Ⓐnarcho Queer • Posts Tagged ‘OWS’

Ⓐnarcho Queer • Posts Tagged ‘OWS’

Occupy Offshoot Forgives $1 Million In Random People’s Debt
Occupy Wall Street offshoot, Strike Debt, announced Friday that it has abolished $1.1 million in medical debt for more than 1,000 people.
The protest group did this by buying emergency room debts for pennies on the dollar and then simply forgiving them rather than trying to collect the money, Strike Debt said in a statement.
When a bank, lender or other company, like a hospital, is unable to collect on a debt, it typically sells it to debt buyers or collectors — often at a much lower price than the original amount owed since the odds of collecting the money are low. Whoever buys the debt then attempts to get the money from the debtor.
Citing the large number of bankruptcies that stem from medical bills, Strike Debt’s mission is to stop this collection cycle and abolish the debt altogether.
“Our privatized health care system buries ordinary people in debt all to enrich the 1%,” the group said.
The more than $1 million in debt the group eliminated belonged to 1,064 people, amounting to an average of about $900 in debt per person. These randomly-selected people will receive notices explaining that their debt has been forgiven.
The organization spent about $21,000 to purchase the debt, using money raised from supporters.
To rally the troops around its debt-busting initiative, Occupy’s Strike Debt is planning protests later this month against private insurance companies and other events to raise awareness about hospital closings due to excessive amounts of debt.
Strike Debt originally launched its campaign and fundraising efforts in November, abolishing more than $100,000 in consumer debt before the end of 2012.

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Occupy Offshoot Forgives $1 Million In Random People’s Debt

Occupy Wall Street offshoot, Strike Debt, announced Friday that it has abolished $1.1 million in medical debt for more than 1,000 people.

The protest group did this by buying emergency room debts for pennies on the dollar and then simply forgiving them rather than trying to collect the money, Strike Debt said in a statement.

When a bank, lender or other company, like a hospital, is unable to collect on a debt, it typically sells it to debt buyers or collectors — often at a much lower price than the original amount owed since the odds of collecting the money are low. Whoever buys the debt then attempts to get the money from the debtor.

Citing the large number of bankruptcies that stem from medical bills, Strike Debt’s mission is to stop this collection cycle and abolish the debt altogether.

“Our privatized health care system buries ordinary people in debt all to enrich the 1%,” the group said.

The more than $1 million in debt the group eliminated belonged to 1,064 people, amounting to an average of about $900 in debt per person. These randomly-selected people will receive notices explaining that their debt has been forgiven.

The organization spent about $21,000 to purchase the debt, using money raised from supporters.

To rally the troops around its debt-busting initiative, Occupy’s Strike Debt is planning protests later this month against private insurance companies and other events to raise awareness about hospital closings due to excessive amounts of debt.

Strike Debt originally launched its campaign and fundraising efforts in November, abolishing more than $100,000 in consumer debt before the end of 2012.

Source: anarcho-queer

External Video Proves Officer Who Tackled OWS Protester Lied About Being Assaulted, Also Proves NYPD Had Their Own Footage Contradicting Their Claim
An Occupy Wall Street activist was acquitted of assaulting a police officer and other charges on Thursday after jurors were presented with video evidence that directly contradicted the NYPD’s story.
Michael Premo was found innocent of all charges this week in regards to a case that stems from a December 17, 2011 Occupy Wall Street demonstration in Lower Manhattan. For over a year, prosecutors working on behalf of the New York Police Department have insisted that Premo, a known artist and activist, tackled an NYPD officer during a protest and in doing so inflicted enough damage to break a bone.
During court proceedings this week, Premo’s attorney presented a video that showed officers charging into the defendant unprovoked. The Village Voice reports that jurors deliberated for several hours on Thursday and then elected to find Premo not guilty on all counts, which included a felony charge of assaulting an officer of the law.
After being arrested, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office presented Premo with a deal that would have let him off the hook by pleading guilty to lesser charges. Maintaining his innocence, however, he was determined to fight the case in court.
Premo was “facing serious charges and potential substantial jail sentence, even though he never should have been arrested at all,” his supporters claimed in a post published on The Laundromat Project website.
Nick Pinto of the Village Voice says he was nearby during the December 2011 rally and recalls watching Premo’s arrest from a distance. In his report from court this week, Pinto explains how the details provided by the NYPD in this trial have been fabricated to such a degree that the allegations presented by the cops turned out to be literally the opposite of what occurred.
The footage obtained from Democracy Now showed that an NYPD officer was filming the arrest as well, but prosecutors told Premo’s attorney that no such footage existed.
“There is no justice in the American justice system, but you can sometimes find it in a jury,” Premo tweeted after he was acquitted this week.

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External Video Proves Officer Who Tackled OWS Protester Lied About Being Assaulted, Also Proves NYPD Had Their Own Footage Contradicting Their Claim

An Occupy Wall Street activist was acquitted of assaulting a police officer and other charges on Thursday after jurors were presented with video evidence that directly contradicted the NYPD’s story.

Michael Premo was found innocent of all charges this week in regards to a case that stems from a December 17, 2011 Occupy Wall Street demonstration in Lower Manhattan. For over a year, prosecutors working on behalf of the New York Police Department have insisted that Premo, a known artist and activist, tackled an NYPD officer during a protest and in doing so inflicted enough damage to break a bone.

During court proceedings this week, Premo’s attorney presented a video that showed officers charging into the defendant unprovoked. The Village Voice reports that jurors deliberated for several hours on Thursday and then elected to find Premo not guilty on all counts, which included a felony charge of assaulting an officer of the law.

