"I think we need a revolution of the middle class, through the national parliaments. These anxieties of the people in the street need to be adressed at parliamentary level so they know that they are being heard. When parliament enacts disgraceful legislation, I would like to see us out in the street. "
October 28 is the National Day of Greece. On October 28, 1940 Mussolini asked Greek government to surrender. When the Greeks replied “NO”, Italians invaded the country. Surprisingly, Greek army won the war over the wanna-be Roman Empire of Mussolini. Only after a second German invasion, Greek army collapsed. Every year after the Liberation, on October 28 Greeks celebrate the historic “No” with a huge military parade in Thessaloniki and school parades in all municipalities. But this year’s October 28 was different. All over the country, parades turned to anti-government and anti-austerity demonstrations. People who lost their jobs, students and pupils, “indignados”, professors and teachers, everyday working people with no political background, expressed their anger for the IMF-EU-Greek government austerity plans. They demanded government officials to leave the parades and in many cases politicians were forced to leave.
Occupy Wall Street has just celebrated its 30th day in the park. On Saturday, it inspired solidarity actions in 1000 cities and that is considered as an incredible achievement.
Roger Burbach in CounterPunch 22 November, 2011: "The genius of the movement is its refusal to tie itself to a particular set of demands. The grievances are so extensive—a lack of jobs, a unequal distribution of income, a decline in educational opportunities, a lack of affordable housing, the high cost of medical care, corporate funding of elections—that the entire system has to be taken on." Comments: But what is "the entire system"? Surely it is not everything. Is it Capitalism? Please explain the difference between Capitalism and everything. `
Tomorrow, (actually today 30 November) the Aviation Week and Credit Suisse will be holding their 17th annual Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference in NYC. These war profiteers export death in the name of defense. They have obscene influence over our democracy with politicians in their pockets and hundreds of lobbyists working congress. They sell arms to to the 1% so that war can be waged against the 99% in efficient and technologically advanced ways. #OWS will not stand silent as these dangerous parasites take our tax dollars and turn them into arms and profit.
William I. Robinson: "Simply put, the immense structural inequalities of the global political economy can no longer be contained through consensual mechanisms of social control. The ruling classes have lost legitimacy; we are witnessing a breakdown of ruling-class hegemony on a world scale."
"Nothing could enhance American democracy more than if Occupy Wall Street helped enact the 28th Constitutional Amendment to end the pretense that corporations are people who speak with money. The 99% can stop the privatization of government." Huffingtodn Post 12/14 2011
"Although Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down in February 2011, the uprisings in Egypt show little sign of retreat. While the uniting rallying cry may have been against dictatorship, the struggle in Egypt that took headlines across the world in early 2011 reflected deeper social, political, and economic problems. The key demands of the revolution have still not been met. The continuation of military rule and the promise of more neoliberal economic policies lead many to believe it will be a long battle. Protestors in Egypt are hopeful, however, as people all over the world revolt against an economic system that benefits the few at the expense of the many."
GOD'S CENTURY: RESURGENT RELIGION AND GLOBAL POLITICS Timothy Shah, Daniel Philpott, Monica Duffy Toft Reviewed by Joustra. article was originally printed in the September/October 2011 issue of Books and Culture
"Remove Corruption Not Subsidies" "469 NASS members gulp N1.12 trillion and its ok....But 160million citizens gulp N1.3trillion and it becomes an issue. #OCCUPYNIGERIA."
"Before parting Matt suggests a silent prayer. We stand in circle and in the silence I reflect how beautiful it would be to have all corners of the city, of all cities, periodically liberated from the evil eye of rushing, competing, struggling by magic artists like those around me now. In fact, I dream briefly of an arrangement by which, in my ideal world of federated communities, each community would nurture its artists who would perform in squares, gardens, libraries and with their performances help all community members to enhance their perception of themselves and of the bonds that keep together a healthy community. They would contribute to make both individuals and their communities whole and happy. And they would heal the communities when conflicts shake them. I dream more but I realise some of those dreams take me too far from this moment so I raise my eyes and I meet those of the others in turn. It is not something we do very often in our cities, to look in each other’s eyes, to lock ourselves in looks which are not threatening, that do not convey menace but a desire and an attempt to discover the other so that she or he can mirror our selves and help us discover their nature and possibilities."
Naomi Klein, at ALA in Toronto , June 2003 "Most of you probably didn't think that helping people to share books was subversive when you decided to become librarians. And it shouldn't be: sharing, giving, saving and reusing are the most human of impulses and we are at our best and most human when we act on them. The desire to share, as you know, is immense." Yet the fact is that you have chosen a profession that has become radical. Being a librarian today means being more than an archivist, more than a researcher, more than an educator - it means being a guardian the embattled values of knowledge, public space and sharing that animate your profession.