Tag Archives: Occupy

Women Warriors Of The Global Revolution Part 4: ‘Tentmonster’ Sara Kerrison

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Occupy Savvy Exclusive! One of the coolest things about activism is that it doesn’t have celebrities – it has role models. Recently, we put 7 poignant questions to five of the world’s most inspiring women. These women hail from Iceland, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and for their profound actions, deeds, words, generosity, heart, and perseverance, we deem them “wahine toa”.

In Aotearoa, New Zealand, we describe a fearless woman of soul and substance, as “wahine toa”. This very loosely translates to “woman warrior.”

The Maori dictionary explains it as;

wāhine: (noun) women, females, ladies, wives.

toa: (stative) be brave, bold, victorious, experienced, accomplished, adept, competent, skilful, capable.

But wahine toa is even more; to us she is;

kaitiaki: (noun) trustee, minder, guard, custodian, guardian, keeper.

She becomes;

ūkaipō: (noun) mother, origin, source of sustenance, real home.

She is “atua” in the sense of; “a way of perceiving and rationalising the world”.

If it were audible; we could almost hear our ladies blushing through the screen. The truth is; they deserve every accolade we can give them, as they live this wild journey called life to the fullest, inspiring so many of us to follow their path, by discovering our own.

These next few days, you will see the same 7 questions posted here, again and again. But you will see vastly different answers. All of a unique and immeasurable insightfulness that is a gift, as a reader, to absorb.

Part One saw us publish the heartfelt words of Turtle Island, Canada’s Min Reyes.

Part Two was an exclusive interview with Iceland’s very own Birgitta Jónsdóttir.

Part Three was an introduction to Aotearoa, New Zealand’s Marama Davidson.

In Part Four we cover an Occupy Melbourne institution that rightly went viral; an original “Tentmonster” – Australia’s Sara Kerrison.

Tentmonster

The proverbial meat of this article is going to start unconventionally. By making you wet yourself with laughter. In case you missed it back in December 2011, it is our great pleasure to introduce: the Occupy Melbourne Tentmonsters.

If you’ve taken the 4 minutes out of your day to watch the above; you will be shocked by the contrast of what happened next. Apparently the Melbourne Police didn’t get the joke. Their retaliation was swift, brutal and left an innocent young girl who had lightened the world with laughter, an extremely public victim of the self-evident Police State.

tentmonsters

The sickening assault circled the globe. In one fell swoop Melbourne Police did their international reputation irrevocable damage. The grassroots fallout was instantaneous.

Within hours the entire Occupy movement was expressing both their outrage and their empathy with Sara, then swiftly replicating the “tentmonsters” tactic in spontaneous solidarity actions worldwide; spawning “International Wear A Tent For Human Rights Day“.

There were no longer just tentmonsters in Aussie. They sprung up in locations as far flung from Melbourne as possible; including the Occupy National Gathering (2012) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. In Occupy DC… and at Occupy Santa Cruz, California.

There were even tentmonsters in attendance at the famous Occupy Oakland Port Shutdown II. (Pics courtesy of CIAbook) They even popped up on livestreaming legend Oakfosho’s Ustream, the following January.

With these serendipitous events, Sara was unwittingly thrust into the global spotlight. A Wikileaks activist and Bradley Manning supporter, she had fought injustice but never sought to be the public victim of it.

True occupiers have an innate ability to turn attacks on them into personal and societal victories. Sara did exactly that, putting her profile to good use. She is now a co-litigant representing Occupy Melbourne in the Australian Federal Court in Muldoon Vs Melbourne – a constitutional case that is testing fundamental principles of political communication and freedom of expression.

As Min Reyes said in Part 1 of this series (paraphrasing); the movements come in waves, each a little bigger than the last, all blurring into each other until the individual banners are meaningless and meld into one.

In Part 2 Birgitta Jónsdóttir described the revolution as an ongoing process; where we needed to abandon ego-logy and embrace ecology.

Part 3 saw Marama Davidson deliver the stark reality; we can no longer attempt to be the human boss of Earth. Such wankery is running us into utter ruination.

Here follows Sara’s insightful answers to the same 7 questions we put to the other wahine toa featured in this series.

Q1. Occupy Savvy: Strong women abound in the Occupy and Idle No More movements. Did you ever foresee that you would contribute as meaningfully as you have, to such momentous events?

Sara: Occupy Melbourne was the real catalyst of my participation in social
change. I immediately recognized something in Occupy, some truth in life
and myself that had always been missing and that perhaps subconsciously I
had always been searching for; a sense of community and a belief in my
inalienable right to direct the outcome of my own life. I definitely
didn’t plan to get so involved, but the moment I experienced it I knew
that here is something that EVERYONE deserves to feel! It is moving to be
involved in something much larger than yourself.

Q2. Occupy Savvy: An ONZ admin says “Activism didn’t radicalise me; the state response to activism radicalised me.” Can you empathise with this statement?

Sara: I completely understand, we expressed a similar sentiment after our
eviction in Melbourne because we experienced and witnessed some pretty
brutal things happen to the people we cared about and to everything that
we had built. It was this experience that was instrumental in making me
fully internalize the gravity of the situation, what they are capable of
and how necessary it is for us to persevere. But in the end I feel that
more important than what radicalized me is what keeps me going, and
perhaps it was anger and outrage that ignited me, but it was hope that
kept me going.

Q3. Occupy Savvy: Activism messages appear to be increasingly penetrating the public consciousness. What is your experience of this awakening?

Sara: My personal experience of activism messages being taken on by the public
was when I wrote a short essay about the need for rEvolution which gained
some small notoriety and popularity on the internet. I was grateful that
so many people related to it because it means that many others are having
similar revelations, and realizing the need for us to OPEN OUR EYES!