After being arrested, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office presented Premo with a deal that would have let him off the hook by pleading guilty to lesser charges. Maintaining his innocence, however, he was determined to fight the case in court.

Premo was “facing serious charges and potential substantial jail sentence, even though he never should have been arrested at all,” his supporters claimed in a post published on The Laundromat Project website.

Nick Pinto of the Village Voice says he was nearby during the December 2011 rally and recalls watching Premo’s arrest from a distance. In his report from court this week, Pinto explains how the details provided by the NYPD in this trial have been fabricated to such a degree that the allegations presented by the cops turned out to be literally the opposite of what occurred.

The footage obtained from Democracy Now showed that an NYPD officer was filming the arrest as well, but prosecutors told Premo’s attorney that no such footage existed.

“There is no justice in the American justice system, but you can sometimes find it in a jury,” Premo tweeted after he was acquitted this week.

Source: anarcho-queer

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New York Post Helps NYPD Slander Occupy Wall Street (Again)

When police raided the West Village apartment of Morgan Gliedman and Aaron Greene on Saturday, the New York Post was first to the story.

It was the sort of story that was right in the Post’s wheelhouse. Gliedman, 27, nine months pregnant, the daughter of a prominent doctor and the product of a Park-Avenue-and-Dalton upbringing, and Greene, a Harvard alumnus, caught in a filthy den of drugs, decadence, and bomb-making materials just blocks from the townhouse where Weather Underground bomb-makers accidentally blew themselves up decades before.

The story also had another element that appears to becoming a Post signature: citing anonymous sources, apparently from within the NYPD, Post reporters Jamie Schram, Antonio Antenucci, and Matt McNulty reported that Greene had ties to Occupy Wall Street. The assertion was right up top in the story’s lead sentence:

“The privileged daughter of a prominent city doctor, and her boyfriend — a Harvard grad and Occupy Wall Street activist — have been busted for allegedly having a cache of weapons and a bombmaking explosive in their Greenwich Village apartment.”

The Occupy association was quickly picked up and rebroadcast by both Reuters and the Associated Press.

Needless to say, the Occupy angle was red meat to FBI-informant-turned-right-wing-bloviator Brandon Darby, who used the link to justify the recent revelation (dropped on the deadest Friday afternoon of the year) that the FBI had indeed been centrally involved in nationwide surveillance of the Occupy movement.

The thing is, the story didn’t hold up. People involved in Occupy Wall Street had no memory of ever encountering Greene. And by the first afternoon, the Occupy link was already being stepped back in the media. As the Associated Press reported, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly suggested that the question of radical affiliations was still open:

“No political writings were discovered, and Kelly said the investigation was continuing into whether the couple had any larger plans or ties to any radical groups.”

That evening, the Daily Beast called the whole scenario into question with a post entitled “NY Couple Not Terrorists, Say Cops, Just Rich Kids With Drug Habits”

By the next day, the NYPD was in the Times fully contradicting the Post’s initial Occupy claims:

“But the police said they did not believe that Mr. Greene was active in any political movements.”

Even so, activists, say, the damage had already been done. None of the outlets ran corrections, and most of the initial stories are still online.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time that the Post — and more specifically, Schram, one of its top cop reporters — has been a conduit for vaguely sourced and ultimately baseless police claims linking scary high-profile crimes to Occupy Wall Street.

In July, Schram co-authored a cover story for the Post under the screaming front-page headline “OWS Murder Link,” citing the claims of anonymous sources that the cold-case murder of a jogger in Inwood had been linked by DNA to a chain used to hold open subway doors during a fare strike by transit workers and Occupy activists last winter. The local NBC affiliate did the same.

That story too was quickly rolled back, as officials conceded that in fact the match was far more likely to have resulted from sloppy lab work, but not before the fabricated link had been picked up by media outlets far and wide.

Occupy Wall Street is now pushing back. An online petition decrying the Post story is approaching 1,000 signatures.

Some activists see a pattern emerging, in which the NYPD uses it’s cozy relationship with the Post to put out anonymous slanders of a nonviolent social-justice movement without having to get its hands dirty.

Whether or not that’s the case, the fact that his has happened twice now raises real questions about the Post’s policies governing the use of anonymous law-enforcement sources and its commitment to correcting factually inaccurate reporting.

Source: anarcho-queer

Documents Reveal That The Government Worked With Big Banks To Crackdown On The Occupy Movement
It was more sophisticated than we had imagined: new documents show that the violent crackdown on Occupy last fall – so mystifying at the time – was not just coordinated at the level of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local police. The crackdown, which involved, as you may recall, violent arrests, group disruption, canister missiles to the skulls of protesters, people held in handcuffs so tight they were injured, people held in bondage till they were forced to wet or soil themselves –was coordinated with the big banks themselves.
The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, in a groundbreaking scoop that should once more shame major US media outlets (why are nonprofits now some of the only entities in America left breaking major civil liberties news?), filed this request. The document – reproduced here in an easily searchable format – shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council. And it reveals this merged entity to have one centrally planned, locally executed mission. The documents, in short, show the cops and DHS working for and with banks to target, arrest, and politically disable peaceful American citizens.
The documents, released after long delay in the week between Christmas and New Year, show a nationwide meta-plot unfolding in city after city in an Orwellian world: six American universities are sites where campus police funneled information about students involved with OWS to the FBI, with the administrations’ knowledge (p51); banks sat down with FBI officials to pool information about OWS protesters harvested by private security; plans to crush Occupy events, planned for a month down the road, were made by the FBI – and offered to the representatives of the same organizations that the protests would target; and even threats of the assassination of OWS leaders by sniper fire – by whom? Where? – now remain redacted and undisclosed to those American citizens in danger, contrary to standard FBI practice to inform the person concerned when there is a threat against a political leader (p61).
As Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the PCJF, put it, the documents show that from the start, the FBI – though it acknowledges Occupy movement as being, in fact, a peaceful organization – nonetheless designated OWS repeatedly as a “terrorist threat”:

“FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) … reveal that from its inception, the FBI treated the Occupy movement as a potential criminal and terrorist threat … The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conducting surveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country.”

