Month: May 2012

Why U.S. Politicians Are Quiet About Europe’s Meltdown

by Shamus Cooke After the Greek elections struck fear into the hearts of the global banksters, the fallout remains uncertain. If the next Greek election produces an anti-austerity government, Greece will almost certainly make a speedy exit from the Euro. If this happens — and it is looking increasingly inevitable — the consequences for the…

A Legend in Our Midst: Brian Wilson Speaks to Occupy

by Lauren Paulson The dining room of St. Francis was not filled to capacity on May 9, 2012. It should have been. A true legend spoke to a mixed group of about 60 Occupiers on a hopeful Spring evening. He is S. Brian Willson. His audience comfortably circled around him as he perched on a…

Dear Cascadia: A Letter from the Great Beyond

By Little Bear This is a follow-up to May 6th’s piece titled “RIP Ernest Callenbach, Good Morning Cascadia”. This letter was originally published in TomDispatch. Ernest Callenbach, author of “Ecotopia”, dreamt of a liberated and sustainable Pacific Northwest. He called it Ecotopia. We call it Cascadia. Epistle to the Ecotopians By Ernest Callenbach [This document…

Some Lies and Misinformation Surrounding Occupy Portland

Lataya Dailey “The Occupiers Cost Thousands of Dollars of Damage to the Parks.” We’ve heard the estimate that over 85,000 dollars in damage was caused by Occupiers while the protest site was established in Chapman and Lownsdale Park. According to a press release from workers of LABORERS’ LOCAL 483 who maintain the parks “ The…

Steve Novick Wants More Money in Politics – His Politics!

by Stephen Quirke Steve Novick is an odd fellow. He seems to fashion himself a rebel, a brave upstart pushing bold new ideas. But I’ve been noticing some weird things about Novick, a pattern that I’m finding it hard to ignore. That pattern is simply this: on the big issues – on the structural things…

When Not Enough Is Too Much People Get UPSET

Vargus Pike When not enough money for education becomes too much for people to bear, they form organizations like UPSET (Underfunded Parents, Students, Educators Together). In three short weeks UPSET has grown from just an idea to a collaboration between concerned students, parents, teachers, and community members that organized over one thousand people for a…

The Portland Community Begins to Fight Austerity

by Shamus Cooke On May 5th in Portland, Oregon, a group of eighty activists from a broad array of labor and community groups met to discuss the region’s ongoing budget crises. Instead of simply complaining of cuts however, the meeting was meant to discuss alternatives, both immediate and more structural. Groups that endorsed the event…

Portland Police Bureau’s Press Release Stripped Naked

by Vargus Pike The Portland Police Bureau’s press release in response to accusations of police brutality on May Day is a masterful piece of propaganda. Its author knew full well that the local news and radio stations would parrot the high points of the press release that cast the police as shining examples of truth,…

May Day NYC: Wildcat March and Late Night Arrests

This article is from the Occupied News Wire. It was originally published on Occupied Stories. by Julia Reinhart New York, NY – While living in Europe I was was witness to some intense May Day scenes, from evicted squatters smashing windows in Zurich to lingering tensions from the break-up of Yugoslavia spilling onto the streets of Vienna.…

A Few Good Democrats are Not Enough

This piece is from the Occupied News Wire. It originally appeared in the Occupied Wall Street Journal. by Max Berger As long as there has been a thing called Occupy Wall Street, there have been people who’ve suggested it should become the left’s version of the Tea Party. Josh Harkinson’s piece is a notable contribution to the…