Crockford's Place

JUXT-A-pose (there’s nothing to it!)

hahahaha

Too bad, James. I’ll never buy another ticket again.

JB: “I don’t know much about Israel. One of the reasons I wanna go there, is to find new music. When I was asked to come and play there, I thought - great, I’ll be able to know what things sound like there’. And I hope that the people who will accompany me in Israel will expose me to local music, or in general, music from this part of the world.”

You know, in recent years a few artists cancelled their Israel gigs at the last minute

JB: “why?”

Because of political pressure

JB: ”Oh, OK. I never cancel my gigs.”

“Has anyone tried to dissuade you from playing in Israel?

JB: No. No one had said anything. The thing is, I’m not interested in politics. I make music, and if people like my music, then I want to play it for them…[politics and music] are totally separate. We are all human beings and we all love music, so I have no reason in the world to cancel”

(from: http://e.walla.co.il/?w=/268/2501905 (Hebrew)…thing is, the gig isn’t listed on his website. WTF?)

Battle Dewey has been declared.

Mayor Menino has advised Occupy Boston participants that they need to pack up and leave Dewey square by midnight tonight — or else the city “will take further action.”

If that further action looks anything like the BPD’s raid on the Dewey expansion on October 11, 2011, protesters should take care and prepare themselves for a showdown with riot-gear clad police officers, out in force, who are willing to make things very uncomfortable for those who refuse to leave. (Video below)

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So what can protesters do to prepare themselves for tonight’s showdown? First of all, know that if you remain in the area, you will likely be arrested. The Mayor has suggested that much, and the events of October 11th are supporting evidence that he is unafraid to arrest non-violent demonstrators for refusal to disperse, trespassing, or unlawful assembly.

If you are planning to risk arrest:

• Take note of the National Lawyer’s Guild Boston chapter phone number: 617.227.7335. Write it on your arm, so that if your phone is confiscated you still have it. Note that if you are arrested and detained with a large group of demonstrators, please only call the NLG once. Tell them there are many of you; it’s easier for the lawyers to deal with fewer calls, and you’ll still get the help you need.
• Remember: do not resist the police. You can be charged with serious crimes for physically attempting to interfere with their arrest process. Be respectful and don’t allow them to provoke you into doing something you’ll regret. Try to remain calm. Know that people on the outside will be working for your release. 
• Also remember: do not talk to the police. The Boston police have a history of interrogating political arrestees about their political beliefs, seeking organizational intelligence information. You do not have to speak with them, no matter what they tell you. Say that you want to speak to your lawyer and clam up. Anything you say can be used against you, as you know from all those cop shows.
• Consider downloading the “I’m Getting Arrested” app if you have a smartphone. With one push of a button, the app sends an emergency message to a number of pre-programmed contacts announcing that you’ve been cuffed. 

Even if you aren’t risking arrest, take care to: 

• Know your rights at demonstrations.
• Bring vinegar soaked rags in case the police deploy tear gas, a chemical weapon.
• If you are worried about tear gas, do not wear contact lenses. But if you think you might be in a scuffle, be careful not to lose or break your glasses. Tough situation for the less than perfect sighted, indeed.
• Be the media: bring a fully charged cell phone and any other digital media makers. Tweet what you see. Be the eyes and ears of the world to help ensure that things don’t get out of hand. If they do, keep your footage and make it available to those who were arrested. It may help with their court cases.
• Know your limits. If you don’t want to be arrested, stand outside of the range of the police. Keep an eye out for their movements; you don’t want to get caught inside a kettle if you can help it.
• Remain calm and peaceful. Do not harass or disparage the police; it just makes things worse.

Occupy Boston strike announcement in solidarity with Occupy Oakland

November 2nd: A Day of Action at Occupy Boston

Higher Education for the 99% March at 12:30 PM

*Gather outside the Federal Reserve Bank, (600 Atlantic Ave. Boston 02210)*

By 2012, student debt will hit a trillion dollars. That’s about 70% of the
total federal deficit. It is already more than total credit card debt.
Meanwhile, universities are acting more and more like corporations, handing
out big salaries and bonuses to administrators while workers on campus
struggle to make a living wage.

Students and workers unite to demand: an end to student debt, good jobs for
all, and education as a human right!  Let’s kick corporate greed out of our
universities!

Action of Solidarity with Occupy Oakland at 5:00 PM

*Gather at Occupy Boston Camp in Dewey Sq. (near South Station)*

Join the 99% as we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters from
Oakland,  who had their Occupy camp violently raided on October 25th. The
Occupy movement has announced a national day of action on November 2nd in
solidarity with Occupy Oakland. Together, as students, labor, the
unemployed and all members of the 99%, we will take to the street and send
a message that our movement will not be silenced!

_____________________________________

Statement of Solidarity, passed by the Boston General Assembly on October 30, 2011: 

In the early morning of October 11, the Boston Police Department assaulted our right to freedom of speech and assembly when they arrested and detained 141 peaceful protesters. They tackled elderly veterans and subjected many of us to a 13-hour detention in cold jail cells without food. Hours after the raid, Mayor Menino trashed all of the tents, sleeping bags, laptops, and other personal property with which we had previously assembled.

