I have committed myself to do at least one thing a day which connects / reconnects me with nature.  Last night after dinner my fiancé & I chose not to do anything which required electricity.  I wanted to “feel” the early coming of nightfall & embrace how long it lasts.  I wanted to consciously “feel” how dark it was outside & embrace it / accept it.  So we lit some candles, and with one on my chest as we lay in bed I read aloud 50 pages of a Steinbeck novel neither one of us had read before.  It was a great night!  It had never really struck me how us humans create a truly artificial daytime in our culture, and I wonder about the impacts that has on our own mental wellbeing.

We never “stop,” really, in our culture today.  It’s from wake to work from work to home to making dinner eating dinner cleaning dinner watching tv laying down for bed falling asleep getting up to use the restroom falling asleep waking up going to work coming home making dinner; so on & so forth.  Where is the time for us to remember we’re living creatures with a MILLION thoughts / emotions / feelings which most definitely require attention.  Where is our time to debrief?  Watching reality tv, a sitcom, film, these are not activities which help us debrief from our day, they simply block out what has happened in our day; the outcome is in the morning when we get to work or school our problems / issues / stressers pick up right where they left off…& they begin to compound.

Today, to reconnect with nature, I suited up warmly in some rain gear & covered some of my plants for our california winter season.  It felt brilliant to be working with the plants as rain showered down from up above; and I was warm! Dry! I was IN the elements, not complaining one bit. When I returned inside & stripped down from my insulated rain gear I didn’t say in a complaining tone, “it’s POURING out there.”  Nah… I just put on a sweatshirt & started working on some stuff inside the house.

Tonight, I may do the same as last night, keep the electricity off, read from Steinbeck, sleep well, wake with the sun or rain & smile at it.

One solution to this massive circus we call life is simply to calm down, take a minute, have a breath, and go outside into an epic world full of a million things, all of which you can find for free

con suerte,

-andrew

This incident has pushed a stone cold dagger into the emotions of Occupy protesters nationwide.  At this current moment, a group of Marines, including Marine Shamar Thomas, just finished leading a massive march in New York City to show their solidarity with Occupy Oakland protesters.  They took to the streets with haste, NYPD trying to block them in with policemen on scooters, the masses just running around them, taking backstreets, being chased, throwing trash cans into the streets to try and slow the police down while chanting “Our Streets our Streets” and “March For Oakland.”  Protesters seized a kettle net and carried it like a trophy through traffic on Broadway… Marines still leading the way, chanting “March for Oakland!”

Here is a video of the incident.

There are a lot of people in our country who will dispute the video, dispute the incident.  And I will say there are a lot of honorable police officers in our wide nation, however certain ones in this crowd definitely appear to need more training.  However, for every slip up an officer makes, for every explosive device an armed officer throws into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators, thousands will use their voices, bodies, laptops, social medias to fight back with non-violence.  Now is the time to unite, come together in solidarity.  “A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” -MLK.  Demonstrators are learning more and more with each day, with each arrest, with each baton bean bag round pepper spray punch kick hit abuse of power.  We have more information at our fingertips than any generation who has risen up.  I do not think we will overthrow the government, and truthfully that is not something I am promoting.  The people are saying this system is broken, I am saying this system is broken… we are the 99%… we are the generation raped of hope, gifted a diminished future… it is up to us to make the needed changes… and until we, as a consensus, feel alright about things, we will occupy our streets, our social media outlets, our stairs of congress, our city halls lawns and sidewalks.

Let positive thoughts and vibes to go out Scott Olsen and hopes for safety upon all who rebel for a better world.

-andrew spearman blake

So, let’s get down to some facts.  “The Congressional Budget Office said income had trebled for the richest 1% between 1979 and 2007.”  That’s a nice little line which starts off a BBC article titled “’Unequal’ US sees Occupy Wall Street clashes.”  To make sure we’re all on the same page, “trebled” is to make or become three times as large or numerous.  Not too shocking to those of us in this movement; something we’ve been writing about, chanting about, drawing about, creating signs about, protesting about, demonstrating about, wailing about; ect. & so forth.  You can find The Congressional Budget Office’s article on this, including charts / graphs, here (Democracy Now headline on the report here).  The BBC also claims the CBO report revealed that in 2005-2007, the years immediately preceding the financial crisis, the top 20% of the population earned more after-tax income than the entire bottom 80%.  Somewhat sobering, I would say.

