SOTT Focus:

US: New York - Zuccotti Park, A Photo Essay on A Political Movement and the Kindness of Strangers

Sott.net
Sat, 15 Oct 2011 15:02 UTC

Comment: A Sott editor goes to Wall Street to do a photo essay on the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) situation:

Over the weekend, I went to the OWS demonstration and they surely didn't disappoint. Saturday's group was organized and calm as four building to sidewalk blocks were taken up with the group. Although there was a fire in their bellies, they showed a dignified grace under pressure as they walked flanked by police officers on foot, motorcycles and black SUV's.

Due to some confusion by the onlookers as to where the crowd was heading, I was encouraged to see one young man who was in front giving directions with hand signals. He informed me of their March on the Banks as part of their Global Day of Action, that they were heading over to Chase and would be doing the same with other financial institutions. The group surrounded the institution on Maiden Lane and Fletcher Street chanting slogans and then headed off again.

What sets this political gathering apart from others was how people of all ages with varied concerns are coming together to give voice to their frustrations. One Veteran (pictures below) who stood out from the crowd was dissatisfied with how those who have risked life and limb for their country were now struggling to make ends meet due to cutbacks. Some younger citizens interests lay with the one percent having control over the ninety-nine as well as the future of children in lacking adequate education. Others protested fracking and at least one was concerned with the information surrounding the purported facts of 911. It wasn't lost on me that this demonstration takes place two blocks from the World Trade Center. If they only knew...

Although I doubt they are aware of ponerology in its deepest sense, it was great to see that for once, people are not distracted by petty differences.

In fact, I spoke with one of the community members at the info desk about whether they were aware of historic tactics regarding infiltration of various groups. He said they were quite aware of it from other protests in the past and they dealt with it by notifying the group - the use of networking - and being non responsive to what was said. They realized that they couldn't really throw those individuals out of the park but were under the impression of a few that might be suspect. It was gratifying to see and hear that they were aware of and on the lookout for such tactics. It was also heartwarming to see that quite a few 'elders' were there to school the younger ones.

Various members of the press and other interested parties surrounded the perimeter. Some conducted interviews with protesters, community volunteers and anyone else willing to have their voices heard - which seemed to be everyone!

While some were marching through the streets, many others were offering support at home base, Zuccotti Park. Some were fielding the press. Others were organizing and in general making living conditions more pleasant for everyone.

Although they have experienced thefts, the spirit of hospitality continues to shine and is reflected in monetary and grocery/meal donations as well as food cooked off site. While the menu is mostly vegan (in an attempt to respect the religious guidelines of some, I was told) meat is the first to go quickly and donations of it are more than welcome.

In addition to music, sewing and hair cutting areas, they have a hand rolled cigarette station and a library. All done through donations and volunteers. What is also amazing is that all services rendered in the park are accessible to the general public. If you are hungry, they feed you. If you need clothes, they supply them no questions asked. If you want to help, they gladly welcome you. A true spirit of giving.

Workshops are available to all whether there for a day or for the long haul.

Despite the constant presence of police and their attempts to cordon off the park, the members which include people of all ages, races, creed and religions remain remarkably upbeat and committed and continue to join together to support one another in expressing concerns that touch us all.

If this is what community looks like, then I want in. What makes this so amazing is that all of this is made possible through the work of volunteers and charitable gifts. Regardless of whether or not they are eventually co opted, Occupy Wall Street is setting the bar for what life should be - a gathering of hearts and minds that are taking responsibility for their own existence and standing firm in the face of encroaching fascism.

Reader Comments

Good Optics · 2011-10-16T20:52:46Z

I wonder . . .

. . . if any amoung the 1% have such "social security" as we see here amoung these people.

Andrian · 2011-10-16T21:17:54Z

It is trully

amasing,inspiring and soul lifting what all these brave and simple persons do,i thank you all of them for what are they doing because they inspire and give courage to others to awake and see what is going on all around us.Thank you ,keep this way, you are the few and the first but not the last,your actions are and will be remembered and like a chain of domino will make big changes for all of us,im with all of you in heart and soul.
Trully if this is how to live in a community ,helping,carying and loving each other then this is all i want from life and you don't have to be a genious to understand that for that we don't need a powerfull structure to govern us we can make ,create this relation and communities by ourselvs we don't need them (the elite) they need us,soon people i think will understand this and then big changes will defenetely come off course with big efforts from all of us.

redrock12 · 2011-10-16T21:33:24Z

I Am Moved

I am proud, and blessed, to be counted among the 99%.
Is this ascension?

Good Optics · 2011-10-16T22:08:36Z

Is this ascension?

I dunno . . . but it's a lot better than sucking the life out of an economy to fill you own pockets so you can buy STUFF no one really needs

l_e_cox · 2011-10-17T01:32:29Z

Thank you!

