Occupy Wall St - The Revolution Is Love

Occupy protesters kicked off bus on way to Washington

A group of Occupy protesters from California, who were heading to Washington, DC to participate in the Occupy Congress protest on January 17, were kicked off their Greyhound bus on Saturday night and left stranded in Amarillo, Texas.

The driver, Donald Ainsworth, allegedly called the Occupiers “you people” and told them they were not welcome in Washington or anywhere else. It is not clear whether there had been any precipitating incident.

Read more

Chris Christie to Occupy protester: You’re going down, sweetheart

At a rally for GOP hopeful Mitt Romney Sunday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) called an Occupy Wall Street protester “sweetheart” and told her she was going to “go down.”

Read more

The Rain and the Reckoning

|
William Rivers Pitt

"Occupy is not over. We come now to another winter of our discontent, and though the tents and signs and shouts of the movement have been momentarily subdued, they will return. Spring is coming, the rocks are already rolling down the mountainside…. Sooner or later, those rocks will reach the reckoning that has been so long in coming, and when that happens, nothing in this country will be the same again."

Read more

The End of the American Dream?

Columbia University to offer ‘Occupy Wall Street’ course

Add becoming an Ivy League college course to the list of accomplishments for the “Occupy Wall Street” protests.

According to The New York Post, Columbia University’s anthropology department will offer a full credit course about the national and global demonstrations next semester, titled “Occupy the Field: Global Finance, Inequality, Social Movement.”

Read more

Wall Street’s Big Lie

The Occupy protests have made us aware of a sinister process by which wealth has systematically been funneled into fewer and fewer hands. In Newsweek, Michael Thomas says public anger will finally force the big banks to pay up in 2012.

Read more

How to Occupy the World

by Jason Hickel

The leading tagline of the Occupy Wall Street movement reads: “Protest for World Revolution.” This is an ambitious claim, to be sure. And in most respects it seems to ring quite true: the movement has successfully taken root not only in cities and towns throughout the United States but also in major urban centers around the world. On October 15, Occupy Wall Street’s success inspired a broad wave of coordinated occupations across Europe. I was a founding participant in the one that began in London.

But the Occupy movement has been notably absent outside of North America and Europe. Not for want of trying, of course: in southern Africa, where I am originally from, small groups of committed activists tried to instigate occupations in a few key regional cities, but without much success. In South Africa, a society divided by violent inequalities that proceed directly from neoliberal policy, Occupy managed to attract only a few dozen souls – a poor showing for a country known for one of the highest protest rates in the world.

What accounts for the failure of Occupy to capture the imagination of the global South, which comprises precisely the people whose lives have been most brutally affected by the recent global financial crisis? And in what sense can Occupy claim to be a world revolution if it leaves out – and in some cases even alienates – the vast, non-white majority of humanity?

Read more

African-American Faith Community Joins Forces with Occupy Wall Street

Members of the African-American faith community have joined forces with Occupy Wall Street to launch a new campaign for economic justice inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. Faithful to its philosophical origin, the “Occupy the Dream” coalition has called for a National Day of Action on Martin Luther King Day – Monday, January 16, 2012 – when they will “Occupy the Federal Reserve,” in multiple cities nationwide, focusing attention on the gross injustice visited upon the 99% by the financial elite. This will be the first of many actions leading up to a mass gathering in Washington D.C., to be held April 4 – 7, when millions will unite in celebration of the life and legacy of Dr King.

Read more

In support of this effort, StudioOccupy.org has created this inspiring video:

The Winter of Our Occupation

by Michael Moore

And now it is winter. Wall Street rejoices, hoping that the change of seasons will mean a change in our spirit, our commitment to stop them.

They couldn't be more wrong. Have they not heard of Washington and the troops at Valley Forge? The Great Flint Sit-Down Strike in the winter of 1936-37? The Michigan Wolverines crushing Ohio State in the 1950 Blizzard Bowl? When it comes to winter, it is the time historically when the people persevere and the forces of evil make their retreat!

We are not even 12 weeks old, yet Occupy Wall Street has grown so fast, so big, none of us can keep up with the hundreds of towns who have joined the movement, or the thousands of actions -- some of them just simple ones in neighborhoods, schools and organizations -- that have happened. The national conversation has been irreversibly changed. Now everyone is talking about how the 1% are getting away with all the money while the 99% struggle to make ends meet. People are no longer paralyzed by despair or apathy. Most know that now is the time to reclaim our country from the bankers, the lobbyists -- and their gofers: the members of the United States Congress and the 50 state legislatures.

And they're crazy if they think that a little climate chaos (otherwise known as winter in the 21st century) that they've helped to bring about is going to stop us.

Read more

Bank’s leaked email admits ‘Occupy’ movement ‘could impact our industry’

A national effort to reclaim vacant properties has one of the country’s largest lenders scrambling.

The financial website Zero Hedge has allegedly obtained a memo from Bank of America’s field services operation warning, “We need to make sure we are all prepared.”

Vocal New York organizer Sean Barry told Raw Story Tuesday that an action known as “Occupy Our Homes” would place foreclosed and homeless families in otherwise-vacant homes. That effort began Tuesday with over 40 events in more than 20 cities.

Read more

Show Your Support for the Movement

Common Dreams is distributing -- at break-even cost -- "We are the 99%" stickers to allow folks to show their solidarity with the movement as it grows, spreads and matures.

The last time we distributed stickers through our readership was in 2002-2003. The Bush/Cheney drumbeat for war on Iraq was growing louder. 24/7 the corporate media was flooding our airwaves with retired generals, lies of WMD's and endless ‘patriotic’ flag-waving. We didn't stop them but we did our small part to help voice opposition to Bush's War. In less than 6 months, Common Dreams distributed over 500,000 "Attack Iraq? NO!" bumper stickers.

This is another one of those defining moments. It's a time to show where you stand.

With USPS Priority Mail flat rate shipping costs, we are able to ship larger amounts for far less cost per sticker -- so go in together with friends or family and save money on larger orders.

Help spread the message!

All orders received by 2pm ET M-F will ship the same day.
Stickers are Black & White on 4" x 4" vinyl w/union label.
Price includes all shipping costs.

1 Sticker = $2.00
10 Stickers = $10.00
100 Stickers = $30.00
1,000 Stickers = $200.00

This effort is not a fundraiser - these prices just cover the cost of printing, processing and shipping.

To place your order, visit: www.commondreams.org/99stickers or call us at (207) 775-0488.

Thanks for all you do!