Concerning the police disturbance of peaceful protesters in Oakland, it does appear that baton rounds were used.  Baton rounds come in three forms, bean bag rounds, rubber bullets and plastic bullets.  They are considered to be nonlethal.  Bean bag rounds are small fabric pillows filled with approximately 40 grams of #9 lead shot.  Retired Major Steve Ijames wrote an article for policeone.com explaining the history of “nonlethal” ammunition, with a good emphasis on the bean bag round. He states in 1971 a 14 year old boy in New Mexico was killed after taking a bean bag round to the chest.  The bean bag round subsequently became outlawed… for 18 years, hence, it has returned.  The new version varies slightly from the original.  It went from more of a square object to more of a round object.  It went from 400 feet per second to 300 feet per second.  Ijames concludes his article by stating,

[The 12 gauge "bean bag" is one such system that has been proven safe and effective in numerous officer/suspect encounters, and should be seriously considered when evaluating the potential strengths and weaknesses of any impact projectile program.”   Well, I admit I think a bean bag round is better than a real round, no?  I would rather risk taking a bean bag round to the chest than an actual round.  So considering this, I imagine the question to be posed should be “was it necessary for the Oakland PD to use this projectile?”]

They say some demonstrators threw paint onto officers.  The question is what it will always be and most likely never be resolved “who provoked the initial action of violence.”  Kind of reminds me of the shot heard ‘round the world.

I am going to go ahead and post this now so I can get writing more on Scott Olsen and current actions of the Occupy movement in Oakland and NYC in response to the Scott Olsen incident.

¡Nos Vemos!

-andrew spearman blake

I am lying in bed; I’m sick.  Not sick from a cold, not sick from the massive stack of school work needing to be done, but sick in my mind, riddled with the effects of an anxiety disorder.  However, these are my people, the 99%.  These are my people, and I will stand in solidarity with them.

A mentor of mine I see almost daily is a highly regarded artist and college professor; he is from Oakland.  The bay, its surroundings, they are his home, in every sense of the word.  About to finally call it a night and rest my mental state I check my twitter account one last time and see some disgraceful stuff.   I call my mentor to let him know what’s going on and how to catch live updates via various news sources, and then, rather frustrated, I open the articles which describe what has happened in Oakland and what is happening in Oakland, concerning our Occupy movement.  From Democracy Now:

[Oakland police stormed the Oakland Occupy protest encampment outside City Hall just before 5 a.m. PDT. Police lobbed flash grenades and reportedly fired tear gas. Initial reports say at least 70 people have arrested and the police tore apart the protest camp.]

What this report does not cover is that the Oakland PD fired rubber bullets into the crowds of peaceful demonstrators.  You can find that citation here from OccupyOakland.org

[This morning at 5am over 500 police in riot gear from cities all over central California brutally attacked the Occupy Oakland encampment at 14th & Broadway. The police attacked the peaceful protest with flash grenades, tear gas, and rubber bullets after moving in with armored vehicles. Apparently the media was not allowed in to document this repression, and the police established barricades as far apart as 11th and 17th. Over 70 people were arrested and the camp gear was destroyed and/or stolen by the riot police]

Yet this is not all of what has beckoned me to my laptop, the natural injustice being reported from the mass media is here, apparent, and frankly I’m a bit too tired and groggy to write in wonderful pros, so excuse my short and to the point type.

An article from a CBS station vilifies the demonstrators rather well.  Reading it I was not happy with how some of the demonstrators were “reportedly” acting.  You see, this is a non-violent movement… we are here to show we are not as greedy, manipulative and apathetic as the 1% of our countries citizens who own the United States of America.  We are not here to stoop to their level, we are here representing ourselves, and the others who are part of the 99%, just, simply don’t want to believe they are because to protest against something would be beneath them.  We are here for them too, staying awake at night covering the stories; standing in the cold autumn streets around so many cities across the USA… we are here.

Who runs CBS?  CEO Leslie Moonves.  How much did he make, including bonuses, stock options, salary…  $43,238,875.00 in 2009 according to Forbes.  Forbes also states that in 2011 Leslie Moonves is ranked #28 in CEO compensation.   What do we know about Leslie Moonves character?  Not much considering none of us know him, personally.  However it is cited widely that after being married for 22 years to Nancy Wiesenfeld Moonves, Moonves began an affair with reality tv host Julie Chen.  Four years later Moonves and his wife divorced and he married Chen.  Chen was born in New York of Burmese descent.  Descending from Burma, Chen’s vocation is in stark contrast to Burmese democracy advocate, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi.

So, who is writing what story on “whom?”  The 1% vilifying the 99%?  Pick up a copy of Howard Zinn’s book “A People’s History of the United States” you’ll find this is not a new tactic.  In it you will also see movements similar to our Occupy movement are not new uprisings either, simply another instance of history repeating itself.  A random fact for you, which you can find cited in Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States”, is over two thirds of the North American population (excluding Native Americans) opposed the revolutionary war, as they didn’t believe they would be any better off with a “new government” as they already were with their current government.

A press release from Nation Nurses United was released under the title “California Nurses Condemn Mayor Quan’s Raid on Occupy Oakland”  in the article you can find quotes such as, “This unwarranted attack on peaceful protesters places Oakland Mayor Jean Quan in shameful company with mayors like Chicago’s Rahm Emanuel and other cities whose response to public expression of protest is repression rather than respect for the rights of free speech and assembly”   In the release they note:

[California nurses have joined the rallies and marches with occupy Oakland, and set up nurses' humanitarian first aid stations in a number of cities, including San Francisco and San Diego, support activity that will continue despite the escalating police attacks on the occupy movement.]

This is yet another example of people coming together to help their brothers and sisters of humanity, no matter their ethnicity, spiritual beliefs, social and economic backgrounds… we come together to support.  The big boys who own our country can do all they want to oppress us in this movement, however they’re dealing with “the entitled generation,” so, they’ll be hell to pay… and it will come in the form of organization and non-violent demonstration, rebellion and protest.  Taking lessons from history, such as Nelson Mandela’s various forms of protest and rebellion while incarcerated as a political prisoner, we have read, we have watched, and we’re here to say enough is enough.  We wish for peace, so if you bring you rubber bullets, your strobes to kill video capture of your actions, your tear gas and noise bombs… we will prevail.  We weren’t born to stop… we’re entitled… and I venture to say now, looking back on the momentum this movement has gained since I first began covering it, we are only getting bigger, and stronger.

[UPDATE:  Just as i finished this piece, i received word from a man who has great expertise in the law enforcement field, so he is sure to help keep things on an even keel.  He states " Update: Tear gas has been used..NO RUBBER bullets..protester reported police fired rubber bullets...unfortunately, that allegation backfired as the reporter she told that to had been on the scene all day...he was compelled to dispute her allegation."  Furthermore, he states a report he heard which said  Two Oakland police officers injured by projectiles.  I hope we can all keep it peaceful out there.  With the diversity in the group, there are bound to be some people who take it upon themselves, and that is their right, to react violently to the police.  However this degrades the integrity and true sentiment in the movement... so hopefully us protesters can keep it peaceful on our side.]

[Last update. According to various news sites / cites, they go back and forth on whether rubber bullets and or beanbag rounds were fired into the crowd.  you can check the news sources for yourself below the gallery]

-andrew spearman blake

http://blog.sfgate.com/aallison/2011/10/25/heavy-handed-police-tactics-at-occupy-oakland/

http://blogs.kqed.org/newsfix/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_Police_Department#Controversy

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/occupy-oakland-protest-police-protesters-clash_n_1031879.html

NYPD officer Anthony Bologna, now somewhat famous for his infamous pepper spraying of a young woman behind police barricades only adds more fuel for media headlines bearing the likes of “US Police Brutality Growing Nationwide.”  Furthermore the New York City Liberties Union released a report on the 19^th of October about the use of Taser guns by police officers in which “…some cases involved people already handcuffed and 40% involved ‘at risk’ subjects such as children, the elderly or mentally ill.[1]”

Further reports cross the 50 states to Los Angeles where Jeniffer Medina of the New York Times pens an article titled “Report Details Wide Abuse in Los Angeles Jail System” where cites can be found of an inmate protesting guards for harassing a mentally ill prisoner; subsequently the deputies he was complaining to took him into a room, slammed his head into a wall a few times and “repeatedly punched him in the chest[2].”  In Jeniffer Medina’s report, the allegations and witness testimonies are overwhelming, along with many more details within the troubled Los Angeles County jail system.  For further reading, visit her article here.

