Saturday, December 17, 2011
Unicycling to the extreme
Unicycling to the extreme
by RACHEL HERGETT
Seeing a person on a unicycle may bring to mind juggling acts, tightropes and circus tricks. Unicycling, however, has developed a new image over the last decade – as a sport driven by the need to find a new challenge.
“I’m sure there’s people that do it to try out for a carnival or to be in parades,” said Steve Bjorklund, owner of Summit Bike and Ski Shop on South Grand Avenue.
A unicycle hangs in the front window of the shop. Inside, they’ll tell you the store sells a handful in the fall and some as Christmas presents.
The main reason Bjorklund sees people intrigued with unicycling is the challenge, and those who really get into the sport are usually the freestyle and trick skier crowd.
Over the years, unicycling has become more competitive. There are team sports, like unicycle basketball or hockey. There are races, tricks and off-road, or mountain unicycling, known as MUni.
Dansun Martin has been unicycling for more than a decade, specializing in urban trials. Trials involve things like navigating obstacles on the streets, climbing and descending stairs, jumping obstacles and balancing along curbs.
A constantly active person, Martin likes to push his own limits. Trials — which mountain unicycling pioneer Kris Holm described as a “function of technical difficulty over short distances” — provide plenty of ways for him to challenge his skills.
Martin said because he is searching for obstacles and not using the unicycle as transportation, he will often walk and carry the unicycle between tricks.
That doesn’t lessen his workout, though. Apart from the challenge of conquering obstacles, unicycles provide better cross-training than bicycles, Martin said, because the unicyclist uses the body’s entire core to balance.
According to health and exercise website Livestrong.com, unicyclists burn on average 329 calories an hour, and simply riding one “demands fitness, balance and concentration.”
Unlike bicycles, unicycles have no chain. Coasting is not an option.
“The pedals are directly connected to the wheel,” Bjorklund explained. “The whole time you’re riding it you’re doing work."
Martin said riders usually have a keen sense of where their bodies are in space and are able to correct for balance on the single point of contact with the ground on the bottom of the wheel.
“It’s definitely not for everybody,” he said.
While some find the physical challenge of unicycling attractive, others, like Joe Manlove, just like to stand out.
“I think maybe it’s the whole hipster thing,” said Manlove, who uses a unicycle as his primary mode of transportation. “Once something becomes popular, like biking, you have to switch to something else.”
Manlove sold his car and committed to taking one wheel around town. He said the snowy winter doesn’t faze him; it just slows him down a little.
“Make no mistake, I do fall down a lot when it’s snowy,” Manlove said.
He started on a generic cruiser unicycle but upgraded when he sold the car. Now, Manlove rides a downhill-specialized unicycle with a 3-inch thick tire on a 24-inch rim. It also has brakes, which he says are useless in town but are helpful when going down trails.
Manlove said the unicycle’s benefits include the fact that with no handlebars, his hands stay nice and warm in his pockets. Plus, people around town are nicer to him.
“On a bike, people honk because they are angry,” he said. “On a unicycle they honk because they’re happy to see you.”
Though they are not yet a common sight, unicyclists in Bozeman may be happy to know they are not alone.
“I know a dozen who ride in one form or another and know of half a dozen more,” Manlove said.
For those interested in starting out, Martin recommends trying a middle-of-the-line unicycle, something costing around $150. Prices for cycles with lighter frames and modifications can be much higher, Bjorklund said, thumbing through catalogs.
Whatever equipment you choose, be sure to give yourself at least a week to learn the basics and start in a place where you have something to hold on to, like a fence, Martin suggested.
Manlove offered some advice of his own: “Invest in a good pair of gloves. You will land on your hands eventually.”
by RACHEL HERGETT
Seeing a person on a unicycle may bring to mind juggling acts, tightropes and circus tricks. Unicycling, however, has developed a new image over the last decade – as a sport driven by the need to find a new challenge.
“I’m sure there’s people that do it to try out for a carnival or to be in parades,” said Steve Bjorklund, owner of Summit Bike and Ski Shop on South Grand Avenue.
