How do we fight back? What are the organizations and what are they doing? What is the next step? What is to be done?

A poster on the thread "There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody," sought a lists of marches and events for resistance. I couldn't find a central website. A list of groups that datalounge people would find sympathetic would swamp the original thread, so here is another put together from sponsors of October 2011. The group October 2011 is organizing a major action starting on October 6th in Washington when protesters mark the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan. Their website and blog is a good place to see what is happening here and around the world. The cuts in social spending and the elimination of the middle class is an assault happening around the world. It has been going on for years, and the resistance is now building internationally. Here is the October 2011 pledge: "I pledge that if any U.S. troops, contractors, or mercenaries remain in Afghanistan on Thursday, October 6, 2011, as that occupation goes into its 11th year, I will commit to being in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., with others on that day or the days immediately following, for as long as I can, with the intention of making it our Tahrir Square, Cairo, our Madison, Wisconsin, where we will NONVIOLENTLY resist the corporate machine by occupying Freedom Plaza to demand that America's resources be invested in human needs and environmental protection instead of war and exploitation. We can do this together. We will be the beginning." If you go to their website there are links to a travel board for car pooling and a list of lodging possibilities in local churches if that is a better fit than a sleeping bag in Freedom Plaza. They have assembled an impressive number of sponsors. Because I could find no central site for "Fight back against the regime.org" or some such, I decided to compile my own list of organizations from the October 2011 website. The sponsors with a local focus are listed by state. If local contact information could be found or a website, it is listed. Any omissions are mistakes and not editorializing. There's a statement of purpose if the group had one that was brief and distinguishing, meaning more than "We stand for peaceful solutions." It should go without saying that any group listed here picked at random will be likely to support the LGBT struggle -- we work with them, they work with us. In solidarity there is strength. California Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists' Social Justice Committee -- www.bfuu.org Bohemian Grove Action Network -- Bay Area CounterCorp (Putting an end to business as usual. We organize the annual Anti-Corporate Film Festival) -- Bay Area -- www.countercorp.org Los Angeles Catholic Worker -- lacatholicworker.org 632 N. Brittania St. Los Angeles, CA 90033 (323) 267-8789 Peace Fresno (Actions for Social Justice and Alternatives to War) -- peacefresno.org Progressive Caucus of California Topanga Peace Alliance (The Topanga Peace Alliance is a secular, nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting peace and justice on a local and global level. We are committed to seeking peaceful means of dispute resolution throughout the world; preserving life and defending basic human rights at home and abroad; and advocating practical, nonviolent alternatives to war. "If you join a fight for social justice by being part of the struggle, you win, and your life will be better for it. Howard Zinn) -- topangapeacealliance.org Delaware Delaware Pacem in Terris (Your opportunity to further the cause of peace with justice) -- www.depaceminterris.pbworks.com Delaware Valley Veterans For America (Veteran-Led Civil Resistance to U.S. Wars) (cont.)

http%3A//october2011.org/frontpage



• Pennsylvania BRANDYWINE PEACE COMMUNITY -- www.brandywinepeace.com P.O. Box 81, Swarthmore, PA, 19081 (610) 544-1818 Pax Christi, Greensburg, PA Texas Dallas Peace Center (The Mission of the Dallas Peace Center is to promote a just and peaceful world through constructive action in education, dialogue, reconciliation and advocacy.) -- www.dallaspeacecenter.org Amarillo Peace Farm (The Peace Farm, as a neighbor to Pantex [The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility], witnesses to the dangers of nuclear weapons assembled there. We work for the abolition of all nuclear weapons by moral and political persuasion in concert with like-minded groups throughout the world. -- peacefarm.us Texans for Peace (For Texans who believe in peace and social justice. End the wars, stop the machine, create a better world!) -- www.texansforpeace.org Waco area Friends of Peace (Waco, Texas, area people working for peace and justice through education and non-violent activism.) -- www.friendsofpeace.org Virginia The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice (CCPJ promotes education and action for peace and justice in our community. We encourage all citizens to take responsibility for the policies and decisions of their government.) -- www.charlottesvillepeace.org P.O. Box 3381 Charlottesville, VA 22903 434) 961-6278 Coalition for Justice -- civic.bev.netBlacksburg, Independent Green Party of Virginia -- www.votejoinrun.us Liberty Underground of Virginia -- members.cox.net/libertyuv Norfolk Catholic Worker -- www.catholicworker.org/communities/Commdetail.cfm?Community Northern Virginians for Peace and Justice Yahoo. (A networking group of peace advocates/activists and a clearinghouse of info about peace events and projects for N. Virginians.) Washington, D.C. All-African People's Revolutionary Party (GC) (Help Build a Militant, Mass Movement to Expose and Smash the Imperialist Assault on Africa) --a-aprp-gc.org 202-719-0529 Shelter, Housing and Respectful Change Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ -- www.plymouth-ucc.org 5301 North Capitol Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20011 (202)723-5330 DC Tenants Advocacy Coalition (TENAC is a non-profit, public service organization dedicated exclusively to tenant interests, tenant rights, and support for rent control in the District of Columbia. We are the only city-wide tenants organization, and we represent all tenants in the District of Columbia.) -- www.tenac.org Industrial Workers of the World, DC (A Union for All Workers) -- www.iww.org/en/branches/US/DC/gmb Positive Force, DC (An activist collective seeking radical social change, personal growth, and youth empowerment.) -- www.positiveforcedc.org St. Stephen's, 1525 Newton Street NW, WDC 20010, (cont.)

