Krister Axel

When I went to college, the security was minimal and I don’t think pepper spray was in much use. Fast forward to today. Things are out of hand. You be the judge:

video from Berkeley: http://axel.me/64

video from UC Davis: http://axel.me/65

link to article about pepper spraying at UC Davis: http://axel.me/66

And then this nugget from UC police Capt. Margo Bennett:

“I understand that many students may not think that, but linking arms in a human chain when ordered to step aside is not a nonviolent protest.”

Unbelievable.

link to article about ‘non-violent protest’ – http://axel.me/5q

Occupy Wall Street (#OWS) had a presence even in the WeHo Halloween parade this year, it made me happy. Times they are a-changing.

pictures courtesy of @schuyler and the police brutality of Occupy Oakland.

And here’s the tear gas grenade:

and a bean bag bullet:

You may have heard now about Officer Cardona the punchy NYPD officer.

On October 14th occupy.uslaw.com posted this:

Officer Cardona— known to Occupy Wall Street legal observers as the officer whose violent reach across a police line to grab a demonstrator by the neck is thought to have precipitated officer Anthony Bologna’s infamous Pepper Spray attack — is reported to have punched another demonstrator in the face this morning.

They also posted this picture:

You can see it online, there are plenty of Youtube versions. It’s amazing how documented this movement is. Just this week, we heard that mobile devices now outnumber people in the US. I’m sure most of these devices have something resembling a camera and of course many of them probably also have some way to record video. No wonder many states are enacting laws that make taking video, photos, or audio of a police officer a crime. I would bet a lot of money that New York is trying pretty hard right now to ratchet up their existing law shielding police officers from video recordings. I have been saying it for years: this is quickly becoming a police state. Does anyone remember the ongoing Posse Comitatus violation that started in 2008? They announced it in the Army Times, after all. This is a systemic problem and I think it is absolutely a corollary to the problems that we have now with the big banks. Any successful kleptocracy needs henchmen. There is a culture in media and government (both wholly owned subsidiaries of the corporations) that protests like OccupyWallStreet are just full of hippies and ‘left-wing nutbars’ but somehow the Tea Party has nothing but legitimate concerns.

It’s enough to make you feel a little crazy, like it’s all slipping away and there is nothing to be done about it. I think that’s why OccupyWallStreet is enjoying such widespread support – something the Tea Party never had. Ever since Obama turned out to be such a disappointment, people have been waiting for somewhere to invest a little hope.

I have made donations at occupywallst.org and you should too. Anyone in the 99% – which is everyone, knowing how invisible the super-rich really are – should get behind this movement. OccupyWallStreet is about putting some of the power back in the hands of the people, where it belongs. It’s as simple as that.

For good info on the movement worldwide, I suggest following these people on Twitter:

Josh Harkinson
Allison Kilkenny
Mother Jones

I saw a tweet about it from @ClaudeSuper and I thought it was interesting. I’ve been seeing this quote moving around Facebook today and I should have realized it was becoming a national news item. The story is from Mashable:

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition…. The chain reaction of evil — hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars — must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.

- Martin Luther King

A modified version of this quote has been going around Facebook:

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

The first sentence (in italics, added by me) was written by Jessica Dovey, and came to be included in a tweet by @pennjillete that quickly went viral. It was incorrectly attributed to MLK in it’s entirety, although the first sentence was not his. I think the message is still an important one and I agree with the premise of both the entire quote from MLK as well as the modified one. The world needs love that is for sure.

UPDATE: interesting follow-up piece by @ggreenwald on the media’s role in spinning the story of bin Laden’s killing – while possibly NOT holding a gun (he was unarmed), which is what the White House had said previously.