106 replies to this topic

[duke_Qa]

Just found out about this event, seems interesting enough to make a topic about it.

Occupy Wall Street to set up camp for as long as it takes <--- pretty early article this one it seems(just a few dozen). What was more interesting for me was the recent news that the cops have started getting somewhat aggressive:

Police cracks down on occupy wall street demonstrations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=moD2JnGTToA

Not as big as they had hoped, but these things can change I guess.

Another guardian article on it, like the name:

Occupy Wall Street rediscovers the radical imagination
The young people protesting in Wall Street and beyond reject this vain economic order. They have come to reclaim the future

Edited by duke_Qa, 26 September 2011 - 10:18 PM.

[Beowulf]

I really can't see this doing any good any time soon, but it's something in the right direction. Shows people are waking up from their stupor and realizing shit's goin' down the tubes.

[Pasidon]

I've always found little meaning in putting the stake of America's fortunes in a singular system of stocks at Wall-Street... you'll get garbage like this happening.

[duke_Qa]

Stocks in themselves are neutral. How they are being abused that is the problem.


I do hope we get something of a anti-tea party movement out of this, one that focuses on regulating predatory capitalism instead of leaving it open to do as it wishes. All in good time I guess.

[duke_Qa]

Oh well, Better post more articles. I find this fascinating at least, dunno about you guys.

http://www.good.is/p...heir-own-words/

In a radio interview on September 16, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said "We have a lot of kids graduating college, can't find jobs. That's what happened in Cairo. That's what happened in Madrid. You don't want those kinds of riots here." His words were prescient. The next day, around 300 people began camping out at Zuccotti Park near Wall Street to protest the economic bailout. This weekend, dozens of protesters were arrested and the “Occupy Wall Street” movement became a national news story for the first time.

For us CnC fans, this short has stolen a few classics from Frank.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb9mJsiDJ7k




It is not that these scenes we are seeing right now are going to cause much trouble for anyone. But I really like it that there seems to be a bit of an awakening going on right now. It is a very good time for people to start paying attention to the different voices, because the economic situation is so volatile that if the market goes into another recession, there will be a massive reaction. If things are cooking before the economy tumbles into another ditch, imagine what happens when it actually does get messy.

[duke_Qa]

Moar bumps. Things are maintaining momentum, good times.

Over 90 cities in the US have their own demonstrations, Map..

Ten Things to Know About Wall Street's Rapacious Attack on America

Powerful unions joins wall street protests

US activists have lost trust in politicians

But the protesters are not focused on the US' traditional political system or politicians.
"We need to dictate the policy up, not policy being dictated down," Jesse LaGreca, a protester on Wall Street, told Al Jazeera.
"We will be the leaders, and if there's any politicians who wanna support us in passing policies that we support, then that's the best we to about gaining our support."
Katie Davison, another Wall Street protester, agreed."A candidate is sort of the old way of doing things," she said.
"We're looking for a new way of doing things that is more participatory and more meaningful. What that looks like we're still figuring out."

I find this infinitely more interesting and constructive than what we saw with the tea party movement. But I fear it still might not go on for much longer(winter is coming after all).

I guess most of us feel This is closer to ourselves. and I can understand the frustration with the radical/stupid/ineffective "left". Though you might wonder if they are astroturfed as well. Getting paid for being a straw man doesn't sound too impossible

Edited by duke_Qa, 09 October 2011 - 04:19 PM.

[Pasidon]

But I fear it still might not go on for much longer(winter is coming after all).

Good to see you can give us news on political / business news while feeding us material from Meme Base. But in all honesty, bad weather dictates the fine line between a serious and worthy protest and dumb white people who just want more money than they deserve.

[Elvenlord]

Just thought I'd add the movement out here in Dallas continued going despite rather bad rain yesterday.

[Pasidon]

'Bad rain' can be debated, but I can respect that.

[Romanul]

Well, if rain starts, I'm quite curious how the winter will be in the US.

Will the protests last 'til then? 'cause I seriously doubt people will stay there in the middle of a snow storm.

[Pasidon]

Then they really don't deserve to win. If I were in a protest (har), I would specifically stick around in the really bad weather to make my point stronger. It shows the public that the issue is so serious, I would risk my health to resolve it. And it also increases the chances of the people I'm protesting against to resolve the issue since they begin to see how serious I am, or they don't want uber bad publicity from protesters getting sick / martyring.

[duke_Qa]

Good to see you can give us news on political / business news while feeding us material from Meme Base. But in all honesty, bad weather dictates the fine line between a serious and worthy protest and dumb white people who just want more money than they deserve.

Something desperate had to be done to get some response
I somehow doubt that the demonstrators out there are going to get wads of cash for their dedication. It might give them a cheaper healthcare bill in the future, but no insta-cash.

Just thought I'd add the movement out here in Dallas continued going despite rather bad rain yesterday.

Fascinating, how is that one doing?

