You know it had to happen.
What better place could there be for the great unwashed to protest? Gotta love the dead green tree growing out of the Earth. Here’s their message:
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#OccupyCop17: Climate Justice General Assembly
Governments of the world are, for the 17th time, assembling to discuss how we react on an international scale to a changing climate. During these last 16 years a sane response to an unsustainable global culture has not been found.
Inside their assembly and inside their declarations the needs of the 99% are not being heard. Private corporations are occupying our seats in the UN climate talks and governments corrupted by corporate influence are claiming to represent our needs.They are abusing and pillaging the consensus process, once put in place to ensure even the smallest and most vulnerable had a say.
We, as a planet, have been shown we can no longer rely on the same structures that have allowed for famines, floods, hurricanes and massacres to escalate relentlessly. There is a historic responsibility, and a global necessity for action.
Here in Durban, where Nelson Mandela cast his first vote and Gandhi held his first public meeting, we’re putting out an invitation to anyone who wishes to have their voice heard: to join a dialogue of how we must react to ensure the present culture of 1% of the worlds population does no injustice to the future of the 99%.
On Monday, November 28th at 11am, as representative from 192 nation-states begin their talks, we will also meet.
This a humble invitation for all, to come and engage in an open and peaceful General Assembly around the theme of climate justice.
In the spirit of general assembly’s from around the world we will talk, we will listen, we will learn, and we will respect each other through our process.
This is what democracy looks like.
It is time our voices were heard.
It’s time to #OccupyCop17
General Assembly
11am Monday 28th November
Speakers Corner
Walnut Rd/Bram Fischer Rd
Durban, South Africa
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I like this idea, in fact I think all “occupy” folks should immediately go to Durban, occupy the place, and stay there as long as it takes.
@ur momisugly H.R. says:
November 27, 2011 at 2:38 pm
I wonder what the jails in Durban are like; 1-1/2 Stars? 1/2 Star? No Stars at all?
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A little dated, but likely still accurate. Not nice places to be: http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No64/Chap5.html
Prison policy and the development of private prisons
The average prison in South Africa is forced to accommodate up to twice its intended capacity. In the larger prisons, many of the cells intended for 18 are crowded with 50 to 60 inmates. Often, there are not enough beds or blankets and new arrivals must soon learn to align themselves with powerful gang members in order to obtain the basic necessities.
The food provided is also substandard. Usually, a prisoner in South Africa is given breakfast of mielie pap and then dinner and lunch are combined into an afternoon meal at 15h00. This meal usually consists of ground fish meal and several slices of bread. Meat, fruit, and vegetables are scarce, and the food that does arrive at the prison is often smuggled and stolen so that it can be sold to the highest bidder. Most prisoners are poor and so the medium of exchange becomes sexual favours. This results in victimisation, if not outright assaults, between prisoners and the situation is only made worse by increasing overcrowding and decreasing availability of basic provisions.
The Department of Correctional Services is aware of the problems and challenges faced by the prison system. The department has recognized that the rehabilitation of offenders should be a primary function, but also remains aware that this goal is difficult, if not impossible, to attain given the current situation of overcrowding. The department has adopted several strategies to attempt to deal with overcrowding, including the construction of more prisons. However, the government is also aware that it is impossible to build itself out of the overcrowding problem. In addition to providing more and better facilities, DCS is exploring options such as electronic monitoring and early release of those sentenced for petty offences.
The image at the top of the article is not displaying. Looks like you posted the image contents, instead of a link to the image. I don’t know which browsers support that.
There’s much made of “consensus” these days. Why? What great discoveries, inventions, innovations, accomlishments on the fields of sport or battle, have been accomplished by consensus? Mandela and Gandhi were individuals. They led as individuals. Mandela sat in prison by himself. There was ni consensus behind these great people at the time. Consensus didn’t inspire them to craft a vision and lead.
Is “consensus” the new “communism”?
