tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post8028934228788385623..comments2024-03-28T23:22:41.774-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): Salient images and video of some "Occupy" eventsMinnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-74414596117185826162011-11-21T22:40:22.164-06:002011-11-21T22:40:22.164-06:00@DRS -
"If these are UC students protesting ...@DRS -<br /><br />"If these are UC students protesting UC policy on UC property, why are we including arguments about Occupy Wall Street in this discussion?"<br /><br />I believe you are wrong to characterize the UC Davis protest as simply a reaction to tuition costs. As I understand it, the Occupy UC Davis movement began in support of the Occupy Cal protest at my sister's old alma mater, UC Berkeley. The Occupy Cal protest was against a wide variety of perceived errors and injustices in the collegiate education system, not just tuition.<br /><br />But beyond such minor quibbling, I view all of the "Occupys" as having broader underlying themes involving personal expression and freedoms and basic rights and dignities.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-89869319843148522292011-11-21T22:29:57.076-06:002011-11-21T22:29:57.076-06:00@anon 7:12 PM -
"My request to you, is I'...@anon 7:12 PM -<br />"My request to you, is I've sent permalinks. Could you update it as more things happen?"<br /><br />I may update the post, but more likely I'll be adding new material as new posts, such as this -<br /><br />http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/11/sunday-afternoon-on-island-of-uc-davis.html<br /><br />and this -<br /><br />http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com/2011/11/redefining-active-resistance.html<br /><br />I may drop the topic altogether for a week or two while blogging about chickenpox parties and leaf blowers and slime molds and histoplasmosis.<br /><br />I don't think you and your friends will have any trouble locating updates on OWS-related activities. Frankly, I think it would be hard to avoid such in the weeks to come.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br /><br />stanMinnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-85108568277785837442011-11-21T20:27:16.335-06:002011-11-21T20:27:16.335-06:00@ DRC
The blogpost included more than just UC Da...@ DRC <br /><br />The blogpost included more than just UC Davis. There was also Newt Gingrich, Portland,Seattle & now St. Louis. All of them are due to OWSStephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532057646983133660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23751577448821500072011-11-21T19:12:20.118-06:002011-11-21T19:12:20.118-06:00I love your blog. And a big THANK YOU for posting ...I love your blog. And a big THANK YOU for posting this. I've sent this to everyone I know because there isn't a balanced place where all of this exists in one place.<br /><br />My request to you, is I've sent permalinks. Could you update it as more things happen? <br /><br />I know I need media blackouts because i slowly go insane, but when when you see somesthing, say something?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-51465304604869364922011-11-21T17:56:05.438-06:002011-11-21T17:56:05.438-06:00boilingfrogs have a chilling video of police menta...boilingfrogs have a chilling video of police mentalityAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-14321505049009539372011-11-21T17:31:47.444-06:002011-11-21T17:31:47.444-06:00Hey guys, I'm a little late to the dance here,...Hey guys, I'm a little late to the dance here, but I wanted to point out that the UC Davis protest was specific to UC Davis; namely, they were protesting a rise in tuition costs.<br /><br />From Bob Ostertag's post at that other website:<br />"Just six years ago, tuition at the University of California was $5357. Tuition is currently $12,192. According to current proposals, it will be $22,068 by 2015-2016."<br />(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-ostertag/uc-davis-protest_b_1103039.html)<br /><br />If these are UC students protesting UC policy on UC property, why are we including arguments about Occupy Wall Street in this discussion?DRShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11893481341175261281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-27034020076382339862011-11-21T11:42:53.416-06:002011-11-21T11:42:53.416-06:00Stephen said: "Fair? One example. How about B...Stephen said: "Fair? One example. How about Bank of America paying their taxes instead of foreclosing on peoples homes? Not just not paying their share, but not paying *at all*"<br /><br />I forgot to mention the rebates! Refunds given to these corporations from the IRS. Tax Rebates for the tax they never paid. Bank of America (easy to use as examples) received $1.9 Billion in IRS tax refunds last year after it made $4.4 Billion Dollars in profits. But the dept is constantly shoveled onto the backs of the average workersStephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532057646983133660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-89280486941230710942011-11-21T11:10:04.868-06:002011-11-21T11:10:04.868-06:00Thank fuck I do not live in your countryThank fuck I do not live in your countryAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-67095821756332799792011-11-21T04:40:47.385-06:002011-11-21T04:40:47.385-06:00Anonymous: "What exactly is your argument?&qu...Anonymous: "What exactly is your argument?"<br /><br />Just because Americans could, in the spirit of giving, divert their Black Friday spending every year to solve world hunger (<a href="http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1043" rel="nofollow">National Retail Federation</a>, <a href="http://www.fao.org/Newsroom/en/news/2008/1000853/index.html" rel="nofollow">UN Food and Agriculture Organization</a>) is no reason to assume that there aren't plenty of <a href="http://feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/hunger-facts/hunger-and-poverty-statistics.aspx" rel="nofollow">starving Americans</a>.<br /><br />Anonymous: "it sounds like you're arguing for a flat tax"<br /><br />No, not at all. My statement merely reflects my belief that there are systemic problems which, until they are addressed, will undermine every redress and lead us back to the situation which we face at present.<br /><br />Treating elected officials like ordinary Americans (i.e. put them under constant surveillance), cracking down on corporate tax evasion, and experimenting with direct democracy seem like worthwhile ventures which have yet to be explored.<br /><br />It'd be foolish to claim to have the answers or a "perfect" system but, until we start trying something different, it's foolish to claim "we're working on it".Z. Constantinehttp://blog.operator-speaking.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-65581663113128160992011-11-20T22:37:38.694-06:002011-11-20T22:37:38.694-06:00Fair? One example. How about Bank of America payin...Fair? One example. How about Bank of America paying their taxes instead of foreclosing on peoples homes? Not just not paying their share, but not paying *at all*<br /><br />People from less developed nations don't need to come to countries that have a lot of money to protest. They can do that at home, against the same corporations. Although is they wanted to come over and join the cause I'd welcome them with open arms.<br /><br />Anon, go type in "farmers protest monsanto" & "bolivia protest water" into google and have a good look through them. Also watch "Inside Job", it's on-line and free to view. It's the absolute, sheer greed by the 1% that sickens me. I feel for these people all over the world. But I can't get a job to give money to charity, my government is too busy giving billions of euro to the banks and IMF at the moment to give a flying F*ck about the state of the country. Goodluck & GoodnightStephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532057646983133660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-37815752339961471822011-11-20T21:13:52.033-06:002011-11-20T21:13:52.033-06:00Stephen said: "If these protesters say they w...Stephen said: "If these protesters say they want to make things a little fairer for all, why not let them try, hell why not help them."<br /><br />'Fairer'... That's the problem. People disagree on what 'fairer' is. The 1% think it would be 'fairer' for them to keep more of the money they make. They think it's unfair for the government to take it and give it to others.<br /><br />As for the 'peaceful' protesters -- I wonder wonder how much the 99% would like it if the world's poor -- from Asia, Latin America, etc -- came and camped 'peacefully' on their property. <br /><br />Let me ask you, Minnesotastan: How would you feel if your yard was 'occupied'? Do you invite migrant laborers over for dinner? How much of your money do you donate to charity? Should I be allowed to force you to donate more, to a charity of my choosing? Why let the government do it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-20020528022816787262011-11-20T20:49:27.798-06:002011-11-20T20:49:27.798-06:00Don't you hate it when you spend 15minutes wri...Don't you hate it when you spend 15minutes writing a long reply and it doesn't even register, will copy this one to make sure :P<br /><br />Basic jist this time :)<br /><br />I linked to this page: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/11/why-i-feel-bad-for-the-pepper-spraying-policeman-lt-john-pike/248772/ ) <br /><br />Which delves a little into recent police tactics. It also has a documentary linked in on the page involving police tactics and the state of media reports at the time.<br /><br />These OWS "mobs" are peaceful from what I've seen. They should be commended for the courage to stand up against the violent mob of police. Which can potentially turn on them on the whim form the Mayor (or whoever gives him orders).<br /><br />For one to criticize this movement, you might want to take a long hard look at where your moral compass points. To criticize the protesters, you would have to look past the moral and economic crimes of the 1%. The unparalleled greed, corruption and violence that put profit over people is sickening to the soul. It's not just in America that the 1% is ruling, they in the form of multi-national corporations stretching all over the planet and into every facet of your life. <br /><br />If these protesters say they want to make things a little fairer for all, why not let them try, hell why not help them.Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532057646983133660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-75801843698966515592011-11-20T20:10:45.491-06:002011-11-20T20:10:45.491-06:00Z.Constantine: I don't think we should ignore...Z.Constantine: I don't think we should ignore subversion of democracy. I agree that for the most part the American government no longer represents people -- it represents money. That's a problem. It's not a new or unique problem. Remember that in the country of our Founding Fathers, only white male property owners could vote -- a clear oligarchy if there ever was one.<br /><br />What exactly is your argument? That the rich and poor should be subject to the same rules? If so, it sounds like you're arguing for a flat tax, which would be much more regressive than the system we have now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-88849281168354396442011-11-20T19:41:09.057-06:002011-11-20T19:41:09.057-06:00Anonymous: "We Americans tend to get a little...Anonymous: "We Americans tend to get a little narrow-minded, and forget that we're pretty much all the 1% if you consider the entire world."<br /><br />When one considers how fundamentally broken (poverty, starvation, superstition) things are on a global scale, turning one's attention to an immediate problem - <i>why can't humans evenly apply the rule of law and provide just governance to a small subset of their population?</i> - seems hardly an exercise in futility.<br /><br />Why should Americans ignore subversion of democracy and concentration of power, exactly?Z. Constantinehttp://blog.operator-speaking.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-90545136479228825542011-11-20T19:35:37.654-06:002011-11-20T19:35:37.654-06:00These OWS "mobs", are for the most part ...These OWS "mobs", are for the most part peaceful mobs. I think they should be commended for their courage in standing up the violent police mob.<br /><br />(Interesting article and documentary film about changes in police tactics and and media's failure in reporting: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/11/why-i-feel-bad-for-the-pepper-spraying-policeman-lt-john-pike/248772/)<br /><br />If the OWS movement is actually trying to change things and make life a bit more fairer for everyone on the planet, then why not let them try? It is due to the Corporations within the 1% that have influence around the globe, that contribute to America's high status on a global scale. When it's profit before people, we're all losing. <br /><br />To criticize a peaceful protest movement like this, I think it might be high time you took a long hard look at which way your moral compass points. Look into it even a teeny-tiny bit, just scratch the surface of what they are fighting for and what they are up against and you'll see that you can't criticize these peaceful (hopefully they stay that way) protesters without feeling absolutely sickened to the soul by the enormous, greedy, corrupt, immoral structures that are the 1%Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15532057646983133660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-76192618140174271962011-11-20T18:37:25.521-06:002011-11-20T18:37:25.521-06:00Wow... Godwin's Law takes effect.
1920s-1930s...Wow... Godwin's Law takes effect.<br /><br />1920s-1930s Germany was a very different place economically and socially. The fear of leftist socialism then was somewhat rational given the running violence throughout Europe and horrifying recent bloodshed during and following the revolution in Russia.<br /><br />There really is no comparison.<br /><br />The German media -- which normally is very attentive to, and obsessive about, any right wing oppression or nazi-like thing -- barely even mentions the Occupy Wall Street movement, and doesn't follow it closely. They are busy reporting on truly significant movements, such as those in the mid-East, etc.<br /><br />We Americans tend to get a little narrow-minded, and forget that we're pretty much all the 1% if you consider the entire world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-1625081952268354462011-11-20T18:26:49.566-06:002011-11-20T18:26:49.566-06:00"If you don't think someone should be afr..."If you don't think someone should be afraid of a mob, you should look up the things mobs are capable of"<br /><br />I'll second what Bub says here. The mobs that I'm afraid of are the Tea Party one's with their gun signs and threats.<br /><br />http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjbrenchley/4448018629/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23592281213145099052011-11-20T18:20:17.963-06:002011-11-20T18:20:17.963-06:00The pic of the cop calmly spraying demonstrators w...The pic of the cop calmly spraying demonstrators who are obviously not doing anything confrontational tells us a LOT about the tacit permission the cops are given.<br /><br />Such was the case in Germany in the 1920s, after WWI. I was doing research for a book and found out a great deal about this period. The courtroom judges in Germany were essentially the same ones grandfathered in from the days of the Empire, so they were very pro-authoritarian. This translated into a double-standard court system, wherein right wing groups were afforded very wide latitude, sometimes even getting off completely scot-free for murders for which there were witnesses. Any violence on the left, however, was treated with great severity.<br /><br />It was this right-wing judge inactivity which gave the Brown Shirts the encouragement to ramp up the violence. While it is not explicitly the same in today's America, the trend is very much the same. The believers in authority, like Newt Gingrich, give a pass to violence and incitement to violence (which is a felony) at Tea-Party rallies, and who support police brutality upon peaceful ralliers whom they disagree with.<br /><br />I've been saying for some time now that this trend is a very scary development. We all may say that, "It can't happen here," that Brown Shirts and Nazis aren't possible in America. But Germany back then considered itself to have the most civilized culture in Europe, and look what happened.<br /><br />We are on thinner ice than most people think. When believers in authority start feeding off each other with "Us versus them" talk, it isn't only the Arabs or communists that they decide to bash, literally. Ask the National Socialists of Germany at the time; they were the middle-of-the-road party, and all it got them was a lot of time in Dachau - or worse.. . . . TDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16580615265824680170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-90465192614775328702011-11-20T18:01:51.996-06:002011-11-20T18:01:51.996-06:00If you don't think someone should be afraid of...If you don't think someone should be afraid of a mob, you should look up the things mobs are capable of - or you could ask Muammar Qaddafi, Reginald Denny, Emmett Till, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Mussolini, most of the black people who lived in Tulsa circa 1920, et cetera et cetera.<br /><br />I live in Oakland and my office is two blocks from Frank Ogawa plaza (named after the first Asian-American city councilor, renamed by the OO'ers after a wannabe street thug) - all Occupy Oakland has accomplished is getting 25 low level city employees laid off, ending the progressive mayor's political career, lowering office rents 20% (though even that probably won't be enough to get businesses to move to Oakland or stay there now which will eventually bankrupt the city), getting a drug dealer killed (he was probably doomed anyway)and getting the middle class solidly behind the 1%. Well done youngsters.Bubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07367554651401120819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23040452625616354302011-11-20T16:17:52.965-06:002011-11-20T16:17:52.965-06:00@ turtle - that's an interesting link. Thanks...@ turtle - that's an interesting link. Thanks.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-50636053694690215572011-11-20T16:06:40.418-06:002011-11-20T16:06:40.418-06:00Fascinating, Mel. I've bumped an excerpt abov...Fascinating, Mel. I've bumped an excerpt above the fold. <br /><br />Thanks.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-13129655123487120412011-11-20T15:54:43.293-06:002011-11-20T15:54:43.293-06:00the frightening thing is how casual the pepper spr...the frightening thing is how casual the pepper spraying policeman seems to be going about his job. He looks as if he's out watering his tomatoesnewzeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16469466986488398471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-71609851469900163722011-11-20T13:58:19.861-06:002011-11-20T13:58:19.861-06:00Thanks, I hadn't seen those yet. The timing...Thanks, I hadn't seen those yet. The timing's perfect - all this violence is happening just when the news was starting to get bored with OWS. They couldn't have done OWS a bigger favor if they'd tried.<br /><br />By contrast, you might be interested in this: http://bradhicks.livejournal.com/452788.html St. Louis police evicted their local Occupy camp without so much as raising their voices, and didn't even bother bringing riot shields or pepper spray. While I hate to see an Occupy movement get shut down so effectively, it's a textbook example of how police can quietly, peacefully handle protesters. The rest of the world should take lessons.Mel V.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-30482919360635723722011-11-20T13:42:02.248-06:002011-11-20T13:42:02.248-06:00Well, our material wealth is obviously NOT being s...Well, our material wealth is obviously NOT being spent on providing you with a quality education, Sam... think about it!Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17822820465535539404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-85268497418385821582011-11-20T13:19:49.742-06:002011-11-20T13:19:49.742-06:00Pepper spraying is bad policy I would have to agre...Pepper spraying is bad policy I would have to agree. I would however encourage everyone to research the origins of OWS, it was started by a Canadian activist group Adbusters. Seems someone has an agenda for our country, like maybe sewing discontent. We still have way more material wealth than 90% of the rest of the world. Think about it !Samnoreply@blogger.com