OCCUPY WALL STREET

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by Ebon

Yeah I watched a couple of docos about it and read about a bunch of shit that Monsanto did (like trying to put a patent on the pig). I didn't even think about places not being able to be farmed on, that's a good point. However, it seems like there is a lot of land outside of cities that can be used. Also there are lots of people doing urban farming for the little neighborhoods that they live in, I know of 3 here in Austin, plus 2 more farmers markets. I know not everyone can afford it but I think that the government should pitch in to help make costs lower for everyone when comes to natural non gmo foods for us to eat.

i absolutely agree. but the subsidies end up propping up huge gmo monocultures while the average joe farmer gets squeezed out by the gmo creators. and farming ain't easy. it's hard, back breaking work, unless you are mechanized and even then it's not all that easy. to grow food for a populace with out harming the soils and the environment, one needs to have a deep understanding of soils and how they work, the microbiological life it needs to be sustainable, the nutrients/minerals and all of THEIR cycles not to mention have impeccable timing of seasonal pests and diseases to just maintain whatever it is your growing to get it to harvest. i mean, it's not glamorous lol! and it's not profitable, either. farmers are not making millions. in fact, a lot of the average joe farmers left are deeply in debt just to keep the show going. and THEN.....you have to convince that same populace that eating seasonally is the way to go. do you eat only what's in season? i never have, but i've been working on it for the past couple of years. it's really hard! cuz dangit i want a strawberry in january.

in the utopia in my head everyone cooperates and farms pop all over place and farms in places that can grow strawberries in january in America do and send them to places in America where they can't. until then, people will continue to buy strawberries from some foreign country that were picked green and gassed on the way here to make them red enough for grocery stores across America.

[Sachita]

Originally Posted by persiphone

i absolutely agree. but the subsidies end up propping up huge gmo monocultures while the average joe farmer gets squeezed out by the gmo creators. and farming ain't easy. it's hard, back breaking work, unless you are mechanized and even then it's not all that easy. to grow food for a populace with out harming the soils and the environment, one needs to have a deep understanding of soils and how they work, the microbiological life it needs to be sustainable, the nutrients/minerals and all of THEIR cycles not to mention have impeccable timing of seasonal pests and diseases to just maintain whatever it is your growing to get it to harvest. i mean, it's not glamorous lol! and it's not profitable, either. farmers are not making millions. in fact, a lot of the average joe farmers left are deeply in debt just to keep the show going. and THEN.....you have to convince that same populace that eating seasonally is the way to go. do you eat only what's in season? i never have, but i've been working on it for the past couple of years. it's really hard! cuz dangit i want a strawberry in january.

in the utopia in my head everyone cooperates and farms pop all over place and farms in places that can grow strawberries in january in America do and send them to places in America where they can't. until then, people will continue to buy strawberries from some foreign country that were picked green and gassed on the way here to make them red enough for grocery stores across America.

Since agriculture is my passion I stay tuned to the issues. Since this thread is not specifically about that I will not go into all the details. But I will say that there is a LARGE % of the population who just care not to think about it. If they did we wouldn't supporting the food markets we do. The reality is they will turn a blind eye and people will feed their kids and pets processed foods without even reading the label or researching to see the effects of certain ingredients and GMO's.

But these same people rely on the government and agencies such as the FDA to allow it into our food systems. Are you kidding me? We have a huge fucking financial crisis due to political corruption. Do you think these same people give a rats ass if the FDA is honest or not? Do most people know that in a HUGE part of processed food is after growth of the weed killer Round-up? Corn, soy beans, canola, wheat, just to name a food. All genetically modified seed to to control weeds. its growing in the freaking plant and YOU are consuming it. If they are giving it to cattle as feed its in the beef and in milk.