Let them do it , frankly who would care , and oddly some of those behind Durban would be grateful as it gives them a easy-out for why these events it total fail (again) I can almost hear them saying , ‘if only the protestors had not turned up ‘
@Curiousgeorge says:
November 27, 2011 at 2:59 pm
[re S. African prison conditions]
Oh… smelly, overcrowded, lack of food and sanitary conditions, intimidation, sexual predation… so how is that any different than what the OWSers are experiencing now? Seems to me they won’t figure out they’ve been moved from the park for at least a couple of months. ;o)
David L:
“There’s much made of “consensus” these days. Why? What great discoveries, inventions, innovations, accomlishments on the fields of sport or battle, have been accomplished by consensus?”
My experience of it with these folks is that it ensures the rise of the lowest common denominator. Something the same people usually rail against.
Please could COP-18 be held at the most logical centre for the alarmist cause: Amundsen-Scott Base? I’d love to see just how many advocates of ‘climate justice’ would be willing to Occupy 90S and set up Climate Camp. They’d be able to witness at first hand just how rapidly the polar ice caps are melting.
Anyone just going out there may be some time…
Anybody notice that when you prefix ‘Justice’ with some modifier like ‘Social’ or ‘Climate’ it usually manages to reverse the sense of the original word?
@ur momisugly H.R. says:
November 27, 2011 at 3:31 pm
@ur momisuglyCuriousgeorge says:
November 27, 2011 at 2:59 pm
[re S. African prison conditions]
Oh… smelly, overcrowded, lack of food and sanitary conditions, intimidation, sexual predation… so how is that any different than what the OWSers are experiencing now? Seems to me they won’t figure out they’ve been moved from the park for at least a couple of months. ;o)
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Good point. 🙂 About the only thing they likely won’t get is media coverage.
Well, I’ve been told that Justice is to Social Justice as Chair is to Electric Chair.
LearDog says:
November 27, 2011 at 2:39 pm
What the heck is Climate Justice?
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That is real simple. It is a return to feudalism with “us” serfs (or dead) and them as lords.
That is a return to 1800 for most of us while the elite and their pets can remain in the 21st century and live like kings. The energy consumption in the USA in 1800 is actually higher than what some consider “Sustainable.” That is reducing civilizations CO2 output by 80%.
Note that Maurice Strong specifically stated WHO this is aimed at.
An 1800 level society means the return to 250-300 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of wheat from 5 acres vs the 3 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels of wheat from 3 acres we have now. This means we will have to make some major cuts in the population and most (70% to 90%) people will be required to do hand work on the farmland that is being bought up by “investors”
But do not worry, the plan is progressing nicely with the genocides in Africa to be followed by those in South America and then what is now called the Western first world countries.
I would dearly love to say this was sarcasm but it is not. The “conversation” is here including the civilization at the level of 1800.
http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/45086#comment-380264
http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/45086#comment-380871
http://blogs.dailymail.com/donsurber/archives/45086#comment-383055
Nuclear and Hydro the only viable “Outs” are of course not considered an options.
To any US citizens traveling to South Africa for the Occupy: Durban protest:
If you get any friction from the local fuzz, just tell them you are asserting your First Amendment rights. The pigs will be deterred by your impressive legal knowledge and your mellow won’t be harshed.
I agree with Hugh: They have a right to assemble and voice thier concerns. Even if they don’t have a coherent message, which they usually don’t. All they know is that they have been swindled and lied to. They occupy because the people who sit in the thrones at Durban don’t have a single ounce of empathy in thier veins. The elite don’t listen to anyone, because they absolutely don’t care about anything but money and power. That is why these conventioners can’t get anything done: Greed does not share opportunity.
The Occupiers have demonstrated that they do share, and they freely grant the opportunity for others to speak.
We have been occupying the Ivory Towers ourselves, just not in a campout scene.
Our message has been to question and scrutinize relentlessly.
Somebody got emboldened inside the Towers of Secrecy, and that’s how we got Climategate I & II.
Let the outraged Occupiers occupy Durban by camping out.
We will continue to occupy the phony Climate Change meetings and PolyScience Agendas our way.
If I had a science value for the Occupiers to take up in Durban, it would be this: Do No Harm.
What value would you offer to the Occupiers?
These protesters are just like politicians who are often heard saying, “The American people want…yada yada yada”, as if said talking head knows me and is referring to what I want. As soon as I hear that phrase, I vow to not vote for the talking head who utters that despicable catch phrase. That these protesters say they know what the 99% want and need puts them in the same black kettle as the politicians they like to hate.