A unicycle hangs in the front window of the shop. Inside, they’ll tell you the store sells a handful in the fall and some as Christmas presents.
The main reason Bjorklund sees people intrigued with unicycling is the challenge, and those who really get into the sport are usually the freestyle and trick skier crowd.
Over the years, unicycling has become more competitive. There are team sports, like unicycle basketball or hockey. There are races, tricks and off-road, or mountain unicycling, known as MUni.
Dansun Martin has been unicycling for more than a decade, specializing in urban trials. Trials involve things like navigating obstacles on the streets, climbing and descending stairs, jumping obstacles and balancing along curbs.
A constantly active person, Martin likes to push his own limits. Trials — which mountain unicycling pioneer Kris Holm described as a “function of technical difficulty over short distances” — provide plenty of ways for him to challenge his skills.
Martin said because he is searching for obstacles and not using the unicycle as transportation, he will often walk and carry the unicycle between tricks.
That doesn’t lessen his workout, though. Apart from the challenge of conquering obstacles, unicycles provide better cross-training than bicycles, Martin said, because the unicyclist uses the body’s entire core to balance.
According to health and exercise website Livestrong.com, unicyclists burn on average 329 calories an hour, and simply riding one “demands fitness, balance and concentration.”
Unlike bicycles, unicycles have no chain. Coasting is not an option.
“The pedals are directly connected to the wheel,” Bjorklund explained. “The whole time you’re riding it you’re doing work."
Martin said riders usually have a keen sense of where their bodies are in space and are able to correct for balance on the single point of contact with the ground on the bottom of the wheel.
“It’s definitely not for everybody,” he said.
While some find the physical challenge of unicycling attractive, others, like Joe Manlove, just like to stand out.
“I think maybe it’s the whole hipster thing,” said Manlove, who uses a unicycle as his primary mode of transportation. “Once something becomes popular, like biking, you have to switch to something else.”
Manlove sold his car and committed to taking one wheel around town. He said the snowy winter doesn’t faze him; it just slows him down a little.
“Make no mistake, I do fall down a lot when it’s snowy,” Manlove said.
He started on a generic cruiser unicycle but upgraded when he sold the car. Now, Manlove rides a downhill-specialized unicycle with a 3-inch thick tire on a 24-inch rim. It also has brakes, which he says are useless in town but are helpful when going down trails.
Manlove said the unicycle’s benefits include the fact that with no handlebars, his hands stay nice and warm in his pockets. Plus, people around town are nicer to him.
“On a bike, people honk because they are angry,” he said. “On a unicycle they honk because they’re happy to see you.”
Though they are not yet a common sight, unicyclists in Bozeman may be happy to know they are not alone.
“I know a dozen who ride in one form or another and know of half a dozen more,” Manlove said.
For those interested in starting out, Martin recommends trying a middle-of-the-line unicycle, something costing around $150. Prices for cycles with lighter frames and modifications can be much higher, Bjorklund said, thumbing through catalogs.
Whatever equipment you choose, be sure to give yourself at least a week to learn the basics and start in a place where you have something to hold on to, like a fence, Martin suggested.
Manlove offered some advice of his own: “Invest in a good pair of gloves. You will land on your hands eventually.”
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Bears don't hibernate
Via video uplink, students learn about bears' winter behavior
By JAMIE KELLY
Bears don't hibernate.
No, no they don't.
They hunker down and they get cozy and they live off their fat for winters at a time, but guess what?
"What they do is called ‘denning,' " said educator Alli Depuy to about 80 kindergartners at Rattlesnake Elementary on Wednesday morning, upsetting - just a bit - the supposed common knowledge held by even adults.
Depuy, an education outreach specialist with East Missoula's Alter Enterprises, appeared almost by magic on a giant screen in a kindergarten classroom via a remote uplink.
From a small studio with a green-screen background, Depuy showed the sea of little kids - they could see her, and her them - the winter sleeping habits of a bruin nestled into his den. Video footage of the bear stretching and sniffing out a rodent encroaching in his den and - gasp! - actually leaving the den pointed to only one conclusion, she told the children.