Q4. Occupy Savvy: What has been your most satisfying moment of the global revolution, to date?

Sara: Even though it is constantly challenging, and sometimes very painful and frustrating, everything about the rEvolution is satisfying, because no matter what happens you know you are involved in such a worthy cause.

Something that particularly touched me was when I saw the videos of the General Assembly at Occupy Wall Street. I was so captivated by this group of strangers, so hands on and involved, so organized and dedicated to their ideals, and so willing to confront hard and real truths about life and the condition of humanity. I was taken aback, because this involvement was a totally foreign concept to me. When the camera swept across the crowd and you saw all of the people, there was a look on each of their faces quite unlike anything I’ve seen before, maybe it was renewed hope.

It’s a simple scene but it really moved me, and I keep coming back to that memory, to remind me to persevere not just against the injustice in the world but for all the beauty that is possible.

Q5. Occupy Savvy: In what way would you most like to see the global narrative shift, from this point?

Sara: I see sustainable self-sufficiency as a practical foundation upon which all great global change can occur. So I want to see solar panels on every roof in every city, water collections in every gutter, vertical farms on the walls of every skyscraper and community gardens in every vacant lot! If each person is able to provide for themselves their most basic needs, society itself will be inadvertently changed, because we will no longer see each other as competitors, and we will have the freedom necessary to interact more meaningfully with each other, our communities and our planet.

And really these ideas aren’t that farfetched! Every single thing that we require to liberate us exists already within ourselves and on our planet. We possess the most awe-inspiring technologies; we could make our reality here into anything that we want! But somehow along the way we managed to convince ourselves that we must work a wage for someone else to pay back the debt of our own existence, and to buy back our freedom. Well our lives aren’t loaned to us by the big banks, so why do we feel we have to spend our lives paying them back?

Q6. Occupy Savvy: What advice would you give to a woman becoming involved in activism for the first time?

Sara: Don’t get distracted by small things such as the police and drama of activist groups. I’ve seen too many activists get sucked into the vortex of interpersonal politics, and use up all of the energy that could have been spent furthering their cause on fighting each other, and eventually self-destruction.

The same goes for the police. They can do things that OUTRAGE you, and yes they can HURT you, and make you ANGRY and make you want to FIGHT BACK. But don’t, it’s just getting caught in their trap. So be gentle with yourself, and take breaks because if you burn out you won’t be helping anyone.

Always listen to people who have the opposite opinion to you, there is no point preaching to the choir. Don’t try to be a badass, and don’t get paranoid about governmental implants involved in your business, because they probably are.

It can all probably be summed up by this Dr. Seuss quote:

“You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot
with your left.”

Q7. Occupy Savvy: In what way have you seen your country change, over the last 18 months? In what way would you see it change, in the next 18?

Sara: I haven’t seen my country change nearly enough in the last 18 months! And I wonder to myself why that is, what it is that we are doing, or not doing in our public advocacy that isn’t persuasive?

Grand ambitions aside, the change I want to see is within the protest culture itself, there needs to be a paradigm shift within activism. A transformation from specific issue-based approaches, to an approach that acknowledges the systemic nature of our problems here on Earth.

Problems that are inherent in the very structure of the system our societies are built on, and that permeate to the core of its people and so warrant an approach in activism that also deals with the issues at their very source and encompasses the entire panorama of problems.

It’s something that I’ve been contemplating for a while but can’t fully articulate yet, but I’d love to start throwing around ideas with any and all people who are feeling the same thing.

That concludes the fourth part of “Women Warriors Of The Global Revolution”. We thank Sara for repping Australia in this series and for being such a fantastic role model for women in her country. Keep an eye out in the coming days for interviews with the final wahine toa to be featured in this series; a staunch female activist hailing from the United States of America.

This site operates on a $0 budget & so if you loved this article all we ask is that you share it with your friends and family. Help us spread the sentiments expressed by these ladies, around the world. Thank you!

Women Warriors Of The Global Revolution Part 1: Min Reyes

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Occupy Savvy Exclusive! One of the coolest things about activism is that it doesn’t have celebrities – it has role models. Recently, we put 7 poignant questions to five of the world’s most inspiring women. These women hail from Iceland, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and for their profound actions, deeds, words, generosity, heart, and perseverance, we deem them “wahine toa”.

In Aotearoa, New Zealand, we describe a fearless woman of soul and substance, as “wahine toa”. This very loosely translates to “woman warrior.”

The Maori dictionary explains it as;

wāhine: (noun) women, females, ladies, wives.

toa: (stative) be brave, bold, victorious, experienced, accomplished, adept, competent, skilful, capable.

But wahine toa is even more; to us she is;

kaitiaki: (noun) trustee, minder, guard, custodian, guardian, keeper.

She becomes;

ūkaipō: (noun) mother, origin, source of sustenance, real home.

She is “atua” in the sense of; “a way of perceiving and rationalising the world”.

If it were audible; we could almost hear our ladies blushing through the screen. The truth is; they deserve every accolade we can give them, as they live this wild journey called life to the fullest, inspiring so many of us to follow their path, by discovering our own.

These next few days, you will see the same 7 questions posted here, again and again. But you will see vastly different answers. All of a unique and immeasurable insightfulness that is a gift, as a reader, to absorb.

We are kicking this series off with the answers of Canada’s very own Min Reyes.

thegorgeousminMin is described by Wikipedia as a ‘political commentator’ but she has been much more. She was an early participant in the social media blitz that has formed the backbone of the communications networks of the 99% in all its forms.