  http://october2011.org/frontpage

• If this shit turns into a movement on a national scale it will be interesting how it affects the presidential elections. This can only help Obama, actually.

• Original thread here:

  http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%23page:showThread%2C10856277

• Datalounge is not accepting my final two parts of the list of resistance organizations, perhaps I am using more space than I should. I will try to post what I worked up later. You can get much the same information plus the convenience of hot links to the groups on the 2011 website.

  http://october2011.org/frontpage

• National Organizations supporting October 2012 Alliance for Democracy (Joining together to end Corporate Rule) -- www.thealliancefordemocracy.org Amend Our Constitution, Fund Our Elections All Education Matters (Student Debt Relief) -- alleducationmatters.blogspot.com American 99ers Union -- american99ersunion.com Black Agenda Report (News, analysis and commentary from the black left ) -- www.blackagendareport.com Buddhist Peace Fellowship -- www.bpf.org Bus for Progress (Facebook) (To drive the progressive change in New Jersey and beyond!) -- busforprogress.org Coffee House Teach-Ins (Facebook)Cities for Peace (Cities for Peace is building a network of local elected officials who are working to highlight the local costs of U.S. foreign policy and to put pressure on the U.S. government to end the war in Iraq, prevent a military strike against Iran, and press for a non-militarized foreign police) -- www.citiesforpeace.org www.ips-dc.org/citiesforpeace Citizens for Legitimate Government -- www.legitgov.orgCitizens For Sanity -- citizensforsanity.comClass War FilmsCode Pink (Women for Peace) -- www.codepink.org DiaNuke.orgFellowship of Reconciliation (The Fellowship of Reconciliation pursues a vision of a free and “demilitarized” world in which the Earth’s resources sustain life and promote the well-being of all people.) firedoglake.com Food Not Bombs (Food not Bombs shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,000 cities around the world to protest war, poverty and the destruction of the environment. With over a billion people going hungry each day how can we spend another dollar on war?) -- www.foodnotbombs.net Freedom From Covert Harassment and Surveillance (Seeking Freedom and Justice worldwide for those targeted with organized stalking and remote electronic assaults) -- www.freedomfchs.com Global Exchange (An international human rights organization dedicated to promoting social, economic and environmental justice around the world.) -- www.globalexchange.org Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space -- www.space4peace.org Granny Peace Brigade -- www.grannypeacebrigade.org Gray Matters Coalition (Ending Age Discrimination) -- www.graymatterscoalition.com Gray Panthers -- www.graypanthers.org Green Party U.S.A. -- www.gp.org

  http://october2011.org/frontpage

• Thank you, OP.

