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Catalyzing worker co-ops & the solidarity economy

Some "Official" Documents from #Occupy Wall St

October 5, 2011
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OCCUPY WALL STREET--some "official" documents

DECLARATION OF THE OCCUPATION OF NEW YORK CITY 

As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not
lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by
the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, formerly divided by the color of our skin, gender, sexual orientation,
religion, or lack thereof, political party and cultural background, we acknowledge
the reality: that there is only one race, the human race, and our survival requires the
cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption
of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their
brethren; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but
corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that
no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We
come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest
over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably
assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.

They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the
original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give CEO's
exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated gender inequality and discrimination in the workplace.
They have poisoned the food supply, and undermined the farming system through
monopolization.
They have continuously sought to end the rights of workers to negotiate their pay and
make complaints about the safety of their workplace.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education,
which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut
workers' healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the
culpability or responsibility.
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of
contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press.
They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of
profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have
produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians supposed to be regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people's lives in order
to protect investments that have already turned a substantive profit.
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty book keeping, and inactive
ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the
media.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad.
They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government
contracts.
They have participated in a directly racist action by accepting the contract from the State
of Georgia to murder Troy Davis.

To the people of the world,

We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge
you to assert your power.

Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to
address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.

To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we
offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.

Join us and make your voices heard!

 

OCCUPY TOGETHER


OCCUPY TOGETHER, an unofficial hub for all of the events springing up across the country in solidarity with Occupy Wall St. As we have followed the news on facebook, twitter, and the various live feeds across the internet, we felt compelled to build a site that would help spread the word as more protests organize across the country. We hope to provide people with information about events that are organizing, ongoing, and building across the U.S. as we, the 99%, take action against the greed and corruption of the 1%.
We will try our best to provide you with the most accurate information possible. However, we are just a few volunteers and errors are bound to occur. Please be patient as we get this site off the ground and populated and please contact us if you have any info on new events, corrections, or suggestions for this site. You can contact us at info[at]occupytogether[dot]org.

 

OUR TURN **************************
Posted Sept. 29, 2011, 11:05 p.m. EST (5 days ago)
http://occupywallst.org/forum/our-turn/
by GandhiKingMindset 

* OUR TURN **** (one person's view on where we go from here -- Please help edit so it can be made worthy of submission to those handling the official list)

We love America and because of that love, we also feel a deep need for fundamental change. Citizenship isn't a spectator sport. If we want to enjoy prosperity and freedom and have a strong country, we're going to have to take action.

Below this introduction is a LINK TO A NUMBERED LIST OF DEMANDS FOR THE U.S. CONGRESS. These are not vague or empty demands. They are specific. They have a deadline. And there will be active non-violent resistance by thousands of people if the demands are not met by the deadline.

But before we start demanding things, it's important to get some perspective.

It's easy to forget that this is a very young nation. It's also easy to forget that this nation is a great and fragile experiment whose success is by no means assured. We should feel grateful to have the privilege of being a part of this experiment, but we should also feel a corresponding sense of responsibility for helping to ensure its success. Many before us put themselves at great risk to establish, strengthen and preserve the United States of America and it is becoming clear that it is now our turn.
We all feel it. In recent decades, this great experiment we've inherited has gone awry. We're all searching for the source of this decline because, once we correctly identify the source, we can work on implementing targeted solutions. There are countless important improvements to make. Putting them all into one action list would be impossible and ill-advised.
One school of thought would be to identify a group of important reforms, push hard for them with all our might using proven tactics, and then move onto another group of important reforms. Once we get a taste of winning, our spirits will rise exponentially and so will the number of people supporting the efforts.
It is in the spirit of "taking many bites at the apple" that we submit the initial list of demands for reform below. They would, of course, need to be followed by additional demands for reform, one after the other, relentlessly, like waves rolling in from the sea. This initial list focuses on demanding that Congress use its powers to prevent further abuses by Wall Street and large corporations. These abuses have cost millions of Americans their jobs, their savings, their homes and their pride. Untold damage has been done to communities across the country. It's impossible to have a great nation where only the few are benefitting and the great many are hurting. So let's roll up our sleeves, get to work and take our first bite at the apple.
As we encounter inevitable and strong resistance, we should remember the words of one successful steward of change, Mahatma Gandhi, who once said this: "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win."
It is also important that we be very active in pushing for change but that our activity remain completely non-violent. Non-violence is powerful. Gandhi and his supporters pushed the British out of India without weapons. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his supporters won sweeping civil rights for millions of people using non-violent tactics. King explained the use of active non-violent resistance as follows in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail":
"Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to so dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. . . The purpose of our direct-action program is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation."
These methods have worked throughout the last hundred years in countless ways. And now it is our turn to use them. Our love of our country and sense of justice will fuel us. Our adherence to the core principle of active non-violent resistance will guide us. And our successes will lift us. Stay strong and get ready for action.

PLEASE SEE THIS LINK FOR A PROPOSED LIST OF DEMANDS AND REVIEW OF TACTICS. Please comment so we can make this list great and submit it to organizers and those maintaining the official list. https://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/

 

 

OCCUPY WALL STREET - OFFICIAL DEMANDS
Written by Anonymous
http://coupmedia.org/occupywallstreet/occupy-wall-street-official-demands-2009

The Sovereign People's Movement, represented nationally through the people occupying the various Liberty Square locations across this great country, have laid out and democratically submitted and are currently voting on the list of following Demands to then be distilled into one Unified Common demand of the people.

LIST OF PROPOSED "DEMANDS FOR CONGRESS"


1. CONGRESS PASS HR 1489 ("RETURN TO PRUDENT BANKING ACT" http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-1489 ). THIS REINSTATES MANY PROVISIONS OF THE GLASS-STEAGALL ACT. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall_Act ---

Wiki entry summary: The repeal of provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999 effectively removed the separation that previously existed between investment banking which issued securities and commercial banks which accepted deposits. The deregulation also removed conflict of interest prohibitions between investment bankers serving as officers of commercial banks. Most economists believe this repeal directly contributed to the severity of the Financial crisis of 2007-2011 by allowing Wall Street investment banking firms to gamble with their depositors' money that was held in commercial banks owned or created by the investment firms. Here's detail on repeal in 1999 and how it happened: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass-Steagall_Act#Repeal .
Vote Here #1

2. USE CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AGENCIES FULLY INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE THE WALL STREET CRIMINALS
who clearly broke the law and helped cause the 2008 financial crisis in the following notable cases: (insert list of the most clear cut criminal actions). There is a pretty broad consensus that there is a clear group of people who got away with millions / billions illegally and haven't been brought to justice. Boy would this be long overdue and cathartic for millions of Americans. It would also be a shot across the bow for the financial industry. If you watch the solidly researched and awared winning documentary film "Inside Job" that was narrated by Matt Damon (pretty brave Matt!) and do other research, it wouldn't take long to develop the list.
Vote Here #2

3. CONGRESS ENACT LEGISLATION TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY BY REVERSING THE EFFECTS OF THE CITIZENS UNITED SUPREME COURT DECISION
which essentially said corporations can spend as much as they want on elections. The result is that corporations can pretty much buy elections. Corporations should be highly limited in ability to contribute to political campaigns no matter what the election and no matter what the form of media.
This legislation should also RE-ESTABLISH THE PUBLIC AIRWAVES IN THE U.S. SO THAT POLITICAL CANDIDATES ARE GIVEN EQUAL TIME FOR FREE AT REASONABLE INTERVALS IN DAILY PROGRAMMING DURING CAMPAIGN SEASON. The same should extend to other media.
Vote Here #3

4. CONGRESS PASS THE BUFFETT RULE ON FAIR TAXATION SO THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE & CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOP HOLES AND ENACT A PROHIBITION ON HIDING FUNDS OFF SHORE.
No more GE paying zero or negative taxes. Pass the Buffet Rule on fair taxation so the rich pay their fair share. (If we have a really had a good negotiating position and have the place surrounded, we could actually dial up taxes on millionaires, billionaires and corporations even higher...back to what they once were in the 50's and 60's.
Vote Here #4

5. CONGRESS COMPLETELY REVAMP THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION and staff it at all levels with proven professionals who get the job done protecting the integrity of the marketplace so citizens and investors are both protected. This agency needs a large staff and needs to be well-funded. It's currently has a joke of a budget and is run by Wall St. insiders who often leave for high ticket cushy jobs with the corporations they were just regulating. Hmmm.
Vote Here #5

6. CONGRESS PASS SPECIFIC AND EFFECTIVE LAWS LIMITING THE INFLUENCE OF LOBBYISTS AND ELIMINATING THE PRACTICE OF LOBBYISTS WRITING LEGISLATION THAT ENDS UP ON THE FLOOR OF CONGRESS.
Vote Here #6

7. CONGRESS PASSING "Revolving Door Legislation" LEGISLATION ELIMINATING THE ABILITY OF FORMER GOVERNMENT REGULATORS GOING TO WORK FOR CORPORATIONS THAT THEY ONCE REGULATED.
So, you don't get to work at the FDA for five years playing softball with Pfizer and then go to work for Pfizer making $195,000 a year. While they're at it, Congress should pass specific and effective laws to enforce strict judicial standards of conduct in matters concerning conflicts of interest. So long as judges are culled from the ranks of corporate attorneys the 1% will retain control.
Vote Here #7

8. ELIMINATE "PERSONHOOD" LEGAL STATUS FOR CORPORATIONS.
The film "The Corporation" has a great section on how corporations won "personhood status".http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SuUzmqBewg . Fast-forward to 2:20. It'll blow your mind. The 14th amendment was supposed to give equal rights to African Americans. It said you "can't deprive a person of life, liberty or property without due process of law". Corporation lawyers wanted corporations to have more power so they basically said "corporations are people." Amazingly, between 1890 and 1910 there were 307 cases brought before the court under the 14th amendment. 288 of these brought by corporations and only 19 by African Americans. 600,000 people were killed to get rights for people and then judges applied those rights to capital and property while stripping them from people. It's time to set this straight.
Vote Here #8

 

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