Before Occupy Wall Street, I had followed livestream news - you likely did, as well - except it was usually big breaking news on CNN, or MSNBC and a headline would say "Watch live here." Now there are at least as many livestreamers are there are occupy movements in the nation, and since I've been here at Crooksand Liars' OccupyAmerica site, there have been times when I've been keeping my eyes on up to six different streams simultaneously. The livestreamers are worlds apart from our msm's livestreamed news, there are no edits, no scripts, and you always see the truth in their news.

As our own Tina Dupuy writes in a new article at Alternet, "You can sum up livestreamers as those who came to protest and stayed to tell the story. They’re armed with a smart phone, an app and an audience of people at home watching every frame."

Dupuy points out that as Occupy has evolved, that caught in the middle of the debate over peaceful protests vs. diversity of tactics are the livestreamers. What you see on their livestreams are events exactly as they happen. You can't control what everyone is doing while you're filming. If police throw tear gas at protesters, you'll see it live, and by the same token if an occupier throws a bottle or a brick at police that's what you'll see as well. “People are tired of being lied to by the media,” Tim Pool tells Dupuy, and adds, “Transparency is paramount.”

The important moments - and they are countless - of the occupy movement that are captured by the livestreamers are what their new-found profession are all about. The moments that will become part of history, and re-told for generations to come. Events that might not even be believed if it weren't for the citizen journalists.

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When: Wednesday, August 8th 2012, 5-7pm
Where: Gracie Mansion (88 E End Ave, NYC)
RSVP on Facebook | #OccupyGracieMansion

The 1% mayor of NYC is so sure he can buy anything and anyone, as easily as he bought the office of mayor, including an unprecedented third term.

In his attempt to transform our city into his own 1% fantasy land, he has created a police state: where minority citizens are daily terrorized with stop and frisk; where only the most healthy, wealthy and white are welcome, and the “unwanted” are driven out of their homes and neighborhoods; where peaceful protesters are attacked with pepper spray and batons, and brutally evicted from lovingly built unique realizations of true democracy.

The 1% mayor has shown nothing but contempt for the disability community, has stomped on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and bought high-placed defenders of corporate-power in order to use our law against us in court.

On Wednesday, August 8th, will you swallow the 1% mayor's lie that he wants to honor the ADA, play along with his hypocrisy, forget your dignity and disability pride? Or will you join the Disability Caucus of Occupy Wall Street and let the 1% mayor know we cannot be bought for a hamburger and a pat on the head?

Schedule:
5:00: Sound Demo (Bring your own drum/ noise maker)
5:30: People’s Picket (Bring your own protest Sign)
6:00: Community Feast (Bring your own favorite dish)
7:00: Sleepful Protest Planning Session (Bring your own sleeping bag)

This is a non-violent protest action open to all who are angry about the mayor's 1% policies, which continue to marginalize New Yorkers of all backgrounds.

Via OccupyWallSt.org:

Legendary punk rocker Jello Biafra has written a new anthem for the Occupy movement. We at OccupyWallSt.org wholly encourage supporting Jello's radical genius by paying what you can!

SHOCK-YOU-PY! is my own tribute about the Occupy movement. It's called SHOCK-YOU-PY! because I come from the side of resistance that has a soft-spot in my heart for pranks and creative sabotage of the non-violent variety. Not everyone involved will totally agree with that, but I like when protests incorporate theater. I realize not all resistance is going to be fun and games, but it should be (whenever possible) uplifting and a celebration of the fact that we are raising awareness and fighting against runaway dictatorship, looting by large corporations, and people who have so much money they can't figure out what to do with it all (which is Occupy's main goal.)

SHOCK-YOU-PY! is meant to be a sing-a-long song that can be played acoustically at protests, at least most of it can. I was torn between making it completely a sing-a-long song or the usual skull-crushing Guantanamo School Of Medicine type-song, so we mixed it and re-mixed it a lot. The forthcoming EP has the sing-a-long version on it. There is also the rock-a-long version where the electrified guitars are considerably louder which is exclusively available on bandcamp. I had trouble making up my mind between the two. I liked the warmth and the spirit of the sing-a-long version but the rock-a-long version - with the guitars really loud - sounded best in my car.

Since it takes a few weeks to get CDs and vinyl made especially before the Fall rush, we are throwing SHOCK-YOU-PY! up now before it's mastered. And for this download you have freedom of choice - weigh-in, pick your favorite, tell your friends. There will be a 3rd mix of SHOCK-YOU-PY! that is the best of both worlds which will be on the full-length album.

SHOCK-YOU-PY! is part of a larger project from the Guantanamo School Of Medicine's new album called White People and the Damage Done which is not going to be out in time before the election. It will probably be out in either November or in January, I'm not sure which yet. We thought we would throw SHOCK-YOU-PY! up immediately for people who are willing to help us out (please! please! please!) You can pay for the song otherwise it's going to be spread around anyway and it is meant to be spread around. Anyone who wants to put it on an Occupy comp can. I am way in debt trying to record this album and our label is struggling to survive so we are hoping that people will be willing to throw down to check out the song.