• R2: That's the 64 dollar question. I am not sure the Democrat Party strategists would agree that October 2011 is something they want during a re-election campaign. If the Democratic Party strategy people think that people protesting on the left for progressive causes will frighten conservative swing voters, which way do you think the Party will jump? Three guesses and the first two don't count. I am suspicious of the sudden end of the Verizon strike for similar reasons. The two sides were far apart, the unions had a militant membership ready to stay out, the Communication Workers had a healthy strike fund, although I have heard the strike fund was a problem for the IBEW, and management had a fuck-you attitude towards their workers. Suddenly everybody went back to the bargaining table. That tells me that if there was a chance for success in a strike, but only after a long strike that would hurt the Party's image among conservative voters, The Democratic Party may have bailed and sabotaged the strike. Is it some Machiavellian fantasy to think the White House might have worked out something with the board of directors of Verizon, while it sent Trumka to talk to the two union presidents and told them to knock it off? The same way the Democratic Party had Jesse Jackson sabotage Madison? Think about that, then think what the Verison workers, and we are talking a big, nation-wide union, think what a major union victory would have done to encourage working people to fight back. That's a big lost opportunity. I bet you there was some quid pro quo for both sides, Verizon and the unions out of the White House. Look for the Verizon CEO to be a White House advisor next term or some such shit, or how about the next ambassador to some place like Guatemala where he can organize the summary execution of union organizers. The union presidents, one will get to be assistant Secretary of Labor and the other will become an adjunct professor at Harvard. See that's the thing. Once the Democratic Party abandons its working class and union constituency as completely as it has done in this administration -- where's the EFCA? Cuts to Social Security and Medicare? Once it has started down the road, who knows what it will do? Remember this statement? "If American workers are being denied their right to organize and collectively bargain when I’m in the White House, I’ll put on a put on a comfortable pair of shoes myself. I’ll walk on that picket line with you as president of the United States.” Working people see how he is treating their organizations, and they start being suspicious all the time, even if the White House is innocent this time around. The reality is, the Democratic Party doesn't have to do anything for progressives or the unions -- where else they going to go? What the Democratic Party wants is ever conservative positions to sell to ever more conservative undecideds so they can elect Blue Dogs to get control of the House. I am going to try to get the rest of the list of organizations posted. We have to get the Democratic Party to deal with a different reality.

• Healthcare-Now (Organizing for a National, Single-Payer Healthcare System) healthcare-now.org International Action Center (Information, activism, & resistance to U.S. militarism, war, corporate greed, linking with struggles against racism & oppression within the United States) iacenter.orgInternational Commission of Inquiry on Haiti ItsOurEconomy (People Before Profits, Stop Foreclosures, Break Up Big Finance, End the Wars) itsoureconomy.us Just Foreign Policy (Cut the War Budget, Not Medicare Benefits) justforeignpolicy.org International Peace Resource Center internationalpeaceresources.org Kwame Ture Work-Study Institute afrocubaweb.com/kwametourelibrary.htm Liberty Tree (Building a democracy movement for the U.S.A.) .libertytreefdr.org Love Police - American Division (Undercover Anti-Terror Squad) Facebook March Forward (Veterans and service members stand up against war and racism) answercoalition.org/march-forward Martin Luther King Coalition for Jobs, Justice and Peace mlkcoalitionforjobsjusticeandpeace.org Middle East Children's Alliance (We support children and families in Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon) mecaforpeace.org Movement for a Democratic Society movementforademocraticsociety.org Move To Amend (End Corporate Rule. Legalize Democracy) movetoamend.org (cont.)

