What are Occupiers really fighting for. Editor’s Note: Dr.
Maha Hosain Aziz is a Professor of Politics (adjunct) in the Master’s Program at New York University, a Senior Analyst at geopolitical consultancy Wikistrat and an Asia Insight Columnist for Bloomberg Businessweek. By Maha Hosain Aziz – Special to CNN Occupy Wall Street has been about more than just corporate greed and income inequality. Occupy protesters around the globe may not realize it but, at various points in the past six months, many have been fighting for the same cause as the peasant communities of rural Vietnam during the 1930s - the moral economy. Theorists have typically used moral economy rhetoric to explain rural movements where protesters felt their basic right to subsistence was being threatened. Today, a similar “contract” has been broken between governing powers and the governed.
Gradually, with the disbanding of many encampments, some Occupy members are moving beyond the broad focus of corporate greed and income inequality. Occupy movement plans a comeback. The attempt to re-occupy Zuccotti Park and subsequent arrests of dozens of protesters in New York over the weekend was the start of what Occupy organizers said will be a comeback for the movement this spring and summer.
But some city and state governments, armed with new ordinances specifically aimed at the Occupy movement, are ready to prevent demonstrators from re-establishing encampments. Occupy Wall Street returns with 'sleepful protest' Occupy Wall Street supporters have moved their protests to sidewalks.
The Occupy Wall Street movement is ramping up its activitiesIn New York, protesters have moved to a sidewalk near the Stock ExchangeProtesters plan for May 1 to be their first large-scale demonstration of the year New York (CNN) -- In the spirit of spring rebirth, the Occupy movement is ramping up activities as warm weather blankets the country. But while the season is typified by a reawakening of life outdoors, demonstrators are using sleep to get their points across. They call it "sleepful protest. " The sleeping bags started appearing on the corner of Wall and Broad streets across from the New York Stock Exchange on April 9. Occupy organizers declared a month ago that the movement would be planning a comeback in the spring and summer. Every morning, they talk about income inequality and the role of big money in politics as commuters pass by on their way to jobs in the Financial District.
Cities struggle to deal with occupy movement. NEW: "We acted proactively," the mayor of Portland, Oregon, saysPolice arrest 32 as they clear downtown Occupy Oakland campThe city will allow demonstrations at the plaza, but no more camping, officials sayCity officials across the country are raising concerns about public health and safety San Francisco (CNN) -- Police in riot gear moved into the Occupy Oakland encampment Monday, tearing down tents and arresting some protesters, the latest effort by city officials across the country to gain control over a movement that some leaders say has become a public safety and health threat.
Oakland, California, police, aided by dozens of officers from nearby jurisdictions, arrested 32 people in the effort to clear Frank Ogawa Plaza near City Hall before dawn, Interim Chief Howard Jordan said. There were no reports of injuries or complaints of abuse, he said. "The encampment became a place where we had repeated violence and this week a murder. Occupy Wall Street protesters evicted Riot police vs. Occupy Wall Street is going nowhere without leadership. To address noise complaints, Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York have agreed to limit drumming to four hours a day.
Legal action coming to remove Occupy protest at London cathedral. NEW: "We are very disappointed," a protester outside St.
Paul's says NEW: The cathedral reopens after a week-long closure with a special service City of London authorities agree on legal action to remove tent city The Occupy London activists say they intend to remain camped outside London (CNN) -- Authorities in London agreed to take court action Friday to remove anti-capitalist protesters who have spent two weeks camped outside St.
Tear gas used on Occupy protesters in Oakland. One protester, a war vet, has his skull fractured by a police projectile, group saysIn Oakland, police say they fired tear gas after a crowd hit them with paint In Atlanta, demonstrators are arrested at Woodruff Park "It hurts to see America do this to people who want change," an Atlanta man says Are you there?
Share your photos and videos. (CNN) -- Authorities made a series of arrests at Occupy Wall Street protests in California and Georgia on Tuesday and Wednesday, with clashes in one city that involved tear gas being used on demonstrators. Police said they fired the tear gas on protesters in Oakland, California, after the crowd threw paint and other objects at officers.
Among the injured in the clash was a two-time Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, who sustained a skull fracture after allegedly being shot in the head with a police projectile, according to Iraq Veterans Against the War. Why 'occupy'? It's personal. Protesters late last month, in the early days of Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, rally in downtown Manhattan Maria Cardona says Occupy Wall Street is not political or economic; it's personalShe says protesters railing against corporate greed, status quo of unfair taxationShe says GOP supports system, thwarts Obama's attempts at protection for middle classCardona: Class warfare?
Yes, and the wealthy class won. It's time to stand up for fairness Editor's note: Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist, a principal at the Dewey Square Group, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton, and former communications director for the Democratic National Committee. Channel protest anger into progress. Protesters have been camping out at New York's Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan for more than two weeks.
Brian Flynn: Anger at economic and political failures is understandableHe says properly channeled, anger can be a force for positive changeWall Street protesters have valid complaints about the system, he saysFlynn: Americans should take responsibility and focus demands for change on D.C. Editor's note: Brian Flynn, who blogs at www.Angry-Irish.com, is vice president of The Victims of Pan Am 103 Inc. and founder of Schlossberg:Flynn, a financial advisory firm in New York. New York (CNN) -- Remember how delusional we all were back in the '90s, when all we could talk about was the end of history and how all the world's problems seemed to be solved?
The Cold War was over. The U.S. government operated with a surplus. It all started to change in March 2000 with the dot-com stock market crash, followed soon thereafter by the controversial 2000 U.S. presidential election. How technology is reorganizing political protest movements. Police attempt to disperse a crowd at Occupy Portland on Sunday.
Author: Protests are modeling themselves after networked, personal technologyThese movements have lots of leaders instead of one or two, Micah Sifry saysNew leadership mode is a strength and not a weakness, author argues Editor's note: Micah Sifry is co-founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, a website that examines how technology is changing politics, and the author of "WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency. " How do you measure success for Occupy Wall Street movement?
There's no easy way to define Occupy Wall Street.
That's part of what's made it hard for the media – and those involved in the protests – to wrap their arms around the movement. Many people have questioned the movement's legitimacy, since it has no clear leadership, nor a clear list of demands or solutions to the economic inequalities it rails against. It also raises endgame questions. What would it actually take to say, yes, this movement of protest, spurred by a large group of people across the country and world, was a successful movement? Or is it too early to even assess what impact it may have had?
Would success need to come in the form of large reforms being passed regarding jobs, unemployment and economic policies that affect Wall Street – or even of President Obama losing re-election? Jeffrey D.