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Occupy Toronto (pg. 39)
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by evil_cookie
I doubt that very much.
Unless you have your PhD; you are no such thing. |
I'm pretty sure you know what I meant - out of the whole discussion that is all you had to leech on to?
either way it pains me that people fail to understand the simple recession vs. depression cycles, and ignorantly assume that there can only be upward economical growth |
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| Xavier Moriarty |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
its always caused by government, |
all due respect, you wanna say it aint?? joe 9 to 5 is dragging down our economy?? |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Xavier Moriarty
all due respect, you wanna say it aint?? |
surely you're not insinuating that government is the primary cause of any and all periods of economic strife? the website i was referring to, mises.org, pushes ideology > economic empiricism. it exists on the fringe and is very attractive to all the wackos that think that 'all conquering' isms not only exist but can save the day.
any theory that asserts everything bad is caused by government and everything good is provided by free markets, is seriously suspect. so yeah, i "wanna say it aint" if you are arguing governments cause all the economic ills in the world.
| quote: | Originally posted by Xavier Moriarty
joe 9 to 5 is dragging down our economy?? |
if we are talking specifically about the GFC then absolutely Joe Citizen deserves some of the blame. |
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| jon jon |
In other news Greece differed the referendum (thank god)
and surely the NY occupy movement can't last the winter weather? |
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| FunkyCrew |
Lots of organizing, not much protesting
| quote: | On Thursday morning, I returned to Toronto’s occupied St. James Park. I had been there on the first day, and wanted to see how things had changed.
And changed they have. Occupy Toronto has become bigger, more organized, maybe even more “professional”, if that’s the right term to use for full-time protesters. But it’s also losing sight of its own mission, and focusing more and more on simply managing their own little impromptu community. With tents to winterize, meals to organize and “safe spaces” to create, who was time to protest income inequality, the banks and foreign wars?
All the outward signs of protest are still there, of course: The homemade signs, the colourful flags, and even the odd march in support of this or against that. But the energy of Day 1 is nowhere to be found. The first morning after the campers moved in, the Occupiers were charged with passionate intensity, or to put it more crassly, full of piss and vinegar. They were ready to raise hell and get results. Everyone was wandering around, greeting fellow travellers, making big plans on how to best get the message out. The air was buzzing. You could disagree with most of what they had to say while still feeling invigorated by the human energy.
Not much of that energy is left. In its place is a community that’s become more permanent and much more organized. The tents have gotten bigger, and packed closer together. Sheets of cardboard and segments of plastic planking are being used to create a rudimentary road network, helping the Occupiers stay out of the mud (the grass of St. James Park has not stood up to the protest well). Three large yurts — imagine the lovechild of a tent and a longhouse — have been set up and put to good use: One is a library, full of donated books on makeshift shelves, one is a medical centre, and the other, the largest, has yet to be given a set purpose, but will apparently be something of an all-purpose meeting hall once the cold weather really arrives. A small “post office” will soon be set up inside the library yurt.
The park is clearly developing its own governance. A young man there took me on a bit of a tour, and pointed out some of the designated safe areas. There’s a safe area for women, where they may sleep if they feel unsafe in the presence of so many strange men (my guide told me there have been a few minor incidents of men being “a bit too direct” in propositioning female Occupiers). A tent has been set aside for those with substance abuse issues, where scheduled 12-step recovery meetings are held. The food serving area has become much more elaborate, and some hot meals can now be prepared on site. A row of porta-potties, with portable hand-washing stations, help maintain a level of hygiene. If you can overlook the carpet of cigarette butts around the central gazebo, you’ll notice that despite the “dirty-hippy” stereotype, the park is quite clean.
It’s fascinating to see, with definite hints of Lord of the Flies or Lost. Downtown Toronto is hardly a deserted island, but they are still developing their own little culture. One young man, when asked why women needed a safe area, confessed that the little tent community was beginning to develop many of the same problems found in broader society — and, ironically, were even discussing the creation of their own security force. They might need to: The protest has begun to attract the permanently homeless and the mentally ill, who gravitate to St. James Park without any particular knowledge of or interest in the underlying political agenda behind the movement. I was sheepishly told that so far, the Occupiers have actually had to call the police for help several times after confrontations among Occupiers escalated into fights and knives being pulled.
The uptake of all of this is that the tiny community — some estimates suggest as many as 500 people are Occupying the park — is spending so much time and energy taking care of itself that there’s little left over to change the world with. As a social experiment on how human beings build relationships and form communities, Occupy Toronto is worth a visit. As a protest movement trying to take on the problems of society, it’s missed the mark. |
LINK |
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| Endlesswave |
I saw this and was so angry at the end of it.
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| FunkyCrew |
| quote: | Originally posted by Endlesswave
I saw this and was so angry at the end of it.
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yup we watched that too - pretty intense! |
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| Endlesswave |
| quote: | Originally posted by FunkyCrew
yup we watched that too - pretty intense! |
ing scum, scum is what they are. |
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| Nick Cenik |
| quote: | Originally posted by Endlesswave
ing scum, scum is what they are. |
+1. |
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| pkcRAISTLIN |
| I would suggest researching the topic yourself rather than letting Hollywood paint the picture for you. the film doesn’t name anyone, so you have no way to judge the veracity of the plot. |
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