs (including cocaine and heroin) must be distributed by prescription through a pharmacist.
33. We demand that all botanical drugs be distributed like coffee beans. Human medical autonomy must now be respected by all.
34. We demand that all harmless people be protected in the constitution. If a new law is written and a new set of people are to be criminalized, the burden of proof will now be on the government to provide evidence that this new group of criminals is inherently harmful to others. This will end scapegoating.
35. We demand that post-secondary education be free with no hidden user fees. We demand that most outstanding student loans should be forgiven based upon income.
36. We demand that herbalists and naturopaths have their services covered by the health-care system.
37. We demand that judicial sentencing discretion should be preserved.
38. We demand that the omnibus crime bill be eliminated.
39. We demand that prostitution be legalized and regulated as it is in New Zealand.
40. We demand public universities and colleges stop taking money from the corporate sector.
41. We demand the release of all non-violent prisoners.
42. We demand an end to the corporate funding and control of collages and universities.
Environmental demands
43. We demand that subsidies shift from fossil fuel and nuclear energy to renewable resources such as sun, wind, wave, geothermal and cellulose-based ethanol.
44. We demand that GMO's – extra-natural genetic modification - be banned because there is no consensus that they increase yield, are safe to consume, are safe for the environment and pose no threat to global food security but there is general agreement that they allow seed monopolies and lawsuits based upon pollen drift. The patenting of life must be illegal and terminator seeds banned from sale in Canada.
45. We demand that chemical fertilizers and pesticides be phased out over the next five years while farmers learn to use organic methods because chemical fertilizers and pesticides are unnecessary and kill the soil vitality needed for human survival.
46. We demand that "open-net/open water" fish farming be banned.
47. We demand that environmental laws be enforced more rigorously.
48. We demand that soil vitality be a priority.
49. We demand that the nuclear industry be phased out.
50. We demand that the health and environmental costs be factored into the cost of each product, and taxed appropriately.
51. We demand the shutting down of the Tar Sands project.
52. We demand that fracking – hydraulic fracturing - be prohibited.
53. We demand the removal of all the red tape around the growing of industrial hemp.
54. We demand Canada pull out of the Keystone Pipeline.
55. We demand the prohibition of all off-shore drilling. We demand maximum liability on all oil spills.
56. We demand a national ban on products and packaging that can't be recycled locally.
57. We demand a ban on factory farming or CAFO's (concentrated animal feeding operations).
58. We demand an end to all logging in old-growth forests and an end to clear-cutting everywhere.
59. We demand protection of water rights and transparency in all Canadian water deals.
60. We demand Canada adopts the Bolivian Earth Charter.
I have one item that I have to seriously quibble with:
The issue around supply management is a hot topic in the Prairies with the struggle to save the Canadian Wheat Board. It's supply managed sectors like the CWB which ensure a fair return for farmers, and without it, even more farmers would go under. Supply management should actually be extended, and I cannot figure out why Occupy would take said position.
I have my issues with some of the demands by their nature ("nuclear industry be phased out" technically includes fusion power R&D), and with some other demands with regards to how they're worded ("massage" comes ahead of "dental and eye care"?).
By and large, they're good, and I will highlight in colour the ones I really like shortly.
Crap, the text above isn't showing the red highlights. Well, here's an alternative:
http://www.revleft.com/vb/death-occupy-vancouver-t163873/index.html?p=22...
3. We demand that crimes committed by banks and corporations be prosecuted more rigorously – a dedicated justice fund for white-collar crimes must be created. Canadian corporations must also be held accountable for crimes (such as bribery and pollution) committed abroad.
41. We demand the release of all non-violent prisoners.
Heh, okay... so... rigorously prosecute the white-collar criminals and then let them out of prison immediately?
3. We demand that crimes committed by banks and corporations be prosecuted more rigorously – a dedicated justice fund for white-collar crimes must be created. Canadian corporations must also be held accountable for crimes (such as bribery and pollution) committed abroad.
41. We demand the release of all non-violent prisoners.
Heh, okay... so... rigorously prosecute the white-collar criminals and then let them out of prison immediately?
You're assuming these crimes are non-violent. What about criminally negligent disregard of safety regulations leading to injury or death on the job?