  http://october2011.org/frontpage

• National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance (A nationwide network of activists and  organizations committed to ending the war in Iraq through nonviolent  resistance, utilizing the practices and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi,  Martin Luther King, Jr., and Dorothy Day.) -- wwwiraqpledgeorg/wordpress National Coalition for the Homeless -- wwwnationalhomelessorg National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee -- nwtrccorg/ Network of Spiritual Progressives -- wwwspiritualprogressivesorg New National Assembly to Bring the Troops Home Now New Progressive Alliance -- newprogsorg No More Victims (No More Victims (NMV) is a grassroots organization that  connects American communities with war-injured children and their families.) -- wwwnomorevictimsorg Office of the Americas -- wwwofficeoftheamericasorg Organic Consumers Association -- wwworganicconsumersorg Peaceful Uprising (Defending a Livable Future Through Empowering Nonviolent Action) -- wwwpeacefuluprisingorg Peace of the Action (The only way to peace is through the people and obviously not through our corrupt and corporately controlled government.) -- peaceoftheactionnet Peaceworkers (Carrying forward creative nonviolence) -- wwwpeaceworkersusorg People for a New Society  -- wwwpeopleforanewsocietyorg Phil Berrigan Institute for Nonviolence -- MySpacePoor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign -- wwweconomichumanrightsorg Positive Force, DC St. Stephen's, 1525 Newton Street NW, WDC 20010, (Positive Force DC is an activist collective seeking radical social change, personal growth, and youth empowerment.)  -- wwwpositiveforcedcorg Progressive Democrats of America (Politicians and pundits are calling for shared sacrifice while completely ignoring the transfer of wealth from the middle class to the  very wealthiest Americans, the millions of unemployed, the millions of  home foreclosures, the rising costs of healthcare and education, the loss of retirement savings, and their own culpability in ignoring proven economic theory. “We must cut ‘entitlement’ programs,” they claim.) -- wwwpdamericaorg Roots Action (We need a fresh approach to defend the public interest. Our country faces a far-right Republican Party that is a wholly-owned subsidiary of corporate America, and a Democratic Party whose leadership is enmeshed with corporate power.) -- rootsactionorg Single Payer Action (everybody in, nobody out. Join the action. 1,000,000 Strong for Single Payer). -- singlepayeractionorg Socialist Alternative (Defend Workers' Rights! An appeal to help build the fight-back and a working-class alternative) -- socialistalternativeorg Society for the Preservation of Continued Homeownership (We promise to help you, the foreclosed homeowner, achieves heightened awareness of the mortgage foreclosure process, and, at little or no cost to you, guide you through the tough times ahead.)  -- wwwspochorg Sojourners (faith, politics, culture) The Other 98% (Making Democracy work for the rest of us) -- other98com The People's Congress The Wordsmith Collection dba Peace Resource (Everyday people can make a difference) Tikkun (Network of spiritual progressives. A Jewish magazine, an interfaith movement)  -- wwwtikkunorg United for Peace and Justice (From the local to the global, connecting movements for justice and peace.)  -- wwwunitedforpeaceorg United National Antiwar Committee (We  are the vast majority of humanity who want peace, a healthy planet and a society that prioritizes human needs, democracy and civil liberties for all.)  -- nationalpeaceconferenceorg Union Resource US Uncut (US Uncut is a grassroots movement taking direct action against corporate tax cheats and unnecessary and unfair public service cuts across the U.S. Washington's proposed budget for the coming year sends a clear message: The wrath of budget cuts will fall upon the shoulders of hard-working Americans. That's unacceptable.) -- wwwusuncutorg (cont.)

  http://october2011.org/frontpage

• Velvet Revolution Veterans for Peace Voices for Creative Nonviolence (Active nonviolent resistance to U.S. war-making) -- vcnvorg Vote Out Incumbents (A non-partisan project started in 2003 that promotes voting out all incumbents in the House and Senate and replacing them with Progressive and Independent candidates.) -- voidnoworg Voters Evolt -- thevotersorg War Criminals Watch  -- warcriminalswatchorg War Is A Crime -- warisacrimeorg War Resisters League (The United States’ oldest secular pacifist organization, the War Resisters League has been resisting war at home and war abroad since 1923. Our work for nonviolent revolution has spanned decades and has been shaped by the new visions and strategies of each generation’s peacemakers.) -- warresistersorg/ Witness Against Torture  -- www.witnesstortureorgWomen Against Military Madness  -- wammtoday.wordpress.comWomen's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. --wilpforg The Wordsmith Collection dba Peace Resource -- peaceresourceorg World Can't Wait (World Can't Wait is a national movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war, repression and theocracy that was initiated by the Bush / Cheney regime and the ongoing crimes that continue to this day.)  -- worldcantwaitnet Zeitgeist Movement  -- thezeitgeistmovementcom Germany Stop the War Brigade, Germany (When they tell you to go, just say no)  -- stopthewarbrigadecom Australia StandFast, Australia (Stand Fast is a group of veterans and former military personnel who oppose the current wars of occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan.) -- stand-fast.webscom

  http://october2011.org/frontpage

• The "Middle East Children's Alliance" supports terrorists.

• R11: If that is your conclusion, then that is not the group for you. Find another to support.

