Panic of the Plutocrats
A look at why there is so much hysteria over the Wall Street protests.
A look at why there is so much hysteria over the Wall Street protests.
And I also believe that we’re witnessing the rise of a global Metamovement, as said Umair Haque. Across the globe, protests are rippling out like vectors in an epidemic.
The question is: why we are being oppressed by 1%? It’s time to say NO. History is made by those who say NO.
Frustration, doubt, chaos, and failures dominated the early days of Occupy Wall Street. So how has it lasted so long, grown, and spread around the country? Fast Company reporter Sean Captain was at the occupation from day one and looks back on a series of moments that made the movement feel different than any other action he’d covered or participated in before.
(via fastcompany)
I am 44 years old. I’ve been married to the same man for over 20 years. I have 3 beautiful sons. I care for my elderly handicapped mother, I am college educated, I’ve worked hard my entire life. I am an artist, a graphic designer with over 20 years experience as a creative director. I was a small business owner for 11 years. Insurance went way up, rent went up, Utilities went up, the cost of living went up, while our earnings either stayed the same or went down for more work. The bank refused to give us a loan or a line of credit. All we needed was a little help for short amount of time. The bank left us and our employees twisting in the wind. We lost our small, family owned business, our life’s work - we lost our American Dream - or more aptly put, it was stolen from us. Not from poor decisions, not through lack of work, living beyond our means or lack of education, we did everything right, paid our taxes and worked hard. But we were bleeding money from corporate greed (insanely increased insurance rates, fees upon fees, unfair policies and ridiculous licenses demands.)
WHAT FUTURE WILL MY CHILDREN HAVE?
I am the 99 Percent
http://www.occupytogether.org/
*I submitted before, but forgot the url which i added to my picture and I fixed a few other things.
Across the globe, protests are rippling out like vectors in an epidemic.
I believe that we’re witnessing the rise of a global Metamovement.
The Metamovement is a movement of movements. Not all these movements are similar, and no two are exactly like. The Arab Spring is part of the Metamovement; the London Riots were part of the Metamovement; India’s nationwide anti-corruption protests were part of the Metamovement, just like Israel’s massive demonstrations were; protests spreading across America, under the banner of Occupy Wall Street, are all part of the Metamovement.
Article by Umair Haque for Harvard Business Review
Umair Haque is Director of the Havas Media Lab and author of The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business. He also founded Bubblegeneration, an agenda-setting advisory boutique that shaped strategies across media and consumer industries.Umair Haque
Over the past week, we’ve been dropping by the Occupy Wall Street camp in Zuccotti Park and taking photographs. (We’ve also been writing about the protests: read our coverage.) Click here for a closer look at what we’ve seen.
By John Robb
Let me spool you up on what’s going on with the Occupy movement. It’s an open source protest (there’s lots about how open source protests and insurgencies work on this blog, in posts all the way back to 2004). So, it’s not like the protests you’ve seen in the past (just as the insurgency in Iraq was different than 20th Century insurgencies). This protest is more like what we saw in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Syria, etc. You know, the protests that toppled governments. The big difference between this protest and those protests is that it’s not directed at governments. It’s aimed at companies. Not just any companies, it’s aimed at the banks that run/own the global economy. The heart of the global Capitalist system. So, why have governments suffered disintermediation (either consciously or subconsciously by these protestors)? This protest is ignoring governments and standard political processes because: What Occupy is Really About The real reason we are seeing this movement right now is because Capitalism, the last great ideological system, is in crisis. This isn’t merely a crisis of outcomes (economic depression, financial panic, etc.), it’s a crisis of BELIEF. While people generally believe in the idea of capitalism, a critical mass of people now think that the global capitalist system we currently have is so badly run, so corrupt, so terrible at delivering results that it needs either a) a complete overhaul or b) we need to build something new. In short, in its tiny way, this protest may be the start of a reformation of the church of capitalism. A splintering that may change everything…. For better or worse depending on how well you did in the old, corrupt system.
Over 100 bridges, 20 tunnels, and six public ferries cross the River Thames, but only Blackfriars will shine in photovoltaic glory. Solarcentury is working in conjunction with other public transportation and facility upgrades to reduce pollution and congestion, improve the passenger environment, and act as a catalyst for regenerating some of London’s more deprived areas. Lengthening the station’s deck will require 14,000 tons of new materials. In an effort to keep environmental impact to a minimum, hefty loads will be transported by barge instead of via London’s crowded roads.
Read more: World’s Largest Solar Bridge Crosses The River Thames in London Blackfriars Solar Bridge by Solarcentury – Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World
As the #OccupyWallStreet movement gains momentum in more locations—and as protesters are arrested by the hundreds—Fast Company speaks with one of the movement’s architects.
(via fastcompany)
Occupation Blues
On October 05, 2011, at 3:00 in the afternoon the residents of Liberty Square will gather to join their union brothers and sisters in solidarity and march. At 4:30 in the afternoon the 99% will march in solidarity with #occupywallstreet from Foley Square to the Financial District, where their pensions have disappeared to, where their health has disappeared to. Together we will protest this great injustice.