F24, LAX worker protest (Los Angeles International Airport)

The SEIU unions, GoodjobsLA, Moveon.org, Occupy Los Angeles, and others marched through LAX to protest working conditions and terms for our brothers and sisters there employed. There was plenty of support from passing motorists; one passed by honking to the syllables of "We...Are...The 99%"!

(Click twice on any photo to see a large version, then use your browser's Back button twice to return.)







Those in neon vests are with the protest, doing organizing and safety.

Entering the Tom Bradley International Terminal:






The terminal is filled with protesters!





Above view:











We marched out and around the airport, inside and outside the terminals.




At one point, there was a sit-down in the intersection:



My regards to the Captain who was working calmly with the organizers to make it go smoothly, even in a temporarily difficult situation. Kudos for going with the flow so long as it did not become destructive; may more police please see that sometimes things go well when they are allowed, just allowed. Police and protesters alike enjoy being treated with dignity and respect, of course. Thank you!



One of several LAPD Video Unit members. Keep our profiles and data safe now, hear?
And doesn't "CSI" stand for "Crime Scene Investigation"? Was there a crime? Is protesting
considered a crime? What becomes of this data? I'm not comfortable with this.





Screw with us and we'll bring vuvuzelas.







I have not yet seen any video from KTLA, NBC, or others. Telemundo and Channel 34 were there, thank you! Nothing yet from the LA Times.

I'd forgotten to mention that the LAPD copter did a low, slow fly-over at SEIU headquarters, to get an idea of our numbers (the location was of course tweeted, etc.)


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Please help Arturo de los Santos!

From

Occupy San Fernando Valley

FORECLOSURE ACTION ALERT: Fri 2/24, Court orders Sheriffs to Art's home. Please help save Art's house, by joining us or working from your phone...

Please join Art as his last stand becomes a forced standoff with mortgage giant Freddie Mac (see below).

Last week, long-time factory supervisor and Marine Art de los Santos took a stand for homeowners across the country and was arrested, along with supporter Rosanna Cambron from the group Military Families Speak Out, at Freddie Mac’s West Coast headquarters in LA.

This week, the reoccupation of Art de los Santos’ home really heated up. On Tuesday morning, a Sheriffs Notice to Vacate expired as dozens of supporters from ACCE, Occupy Riverside, Occupy LA, and other groups rallied with Art, his wife Magdalena, and their four kids at the house. While supporters and members of the media waited, hour after hour passed by and Sheriffs did not arrive. You can see recent news coverage of Art’s campaign in the Huffington Post, MSNBC.com, and the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
But after days of sidestepping questions about why they won’t work with Art on a loan modification and accept his money, this Friday, February 24, government-owned mortgage giant Freddie Mac will ask a Riverside County commissioner to force Sheriffs to evict the embattled homeowner and his family. Rather than work with Art – who long ago demonstrated that he has the ability to pay – Freddie Mac has apparently decided to have Art and his family removed at all costs. IF GRANTED, THE ORDER COULD TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY AND ART NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT AT COURT AND HIS HOME NOW.

You can support Art in his last stand in four ways:

1. Attend the court hearing: Friday, February 24; 1 p.m. Superior Court, 13800 Heacock St., Moreno Valley 92553
Supporters and media will attempt to ask Freddie Mac’s attorneys why they would rather forcibly evict Art and his family than work with them.
(hearing in Department MVIUD; meeting 12:45 at court main entrance)

2. Stop by Art’s house beginning at 2 p.m. 3270 Layton Court, Riverside 92503 - Stand with Art and his family at the home as they take a stand for American homeowners.

3. Call Freddie Mac CEO Charles "Ed" Haldeman 877-753-0562

SUGGESTED SCRIPT: “Hello, I am calling for Ed Haldeman. I am calling on behalf of homeowner Arturo de los Santos of Riverside. Freddie Klifman Mac needs to stop his eviction and offer him a permanent modification with principal reduction. Do the right thing. Thank you”

4. Call JP Morgan Chase California CEO Peter Barker and 888 342-6441

SUGGESTED SCRIPT: “Hello, I am calling for Peter Barker. I am calling on behalf of homeowner Arturo de los Santos of Riverside. Chase needs to stop his eviction and offer him a permanent modification with principal reduction.

To RSVP, or for questions, please call (213) 272-1141 or e-mail pkuhns@calorganize.org . Thanks!

-------

Recent story on Arturo's struggle:

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/f16-fighting-for-veteran-arturo-de-los.html 

F20: Occupy Skid Row Los Angeles

I must preface by saying that I am not educated about Skid Row. I have only visited, recently, and can only repeat what I have heard. I am not a satisfactory representative regarding being able to discuss it, yet I will attempt to, from my admittedly limited perspective.

Please see a recent update as police are now attacking the Row, and we know who is behind it. June 22, 2012:

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/06/occupy-skid-row-evicted-and-re-occupied.html

Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the world.



Downtown Los Angeles' Skid Row is the last stop for many hit by addiction and even simple chronic unemployment, and the issues of foreclosure scams, and mainly, the sad, disturbing overall lack of opportunity and support in the inner city. There are an estimated 5,000 people living on the streets in this area, in abject poverty. You can easily walk to the Los Angeles City Hall from Skid Row. (Passing City Hall today, I saw several homeless people living in the "park" kitty-corner to City Hall, in plain view of any looking out their window on that side of the building.)

This is not the entirety of the issue.  When I was in college in the mid 1980s, my psychology professor told of Reagan destroying national funding for mental health care. Many in the institutes had no family and no ability to care for themselves. Winter would kill them. Many in charge took the remaining care monies and purchased bus tickets to Los Angeles (specifically, Santa Monica, Regean's home town), so that at minimum, the ill would not freeze to death.

There are an estimated 40,000 total homeless in all of LA County.

What do our elected officials do about this? It is said that you may judge a society by how it treats its weak.

Watch "The Soloist" for one example of how the homeless were forced out of one downtown area so that developers could create lofts and housing for the ritzy. It is a true story.

Look at this link as well:

Villaraigosa quietly plans to hand Gensler $1 million meant for the poor 

"Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has decided to spend $1 million in federal grants — money that had been avidly sought by residents of Skid Row — to instead help out San Francisco–based Gensler, a 2,800-employee giant that enjoyed $463 million in revenue last year."

In other words, Skid Row is to them, both an obstacle and an opportunity to siphon monies. The human element does not enter into the equation. Apparently, not at all. And it gets even worse.

To add insult to injury, legislation far too loosely based upon the "broken window" theory, that a single broken window is like an invitation to rabble-rousers to destroy even more, has been enacted in the form of the "Safer City Initiative". What happens is that police drive past all residents at 6-ish AM and inform them that they must tear down any tents and neither sit nor lay on the sidewalk until the end of the day's curfew.





(Suffice to say, any "clean-up" would only be of homeless persons' property; I did not take any photos of the urine and fecal stains on the sidewalk near these signs, but obviously, they are both old and new and are most definitely not "cleaned-up". As evidenced by the overall aroma. This is not a knock against the homeless, this is a hit against the city, which provided porta-potties for Occupy; why can they not provide the same for those in horrible, desperate need? Hmm? There is plenty of money to pay for police in the area...)

And what happens to your property if you are seeing a social worker, eating, finding a bathroom, etc.? It can be confiscated and thrown away. Even your ID and medication.

You will be arrested if you do not comply with the tent take-down morning order. Occupy the Hood Los Angeles member Bilal Ali was arrested two days ago for just this (he and others have been camping on Skid Row, battling this "law"). And please note that few if any Skid Row residents actually completely pack up and leave each day, at least to this novice's experience; they flatten their tents and stay in place.



This law does nothing to "remove" any supposedly damaging influences or people; all it accomplishes is to demonize and inconvenience those already suffering too much. It removes dignity and human comfort and is unacceptable.

A "No tent take-down day" was declared and Occupy Los Angeles moved into Skid Row, joining Occupy the Hood LA, LA Community Action Network, and others against the SCI.



Per the observations in the Shadowmedia video, a call was put out for attendance from Occupiers and supporters with cameras and video equipment.

Police passed through to rouse everybody:



And they crept by twice an hour or more after that:



Police did at least five passes to observe before sending in the "redskirts", who are evidently hired by the local rich as a private security force. Meaning, they call the cops when they see anything they don't like. Basically, they are corporate enforcers. Corporations and business making law...

TC tells the truth about them to their faces:





The above video also explains about something interesting: a group called Catholic Workers give shopping carts to the homeless and there is law that they be left alone. Thank you Catholic Workers! What you are doing is the real deal! (Click the photos twice for larger versions, then your browser's "Back" button twice to return to this page.)





Offensive presence grew to four redskirts and two police:



When about six redskirts were gathered at the site, police finally left their vehicles to personally address "our leader" (we laughed, as whenever we are asked that question). "Hidden" in a mass of meaningless questions was the kicker: "How long are you considering staying?"



So TC and Jojo explain the situation on Skid Row, and the inner city:



 

The campaign to rescind LAPD Special Order 11:

http://www.stoplapdspying.org

Please note that the homeless on this street DID comply with the take-down order; what goes on when there are no cameras? 

Later in the day, there was a march to the "Twin Towers" incarceration facility to protest inhuman treatment of inmates:

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/02/f20-occupy-solidarity-with-prisoner.html


It was not all tension; Occupy Los Angeles demands to have fun:



A little rock and roll air guitar to accompany the boom box:



Kicking back:







A group of students from Canada dropped by to learn:



And of course:



Check out Occupy the Hood, Occupy the Hood LA, and more on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/OccupyTheHood

https://www.facebook.com/OccupyTheHoodLosAngeles


Check the occupyshadowmediala channel on youtube for reports:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Occupyshadowmediala


Photo slideshow of all pics, more than posted here, mainly of OLA people:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11165691@N03/sets/72157629066081434/show/


And here is a far deeper article than my own, thanks Dan!

http://www.laactivist.com/2012/02/23/a-night-and-a-morning-with-occupy-skid-row/

F20 President's Day OSFV Trials

Occupy San Fernando Valley presented mock trials for Bush and Obama. Thanks OSFV, see you again soon! :)

Damon's (always) great photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohodamon/sets/72157629414169889/

Brian Seligman's complete video:



















"Mona Santo"



With music by The Billionaires:

F20 Occupy solidarity with prisoner rights protests

'Occupy' Protest Held Outside San Quentin Prison

Several groups protested for prisoner's rights and to end solitary confinement today at the Los Angeles "Twin Towers" building.

Livestream by CrossXBones. Some excellent speeches!



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