Exactly two weeks later, Occupy Oakland was attacked by hundreds of riot police. The same week many other Occupy encampments across several US cities witness the same level of repression and destruction of their camp. Under the supervision of Mayor Jean Quan and knowledge of President Obama, who was present in San Francisco, their occupation site and personal property were completely destroyed by the police. Among the wreckage, were medical facilities, supplies, community kitchen that fed hundreds, and the new homes of scores of occupiers, many whom were previously homeless. One protestor, Iraq war veteran Scott Olson, member of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Veterans for Peace, was hospitalized after sustaining injuries from the police attack. The police used rubber bullets, tear gas, flash grenades, and sound cannons in an attempt to smash the Occupy Oakland movement with overwhelming force.

The Oakland General Assembly has called for a general strike on Wednesday, November 2nd. We support that call and stand with Oakland in saying:

+ We stand in full solidarity with Occupy Oakland, Occupy Chicago, Occupy Denver, Occupy Wall St. and any other Occupy movement in the US. and across the world!

+ We condemn the police raids in Boston, Oakland, Nashville, Austin, New York City and other similar attacks that have targeted the Occupy movement across the country!.

+ We stand in full solidarity with Iraq War veteran Scott Olsen, who suffered the most brutal manifestation of the police crackdown on the Occupy Oakland encampment!

+ We support the call to ask Mayor Jean Quan to resign!

+ We support judges and any other city officials who have refused, and will continue to refuse carrying out any acts of violence and repression against the Occupy movement in the interest of the 1%

+We urge all members of the 99% to take action on November 2nd to send a message that we will not be silenced, despite the attempt by mayors and police departments in Boston, Oakland, and across the country to repress and stifle our movement.

In Solidarity,

Occupy Boston

Memo to NPR, other cowardly, hypocritical media

Hey, NPR! Heard all about you firing people for expressing political views completely apart from their job descriptions. I think that sucks! But if you are going to do it, here’s a helpful list of things you need to also ban your employees from doing. You might want to sit down, it’s kinda long.

1. Voting
2. Rolling eyes at TV, radio, internet or print news items
3. Reading news in a public place, lest someone see that you follow a news organization not committed to the fake absence of politics in the newsroom your serious editorial objectivity standards
4. Having political conversations with people in your family around the dinner table
5. Having political conversations with anyone
6. Eating food (McDonalds vs. Whole Foods is CLEARLY a political choice)
7. Shifting your weight uncomfortably in your chair when you hear words related to politics
8. Making facial expressions that betray political leanings (i.e. raising an eyebrow when you hear a detailed description of Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 plan)
9. Watching TV (c’mon don’t act like you don’t know)
10. Reading books (everyone knows that books are political. Put it down, journo!)
11. Taking public transport (commie)
12. Living in Massachusetts (paying taxes to a commie state is so biased I don’t even know where to begin)
13. Paying taxes anywhere in the United States (you fund wars, journo)
14. Refusing to pay taxes (commie America hater)
15. Asking questions that will reveal anything interesting or controversial about the mechanics of behind the scenes US government operations (that’s communism, mofo)
16. Laughing (you know exactly what I’m talking about)
17. Crying (ditto)
18. Having sex (especially if you’re a queer! Don’t tell me THAT doesn’t influence your reporting. Abstinence is truly the only way to remain objective amidst America’s culture wars. Jerk it if you must, but remember: that’s political, too.)
19. Getting married (tacit endorsement of a political/cultural institution and way of life)
20. Belong to any associations, unions, groups, clubs or sporting teams 
21. Travel on public roads (commie)
22. Own a gun (right-winger)
23. Have an abortion
24. Smoke or drink
25. Drive over the speed limit or run red lights (there’s no WAY you could possibly report on policing practices or red light cameras if you do either of these things EVER)
26. Listen to music (RATM, anyone? Bob Dylan? right-winger country musicians? All political)
27. Follow anyone on Twitter.

There are lots more but I’m busy so please, if you have other ideas, add them. Let’s show NPR that they aren’t being fascist enough in their application of their stupid fucking fake objectivity rules. If they are gonna do it, they need to go all the way. Gracias.

Statement of Support for Occupy/Decolonize Boston from United American Indians of New England

United American Indians of New England (UAINE) supports Occupy/Decolonize Boston and the Occupy/Decolonize Wall Street movement generally.
 
We are deeply moved and encouraged that Occupy/Decolonize Boston, as one of its very first actions, issued a memorandum in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.  This country and its immense wealth were founded on the genocide of Native peoples, the theft of our lands and resources, and the enslavement and forced labor of our African sisters and brothers.  We have been the victims of corporate greed for centuries.  If you seek to reimagine a new society free of corporate greed, then we would ask that you learn all you can about the past that has carried us to this place.  

