Occupy Wall Street: update

--> Occupy LA asking court to stop eviction:



--> Occupy Ourselves: Deepak Chopra explains:

There could be an opening for change at a level higher than politics. The American public is confused and conflicted right now. When individuals are in that state, the answer is self-awareness. A therapist asks simple, relevant questions. Why are you angry? How well has your anger worked for you? Do you have negative feelings toward those you love? What every American needs right now is to occupy himself or herself, which means honestly facing the conflicts roiling inside and finding a way to heal them. As long as voters complain about Washington's inability to compromise while in the next breath supporting candidates who are rigidly tied to an ideology, conflict will continue because it exists inside the voter, first and foremost.

President Obama has been a beacon of reasonableness, and his call for a balanced approach to the deficit, along with almost all his other proposals, carries the same label: balanced. That's the right answer, the one a therapist would give a troubled patient. Balance your anger with a sense of reasonable action. Love your partner but realize that negative feelings are permissible as long as you know how to handle them. Rise above conflict by letting go of extreme positions, for your own good. Obama has a healthy, adult sense of "for your own good." The problem has been that a riled-up public hasn't been in a place to listen and heed what he says.

America is far from teetering on the brink. Speaking strictly from statistics, the economy has recovered, because the gross national product is now higher than it was before the downturn in 2008. What has surprised economists, in the midst of such a robust GNP, is how badly the country reacted to the downturn. There has been a strong over-reaction on the part of timid consumers, frightened workers, cash-hoarding corporations, and overly cautious lenders. This only shows how psychological the economy is, and always has been. To alter the economy, our psychology has to change, which is why we need to occupy ourselves. Only self-awareness can lead to healing, which is the key to a real recovery and not just a list of numbing statistics.

--> Here are 12 of the most enjoyably effective protest signs at Occupy Wall Street.

--> Occupy Veterans: About 2,000 disgruntled veterans say they've risked their lives and well-being only to come home to a country that profits from their sacrifices. Iraq Veterans Against The War issued a statement yesterday saying that they feel betrayed by the nation's leaders and will continue to join the Occupy Wall Street protests to broadcast their grievances.

Veterans have found a natural sounding board in the Occupy movement. Faced with surging unemployment and a need for better health services, this vulnerable community has leveraged the protests to help galvanize, educate and empower veterans.

The wealth discrepancy between returning troops and corporations profiting from the war is a prime concern among veterans who have joined the Occupy movement. But money isn't the only thing on these protesters minds. Veterans are calling on the VA to do a better job in addressing and treating their medical issues.

As suicide, homelessness, joblessness and serious health concerns continue to wear on the veteran community, returning troops look to the stage at the Occupy protests to spread their message. (Via HuffPo)


--> Toronto writer and activist Nick Van der Graaf gives some insight to what's next:

After its initial success, it's time for Occupy to think big. Occupy movements around the world should prioritize synchronizing their message and activities to the maximum degree. The internets are primed and waiting to facilitate just such a co-ordination. A unified, worldwide movement, committed to non-violence, would be uniquely powerful. With many different causes involved but supporting one overarching theme, Occupy would be in a much stronger position to further influence the political discourse. Working together greatly increases their potential to challenge corporate power. Besides, corporations are transnational -- so it makes sense that the Occupy movement must devote itself to being effective at that level as well.

It won't be easy. Everyone thinks their cause is the most important. But the attempt to build this unity would have to be couched in language that encourages open dialogue and willingness to focus on root causes and not just symptoms. One immediately clear issue they could unify around is to fight for legal reforms that would forcibly separate big capital from the state. The system of mass corruption that we abide today is at the root of a wide number of societal ills, income disparity being not the least of them.

And the message has to be broadly appealing. It has to be inclusive. It has to be less about things being "unfair," which can be perceived as a childish whinge, to the adult "this is demonstrably bad for society." The movement has to show that the ridiculous concentration of wealth into the top 1% of society isn't just immoral, it deprives society at large of all the creative potential that wealth represents. Arts funding, infrastructure investment, accessible education, scientific research -- the list goes on and on. We are all losing out.

The Occupy movement has made an impressive initial splash. These are early days, and despite current setbacks, it can go on to strongly challenge the power of Mammon. But a couple thousand individual movements can only do so much. A populist, unified approach seems to be the only effective way to go forward.

--> Occupy Gay Porn: This probably won't help legitimize the 99% movement: A gay pornographic movie called "Occupy My Throat" was recently filmed inside a tent at the Occupy Oakland protest site.

Dirty Boy Video thought of filming a movie at an Occupy camp after reading a New York Times story about sex at the Zuccotti Park site in New York. Sheesh...

--> And in closing, watch Jon Stewart rip recent pepper spray incidents: