On February 28th Occupy movements in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Houston, Minneapolis and Chicago held rallies to speak out against what they call the continued suppression of Occupations across the nation. In cities like Oakland, New York, Los Angeles, and others, Occupations have seen increasing violence during demonstrations, with police using rubber [...]

Article by Aaron Cynic A subpoena by the New York City District Attorney’s office to Twitter should raise alarm bells for anyone who uses social media during demonstrations. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the DA subpoenaed the social media site for “any and all user information, including email address, as well as any and [...]

A few photos from a workers occupation at a factory in Chicago

Article by Aaron Cynic A new Senate Bill in Georgia is leading the charge in punishing peaceful protest. Senate Bill 469 amends laws relating to labor organizations and relations to “provide that certain provisions prohibiting mass picketing shall apply to certain private residences…provide for an action to enjoin unlawful mass picketing…and provide for both criminal [...]

Article by Aaron Cynic A group of parents, students, teachers and activists occupied an elementary school in Chicago over the weekend to protest what the city calls a “turnaround,” which would shake up the staff and put the school under the authority of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, a private organization opponents say fails [...]

Article by Aaron Cynic Illinois legislators are still wrestling with the issue of average citizens recording police activities on the streets, particularly in regard to the upcoming NATO/G8 demonstrations in May in Chicago. Local law enforcement, however, will be able to keep their eyes and ears trained on anyone planning to protest, and will now [...]

As the police launched high velocity flash bangs, smoke bombs, and bean bag projectiles while a few demonstrators tossed hand-sized objects while fleeing the public street. In Oakland, a city so rife with economic and repressive tensions, Mayor Quan and Police Chief Howard seem intent on ignoring the needs of the public and grinding them under the department-approved 5.11 ATAC boot heel. In the mainstream media, Occupy Oakland participants have been typified as the aggressive instigators when, according to citizen journalism, they were only reacting to the upswing in violent action.

“It was a burning feeling in my throat for me…There was a lot of people who got it in their eyes. They were burning, they were screaming, crying.” “…Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.” “This one guy was coming up to my wife going, ‘Call an ambulance! Call [...]

The mass arrests at peaceful demonstrations prove how removed government is from the needs of its people and how determined it is to silence or ignore the very people it has been created to protect.

It seems sadly fitting the USA Patriot Act turned ten years old the day after police in Oakland, California assaulted peaceful demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets. While police violence had been already rampant in New York in Zuccotti Park, Oakland marked one of the first major violent confrontations with Occupy demonstrators. Soon after, [...]

For the second time, Occupy Chicago attempted to “take the horse,” a small plot of concrete at Congress and Michigan Avenue in Grant Park. For a second time, the Chicago Police arrested demonstrators attempting to stay past the 11pm curfew. This time, 130 activists were held in jail for a much longer period, some until [...]

I will use their hegemony to recreate it into ours.