POLICE VIOLENCE at Occupy ALEC: N30.

Some scenes of Occupy ALEC actions from independent videographer and activist Dennis Gilman:


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Lemons on the Phoenix Occupation's first night...

With great video footage from Dennis Gilman. I adore Stephen Lemons, but I for one, do advocate the complete overthrow of capitalism...

----------------from the Phoenix New Times--------

Feathered Bastard

Occupy Phoenix: Bonus Army, Redux

By Stephen Lemons
Oct. 17 2011 at 10:20 AM

Part one of Gilman's report from the front lines of Occupy Phoenix

My focus is, and must remain, through November 8, the recall of state Senate President Russell Pearce in Legislative District 18. That means there's a lot going on that I won't be able to cover till after the recall election, including the Occupy Phoenix protests that happened over the weekend.

Fortunately, my fellow newshound Dennis Gilman has been enthusiastically following the protests from the beginning, and has been keeping me up to date on everything going on. I was worried Saturday night that peaceful protesters would be hurt for simply wanting to stay in a public park overnight in Phoenix.

Thankfully, it does not appear that anyone was seriously injured, though there is a young woman being dragged away by the neck in Gilman's video and that was unnecessary. According to the Phoenix Police Department, 46 were arrested Saturday night and charged with criminal trespass, a class three misdemeanor.

There were some reports online of pepper spray being deployed, but Gilman says he did not smell or see any, and I have yet to see any of that in either his footage or any other footage from other outlets. Phoenix Police Department spokesman Sergeant Trent Crump says pepper spray was not used.

In this respect, it seems, the Phoenix PD did not employ excessive force.

Why didn't the city manager and the cops just allow the protesters to stay? Yes, there's a curfew in the park, and there are people living nearby. But I suspect the helicopter and the overwhelming police presence did as much to disturb folks as the protesters. Left to their own devices, I tend to think they would have bedded down quietly for the night. Heck, they were even seen cleaning up the parks they were in.

As we all know, not all ordinances or laws are enforced 100 percent of the time. Keep that in mind the next time you see a politician jaywalking downtown. Both the cops and city officials have discretion in such matters.

Also, the cops should remind themselves that they are simply workers employed by the state. The Arizona Legislature has been hacking away at their benefits. Idiots like City Councilman Sal DiCiccio would privatize their function in a heartbeat if he could get away with it. Governor Jan Brewer is eyeing cop and fireman pensions with visions of knives and hatchets filling her tiny brain. So, remember who really represents your interests and respects the role you play.

There is a faint echo in what happened over the weekend in Phoenix to actions taken against the Bonus Army of 1932 by then President Herbert Hoover and General Douglas MacArthur. There have been some vets in the Occupy crowds, you see. According to Channel 5, one of them was arrested on Sunday.

Hoover ordered the military to run WW I veterans out of D.C., when they camped out in the capital. This, in the midst of the Great Depression. One wonders what will happen when all of our soldiers return from Iraq and Afghanistan to find a country impoverished by corporate greed, with few jobs to offer the newly unemployed.

I for one am not knocking capitalism. Nor are many of the protesters. This isn't the French Revolution. Nor is it the Winter Palace circa 1917.

Yet, for capitalism to work as it should, there has to be a vibrant middle-class. Ordinary people have to have a stake in our society. Otherwise, we're not talking about capitalism, we're talking about plutocracy.

I like what economist Paul Krugman had to say in the New York Times recently about Occupy Wall Street:

"What's going on here? The answer, surely, is that Wall Street's Masters of the Universe realize, deep down, how morally indefensible their position is. They're not John Galt; they're not even Steve Jobs. They're people who got rich by peddling complex financial schemes that, far from delivering clear benefits to the American people, helped push us into a crisis whose aftereffects continue to blight the lives of tens of millions of their fellow citizens."

I'm lucky. I have a job, one that provides me with medical benefits. There are millions in this country, however, who are not as lucky. It should be the essence of patriotism to want to see your fellow countrymen be able to feed themselves and their children and have access to the same medical care our politicians enjoy.

But that sort of patriotism is obviously not the province of the one-percenters.

For an alternative viewpoint sure to tick off lefties, check out my colleague James King's take on the protests. Some of the responses to his sarcasm show that such sarcasm has had its intended effect. Note to the King-haters: When a blog garners a gazillion comments, that blog is by definition a roaring success.

APRIL 23, 2011: Chavez Plaza to the Capitol: NO SB1070!

From my good friend, Dennis:

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On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 8:53 PM, Dennis Gilman wrote:

   Tomorrow, April 23, is a big day for Arizona. It has been one year since Gov. Brewer signed SB1070. We are not the same and never will be.



     It has created confusion and given law enforcement carte blanche to harass and intimidate our friends, families and neighbors  even as not one official arrest has been made under the law.
     

     It is now common knowledge that the 1070 Boycotts have had such a powerful impact on the business community that it stopped the republicans from passing 5 bills even worse then 1070. 


     The business community made it very clear by their own testimonies before congress.  Yet we cannot forget that under the Obama administration, deportations of non-criminals have increased. Children continue to lose their parents who should've been given legal status years ago. Much of this  could've been done administratively despite the lack of republican support. 


    Young adults raised here are denied education or even the right to work.  Those DREAM-ACT students risked so much and fought so hard. What kind of a society would reject them? What kind of world is this where they are Legally considered less then human?


    This Wednesday,  ICE arrested 40 people working at Chuys restaurant chain.  Their crime? Trying to survive. How many children lost their parents because of what was supposed to be an IRS raid? Does the Obama administration really need ICE to be involved in a 400,000 dollar tax debt? Arpaio misused 100 million in tax dollars yet I see no federal action toward him. He is still free to destroy families and our economy with heartless raids designed for self-promotion.


