OCUPE A PIEDADE

 was honored to be invited to speak at Occupy Wall Street on Thursday night. Since amplification is (disgracefully) banned, and everything I say will have to be repeated by hundreds of people so others can hear (a.k.a. "the human microphone"), what I actually say at Liberty Plaza will have to be very short. With that in mind, here is the longer, uncut version of the speech. I love you. And I didn't just say that so that hundreds of you would shout "I love you" back, though that is obviously a bonus feature of the human microphone. Say unto others what you would have them say unto you, only way louder. Yesterday, one of the speakers at the labor rally said: "We found each other." That sentiment captures the beauty of what is being created here. A wide-open space (as well as an idea so big it can't be contained by any space) for all the people who want a better world to find each other. We are so grateful. If there is one thing I know, it is that the 1 percent loves a crisis. When people are panicked and desperate and no one seems to know what to do, that is the ideal time to push through their wish list of pro-corporate policies: privatizing education and social security, slashing public services, getting rid of the last constraints on corporate power. Amidst the economic crisis, this is happening the world over. And there is only one thing that can block this tactic, and fortunately, it's a very big thing: the 99 percent. And that 99 percent is taking to the streets from Madison to Madrid to say "No. We will not pay for your crisis." That slogan began in Italy in 2008. It ricocheted to Greece and France and Ireland and finally it has made its way to the square mile where the crisis began. "Why are they protesting?" ask the baffled pundits on TV. Meanwhile, the rest of the world asks: "What took you so long?" "We've been wondering when you were going to show up." And most of all: "Welcome." Many people have drawn parallels bet

MAD AS HELL How the Tea Party Movement s Fundamentally Remaking Our Two-Party System by Douglas E. Schoen and Scott Rasmussen Today's raucous revolt against Washington and Wall Street is a classic populist uprising. In Mad as Hell, political pollsters Scott Rasmussen and Doug Schoen discuss how the Tea Party movement is fundamentally remaking our two-party system and what it means for the future of American politics. Mad As Hell offers the first in-depth bipartisan look at a movement that is largely misunderstood, by two of the preeminent political advisers and consultants in America. Doug Schoen and Scott Rasmussen - two of the most important and influential analysts of public opinion in America today-predicted the rise of the Tea Party movement and have been chronicling it since. With deftness and specificity Schoen and Rasmussen provide the first comprehensive explanation of the Tea Party movement -- its origins, and assess what its impact is going to be in November. For political junkies of every stripe?from both the left and the right side of the aisle?Mad as Hell is mandatory reading. "Doug Schoen and Scott Rasmussen are two of the most important and influential analysts of public opinion in America today, and their study of the Tea Party movement deserves careful consideration by anyone interested in assessing the critical importance of this growing movement." -SEAN HANNITY "Mad as Hell tells the truth about the Tea Party movement. Throw out everything you've heard from the big media and get this book to find out how the Tea Party is re-shaping America." -CHRISTOPHER RUDDY, CEO AND PRESIDENT OF NEWSMAX MEDIA INC., "Mad as Hell is a hell of a book. Rasmussen and Schoen have given us a data-rich, historically informed, and politically incorrect analysis of a fascinating and important political phenomenon-the Tea Party movement. Don?t go out into political debate without reading this book first." -WILLIAM KRISTOL, EDITOR, THE WEEKLY STANDARD "

Occupy Wall Street Ongoing coverage of the people's movement to take back our democracy and build a new economy.

This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement Staff of Yes! Magazine 0 Resenhas Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011 - 96 páginas Occupy Wall Street protests have spread around the world, with a common slogan of "We are the 99%." But there is a great deal of confusion and misperception about this movement. This book clarifies the who, what, when, where, why, and how of this movement. It provides profound insight into the movement's power, messages, significance, methods, and impact. The editors of YES! Magazine bring together voices from inside and outside the protests to show how the meaning and impact of this movement are much bigger and more far-reaching than is being reported.The central thesis of this book is "This Changes Everything." The authors show how this movement changes (1) how citizens view themselves, (2) what citizens see is really going on in the world, (3) what is possible in creating a world that works for the many (the "99%") and not just the few (the "1%"), and (4) how citizens can bring about changes they seek in their communities, nations, and the world