Without discrimination, she has been a conduit, a voice, for those who without her may not have had one.

From her incredible compositions at her blog 404 System Error, to her 135,000 tweets, Min has experienced – and amplified – the highs, lows, ebb, flow and slow crescendo, of the global revolution.

It is our privilege to call her friend. Without further adieu; our exclusive interview with Min Reyes.

Q1. Occupy Savvy: Strong women abound in the Occupy and Idle No More movements. Did you ever foresee that you would contribute as meaningfully as you have, to such momentous events?

Min: I have had the privilege to meet and learn from great women and men through Occupy and Idle No More movements. I have never really defined myself nor my ‘social and political’ roles based solely on my race, age, class or even gender. While I am not undermining the arguments for feminism nor the efforts of those who day after day are working for social justice for women, I must state that I have tried to maintain a sense of self through the numerous factors that influence my perspectives such as my surroundings and my experiences in their totality. I have learned that choosing one particular aspect to define my role in any given social movement tends to be rather exclusive and thus limiting, often resulting in the creation of an “other”.

In regards to contribution, I do not honestly believe I have meaningfully contributed yet as I am constantly re-evaluating my role in this long journey. As my perspectives and understanding of my surroundings (including social and political spheres) shift, so do my priorities and course of action. I do not believe I have ever set out a specific goal to achieve in terms of “social movements,” but perhaps that’s exactly what keeps me going and evolving as needed.

I am not sure exactly how I would have contributed – if at all – to the larger goals of these movements. But I know that having engaged with them in one way or another has greatly helped me identify and overcome a lot of my personal limitations, assumptions, and shortcomings.

Q2. Occupy Savvy: An ONZ admin says “Activism didn’t radicalise me; the state response to activism radicalised me.” Can you empathise with this statement?

Min: Radicalism has been a concept appropriated by those who are invested in maintaining the current disruptive status quo. I guess in this context, the concept of “radicalism” is not much different than that of “terrorism.” In order to maintain the current system and culture of war, both concepts must remain vague, to potentially apply to none while applying to all.

The only aspect that changes is the increasing elusiveness of the so called “enemy”, by design.

I think a lot of us are responding to radical government policies that undermine human rights and dignity, environmental sustainability, and peace. I myself refuse to adopt the narrative of those invested in criminalizing citizens who are expressing legitimate concerns. Thus I will NOT say that the state or its actions have radicalized me.
Let’s keep the facts straight and simple: money in politics, corruption, and greed have radicalized politicians, the very people who have promised to serve and protect the people. In Canada, even petitions are now considered forms of “attack” by the current government. Who are the radicals here?

Q3. Occupy Savvy: Activism messages appear to be increasingly penetrating the public consciousness. What is your experience of this awakening?

Min: People are waking up to global patterns of oppression and corruption. We are beginning to realize that there is a much larger system working above the imposed boundaries of geography and nationality, limitations that do apply to citizens though.

I have never considered what I do as activism per se. Many of us shy away from the term activism because it implies we are taking on more than we are required to. We are not only exercising our rights but we are, more importantly in my opinion, fulfilling our responsibilities as global citizens.

In regards to movements I am learning that they materialize in waves. The Arab Spring, Spanish Revolution, Greek Revolution, European protests against austerity, Occupy, Maple Spring, Idle No More, all seem to be manifestations of the same global revolution. And whereas at the onset they do seem to form under banners, the spirit of the revolution can no longer be contained under one specific banner. This revolution no longer belongs under one specific banner… it’s all banners coming from all sides creating a tidal wave. No one owns it, no one can claim it… everyone is becoming a part of it. And I believe it will only grow from here as more and more people become affected by the current broken system.

Q4. Occupy Savvy: What has been your most satisfying moment of the global revolution, to date?

Min: I don’t necessarily have a specific favourite moment… Personally I find that the effects have been cumulative in the sense that global awakening has many faces, many voices, and numerous moments. Each moment, each voice, just strengthens my resolve and belief that we are as a species on the right track.

Q5. Occupy Savvy: In what way would you most like to see the global narrative shift, from this point?

Min: Wherever we look today, narratives are divisive, fragmented, reduced to extreme polarities. This is not only true of politics and mainstream/corporate media but also within social movements and progressive groups. This zero sum game approach dominates our debates.

We seem to lack the willingness to find compromise. What is more important, we seem to have forgotten the merits of meaningful listening. Whether in politics or in social movements, everyone has something to say… but far too few are actually willing to listen to and elaborate on opposing and dissenting views.

I would like to see a global narrative revolving primarily around human dignity; a narrative that is constructive rather than destructive, holistic rather than fragmented, inclusive rather than exclusive. But before we even get there, we need to find a way we can actually build a new narrative based on mutual respect, understanding, and most of all, listening. I guess we need to learn to meaningfully communicate before we even decide what we want to communicate about…

Q6. Occupy Savvy: What advice would you give to a woman becoming involved in activism for the first time?

Min: Be true to yourself. It is easy to fall trap to group think and confirmation bias. Every so often, remind yourself that this journey of change begins within oneself. Keep an open mind and be, above all, honest to yourself.

Don’t despair when faced with challenges. When tired, take a break. Make sure you take the time to enjoy your life so that you don’t lose sight of what you are fighting to protect. Constantly ask yourself whether the choice you are about to make is driven by love or fear, recognize that these are the two driving forces.

Q7. Occupy Savvy: In what way have you seen your country change, over the last 18 months? In what way would you see it change, in the next 18?

Min: Canada is undergoing some radical policy changes under the current conservative government. But I remain optimistic as more Canadians are becoming aware of the social, economic, and political implications of these changes.