• Occupy Boston activists are planning a general assembly for Tuesday evening at the Boston Common Gazebo from 7:30pm to 10:30pm.javascript:submitPost();

  http://www.facebook.com/event.php%3Feid%3D271282812892230

• Two, Three, Many Cairos Occupy Chicago occupychiorg Occupy San Jose facebookcom/OccupySJ Occupy San Francisco State occupysfsuwordpresscom Occupy Los Angeles occupylosangelesorg Occupy New Orleans facebookcom/pages/Occupy-New-Orleans/173937596020582 Occupy Pittsburgh facebookcom/OccupyPGH Occupy Seattle facebookcom/pages/Occupy-Seattle/254620607914006 Occupy Portland, Oregon occupyportlandorg Occupy Denver crowdspokecom/topics/occupy-denver Also, U of C Berekely Students have occupied classrooms to protest tuition hikes. See link. Things are happening so fast that it is hard to keep up. If anyone has information on protests in your area, please post. Datalounge seems to reject postings with complete url's but omitting some periods and www's seems to be work.

  http://www.google.com/search%3Fq%3Dberekely+classroom+occupied+tuition+hike%26ie%3Dutf-8%26oe%3Dutf-8%26aq%3Dt%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26client%3Dfirefox-a

• make that "seems to work." Getting excited.

• Well done.

  That%20guy%20from%20the%20other%20thread

• We'd rather have a job first.

  The%20American%20People

• An organized Left of multiple and UNITED factions is the only way we can combat the tripe of the reich-wing. I hope this time it works out.

• R18: Good point. We need a united front that tolerates factions but has internal discipline of some degree -- SDS tore itself apart because different branches ran off in different directions. Factionalism is a real problem, you want a leadership that can speak to, with, and for people as diverse as back-to-the-earth hippies, former Wall Street and bank support staff who have been laid off, students, and immigrants, get them to talk to each other and support each other. You want as much inclusiveness as possible, but it is essential to develop a coherent platform pointing out common problems and effective action, and then carry out the work in an orderly fashion, with the ability to give orders when necessary. Tough tasks, but one thing that happens in a strike, a rally, a demonstration, an upsurge, the process itself, the struggle itself, educates people and brings forward new leadership. The people in Occupy Wall Street and Occupy wherever, and October 2011 are learning and learning fast.

  RolandTumbrell

• The Occupy movement is now growing too fast to track easily. If you do a search on Facebook for "Occupy" you will almost certainly find groups your city or nearby if you live in the country. Occupy Florida, Occupy Austin, Occupy Dallas, OccupyStL (St. Louis), Occupy Texas Reach out to them. Get involved. Fight back.

  RolandTumbrell

• Somebody did this obvious, they started a central website and facebook site for the occupy movement.

  http://occupytogether.org/

  RolandTumbrell

• This from facebook on a search on occupy Tuesday at 10am, EST By the time I had compiled a list by searching for "occupy" facebook pages, and then refreshed, my list was out of date -- that's how fast local occupy groups are springing up. Here is the list and from now on, go to facebook, and I am sure there will be additional ones. Or start your own. Occupy Pittsburgh Occupy New Orleans Occupy San Diego Occupy StL Occupy Nashville Occupy Atlanta Occupy Cincinnati Occupy Omaha Occupy San Francisco Occupy Indianapolis Occupy Dallas OWSNashville OccupySacramento Occupy San Jose Occupy Nebraska Occupy Tampa Occupy Philadelphia Occupy Houston Occupy Boston Occupy Florida Occupy Seattle Carpool to Occupy WallStreet Occupy Wall Street Protest in Phoenix Occupy Chicago Occupy Toronto Market Exchange Occupy Los Angeles OccupyDC October 6, 2011 Occupy Cleveland Occupy Phoenix Michael Moore said last night it was going to spread, and he was right. It is spreading very fast: "We are against greed and we are against the fact that one percent could get nine slices of the pie and the other 99 percent are supposed to fight over the last slice . That is un-American, that is not democracy, it is not Christian, or Jewish, or Buddhist or Muslim none of the major religions. "In fact they all say it is probably one of the worst sins you can commit is to take such a large piece of the pie while others suffer. Firty-six million people living in poverty right now in the United States that is an absolute crime. It is immoral and these guys are just posting the largest profits ever this year. "You're right. where is the rage? Where is the uprising? It is starting. It's down there right now all Wall Street. It starts with the young people. But this is going to grow. Because people watching this tonight? People who are afraid they are going to be foreclosed on this year? Don't know if they are going to be out of a job next year? Can't afford the medical bills for their kids? 50 million people still without insurance? They are sitting at home saying, "God I wish I could do something. What can I do?" "Somebody has to start it somewhere. That's what the kids have done down on Wall Street. It's going to spread across the country. Believe you me, it won't be anything I say or you say It isn't going to be anything you or this show or those kids down there say, People already feel it, they are sick and tired of it, and I think you are going to this happen more and more in this country." He is right about one thing. This movement now has a momentum of its own. It doesn't turn on what Michael Moore says, or Fox News bullshit, or Democratic Party co-option or one set of protestors on Wall Street. The people are starting to speak and to intervene in history, around the world, on Wall Street and on Main Street you can feel the foundations shaking. -- They only call it class warfare when we fight back. Enough for now, I am on my way to Wall Street. See you there.

