...with Occupy going on in Chicago. You know what they say: "War is a racket."

I don't think people are paying attention in general.

Embracing contrarianism for its own sake.

centrists fed up with the 1% buying the government.

But OWS by its very nature is a protest against centrist big money politics.

https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech/protesting-nato-what-know-about-secret-service-and-hr-347

The forthcoming summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, set for May 20 and 21 in Chicago, could be the first public test of H.R. 347, the recently passed law that expanded the ability of the Secret Service to suppress protests in or around certain restricted zones near individuals under its protection. We've written about H.R. 347 here and here.

NATO summits are interesting affairs. Unlike the periodic meetings of member nations, the summits are more stately and elaborate events, meant to introduce major policy changes or new members to the strategic alliance (among other things). This means lots of Very Important Persons, and lots of Very Controversial Issues. Both of these things mean lots of expected First Amendment activity.

As far as H.R. 347 goes, the NATO summit has been declared a "National Special Security Event" by the Department of Homeland Security. This puts the Secret Service in charge of the overall security plan. My understanding is that the FBI chips in with counterterrorism and counterintelligence assistance, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (another DHS agency) is in charge of emergency preparation. It also means massive security preparations and infrastructure—and lots of opportunities for the suppression of lawful protest.

across 99% of American experience.

It's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it, and Occupiers seem to be the only ones in this country with will and courage for the task.

Much better than sitting on the couch admiring the Emperor's new clothes on TV forever.

and poisoning the countries they bomb.

Although of course it did. "occupy wall street", the target was the global elites symbolized by wall street. When a target is identified, the NATO Summit in Chicago, ows is slammed for having a specific target. Of course this summit is just another get together for the same undemocratic global quasi government that we were protesting last October, and in fact it was originally a G8 summit, but oddly enough they moved that event entirely.

The common denominator is "occupy gets slammed" - no matter what it does or how it does it.

simply don't want to see the battle over inequality they were winning sacrificed for anti Nato. I certainly did not want to see ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. I also wanted to see bin Laden and al qaeda stopped in Afghanistan. Both things NATO were involved in. That is my very point. More than 50% of Americans liked Occupy in the fall. I want to see Occupy succeed and become entrenched in all our psyches as the anti-inequality movement of the 99%. I'm sure many right wing 1% are thrilled to see Occupy morph into something that will be less palatable to the majority of Americans: being against NATO. In fact I would imagine they are dancing a jig.

All are welcome to come down to their local General Assembly (or to start an Occupation if none are local) and propose actions and directions for the consideration of the group. One may form an Affinity Group as well.

If no one shows up, nothing happens. If everyone shows up, everything happens. This is our opportunity for Change. The bank-owned demopublican distraction is not interested in Change. It's up to us, and us only.

More "concern" from the outside?

We shall see.

Here's a schedule of events: http://natoprotest.org/events/

Overall, it's very much a mixture of anti-inequality, economic justice, anti-war, and environmental concerns -- all of which are ultimately inseparable. And there's very little that is billed as specifically anti-NATO.

The main event today is the "National Nurses United: Chicago Rally to Protest Global 1%." The description states, "We must send a message to our world leaders: No more cuts to our communities. Make Wall Street and the banks pay for global recovery. No Cuts! No Austerity! Tax on Wall Street!"

That's immediately followed by the "Crime Busting March on Chicago's Climate Crooks!"

This evening, there are a variety of smaller events, involving reporters, musicians, and filmmakers -- plus a party.

Tomorrow, there's a "Counter-Summit for Peace and Economic Justice." There's a "March & Rally Against Domestic Wars." There's "Student Movements Confront the 1%." There's "Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands." And in the evening, there's a "Woody Guthrie centennial concert" -- and another party.

And those are only the high points among the formally scheduled events -- it doesn't include the general marching and protesting.

So I don't think you have to worry about Occupy getting off-track. The NATO summit is just a convenient excuse for their first national bash.

elect unconscionable numbers of rightwing politicians and get many of their "programs" passed while Occupy has accomplished-- what?

Last edited Fri May 18, 2012, 04:54 PM - Edit history (1)

something that slipped under the radar for 30 years. Now it is the basis of the 2012 election. That is big stuff. All occupy did was get a majority of americans to say to themselves 'I am part of the 99%' instead of 'I am religious' or 'I have to think and feel what some hierarchy wants me to think or feel'. Occupy freed people to connect with what is real for them. And to connect Americans once again to each other instead of being sliced and diced up by the Republicans. They became part of something greater than themselves. It undid 30 years of hard & relentless work on the part of the GOP. Occupy has rocked the world.

http://whatthefuckhasoccupydone.com/

No one knows who they were. Or what they were doing.

..unlike #Occupiers.

And those who fail to even ask Occupiers nevertheless continue to repeat, "What do they want?" You'd think they might at least be able to read a friggin' protest sign or something.

on your internets!

I mean where else can we dump our depleted uranium?

&feature=related

&feature=related

&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL5C0446E8BC55BA8A

&feature=related

&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL0DE856BB4154A4E2

It's obvious that wars are fought much more often to make the super rich more rich rather than any other bullshit reason they manufacture for us. Billions of dollars are made by the suppliers of the war needs. Wars are created with that in mind. There is no real war on terror. The rich not only want the resources of the war torn countries, they want the profits that are made to supply the war machine.

Perpetual war is needed to keep the billionaires billions coming in. They don't care how many of the poor and middle class have to die as long as their coffers continue to swell. The rich do not die in war. They mostly avoid it, but if they are involved it's at a high level, out of harm's way.

It certainly is a valid reason to OCCUPY nato. War is an attack on the poor, using the poor as cannon fodder to kill other poor peoples.

A lot of people who agree with Occupy about inequality, wealthy controling the gov't, fighting corporate power, etc., will be turned off by anti-war messages. But hey whatcha gonna do, the anti-war, anti-Military Industrial Complex messages are pretty well baked into the Occupy cake. Just go with the flow I guess.

Personally I like NATO and support some of what NATO does. But I'm willing to tolerate being around people who think all military actions are horrible, for the sake of united around many other 99% issues. And as far as I can tell people are willing to tolerate my views there.

But there are some people who it will scare away. Some people who want to protest wealth inequality, not imperialism or war.

But like somebody said, there are many events scheduled around the NATO summit that are not related to the war/MIC/imperialism issues.

They are the military arm of the 1% when the elite nations can't BS/threaten the United Nations to do their dirty work.

Fuck them.

BTW, I speak for myself & not Occupy.

#OccupyLA ‏@OccupyLA
NATO to spend billions on nuclear weapons overhaul - convenient for defense contractors ~ TD #noNATO #OccupyNATO #CANG8 http://www.rt.com/news/us-nato-nuclear-overhaul-969/

and pulled up the 10 most lucrative gov't contractors:

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2012/01/17/washingtons-largest-government.html

Lockheed Martin at the top of the list - more than 22,000 federal contracts in fiscal year 2011. Those translated to more than $40 billion in sales for the year.

It's pretty repulsive when you think about it. On this website folks are informed, around the country not so much. I see it with my high school friends who are still in their small towns. They send their boys off to war and the republican party turns on their patriotic fanfare. Then the small-town folks feel like they are being personally attacked if you question defense because they've sent their beloved, heroic sons to fight "for their country". I see it all the time on Facebook and have no idea how to combat that. So much money for killing our young men and those in other countries, just for cheap natural resources (and of course all the money that is made off these contracts).