Although Occupy Canada, the Quebec student movement, and Idle No More have been defining movements, there have been many countless other protests and demonstrations that have helped maintain momentum and increased local awareness and engagement throughout Canada.

I have no blueprint for change. All I wish is for Canadians to become a little more aware and engaged especially in issues related to human rights and dignity. I think it’s time for Canadians to take on a greater sense of responsibility on important issues at home but also abroad.

That concludes the first part of “Women Warriors Of The Global Revolution”. We are extremely proud of Min for repping Canada in this series. Keep an eye out in the coming days for our interviews with four other wahine toa; from Iceland, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

This site operates on a $0 budget & so if you loved this article all we ask is that you share the articles in this series with your friends and family. Help us spread the sentiments expressed by these ladies, around the world. Thank you!

High Court Denounces Evictions; Vindicates Occupy Auckland

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They say the wheels of justice turn slowly but indeed they are turning.

At long last, some measure of vindication for the countless legitimate protesters victimised by Auckland Council.

At the close of business today March 6th 2013 the corporate media began reporting that the High Court in Auckland has finally found in favour of Occupy Auckland.

The extremely sparse media reports (no more than a few short paragraphs and almost uniform wording across a slew of mainstream news sources) don’t tell you much other than that the violent evictions imposed by the Council despite our pending court appeal “went too far“.

Indeed, lawyer Ron Mansfield suspected as much, when he warned us that the conduct of the Council surrounding the evictions may have breached the terms of their own by-laws. That stealing and storing our belongings in a supposedly “vacant” hangar at the same airforce base the FBI were flying in and out of that very week; miles out of town; may be onerous.

That their demanding private information about anyone who did manage to get out to the airbase to “claim” their belongings; may not be legal.

The human cost of the evictions is impossible to calculate and goes far beyond the dozens of arrests on January 23rd & 26th, 2012.

The evictions crippled the physical presence and daily functioning of the four simultaneous and autonomous occupations in Auckland Central – (Occupy Aotea Square; Occupy Te Herenga Waka at Victoria Park; Occupy Albert Park and Occupy Queen Street)

The occupations created organising hubs for the public to engage in political activism that should be encouraged in any healthy democracy and indeed is enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

From the homeless protester in his 80s who suffered multiple heart attacks and was hospitalised after his heart medication was unlawfully seized by “security”, and the Occupy liaisons who frantically tried to negotiate with the Council for the return of the medication, only to wait 48 hours for a response…

…to the middle-aged grandmother who had never been arrested in her entire life until Occupy, never had a tent or stayed overnight at an occupation, but was named in litigation by Auckland Council and hauled relentlessly through Court, unjustly…

…to the intelligent and sincere young man, of whom images were plastered all over the national media after he was lifted off the ground by his neck by police alongside mercenary corporate private security companies hired by Auckland Council at ratepayers’ expense…

…to his petite girlfriend, trapped outside the temporary fencing Auckland Council erects on a whim at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars, screaming with raw fright and fear as she witnessed what was happening to her partner before her very eyes…

…to a little 5 year old boy, who the police and Auckland Council staff alike, left in the middle of Aotea Square; after they arrested his father in front of him, without even noticing the child…

…to the woman who scooped up the child onto her hip, marched into the congregation of police officers outside the paddy-wagon-filled Auckland Council carpark and publicly scolded the Inspector in charge for the display of utter negligence…

…to the uni student, who was one of the first to feel the cold touch of publicly-funded Council-ordered surveillance, so early on in Occupy that he was not believed; surveillance that, although later confirmed by the Council to have been undertaken, escalated until his entire life fell apart around him. Despite being so young, he was forcefully institutionalised and temporarily drugged into apathy… all on our tax dollars… his persecution paid for by our rates…

…those who suffered profound loss because of Auckland Council are too many to be counted on all our fingers and toes. Thousands of people per week became active in their communities at grassroots level because of Occupy and collectively housed, fed, educated and cared for hundreds residing in the occupations.

…to every person who ever learned something because of Occupy; taught someone because of Occupy; fed someone because of Occupy, was fed by Occupy – to everyone who for the first time in their lives saw that we CAN provide for each other and we CAN provide for ourselves…

…to those who were slandered, libelled, suppressed, oppressed, victimised by many of the mechanisms of the state, most visibly, Auckland Council.

The very body that is supposed to represent our interests.

Whether there can ever now be reparation remains to be seen. So much was lost that cannot be returned. Many occupiers may now not even be alive. Many have had such financial pressure and mental stress applied to them that they have lost or are losing what assets and opportunities they had.

Many have been served with questionably legal trespass notices; intimidated out of returning to the CBD or outright threatened in various forms.

Last October 15th, 2012, the 1 year anniversary of Occupy Auckland, protesters performed flash occupations at the original sites and at other places of significance to our movement.

But of course, Auckland Council got a visit.

Occupy Auckland Council As did TVNZ, the national broadcaster who had participated in the corporate media blackout, and then smear campaign against Occupy.

TVNZ, who utterly failed to fairly represent the voices of the people, or to sufficiently educate the public as to the global and viral nature of the movement, found their staff entrance temporarily occupied.

Occupy The MediaBut also on the flash occupation list was the High Court in Auckland.

High Court
Yet this recent ruling begins a process of restoring the faith instilled in us by the human rights lawyers at Occupy Auckland, so long ago.

We DO have the right to the basic necessities of human life even though Auckland Council denied us water, power and the tools of communication.

For we do and should have the right to peacefully assemble. The right to free association.

The right to dissent and the right to seek redress from our systems of Government.