And what does this say about Occupy as a whole? It says that it is a ground-up movement that doesn't have central-planning and some people would think not enough planning. Who knows where Occupy will be in a year, it may even have a completely different name but what it means to me is the resurrection, rebooting, reigniting and strengthening of the spirit of Seattle which was the first outbreak of mass-protest against corporate rule and recognizing it as such in the mainstream media. That is going to go on because more and more people are losing their jobs while climate collapse gets even worse (witness all the droughts and fires, especially in my home state of Colorado.) I don't think the Occupy movement in spirit is going to go away, quite the opposite.

See below for lyrics:

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The city of Cleveland will not renew Occupy protesters' permit allowing a permanent encampment. The group has maintained an encampment in downtown Cleveland since October of last year.

Cleveland Mayor Jackson's chief of staff, Ken Sillman, said that the decision not to renew the permit was made before the FBI's arrest of five men who planned to blow up an Ohio bridge.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio questioned the timing of the permit revocation, saying it was concerned Jackson's announcement was an attempt to connect the entire Occupy movement to the bomb plot.

"Individuals are responsible for their own actions, not the groups they affiliate with," ACLU of Ohio Legal Director James Hardiman said in a statement. "City officials should not be in the business of condemning an entire group of people based on the actions of others."

Bill Dobbs, a spokesman for Occupy in New York, also said the arrests have nothing to do with the Occupy movement that began last fall.

"This incident has nothing to do with Occupy Wall Street, which explicitly stands for non-violence," he said. "Before there's a rush to judgment, facts need to come out. Those charged are entitled to a fair trial and due process."

[Via, Via]

Streaming live video by Ustream

Tim Pool is livestreaming in Lower Manhattan anticipating trouble from the NYPD again tonight. After a scuffle in the street, a "white shirt" begins randomly picking out people and the arrests are underway.

Update 1: Ten arrests so far this evening, we only know that those arrested were cited for noise violations, for a total of 14 for the day. The police also designated a certain area of the sidewalk as a "sensitive" area, are protesters are to stay away from that area. Things seem calm, a few white shirts walking in the street, protesters watching, it seems like a stand off at the moment. NYC residents who were visiting the Occupiers are still in the area.

Update 2: Someone in the Occupy group yells "mic check," which quickly brings a white shirt over to the group to warn about noise level in a residential area.

Streaming live video by Ustream

Earlier today, the NYPD disrupted and arrested Occupiers who had been sleeping on the sidewalk in a "sleepful protest" for the past week. Lawyers are advising that sleeping on the sidewalks is indeed legal, but surprise *cough* the police disagree.

From a report in NY Magazine earlier today:

The first arrest took place on the east side of the street, just before 8 a.m., when an officer grabbed a large piece of cardboard from a man.

“That’s my cardboard,” the man said, trying to grab it back.

“You’re going to resist?” the officer said before arresting him. A few feet away, officers arrested a woman sitting on a curb.

Moments later, an officer placed a video camera close to the face of a man walking on Nassau Street. The man swung a bag toward the lens and the officer punched him in the face, then arrested him. A fourth arrest took place on Wall Street.

On his birthday and in the spirit of Dr. King's vision for racial and economic equality, peace, and non-violence, Occupy Wall Street is holding candlelight vigils to unite our world in a global movement for systemic change.

"Wherever we may be, whether in our homes, in city squares, online, Occupies, or at work, we lift a beautiful message high above the political dialogue. We light the dream of a more equitable world in our hearts. We can overcome!"

If you're in NYC for this event on Jan.15th, oh, what a time you'll be having! Patti Smith, Yoko Ono and many more are slated to appear, per the press release:

At 6:30 p.m. hundreds of Occupy Wall Street activists will assemble on the steps of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Avenue) and at 7:00 p.m. begin a massive candlelight march to nearby Riverside Church (490 Riverside Drive). The group will join additional feeder marches and members of the community at Riverside Church for a candlelight vigil and celebration renewing King’s message of peace, justice, and equality for all, regardless of race or economic class. The action will culminate in an assembly featuring performances and speak-outs from artists, celebrities, religious leaders, and activists. Performances by Patti Smith, Steve Earle, Stephan Said, and Kozza Olantunji, as well as many more, will complement the inspirational words of Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Yoko Ono, Russell Simmons, Reverend Stephen H. Phelps, Daisey Kahn, Norman Siegel, Sumumba Sobukwe and Malik Rhasaan of Occupy The Hood.

And if you're aren't able to attend, you can still be a part of this special day via a number of creative means:

Like the Facebook page and share with your friends.
Follow @J15global on Twitter.
Call a friend and make a plan to light a candle together.
Organize a vigil on your block or in your town.
Return to Facebook to post your ideas and see what others are planning.

Dr. King said "A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and say: 'This is not just.' "