Tomgram: Noam Chomsky, A Rebellious World or a New Dark Age? Posted by Noam Chomsky at 7:39am, May 8, 2012. If you had followed May Day protests in New York City in the mainstream media, you might hardly have noticed that they happened at all. The stories were generally tucked away, [...]
Occupy by Noam Chomsky To be published on May 1, 2012 Since its appearance in Zuccotti Park in September 2011, the Occupy movement has spread to hundreds of towns, cities, and college campuses across the United States. To date, more than 6,500 people have been arrested in 111 US cities, a number that grows daily. [...]
That both conservatives and reformists have faced defeat characterises Iran‘s domestic politics [AFP] Cambridge, United Kingdom - One way of assessing what the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement is capable of is to examine whether its adversaries have a chance of being defeated. OWS has generated a great deal of debate since its inception as a [...]
The Finger of Fate Upon You Friday, 23 March 2012 11:06By William Rivers Pitt, Truthout | Op-Ed A protester during a rally of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in New York, March 17, 2012. (Photo: Robert Stolarik / The New York Times)Then the morning came when I opened my eyes and felt the finger of Fate upon me, [...]
Police State Blues “Our rights do not end where the caprice of authoritarian bullies begins.” By Phil Rockstroh March 19, 2012 “Information Clearing House” — At mid-evening, on Saturday, March 17, upon the six-month anniversary of the occupation of Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, the NYPD — because the department suffered no [...]
Posted by Stephan Salisbury at 6:04pm, March 4, 2012. [Note for TomDispatch Readers: Scott Horton writes the No Comment column for Harper’s Magazine online. He’s one of the earliest figures whose writing I began following post-9/11 (and still read regularly). Today, his column is a Q&A with me about my new book, The United States of [...]
Andy Kroll, The Unlikely Oracle of Occupy Wall Street Posted by Andy Kroll at 8:41am, March 1, 2012. [Note for TomDispatch Readers: Many thanks to those of you who made a contribution to this site in return for a signed paperback copy of Adam Hochschild’s remarkable new history of World War I, To End All [...]
Occupy the Heart of Nonviolence by Ira Chernus On Martin Luther King Day I had a dream. I dreamt that the man himself returned and crisscrossed the nation, visiting Occupied spaces and Occupy meet-ups everywhere in a single day. At each stop he began the conversation with the same question: [...]
: Occupy Wall Street: Why Now? What’s Next? Naomi Klein and Yotam Marom in Conversation About Occupy Wall Street by Naomi Klein and Yotam Marom Naomi Klein: One of the things that’s most mysterious about this moment is “Why now?” People have been fighting austerity measures and calling out abuses by the banks for a couple of years, with [...]
Movement to Occupy Vacant Houses Spreads Bronx activists supported by Occupy Wall Street enter second month of occupation Go to story | Go to homepage On the Russian Left Boris Kagarlitsky: Young people are joining the movement but left is divided and weak Go to story | Go to homepage The Promise What you have been seeing on TRNN [...]
Rebecca Solnit, Occupy Your Heart Posted by Rebecca Solnit at 9:01am, December 22, 2011. [Holiday Note for TomDispatch Readers: Call it a tradition by now. Rebecca Solnit has had the last word at this website for years, looking forward, looking back, and in 2010, before our year of protest even began, considering “alternatives” to what is. This [...]
Celebration: Protesters returned to the park en masse shortly before midnight in downtown Manhattan.The Occupy Wall Street movement made a surprise invasion of Zuccotti Park last night while the police focused on New Year‘s Eve celebrations elsewhere in New York. Around 800 demonstators piled up metal barricades, hoisting American flags and banners while scuffles broke [...]
Barbara Ehrenreich, Homeless in America Posted by Barbara Ehrenreich at 8:30am, October 23, 2011. Last weekend, at the dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial on the Washington Mall, two of King’s children gave shout-outs to Occupy Wall Street, now spreading around the country and the world. His daughter Bernice spoke of it as [...]
How the People Got Their Groove Back: What a Bunch of Farmers Can Teach a Bunch of Occupiers About How to Keep on Going By Ashley Sanders http://warisacrime.org/content/how-people-got-their-groove-back-what-bunch-farmers-can-teach-bunch-occupiers-about-how-keep Not so long ago, Americans witnessed the beginning of a mass democratic uprising. Thousands of average people, [...]
Time Magazine paying homage to the global protester of 2011 as the person of the year is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it is an unexpected honor for occupiers in this country to be singled out for attention this Holiday Season — without the use of pepper spray to highlight their importance, [...]
Rebecca Solnit, Occupy Your Heart Posted by Rebecca Solnit at 9:01am, December 22, 2011. [Holiday Note for TomDispatch Readers: Call it a tradition by now. Rebecca Solnit has had the last word at this website for years, looking forward, looking back, and in 2010, before our year of protest even began, considering “alternatives” to what is. This year, [...]
The US media has downplayed the power of the Occupy protests, says author [GALLO/GETTY] From the dawn of the colonial era, long before they even had a national identity, Americans have always felt they had a special role in the world, though the exact nature of American exceptionalism has always been a matter of some dispute. [...]
