From the open publishing newswire: Well, by now everyone in the Occupy movement is hotly debating "nonviolence" vs. "diversity of tactics", as recently so in, "Chris Hedges and Kristof Lopaur of Occupy Oakland debate black bloc, militancy and tactics," February 8, 2012, on KPFA in Berkeley, California.

Both Lopaur and Hedges made some critically weak, flawed, at times somewhat disingenuous or self-contradictory and, in Lopaur's case, often specious arguments in their radio debate. This so, even though I politically agree with Hedges, and although Hedges' recent commentary, "The Cancer in Occupy," seemed poorly supported journalistically. But, Hedges is dead on about, 'Go do violence under your own name, not the Occupy movement's.'

Read more: daveyd.com | hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com

[ Related: | How violence protects the State | On The Nature of Violence and Nonviolence | Organized Non-violent Civil Disobedience vs. OWS ]

From the open publishing newswire: It is clear from much of the discourse that occurred in the march that occupiers, by and large, have no understanding of anti-oppression politics and very little if any understanding of, and/or affinity for, historical anti-police tactics.

Largely I have hoped to try to bridge this gap in the past, however it has become undeniable now that the behaviour of occupiers at radical marches is not merely frustrating or politically derailing, it has developed a pattern of putting people in the hands of police. This type of behaviour in portland has in the past caused individuals to incur injuries at the hands of belligerent occupiers.

From the open publishing newswire: Prior to today's shooting, it had been over a year since a Portland police officer killed a civilian. That this is notable at all highlights a serious problem in the way Portland police interact with citizens, especially those citizens with active mental illness and/or untreated addiction.

Early this morning, January 25, 2012, Portland Police officers shot and killed a man in downtown Portland. Prior to today's shooting, it had been over a year since a Portland police officer killed a civilian. That this is notable at all highlights a serious problem in the way Portland police interact with citizens, especially those citizens with active mental illness and/or untreated addiction. The Mental Health Association of Portland has collected the names and known history of over 220 persons shot and/or killed by Portland area police officers since 1970. The list is not comprehensive, but it clearly shows a correlation between active mental illness or addiction and the chances of being killed or wounded by police officers.

The year-plus from Thomas Higginbotham's death on Jan. 2, 2011 until today may be the longest duration without a police-caused death in Portland's history. Higginbotham, age 67, was described by friends as a late stage alcoholic. His shooting death was described by police through the media as having occurred as he advanced toward two officers holding a "large knife." It is unknown if the Multnomah County District Attorney convened a grand jury to inquire about the death of Higginbotham, or what parts of the county's use-of-force plan were followed.

From the open publishing newswire: When I was at the eviction of Occupy in Portland and the police horses were forced into the crowd, the first thought that went through me was the horses were going to hurt someone. The second thought was why the hell are the police using animals to hurt other humans. Now my thoughts are to take the horses away from the cops. Seems like a good project for us to take on.

Want to "take a ride on the Justice side?" This is something all of us can give some time to, maybe we can see these beautiful horse retired to a farm, enjoying life. I know we are all busy but I got really pissed at the cops for making these animals move into the crowd and risk being hurt, when all the horses wanted to do is eat some hay. E-mail me and after some ground work, if enough of you feel bad for those horses as I did that night, let's work to "Free the Police Horses."
homepage:  http://individualsforjustice.com

From the open publishing newswire: The best gift of all is good health and this can be done with single payer health insurance... Good health is what everyone in this country desires and needs. The best way to achieve this goal is to have affordable health insurance. Unfortunately what stands in the wsy is private health insurance companies who value monetary greed over peoples health by always raising premiums and by charging outrageous deductibles and co-pays. The solution is to give the wonderful present of single payer health insurance and you can do this by visiting the internet site of ( Single Payer Action) which is working for single payer health insurance.

Here is the mailing address of Single Payer Action if you wish to contact them by snail mail.
Single Payer Action
P.O. Box 18384
Washington D.C. 20036

I just don't understand why some americans do not want single payer health insurance. What we have now are insurance company pirates who take all of our hard earned cash and then refuse to pay their fair share of your medical bill.

From the open publishing newswire: The 'Occupy' movement is one of several in American history to be based on anarchist principles.
London, UK - Almost every time I'm interviewed by a mainstream journalist about Occupy Wall Street I get some variation of the same lecture:

"How are you going to get anywhere if you refuse to create a leadership structure or make a practical list of demands? And what's with all this anarchist nonsense - the consensus, the sparkly fingers? Don't you realise all this radical language is going to alienate people? You're never going to be able to reach regular, mainstream Americans with this sort of thing!"

If one were compiling a scrapbook of worst advice ever given, this sort of thing might well merit an honourable place. After all, since the financial crash of 2007, there have been dozens of attempts to kick-off a national movement against the depredations of the United States' financial elites taking the approach such journalists recommended. All failed. It was only on August 2, when a small group of anarchists and other anti-authoritarians showed up at a meeting called by one such group and effectively wooed everyone away from the planned march and rally to create a genuine democratic assembly, on basically anarchist principles, that the stage was set for a movement that Americans from Portland to Tuscaloosa were willing to embrace. [...]

From the open publishing newswire: We are the front-line workers who haul container rigs full of imported and exported goods to and from the docks and warehouses every day. We have been elected by committees of our co-workers at the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, Seattle, Tacoma, New York and New Jersey to tell our collective story. We have accepted the honor to speak up for our brothers and sisters about our working conditions despite the risk of retaliation we face. One of us is a mother, the rest of us fathers. Between the five of us we have 11children and one more baby on the way. We have a combined 46 years of experience driving cargo from our shores for America's stores.

