Call to Action to #StopTPP #July7 #J7 by Occupy San Diego

To our brothers in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Canada, Brunei, Vietnam, and across the US, Join us in Occupy San Diego on July 7 to #StopTPP. The TPP is the new NAFTA, but this time if going after everything from land and resources to intellectual property affecting all sorts of communities, labor unions, medical access, the environment, and technological innovation. It must be stop. We want to invite everyone to San Diego, to raise our voices and take the streets with pots and pans. If you can’t make it to San Diego, we invite you to organize locally with environmental, unions, and activists. We must let the US and the corporate 1% that we don’t want the TPP. No to the TPP and Corporate Colonialism! Yes to local sustainability and autonomous communities. 

anoncentral:

http://www.sandiegooccupy.org/node/309

our new website just launched www.stoptpp.org

Occupy San Diego Call To Action TPP (Japanese)

Inspired to Act? Do It In Sunny San Diego!
NO to TPP “Free Trade” YES to Sustainable Local Economies and Food Sovereignty
by Occupy San Diego & Occupy City Heights

We are waking up. The fog is lifting. We are sweeping away the bullshit.

From July 2 to July 10, the political leaders of the Pacific Rim nations are meeting in San Diego to turn the Pacific Ocean and its peoples into a giant privatized corporate lake characterized by non-union workers, Wal-Mart supply chain feeders, poisoned, landless agricultural laborers, a dying biodiversity, and rising, drowning sea levels. We cannot and will not let this happen.

The TPP meeting is officially referred to as the 13th Round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Talks. The nations involved are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Chile, and Peru. Japan, Mexico and Canada have indicated a desire to join. The economic power of this group is more than 40% larger than the 27-nation European Union. The claimed purpose of TPP is to promote development and create jobs.

However, this meeting is in fact one of the final conclaves to secretly negotiate the economic structural adjustments necessary to appease the world’s largest multinational banks and multi-unit corporations. Make no mistake, these talks have nothing to do with free trade between equal nations. Rather, they are negotiations being conducted on behalf of these corporations and banks by their willing and highly-paid governments (supported by their militaries and police departments) to systematize the exploitation of the Pacific Rim peoples and increase the capital acquisition rates of the 1%. The essence of these talks is to privatize natural resources (despite the wishes of the world’s indigenous peoples;) restructure each country’s trade, labor, environmental, and finance laws; and reduce or eradicate social services to the people. These policies are known the world over as neoliberalism. Historically, they have been instituted around the world ever since the brutal taking of power in Chile, on September 11, 1973, by the fascist regime of General Augusto Pinochet. These policies, thus experimented with, spread to countries as widespread as the U.K., the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Indonesia, Russia, Poland, Sri Lanka, and now Greece. They have been implemented by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, a plethora of “Free Trade” treaties (such as NAFTA), and various militaries. Enough is enough! ¡Ya basta

The General Assemblies of Occupy San Diego and Occupy City Heights hereby invites our communities, our regional neighbors, and our co-inhabitants of Earth, in general, to join us in both protesting the TPP and also in creating a new world. We will march with pots and pans, and drums. (Can you hear me now?) We will sponsor an international week-long conference and roundtables on what is wrong with the TPP Pact and what are the people’s alternatives.

Something Is Cooking In San Diego. Get Out Your Pots and Pans and March. Come Exchange Knowledge at Our OSD Conference and Roundtables.

¡Que Viva la Gente! We are the 99%!

CONTACT US: osdnotpp@gmail.com 06/02/2012

gonzodave:

PBS | Are we becoming a police state? Five things that have civil liberties advocates nervous

By Sal Gentile  December 7, 2011

Is our Constitution under siege?

Many civil liberties advocates fear it might be. They’re worried about a provision tucked into the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, approved by the Senate last week, that would allow the military to detain without a trial any American citizen accused of being a terrorist, or of supporting terrorists who plot attacks against the United States. The ACLU called the proposal “an extreme position that will forever change our country.”

The indefinite detention provision is just one of many trends in policing and law enforcement that have civil liberties advocates alarmed. New external threats, as well as technological advancements, are posing new challenges to our Constitutional rights, advocates say. Policymakers are debating those issues in Congress and in the courts right now, and the decisions they make could have fundamental consequences for what it means to be an American.

Here are five issues that are especially worrisome to civil liberties watchdogs:

 

1. Indefinite military detentions of U.S. citizens

The provision, part of the bill that authorizes Pentagon spending for 2012, was drafted by Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and has bipartisan support in the Senate. The thinking, according to supporters, is that “America is part of the battlefield” in the so-called war on terror, as Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire put it, so Americans should be fair game when it comes to finding and arresting terrorists.

The bill, however, takes the power to arrest and detain terrorists away from law enforcement officials, like the police or FBI, and gives it to the military, which, under the law, would have the power to imprison an American who “substantially supports” Al Qaeda, the Taliban or “associated forces” indefinitely, “without trial until the end of the hostilities.” And those hostilities aren’t likely to “end” any time soon, since the law that authorizes the use of military force against terrorists has no expiration date.

2. Targeting U.S. citizens for killing

Last week, lawyers for the Obama administration defended for the first time the administration’s decision to target radical Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, for killing. Awlawki, who was born in New Mexico, was killed in an American missile strike in September; the ACLU has criticized the targeted killing program as blatantly violating the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees that no American citizen shall “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.”

At a national security conference last week, the lawyers for the Obama administration, CIA counsel Stephen Preston and Pentagon counsel Jeh Johnson, said American citizens are legitimate targets for killing when they take up arms against the U.S., according to the Associated Press. Jameel Jaffer, a deputy legal director for the ACLU, said in an interview in September that the targeted killing program sets up a precedent in which “U.S. citizens far from any battlefield can be executed by their own government.”

3. Arresting witnesses for recording police actions

The raids at Occupy Wall Street encampments across the country have earned media attention primarily for their glaring instances of police brutality. But they’ve also tested the boundaries of police authority when it comes to limiting media access to police operations. As many as 30 journalists have been arrested covering Occupy protests, including many who clearly identified themselves as credentialed members of the media. Officials in New York and L.A., for example, have also tried to tightly restrict media access to the Occupy encampments, setting up barricades far away from the actual raids and allowing only hand-picked journalists to go behind police lines.

Civil liberties advocates have decried these tactics as attempts to stifle media coverage of the raids. But the media blackouts are representative of a broader trend in law enforcement in recent years in which the police have been arresting citizens simply for recording official police actions in public places. Twelve states, for example, have adopted “eavesdropping” laws that prohibit people from videotaping police actions without the officers’ consent. And in California, police officials have openly stated that they will arrest people taking photographs without “apparent esthetic value” if those people seem suspicious. Several courts have ruled these policies unconstitutional.

4. Using GPS to track your every move

The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule soon on a case that could have far-reaching consequences for privacy in the 21st Century. The justices were asked to decide whether the police could use GPS devices to track people suspected of crimes without first obtaining a warrant. Police across the country use GPS devices to track the movements of thousands of criminal suspects every year, but critics say the practice violates the Fourth Amendment prohibition against “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

In oral arguments in November, several justices expressed concern that, as technology improves, the power to track a U.S. citizens’ every move would only become more dangerous. “If you win this case, then there is nothing to prevent the police or the government from monitoring 24 hours a day the public movement of every citizen of the United States,” Justice Stephen Breyer told the lawyer for the Justice Department, which is defending warrantless GPS tracking. That, Breyer added, “sounds like ’1984.’”

5. Surveillance drones spying on American soil

The use of drones to spy on states like Pakistan and Iran has become so popular in national security circles that many domestic law enforcement agencies are now considering using these spy planes to conduct covert surveillance on American soil. Drones are already used to patrol the U.S.-Mexico border, but now many police officials across the country are advocating for the use of drones in other types of police actions, like hunting fugitives, finding missing children and monitoring protest movements.

These drones, advocates note, can not only monitor large urban expanses, they can also use artificial intelligence “seek out and record certain types of suspicious behavior,” whatever that may be. The Orlando police, for example, initially requested two spy drones to help police the Republican National Convention next year, before changing their minds for budgetary reasons. Some police officials have even openly discussed arming the spy planes with “non-lethal weapons” like Tasers or bean bag guns.

These drones, and other tactics imported from battlefield to American soil, are an example of how the “war on terror” has threatened core protections guaranteed to American citizens by the Constitution, civil liberties advocates say. The erosion of these protections has been supported by both Democrats and Republicans alike. And, as the ACLU put it, the debate over these tactics “goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans.”

scottrossi:

Whack A Mole Revolution: A guide to Pop Up Occupations

Version 1.0 12/1/11 OccupySF Committee of Correspondence and 101 Tribe Affinity Group

In the past few months, we have seen our Occupations rise and fall in the face of police raids and eviction actions. The political environment has become increasingly hostile to our presence, even as we gain support and new members from the 99%. This generally translates into the removal of our Occupations as a permanent presence, the mass arrest of dozens of Occupiers and the confiscation and destruction of much of our personal property. Setting aside debates and questions on the legality and constitutional backing for our actions, this requires a change in tactics. 

Maintaining a presence and offering educational and outreach experiences is extremely vital in this stage of our movement. We in OccupySF, specifically an affinity group known as the “101 Tribe”, have come up with a novel and fun tactic we want to share with Occupiers everywhere. We call this the “Pop Up Occupation”. 

The idea of a Pop Up Occupation, is centered around several core concepts: mobility, visibility, novelty, and creativity. Pop Ups are mobile and are a barebones Occupation, with a tiny kitchen (mostly sandwiches and snacks), mobile library, info table and a first aid kit (unless you’re lucky enough to have a street medic in your affinity group). The mobile and small nature of the Pop Up allows you to be present in high traffic areas where it wouldn’t typically be possible to have a presence aside from a few members of your Outreach team or on the occasion of larger protest actions. The final two core concepts go hand in hand: novelty and creativity. The response to the OccupySF Pop Up Occupation has been overwhelmingly positive. People see a bunch of happy, motivated, passionate and informed protesters with fun signs and chalk drawings on the sidewalk and they approach with a smile, buy us coffee, and most importantly, have great conversations that they can take home to their friends and families and coworkers.

Pop Ups present a great face to the world for your Occupation and the movement as a whole, without vilifying or detracting from the main site. They also throw the police departments off balance, especially if there’s more than one Pop Up in action. Generally, we’re expected to have a permanent encampment and settle in an area and start erecting tents and other structures, and then satellite encampments. This throws a monkey wrench into their assumptions and response plans, as it’s just a table, some storage bins, and a bunch of sleeping bags and blankets at night, and we change spaces every few days to a new protest site. Aside from educating the public at large, it also serves to educate Occupiers on the predations and abuses of the various banks and corporations we find in our communities. 

The following page is a reproduction of the 101 Tribe’s “Tips on How to Start and Maintain a ‘Pop Up’ Occupation/Affinity Group” sheet that was passed out today at the OccupySF General Assembly. Please read, reproduce and distribute this information to Occupations everywhere! This is part of the #O2 Occupy 2.0 movement. Love and Solidarity! 

101 Tribe’s Tips on How to Start and Maintain a “Pop Up” Occupation/Affinity Group

Foster trust between people in your affinity group.

a) Take the time to personally get to know each other and build trust

b) Build trust by proving reliability and communicating with each other

Come together and establish a working set of guidelines that all adhere to and consent upon

a) These guidelines are naturally unspoken rules and ideals that everyone in the affinity group follows on a daily basis, but discussing and writing them down is helpful in maintaining order and welcoming and integrating new Occupiers. 

i. for example: the 101 Tribe created and consensed on guidelines in one meeting. The three guidelines are: 

1. When present, all Occupiers in this affinity group with participate and engage in a minimum amount of protesting (flying, making signs, manning the info table, engaging the public through think tank discussions, cleaning, etc)

2. maintaining a tolerable level of hygiene (if you can smell yourself, we probably can too!)