Karl Marx: The theory of Communism may be summed up in one sentence: Abolish all private property [EPA] Barcelona, Spain – A few weeks ago, after participating at a conference at Stony Brook University in New York, I went to Zuccotti Park to see and support the protesters there. A few months earlier, I had [...]
Peter Van Buren, Thought Crime in Washington Posted by Peter Van Buren at 9:01pm, November 27, 2011. When I arrived at Zuccotti Prison one afternoon last week, the “park” was in its now-usual lockdown mode. No more tents. No library. No kitchen. No medical area. Just about 30 leftover protesters and perhaps 100 of New York’s finest [...]
After years of decline, the number of Americans who understand that the planet is indeed warming is rising [GALLO/GETTY] Conventional wisdom has it that the next election will be fought exclusively on the topic of jobs. But President Obama’s announcement last week that he would postpone a decision on the Keystone XL pipeline until after the [...]
A demonstrator from Occupy Wall Street is arrested in lower Manhattan on November 17th. Photograph by Ashley Gilbertson. PRE-OCCUPIED The origins and future of Occupy Wall Street. by Mattathias SchwartzNOVEMBER 28, 2011 PRINT E-MAIL RELATED LINKS News Desk: A map of possible sites for the original Occupy Wall Street encampment. Ask the Author: Join a live [...]
Brennan Cavanaugh (CC-BY) A scene from one of Occupy Wall Street’s N17 rallies on Nov. 17 in New York City. The writing on the wall reads: “This revolution will not be privatized.” OWS Organizer Questions Intentions of Secretive Affinity Group EMAIL PRINT SHARE SHARE Posted on Nov 22, 2011 By Alexander Kelly NEW YORK CITY—At six o’clock on [...]
Rebecca Solnit, Ms. Civil Society v. Mr. Unaccountable Posted by Rebecca Solnit at 8:32am, November 22, 2011. [Note for TomDispatch Readers: TomDispatch now closes for Thanksgiving. We’ll be back next week, of course. In the meantime, those of you who would like to offer support to this site can still contribute $75 and get [...]
Occupy protesters erected a ‘bat signal’ in New York that projected ’99%’ instead of the familiar bat [GALLO/GETTY] New York, NY – We live in an age of Superbowls and Super Committees with millions hoping that some new superheroes will turn up to save us from a downward spiral of intractable problems. A week ago, [...]
Andy Kroll, Occupy Wall Street‘s Political Victory in Ohio Posted by Andy Kroll at 5:50pm, November 20, 2011. Twelve hours after Mayor Bloomberg’s cops evicted the Occupy Wall Street encampment from Zuccotti Park, the space had been scrubbed down and repopulated with police and private-security types, up to 150 of them. In essence, since [...]
People are waiting for the opportunity to express their outrage. By Eric Walberg – Cairo As protesters fed up with the increasing injustices of the global economic system get chucked out of their latter-day Hoovervilles, Euro-American elites might consider when their turn will come. For the financial crisis facing Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and who-knows-where [...]
. New York Police Department officers stand guard at the entrance to the protesters‘ base in Zuccotti Park [Reuters] Dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters have been arrested as they attempted to march onto the New York stock exchange to mark two months since the movement against corporate greed began. New York City police arrested the protesters on [...]
Protesters plan a day of action two days after a surprise eviction from Zuccotti Park. Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images Occupy protesters prepare for day of ‘solidarity’ across US Series of events planned to support evicted Zuccotti Park activists by highlighting growing inequality and need for jobs reddit this Paul Harris in New York guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 [...]
‘Democracy Now!’: Inside the Zuccotti Park Raid EMAIL PRINT SHARE SHARE Posted on Nov 15, 2011 democracynow.org Around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, New York City police forces rolled up to Occupy Wall Street’s Zuccotti Park encampment and started pushing protesters out and removing their belongings via dump trucks. “Democracy Now!” sent a camera crew to the [...]
Occupy Wall Street protesters were removed from Zucotti Park in Manhattan, but later returned to their base of two months. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP Occupy Wall Street protesters return to Manhattan park despite ruling New York mayor wins legal battle to have them removed, but activists make Zuccotti Park their base again reddit this Karen McVeigh. Paul [...]
Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement were removed from Zuccotti Park on November 15 [Reuters] Bloomberg News was standing by as its founder Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered his Cossacks in riot gear to “cleanse” Zuccotti Park in the middle of the morning to replace one group of occupiers with another. No doubt emboldened [...]
A court in New York City has ordered police to stand down and allow Occupy Wall Street protesters to return to the demonstration site that they were forcefully evicted from by hundreds of police in riot gear earlier on Tuesday. Just hours after Zuccotti Park, which Occupy activists have been [...]
Occupy Wall Street: Zuccotti Park eviction – live updates • New York police clear Zuccotti Park in 1am swoop on plaza • More than 200 arrested mayor Bloomberg defends action • Protesters awarded court order allowing them back • Standoff developing between police and Occupy protesters • Read our earlier live blog [...]