61. Socks.
62. Sheets.
63. Shirts.
64. Shorts.
65. 2 quarts of skim
66. Partridge in pear tree.
On a more serious note, if you want to divide the 99% into 99,999,999 factions, start issuing ill-thought-out programmatic "demands". What's wrong with the current basis of unity? the 1% against the 99%? the 99% shouldn't pay for the problems created by the 1%? I think it's one of the clearest and most stimulating demands to be put forward in many years, and the proof is the echo that it has achieved. The next step is surely to bring the same simple message into every corner of the society where people live, work, study, play, and integrate with people's real-life needs and struggles. Why would we need all the 99% agreeing with (or even debating) all these individual issues?
I thought it was moreso an endorsement of the COPE/Vision allince, and the belief that Gregor Roberston is the lesser of 2 evils and that the left will have more sway under him than under the NPA, as opposed to outright endorsing Vision per se?
CUPE is a double edged support group for Vision. Many non union voters and all anti-union voters think of that type of endorsement from the City employees union to be a conflict of interest. Are you sure there has been a public endorsement announcement from CUPE?
Why I chose to disrupt Vancouver's mayoral debateWhy, when Robertson and Anton are dodging questions and outright lying to us all in what is supposed to be a process of democracy, is it me that people are asking to be quiet when I shout out the truth? Instead of asking me to stop shouting, ask yourself why it is that things have gotten so bad that marching in and shouting is the only way for people to be heard. Ask yourself if you really think that your politicians represent you in the way that you'd like, or that they understand your concerns, your life, your perspective. If the answer is emphatically “yes”, then I'm happy for you— you're very lucky. For most people, the answer is probably somewhere between “once in a while” and an indignant laugh of cynicism.
Perhaps this person should have run for mayor. If they really represent as many people as they claim to represent - they would win easily and we can see them put their ideas into action!
Perhaps this person should have run for mayor. If they really represent as many people as they claim to represent - they would win easily and we can see them put their ideas into action!
Yeah, and she should get a job too, eh?
If you had bothered reading the whole article (thanks, Catchfire!), you'd have known she's female, not plural.
And thanks for clarifying that elections in our society are regularly won by those who truly represent the masses, rather than those who pander to power and wealth. It will come as a welcome and enormous revelation to almost all the polticians now in government at all levels.
Get a clue Stockholm.
I'm pretty sure my post won't be popular, but I don't care.
This is one of my problems with Occupy Vancouver - the whole diffusion of political capital and focus. Another is that it doesn't seem open to regular working or middle class people like the rest of the Occupy movement. It seems to be a bunch of cliche professional protesters. Dismiss that as being afraid of looking "uncool" as much as you want, or not wanting to challenge "common assumptions", but there is something to be said for creating an open environment for the people you want to win over. I mean seriously, why hasn't Occupy Vancouver drawn and sustained an even fractionally as large collection of people as other Occupy movements (other than that first Saturday). Just take a look at the coverage on Dailykos, or other left-leaning blogs, if you don't believe me and think I'm 'influenced' by 'corporate media'.
Admittedly, I'm not a protest-y sort of person by nature, so discount my view if you want. And of course I agree with the general idea that we in the 99% shouldn't have to pay for the 1%'s continued greed. That latter point shouldn't really be up for debate.
All that being said when I went down there to check it out with a friend a few weeks ago, it was a bit of a shit show. I didn't really get the impression I got from the Occupy movements that I've seen in other cities (admittedly from a far, as I haven't actually left the area since Summer). Frankly, I felt like we were pretty out of place (which is odd since we look like somewhat nondescript mid to late 20's people). Other Occupy movements seem to draw from everywhere in society and though they didn't offer up a policy manifesto, I don't think that's important. They've focused strongly on the economic message.
Frankly, the impression I got from the Occupy Vancouver movement is that it isn't very open to people who aren't used to protesting and wants to take on each and every possible issue that those who are involved in it want to take on. It seems to be run by the professional protesters. Sorry folks, but that sort of impression isn't appealing. While it won't take away from the fact that I agree with the general sentiment of resisting the unfair concentration of wealth, it sure as hell won't get me to support it and camp out in front of the Art Gallery.
If you want to know why so many people refer to these folks as weirdos, while agreeing that the rich are plundering society all in the same breath don't just blame the corporate media, or call it schizophrenia and "voting against ones interests", take a look at other Occupy groups and focus on the core message (in favour of economic equality and against oligarchic concentration of wealth).