"Bears do not hibernate," she said. "They slow their bodies down, but they wake up. And they move around, and they even leave their den during the wintertime. So bears aren't really hibernators."
The event was coordinated by the Missoula County Public Schools district and Ryan Alter, owner of the company, which develops and builds high-tech devices for field biologists, including a patented remote bear trap, and records wildlife footage through dozens of field cameras.
The educational wing of the company links students from across North America with Depuy, who delivers classroom lessons from Alter Enterprises' tiny, green-screen-painted studio.
Wednesday's presentation was the first within MCPS, but won't be the last as the district pursues "21st century" education - real life meeting real students in the classroom.
The uplink was a teaching moment not just for the kindergartners, most of whom have been reading about bear "hibernation" from their children's book "Bear Snores On." But it was also a learning moment for the teachers, who themselves discovered that bears do not, in fact, hibernate.
"I learned something new today, too," said kindergarten teacher Emily Endris, after the hourlong presentation.
Using video footage from remote wildlife cameras, including some installed in makeshift bear dens, Depuy showed a skunk making its way into the den as the black bear slept, only to be scared off by the bear's awakening.
The bear also pawed at straw placed in its den, trying to uncover a wayward rodent looking for respite from the winter.
All of it means that bears do not always "snore on," despite what the kindergartners' book says. Sometimes they wake up, stretch for a while, or even leave the den looking for some easy food.
Ryan Alter and his company work with wildlife biologists, government agencies and schools, providing wildlife observation and classroom lessons - from kindergarten to college - for schools across the country.
"This is the culmination of a lot of research and development, and a lot of data collecting," said Alter. "We then put it together for education, kind of packaging it."
The company also has an energy and conservation component, and may also soon connect with schools for art education, as Depuy's background is in art.
Endris, the teacher, was happy that her students got a dose of reality to go along with the story they've been reading about bear "hibernation."
"I think the kids really got into it," she said. "We've been reading this story, so it was fun to see the real animals, along with the fictional story we've been reading."
By JAMIE KELLY
Bears don't hibernate.
No, no they don't.
They hunker down and they get cozy and they live off their fat for winters at a time, but guess what?
"What they do is called ‘denning,' " said educator Alli Depuy to about 80 kindergartners at Rattlesnake Elementary on Wednesday morning, upsetting - just a bit - the supposed common knowledge held by even adults.
Depuy, an education outreach specialist with East Missoula's Alter Enterprises, appeared almost by magic on a giant screen in a kindergarten classroom via a remote uplink.
From a small studio with a green-screen background, Depuy showed the sea of little kids - they could see her, and her them - the winter sleeping habits of a bruin nestled into his den. Video footage of the bear stretching and sniffing out a rodent encroaching in his den and - gasp! - actually leaving the den pointed to only one conclusion, she told the children.
"Bears do not hibernate," she said. "They slow their bodies down, but they wake up. And they move around, and they even leave their den during the wintertime. So bears aren't really hibernators."
The event was coordinated by the Missoula County Public Schools district and Ryan Alter, owner of the company, which develops and builds high-tech devices for field biologists, including a patented remote bear trap, and records wildlife footage through dozens of field cameras.
The educational wing of the company links students from across North America with Depuy, who delivers classroom lessons from Alter Enterprises' tiny, green-screen-painted studio.
Wednesday's presentation was the first within MCPS, but won't be the last as the district pursues "21st century" education - real life meeting real students in the classroom.
The uplink was a teaching moment not just for the kindergartners, most of whom have been reading about bear "hibernation" from their children's book "Bear Snores On." But it was also a learning moment for the teachers, who themselves discovered that bears do not, in fact, hibernate.
"I learned something new today, too," said kindergarten teacher Emily Endris, after the hourlong presentation.
Using video footage from remote wildlife cameras, including some installed in makeshift bear dens, Depuy showed a skunk making its way into the den as the black bear slept, only to be scared off by the bear's awakening.
The bear also pawed at straw placed in its den, trying to uncover a wayward rodent looking for respite from the winter.