An ever-growing economy requires ever-growing supplies of natural resources – unfortunately, the planet we live on has a finite amount of resources [GALLO/GETTY] What if rising sea levels are yet another measure of inequality? What if the degradation of our planet’s life-support systems – its atmosphere, oceans and biosphere – goes hand in hand with [...]
Frances Fox Piven, The War on the Home Front Posted by Frances Fox Piven at 6:01pm, November 6, 2011. It was a beautiful, sunlit fall morning when the patrol, many in camouflage jackets, no more than 40 of them in all, headed directly into enemy territory. Their ranks included one sailor in uniform, three [...]
A banner of the Occupy D.C camp is seen with the U.S. Capitol in the background [Reuters] Occupy: The future? By John Terrett in Americas on Mon, 2011-10-31 21:15. Over the weekend police arrested dozens of Occupy Wall Street protesters in states as far apart as Colorado, Oregon, Texas and Tennessee, after they refused to [...]
OCCUPY WALL STREET: NEW POLITICS AND NEW MILESTONES There seems to be a perception that the Occupy movement is a bunch of middle class people who are trying to gain notice for share prices going badly under corrupt practices in Wall Street. However, there is a lot more to it than that. [...]
Engelhardt, Wall Street by the Book Posted by Tom Engelhardt at 8:00pm, October 30, 2011. OWS at Valley Forge A (Self-)Graduation Speech for the Occupiers of Zuccotti Park By Tom Engelhardt Once the Arab Spring broke loose, people began asking me why this country was still so quiet. I would always point out that no one ever [...]
It is illegal in many US cities to sit, sleep, lie down – or to ‘relieve oneself’ in public [GALLO/GETTY] Some of the Occupy Wall Street encampments now spreading across the US have access to “porta-potties” (eg: Freedom Plaza in Washington, DC) or, better yet, restrooms with sinks and running water (as in Fort Wayne, Indiana). [...]
AP / Mary Altaffer By Christopher Ketcham It’s 4:45 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 15, the day Occupy Wall Street went global. The march in Manhattan is twin pronged on 6th Avenue, several blocks long on the east and west sidewalks of the street. It flows as juggernautish and loud and flashing as a flood in a [...]
Chip Ward, Occupy Earth Posted by Chip Ward at 9:28am, October 27, 2011. If your child has asthma and it’s getting worse, then news about the White House’s recent retreat on ozone (that is, smog) standards for the air over your city wasn’t exactly cause for cheering. Thank our environmental president for that, but mainly of course the [...]
Occupy Wall Street is “a refusal … to conform to an imposed script of appropriate citizen behaviour” [GALLO/GETTY] The Arab Spring initiated a jarring series of events in 2011 that illustrate the radical political possibilities of just being present. When the regime won’t listen, when being heard as an individual isn’t really a viable option, [...]
Wall Street‘s second occupation, by police The Wall Street Occupiers are under constant police surveillance, acting as a metaphor for post 9/11 America. Tom Engelhardt Last Modified: 23 Oct 2011 10:18 The New York police force has been faced with $1.9m in extra costs as a result of the protests [GALLO/GETTY] These last weeks, there [...]
Obama Fails Wall Street “Conspirators” Too The Secret Republican by ANDREW LEVINE “Conspiracy theories” have a bad press. But sometimes conspiracies are real and sometimes conspiracy theories do account for what they purport to explain. Whether they do or not is an empirical question. Because real world politics is propelled by multiple, heterogeneous causes, and [...]
Occupy Wall Street, London and Frankfurt – live debate Members of Occupy Wall Street celebrate after learning that they can stay on Zuccotti Park in New York. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images Protesters from Occupy Wall street, and two of the protests it inspired, will discuss the movement – and take your questions – from 10am [...]
Rebecca Solnit, This Land Is Your (Occupied) Land Posted by Rebecca Solnit at 10:13am, October 18, 2011. The other day in my Manhattan neighborhood, a woman passed me in the street. She was obviously headed for a demonstration somewhere in the big city, with a sign tucked sideways under her arm. I could just make out the [...]
A Movement Too Big to Fail AP / Ted S. Warren Protesters in Seattle melt a Bank of America debit card. By Chris Hedges There is no danger that the protesters who have occupied squares, parks and plazas across the nation in defiance of the corporate state will be co-opted by the Democratic Party or groups [...]
The All-American Occupation A Century of Our Streets Vs. Wall Street By Steve Fraser Occupy Wall Street, the ongoing demonstration-cum-sleep-in that began a month ago not far from the New York Stock Exchange and has since spread like wildfire to cities around the country, may be a game-changer. If so, it couldn’t be more appropriate [...]
Nick Turse, Mapping America’s Shadowy Drone Wars Posted by Nick Turse at 5:47pm, October 16, 2011. These last weeks, there have been two “occupations” in lower Manhattan, one of which has been getting almost all the coverage — that of the demonstrators camping out in Zuccotti Park. The other, in the shadows, has been hardly less massive, sustained, [...]
Occupy movement goes global – in pictures Occupy Wall Street protests are linking up with other Occupy movements around the world An Occupy Wall Street protester, with a US flag stuck over her mouth, holds up a placard in Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street in New YorkPhotograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Related articles Even the [...]
