Editor’s Thoughts
Welcome
Greetings, To all of you who are unfamiliar with Occupy Jackson or the Occupy Wall Street Movement in general this publicaton will be a wealth of knowledge. We at Occupy Jackson have adopted the general assembly proccess as outlined by the New York City occupation in an effort implement direct democracy and direct action in the city of Jackson and surrounding areas. We would love for you to take part in this process that allows everyone’s voice to be heard. We have decided to put together this publication in efforts to educate the Jackson, Mississippi community and surrounding communities about the importance of the Occupy Jackson Movement and the Occupations occuring all over the world. If you are a recent college gradate or current college student struggling to pay your student loans and find a job, if you are an American who has lost your home unjustly, if you feel that your basic freedoms have been trampled on or you are generally confused about the direction our country is going in... I URGE you to join us in creating solutions and drawing awareness to the problems we face. Sincerely, Ernest F. Camel III
Ernest F. Camel III Editor In Chief
WE ARE THE 99% The People are too big to fail.
OCCUPY
YOUR CITY
WHAT’SInside Premier Edition
FOR YOUR INFORMATION 5 A Few of Our Concerns... The Occupy Wall Street Manifesto as adopted by Occupy Wall Street New York.
8 10
An overview of the General Assembly process. Make Your Voice Heard Why you should join Occupy Jackson.
LOCAL 12 Photos From The Occupation A glimpse into life at Smith Park.
NATIONAL 16 Occupy LA gets rid of corporate personhood. 18 Indefinite Military Detention in hands of secret
PUBLISHER Occupy Jackson EDITOR IN CHIEF Ernest F. Camel III ASSOCIATE EDITOR The Occupy Jackson General Assembly ART DIRECTOR/GRAPHIC DESIGNER Ernest F. Camel III CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Occupy Wall Strret (NYC) Brooke Jarvis Donny Shaw Ernest F. Camel III CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Dane Carney Lucian Dixon Ernest F. Camel III Google Images DISTRIBUTION The Occupy Jackson General Assembly
committee.
The Occupy Jackson Magazine is published via ISSUU and online media company and is a community publication conttents controlled by the General Assembly. Work published in the magazine. All rights reserved, no parts of this publication can be reproduced without notifying and gaining approval from the General Assembly or contatcting the author or photogrpher associated with the work wished to be reproduced.
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A Few of Our
Concerns...
Declaration of the Occupation of New York City (Changes made by the Occupy Jackson GA) As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies. As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known. They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage. They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses. They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion and ethnicity. They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization. They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless nonhuman animals, and actively hide these practices. They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions. They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right. They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to
Cont. page 6
Fall 2011 / Vol.1, No.1 occupyms.org 5
A Few of Our
Concerns...
cut workers’ healthcare and pay. They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility. They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance. They have sold our privacy as a commodity. They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit. They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce. They donate large sums of money to politicians whom are responsible for regulating them. They keep us dependent on oil by continuing to block alternative forms of energy. They refuse to make available life saving and affordable generic medications in order to protect the profits this monopoly brings. In pursuit of profit they have purposely covered up oil spills and other accidents, financial fraud, and harmful food ingredients. Through their ownership and control of the media, they keep the populous misinformed and mired in a state of fear and confusion. Even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt, they have accepted private contracts to murder innocent men. They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. Across the world, they have participated in the torture and murder of innocent men, women and children. They continue to build weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts, and use these as a propoganda tool to maintain control through fear.* To the people of the world, We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power. Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone. To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
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WE
ARE THE
99% WE WILL NO LONGER
REMAIN
SILENT
#OccupyWallSt #OccupyTogether occupytogether.org occupywallst.org
The
GENERALASSEMBLY
Process
On September 17, 2011, people from all across the United States of America and the world came to protest the blatant injustices perpetuated by the 1% - the economic and political elites - whose actions affect all of us, the 99%. We spoke out, resisted, and successfully occupied Wall Street. Today, we proudly remain engaged in non-violent civil disobedience while building solidarity based on mutual respect, acceptance, and love. We are the 99%, and we have assumed full responsibility for the future of our society, our culture, and most importantly, our own lives.
The Following information is a basic explanation of the general assembly process we have chosen to adopt.
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HOW IT WORKS The General Assembly is a gathering of people committed to making decisions based upon a collective agreement or “consensus.” There is no single leader or governing body of the General Assembly – everyone’s voice is equal. Anyone is free to propose an idea or express an opinion as part of the General Assembly. Each proposal follows the same basic format – an individual shares what is being proposed, why it is being proposed and if there is enough agreement, how it can be carried out.
The Assembly will express its opinion for each proposal through a series of hand gestures (see next panel). If there is positive consensus for a proposal – meaning no outright opposition – then it is accepted and direct action begins. If there is not consensus, the responsible group or individual is asked to revise the proposal and submit again at the following General Assembly until a majority consensus is achieved.
A. Yes/Agreement
B. No/Disagree
C. Point of Process – a valued interruption
D. Block –This action will stop a proposal from being accepted unless retracted after further dialogue.
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“We Are The 99 percent!!!�
This mantra can be heard in cities across America and in various countries across the world. September 17, 2011 began the initial protest in New York Cities Zucotti Park in the New York financial district. I became a part of the Occupy Jackson movement in solidarity with the Occupy New York protest on Saturday, October 15, 2011. Who are the 99 percent? According to an article on fastcompany.com, 64 percent of the...
e k a R MYOU
V O I C E H
eard
By Ernest F. Camel III
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protestors are younger than 34. The movement also includes Generation X’ers and Baby Boomers, with one-third of respondents older than 35 and onefifth 45 and older. The 99 percent are categorized by the movement as the group of people in America who are the largest percent of the population, but have the least amount of wealth. Occupiers across the U.S. and the globe are protesting the corporate control on government via finacial contributions to the political system, among other things. The protest has spurred crticism, where some have said there is no cohesive message. The protestors feel like this is a good thing because there are too many problems with our democracy regarding corporate greed than can be narrowed down into one demand.
were given $700 billion dollars in an effort to kickstart our economy be held accountable for their actions? While you are struggling to pay your student loans, credit cards, mortgages and every day neccessities they are drinking champagne and enjoying million dollar bonuses. These are the same people who created the largest foreclosure crisis in recent history due to shady lending practices and sent our troops to war looking for fictional weapons of mass destruction; killing, according to about.com, more than 4,000 and seriously wounding more than 30,000 troops who will return from Iraq to a country that doesn’t even have a job waiting for them.
I decided to join in the protest when my eyes were opened to the way greed has caused a number of problems in the U.S.
Some of my fellow protestors here in Jackson, Miss. had this to say about their reasons for occupying Jackson.
For those of you who don’t know why the Occupiers are mad, here are just a few facts for you. In 2008, our government gave Wall Street a $700 billion bailout package, financed by our taxpayer dollars, but who bails us out when we can’t pay our bills or when we have gone to college and can’t find a job that pays well enough to pay back our student loans?
“I like this because it is non-violent and it’s people coming out and saying we share a discontentment across the country,” said Daniel Brantly, a supporter of Occupy Jackson.
According to an article on thehill.com, student loan debt is at an all time high and will reach the $1 trillion mark this year surpassing even credit card debt. Also it has been said in an article on msnbc.com that the rising college costs, low graduation rates and poor job prospects are getting more and more students over their heads in debt as the student loan default rate has risen to 8.8 percent and climbing. Many of the protestors have criticized banks such as the federal reserve, Bank of America and others for their lack of transparency and not being held accountable for their actions with the money they recieved on the backs of the American taxpayers. I urge you to ask yourself, when will the Corporations, banks and Wall Street representatives who
“I’m here because it seems like we are having to fight the fights that we were having in the 60’s all over again. We should already have these things taken care of. There’s no reason why every generation should have to fight for the right to a job, the right to medical care, or the right to an education,” said Carol Miles, a supporter of Occupy Jackson. I urge you to look beyond your political ties and examine how our government is run and ask yourself, are those in power looking out for the best interest of the 99 percent of Americans or the one percent of the population who control 97 percent of the nations wealth? With elections coming up in November, I feel you should take an active role in your local elections. Don’t vote based on party but for the candidate that will help the 99 percent.
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PHOTOS FROM THE
Jackson, Mississippi
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What makes a nation third world? Despite ever-evolving definitions, the concept of the third world serves to identify countries that suffer from:
Source: www.nationsonline.org
high infant mortality
low economic development
high levels of poverty
low utilization of natural resources
and heavy dependence on industrialized nations.
U.S. currently ranks 46th, with 6.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. Blacks in the U.S. fare worse, with 13.3 deaths per 1,000 live births
“With the additional $238 billion the Treasury immediately borrowed when the debt ceiling was raised on August 2, total current debt now exceeds 2010 gross domestic product (GDP) for the entire United States.”
“Another 2.6 million people slipped into poverty in the United States last year, according to the Census Bureau. The number of Americans living below the official poverty line, 46.2 million people, was the highest number in the 52 years the bureau has been publishing figures on it.”
One area where we don’t have an issue; our problem is over-consumption. “The United States, with less than 5 % of the global population, uses about a quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources – burning up nearly 25% of the coal, 26% of the oil, and 27% of the world’s natural gas.”
“China exports were worth 157.5 billion USD in October of 2011. Export growth has continued to be a major component supporting China's rapid economic growth. Exports of goods and services constitute 39.7% of its GDP.”
Source: N.Y. Times
Source: The Heritage Network
Source: www.tradingeconomics.com
Source: www.worldwatch.org
Source: N.Y. Times
AND THE 1% WONDERS WHY WE WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD?
OCCUPY
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PHOTOS FROM THE
Poverty is the worst form of violence. Mohandas Gandhi
Jackson, Mississippi 14 occupyms.org Fall 2011 / Vol.1, No.1
PHOTOS FROM THE
Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change. Muhammad Ali
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LA and Occupy LA Agree: It’s Time to End Corporate Personhood
Tuesday 6 December 2011 by: Brooke Jarvis, YES! Magazine | Report What’s the issue that unites the occupiers and the city they’re occupying? Getting corporate money out of politics. On December 3, just two days before Occupy L.A. was evicted by police, the General Assembly of the occupation passed a unanimous resolution calling for a constitutional amendment to end corporate personhood. Today, the City Council of Los Angeles also voted, also unanimously, for a resolution making the same appeal. So what’s this issue that’s uniting occupiers and the city they’re occupying? Corporate personhood is the legal concept that underpins rulings like the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v the Federal Election Commission; it means that corporations are considered people
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under the law, with the constitutional right of free speech. Since the courts have also defined money as constitutionally protected speech, the upshot is that corporations are empowered to spend unlimited amounts of money trying to influence the political process. In order to reverse Citizens United—and a long line of other rulings supporting corporate rights over human ones—the resolutions passed by Los Angeles and Occupy L.A. call for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly stating that corporations are not people and money is not speech. It’s little surprise that Occupy, a movement that wants our nation’s decisions to be made by the
Indeed, though Los Angeles is the largest city to date to join the call for a constitutional amendment taking on corporate personhood, it’s not the first. So far this year, voters in Boulder, Colo.; Missoula, Mont.; Madison, Wisc.; and Dane County, Wisc., have all passed ballot initiatives making the same appeal, with support ranging from 75 percent to 84 percent. Other cities, including Pittsburgh, Penn., have gone so far as to eliminate the rights of “personhood” for corporations seeking to perform certain activities within their borders. “Local resolution campaigns are an opportunity for citizens to speak up and let it be known that we won’t accept the corporate takeover of our government,” said Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, a spokes-
“Local resolution campaigns are an opportunity for citizens to speak up and let it be known that we won’t accept the corporate takeover of our government,” said Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap 99% instead of the 1%, supports a constitutional fix for the problem of corporate influence on politics. In its first official statement, the flagship occupation in New York’s Zuccotti Park declared, “no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.” The assembly included in a list of grievances the fact that corporations “have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility.” Other Occupy sites have also called for constitutional checks on corporate power, and slogans calling for the end of corporate personhood and the overruling of Citizens United are common sights on protesters’ signs.
person for Move to Amend. The group was created in the wake of Citizens United to advocate for a constitutional amendment that would overrule the decision; a local chapter pressed for passage of the resolution by the L.A. City Council. Move to Amend hopes that 50 cities and towns will put the same resolution on ballots next November. “Our plan is to build a movement that will drive this issue into Congress from the grassroots,” said Sopoci-Belknap.
But when L.A. and Occupy L.A. are making the same unanimous demand, it’s clear that the desire to take on corporate power in politics is gaining traction.
The Los Angeles Times reported only one dissenter: a man in a top hat, with fake money pouring out of the pockets of his suit, who said he had come to speak for the wealthy. He implored the council not to pass the resolution.
Approximately 100 people came to the L.A. council meeting to support the resolution, many of them reportedly members of Occupy L.A.
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Indefinite military detention for U.S. citizens now in the hands of a secretive conference committee
December 8, 2011 - by Donny Shaw If Congress does not pass a Department of Defense Authorization bill that Obama will sign by the end of the year, almost all of the U.S. military’s activities around the world would be jeopardized. At this point, the House and Senate have both passed their versions of the bill (H.R.1540 and S.1867), but they have disagreement on several provisions, including a provision opposed by the Obama Administration that would require the military to indefinitely detain terrorism suspects, including American citizens living in the U.S., without charge or trial. With the House having voted 406-17 to “close” portions of the meetings and avoid public scrutiny, members from both chambers and both parties are meeting in a secretive conference committee to work on reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. On the military detention provision, their main task is going to be to find a solution that can pass both chambers (again) and not draw a veto from President Obama. Contrary to popular perception, the Obama Administration is not strongly opposed to the provisions in the bills that would authorize indefinite military detentions for U.S. citizens. Here’s what the Administration had to say in a Statement of Administrative Policy on the Senate bill: Section 1031 attempts to expressly codify the detention authority that exists under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) (the “AUMF”). The authorities granted by the AUMF, including the detention authority, are essential to our ability to protect the American people from the threat posed by al-Qa’ida and its associated forces, and have enabled us to con-
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front the full range of threats this country faces from those organizations and individuals. Because the authorities codified in this section already exist, the Administration does not believe codification is necessary and poses some risk. After a decade of settled jurisprudence on detention authority, Congress must be careful not to open a whole new series of legal questions that will distract from our efforts to protect the country. While the current language minimizes many of those risks, future legislative action must ensure that the codification in statute of express military detention authority does not carry unintended consequences that could compromise our ability to protect the American people. In other words, they’ll take it and recommend that Congress passes clarifying legislation in the future, which, of course, will never happen. What they oppose is the provision that would mandate that power be used for all terrorism suspects besides U.S. citizens. From the same statement: The Administration strongly objects to the military custody provision of section 1032, which would appear to mandate military custody for a certain class of terrorism suspects. As you can read for yourself here, Section 1031, affirming the “authority of the armed forces of the United States to detain covered persons…” does not contain an exemption for U.S. citizens. Section 1032, mandating the military detention authority be used for terrorism suspects, does, but that is the section that the Obama Administration says must be removed or else he will veto. The Administration has been stressing the need for flexibility in their powers to collect information and incapacitate terrorists, which likely means that they want to retain the power to detain suspects outside the context of war and the Geneva Convention protections that would apply. The secretive conference committee may still be able to overcome Obama’s veto threat while also codifying the power to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens without having to charge them or give them a trial.
OCCUPYHattiesburg
JAN. 2011 FRIDAY, DEC.3 JOIN THE HATTIESBURG OCCUPATION AS THEY OCCUPY THEIR
CITY HALL
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Hattiesburg-MS
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