All of it means that bears do not always "snore on," despite what the kindergartners' book says. Sometimes they wake up, stretch for a while, or even leave the den looking for some easy food.
Ryan Alter and his company work with wildlife biologists, government agencies and schools, providing wildlife observation and classroom lessons - from kindergarten to college - for schools across the country.
"This is the culmination of a lot of research and development, and a lot of data collecting," said Alter. "We then put it together for education, kind of packaging it."
The company also has an energy and conservation component, and may also soon connect with schools for art education, as Depuy's background is in art.
Endris, the teacher, was happy that her students got a dose of reality to go along with the story they've been reading about bear "hibernation."
"I think the kids really got into it," she said. "We've been reading this story, so it was fun to see the real animals, along with the fictional story we've been reading."
Monday, November 14, 2011
I want to be the third hunter
Hunters attacked by grizzly in Madison County
BOZEMAN- Two men were injured when a grizzly bear attacked them while they were hunting over the weekend in Madison County.
Three men were hunting in a wooded area of the north fork of the Bear Creek near Cameron in the Madison Range on Saturday when they surprised a sow grizzly and two cubs according to Madison County Undersheriff Roger Thompson.
The sow grabbed one of the men but dropped him when his hunting partner yelled. The sow then went to the second man, picked him up and dropped him, then she and the two cubs ran off Thompson reports.
Officials tried to get an Air Idaho airlift into the area, but there were no open places to do so in the heavily wooded area. The men had built a fire and rescuers were able to locate them from the air.
At around 6:30 p.m. Madison County Search and Rescue, Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service entered the area. It took rescuers about 3 ½ hours to get there, Thompson said.
One of the victims, a 16-year-old male from Helmville, suffered a bite to the leg and was unable to walk out. The second victim, a 41-year-old man from Manhattan, suffered a bite to the shoulder. A third man who was with them was not injured. Horses were used to get the injured men out of the area. They were taken to an Ennis hospital.
Thompson did not know if the men had bear spray. He also said there have not been any other reports of bear attacks in this area, but added it was a remote area with not a lot of access.
We have placed a call to Fish, Wildlife and Parks seeking information regarding the future of the bears. We will bring you more information as it becomes available.
BOZEMAN- Two men were injured when a grizzly bear attacked them while they were hunting over the weekend in Madison County.
Three men were hunting in a wooded area of the north fork of the Bear Creek near Cameron in the Madison Range on Saturday when they surprised a sow grizzly and two cubs according to Madison County Undersheriff Roger Thompson.
The sow grabbed one of the men but dropped him when his hunting partner yelled. The sow then went to the second man, picked him up and dropped him, then she and the two cubs ran off Thompson reports.
Officials tried to get an Air Idaho airlift into the area, but there were no open places to do so in the heavily wooded area. The men had built a fire and rescuers were able to locate them from the air.
At around 6:30 p.m. Madison County Search and Rescue, Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the U.S. Forest Service entered the area. It took rescuers about 3 ½ hours to get there, Thompson said.
One of the victims, a 16-year-old male from Helmville, suffered a bite to the leg and was unable to walk out. The second victim, a 41-year-old man from Manhattan, suffered a bite to the shoulder. A third man who was with them was not injured. Horses were used to get the injured men out of the area. They were taken to an Ennis hospital.
Thompson did not know if the men had bear spray. He also said there have not been any other reports of bear attacks in this area, but added it was a remote area with not a lot of access.
We have placed a call to Fish, Wildlife and Parks seeking information regarding the future of the bears. We will bring you more information as it becomes available.
Declaration of Missoula (Occupy Missoula)
Declaration of Missoula
October 27, 2011 the Occupy Missoula General Assembly, by consensus of approximately 45 members approved this draft of the declaration. A reminder that this is yet an alive and evolving document meant to reflect current goals of our community and these well change. We invite further comments, ideas, suggestions and concerns. Amendments can be made. The declaration is included in this post, however for ease of sharing with each other, please leave comments at Occupy Missoula forums. And THANK YOU OCCUPY MISSOULA!