But the good news is that there has a been a HUGE increase in farmers markets the past ten years. That people are becoming more conscious and wise about choices, HOWEVER we need to act fast. Do something about it. Stop dreaming and giving lip service. (this is people in general) Stop shopping at Walmart or at least not so much. Find your local farms ( www.localharvest.org ) go visit, talk, help, support. Support organics. Yes it cost more because of supply and demand. Shop wisely and eat less if you have to. Stop making excuses. Get together with a few friends one day a week and plants an organic garden together. If you can raise some hens. Find local food coalitions in your area and see how you can help and support. Shop local and stop spending money on unnecessary things. Trade stuff, barter, shop at good will. Be proactive and conscious.

Talk, talk talk, go to an occupy with a group of friends.

We can change the world if we all get on board and stop the fucking insanity.

[atomiczombie]

Obama Tops GOP Candidates in Wall Street Donations

New figures show President Obama continues to pull in huge donations from the financial sector, with more money from Wall Street this year than all other Republican presidential candidates combined. According to the Washington Post, Obama has raised a total of $15.6 million from banks and other financial firms, with nearly $12 million of that going to the Democratic National Committee. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has raised less than half that much from Wall Street, around $7.5 million. A top banking executive and Obama fundraiser told the Washington Post that reports of Wall Street antagonism toward Obama "are exaggerated and overblown ... [but] it probably helps from a political perspective if he’s not seen as a Wall Street guy."

Link:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/20/headlines#4

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

Obama Tops GOP Candidates in Wall Street Donations

New figures show President Obama continues to pull in huge donations from the financial sector, with more money from Wall Street this year than all other Republican presidential candidates combined. According to the Washington Post, Obama has raised a total of $15.6 million from banks and other financial firms, with nearly $12 million of that going to the Democratic National Committee. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has raised less than half that much from Wall Street, around $7.5 million. A top banking executive and Obama fundraiser told the Washington Post that reports of Wall Street antagonism toward Obama "are exaggerated and overblown ... [but] it probably helps from a political perspective if he’s not seen as a Wall Street guy."

Link:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/20/headlines#4

From the time he wanted Tim Guitner (sp?)as Sec of Treasury, I knew he had a close relationship with Wall Street. Never have liked that "wiz kid." No way can I see him having one ounce of real understanding of the average wage-earner in the US. Yet, I also get that any candidate for president will have some strings with Wall Street.

Shit.... just had a pretty big earthquake jolt here in SF Bay Area! Whoa!!! Going to listen to news and see what is going on. Net not off, so I think I am safe. But WOW- big bang and shake. Today is the 20 yr anniversary of the Oakland Hills fires. And close to San Bruno gas pipe fires. Shit. Weird.

[atomiczombie]

[Toughy]

so............lets talk about the great goddess Hilary who would have been different......

So go do some research on Canadian pipelines and some nasty ass oil containing sludge found in Alberta. The enviormental impact statement given by TransCanadia......something about a top Clinton aid involved in pipelines and disaster with leaks.....

folks

occupy wall street
look for the truth

Hilary is no different than Obama

[SoNotHer]

Like spoken word on OWS. There's some real highs in this, particularly when it gets rolling about 'America getting extracted while we focus on celebrity nonsense.' Spot on.

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

Obama Tops GOP Candidates in Wall Street Donations

New figures show President Obama continues to pull in huge donations from the financial sector, with more money from Wall Street this year than all other Republican presidential candidates combined. According to the Washington Post, Obama has raised a total of $15.6 million from banks and other financial firms, with nearly $12 million of that going to the Democratic National Committee. Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney has raised less than half that much from Wall Street, around $7.5 million. A top banking executive and Obama fundraiser told the Washington Post that reports of Wall Street antagonism toward Obama "are exaggerated and overblown ... [but] it probably helps from a political perspective if he’s not seen as a Wall Street guy."

Link:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/10/20/headlines#4

Thank you for this, AZ. Seriously.
But I gotta sit tight on my feelings about what I have to say because I want to make sure that I'm not filtering through some fucked up anger I already have about O'Bama (checking my bias for hidden prejudices, etc.)(whole other thread, maybe RZ it).