Reinventando la política: 15M MONTSERRAT GALCERÁN. Militante social, ensayista y profesora de Filosofía Miércoles 28 de septiembre de 2011. Decían los clásicos que nada hay tan improbable e ilusorio como una revolución antes de que acontezca, ni nada es más evidente y necesario después de que estalle. Sea o no una revolución lo que estamos viviendo, ya casi ni nos acordamos de cómo era el mundo antes de que existiera el 15M. Nada era más improbable entonces, ni nada nos hace dudar ahora de que el movimiento continuará. Es, como dice David Harvey, un rayo de esperanza y de luz en el horizonte del depredador y salvaje capitalismo global. Dos éxitos marcan el presente del movimiento: la constitución emergente de un nuevo actor político y su efecto en la descomposición de la casta política dominante. Esos dos elementos nos permiten hablar propiamente del final de un ciclo político, aquel que se abrió en este país con la Transición y que en Europa viene marcado por el final de los movimientos de 1968 en los últimos '70. También del inicio del fin del periodo siguiente: la hegemonía indiscutida de un neoliberalismo que nos ha llevado al desastre actual. Las movilizaciones populares de estos últimos meses, empezando por lo sucedido en los países del norte de África y siguiendo por el área mediterránea, Grecia, Portugal y España marcan la emergencia de un actor político multitudinario que ha encontrado en las asambleas populares uno de los resortes de su acción. Los otros son una práctica novedosa en la comunicación, especialmente en las redes sociales, y una forma de hacer política basada en el rechazo de la representación/delegación y la asunción de la capacidad de cada quien para incidir, participar, reflexionar, aportar, matizar y decidir. Esta práctica produce empoderamiento y aumenta la pasión por lo político, a mil leguas del hartazgo y la agitación artificial de los mítines oficialistas. Se equivocan quienes piensan que

Dear Colleagues,  Please note that the conference encourages submissions from all world areas and time periods, and welcomes interdisciplinary approaches to history (we'd love to see abstracts from geographers). If you have any questions, feel free to contact me, Tracy Neumann, at tracyneumann@wayne.edu, or contact conference coordinator Francis Shor at the address below. Thanks! CALL FOR PAPERS INSURGENCY AND RESISTANCE The 34th Annual North American Labor History ConferenceOctober 18-20, 2012Wayne State UniversityDetroit, Michigan The Program Committee of the North American Labor History Conference invites proposals for sessions, papers, and roundtables on "Insurgency and Resistance" for our thirty-fourth annual meeting. Throughout history, workers have engaged in insurgency and resistance from factories to fields, from plantations to plants, from mines to mills, and in cities and in the countryside.  Power and authority have been contested on a variety of terrains, both inside and outside of traditional labor structures.More recently, conflicts have erupted in Latin America, the Arab world, southern Europe, China, and across North America. The program committee encourages submissions from international, comparative, and interdisciplinary perspectives.  We welcome the integration of public historians with community and labor activists, using a variety of formats (workshops, roundtable discussions, book talks, and multimedia presentations).  We encourage thematic sessions that cross borders, both disciplinary and geographical, especially those dealing with race, gender, class, and empire. Please submit papers and panel proposals (including a 1 paragraph abstract and a brief vita or biographical statement for all participants) by March 23, 2012, to: Professor Francis Shor, CoordinatorNorth American Labor History ConferenceDepartment of HistoryWayne State University3094 Faculty Administration BuildingDetroit, MI 48202Phone:             313-577-2525  

RETOMANDO LA CALLE, HACIENDO POLÍTICA: EL MOVIMIENTO OCCUPY EN EE UU Sobre voces, símbolos y una gran X El arraigo del movimiento de ocupación de plazas en EE UU ha sido una de las sorpresas del comienzo de curso. Este texto aborda la particularidad del movimiento: su virtud de "reconstruir conexiones y capacidades colectivas". VICENTE RUBIO VIERNES 11 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 2011.  NÚMERO 161 Un miembro del sindicato de estibadores, en un acto de Occupy Oakland el 1 de noviembre. Foto: Oakland Local En una entrevista realizada en 2006, el artista Mark Di Suvero mostraba su malestar al ser preguntado por esa "gran X" de acero y pintura roja que acababa de instalarse en Zucotti Park, y cuya autoría le correspondía. "No es una X. Es una serie de tetraedros abiertos en sus extremos", respondía secamente. Los actuales ocupantes de la plaza, y los habituales del lugar -colaboradores en los grupos de trabajo, curiosos, paseantes-, además de rebautizar el espacio como Liberty Square, hace ya semanas que se refieren a la estructura firmada por Di Suvero como "la cosa roja" -o el "cacharro rojo", o "esa cosa fea roja"-. Es un elemento más de esa geografía improvisada y crepitante que conforma la plaza. Hace unos días, a la sombra de esa gran X, el filósofo esloveno Slavoj Zizek advertía a los ocupantes de la plaza sobre los peligros de dejar traducir la energía social que OccupyWallStreet ha desatado en una estrecha serie de 'demandas': "Las protestas han creado un vacío en la hegemonía ideológica. Y se necesita tiempo para llenar ese vacío adecuadamente, ya que es un vacío preñado de posibilidades, una apertura hacia lo verdaderamente nuevo". La pregunta es pues ¿cómo, con qué, llenar ese vacío? En torno a esa incógnita aguardan multitud de posibilidades, y también peligros y trampas. Algunos comentaristas ya han señalado el acecho de la mercantilización del fenómeno: el canal de televisión MTV ha grabado un episodio de

RETOMANDO LA CALLE, HACIENDO POLÍTICA: OCCUPY WALL STREET (II) 'Occupy Everything': identidades en fuga La recuperación de espacios públicos, los multitudinarios actos de desobediencia civil y resistencia no violenta, los procesos masivos de participación y decisión directa y horizontal, la reconstrucción de lazos, de sociabilidades... son algunos de los rasgos comunes de este nuestro actual movimiento: primavera árabe, 15M y ahora Occupy Wall Street en EE UU. Pero cada área tiene sus especificidades. Para enriquecer el común de este creciente movimiento, intentamos abordarlas abriendo el debate.

International Group including Centre for Global Negotiations Launches Plan For Global Commons           Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:39:40 -0500 EST  |  No Comments by Aria Munro PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - An unprecedented move to gather worldwide commentary on a new "global commons" was announced this week in Berlin by an international coalition including the Philadelphia nonprofit organization, Centre for Global Negotiations. The proposal calls for wide-ranging discussions on a common action plan, authored by the world's people, to address transnational problems and create checks and balances on the world's governmental and corporate sectors. The strategy for this integrated global dialogue was outlined by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, chairman of a group of international leaders who will shepherd the consultation process. Joining him at the press conference were (alphabetically listed): Scilla Elworthy of the United Kingdom, Frithjof Finkbeiner of Germany, Olivier Giscard d'Estaing of France and James B. Quilligan of the United States. "If we do not have this conversation and realize a new framework for the global commons during the next several years, the bilateral economic and religious tensions we have been experiencing will almost certainly result in world conflict," said Prince Hassan. "It is time to listen, engage in dialogue and ask the people of the world to decide on a responsible course of action," he said. An international partnership - called the Coalition for the Global Commons - will use advanced internet software on an interactive web site, (www.global-commons.org), as well as personal discussions, international meetings and electronic surveys to gather input. Initial partners include such organizations as the Centre for Global Negotiations, CIVICUS, Ethical Markets Media, LLC, and Global Marshall Plan Initiative. The Coalition aims at tapping global opinion and expertise on problems that transcend national b

The need to protect the internet from 'astroturfing' grows ever more urgent The tobacco industry does it, the US Air Force clearly wants to ... astroturfing - the use of sophisticated software to drown out real people on web forums - is on the rise. How do we stop it?

15.o - a manifestação mundial contra o capitalismo Publicado em 10/16/2011 por ocupawallstreetbr Ontem foi o grande dia - realizou-se uma manifestação mundial pela mudança global do sistema, em cerca de mil cidades do globo. Nos países onde o povo mais tem sofrido os ataques do capitalismo, as manifestações foram maiores e mais intensas. Em Roma, mais de 200 mil pessoas foram às ruas protestar contra as medidas de austeridade impostas por Berlusconi. Outras 200 mil ocuparam as ruas de Barcelona. E, também com milhares de pessoas, protestos aconteceram na Inglaterra, Alemanha, Bélgica e em mais de 70 outros países. A revolta em NY contra Wall Street, que foi um grande impulso pra toda essa mobilização, se espalhou em todos os EUA. O histórico 15 de outubro fortaleceu o movimento Occupy Wall Street, que tende a uma radicalidade cada vez maior contra "o 1%" da sociedade que controla a economia. Os manifestantes nova-iorquinos já discutem a possibilidade de ir para uma praça maior. No caso do Brasil, a onda de revoltas veio com menos força, mas chegou, provocando protestos em Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Porto Alegre e São Paulo, entre outras. Neste domingo, pelo menos duas dessas cidades acordaram com os indignados acampados. Em Porto Alegre, na Praça da Matriz. E em São Paulo, cerca de 200 pessoas ocuparam o Vale do Anhangabaú, mas apenas cerca de 30 dormiram. Por isso, o movimento hoje deve decidir se permanece ocupando o local. Para dificultar ainda mais, a polícia proibiu não só as barracas, mas também o uso de cartazes, faixas, etc. Acampamento em São Paulo: http://15osp.org/.