The Occupy Wall Street movement is still forming and evolving. We call upon veteran activists to embrace and nurture this important new development, which is like a precious seedling.  We all have much to learn from each other.  We welcome this convergence of youth and students, People of Color, poor and working people — whether office workers, unemployed people, low wage workers or trade union members —, homeless people, LGBTQ people, disabled people, veterans, immigrants, and people from many other sectors of society.  We are all coming together in shared spaces, to share our anger and despair at current political and economic conditions, to plan direct actions, to learn from and understand one another.  Together, we can forge a new movement that will sweep away all of the corporate special interests that devastate all living creatures and threaten to destroy our beautiful planet.  

We fully support the right of the Occupy/Decolonize Boston encampment to expand from Dewey Square to other parks and open spaces in the city, without the necessity of permits and without fear of police reprisals.
 
We invite all involved in Occupy/Decolonize Boston to attend the National Day of Mourning in Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 24 at 12 noon. Every year since 1970, Native people and our supporters have come together to refute the mythology of the Pilgrims and declare the US thanksgiving holiday a National Day of Mourning for Native Americans.  On that day, we mourn our ancestors.  We speak about our history and about current conditions in Indian Country.  We express our solidarity with our undocumented sisters and brothers who are under attack and with others in struggle, from Haiti to Palestine.  And we demand freedom for Native political prisoner Leonard Peltier.  We stand with you now.  Come stand with us on November 24.

End war and racism!  Honor Native treaties!  Stop the destruction of our Earth!

UAINE
info@uaine.org <mailto:info@uaine.org>
facebook group:  United American Indians of New England

Call for United Declaration from #OccupyAMERICA

The following was written by some comrades and sent to me and hundreds of others via email this morning. Please share widely. I endorse their call.

Dear fellow humans from all across the Occupied States of America, 

We have realized something rather SERIOUS about why we don’t have demands (and how we can get them), so PLEASE listen carefully.

The so-called “Arab Spring,” starting in Tunisia, and then spreading to Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, Yemen, Spain, Israel, Greece, etc. has now come to the United States. 

By occupying Wall St., the NYC occupants have set off a chain reaction throughout the country, whose pace even OccupyTogether.org is having trouble keeping up with. Whatever international impetus we got, we are now faced with a nation-wide response to what we’re doing and its spreading like wildfire all across the country.

I have been immensely excited to read and discuss the NYC General Assembly’s Declaration on the Occupation of NYC. 

This declaration is profound primarily for the way it gives VOICE to our movement and our grievances.

At the same time, I cannot deny to anyone that there is one thing missing from it: Demands.
As one friend and supporter of ours put it, “The NYC declaration is all ‘wherefores’ and no ‘therefore’. Knowing what you’re against, my question for revolutionaries is, What are you FOR?” This sentiment, though unfairly fanned by an impatient corporate media, is a real one which I’m sure you’re all hearing constantly.

One problem with this attitude is that it fails to see how all of the direct actions have meaning for the occupation movement. Marching, shutting down bridges, neighborhood-based outreach, building partnerships with unions, community and student organizations, etc. are more important in this stage of infancy for the movement than solidified demands.  

A deeper problem is that the formulation of the demands that reflect the movement as a whole is literally impossible. 

Here’s what I have realized: the NYC declaration is based on the Declaration of Independence (DOI). See here for a quick refresher.

Like the declaration, it starts by talking about rights, the role of government, and the purpose of the document itself. Then, like the DOI, it lists off some of the many grievances we have. 

Finally, the endings of the two documents are different in one crucial way: NYC does not have a “therefore” paragraph, which articulates such a blunt demand as the DOI’s clearly-stated objective of kicking out the British and establishing independence. 

When I reflect upon the creation of these two documents, another crucial difference emerges: NYC is a document created by occupants who live in and around NYC. The Declaration of Independence, on the other hand, has the signatures of delegates from 13 different colonies. 

I believe that we can and should to develop demands that are specific to our locales. At the same time and as we do this, because conditions we face are national and the movement itself has gone national, we eventually need NATIONAL demands. 

The mass spread of occupations in the country is the product of the national circumstances common to all of us. The NYC Declaration is undoubtedly resonating deeply and loudly in the occupation movements across the country for the very same reason. 

But to develop NATIONAL demands, as opposed to purely localized demands, we need a process that includes input from the whole nation, i.e. all the occupations from across the country. 

My heart is beating faster with excitement and nervous tension as I type these words, but the conclusion seems to me to be inescapable. 

Sooner or later, we are going to have to convene a NATIONAL Assembly. 

Those who attack our movement for a lack of demands are akin to those who profess to favor freedom, and yet depreciate agitation or those who want crops without plowing up the ground. 
We occupants are agitating like crazy, and we’re depreciated for lack of demands. But we have only BEGUN to till the soil.

Brothers and sisters: let us not be tricked into seeking rain without thunder and lightning. 
Let us not be deceived into believing we can or should ever have the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. 

We cannot develop this movement to its full potential without the convention of a national congress of delegates from each Occupation (NYC, Boston, Chicago, LA, etc.) to formulate and hammer out our NATIONAL demands at a national assembly.

After all, power concedes nothing without a DEMAND. It never did and it never will. 

Solidarity,
Brian Kwoba and Alex Pearlman
Occupy Boston