A statement being widely cited for a reason to so much awareness is “everybody has a phone, and everybody’s phone has a camera.”  If you dig deeper, you will find this tactic has been a blessing and a curse… whether it be the former or the latter depends on who the footage is being used for or against.  A great example to a more grassroots example of this is a documentary by Anders Østergaard titled Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country, released in 2008.  You can read more about this film here.

We are here, as a people, not only as citizens of a country, but as citizens of our world and of humanity.  From the beginnings of mankind there have been authority figures, and non-authority figures… we’ve missed and matched since day one.   The police, in my view, are a necessary evil; we need them to keep civility, we need them to protect us citizens, yet with power comes a subculture.  Diop Kamau, a former officer, runs the Florida-based Police Complaint Centre, which investigates allegations of police abuse nationwide.  Kamau states that the majority of police departments still have a culture of secrecy which many officers believe there is a small chance of being punished even if caught. “They fill in the blanks.  They say what happened and they will be believed.”  Journalist Paul Harris states, “One weakness is that there is no central organization for the police, and local departments do not release data on complaints or allegations of abuse.” [3]

So what do us as citizens do?  I would like to think we can work together with local police departments to show we are all on the same team, or should be.  We need to reconcile our differences and perhaps have a bit more transparency into “the workings” of police departments and the sub-culture of police officers.  Either way, injustices cannot be tolerated.  An understanding must be sought after, found and implicated.

Whether it is a good practice or not, I have questioned authority since I was a wee little lad.  I never understood why what one man says seems to be taken as gospel, with little to no critical thought being put in by the “abiding” party.  We must stay aware of what is going on around us.  We must learn from the lessons history has blessed us with.  Rebel, Revolt, and Peace, sadly, all seem to go hand in hand… with peace being the smallest part on the smorgasbord.

Stay aware,

-andrew spearman blake

Research for this post came from:

http://www.nyclu.org/issues/racial-justice/stop-and-frisk-practices

http://www.occupytogether.org/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/michael-daragjati-faces-f_n_1016170.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/22/police-brutality-charges-us

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/18/occupy-wall-street-pepper-spray-officer

http://www.guardiannews.com/

http://naomiwolf.org/

http://www.nyclu.org/news/nyclu-analysis-finds-misuse-of-tasers-police-across-ny-state

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/us/aclu-suit-details-wide-abuse-in-los-angeles-jail-system.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

A lot has happened since I watched our country invade Bagdad.  Bush finished 8 years, Obama, a black man, took office.  I moved around the US and world like a 747.  I went from having a lot of money to having none.  I went from being able to make a lot of money to being able to make none.  I saw the housing market run wild like a buffalo, man… ha, and boy was it an epic time for false prosperity in our country.  I remember people flipping houses raking in well over 100k each time.  We were all rich… and life was good.  I suppose it is easy to have a blind eye to the human suffering of war when you never see it.  It helps to be blinded by a form of “patriotism,” as well ‘-)

But the time has come, so the president says, to withdrawal our troops.   “The last American soldier will cross the border out of Iraq with their heads held high, proud of their success, and knowing that the American people stand united in our support for our troops,” Obama said. “That is how America’s military efforts in Iraq will end.”

Further reading from various news sources told me the US was trying to secure US military bases in Iraq, post US pullout.  After this attempt failed, president Obama announced today the “end” of the war, putting a bit of a spin on an issue many see as a failure by himself and his administration’s effort to secure US military bases in Iraq to help keep Iran at bay.  You can read more about it here in an article from Ewen MacAskill posted on the Guardian.