    So tomorrow, at 10:00AM we meet, greet and rally. Why?  One reason is we forget we are part of a larger community or family. God knows we sometimes fight with each other just like  family.


    Lets all meet as a family tomorrow. Lets break bread, walk, talk , shout and sing together. Lets stick up for each other.  Lets listen to one another. 


    We need each other. I know I need all of you to teach, forgive and love me.  I am so grateful for all of you. Those that decided to get arrested standing up for justice and dignity last summer are my heros.  Others who have been arrested simply because of who they are and what they do are also heros.  I want to be the kind of person that always has your back. 


    You are all in my prayers or thoughts-all of you. From students and teachers in Tucson who continue to fight for the Ethnic Studies program that brought us so many remarkable people and saved many from what was referred to as "at risk" youth become amazing successes to the people of Flagstaff brave enough to say unapologetically that EVERY HUMAN has the right to live, love and work wherever they wish.


    From the Anarchists who refused to give up our streets to neo-Nazis to the republicans from Mesa supporting the recall of Russell Pearce. From the Barrio committees organizing their neighborhoods to those teaching one another english. From  those helping the victims of Arpaio's raids helping children find their parents and put together their lives to those that simply send money to the many lawyers that have given freely. 


    From the rock stars who give up money, time and even fame to help, to the medical professionals  on the streets for us...even willing to offer assistance to those that wish us harm.

    From those that have stood ground in front of Wells Fargo for over 3 years to those that stayed at the Capitol every day last summer and those who confronted the hatred this legislative session at a cost to there own careers only to be accused by racist politicians of being paid. From the wonderful churches and atheists who stand on the side of love....together. And, of course, my brothers and sisters who made me stand and film in the pouring, freezing rain in Washington DC as they protested in front of the DOJ making it clear they will not back off until Arpaio is somewhere he cannot hurt anyone anymore.   

    It's no secret we don't all get along. Sometimes it seems like we fight with each other more then the evil we are supposed to be opposing. But thanks to all of you-I know what it means when they say "It takes a village." 


    You are all amazing and I am so very grateful for all of you-even the ones that piss me off.  We are all more connected then we are able to see sometimes.

Two short videos:

One shows an arrest of a brave, non-violent protester who was brutally detained and arrested last week while Arpaio was bragging about the 100 million he stole from the Tax Payers at the Tea Party.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dapK49JKieQ

The other shows Russell Pearce as an "Illegal".  Pearce decided to make out a check for 225 dollars to the Fiesta Bowl.  But he said he would show us receipts. Show us your papers Mr. Pearce. Illegal is illegal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnv8gHR-Okc

SEE YOU ALL SATURDAY! LETS DO THIS! 

Start: Cesar Chavez Memorial Plaza

200 W. Washington

10am

End: Arizona State Capitol

1700 W. Washington 

Destination Phoenix: No SB1070. April 23, 2011.

WHY YOU MUST BOYCOTT

THIS HATEFUL STATE,

AMERICA!!!

If you turn out, make it for the rally:

Saturday, April 23, 2011.

From Dennis Gilman Humanleague002

Slightly edited for format only.

(I love this man for what he does.)

"This video shows students in Arizona defending themselves as they are attacked mercilessly on the State Senate floor.

These are some of the young protesters that showed up at our State Capitol in February and March of 2011. Are they gangsters?

You decide for yourself.

This year, Russell Pearce and other Republicans pushed beyond SB 1070 by introducing numerous bills from denying newborn babies their human rights under the 14th Amendment to requiring all school and hospital officials to act as ICE agents.


In a bizarre attempt to sell these bills, racist attacks are made from the Senate floor against Hispanic students lowering the bar for hateful, racist rhetoric even in Arizona. Tom Horne shows up at the Capitol and is quick to call the young protesters thugs in a press release days later. You would think an educated man like Attorney General Tom Horne could tell the difference between thugs. I took the liberty to show Tom Horne what people act like that have never taken Ethnic Studies.

5 of the 26 anti-immigrant bills were voted down due to The Phoenix Chamber of Commerce's pressure on a handful of Republicans. The business community made it clear the current boycotts over 1070 have hurt the economy and they want no more anti-immigration laws passed.


But don't think for one minute we won anything.

While education and health care were cut drastically, millions of dollars of additional money will go to private prisons. There are so many moronic, unconstitutional and racist bills floating around, I simply can't go into all of them.

Arizona has over 117,000 millionaires under-taxed while the rest of us are barely surviving. Maricopa County ranks 5th in the Nation. They are never asked to pay their fair share while drastic and dangerous cuts are made everywhere else."

In Arizona, the hateful bills never stop. They never will as long as Russell Pearce is in power.

See you all at the Capitol April 23, one year after 1070 was signed.

Thanks,

Dennis Gilman

HumanLeague002: Voices of the People's History.

This is Dennis Gilman's footage of Sal Reza's wrongful arrest last week on YouTube (you really must subscribe to Humanleague002) - a story we were privy to earlier thanks to the Feathered Bastard. Between Dennis and Stephen Lemons, we're getting some good coverage of the People's History out here...




Here is Dennis' other most recent video showing one of the National Day of Non-Compliance actions at the 4th Avenue Jail. Catch that awesome chant! There are hundreds of people out there chasing those deputies back inside! They shut down most of Arpaio's racial profiling plans for the day, too!

Racist SB 1070 Rally and Sheriff Joe.

This is from my friend, Dennis Gilman's YouTube site, Humanleague002. He's been faithfully chronicling the racist regime unfolding in Arizona and exposing human rights abuses. Spend some time at his site if you're at all into the protests and counter-protests going on here, or if you want to see Copwatch video done right...

This video is chilling, by the way.

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