Occupy Wall Street
Building on WikiLeaks
A trenchant critic of the influence of corporations on political life around the world, Assange has been enthusiastic in his support of the Occupy movement, recently observing that ''the politicisation of the youth connected to internet is the most significant thing that happened in the world since the 1960s. This is something new, a real revolution.''
Move On Tries to Take Over Occupy Wall Street Protests
Top MoveOn leaders / executives are all over national television speaking for the movement. fully appreciate the help and support of MoveOn, but the MSM is clearly using them as the spokespeople for OWS. This is an blatant attempt to fracture the 99% into a Democratic Party organization. The leadership of MoveON are Democratic Party operatives. they are divide and conquer pawns. For years they ignored Wall Street protests to keep complete focus on the Republicans, in favor of Goldman s Obama and Wall Street s Democratic leadership.
Why No One Should Dismiss Occupy Wall Street
The Occupy Wall Street grievances that are motivating people to take action are based on the facts of growing inequality in the United States over the last 30 years. And contrary to sociologist Nina Eliasoph's contention that there's an "emptiness of the message itself so far," all of the protesters complaints point to an overarching set of demands that fall under the themes of greater democracy in our plutocratic and oligarchic political system and greater equality and opportunity in the economy for the "99 percent" of Americans.
Veteran of Mexico City Workers’ Occupation Shares Strategy with Occupy DC
Humberto Montes de Oca, an union leader from the Mexican electrical workers union, Sindicato Mexicano de Electricistas (SME), knows a few things about long-term public occupations to protest injustice. He recently shared some of his knowledge with the activists of Occupy D.C., now nearing the two-month mark at McPherson Square Park in the nation s capital.
Occupy Congress
Conventional politics in the United States focuses on elections, while leftist activists typically argue that political change comes not from electing better politicians but building movements strong enough to force politicians to accept progressive change. Norman Solomon has concluded it isn't an either/or choice. A prominent writer and leader in leftist movements for decades, Solomon is running for Congress in the hopes of being practical and remaining principled.
Why Unions Joined In and What’s Planned for Occupying DC
Last night's "Countdown," guest-hosted by David Shuster, had plenty of great interviews and information on the Occupy Wall Street protests. Shuster spoke with the city's Transport Workers Union president John Samuelsen about why his fellow workers are coming out in the thousands in support of these grassroots protests. The answer: because they are are singing the same song and fighting the same battle." It's the first video below.
Unions lend muscle, resources to Wall St. protests
Poll: 43 percent agree with views of Occupy Wall Street
At top schools, the elite defend right to protest
‘Occupy’ Protestors Building Activist-Only Facebook
For all of the flack the Occupy protests got as just another hippy gathering, the movement did show some potential in its latter stages as showdowns with police became more frequent. To keep the momentum going despite having to vacate the public spaces they temporarily called home, some protestors are building an international social network, dubbed "Global Square," closed off to non-activists.
Second act for Occupy Wall Street: Is it time to come in from the cold
Police sweeps of Occupy Wall Street urban encampments have sent protesters across the country looking for new digs. In a growing number of cities, including New York, Detroit, Oakland, and Los Angeles, that means packing up the sleeping bags and moving indoors to set up ad hoc organizing spaces in places like school auditoriums, unused government buildings, churches, and foreclosed properties.
Occupy owns the Republican nominating contest
Iowa and New Hampshire were disasters for Newt Gingrich, relegated to also-ran status. At that moment, he made a decision: It was what it looks like it was - a full denunciation of Mitt Romney's business record. It was a populist call to arms by someone claiming to represent the 99 percent, against the 1 percent.
To the black bloc “anarchists”, F*** OFF! This is “Occupy”, NOT “Destroy”
The Demographics Of Occupy Wall Street
Tim Pool And Henry Ferry: The Men Behind Occupy Wall Street’s Live Stream
‘Occupy Wall Street’ — It’s Not What They’re For, But What They’re Against
Al Gore backs Occupy Wall Street
Americans blame government more than Wall Street for economy
Occupy’s Next Crossroads
This week kicks off an effort known as "The 99 Percent Spring" by an impressive coalition of groups with solid lefty credentials (labor, Van Jones, MoveOn.org, etc.). The goal is to hold a series of "teach-ins" that will train 100,000 people (half in person, half online) in nonviolent protest techniques.