In other current events, “Hundreds of ordinary Libyans queued up outside a refrigerated meat store in Misrata, where the dead dictator was being stored as a trophy…” is a pretty little line from an article by three Guardian reporters posted on the Guardian’s website.   They were speaking of the late Muammar Gaddafi… yes he was killed, apparently.  This Guardian article confirms what I had read earlier, that as rebels stormed a compound Gaddafi was in, Gaddafi and crew fled in a convoy.  NATO planes then bombed the convoy, obviously stopping it, and some men and women, including Gaddafi, fled on foot to a nearby drainage pipe where the rebels found them hiding.   There are conflicting reports on “when Gaddafi died” and such, but all reports seem to indicate his body, alive or not, was strapped to the hood of an automobile and driven from Sirte to Misrata, a distance of 246 km / 152 miles, and a 3 hour 16 minute trip, according to my calculations done through google earth.

Am I shocked?  No, I wouldn’t describe my feelings towards this as shocked.  Am I surprised? No.  I would say I am saddened to see another case where humanity is so damn ugly.  I get the picture, people believe Gaddafi was a massive bastard, a “dictator” (which is not a bad thing if you are a good dictator), and they say he needed to be done with.  Would I agree with assassinating him? No.  If I had to choose between a swift assassination and being strung out onto the hood of a car, I think I would go with option A, quick, relatively painless, and not parading a human body down highways and byways from town to town.  However, I am not from Africa, I am just a dude in a rural area of a progressive coastal state in the USA… these are just my own thoughts.

So I will close this window now, posting words from my mind for the world to see, and I will go back outside and work on our property here in California.  I praise the protesters who still Occupy space throughout our western world and I kind of envy the people who can sit by pretending the Occupy movement is not happening.  My last note is left in a slide show.   In pictures it describes that wars and violent rebellions are a nasty thorn in the eyes of mankind.  It describes how people can at one time be loved, or led to believe they are loved, and as a season or two turn, when a world is literally chasing you down to murder you crusade style, no one in that world will help you lead a civilized exit, through courtroom or airliner.

In thought,

-andrew spearman blake

Not everyone is experiencing it, not only because our experiences are different, but because what our minds are capable of differ, as well.  Many in society are being driven further & further into mental instability each day.  I believe this is a reaction of our minds to the continuous daily rigors of our lives circumstances.  I read an article recently which was written by an individual of normal social status, who talked of the original 40 hour work week as well as a description of the “american dream”…. the only description of it I’ve ever believed in; furthermore, it was the first time I’d ever heard the “american dream” explained this way.  Pertaining to “The 40 hour work week,” it was broken up into 8 hours of work in a day, 8 hours of leisure in a day, 8 hours of sleep in a day.  As per the american dream, the author primarily said the american dream is the ability for a household to have one wage earner in a family who works a 40 hour work week.  From this forty hour work week their family can all have good health care, they can afford a down payment & mortgage on a house, put food on the table and enjoy one modest vacation a year.

To me, this does seem like a dream.  A dream because it is too utopian to ever be a reality.  This may have been more of an obtainable reality for my grandfather’s generation, however simply the notion of one wage earner per household is farfetched these days, let alone other amenities which should be human rights, not human privileges.  And I feel these thoughts & ideas of the “american dream” are a part of the sentiment within this current, global, “Occupy” movement.  This is not merely an “american dream,” this is more a dream of mankind, for the sake of simple humanity.  When the thought / want / hope / desire of raising a family seems a distant privilege, not a simple right, I feel “cheated,” “robbed” of my “right.”

They label us younger generations the “entitlement generation.”  It was something I’ve agreed with in the past, that the younger generation “expects” far too much to be given to them, without having to “work” for it.  Yet what do we label this when we are not given an “opportunity” to work for it?  I’ll simply call it a denial, robbery of aspects of my Liberty as a human being.  When I cannot receive health care because of pre-existing medical conditions; when I cannot get a job which provides a living wage; when I cannot get a job which provides a survival wage… Yet 1% of the people in our nation have 40% of our nation’s wealth… When they never have to worry about survival, how can I relate to them & how can they relate to me?  Through intensive reconciliation.  However reconciliation requires a desire on both sides of the aisle; why would los ricos want reconciliation with us poor?  History of our world is riddled with class warfare.  It will not end.  If by miracle it did end, history would repeat itself and class warfare would return; it’s the pendulum.  This is the way the cosmos intended the world to be.  Everything is dying since birth, even thoughts & ideas.