Why the huge push for counterterrorism “fusion centers”, the DHS militarizing of police departments, and so on? It was never really about “the terrorists”. It was not even about civil unrest. It was always about this moment, when vast crimes might be uncovered by citizens – it was always, that is to say, meant to be about you.
Read More

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Documents Reveal That The Government Worked With Big Banks To Crackdown On The Occupy Movement

It was more sophisticated than we had imagined: new documents show that the violent crackdown on Occupy last fall – so mystifying at the time – was not just coordinated at the level of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, and local police. The crackdown, which involved, as you may recall, violent arrests, group disruption, canister missiles to the skulls of protesters, people held in handcuffs so tight they were injured, people held in bondage till they were forced to wet or soil themselves –was coordinated with the big banks themselves.

The Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, in a groundbreaking scoop that should once more shame major US media outlets (why are nonprofits now some of the only entities in America left breaking major civil liberties news?), filed this request. The document – reproduced here in an easily searchable format – shows a terrifying network of coordinated DHS, FBI, police, regional fusion center, and private-sector activity so completely merged into one another that the monstrous whole is, in fact, one entity: in some cases, bearing a single name, the Domestic Security Alliance Council. And it reveals this merged entity to have one centrally planned, locally executed mission. The documents, in short, show the cops and DHS working for and with banks to target, arrest, and politically disable peaceful American citizens.

The documents, released after long delay in the week between Christmas and New Year, show a nationwide meta-plot unfolding in city after city in an Orwellian world: six American universities are sites where campus police funneled information about students involved with OWS to the FBI, with the administrations’ knowledge (p51); banks sat down with FBI officials to pool information about OWS protesters harvested by private security; plans to crush Occupy events, planned for a month down the road, were made by the FBI – and offered to the representatives of the same organizations that the protests would target; and even threats of the assassination of OWS leaders by sniper fire – by whom? Where? – now remain redacted and undisclosed to those American citizens in danger, contrary to standard FBI practice to inform the person concerned when there is a threat against a political leader (p61).

As Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, executive director of the PCJF, put it, the documents show that from the start, the FBI – though it acknowledges Occupy movement as being, in fact, a peaceful organization – nonetheless designated OWS repeatedly as a “terrorist threat”:

“FBI documents just obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF) … reveal that from its inception, the FBI treated the Occupy movement as a potential criminal and terrorist threat … The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conducting surveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country.”

Why the huge push for counterterrorism “fusion centers”, the DHS militarizing of police departments, and so on? It was never really about “the terrorists”. It was not even about civil unrest. It was always about this moment, when vast crimes might be uncovered by citizens – it was always, that is to say, meant to be about you.

Source: anarcho-queer

Internal Documents Reveal The Government Was Monitoring Occupy Wall Street As A Terrorist Threat Before It Started And May Have Planned To Assassinate Leaders of The Movement
According to internal documents newly released by the FBI, the agency spearheaded a nationwide law enforcement effort to investigate and monitor the Occupy Wall Street movement. In certain documents, divisions of the FBI refer to the Occupy Wall Street protests as a “criminal activity” or even “domestic terrorism.”
The internal papers were obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice fund via a Freedom of Information Act Request. The fund, a legal nonprofit that focuses on civil rights, says it believes the 112 pages of documents, available for public viewing on its website, are only “the tip of the iceberg.”
The following was taken from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF):

The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conducting surveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country.
“This production, which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a window into the nationwide scope of the FBI’s surveillance, monitoring, and reporting on peaceful protestors organizing with the Occupy movement,” stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF). “These documents show that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are treating protests against the corporate and banking structure of America as potential criminal and terrorist activity. These documents also show these federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”
“The documents are heavily redacted, and it is clear from the production that the FBI is withholding far more material. We are filing an appeal challenging this response and demanding full disclosure to the public of the records of this operation,” stated Heather Benno, staff attorney with the PCJF.
As early as August 19, 2011, the FBI in New York was meeting with the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the Occupy Wall Street protests that wouldn’t start for another month. By September, prior to the start of the OWS, the FBI was notifying businesses that they might be the focus of an OWS protest.
Documents released show coordination between the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and corporate America. They include a report by the Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC), described by the federal government as “a strategic partnership between the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector,” discussing the OWS protests at the West Coast ports to “raise awareness concerning this type of criminal activity.” The DSAC report shows the nature of secret collaboration between American intelligence agencies and their corporate clients - the document contains a “handling notice” that the information is “meant for use primarily within the corporate security community. Such messages shall not be released in either written or oral form to the media, the general public or other personnel…” (The DSAC document was also obtained by the Northern California ACLU which has sought local FBI surveillance files.)
The Federal Reserve in Richmond appears to have had personnel surveilling OWS planning. They were in contact with the FBI in Richmond to “pass on information regarding the movement known as occupy Wall Street.” There were repeated communications “to pass on updates of the events and decisions made during the small rallies and the following information received from the Capital Police Intelligence Unit through JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force).”
The PCJF filed Freedom of Information Act demands with multiple federal law enforcement agencies in the fall of 2011 as the Occupy crackdown began. The FBI initially attempted to limit its search to only one limited record keeping index. Recognizing this as a common tactic used by the FBI to conduct an inadequate search, the PCJF pressed forward demanding searches be performed of the FBI headquarters as well as FBI field offices nationwide.
The PCJF will continue to push for public disclosure of the government’s spy files and will release documents as they are obtained.