Don't over-analyse it. Occupy.
To VK...I would just say it seems to me that all of the groups, communities and demographics represented within the supposed '99%,' whether or not they bother showing up at the occupy sites, have been going about their respective lives separated for many generations by zones of discomfort built around each individual and collection of individuals. An awareness that Capital owes its success to alienation, estrangement, suspicion, and fragmentation should allow people to better place the blame for such foreignness squarely where it belongs.
To VK...I would just say it seems to me that all of the groups, communities and demographics represented within the supposed '99%,' whether or not they bother showing up at the occupy sites, have been going about their respective lives separated for many generations by zones of discomfort built around each individual and collection of individuals. An awareness that Capital owes its success to alienation, estrangement, suspicion, and fragmentation should allow people to better place the blame for such foreignness squarely where it belongs.
This still doesn't answer my question as to why Occupy Vancouver is a group of professional protesters, as opposed to a broad based movement?
Oh no, wait.... I forgot. People are brain washed into thinking and not just occupying.
@ VK
I don't question your perception; you may very well be right. You aren't the only person who has said things to that effect.
And yes, I expect it is different in different locations. But I also don't expect the people at those assemblies to voice all my concerns, and I certainly don't think those occupy sites are the only places where people are acting (or should be acting) in resistance to inequity of power and finance.
Those sites are the flash point, and if there is to be change coming out of this, we had better hope that something happens outside of them.
So I wouldn't see it as the end of the movement or the world if a specific site being monopolized by one voice (if that indeed is the case). I am sure there is plenty of other work to be done if we put our minds to it.
And whatever our criticism may be about the way this movement is going, none of it has any bearing on the injustice that is the reason for it in the first place.
..no one should think that occupy vancouver can go away. you may as well try telling that to the rest of the world. what has happened in europe is happening here in the sense that clearer positions are being taken and “socialist” politicians are falling squarely into line. just like europe. and to then place the blame on the occupy. instead of going down there and duking it so to speak. face to face. have a debate. that just may be to much democracy for some folk.
..make no mistake that whatever happens to the occupy can/will happen to you, one way or another. this movement is the most promising challenge to capital going on the planet. it's like a snowball rolling doing a hill. you can't stop it now. it's been to long in the making. whether we as individuals support it or not this is going forward because the world needs it. this is what our children are telling us.
Occupy Vancouver Housing Rally: Housing Is A Right, Not A Commodity
Unceded Coast Salish Territory, November 10, 2011 – The official decision-making body of Occupy Vancouver, the General Assembly, has approved a march to focus public attention on the need for affordable housing in Vancouver, called "Housing is a Right, Not a Commodity."
The march is scheduled for noon Saturday November 12th at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and is to raise awareness around five housing objectives, including steps to achieve the following objectives:.....
http://www.occupyvancouver.com/index.php?page=5
Bites, Lies, and VideotapeI’m writing this on the fly, and for one simple reason: to counter VPD Chief Jim Chu’s disinformation regarding what happened on Monday night at Occupy Vancouver....
..includes video
..today's democracy now gives us a glimpse into the occupy movement as it expands. both in influence and it's linking to various communities.
Naomi Klein on Environmental Victory: Obama Delays Keystone XL Oil Pipeline Decision Until 2013Quote:
I don’t think we would have won without Occupy Wall Street. I really—I can’t imagine how we could have. And this is what it means to change the conversation. And that’s why this whole idea—you know, "What are their demands?" and, you know, "What are they trying to accomplish?" There are already victories happening. And this is just one example of it....
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/11/naomi_klein_obama_delays_keystone_xl
Occupy Homes: New Coalition Links Homeowners, Activists in Direct Action to Halt Foreclosures
Guests:
Max Rameau, activist and organizer with the group Take Back the Land.
Nick Espinosa, organizer with Occupy Minneapolis, which is helping local residents stave off evictions by occupying homes.
Monique White, Minneapolis resident facing foreclosure. She requested the help of Occupy Minneapolis, and now two dozen of its members are occupying her home in an effort to stave off her eviction.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/11/occupy_homes_new_coalition_links_...
A new culture of resistance: from WikiLeaks to the squares
by Pedro Noel and Santiago Carrion
The grassroots movement that started with the Arab Spring has, for the first time in history, made global civil society fully aware of itself and its power.
Now that the grassroots movement that started inadvertently with the Arab Spring has gone global, it is necessary to cast a backwards glance to try and figure out, with some perspective, the dynamics of what has happened, physically and conceptually, over the last year. We propose a simple vision of the process of uprising in 2011, which was consolidated on the past 15th of October as a new culture of popular resistance and creativity. We also aim to point out the recent or enhanced concepts born in the collective consciousness of society during this period.....
http://roarmag.org/2011/11/from-wikileaks-to-the-squares-a-new-culture-of-resistance/DAY OF ACTION
In Solidarity with Occupations around the world, Occupy Vancouver will march for a Day of Action, Thursday November 17th. Our first march will gather at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG), and march at 12:00pm through downtown with key targets: see map
A second march will gather at the VAG, for a March at 4pm, with a key target of stomping on Brookfield Properties offices in multiple cities, to show solidarity with #OccupyWallStreet.
http://www.occupyvancouver.com/
City wins injunction against Occupy Vancouver Published Friday, Nov. 18, 2011 5:05PM EST
Hours before the polls open to elect Vancouver's mayor for the next three years, the city won a court injuction Friday afternoon to have protest tents cleared from the downtown encampent at the Art Gallery.
BC Supreme Court Justice Anne MacKenzie gave protesters until 2 p.m. Monday to clear all tents and structures from the site.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/bc-politic...
It's interesting how the Globe article gives coverage to the Occupy lawyer's allegations that the sworn evidence tendered by the City in court was full of lies:
"This isn't a dirty, squalid little squat," Mr. Gratl told B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anne MacKenzie. "It's quite a well-run little ship."...
He refuted city allegations there were fire safety concerns, dangerous trenching that imperilled valuable art stored beneath the surface of the plaza, and rats on site.
During the morning court session, Mr. Gratl quoted from regular reports by Vancouver Coastal Health inspectors who found no evidence of rats at Occupy Vancouver.
Noting that many commentators had referred to the presence of rats, Mr. Gratl said the reality of the situation must have been well known to the city. "This amounts to no more than an unsubstantiated smear," he said.
As to the trenching issue, Mr. Gratl said an affidavit from a city employee attesting to the danger did not contain a single photograph.
He produced a number of recent photos showing no trenches deeper than four or five centimetres, likely caused by rain runoff, and noted that Art Gallery representatives have said they are not worried about damage to the art in their below-ground vaults.
The city's claims, he said, represent "a gross exaggeration and an unnecessary spin that amount to fear-mongering about conditions at that site."
Mr. Gratl also referred to statements from Fire Chief John McKearney, who said he was generally pleased with Occupy Vancouver's compliance with fire safety orders.
"We are left with a situation where there are no significant fire, safety or health hazards, as opposed to the very vague generalities of the city, which are overwhelmed by the detailed evidence presented by the [protesters]."
INJUNCTION 2.0 - Help Needed Right Now
It's official! The courts have granted an emergency injunction that requires us to be gone by 5:00pm. We're on our way into the Registry office right nowe to confirm whether or not that includes people as well as structures. This is for our new location at the Courts! Come down to get more information as it becomes available.
Please come down to help in any way you can! Trucks and able bodies! Voices! Love and support! Thank you!
Come and visit our new site!Occupy Vancouver is now located at Robson Square, one block south of our previous location. Come and show your support!
http://www.occupyvancouver.com/
Here's a 2 minute video from yesterday's move from the Art Gallery to the Provincial Court: http://vimeo.com/32497448
General Assembly 7pm Tonight (Thursday) at the Art Gallery
Everyone is welcome!
http://www.occupyvancouver.com/
Shame! Just like the Greek and Spanish social democrats, BC's NDP buys into the neoliberal line and supports kicking out Occupy.
http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1576117
We won't forget this!
Direct Action: Occupy Condos Campaign Continues in DTES
Thursday December 1st, 2 pm to 3pm at Pantages Site (150 East Hastings)
On Tues Nov 29th twenty four DTES residents and housing activists successfully occupied the Paris Annex condo development site in the DTES for about three hours to oppose gentrification.
The DTES is not for Developers Coalition is gathering again on Thurs Dec 1st at the Pantages Site (152 East Hastings, near Main Street) at 2 pm. Naomi Klein will be joining the DTES is not for Developers Coalition on Thursday, we hope you do too!
DTES is not for Developers Coalition includes Aboriginal Front Door, Citywide Housing Coalition, DTES Neighbourhood Council, DTES Power of Women Group, Streams of Justice, UBC Social Justice Centre, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.
http://www.facebook.com/events/245975415464285/
Events and Direct action
Everyday (for now):
7pm: Occupy Vancouver General Assembly, VAG
Saturday, December 3:
12noon: System Change not Climate Change, VAG
3pm: Spokes Council Work Group, UBC Robson Square
All Day: Montreal Massacre Memorial, The Cultch 1895 Venables Street
Sunday, December 4:
2pm: Starhawk: Building Powerful Groups for Collaboration, VAG
Monday, December 5:
1pm: Occupy Developer-Backed City-Council Swearing-In, Creekside Community Centre (at the Olympic Village)
Tuesday, December 6:
8am: 9th Annual Shoe Memorial, VAG South Side
11am: National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, VAG South Side
2pm: Ceremony Honouring Métis Women: Launch of Resources for Women at Risk, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 East Hastings
6pm: Candlelight Ceremony for Frank Paul, Maple Street at Broadway
Friday, December 9:
12noon: Day of Actions Against Pacific Trails Pipeline, Apache Pipeline Products, 200 Burrard St
Saturday, December 10:
2pm: Occupy Vancouver Special Assembly: Re-group, Re-connect, and Re-engage, Woodwards Atrium
Monday, December 12:
12noon: Shut Down the Ports! Coordinated West Coast Port Blockade, Callister Park, Renfrew St.
http://occupyvancouver.com/
West Coast port shutdown announcement video.mov
Occupy movement calls for Dec. 12 West Coast Port Shutdown. Featuring Boots Riley.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGqncu3wlEI&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Foccupywalls...
..of course the city had options in how to deal with the occupy.
Mayor Eberhard van der Laan visited Occupy Amsterdam to speak about development of the movementMayor Eberhard van der Laan is visiting Occupy Amsterdam to speak about development and future of the movement on the Beursplein (stock exchange square).
The discussion is about leaving a ‘point of presence’ on the square, with 1 or 2 big tents for actions, meetings, media etc and making a bigger camp to sleep on another location on the edge of the city....
http://takethesquare.net/2011/12/05/mayor-eberhard-van-der-laan-visited-...
..the vancouver city council could have travelled a different path in how it dealt with the occupy.
City of Cleveland Passes Emergency Vote to Support OWS
The Cleveland City Council pass an emergency resolution 1720-11 in support of Occupy Cleveland and the Occupy Movement in general. The final vote from all the Wards was 18 yea and 1 nay.
With the passing of the 1720-11 resolution Cleveland’s largest city council joins other cities (Seattle, LA and Chicago etc.) that also have voiced their official support of the Occupy Movement. The following Resolution was sent to President Barack Obama and all members of the U.S. Congress....
More than 200 protesters meet to 're-group, re-connect and re-engage' Occupy Vancouver movement
The atrium of the Woodward’s building on the edge of Downtown Eastside was occupied for more than a couple of hours on Saturday as Occupy Vancouver members got together to grapple with the future of their movement in the face of Court injunctions that prevent them from setting up base at a particular location in the city...
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/More+than+protesters+meet+group+connect...
'Assertive action' briefly blocks Port Metro Vancouver ahead of noon Occupy Vancouver rally VANCOUVER - A splinter group of a dozen protesters set up two brief blockades of Port Metro Vancouver this morning as a more "assertive action" leading up to today's noon Occupy Vancouver rally at Callister Park in East Vancouver.
Organizers say the blockades of the Clark Drive and Heatley Avenue entrances -- which they claim only went ahead with the approval of rank-and-file longshoreman -- were meant to draw attention to the potentially disastrous environmental impact of oil sands traffic through the Lower Mainland as well as the corporatization of the ports which they claim hurts the very longshoremen they blockaded.....
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Assertive+action+briefly+blocks+port+ahead+noon+Occupy+Vancouver+rally/5846898/story.htmlVideo: Early start for Occupy the Ports
http://www.vancouversun.com/Video+Early+start+Occupy+Ports/5847451/story.html
Occupy the Ports - Latest Updates
Proxy posting for someone over text message, regarding Occupy the Ports:
Dec 12 @ 1:36pm: "Ov shts down the new brihton port!!!!! We're holdin it down now, more action to come! Pass it on!"
