July 6-7, 2013 Global March to Dignity – Transnational Solidarity Weekend

InterOccupy | Global March to Dignity – Transnational Solidarity Weekend 6-7 July 2013 [EN. TR, PT, BG, FR, ES, IT]:

• Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt…. once more the fire of the global revolution is sweeping out the entire planet. We are taking streets, squares, parks in millions and revolting against the police brutality, torture, environmental destruction, corruption, the looting of the commons by the 1%.

'via Blog this'

July 4, 2013 Restore the Fourth protests across the nation

Home | Restore the Fourth:

Find a Protest in Your Area.

'via Blog this'

How to protest against NSA surveillance on the Fourth of July

People's Blog for the Constitution » How to protest against NSA surveillance on Fourth of July:

This is a guide we put together about planning and executing successful protests.

'via Blog this'

March 16-23, 2013 Week of Action to Stop Tar Sands Profiteers video invitation

Ethan's testimonial video on why he blockades, presented on his birthday 2-28, and an invitation to join Tar Sands Blockade in the March 16th-23rd Week of Action to Stop Tar Sands Profiteers.

"Why We Blockade" 2-28 YouTube video

For more info:
www.tarsandsblockade.org/weekofaction
www.twitter.com/kxlblockade
www.facebook.com/tarsandsblockade

How to break the banks that stole from America

>> 5 Ways to Break the Banks That Stole from America | Occupy.com:
'via Blog this'


"5 Ways to break the banks that stole from America"
by Stephen Lerner
Occupy.com
August 9, 2012

• Two critical tools--the LIBOR fraud scandal and the potential to start exercising eminent domain to seize bank-owned properties--can supercharge the ongoing campaigns focused on Wall Street. For the first time we can align moral and legal arguments with real leverage to demand that banks renegotiate the debt that is bankrupting communities and drowning homeowners around the country. The single most important step we can take to address local budget deficits is to force banks to renegotiate toxic deals held by local government and to rewrite mortgages for underwater homeowners. Combined, this would pump hundreds of billions into local economies.

• It is time to REBEL against Wall Street and the big banks and to start fixing the economy and reclaim our democracy. There are five steps to this [details in article]:
• Renegotiate public and housing debt.
• Exercise eminent domain.
• Boycott big banks and move public money.
• Enact resolutions at local governments and pension funds.
• Litigate and legislate.

• It is our responsibility to REBEL. All of our futures depend on it!

198 methods of civil resistance, with today's technology

>> Civil Resistance 2.0 | 198 Nonviolent Methods Upgraded:
'via Blog this'


"Civil Resistance 2.0 | 198 Nonviolent Methods Upgraded"
The Meta-Activism Project
Last edit 23 days ago

• The purpose of this research project is to revisit Gene Sharp's 198 methods of nonviolent protest within the context of new digital technologies and social media platforms.

Three Google Docs spreadsheets list his methods, upgraded "2.0" methods and remarks.  A summary sheet concludes the work.

Anyone may contribute to the web spreadsheets online.

A cover story by Meta-Activism's blog gives additional information about the project.

Join a nonviolent protest or set up your own with the Protest4 app

>> How to organize and communicate a non-violent protest using the Protest4 App | Movements.org:
'via Blog this'


"How to organize and communicate a non-violent protest using the Protest4 App"
posted by Rachel Silver
Movements.org
n.d.

• Protest4 is an application that helps you connect with other protesters around the world and in the next street. It empowers anyone to create a protest and then invite others to join using social media. After joining you can communicate exclusively with other people who are following that protest, sharing text and publishing images on the same protest wall in real time.

• Find developing protests near you
• Recruit new people to join your protest
• Amazing on-the-day crowd management tool with all protestors publishing comments and images on the same wall in real-time
• Connect one-to-one with anybody in your protest before, during and after a protest

• Protest4 is Multi Platform available on the iPhone, Android, and Facebook.

Successful small group nonviolent corporation protest

From:  How a small group can take a long walk -- and make a difference, by George Lakey  |  Waging Nonviolence

• The anthropologist Margaret Mead famously said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  

• Her sentiment emboldened a handful of Philadelphia-area Quakers who were deeply concerned about eco-justice to tackle climate change by using direct action. It spurred us to ask: How can we be most strategic in using our limited numbers and resources?

The article follows with a story of how the small group successfully conducted its civic engagement work.

September 17, 2012 Black Monday by Occupy Wall Street

From:  Sept 17th OWS Black Monday on Wall Street, by IO JR  |  InterOccupy

• We [Occupy Wall Street] will form a massive moving picket line on our 1 year anniversary, and continue the conversation we started one year prior with boots on the ground.

• People from all over the world get ready to shut it down…

• Join the event on Facebook

Nonviolent corporate insurgency and protest

From: A lesson in defection from Goldman Sachs, by Nathan Schneider | Waging Nonviolence | April 13, 2012, 12:12 pm

• The [Occupy] movement’s usual mode of attack against corporations or police departments it doesn’t like is to shout slogans about how bad they are. “Fuck Monsanto” and “fuck the police” are particularly popular refrains in New York lately. 

• One could argue that Greg Smith reminds us that there’s a better — and perhaps more nonviolent — way: If you want to get an institution to eat itself alive, don’t just denounce it altogether. Instead, find ways to make its most committed and loyal members consider whether the institution really lives up to its own cherished values, and let them do their thing.  They’re the ones who can stir up far more trouble with far less effort than anyone on the outside ever could.

• Then again, despite eliciting far less buzz in the mainstream media or sympathy from Mayor Bloomberg, the Occupy movement’s West Coast Port Shutdown on December 12 of last year, which targeted properties owned by Goldman Sachs, hit the company’s stock price almost twice as hard as Greg Smith’s op-ed. That kind of approach also has an appealing honesty. When a company’s cherished values really are intolerable — in Goldman’s case, protecting the wealth of the 1 percent — perhaps there’s no substitute for simply going into the streets and shutting it down.

Legal tips for protester engagement with police in New York City

ACLU:  Blog of Rights
From:  NYCLU on the Scene at Wall Street Protests  |  Posted by Jennifer Carnig, New York Civil Liberties Union  |  Comments open.

• Inspired by the Arab Spring, a group of a few hundred protesters have occupied a park right off of Wall Street for more than a week, seeking attention for what they call a greedy and unjust financial system.  The staff of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has been on the scene talking to protesters, learning about their experiences with police, and passing out Know Your Rights guides on protesting in New York City and on surviving police encounters.
• Interested in joining them? Here’s a few things to keep in mind when you’re protesting in New York City:
• You have a right to stand or march on sidewalks without a permit.
• You may photograph or video the cops, but do not interfere with police action.
• Remember officers’ badge numbers, names and physical descriptions.
• File complaints about misconduct by calling 311.
• If you march in the street without a permit, you risk arrest.
• If ordered to disperse, do so unless you want to be arrested.

The ACLU-- American Civil Liberties Union-- has a strong history of legally assisting people, both before and after any possible incidents with the police.  Also, remember that training in protester nonviolence techniques helps relations with police during tense situations.  Be safe and respectful!

Several large protests are planned for the next couple of months in the US

From: Waging Nonviolence
Why aren’t Americans in the streets? Where is the American Autumn? | Aug 13, 2011

• Americans may not be out on the streets yet, but they’re planning on it. Just wait—or get involved. People are organizing. The more they prepare, the more likely they are to carry out actions worthy of their goals.
• Something is happening. Even Al Gore said, earlier this month, that we need an “American Spring.” How about an American Autumn [#AmericanAutumn]?
• For the past few weeks, we at Waging Nonviolence have been talking with individuals and groups that are involved in one way or another in a variety of powerful new protest efforts. Here are a few of them:

• Environmental activists—including Bill McKibben, James Hansen, and Wendell Berry— are undertaking sustained civil resistance to fight the proposed pipeline taking oil from the Canadian tar sands to refineries in Texas. They consider this a crucial battleground in the fight to ameliorate climate change. [http://www.tarsandsaction.org/]

• [Update 8/14/11] Citizens for Legitimate Government is calling for Seize DC, a plan to occupy space in the city, without permits, in protest of “endless, illegal, murderous and bankrupting war abroad; endless, brutal and bankrupting attacks on the vast majority at home.” [http://www.legitgov.org/seizedc]

• After Adbusters called for a takeover of Wall Street on September 17th, a number of websites and organizations have joined in to support the cause—just look at this, this, this, this, and more. An ongoing, open discussion has been taking place about what the movement’s demands will be—including proposals from taxing the rich to ending corporate contributions to political candidates. [https://occupywallst.org/]

• On October 6th, the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan, a broad coalition of old- and new-guard activists are planning to begin a sustained occupation of Freedom Plaza in downtown Washington DC, hoping to foster new momentum for a movement that will end American militarism abroad and put resources to use for people at home. [http://october2011.org]

• Between September 11th and October 7th, a group called 10 Years and Counting will be using art and performance to galvanize people into action against the ongoing wars. [http://www.10yearsandcounting.com/]

• A global day of action is being planned for October 15, a World Revolution for Real Democracy. In anticipation, Spanish Indignados are marching from Madrid to Brussels, with solidarity actions for September 17th and October 6th along the way.  [http://www.facebook.com/WorldRevolutionNow]

There has been a flowering of national protests in the United States, in the form of conventions, building of movements and coalitions, and organizing protests.  The flower is now in full display; how do you plan to engage in any of these events?  Are there any more protests/ marches/ sit-ins, etc. being organized?