Weekly Marches on Wall Street Start Today! 2PM LIBERTY SQUARE

Start training for May Day and join the spring resistance! Weekly marches every Friday; meet at 2 PM in Liberty Square!

via the NYCGA:

On Friday, March 16, 2012, at 2PM, Occupy Wall Street will converge in the streets once again and launch the first in a series of spring training marches from Liberty Square to Wall Street in preparation for May Day, a day of massive economic non-compliance and strike. These marches will occur weekly and will allow occupiers to practice various street tactics and theatrics. For the first march, participants are encouraged to wear athletic gear, don their game face, and prepare to make the 1% feel the burn!

Organizers say besides growing comfortable employing various tactics with each other in actions, the intention of these marches are to strengthen the community to make upcoming campaigns and efforts, like reoccupation, as successful as possible.

After organizing, training, learning, growing, and working together for the winter months, Occupy is returning back to the basics as done in September: accessible direct actions to strengthen our community and voice our grievances to the 1%. Crimes by Wall Street brought us here and the 99% will continue to drive the message home and make civil unrest tangible.

The schedule is as follows: Meet at 2 PM in Liberty Square for sign making and a short march tactics training. At 3 PM occupiers will march to Wall Street and descend on the New York Stock Exchange to counter the closing bell with “The People’s Gong.” Following the march there will be a potluck dinner at 60 Wall Street.

Join Occupy Wall Street for spring training!

OWS Updates for the Week of March 12 Occupy these Upcoming Events!

Wednesday, March 14, 11:00am-2:00pm

1%ers for Romney Rally Outside Fundraiser Luncheon for Romney
Outside Waldorf Astoria Hotel 301 Park Ave (at 50th St)
This will be a fun filled 1%ers for Romney rally with people dressed to the nines, ball gowns, suits, top hats and tiaras – and signs that echo Romney’s own words, “Corporations are People too!” as well as “Buy Your Own Politician. Romney’s Mine.” We’ll highlight the nightmare of corporate personhood and the selling of our democracy to the top bidder.
http://www.nycga.net/events/event/mr1-action-against-mitt-romney-fundraiser



Thursday, March 15, 8:00pm-10:00pm

Occupy Horizontal Pedagogy Workshop
725 5th Ave at 56th St, Public Atrium
Join the Occupy University workshop on horizontal, facilitated, consensus-model learning. Open to all. Every Thursday. http://www.nycga.net/events/event/occupy-university-horizontal-pedagogy-workshop-2-2012-03-15



Saturday, March 17, 11:00-1pm

Parents for Occupy Wall Street - #M17 Call to Action: The Children´s Chalkupation
Liberty Plaza / Zuccotti
Thursday March 8th, around 11pm, 3 occupiers were arrested and detained for over 20 hours for the heinous acts of criminal trespass, trespass and graffiti. What specifically was their criminal activity? - 2 were arrested for drawing on the ground with sidewalk chalk, the 3rd for watching them! This latest example of the NYPD subjecting outrageous oppression on peaceful OWS protestors, and suppression of first amendment free speech in a 24 hour public park is disgusting, petty and a blatant waste of time and police resources. Immediately following the arrests @OWSTactical called for a 'Chalkupation' to show solidarity with the arrested. On Saturday March 17 at 11 am, Parents for Occupy Wall St. and their children call for all of New York's children and parents to join to take colored sticks of calcium carbonate in their hands and defiantly 'Chalkupy' Liberty Plaza for the right to play freely in public space! We plan to cover the park with vibrant chalks of 99% Super Heroes, OWS Kids Characters, and 1% Meanies. Facebook event



Saturday, March 17, 1:00pm Silent Procession

American Spring - Sowing the Seeds of Change
March from Liberty Square to Hunger Memorial
A Call to Action on our six month anniversary: Laying to rest hunger and greed, welcoming a new season, celebrating our resilience and determination. Join a silent procession to bury hunger, greed and grief, of ritual burial and re-birth. Speakers will address issues of food sustainability, housing, health care, and the economy. http://www.nycga.net/events/event/m17-march



Saturday, March 17, 2:00pm

Celebration and 24-hour Reoccupation
Liberty Square
As part of the American Spring, OWS Direct Action will make an effort to liberate space for 24 hours for the people and by the people. We will gather all afternoon at Liberty Square, and at 5pm march to the re-occupation. http://www.nycga.net/events/event/m17-24-hour-reoccupation