*Thank you*

~D

[atomiczombie]

Russell Brand's blog post today:

October 20th, 2011

Among the many triumphs of the Occupy Wall Street movement (a campaign so alive with zeitgeist that I feel here obligated to reference its proper title – #OccupyWallStreet) is the remarkable sense of occasion that accompanies the phenomenon. Since it began a month ago I’ve been subliminally transfixed. Then, like a baffled alien abductee, I unwittingly found myself first transplanted from Los Angeles to Manhattan then suddenly somnambu-jogging through Tribeca to Zuccotti Park, lured by a peculiar certainty that I simply had to be there.

Leaving my apartment with an objective no grander than to go for a run I somehow landed amidst Zuccotti’s tarpaulin sprawl in unforgivable leggings and a headband that would have had Alice reaching for a shard of cracked looking-glass.

There can be few cultures that would unthinkingly welcome into their fold a man dressed as I was in the macabre attire of a spandex scarecrow but the occupants of this pop up civilization offered me first food, then shelter and then, incredibly, hope that we can change the world.

Of course, this may seem like cock-eyed optimism given that physically the site resembles a Kenyan slum, all slung together wigwams, a Toy-Town medi-centre and a cardboard-igloo library, but whilst the visible structures
may be flimsy they are held together by an invisible scaffold of ideals founded upon the thing the establishment fears most; the will of the people.
During my first accidental visit I chatted with an enthralling bunch, notably a beautiful group of teenagers, righteous and idealistic and interestingly mellow. I suppose they differ from the London teens that last month took a starkly contrasting course of action from the same impetus of frustration, in that while they may be similarly disenfranchised, they believe in the possibility of change.

Brianna who is seventeen, pagan-pretty and dusky, is attending college by day and occupying Wall Street by night like some heart wrenching cross between Pocahontas and Batman, said that young people are entitled to an education without being bound to a lifetime of debt. Whilst “Messiah” (there’s a lot of those names flying about, go with it; it’s a small price to pay for Utopia) literally danced into the conversation and self consciously, but touchingly, divided up and shared a stick of gum in a “Sermon on the Mount” brought to us by Juicy Fruit. You might think, that given her name, that was the least she could do, but we’re talking about a sixteen-year-old girl here. If Fox News and the Daily Mail are to be believed I’m damn lucky she didn’t shiv me in the guts and film it on her phone.

Here in Zuccotti Square these young people clearly felt safe, purposeful, included and behaved with charm, compassion and respect. Naturally I was impressed but more agitated than ever by my jogging outfit. Really, it’s terrible, I mean if we’re going to bring about systemic and meaningful social change, I want to be dressed for it.

The next day I returned to learn more, in a very fetching scarf with my friend Daniel Pinchbeck the brilliant writer, radical and ludicrously, yet truthfully titled “psychedelic Shaman”.

One of the movement’s significant principles is that there are no appointed leaders. That said, there are more experienced and pragmatic inhabitants to whom Daniel and I chatted. We were given a tour of the site and in spite of the lashing rain and gales, which I, of course regarded as the winds of change and cleansing rain, all we encountered were bonhomous and welcoming. Much more than I’d anticipated. Let’s face facts, one of the campaign’s few edicts is to provide the unrepresented 99% with a voice, had I, when I fitted into that demographic, chanced upon a touring celebrity I would have used that voice to tell him to fuck off, no matter how nice his scarf was.

Perhaps it is this ambience of inclusion, of acceptance and indeed of love that has brought #OccupyWallStreet such success. There is a remarkable absence of anger and resentment which is why the movement resonates so
deeply. Is this movement’s implicit goal to reengage our humanity? To reach beyond the political, the national and other illusory, temporary concepts and into our true, spiritual nature?

Justin, our volunteer tour guide was smiling and patient, especially with my incessant questioning about where people go to the toilet; mostly in McDonald’s it transpires – I’m glad Ronald and the Hamburglar at last have a chance to atone for their mucky past and eery jocundity. The sense of cohesion and civic duty in the square, which many call Liberty Square, its former title, was something I found appealing. In my country, England, and across the world there is amongst older people an irritation at the breakdown of traditional values, a grudge against apathetic and uncaring youth, atomized and X-box agog, indifferent to their culture, abstracted from their land.