From Page 61 of the documents:

Secret/NoForn
1. (U/LES) An identified <redacted> as of October planned to engage in sniper attacks against protesters in Houston, Texas, if deemed necessary. An identified [redacted] had received intelligence that indicated the protesters in New York and Seattle planned similar protests in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. <redacted> planned to gather intelligence against the leaders of the protest groups and obtain photographs, then formulate a plan to kill the leadership via suppressed sniper rifles.

From Page 68-69 of the documents:

On 13 October 2011, writer sent via email an excerpt from the daily <redacted> regarding the FBI Houston’s <redacted> to all IAs, SSRAs and SAA <redacted> This <redacted> identified the exploitation of the Occupy Movement by <redacted> interested in developing a long-term plan to kill local Occupy leaders via sniper fire.

Click here to see the FBI documents obtained by the PCJF.

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Internal Documents Reveal The Government Was Monitoring Occupy Wall Street As A Terrorist Threat Before It Started And May Have Planned To Assassinate Leaders of The Movement

According to internal documents newly released by the FBI, the agency spearheaded a nationwide law enforcement effort to investigate and monitor the Occupy Wall Street movement. In certain documents, divisions of the FBI refer to the Occupy Wall Street protests as a “criminal activity” or even “domestic terrorism.”

The internal papers were obtained by the Partnership for Civil Justice fund via a Freedom of Information Act Request. The fund, a legal nonprofit that focuses on civil rights, says it believes the 112 pages of documents, available for public viewing on its website, are only “the tip of the iceberg.”

The following was taken from the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF):

The PCJF has obtained heavily redacted documents showing that FBI offices and agents around the country were in high gear conducting surveillance against the movement even as early as August 2011, a month prior to the establishment of the OWS encampment in Zuccotti Park and other Occupy actions around the country.

“This production, which we believe is just the tip of the iceberg, is a window into the nationwide scope of the FBI’s surveillance, monitoring, and reporting on peaceful protestors organizing with the Occupy movement,” stated Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, Executive Director of the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund (PCJF). “These documents show that the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are treating protests against the corporate and banking structure of America as potential criminal and terrorist activity. These documents also show these federal agencies functioning as a de facto intelligence arm of Wall Street and Corporate America.”

“The documents are heavily redacted, and it is clear from the production that the FBI is withholding far more material. We are filing an appeal challenging this response and demanding full disclosure to the public of the records of this operation,” stated Heather Benno, staff attorney with the PCJF.

As early as August 19, 2011, the FBI in New York was meeting with the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the Occupy Wall Street protests that wouldn’t start for another month. By September, prior to the start of the OWS, the FBI was notifying businesses that they might be the focus of an OWS protest.

Documents released show coordination between the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and corporate America. They include a report by the Domestic Security Alliance Council (DSAC), described by the federal government as “a strategic partnership between the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector,” discussing the OWS protests at the West Coast ports to “raise awareness concerning this type of criminal activity.” The DSAC report shows the nature of secret collaboration between American intelligence agencies and their corporate clients - the document contains a “handling notice” that the information is “meant for use primarily within the corporate security community. Such messages shall not be released in either written or oral form to the media, the general public or other personnel…” (The DSAC document was also obtained by the Northern California ACLU which has sought local FBI surveillance files.)

The Federal Reserve in Richmond appears to have had personnel surveilling OWS planning. They were in contact with the FBI in Richmond to “pass on information regarding the movement known as occupy Wall Street.” There were repeated communications “to pass on updates of the events and decisions made during the small rallies and the following information received from the Capital Police Intelligence Unit through JTTF (Joint Terrorism Task Force).”

The PCJF filed Freedom of Information Act demands with multiple federal law enforcement agencies in the fall of 2011 as the Occupy crackdown began. The FBI initially attempted to limit its search to only one limited record keeping index. Recognizing this as a common tactic used by the FBI to conduct an inadequate search, the PCJF pressed forward demanding searches be performed of the FBI headquarters as well as FBI field offices nationwide.

The PCJF will continue to push for public disclosure of the government’s spy files and will release documents as they are obtained.

From Page 61 of the documents:

Secret/NoForn

1. (U/LES) An identified <redacted> as of October planned to engage in sniper attacks against protesters in Houston, Texas, if deemed necessary. An identified [redacted] had received intelligence that indicated the protesters in New York and Seattle planned similar protests in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. <redacted> planned to gather intelligence against the leaders of the protest groups and obtain photographs, then formulate a plan to kill the leadership via suppressed sniper rifles.

From Page 68-69 of the documents:

On 13 October 2011, writer sent via email an excerpt from the daily <redacted> regarding the FBI Houston’s <redacted> to all IAs, SSRAs and SAA <redacted> This <redacted> identified the exploitation of the Occupy Movement by <redacted> interested in developing a long-term plan to kill local Occupy leaders via sniper fire.