We have the legal right not to be discriminated against on the basis of our political opinion.

We have the right to participate in our democracy. All of us.

And we must. For the viability of the continued existence of our entire planet, depends upon what we do now.

E tu Aotearoa. Stand up and fight back. Don’t let them sell what scraps they have not already stolen. This is our country. It is priceless.

Rise like lions and roar.

OCCUPY AUCKLAND MEDIA TEAM

One Demand: FREE SCHAPELLE CORBY! #F28

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If you remember Schapelle Corby being plastered all over the media but you haven’t seen the Expendable.tv website archives or viewed the “Expendable: The Political Sacrifice of Schapelle Corby” free documentary, please bookmark this page & watch it ASAP.

You will be astounded at the injustice & at the vast cover-up that has maintained it.

There is an International Day of Solidarity for Schapelle Corby on February 28th.

Please make contact with the wonderful admins at the CIAbook group “People For Schapelle Corby” if you can help with organising an action in your area.

Our F28 event: “ONE DEMAND: FREE SCHAPELLE CORBY” will be held at Aotea Square, Auckland, February 28th, 6.30pm

PRESS RELEASE: Monday 18 February 2013

For immediate release:

New Zealanders In Solidarity With Schapelle Corby are hosting a candlelight vigil at Aotea Square, 6.30pm on February 28th, 2013.

The hit free documentary “Expendable” (www.expendable.tv) compiles countless official government documents to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that Schapelle Corby is NOT guilty.

Despicably, the powers that be went to great lengths to blind the public to that fact.

Even despite it emerging that her suitcase (which was discovered 5kg overweight) was actually underweight when she checked it in, she has so far served 8 years of an outrageous 20 year sentence, in appalling conditions in a Balinese jail.

As if that wasn’t enough to topple the balance of resaonable doubt; as recently as December 2012 an drug-trafficking ring was arrested, for operating customs-side at Sydney Airport. Corrupt airport employees were using the baggage of unsuspecting passengers to ferry drugs around Australasia.

As the “Expendable” documentary spreads around the world, exponential numbers of people are discovering the truth about what really happened to Schapelle Corby.

An international day of solidarity will be occurring worldwide. With only one demand.

Free Schapelle Corby immediately. Let her out now, and the international events will be cancelled!

Julia Gillard: Act in good faith and give Schapelle back her life. She has lost so much of it already.

Event also endorsed by: the 14,000-strong Facebook page “People For Schapelle Corby” & Occupy Auckland, New Zealand.

Signs Of The Awakening: Occupy Breaks Into The Mainstream

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This has been a very, very long time coming: the facts and figures behind Occupy’s economic ideology are finally being broadcast in the mainstream.

This clip is from TVNZ – New Zealand’s “partially-privatised” corporate-backed bank-sponsored mainstream television news service. It validates what Occupiers have been saying all along.

What a year ago they described as “conspiracy theory”, they are describing in 2013 as “Economics 101″

Since Occupy’s inception in September 2011, corporate media have misrepresented, mocked, shunned and outright blacked out the movement.

Individuals spreading Occupy messages have endured unquantifiable hardships to continue doing so. To now see the massive infrastructure that was wielded against us, spreading the messages of the awakening, is intensely satisfying and a huge relief.

These next two Anonymous videos depict the transition occurring. As politicians and representatives of the traditional “left” & “right” are increasingly raising their voices to express the same views and desires for the future of humanity.

As you will see in this video – often now raising their voices LITERALLY and within the halls of power.

It seemed only a week ago that people were celebrating an Anonymous video having 3 million views. At the beginning of Occupy they would get mere hundreds of views, or a few thousand.

3 million sounds impressive right? An exponential increase from its humble beginnings.

Well, check again. There are now 9 million views on last year’s critically-important NDAA warning video – “Message To The American People”.

Yet another important video to recently emerge was this very public remonstration of Obama and his policies. Watch him squirm in his chair as his own people tell it like it is.

One viewer of the above video noted that even Michelle Obama appeared to be in rapturous support of the message and said “this is all going to come down – and fast. Faster than we ever thought.”

We think it is safe to say that the cat is out of the bag.

Change must come.

Change is coming.

To those of us who have given everything to help bring this about; Occupymama says: “We’ve done a fucking good job we have! Fucking good. We can sit back and pat ourselves on the back for a minute now. The world HAS actually changed. There are so many people awake.”

LEAK: NZ Cops Brag About Bashing TPP Protesters – U.S. Embassy “Happy”

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This week the NZ corporate media, in concert with the NZ police, put forward a young female protester as a scapegoat for the repeated violence demonstrated by officers & security guards at the December 8 TPPA Shutdown protest at Sky City, in Auckland.

The combined protest movements of It’s Our Future, Occupy New Zealand, Aotearoa Is Not For Sale and Socialist Aotearoa, among others, were depicted as violent, framed as volatile and dangerous and falsely accused of wanton assaults on police officers.

Despite this Occupy NZ flooded the alternative media sphere with THE TRUTH:

* multiple sets of unedited live coverage thanks to Occupy Eye & Redstar309z

* comprehensive info-filled blogpost

* resources / viewing guides/analysis

But never did we dream that the protesters written about so libelously in the national media would now be suddenly exonerated in so spectacular a fashion as has unfolded!

Global Peace & Justice Aotearoa has published a press release containing a leaked tape.

The tape is of internal police conversations regarding the approval of the U.S. Embassy of the police actions that day, a tape of which GPJA says;

In the recording the officer acknowledges Saturday’s melee was sparked when an officer “broke ranks” and ran into the crowd.

