Marxists have always maintained that the more developed, the “purer” democracy is, the more naked, acute and merciless the class struggle becomes, and the “purer” the capitalist oppression and bourgeois dictatorship. The Dreyfus case in republican France, the massacre of strikers by hired bands armed by the capitalists in the free and democratic American republic—these and thousands of similar facts illustrate the truth which the bourgeoisie are vainly seeking to conceal, namely, that actually terror and bourgeois dictatorship prevail in the most democratic of republics and are openly displayed every time the exploiters think the power of capital is being shaken.…posted by the hot hot side of randy at 5:06 PM on December 29, 2012 [40 favorites]
Treating OWS as "potential criminal and terrorist threat" was exactly the right thing to do. No one knew whether these protests were going to stay peaceful or not. OWS certainly wanted it to turn into a phenomenon of national civil unrest.
The Tea Party never set up camp in public squares and refused to leave.
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATIONDiscussing ways to prevent or endure illegal violence that may be perpetrated on protesters by the state is now equivalent to making plans to commit illegal violence against the state. You have been warned, citizens.
SITUATIONAL INFORMATION REPORT
Potential Criminal Activity' Alert
[. . .]
The group Day of Rage' is calling for "state and national non-violent protests and assemblies of people to demand that integrity be brought back to our [American] elections". While Day of Rage' does not condone the use of violence during the events, their website provides activists with information and training on "direct action, civil disobedience, how to deal with violence, and jailhouse solidarity", suggesting that violence and/or illegal activity is expected by event organizers.
FBI Customer Satisfaction SurveyWho are the FBIs customers? Apparently not everyday taxpayers such as myself, as I can't recall ever receiving any such requests from the FBI for customer feedback.
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Because civil society becoming restless or dissatisfied with the powers that be is clearly criminal terrorism.
No. Which is why no one from OWS was shot or charged with incitement to riot or suborning treason. But it has the potential to become criminal or terroristic.
I want to address the factual inaccuracy of this statement in particular. People were in fact beaten, pepper sprayed, arrested, and yes, even shot with "non lethal" projectiles by law enforcement at OWS Oakland and elsewhere.
I stand by my statement. No factual inaccuracy. You show me a single OWS fatality related to state action--I seem to recall someone dying of dehydration; stuff like that doesn't count--and I'll reconsider.
empath:So, in your theory, if OWS wasn't stopped, the government of the United States of America would collapse? Wow.
B) Occupying public (and private) space is a revolutionary tactic, and of course the government is going to stop it. It has to, if it doesn't want to collapse.
This is the origin of machismo (which implies both disdain for women and intolerance and condemnation of nonstandard sexual habits, from chastity to homosexuality). Since even sex is a difficult game to play, the Ur-Fascist hero tends to play with weapons -- doing so becomes an ersatz phallic exercise.When officers of the peace wear riot gear and drive tanks to protests, is that not symbolic dick waving? When the police are tasked to protect private property and to ignore enumerated constitutional rights, is that not a direct contradiction of democratic principles? The excuse is that these military men are doing as they are ordered, so the violence is approved without need for review by a judiciary. It's not their fault for taking orders. It's the protestor's fault for attempting to have a voice in public.
Ur-Fascism is still around us, sometimes in plainclothes. It would be so much easier for us if there appeared on the world scene somebody saying, "I want to reopen Auschwitz, I want the Blackshirts to parade again in the Italian squares." Life is not that simple. Ur-Fascism can come back under the most innocent of disguises. Our duty is to uncover it and to point our finger at any of its new instances — every day, in every part of the world. Franklin Roosevelt's words of November 4, 1938, are worth recalling: "If American democracy ceases to move forward as a living force, seeking day and night by peaceful means to better the lot of our citizens, fascism will grow in strength in our land." Freedom and liberation are an unending task.My contention is that fascism has arrived in the United States as it always does: under the guise of national security and protecting "traditional" societal norms. The proof is that you are currently under surveillance, because you are potentially a terrorist, and it's up to the State to decide how to save you with beatings and pepper spray and imprisonment. The proof is that anyone attempting to occupy public space to raise awareness about inequality is kettled, arrested, and bullied in an attempt to reduce democratic will through violence and oppression.