Declaration of Missoula, Draft #8, October 23, 2011
We stand just inside the threshold of a new global paradigm. Top-down decision making by the few over the interests of the many has failed us. Many of us are one accident or illness away from bankruptcy, one pink slip away from homelessness. Isolated within our narrow areas of concern, we have been ignored. Now, joined together, we have forced open a door that politicians, the economic elite, and the corporate media had hoped was securely shut, and we find ourselves, along with hundreds of other communities, on the world stage.
We, the members of Occupy Missoula, are outraged by the injustices perpetrated against all life on this planet by private and giant multinational corporate forces which now exert disproportionate influence over the societies of the world. We believe that concentration of wealth and political power in the hands of a small minority at the top has corrupted our processes of civil, democratic governance: permitting imperialism and war through the misuse of the contributions of taxpayers; wasting and degrading our natural resources for private gain; forcing private costs onto the public at large in the form of pollution and threats to public health; and the manipulation of the justice system to benefit corporate interest with constitutional protections originally intended only for natural persons. One need not look outside Montana for examples of these injustices; the Anaconda Copper Company’s reign over the state still echoes in the recent loss of the Montana Corrupt Practices Act, which defended our state against private economic control over its political representatives. Now, the local water supply is in jeopardy with the proposed sale of Missoula’s water utility to the elite multinational investment firm, the Carlyle Group.
Until now we all have been part of developing the system the way it is. We all let this happen. Today, we are united by our realization that we can no longer silently allow ourselves to be the passive subjects of a political and corporate media system that consistently ignores, trivializes, and misrepresents the reality of our concerns, our histories, and diverse cultures. Only by occupation of the streets and public places can our voices be heard.
We believe that a fair society requires a framework for informed and meaningful participation by all people; and that democracy derives its legitimacy from treating all persons, indiscriminately with social, political, and economic fairness. The people of Occupy Missoula have divergent goals and opinions, but are nonetheless discovering a common bond of respect and responsibility for our collective future. We have chosen a horizontal, consensus-driven model to provide that the opportunity and power to effect change will be evenly distributed amongst all.
Many among the economic elite are using their control over politics and the media in the hope that we will dissolve into our constituent parts and melt back into the woodwork. But we will not compromise our futures. We are fortified by our desire and resolve to work together. Unlike owners of huge corporations, we need not be bound by unsustainable greed. A different world is possible. The outcomes we seek will extend to the limits of our compassion, our integrity will determine each step.
People across the world are realizing that they are no longer served by their political systems, and so must occupy the streets and public places. Our political representatives do not represent us; we must represent ourselves. We will be the authors of our own future.
The general assembly of Occupy Missoula, having declared its purpose, stands in solidarity with Occupy movements around the globe.
———-
All other statements reflect the views and opinions of individuals, unless arrived at through the consensus process at our General Assembly meetings.
Occupy Missoula is in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street:
The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.
We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people•s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *
~To the people of the world,-
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us to make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all inclusive
October 27, 2011 the Occupy Missoula General Assembly, by consensus of approximately 45 members approved this draft of the declaration. A reminder that this is yet an alive and evolving document meant to reflect current goals of our community and these well change. We invite further comments, ideas, suggestions and concerns. Amendments can be made. The declaration is included in this post, however for ease of sharing with each other, please leave comments at Occupy Missoula forums. And THANK YOU OCCUPY MISSOULA!
Declaration of Missoula, Draft #8, October 23, 2011
We stand just inside the threshold of a new global paradigm. Top-down decision making by the few over the interests of the many has failed us. Many of us are one accident or illness away from bankruptcy, one pink slip away from homelessness. Isolated within our narrow areas of concern, we have been ignored. Now, joined together, we have forced open a door that politicians, the economic elite, and the corporate media had hoped was securely shut, and we find ourselves, along with hundreds of other communities, on the world stage.
