Occupy Calgary/Do Not Merge

[Regular_John]

These occupy folks still don't get it.

Following city bylaws & holding a vibrant public forum (hey wait... is that just a fancy rewording of protest?) are not mutually exclusive events.

You can come downtown every day and hold a public forum.

Nobody is stopping you, but it does require the commitment from you to get out of bed each day and declare that traveling to the core & taking part in such an exercise is the best use of your time. Likewise at the end of the day you need to get back on the train/bus/bike and head home and evaluate if your day was well spent.

And there in lays the real kicker, it's more work to justify to yourself each day that going to that location is a good use of your time than it is to wake up there every morning and go with the flow.

[old-fart]

Ah, that was good for a laugh. They want a "Thoughtscape" ...

But, that's just the demands of "some of the members of Occupy Calgary", so... like 6 of them? In a city of 1.2M?

Ya, we really should spend more time paying any attention to these hippie morons.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Following city bylaws & holding a vibrant public forum (hey wait... is that just a fancy rewording of protest?) are not mutually exclusive events.

You can come downtown every day and hold a public forum.

Nobody is stopping you, but it does require the commitment from you to get out of bed each day and declare that traveling to the core & taking part in such an exercise is the best use of your time. Likewise at the end of the day you need to get back on the train/bus/bike and head home and evaluate if your day was well spent.

And there in lays the real kicker, it's more work to justify to yourself each day that going to that location is a good use of your time than it is to wake up there every morning and go with the flow.

This is a great point. I'd love it if Calgary had something like speaker's corner, and would probably go down there on my lunch break. But a bunch of people camping in the park is ridiculous. It only counts as free speech if you say something, and now they're up to saying "we want to be in the park and say stuff."

[troutman]

Bill Maher has a new rule for Republicans: Stop calling the Occupy Wall Street protesters "hippies."

"Yes, they're peeing outdoors and having sex in sleeping bags, or, as Bristol Palin calls it, 'dating,' but they're not hippies," Maher said on Real Time Friday. "The hippies are all gone."

"They don't want free love, they want paid employment," Maher said. "They don't hate capitalism, they hate what's been done to it, and they resent the Republican mantra that the market perfectly rewards the hard working and punishes the lazy. And the poor are just jealous mooches who want a handout. Yeah, because if there's one group of people who hate handouts, it's Wall Street."

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo...pies-video.php

[CaptainCrunch]

A request for a vibrant - and vital - public forum

A Statement from Some Members of the Occupy Movement in Calgary, Alberta

We Calgarians from various walks of life, who identify with the Occupy movement, using our freedoms of opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and of peaceful assembly and association prescribed by our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, reiterate our right to continue the process of peacefully occupying Olympic Plaza.

Through this ongoing process, we seek a vital and vibrant rejuvenation of the public space at the heart of our cities, communities, and towns, not just in the physical landscape, but in the philosophical space that they symbolize and address. It is in this newly opened “thoughtscape” (editor's note: not a word) where we seek to engage and welcome the broader public, from academics to professionals and workers, and from the disenfranchised to the organized, to this, our city’s vibrant public forum. We ask that this vibrant public forum takes place as an ongoing series of people’s assemblies, workshops, and discussions where education and new knowledge is paramount, issues addressed, and holistic solutions for an emergent, better and more compassionate society are incubated. We ask that this vibrant public forum, vitally takes place now in the central physical landscape of our City Hall, our Central Library, our Epcor Arts Center, our Olympic Plaza, and our surrounding places of worship.

Thus we have and continue to share the public space in the interests of expanding the role of participatory democracy in Calgary, in Alberta, in Canada, and in our emergent society.

It is in this spirit of democratic engagement that we remind ourselves that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms trumps all bylaws, unless it can be shown that there are “such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.” There being no such limit, we continue to invite our fellow Calgarians to help us in developing this vibrant public forum.

This is (Sorry) the most ######ed thing that I've ever seen. Its basically a terrible episode of Friends in that its a request for a forum about absolutely nothing.

Its almost as if these people either have no clue what they want, or they're embarressed by their demands.

I thought that the occupy movement was about the economy, and the seperation of the rich from the poor, not a bunch of hippy bulls%t.

Going down there for this "Vibrant Forum" would be a monumental waste of time, all if would be is more jingoist crap where they read something in some book and have no clear understanding.

All this shows is that these are directionless people wasting thier time and calling attention to their tibetan singing bowl and spirit fingers.

I have a great deal of sympathy for the Occupy Wall Street movement because in the states they have real legitimate economic problems that need to have attention. Even though the Occupy WS is slowly being hijacked by the lunatic fringe I get that.

This one is apparently all lunatic fringe by a bunch of dumb asses who think that they're the re-incarnation of the hippy movement.

They were honestly embarressing themselves yesterday, with their meditation circle and spirit finger applause and their singing bowl.

