h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

'I wonder how many of the Occupy sites world wide . . .'

Not the one in my town. They get lots of sympathetic coverage from the news outlets -- particularly the CBC, a Crown corporation hated by the Right for being socialist, liberal, anti-government, anti-corporations, etc.

The sad (for the few hanging out in that little park downtown) fact is that their message is largely irrelevant or already addressed by Government here.

Except for those bits about finding free energy and doing away with income tax, of course.



Oh, but this is off topic.


Down with corporations!

Occupy Noesis, not hootoo!


Better?

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>>Better?<<

Guess not..

Oh, and 'Down with Corporations!'

And: 'Dyslexics of the World Untie!'

@anhaga:

>>It says nothing to 99% of the people in my city,

Then start your own 'kin movement. Don;t expect others to solve - or even understand - your own local problems for you. Hell - are you waiting for guidance from some middle class soft-left student types? Or can 99% of people in your city get it together themselves?

But remember this: the root cause of the problems in the various flashpoints around the world will be the same. No, 'Occupy' isn't the be all and end all. It doesn't have anything like a comprehensive program (They need to learn to follow orders!') But it's *Something*. Your own something could be part of it too,

So over to you. What's your plan?

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this an interesting analysis of the situation in Canada in relation with the Occupy movement. The author is a Canadian-Egyptian film maker.

The blog is a very interesting document for someone who wants to write an entry on the Occupy movement since it started in Tunissia. I wish I could write it. But it can´t, at least for the next 3 months.

http://roarmag.org/2011/10/occupy-canada-global-movement-revolution/

Very clear article explaining the situation in Canada Maria. The writer is an intelligant person. Thanks for the link.

my pleasure, señora

"the Occupy movement since it started in Tunissia"

That's interesting. I thought it started in Spain in May 2011, under the banner of 'Los Indignados' (The Outraged) - which is (IMO) a much more appropriate name.

The protests here (Madrid) have so far been mostly peaceful - although that might change after the General election, later this month, when the (Conservative) PP (the Popular Party ) is almost certain to win, despite announcing its intention to introduce severe austerity measures - but I doubt the movement can realistically expect to achieve much, apart from registering their indignation.

I think anhaga is possibly right in saying that the protests are less relevant in Canada. It's pretty obvious that protests will be least intense where they are least necessary. People are hurling Molotov cocktails in Athens. In Stockholm...less so. To a large extent the purpose of these protests is because we want to be governed rather more like Canada or Sweden (but, ideally, even better: those countries both rely on capitalist exploitation for their lifestyles. Plus...let's not be complacent about the conditions for some in Canada.)

But only two cheers for anhaga, I'm afraid. You have something of a habit of referring back to the parochial situation. I'm sure Calgary is a lovely place. But it's not the world. Whatever is happening in your local park may not say much about the wider context of the Occupy movements. Your 1% may be connected in some way with the X% elsewhere. They may be looking at The Big Picture.

Although I myself give only qualified support for The Movement so far. Let's see what they can do when the fight starts. Which it will. The government's concern will be remove them before V-Day.

>>"the Occupy movement since it started in Tunissia"

That's probably about right. There were various movements rising up at the time, but probably Tunisia was in the vanguard.

In this programme:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016lbpp

...someone from Anonymous spoke of their helping the Tunisian movement by setting up free dial-up links (in France). This required something of a fundraising effort.

I think we should see this as an interconnected - if, possibly, slightly unfocussed series of activities. At the moment I'm reading about the European revolutions of 1848 when various revolutionaries zipped around France, Belgium, German, Italy agitating and organising.

This is movements work.

Nice to have a glimpse of the view from Edinburgh, Ed.

I'm afraid, Maria, that blog lost me with it's ridiculously superficial and inaccurate precis of Canadian history. 'never had a revolution' Our revolution has been ongoing for over three hundred years.

As for the parochial situation here, I mentioned way back that I felt that more appropriate here than standing with three others in a cold park yelling at the Government about things it had managed well would be to continue, as I do, to engage in conversation with elected representatives about things that may need changing. As I said earlier, here elected representatives are our neighbours. I speak to mine regularly. I stand in line with them at the convenience store. Without hesitation I call the Prime Minister's office.

But I've said that all before.


It's nice to see that Adbusters is no longer being given credit for starting Occupy.

Glasgow, anhaga. Red Clydeside. Where Churchill sent in the tanks in '19.

I'm really unclear where you're coming from. You seem to be saying that the most legitimate, relevant form of protest is to do with keeping your government doing all the simply peachy things it's doing at the moment. There's certainly merit in that kind of thing - just as over here there is merit in public sector workers struggling for things like the hard earned pensions that were agreed years ago.

Well...maybe that's true. But maybe the various protestors are struggling against the very *idea* that certain things can be imposed upon them. The struggle is, as you've pointed out, permanent. Under some conditions it acquires a greater intensity.

Carry on with your own form of political engagement by all means. That's what democracy is all about. There will always be disagreement as to aims, strategy. From my distance the only comment I can make on the relevance of any Canadian protestors is...clearly it's relevant to *them*. But by all means persuade them of a better approach.

As to who takes credit for this? I reckon it's People.

'Glasgow, anhaga'


I know.

And I'm in Edmonton, not Calgary.


'I'm really unclear where you're coming from'

see above.


I've said from the beginning that if I lived elsewhere there's a good possibility I'd be all in with the Occupiers. But I'm not in with them here. They seem more and more irrelevant *here* every day.

The original post asked for our feeling about the various Occupations. I've offered my feelings and a few times been told by people half way around the world that I was wrong about the situation here.


But, best wishes to all of you. I hope you manage to bring improvement to your bits of the world.

OK. That's a bit clearer. It wasn't a dig - I was *genuinely* trying to clarify.

Well, good luck to you. Maybe what might appear to me as complacency isn't. As I said, the harder the circumstances the more urgent the protest. If things are peachy keen where you are and for your particular type of person then I can hardly fault you for your indifference to the wider picture.

And yet, and yet...

'Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, But to be young was very heaven!'

Old and comfortable? Fair enough! The young should take the lead in these things.

Last week's brutal police crackdown on Occupy Oakland did not have the intended effect. Occupiers responded with organizing a general strike.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_19231759

Our local occupy movement is mostly involved with feeding the Oakland occupy protesters.

OccupyOakland
OccupyWallStreet
Occupyh2g2

I am far, far from indifferent to the wider picture!

But I am going to do nothing -- absolutely nothing to help the protesters in Wall Street or London or anywhere else by standing about in a grungy little park with three or four others in downtown Edmonton holding a sign reading 'The Arena is just a playground for millionaires!'

(They're seriously upset because the City, in consultation with the citizens, has chosen to build an arena which will be used and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands, year round, while the City is wisely hesitating about spending tens of millions of dollars to dredge a stinky pond and build a beach that would be enjoyed by some number for about three months of each year.

I'm not the one missing the big picture in this city.)


The avenues of address and redress have not been exhausted here. We still have a Parliamentary system which is not completely dominated by corporations -- for goodness sakes, in our last election one of the big two political parties, the one that has governed the country for most of its history, was wiped off the map by the grassroots, socialist, upstart NDP.

Yes. I get it. Everything's fine where you are. There's nothing you need do.

'Everything's fine where you are. There's nothing you need do.'



I've explicitly said something totally opposite to that.


Everything is not fine -- things are *different* in such a way as to make the *local* occupy thing sort of silly looking.

There is lots I need do -- and I do. But the *local* Occupy thingy is not the most sensible way of addressing either local or global issues *from here*.

How should this be addressed, I wonder:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-15533940