Category Archives: Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Vancouver Day One Point Five

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Too much for just one post, so you get a bonus! UPDATE: actually, Flickr doesn’t want you to see these inflammatory photos, so just scroll up to one of the posts where I told Flickr to go fuck its censorship-happy Yahooligan self and uploaded the pix to WordPress.com. Should I ever get a break, I’ll sit down and repair this post. UPDATE: Done. Turned out to be my fault for setting them as Moderate in the uploader. I didn’t even know you could do that.

Vancouver Occupied by Carnivores

I spoke to the same security guard that I encountered yesterday and tonight instead of being nervous, he was … stoked. That’s pretty much the only word for it. He was stoked! Far from fearing the Anonymous masks, he was now focused on the community-building in situ, something he’d heard about but never seen for himself. The democratic process was impressive: the security woman at the medical tent, who couldn’t have been more supportive if she HAD been wearing one of those masks, told me they’d come to six resolutions, there was a free food tent (donations accepted) and it had been uniformly peaceful, to the obvious disappointment of a couple of standers-by.

As expected, it was fairly left-leaning, although there was also a strong Libertarian presence and they are attempting to keep the livestream as apolitical as possible. They’ve come up with a statement from the General Assembly, which is basically everybody there who wants to vote, which is basically EVERYBODY THERE. That should put paid to the “if they can’t say what they want in 140 characters, forget it!” people. What ever happened to good old manifestos, anyway?

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 2011 VANCOUVER ART GALLERY

Occupy Vancouver – A Non Violent Movement 
for Social, Economic and Political Change 

We, the Ninety-Nine Percent, come together with our diverse experiences to transform the unequal, unfair, and growing disparity in the distribution of power and wealth in our city and around the globe. We challenge corporate greed, corruption, and the collusion between corporate power and government. 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 are inspired and in solidarity with global movements including those across the Middle East, Europe, and the Occupy Wall Street / Occupy Together movement in over 1000 cities in North America. Injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.

We humbly acknowledge that Occupy Vancouver is taking place on unceded Coast Salish territories.

We are committed to an inclusive and welcoming space, to addressing issues of oppression and discrimination, and to creating an environment where all the 99% can be heard and can meaningfully participate. We are also committed to safeguarding our collective well-being – including safety from interpersonal violence and any potential police violence.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a working statement that we know will evolve as #OccupyVancouver grows and flourishes. Our demands and our dreams are not limited to this statement as we have many ideas and solutions. As stated by #OccupyTogether, no one group, person, or website could ever speak for this diverse gathering of individuals. However, the General Assembly on October 8th reached consensus to accept these broad principles as a starting point and there will be further discussion on October 15th at 10 am at the General Assembly at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

And as for resolutions of the General Assembly, well, they are all nice people, they are letting anyone speak, they are willing to consider any and all positions and objections and amendments, but remember:

No one rules if no one obeys

No one rules if no one obeys. Your moment of Zen

While we’re on the subject of Deep Thoughts, here are some by Brian Revel, who eloquently said what I’ve been too restless to articulate. It’s worth the time to read the whole thing, but here’s a taste:

The Occupy Wall Street movement that is slowly gaining steam in New York City is the change that I have been anticipating for much of my lifetime.

I have warned that a ‘revolution’ is coming. But on the other hand, I have called for change. I admit I have vacillated between embracing a world where the corporate agenda has lost its influence and ‘selling out’ to secure my economic future.

The revolution is upon us. It won’t be a Storming of the Bastille sort of revolution- or so I still hope. It’s going to be organic and more peaceful a la Gandhi; it will be in the numbers of participants, rather than in any violence that the change will take place.

Indeed, it will gain moral strength with every act of violence committed by those defending the status quo. Sadly, the defenders of the status quo is the role the New York Police Department is fated to play out.

REAL, deep and profound change doesn’t happen with a convenient sound bite or even a speech.

It happens because people vote with their feet. It may seem that what they are doing is unfocused right now. But as people slowly realize that their economic interests are being compromised by forces beyond their control and that all they have to do is stop what they’re doing and assemble to be counted, the momentum for change will accelerate.

We are not yet anywhere near a critical mass for spontaneous ‘revolution’ but I cannot help but keep my eye on this movement. Hell, I might even get on a plane and fly to New York to go see what is happening for myself. Seriously. This is the real thing.

Are we at all surprised it’s happening now? The largest demographic in the American population is the kids of baby boomers. They are unemployed, endebted and mad as hell. They see their parents retirement dreams vaporized. Their futures appear condemned to a losing battle against organizations that get rights but bear no responsibility for their actions. They see injustice everywhere and they have the time on their hands to affect the change they need to rebalance the wrongs.

And they make their flower-power parents look like kids making daisy chains in their sophistication and connectedness. To the establishment, they are truly dangerous and the first management tool to diffuse their frustration is extinguishment: to simply ignore them.

Three Little Pigs by Jerome Kashetsky

Three Little Pigs by Jerome Kashetsky

Remember that in BC the gap between the top 1% and the other 99 is larger and faster-growing than in the US. Remember also that Canada has more billionaires per capita than any other nation, and that Vancouver has more of them than any other city in Canuckistan except possibly Toronto. And hell, anybody who lives in Toronto instead of Vancouver is already suffering enough, right? Amirite?

Sorry, protests r srs bzns.

Goddam Organizers cheaped out! OccupyBakeries!

Goddam Organizers cheaped out! OccupyBakeries!

Should you wish to Occupy Grocery Stores on behalf of Occupy Vancouver, here is the wish list from the food tent:

Food tent donations needed

and the wish list for the rest is topped by: INTERNET! If you have one of those Wind, Mobilicity, Telus, etc, internet sticks and you would like to donate it, please do. If you’ve got the makings of your own mesh network or what have you, please hook up with the Media Committee. And here’s the rest of the wish list:

Media team

walkie talkies

press passes

whiteboard

printer, ink, paper

tables, chairs, media tent

rocket stick (prepaid)

Boom mic and stand

extension cables

super long internet cable

4 power bars

External hard drives

SD cards

Apple laptops with final cut pro

PC laptops with premier or AVID

HD cameras

Cables (USB, FireWire, etc)

flip HD camera

Any other film/video equipment (lights, generators, Gaffer tape, power cables,

umbrellas

tarps

scissors

duct tape

saran wrap (for waterproofing)

re-usable rain ponchos

Dell 1525 Batteries with Rapid Chargers

Double A and Triple A Batteries

HDSLR and Video Camera Rain Covers

generator (1000 watts minimum, 2000 is good)

two 4G hotspots (clearchannel is good brand)

recommended microphone:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=tascam+tm-st1&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

laptop of 2.4ghz core 2 duo or greater. this will work:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834200327

-K

For the Kids Zone

toys

rubber maid containers

musical instruments

tarps

twine

large plastic water containers

childrens books

cd player, portable radio

batteries

WILLINGNESS TO COME PLAY

Requests for the KIND KITCHEN

Rubbermaid containers

power cords

hot plates to make warm yummy vegan food

reusable plates, cups and cutlery

12′ x 12′ tarp

coffee maker, toaster, microwave, mixer

coolers

plastic bins

serving bowls

Food requests

prepared foods, soups salads, fruit & veg

caffeine free hot beverages, hot chocolate

The Education Station

NEEDS A TENT / CANOPY and chairs

MEDICS AND SECURITY TEAM

Walky Talkies

White Boards

If anyone has any of the following items and is willing to donate or loan them for Occupy Vancouver, please email occupyvancouvercontribute at gmail.com

Occupy Vancouver Shit is Fucked Up and Stuff

Occupy Vancouver Day One

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Who IS that masked man?

Who IS that masked man?

Julian Assange: no wonder I love this man

Julian Assange: no wonder I love this man

Oh Julian, the Sexy Jedi look suits you.

Actually, you have to respect that; the man is under house arrest (still no charges laid, please note) and still he comes out in solidarity at the OccupyLondon protest, mask and all. And here’s me, staying up till 4am removing all my ID and sign-in apps from my iPod and thinking about taking off my nail polish to be less recognizable. Live and learn!

We are all Anonymous now. The institutions that we’ve built, paid for, worked in, with, and against, have become like those sentient robots in the old movies: we built them to help us, and instead they’ve enslaved us. They’ve taken away our very humanity, so that we really ARE anonymous, so much so that there’s a general push on the part of our organizations to force us to carry identification at all times, because the institutions control the access to indentification and thus to identity itself. They first depersonalized us and then told us we had to carry our serial numbers at all times. Without ID, you essentially don’t exist and you cannot claim any rights in our current climate. Not when things like the Patriot Act exist, when the governments of most Western nations collaborate with bloody dictators to circumvent the Geneva Conventions. Go on, carry your driver’s license, and realize that ICBC is collaborating with the Vancouver Police Department to provide face recognition software so you can be tracked, even while obeying the law. Just in case the government needs something on you. And don’t forget that the gap between the richest 1% and the rest is larger and growing faster in BC than it is in the US, and that Canada has more billionaires per capita than any other nation.

Long ago I wrote about the Manual of Afghani Jihad and the Japanese Kamikaze documents, and said that if our world had anything as spiritually compelling as those documents, we would solve most of the world’s problems. Alienation would be a thing of the past instead of the universal constant.

Well now alienation is a weapon.

Anonymous and similar groups have answered that call. Here is their manifesto, in video form, from that pinko muckraker Charlie Chaplin. Why not? We’ve heard from George Carlin and Fran Lebowitz on Occupy Wall Street. Why not Charlie Chaplin?

Dude has it going on.

While we’re at it, let’s hear from Oscar Wilde on Occupy Everywhere:

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

– Oscar Wilde

Occupy Comics!

Occupy Comics!

Here’s a slideshow of Occupy Vancouver shots from News1130 (and hey, if you’re done with your Nony mask, I could really use one! Hint! Hint! I’ll be the one walking around without a Nony mask!):

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Nice work.

There’s a fantastic roundup of shots on TheCrunchyBanjo, far better than I could ever do, so DO take a look through them all. Here’s just one:

Occupy Together at Occupy Vancouver by Max Hirst

Occupy Together at Occupy Vancouver by Max Hirst

And an aerial view of the protest:

Occupy Vancouver from the roof of the Rosewood

Occupy Vancouver from the roof of the Rosewood

and a rather poignant Anon:

Anonymous Janis Joplin at Occupy Vancouver

How IS Bobby McGee these days?

Let’s see what the Powers That Be have to say about this…hmmm, how about asking the head of the Bank of Canada, a former Goldman Sachs-er:

Demonstrations like the Occupy Wall Street protests, which will hit Canadian cities this weekend, are a “democratic expression of views’’ and “entirely constructive,’’ Mr. Carney said.

“It makes it more tangible, the challenges that that economy is facing, and it makes it more important to demonstrate success on issues such as financial reform,’’ he said.

The words that Mr. Carney applies to the civil disruption carry extra weight because the Harper government is pushing for him to become the next chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), a group charged with co-ordinating the overhaul of international banking regulations. There is widespread fear that, the more time that passes, the tougher it will be to muster political enthusiasm for reforms, against which the financial industry is lobbying furiously.

Mr. Carney has been a fierce critic of the industry backlash and has vowed to counter it.

What is this? I can’t even…I think my brain just broke. Even the 1%ers are on our side.

Here are some cool, free-use logos for the 99%. If you see Conrad Black using them, well just take them away from him. He’s a stateless, convicted felon desperate enough to try anything, tho, so be prepared for ninja moves. Slooooow ninja moves.

I am the 99 percent

I am the 99 percent

The 99% has a significant sub-percentage of hipsters. Well, what else are you going to do but protest if you’re an over-educated, underemployed or unemployed person who cares about what the world is coming to and worries that if you don’t speak up NOW, you may miss your chance forever? You protest. And then you party.

http://twitter.com/#!/cameronreed/statuses/125372402166272002

Radically awesome.

and now, more from My Imaginary Boyfriend, Julian Assange.

Want to know what the future looks like, Vancouver? It looks like OccupySpain, that’s what it looks like. And this is what THAT looks like:

Spain looks pretty occupied to me

Spain looks pretty occupied to me

Occupy Vancouver, T minus Two Hours

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Occupy Vancouver Flyer on Seymour

Thought I’d swing by the Art Gallery and see what was shaking. Nothing was except for a security guard who is worried that Anonymous means to blow stuff up. I told him he was taking V for Vendetta too literally, so if you’re wearing an Anonymous mask, go up and shake his hand. Say Hi. Rickroll him. Just don’t blow his shit up, okay?The signs say you can’t stake your tents, so that leaves weighting them down with sandbags or bricks. How you’re supposed to get sandbags and bricks past security, I do not know.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

There are already two groups camping out; didn’t see any tents but there were sleeping bags and folding chairs. The place is floodlit and the CBC has a van parked on the grass (which surely can’t be LEGAL, can it? Oh, you one percenters and your sense of privilege!). I wonder if anyone’s going to go up the Hotel Vancouver and rain Champagne corks on the protesters below.