3. No drugs or alcohol on site and no sloppy behavior

Know your 1st Amendment Rights to assemble and free speech

a) Groups are allowed a non wooden table for information

b) Signs and sign making materials are freedom of speech

c) Vandalism of property is different than chalk and signs

d) Be aware of site lie law and what police can choose to enforce

Civil Disobedience

a) 101 Tribe recommends being as mobile as possible, which involves keeping belongings in sight and keeping on site storage to a minimum.

b) Different affinity groups may have different goals as far as specific occupation site stability but be aware that if tents are erected, police will most likely commandeer property and area.

Have established daily or nightly meetings with your affinity group

a) set a time that works best for the majority of the group and discuss long term and short term plans. 

Establish and set a mission and goals

a) Be realistic about goals when setting concrete long and short term goals

b) Affinity groups should be in line with Occupation goals, but can be focused on a specific mission.

Dealing with violence

a) All affinity groups should declare with redundant accessibility that NON- VIOLENCE is of the primary values of this Occupation movement. Likewise, all and any members of an affinity group displaying any violent temperament or aggressive behavioral patterns, should be reminded by those not exhibiting such characteristics, that violence and aggression are not believed to be the best, or even favorable mode for addressing issues. While also reminding any such individuals displaying such behavior that they hold the ultimate dictate of their current state of able self maintenance as well that groups and people exist who specialize in aiding such self development. Should no responsive progress in their behavioral patterns be apparent, the next suggested action is to remind such people that all who hold contrast to such contexts are fully willing to expose such behavior. The next step is getting peacekeepers involved. 

Note: it is 4:16am and i should have gone to bed hours ago. i’ve been at OccupySF all day and most of the night. please forgive any spelling/punctuation/grammar errors. we’re sans scanner, so the second half of this was typed word for word via hard copy.

Occupy San Diego Benefit Concert Show Featuring Liquid Blue, on Wed, Dec 14th

What: Occupy San Diego Benefit Concert Show featuring world’s most traveled band Liquid Blue

When: Wed, Dec 14th from 7:30pm - 2:00am

Where: the Ruby Room 1271 University Ave,

Only $5 and all proceeds go to OSD.

All the music at this event will be socially conscious.

Should monetary policy respond to asset prices and asset bubbles? This is a highly controversial issue, both from an academic research point of view and, more importantly, from a policy perspective. There is broad evidence that asset bubbles do occur from time to time, and that such bubbles may lead to economic distortions as well as financial and real economy instability. Thus, many authors argue that optimal monetary policy requires monetary policy authorities to react to such bubbles over and above the effects that such
bubbles have on current output growth, aggregate spending and expected inflation. Others are of the view that monetary policy should not react to asset prices or bubbles beyond the effect that such asset price movements directly have on inflation, aggregate spending and economic growth. In this paper, I will present the arguments in favor of the view that monetary policy should react to asset prices and asset bubbles; In the process, I will also discuss and refute the arguments against the use of monetary policy to address bubbles.

Source: http://web-docs.stern.nyu.edu/salomon/docs/crisis/Bubbles%20and%20Monetary%20%20Policy%20-%20Roubini.pdf

Read More

Developments in the financial sector have led to an expansion in its ability to spread risks. The increase in the risk bearing capacity of economies, as well as in actual risk taking, has led to a range of financial transactions that hitherto were not possible, and has created much greater access to finance for firms and households. On net, this has made the world much better off. Concurrently, however, we have also seen the emergence of a whole range of intermediaries, whose size and appetite for risk may expand over the cycle. Not only can these intermediaries accentuate real fluctuations, they can also leave themselves exposed to certain small probability risks that their own collective behavior makes more likely. As a result, under some conditions, economies may be more exposed to financial-sector-induced turmoil than in the past. The paper discusses the implications for monetary policy and prudential supervision. In particular, it suggests market-friendly policies that would reduce the incentive of intermediary managers to take excessive risk.