Click here to see the FBI documents obtained by the PCJF.

Source: anarcho-queer

r/Anarchism on Reddit Has Been Hijacked

This weekend, one of the largest online anarchist forums has been hijacked by a small group of redditors. Without notice or warning, as required by previous moderation rules, over a dozen mods from the anarchism subreddit were demodded and replaced with a ‘less transparent affinity group’ according to ThePinkMask, one of the redditors responsible for the takeover/coup/overthrow. ThePinkMask is also a moderator for the OccupyWallStreet subreddit and official website, OccupyWallSt.org.

Since the hijacking, subscribers of r/anarchism have voiced their opposition to the new ‘moderation style’, as ThePinkMask puts it. Some are even calling for a strike on r/anarchism, but instead of taking subscribers judgment into consideration, the mods are now censoring posts that criticize their ‘vanguard party’.

As an active member of r/anarchism I would like to send a message to the scumbags authoritarians who decided that they were fit to govern the ungovernable:

Source: anarcho-queer

Veteran Who Was Beaten Near Death By Police And Denied Treatment Sues Oakland

TW: Police Brutality

A former US Army Ranger was severely beaten and arrested during an Occupy Oakland protest, suffering a lacerated spleen while being denied immediate treatment. The Californian prison is now facing a lawsuit for its neglect of the injured man.

Army veteran Kayvan Sabeghi, 33, was arrested and jailed in November 2011 during a nonviolent Occupy Oakland protest while he was trying to walk home, refusing to change his direction. A video of the incident shows a line of police in riot gear approaching the young man, with one of the officers proceeding to beat Sabeghi with a nightstick. He was subsequently arrested on suspicion of remaining at the scene of a riot. While incarcerated at the Glenn Dyer Jail, the prison staff refused to help him while he lay on the floor vomiting from his injuries, unable to move and begging for help. Sabeghi eventually went unconscious in his jail cell.

The lawsuit claims that the sheriff’s deputies accused the man of being drunk and having a heroin withdrawal, when in reality he was suffering from the effects of a ruptured spleen. One prison employee checked Sabeghi’s blood pressure and determined he was an alcoholic and a diabetic.

“Later, another County deputy looked into the cell and observed Mr. Sabeghi lying on the floor throwing up. This deputy taunted Sabeghi by stating, ‘Don’t do heroin,’” the lawsuit stated. “He then pointed Mr. Sabeghi out to the other inmate and stated, ‘see this is why you don’t do heroin.’”

After a day of neglect in his prison cell. Sabeghi’s friends posted bail. When the sheriff’s deputies finally realized he didn’t have the strength to move from his cell, they called an ambulance for him and he was taken to a nearby hospital. Sabeghi remained in intensive care for his lacerated spleen and internal bleeding for five days.

The lawsuit against the prison claims that the officers “acted with deliberate indifference to a serious medical need,” thereby inflicting further pain and harm to an already-injured man and bringing him close to death.

The lawsuit, which was filed by anti-war protester Dan Siegel, is seeking upwards of $1 million in damages to pay for Sabeghi’s medical care as well as to compensate for the physical and emotional pain he endured from the incident.

Siegel told The Guardian that he hopes the lawsuit will also shed light on the practices of the jail staff and improve conditions.

“The greater concern that [Sabeghi] has is that there be some changes at the jail,” he said. “It’s a big problem that the county has privatized health services in a public jail and that the company that’s doing it is more concerned about making money than providing quality care.”

In the prison, Sabeghi was falsely diagnosed as being alcoholic when his condition was dire. The private company Corizon is meant to take care of the prisoners, but the medical staff allegedly refused to examine the man’s injuries.

The lawsuit claims that Sabeghi was denied treatment and mocked by prison guards for 18 hours, with one of them even video taping the injured man while he was vomiting and writhing in pain.

“There are a lot of people taken to jail who have substantial medical problems,” said Siegel. “There are a lot of people with drug and alcohol problems and they need to be adequately cared for … When you have guards who ridicule people with health problems, that’s a setup for failure. Maybe there are some who exaggerate their symptoms but I think they should all be checked out and if someone continues to complain, they should be given the benefit of the doubt. At least get a doctor.”

Source: anarcho-queer

Direct Action Against Deutsche Bank! LA: #N29 #FortLucero

Alto a los desalojos! Halt the Foreclosures!

When: November 29th, 2012, actions beginning at 8:30am (meetup times earlier)Where: Due to security reasons, location will be disclosed on November 29th, 2012. Please contact or see below for more details, meetup times and locations, etc.Contact info: Facebook event | Facebook page | E-mail: FortLucero@gmail.com

After residing in East Los Angeles for 15 years, the Lucero family faces eviction by the Sheriffs Department following a questionable foreclosure by Deutsche Bank. The Luceros made payments towards a loan modification on time, but Deutsche Bank refuses to help the family stay in their home. Homeowner Margarita Lucero explains, “I just want to keep my home and I want the bank to accept the payment plan they promised me. I want to keep my family together.” The German bank is currently facing several lawsuits by the U.S. Government and the City of Los Angeles for their participation in fraud and blight conditions in Los Angeles. They are now under fire from Occupy Los Angeles.

This Thursday, a coalition involving Occupy LA, Occupy Fights Foreclosures, Occupy Whittier, and Community Members of East Los Angeles will take part in an organized civil disobedience action. A rally will take place where multiple L.A. homeowners and Deutsche Bank clients will share their stories. Street performances will be staged.