Saturday, March 17, 3:00pm - 4:50pm

Left Forum Panel - Occupy Your Work Place
1 Pace Plaza, 5th floor, room W503
Occupy Your Workplace is interested in exploring diverse ways to build workers’ power. This panel will explore larger questions regarding the contemporary working class and discuss various forms of worker organization that are promising. http://www.nycga.net/events/event/left-fourm-pannel



Sunday, March 18, 12:00pm-2:00pm

Teach-in with Paddy Quick & Barbara Bowen: How can we fight austerity?
Liberty Square
As part of an 8-week series studying May Day and the general strike, facilitated by Occupy University, Barbara Bowen & Paddy Quick will kick off a discussion on fighting austerity. http://www.nycga.net/events/event/studying-may-day-and-the-general-strike-guest-speakers-paddy-quick-barbara-bowen



Saturday March 24, 10:00am

Disrupt Dirty Power!
United Nations Plaza, 405 E. 42nd Street
Occupy Wall Street and allied organizations will kick off a global month of action leading up to Earth Day, April 22, to connect the dots between the 1% and the destruction of the planet. Mock corporate polluters will set up shop, and the 99% will take them on! http://www.nycga.net/events/event/disrupt-dirty-power



**Sunday, March 25, 11:00am-7:00pm

Occupy Town Square IV
Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn
Occupy Town Squares are daytime occupations held in parks and other public spaces around NYC. With info tables, teach-ins, and political discussions, each event seeks to recreate the spirit of occupation and reclaim our public commons. Come share your ideas and stories, learn about the movement, argue with us, debate with us, collaborate with us. https://www.facebook.com/events/182968688482467



Every Day in March, 11:30-2:00pm

Cultural Occupation Of Liberty Square (COOLS)
Liberty Square
OWS inspired the world by maintaining a presence in Liberty Square – creating a viral action that spread across the country and the globe. COOLS brings, food, discussion, education and fun to the park every day. Bring your appetite and light the fire in your belly that will ignite our actions going forward. Join us – we need each other. Do it now! Tweet using #ows and #CultureOcc and find a full schedule of special events, speakers and performances at http://www.cools.nycga.net



SAVE THE DATE: May 1

Call to Action: May Day 2012
If you’d like to be added to the announcement and/or discussion listserv or have any questions regarding meeting time, location, structure, please contact mayday@nycga.net.
http://www.maydaynyc.org



Occupy Everything

Don’t know where to begin? Want help connecting to specific groups and projects? Join us at the next OWS Orientation on our six month anniversary, this Saturday March 17, at noon, in the Atrium at 60 Wall Street. Email Tascha at orientation@nycga.net. For more ideas check out The Occupy Wall Street Project List and classifieds.occupy.net

This week’s featured Occu-Project: Help plan the Occupy Town Square events, including the next one in Fort Greene Park. Occupy Town Square is looking for creative and hard working people to help with event promotion, scheduling, visual identity for spaces, and connecting to community groups throughout the five boroughs. To get involved, email occupytownq@gmail.com, join occupytownsquare@googlegroups.com, or attend the weekly meeting every Wednesday, 8pm, in the Atrium at 60 Wall Street.

Occupy Everything

Don’t know where to begin? Want help connecting to specific groups and projects? Join us at the next OWS Orientation on our six month anniversary, this Saturday March 17, at noon, in the Atrium at 60 Wall Street. Email Tascha at orientation@nycga.net. For more ideas check out Check out the The Occupy Wall Street Project List and classifieds.occupy.net.

This week’s featured Occu-Project: Help plan the Occupy Town Square events, including the next one in Fort Greene Park. Occupy Town Square is looking for creative and hard working people to help with event promotion, scheduling, visual identity for spaces, and connecting to community groups throughout the five boroughs. To get involved, email occupytownq@gmail.com, join occupytownsquare@googlegroups.com, or attend the weekly meeting every Wednesday, 8pm, in the Atrium at 60 Wall Street.

