Some of you may be saying "My gosh, Kitty posted early!" No, no friends... You have to sleep for it to be considered early. This is just really late. I tried to sleep, but my brain decided to run off in all directions. I don't know, I guess it is pretty early, huh? I'm in the mid-west, central time. So I "got up" at five. At least, that's when the alarm clock went off and jolted me out of my drooling, mindless, stare at the wall. But I'm up now! :) Kate sent me some relaxing music to help me out, which was really nice. It did help me feel a bit better.
We have a bit from Charles today, and a bit from me. To the news!
-- [Charles] In Iowa, Occupiers are working with an unlikely partner against something they both want gone: red light cameras. In this video, you can watch as Occupiers join forces with the Tea Party to fight against this unnecessary (and statistically accident-causing) police surveillance tool. (While it is true that red light cameras reduce the amount of people who run red lights and thus cause accidents, many reports neglect the findings that people are much more likely to slam on their brakes during a yellow light, thus inciting a much higher rate of rear-end collisions.)
-- [Charles] Remember a few days ago, when we brought up the subject of Trapwire, the massive surveillance system by Abraxas that affects people across the globe? Well, the media is now calling it "wildly exaggerated" and heavy on "speculation." (Funny how they happily reported on it earlier.) RT points out that many media sources are backtracking on the story. Occupy Brisbane noted that the Trapwire stories suddenly began to disappear from the webpages of Corporate media sites with no explanation. In order to save the story, Occupy Brisbane created a Pastebin account and mirrored many of them.
-- [Charles] This article appeared to be very important to Charles, as he expressly asked me to share it. I can see why. Chalking is becoming a heinous crime in the eyes of the law. A woman allowing her daughter to draw on rocks now faces community service. Teens who drew sea creatures face fines and a court date. This non-permanent art form is somehow being turned into a "gateway" to more permanent materials, at least according to police. What is going on here? Please read more here:
-- [Charles] When activists in Oakland began to refurbish a library that has stood empty since the 1970's, it wasn't long before people began to stop in and look around. Many were amazed by the quick work done to fix up the place. Others were happy to attend a potluck. But the city and police had other ideas, and it wasn't even midnight when they showed up to raid the new People's Library. You can read CourtneyOccupy's account of what happened, and look at multiple pictures of the events here:
-- Students in Chile have had enough with the privatized and shoddy education systems that have been in place since the 1973-1990 regime of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. They took to the streets and occupied classrooms demanding reform, with one mayor threatening to remove scholarships of those who joined in, a stunt which other mayors called "an abuse of power." These protests come on the heels of multiple others, in which students burned buses and had powerful hoses turned on them. Students say the education policies in the country are backward and unfair, leaving students with little options and even less money.
-- This opinion piece by a writer for the HuffPost asks a big question: What's going to happen on S17? S17 is, of course, the nickname for September 17th, aka the Birthday of Occupy. The article is sarcastic but interesting, discussing the methods used and the thoughts behind such a large movement. It's short, but a pretty good read.
***Solidarity***
To contact me, email elvishbutterfly@hotmail.com. Thanks for reading. Now I have to go walk my puppy and walk an hour to get to school before my classes start. Wish me luck, everyone! I don't think I could be more nervous if I tried.
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