The admins on Occupy Auckland & Occupy New Zealand have had a hell of a week. Not only have they had to deal with constant paid trolls on You Tube videos posting false “witness testimony” (sure they were there! With a uniform on…) we have also had to deal with many of our own loyal supporters who weren’t present, and who took the corporate media/police line at face value.

It seems the entire country forgot our track record of a year straight of non-violent protest actions.

As with the violence displayed at the Occupy Auckland evictions and the constant bashings dished out by police at Glen Innes Housing protests, there was already a mountain of evidence that the blame for the TPPA unrest lay at the feet of authorities.

For an organisation that has promised to change its culture surrounding the handling of crimes committed by its employees, it needs to take a serious look at why it is expending its resources targeting normal legislative democratic dissent and not dealing to the abysmal social issues that continue in Auckland seemingly unabated.

When the police make the general public the enemy, who is left for them to protect and serve?

It is difficult for someone not involved to realise the full significance of this now-famous photo of Motorbike Cop – NZ’s own version of Pepper Spray Cop.

"What kind of a cop is this? No ID, No badge, No uniform, A crash helmet. He roamed around beating up on young girls." says an eye-witness http://t.co/eFWWrKH9 #tpp #tppa #d8

“What kind of a cop is this? No ID, No badge, No uniform, A crash helmet. He roamed around beating up on young girls.” says an eye-witness http://t.co/eFWWrKH9 #tpp #tppa #d8

The member of the public in the above photo is wearing a Power Shift t-shirt. Power Shift had an event at the university on the morning of the TPPA protest, and are a very straight-laced coalition of climate change protesters, many of whom then attended the TPPA shutdown on a whim.

While to corporate eyes the young man’s skin colour may condemn him, as with the other victims of Motorbike Cop he was quite obviously undeserving of the ill-treatment so publicly meted out to him.

Likewise some police may have been fooled into thinking it is an accomplishment to hit John Minto. To us, it is the utmost shame to beat a man of his age. Those who physically abuse someone they can’t outmatch intellectually are the definition of thugs.

The city cops that policed Occupy Auckland for the first four months of our occupations, were the opposite of the thuggery displayed at the TPPA negotiations.

It seems whenever police are imported from other locations there is brutality, but the regular city cops especially under the guidance of Inspector Danny Meade, have been constantly affable, supportive and generated goodwill amongst activists.

To have those efforts so callously destroyed for the sake of testosterone and blatant political discrimination, let alone on the world stage where it is being played out, is pure embarrassment.

This month we have worked so hard to move the world to analyse and reject the TPPA, with great success. Even going so far as to host foreign citizen journalists, to spend money filming and documenting the momentous events here, creating a pure historical record.

Occupier Kereru of Occupy Auckland said: this is the year of instant karma. All actions will be held immediately accountable.

It seems this is precisely what has played out here. Despite the police and corporate media machines being set firmly against us – the truth has slipped through the cracks and the perpetrators have revealed themselves and their intentions, to the world.

D8 TPPA Shutdown Protesters Refuse To Be Ignored

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(Updated D10 2012) The frequently foolish John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, has a long track record of outright “ignoring” mass dissent amongst the population, boiling for over a year now.

When 8,000 protesters amassed on the steps of Parliament in May, John Key claimed from inside that very building, to be unaware of their presence.

Only last week, he told the NZ public to outright “ignore” the TPPA protesters.

Today those protesters showed that they will not be ignored.

The mainstream media version of today’s events is that a rogue female protester assaulted a cop, resulting in the unrest. However, eye witness testimony from those on the ground paints a vastly different picture.

As does the extremely valuable live video coverage of the event, broadcast by Occupy Eye (NYC, DC) and Redstar309Z (Auckland, NZ) from the ground. Their streams are a must-see.

Below is a mash-up of media from the day – videos, photos, and tweets. We will continually add links and information as able.

These boxes contained 750,000 signatures from people worldwide who are against the TPPA

These boxes contained 750,000 signatures from people worldwide who are against the TPPA

After Professor Jane Kelsey from Auckland University School of Law was denied entry to hand over the petition, the boxes were set it alight in protest. #d8 #tpp #tppa

After Professor Jane Kelsey from Auckland University School of Law was denied entry to hand over the petition, the boxes were set alight in protest. #d8 #tpp #tppa

(Last two photos by @keyweekat of Occupy Auckland Media Team)

Keyweekat’s video of the symbolic burning of the rejected petition signatures:

At this point, several scuffles broke out between police and protesters with livestream footage showing officers throwing punches, kicking & shoving & using various tactics against protesters of all ages and walks of life.

There was much furore after the cop in this photo allegedly attacked a number of protesters including women. He was then intercepted by a group of protesters who began to return the favour, at which point according to Occupy Eye, the rest of the cops “came in swinging” to get him out. (Refer to the livestreams to see these events for yourself).

"What kind of a cop is this? No ID, No badge, No uniform, A crash helmet. He roamed around beating up on young girls." says an eye-witness http://t.co/eFWWrKH9 #tpp #tppa #d8

“What kind of a cop is this? No ID, No badge, No uniform, A crash helmet. He roamed around beating up on young girls.” says an eye-witness http://t.co/eFWWrKH9 #tpp #tppa #d8

The protesters then scattered with a large group gathering for debrief at Aotea Square, which was quickly surrounded by police, apparently intent on kettling those still within the vicinity.

However the display of violence against the young female had infuriated the crowd, who openly confronted the police, telling them to stand down & leave immediately, which they apparently wisely chose to do.

This 12 minute video filmed & edited by Occupy Eye is a must-see.

For a thorough time-stamped analysis of the above video please read this viewing guide.