For background on #FortLucero and Occupy Fights Foreclosures, check out this article on LA Activist: Foreclosure revolt spreads to East LA.

Find out how to get help or volunteer to fight evictions in LA: Occupy Fights Foreclosures. Elsewhere, to find out about similar eviction defense campaigns in dozens of cities across the U.S., check out Occupy Our Homes and find out more about the OOH National Day of Action on December 6th.

If you aren’t in LA and want to support the action and Lucero family, call or fax Deutche Bank and tell them to let the Luceros stay!
TEL: 212-250-2500
FAX: 212-797-0291

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Direct Action Against Deutsche Bank! LA: #N29 #FortLucero

Alto a los desalojos! Halt the Foreclosures!

When: November 29th, 2012, actions beginning at 8:30am (meetup times earlier)
Where: Due to security reasons, location will be disclosed on November 29th, 2012. Please contact or see below for more details, meetup times and locations, etc.
Contact info: Facebook event | Facebook page | E-mail: FortLucero@gmail.com

After residing in East Los Angeles for 15 years, the Lucero family faces eviction by the Sheriffs Department following a questionable foreclosure by Deutsche Bank. The Luceros made payments towards a loan modification on time, but Deutsche Bank refuses to help the family stay in their home. Homeowner Margarita Lucero explains, “I just want to keep my home and I want the bank to accept the payment plan they promised me. I want to keep my family together.” The German bank is currently facing several lawsuits by the U.S. Government and the City of Los Angeles for their participation in fraud and blight conditions in Los Angeles. They are now under fire from Occupy Los Angeles.

This Thursday, a coalition involving Occupy LA, Occupy Fights Foreclosures, Occupy Whittier, and Community Members of East Los Angeles will take part in an organized civil disobedience action. A rally will take place where multiple L.A. homeowners and Deutsche Bank clients will share their stories. Street performances will be staged.

For background on #FortLucero and Occupy Fights Foreclosures, check out this article on LA Activist: Foreclosure revolt spreads to East LA.

Find out how to get help or volunteer to fight evictions in LA: Occupy Fights Foreclosures. Elsewhere, to find out about similar eviction defense campaigns in dozens of cities across the U.S., check out Occupy Our Homes and find out more about the OOH National Day of Action on December 6th.

If you aren’t in LA and want to support the action and Lucero family, call or fax Deutche Bank and tell them to let the Luceros stay!
TEL: 212-250-2500
FAX: 212-797-0291

Source: anarcho-queer

- #N29
- #Occupy
- #OWS
- #Occupy Los Angeles
- #Forclosures
- #Banks
- #Occupy Our Homes
- #Luceros
- #Fort Luceros
6 months ago
35
Permalink

Occupy Wall Street Activists Buy up Debt to Abolish It

Strike Debt, a movement formed by a coalition of Occupy Wall Street groups looking to build a popular resistance to debt, plans to hold a telethon and variety show November 15 in support of the Rolling Jubilee, a system to buy debt for pennies on the dollar, and abolish it.

The telethon, which has already sold out, will feature artists including Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, plus other surprise guests.

Strike Debt hopes to raise $50,000, which the group claims can then be used to purchase, and eliminate, around $1 million in debt.

The group has already performed a test run on the debt market by spending $500 on distressed debt, buying $14,000 worth of outstanding loans and pardoning the debtors.

Business Insider called the test run “impressive” and “noble,” although Alex Hern at the New Statesman points out that, while the law is on Occupy’s side, the banks may not be. Hern points to Felix Salmon’s discussion of the American Homeowner Preservation, which sought to buy up distressed mortgages and find ways for the homeowners to stay in their homes and pay off their debt.

Salmon:

The idea might have been elegant, but it didn’t work in practice, because the banks wouldn’t play ball: they (and Freddie Mac) simply hated the idea of a homeowner being able to stay in their house after a short sale, and often asked for an affidavit from the buyer saying that the former owner would certainly be kicked out.

David Rees, one of the organizers behind the project, writes on his blog: “This is a simple, powerful way to help folks in need - to free them from heavy debt loads so they can focus on being productive, happy and healthy.

Now, after many consultations with attorneys, the IRS, and our moles in the debt-brokerage world, we are ready to take the Rolling Jubilee program live and nationwide.

“As we’ve seen on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we, the people, are the ones who are best equipped to provide the help that damaged communities need,” Strike Debt stated in a press release.

“For years, all kinds of communities have been facing down a debt crisis that has stretched their resources and made them especially vulnerable to sudden shocks. 76 percent of American households are in debt, and 15 percent are being pursued by a debt collector. People shouldn’t have to go into debt for basic necessities like groceries, healthcare and education. Though the banks got bailed out, the people are still waiting for their turn.”

Occupy activists have lately been in the business of transforming philosophical debates about class inequality and government corruption into real, tangible solutions. This month alone, activists have been praised for their work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in which it was often Occupy activists—not the Red Cross, US military, or FEMA—helping to dispense aid to devastated communities. Now, it is Occupy activists who plan to buy up debt and help some individuals who have long suffered under the crushing weight of debt.

RSVP to the event on Facebook

View Separately

Occupy Wall Street Activists Buy up Debt to Abolish It

Strike Debt, a movement formed by a coalition of Occupy Wall Street groups looking to build a popular resistance to debt, plans to hold a telethon and variety show November 15 in support of the Rolling Jubilee, a system to buy debt for pennies on the dollar, and abolish it.