  http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/26/piers-morgan-tonight-michael-moore-on-capitalism-and-the-occupy-wall-street-protest/

  RolandTumbrell

• [quote]They only call it class warfare when we fight back. Yawn...

• Just got back from my first foray to Liberty Plaza. There were probably two or three thousand people in the square, watch the media say 150 people. At the link you can find out what the organizers need. There was sign, apparently up permanently, saying they need water, plastic cups, peanut butter and humus (so something to put on bread), and this makes sense -- stuff that everybody will eat and that will keep. I am not suggesting that people liberate plastic cups and food from their financial firms and take the stuff over when you visit Liberty Plaza, but the concept is pleasantly ironic, right? If any of you work for caterers, bring left over food and bottles of water, we all should be giving a hand. It was encouraging to see hard-hats by the score mingling and talking with the occupiers. Nobody has gotten hit harder in this capitalist gambling fiasco than unions and the construction trades, so it was good to see them making common cause. Councilman Jermaine Williams was there being interviewed, so the Democratic Party is trying to figure out what to do, and then that means the CPUSA and Working People's Party are around. As I went there through Wall Street there was a very large picket line of Continental and United pilots protesting terms of a merger. I would love to know if the pilots would mingle with the demonstrators after their thing was over. If those two groups meet and consolidate their efforts, the student/anarchist/red faction and the labor faction, that will be an immense step forward. The failure of the students and labor to reach an agreement stopped the revolution in its tracks in France, or we would have had socialism there in 1968.

  http://nycga.cc/donate/

  RolandTumbrell

• "I was fascinated by Egypt. I was in front of al-Jazeera all the time. It needs to happen here," she said. Occupy Boston: smart, savvy, and aiming to emulate Wall Street protests About 200 people in Boston express their outrage at America's economic woes – and promise to take up the protest baton There were socialists, anti-poverty campaigners, students, anarchists, 
computer hackers, the unemployed, and workers ranging from a 
vet to an accountant. And, numbering around 200 and meeting to plot until late in the night, a group of Bostonians have decided to recreate the anti-Wall Street protests that are gripping New York. Unlike previous attempts, such as a march that fizzled out in Chicago with just 20 people, the people behind Occupy Boston showed a strong dose of media savvy and organisational skill on Monday, as they drew a committed crowd of volunteers to their cause: to occupy a slice of the city. Local TV crews were in attendance at the evening mass planning meeting, and it had been flagged on the front pages of Boston's newspapers. The move raises the first serious prospect of the Wall Street protests spreading beyond New York and comes as other events are also being planned in Los Angeles and Washington. Gathering in the centre of Boston Common, in the heart of the city, they heard various speakers promise to copy the New York protests. "Tonight we begin to show the world how to live in freedom and peace. Right here, right now, a new life is starting," said Marissa Egerstrom, one of the organising forces behind Occupy Boston. Those were big words to say in front of just 200 people. But Occupy Boston aims to emulate Occupy Wall Street protesters, whose seizure of a downtown Manhattan park was first ignored by most of the media but has now generated headlines around the world, especially after police used pepper spray against peaceful women demonstrators. Many of those gathered on the Common, including nearly all the key organisers, had been to New York to witness the protests. One organiser, Matthew Krawitz, who brought his two daughters to the Common, had been in Manhattan for the first day of the protests there. Now the unemployed IT expert was helping set up something similar in Boston. "I'm here to give them a better future," he said, referring to his two children. In style and substance, Occupy Boston closely followed that of Occupy Wall Street, which was itself inspired by recent social movements in Spain and Arab countries. After the speeches different tactical groups were formed – covering everything from legal affairs to food to medical to media outreach – to prepare for the coming occupation. . . . The meetings lasted for several hours in the park, as crowds listened to rabble-rousing speeches and critiques of capitalism. It promised a striking protest to come, but at times offered an incongruous vision of Boston. Ringing the common where the protesters met are some of the most upmarket streets in the city, lined with million-dollar townhouses. And on the park itself, virtually next door to where scores of people talked of forcefully bringing down American capitalism, fellow Bostonians enjoyed games of tennis on brightly lit late-night courts, seemingly oblivious to what was going on in the darkness just 50 yards away. But what was never in doubt among the disparate participants was a sense of outrage and injustice at America's current economic woes. Bob Norkus, 54, had been out of work for a year. He has one simple desire. "Things need to be realigned. It's 99 percent of us versus one percent of them. This is still a democracy if we care to grab it," he said. There were people with jobs in the crowd, too, and they were equally angry. Cynthia Brennan, 41, is a veterinary nurse. She had been inspired to come to the common by watching the popular revolts of the Arab Spring. "I was fascinated by Egypt. I was in front of al-Jazeera all the time. It needs to happen here," she said. Local government accountant Tim Larkin, 28, agreed. But he wanted to improve on the New York protests in Boston.