[unomada-info] Michael Hardt y Antonio Negri, Conferencia y seminario: «Crisis y revoluciones posibles» EntradaX  Responder a todosInfos de la Universidad Nomada unomada-info@listas.sindominio.net para unomada-infomostrar detalhes 20 set[Universidad Nomada Info]http://www.universidadnomada.net/spip.php?article374Michael Hardt y Antonio NegriConferencia y seminario: «Crisis y revoluciones posibles»Madrid, 6-7 de octubre de 2011Museo Reina Sofía y Centro Social La Tabacalera (http://latabacalera.net/ ) SON ya los meses y semanas en los que la crisis financiera del capitalismo de 2008 se ha traducido en todo el mundo euroatlántico en una crisis gravísima de los contenidos materiales y las condiciones de la democracia. Los distintos sistemas de partidos constitucionales están demostrando ser incapaces de expresar unos intereses distintos de los de los principales acreedores de una deuda pública que ellos mismos impusieron bajo la amenaza de: «Somos demasiado grandes para caer». Conforme a los axiomas del neoliberalismo que tienen que inscribirse ahora en las distintas constituciones nacionales, para impedir esa caída es preciso declarar la bancarrota de las condiciones de la vida y la producción en común de la sociedad, sin más objetivo que expropiar y transformar en renta financiera toda la riqueza común en constante creación que se inscribe en las instituciones y los derechos del Estado del bienestar, fundamento del proyecto de la Unión Europea. Los presupuestos de justicia e igualdad social distributiva de la democracia tienden así a verse anulados, mientras que las constituciones son consideradas un recetario consultable y prescindible en manos de los sistemas de partidos nacionales, entregados a su vez a una batalla contra una población empobrecida y sin amparo político en nombre de una «austeridad» sin alternativa tolerable y sin más contrapartida que un «podría ser peor aún». Michael Hardt y Antonio Negri abordarán algunas

Constructing a radical politics in an age of crisis Clark University, Worcester, MA, November 4-6, 2011 Co-sponsored by the Graduate School of Geography at Clark University and the journal Human Geography, the 18th Annual Conference on Critical Geography seeks to bring critical geographers together to engage with a world in crisis. Historically, crises have been viewed as moments of political opportunity; as points in time where hegemonic contradictions are revealed and contested. This conference views crisis as an entry point into questions of how critical geographers can construct a responsive, radical politics. If the aim of critical social theory is not only to understand but to change, we seek to question what notions of change, politics, and action underlie contemporary critical and radical geographies. The conference will begin on Friday, November 4th, 2011. The opening evening will feature a keynote address by Neil Smith, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Geography and Director of the Center for Place, Culture, and Politics at the CUNY Graduate Center. The program on Saturday, November 5th will consist of paper sessions, panels, and round table discussions. Saturday evening will feature a keynote panel addressing the theme of the conference. Sunday, November 6th will include additional sessions. We invite you to submit abstracts or proposals for paper sessions, panels, roundtable discussions, or sessions with alternative formats by the extended deadline of September 15, 2011. Abstracts or proposals should be 250 words in length, and we ask that you include contact information and any titles or affiliations you would like placed in the program. We are especially interested in participants organizing their own sessions. If you are interested in organizing a session, please let us know in advance and you can then issue your own CFP through the appropriate mailing lists. Papers submitted individually will be reviewed by the program committee afte

ARISTÓTELES EM MACONDO reflexões sobre poder, democracia e revolução na América Latina Atilio Boron O livro é uma auspiciosa contribuição para a revitalização do debate sobre a teoria da revolução na América Latina. Escrito pelo cientista social argentino Atilio Boron, um dos expoentes do pensamento crítico contemporâneo, o livro problematiza os desafios que devem ser enfrentados pelo movimento socialista para vencer um padrão de dominação que impede a emergência da classe explorada como sujeito histórico capaz de romper o círculo vicioso das desigualdades extremas e do colonialismo. Utilizando linguagem franca e direta, há muito banida da vida acadêmica, Boron passa a limpo a história latino-americana recente. Apoiando-se em fatos concretos, desnuda o caráter perverso dos regimes democráticos no continente. Sua análise é devastadora. A democracia realmente existente funciona como uma fortaleza da plutocracia. Ao negar a legitimidade do conflito como meio legítimo de conquista de direitos coletivos, o "capitalismo democrático" torna-se um regime hermético aos interesses do povo. Sem se esquivar de assuntos controvertidos, Boron não se intimida diante das difíceis questões que polarizam o debate sobre os dilemas da revolução na América Latina. Contrapondo-se ao pensamento enquadrado nos ditames do "fim da história", ele reafirma a importância de noções como luta de classes, imperialismo e revolução para a compreensão da realidade e de suas virtualidades criativas. Para o público brasileiro, tão carente de intelectuais capazes de levar a crítica à raiz dos problemas, Aristóteles em Macondo é uma oportunidade ímpar para compreender por que os partidos políticos que tinham compromisso com a mudança se acomodaram nos parâmetros do status quo, deixando um "sabor amargo" em todos que acalentavam a ilusão de que a esperança poderia vencer o medo...

Slavoj Žižek at Occupy Wall Street: "We are not dreamers, we are the awakening from a dream which is turning into a nightmare" By Sarah Shin / 10 October 2011 Slavoj Žižek visited Liberty Plaza to speak to Occupy Wall Street protesters. Here is the original text of his speech - not a transcript, as originally described in error. Don't fall in love with yourselves, with the nice time we are having here. Carnivals come cheap-the true test of their worth is what remains the day after, how our normal daily life will be changed. Fall in love with hard and patient work-we are the beginning, not the end. Our basic message is: the taboo is broken, we do not live in the best possible world, we are allowed and obliged even to think about alternatives. There is a long road ahead, and soon we will have to address the truly difficult questions-questions not about what we do not want, but about what we DO want. What social organization can replace the existing capitalism? What type of new leaders we need? The XXth century alternatives obviously did not work. So do not blame people and their attitudes: the problem is not corruption or greed, the problem is the system that pushes you to be corrupt. The solution is not "Main street, not Wall street," but to change the system where main street cannot function without Wall street. Beware not only of enemies, but also of false friends who pretend to support us, but are already working hard to dilute our protest. In the same way we get coffee without caffeine, beer without alcohol, ice-cream without fat, they will try to make us into a harmless moral protest. But the reason we are here is that we had enough of the world where to recycle your Coke cans, to give a couple of dollars for charity, or to buy Starbucks cappuccino where 1% goes for the Third World troubles is enough to make us feel good. After outsourcing work and torture, after the marriage agencies started to outsource even our dating, we see that for

The Inky tries to explain Occupy Wall Street View Translation by Rich Gardner | 11.11.2011 Raghuram Rajan, in the Inky of 11 Nov 2011 is absolutely correct, the Occupy Wall Street movement is using a rhetorical shorthand to describe what it's complaint with America's current status is and why they're out protesting. Unlike the Civil Rights Movement that began in the late 1950s, the opponents of Occupy Wall Street are in need of careful definition as the problem is nowhere near as obvious as it was for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers. The traditional media, of course, very clearly won't do that for us and those wanting clarity will obviously have to look elsewhere than into any daily newspaper or TV news show.* The blogger and Professor of History at the University of Michigan, Juan Cole, has put out a piece describing the worldwide movement that Occupy Wall Street is a part of. Neoliberalism is the economic movement that wants capital and business to be liberated from government regulations and it both got Ronald Reagan elected President and greatly benefited from his administration. As Cole points out, the worldwide movement in reaction to neoliberalism encompasses not just the "Arab Spring" countries of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but Chile, Spain and Israel as well as the United States. It's irresponsible capital that seeks freedom from government supervision that's the problem, not merely those who earn lots of money. As Rajan makes clear, there are many people who earn lots of money that the Occupy Wall Street movement doesn't have a problem with. Rajan points to a long-term problem that indeed will require a coordinated effort from the whole of American society, but that particular problem doesn't explain why the Occupy Wall Street movement exists. *As an example, the Inky ran a piece written by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) that was allegedly pro-litle guy and pro-small businesses, but the actual position they