The telethon, which has already sold out, will feature artists including Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, plus other surprise guests.

Strike Debt hopes to raise $50,000, which the group claims can then be used to purchase, and eliminate, around $1 million in debt.

The group has already performed a test run on the debt market by spending $500 on distressed debt, buying $14,000 worth of outstanding loans and pardoning the debtors.

Business Insider called the test run “impressive” and “noble,” although Alex Hern at the New Statesman points out that, while the law is on Occupy’s side, the banks may not be. Hern points to Felix Salmon’s discussion of the American Homeowner Preservation, which sought to buy up distressed mortgages and find ways for the homeowners to stay in their homes and pay off their debt.

Salmon:

The idea might have been elegant, but it didn’t work in practice, because the banks wouldn’t play ball: they (and Freddie Mac) simply hated the idea of a homeowner being able to stay in their house after a short sale, and often asked for an affidavit from the buyer saying that the former owner would certainly be kicked out.

David Rees, one of the organizers behind the project, writes on his blog: “This is a simple, powerful way to help folks in need - to free them from heavy debt loads so they can focus on being productive, happy and healthy.

Now, after many consultations with attorneys, the IRS, and our moles in the debt-brokerage world, we are ready to take the Rolling Jubilee program live and nationwide.

“As we’ve seen on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we, the people, are the ones who are best equipped to provide the help that damaged communities need,” Strike Debt stated in a press release.

“For years, all kinds of communities have been facing down a debt crisis that has stretched their resources and made them especially vulnerable to sudden shocks. 76 percent of American households are in debt, and 15 percent are being pursued by a debt collector. People shouldn’t have to go into debt for basic necessities like groceries, healthcare and education. Though the banks got bailed out, the people are still waiting for their turn.”

Occupy activists have lately been in the business of transforming philosophical debates about class inequality and government corruption into real, tangible solutions. This month alone, activists have been praised for their work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in which it was often Occupy activists—not the Red Cross, US military, or FEMA—helping to dispense aid to devastated communities. Now, it is Occupy activists who plan to buy up debt and help some individuals who have long suffered under the crushing weight of debt.

RSVP to the event on Facebook

Source: anarcho-queer

We Got This (Occupy Sandy)

Thousands in New York City remain without clean water, food, heat, or power. Relief efforts by locals offer continuing direct aid to the neighborhoods most affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Please visit: interoccupy.net/occupysandy

Source: anarcho-queer

- #OWS
- #Occupy
- #Occupy Sandy
- #Hurricane Sandy
- #Sandy
- #Mutual Aid
- #NYC
7 months ago
21
Permalink

AMAZING: Occupy Wall Street Leading Massive, Volunteer-Powered Recovery Efforts in New York

They are thousands-strong and growing: entering devastated neighborhoods yet to see outside help from established aid organizations.

They are staffing donation drop off sites, running mobile food kitchens and delivering hot meals. They are distributing food and supplies to the stranded, locating trapped seniors, and aiding clean-up efforts.

In short, they are helping some of New York’s most vulnerable right now, and the work being done is simply breathtaking. And that work is growing by the hour.

Loosely organized under Occupy Sandy, Occupy activists have, in conjunction with 350.org and Recovers.org, created in very short order a massive, malleable volunteer network that is reaching untold numbers of New Yorkers still in the dark and cold.

They have established donation drop off sites in Rockaway, Coney Island, Staten Island, Chinatown, the Upper East Side, the Lower East Side, Harlem and all across Brooklyn.

And the volunteer opportunities, which you can find here and here, are just as intense as they are varied.

Lisa Sikorski, one of many activists coordinating supply distribution efforts, described their efforts:

“We’ve been getting tons of donations. This is all donations in here,” Sikorski said, pointing at tables. “We also gave away a ton yesterday. Stuff has gone out to the Rockaways, Sunset Park, Coney Island. There are people coming in with rolling carts, school communities have come up with truckloads of stuff and unloaded it. This is all community-driven donation right now, all of it.”

People beyond those being directly helped are beginning to notice Occupy’s incredible work. While snarky and backhanded, Bob Hardt of NY1 had this to say:

It’s a bad sign for the world that Occupy Wall Street and a Sikh group from Queens are doing a better job at distributing hot food than the largest international relief group in the world.

Now, make no mistake. The Red Cross and FEMA are operating shelters, food kitchens and distributing supplies as well. My point here is not to malign them.

My point? To shine a light on the incredible work Occupy activists are doing in locations where aid organizations have yet to lay roots. And to shine a light on the work they will continue to be doing, perhaps with your help.

You can volunteer here. or here.

Source: anarcho-queer

Occupy Wall Street Bikes Power NYC’s Lower East Side
NYNatives.com talked to residents of C- Squat on the Lower East Side Thursday and learned they’ve been biking their way to a dry environment using none other than the Occupy Wall Street bicycle generators. Water, water everywhere. New York City’s Lower East Side is bailing itself out after flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy engulfed the neighborhood earlier this week. Here’s an excerpt from the full story:
“The residents of C-Squat have set up 2 grills, are receiving food donations and are essentially feeding the neighborhood. After pumping out there own basement and rescuing the Occupy Wall Street bikes, the residents pumped out the water from the bar next door and the deli on the corner. As one C-Squat resident exclaimed:’It’s like a block party!’”
According to The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), these same bikes were used to give power to the protestors in Occupy Wall Street last year.
“In a press release as of November 1, MoRUS shared “The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is using one of its exhibits to provide the community with free cell phone charging. Working with environmental group Times Up, MoRUS has set up Occupy Wall Street bike generators on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Street. For the past two days, volunteer riders have been pedaling as crowds of people gather to charge up their cell phones. For many people, this has been the first time they’ve been able to contact loved ones after Hurricane Sandy hit earlier this week. Meanwhile, C-Squat, the squat which houses MoRUS, has set up a street-side barbecue. They have been accepting donations and providing the community with free food.”