Dec 12 @ 8:32am: "we've now disbanded and will rally at noon at callister!"
Dec 12 @ 8:21am: "Port blockade at just heatly now!! Solidarity
http://occupyvancouver.com/
Occupy Vancouver General Assembly
As of Dec 22nd, General Assemblies are now held on Wednesdays at 7pm at W2 and Saturday at 1pm. Also as of Dec 22nd we now have a spokes counicl! Read about it here.
http://occupyvancouver.com/
ETA:
Occupy Vancouver Condemns City Hall's Mischaracterization of City's Handling of Occupy Encampment
Occupy Vancouver, Unceded Coast Salish Territory, Vancouver, December 20, 2011 — With 13 of 26 protesters the City promised to find housing for still without shelter this Christmas, Occupy Vancouver is condemning reports issued by City Hall that claim the protest was costly, but well handled.
"It's outrageous to characterize the city's handling of this protest as anything but disastrous," says protester Sarah Beuhler. "They misused city resources, they misled the public and worst of all, they let down the Occupiers they promised to find housing for, leaving 13 of them homeless this Christmas."
Occupy Vancouver points out that the one million dollars in expenses the city claims the protest cost was almost entirely unnecessary: Occupy Vancouver did not incur these costs directly or ask the City for the support of its personnel; they were incurred by the City, as a precaution. In the wake of scathing criticism for their mishandling of the Stanley Cup riots, Occupiers feel the City overreacted to Occupy Vancouver by over-policing and over-responding to the peaceful protest.....
http://occupyvancouvervoice.com/
..great page!!! it's a documentation or record.
Top 10 Achievements of Occupy Vancouver
quote:
2. We built a city-within-a-city, establishing and sustaining a complex street-level occupation in an urban core that involved thousands of people over 37 days.
This city, while no more free of problems and suffering than the larger city surrounding it, nevertheless placed the free exchange of food and medical services, as well as the free exchange of ideas, at its centre. On this basis I call the city we built a utopian city. It is an idea whose time has come.
3. We provided 37,000 free meals (Food Not Bombs!), housing and community for some 30 homeless people, and operated the only 24 hour free medical clinic in the city.
What more can be said about this? The revolution is love, and we make it in daily acts of caring for one another.
Time: January 12, 2012 from 6:30pm to 9:30pm
Location: W2 Media Cafe
Website or Map: http://www.facebook.com/event…
Phone: 604-689-9896
(Un)Lawful Access: Premiere & Panel Discussion
SCREENING: The Vancouver premiere of (Un)Lawful Access, a mini-documentary about the Conservative government's proposed online spying legislation, and what Canadian experts and advocates have to say about it.
PANEL DISCUSSION: Elizabeth Denham, BC Privacy Commissioner, Micheal Vonn, Policy Director of the BCCLA, Christopher Parsons, University of Victoria & Dr. Kate Milberry, producer of (Un)Lawful Access discuss the serious implications of lawful access and what we can do about it.
REPORT RELEASE: The BC Civil Liberties Association's release of its much-anticipated report on Lawful Access - the most comprehensive to date. Co-authors Micheal Vonn and Christopher Parsons will answer your questions.
DOORS: 6:30 CASH BAR/REFRESHMENTS
ADMISSION: Pay what you can/By donation
RSVP on Facebook event- a privatized surveillance system ;)
edited a link
http://www.creativetechnology.org/events/un-lawful-access-premiere-panel...
People like M Dobbin think the NDP should work with the Liberals but what is the LPC position on this growing immorality?
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/01/02/ceo-compensation-canada-jumps-27...
Between Optimism and Pessimism: Reflecting on 2011
An incredibly thoughtful piece from write Tyler Morgenstern of “Man Descending“. He brilliantly breaks down the false duality of the optimism/pessimism divide, and instead, calls us to navigate the space between.
Between optimism and pessimism–between imagination and creation, and between construction and resistance–lies thought; that radically contingent domain where the injustices of the present are held in a dynamic tension with the tragedies of our past and the hopes for our future. It is the space, if occupy has done what I hope it has, that we inhabit right now, where revolution and reformation (beginning and continuing; imagining and fighting) have become coterminous even as they retain their conceptual specificity.
