Documents Reveal FBI Infiltrated Occupy Movement -Worked w/ Banks to Shut Down OWS

So now we know the FBI had infiltrated the Occupy Movement What’s interesting about this information about Occupy, is I was at the press conference and recorded Oakland Mayor Jean Quan saying that she was on the phone with mayors from 16 other cities on how to deal with the Occupy Movement.. Her remarks were quickly downplayed and any discussion of ‘coordinated shut downs’, Department of Homeland Security involvement or FBI infiltration was chalked up as ‘conspiracy’ theory…

Most folks involved with Occupy already figured out something was afoot.. and now its been confirmed.. What’s problematic is seeing how many blatant things have been ignored.. For example, how and why were NYPD units able to work on behalf of a private firm?  In this case Wall Street/ JP Chase..You can read about that HERE..

We never really got to understand why so much energy was put on Occupy Wall Street and not the people who actually caused the financial crises that brought OWS into existence..How many FBI agents have been or are working to take down those running illegal financial schemes?

In places like Oakland where we’ve had high number of homicides as well as in neighboring SF and San Jose.. we also saw tremendous amounts of time and energy spent monitoring the Occupy Movement vs solving pressing crimes.. We’ve seen as many as 17 different police agencies show up to stop 100 people from taking over abandoned buildings, but if your place got robbed, you would have to make the trip to the police station to file a report.. The police say they were stretched watching Occupy folks.. With all that’s been going on in this beloved country, the Occupy Movement was that much of a threat? 

Sounds more like monitoring folks was an easier gig, paid lots of overtime and reflected deep mismanagement and warped priorities inside some of these departments.. And for those who think this is some sort of exaggeration take a look at the types of things our law enforcement spends our tax dollars on… Read this story about the police investigating Meet the Press anchor David Gregory for holding a gun magazine on TV.. You can peep that HERE

The most pressing question is how did all this go down on President Obama’s watch? What kind of community organizing is this? It’s interesting to note that many accused Occupy of being a grand brainchild of Obama.. Maybe when he realized that OWS wasn’t rolling in lockstep with the Democrats, he decided to send in the FBI.. Maybe there was a reason behind all the antiwar movements quieting down after he got elected even though he continued many of the same Pro-war policies of President George Bush his predecessor.

Questions: Did the FBI infiltrate the Tea Party? If Obama’s FBI was spying on Occupy what other domestic political groups were under his ‘watchful eye’?  What sort of dissention did infiltrating agents cause in the ranks? Were these endless debates about diversity of tactics and property destruction tactics deployed by the FBI to make Occupy less attractive?

One thing I recall Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seal stating about what the FBI/ Cointel-Pro  papers on the Panthers  revealed… He noted that the Panthers were considered a threat when they started doing community things like serving free breakfast.. Seal said FBI papers showed they worked overtime to make Panthers be unattractive to the community. Did they do similar things with Occupy? With all the hi-tech equipment available today spying on someone is easy, if we’re talking about capturing footage or a recording a conversation.. If the FBI had infiltrated OWS then it had to be to cause confusion and be disruptive..This is what happened during Cointel-pro days from the 60s.. why not now?

-Davey D-

**PS.. Dec 29 2012**.. This just came in… FBI worked with the big Banks to shut down Occupy Movements.. Folks need to chew on that for a minute..u can read that article here…  http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy

—————————————————————————-

FBI Had Counterterrorism Agents Investigate Occupy Movement

It’s the latest example of counterterrorism officials looking into domestic protest groups.

http://www.alternet.org/fbi-had-counterterrorism-agents-investigate-occupy-movement

The New York Times reports that the FBI had counterterrorism agents to investigate Occupy Wall Street, and that “F.B.I. personnel around the country were routinely involved in exchanging information about the movement with businesses, local law-enforcement agencies and universities.”

The Partnership for Civil Justice received the records after a Freedom of Information Act request. They show that once again the agency used counterterrorism agents to track domestic activists — like they have in the past with environmental, anti-poverty and animal rights groups.

The Times reports that:

The memo said agents discussed “past and upcoming meetings” of the movement, and its spread. It said agents should contact Occupy Wall Street activists to ascertain whether people who attended their events had “violent tendencies.”

The memo said that because of high rates of unemployment, “the movement was spreading throughout Florida and there were several Facebook pages dedicated to specific chapters based on geographical areas.”

The F.B.I. was concerned that the movement would provide “an outlet for a lone offender exploiting the movement for reasons associated with general government dissatisfaction.”

The records provide one of the first glimpses into how deeply involved federal law-enforcement authorities were in monitoring the activities of the movement, which is sometimes described in extreme terms.

An agency spokesman told the paper that “The F.B.I. recognizes the rights of individuals and groups to engage in constitutionally protected activity. While the F.B.I. is obligated to thoroughly investigate any serious allegations involving threats of violence, we do not open investigations based solely on First Amendment activity.”

Occupy Wall Street One Year Later… Our Insightful intv w/ Malik from Occupy the Hood

One year ago September 17th 2011, a group of people gather at Zuccotti Park a small enclave in the financial district of New York City and launched a movement that would effectively change the way we would for the foreseeable future talk about economic disparities. Occupy Wall Street (OWS) was the movement that would eventually spread to over 1500 cities around the world and force presidents and economic advisors of any stripe to talk about the economy in terms of 1% vs 99%. It was a game changer on many levels.

Occupy Wall Street was a huge attraction … Zuccotti Park was the epic center where everyone from filmmaker Michael Moore to scholars like Cornel West to music moguls like Russell Simmons to former Black Panther Angela Davis to major labor leaders and members to students all came by to embrace what was going down.. In spite of the initial media blackouts, OWS exploded as it struck a chord. Hundreds and then thousands showed up to protest what many described ‘the Tyranny of the banks‘.

OWS Media Center

OWS had a tech savvy media center set up, which included a live U Stream so the entire world could watch, as this movement did what many thought was impossible, give folks who were feeling beleaguered, cynical and betrayed by the broken promises and lack of action around the Hope and Change rhetoric that excited so many in ’08, a sense of purpose and belief in the possibility that serious corners could be turned. OWS struck a chord with many who had deep yearnings to shake things up and change the world. The ‘leaderless’ movement seemed determined to bring the fight and the mass anger many were feeling, right to the front steps of Wall Street big wigs..It wasn’t long before lots of money and resources began to pour in..

OWS Brooklyn Bridge protest

t also wasn’t long before we started to hearing and then seeing incident after incident of New York City police beating down Occupy protestors. Mayor Michael Bloomberg once famously called NYPD his private army and sadly they lived up to the billionaires claim. With each march and with each protest the world was treated to seeing NYPD, many wearing white shirts punching, macing and using batons on women, men, young and old.. The arrests were fast and furious. It would be 5 here, 6 there, 10 there. One day over 700 were arrested with many beaten as OWS attempted to march across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was later learned that Wall Street institutions like JP Morgan donated 4.6 million dollars to NYPD which led to the belief that they had essentially privatized parts of the department. Many of these white shirts were answering to bankers and not the city..

Malik (right) at OWS protest w/ Jasiri X

As we look back on all that transpired since Occupy Wall Street began we talked with Malik Rashaan.. who started Occupy the Hood. He explained how he showed up and showed up at Zuccotti Park on day two, curious as to what all the commotion was all about and anxious to see how  many folks who looked like him were participating. Not seeing all that many, Malik started Occupy the Hood and maintained a strong presence down at Zuccotti..

During our interview, Malik gives an insightful, brutally honest assessment of what he experienced. He talks about the early growing pains as well as the strengths of OWS and its short comings.

He recounts the early days of OWS and explains whether or not he feels it lost focused..He goes into detail about the struggles around race, gender and class.. he talks about the intense debates around strategy..He said there were many fault-lines and many egos..Malik describes OWS as a church, where everyone comes but the pastor and many in the congregation don’t do the right things..

Listen to our Intv w/ Malik from Occupy the Hood
By Clicking the link Below

He also talks about the myth surrounding OWS being leaderless.. He weighs in on the Jay-Z- Russell Simmons controversy where Jay-Z called OWS Un-American. Malik talks about how cats from the hood perceived OWS especially after he brought them to Zuccotti.

Malik talks at length at some of the many things OWS accomplished and where he sees things headed..He talks about the new approaches he sees many Occupies taking. He also talks about the strength of of Occupy in other cities.. Oakland and Detroit are two that come to mind..

Russell Simmons Responds to Jay-Z w/ a Stinging Open Letter About Occupy Wall Street

In recent days a firestorm erupted around rap star Jay-Z when he was quoted as saying he thought Occupy Wall Street was ‘Un-American’ when it demonized the 1%…

Jay-Z went on to state that he didn’t get down with the Occupy Movement because he didn’t know anything about it’s goals. Many of us found this to be a bit odd since Jay-Z had embroiled himself in a controversy last year when he announced that he would be making Occupy Wall Street t-Shirts, but he had no intention of sharing the loot with OWS.. Russell Simmons who is friends with Jay-Z noted that he talked with him about it..Eventually Jay-Z released a t-shirt line called Occupy All streets.  Its with tht in mind we found Jigga’s remarks about not knowing about OWS’s goals.. The other day Simmons set the record straight witha public response to Jay-Z’s NY Times interview.. Here’s the open letter which first appeared in Global Grind..

-Davey D-

Jay-Z Is Right 99 Times, But This Ain’t One By Russell Simmons

Russell Simmons

As a person who cares deeply about Occupy Wall Street, I have to honor their year-long effort and educate my long-time friend, Jay-Z. This weekend, he was interviewed by the New York Times where he discusses OWS, where he was quoted as saying “I’m not going to a park and picnic, I have no idea what to do, I don’t know what the fight is about. What do we want, do you know?” If he understood it and endorsed the movement, it would make a big difference to poor people. As the same man that said he would pay more taxes if it helped educate more children and create affordable healthcare, Jay-Z’s words matter. He was honest enough to say that he didn’t understand it. A lot of Americans don’t. He was also honest enough to recognize that there are some in the 1 percent who “deceiving” and “robbing,” so I know in his heart he gets it. I know he is a compassionate person who cares about the poor, so I’m certain if I had two more minutes with him, I could change his mind.

I went to Zuccotti Park, the home-base of the Occupy Wall Street movement, almost everyday for months. I listened to the young people talk about their 99 problems. The 99 percent. Healthcare reform. Prison industrial complex. The war machine. Bad schools. Lack of access to affordable higher education. Genetically modified food. Gay rights. Immigration reform. Crumbling housing projects. Climate change. Everyday, there was a new protester with a new sign, fighting for the rights of the under-served. There was never an official agenda or media-friendly talking points. Zuccotti Park and the Occupy camps that sprung up around the country were places for any and every person to come and share ideas about how to better perfect our union. Our democracy.

I would agree that for many it was hard to understand the purpose of the movement if you did not attend any of the General Assemblies, or march hand-in-hand with the millions of protesters around the country. The months during the height of the beginning of the movement were unlike anything we had seen before in our nation. A protest led by no one, but always led by leaders. Organized through social media, yet no organization at the forefront. This was a true people’s campaign.

If we look back at the accomplishments thus far of Occupy Wall Street, there are many. For one, the national conversation that preceded September 17th, 2011 was dominated by a manufactured political fight in Washington to raise the debt ceiling and avoid a credit default. Within the first weeks of OWS, the conversation had been changed to the real issue that is eroding America; economic inequality, a topic that hasn’t been discussed for decades. Within the first few months of OWS, the conversation evolved into an examination of how Wall Street’s money has destroyed our political system and took control of our democracy. The prison industrial complex, lower taxes for the rich, the outsourcing of jobs, Wall Street running rampant, poisonous foods for our children, even some wars and almost everything that disempowers the poor, is a result of money passing from lobbyists and corporations to our politicians. And that is what Occupy Wall Street is fighting against. It is a sad state that the politicians work for the people who pay them, not for the people who elect them. That is not democracy.

f you look at the current Presidential election, Money Mitt Romney and his buddies are spending 12 times that of President Obama in special interest money and/or Super PACs. Money Mitt is clearly being manipulated by big corporations and folks who can write $10 million checks. The man changes his position every three days. When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizen’s United, our democracy sign was placed on the front lawn with big red letters: FOR SALE! I am encouraged by President Obama’s support of using a Constitutional Amendment as an option to return our democracy back to the people. This will be his legacy issue. I am sure of that. And without the pressure of Occupy Wall Street, this conversation might never have happened.

So, Jay, here’s the deal. You’re rich and I’m rich. But, today it’s close to impossible to be you or me and get out of Marcy Projects or Hollis, Queens without changing our government to have our politicians work for the people who elect them and not the special interests and corporations that pay them. Because we know that these special interests are nothing special at all. In fact, they spend millions of dollars destroying the fabric of the black community and make billions of dollars in return. For example, the prison lobby paid politicians to create a so-called “War On Drugs” that resulted in a prison economy that disproportionately locks up black and brown people, including many of your friends and mine. They took drug-infected, diseased people, locked them up, educated them in criminal behavior and dumped them back into our community, thus producing a jail culture for our streets. There are more black people under correctional control (prison, jail, parole, probation) today, than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War. This is just one issue that has been bought and sold. If we have to occupy Wall Street or occupy All Streets to change the course of direction of this nation, then we must. We must take our democracy off the market and let the world know that it is no longer for sale! Mic check!

Your Friend,

~Russell Simmons 

Read more: http://globalgrind.com/news/jay-z-right-99-times-aint-one-blog-russell-simmons#ixzz26Q5i8uUT