6 Ways to Get Ready for the May 1st GENERAL STRIKE

Yesterday, 60,000 marched on Madison to mark the one-year anniversary of the passage of Governor Scott Walker's drastic dismantling of collective bargaining rights for public employees. Last year, Walker's attacks on labor rights sparked massive protests that saw hundreds of thousands occupy the Wisconsin capital building. Their actions prefigured Occupy Wall Street and inspired countless others to take a stand against economic inequality, political injustice, and the tyranny of the 1% enforced through politicians and banksters alike.

This is just one example that people across the globe are actively resisting attacks on the 99%. This year has already seen the largest-ever strike on record in India, hundreds of thousands marching for democracy in Bahrain, general strikes in Montreal and Spain where students once again occupied public space in protest of the austerity measures and spending cuts being enforced by the European banking elite, massive uprisings in the streets of Moscow, and more. Even in the United States, the movement grows. The corporate media claims that Occupy's strength is waning, but they are merely in denial. During the coldest months of this year, the United States has already seen more revolutionary momentum than it has in decades.

This winter, we refocused our energies on fostering ties with local communities, saving homes from corrupt banks and jobs from greedy corporations, and building and expanding our horizontal infrastructure. This #GlobalSpring, we will take the streets again. On May 1st, Occupy Wall Street has called for a General Strike. We are calling on everyone who supports the cause of economic justice and true democracy to take part: No Work, No School, No Housework, No Shopping, No Banking - and most importantly, TAKE THE STREETS!



We are getting ready. Planning is already underway in dozens of cities. Labor organizers, immigrants’ rights groups, artists, Occupiers, faith leaders, and more have all joined in the discussion to get ready. Now, all we need is you. Keep reading to find out how you can get involved!

May 1st, also known as International Workers' Day, is the annual commemoration of the 1886 Haymarket Massacre in Chicago, when Chicago police fired on workers during a General Strike for the eight-hour workday. In many countries, May 1st is observed as a holiday. But in the United States, despite the eventual success of the eight-hour-workday campaign, the holiday is not officially recognized. In spite of this, May Day is already a powerful date in the U.S. In 2006, immigrant's rights groups took to the streets in unprecedented numbers in a national "Day Without An Immigrant" - a general strike aimed at proving the economic power of immigrants in the U.S. At least one million people marched in Chicago and Los Angeles alone. Hundreds of thousands more marched throughout cities across the U.S.



Now, in response to call-outs from Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Chicago, Occupy Oakland, and other General Assemblies and affinity groups, the Occupy Movement is preparing to mobilize a General Strike this May 1st in solidarity with struggles already underway to defend the rights of workers, immigrants, and other communities who are resisting oppression. Dozens of Occupations in cities and towns throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia have already endorsed May Day. Here is just a taste of events in the works for New York City:

• 8am-4pm: Midtown action staging zone in Bryant Park.
• Disruptive actions in midtown all day! Hit the 1% where they live and prevent them from getting to work. Let's make this a Day Without the 1%, as well!
• Family friendly, free food, a really, REALLY free market, skillshares, workshops, lectures, art, fun and more!
• 4pm: March to Union Square for solidarity march
• 5:30pm: Solidarity march from Union Square to Wall St.
• 7pm: March to staging area for evening actions

And this is just the beginning. To quote the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo, a major Spanish union, who recently called for a national General Strike in Spain on March 29th to protest labor reforms:

For the CNT, the strike on March 29 must be only the beginning of a growing and sustained process of mobilization, one which includes the entire working class and the sectors that are most disadvantaged and affected by the capitalist crisis. This mobilization must put the brakes on the dynamic of constant assaults on our rights, while laying the bases for the recovery and conquest of new social rights with the goal of a deep social transformation.

None of this would be possible without the grassroots support of everyday organizers who volunteer their time to grow the movement against Wall Street greed and political corruption. Here are eight simple things you can do to help advance the cause of equity for all:

[1] Work With Your Local Occupy: There are hundreds of Occupy groups still holding regular meetings and events. Chances are, there's one nearby. (And if there isn't yet - it's easy to start one!) General Assemblies are open to everyone, and everyone has a voice in the consensus planning process. So find your nearest Occupation and go to a GA! If they haven't already endorsed the General Strike, propose it to the group and start planning marches, distributing fliers, and forming direct action groups.

[2] Spread the Word On Social Media: Follow #M1GS, @OWSMayDay, @OccupyWallSt, and @OccupyGenStrike on Twitter. Also be sure to RSVP on Facebook and follow facebook.com/OccupyGeneralStrike. You can also look for city-specific events, like these from Chicago and Detroit.

[3] Start an Affinity Group: You can take action on your own. All you need are a few friends. Affinity groups are groups of people who know each other and come together autonomously for a particular action. Find a few people who are interested in helping you out on a project you have in mind - whether it's making fliers and literature to distribute, or shutting down a Wall Street bank in your hometown. Get creative, and get to work! (Here's a hint: OccuPrint collects, prints, and distributes posters from the worldwide Occupy movement, and they have a ton of amazing General Strike posters!)

[4] Join the General Strike Conference Calls: InterOccupy hosts regular calls to organize May 1st activities. Check out their schedule and join in the conversation!

[5] Talk to Labor: Due to federal laws, most unions are forbidden from organizing strikes for political reasons. However, unions and labor groups are still some of our strongest allies. During last year's General Strike in Oakland, many unions encouraged their workers to take the day off or attend demonstrations after work. Not long after Occupy Oakland shut down ports in solidarity with striking Longshoreman, their employers caved to the union's demands in a new contract. Get in touch with local unions and labor organizations, let them know about the plans for a General Strike, find out what they're working on and how you can help, and encourage them to let their members know about May 1st and get involved in organizing directly.

[6] Organize Your Workplace, Campus, or Community: If you're a unionized worker, encourage your union to support the General Strike. Whether your workplace is union or not, you can encourage co-workers to take a sick day on May 1st. If you can't afford to lose out on pay, that's okay - there will be plenty of celebrations, marches, and direct actions throughout all hours of the day. Invite your community to attend. If you're a student at a high school or college, spread the word to walk-out of class on May 1st. If you're not a worker or student, organize your friends!

More information: [MayDayNYC.org] | [OccupyMay1st.org] | [StrikeEverywhere.net] | [NYC General Assembly - May Day]

Occupy With International Women's Day

Last Saturday, a group of protesters including veterans of Occupy Richmond gathered peacefully on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol to protest the state's latest assault on women's rights. They were surrounded by riot police and dragged away under the guns of a SWAT team armed with automatic weapons - a startling reminder that the "War on Women" is not simply empty rhetoric.

Across the United States, women's rights are under attack. In a desperate ploy to distract public attention from the growing divide between rich and poor, agents of the 1% in government and media are crusading with fresh fervor against abortion, birth control, and gay marriage. By launching a renewed culture war on women, LGBT people, and other vulnerable communities, they hope to divide the 99%.

We will not be divided. Occupy Wall Street stands in solidarity with women and all oppressed people targeted by government control and economic violence.

Today, March 8th, is International Women's Day. International Women’s Day has been rooted in the struggle for economic justice, growing out of local demonstrations by women workers demanding shorter hours, better pay, voting rights, and an end to discrimination. Thousands of events will be taking place across the globe. Occupations in cities and towns across the world are marking the event with a variety of events, from discussions on women, capitalism, and the state to marches for reproductive justice and against cuts to public school and transportation funding.

In the United States and across the globe, women, transgender people, and gender non-conforming people still face a host of barriers that make survival in this economy even more difficult. Women make up 51 percent of the world’s population but 70 percent of the world’s poor. They perform 66 percent of the world’s work, produce 50 percent of the food, but earn 10 percent of the income and own less than 1 percent of the world’s property. Women and trans people suffer disproportionately under a system of economic inequality, and are also at the front lines of social justice struggles.

Women Occupy has called on the Occupy movement to rise up and occupy Bank of America in support of women-led campaigns to stop its ecological and economic violence. The policies and actions of BoA, such as racist predatory lending, investment in environmentally destructive practices like mountaintop removal, and the foreclosure crisis all disproportionately impact women and trans people. It's time to fight back against Bank of America and the patriarchal economic system it represents! For more information on why women and allies are targeting Bank of America, or to get involved, see Women Occupy's Resources for International Women's Day:

This International Women’s Day, Women Occupy calls on women across the globe to rise up against the big banks that have caused the current economic crisis. Women Occupy is a coalition of activists who are joining forces to coordinate powerful actions across the Occupy movement, starting with International Women’s Day. In the United States we are supporting collective efforts initiated by Occupy activists, particularly the women-led campaigns of Public Citizen and Rainforest Action Network, to hold Bank of America – the biggest of the big banks – accountable for the predatory economic policies that are destroying our families and communities.

In New York, the International Women's Day march will begin at Liberty Square at 1pm this Saturday (March 10th)! via CodePink:

This is in observation of International Women’s Day Celebration. We will be marching up Broadway to Union Square. We are doing it on Saturday so all hard working women, stay at home moms and unemployed and all self identified women can join us. This is a celebration of women globally and for what women have fought for. Bring your voices, your signs, your music whatever makes you happy. We are a powerful force. We can change the world. Women have the power to stop war, end corruption in our governments and economic systems. We will continue to fight for equal rights and our right to our bodies. History has proven that women get it done so lets all unite and celebrate what we have fought for and cherish. Let us unite and have our voices heard! This celebration includes all self identified women!

OWS Updates for the Week of March 5

Spring is in the air, and Occupy momentum is growing. We invite you to join the upcoming events contained in this inaugural Occupy Wall Street newsletter. This newsletter includes a partial listing of events related to the Occupy Movement in New York City. To receive these notifications via e-mail, and to find full meeting listings and group information, register online at http://www.nycga.net/.


Get Involved: Check out the The Occupy Wall Street Project List: A Guide To Ongoing Occupy Actions and Activities around New York City, or our listing of Volunteer needs at classifieds.occupy.net.
Inside you will find:

• Every Day in March
  Cultural Occupation Of Liberty Square (COOLS)
• Wednesday, March 7
  OccupyFaithNYC Action: "Parables of an Immoral Budget"
  Racism, Resistance, and Workplace Organizing: Workers of Color and OWS
  Teach-In on the Student Debt Crisis
• Thursday, March 8
  Peace Walk 2012: No More Fukushimas
• Friday, March 9
  Repression and Resistance From the Panthers to OWS
• Saturday, March 10
  OWS Weekly Orientations
  International Woman’s Day Celebration Parade
• Sunday, March 11
  Occupy University: Studying May Day and the General Strike
• Save the Dates: March 17 and May 1
  M17: Six-Month Anniversary of Occupy
  May Day 2012

#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines

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This week in Occupy, more than 80 Shut Down the Corporations actions on #F29 signaled a spring resurgence, student activists across the nation marched for an affordable education and the Occupy movement introduced the mainstream media—and the country—to the American Legislative Exchange Council.



The NYPD shut down Zuccotti Park just minutes after midnight on February 29 in a strong yet baffling show of force that saw 40 cops monitoring 30 protesters. The eight resulting arrests were seemingly arbitrary and incidental, spurred after several protesters brought backpacks and sleeping bags into the park—and occurring just hours after a leaked internal memo revealed that Bloomberg’s “private army” had done its homework and knew many details about the following day’s New York-based actions. (For a full wrap-up of the day’s events, go here.)

Later that day, a 200-strong march through the rain-slicked streets of midtown Manhattan snaked past the headquarters of Bank of America, Pfizer and the New York offices of Koch Industries, hitting a Wells Fargo or two along the way. They were joined by the political journalist Matt Taibbi.

In Riverside, California, Occupy LA shut down three Wal-Mart distribution centers after occupying the immediate area all morning, only to be met by aggressive police officers who forced demonstrators to retreat. “This is the evolution of humanity, and sadly this is what we must do to get to the other side,” observed independent video journalist Freedom, who operates Occupy Freedom LA.



Fifty Occupy D.C. demonstrators lined up outside Monsanto’s Washington D.C. offices in cold, pelting rain to protest the agribusiness giant’s litigious protection of its patented crops, among other issues.

In response to Occupy Portland‘s call to shut down the corporate members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), Occupy Tucson #occupied the transportation headquarters of G4S, a massive company that operates the buses used to transport those being deported or moved between immigration detention facilities. “We’re trying to create a day without deportations,” one of the occupiers said.

60,000 students took to the streets of several Spanish cities, including Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona, to protest against government spending cuts that have left many classrooms without heating. In Barcelona, students were attacked by riot police.