The space of thought is one of uncertainty and contingency—qualities to which the Western political trajectory has been traditionally allergic, preferring the stability of administration, favoring metaphors of politics as making rather than as acting. To feel at home in this space is, in turn, challenging; it undermines itself at every point where it is momentarily stabilized. But its great virtue is its refusal of the pessimism-optimism binary.....
I like it. Thanks epaulo13.
“Man Descending“
quote:
But with such openness and contingency comes the very real experience of confusion. Zizek, as he usually does, says it best when we writes:
Today we do not know what we have to do, but we have to act now, because the consequence of non-action could be disastrous. We will be forced to live ‘as if we were free.’ We will have to risk taking steps into the abyss, in totally inappropriate situations; we will have to reinvent aspects of the new, just to keep the machinery going and maintain what was good in the old—education, healthcare, basic social services. In short, our situation is like what Stalin said about the atom bomb: not for those with weak nerves. Or as Gramsci said, characterizing the epoch that began with the First World War, ‘the old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.
Date: Wed Jan 25th, 2012
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Rick Lavallie earlier this month. Ricky, as he was known to many in the Vancouver, continually blessed us with his musical talent, storytelling and his genuine and caring heart. Ricky was very active in many social and environmental justice movements in Vancouver for many years; whether it was residential schools, the downtown eastside, anti-olympics, wild salmon and oil-tankers he lead with his creative talent in raising people's consciousness. We will miss his live musical performances and radiant personality on the steps of the Vancouve Art Gallery, but his spirit lives with many of us forever.
Thank you Ricky, we love you and will miss you.
video
http://occupyvancouver.com/
Occupy Vancouver Newspaper Workgroup
Bringing you "The OCCUPIED Vancouver Sun"
Download a printable version of any issue:
November 10, 2011: First Issue
January 16, 2010: The Future of the Occupy Movement
February 1, 2012: The Finance Issue
CONTACT: OccupiedVancouverSun@gmail.com
SUBSCRIBE
#occupyvancity2 – Life in the Tent City LOCAL FILMMAKERS Arun Fryer, Drew Hutchinson, and Richard Neufeld have released their latest short #occupyvancity2, an ongoing doc series chronicling the Occupy Vancouver movement.
Pipelines, Tankers and Climate Chaos...Or System Change?
An Occupy Vancouver Environmental Justice Work Group Workshop
February 25, 2012
The global 1% and the big oil corporations they control want to expand Tar Sands extraction and the pipelines that serve it, including the tar sands export terminal on Burrard Inlet in Burnaby. The threat to our local environment from oil spills is huge, and we are at a strategic location to keep the 1% from cooking our planet. Join the uprising by the 99% to stop pipelines, tankers and climate chaos!
Learn about:
System Change Not Climate Change and the systemchange.ca project
* pipeline and tanker proposals and resistance in BC
* Energy and Transportation System Change
Discuss the issues. Help shape Occupy Vancouver’s work on pipelines, tankers and system change. Get involved!
http://www.facebook.com/events/323670791003293/
http://seeingthestrings.wordpress.com/
Vancouver – To re-Occupy or not to re-Occupy
That is the question. Or maybe — how we ought to re-occupy. Though to this point it has been more a question of when, rather than if or how. Once Occupy Vancouver’s camp was evicted, First Nations elders reminded us that winter was the time for recuperation, storytelling, planning, and readying for the spring. And indeed, the call for a spring re-occupation has been in circulation almost since the evictions became general, with perhaps the loudest and clearest call coming in the form of the Spanish Indignados and the DRY (Democracia Real Ya) movement’s #12m12 call to make the 12th of May 2012 a day of global action: “Let’s turn the streets into the biggest loudspeaker on earth.”...
http://takethesquare.net/2012/03/23/vancouver-to-re-occupy-or-not-to-re-...
MAY DAY SYSTEM-WIDE STRIKE in solidarity with a global general strike
When Tuesday, 1 May 2012Where VAG 4pm rally, 6pm march (map)
Description DON'T GO TO WORK, DON'T GO TO SCHOOL, DON'T SPEND ANY MONEY send a message to the 1% that corporate collusion with government is not acceptable, that environmental sustainability is essential and urgent, and that the income gap between rich and poor must be reduced. We stand for democracy and freedom to speak, assemble, organize, strike and occupy!
http://occupyvancouver.com/events.php