Interesting discussion. "If the “Occupy” Movement and Real Tea Party Join Together, We Can Save America" http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/10/if-the-occupy-movement-and-tea-party-join-together-we-can-end-the-malignant-partnership-between-big-government-and-big-corporations-which-is-destroying-america.html
Don't you think that one very minor change could occur just because the power brokers and overly-compensated CEOs know their every earned dollar is being watched now? Light and air cure many things. I suppose they'll just find new ways of taking most of their work into another, new dark place.
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2011/10/occupy_animal_farm_the_organiz.html?mid=twitter_DailyIntel All occupiers are equal -- but some occupiers are more equal than others. In wind-whipped Zuccotti Park, new divisions and hierarchies are threatening to upend Occupy Wall Street and its leaderless collective. As the protest has grown, some of the occupiers have spontaneously taken charge on projects large and small. But many of the people in Zuccotti Park aren't taking direction well, leading to a tense Thursday of political disagreements, the occasional shouting match, and at least one fistfight. It began, as it so often does, with a drum circle. The ten-hour groove marathons weren't sitting well with the neighborhood's community board, the ironically situated High School of Economics and Finance that sits on the corner of Zuccotti Park, or many of the sleep-deprived protesters. "[The high school] couldn't teach," explained Josh Nelson, a 27-year-old occupier from Nebraska. "And we've had issues with the drummers too. They drum incessantly all day, and really loud." Facilitators spearheaded a General Assembly proposal to limit the drumming to two hours a day. "The drumming is a major issue which has the potential to get us kicked out," said Lauren Digion, a leader on the sanitation working group. But the drums were fun. They brought in publicity and money. Many non-facilitators were infuriated by the decision and claimed that it had been forced through the General Assembly. "They're imposing a structure on the natural flow of music," said Seth Harper, an 18-year-old from Georgia. "The GA decided to do it ... they suppressed people's opinions. I wanted to do introduce a different proposal, but a big black organizer chick with an Afro said I couldn't."
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2011/10/21/occupy-charlotte-kicks-out-leader-credited-w CHARLOTTE (CBS Charlotte) — “Occupy Charlotte” protesters have carried out an official coup within the group. Thomas Shope, 47, credited with helping to organize “Occupy Charlotte,” was exiled from the group for claiming leadership. A YouTube video broadcasts the group’s reasoning with an automated voice speaking over classical piano. “Some of your actions have compromised the reputation, motivation and unity of the protesters of the ‘Occupy Charlotte’ movement,” it starts. It went on to accuse him of posing as a person of power who positioned the local movement to invite ridicule. “Occupy Charlotte,” like its counterparts in cities around the world, governs itself with a lateral democracy and voted him out. So Shope shut down the Twitter profile and website’s domain for “Occupy Charlotte.” The movement now has several Twitter accounts and Facebook pages that broadcast muddled and conflicting messages. “They’re a rogue group of kids,” Shope told CBS Charlotte. “They did anything a child can come up with to get people from the group on their side.” Save a porta-potty problem, “Occupy Charlotte” has been lauded so far as being peaceful, respectful of city laws and cooperative with police. According to Shope, the local movement is tripping over its own feet on the path to systematic change.
Cantor pusses out! :grin: Eric Cantor Cancels Income Inequality Speech After Protests Planned House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is abruptly pulling out of a scheduled Friday lecture on income equality at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, according to the school. Progressive and labor groups, including Occupy Philadelphia, MoveOn.org, the local AFL-CIO, and AFSCME, were planning a protest for the event. According to Cantor’s office, the Congressman pulled out after discovering that the speech would be open to the public and seeing reports that the university was allowing protestors to gather on the campus itself. Mike Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress, which is organizing the protests, told TPM that the demonstration will continue regardless of whether or not Cantor proceeds with the speech. “If he has in fact cancelled it says he’s willing to meet with the elites but not willing to meet with the 99%,” he said. “As soon as he hears there’s going to be everyday folks outside…he decides to cancel.”
What's with some right wing politicians being thin-skinned over meeting folks who don't agree with them? GWB had a thing about screening his audience, we also got the Tea Party House members not holding free public town halls, now this Cantor thing. Say one thing about Obama, say that he's not afraid to talk to people who don't agree with him. From "Joe the Plumber" to Bil O'Reilly, Obama has talked to the other side.
It's just pragmatism. It's done Obama no good to talk to the other side. If you just want to "win," then pussing out makes sense. It's kind of like gwayneco's only new input being a decision to bold some of his CNTRL-V work if it involves a black person with an afro. gwayneco, I know having your own thoughts in typeface can be a threatening feeling. But... what did you think of the New Scientist article about the global concentration of (non-American) wealth?