Police Walk Of Shame from Aotea Square after assaulting protesters incl. young women:

Eye-witness testimony regarding police assaults on protesters:

2nd eye-witness testimony regarding police assaults on protesters:

Middle-aged protester shows her bruises from being physically grabbed and thrown by police #d8 #tpp #tppa #anfs

Middle-aged protester shows her bruises from being physically grabbed and thrown by police #d8 #tpp #tppa #anfs

3News (who have a long track record of misrepresenting protest actions in New Zealand) claim there were 30 police present. In reality, there were a multitude of squads of 30-45 police each and likely in excess of 30 police vehicles.

We might wonder where TV3 and the other corporate media get their information from. However, we know full well where they get it from. In fact, we captured them getting it!

Is this why the NZ corporate media are reporting fiction?

Is this why the NZ corporate media are reporting fiction?

3News report there were 30 police present. You be the judge.

Intersection of Albert & Wellesley, #d8 #tpp #tppa

Intersection of Albert & Wellesley, #d8 #tpp #tppa

Albert Street #d8 #tpp #tppa

Albert Street #d8 #tpp #tppa

Intersection of Albert St & Victoria St West

Intersection of Albert St & Victoria St West

Victoria Street West, Auckland #d8 #tpp #tppa

Victoria Street West, Auckland #d8 #tpp #tppa

Federal St, Auckland. Entrance of the Sky City Grand Hotel #d8 #tpp #tppa

Federal St, Auckland. Entrance of the Sky City Grand Hotel #d8 #tpp #tppa

Intersection Federal St & Wellesley St, Auckland #d8 #tpp #tppa

Intersection Federal St & Wellesley St, Auckland #d8 #tpp #tppa

There were squads of cops like this at each corner/entrance to Aotea Square, blatantly attempting to kettle the protesters who had fled to Aotea to escape the violence at Sky City

There were squads of cops like this at each corner/entrance to Aotea Square, blatantly attempting to kettle the protesters who had fled to Aotea to escape the violence at Sky City

Police face off against protesters after assaulting numerous people (as per http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/27569157 live footage) #tpp #tppa #d8

Police face off against protesters after assaulting numerous people (as per http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/27569157 live footage) #tpp #tppa #d8

Also check out this must-read blogpost with more commentary and pics & vids shot from different angles.

Thank you to the world for watching. Special thanks to Global Rev & Ustream for carrying the livestreams today. Big boo to Sky News for stealing Occupy Eye’s stream without permission. More to come about that!!!

Help Occupy NZ Put #TPPA Under International Spotlight

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Occupy NZ have invited Political Fail Blog, CourtneyOccupy & OccupyEye to come to New Zealand and blow the lid on the “secret” TPPA multi-country “trade” negotiations being held at Sky City Convention Centre in early December.

Together, this TPPA Stream Team will broadcast multi-faceted live coverage of the events to an international audience.

Working in concert with both Occupy Auckland and Occupy New Zealand Media, the team will cover the week’s major broad-based Auckland protest actions, also attending the December 4th Wellington action and topping it off with a trip to Christchurch to hear from eye-witnesses of the devastating Christchurch earthquakes; to see first-hand the current needs of the residents and to amplify their voices to the world.

It will be a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand to show off our beautiful country and the best spirit of all the peoples of Aotearoa who are lifting their voices in protest against the many implications of the TPPA.

Our combined media reach is substantial, and the trip will result in copious amounts of livestream and still video footage, livetweets, blog posts on multiple different major Occupy-related websites, the opportunity to capture historic photojournalism, and the utilisation of Occupy’s vast social media network, across many platforms.

Many occupiers will be opening their hearts and homes to support the team.

You can support them too, by simply sharing this message.

Donating from New Zealand:

PledgeMe have published our trip project here. Please check it out! There is tons of links and further details in it.

Donating from elsewhere:

Please follow on Twitter: @Pfailblog @CourtneyOccupy & @OccupyEye and donate to them here

More info on the dangers of the TPPA:

From N.Z. perspective:

“TPPA Non-Transparency Has Hit New Low”
“It’s Our Future” website, full of topical info.

This short video is also a must-watch.

From U.S. perspective:

Important note: We have only one week to resource this trip! Please help spread the word!

Thank you! 

OCCUPY NEW ZEALAND MEDIA TEAM

Solidarity With Gaza – Global Peace And Justice – Auckland, New Zealand

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Auckland protesters fly Palestinian flag from the U.S. Embassy flagpole!

Yesterday’s Global Peace and Justice “Solidarity With Gaza” march from Aotea Square to the U.S. Embassy in Auckland, New Zealand, was one of the most exciting Auckland actions to date.

The turn-out was huge despite short notice and pouring rain that had us all soggy in no time (causing slippery cellphone syndrome for us citizen journalists!) with as many as 300 or more protesters in attendance.

The march visibly swelled as it snaked its way down Queen Street towards the U.S. Consulate on Customs Street, near Auckland’s Princes Wharf.

Umbrella’s of every colour of the rainbow shielded the crowd from above, while colourful costuming and signs galore provided ample eye-candy to accompany the consistent chanting of people’s voices in protest at the atrocities of the never-ending Israel-Palestine conflict.

The most astonishing and unexpected aspect of the event was the disparate if not entirely invisible police presence. There were in fact NO marshalling police vehicles on the Queen Street march (a first-time experience for us, in every action we have covered there have been police marshalling and/or mustering and/or significant police and private security presence, sometimes into the many hundreds of officers.)

We assumed (the mother of all…) that the police must be amassed at the Embassy yet once we all arrived there, only 2 police vehicles and a half dozen police emerged and were VERY low key about their presence.