We are inspired that a non-violent democratic movement that insists on basic economic fairness is capturing the hearts and minds of so many working people. Thank you "99 Percenters" for hearing our call for justice. We are humbled and overwhelmed by recent attention. Normally we are invisible. Today's demonstrations will impact us. While we cannot officially speak for every worker who shares our occupation, we can use this opportunity to reveal what it's like to walk a day in our shoes for the 110,000 of us in America whose job it is to be a port truck driver. It may be tempting for media to ask questions about whether we support a shutdown, but there are no easy answers. Instead, we ask you, are you willing to listen and learn why a one-word response is impossible?

 link to cleanandsafeports.org

From the open publishing newswire: There were no broken windows. So that particular liberal defense is off the table. Those who have decided to side with the state instead of this new and radical social movement will find that it is now their illusions that have been shattered. The conditions of social life in Santa Cruz involve a visible homeless population, and they have not been absent at Occupy Santa Cruz... It's easy for the media to dismiss occupations as a collection of bums, but the truth is that the homeless need a place to sleep; and now, with chilly nights and fierce winds, the activists at the occupation, like the homeless every year, need more than tents.

This morning a comrade stood on the roof of the new occupation looking out for police, who he had seen hovering around the encampment at City Hall. He doubted that they would make a scene in daylight. "Downtown business is too important." But every indication is that they will return at night, in greater number and with more instruments of violence. They will return to literally do the bidding of Wells Fargo, draining public funds to pay for repression, adding to the $13 million spent in other cities.

Occupy a building near you.

[Related: Building Occupied in Santa Cruz! Riot Cops held off! - From Indybay ]

From the open publishing newswire: We've all seen the recent images of the police brutality against Occupy, but this conduct hasn't occurred overnight. For years, US police abuse has been spiralling upwards, this article sharing a uniquely insightful vision of what that's meant, how it's occurred, and an amazing effort to awake America.

Excerpt: When we see these brutally nightmarish visions of police violence against innocent protesters, we're shocked because we haven't been aware that our police have behaved this way for many years now. Of course, that's also why we see -- despite the video evidence -- some people blaming the Occupy supporters for their own brutalization, refusing to believe that our police could do such harm without good reason. Even worse though, our 'authorities' are well aware of this tendency, and play upon it, i.e., the claims that the UC Davis police felt 'threatened' in an attempt to legitimize the brutal pepper spraying videotaped there.

Attempts to somehow 'demonize the victim' are an old story, and it's far easier to blame most victims than face the far harsher reality of what our society has become, how empty some of the assumptions about our police, about our own safety, are.

Continue Reading: link to www.opednews.com

From the open publishing newswire: When Questlove of The Roots chose to introduce Michele Bachmann's appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with a few chords from punk band Fishbone's "Lyin' Ass Bitch," he was going for an easy joke. But true Fishbone fans, while elated that the fading, three-decade-old band was experiencing a pop cultural revival (and new dowloads) were also aware that "Lyin' Ass Bitch" was one of the less political songs of an extremely political band.

Born in the late seventies when its members were still in high school in the San Fernando Valley, Fishbone always crossed boundaries. They were a black punk band that incorporated rock, funk, reggae, and ska. Many have noted the irony that an African American band that influenced white musicians like Gwen Stefani, Flea, and even Kurt Cobain is now virtually unknown, while its proteges have surpassed it. (This is the topic of a new documentary on the band called Everyday Sunshine that I plan on seeing.) Fishbone was alt rock before the term existed. Questlove and his bandmates would be among the first to acknowledge the debt they owe to Fishbone, with whom they have toured.

 http://www.amysohn.com/?p=163

From the open publishing newswire: A first person account of the Nov 14th raid on Occupy Oakland on November 14...

We expected a raid that night, most likely just before dawn. So after concluding our General Assembly of the evening, the Events Committee announced an emergency dance party, calling it "The Occupocalypse."

 http://danielborgstrom.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupocalypse.html

From the open publishing newswire: In response to the Occupy Movement and its perceived threat to the status quo, Congress will vote next week on Senate Bill 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, to explicitly create a police state. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will "basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield" and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial "American citizen or not." Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), also declared that the bill is needed because "America is part of the battlefield." Write your Senator NOW!

Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act which would remove the harmful provisions from the bill and in their place, mandate a process for Congress to use an orderly process to consider whether any detention legislation is needed.

Write to your Senators now at:
 https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3865&s_subsrc=fixNDAA

 link to www.blacklistednews.com

[Related:  http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/29/battlefield_america_us_citizens_face_indefinite]

From the open publishing newswire: The Occupy Movement couldn't have come along at a worse time, from the viewpoint of the Democrats. Election season is just getting started and Occupy has thrown a giant wrench into the political machinery. Some labor leaders too are sensing "politics as usual" shifting under their feet; the "get out the vote" for the Democrats may elicit blank stares from the rank and file.

Occupy has the potential to create earthquakes within the labor movement and labor's relationship to the Democrats, if it approaches the subject intelligently. This seismic shift could permanently change politics in the United States, much for the better. Many commentators have noted that the Occupy Movement can be only poison for the Democrats. Unlike the Republicans, who benefited from the corporate sponsored far-right Tea Party, the Democrats have no intention of moving - or even flirting - with an independent movement to its left. Long before the corporate Presidency of Bill Clinton, the Democrats have moved only to the right, with the leftist talk reserved strictly for election campaigns. This evolution is now to the point where President Obama stands to the right of President and arch-Conservative Richard Nixon on most economic and social issues. Times have certainly changed.

 http://www.workerscompass.org