View Separately

Occupy Wall Street Bikes Power NYC’s Lower East Side

NYNatives.com talked to residents of C- Squat on the Lower East Side Thursday and learned they’ve been biking their way to a dry environment using none other than the Occupy Wall Street bicycle generators. Water, water everywhere. New York City’s Lower East Side is bailing itself out after flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy engulfed the neighborhood earlier this week. Here’s an excerpt from the full story:

“The residents of C-Squat have set up 2 grills, are receiving food donations and are essentially feeding the neighborhood. After pumping out there own basement and rescuing the Occupy Wall Street bikes, the residents pumped out the water from the bar next door and the deli on the corner. As one C-Squat resident exclaimed:’It’s like a block party!’”

According to The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), these same bikes were used to give power to the protestors in Occupy Wall Street last year.

“In a press release as of November 1, MoRUS shared “The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is using one of its exhibits to provide the community with free cell phone charging. Working with environmental group Times Up, MoRUS has set up Occupy Wall Street bike generators on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Street. For the past two days, volunteer riders have been pedaling as crowds of people gather to charge up their cell phones. For many people, this has been the first time they’ve been able to contact loved ones after Hurricane Sandy hit earlier this week. Meanwhile, C-Squat, the squat which houses MoRUS, has set up a street-side barbecue. They have been accepting donations and providing the community with free food.”

Source: anarcho-queer

View Separately

Source: anarcho-queer

- #Anarcho Queer
- #Anarchy
- #Banner
- #May Day
- #OWS
8 months ago
194
Permalink

Street Battle With SFPD and Occupy San Francisco on Oct. 6

Source: anarcho-queer

Updated: Anonymous Leaks NYPD Footage Of Occupy’s Eviction From Zuccotti Park

Anonymous has leaked what they claim to be “hours” of footage of last year’s raid on Zuccotti Park shot by the NYPD from 14 different cameras. A short montage of the footage has been compiled together for a YouTube video, but the file available for download is 11 GB. “While it’s clear that a lot of this police footage is incomplete and has been edited, some may say even tampered with, to remove the most damning incidents (sometimes in very obvious edits),” the uploader writes, “there is still enough material to paint the picture of what really happened in Zuccotti park once the media cameras have left.”

The footage shows helmeted NYPD officers making arrests, some sort of device discharging a large amount of smoke in front of an officer, and officers wielding a saw to cut into metal that is securing a protester to a tree (some protesters used bike locks to prevent themselves from being removed from the park).

An email to the NYPD’s top press spokesman, Paul Browne, has not been returned. Previously, very little footage of the November 15th raid existed because the NYPD forced media away from Zuccotti Park. Footage of the mass arrests during the Brooklyn Bridge action taken by the department’s Tactical Assistance Response Unit was released as evidence in the subsequent trials against the demonstrators.

[UPDATE] As some keen reporters have noted, there’s a good chance this video wasn’t “leaked” by Anonymous, but rather turned over by the City during the discovery phases in the cases of individual protesters who were arrested during the raid. “I can confirm that TARU video and other video arising from the November 15th eviction was turned over to defense attorneys,” says Gideon Oliver, the president of the National Lawyers Guild—New York Chapter. “That happened some time ago.” The NLG is representing some protesters who were arrested in the raid. Oliver adds that none of the cases have gone to trial yet.

View Separately

Updated: Anonymous Leaks NYPD Footage Of Occupy’s Eviction From Zuccotti Park

Anonymous has leaked what they claim to be “hours” of footage of last year’s raid on Zuccotti Park shot by the NYPD from 14 different cameras. A short montage of the footage has been compiled together for a YouTube video, but the file available for download is 11 GB. “While it’s clear that a lot of this police footage is incomplete and has been edited, some may say even tampered with, to remove the most damning incidents (sometimes in very obvious edits),” the uploader writes, “there is still enough material to paint the picture of what really happened in Zuccotti park once the media cameras have left.”

The footage shows helmeted NYPD officers making arrests, some sort of device discharging a large amount of smoke in front of an officer, and officers wielding a saw to cut into metal that is securing a protester to a tree (some protesters used bike locks to prevent themselves from being removed from the park).

An email to the NYPD’s top press spokesman, Paul Browne, has not been returned. Previously, very little footage of the November 15th raid existed because the NYPD forced media away from Zuccotti Park. Footage of the mass arrests during the Brooklyn Bridge action taken by the department’s Tactical Assistance Response Unit was released as evidence in the subsequent trials against the demonstrators.

[UPDATE] As some keen reporters have noted, there’s a good chance this video wasn’t “leaked” by Anonymous, but rather turned over by the City during the discovery phases in the cases of individual protesters who were arrested during the raid. “I can confirm that TARU video and other video arising from the November 15th eviction was turned over to defense attorneys,” says Gideon Oliver, the president of the National Lawyers Guild—New York Chapter. “That happened some time ago.” The NLG is representing some protesters who were arrested in the raid. Oliver adds that none of the cases have gone to trial yet.

Source: anarcho-queer

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