At the Embassy the crowd watched in awe and amazement as a Palestinian flag was raised above the Consulate, on their very own flagpole!

Approximately 30 protesters threw old shoes at the Embassy to display their disgust at U.S. foreign policy. There were several speeches from the soundtruck and a song.

That an action on such a contentious topic as this could go virtually unattended by the NZ Police is a massive shift in tactics on their part.

That the events ended naturally with protesters peacefully dispersing of their own accord, entirely unmolested by authorities, makes a pleasant change from the constant brutality exerted against the public at the student’s Blockade The Budget protests, and at the Glen Innes House Defense protests, throughout 2012.

It was certainly nice to see the police film squad also absent. At least, the uniformed ones anyway!

We hope this signals a new focus for police; away from unnecessarily expending resources on suppressing democratic dissent and shadowing activists to instead funneling those resources on fighting actual crime, and surveilling actual criminals.

Video of Palestinian flag flying above embassy: (clarification; we did not see the U.S. flag come down so flagpole may have been empty with no ambassador in residence however Palestinian flag was raised and flown above the consulate!!!)

Protesters throwing their shoes at the U.S. Embassy in protest:

We are still processing pics from the event, and will insert a gallery here ASAP. In the meantime, tons of pics of the event are already published in our online newspaper; The Occupied NZ Herald

Other resources:

Global Peace & Justice Website

Official event press release

Facebook event page

Other noteworthy coverage;

Amazon News Media

Socialist Aotearoa

OCCUPY NEW ZEALAND MEDIA TEAM

“Human Sewage” Mental Health Activist On Day 3 Of Hunger Strike

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This is one of the most disturbing things we’ve seen in a long time. Because it is so blatantly true.

There is a long history of NZ government’s cutting mental health services in New Zealand, and of shoddy handling of cases.

There is much more to come on this story, so if you are particularly moved by the words spoken at the end of the video, check back soon.

Update: We have just received this harrowing statement from the activist involved;

I am on hunger strike during the White Ribbon campaign because I object to the government hypocrisy when sexually abused people with life-threatening stress disorders are not getting the care they are entitled to by law and one of the symptoms of Complex PTSD is violence. I can’t get ACC to reinstate the care I was getting in 2009 (professional care I had fought seven years to get) even though I have won two ACC reviews. The care lasted six months, when I had been told it would be 2 1/2 years, before it was cut by John Judge and Peter Jansen against the advice of everybody I was working with- they didn’t consult the psychiatrist at all. I was severely traumatised and almost killed myself, I have had several suicidal episodes since but still can’t access any services. When I turned to mental health the people at the front line kept telling me there were no services, while the people at the top kept telling me there was. My mental health was so bad I was phoning people all the time begging for help, instead of help I was getting the police around here. I have serious issues with trust and communication but all services refuse to accept these impairments, and I can’t get past them because I am now phobic after so much rejection. I have educated myself about stress disorders and my rights to health care and justice services, but when I tried to use this process I found it to be a torture wheel of hell in a red tape war. I know me and thousands of other people are missing out on the care they are entitled to and when they throw the white ribbon stuff in my face it is like being tormented. We have descimated mental health services over the years and everybody knows ACC are appauling yet people who become violent because of mental health issues are blamed for dysfunction they have little or no control over.

Update: November 13, 2012. Day 9 of hunger strike.

Email to Ombudsman regarding a disturbing telephone conversation with Juliette Le Couteur.

….
I have recently been speaking to Juliette Le Couteur and I am absolutely appauled at the type of ignorant bigots you employ – and they don’t even know they are being insulting and bigoted – it is extremely disturbing.

In a 20 minute conversation about me being on hunger strike and trying to get the care I am entitled to by law all Juliette did was stick up for ACC, mental health and her office? I thought the Ombudsman was supposed to be on my side? The Ombudsman is supposed to protect the people not the authorities!

She was completely devoid of understanding about what the impacts of a stress disorder on personality/behaviour? Told me ACC had offered services and I refused, kept telling me I was refusing care when I was begging for it. When I told her about how degrading and bigoted King Street Artworks staff were she said well you obviously don’t want to go there?????? I said but they are the only ones – there is nobody else I have to go there – what I am asking the Ombudsman to do is hold them accountable for their discrimination, degradation and abuse – isn’t that what you do?

I told her of many times I had been discriminated against by mental health services and she kept saying well you don’t want services then? How can somebody lack so much understanding – I am disgusted. I wish I could afford to buy a recorder for my telephone, the call with Juliette is one of those you want to play a judge, just to prove how corrupt and incompetent they are.

Hunger strike day 9 GOD PLEASE HELP ME

JR
HUMAN SEWAGE

 

Another update from JR: Day 16 of hunger strike.

Hunger strike day 16 – it does get easier after the second week (just not mondays).

Having majors with my family, apparently I’m weird for blaming the government for turning this country into a shit hole for poor, disabled and unemployed people. For turning ACC and mental health services into a torture wheel of hell in a red tape war.

Just shows you how National party people think.

Oh yeah and taking medication would fix EVERYTHING. Make me calm and not so angry about being persecuted by the authorities for demanding the help I know I am entitled to by law, for being subjected to corruption and lies by ACC and mental health, being degraded bullied and insulted.

Anyway – beautiful day here, another nice day to be in the garden and cleaning out my garage for the garage sale.

The great thing about a hunger strike is it saves you money and you don’t have to really do anything. It is one of the most powerful symbols of protest for the poor. Plus you get protection under international laws – God knows who enforces that protection but I know it is there.

JR