Bashar Assad would have been the first Syrian president in 40 years to visit the United States had he attended the United Nations summit meeting in New York last week as planned. And it could have been an opportunity for two countries that have notably tense relations to talk.Those people live under tyrannical regimes, so when Americans claim to be similarly oppressed (and they're not black, illegal immigrants, or Native Americans) I suspect them of a lack of proportion.
Instead, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice delayed his visa, excluded him from a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss Lebanon and Syria, and had a UN investigator arrive in Damascus at the time of his departure. Boxed in, Assad canceled his plans.
Rice's actions were in keeping with what Bush administration officials say their goal is toward Syria, to "continue trying to isolate it." Many in Washington argue that Syria is the "low-hanging fruit" in the Mideast, and that the United States should send it down the path to "creative instability," resulting in more democracy in the region and greater stability in Iraq. But this is a dangerous fantasy that will end up hurting American goals.
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The United States has halved Syria's economic growth by stopping Iraqi oil exports through Syria's pipeline, imposing strict economic sanctions and blocking European trade agreements. Regular reports that the United States is considering bombing Syria and freezing transactions by the central bank have driven investors away.
You're moving the goalposts: either the FBI has made a concerted effort to target protesters in order to prevent the otherwise-inevitable revolution which is now strikingly revealed in the 100+ pages that I read yesterday, or they've done a few investigations around the edges of Occupy when crimes occurred. Which is it?
The search warrants were part of an investigation of vandalism during Occupy Mayday, looking for clothes and items that would identify the perpetrators of Black Bloc actions who were wearing masks.
1. The economy must be put to the service of people's welfare, and to support and serve the environment, not private profit. We want a system where labour is appreciated by its social utility, not its financial or commercial profit. Therefore, we demand:But I suppose when May Day of 2013 arrives without all of their demands met, we'll hear about how Occupy is to blame for the massive institutional failures that currently own the planet, including the violent attacks and unaccountable intimidation tactics committed by law enforcement and their corporate partners. At least I won't be surprised this time around.
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2. To achieve these objectives, we believe that the economy should be run democratically at all levels, from local to global. People must get democratic control over financial institutions, transnational corporations and their lobbies. To this end, we demand:
...
3. We believe that political systems must be fully democratic. We therefore demand full democratisation of international institutions, and the elimination of the veto power of a few governments. We want a political system which really represent the variety and diversity of our societies:
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"Occupy cares about who gets taxed, how much, whether the taxes are regressive or progressive, how the revenues are spent, what impact current fiscal decisions are likely to have on the social safety net, right? I'm not aware of a single Occupy voice (that wasn't already a national voice prior to Occupy) that offered significant comments, on a national stage, about these things."There's a difference between "fiscal" and "financial." Either you're being disingenuous or you're actually not reading your interlocutors with any charity.
No. They don't decline to acknowledge consent: they "would not and could not" acknowledge consent. They're saying that they don't have the legal tools to make any information garnered legally admissible. They don't like to mess with that kind of thing.
Which is what they say: get lost unless you've got evidence of threats to "public safety, officer safety, or criminal activity."
Look, if you're desperate to have been spied upon, let me assure you that you almost certainly were spied upon by the NSA's algorithms, just like I was. All I'm saying is that these documents give us no reason to believe you were spied upon by the any living, breathing FBI agents. Maybe you were, but there's no evidence yet that you were.
My only claim is that there's nothing alleged in these documents that establishes a violation of civil rights. That's all.
Well, it looks like it came from a PRESS RELEASE to me.
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-A friend of mine
...said this the other day and I've been thinking about this sort of stuff with my little brain. Is there a way to unite as citizens in a way that's too fast or organic for our government to suppress our voice? Thanks for posting this.
posted by fantodstic at 4:58 PM on December 29, 2012 [4 favorites]