Meet A Member Of Occupy Wall Street’s Media Team
#OccupyWallStreet Signs And Posters
We Are the 99% portraits taken at Occupy Wall Street by Vanessa Bahmani
President Obama sides with the 99%
Conservatives were quick to accuse President Obama of embracing class warfare in his speech last week in Osawatomie, Kan. And liberal Democrats were thrilled to see a hint of the populist president they had hoped they were voting for in 2008. The polarized reactions suggest that Obama's speech succeeded in one of its goals: to frame the 2012 election as a clear choice between two philosophies, a contest he might be able to win, instead of a referendum on his own unhappy economic record.
I feel sad when I contemplate the future of Occupy Wall Street.
Occupy Aching for a May Day Comeback
I spoke with some academics who question whether a general strike, or a bridge shutdown , make much sense for the movement at this stage. "Tactics don't remain effective - and especially when you are dealing with a huge issue like they are," says Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University professor who studies social movements In Kazin's view, the closest historical precedent to Occupy is the anti-monopoly movement of the late 19th century, when socialists, anarchists, and populist reformers united to bust the trusts. Much as Occupy has embraced social media and live-streaming, the anti-monopolists published hundreds of independent newspapers. But, Kazin adds, they also worked to elect sympathetic politicians. "I think history teaches that when people to the left of liberals are able to advance is when you have people who at least talk about reform in power," he says.
Meet Professor Occupy
When it comes to civil disobedience, there's often a right and wrong way to break the law, and one of Fithian's jobs is to teach the right way to hundreds of newly minted Occupy activists. Call her Professor Occupy. With somewhere between 80 and 100 arrests under her belt (she's lost count) over nearly four decades of rabble-rousing, Fithian may be the nation's best-known protest consultant. Unions and activist groups pay her $300 a day to run demonstrations and teach their members tactics for taking over the streets.
How an Ex-Wall-Street Power Player Embraced the Occupy Movement
As president of the Pacific Exchange in the late 1990s, Warren Langley oversaw the West Coast's biggest financial center, a trading floor where some 17 million shares of stock changed hands daily. Though he served at the pleasure of traders and investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, he is no longer interested in pleasing them. Yesterday, he stood on a hillside in San Francisco's Financial District in front Morgan Stanley's and Goldman Sachs' regional headquarters to declare his support for Occupy Wall Street West, a coalition of 50 groups planning a slew of anti-bank protests Friday.
Missing from Occupy Wall Street: Barack Obama
Does the Tea Party Have a Pulse?
The Branding of the Occupy Movement
America’s ‘Primal Scream’
Wall Street Protests Gain Support From Leading Democrats
China: Treatment of Occupy Movement Protesters Proves US Applies “Double-Standard” in Human Rights Accusations
Beijing on Friday swiftly hit back at Washington s annual report on China s human rights, saying in a report that the US government s crackdown on protesters in the Occupy Wall Street demonstration is the real illustration of American democracy. In the report, Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011, the State Council Information Office demanded the US stop its double standards.
Posters and Materials
Urgent: Winter Donation Needs
It's been dumping snow here in NYC all day, high winds and 3 inches of slush on the ground. With the NYPD and FDNY confiscating six generators on Friday and this unprecedented October snow, those occupying Liberty Plaza in downtown NYC are in need of emergency supplies crucial for cold weather survival (and occupation).
Ron Paul Says He Supports the 99% In Response to Mic Check
Ron Paul has again distanced himself from the mainstream right wing echo chamber and its lock step messaging attacking and defaming Occupy Wall Street. At a recent event, Paul was subjected to the "human mike," where people start by saying "mike check," then repeat words. "we will be heard." When they were done, Paul asked, "Do you feel better?" which brought cheers and standing ovations.
Top Democrats endorse Occupy Wall Street protests
Occupy Wall Street welcomes union involvement in weeks-long rally
Is Obama’s ‘Economic Populism’ for Real
One thing we do know: Obama s decision to tap Schneiderman publicly, and dump Geithner, and whisper about a millionaire s tax, signals a shift in its public attitude toward the Wall Street corruption issue. The administration is clearly listening to the Occupy movement. Whether it s now acting on their complaints, or just trying to look like it s doing something, is another question. It s way too early to tell. But it s certainly very interesting.
Why Rush Limbaugh Is Freaking Out About Occupy Wall Street
Why Occupy Wall Street is Bigger Than Left vs. Right
I was amazed to wake up this morning and find that various right-wing sites had used private email exchanges to build a story about a conspiracy of left-wing journalists. This whole episode to me underscores an unpleasant development for OWS. There is going to be a fusillade of attempts from many different corners to force these demonstrations into the liberal-conservative blue-red narrative.
The revolution will not be patronized
When it comes to political process, Occupy has never taken the easy route. In eschewing representative politics, the movement is partly characterized by its commitment to consensus-based horizontal decision-making models. It s arduous - meetings last for hours, tempers are frayed - you learn to extend the limits of your patience. So why, then, when it comes to funding, would Occupy opt for the easy way?
Fear and occupation in red America
One talked, the other snickered. The talker wore a red Harley-Davidson jacket and a salt-and-pepper poof of hair and drooping mustache. He was haranguing the snickerer, Jon Howard, a marginally employed stagehand, about whether the Boise occupation was legal, and Jon said it was. The talker wanted to know whether they were paying for the electricity they were using on the grounds of the old Ada County Courthouse, and Jon said they were. A moment earlier I had sensed the tension and bounded over, looking for a reason to escape the wild-eyed "home-church" Christian pastor I had made the mistake of engaging.
Occupy Wall Street is No ‘Tea Party’
Our FIRST AMENDMENT- Rights are protected by Federal Government
Here is a brief historical legal reminder to us all of our federally protected First Amendment rights. (from WIKI) 'The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.'
Occupy Protest London Businessman vs 99% Supporter a “Let them eat cake moment “
Biden on Occupy Wall Street: “There’s a Lot in Common With the Tea Party”
"Look," said Biden, talking over the "ooohs" and murmurs, "that's a really fair question. Let's be honest with one another. What is the core of that protest? The core is: The bargain has been breached. The core is, the American people do not think the system is fair, or on the level. That is the core is what you're seeing with Wall Street. Look, there's a lot in common with the Tea Party. The Tea Party started, why? TARP. They thought it was unfair."
A Fascinating Chinese View of the Occupy Movement
Democracy clearly has its flaws, but OWS shows not the defects of democracy but its advantages. That protestors do not "go missing" [as they have this year in China] is thanks to the benefits of democracy, and the lack of violent conflict or loss of social order is an example of its accomplishments. The US government has not condemned nor suppressed, but rather sympathised* with the movement, nor have the crowds challenged the legitimacy of the government or the democratic system itself. Rather, OWS is happening precisely within that democratic framework.
Chomsky to Occupy: come back bigger, better, and with much more of the 99%
Noam Chomsky has advice for the Occupy movement, whose encampments all over the country are being swept away by police. The occupations were a "brilliant" idea, he says, but now it's time to move on to the next stage in tactics. He suggests political organizing in the neighborhoods. -- The Occupy movement's repression, which Chomsky decried, has a saving grace, he said: the opportunity for it to expand more into the 99 percent by engaging people face to face.
Occupy Democracy is not considered newsworthy. It should be
You can tell a lot about the moral quality of a society by what is, and is not, considered news. From last Tuesday, Parliament Square was wrapped in wire mesh. In one of the more surreal scenes in recent British political history, officers with trained German shepherds stand sentinel each day, at calculated distances across the lawn, surrounded by a giant box of fences, three metres high all to ensure that no citizen enters to illegally practice democracy. Yet few major news outlets feel this is much of a story.
What next for the Occupy movement
Naomi Wolf suggests that there are valuable lessons to be learned from a series of powerful documentaries, recently screened at the Sundance Film Festival, about protest movements of the recent past. Her conclusion is that for Occupy to keep its momentum now, it can no longer afford to be such an amorphous, anarchic movement. In effect, it needs to get organised, in more conventional campaigning ways.
David Axelrod On Occupy Wall Street: GOP Doesn’t Understand Protests, America’s Anger
The Politics of Occupy Wall Street: Bernie Sanders, Progressives, Big Unions Endorse; Obama’s Silent
#OccupyWallStreet Searching for Hope in America
Adbusters, the nonprofit, anti-consumerist organization, made the first call for an occupation of Wall Street back in July when they posted an article on their website titled "#OCCUPYWALLSTREET." The rallying cry proposed a massive occupation of Wall Street - some 20,000 individuals - a "fusion of Tahrir with the acampadas of Spain." The group declared: "It's time for democracy not corporatocracy."
Unions, students join wall street protesters
Ed Miliband: politicians must listen to the St Paul’s Cathedral protesters
Tea Party co-founder expresses support for Occupy Wall Street
Yup: Blue collar whites do support Occupy Wall Street
Americans favor Occupy Wall Street far more than Tea Party:
Colin Powell: Occupy Wall Street Demonstrations ‘As American as Apple Pie’
Man Outed As Undercover Cop At Occupy Oakland Condemns Police Brutality, Supports The Movement
I'm a police officer. I'm part of the 99 percent. In the '60s when people would protest, would gather in order to bring about change, right? Those protests were nonviolent they were peaceful assemblies. They were broken up with dogs, hoses, sticks. It looks like there was a square, and police shot tear gas. That could be the photograph or the video for our generation. That s our Birmingham. So, twenty years from now this movement could be the turning point, the tipping point, right. It s about time your generation stood up for something. It's about time young people are in the streets. Ya'll don't need to throw gas canisters into a group of people occupying an intersection.
Large Majority Of Pennsylvanians Say They’d Vote For Candidates Who Supported Occupy Wall Street
A Philadelphia Daily News/Franklin & Marshall College poll finds strong support for Occupy Wall Street among Pennsylvanians. Perhaps most surprisingly, the poll asked respondents if they would support a candidate who aligned themselves with the protesters. Fifty-seven percent said they would and 33 percent were opposed; 10 percent were unsure.
Jewish-American Leaders Denounce Right-Wing Attempts To Smear 99 Percent Movement As Anti-Semitic
Occupy that Next Level: Four Ideas for the Movement
Over the last two weeks, mayors across the country (apparently coordinated by the FBI) shut down many of the largest Occupy encampments, including in New York, Oakland, Portland, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, and more. Police arrested hundreds of peaceful activists, inevitably leaving clouds of pepper spray and millions of dollars in their wake. While I fully condemn the police raids, I also think they offer us an opportunity to move to the next stage: it s time to Occupy more than just tents.
Obama’s Late Payment to Mortgage-Fraud Victims
President Obama also made a striking announcement, one that could have been written by the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly: I m asking my attorney general to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.
“Shame! Shame!” – What would King say to Occupy?
Too many people taking the streets as part of the Occupy movement have come to think, if they're thinking at all, that their strength is in their rage. But it isn't. Their strength has always been in their courage the courage to think big, to take public spaces, and to create the glimpse of a better world within them. Rage has always been a weakness. Those in the movement who perpetuate the repertoire of fits and tantrums implicate everyone else in it too, as those at the feminist Direct Action bloc well know. King would stand in solidarity with such anger, as he did even with rioters, knowing that it comes from an honest sense of injustice. But every day that those setting the mood for these marches refuse to learn discipline, and even love, they take that shared cup of solidarity and spike it with poison.
Cop arrested at Occupy Wall Street stands by Occupiers on Capitol Hill
Ray Lewis, the retired Philadelphia police captain who made headlines in November when he was arrested in uniform as police broke up Occupy Wall Street, was briefly searched by Capitol Police at Tuesday's Occupy Congress protest. Lewis said officers searched him to make sure he wasn't carrying a gun and that he'd called police beforehand to make sure that he would be allowed to protest in uniform.
Get a What A Job 70% of Occupy Wall Streeters are Employed, Compared to 56% of Tea Partiers
RonPaul praised the #OccupyWallStreet movement
While campaigning in Iowa on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul praised the Occupy Wall Street movement, comparing it to the Tea Party movement. "In many ways, I identify with both groups," Paul said. Both groups are fed up with problems in Washington and "the two-party-system," Paul said while speaking at an insurance company in Des Moines.
Wall Street protesters are ‘sleeping giant’
I am very disappointed to see how the demonstrators in New York City and around the country are being characterized as misfits, kooks and troublemakers. The criticism of the national media and governmental leaders diminishes the sincere intent of a wide spectrum of U.S. citizens who are heroic enough to rebel and speak out against the outrages being conducted against the American people.