We, the members of Occupy Missoula, are outraged by the injustices perpetrated against all life on this planet by private and giant multinational corporate forces which now exert disproportionate influence over the societies of the world. We believe that concentration of wealth and political power in the hands of a small minority at the top has corrupted our processes of civil, democratic governance: permitting imperialism and war through the misuse of the contributions of taxpayers; wasting and degrading our natural resources for private gain; forcing private costs onto the public at large in the form of pollution and threats to public health; and the manipulation of the justice system to benefit corporate interest with constitutional protections originally intended only for natural persons. One need not look outside Montana for examples of these injustices; the Anaconda Copper Company’s reign over the state still echoes in the recent loss of the Montana Corrupt Practices Act, which defended our state against private economic control over its political representatives. Now, the local water supply is in jeopardy with the proposed sale of Missoula’s water utility to the elite multinational investment firm, the Carlyle Group.
Until now we all have been part of developing the system the way it is. We all let this happen. Today, we are united by our realization that we can no longer silently allow ourselves to be the passive subjects of a political and corporate media system that consistently ignores, trivializes, and misrepresents the reality of our concerns, our histories, and diverse cultures. Only by occupation of the streets and public places can our voices be heard.
We believe that a fair society requires a framework for informed and meaningful participation by all people; and that democracy derives its legitimacy from treating all persons, indiscriminately with social, political, and economic fairness. The people of Occupy Missoula have divergent goals and opinions, but are nonetheless discovering a common bond of respect and responsibility for our collective future. We have chosen a horizontal, consensus-driven model to provide that the opportunity and power to effect change will be evenly distributed amongst all.
Many among the economic elite are using their control over politics and the media in the hope that we will dissolve into our constituent parts and melt back into the woodwork. But we will not compromise our futures. We are fortified by our desire and resolve to work together. Unlike owners of huge corporations, we need not be bound by unsustainable greed. A different world is possible. The outcomes we seek will extend to the limits of our compassion, our integrity will determine each step.
People across the world are realizing that they are no longer served by their political systems, and so must occupy the streets and public places. Our political representatives do not represent us; we must represent ourselves. We will be the authors of our own future.
The general assembly of Occupy Missoula, having declared its purpose, stands in solidarity with Occupy movements around the globe.
———-
All other statements reflect the views and opinions of individuals, unless arrived at through the consensus process at our General Assembly meetings.
Occupy Missoula is in Solidarity with Occupy Wall Street:
The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power.
We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage.
They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses.
They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation.
They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization.
They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.
They have continuously sought to strip employees of the right to negotiate for better pay and safer working conditions.
They have held students hostage with tens of thousands of dollars of debt on education, which is itself a human right.
They have consistently outsourced labor and used that outsourcing as leverage to cut workers’ healthcare and pay.
They have influenced the courts to achieve the same rights as people, with none of the culpability or responsibility
They have spent millions of dollars on legal teams that look for ways to get them out of contracts in regards to health insurance.
They have sold our privacy as a commodity.
They have used the military and police force to prevent freedom of the press. They have deliberately declined to recall faulty products endangering lives in pursuit of profit.
They determine economic policy, despite the catastrophic failures their policies have produced and continue to produce.
They have donated large sums of money to politicians, who are responsible for regulating them.
They continue to block alternate forms of energy to keep us dependent on oil.
They continue to block generic forms of medicine that could save people•s lives or provide relief in order to protect investments that have already turned a substantial profit
They have purposely covered up oil spills, accidents, faulty bookkeeping, and inactive ingredients in pursuit of profit.
They purposefully keep people misinformed and fearful through their control of the media.
They have accepted private contracts to murder prisoners even when presented with serious doubts about their guilt.
They have perpetuated colonialism at home and abroad. They have participated in the torture and murder of innocent civilians overseas.
They continue to create weapons of mass destruction in order to receive government contracts. *
~To the people of the world,-
We, the New York City General Assembly occupying Wall Street in Liberty Square, urge you to assert your power.
Exercise your right to peaceably assemble; occupy public space; create a process to address the problems we face, and generate solutions accessible to everyone.
To all communities that take action and form groups in the spirit of direct democracy, we offer support, documentation, and all of the resources at our disposal.
Join us to make your voices heard!
*These grievances are not all inclusive
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)