I have hope, but not a lot of it.  This is reflected in the tone of what I write tonight & in posts I usually write.  I am not trying to persuade you to believe what I do, I am encouraging you to listen to what I, a fellow human being, am feeling, for perhaps you will then be better able to understand me, my grievances, and accept me for who I am, & what I am.

The people of our world have always asked questions of life, passionately desiring their answers.  However, throughout the history of mankind there have been many people who have had these answers which so many seek, it’s simple though… no one has believed them.  We’re all too afraid to have faith in any person; we are too suspicious…. it is in the genetic make-up of our human race.

End note?  I’d say work on hope, but first I’d say we need to work on where we could find a basis which could enable us to hope from.

con suerte
-andrew spearman blake

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Andrew Spearman Blake
www.116thavenue.com
Sent from my BlackBerry® Handheld Device

[Last night Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD notified Occupy Wall Street participants about plans to "clean the park"—the site of the Wall Street protests—tomorrow starting at 7am. "Cleaning" was used as a pretext to shut down "Bloombergville" a few months back, and to shut down peaceful occupations elsewhere.  Bloomberg says that the park will be open for public usage following the cleaning, but with a notable caveat: Occupy Wall Street participants must follow the "rules". These rules include, "no tarps or sleeping bags" and "no lying down."  So, seems likely that this is their attempt to shut down #OWS for good.]

OccupyWallSt.Org said “cleaning” has been used previously as a pretext to shutting down demonstrations such as Bloombergville a few months ago.  The Occupy movement is calling on demonstrators to show up to Zuccotti Park at 6am, one hour before cleaning and the removal of demonstrators is planned to begin.  Yet with the momentum this movement has, and is still gaining, this could prove to be quite the show down; and I am sure there will be a plethora of cameras to capture the event.

However, after the subsequent “cleaning” takes place, there will be no lying down.  I look forward to seeing what the demonstrators have planned for this new rule laid onto them.

Today I learned Zuccotti Park is privately owned by Brookfield Office Properties, a Canadian owned company.

In other Occupy movement news, Wednesday morning some 200 demonstrators is San Francisco shut down the Wells Fargo headquarters for a short period of time leading to 11 arrests.

To me what has been incredible is the determination of the demonstrators, protesters, activists and independent medias to keep momentum behind this movement.  The people are still together, still going strong and still growing.  The Occupy movement is now covered on news sites from The Guardian, BBC, Al Jazeera, Democracy Now, so on and so forth; yet not “just” covered, it has been covered comprehensively with complete sections of these sites devoted to the movement.  The Guardian even has a live feed page from NYC which keeps you up to date almost minute by minute.

My final message to my friends and readers, if nothing else, remain aware of the movement, which translates into remain aware of the people in our society and what they are saying.  We are used to hearing about uprisings in the middle east and other parts of the world, however this time, this month, this year, the uprising is here, in our country, and I do believe if nothing else, it deserves attention from us as citizens.

In peace, mindfulness and awareness,

-andrew spearman blake

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Occupy Wall Street Organizer: Protest Expands Despite Police Effort to “Silence” Demonstrators

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/11/occupy_wall_street_organizer_protest_expands

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Iraq Veterans at Occupy Wall Street Decry Financial Crisis Soldiers Face Returning Home

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/11/iraq_veterans_at_occupy_wall_street

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Iraqi-American Musician Stephan Said Performs at Occupy Wall Street

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/11/iraqi_american_musician_stephan_said_performs

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Independent Media Stalwarts Katrina vanden Heuvel & Danny Schechter Speak Out at Occupy Wall Street

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/11/independent_media_stalwarts_katrina_vanden_heuvel

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Democracy Now! speaks with former French Resistance fighter, Stéphane Hessel… Hessel, 93 years old, has occupied many positions in his life: immigrant, French Resistance fighter, concentration camp survivor, diplomat, advocate and author. He joined the French Resistance during World War II, was caught by the Gestapo and sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. He escaped during transfer to Bergen-Belsen and later helped draft the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, then became an honorary “Ambassador of France,” appointed to special government missions. He has since been a fierce advocate of the Palestinians.