Here young men who would typically be drenched in spittle-flecked “Get a job” rage diligently join committees for sanitation, cooking and on site security. A voluntary conscription to the cause of change. A nation founded on ideals of harmony and responsibility, on representing the whole, built here in a privately owned square. The ownership of the Square, explained David, a seasoned and visionary activist, is important as the New York Real Estate Group who represent the interests of the powerful institutions to whom this movement is a threat, are now desperate to implement legislative change that will ensure the Occupation will be curtailed and not repeated. Clearly this is no simple undertaking as demonstrated when the suspicious attempts to vacate the Square for cleaning were abandoned. It is unlike Mayor Bloomberg to back down but David outlined this movement is unlike anything this country has ever seen.

Other protestors took the time to educate me on the matters that had brought them to the square. One purple haired, perfect skinned occupant told me beneath the billow and crack of the turbulent tarpaulin that in 2009 24% of American families with children were at some point too poor to buy food. Hunger. It doesn’t get more basic than that. Another lad, black and bright eyed with spectacles that I suspect-acle didn’t have glass in them, informed me that 50 million Americans do not have health care. Perhaps that’s why his glasses weren’t finished.

Of course these problems are not unique to America, they are the symptoms of a global epidemic, said a lady who was there speaking on behalf of the Mexican Zapatista movement using the already iconic “Human Mic” system in which staccato sentences are truncated and repeated by the crowd. A charming and inspiring instant cultural artifact.

A Scotsman there told me that he considered this to be America’s class awakening, that the 99% are a contemporary proletariat existing in opposition to an oligarchical 1%. A business class that have been steadily waging a clandestine class war through market deregulation and psychopathic economic exploitation. The surprisingly sanguine Scot told me that now this exploitation is reaching critical mass, too many families are affected, too many people are losing jobs, too many people across our planet cannot put food on their family’s table for this behavior to continue unopposed.
As I listened, Johnny, a wild-eyed wolf man drummer, continued the burgeoning rhythm, a slow, comforting nocturnal heartbeat.

Later, leaving the McDonald’s lavvy (the staff were lovely and friendly and seemed to really like the protestors; recognizing perhaps whose interests were being represented) we exploited corporate facilities further by questioning Bill, a seasoned campaigner, in Dirty Ron’s boutique brand, Pret a Manger.

Bill has been an activist for many years primarily with the early campaigns to bring awareness and justice to sufferers of HIV and AIDS. He said there were similarities with the #OccupyWallStreet movement in terms of the bureaucratic obstacles and official reluctance, but that this huge issue of social inequality, of unbearable economic disparity has a veracity and velocity that was difficult even for those on the ground floor to anticipate.
Daniel Pinchbeck proposes that we are entering an era of profound change of consciousness. That capitalism has provided our civilization with the machinery of mass communication and with it potential global union.
It occurs that the relentless charge of vagueness leveled at this movement may be it’s great strength. The reason there is no candid agenda is because a spiritual shift this seismic is initially difficult to legislate.

I think another attractive distinction that #OccupyWallStreet has is that unlike a lot of pious “Lefty” movements it’s a riot down there – I mean in the sense of “fun” not the kind of riots I was arrested at as a boy. Why, I met a fellow in a skin-tight stars and stripes gimp suit, all covered with scribbles and slogans. I’m not ashamed to admit that in the giddiness of the moment I quite forgot myself and unzipped his mouth and planted a kiss on his full lips. Only after did I ask his sexual orientation which he described as “open minded”, the perv.

As I was leaving, my outfit compromised once more by the addition of a freely given plastic poncho (it wasn’t really a poncho it was a sack, I had to chew my way out of it to make a head-hole, even then I was hardly Clint Eastwood but I had to do something about my hair. Plus my ascot was by now ruined) a bloke I spoke to, a former US government employee, a Doogie Howser Deepthroat, told me of the fear the movement had generated amongst politicians. #OccupyWallStreet has no recognizable funding, an anomaly the government does not know how to address. Typically public protests are funded by non-profit organizations that are easy to hound, and behind them foundations that would yield to political intimidation. But this amorphous, righteous, global collective is impossible to buy, too popular to repress and too peaceful to oppose militarily. Those in power for the first time in two generations are being confronted with something they don’t understand, and they are afraid.

