I'm in Pismo Beach. I used to come here when I was a kid; it was one of the closest beaches, so why not. It was always cold and windy. Frequently foggy. And if I was on the beach with anything the gulls wanted, the gulls would sweep down and hover until I dropped something on the sand for them and they would screech in to get it; one of them would triumph, flying away with whatever it was dangling from its beak.
Never went clamming or watched the grunion run, though.
Enough about me.
It's actually a beautiful day. I'm trying to catch up on news of Oakland, but the internet connection here is slower than dial up, and the only thing I've seen is on CNN, a murky YouTube of tear gas, and a 3 second narration about "refusal to disperse."
From what I was able to learn yesterday, the strike didn't exactly meet hopes -- we won't call them "expectations" -- and the Port was not exactly shut down.
I know next to nothing beyond that.
Meanwhile, NYCGA has (apparently) adopted a significant change in their process and procedures, replacing the 7 day a week General Assemblies with alternating GA's and "Spokes Council" meetings. Additional information aqui.
But accounts differ on whether this measure was actually passed by the General Assembly or not.
If it was, it means there has been a fundamental change in the operations of the NYCGA which will ripple through the whole Occupy Movement, perhaps for the better, perhaps not.
If it hasn't been adopted, then dancing is premature.
From accounts, there was tumult in Seattle last night, too.
Nobody said a Revolution would be easy.
Meanwhile, breakfast awaits in Arroyo Grande.
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Video of the march to the Port of Oakland. News media say "7,000," Occupy Oakland says "20,000" -- the higher estimate looks right to me.
Also, evening shift was shut down.
News has been fragmentary at best.
They posted this over at The Exile:
ReplyDeletePhoto: This Is What Occupy Oakland Port Looked Like
I don't know how successful it was, but this photo sure looks impressive.
Occupy Oakland is saying that eventually there were 20,000 at the Port, and I'd say from the video that's close to correct.
ReplyDeleteThere weren't as many job walkouts as I'd hoped for, though. So during the daytime activities, there were usually no more than 5,000-10,000; it's still a good turn out, but it wasn't enough to "shut Oakland down."
At first, I thought the Black Bloc stuff might have been done by police provocateurs, but looking over the videos, I don't think so -- these guys were much too skinny! And it was classic Black Bloc stuff. From what I saw, I wondered for a minute whether some of the police infiltrators were actually trying to stop the Black Bloc vandalism.
There will be stories told, that's for sure.
At this point, I think the Revolution is at a serious crossroads. The point was made in Oakland -- this is for real.
Tomorrow is bank transfer day, and CUs around here are staying open late to accommodate all these new members they're expecting. I haven't had an account at a bank for decades, so I can't play. Darn.
But the banks are hearing...
I keep planning to move my money, but I'm expecting it to be a moot point soon, if something doesn't change in my financial situation.
ReplyDeleteBesides, the banks own me, I have so much debt I'll never be free of them. So unless I decide to stop paying my legal loansharks, moving the pitiful sum in my checking account to a credit union is probably kind of a minor event.
CU Day seems to have gone well, all in all. I personally have not had an account at a bank since sometime in the '80's when I maintained a small BofA account and one at Wells Fargo because the S&L we'd been using was... having problems. You might recall the S&L crisis. As soon as the S&L was sold, we moved what little money we had to a credit union where it's been ever since. Never looked back.
ReplyDeleteAs for debt, something tells me that the household debt relief I've been calling for for years will start to appear sometime next year. We're talking a substantial "haircut" for creditors. How it will be implemented, I'm not sure. Given the way this government complicates the mortgage crisis day in and day out, it will not be easy, but something has to be -- and I think will be -- done. The crushing levels of debt being carried by American households will keep the economy in permanent recession unless something is done.
Should have been done a long time ago, long before the banksters' gambling debts were paid off.