  http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/28/occupy-boston-wall-street

  RolandTumbrell

• [quote]the CPUSA and Working People's Party are around. LOL!!!! Both members?

• -- Wednesday October 5 at 5pm, gather at 250 Broadway. March in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street Crains New York City's Biggest Unions, Community Groups Join the Fight The city's most experienced agitators —- the labor and community groups that typically organize local marches, rallies and sit-ins—have been largely missing from the Occupy Wall Street protest that is in its 13th day at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan. But that's about to change. A loose coalition of labor and community groups said Thursday that they would join the protest next week. They are organizing a solidarity march scheduled for Wednesday that is expected to start at City Hall and finish a few blocks south at Zuccotti Park. “It's a responsibility for the progressive organizations in town to show their support and connect Occupy Wall Street to some of the struggles that are real in the city today,” said Jon Kest, executive director of New York Communities for Change, which is helping to organize the march. “They're speaking about issues we're trying to speak about.” Despite the common cause, the city's established left did not initially embrace the protest, which began Sept. 17 and has been made up mostly of young people angry about the widening income chasm in the country, the growing influence of money on politics and police brutality, among other issues. But as the action nears the start of its third week, unions and community groups are eager to jump on board. They are motivated perhaps by a sense of solidarity and a desire to tap into its growing success, but undoubtedly by something else too—embarrassment that a group of young people using Twitter and Facebook have been able to draw attention to progressive causes in a way they haven't been able to in years. The protestors have transformed the park into a village of sorts, complete with a community kitchen, a library, a concert stage, an arts and crafts center and a media hub. All of that has enabled them not just to sustain the action but to build momentum. And as celebrities like Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Russell Simmons and Cornel West have joined in, the city's traditional activists have been forced to jump into the fray. . . . “It's become too big to ignore,” said one political consultant. Some of the biggest players in organized labor are actively involved in planning for Wednesday's demonstration, either directly or through coalitions that they are a part of. The United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU, 1199 SEIU, Workers United and Transport Workers Union Local 100 are all expected to participate. The Working Families Party is helping to organize the protest and MoveOn.org is expected to mobilize its extensive online regional networks to drum up support for the effort. “We're getting involved because the crisis was caused by the excesses of Wall Street and the consequences have fallen hardest on workers,” a spokesman for TWU Local 100 said. Community groups like Make the Road New York, the Coalition for the Homeless, the Alliance for Quality Education and Community Voices Heard are also organizing for Wednesday's action, and the labor/community coalitions United New York and Strong Economy For All are pitching in as well. Signs and chants will likely call for an extension of the so-called millionaires' tax and a roll-back of state budget cuts. They will also likely show support for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's position that a proposed settlement between banks and attorneys general over troubled mortgage pools is too lenient. Organizers of the march said they aren't looking to take control of the Occupy Wall Street protest, which has captured headlines since it began nearly two weeks ago, but add to it. “We're not trying to grab the steering wheel or to control it,” said Michael Kink, executive director of the Strong Economy For All coalition. “We're looking to find common cause and support the effort. It's the right fight at the right time and we want to be part of it." -- Wednesday October 5 at 5pm. -- 250 Broadway

  http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%23page:postReply%2C10882879%2C2

