occupyla:

oaklandcommune:

UC Berkeley Currently Occupied:

Students of color are occupying Eschelman Hall in Berkeley. Doors are locked with chains. Students are demanding equity from new chancellor (who received a $50k raise from the regents, btw: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/11/pay-raise-approved-for-new-uc-berkeley-chief-despite-governors-criticism.html ). Support needed! Please pass on information to friends in the area.

https://twitter.com/OccupyCalCampus

YOUR SUPPORT IS NEEDED ASAP PLEASE SPREAD THIS. TAKE BACK THE SKOOLS. 

I knew I heard those helicopters for a reason…

thepeoplesrecord:

Natural gas pipeline explodes near Alice, Texas

September 6, 2012

A natural gas gathering pipeline exploded on Thursday about 10 miles north of Alice, Texas, said a spokesman for pipeline owner Copano Energy LLC.

No injuries were reported from the afternoon blast in the 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) Bradshaw pipeline near a compressor station, said Copano’s Craig Brown.

The section of pipeline that ruptured in the explosion has been isolated and the remaining gas and condensate in the pipe is being allowed to burn off, Brown said. Copano expects the fire will be out and the area around the pipe cool enough for the company to begin seeking a cause for the blast Friday morning.

“While it’s premature to speculate on the cause, I can tell you there were no outward signs of vandalism,” Brown said.

A gathering line collects natural gas from a field where the gas is being produced and sends it to a storage facility.

Alice is located 239 miles southwest of Houston.

Source

Sneakily passed “Anti-Occupy” law ends Americans right to protest

Thanks to almost zero media coverage, few of us know about a law passed this past March, severely limiting our right to protest. The silence may have been due to the lack of controversy in bringing the bill to law: Only three of our federal elected officials voted against the bill’s passage. Yes, Republicans and Democrats agreed on something almost 100%. 

Last year’s “occupy movement” scared the government. On March 8, President Obama signed a law that makes protesting more difficult and more criminal. The law is titled the Federal Restricted Buildings and Grounds Improvement Act, and it passed unanimously in the Senate and with only three “no” votes in the House. It was called the “Trepass Bill” by Congress and the “anti-Occupy law” by everyone else who commented.

The law “improves” public grounds by forcing people - protestors - elsewhere. It amends an older law that made it a federal crime to “willfully and knowingly” enter a restricted space. Now you will be found guilty of this offense if you simply “knowingly” enter a restricted area, even if you did not know it was illegal to do so. The Department of Homeland Security can designate an event as one of “national significance,” making protests or demonstrations near the event illegal.

The law makes it punishable by up to ten years in jail to protest anywhere the Secret Service “is or will be temporarily visiting,” or anywhere they might be guarding someone.  Does the name Secret tell you anything about your chances of knowing where they are?  The law allows for conviction if you are “disorderly or disruptive,” or if you “impede or disrupt the orderly conduct of Government business or official functions.”  You can no longer heckle or “boo” at a political candidate’s speech, as that would be disruptive.

We used to have a right of access to streets, sidewalks, and public parks to  engage in political discussion and protest. The government should be able to impose reasonable limits to ensure public order, but that power must have a limit; it must never be used to quell unpopular opinion or to discriminate against disfavored speakers.  Protestors must be allowed to be in the same place at the same time as the speaker they oppose. The presence of a Secret Service Agent (remember, how do we know they are there?) should not prevent us from lawfully, non-violently organizing and demonstrating against a cause or a speaker we disfavor. 

India’s ‘Third Gender’ Community Celebrates for Social Equality

“On Saturday, members of India’s transgender and hijra community convened in New Delhi for the first Hijra Habba in order to discuss ways to ameliorate the persistent discrimination that marginalizes Indian transgenders.

…Ironically, though the hijra have been widely stigmatized and harassed, they’ve occupied a venerable place in marriage culture since ancient times, often tasked with singing at weddings and births and, therefore, treated with respect among individual households.”

fotojournalismus:

Demonstrators covered in an oily substance conduct a die-in as they protest against the Keystone Pipeline and Alberta Tar Sands development on May 17 in Chicago. This was the fourth day of protests in what is expected to be a full week of demonstrations as the city prepares to host the NATO Summit May 20-21.

[Credit : Scott Olson / Getty Images]

Occupy the Farm Under Attack: Growing your own fruits and vegetables is dangerous, yo! Better bring in some police to clear that right out. 

At 7 a.m. this morning, police arrived, barricaded the farm, and attempted to evict protesters - but failed due to community support. The farm is not currently being raided, but police are blocking the roads, presumably in an attempt to cut off water supply - which has inspired a day long “water march” to keep the crops healthy. According to @occupyfarm, a CAT bulldozer is on scene. Police have threatened to dispense “chemical agents” if the farming continues. [Source]

On April 22, occupiers moved into the “Gill Tract” at San Pablo and Marin in Albany (just north of Berkeley). In an act of “guerrilla farming” they prepared the soil to plant a variety of fruits and vegetables, including broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes. The land legally belongs to UC Berkeley, who use part of the space to research corn genetics - and had plans to turn the whole thing into a parking lot, complete with Whole Foods. UC Professor Miguel Altieri and students are working alongside Occupy the Farm; they planted their research crops this morning after crossing the police line. 

The above picture is from the April 22 event.

[Read More]

Women’s Rights Advocates Demand Facebook Appoint Women to Board

Women represent 58% of Facebook’s userbase. They are responsible for 62% of the sharing and 71% of the “daily fan activity”. 

But there is still no woman on Facebook’s board of directors.

Ultraviolet, an online community dedicated to expanding women’s rights and combating sexism, began an online petition to object and are organizing a protest in front of Facebook’s HQ in New York for this Wednesday. The petition received 53,000 signatures in 48 hours.