Vancouver Art Gallery Fountain and Hotel Vancouver

Vancouver Art Gallery Fountain and Hotel Vancouver

Vancouver’s a city of renegades: even our rich people are a little off, so I anticipate much randomness tomorrow. Rumour has it that the official Facebook OccupyVancouver is a front run by the police. Rumour has it that all #OccupyVancouver tweets are actually printed out by the VPD and collated for later reference. Rumours will say anything, but it’s kind of irrelevant if you keep this in mind: All the more reason not to pay attention to any of the “official” groups and take from each source only the things which strike you as of value. Not to get all revolutionary on you, but the closer you publicly identify with any one group, the more predictable you become and the easier you are to control. This is, I remind you, NOT what you want.

If you want to know what you’re allowed to do within the law of BC, here is the Civil disobedience guide. Remember, there’s absolutely no point getting arrested for run of the mill asshattery. You want to get arrested for changing the world for the better, if you want to get arrested.  Because if nothing else, you gotta explain why you’re late to work on Monday, and “I wanted to be this guy” won’t cut it.

Like I said on Flickr, you’re not allowed to stake your tents, so you’ve gotta weigh them down with sandbags and/or bricks, and yeah, good luck bringing THAT past security. Who the heck thought THAT was a good idea? I suppose for “green reasons” you could reuse fat tourists, but I’m not sure there are enough to go around.

Fran Lebowitz on the OccupyEverywhere movement

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I'm all for the separation of Corp and State. You?

I'm all for the separation of Corp and State. You?

A hundred years ago, anything worth saying had already been said by Oscar Wilde and/or George Bernard Shaw. Today anything worth saying has already been said by George Carlin and/or Fran Lebowitz. We’ve already reviewed what George presciently said about Occupy Wall Street, so now let’s take a trip in the TARDIS back to the July, 1997 issue of Vanity Fair and see what the Sage of Manhattan had to say about Occupy Wall Street and its offspring.

Do you agree with Calvin Coolidge that “the chief business of the American people is business?”

I think that in the current climate Calvin Coolidge might be regarded as almost a Beatnik, since it seems widely accepted that the only business of the American people is business — and that the appropriate model for all human endeavor is the business model. People contstantly say things like “If I ran my business the way they run the public school system, I’d be out of business in three weeks.” People seem to have the idea that these things are similar in some way. If they ran the public school system the way you run your business, people would be even less educated than they are now, because the purpose of business is to earn a profit. This is not the purpose of education. Additionally, it is not hard to imagine down-sizing in this context — grades four through nine being regarded as middle management and hence eliminated. It is equally easy to envision at some imminent point in time that during the State of the Union address, when the camera pans above the head of the president, instead of the great seal of the United States of America we will see the Nike symbol. Direct corporate sponsorship of the federal government.

People accept this sort of thing in every way now. People accept a level of commercialization of every single aspect of life that is shocking to someone of my age. you pay nine dollars to go to the movies and they show you commericals for 20 minutes. Not ony commercials for other movies — which they get you to call trailers or previews, like, “How lucky for you. For your nine dollars we’re throwing in 75 previews”  — but also commercials for products like Coca-Cola. When they started showing these — which wasn’t that long ago, although everyone now seems unable to remember a time when this did not occur —  people in New York used to boo them, but now they don’t. They expect to pay to see commercials. It takes two seconds, it seems, to get people used to this kind of thing. I, on the other hand, still can’t get used to paying for television. A television bill. It’s astonishing. And even more astonishing is that other people regard this as a technological advance, whereas to me it seems this is technology going backward. I feel that if at first television had been cable TV — this enormous, clunky, cumbersome, labor-intensive, expensive system —  and then some genius figured out broadcast television, people would have said, “Can you imagine? They don’t have to dig up the streets anymore. They don’t need the big wires. You can move your tv around. It doesn’t have to be attached to your wall. And it’s free. It goes through the air. It’s a miracle of modern technology — of course, there’ll have to be commercials.

The 99%

The 99%

GPOY: OccupyEverywhere Edition

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Power to the People

Power to the People

Ever have one of those days where you’re all, I GAVE Peace a chance and ten years later we’re still in Afghanistan? No? Just me then?

OccupyVancouver

OccupyOttawa

OccupyToronto

OccupyVictoria

OccupyEverywhere

October 15.

Expect us.