UPenn calls Cantor a liar (not that we didn't already know that) BREAKING: UPenn Disputes Cantor’s Explanation For Cancellation, Says Speech Was Always Open To The Public Today, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) abruptly canceled his speech on income inequality scheduled for this afternoon at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Cantor placed the blame squarely on the university, saying they changed the attendance policy at the last minute: “The Office of the Majority Leader was informed last night by Capitol Police that the University of Pennsylvania was unable to ensure that the attendance policy previously agreed to could be met,” wrote Cantor spokeswoman Laena Fallon. In a statement just released by the university, the school disputes Cantor’s explanation, saying the speech was always billed as “open to the general public”: Wharton deeply regrets that the event scheduled at the School this afternoon with Majority Leader Eric Cantor has been cancelled. The University community was looking forward to hearing Majority Leader Cantor’s comments on important public issues, and we hope there will be another opportunity for him to speak on campus. The Wharton speaker series is typically open to the general public, and that is how the event with Majority Leader Cantor was billed. We very much regret if there was any misunderstanding with the Majority Leader’s office on the staging of his presentation. ------------ Guess he didn't want to be confronted by that DIRTY MOB
Thirteen Observations made by Lemony Snicket while watching Occupy Wall Street from a Discreet Distance 1. If you work hard, and become successful, it does not necessarily mean you are successful because you worked hard, just as if you are tall with long hair it doesn’t mean you would be a midget if you were bald. 2. “Fortune” is a word for having a lot of money and for having a lot of luck, but that does not mean the word has two definitions. 3. Money is like a child—rarely unaccompanied. When it disappears, look to those who were supposed to be keeping an eye on it while you were at the grocery store. You might also look for someone who has a lot of extra children sitting around, with long, suspicious explanations for how they got there. 4. People who say money doesn’t matter are like people who say cake doesn’t matter—it’s probably because they’ve already had a few slices. 5. There may not be a reason to share your cake. It is, after all, yours. You probably baked it yourself, in an oven of your own construction with ingredients you harvested yourself. It may be possible to keep your entire cake while explaining to any nearby hungry people just how reasonable you are. 6. Nobody wants to fall into a safety net, because it means the structure in which they’ve been living is in a state of collapse and they have no choice but to tumble downwards. However, it beats the alternative. 7. Someone feeling wronged is like someone feeling thirsty. Don’t tell them they aren’t. Sit with them and have a drink. 8. Don’t ask yourself if something is fair. Ask someone else—a stranger in the street, for example. 9. People gathering in the streets feeling wronged tend to be loud, as it is difficult to make oneself heard on the other side of an impressive edifice. 10. It is not always the job of people shouting outside impressive buildings to solve problems. It is often the job of the people inside, who have paper, pens, desks, and an impressive view. 11. Historically, a story about people inside impressive buildings ignoring or even taunting people standing outside shouting at them turns out to be a story with an unhappy ending. 12. If you have a large crowd shouting outside your building, there might not be room for a safety net if you’re the one tumbling down when it collapses. 13. 99 percent is a very large percentage. For instance, easily 99 percent of people want a roof over their heads, food on their tables, and the occasional slice of cake for dessert. Surely an arrangement can be made with that niggling 1 percent who disagree. http://occupywriters.com/works/by-lemony-snicket
My response without reading. I doubt I would disagree on the whole. There is a portion of the Tea Party that are folks who are legitimately hurting from the onslaught of the top 1% with the top .1% setting the agenda. If these folks can stop blaming the wrong persons and abandon libertarian and other idologies that favor the wealthy and can be joined by Christians who don't believe that they should vote for the GOP because Jesus wants them, watch out.
Bob, I think entropy says that the more organized the power structure behind the economy becomes, the greater the potential for radical moves toward chaos. I don't think the super-organized organisms in nature last over time either. But I am a one trick pony. Great article find too, thanks.
My observation on the Occupy crowd: How many of these folks asked their boss if they could take a month off to go protest? And even if some actually did this, how important could their jobs possibly be?
I think you may not have rednews. They don't have jobs. Or, maybe they own the company you work for. You are working for wages, making them capital gains. They can be out in the street because they only pay 15% taxes on that. You just can't assume facts not in evidence.
drum we much. <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XPeZ1n8vrTI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Actually a recent poll I saw shows 54% of protesters have full time jobs and 20% more have part time jobs. The economic demographic is interesting too
Entropy is so misused when people associate it with "disorder" (which has a very human-specific connotation.) The universe typically heads towards having more "microstates" available, (so more statistical entropy.) More than anything, I think people observe that the universe tends to head toward greater complexity. And the current financial system satisfies that, I'd say. (The statistical complexity is a great example of why using human terms like "order" and "disorder" can lead one astray a bit.) /physicsness
Philadelphia Protestors Take Over Wharton School, Chant: ‘Eric Cantor We’re Inside, Eric Cantor You Can’t Hide!’