I hope that South Africa still carries the offence of Riotous Assembly on its books…..
Dear Moderators,
The image at the beginning of the post isn’t loading, apparently the “dead green tree” of the text. I only noticed it should be there when the outline frame briefly showed up on a reload. When I did a quick right-click View Image, I got this URL for the image:
http://www.wattsupwiththat.com/2011/11/27/climate-craziness-of-the-week-occupy-durban/image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAA….
with the end being a LONG string of apparently-random junk. Did the image somehow merge with the URL?
Dear Moderators,
Thanks, the image is loading now.
Two things (even though I am WAAY late on this topic)
* Please don’t leave the occupy COP guys here. We have enough crazies in South Africa. With the influx of delegates attending COP we may have reached an all time high. Saddened that my country is hosting this farce.
* The “dead green tree” is reminicent of the baobab tree which has no flowers or leaves for more than half the year being a species found in arid environments. So it’s not dead. It’s not really green either but then nothing about this conference really is.
I suppose we, the taxpayers, are paying these layabouts to travel the world protesting. About time they got a real job and started paying tax like the rest of us.
A new term enters the climatological lexicon- ‘Oxfamished’.
http://www.news.com.au/business/breaking-news/climate-set-to-worsen-food-crises-oxfam/story-e6frfkur-1226208094974
Which broadly translated means hungry enough to eat an ox and at Occupy Melbourne the ‘food working group’ has already felt mighty threatened and had to move to safety, so be warned about attending Occupy Durban with so many international, voracious, feral mouths out there-
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/the_food_working_group_is_not_safe1/
Trust me these people will show up anywhere, anytime and swallow anything!
“Occupy Durban”:
I wish I could go with a big sign ” CO2 induced Global Warming only lives in a computer model”. Of course, I would be the first one beat up, arrested and hung by the “freedom loving” other 99%ers. But since I’m part of the 53% that pay taxes, I don’t have the money nor the time to go.
Bad luck Inkwe, but it would appear it’s Durban’s turn to once again demonstrate the supreme wisdom of Blair’s Law-
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Blair's+law
Fast approaching an axiom with these climate gatherings.
Hugh Pepper,
“/Dave Johnson says “Who elected these …..folk to represent the 99%?” The an swer is no one elected them, just as no one elected our own foreparents who protested injustice in France and Britain and in the US (think Tea Party).”
But weren’t our illustrious (and courageous) forebears protesting against exploitation of the poor? Weren’t their struggles directed towards the goals of a) franchesing working people and b) ensuring working people receive a fair deal in an economic environment that routinely discriminated against them?
By some delicious irony, these eco-loons who are amout to descend on Durban (God help the Durbanese!) are struggling to achieve the exact opposite: to disenfanchise working people by concentrating economic decisions in the hands of noble cause technocrats, and to divert wealth from poor people to the wealthy by way of ETS and other subsidies.
So Dave Johnson is quite right with his rhetorical question. Not only did nobody appoint these anti-democracy zealots, but nobody wants them there.
Vince, I think you have a very good point, not well put but hey, the point is there. Good job!
The ‘dead green tree’ is actually a rather miserable example of a baobab. If you check ‘Google images’ for Baobab tree, you will see a good cross section. Many of them look dead. That is their defence against hot and dry conditions. They remain very much alive. While they are seldom-seen foreigners in our area (Durban), I was looking at one just this morning, in full leaf, directly opposite where we had parked at a near-by shopping centre.
In fact, if you follow this link you will see how a truly impressive baobab has been put to exceptionally good use. http://www.flickr.com/photos/10063954@N00/1171155631/
Geoff Alder
WOW! That’s impressive. Do you have any idea how old it is?
Nothing pisses me off more about these occu-tards than their assumption that I would ever want to be part of their 99%. Financially I supposed I fall into their piece of the pie chart but ideologically, spiritually, morally and odorously I surely do not. What a bunch of useless useful idiots.
I couldn’t have said it better myself, oh wait, I did just nobody listened. Good job, I heard you!