Occupy Wall Street in NYC is celebrating its one year anniversary.
Tonight, occupiers have gathered in Liberty Plaza for a huge, General Assembly.
Mic Check:
Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
Live, streaming, video:
www.ustream.tv/occupyeye
Category Archives: Occupy Wall Street
Howard Zinn’s The “Moral Equation” of War is Wrong
Howard Zinn‘s 1970 essay Vietnam: The Moral Equation is the seventeenth chapter of The Power of Nonviolence: Writings by Advocates of Peace . I am proponent of Zinn’s People’s History of the United States, and especially the graphic novel version, A People’s History of American Empire. And Zinn seems to be a force behind this book of pacifism, including contributing the introduction.
Yet, here I go committing heresy: Howard Zinn is wrong. In the first few paragraphs of this essay he gives away the whole pacifist store. Now I am all for the concept of free, but not when it means surrendering my pacifism from the get-go. Zinn starts by giving up on pacifism:
I would start such a discussion from the supposition that it is logically indefensible to hold an absolutely nonviolent position . . . . Continue reading Howard Zinn’s The “Moral Equation” of War is Wrong
Remembering Ward Morehouse 1929-2012
I have written on this site a great deal about pacifist heroes of the past. Ward Morehouse is a pacifist her owhom I was lucky enough to have worked with.
Even in our corporatized culture, there are still many people to act as guideposts for how to live a life, they are just not publicized. Ward Morehouse is definitely one of those Great people. And I just found out recently that we lost him.
I met Ward in the late 1990’s through The Other Economic Summit North America (TOES). He was the Chair of TOES NA. Before there was Occupy, or even the Battle of Seattle, there was TOES. They would shadow the G8 summit, and put on a conference highlighting a humane vision of the planet’s economy. Ward was so much more than an academic, he was a visionary, leader, teacher, publisher, and activist. The obituary below describes him better than I could.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iWdyH4vWVM] Continue reading Remembering Ward Morehouse 1929-2012
Occupy San Diego,CA General Assembly 7/18/12
I attended the Occupy San Diego General Assembly (GA) on Wednesday July 18, 2012. Occupy San Diego holds GA’s on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
The Wednesday GA is held at the Children’s Park at the base of 1st Avenue near the waterfront. Walking along the waterfront to the GA, there are MLK quotes in the cement. I thought this one was appropriate for the GA: Continue reading Occupy San Diego,CA General Assembly 7/18/12
Celebrate Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday with one of our favorite books
For Woody Guthries’s 100th birthday. The children’s book “This Land Is Your Land” first appeared in 1998, and has since been updated with a special edition. The book has bright, folk art style illustrations by Kathy Jakobsen which bring Woody Guthrie’s classic song to life. It includes interesting details such as: a scene with a soup kitchen in a poor neighborhood; images of Woody Guthrie playing guitar with friends; and depictions of picnics and sing-a-longs in various regions of the USA. There is also a tribute to Woody Guthrie written by his friend Pete Seeger.
Every page will stimulate discussion about how things were and are around America, as well as the lessons and culture of Occupy Wall Street. And, your child will become familiarized with a song that has been sung over and over again — with old and new verses — at Liberty Square and many other occupations.
“This Land Is Your Land” is truly beautiful, fun, and thoughtful. It is a great book to use to explain to children ideas such as economic hard times, the joy and power of community, and the focus of Occupy Wall Street. Continue reading Celebrate Woody Guthrie 100th Birthday with one of our favorite books
Independent books for July 4th
Books for Independence Day
There’s never been a better time to speak out against injustices, stand up together for our rights and take action to preserve sovereignty, community and democracy.
Occupy World Street
A Global Roadmap for Radical Economic and Political Reform
As demonstrators worldwide demand change, Occupy World Street offers a sweeping vision of how to reform our global economic and political structures, break away from empire, and build a world of self-determining sovereign states that respect the need for ecological sustainability and uphold human rights.
In this refreshingly detailed plan, Ross Jackson shows how a handful of small nations could take on a leadership role; create new alliances, new governance, and new global institutions; and, in cooperation with grassroots activists, pave the way for other nations to follow suit.
“Ross Jackson presents us with an extraordinary global plan to tackle the multiple crises of our times—awesome in conception, sensitive in detail, and realistic enough to succeed.”—Richard Register, author of Ecocities—Rebuilding Cities in Balance with Nature.
2052: A Global Forecast for the Next Forty Years
Commemorating the fortieth Anniversary of The Limits to Growth, 2052 asks, what will happen to humanity over the next forty years?
We know that much needs to change to make our future more sustainable. But will we rise to the occasion? How much change is likely to occur? And how do we prepare to live good lives in the world that is likely to emerge?
These are the questions that propelled Jorgen Randers, a renowned analyst of global trends, to ask dozens of leading experts around the globe to weigh in with their best predictions on how our economies, energy supplies, natural resources, climate, food, fisheries, militaries, political divisions, cities, psyches, and more will take shape in the coming decades.
What’s in your Occupy Handbook?
Peace Couple was queried about receiving a free review copy of a book of essays called the Occupy Handbook (535pp, 2012, Back Bay Books).
The book’s title got me thinking about the possibility of which essays would be in my personal Occupy Handbook. First, would be a selection from the Fellowship of Reconciliation‘s 1958 MLK comic book that was translated into Arabic and used as a nonviolent training tool for the Arab Spring. Paired with that would be an essay from Gene Sharp, whose 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action shaped the tactics of the Arab Spring. Next, I would include an article by Adbusters and Naomi Klein about the fomenting of Occupy in the US. Delving into the Occupy movement itself would require an exploration of the power of consensus and direct democracy: So, I would include writings that reflect the concepts shown in the video Consensus (Direct Democracy @ Occupy Wall Street):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dtD8RnGaRQ]
The Occupy Handbook we were sent to review is heavily tilted toward economic issues (and covers them well), but the book barely acknowledges the democracy, social justice, antiwar, and environmental issues that have been raised by the Occupy movement. That is why it would be important to include the fruit of consensus process such as Occupy Wall Street’s One Demand and the Declaration of the Occupation of New York City which contain a much broader vision of a better world than simply economic reform.
In terms of people who have informed the Occupy movement, I would include: