Month: May 2012

No School, No Work, but in Chicago, No General Strike

This story is from the Occupied News Wire. It was originally published in the Occupied Chicago Tribune. by Joe Macaré Before there was the NATO summit or the Occupy movement, there was May Day, born and bred in Chicago. This year, with leftists across the country crossing their fingers for an American Spring, Chicago’s May Day…

Community Responds to May Day Police Brutality

by Mungen Cakes Members of the May Day Coalition and Portland Liberation Organizing Council held a press conference May 4th on the steps of the Justice Center in downtown Portland to denounce the police brutality perpetrated by the Portland Police Bureau during the May Day protests. Led by PLOC spokeswoman Kari Koch, representatives of six…

Welcome to Monte Rio: A Bay Area Occu-Venture

by Ryan Bartek The yellow brick road doesn’t end in glory, but rather the fatal remains of rust belt sacrifice. I have traversed Gary (Indiana), Cuba (Missouri), the rottenest urban decay of three dozen postmodern metropolises. As a taxi driver, I scoured every inch of war-zone Detroit. But despite these disjointed manifestations of grimness, it…

An Open Letter to the Reformists Within Occupy Portland

David “Däv” O’Bryant “The notion of “policy” presumes a state or governing apparatus which imposes its will on others. ‘Policy’ is the negation of politics; policy is by definition something concocted by some form of elite, which presumes it knows better than others how their affairs are to be conducted. By participating in policy debates,…

M1: Striking Students Provide a Lesson in Democracy

This story is part of our feature about the many protest events on May 1, 2012. Visit the feature page to see more. by Vargus Pike Since the Great Recession began as a result of the avarice and criminal behavior exhibited by those in the banking and mortgage sectors, one of the vital segments of…

M1: Progress Brewing, Police Brutality Growing Stale

This story is part of our feature about the many protest events on May 1, 2012. Visit the feature page to see more. by Rochelle The day began new–new blood infused into the Occupy Movement in the form of student protests outside of Portland Public School headquarters to highlight the financial inequities compromising youth education.…

M1: Undocumented, and Unafraid

Four undocumented activists were arrested in the streets of Portland on May Day, in order to bring attention to the status of undocumented people all across the United States. Video, pre-recorded to explain their cause, is embedded below and documents their bitter plight as only they can. Diana Banda Ricardo Varela Lilliana Luna