The EnHampMent

Follow for updates on Decolonize/Occupy Hampshire College && the Occupy Wall Street Movement in general.

[oursearchof-blog]

My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy. That some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.

Maya Angelou  (via warriorsrise)

[nebaneba-k]

Best bus stop #ad. #racism http://racismstillexists.tumblr.com

[oldenough2burmom]

[the-enhampment]

block the boat, blockk the boat

[hatformychapstick]

We have raised $304,850.00 to abolish $6,101,822 of debt

A bailout of the people by the people Rolling Jubilee is a Strike Debt project that buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, abolishes it. Together we can liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal. Debt resistance is just the beginning. Join us as we imagine and create a new world based on the common good, not Wall Street profits.

(via http://rollingjubilee.org/)

[sullithenoob]

[anarcho-queer]

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.

[anarcho-queer]

Oakland Police Chief Filtered Out Occupy And Police Brutality Emails

People who’ve e-mailed Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan over the past year about Occupy Oakland probably didn’t get much of a response.

That’s because he used a spam filter to dismiss messages sent to him with “Occupy Oakland” in the subject line, according to a federal court filing Monday. Same goes for the phrases “stop the excessive police force,” “respect the press pass” or “police brutality.” Instead of landing in his in-box, those messages went straight into his junk mail folder, which he apparently never looked at.

Because of those filters, Jordan missed e-mails from other city officials and a federal court monitor, who oversees the department’s compliance with court-ordered reforms stemming from a police abuse scandal.

Robert Warshaw, the monitor, had sent Jordan an e-mail with the subject line “Disciplinary Actions-Occupy Oakland.” Jordan told the court on Oct. 18 that he never saw those e-mails, infuriating Thelton Henderson, the federal judge in San Francisco who appointed Warshaw.

Henderson will hear arguments in December about whether to place the Police Department into the hands of a federal receiver, which Oakland officials believe is unprecedented. Henderson was perplexed as to why Jordan could be missing such vital messages and on Oct. 18 ordered the city to investigate.

The city investigation found that Jordan had city staff put in the filters on Oct. 27, 2011 - two days after a violent clash between police and protesters that made international news. He had been inundated with anonymous messages, he said in a declaration to the court.

But he forgot the e-mail filter was still in effect.

At least until Henderson gave his order and the city investigated. All messages to Jordan with the once-banned phrases now go to his inbox, as of Oct. 19. In addition, Jordan now has a special folder for messages from the court monitor, Warshaw.

“It was never my intention to ignore the monitor,” Jordan said in his declaration.

[blazing-arrow-blog]

“I AM GOING TO FIGHT WITH EVERY BREATH IN MY BODY…” - Patricia Williams, foreclosed homeowner fighting back

Blazing Arrow Organization joined with other community members and groups today, to help defend the home of Patricia Williams and Darren Johnson, an African/Black couple in S.E. Portland, from foreclosure. KATU news story here.

We were greeted with multiple sheriffs deputy cars, with police trying to forceably evict them. The rapid response network was activated and about 50 concerned community members and activists showed up.

A roving picket line in front of the house was initiated and at one point a number of us attempted to regain control of the house by pushing our way in as a collective force. We did gain entry into the house, but the sheriffs - who by this time were reinforced with Portland police personnel - responded by pepper spraying us. Several of us were hit, but everyone will be ok.

One person who gained entry into the house was arrested. At the moment, we have decided to regroup, and decide how to next support Patrica and Darren in getting their house back. Stay tuned, and get ready to mobilize — WE WILL BE BACK. NO MORE EVICTIONS, NO MORE EMPTY HOUSES!

[lukekingma]

The Broadway Bomb defies a court order and turns into one of the coolest events I’ve seen. Nice work.

[csburke-deactivated20161215]

[thepeoplesrecord]

September 19, 2012

French scientists have revealed that rats fed on GM corn sold by American firm Monsanto, suffered tumors and other complications including kidney and liver damage. When testing the firm’s top brand weed killer the rats showed similar symptoms.

The French government has asked its health and safety agency to assess the study and had also sent it to the European Union’s food safety agency, Reuters reports.

“Based on the conclusion…, the government will ask the European authorities to take all necessary measures to protect human and animal health, measures that could go as far as an emergency suspension of imports of NK603 maize in the European Union,” the French health, environment and farm ministries said in a joint statement.

Researchers from the University of Caen found that rats fed on a diet containing NK603 – a seed variety made tolerant to amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller – or given water mixed with the product, at levels permitted in the United States – died earlier than those on a standard diet.

The research conducted by Gilles-Eric Seralini and his colleagues, said the rats suffered mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage. The study was published in the journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology and presented at a news conference in London.

Fifty percent of male and 70 percent of female rats died prematurely, compared with only 30 percent and 20 percent in the control group, said the researchers.