Well, if rain starts, I'm quite curious how the winter will be in the US.

Will the protests last 'til then? 'cause I seriously doubt people will stay there in the middle of a snow storm.

It all depends on the state I guess, Texas probably won't have much snow. New York could get nasty though, but I hope that they start building some sort of temporary base up there to get some roofs over their heads. I wonder how that park became private.

Then they really don't deserve to win. If I were in a protest (har), I would specifically stick around in the really bad weather to make my point stronger. It shows the public that the issue is so serious, I would risk my health to resolve it. And it also increases the chances of the people I'm protesting against to resolve the issue since they begin to see how serious I am, or they don't want uber bad publicity from protesters getting sick / martyring.

I'd love to see you get into a demonstration, I think you'd be able to make some funny Minecraft posters and armor to walk around in

But yeah, they have to stick it out, arrange for rotations, get support from unions and private companies in doing some logistics. I can't recall any tea-party demonstration lasting this long though, so I think the odds are looking good.


Also, Naomi Klein had a speech at OWS, looks like a good read.

We have picked a fight with the most powerful economic and political forces on the planet. That’s frightening. And as this movement grows from strength to strength, it will get more frightening. Always be aware that there will be a temptation to shift to smaller targets—like, say, the person sitting next to you at this meeting. After all, that is a battle that’s easier to win.

Don’t give in to the temptation. I’m not saying don’t call each other on shit. But this time, let’s treat each other as if we plan to work side by side in struggle for many, many years to come. Because the task before will demand nothing less.

If some of you are really worried about Illuminati and conspiracies, this is pretty much as close you can get at fighting such things. The fantastical dragon of myth made flesh. Our chance at fucking shit up for those that have other plans



Edit: Fancy blog with 5 demands, They seem quite reasonable too.

Edited by duke_Qa, 11 October 2011 - 04:58 PM.

[Pasidon]

If anything, the Illuminati seem like proper business models.

Hmm... might consider a Minecraft themed protest to get Stargate Universe back on the air... And that article is a good read. I suspected this may have been an echo from 9/11, as destroying a center of master world commune would cause nasty economic issues which led to this incident. And like Klein said, back in 1999, industry and big business was at its peak. Then 2 years later, that peak became a downfall with the Trade Centers's fall. Perhaps a lesson to the industrial world to not put so much money and commerce into two buildings... and building them up so high.

[duke_Qa]

The economy didn't collapse because of 9/11, but it lost its balance. Like uneven weight in a propeller on a plane, it spun until something broke in the engine.

The "with us or against us" rhetoric was abused to create an anti-dissent mentality, that stopped any wise/critical voices from being heard. Wars combined with tax reduction and no reduction in governance explosively added to the debt(can't have guns and butter at the same time).

Basically, the ones in power back then had no clue on how to run a 300-million strong nation. They did what they were told by their creed and their friends, and it worked very fine for them right until they got voted out. Which was fine with them, nothing like leaving a shitty situation on the shoulders of your only opposition.

Anyway, found this picture fascinating

[Pasidon]

That picture is Fawkxy. Har'z.

I agree a combination of those factors with 9/11 butterflied into this, but I question which variable would be the most influencing to the collapsing economic events we see today.

[duke_Qa]

The core truth is that all those variables have been caused, or at least left to fester, by recklessness and greed. Neo-liberalism has proven to be inefficient at anything but causing havoc for the majority of the human population.

And thanks to the openness of the internet we are able to do something about it sooner rather than later, and most likely with much less bloodshed than ever thought possible in human history.

Edited by duke_Qa, 11 October 2011 - 07:11 PM.

[Elvenlord]

Just thought I'd add the movement out here in Dallas continued going despite rather bad rain yesterday.

Fascinating, how is that one doing?

Pretty well, actually. We haven't seen the kind of police brutality New York has, in fact they're more or less on our side. The government itself seems to be flip-flopping, as they originally gave the protesters a free permit to do their thing, but now require a formal application, part of which requires an insurance policy of $1 million. For some reason. They're currently trying to fight that.

[duke_Qa]

Strange how you need a 1mill insurance policy to demonstrate against the rich and powerful

Luckily it seems that your cops are more friendly, so hopefully it might get a foothold.

[Beowulf]

The core truth is that all those variables have been caused, or at least left to fester, by recklessness and greed.

Recklessness, yes, but greed, not necessarily.

[EDIT] I've been following OWS a little more lately and it's turning into something other than what it should be. Now it looks like hippies blocking businesses and people with no discernible reason. These people are pissing and shitting in the street, leaving trash and generally making things worse for themselves. And do you listen to them? Nobody knows what they're doing there anymore and they're all bitching about entitlements. Maybe I'm just being an asshole, but why don't these people shut the hell up and get a job?

Edited by Beowulf, 11 October 2011 - 11:01 PM.

[Pasidon]

Why get a job when you can make as much money as possible, doing the least amount of work necessary?