  RolandTumbrell

• R26: Of course I meant the Working Families Party, which received 155,000 votes in a recent New York State election, not shabby, for a third party. Those two parties are probably the largest gatherings on the left with a class perspective that stand independent of the Democratic Party, if you consider them standing independent of the Democratic Party, that is, which a lot of the left doesn't, certainly no one on the left thinks of the CPUSA, when they think of it at all, that is, as anything other than a faction of the Democratic Party. The CPUSA is pretty much moribund, IMHO, but there might be hope for the Working Families Party if somehow the rank and file can break with the Democratic Party. Speaking of which, the Working Families Party will be there big time on Wednesday, October 5, 250 Broadway, for the March in Support of Occupy Wall Street, be there or be square. I will bet you a billion dollar payout to Big Pharma versus a relaxation of smog control that the Democratic Party doesn't show, what do you think? We on?

  RolandTumbrell

• RolandTumbrell, can you post a link to an article and maybe an excerpt from it instead of copying and pasting everything? All the text makes the thread a bit overwhelming. Also, I think most of us are smart enough and once you provide a link we can find our way around it. If you just copy long articles we don't leave space for discussion. Thanks.

• R29: Yes, of course.

  RolandTumbrell

• [quote] How do we fight back? What are the organizations and what are they doing? What is the next step? What is to be done? You don't fight back. You can't fix stupid. You can't make ignorant, stupid people change their minds. What you do is vote and get everyone you know to vote. Progressives have the numbers we just need everyone at the polls. Put this effort into getting the votes, not changing minds.

• Right. Vote. That will make them sit up and take notice. We have tried that for a couple hundred years and here we are. I have nothing against voting. You think voting does something, go vote. Every politician will tell you, ad nauseum, that electoral politics is the art of the possible. You put a hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands, and then hundreds of thousands of pissed-of people into the streets suddenly a lot more things become possible and they become possible a lot quicker. Funny how that works. An Occupy Miami participant reports that 200 people attended an organizational rally last night. -- Never be deceived that the rich will permit you to vote away their wealth. (Lucy Parsons)

  http://www.facebook.com/OccupyMiami

  RolandTumbrell

• R32. I disagree. If almost every democrat voted I truly believe we have the numbers to have a not only a super-majority, but a landslide majority (and of course a Democratic President). With the democrats truly in charge things would be different. If the repubs win on the other hand, the country is so screwed.

• As I said, if you want to vote, vote. I have nothing against voting. You have nothing against mass action, I hope. In any case, at the moment the people have chosen mass action, which is what the people do when their is a popular uprising. They make the decisions, not you and I. We should be all out in support of them. Most Democratic Party operatives hate the whole concept of mass action, which should tell you something. Just as a reminder, we would never have moved the Democratic Party away from their Dixiecrat senate colleagues and achieved any federal civil rights legislation without mass action, civil disobedience, and people by the thousands in the streets. Never in a million years. When you talk about a landslide, Democratic majority, all that means to the Democratic Party is running Blue Dogs who can win conservative votes in swing districts and getting Wall Street money to support those Blue Dog campaigns. When you accept Wall Street money to get those conservative candidates in office, you tie yourself to that money and that ideology. It doesn't matter how big your landslide majority is, you still will end up with a Democratic Party whose social programs are tailored to Wall Street and passed by Blue Dog Democrats. We will get what we get now -- a political agenda that is to the right of what the Republicans gave us under Nixon.

  RolandTumbrell

• This from Daily Kos, a marine says he is on his way to Liberty Plaza and has asked others he knows to join him there in solidarity with the demonstrators. Does anyone know if servicemen and women have shown up? The link goes on to say that veterans groups plan on being in Washington starting October 6 for the national "Stop the Machine" action -- got to October2001org for information. Marines in uniform protecting protestors -- watch the Tea Baggers heads explode.

  http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/01/1021930/--OccupyWallStreet-Report-of-Support-from-Soldiers%3Fvia%3Dsearch

  RolandTumbrell

• And then it all petered out...