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Tag: Occupy Wall Street
David Rolfe Graeber the 52 year old American anthropologist, anarchist, and involved in social and political activism. Graeber has been featured in an article by John Kampfner in the Japan Times titled ‘The story of the Occupy movements by one of the leaders’. Kampfner states “I’m torn. I can’t work out whether the Occupy movements were responsible for their own demise; and I can’t work out whether I’ve had enough of reading tomes about the brave new world of revolutionary consensus-building. The case for the defense of the spirit of 2011 should be overwhelming. Groups of activists around the world came together, determinedly but also nonviolently, not just to protest at the criminality of the banks and their backers, but also to put into practice another way. So why did it dissipate? David Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement. An activist, anarchist and anthropologist (note his useful alliteration), he writes vividly about his experiences. He captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special. Beyond the default complaints of police brutality and media narrow-mindedness, he struggles, however, to explain why in the end so little was achieved. His observations engender rage and smiles in equal measure. The tie that bound the activists in Zuccotti Park, night after night, was pizza. Local delivery firms thrived, as people from far and wide phoned in orders for pizza to go directly to the camp. …Graeber’s unwillingness to set out credible economic and political alternatives is curious. He confines his analysis to process, arguing that many problems would be solved if the manner of political engagement changed. He goes to great length to explain how democracy by consensus or collective problem-solving works, describing this as “something vaguely like jury duty, except noncompulsory, with some way of screening obsessives, cranks and hollow-earthers, but nonetheless allowing an equal chance of participation in great decisions to all who actually do wish to participate.”  Inspired by John Kampfner, The Japan Times ow.ly/laSvB Image source David Graeber ow.ly/laSlg The tie that bound the activists was pizza (June 14 2013)

 

David Rolfe Graeber the 52 year old American anthropologist, anarchist, and involved in social and political activism. Graeber has been featured in an article by John Kampfner in the Japan Times titled ‘The story of the Occupy movements by one of the leaders’. Kampfner states “I’m torn. I can’t work out whether the Occupy movements were responsible for their own demise; and I can’t work out whether I’ve had enough of reading tomes about the brave new world of revolutionary consensus-building. The case for the defense of the spirit of 2011 should be overwhelming. Groups of activists around the world came together, determinedly but also nonviolently, not just to protest at the criminality of the banks and their backers, but also to put into practice another way. So why did it dissipate? David Graeber was a leading light in the Occupy Wall Street movement. An activist, anarchist and anthropologist (note his useful alliteration), he writes vividly about his experiences. He captures the joys and fears of a movement that believed it was on the cusp of achieving something special. Beyond the default complaints of police brutality and media narrow-mindedness, he struggles, however, to explain why in the end so little was achieved. His observations engender rage and smiles in equal measure. The tie that bound the activists in Zuccotti Park, night after night, was pizza. Local delivery firms thrived, as people from far and wide phoned in orders for pizza to go directly to the camp. …Graeber’s unwillingness to set out credible economic and political alternatives is curious. He confines his analysis to process, arguing that many problems would be solved if the manner of political engagement changed. He goes to great length to explain how democracy by consensus or collective problem-solving works, describing this as “something vaguely like jury duty, except noncompulsory, with some way of screening obsessives, cranks and hollow-earthers, but nonetheless allowing an equal chance of participation in great decisions to all who actually do wish to participate.”

 

Inspired by John Kampfner, The Japan Times ow.ly/laSvB Image source David Graeber ow.ly/laSlg

Marni Halasa the British lawyer, journalist, and performance artist for Occupy Wall Street in New York City and member of Occupy's Alternative Banking Group, a direct action and seminar group that distributes information to the public, has published an article on Huffington Post titled ‘Show Time! Tripping the Light Fantastic as a Performance Artist for Occupy Wall Street’. Halasa states “My conservative Arab father always told me I had no shame. Little did he know that my insatiable desire to exhibit and entertain as a performance artist would come in handy for Occupy Wall Street. I help the movement spread its message of the 99 percent in a somewhat unique and flamboyant way. Whether I am dressed as Marie-Antoinette, protesting against workers' low wages in front of a Walmart in New Jersey; a police officer during an anti-police brutality march in Union Square; or a dominatrix covered in fake money in front of the Federal Reserve, I am compelled to be a living breathing costumed illustration of my own political beliefs. And mind you -- all of this is done on skates. So why do I risk arrest, brave the sometimes hostile elements and lose sleep over hours of preparation? An obsessive desire for creative self-expression is the obvious reason. The other is that it is my chance to belong to an amazingly purposeful politicized community. When Occupy began, I connected with a group of people who could discuss the complexities and dynamics of wealth, power and social mobility in our society. From them I learned how bankers from HSBC laundered money for the drug cartels and avoided criminal prosecution, why the Dodd-Frank reforms do not go far enough to insure our country's financial stability, and the reasons behind the lack of mobility for the low income. Although these people were for the most part strangers, they charmed me with their warmth, intellect, and uncanny ability to make complex information understandable. They were also keen to make a positive impact. I quickly decided I had to join the Occupy movement...”  Inspired by Marni Halasa, Huffington Post ow.ly/kuGR4 Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuGMQ I help the movement spread its message (May 23 2013)