Occupy Oakland held a funeral for capitalism which included live music, speeches and a demonstration in front of Chase Bank.

Occupy Portland peacefully marched through downtown, with several hundred taking to the streets protesting corporate involvement with ALECand a few dropping by a downtown McDonald’s and chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, Monsanto has got to go!”



Mother Jones explains why ALEC—a right-wing, corporate-controlled group most people have probably never heard of—was a specific target of so much direct action on #F29.

Occupy NOLA—joined by Occupy Fairhope, Alabama—staged a BP protest march, during which demonstrators prosecuted the oil giant responsible for the Deepwater Horizon disaster and held a mock funeral memorializing the health of the Gulf of Mexico, which is still polluted with oil.



Also on #F29, twenty-five suspected members of the the hacktivist collective Anonymous—accused of planning coordinated cyber attacks against institutions including Colombia’s defense ministry and presidential websites—were arrested in an Interpol sweep across South America and Europe.

From March 1 to 5, Occupy Education California embarked upon a 99-mile march from Berkeley to San Francisco to mark the #M1 National Day of Action for Education. Occupy Colleges and Occupy Education sponsored rallies nationwide, prompting the mainstream media to speculate that colleges will fuel the second wave of the Occupy movement.

On #M1, students, educators and activists partially shut down the University of California, Santa Cruz and prevented cars and buses from entering the campus, while students at the University of California, Davis held a funeral for public higher education.

Also on #M1, students and Occupy Chicago members occupied the conference room of the DePaul University president’s office and demanded a public forum on tuition hikes.

A group of University of New Mexico students had just mic-checked an Israel Alliance talk entitled “Why the Arab Spring Is Failing” when older male audience members got up out of their seats and physically attacked them.



The Virginia House of Delegates has voted in favor of legislation that rejects the “kidnapping provisions” of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012.

On February 22, twenty-five prisoners at Ohio State Penitentiary, a supermax prison, victoriously ended a three-day hunger strike inspired by the Occupy4Prisoners National Day of Action called for by Occupy Oakland.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) issued a video message in solidarity with students on a hunger strike at the University of Virginia organized by the Living Wage Campaign. “The students who chose bold action and engaged in a hunger strike deserve our unconditional support and respect,” said Valarie Long, the union’s executive vice president.

The creation of an Occupy-related credit union in San Francisco is moving forward, with a proposed nine-member board nearly in place.

The artists behind the 99% Bat Signal first unveiled on #N17 are back with their own personal bat mobile, codename: The Illuminator. On March 2, Occupy Wall Street protestors staged a “die-in” in front of Chase bank with the help of this fancy new gadget.

Concerned by reports from numerous cities of excessive police force against protesters, unlawful arrests and the passing of new laws to curtail protest, a coalition of human rights and civil liberties experts are conducting a national study to the government response to the Occupy protests.



On March 13, five Seattle occupiers known as the “Chase 5″ will go to trial for occupying a Chase Bank branch in Capitol Hill in November, when hundreds rallied outside and disrupted business as usual before a demonstration against JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon as he spoke in downtown Seattle.

The court case against Justin Honea for “prohibited activities in park” associated with the Occupy Charleston presence at Marion Square has been dismissed. Two more Occupy Charleston cases are set for trial later this year.

The House of Representatives has approved a bill that outlaws protests in instances where some government officials are nearby—whether or not you even know it.

The National Park Service has extended Occupy DC‘s Freedom Plaza permit through April 29.
Monsanto, the 1% of Big Ag and the scourge of small farmers everywhere, has found a formidable opponent in the Occupy movement.



Transit riders and Occupy activists spoke out against proposed Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) fare hikes and service cuts at an open hearing on February 28.

Police briefly arrested 100 Cuban dissidents in a multipronged campaign to prevent public demonstrations to mark the anniversaries of the deaths of five Castro opponents.

President Obama has finally asked Congress to end $4 billion in subsidies for oil and gas companies, vowing to tackle the country’s long-term energy issues while shunning “phony election-year promises about lower gas prices.”

Rolling Stone published an internal Department of Homeland Security report entitled “SPECIAL COVERAGE: Occupy Wall Street,” which details surveillance of the early days of the Occupy movement.

WikiLeaks began publishing more than five million emails from Stratfor, a U.S.-based global security analysis company that has been likened to a shadow CIA. One juicy revelation: the Stratfor CEO and founder and a former Goldman Sachs regional director plan to launch their own investment fund called Stratcap.

The Red Cross managed to get aid to Syrians fleeing the battered and shelled Baba Amr district of Homs but was blocked for a third day from entering the city amid reports of bloody reprisals by dictator Bashar al-Assad’s forces. A Syrian activist calling himself “Danny,” who has posted videos of the regime’s attacks on YouTube for the last several months, told Anderson Cooper that if it wasn’t for the media attention, 200,000 Syrians would be dead. “This is not going to stop,” he said. “They’re going to have to kill every single family living in Homs. There’s not one family who hasn’t lost a relative. They will never stop.”

There have been at least 6,628 arrests in 111 cities since the Occupy movement began on September 17, 2011.

Inspiring Women of Occupy Wall Street

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Photos from #M1 Actions

In New York, demonstrators gathered outside the Dept. of Education before marching to an NYC School Board meeting to protest Mayor Bloomberg's failed policies and cuts to education:



In Philadelphia, students shut down a busy intersection and were pushed back by police while trying to enter the governor's office:


Chicago:

Washington, DC:

The original NYC Student Assembly call to action:

We refuse to pay for the crisis created by the 1%. We refuse to accept the dismantling of our schools and universities, while the banks and corporations make record profits. We refuse to accept educational re-segregation, massive tuition increases, outrageous student debt, and increasing privatization and corporatization.

They got bailed out and we got sold out. But through nationally coordinated mass action we can and will turn back the tide of austerity.

We call on all students, teachers, workers, and parents from all levels of education —pre-K-12 through higher education, in public and private institutions—and all Occupy assemblies, labor unions, and organizations of oppressed communities, to mobilize on March 1st, 2012 across the country to tell those in power: The resources exist for high-quality education for all. If we make the rich and the corporations pay we can reverse the budget cuts, tuition hikes, and attacks on job security, and fully fund public education and social services.

This is a call to work together, but it is up to each school and organization to determine what local and regional actions—such as strikes, walkouts, occupations, marches, etc.—they will take to say no to business as usual.

We have the momentum, the numbers, and the determination to win. Education is not for sale. Let’s take back our schools. Let’s make history.

Global Student Power

Yesterday, while Occupy groups in over 80 cities across the world were holding successful direct actions to Shut Down the Corporations, students in Spain continued their fight against cuts in education by occupying university buildings. Solidarity protests have erupted across Europe after police violently supressed peaceful student demonstrations in Valencia, which has seen as many as 60,000 people in the streets.




10,000s are in the streets of Barcelona again today. The student protesters in Spain have also received solidarity from student organizers in the United States. From New York Students Rising:

NYSR STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH STUDENTS OF SPAIN

We stand in active solidarity with the students and people of Valencia, Spain. and condemn the arrests and beating of peaceful protesters taking a stand against cuts to education.The issues the students in Valencia address are ones that speak to the global nature of our struggle.All over the world we see local governments fail to fund universities, schools, and the other basic needs of the people.As people begin to protest and resist injustices, police attempt to repress the emergence of true democracy led by the people.

Students of the City University of New York, University of California-Davis, and many other campuses have been arrested, beaten, and pepper sprayed during protests done in an increasingly securitized university. However, overt repression represents the failure of subtle forms of social control. As tacit consent and docility are replaced by protest and resistance, the only way to maintain the social order is through the baton and riot shield.What it shows is that we are breaking through and making real gains in our struggle.

Students in Valencia, your resilience, as witnessed by the wave of protests in recent days, gives us resolve to continue, the strength to struggle further, and the courage to dream bigger. Our struggle is one. Solidarity in the streets!

Students are also taking action to support workers and other marginalized 99%ers. In the Netherlands, students along with Occupy Utretch, Occupy Rotterdam, and other local Occupy groups joined 1000s of cleaners who occupied buildings at the University of Utrecht for better working conditions. Today., students at Harvard will be taking action to stop lay-offs of school workers. From last year's student rebellions in the United Kingdom to last months's massive post-secondary strike in Quebec that saw 36,000 students walk out, students are rising up against austerity across the world. Today, Occupy Wall Street joins them in expressing our outrage!