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/10/10/stphane_hessel_on_occupy_wall_street_find_the_time_for_outrage_when_your_values_are_not_respected

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Supporters march on millionaires’ homes in New York

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/11/occupy-wall-street-live-protests

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Occupy Wall Street Emerges as “First Populist Movement” on the Left Since the 1930s

interview with Dorian Warren…

[ It is the first anti-authoritarian populist movement in this country. The previous populist movements had leaders, usually charismatic leaders. This is very different. We’ve never seen anything quite like this, and I think we’re in uncharted territory. This is a 21st century social movement, where the activists are taking advantage of new social media, from Twitter and Facebook, but also they have a commitment to inclusivity and democratic decision making and having a leaderless movement, so that multiple voices can speak about the issues that concern all of us. So I think it’s unique, and I think it’s quite promising to be a transformative social movement, if they can keep those progressive groups out of the decision making and hold onto what’s the core democratic nature of this movement.]

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/10/occupy_wall_street_emerges_as_first

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Occupy Wall Street: 100 arrests at Boston protest

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15262310

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Using the phrase “our limited world” as the limit of people in which our voice can be heard when we speak.

Everyone has a platform.  Everyone has an idea.  Some choose to speak from their platform more than others.  Some choose not to say much at all.  However, at the end of the day, if something needs to be said, it is only heard as far as the voice from the podium can reach.  The talking heads, from big to small, all speak from their platform & words, meanings & agendas are heard.

I value, in fact I cherish, the ones who speak their truth from their podium.  Ah ::sigh::, alas, a truth!  Someone who speaks not from an agenda of making money, but from an agenda of their beliefs on what will better mankind.

Mankind, a term which I believe isn’t looked at with enough concentration.  Mankind, a man like you, a man like me.  A sister or brother of our shared human race.  My how connected we all are.  What billionaire michael bloomberg does affects me.  &, in ways, what I choose to do has the possibility of affecting mr. bloomberg.  Como?

My rebellion.  My rebellious acts.  What action of mine can create the most impact on the financial industry?  I can stay out of debt, I can not use a credit card to make my life easier or to “gain points.”  No credit card, no debt… = no interest being paid.  Anything else?

I have a need for cheap items, as I have little money.  Am I forced to go to walmart?  Some would say yes. But I can go to thrift stores.  I may need clothes & other certain necessities, but we live in a “throw out” society, so second hand things are readily available at prices cheaper than walmart!  & by buying local, my dollars stay local, which helps support my local economy, yet still trickles out into our country’s & the world’s economy.

Rebellion can come in many forms.  Anger does not have to be in rebellion.  Greed does not have to be in rebellion; in fact, love can be in rebellion. Love can be the basis of a rebellion; I believe love has a solid place in my rebellion.  I want to see wars ended, I want to see the war machine, the D.O.D. shrink; I’d like to see health care for all americans, & even people who are here illegally.  I want to see a good education which is provided by the government, this means K through 12 & even up to doctorate degrees.  I want to get the majority of the money in our nation out of privatized companies & a better distribution of it among our countries citizens.  & I would like to see all of this under a democracy.  I do not believe socialism is bad.  I hope for a balance between socialism & private enterprise.  & I want to see more harmony amongst citizens of our country & with the citizens of the world.  I do not think any of these are “crazy notions.”  In fact, much consideration has gone into them.  People like to refer to how our country was founded; by the principles our country was founded.  Well, I personally do not care for many of the ways our country was founded.  So, I wouldn’t be sad to see some of those notions laid to rest in the history of our nation.  But this is what I hope for.  I welcome people to hope for whatever they want, as in the end, I don’t do the judging.  So I will choose to always work hard at having more mercy & understanding… Porque believe it or not, the world & people in it could use a few more hugs than blows.

Yet from this, in this, with this all, I simply encourage you to do one thing, think critically about things so your opportunity to be aware is greater than if you do not think critically of things.

Nos vemos,
-andrew
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Andrew Spearman Blake
www.116thavenue.com
Sent from my BlackBerry® Handheld Device