 

Marni Halasa the British lawyer, journalist, and performance artist for Occupy Wall Street in New York City and member of Occupy’s Alternative Banking Group, a direct action and seminar group that distributes information to the public, has published an article on Huffington Post titled ‘Show Time! Tripping the Light Fantastic as a Performance Artist for Occupy Wall Street’. Halasa states “My conservative Arab father always told me I had no shame. Little did he know that my insatiable desire to exhibit and entertain as a performance artist would come in handy for Occupy Wall Street. I help the movement spread its message of the 99 percent in a somewhat unique and flamboyant way. Whether I am dressed as Marie-Antoinette, protesting against workers’ low wages in front of a Walmart in New Jersey; a police officer during an anti-police brutality march in Union Square; or a dominatrix covered in fake money in front of the Federal Reserve, I am compelled to be a living breathing costumed illustration of my own political beliefs. And mind you — all of this is done on skates. So why do I risk arrest, brave the sometimes hostile elements and lose sleep over hours of preparation? An obsessive desire for creative self-expression is the obvious reason. The other is that it is my chance to belong to an amazingly purposeful politicized community. When Occupy began, I connected with a group of people who could discuss the complexities and dynamics of wealth, power and social mobility in our society. From them I learned how bankers from HSBC laundered money for the drug cartels and avoided criminal prosecution, why the Dodd-Frank reforms do not go far enough to insure our country’s financial stability, and the reasons behind the lack of mobility for the low income. Although these people were for the most part strangers, they charmed me with their warmth, intellect, and uncanny ability to make complex information understandable. They were also keen to make a positive impact. I quickly decided I had to join the Occupy movement…”

 

Inspired by Marni Halasa, Huffington Post ow.ly/kuGR4 Image source Twitter ow.ly/kuGMQ

Roberto Savio the Italian Economist , journalist and international communications consultant, founder of the IPS News Service has published an article on the service titled ‘Switzerland Sets Example for Income Equality’. Savio states “For those who think that Occupy Wall Street, the Indignados in Spain, the World Social Forum and the numerous manifestations of protest worldwide are expressions without concrete outcomes, the result of the Swiss referendum on Mar. 3 on capping the salaries and bonuses of banks executives should make them think twice. Like it or not, two-thirds of the Swiss, who are not exactly a revolutionary people, have given the shareholders of financial institutions the right to decide salaries and bonuses of their executives. Another referendum — on limiting the salaries and bonuses of company executives from all sectors to a figure that does not exceed 15 times that of the average salary of their employees — is due shortly. At the same time the European Commission and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on capping bank executives’ bonuses at an amount equal to their annual salary. If the shareholders decide, it can be twice their annual salary, but no more. …people are getting fed up, as the Swiss referendum has clearly shown. Everywhere discontent is seeping into the polls, with protest parties flourishing everywhere. We are in transition to a different system. This can be done through peaceful and cooperative means, or by a continuation of this growing social injustice. History has many lessons on this issue, and it is useless to recall them. We all read them at school, even the 100 billionaires. So, as the Swiss referendum shows, it is not awareness that is lacking: it is political will.”  Inspired by Roberto Savio, IPS News Service ow.ly/jBfFB Image source Gc-Council ow.ly/jBfEv Switzerland sets example for income equality (April 29 2013)

 

Roberto Savio the Italian Economist , journalist and international communications consultant, founder of the IPS News Service has published an article on the service titled ‘Switzerland Sets Example for Income Equality’. Savio states “For those who think that Occupy Wall Street, the Indignados in Spain, the World Social Forum and the numerous manifestations of protest worldwide are expressions without concrete outcomes, the result of the Swiss referendum on Mar. 3 on capping the salaries and bonuses of banks executives should make them think twice. Like it or not, two-thirds of the Swiss, who are not exactly a revolutionary people, have given the shareholders of financial institutions the right to decide salaries and bonuses of their executives. Another referendum — on limiting the salaries and bonuses of company executives from all sectors to a figure that does not exceed 15 times that of the average salary of their employees — is due shortly. At the same time the European Commission and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on capping bank executives’ bonuses at an amount equal to their annual salary. If the shareholders decide, it can be twice their annual salary, but no more. …people are getting fed up, as the Swiss referendum has clearly shown. Everywhere discontent is seeping into the polls, with protest parties flourishing everywhere. We are in transition to a different system. This can be done through peaceful and cooperative means, or by a continuation of this growing social injustice. History has many lessons on this issue, and it is useless to recall them. We all read them at school, even the 100 billionaires. So, as the Swiss referendum shows, it is not awareness that is lacking: it is political will.”

 

Inspired by Roberto Savio, IPS News Service ow.ly/jBfFB Image source Gc-Council ow.ly/jBfEv

You can actually see a pulse of New York City (September 25 2012) You can actually see a pulse of New York City (September 25 2012)

Terri Ciccone the American founder and editor of ContrappostoArt.com a street art enthusiast blog, has released an article on Blouin Artinfo titled ‘A Prognosis of Street Artist EKG’s Irregular Heartbeat’. Ciccone states “If you keep your eyes open, you can actually see a pulse of New York City everywhere. And I don’t mean “pulse” the way news anchors refer to it … I mean a beat, an ever streaming murmur, a recorded, monitored, living pulse. I mean street artist EKG’s orange heart beat running throughout the city. EKG’s tag, or “html link” as he sometimes thinks of it, is that recognizable blip on a machine that reminds us we’re alive. …More than 2,000 of these orange oil stick lines run along the bottom of walls like mice, and sneak through our feet as they slither down streets, go in and out of doors, run underground and live on beams holding up our subway stations, seeming to trail off into infinity. …And there’s a lot more to EKG’s tag specifically. The idea of symbol recognition is one that’s made a lot of people a lot of money, and one that is very relevant to our time. Think about the difference between the Nike symbol and the Occupy Wall Street tag, OWS. Both are highly recognizable but hold very different meanings. … EKG’s tag is not just another word scribbled in marker on the wall of the C train. It’s a creative reminder of who we are, where we live, and what kind of power our living, breathing bodies and minds can have.”

 

Inspired by Blouin Artinfo ow.ly/dP7rt image source Facebook ow.ly/dP8dY

A plausible progressive counter-narrative (July 7th 2012) A plausible progressive counter-narrative (July 7th 2012)

Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama the 60 year old American political scientist and economist is the subject of an article published by Dan Hind on Aljazeera titled ‘Just how do you change the world? Is there a progressive counter-narrative to the libertarian right?’ Hind states “Francis Fukuyama wrote an article for Foreign Affairs entitled The Future of History. In it he talked about the absence of “a plausible progressive counter-narrative” to the “libertarian right”. This libertarian right has “held the ideological high ground on economic issues” for a generation. …Fukuyama claims that “one of the most puzzling features of the world in the aftermath of the financial crisis is that populism has taken primarily a right-wing form, not a left-wing one”. So while he thinks it conceivable that the “Occupy Wall Street movement will gain traction”, he can’t find space for the hundreds of other occupations in the United States and worldwide. The role of trade unionists and socialists in Arab Spring is nowhere to be found and the vast movement for real democracy in Spain likewise vanishes. The Tea Party is what captures Fukuyama’s attention. …It would be unfair to mock him for his failure to predict the rise of Syriza in Greece, the defeat of a right-wing president in France and the growing confidence of anti-capitalist left in Europe and North America. It is, though, reasonable to expect a prophet to have some kind of grip on the recent past.”

 

Inspired by Dan Hind ow.ly/bWbVf image source Robert Goddyn ow.ly/bWbQb

Carne Ross the 45 year old British director of a diplomatic advisory group ‘Independent Diplomat’, founded after he resigned from the British Foreign Office having giving then-secret evidence to a British inquiry into the Iraq invasion. Ross has published an article in The Nation titled ‘Occupy Wall Street and a New Politics for a Disorderly World’. In the article Ross states “The global financial crisis has provoked a profound and necessary questioning of the prevailing political and economic orthodoxy. So pervasive is this disillusionment with the current order that it is hard to find anyone prepared to defend it. Disorder is the new order; disequilibrium rules, and old assumptions no longer hold. …The defenders of the status quo claim that only their methods can maintain order. They are, in fact, achieving the opposite. The politics proposed here, and already evident in Occupy and elsewhere, can foment a deeper order, where people are connected to one another, reweaving our tattered social fabric, where work is fulfilling and responsible, and where everyone in society is given their proper voice and their interests are accounted for. Our current political and economic forms have made avowal of these ideals seem archaic, almost absurd. How ridiculous to wish for such virtues! We cannot let such cynicism triumph. A new way is possible, but it has to be enacted, not asked for.”

 

Inspired by The Nation ow.ly/aYfXd image source Jenny Diamond ow.ly/aYg9u

Jeff Smith a US former advertising professional and member of the Occupy Wall Street press team has released an article on the vast wealth gap between Americans and their representatives. Smith states “It’s always been about the money. Occupy Wall Street chose to set up its 24-hour outpost of political dissent on the doorstep of the finance industry primarily to underscore the simple fact that money has corrupted our political process so completely that the seat of power in the U.S. isn’t even in Washington, D.C. any more … OWS has focused on the concept of legalized bribery, as the continually rising cost of a political campaign … largely subsidized by wealthy donors, corporations and special interests, in return for legislation that favors their interests … The gap between the Beltway and the economic realities of most Americans can be found in the common Washington framing of households with an annual income of $250,000—a figure achieved by just the top 1.5 percent—as “middle class.”

 

Inspired by Jeff Smith http://ow.ly/8eWfw image source http://ow.ly/8eWk1

Carol Wells the US Exec.Director of the Center for the Study of Political Graphics has applauded the preservation of an Occupy Movement mural in Los Angeles stating “It’s site specific to L.A … It documents L.A.’s part in an international movement.” Marissa Gluck in an article she published states that “Though the history of Occupy Wall Street is still being written … Los Angeles is taking the unusual step of organizing a preservation process for a major mural created in its encampment. It is the first major city to do so … The massive four-sided mural, painted on plywood erected to protect a park fountain from vandalism … isn’t just a visual depiction of the protesters’ perspective. Its physical creation echoes the movement as well, with multiple anonymous artists contributing to the work … One side of the mural depicts the Federal Reserve as a monstrous octopus, ravenously grabbing cash from foreclosed homes, while exhorting viewers to “Take the Power Back.”

 

Inspired by Marissa Gluck http://ow.ly/8eVNV image source artblahblah http://ow.ly/8eVGs

Chip Ward the US political activist poses the question that “After Occupy Wall Street, isn’t it time for Occupy Earth? … Degrading the planet’s operating systems to bolster the bottom line is foolish and reckless. It hurts us all. No less important, it’s unfair. The 1 per cent profit, while the rest of us cough and cope … Nature’s 99 per cent is an amazingly diverse community of species. They feed and share and recycle within a web of relationships so dynamic and complex that we have yet to fathom how it all fits together … we are only beginning to understand thresholds and feedback loops, the way the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. But we at least know that the parts matter deeply and that, before we even fully understand them, we’re losing them at an accelerating rate. Forests are dying, fisheries are going, extinction is on steroids”.

 

Inspired by Chip Ward http://ow.ly/89XBl image source The Monitor http://ow.ly/89XFy

Michael Kazin the 63 year old US history professor, co-editor of Dissent magazine and former member of Students for a Democratic Society during the 1960’s, has released a book titled ‘American Dreamers: How the left changed a Nation’. Kazin in an interview with thebrowser, states “…the populist movement of the 1890s and the Socialist Party in the early 20th century … articulated an anti-corporate platform which continues to be influential even in the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations … you have civil disobedience, which abolitionists were known for. You have nonviolence and a “beloved community”, which civil rights protesters were known for. And you have a very strong emphasis on the 99% being injured by the 1%, and a critique of American democracy as being corrupted by big money, that began in the late 19th century…”

 

Inspired by thebrowser http://ow.ly/7G7SG image source farm4 http://ow.ly/7G7WI

Marco Polo “Mark” di Suvero the 77 year old abastract expressionist sculptor has been requested by the Arts and Culture committee of Occupy Wall Street movement to speak out against the barricades surrounding his work, ‘Joie de Vivre’, a towering red sculpture in Zucotti Park, New York City. Di Suvero’s sculpture is the backdrop of the protest camps and has been cordoned off by police following an incident when a protestor climbed up onto the work. In the open letter drafted to di Suvero, the committee stated “We believe that cordoning off your gift to the people of New York goes against your intentions for the work, as well as the very spirit of public art.” The letter also references di Suvero’s renowned 1966 work titled ‘Peace Tower’ which became symbolic in Los Angeles for the anti-Vietnam protests.

 

Inspired by Artinfo http://ow.ly/7rM2C image source newyorksocialdiary http://ow.ly/7rM7i

MJ Rosenberg the Senior Foreign Policy Fellow at the Media Matters Action Network and former Director of Policy Analysis for Israel Policy Forum (IPF), has struck out at the anti-Semitism being used to undermine the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Rosenberg claims “An ugly old tradition is back: Exploiting anti-Semitism to break the backs of popular movements that threaten the power of the wealthiest one per cent of our population. It is being used to undermine the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has conservatives in a state of near panic.” Rosenberg’s statement follows the release of a video by the Emergency Committee For Israel, “a far-right Republican group run by Bill Kristol … accusing Occupy Wall Street of anti-Semitism, with side swipes at leading Democrats … who have sympathised with the movement and are therefore, by implication, probably anti-Semitic themselves.”

Inspired by aljazeera http://ow.ly/75ZfF image source http://ow.ly/75Zf7

Thomas Ryan a New York security consultant has been identified as part of an intelligence gathering operation within the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement. Ryan’s activities involved infiltrating the movement in order to discredit them, forwarding information gleaned from the movements internal email lists to the NYPD and FBI. Ryan claims on his blog to have worked for the US Army, leading a team called Black Cell, which he claims are “a team of the most-highly trained and capable physical, threat and cyber security professionals in the world.” Ryan is alleged to have sent emails containing the movements strategies to the extremist conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart, who has been using them in an attempt to paint the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement as anarchists bent on destroying the global financial markets.

 

Inspired by Alan Colmes http://ow.ly/6YFk4 image source Liberaland http://ow.ly/6YFjs

George Soros the 81 year old Hungarian born US financier and philanthropist supporter of progressive liberal causes has been speculated by critics such as the right wing extremist radio host Rush Limbaugh as providing financial backing to the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ grassroots movement. Soros known as “the Man Who Broke the Bank of England” because of his US$1 billion in investment profits during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK currency crisis, is one of the 10 wealthiest US citizens with a net worth estimated at US$22 billion, and has given away through philanthropic causes US$8 billion since 1979. Soros played a crucial role in the collapse of Eastern Europe communism, as an advocate of ‘open societies’, financially supporting dissidents including Poland’s Solidarity movement. Soros is the chairman of the Open Society Institute, and former board member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

 

Inspired by Jason Linkins http://ow.ly/6YFSM image source WEF http://ow.ly/6YFYf

Amy Kremer a former flight attendant and now chairwoman of the US extremist group the ‘Tea Party Express’, has expressed outrage at comparisons being made with her group to the burgeoning ‘Occupy Wall Street’ grassroots movement. In an interview with POLITICO, Kremer ironically pointed out the OWS movement “don’t even know why they’re out there protesting on Wall Street. I don’t think it’s the left’s answer to the tea party movement … I think they’re just unhappy people that don’t know really what they want… The tea party movement … the thing is, we’ve matured.” The TPE under Kremer’s leadership now endorses and promotes ultra right wing Christian conservative candidates running for state and federal offices. VP Joe Biden drew a comparison referring to both movements initial origins stating, “There’s a lot in common with the tea party”.

 

Inspired by Min Jung Lee http://ow.ly/6ZjUM image source bildungblog http://ow.ly/6ZkiZ

Michael Rubens Bloomberg the 69 year old US businessman Mayor of New York City visited the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement at Zuccotti Park. Although the visit was brief, he addressed members of the movement informing them they would need to vacate the park in order for it to be ‘cleaned’. Brookfield Properties the owners of the park had complained to the NYPD that concerned citizens and office workers were reporting lewdness, groping, drinking, drug use, unsanitary conditions and offensive odors, from and around the park. However members of the movement voiced concerns that it was an attempt to evict them from the park and prevent them from bringing back camping equipment. Bloomberg later confirmed the ‘cleaning’ had been postponed and the movement could stay “indefinitely”. Bloomberg has a 2011 personal net worth of $18.1 billion.

Inspired by Max Read http://ow.ly/6ZlfK image source Rubenstein http://ow.ly/6ZlzW

Anthony Bologna a New York Deputy Inspector of Police with the NYPD pepper spray attacked several female protestors during the “Occupy Wall Street” protest organized by the “hacktivist” group Anonymous. Police suddenly escalated their crowd control efforts by corralling protestors behind orange mesh netting. Bologna caught on video then approached the occupants corralled onto the footpath and unprovoked applied pepper spray at four women for no apparent reason. Bologna is currently the subject of a civil rights lawsuit relating to false arrest and civil rights violations that took place during the 2004 Republican National Convention. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, under pressure relating to the abuse announced that all incidents involved in the “Occupy Wall Street” protests were being referred to the Civilian Complaints Review Board and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs unit.

 

Inspired by Jillian Rayfield http://ow.ly/6KLZC image source hammeroftruth http://ow.ly/6KM2g

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