The videos don't show scenes like this, and commentators don't talk much about the demonstrators themselves.

Remember though: The community that has formed is there to support the demonstration, and is specialized for that purpose.

The world and all of its productive activities must roll on, or even this demonstration would not be possible. That so much of that production is now under the control of corporations may not be the most important situation.There is economy and efficiency in large production activities. And worker-owned cooperatives exist that are quite large and quite productive.

I believe that the true situation is that the productive activities of this planet have been infiltrated by parasitic, destructive personalities. It is this infiltration which must be reversed. And that is only step one!

Gimpy · 2011-10-17T04:44:32Z

Thank You!

This is an excellent example of what we need to be encouraging with awareness, action, and education to spread it around.

Highland Fleet Lute · 2011-10-17T07:33:59Z

London Calling - St. Paul's.

I had a look at Paternoster Square this morning as part of my weekly wander to Smokers Paradise [Link]. There's a successful occupation there, but not much going on in the butcher/baker/candlestick-maker dept. It just looks like a filthy hippy camp and is sure to be portrayed as such by corporate media.

Highland Fleet Lute · 2011-10-17T08:39:18Z

redrock12 said....

"I am proud, and blessed, to be counted among the 99%.
Is this ascension?"

No, and with regard to this subject, in the specific context of this site, people that know a bit should avoid falling under the spell of people that know f*** all.

Bim · 2011-10-17T10:53:33Z

This is really beautiful to see. I wish i was there, but my thoughts and spirit are with this worthy cause.

Xerxes · 2011-10-17T12:37:53Z

Really quite amazing and inspiring.

osmose78 · 2011-10-17T13:43:46Z

Humanity

Just beautiful. Thanks to Live.

maat · 2011-10-17T14:44:07Z

Inspiring

I think this is one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen in my lifetime. I wish I could be there. It feels like the manifestation of something I've been waiting for for as long as I can remember...

The essence of what is happening in New York must be maintained, don't let it fade!

And to all the conspiracy theorists who have been condemning this movement with the usual rounds of baseless paranoid fearmongering... please, just shut up.

irini · 2011-10-17T18:50:38Z

Thank you...

... for bringing the spirit of OWS to our awareness. It IS inspiring!

Noise · 2011-10-17T22:43:27Z

Amazing, Community..

Free clothes, Haircut, Food.. It's incredible in the economic situation these poor people (the 99%) are able to do these things. Funny, with all their money the elite can't create simple community, in fact they've engineered the opposite. Remember to lock those doors before bed.

Thanks for a great behind the scenes, Signs.

lan8r · 2011-10-18T00:23:46Z

Great Photo Jourslism

If a picture paints a thousand words, then this article would fill a library. I support OWS. I support the message, the stand against the Corporate Elite, the pilfering of our economy. I had no idea, until I saw this article, these pictures, the sense of community, camaraderie, brotherhood, 'peoplehood' really. The sense of Unity. If we are 'All One', then this would be what it looks like. And maybe, even if we are not All one, just one of the 99%, this is what it should look like...

System · 2011-10-18T13:33:16Z

"Manufacturing Dissent"

Occupy Wall Street and "The American Autumn": Is It a "Colored Revolution"?
Part I
by Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, October 13, 2011

There is a grassroots protest movement unfolding across America, which includes people from all walks of life, from all age groups, conscious of the need for social change and committed to reversing the tide.

The grassroots of this movement constitutes a response to the "Wall Street agenda" of financial fraud and manipulation which has served to trigger unemployment and poverty across the land.

Does this movement constitute in its present form an instrument of meaningful reform and social change in America?

What is the organizational structure of the movement? Who are its main architects?

Has the movement or segments within this movement been co-opted?

This is an important question, which must be addressed by those who are part of the Occupy Wall Street Movement as well as those who, across America, support real democracy.

Introduction

Historically, progressive social movements have been infiltrated, their leaders co-opted and manipulated, through the corporate funding of non-governmental organizations, trade unions and political parties. The ultimate purpose of "funding dissent" is to prevent the protest movement from challenging the legitimacy of the economic elites:

"In a bitter irony, part of the fraudulent financial gains on Wall Street in recent years have been recycled to the elites' tax exempt foundations and charities. These windfall financial gains have not only been used to buy out politicians, they have also been channelled to NGOs, research institutes, community centres, church groups, environmentalists, alternative media, human rights groups, etc.

The inner objective is to "manufacture dissent" and establish the boundaries of a "politically correct" opposition. In turn, many NGOs are infiltrated by informants often acting on behalf of western intelligence agencies. Moreover, an increasingly large segment of the progressive alternative news media on the internet has become dependent on funding from corporate foundations and charities.

The objective of the corporate elites has been to fragment the people's movement into a vast "do it yourself" mosaic." (See Michel Chossudovsky, Manufacturing Dissent: the Anti-globalization Movement is Funded by the Corporate Elites, Global Research, September 20, 2010)

"Manufacturing Dissent"

At the same time, "manufactured dissent" is intent upon promoting political and social divisions (e.g. within and between political parties and social movements). In turn, it encourages the creation of factions within each and every organization.

With regard to the anti-globalization movement, this process of division and fragmentation dates back to the early days of the World Social Forum. (See Michel Chossudovsky, Manufacturing Dissent: The Anti-globalization Movement is Funded by the Corporate Elites, Global Research, September 20, 2010)

Most of the progressive organizations of the post-World War II period, including the European "Left" have, in the course of the last thirty years, been transformed and remoulded. The "Free Market" system (Neoliberalism) is the consensus of the "Left". This applies, among others, to the Socialist Party in France, the Labour Party in Britain, the Social Democrats in Germany, not to mention the Green Party in France and Germany.

In the US, bi-partisanship is not the result of the interplay of Congressional party politics. A handful of powerful corporate lobby groups control both the Republicans and the Democrats. The "bi-partisan consensus" is established by the elites who operate behind the scenes. It is enforced by the main corporate lobby groups, which exert a stranglehold over both major political parties.

In turn, the leaders of the AFL-CIO have also been co-opted by the corporate establishment against the grassroots of the US labor movement.

The leaders of organized labor attend the annual meetings of the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF). They collaborate with the Business Roundtable. But at the same time, the grassroots of the US labor movement has sought to to carry out organizational changes which contribute to democratizing the leadership of individual trade unions.

The elites will promote a "ritual of dissent" with a high media profile, with the support of network TV, the corporate news as well as the internet.

The economic elites -- which control major foundations -- also oversee the funding of numerous civil society organizations, which historically have been involved in the protest movement against the established economic and social order. The programs of many NGOs (including those involved in the Occupy Wall Street Movement) rely heavily on funding from private foundations including the Ford, Rockefeller, MacArthur, Tides foundations, among others.

Historically, the anti-globalization movement which emerged in the 1990s has opposed Wall Street and the Texas oil giants controlled by Rockefeller, et al. Yet the foundations and charities of Rockefeller, Ford et al have, over the years, generously funded progressive anti-capitalist networks as well as environmentalists (opposed to Big Oil) with a view to ultimately overseeing and shaping their various activities.

"Colored Revolutions"

In the course of the last decade, "colored revolutions" have emerged in several countries. The "colored revolutions" are US intelligence ops which consist in covertly supporting protest movements with a view to triggering "regime change" under the banner of a pro-democracy movement.

"Colored revolutions" are supported by the National Endowment for Democracy, the International Republican Institute and Freedom House, among others. The objective of a "colored revolution" is to foment social unrest and use the protest movement to topple the existing government. The ultimate foreign policy goal is to instate a compliant pro-US government (or "puppet regime").

"The Arab Spring"

In Egypt's "Arab Spring", the main civil society organizations including Kifaya (Enough) and The April 6 Youth Movement were not only supported by US based foundations, they also had the endorsement of the US State Department. (For details see Michel Chossudovsky, The Protest Movement in Egypt: "Dictators" do not Dictate, They Obey Orders, Global Research, January 29, 2011)

"In a bitter irony, Washington supported the Mubarak dictatorship, including its atrocities, while also backing and financing its detractors,... Under the auspices of Freedom House, Egyptian dissidents and opponents of Hosni Mubarak (see above) were received in May 2008 by Condoleezza Rice ... and White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley." (See Michel Chossudovsky, The Protest Movement in Egypt: "Dictators" do not Dictate, They Obey Orders, Global Research, January 29, 2011)

OTPOR and the Centre for Applied Non Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS)

Dissidents of Egypt's April 6 Youth Movement, which, for several years, was in permanent liaison with the US Embassy in Cairo, were trained by Serbia's Centre for Applied Non Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), a consulting and training firm specializing in "Revolution" supported by FH and the NED.

CANVAS was established in 2003 by OTPOR, a CIA supported Serbian organization which played a central role in the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic in the wake of the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.

Barely two months after the end of the 1999 bombings of Yugoslavia, OTPOR was spearheaded into playing a central role in the installation of a US-NATO sponsored "caretaker" government in Serbia. These developments also paved the way towards the secession of Montenegro from Yugoslavia, the establishment of the US Bondsteel military base and the eventual formation a Mafia State in Kosovo.

In August 1999, the CIA is reported to have set up a training program for OTPOR in Bulgaria's capital Sofia:

"In the summer of 1999, the head of the CIA, George Tenet, set up shop in Sofia, Bulgaria to “educate” the Serb opposition. Last August. 28 [2000], the BBC confirmed that a special 10-day class had been given to the Otpor militants, also in Sofia.

The CIA program is a program in successive phases. Early on, they flatter the Serbs' patriotism and spirit of independence, acting as if they respect these qualities. But after having sown confusion and broken the unity of the country, the CIA and NATO would go much further."

(Gerard Mugemangano and Michel Collon, "To be partly controlled by the CIA ? That doesn’t bother me much.", Interview with two activists of the Otpor student movement, International Action Center (IAC), To be partly controlled by the CIA ? October 6, 2000. See also "CIA is tutoring Serbian group, Otpor", The Monitor, Sofia, translated by Blagovesta Doncheva, Emperors Clothes, September 8, 2000 )

"The Revolution Business"

OTPOR's Centre for Applied Non Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) describes itself as "an International network of trainers and consultants" involved in the "Revolution Business". Funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), it constitutes a consulting outfit, advising and training US sponsored opposition groups in more than 40 countries.

OTPOR played a key role in Egypt.

Egypt Tahir Square: What appeared to be a spontaneous democratization process was a carefully planned intelligence operation. View video below.

Both the April 6 Movement and Kifaya (Enough!) received prior training from CANVAS in Belgrade "in the strategies of non-violent revolution". "According to Stratfor, The tactics used by the April 6 Movement and Kifaya "were straight out of CANVAS's training curriculum." (Quoted in Tina Rosenberg, Revolution U, Foreign Policy, February 16, 2011 )

It is worth noting the similarity of the logos as well as the names involved in CANVAS-OTPOR sponsored "Colored Revolutions" The April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt used the clenched fist as its logo, Kifaya ("Enough!") has the same name as the Youth Protest movement supported by OTPOR in Georgia which was named Kmara! ("Enough!"). Both groups were trained by CANVAS.

The Role of CANVAS-OTPOR in the Occupy Wall Street Movement
CANVAS-OPTOR is currently involved in the Occupy Wall Street Movement (#OWS).

Several key organizations currently involved in The Occupy Wall Street (#OWS) movement played a significant role in "The Arab Spring". Of significance, "Anonymous", the social media "hacktivist" group, was involved in waging cyber-attacks on Egyptian government websites at the height of "The Arab Spring".([Link]see also http://anonnews.org/)

In May 2011, "Anonymous" waged cyberattacks on Iran and last August, it waged similar cyber-attacks directed against the Syrian Ministry Defense. These cyber-attacks were waged in support of the Syrian "opposition" in exile, which is largely integrated by Islamists. (See Syrian Ministry Of Defense Website Hacked By 'Anonymous', Huffington Post, August 8, 2011).

The actions of "Anonymous" in Syria and Iran are consistent with the framework of the "Colored Revolutions". They seek to demonize the political regime and create political instability. (For analysis on Syria's Opposition, see Michel Chossudovsky, SYRIA: Who is Behind The Protest Movement? Fabricating a Pretext for a US-NATO "Humanitarian Intervention" Global Research, May 3, 2011)

Both CANVAS and Anonymous are now actively involved in the Occupy Wall Street Movement.

The precise role of CANVAS in the Occupy Wall Street Movement remains to be assessed.

Ivan Marovic, a leader of CANVAS recently addressed the Occupy Wall Street protest movement in New York City. Listen carefully to his speech. (Bear in mind that his organization CANVAS is supported by NED).

Marovic acknowledged in an earlier statement that there is nothing spontaneous in the planning of a "revolutionary event":

"It looks like people just went into the street. But it's the result of months or years of preparation. It is very boring until you reach a certain point, where you can organize mass demonstrations or strikes. If it is carefully planned, by the time they start, everything is over in a matter of weeks." (Quoted in Tina Rosenberg, Revolution U, Foreign Policy, February 16, 2011)

This statement by OTPOR's spokesperson Ivan Marovic would suggest that the protest movements in the Arab World did not spread spontaneously from one country to another, as portrayed by the Western media. The national protest movements were planned well in advance. The chronology and sequencing of these national protest movements were also planned.

Similarly, Maravic's statement also suggests that The Occupy Wall Street movement was also the object of careful advanced planning by a number of key organizations on tactics and strategy.

It is worth noting that one of OTPOR's tactics is "not try to avoid arrests", but rather to "provoke them and use them to the movement's advantage." as a PR strategy. (Ibid)

Michel Chossudovsky

I reported it yesterday morning. I had seen the report in the French news the day before already. [Link]

LindaMay

I wonder if the people who do have conversations with themselves have trouble quieting the mind, as for meditation.

ReRan

Elon should put X on the 'plaid mode'....lol

Gator

When isreali's realise that they too are victims of this regime they will then know their true status. This regime has but one mission. To further...

Peter Jennings

How George Washington lost his cherry...

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SOTT Focus:

US: New York - Zuccotti Park, A Photo Essay on A Political Movement and the Kindness of Strangers

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