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Fri Nov 18, 2011 at 15:35:42 PM EST
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(It is frightening, but not surprising, that the response has been so brutal. The good news is that it shows that the protectors of the status quo are themselves scared. - promoted by eli_beckerman)
[In this press release, Jill Stein (Green Party candidate for president) expresses serious concern about the federal role in the Occupy Wall Street crackdowns.]
Stein calls for Investigation of Federal Role in Brutal Occupy Wall Street Crackdowns
Responding to reports that security officials within the Obama Administration held meetings with local authorities that led to a brutal national police crackdown on the Occupy Wall Street protests - including flagrant violations of freedom of the press - the Green Party's Jill Stein called for a full investigation of the federal role. She urged that new federal guidelines be established to "prevent the lethal power of post-9/11 militarized security from being turned against the American people."
According to news reports, officials of the FBI and Homeland Security Agency advised mayors and other municipal officials regarding the use of harsh, military-style techniques against people in the OWS encampments. The Federal officials reportedly tutored the municipal officials on ways to find legal excuses for closing down the encampments, on the use of riot police and advanced weaponry, and on techniques for interfering with press coverage of the evictions. |
| jandrews :: Stein calls for Investigation of Federal Role in Brutal Occupy Wall Street Crackdowns |
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Stein, who is seeking the Green Party nomination for President of the United States, issued the following statement:
"Militarization of crowd control and the employment of brutal tactics against unarmed civilians and press are strategies worthy of dictators, not representative government. These actions violate the constitutional right of citizens to assemble freely, speak freely, and be informed by a free press. In combination with the Patriot Act, these policies seriously threaten civil liberties that are the beating heart of American democracy"
"The explosive growth of the Homeland Security apparatus - now funded to the tune of $98 billion annually, and increasingly integrated into local police forces - has provided Washington the ability to orchestrate nationwide police actions against the public and the press. Urgent action is needed to ensure that the federal government cannot use the massive post 9/11anti-terror apparatus against the American people. Programs created under the pretext of protecting American freedoms must not be used to curtail those very freedoms."
"Today I call upon Congress to launch an independent investigation of the role of our Federal security agencies in training, coordinating, funding or otherwise promoting efforts that violate the rights of citizens to assemble and to protest government policies. This investigation should be led by community leaders and by civil libertarians serving in law schools, on the bench, or with the bar, who are untainted by ties to either the Bush or Obama Administrations."
"Such an investigation should be fully independent of the agencies whose actions are in question. This investigation should propose measures that can be taken to protect our freedoms against erosion by the massive new security apparatus now under control of the executive branch."
"The President, as head of the executive branch, bears a responsibility to protect our citizens from infringement of their civil liberties. Should I become President, I would immediately issue an executive order to all federal agencies instructing them, in cases of peaceful assemblies of citizens, to oppose the use of militaristic assaults, intimidation, threats, or brutality. I would order the Department of Justice to stop conspiring against our people - and instead, work with the community to make sure that people's rights are being respected. And I'd ask all agencies involved to ensure that the press is able to report on what happens, because the people have a right - and a need - to know."
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Green Mass Group is an online forum for Green thought and collective action in Massachusetts. It is a community forum for justice, sustainability, democracy and health in the Commonwealth and beyond.
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| Quotes |
"Now, is this the deal I would have preferred? No. I believe that we could have made the tough choices required - on entitlement reform and tax reform - right now, rather than through a special congressional committee process. But this compromise does make a serious down payment on the deficit reduction we need and gives each party a strong incentive to get a balanced plan done before the end of the year. Most importantly, it will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America."
--President Barack Obama on the debt ceiling "deal"
"Despite Democratic control over the White House, despite Democratic control over the Senate, despite overwhelming opposition from the American people, a small minority of the members of the Republican-controlled House have successfully pushed an extreme right-wing agenda onto the American political landscape. It is an ideology which believes that despite the fact that the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and poverty is increasing, all - all of the burden for deficit reduction should rest on working people."
--Independent Senator Bernie Sanders on the debt ceiling "deal"
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Then and Now
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Then...
"Last year Evergreen, a Massachusetts company, agreed to establish their first-ever United States based manufacturing facility here in Massachusetts. They did so, or are doing so, at Devens. They have now agreed and chosen to triple their size at Devens. Their next phase of expansion, right here in Massachusetts, a signature company in a signature sector, and we congratulate all of the folks at Evergreen and look forward to continuing to work with you...
We made a personal commitment to Evergreen for the sake of Evergreen, but also because we wanted to show that there are ways in which state government, in working together with private industry and with the utility companies, could begin to create a different kind of environment, a different kind of business climate here, to grow that sector, and it is happening. It's happening. Evergreen is one of the most prominent examples, but there are a whole host of examples."
--Governor Deval Patrick, April 7, 2008, boasting about state investment in Evergreen.
and Now...
"Evergreen Solar Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday, completing a stunning reversal of fortune for a high-flying alternative-energy company that once seemed to herald a new era for the Massachusetts economy... At its peak, Evergreen employed roughly 900 people locally and attracted more than $50 million in state support, as its stock price soared above $100 a share.
Yesterday, Evergreen's stock closed at 18 cents. The company shuttered its manufacturing plant in Devens earlier this year and now has only 85 employees left. Massachusetts is one of its top creditors, owed $1.5 million in rent."
--Erin Ailworth, Boston Globe, August 16, 2011
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