Tamer Mowafy's List: Occupy Movement

Today's continually updated collection of articles we think should be of interest to the Occupy movement.

Adam Ford argues that the #Occupy movement represents a historic moment in the fight against austerity.

All these years,” she said, “we’ve been organizing marches, rallies… And if only 45 people show up, you’re depressed, if you get 300, you’re happy. Then one day, 200,000 people show up. And you’re incredulous: on some level, even though you didn’t realize it, you’d given up thinking that you could actually win.

Many people wonder what it is that these new 'occupy' protests can accomplish, and have trouble envisioning the so-called "ends" of the movement. But the beauty of what is happening is not found in the "ends", but the "means" that has been chosen. Politics is changing, and we can and should push it to be more localized.

The news didn’t come in the middle of the night as we expected, but in the morning, at a reasonable hour EST. Hundreds of riot cops had raided the encampment at Oscar Grant Plaza, wildly swinging their batons and firing tear gas and beanbag rounds into a crowd made up of our friends, comrades, and allies who had for the last two weeks taken over and transformed dead space into the Oakland commune.

The Occupy Wall Street movement has transfixed the nation. In just a few weeks, it has spread from Manhattan to hundreds of towns and cities, and it has now taken root in other countries.

Things are getting really weird around here. In hundreds of cities people are finding their voice. And we are all listening. Has the inequality gap just become too intolerable—especially to those 99% who see only a future of mindless toil and crippling debt? Is the democratic system as we know it “broken”? Is it time to repeal corporate personhood as codified into law? Are taxing the rich and dismantling portions of the financial services sector enough to help restore dignity in our lives? Or do we want the works…?

Over the last two weeks I've seen a community rise up seemingly out of nowhere -- one based on consensus decision-making and strong anti-oppression values for all people involved. One that included free food and a clean kitchen, a community garden, free school and twice-daily yoga.

The corporate media may obsess about what Occupy Wall Street is all about, but these images should make it clear.

Gelderloos analyses the "indignant" and "occupy" movements which have spread across the world in recent weeks.

PROTESTS AGAINST union-busting and police brutality in New York City last week--while smaller than the biggest mobilizations recently--show that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement is continuing to grow and relate to the struggles of working-class New Yorkers.

In many ways we in Egypt are part of the same struggle, and we are watching in solidarity. Keep going, don't stop, occupy more

At a time when a banner reading Katalipsi! (Occupied!) flies from the Greek Finance ministry, here are three thoughts on the proliferating calls to #Occupy!

Like most of the occupations around the world today, Madrid's Puerta del Sol is peaceful.

"What happens in New York, doesn't stay in New York. As Occupy Wall Street enters its fourth week, its power is resonating throughout Asia and Europe. Other key financial capitals, from Hong Kong to London, are joining the fray."

"It all started with an e-mail. On July 13 Adbusters magazine sent out a call to its 90,000-strong list proclaiming a Twitter hashtag (#OccupyWallStreet) and a date, September 17. It quickly spread among the mostly young, tech-savvy radical set, along with an especially alluring poster the magazine put together of a ballerina atop the Charging Bull statue, the financial district's totem to testosterone."

"Even in relative absentia, Occupy Wall Street has created obvious ripples on the actual street it borrows its name from. "

"We are all losers, but the true losers are down there on Wall Street. They were bailed out by billions of our money. We are called socialists, but here there is always socialism for the rich. They say we don't respect private property, but in the 2008 financial crash-down more hard-earned private property was destroyed than if all of us here were to be destroying it night and day for weeks. "

"كلنا خاسرون، ولكن الخاسرين الحقيقيين هم هناك في وول ستريت. لقد أُطلق سراحهم بكفالةٍ من مليارات من جيوبنا. وُصِفنا بالاشتراكيين، ولكن هنا دائمًا اشتراكية للأغنياء. يقولون اننا لا محترم الملكية الخاصة، ولكن في الانهيار المالي لعام 2008 ،دُمِّرَت الملكية الخاصة المُكتسَبة بشكل أعنف مما لو قمنا جميعًا بتدميرها ليل نهارٍ لأسابيع."

"People across the globe are angry. Fed up with their corrupt and inept governments, people have taken to the streets. The furious protesters have come from all walks of life: students, workers and farmers, men and women, young and old, urban and rural, the working poor and the struggling middle class."