All they did was play into the perception that they are not living in this century, that they are clueless idiots and this occupy movement has nothing at all to do with the Occupy movement in the U.S.

Grow the hell up, pull down your tents and realize that your degrees in Eastern Philosophy or music sub culture of the San African Continent or whatever makes you think this way do not guarantee you anything.

It took you morons 3 weeks to buy a white board, and suppossedly three weeks to get a camping strategy.

If you want to make a difference in the world show some knowledge about what your talking about, plug into the political system and volunteer for a candidate that represents your views, or at least talk to them. If you want to b%tch about banking regulations, at least read something on it. If you want to b%tch about the social programs for the homeless don't try to torpedo a deal between the city and the homeless to get cheap housing. If you want to address the growing differences between the rich and the poor, maybe gain an understanding that there's a reason for it and then address that reason, the whole "The world is destroying me because the man is holding me down" is crap.

But going to a city council meeting and waiving spirit fingers and then asking for a vibrant forum about nothing is laughable.

Trying to tell us that your going to educate us, I'm afraid that if I go down there, I'm going to punch someone out when he lays out that the Bilderbrig group or whatever its called is controlling the world bank

Give me a break, quit pooping in the park and go home, take a shower and contribute.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by troutman

Bill Maher has a new rule for Republicans: Stop calling the Occupy Wall Street protesters "hippies."

"Yes, they're peeing outdoors and having sex in sleeping bags, or, as Bristol Palin calls it, 'dating,' but they're not hippies," Maher said on Real Time Friday. "The hippies are all gone."

"They don't want free love, they want paid employment," Maher said. "They don't hate capitalism, they hate what's been done to it, and they resent the Republican mantra that the market perfectly rewards the hard working and punishes the lazy. And the poor are just jealous mooches who want a handout. Yeah, because if there's one group of people who hate handouts, it's Wall Street."

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo...pies-video.php

Oh Bill come up here and take a look at Occupy Calgary, they have spirit fingers.

[woob]

Originally Posted by troutman

Yeah, because if there's one group of people who hate handouts, it's Wall Street."

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo...pies-video.php

Haha, too funny.

[woob]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

<snip>
Give me a break, quit pooping in the park and go home, take a shower and contribute.

CC, I've got to give you credit, you are an epic ranter!

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

Nobody is stopping you, but it does require the commitment from you to get out of bed each day and declare that traveling to the core & taking part in such an exercise is the best use of your time. Likewise at the end of the day you need to get back on the train/bus/bike and head home and evaluate if your day was well spent.

But, but, but that would be like . . . going to work. And nobody wants to do that.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by woob

CC, I've got to give you credit, you are an epic ranter!

I've got a masters degree in putting a boot up a hippies a$$

[CaptainCrunch]

More crap from my favorite Idiot which speaks volumes

tawnee7Tawnee S.
@


@youandeyeareone liquor and cigs taxed enough. Let's try and tax goods specific to 1%

[VladtheImpaler]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

More crap from my favorite Idiot which speaks volumes

tawnee7Tawnee S.
@


@youandeyeareone liquor and cigs taxed enough. Let's try and tax goods specific to 1%

Oh my - I best load up on caviar.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

More crap from my favorite Idiot which speaks volumes

tawnee7Tawnee S.
@


@youandeyeareone liquor and cigs taxed enough. Let's try and tax goods specific to 1%

yes, because liquor & tobacco arean't luxury items at all. Actually come to think of it this is great news. I fully support lowering the tax I pay on booze & cigars.

I have changed my mind, I am joining the Occupy Movement to lobby for the elimination of all tax on liquor and tobacco. My vices should not be taxed so the 1% can enjoy hover cars & mega mansions!

I am the 99%!

... OMG guys, cheaper beer at the saddledome too!

[MarchHare]

I wonder if she also supports cutting taxes on gasoline, another product consumed heavily by the 99%.

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

tawnee7Tawnee S.

@youandeyeareone liquor and cigs taxed enough. Let's try and tax goods specific to 1%

So, her solution is to find things that are enjoyed by the super-rich and tax them heavily because rich people are teh evul!

[zuluking]

Maybe they should have started with:

A request for a vibrant - and vital - public washroom

[Regular_John]

The results are in. The answer is 10.

I'd say these results jive with the group we saw yesterday at the council meeting. A great start by the city would be visiting at 3:00am themselves and confirming which tents are occupied and which are not. Empty tents get removed. It's 3:00am, so their won't be any "oh their just at work right now" excuses.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

More crap from my favorite Idiot which speaks volumes

tawnee7Tawnee S.
@


@youandeyeareone liquor and cigs taxed enough. Let's try and tax goods specific to 1%

So...monocles, private jets, and evil henchmen?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by kirant

So...monocles, private jets, and evil henchmen?

The cost of a butler will skyrocket!

[old-fart]

Originally Posted by kirant

So...monocles, private jets, and evil henchmen?

As long as you don't tax my sharks with fricken laser beams on their heads!