As I walked home to my 1% apartment I felt incredibly hopeful, the benevolence and enlightenment of the Zuccotti tribe alleviated my feelings of hypocrisy, at least for now. Looking back through the media trucks and flash bulbs it was apparent that they have colonized more than the formerly anonymous square, they have colonized the international agenda. All about the surveillance cameras observe, the police look on.

The Occupy Wall Street movement is already a success on the most basic of principles; it’s own simple objective as stated in its name has been met- Wall Street is occupied. At least Zuccotti Park is, this once architecturally banal plaza, framed by silently thundering corporate tombstones, is becoming both the graveyard of a deceased economic dogma and the cradle of the revolution.

America is awake and with it the American dream has awoken.

Russell Brand rocks. Just sayin'.

[atomiczombie]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

Thank you for this, AZ. Seriously.
But I gotta sit tight on my feelings about what I have to say because I want to make sure that I'm not filtering through some fucked up anger I already have about O'Bama (checking my bias for hidden prejudices, etc.)(whole other thread, maybe RZ it).

*Thank you*

~D

Ya know, Obama has been a huge disappointment to a lot of people. It is really starting to sink in just how conservative he is, which is why his poll numbers are so low among his voting base. Noam Chomsky says he is worse than Bush in terms of foreign policy. And he has been in the pockets of Wall Street all along, don't doubt that. This is why I am a member of the Green Party. I lost my respect for the Democrats 20 years ago.

[Kätzchen]

I just want to say that I am learning so much from all of you.
Thank you for your thoughtful posts,
your ability to offer criticism in ways that is productive
and keeps to its own organic process - which- to me,
is highly characteristic of what successful campaigns for
social change is all about.

I liked Theo's post - I've been watching this guy for awhile on Youtube.
He's got such a way with illustrating priniciple in action and the thought process behind certain agenda and messages we get from them (those who facilitate and aspects of gatekeeping and the forms these particular strategies take).

Miss Tick expressed the idea that if certain politics monopolize (could we say it's oligarchy? yes, maybe, no?) and materialize we will all be sharing in the sorrow of what seats of entitlement, consumer based behaviors have wrought upon the environment (literally and metaphorically).
The perfect storm, the trifecta.

Are people listening?

I propose the other side (any side, really) is listening.

The hyper-acuteness of the OWS message is something worth more than just advocating massive change in our fiscal and financial sectors. It's about a change of heart toward ourselves, others and sentient beings who have no voice, but depend on us to be and act mercifully in our use and touch upon each and every aspect of relationships we have, personally and communally, socially. And that's just it. Being socially responsible. Reduce our global footprint in terms of improving the natural resources we have by being faithful stewards of our environment.

I'm inspired by the participation in this thread and the many various perspective and informed people in our membership.

K, I'm gonna go back to reading,
~D

PS/ AZ, any person who uses a corollary involving Clint Eastwood has my attention.

[atomiczombie]

I am just excited that the national conversation is getting moved in a different direction. I am excited that people are re-thinking their assumptions about the ways that big money banks and corporations are influencing every aspect of our lives, and that there is a readiness and hope for actually doing something about it. I haven't felt excited about political change in a long time. I have been cynical and discouraged for 20 years. Today I am not.

[persiphone]

Originally Posted by Sachita

Since agriculture is my passion I stay tuned to the issues. Since this thread is not specifically about that I will not go into all the details. But I will say that there is a LARGE % of the population who just care not to think about it. If they did we wouldn't supporting the food markets we do. The reality is they will turn a blind eye and people will feed their kids and pets processed foods without even reading the label or researching to see the effects of certain ingredients and GMO's.

But these same people rely on the government and agencies such as the FDA to allow it into our food systems. Are you kidding me? We have a huge fucking financial crisis due to political corruption. Do you think these same people give a rats ass if the FDA is honest or not? Do most people know that in a HUGE part of processed food is after growth of the weed killer Round-up? Corn, soy beans, canola, wheat, just to name a food. All genetically modified seed to to control weeds. its growing in the freaking plant and YOU are consuming it. If they are giving it to cattle as feed its in the beef and in milk.

But the good news is that there has a been a HUGE increase in farmers markets the past ten years. That people are becoming more conscious and wise about choices, HOWEVER we need to act fast. Do something about it. Stop dreaming and giving lip service. (this is people in general) Stop shopping at Walmart or at least not so much. Find your local farms ( www.localharvest.org ) go visit, talk, help, support. Support organics. Yes it cost more because of supply and demand. Shop wisely and eat less if you have to. Stop making excuses. Get together with a few friends one day a week and plants an organic garden together. If you can raise some hens. Find local food coalitions in your area and see how you can help and support. Shop local and stop spending money on unnecessary things. Trade stuff, barter, shop at good will. Be proactive and conscious.

Talk, talk talk, go to an occupy with a group of friends.

We can change the world if we all get on board and stop the fucking insanity.

i actually work in agriculture and am studying some ag in college. i have worked next to migrant workers doing what they do and i've worked with farm owners doing what they do and i've done some consulting (just a little) on some specific farming practices. everything involving food is a passion of mine as well. i'm very passionate about the politics, ethics, practices, cooking, eating, etc of food. so i'm very aware of everything you're mentioning and then some lol!

the complexities i've pointed out involving the hurdles that live within our food supply (and all that that entails) are just a few things that most people simply aren't aware of. and that's ok, it just takes these kinds of conversations to make that happpen. kids aren't taught about food in school anymore. or anything involving ag for that matter. ag programs in colleges teach mechanized and chemical infused farming practices and how to fill out subsidy forms (i'm not kidding). it's amazing to me that my ag professors don't know what allelopathy is. but then they can't understand why grape vines are stunted near certain trees. and they really just don't know. we have become largely disconnected from our food on more than just the consumer level.

wheat is in a big battle right now because the gmo corps want to introduce gmo wheat and the wheat farmers don't want it because then they won't be able to export. i haven't updated myself in a few months on what the status of that fight is because i'm pretty swamped.

generally, but not exclusively, gmo's are a "Round-up ready" seed. so when the farmers spray Round-Up in their fields, the crop is resistant to the spray so that only the weeds die. They do that by taking an e.coli bacteria as a vector and transferring whatever DNA they want (in this case a gene coding that is resistant to Round -Up) into the e.coli and then the e.coli carries the DNA into the plant cells in the lab. additionally, there is a marker gene present in gmo's that are antibiotic resistant. the problem here is that DNA can be taken up by cells in more than one way. so, to have antibiotic resistant DNA litter floating about your body is bad bad bad.

but back to your point about blind eyes and such. i think that's valid. the first thing i hear out of a person's mouth when i say something like....buy organic....is that they can't afford it. and i believe them. i can't really afford it either. so i feel their pain. i recently went through a crisis where we lost everything and i decided when replacing everything in my kitchen to go gmo free and buy as much organic as i can. it was time to put up or shut up, i told myself. after eating cleaner for some time now, i have discovered that cleaner food fills me up faster and for longer. and the whole time i thought i was allergic to bread....i think i'm actually allergic to gmos. so while my grocery bill is a little higher and my grocery bag is a little lighter, it takes LESS clean food for me to feel nourished. and that was a huge thing for me. eating is such an intimate thing for so many people.

i went off on a tangent again. the point i wanted to make is.....the chips on the shelf today are not the chips i grew up on as a kid. the big mac of today is not the same big mac from 30 years ago. our food changed and we didn't. and now our food has made a lot of us sick and dependent on very expensive meds. so of course, when you live on minimum wage and you have diabetes....where are you gonna shop? not Whole Foods that's fo sho. i think it's less of a blind eye and more of an economic issue for lots of folks. not to mention....there are tons of places in America that don't have access to clean foods at all. we are lacking in choices. and it comes back full circle.