Monsanto spokesman, Thomas Helscher, said the company would review the study thoroughly but stated that other scientific studies had proved the biotech crops’ safety.

Some scientists however criticized the French researchers’ statistical methods and the use of a particular type of rat, saying the albino Sprague-Dawley strain of animal had a tendency to develop cancers.

But despite skepticism, the study draws attention to controversy surrounding genetically modified crops and the US biotech giant Monsanto.

Michael Antoniou, a molecular biologist at King’s College London – who acted as an adviser to Seralini’s team – told reporters that the study stresses the “need to test all GM crops in two-year lifelong studies”.

“I feel this data is strong enough to withdraw the marketing approval for this variety of GM maize temporarily, until this study is followed up and repeated with larger number of animals to get the full statistical power that we want,” he said as quoted by Reuters.

Last Friday France said it will uphold a ban on genetically modified crops produced by the Monsanto. The move came as President Francois Hollande pushed his plan to put the environment back at the top of the international agenda.

In the wake of the publication, Jose Bove, vice-chairman of the European Parliament’s commission for agriculture, called for an immediate suspension of all EU cultivation and import authorizations of genetically modified crops.

“This study finally shows we are right and that it is urgent to quickly review all GMO evaluation processes,” he said following the announcement of the research.

While being widely used in the United States, GM crops have been less popular among European consumers, due to concerns about its impact on people’s health and the environment.

In California, opponents of genetically engineered food are fighting to have it removed from the food supply. They are also pushing to pass Proposition 37, a law that would legally require genetically modified foods to be labeled as such. Monsanto stands opposed to such a proposal and has donated over $4.2 million to lobby against it.

Agriculturalists across America have previously tried to take the biotech giant to court over charges stemming from their lab-made corn GMOs. Over 2,000 farmers have petitioned the US government to more thoroughly investigate the impact that genetically modified corn crop from Monsanto will have on the country.

As RT reported before, Monsanto wants to plant a corn variant across America’s Midwest that will be resistant to a powerful pesticide produced with 2,4-D, the same compound crucial to the make-up of the notorious Vietnam War-era killer Agent Orange. If approved, the new corn will be able to thrive as farmers douse their fields in the chemical, killing off unwanted weeds in the process, while at the same time subjecting Americans to a pesticide linked to cancer risks.

[anarcho-queer]

[the-enhampment]

Glenn Beck on The Coming Insurrection

Read "The Coming Insurrection" here: http://tarnac9.wordpress.com/texts/the-coming-insurrection

Wednesday, July 01, 2009 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529784,00.html

[neverlandnow-deactivated2013061]

“Against crisis and austerity” - october 5th 2012, Turin (Italy)

[anarcho-queer]

Youth Unemployment Continues To Rise,

Since the start of the Great Recession, 2.7 million people between the ages of 16 and 24 have lost their jobs or can no longer find employment, according to a report by the group Young Invincibles (h/t The Wall Street Journal). The report, called “No End In Sight,” estimates that the present state of youth employment is the worst it’s been since the Great Depression. Unlike during other recent recessions — in 1981, 1990 and 2001 — youth unemployment has not only spiked during the Great Recession, it’s remained stubbornly high for a protracted period of time since.

“During no other downturn in recent memory was the unemployment rate so high for so long,” the report states.

Young Invicibles argues in the report that high levels of youth unemployment “may never end,” unless the government steps in through targeted jobs programs like AmeriCorps.

The unemployment rate for Americas between the age of 16 and 19 years is more than 23 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates. This number shrinks to 20.9 percent among white youths and expands to 39.3 percent for African American youth.

American youth are particularly prone to long-term unemployment, according to recent economic data. Workers over the age of 55 have acquired 58 percent of available jobs, economist Dean Baker estimates, largely because they often have more job experience than younger applicants. Exacerbating the problem are employers that continue to pass over jobless youth, meaning those young applicants acquire fewer skills and are more likely to be passed over in the future.

Recent college grads who are lucky enough to find jobs will likely receive a wage that is 7 to 8 percent lower than the wage offered to someone who graduated during a healthy economic period, the report shows. These workers can expect to be shortchanged during healthy economic periods to the tune of 2.5 percent.

[oldenough2burmom]

Romney’s real target with PBS isn’t, of course, “Sesame Street.” It’s shows such as “Frontline,” the news programs that have explained the following: * The destruction of the economy through credit default swaps * Why our healthcare industry is the most bloated, management heavy and expensive system on the planet. * How the nation has failed its most severely mentally-ill by housing them in maximum security prisons rather than hospitals…

(via oldenough2burmom)

[nplusonemag-blog]

Last day to pre-order The Trouble is the Banks: Letters to Wall Street in order to receive it direct from the printer!